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9- 


The  Engin 


DEVOTED   TO   THE    GENERATION   AND 
TRANSMISSION   OF   POWER 


ISSUED    WEEKLY 


VOLUME    XXX 


January    I     to    June    30.     IQOQ 


a.5^ 
-^./'i 


Hill  Publishing  Co. 

505    PEARL    STKhET. 
NEW    YORK. 


1/.30 


POWER 

JB^^The  Engineer 


INDEX     FOR     VOLUME     XXX. 

JANUARY      1     TO     JUNE     30. 


1909. 


Explanatory  Note. 

llluHtratod  articles  are  marked  with  an  as- 
i<  rlitk  1*1.  Rook  mtlo's  are  marked  with  a 
daKK*-r  iti.  CroHB  mferencea  to  a  particular 
initial  Word  may  refi-r  to  any  coKnate  work 
betrinnlnc  in  the  Hamc  way.  Thus,  a  refer- 
eneo  from  "OH"  to  "Lubricant"  would  apply 
•^lually  to  "I.ubrUatlng,"  "Luhrlcation"  or 
"I.ulirlcator."  The  eroaa  n-ferences  condenw 
th<-  matt<-r  and  aitAiNt  the  reader,  but  are  not 
to  be  regartled  a»  eonclunlve.  So,  If  there  were 
a  rpfer«»nee  from  "Holb-r"  to  "Furnace"  and 
If  thi'  <war<-h.r  falbd  to  And  the  rei|ulr<-d 
artldf  und«-r  th*-  liMt«r  ••ntry.  he  xhould  nut 
rt'Knrd  it  at  um^Iinm  tu  turn  back  and  look 
IhniuKb  nil  tin-  "Boiler"  entries,  or  others 
that  the  topic  may  suKKeNt,  as  he  would  bavi- 
done  had  there  be«-n  no  croiui  refi-rence.  Not 
all  articb-K  relailni;  to  a  Kiven  topic  necessar- 
ily a|i|»«-iir  under  the  same  entries.  Usi-rs  of 
th<-  ln<l<'S  ■•hould  bear  lu  mind  further  that 
fn-<ju>-titly  more  reKard  Is  paid  to  the  actual 
contrntM  <'t  an  ariieb*  than  to  the  prt>clm>  tltl..- 
und<-r  wbleli  It  ap|M-ared. 


At  <><>rpil<>ii    n  <  ukulutluK    cu 

pnrlij.       I 
.M'Horplloii  iiiK        niiiehine. 

Oam- 
Idrnt,  Kntflm-     l(<>d  bruki-.  Hbe«-hau. 
•502.  84H.  UHtt. 
ii>   Milv.-.      bullock's. 
r<  HpouHiblf. 
i  i>lant    -       Trimmint; 

•  1.      W.iilucf. 
V  -,   KoKlne,   valve,  ••ic.      Koowl 

•118. 
'■'•-riional  •■U-mi-ut     Error. 
-      I'llMI.  Ity    regurdlUK. 
■\'  I'almer. 

A<1  lua"   water   K'aiut. 

.Vt  under      dlllU-ultb-s. 


nii-ldent  -Kxplmilon. 


60 

•1151* 

lO-'O 
•!>»« 
l(i-J» 

•70lt 

•71.1 

WO 

1U3U 

•»U 

•i«y 


All 


lui.r.  »i..>r.    Milt  driven.   U-ak.   lH>w.   "^'JO 

30'.' 


Air   coiiipri KKor,    liiilN'li 

Mr-  ...,,.. .rv^Bitt         l-X|ll>.Blons,  (•.^..i...i.l-. 

liollmunD  :        I: 

ii'T                                   |-Jl  ,    003 

'i.'itky    dlscbari;<-    valvi-n  >       ki<  n 

ard*  1026 
Air     r..mj>r""Mior,     piston.       Kmrri{i-nry. 

!      ■  'OH 

Air                           valvi'K.      Mc^iabejr.  •l»31 

Air  !  .nt.  HtM-l  works.  •lit^Z 
Air    (rem     -luull    fan.    Coollntf    macbi- 

n<Tv    »tth       Wnkfman  •110 

Air   k:ik-.      \v.  u-lii.ti  'aio 

Air  ■■,  7S0 
All  i.MMT  •235,  a02,  •418 
Air    .                                           II  .mini'    plant 

I  "i"  I.iikI.  ^>->^ 

Air  pump    BrrnnKrm>-nt.      Klrlln.  'I'J 

Air      liMllili            Vlltof.  .ni'         niiliiral  •   <   < 

Air 

Air  •     ; 

Air  ; ..^ •.. 

Air  piimpo.  CnndpniHT.     Joaar.   *2Ab,  M2,  *4IM 

Air    puni|>*       l<<>(>lnM>n  H^rt 


PAGE 

Air      receivers.         Sperry ;.     Relchard  : 

fiautschi.  •045.  1064 

Air,  Saturated,  as  cooling  agt-nt.  I'en- 

n.-il.  'iss 

Air  valve   substitute.     Jorgensi-n.  •406 

l»olpbln:    Kahn.  687 

Alarm.   Ix)W'Water.     Myers.  •SOS 

.Vlarm  whistle    sounding   device.  Uaw- 

kinH.  •466 
AllM-ri:er     coollntf     towers,     Gary,     W. 

Va.  ^488 
.\ll>erg.r  turbine  pumps.  •538.  699 
.VIberta  (Can.)  license  law.  803 
Alcohol  vs.  gaso|)-n<-  for  Inc. -comb,  en- 
gines. SI..I.V  173 
.Allni-ment  Lomas.  ^258 
.\lliin  viilvc  .  •S28 
All.n  "<;ns  I  Iractlce."  t223 
Allen.    II.      •  .ModiTu    I'ower    Uas  Pro- 

<luc.r."  t578 

All.n.  Horatio.      Buff.t.  255 

.\ll<n.  S<in  k  Co.  englni-.  •369 

All.n   weir.  •nOS 

.Ml.ntown   turbine  plant.      Ilaker.  ^46 
Allls  t'halmers  steam  turbin.s. 

•145.  •212.   ^441 

-       W    .l.r     f.irl.in.a  ^270.     •928.     •I'^S 

ry.    Ind.  ^281.   •512 

p.  "OOS 

A'. ...■.     lir.-ct   curr.nt.      R.   B.  179 

"Alt.    Cur.    .Machines."      Sheldon  et  ai.  t704 

.\ll.    cur.    wir.-s.    I^i»«   In.  20.'! 

\lf.rnnf..n«.    B.-lt  clrlv.n.    <;."nl.    Klec.  •S.'.S 

Mmiiiiium   in   elfctrli-nl   wi.rk.  .'»0S 

.\iiil.ri  «••  c4>nnn<-l   IlL'hlxbli'       Itogers.  "407 

.\ui<rii'iin    .\ti''    \                    '    ~  ..  41*4 

Aiu.rl.iin    I;'                                   n    trap.  •ISS 
.\ni.rl.firi    f.                                          \trn.-tr.r       •1111 
All 
•v 
An 
.Vfii.  rl.  :iii     SMI           -.  .         Ku^-lti.  .  r- " 

.\ni.rl.iin  -.lok.  r.  •  liis>.  k  •9sh 
.Vni'-rli-an  Waf.  r  \\1,-    A s»o.  convention.  •117o 

.\ni.rl.iin    \Vr                        cracked  boiler.  •9H4 

.\ni<>.   iilli>y    -                      iig,  533 

Amm.t.r.   Tti                            foole.  ^520 

Auim.ler.  and  vuliu»(>rs.  It.-adlng  595 
.\ninionla       compr'-sHlon' -Wet :       dry. 

Il:irt  457 

.\ii                                                      of   pound.  95 

Ai                                                                 .1   Co.'i.  •.T»2 

Aiu .....  .iiing.  I'at- 

i<-»«.n.  718 

.Vmnionia     cond.'n«T».     Turgo     d«Tlc». 

Matthew  »^^ 

Ammonia  re.  i4  plants.  •Pin 

Ams.    Mas  .  driv.v  •94s 

.\n'1 — -       !   lifc.    i.ii^   .'Uglnes  /i>r  elec. 

•917 
An.  ind      SloiiM    the    high-    Or 

■       ■      veril.aP  •nirt 

All.                                                         1  •IJtS 

.\ii  »1.'.> 

At  .S'«» 

An                                                n  424 

Am  5.'?2 

.\ppl.  tt.ii  .si..r.t^>  l.aderies.  1115 
Arc  rlrrull  trouiil.-.  Minion's.  Me<:anD  : 

Kllroy  "335,  402 

Archea,  Purnaciv  219 
Arrhlterts   and   healing  systems       Hal- 

i..v»  7.^1 

Arr  Sa.-ger  04- 
Ari                                   Tenting  with  nhm 

•  .  -i  •9.1'- 
\'!n,-ir  ■■  •:!.. 
\rii,  ifir      •  - 

•  .     .     •572 
'      wtndlng.    Hrpairtng       K«-nk- 

—o  •794 

\.ui-M,f  A  Co '■  historic  rnglnr  •79f 

Armour    glue    Wks '    raruiiro    aali  coa- 

»e»er        II.  M  'lOM 


rAUB 

-  '•■V '••■.-  •la* 

42T 

.     Glue 

•1068 

^wift  A  Co.'k.  1119 

•  •haln    Belt         •701 

r  valT.        •«« 

•581 

,  Co  •«•» 

•144 

•88S 

.  .  N    E  •766 

: lant  25T 

rite    competltioo       925 

•9M 

L-ndon.     Booth  Z9l 

-ve  power  for      Wake- 

•ISO 
Auxiliary    Luutrul.   Centralised.  574 


B 


Babbitting  a  pinion      hV.rgard.  STt 

llnbbitiing  main  Uarings.  Little;  Had- 

dix.  419.   •467 

Bal.l.lttiDg   tryc.M-k       Young  *\"67 

l«n<  k   firing'.  'Ji-.  .-ncln.-       l^-^-si-  WJ* 

\'  -JVC   vs.    loexp<>n- 

•5»0 
I:  •;■:•       c.ivbura.     ••IM 

r.  n  •2JM 

1'.  son  89 

152 
I  939 

I  •9«2 

l:  ml  •4« 

•830 
I   ".■  K-Ory 

•1«00 

Hull.     Uvvl.  oi  ;.                    ■  .  !.■              'Its 

8we«-t.  .T.O 

Ball  *  Wood  Km                                                ••  -.2 

Baliimor.'   i"  5 

Hark.l.w       \  •      0 

Bnr,,..      ,  ,1!  ....                                  '_i 

}'■:■■  ■kr.    K  tvm.       Ua.    610 

i:  'IW 

I .ul  Ogurr*.  •214.  •771 

1'-  .-ing     rtaroalats.     W*e«tUl(- 

•M9 

llrti   ...,.    .>....f  ■■.-    ' '• (•      «•    f    C.  t»07 

BaiierlM.    K;  '••••<>n> 

•78*.   •7T» 
Bn"     ■      -••   ;-K..     ....u......    Uerwig'a. 

.  Tninbo.  tt4 

12S 

II  "   •Ut 

B  U 

II.. 


1 

r       cm 

par 

•1...    •i:,4,   •230.  •!{»«. 
presaure,   Mailnum.    in    <  .iiii> 

fan 

!ljt      Cauii   •           •      .-dies 

lllfl 

Baiirr 

Bearlni: 

B. 
B- 

11 
B 

•M4 
•«M 

e:9 

-« 

B 
B 

<ln.     BabtM' 

of   -Wlaalow  s 

B- 

iachasa. 


•!•  .'J 


POW  ER  AND  THE  EXGIXEER. 


_    ,  PAGE 

Belt  or  rope  for  governors  V  204.  465,  937 
Belt    rnin.'d    by    oil.      Haeiisser :    Jaco- 

bucci.  ,().  V5,y 

Belts,  Leathtr.  Emerson.  1051 
Belts.    Leather.    Steel    bands    vs.    Hoff- 

meister.  1006 
Belts.  Steel.  Eloosser.  'ISg 
Belts.   Steel   and   leather,   compared.  254 
Belting  compared  with  chain  transmis- 
sion.     Emerson.  G41 
Belting.  "Eureka.'"  432 
Belting.    Horse-power   of.      \V.   M.   C.  179 
Belting.    I>'ather.    I'ower    transmission 
by — Diagram,      slide      rule,      etc. 
Barth.  *169 
Belting,  Notes  on.     Weber.  861 
Belting — "Standard   of  excellence.  1078 
Bement.     Tube-tile  furnace  roofs.  *631 
— Illinois  coalfield.  777 
Bennings  power  house,  Potomac.  John- 
son. *581 
Berry.          "Temperature-Entropy    Dia- 
gram."                                      "  t439 
"Bestyet"  power  pump.  *991 
Bibbins.       Low-pressure    turbines    and 

steam  engines.  *72,   241,   471 

— At  Gary,   W.   Va.  75,   *48o 

- — Westinghouse  turbines.  •766 
— 3000-h.p.      gas-engine      fire      service 

pumping   station,    Phila.  971 
Bilbrough's  tests  discussed.     Sawdon. 

*110,   936 

Binns.  Easton  gas  and  elec.  plant.  '1007 
"Birmingham"  tests,  etc. 

655,  693,  699,  778,  862,  'gOS,  1027 
Blackburn  power  station.  213 
Blake.  Cooling  towers.  301 
Blast-pressure  gage.  Fales.  *1161 
Bliss  steam  turbine.  Orrok.  •852,  904,  1169 
Blow.  Force  of.  Ccderblom.  *279 
Blower  head.  Homemade.  King.  *206 
Blowers  as  breakdown  insurance.  Rip- 
ley. 1142 
Blowing,  Gas-power.  Gary,  Ind.  *512 
Blowoff  arrangement.  Finley.  *291 
Blowoff  connection,  Improper.  .Al- 
laire. 563 
BlowoBE  pipe  trouble.  Ginaven.  ^68 
Blowoff  telltale.  *435 
Blowoff  valve,  Installing.  Kavanagli.  'eSO 
Blowoff  valve.  Simplex.  *221 
Blowoff  valves.  Seheiderer.  726 
Blunder,  Machine-shop.  Bascom.  732 
Boardman.  Feed-water  treatment.  *552,  811 
— Increasing  CO;  content  of  flue  gases.  ^883 
Bodwell  Water  Power  Co.'s  plant. 

•269,  686,  1063 
BOU.EK. 

See  also  "Furnace,"  "Steam," 
-Superheat,"  "Blowoff,"  "Uoal," 
etc. 

— .Vccident,    fatal    to   engineer.      Guy.  fi90 

— Accidents,    Place    the    blame    for.  987 

— Accidents,   Two   interesting — Cracks.  •984 
— B.     &     W.     boiler     installation,     St. 
Clair     tunnel ;     Cole     valves     for 

stoker  control.  •I  135 

— B.  &  W.  boilers.  West   Point.  •748 

—Bags.    Driving   up.      .lohnson.  69 

Kenni  It.  152 

— Bagging.  Case  of.  Binns.  9.39 
— Boiler  and  furnace  construction.  Cook.     730 

— 'Boiler-plant  capacity.  175 

— Boiler-room   supervision.  618 

— "Pollers.'     Collins.  t223 

— Bolts.   Tube-cap,   breakage.  87 

— Braces   were   sprung.      .Mc<'lelland.  1114 

—  Bracing,  Through.  HI 
^Hrldgewalls.  Wakeman.  *452,  603,  811,  848 
— Burns  too  much  coal.  Sprague.  ^504 
— (Jarnegie  Inst. — H.  &  W.  boilers.  ^97 
— Casey-Hedgfs  boiler.  '992 
— Clean'/     How  much  does  it  cost  to?  986 

Gibson.  1066 
— Cleaners,  Tube  and  flue. 

*!)!'.    •."i.'jii.    •.-,33,    •620,  *1174 

— Cleveland    Tech.    High    School.  *»',-, 

— Compound  feeder.  Boiler.  Kussell.  *198 
— Compound  feeder,  (Junningham.  "Suc- 

cei<«."  •1175 
— Defects  due  to  bad  feed  water — Hart- 
ford  report.  943 

—  Dome  heads.  Bracing.     Smith.     •6.''.."'..  ^1023 
— Door  on   ".N'aiad"    blown   off.  »il3 
— Draft   and  boiler  (apacity.  .'{91 
— Edge     Moor     boiler     plant,     Milwau- 
kee. »442 

— "Efficiency.''  Boiler.     Bement  :  Kent. 

510,  811,   1165 

- -Efficlenc.v,  Boiler,  High.  136 

— Efficiency  changes— -Fuels.     Ripley.  983 

--Erie  Cy.   vertical  w.t.   boiler.  •1128 

— -Evap.  test.  Edwards'.  MeKnIght.  250 
— Explosion.       Copperhill,       Tennessee. 

Falls.  •I  150 

— Explosion.  Disastrous.  Denver.  1176 
— Explosion.    I>owagiac,    Mich.      Geesey 

Bros.'    &   Cobbles.  *1083 
— E.xplosion — Hidden  crack.  Parker.  ^220,  218 

—  E.\|)losion.    Sawmill,    near    Rochester, 

N.  H..  Killed  and  injured  1142 

— Explosion  statistics  for  1008.  987 


BOILER. 

— P^xplosion.       Winnebau'O       Furniture 

Co.'s,   Fond  Du  Lac.  •946 

—  Exi)lesi()iis.   .\nnual    statistics.  821 

—  •Kxpl.isions.     Poller    and    gas — Cahill 

discussed.      Terman.  165 

— Feed-water  Inatment  :  report  sjieets, 

repairs,  etc.      Boardman.  *552,   811 

628 

1024 

59 

61 

62 

336 

294 

1079 

123 

•141 


— Firing.  Notes  on.     White 
Rowden  :  .\dler  :  Carl. 

— Firing  stationary   boilers.     Bradley. 
(Wet    coal.)      Crane. 
(New  method.)      Bascom. 
Tilden. 

—Gas,  Natural,  Burning.  Ranney ; 
Lane. 

— Give  the  hydrostatic  test  often. 

— Graphite  in  boilers.     Wulffcn. 

— Hampton  plant — B.  &  W.  and  Stir- 
ling boilers — Burning  fine  fuel. 

— Harwood    boiler    cracked — Lap   seam. 

•424,   1079 
Clawson.  084 

— Haystack  boiler.  Old.     Dixie.  '       ♦164 

— 'Heat  transmission  into  boilers — Trn*, 
efficiency ;  modes  and  rate  of  heat 
travel  :  connection ;  temperature 
vs.  velocity  of  gases ;  series  and 
multiple  arrangement  of  plates ; 
increasing  economy  and  capacity  ; 
Geolog.  Survey  tests,  etc.  Kreis- 
inger ;   Ray.  *1144 

— Homemade  apparatus — Natural  and 
forced  draft :  damper  regulator ; 
blowoff  telltale ;  pump  controller. 
Richards.  *434 

— Horizontal-tubular  boiler.  Care  and 
management — cleaning  :  inspect- 
ing ;   feeding,   etc.      Kavanagh.  *1040 

— How  steaming  was  improved — Set- 
ting altered.     Grove.  ^973 

— Increasing  CO;  content  of  fliie  gases. 

Boardman.  *883 

— Inspection    and    license    laws    desir- 
able. ISO 
(Maine:    Mass.)      Thurber.                    1164 

— Inspection,    Internal,    More. 

262,  463,  821.  939,  1110 

— Inspection,   New  York.      Rowsey.  •705 

Low  pressure.     Rowsey.  1009 

Futile  attempt  for  bureau.  1031 

— Inspection,    Preparation   for   Cooling, 

Cleaning,  etc.     Terman.  695 

(Safety   for  attendants.)  699 

— 'Inspection,   State.  987 

— Inspections  and  explosions.  945 

— Inspector,  The  boiler.  618 

— Joint,   Strapped  butt,   Hidden   crack. 

•220,   218 

— Joints  for  boiler.     Hale.  ^890 

— .Joints,  Riveted,  Calculating  strength. 

*3().    42 

— Joints.   T'ncover  the.      Waldron.  *938 

— Lap-joint   cracks.     Stromeyer.      '  619 

—  Lee    smokeless    furnace    under    modi- 

fied  Continental   boiler.  *614 

— Limewater  lessons.      Palmer. 

•251.  ^303,  .341.  .386.  •425,  *469. 
•527.  •569.  *611,  •GSS.  ^691,  723, 
•733,  •775,  •812,  •895,  ^941.  •981. 

*1004,  1167 

— Maxim  boilers.  Keystone  plant.  •1043 

— N.    y.    Edison    furnace    construction.      1110 

—•Oddly    set    boiler.      Dixon.  '847 

— Oil,   Kerosene.   Using.      Jahnke  ;   Mel- 

len  :     Durand  ;     Taylor  ;      Young  : 

Carl.  68,    376,    806,    807,    847,    llOli 

— Peak   load.   Handling.  698 

— Pressures.  Different — Connected  boilers.  907 

-Priming  and   foaming.  1123 

— Reservoir  moved  by  internal   forces.        •lOj 

— Return-tubular.   Setting.      Jackson.        •IIOI 

— Sarcastic   advice.      Jorden.  1110 

—  Scaling     and     corroding     substances 

and  their  elimination  from  water. 
Greth.  1091 

—  Scale    and    corrosion.      (Jreth.  410 

—  Scale.    Effect   of.      Gansworth  ;   Brad- 

shaw.  60,    247 

Erith's    Engineering   Co.  289 

(Scaled    boiler    surfaces.)       Fiske.         508 

— Scotch  boiler  on  lightship.  *407 

—•Sea  water  caused  foaming.     Bedford.       198 

— Setting.    Boiler.    Wheeler's  :    Kirlin's  : 

Cederblom  ;  Tilden  ;  Gartinann. 

*71.  337,  ^41 5 
— Setting — Gas    burning.      Rol)lnson.  ^287 

—  Settings.  Boiler.  Reynolds.  560 
— Soot.  Blowing  out.  3fi2 
— Specifications.  Fidel,  and  Cas.  438 
— Starrett  Co.'s  power  plant.  '542 
— Stall-    supervision.    Mass.  429 

Sheehan  :  Smith;  Crane.  811,  1160 

Blanchard.  1166 

—  Steam  boilers  iind  dynamite.  ^-^, 
— Steam  boilers.  Connecting — Eastman 

and   Kennett   answered.      Reichard.      ^41 7 
— Stop  valve   leaked— 'Condensing  steam.   •979 
— Tests   on   live-steam    feed-water   heat- 
ing—  Heat  transfer  tests.     Sawdon. 

•110.  936 
— Testing  boilers.    Allowing   for  differ- 
ence of  water  level  when.  Webster.  •I  107 


BOILER. 

— Testing,  Recent  refinements.     Cary.  ^355 

— Tube-tile  roofs.      Bement.  *ti3] 

— Tubes.    Boiler.    Expanding.      Cafiero.  1112 

— Tubes,  Scale  lumps  in.     E.  F.  703 

— Turbinal   tubeless  boiler.  239 

— Uniform   laws,   Durban   on.  986 

— Water-column  connections.     Mossman.  *845 

— Water  level.  High.  Crane.  198 
— 'Water-supply  tank,  Boiler  as.  Dixon  : 

Campbell.  *375,    729 

— Water-tube  boilers.  Care  and  manage- 
ment—  Shutting  down,  dleaning, 
inspection,  etc.     Kavanagh.  •I  156 

— Water-tube  boilers.  Cleaning.  Ohmer.  649 
• — Water-tube    boilers.    Furnace    design 

for.      Coes.  329 
Boiling  out  grease   in    condensers.  *77 
Bollinekx.       Steam    jacketing ;     an    in- 
dicator. *172 
Bolt  and  drill  sizes.  'liu 
Bolts   and    follower   plate   broke.      Fer- 
guson. 730 
Bolts,  Follower,  Use  and  abuse.     Wake- 
man.  *186 
Bolts,   Will    load   on,   change?     Glick.  *609 
Fischer;   Ralph.                                 *810,   894 
Blanchard  ;      Sperry  ;      Anderson  ; 
Clark  ;    Cerny  ;    Duryee.  940 
('ederblom  ;    Klein.                                    *1025 
Books,  As  to.  1172 
Booth.       Coal     composition    and    com- 
bustion. 113 
— Power  transmission,  Gt.  Brit.  130 
— (jas-producer   experiments.  196 
— Calorimeter  tests  of  steam.  254 
^Sense   of  proportion.  419 
— "Valveless"    engine.  261 
— Watt  memorial   building.  ^322 
Boru.       Gas-producer    experiments.  196 
Boston  meetings,  A.  S.   M.  E.              781,  1175 
Braces  were  sprung.      McClelland.  1114 
Bracing  dome  heads.      Smith  ;  Bohman. 

•633,  •1023 
Bracing,  Through.  87 
Bracket,  Broken,  Repairing.  Whit- 
marsh.  *  *936 
Braekett.  H.  F. — Engineer-doctor.  559 
Brake,  I'rony,  h.p.  curves.  Olmsted.  *687 
Brake,  Prony,  Simple.  Quick.  ^209 
Brake,  Prony,  wheel.  Cooling.  Rodney.  *417 
Brandon.  C.  L.,  Information  wanted.  863 
Breakdowns,  Engine.  Knowlton.  *118 
Bridgewalls.          Wakeman  ;       Terman  ; 

Murray;  Babcock.  ^452,  603,  811,  848 
Briquets,  Coal,  New  binding  agent.  447 
Briquets,  Geol.  Survey  tests.  239.  510 
Briquets — .Tetter  answered.  Baker.  250 
Bristol  pyrometer  indicating  and  re- 
cording units.  ^576 
British  high-speed  engines.     Davidson. 

•275,  ^325 

Brockton  lighting  station.      Reed.  *315 

Brooklyn   Engineers'   Club's  new  home.  995 

Brotherhood  high-speed  engine.  ^372 

Browett-Lindley  vertical  engine.  ^276.  *329 
Brown.  Hot  bearings.  •638,  979 
Brush.     See  also  "Commutator." 

Brush  holders.  Crane-motor.  •SS" 

Brush,   Lead.      Moure.  70 

Brush  troubles.  Young's.  McNatt.  67 
Brushes  and  sparking  ;  capping.     Had- 

field.  ^972 

Brushes,   How  to  set.     Fenkhausen.  *162 

Bucket  trap,  Stickle.  *577 
Buenos    Aires    turl)ine    plant.       Lane : 

Clarke  ;  Williams.  62,  200,   772 

Buffet.      Robert    Erskine.  •23 

— Horatio   Allen  ;    Novelty   Wks.  255 

— -Engineering  in  18th  century.  •SOS 

■ — ^HuUs  and  his  steamboat.  *792 

Bullock.      Comparative    coal    tests.  494 

— His    peculiar    valve    accidents.      •886,  1028 

Bump.      Principles  of  condensers.   •I 076.  1117 

— Cooling  towers.  •1094 

Burleigh.      Textile-mill   power.  492 

— Curtis  turbine  development.  765 

— Small  steam  turbines  discussed.  1169 

Burning  coal — "Removes  all  carbon."  1122 
Butt   joint.      See  "Joint,"'   "Boiler.'' 

Butterfii-ld.      (Jas-engine   efflciencv.  904 


California  engineers'  licenses. 

Calorific  value  of  low-grade  fuel.  Find- 
ing.    Baker  ;   Richards.  295, 

Calorimeter,   Barrus.   ("ooke  ;  Cross.     3.'55. 

Calorimeter  tests.     Car.v. 

Calorimeter   tests   of  steam.      Booth. 

Cams,    Safetv — \\'eai-.      Trvon  ;   Benton. 

♦730. 

Candle-flame    wonders.      P.-ilmer. 

Capitaine   marine   gas   plants.      857.    899. 

Carbon  compounds.  See  also  •Lime- 
water   lessons." 

Carbon-dioxide  content  of  flue  gases. 
Increasing.      Boardman. 

Carbon-dioxide    formulas.      Shields. 

Carbon-dioxide  motor  case.  944 


418 

689 

•.359 

254 

973 

•813 

903 


►883 
1121 
940 


POW  ER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


Carttun  dioxide.   Id-al  relation  to  cbim- 

!!••>■   lottH<-h.      Sftly.  loi."* 

Carl»on,  l{i-mov.-«  all  tip-.  11 -*J 
Carliorunduin    In    wln-li-hii    t<-li-t;ra|>h>'. 

Smith.  117o 

Card    Ind'-xlUK.      Kbodc8  '249 
Cari'V.       rrt-Hsurf     on     t'cr»-nlrlc     and 

crank  pin.  *lo3 
<.'arliart.       Saft-ty    vulv«-n,    Mprinito.    etc. 

.'.JO,  5«4.  WU 

Ccrl.      .Munliliml    plant.    M      -  *~\i> 

Carli-.      rhari   of  coal   li-  'VJ-s 

— Turliini--Mtnilon    coal    <■  ■  •              u.  •lio) 

— i-'iiH<-  itlzfN,  ■'{-pliaHc  motorB.  *114'J 
tarn«'Kli-  Iniitltutp.   1'ow»t  plant.     Wll 

Hon.  •'.»7 

044.  '.M!' 


<'arri:ir>i  •'<»;  motor  caae. 
t  ary.     Itoilcr  t<  hilnu. 

tniwy-ll«-dKi'M   holliT. 

t  aHt-ln>ii   rlttlncH      •"*«•  •llplni:." 

4'utawli)i   rIv.T  powi-r  syHti-m.  '1 

<  -liUm  of  ••Icctrldty. 

•h::.    •\:i4.    'isi.   •n»(i.   :{44.   ;jK*t.   4i:i. 

•.-•71.   5H.S.   "ttao.   "OSHl.   •7l'a.    •S41.   ••.•7u. 
•1017,    •HKW».    •ll.-.l 
-    Ilemovlnt;  commutatoi^.  *10U,  *•>•  •'• 

Cederblum.     t'aiiHi-x  of  (>n»;1n<*  falliirv. 
4VmeDt.    I'liM- Joint.    Jotinx-Manvilli-. 
iVm>-nt    rnotlnK'     S<-ymoiir. 
r<-nt<-nnl;il   rntlnt:     What   It   ni<  iin'<. 
4>nt*-r     •  rank,      ICrpalrint:         llanlon  : 

Ma^on.  •0<>«, 

fi-ntrnl     ;i..itln^'     lil.tnt.     I>l>iin<in.     In- 
i    Kn>f.  Co. 


"j'X2 


4.'i:i 

OS 

'ioi':{ 


•ii». 


<Vlit 


Crntral 
Ci-ntral 

coni*  In. 
<'•  Dtral'Vnlvi 

Stafford 
Ci-niral   i''iii 
iVnirlfiiL' 
I  hain    \'- 
C4iiil'.    I 


Matlon.       r.imo  k.»- 
Knowlton. 
nclnrx.     I>«*un 


■•■r  and. 
|)lant.     4-7. 
Power 


Uaractt : 
•122,   202. 
l.ijiniM-r  Co.'h  plant. 
s«-.'  "I'Mmp." 
-Ij   .hvator. 
.    a.    Ui-ltlnc    i-i>li(|iar.  il 


•4IMI 

.•{:{•_• 

701 
3M.-, 
7.^:: 

•115 
•70U 


Ch.i  irt. 

t'hiij „,    lc»'-cream    plant. 

fhari  ><•«•   a\m<   "Olacram."  » 

<'liartK.    I  arl.'»<  •k3».    •l(Hn. 

t'hari*.   Kni-ricy,   for  Ktcam.      N<-ll8on. 

rhari"   f'T   tank  nlf*.  •121, 

t'h<-inl«ir»-       S*-**   "Klmt-walcr   li'«<««»n«." 

Clil  ■       't  rhart:<-M. 

Chi  iMiroH  In.     .VdamK. 

4'hii  -.    Uriatlon   of   COj   1. 

thiiiiip  •  «     '  •>ucn*tf.      Vlall. 

4'liin)n>-.v».   St>-i-l  and  l>rlck.  coropan-d. 

t'tironoKri'pli.     Imrand. 

Cliiil)-  for  m'u«m1.     I'lowtnan.  2K 

MnuU  l>r.-«k«'r.  .S|M-clal,  WostlnK- 
U<»u- 

-CJvll  ui:.  <  •yclo|'<•dla.■• 

TIll; 
<'ivn    S<  I  u     dillulilonK. 

Clark'*  Bufiiniti;;  ijro<-.«« 

CIrani'n.  TuIm-   and   Hik-. 


•1142 

•.vn 
•l«;» 


•S.H4 
•204 
.   121 


.\rtUM(t«r«-.      S«ft(*-r. 
(IndlnK  from  dlauriim.      H>-< 
•   Th.-. 
r<rh.    iiiKh    Krhuol.      Wood 

'  ■•■ "■  'lion"     on 


Cl. 

CI. 

C|.  _ 

(*!•■«  ran*  •-. 

Clraranof. 

"CU-ruiont 

<°I<-V4'land 

wnnl. 
Cllnifi-rnv-         '  ■•• "■ 

«ai 

i'l.Hk  \ 

flal<h.      .  ...  ......       .,..„..,. 

l^-noiiv 
Cliilcli.    ^  nrlald<- a|MM-<|. 
CO,.        H<-<-      aUo      "CnrtMin 

"l,lm<'wnii-r  I.  •Minn." 
CO 
«'«.i.' 
Cl. 

c... 

c... 

Con 

Con: 

I 

Coal 

Con 

c... 

Coal 
Cnal 


tl70 

i.r.' 

:i4l,    11*17 

JO     "I  171 


.wfoni 
r^-npHllivl 


lllosldr 


motor  ••«».• 


o     -l-n.l.  •• 
production. 

I.or.l 


■  nil- 


»'«.i^-       an      f^l<'l 

■  U.     Spratfiic. 

■iind     l(cniov)ii    all 


..n   II  I  ti.  liaMl* 
(11,  ;itid  rhlmn<<y  |iii«»f» 
I'onil.iKii   •!        f.'rninlna 

1(1.   luM.t. 


Ilakrr 


•7iiO 
•O.M 
I14ti 

•iNS 

.1711 

•:u'2 


22« 
«7.H 

HMMl 
«)!»{• 
417 

•h40 
•.V»4 

1122 
SSI 

inis 


Coal.    < 
Coal   •.. 


i.ilit 

III  lurliln<> 


•tiMII 

•  I  4.'. 
2Af> 
MM 


1 1.  '  ■    rrulwra 

C..  I  >ni 

Co.t.    .,  1         llakiT 

Cnal  I                            fallacy       KIpl.  y 

Coal  I                       r« .    writing,    .ic 

.Mt.  n\.  (13.  HM\ 

Coal  «:aa  analyald    formiiln*                          1121 

Coal  hnndllnK.    .Mlmtown    plant                     •  4<; 


PJK.E 

Coal    handling,    •am.-'l.     Ifi»t  'OS 

t'oal    handling.    Iy<'ii  .iitlng    Co.    •' ■;  . 

i'oal    handling.    I'ot  Co.  •    - 

Coal    handllni;.    W.  -  •: 

<'onl.  Ii»-at  valu«-  -it.  fiuUi  L>ulonK'« 
formula.  liaM<*d  on  ultimat>- 
analynU— rhart.      rarl.-.  •h3« 

<°<ml.    ilo«-    <iovt.    luivi'H    moui*v    on.  S36 

Coal,     IlllnoU.    (ok.-    from  1030,     UXJ" 

Coal  :   ItH  com|>oH|iion  and  cumbuatlon. 

Booth.  11.". 

I'oal,    I.linilt) — lH>crcaae    of    weight    In 

tranMli.      s.,.ii  H4J 

Coal-mluInK    ;  Hampton.  •141 

foal    oil    <>n  ».      Mclntiwb.       .'>fl2 

Coal    p<M-k.'t.    .>> '  -t.'n.  •j4'.' 

Coal.    CurchasInK    and    burning.       itlcb- 

ardnon.  213 

t.'oal.      l(<-clalmln;:     from     culm     pile ; 

KIntCHtoii   washi-ry,  etc.      Koifeni.        •lOSS 
t'fval    r<-<  ord.«       Ito^art    et   al. 

242.   510,    •727,   987 
Coal   rccordlnc.      <'ary.  •SSO 

t'ual.  Runof-mln)-,  and  coal  briquets — 
<;«'ol.    Survey    tcata.      (loss. 

2.;o.   510,   811.    1165 
Cual     Kelcction     for     boiler     furnaces. 

Itandall.  642 

Coal.    Slack.    KItumlnoufi.    Saving    by.       •M83 
Coal.    SIn.k     r.  irnlniT       Martin.  732 

Coal.  Sii.  'ion.  fiovt.  Iiul- 

l.ti:  Wc<-k».  801 

Coal  -!•  1   r.  821 

C..:i  .ml    ti-Ht*.      iKjan*-.  232 

('..  iVH.  41,    263 

••«■...  .   .    ^^         iiig  and  <'<jklng." 

tii-ol.  ."^urv.  t704 

Coal    tenlini;  at   elec.   ry.   power   house. 

.KnderHon.   Ind.  819 

Coal.  ThrowInK  away  by  ton.     Crane.       *59i 
•  oal.  Volatll.-  matter.  Nature  of.     Por- 
ter: oviii.  156 
foRl    w<luht<'     Lawoult.                                       5.^0 
CoaN.    K.M'kv    Mtn..   Waxbinir  an<l  cok 

ing.  ntM 

<;<>altl<-ld.    IlllnolH.      Bement.  777 

roes.       Wnli-r-ttilw    boiler    furnace    de- 

Hitrn.  .".2'.' 

Coilc.   fhok.'.    WlndinjTK    for.  43!) 

Coke  from  Illinois  coal.  103«i.   1007 

Coke  pr«»durtlon,  V.  8.  220 

Cole    valv<-H    for   stoker   control.  •1137 

Colli.Rivnie.   Water  at.     Wilson. 

.1M0,  3Jto.  t;.s»;,   1063 
«'ollln».    .\.    a.    Screens    for   pump   suc- 
tions •'■; 
Collins.  II.  K.  Wrenchis.                          •! 
-•S<-ttlnt:    Cummer   engine.                  •IM.     ^ 
— ••Sbafllng,"   etc;   "Boilers."  ;--« 
Colorado   onglnetTs'    licenses.  737 
Cfduiiilda  plant  manflgi-m<-nt  cour«<-.              W.< 
Combustion.  «ompl.t.-.   «;eitlim    KIrlin.     •4fi^ 
Coft;t>'i«tl<.n    formulas.      N.h'Iv  ;    llak<-r  : 

':  205,   41^ 

C"  l.imewnter  lessons. 

.:    •-«'»    •All.   •668,   ^691,  723, 
•  •41.  •981,  •1004. 
113 


t       -li." 
autl      sparking. 


•01 


|.\1..- 


r«.. 


r.'.i 

('••I .".  -.  .. 

Lees:   Jahnki*:    l>'  - 
llaolem  :   Br..wn  :    I 


•  lamp :  sand 

•80.- 
ism.  3^^ 

'  '  ■nejr ; 
-11: 


•  'ommiilalor  troubles,  etc.     I 
Comniiitnti.r  troubles     YouUk- 

C..I 

f..i 
c 

jV  a  r  ■ 
ComniMla: 

<;r.-  ■ 

C..II 

c.. 
€■•■ 


Can-  of      M.ad. 

•:.  II. 

Can-  of      I'slng  eni.-ry 

4N1 

'•■■■■'     'I'   on       MclnKwh 

.'.rtv 

ic.     and     othi-r 

UI.       1.14      •151. 

•|;m 

•*. 

ic-ltalrlng           Work : 

71. 

•5..- 

•II. 

54K1 

V.   •«! 

.  350 

•  '••mpr 


\:itw»iila 
I'-y.    OasenglOr 

I.OW,  aavi-s  coal.     Copley  ; 
Auld:  t'uBiilnctaan 

6o.  ni 
■Ion     KIndlDK        front        'ard 


•»» 

•aa«.   tOSN 

•M 

•507 

MV 


("ONDE.NSEK 

8«re  aUo  °Alr  pump,'  "Pump  " 
.MrrooLd    .-f.n.li  nslng    plant.      Maw 

7M 
—  ^  in  miov  pUai-       K88 

k.  '    ■ 


W.   Va 

»  urfr    derlce 

.'.    Mesta    "H«l- 

for     ductuatliis     water 


exiMiiUt 
*    I'aapar. 

.  .j..-^.  .  ;,...,..  .  .,  "   --..If. 

•  «  I  ;.  • 
-Injection  water  reiiui.  i. 

-MInneapolla  store  ouim 
-Parsons  turbine  plant.  Bui-no«  Ain-s. 

«•_•    2*»0 
-P.nn.-ll     rl  1 

m.iur    I' 

dfns«.r«  . 

agrut. 
'Pllitiig.   «;ood.   n.«-d.d 
-PltTTi.'    In    ...n.I.  n- r       M  u'l.   - 


•rs 


601 
»««1 


.'•T 


1108 

31S 

•Wt 

771 


xl 


•1094.  1117 
and 
Jet 


."*urtB€-«.  i-otiilrniM-r  dpTelopoirnt — 
Karly  forms  ;  stills :  advent  of 
turliliK'  :  ty|M'S  of  air  pumps  and 
c. ml.  liner*  ;  condens«'r  deslcn.  etc. 

<  irr..k 

Surfn  -  ' -  • ' -• 

N. 

i\  II.  .1.  r  .    IT-  ' 
.Mb<'rger  :  Con- 


•Mt 


,.    - 

•»4a 

1  <  ..III  riil|i» 

••ond<  ns.r  t 

1  ]«.i.i 

t'o 

468 

•StTrfn.-.'    rnni! 

•  nsor.    Modern 

'^rr-k's 

1  - 
h. 
pill 
tur. 

II. 


.tl..n 


t:  »t3  ,   (.uutrall  <v%  . 

tr:iti«f.  r      IJif'-  1. 


•2.14, 


r.    Ibr 


>« 


2«S 


.VI 1 
.Til 


•  :a 

•IM 
«1 

•n« 

MtOO 

ni» 

M 


•UI   tlM>  rt*Bds 


\4id    MlBe 

•IM 

|.|r>. 

•  .-,   ••    .    •:» 

•«.»« 

•flO 


rrtaiU 


I.  IX. 


307 

ilf 

■•* 

4 


lilt 

••  in 


TH 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


PAGE 

Conveyer  for  wood.     Sears.  •977 

Conveyer  safety   device,   Spencer.  *993 

Cooling  agent.  Saturated  air.     Pennell.     •128 
Cooling  gas-engine  charge.     Junge.  ^237 

Cooling  jacket  water.     Leese.  *1059 

Cooling  machinery  with  small  fan.  •IIG 

Cooling  towers,  Alberger.  •488 

Cooling  towers.      Blake.  301 

Cooling   towers.   Design   and   operation. 

Bump.  *1094,    ♦1076,    1717 

Cooper-Corliss  engine.  Tenn.  Co.'s.  *818 

Copenick  plant.     Rogers.  ^840 

CoDperhill,  Tenn.,  boiler  explosion.  *1150 

Corliss.     See  "Engine,  Steam,"  "Valve." 
Corroding  substances  in  water.     Greth.     1091 
Corrosion  ;  electrolvsis  ;  superheat. 

•405,  770,  797,  935 
Corrosion,  Impurities  causing.  Greth.  410 
Corson.     Heat  losses,  elec.  station.  213 

Cost  of  electricity — Large  gas  engines.     *917 
Cost   of  installation   and  operation   of 

electric  plants.     Kider.  943 

Cost  of  power.  Actual.  219 

Polakow  ;  Samuels  ;  Jackson. 

506,  688,  1111 
Costs,  Power,  5000-k.w.  central  station. 

Knowlton.  305 

Counter,    Electric — Water    measuring.        *357 
Courtesy  due  engineer.     Miller.  804 

Crane,     Elec,     work.     Points.       Fenk- 

hausen.  *887 

Crane  for  turning  fly-wheels.     Lane.  '69 

Crane,     Traveling,     troubles,     Remedy- 
ing.     Kelley  ;    Jahnke  ;   Doe. 

66,  ^504,  •llO? 
Crane,  W.   E.  High  water  level.  198 

— Cause  of  engine  wreck. 

563,  849,  938,  1165 
— letting  steam  eccentrics.  609 

— Standpipps,   water-power  supply.  •627 

— Two   eccentrics.  891 

— -Absorption  refrigerating  machine.         •1152 
Crank.  Center,   Repairing.     Hanlon.  '606 

(Marine  type.)     Mason.  •1023 

Crank  disk,  Loose,  Securing.     Brandon.  '1064 
Crank    disk.    Repairing.      Higgins.  ^461 

Crank-pin    and   eccentric,    Pressure    on. 

Carey.  ^133 

Crank-pin   box  design ;   crank  pin   and 
crank-shaft     material — .Hot    bear- 
ings. ^638 
Williamson.  979 
Crank-pin,   Cracked.     Knowlton.                  •IIS 
Crank-pin,  Hot,  Removing  cause.     Tyron.   ^66 
Crank-pin  oiler,  Nugent.                                 ^221 
Crank-pin      on      center-crank      engine, 

Tool  for  turning.     Bradbury.  'IOCS 

Crank-pins    always    wear   flat?      Piatt; 
Barkelcw  :  Stivason  ;  Taylor. 

•290,  557,  732,  •OSS 
Crank-pins,    Loose,    Fixing.      Dunn.  468 

Crankshaft  breaks   repeatedly.  119 

Crank-shaft    repair,    Unusual.      Blake.        •168 
Crank-shafts,    Angle   of  deflection,   etc. 

H.    H.  •TOS,    943 

Crank — To      prevent      oil      throwing — 

Guard.      Whitmarsh.  •70 

Cranks,  Problem  in.     Carruthers.  ^646 

"Creole,"  turbines  to  come  out.  1084 

Criticism,    Condenser.      Fischer.  690 

Crocker- WTieeler  generators.         *1061,   *1151 
Cross.     Barrus  calorimeter.  335,  689 

Crosshead  guides.  Repairing.     McGahey.  *685 
Sweet.  939 

Crosshead   pins.   Cast   Iron.     .Johnson ; 

Hecklinger.  163 

Crooshead  repair.     Dispenette.  '288 

Crossheads  of  British  engines.  •278 

Cruiser  ti-sts,    Scout. 

6.55,  693,  699,  778,  862,  ^905,  1027 
Cnlm.     Sef;  "Coal." 

Cummer   engine   valves.    Setting.      Col- 
lins; Francis;  Gaston.  •ISl,  381 
Canningbam  boiler-compound  feeder.       •I  175 
Curtis   fxhaust-steam   turbines,   Phila. 
Curtis   turbine  compared   with   Rateau. 
Curtis  turbine  development.     Burleigh. 
Curtis   turbines,   Allentown,   Penn. 
Curtis  turbines,  Hydraulically  operated 

valves  for.     Butler. 
Curtis  turbines,  "North  Dakota's." 
Curtis  turbines,  Potomac  Elec.  Co.'s.  . 
Curtis  turbines.   Small.     Orrok. 

•853,  904,  1169 
Cutoff,  Auto.,  for  rope  drive,  Barnes'.       •SOS 
Cutoff-equallzlng  method,  New.  Living- 
ston. 
Cutoff,  Long-range — Coal  consumption. 

Lane. 
Cutoffs — Steam-consumption  diagram. 

•602,  891,  936,  1166 
Cylinder  accidents.     Knowlton  ;  Ceder- 

blom.  •118,  279 

Cylinder,   Bolt   head   in.      Wakeman.  *186 

Cylinder  bolts.  Will  load  on,  change? 

Glick  et  al.   ^609,   •810,  894,  940,  •1025 


•785 

•1103 

765 

•46 

•459 
•909 
•586 


•293 
339 


Cylinder,  Broken,  Repairing.     Pales.  ^1114 
Cylinder    head    cut?      What    knocked. 

Hamlin.  168 

(Packing  rings.)     Wiegand.  ^808 

Cylinder   head.   Tightening.     Collins.  '22 

Cylinder  lubricator.  Grease,  Ohio.  'lOSS 

Cylinder-oil  distributor.     Rinns.  •SOS 


Cylinder,       I'ump,       repair — Inserting 

strip.     Kinsey.  ^166 

Cylinder   oil-tank   arrangement.  *67 

Cylinder    ratios.    Compound,    for   equal 

work.  210,  215 

Cylinder,   Split  on  "St.  Paul."  *190 

Cylinder,  Steam-engine,  Heat  loss.  1122 

Cylinder  top  blown  off,  Poughkeepsie. 

♦613,  891 

Cylinders,     Lubricants    for.         Sewell  ; 

Taggart.  285,  805 

Cylinders  of  angle  compound — Should 
the  high-  or  low-pressure  be  ver- 
tical? *916 

Cylinders  of  British  high-speed  en- 
gines. ^277 

Cylinders,    Offset.      Phetteplace.  904 


Dake  steam  turbine.     Orrok.     •852,  904,  1169 

Dallett  air  compressor.  *392 

Damper,  Flue,  at  West  Point.  *751 

Damper  regulation  effect.     Boardman.  *885 

Damper  regulator,  Hydraulic.  •435 

Damper-regulator   piping.      Wakeman.  *273 

Dangerous  omission.     Wakeman.  *228 
Darling.      Safety-valve  capacity. 

*473,    605,    480,    511,    525,    530, 

*694,    728,    905 

Dashpot  covers,  Making.     Sparber.  *510 
Dashpot  troubles.     Davis  ;  Westerfield  ; 
Harding  ;  Scribner  ;  Smith  ;  Jones  ; 

Boyd;  Copley.  200,  467,  685,  772,  *1021 
Dashpots,   Worn.     Ferguson  ;    Sheehan. 

•377,  810 
Davidson.     British  high  speed  engines. 

•275,  *325,  *369 

Dean  Bros,   duplex  pot-valve  pump.  *1128 
Dean,   F.   W.     Economy  of  4-valve  en- 
gines.                                                  1098,  385 

Dean,  N.     Miller  &  Lux  plant.  *550 

Definitions,    Queer.      Woodwell.  132 

De  Laval  1.   p.  pumping  plant.  *720 
De   Laval   steam   turbines.      Orrok. 

•850,  904,  1169 

De  Laval  Turbine,  largest  in  Sweden.  737 
Del.    Lack.    &   West.,    Hampton    plant. 

Rogers.  *141 
Denver,    Disastrous    boiler    explosion.  1176 
Depreciation,  Plant  equipment.     Neely.  *1028 
Detroit    return    trap.  *138 
Detroit    steam-separator    test.  836 
Dexter  valve-reseating  machine.  *822 
Diagram.        See     also     "Cliart,"      "In- 
dicator," etc.  • 
Diagram,   Belting-power.      Barth.  *169 
Diagram — 'Verifying       motor       connec- 
tions.     Osborn.  *380 
Diagram,   Carle's.                 *838,    *1001,  *1142 
Diagrams   for   steam   coils.  *259 
Diagrams    —    Rivcted-joint       strength. 

Jeter.  *30,  42 

— Diagrams — Why   engine   won't   carry 

load?      Blake.  *1164 

Diehl    apparatus.    Keystone    plant.  *1042 

Diesel    engines — Cost    of    power.  219 
Diman,    W.    G.      Turbine    and    engine 

for  navy.  799 
Direct-current    generators,     Operating. 

Meade.  *546 

Direct-current    motors.      Fenkhausen.  ^282 
Disks,    Composition,    for    globe    valves. 

Crane.  606 
Dixon.  Selection  of  fittings.  241,  769,  1021 
— Increasing   weight   of   governor   balls.      882 

Doane.      Coal    specifications   and  tests.  232 

Dobson   pistons.  ^277 

Doctor,    Engineer    also.      Packard.  559 
Dome    heads,    Bracing.      Smith ;    Boh- 

man.                                                ^633,  *1023 

Donaldson  Co.'s  elevator  pump,  etc.  ^997 

Donkin.     Steam  jacketing.  ^172 

Dover   boiler   works,    Lee    furnace    at.  ^614 

Dowagiac,    Mich.,    boiler   explosion.  *1083 

Down-draft   furnaces.      Van   Brock.  *377 

Draft  and  boiler  capacity.  391 

Draft,  Forced  and  natural.     Richards.  ^434 

Draft  gage,  Ellison.  ^702 

Draining  dry-vacuum   pump.  ^586 
Draining     high-pressure     steam     lines. 

Fischer.  ^454,  1064 

Draining  main  steam  pipe.     Dixon.  ^848 

Draft,  Proper  distribution  of.  1172 

Draining  steam   pipes.      Relchard.  *417 
Draining  steam  piping.     Bloss  ;  Beach  ; 

Rayburn.  294,  647,  772,  1064 

"Drawing,  Freehand  and  Perspective." 

Everett  and  Lawrence.  tl039 
"Drawing,        Mechanical."         Wilson ; 

McMaster.  t439 

Drill    and   bolt   sizes.  ^20 

Drill,    Breast,    Using.      Cleveland.  •464 
Drill  or  tap  squaring  tool  for  use  with 

ratchet.     Richards.  •I  109 

Drilling  a  tank.     Vlall.  *420 
Drip.     See  also  "Draining,"  "Piping." 

Drip-pipe    location.      D.    E.  823 

Drive,  Angle,  Chain,  Max  Ams.  ^948 

Drops   of  ink.     Ink  Maniac.  681 

Drum,   H.p.  to  turn.     S.   C.   G.  •823 


Drum-motion    distortion,   etc.,    Inaccur- 
acies due  to.      Smallwood. 

•192,   379,   *490,   *1019 
Dubell,    Bloss,    et    al.      Draining   pipes. 

294,  647,   772,   10€4 
Dubruiel.     Watt-hour  meters.  *28,   *340 

Dulong's  formula,  Chart  based  on.  ♦838 

Durant.      Graphite  for  gas  engines.  -374 

Durban.     Uniform  boiler  laws.  986 

Dyehouse    plant    improvements.      Shad.      894 
Dynamite,  Steam  boilers  and.  175 

Dyn|amo.       See     "Electricity,"     "Com- 
mutator," "Brush,"  etc. 
Dynamo    failed    to   generate.      Walker.        690 
Dynamometer,     Transmission.       Kener- 

teon.  903,  ^1072 

Dynamometers,  Electric.     Quick.  ^209 


Easton    Gas.    and    Elec.    Co.'s    plant. 

Binns.  1007 
Eccentric  and  crank  pin.  Pressure  on. 

Carey.  ♦ISS 

Eccentric  center.  Effect  of  shifting.  313 
Eccentric  keyway,  Laying  out.  Wiegand.  ^71 
Eccentric  rod.  Broken,  Repair.     Richards.  "62 

Eccentric  troubles.      Merrell.  67 

Eccentrics,  Double.     Crane.  891 

Eccentrics,   Steam,   Setting.     Crane.  609 

(At  90  deg.)   Roundy.  1019 

Economizer,    Installing  an.  657 

"Economy  Factor."     Hawkins.  t578 

Eddy  currents — Catechism.  389 

Edge   Moor  boilers,  Milwaukee.  *442 

Edison  Electric  station,  Brockton.  •SIS 
Education,        Technical.          Johnston'; 

Johnson.  266,  556 
Edwards  air  pump.  ♦963 
EflBciency.  Emerson.  724 
Efficiency.  Johnson.  *1011 
Efficiency,  High — West  Point  engines.  "781 
Efficiency  test,  3-wire  balancing  dyn- 
amos. Himmelsbach.  •lOOO 
Ejector,   Improved,  Lunkenheimer.  ♦906 

ELECTRICITY. 

See   also   "Commutator,"   "Brush," 
"Light,"      "Polarity,"      "Battery," 
etc. 
— Allentown,  Penn.,  turbine  plant. 
— 'Alternating-current   wires,   Loss  in. 
— Alt. -cur  generators,  Genl.  Elec. 
— 'Alternators,  Belt-driven,  Genl.  Elec. 
— Armature  repair.     Fenkhausen. 
— Batteries — Limewater  lessons.      ♦733, 
— Belt    of    exciter    breaks — What    hap- 
pens? 725,    976,    ♦1022 
— Carnegie   Inst.   elec.   equipment ;  me- 
ters,   etc. 
• — Catechism — Motors — Wiring  ;  setting 
brushes  ;       starting  ;       operating  ; 
troubles  ;    sparking  ;    replacing    ar- 
mature   coil ;    balance  ;    filing    and 
removing    commutators ;    tempera- 
tures ;      eddy      currents ;      damp- 
ness ;  bearing  and  shaft  troubles  ; 
noisy    d.c.    motors ;    testing    arma- 
ture balance  ;  motor  speed,  etc. 
♦83,    ♦134,    ♦ISl,    ♦190,    344,    388, 

413,    *571,    588, 
Removing  commutators.  *190, 

Induction  motors — Installing  ;  ope- 
rating ;  starting.  •696,  ^723, 
Typical    d.c.    generators. 

•970,  *1017,  *1060,  ♦llSl 
— Central    light    and    power    stations, 

U.    S. 
— Cost    of    installation    and    operation 

of   electric    plants.      Rider. 
— Cost   of   producing  electricity.     Ash- 
croft. 
—'Crane  work — Brush  holders  ;  switch- 
es   to    prevent    overtravel.      Fenk- 
hausen. 
— CJLirrent     diredtion     mado     irrespec- 
tive  of   rotation. 
— Debt     of     electricity     to     high-speed 

steam  engine.     Sprague. 
— Dynamo,    Compound-wound,    Reversing.    313 
— -Dynamo  cooling  with  small  fan.  ^116 

— Dynamo  failed  to  generate.  Walker.  690- 
— Dynamos,  Balancing,  3-wire,  Effi- 
ciency test.  Himmelsbach.  ♦lOOO 
— Dynamometers,  Electric.  Quick.  ^209 
— Easton  gas  and  dec.  plant.  ^1007 
— Electric  discharge  from  steam.  Gluys.  294 
— Elecl.    Engineering   I^ectures.      Steln- 

metz.  t578 

— Electric     I>ight     Asso.,     Natl.,     Con- 
vention. *1115,  ♦lOTe,  1078,  ^1094,  •1100' 
— Fuse    sizes,    3-phase    motors — Chart. 

Carle.  ^1142 

— Gas  engines,  Large,  for  elec.  stations.  ^917 
— Generator,  Broken  shaft  wrecked.  ^438 
— ^KJenerator   frequency.   Changing.  313 

— Ground,  Trouble  caused  by.  Strong.  •290' 
— Grounding  secondaries.  Report  on.  1120 

— Heat  losses,   Elec.   power  station.  213 

— Interpole  motor.     Dates.  103T 


•46 
263 
♦765 
•353 
•794 
•775 


'103. 


♦630 
♦605 


►841 


332 
943 


280^ 


1121 
745. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


ELECTRICITY. 

— LlKbtlDK  condition,  Peculiar — rircult 

breaker  open.  Greer  et  al.      'TO.   *334 

— LlKtitlng  station,  Brockton.     Reed.  'SIS 

— Motor-armature  troutile.  Kudolpb.  '240 
— Motor  compenBators.      Toole.  •52 

— Motor  connections,  VerUjIng  by  dta- 

irram.     OslKjrn.  'SSO 

— Motor  controller     troubles.       Jahnke.      'OT-l 
— Motor,  Difficulty  In  starting.     Crane.      'SOS 
—•Motor    drive.    Individual,    for    wood- 
working       machinery.  Central 
I'enn.    Lumt>er  Co.a   Westlngbouse 
motors.  *116 
— Motor-generators   vs.   rotary  convert- 
ers.      Farm-r.  1119 
—Motor,    Induction,    oiM-rateg    as    gen- 
erator ;  running  with  water  wheel. 
Crane.  197 
— Motor,    Induction,    starter,    Wagner.     •265 
— Motor.    Induction,    S-pbase.    Testing. 

Stacey.  •361 

— Motor  records  on  Index  cards.   Fenk- 

bausen.  *4]e 

— Motor  trouble,  Sbeehan's — Water- 
driven  pap.r  mill  Fletcher ; 
Helms  :  Kllroy  ;  llaar  :  Jackson  : 
Brown.  161,  •205.  884 
— Motor.  Hump,  control  syntem.  Re- 
mote :  starting  device,  etc.     Parker. 

•1169 
— Motor  nsed   as  dynamo.      R.   M.  313 

^Motors.  D.  c.  Installation  and  care  : 
underwriter^'  wire  table  ;  ratlni; 
table  :  fuse  table  :  circuit  brakern. 
etc.      FenkhauRen.  •2*2 

— Motors,    D.    c,    IxH-ation    and    repair 

of    troubles.       Fenkbausen.  •832 

— Motors.   Emergency  conditions  for. — 

Tool  driving      Hull.  •7^3 

Malcolm.  '806 

— Motors,  large,  d.  c.  Westlnghonse.  ^483 
— Motors.     .'.<K»-     or     250  volt     svstem. 

Chiaholm  ;    Itrown.  295 

— Obscure  electric  circuit  trouble — 
Arc  lightlnK:  llgbtning  arrester, 
etc.     MInton's:     Mc<7ann  :     Kllroy. 

•335.   4«2 
— Obmmeter.  Testing  with.     MoMman. 

•938.   •939 
— OperatinK  d    c   generators  and  rotary 

converters.       Meade.  •546 

— Peat.    Electricity    from.      Hoffmelster.      307 
— Phasing   a     c.    generators.      Foote.        '1048 
Connecting     up     transformers     for 
oynchronlilng  and   phasing   lamps. 
Foote  •1093 

— Reactance    colls    In    generating    sta- 
tions.     Junk<-rHr4  Id.  1117 
— Reversing  <l    c    mnihlneit      M'Dermott.    '679 
— 8<Tles     circuit     supplied     from     con- 

Blant    potential.      (jrove.  416 

— 8n>-irs    address    before    1.     E.     E. 

Power  transmission,  Gt.  Brit. :  gma 
power  as  aid  to  elec  Industries. 
Booth  ;    Rot>Hon.  ISO,  216 

— Houthern    Power    Co.'s    system.  "1 

— HwltchtMjard  design.  OenI  Elec.  Co.  '448 
— Kytirhronlxlng    trouble ;    rotary    con- 

Greer  •725.    •974.   1020 

—  1  circuit.  738 

—  1  nystem  with  one  dynamo; 

niMt.r  <  <>m|><>nsatoni.      Poole  'SJ 

—Transformer     connections.       Carroll 

•J4J>.   408,   561,   646 
— Transformer      <•  Sphaae, 

and  resultltik-  Williama.     •716 

— Transformer    Im;  Rerd  : 

layman.  •lliS 

— TurlM)  gi-nerators.  Rateau-Hmbot.  •662.  •I  100 
— Watt  hour  meters.  Testing  •28,   ^340 

— West    Point.   <;     K    equipment.  •786 

Electrolysis  and  corrosion.  Johnson  797 
Electrolysis    and    superheat        lawyer; 

lirown  :   HeKiin  •405.  770.  938 

Eleklra  steam  turbine.  Perkins.  ••5.I5.  779 
Elevator.  Ash,  Tel.  scope.  Chain  Belt.  •701 
Elevator.    Hydraull.-       Baxter. — "Stan 

dard"     plunger     elevators.       •I  20. 

•154.    •230.    •41HJ 
II and  rope      control;      aaie      lifters; 

locking   device  ^544 

Elevator  plungers.  Lubricating.     O'Con- 
nor. (^IM 
Elevator     pomp.     Daoceroua    omiaslon 

Wakeman.  •22ii 

Elevator   pump,   42  In..   I.   p.  •997 

Elevator  rop.-    vibration.       Ilaatlnga.  980 

Elevators.     Hydraulic.     Otis,     Carnegie 

In«t  •10© 

Ell  I  slokeni  •--- 

Ei: 

K.I'  •..- 

I-  ".    :.     my      ruutiltlnns,      elec        miHi.r* 

II 'ill  •;ii;{    'sofl 

l:tn.r-.in         B«-H«     nil. I    .ti.iln.     ...n. 1  i.»l 

—  liTatbrr    N  '■ 
Emmet        Low 

Energy    charii    .    ....,,..„ 

Energy    In   pound   nf   sieani       l,ow.  *'i'ja 


ENGINE.    INTERNAI^COMBUSTION 

8e«'    also    "Gas." 
— .Mcohol   vs.  gasolene.     Steely  173 

— Back   tiring.      Gaa-englne.      LeeiK-  80« 

— Blastfurnace    practice.     Gas    engine 


ENGINF     HTEAM. 


rACg 


in 

— COj    motor.     Carroll's. 

— Cooling  with  small   fan 

— Cylinders,    Graphite    for.      LHirant 

_   j.i  .    1      :^;;ines — Cost    of    power. 

rlety,  gas  engines.     Jones 
calculations     t»ased      on 
\Miurii>'trlc  analyses  of  fuel  and  ex- 
haust   gases.       Westcott. 

— Gas-engine  compression  and  efficien- 
cy ;  Influence  of  burnt  gases,  etc. 
Percy. 

— Gas-engine  economy  —  Steam-tur 
bine  addition  ;  concentrating  Jack 


819.  820 
944,  949 
M16 
374 
219 
682 


693 


84 


et-water    heat. 
>as-engine     --fn'  1 
High    (    t 
tures.      I 
-Gas  englU' 


Kasley.  •«!.    350 

III  y.      Improving — 
and   weak   mix- 


The 


— Gas  engine  In  blaiit  furnace  practice 
Orrok. 

— "Gas    Engine."      Jones. 

— Gas  engine.  Large,  Future. 

— Gas-engine  pumping  station  for  Are. 
300O-h.p.,    Pbila. 

— Gas  engines  and  en^neers.  John- 
son. 

— Gas  engines  and  producers  dis- 
cussed at  Electric  Light  Conven- 
tion. 

— G'as  equipment,  British  battleship 

— Gas  power  as  aid  to  electrical  in- 
dustries.     Robson. 

—Gas    power.    Gary,    Ind. — Allis  Chal 
mers     electric     engines ;     Westing 
hon*e   find    Allls-Chalmera   blowing 
•281, 
for  marine  service. 

—  ■  •  ngln.-,     Balky,     Curing — 

Mi'"  k-i   In   connecting   rod.      Smith 
— <tasolene  engine,  Turbine.  Stommel'd 
• — <i<-ttlng    most    out    of    gns    engines  . 
heater    for    circulating    water,    by 
exhaust  gn^eg,  etc      'lilden.  " 

— Grist-mill     exp.-rience — Jacobson    en- 
gine :  Sm,|th  producer.     Messenger. 
Cednrblom. 
— Harml<-HS    scare — Lnburnt    gases    In 

••xhaust   muffler.      Ralph. 
— Hltand  miss  engine  ana  suction  pro- 
ducer. Good  record   by.      McArdell 
— Horsepower   of  gas  engine.    Kstimat- 
ing.       Poole. 

—  Ignif!'"    ' --' ■       ^•-• -1  -       ^-    -:; 

—  Incr. 

lar. 

- — Jimn'r-i     •  H"  riiih  III  >i    •■Ii    ii.-.i,.). 

baeuser  engine  at   Eloerde  :   Koert- 
ing  engines.     Junge. 

—  International    Harvester    gBf    •  ngine. 
— Jacket  water.  Cooling      I.*.!*.  « 
— I^rge    gas   engines    for    electric    sta- 


904 
308 

971 

1704 

174 

•971 

489 


1116 
576 


216 


•512 
137 


•646 
•661 


1008 


617 
1023 


511 
1027 


572 

A8 


•287 
•480 

lORf. 


tions — European     practice;     plant 
layout,   power  cost,   etc       Andr.w« 


ne,     Peru.     Ind 
r  Jarki't  wafer 

f:    .1    R. 

nglne 
Tr    A»»o 
„  :ie    running    '^n 
1.      \ui)   Rruasell. 
Tech.  education.    Johnston 
lacer  gas  power.     Straub 

•H57.    S99,    0 
—  Producer  gas    power    plant.    Swift    k 

Co.'s.      -•"''-- 


917 

•496 

•244 

439 

•88 

4U9.    1006 


•hS7 

•266 


Y.     wit' 
Smith  \.r 


M 


^tem.       Little 

-  'I     11  ■  r     k-ii"    engine. 

— Tr.  nton    "TyjH.    A  "    gas    . 

-Xslve    setting    nni    lirnttl 

<7as-englne. 

Ilusrhman  ;   .v 

meley  ;       Tild.  • 


EMMNE.    MTEAM 

See   also   "Valve." 
off."     "Indicator." 
.•tc 
*  -'•I--'      Rod    broke 


•873 

•636 

•1118 

•97r. 

•lOHO 

Dgin* 

•HS2 

n     Hill 

Ir..- 

•K)! 

,     tA«»' 

Pistol, 
"Foundntl.'ii 


•lis 

•lOS 


->*.   Engine.     Knowlton 
Inst     enrtne   room. 
-'-.........'•        ■■:■'■■:  n       Dean;    Bar- 
net  t  :     -  •122.    202.    TW 
— Center  cr                          Tool    for    turn- 
ing pin  "11      i.raiibury.  •106S 
— Compound   cylinder   ratios   for  equal 

^'>T^  210.   215 

'  :.i<l.r    ratio.       1T» 

my       Dean.     649 

•»ure.       Lte 

Witt 

—  Compound,  Single  acting.  Reavell. 
— (.'ompounds.    Max     t>earlng    preaaorv 

in. 
— Compounding      engines — Horsepower 

— Wakeman     discussed  ^Diacrama 

submitted.     Harding. 

(Com(M>und  vs.  simple.)     Baacom. 

<Pow.r    Increase)       «. amitbera. 

Hardlng. 

Jm-kn/.n 

All  Mtb  ;    Talbott. 

— Corl  .«  first.     Wilson. 

-Cuii.i  -   tting.       Collins; 

Fruu.io.    O^ktuu.  •181.   381 

— I'yilnd.r  aeddent,  Poughkeepale.  •^13,  801 
— Cylinder  ratio  for  compound  engine*.  179 
— iN-slgn.    Current    Practice.      Bull 

—  |Kni»>|.'    engines-  -llcS4-rve    power    for 

■'     .'-l.-s.      Wakeman 
•m  ignorance. 

m        kinks — Leaky        stop 

entering      small       piston 

table    for    oil    cans.     etc. 


MS 


1172 


•166 

sss 

•<0« 

720 
1U2« 

lies 

•IMS 


1385 


•150 
1178 


valv.  : 
rings  ; 
Heglln 
Knuln.-  ilze  for  dynamo,   Finding 

—  Kiik'ln.-  turning    device.       Young. 

—  Krleti>"  engine  and   valve. 

—  Exhaust        connectlona.        Waatefnl 

•  'rane. 
— Experim<>nt,    Steam  engine,    at    Arfl 
san    School-  -Taking  ateam   at    "n. 
••nd  only  when   running  light.  <  ic 

Sweet. 

— Failure.    Causes    of — Water    In     cyl 
Inder     Force   of   blow. 

—  Failures — Cylinder,  crank  pin.  piston 

rod,  crank-abaft,  valve  chest.  .  tr 
disnilvntitak*.  1   "f  r<H-tangular  cast 
111.        i 

—Foil.. 

—  FounUatluu, 
— Foundation, 
— Foun!    ■ ' 

—  Fotj : 

—  li:.'.  -..     : 


\alvts.  (urod  lul>rtcati 
standard    makes,    etc 


•979 
543 

•463 
•93 

•561 


t>t»2 
•279 


of     a     casually 


t.in. 
.   LK)lta  broke. 
Cuncrrte  for.     C.  D 
Grooi       Kerr 

1.   M. 

•118 

730 

90 

es 
to 

1               ■■  an 
•    !•  r. 

'.rowth 

IWT 
of— 
-Ef 

.   3S>5 

list 

•966 

ties.      Wrar   uit   in-ar- 


>369 


ill. 

all. 

p. 

(I 


■•  rrank.  etc.     Bf7aB. 
«"'»    'iO.  8»4.  'WSS.  •V^l 
)       J     U.  439 

BucoM  TSt 

3I« 
'Ine   and    rrrtp. 
0  T99 

.SAt.i>  and  rotary.     Bnf- 

-III.-   cuMMMiada,   Loops  to      1ST 
aedal— AAtn— la  ^740 

iiglBe  entbaaUat. 

•1099 


of      dlCereni      atam) 


iSr*.   <>r«l*er   •«•*• 


%. 


Si 

IIM 
lOST 


tnt 


<in.«  s(   <.rr.ni«'.h     I  tii 
Itrai-kei.     Rvpalring        WbllBsr*! 


w    k   b<.M  .rf 
••Ct»e«.     iWa 


•«  -v 

109: 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


ENOINK.    STEAM. 

— Steam  engines.  Low-pressure  turbines 
and — Combination,  etc.  Bibbins  : 
Battu  :    Emmet.  •72,    241.    471,    •4S5 

— Stop,     Home-m.ade.       Binns.  *937 

— Stop,    Safety.      Viall.  *241 

— Stops,    Automatic.       Rauch.  G7 

— Tandem-compound  engine.  Analysis 
of  steam  and  inertia  forces. 
HoUman.  •62.i 

— Tonn.    Co.s    Cooper-Corliss.  'SIS 

• — TestinfT,   Steam-encine.     Wisner.  ♦1111 

— Throttles — Danger.       Webster.        ^     *1058 
— Twiss    Corliss    engine.  A     *1035 

— Valve    gears.    Reversing.      Rice.  '825 

— "Valveless"  engine.     Booth.  261 

— Watt,  Jas.,  Visitation — Newcomen, 
Saverv  and  other  engines.     Rogers. 

*55,    *548,    *297,    *96S 
— What    is   the    trouble?      Brown.  *6S6 

( Faultv   adjustment.)      Klein.  974 

— Wreck,     Cause    of.       Crane.  563,    1165 

Wheat;    Summers.  849,   938 

— Why  engine  won't  carry  load?  Blake.   *1164 
— ^^■reck,      Cause      of — Connecting-rod 

broke.      Chittenden.  *806 

— Wreck    prevented    by    quick    action — 

Knock-off  broke.      Sheehan.  *164 

Engineer   also   doctor.      Packard.  559 

Engineer   and    central    power   station.  309 

Engineer,     Courtesy    to.       Miller.  804 

Engineer,  Early — Robt.  Erskine.  Buf- 
fet. *23 
Engineer  heroes.  781 
Engineer  in  Navy.  Melville.  898.  903 
Engineer,  The  gas-engine.  308 
Engineers,    A.    S.    M. — .Ian.    meeting — 

Barth    on    belting.  *169 

—Feb. — ^Whyte  on  safety  valves.  349 

— Polytechnic    Inst,     section.  391,     724 

— Safety  valves  discussed.     *472,  605, 

520,   480,    511,    530,    564.    *694.    728,    904 
— Wash,    meeting.  697.    779,    903 

— Wash,   meeting  papers.      *873,   *850. 

857.   *876,   •879,   898,   *1072,   1160 
— Boston  meetings.  781.  1175 

— Code    revision  ;    smoke    abatement.  86.'5 

— 4-valve  engine  report  discussed,  etc 

1097,  385 
Engineers,  Competent,  not  mere  ma- 
chines. 3»i 
Engineers  discuss  natural  resources.  671 
Engineers — Expert  advice.  .Tackson.  1111 
Engineers — For  good  of  the  order.  136 
Engineers.  Gas  engines  and.  .Ibhnson.  489 
Engineers — Twelve-hour  shift.  •  1122 
Engineers,    Why    some    do    not     n-.-wl. 

Cavanaugh.  4C4 

Engineers"      exam. — Cause      of      engine 

wreck.  563,    84!),    938,    1165 

Engineers'    exams.,    Chicago — Graft?  905 

Engneers'  license   law.   Alberta.  803 

Engineers'    licfusi's,    Colo,    and    Calif.  737 

Engineers'    license    laws    desirable.      780,1164 
Enginwrs'     licenses.     N.     Y.       Rowsey. 

705,    1009,    1031 
Engineers'     licenses.     Philadelphia.  712 

Engineers'  licenses.   Wyoming.  691t 

Engineers',  Marine,  Beneficial  Asso.  *311 

^engineers'    salarv   increase.      381,   Tin, 

773,  807 
Engineering  in  18th  century.  Buffet.  *596 
"Engineering  Index  Annual."    »  t907 

Engineering    papers,    Presentation    of.  738 

Engineering     supervision,     Extraneous. 

125,   160.  *414.  557 
350 
•577 
•1128 
•700 
•93 
206 
•23 
14 
68 
432 
250 


Fan.    Small,    in    engine    room  ;    cooling 

machinery.      Wakeman. 
Fans,    Exhaust,    Question.      Haeusser. 
Farmer.      Motor-generators    vs.    rotary 

converters. 
"Faultless"  metallic  packing. 
Feed.     See  also  "Water,"    "Heater,"  etc. 
Feeder,    Boiler-compound.       Russell. 
Feeder,    Boiler-compound,    "Success." 
Feeding   device,    Lagonda. 
Fenkhausen.     Installation,  d.  c.  niotoi-s. 
— Repairing    armature    winding. 
— Location    and    repair   of    troubles    in 

d.  c.  motors. 
• — Points    in    elec.    crane    work. 
File    rest    for   commutators. 
Filter.     Home-made.       Young. 
Filters,    Oil,    Dry    and    wet. 
Filters,     Water,     Vacuum-cleanin 
Filtering — Limewater    lessons. 
Filtering    oil.      Dow. 
Fink  valve   gear.      Rice. 
Fire-alarm    whistle.       Hawkins. 
Fire.       See     also     "Furnace,"     "Coal," 

"Limewater  lessons,"  etc. 
Fire-hoe  explosion.  Rayburn. 
Fire     pumps,     Centrifugal,     Character 

istics. 
Fire.    Waste-  by.      Baker. 
Fires,    Cleaning.      Kirlin. 
Firemen's         conditions, 

Auld  ;  Westerfleld. 
Firing    boilers,    Notes    on. 

Bowden  ;   Adler  ;    Carl. 
Firing    stationary-    boilers. 

Crane  ;    Tilden. 

(New    method.)       Bascom. 
"Firma"     compound     water    glass. 


Equipment.    Old,    Replacing. 

Erie   City  feed-water  heater. 

— Vertical    w.    t.    boiler. 

Erie    Fdy.    Co.'s    stok<r. 

"Erieco"    engine    valvi- 

Error    in    figures.      Sigwald. 

Erskine,    Robert.      Buffet. 

Erudition,    Oppr<-siveness    of. 

Etch   tools.   To.     O'Brien. 

"Eureka"    belting. 

Evaporation   per  pound  of  coal. 

Evaporation    power,    Comparative.      E. 

H.  223 

Everett.      "Freehand    and    Perspective 

Drawing."  tl039 

Exact,    Be.  481 

Examinations,  Civil  Sfrvlce — Defini- 
tions. 132 

Exhaust  connections.  Wasteful.     Crane.     •501 

Exhaust-head    core — Back     pressure.  *294 

Exhaust    head.    Home-made.      Nicholls.     'SSS 

Exhaust    head.    Williams    "Neverust."     •1174 

Exhaust    steam    heating.       ^441,    574, 

592,  848,  •1162 

Expanding   boiler   tubes.      Caflero.  1112 

.  Expansion.    Ratio   of.      M.    O.   D.  17!) 

Expert    advice.      .lackson.  1111 

p:xplosion.  See  "Air  compressor," 
"Boiler,"  "Tank,'  "Wheel,"  "Fire 
hoe,"  "Gas  producers,"  "Oas  law," 
etc. 


Fales.       Boiler     explosion,     Copperhill, 

Tenn.  ♦IISO 

Fallacious   reasoning.      Ripley.  983 


*11»> 
689 

11 1« 
*483 

*1S)S 
*1175 
*620 
*2S2 
*7S4 

»832 
*887 
*15i 
*507 
*80 
*10!) 
•251,  *303 
*337 
•831 
*466 


*976 

•537,  699 
672 
979 
Improving. 

168,  414 
White.  628 

1024 
Bradley ; 

59,    61,    336 
62 
94S 
F^rst   be    sure    you're   right.  944 

Fischer.       High-pressure     steam-piping 

systems.  *363 

— Flanged    joints    for    high     pressure. 

*402,   *736 
— Draiijing  high-pressufe  lines.  *454,  1084 

Fischer.   W.    F.      Condenser   criticism.  690 

Fitting.    Pipe.       See    "Piping,"    etc. 
Flange.    Pipe.      See    also    "Piping,"    etc. 
Flanges,    Cast-steel.  531 

Flexibility.   Study   in.   Martin.  *57 

Float-stone  water  gage.  Old.  *164 

Float    valve,    Noncorrosive.      Saeger.  *244 

Floating    central     stations    proyosed.  137 

Flue   blower,   Marion.  *1174 

Flue    blower.    Rear-end,   Zenith.  *533 

Flue  gas.     See  "Gas,"  "Carbon,"  etc. 
Fly-wheel.       See    "Wheel." 
Foaming   and    priming.  ii:i3 

Follower  bolts,  Use  and  abuse.  Wake- 
man.  *188 
Follower  plate  and  bolts  broke.  Fergu- 
son. 730 
Fond  Du  Lac  explosion.  *946 
Foote.  "Phasing"  a.  c.  generators.  *1048 
— Connecting      up      transformers      for 

synchronizing   and   phasing   lamps.  *1093 
For   the   good   of   the   order.  136 

Forces.    Steam    and    inertia.    Analysis.     *623 
Fort   Wavne   multipolar  generators. 

•1018,  *1060 
Foster  superheater.  Separately  fired.  *1138 
Foundation,  Induction-motor.  *697 

Foundation  vibration  ;  rubber.  428 

Foundations,    Engine.      Boyer.  340 

Foundations,    Rubber,    for    turbin(>s.  791 

Four-valve    engines;    Economy.      Hall ; 

Dean.  1097,.  385 

Francis.     Setting  Cummer  engine.     •ISl,  381 
Franklin    valve    gear.  •990 

Frazier.      Reservoir  moved  by  internal 

forces.  *19o 

Frederickson's   pat.    boiler   furnacow  '900 

Fritz     medal     presentation.     ^740,     655,     731) 
Fuel    Conference.    Illinois.  613,   67S 

Fuel   expenses.    Reducing.      Kavanaugli.      *6r>() 
Fuel     extravagance     no     longer     neces- 
sary 820 
Fuel,      Low-grade,      Finding      calorific 

value.  295,   418 

Fuel   question   in  Texas.  It^lf 

Vw\    supply.    Country's.  41 

Fuel  tests.  Geol.  Survey.  156,  239. 
."{91,  510,  811,  116.5,601,  613,  643, 
673,    t704,    801,    836,    885,     1007. 

1030,    •1144,    1173 
Fulton-Hudson    celebration.  286,    698 


PAGE 

Furnaces.  I'.oileT — ((rtil    selection.    Ran- 
dall. 642 
I^imaces — Bridwwalls.    Wakeman.  *452, 

603.  811,  848 
Furnaces.  Down-draft.  \an  Brock.  *377 
Fuse      sizes      for      o-phase      motors — 

I  luu-t.     Carle.  *1142 

Fuses    for    motors — Table.  *284 

F.ase.s,    Tongs   for.      Richards.  *11U9 


Rogers. 

Furnace.  See  also  "Boiler,"  "Smoke," 
"Coal."  etc. 

Furnac"'  and  boiler  construction.     Cook. 

Furnace    arches. 

Furnace.  Boiler,  Patent,  Frederickson's. 

Furnace — Cleaning    fires.       Kirlin. 

I'urnace — Complete  combustion.     Kirlin. 

Furnace  design  for  water-tube  l>oilers. 
Coes. 

Furnace.  New  type^ — Home-maclc  ap- 
paratus. 

Furnace,  Oil,  Mason. 

Furnace,   Orvls. 

Furnace  roofs.  Tube-tile.     Bement. 

Furnace,  "Smoke-eliminating,"  Mc- 
Gieban. 

Furnace,   Smokeless,  Lee,  under  boiler. 


Q 


(iage  g:lass.   Advance    "Firma." 
Gage.,    Steam,    movement,     "Standard" 
indejjendent. 
(New?)       Allen. 
Trav(  xs. 
(jFast> — Testing  turbine  stage  pressures. 
Gage — Babbitting   trycock.      Young. 
Gage,   lilast-pressure.     Fales. 
Gages.  S.team ;  indicator  springs.     Wil- 
kinson. 
Gage,    Water.,    Float-stone. 
Gages,     Water — Blowing    out  :      bight  ; 

glasses    breaking,    etc.      Jahnke. 
Gallon.   Ambiguous    term. 
Gary,    Ind.,    Gas-power    at.  *2S1, 

Gas   aufilysis.    Flue.    Formula   for   com- 
puting results  of.      Shields. 
Gas   and   boiler   explosions.      Terman. 
Gils    and    elec.    plant.    Eastou.  * 

Ga«    biu'ns   in    smoke    flue.      Adams. 
Gas    burning — Boiler    setting.       Robin- 
son. 
Gas    engine.       See    also     "Engine,     In- 
terna l-combustit)n." 
Gas-engine    calculations    based    on    vol- 
umetric     analyses      of      fuel      and 
exhaust     gases.       Westcott. 
Gas     equipment,     British     battleship? 
Gas,    Flue.    Sampler.      Howard. 
Gas    from    shavings.       Palmer. 
Giis — Large    engines    for    electric    sta- 
tions ;    producers ;    plant    lay-out, 
ammonia    recovery  :    costs,    etc. 
Gas  law,  Eighty-cent,  and  explosions. 
Gas,   Natural,   for   fuel.      Ranney ;   Lane. 
Gas   plant,    Producer,    Municipal,    Peru. 
Ind.,   Model  gas  engine.      Monuett. 
Gas    power    as    aid    to    electrical    in- 
dustries.     Robson. 
Gas-power       experience.       Grist-mill — 
.Jacobson  engine  :   Smith   producer. 
Messenger. 
Cedarblom. 
Gas    power    for   marine    service. 
Gas  power,  Gary.  Ind. — Allis-Chalmers 
electric  engines  ;  Westinghouse  and 
Allis-Chalmers     blowing     engines ; 
gas     cleaning,     etc.  *2S1, 

Gas    power.    Producer,    small    pla.nts. 
Gas    Power    Section,    A.    S.    M.    E. 
Gas-power    testing    code    revision. 
"Gas  Producer,  Modern  Power."     .A.llen. 
Gas   producer,    Operator   for.      Miller. 
Gas,  Producer.  Power,  Marine.     Straub. 

•857,    899 
Gsis,  Producrr.  I'ower  plant.  Operation 
of — Swift  &  Co.'s  Rathbun  engines 
and   Smith   i)roducers.   Westchester 
market.   N.   Y.      Obcrt. 
"Gas  I'roduccr  I'ractice."      .\llen. 
Gas  producer.  Suction,  and  hit-and-miss 

engine,    (iood    record.      Mc.Vrdell. 
Gas     producers     discussed    at     Electric 
Light    Convention  :    Westinghouse 
bittiminous  producers,  etc. 
Gas    ijroducers,    Kxpiriiuents    on — Pro- 
portion   of    ail-    applied — Boru    be- 
fore   BriT.^  I.    &    S.    Inst.      Booth. 
Gas  producers'.   Induced-draft   and  suc- 
tion.    Operation     of:     explosions; 
flame  aiTi^sters  for  test   cocks,  etc. 
IN'tcrson. 
fJas   producers.    Peat. 
Gas — Volatile    matter    of    co.il. 


94S 

•139 
243 
333 

•587 
1067 
1161 

250 
*1G4 

•14 

815 

*512 

1121 

165 

1007 


'7r>8 


730 
21ft 

•90O 
979 

•468 

329 

•434 

♦353 

•93 

•631 

•620 
•614 


■287 


693 

o'to 

*465 

•812 


*917 
175 
294 

*49S 

216 


617 
1023 

137 


'■512 
738 
003 
863 

t578 
117 

903 


•■873 
r223 


1021 


1116 


106 


307 
"loG 


Gases.      See   also  "Limewater   lessons,'' 

•  Carbon.'"  etc. 
Gases,    IHue,    Incre.-isini;-    CO-,    content. 

Boardnifin.  *883 

Gases,    Power    values    of.      .7.    T.    M.  313 

Gases.    Pi-oducer.      O.    .1.    R.  007 

Gases — Relation     of     COo    to     chimney 

losses.        Steely.  "  1015 

Gasket.       See    also    "Packing." 
Gasket  difficulty  in  condenser.     O'Brien.   *556 
Gasket-repair     job.       Rayburn.  ^726 

Gaskets.   High-pressure.     I'ischer.      •SGS,  '402 
f>as>olene     engine.       See     "Engine,     In- 

ternal-conilmsli'iii." 
Gasolene,   Power  of.      Palmer.  *814 

t;ayley    dry-air    blast    plants.  *3S2 

Gebhardt.     Live-steam  separator  tests.       *834 
Geesey    Bros.    &    Coble's    exjjlosion.  ♦1083 

General    Elec.   belt-driven    alternators.        ^353 
— Switchboard    design.  ^448 

— Report    of    company.  943 

Generator.      See   "Electricity,"  etc. 
Geological  Survev  tests,  etc.     156.  2.39. 

391,  510.  811.    n (',.-,.  (!(n.  613.  643. 

67^1     -^704.     SOI.     830.     SS.",.     1007. 

lO.W.     *1144,     1149.     1173 


POWER  AND  THE  EXlilXEEk 


<ilffiii-il.     Li-liiinon  bealioK  plunt. 
<;iiin(l>(.    Tool    for   backiOK   out. 

nrdx. 
(>1ick.       TcNt     of     U-ton     Jack 
<;iolx'    viilv.-,      S.'.-   "Valv.-." 
iioocli    link.      Ulfi-. 
GoHH.       VarloiiM    ti>Hti*.    2.'tO,    51  • 


Klcb 


Sll. 


pA<;r. 
•400 


'1  loit 
•t;s:( 


740 


— AddrfSK   at    in<diil    award. 
<>ouldH    power    working    bead. 
GovprnlDK    KrItlHh    hiKh-8p<>>*<l    •'DgiD«-N. 
•1'7«.    'SUM 
<Jovi  rnlni;  \V>-Htlni;l)ou»4-  turbln<N. 
Govrrnor — rauH«-    of    wn-ck.    5«13,    840. 

9ajs.   no. 

Goromor      hallii,      iDt-n-ntiinK      wclgbt. 
LMxuD. 

•  Jovnrnor   droppint;,    I'n-ventti.      Grov<-. 
GoTfmor.    Knt;lnf.    leatht-r    IIdIuk.    K*.*' 

palrlnu ;     piimpt;ov<'m«>r    linpro%'c- 
nn-nt.    ••tf.      WakfQian. 

•  Jovi-rnor     link     arm     rauix-cF    troubli- 

iMililln 
<iovi-rnor|<ln  lutiricatloD,  Ctrea.**'.     Mel- 

lor. 
Govi-rnor — Kiinaway      eD|(inf.        Woke 

bcndorf. 
Govrrnor.      \Vat<-rturbln«-. 

mvn. 
Govi-mon*,    Kopi-  drlv<'   for 

M)<-r« 
*iratt    cliiirKi-N    In    ('tili-aif<> 
<irari.      t'liiiM-. 
tirund    KallM.    N.    U..    <|i-v<-l 
Graplilt>-      for      KaH-i  ntfln*- 

Purant. 
Grapblti-,     I'm-    and    iiiIhiihi 
Graphiti-    in    boib-rs        Wiiiffi-u. 
Gravity   fi-fd   olllnu   -j'-t.m.      Whit 


AlllM<-hal 


3«t!» 
7«T 


.ssi: 

41'.i 


•lit; 

•  24h 
•I'Tl 


.M.  I.ar.  n  : 
•JtH.    4«o.    o:'m 

!M».', 

or.5,    «.K 
•  yllndt'rs. 

.••.74 

11':  i 
60«; 


Strong. 


Gnn-«-  for  cylinder  liibrbalor.  Ohio.  "lonS 
GrraiM'     ••strai-tor,     K<'<-<l-wati-r,     Am«T- 

Uan.  •1131 
Gn-at    Brit..    Towi-r    tranxmiMMlon.    vu\ 

130,    21»! 

Groat   FallH   ]               •                 <     f  •! 

Gn-i-naway   -  •830 

Gr.  til        Inii                                                 etc.  410 

-  -■  i.l  ■  iirr...lln;:  -.m.-'lunc'-t.  1091 
•  ;^                      I'd    with    ohintu>-t>-r.    ••tc. 

n                                                         "i'.'JH,  •tl.T.I 

<;r"iiri<l.  I  riiiildf  caiiwd  by.  StronK-  *'"•>*> 
Groiifidlni!    B««ondary    rln-iilts,    lti>|Mrt 

oil.  llL'o 

Gn>iit      foiindnlion.        K<Tr.  W> 

GuldiH.     Worn.     Uipalrink-        M«-Gnli.-y.  •Oh.'i 

.•<wc'.t.  !•;{!• 

Uulnotti'    valvi-   jji-ar.      Ilbf  s*«t 

Gumption  107'.) 

tliw        l.oM  i>i'<  «     imniplni;    InitMlInt  l<iii  *7'Ji> 


H 


ll.i.-kw.  rtti    valiii-   tct-ar.      Itbi-. 

li  '  ••nimntator     briiNh<-it      and 


S2l» 


Til. 


•U-2 
•7ott 


Mull       K<  oiimii.t    of  4  valve  •■nKin>-*'.     lo{ii 

llatnllioii    pump   lliilut:. 

Ilnnipioii     p(.»ir    plant.     I»       '        '      *^' 

It...-. Is  "Ml 

II.iikI         111.  rmom<-lcr    iu-al<'-  •'.'•in 

M  Mark    hi-al.  I  •inH 

11  irlDratlon    IBl>l<  m.  no.'ts 

II  i;3.  Wis.  xt-.  Hji:: 

-  it-  :i>     III     O'    uij  2\\,    *Vl', 

—  Wft  v«.  dry  comprvnalitn  4.' 7 
Hartford  boll.  ■  i.  .(d.-nt  Htntlatlc«.  l»4:< 
Hiirtf.ir.l  u                    -.     turbln.-   at  •7»Ih 

ll.u« I  I                                          •424.  »U»4.   I07P 

llMwkiii*  :                   la. Lira  '  t57H 

II     i.|.r».  Mt.iiMi     W.l.l.d      ria4b.-r.  •»«& 

II.M'l.rii.  W<  Id.d  iit<-<-l.      IC'.bblii*  <iam 

«   II  •u>:u 

ll<Ml        ~  •■•ubuatlon." 

■  but  S.'tO 

•  II    M    '                    1    Fu.-U.     JUpincr  t7«t4 

H                                                I'oltrr             211.  *vr, 

II                                       -.-.  m.t; 

II  _  !..•  ryllnd.-r.  1I2": 
II.  .ti    j.H..  ,    111    ,  i.iirlt    p.iwrr    atallon 

«'..r«..ii  21.H 

II.  nt.    S|-.inr      Watrr.   at.an      lli-fk.  •H7n 

l|.  ni   ir  in-f.  r    nwlHi1i-nl  JaMM*.    ••.•34.    2*12 

N     •'■'<>  .1.T«« 

'.|;..k  •4lH 

\|'>.  II    I  .MHt 

II' Ml     iiiT,-f.r    to    waii-r    iil    and    Ixdow 

I'liiii.-      itnlnl.      Itrlaiirr     rnli>     of 


Ilcattr.    Wat.r 
H«*at.-r»  and 
ll.:it.r>*.    K. 
Il'allni:      Air 
li.-utlni:  by  llv 


II. .11 

1 
II.  It 


•  I  .11 

.Ininn 


i'A<;i: 

N.,i~I.i*«       fiartmann.      •HHJ4 

-'ir.-.     Wak'-man.     •5t«t 

\:r   In.  7hM 

.stltute.  •466.    6J57 


•no 

n   Into  lM.||ir>       Knl- 

•1144 
'I    thmiiifh    plfM-a    and 

I  .-.■        "  tt7n 

II  I'  >  M.I  romhlnrd  'Mti 
II'  II    I       I   V                          for     rlrriilatInK 

»  II.  r         I    11    II  •IIMt.1 

II.  Ill    r     1.  ..|«.i.-r.   Krb-  <ln  •.•i77 

II.  ni.  r.    II. 'H,    .',  1. 1.       Inn.  •.*.*>.•. 

ll.nl.r    III     I.                                                    I  HK.«> 

II.Ml.r     SI'  •tun 

H.nl.  r     W  !•          i                                     I  ..y.r  •4«l,: 


Inat. 
Hal 


.\rmour 


K«>ar. 
3-wln' 


•21  (3 
W»4 

•441 

•5»2 

.'.74 

K4>< 

•WM) 


•400 
•2.'»» 

•l»t7 

7.1! 
•S76 
•061 

•24 

•KMWt 
•ftOo 


lu.l  .-xhauMt  Bt.-am.  •lit}'.' 
Il.atink'  ""b-v.-land  Tc-ch  Hlch  S<-ho<j|  •tK>2 
l(t>ailnK'<'oll  ht.-am  Hav.-r.  liawklna.  •7*29 
ll'-atlnv   i-oIIh.    Iniroduring   atfam   into 

—  .\  joint.      Kotffra. 
lli-atlnu  dy.-bouM-  tankx.      Hhad. 
Il.atinu.    Kxbauat-Mtfam.    dlatrlrt.    Mil 

waukc-. 
Hi-atlni;.   Kshauat  Ni.am.      Wak^man. 
il.-atint;.    KlibaUHtHti-am. 

«"rHU.-. 
IfpatinK  ^r.enboUK. «  Iodk  a^o. 
Iltatlnj:.   Motor-<at.rbl«ni.  344.  388.  413 

il<-atlnt:   plant,  r.-ntral.    I.<'banon.     <j1f 

ford. 
Il.-atinc    ixiwfr.    ittoam   ct.lU  — Curvea. 
H.-iitlnc      aurfao-    -  ■   CurlnK      rubb«'r 

SL-v.-ns. 
H.'iitint:    syxt.-m.    Steam.    Carm-ttli 
lleatliit;    KVHti-mK.    Ar<-blti-(-t!<   and 

low. 
H.-ck.     Some  prop<-rtb-«  of  ateain 
lli-tandi-r  barom.-tlc-  rondt-nacr. 
Hero's    fountain.       Kuffet. 
11. -.ss.     Viii-uiim    ash    convey. -r. 

(;iu.-    Wk« 
II.w.v*  &   rhilllp..'      "Franklin" 
lllmni.lsliafb        Kthcbncy    test 

balanciut:  ilvnifmoa. 
It.ibari.  -  MlllwrlKhtlnK/' 
II.mIkcs.      t'yllndrical   flywheels. 

-I'onvrrilni:  .»h<-rm.>m'"t>-r    readings. 
II.M-.    Fire,    i-xploslon        Kaybum. 
11...  rd.     n. .  ii.  :hM.  lis.  r  >ni;lne  at. 
r    '  ly  from  i^-at. 

,.  r  belts. 

11 N.   Y.   Cy. 

Ilolii!)  wi-t  iiir  pump,  orrok. 

llollnian.      Analyala   of    Hteam    and    in 

crtia    forccM. 
llom.-madc  apparatus.      Ulchards. 
liom.-madi-   applianc<-s. 
l|iHip<.<tton   Ga«   k    Klec.    Co. 
lIopklniMin   flash  liuht   Indicator. 
lIop|M-s   horizontal   oil   eliminator. 
IIorH«.|»>wcr.      S«'e  "I'liwi-r." 
lIotM.  ri.«-l.     B'n.'fle|. 
Hot  iM-arlDKs.      Krown  :  Williamson. 

»;3S,   {i7» 
Hot   crank   pin.     Tyron.  •OO 

Hotel,    I'laxa.    plant.    Itok'-rs  •8»l.'. 

lliiyt    "Faulil.  H.s'    nulalllc    pucklnK-  •48.'l 

Hubbard  on  ci.nd'-nwrH  dlscuawd.        107,  338 
llMdHou-Fullon    c«-lebration.  280 

lt..»:.rs. 
Hull.      KmerKcDcy    motor   ronneelioos. 

•703. 
ilulli   and  hia   ...teambuat.     lluflTct. 
Hungarian    Kiik'lnecrs,    Society    of 
Hillil         l)<bt    of    .  ra    of    Kteel    to    high 

s| d    Ht.  am    •■nk'lnc. 

Hutton  I'ort.-r  ami  the  ati-am  .niiln.-. 
Hydraulic.  S.-.'  aN"  •Water."  'Turbln.  . 
llydraullr  rbvat<>r«.      Baxter. 

•120.    •I. -14,    •23U.    •400. 
Ilvdraullc  information  wani.-d.     I'lp<-r 
M.  Itrlde 
IC.'l.'liiird  ;     Itradahaw  :     Jm'kson. 


•lOOO 
tw»7 

•7J>8,  no.-. 

•1>2»", 
•970 
•237 
3o7 
1000 
1010 
•»62 

•623 
•434 

351 
•378 
•170 

•00 

•806 


608 

•758 

•800 

•792 

374 

744 

•742 


II 


11 


MUfonl.    Mr. 
Sbiux     FalU     M 
•Hvdr      ■ 
Hvdr   . 


ilydnwlatlra.       I 

I  F'.r    r.'I.Tt. 


liu-«-. 

I>        Klc<v 


:••<  1 .    *  I'x'-i. 

1       «fr      .«ltb 
I 

I.     i-x.    :!37, 


l.\IU«ATOH 

Uollincks".  iudlraiur  Steam  JatkriloK.  *172 
I'.ir.'.      What       aoluilon       u«<-d      on> 

S38 
Freak.       Filklns  •4411 

I  :i.'|.  .  iir^l.  |.  >         Slliii.  %k 'mmI 

1'  -2.  «7» 

r-  •41l«» 

I  I: 

t.  -  ■• 
Ida. 

'"■■-  ...4 

FlDdlns. 

...... -I-  .  'SW 

liiaKrama.  <  ~ompr<-«»or.  t'armtb'-nt.  *IM 
Wlaurama.  ftry- vacuum  pump.     Wmi 

<oit.  •246 

IMagramit     Knglne    t«^tlns :   superheat. 

Winner  •llll 

-  IdauramK      l-I^iualltlng    ruloff.       I.lr- 

ingsion  •29S 

■IMa;;ramH     Kxplain.-d.     iti-sai  ;  t'rmoe. 

•«M.    I(i04 
-*  fiiaicrama.   Faulty.   Zm-l<>nlMTg"k.   AuM.         61 
K     J.    Farkaa  •lOI 

— Plauranut        froai        cri»»- 
HardlnK  ei   al.        *li'.-'. 

-  Idatrramx.   How  •."•lo 

W.ildron  ;    M  •774.   S93 

lda;:rams.    Int.  •tlAl 

rarruth.r-*.  I026 

Iiiai^raniH.   InL-restlnii  l.aiour.                •1*23 

•  Il.'»    I..    i:<k.     lb.  Ill   .  Iliir.Iln;:                 507 

k  J4.  1«S 

— idii- 

c  137 

— Dill-  ^     compres*|on.       Cop- 

I. ...us:      Auld  :      t'uDDins 

•  ham.  HO.    61.    •24» 

-  Iiiagrama.    I'erullar       I'bllltiM.  *7S1 
— Idaxrams    -i'lston   hmI   bntke.  ^542 

-  Idat;rams   shnwinff    vlhratloo.      I*ota 

kov  'hM 

IMii.-' »     He    leaki-d.    TboOlpAoB.      •»*• 

IM.i.  .tl    alls    tbem?      \Vlw* 

\  *M7 

— Irtak-iiiiii-  "  tiat    trouble?      8toltker    'llio 

— IHagrama  What    trouble?      Rr.>«n 

•tiHtt.    •••74 

-  ldaifram»  Which    will    dellv.r    nn^t 

IMiwer'!'      J<ihn»on  •lOBO 

Kl:i-Ii  Mctit    trHll<-nt>.r     I!"i.ktti«..n  •!?« 


.SI. 


Induction  motors     luatalllns  ;    oprrai 

iiii.-  •«i;m.    •  T  .• 

I  iimt    fo  '•    • 

I  ■!     steam 


•544 

651 

»78 

Iii2«i 

1007 

» 10.13 

tinau 


II 


Ink    Maniac 


•361 
•-41 


•.2« 

1123 

«81 

••* 


•H^.   IU»0,    1063 
•1085 

•  ••      -       :i»4 


1 1 07 
344 


SOS 


ln«i>i.  Hon.     Holler.    Hiafe 

ln>|>"c(lon.    Internal.    M«r-' 

lianswoMh 
llecllB 
Thurtur 
Ii,.|».tt..n     ITiimrit^e  bollrra  t 


•».  Ill 


SSI.   M5. 
4«W 


rrrntind     1»3rB»-Bt 


4S7. 


lora 
mo 

•14 

•57 
•» 

•;• 

•430 
7tl 


Ice          8.e     si... 

Ir*  rpani 

11.  f 

■  itferailii.. 
m       •  liai 

klna 

•  IH  SMtk* 

plant 

1-       ' "^ 

•AM 

•Hill 

Ml 


•llan.-otM.       %\ak. 


III. I.  « 


.1.     Itidb  r  tiiil     etc  .    \     V 


Ind'  iln?     t'nrd        M^MW^-' 


IUUI> 
94tt 


Jack.    6  loM.    |e«l        Gllrk 

Jn.k.ilnv      >ii     im      Kfforl    of        |K«kla 

•  h«T»n»>t>T.     AylvarA 
.»   «t\an   alll 


Jrii.r.   J     • 
J..|,n*  Uan< 


•  ■.«  . 
Ilrlai 


•A%J 

•ITS 
•S44 

•17 

•II 

•i»: 

•••7 


TO 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


Johnson.    Gas  engines  and  engineers,  4S9 

— Bennings  power  house,  Potomac  Eloc  *5S1 

— Corrosion    and    electrolysis.  797 

— Keystone  Watch  Case  Co.  plant.  *1041 

—Wiredrawing  and  superheat.  925 

— Efficiency.  *1011 

— 'Reciprocating-engine  enthusiast.  *1099 

Johnston.      Technical    education.  266 
Joint.   Pipe.      See   "Piping." 
Joint.     Lap,     cracks — Is     material     or 

method  responsible?  Stromeyer.  619 
Joint,  Lap — Harwood  boiler.  •424,  6S4,  1079 
Joint,     Strapped    butt.    Hidden    crack. 

Parker.  '220,  218 

Joints,  Boiler — Two  accidents.  *984 

Joints   for   boiler.      Hale.  *890 
Joints,    Riveted.    Calculating    strength 
of.      Jeter — Diagrams    for    various 

types.  *30 

— How    to    use    diagrams.  *42 

Joints,  Uncover  the.  Waldron.  *93S 

Jones,  F.  R.  'The  Gas  Engine."  t704 
Jones,     H.     W.       Garden    variety    gas 

engines  682 
Josse.      Surface    condensation    for    tur- 
bines.                           ♦234,   262,   »418,   ♦ge© 

Joy    valve   gear.      Rice.  •SSI 

Junge.     Cooling  gas-engine  charge.  *237 

Junkers'   gas-engine  experiments.  *237 

Junkersfeld,   P.     Reactance.  1117 

Jiiptner.      "Heat    Energy,   etc."  t704 

K 

I 
Kasley.      Composite   power   generation. 

61,    350 
Kavanagh.     Improved  oiling  system.  ^79 

— Wooden  rings  in  water  mains.  *446, 

687,  774 
— Care  and  management,  H.t.  boiler.  •1046 
— Care    and    management,    Water-tube 

boilers.  •1156» 

Kenerson.     Transmission  dvnamometer. 

903,    ^1072 
Kennedy  hydraulic-lift  gate  valve.  •lOSS 

Kennett.     Bags  in  boilers.  152 

Kerosene  in  boilers.     Jahnke  ;  Mellen  ; 
Durand  ;    Taylor  ;    Young  ;    Carl. 

68,  376,  806,  Sri7,  847,  1166 
Kerr.    Exhaust-steam  turbines.  *785 

Kerr  steam  turbine.     Orrok.     •855,  904,  1169 
Keying    flywheels.       Wiegand ;    Mason. 

•608,   892 
Keystone  Watch  Case  Co.  plant.  John- 
son. '1041 
Keywav,   Eccentric,   Laying   out.     Wie- 

gan.  *71 

Kilowatt-horsepower    conversion    table.        723 
Kingston  Coal  Co.'s  washery.  ^1055 

Knight.   Unique  power-house  features.        1119 
Knock  detector,  Engineers'.    O'Brien.         *559 
Knocks  in  engines.     Bryan  ;   Wiegand  ; 
Gibson  ;    Williams  ;    Taylor  ;    Shee- 
han.  415,   689,   729,  894,  935,   ^1021 

Knowlton.   Steam-engine  failures.  *118 

— Power  costs,  500-k.w.  station.  305 

— 'Water    hammer    in    pipes.  *713 

Koerting    engine    with    cooler.  *238 

Krause.     Removing    oil    frem    watf^r.  432 

Kreisinger.       Heat     transmission     into 

boilers.  ^1144 


PAOE 

•315 
•146 


Lagonda    feeding    device. 
Laidlaw-Dunn-Gordon    dry-vac.    pump. 
Lamp-wiring  diagram  wanted — Throw- 
ing in  series  and  in  parallel.  Wil- 
liams. 

Malcolm  ;    Atwood. 
Washburn  ;  Dryden  ;  Ben- 


French  ; 

Durand 

Jamin. 
Lap     joint. 

"Piping. 
"Laurentic, 


See     "Joint,"     "Boiler," 


•620 
•584 


71 
•245 


•288 


Performance  of.  887 

Laws,    Boiler,    L'niform.      Durban.  086 

Layman.     Transformer  improvements.      *1118 
Lazier  vertical  gas-  engine.  •SS 

Le  Blanc  air  pump.  •964 

Lead   brush.     Moure.  70 

"Lead   burning."  693 

Lebanon  central  heating  plant.     Gifford.  *400 
Lee   smokeless    furnace.  ^61 4 

Leese.       Cooling    jacket    water.  *1059 

Lehigh   Valley   Transit   Co.'s   plant.  ^46 

Leigh  Joint  for  copper  pipes.  •OeO 

Leveling   instrument.      Parker.  *560 

Libel,   Power   acquitted   of.  944,   949 

Licenses.      See    "Engineers'." 
Light    and     power     stations.     Central, 

US  332 

Light  plants.  Municipal.     Williams.     293,  308 
Lights — Wiring  diagrams.  71,  ^245,  *288 

Lighting,     Arc,     circuit     trouble,     Mln- 

ton's.     McGann;   Kllroy.  *335,   462 

Lighting    condition.    Peculiar,    .Vustin ; 

Mullen;    Greer.  '!>),    "334 

Lighting    problem.       Rolph  ;    Jackson  ; 

Kilroy;    Byles.  ^242,    464,    504,    •GOe 

Lighting — Series  circuit  supplied   from 

constant-potential  circuit.   Grove.         415 


Lighting  station.  Brockton.      Reed. 

Lightning   arrester.    Hampton   plant. 

Lghtning    protection,    Southern    power 
line. 

Lightship,    Ambrose   channel.      Rogers. 

Lignite.    Weight    decrease    in    transit. 
Scott. 

Limcwater    lessons,     Useful.       Palmer. 

•251,    'SOS,   341,   386,    ^425,   •469, 

•527,   •569,  *611,  ^658,   ^691,  723, 

•733,      ^775,     •812,      *895,      *941, 

•981,    ^1004, 

Lindstrom   separator   test. 

Link  arm.  Governor,  trouble.     Dahlin. 

Lippincott   separator   test. 

Little  Giant  tube  cleaner. 

Load  conditions.  Power-station,  To  im- 
prove. 

Load,  Station,  indicator.     Cooper. 

Locomotive,  i^irst  American.     Buffet. 

Locomotive — Value    of    high    pressure. 

Lomas.     Alinement  of  shafting. 

London     County     Council     Tramways. 
916,    943, 

Look    for   the    cause. 

Loops   in   non-condensing   compounds. 

Lord.      Coal   analysis. 

Louisville   Lighting  system.      Monnett. 

Lovekin.       Safety    valves.       472,     480. 

511,   525,    530,    *694,   728 

Low,     F.     R.       Energy     in     pound     of 
steam. 

• — ^Safety-valve    computations. 

Low  pressure.     See  also  "Turbine." 

Low-pressure     turbines     and     engines. 
Bibbins.  •72,    241 

— U.   S.   Coal  &  Coke  Co.'s. 

Low-water  alarm.     Myers. 

Lubricants  for  cylinders.     Sewell ;  Tag- 

gart.  285,  805 

Lubrication.      See  also   "Oil,"   "Graphite." 

Lubricating  British  high-speed  engines. 
•275,   ^325 

Lubricating  elevator  plungers.     O'Con- 
nor. 

Cylinder,     with     grease. 


•407 

842 


1167 
836 

•197 
836 

•532 

739 
•243 

255 
♦502 
•258 

•993 
656 
137 
673 

*663 


225 
694 


47] 
♦485 
♦805 


•369 
•468 


Lubrication, 

Fisher. 
Luljrication,   Grease,   of  governor   pins. 

Mel  lor. 
Lubrication- 
Lubricator, 
Lubricator, 
Lubricator, 

man. 
Lucas  "Bestyet"  power  pump. 
Lunkenheimer  ejector,   Improved. 


-Hot    bearings.    Brown. 
Cylinder,    Grease,    Ohio. 
Multiple-feed.     Shad. 
Pump,    Sight-feed.      Wake- 


1038 

♦248 
•638 
►1033 
•160 

♦273 
*99] 
*900 


M 


McArdell.  Good  record  by  suction  pro- 
ducer and  hit-and-miss  engine.  1027 
M'Dermott.  Reversing  d.c.  machines.  *67P 
McGiehan  smoke-eliminating  furnace  ^620 
McKay,  John,  Death  of.  739,  *784 
Machinery,    Heavy,    Moving.      Lucken- 

bach.  67 

Main's  receiver-pressure  regulator.  *2G4 

Mandi   electric   counter.  •357 

Manhole-joint    leaks.    Why.      A.    B.  907 

Manufacturer's  responsibility.  656 

Marine  engines.  216 

Marine  Engineers'  Beneficial  Asso.  ♦311 

Marine   engineering.    Progress    in.  698 

Marine    producer-gas    power.       Strauh. 

♦857,   899.  903 
Marion   flue   blower.  ♦1174 

Marsh  gas.     Palmer.  895 

Marshall   reversing  gear.      Rice.  ^829 

Marshfield,  Wis.,  Municipal  plant.    Carl.  *710 
Mason  oil  furnace.  *353 

Massachusetts   boiler   supervision.    429. 

811.   1160,    1164,   1166 
Matthews.      Compression    refrigcraling 

system.  *81 

— -Condenser     and     back     pressures     in 

refrigerating  plants.  191 

— Purge  device  for  ammonia  condensers.   601 
— Heat  transmission  through  pipes  and 

tanks.  678 

Maxim    boilers.    Keystone    Watch    Case 

Co.'s.  •1043 

Mead.     "Water  Power  Engineering."       tl039 
Meade.     Operating  d.c.  generators  and 

rotary  converters.  ♦540 

Mechanical   Engineers.     See  "Engineers." 
Mechanical    World    Pocket   Books.  ■i-439 

Medal,   Fritz,   award   to   Porter.      *740. 

655.  739 
Melville,  G.  W.  Engineer  in  Navy.  898.  903 
Mellville's,    F.    L..    Anti-Rusf.  532 

Messenger.      Gas  power,   grist  mill.   617,   1023 
Mesta      "Ilelander"      barometric      con-* 

denser.  'lifjl 

Meters,  Watt-hour,  Testing  and  adjust- 
ing.     Dubruiel  :    Crane.  ^28,    ^340 
Meters,  Whitney  column-type,  Carnegie 

Inst.  ^104 

Meyer  valve   gear.      Rice.  828 

Milford,  Me.,  water-power  plant.     •269, 

686,  1063 
Mill,  Grist,  gas-power  experience.     Mes- 
senger. 617,    1023 


VAGE 

Miller,   A.,  &   Bro.   Oil   removal.  432- 

Miller,  J.  C,  Operator  for  gas  pro- 
ducer. 117 
Miller,  W.  H.  Concrete  feed-water  tank.  ♦207 
Miller  &  Lux  plant.  Dean.  •550- 
"Millwrighting."  Hobart.  t907 
Milwaukee      Public      Service      building 

plant.     Monnett.  •441 

Mine   plant.   Air   pump   and   heater   in. 

Copeland.  888 

Minneapolis  elevator  pump.  ^997 

Model  gas  engine,   Peru,   Ind.  ^498 

Modern  Science  Club.     137,   ^148,   25U, 

617,  824,  956 
Monnett.       Refrigerating    plant,     steel 

works.  ^382 

^•Milwaukee   Public   Service'  building.        ^44] 
— Peru,    Ind.,    municipal    gas   plant.  ^498 

— Louisville   Lighting   Co.   system.  ♦eeS 

— ^St.   Clair  tunnel  plant.  *1135 

Moses.     Extraneous  supervision.       160, 

125,    •414,    557 
— Central   vs.   isolated   plant.  427,   761 

— Fuels  ;   boiler   efficiency.  984 

Motor.     See  "Electricity,"  "Armature," 


'Brush,"       "Commutator,"       "En- 
gine,"   "Water,'    "Wave,"    etc. 
Mower  and  Gill's  novel  indicator.  ^265 

Moyer.     "The  Steam  Turbine."  1179 

Mueller.      Surface    condensers.  418,    509 

MuHan's  air  pumps.  *963,  ^964 

Municipal  plant,  Marshfield,  Wis.  ^710 

Municipal  ownership.     Williams.  293,   308 

Murray-Corliss  engines.  Keystone  plant.  ^1043 


N 


►770 


♦501 
♦551 
♦1174 
821 
•765 
1119 

♦705 

1009 

1031 

761 

•1148 


Nail  driver.     Purdy. 

National     Elec.     Light     Asso.       ^1115, 

•1076,    1078,    *1094,    •llOO 

National  Gas,   etc.,   Eng.   Trades  Asso. 

409,    1006 

Natural  automatic  ventilator,  "Auto- 
force."  ♦pgs 

Natural  gas.     See  "Gas." 

Natural    resources,    Conservation.      41, 

263,  493,  529,  531,  671,  819 

Navy,    Engineer   in.     Melville.  898,    903 

Navy — Line  "recognizes"  the  staff.       174,  291 

Navy,   Turbine  and  engine  for.     Diman.     799 

Neely.     Plant-equipment   depreciation.      ♦1028 

Neilson.     Energy  charts  for  steam. 

Nelson.      Tirrill   regulator   experience. 

"Neverust"   exhaust   head. 

New   Bedford   Ice   Co.'s   explosion. 

New  Eng.  Elec.  Lighting  Engineers. 

New  York   Edison  practice. 

New  York,  Greater. 

— Harnessing  power.     Rowsey. 

— Inspecting   l.p.   boilers.      Rowsey. 

— 'Futile   attempt  to  get  bureau. 

New   York   Pub.    Library   plant. 

New   York's   first   Corliss.      Wilson. 

New    York's   opportunity — Conservation.      531 

Newcomen   engine.  ^297,   ^548,   ♦596,   *968 

Niagara.    Dry.      .Jenkins.  ^567 

Niagara   ice  jam.     Jenkins.  ^816 

Niagara,    Power  from,   limited.  263 

Nipples,  Cutting.     Rowland  :  Knowlton. 

610,    ^647 

Noisv  motors — Catachism.  ^571,  588 

"North  Dakota's  "  12,000-h.p.  tur- 
bines. 

Novelty   Works.      Buffet. 

Nozzles.  Planing,  Curtis  marine  tur- 
bine. 

Nuernberg  gas  engine  running  on  mixed 
gases.     Van  Brussell. 

Nugent   crank-pin   oiler. 

Nut,   Enlarging — Covering  tap. 

Nuts   and  wrenches.     Wilson. 

Nuts,    Two    loose.       Wakeman  ;    Dean. 

♦306,  464 


o 


Obert.     Small  producer  power  plant.  ^873 

Observation,  Cultivate  habit  of.  428 

Oechelhaeuser    engine    at    Hoerde.  *237 
Ohio  grease  cylinder  lubricator.                *1033 

Ohio   Soc,  M.   E.   &   S.   Engineers.  1037 
Ohmmeter,     Testing    with.       Mossman. 

•938,  •gsg' 

Oil       Sec     also     "Lubricant,"     "Petro- 
leum,"   "Grai)hite,"    "Grease,"   etc. 
Oil    and    grease    removal    from    water ; 

Miller's   method.      Krause.  432 

Oil,    Coal,   on   commutators.      Mcintosh.  562 

Oil    distributor.    Cylinder.      Binns.  *505 

Oil    eliminator,    lloppes    horizontal.  •OO 

Oil  filter.  Homemade.     Young.  '507 

Oil  filtering;  sepaiator.     Dow.  *337 

Oil    frothing   test.      Gibson.  ^937 

Oil — Fuel    question    in    Texas.  1014 

Oil    furnace.   Mason.  •353" 

Oil   gage.    Drilling   tank   for.  ^420 
Oil    in    bearings.    Cause    of — Winslow's 

ring-oiling.      Ilutton.  201 

Oil   in  condensers — Boiling  out.  ^77 
Oil,     Kerosene,     in     Ijoilers.       Jahnke ; 
Mellen  ;   Durand  ;   Taylor  ;   Young  ; 

Carl.             68,    376,    806,    807,    847,  1166: 


•909 
255 

•912 

•837 

•221 

•21 

69 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


II 


PACE 

Oil  piping.  Paclflc  to  Atl.  10U6 

Oil-pump    valves'-at,    Loos*-.      Kuah.  •770 

Oil  pumpx.  ItrltUb  high-speed  eaginct.  *326 

Oil  BaU'Binun  — I>ook  for  caus<'.  tfM 
Oil  Heparatorii.  tlomemadf.     Dow  :  Mar- 

zolf.  •3a7,  •1110 

Oil-tank  arrangt'Dn-nt,  Cylinder,  Jeanaon  •»" 
Oil       throwing,      To      prerent — C'rank 

guard.      Whltmarsh.  '70 
OilB,      Mineral,      cylinder.      Effect      uf 

nujx-rheated  oteam.  147 
Oiler,    Center  crank    croiwhead  pin.    Nu 

gent.  •221 

OIIInK  d'-vlo-  on  englO'-  frame.     Januey.  •.OT 

OlIInK  syKt.m,  <;ravlty  feed.  White.  *ti*Mi 
Oilltnj  Byst<m.  I'neuiimtlc.  Kal<»  •lu»H; 
Oiling  syKt'-m,  I'reiuiurf,  Improved;  dry 

and   wet   filters,  'te.      Kavanagh.  *7U 

Op«-n    Coll    Co.'b    buekft    trap.  •577 

Ord.-r  >>«3 
Orrok.      Surface  condenaatlon.  338,   •41>j,  oOU 

—Small    st.-um    turbln.B.             •Mo.  904,  11«» 

— Lh-velopment,  8urfac«'  condenser.  •U59 

— <iuM   engine    in    liluntfurnace    practice.  971 

OrviB  furnace.  *1»3 

Oviti.      Volatile    matt<r   of   coal.  •IStt 

Oxidation  tal)l<-.  i'almer.  *t>42 
•  •xvgen.  etc.,  Ex|K-rlment8.     "GeO,  •tJll, 

•658,   •691,  723,  •733,   •775,  •812. 

•895,    •941,    •981.    •10O4,  1167 


raeitlc  Mills  turbine  plant.  •212 
racking.      See  also   -Gasket,"   "Piston." 

I'acklng.    Ames   Alloy   sheet,    U.    S.  533 

Packing   chart  —Style   sheet.      Munday.  •G4lt 

Packing.    fondenmT  tulw.      Kinsey.  •1P4 
Packing,    Globe  valve,    etc.      Wakeman. 

•10,    •377.   «U5.   tlUO 
Packing  book.     Richards.  'lluu 

Packing.     Metnllle.    llojt     "Faultless."  •4M3 

Parking.   I'lBton.    St<aui  mglne.   Hale.  •J>44 

Packing  ring.   Km<rg>  n<y.    Greer.  ^288 

Packing,  Sheet.  Subtdltute  for.    S»'ars.  110>* 

Paeklng  trouble,  I'ump.  Ilemedylng.  Orr.  •Oo.'. 

I'n<  kIngH.    Standard    plung«r    iltvator.  •4li7 
PalmrT.      LcBBon*   of   llmcwat<-r.      ^251. 

•lUf.i.    341.    :5^«.    •425.    •4«9.    •527, 

•,VHt,   •»lll.   •»J,'S,   •«91.   723,   •733. 
•775.    •812,    •MtS.    ^941.    •981. 

•1001.  1107 
Paper  mill    motor   trouble.           i«i,    •2U5,    334 

Pap<r.   Packing  with.     S4ars.  1108 
Paritons.        Se«-     alwo     "Westingbouse," 

"Aliis. Furblne." 

Parsonn   vacuum  augm.nt<r  •{tO.'. 

PatttHon       Indlcatorx   In    rifrlgeration.  71H 

I'eulxxlv.      .Spec.    vol.   Haturuled   ftteam.  •H79 

Peak   load.    Handling.  «»»>* 

Peat.  Kb'ctriclty  from.  Iloffmeister.  307 

Peat    In    th.-    I      S.  1173 

Peat    invi-ntion.    Swedish.  217 

pe<-rleiiB    -V  •  I).  It  drive.  Test.  •Iii32 
Pennell.        Saturati-d     air     as     cooling 

agent  ;  conil«'nH.-r.  ^128 
perry.     Gns  engln<-  compression  and  ef 

flclency.  M 
Perkins.     Klektra  steam  torblne. 

•6.15.    779 
Personal    element    In    accidents.       8ig 

waid.  206 

Peru.    Ind.,   gas   plant.      Monnett.  ^498 
Peterson.         Op<-ralion       of       intiuced 

draft    and    duetlon   pnxluci'rs.  77 

prtrolrum    Induittry    of    I      S  319 
I'linalng  a  c.  generators  ;  ronui'cting  up 

transformers     for    phnNlug     lamps. 

F.H.Ie.                                                     •1U4H.  •H)03 

Ph.tt.|.l«ie       MffiM  I    cyllndrr*.  904 

Phllaib'liibia    llonN'-    law.                 «  712 

PhlLi.l.  Il.til:i     K;. I.I.I      rr:ili«lt     Co.  •786 

I'lii  Mirin"-   flre- 

lllbbins.  ■.••! 

Plu :...    ..                 >*2«» 

Plna.    «  r<mi>hi-ad.    i  ant    lr<>ii.    Johniu>n  : 

llerkllng.r.  I**' 

Pinion.    Ilabbltling       Forgard  37(1 

PIPING'. 

Htf    a1«n    •■ni<iwi>ff."    ■Valve,"    etc 

—Ash  r<»nvi-jriT.   Xiiriiiim       lli-ss.  •|o70 

.^|(...    L        t.r.    ...ir.               W   Ilk.    II. ,111  •.'^94) 

_!•.  «4 


nel  ;  auppori*.     Joint*,     drntnag'-. 

ntr  •10<» 

^  ,     ...  _.  i«(j^  Joint.  Johns  Manrlllr           4S.T 

—  I  riniTilons-    I'nder    water 

•ItMW 

!■  iin    =t. -im   t':..-       IM«nn         ••«4S 

I  .1    .   ii.r.,.-  t  I  i  ptarlns 

.   il-, I.I.       •  ,i.»    '        :     r«         Itflrh 

linril  •117 

l>rnlnlng  strsm  piping  lUarh  : 
|il<>«s  :   Raybiirn  :   Fiaelwr 

•V47.  21M,   772.   J0«4 

■  •rlppilte   Inrsllon       l>     F.  H33 

+:qnlvairnl  sirslghl  plpr  for  glotw 
valves,  ttends  and  <lbow«  Car 
penler.  1112 


1  M'l.Nt;. 

^Faulty      piping     Steam      pipe      from 

safety    valv.-.      Hall.  "773 

— Fittings.  Pipe.  Standard.    Moore.  1067 

— Fittings.  Selection  and  safi-ty.      Per- 
kins;   Teng.r.  241.    7«9,    1021 
— Fittings — Su|>erb>-ated-Bteam    effect. 

86.    137.    •405.    770.   935 
(Cast    iron. I    Hughes.  65 

l>rlmroae.  1011 

-Fittings.  "rnionClnch."     Sight  Feed 

Oil    Pump    Co.'a.  ^139 

— Flanges,    rast  steel.  ,  531 

Headers.   Welded-steel,   Uobblns-Gam 

well.  •1034 

-  Heat    Tran.imlH«lon.      Matthews.  67» 
lliating   by   live   and   •■xhnust    steam. 

Jahnk-  •1162 
—'Improvements  —  Pump     governors; 
damper  regulator;  steam  trap,  etc. 

Waki-man.  ^272 

-  Joint    for  .                      -.    Leigh.  •««<• 
-Joint      Ilea'                          Rogers.  •203 

•    Joints,    Flan-  .igh   pressure— 

•Screwed.    p<i  II.  il,    shrunk,    rlvete<| ; 
N'an  .Stone  or  lap  Joints  ;  Mitchell  ; 
t'ranelap;     Whit  lock  ;     autogenous 
welding,  etc.      Fischer.      ^402,  •Ses,   ^454 
Joints.    Van    Stone.  •I 43.    •4P3 

Inception     of     Van     Stone     Joint  ; 
Rockwood   coupling,   etc.  ^736 

— Lebanon  central  heating  plant  ;  con- 
duits, expansion  Joints.  l>eayer- 
tail   anchors,   etc.  ^400 

— Necessity    of    good    work    on    suction 

piping.  86 

Kullock.  S36 

Nipples.        Threading.  Howland ; 

Knowlton.  610.    ^647 

-Piping.   Antl<|ue  :    boring  machine.  ^599 

Piping  oil    Pacific   to   Atlantic.  1096 

-  Piping   vessels   without    threading  or 

soldering.      .Inrkson.  ^466 

I'unip   piping       l>lxon.  ^684 

ItuhtM-r   curing.   Surface   for.  686 

Sijiled   plpi-  connections.      Graham.  ^557 

—Siphon    discussion.      fJallogly.  •HOI 

-  Slzen.    pl|>.-.    without    figures.      Hates.  ^214 

il*lat:ram.  I       .SiM-rry.  ^771 

-  Standpipes.    Wati-r-fMiwer.     Crane.  ^627 

-  Steam    and    hot-water    pipes,    I'ndi-r- 

k'roiitid    Insulatlnn      .»<nrgent.  ^57 

St.ain   l>ox.   Piping.      Haeus«r.  '^46 

Steam  pljM'     lines.     Gate      valves     in. 

Wakeman.  •320 

-  Steam  piping-  I>rop  toward  l>oller — 

iMibell  answered.  204.  647.   1064 

Steam  piping  systems.  High  pressure 
Valves.  expansion.  vlliratlon. 
separators.  Joints,  flanges,  gas 
kets,  welded  headers,  su|><-rheated- 
steam  fittings;  draining.  etc 
Fischer.  •303.    •402.    ^454,    1064 

Suction  pipe  repair      Haw    .  •OSl 

-  Suction     pipes    and    exhaust     fans- 

White    mark    in    !<..       Haeusser.  689 

-  -SupiMtrt    for    flanged    piping.       Mar 

xolf  ^507 

-  Inderground  pii)es ;  Protection    Staten.     80 

-  VIbrntion.    Pnssure,    la   steam    main. 

Polakov.  •SSS 

-  Vise    support.    Movable.       Kllbum.  •4«4 

-  Wasti-    in    plant        MciJahey  ;    John 

son  66 

-  Water  hammi-r      Knowlton  ^713 
-Wat>r     mains.     W<>o«len     rings     for. 

Kavanagh;         Tavlor;         Ruddell 

•446,    687.    774 
•W.  II    i.li...    Itemoving.      Flck  ^648 

-  \>  <    power   plant  •7.'.4.    781 

-  .  Collins       Ilullock  •K.    2T»fl 

-  U  .  ;,lp«-.       Slimier.  47H 

«  rani-  *88 
Piston.     .\lr     compressor.      Kmergency. 

Fales  •68 

Piston    and    rod    failures.      Kn<iwlion.  •118 
llsfon      1 001W    nut        Wsk'-nisn          •3^6.    464 

I'l                                               II  "647 

\-  •2H« 

11.  •H44 

Pisl.iii  r.p«lr.      «  bill,. II.  r  ^244 

llston   rings.   FnierlnB   with   rope  •t»79 

Piston   rings.   S«-eii..nnl      WIegand  •»<»0 
Piston  rod  broke      St..  ehan      •."«rt2   «40. 

OKU.  to2« 

Pt. •     '  '• .......„.,  •2''' 

fi  did  .    how 

•  n;. 

pi  "■ — low        "4«t.. 

I-  •277 

p.  ••»"» 

PMliI  •  '  «>■ 


PaOR 

•«7» 

339 

977 

•828 

64 


Plcnf 

fi 


">n    r*     4rt     7«l 


..    73© 

;    ..f    .-:il 

•lo« 

■■f. 

•95« 

-  for  elec. 

Polarity.    Ueversat   of.      M'DeriBott. 
Polarity     r^-vemal.     Young's.       CartIn : 

Kyies;    KIrlln.  125.    249. 

Poiarliv.  Reversing.     West  ;  Leea  :  Uen- 

..........  .j32^ 

!'•  :ve   gear.      Rice. 

P'.  .'ass    pipes       Draper. 

PiKji'-,  •      i     Southern  Power  Co.'a  ty%- 

tern. 
— Thrvo-wlro  sjr«»<-m   with  or-  drnsm'* 

-    I 

p.- 

Poi\t..tinii     lii«t     «■ .      .\     > 

Porter  awarded  Frlu  medal 

Porter.  H.  C 
Porter-Allen 

Port-  r.   It       I 


p.  1».    Watiiun  "ISl.   437 

P'  •  p'.w.r    bouse.     Johnson. 

p.  !ie  accld<-nt.  'Oia.  !%yi 

p.  ,.r»-*aor.    K    W.  95 

!••  944,   949 

Power,    Actual    cukI   uf.  219 

Polakow  ;    Samuels  ;   Jackson.   506, 

688.    111! 
Power.  Uorse.  and  Kilowatt  conversion 

table.  72S 

Power  costs,  5000  k.w.   central  station 

Knowlton.  905 

Power      harnessing,      CtTeater      N.      V. 

Rowsey.  ^705.    10U9.    1081 

Power,    Horse,   curTes.    Pronybrake.  ^687 

Power,   Horse,  of  gas  engine,   Estlmat- 

ing.       Poole.  572 

Power.  Horse,   to  turn  drum.  ^823 

Power-house  featur>-«,   rnlf]ii«*     Knight       1119 
Power      increase      ' 

•604.  •  ii«a 

power  plant.      S«-' 

tral."  etc. 
Power  plant    depreciation.       Neely.  •1028 

Power  plant    layout.      Wilson  •892 

power  plant.   Mllbr  k  Lux.      Dean.  •&S0 

power    plant.    Small.    .Making    improre- 

ments   In.      Shad.  8M 

Power   plant,   Starrett   Co.'s.  •542 

Power-plant     su(M'rrision.     Extraneoas 

125.  l«<t.  ^414.  557 
Power  plant.  West  Point  Academy.  ^747,  781 
I'ow.-r.  Reserve,  for  auxiliaries  Wake- 
man •150 
power  -  -  uth.  Extensive.  Poole.  "1 
power  n.  Gt  Ilrlt.  Booth  1.10 
I.-., !,.,.„  216 
p.  I'arnithera.  •646 
i't                                                     ind   pumpa.   'iK> 

Pr.  .-...•         .-•     ...- .K. 

IT.  H-ure.    .\iMioluie   terminal     .\     W.    V.  '      179 
I'r.  HMire.    Back.    Re«lu.-«-d.      Waldroo  •2»4 

Pressure.    Gage   and    abMolote  14 

Pressure.    High.    Value    of       ....-  •SOS 

Prissun-.     Rereiv.r.    F     J      I».Uli!  «I8 

Pressure.     Rereiver.    r«'g\ilator.    M  « 

Pri'ssure   ri'giilntor.   Gasometer,   at 
IYessur>.  tftniMTature    r>-latiun      H«^-  •isi 

PressuH'.      Terminal.      .\pproxlmatton 

Csrruthers.  •24S 

Pressure  to  lift  p- ■■■    •201. 

•46«>.    •561 
Pr'-'xiir-*     « •.ifi.l.  •  II    re 

il.llilieirii  191 

p  etc.  •«2S 

Pr  1128 

Priiiir    «•       I  .n-t  ir.ii  tiiiln.-'  .ii.-l  "Uper- 

healed    stram  101 1 

IT'.M.  m        power  iran«ni!-«i   i;  Car 

•«4« 

r  i«      s«* 

I':                         •»  nn.l  n>'  4*0 

p,  •rtH? 

p  •.•i»9 
p                                                                       J          •117 

p  41V 

p  •441 

p  •XXi 


ITMI 


-Air    punti       Hn-    also    "Air,"    "Cos- 
denM-r 

Air  i.iiit.i.    ».r»ii.-.  Ml.  I.I     in    numpiag 

■( 
Air    :  o4 


iTyi"-    of   lOlprller  I 


•Ut 


1 


oaaactlaa. 


81. 


Plant. 
Player       "li 
Plata   hotel 
Pneiimallr    - 


way    trMi 

•tn 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


PAGE 


— •. 'ondt'u.sor  pumps.     Orrok. 

— Ciintroller.   Power-pump.      Richards. 

— Cylinder  repair.     Kinsey. 

— I»ry-vacuum   pump  diagrams.      West- 


machine.    Vilter,    Motor- 


•06] 
-430 
*166 

•24t5 


— liry-vaeuum    pumps    interchangeably 
connected    with    condensers.     Mar- 
tin. -'.jT 
— ^ItupIi'X  pot-valvc  pump.  Dean.                 *111.'S 
— Electrolysis  and  corrosion.     Johnson.        797 
— Electrolysis   and    sui)erheat.             •405,    770 
— Elevator  pump.  42-in..  1.  p.,  Donald- 
sou   c'o.'s.   Minneapolis.                           *997 
— Elevators    —    I)anjierous      Omission. 

Wakeman.  *22S 

— Erskin«»'s    inventions.      Buffet.  *23 

— Faulty    conui'ctions    — •  Heater   loca- 
tion.     Mc<.'ah.'y.  *55S 
— -Foot  valves  and  suction-pipe  repairs. 

Haw.  *651 

— Gas-engiue   tire-service    pumping   sta- 
tion. Phila.     Bibbins.  971 
— Holland's  old   quadruple   pump.                 *599 
— Hot  water.   I'umping.      Cryster.  200 
— Improvt-ments  —  Governors  ;       sight- 

fi^ed  lubricator,  etc.     Wakeman.  *272 

— Lifting  limitations  of  pump.     Wallis.       380 

Ellerlu-ock.  891 

— Lining.  Copper  and  brass.  Hamilton.      *352 

- — Low-pressure    pumping     installation, 

!>.■  Laval.      <;uy.  *720 

— Oil-pump    valvi'    si-at.    Lo(*se.  *770 

— 'Packing    tr<)ubl<'.    Remedying.      Orr.        *605 
— Peculiar  trouble — \'alve  worn 

through.      Wing.  *976 

— Piping.    <;(,od.    needed.      .  86,    336 

— Piping.   Pump.      Dixon.  *684 

— Potblyn.  Pump  Doctor.     Watson.  *131,  437 
'Trouble   in    pumping   plant;    cen- 
trifugal  pump.  I      Wilhelmsen.  •975 
— Potomac    Klec.    Co.'s    Laidlaw-Dunn- 

Gordou   dry-vacuum  pumps,  etc.  *58.5 

— Pound  in  check  valve.     F.   G.  703 

— Power   pump.    Lucas   "Bestyet."  *991 

— Pressure  requisite  to  lift  check 
valve.  Glick  ;  Hawkins  ;  Snow  ; 
Helms :  Durand ;  McCarthy ; 
Pearce :     Fischer :     Covey  :     Sears. 

59.   •201.  244.   245.  339,   *460,   *56l 
— Pressure.    Water.    Increasing.      Par- 
ker. *506 
— Regulator.   Homi-made.      Dolphin.          *1160 
— Relief  valvi'.   Homemade.      Grant.  •164 
— St.      Clair      tunnel      pumping      sta- 
tion.                              ,                               *114a 
— Screens   for   suctions.      Collins.  *343 
— Suction   limit.      Sperrv.                           64,   427 
— Test.    Pump.    Results.    Gulick.  .650 
— Turbini'-pump                characteristics  ; 
curvi's  :       firi-      pumps ;       Alberger 
pumij.s.  et<'.     Ray.                            *535,  699 
— Valvi'    break?       What     caused.       Al- 
fred. 417 
— ^'alves.    Pump.      Fryant ;    Whelpton. 

562,    889 
— Working    h.ad.    Power.    Goulds.  *902 

Purg^   di'vice.   Ammonia   condensers.  601 

Pyrometi'r.   Bristol.  *576 


Quick.        Eb'clric   dynamometers.  *209 


Racini'  hotel  accident.      Wallace.  •769 
Railwav      powi-r     plants.      Street      and 

<-h-<:  310 

Rand.   .laspt-r   R..    Death   of  704 

Randall.      Sebction   of  coal.  642 

— Smoki-b'ss    coml)Uslion.  801 

Rat,    Engini-  stopped   by.      l'alm<'r.  93S 

Ratiau-Smoot    1.   p.  turbines.            *652,  *1100 
Rafi-an    sti'ani    regenerators.           72,    241,    471 

Hathbun    gas   engine.    Test    of.  ^636 

.MeAlpin.  *ni3 

Ray.    F.    L.    Surface   condensers.  *76 
— Turbinr'-pump  cbai-acteristics.          •535,   699 

Ray.    W.    F.      Ile.-it    transmission.  •1144 
Reactance  coils  in   geni-rating  stiitions. 

.Junk.Tsf.-id.  1117 

Reading.   Tb-'  ix-nefii    of.  '.)4r, 

Reavell    high-speed    engini'.  *369 

Receiver    drop.  530 

Receivr-r  pressure.      F.  .1.  De  Witt.  64X 

Receiver-pressure    n-gulator.    Main's.  ^204 
Records.   Motor,   on   index   cards.   Fenk- 

hausen.  •416 
Records.    Plant.    Keeiiin-/.      Bogart.  242 
MacFarland.  510 
G'ell  :    llardin.  *727 
Editorial.  987 
Recording  coal.  Cary.  •359 
Reed.    E.    G.    Improvements    in    trans- 
formers. *1118 
Reed.  E.  T.  Brockton  lighting  station.  "315 
Reeves  wood  pulley.  Large.  *134 
Refrigerating       machine,       Absorption. 

Crane.  •1152 


Refrigeratin^ 

driven.                                                    *  *445 

Refrigerating  plant.   Minneapolis  store.  *997 

Refrig(>rating   plant.    Plaza    hotel.  "SBO 
Refrigerating  plant.  Steel  works.     Mon- 

nett.  ^382 
Refrigerating   plant,    Westchester   mar- 
ket. *874 
Refrigerating     plants.     Condenser     and 

back   pressures   in.      Matthews.  1!'] 
Refrigerating      svstem.        Compression. 

Matthews.  *81 
Refrigerating  system.   Valves  of.  Mark- 
ing.     Reynolds.  1158 
Refrigeration — Calculating   capacity   of 

absorption    machinery.      Robertson.  60 

Refrigeration,' Carnegie  Inst.  •*109 
Refrigeration    —     Heat     transmission. 

Matthews.  67S 
Refrigeration,  Indicators  in.  Pattes-on.  718 
Refrigeration — Alaking  ice  cream.  *366 
Refrigeration — Purge  device  for  am- 
monia condensers.  601 
Refrigeration  troubles.  W.  R.  J.  393 
Refrigeration — Wet  vs.  dry  compres- 
sion. 45' 
Regrinding  valves.  Howland.  605 
Regulator,     Pump,     Auto.,    Homemade. 

Dolphin.  *1160 

Regulator,  Tirrill.  experience.     Nelson.  *551 

Regulators — High    water    level.      Crane.  198 

Remarkable  statement.  A.  175 

Remodeled   steam    plant.      Bryson.  *378 

Rendering-tank    explosion.    St.    Louis.  *628 

Replacing   old   equipment.  350 
Report   sheets.   Roiler-room.                   *553,   811 

Report  sheets,   I'laza  hotel.  '871 

Reports   and    records.                    242,    510,  *727 
Reservoir    moved     b.v    internal     forces. 

Frazier.  *195 

Return    steam    traj).      Williamson.    *609,  1067 

Return  trap,  American  "Detroit."  *138 
Reversed    polaritv.  •  Young's.       Cartin  : 

Byles;    Kirlin.  125,    249,    389 

Reversing   compound-wound  dynamo.  313 

R«versing  d.c.  machines.     McDermott.  *679 
Reversing  polarity.     West ;  Lees  ;  Den- 

ington.  732,  977 
Reversing  value  g(>ars.  Rice.  *825 
Revolution  .gage.  Engine.  Schindler.  *559 
Reynolds,  Edwin.  Death  of.  *421,  428 
Reynolds,  L.  C.  Marking  valves  of  re- 
frigerating system.  115S 
Rice.        Hydrolectric     plant,      Milford. 

•269,  686.  10G3 

— 'Reversing   valve    gears.  *825 

— Sewalls    Falls    plant.    Concord.  *928 
— Sioux   Falls   hydroelec.   devel.                   *1085 

Rice   roller   relief   bearing.  *947 
Rice-Sargent   engines.    West   Point.    *752,    781 

Richards.      Homemide   apparatus.  *434 

Richardson.      Purchasing    and    burning  i 

coal.  213 
Rider.     Greenwich  station,  London.     916,  943 


Ridgway    "Elliott''    stoker. 

Ridgway    engine-turning    device. 

Ridgway    engines.    Close    regulation. 

Ridgway  4-valve  engine  test. 

Rings,   Wooden,   in  water  mains.    *446, 

68- 
Ringwood   iron  worWs.      Buffet. 
Ripley.      Fallacious    reasoning. 
— Blowers  as  breakdown  insurance. 
Riveting.      See    ".loint,"    ''Boiler." 
Robbing   Peter. 

Robbins-Giimwell   welded-steel   headers. 
"Rol)ert   Fulton,"  Terry  turbine  on. 
Robson.     (Jas  power  as  aid  to  electrical 
industries. 

.ioints. 
Sewage    and    brown 


Rockwood.      Pipe 
Rogers,     B.     W. 

coal   as   fuel 
Rogers.      W.      O. 

Watt. 
— Hampton  pow( 
— Plaza    hotel    equipment. 
—'Development    pf    surface 


Visitation      of 


plant. 


.Tas. 
*54S, 


•782 
•702 
1047 
1098 

',  774 
•23 

983 
1142 

657 

•1034 

*967 

210 
•736 

*840 

•968 
•141 
•865 


condenser. 
•297,    *34; 
— .\mbrose    channel    lighlsbin. 
--Coming    Hudson-Fulton    celebration. 
-—Reclaiming  coal  from  culm  pile. 
Roller  relief  bearing.    Rice. 
Roller    tool    for    Babbitt    bearing. 
Roofing.    Cement.      Seymour. 
Rope  drive.  Cut  off  for.  Barnes'. 
Rope    drive    for   governors.      Mcl-aren  : 

.Myers.  204.   465.   937 

Rope    vibration   and    tension.      Hastings.      980 
Ropes.    Scjua re-plaited. 
Rotary    converter.       See    "Converter." 
Rotary   engine   and   .lames    Watt. 
Rotary  engine,  Cooke's  old.     Buffet. 
••I?ot()''    tube    cleaner. 
I'lowsey.     Harnessing  power.  N.  Y.  ^705 

Low-iires.   inspection.  N.  Y. 
Itublier.    Curing.       Stevens. 
Rudolph.      ()liseui-e    armature    trouble. 


,  468 
•407 
*75S 

►1053 

♦947 

•040 

25(t 

*.305 


•479 

•96S 
♦590 

•02 
1031 
1  000 

086 
•240 


Safety        See     also     "Valve,"      "Stop," 

"(Conveyer,"  "Anti-.Vccident,"  etc. 
Safi'tv   and   Sanitation,   Museum. 

?,10,   715.   779 


PAGE 

Safetv    cams — Wear.      Trvim  :    lientiu. 

•730.    973 
Safety  for  boiler  attendants.  699.  695 

St.  Clair  tunnel  plant.     Monnett.  •1135 

St.   Louis  rendering-tank  explosion.  *628 

"St.   Paul,"   Split  cylinder  on.  •190 

Salary   increase,   .\sking  for.      Mitchell.        381 
Campbell  ;   Cerny.  731 

Williamson  ;   Rees  ;   Kerr.  773 

Sargent  ;     Brown  ;     Lister  ;     .John- 
son ;  Anderson  ;  Carman.  807 
"Salem,''  Tests. 

055,   693,   690,   778.  862,   *905,   1027 
Salesmen's  experiences.  656,   657 

Sampler,   Flue-gas.      Howard.  *465 

Sarcastic  advice.     Jorden.  1110 

"Saturation"   of   steam.  63.    198,   337,   893 

Savery  engine.  Rogers  ;  Buffet.  ^548,  *597 
Sawdon.  Heat  transfer  to  water.  *ll6,  936 
Sawdust    stoker.      Henry.  *333 

Sawford.  Blowing  whistle  automatically.  •ISS 
Sawmill  motor  drives.  *115 

Sawj'cr.     Electrolysis  and  superheat. 

♦405,   770,   797,   935 
Scale.   See  also  "Limewater,"  "Water," 

"Boiler,"  etc. 
Scale  and  corrosion.  Impurities  causing. 

Greth.  410 

Scale    in    boilers.    Effect.      Gansworth  : 

Bradshaw.  66,  247 

Erith's   Engineering   Co.  •  289 

(Scaled   boiler  surfaces.)      Fiske.  508 

Scaled   pipe  connection.      Graham.  *557 

Scaling  and  corroding  substances  and 
their  elimination  from  water. 
Greth.  1091 

Scare.   Harmless.      Ralph  511 

Schmid  stop  valve.  *222 

School,  Cleveland  Tech.  High.  *951 

Schuler.      Wrought  pipe.  478,  686 

Schutte  motor-operated  gate  valve.  ^482 

Scott.     Decrease  of  weight  of  lignite  in 

transit.  842 

Screen  sizes,  Coal  washeries.  *1056 

Screens  for  pump  suctions.  Collins.  *34.3 
Screwdrivers.     Collins.  *22 

Scam.      See    "Joint,"    "Boiler,"    "Man- 
hole." 
Sell's   spur-gear   reverse.  *831 

Sense  of  proportion.     Booth.  419 

Senter  feed-water  control.  *948 

Separator — Grease  extractor,  American.  *1131 
Separator,  Live-steam  tests  at  Armour 

Inst.     Gebhardt.  *834 

Separator,  Oil,  Homemade.     Dow.  *337 

Marsiolf.  *1110 

Separator  or  trap — .\ir  receivers.  *645,  1064 
Separator.  Steam,  Stanley.  *139 

Separators,   Steam.      Fischer.  *364 

Series  circuit  supplied  from  constant- 
potential.  (Jrove.  415 
Set  screws.  Broken,  Removing.  Taylor.  *558 
Sewage,  (-tc,  as  fuel.  Rogers.  *840 
Sewalls  Falls  plant.  Concord.  Rice.  *928 
Sewell.  Lubricants  for  cylinders.  285,  805 
Shaft.  Broken,  wrecked  engine  and  gen- 
erator. *438 
Shaft.  Crank,  bn  aks  repeatedlv.  119 
Shaft.  Crank,  repair,  I'nusual.  Blake.  *168 
Shaft.  Turbine,  Worn.  Turning.  Lane.  *296 
Shafts.  Questions  on.  II.  II.  *703,  943 
Shafts,  Turbine,  Critical  speed.  *1105 
Shafting  alinement.  Lomas.  *258 
Shafting  leveling  device.  Richards.  *1109 
"Shafting.    I'ulleys.    Belting   and    Rope 

Transmission."     Collins.  t223 

Sheehan's  motor  trouble.  161,  *205 

Sheldon.     "Alt.   Current  Machines."  t704 

Shields.       Formulas    computing    results 

of   gas   analysis.  1121 

Shovel,    Accident   in   trimming.  *769 

Shunted  ammet(>r.  The.      Poole.  *526 

Sight    Feed   Oil    Pump   Co.'s   fittings.  *139 

Signal  system.   Gas-engine.     Little.  *975 

Simplex    blow-off    valve.  *221 

Sioux  Falls  hydro-elec.  devel.  Rice.  *1085 
Siphon  discussion.     Gallogly.  891 

Sisson   high-speed   engine.  •373 

Slack  coiil.   lUirning.  732,   *883 

Slide  rule   for  belting  problems.  *169 

Smallwood.  Indicator-diagram  inaccur- 
acies, drum-motion  distortion, 
etc.  •192.    379,    »490,    *1019 

Smith   producer  in   grist   mill.  617 

Smith,  Jas.  Bracing  dome  heads.  *633.  ♦1023 
Smith,   J.   O.   Carborundum  in  wireless 

telegi-a|)hy.  1175 

Sm()ke-al)atement  conferences  pro- 
posed. 863,  1071 
Smoke.  Anti-,  bill,  I'enn.  721 
"Smoke  consumer,"  .\nother.  739 
Snu)ke  fliu\  Gas  burns  in.  Adams.  ^892 
Smoke  not  always  wasteful.  Lodge.  768 
Smokeless  combustion.  Getting.  Kirlin.  '468 
Smokeless     combustion.       Randall     and 

Weeks.  642.   801 

Smoot.      Low-pressure   turbines.  •IIOO 

—At  Vandergrift.  ^652 

Snee  wave  motor.      Van  Winkle.  *395 

Belles.  *845 

Snell.  .\ddress  of.  130,  216 

Snow.  Truth  about  small  reciprocat- 
ing engine.  •602.  891.  936,  1166 


POWKR  -WO  TUF  KXOIXKRR. 


»3 


"Social  KntrlniM-rlnK."  Tnlman.  t578 
Koftcnlnt:  water,  etc. 

.'541.  .•5S«.   4rj.   •4'_'.'.   •.'.'.2.   Nil,  11«7 

"Sonn'  nl<<"  warm  Hprint;  mnmlnj:."'  7S1 

S<i«it.   I'.|(iwin>;  out   of  l.ollcrt«.  'M'2 

Sfiiitlnrn    Power   «'o.'n  KyHtein.      Poole.  •! 

Spanlsli  windluHH.  Kean.  '078 
Spiirkirii;      S«e  ••('omnititator. "  "BruHh." 

etc. 
Speclrtc.  See  Heat."        •"Volumo," 

••S'eiim.' 

KiK-clflcatlonfi.    rnreanonalile.  R4l 

Spfed— -<'l>rono>rraph.  Iiiirund.  •:i04 
Sp<>-<l.  t'rltical.  turbine  Hhaftx.  'IIO.'! 
Sp<  I*!-  Tachoimters.                           •17H.     •ll.'U 

Sju'Dci  t      conveyer     Kafetv     device.  •ItH.'l 

Sp«Try.  .Mr  reolvirs.  '  •04.'..  1<I«4 
Hprat'ue.      Debt    of  tlectrlHty    to   hlirh- 

Hpoed    engine.  74.' 

HpracU''  electric  dynamometer.  •'Jlo 
Sprinj:»,    etc.      Safetv-valve.      t'arbart. 

.'>2ii.  .'.tU.  St04 

Stacey.  T4~itln){  ln<t<ictlon  motor.  •.'{•51 
Stack.      S«'e    "rhlmney." 

Staff.  The  line    •reorj.'anlieH"  The.  174 

Slatterv.  1.1(1 
.'Standard        independent         sti-am-|{aK«> 

movement.  •LIS*.   24:{.  r.i:i 

Htandard  of  exce||.-n<  •■.  A.  107S 
Standard    iiliuiKer   e|..vaton«.   etc. 

•\-2*i.   •1.'.4.    'I'Stt.    •4li«.  •.'.44 

SlandpipeH.   Water  iM.wer  supply.   Crane.  •027 

Stanley    Mtiam    m-parator.  •130 

Starnit    «'o.   power   plant.  •.'.42 

Starter.      Induct l<>n  motor.     Wajtner.  •20.'. 

Starling   Induction    motorn.                  •72.H.  •M41 

Starting   motor.    IMttlculty.      Oane.  •,'.u.'. 

Station-load    Indicator.      ('(Mi|M-r.  ^24.^ 

Stayl.oltH.    Kl.xll.le       Wille.  •2m» 
Steam        S.e    jil«o    •Kncine."     'lioiler.' 
•■Tiirlilne."         •■I'limp."         "Trap." 
■•<  •(>nd''nH<-r."  ••S«-i.arator."  '■tSaue."* 
•SuiM-rheat,'"       •IMpInK,"       •lleat- 

InK.  ■     etc. 

Slenm     anti     Inertia     forceii.     AnalyHla. 

Ilollmann  •O'.':: 

'     Steam   box.   nplnK.      llaeUfiHer.  •H4«l 

Steam,  t'alorlmeter  teMtn.      Hooth.  2.'>4 

Kteam    coIIm.       ileatlnu    power    curves.  ••_'.'!• 

Sti'am   con«umptl<m   of   [wrf'-ct    ensine.  •lloi 

Steam    liuct     •Hurnlnu    line    fuel.  •142 

Steam.    Kneri:y    chnrtM    for.      NellHon.  •.'i<)l 

Steam    KiicTKy   In  pound  of       I.ow.  •22.'. 

Steiiiii,    Kxbiiuiit.   hi'iitint:  '»74 

.Moniiett  ^441 

Wnkeuian.  '.Mrj 

rrane.  •.s4n 

J.ihnke.  •mil- 

.steam     iieneratiM     i  l.-ctricity.       (Jluyn.  2H4 

Steam.    Ih-at    In       Hurt  :    l>olt)-r.  211.   Oo7 

Steam.    Intr<Mluclni;.   Into  coIIh.'  •203 

Steam    jjK-ketini;.    Kffect    of:    Indicator 

f<ir  MhowitiK  action  of  Hteam.   iH.n- 

kin  ;  .Hollin.kx.  ^172 

St.aui    nozzle.    McClehiin    furnace.  •O'Jti 

Stean.   plant.    |{emi«iiled.      lirywon.  •.'{7s 

Sti'ain   pro«luct|on.   Kc<inomlcal.  .\rt  of.  .'.7.'. 

SteaiD.    Saturi'te<l.    Spec,    volume.       I'eu- 

|H,dy  •H7!t 
Steam.    Saturation   of       Hart    et    at. 

0:i.    1!IK.   .'{.17.   MH.'l 

Steam   Hav.r.    Ileatlnt:  cull       !iawkln.<  •721t 

Sti-ani.  S<ime  pro|HrtleH  nf.  Hick  •H7«i 
.Steam    Kiipirlieatii    when    espandlnu    In 

r..-.lv.  r.      J     U.  •"ii.'l 

Stea-iiiioal.  Hull  •»,  ituffrt.  •7112 
Steel  LnnilM  v«.  l.-aih.r  \»\1h.  •I.'.h.  hmh; 
StiM'l  ci>m|.oHl(ioii  I'iriK  and  nhaftH  •tl.'i'.i.  ti7t( 
StiH-l.    I  hilt    of    •  ra    of.    to    hiKh  ii|M-ed 

Hieam    euKine        Hunt.  744 
Hii<-.  work*.   KefrlifemilnK  pinut.  Mon- 

irtt  •.•tH2 

Bti  t-f.  Alcohol  \N  itniiob'tie  17.'l 
>  HIailon  of  CO,  to  chimney  |<muu-n.  KM.'. 
»•'»<•(  mtli.       KIrc        Knxin.erInK       l^-c 

ur  a.  t.'.7>« 

-     p..ii4oii   vulve  Bear,   l><  HiKnInK.  •s'j.". 

•^  ■  •-  p.  *:,n 

|>                                   I'Iniia   K  •!»HH 

If   viilviii   for.  •11. ■17 

•>'.  K         r.    !■•    i  n\      t'o.'a.  •7«M» 

''4.  Mfchnnbai.      llldioKay      "Kl 

..ft  •7HO 

Henry  'laa 

.1.   etc        White.         O.'lil.    1004 

icnwibne    enirtni'  ••MM 

}  u.[      ^nt;i^•      II    lie  made       lllnnn  •li-17 

Hlot..  Hafity.  Itiik-litD  Vliill  241 
Hto|i      valvi-.      Kni'-rk'ency.      non  n-lurn. 

liihBld  •-.'22 

St.-i>«.    Kairtne,    Aulomiillc       Kanrh  07 

HI.      If         l.iilt.r\            HfN-        •'Untlrnr.  ■ 


rr   ralv.  'IHIS 

!                ^Ine.   tirowih    of  '»TM 

•  r»,    iMiii).  >uct|nn       <  i.llln*  •.14.'l 
Marine    pr.Mlurrr  itr«    |w>wrr 

•M."V7.   H1M».  I>0,1 

•11    of    rompn-iuiUm  •.13H» 

1.    jniniii  rtin 

.,...,..;,       Till.  •IM 

driT.  r«        '  ..lln.  •21 

Hrokeii     i:>iii">lnK       Tnyl   r  ".»r»»* 


i-AUt: 

Stuffinx-hox,    Valve  riKl,    repair.      Jame. 

H«n.  ^247 

Sturterant    ttteam    turbine.      <»rrok. 

•H.-.o.  «»04.    1109 

"Succ'bm"  holler  <-ompotmd  fii-der.  'XM't 

Suction   limit.   I'ump      Sperry.  04.   427 

Suction    priKlucer.      S«'e    ■'(',«%." 

Sulphite,     pilch.  447 

Sulphur,    rhemistrv   of.      Palmer. 

•UH\.  •lom.    1107 

SuiM-rhent    and    eiectrolyala. 

•40.'..  77t».  7!t7.  »;{.'. 

Superheat    and    wire-drawinjt.      JohnKon.    !'2.') 

SuiM-rheat.   Formula   for      Winner.  •1111 

Snp<  rbeat.     Oaln      from.        ItritUh     i-n' 

L'lnes.  ^276 

Superheated    Hteani.    Kffect    on    mineral 

•  yllnd.r    oil-  147 

SuiM-rheated     Ktenm.     Kffi'<-t     nn     valve* 

and  nttinsK.  Xfl.   l.'!7 

Ma.it   In.::.  I      HuKhen.  O.'i 

PrimroiM-.  l«iii 

Superheated  Hteam    flttinex       Klwher. 

.'too.    •402.    •4.'.4 

Superheater.    Fohier.    ni-paratt-ly    flr«'d.      •II.'IS 

SuixrheatinK    wl)>n    expandinK    in     r<>- 

r  elver.        J.     1>  •70.'{ 

Su|MTviHion.  Kxtraneous.  of  |)ower 
plantH.  Kelsev  :  Mown  :  W<«t<'r 
field:    Bradbury.  12.'.    100.    •414.    .'..'.7 

Support    for   flanm<l   pipinc.      Marzolf.  •.'.07 

Swnrtzell.      Ice-cri-am   makint;.  ••'{tlO 

Sweet.      Steam  en irine   ex|x-riment  sn2 

Kepalrini;  a    worn   irulde.  n.lft 
«:ri.wth   of  hlKb  spe<d   inKlne.           •!».'0.   'i'o 

Swift   &  t'o.'n  j.'a!<  power   plant.   .\.    Y.  •S7;{ 

Switch.    tHI.    Solenoid  o|wrated.  •.'« 

Switch    to   prevent   crane   overtravei.  •SK7 

SwiKh.   Yale-liKklntt.      t'ary.  •.ir.O 
Switchboard       arranueinent.        Isolated 

plants.  lO.ni 
Swltchboanl        design.        Smailatation. 

«;ulde     to          «;enl.     Klec.     I'D.  •44S 

S.\  nchronl'lni:    Inmjis.   »>tc.      Koofe.  •lOO.'l 

Svnchronlzint  tnuible      tJreer:  Ccates  : 

Jackaon.  •7-2.-..    •!t74.    'lojo 


Tool   board.    How   to   make       1 
Tool.    Roll,  r    f.  r    i.a'.l.itt    l-ari'  . 
To«d.     I  M.       Ijiu- . 

T<K>i.  '1  .•D  crnter  crank 


en;.- . 
T<m>Ih.    H<'U1' 
TimjIs,   To  et 
ToHi    et    al.       1 


■la.      *\\tHt 
•l<» 


.sir.. I, 
Stud 

MtlKl- 


Table   for  oil   cans       lieirlln,  •!»7ft 

Tiible.    II  p   k.w     conv. mlon.  72.'l 

'lachom.ter.    I.i«|ul«l.    Veeder  •ns 
Tachometer.         Portable.           Industrial 

In»t.    fo.'s.  •11.'{I 
Tank     capacltv     in     uallon*.     Findinit. 

li^nltz  MO 
Tank.      Concrete.      fee<l-water     storage. 

Miller.  •SO? 

Tank.    Prilllnir  a.      Vlall  •4'20 

Tank   bakat'e      Cold   water.      ('..    H.  OO? 

Tank.   Henderint:,  expbmlon.  St.   Louiii.  •02H 
Tank.   Watir.   Bolbr  aa       Mxon.          ••'{7.'..   729 

Tanks.    Dyehoune.   Ilentlnv       Shad.  R94 

Tanks.  Caso.,  Kepalr  with  soat>.  1074 
Tanks.      Heat      trnnNmiaslon      throuRh 

Matthews.  67« 
Tanks.      Hectaninilar.      Chart      for     di- 
mensions and  capacltv       Inirand  •ISl 
SiMrrv  "IflS 
Tanks       festlnjf.    Stiam-Turbim-.    Lane.  'SR 
Tap.   Tin  covered.  'SI 
Tnsmanln.    Water   |>ow<t    in.  ^^^ 
'I'ecbnical   education       Johnston  :   John- 
son.                                                           200.  .-..-.0 
"TemiMrature-Kntropv   DiaKram   "  Berry,    t^rtit 
TemiMratures,    Fabr  Cent.     <*hanulnir 

••JOo.   •926 
TemiHraturo.   Motor  M4.  .tHH.   4ia 

Tenn.    C  .    I     *    IL    K     Co  •«   enirine.  •HIH 

Tenn     Cop     Co  •«    boiler    expliwit.n.  •ll.M> 

(I»rei«"ure  gngv.  etc  •  •I  101 
Terman.      Preparing  iKiliera  for  inmn'c 

.     tion  «fl'.    "'"' 

Terminal     preaaups.     ,\pproTlmation. 

Carniihers.  •24.'l 
Terry  aleam  turbln-       orrok      •s'.o.  1MM.  1101* 

Terrr  turbine  on  Hobert  Fulton."  •IM»7 
Ti-allnc.     lioiler.     »■  (-ent     rellnemenla 

Cary  •^'••' 
T-stinK     machine.     Mammoth.     Kroery. 

Pro|MMwd.  ^*** 

TesilnK.   Steam  eniflne      Wi«n.  r  •1111 

Teian.  Fu.  I  quest|..ii  In  l"l< 
Teitlle  eslabllshm.nta.  Motive  p«w.  r  402 
Thermomiter    fiT    Jacket    water.      Ayl 

want  *'** 
Thermometer".    Fahrenheit    and    fenti 
irrnde     Conver-inn  »caii'  ami  lahlr 

Hand  •2<1«' 

Threaillnit   nipplea.      Ilnwiand  :    Knowl 

Ion  «"».   ••»«" 

Three  pboBe  circuit  The  7S» 
"niri'f-  win-    nyiilem    with    <n>e    dynam" 

Throlll.s  Webatrr  •H*** 
Tllden         •ielllni     D)-«t     out     nf    faa    rU 

.-111..  •I'»^'» 

I  .                                                                Itrmrnt.  "Ml 

1                                                           of  »H» 

Nil»..n  'WH 

Tolman.        S.n^Ut   ».i»*lo— rtn« "  fit* 

ToBK*.    nh.r   fu~-       nirhard*  "IIO* 


Tower  gas  engine. 

Tra<k    for  w<mk1.      S<arr  '■' 

Transformer   action.    I'uaxliuw       .V|i«««ii  •.;hi) 

Brown:    Cernv  :    Kllroy.  7.10 

Haar.  •"MO 
Transformer      coiine«-tloi;»          Cam  11  : 

Jackson:    Kiln.y  :    •;r.-«r. 

•24(1.   4«Ml.   .'.«l.   04< 
Transformer  conne«tions.   :(-pha»<-.   and 

resulting   voltag.  s.      William"  "TH 
Transformer       lm|>ri.vim>  nt«.         U«-«mI  : 

I^iyman.  •1118 
Transformers.       Connecting      up.       for 

svnchroni/ing  and   phasing   lamii* 

F.M.te  -I' 93 
Transmission      dynamometer.        Kener- 

aon.                                                    W-'l.  •l"72 

Trap.    Bucket.    Silckb  •:>'' 
Trap.    Iteturn-siiam.    Sterling'.      Will 

lamson.  •«!«* 

I  Wont    work.  I      <»rr  10«7 
rrap.     Ueturn.    iM-troli.       Am     Blower 

Cos  •13» 

Trap.   Vacuum.  Strong.  'I*! 
Trap.      St>  am.      connection*         Wak» 

man.  ^274 

Trails.    St. am.    Location.      Mc^Jahey  •124 

Trent<in    -Tvim-  .\"  gas  engine  •1132 

Tr«iuble'r      What    Is.  «57 

BInns.  »*» 

Trvcock.   Babbitting       Young  •HW« 
Tube.        S<-<'     al8<i      'Flue.'      "Piping.' 

"B<iller."    etc. 

Tube   blower.    V     S.  ••'•32 

Tube  cleaner — l.agonila   f«-<'d<-r  •620 

Tut»'   cleaner.    P<k>I    •Little   iHant /  •5.12 

Tube   cbaner.    'Itoto  •  "wa 

TuIm'.   f.,n<lenwr.    packing.      Kln>-y  •HM 

Tube  tile     furnao   riHifs.       lUment  'tWI 

TulMs.    Boiler.    F.xpnndlng.      Caflero  1112 
Tubes,  t'ondenser.   Hard  or  »«.ft       Cnin< .       <ll 

TtilMS.   F.xpandlng.  lause  baks'r     C    l»  H23 

Tub.  s.   Hre.   B.nt.  fauw.      11    S  907 

Tunn.l.   St.    flair,   plant       M.mn.tt  •I  135 

Tiinni  I    svst.  m.    W.  st    Point.  •?« 


rriiBi-NK.  «;as«ilkxe 

-  Stommi  Is  turbine  rngin.v  *M\ 

TIUBINK.    srKA.M. 

— .\ll.-iil..«  11    |.!.int.    I'lirtt-    tnrMn-«  •*« 

-Alil-.  -212 

All  11  -       2i* 

-  -Bueu.-K    Ali-.i.    lui;.l:i.     lu.«l.-lljil"ii 

O'J.    'JO*",    7;2 
Coal       consumption.       Steam  turtdnr 

stations     4  Hart    Carle  •H4H 

-  frltlclsDi     of     turblm-     ln«iallatl..n». 

Bu<  n<m      Alr«».        Ijin.- .      ilarke. 
Ullllama.  02.   2U«».   772 

Crul~  r    t.-sts,     Parwins    and    t'urils 
iiirbln. «:      damap-d      burkeiB      of 

Sab  m."    .tr.  

n.'..%.  «Ji:i.  tiUM.  77H.  wK.  •»*&.  luxi 
-4  urtls   lurbln.s.    Hr- »"•  ••  •315 

-  4'urtia    lurbin.s.     H  ••>■ 

rnt.d    *alve«    f..r  •«»» 

|M-     Laval,     lar.-  •SI 

•.1.     IjivbI    1     1  •*«» 

1..    L    ft    W     I  A"»^ 

Chalmers    1  *'^' 

1  Him.  Stic        St 

meni      A»»<' 

ytneer*     .'( 

horU«>nt«l 

II.. »      .1. 


•  T  n,". 
IVrkln*  «.ia.    77» 

lurt.lDP    InalaltalkNi. 
pltiu     l»lnln<   aDd   Krrr  'T** 

4iaa    eii||lni-«.    Turtil»rt    with        Km*-        

l.-i  **l.  S90 


-  III. 

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POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


,  PAGE 

TURBINE.    STEAM. 

— "North    Dakotas"    12,000-h.p.    Fore 

River  Curtis  turbines.  •909 

— Potomac  Elec.   Co.'s  Curtis  turbines.     'SSG 
- — Rubber  foundations,  Prache.  79i 

— St.    Clair   tunnel,    Westinghouse-Par- 

sons  turbines.  *1135 

— Semi-portable   units,   German.  958 

— Shaft.  Worn,  Turning.     Lane.  •296 

—Shafts,   Critical  speed.     Smoot.  •1105 

—Small  steam  turbines — De  Laval. 
Terry,  Sturtevant.  Bliss,  Dake, 
Curtis,    Kerr.      Orrok.  'SSO,    904 

Discussion    by    Burleigh.  1169 

— Stage  pressures.  Testing  scheme.  *587 

— "Steam   Turbine,   The."      Moyer.  tl79 

— Surface  condensation — Use  on  ship- 
board :  coefficient  of  heat  trans- 
ference ;  air  leakage ;  pumps ; 
water  and  air  temperature ;  flow  ; 
tests  of  Parsons'  turbines  at  Char- 
lottenburg,  etc.     Josse. 

•234,  262,  *418,  *961 
— Testing  tanks.     Lane.  *58 

— Vandergrift    l.p.    turbine    plant — Ra- 

teau-Smoot    turbo-generator.  *652 

— Westinghouse  turbines.   Louisville.  *663 

Turbine  pump.      See   "I'ump." 
TURBINE,    WATER. 

See  also   "Water  wheel,"   "Hydro." 
— AUis-Chalmers   turbines,   Milford,   Me.    *270 
Sewalls  Falls.  Concord,  N.  IL  *928 

Sioux  Falls,  S.  IK       .  »1086 

— Easton  gas  and  elec.  plant.  *1007 

— Southern    Power   Co.'s    plants.  *1 

Turning  devices.  Engine.  *69,   '702 

Turning   center-crauK   pin.  *1065 

Turning  worn  turbine  shaft ;  tool.  Lane.  *296 
Twelve-hour   shiit.  1122 

Twining.      Exhaust-steam  turbines.  *785 

Twiss  Corliss  engine.  *1035 


"Union-Cinch  '    pipe    fittings.  *139 

U.    S.   "Ames"  alloy  sheet  packing.  533 

U.  S.  Coal  and  Coke  Co.'s  plant.  ♦485,  75 

U.    S.    Geol.    Survey.      156,    239,    391, 
510,     811,     1165,     601,     613,     643, 
1165,  601,  613,  643,  673,  t704,  801,  8.36, 
885,    1007,    1030,    •3144,    1149,    1173 
U.    S.    Steel   Corp.   refrigeration.    South 

Chicago.  *382 

— <;as  power,  Gary,  Ind.  *281,  •512 

U.   S.  tube  blower.  *532 


\acuum    ash    conveyer,    Armour  GTlue 

Wks.'       Hess.  *1068 

Vacuum  cleaning,  Carnegie  Inst.  *110 

\'acuum    trap,    Strong.  "ji 

VALVE. 

— Accident,    Peculiar.       Bullocks.  *886 

Foster   valve  not   responsible.  1028 

— .\ir-compressor    valves,    Leakv,    and 

H.xplosions.  124,   334,    726,   893,   1026 

— Air-compressor  valves.     McGahey.  *934 

— -Vir-valvf  substitute.     Jorgensen.  *466 

Dolphin  ;    Kahn.  687 

— ■•American"  semi-plug  piston  valve.       ^576 

— A.sh-hopper   valve.   Duplex.  *48 

— Back  pressur<'.   Cause.     Rayburn.  '688 

- — Back-pressure    valves.      Wakeman.  *^'.)(j 

— Blow-off   valve.    Simplex.  *221 

— Blow-off  valves.      Scheiderer.  726 

- — British     high-speed    engines — Piston 

valves;     Cornish     throttle     valve; 

varying   cutoff,    etc.         ^277,    *325,    ♦369 

—Cap-screw  .stress.     Perkins.     ^41,  769,  1021 

— Cause   of  engine   wreck. 

563,  849,  938,  1165 
— Central-valve  engines.  *122,  202,  732 

— Check  valve,  Pound  in.     F.   G.  703 

— Cole  valves  for  stoker  control.  ^1137 

— Corliss  valve  setting.     Dean.  65 

— Cummer  engine  valves.  Setting.  Col- 
lins ;  Francis.  ♦ISl,  381 
— Curtis  turbines,  Hydraulically  ope- 
rated valves  for.  Butler.  ♦459 
— Cutoff,  Equalizing.  Livingston.  •293 
— Cutoff  for  rope  drive,  Barnes".  ^305 
— 'Dimensions  of  valve  parts.  O.  .James.  •152 
— Eccentric- rod      repair — .Vdjustmcnts. 

Richards.  *62 

— Eccentrics,   Setting.     Crane.  609,   1019 

— Electrolysis;    sup<'rlii-a1.       Sawyer. 

•405,   770,  935 
— Elevator     valves.     Stop,     etc.       See 

"Elevator." 
— "Erieco"    engine    valve.  *Q3 

— Exhaust    release   valves.      B'ullgraf.  808 

— Float    valve.    Non-corrosive.      Saeger.    ^244 
— Foot  valves  and  suction-pipe  repair. 

Haw.  *651 

— Gas-engine  valve  setting  Holl- 
man  ;  Tilden  ;  Buschman  :  Abegg  ; 
Meixner  ;    Parmeley  ;    Tilden. 

167.  416,  688,  ^804,  1065 
^Gate  valve.  Motor-operated,  Schutte.       ^482 


VALVE. 

- — Gate     valves     in     steam-pipe     lines. 

Wakeman.  ^320 

— <Jear,   Hewes  &   Phillips   "Franklin."      ^990 
— Globe     valves,     bends     and     elbows. 
Equivalent  straight   pipe  for.   Car- 
penter. 1112 
■ — Globe  valves.  Use  and  abuse.     Wake- 
man.  *10 
(Removing  bonnet.)    Cedcrblom.           *377 
( Regrinding. )       Howland.                         605 
(Composition    disks.)       Crane.                606 
— High-pressure   piping.      Fischer. 

*363,    *402,    *454,    1064 
— Ilydraulic-lift      gate      valve.      42-in., 

Kennedy.  *1033 

— Inside-screw  valves  unsafe?  862 

Smith  :   Crane  ;   Blanchard!        1160,   1166 
— Leaked,    The    vahe.      Thompson.  *849 

• — Motor-operated  pipe  valves.  *100 

— Pump  pressure  to  lift  check  valve — 
Solution  of  problem.  Glick ; 
Hawkins  ;  Snow  ;  Helms  ;  Durand  ; 
McCarthy  ;  Pearce  ;  Fischer  ; 
Covey  ;    Sears ; 

59,  *201,  244,  245,  339,  *460,  ♦Sei 

— Pump  valve  worn  through.     Wing.         ^976 

—•Pump   valves  ;   springs,   etc.   Fryant.        562 

Whelpton.  889 

— Refrigerating     system.      Valves      of. 

Marking.     Reynolds.  1158 

— Regulating  valve  for  indicator-spring 

tester.     Faulks.  *1019 

— Relief  valve.  Homemade.     Grant.  ^164 

—Relief    valve    prevented    from    open- 
ing by  closed  stop  valve.     Wakeman.  ^228 
— Replacing    valve ;    installing    blowoffi 

valve.      Kavanagh.  ^650 

— Reseating  machine,  Imp'v'd,  Dexter.       *822 
— Reversing  valve  gears  in  general  use. 

Rice.  *825 

— Safety  valve — Faulty  piping.  Hall.  ^773 
— Safety  valves  discussed  by  Whyte, 
Lovekin  and  Darling  before  A.  S. 
M.  E. — Derivation  of  U.  S.  rule 
for  areas ;  capacity  testing  ap- 
paratus and  results :  locomotive 
and  marine  practice  ;.  springs,  etc. 

•472,   48U 
at    should    be    plus.)      Martin.  605 

Ashton  :     Carhart     (on     springs)  ; 
May  :  Pond  :  Pryor  :  Miller  :  Cole  : 
Lucke  :  Smith  :  Robinson  :  Boehm  ; 
Sewall :     Rockwood :     Cary ;     Ris- 
teen  ;     DuBosque  ;    Lovekin  ;    Dar- 
ling :   Payne.  520 
^  Safety-valve      formulas.)         Dar- 
ling.                                                      511,  530 
Relation    of   valves ;    argument   vs. 
"high    lift,"    etc.      Carhart.  364 
Should    sine     or    cosine    be     used 
in    computing    discharge    area    of 
bevel-seated    valves?      Low.                    *694 
Criticisms.       Aull  :    W  endle.  728 
Washington      meeting.        Carhart, 
Darling.                                                         904 
— Safety      valves.      Marine.      develop- 

ment.s — Cammell,  Laird  &  Co.  tests.  *594 
— Scraping   "Sjs'eet"   valves   and   seats. 

Elleard.  60 

— -Slide    valve.    Setting.      Bascom.  811 

— Steam-heating    dyehouse    tanks.  894 

— Stop    valve.    Emergency,    non-return, 

Schmid.  *222 

— Stop  valve  leaked — Condensing  steam.  *979 
• — Storle   high-pressure   valve.  *993 

- — StutRng-box    repair.      Jameson.  ^247 

— Superheated-steam  effect.  65.  86,  137,  1011 
— Twiss  Corliss  engine.  *1035 

— Valve  chest   cracked.      Knowlton.  *119 

— Valve  seat.   Oil-pump,   Loose.      Rush.      ^770 
— Valve    seat.    Renewing.      Burns.  556 

— 'Valve    stem    broke.      Sewell.  050 

— "Valveless"   engine.      Booth.  ^61 

— Water    hammer    accidents.       Knowl- 
ton. *71.'' 
— Weak     valves;     connecting     boilers. 

Reichard.  *417 

— What    caused    break?      Alfred.  417 

Van    Brock.      Down-draft    furnaces.  ^377 

Van    P.russell.      Nuernberg    gas    engine 

running   on    mixed   gases.  *837 

Van   Stone   pipe  joints.  •143,   •403,   *736 

Van   Winkle.      Snee  wave   motor.      ♦395,   ^845 
Vandergrift    l.p.    turbine    plant.  ^652 

Variable    Speed    clutch.  ^352 

Vaughan.         Conservation      of      water 

powers.  493 

Veeder   liquid   tachometer.  ^178 

Ventilating  Cleveland  Tech.  High  School.  ^952 
Ventiliitlng  system.   C.nrnegie  Inst.  ♦lOS 

Ventilator,    Natural,    ".\utoforce."  ^993 

Ventriloquist,    Chief    engineer    and.  637 

Vlall.      Concrete   chimneys.  ^54 

Vibration  and   tension.      Hastings.  980 

Vibration,    Foundation.  428 

Vibration,   Pressure,  Steam-main.     Pol- 

akov.  ^558 

Vllter   compressors.    111.    Steel    Co.'s.  •382 

Vise,   Pipe,   support.  Movable.     Kilburn.   •464 
Visiting.  218 

"Visitors.   Notice   to."  757 

Brown.  1166 


Volatile      matter     of      coal.        Porter ; 

Ovitz.  *156 

Voltages,   High,    Studying.  1120 

Voltmeters  and  ammeters,  Reading.  595 
Volume,      Specific,      saturated      steam. 

Peabody.  ^879 

Von   Schon.   "Hydro-Blectric  Practice."  tl039 

w 

Wadleigh     et    al.       Firing     stationary 

boilers.  59,  61,  62,  336 

Wagner  induction-motor  starter.  ^265 

Wakeman.       Use    and    abuse    of    globe 

valves.  *10,   ♦377,  605,  606 

— 'Small  fan  in  engine  room.  ^116 

— Reserve  power  for  auxiliaries.  *150 

— C'ompoundin,g     engines     (discussed.) 

165,  333,  *604,  729,  1026,  1163 
— Use  and  abuse  of  follower  bolts.  ^186 

— ^Dangerous    omission.  ^228 

— Two  loose  nuts.  *306,  464 

— 'Miscellaneous   improvements.  *272 

— Gate    valves    in    steam-pipe    lines.  ♦320 

— ^Bridgewalls,    theorv   and   practice. 

♦452,  603,  811,  848 
— Expensive  ■vs.  inexpensive  back  pres- 
sure. ^590 
Waldegg   valve   gear.      Rice.  ^829 
Walschaert   valve  gear.      Rice.  •  ^829 
Walter.       Steel-works    refrigeration.  ^382 
Washeries,    Coal.      Rogers.                            *1053 
Waste   in   power   plant.      .Johnson.  66 
Water.      See   also   "Heater,"   etc. 
Water,   Bad,   Boiler  defects  due  to.               943 
Water,  Boiler-feed,  Proper  treatment — 
Testing  outfit ;  White  river  water  : 
boiler-room        report  ;        hardness  : 
softened   water,    etc.      Boardman. 

♦.352,   811 
Water  column,   Arranging.     Dunlap.  ♦807 

Water-column  connections.  Mossman.  ^845 
Water  column.    "Mud"   in.      C.    H.  907 

Water.     Elimination    from,    of    scaling 

and    corroding    substances.      Greth.    1091 
Water    evaporated    per    pound    of    coal. 

McKnight.  250 

Water,    Feed,    Clean.  87 

Water,   Feed,   control,   Senter.  *04S 

Water,    Feed,    grease    extractor,    Amer- 
ican. *11.5] 
Water,    Feed,    Tank,    Concrete.    Miller.      *207 
Water    filters.    Vacuum-cleaning.  ^109 
Water   gage.   Float-stone.    Old.      Dixie.      "164 
Water     gages.     Steam-boiler — ^Blowing 
out ;   hight ;  glasses  breaking,   etc. 
.Tahnke.  *14 
Water      Gas-engine      jacket.      Cooling. 

Leese.  *1059 

Water   glass,    Compound   high-pressure. 

Advance     "Firma."  94S 

Water  hammer  in  pipes.     Knowlton.         ♦713 
Water,      Heat      transfer      to — Relative 
rate    at    and    below    boiling    point. 
Sawdon.  *  ♦llO 

Goodman.  936 

Water,    Hot.    Pumping.      Cryster.  200 

Water.    Hot,    soft,    for    steam    boilers. 

Gibson.  1037 

Water  in  cylinder,  Accidents  from.  118.  *279 
Water,    Injection   to   condense   steam.  313 

WatCi,  "Jacket,  heat,  Concentrating.  ^61.  350 
Water    level.    High.      Crane.  198 

Water.    Lime,    Lessons.      Palmer. 

♦251,    *303,    341,    386,    ^425,    ♦469,    ^527, 
*569,   ♦611.   ^658,   ♦691,  723,   ^733,   ^775, 
♦812.   ^895,   *941,   981,   ♦1004,   1167 
Water  mains.   Wooden  rings  in.     Kav- 
anagh ;  Taylor;   Ruddell.     ♦lie,  687,  774 
Water   measuring — Boiler   testing.  ^355 

Water.    More,    needed    at    Colliersville.  i 

Wilson:  Jackson.  389,  39o,  686i^i063 

Water    motor.      Chamberlain.  r>!603 

Water,  Oil  removal  from.  Krause.  ',  it'/62. 
Water  power  cheapi-r  than  steam.'  3901  6ifeS6 
Water-power    companies,   old   and   ueir.    '      A. 

Herschel.  109^i 

Water-power    development.    Govt,    pub-  5 

lieations    on.      Clingerman.  114§> 

"Water  I'ower  Engineering."  Mead  jlO-^'  > 
Water    power    in    Tasmania.  43i  J 

Water-power        information        wanttd.  C 

Piper.  651,  978,   10'20,   106^7 

Water     power.     Old,     reorganized     bv  ):   . 

C.  T.   Main.  8  4 

Wat<'r-power  plant,   Milford.     Rice.  J 

♦269.  680,  lOdiS 
Water-power  plant,  Sioux  Falls.  Rice.  *10a'5 
Water  power.   Southern  Power  Co.'s.  5*1 

Water  power — Standpipes.     Crane.  •r.27 

Water   power,   Trust   in.  ,820 

Water    power — Wave    motors.  ( 

360,  *395,   ♦676,  '•845 
Water  powers.  Conservation.  Vaughan  : 

Freeman.  493,  672 

Water  pressure.  Increasing.  Parker.  *506 
Water  power.  Jackson  ;  Crane.  686,  1063 
Water-purification  tables,  Harrison.  tl038 
Water   purifying.    Saving   by.  675 

Water     reservoir     moved     by     internal 

forces.  ^195 

Water— 'Scale    and    corrosion.  410 

Water,  Sea,  caused  foaming.     Bedford.        198 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGIXEEK. 


15 


ater  -Spfclflc   heat.   ••tc.      fleck, 
ater   Rupply,   Loalnrille   Lighting   Co 
iil>l>ly   tanl(,   B<>\\i-t  as.      Dixon  : 


Cawpt.ill.  •'^1 

uter    turl*ine<4.    Sfwalls    Falls,    N.    H. 
ater  vrhwi.     S«>«'  ul»«  -Turbine."' 
atiT  whe«-|  run  with  motor, 
att-r    Wltn     Akwo     convention.  " 

atiT  works,   .MarHbflt-ld,   WIb. 
iitson      I'otbyn,  I'.  D.  'ISl,  437, 

Htt,   Jaa.,    VlHltation  of.      Kogi-rH. 

•55,    •54«. 
His   condenHi-ra.      Roger*.  •:^»7. 

Memorial    building.      Booth, 
att-hour  metir<*.  T<«flnK  and  adjunt- 

Ini;.      iMihnil.J  :   rram-  'as, 

utta,    Ira,    iNatli    of.  *i*«-t, 

avo   motor.   Sn*-*-.      Van   Winkle. 

n..n.s 

-  •  l.-w. 

Johnson. 

•  l«  r»    110 1. 1»    ou    bvttUtg. 
el.((t«'r.       Throttles.  • 
'Igher.    Liquid,    Automatlf.    Wll.os. 
■•iKhton    air   gUKe. 

•  iKbton's   conili-nsers.  'ftOG. 

.11        i.il...  I>.    I..,..    U.,r  I.-I.   L. 


PAGE 

•876 
•668 

.  TM 
•928 

107 
•1170 

•71<r 


plant. 

l.lant.    •747, 
r   plant. 

'loUH. 

iig     wood- 

«  "I  K  ilik'    llKi'  Mill'  r  ^ 

Low-pressure    turldnes,    etc. 

•72.  241.  471, 


ireaker. 


Iiurijlii;;   rh' 


iigine*.    Gary. 

lilhbins 
r-  •070.    • 


•!m;s 
•'.»»js 
•32U 

•34<« 
»0S 

•3It.'. 

•S4.'i 

•67G 
360 
275 
801 

105  s 

•35»; 

•310 
•{»Cii 
•648 
•712 

7M 
•S73 

603 

•115 

•4.S5 
•483 
•00 
•28 
•512 
•766 
HI17 
•9S0 


— 'Kitumlnoiis  gas  prudui-cttt. 

-    Steam  tu--'-'"--     >;•     '  '  — 

What    was    ' 

\Vhi-<l.   Fl.v 

\Vhe«'l,     FIv,     •  i.nn.-ii,     rfji-i 

at  law 
\Vh<-.l,  Fly. 
\Vh»Nl.  Fiv 
Wb.eia.  Fl\ 
Wh.' 


o    F    n 


Val 


Fh 


u 


<  a»t  lr>ii       Si» 
I'yiindrical. 


for    safety. 


PA<JE 

•1116 

•1135 

•1110 

39*  • 

•1074 

95 

723 

1059 

•278 

439 


Keying       Wlegand. 


•798 

1165 

•W)H 

H92 

•69 


>1 r 

\Vh.-.lB.    Fly 
Mason. 
Wheela.    Fly.    Turning.      Lane 
Wheeler   surface   condensers. 

•345.    •961.   •9«J6 
Whistle-alarm  soanding  device.  Hawkins.  *4<i>'t 
Whistle.   Blowing  automatically.     Saw- 
ford,  'iss 
WhlHiIe     made     from     mercury     flask. 

Harrison.  ^206 

Whistle    repair.      Huth.  ^980 

While.      Notes  on  flrlDK  boilers.  628.  1024 

Whitney   column-type   meters.  ^104 

Whitney  eii-c.   meters,  Carnegie  Inst.  •104 

Whyte.     Safety  valves. 

472.  480.  511.  520.  530,  •694.   728 

Wilcox    autof •    "   vld   weigher.  "356 

Willnrd.      <  d   design.  ^60 

Wille       Fl«  \  '.tf.  •280 

Williams,     .v.     i'       .ir        Transformer 

connections.   3  phfls<  .  •716 

Williams.    F..    exhaust    head.  •I  174 

Wilson,  T..  Power  plant,  Carnegie  Inst.      ^97 
— Water  at  Colilersvllie. 

389.   390.  686.    1063 
— X.  Y."s  first  Corliss  engine.  "IHS 

Wilson.      V.      T.      'Mechanical      Draw- 
ing." 1439 
Windlass.  Spanlxh.     Bean.                            ^97^ 


Windmill' 


Wood. 
K 


Pace 
and    wave    motors.       Jobn- 

MO 
rumiture  to's  exploalaa.       *M« 
.-  nnd  superheat      JobnaoB.       9tf 
'by,   Cart>orundum    in. 

1175 

<     TsMi=  •282 

u-ers  34B 

battery  "SSZ 

•267 

.    value.  9& 

•  liy       Ruttoo     121 

287 

•977 

illU 


Woodward 

S.'ll.M.I 

w 
\\ 

w 
w 
\\ 
u..„. ...    .>. 


ClrreiSBd 


•446,  8«7.  774 
IVch.      Hish 

•951 

s  1S2 

■*.    EroBonj.    862 

•    '    drive.    •115 

•903 

•9M 


II.  ...     .>-..»...     ii-ui.  ujii.i-        Ceder- 
blom 
Wrench,    Spring   jointed.      Richards 
Wrench.   L'slng — Follower  bolts.   Wake- 
man. 
Wn-nch*"*.      C!ft«*(f  i-at!(in      «nd      uses; 

1:.'  ■  '        ■  -1*. 

Wren. 

WyomliiK     I.!. 


and    ln«i>»'CtluO 

Y 


•«4 

•1109 

•18« 

•18 
296 

60 
699 


York     refrigerating     machines, 

hotel 


Ptsta 


Zenith   renr  end    (lu" 


Z 

blower. 


•553 


January  5,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


An    Extensive    Power    System    In    the    South 

The  Development  of  the  Southern  Power  Company  in  the  Carolinas 
Four  Hundred   Miles  of  Lines  Operated  at  44.000  to    100,000  Volts 


B  Y 


CECIL 


POOLE 


The  Development  Stage 
Lntil  within  the  last  two  or  three  years 
the  hydroelcctrical  developments  in  the 
South  were  mostly  local  in  scope,  fur- 
nishing power  to  a  few  cotton  mills  in  the 
immediate  neighborhood  of  the  power 
plant,  or  at  the  end  of  a  comparatively 
short  transmission  line.  This  was  due  in 
part  to  the  attitude  of  the  mill  men  who, 
although  the  reliability,  convenience  and 
economy  of  the  electric  drive  had  been 
demonstrated  in  several  instances,  still 
looked  upon  it  with  distrust,  and  in  part 
to  the  mistaken  idea  that  power  could  be 
produced  with  a  local  steam  plant  cheaper 


this  is  furnished  by  water  power,  while 
something  like  2,000,000  horsepower  is 
still  undeveloped  in  the  very  heart  of  the 
cotton  field. 

One  of  the  pioneer  companies  to  organ- 
ize for  this  work  was  the  Catawba  Power 
Company.  The  first  plant  was  built  on 
India  Hook  Shoals  on  the  Catawba  river, 
18  miles  from  Charlotte,  N.  C.  This  plant 
commenced  operation  in  March,  1904,  and 
the  quick  sale  of  the  entire  output  (10,000 
horsepower)  led  Dr.  W.  Gill  Wylie.  presi- 
dent of  the  company,  to  consider  the  ad- 
visability of  developing  other  plants  in 
different   parts  of  the   country.     The   re- 


distance  of  no  miles  on  the  Catawba 
river,  giving  an  aggregate  head  of  500 
feet,  and  an  average  capacity  of  about 
150,000  horsepower.  At  the  outset  it  was 
clear  that  the  most  practical  plan  of  de- 
velopment involved  begmning  at  Great 
Falls,  and  three  generating  plants  hydrau- 
lically  "m  series"  were  planned.  These 
are  designated  the  Great  Falls,  Rocky 
Creek  and  Fishing  Creek  stations.  The 
original  plan  was  slightly  modified,  how- 
ever, by  distribution  conditions,  which 
made  it  advisable  to  establish  a  generating 
station  farther  up  toward  the  center  of 
the    area    covered    bv    the   svstem    before 


I.     VIEW  OV  GReAT  FALLS   STATION    A.N'O  DAM   nOU    Till  TAIL  STVKAM 


than  purcha»ed  from  a  hydroelectric  com 
pany.  But  their  feelings  in  this  re^pcc^ 
have  recently  undergone  a  change,  a  fact 
which  capitalists  were  not  slow  to  note, 
and  the  indications  at  present  are  that  the 
next  ten  years  will  produce  networks  of 
systems  extending  over  hundreds  of 
square  miles,  and  rivaling  in  amount  of 
power  transmitted  any  of  the  great  North- 
ern or  Western  systems. 

It   may    l>e   asked   here    where    is    the 
market  for  sf>  much  power,  to  which  the 
reply  is  th.it  in  cotton  mills  alnnc  ; 
1.^,000,000    spimllrs,    using    .ipproxttr 
400,000  horsr|><>wer,   are   in   operation   in 

thr     Si)iilli     f<><l.i\         T  r«»    fli.iii    iiiir    t)iiril        f 


tx'Kiin  on 
station  at 
Fig.  II). 


suit    was   the     formation     of    the     South-      putting     in     the 
ern    Power    Company,    with    a 
$10,000,000,  to  acquire  and  devri 
cient   number  of  water  powers  to  lurnish 
power  to  a  section  of  the  country  i.V)  m;le« 
in  length  and  100  miles  in  breadth  in  the 
heart  of  what  is  known  as  the  Piedmont 
region,  the  richest  and  most   fertile   sec- 
tion   of    the    Carolinas.      This    section    it 
dotted    with    roiton    nulls    ihrouKhout    its 
length    and    ' 
powrr  is  1I-. 


station,  were  taken  over  an<l  one  <m  the 

Mrotd   river,    ''<*'    M->(rr    riflits    <>  xmin.*    • 


Fi&hinn    Creek    sutioci. 
Credt 


PtoaLtMS  Ihtolvu* 


The  rnginecring  probleir- 
somewhat   different   from 


comparaoir   si 
tro  how  modi 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  5,  1909. 


of  voltage  regulation,  as  did  also  the  fact 
that  power  would  first  be  taken  off  at 
two  or  three  points  toward  one  end  of 
the  system,  and  finally  at  ten  and  probably 
a  great  many  more  points  over  the  whole 
area  covered.  It  was  also  necessary  to 
make  provision  in  the  scheme  for  line 
regulation  in  order  that  the  most  eco- 
nomical method  of  passing  water  from 
the  upper  stations  to  those  lower  down 
in  dry  seasons  could  be  practiced.  The 
generators  and  step-up  transformers  were 
purchased  under  specifications  covering  a 
15  per  cent,  rise  in  voltage  and  will  oper- 
ate under  full  load  continuously  under 
these  conditions.  Taps  were  also  put  on 
transformers  in  case  this  increase  of  volt- 
age was  not  sufficient. 


it  would  help  matters  materially  to  be 
able  to  throw  a  large  amount  of  power 
on  the  system  at  one  point  in  order  to 
give  other  stations  on  the  system  sufficient 
time  to  cut  in  before  the  load  would  be- 
come too  large  to  be  carried.  The  three 
projected  stations  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Great  Falls  would  together  be  capable  of 
carrying  a  load  of  90,000  horsepower,  so 
it  was  decided  that  this  point  be  made  the 
principal  one  of  the  system. 

In  order  to  carry  out  this  idea  and  to 
make  the  system  pliable,  it  was  further  de- 
cided that  the  equipment  of  these  three 
stations  should  be  subdivided  into  four 
units,  consisting  of  two  generators  and 
three  transformers,  at  each  station ;  that 
the  high-tension  leads  from  each  bank  of 


the  insulation ;  that  choke  coils  and  series 
transformers  should  withstand  a  shop 
breakdown  test  of  120,000  volts  for  one 
minute,  and  that  the  complete  high-ten- 
sion equipment  should  withstand  a  break- 
down test  of  100,000  volts  to  ground  after 
installation. 

Great  Falls,  on  the  Catawba  river,  50 
miles  below  Charlotte,  N.  C,  and  24  miles 
from  Camden,  S.  C,  was  selected  for  the 
first  development.  Surveying  was  begun 
in  June,  1905,  and  the  water  was  turned 
on  early  in  March,  1907.  This  station  is 
now  working  in  parallel  with  the  Catawba 
station,  the  auxiliary  steam  plant  having 
been  shut  down  a  year  ago,  and  a  sister 
station  has  been  built  at  Rocky  Creek,  1% 
miles    from   the   Great   Falls   station,   and 


FIG.     2.   VIEW   IN   THE  GREAT     FALLS    GENERATOR    ROOM 


It  was  estimated  that  at  least  one  hun- 
<lred  substations  would  be  necessary  to 
dispose  of  150,000  horsepower  and  in  the 
neighborhood  of. 800  miles  of  transmission 
line,  no  point  of  which  would  be  more 
than  60  miles  from  the  nearest  power 
house.  The  large  number  of  small  sub- 
stations and  the  comparatively  short  trans- 
mitting distance  made  it  feasible  to  adopt 
44,000  volts  for  the  potential  at  receiving 
stations. 

From  the  foregoing  it  is  evident  that  the 
design  of  the  switching  arrangements 
necessary  to  facilitate  the  location  of  a 
fault  in  a  line  or  substation,  and  for 
synchronizing  after  the  fault  had  been 
repaired  or  the  line  cut  out,  was  a  serious 
problem.  Much  study  was  given  this  sub- 
ject and  the  conclusion  was  reached  that 


transformers  should  pass  through  one 
switch  and  connect  with  a  switching  sta- 
tion common  to  all  three  stations ;  that 
the  busbars  in  the  switching  station  should 
be  divided  into  as  many  sections  as  there 
would  be  outgoing  lines  and  arranged  so 
that  in  case  of  necessity  one  or  more  units 
in  any  one  station  could  feed  into  one  or 
more  lines;  that  provision  for  synchroniz- 
ing should  be  made  at  first  only  on  the 
switch  between  the  transformers  and  the 
low-tension  busbars,  and  that  provision 
for  synchronizing  at  the  old  Catawba  sta- 
tion should  be  made  on  the  low-tension 
side  of  transformers. 

It  was  also  deemed  advisable  to  use  as 
few  switches  as  possible  and  to  have  a 
large  factor  of  safety  in  all,  with  regard 
to  both  the  current-carrying  capacity  and 


put  into  operation.  These  three  stations 
are  supplying  current  to  385  miles  of 
transmission — or  more  accurately,  high- 
tension  distribution — lines,  other  stations 
are  being  laid  out,  and  the  construction 
of  240  miles  of  ioo,ooo-volt  transmission 
line  is  in  progress.  The  potential  of  the 
existing  lines  is  50,000  volts  at  the  Great 
Falls  end  and  44,000  volts  at  the  sub- 
stations. 

Great  Falls  and  Rocky  Creek 

These  two  stations  are  mates,  the  build- 
ings and  equipment  being  practically  the 
same  in  both.  The  only  important  differ- 
ence is  in  the  exciter  equipment,  which 
will  be  described  in  detail  farther  on  in 
this  article.  Fig.  2  is  an  imperfect  view 
of  the  interior  of  the  Great  Falls  generat- 


January  5,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


|^MU<r^ 


SECTIONAL  ELEVATION  OF  ROCKY  CRE  EK  GENERATING   HOUSE.  INTAKE   AND   HEAD  GATES 


iiig  r<x)ni,  whicii  is  250  lect  long  by  37 
feet  wide  and  is  30  feet  pitch.  The  trans- 
former and  switch  house  is  85  feet  long 
by  71  feet  wide,  and  is  three  stories  high. 
The  basement,  which  is  on  a  level   with 


throughout,  red  pressed  brick  outside  and 
light  gray  inside.  The  roof  is  built  of 
large  tile  made  of  reinforced  concrete 
with  a  waterproofing  burned  into  it.  The 
vertical  cross-section.  Fig.  3,  and  the  plan 


buildings,  intake  flumes  and  tail  Humes, 
and  the  general  arrangement  of  the  gener- 
ating equipment.  Fig.  5  shows  the  dam 
at  Rocky  Creek  during  construction;  the 
cross-section  of  the  unfinished  portion  on 


the  c.ible  conduit  and  contains  the  cables      \icw,  Fig.  4,  show  the  construction  of  the      the  ritrht  is  cicnrlv  ■.liown 


3" 


ZJ 


r:L^CL^   cj^  t:i^  ^  m:^  ITf-^  ,-a:7ft-  |,i^irf^ 

J'  fBTT^rkm 


f 


JlydrMl 


and  pipe  work,  is  8  feet  pitch.  The  next 
story,  which  it  on  a  level  with  the  switch- 
board gallery  and  contains  transformers 
and  low-tension  switching  apparatus,  is 
2^.8  feet  pitch,  and  the  third  story,  in 
which  at  present  are  the  hiKh-len^ion 
switches,  busbars,  choke  coiN  and  light- 
ning arresters,  is  22  feet  pitch.  Both 
buildings    are    of    fireproof    construction 


nc    4    PLAN  or  cuAT  rAixj  siArioK 


Gknksatinc  EguirMurr 

The  station  contains  eight  jooo-kilowait 

thr.                •'■  <    di- 

rev:  'Mf- 

bines  oi   ihr 

by  the  Allis  > 

Hercules    t«:  «*f 

capacity  each.  ^"^I•  n»    \r\r    n.'iy>«r  .Ma- 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  5,  1909. 


THE   ROCKY   CREEK   DAM    DURING    CONSTRUCTION 


chine  Company,  with  two  400-kilowatt, 
250-volt  exciters,  each  capable  of  carry- 
ing the  total  exciter  load.  The  main 
generators  were  designed  for  an  efficiency 
cf  96  per  cent,  and  to  operate  at  full  load 
at    any   voltage    between   2200   and   2530, 


with  80  per  cent,  power  factor,  with  a 
rise  in  temperature  not  to  exceed  35  de- 
grees Centigrade  at  any  part.  Tests  have 
shown  that  the  machines  more  than  meet 
the  specifications.  They  are  driven  at  225 
revolutions   per   minute   and   deliver   cur- 


rent at  60  cycles.  Each  two  generators 
are  connected  in  parallel  through  power- 
operated  switches  to  a  bank  of  three 
2000-kilowatt  step-up  transformers  con- 
nected in  delta.  This  arrangement  gives 
four  complete  6000-kilowatt  units  capable 


:  To  WMUl!ip« 

Detail  at  B  FIG.    6.      PL.-VN    OF    TRANSFORMER    ROOM    AND  ELEVATION     OF    TRANSFORMER-PIPE    CONNECTIONS 


January  5,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


of  being  run  independently  or  in  parallel, 
as  may  be  found  necessary. 

The  generators  are  controlled  from 
pedestals  standing  in  front  of  instrument 
posts,  arranged  in  an  arc  of  a  circle  to 
enable  the  operator  to  see  all  instruments 
without  moving  from  one  point.  The  ad- 
vantage of  the  instrument  posts  and  con- 
trol pedestals  in  comparison  with  panel 
boards  is  that  the  operator  can  look  over 
the  pedestals  and  under  the  instrument- 
at  any  machine  which  he  is  putting  in 
service.  On  each  of  the  eight  instrument 
posts  are  mounted  a  3000-volt  voltmeter, 
a  1500-ampere  ammeter,  a  4500-kilowatt 
indicating  wattmeter  and  a  400-amperc 
ammeter  in  the  field  circuit  of  the 
generator.  On  posts  Nos.  i,  3,  6  and  S 
are  also  mounted  busbar  voltmeters.  To 
avoid  confusion  these  arc  in  a  differcn: 
type  of  case  from  the  generator  volt 
meters.  On  posts  Nos.  2  and  7  frequency 
meters  are  mounted  and  on  posts  Nos.  4 
and  5  synchroscopes  are  mounted. 

On  the  control  pedestals  are  mountcl 
the  controllers  for  operating  the  oil 
switches,  the  hand  wheels  for  operating 
the  field  rheostats,  and  the  field  switches 
jacks  used  in  calibrating  instruments  ar- 
also  mounted  on  these  pedestals. 

Transformers,  Switches,  etc. 
All   transformers   are  oil-insulated   and 


boiler  plate  which  will  stand  150  pounds 
pressure  per  square  inch,  and  the  tops  are 
provided  with  check  valves  opening  into 
a  6-inch  pipe  which  leads  to  the  tail  water, 
to  provide  for  any  explosion  which  might 


the  generating  room  and  the  low-tension 
switch  room.  For  each  bank  of  trans- 
formers the  board  carries  an  :i 
power- factor  meter  and  an  ,,{ 
watt-hour    meter.      In    this   archway    are 


FIG.   8.   view  in  high-tension  switch  boom 


u 

riG.    7        SOUCNnlD-OrUATU)   OIL    SWITCH 


watcr-coolcd;  thry  are  located  in  >e{»aralc 
fireproof  comparlmmli.  a»  shown  in  Fig 
6,  and  mounted  on  trucks  to  facilitate 
handling      The  tanks  are  made  of  heavy 


take  place  due  (o  the  ignition  of  oil  g»t 
The   transformers    are  rnf»>' ••"^.1    ir.  .,,    -, 
tlandard  blue  V'rrinont  111.1 
an  archway  lictwccn  the  cuntfi  (>■  1.  m.m»  m 


also  set  the  paneb  for  controlling  the 
switches  in  the  high-tension  switch  room. 
.\mmeters  only  are  used  on  the  outgoing 
feeders. 

The  low-tension  switches  and  busbars 
arc  mounted  in  a  concrete  structure  form- 
ing three  sides  of  a  rectangle  in  a  sepa- 
rate room.  The  oil  switches  and  circuit - 
breakers  are  each  capable  of  hreakii:. 
entire  output  of  the  plant  on  short  ci 
I  hey  are  of  the  solenoid  type,  shown  by 
Fig.  7.  and  operated  with  current  from 
the  exciter  busbars. 

The  switchboard  is  located  on  a  gallery 
raised   above   the   power-house   floor,   but 
'>n  a  level  with  the  transformer  room  and 
low-tension   switch    room.     In   the   space 
Ik-Iow  are  the  field  rheoita*      ------  «-... 

I>.ir>  and  control   wires 

narrowed  ai  * 

to  form  a 

the     generator^     ^tiU     tji< 

Thrsr  r.nhlr^   nrc  !ntd  on  > 

•»e.  and  are  br 
\s  j:t»      ;n      \  :•  • 
conduit 

.\ll  the  44/xx>-«iMi  .iii)iji4t<i«  i\  III  411 
entirely  separate  room,  tx-cupying  the 
tl      "  uff  houte    The 

I.  .-^ipahle     o< 

'  'Jtion 

»     .if 
III  .idiut 

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POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  5,  1909. 


the  panel  board  in  an  archway  between 
the  generator  room  and  the  low-tension 
switch  room.  All  high-tension  conductors 
in  the  buildings  are  made  of  insulated 
copper  pipe. 

Fig.  8  is  a  view  in  the  high-tension 
switch  room,  and  Fig.  9  is  a  schematic 
diagram  of  the  main  wiring  and  switch- 
ing arrangements  in  the  Great  Falls  and 
Rocky  Creek  stations,  and  this  will  be  used 
also  in  the  Ninety  Nine  Islands  station 
when  it  is  built.  This  illustrates  clearly 
the  banking  of  the  transformers  and 
generators  into  four  equivalent  units  or 
'"batteries." 

The  equipment  at  Rocky  Creek  is  ex- 
actly the  same  as  that  at  Great  Falls,  ex- 


phase  currents  at  13,000  volts  to  step-up 
transformers  on  the  main  so,ooo-volt  sys- 
tem. This  station  also  supplies  a  sepa- 
rate system  extending  to  Rock  Hill,  Pine- 
ville  and  other  nearby  towns,  working  at 
10,000  volts  at  the  receiving  substations. 
This  system  takes  current  directly  from 
the  generator  busbars.  The  Catawba 
power  house  serves  also  as  a  switching 
station  for  the  50,000-volt  lines  radiat- 
ing northward  from  it,  and  is  provided 
with  facilities  for  connecting  the  short 
line  to  Rock  Hill  and  other  towns  to  the 
main  system  through  step-down  trans- 
formers. That  is,  the  station  contains 
three  2000-kilowatt  delta-connected  trans- 
formers with   switches  whereby  they  can 


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i ii 

FIG.    9.    SCHEMATIC  DIAGRAM  OF   MAIN-STATION    CONNtCTIONS 


cept  as  to  the  arrangement  of  the  ex- 
citers. At  Great  Falls  the  two  exciters 
are  driven  by  individual  water  wheels. 
At  Rocky  Creek  the  two  exciters  and  a 
600-horsepower  induction  motor  are  set 
in  line  with  the  shaft  of  a  single  water 
wheel,  and  clutches  are  provided  by  means 
of  which  either  the  water  wheel  or  the 
motor  can  be  used  to  drive  the  exciters. 
Fig.  10  is  a  diagrammatic  plan  of  the 
arrangement. 

The  Catawba   Station 
The  original    station   at    Catawba   con- 
tains four  750-kilowatt  and  four  900-kilo- 
watt   General    Electric   generators   driven 
by  Holyoke  turbines  and  delivering  three- 


be  used  to  step  up  current  from  the 
generators  and  deliver  to  the  main  sys- 
tem, or  to  step  down  from  the  main  sys- 
tem  to   the   short  line. 

Transmission  Lines  and  Connections 
Fig.  II  is  a  map  of  the  system,  includ- 
ing lines  under  construction  and  those 
which  it  has  been  definitely  decided  to 
build.  The  double  lines  between  the 
Great  Falls  district  and  the  town  of  Con- 
cord, passing  through  the  Catawba  sta- 
tion, give  some  indication  of  the  growth 
of  the  system,  but  even  more  significant 
than  these  are  the  double  ioo,ooo-volt 
lines  now  being  built  from  Great  Falls 
northward   to   Greensboro   and  westward 


to  Greensville,  S.  C.  These  are  trans- 
mission lines  in  the  strict  sense,  while 
the  44,ooo-So,ooo-volt  lines  are  really 
primary  distribution  feeders  with  respect 
to  the  general  system.  This  is  more 
clearly  shown  by  Fig.  12,  which  is  a  dia- 
gram of  the  connections  at  all  of  the  im- 
portant stations  and  substations  and  also 
gives  the  distribution  of  power  amongst 
the  principal  secondary  stations. 

At  the  generator  end  of  each  100,000- 
volt  line  a  12,000-kilowatt  group  of  two- 
to-one  transformers  connect  these  lines 
with  the  50,000-volt  busbars ;  at  Salisbury, 
the  two  sets  of  lines  will  be  tied  together 
through  a  9000-kilowatt  group  and  at 
Spartanburg  through  a  6000-kilowatt 
group  of  two-to-one  transformers.  From 
Fig.  II  it  is  evident  that  each  of  the 
important  points  receives  current  from 
two  or  more  directions ;  consequently,  the 
supply  cannot  be  cut  off  by  trouble  on 
any  one  feeder. 

The  main  trunk  line  from  Great  Falls 
to  Catawba  station  is  33  miles  in  length. 
It  is  carried  on  steel  towers  and  consists 
of  two  three-phase  circuits.  Fig.  13  is  a 
view  of  this  line.  Three  sizes  of  tower 
are  used,  standing  35,  43  and  50  feet,  re- 
spectively,   from   the   lowest   wire   to   the 


Clutch  Coupliugs 

FIG.    10.    ARRANGEMENT  OF  ROCKY  CREEK 
EXCITERS 

ground,  as  the  nature  of  the  country  de- 
mands ;  500- foot  spans  are  used  in  general. 
The  conductors  are  each  built  up  of  six 
strands  of  No.  6  copper,  with  a  hemp  cen- 
ter, equivalent  to  No.  000  Brown  & 
Sharpe  gage.  Tests  of  this  conductor 
gave  a  breaking  strength  of  about  62,000 
pounds  per  square  inch  for  the  individual 
strands,  and  about  58,000  pounds  per 
square  inch  for  the  complete  cable.  The 
elastic  limit  was  taken  at  40,000  pounds, 
two-thirds  of  which  gives  3330  pounds  per 
conductor  as  the  maximum  working 
strain.  To  be  on  the  safe  side  this  was 
taken  at  3000  pounds  and  the  correspond- 
ing sag  adopted,  assuming  a  maximum 
change  in  temperature  of  125  degrees 
Fahrenheit.  After  the  lines  were  strung 
and  before  current  was  turned  on  they 
were  subjected  to  a  severe  sleet  storm  and 
no   breaks   occurred. 

The  trunk  lines  are  sectionalized  at 
points  of  transposition  in  order  that  in 
case  of  trouble  on  one  line  one  section 
of  the  other  may  still  be  used  and  the  re- 
maining parts  of  both  lines  paralleled. 
The  ordinary  line  towers  are  built  of  gal- 
vanized-stecl  angles  with  rod  braces,  and 
will  withstand  a  total  pull  of  8000  pounds 
at  the  top.  The  sectionalizing  and  trans- 
position  towers   are   similar   to  the   ones 


January  5,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


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POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  5,  1909. 


used  at  angles  greater  than  30  degrees  or 
for  terminal  or  tap-oflf  towers,  except  for 
the  arrangement  to  which  lines  are  con- 
nected. The)-  were  tested  to  6000  pounds 
per  conductor.  The  line  between  Catawba 
station  and  Gastonia,  a  distance  of  25 
miles,  is  carried  on  the  same  type  of 
tower,  though  it  consists  of  only  one  cir- 
cuit of  No.  00  Brown  &  Sharpe  stranded 
copper  at  present. 

The  remaining  44,000-volt  lines  now 
completed  or  under  construction  are  car- 
ried on  35-foot  wood  poles,  8  inches  in 
diameter  at  the  top,  and  spaced  150  feet 
apart.  The  cross-arms  are  4^  inches  by 
SH  inches  by  7  feet  hard  pine  treated 
with  hot  carbolineum.  The  pins  are  iron 
and  a  special  iron  cap  was  designed  to 
accommodate  the  top  pin  and  to  support 
a  galvanized  pipe,  which  in  turn  supports 
a  grounded  wire.  An  iron  pin  was  also 
designed  which  has  proved  very  satis- 
factor)-,  not  only  with  regard  to  conveni- 
ence and  strength,  but  also  with  regard 
to  cost.  The  shank  is  cast  and  the  pin 
head  may  either  be  cast  or  forged,  ac- 
cording to  strength  required.  These  pins 
with  cast  heads  were  used  on  terminal 
towers  and  three  of  them  proved  amply 
strong.  The  bolt  can  be  made  any  length 
and  makes  a  very  convenient  method  of 
fastening  an  insulator  to  a  wall  or  wood 
beam.  The  heads  are  cemented  in  the 
insulators  either  at  the  factory  or  before 
insulators  are  taken  out  of  the  shipping 
crates. 

On  account  of  using  towers  that  would 
not  withstand  the  strain  of  a  broken  wire, 
a  tie-clamp  had  to  be  designed  that  would 
allow  the  wire  to  slip  through  in  case  of 
emergency.  The  clamp  is  made  of  cold- 
pressed  steel,  galvanized,  and  will  allow 
the  conductor  to  slip  at  about  350  pounds 
pull.  In  other  words,  the  strain  will  be 
distributed  amongst  ten  towers,  leaving 
an  ample  margin  for  wind  pressure.  This 
clamp  costs  less  than  an  ordinary  tie- 
wire. 

The  line  insulators  were  specially  de- 
signed to  meet  the  views  of  the  company's 
engineers  and  were  mostly  made  by  the 
R.  Thomas  and  Sons  Company.  Those 
on  the  44,000-50,000-volt  lines  are  of  the 
construction  shown  by  Fig.  14.  They 
will  arc  over  at  approximately  88,000 
volts  under  a  precipitation  test  of  %  inch 
of  water  per  minute  at  a  pressure  of  50 
pounds  per  square  inch  from  a  sprinkler 
nozzle  played  on  the  insulator  at  an  angle 
of  30  degrees  above  the  horizontal.  They 
were  all  subjected  to  a  dry  test  of  120,000 
volts  for  ten  minutes.  The  insulators 
used  on  the  88,000- 100,000- volt  lines  are 
of  the  suspension  double-petticoated  type 
14  inches  in  diameter. 

Substation   Equipment 

The  substation  transformers  were  all 
purchased  under  one  specification  in  order 
that  they  could  be  changed  from  one  point 
to  another  in  case  of  a  burnout,  or  in 
case  the  output  became  too  large  for  the 


size  of  the  transformer.  They  are'capable 
of  carr^-ing  full  load  continuously  at  5 
per  cent,  above  and  10  per  cent,  below  the 
rated  voltage,  taps  being  provided  for 
these  voltages  on  the  high-tension  side. 

In  the  small  transformer  substations  the 
cost  of  automatic  high-tension  switches 
such  as  are  used  at  the  generating  stations 
would  be  excessive  and  a  comparatively 
cheap  oil  switch,  with  the  poles  mounted 


formers  necessary  for  the  circuit-breaker, 
which  has  been  such  a  source  of  trouble 
in  lightning  storms,  are  now  not  necessary. 

Lightning  Protection 
An  equal  number  of  General  Electric 
multiple-unit  and  Westinghouse  low- 
equivalent  lightning  arresters,  together 
with  horn  arresters,  have  been  used  in  the 
main    and    substations,    and    an    electro- 


FIG.     13.     TRUNK   lines   BETWEEN    GRE.\T    F.\LLS    AND    CATAWBA 


separately  in  brick  cells,  and  equipped 
with  expulsion  fuses  (of  type  similar  to 
what  is  known  as  the  "T.  D."  fuse  made 
by  the  General  Electric  Company)  is 
used.  Before  the  adoption  of  these  fuses 
they  were  tested  on  short-circuit  on  lines 
of  large  capacity  and  proved  very  satis- 
factory. It  is  hoped  that  these  fuses  will 
prove  more  satisfactory  than  the  auto- 
matic  switch   in    that    the    series    trans- 


lytic  lightning  arrester  is  now  being  in- 
stalled for  comparison  with  the  arresters 
of  the  older  type.  In  addition  to  the 
lightning  arresters,  grounded  wires  are 
strung  over  all  transmission  lines.  On 
the  twin  steel  line  towers  two  grounded 
wires  are  used,  and  on  the  pole  line  one 
9/32  galvanized  S.  M.  strand.  Each  pole 
is  grounded  by  attaching  to  the  side 
thereof     a     galvanized     plate     12    inches 


January  5,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


square  of  No.  20  metal.  This  plate  is  con- 
nected with  the  overhead  wire  by  means 
of  a  No.  8  iron  wire.  The  effectiveness 
of  this  grounded  wire  has  been  ques- 
tioned, but  the  company's  experience  on 
the  old  lines  has  shown  that  it  is  well 
worth  the  money  spent  on  it. 


riC.      14      IN>fT..MOR    USED  OK    50,000-V0I.T 


current.    Smaller  choke  coils  of  air-cooled 
type  are  used  in  substations. 

•   In  General 

.As  the  load  on  the  system  is  constantly 
increasing  and  changing  in  distribution 
characteristics,  any  specific  statement  con- 
cerning it  would  be  out  of  date  by  the  time 
this  article  actually  appears  in  print.  It 
is  of  interest  to  note,  however,  that  on 
November  i.  more  than  one  hundred  cot- 
ton mills  were  operated  by  current  from 
the  system ;  all  of  the  street  lighting  in 
Charlotte,  Salisbury,  Concord,  Statesvillc, 
Lincolnton  and  some  twenty  smaller 
towns  was  being  done  by  it,  and  count- 
less small  factories  and  industrial  plants 
depend  on  it  for  their  motive  power.  In 
the  cities  and  towns  where  general  light- 
ing and  power  service  is  supplied,  the  cur- 
rent is  stepped  down  to  2300  volts  for 
distribution  by  the  local  primary  network. 
In  most  of  these  places  the  Southern 
Power  Company  merely  sells  power  "in 
bulk,"  so  to  speak,  to  local  companies 
who  formerly  operated  central-station 
plants ;  the  prime  movers  in  most  of  these 
plants  have  been  discarded,  and  the.  sta- 
tion equipment  restricted  to  transformers 
and  series-circuit  regulators,  reducing  the 
problem  of  attendance  to  a  state  of  beau- 
tiful simplicity.  In  many  of  the  towns, 
however,  the  power  company  maintains 
its  own  substations  and  deal*  directly 
with  the  consumers. 

The  success  and  rapid  progress  of  the 
ct>mpany  was  primarily  due  to  two  men 
—Dr.  W.  Gill  Wylio.  the  president,  whose 
f.irc^iilht.     energy,     .ind     fin,inc:.n!     ahiltty 


scheme.     During  the  pa»t  ttnxr  year*  Mr. 
Lee  has  had  an  i-  ■•\  J. 

W.    Frrt^cr,   who  en- 

tir'  tor  the  merhamcal  and 

elc  •  of    the    work.      Since 

Mr.  Fraser's  advent,  in  the  spring  of  1904. 
Mr    I.re  has  confined  his  attention  to  the 


practical  construction  work — the  execu- 
tive side  of  the  <•  '  ncnl. 
During  this  peri<  .  hat 
incrc.iscd  from  .v»  !>ur!>ci>owcr  to  30^000 
!.orsrpn-,vrr  fT  ten  hours. 

•<  are  hereby  nude  to 


oke  coils  of  the  oil-cooled  type  are 
at  the  generalittR  stations.  The  im- 
mcc  <lr(>p  in  thc«e  is  about  I  per 
of  the  line  voltage  and  the  rrsist- 
lo9S  about  1800  walls  when  the  trans- 
furinrr  bank  is  carrying  normal  full-load 


1\  M. 


the  commercial  requisite*  (or  grasping  it. 

and  W.  S    '  '        '   ^            --^  whose 

»ound  rt  execu- 
tive 
ing 

applK.t(iun     of  l>t       W>Uc»     :«Uu»ituI 


Meftsrft.  l.ee  and 

,,.-.,.,.1  ..< 


!u  lUuitfAtc  the  dcKftptPr  ««•»• 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  5,  1909. 


The    Use    and    Abuse    of    Globe    Valves 

Plain     Descriptions     of     the     Principal     Features    of    the    Different 
Types,    with    Practical    Suggestions    for    the  Guidance  of    Engineers 

B    Y        W^        H^       W    A    K    E    M    A     N 


The  ordinary  globe  valve  is  a  mechani- 
cal monstrosity,  illogical  and  crude  when 
viewed  as  a  machine,  but  owing  to  its 
convenience  of  operation  and  low  cost  of 
repairs  it  has  gained  well  deserved  popu- 
larity among  engineers  and  steam  users. 
A  few  suggestions  concerning  its  proper 
use,  and  in  disapproval  of  the  abuse  to 
which  it  is  often  subjected,  ought  to  prove 
profitable  to  all  concerned. 

Fig.   I   illustrates  the  first  thing  that  I 


conditions.  The  reason  for  using  a  large 
wrench  for  this  job  is  because  a  small 
one  is  much  more  liable  to  spring  and 
round  off  the  corners  without  loosening 
the  bonnet. 

The  reason  for  removing  the  bonnet  at 
this  time  is  owing  to  the  assumption  that 
it  was  screwed  on  very  tightly  when  first 
assembled ;  therefore,  if  not  loosened  be- 
fore it  is  subjected  to  the  action  of  steam, 
it  will  be  almost  impossible  to  take  it  off 


as  far  as  it  will  go,  which  means  that 
nearly  all  of  the  threads  on  the  bonnet  are 
covered.  If  this  prevents  the  escape  of 
steam  it  is  considered  sufficient.  When 
it  does  begin  to  leak,  a  wrench  is  applied 
and  a  hard  pull  brings  it  around  perhaps 
one-quarter  of  a  turn,  but  it  will  go  no 
farther,  and  steam  still  blows  out;  con- 
sequently, pressure  is  removed  from  the 
pipe  line,  the  nut  is  taken  off,  more  pack- 
ing is  added    (without  removing  the  old 


do  to  one  of  these  valves  when  it  is  to  be 
used  in  my  plant.  A  stout  bench,  well 
braced  from  the  ceiling  to  hold  il  down 
firmly,  is  shown  at  /i,  on  which  there  is  a 
pipe  vise  B.  A  short  piece  of  pipe  of  a 
size  suited  to  the  valve  is  clamped  in  this 
vise,  and  the  valve  is  screwed  on  it.  A 
large  monkey  wrench  is  fitted  to  the  bon- 
net, and  a  quick,  strong  pull  on  the  handle 
loosens  the  screw  and  removes  the  bonnet 
without    further    trouble    under    ordinary 


when  it  must  be  repaired  in  order  to  stop 
a  leak  at  this  point.  If  it  is  replaced  and 
brought  to  its  proper  seat  by  reasonable 
pressure  on  the  wrench  handle,  it  will  be 
steam-  and  water-tight,  and  later  it  can  be 
removed  without  serious  injury.  The  use 
of  lead  or  anything  else  on  these  threads 
is  not  recommended,  for  whatever  is 
applied  will  prove  detrimental  when 
the  bonnet  is  again  removed  after 
long  service.  When  considering  this 
point  it  is  well  to  remember  that  the 
joint  is  not  made  in  the  threads  (like  a 
pipe  joint),  but  where  the  two  flat  sur- 
faces come  together  and  are  held  in  close 
contact  by  the  threads. 

The  next  move  is  to  unscrew  the  pack- 
ing nut,  remove  whatever  packing  may  be 
there,  and  fill  the  nut  as  nearly  full  as 
possible  with  asbestos  wicking,  either  oiled 
or  coated  with  graphite,  according  to  the 
conditions  imder  which  the  valve  is  to  be 
used.  It  is  surprising  to  note  the  indif- 
ferent way  in  which  engineers  sometimes 
pack  these  valves.  A  short  piece  of  pack- 
ing is  put  in  and  the  nut  is  screwed  down 


FIG.    3 


FIG.    4 

material)  and  the  nut  is  screwed  on.  The 
result  is  the  same  as  before,  but  the  pro- 
cess is  repeated  indefinitely,  as  the  un- 
satisfactory results  obtained  do  not  sug- 
gest an  improved  method. 

A  better  plan  is  to  press  the  packing- 
tightly  into  the  nut  with  a  packing  hook, 
or  other  suitable  tool,  and  wind  it  around 
the  stem  until  it  appears  as  shown  it> 
Fig.  2.  The  end  of  this  packing  is  left 
so  as  to  show  the  direction  in   which  ifc 


January  5,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


II 


should  be  wound,  because  the  nut  is 
turned  as  indicated  by  the  arrow,  in  con- 
sequence of  which  action  the  packing  will 
be  smoothly  pressed  into  pldce,  whereas 
if  it  were  wound  in  the  opposite  direction, 
turning  the  nut  would  unwind  the  packing 
and  prevent  smooth  action.  It  ought  to  be 
wound  around  the  stem  in  the  opposite 
direction  from  that  in  which  the  nut  is 
turned   when    screwing   it   on   the   bonnet. 


Having  thus  filled  the  nut,  it  is  pressed 
down   until   a   pair  of  packing   pliers  can 
be  inserted  between  the  nut  and  the  wheel, 
as  illustrated  in  Fig.  3.     These  pliers  are 
■ncd    to    open    when    pressure    is    ap- 
i  to  the  handles  (instead  of  closing  in 
the  usual  way)  ;  consequently,  the  nut  is 
forced  down  until   it   begins  to  screw  on 
the  bonnet,  when  a  wrench  is  applied  to  it. 
Usually  it  can  be  turned  until  the  packing 
is  compressed  into  about  one-half  of  the 
nut,   then   it   ought   to  be   unscrewed   antl 
Brother  ring  or  two  of  packing  put  in. 
is  calls  attention  to  the  form  adopted 
•he  top  of  the   bonnet   on   which   the 
1      king  rests.     Originally  it   was  a  plain, 
^urface,  and   this   is  better   than   any 
-    kind     for    the    following    reason: 
t>  11(11  the  packing  nut  (or  waste  nut,  as  it 
it  technically  callril )   is  unscrewed  as  de- 
'  <-d.  the  packing  remains  in  it;  there- 
more  can  easily  be  added  until  the 
'd   amount    is    secured.      If   anything 
nts    free   movement   of   the   packing. 
Dulird  out  of  the  nut  an<l  it  must  be 
ed,  but  it  is  then  loose  and  requires 
to  make  it  compact,  as  when  it  was 
[lut  in. 

^'   4  illustrates  a  device  that  appeared 

>   certain   kind  of  globe   valve   a    few 

ago,  hut  it  is  not  used  much  at  prcs- 

ring  side  of  it  is  prrsrnted 

<   when   the    nut    1*    screwed 

'It  any  movement  in  the  opposite  di- 

in    is    opposed    by    the    square    edge 

which    eflFecttially    pulls   out    the    packing 

*•    -It  the  first   thing  that   I   did  with   a 

of  this  kind  was  to  take  a  flat  file 

.1  safe  rdgc  and  file  off  these  objec- 

Me   projections,   leaving   the   top   flat 

atiJ  sm'ioth 


Anotuek  De\'ice  roR  Holding  Packing 

Fig-  5  represents  another  device  for 
holding  packing,  consisting  of  a  depres- 
sion in  the  top  of  the  bonnet  next  to  the 
valve  stem.  This  is  of  hexagon  form,  and 
when  packing  is  forced  into  it  by  screwing 
down  the  nut,  it  cannot  turn  easily.  To 
overcome  what  is  an  objectionable  feature 
from  my  point  of  view,  I  put  one  ring  into 
this  depression  and  make  it  independent 
of  the  remainder  of  the  packing  used ; 
therefore,  after  it  has  been  forced  down- 
ward into  place,  the  top  of  the  bonnet  is 
smooth  and  practically  flat.  Valves  of 
this  kind  that  I  have  recently  purchased 
contain  a  ring  of  fibrous  packing  nicely 
fitted  to  and  forced  into  this  cavity,  thus 
leaving  the  top  perfectly  free  from  ob- 
struction. This  is  an  excellent  idea,  be- 
cause  it  gives  the  engineer  a  chance  to 


m 


ric.  6 

choose  which  he  will  use  If  this  ring  is 
not  taken  out  he  has  a  plain  top  on  the 
bonnet,  but  if  remove*!  it  leaves  the  hexa- 
gon cavity  to  prevent  the  packing  from 
turning. 

The  object  of  the  features  shown  in 
Figs.  4  and  5  is  to  prevent  the  nut  from 
unscrewing  when  the  valve  is  opened, 
but  this  very  scMom  happens  in  mv  plant, 
and  there  is  r  'uld 

in  others      !f  •  •»«»d 

the  nut  '   «<•  ^. 

no  other  i  1  to  hold 

the  packing  from  turning.  1  his  refers 
to  ordinary  globe  valves.  Tliere  shoald 
always  be  enough  in  the  stuffing  box  or 
nut  to  allow  for  screwing  it  down  another 


revolution  or  turn,  if  it  Itaks  after  1>eiiig 
in   use  for  several  weeks. 

When  the  bonnet  of  a  vmWe  (hat  has 
been  used  more  or  less  is  removed  for  any 
purpose,  the  -  it  A  and  B.  Fig   6. 

ought  to  be  ■  cleaned,  then  they 

will  come  togcll.cr,  metal  to  me^al.  when 
the  bonnet  is  replaced.  If  there  is  a  slight 
leak  at  this  point  when  full  pressure  is  •  11 
the  valve,  the  only  safe  plan  is  to  ren»o\r 
all  pressure,  take  off  the  bonnet,  clean  the 
surfaces  as  described,  and  screw  the  bon- 
net on  again,  using  force  enough  to  secure 
perfect  contact  at  all  points.  It  is  danger- 
ous to  force  it  down  farther  with  full 
pressure  on.  as  the  leak  may  be  due  to 
a  defect  which  careless  usage  will  develop 
into  a  rupture,  allowing  steam  or  hot 
water  to  escape.  Many  accidents  have 
resulted  from  poor  management  along  this 
line. 

Fig.  7  is  a  valve  that  is  not  always 
satisfactory,  at  least  in  my  experience ; 
therefore,  it  is  never  used  in  an  important 
place.  It  is  all  brass,  with  a  beveled  seat 
and  a  disk  that  adjusts  itself  to  the  seat. 
This  disk  can  easily  be  taken  from  the 
stem  and,  by  fitting  a  wooden  handle  into 
it.  there  is  what  may  be  termed  "a  fight- 
ing chance"  for  regrinding  it  and  thus  re- 
pairing a  leak ;  but  as  there  is  no  pro>i-ision 
made  for  grinding  the  disk,  the  operation 


r»u  7 

IS    letliout   and    unsaiisfact    .  the 

manufacturers  »>(  these  valves  are  no« 
willmg  to  put  thnr  namrt  or  trademarks 
tin  them,  it  i»  a»»uu>o!  -hji  they  are  ik>I 

gU.i: 

T 
(he    stciu    !!• 
is    matle    for 

enough     to     maWr     rrijiitMluitf     1 
The  w'    il*-  nrAf   '.ht  l.-wer  eod  ol  ■ 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  5,  1909. 


is  h*eld  in  the  position  shown  by  a  screw, 
but  when  a  screwdriver  is  inserted  in  the 
slot  and  it  is  given  a  turn  backward,  the 
lug  on  the  lower  side  of  this  guide  drops 
into  the  slot  in  the  disk,  where  it  is  fast- 
ened bj-  tightening  the  screw.  Of  course, 
it  was  necessary  to  remove  the  bonnet  be- 
fore the  screw  could  be  loosened,  and  by 
bringing  it  to  the  position  illustrated  the 
stem  and  disk  can  be  freely  turned  for 
the  purpose  of  regrinding  the  worn 
surfaces. '  As  the  body  of  this  valve  is 
fitted  with  an  external  thread  and  the 
bonnet  is  threaded  internally,  these  threads 
are  not  subjected  to  the  direct  action  of 
steam,  because  the  joint  is  made  by  the 
surfaces  A  and  B  joining  perfectly  when 
the  bonnet  is  screwed  into  place. 

Fig.  9  is  another  all-metal  valve  which 
can  be  reground  at  pleasure.     The  bon- 


is now  loose  on  the  stem,  but  by  inserting 
a  small  wire  nail  in  the  hole  shown  in 
the  former  and  passing  it  through  a  corre- 
sponding hole  in  the  latter,  as  shown  in 
the  illustration,  the  disk  is  caused  to  turn 


FIG.    8 

net  is  removed  in  the  ordinary  way,  and 
the  disk  is  then  taken  off  from  the  stem. 
A  temporary  holder  is  inserted  in  the 
disk,  then  by  means  of  a  carpenter's  brace 
the  disk  can  be  turned  until  the  regrind- 
ing process  is  complete. 

Special  attention  is  called  to  the  guide 
forming  part  of  the  disk,  as  it  insures 
true  surfaces  when  efforts  are  made  to 
eliminate  leaks. 

Some  Pfculiar  Features 

Fig.  10  has  peculiar  features  which  are 
'  worthy  of  attention.  The  bonnet  is 
secured  to  the  body  by  an  internally 
threaded  ring  A,  which  resembles  a  union 
connection.  By  unscrewing  this  ring  the 
trimmings,  or,  in  other  words,  the  entire 
upper  part  of  the  valve  can  be  removed, 
leaving  the  body  only  in  place.     The  disk 


FIG.    9 


with  the  stem ;  consequently,  the  bonnet 
can  be  replaced  temporarily  without 
screwing  the  ring  down  tight,  thus  form- 
ing a  guide  for  the  stem,  which  is  turned 
by  the  wheel  until  a  perfect  joint  is  sc- 
oured. It  is  better  to  give  this  wheel  not 
more  than  one-half  revolution  and  then 
reverse  the  motion  than  always  to  turn 
it  in  one  direction,  as  the  grinding  ma- 
terial seems  to  do  better  work  under  these 
conditions.  Care  must  be  taken  to  re- 
move the  wire  nail  and  thoroughly  clean 
the  internal  parts  before  the  trimmings 
are  permanently  replaced.  When  the  seat 
of  this  valve  is  badly  worn,  it  can  be  taken 
out  and  a  new  one  inserted. 

As  this  valve  is  quite  different  from 
those  previously  shown,  an  external  view 
of  it  is  presented  in  Fig.  ir. 

Fig.  12  is  fitted  with  a  removable  disk 
holder  which  cannot  come  off  the  stem 
while  in  use,  but  when  it  is  worn  out  the 


bonnet  is  taken  off  in  the  usual  way,  and 
the  stem  screwed  down  as  far  as  it  will 
go,  bringing  the  disk  holder  clear  of  the 
bonnet,  thus  allowing  it  to  be  removed 
without  the  use  of  tools  of  any  kind.  A 
new  holder  containing  a  hard-rubber  disk 
is  substituted,  the  stern  drawn  up  and  the 
trimmings  put  back  on  the  body.  Another 
kind  of  valve  is  designed  to  embody  the 
same  principle,  but  the  disk  is  packed 
with  asbestos  which  is  forced  into  place 
under  great  pressure.  Because  asbestos 
is  not  affected  by  heat,  acids,  or  oils,  these 
disks  should  prove  durable. 

Fig.  13  is  an  all-brass  valve,  except  the 
disk,  which  is  made  of  copper.  The 
holder  is  retained  on  the  stem  by  a  slender 
nut  and  the  disk  is  kept  in  the  holder  by 


January  5,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


«3 


another  nut.  When  this  valve  is  closed, 
only  the  round  edge  of  this  disk  is  in  con- 
tact with  the  seat ;  therefore,  it  forms  a 
tight  joint  with  comparatively  light  pres- 
sure of  the  stem.  This  disk  will  prove 
durable  when  used  on  lines  that  carry 
high-pressure  superheated  steam.  It  is 
possible  for  this  nut  to  become  loosened 
and  finally  be  turned  off  by  the  action  of 
steam  passing  it  swiftly,  especially  when 
water  is  mixed  with  the  steam,  which  is  a 
condition  frequently  found  in  practice 
during  the  first  few  seconds  after  the 
valve  is  opened,  and  it  may  exist  at  other 
times.  To  prevent  this,  put  two  prick- 
punch  marks  in  the  thread  after  the  nut 
is  screwed  firmly  into  place.  These  will 
hold  the  nut  while  in  service,  but  will  not 
prevent   it   from  being  turned  off  with   a 


wrench  when  a  new  disk  is  to  lie  put  on. 
Fig.  14  shows  a  brass  globe  valve  fitted 
with  a  hard-rublHT  disk  that  can  be  re- 
moved at  pleasure,  as  it  is  held  in  place 
by  a  nut  If  the  disk  does  not  come  out 
easily  with  the  nut  off,  hold  it  in  the  tlamr 
of  a  gas  jet  for  about  one  minute.  The 
heat  will  soften  the  composition  and  may 
Ik:  pried  out  with  a  small  chisel,  or  a 
king  hook. 

iidrr  common  conditions  this  disk  wilt 
iii.ikc  a  tight  joint  with  no  trouble,  and 
will  la^t  for  a  long  time.  When  worn  out 
it  can  \>r  removed  at  small  expense  and 
uiib  ^light  trouble  If  it  lasts  only  a  few 
ita  a  ^team-pipe  line,  the  pressure  i* 
iM..iMbly  too  high  (or  that  particular  kind 
of  disk.  Order  one  that  was  madr  to 
wilhstancl  high  pressure,  and  if  that  f.iil* 
get  one  m.ule  of  babbitt  metal.  If  that 
dor*  not  prove  satisfactory,  srctire  a  brass 
disk  and  grind  it  to  a  perfect  fit  on  the 
teat,  as  if  it  were  designed  for  regrinding 


While  these  valves  are  used  extensively, 
there  are  many  engineers  who  do  not  un- 
derstand their  design  and  operation. 

Shape  of  Disk  Important 

Another  point  to  be  considered   is   the 
fhape  of  the  disk,   for  although   the  ex- 


Fic.  13 


nrn.ii   torm  n  round,  it  do«  not  nece»- 
sarily   follow    that   it   i»   lh«   Mme   inlet- 

nally  I 
design,  : 
The  nut  prujc<l*  i»to  she  diJi  and  torro 


pond>   lo  It,  .-ned 

without  movi:  .iiod 

feature,  because  the  li.  * 

to   its    scat    by    the    at.-.  .     , 

holds  the  nut  and  prcvrnts  it  irom  turn- 
ing off  while  in  use  When  the  disk  is 
worn  out.  and  a  wrench  is  applied  to  the 
t.ut.  the  disk  must  turn  also,  so  no  further 
trouble  is  found  in  removing  the  old  disk, 
provided  the  wrench  can  be  nude  to  bold 
on  the  nut 

As  a  general  rule  the  comers  a:  'I 

by  the  operation.  The  wrench 
and  buth  nut  and  disk  stay  where  ihcy 
were  until  a  Stillson  wrench  is  applied ;  as 
the  teeth  sink  into  the  metal,  it  cannot  slip, 
but  the  nut  is  disfigured  or  perhaps  spoiled 
by  the  operation.  On  this  account  it  is 
better  to  file  out  the  flat  spots  and  leave 
the  internal  surface  a  true  circle.  Thus 
there  is  a  much  better  chance  of  unscrew- 
ing the  nut  without  injury,  and  there  it 
really  but  little  danger  of  losing  it  in 
ser\-ice  if  it  is   fastened  according  to  the 


\ 


na    15 

suggestions  made  in  C' 
13.  The  advantage  ot 
made  as  shown  in  Fig    15  en- 

gineer may  use  them  m  thi  — .-n  or 
not.  according  to  the  results  of  bis  e«- 
periencc  and  observation  in  the  matter ;  bat 
if  thry  were  made  round  internally  R 
would  be  impraclicable  to  add  the  flat 
spot«  iffrrw^rd 


1 

duk 

hcl 

full    thr< 

nine 

lu  hold 

any  pre- 

11  jii  ' 

*n  with- 

»land.  but   when  - 
stem    belongs    is 

-0  which  thu 

\      a     fvart     of 

them  will  be  roe- 

tr 

an 

t  in 

the  bonnet,  while  tnr 

.,•  ■■    ••-   ..ot  in 

a    position    to    hold 

ylhint       A    val>e 
threads. 

«h«ti    the 

•MMt    is 


Ibt 


tlMK   !o   |T«    «rji 


14 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  5,  1909. 


A  globe  valve  was  located  with  its  stem 
in  a  horizontal  position.  After  being  used 
for  several  years  the  disk  holder  was  quite 
loose  on  the  stem,  and  although  the  seat 
and  disk  were  in  good  order,  the  valve 
leaked  continually.  When  lost  motion  at 
this  point  was  reduced  to  a  very  small 
amount  (leaving  only  enough  for  correct 
operation  of  the  valve),  by  filing  the  back 
of  the  holder  until  the  nut  which  screws 


FIG.    16 

into  it  at  this  point  could  be  turned  in 
almost  far  enough  to  grip  the  stem  (see 
A,  Fig.  16),  the  valve  was  tight  when 
closed.  The  philosophy  of  this  action  is 
as  follows :  Lost  motion  allowed  the  top 
of  the  disk  to  strike  the  seat  first,  and 
further  action  of  the  screw  was  not  suf- 
ficient to  make  it  bear  evenly;  conse- 
quently it  leaked.  When  this  unnecessary 
lost  motion  was  taken  up,  the  disk  rested 
against  the  seat  squarely  and  made  a  tight 
joint. 

The  manufacturers  of  many  of  the  globe 
valves  now  in  the  market  claim  that  when 
they  are  opened  wide  it  is  possible  to  pack 
them  at  pleasure.  This  is  undoubtedly 
correct  when  applied  to  the  valves  actually 
guaranteed,  but  it  is  not  wise  to  apply  it 
to  all  valves  found  in  a  steam  plant  with- 
out knowing  their  design.  To  test  a  valve 
for  this  feature,  open  it  wide,  apply  the 
packing  pliers  illustrated  in  Fig.  3  and 
cautiously  unscrew  the  packing  nut.  If 
steam  escapes  it  shows  that  this  valve  can- 
not be  packed  under  pressure,  but  the  nut 
can  be  forced  down  into  its  proper  place 
by  the  pliers,  and  the  application  of  a 
wrench  will  soon  stop  the  leak  of  steam. 
Let  the  matter  rest  until  pressure  can  be 
removed  from  the  line,  then  pack  the  valve 
in  a  workmanlike  manner. 


The    Oppressiveness    of    Erudition 

"The  trouble  with  me  is  that  I  know 
too  darn  much,"  drawled  the  puzzle  editor 
as  the  chief  passed  his  desk. 

"How  so?" 

"Didn't  you  ever  notice  that  the  less  a 
man  knows  about  a  thing  the  quicker  he 
can  give  you  an  answer  about  it?  For  in- 
stance, here  is  a  fellow  who  wants  to 
know  what  is  the  difference  between  the 
gage  pressure  and  the  absolute  pressure. 
I  was  on  the  point  of  telling  him  15 
pounds.  If  your  gage  pressure  is  75 
pounds,  the  absolute  pressure  is  75  +  15  = 
90  pounds.  That  is  good  enough  for  most 
cases,  and  more  exact  than  men  ordinarily 
read  gages  or  than  gages  usually  are,  but 
I  happened  to  think  that  that  fellow  may 
use  Kent's  table,  where  the  gage  pres- 
sures are  all  given  with  an  0.3  after  them 
and  the  gage  pressure  corresponding  with 
>po  absolute  is  75.3.     So  I  start  in  to  tell 


him  to  add  14.7  to  the  gage  pressure  to 
get  the  absolute,  and  then  it  struck  me 
that  this  is  only  right  if  the  pressure  of 
the  atmosphere  is  14.7  pounds,  and  if  it 
happens  to  be  so  it  is  an  accident.  I  can 
tell  him  to  add  the  pressure  of  the  atmos- 
phere to  his  gage  pressure,  but  how  is  he 
going  to  get  the  pressure  of  the  atmos- 
phere ?  If  he  takes  it  by  the  barometer,  it 
will  be  right  for  that  place  and  time,  but 
may  not  be  right  for  another  place  or  an- 
other time  or  for  the  case  that  he  is  work- 
ing on.  And  then  he  gets  it  in  inches  of 
mercury  and  he  has  to  use  it  in  pounds 
per  square  inch.  No  two  authorities  agree 
as  to  the  weight  of  a  cubic  inch  of  mer- 
cury and  it  is  dollars  to  doughnuts  that 
he  wouldn't  have  pure  mercury  in  his 
barometer,  and  the  weight  per  cubic  inch 
varies  with  the  temperature,  which  he 
would  not  know,  and  then  again  a  cubic 
inch  of  pure  mercury  at  the  same  tem- 
perature weighs  less  at  the  equator  than 
it  does  at  the  poles  on  account  of  the 
centrifugal  force,  so  that  the  latitude 
comes  in.  Gee,  I  could  write  a  book 
about  it.  If  I  only  knew  half  as  much 
my  work  would  be  twice  as  easy." 


Steam  Boiler  Water  Gages 


By  H.  a.  Jahnke 


The  writer  has  noticed  quite  often  that 
the  water  gage  and  try  cocks  on  a  boiler 
do  not  receive  the  attention  they  should 
get.  A  great  many  firemen,  and  some 
engineers  who  do  their  own  firing,  blow 
the  dirty  water  out  of  the  water  column 
and  gage  glass  perhaps  once  or  twice  a 
week,   which  is   bad  practice. 

The  water  column  and  gage  glass 
should  be  blown  out  three  or  four  times  a 
day,  or  as  often  as  is  necessary  to. keep 
the  water-column  and  gage-glass  connec- 
tions free  from  mud  and  scale.  If  there 
are  valves  in  the  water-column  connec- 
tions the  steam  valve  should  be  closed  and 
the  valve  in  the  water  connection  and 
drain  valves  on  the  bottom  of  the  water 
column  opened  for  a  short  time,  in  order  to 
blow  out  of  the  lower  connection  all  obstruc- 
tion which  may  have  lodged  there.  Then 
the  valve  in  the  lower  connection  should 
be  closed  and  the  valve  in  the  top  connec- 
tion opened  for  awhile,  after  which  the 
drain  valve  should  be  closed  and  the 
valves  in  both  connections  opened  wide. 

Water  columns  and  gage  glasses  are 
often  connected  up  in  such  a  way  that  as 
soon  as  there  is  no  water  shown  in  the 
gage  glass  the  top  row  of  tubes  in  a  hori- 
zontal return-tubular  boiler  are  dry.  The 
proper  way  to  arrange  the  water  column 
and  gage  glass  is  to  locate  the  gage  glass 
fairly  high,  then  as  long  as  water  shows 
in  the  glass  there  will  be  at  least  2  to  3 
inches  over  the  top  row  of  tubes,  as 
shown  in  the  accompanying  sketch. 

It  is   a   good   plan,   when   an    engineer 


takes  charge  of  a  new  plant,  for  him  to 
find  out  at  the  first  opportunity  how  the 
water  column  and  gage  glass  are  set,  in 
order  to  determine  at  what  point  it  is  safe 
to  carry  the  water  and  to  fix  the  low  and 
high  points.  He  should  also  find  out 
what  condition  the  water-column  connec- 
tions are  in  and  know  if  they  are  clear 
of  obstructions. 

Some  Causes  of  Gage  Glasses  Breaking 
Gage  glasses  often  break  because  the 
water-gage  valves  are  not  in  line  with 
each  other  and  when  the  packing  nuts  are 
screwed  up  tight  they  bind  the  glass, 
causing  it  to  break.  The  hole  in  the  pack- 
ing nut  may  be  too  small  for  the  diame- 
ter of  the  glass  and  prevent  the  glass  from 
expanding.  When  it  gets  hot,  the  hole 
should  be  enlarged  a  little  with  a  file.  Air 
striking  the  glass  in  cold  weather  when  a 
door  or  window  is  opened  will  cause  un- 
equal expansion  of  the  glass,  which  will 
break  it.  Where  the  cold  air  cannot  be 
prevented  I  have  found  that  the  "Gilbert" 
gage-glass  ring  is  a  good  thing  to  use  for 
the  packing  nuts  of  the  gage  glass. 

If  the  packing  rings  of  a  gage  glass  are 
in  use  for  a  long  time  they  get  too  hard 
and  there  is  no  cushion  to  prevent  the 
strain  on  the  glass  and  it  will  break.  This 
trouble  can  be  avoided  by  renewing  the 
packing  rings  frequently.  In  steam  plants 
which  are  in  operation  only  during  the 
daytime  it  is  good  practice  to  close  the 
gage-glass  valves  at  night  after  shutting 
down,  as  the  glass  is  liable  to  break  dur- 
ing the  night,  and  if  there  is  no  watch- 
man in  the  plant  there  will  be  trouble  in 
the  morning.  Some  years  ago,  when  I 
entered  the  boiler  room  one  morning  the 
room  was  full  of  steam.  Looking  for  the 
cause,  I  found  that  one  of  the  gage  glasses 
had  broken  during  the  night,  and  that  it 
must  have  happened  in  the  early  part  of  the 
night  because  most  of  the  steam  had  been 
blown  out  of  the  boiler  and  no  water 
could  be  seen  in  the  gage  glass.     By  try-' 


L. 


SHOWING   PROPER   HIGHT   OF  GAGE   GLASS 

ing  the  drain  cock  at  the  water  gage  it 
was  found  there  was  water  up  to  this 
point  and  there  still  was  water  over  the  1 
top  row  of  tubes.  Cold  water  hfd  to  be  i 
run  into  the  boiler  in  order  to  bring  water 
into  the  glass  again.  All  the  pipe  cover- 
ing in  the  boiler  room  on  the  steam  pipes 
was  dripping  wet.  Had  the  gage-glass 
valves  been  closed  the  night  before  all  this 
trouble  would  have  been  avoided. 


« 


January  5.  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


IS 


Classification   and   Uses  of  Wrenches 

A  Treatise  on   the   Proper  Names,   Uses  and   Abuses  of  Wrenches  in 
Everyday  Practice;  Notes  on  the  Screwdriver  and  a  Few  General  Kink* 

b"y        HUBERT        E.       COLLINS 


Good  machinists  understand  the  proper 
use  of  wrenches  of  every  kind  and  de- 
scription, and  it  is  only  natural  that  they 
should,  as  it  is  a  part  of  their  training. 
Among  engineers  with  no  mechanical 
training,  over  50  per  cent,  do  not  know 
how  to  properly  handle  wrenches,  and 
the  percentage  among  steamfitters,  fire- 
men, oilers,  dynamo  attendants  and  the 
help  generally  is  nearer  loo  than  50. 
Not  only  are  they  ignorant  of  the  proper 
uses  of  wrenches,  but  very  few  can  call 
them  by  their  proper  names.  These  state- 
ments arc  made  after  a  period  of  17  years' 


believed  that  a  talk  on  this  subject  should 
be  of  value  in  the  engine  room,  and  more 
especially  if  proper  consideration  is  given 
to  it.  When  the  reader  considers  the 
various  types  of  wrenches  here  illustrated 
and  the  proper  uses  here  explained,  it 
is  believed  that  if  he  has  not  the  wrench 
wanted,  he  can  find  some  way  to  use  what 
he  has  or  get  an  idea  of  how  to  make  the 
proper  wrench  for  his  service. 

Classification 
Many  times  in  calling  for  a  wrench,  the 
one  asked  for  is  not  brought,  because  the 


wrenches.  Figs,  14,  15  and  16  are  type* 
of  socket  wrenches,  and  Fig.  17  is  two 
views  of  a  socket  wrench  made  for  heavy 
work.  Fig.  18  is  a  box  wrench  for  beavj 
work.  Figs.  19,  30  and  21  are  types  of 
spanner    wrenches,    Fi.  ig    a    pm 

spanner.  Fig.  20  a  ho«.  >^.  .  and  Fig. 

21  a  face  spanner. 

Figs.  22,  2J,  24.  25.  a6  and  27  »re  type* 
of  strap  wrenches.  Fig.  28  is  the  cominoii 
monkey  wrench  and  Figs.  29,  jo  and  ji 
are  types  of  pipe  or  Stillson  wrenchei. 
Figs.  32  and  33  are  types  of  alligator  pipe 
wrenches,  and  Fig.  34  is  a  pair  of  pipe 


sous  OreN-tNDU   WUNCHU 


obser>'ation,  and   it   is  believed   that   they 
cannot    t)e    successfully    contradicted. 

It  is  of  great  importance  in  the  fkaving 
of  time  around  a  plant  to  have  the  men  all 
trained  in  the  use  of  wrenche*.  ntthotigh 
to  many  it  may  seem  a  trivial  matter. 
In  many  plants  it  will  be  found  that  there 
■re  no  wrenches  to  fit  certain  nuts  or 
bolt  heads  llpon  investigation  it  will  be 
found  that  when  the  engine,  dynamo, 
pump,  or  wlulever  piece  of  machinery  it 
Is,  wa5  in<f.nlled.  a  wrench  was  supplied 
for  the  pl.ne  now  requiring  its  use,  but 
It  is  f  ■  '  •  or  more  frrriuently. 
throunl'  it  is  spoiled  so  that  it 

cannot  b<-   li^cd      For  these  reasons,  it  i« 


man  sent  for  it  does  not  know  the  names 
of  wrenches  and  cannot  associate  in  his 
mind  a  wrench  to  fit  the  name  given  it. 
or  vicf  versa.  Thi«  i»  due  to  a  bck  of 
familiarity  with  the  difTerrnt  \\\'<-s  of 
wrenches  and  thei'  virtir*  f"  '  •'—  pur- 
pose of  cI.T  lin- 
ing, the  ac  nf 
wrenches  are  given  Figs  1  t 
sive,  are  types  of  wrenchr*  v 
called  solid,  open  ended  wrenchet  They 
are  drop-forged  and  case-hardmrd.  and 
are  in  general  use      Fig.   10  i»  .1   ru?  o{  a 

»pr         •  •     •  '  .  4      !• 

aU  ta 

and   tj  vc  typc»  <>>{   ttan-Urd  inokc  bo* 


a  ' 

Fig    .1, 
The 
illustratetj   ;> 
wrench**       i 
sir 

5.  ' 

These  . 
art    •!• 

Mown. 

T»i  Va» 

^„ 


rtich  !hc  nt%\  N'l-J 


ic  :.«.!   rfi  sr»  two  »i«w»  of 

I  wrcndi,  and 

•  i   «ri   w  rencB. 

ind  box   wrenches  bcrt 

<ht    or    aail* 

two     fjKfWS    of 

vJ.tl.     AI.  t,     4. 

-iml   ti   -  he*. 


i6 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  5,  1909. 


TYPES    OF    SOCKET    WRENCH 


BOX    WRENCHES    OF    STANDARD    MAKE 


FIG.     17.     SOCKET   WRENCHES   FOR   HEAVY 
WORK 


^^ 


FIG.       18.      BOX    WRENCH     FOR     HEAVY     WORK 


PIN,    HOOK    AND   FACE    SPANNERS 


a 


FIGS.    10  AND   II.     SOLID  OPEN-ENDED    WRENCHES    OF    SPECIAL    DESIGN 


January  5,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


head  after  starting  to  set  up  on  or  slack 
the  nut.  This  type  of  wrench  is  needed  in 
every  plant  in  places  such  as  the  nuts  of 
a  cylinder  head,  Bange  bolts,  engine 
frames,  etc.  The  angle  is  the  amount  the 
wrench  head  is  offset  from  the  center  line 
of  the  wrench  handle,  as  shown  in  Fig. 
38,  where  A  is  the  head  of  an  angle 
wrench  and  B  the  head  of  a  straight 
wrench.  The  line  CD  h  the  common 
center  line  of  the  two  wrench  handles. 
It  will  be  seen  that  the  line  E  F  through 
the  head  of  A  is  offset  30  degrees  from 
CD.  Many  degrees  of  angle  for  this  off- 
set have  been  used  by  manufacturers,  but 
the  angles  arc  mostly  15,  30  and  60  de- 
grees "for  hexagon  nuts,  and  45  degrees 
for  square  nuts. 

As  angle  wrenches  are  to  be  used  in 
tight  places  or  close  corners,  the  object 
is  to  turn  the  nut  or  bolt  head  just  far 
enough  so  that  the  next  flats  can  be 
caught  by  the  wrench.  .\  hexagon  nut 
must  be  turned  60  degrees  in  order  that  a 
wrench  may  catch  the  next  flats,  while  the 
wrench  remains  or  is  brought  back  to  the 
first  position  to  start  again  in  the  opera- 
of  setting  up  or  slacking  off.  A 
c  nut  needs  to  turn  90  degrees  to 
present  a  new  set  of  flats  to  the  jaws  of 
a  wrench.  If  there  is  room  enough  to 
turn  a  hexagon  nut  60  degrees  or  a  square 
nut  90  dtgrecs,  a  straight  open-ended  or 
monkey  wrench  may  serve  the  purpose 
as  well  as  an  angle  wrench,  but  where 
closer  quarters  do  not  allow  of  this  much 
of  the  wrench,  the  latter  must  be 
t  just  enough  for  it  to  take  hold 
twice  on  the  same  side  of  the  nut  in  one 
turning.    Then  the  required  pitch  or  angle 


Kio.  19 


:oi 


FIG. 25 


FIG.  27 


STRAP   WRENCH  tS 


FIG.    28.     MONKEY  WRENCH 


FH;       37       TVP«     '  »     »'"»^v     wiitv,   14 


HG.  3° 


PIPE  OR  STIIX90N 


2so 


FIG.  31 


FIG.  }J 
ALLIGATOR  PIPE   WRENCHES 


riC     J&     WRENCH   OFT»ET   JO  OCCAtES 

of   the    wrmrh   will   hr  f^ne^fooith  of  tbc 
amount  udct  aroupd. 

For  a   !  AfHild  be  on«> 

fourth  of  to  or   IS  <lctrc«».  and   for   a 

o» 

i 
Ih 

mi 
d*K 

an  ' 

Ihr 
Ihr 

I'.'- 

■<T»« 

r.\ 


lf.iir«)i     .,«     in    iir     jn     Mfftrf 


inc  at   A  and 

be  turned  jo 

wr*«»fh  o«rT 


Fir.    34.     riPE   TONM 


FIGS    35  AND  3*^      APPUCATIOlia  OT  Hl« 
WRSMCN    TO  DimCVLT   JOB 


For     lh»i     rcAsuiJ.     mfim     f'«»tn4t     'f^'* 


i8 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  s,  1909. 


wrenches  made  to  order,  do  not  allow 
them  to  be  offset  more  than  these 
amounts. 

Box   wrenches,   shown   in   Figs.    12,    13 
and   18,   whether  angle  or  straight,  have 


offer  many  suggestions  as  to  type  of 
wrench  and  places  for  their  use.  In  Fig. 
28  we  recognize  the  familiar  monkey 
wrench,  whose  uses  are  many  and  varied. 
Owing  to   the   fact   that    it   is   easily   ad- 


WRENCH    WITH     IS-DEGREE    OFFSET 


many  advantages  over  the  open-ended 
wrench  whenever  it  is  possible  to  use 
them.  The  head,  fitting  all  sides  of  the 
nut,  brings  less  strain  on  it,  and  fitting 
closer  allows  it  to  hold  the  nut  with  but 
little  possibility  of  slipping. 

Open-ended  wrenches  with  long  lever- 
age, such  as  those  in  Figs.  7,  8  and  9,  are 
used  on  iron  work,  pipe  flanges  and  other 
construction  work.  A  good  style  of 
wrench  for  pipe  flanges  is  that  shown  in 
Fig.  8.  The  handle  of  this  wrench  can 
first  be  used  as  a  drift  to  bring  the  bolt 
holes  in  line.  The  wrench  shown  in  Fig. 
9  is  called  an  S-wrench  because  of  its 
shape. 

Socket  wrenches,  such  as  are  shown 
in  Figs.  14,  IS  and  16,  are  used  mostly 
where  the  bolt  heads  or  nuts  are  in  a  re- 
cess, as  in  the  case  of  piston-follower 
bolts  or  the  screw  heads  on  a  universal 
chuck  for  a  lathe.  When  socket  wrenches 
are  made  as  in  Fig.  17,  they  are  used  on 
the  larger  sizes  of  bolt  heads  or  nuts. 

Spanner  wrenches,  like  those  in  Figs. 
19  and  20,  are  used  largely  on  stuffing-box 
nuts  for  pumps  and  small  engines.  The 
face  spanner,  Fig.  21,  is  a  special  wrench. 
One  use  for  it  is  shown  in  Fig.  40,  where 
an  eccentric,  which  needs  turning  around 
the  shaft,  is  situated  between  the  bearing 
and  flywheel  of  an  engine  so  close  that 
no  other  method  of  grasping  it  will  do. 
This  is  only  one  illustration  of  its  use. 
The  various  types  of  strap  wrenches 
here  shown  are  to  be  made  for  specific 
purposes,   and    Figs.    22   to   27,    inclusive. 


TABLE    1.     SIZES    FOR    TAPER-HANDLED 
ENGINEERS'   WRENCHES. 


TABLE     2.     SIZES     OF     DOUBLE-HEADED 

ENGINEERS'  WRENCHES. 

(FIG.  7.) 


For  U.  S. 

Standaid 

Openings, 

Extreme 

Thickness, 

Nuts;  Size 
Bolts. 

Milled. 

Length. 
1 

Heads. 

i&    A 

/b&    J? 

31 

B4    &       31 

i&    i 

A&    i 

4 

a  &    i 

i\&    i 

i?  &    i 

.4 

^'-  &    i 

A&    A 

M&    J? 

44 

^,  &    3% 

i  &     IB 

i  &     t 

i    &    hi 

4* 

1   &    i. 

i   &    H 

5J 

i   &    T% 

/e  &     % 

ii&    H 

5J 

^i  &     \e 

1%  &      TB 

ii&      3? 

6J 

/i  &     ^4 

f&     /s 

ii  &    35 

6| 

1*8  &     U 

it    * 

III    1 

71 

i,s  <K     ^S 

IB    &       4 

7f 

4i  &     i 

s 

IS  &      fs 

3S&    3? 

8J 

U  &    1 

4&    1% 

i   &    U 

8i 

iii  &  1 

7 

i&  i 

i    &  It's 

9i 

31  &    i 

i'b&   i 

M  &  It's 

9f 

i'«  &    i 

^gt       t 

H  &  U 

Hi 

t'b  &     I'e 

If       ^ 

It's  &  H 

Hi 

i      &       I»B 

|&       t 

1t-b  &  1/b 

13i 

i   «fe    si 

i  &   i 

H   &  178 

13i 

/b*     4 

i  &  1 

li   &  11 

15i 

l%&   i 

i  &  1 

1,8  &  li 

15i 

ii  &    f 

i  &  H 

if«  &  Hi 

17 

Si  &     i~- 

1    &  li 

ii  &  m 

17 

i  &    ¥' 

1    &  H 

li    &  2 

19 

f  &    if 

li&  U 

lie  &  2 

19 

I1&  r- 

U&  if 

Hi  &  2^„ 

21 

§1  &  1 

li  &  i| 

2      &  2/s 

21 

u  &  1 

li  &  li 

2      &2j- 

23 

M  &  It's 

If  &  H 

2f'B&  2i 

23 

1     &  iVs 

l|  &  U 

2fB  &  2f, 

25 

1     &  li 

H  &  Ig 

2f    &  2A 
2|    &2I 

25 

lA  &  li 

li  &  li 

27-      • 

lA  &  lai 

li  &  IJ 

2,1,  &  21 

27 

li   &  Ib'. 

li  &  i| 

2fa  &  2{g 

27 

li  &  13' 

„ 

li  &  2 

2,",  &  3i 

30i 

li   &  1 

13  &  2 

2i    &3k 

30i 

Ij'iT  &   1 

U  <fe  2 

2H  &  3J 
2k    &3i 

•  30i 

III  &  1 

H  &  2i 

34 

l/i  &  li 

^ 

U&  21 

2}i  &  3i 
3J    &  3i 

34 

iX  &  li 

2     &  2i 

34 

1:  &  4 

; 

2     &  2i 

3^    &  3J 

39 

1   &  11 

2i  &  2i 

3i    &  3i 

39 

m  &  li 

2t  &  2f 

3i    &  4i 

39 

i"&  li 

2i  &  2i 

3i    &4i 

39 

li  &  li 

2i  &  .3 

3J    &4i 

46 

li  &  It 

2i  &  3 

4i    &  4i 

46 

li  &  It 

2i  &  3i 

41    &  5f 

46 

li  &  14 

3     &  3i 

4J    &  .5| 

46 

H   &  It 

justable  to  any  size  of  bolt  head  or  nut 
within  its  range,  it  is  used  more  than  any 
other  wrench,  except  for  pipe  work  and 
in  close  places.  Fig.  37  shows  a  type  of 
key  wrench  which  also  has  a  wide  use. 
One  jaw  is  slotted  to  slip  over  the  handle 


and  hold  a  key  A.  By  slacking  on  the 
key,  the  jaws  can  be  adjusted  to  any  size 
and  the  key  set  up  so  as  to  hold  the  jaw 
rigid. 

Figs.  29,  30  and  31  are  Stillson  or  pipe 
wrenches  to  be  used  on  pipe  and  pipe  fit- 
tings and  in  some  instances  on  studs. 
The  alligator  wrenches  in  Figs.  32  and  33 
are  for  use  on  pipe  and  fittings  also,  but 
not  for  as  heavy  work  as  stillsons.  The 
pipe  tongs,  shown  in  Fig.  34,  are  for  use 
on  pipe,  and  more  especially  on  work 
where  there  is  not  much  space  to  operate 
in.  For  illustration,  in  making  up  pipe 
coils  with  manifold  headers,  the  space  is 
so  small  between  the  pipes  while  they  are 
being  screwed  into  place,  that  a  Stillson 
wrench  cannot  be  used,  as  the  head  is  too 
thick.  In  such  an  event,  the  pipe  tongs 
must  be  called  into  service.  Figs.  35  and 
36  show  two  views  of  a  chain  wrench 
illustrating  its  application  to  a  difficult 
job.  This  style  of  wrench  can  be  had  in 
small  sizes  to  do  the  work  of  a  stillson 
wrench,  and  with  success,  but  they  are 
used  mostly  on   large  pipes  and  fittings. 

Proportions  of  Wrenches 
Manufactured  wrenches,  whether  fin- 
ished or  unfinished  in  reputable  factories, 
are  so  proportioned  that  they  will  stand 
all  strain  brought  to  bear  on  them,  or  that 
should  be  put  upon  the  stud  or  bolt  they 
are  used  on.  The  manufacturers  have 
adopted  a  standard  table  of  proportions  in 
most  cases,  and  where  sizes  vary  from 
these  here  given,  the  variations  are  in 
proportion.  For  example,  in  the  tables 
given,  a  wrench  is  proportioned  with  a 
certain  thickness  of  head  for  a  given 
length  of  handle  or  lever.  Where  tables 
show  a  thinner  head,  the  length  of  han- 
dle is  shorter.  The  size  of  opening  in  the 
jaws  for  the  nut  or  bolt  head  is  the  same 
in  all  makes  of  wrenches  for  nuts  and 
cap-bolt  heads.  The  wrenches  for  stan- 
dard finished  nuts  are  larger  in  the  open- 
ings than  for  cap  bolts. 

For  comparison  of  sizes  refer  to  Tables 
I,  2  and  3.  Table  i  gives  the  sizes  for 
engineers'  wrenches,  single  head,  as  illus- 


FIG.      40.      FACE    SPANNER    TURNING    ECCEN- 
TRIC  ON    SHAFT 

trated  in  Fig.  2;  Table  2  the  sizes  for 
engineers'  wrenches,  double  head,  as  illus- 
trated in  Fig.  7,  and  Table  3  the  sizes 
for  cap-bolt  wrenches,  single  head,  the 
appearance  of  which  is  the  same  as 
Fig.  2.  Table  4  gives  the  principal  dimen- 


January  s,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


aions  of  socket  wrenches,  such  as  are 
shown  in  Fig.  16,  and  is  also  of  use  when 
recesses  for  bolt  heads  are  to  be  pro- 
vided for  in  castings. 

Where  wrenches  are  not  easily  obtaina- 
ble and  a  blacksmith  can  be  found  to 
make  some,  these  tables  are  of  value  for 
the  proper  proportioning  of  a  wrench  for 
strength  and  for  a  fit  to  standard  sized 
nuts  and  bolts.  For  additional  informa- 
tion regarding  other  dimensions  of 
wrenches,  refer  to  Table  5.  in  which  it 
will  be  noted  that  the  heads  are  thinner 
and  the  levers  shorter  than  in  Tables  I 
and   2,   but    are   of   the   same   proportion. 

Size  of  Wrenxh  with  Reference  to 
Size  of  Nut 

When    the    size    of    a    solid    wrench    is 

•n  of,  the  reference   is   made  to  the 

:;ch  which  will  fit  a  nut  or  head   for 

..'iven  size  of  bolt.     For  example,  if  a 


TABLE  3. 


CAP-BOLT  WRENCHES.  SINGLE 
HEAD. 


Hfxa- 


Op«>nln»8, 
Mllk-d! 


Exireme 
L«ns(b 


I 


8 

11 

12» 

14 

17 


Thirknna. 
H<ad. 


■J^ 


=fe> 


TABLE    4.     DOUBLE-HEADED    SOCKET    WRENCHES.    HEXAGON     1  iC) 

-Its  or  PiM  Bamwim. 


Hkzaoom  OmnMos. 


For  U.  8. 

8i«ndard 

Nuts;  8ize 

Bolts. 


Dtomettf    DUn    al 
at  Head.      Stunk 


10 


Mi 


./^ 


=v     -y 


TABLE  6.     APPROVED  PROPORTIONS  OF  WRENCHES. 


Boll 


I; 


'.f 


i 

10 
>>< 

IV 

1.1 

'A 

33 


a)        lA 


}. 


I 
1 
I 
I 
1 

3 
2 


I 

il 


I 

1 

1 
I 


I 
f   f 


4 
5 

7 
8 

.? 

>l« 

13 

!«♦ 

16 

!'♦ 


it 


er't  wrCTKh   is   called    for  the  reison  thnt 

to   iiic   <i:i    .,    finished    nut,    it    means    a  sent   for 

^■'•■nch    for   that    size   of   nut,   or   on    re-  found    n 

tig   ill   Tjblr    I    to   an    '^  inch   bolt,  it  one  with  the 

lie  notfd  that  thr  opening  in  the  head  instead   of  on 

for  that  li/e  is  '^  inch  between  the  jaws.  si«e. 

If  an  J-4-inch  cap  bolt  wrench  is  called  (or.         For  th'   »» 

thr  opening  will  be  7/16  inch,  as  shown  in  with  ihr 

Table  X     TIm«  point   is   brought   out    for  and  for  imc   m  ■ 


xW 


thr 


to  be  used  in  drilling  for  a  given  tin 

of  tap.  also  to  show  the  strain  a  bolt  of 
given  size  will  stand,  TaUe  6  is  comptkd. 
The  sizes  for  unfinished  nuts  are  not 
given,  but  it  is  well  to  know  that  an  un- 
finished nut  is  1/16  inch  thicker  and  wider 
from  side  to  side  than  a  finished  not  A 
finished  nut  is  1/16  inch  thinner  than  the 
bolt  size*. 

Paorta  axo  iMPtom  Uses  or  Wumchis 

Monkey   wrenches    of   all    makes  have 
the  general  a;  Fig.  iflL 

and   it   must  -    is    no 

wrench   in   ex  -'-laa 

this  type.     T!  r  bjr 

hand  on  the  ■  .ke.  and 

will  sund  all  tnik  the 

hamds  only,  giving  good  service   if  thrjr 

are  alwajrs  applied  in  the  proper  mmaner 

Invariably    on    calling     for    a     moahe; 

ughi  oat  lockiag  very 

with  the  jaws  at  an 

-    when  cloM^  io- 

As  they  tkomU  be. 

aoacd  by  abste  la  the 

ri,    principally    thro«gh 


•»r*     mrr 


->.}■    i% 


■,!,r,f    i. 


fi'iini;    TDr   «irr«   oi    iir«ii«       L»v   IFir   arrow    Tftr   wrmcn  r' 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  s,  1909. 


applied  a.s  shown.  Not  only  must  the 
wrench  be  applied  in  the  right  direction, 
but  it  must  come  down  full  on  the  nut  as 
far  as  it  will  go,  the  reason  being  that 
the  force  which  tends  to  break  the 
wrench  or  bend  the  jaws  into  the  shape 
of  Fig.  41  is  along  the  line  A,  Fig.  42,  and 
with  the  wrench  clear  down  the  leverage 
is  reduced  to  a  minimum. 

In  Fig.  43  it  will  be  seen  that  the  line 
A  is  increased  by  not  letting  the  wrench 
down  on  the  nut,  although  the  jaws  are 
closed  up  tight  on  the  nut.  Fig.  44  shows 
line  A  not  greatly  increased,  but  through 
the  loose  adjustment  of  the  jaws  the 
corners  of  the  nut  get  a  greater  purchase 
on  the  wrench  and  ten!  to  push  the  jaws 
apart  more  forcibly.  In  Fig.  45  the  two 
forces  which  tend  to  ruin  the  wrench  have 
the  best  opportunity  on  account  of  the 
poor  adjustment  of  the  width  between  the 
jaws  and  the  wrench  resting  high  up  on 
the  nut. 

These  are  common  faults  in  the  use  of 
monkey  wrenches,  but  the  abuse  most 
common  is  illustrated  in  Fig.  46,  which 
shows  the  wrench  upside  down.  As  soon 
as  the  force  is  applied  in  the  direction  of 
the  arrow,  the  outside  jaw  takes  hold  of 
the  nut  at  B  and  line  A  is  increased  at 
once.  This  is  positively  a  case  where 
there  is  only  one  way  that  is  right,  and 
any  other  is  wrong.  Not  only  can 
wrenches  be  saved  by  applying  them  as 
in  Fig.  42,  but  many  skinned  knuckles 
and  mashed  fingers  might  have  been  pre- 
vented, and  of  more  importance,  con- 
siderable time  saved.  When  a  monkey 
wrench  cannot  be  applied  to  its  work 
properly,  some  other  type  of  wrench 
should  be  used. 

Another  infallible  rule  for  the  right  use 
of  a  monkey  wrench,  is  to  never  use  a 
piece  of  pipe  over  the  handle  to  increase 
the  leverage.  Nor  is  it  right  to  strike  on 
one  of  these  wrenches  with  a  hammer. 
Most  of  the  ruined  handles  on  monkey 
wrenches  come   from   these   two   sources. 

All  types  of  wrenches  should  be  used 


with  care  and  precision,  and  should 
always  be  placed  squarely  on  the  nut  and 
made  to  fit  it  snugly.  With  socket 
wrenches    it    is    often    impossible    to    use 


FIG.     41    J.'WVS    AT    AN    ANGLE 


FIG.  aa 


FIG.  45 


nrtT"^ 


o 


FIG.  4.6 
METHODS   OF  APPLYING    MONKEY   WRENCH 


them  unless  they  are  held  squarely  and 
snugly  to  the  work.  Pipefitters  often 
handle  Stillson  wrenches  in  a  manner 
destined  to  ruin  the  pipe.  In  screwing 
up  or  slacking  off  on  a  pipe,  always  catch 
the  wrench  as  close  up  to  the  thread  as 
possible.  Many  cases  of  split  pipe  have 
been  attributed  to  the  wrench  being  held 
at  the  middle  of  its  length,  allowing  the 
pipe  to  twist  under  the  heavy  strain  and 
split  the  seam. 

Another  source  of  trouble  with  Stillson- 
wrenches  originates  from  constantly  tak- 
ing hold  of  the  pipe  in  the  same  place. 
When  many  hard  pulls  are  necessary  to 
set  up,  the  result  is  a  pipe  cut  through  in 
places.  The  proper  thing  to  do  in  taking 
holds  is  to  move  the  wrench  along  the 
length  a  little  and  back  again,  so  that  the 
teeth  of  the  wrench  will  not  gi-ip  twice  in 
the  same  place.  A  Stillson  wrench  should' 
also  be  set  down  on  its  work,  so  that  the 
jaws  will  take  hold  with  the  work  well 
up  in  them.  There  is  one  thing  which 
limits  this,  however,  and  that  is  the 
amount  of  pull  which  the  hold  must 
stand.  The  stronger  the  pull,  the  farther 
up  on  the  work  the  jaws  must  be  in  order 
for  the  teeth  to  take  hold.  For  this 
reason  also,  when  making  a  hard  pull,  it 
is  not  advisable  to  use  a  very  large  wrench 
on  small  pipe,  as  the  larger  teeth  may 
cut  through  the  pipe  or   crush  it. 

A  Stillson  wrench  is  not  so  liable  to 
crush  pipe  as  a  pipe  tongs,  and  for  this 
reason  the  former  is  the  best  to  use.  It 
is  best  to  use  a  chain  wrench  on  the  larger 
sizes  of  pipe,  discarding  the  Stillson' 
for  sizes  over  3  inches.  Never  use  a 
Stillson  on  a  bolt  head,  nut,  stud  or  fin- 
ished work,  as  there  is  always  a  way  in 
which  these  may  be  handled  with  stan- 
dard or  special  wrenches. 

Kinks 

Oftentimes  it  is  necessary  to  loosen  up 

nuts  on  bolts  which  have  rusted  on.     If 

time  is  allowed  to  do  so,  it  will  help  much 

to    pour   kerosene    oil   over    the  nut    and' 


TABLE  6. 

BOLT  DIMENSIONS 

AND  THE 

SIZE  OF  DRILLS  TO  CORRESPOND. 

Size  of 

Number 

Size  Drill 

Diameter 
at  Bottom 

Area  in  Sq. 
In.  at 

Stress  on  Bolt  Upon  Basis  of 

Diameter 

of  Opposite 

Sides  of 

Nut, 

Finished, 

Inches. 

DiameterJ 
of  Opposite 

Bolt  or 

Threads 

for  Tap, 

of  Thread 

Bottom  of 

Possible 

Breaking 

Load. 

Corners^of 

Tap, 
Inches. 

to  Inch. 

Inches. 

of  Bolt, 

Thread  of 

3,000  Lb. 

4,000  Lb. 

5,000  Lb. 

7,000  Lb. 

10,000  Lb. 

Nut, 

Inches. 

Bolt. 

Per  Sq.In. 

Per  Sq.In. 

Per  Sq.In. 

Per  Sq.In. 

Per  Sq.In. 

Inches. 

i 

18  20 

It 

7 

il 

16.18 
14   16 

t- 

a 

14 
13 

0.38 

0.12 

350 

460 

580 

810 

1,160 

5,800 

1           . 

A 

12 

i'b 

0.44 

0.15 

450 

600 

7.50 

1,0.50 

1,500 

7,, 500 

M 

H 

11 

a 

0.49 

0.19 

560 

750 

930 

1,310 

1,870 

9,000 

1 

W^ 

10 

u 

0.60 

0.28 

850 

1,130 

1,410 

1,980 

2,830 

14,000 

it 

U\ 

^ 

9 

M 

0.71 

0.39 

1,180 

1,570 

1,970 

2,760 

3,940 

19,000 

m 

1 

8 

a 

0.81 

0.52 

1,550 

2,070 

2,600 

3,630 

5,180 

25,000 

If 

u 

1 

, 

7 

a 

0.91 

0.65 

1,950 

2,600 

3,250 

4,560 

6,510 

30,000 

2A 

1 

. 

7 

lA 

1.04 

0.84 

2,520 

3,360 

4,200 

5,900 

8,410 

39,000 

m 

2A 

1 

, 

6 

ni 

1.12 

1.00 

3,000 

4,000 

5,000 

7,000 

10,000 

46,000 

2i 

f 

1 

. 

6 

lis 

1.25 

1.23 

3,680 

4,910 

6,140 

8,600 

12,280 

.56,000 

2,'>8 

1 

5i 

m 

1.35 

1.44 

4,300 

5,740 

7,180 

10,000 

14,360 

65,000 

2i 

2U 

1 

5 

H 

1.45 

1.65 

4,950 

6,600 

8,2.50 

11,560 

16,510 

74,000 

il' 

3^ 

It 

5 

i| 

1.57 

1.95 

5,840 

7,800 

9,800 

13,640 

19,500 

8.5,000 

3ii 

2 

4i 

m 

1.66 

2.18 

6,540 

8,720 

10,900 

15,260 

21,800 

95,000 

3,V 

38 

^\ 

4i 

1.92 

2.88 

8,650 

11,530 

14,400 

20,180 

28,800 

125,000 

4i'g 

4 

2.12 

3.55 

10,640 

14,200 

17,730 

24,830 

35,500 

150,000 

3{i5 

4i 

3 

4 
3i 

2.37 
2.57 

4.43 
5.20 

13,290 
15,. 580 

17,720 
20,770 

22,150 
26,000 

31,000 
36,360 

44,300 
52,000 

186,000 
213,000 

4, -6 

4,''(! 

4p 

5| 

3i 
4 

3} 

3.04 

7.25 

21,760 

29,000 

36,260 

50,760 

72,500 

290,000 

5/;, 

6/4 

3 

3.50 

9.62 

28,860 

38,500 

48,100 

67,350 

96,200 

385,000 

6,'. 

7i'5 

January  5,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


21 


allow  it  to  loosen  up  the  rust.  If  the 
kerosene  will  not  loosen  up  the  rust 
enough,  then  take  a  hammer  and  strike 
the  nut  sharply  on  all  sides,  "to  do  this 
properly,  hold  another  hammer  squarely 
against  the  nut  on  the  opposite  side.  This 
■will   loosen   up  badly   rusted   nuts,   but   if 


and  long  enough  to  reach  over  the  ends 
of  the  threads,  as  shown.  Enter  the  tap 
into  the  nut  with  this  tin  over  the  threads, 
and  the  threads  in  the  nut  will  be  en- 
larged. Some  difficulty  may  be  experi- 
enced in  starting  the  tap  through  the  nut, 
but  after  starting  it,  it  will  follow  through 


S 


/^  V /•JNA/^vV  aA/V^/ A/^.^  A\».  W  A.^^. 


\ 


A A 


FIG.    47.    TI.V   COVERED  TAP  Td  ENLABGE   NUT 


it  does  not  do  the  work,  then  more  kero- 
sene will  be  needed. 

When  Necessary,  Split  the  Xit 
Sometimes  a  loosened  nut  will  start  off 
and  again  stick  before  entirely  off.  This 
is  caused  by  the  thread  of  the  nut  or  bolt 
stripping:;,  and  if  continued,  will  ruin  one 
or  the  other.  More  often  it  is  the  bolt 
or  stud  which  suffers,  and  the  only  way 
to  save  them  is  to  split  the  nut  apart.  To 
do  this,  take  a  flat  chisel  and  cut  into  one 
side,  opening  the  nut  up  from  top  to  bot- 
tom through  th'e  center  of  one  flat.  Hold 
a  heavy  hammer  or  piece  of  iron  against 
the  nut  on  the  side  opposite  while  doing 
the  cutting. 

On  pipe  flanges  it  is  often  cheaper  to 
split  all  the  nuts  that  are  rusted  in  than 
to  work  to  get  them  off  with  a  wrench, 
providing  plenty  of  spare  nuts  are  availa- 
ble. If  this  is  done,  the  bolts  should  be 
given  a  bath  in  kerosene  before  being  used 
again. 

When  Nut  and  Bolt  Do  not  Fit 

In  some  cases  nuts  will  not  go  on  bolts 
or  studs  because  the  nut  is  tapped  a  little 
small  or  the  thread  on  the  bolt  is  too 
large.  More  often  it  is  the  latter,  and  the 
thread  on  the  bolt  should  be  made  smaller 
to  fit  the  nut.  so  as  to  keep  the  nuts  of 


Kir.      48      WRCNCH    TOO   LAKM.   fOU.    KUT 

uniform  siie.  When  time,  circumstances 
or  material  will  not  allow  of  the  thread 
being  tnrtird  down  on  the  bolt,  and  a  lap 
of  thr  ri^ht  «izc  is  to  be  had.  the  nut 
may  hf  t.nn>r<l  larger  a*  follow* 

Cut  intfi  a  *trtp  of  tin  of  the  right  wnlth 
and  length  and  bend  it  into  the  \lupe 
shown  .It  A.  Fig.  47,  and  ju*t  wide  enough 

to     rf->\  T     iiiir     »rt     of     llirr.lil>%     nil     thr     tip 


all  right.     Use  the  first  tap  of  a  set  for 
this,  or  as  it  is  called,  the  taper  tap. 

Firri.Nc  Wrench  to  Bolt  Head 

When  a  wrench  does  not  fit  a  nut  or 
bolt  head  (the  wrench  being  too  large) 
and  no  other  is  to  be  had,  it  is  permis 
sible  to  use  a  strip  of  iron,  steel  or  any 
other  metal  substance  handy  to  fill  up  the 
space  between  the  jaws,  as  illustrated  in 
Fig.  48.  For  convenience  of  handling,  the 
strip  can  be  longer  than  shown. 

Turning  a  Stud 

A  great  many  do  not  know  how  to 
readily  remove  a  stud  from  its  place, 
when  necessary,  with  the  tools  at  hand. 
Fig.  49  illustrates  how  two  nuts  may  be 
locked  together  on  a  stud  to  withdraw 
it.  If  the  length  of  the  thread  will  per- 
mit, run  two  full  nuts  down  on  the  stud, 
with  the  two  flat  sides  of  the  nuts  coming 
together.  Take  the  two  wrenches,  as 
shown  in  the  plan,  and  pull  them  together. 
Note  the  angle  at  which  the  top  and  bot- 
tom wrenches  are  held  in  this  figure,  for 
if  the  respective  wrenches  were  held  at 
the  same  angle  and  changed.  No.  2  to 
the  bottom  and  No.  l  to  the  top,  the  pull 
together  in  the  direction  of  the  arrows 
would  have  the  effect  of  loosening  the 
nuts.  The  rule  of  operation  is,  that  while 
facing  the  nuts,  take  wrench  No.  2  in  the 
right  hand  and  place  it  on  the  top  nut 
and  wrench  No.  i  in  the  left  hand  and 
place  it  on  the  iKjttom  nut  at  the  angles 
shown  or  anywhere  under  the  line  A  B 
down  to  C  D.  To  IfKk  the  nuts,  pull  the 
wrenches  together,  and  to  loosen  them, 
change  the  top  wrench  to  the  bottom,  and 
vice  versa,  and  pull  them  together.  There 
are  several  other  ways  of  using  the 
wrenches  to  attain  these  ends,  and  in 
some  instances  other  ways  nuMi  ' 
but  this  manner  of  domw  n  . 
operator  to  get   the   *•  -H   ntlicr 

while  tightening  up  or  'T 

To    get    the    gre.-»tr«it    \t\ 
nuts,  place  the  wrcmhr*  at 
from  each   other,  say   along  tl 
and  G,  respectively,  while  still  ^: 
the    same    position       .Mter    ihr    n-.ts   are 

locked,  if  it   i*  intended  to  tak^    •    ^ 

out.  take  one   wrench  and   utr 
tMiitom     nut     to    Iwrk    out    a     • 
thrra<l.  and  if  «»""  »«''d  ••  I"  ^ 
use  the  one  \^  '•• 

Where    at  .re   to  be 


driven  home  to  stay,  a  stud  driver,  such 
as  is  shown  in  Fig  50.  can  be  used  It 
can  be  made  from  a  special  ViV.*.  <inlled 
and  tapped   half-way   thro   -  «th, 

and  is  run  down  on  the  t!..    .^   '■  the 

stud  bottoms  in  the  nut  When  the  stud 
is  driven  as  far  as  it  will  go.  remove  the 

,  rr  ~i\ , 


IT 


FIG.     49      LOCKNUT    MCTHOO   OT    TVMM- 
INC    STUD 


na   sa    btvo  Mum 

.-  it  ■  quick.  Mfoof 
in  the  oppoMie  di- 
rection to  that  toUowed  while  drivinc  the 
•ittd. 

TscMAsixu  rnt  Lrmuas  or  a  Wwtrw 

It  is  oft«a  dMirabIc   t(< 
lc\  f      m     ordioarj      ..,«..-. 

«r  '    the    practkv   m    prn«ii»siMe 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  5,  1909. 


under  certain  conditions.  Never  use  a 
hammer  on  the  handle,  as  it  ruins  it.  If 
a  sharp  blow  is  required,  use  some  form 
of  a  soft  hammer,  or  use  a  block  of  hard 
wood  for  a  ram.  It  is  still  better  to  make 
a  handle  of  pipe  sufficiently  long  to  give 
the  desired  leverage.     Flatten  one  end  of 


FIG.     51.     INCREASING    THE    LEVERAGE 

the  pipe  to  fit  over  the  wrench  handle, 
running  the  flat  back  far  enough  to  allow 
the  handle  to  be  run  in  up  to  the  head, 
as  shown  in  Fig.  51.  It  must  be  remem- 
bered that  there  is  a  limit  to  the  size  of 
bolt  or  stud  on  which  it  is  advisable  to 
use  a  longer  leverage  on  the  handle  of 
the  wrench  than  the  makers  have  allowed 
for.  Bolts  up  to  and  including  ]4  inch 
in  diameter  can  be  twisted  off  with  an 
ordinary  wrench  and  a  muscular  opera- 
tor, so  that  pipe  handles  are  not  to  be 
tolerated  on  any  size  smaller  than  that. 

Pulling  up  Joints 

All  joints  should  be  pulled  up  square 
and  even  all  around  from  start  to  finish, 
especially  where  a  metal  joint  is  used. 
Dirt  being  l^t  on  joint  surfaces  often 
causes  leaks,  because  the  two  cannot  be 
brought  evenly  together,  and  just  as  often 
the  leak  is  caused  by  the  uneven  strain  on 
the  bolts.  Take,  for  example,  the  cylin- 
der head  shown  in  Fig.  52,  which  has  a 
shoulder  all  around  the  inside  of  the 
flange.  It  will  be  seen  that  by  pulling  on 
one  nut  first,  the  head  could  be  tipped  out 
of  true,  and  only  one  edge  of  the  shoul- 


been  properly  done.  This  rule  applies 
equally  well  on  all  joints,  taking  any  nut 
for  No.  I  and  making  No.  2  come  op- 
•posite.  Some  bolt  circles  are  divided  as 
in  Fig.  S3,  where  one  nut  will  be  on  the 
center  line  A  B  and  opposite  to  it  the 
nuts  will  straddle,  perhaps  not  just  as 
shown  in  the  illustration,  but  similar.  In 
this  event,  take  up  on  the  nuts  in  rotation, 
as  indicated  by  the  figures. 

Screwdrivers 

A  screwdriver  with  a  wedge-shaped 
head  which  fits  the  slot  of  the  screw,-  as 
at  A,  Fig.  54,  is  a  type  which  never 
should  be  used,  and  yet  is  universally 
sold  by  manufacturers  and  used  in  that 
form.  It  is  plain  that  this  form  of  screw- 
driver never  fits  the  slot  in  the  screw 
head  and  takes  as  much  force  to  hold 
the  driver  in  place  as  it  does  to  drive  the 
screw.  Another  fault  is  that  it  puts  a 
strain  on  the  screw  head  where  the  power 
which  tends  to  break  it  apart  is  greatest. 
When  the  head  of  the  screwdriver  is 
ground  so  that  it  takes  hold  of  the  screw 
head  in  the  bottom  of  the  slot,  as  at  B, 
Fig.  54,  the  strain  on  the  screw  head  is 
at  a  minimum,  and  the  power  of  the 
operator  is  all  spent  in  driving  the  screw 
alone.  All  screwdriver  heads  should  be 
made  as  shown  at  B,  Fig.  54. 

In  some  cases  it  is  impossible  to  use 
ordinary  screwdrivers,  owing  to  the 
cramped  space,  and  the  driving  force 
must  be  applied  at  right  angles  to  the 
driving  line.  Fig.  55,  A  and  B,  show 
views  of  two  screwdrivers  which  are  use- 
ful in  such  cases.  It  can  be  seen  that  with 
A  the  screw  head  can  be  moved  one- 
fourth  of  a  turn  and  be  picked  up  with  B 
and  turned  another  quarter,  when  A  can 
be  used  again  and  so  alternately  until  the 
work  is  done. 


of  using  a  wrench  on  them.  There  are 
times  and  places  where  a  wrench  cannot 
be  had,  and  a  hammer  and  chisel  must 
be  used.  When  this  is  necessary,  use  a 
calking  chisel  or  drift  so  as  to  spare  the 
nut  as  much  as  possible.  Then  have  a 
suitable  wrench  made.  The  illustrations 
will  offer  suggestions  to  fit  any  case. 


m. 


© 


10 
■j3\ 


6 

;oi 


^ 


2 


7 

:oi 


FIG.     53.      TIGHTEN     NUTS     IN     ROTATION 

Several  years  ago  in  one  of  otir  West- 
ern Indian  agencies  there  was  employed 
an  old  man  called  Uncle  Bill  by  the  rest 
of  the  Government  employees.  He  was  a 
good  mechanic  of  the  old  school  and  was 
often  called  on  to  loan  his  monkey  wrench 
to  others.  He  would  do  so  once,  and  the 
borrower  could  have  it  again  if  he  showed 
that  he  could  follow  Bill's  instructions  as 
to  its  proper  use.  If  not,  and  they  failed 
to  apply  the  wrench  rightly  to  its  work, 
they  need  never  ask  again  for  the  loan  of 
it.    He  was  right,  for  he  had  no  wrenches 


FIG.     52.     TIGHTENING   UP   A    CYLINDER    HEAD 

der  joint  would  touch.  When  first  start- 
ing to  set  up  on  the  nuts,  a  good  method 
to  follow  is  to  set  up  on  No.  i  nut  lightly 
until  the  surfaces  of  the  joint  meet,  then 
take  up  the  same  on  No.  2  nut  opposite 
to  No.  T,  then  Nos.  3  and  4  in  succession, 
after  which  the  nuts  can  be  taken  up  the 
same  amount  in  the  order  given.  Then 
go  over  them  all  again  in  the  same  order 
until  the  joint  is  tight.  The  space  B  will 
be  equal  all  around  if  the  pulling  up  has 


Things  in  General 

On  very  large  nuts  or  bolt  heads  it  is 
necessary  to  use  more  than  a  straight  pull. 
A  sharp  blow  with  a  hammer  often  starts 
an  obstinate  hold,  where  a  straight  pull 
would  not.  It  is  not  advisable  only  in 
extreme  cases  to  use  the  hammer  on  the 
wrench,  but  a  hardwood  block  will  do  as 
well.  In  extreme  cases  a  steady  pull  aided 
with  blows  of  a  ram  will  do  the  work. 
Very  extreme  cases  call  for  the  use  of  a 
block  and  fall  on  the  end  of  a  large 
wrench  and  a  ram  in  addition.  An  aid 
to  the  wrench  on  large  sizes  of  nut,  when 
it  is  desired  to  have  the  nuts  extra  tight, 
is  to  heat  the  bolts  before  they  are  put  in 
place.  To  do  this  properly,  heat  the  bolts 
midway  of  their  length  to  a  dull  red, 
and  then  place  them  in  position  and  set 
up  on  the  nut  quickly.  The  contraction 
of  the  bolt  will  make  the  nut  hold  more 
tightly  than  a  wrench  can  set  it,  if  the  job 
is  done  quickly  and  in  a  proper  manner. 

The  use  of  a  hammer  and  chisel  on  nuts 
and  bolts  in  place  of  a  wrench  is  not  to  be 
condoned  in  general  practice,  for  it  puts 
the    nuts    forever    beyond    the    possibility 


fig.  54- 


^■ 


Bf 


y ' 

FIG.  55 
FORMS  OF  SCREWDRIVER 

to  Spare,  and  this  article  may  serve  to 
enlighten  ■  the  reader  as  to  the  reasons 
why. 


Niagara  river  develops  8,500,000  con- 
tinuous horsepower.  If  two  pounds  of 
coal  were  burned  per  horsepower  per 
hour,  the  hourly  amount  necessary  to 
equal  the  work  of  Niagara  river  would 
be  8500  tons.  Continuous  work  for  a  year 
would  require  over  74,000,000  tons  of  coal. 


January  5,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


An  Early  American  Engineer — Robert  Erskine 

Sketch  of  the  Life  and  Activities  of  One  of  the  Men  Who,  in  Colonial 
Times,   Did   Much   to  Advance    Eni^incering    in    Many     Departments 


BY        EDWARD 


BUFFET 


Among  the  men  ol  note  in  our  colonial 
days  were  few  who  could  be  called  "en- 
gineers" in  any  sense  of  the  word.  Rob- 
ert Erskine  deserves  that  appellation  in 
many  senses.  He  made  his  mark  as  a 
civil,  an  hydraulic,  a  mining  and  a  military 
engineer,  a  mathematician,  a  metallurgist 
and  a  first-class  works  manager.  There 
is  a  strong  hint  that  he  was  also  some- 
thing of  a  steam  engineer. 

The  same  old  Scottish  city — Dunferm- 
line—which  furnished  our  most  successful 
industrial  leader  of  the  nineteenth  century 
:ed  one  who  is  entitled  to  almost  an 
i  rank  for  the  eighteenth.  As  a  Scot- 
tish ironmaster  on  American  soil,  Robert 
Erskine  might  be  called  the  Carnegie  of 
the  colonies.  He  differed  from  Carnegie 
in  being  more  of  an  engineer  and  less  of 
a  financier. 

His  active  career  was  divided  between 
the  old  and  new  countries.  In  the  former 
he  established  his  reputation  as  inventor 
of  pumps,  machine  designer  and  consult- 
ing engineer,  while  in  the  latter  he  closed 
bis  career  as  an  industrial  executive,  in- 
trusted with  interests  of  great  re- 
sponsibility. 

In  the  library  of  the   New  Jersey   His- 
il  Society  have  been  on  file  for  nearly 
.i  century  the  venerable  documentary 
records  of  his  work— portfolios  of  family 
and  other  letters  relating  to  his  early  life; 
numerous  manuscripts   describing  his   in- 
ventions    and     their     exploitation,     with 
sketches  and  wash  drawings;  a  disserta- 
on   the   tides;   account   tx>ok$   of  the 
rtran  wnrk«;  and  a  volume  in  which 
'lieir  adminis- 
1  out.     There 
■rr    also    many    pages    written    in    cryptic 
characters  which  may  l>e  either  shorthand 
or  cipher.    The  mass  of  material,  if  edited 
with  discriminating  selection,  would  form 
an  interesting  volume.     It  is  curious  that 
ng   his    sketches,   although    a   century 
I  half  have  told  upon  the  tint  of  the 
ines.  the  pencil  marks  remain  peren- 
fre^h.      Very    few    of    the^e    docu- 
*  have   yet  been  publi*he<l.  though   .i 
extracts    were    given     by     Rev      Dr 
1  uttir,  a  famous  local  historian  by  whom 
•♦  •-   papers  were  secured   for  the   society 
•f>ert   Krskinc  was  born  September  7. 
his    father   l>eing    the     Rev.     Ralph 
inr,  minister  at    Dunfermline,  a  man 
of    siifTu-ienl   note   to  find   a   place   in   en- 
ryr|r.|v.!i.n    down    to     the     prp^»*nf     day 
'itle    to    fame    was  by 

.'     with    his    brother,  -.    a 


free  branch  of  the  Scottish  kirk  and  in 
l)eing  the  author  of  several  lK>oks,  includ- 
ing a  volume  of  "Gospel  Sonnets."  A 
copy  of  the  latter  was  long  ago  exhumed 
by  the  writer  of  this  memoir  in  a  nook 
of  an  old  house  on  Long  Island.  It  was 
a  ninth  edition,  Glasgow  imprint  of 
1760,  and  contained,  apart  from  the  Ixxly 
of  the  t)ook,  a  poem  of  uncertain  author- 
ship, entitled,  "Smoking  Spiritualized." 
The  verses  inculcate  a  number  of  edifying 
lessons  that  may  be  drawn  from  the  pipe, 
its  contents  and  its  use. 

Robert    Erskine's    father    died    in    175.2, 
when  the  lad  was  17.    The  youth  evidently 


didat  I'  :  }^  ta^aiK.;  ui  Glcsgow  it 
was  the  openean  of  your  Brother  and 
many  others  that  •  >- 

ent  but  :f  If  is  r  r 

n  e 

\,'.  ..t 

Buchannan  but  is  iike  as  ye  U  of 
Argyl  is  hear  he  will  oblige  them  to 
take  him  fit  or  unfit  if  he  scrres  bis 
tarn  I  think  you  have  got  a  saffisce- 
ant  swack  of  his  Gress  as  I  hope  yon 
will  expect  no  favours  from  him  it 
would  t>e  a  great  mercy  if  you  could 
think  of  doing   -  .-  hear   for  1 

am   afravd   vou  ^ome   offers 


<.K\V|v    ■<*    m<-K!St    t«>N    Tlir    lll«.lfT)    AXP    MOVTTATH 
rctcivcd      4      coUcgl.itr      r'liiL.i:  i<  III,         I       !■  .•    ^" 

equivalent,  for  we  find  him  in  London  m         i>(    thr 
the    itxtie*,    well 
knowl^ffge    and    « 
por- 
ing 
he  :  a  place  in  the  taciiity 

r.f   I  i!\ 


tag- 


rilh 


<f  a  practical  rugmrvr. 

■inhi      mui!      !i»r     }trrr\ 


at 


24 


POWER  AXD  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  5,  1909. 


■\eloped  as  practical  machines,  was  a 
■  centrifugal  engine,"  or  rather  pump,  very 
simple  in  principle.  If,  as  he  shows,  we 
have  a  pipe  not  too  long  for  suction  and 
shaped  as  an  inverted  L,  the  lower  end 
being  immersed  in  water,  and  if  after  hav- 
ing started  a  stream  flowing,  we  continue 
to  revolve  the  pipe  with  sufficient  speed 
about  its  vertical  axis,  the  centrifugal 
force  of  the  water  in  the  arm  will  produce 
a  continuous  flow.  The  top  part  may,  if 
desired,  be  made  in  hollow  disk  form,  with 


--'  ^   ,-    , 


A. 


^ 


>t 


M 


3. 


A^r«^cf^'^nye^  /^ 


/       - 


fig.    i.    principle  of  the  "cextrifugal 
exgixe"  pump 

several  orifices,  but  their  total  cross-sec- 
tion should  be  less  than  that  of  the  inlet 
pipe.  The  mechanical  development  of 
this  conception  was  easy.  Obviously  the 
device  possessed  advantages  as  a  pump 
through  minimizing  the  number  of  moving 
parts  and  reducing  frictional  losses.  The 
Erskine  papers  contain  several  sketches  of 
this  pump  whether  in  its  most  elementary 
form  or  put  into  more  marketable  shape. 
Fig.  I  is  a  drawing  that  appears  on  a 
sheet  bearing  date  February  9,  1763,  the 
time  of  the  writing  or  of  the  invention. 

This  centrifugal  pump  was  offered  as  a 
competitor  of  the  chain  pump  for  bailing 
out  ships,  which  led  to  a  pumping  of  the 
ink  bottle  by  their  respective  protagon- 
ists. Disputes  over  the  features  of  a  ma- 
chine were  waged  in  print  140  years  ago 
quite  after  the  modern  fashion,  but  since 
specialized  engineering  papers  like  Power 
did  not  then  exist,  the  general  press 
served  as  a  forum  for  the  discussion. 

A  correspondent  of  the  Gazetteer,  sign- 
ing himself  "W.  B.,"  had  atacked  the  cen- 
trifugal pump  in  favor  of  the  chain  pump, 
for  we  find  among  the  Erskine  manu- 
scripts drafts  of  a  letter  to  the  printer 
of  that  newspaper  in   rejoinder,  taking  to 


task  "W.   B."   for  having  "endeavored  to 
impose  on  the  ignorant."     One  such  docu- 
ment is  signed  with  Erskine's  name,  and 
another  somewhat  differently  worded,  with 
the    disinterested    noni    de    plume    "Me- 
chanicus."     It  does  not  appear  which  he 
employed  in  the  letter  as  finally  sent  off. 
He   opened   his   defense   with   a   remark 
that  the  invention  had  been  suggested  by 
a  problem  which   one  of  the   Gazetteer's 
own    correspondents    had    proposed,    viz., 
"contrive   a   method   to   make   the   siphon 
run  out  of  the  shorter  end  by  means  of 
an  air  pump."     Erskine   stated   that  one 
of   the   machines   might   be    seen    at    Mr. 
Coles',  near  St.  Thomas'  Coffeehouse,  on 
the  Strand,  and  proceeded  to  describe  it. 
With   such   a  pump  six   men  could   raise 
2  tons   of   water   a  minute    at    least    20 
feet.     The  delivery  increased   faster  than 
in  proportion  to  the  power  applied.     The 
radius  of  the  ejecting  tubes  of  the  present 
engine,   designed   for  a   6o-gun   ship,   was 
4    feet.      He     went   on     to     compare     the 
velocities    of    motion    of    the    centrifugal 
and   chain    pumps    under   practical   condi- 
tions   of   operation    and    to     demonstrate 
that  "W.  B."  had  assumed  for  the  opera- 
tion of  the  chain  pump  feats  of  sustained 
human  activity  quite  unreasonable  to  ex- 
pect.     Further,    he    pointed    out    that    his 
own  machine  possessed  advantages  in  its 
simplicit}-,   high  mechanical  efficiency  and 
freedom  from  liability  to  injury  by  any- 
thing less  than  a  cannon  ball. 

Fumbling  further  among  the  old  docu- 
ments we  come  across  a  copy  of  a  certifi- 
cate by  a  committee  to  a  comparative  test 
of  these  two  types  of  pump  on  board 
H.  M.  S.,  "Princess  Mary,"  at  Woolwich, 
1766.  The  chain  pump  was  in  exceedingly 
good  order.  Ten  stout  men  were  allowed 
to  each.  Erskine's  raised,  in  ten  minutes, 
14K  tons  of  water,  and  the  chain  pump 
11^2  tons. 

The  Mr.  Coles,  to  whom  reference  has 
been  made  was  the  builder  of  Erskine's 
pumps.  The  documents  contain  proof  of 
extensive  dealings  between  them,  some  of 
which  were  not  altogether  harmonious. 
One  of  the  papers  is  an  award  of  arbitra- 
tion in  a  dispute  with  the  result  that  Mr. 
Coles  was  not  to  make  any  of  certain 
machines  for  12  years.  Another  of 
Erskine's  memoranda  is  a  permit  to  cer- 
tain men  to  build  a  machine  for  their  own 
use  in  consideration  of  making  one  for 
him  within  a  definite  time. 

Another  of  Mr.  Erskine's  inventions 
was  a  "continuous  stream  pump,"  which 
was  an  ordinary  double-acting  one  in  prin- 
ciple, though  having  an  external  contour 
that  suggests  the  pulsometer.  (Does  Er- 
skine pose  as  originator  of  the  duplex 
pump?)  Fig.  2  is  a  sketch  of  it,  while 
Fig.  3,  is  an  illustrated  circular  or  data 
sheet  relating  to  a  form  of  it  as  con- 
structed for  domestic  uses. 

The  drawing.  Fig.  2,  appears  in  a  letter 
by  Erskine  to  Mr.  Watthews,  or  Matthews, 
watchmaker,  on  Fleet  street,  February  11, 
1766,  which  concludes  by  describing  meth- 


ods of  raising  water  where  there  is  a  fall. 

He  writes : 

If  the  situation  of  the  place  is  such 
that  the  liight  from  the  surface  water 
to  the  back  level  is  greater  than  from 
the  back  level  to  the  bottom  from 
whence  the  water  is  raised,  if  this  is 
the  case  there  is  a  method  of  raising 
the  water  from  the  bottom  to  the  back  . 
level  [bv]  the  force  of  the  surface  wa- 
ter (if  the  back  level  is  but  a  few 
feet  lower  than  the  middle  of  the  pit) 
without  any  machinery  at  all  and  the 
same  quantity  of  water  that  runs 
down  from  the  surface  can  be  made 
to  flow  up  from  the  bottom,  it  will 
only  require  the  attendance  of  a  boy 
to  turn  the  cocks  and  I  suppose  will 
fast  some  centuries.  It  is  called 
Hero's  fountain.  I  have  seen  it  de- 
scribed with  four  cocks  and  sonte 
valves,  but  could  improve  it  to  want 
only  two  cocks  and  by  a  little  study 
and  some  few  experiments  I  believe 
I  could  make  it  work  without  any  at- 
tendance at  all      ....       P.  S.   I. 


^4 


/z'/u^/i,  ['['C     /'       /\ 


/. 


^/fyyy 


V'^E 


n 


ti^  ^ 


Mu.v, 


FIG.     2.       continuous-stream"   PUMP 

never  undertake  to  design  and  give  a 

drawing  of  any  machine  for  less  than 

five  guineas. 

The  foregoing  device  was  manifestly  in- 
tended to  perform  some  such  task  as  is 
now  done  by  the  hydraulic  ram.  Some  of 
Erskine's  papers  are  filled  with  his  study 
over  a  device  which  he  terms  a  "quadruple 
Hero's  fountain,"  by  means  of  which  he 
sought,  "with  a  fall  of  6  feet  to  raise  1/6 
of  the  whole  stream."     The  stream   was 


i 


January  5,  1909. 

divided  among  five  troughs,  each  of  which 
communicated  with  five  vessels,  all  ex- 
cept one  or  both  at  the  ends  being  air-tight. 
Below  them  were  five  other  cells  piped 
from  near  their  bottoms  to  the  bottom^  of 
the  ones  directly  above  and  also  piped 
from  their  tops  to  the  upper  parts  of  the 
ones  above  next  adjacent  on  the  left. 
(The  reader  may  from  this  description 
draw  his  own  diagram.)  By  this  means 
the  pressures  could  be  accumulated  from 
right  to  left  so  that  in  the  upper  voscl 
farthest  to  the  left  the  water  would  rise 
Z4   feet,  20  feet  of  which   was   Uft.     The 


POWER  AND  THE  I. 

Pru^M.i       I.j^rt   of   tn^tallaTi   n,    ,!.>» 


th.v 
1< 
must  have  \ 

when,    24    Wr 

tu  .Amtrica,   : 
power*  m  nufiiiciii  .-«. 
em  New  York  was  car 

dtir     .         •         •     ■ 
str 

rt  ■ 

pu: 

plv 


r»- 


A/A/V.  /  //. //// 


V/V/ 


/////'  /',  /i'///. /•// 


£k  ^  / 


'VMI*. 


/fA*AM^/tf/i  ///ft'//,      -^  X  A.  /- 


/v/  T'r.f///fr: '  ,  I 


-    -  .•>.! 

1*4  Srw  jcr*n   Iroa 
CoMfMry.     ^    I..<vL^ 
Om^maf.  a*  vanomly  caDr- 

M1>    C'ltKtfn    t»    t\<i>in#    irk-lt..  ^^ 

iern     lion  

"  '•**     J.  *'>■)   t '  riunct   Fonucc.  TW 

pUm    that    6««m  a»o«t   fir  ««» 

■  be  Mricw  <rf  dM  »• 

Vrn   ritAl-Iii^ird  b^  |^ 


.NV     Ihli-  (    ol.ir     li..  I,    .,1     Ujlr, 
..^i^___-    (hir  ('tU<ir  Cuu' 


\ 


■ 

1    ,rL..,-,l. 

..,,1    ,,,.-  ,Ik  I    .>..••  Inrhr*i><      ' 
'                       lui  ol' W^lrr  r*i«ril  HI  ^  M.. 
ilirfWttiv  llir   i'ubi«   Lirkr»   ' 

17*)  an- 


• '  rd  a  loar  .  <ii 

tcmm  aod  LiJjc*  «>4  Lict>  *t*tM<«  m 
and  tttbicrilicd.  aad  Vrnajf*  r.i^  jj| 
<n»  (raa  Grnnan)i  ^^ 

n     There  n-rr  ♦-  re 

or  more  of  !<■  dl 


|P-3 


1". 

- 

t 

/I 

/ 

L-i 

•'-    1^^ — _:— 

'-^•-•••r*^ 


•d  ol  • 

M-^iiaak 


•*!  mstrr  - 


^  aad 
iomm  awl  ta  laat 


♦vJart 


.i4f    SUM. 

•ym  iimwi<Mi»TTT  m  >iiiw 
^(■mM  of  iW  Anwneas  li 
ccwoed  by  JoIm  Jacnb  F4 


rir.      V     DAT.V  SHEET   or   "CONTINVors   vTirw      r«'wr 


bi<>ifr.-»i>li.-r  ,l^^'^T1r^  n.  ■  ■  ''ir  a 

Coinplclr  cxplaii.ilii'ii   .  ■  r   the 

machine,  nor  for  its  performance  accord- 
ing to  contract. 

Altogether.    Mr.    Erskine't    punip%    dis- 
played  considerable   variety    in   type   nw\ 
purpose,    and    in    motive    power,     whuli 
miKlit  bo  hanil,  hoi 
•ctrrMtic   of   hi«   » 
the    <IrMi{n    "i    |it.u»t*    tw    iimt     ; 
eonditir-rM  m  r. using  w.itrr  on  ;!-  • 
'e*.     l)r;iitiinK  tintv 
Among  Krdcr*  rr^  ■ 
one  for  a  Urge  centrifugAl  f 
to  be  used  if»   »il'   »i. .rU^   .  • 


a  I'- 
he 

Hui 
fined  l> 
/ontal 


jior  tiut 


26 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  5,  1909. 


works  at  a  sacrifice.  His  advice,  though 
given  with  caution,  was  adverse  to  such 
a  project.  "I  am  but  a  taming  the  Forge- 
men,"  he  wrote,  "though  there  are  sev- 
eral ways  in  which  your  expenses  may  be 
lessened  and  your  profits  increased."  He 
alluded  moreover  to  his  intention  of  trying 
the  sulphury  ore  in  the  furnace  and  to  his 
belief  that  another  body  of  ore  might  be 
found  near  Charlotteburg.  Manifestly,  his 
counsel  to  hold  the  works  prevailed. 

After  taking  charge,  Mr.  Erskine 
adopted  the  plan  of  writing  long  letters  to 
the  company  or  interested  individuals  at 
home  describing  the  state  in  which  he 
found  things  and  the  methods  of  his  man- 
agement. Some  letters  he  regarded  as  of 
so  confidential  a  nature  that  he  felt  it  nee 
essary  to  write  and  copy  them  with  his 
own  hand,  which  he  esteemed  quite  a 
burden.  Today  a  correspondence  equal  in 
magnitude  and  importance  would  be  dic- 
tated to  a  stenographer  or  a  phonograph 
between  puflfs  of  a  cigar. 

These  reports  make  an  interesting  pic- 
ture of  so  multifarious  an  industry  as  a 
large  ironworks  of  colonial  times.  It  was 
a  little  self-sufficient  world,  utilizing  the 
products  of  the  soil  in  many  different 
ways,  with  a  systematic  division  of  labor. 
In  his  control  of  ore  and  fuel  supplies, 
transportation  facilities,  etc.,  Erskine  was 
a  primitive  Carnegie.  He  was  not,  however, 
like  Carnegie,  at  liberty  to  work  up  his 
pig  and  bar  iron  into  finished  products. 
If  his  company  had  announced  the  erec- 
tion of  a  steel  furnace  or  of  a  rolling  mill 
beside  Long  pond,  such  as,  upon  a  mem- 
orable occasion,  Carnegie  proposed  to 
build  at  Conneaut,  by  Lake  Erie,  the  con- 
cern would  not  have  been  bought  out  by 
its  competitors  with  5  per  cent,  first  mort- 
gage bonds,  but  would  have  fallen  into 
the  clutches  of  the  law.  For  the  policy  of  , 
the  British  government  was  to  resetve 
the  manufacture  of  finished  iron  materials 
as  a  home  monopoly  against  the  colonists, 
by  a  principle  much  like  that  which  the 
United  States  follows  in  some  of  its 
dealings  with  the  Philippine  islands.  A 
parliamentary  act  of  1750  had  forbidden 
the  erection  in  America  of  any  new  steel 
furnace  or  rolling  or  slitting  mill,  etc. 
After  that,  none  could  be  put  up  unless 
to  operate  by  the  moonshine  method,  like 
the  slitting  mill  of  Samuel  Ogden,  at 
Old  Boonton,  which,  it  is  said,  ran  under 
the  innocent  guise  of  a  grist  mill. 

"The  concerns  of  the  company  for 
which  I  am  engaged,"  wrote  Erskine  to 
one  of  his  correspondents,  "are  very  great. 
The  amount  of  their  inventories  at  New 
Year  in  iron,  goods,  cattle  and  movables 
alone  was  upward  of  £30,000  currency ;  the 
annual  circulation  of  cash  and  supplies  is 

between   £20,000   and   £30,000 I 

have  eight  clerks,  about  as  many  over- 
seers, forgemen,  founders,  colliers,  wood 
cutters,  carters  and  laborers  to  the  amount 
of  five  or  six  hundred." 

"I  design  to  follow,"  he  remarked,  in 
beginning    a    report    to    the    proprietors, 


"the  natural  order  of  things  as  they  arise. 
Wood,  Charcoal  and  Ore  are  the  First  in 
Course  the  furnace,  its  Construction  and 
appurtenances,  the  Roasting,  mixing  and 
smelting  of  ore  into  pig  metal  come  next, 
together  with  a  variety  of  other  articles 
which  may  occur  during  (the  time  when 
the  furnaces)  are  in  Blast,  then  come  the 
forges  with  all  their  connections,  which 
will  include  the  processes  of  the  Manu- 
factory of  Bar  Iron  faults  improvements, 
etc.  Provisions  and  necessaries,  Farms, 
Horses,  Cattle,  Carriages,  Roads,  Mills, 
Dams,  Houses,  etc.,  must  follow." 

Among  other  subjects  requiring  discus- 
sion were  his  system  of  bookkeeping  and 
his  relations  with  labor.  He  outlines  the 
various  time-  and  piece-work  methods  by 
which  are  paid  the  different  sorts  of 
workman — carters,  blacksmiths,  coalstock- 
ers,  furnace  fillers,  founders,  miners, 
forgemen,  managers,  clerks,  overseers. 
The  lower  grade  he  has  found  hopelessly 
in  debt  to  the  company  store,  and  de- 
scribes how  he  has  won  the  gratitude  of 
some  carters  by  raising  their  wages  £s  a 
year  to  a  total  of  £60.  The  company,  he 
suggests,  would  better  have  contented  em- 
ployees than  a  deceptive  balance  in  its 
favor,  and  from  other  quarters  than  pinch- 
ing the  hard-earned  wages  of  the  laborer 
he  is  sure  the  proprietors  would  wish  their 
profits  to  arise.  Yet  he  favorably  con- 
trasts the  lot  of  even  the  poorest  with 
that  of  their  equals  in  Scotland  and 
Ireland.  The  necessities  of  the  cheaper 
workmen  keep  them  bound  to  the  com- 
pany stores,  but  the  more  highly  paid, 
such  as  the  forgemen,  do  better  by  pur- 
chasing provisions  from  neighboring  farm- 
ers. The  company  itself  obtains  supplies 
from  these  farmers  and  Erskine  denounces 
their  extortion  in  demanding  New  York 
prices  for  their  produce. 

"Faesch  gave  me  all  the  trouble  he 
could,"  wrote  Erskine  somewhat  later. 
"The  founder  at  Charlotteburg  almost 
overset  [?]  the  furnace  (to  appearance 
on  purpose)  for  which  I  put  him  in  jail 
till  he  found  security  to  answer  an  action 
of  £200  damages  I  brought  against  him. 
He  [Faesch?]  decoyed  away  some  of  our 
Forgemen  too,  to  work  in  some  forges  ad- 
jacent to  his  furnace  which  they  hired 
and  most  of  the  poor  Creatures  have  been 
kept  without  work  at  the  top  of  all  the 
money  they  earned  at  your  work,  and  are 
now  come  and  earning  again  very  thank- 
ful to  be  employed  and  will  make  the  bet- 
ter hands  than  ever." 

"The  last  time  I  was  in  Charlotte- 
burg," remarked  Erskine  in  one  of  his 
letters,  "a  bar  of  iron  was  tried  on  pur- 
pose to  see  how  many  strokes  it  would 
take  to  break  it,  when  it  bore  above  fifty 
blows  of  a  sledge  hammer  upon  an  anvil 
before  it  gave  way."  Again,  he  is  grati- 
fied to  note  that  his  iron  has  acquired 
among  the  country  blacksmiths  a  reputa- 
tion for  being  "plaguy  tough."  Iron  from 
Charlotteburg,  after  trial,  was  marked 
cold  with  a  star  of  five  rays,  from  Ring- 


wood  with  one  of  six  and  from  Long  pond 
with  one  of  seven. 

Fame  has  fastened  upon  the  steam  en- 
gine erected  at  the  Schuyler  copper  mine, 
near  the  Passaic  river,  New  Jersey,  by 
Josiah  Homblower,  1753-55,  as  the  first 
one  installed  in  America.  It  would  appear 
that  Erskine  imported  engines  only  a  few 
years  later,  since  in  a  letter  which  he 
must  have  penned  early  in  1772  he  states : 
"I  hope  the  Fire  Engines  are  finished  and 
on  the  way  which  I  mentioned  last 
autumn."  "Fire  engines,"  as  we  should 
be  aware,  meant,  in  that  day,  steam  en- 
gines. It  is  not  to  be  inferred  that 
Erskine  ceased  to  depend  chiefly  on  water 
power  to  drive  his  blowers  and  othen-uia- 
chinery.  Doubtless  his  engines  were  in- 
tended for  pumping  mines  at  a  distance 
from   any   stream. 

The  term  "fire  engine,"  however,  was 
also  applied  in  the  modem  sense,  to 
pumps  for  extinguishing  fire.  In  that 
day  they  were,  of  course,  driven  by  hand 
power.  As  long  ago  as  1719,  the  city  of 
Philadelphia  paid  "for  ye  fifire  engine." 
It  is  entirely  possible  that  the  machines 
imported  by  Erskine  were  intended  to 
check  the  spread  of  conflagrations  in  the 
numerous  buildings  of  his  works.  Whether 
they  were  of  this  sort  or  were  truly 
steam  engines,  may  be  left  as  one  of  the 
great  unanswered  riddles  of  history. 

It  is  significant  to  peruse  Mr.  Erskine's 
letters  to  his  employers  as  noises  of  the 
awakening  insurrection  of  the  colonies 
began  to  be  heard  and  until  correspond- 
ence was  broken  off  by  the  progress  of 
the  revolt.  Candidly  he  interpreted  ta 
them  the  sounds  of  disturbance  and  gave 
them  due  warnings  of  what  was  coming. 
In  June,  1774,  he  said:  "I  have  no  doubt 
that  a  total  suspension  of  commerce  ta 
and  from  Great  Britain  will  certainly  take 
place.  Such  I  know  are  the  sentiments  of 
those  who  even  wished  a  chastisement  tO' 
Boston." 

He  writes  under  date,  August  2,  1775, 
that  the  British  man-of-war  "Asia,"  is 
turning  back  boats  with  produce  and  iron 
from  the  Jerseys,  in  consequence  of  the 
restraining  act.  He  will  forward  as  much 
iron  as  possible  before  the  tenth  of  Sep- 
tember, when  exportation  ceases.  On 
October  31  he  advises  of  the  probability 
that  the  seat  of  war  will  be  transferred' 
to  New  York  and  the  business  of  the 
works  be  interrupted.  February  10,  1776, 
he  writes,  inclosing  his  cash  account  for 
January. 

As  it  proved,  the  works  were  kept  in 
operation  during  the  war,  since  they  were 
within  the  lines  of  the  insurgents,  for 
whom  they  became  a  prolific  source  of 
munitions,  including  some  of  the  iroi> 
work  of  the  Hudson  river  obstructions. 
Preponderant  sentiment  in  New  Jersey 
and  New  York  hardly  sustained  the  wis- 
dom of  the  rebellion,  yet  Erskine  eventu- 
ally threw  in  his  fortunes  with  it.  He  or- 
ganized the  employees  of  the  works  into  a 
company  of  militia  which  he  equipped  at 


January  5,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


his  own  expense.  The  rebels,  moreover, 
made  him  geographer  and  surveyor  gen- 
eral to  their  "Continental  army."  There 
is  said  to  be  in  existence  somewhere  a 
letter  received  by  Erskine  from  Mr. 
Washington,  the  leader  of  the  insurgent 
bands,  asking  him  if  he  considered  himself 
the  proper  sort  of  man  for  the  above-men- 
tioned job.  In  entering  upon  this  office 
he  again  reminds  us  of  Mr.  Carnegie,  who 
undertook  public  service  as  Eastern  super- 
intendent of  military  railways  and  tele- 
graphs in  the  war  between  the  States. 

That  Erskine  was  an  honest  man  is  evi- 
denced by  the  books  of  accounts  which 
he  continued  to  keep  with  the  proprietors 
of  the  iron  works,  whom  we  may  assume 
still  to  be  the  English  ones,  and  to  whom, 
igh  cut  off  by  the  war,  he  acknowl- 
a  persisting  business  obligation. 
'1  i.c  ^;l!a^v  with  which  he  credited  himself 


few  years  later  when  it  \*a.  .   « 

P'rench  author  known  as  tJ  of 

Crcvecoeur.    He  found  the  k  nd 

Charlotteburg  plants  in  the  i.-..i,  u,  *cp- 
aratc  managers  to  whom  he  refers  as  pro- 
prietors. The  master  of  Ringwood  wat 
a  Mr.  Erskine,  who  was  doubileM  a  son 
or  nephew  of  the  .  A  few 

extracts  from  Crc  •  .uve  are 

pertinent   to  quote 

"The  proprietor  of  these  (Ringwood) 
works,  Mr.  Erskme.  had.  as  we  knew. 
spent  three  years  m  Europe  visiting  the 
principal  forges  of  Scotland.  Sweden  and 
Germany.  His  operations,  .t'*'  .  *-  ' 
extensive,  seemed  to  us  no 
ing.  The  construction  of  the  .Jitfcrcnt 
machines  intended  to  simplify  the  work 
was  even  more  perfect  than  what  we  had 
seen  at  Sterling.  A  large  matrmenl  for 
flattening  and  slitting  the  iron  into  rods 


WDHK   OK   H  VIiK  \'    :  :       i 

jumped  from  £370  in  1777  to  in 25  in  1778 
and  £1110  in  I77<>.  which  would  luuk  like 
■n  attempt  tn  make  hay  while  the  sun 
•bone  did  not  the  inflation  of  the  currency 
•office  to  explain  the  apparent  raise. 

Robert   Erskine  did  not  live  to  see  the 
'"'    "ion   successful      He  died  October  2, 
the    day    that     Major    .Andre    was 
I   and  wa<  buried  at  Ringwood.    Mr 
ington    came    from    the    gallows    at 
n  to  attend  his  funeral.     It  may  be 
•ued  that  after  the  end  of  the  war.  if 
not   f>efore.  the   iron  works  were  sold   by 
the  State  of   New  Jersey  under  confisca- 
tion proceedings.     These  were  one  of  the 
— '    ds  of  persecution  by  which  the  vic- 
:n    party    took    revenge    against    the 
t   fellow  countrymen.      N'on-re*idrn- 
tier*,  such  ai  the  London  Comp.irr. . 
I   not   be  likely  to   fare  better.     The 
■  may  have  been  split  up  at  this  time 
it  was  manifestly  divided  in  ownersliip    i 


appeared  to  Mr  Herman  a  chrf  to4mvr« 
of  smiplicity,  but  what  rendered  it  jret 
mure  curious  was  the  flotir  mill  by  which 
It  was  surmounted,  and  which  could  be 
lowered  when  it  was  wanted  for  use  and 
raised    when    the    grinding    was    finished 

.  .  .  (Regarding  the  forests  in  this 
part  of  the  country,  one  of  visitors  re- 
marked to  Mr    ' 

"'If     vour  preserves     |Ik*c 


the   charcoal   r  laiung  irs*. 

facilities  for  rr;  •:»  voA  dam*, 

and  ail   the   power 

-*Yoti  are  right."     -   .     :.    Krakinr     Ii 
is   probable   that   this   will   romc   10  p* 

,,    ,  r     f!,r     .       ■  ■  '         .       '••'^tl     «br 

y   •  r  • '  \  ■ '  remely 

ui    liM    prcscr^atuA    of    ikt 

"New    day    we   came  't 


that   the 


ntnunnwiont  ooustfy 
The  world  bcrr  had 
the  Rrrolvboa  by  aa 
which  the  war  had 
propnefor  wm 

.itioa  of  ttatmnl 
*utm  cvca  m  the 
'  trvc  BOW.  aa  ii 
iCanupo 

Id  n  siock  owBtrshipf  amamti' 
my   thonsands  ol    acre*    mA. 
tiic  i.ii.i  arc  rcsBaifcabljr  wild  for  a  rag 
ion  only  forty  or  fifty  aslaa  froB  New 
haU.thoagh  I  do  aoi 
nuch  of  the  wood  h 
:u;c*;   or   merchaaublc  tmhcr      At   mi- 
lages not  far  irom  Paicrsoa  the 
arc  10  tame  that  they  ooma  tm4 
of  the  ash  barrr'     ClLaroaal 
ceased  to  be  a  ndustry.  hm  tho 

»^'"  '^■wers  ^.    .^    .igiOB  ought  ID  kt 
It   IS  probable,  however,  that 
4.  .  ..iMe  ttater  wUl  all  be  Modad  lor 
I  « j:'ply     A  few  years  a|o  there 
•  P9e  it  to  New  York,  boi 
al  ptoornhM*  wr 
water    woold  have 
had  drank  M.     Om  of  (he 
^loMratioaa  shows  a  wash- 
-sting  of  a  powd  or  reaer 
voir  at  Sterlingtoo.  not   far  from  Rm|> 
'^^■■'■^i.  in  a  freshet  five  years  ago     I  am 
that   practically  aO    of    the    galky 
'  was  cot  by  the  flood  Mid  thai  llH 
reached  the  rrta  of 


rir.inu  1 
was 


the 

who 


jooniey   10   Robcn    BnUae^ 

ai    Ringwood   was   made    ia    liM 

e    of   preparing   thss   sketch   of   Ua 

areer.     The  place  haa    long    bean    or* 

itiir.i    hr    the    Cooper- Hewitt    iaaermHc 

oondoct     nunnig     oyetaiMma 

«  si  the  country  for  awlw  arommi  la 

up    as     a     BMgnifirini     riiiliarial 

>(aie      It    was   the  hoaae   of    the    laM 

Mavor  A  S  Hewitt,  of  New  York.    C  S 

al 


hU«d  with  npplee  that  iiiggrst 
of  unused  horsepower  Aowa 
the  north  and  forma  a  lafae 

FrtLinr    ft»\r      i    sit^Lited        As    ihOWO    hi 

sl  the  n^i   M 

■•   -f  bwfftad  Ins 

of     Sral 

ir-:  T-.iir.    n  •»««ih  by  ser* 

it  the  former  loaMh  la  a 

h    ^ar*     not 

the    author 

<  It  out  of  the  h*M  of  the 

ttinn  baa  smre  baaa  r»- 

•as  pUaiad  there  % 


»n    orumar;     •••amp    »r-j 


38 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  5,  1909. 


Testing  and  Adjusting  Watt-Hour  Meters 

Practical     Methods     of     Handling     Westinghouse     Instruments,     with 
Wiring     Diagrams     Showing     Proper    Connections    for    Best    Results 


B    Y 


O.        F.        DUBRUIEL 


Every  well-equipped  power  station,  in 
order  to  get  satisfactory  performance  by 
its  watt-hour  meters,  should  have  its  own 
meter  department,  provided  with  the 
best  appliances  possible  for  overhauling, 
testing  and  checking  the  meters.  The 
premises  containing  this  department 
should  be  absolutely  free  from  vibration 
and  equipped  with  solid,  substantial  test- 
ing racks.  These  racks  should  be  suit- 
ably provided  with  lampboards,  switch- 
boards and  resistances  so  arranged  that 
the  loads  through  the  meters  can  be 
easily  changed  and  each  load  can  be 
maintained  at  a  constant  value  while  read- 
ings are  being  taken. 

In  testing,  a  constant  voltage  is  essen- 
tial and  this  voltage  should  be  that  which 
is  applied  to  the  meter  terminals  when  the 
meter  is  installed.  To  obtain  the  various 
voltages  for  the  testing  racks  a  potential 
regulator  is  a  most  convenient  piece  of 
apparatus.  A  transformer  with  a  num- 
ber of  loops  brought  out  from  the  sec- 
ondary winding  to  binding  posts  will, 
however,  accomplish  the  same  results,  but 
the  former  is  always  to  be  preferred. 

It  is  essential  for  accurate  work  that 
the  best  standard  instruments  should  be 
obtained,  for  good  results  cannot  be  se- 
cured with  inferior  instruments.  These 
standard  instruments  may  consist  of  volt- 
meters, standard  integrating  watt-hour 
meters,  standard  indicating  wattmeters 
and  stopwatches. 

There  are  two  methods  of  checking  a 
watt-hour  meter  calibration.  The  first 
method  is  by  comparing  the  meter  to  be 
checked  with  a  standard  indicating  watt- 
meter. When  using  this  method  the  in- 
struments should  be  connected  to  the 
circuit  and  a  constant  load  applied;  by 
timing  the  disk  a  composition  load  can  be 
obtained.  The  second  method  is  by  com- 
paring with  a  standard  integrating  watt- 
hour  meter;  by  this  method  it  is  only 
necessary  to  notice  which  of  the  two  in- 
struments was  in  synchronism  to  deter- 
mine whether  the  wattmeter  in  question 
is  in  correct  calibration.  A  well-equipped 
station  should  have  the  necessary  instru- 
ments to  check  by  either  method. 

To  Test  a  Westinghouse  Type  A  Two- 
wire  Single-phase  Meter 
Connect  the  wattmeter  in  circuit  with  a 
standard  indicating  wattmeter  as  indicated 
in  Fig.  I,  being  careful  to  make  the  con- 
nections exactly  as  shown.  Load  the  cir- 
cuit until  the  desired  reading  is  obtained 
on   the  indicating  wattmeter   and   keep   it 


at  a  constant  value  while  the  integrating 
watt-hour  meter  is  being  read.  Time  the 
number  of  revolutions  of  the  disk  with  a 
stopwatch,  commencing  to  count  when  the 
spot  on  the  disk  has  made  one  revolution 
(after  the  watch  has  been  started),  and 
count  the  revolutions  for  at  least  one  min- 
ute to  arrive  at  the  number  of  watt-hours 
registered  by  the  meter.  Use  the  follow- 
ing formula : 


K  y  R 


=1  watts, 


shown  in  Fig.  2,  when  more  than  one 
meter  is  to  be  checked  against  the  stand- 
ard, it  should  be  connected  as  shown  in 
Fig.  3,  but  only  one  meter  can  be  run  with 
the  standard  at  a  time;  otherwise  the 
meter  nearest  the  line  connection  will 
measure  the  energy  taken  by  the  shunts 
of   those   nearest   the   standard. 

Type  B  Single-phase  Meter 
The  formula  for  this  meter  is  the  same 
as  before,  but  in  this  case,  with  the  two- 
wire     meter,     /C  =  volts  X  amperes     (as 


Meter  under 

Test 


Supply 


Meter  under 
Test 


Standard  Inte- 
grating Meter 


FIG.  3 

where  R  =  number  of  revolutions  made 
by  the  disk,  S  ^=  time  to  make  revolutions 
and  K  =  constant,  which  is  equal  to  the 
volts  multiplied  by  the  amperes  (as 
marked  on  the  counter)  and  multiplied 
by  1.2.  When  this  type  of  instrument  is 
used  with  series  transformers,  and  checked 
without  them,  K  =  volts  as  marked  on  the 
counter  multiplied  by  6.  For  wattmeters 
used  with  series  and  shunt  transformers 
but  checked  without  them  K  =  600. 

When    testing   with    the    standard    inte- 
grating   watt-hour     meter    connected    as 


marked  on  the  counter)  X  2.4.  For  meters 
used  with  series  and  shunt  transformers, 
but  checked  without  them,  K  =  the  rated 
watts  X  5  X  2.4,  since  these  meters  have 
five-ampere   series   windings. 

For  Type  B  three-wire  single-phase  self- 
contained  meters  used  with  acid  trans- 
formers, K  z=  constant  or  volts  X  amperes 
(as  marked  on  counter)  X  4-8,  and  for 
Type  B  three-wire  single-phase  meters  used 
with  transformers,  /(T  =:  volts  (as  marked 
on  the  counter)   X  12. 

For    Type     C    three-wire     single-phase 


January  5,  1909. 

meters  up  to  40  amperes  capacity,  K  = 
volts  (between  outside  wires  as  marked 
on  the  counter;  X  2.4,  and  for  Type  C 
polyphase  meters,  without  series  or  shunt 
transformers,  K  —  volts  X  amperes  X  4-8; 
for  meters  used  with  series  transformers 
only  (but  checked  without  them;  /C  =  5 
X  volts  (as  marked  on  the  counter)  X  4-8, 
and  K  =  2400  for  meters  used  with  shunt 
and  series  transformers,  but  checked  with- 
out them. 

In  checking  polyphase  meters  it  is  best 
to  check  them  as  single-phase  meters;  that 
is,  check  over  one  element  of  the  time. 
See  Figs.  4  and  5. 

To  check  a  polyphase  meter  as  a  single- 
phase  meter  connect  the  current  coils  in 
leries  and  the  potential  coils  in  parallel. 

Type  F  Long  Sc.\le  Indicating  Watt- 

meteks  for  alternating 

Current 

For  accuracy   in   using  these  indicating 

wattmeters  the  following  should  be  taken 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

therefore,  to  find  the  toul  --- 

point  within  which  the  reac 

relied  upon,  the  following  iutmuu  ihuuid 

be  used : 

Per  cent,  total  error  =  ^^^ 

in  which  A  =  full  scale  capacity  and  «  the 
actual  reading.  Any  visible  lero  error 
'hould  be  a!!- wcrl  f-r  in  readrng, 

'n  <hf  :er»  the  ini- 
tial error                            .jth  of   i  per 

cent,  of  the  full  scale  reading  and  the 
proportional  error  to  two-tenths  of  I 
per  cent,  of  the  actual  reading  Therefore. 
to  find  the  total  error  at  any  point  within 
which  the  readings  may  be  relied  upon, 
the  following  formula  should  be  used : 

Per  cent   total  error  =  £f?li:±^««  "  .      *»»"* 


cap*aty.  aad  w 

•  titbk  aero  cfror 

to   the   n 

Li'uvatt 


/  rr  crni    etror  cj  .ii%t^th«m  = 


o.a  X 


ICO  4»  o  J  X  sa 


per  cent 


WiUiing  to  ijid  '.\. 
in    whirh    iHr   HmW 


num'^r  of  »«an4*  •> 
•  h-x:!.!  make  (Ike  tr»- 
.(in*  aith  a  certam  loadL 
g  formula 


Kx  A" 


-j: 


in  which  y  =  full  scale  cap.icity  and  9 
the  actual  reading;  any  visible  zero  error 
should  be  allowed  for  in  the  rcadinK 


TbfM  Potal 

H-lUh  ji 


D r 


la4lcailDf 
WMlmclcr 


€2 


••rft 


ric.  4 


Tbm  foiBt 
»«ll<b 


Utur  uu'Ur 
TmI 


I 


no.  6 
account:  In  all  indicating  instruments     PorrAMJt  Long  Scalc  I' 


n  c 
0  in 


are  two  kinds  of  error,  an   initial 

mdependent    of   the   load,   which   is 

trace*  of  friction.  p.ir.ili.ix.  coAt-r 

f  th*"  <livi»irin«  '»n  thr  ilnl.  'ti  .  .u!'' 

;iK    diir 
•  in  the 

tandanis  is.-i.  and  causes  varying  the 
on.«tants  <if  the  instruments  In  the  Type 
initrumrnt  the  former  error  .inn'unn 
0  five-tenths  of  one  per  cent-  of  ihr  full 
cale  reading,  and  the  latter  to  five  trnihs 
•(  one   per   cent    of   the   actttal   reading: 


Mrm  roa  AtmKAT 

1  li.-    1,-.  'IT ACS    of    thr 


puKkt  llic  fuUu»ing  Ivri!!    la  ir.»» 


Per  eenl.  ef 


P      tiaiii  indkaicd  kjr 


fWOhMMMM  itt  ttti. 


The  taiut  of  K  mmj  abo  W 
transposing  the  foramU.  iImm: 


Cocmcci  thr  poljrphaw  mtcr*  aa 
in  Figs   4  and  S     Tittt 
the  mcirr  in  a  wnglf  plwai  two-wlia 

iafd 
>  eooMcOHM  are 


re  covmectcd  with  the 

■  rr   the  corretM  pasaw 

coil  at  a  tiac  bjr 

^  ....  C  10  -•^^"    ^  "T  B     WhtB  llMa 

circvH  of  IS  f«ll7 

rotaiiac   ek-mrnt    w<ii 

niunocf   01    fTvoMnowa   wwqi    ■ 

with  foil  bad  00  bedi  dttaM^    Nov 

thr«^iifh  the  ctfcwM  a  gtvfls  ■■■Aa 

w  ^'  nmM  ha  hi^  aa  coMlai 

t  t*  the  r«adii«  k  M^f  li 

^M  haa  baai  ao^t  «■  9m 

<  thnold  he  mt6e  am  iIm 

nrctfd  to  A  m^a 

■        fl      \  nA    t-x.  »    e0t 


t' 
tide 


««i  b 


30 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  5,  1909. 


Calculating    Strength   of  Riveted    Joints 

A  New  and  Original  Method  Dispensing,   by  the. Use  of  Dia- 
grams,   with    the    Labor    Involved    in    the   Usual     Calculation 


B      Y 


S. 


F. 


JETER 


The  purpose  of  the  present  article  is  to 
show  how  most  of  the  labor  involved  in 
the  calculations  of  riveted  joints,  as  gen- 
erally applied  to  boiler  construction,  may 
be  dispensed  with.  The  method  of  doing 
this  is  by  the  use  of  diagrams,  and  while 
those  shown  in  connection  with  this 
article  are  all  based  on  tensile  strength 
of  the  plate,  shearing  strength  of  the 
rivets  and  crushing  strength  of  the  rivets, 
of  55,000,  42,000  and  78,000,  and  95,000 
pounds  per  square  inch,  respectively,  the 
methods  used  in  constructing  the  dia- 
grams will  be  explained  fully  and  the 
•  formulas  given,  so  that  those  who  are 
concerned  with  the  design  of  such  joints, 
or  who  may  frequently  have  to  calculate 
their  efficiency,  can  construct  diagrams  to 
suit  their  special  requirements  as  regards 
the  above  mentioned  values. 

After  the  principles  are  thoroughly 
understood,  it  will  be  found  a  very 
easy  task  to  construct  the  diagrams,  and 
the  writer  has  found  that  the  labor  in- 
volved may  be  greatly  reduced  by  mak- 
ing use  of  standard  cross-section  paper,  a 
very  convenient  size  being  16x21  inches 
divided  in  tenths.  This  can  be  procured 
from  any  dealer  in  drawing  materials  for 
five  cents  per  sheet.  It  is,  of  course,  not 
essential  to  have  the  form  of  joint  shown 
in  the  corner  of  the  sheet,  but  it  was  done 
in  the  present  case  merely  as  an  aid  in  ex- 
plaining the  diagrams ;  a  written  descrip- 
tion of  the  joint  would  answer  equally  as 
well.  It  is  impossible  to  explain  the  dia- 
grams or  the  method  of  their  construc- 
tion without  the  use  of  formulas  or  the 
aid  of  analytic  geometry;  it  is,  however, 
not  necessary  that  the  reader  be  versed 
in  either  the  use  of  formulas  or  analytic 
geometry  to  make  full  use  of  the  dia- 
grams in  shortening  the  calculations 
necessary  to  determine  the  efficiency  of 
the  various  joints  considered. 

The  method,  about  to  be  described,  of 
determining  the  probable  mode  of  joint 
failure  directly  without  calculation  and 
comparison  of  values  is  entirely  original 
with  the  writer,  and  as  far  as  he  can 
ascertain  it  is  different  from  any  method 
which  has  been  previously  published  on 
the  subject.  The  principle  may  be  stated 
thus: 

With  a  given  diameter  or  area  of  rivet 
and  fixed  values  for  the  tensile  strength 
of  the  plate  and  crushing  and  shearing 
strength   of   the   rivets,    straight   lines    or 


curves  may  be  drawn,  representing  values 
of  pitch  of  rivets  or  thickness  of  plate,  or 
both,  at  which  either  of  the  two  com- 
pared possible  modes  of  failure  would  be 
equally  probable.  Representing  the  pitch 
of  the  rivets  by  distances  on  the  axis  Y 
and  the  thickness  of  the  plate  by  distances 
on  the  axis  X,  or  vice  versa,  lines  may  be 
drawn  representing  comparisons  between 
all  of  the  possible  modes  of  joint  failure 
for  a  given  rivet  diameter,  and  the  most 
likely  mode  of  failure,  for  a  given  pitch 
of  rivets  and  thickness  of  plate,  can  be 
determined  without  calculation  by  not- 
ing the  direction  in  which  the  point  of 
intersection  of  the  lines,  representing  the 


P  =^  Pitch  of  rivets,  in  inches. 
d  =  Driven  diameter  of  rivet,  or  diame- 
ter of  hole,  in  inches. 
t  =  Thickness  of  plate,  in  inches. 

In  joints  that  have  more  than  one  pitch, 
P  always  represents  the  greatest  pitch  of 
rivets.  The  dimensions  corresponding  to 
P,  d  and  t  are  given  on  the  drawings 
illustrating  the  forms  of  joints  in  the 
upper  corner  of  each  diagram. 

Bearing  in  mind  the  notations  just 
given  and  considering  a  single-riveted  lap 
joint,  the  three  modes  of  possible  failure, 
as  given  in  the  previous  article  on  page 
28  of  the  July  7  number  of  Power  and 


E 

4.0 

Cr 

ush 

She 

ar 

3,5 

3.0 

"'■^^ 

Im 

2  •=! 

^.1 

C 

" 

^  ---.^ 

G 

05 

D 

.S2.5 

1      ^~~' 

L^ 

S 

„g 

0 

c 
P^2.0 

~— ~ 

at          ' 

-— _ 

^2 

^B 

S1.5 

< 

4' 

'  S 

A) 

(3 
> 

LO 

0..'') 

d  =  l' 
3  =  42000 
T=  55000 
C- 95000 

• 

IF 

7 

32 

1 
4 

3'J 

5 

11 

3° 

8^ 

13 

7 
16 

15 

3" 

X 

17 

82 

9 
16 

19 
32 

Y 

Values  of  t  in  Inches 


FIG.     I.     DIAGRAM    FOR    A    SINGLE- RIVETED  LAP   JOINT 


•Copyrighted,    1908,    by    S.    F.    Jeter. 


pitch  of  the  rivets  and  the  thickness  of 
plate  lie,  with  respect  to  the  lines  denot- 
ing equally   probable   failure. 

In  the  following  explanation  for  all 
forms  of  joint  the  notations  given  here- 
after will  be  adhered  to. 

T  =  Tensile  strength  of  plate  per  square 
inch,  in  pounds. 

5"  =  Shearing  strength  of  rivets  per 
square  inch,  in  pounds,  when  sub- 
jected to  double  shear. 

s  =  Shearing  strength  of  rivets  in 
pounds  per  square  inch,  when 
subjected  to  single  shear. 

C  =  Crushing  strength  of  rivets  in 
pounds  per  square  inch  of  pro- 
jected area  of  contact  between 
rivets  and  plate. 


The  Engineer,  would  be  represented  as 
follows : 
Breaking  of  net   section   between   rivet 


hol( 


t  T  (P  —  d) 
Shearing  of  rivets 

0.7854  d'  s 
Crushing  of  rivets 

C  d  t 


(li 
(2) 

(3) 


By  making  (i)  and  (2)  equal  to  each 
other  and  solving  for  P,  the  following 
would  result : 


or 


tT(P-d)=  0.7854  d"  s, 
0.7854  cf's      ,    ^ 

P- — J^ — +d. 


January  5,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEEB 


Substituting  in  this  equation  the  values 
of  55,000  for  T  and  42,000  for  s,  it  would 
become : 


.6^' 


+  </. 


(4) 


Now  if  values  for  (  and  P  are  laid  dflF  on 
the  axes   of  X  and    Y,   respectively,   and 


olate.  without  adding  to  the  »trmt;'>i  of 
the  rivets  to  resist  crushing,  all  ;-  mts 
lying  above  this  line  would  repr<-«rnt 
pitches  which  would  cause  the  cruvhmg 
of  the  rivets  to  be  ;  ik- 

ing of  the   net   «e  -xi 

con-, 
it  w 


0 

\ 

Si^ 

RhN 

uCrui 

li 

3.0 

•S  2^ 

B^VCUSlMV 

1 



3 

M4 

tawtir 

nBra^ 

u 

> 

• 

Oil 

k 

1 

A 

A 

Ml 

\ 

i         12 
V*luc 

:         Ml        « 

A        « 

1          < 

FIG.     2.     DIAGRAM    OF   FIG.    I    SIMFUFIKO 


this  equation  is  plotted  with  any  fixed 
value  for  d,  a  curve  would  be  obtained, 
and  if  the  pitch  and  thickness  indicated 
by  any  point  on  this  curve  was  used  in 
constructing  a  single-riveted  lap  joint,  the 
probability  of  failure  by  breaking  the  net 
section  or  shearing  the  rivets  would  be 
the  '%amc,  and  since  an  increase  in  pitch 
Would  strengthen  the  net  section,  without 
adding  strength  to  the  rivets  to  resist 
ihearing.  all  points  lying  above  this  curve 
would  denote  corresponding  values  for 
fitch  of  rivets  and  thickness  of  plate  that 
would  cause  joint  failure  by  shearing  of 
the  rivets  rather  than  breaking  of  the  net 
lection  of  the  plate,  and  conversely,  points 
l^ng  below  this  curve  would  indicate 
fbri.iking  of  the  net  section  of  the  platr. 
r  than  shearing  of  the  rivets.  Again, 
,.:  .nation  (i)  is  made  equal  to  equation 
|j).  tile   following  results  are  obtained: 

tT(P-d)  -^  C  d  I 


tion  of  the  plate  would  be  weaker  than 
the  rivets. 

Making   equations    (a)    and   (j)   equal 
each  other,  which  is  the  last  comparison 
jx.iiible,    the    following     results    are    ob 
tained : 

_    ...7854^5 


/  =  0.347  d 


(6) 


when  C  =  95.000  and  i  =  42jooa    Thia 


the  left 
rivcu  raibcr 
In  Fic    I 
bavc  beta  platttd, 

trtfh  fnr  d     Ijm  a  B 


(vcndy. 


ci  ikr 


(4).  (S>  m4  (6) 
a  valat  ol  i 


•^■atioa  (s)  mmiUm  BP 

Tkt  iomtr  turn  rt^nmattt 

the  ajds  X.  while  tht  aaia  ol  K  Md  iW 

"r'.fin  are     /t     hkIi  or  acvta  aate  «| 

Wne««  to  the  Ml  ol  Ike  h 
Un«  00  the  left  At  wmf  W 
three  Itoca  rc^fvacatiai  Ikt  a^aalioai  in- 

>nt  thoald  be  cotwcnKtod  ol  oae- 
:  n.rit  and  villi  the  pildi  of 
jii'l  itMcknrM  of  plalc  cqpal  to 
lodicaicd  by  this  pomi.  fadw 
be  equally  probable  by  ihiarim  ol  the 
rivrtt.  cmshing  of  the  rivet*  or  brcakiag 
of  the  net  MCtioa  of  the  plale  awd  lh» 
would  also  be  a  >otBi  of  mubmmm  ef* 
nocitcy 

The  arrova  pfljrtiffg  froai  each  iMe  ol 
the  three  line*  dcnole  the  ande  ol 
ble  falurr  f«>r  \iT.rs  of  F  and  f  cat 
of   t  dtreclMi 


t» 


!i«i  fru«r.  tntirau  01  %j>ft*rm^  tr>c 


tioa  of  the  liM  i4  B 

between  the  \-  •  the  art  mtbam 

and  shcartiw  -hkh  bM  tai  IhM 

area  AC.  an  ht  dttpcmcd  with,  for  « 

rtttnia!in«   the   sirengih   ol   )oiaCa,   ii   m 

to  ooaipart  oaljr  the  atraagth 

—  iwM  likely  to  fad  with  the 

'  Mbd  plaie.     Steei  ■■  ol 

Ihc  arrj   ii-   inc  left    -'    '    '    '* ' OOtea  fOBia* 

which  woold  crosli  rath«  ihaa 

n.  the  oolj  cvm^itmrnm  whfcli 
M  raloe  ■  ikfa  araa  woaM  ha 

tb*(  between  the  crarfriag  ol  Ika  liiaii 


Cd 


■¥d. 


rhich   reduces  to 

P  -  a.73  d  (5) 

rhrn  7  =  SS,ooo  and  C  =  95/»o^ 

This  equation  represents  a  line  parallel 
to  the  axis  nf  X  and  at  a  distance  2.7.W 
ibove  it ;  a  joint  designed  with  this  pitch 
>f  rivets  would  be  equally  as  strong  tc 
lint  rupture  by  crushing  of  the  rivet* 
breaking  of  the  net  section  of  the 
ite  with  any  fixed  value  for  d,  and 
ee  an  increase  in  pitch  of  rivets  would 
strength   to   the   net    section   of   the 


nc    5    wAoaAii 


voa  THi  wart  loun 


equatior 

.1^!'.     of     }        •..-.    "     - 

axis,   and    sin 


In  the 


<W    MM 

uld  fail  by 
rf    than    by 


N»  breakii«  o4  ihr  m<  fmxwm  cr  i»» 
w^tch  M  Tipniia4<4    b?    ika    ftna 

-.farwan  ol  the  ttrewgih  ol 
<1M  ol  the  piML  •«*  iha 

f»fvn>-      f   iKr       .♦♦•    h<nt  ••  «*• 


32 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  5,  1909. 


cates  pitches  and  thicknesses  of  plate 
where  the  net  section  of  the  plate  is 
weaker  than  either  the  shearing  or  crush- 
ing of  the  rivets,  and  therefore  there  is 
no  need  of  determining  the  relative  proba- 
bility of  failure  by  these  two  methods  in 
this  area.  Removing  the  dotted  portions 
of  the  various  lines,  a  diagram  like  Fig.  2 
will  result,  and  all  corresponding  values 
of  P  and  f  which  lie  in  each  of  the  three 
divisions,  would  indicate  joints  which 
would  fail  in  the  manner  noted  in  Fig.  2. 

The  previous  description  of  the  princi- 
ples involved  in  making  a  diagram  for  a 
single-riveted  lap  joint  holds  good  for  all 
forms  of  joints  with  one  pitch  of  rivets, 
as  all  equations  of  such  joints,  giving 
comparative  values  between  the  different 
modes  of  possible  failure,  are  of  the  same 
form  as  (4),  (5)  and  (6). 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  equation  of 
equality  between  the  breaking  of  the  net 
section  of  the  plate  and  the  shearing  of 
the  rivets,  equation  4,  is  that  of  a  hyper- 
bola, and  since  it  is  very  tedious  to  plot 
such  a  curve,  the  value  of  this  method  of 
shortening  the  labor  involved  in  the  cal- 
culation  of  joints  would  be  greatly  les- 


great  as  the  other,  and  the  bottom  line 
does  not  represent  the  axis  of  abscissas  in 
all  diagrams,  because  the  diagrams  could 
be  made  more  compact  and  to  a  more 
readable  scale  in  the  space  available  by 
making  such  variations.  The  drawing  in 
the  upper  corner  of  each  sheet  represents 
the  type  of  joint  for  which  the  diagram 
is  constructed,  and  the  small  diagram  im- 
mediately below  the  joint  is  a  guide  to  aid 
in  the  use  of  the  main  diagram,  which 
may  be  illustrated  as  follows : 

Assume  that  we  have  a  double-riveted 
lap  joint  with  a  plate  thickness  of  Yz  inch 
and  13/16  inch  diameter  rivet  holes, 
pitched  3  inches  apart,  and  that  we  wish 
to  know  what  efficiency  this  joint  will 
have.  Starting  at  the  bottom  of  the  sheet 
for  this  type  of  joint  (page  00)  at 
the  Hne  denoting  a  plate  thickness  of 
^  inch,  follow  up  this  line  until  the  line 
denoting  a  pitch  of  3  inches  intersects  it, 
and  holding  a  pencil  on  this  point,  look 
for  the  line  denoting  a  rivet  diameter  of 
13/16  inch.  It  will  be  noted  that  this 
point  lies  in  the  upper  right-hand  section 
of  the  diagram  formed  by  the  lines 
denoting  13/16-inch  rivets,  and  it  is  shown 


1 

1 

6 

Inner  Rivets  Crush 
Outer  Rivets  Shear 

5 



Rivets  all  Shear 

4 

'^^ 

^ 

---^ 

Outer  1 

<et  Section  I 

reaks 

^^^^--^ 

Inr 
Ou 

er  Section  Breaks                      ^~~"~~-...,^ 
xr  Rivets  Shear                                        ^ 

-- 

0 

1 

^                              1'. 

,3 

iT 

X 

lu 

FIG.      4.     OMITTING    THE    DOTTED    PORTIONS    IN    FIG.    3 


sened  if  there  were  no  way  of  obviating 
this  difficulty,  but  a  very  simple  expedient 
may  be  made  use  of,  so  that  all  equations 
may  be  represented  by  straight  lines. 
This  may  be  accomplished  by  laying  off 
the  values  of  /  along  the  axis  of  X,  equal 
to  the  reciprocals  of  the  thicknesses  in- 
stead of  directly  equal  to  them,  and  then 
equation    C4)   becomes 


-m 


0.6  </»  4-fl', 


or  a  straight  line  cutting  the  axis  K  at  a 
distance  d  above  the  axis  X.  Since  the 
intersection  of  the  lines  representing 
equations  (5)  and  (6)  give  another  point 
of  this  line,  it  is  only  necessary  to  join  the 
two  points  by  a  straight  line  to  obtain  all 
intermediate  values. 

In  the  accompanying  diagrams  the 
origin  is  to  the  right  of  the  sheets,  and 
the  reciprocals  of  thickness  were  multi- 
plied by  six,  so  that  the  line  representing 
^-inch  plate  is  24  inches  to  the  left  of 
the  origin.  This  scale  of  thickness  for  the 
range  covered  by  the  diagrams  will  be 
found  very  convenient.  Two  different 
scales  are  used  for  the  pitch,  one  twice  as 


by  the  guide  diagram  that  points  in  this 
area  indicate  that  the  rivets  would  shear, 
so  that  to  find  the  efficiency  of  the  joint 
it  is  necessary  only  to  estimate  the  shear- 
ing strength  of  the  rivets  and  divide  the 
result  by  the  strength  of  the  solid  plate. 
If  the  rivet  holes  had  been  ^  inch  in 
diameter  instead  of  13/16  inch,  the  point 
of  intersection  of  pitch  and  thickness  of 
plate  would  lie  in  the  area  denoting  that 
the  net  section  was  weak,  and  the  effici- 
ency of  the  joint  could  be  obtained  by 
dividing  the  length  of  the  net  section  by 
the  pitch. 

The  following  are  the  equations  for  the 
various  lines  used  in  the  diagrams  for 
joints  of  one  pitch;  -the  letters  indicat- 
ing the  lines  refer  to  those  shown  on  the 
guide  diagrams  in  the  corners  of  the 
sheets. 

Single-riveted   Lap  Joint 

Line  O  K : 

Cd 


Line  O  L  : 


P^ 


t  = 


+  rf. 


Line  O  M : 

0.7854  rf'-?     ,     . 
i  T  "^     ■ 

Double-riveted  L.\p  Joint 

Lwf  OK: 


Line  O  L  : 


i  = 


0.7R54  d  s 


Line  OM: 


T.57o8rf'i  ^ 

i  T  ^    ' 

Triple-riveted  Lap  Joint 

Line  OK: 

2,Cd 


P  = 


T 


+  d. 


Line  O  L 


0.7854  d  s 
C 


Line  O  M: 


Single-riveted  Butt  Joint 
Line  O  K : 

P=^+d. 


Line  0  L: 


t  = 


0.7854  dS 
C 


Line  O  M  : 


0.7854  rf'-s-      ^ 

Double -riveted   Butt  Joint,   One   Pitch 
Line  OK: 

2Cd 


T 


-\-d; 


Line  O  L : 

t  = 

Line  O  M : 


0.7854  d  S 
C 


T.5708  d^  S 
^~  IT  ^    ' 


Butt  Type  of  Joints  with   More  than 
One  Pitch 

For  the  butt  type  of  joint  where  more 
than  one  pitch  of  rivets  is  used,  obtaining 
the  equations  and  plotting  the  diagrams  is 
a  little  more  complicated.  However,  their 
use  is  just  as  simple  as  for  the  other 
joints,  and  the  labor  saved  by  the  use  of 
the  diagrams  is  many  times  greater,  as 
can  readily  be  appreciated  by  anyone  who 
has  plodded  through  the  uninteresting 
task  of  obtaining  desired  results  in  de- 
signing this  type  of  joint  by  the  old  cut- 
and-try  method.  It  will  be  noted  on 
pages  31  and  32  of  Power  and  The 
Engineer,  July  7,  that  six  probable  modes 


January  5,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  EN 


Jl 


i 

■  I 

s 
s 


■f   failiirr  art  con«idrrr«l   in  th**  <'sl'-«il»-      ihr  f' 
tion    ni    floitblf  .    tr  • 
rivrtrfl   hiitt    jnint*.    . 

iH.  i'>    111'! f  that  article.     I  *•-    ■!  '    ■■ 

Ii<)<.^iMr    ni'<lrs    of    failure    hinRr    of!    th'- 
rushing  of  the  rivets  in  the  outer  rovt  in     Um  Joint. 


rutin*    t^ 


34 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  5,  1909. 


Diameter  of  Rivets  -  d 


ing  of  the  rivet  or  shearing  in  single 
shear  would  be  equally  probable,  and  as 
they  extend  to  the  right  from  this  point, 
it  is  only  necessary  in  using  the  diagrams 
to  see  that  the  thickness  of  the  straps  and 
plate  come  within  this  range,  to  make  the 


Pitch  of  Rivets      P 

diagrams  hold  good.  It  will  be  found 
that  all  practical  boiler  joints  of  the  double- 
.'•trapped  butt  type  come  well  within  this 
range.  This  expedient  also  reduces  the 
modes  of  possible  failure  to  four,  which  are : 
(A)     Breaking  of  outer  net  section. 


(B)  Breaking  of  the  inner  section  and 
shearing  outer  rivets  single  shear. 

(C)  Crushing     of    inner     rivets     and 
shearing  outer  rivets  single  shear. 

(D)  Shearing   all   rivets,   both   double 
and  single  shear. 


January  5,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


|;  I  ;  I 


TT 


I   I  • 


-sr^zr 


1 

©    1 
©^©1 

r©    kL 
©    ©^ 
©    1 

©      ©! 

« 


Z       w 


ti  - 
e  . 

8: 


1^1 


11 
I 


;  I  i  ;  . 


ContidcriMK  a  liouble-rivctrd  butt  v""'. 
with  two  pitches,  ami  u»in((  the  n  i  i'miu 
ffivrn  in  the  Jirjt  part  of  tin 
value   of   the    four    inethnds 
urc   here  v   b«  cxprciwd   t>    the 

(ollowinK 

{A)  =  {H—d)  IT 

(B)  =  (P  —  3  d^  f  T        --><'!    f 


(I 


combii 

'  rquj<><" 


m««kMi  fcowrrw.  ol  nrm  «c  '»•  »" 


36 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  5,  IQOQ- 


Diameter  of  Rivets  -  d 


Pitch  of  Rivets -P 


(P  —  d)   t  T  =   (P  —  2  d)   t  T  + 

0.7854  d'  s 


1  = 


0.7854  d  s 


and  when  T  =  55,000  and  s  =  42,000, 
t  —  0.6  d. 


This  signifies  that  if  a  perpendicular 
ia  erected  on  the  axis  X  at  a  point,  t  = 
0.6  d,  all  values  to  the  right  of  this  line 
would  indicate  joints  which  would  fail  by 
method  (5)  rather  than  {A),  for  it  may 
be  seen  from  the  equations  that  an  in- 
crease in  the  thickness  of  plate,  or  t,  in- 


creases the  value  of  equation  {A)  more 
rapidly  than  equation  (5).  Therefore 
for  increased  values  of  t  beyond  the 
point  where  {A)  and  (5)  become  equal, 
the  joint  becomes  relatively  weaker  to  re- 
sist rupture  by  method  (5).  Since  this 
is  true,  the  lines  denoting  the  relation  be- 


January  5,  1909 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGIN 


X 


t?^--T-i 


.4.--. 


-f 


■[~ 


*   -       -  -  - 


i 


r^Trt;?^rr.r.*'.-;i-'.-: ,?-  .  r  ~t^ 


@ 

® 

@ 

@ 

® 

@ 

• 

'@ 

@ 

0. 

@ 

© 

I 

@ 

© 

@ 

@ 

rern  the  various  mmlrs  of  failure  c:in 
plotted  in  the  area  to  the  ritjht     * 
'>6(i,  without   rcKard  to  e(|ual:i>ii 

NntiiiK  cquatinnn  (fl).  (O  and   1  . 
it  seen  that  the  term  07854  </*•"• 
mon  to  thrni  all,  no  that   ("t  ' 
of  rompariMin  thi«  term  may  '■ 


♦ 


.-t 


I 

i 

« 
It 

m 

.    s 


ritakalfcMte 


38 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  5,  1909, 


Diameter  of  Rivets  -d 


T© 

B 

© 

© 

n 

© 

© 

© 

© 

©^ 

© 

< 

© 

0 
© 

© 
© 

T 
©^ 

Pitch  of  Rivets  -  P 


origin  0.  The  reason  for  placing  the 
origin  at  the  right  is  so  that  increasing 
values  of  /  could  .be  read  from  left  to 
right,  as  this  is  more  natural  than  the  re- 
verse. 

Comparing   equations    (5)    and    (C), 


{P  —  2d)  t  T  =  2C  d  t, 
and  solving  for  P 

2Cd 


T 

P  =  545  d. 


+  7d, 


when  C  =  95,000  and  T  =  55,000.  Line 
F  G  is  drawn  at  a  suitable  hight  above  X 
to  represent  this  value  of  P  when  rf  =  54 
inch. 

Comparing  equations  (C)  and  (D),  the 
following  result  is  obtained : 


January  5,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


wi 


r-t-^ 


r»ift«fB^ 


2C  d  I  =  2  (07854  <''>J). 
•nd  tolving  (or  f, 

0.7854^5 


Une  ///  u  drawn  to  rtprrwrn  !mi. 
of  r. 


•  I  / 


or  whrn  5  =  76.000  and  C  =  0S*ooo 
t  =z  0.645  ^• 


•  t 


40 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  5,  1909. 


Pitch  of  Rivets  -  P 


above  the  axis  A',  or  at  K  in  Fig.  3. 
Another  point  on  this  line  is  at  the  inter- 
section of  F  G  and  H I  at  L,  and  the  line 
M  K,  drawn  through  these  points,  repre- 
sents the  last  equation.  For  the  same  rea- 
sons explained  in  describing  the  construc- 


tion of  Fig.  I,  the  dotted  portions  of 
lines  HI,  FG  and  MK  are  superfluous. 
Returning  to  the  original  equations 
{A),  (5),  (C)  and  {D)  to  plot  the  dia- 
gram to  the  left  of  D  E,  the  equation  (5) 
is  of  no  further  use,  since  values  for  it 


in  this  area  would  be  high  as  compared 
with  {A).  Now  since  the  line  HI  repre- 
sents equal  values  for  joint  failure  by 
method  (C)  or  (D),  and  the  value  of 
(C)  increases  or  decreases  with  that  of 
t.  while  equation    (D)    is  not  affected  by 


January  5,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  E.\<  .INHKK 


variations  in  I,  it  is  evident  that  in  the 
area  to  the  left  of  HI,  which  represents 
decreasing  values  of  /,  that  failure  by 
method  (D)  need  not  be  considered,  and 
since  the  area  to  the  left  of  //  /  also  in- 
cludes all  of  the  area  to  the  left  of  D  E. 
there  remains  only  one  comparison  to  be 
made  to  complete  the  diagram,  which  is 
that  between  equations  {A)  and  (O  as 
follows : 

(P  —  d)lT  =  2Cdt-j-  0.7854  (P  s 


/>        3  Cd    ^     0.7854^^  J     .     , 


or  when  s  =  42,000,  T  =  55.000  and  t'  = 
95.000 

o6d* 
t 


method  ftf  Joint  failure  \%  -fwJJrafH  in  th« 


P  = 


4-  4-45  d. 


it  will  be  noted  from  this  equation  that 
when  /  is  given  a  value  of  0.6  d,  corre- 
sponding to  line  D  E.  Fig.  3,  that  P  - 
5.45  d.  or  is  equal  to  the  value  of  P  for  the 
line  F  G.  Therefore  the  point  F  is  om- 
of  the  points  on  the  line 

/'= ^-      -♦-  4  45</. 

and  another  point  is  where  it  cuts  the 
axis  Y  at  .V,  which  lies  4.45  d  above 
the  axis  A'.  It  is  only  necessary  to  join 
the  points  .V  and  /•  by  a  *itrai«ht  line  ex- 
tending beyond  /•"  as  \  P.  The  d"..! 
portion  of  this  line  FN  has  no  sm;  ; 
cance,  as  only  comparative  values  l>inw: 
to  the  left  of  D  E  arc  being  sought.  I  h>- 
diagram  is  now  complete  with  the  cxcep 
tion  of  explaining  that  the  dotted  portion 
of  D  E  has  no  bearing  on  the  methods  of 
failure  in  the  area  in  which  it  lies,  since 
it  represents  cumparativc  values  between 
modes  of  failure,  designated  by  equations 
(A)  and  (B).  and  nil  values  fcir  thesr 
equations  lying  above  PI-  and  FC  ar< 
greater  than   for   (C)   or   (D). 

The  line  F  P  is  terminated  at  a  valu'- 
for  I  which  would  make  the  rivets  e(|uall> 
at  liable  to  crush  or  shear,  single  she.nr 
or  in  the  same  position  occupied  by  ihi 
vertical  lines  representing  rivet  diameters 
in  the  lap-joint  <liagrams,  which  is 

._    o  7854  tt  s 


di- 


t»t< 


rivcte«i    joints    ar 
manner   to  the   af 
for  the  se\'eral  lines  in  the 
joint,  are  as  follows.     At  l^.....    i><:  in- 
ters designating  the  lines  refer  to  tho««  on 
the  smr"         '      diagram  in  the  upper  cor- 
ner of 

DoiBut-tivrraj)   Bltt  Joixt   with    Two 
Pitches 

Umf  QN. 

o  7654  <f*s         ^^C- 
IT         ^       T      ^ 

Line  QR: 


o  7854  d  s 


Line  QS: 


P  -       .-      -f-  a  </. 


IMc  ST. 


,  _     0.7854  d  S 


/•  = 


/  / 


+  a«/. 


TaiPLE-Bivrreo  Butt  Joint  witm  Two 
Pitches 

;  lit.-  i)  V 


/' 


/  fii,-   Ct  R 


/   / 


o.7«54  ^  * 


I  mf  QS. 


p.-*S/  ^w 


o  7*M  d  t 


Ql  AlNtl'PI 


T  wtra 


AttcfrtKM   tt   caOrd   10  a 
diacranM  (or  bolt  jouMt  vbidi  m  tbcMy 

corifvuif-it     xKi\    bciOu.:    i!_ir    tr*    \il^*i    jf 


.     —    --   . ,..,...  M^ 

ndint  Vi  I L  aad  t-  J 

"'    "    "    JOCll  ri»r:»  o.<€nc  is 
iir  aad  alM 

»>'  '>di  plate 

ntct  a:  Um  u>p  <^1  ti)«  iWct  aad  t^/t^ 
inch  nvet  aad  ^l6-iach  plalc  at  tW  koi- 
ton.  bat  wifb  care  m  tbc  aac  of  dM  ^b* 
gramt.  wbrn  ihc«c  pankwUr  valoca  w 
reqnired.  no  trooblc  ihoald 

T..   iTltMtfi'r    (Ko  •««  of  dM 

bt:-  nore  ikaa  o«c  piMb  «f 

n\  •     ---     • f    10 

kr  ..  >,«k 


bt>- 
pi< 


ri\ 


1  Sr  tW 


iod  5  mcb  pmtk  is 

'.     •!    It    %rfT.    t*"-*!    * 


thr  ^\\    in<!    ir.<    %:^rxT^r^   01    |k> 

ou'  4ild  be  Ibe  weakest  wmuta  af 

possibl 

uaed.  t> 

rivet*.     Ii  klkuuUl  U  %\ 

that     whm     *hr     (ftjT^ 

«r  ■• 

the 
referred  to 


4r  t«  Ibe 


Tlw  Country's  Ftid  ^«t>«»^v 


at., 
pr 


tW 


'i-.Vi/    d.   when  s  —   A^jooo  and  C  =  /' 

lOO.      The    diagram    would    be    corf"-' 
all    thicknesses    of    straps    or    pi  •  '  mf  QR 

■   've   this   thickness       For    J^  uwh    ri 
tl'H     thirknrss     would     \\c     ti  .•/>     ii     ' 


thi«  v.iliir  f>l  (  MMiild  i 

15/32  inch      It  will  Ik-  r 

portions     between     rivet     diamrtrr* 

thickness   of    plate*    is    «uch    in    "^ 

boiler  construction  that  the  join* 

— -M    within   the   limits   of   the 

trawing    Fig    3   with   the   <I   • 
tions  of  the  lines  oinitlrd.  ihr  rr 
be    like    Fig.    4,    in    which    tin 


42 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  5,  1909. 


How  to  Use  Riveted  Joint   Diagrams 

Thorough  Instructions  on  the  Practical  Use  of  the  Diagrams,  Illustrated  , 

by  a  Complete  Set  of  Examples,  with  Answers,  on  Each  Type  of  Joint 


B     Y 


S. 


F. 


JETER 


The  following  explanation  and  instruc- 
tions for  the  use  of  the  diagrams,  given 
in  the  article  on  calculating  strength 
of  riveted  joints,  are  for  those  read- 
ers who  do  not  care  to  follow  the 
mathematical  reasoning  given  in  connec- 
tion with  the  construction  of  the  dia- 
grams, but  who  wish  to  use  them  as  an 
aid  in  caluculating  the  strength  of  such 
joints. 

It  is  assumed  that  the  article  on  page 
28  of  the  July  number  of  Power  and  the 
Engineer,  giving  the  detailed  method  of 
calculating  the  different  joints,  is  thor- 
oughly understood.  In  that  article  it  was 
shown  that  in  all  joints  of  either  the 
lap-riveted  or  the  butt-strapped  type,  in 
which  the  rivets  were  arranged  to  give 
only  one  pitch,  there  were  three  possible 
modes  of  joint  failure;  consisting  of 
breaking  of  the  net  section  of  the  plate, 
shearing  of  the  rivets,  or  crushing  of  the 
rivets.  It  was  necessary  to  find  the  num- 
erical value  of  each  one  of  these  modes 
of  failure  in  order  to  determine  which 
one  was  the  weakest  of  the  three,  and  the 
value  of  this  weakest  mode  of  failure  was 
alone  used  in  obtaining  the  efficiency  of 
the  joint. 

Diagrams  of  Single- pitch  Joints 
The  purpose  of  the  diagrams  is  to  make 
it  necessary  to  calculate  only  the  weakest 
mode  of  failure,  as  by  their  aid  this  may 
be  selected  without  calculation  as  follows : 
Taking  the  diagram  for  a  single-riveted 
lap  joint  for  illustration,  it  is  seen  that 
below  the  drawing  showing  the  type  of 
joint  in  the  upper  right-hand  corner  of 
the  sheet,  there  is  a  small  diagram  which 
will  be  known  as  a  guide  diagram,  con- 
sisting of  three  lines,  OK,  OL  and  OM. 
These  three  lines  represent  any  similar 
set  of  three  full  lines  in  the  main  diagram, 
which  is  seen  to  contain  eleven  sets,  and 
each  set  of  these  lines  represents  a  given 
rivet  diameter,  the  particular  diameter 
represented  being  noted  at  the  intersection 
of  the  lines,  at  the  upper  end  of  the  verti- 
cal lines  and  at  the  right-hand  end  of  the 
inclined  lines.  In  addition  to  the  sets  of 
full  lines  in  the  main  diagram,  it  will  be 
noted  that  there  are  also  dotted  and 
dashed  horizontal  lines  and  dotted  vertical 
lines,  extending  across  the  sheet  in  each 
direction ;  the  former  represent  pitch  of 
rivets  in  inches  and  quarters,  the  num- 
bers at  the  left-hand  side  of  the  sheet 
giving  the  value  represented  by  each  line. 


•Copyright,   1908,   by   S.   F.   Jeter. 


The  lines  representing  even  inches  are 
made  with  long  dashes  to  permit  the  eye 
more  readily  to  distinguish  them  from 
lines  representing  half  and  quarter  inches. 
The  vertical  dotted  lines  represent  thick- 
ness of  plate,  and  the  particular  thickness 
represented  by  each  line  is  printed  under 
its  lower  extremity. 

To  determine  the  weakest  mode  of 
failure  for  a  given  joint,  it  is  only  nec- 
essary to  find  in  which  section  of  the  dia- 
gram, with  reference  to  the  full  lines  indi- 
cating the  given  rivet  diameter,  the  in- 
tersection of  the  lines  corresponding  to  the 
pitch  of  rivets  and  thickness  of  plate  lie, 
and  when  this  is  found  the  method  of 
failure  printed  in  the  corresponding  sec- 
tion of  the  guide  diagram  is  the  one 
sought.  It  should  be  remembered  that 
in  using  the  diagrams  in  this  way  for  a 
particular  size  of  rivet,  that  all  other  full 
lines  representing  other  sizes  of  rivets 
have  no  significance  whatever,  and  they 
should  be  considered  as  not  existing  for 
the  time  being.  Thus  with  a  rivet  dia- 
meter of  I  inch,  all  points  of  intersection 
between  lines  denoting  pitch  of  rivets  and 
thickness  of  plate,  lying  to  the  right  of  the 
vertical  line  for  i-inch  rivets  and  above 
the  inclined  line  corresponding  to  OM 
of  the  guide  diagram,  would  denote  that 
joints  composed  of  such  pitches  of  rivets, 
thicknesses  of  plate  and  with  i-inch  dia- 
meter rivets,  would  fail  by  shearing  the 
rivets.  Values  of  pitch  and  thickness  of 
plate  given  by  lines  on  the  diagram  for 
a  single-riveted  lap  joint  (page  00)  whose 
intersections  would  lie  in  this  area,  would 
be  as  follows :  5^-inch  plate,  and  any  pitch 
of  rivets  of  2^4  inches  or  more;  13/32, 
7/16-  or  15/32-inch  plate,  and  any  pitch  of 
rivets  of  2^  inches  or  more ;  ^-inch  plate, 
and  any  pitch  of  rivets  of  2J4  inches  or 
more,  and  so  on  as  far  as  the  diagram 
extends.  All  joints  containing  the  above 
relative  values  of  pitch  of  rivets  and  thick- 
ness of  plate,  where  i-inch  rivets  are  used, 
would  fail  by  shearing  the  rivets. 

Intersections  of  pitch  and  thickness  of 
plate,  which  lie  in  the  area  corresponding 
to  that  marked  "net  section  weak"  in  the 
guide  diagram,  would  indicate  that  this 
method  of  failure  would  be  the  most  likely 
one  in  joints  constructed  with  similar  val- 
ues. Such  intersections  would  be  for  i- 
inch  rivets,  2^-inch  pitch  and  any  thick- 
ness of  plate  up  to  and  including  5^-inch 
plate;  or  2^-inch  pitch  and  any  thickness 
of  plate  up  to  and  including  15/32-inch 
plate ;  or  2-inch  pitch  and  any  thickness 


of  plate  up  to  and  including  19/32-inch 
plate,  and  so  on.  If  the  intersections  lay 
in  the  area  corresponding  to  that  marked 
"rivets  crush"  this  would  be  the  most 
likely  mode  of  joint  failure;  for  i-inch 
rivets  such  values  would  be  represented  by 
any  pitch  of  rivets  2^  inches  or  greater 
and  any  thickness  pf  plate  up  to  and  in- 
cluding 11/32  inch. 

From  the  foregoing  it  is  seen  that  to 
calculate  the  efficiency  of  any  joint,  it  is 
only  necessary  to  find  in  which  section  of 
the  diagram,  with  reference  to  the  lines 
denoting  the  rivet  size,  the  intersection  of 
lines  denoting  pitch  of  rivets  and  thick- 
ness of  plate  lie,  and  calculate  the  value  of 
the  particular  mode  of  failure  printed  in 
the  corresponding  section  of  the  guide  dia- 
gram, and  divide  this  by  the  value  found 
for  the  strength  of  the  solid  plate.  The 
result  is. the  true  efficiency  of  the  joint. 

For  example,  assume  a  single-riveted 
double-strapped  butt  joint,  in  which  the 
rivets  are  ^  inch  diameter  and  pitched 
2%  inches  apart,  and  a  plate  thickness  of 
Y^  inch.  By  referring  to  the  diagram  for 
this  type  of  joint,  it  is  seen  that  the  in- 
tersection of  the  lines  corresponding  to 
2^-inch  pitch  of  rivets  and  5^-inch  thick- 
ness of  plate,  lies  in  the  area  (with  re- 
spect to  the  lines  denoting  54-inch  rivets) 
corresponding  to  that  marked  "rivets 
crush"  in  the  guide  diagram.  Therefore, 
the  efficiency  would  be  . 

Diameter  of  Rivets  X  Thickness  of  Plate  X  95,000 
Pilch  of  Rivets  X  Thickness  of  Plate  X  55,000     ' 

or  since  the  thickness  of  plate  is  common 
to  both  numerator  and  denominator,  it 
would  cancel  out,  leaving 

^  X  95.000     _       6 
2H  X  55.000 

per  cent,  efficiency. 

If  the  other  methods  of  failure  had  been 
considered,  the  results  would  be  as  fol- 
lows :  Breaking  of  net  section,  62.2  per 
cent,  efficiency;  or  for  shearing  of  the 
rivets,  74.2  per  cent,  efficiency,  and  since 
these  two  latter  values  are  higher  than  the 
/irst,  the  method  of  failure  indicated  by 
the  diagram  gives  the  true  efficiency  of 
the  joint. 

It  follows  that  since  the  lines  represent- 
ing rivet  diameters,  which  correspond  to 
O  M  in  the  guide  diagram,  lie  between 
the  area  denoting  shearing  of  the  rivets, 
or  the  breaking  of  the  net  section  of  the 
plate,  that  where  the  lines  for  thickness 
of  plate  and  pitch  of  rivets  intersect  on 
this  line,  joint  failure  is  equally  liable  by 


January  5,  1909. 

either  method.  For  example,  the  line 
corresponding  to  OM  for  i^'g-inch  rivet 
diameter  (in  the  diagram  for  single-riv- 
eted lap  joints)  apparently  passes  through 
the  point  of  intersection  of  lines  denot- 
ing 2j/2-inch  pitch  and  15/32-inch  plate, 
and  if  a  joint  of  this  type  should  be  con- 
structed with  these  dimensions,  it  would 
be  as  likely  to  fail  by  breaking  the  net 
section  of  the  plate  between  the  rivet 
holes,  as  by  shearing  the  rivets,  and  the 
value  of  either  of  these  methods  of  fail- 
ure might  be  used  in  obtaining  the 
efficiency  of  the  joint.  Calculating  the 
value  of  the  two  modes  of  failure  would 
result  as  follows :  For  shearing  of  the 
rivets, 

0.8866  X  42,000  =  i7,2y; 
pounds,  and   for  the  strength   of  the  net 
section  of  the  plate, 

(2J4  —  I  1/16)  X  IS/32  X  55.000  =  37.061 
pounds.  It  is  seen  that  there  is  a  differ- 
ence of  17s  pounds  in  these  Xv^o  values, 
and  if  the  diagram  was  made  to  a  larger 
scale  and  absolutely  accurate,  the  line  for 
I  1/16-inch  rivet  would  be  seen  actually  to 
pass  above  the  intersection  of  lines  for 
15/32-inch  plate  and  2j^-inch  pitch  of 
rivets.  However,  the  diagrams  arc  suffi- 
ciently accurate  for  all  practical  purposes. 
for  when  using  the  shearing  strength  of 
the  rivets  in  obtaining  the  joint  effici- 
ency, it  is  found  to  be  57.77  per  cent, 
while  by  using  the  strength  of  the  net 
section  of  the  plate,  it  is  57.5  per  cent.,  so 
that  practically  it  would  make  no  differ- 
ence which  method  of  failure  was  used 
in  the  calculation. 

If  any  value  of  thickness  coincided  with 

a  vertical  line  for  rivet  diameter,  it  would 

indicate    that    the    value   of    the   crushing 

•trength    of   the   rivets   or   their   shearing 

•trength    could    be    used    indiscriminately 

in  obtaining  the  efficiencies  of  joints  made 

with  this  thickness  of  plate  and  diameter 

of  rivet,  where  the  rivets  were  spaced  so 

that  the  lines  indicating  the  pitch  crossed 

the  vertical  line  indicating  rivet  diameter. 

There  is  no  thickness  of  plate   shown  on 

the  diagram  for  single-riveted  lap  joints. 

which    actually    coincides    with    any    line 

'"••resenting  rivet  diameter,  the  lines  for 

^)-inch  rivets  and  9/32-inch  plate  com- 

iiiK'     the     nearest.      The    actual     thickness 

which    would    exactly    coincide    with    the 

vertical   line   for   13/16-inch    rivets   would 

h'  028213  inch,  and  with  this  thickness  of 

-  and  13/16-inch  rivets,  and  any  pitch 

mches  or  greater,  the  joint   efficiency 

could  be  obtained  by  using  the  value  of 

'•''"•r    the    crushing    or    shearing    of    the 

's,  as  the  value  of  both  would  be  the 

••  and  less  than  the  strength  of  the  net 

''»n  of  the  plate  between  the  rivet  holes 

■  any  horizontal  line  denotinR  pi'rh  of 

'\    should    coincide    with    a    hori.-untal 

''■■■••<•   for  any   rivet   diameter,  a   joint   con- 

M^'ing  of  this  particular  sire  of  rivet  and 

pitch  would  have  an  equal  vahie  for  joint 

failtire  by  crushing  the  rivets  or  breaking 

the  net  section  of  the  plate  for  any  thick- 

"•^^    which    crossed    the    horironta?    lin^ 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

indicating  the  rivet  sixe  For  example, 
in  the  double-riveted  double  butt-ttrappcd 
joint  with  one  pitch  (page  00;.  i,<|Hadl 
rivets  were  used  and  pitched  4^  incfccs 
apart,  any  thickness  of  plate  up  to 
and  including  21/32-inch  thKknest.  woold 
give  a  joint  which  would  be  as  likely  to 
fail  by  the  rivets  crushing  as  by  the  break- 
ing of  the  net  section  of  "  uA 
therefore  either  could  be  u  rim- 
ing the  strength  of  the  joint. 

It  follows  from  the  foregoing  that  1^ 
the  thickness  of  the  plate  and  the  pitch 
of  the  rivets  were  such  that  the  lines 
which  would  represent  them  should  in- 
tersect at  the  same  point  as  those  denot- 
ing any  rivet  diameter  (as  O  in  the 
guide  diagram),  a  joint  constructed  of 
these  values  for  pitch  of  rivets,  thick- 
ness of  plate  and  diameter  of  rivets, 
would  be  likely  to  fail  by  either  of  the 
three  n: 
would  .1. 

efficiency.     In  the  smglc-ru' 
values   of  2^i-inch   pitch,  9 
and  13/16-inch  rivets,  come  very  near  ful- 
filling    these     conditions,     although     the 
crushing  strength  of  the  rivets  is  a  little 
the  weakest  mode  of  failure. 

The  instructions  for  the  use  of  the  dia- 
grams given  thus  far  apply  to  all  forms 
of  joint,  both  lap- riveted  and  butt- 
strapped.  in  which  only  one  pitch  to  the 
rivets  occurs,  and  it  will  be  noted  that 
the  diagrams  for  all  these  joints  are  allkt 
in   form. 

Joint  Diackams  with  Two  o«  Moa 
Pitch  Values 

The  following  instructions  are   for  the 
use  of  the  diagrams   constructed   for  the 
butt- St  rapped  type  of  joint  in  which  two 
or  more  pitches  of  rivets  occur.    The  gen- 
eral principles  for  the  use  of  the  diagrams 
are  the   same  as   for   single-pitch   joints, 
that  is,  the  area  in  which  the  inlervectioo 
of  lines  denoting  pitrh  of  rivr»»  and  thick- 
ness of  the  plate  !■ 
est  mode  of  joint    : 
the  guide   diagrams,  and   it 
ttons  happen  to  fall  on  the 
ing  the  rivet  diameter  for  the  given  joint, 
either  of  the  modes  of   failure  noted  in 
the  adjacent  areas  may  be  used  in  deter- 
mining the  efficiency  of  the  joint. 

I  .ikinir  the  'liaitram  for  the  tripk-fhrtt- 


it  •: 

the  fuW 

vide  the 

of  three,  and.  as  «; 

gram,  the  two  top 

ure  by   crushing  of  the 

shearing  the  outer  •••'•• 

of  all  the  rivets      1 

■li.    •  '    ' 

r\     ■ 

the 
!• 
ri\<-" 


rt 


F^ 


ia   which   H-'mA   rvvet* 


n   t    I  )r    uiKKneMrt 


ia  Um  OM  o<  iht  lUnb^mA 

cxptemboa  far  diia  i^ 

nuikal  rtmom  k  b 

nwdwda  of 

cnHluaf  of  the  rmis  to  dw 

ia  kmOvcd  for  tha*  tyyc  of 

inatcd.   kavsag  oidy  iW 

failure,  aa  skow  km  ifca 

This  caold  be  MooaifiMMd  by 

<ltMraB«  apply  oidjr  10  ioiau  • 

thtckneM  of  pjaie  aad  Mnva  are 

the    Itoc* 

croea,  at 

rivet 

jomts 

the  <*. 

ne* 

mofr 

S/16  inck     If  1/^. 

the  pbte  and  strap*  ■«!  * 

or  more,  and  to  oi^  ike  k* 

to    the    left    ittdkaait    pfai 

which  croaaci  the  fall  liae 

the   rmt   diameter,   befaig  ike 

ihickacaa  of  pbte  or  iirape  for  wkick  ike 

diagrams  arc  coaairwcied     Tkla  %mM  lo 

the  range  of  the  diafraM*  wdi  aot  \m 

terfere  with  their 

for  the  range  covcrvd 

tical  boiler  joinu 

The  rivet   •  «hkk  cack  art  ol 

full  lines  app>  <-n  al  Ik* 

ties  of  the  vcrtacai 
lines,  and  alao  at  ike 
■ponding  to  the  point  5  in  the 
gram      i  if..'        Vi-iack   rrvet   for  B*^ 
traltng  th  e  iliagi—  for  a  triple 

riveted  » ..>  ••,{  (p*fe  oo).  k  i* 
•een  thai  if  7/16-inck  plat*  I*  mt4 
with   this   ait*  of  rmi  asd    ik* 


6^ 


are     pitched 
outer    rowiL    j 
by  breaking  th* 
if    the 
inch,  the 
would  occvr  by 

trrtinn    aod 

late  had 


If  ap 

instead  oi -.    ■    -  •  •  •*.  ee  %%f^ 

inrb  pble   mrd.  I'  f  <he   >aiM 

«o<dd  ormr  by  Ike  <-r  iWMng  a4  ike  rt««t* 


•kOe  If  *e 


(  the  tm' 


tlM   «K«W   V»    ik 

«wrk«*l«f 

-h  In  ak«le  akai 

IT  MdlB^ 

•Iwar 

t^   , 

,«in«     l^r      {Lft«ri<«« 

■  aWoka* 

44 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  5,  1909. 


are  pitched  15  inches  apart  in  the  outer 
row,  their  diameter  being  13/16  inch,  what 
would  be  the  eflSciencj-  of  this  joint?  Com- 
mencing at  the  bottom  of  the  sheet  on  the 
line  marked  17/32-inch  plate,  follow  up 
the  line  until  the  horizontal  line  represent- 
ing 15  inches  pitch  is  reached  hold  a  pen- 
cil or  other  pointer  on  the  intersection  of 
these  two  lines,  leaving  the  eye  free  to 
locate  the  full  lines  indicating  13/16-inch 
rivet  diameter,  and  it  is  readily  seen  that 
the  point  upon  which  the  pencil  is  held 
lies  in  the  area  corresponding  to  that 
marked  "rivets  all  shear"  in  the  guide  dia- 
gram. 

After  using  the  diagrams  a  few  times 
the  apparent  confusion,  caused  by  the  nu- 
merous lines  representing  the  rivet  diam- 
eters, will  disappear  entirely ;  however,  if 
it  was  desired,  the  reader  could  retrace 
the  diagrams,  placing  onh'  a  single  rivet 
diameter  on  each  sheet,  and  the  diagrams 
would  then  have  the  same  appearance  as 
the  guide  diagram,  with  the  dotted  and 
dashed  lines  representing  the  pitch  of 
rivets  and  thickness  of  plate  added. 

There  is  one  point  in  connection  with 
the  diagrams  for  double-strapped  butt 
joints  with  two  pitches  that  should  be 
carefully  noted,  and  that  is  the  line  corre- 
sponding to  Q  R  oi  the  guide  diagrams, 
for  is/i6-inch  rivets,  coincides  with  the 
one  corresponding  to  line  T  S  for  ^-inch 
rivets,  and  therefore  the  portion  lying  be- 
tween the  intersection  marked  ^  inch  up 
to  the  next  set  of  full  lines  representing 
15/16-inch  rivets  belongs  to  both  rivet 
diameters,  and  it  also  represents  through- 
out its  entire  length  9/16-inch  plate  thick- 
ness. It  will  be  observed  that  the  correct 
rivet  diameter  represented  by  the  upper 
portion  of  the  line  is  placed  at  the  top 
of  this  sheet,  while  that  represented  by  the 
lower  portion  is  placed  at  the  bottom,  so 
that  by  using  these  figures  to  locate  the 
lines,  rather  than  those  given  at  the  inter- 
sections of  the  lines  given  in  the  center  of 
the  diagrams,  when  ^-  or  15/16-inch  rivets 
are  used,  confusion  will  be  avoided. 

It  should  be  thoroughly  understood  that 
the  diagrams  shown  are  only  correct  for 
a  tensile  strength  of  plate  of  55,000 
pounds  per  square  inch,  shearing  strength 
of  rivets  of  42,000  pounds  per  square 
inch  for  single  shear  and  78,000  pounds 
per  square  inch  when  in  double  shear, 
and  95,000  pounds  per  square  inch  crush- 
ing resistance  of  the  rivets.  When  rivet 
diameters  are  spoken  of,  the  driven  diame- 
ter of  the  rivet  or  the  diameter  of  the 
rivet  hole  is  referred  to. 

A  feature  of  the  quadruple-riveted 
double-strapped  butt  joint,  which  was  not 
brought  out  in  the  July  7  article,  may 
be  properly  mentioned  here.  This  is, 
that  the  failure  of  this  type  of  joint  by 
the  breaking  of  the  plate  along  the 
second  row  of  rivets  and  shearing 
the  rivets  in  the  outer  row  need 
not  be  considered,  because  it  can  never 
be  weaker  than  both  the  failure  by  break- 
ing of  the  outer  net  section  and  that  of 


breaking  the  inner  net  section  and  shear- 
ing the  rivets  in  the  two  outer  rows,  but 
its  value  will  always  lie  between  these 
two.  Consequently  when  they  become 
equal  to  each  other,  it  also  is  equal  to 
them.  Thus,  if  the  line  indicating  the 
plate  thickness  for  a  given  joint  of  this 
type  should  coincide  with  the  line  corre- 
sponding to  O  R  for  the  rivet  size  used 
in  the  joint,  failure  would  be  equally 
liable  by  either  of  the  three  methods,  but 
for  all  other  values  of  thickness  of  plate, 
one  of  the  two  latter  methods  would  be 
the  weaker  of  the  three.  As  may  be  seen 
from  the  diagram,  a  joint  of  9/16-inch 
plate  and  15/16-inch  rivets,  with  any  pitch 
up  to  and  including  i6H-inch,  would  ren- 
der failure  equally  liable  by  either  method. 

EXAMPLES  FOR  PRACTICE 

The  following  questions  and  answers 
will  be  found  a  convenient  aid  in  becom- 
ing familiar  with  the  use  of  the  diagrams. 
The  answers  are  given  separate  from  the 
questions,  but  both  are  numbered  alike, 
and  the  reader  may  write  his  own  answers 
to  the  questions  and  then  compare  them 
with  the  answers  given,  and  in  this  way 
test  his  ability  to  use  the  diagrams  cor- 
rectly. Eight  questions  are  asked  for 
each  type  of  joint;  the  first  five  relating 
to  the  use  of  the  diagrams  in  obtaining 
joint  efficiencies,  and  the  three  last  to 
illustrate  other  uses  for  the  diagrams. 

Single-riveted  Lap  Joint 
What  method  of  joint  failure  should  be 
compared  with   the   strength  of  the   solid 
plate  to  ascertain  the  efficiency  of  the  fol- 
lowing joints? 

(i)  ^-inch  plate,  2^-inch  pitch  and 
i-inch  rivets. 

(2)  13/32-inch  plate,  2^-inch  pitch 
and.  i-inch  rivets. 

(3)  7/16-inch  plate,  2i/2-inch  pitch  and 
^-inch  rivets. 

(4)  7/16-inch  plate,  254-inch  pitch  and 
15/16-inch  rivets. 

(5)  5/16-inch  plate,  254-inch  pitch  and 
15/16-inch  rivets. 

(6)  What  is  the  smallest  rivet  diame- 
ter that  could  be  used,  if  the  pitch  were 
2j4-inch  and  plate  thickness  9/32-inch,  to 
insure  that  the  joint  would  fail  by  break- 
ing the  net  section  of  the  plate? 

(7)  If  a  joint  were  made  with  13/16- 
inch  rivets  and  7/16-inch  plate,  what 
would  be  the  smallest  pitch  of  rivets  that 
would  cause  the  joint  to  fail  by  shearing 
the  rivets? 

(8)  With  ixV-inch  rivet  diameter, 
what  thickness  of  plate  would  make  fail- 
ure by  crushing  the  rivets  impossible? 

DOUBLE-RIVETED    LaP   JoINT 

What  would  be  the  weakest  mode  of 
failure  for  the  following  joints? 

(i)  ii/32-inch  plate,  3-inch  pitch  and 
54-inch  rivets. 

(2)  19/32-inch  plate,  3-inch  pitch  and 
I-inch   rivets. 

(3)  §^-inch  plate,  2j^-inch  pitch  and 
^-inch   rivets. 


(4)  7/16-inch  plate,  254-inch  pitch  and 
Ii/i6-inch  rivets. 

(5)  13/32-inch  plate,  254-inch  pitch 
and  13/16-inch  rivets. 

(6)  With  5/16-inch  plate,  what  is  the 
smallest  pitch  and  diameter  of  rivets 
which  would  cause  joint  failure  by  crush- 
ing the  rivets? 

(7)  With  17/32-inch  plate  and  13/16- 
inch  rivets,  what  would  be  the  longest 
pitch  that  could  be  used  and  insure  that 
the  joint  would  fail  by  breaking  the  net 
section  of  the  plate  between  the  rivet 
holes  ? 

(8)  With  %-inch  rivets,  what  pitch 
would  be  required  if  the  crushing  of  the 
rivets  was  to  be  one  of  the  possible  meth- 
ods of  joint  failure?  What  thickness  of 
plate  would  this  method  of  joint  failure 
hold  good  for? 

Triple-riveted  Lap  Joint 
What  method  of  joint  failure  would  be 

most  likel>  in  the  following  joints? 
(i)     5^-inch    plate,    3-inch    pitch    and 

ii/i6-inch  rivets. 

(2)  ii/32-inch  plate,  3-inch  pitch  and 
I-inch  rivets. 

(3)  23/32-inch  plate,  3^-inch  pitch  and 
15/16-inch  rivets. 

(4)  23/32-inch  plate,  3^-inch  pitch  and 
I-inch  rivets. 

(5)  13/32-inch  plate,  3J4-inch  pitch  and 
54-inch  rivets. 

(6)  Would  it  be  practical  to  design  a 
joint  with  values  for  rivet  diameter  and 
thickness  of  plate  as  given  in  the  diagram, 
in  which  failure  would  occur  by  crushing 
the  rivets? 

(7)  What  would  be  the  least  pitch 
shown  on  the  diagram  that  would  cause 
joint  failure  by  crushing  the  rivets,  if  the 
plate  thickness  was  %  inch  and  the  rivet 
diameter  54  inch? 

(8)  With  21/32-inch  plate  and  11/16- 
inch  rivets,  what  would  be  the  least  pitch 
that  would  cause  the  rivets  to  shear? 

Single-riveted  Double-strapped  Butt 

What  method  of  joint  failure  should  be 
compared  with  the  solid  plate,  in  estimat-  '■ 
ing  the  efficiencies  of  the  following  joints? 

(i)  5^-inch  plate,  2^-inch  pitch  and 
54-inch  rivets. 

(2)  j4-inch  plate,  2-inch  pitch  and  54- 
inch  rivets. 

(3)  H-inch  plate,  214-inch  pitch  and 
13/16-inch  rivets. 

(4)  21/32-inch  plate,  2j4-inch  pitch 
and  54-inch  rivets. 

(5)  54-inch  plate,  3-inch  pitch  and  i- 
inch  rivets. 

(6)  There  are  only  two  possible  modes 
of  joint  failure  for  all  thicknesses  of  plate 
and  rivet  diameters  shown  on  the  diagram  , 
up  to  and  including  7/16-inch  plate.   What 
are  they? 

(7)  How  would  all  joints  with  ^-inch 
rivets  and  2y^-iuch  pitch  or  over  fail,  if 
the  plate  thickness  were  9/16-inch? 

(8)  Would  rivets  crush  in  any  joint 
made  of  plate  17/32-inch  or  over,  if  the 
rivet  diameters  were  not  over  13/16-inch? 


I 


January  s,  1909. 

double-kiveted  double- strapped  butt 

Joint  with   One  Pitch 
What   would   be   the   most   likely   mode 
of  failure  in  the  following  joints? 

(1)  19/32-inch  plate,  3fi-inch  pitch  and 
^'^-inch  rivets. 

(2)  7/16-inch  plate,  3-inch  pitch  and 
Ii/i6-inch    rivets. 

(3)  J7/32-inch  plate,  3^:i-inch  pitch  and 
I  f'j-inch   rivets. 

(4)  7/16-inch  plate.  3j4-inch  pitch  and 
Vj-inch  rivets. 

<5)  ^-inch  plate,  4-inch  pitch  and 
ij/l6-inch  rivets. 

(6)  For  any  thickness  of  plate  up  to 
and  including  21/32-inch,  and  where 
I  i'«-inch  rivets  are  used  and  pitched 
4fct-inch  apart,  what  would  be  the  most 
likely  mode  of  failure? 

(7)  If  the  thickness  of  the  plate  were 
not  over  7/16-inch,  could  joint  failure 
occur  by  shearing  the  rivets  for  any  rivet 
size  shown  on  the  diagram? 

(8)  If  i-inch  rivets  were  used  in  a 
joint,  what  would  be  the  lightest  plate  that 
would  cause  the  shearing  of  the  rivets  to 
be  a  possible  mode  of  joint  failure? 

Double-kiveted  Double- strapped  Butt 
Joi.vT  WITH  Two  Pitches 

What  would  be  the  weakest  mode  of 
failure  in  the  following  joints? 

( I )  19/32-inch  plate,  4-inch  pitch  and 
I  inch  rivets. 

(3)  19/32-inch  plate,  4-inch  pitch  and 
> :  inch  rivets. 

<3)     9/16-inch    plate,   5-inch    pitch   and 
inch  rivets. 

(4)  15/32-inch  plate,  5-inch  pitch  and 
16-inch   rivets. 

15)  25/32-inch  plate,  4^-inch  pitch 
and  Tji-inch  rivets. 

(6)  How  would  joints  fail,  having  7i- 
inch  rivets  and  pitched  4\i  inches  or  less 
and  the  plate   thickness  being  9/16  inch? 

(7)  What  would  be  the  maximum 
thickness  of  plate,  where  I-inch  rivets  are 
used,  if  the  breaking  of  the  outer  net  sec- 
tion nuist  be  one  of  the  possible  modes  of 
joint    faihtre? 

(8)  If   15/16-inch   rivets  were  used  in 
I-inch  plate,  what  would  be  the  least  pitch 
that  could  r;niNe  joint  failure  by  the  shear 
tni.'  of  all  rivets? 

TRIPlX-mVKTlO   Doi-BLt-STRAPPKD   BUTT 

What  would  be  the  probable  method  of 

lit   failure  in  the  following  joints? 

<l)  H-inch  plate.  6^-inch  pitch  and 
;  inch  rivets. 

I  3)     I  i/i6^inch  plate,  7'4-inch  pitch  an<l 

M»ch  rivets 

13)  i7',\j  juch  plate.  8  inch  pitch  and 
.  inch  rivets. 

(4)  i7/.v-inch  plate,  7' 4 -inch  pitch  and 
•nd   1 5/ 16- inch  rivets. 

(5)  M/3i-inch  pUle.  6-inch  pitch  ahI 
l]l|-inch  rivets. 

<t>)     With    I  inch    rivets    piichr«!    : 

het,     what     would    be    the    m.«<i:' ' 

thickness  of  plate  that  could  l)c  \i-«-  ' 
have    the    net    section    l»etween    tlir 
ws  of  rivets   the  weakest? 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

(7)  If   Ij^-inch   rivets  were  spAcH  8 

inches  apart,  what  would  be  the  ti.tr.rvc*' 
plate  that  would  causr  -i     •  •       - 
shear? 

(8)  With  H   ■  -^ 
i^-inch  riveu, 

occur  for  any  pitcii  \ii>  lu  ii:U  4iiti;i*i.{i^ 
I  I-inch  pitch? 

QuADtt-pLc-Rjvrrco  Butt  Doubu- 

ST»Ar«D   JoiXT 

What  would  be  the  mrmt  hlffly  mode 
of  failure  in  thr 

(1)  H  inch  ,  ^ad 
ij/i-inch   rivets. 

(2)  ^^-inch  plate.  uVi-ioch  pitch  and 
i3/'6-inch  rivets. 

(J)  y;-inch  pbtc  I4^tiicli  pitch  and 
^-inch  rivets. 

<4)  ig^'32  inch  plate,  is^-mch  piuh 
and    I5'i6inch   rivets. 

(5)  'n  inch  plate.  14-inch  pitch  and 
13/16-inch  rivets. 

(6)  If  it  was  required  to  design  a 
joint  with  i '/i-inch  rivets  pitched  16 
inches  apart,  and  have  the  net  section  be- 
tween the  rivets  of  the  outer  row  the 
weakest,  what  would  be  the  maximum 
thickness  of  plate  that  could  be  used? 

(7)  With  a  pitch  of  rivets  of  17^ 
inches,  how  thick  would  the  plate  be  to 
make  all  rivets  shear,  when  the  rivet 
diameter  is   I'i  inches? 

(8)  What   is  the  thinnest  plate  to  be 
used   with    I'li-inch   rivets,  to   make   fail 
ure  by  the  break:ng  of  the  inner  net  sec 
tion  and  the  shearing  of  the  outer   rows 
of    rivets    one    of    thr    po««ihIr    m.^lr*      .f 

joint  failure? 

.^NSWKRS  TO  Ul  KSTIONS 
Si.sixerivctcd  Lap  Joixt 

(1)  Breaking  of  net  scctioa 

(2)  ■■•  •      .   ' 
<3> 

(4> 
(5) 
(6)  cf 

(7) 

(8)     Any  thickness  of  H-iadi  or  over 

'    r  Joim 

(  I  ) 
(j» 
(J) 
(4) 

(5)  i ,.  .,.  riveto  or  fcreafc 

ing  of  net  section. 

(6)  4(<-inch  pilch  and  is/t6-»ncfc  rrr- 
diamrtrf. 


ne«i  up  lu  aimI  i> 


(7)      ,    . 

♦'*'      - 

a-amro  DavuLB-anAmm  Bvn 

Crashing  of  nvtta. 

Either  slwnriag  o4  rtvtts  or  kr«k- 
n^  <  I  net  scctioa. 
(j>    Crashing  ol  rhn^ 
<4>    Shtnrwg  of  rmta. 

(5)  SlMorMig  of  rmta. 

(6)  Crvsluag  ol  rirtcs  or  kiirtiiv  ol 
net  sccttoo. 

(7)  Erthcr  by  rr Milling  tiM  n*«M  or 
sbcirtng  the  mvtaw  koik  aaiko^B  ol  Wl> 
wc  being  «qaaL 

(8)  Na 

Dnt'stj  Rnr«n»  tknuMtnjkfm  Ik^rr 
'•r  wim  OnB  Pnro 
-  *-^iting  ol  Mt  M^xNi  or 


(J) 
(4) 
<5» 


nrraaing  ol  net 
BmkiiVof  ntt 
Craslnng  of  rnr«t& 
^N^ring  of  rmts. 

^  cmaWng  of  rivits  a 
i'it>'  ection. 

( 7 »     No 
<8»     ji  ji  tncb  pbie 

DovHa-anrvm   Docma-arnAffK 
JoiirT  wrrn  Two  Pnons 

<2>  rta. 

(J)  '     .  h      <'i      ii^nrr 

«hrar:nc  the  outer  rivtl^  or 
the  rivet*. 
(4)    Crashing    ibt    iamm 
(  the  oolcr  rmta. 
'■Bi  sring  of  an  rivoi^ 


••.»tta. 
(7)    iwiftntk 
(R)    4  tncfc  pitdk 

Tatrta-anvTw  Domu-oiVArvnn 
(I)    Sbcnnng  ol  aB  rfrfiA, 

I  .;  I        Ttmkin«       •./      inMrV       ■«.-<« 


IT,  <-Sl 

(      TW  iliigrai  4o«  not 
(or  this  conibinatian  ol  rivtf 

tht-*'w-M   e>f 


h  plate 
hy  brvokn« 

»ititf     tnr-^t      »«<rtl 


»r<rtK^     *<•«•« 


i"«    J" 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  5,  1909. 


New  Turbine  Plant  at  Allentown,  Penn. 

An   Uptodate    Alternating-current    Plant    with    Special    Facilities  for 
Handling  Coal  and  Ash  and  an  Ideal  Location  for  Obtaining  Water 


BY       JOHN 


I. 


BAKER 


On  account  of  the  increasing  demand 
for  light  and  power  and  the  inadequacy 
of  their  old  plant,  it  became  imperative 
for  the  Lehigh  Valley  Transit  Company 
to  build  a  new  power  station.  A  site 
near  the  old  plant  was  selected,  and  the 
location  is  ideal  for  the  receiving  of  coal 
and    for   obtaining   water    for    condensing 


^i^^^^Hn  i  K  B.'  c  B  e 

1 

FIG.    I.      POWER   HOUSE  FROM   THE 
LEHIGH   RIVER 

and  Other  purposes.  The  building  is  of 
concrete  construction,  walls,  floors  and 
roof,  all  reinforced  with  Thacher  bar  re- 
inforcement, and  is  228  feet  3  inches  long, 
107  feet  6  inches  wide  and  about  60  feet 
to  the  apex  of  the  trusses.  A  concrete 
division  wall  extending  from  basement  to 
roof  forms  a  turbine  room  228  feet  3 
inches  long  by  52  feet  4  inches  wide,  and 
a  boiler  room  228  feet  3  inches  long  by 
55  feet  2  inches  wide.  The  concrete  walls 
are  125^  inches  thick  from  sub-base  to 
roof.  The  columns  supporting  the  trusses 
are  on  18-foot  3-inch  centers,  and  in  order 
to  make  the  building  fireproof  in  all  re- 
spects, the  doors  and  window  frames 
are  of  steel,  made  by  David  Luptons 
Sotis  Company,  of  Philadelphia.  Wire 
glass  is  used  throughout;  the  majority  of 
the  panes  are  14V2  inches  long  and  22^ 
inches  high.  A  ventilator,  48  feet  wide, 
having  k>uvres  on  the  boiler-room  side 
and  pivoted  glass  sash  on  the  opposite 
side,  extends  the  full  length  of  the 
building. 

The  Boilers 

The  boiler  equipment  consists  of  ten 
52S-horsepower  Babcock  &  Wilcox  boil- 
ers arranged  in  batteries  of  two,  each 
battery  being  30  feet  wide  and  about  23 
feet  5  inches  long.  A  space  of  6  feet  6 
tncbes  between  settings  gives  ample  room 
for  the  steam-piping  connections  to  the 
main  bea<ier,  for  operating  blowoff  valves 


and  for  cleaning  purposes.  The  distance 
from  the  floor  to  the  top  of  the  steam- 
outlet  flange  is  19  feet  9  inches. 

Each  boiler  consists  of  three  drums,  42 
inches  in  diameter  and  23  feet  3  inches 
long,  placed  above  and  connected  to  a 
set  of  21  sections,  each  section  contain- 
ing 12  tubes  4  inches  in  diameter  and  18 
feet  long.  The  drums  are  three  sheets 
long;  each  sheet  is  ^  inch  in  thickness 
and  all  joints  are  butt-strapped.  The 
superheaters  are  of  the  double-loop  type ; 
each  superheater  is  made  up  of  42  groups 
of  four  2-inch  seamless  drawn-steel  tubes 
and  contains  iioo  square  feet  of  heating 
surface.  The  boilers  are  guaranteed  to 
evaporate  loH  pounds  of  water  per 
pound  of  dry  coal  from  and  at  212  de- 
grees Fahrenheit,  the  coal  to  contain 
14,800  B.t.u.  Each  boiler  contains  5242 
square  feet  of  heating  surface.  The 
original  tubes  were  hot-drawn  and  made 
of  No.  10  gage,  but  on  account  of  occa- 
sional rupture,  all  replacements  have  been 
made  with  No.  9  gage,  cold-drawn  tubes. 

The   boilers   are   equipped   with    Roney 


make  is  in  reserve,  and  the  exhaust  from 
both  engines  is  utilized  at  the  heaters. 

Natural  draft  is  furnished  by  an 
Alphons  Custodis  radial  brick  stack, 
located  directly  north  of  the  boiler  room, 
having  an  octagonal  base  and  an  internal 
diameter  of  14  feet  at  the  base  with  a 
taper  to  8  feet  at  the  top.  The  total  hight 
of  the  stack  is  226  feet  above  the  founda- 
tion, or  about  207  feet  above  the  stokers. 
At  the  rear  of  the  boilers  is  a  brick  flue 
9  feet  wide  and  14  feet  high,  having  an  in- 
ternal area  of  126  square  feet.  Through- 
out its  entire  length  the  flue  has  these 
same  dimensions.  A  steel-plate  damper  is 
controlled, by  a  Collins  damper  regulator. 
The  temperature  of  the  flue  gases  at  the 
base  of  the  stack  is  525  degrees  Fahren- 
heit. Structural  supports  for  a  future 
economizer  installation  were  erected  with 
the  building  and  are  located  above  the 
main  flue. 

The  plant  has  been  in  operation  since 
]May,  1908,  and  during  that  time  the 
greatest  overload  in  the  boiler  house  oc- 
curred   one    evening    when    nine    boilers. 


FIG.    2.    COAL  HANDLING  FROM   CAR  TO  PLANT 


stokers,  driven  by  two  4i/^x4-inch  West- 
inghouse  standard  engines.  As  there  is 
space  provided  for  two  additional  boilers, 
the  stoker  engines  are  so  located  that 
each  engine  will  eventually  drive  the 
stokers  for  six  boilers.  The  line  shaft 
operating  the  stokers  is  1  \-^  inches  in 
diameter  and  makes  four  revolutions  per 
minute.     An  auxiliary  engine  of  the  same 


for  a  period  of  two  hours,  were  operating 
on  a  43  per  cent,  overload.  At  the  time 
of  the  writing  Burrows  automatic  feed- 
water  regulators  were  being  installed. 

Coal  and  Ash  Handling 
Coal  is  received  by  rail,  the  main  line 
of  the  Lehigh  Valley  Railroad   Company 
passing  in  front  of  the  power  house.     If 


January  5,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  EVGINEER. 


^n 


:  ♦^ 


li^-^m"^-^^:^ 


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■J  '  ■             -  -  ^ — ''                      ^   '"  'J*  ^           ^1 — B'-c 
(4 tJI -} T-    J:<i= — ^ ««; — I. 


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b2.<>£ 


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nC.    3.    GEKUAL  FLAN  or  FOWO  FLAKT 


a 


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48 


occasion  required  it,  anthracite  could  be 
delivered  by  water,  as  the  Lehigh  river 
and  canal  are  about  500  feet  east  of  the 
power  house.  Along  Front  street  there 
are  at  present  eight  reinforced-concrete 
coal-receiving  pits,  and  the  removal  of 
the  old  power  house  will  give  space  for 
three  additional  pits.  Standard-gage  rail- 
road cars  are  run  in  on  a  track  over  a 
small  pit  at  the  side,  having  a  slanting 
bottom  and  allowing  the  coal  to  slide 
down  into  the  larger  pockets,  which  are 
12  feet  wide,  15  feet  deep  and  19  feet 
long.  Thus  the  cars  can  be  immediately 
emptied  and  returned. 

By  means  of  a  Gantry  crane,  built  by 
the  Browning  Engineering  Company,  a 
^ab  bucket,  with  a  capacity  of  2  cubic 
yards,  can  take  coal  directly  out  of  the 
cars,  if  necessary,  but  usually  transfers 
the  coal  from  the  large  coal  pits  to  a 
steel-plate  hopper  attached  to  the  crane, 
or  in  the  space  between  the  pits  and  west 
wall  of  the  boiler  room.  This  hopper 
will  hold  about  25  tons,  and  6500  tons 
have  been  stored  in  front  of  the  build- 
ing. One  rail  for  the  Gantry  crane  is 
along  the  wall  of  the  coal-receiving  pits, 
while  the  other  rail  is  supported  by  a 
girder  at  the  top  of  the  west  building 
wall.  Both  rails  are  60-pound  A.  S.  C.  E. 
section,  and  the  distance  from  center  to 
center  of  the  rails  is  88  feet  9  inches. 
One  leg  of  the  Gantry  crane  has  a  wheel 
base  of  35  feet  and  the  other  24  feet.  The 
crane  has  a  rated  capacity  of  100  tons 
per  hour. 

Extending  along  the  boiler  fronts  and 
the  west  wall  of  the  boiler  house,  there 
is  a  continuous,  19-inch  gage  track  made 
of  20-pound,  standard-section  rails.  A 
coal  larry,  built  by  the  C.  W.  Hunt  Com- 
pany, and  operated  by  storage  batteries, 
takes  coal  from  the  hopper  of  the  Gantry 
crane  and  delivers  the  coal  to  the  small 
chutes  above  the  stokers.  The  average 
capacity  of  the  larry  is  5200  pounds.  The 
present  coal  consumption  in  24  hours  is 
from  100  to  125  tons.  A  bituminous 
medium-grade  Kennerly  coal,  having  the 
following  analysis,  is  used:  Moisture, 
1. 19  per  cent.;  volatile  matter,  16.41  per 
cent. ;  fixed  carbon,  70.98  per  cent. ;  ash, 
11.42  per  cent.;  B.t.u.  per  pound  of  coal, 
13,808. 

Motor-driven  crushing  rolls  are  located 
in  the  large  receiving  bin  attached  to  the 
Gantry  crane.  The  operator  of  the  larry 
fills  his  car  by  opening  the  duplex  valves 
on  the  hopper,  and  then  runs  the  car 
along  the  front  of  the  building  and  before 
entering  the  boiler  room,  weighs  the  coal 
on  a  Fairbanks  scale  having  a  capacity  of 
8000  pounds. 

In  case  of  accident  to  the  Gantry  crane 
a  skip  car  and  hoisting  engine,  built  by 
the  C.  W.  Hunt  Company,  have  been  pro- 
vided. The  skip  car  empties  direct  into 
the  larry,  and  was  in  use  until  the  Gantry 
crane  was  installed.  It  is  now  held  as  a 
spare. 

The   ashpits    are    made    of    reinforced 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

concrete,  and  at  the  bottom  of  each  ash- 
pit there  are  duplex  valves  as  illustrated 
herewith.  Directly  under  the  ashpits  and 
extending  the  full  length  of  the  boiler- 
room  basement,  there  is  a  narrow-gage 
track,  19-inch  gage,  made  of  20-pound 
rails.  The  push-car  for  handling  the 
ashes  has  a  V-body,  55  inches  wide,  40 
inches  long  and  34  inches  deep,  and  is  of 
the  double-side  dumping  type,  made  by 
the  C.  W.  Hunt  Company.  Ashes  are 
used  for  filling-in  purposes,  or  can  be 
loaded  into  cars.  The  narrow-gage  track 
runs   up  an  easy   incline  to  the  top   of  a 


January  5,  1909. 

cit}-,  1200  revolutions  per  minute,  and  one 
two-stage  Curtis  turbine,  500  kilowatts 
rated  capacity,  1500  revolutions  per  min- 
ute, these  three  machines  delivering  alter- 
nating current  at  60  cycles  frequency. 

The  old  plant  consists  of  four  30x48- 
inch  simple  Cooper  Corliss  engines,  run- 
ning 80  revolutions  per  minute,  each  en- 
gine having  a  band  wheel  20  feet  in 
diameter  and  57  inches  face  and  driving 
by  means  of  a  48-inch  three-ply  leather 
belt  a  500-kilowatt  Bullock  generator.  Jet 
condensers  of  the  Worthington  type  are 
installed     with      each      engine.      For     an 


FIG.     5.     METHOD   OF   HANDLING   COAL   IN    BOILER   ROOM  . 


car.  One  man  takes  care  of  all  the 
ashes  and  has  time  to  help  at  other 
odd  jobs. 

Prime  Movers 

The  plant  has  a  nominal  capacity  of 
7750  kilowatts.  For  railway  service  there 
are  two  four-stage  Curtis  turbines,  each 
of  2000  kilowatts  rated  capacity,  operat- 
ing at  750  revolutions  per  minute  and  de- 
livering three-phase  alternating  current 
at  25  cycles  frequency.  For  lights  and 
motors  there  are  one  four-stage  Curtis 
turbine,  2250  kilowatts  rated  capacity,  900 
revolutions  per  minute;  one  four-stage 
Curtis  turbine,  1000  kilowatts  rated  capa- 


emergency    in    railway     service,     two     of 
these  engines  are  available. 

1 

Condensers  and  Auxiliaries 

All  condensers  arc  of  the  barometric- 
tube  type,  made  by  Henry  R.  Worthing- 
ton. By  means  of  a  reinforced-concrete 
intake,  7  feet  high  and  6  feet  wide,  water 
for  condensing  purposes  flows  from  the 
Lehigh  river,  500  feet  away,  through  the 
intake  and  up  to  and  along  the  eastern 
wall  of  the  turbine  room.  Three  18-inch 
volute  Worthington  centrifugal  pumps 
take  water  from  the  intake  through  20- 
inch  suction  pipes  and  discharge  into^  18- 
inch    pipes    into    the    side    of    a    30-inch 


i 


January  5,  igoQ. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


water  header  located  directly  above  the 
pumps  and  at  an  elevation  of  54-915 
The  pumps  are  direct  -  connected  to 
I3X22X  14-inch  Bates  vertical  auiMniatic 
high-speed  engines,  running  at  a  maxiimiin 
speed  of  240  revolutions  per  miiuitc  ati'l 
equipped  with  Schutte  &  Koertinn  (  -m 
pany  angle-trip  throttle  valves 


machine   and  to   la   iochc*  a<   Uie  979V     t«^     Tlie  S-inrtj  rorimoy  hi 
kilowatt  unit.    T; 
turhinr   are    4'-4 

•noo-Uo  re  itM<  Um  torn  : 

Mricr     the     [li.iflt     i:. 

tr.niblc  has   been  cx^-:.  ,,, 

••"n  water  coming  over  n 


•a»    of 


ittmtt. 


B— 


r:!^ 


T 


Fia    6w    COAL  UKZIVIMC  fTTS 


The  water  header  extends  along  the 
east  wall  of  the  turbine  room,  is  sup- 
ported by  brackets  attached  to  the  build- 
ing columns  and  is  30  inches  in  diameter 
where  the  centrifugal  pumps  discharge 
into   it,    but    rcchiccs   to   24   inches    at    the 

10-kilowatt  turbine  and  to  12  inches  at 
:;c  500-kilowatt  unit.  From  this  main 
header  there  is  a  lo-inch  injr.ti'in  con- 
nection to  the  500-kilowatt  turhiiu-,  a   14- 

oh  injector  to  the  looo-kilowatt  tur- 
l.uie  and  a  16-inch  to  the  2000-kiIowatt 
turbine.      Ordinary     chain     passing     over 


A->li     Uoiikh     A.^ 


•heaves  on  the  valve  stm 
Hown  !f>  h.indwhrcls  .in"! 

.illow  the  attcndjuti  to 


pipe,  and  in  order  to  put  a  stop  to  thi« 
make-up  pieces  18  inches  high  h»\e  been 
put  in  on  every  condenser.  Th-  "■»"•-•' 
(Mnnections  from  the  turbine  * 

denser  are  of  st-    •     ' 
flanpr*    made    ": 

tt    untli    tiic 

1  :>    J    ff*»?    wi'!*" 

The  tree  r  > 
tending  ju  " 
Blake  automatic  ex  I 
angle  type  are  used  i : 
steam  traps  are  attached  to  ( 
-   of  all   t-'"  • 

No.   101    f<  • 

:   14    ull    all        '    ■' 
V   vrfrtinm 


TMt    PiMWC   SvftlM 


tMtt    valvci    art 


ChapoMi    rstn-txati 
nted  and  a  bra»: 


od 

OHMVttOAV    to   tW 

Ludcr    ar*    »M 
4k  uinmed  ami 

connectKMif  are 


^ 


>«L   A    r 


1  here    are    two    i  : 
iiiL-t^'H   steam  driven 

-   attached   to  a    thine i- 
ing   to  8   inrhe«   ••»•    'hr 


so 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  5,  1909. 


FIG.    9.     OXE  OF  THE  2250- KILOWATT  CURTIS  TURBINES 


bines  and  also  the  throttles,  there  are 
three  6x2x6-inch  Worthington  duplex- 
plunger  oil  pumps. 

Electrical  Equipment 

The  two  2000-kilowatt  turbine  units 
generate  alternating  current  at  13,200 
volts.  The  old  switches  between  the  tur- 
bines and  buses  are  located  on  the  second 
gallery  which  extends  the  full  length  of 
the  power  house.  To  the  busbars  there 
are  attached  five  transmission  lines  as  fol- 
lows :  Two  on  the  Philadelphia  line, 
sending  13,200  volts  to  the  substations  at 
Coopersburg,  Sellersville,  Landsdale  and 
Ambler;  one  to  Siegersville  and  Slating- 
ton,  one  to  Catasauqua  and  one  to  Bethle- 
hem and  Hecktown. 

The  southern  end  of  the  switchboard 
gallery  contains  the  substation  for  the 
Allentown  lines,  consisting  of  nine  trans- 
formers having  a  capacity  of  185  kilo- 
watts each.  The  transformers  are  delta- 
connected  on  both  high-  and  low-tension 
sides,  and  are  air-cooled  by  two  5S-inch 
Buffalo  Forge  fans  direct-connected  to 
4-horsepower  induction  motors  running 
690  revolutions  per  minute  and  guaran- 
teed to  furnish  10,000  cubic  feet  of  air  per 
minute  at  J4  ounce  pressure.  At  the 
transformers  the  current  is  stepped  down 
to  430  volts.  By  means  of  three  25-cycle 
rotary  converters,  each  of  500  kilowatts 
capacity  and  running  500  revolutions  per 
minute,  this  alternating  current  is  con- 
verted into  direct  current  at  600  volts  for 
railway  service.  The  equipments  of  the 
other  substations  are  similar  to  the  one 
just  described,  with  the  exception  that  the 
voltage  is  stepped  down  to  370  volts  at 
the  transformers  and  the  converters  are 
of  300  kilowatts  capacity  each.  , 

For   lighting    purposes   there   are    three 


feed  water,  which  has  a  temperature  of 
208  to  2X0  degrees  Fahrenheit,  flows  by 
gravity  to  two  i7xioxi5-inch  Worthing- 
ton duplex-plunger  feed  pumps  equipped 
with  Fisher  pump  governors.  The  heat- 
ers can  also  take  water  from  an  8-inch 
connection  to  the  city  water  line.  The 
boiler-feed  header  is  6  inches  in  diameter. 

Step-bearing  and   oil   pumps 

There  are  three  i2x3xio-inch  Worth- 
ington duplex-plunger  pumps  supplying 
water  pressure  for  the  step  bearings  of 
the  turbines.  These  pumps  are  also 
equipped  with  Fisher  pump  governors  and 
so  are  the  oil  pumps.  The  pressure  gages 
show  that  it  takes  200  pounds  per  square 
inch  for  the  step  bearing  of  the  500-kilo- 
watt  machine  and  about  435  pounds  for 
the  2000-kilowatt  turbine.  In  case  of 
accident  to  these  pumps  a  i6xi7-foot 
R.  D.  Wood  &  Co.  hydraulic  accumulator 
can  supply  sufficient  pressure  to  keep  the 
turbines  running  15  minutes.  For  oiling 
the  top   and  middle  bearings   of  the   tur- 


FIG.     10.     ROTARY   CONVERTERS    AND    TRANSFORMERS 


January  5,  IQOQ- 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


units  of  500,  1000  and  2250  kilowatts  rated 
capacity,  generating  alternating  current 
at  2300  volts  and  of  60  cycles  frequency. 
By  means  of  three  transformers,  each 
having  a  capacity  of  200  kilowatts,  the 
current  is  stepped  up  to  13,200  volts. 
Transmission  lines  extend  to  the  towns 
of  Bethlehem  and  Slatington.  A  rotary 
converter   of   300   kilowatts   capacity   and 


synchronous     motors     driving     are     ma 
chines;   three  generator  pancU.  fn 
two    exciter    panels,    one    storiK^  ^ 
panel,    two   3000-kilowatt   2S-<y<\t   p«iiei«. 
five  2S-cycle   ij^aoo-volt   panels,  one  yxh 
kilowatt  60-cycle  panel    for    rotary    con- 
verter, three  500-kilowatt  2=-  --  '-  •    --'- 
for  rotary  converters.  tw<. 
feeder    panels,    one    motor  ci rem    I'lnn. 


■  h«  turttnc  roooa  n  riiiipfid  »U  «at 
•  }  toa  Ca«c  cfaeirie  travdj^  cnm  Im*- 
ing  %  apui  of  Aam  97  (c«i  froa  cMtev 
to  eetiicr  of  Hm  raift.  TW  ctm*  gir^m 
are  Mpportod  oa  to^mtk  T  Vtimi  m^mk 
in  tWB  ar*  acadM  to  the  hmi&a^  col- 
lUBoa.  TIm  wMHru  sccisaa  of  tk«  lar- 
btnc  room  eoa/taimt  two  gaScnca.  TW 
fir*i  hu  oAer  roaaw  at  oa*  «4  aai  a 
Mtbalaiioa  at  tkc    ocWr    cM.    ««ii    tW 

-     *    .  «(»*i.i:«    •  I    :■>   T-.«it 

t  oootiMMMnb  aad  h 

<■'  rrr  »;  TSj 

men  pc-  0«r 

encUMcr.  use  j  ■mtur^  ci^uH«f .  01 
»wne  fffgir^f-ry.  '1f^r  opcral4i«  and 

helper  avn-Marr 


■iglrt*  oolr.  lor 


board  gallcrjr).  oa*  1 

arc  nachinrs  oa  the  »««ead  gattrf. 

tirrmcn   who  arc  abo  val«n«» 

'  '  --^  handhng  aad  on«  nu 

<■  cranr  rvmmtt  on  tkc 
tine,  ant  oiacliiaMt.  ooe 
:  one  laborrt  (or  i«t>  slitlts 
9cralrs     l$o 
imI    rcccMly    ka* 
iky    eaprna  wmc*. 
teflihlmg  oolwaidly  tkt 
(ht  car.  wiO  carry  frnglM 
:  ng  tiM  Imc.     TW  WHitf  roi 
old  plant  has  bcm  «a4r  ioto  a 


to  al 
Mof 
■  ra- 


nt;.    II.     iWUcUIMJAiU)  tUM.M.NJNU  57   TANtLS 


running  (/x>  revolutions   per   minute  cuu 
verts    this   current    into  600   volts   direct 
current,  supplying  commercial  jKJwcr  an'! 
the  power  for  the  Gantry  crane. 

For  the  650  arc  lamps  in  Allentowi. 
and  neighboring  towns  there  arc  on  th' 
•econd  gallery  eight  Brush  arc  genera 
(ors,  each  having  a  capacity  of  1 25  lamp- 
Four  I40-llu^^cl)ower  three-phase 
volt  synchronuwi  motors  arc  direct 
nected  to  the  arc  generators,  one  mot^-r 
mounted  centrally  between  two  genera '-n- 

EXC ITEMS   AND   STORAGE   BATTtJllf-> 

On  the  tirst  floor  there  arc  two  turbo 
exciters  operating  at  2400  revuludon 
minute.     These  machines  are  of  75  t.  ; 
watts  capacity,  and  one  machine  can  l> 
used  as  a   booster   to  cliarge   the   stf>r  i; 
tMttcrics.      The     storage  -  battery     r 
ited  on  the  fir  • 
i  I  rhlnride  at . 

the     Fleet  ric     Sl»i.«gi     > 
-re   are   alw.iy»    57   cell*    : 
exciter  buses 

The    switchboard    consists    of    57    »!»««•     »*"'"'  <^«>'*«'»  I******'*   '•«•" 
panels  about  2  inches  thick  and  7  >('''<  ' 
tochrs  high.     The  total  length  of  swit  ! 

board  is  81   feet  4  inches  and  m  ni.i<l 

Ten     single  •  ph.i*r     t 
volts;  one  threr  i«!i  1 
«)  vi.Ui.  three  transmisM 
cycle.     13.200    volts. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  5,  1909. 


The  Three- Wire   System  with  One  Dynamo 

The  Reason  Why  the  Neutral  Wire  Is   Necessary.      Methods  Used  for 
Compensating  Unbalanced  Load.      Size  of  Motor  Compensator  Needed 


B   Y 


CECIL 


P. 


POOLE 


If  an  ordinary  dynamo  be  connected  to 
a  group  of  incandescent  lamps  arranged 
in  series  multiple,  as  indicated  diagram- 
matically  by  Fig.  i,  its  voltage  will  have 
to  l)e  twice  that  for  which  each  lamp  is 
made:  that  is,  if  no- volt  lamps  are  used. 
the  voltage  of  the  d>-namo  must  be  220 
(disregarding  line  losses  for  the  present). 


volt  lamps,  the  joint  resistance  of  the 
group  of  10  would  be  220  -^  10  =:  22 
ohms  and  that  of  the  8  lamps  would 
be  220  -f-  8  =  27J/2  ohms.  The  total  re- 
sistance of  both  groups,  therefore,  would 
be  22  +  27V2  =  49/^  ohms,  and  the  cur- 
rent flowing  through  the  groups  would 
be  220  -=-  49;^  =  4.44  amperes.     Now  the 


6  6  6  6  6 


<>  S^  ?  9  9 


age  battery  and  passes  back  to  the  dynamo 
through  the  section  B  of  the  battery, 
charging  that  section.  This  proportion 
holds  good  for  any  degree  of  unbalancing; 
that  is,  that  part  of  the  battery  on  the 
heavily  loaded  side  will  send  out  one-half 
of  tiie  current  in  the  neutral  wire  and  the 
other  half  will  go  through  the  part  of  the 

6666666666 


6669^99 -S^  9^ 


Such  a  system  would  be  even  more  eco- 
nomical than  the  three-wire  system,  and 
wpuld  have  been  adopted  instead  of  the 
three-wire  system  but  for  one  serious  de- 
fect— the  lamps  would  have  to  be  installed, 
lighted  and  extinguished  in  pairs.  Conse- 
quently, a  customer  who  wanted  5 
lamps  would  have  to  take  6,  and  he 
could  not  control  his  lamps  singly. 

If,  to  the  arrangement  shown  in  Fig.  i 
a  third  wire  were  added,  connected  be- 
tween each  pair  of  lamps,  as  shown  in 
Fig.  2.  part  of  the  original  difficulty  of 
control  would  be  overcome.  With  this 
arrangement,  any  one  lamp  on  one  side 
of  the  middle"wire  could  be  lighted  or  ex- 
tinguished, provided  one  of  the  lamps  on 
the  other  side  was  simultaneously  lighted 
or  extinguished.  So  long  as  the  number 
of  lamps  on  one  side  was  equal  to  the 
number  on  the  other  side,  it  would  not 
matter  just  which  lamps  were  lighted  and 
which  were  out.  But  this  would  require 
turning  on  and  off  2  lamps  every  time, 
and,  worse  yet,  the  consumer  would  have 
to  know  which  lamps  were  on  one  side 
and  which  on  the  other  side  of  the  sys- 


propcr  current  for  the  10  lamps  would 
be  no  -f-  22  =  5  amperes,  and  the  proper 
current  for  the  8  would  be  4  amperes ; 
consequently,  the  group  of  10  lamps 
would  get  too  little  current  and  the  group 
of  8  lamps  too  much. 

In  order  to  correct  this  defect  in  the 
arrangement  shown,  it  is  necessary  to 
provide  means  for  taking  the  surplus  cur- 
rent from  tlie  smaller  load  on  one  side 
and  transferring  it  to  the  greater  load 
on  the  other  side.  This  is  called  "com- 
pensating" the  lack  of  "balance"  in  the 
circuit.  (When  the  load,  or  number  of 
lamps  on  one  side  of  the  middle  wire  is 
equal  to  the  load  on  the  other  side,  the  cir- 
cuit is  said  to  be  "balanced ;"  any  other 
condition  makes  the  circuit  "unbalanced.") 
One  of  the  simplest  methods  of  compen- 
sating for  unbalancing  is  to  connect  a 
secondary  battery  between  the  two  main 
wires  and  connect  the  middle  or  "neutral" 
wire  to  the  middle  point  of  tlie  battery,  as 
in  Fig.  4.  Here  10  lamps  arc  shown  on 
one  side  and  6  on  the  other ;  the  flow 
of  current  is  indicated  by  the  arrows. 
Under  the  conditions  shown,  the  half  A 


battery  that  is  on  the  light  load  side  of 
the  neutral. 

This  arrangement,  ^though  apparently 
ideal  in  simplicity  on  paper,  is  not  so 
attractive  in  practice  because  a  rather 
troublesome  regulator  is  needed  in  con- 
junction with  the  battery  in  order  to  pre- 
vent it  from  exhausting  itself  when  the 
load  is  heavy  or  drawing  too  heavily  from 
the  line  when  it  is  light.  Moreover,  the 
two  halves  of  the  battery  cannot  be  kept 
in  equal  condition,  because  one  side  would 
do  more  work  than  the  other,  unless  the 
circuit  could  be  unbalanced  alternately 
and  equally  on  first  one  side  and  then  the 
other.  This  difficulty  can  be  met,  how- 
ever, by  exchanging  the  two  sections  at 
regular  intervals,  say  once  a  week. 

A  more  practical  method  of  compensa- 
tion is  by  means  of  what  is  commonly 
termed  a  "motor-balancer,"  but  is  more 
correctly  a  motor-compensator.  This  con- 
sists of  two  small  motors  exactly  alike  in 
all  respects,  their  shafts  rigidly  coupled 
together  and  their  armatures  connected 
one  on  each  side  of  the  neutral  wire,  as 
indicated  in  Fig.  5,  where  120  lamps  are 


I  Ampcrci  -_L  ^       S  Ainpcrei 

—  A 

1  .\rnpcre   —  ^ 


4  Anipcfu.^    J  3  .Vnipcfei  { I I I 


FIC.    3 

tem,  which  makes  it  utterly  impractical. 
The  reason  for  having  to  keep  the  same 
number  of  lamps  lighted  on  both  sides 
of  the  same  will  be  evident  upon  con- 
sideration of  Fig.  3.  Here  10  lamps  are 
shown  on  one  side  and  8  on  the  other. 
If  the  resistance  of  each  lamp  wore  220 
ohms,  which  is  a  common  value  for  iio- 


of  the  battery  will  deliver  just  enough 
current,  if  the  voltages  are  suitably  pro- 
portioned, to  supply  one-half  of  the  ex- 
cess or  unbalanced  load  on  the  heavy  side 
of  the  system.  The  dynamo  supplies  the 
other  half  of  the  excess  current,  and  this 
half  comes  in  on  the  neutral  with  the  cur- 
rent supplied  by  the  section  A  of  the  stor- 


FIG.     4 

represented  on  each  side  of  the  neutral 
wire.  Here  it  is  assumed  that  the  motor 
armatures  require  one  ampere  to  drive 
them,  or  220  watts  (no  watts  each),  and 
for  simplicity  the  current  required  by  their 
field  windings  is  ignored.  So  long  as  the 
load  is  balanced,  the  two  armatures  will 
take   current   from   the   main   wires   pnlv.  / 

i 


January  5,  1909. 

and  will  revolve  idly.  If  more  load  ia 
added  to  one  side,  however,  or  some  load 
taken  oflF  the  other  side,  the  equilibrium 
between  the  voltages  of  the  two  sides  will 
be  upset ;  the  voltage  at  the  brushes  of 
the  motor  on  the  lightly  loaded  side  will 
be  higher  than  that  at  the  brushes  of  its 
mate,   and    it    will    drive   the    latter    at    a 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

windings  arc  ignored  to  simplify  the  pro- 
blem) ;    the    neutral    wire    nui«.t    carry    r> 
amperes  because  the  60  Itm;.'  ;r  ••  r  :    ;-i 
live   division   will 
Deductmg  the  2  at: 

leaves  28  amperes,  which  divides  between 
the  two  machines,  14  amperes  supplying 
the   motor   with   the  energy  necessary   to 


VI 


10  d-li*er   10.  i»  waiu    M    miM    ddHwr 

/*  ampere*.     Since  tke 

>c  divivl<m  I  .-f  '   rriiuire 

r  amutu'  •  a 

:   iupply  6u         ^.    -    .,  ^m- 

peres.  CooMqocntiy.  o<  the  JO  ■■yirw 
m  the  netttra*  -  ;  mmx  have  Wca 
gmrraied  in  ■  ^chuie.  tbc  ollMr 


speed  beyond  that  due  to  the  circuit  volt- 
age, making  a  dynamo  of  it,  and  forcing 
it  to  carrj'  the  unbalanced  part  of  the 
heavier  load  on  the  circuit.  This  is  illus- 
trated in  Fig.  6,  where  120  lamps  are 
shown  on  one  side  and  60  on  the  other, 
each  of  the  circles  representing  10  lamps, 
taking  Yj  ampere  each.  What  causes 
the  distribution  of  current  shown  is  this : 
When  the  load  in  the  B  division  is  re- 
duced the  voltage  rises,  because  the  losses 
in  the  dynamo  and  circuit  wires  are  re- 


ric.   5 

produce    14   amperes    from    the   armature 
now  driven  as  a  dynamo. 

Another  way  to  arrive  at  the  division 
of  current  is  as  follows :  The  main  dynamo 
must  supply  all  of  the  energy  represented 
in  the  circuit ;  all  that  the  compensator 
does  is  to  (transfer  the  surplus  energy 
from  one  side  of  the  circuit  to  the  other 
— it  cannot  supply  any  additional  energy 
because  it  is  driven  by  energy  taken  from 
the  main  circuit.  Now  the  lamps  take 
each  ^A  ampere  at  no  volts,  or  55  watts; 


16  past  throogh  the  raotor  afaatorc  B 
to  the  nuin  dynamo,  as  prcviovily  ex* 

pbined. 
The  exact  figure*  m  practice  «roal4  not 

be   •'  'he    Ime 

\,,y-  omdioKt 

"f  '  -Mc*  0  ihctr 

'^■'~"  cm f cut  oi*- 

laple.  oi  coorac.  b  not 

hinr     ..n     fHr     bgbUy 

\<^  rMM  a* 

a  n...;-  .  - _.^  _- 


n&  6 


duced ;  the  voltage  between  the  neutral 
and  the  negative  wires  rises  more  than 
that  between  the  positive  and  neutral,  be- 
cause the  resistance  there  is  higher— all 
the  reduction  of  load  has  occurre<l  in  that 
division  of  the  circuit.  The  armature  B, 
therefore,  speeds  up,  dragging  the  arma- 
ture A  with  it  until  the  voltage  of  the 
latter  increases  above  that  of  its  side  of 
the  circuit  sufficiently  to  carry  half  of  the 
excess  load  on  that  side,  minus  the  power 
required  to  drive  the  two  machines.  This 
power  was  assumed  to  be  220  watts;  the 
current  taken  by  the  two  armatures  in 
•cries  in  Fig.  5  being  one  ampere  and  the 
total  volt.ii;c  120.  Here,  one  of  the  arma- 
tures (I.X-,  .ill  tljc  work,  so  that  the  whole 
220  watts  must  l>e  applied  to  it,  in  addi 
tion  to  an  amount  of  power  equal  to  that 
being  delivered  by  the  armature  A  work- 
ing as  a  dynamo.  As  the  armature  B 
takes  its  current  now  from  the  unbal- 
anced current  coming  in  on  the  neutral 
wire,  it  work*  at  no  volts  and  therefore 
requires  3  amprrrs  to  nverronir  the  h'»^r\ 
\r\   the   two   ii).ichines    (the   lossr*    ii>    th- 


'I 


the  httrr  tnpplrtng  attrtrt  wtwhaif  of  tkt 

ttom  of 

.JIffd    to 
dnvr  the  machine       I  he  Iomc*  do  afMt 

thr    v..?'.i.r     rri.-  'Ijii.fi     y-mr^tt        If    tfct 

am  'peiMBloc  afv 

of     vrri       i-  -m  ..!•.--.     ga 

each   ti«le  of  •  f< 

vehao* 


im  timl  oo  Ike  oUm*  m4*  «4  Um 


l_§ 


nKlaMMid     Wttll     MMlor 


nc 

7 

there  are  iHo  I.im 

IX.    f 

qntrinjr 

OQOO  watts.     1 

watts  to  ovct. 

extra    leases    at 

1 

the  present       ' ' 

tow'*"iher.  tJir- 

»•*. 


he  martwr  H.  mni 
■    ihtn  '«    «'  ^1  ke 


«ik 


54 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  5,  1909. 


driven  as  a  dynamo,  will  have  its  field 
strengthened,  and  will  deliver  a  higher 
voltage  than  it  otherwise  would.  In  other 
words,  the  machine  which  runs  as  a 
motor  runs  at  a  higher  speed,  giving  its 
mate  a  higher  voltage,  and  the  latter  will 
have  a  stronger  field,  augmenting  its  volt- 
age still  more,  with  the  connections 
shown  in  Fig.  7  than  with  the  more  usual 
arrangement  shown  in  Figs.  5  and  6.  If 
the  resistances  of  the  armatures  are  made 
very  low,  however,  the  improvement  in 
regulation  obtained  with  cross-connected 
field  windings  is  not  great  enough  to  jus- 
tify the   extra   complication   involved. 

The  armature  capacity  of  a  motor  com- 
pensator, in  amperes,  must  be  equal  to 
one-half  of  the  current  that  will  flow  in 
the  neutral  wire  when  the  system  is  out 
of  balance  by  the  maximum  amount  pos- 
sible under  operating  conditions,  plus  the 
current  required  to  overcome  all  losses  in 
the  two  armatures  at  full  load.  The 
losses  in  small  armatures  range  from  5 
to  10  per  cent,  at  full  load ;  therefore,  if 
the  compensator  armatures  can  carry  55 
per  cent,  of  the  maximum  current  that 
will  ever  flow  in  the  neutral  wire,  they 
will  be  large  enough. 


Reorganizing  an  Old  Water  Power 


There  are  doubtless  many  plants  deriv- 
ing considerable  water  power  from  old 
developments  in  which  both  volume  and 
efficiency  could  be  materially  increased  by 
a  complete  reorganization  in  accordance 
with  the  most  recent  practice.  And  not 
only  may  the  power  end  be  benefited 
thereby,  but  the  good  results  there  pos- 
sible of  attainment  may  be  considered  in 
conjunction  with  relocation  or  reconstruc- 
tion of  the  manufacturing  building  or 
buildings  so  as  to  secure  the  maximum  of 
convenience  and  efficiency.  A  typical  case 
of  this  nature  is  presented  by  a  reorgani- 
zation conducted  under  the  supervision  of 
Charles  T.  Main,  of  Boston,  which  suc- 
cessfully embraced  both  of  these  advan- 
tages as  is  evident  from  the  following 
brief  description. 

The  complete  plant  of  the  mill  in  ques- 
tion formerly  consisted  of  three  separate 
installations,  each  with  its  own  individual 
dam,  water  wheels  and  buildings,  all  situ- 
ated within  about  1200  feet.  The  head 
of  water  at  each  dam  varied  from  10  to 
18  feet,  according  to  the  changeable  con- 
ditions. The  improvements  started  with 
the  elimination  of  the  two  down-stream 
dams  and  the  selection  of  the  remaining 
up-stream  dam  for  service  in  the  new  de- 
velopment. By  this  combination  a  .total 
head  of  40  feet  was  obtained.  From  the 
up-stream  location  the  water  was  carried 
through  a  steel  penstock  to  a  modern  and 
comparatively  small  water  wheel  some- 
what below  the  farthest  down-stream  dam. 
At  this  point  a  new  manufacturing  plant 


was  erected  to  take  the  place  of  the  scat- 
tered buildings.  In  this  were  incorporated 
many  improvements  in  the  way  of  manu- 
facturing equipment.  The  old  buildings 
at  the  other  dams  were  abandoned  or  used 
for  storage  purposes. 

The    advantages    of   the    reorganization 
were  evidenced  in  two  ways,  by  the  con- 


available  at  the  new  mill  is  now  sufficient 
to  run  the  entire  plant  several  months  of 
the  year. 


mm. 


FIG.      I.      METHOD    OF    REINFORCING    CONCRETE 
.STACK 

centration  and  utilization  of  a  better-con- 
served water  supply  under  a  greater  total 
head  and  by  the  grouping  of  the  manufac- 
turing buildings  on  a  single  building  site. 
The  expense  of  upkeep  of  the  three  origi- 
nal dams  was  reduced  and  limited  to  that 
upon  one,  while  the  loss  of  head  between 
them,  inevitable  under  the  old  conditions, 
was  eliminated.  By  selecting  the  up-stream 
site  for  the  single  dam  and  carrying  the 
water  by  penstock  to  the  new  site  at  a 
considerable  distance  down  stream,  the 
maximum  head  was  utilized.  It  is  evident 
that  had  the  down-stream  location  been 
selected  and  the  same  head  provided  at 
the  wheels  a  new  dam  would  have  been 
required.  This  would  have  required  extra 
strength  to  withstand  the  greatly  in- 
creased pressure. 

The  combined  power  at  the  best  was 
relatively  small,  but  when  divided  into 
three  units,  as  in  the  original  installation, 
the  friction  losses  were  excessive.  By  the 
adoption  of  the  new  plan  it  became  neces- 
sary to  keep  only  one  dam  tight  in  order 
to  conserve  the  water.  The  excessive 
leakage  through  the  other  two  was  elimi- 
nated, as  was  also  the  amount  passing  by 
the  water  wheels  during  the  night.  In 
every  way  the  new  plant  was  more  effici- 
ent and  more  easily  operated.    The  power 


Concrete  Chimneys 


By  Ethan  Viall 


The  Illinois  traction  system,  which  has 
a  network  of  interurban  electric  lines  all 
over  central  and  southern  Illinois,  has 
placed  concrete  stacks  at  all  of  its  power 
houses.  Up  to  date  eight  of  these  stacks, 
varying  in  hight  from  160  to  185  feet, 
have  been  built  or  are  in  the  process  of 
construction.  These  chimneys  will  aver- 
age about  12  feet  in  diameter  at  the  bot- 
tom and  taper  to  10  feet  at  the  top,  and 
are  set  on  a  concrete  foundation  25  feet 
square. 

Fig.  I  shows  one  of  the  chimneys  and 
the  entire  construction  gang,  including 
boss  and  inspector.  The  method  of  rein- 
forcing is  well  shown  in  this  cut.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  upright  rods  shown,  a  ^-inch 
round  iron  hoop  is  placed  outside  of  the 
verticals  every  18  inches,  and  all  are  firmly 
imbedded  in  the  concrete.  At  the  bottom 
are  placed  144  uprights,  and  the  number 
is  gradually  reduced  to  12  at  the  top. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  one  of  the 
chimneys  built  by  this  company  at  Peoria 


fell  with  disastrous  results,  the  cause  be- 
ing said  to  be  that  the  concrete  mixture 
was  allowed  to  stand  too  long  before 
being  placed.  Since  this  accident  oc- 
curred, quick  placing  of  the  mixture  and 
rigid  inspection  has  been  the  rule.  Fig.  2 
shows  one  of  the  chimneys  at  the  end  of 
the  fourth  week's  work. 


January  5,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


Supernatural    Visitation    of    James     Watt 

An    Entertaining    Presentation    ol    \M»at    i},c    "Kaihcr    oi  the    Steam 
Engine"  Might  Do  and  Say  if  He  \^  ere  to  Come  Back  to  Earth  TotUv 


B    Y 


WARREN 


0 


ROGERS 


There  are  many  subjects  upon  which 
men  do  not  agree,  some  even  going  so  far 
as  to  ridicule  the  beliefs  or  opinions  of 
others,  although  they  themselves  have 
never  investigated  their  truth  or  falsity. 

I  have  no  apologies  to  make  for  the 
wonderful  experiences  I  have  had  with 
mntfffs   which   to  mnny  may  seem  supcr- 


but   have  harmonixcd   "'^    • 
with  the  influence  turr 
parted  spirits.     Therefore, 
it  may   seem,   I   have  been 
into  the 
extent,  a: 
faculties   I  a. 
life,   nnd  ran 


4»        :.•;     tJlr      »ti!,» 

ter      morr  ikjn  an 


>    IMOCwd. 


wnk 


i  Ml  am 
•  %ntm 


I  iMAlX   StXrn   tntlUtT   THE  APPtAlAKCl  Of   JAMES    At    Ml    »AT, 

kv,    IVKIVi         IV       W    AVV       Illit'W' 


Mtural,    1    ^h.lll    iioi    attempt    t<' 

•nyone  that  it   1*  |><»n<.iMc  to  ion. 
•      '  th(>»e  who  have  departed  lhi»  wofM 

passed    inio   the   <irc.it    Beyond.    l>ut      rr. 

will  content  myv;lf  by  merely  rrl.itniK'  r; 

'  •  ;'-rience«  and  leave  the  reader   to   |.  r  : 
•wn  opinion. 

>r    years    I    have    been    a    student    ut      i:.: 
Ijical  research.     I  have  not  been  con-     of 

tetit   to  confine   myself  to  the   fooli«hne««      ha»i 

of  knocking  on  doors  and  tipping  tabU*      with 


;ua   fT  •  « '«•   t  >  tt   XM   t.t 


treat.**    .!•    tW    MA|r«1    llm4l  ••• 


jame*     Wall, 


S6 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  5,  1909. 


gineering  field  since  he  left  us.  Absorbed 
in  such  speculations,  a  power  which  had 
been  developing  in  me  for  some  months 
began  strongly  to  assert  itself,  and  being 
willing  to  assist,  I  focused  my  entire  men- 
tal energ}-  to  bring  into  my  presence  in  a 
tangible  form  that  long-departed  inventor 
to  whom  the  world  owes  so  much. 

My  first  realization  that  another  pres- 
ence was  with  me  was  a  faint  shadow 
between  the  light  and  the  wall.  It  was 
not  a  human  form,  and  yet  it  was.  While 
I  gazed,  I  was  seized  with  a  sensation  of 
extreme  cold — fear  it  may  have  been,  I 
know  not.  I  tried  to  speak,  but  my  lips 
were  speechless.  I  tried  to  move,  but  was 
powerless.  To  add  to  the  horror,  the 
electric  lights  began  to  grow  dim ;  the 
fury  of  the  storm  without  increased,  and 
a  nameless  dread  possessed  me.  The  form 
advanced  slowly  toward  a  vacant  chair  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  table.  The  deep 
chilly  atmosphere  of  the  grave  seemed  to 
permeate  the  room,  and  as  I  felt  the  cold, 
clammy  hands  of  my  visitor  grasp  my 
own,  my  overtaxed  mind  could  stand  no 
■more,  and  I  fell  into  a  state  of  uncon- 
sciousness. When  I  regained  my  facul- 
ties, I  heard  a  friendly  voice  say: 

"Do  not  be  disturbed;  you  have  long 
wanted  a  visit  from  me,  and  on  my  part 
I  have  been  just  as  anxious  to  converse 
with  you." 

As  my  vision  grew  clear,  I  saw  that  the 
one  I  had  been  longing  to  bring  into  my 
presence  was  indeed  with  me.  His  genial, 
smiling  face  and  pleasant  voice  soon  put 
me  at  ease,  dispelling  all  sense  of  fear  of 
the  supernatural  (which,  I  may  state,  has 
never  returned). 

In  order  to  make  James  feel  at  home,  I 
asked  him  what  he  would  have,  and  being 
told  a  Scotch  high-ball,  proceeded  to  con- 
coct the  same,  which  speedily  disappeared. 
Having  thus  fortified  ourselves,  and  being 
comfortably  seated  in  our  chairs  with 
fragrant  Cuban  "perfectos"  in  our  mouths, 
I  asked  James  to  tell  me  about  his  early 
struggles,  a  subject  T  was  not  entirely  fa- 
miliar with. 

I  shall  never  forget  the  appearance  of 
James  as  he  sat  by  my  library  table ;  one 
shadowy  leg  over  the  other,  the  silver 
buckles  on  his  low-cut  shoes  glistening  in 
the  rays  of  the  electric  light,  the  half- 
empty  glass  on  the  table  (  for  I  had  re- 
filled it  again),  and  the  fragrant  cigar 
smoke  ascending  in  wavy  columns  from 
his  thin,  bloodless  lips. 

"I  was  born,"  said  he,  "of  poor  but, 
honest  parents — " 

"Stop,  James,  stop  where  you  arc !  I 
did  not  ask  you  to  recite  the  beginning  of 
one  of  Laura  Lean  Jibby's  novels.  I 
asked  you  to  tell  me  something  that  can't 
be  bought  on  every  newsstand  in  the  coun- 
try.    Now,  start  again." 

He  recrossed  his  legs,  took  another  sip, 
and  said  in  a  somewhat  dogged  tone,  I 
thought : 

"Well,  they  were  poor,  anyway." 


I  nodded  my  approval,  and  he  con- 
tinued : 

"My  ancestors  were  all  mechanics  and 
men  of  genius,  so  you  see  it  is  nothing 
strange  that  I  was  endowed  with  an  in- 
ventive turn  of  mind,  or  that  I  lived  150 
years  before  my  time.  I  was  born,  as  you 
have  doubtless  heard,  at  Greenock,  Scot- 
land, January  19,  1736.  It  was  a  bitterly 
cold  day,  and  father  was  so  chilled  he 
could  hardly  measure  out  oatmeal  to  his 
customers.  He  was  a  merchant  on  a 
small  scale.  He  had  lost  all  his  money 
speculating;  that  is  the  reason  I  always 
had  to  work  for  a  living.  [Here  James 
gave  a  sigh  of  regret.] 

"I  was  a  slim,  puny  kid  up  to  the  time 
1  got  to  knocking  up  against  the  world, 
and  then  it  kept  me  so  busy  looking  after 
the  £s.d.,  I  didn't  have  time  to  worry 
about  my  lack  of  muscle,  and,  as  a  conse- 
quence, I  picked  up." 

"I  don't  care  anything  about  your  health, 
James,"  said  I.  "How  about  your  sitting 
beside  the  fire  speculating  on  the  tea  ket- 
tle and  all  that?" 

James  grinned  and  winked  one  eye  at 
me,  as  he  said: 

"Don't  you  take  any  stock  in  that  yarn. 
In  those  days  we  had  the  open  fire-place, 
the  cranCj  tea  kettle,  and  all  that.  The 
weather  in  Scotland  at  that  time — ^I  don't 
know  how  it  is  now — was  moist,  cold  and 
disagreeable  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year, 
and  would  pretty  near  freeze  a  fellow  to  a 
frazzle.  [James  is  evidently  a  Republi- 
can.] 

"The  back  of  the  room  would  be  like 
an  iceberg,  while  near  the  fire  one  got 
the  other  extreme.  After  I  had  been  out 
for  a  few  hours  cutting  up  devilments, 
finishing  the  chores  and  eating  my  bowl  of 
porridge,  I  felt  like  sitting  near  the  fire 
to  keep  warm.  As  a  general  thing  an  iron 
tea  kettle  was  hung  on  the  crane  to  heat 
water  to  wash  the  supper  dishes,  and  as  I 
didn't  have  anything  else  to  do,  I  used  to 
sit  and  watch  the  steam  come  out  of  the 
cover  and  spout  of  the  tea  kettle,  or  look 
at  the  fire ;  but  as  for  sitting  there  and 
figuring  •  on  getting  up  a  steam  engine, 
don't  you  think  of  it  for  a  minute,  my  boy, 
I  was  toasting  my  shins,  nothing  more. 
After  I  improved  on  the  steam  engine  and 
got  so  prominent  that  people  were  willing 
to  give  me  half  the  sidewalk  when  we  met, 
some  old  woman  remembered  me  sitting 
before  the  fire  toasting  my  shins  and 
started  the  tea-kettle  story."  And  James 
laughed  long  and  loud. 

I  b^an  to  take  a  fancy  to  James,  for  I 
could  see  that  he  was  not  going  to  take 
any  more  credit  to  himself  than  he  de- 
served, and  he  was  proving  a  pretty  jolly 
companion.  Seeing  him  cast  a  longing 
gaze  at  the  cigar  box,  I  pushed  it  toward 
him,  with  an  invitation  to  help  himself, 
which  he  did.  After  attempting  to  light 
the  fresh  cigar  on  the  electric-light  bulb 
and  evidently  much  astonished  at  his  in- 
ability to  do  so,  he  said  : 

"When  T  left  home  I  went  to  London, 


and  became  apprenticed  to  an  instrument 
maker  named  Morgan.  I  could  stand  him 
only  about  a  year  when  I  skipped  out  and 
went  back  to  Scotland,  where  I  hobnobbed 
with  a  lot  of  college  professors  repairing 
their  kits.  Next,  I  tried  to  open  an  in- 
strument-making shop  in  Glasgow,  but  the 
union  wouldn't  stand  for  it,  seeing  I  had 
not  served  my  apprenticeship,  although  to 
tell  the  truth  it  would  have  taken  a  mighty 
good  man  who  had  done  better  or  more 
accurate  work  than  I  did.  They  thought 
they  were  'it,'  but  you  don't  hear  much 
sbout  them  now,  do  you?"  And  I  thought 
I  could  notice  a  slight  chestiness  about 
James  I  hadn't  seen  before. 

"However,"  he  continued,  "I  was  helped 
along  by  the  college  professors,  and  after 
awhile  found  myself  established  in  the 
college  with  the  cognomen  of  Mathemati- 
cal Instrument  Maker  to  the  University. 
What  do  you  know  about  that?  The  pro- 
fessor knew  I  could  make  instruments, 
while  the  practical  man  thought  I  was  no 
good,  because  I  had  not  worked  four  years 
for  some  skinflint  for  next  to  nothing 
while  learning  my  trade."  James  spoke 
with  considerable  vehemence,  I  thought, 
considering  the  occurrence  had  happened 
a  century  and  a  half  ago. 

"While  at  college  I  made  the  acquaint- 
ance of  some  pretty  learned  men  and 
dabbled  in  philosophy,  anatomy,  chemistry, 
electricity,  etc.  It  was  my  interest  in 
philosophy  which  caused  me  to  turn  my 
attention  toward  old  Newcomen's  engine. 
I  met  him  only  the  other  day,"  said  James 
after  a  pause,  "and  he  swears  that  he  had 
worked  out  my  scheme  of  condensing 
steam,  but  had  been  bothered  in  getting 
his  ideas  through  the  patent  office,  both  at 
home  and  abroad,  when  I  butted  in.  What 
do  you  think  of  that?"  James  looked  at  me 
inquiringly,  but  before  I  could  answer 
said : 

"Newcomen  is  only  doing  what  others 
have  done.  Few  give  me  credit  for  what 
I  have  accomplished,  most  people  saying 
that  my  work  consisted  of  improving  what 
others  had  started,  but  I  see  that  they  still 
hold  to  a  lot  of  my  ideas.  Now  wouldn't 
that  press  your  pants?" 

"Tell  me  about  your  first  attempt  at  a 
condenser,"  I  said,  as  James  flicked  the 
ashes  from  the  end  of  his  cigar  with  his 
little  finger. 

"T  am  afraid  I  shall  be  obliged  to  post- 
pone that  for  another  visit,  as  I  am  not 
yet  advanced  enough  in  the  circle  of  pro- 
gress in  my  world  to  warrant  my  roaming 
around  on  earth  during  daylight  hours, 
and  as  it  is  almost  sunrise  I  shall  soon 
be  obliged  to  bid  you  'good  morning.'  WeJ 
have  had  a  jolly  good  time  though,  haven't 
we?  I'll  be  only  too  glad  to  come  back 
whenever  you  feel  like  putting  up  withj 
such  a  cold-blooded  old  fellow  as  I  am." 

James  arose,  and  as  he  reached  across] 
the  table  to  shake  hands  the  morning  sun- 
light streamed  in  through  the  eastern  win- 
dow,   and    my   visitor    of    the    night    im- 
mediately faded  from  my  sight. 


i 


January  5,  1909. 


lOVVER  AND  THE  K 


Practical     Letters    from     Practical 

Don't   Bother  About    the    ^t>lc.    but    \^ritc    JusI    Uhal    ^'ou  V     • 
Know   or   Want   to  Know    Atxxjl   >'our   Vlork.   and   Hc|{>   Each  ' 

WE     PAY     FOR      USEFUL     IDEAS 


M 


en 


A  Study  in   Flexibility 

The  accompanying  illustrations  show 
two  dry-vacuum  pumps,  E  and  F,  con- 
nected to  so-called  "centrifuRal  baro- 
metric" condensers.  While  this  arrange- 
ment  is   apparently   simple,   it  caused   no 


;    se  except  to  separate  the  borizonUl  nm 
mto  two  parts. 

Even  had  it  been  desired,  bjr  opentnc  B 
and  closing  C.  to  allow  the  left-hand  ptunp 
to  operate  with  the  right-hand  condenser, 
the  vacuum  would  still  be  placed  on  the 
left-hand  condenser,  and  even  thottgh  the 
valve  in  the  exhaust  from  the  engine,  the 


_C 


iKT-iT    tr-m    rr.an^ri  the  •fraiHCH 

be  nade  mmtth  more  icsMt.  F%  » 
•hows  bow  h  »«•  doM  Tht  «•!*«  B 
was  removed  tnm  ibc  mmm  r«a.  and 
pbced  ta  the  short  rniMniiua  bsftm  At 
tec  and  the  rwidinssi ;  aMthee  ntrt  D 
WM  placed  sMdarly  oa  the  eihw  ttm- 
denser  Tbcn  by  rlniii^  A  md  D.  tkt 
ngbibaad  posnp  opcruc*  with  iht  r%hi- 
hand  coodcsMcr;  rinitag  A  «id  opi^^  O 
tbe  lefthMd  rrwihBMi  is  pat  a 
skm.  The  Irfi-bnd  prnrn^  Md 
may  be  operated  se»«rMal|  by  dari«  t 
and  r  and  the  lelt4Mid  pM^ 
with  the  rt|hl-band  rwiliBiii  by 
DandC 

GwMi  W.  U^Mnn 
Pme  Blaff.  Art 


ru 


i 


Uodergroaod    ImuUboa   of 
ukI  Hot  W«lrr  Pipct 


rr 

Vmcuum 
Pump 

'.          E 

- 

n 


Dry 
Vamai 


In  CM  pbM  1  Iwd  chw|t  ol  *i 

t  bid 

^inch  coouiv                 •  drahi  pipe. 

b*^ 

careful  lo  k^                   u  flash  aad 

»»«^ 

>  dht 

inside  of  the  pipe     All  |««Rt«  mttr 

•nadt 

tight    with    portUad    ccMrr 

^ 

and  half     I  utrd  Wav^  y- 

-» 

tutement    to    batemrr' 

at  each  end  of  the  tcm^a-ar,.   .r-  -r-j, 

■ 

leak  should  oeevr  the  pipe  reO^  be 

MMly 

ditcnnnertrd  at  both  ends.  paBtd  0«l  «ao 

■Wi^ 

moch  trooblr  ot  evper- 

PT    Vtnr    's-M-f    - 

Fli;      I        SHOWING    TMB   OWCINAL  CONKKCTIOIff 


little  discussion  as  to  the   '  '^  of 

making    the     pumps     intcr>  on 

either  condenser.  A  "centrifugal  t)aro- 
mctric"  condenser  is  a  jet  condenser  of 
the  barometric  type,  and  differs  only  in 
that  the  vacuum  is  created  not  by  the  fall 
of  a  column  of  water  but  by  the  suction 
of  a  centrifugal  pump.  Its  chi<-' 
taffrs  arr  in  the  saving  "f  hra«!  : 
"•  of  lonK  ■  ». 

•.v!    thr    •  ir!?ina!!r 


t  to  understand  why  the  valve  H  was 
ed   in   the   line   and.   in   fact,   why  ih»' 
mections    for   the  two  units   wrrr    r    ? 
<le    entirely    separate.      As    t>i 
■ws.  a  valve  w.i<  placed  in  th-- 


'J    U  IF 


'^ 


*Tw   wrrw^ 


cirnilatmg    wa»<»f     vsItw.     tl 


«k«t. 


58 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  5,  1909. 


Ejchaustion  of  Ignition  Batteries 


R.  Manly  Orrs  query  in  one  of  the 
recent  numbers,  under  the  above  heading, 
might  form  the  text  for  a  good  deal  of 
theorizing,  since  ignition  batteries  are  a 
rather  uncertain  proposition  and  form  a 
subject  that  seems  to  be  but  little  under- 
stood by  the  average  person.  Mr.  Orr, 
however,  does  not  state  what  type  of  bat- 
tery he  has  in  mind,  whether  of  the  wet, 
dry,  or  storage  variety. 

If  he  refers  to  a  wet  battery,  of  the  Edi- 
son-Lalande  type,  employing  a  caustic- 
soda  solution  as  an  electrolyte,  and  zinc 
and  cupric  oxide  as  the  elements,  he  would 
probably  find  the  life  of  his  battery  some- 
what prolonged  by  doubling  the  speed  of 
the  engine,  and  thus  cutting  down  the  time 
element  in  the  contact. 

It  could  not  be  expected,  however,  that 
the  life  would  be  increased  in  direct  pro- 
portion to  the  time  element  of  contact,  for 
the  reason  that  the  intermission  between 
discharges  is  so  exceedingly  short  as  to 
give  the  battery  practically  no  chance  to 
recuperate  to  any  appreciable  extent  after 
discharge.  Furthermore,  the  internal  re- 
sistance of  a  battery  of  this  type  is  verj- 
low,  permitting  of  more  or  less  internal 
action  when  the  battery  is  on  open  cir- 
cuit. In  consequence  of  this  the  age  of 
the  charge  in  the  battery  cuts  quite  a 
figure. 

A  battery  of  this  kind  generally  has  a 
very  low  voltage,  varying  from  five-eighths 
to  seven-eighths  of  a  volt,  and  high  initial 
amperage,  making  it  possible  for  the  bat- 
tery to  stand  heavy  discharges  for  short 
periods,  with  consequent  long  life  on 
light-discharge  service.  This  type  of  bat- 
tery is  built  in  capacities  of  from  150 
to  600  ampere-hours,  and  is  admirably 
adapted  to  gas-engine  ignition  service. 

There  are,  however,  three  objections  to 
this  form  of  battery :  their  first  cost,  cost 
of  renewals  and  low  voltage;  the  last 
feature  making  it  necessary  to  employ  a 
larger  number  of  cells  in  series  to  get  the 
necessary  six  or  eight  volts  generally  used 
in  ignition  work.  Under  normal  condi- 
tions, with  no  accidental  short-circuits,  a 
battery  of  this  kind  should  give  from  10 
to  15  per  cent,  longer  service  at  double 
the  speed  of  contact. 

With  the  use  of  dry  batteries  we  are 
confronted  with  a  different  proposition. 
Practically  all  American-made  dry  cells 
use  carbon  and  zinc  as  the  elements,  and 
ammonium  chloride  as  the  electrolyte. 
This  combination  results  in  a  dry  cell  hav- 
ing an  electromotive  force  of  approxi- 
m.ately  V/2  volts,  with  a  high  internal  re- 
sistance. Due,  however,  to  the  compara- 
tively high  voltage  of  the  cell,  and  the 
close  association  of  the  active  elements  in 
the  cell,  there  is  a  constant  tendency 
toward  internal  action  on  open  circuit, 
which  would  operate  to  shorten  the  life 
of  the  battery.  In  consequence  of  this, 
most  manufacturers  of  standard  dry  cells 


endeavor  to  keep  the  internal  resistance 
of  the  battery  moderately  high,  and  have 
adopted  the  practice  of  dating  all  their 
cells,  claiming  that  they  should  be  placed 
in  service  within  sixty  days  of  date  of 
manufacture,  to  insure  average  life. 

The  idea  is  pretty  general  among  com- 
bustion-engine users  that  a  dry  cell  in 
order  to  be  good  must  have  a  high  initial 
amperage,  and  some  refuse  to  accept  a 
cell  unless  it  tests  22,  25  or  even  up  to  30 
amperes  on  short-circuit  through  an  am- 
meter. 

This  is  all  wrong.  The  initial  amper- 
age is  merely  an  indication  of  the  internal 
resistance  of  the  battery,  and  has  nothing 
whatever  to  do  with  the  life  of  service.  A' 
battery  showing  a  high  initial  amperage 
is  most  likely  to  have  a  filler  of  some  inert 
substance  having  a  low  electrical  resist- 
ance, but  which  serves  no  useful  purpose 
in  the  battery.  This  would  make  the  bat- 
tery very  short-lived,  and  the  service 
would  be  exceedingly  poor.  It  is  to  be 
noted  that  quite  frequently,  when  a  bat- 
tery shows  an  initial  amperage  of  from 
22  to  30,  if  left  on  short-circuit  for  a  few 
minutes  through  an  ammeter,  the  amper- 
age will  drop  rapidly,  going  as  low  in 
some  cases  as  10  or  12. 

On  the  other  hand,  a  good  standard  cell 
in  prime  condition,  showing  an  initial  am- 
perage of  14  to  20  on  short-circuit,  will 
drop  back  a  half  ampere  or  so  and  remain 
there  indefinitely. 


only  cost,  as  the  expense  for  recharging 
is   comparatively  light. 

A.  P.  H.  Saul. 
Buffalo,  N.  Y. 


Testing  Tanks  for  Steam  Turbines 

We  recently  had  a  test  on  one  of  our 
turbines  to  determine  the  steam  consump- 
tion per  kilowatt-hour.  Fig.  i  is  a  cross- 
section    through     one     of     two     4x4-foot 


B 

-i  Brass  Pipe 


7f\ 

v 


10 

Screwed 

Tee 


7! 

3    10  Tee     E 


10 

Screwed 
/  Tee 


Toycyo  fT, 


/^'- 

■i^-^-. 


,ii'ooy 


f/- 


FIG.    2 


It  would  hardly  be  practicable  or  eco- 
nomical to  run  a  gas  engine  on  dry  bat- 
tery for  a  period  of  six  months,  and  get 
any  sort  of  service  out  of  it.  The  ideal 
battery  for  ignition  service  is,  of  course, 
the  storage  battery.  This  form  of  battery, 
having  an  electromotive  force  of  approxi- 
mately 2  volts  per  cell,  gives  an  output 
that  is  absolutely  constant,  and  under  easy 
control.     The  first  cost  is  practically  the 


tanks  which  were  leveled  up  and  filled 
with  water,  the  water  being  carefully 
weighed  in  400-pound  lots.  The  tanks 
each  contain  practically  31 10  pounds  of 
water. 

It  will  be  seen  from  Fig.  i  that  only 
one  valve  can  be  opened  at  a  time,  each 
valve  stem  being  the  fulcrum,  by  means 
of  which  the  other  valve  is  lifted  from 
its  seat.    The  valves  are  6  inches  in  diame- 


I 


January  5,  igoy. 


FC>\VER  AND  THE  E. 


I 


tcr,  are  made  of  brass  and  fitted  with  a 
leather  washer  between  the  seat  and  disk. 
The  lower  valve  seat  A  is  a  brass  ring,  i 
inch  thick,  riveted  to  the  bottom  of  the 
»ank.  The  valve  stems  are  made  of  1- 
inch  pipe.  The  stem  B  passes  up  tijrMti.;' 
1  I, '4-inch  brass  pipe  which  ict^  .i- 
.^uidc.  The  discharge  valve  is  show- 
open,  and  its  construction  is  readily  seen 

The  admission  valve  cannot  be  opcne<l 
until  the  discharge  valve  is  closed,  and 
itcc  versa.  The  upper,  or  admission, 
valve  seat  has  a  projecting  ring  above  it. 
which  is  threaded  with  a  standard  10- 
inch  pipe  thread  to  which  the  tee  C  is 
screwed,  its  function  being  shown  in  Fig. 
2,  which  also  shows  the  connection  be- 
tween the  tanks. 

The  object  of  the  snifting  valve  D  is 
to  admit  air  to  the  tank  when  discharg- 
ing, and  also  to  let  the  air  escape  from  the 
tank  when  filling  by  simply  pressing  the 
hand  on  the  valve  stem.  The  valve  opens 
inwardly  and  is  ordinarily  held  shut  by  a 
spring,  .Xn  enlarged  view  of  the  valve  is 
shown  at   £,   Fig.    I.     The   threaded   por- 


tion is  made  of  a  J-inch  pipe,  and  the 
disk  has  a  leather  face.  The  operatinK 
lever  F  is  provided  with  a  stop,  the  object 
being  to  prevent  lifting  the  valves  too  far 
from  their  seats. 

In  Fig.  3  each  tank  is  shown  connected 
to  a  short  lo-inch  nipple  screwed  into  the 
tee.  A  flange  on  the  end  of  each  nipple 
is  bolted  to  a  tee,  having  the  outlet  fac- 
iii;^'  iii)w.ird.  The  6-inch  pipe  represents 
ilif    tiirliiiir  wrt-pump  discharge. 

In  Fig  3  is  a  side  view  of  the  lank  and 
the  connections  to  the  discharge  of  the 
wet  pump.  The  8-inch  pipe  shown  i*  a 
common  discharge  from  two  turbines,  and 
runs  about  30  feet  higher  than  the  hon 
zonlal  pipe.  It  discharges  dirrctly  int. 
the  hratrr*.  The  diwharifr  fmrn  the  wrt 
v.ii'intm  jiMiiH'   '  •     •  •  lul 

the  v.ilv<  N  oil  •  •••' 

pns^r^    tliroiiKh    thr    b-mch      |>i|'«" 
tank*       Hy   .il>out    half  cIomih,-   '1  ■ 
valve  /'  the  pipe  to  the  heat- 

v>rt  of  air  chamber  on  the  tit ,     , 

from  the  wet  pumps,  and  a  steady  flow  oi 
water  is  the  result 

The   "gooseneck"  shown   is  to  prr»cni 


air  finding  tu  way  back  to  the  wet  ponps 
over   the  top  of  the   water   in  the  d- 

charge  pipe. 


targrd 

•  a  the  valve 
rs.     Then  we  U. 
until  the  vertical  pipe  to  the 
normal,   when   at  a   pre'!'-*-- 
one  admission  ralve  wa- 
the  man  on  tank  No    i  .  . 
sion  valve  preparatory  t'- 
charge  valve,  the  man  of  j  must 

be    ready   to  open   his  ralve 

This  is,  of  course,  an  C4*y  matter,  for 
while  it  takes  iH  minutes  to  fill  a  tank, 
the  same  tank  can  be  emptied  in  1  minute 
M  seconds. 

In  closing  a  test  we  get  one  lank  fall 
and  when  the  water  overflows  at  the  le«». 
as  it  did  in  the  start,  the  last  reading  on 
the  wattmeter  is  taken. 

E    H    Lani 

Kansas  City.  Mo. 


Valve  Problem  Solution 


Herewith    is  a   solution    to   r.a.ruc   P 
Pearce's   valve   problem,    a*  in 

the  December  8  issue,  page  1,;..      ...  ,-ccn 
by  his  illustration,  the  pressure  on  top  of 
the  valve  eqtuls  the  area  of  a  -        ' 
multiplied  by  too  pounds  prr 

!».     The  Kjtal  prcviurc 

«9t»M  +  5  =  I9»5  * 
The  area  of  pamgc  of  seven    1  uh.ii 
holes  is 

7  X  07^  =  5.1076  t^.tm. 

and 

"^5  +  S4B7^  =  i5«  * 
:>rr  square  inch  required  to  rai 

A>  ftowii  as  the    pressure  ,s8 

pounds   per   square   inch   the  "-s 

and  a  much  larger  area    thin  that    prr 

sented    by    »hr     *rvrfi     1  in.h  urclcs    " 

exposed. 

A    r.,  I.  k 

Madison.  Wis. 

The  pressure  U  too  pcmnds  per  i^nare 

inch  on  t 


the  extr 
'■<»  the  vi 


i.m 


it  s 


Th*  total  prrsmfy  prr  square  imA  n- 

f  <^!  IfKlaaa  ol  tkc  valve 
mJ  aiso  the  water  m  tkt 
in  the  *Mitt  MM. 

j    C    HawKjniL 


.'    :<:  ..rra  of  the  valvt  or  ioAM 


nag  prcMwe  wM  ta  am  tkt 


rKi.rt,  .tr.l  this  timt»   to^  ike 
ct)ual»    f/ns    ponads    priasan 
vaJve.     The  valve  ilaelf  wc^te  } 
so  the  total  prcMvrv  aciaig  oa  Ike 
ing  SMie  win  be  ittts 
^■skc  thsa 

1«  joM  10  nite  H.  bat  Ike 
.  reaaore  kaa  id  act  oa  is  < 
<  Ike  sevea  koica  or 
.  a;es4  =  Uaai9  agm 
•"^*i  prcaaare  air  1  wry  to  nim 
-  win  be  itAj  Mid  Ike 
square  iack  wfl  be 

A. 


•a    Ike 


I  ikt 
area 


Firing  Sfhoogry  BmUn 

'Fwiag 

•'•adksgk.  Ikara  m  urn 

do  not  wdrrMMid     He 

TLAa  skoaM  k»»«  '*>^'  (W 

skal  of  r 

■  •>    ..«.«  v.«>i>^  ■   aad  aot  by    ■'=^   ••--j^it 

doors.    The  btter  an  for  ikt  parvoM  «l 

rrci'-attng  the  air  tagply.* 

>  anno*  irv  why  Ike  aM 

-^     rruUted  entirely  by  Ike 

:-'r>«MScd   Its   iltstga   aad   tfM 
^<  coal  win  ptrmA     A  ■ 
iog  Ike  lake*  wiik  saai  a 
deal  more  qasck^j'  «ilk  te 
d  i<-'{  tkin  m<\h  tS«  aakgM 

a*  to  Igwra  oal  why 


•daoi  have 

I  hnally  drcidrd  tkM  v«k  Ika 

dcMcd  tkr  gases  wrre  kgklr*.  da*  to  t*- 

«f*»r4*o«t  M  fr**«4rv   awd   iketvior*.  hmi  a 

«fd  oS  Mre  «l 

far  a*  Ike  Mm 

i  a  niiaM  aaaowH  «l  air 

^tiut^  I  caaaM  sat  «iai 

•  Wtker  m  m  lagsdiiid 

IS   aky   ito 


thr 


asll««  aVMi  iWrv  to 
•  M  wtotk  taaws  the 


I    F 


.ifaraMaklad 


6o 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  5,  1909. 


How  Compression  Saves  Coal 


The  article  under  the  above  caption,  by 
M.  E.  Copley,  does  not  tell  why  nor  how 
he  came  to  his  conclusion.  He  presents  a 
set  of  diagrams  which  I  have  taken  a  little 
time  to  analyze.  The  low-pressure  dia- 
gram shows  practically  no  compression, 
but  does  show  a  great  deal  of  back  pres- 
sure, due  to  the  fact  that  there  is  no  com- 
pression. If  he  would  overcome  the  back 
pressure,  he  must  make  his  release  earlier, 
which  means  that  the  exhaust  valve  must 
open  and  close  earlier  in  the  stroke,  which 
will  give  compression,  something  Mr. 
Copley  does  not  want. 

The  average  mean  effective  pressure  of 
both  ends  is,  say,  0.835  pound,  while  the 
average  mean  effective  pressure  would 
have  been,  say,  0.895  pound,  had  the  valve 
opened  earlier  and  the  area  represented 
by  the  back  pressure  been  saved,  making  a 
saving  or  additional  power  of  0.06  pound 
mean  effective  pressure.  This  is  worse 
than  lost  becaust  it  represents  negative 
power,  or  power  pushing  against  the  pis- 
ton tending  to  stop  it,  especially  at  a  time 
when  it  is  most  needed,  at  the  beginning 
of  the  stroke.  If  there  is  a  loss  of  0.06 
pound  mean  effective  pressure  through 
loss  of  area  in  the  diagram,  and  that 
amount  is  pushing  in  the  wrong  direction, 
the  total  loss  is  0.06  X  2  =  0.12  pound 
mean  effective  pressure.  It  is  true  that 
some  area  would  be  lost  through  compres- 
sion, but  not  as  much  as  the  negative  pres- 
sure would  cause. 

It  is  a  difficult  matter  to  figure  out  how 
a  saving  is  made  by  cutting  out  compres- 
sion and  cutting  in  back  pressure. 

Another  bad  feature  shown  by  the  dia- 


14.78  -^  0.83s  =  1778, 

or  1/17.78  part  of  the  load.  In  other 
words,  the  high-pressure  side  is  doing 
nearly  18  horsepower,  while  the  low-pres- 
sure side  is  doing  only  i  horsepower. 
There  may  be  some  special  reason  for 
distributing  the  load  this  way,  but  if  not, 
it  will  be  a  surprise  to  see  what  a  differ- 
ence it  will  make  in  the  coal  pile  by  rais- 
ing the  receiver  pressure  to  18  or  20 
pounds,  cutting  in  a  little  compression 
and  cutting  down  the  back  pressure. 

ToTT  Jenkins. 
De  Kalb,  111. 


for    horizontal    engines,    air    compressors 
and  locomotives. 

H.  L.  Dean. 
Hyde  Park,  Mass. 


Connecting  Rod  Design 


In  regard  to  the  article  on  "Connecting 
Rod  Design,"  in  a  recent  issue,  I  wish  to 


Method  of  Calculating  Capacity 
of  Absorption  Machinery 

A  very  convenient  method  of  calculating 
the  capacity,  in  tons  of  refrigeration,  of 
an  absorption  machine,  is  as  follows : 
Take  the  revolutions  per  minute,  or  total 
revolutions,  with  a  counter,  of  the  aqua 
pump  during  the  time  desired  for  de- 
termining the  load  of  the  machine;  also 
take  the  Baume  and  temperature  of  weak 
and  strong  aqua  at  frequent  intervals 
during  this  time.  Note  the  back  pres- 
sure on  the  expansion  coils,  also. 

Determine  the  capacity  of  the  aqua 
pump  in  cubic  feet  per  revolution,  taking 


■P^ H 


FIG.      I.        (reproduced) 


criticize  the  crank  end  of  Mr.  Willard's 
rod,  which  is  herewith  reproduced  in 
Fig.  I.  In  the  first  place  it  is  stated  that 
as  flanged  brasses  are  used,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  have  a  removable  end.  A  bet- 
ter design  is  to  have  the  top  of  the  rod 
open  as  shown  in  Fig.  2,  the  brasses  being 
clamped  by  a  lipped  cover  plate.  In  Fig. 
I  the  end  bolt  D  is  evidently  subjected  to 
the  entire  stress  on  the  rod  on  the  inward 
stroke   of   the   engine,   while   Fig.   2   pre- 


grams  is  the  great  difference  in  the  load 
between  the  high-  and  low-pressure  sides. 
As  the  size  or  speed  of  the  engine  is  not 
given,  I  am  assuming  that  the  ratio  be- 
tween the  cylinders  is  4  to  i.  The  aver- 
age mean  effective  pressure  of  the  high- 
pressure  diagrams  is,  say,  58.29  pounds, 
while  the  average  mean  effective  pressure 
of  the  low-pressure  diagrams  is  0.835 
pound.  Therefore,  the  total  horsepower 
of  the  engine  would  be 

58.29  -I-  0.835  —  59-125. 

Now,  if  that  work  were  equally  divided 
between  the  two  engines  the  mean  effec- 
tive pressure  of  the  iDw-pressure  side 
would  be 

59.125  -4-  4  =  14-78 

pounds,  but  as  the  actual  mean  effective 
pressure  is  only  0.835  pound,  the  low- 
pressure  cylinder  is  only  doing 


sents  a  solid  thickness  of  metal  at  the  bot- 
tom and  a  lipped  cap  at  the  top  to  resist 
this  stress. 

It  should  also  be  noted  that  in  Fig.  2 
the  adjusting  wedge  is  outside  of  the 
the  pin,  while  at  the  crosshead  end  it  is 
inside,  this  end  being  practically  identical 
to  Mr.  Willard's  form.  Such  an  arrange- 
ment of  the  means  of  adjustment  is  very 
necessary  in  order  to  keep  the  rod  of  the 
proper  length,  and  the  clearance  in  the 
cylinder  equal. 

In  regard  to  cost  of  manufacture,  it 
will  be  seen  that  the  rod  in  Fig.  i  must 
have  both  ends  machined  on  a  slotter, 
while  the  crank  end  of  the  rod  in  Fig.  2 
may  be  finished  in  any  size  on  a  planer 
with  a  corresponding  reduction  of  time. 
I  also  differ  with  Mr.  Willard  in  regard  to 
the  adaptability  of  such  a  rod  to  marine 
engines,  though   it  is  the  very  best  type 


into  consideration  the  aqua  piston  rod. 
Correct  from  the  table  the  actual  Baume 
readings  of  strong  and  weak  aqua  for 
temperature,  i.e.,  reduce  both  readings  to 
60  degrees  Fahrenheit.  From  the  tables, 
get  the  per  cent,  of  ammonia  in  strong 
and  weak  aqua,  also  the  specific  gravity  of 
strong  aqua,  using  the  corrected  Baume 
readings. 

The  weight  of  a  cubic  foot  of  water, 
62.5  pounds,  times  the  specific  gravity  of 
strong  aqua  equals  the  weight  of  a  cubic 
foot  of  strong  aqua.  The  revolutions  per 
minute  of  a  pump  times  the  cubic  feet  per 
revolution  times  the  weight  of  a  cubic 
foot  of  strong  aqua  equals  the  pounds  of 
strong  aqua  pumped  per  minute,  or  M. 

The  tons  of  refrigeration  per  day  of  24 
hours  equals 

M  {x  — y) 


where 

X  - 


100  — y 


X 


284,000 


X  1440, 


of  ammonia   in   strong 


Per  cent 
aqua, 
y  =  Per  cent,  of  ammonia  in  weak  aqua, 
r  =  From  ammonia  tube,  equals  the 
value  in  B.t.u.  of  one  pound  of 
anhydrous  ammonia  at  the  back 
pressure  of  the  expansion  coils, 
allowing  for  the  temperature  of 
the  anhydrous  ammonia  at  the 
expansion  valve,  and  the  tem- 
perature corresponding  to  the 
back  pressure. 

This  method  is  by  no  means  absolutely 
accurate,  due  to  slippage  in  the  aqua  pump, 
inaccuracy  of  gages,  etc.,  but  it  serves  as 
a  handy  check  on  a  machine  or  for  daily 
comparison. 

G.  A.  Robertson. 

St.  Louis',  Mo. 


January  5,  1909. 

Firing   Boilers 


In  the  December  8  number,  page  955, 
F.  R.  Wadleigh  has  an  instructive  article 
on  firing  boilers.  On  page  959  he  says, 
regarding  the  wetting  of  coal,  "the  prac- 
tical reasons  for  wetting  coal  will  gencr 
ally  outweigh  the  theoretical  or  chemical 
reasons  for  not  wetting  it." 

Wet  coal  will  coke  better,  make  a  hot- 
ter fire  and  less  smoke  than  dry  coal.  At 
one  time  I  held  the  same  opinion  as  Mr. 
Wadleigh,  but  in  looking  over  my  table 
t  boiler  tests  I  saw  that  coal  wet  so  as 
■  make  a  good  fire  evaporated  about  8 
per  cent.  less  water  .than  ordinary  dry 
coal,  and  I  gave  up  wetting  it.  The  water 
must  be  evaporated,  and  during  the 
evaporation  the  fire  is  not  hot  enough  to 
decompose  it. 

W.  E.  CuASZ. 

Broadalbin,  N.  Y. 


Hard  or  Soft  Condenser  Tubes 


On  the  editorial  page  of  the  December 
8  issue  the  attention  of  the  reader  is  di- 
eted to  the  use  of  hard  or  soft  condenser 
\ks.      Hard    tubes    are    liable    to   crack, 
although  the  process  of  manufacture  may 
prevent    most   of   it.      Cracked   tul>cs   are 
liable  to  occur,  not  only  condenser  tubes, 
but  brass  or  alloyed  pipe  of  all  kinds,  even 
though  no  work  is  put  upon  them.     When 
•  pipe  is  drawn  through  the  die  it  becomes 
rd,  and  to  be  worked  further  it  must  be 
iM-ated    to    a    low    red,    which    anncaK    i* 
While  the  tube  is  in  a  hard  conditi-.n 
vcre  strain   is   placed   upon   every 
n<l  if  put  into  the  annealing  oven  j  •.  ■ 
It  comes  from  the  die  it  would  probably 
crack.     To  prevent  this  cracking,  a  man 
lifts  the  tube  above  his  head  and  throw 
"  violently  to  the  floor  in  such  manner  a>. 
bend  it  slightly. 

When  finishing  a  tube   for   jxiwer  pur- 
ses it  should  be  left   semi  annealed ;   if 
t,  even  the  best  niade  tubing  may  crack 
use      With  pure  copper  tubes  there  1* 
t    as    much    trouble,    but    they    are   ex 
tisive.      Brass    tubes   are    made   of    dif 
ent  metals  with  different  densities  and 
pansions,  and  a  tube  left  hard  appears 
be   full  of  strains  which   mean  its  de- 
ruction 

With    salt    water,   even   pure   copper   it 

t    free    from    corrosion,    and    it    coold 

.rdly   be  rxpr'-trd   that    its  alloys    wouM 

be.      It    is    ;  'at    hard    tnlK-*    may 

have    incipi'  which    ha>.trri    cor 

ion,   and   that   absence  of  these   rratk^ 

ly  mean  longer  life  to  the  loni  annealed 

'•>e. 

Mickel  tubes  were  tried,  and  1'-  -  '  — 
h  teemed  as  thouKh  the  right 
been  found      Th- 
annealed  than  hr  > 

ennuRh  Im  Work,  hut  they  were  »oi  pt«.K>i 
againtt    .nrroM-in 

W.  E.  C»A>rr 
Rrnadalhin.   N    Y. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 
Composite  Power  GcneratioQ 


61 


Powc: 
the  wruc; 
hea*  in  40 


Comp«r«5!e 
«Utcd  thit 
1  bow  the 
■iter  can  be 
^rate  j  pounds.    The 
i   shows  an  arrangr- 
ment  for  domg  this.     The  waler  in  the 
cylinder  jacket  /   will  be  discharged  at. 
say,  160  degrees  Fahrenheit,  and  at  a  pres 
sure    of    14.7    pounds    absolute       A»    the 
water   rises   in   the  pipe   A    »hr  j»f»^,.jf^ 
due  to  gravity  hea<! 
some   point   C   the    ; 
(■■rrespond    to   •' 
>team  at   160  dr.- 

this  point,  if  no  steam  were  formed  at 
some  point  £  the  water  would  be  at  44 
(K'unds  absolute  pressure,  and  a  tempera- 
ture of  160  degrees  Fahrenheit;  but  this 


ptpe*  wool  aKMigii  lev  a  : 

nofsepowef  («■  m^aif. 

I  tm  not  able  to  follow  CAaaJjr  dw  1 
•oomf  m  iJk  bti  por^ra^  ol  fW  ■< 
bcr   ol   poands  of  water   tl^**    f^uld 
«vapor«l«d  by  tbe  eakaof 
the  6gnrr«  gtvm.   4000  1' 
l»»»r.  97  per  ccst.  of  Uhs 
Bto.     Aocoedtag  to  iW  u^ir 
in   Kent's   haiidbonfc,  tbc 


j»  Mai 


JttiM.al* 

St.       c 


\m 

1 

B 

r.i 

(    \' i.    puoadt.     Wludi    m   iW    mmrt 
right  > 

The-  'caiwre  wlbdi  ma^  mikm 

op  to  rni  for  ibr   uivtn    iipt 

whidiH  M  said  woald  M«r  .'^rk 

tbe  complioitkiM  iwt*>sar>  -iK 

tioa     Tbe  beat  prodwced  «••• 

'"*"  ^   ..•--<  —  tiroag  Ikx  -*  r     rr«ef 

<-»•  of 
t!iiiire<I   yjx\   ir.e    peak    bod.     Tbts 
•apply  overload  capadtjr.    m    wMck    iW 
fas  CKgioc  bas  always  beea  sadly  lackaic 
A    T    Kasitt 

Swtssvale.  Pc 


ARaAMCCMENT    FOB   COKCBNTmAnifO    J 
WATD  HCAT 


is  just  as  I' 

at  250  degrt 

pressure.  Under  sut 
the  waler  will  t>c  e% 
pense  of  the  heal  in  t) 


Fault\  IndKalof  Diasraim 

In  a  retrnt  nutaber.  J.  Z*«><"  '^   4  f     •« 
dtacrams    taken    from   a   bicb  tttrv^    m 
tine  and  asks  for  op«i»nr«  a«  t. 
ble  and  for  a  ftnwdy      A»  K< 
'    >:-'ms  show  a  very  onr  iidnl  *4)«a 
tbe  craak  end  doing  pra<ia(aly  ns 
work,  and  I  smpcci  tbe  eonl  pde  snim 
because    of    it     Tbr    Kr*!  ^r^A    <IiA«*«-i 
sbows   that   tbe  emits 
early  tbe 
Uh  same  end  tbe  siMni  ^ 

a  relaaat   peaMnre    < ;    <fv*' 
Tbe    crank  tnd 
barely  opens  ai  al.  and  tbe 
of 


11. (!    »K<    i-»rle       %Arx\*  f«f»>»    to 


,1     to  ..-nJi 


^••><^^«    ^'^ 


its  ntnkn 


62 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  5,  1909. 


very  small  amount  of  compression,  but  is 
it  not  at  the  expense  of  the  condenser? 

WiLLIAk   AULD. 

Milwaukee,  Wis. 


A  New  Method  of  Firing 

I  do  not  approve  of  a  thick  bed  of  coal 
on  the  front  end  of  grates  with  little  or 
no  depth  of  fire  on  the  back  end  near  the 
bridgewall.  The  proper  method  of  coking 
is  to  keep  a  good,  thick  fire  on  the  back  of 
the  grates  at  all  times,  as  well  as  on  the 
front.  In  this  way,  after  being  pushed 
back  and  replaced  by  a  new  charge,  the 
fire  will  be  of  equal  depth  all  over  the 
furnace.  None  but  an  ignorant  or  lazy 
fireman  would  keep  coal  piled  up  just 
inside  the  furnace  door. 

One  of  the  first  things  a  fireman  should 
learn  is  to  keep  a  good  thick  fire  in  the 
back  end  of  the  furnace;  otherwise,  the 
cold  air,  meeting  little  or  no  resistance, 
will  rush  through  the  thin  layer  of  coal 
without  becoming  heated  enough  to  mix 
with  the  gases  from  the  front.  The 
bridgewall,  instead  of  being  heated  hot 
enough  to  assist  combustion,  will  retard  it 
by  cooling  the  gases  passing  over  it. 
C.  E.  Bascom. 

Marlboro,  Vt. 


Criticism  of  Turbine  Installation 


I  am  very  much  interested  in.  At  what 
temperature  can  the  condensed  steam  be 
maintained  with  a  28j^-inch  vacuum? 

The  second  feature  in  the  plant  in  ques- 
tion is  the  cooling  surface  in  the  con- 
denser. It  is  14,000  square  feet,  and  at 
maximum  load  of  the  turbine  the  ratio  is 
I  square  foot  of  cooling  surface  per  horse- 
power. The  latest  American  practice  is 
to  have  2  square  feet  per  horsepower  for 
reciprocating  engines  and  4  square  feet 
per  kilowatt  for  turbines.  This  may  seem 
to  be  a  rather  liberal  allowance,  yet  I  have 
found  in  my  own  experience  that  it  is 
none  too  much,  for  several  reasons. 
Trash  may  stop  up  a  number  of  tubes 
between  morning  and  shutting-down  time, 
and  it  is  not  always  possible  to  shut  down 
the  condenser  and  clean  them  out.  In 
summer  the  circulating-water  temperature 
may  get  rather  warm,  or  the  circulating- 
pump  capacity  may  decrease.  In  the  case 
of  a  turbine,  in  order  to  keep  the  steam 
consumption  down  to  13.86  pounds  per 
horsepower  per  hour,  it  is  necessary  to 
have  about  285^  inches  of  vacuum,  and  in 


The  recent  article  describing  a  mam- 
moth turbine  for  Buenos  Aires  strikes  me 
as  a  good  one  on  which  to  base  a  dis- 
cussion. First,  I  would  like  to  call  atten- 
tion to  the  amount  of  water  the  circulat- 
ing pumps  are  capable  of  delivering  per 
hour.  Each  pump,  it  is  stated,  will  pump 
112  gallons  per  second;  the  two  pumps 
will,  therefore,  pump  224  gallons  per  sec- 
ond, providing  they  are  both  in  condi- 
tion to  run  at  the  same  time.  This  is 
13,440  gallons  per  minute,  or  806,400 
gallons  per  hour,  and  assuming  8.3  pounds 
per  gallon  (critics,  excuse  the  figure)  this 
will  amount  in  round  numbers  to  6,693,120 
pounds  per  hour.  The  turbine  at  maxi- 
mum load  develops  14,200  horsepower, 
which  is  equivalent  to  10,593  kilowatts. 
It  is  stated  that  the  machine  will  develop 
a  kilowatt-hour  on  13.86  pounds  of  steam. 
This  will  mean  about  147,000  pounds  of 
steam,  round  numbers,  to  be  condensed 
per  hour.  Dividing  6,900,000  by  147,000, 
we  get  as  the  circulating  water  per  pound 
of  steam  47  pounds,  nearly. 

This  is  the  first  point  I  would  like  to 
see  discussed.  The  American  practice  is 
to  allow  not  less  than  60  pounds  of  con- 
densing water  per  pound  of  steam.  I 
think  that  a  larger  circulating-pump  capa- 
city should  have  been  provided.  The  tem- 
perature of  the  water  the  year  round  must 
be  taken  into  consideration,  the  final  tem- 
perature of  the  circulating  water,  and, 
last  but  not  least,  the  temperature  of  the 
condensed  steam.     This  last  point  is  one 


Repairing  a  Broken  Eccentric  Rod 

Owing  to  the  heating  of  the  steam 
eccentric,  the  eccentric  rod  of  a  14  and  26 
by  30-inch  high-speed  Corliss  engine  broke 
in  three  pieces.  The  first  break  happened 
at  the  rocker-arm  brass,  where  the  diame- 
ter was  less  than  ^  of  an  inch.  Com- 
ing in  violent  contact  with  the  concrete 
floor,  it  again  gave  way  near  the  eccen- 
tric strap.  The  oil  guard  was  demolished 
and  a  portion  of  the  automatic  oiling 
system  was  dismantled.  It  was  impera- 
tive to  have  a  new  rod  in  place  before 
4  p.m.  the  next  day,  but  to  get  a  rod  from 
the  maker  inside  of  18  hours  was  impos- 
sible. It  was  a  case  of  hustle,  therefore, 
to  make  a  new  rod  in  time  for  the  even- 
ing load.  Fig.  I  shows  the  valve  gear ; 
at  A  is  shown  the  position  of  the  steam- 
valve  cranks.  There  is  no  valve-stem 
stuffing  box,  as  a  ground  joint  of  a  special 
oval  pattern  makes  it  unnecessary,  as 
shown. 

On  this  engine  the  opening  in  the  steam 
bracket  was  so  small  that  half  a  turn  of 


order  to  do  this  there  must  be  sufficient 
cooling  surface.  It  has  been  my  actual 
experience  that  no  matter  how  much 
water  in  put  through  a  tube,  the  element 
of  time  has  considerable  to  do  with  the 
amount  of  heat  it  can  absorb.  From  the 
foregoing  it  would  seem  that  there  is  not 
enough  cooling  surface  to  this  particular 
condenser. 

I  also  notice  that  this  station  is  mak- 
ing a  bid  to  be  classed  among  the  most 
economical  of  power  stations,  by  using 
electric  auxiliaries.  I  fail  to  see  where 
these  so-called  modern  improvements  are 
making  any  more  than  an  apparent  saving. 
Suppose  the  prime  mover  has  a  thermal 
efficiency  of  18  per  cent,  and  the  electrical 
end  of  the  auxiliary  has  a  90  per  cent, 
efficiency,  the  combined  efficiency  is  16.2 
per  cent.  This  same  plant,  if  served  com- 
pletely by  electric  auxiliaries,  will  proba- 
bly have  a  feed-water  temperature  of  100 
degrees  Fahrenheit,  a  loss  of  11  per  cent, 
in  fuel.  How  much  do  they  gain  by  the 
modern  auxiliaries?  This  latter  question 
applies  to  a  good  many  modern  power  sta- 
tions, in  part  if  not  altogether. 

E.  H.  Lane. 

Kansas  City,  Mo. 


the  eccentric  rod  one  way  or  the  other 
would  cause  the  valve  crank  to  knock 
against  the  edges.  Hence,  the  new  eccen- 
tric rod  had  to  be  the  exact  length,  or  we 
were  liable  to  have  another  accident  in 
the  shape  of  a  broken  valve  bracket. 

With  the  eccentric  rod  removed,  the 
striking  points  of  the  valve  cranks  were 
marked  on  the  box  of  the  rocker  arm. 
The  links  B  were  then  removed  and  the 
eccentric  rod  screwed  in  for  as  near  its 
right  length  as  we  could  determine.  The 
air  pump  was  started  and  the  engine 
allowed  to  be  turned  slowly  by  the 
vacuum.  The  length  of  the  eccentric  rod 
was  so  adjusted  that  the  mark  on  the 
rocker  arm  traveled  slightly  inside  the 
marks  on  the  box  cover.  The  links  B 
were  replaced,  the  engine  brought  to 
speed  and  load  given  it,  when  the  job  was 
completed  with  the  aid  of  the  indicator. 
Some  may  wonder  why  the  reach  rod 
was  not  taken  out  instead  of  the  links  B. 
There  is  only  one  position  of  the  crank 
which  permits  the  reach  rod  on  this  en- 
gine to  be  taken  out,  and  that  position  is 
difficult  to  stop  at.  At  X  is  shown  how 
the  narrow  end  of  the  eccentric  rod  was 
stiffened  and  strengthened,  by  a  special 
nut   planned   by   the   superintendent. 


L 


January  5,  1909, 


POWER  AND  THE  I 


At  first  sight  the  valve  gear  looks  to 
be  quite  complicated,  and  many  would 
infer  that  it  is  difficult  to  adjust.  An  in- 
spection of  the  plumb  lines  in  Fig.  i 
slows  that  the  valves  are  almost  as  easy 
iljust  as  slide  valves.  No  adjustment 
j'ossible  on  the  brass  links  B  of  the 
im  valves  and  C  of  the  exhaust  valves. 
Alter  adjusting  ail  rods  to  their  proper 
length,  place  the  engine  on  the  crank-end 
center,  turning  the  engine  in  the  direction 
it  is  desired  to  run.  Then  loosen  the  hub 
bolts  and  set  screws  of  the  flywheel  and 
revolve  the  latter  on  the  shaft,  until  the 
required  lead  is  obtained  at  the  crank  end. 
On  this  particular  engine  the  lead  is  % 
inch  on  the  high-pressure  side,  and  3/16 
inch  on  the  low-pressure  cylinder.  Tighten 
the  hub  bolts  and  set  screws  on  the  fly- 
wheel, and  place  the  engine  on  the  head- 
end dead  center.  The  lead  on  the  head- 
end valve  should  be  practically  the  same. 
If  it  is  not,  equalize  it  by  means  of  the 
•team  rod.  On  the  steam-valve  bracket 
washer  D.  Fig.  i,  will  be  found  five  marks, 
the  two  outer  corresponding  with  the 
maximum  travel  of  the  steam  rocker«  r 


the  number  of  revolotioRi  the  tpni^n  »re     i  hiiiuuef  ot  trnx 


•nofly 


This   in- 


tunicd.   and   tic    the 

agamst    the    stops    li 

should  now  travel  an  a- 

lap  onl>.  i.e-,  the  two 

are  ported)  on  the  ci 

valve  should  come  line  ,i>i.^  n: 

marks  on  the  valve  chamber. 

sures  that  the  en» 

should  the  load  t 

Do  not, 

amount 

emor  springs  are  liable  to  be  overstretcbed 

and  strained. 

When  the  valve  and  valve-chamber 
marks  on  either  side  coincide,  the  mark 
on  each  of  the  rocker  arms  E  will  be  line 
and  line  with  one  of  the  minimum  travel 
marks  on  each  of  the  two  washers,  if 
these  marks  are  correct. 

The  exhaust  valv*  wh*^  the  rocker 
arms  are  central.  •^16- 

inch  lap  on  the  hu  \  ^■ 

inch  on  the  low-prcss'  res 

sion  begins  when  the  \  ;!hin 

.lH  inches,  or  12  per  cent .  of  the  end  of 
...  orr^i,^      F"-^  'he  benefit  of  those  who 


.cvUd  Ut  tLc  m^titaut  mv^^ 


') 


':! 


.-r' 


r 


ooc  cad  apd  at  Ike  oUmt  to  tkt 
gear  whtdi  is  operated  bf  tlw  •■•■ 
shown,  which    m    oaed    to    mmkt 
dangvs    of    speed    while 
ffon  the  fwticlwoard. 

t.  a  Rir* 


HygioiiMliy 


If.      t       II       lisrf  .     r.^««fiSati«tfl     am     *1l^ 


IKr.    in    trtr    mi'»«j»r    ••! 

OOH  be  tutet    If 
k  n  gcflMral  ••<•••• 
tcwp*  r%*nr9.  im  p»ec*Mly  Ik*  ■ 
siti  ■'  /  mimt»e4  to  • 


I  tkovM  kk«  le  draw 
««trd«  ki  kakcm     !•  mj 
oottMdmnc    'leaMi'    the    word    "* 

lior"  .'>'.  .<^«  t     ^r%'     'Kal  Is  le  My. 


na  a 


two  next   with  the  minimum   travel,     mifht    wish    to  •• 


the  middle  mark  with  the 
lion.  The^r  marks  should  b^ 
•re   the   stram    bonnet*    af 

maximun)  travel    mark*    .w 
•id  by   rotatntK  the  rngine. 
.  '1    find     thr     nnniniuMi-travet 
loo«rn     the     tension     on     the 

•  print/i     A       Vnt      J      hritiff    ,-nrrli^!     ' 


crntra 

vrrrr  ' 


mart 


■k'        W*B* 

•«^k«.  •! 


64 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  5,  1909. 


Polish  for  Brass  Steam  Pipes 

Herewith  is  a  recipe  for  a  polish  for 
brass  steam  pipes,  or  other  hot-brass  work 
in  the  engine  room,  which  I  have  used  for 
years  and  believe  to  be  the  best  polish 
that  can  be  made: 

Melt  together  iJ4  pounds  of  cake  tal- 
low, 2  ounces  of  spermaceti,  2  ounces  of 
gum  camphor  and  2j^  ounces  of  beeswax. 
Then  add  8  ounces  of  raw  linseed  oil,  10 
ounces  of  coal  oil  and  2  pounds  of  tripoli 
powder. 

J.  B.  Draper. 

Kenton,  O. 


but  as  this  is  hard  to  secure,  due  allow- 
ance should  be  made. 

John  B.  Sperry. 
Aurora,  111. 


Pump  Suction  Limit 

In  a  recent  issue  a  correspondent  asks 
why  a  pump  will  not  lift  water  a  distance 
nearly  equal  to  the  head  balancing  the 
atmospheric  pressure,  say  32  or  33  feet. 
Leaving  out  the  question  of  water  tem- 
perature, for  the  time  being,  and  assum- 
ing that  the  suction  pipe  is  air-tight,  then 

Ap  =  Total  suction  limit  == 


H= 


2g 


-\-Fp, 


where 
A,-. 


expressed 


^  Velocity  head. 


Atmospheric    pressure 
in  feet, 
H  =  Elevation    of   pump    above    water 

level, 
V  =^  Velocity  of  flow  in  feet  in  suction 

pipe, 
g  =  Gravity  equals  32.16, 
V* 

*g 

Fp  —  Friction    loss   in    feet,    which    de- 
pends   upon    the    velocity   of   the 
water  in  the  suction  pipe.     This 
friction  factor  includes  losses  in 
foot  valve  and  elbows. 
From  this  it  is  seen  that  the  hight  to 
which  a  pump  will  lift  water  by  suction 
can  never  equal  32  or  22>  feet,  unless  the 
flow  in  the  suction  pipe  is  extremely  slow. 
If  the  temperature  of  the  water  is  taken 
into  consideration,  it  still  further  lowers 
the  lift,  as  will  be  seen  from  an  examina- 
tion   of    the    following    table,    based    on 
atmospheric  pressure  at  sea  level : 


Temperature 

Pressure  of 

Limit  of  Suction 

Head, 
Considering  Tem- 
perature Only. 

ol  Water. 
Deg.  Fahr. 

Vapor  in  lb. 
Per  8q.  Inch. 

70 

0.36 

32.96  feet. 

80 

0.50 

32.6 

90 

0.69 

32  2 

100 

0.94 

31.4 

110 

1.26 

30.9 

120 

1.68 

29.7 

130 

2.22 

27.3 

140 

2.87 

25.9 

150 

3.70 

24.8 

160 

4.72 

22.5 

170 

5.98 

19.6 

180 

7.50 

16.9 

190 

9.33 

9.9 

200 

11.. 52 

9.3 

210 

14.12 

1.1 

A  Homemade  Socket  Wrench 


On  taking  a  turbine  pump  apart  one 
day,  to  remove  a  worn-out  impeller,  it 
was  found  necessary  to  remove  five  i-inch 
hexagon  nuts  from  the  position  shown  in 
Fig.   I.     A  hole  in  the  outside  wall  was 


FIG.     I 


In  the  same  manner  a  lyi-'mch  pipe 
may  be  made  to  fit  a  ^-'mz\\  nut,  and  i- 
inch  pipe  will  answer  for  a  5^-inch  nut. 
Socket  wrenches  of  these  sizes  will'  always 
be  found  handy  around  a  steam  plant. 
R.  Cederblom. 

Gary,  Ind. 


In  the  foregoing  it  was  assumed  that 
the    suction   pipe  was. perfectly   air-tight. 


closed  by  a  2-inch  plug,  and  to  reach  the 
nuts  a  socket  wrench  was  required,  and 
none  of  suitable  size  being  at  hand,  it  was 
decided  to  make  one. 

Picking  out  a  l-inch  bolt  and  nut  from 
the  scrap  pile  I  dressed  the  nut  down  to  a 
taper,  as  shown  in  Fig.  2,  when  it  was 
found  to  just  about  enter  a  piece  of  i>4- 
inch  gas  pipe.  To  heat  the  end  of  the 
pipe  and  fojge  it  into  a  hexagon  shape  to 
fit  the  nut  was  then  a  simple  matter,  and 
it  proved  an  excellent  wrench. 


Storage  Battery  Troubles 


In  a  recent  number,  J.  M.  Herwig  nar- 
rated his  troubles  with  a  storage  battery 
which  apparently  became  dead  shortly 
after  being  charged.  The  battery  has  evi- 
dently had  hard  usage,  and  he  will  doubt- 
less find  that  the  cells  have  either  short- 
circuited  or  accumulated  sulphate.  Short- 
circuiting  may  be  caused  by  sediment 
accumulating  in  the  bottom  of  the  cell 
until  it  reaches  the  plates.  The  cells 
should  be  cleaned  frequently  and  new 
electrolyte  added  to  replace  that  which 
is  lost,  to  bring  the  gravity  of  the  solu- 
tion up  to  1.210.  If  there  is  any  suspicion 
that  there  is  foreign  matter  in  the  solu- 
tion, new  electrolyte  should  be  used. 

Care  should  be  taken  while  cleaning  the 
battery  not  to  allow  the  negative  plates  to 
dry  in  the  least.  If  they  are  allowed  to 
dry  it  will  be  necessary  to  charge  them 
again  for  a  period  equal  to  the  initial 
charge. 

Sulphating  is  the  most  troublesome 
element  to  contend  with  in  a  storage  bat- 
tery. It  is  formed  when  a  cell  is  nearly 
discharged  and  is  noticeable  by  the  forma- 
tion of  a  white  coating  over  the  plates. 
If  a  cell  is  discharged  and  allowed  to 
stand  with  the  electrolyte  in  place  it  will 
sulphate  very  rapidly.  This  also  causes 
buckling  of  the  plates,  because  the  forma- 
tion of  sulphate  in  the  active  material 
causes  it  to  expand,  forcing  the  grids  out 
of  shape.  This  sulphate,  being  a  non- 
conductor, increases  the  resistance  of  the 
plate,  and  when  it  is  removed  carries  part 
of  the  active  material  with  it.  Long- 
continued  charging  at  a  moderate  rate 
will  gradually  remove  all  sulphate  from 
the  plates.    . 

When  the  cells  are  fully  charged  and 
in  good  condition  the  positive  plates 
should  be  of  a  brown  or  deep  red  color 
and  the  negative  plates  gray.  The  battery 
should  never  be  charged  above  its  maxi- 
mum charging  rate,  because  it  will  cause 
a  rapid  accumulation  of  sediment,  exces- 
sive evaporation  of  the  electrolyte  and 
the  life  of  the  battery  will  be  much 
shortened.  A  low  -  reading  voltmeter 
should  be  used  for  testing  each  cell,  and 
a  discharge  lower  than  1.8  volts  per  cell 
should  not  be  allowed.  The  battery  should 
be  charged  until  the  voltage  shows  2.5, 
then  the  charge  should  be  cut  to  about 
half  and  continued  until  the  cells  again 
show  2.5  volts;  the  battery  is  then  fully 
charged.  As  the  age  of  the  battery  in- 
creases the  final  charging  voltage  will 
drop  to  about  2.4. 


January  5,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


lie  change  of  temperature  affects  the 
hiial  voltage  so  that  it  is  lowered  with  an 
increase  of  temperature  above  70  degrees 
Fahrenheit  and  correspondingly  increased 
by    a    lowering    temperature.      After    the 

ri^e    is   completed   and    the    current    is 

off  the  voltage  will  drop  to  ab-jut  2.2 
volts  per  cell,  and  when  the  discharge  is 
st.irted  it  will  drop  to  2  volts. 

he  temperature  of  the  surrounding  air 
.'.  a  storage  battery  should  rise  no  higher 
than  80  degrees  Fahrenheit  and  drop  no 
lower  than  50  degrees  Fahrenheit.  If 
the  surrounding  temperature  is  high  the 
wear  on  the  plates  is  excessive.  No  harm 
results  from  a  low  temperature  except 
that  the  capacity  of  the  battery  is  reduced. 
Norm  AN  S  Campbell 
Ditroit,    Mich 

If   the   plates    were    buckled    when    re- 
ceived,  it   would   indicate  an   old  battery. 
Buckled  plates  would  account  for  the  rise 
m  temperature  of  the  electrolyte,  and  the 
battery,  owing  to  this  condition,  has  a  re- 
duced    capacity.     The     battery     in     this 
condition    cannot    be    charged    properly, 
although  it  will  appear  to  be  fully  charged 
•••■I    will    gas     freely,    especially    if    the 
I'hate  forms  between  the  active  material 
!   the  grid.     The  active   material   cen- 
ts in  the  negative  plate  and  closes  up 
pores;  this  reduces  the  active  surface, 
contact  between    the    active    material 
!   the   supporting  grid   is   reduced,  and 
'  n  the  battery  is  allowed  to  discharge 
low,  and  stand  in  this  condition,  elec- 
ytic  action  may  take  place  on  the  sur- 
of  the    material    next    to    the    grid, 
irh    will   cause  a    layer   of  sulphate   to 
ru  between  the  grid  and  the  active  ma- 
il.    The  expansion  of    this    layer    of 
phatc  crowds  the  acti\e  material  farther 
away   from  the  grid,  decreasing  the  con- 
i.nt  and  increasing  the  layer  nf  sulphate; 
result  is  the  insulating  of  the  active 
i....terial. 

If  the  active  material   in  the   negative 
plates  has  contracted,  the  separation  from 
the    grid    can   often   be    noticed       In    this 
the  positive  plates  and  sub 
V  plates,  m.i'dc  of  thin  sheets 
!   1/16  inch  thick      The  posj- 
U  from  the  charging  lra<ls  are 
•inected  to  the  negative  plates,  the  nega 
leads  to  the  dummy  plates      In  charj: 
-•  the  plates  this  way  the  neK.iti\r  pl.itrv 
•unr  positive  in  effect.    By  revrrsinK  ilir 
'.irity  of  the  charging  current  tlie  mcbj 
"  plates  are  reduced    back    ' 
!.     This   reversing  of  the  di 
current   tends  to  oprji   tlw    • 
tig  the  platrs  b.ick  to  thrir  n    • 

If  a  layer  of  sulphate  ii  formrd  li-twrrn 
the  active  material  and  the  gri'' 
-  -iv  that   I   am  aware  of  m   ' 
iihate  is  by  burning  it  off     * 

tery  as  rap<il>  .t^  (m\^iMr   %<,  • 

•    the    Iriupr  r.iliirr      .1)1  .\  .        I' 


Win 
Ii 


or  two-thirds  of  the  normal,  and  eoottimc 

until  the  gas  buti  •  Scn 

again   reduce  th'  .^f 

n<- 
ba- 

charKiiiK   operation. 
ha\c   to  be  performc<l 
the   battery   has   been 
sedmien*   '•ii*"-'  -p  to  ii.,  -' 

plates,  t  -'.ii  operatK 

it.     The  rate  oi  o:     ' 
perature  of  the  cl 
rate,    the    hi. 
temperature 

the  batlery,  the  itigiicr  the  tmtperatnrc 
the  greater  the  efficiency.  It  also  in- 
creases the  density.  The  battery,  how- 
ever, deteriorates  rapidly  if  ».«•»..■«<  at  a 
temperature  above  100  degT'  'eit. 

E.    it       I  ■!    MWl 

Hast  Us  Vegas.  N.  M. 


and  tkt 

'Anuhoo.  O. 


B    S    II 


Effect  of  SufHrrficalcd  Steam  od 
Cast  Iron  Fittings 


Referring    to    the    pecv 
superheated    steam   on   cast  ir-.D    7.1  ■ 
one  example  of  which   was   shown   ir 

ro- 
th- 

ir..;,       .,!       ..       l,,^;,       ;. 
<!cMi  IKI-  »     i.iv    li'.r    (if  , 

ing  steam,  resulting  m  the  formation  of 
magnetic  oxide  of  iron  and  irrr  ?i\«fr..;/rn 
The  action  is  very  rapid  w) 
clean,  but  is  retarded  and 
gish    from  the   coating  of 
over  the  surface  of  the  iron      1   <:.<  nor 
know   that    it    has   e\er   hrrn   drtrrmined 
wliether  thi^ 
tefn|K-rat«:rr 

but  it  «  ll*c 

high  let!  .  re- 

duce the  athnity  of  the  aloe  the 

water  molecule,  and  assist  t; dis- 
sociate them.  The  action  could  be  very 
slow  and  still  produce  marked  effects  in 
the   time   the   fitting   in   question    vat    in 

»  r  r  ■  » 

«iff#  t%l  thr  fitttnff 

can  be 

the  irc.i^ 

Titled  to  a  tl 

lil.uuti'in    H 

Islr   ::rn    by   the  cast    iron     The   treat 

I,.  <    l,v  .<r.,..,«ti    .m     irivrt      If     mrri'. 

I- 


Corliss  Valve  Setting 

FoBowwg  art  eam^tmtm  nda  lor  sal- 

•■""  •^- *'''-^  of  a  Co»*m  e^Hw:    Fim 

'  4SBCt  oovcrui(  lac  c^vs  os 

<Kc    vAi\n      Rdcrcaer    ourira    mU    h* 

found  OS  the  ends  of  iW  val«a  Md 

^  the  pOMttoas  of  tW  ■iwtMn 

c  valves  aad  parts     lUfcreae* 

»U1  also  be  found  on  iW  nriUplam 

sttpponmg     stud     T«ni     tlkc 

around  on  tbe  shaft,  aad  sec 

wri»t&h!r  Kai  ruLixI  travfl  am  > 

of  r       If    « 

cqu  „,   ilunt  I 

of  ■  4. 

N'rsi    p«r(-    tr.e    mtim^hii   iS 

lion   with   the  daahpol  plaafvr 

up.     By  meant  of  the  vriUplalc 

the  stf^m  valirt  the  pcoptr  lay  aad  the 

cah  1  a  Dtitive  lafi.  or  opcaaif 

ah  I'rd  in  the  frJl-r^ir j  TitJe 


)><.rtiii"n.  M\  ii><uK«wd  9f  the  rvMwm 
narlu.  Ad|Mi  the  kagth  at  the 
rod  oaitl  the  iMcb  emAtK  wnk 
t/jM  iach  10  spate,  aad  rifsat  far  ite 
other  extreaM  peaMoa.  ShoaM  ii  he 
ncceaaary  to  diaisfh  tfw  liagtha  e<  the 
wrtttplate  rods,  this  oparaitoa  mmm  he 
aiteaded  to  a  seeoad  tmm- 
Next,  cuawrt  th«  hoeh  red  ••  Ih*  «r«M- 

plafr         With    thr    rr,t\r^    c«>    |K#    ctti'.rt      t0t 

ib<  4l 

Afllpit.AI'        »T^*ia*r         (««-%«»»«i»         av^         .  k-        I^ 

^a»rt4  IradL  ahead  of  the  craah.  aa  the 
difectioa  the  eagsa*  tt  to  raa  If  the  had 
t«  we  the  Mai*  aith  the 

'titer  corr«ct   wtdl  ih* 

ea  Uodk  the  fovaeaoe  halt  hatf- 

way  Hv  and  sev  thai  Mw  rvach-ffwd  levee 

1%  f.k«frr«>t  it  rtflM  aagW*  M  a  ha*  mt4- 

rmtk  ta4ik     riare  *e 

■4  tfoAftrf     »'r>^ 


*     tat^l.l 


66 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  5,  1909. 


Waste  in  a  Power  Plant 


After  reading  C.  R.  McGahey's  letter 
in  a  recent  number,  I  do  not  wonder  that 
the  piping  leaks,  if  the  two  boilers  are 
connected  as  his  illustration  shows. 

Regarding  the  size  of  pipe  for  a  28x48- 
inch  engine,  running  at  100  revolutions 
per  minute,  it  would  be,  according  to  the 
rule  most  used,  as  follows : 


(28^  X  0.7854)  X  800 


6000 


521  ; 


4- 


821 


=  10.2, 


0.7854 

or,  say,  a  lo-inch  pipe. 

Nothing  is  said  as  to  the  speed  of  this 
engine,  but  it  took  the  place  of  a  300- 
horsepower  engine,  which,  at  100  revolu- 
tions per  minute,  would  require  only  a 
7,i/2-inch  pipe. 

I  have  often  seen  a  300-horsepower  en- 
gine with  a  7-inch  pipe  carrying  500  horse- 
power, with  a  very  small  drop  in  pres- 
sure. I  should  say  Mr.  McGahey  must  be 
carrying,  or  trying  to  carry,  a  great  deal 
more  than  300  horsepower.  He  has  an 
engine  that  with  a  mean  pressure  of  35 
pounds  and  at  100  revolutions  per  minute, 
will  carry  530  horsepower. 

C.  L.  Johnson. 

Mason  City,  la. 


Effect  of  Scale  in  Boilers 

In  the  December  8  number,  F.  Hilton 
Williams  has  something  to  say  concern- 
ing the  effect  of  scale  in  boilers.  Mr. 
Williams  may  be  glad  to  know  that  very 
complete  information  on  this  subject  may 
be  obtained  in  Bulletin  ii  of  the  Engi- 
neering Experimental  Station  of  the  Col- 
lege of  Engineering  of  the  University  of 
Illinois,  Urbana,  111. 

This  bulletin  discusses  the  heat-trans- 
mission loss  due  to  boiler  scale  and  its  re- 
lation to  scale  thickness,  and  covers  a 
large  series  of  experiments  conducted  by 
the  experimental  station  under  the  super- 
vision of  Prof.  E.  C.  Smith. 

The  statement  commonly  made  that 
1/16  of  an  inch  means  an  increase  in  fuel 
consumption  of  from  12  to  15  per  cent. 
is  purely  theoretical,  and  is  based  on  the 
assumption  that  that  thickness  of  scale 
covers  the  entire  circumference  of  the 
tube,  a  condition  which  is  seldom  encoun- 
tered in  actual  practice.  On  this  subject, 
the  bulletin  in  question  states  as  follows : 
"Considering  the  scale  of  ordinary  thick- 
ness— say  of  thickness  varying  up  to  i/^ 
inch — the  loss  in  heat  transmission  due  to 
scale  may  vary  in  individual  cases  from 
insignificant  amounts  to  as  much  as  10  or 
12  per  cent.,  and  the  loss  increases  some- 
what with  the  thickness  of  the  scale. 
Furthermore,  the  mechanical  structure  of 
the  scale  itself  is  of  as  much  or  more  im- 
portance than  the  thickness  in  producing 
this  loss." 


In  actual  practice,  a  boiler  with  clean 
tubes  will  generate  almost  as  much  steam 
with  a  given  quantity  of  fuel  as  two  boil- 
ers of  exactly  the  same  size  with  the 
tubes  coated  with  scale  from  %  to  Yz  inch 
thick. 

H.  E.  Gansworth. 

Buffalo,  N.  Y. 


Removing  the  Cause  of  a  Hot 
Crank  Pin 


The  crank  pin  of  an  engine  gave  con- 
siderable trouble  from  heating.  The  third 
day  after  taking  the  plant  to  operate  the 
works  were  shut  down,  and  the  writer 
thought  it  a  good  opportunity  to  look  into 
the  cause.  Taking  off  the  strap,  the  boxes 
still  remained  on  the  pin  and  it  required 
considerable  work  to  separate  them.  An 
examination  showed  that  at  some  time 
the  pin  had  worked  itself  loose,  making 
the  hole  out  of  round.  The  engineer  had 
wedged  tin  around  the  pin  to  hold  it  tight, 
after  which  he  screwed  up  the  nut  at  the 
back  of  the  crank,  assisted  by  a  sledge 
hammer. 

Another  cause  for  the  pin  heating  was 
that  when  this  pin  was  originally  put  in 
there  was  a  counterbore,  requiring  a  col- 
lar on  the  pin  to  fit  in  the  counterbore. 
The  other  engineer  had  turned  the  collar 
off  so  as  to  make  the  pin  that  much  larger 
in  order  to  fit  in  the  hole  better.  This 
left  a  large  opening  in  the  crank.  The 
inner  collar  on  the  brasses  was  also 
squared  off  in  order  to  fit  the  new  length 
of  the  pin. 

In  Fig.  I  is  shown  how  the  babbitt 
worked  out  and  filled  in  the  counterbore 
on    the   crank.     As   a   consequence,   every 


the  crank,  riveting  them  to  the  boxes,  pre- 
vented the  babbitt  from  working  into  the 
counterbore  of  the  crank. 

John   Tyron. 
Lynchburg,  Va. 


Remedying  a.  Traveling  Crane 
Trouble 


Some  time  ago  I  had  charge  of  the  re- 
pair work  in  a  large  shop  having  an  old- 
style  crane  that  did  first  rate  for  small 
work.  It  was  driven  from  one  end,  the 
motor  being  placed  over  the  cage  on  the 
side  of  the  crane. 

When  we  undertook  to  handle  a  large 
casting,  the  drive  end  would  start  ahead 
of  the  opposite  end  and  cause  the  work 
to  sway  back  and  forth,  making  it  danger- 
ous for  the -men  to  work  on  the  floor. 
This  ground  the  flanges  off  the  wheels 
and  sides  off  the  track.  As  the  floor  for 
heavy  work  was  situated  directly  under 
the  out  end,  all  the  lifts  were  consequently 
made  there.  We  decided  to  change  the 
drive  to  the  center,  and  also  to  put  on  a 
hand  brake. 

A  track  ran  through  the  shop,  and  we 
had  a  box  car  pushed  in  and  ran  the 
crane  directly  over  it.  We  then  built  a 
scaffold  on  top  of  the  car  high  enough  to 
work  at  the  job.  We  took  the  motor  and 
drive  shaft  down  and  laid  out  the  bolt 
holes  for  the  motor  at  the  center  of  the 
crane.  We  also  placed  a  new  hanger  to 
strengthen  the  drive  shaft ;  also  a  15-inch 
pulley  on  the  shaft  over  the  cage,  and  a 
hand  brake  with  a  foot  lever  to  work  in 
the  cage.  When  ready,  the  crane  ran  a 
great  deal  better  and  without  any  swing, 
as   both   ends   started   at  the  same   time ; 


TTTT 


Tl  I  i      I 

II  II      I 

ll  III 

]|Babbittl     | 


FIG.     I         SIDE   AND   SECTIONAL  VIEWS   OF   BRASSES   AND   PIN 


two  weeks  or  so  the  brasses  required  re- 
filling. This  kept  the  pin  hot  all  the  time. 
I  found  some  J-^-inch  copper  wire  and 
cut  a  piece  large  enough  to  make  a  ring 
to  fill  in  the  counterbore  on  the  crank. 
Fig.  2.  Then  taking  what  was  left,  and 
putting  a  half  ring  in  the  boxes  next  to 


and  with  the  brake,  the  crane  could  be 
stopped  as  quickly  as  the  latest-style  crane 
in  the  shop.  Neither  was  there  a  strain 
on  the  shaft  and  gears,  nor  did  the  wheels 
grind  and  cut  on  the  track. 

S.  J.  Kelley. 
Orange,  N.  J. 


January  5.  1909. 

Cylinder    Oil    Tank    Arrangement 

The     accompanying     sketch     show- 
cylinder  oil-tank   arrangement    I    recently 
came  across  in  a  plant  in  St.  Paul.     It  is 
attached  to  the  engine  cylinder  as  st.iwr 
It  takes  lip  hilt   little  room  and  d-x-^   tiot 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 
We  made  a  blank  of  Nol  14  thtet  ir*m 


Moviof  HcAW  MacKif 


Cylinder 


'""■   ="*"'  "^•■«  ■• 

t»  cmaml)  arm  to  nc.  kiH  !  ^*r 

comidcrablc   heavy   m»t 

one  o(  tiM  men  tktnM  i- 

trip  <m  the  pipe  roSw.  ami  ik* 

fail  10  bold  il.  whtn  uutii  tk* 

Uad.  and  wbat  wo«M  htoamt  of 

»!->  hjo««ac4  to  iiaa4  io  iu 

tb«f  e  were  oo  taddc  or 


My  adfiem  woold    be    lo 
«^ra  preoaboo  m  cm*  oi  ikc 
:i>ace  of  tW  pipe  Magt 

WnxjAM  S  Locmm*ai 
I.«aircfi«onli.  KwL 


V  OIHIBUlklOf     I  RMBMi 


VkkWf.KMKNT     OF     rilL     TANK     ON     CYMNrpV 


Ui-  'Kiirc    tin-    riiLiiiic    to   any    cMrir        it    iv 

made  of  galvanized   iron   and   painted  to 
match  the  color  of  the  cylinder. 

E.  O.  Jeanson. 
St.   Paul.   Minn. 


Excenlric    Troubles 


rlitiy     .1     friend    called     my     .ittniuon 

'•  condition  of  one  of  his  cros«-com- 

engines.      The    eccentrics 

■  ressure   side    were   chatter 

and   running    very    hot,    while 

Mtrics  on    the    low-pressure    side 

running     smooth     and     cool.     Oil 

being   fed  at   the  rate  of  thirty-two 

-  per  minute,  the  sight  feeds  deliver- 

«il  directly  over  the   center   of  each 

•1   valve.     The  receiver  gage  showed 

a?  i>'i!in!s  ;iri»l  never  "flickered." 

Tlirrr  !.<  '.Mv'  a  hand-regulated  cutoflF  «>n 

'  >w  pressure  side  governor,  and  Ix-ing 

I  tn  %rr  what    I   could  do,   I    tried  t<> 

'•  receiver  pressure,  but  the  gage 

!    the    same.     We    removed    the 

and  found  il  to  be  stuck  fast.    After 

ring  il  and  setting  it  with  the  other 

le  receiver  gage,  we  replaced  il  and 

'    '  if  the  receiver  ; 

This  was  ill 


hours'   work   the  eccentrics   were  in   fine 
.on!  •       •  •  •       ■  .j„. 

t;iTi  '««f 

uni:' 
the  ' 

and    a    better   runnmg   engme  canmM    be 
foi/nd. 
The  plant  has  in  it  three 

60-inch      r'  — .    ■ w  ,...,. I      ^. 

gines.  du 

I'Ts,  operariiig  at  a  >jrarti  j>rr«»-: 

;i'  iinds 

Maicuv  J.  Muaxi: 
St  l>oai».  Mo. 


In   replyig  to  tbe  raqur*!   ..i   E4var4 
\    Yoang.  in  a  rrcrM  i<  i«  ikM 

fK-    brnslMS   br    f-'-    •  —.-- ^ 

'   tbe  brvabrs   vm    <.}n-p   »rta    •f>*ra  .   if 

earr  tbry  mM  art  fbe  coMMOtaior. 
<m»  to  br  tbe  tr   gbli   ««li  Mr 


li  -  D6>  oM.  tbe  ham- 

njf  •»T;-r»    —jT    V    'for    lo 

«d     iMcb  b' 

»ni«-.!    bi     ct>  '  h 

-4 


•  nil"*'*    rrvn    n"«    c- 

nd    the 

.honld   K>< 
^itb  regBT': 


Automatic  Engine  Stops 


In   an   engine   room   where   t>i 


;...,kr.|    • 
with    th' 
.itr<J   It   w 
the  valve      \N 
eliminated  all  — 
getting    metallic    |> 
stem 
Bv  havinc  tb«  ttop 


itSinc    •• 


b  M^r  el  Hw  oae 


fairfed  or 


the   eccentric   a    «!■ 
•ire   it.      At   the   n^ 
we  look  ofT  the  eccentric  straps  at: 
•  fir    eccentrics    badly    cut    and     k 

question  confronting  us  wa 
-■ii'Hith  them  up  without  taWr 
and  I  decided  to  file  Ihrnt  h1  : 


'  r|^   InHiA 


68 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  5,  1909. 


Blowoff  Pipe  Trouble  Remedied 


By  the  plan  described  herewith  the 
writer  got  rid  of  at  least  90  per  cent,  of 
the  trouble  from  a  very  troublesome  blow- 
off  pipe.  The  full  lines  in  the  sketch  show 
the  3-inch  cast-iron  pipe  as  first  arranged. 
It  was  fitted  with  flange  joints  and  tees  to 
connect  to  the  2H-inch  wrought-iron 
pipes,  two  of  which  connect  to  each  mud- 


telephone    work.     Use    copper    and    zinc 
terminals. 

J.  J.  O'Brien. 
Buffalo,  N.  Y. 


Using  Kerosene  Oil  in  Boilers 

In  a  recent  issue  a  correspondent  states 
that  he  cannot  -see  any  real  gain  in  using 
kerosene  oil  for  removing  scale  in  steam 


DramC4_J:Q' 


Blow-off  Val.e 


Discbarge 
from  Traa 


a — p 


-I- 


Irun  Pipe,'.^  Expansion  Jomt^ 


a — a o 

IM'Pipe 


HOW    BLOWOFF-PIPE    TROUBLE    WAS    REMEDIED 


drum,  there  being  four  boilers.  The  dis- 
charge from  two  low-pressure  steam  traps 
enters  about  the  middle  of  the  pipe.  The 
end  A  was  blanked. 

For  a  year  this  pipe  gave  all  kinds  of 
trouble  with  broken  tees,  blown  gaskets 
and,  at  one  time,  a  split  pipe.  It  was 
impossible  to  keep  it  tight  more  than  two 
days.  After  a  time,  noticing  that  the 
breaks  nearly  all  occurred  near  the  closed 
end,  I  concluded  that  our  trouble  was 
caused  by  water  hammer,  and  set  out  to 
find  a  remedy.  Taking  off  the  blank  at  A, 
we  piped  a  iJ4-inch  loop,  as  shown  by 
the  dotted  lines.  This  pipe  is  45  feet  long 
and  an  expansion  joint  was  inserted  about 
the  middle  of  its  length,  to  take  care  of 
the  expansion.  This  change  has  almost 
entirely  cured  the  trouble.  We  have  no 
more  broken  fittings,  only  an  occasional 
gasket  has  to  be  replaced  and  we  do  not 
have  to  touch  it  for  months  at  a  time. 

H.    W.    GiNAVEN. 

Springfield,  O. 


To  Etch  Tools 


The  best  way  to  mark  names  or  initials 
on  metal  tools  is  to  etch  them.  The  mark 
is  ineffaceable  and  easily  done,  with  a 
little  experience. 

The  first  step  in  the  process  is  to  spread 
a  thin  layer  of  soap  over  the  surface  in- 
tended to  be  used.  Next,  with  a  sharp 
stick,  or  scratch  awl,  cut  the  name  in  the 
layer  of  soap,  exposing  the  metal.  Then 
drop  into  the  letters  enough  of  the  fol- 
lowing solution  to  commence  an  oxidizing 
action  on  the  metal  exposed :  One  ounce 
salt,  2  ounces  copper  sulphate  (bluestone), 
and  I  quart  of  vinegar.  A  few  drops  will 
suffice,  and  a  few  trials  will  teach  how 
long  to  let  the  solution  work  before  wiping 
it  off  with  a  cloth. 

This  also  makes  a  good  solution  for  an 
open-circuit   battery,  for   electric-bell  and 


boilers.  Some  years  ago  I  had  charge  of 
a  small  steam  plant  in  which  was  installed 
a  second-hand  boiler.  It  was  in  good 
condition,  only  it  was  badly  scaled.  After 
the  boiler  was  set  and  bricked  in  I  re- 
moved the  scale  with  kerosene  oil  in  the 
following  manner : 

All  loose  scale  and  sediment  were  re- 
moved from  the  tubes  and  shell  and  kero- 
sene oil  sprayed  over  the  interior  sur- 
faces of  the  boiler,  so  that  when  the  boiler 
was  filled  the  oil  would  rise  and  come  in 
contact  with  the  under  side  of  the  tubes. 

The  top  manhole  was  left  open,  and 
after  filling  the  boiler  to  the  proper  level 
a  slow  fire  was  started  and  kept  up  for 
about  ten  hours.  The  boiler  was  then 
left  to  cool  off  over  night  and  the  next 
morning  the  water  and  loose  scale  were 
removed.  The  operation  was  repeated 
until  most  of  the  scale  was  taken  out. 


it  has  been  thoroughly  ventilated ;   better 
still,  use  an  incandescent  lamp. 

Care  should  be  exercised  when  using 
kerosene  for  removing  old  scale  in  steam 
boilers  to  open  up  the  boiler  a  short  time 
after  using  the  oil,  because  the  scale  is 
liable  to  drop  down  on  the  fire  sheets. 
H.  Jahnke. 

Milwaukee,  Wis. 


An  Emergency  Piston    in    an    Air 
Compressor 


The  accompanying  description  and  illus- 
tration are  of  an  emergency  piston  used 
in  a  disabled  air  compressor.  The  pistork 
is  from  the  steam  cylinder  of  an  18  and 
18^  by  24-inch  straight-line  compressor. 
The  original  piston  was  wrecked  when 
the  heads  of  two  follower  bolts  broke  off" 
and  fell  into  the  clearance  space.  The 
spider  was  split  in  two  and  the  follower 
plate  was  broken. 

The  air  from  this  compressor  is  in  con- 
stant demand,  so  a  temporary  piston  was- 
constructed  as  follows : 

We  sheared  out  12  plates  of  J^-incb 
tank  steel  in  circles  18^  inches  in  diame- 
ter and  bolted  them  together,  as  shown,, 
by  eighteen  ^-inch  bolts.  These  were- 
drawn  up  as  tightly  as  possible  and  the 
piston  put  in  a  lathe.  The  taper  hole  in 
the  hub  was  bored  out  to  fit  the  piston 
rod  and  the  piston  turned  down  to  the 
proper  size.  Three  grooves  were  turned 
in  the  surface,  ^  inch  wide  and  9/16  inch 
deep,  and  high-pressure  spiral  packing  was 
forced  into  the  grooves.  The  bolt  heads- 
and  nuts  projecting  through  the  outside 
plates  were  turned  off  so  as  to  make  the 
piston  7  inches  thick,  the  dimension  of  the- 
broken  piston. 

The  piston  was  then  put  on  the  rod,, 
fitted  into  the  cylinder  and   run   for   four 

I  . 

1^ -7— -^ 


PLATE    PISTON    FOR    AIR    COMPRESSOR 


I 


IMore  kerosene  was  sprayed  over  the 
tubes  and  shell  and  the  boiler  was  put  in 
service  for  a  week,  meanwhile  feeding 
kerosene  with  the  feed  water.  Then  the 
boiler  was  opened  up  and  the  loose  scale 
removed. 

When  kerosene  oil  is  used  in  a  boiler, 
never  place  a  torch  or  candle  inside,  until 


or  five  days,  when  the  new  piston  was  put 
in.  The  temporary  piston,  when  taken 
out,  was  in  good  shape,  excepting  the 
packing,  which  was  pretty  well  used  up. 

The  steam  pressure  was  160  pounds^ 
with  100  degrees  Fahrenheit  superheat. 
The  piston  was  rather  heavy,  but  it  di(f' 
the  work  and  no  damage  was  done  to  the 


January  5,  igoQ. 


POWER  AND  THE  E.v 


grlinder ;   in   fact,   the   surface   was  finely 
;)olished  when  taken  out. 

G.  L.  Fales. 
Copperhill,  Tenn.  ^'^ 
used 


Engine  Turning  Device 


•h»di  «tam  in  ttir  rfir^-*:  «    H  •'v  ^' 


Grout  Foundation 


I  am  operating  a  plant  containing  a 
I5x22-inch  double  engine  furnishing  power 
lo  a  coal-washing  plant.  Six  years  ago 
the  engine  was  set  up  on  a  concrete  foun- 
dation, and  later  the  top  of  the  founda- 
tion crumbled  under  the  bed  plate  to  a 
depth  of  4  inches.  It  became  necessary 
to  relinc  and  level  the  engines,  and  at  the 
fame  time  rebabbitt  the  crank-shaft  bear- 
ings.    We  began  the  job  Friday  night  at 


i6o  tons.     It  was  necessary. 
make   the  iir>ok   pikkI   and   %i 


rr^n^ 


na   2 


e       e 

A 

0  0 


J — 1- 


nc    I 


:n.,    and    had    until    6   a.m.    Monday 

:iing  in  which  to  finish  the  work. 

'«d  33^  per  cent.  Vulcanite  porlland 

nt  and  663^  per  cent,  sand  in  a  grout 

...    .   mold  4   inches  deep  on   the   founda- 

Hj^  after  cutting  and  cleaning  away  all 

^^K  particles.     After  allowing  ^J  hours 

'for  the  cement  to  become  set  we  secured 

•h.-    engines    with    the    sixteen     I'/i-inch 

or  bolts  and  started  up  on  time  Mon- 

morning.     After  three  days  we  again 

■  the  anchor  Iwlts  about  one-half  turn. 

today  the  engines  are  in  place  as  solid 

rock. 

J.    J.   Kl!M 

Minhar,  Penn. 


P^ 


Scraping  Valves  and  Valve   Scats 


<  aaif  Mctaaary  to  lemrr 

4r-.<-   :.'..«,  tad  iW  ■t4ta  wdi  rr 

tlxM   pcnaiitag   tW   r«   to   aMr 

<}"wn  OS  tW  ria  of  IW  «W«l  fwif  (or 

a  nr*  grifL 

E  H  Lutt 
KaatttOly.  Mol 


Nob  umI  WnbcKcs 

The  sktlkd  oma  caa  mm  a  mtmdk  te 
"any  old  way."  aad  ilw  o^btr  fclov  cm- 
not  Did  ytM  trtr  tmi  fovarff  halfc« 
a  ho(  piece  of  pipe  ia  ■■  atafcvard  poai- 
lioa  and  the  other  Utkm  mnk  tW  ao» 
kry  wrmdi.  in  Ma  karry  to  mcmt  a 
'^'Trifir^  naioa,  tarajag  tibt 
• .:  » ay.  or  opcaiaf  dbt  iaw  ia 

'.'•■  r     m'r^^:^\    fO    sifC.    MHtoad    Ci    ><"■■■   ■     i*  * 

Rccardaw    Um 

wr<^iriMa.  wky  ia  it  tlac  ikt 

'   :i    wrcndi    it    aied    to    aaKh^    TW 

>*rirrr   has   alvajra  prafartad  iIh  mth- 

!<-d  wrtacfc.  a  bnag  aaKk  mmtv  co»- 

\cn»cfit 

I  nr^w*  tliat  a  brf*  aaafcar  «l  MaM» 

-Mi«thc 

nf  ■ 

tain  Uadbr  to  ikt  clWi«t  at 

'nit  tl'iovy.  kal  aadrr  tW  coa* 

»da    la 


are  • 

and    p'|>«"     ;uii«ri     injT     »rT     rv  i     *^'^    iMK^d 

for  bolta.  which  shnM  h*  4tm.  <mmm- 
<|ucnily,  the  roaad  or  dUMBwrva  Maa  af 
the  aal  adapt*  itacif  to  dM  aaih. 
than  the  other  or  taiihrit  iida. 

CaAam  Wa 
Hartford.  Coaa 


Driving  Up  a  B«f  m  a  Boiler 


!-j^     in 

(oUotvtnc 
foandry 
to  sopph 
A  Uc  J^' 


T^iur      PD 


•4.  •«? 


tea  a 

It  »Vr 


na  J 
,^  awl  »«n»  »i«r«  of  the  ric  the 


I    desire    information    regarding    sctA\< 
'■■'  and  fitting    flat    valves,    of    the    t^ 
imonly   known   as   the   "Swert"    v  i 

■vc  step*.  tnoU  requHoi. 
t  these  valvrt 

S.  A.  EuJEAaft 
Uniontown.  Penn. 


vl*S   t> 


1 


The  boiler,  which  has  been  inspected 
several  times,  has  been  in  use  for  several 
years  since  and  is  said  to  be  the  best 
boiler   in   the   battery  of  five. 

The  plant  was  not  shut  down  as  in  the 
other  case,  and  the  boiler  was  out  of  use 
only  three  days,  the  expense  amounting  to 
the  cost  of  ten  gallons  of  gasolene  and  a 
helper  for  two  days. 

W.  F.  Johnson. 

Bamberg,  S.   C. 


A  Peculiar  Lighting  Condition 

■  If  C.  L.  Greer,  whose  letter  appeared 
in  a  recent  issue  of  the  paper,  will 
remove  the  ground  on  the  negative  side 
of  the  circuit  C  (see  reproduced  sketch), 
he  will  find  that  the  negative  side  of  cir- 
cuit B  is  grounded. 

I  would  advise  a  new  extension  cord 
on  the  lamp  used  by  the  boiler  washer. 
Then  the  lighting  system  should  work 
properly.  E.  B.  Austin. 

Burlington,  N.   C. 


Concerning  C.  L.  Greer's  inquiry,  I 
would  say  that  the  following  cojiditions 
might  give  rise  to  his  trouble : 

Should  a  dead  ground  exist  at  any  point 
on  the  outside  wire  of  circuit  B,  and  a 
similar  ground  exist  at  a  point  on  the 
outside  wire  of  circuit  C,  the  lights  on 
circuit  C  would  burn  under  the  conditions 
he  mentioned,  namely,  with  the  switch  A 
closed  on  the  exciter  circuit,  switches  B 
and  C  closed  and  the  circuit  breaker  open. 
The  lamps  on  circuit  C  are  then  fed  as 
follows :  From  the  positive  side  of  the 
direct-current  machine  to  the  lamps  by 
way  of  the  positive  side  of  switch  C, 
through    the   lamps    to   the   ground,    then 


A.C 


D.C. 


B 

O 
O 
O 

O 
O 
O- 

>     c 

a 
o 
o 

o 
o 
o 

>   <; 

c 

o 

o 
o 
o- 

diagr.\.m  of  wiring  for  lightinr,  system 
(reproduced) 

from  ground  on  circuit  C  to  the  ground 
on  circuit  B  and  through  the  negative  side 
of  switch  B,  back  to  the  direct-current 
machine  by  way  of  the  negative  side  of 
switch  A. 

•If  we  put  the  circuit  breaker  in  it  will 
remain  there,  the  only  part  it  plays  is  to 
supply  an  additional  path  for  the  cur- 
rent of  the  negative  side,  and  the  amount 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

of  current  it  will  take  will  be  propor- 
tional to  its  resistance  and  the  resistance 
of  the  circuit  through  the  grounds.  In 
other  words,  we  have  a  divided  circuit  of 
which  one  leg  includes  the  circuit  breaker 
and  the  other  leg  includes  the  grounds. 
If,  now,  the  switch  A  is  opened  all  of  the 
circuit  C  must  pass  through  the  circuit 
breaker;  this  momentary  rush  of  current 


January  5,  1909. 


Preventing  a  Crank  from  Throwing 
Oil 


I 


An  engineer  experienced  a  great  de; 
of  trouble  from  oil  thrown  by  the  crank" 
of  a  Corliss  engine.  He  tried  a  number 
of  methods  of  getting  rid  of  the  nuisance, 
but  had  not  been  successful. 


OIL    GUARD    ON    GUIDE 


may  be  sufficient  to  trip  the  same  in  the 
manner  spoken  of. 

Walter  G.  Mullen. 
Gloucester,  Mass. 


Air  Compressor  Accident 

Quite  recently,  in  one  of  the  largest 
railroad  shops  in  the  middle  West  there 
was  a  serious  air-compressor  explosion 
which  wrecked  the  tanks,  engine  and 
hundreds  of  feet  of  pipe  and  tore  great 
holes  in  the  walls  of  the  building. 

The  accident  was  a  progressive  one, 
the  first  trouble  being  the  explosion  of 
about  a  hundred  feet  of  underground  air 
pipe  in  the  yards,  which  so  lowered  the 
tank  pressure  as  to  cause  the  engine, 
which  was  air-controlled  only,  to  run 
away  and  burst  the  flywheel,  which  was 
directly  in'  line  with  a  battery  of  large 
boilers.      They,    however,    escaped   injury. 

The  primary  cause  was  undoubtedly  oil 
in  the  pipes,  which  became  volatilized  and 
fired,  either  by  heat  or  by  electricity,  the 
former  being  more  likely. 

There  are  three  lessons  to  be  learned 
from  this  accident,  of  which  the  most  im- 
portant is  that  an  air-compressor  engine 
should  not  be  controlled  by  air  alone,  but 
should  be  fitted  with  an  auxiliary  gov- 
ernor which  will  act  as  soon  as  the  speed 
rises  above  a  certain  point.'  In  this  way 
an  accident  to  the  tanks  or  piping,  caus- 
ing a  sudden  lowering  of  the  pressure  to 
a  dangerous  degree,  would  not  cause  the 
engine  to  race.  The  lowering  of  the 
pressure  need  not  necessarily  be  caused 
by  an  explosion,  but  the  giving  way  of  a 
pipe,  valve  or  tank  from  any  cause  would 
have  the  same  effect. 

The  second  lesson  is  one  that  is  being 
driven  home  by  dozens  of  accidents  all 
over  the  country,  and  that  is,  keep  an 
excessive  amount  of  oil  out  of  the  system. 

The  third  and  last  lesson  is  one  that  is 
seldom  needed,  but  which  in  this  case 
was  disregarded,  though  fortunately  with- 
out serious  result.  It  is  that  no  engine 
•should  be  so  set  that  the  bursting  of  the 
flywheel  would  be  apt  to  crush  the  boilers. 
Ethan  Viall. 

Decatur,   Til. 


The  idea  of  fastening  a  wiper  to  a  wire, 
so  that  it  would  wipe  the  surplus  oil  off 
as  the  crank  went  past  the  bottom  de- 
veloped. This  idea  resulted  in  the  appli- 
cation of  a  wiper,  as  shown  in  the  illus- 
tration. It  was  cut  out  of  leather  and 
fastened  with  a  screw  and  washer  to  the 
end. of  the  guide.  After  this  wiper  was 
put  on  and  adjusted  so  that  it  touched  the 
rod  lightly  at  each  revolution,  the  oil- 
throwing  nuisance  completely  disappeared. 
W.  L.  Whitmarsh. 

Phenix,  R.  I. 


A  Lead    Brush 


Soon  after  I  took  charge  of  the  plant  I 
now  have,  one  of  the  carbon  brushes  of 
a  two-brush  four-pole  shunt-wound  motor 
broke  in  half.  As  there  was  not  enough 
left  to  be  of  any  use,  I  got  some  lead  and 
cast  a  brush.  I  then  filed  it  up  and  sand- 
papered it  to  fit  the  commutator  surface. 
I  had  no  trouble  for  the  rest  of  the  shift 
and  the  next  morning  I  replaced  it  with 
a  new  carbon  brush. 

C.  R.  MoURE. 

Exeter,  South  Australia. 


Belt  Ruined  by  Oil 


I 


The  following  experience  was  a  costly 
one  for  my  employer,  although  he  neve; 
discovered  the  cause.  A  6-inch  belt  gavt 
trouble  and  the  office  was  convinced  tha 
a  larger  belt  and  pulleys  were  needed 
After  the  belt  was  put  in  place,  the  super 
intendent  gave  me  a  gallon  of  neatsfoo 
oil  and  told  me  to  soak  the  belt  with  il 
Although  I  knew  better,  I  brushed  th 
oil  on  until  the  belt  was  as  limber  as 
rag.  Then  it  began  to  stretch,  and 
heavy  idler  pulley  was  put  up. 

The  oil  so  injured  the  glued  joints  tha 
they  had  to  be  pegged  and  riveted  n 
peatedly.  Finally  the  belt  parted  an 
wound  between  the  pulley  and  hanger.  . 
was  so  badly  damaged  that  a  new  on 
was  necessary. 

Charles  Haeusser. 

Albany,  N.  Y. 


January  5,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  F 


Boiler  Setting  '"  order  10  properly  examine  a 

tator  in  thu  condition  am;' 

be    provided.     Each     »egn. 

S.  Kirlin's  improvement  on  Mr.  Whee-  thoroaghly  ir        -    ' 

ler's  idea  of  a  boiler  setting  as  illustrated  »jiarke«l      W! 

in  a  recent  number,  appears  favorable  in  it  r 

many  respects,  although  I  should  arrange  ^b- 

details      slightly     differently.     The     soot-  r.-n,,;:,.        1  ia,    ,,    i,^ 

blower  door,  for  instance,  could  be  located  •i.k.   »,„•.    thr   same  m.i 


:yac»;;:srTra*y:T:^ 


-£!x: 


J 


J 


IJ 


WhtfVA 


■J   hn'ra   iL€  tit^u^  «k' 


LAmp    Wintiv'    OiAirram    W«0|(«J 


Can  any  ut  ttx  rvadm  t«BB««<  a  vir 

ir.t;  <li.>cr.tm  for  tkrovHU.  My.  tkrct  hat 


Ckv«Uii4  < 


Mt.   CEOKKBIjOII  S   suggestion    rO«   BOILCI  SKTTIItG 


Laying  Out  an  Ecccninc  Kcyway 


i>etter  advantage   in   the   opposite   end 
the  flues  could  be  blown  out  with  in- 
stead of  against  the  draft.     As  it  is,  the 
50ot  will  be  blown  out  in  the  fire  room  if 
too  much  pressure  is  applied. 

Where  the  blowoff  pipe  now  enters  the 
txjiler    I    would    have    a    good-sized    mud 
drum  connected  to  the  boiler  by  a  6-  or  8- 
inch  nipple,  and  pump  the  feed  water  into 
this    drum    through    the    blowoff   connec- 
tion, as  shown  in  the  accompanying  illus- 
tration.    The  arrangement  would  be  safe 
from  burning  out,  and  would  hold  water 
.1  hiKh  temperature  that  most  of 
forming  matter  in  the  feed  water 
lid  be  precipitated  in  the  drum,  where 
.in  do  no  harm  and  is  easily  removed. 

R.  Ceocrblou. 
..»ry,   Ind. 


Repairing  Commutators 


the  use  of  a  special  tool  whan  m     "ii^rni 
ently  made  from  a  4  inch  piece  <>f  hack- 
<>aw    blade,   one   end   being    groimd   to   a 
point  similar  to  a  shaprr  t'-'l      T)<i»  end 
is  also  made   just   thi'  -iter 

between  the  bars.     If  ;  -    n 

sharp,    square    cutting    edge    nr> 
will  be  experienced   in  scraping  - 
insulation  clean. 

.\fter  the  cavity  is  t» 
it  should  be  refilled  wr 
soda,  or   silicate  of   »• ' 
glass,  plaster  of  paris.     - 
and  shellac 
ha<    ■;««"l    ^r 
«  r ' 

right   proportion    •• 
paste.    The  hitter  i    , 
and   a   small    surplus   left 
afterward  smoothed  down  ». 


..,.)K   .-u,ned 
-  of 


In  a   r«ccBi  nmahtr,    j< 

fhrc*  a  MBpl*  amlw^  ol 

eecr--  -  V-  Tray  wlttdiw  1  fciiit^t.  <•  ••• 

qur  M    Ike    ■fiirfcj    9i    Ifct 

ecccntnc  t-yi  has  no!  Wm  eemtkignA. 

1^  *Ke  circk  (sM  OhHirabMi)  4mtm 

*  of  iW  rccMNfk  mi  OM  tkt 

the  twine  ro4L  vludi  la  dM 

t*  sta  lioM*  tlw  tlvow     TW  arc 

^  lold  be  the  path  o4  tW  •ti.wmiu 

rod  ihroofh  the  c««i«r  ol  iIm  skail.  md 

il<»    \tr-r    it     1    'Kr    ruTMi'k.   n    .   f    f'Kr    r«  t«g<fW 


vertical  Iwtr  ( 


tx-     >><al     **    tf.iacm    m    a* 
'    tW  h*y«ay.  to 

r«M     Oii^     If     tW 

•tpiate  pm  w«f*  Irtvl 
r  oi  IW  m0m     As  « 


he  'flashing  over"  or  excessive  spark 
trig    of    a    commutator    may    produce    a 
minute  ca\ity  in  the  commutator   insula- 
•    which,   from   time   to  time,  become^ 
l  with  a  conductive  material  from  the 
hes,  particularly  where  a  lubricant  has 
used.      When    enough    has    arcuimi 
•1   io   the   spot   to  become   a   fair   con 
•or,  and  a  current   passes  through   it 
u  bar  to  bar,  the  mass  becomes  incan 
ent,  immediately  bums  out,  and  with 
1    certain   amount   of  commutator   in- 
ition 

\t    intervals  the    process    i^    repeated. 
■  n  the  original  cause  of  thi^  defect 


ure    and    iK-ynnd    pr'".rn«i- "     hv    fh^ 
•1   in  charge 
ing,  is  always  r 

Irn-   spark    forming  a   monirtit.ir^    •    ■ 
'ire  around  or  partly  around  the 
•alor  and  always  recurring  at  the  vifii<- 
rure.     The  damaged  spot  become*  w    • 
and  unles*  attention  is  given    will  in^ 
My  end  in  serious  damage  '  '"<» 

tator,  and  often  to  the  am..  • 


I 


n»  LAVIMC  OVT  AJI  •mwT»i 


ThcM  matrriala  c< 

'ilieatc  jii'i  1-^ 


72 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGTXEER. 


January  5,  1909. 


Low    Pressure    Turbines  and   Steam  Engines 

Advantages     to    be    Obtained     in    a     Combined     Plant;     Flexibility 
of  Application    a    Turbine    Characteristic;    Efficiency    Ratio  Possible 


B    Y 


J. 


R. 


B    I    B    B    I    N    S 


Both  the  standard  types  of  prime  mover, 
the  reciprocating  engine  and  the  steam 
turbine,  have  distinct  fields  in  which  their 
highest  efficiencies  are  respectively  ob- 
tainable. The  steam  engine  finds  its  most 
efficient  territory  in  the  higher  pressure 
ranges  above  atmosphere,  while  the  steam 
turbine  works  to  best  advantage  in  the 
lower  stages.  This,  of  course,  does  not 
carry  the  inference  that  the  engine  cannot 
benefit  substantially  from  high  vacuum, 
nor  vice  versa,  the  turbine  from  high 
boiler  pressure,  for  the  advantages  of  each 
are  well  known.  In  the  engine,  the  losses 
due  to  condensation  and  reevaporation  on 
the  cylinder  walls  during  each  consecu- 
tive cycle  are  large;  in  the  turbine  there 
is  no  cyclic  change,  and  therefore  no  such 
losses,  comparatively  speaking,  as  a  fairly 
constant  temperature  and  pressure  ob- 
tain at  any  given  point  in  the  expansion 
range.  In  the  engine  the  mechanical  fric- 
tion of  the  enormous  sizes  of  cylinder 
necessary  to  accommodate  the  lower  ex- 
pansion ranges  constitutes  an  effective 
barrier;  in  the  turbine  the  lower  ranges 
are  obtained  with  comparative  ease  and 
without  incurring  excessive  losses,  me- 
chanical or  thermal. 

A  good  Corliss  engine  will  give  the  best 
efficiency**  (72  per  cent,  at  normal  load  in 
the  case  to  be  discussed  later)  when  oper- 
ating noncondensing  against  exhaust  pres- 
sures of  from  15  to  20  pounds  absolute. 
Certainly  cylinder  ratios  of  i  to  2.5  to  3.5 
will  do  so.  Similarly,  the  steam  turbine 
expanding  from  15  to  25  pounds  absolute 
down  will  show  a  maximum  efficiency 
ratio  as  high  as  73  per  cent,  for  moderate 
vacuum,  and  commercial  guarantees  are 
today  made  above  70  per  cent.,  a  fact 
which  speaks  for  itself.  Thus,  it  occurs 
that  the  combination  engine-turbine  plant 
will  show  an  overall  efficiency  ratio  (65  to 
75  per  cent,  of  the  ideal  cycle)  considera- 
bly in  excess  of  either  an  engine  or  com- 
plete-expansion turbine  unit  running  alone, 
which  can  hardly  do  better  than  65  per 
cent.  In  the  case  treated  later,  the  Ran- 
kine  cycle  efficiency  of  the  combined  unit 
was  found  to  be  69.3  per  cent,  at  normal 
load. 

The  pioneer  work  (about  1890)  of  C.  A. 
Parsons,  to  whom  we  are  all  indebted,  has 

•Paper  read  before  the  Canadian  Society 
of  Civil  Engineers,  Montreal,  Can.,  November 
26,   1908. 

•*It  Is  understood  that  the  term  efficiency 
In  this  case  refers  to  efficiency  ratio  in  per 
cent,  of  the  Ranljine-Clansius  cyclo,  i.e.. 
efficiency  in  per  cent,  of  available  energy  in 
the  steam  within  the  range  of  pressures,  not 
steam    consumption. 


brought  about  so  thorough  a  discussion  of 
the  marine  problem  as  to  take  definite 
form  in  the  recent  decision  to  equip  the 
two  monster  transatlantic  liners  with 
combined  engine  and  low-pressure  turbine 
plants.  Professor  Rateau's  work  in  steel 
mill  and  mine  hoisting  has  also  resulted  in 
the  practical  application  of  low-pressure 
turbines  in  connection  with  the  steam- 
regenerative  principle,  permitting  the  tur- 
bines to  operate  constantly,  using  the  ex- 
haust steam  from  engines  intermittently 
operated.  His  work  has  been  brought  to 
our  notice  in  this  country  by  H.  H.  Waite, 


Class  A — Supply  of  steam  intermittent 
and  widely  varying  in  quantity.  For  ex- 
ample, rolling  mills,  for  blooms,  plate, 
sheet,  wire,  rail  and  structural  shapes, 
steam  hammers  and  hoisting  engines.  All 
of  these  involve  the  regenerative  princi- 
ple, requiring  a  careful  study  of  the  time 
element  in  supply  and  demand,  generally 
resolving  into  a  special  problem  for  each 
individual  installation. 

Class  B — Nonintermittent  supply  with- 
out regeneration.  This  class  embraces 
central  power  stations  for  lighting,  trac- 
tion or  for  factory  drive,  and  may  be  dis- 


WESTINGHOUSE    DOUBLE-FLOW   TURBINE   ON    TESTING    FLOOR 


in  discussing  regenerative  turbine  appli- 
cation to  steel  mills. t  J.  W.  Kirkland$ 
has  introduced  the  subject  of  low-pressure 
turbines  in  light  and  power  plants.  And 
it  is  this  line  of  thought  that  it  is  de- 
sired to  enlarge  upon  in  the  present  paper. 

Application 

There  are  two  general  classes  of  service 
in  which  the  low-pressure  turbine  finds 
eflfective  field  for  application : 


tAmerican  Institute  of  Electrical  En- 
gineers,  December,   1907. 

tNational  Electric  I-ight  Association,  .Tune, 
1 90.S. 


cussed  as  a  general  problem  of  power  ex- 
tension where  the  widely  varying  plant 
conditions  may  be  summarized  as  follows: 
(i)  Good  engine  design;  fair  operat- 
ing efficiency.  Increase  in  capacity  neces- 
sary. 

(2)  Inefficient  engines,  condensing  or 
noncondensing,  improvement  in  operating 
economy  or  increase  in  capacity  necessary. 

(3)  Present  condensing  plant  unsuita- 
ble or  inefficient. 

(4)  Plant  location;  wftre  water  supr 
ply  is  limited,  unsuitable  or  costly,  for 
example,  enforced  noncondensing  opera- 
tion. 


January  5,   1909. 

C5)     High  cost  of  fuel. 

('liven  a  reciprocating-engine  plant  of 
serviceable  construction,  along  what  lines 
shall  needed  power  extension  be  made? 

(i)  By  installing  more  reciprocating 
units  of  the  same  type*  and  operating 
under  the  same  conditions. 

(2)  By  installing  more  efficient  com- 
plete-expansion turbines  with  suitable 
auxiliaries. 

(3)  By  utilizing  the  low-pressure  tur- 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

cncy  ratio  of  75  per  cent   indicated.  68 
per  cent,  brake. 

TuuiNc  Te«T* 
Two  series  of  '  vill 

serve  to  illustrate         .  ...i 

omy  and  capacity :    Kig.  i  r 
at  several  different  loads  ar.o  ...;  ..i,^  ,„,ct 
pressures,  all  on  apprnx mutely  dry-tatu- 
rated     steaifi    and    27  5    inches    vacuum. 
Although  a  few  of  the  original  obtenra- 


73 


hat  been  proved  bjr  oClicr  tettt  carrtcd  a» 
high  at    %rj  >  ar..!»   abw.!jrr       "P  u»    »•      t 

poondt 

approai:..- ..,     ...     ^^  .    ..     , 
horsepower   (iM    po«ad»    per 
ind  at  JO  pooada  lalct 
poonda  per  brake  borae; 
:::.!)  per  ldlo«ran-bo«f ). 

The  rflfeci  of  Usbcr  iald  prc«a«re«  aad 
varying  vaaa  b  wtfl  themn  bf  Fig.  s.  a 
•cries  of  icau  apoi  IW  low- 
tion  of  a  aoao>bonc| 
for  the  loterbonmgli  Bapid  Traaait  Com- 
panjr  in  1900:  Tbia  machi—  ia  of  the 
tingle-llow  dcaagn,  tbc  bigb  ptnmmn  we- 
tion  eapanding  down  to 
phere     and     the 

below.  No(e  that  the  water  MB**  art 
virtually  airaight  op  to  tht 
initial  preMorc.  jo  pniwdi.  ai 
divergent  for  rarTtng  vacwa.  This  range 
of  inlet  prcaaore  rcprcacma  ^;mkit  cloiili 
the  actual  range  of  opcrarion  in  a  earn 
binrd  rnsir.p  torbine  plant  Tbc  runh  of 
tcM  -nachtne.  tbc  fim  one  of  the 

an  M 

'5    p"':n'J'    Jt'w  u;^r    ir.'  '    /^ 


inches   vacoaaL 
proved  upon  ' 
to  design  for 


And 


cJ  cjipcdMM 


La»i  •  Brakf  llarMpv««i 
FlC.     I 


CHAaAcnaitnca  ov  Low- 
TtnMKa 
p.. ...       •  1 1 umdynanuc 
lo«  'urbine  it  the  eaaci 

pan   ''!   Ttir  coaplcte  cxpanaioa 
a.nd  it  pniimei  the  mbk  characierMlka 
*h'  -  .'J.    At  in  the  Wgh-preaanrc 

(ur  .ne  of  total 

hour,    or     water    Ime**.    to 


bine  principle  to  render  the  present  plant 
more  efficient. 

Primarily,  the  problem  before  us  is  that 
of  Gass  B,  (l)  and  (2),  improving  the 
dhcifncy  of  a  given  reciprocating-engine 
plant,  which  may  be  in  the  best  physical 
shape,  but  operating  under  unsuitable  con- 
ditions. The  importance  of  this  subject 
will  at  once  l>c  appreciated  when  we  re- 
flect that  a  plant  of  noncondrnsing  engines 
nuy  be  changed  over  to  reduce  its  water 
rate  from  jo  or  35  pounds  per  kilowatt- 
hour  to  15  or  18  pounds  per  kilowatt-hour 
in  comparatively  small  sizes;  in  other 
worcls,  for  the  same  expenditure  of  coal 
and  watrr,  a  net  increase  in  power  of 
from  So  lo  too  per  cent,  may  be  realised, 
deprr).Iiin(  upon  the  type  of  equipment. 
And  the  resulting  co*t  of  power  is  reduced 
in  the  <anir  proportions.  In  the  case  later 
discussed,  a  minimum  water  rate  of  15.8 
pounds  (KT  kilowatt-hour  (150  pounds  dry 
Mtiirated  steam  to  28  inches  vacuum)  is 
obtam.il.jr  from  an  engine  giving  28.5 
poufi!  prr  kilowatt-hour  noncondrnsing. 
iml  ,•".>!;  pounds  prr  kilowatt  hour  con- 
JenMiiK.  with  an  increase  in  rstrfl  rap^- 
:ity  of  90  per   cent.;   maxit-  per 

•ent.    This  is  equivalent  to  <;  per 

ndicated    horsepower- hour,   or    an   effiri 


j 

1      1  1 

. 

■k«LM. 

*l 

3  ,„^ 

"TTi 

I 

3 

1  1 

1 

\ 

a 
* 

V' 

•  V.*" 

1 

^ 

s^- 

' 

• 

1    1    i     1    i    1    1    !    1    i    '    '    '    ■ 

1 

^^^ 

_J 

lions  were  • 
due  lo  the  <li 
vacuum,  and  .-. 

line  N'.iic  :' 
all 

nxx.)....  . . .  •>.•;  i..T  . ..-.  - 

pressures  is  the  same,  a  str 

•oatnc    «'" 

with     «»»»«lnt)f 


«Mt«nlly  »><rtta» 
T>» 


nc   J 


vrtoprd  by  th  '*»^  •  W^ 

portioo  to  ff  '    bailing  the 

•*'     Mann  fr  9  ihrongbnat  ite  aa 

'^^     chine  at  r.    K- ,     As  thto  tyye  •#  ■• 
■*     rbfaM  iM»lnn  BO  iiibial—  hi  te  Aipt 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  5,  1909. 


would  be  expected,  and  the  water-rate 
curve  is  necessarily  an  equilateral  hyper- 
bola. The  low-pressure  turbine  may  be 
regarded  as  the  third  cylinder  of  a  triple- 
expansion  system,  and  is  equivalent  to 
such  cylinder  fitted  with  fixed  cutoff.  In 
other  words,  it  must  have  a  definite  initial 
pressure  to  enable  it  to  pass  a  given 
weight  of  steam.  This  necessitates  a  care- 
ful study  of  engine-cj'linder  proportions 
and  valve  movements.  For  it  occurs  that 
when  direct-connected  to  an  engine,  the 
release  pressure  in  the  low-pressure  en- 
gine cylinder  may  be  well  above  the  initial 
pressure  required  by  the  turbine,  or 
considerably  below  it,  depending  upon 
whether  the  load  is  heavy  or  light.  In 
the  first  case  a  large  receiver  drop  would 
ensue  between  engine  and  turbine,  and  in 
the  second  a  serious  loop  in  the  low-pres- 
sure diagram.  Therefore,  the  type  of  en- 
gine, cylinder  ratio,  the  cutoff  and  the 
average-  and  maximum-load  demand  must 
be  known  before  any  rational  decision  can 
be  made  as  to  the  proper  size  of  turbine 
to  install  and  the  resulting  distribution  of 
load  predicted.  However,  should  errors 
be  made  in  the  calculations  or  determina- 
tions of  the  low-pressure  turbine  charac- 
teristics, the  same  may  be  easily  rectified 
by  a  slight  change  in  the  angle  of  the 
blades,  requiring  but  a  very  small  ex- 
penditure. 

Engine  Characteristics 
Assuming   a   normal   design   of   Corliss 
compound  engine,  there  are  two  methods 
of  governing  which  may  come  under  con- 
sideration : 

(a)  High  -  pressure  cutoff  variable; 
low-pressure  fixed. 

(b)  Parallel  cutoff,  i.e.,  both  high- 
pressure  and  low-pressure  variable  in  the 
same  direction,  increasing  with  the  load. 

The  parallel  system  is  widely  employed 
in  Corliss  practice  to  maintain  an  equaliza- 
tion of  work  in  the  two  cylinders.  It  is 
difficult,  however,  to  avoid  loops  in  the 
low-pressure  cards  at  light  loads  (non- 
condensing),  as  the  low-pressure  cylinder 
expands  below  the  exhaust  pressure.  In 
case  (a)  the  low-pressure  cutoff  is  de- 
liberately fixed  far  enough  in  advance  to 
eliminate  the  low-pressure  loop  in  the 
lower  ranges  of  load  anticipated.  But 
this  system  has  the  disadvantage  of  caus- 
ing a  great  disparity!  in  loading  cylinders. 

A  point  worth  noting  is  that  in  lightly 
loaded  plants  where  large  increase  is 
anticipated,  the  low-pressure  loop  may  be 
to  some  degree  avoided  by  omitting  a  few 
rows  of  blades,  thus  enabling  the  turbine 
to  pass  the  same  quantity  of  steam  at  a 
lower  inlet  pressure.  Ordinarily  two  rows 
will  be  sufficient  and  these  may  be  re- 
replaced  later  when  normal  operation  is 
resumed. 


tThus  with  the  low-pressure  cutoff  fixed  at 
75  per  cent,  of  the  stroke  and  the  high-pres- 
sure as  short  as  l'>  per  cent.,  the  engine 
would  deliver  steam  to  the  turbine  at  8 
pounds  absolute  and  without  loop.  But  on 
maximum  load  with  high-pressure  cutoff  at 
75  and  25  pounds  back  pressure,  the  ratio  of 
work  In  the  two  cylinders  would  be  about 
2  to  ]. 


This  brief  discussion  will  serve  to  illus- 
trate the  necessity  of  a  careful  study  of 
the  engine  problem.  In  designing  a  plant 
for  a  given  loading  factor,  say,  75  per 
cent,  average  and  150  per  cent,  maximum 
rating,  the  point  of  rating  of  the  com- 
bined unit  may  be  regarded  as  correspond- 
ing to  the  point  where  the  engine  is  oper- 
ating at  its  best  economy,  noncondensing, 
for  the  combined  plant  virtually  retains 
the  characteristics  of  the  engine  equip- 
ment. 

Combined  Plant 
The  effect  of  the  various  factors  out- 


maximum  load ;  the  engine  ordinarily  does. 
its  best  at  rating  or  under.  It  is  usual 
practice  to  rate  an  engine  at  its  point  of 
lowest  steam  consumption.  This  may  be 
found  from  the  water  lines  as  the  point 
of  tangency  of  a  radial  line  from  the 
origin.  Thus,  this  engine  running  con- 
densing shows  its  best  economy  at  about 
1000  kilowatts,  and  noncondensing  at 
about  1200  kilowatts,  which  is  entirely  ra- 
tional. On  the  other  hand,  the  resultant 
■  engine  curve  (d)  shows  a  best  point  of 
economy  slightly  under  900  kilowatts,  due 
to  the  influence  of  the  variable  back  pres- 
sure.     Therefore,   the    turbine    should   be 


55000 
50000 

r 

/ 

/c) 

/ 

/ 

1 

/ 

/ 

/ 

y 

/ 

^  40000 

a 

S  35000 
■    30000 

' 

^i/i  . 

A 

<?' 

<^ 

^ 

^f  //  y"' 

/ 

~1  / 

/ 

,0^^^ 

.^ 

// 

1 

■i 

,* 
^ 

y 

1 

li 

,<*/^ 

f 

^ 

15000 

// 

■^^ 

^ 

" 

1400  1600  1800 
Load  in  Kw 
FIG.  3 


■J200   2400   2600   2800   3000   3200 


lined  may  be  best  illustrated  from  Figs.  3 
and  4,  which  have  been  prepared  to  exem- 
plify the  principles  of  design  for  a  2000- 
kilowatt  installation  suited  to  a  50  per 
cent,  overload,  or  thereabout.  Fig.  3 
shows  only  the  water  lines,  from  which 
are  derived  the  respective  water-rate 
curves,  Fig.  4.  These  water  lines  cover 
the  following  conditions  : 

(a)  Engine  alone  condensing,  26  inches 
vacuum. 

(b)  Engine  alone  noncondensing,  17 
pounds  absolute  back  pressure. 

(c)  Low-pressure  turbine  alone,  28 
inches  vacuum,  variable  inlet  pressure. 

(d)  Engine  noncondensing  with  varia- 
ble back  pressure,  resulting  from  its  con- 
nection to  the  turbine. 

(e)  Combined  engine  and  turbine  sys- 
tem, 28  inches  vacuum. 

Of  the  above,  (a),  (b)  and  (c)  were 
obtained  by  actual  data.  The  combined 
curve  (d)  must  be  found  graphically  from 
the  characteristic  curves  of  engine  and 
turbine,  and  the  final  curve  (e)  by  com- 
bining (c)  and  (d).  These  water  lines. 
Fig.  3,  serve  to  illustrate  the  difference 
between  the  Willans  characteristic  for  tur- 
bine (c)  and  an  engine  (a)  (b)  gov- 
erned by  cutoff.  One  is  a  straight  line, 
the  other  a  curve.  The  turbine  has  no 
point    of    lowest    water    rate    other    than 


designed  to  pass  just  the  amount  of  steam 
required  at  a  back  pressure  corresponding 
approximately  to  this  point  of  best  engine 
economy,  noncondensing.  Care  must  be 
taken,  however,  in  adapting  the  turbine 
to  the  engine,  to  avoid  any  condition  that 
will  cause  excessive  pressures  on  engine 
crank  pins  and  bearings. 

This  point  of  safe  pressures  is  men- 
tioned because  of  a  tendency  permanently 
to  overload  the  engine  in  the  desire  to 
produce  a  very  low  water  rate.  It  should 
not  be  considered  good  practice  to  operate 
an  engine  on  pressure  much  in  excess  of 
50  per  cent,  of  that  for  which  it  was  de- 
signedj.  A  recent  study  of  a  combined 
plant  that  has  been  widely  discussed 
shows  that  the  engine  had  been  forced  to 
a  mean  effective  pressure  of  56  pounds  re- 
ferred to  the  low-pressure  cylinder.  In 
our  typical  study.  Figs.  3  and  4,  it  has 
been  thought  best  to  take  an  engine  o\ 
normal  proportions,  as  found  in  manj 
lighting  and  traction  plants  (cylindei 
ratio  I  to  3f^)  rather  than  a  ratio  mon 
suited  to  efficient  noncondensing  oper-a 
tion ;  for  example,  i  to  2.5  or  3.     There 


tin  average  practice,  a  compound  Corllsi 
engine  (condensing)  would  be  designed  fo 
about  30  pounds  mean  effective  pressure  a| 
rating,  and  should  not  operate  with  mea) 
effective  pressure  much  over  45  pounds  (re 
ferred  to  low-pressure  cylinder). 


January  5,  1909. 

fore,  the   results  may  be  considered  con- 
servative in   this   respect.     The  design   is 
based   on,   first,   an   engine   rating    (best) 
of  about  33  pounds   mean  effective  pres- 
sure referred  to  the  low-pressure  cylinder, 
165   pounds  absolute   boiler   pressure  and 
17    pounds   absolute    back    prcs>i:r'-,    and, 
'•cond,    allowing    i    pound    drop    Nctween 
machines,    a    turbine    passing   the    engine 
room    at    16    pounds    inlet    pressure,    28 
inches  vacuum.    The  combined  plant,  2000 
kilowatts,  has  an  overload  capacity  of  50 
•r  cent,  with   some  excess  margin. 
Examining  the  water-rate  curves.   Fig. 
;    we  find  that  the  engine  gives  an  econ- 
iny    of    20.05    pounds   per    kilowntt-hour 
•nd-n'^intr,    28.31    pounds    per    kil'jwatt- 
ndensing,  for  a  normal  load  of 
itts  in  each  case;  but  in  com- 
bination   with    the    turbine,    a    maximum 
water   rate   of    15.8  pounds   per   kilowatt- 
hour. 

Curve  (c').  Fig.  4,  has  been  derived 
from  (c)  for  comparison  of  water  rates 
of  combined  plant  and  condensing  engine 
on  the  same  basis  of  rating,  i.e.,  equivalent 
•  I  curve  (e)  at  half  scale.    Thus,  at  rat- 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

GoVCUflMC 

For  a  study  of  governing  the  variow 
classes  of  service  may  be  sumnurind  as 

follows : 

Class  /<— Turbine  electrically  locked 
with  engine:  that  is,  servmg  the  mjdc 
busbars. 

II)  Turbine  taking  all  of  the  cf«nic 
steam.  No  governor  required.  Load  on 
turbine  varies  with  engine  load. 

(2)  Turbine  taking  part  of  the  emrinc 
steam.  No  gc. .  ^ 
remains  practic.  :, 
pressure  in  ,.  Jae  i^,  eaces* 
supply  of  ( 

In  both  01  (i 
lief   should   be   ; 

able  the  engine  to  operate  while  the  tur- 
bine is  shut  down)  and.  of  counc.  a 
hand-throttle  valve. 

Class  B— Turbine  elccr  "  iepcn- 
dent   of  engine:  that  is.  ;taratc 

bus :  for  example,  lighting  unly.  ef^ioca 
on  traction  bus. 

(3)  Turbine  taking  all  or  part  of  en- 
gine steam.  Governor  required  in  case  of 
intermittent   supply. 


ing,  the  combined  pbnt  shows  an  im- 
provement of  23  per  cent,  in  w  •  -  -  •- 
At  light  loads,  however   (500  V 

the  ri.inliilic'l  |>I.i;  '      " 

as    111'-    .  rt:i:  ■■    I 
Thr  |). ml   I.I  •■lu.il  economy   i». 
•onirMh.ii    \.iri.ible,    as    it    is    <i 
locatQ  It    accurately    with    iwn 
such   an  acute  angle;   but   it   n, 
tuggrstv  that  in  the  practical  oprratioii  <<f 
a  combined   plant,   it   would   be   drMr.iM** 
to   shut    down    the    low-pressure    tnrl'ior 
when  the  load   falls  below    jo    per    cent, 
fating,  for  example,  and  operate  the  en- 
•le  alone. 


With  mumenlary 
only  imfrtqufnily     • 
be  used   for  au  > 
also  in  case  of    ' 
liom ;   but   with    r 


rm    tUppJ* 


'fage 

■nt 


In   ail   of   lhr»e  a 

fil>\  I,  .Mtiv     r  t«r!ilijl 

A  I  ^ '.  i«>»  r »*iiii'ir.  Ill- 
open  with  the  turbine  «: 
««fety  akme  would  prevent 


uw>    be 
ilk  r 


7$ 

aotocT  stop  fuy  operate  cMhcr 

a  bott-  e    or    • 

throttle 

^Akv    IvtTAUJSTM 

A  t  nple  ot  hm-prBWri  lar- 

btRp  :i  li  fooDd  m  the  plaM  oi 

thr    I  :..'r,'   ^-j.'rt  ('oal  and  Cekt  Cam- 
pany.  at  Uary.   W    Va     It  operates  the 


blower*,  lights,  eft     The  plaM 
two  a4  and  44  by  4J  Corlias  eagMsr* 
kiknratts.  one  looo-kilowatt  rniiipl 
pamioB  steam  tsrhtne  ind  1  inma 
low-pre««urc  Mcani   ■ 
P^r,..  «i.  i.»-P       rv,. . 

•■  in    «JL»rB' 

1  '<  onitt  sr- 

turlune  arid  one  the  h 

The  following  fiyirf 

normal  operattc- 

from  rearflrrjr*  *  lOOB : 

o«i|>  %0m  few. 

o«t^  :vife«. 

■■■■Ak  (cr^AAiuc  ititt»t  ■  ia». 

Var«aM.  L  t  imtMam  ■  m. 

TMB|«V^«taro   Cif    IK. art.  ^^ 

Ctooll  „      4^ 

,«csMrc  frhws  earned 
H'  4a|  load  oa  kas  ihM  j6 

inches  vacaoa.  aad  woirid  have  carrscd 
more  than   1500  kilowatts  oa  j8 
^  acunm.  with  bcCtcr 


Al'xii 
Inasmorh  i\  the  lurbaM  is  so 

It  ts  ptrtiasal  to  poiai 
out  w  -h-t  regard    If  w«  ca»> 

P'  *ie  of  a  ta rhii  ea- 

pair>;>..K  •>'-,ii  «i.>n.i|N>cre  down  lo  *anoas 
vacua,  we  shaU  find  that  while  the  UmI 
niachme  improves  caatsaaoasljr  doara  to 
the  lowest  coadetMcr  pratsaras.  the  actaM 
xy  «i  good  ate  of  iht 

U 

! 


en 
is 


I'- 

ar 

cirn:    1,-Auif 

with    wsrsr 

al.> 


Bit^    KiK-K   tttr%^ntm 


(Uflung  iKsl  the 

^r    Mtch   of 


o(Wtt*er 


destrahle    hal 

'<-f    K   M   aai 

-  da- 

the 

th  a 


Aocc  m  ptsi 

iwcrssarr      AW  *i   Ums    poSat    mm 

rmt^Atirr.!  ^U  fs<t  that  tW  i u iding 

c  the  mngatiwa  a  de 


76 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  5,  1909. 


A  good  surface  condenser  should  oper- 
ate within  15  degrees  difference  between 
the  temperature  of  the  steam  and  dis- 
charge water;  a  good  barometric  jet 
within  10  degrees;  yet  we  find  that  twice 
this  difference  is  tolerated  in  modern 
power  plants  as  supposedly  good  per- 
formance. This  is  the  secret  of  the  poor 
vacua  against  which  turbine  builders  are 
obliged  to  struggle  in  designing  machines 
for   better   conditions. 

There  are  now  on  the  market  conden- 
sers of  the  jet  type  which  are  able  to  oper- 
ate within  2  to  5  degrees  of  the  steam 
temperature  and  without  unusually  bulky 
or  wasteful  auxiliaries.  This  considerably 
reduces  the  quantity  of  cooling  water 
necessary  to  condense  a  given  amount  of 
steam ;  in  other  words,  makes  possible  a 
higher  vacuum  with  a  given  temperature 
of  water.  For  example,  assuming  a  cool- 
ing tower  able  to  cool  down  to  the  tem- 
perature of  the  air,  what  vacuum  will  it 
be  possible  to  maintain  with  75  degrees 
water?  A  perfect  condenser  (with  no 
temperature  difference  between  steam  and 
discharge  water)  would  require  about  220 
volumes  of  cooling  water  for  29  inches 
vacuum.  For  28  inches  vacuum  it  would 
require  35  volumes.  An  efficient  con- 
denser of  the  jet  type,  working  within  5 
degrees  of  the  steam  temperature,  can 
maintain  28  inches  with  43  volumes  of 
water.  An  ordinary  jet  condenser,  work- 
ing on  10  degrees  difference,  will  require 
57  volumes  to  maintain  28  inches,  while 
the  ordinary  surface  condenser,  working 
for  20  degrees  difference,  cannot  main- 
tain 28  inches  except  by  using  an  imprac- 
ticable amount  of  water,  140  volumes. 

The  more  efficient  jet  type  is  thus  re- 
sponsible for  reducing  the  quantity  of 
cooling  water  to  one-third  of  that  re- 
quired for  the  average  surface  type. 

In  cooling-tower  practice,  where  extra 
power  is  required  to  lift  these  large  vol- 
umes, this  is  evidently  of  the  highest  im- 
portance, for  the  increase  in  auxiliary 
plant  may  more  than  offset  the  benefits 
of  the  increased  vacuum.  Therefore,  the 
determination  of  the  most  economical 
vacuum  for  a  given  plant  involves  a  study 
of  the  plant  economy  at  various  vacua,  the 
power  consumption  of  auxiliaries  and  the 
operating  and  fixed  charges  against  the 
auxiliary  plant.  This  becomes  more  and 
more  important  as  condensing  conditions 
become  more  unfavorable. 

It  is  important  to  deliver  steam  to  the 
turbine  as  dry  as  possible,  owing  to  the 
well  known  effect  of  moisture  in  decreas- 
ing the  output  through  friction.  The 
quality  of  steam  from  the  engines  is,  of 
course,  indeterminate,  but  varies  between 
wide  limits,  averaging  93  to  90  per  cent., 
or  less.  So  that  a  separator  had  best  be 
installed  in  the  exhaust  main  before  the 
turbine.  This  also  serves  to  remove  the 
water  of  condensation  from  a  long  run  of 
e.xhaust  piping.  This  necessity  suggests 
the  use  of  a  moderate  superheat  in  the 
engine,   sufficient  to  insure  dry  steam  at 


the  turbine,  entirely  feasible  with  the  in- 
ternal type  of  superheater  in  common  use. 
This  would  avoid  the  resistance  through 
the  separator,  which  may  be  a  serious 
matter  in  dealing  with  large  piping  and 
high  velocities.  The  only  other  alterna- 
tive is  the  use  of  drying  coils  in  the  ex- 
haust main.  This,  however,  has  proved  to 
be  decidedly  uneconomical  if  live  steam 
must  be  used  for  this  purpose.  It  could 
be  applied  only  in  cases  where  some  form 
of  waste  heat  could  be  used  to  advantage. 

Summary 

The  most  important  thoughts  presented 
in  the  preceding  may  be  summarized  as 
follows : 

(i)  Low-pressure  turbine  application 
is  exceedingly  flexible,  and  may  work  into 
existing  engine  plants  of  good,  as  well 
as  poor,  design  to  advantage,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  engines  of  high-  as  well  as  low- 
expansion   ratio. 

(2)     Regenerative  accumulators  not  al- 


(8)  Weight  and  cost  of  low-pressure 
turbine  unit  not  far  from  that  of  the  com- 
plete expansion  unit.  Length  of  turbine 
reduced  about  30  per  cent.,  unit  about  18 
per  cent. 

(9)  No  governor  required  if  turbine 
is  electrically  connected  to  engine  and. 
takes  all  or  part  of  the  steam. 

(10)  Efficient  safety  overspeed  stop  a 
vital  necessity. 


Surface  Condensers 


By  Frederick  L.  Ray 


The  type  of  condenser  shown  in  Fig.  i 
is  practically  a  salt-water  apparatus,  as 
this  is  the  only  type  that  salt  water  can 
be  used  with  where  it  is  desired  to  use 
the  condensation  for  boiler-feed  water; 
and  even  with  this  type  it  is  often  im- 
practicable to  use  the  condensation  be- 
cause   of    leaky    tubes    allowing    the    salt 


FIG.     I.     CONDENSER    IN    WHICH    SALT    WATER    MAY    BE    USED 


ways  essential  in  low-pressure  turbine 
work;  in  fact,  average  power-plant  work 
does  not  require  their  use,  resulting  in 
great  simplification  of  plant. 

(3)  Important  to  choose  proper  tur- 
bine size  so  as  to  permit  good  economy 
in  engine  and  maintain  exhaust  pressures 
above  atmosphere  during  normal  loading, 
thus  preventing  air  leakage  in  valves  and 
piping. 

(4)  During  periods  of  light  loads,  it 
may  be  expedient  to  run  engine  condens- 
ing, omitting  the  turbine  entirely. 

(5)  For  infrequent  or  long-continued 
deficiencies  in  the  steam  supply,  the  tur- 
bine may  take  live  steam  through  a  re- 
ducing valve  to  supplement  normal  supply. 

(6)  Inherent  efficiency  of  both  turbine 
and  combined  plant  greatest  at  moderate 
vacua,  70  to  73  per  cent,  of  the  ideal 
steam  cycle. 

(7)  Condenser  problem  lies  largely  in 
its  ability  to  work  on  small  temperature 
differences. 


water  to  mi.x  with  the  water  of  condensa- 
tion. If  it  were  possible  always  to  keep 
the  condenser  tubes  tight,  then  the  surface 
condenser  could  be  used  on  the  sea  coast 
and  salt  water  used  for  cooling  purposes. 
Where  the  circulating  water  is  also 
used  for  boiler  feed,  the  surface  con- 
denser may  be  used  regardless  of  leaky 
tubes.  But  why  go  to  the  extra  cost  for 
equipment  for  such  a  large  cooling  sur- 
face, circulating  and  air  pumps,  where 
the  jet  condenser  would  answer  as  well 
and  often  much  better?  The  surface  con- 
denser requires  much  more  attention  on 
the  part  of  the  operating  engineer,  is  more 
complicated  and  costs  much  more  than  the 
jet  condenser. 

Care  and  Operation 
As  there  are  many  surface  condensers 
in  use  and  more  will  be  installed,  regard- 
less of  trouble  and  costly  repairs,  a  few 
observations  on  their  care  and  operation 
are  given  in  the  following: 


January  5,  1909. 

Fig.  I  shows  a  sectional  view  of  a  sur- 
face condenser  and  pumps  on  one  base,  in 
which  A   is  the   inlet    for   the  circulating 
water,  B  the  discharge  for  it,  and  D  the 
inlet   for  exhaust  steam  which,  on  enter- 
ing, strikes  a  perforated  plate,  and  is  dis- 
tributed   over    the    tubes,   thus   protecting 
the  tubes  from  the  impact  of  the  steam. 
The  instant  the  steam  strikes  the  cold 
rface  of  the  tubes  it  is  condensed  and 
lis    to    the    bottom    of    the    condensing 
jamber,  from  which   it  flows  out  at  the 
nozzle  C  to  the  air  pump.     The  circulat- 
ing water  passes  in  at  A  and  out  at  B, 
and   in    its   course   meets   the   baffle   plate 
F.FG,   which   causes   it   to   pass   through 
the  condensers  four  times.     It  would  ap- 
jxar  that  this  construction  would  require 
ly  one- fourth  as  much  as  if  the  water 
passed    through    but    once,    but    this   can- 
not be,  as  in  the  repeated  passing  through 
the  tube,  in  contact  with  the  steam,  it  is 
heated,  becomes  less  efficient  and  more  is 
luircd  in  consequence. 
This  construction  requires  that  the  con- 
nscr  be  somewhat  larger,  due  to  the  less 
:icient  cooling  surface  of  the  tube,  but 
the   same   time   requires   a   very   much 
laller  circulating  pump.     At  the  left   is 
•wn  the  connection  to  a  vacuum-break- 
.:  valve,  used  to  destroy  the  vacuum  be- 
«•  shutting  down  the  air  pump,  and  an 
■tic    atmosphere    snifting    valve    is 
ted  to  the  outlet  /.    Should  the  air 
the   circulating  pump  break   down,  or 
vacuum  be  destroyed  from  any  cause 
lie  the  engine  is  in  operation,  this  valve 
II  open  and  relieve  the  condenser  of  any 
ess   pressure,  and   the  engine   can   be 
I  noncondensing. 

I  he   tubes   of   this   type   of   condenser, 

Ltuig  quite   small,   are   easily  stopped   up 

and  considt-rable  trouble  may  arise  from 

-  source,  especially  when  sea  water  is 

d,   as    it   always   carries   more   or   less 

weed.    A  strainer  of  fine  mesh  is  some- 

cs  inserted  between  the  foot  valve  and 

pump,  in  which  case  the  pump  is  pro- 

n  V  ted    as    well    as    the    condenser.      This 

strainer  requires  cleaning  often  to  insure 

a  proper  supply  of  water. 

After  a  time  the  steam  side  of  the  tubes 
a  condenser  becomes  coated  with 
.ise  carried  over  with  the  exhaust 
im.  and  when  thickly  coated  the  effici- 
y  of  the  condenser  is  greatly  impaired, 
t{rea«e  is  a  nonconductor  of  heat. 

Boiling  Oi  t 
.\  i>r  "    '  "  is  eflTec- 

tivr    \%  1  niU    are 

u*ri|     iml    »•.    av\  -:    the 

coful-iiHcr    with  that 

Causfi     s'    I.i      III  1  into  the  str.iru 

fpacr  iippii  tlir  ^^:  red  tulx"*       \  hr 

alkali  coming  in  contact  with  the  Krea«e 
changes  ii  into  toap,  and  in  this  condi- 
tion it  i«  easily  washed  out  through  the 
I  drain  cock.  This  operation  is  as  follows  - 
Tlie  steam  side  of  the  condenser  i*  iillr.l 
•li  water  up  to  and  co. 
s   of  tubes,  the  alkali  is  . 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

live  steam  is  let  into  the  rondensrr,  dis- 
rharj,'ing   into  the   u  the   water 

hu.U.     The  amot:nt  to  be  used 

will  need  to  be  ;  by  experiroent. 

hut  in  any  casi  .isf  be  uac<l  to 

make  the  water  sir.  1. 

Animal  and   vegetu^,.^    ....,    hare    been 
practically  superseded  by  mineral  oils  (or 
use  in  the  steam  cylinder  exc 
are  compounded  with  mineral 
tic   soda  has  no  effect  on  thr   . 
poMted    from   mineral   oiN.   tf 
l>>il:ng-out  process  c.T  cd    There 

is  no  other  way  but  i  ■  m  by  hand 

and  to  do  this  the  tubes  must  be  removed 
It  is  a  difficult  and  disagreeable  task  to 
clean  a  large  surface  condenser,  as  the 
grease  is  heavy  and  sticky,  resembling  tar 
If  possible,  the  grease  should  be  kept  out 
of  a  condenser  and  this  can  be  accom- 
plished by  in.sialling  a  grease  extractor 
Ix-twct-n  the  engines  and  condenser.  It 
should  be  installed  as  a  matter  of  econ- 
omy, making  the  condenser  more  efficient 
and  reducing  the  cost  of  clcanintr  and 
repairs. 

CoNDCNSEK  Tubes 
Condenser  tubes  are  subjected  to  great 


riG.     2      SPECIAL    rUBC   EXO  CONSTBUCnOM 

extremes  of  expansion  and  contraction. 
In  Fig.  2  is  shown  a  method  of  construc- 
tion which  allows  the  tube  end  move- 
ment and  yet  will  not  allow  the  lube  to 
crawl  .  done 

by    CO  thai 

screws  duwa  uu  thr  con 

sists  of  cotton  lamp   ^  tape 

or  a  rubber  ring. 

Thr  soiircrt  of  water  leaks  in  a  surface 
t.inilrii^rr   r.iiiM^t   of  split   tubes  and  de- 
fective   pa«:king    at    the    tube    <-->-*-        ' 
test   for   this   leakage,   remove 
plate   •  •  •      f     • 

then.    I 
water,    .*;.. 
»!)on!rf    hr-    ■ 

I 


tube  where  • 

tng    that    i»    ■ . 

with  new. 


77 


although  it  may  br  xt  »<.>.  v   .  ,u,.  . 
A  lighted  cand: 

\>r\'      !^.f      -.f..! 
*»4ir  :  c     tlir 

remedy   th^ 
stopped  by 
bv  drivinf 

"i****!**  n  rctvrvrd  to 
very  importam  that  the 
r.iiure  be  as  high  as  it  is  posMblc 
•    \hr:ri  .,  ,h«  mndemcf  thoold 
■OBMlcr.     Under  the 
^  •  •    "  i'v<««*le  to  sccwreooly 

a  certain  degree  of  vaanmu  aisd  when 
more  water  is  circulated  tJttn  ncrr 
to    secure    the   hnt    vacmnn.    iherr 
waste   from  -     the  tcafr- 

perature  of  ^d  Hid  the 

circulatuig   pump   »    uau^    more    Mcnm 
than   neceacary.     Jnst  m.  k.'.^\^     i'cjtitlr.* 
water  should  be  par 
fjuired   vacuum     xr\t\ 
hi({he«t  att., 

water.       ,A    r-.  .u^.v    i(iTi:in'rii'-;rT     «ilj    r.r;p 

the  careful  engineer  10  save  tons  of  coal 


Operation  oi  ioduced  Draft  ud 
Suction  Producers 


By  Fbaiik  p.  PiTtuo!v 

It  u  in  the  natare  '^^  •^>  -.- 
possibly  in  a  wider  ra 

plant   or   u: -    ■   xn    mwv.    \rxt    ttcan 

Ijoiler.  that  •  to  si 

'  th  the  extent  of  the  plan 
'an  producer  it  OMy  be  :    ^  > 
«ctkally  BO  daa^rt. 
>'  rioos  dcsCnKtmi  of 

I'  ^  eaploatOBS  wbidl  BHy 

r^  pirit      This  tt  not  dnr 

to  any  diflerenc-  •   in  the  'y%^ 

acter   •"    •n^^'r-  .    ^^   iii^  ^^^  ^ 

rather  -  phyaknl  sue^lb  of 

vessel*   ci>iit.ii[;i!ic   |;At 

Wiihottt  exception,  vt  hi 
tr.'  poMtai    a 

V-  .  «•»!▼  v***^  and  thiwh.  t-» 


such  a 
danger  Iror 


r  grrater  the  vnioBH  ot 

H<-  rreater  beconMs  the 

n  and  the  vrvckagT 


•fir     I  jWT-ii;.  n     .1     i..ir^r     r«  ■ 

for   whKh  no  pnrtKvlar 
vmtabl<- 


•vsck       the  right  \t 


>,  k  It  fc-     ■  ti    ui«- 

pittnn     rods. 


msans  of  tJ 


78 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  5,  1909. 


Danger  of  Explosion 

The  one  primary  idea  to  be  borne  in 
mind  by  the  operator  of  any  gas-gen- 
erating apparatus  is  that  whenever  and 
wherever  air  is  admitted  into  a  volume  of 
gas,  danger  of  explosion  exists.  To  illus- 
trate how  this  point  is  guarded  and  feared 
in  the  handling  of  large  volumes  of  richer 
gases,  let  me  recall  an  incident  of  which  I 
was  a  witness  in  a  large  gas  works.  A 
single  exhauster,  direct  driven  by  a  steam 
engine,  handled  the  gas  generated  by  a 
battery  of  thirty  retort  coke  ovens  of  the 
Solvay  type — possibly  130,000  cubic  feet 
per  hour.  This  exhauster  delivered  a 
portion  of  the  washed  gas  back  to  the 
burners  that  heated  the  system  of  ovens 
and  through  an  8-inch  main  pipe.  The 
remainder  of  the  gas  was  delivered  into  a 
system  of  pipes  that  supplied  steel  fur- 
naces. On  the  vacuum  side  of  the  ex- 
fhauster  (between  it  and  the  ovens)  were 
arranged  in  series  four  condensing  cham- 
bers having  a  combined  volume  capacity 
of  probably  7000  cubic  feet. 

The  first  warning  that  something  had 
gone  wrong  came  in  the  form  of  an  ex- 
plosion in  the  8-inch  gas  main  delivering 
to  the  oven  burners.  The  blanked  end  of 
this  main  and  a  tee  at  that  point  were 
■disrupted  and  blown  away.  Immediately 
following  this  came  a  series  of  explosions 
resembling  heavy  cannon  discharges,  oc- 
curring at  intervals  of  a  few  seconds  and 
continuing,  it  seemed  to  me,  several  min- 
utes. The  last  water  seal  between  the  ex- 
hauster and  the  ovens  was  located  near  the 
ovens.  Each  ignition  of  the  gas  burned 
all  that  had  accumulated  since  the  last 
explosion  back  to  this  seal,  and  an  auto- 
matic rapid-fire  artillery  performance  was 
set  up  as  long  as  the  exhauster  continued 
to  deliver  an  explosive  mixture. 

Now,  you  say,  why  didn't  they  shut 
•down  the  exhauster? 

With  the  first  report  every  man  sought 
his  post,  of  course,  and  the  shutting  down 
of  the  exhauster  was  the  first  move  the 
operating  engineer  would  have  made,  with 
the  permission  of  the  man  in  charge,  but 
the  man  in  charge  had  other  ideas.  There 
is  no  doubt  that  he  was  doing  some  rapid- 
fire  thinking,  and  there  were  other  con- 
siderations than  the  mere  stopping  of  a 
noise  after  the  one  small  damage  had  been 
done. 

The  source  of  trouble  would  be  much 
more  readily  located  with  the  exhauster  in 
motion,  to  say  nothing  of  the  serious  lia- 
bility of  the  combustion  to  reach  backward 
through  broken  seals  with  the  lessening  of 
pressures  in  front  and  of  vacuum  behind 
the  exhauster ;  and,  furthermore,  depending 
upon  the  location  of  this  leakage  of  air  into 
the  system  might  have  been  the  demolish- 
ment  of  the  whole  condensing  system. 

While  the  shutting  down  of  an  ex- 
hauster without  due  warning  to  everybody 
concerned  meant  serious  delay  and  dam- 
age to  operation,  obviously  this  thing  must 
•end  somewhere,  and  the  man  on  whom  the 
Q)urden  rested  was  thinking  and  acting  in 


sharp  blue  streaks,  though  it  may  take  a 
long  time  to  tell  the  story.  The  exhauster 
was  shut  down  in  the  end,  and  no  direct 
cause  was  located  in  actual  evidence  for 
the  derangement,  yet  there  was  no  mystery 
about  it.  Either  a  seal  had  been  broken 
admitting  air,  or  one  of  the  operatives  had 
made  and  corrected  an  error — taken  off 
and  had  replaced  a  cap  or  plug  in  one  of 
the  many  inspection  openings. 

This  incident  only  serves  to  show  how 
exciting  a  situation  may  become,  and  how 
essential  to  safety  and  a  minimum  of  prop- 
erty loss  is  a  cool  head  in  the  handling  of 
the  richer  gases,  and  yet  there  do  not 
arise  any  such  emergencies  that  may  not 
be  paralleled  in  frequency  and  gravity  by 
serious  boiler-plant  situations.  Indeed,  in 
the  same  plant  I  can  recall  that  our  most 
frequent  and  serious  anxieties  were  for 
our  boilers,  which  were  heated  by  the 
spent  gases  from  the  oven-heating  sys- 
tems. The  water  supply  was  not  reliable 
at  all  times,  nor  were  the  dampers  con- 
trolling or  shunting  the  flue  gases,  and 
since  the  temperatures  were  high  and 
steam  plentiful  this  became  a  rather 
serious  combination. 

What  ,\  Careless  Attendant  Did 
Another  incident  in  producer  operation  : 
The  attendant  had  prepared  a  suction  pro- 
ducer for  starting  up.  The  producer  was 
of  300  horsepower  capacity  and  the  space 
beneath  the  grates  was  of  considerable 
volume,  possibly  40  or  50  cubic  feet.  He 
had  blasted  the  bed  of  new  fuel  to  the 
point  of  making  good  producer  gas  and 
everything  was  in  prime  condition  for  a 
prompt  start  on  the  engine  operator's  sig- 
nal for  gas.  The  two  men,  working  to- 
gether, understood  each  other  perfectly 
and  all  the  conditions  and  liabilities  that 
were  involved,  but  the  producer  attendant 
had  become  a  little  careless.  So,  when 
the  signal  was  given  from  the  engine 
room,  he  shut  off  the  blower,  threw  over 
the  three-way  valve  and  folded  his  arms, 
anticipating  an  immediate  start  of  the  en- 
gine. After  a  dozen  seconds  this  start 
had  not  been  made.  Now  a  dozen  sec- 
onds at  a  time  like  this  are  sufficient  to 
make  a  gas-producer  operator  thoughtful, 
and  the  attendant  suddenly  remembered 
that  his  ash  doors  were  all  clamped  up 
tightly,  and  that  if  just  a  few  more  sec- 
onds elapsed  before  the  starting  of  the  en- 
gine, there  would  be  trouble.  Not  serious 
trouble,  the  producer  not  destroyed,  no- 
body killed,  but  probably  a  door-bar 
snapped  or  a  producer  lining  loosened  up. 
Of  course,  the  first  thought  would  be  to 
open  a  door  quickly,  but  self-preservation 
being  the  first  law,  etc.,  a  cool-headed 
operator  will  never  attempt  to  open  a  door 
at  a  time  like  this.  If  the  engine  should 
start  just  at  the  time  of  laying  hold  of 
this  door,  it  may  mean,  at  the  worst,  a 
broken  arm  or  leg,  and  the  sensible  thing 
to  do  is  to  leave  the  producer  alone  and 
find  out  what  may  be  wrong  at  the  other 
end. 


The  engine  man  had  thought  he  was  all 
ready  to  start,  but  an  auxiliary  cam 
would  not  shift,  or  a  battery  switch  had 
been  forgotten,  or  even  worse,  as  a  result 
of  which  it  might  be  three  or  four  minutes 
more  yet.  What  then?  Go  back  and 
open  the  ash  doors  and  let  the  producer 
stand  in  communication  with  the  engine 
until  ready  to  start?  If  the  producer  is 
in  a  room  communicating  with  others 
where  the  polluted  atmosphere  may  reach 
a   sensitive  constitution,   no. 

Supposing  the  producer  to  be  in  a  fire- 
proof room  of  only  the  needed  dimensions, 
let  us  assume  the  extreme  possibility. 
This  room  might  become  pretty  well  filled 
with  gas  in  a  few  minutes,  and  when  the 
engine  starts  up,  not  only  the  producer 
may  sustain  a  shock,  but  the  whole  room 
as  well.  This  last  has  not  occurred,  to  the 
writer's  knowledge,  but  a  cool  head  and 
a  careful  man  will  take  even  such  remote 
contingencies  as  this  into  consideration, 
and  act  accordingly. 

Well,  what  would  be  the  right  thing  to 
do  at  such  a  moment,  throw  back  the 
three-way  valve  into  communication  with 
the  purge  pipe?  Not  just  yet.  Be  sure 
to  open  an  ash  door  first;  then  throw  the 
three-way  valve,  because  an  ignition  of 
the  gas  below  the  grates  will  occur  three 
times  out  of  five  under  such  circum- 
stances, and  the  one  alwaj'^s  safe  and  sure 
thing  to  do  is  to  unfasten,  or  partially 
open,  a  base  door  just  before  the  blower  is 
stopped. 

And  why  will  these  base  explosions 
occur?  Why,  simply  because  when  the 
three-way  valve  is  thrown  into  engine 
position,  the  only  exit  for  the  gas  distilled 
fiom  the  hot  fuel  is  backward,  beneath 
the  grate  and  through  the  draft  conduit. 
Live  fire  is  resting  on  the  grate  bars,  and 
when  the  engine  starts,  or  the  reversal  of 
the  three-way  valve  gives  the  less  active 
draft  by  the  vent  pipe,  air  is  drawn  in, 
partly  displacing  the  gas  beneath  the 
grates.  When  sufficient  gas  has  been  dis- 
placed by  air  the  remaining  mixture 
ignites  from  the  live  fire  through  which  it 
cannot  avoid  passing.  This  contingency 
is  not  provided  for  by  the  producer  build- 
ers, because  it  is  not  considered  sufficiently 
serious  as  a  danger;  nevertheless,  a  care- 
ful attendant  will  always  avoid  it. 

Flame  Arresters  Desirable  for  Test 
Cocks 
In  large  producers  test  cocks  that  are 
to  be  lighted,  when  located  anywhere  else 
than  on  the  fuel  chambers,  should  be  pro- 
vided in  all  cases  with  gauze  flame  ar- 
resters. In  this  connection,  it  is  the 
writer's  contention  that  every  operator  of 
a  gas  producer  should  have  the  common 
judgment,  or  the  training,  to  enable  him 
to  operate  his  plant  right  along  without 
resorting  to  test  flames  at  any  point  other 
than  on  his  fuel  chamber  or  vent  pipe. 
This  is  the  one  safe  means  of  handling 
producers  without  incurring  the  dangers 
due  to  this  practice. 


January  5,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


When  a  plant  is  once  put  in  service  and 
is  reasonably  free  from  leakage,  the  gas 
Itft  in  the  vessels  at  shutting  down  is 
better  than  any  new  gas  which  may  be 
made  to  displace  it,  so  why  not  start  up 
on  it?  Here,  too,  there  is  one  precaution 
to  be  taken.  New  coke  fillings  in  gas 
scrubbers  will  absorb  considerable  vol- 
umes of  the  gas,  and  if  this  absorption 
takes  place  during  a  considerable  period 
of  layover,  even  though  the  engine  may 
have  been  operated  for  a  short  time,  and  if 
there  is  even  a  small  leakage,  a  consider- 
able volume  of  air  will  b^  drawn  ip,  and 
there  is  danger  in  the  application  of  a  test 
flame.  .An  operator,  knowing  this,  will 
take  no  chances,  but  will  blow  over  a  new 
supply  of  gas  to  his  engine  for  the  first 
few  times  starting  up.  But  he  will  not 
need  to  apply  a  test  flame  at  the  engine. 
He  will  have  someone  to  turn  his  blower 
for  him,  if  it  be  a  small  plant,  fur  these 
fr't  few  starts,  and  he  will  know  from 
it  he  has  been  told,  or  from  common 
se  sense,  how  long  will  be  required  to 


longer  then  to  blast  in  the  cl6  fire  that 
remains.  One  side  of  the  bed  contaim  a 
mass  of  old  clinker  whirh  i«  to  b*  re 
moved  as  soon  as  the 

mit       It    5^prnt    rj'Tf'- 

Pf  ihu 

t-x'  ,  Jtl. 

I-maliy.  a  little  diligence  on  the  part  of 
the  plant  operator  to  acquaint  himself  with 
the   few   simple  laws   that   make   (or  the 
safety  of  operation   will  be  worth   much, 
as  well  as  all  the  talk  he  can  ab«orK  vet 
it   IS  unfair  to  rv 
little    details   of 
his    methods   by 
danger  that  so  n; 

ties  allow  to  go  undissected  in  their  dis- 
cussions. He  will  soon  learn,  in  practice, 
that  in  the  operation  of  suction  and  in- 
duced-draft producers  the  n  '-  •  -  of  a 
small   volume  of  air   into  -  be- 

tween the  producer  fire  an 
draft  is  not  a  serious  r 
chance  or  risk  at  all  is  ^ 
this  volume  must  be  small  - 


Improved    Prcsttirc  Oiling  Svrton 


or     t>  iU-lAM     KAVA  s  • 

The   improved   prcMarc  oUmg   tjntm 

herein   »?• «    and   dtstiftcd   wil  W 

found  a  djr    equipawl    ia    Ike 

dynamo   punT,   ctbct  buiMiwg.   boirl.   or 

factory    engine    ran^     It    eaa    be    oa»- 

ttntcted  and  TiodrrMr 

'''M*  and  wil'  .T»»fm^it 

'  i  oi  tlir  waMc  oH 

-<-d  and  awd  ac»ia. 

as  tbc    oil    conuim    Inbncating 

•  In     a      riL»n'      »Krf^     n  ■•m»  fOtIS 

iinili  are  to  '  and 

lU***"*   '■•      •  •-  •  •  jT,     .,f^^-7  ji ».  rr;       con* 

si'-  '^tnt  adding  to  the 

espcfMr*  ..I  opera!!. ti;  hot  whrr«  a  plMM 
is  equipped  with  a  trttnn  saeli  at  dr- 
scribcd  *imt 

•VnflM  mt, 

4rMf    Crf    tike    UkOT 

n^  hy  hand 


0000 


r\r.    I    LAYOtrr  or  oiu:tc  system 


pass  this  new   supply  of  gas  over  to  the     volume  of  gas  passing.  el»e  %c 


engine.  It  is  evident  that  the  liability  to 
ignition  of  an  explosive  mixture  is  less 
thrtMiu;h  the  inlet-valve  port  of  an  engine 
norrn.illy  operating  or  starting  than  by 
the  application  of  a  flame  to  an  open  jet. 
The  writer  has  in  mind  one  plant  which 
lias  been  in  operation  for  more  than  a 
year.  No  test  flame  has  ever  been  ap- 
plied at  the  engine;  there  is  no  provision 
(or  it.  and  none  is  sought,  the  attendant 
liaving  been  instructed  to  get  along  with- 
out  v'.ii  !i   inran*. 

.\ti  1-  ■  !  I'lit  is  recalled  of  a  suction  gen- 
♦r.Tt'  r 
an<l-  r 

pokr    h'>lc    :  !•*    K**    ****    i«.-uinj{. 

while    from  ole  on    the   opposite 

side  of  the  fuel  bed  apparently  imre  air 
issued  This  is  a  rare  occurrence,  of 
oourse,  but  in  no  way  unaccountable.  An 
I  old  hf^,  nftcr  some  days*  layover,  is  not 
•s  til'  r   u^tlilv  cleaned  as  it  should  be.  be- 

iu«r  to  do  so  involves  the  lo»«  of  all  the 


ranee,  at  least,  may  occur       11.- 
justilication    for    advising    the   use   of   a 


t!u-  top  of  the  fuel 


tion  producer. 

A  I -inch  openinif 
chamber    of    a 
running  with  a 
will    do   no  dan 

t 

tl 


.:  at  the 

I  i.i  cause  an  t  ^,^.   -•- 

will  at  least  shut  down  the  ei 
«uppl>ed. 

Wr  are  irrivinn  at  iH*  li*»m«rlv 


The  system  under  constdcratwo 

honirrnj  I',    if   fr-rnif*     «irV    tVc 


!'• 


mmfht 


%pect 


ha^tr  to  I 
too  pr'^T-^ 


results,  u 
.  i.^'i 


•re,  and  to  start  a  new  fire  outright  takes     that  ai 


8o 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  5,  1909. 


pressure  tank  T,  from  whence  it  is  fed 
to  the  various  units,  under  a  pressure 
equal  to  that  of  the  water,  if  water  is 
used,  or,  if  a  pump  is  used,  under  an}' 
desired  pressure  which  can  be  maintained 
on  the  oil  in  the  tank  T.  The  oil  flows 
from  T  through  the  various  outlets  shown 
at  O,  which  connect  with  the  oil  cups  or 
bearings  of  the  dynamos,  engines,  or 
whatever  bearing  is  to  be  lubricated,  the 
amount  of  oil  flowing  into  each  cup  or 
bearing  being  controlled  by  means  of  a 
valve  placed  conveniently  over  each  bear- 
ing or  cup.  In  the  drawings  the  location 
of  the  valves  is  indicated  by  V. 

The  size  of  pipe  to  employ  in  erecting 
this  system  will  depend  on  the  amount 
of  oil  required  for  each  bearing.  The 
main  or  trunk  lines  may  be  any  required 
size  from  Yz  inch  upward,  but  the  branch 


I 


:SL 


FIG.    2 


CJ=iZ 


vx 


X 


XV 


]  1 


N  / 


T^^ 


FIG.    3 

lines  leading  into  the  bearings  or  cups 
may  be  H  inch,  and  if  made  of  brass  will 
present  a  neat  appearance. 

Fig.  2  shows  how  the  pipe  carrying  oil 
is  attached  to  the  crosshead-slide  oil  cup, 
and  Fig.  3  is  an  end  view  of  Fig.  2 
and  shows  plainly  the  piping  for  slides 
and  crosshead  wipers.  Fig.  4  shows  oil- 
ing connections  for  main  bearings  and  the 
crank-pin  wiper;  Fig.  5  illustrates  a  sec- 
tional view  of  the  "dry"  filter,  and  Fig.  6 
is  a  sectional  view  of  the  "wet,"  or  water 
filter,  either  of  which  may  be  used  in  this 
system  of  oiling.  If  the  pressure  on  this 
system  is  maintained  by  means  of  water, 
the  tank  T  should  be  large  enough  to 
contain  sufficient  oil  for  a  continuous  run 
of,  say,  from  36  to  60  hours;  but  if  a 
pump  is  used  to  maintain  the  pressure, 
the  tank  T  need  not  be  so  large  because 


the    oil    supply    can    be    constantly   main- 
tained. 

The  pressure  lo  operate  this  system  will 
depend  in  a  great  measure  on  the  dis- 
tance it  is  located  from  the  engine  room 
and  the  number  of  bends  through  which 
the  oil  must  flow.  In  actual  practice  30 
pounds  pressure  is  found  sufficient  to  do 
the  work  at  this  plant,  although  the  sys- 


4OL, 


FIG.    4 

tem  is  located  more  than  50  feet  from  the 
engine  room. 

To  operate  the  system  with  water,  as- 
suming that  there  is  no  oil  in  T,  fill  T 
with  water  and  when  water  appears  at  the 
air  vent  at  A  shut  the  water  off  and 
close  A.  Open  valve  B  and  allow  the 
water  to  run  off  to  the  sewer,  then  open 
valve  S,  which  connects  the  oil  supply  in 
tank  C  with  the  pressure  tank  T ;  the  oil 
will  be  siphoned  into  T,  and  as  the  water 
lowers  or  runs  off,  oil  will  take  its  place 
and  the  amount  of  oil  which  has  flown 

i 


I    '    I    I    I     ! 


=0 


=0 


o 


FIG.     5.     DRY    FILTER 

into  T  will  be  indicated  by  the  gage  glass 
G.  When  sufficient  oil  is  in  T,  shut  5"  and 
B  and  open  the  water  valve,  and  what- 
ever pressure  is  exerted  by  the  water  will 
be  impressed  on  the  lower  surface  of  the 
oil  and  tend  to  force  the  oil  out  through 
the  valve  V.  By  opening  V,  the  oil  will 
flow  out  through  the  main  line  and  con- 
nections, as  indicated  at  O. 


To  stop  the  system  from  feeding  oil 
shut  V  and  the  water  valve  and  allow  the 
oil-return  pump  to  run  until  all  of  the 
waste  oil  is  pumped  back  into  F' .  After 
shutting  down  this  oiling  system  it  will 
not  be  necessary  to  disturb  the  setting 
of  the  valves  located  above  the  oil  cups ; 
therefore,  on  restarting  the  system  adjust- 
ment of  those  valves  will  not  be  neces- 
sary. By  doing  this  considerable  time 
and  labor  are  saved  in  starting  up.  Occa- 
sionally the  tank  T  should  be  cleaned  out. 
After  allowing  all  of  the  oil  to  flow  out  of 
T,  open  the  washing-out  plug  P  and  the 
valve  B  and  allow  all  of  the  dirty  water 
and  sediment  to  flow  off  to  the  sewer ; 
bj'  playing  a  strong  stream  of  water 
through  P  it  will  facilitate  matters  con- 
siderably. 

In  fitting  up  the  system  it  is  a  good 
plan  to  have  the  oil  pipes  enter  the  top  of 
the  cups  loosely  and  connected  to  one 
side  of  each  cup,  as  shown  in  the  draw- 
ings, as  this  permits  of  lifting  out  the 
pipes  from  the  cups  and  of  hand  oiling. 


I    I.  I   I   I    I    I    M    I 


1   I   I    I   I    I  T-i-r- 


rVri'T'T'?¥nP 


^:--i:^^>-- 


<) 


o 


o 


;=o 


FIG.     6.      WET    FILTER 

should  anything  occur  to  prevent  the  sys- 
tem from  operating.  Also,  the  oil  cups 
may  be  cleaned  or  new  glasses  inserted 
without  having  to  unscrew  the  piping. 


Protection  of  Underground  Pipes 


C.  H.  Staten  spoke  before  the  Modern 
Science  Club,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  Tues- 
day evening,  December  22,  on  "Insulating 
and  Protecting  Underground  Steam  and 
Hot  Water  Pipes."  He  dwelt  at  length 
on  the  history  of  the  development  of  cen- 
tral-station heating  plants  and  traced  the 
poor  results  and  failures,  which  marked 
the  earlier  ventures  in  this  direction,  to 
lack  of  proper  protection  and  insulation. 

With  a  system  designed  in  accord  with 
the  best  practice  of  the  present  time,  Mr. 
Staten  said,  heating  could  be  done  from 
central  stations  at  a  cost  not  exceeding 
30  cents  per  square  foot  of  radiating 
surface  for  seven  months. 


January  5,  1909. 

The  Compression  Refrigerating 
System 


Bv  F.  E.  Matthews 

What  are  the  general  functions  of  a 
refrigerating  system  as  a  whole  and  of 
its  different  parts?  Why  docs  the  back 
pressure  rise  when  the  machine  is  shut 
down?  What  is  "frosting  back"?  Is  it  a 
waste? 

The  function  of  a  refrigerating  means, 
whether  it  be  an  absorption  or  a  com- 
pression refrigerating  machine,  or  simply 
a  bunker  full  of  ice,  is  to  provide  a 
heat-absorbing  medium  which,  after  it  has 
absorbed  its  fill  of  heat  from  the  prod- 
ucts that  it  is  desired  to  cool  in  the  cold- 
storage  rooms,  or  other  places  to  be  re- 
frigerated (which  for  simplicity  we  will 
hereafter  call  coolers),  may  be  removed 
from  such  coolers  so  that  the  heat 
absorbed  may  also  be  removed.  After  its 
removal  from  the  "coolers"  this  medium 
may  either  be  divested  of  its  heat,  after 
which  it  may  be  again  returned  to  the 
coolers  and  allowed  to  absorb  more  heat, 
as  in  the  case  of  ammonia  or  brine  circu- 
bted  through  coolers,  or  it  may  be  thrown 
away  and  a  new  supply  introduced,  as  in 
the  case  of  cooling  by  ice. 

A  pound  of  liquid  ammonia  in  evapo- 
rating at  o  degree  Fahrenheit  has  a 
heat-absorbing  capacity  of  555.5  British 
thermal  units  (B.t.u.)  of  heat,  a  B.t.u.  bc- 
inK  the  anifiunt  of  heat  required  to  raise 
the  temperature  of  a  pound  of  water  I 
degree  Fahrenheit.  Vapors  of  ammonia 
are  easily  liquefiable,  so  that  in  considera- 
tion of  its  high  commercial  value  it  be- 
comes economy  to  use  this  medium  over 
and  over  again. 

A  pound  of  ice  in  melting  has  a  heat- 

aMorbing  capacity  of  144  B.t.u.    While  the 

•r  from  the  melting  ice  might  readily 

:rozen  again  by  mechanical  means  and 

■it  accordingly  be  used  over  and  over 

n,   as   is   the   case   with   ammonia,   its 

commercial  value  when  coupled  with 

fact   that   it    can    often    be    obtained 

.1'     -idy   in  the  naturally   frozen   state,  to 

f  such  factors  as  contamina- 

:cts  in  the  coolers  and  trans- 

it;<iii    to  a    place    where    it    might    be 

--n.   makes   it   eminently   impracticable 

I   to  consider  using  this  medium  but 

\n  apt  though  rather  old  illustration  of 

*'      action  of  a  refrigerating  machine,  or 

MCt  any  heat -absorbing  means,  is  that 

'        '      '['lion  of  water  by  a  sponge 

of.  the    sponge    to    al>*<>rl> 

r  after  one  charge  ha*  ' 

->(  it  i*  nr>t   .Thopftliff 


lormcr  charge  ha«  \yrcn  wjueezed  out 
two  media,  water  and  heat,  may  both 
oniidrrrd  passive,  and  limply  acting 
-r  the  influence  of  the  «ponge  and  the 
igrrating   medium 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

A  conuinins  vessel,  atich  as  a  more  or 

icis  leaky  pai"  3  bo<|y  ©f 

water,  as  rr.  ^  srrwn 

panying  sktt 

lar    to   a   c<.; 

rounded  by  an  atmejsphcrc  t'.it:.'.nt  1:.  V; 

I'crature  than  that  withm      Since  the  level 

of   the   water   in   the  pail   is  k>wrr  than 

that  on  the  outside,  and  since  the  pail  is 

more  or  less  leaky,  a  certain  amount  of 

water  will  leak  into  the  pail  from  the  out- 

side.     If  none  of  the  water  is  removrd  or 

if   the   process   of 

rapidly  than  the  : 

eventually  fill  up  to  the  level  uf  ibe  water 

on  the  outside. 

Carr\-ing  out  the  comparison  in  the 
case  of  a  cooler,  the  higher  temperature 
on  the  outside  tends  to  cause  an  infiltra- 
tion of  heat  through  the  more  or  less 
leaky  cooler  walls.  If  no  steps  are  taken 
to  remove  this  heat  or  if  the  means 
adopted  be  inadequate,  the  temperature 
within  the  cooler  will  eventually  rue  to 
that  of  the  surrounding  air.  The  nearer 
full  the  pail  is.  that  is,  the  less  the  differ- 
ence in  level  and  pressure  between  the 
water  on   the  inside  and  the  outside  of 


IIXUSTBATING   A  CDLD-STOtACC   PtlNartS 

the  pail,  the  less  will  be  the  water  Ink 
age.     The  warmer  the  air   in   t' 
that  is,  the  less  the  difference  in  • 
ture  t>etween   the   atmo^phrre   on   the  in- 
side and  outside  of  thr  Irr  fhr  Ir*»  witi 

be  the  heat  leakage,     i  the 

process   of   "bailing   mH.      mr    ,,,mrt    the 
water  level  in  the  pail,  making  it  neces- 
sary to  lift  it  thr 
the  more  work  wii 
the  lower   tl  ■ 
the  more  en<  ■ 
pel  the  heat 

range   of    ten.;"  ■    ■  ' 

must  be  raised. 

In    brief.    ^    .-^.....r^*....-  -.n.. 

machine  con- 

r.il    ITlc.in*    <■!  '"K 

!Tr.|ii:i!i     flir  r«- 


t»i. 

larljr    rerooved    from     the 

mrrltum  bv  tf"— <•••"••   «   • 


81 


tore.    Smre  thrrt  it  bo  secoadary 

.ture  availabir 

temperature  ai  which 

cooler  after  havioK  abs.,. .., , 

ties  of  bkat,  h  bceooMS  nccrsMr 
the     temper  at  src     of     the     rrfn(mttnf 
iMdium  enoogh  to  that  »  can  ht  cooled- 
Th  ".     'ed  ia  the  case  of  the  aksor^ 

^>^  by  the  direct  a>»licfio«  of 

be  gefterator"  and  ia  the  com- 

pr*-  em   by   the  perforoMae*  el 

4  feoitaUe  form  of  "conprcaaor." 

"If  oat  the  cotnturiton  of  the 
•ponge  and  the  »  evi- 
dent that  the  wa:r. ,  ...-./had 

by  the  sponge  mast  be  ratted  to  a 
level  before  it  caa  be  oiade  to  ioa 
to  th«  sarrovadtat  water  at  tW  birtu 
levcL 

More    spri 
f'"^  c«(m«a  of   a   ict   of 

P't'  otaiaiQg  vcaaci  la  the 

cooler  I  r  rel 

absorb*  |< 

the  products  to  be  refrigerated  aad  a 
second  \f\  >.f  nirtrt  oif  Other  coataiaiiH 
v^^  «ler  ia  wbkh  the 

r^U.f^^.  ..xn   fires   op   iu   baal 

to  a  se  oling  miifiaai.  aach  as 

water  or  air  a\  x  cooiparaiiTciy  Ugh  taai* 
perature.   and   a  •cowpiesaor    f<w 
the     temperatare     of     the 
medium   strfRrtmtljr   to  eas! 
the 


In  :>  r  operation  of  sadi  a 

an>     i^.llcrtU*     (kofLintr     rrvniiitm     miglM     be 

rtnpl.>%f<I  •   .  the  hai 

'»  ' !'•:•   »'i>  •    K'"-'  •»  »re  capa- 

) !  Toefied  oader  ordiaary  aata- 

rai  res   and   not   too  high  air- 

eti.k  Mliired    prciiarcs.     Ji 

nmnBer  of 

yiag  th«  dif  treat 

Aktiunc  that  aader  the  average 

anbjrdrotts    amnoaia    coaws 

m<  to  fatfOiag  aB  of  Iht   r»> 

qU' '  \r\    M^nl    ■   >rV  n#    tnnii.:tn 

Iha 

llUCiri.     nil  iru^ll^rwi     i*lC     I  «  B&a^MM^ 

artKle 


■nd  th 
throagf^ 
moaia  gim  op  r 


of 


■*    «  k^at 


«   r«p«ti- 

Lpansioa- 


lliK'    !iir«lMirTi 


'n*     ir4ftaally   aall 


82 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  5,  1909. 


mechanical  devices  for  accurately  varying 
the  opening  through  which  the  liquid  am- 
monia must  pass  on  its  way  to  the  expan- 
sion coils.  As  stated,  the  word  "expan- 
sion" has  been  erroneously  applied  to 
these  coils  and  valves  because  of  the  idea, 
likewise  erroneous,  that  the  liquid  am- 
monia vaporizes  or  "expands"  immediateJy 
the  pressure  is  relieved,  as  it  passes  the 
regulating  valve  and  enters  the  cooling 
coils.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  before  it  is 
possible  for  a  pound  of  ammonia  to 
change  from  the  liquid  to  the  gaseous 
state  it  must  be  supplied  with  about  555-5 
B.t.u.  of  heat.*  If  this  amount  of  heat 
were  absorbed  at  the  expansion  valve, 
which  its  immediate  vaporization  assumes, 
there  would  be  no  further  heat-absorbing 
capacity  in  the  ammonia,  and  its  intro- 
duction into  the  "expansion"  coils  would 
be  useless. 

In  the  expansion  coils  the  liquid  am- 
monia, which  has  the  peculiar  property  of 
boiling  at  a  very  low  temperature,  28.5  de- 
grees below  Fahrenheit  zero  under  atmos- 
pheric pressure,  absorbs  heat  from  the 
surrounding  atmosphere,  boils  and  vapor- 
izes in  much  the  same  way  as  water, 
absorbs  heat  from  the  hot  furnace  gases, 
boils  and  vaporizes  in  the  sim'ilarly  con- 
structed pipe  coils  of  an  ordinary  water- 
tube  boiler. 

Having  evaporated  to  a  dry  gas,  the 
ammonia  vapor  leaves  the  expansion  coils 
and  enters  a  "return"  header  which  con- 
veys it  back  to  the  suction  side  of  the 
compressor.  This  return  line  is  usually 
fitted  with  a  "scale  trap"  constructed  quite 
similarly  to  some  of  the  more  simple  types 
of  steam  separator.  The  function  of  this 
trap  is  to  prevent  any  scale  from  the  in- 
side of  the  pipes,  or  other  foreign  sub- 
stances, from  entering  and  damaging  the 
compressor. 

It  often  happens  that  the  expansion 
valves  are  not  properly  adjusted,  or  that 
the  expansion  coils  are  so  arranged  that, 
like  poorly  designed  boilers,  there  is  an 
abnormal  entrainment  and  considerable 
liquid  ammonia  is  carried  back  with  the 
returning  vapor.  In  this  case  the  scale 
separator  may  act  as  a  veritable  separator 
and  temporarily  interrupt  the  passage  of 
the  entrained  liquid  ammonia  to  the  ma- 
chine. On  account  of  the  difficulty  of  re- 
turning any  liquid  so  trapped  to  the  ex- 


*In  practice  not  all  of  the  5.5.5. .'>  B.t.u.  of 
heat-absorl>ing  capacity,  or  iieoative  heat  of 
a  pound  of  anhydrous  ammonia  available 
at  0  degrees  Fahrenheit  can  be  utilized  for 
useful  cooling  work.  This  on  account  of  the 
cooling  work  which  must  first  be  expended 
on  the  ammonia  itself  in  order  to  reduce  its 
temperature  from  that  of  the  condenser  to 
that  of  the  cooler.  This  may  be  illustrated 
by  a  similar  process  in  which  water  is  the 
medium    in    question. 

The  amount  of  heat  that  must  be  al)- 
stracted  from  one  pound  of  water  at  .32  de 
prees  Fahrenheit,  in  order  to  freeze  it,  is 
144  B.t.u.  On  this  basis  a  ton  of  ice  would 
represent  288,000  B.t.u.  of  negative  heat.  In 
practice  the  expenditure  of  this  amount  of 
cooling  will  not  freeze  .t  ton  of  water  be- 
cause it  must  first  be  cooled  from  its  natural 
temperature  or,  in  crystal-ice  systems,  from 
the  temperature  of  the  distilling  tank  down 
to  .32  degrees  Fahrenheit.  This  involves  a 
further  expenditure  of  1  B.t.u.  pound  per 
•degree    Fahrenheit   cooled    through. 


pansion  coils  the  scale  traps  are  of  little 
value  as  separators  except  as  means  of 
keeping  occasional  large  volumes  of  liquid 
from  returning  to  the  compressor.  Once 
having  become  filled  with  liquid  ammonia 
they  remain  in  this  condition  for  some 
time.  Since  in  order  to  evaporate,  the 
ammonia  must  have  heat,  and  since 
the  temperature  of  the  boiling  ammonia 
corresponding  to  the  back  pressure  usually 
carried  in  refrigerating  and  ice-making 
work  is  sufficiently  low  to  produce  ice  on 
the  outside  of  the  traps,  piping,  etc.,  these 
parts  soon  become  heavily  insulated  with 
ice  which  further  materially  reduces  the 
amount  of  heat  that  can  be  absorbed,  and 
the  entrained  liquid  enters  the  compres- 
sor with  considerable  capacity  for  absorb- 
ing heat.  If  this  amount  is  abnormal  it 
may  cause  the  compressor  to  pound  for 
the  same  obvious  reason  that  a  steam  en- 
gine pounds  when  it  receives  a  quantity  of 
entrained  water  in  the  steam.  When 
quantities  of  liquid  ammonia  sufficient  to 
cause  the  compressor  to  pound  enter  the 
compressor  cylinder,  it  is  usually  evi- 
denced by  the  abnormal  cooling  eflfect  on 
the  compressor  walls,  or  more  noticeably 
that  of  the  piston  rods  which,  through 
their  contraction,  as  well  as  that  of  the 
packing  and  stuTfing  boxes,  may  even 
allow  the  ammonia  to  leak  by  the  pack- 
ing. The  evaporation  of  this  entrained 
liquid  ammonia  in  the  compressor  cylin- 
der, or  that  introduced  directly  into  the 
cylinder  through  an  expansion  valve  de- 
signed for  that  purpose,  refrigerates  the 
gas  as  well  as  the  compressor  parts  and 
tends  to  prevent  superheating  of  the  gas 
during  compression.  The  evaporation  of 
the  liquid  ammonia  remaining  in  the  ex- 
pansion coils  when  the  compressor  is  shut 
down  causes  the  rise  in  back  pressure 
usually  so  noticeable  a  few  hours  after 
the  plant  has  been  shut  down. 

The  condition  of  the  ammonia  vapor  as 
regards  saturation  or  supersaturation  may 
best  be  arrived  at  through  thermometers 
inserted  in  mercury  wells  in  the  return 
and  discharge  lines  near  the  compressor. 
Tables  of  "properties  of  saturated  am- 
monia" indicate  at  a  glance  the  tempera- 
tures at  which  the  vapors  should  return 
to  the  machine  under  different  conditions 
of  back  pressure  and  assumed  saturation. 

If  the  last  trace  of  the  liquid  ammonia 
is  evaporated  before  the  vapors  reach  the 
compressor,  and  the  return  pipes  are  un- 
insulated, there  is  likely  to  be  considera- 
ble superheating,  i.e.,  the  temperature  of 
the  vapor  entering  the  compressor  is 
likely  to  be  several  degrees  higher  than 
that  shown  by  the  tables  to  correspond  to 
the  back  pressure  carried.  This  condition 
results  in  a  considerable  loss  of  efficiency 
and  should  not  be  allowed  to  continue. 

While  difference  in  opinion  regarding 
the  amount  of  unevaporated  liquid  the 
return  ammonia  gas  should  contain  in 
order  to  give  maximum  efficiency  has 
given  rise  to  two  distinct  systems,  viz., 
the  "wet"   and  the   "dry"  compression,  a 


discussion  of  the  relative  merits  of  the 
two  systems  would  be  too  far-reaching  to 
warrant  its  introduction  here.  The  best 
general  rule  regarding  the  wet  or  dry 
operation  of  compressors  is  to  follow  the 
instructions  of  the  respective  builders  as 
closely  as  possible. 

In  the  absence  of  more  accurate  means, 
such  as  thermometers,  for  determining  the 
temperature  of  the  returning  ammonia 
gas,  the  "frost  line"  has  been  forced  into 
service  to  give  at  least  some  slight  indica- 
tion of  such  temperatures.  The  simple 
formation  of  frost  on  the  outside  of  a 
pipe  containing  cold  ammonia  gas,  or,  in 
fact,  any  other  cold  medium,  indicates 
nothing  more  nor  less  than  that  the  heat 
from  the  outside  atmosphere  is  absorbed 
with  sufficient  rapidity  to  reduce  the  tem- 
perature of  the  pipe  and  nearby  air  to  at 
least  32  degrees  Fahrenheit,  under  which 
condition  atmospheric  moisture  is,  first, 
precipitated,  just  as  rain  or  dew  is  formed 
when  moisture-ladened  air  becomes  cooled 
by  heat  radiation  to  air  at  a  lower  tem- 
perature or  contact  with  other  colder 
objects  and,  second,  is  frozen,  just  as  dew 
is  frozen  to  form  frost  when  its  tempera- 
ture is  reduced  to  32  degrees  Fahrenheit. 

Since  the  formation  of  frost  on  an  am.- 
monia  pipe  is  influenced  by  the  room  tem- 
perature, it  cannot  be  an  ideal  means  of 
judging  temperature.  Where  considera- 
ble entrained  liquid  ammonia  is  present  to 
evaporate  and  absorb  heat  rapidly,  the 
general  appearance  of  the  frost  formed, 
or  the  way  one's  wet  finger  sticks  to  the 
pipe,  may  give  some  slight  indication  of 
the  action  taking  place  inside.  Where 
lew  temperatures  are  carried  the  return 
gas  may  be  so  far  below  32  degrees  Fah- 
renheit that  the  same  rise  in  temperature 
that  would  ordinarily  completely  change 
the  appearance  of  the  return  line  if  it  took 
place  at  a  higher  temperature  would  not 
affect  the  frosted  line  at  all,  as  far  as  out- 
ward appearances  are  concerned. 

It  may  be  generally  asserted  that  it 
costs  an  expenditure  of  energy  to  remove 
heat  from  any  substance  at  any  tempera- 
ture to  another  substance  at  a  higher  tem- 
perature. If,  then,  a  certain  amount  of 
the  heat  in  the  returning  ammonia  gas  has 
its  origin  in  the  engine  room,  where  its 
absorption  is  manifested  by  frost  in  the  re- 
turn line  to  the  compressor,  it  is  evident 
that  the  frosting  of  the  line  costs  energy 
to  drive  the  compressor  and  that  this 
energy  costs  coal,  labor  and,  finally,  money. 
The  return  lines  to  compressors  should  be 
effectively  insulated  to  reduce  this  loss. 
Nothing  is  more  erroneous  than  the  argu- 
ment that  because  the  returning  gas  has 
passed  the  rooms  that  it  is  sent  out  to 
cool,  there  will  be  no  loss  by  heat  absorp- 
tion through  exposed,  uncovered  cold 
pipes.  The  actual  cost  of  producing  a 
B.t.u.  of  refrigeration  can  be  computed 
for  any  refrigerating  plant  by  simply  di- 
viding the  total  operating  cost  of  that 
plant  by  the  number  of  B.t.u.  of  refrigera- 
tion  produced.     The   useless   expenditure 


January  5,   1909. 

of  a  single  unit  of  refrigeration  is  just  as 
prodigal  as  the  throwing  away  of  an 
equivalent  amount  of  money.  The  fact 
that  this  and  similar  losses  are  allowed  to 
continue  in  some  of  the  largest  refrigerat- 
ing and  ice-making  plants  in  the  country 
is  poor  excuse  for  their  existence  in 
others. 


Catechism  of  Electricity 

^.     How  should  the  motor  be  wired 
cuitr 

accordance  with  the  diagram  of  con- 
■ns  accompanying  the  machine,  or  if 
a  diagram  is  not  furnished,  in  ac- 
incc  with  the  general  arrangement 
n  rr<ipcctivcly  in  Figs.  276,  277  and 
t-,    scries-    and    compound- 

889.  hor  ivhich  direction  of  rotation  u 
•  motor  usually  arranged  when  leaving 
the  factory' 

'  '^less   otherwise   specified,   motors   are 
ily   tested   and   connected    for  a   left- 
direction  of  rotation  ;  that  is,  when 
,'  the  machine  at  the  comm-'tator  end 
>p  of  the  armature  will  turn  toward 
ft.     An  arrow  indicating  the  proper 
•ion  of  rotation  is  generally  painted 
c  machine  at  the  commutator  end. 
1     IVhat  preliminaries  should  be  ob- 
d  before  starting  up  a  motor  for  the 
:imef 

wly   turn   the  armature  over   a   few 

by  hatid  to  make  sure  that   it  does 

tib  or  bind.  an<I  is  perfectly   free  to 

'\t.     Sec   that   the   machine   through- 

~   free   from   dirt   or  foreign  matter, 

■N  properly  lined  up  so  that  the  belt 

in  the  middle  of  the  pulley.    Check 

e  connections  of  the   motor  and  its 

:>g  rheostat  with  the  wiring  diagram 

lis  particular  case.     Fill  the  bearings 

liigh-grade  dynamo  oil  until  the  oil 

•V  that  the  proper  amount  of  oil 

otroduccd.     Make  sure  that  the 


i 


JJUi 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

Kor  bniabna  1  loch  or  !»•-  ^,^ 

r- 

891.  Hciv  should  thf  ;■■:  w ,■  ,  >'  th^ 
I  rushiS  on  the  commute 

L'sc  an  ordinary  spri;.„ ,  „,^  „ 

Fig.  278.  placing  the  hook  so  m  to  raiae 
the  brush  e  perpendicularly  to  the  com- 
mutator a.  and  then  read  on  the  scale  the 


_C 


^^m 


nc.    276.    WIUNC  DIACKAM  FOt  SHUNT 

WOUND   MOTOR   AMD  STAKTING 

RHEOSTAT 

pull  in  pounds  neT«*ary  jatt  lo  lift  the 
brush    from    t  of  the   commu 

tator.     If  the  too  Rrci!    I  -srii 

the  thumb  screw  s  m  the  br 

which  will  loosen  the  spring  :.._;  , 

the  brush  in  position,  and  if  it  it  too 
slight,  tighten  the  thumb  screw.  It  is 
necessary  to  have  the  pressure  of  all  the 
brushes  exactly  the  same. 

892.     nhat    directions    should    bt   fol- 
lowed in  securing  the  proper  position 
the  brushes  on   the  c^mmulat'-^r* 

Motors  vary  coi. 
the  jiobition  in  win 

be  placed  for  the  best  re<iults  In  bipolar 
motors  or  motors  arran-."'  •  '  rotation 
in    either    direction,    th<  of   the 

brushes  should  be  midM.iy  i>rnve«n  the 
fole  pieces. 

In  •  .rk 

'"•  K<  tid 

two  puitcli  iiufk»  on  ti  '  If 

the  motor  runs  with  a  -n. 

the  punch  mark  on  th' 
over  the  right-hand  pt 
bearing  note,  and  with 
tion  over  the  left-hand  ;  •v      Ke 

vcrsible  motors  have  on  I  h  mark 


In  bipolar  ■tadunri 


there    are    yv«y» 

i  ti 


IinCCtKMI 


>  apart, 
asaally 


;>an.  m 


i  thd  ■■»<■■»  W  $HrU4 


Qtor   10 


It 

'    t*    m 
iachiat 

■•   nm 


lot     F«H  all 


ticld   circuit 


almi   ikal   fW 


xii 


977.     WIRING  DIACRAM    FOR   srvp 
WOUND  MOTOH   AND  STAIITINO 

Hneu.<«rAT 

>il  rings  are  properly  carrying  the  oil  over 
jhe  >>earing  surfaces  when  the  armature  is 
furncd. 

itres*!'-.      •     •■  . 

the  approximate  pre««urr 

on      the     riinimiiJafiir      fnr 

ii>  silted  of  brn«hr«. 


*; 


nmek  MM' 


•1 

hi 


<iw  6r  t> 


84 


FOWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


•January  5,   1909. 


Gas    Engine  Compression  and  Efficiency 

A  Simple  Explanation  of  How  and  Why  the  Degree  of  Compression 
Affects    the    Theoretical     Efficiency    and     the    Operating    Economy 


B    Y 


PAUL 


C. 


PERCY 


The  statement  that  the  efficiency  of  a 
gas  or  oil  engine  is  increased  by  increas- 
ing the  compression  pressure  of  the  en- 
gine is  familiar  to  all  readers  who  are 
interested  in  the  subject.  The  explana- 
tion of  the  statement  is  probably  not  so 
familiar.  Put  concisely,  it  is  that  increas- 
ing the  compression  increases  the  tem- 
perature range  of  the  cycle,  and  the 
thermal  efficiency  depends  on  the  operat- 
ing temperature  range  in  any  form  of 
heat  engine. 

Just  here  it  may  be  worth  while  to  re- 
mind the  reader  that  a  gas  engine,  like 
other  heat  engines,  yields  several  kinds 
of  efficiency,  namely,  the  theoretical  cyclic 
efficiency,  the  thermodynamic  efficiency, 
thermo-brake  efficiency  and  the  mechani- 
cal efficiency. 

The  theoretical  cyclic  efficiency  is  the 
proportion  of  the  heat  in  the  combustible 
mixture  that  is  available  for  doing  work 
as  it  passes  through  the  cylinder.  For 
example,  if  the  charge  contains  1000  heat 
units  and  400  of  these  are  discharged  in 
the  exhaust  gases,  the  available  heat  is 
1000  —  400  =  600  B.t.u.  and  the  cyclic 
efficiency  is 

600  ^ 

=  0.6, 

1000 

or  60  per  cent. 

The  thermodynamic  efficiency  is  the 
proportion  of  the  heat  in  the  gas  that  is 
actually  utilized  in  doing  work.  For  ex- 
ample, if  the  charge  contained  1000  heat 
units  and  the  work  per  cycle  done  by  the 
expanding  gases  on  the  piston  were  233,- 
400    foot-pounds,    this    would    mean    that 

233,400  -^  778  =  300 

heat   units    had   been     utilized    in     doing 
work,   and  the    thermodynamic    efficiency  . 
would  be 


300 


0.3, 


or  30  per  cent.  If  it  were  possible  to 
operate  an  engine  without  losing  heat 
through  the  cylinder  walls  and  piston, 
and  if  complete  combustion  of  the  gas 
were  obtained,  all  of  the  heat  in  the  gas 
except  that  discharged  in  the  exhaust 
gases  would  be  turned  into  work  and  the 
thermodynamic  efficiency  would  be  equal 
to  the  cyclic  efficiency. 

The  thermo-brake  efficiency  is  the  pro- 
portion of  heat  that  is  turned  into  use- 
ful work  outside  the  engine  and  the  me- 
chanical efficiency  is  the  ratio  of  the  use- 
ful work  to  the  total  work  done  on  the 


piston.  For  example,  if  the  charge  con- 
tains 1000  heat  units,  if  the  work  done  on 
the  piston  per  cycle  is  233,400  foot-pounds 
and  if  the  outside  work  done  by  the 
engine  in  driving  machinery,  shafting,  etc., 
is  186,720  foot-pounds  per  cycle,  the 
thermo-brake  efficiency  will  be 


186,729  -r-  778 


0.24 


or  24  per  cent,  and  the  mechanical  effici- 
ency will  be 

186,720  - 


233,400 

or  80  per  cent. 

These  efficiencies  are  clearly  related  to 
each  other,  and  if  one  is  increased  or  de- 
creased it  will  affect  one  or  more  of  the 
others.  Increasing  the  cyclic  efficiency  will 
increase  the  thermodynamic  efficiency 
within  certain  limits,  which  are  different 
for  different  engines  and  different  oper- 
ating conditions.  Increasing  the  thermo- 
dynamic efficiency  will  increase  the  brake 
efficiency  provided  it  does  not  decrease 
the  mechanical  efficiency  too  much  by  en- 
hancing the  friction  of  the  working  parts. 
Increasing  the  mechanical  efficiency  will 
increase  the  brake  efficiency  provided  the 
thermodynamic  efficiency  is  not  decreased 
correspondingly,  and  so  on.  Now  it  is  the 
theoretical  cyclic  efficiency  which  is  di- 
rectly affected  by  the  compression  pres- 
sure, and  increasing  the  compression 
would  increase  this  efficiency  indefinitely, 
as  shown  by  the  following  analysis  : 

In  the  theoretical  cycle,  in  which  it  is 
assumed  that  no  heat  is  lost  through  the 
cylinder  walls  and  piston,  and  that  com- 
bustion is  instantaneous  and  complete,  the 
temperature  rise  due  to  combustion  is 
equal  to  the  heat  units  in  qne  pound  of 
the  cylinder  contents  divided  by  the  spe- 
cific heat  of  the  cylinder  contents.  Now, 
assume  that  the  cylinder  contents  weigh 
one  pound,  that  the  admission  tempera- 
ture is  T„  degrees,  that  the  compression 
temperature  is  T,  degrees,  that  the  ex- 
plosion temperature  is  Tx  degrees  and 
that  the  temperature  of  the  exhaust  gases 
is  Te  degrees,  absolute.  The  rise  of  tem- 
perature due  to  combustion  will  be  equal 
to  the  heat  in  the  gas  (H)  divided  by  the 
specific  heat  (,Cv)  of  the  cylinder  contents 
at  constant  volume,  thus : 


n 


T.= 


H 


Cr 


to     produce     a    given     temperature     rise 
{Tx  —  Tc)  will  be  equal  to 


H=  Cv(n 


Tc). 


The  heat  in  the  exhaust  gases  is  equal  to 
the  quantity  that  would  have  been  re- 
quired to  raise  their  temperature  from 
that  of  admission,  Ta ,  to  that  at  which 
they  escape,  Te  ;   this  is  equal  to 

h  =  a   {Te  —  Ta). 

The      theoretical     cyclic     efficiency     is 
equal   to 

H-  h  h 

—IT-  ""''--fT' 

and  substituting  the  foregoing  equivalents 
for  H  and  h  gives 

a{Te—Ta) 


Cv  {Tx—Tc) 


as  the  cyclic  efficiency  expressed  in  tem- 
peratures. The  specific  heat  symbols  can- 
cel out,  leaving 


Te-   Ta 
J  X  —  I  c 


^  cyclic  efficiency. 


Since  both  compression  and  expansion! 
are  assumed  to  be  adiabatic  in  the  theo-j 
retical  cycle,  the  ratio  of  explosion  tem- 
perature   to    exhaust    temperature    is    the 
same   as    the   ratio   of   compression   tem- 
perature to  admission   temperature,  thus; 

Tx  T 


Te 

■      Ta    ' 

onsequently. 

Te-Ta 

Tx  —  Tc 

Ta 

Tc 

and   the   formula    for    theoretical 
efficiency  may  be  reduced  to 


cyclic 


Ta 

Tc 


cyclic  efficiency. 


Consequently,     the     total     heat     required 


The  higher  the  compression  pressure, 
the  higher  will  be  the  compression  tem- 
perature and  the  smaller  will  be  the 
fraction 

Ta 

Tc     ' 

consequently,  the  higher  will  be, the  cyclic 
efficiency.  Take,  for  example,  two  engines 
taking  in  equal  quantities  of  gas  per  cycle 
and  at  the  same  temperature,  say  700  de- 
grees absolute.  Suppose  one  compresses 
the  cylinder  contents  from  14  pounds  to 
61  pounds  absolute  pressure  per  square 
inch;  the  temperature  of  compression  will 


Januarj'  5,  1909. 

be  983  des^rees  absolute.  Now  suppose  the 
temperature  rise  due  to  combustion  were 
1966  degrees ;  then  the  explosion  tem- 
perature would  be  1966  -f-  983  =  2949  de- 
grees absolute.  The  theoretical  exhaust 
temperature  would  bear  the  same  relation 
to  the  explosion  temperature  that  the 
compression  temperature  bears  to  the  ad- 
mission temperature ;  consequently  the 
theoretical  exhaust  temperature  would  be 


^949 
983 


X  700  =■  2100 


degrees   absolute.     The  theoretical  cyclic 
efficiency  would  be 


2(0  3   —  7  JJ 
2949  -  983 


=    0.1879, 


or    18.79  P«r  cent.     The   shorter   formula 
gives  the  same  result,  thus : 


700 


983 


=  0.1879. 


jw   suppose   the    other    engine    com- 
pressed    the     cylinder    contents     to     182 
pounds  absolute  pressure  per  square  inch. 
The    compression    temperature    would    be 
^  degrees  absolute,  and  the  theoretical 
efficiency  would  be 


700 


»457 


0.48, 


or  48  per  cent.,  as  compared  with  18.70  per 
<cent.  for  the  first  engine. 

hTECT   ON    (JPERATINC   EfFICIE.VCIES 

It  'loes  net  follow  that  increasing  the  com- 
pression will  always  increase  the  thcrmo- 
rnic     and     thermo-brake     efficiencies, 
vcr.     It   will   do  so   up  to  a   certain 
•,  but  beyond  that  point  any   further 
ise  in  compression  will  produce  a  dc- 
-•   in   operating    fuel   economy.     The 
y — ;  at  which  this  change  occurs  differs 
in  different  engines,  and  it  is  not  usually 
*'       -amc    for    both    indicated    and    brake 
ncics.  During  compression  some  heat 
St    through    the    cylinder    walls    and 
II,    and    the    higher    the    compression 
.'renter  will  Ik-  the  heat   loss.     More- 
higher  compression  means  higher  ex- 
•n  temperature  an<l  that  increases  the 
;.    .;    loss  through  the  walls  during  com- 
bustion and  expansion.     The  loss  of  heat 
<lue  to  these  several  causes  increases  more 
rapidly   than   the  thermodynamic   or   indi 
I    efficiency    increases;  uly. 

i^   a   point   at   which   n  the 

;'>n  any    further  will  caunr   more 
than  the  increase  in  cyclic  effici- 
ency will  offset,  and  the  net  result  will  be 
a    l-rrease    in    thermodynamic    efficiency, 
me.  for  example,  that  an  engine  using 
^;il  gas  and  compressing  to  t3op<'>unds 
lute  shows  a  thermodynamic  efficiency 
t   per   cent.     The   heat   taken   in   per 
»te<l    horsepower-hour    will    h^    848,1 
1'.  •  -1       Now    suppose*  that    r-  'he 

•f>tnpressinn  to  140  pounds  w  -.iK 

♦  h-  •  1  :rt)cy  to  3J  per  cent,  if  there  were 
n<  I'liitiunal  heat  losses,  but  that  in  fact 
th'    heat  lo«iiet  were  increased  700  B.t.u. 


POWER  A.\U  TIIL  ENGINEER. 

The  net  result  would  be  tK 
wnvM   take  in   8653    B  f   : 
cr-hour  and  ;' 

.     would   be   rc'J_.    .    ,, 

-•'j'l'  per  cent,  instead  of  being  increase<J 
to  32  per  cent. 

Increasing    the    compression    inert. 
the  pressures  on  the  cr  .   "  .m 

shaft  bearings,  and  th<  :he 

friction  and  decreases  •  ef- 

ficiency, which  tends  to  -aic 

in  indicated  efficiency  I  herr  arr  .  .n»e- 
quently  two  critical  compression  pressure*, 
one  beyond  which  the  indicated  or  thermo- 
dynamic efficiency  begins  to  decrease  by 
reason  of  the  preponderance  of  the  in- 
crease in  heat  losses  and  one  '^  '  Mch 
the  brake  efficiency  begins  •  by 
reason  of  greater  loss  due  Iv  aJJc  i  I'ric 
tion  than  gain  in  indicated  efficiency 
Usually  the  latter  is  lower  than  the 
former,  though  it  is  possible  for  the  two 
to  coincide. 

Inflvekce  op  Buknt  Gases 

There  is  another  factor  which  un- 
doubtedly affects  the  relition  l>e(ween 
compression   and   operating   •  al- 

though it  does  not  come  int.  ion 

of  theoretical  cyclic  efficiency  1  hat  11  the 
influence  of  the  spent  gases  in  the  "clear- 
ance" upon  the  combustion  of  the  fresh 
charge.  It  is  quite  customary  to  assume 
that  after  the  expulsion  stroke  is  com- 
pleted the  combustion  space  or  "clearance" 
remains  filled  with  burnt  gases  and  that 
the  succeeding  suction  stroke  draws  in  a 
volume  of  fresh  mixture  equal,  at  the 
most,  to  the  piston  displacement.  Except 
where  special  means  are  provided  for 
scavenging,  there  is  no  reason  to  question 
the  accuracy  of  this  assumption.  At  any 
rate,  it  is  doubtless  true  that  these  con- 
ditions are  obtained  in  a  large  majority 
of  four-stroke  gas  engines.  In  such  cases. 
therefore,  it  is  also  true  that  increased 
rompression  tends  to  increased  economy 
l»y    reason    of    the    smaller    ;■  of 

<lead  Kases  in  the  cylinder  .  the 

time  of  combustion      For  exjiiii<lc,  tt  the 
compression  ratio  of  an  engine  were  three, 
that  is.  if  the  cylinder  contents  were  com 
pressed    to   one-third    the    volume    which 
they  occupied  before  compression    began, 
the  volume  of  the  combustion  space  would 
he  one -half  as  great  as  the  volume  swept 
out  by  the  piston 
of    the    rvlindrr    • 
gas. 
a  c<  : 

of  the   cyhnder   contents    wonid    l»e 
gases      Consequently,    the    rise    of    t 
perature  in  the  Utter  case  would  be  one 
and  a  quarter  times  the  rise  of  tempera- 
ture in  the  former  caac.  and  the  area  of 
-  ...  .  ij 

the    ■ 

fhr- 

the 

s.ini- 

thai  the 

it    such    . 

fresh  mixture,  contammg  too  Bia.  that 


oond  and  tbc  kpccific 

•^    .       r     U'  With 

tal 

vooM 

I  he    •  oi 

It  to  cotr.  fe. 


wwuUl  be 


loo 
aia  X  o.as 


—  SMJ 


degrees  Fahrenheit 

With  the  comprr«»K4i  ratio  of  tu.  the 
loul  weight  m  the  cylinder  woald  be 
0096  pound,  and  the  heat  units  the 
as  before  The  theoretical  n«c  of  t< 
perature,  therefore,  voold  be 


too 


OUO96  X  o^s 

degrees      Assumiror  e<?ual 
•  .  lency  for  the  ti» 
at  50  per  cent.  »' 
perature  would  be 
compression  and  y'j  *" 
.si  on. 
W 


—  4«*7 


-id  potimg  n 

'iw   of   tcfli- 

<ith  km 


con 

770    drgTcc-»    abtululc 
abotit    -J   >'und». 
the  « 


■  «  ratio  ibe 

M  be  aboM 

Aivd    the    pre^Mire 

With  the  hicber  ratso. 

temperature    »o«ld    be 


id  the  i»fe»tiife  abovl 


wodd    be    oK- 


I  < 


Sllfr 

of    - 
of    ; 
the 
(Win 

with  lh<- 
bett«-  ' 
n'Of 


Iter.  IW   c«gtnt 


effect    ( 

ccon<'m^ 
of  • 


r.»uvr  .'f  tl 


Igbt    be    Dcuirat 

.r    tiwpffttwe 

Ibe   ifrnm   wM- 

lubly  Ibe  gnani 

tn^t%uam    upon     t«el 

Ito  mdacale   ibr  r4lr<^ 

ige    ifurit    t* 

•      .1  ...Ik    rff. 


86 


POWER 

-■.-""The  Engineer 

DEVOTED  TO    THE  GENERATION   AND 
TRANSMISSION   OF  POWER 


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Cable  address,  "Powpub,"  N.  Y. 
Business  Telegraph  Code. 


CIRCULATION   STATEMENT 

During  1908  we  printed  and  circulated 
1,836,000  copies  of  Power. 

Our  circulation  for  December,  1908,  was 
(weekly  and  monthly)  191,500. 

January    5 46,000 

None  sent  free  regularly,  no  returns  from 
news  companies,  no  back  numbers.  Figures 
are  live,  net  circulation. 


Contents  paoh 

An  Extensive  Power  System  in  the  South       1 

The  Use  and  Abuse  of  Globe  Valves 10 

Steam    Boiler   Water   Gages 14 

Classification  and  Uses  of  Wrenches 15 

An     Early     American     Engineer — Robert 

Erskine     23 

Testing  and  Adjusting  Watt-Hour  Meters  28 
Calculating  Strength  of  Riveted  .Joints  30 
How  to  Use  Riveted  Joint  Diagrams.  ...  42 
New  Turbine  I'lant  at  Allentown,  Penn.  46 
The      Three-Wire      System      with      One 

Dynamo    52 

Supernatural  Visitation  of  .Tames  Watt  55 
Practical  lyCtters  from  Practical  Men : 
Method  of  Calculating  Capacity  of 
Absorption  Machinery  ....  Firing 
Boilers.  ..  .Hard  or  Soft  Condenser 
Tubes.  .  .  .Composite  Power  (Jener- 
ator.  ..  .Faulty  Indicator  Diagrams 
....A  New  Method  of  Firing.... 
Criticism  of  Turbine  Installation.  .  .  . 
Repairing  a  Broken  Eccentric  Rod 
.  .  .  .Hygrometry.  .  .  .Polish  for  Brass 
Steam  Pipes.  .  .  .Pump  Suction  Limit 
....  A  Homemade  Socket  Wrench 
....  Storage  Battery  Troubles ....  Ef- 
fect of  Superheated  Steam  on  Cast 
Iron  Fittings.  ..  .Corliss  Valve  Set- 
ting. .  .  .Waste  in  a  Power  I'lant.  .  .  . 
Moving  Heavy  Machinery ...  .Com- 
mutator Troubles.  ..  .Blow  off  Pipe 
Trouble  Reemdied  ....  To  Etch 
Tools.  ..  .Using  Kerosene  Oil  in 
Boilers....  An  Emergency  Piston 
in  an  Air  Compressor.  ..  .Grout 
Foundation.  ..  .Scraping  Valves  and 
Valve  Seats.  ..  .Engine  Turning  De- 
vice.... Nuts  and  Wrenches.... 
Driving  Un  a  Bag  in  a  Boiler.  .  .  .A 
Peculiar  Lighting  Condition ...  .Air 
Compressor  Accident.  .  .  .Preventing 
a  Crank  from  Throwing  Oil.... A 
Lead    Brush ....  Belt    Ruined    by    Oil 

.  .  .  .Boiler     Setting 57-71 

Low      Pressure      Turbines      and      Steam 

Engines    72 

Surface   Condensers - 76 

Operation  of  Induced   Draft  and   Suction 

Producers    77 

Improved  Pressure  Oiling  System 79 

The  Compression  Refrigerating  System  81 
Gas  Enorlne  Compression  and  Efficiency  84 
Editorials     86-87 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 
Unreasonable   Specifications 

It  is  all  right,  of  course,  for  the  pur- 
chaser of  machinery  to  make  rigid  specifi- 
cations covering  the  performance  and 
durability  of  that  machinery.  It  by  no 
means  follows,  however,  that  it  is  fair  for 
the  buyer  to  specify  details  of  design 
which  affect  the  performance  and  dura- 
bility of  the  machine  unless  he  is  willing 
to  shoulder  the  entire  responsibility.  If 
we  expected  to  buy  a  gas  engine,  steam 
engine  or  any  other  power-plant  equip- 
ment, we  should  be  quite  content  to  dic- 
tate the  maximum  continuous  ability  un- 
der stated  conditions,  the  economy  at 
stated  loads,  the  limits  of  speed  varia- 
tion and  the  degree  of  builder's  responsi- 
bility for  breakages  or  failures  within  a 
reasonable  period  of  time.  We  certainly 
should  not  expect  or  desire  to  dictate  the 
method  of  regulation  to  be  employed  on  a 
gas  engine,  for  example,  the  material  of 
which  the  cylinders  should  be  made,  or 
any  other  such  vital  features,  and  then 
expect  any  reputable  builder  to  assume  the 
responsibility  for  the  results.  And  if  we 
were  building  gas  engines  we  should  try 
to  content  ourselves  with  what  orders  we 
could  get  from  people  who  are  willing  to 
accept  satisfactory  results  without  trying 
to  dictate  the  methods  of  obtaining  them. 


Necessity  for  Good  Work  on 
Suction  Piping 


In  a  condensing  system  the  large  vol- 
ume of  cooling  water  used  necessitates  the 
use  of  large  and,  frequently,  long  suction 
pipes,  which  are  almost  always  placed 
underground.  Owing  to  the  fact  that 
flanged  cast-iron  pipe,  or  wrought-iron 
pipe  with  threaded  or  flanged  ends,  is 
in  large  sizes  more  expensive  than  cast- 
iron  pipe  with  bell-and-spigot  ends,  and 
that  the  expense  of  laying  is  much  less  in 
the  case  of  the  bell-and-spigot  pipe,  this 
form   is   most   frequently  chosen. 

To  secure  tight  joints  in  this  kind  of 
pipe  requires  the  conscientious  exercise  of 
rare  skill.  Lead  joints,  so-called,  under 
pressure  are  easily  inspected  and  leaks 
readily  detected,  but  when  under  "suction" 
inspection  is  difficult  and  uncertain.  Mois- 
ture to  the  slightest  extent  on  the  outside 
of  a  joint  is  evidence  of  leakage  and  may 
be  attended  to ;  but  the  leakage  of  air  to 
the  inside  of  the  pipe  is  not  so  readily 
seen  and  may  be  quite  large  before  it  is 
suspected.  When  suspicion  is  confirmed 
it  is  still  difficult,  in  some  cases  nearly  im- 
possible, to  locate  the  leak.  This  is  par- 
ticularly the  case  when  leaks  are  numer- 
ous and  small.  Where  surface  conden- 
sers are  used,  air-adulterated  circulating 
water  causes  no  serious  trouble  or  im- 
pairment of  condenser  efficiency.  It  means 
only  a  slightly  higher  rate  of  speed  for 
the  circulating  pump.  But  with  the  jet 
and   barometric   systems   air   leakage   into 


January  S,  1909. 

the  injection  water  means  a  reduction  in 
vacuum  that  cannot  be  met  by  accelerated 
puinp  action  or  wider  opening  of  the 
injection  valve,  for  a  vacuum  can  be 
vitiated  by  a  surplus  of  water  as  well  as 
by  air. 

All  natural  water  carries  in  solution 
more  or  less  air ;  an  amount  at  tiines 
equal  to  five  per  cent,  of  its  volume.  This 
dissolved  air  is  at  once  released  under  the 
influence  of  the  vacuum  in  the  condenser, 
and  when  to  this  is  added  the  volume  of 
free  air  which  comes  along  with  the  cool- 
ing water  where  a  leaky  suction  ob- 
tains, the  difference  between  the  vacuum 
due  to  the  temperature  and  the  actual 
vacuum  is  marked.  It  frequently  hap- 
pens that  in  a  jet  or  a  barometric  con- 
denser, where  a  vacuum  of  26H  inches  is 
expected,  only  23  or  24  inches  are  realized, 
and  as  an  increase  of  cooling  water  does 
not  help  matters,  the  condenser  is  charged 
with  being  inefficient  or  too  small  for.  the 
work ;  while,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  real 
cause  of  failure  is  the  excessive  amount 
of  air  which  leaks  into  the  system  through 
poorly  made  joints. 

Where  dry-vacuum  pumps  are  installed 
with  barometric  condensers,  a  high 
vacuum  is  maintained  by  the  extra  work 
done  by  the  air  pump,  and  the  real  effect 
of  the  surplus  air  entering  through  the 
joints  is  felt  only  in  the  extra  work  put 
on  the  air  pump,  which  falls  short  of  its 
calculated  efficiency. 

Too  much  care  cannot  be  exercised  in 
the  making  of  joints  in  the  pipe  supplying 
jet  or  barometric  condensers  with  water, 
and  no  grade  of  skill  in  pipe  laying,  par- 
ticularly in  the  making  of  the  joints, 
whether  screwed,  flanged  or  bell-and- 
spigot,   is   too  high   to  be  einployed.         _. 

Effect  of  Superheated  St^m  on 
Valves  and  Fittings 


Steam-piping  systems,  which  may  be 
termed  the  arteries  of  the  power  plant,  in 
the  last  twenty  years  have  received  prac- 
tically as  much  attention  as  any  part  of 
the  power  -  generating  installation.  The 
adoption  of  the  standard  thread  and  the 
manufacturers'  standard  for  flanges,  the 
almost  universal  acceptance  of  a  fixed  set 
of  diinensions  for  fittings  and  valves  for 
lOO-pound  pressures,  and  the  use  of  stand- 
ard pipe  up  to  the  12-inch  size,  with  bent 
pipe  for  flexibility,  have  made  low-pres- 
sure piping  an  easy  problem  susceptible 
of  a  very  satisfactory  solution.  With  the 
"Van  Stone,"  or  rolled  lap,  and  welded 
flanges,  the  200-pound  standard  valves 
and  fittings  and  the  corrugated  gaskets, 
both  copper  and  steel,  the  high-pressure 
piping  problem  is  practically  solved. 

Now  a  new  Richmond  has  entered  the 
field  and  with  the  increasing  use  of  super- 
heated steam  the  problem  has  had  to  be 
taken  up  anew,  this  time  not  with  the  idea 
of  heavier,  stronger  and  better  work,  but 


January  5,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


with  the  necessity  of  finding  a  material 
better  suited  to  the  changed  conditions 
of  pressure  and  temperature. 

The  standard  valve  and  fitting  material, 
cast  iron,  has  suffered  in  many  cases  a 
marked  and  continuous  deterioration  un- 
der the  action  of  superheated  steam.  We 
have  already  illustrated  this  action  in  the 
columns  of  Power  and  the  reports  of  fail- 
ures of  valves  and  fittings  are  still  com- 
ing in.  Numerous  explanations  of  this 
action  have  been  offered,  but  are  not 
satisfying.  . 

To  obviate  this  trouble  manufacturer* 
are  offering  valves  and  fittings  of  various 
qualities  of  cast  steel  which,  up  to  the 
present  writing,  have  presented  no  serious 
failures.  These  steel  fittings  have  been  in 
service  approximately  three  years,  and 
while  it  cannot  be  maintained  that  the 
problem  is  solved,  at  least  a  very  satis- 
factory result  has  been  obtained.  At  the 
outset  the  cost  of  this  material  was  very 
high,  but  the  increasing  demand  has  led 
more  manufacturers  to  embark  in  the 
-.t.rl-casting  business  and  it  will  be  only 
hort  time  before  steel  valves  and  tit- 
utigs  may  be  obtained  at  reasonable  ad- 
vance above  the  price  of  the  cheaper 
material. 

It  must  be  added,  however,  that  a  num- 
ber of  manufacturers  are  endeavoring  to 
discover  th  cause  of  the  deterioration  of 
cast  iron  by  superheated  steam,  so  far 
without  succe<;s. 


Through  Bracing 

A   large  class  of  engineers,   who   have 
made   a    study   of   steam-boiler   construc- 
tion, and  particularly  those  who  have  been 
ught  up  under  marine-boiler  influence, 
predisposed  to  advocate  the  through 
'in  of  bracing  wherever  this  type  can 
put  in.     It  appears  that  the  chief  ad- 
iitaffe  of  this  form  lies  in  the  fact  that 
'd  by  the  prcs.surc  <  • 
•    causes  a  direct   t 
'ss  III  the  brace,  while  in  the  crowfoot 
rm  the  angularity  of  the  brace  detracts 
from  its  effective  holding  power.     It  must 
be  admitted   that   when  considered  as  an 
abstract    mechanical    problem    the    above 
ftlatement  is  correct,  but  it  is  doubtful  if 
this  is  true  under  many  condition*  met  in 
!>ractice.      That    thi  >l    in 

v.ilue  has  conoid-  •  ..ht   is 

t  >  the  new    '  rules 

wl  A     twelve  s    per 

cent,  stress  on  the  thrnngh  form  of  brace 
above  that  allowed  on  the  crowfoot  form, 
when  both  are  of  weldlcss-stecl  construc- 
tion and  over  one  and  onc-qtiarter  inches 
in  diameter,  this  increased  allowance 
being  rrduce«'  to  six  and  six-tenths  per 
cent,  when  the  braces  are  one  and  one- 
quartrr  inrlir^   in  <h.iTiutrr  or  less. 

Nf>tss itlisiaii<liii((  tlir  rstablished  prestige 

of  the  throtiKh   form  of  brannK.   it   vv>>iil<l 

appear  that  there  are  often  reason*  why  the 

'lid  crowfoot   form  could  be  lubttituled 


lor  it  t 
of  effec 
subject- 
due  to  ■; 

ticularly  true  where  braces  are  v. 
stram   space  and  where    they    -•■      .r, , 
long    and    of    small    diameter.      In    such 
cases  the  braces  are  nf-  .^      -  -     ^^^ 

ous    vibration,    due    r  he> 

twcen   the  period  of  the 
of   the    varying    pressure 
heads  and  to  the  im; 
thrown   up  by  the    li*- 
That   the   stresses  caused   by   this   vibra- 
tion are  severe  is  indicated  \ty   •' ••    '*•  f 
that  they  are  often  found  to  b* 
after    considerable    use    and 
broken  near  the  point  of  con  nee 
heads. 

When  through  braces  are  pinned  to 
one  head  it  is  often  r 
ncctions  have  been  -■ 
extent  that  the  brace  is  too  loose  to  b<- 
effective.  It  is  not  practicable  to  space 
through  braces  closely  enough  together 
properly  to  distribute  the  load,  and  it  is 
therefore  necessary  to  stiffen  the  heads 
with  angles,  or  channels,  which  add  to 
the  <lif1iculty  of  making  a  tisht  connection 
at  the  brace  ends.    Tlr  nter- 

feres  with  the  proper  .c  in- 

terior surfaces,  which  in  nio&t  cams  is  a 
serious  defect. 

On    account    of    the     it  of 

riveting  the  blade  of  a  cr^   ■  ice  to 

the  interior  of  the  shell  immediately 
above  the  fire,  in  return-tubular  boilers 
the  through  brace  below  the  tubes  is 
practically  indispensable.  It  appears  that 
if  the  assumed  superior  strength  of  the 
through  brace  is  not  a  rr  ■ 
considcr.itinn*  render  the 
more  it    should     nut    be    dis' 

crimin.r  i^t. 


'UDCS  bat  Itttk  prrtm»KMi  it  Bu«ic 
viae  Smpcndc*!  matter    f;  m   n. 
;>ond  water,  vhcn  ' 


Clean    Feed  Water 


Of  all  rr  ; 
tion   in   the 

by  no  means  the  least.     Much  att- 
is  given  in  the  modern  plant  !■•  •!  >- 
tion  of  coal  adapted  to  the  pa- 
sign   of  grate   in  use  and  to   - 
con<l:tions    of    draft    exittins. 
fliie>tion    is,  of  ' 
uortliy    of   all    v. 
cri\es;      still,     there     <ki^ 
equally     important     nn-l 
same  careful  att 
these  factors  is  tl. 
and  other  debris  fr< 
of  a   plant.     The  ir 
step   it   generally   rr 


I 

I. 

bring   home   to   the 

of   such    nenlect    in   j 

gotten 


bi 

sir 


ut.    li    pro|ieriy   inslaUrd,    sbocld 
i    rr      .jr      lr\»      effc».li»e         T*r.<- 1 


f  and  PASS  on  to  tbe  next  screen. 

s-  al  icAs*  thrtr 

9r-  :  jot  woold  mo* 

Uit     motiid    aOom    the 

■Iccc  of  ckmiBC  oc  rr- 

(uinrii;  a  tcTccn  at  his  leisarc. 

Or<linanljr  screens  are  modi  too  hmO 
for  the  senricc  denunded  of  iboB.  It 
does  not  tak»  ''■"-.•  •■>  -»-■  i-  ■••-  '^'  '^^^^ 
and  alnKMt  - 


t",e     »;reeri     ine     »<iric»c» 


water.     The  ■ 

will  thit  condition  be  reached. 
t>  rd  for  a  « 

In  ^m  a  sc-  'Kh  muh 

»i\  -   was   u*€*i,  ar 

ra'  area   to  scrert 

I  to  ij.  or  I  to  7.  vbcn  an^and 
to  the  openings  tn  the  screen  fairly 
satisfactory  resohs  were  ohuiard.  Bel- 
ter resuht  would  have  been  secnrtd 
with  a  larger  screen,  and  at  that  the 
ratios  given  are  considrrably  larvcr  than 
fnund  in  eammon  practKe.  After  p*s*- 
>rrc«ns  the  water  thoold 
basin  of  softcicnt  area 
to  aii<  !  particics  of  dirt  t«  set- 

tle, an'  -n  a  screen  of  fine  »e»h 

c\tr  each  taction  ptpe  is  adetsablr 

r  Ir,   >  '  tf   tiirV*   turf:   orrt-aotton  M  pt^ 
tr  mifht    •••••' 

1.-1      It  ^-«».       »nt%.\rr-nt 

x)  '■r  porificj 


•nanaf'iwt  ot 


\rthur  D 
chemis: 
fH*  h- 


if*f      f  fS<  Kiu  •     -1 


.efhMied  isevl 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  5,  1909. 


Power  Plant  Machinery  and    Appliances 

Original        Descriptions       of        Power       Devices 
No     Manufacturers'     Cuts     or      Write-ups      Used 

MUST     BE     NEW     OR     INTERESTING 


The  Lazier    Vertical    Gas    Engine 


The  accompanying  engravings  illustrate 
the  latest  type  of  vertical  gas  engine  built 
by  the  Lazier  Gas  Engine  Company,  of 
Buffalo,  N.  Y.  The  engine  works  on  the 
four-stroke  cycle  and  is  of  the  single- 
acting  two-cylinder  type,  as  indicated  in 
Fig.  I,  which  shows  an  engine  built  for 
belt  driving.  Both  of  the  valves  work  in 
cages  set  into  the  cylinder  head,  as  indi- 
cated in  Fig.  2,  which  is  a  vertical  sec- 
tion of  one  side  of  the  engine  with  the 
valve-actuating  mechanism  omitted.  The 
valves  are  operated  by  short  rocker  arms 
and  the  usual  cam  shaft;  but  the  latter  is 
located  along  the  tops  of  the  cylinders  in- 
stead of  lower  down  on  the  frame,  which 
is  the  more  common  custom.  This  ar- 
rangement, which  is  illustrated  on  a  lar- 
ger scale  in  Fig.  3,  eliminates  long  push 
rods  with  the  attendant  disadvantages  of 
that  construction.  The  cam  shaft  is  driven 
through  spiral  gears  by  the  vertical  gov- 
ernor shaft,  the  location  of  which  is 
shown  in  Fig.  i.  From  the  ends  of  the 
cam  shaft  the  igniters  are  actuated  by 
means  of  eccentrics  and  short  push  rods. 

The  cam  shaft  carries  in  addition  to  the 
regular  operating  cams  a  set  of  compres- 
sion-relief cams  which,  when  shifted  into 
the  position  for  starting  the  engine,  hold 
the  exhaust  valves  open  during  a  part  of 
the  suction  stroke  and  thereby  reduce  the 
compression ;  after  the  engine  has  "picked 
up,"  the  compression-relief  cams  are 
thrown  out  of  action  and  the  engine  oper- 
ates with  normal  compression.     The  han- 


FIG.     I.       L.\ZIER    GAS    ENGINE 


FIG.   3.      LAZIER  CAM   SHAFT  AND  VALVE  GEAR 


die  for  shifting  the  relief  cams  into  and 
out  of  action  is  shown  in  Fig.  3  near  the 
left-hand  end  of  the  trough  in  which  the 
cam  shaft  is  located. 

The  igniters  are  of  the  make-and-break 
variety;  the  construction  of  the  operating 
mechanism  is  shown  by  Fig.  4.  The  trip- 
ping finger  or  trigger  is  pivoted  near  the 
end  of  the  rocker  arm  and  its  upper  end 
is  provided  with  a  45-degree  extension 
which  engages  with  a  tripping  roller 
immediately  above  it  and  is  thereby 
pressed  over  to  the  right  until  the  lifting 
block  is  carried  beyond  the  end  of  the 
actuating  lever;  then  the  spring  snaps  the 
lever  and  the  movable  electrode  back  to 
the  idle  position,  separating  the  electrodes 
and  making  the  spark  between  their  con- 
tact points.  The  short  finger  with  a 
right-angle    lug    at    its    end    and    located 


January  5,  tgog. 


1  '  >\\ER  AN'D  Tlih  l-Mil.XLLK. 


immediately  below  the  actuating  lever  is 
mounted  on  the  stem  of  the  movable  elec- 
trode; this  finger  and  the  actuating  lever 
are  acted  on  by  a  single  spring  which 
tends  to  draw  their  ends  together.  When 
'he  lever  is  lifted  by  the  trigger,  the  spring 
rces  the  electrode  finger  up  with  it  until 
uie  movable  electrode  comes  in  contact 
with  the  stationary  one  and  its  motion  is 
'  'Pped ;  when  the  lifting  block  is  pulled 
a  from  under  the  actuating  lever  by  the 
tripping  roller,  the  spring  snaps  the  actu- 
ating lever  downward  against  the  elec- 
trode finger,  giving  a  quick-break  effect 
at    the   ili-.-trii<Ii-  ruMtart-. 


the    narrow    openings    and    the    nv. 

thereby  improved.   The  circular  ir.,' 

is   connected   rigidly  to  the   Ir 

trolled  by  the  governor,  and  tin    >:r.:i  .  , 

the  disk  valve  is  adjustable  up  and  d«mn 

in  the  hub  or  sleeve  of  tli<   .      "       ' 

this    mians  the    rcKifivc    1 

two  valve*,  ami  ■ 

gas  to  air  in  tli 

suit   the   fuel   Ix  ; 

The  use  of  th-  ve  further  pro- 

vides  automatic    means   (or    varying    the 
quality  <•?  'I"-  inixmre  as  the  load  varte«. 


TH* 


HMihod- 

by    sri.ill 

r- 

t>K    .^■■.- 


K..    2.       >t.iiloNAt.    Kl.KVAIlK.N    u»     D.NL    L^U.\Ut.K    AM) 


LA2IU    ICMini 


-(.i-V 


bat 


The   <pccd   is   regulated   by   ine;in<  of  a  W  nli  full  I 

combination    throttling   and   mixing   valve  n>ixing-val 

controlle<l  by  the  governor;  this  is  sh<>wn  the  gas  port  »; 

in   I'ig.   5.     The  circidar  cage  with   (x.rts  mum   amount    ; 

through  it*  wall  is  «tationary  and  bxatrd  u»e«l.     Wli. 

in   a  chamlier    opening    into    the    int.ike  in    tin-    nv 
manifold.     The  air  enters  this  cage  freely 

at   the   lop  and   gas   enters   it   through   a  •  '  

port   controlled  by  the  disk  valve  shown  1  'ig    the    1 

fni<lwny  of  the  upper  valve  stem.    M<>ufU<d  k.  . 

on  a  sleeve  on  the  valve  stem  is  a  riri  nl  »r  a    •  I  '  !■•    " 

•i<l   valve   in*idr    the   cage,   ami    it*    p"vi-  ' 

■n   i*   varieil   xrrtically  by   the  govrrtxir 
cover  tnore  or  less  of  the  port   ojx-n- 

iifs  in  the  wall  of  the  cage.     The  air  .md 

>;.is  are  mixed   inside  the  valve  and  past  der  uimccnMfy  a  ikt«iW  .U^f.H»Mtt  «<     W  fa^  l««t  ytt  nuuuU 


■  ^n  r»«-arTn 

Urvrr    M 


'*n 


V«' 


iniral  ranttrvC' 


Urt»f 


90 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  5,  1909. 


Hoppes  Horizontal  Oil  Eliminator 

The  Hoppes  eliminator  is  especially  de- 
signed for  use  in  exhaust  pipes  of  large 
size,  for  either  vacuum  or  high-pressure 
service.  The  shell  of  the  machine  is  made 
of' flange  steel,  the  heads  and  interior  con- 
struction being  of  the  same  material,  but 


Westinghouse  Special  Circuit 
Breaker 


The  accompanying  engraving  illustrates 
a  special  application  of  the  standard  Type 
CC  circuit-breaker  of  the  Westinghouse 
Electric     and     Manufacturing     Company. 


HOPPES    HORIZONTAL    OIL    ELIMINATOR 


This  arrangement  was  devised  in  order 
to  meet  the  requirement  for  a  double-pole 
circuit-breaker  which  could  be  opened 
either  by  hand  or  by  a  magnet  controlled 
from  a  distance,  and  which  would  also 
open  automatically  in  the  event  of  an  in- 
crease in  current  beyond  the  maximum 
allowed  in  the  circuit ;  the  construction 
had  to  be  also  such  that  when  the  cir- 
cuit-breaker was  opened  from  a  distance, 
it  could  be  held  open  from  that  point  re- 
gardless of  efforts  to  close  it  by  means 
of  the  resetting  handle.  The  circuit- 
breaker  was  to  protect  a  large  motor,  and 
the  remote-control  switch  to  open  it  and 
liold  it  open  was  located  at  the  machine 
driven  by  the  motor,  under  the  control  of 
the  machine  operator. 

The  circuit-breaker  consists  of  two  sin- 
gle-pole mechanisms,  each  having  an 
automatic  overload  tripping  coil,  a  handle 
located  between  the  two  mechanisms  and 
arranged  to  close  and  open  the  two  cir- 
cuit-breakers, and  a  solenoid  (shown  be- 
neath the  handle)  for  opening  the  circuit- 
breakers  in  response  to  the  closing  of  the 
switch  at  the  machine.  The  mechanism 
in  the  middle  is  exactly  the  same  as  each 
of  the  tripping  mechanisms  of  the  circuit- 
breakers,  and  when  it  is  tripped,  by  either 
the  solenoid  or  the  handle,  it  trips  both 
of  the  circuit  mechanisms ;  similarly,  when 


the  flanges  for  the  pipe  connections  are 
of  cast  iron.  The  exhaust  enters  at  the 
left-hand  side  and  passes  out  at  the  right. . 
As  the  oil  and  water  for  the  most  part 
follow  the  surface  of  the  pipe,  the  inlet 
nozzle  is  made  taper,  and  an  intercepting 
plate,  as  shown  in  the  illustration,  is  used 
to  deflect  the  entrainment  from  a  straight 
course  into  the  eliminator,  and  direct  it 
to  the  bottom  of  the  shell. 

After  the  steam  enters  the  shell,  it 
strikes  a  baffle  plate,  the  face  of  which  is 
provided  with  a  number  of  angle-iron 
strips  which  catch  and  hold  the  oil  or 
water  and  carry  it  to  the  bottom  of  the 
shell.  The  exhaust  steam,  after  passing 
over  this  baffle  plate,  is  turned  downward 
by  another  plate  across  the  upper  half  of 
the  shell,  this  plate  being  provided  with  an 
intercepting  trough  at  its  lower  edge, 
which  is  kept  partly  filled  with  water,  the 
excess  water  and  oil  being  carried  to  the 
bottom  by  the  drain  pipes  shown. 

After  passing  the  second  baffle  plate, 
the  steam  is  prevented  from  flowing  di- 
rectly out  of  the  outlet  by  another  plate 
similar  to  the  first  one,  and  the  oil  and 
water  are  prevented  from  following  the 
surface  and  escaping  through  the  outlet 
by  a  short  inwardly  projecting  nozzle.  A 
small  amount  of  water  is  always  held  in 
the  bottom  of  the  shell,  as  it  has  been 
found  that  this  aids  in  catching  and  re- 
taining the  oil.  The  intercepting  troughs 
partly  filled  with  water  stop  the  oil  from 
creeping  by. 

This  eliminator  is  manufactured  by  the 
Hoppes  Manufacturing  Company,  Spring- 
field, O. 


FIG.     I.       SPECIAL    APPLICATION    OF    I  HE    WESTINGHOUSE    TYPE    CC    CIRCUIT-BREAKER 


January  5,  1909. 

•either  of  the  two  circuit-breaker  coils 
trips  its  own  mechanism,  that  trips  the 
other  circuit  latch  and  the  middle  latch. 
When  the  mechanisms  are  tripped  by  the 


nc.  2 


KI«.     ,1 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

switch   is  open,    thr    latch    relca«c«    th« 
handle,  which  may  then  be  operated  in  the 
usual  way. 
The  arr 
breaker  i: 

and  3.     The  lever  .V  is  one  of  the  three 
which  arc  bolted  to  the  handle  bar.     It  it 
mounted  freely  on  the  spindle  S,  on  which 
the  twin  bell-crank  .W  (?  is  al 
The  end  St  of  the  crank  is 
a  pin  P  to  the  end  of  the  linx   ..    *..Kii 
opens  and  closes  the  contacts      The   end 
Q    of    the    (H-ll-crank    carries    a    roller    R 
which  enKages  with  a  latch  or  dog  L).  the 
end   of   which    is    drawn    upward    by    a 
sprinjc  and  may  be  thrown  downward  by 
the  trip  (not  shown).    Figs.  2  and  j  show 
the  mechanism  in  I'       '        " 
the  overload  coil,  ti 
the  doR  [)  down,  r^ 
arm  O.  a  pair  of  li. 


^» 


The  Scioog  Vacuum  Tr*p 


iaUk  ot> 


'  a 
ir 

}(-Mre4 

-  r- 


<ber  and  are  made  of  Go««n»- 
"^  rcaddy  ac- 


It   m 
are  icvvral 


ngib  of   the  trap  a««y   froa  ikm 


THE   CTBOMC  ViM-fl'M   y%Xr 


•1   SI  inwn- 

11    the    an 

uard  It  carries  with  it  the  curved  end  of 

•he  lever  S.  and  that  end  of  the  corre- 

(Mmding    lever   of   the   other   mechanism 

^  the  doR   "  m  and 

.    the    ci"  t(    the 


the    tra^    #»• 
4i«m  die  HMii 

u   thown  to  br   otf   Ma   taaft. 


<    [It     KTjvnv    in 

•  e. 


1    lifer 


•t»«{»^r»« 


rrmotr-cnntrnl     solenoid,     the     handle     \s 

iiiKht   by  a  latch  which   holds   it   in  the  j>rr»«e«  rh 

pen  position  as  long  at  the  ^'~'— '  ^'--  <'iii»  »'■'    ' 

lains  excited.     When  the  rcn.  <\  ing  tl 


92 


POWER  AND  THE  ExXGINEER. 


January  5,  1909. 


As  the  water  flows  out  of  the  trap,  the 
tendency  of  the  ball  float  is  to  drop  with 
the  water  line.  It  cannot  do  so,  however, 
because  the  vacuum  rod  is  in  contact  with 
the  vacuum  ball  and  cannot  lift  it,  as  it 
is  held  on  its  seat  by  the  pressure  men- 
tioned. The  ^Yater  continues  to  flow  out 
of  the  trap,  dropping  away  from  the  ball 
float  until  the  weight  of  the  ball  float  and 
its   leverage    are     sufficient     to    lift     the 


its  increased  buoyancy  and  its  leverage 
are  greater  tiian  the  pressure  holding 
the  ball  valve  on  the  seat,  it  will  then 
raise  the  ball.  The  atmospheric  ball  is 
thus  raised  about  H  inch  from  its  seat 
and  permits  the  vacuum  ball  to  drop  to  its 
seat. 

The  instant  the  ball  is  lifted  from  its 
seat  the  pressure  of  20  pounds  disappears, 
as    the    ball    is    then    in    equilibrium,    the 


passes  through  it  and  conducts  the  oil 
under  the  piston  shoulder,  which  it  lifts  a 
very  little  against  the  thrust  of  the  air 
pressure  and  the  weight  of  the  tools  and 
escapes  in  a  thin  film,  thus  forming  prac- 
tically a  frictionless  thrust  bearing  or 
step. 

The  single  blade  balances  itself  and 
admits  of  large  eccentricity  and  piston 
displacement,  b?ing  designed  to  allow  the 


(i" 

P~2^^ 

■■m  i  .-Mzi^ 

1 

^^^■■■i'  VHm 

r-^-           ,    .      _:              I^-M 

r^T-'       FT 

H3^ltt»iMH»Jir4    J 

} 

"^ 

WMiwM'^mm^iW^     * 

"^-f^l!  »  1 

^^S^'-^KapfN^^ 

smm 

FIG.     I.       SHOWING    GENER.AL    CONSTRUCTION   OF      ROTO      TUBE    CLEANER 


vacuum  ball.  When  this  occurs  the  ball 
float  drops  to  the  new  water  line.  The 
vacuum  ball  is  lifted  off  its  seat  about 
yi  inch  and  the  rod  operating  the  atmos- 
pheric ball  drops  the  same  distance,  per- 
mitting the  atmospheric  ball  to   seat. 

The  trap  is  thus  closed  to  the  atmos- 
phere and  open  to  the  vacuum  through 
the  dry-vacuum  pipe.  In  three  or  four 
seconds  the  same  vacuum  will  be  estab- 
lished in  the  trap  as  is  maintained  in  the 
vacuum  system  being  drained.  Water 
will  then  drop  by  gravity  from  the  system 
into  the  trap. 

The  ball  float  will  rise  with  the  water 
line  until  the  vacuum  ball  is  about  ]^  of 
an  inch  off  its  seat,  and  the  rod  operating 
the  atmospheric  ball  comes  in  contact 
with  that  ball.  The  same  conditions  now 
exist  with  the  atmospheric  ball  as  existed 
with  the  vacuum  ball.  The  atmosphere 
on  one   side   of  the  ball  and   the  vacuum 


only  pressure  left  being  the  weight  of  the 
ball,  about  ^  of  a  pound.  A  variation  of 
6  inches  in  the  water  line  is  thus  ob- 
tained, giving  a  capacity  of  8  gallons  per 
discharge.  Three  discharges  per  minute 
are  possible,  giving  a  capacity  of  24  gal- 
lons per  minute.  This  trap  is  manufac- 
tured by  the  Strong,  Carlisle  &  Ham- 
mond Company,  336  to  344  Frankfort 
avenue,  S.  W.,  Cleveland,  Ohio. 


"Roto"  Tube  Cleaner 

Following  is  a  description  of  a  new  air- 
or  steam-driven  tube  cleaner,  the  general 
construction  of  which  is  shown  in  Fig.  i, 
in  position  in  a  straight  4-inch  water  tube 
containing  a  heavy  deposit  of  hard  scale. 
The  power  is  developed  in  a  2-inch  cylin- 
der 1I/2  inches  long,  containing  a  slotted 
piston    and    a   single    sliding   blade.      The 


motor  to  run  perfectly  ^ool  at  very  high 
speed.  The  motor  is  self-starting  in  all 
positions  and  has  no  spring  or  air  pres- 
sure to  force  the  blade  against  the  cylin- 
der walls. 

This  cleaner  uses  a  hardened-steel  siz- 
ing shield,  carried  by  the  motor  and  ex- 
tending to  a  point  close  behind  the  clean- 
ing tool  which  is  thereby  held  in  posi- 
tion to  strike  and  remove  the  scale,  and 
automatically  to  move  on  through  the 
tube.  With  the  sizing  shield  close  be- 
hind the  tool  there  is  little  likelihood  that 
the  operator  will  leave  the  cleaner  in  one 
position  long  enough  possibly  to  damage 
the  tube.  It  is  not  necessary  to  reduce 
its  external  diameter  to  pass  through  some 
one  bad  tube  in  the  boiler,  and  so  sacrifice 
thoroughness  in  cleaning  the  other  tubes, 
as  extra  sizing  shields  are  supplied,  and 
these  are  quickly  exchanged  to  fit  the 
tubes  being  cleaned. 


FIG.     2.        DOUtLE-BEARING    CLEANER 


FIG.     3.        MULTIPLE-EFFECT    POLISHING     HEAD 


on  the  under  side  present  a  total  pres- 
sure of  20  pounds  holding  this  ball  on  the 
seat. 

The  ball  float  cannot  lift  the  atmos- 
pheric valve  under  these  conditions.  The 
vacuum  valve  thus  remains  open  and  the 
water  continues  to  flow  into  the  trap, 
flooding  the  ball  float,  which  cannot  rise 
with  the  rising  water  line.  When  the 
ball  float  is  flooded  to  such   extent  that 


cylinder  bore  is  formed  in  tlic  shape  of  a 
heart,  the  edges  of  the  sliding  blade  ex- 
actly fitting  it  in  every  position  during  the 
revolution  of  the  eccentric  piston. 

The  piston  shoulder  is  floated  on  a  thin 
film  of  filtered  oil,  saturated  with  air  or 
steam.  Oil  put  in  at  the  ball  valve  soaks 
into  lampwicking  in  the  oil  receiver,  and 
a  very  small  jet  of  compressed  air  or 
steam   admitted  on  top  of  the   lampwick 


Where  scale  is  very  heavy,  it  may  be 
first  roughed  out  with  a  small  sizing 
shield  following  a  suitable  tool,  then  with 
a  larger  shield.  The  tubes  may  be  finished 
and  polished  by  the  same  cleaner  equipped 
with  a  larger  shield  and  a  finishing  or 
polishing  head  suitable  to  the  purpose.  In 
short,  the  new  cleaner  with  assorted 
shields  is  equivalent  to  several  cleaners  of 
dififerent    sizes.     The   cleaning   should   be 


January  5,  1909. 

done  with  the  largest  shield  that  will  pass 
through  the  tubes  when  cleaned,  so  as  to 
remove  all  the  scale  without  cutting, 
grinding  or  bruising  the  already  cleaned 
tube  surfaces. 

The  cutters  are  formed  of  tempered 
high-speed  tool  steel.  Where  very  heavy 
rale  is  encountered,  a  sharp  p«jinted  <lrill 
iiuL  is  substituted  for  the  hexagon  nut 
liown  in  Fig.  I.  Several  t>-pes  of  he.-id, 
suitable  for  all  purposes  and  including 
'Irill  heads,  cone-cutter  heads  and  arm 
!ieads,  are  furnished. 

Fig.  2  shows  a  view  of  a  double-bearin« 
cleaner  made  in  small  size  for  locomotive 
tubes,  etc.,  the  cross-sectional  view  show- 
ing the  general  construction  of  the  air- 
driven  motor.  F'ig.  3  shows  two  views 
of  the  "Roto"  multiple-effect  polishing 
head. 

This  apparatus  is  manufactured  by  the 
Koto  Company,  62  Market  street,  Hart- 
ford. Conn. 


The    "Erieco"   Elngine  Valve 

The  valve  herewith  described  is  especi- 
ally adapted  to  single-cylinder  high-speed 


I'OWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

the  steam  being  admitted  between  the  two 

halves  of  the   valve.     St- 

iK-tween  the  halve*  oi  V. 

its  ports,  the  location  of  tthicb  u  mkIi 


9i 


a|i<>fie4  to  the  top  and  bottom  of  this 


it  dairoed  that    ttte   Tshre 
*ic«m-fight  by  the  prcttorc 


IS    Iccft 
whidi 


na  I.     stcnoxAL  new  or  "taiaco"  bjicixi 


It  i« 


*«Qcr  pttmmit. 


■  *■»    J»  i»     •  tin    ii»r 

rTMpmm  br  ibe  cw|i> 

travUc  of 

..irk.    T1^ 


Ilic  Orvis  Fomace 


ria    2.      PRE.HSL'RK   PLAte   ANU    HALVES  OF   VALVE 


New  Vurk  Otjr.   Tbe  imrmte»  <«ttMt(*  of 


iigines  of  the  automatic  cutoflF  type,  and 
»J  Inren  used  for  the  past  three  year"*  in 
!ic   "Krieco"   engine,   built    by    the     F.n 
.Manufacturing     and      Supply     Company. 
F.ric,   I'enn 

It   is  a  balanced  valve  of  the  flat   •.lide 

pr.   riding   in   a    pressure    plate.     It    is 

I  that  it  takes  up  its  own  wear,  and 

■A"  stram-light  at  all  ranges  of  ^trani 

pressure.     It  is  made  in  two  pieces,  haN 

ing    interlocking    prnjeclinns    its    entir.- 

A  idth.     The  interlocking  projeftions,  hav- 

•ig    surfaces   in   opposite    directions,    arc 

lid    to    Ik-    held    in    ^tram-tight    cont.irt, 

to  the  difFrrrnce    in    the    rx|»<«or<l 

■  >f  the  cnti  «»f  each  half  of  the  v.»l\c 

V    referring  to   F'igs.   J  and  J  it    will   l>e 

rn    that    there   are   three   projecti<»t^   at 

it'h  end  of  tH>th  parts  of  the  valve,  form- 

ig  five  side*.     Three  of  the  «ide<  at  r.ich 

nd  are  surfaced  to  a  sleam-light  coiit.iri; 

'ish  this  the  other  two  surfaces 

I 

.\v  ihr  valve  wear*  it  i*  hcM  in  t<mtj.  t 

with  the  pressure  plate  and  seat.  >>Miiit;  ! 


na  y    rvaaaias  riAn  *»»  iauv 


that  the  proper  prr> 


lititainr.t 


nrip*l  fratofT' 


•ndwc' 


94 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGIXEER. 


January  5.  1909. 


ment  of  piping  to  circulate  the  water  in 
the  boiler.  The  latter  arrangement  is  said 
to  stop  the  formation  of  scale,  and  after 
the  system  has  been  installed  for  a  short 
time  cause  the  old  scale  to  drop  off.  The 
illustrations  show  the  furnace  adapted  to 
an  ordinary  tubular'  boiler. 

Differing  from  usual  practice,  the  blow- 


develpcd  and  the  amount  of  steam  pro- 
duced per  hour,  which  in  a  plant  with  a 
number  of  boilers  would  mean  that  the 
capacity  could  be  increased  sufficiently  to 
avoid  the  installation  of  a  new  boiler. 

Another  claim  for  the  device  is  that  it 
will  prevent  smoke.  From  the  construc- 
tion   sliown    in    the   illustration,    it    is   ap- 


should,  therefore,  be  of  use  in  an  over- 
loaded boiler  room,  or  where  enougli  draft 
is  not  available. 

The  other  feature  of  special  prominence 
was  the  circulating  tubes  shown  at  D  in 
the  illustrations.  Water  is  taken  from 
the  "rear  of  the  boiler,  as  shown,  and 
caused    to    flow    across    the    furnace    in 


^^^ 


^/////^^////i/////}v/////^^^^ 


tl 


FIG.    I.      ORVIS   FURNACE   ADAPTED  TO  RETURN-TUBULAR    BOILER 


FIG.     2.       PIPING    ARRANGEMENT    IN     SETTING 


ing  device  has  been  placed  near  the  bridge- 
wall  instead  of  at  the  front  of  the  furnace, 
or  underneath  the  grate,  and  the  air  blast 
in  passing  through  the  contracted  space 
or  throat  between  the  top  of  the  bridge- 
wall  and  the  shell,  induces  a  draft  and 
brings  the  mixture  of  air  and  steam  m 
contact  with  all  the  gases  from  the  fire. 
The  draft  arrangement  consists  of  the 
pipes  A  and  B,  the  former  being  an  air 
pipe  as  far  down  as  the  elbow,  and  the 
latter  a  small  steam  pipe,  ending  in  a 
small  jet  introduced  at  the  elbow  of  the 
air  pipe.  A  small  jet  of  steam  issuing 
from  the  steam  pipe  causes  a  vacuum  in 
the  larger  pipe,  and  in  drawing  the  air 
from  the  boiler  room  through  the  hood 
C.  fills  the  horizontal  length  of  pipe  with 
a  mixture  of  air  and  steam.  This  mixture 
escapes  with  considerable  velocity  through 
a  number  of  blasts  in  thin  sheets  toward 
the  rear  of  the  boiler,  and  in  passing 
through  the  contracted  area  indicated  in 
the  drawing,  increases  the  draft  and  conse- 
quently the  evaporation  and  horsepower 
of  the  boiler. 

With  the  device  designed  by  Mr.  Orvis 
embodying  the  vacuum  principle  the 
amount  of  steam  required  is  very  small, 
and  some  idea  of  the  quantity  will  be 
obtained  when  it  is  stated  that  a  i-inch 
pipe  will  supply  sufficient  steam  to  oper- 
ate thirty-two  lOO-horsepower  boilers. 

From  a  test  recently  made  by  Albert  A. 
Car\%  at  a  prominent  plant  in  Newark, 
N.  J.,  equipped  with  the  Orvis  system,  it 
was  reported  that  the  blower  could  in- 
crease the  steaming  capacity  of  the  boiler 
about  25  per  cent.,  so  that  a  considerable 
gain  would  be  effected  in  the  horsepower 


parent  that  the  gases  formed  from  com- 
bustion must  pass  rapidly  in  a  thin  sheet 
under  the  straight  arch  or  baffle  wall  over 
a  bed  ol  incandescent  fuel,  which  con- 
sumes the  larger  part  of  the  smoke.  The 
gases  must  then  pass  upwardly  through  a 
narrow  passage  and  above  the  bridgewall, 
where  they  come  in  contact  with  a  mix- 


4-inch  charcoal-iron  tubes,  which  are  ex- 
panded into  suitable  headers  bricked  into- 
the  side  walls,  and  from  here  it  is  returned 
into  the  front  end  of  the  boiler.  The  two 
connections  to  the  boiler  are  on  the  same 
level,  are  below  the  water  line  and  still 
far  enough  from  the  bottom  to  avoid  the 
sludge  and  whatever  impurities  may  have 


FIG.    3.      SECTIONAL   PLAN   OF   BOILER   SETTING 


ture  of  superheated  steam  and  heated  air 
in  the  proper  proportions,  causing  the  re- 
maining particles  of  carbon  to  ignite  and 
burn  and  in  this  way  prevent  any  smoke 
from  reaching  the  stack.  The  device  then 
has  apparently  four  advantages :  To  in- 
crease the  draft,  evaporate  more  water, 
remove  scale  and  consume  the  smoke.     It 


settled  to  this  location.  To  produce  the 
circulation,  the  tubes  across  the  furnace 
are  tilted  slightly,  so  that  the  heated  water 
will  have  a  tendency  to  flow  in  one  direc- 
tion, and  that  toward  the  front  of  the 
boiler.  By  this  means  a  rapid  circulation 
is  set  up  in  the  boiler  and  scale  forma- 
tion is  prevented. 


January  5,  1909. 


Inquiri 


iries 

Qurittion»  nrr  not  iinmnreit  unlrnji  thf]/  nnj 
'if  ijt  lural  intcrvnt  and  arr  ii<i-i,mpaninl  by 
the  name  and  addrt»»   u(   tin:   inquirtr. 


ll'hat  Is  Meant  by  Centennial  Rating 

Will  you  please  explain  what  is  meant 
by  a  boiler  horsepower  centennial  rating? 

C.  \). 
The  centennial  rule,  so  called,  declared 

a  boiler  horsepower  to  be  the  evap<jration 
of  .K)  pounds  of  water  at  100  degrees 
'  mpcrature  into  steam  at  70.  pounds  pres- 
ure  in  one  hour.  It  is  a  measure  of  the 
rate  of  work  and  is  equivalent  to  the 
evaporation  of  34^^^  pounds  of  water  from 
a  temperature  of  212  degrees  into  steam 
at  atmospheric  pressure. 

Comparative  Heating  I'alue  of  Wood 

What  is  the  heating  value  of  wood  as 
vompared  with  good  soft  coal? 

D.  B. 
Two    and    one-quarter    pounds    of    dry 

wood  contains  about  the  same  number  of 
heat  units  as  a  pound  of  average  bitumi- 
nous coal.  It  is  necessary  that  the  wood 
be  thoroughly  dry.  It  seems  to  make  lit- 
tle diflfercnce  what  kind  of  wood  is  used, 
as,  pound  for  pound,  poplar  is  as  good 
as  hickory  or  oak.  Some  experiments 
have  ^hown  the  heat  value  of  perfectly  dry 
wood  to  be  04  that  of  carbon. 

Concrete  for  Engine  Foundation 

I  wish  to  build  an  engine  foundation  of 
concrete.  What  proportions  of  cement, 
sand  and  broken  stone  shall   I   use? 

C.  D.  M. 
One  part,  by  measure,  of  good  hydraulic 
cement  to  three  parts  of  coarse,  sharp 
sand  and  six  parts  of  clean,  broken  stone 
that  will  pass  through  a  screen  of  fi/i- 
inch  mesh.  Spread  a  batch  of  stone  about 
6  inches  thick  on  a  flor)r  of  plank  and 
wet  thoroughly.  Mix  a  stiff  mortar  with 
the  sand  and  cement  and  spread  it  evenly 
over  the  stone.  Then,  with  shovels,  turn 
until  thoroughly  mixed,  wheel  or  carry  it 
to  the  form  and  tamp,  particularly  around 
the  outsi<If  next  to  the  form,  to  prevent 
the  fc)rmation  of  hole*.  If  it  is  necessary 
to  let  the  work  stand  unfinishe<I  over 
night,  the  top  should  be  left  as  rough  as 
possible  and  well  wet  lieforc  putting  on 
fresh  material. 

I'acuum  in  Condensers 

In   my   plant    I    have    a    jet    condenser 

hich  until  recently  wouM  show  only  24 

inches      vacuum.      .Another      engine     was 

bought  with  a  «>irface  cumlenser,  and  the 

suction   pijH-   which    supplie«l   the  jet   con 

denser  was  extended  i«i  furniNh  water  for 

the    fither.      When    Iwith    condensers    are 

running    I    get    27    inches    vacuum    in    the 

■  f  condenser,  but  when  it  is  running  alone 

get   only   24   inches.     Can   you   explain 

IS? 

F.  C    A 
The   suction    pipe    leading   to   the   con 
densers  leak<u  When  the  jet  condenser  i« 


1  <  )\VEK  AND  THE  EXGIXEER. 

c  air  %h:    , 

•ng  chamber  and  e-. 
the  vacuum.     When  i,,^ 
is  running  the  air  is  carr; 
to  the  first  condenser  w 
water,  and  a  vacuum,  di;. 
ture   of    the    c 
order  to  get  g. 
dinser  it  is  netcs>.ir>  ttiat  the 
be  absolutely  air-tight.     Any  .. 
the    condenser    with    the    injection    water 
protluces  the  same  results  that  come  from 
air  leaking  through  stufTing  boxes  or  ex- 
haust-pipe joints.     It  expands  in  the  coo- 
denser  and  reduces  the  vacuum. 

Flywheel  Energy 

Is  the  energy  stored  in  a  flywheel  dur- 
ing one  portion  of  the  rrvf.luii<.n  eivrn 
back   again   without   any  c 

rest  of  the  revolution,  ;i-  it 

speed  and  eliminating  friction? 

G.   F.  D 

The  energy  given  to  the  flywheel  in  the 
earlier  portion  of  the  stroke  is  delivered 
to  the  shaft  during  the  later  portion  of  the 
stroke  when  the  mean  pressure  is  lower, 
and  this  without  any  other  loss  than  that 
of  friction.  You  cannot  assume  the  con- 
stant speed  because  the  ability  of  the  fly- 
wheel to  receive  and  to  give  back  energy 
lies  in  an  allr>wablc  speed  variation.  The 
wheel  is  speede«l  up  under  the  high  initial 
pressure  and  slows  down  as  it  gives  up 
the  energy  thus  required  later  in  the 
stroke.  The  energy  necessary  to  get  up  a 
given   velocity  is 


E^ 


w  y* 
64.3a    • 


from  which  it  is  easy  to  figure  the  amount 
of  energ>-  which  a  flywheel  of  a  given 
weight  with  a  k'wvw  v.iriation  in  velocity 
will  distribute. 

(  ause  of  Pound  i«  Ammonia  Comfreuor 
What  causes  an  ammonia  compreMor  to 
pound  when  it  is  surted  up  after  having 
been  shut  down  for  a  few  days? 

F-    W 
We  are  inclined  to  think  t! 
in   the  compressor  cylinder  ih  . 
der  such  condition*  would  be  due  !•>  en- 
trainetl  liqunl    returning   to   the  curaprrs- 
sor   with   the   return   gat.      If   the   puioa 
r<.«l»  are  found  to  get  very  cold,  the  dis- 
'     ''k'r  pipe  being  unusually  cih>I.  and  the 
Muiting    bi>\      '  Irak, 

this    is   un'I  -Linj- 


rhine  was   in   < 
case  the  Iom    I' 
lion  or  po- 
of the  pipii.k    •  ■■<  " 
have  allowed   it   to 


^  the  ^rvMarc  on  tbe 


.t  thr 
>gh  lemprralare  hquad  will 

•-ill*      ar>.!     >.    ••     .',    .   .^ 


If  pans  of  ilir  ptpmg  raa 
r  brcowie  iImwwIIji 
:>povt  to  tk>«  ilwiory 


lion. 


ptnind.      1 

sure  ''f  (? 
enter 

If   • 

XtHM 

"■'    ''  *    J"'*'  '•  «    to 

strike  the  hark  ;  get* 

^^  1  be  p.'uicd  bjr  tak 

'•  by  intrning  a  ptrre 
of  v.Ai\c:  wire  Lctitnd  the  piiiMi  jost  be- 
fore the  crank  passes  the  back 


A  Deserving  Caqk 

Wc  are  advwed  that  a  foMf  t« 
raised  in  Frtglan.?  »r\  tnhsrrtption.  to  pro- 
vide I  .,nn^  chil- 
<*'«^  •  -lie.  who  m 
1^  and  proved  that  bUrt 
furnace  *_  _::  be  nted  in  ip«  mgntrt. 
He  was  no  busineM  man  aad  br  cj*  m^b 
ing  out  of  il.  He  ipem  aO  ba  ovw 
fortune  on  il  and  died,  a  hinluM  IWlHil 
man.  :       '                     f  i9aS, 

T^"  •rorii  al  vmc*  to  pro- 

nwqg  chiMmi.  bat  «aa 
•*'  rerurrmcr  of  a  Mrkfw-tk 

for   which   she    unsterwmt    an    a^ 
three   year*    j--..       Hrr      .»^    ..    r,.   . 
lifted  lo  hr 


.V 

y  . .     ;  ■  • .  J .        r  t  •- 

\nuA,l  of  She- 


wnnm 


bine  it  tbat  flown  - 
litui  u(  ihu  residual  ammonia  will  r«a(»>-     r«»aa  rcaiicca. 


96 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  5,  1909. 


Obituary 


Kenton  Chickering.  vice-president  of  the 
Oil  Well  Supply  Company,  of  Pittsburg, 
died  at  Oil  City,  Penn.,  December  8.  He 
was  vice-president  of  the  company  from 
its  formation,  prior  to  which  he  was  for 
thirty-nine  years  connected  with  Eaton  & 
Cole  and  the  Eaton.  Cole  &  Burnham 
Company. 


The  first  annual  dinner  of  the  superin- 
tendents and  foremen  of  the  Kinkora 
Works  of  the  John  A.  Roebling's  Sons' 
plant  was  celebrated  at  Roebling,  N.  J., 
on  the  evening  of  Wednesday,  December 
23.  Assembled  at  the  tables,  where  an 
appetizing  dinner  was  served,  were  nearly 
fifty  gentlemen  bent  on  having  a  good 
time,  and  they  had  it.  Appropriate  favors 
were  distributed.  T.  A.  Major  was  the 
toastmastcr.  It  is  the  intention  to  repeat 
this  social  occasion  each  year. 


The  annual  smoker  of  Brooklyn  Asso- 
ciation No.  8,  N.  A.  S.  E.,  was  held  at  its 
meeting  rooms,  315  Washington  street, 
Brooklyn,  on  Saturady  evening,  December 
19.  An  enjoyable  entertainment  was  fur- 
nished by  the  "bunch,"  assisted  by  Henry 
Elder,  Carl  Cronlin  and  Charles  C.  Drant. 
During  the  evening  addresses  were  made 
by  James  Westberg,  R.  O.  Smith,  Thomas 
Cole  and  Timothy  Healey.  Frank  Martin 
made  a  genial  toastmaster.  Refreshments 
of  all  kinds  were  constantly  on  tap. 


Business  Items 


A  handsome  wall  calendar  for  1909,  printed 
to  represent  burnt  leather,  is  being  distributed 
by  the  Wilpaco  Packing  Company,  109  Liberty 
street.  New  York. 

The  York  Manufacturing  Company,  York. 
I'fnn.,  manufacturer  of  ice-niakiuf?  and  re- 
frigerating? machim'ry,  has  closed  28  recent 
oider.s  aggregating  1.'577  tons  of  refrigeration. 

C.  P.  Bas.sett,  of  Charlotte,  Mich.,  maker  of 
the  McNaughton  sectional  grates,  has  received 
a  letter  from  W.  P.  Engel,  president  of  the 
Peoples  Gas  and  Electric  Company,  Defiance, 
Ohio,  in  which  he  says:  "  1  acknowledge  the 
com.  Your  boiler  grates  are  far  superior  to 
any  grate  I  have  used.  We  have  been  using 
two  full  .sets,  under  two  3.50-horsepower  Heine 
boilers  for  two  years  and  three  months.  The 
repairs  have  cost  but  81.80  for  the  sectional 
grates.  There  has  not  been  a  warp  or  a  sag 
in  the  bars,  and  the  increase  in  draft  is  fully 
2'i  per  cent.  We  consider  that  we  are  saving 
40  per  cent,  in  repairs  and  20  per  cent,  in  fuel." 

The  Foos  Gas  Engine  Company,  Springfield, 
Ohio,  is  furnishing  a  producer-gas  plant  com- 
plfle  to  the  Standard  f)ptical  Company,  for 
its  new  lens-grinding  department,  at  Geneva, 
N.  Y.  The  engine  will  be  a  100-horsepower 
three-cylinder  Foos  vsrtical  from  which  power 
will  be  transmitted  by  rope  drive.  The  pro- 
ducer will  use  Pennsylvania  anthracite  and  is 
so  arranged  that  a  portion  of  the  gas  will 
be  drawn  ofif  and  used  for  annealing  fur- 
naces. The  plant  will  be  very  complete  and 
will  contribute  materially  to  the  economical 
operation   of   the   factory.     The   Foos  factory 


at  Sprin^Gld  has  been  working  overtime  for 
several  months  in  the  endeavor  to  keep  up 
with  orders. 

The  Buckeye  Boiler  Skimmer  Company, 
South  End,  Toledo,  Ohio,  manufacturer  of  the 
Buckeye  boiler  skimmer  for  removing  impuri- 
ties from  the  water  in  boilers,  has  received 
a  letter  from  Kelsey  &  Freeman,  of  Toledo, 
Ohio,  in  which  they  say:  "We  have  had  your 
automatic  skimmers  in  use  now  about  six  months 
and  have  given  them  a  pretty  thorough  test. 
We  formerly  cleaned  one  boiler  each  week  and 
even  at  that  had  difficulty  in  pulling  load  on 
account  of  foaming.  Now  the  old  scale  is 
dropping  off  and  the  water  in  boilers  is  con- 
siderably more  free  from  settlement,  thus 
requiring  less  attention  and  giving  much  better 
results.  Your  skimmers  have  done  already 
what  you  guaranteed  them  to  do  and  are  worth 
their  cost  to  us  twice  over  since  we  installed 
them.  To  anyone  using  water  as  bad  as  Maumee 
river  water  we  cannot  recommend  them  too 
highly." 


New  Equipment 


A  new  power  plant  is  being  erected  for 
the   Oconee   River   Mills,   Milledgeville,   Ga. 

The  Shelby  (N.  C.)  Cotton  Mill  is  building 
an  addition.     Electric  power  will  be  used. 

The  city  of  Clearwater,  Fla.,  has  voted  to 
issue   $2.5,000   bonds   for   water   works. 

The  Beeville  (Texas)  Water  and  Light 
Company   will   rebuild  water  and  light  plant. 

Wm.  E.  Everheart,  Maryville,  Mo.,  will  es- 
tablish an  ice  and  cold-storage  plant  to  cost 
$25,000. 

Independent  Ice  Company,  Nashville,  Tenn., 
will  erect  a  new  factory  building,  boiler  and 
engine   rooms. 

Morris  &  Co.,  Chicago,  111.,  has  had  plans 
prepared  for  a  cold-storage  plant,  which  will 
cost  over  $700,000, 

The  Atlanta  (Ga.)  Power  Company,  re- 
cently organized,  proposes  to  establish  elec- 
tiic-power   plant. 

The  Belief  on  te  (Penn.)  Electric  Company 
is  having  plans  prepared  for  dam,  •  concrete 
power  house,  etc. 

The  city  of  Hooker,  Okla.,'  voted  $20,000 
bonds  for  construction  of  electric-light  plant 
and    water    works. 


Help    Wanted 

Advertisements  under  this  head  are  inserted 
for  2.5  cents  per  line.  About  six  words  make 
a  tine. 

AN  ENGINEER  in  each  town  to  sell  the 
best  rocking  grate  for  steam  boilers.  Write 
Martin   Grate   Co.,    281    Dearborn   St.,   Chicago. 

WANTED — Thoroughly  competent  steam 
specialty  salesman;  one  that  can  sell  high- 
grade  goods.      Address  "M.   M.  Co.,"  Power. 

AGENTS  to  sell  one  of  the  be.st  known  and 
widely  advertised  shaking  grates  on  the 
market.  Exclusive  territory  granted  to  any- 
one who  can  make  good.  Liberal  commission. 
Perfection  Grate  Co.,  Box  1081,  Springfield, 
Mass. 


Situations  Wanted 


Advertisements  under  this  head  are  inserted 
for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  words  make 
a  line. 

YOUNG  MECHANICAL  ENGINEER,  three 
years'  experience  as  salesman,  would  like  to 
connect  with  engineering  house  or  contracting 
engineers.     Box  82,  Power. 

SALESMAN— Mechanical  engineer,  college 
graduate,  28  years  old,  five  years'  experience 
with  large  steel  plant,  desires  salaried  position 
as  salesman  handling  power  specialties.  Pre- 
ferably Pitt.sburg  or  Cleveland  district.  Address 
"  F.  J.,"  Power. 


CHIEF  ENGINEER,  17  years'  experience 
on  engines,  dynamos,  plumbing,  wiring,  sewage 
disposal,  telephones,  etc.  Am  at  present  in 
good  position,  having  effected  saving  of  about 
1000  tons  per  year.  Best  references;  ciiange 
of    locality    desired.      Address    "H."    Box    80, 

PO  WER. 

ENGAGEMENT  DESIRED  to  instaU  small, 
or  medium-sized  steam,  electric  or  hydro-electric 
plant,  or  as  cliief  engineer  mining  company 
in  South  or  West  preferred.  Am  graduate 
electrical  engineer,  experienced  in  mining  and 
milling  work.  Can  give  references.  At  liberty 
February  1.     Box  81,  Power. 

POSITION  WANTED  as  chief  engineer; 
experienced  with  all  kinds  of  engines,  steam 
turbines,  a.c.  and  d.c.  generators,  motors  and 
switchboards,  boilers  and  pumps.  I  can  get 
results  and  furnish  the  references;  have  been 
seventeen  years  in  the  mechanical  and  engi- 
neering business.     Box  9,  Power. 

POSITION  WANTED  by  a  thoroughly  com- 
petent and  practical  engineer.  Long  experi- 
ence in  erecting,  installing  and  operating  steam, 
water  and  electric  power  plants;  capable  of 
taking  full  charge  of  any  plant.  Am  now 
holding  good  position  under  first  class  Massa- 
chusetts license,  but  desire  a  change.  Best  of 
references  on  ajlplication.     Box  77,   Power. 


Miscellaneous 


Advertisements  under  this  head  are  inserted 
for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  words  make 
a  line. 

DRAFTSMEN— Put  in  a  requisition  for 
mv  parallel  device,  $2.50.  F.  G.  Hobart, 
Beloit,   Wis. 

WANTED— Left  hand,  second  hand  Corliss 
engine  in  first  class  condition  to  develop  100 
to  150  horsepower.     Box  79,   Power. 

IF  YOU  DESIRE  to  learn  the  latest  im- 
provements in  steam  boilers,  correspond  witli 
the    Detroit    Water    Tube    Boiler    Co.,    Detroit. 

WOULD  BUY  ARTICLE  in  machine  line 
to  manufacture.  If  you  hive  inventions,  write, 
giving  full  descriptions.  If  patented  give  num- 
bers.    Box  78,  Power. 

ENGINES  AND  BOILERS,  i  to  2  h.p., 
engine  castings  in  sets.  Models  and  general 
machine  work.  Sipp  Electric  and  Machine 
Co.,   Paterson,   N.  J.     Catalog  4c. 

PATENTS— H.  W.  T.  Jenner,  patent  at- 
torney and  mechanical  expert,  608  F  St., 
Washington,  D.  C.  I  make  an  investigation 
and  report  if  patent  can  be  had,  and  exact 
cost. 

PATENTS  secured  promptly  in  the  United 
States  and  foreign  countries.  Pamphlet  of 
instructions  sent  free  upon  request.  C.  L. 
Parker,  Ex-examiner,  U.  S.  Patent  Office, 
McGill  Bldg.,  Washington,  D.  C. 

ENGINEERS  AND  FIREMEN— Send  10 
cents  in  stamps  for  a  40-page  pamphlet  con- 
taining a  list  of  questions  asked  by  an  exam- 
ining board  of  engineers.  Stromberg  Publish- 
ing Co.,   2703  Cass  Avenue,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

THE  ANNUAL  MEETING  of  the  stock- 
holders of  the  Hill  Publishing  Company,  for  the 
election  of  directors  for  the  ensuing  year  and 
for  the  transaction  of  such  other  business  as 
may  properly  come  before  the  meeting,  will 
be  held  at  the  office  of  the  company,  in  the 
Hallenbeck  Building,  497-505  Pearl  St.,  Bor- 
ough of  Manhattan,  New  York  City,  N.  Y., 
on  Tuesday,  January  26,  1909,  at  12  o'clock 
noon.  Dated,  New  York  City,  December  9, 
1908.     Robert  McKean,  Secretary. 


For  Sale 


Advertisements  under  this  head  are  inserted 
for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  words  make 
a  line. 

150  HORSE-POWER  tandem  compound 
Corliss  engine,  in  good  order;  16-ft.  wheel; 
24-in.  face.  F.  W.  Iredell,  11  Broadway,  New 
York. 

CHANCE  TO  GET  A  TRACK  SCALE  CHEAP. 
Fairbanks,  Morse  &  Co.,  No.  4369,  T.  R.  B. 
scale  with  dead  rail,  style  12,  never  been  used. 
Morgan  &  Wright,  Detroit. 

FOR  SALE — 20x48  Wheelock  engine  and 
two  72"xl8'  high  pressure  tubular  boilers  in 
good  condition  cheap.  Address  "Engineer," 
Box  2,  Station  A,  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

PLANIMETERS  FOR  SALE— Get  the  mean 
pressure  of  any  diagram  with  the  simplest 
and  best  planimeter  in  a  minute's  time.  Send 
$1  to  Peter  Eyermann,  Con.sulting  Engineer, 
Du  Bois,  Pa.,  for  the  planimeter  and  instructions. 

FOR  SAtE— 20"x42"  improved  Greene  en- 
gine. Wheel  32"xl4'.  Used  seven  years.  Also 
24"x48"  improved  Greene  engine.  Wheel 
42"xl6'.  Used  eight  years.  Both  engines  in 
first  class  shape.  Can  be  seen  running.  The 
Capewell  Horse  Nail  Co.,  Hartford,  Conn. 


January  I2,  IQOQ. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


New  Power  Plant   of    C 


arnegie 

Designed    for    Appearances    as     well    as   EHicicncic*.   wiih    fcjilc: 
Heating    and    Ventilating    Systenis    and    Unusual    Mctcnng    Facil 


Institute 


BY         THOMAS        V^'ILSON 


In  looking  over  Pittsburg,  strangers 
never  fail  to  visit  the  far-famed  Carnegie 
Institute.  This  is  an  immense  structure 
occupying  a  ground  plan  of  about  440x660 
feet,  with  a  total  floor  space  of  over  15 
acres  and  representing  an  expenditure 
of  $6,000,000.  The  building  is  located  in 
Schenley  park   in  the  midst  of  the  resi- 


stone  construction  with  an  imposing  ex- 
terior, and  within  the  design  and  decora- 
tion are  highly  artistic.  For  the  greater 
part  it  is  three  stories  in  hight,  the  book- 
stack  section  alone  having  eleven  fioon, 
and  is  well  lighted  from  an  unusual  num- 
ber of  large  windows.  Alden  k  Harlow, 
of    Pittsburg,   were    the    architects,    and 


to  giv« 


•ftbck  M 


ment  on  the  market. 

arrancemoit  powibk 

well   as   an   ccoiwkal 

above  all  to  make  tbc  plant  as  anracthrc 

as  any  department  in  tbe  MUtaf.    Froai 

the   pbotocrapluc   iflnatrationi   it   it   aip- 

parcnt  that  the  effortt  of  Mr.  G 

were  not  in  vain. 


dential  district  of  Pittsburg  and  origi- 
nally consisted  of  the  Carnegie  l.ihr.irs 
building  and  Music  Hall.  In  xqno  a  lar^r 
•um  of  money  donated  by  Andrew  Carne- 
gie made  it  possible  to  make  extended 
additions  to  the  library  and  educational 
institute  and  to  add  museums,  art  gal- 
leries and  a  large  hall  of  architecture  and 
scalpture.  Architecturally  the  building 
has  been  given  every  attention      It   i»     •( 


Charles  R    Cunningham  is  lupcru  •-■•  '"  ' 

f%^rn*i'^  to  the  inati* 
tute  It  '  mcranae 

the  cap..  .'t— «.  •««* 

for  reasons  of  ecuoowy  and  convenience 
o(  operation  it  was  decided  to  intil!   a 
plant  entirely  new  and  of  soft^ 
city  to  serve  the  entire  btiiMins 
effort  was  made  to  »«ure  thr  brf  ''j«'f> 


S   VuiidilW  of  S«Kh 

rvquifrd  a  large  piM 

eration  of  eiecine 

pow«r.  iMBtMl  tad  Miiiaitnu. 

and  the  iun|riiilia  of  tk 
lor  thew  varwH  seevkw  was 
the  hasesMM  of  the  iMttMt.  I 
a  boOef  fooBi  wkh  !■»  dbt  tm 
Mdi  MM  piMihnily  !•  th»  ■ 


10  haw 

■ikt  to 


98 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  12,   1909. 


and  important  exhibits  in  the  building, 
was  not  looked  upon  with  favor.  Fortu- 
nately a  deep  ravine  nearby  offered  a 
favorable  site,  and  when  erected  but  verj^ 
little  of  the  boiler  plant  was  visible  from 
the  institute.  Furthermore,  one  of  the 
conditions  was  to  design  a  plant  which 
would  not  produce  smoke,  and  the  diffi- 
culty of  connecting  the  two  departments 
of  the  plant  with  steam  and  water  piping 
was  rendered  unobjectionable  by  cutting 
a  tunnel  500  feet  long  through  solid  rock 
to  the  central  portion  of  the  basement. 
In  all  2400  horsepower  of  boilers  have 
been  installed  and  in  generating  equip- 
ment 2200  horsepower  for  supplying  with 
current  30,000  incandescent  lamps  and 
i.ver  500  horsepower  in  motors.  The  ex- 
haust from  these  units  must  heat  nearly 
14,000,000  cubic  feet  of  interior  volume, 
and  a  large  amount  of  live  steam  is  re- 
quired for  the  various  pumps,  ammonia 
compressor  and  other  machines. 

Boiler  House 

Part  way  up  the  ravine  and  about  60 
feet  below  the  grade  of  the  institute,  a 
level  plot  was  blasted  out  of  the  solid 
rock  to  afford  a  site  for  the  boiler  house, 
which  is  a  brick  and  steel  structure  65x150 
feet  in  plan  and  58  feet  from  the  floor  to 
the  eaves,  bounded  by  a  concrete  floor  and 
roof.  The  entire  upper  portion  is  given 
over  to  continuous  coal  bunkers  of  con- 
crete, holding  8000  tons  of  coal,  and  an 
ash  pocket  with  a  capacity  of  1000  tons. 
The  tunnel,  which  is  7J/2  feet  wide  by  12 
feet  high,  is  32  feet  above  the  boiler-house 
floor,  and  is  connected  by  a  stairway  with 
an  extensive  system  of  iron  grating  giv- 
ing access  to  the  top  of  the  boilers  and 
piping.  From  this  grating  stairways  lead 
to  the  boiler-room  floor  and  to  the  coal 
bunkers  above.  The  stack  is  on  the  insti- 
tute side,  rising  195  feet  above  the  boiler- 
room  floor.  It  was  built  of  radial  brick 
by  the  Alphons  Custodis  Chimney  Con- 
struction Company  and  has  an  interior 
diameter  at  the  base  of  9  feet. 

Eight  300-horsepower  Babcock  &  Wil- 
cox water-tube  boilers  are  installed  and 
are  set  in  four  batteries  of  two  each.  The 
settings  are  spaced  6  feet  apart  and  have 
been  placed  to  allow  a  firing  floor  of  24 
feet  in  front  and  a  distance  of  11  feet 
from  the  rear  of  the  settings  to  the  wall. 
The  boilers  are  of  the  standard  heavy- 
pressure  type  with  two  steam  drums  42 
inches  in  diameter  and  23  feet  long,  a  12- 
inch  cast-iron  mud  drum  and  144  four- 
inch  tubes  18  feet  in  length.  The  tops 
of  the  steam  drums  are  covered  with  2- 
inch  magnesia  blocks  which  are  sup- 
ported on  a  wire  netting  to  allow  a  2-inch 
air  space  between  them  and  the  boiler. 
Each  boiler  contains  3051  square  feet  of 
heating  surface,  carries  a  working  pres- 
sure of  150  pounds  and  is  equipped  with 
an  8-inch  delivery  nozzle,  two  4-inch 
nickel-seated  safety  valves  set  for  160 
pounds  and  a  Williams  feed-water  regu- 
lator and  gage  column. 

A   grate   area    of   52    square   feet   in    a 


Greene  chain-grate  stoker  is  provided  in 
each  boiler.  A  water  back  which  can  be 
run  close  to  the  fuel  bed  or  raised  to 
allow  clinkers  to  pass  is  in  place  at  the 
rear,  and  with  an  arch  a  little  longer  than 
usual  almost  perfect  combustion  is  ob- 
tained. Only  on  rare  occasions  is  smoke 
visible  from  the  top  of  the  stack  and  then 
onl}^  a  light  haze,  due  to  starting  up  one 
of  the  boilers  or  a  similar  reason.  The 
stokers  are  eccentric-driven  from  a  shaft 
beneath  the  floor,  and  this  in  turn  is  belted 
to  two  Westinghouse  Junior  7-horsepower 
engines,  one  being  held  as  a  reserve.  At 
the  rear  of  the  boilers  a  breeching,  37x60 
inches,  carries  the  gases  toward  the  stack, 
discharging  into  a  rectangular  flue  at  the 
center  7  feet  wide  by  loK  feet  high,  the 
breeching  increasing  in  size  to  meet  these 
dimensions  as  it  proceeds  toward  the 
stack.  The  boiler  connections  are  37x49 
inches,  and  each  is  fitted  with  a  balanced 
damper.  In  the  flue  or  main  connection 
to  the   stack  is  a  set   of  double  vertical 


mounted  on  four-wheel  trucks  which  can 
be  moved  to  any  one  of  the  eight  boilers 
by  a  gear  operated  from  the  floor  and 
the  contents  weighed  before  entering  the 
stoker.  The  weighing-lever  mechanisms, 
of  Howe  make,  are  suspended  to  within 
a  convenient  distance  from  the  floor  and 
are  inclosed  in  "banjo"  covers.  Usually 
the  scales  are  set  at  700  pounds  and  coal  is 
allowed  to  run  into  the  weighing  hopper 
until  this  weight  is  lifted.  In  this  way 
the  coal  never  overflows  the  hopper  and  a 
convenient  amount  is  obtained  to  fill  the 
stoker  hopper. 

In  the  ravine  a  spur  from  the  Balti- 
more &  Ohio  Railroad  delivers  the  coal 
to  the  plant,  the  track  extending  into  the 
building  and  allowing  the  coal  to  be 
dumped  directly  from  hopper-bottom  cars 
into  a  receiving  hopper  below,  which 
holds  an  entire  carload. 

Before  being  dumped  the  coal  is 
weighed,  a  section  of  track  42  feet  in 
length    and    the    scale    beams    being    sus- 


FIG.     2.     PIPING  AND  WALKWAYS  ABOVE  THE  BOILERS 


dampers.  These  are  mounted  on  ball  step 
bearings  below  the  casing,  and  are  con- 
trolled by  a  Kieley  "Climax"  damper 
regulator. 

Coal  and  Ash   Handling 

As  previously  stated  coal  is  stored  in 
bunkers  of  8000  tons  capacity.  These  are 
four  in  number  and  extend  the  entire 
width  of  the  building  with  a  40-degree 
slope  toward  the  center.  Concrete  walls 
on  30-foot  centers  divide  the  bunkers,  and 
at  the  end  an  ash  pocket  of  the  same 
width  and  15  feet  long  is  located  directly 
over  the  spur  track  carrying  the  coal  into 
the  boiler  house.  From  each  bunker  there 
are  two  delivery  spouts,  one  to  each  boiler, 
terminating  in  cutoff  gates  directly  above 
a  runway  carrying  two  weighing  hoppers, 
each  of  1000  pounds  capacity.     These  arc 


pended  from  steelwork  above.  Slack  is 
the  fuel  usually  burned,  and  in  this  case 
it  is  taken  directly  from  the  hopper  by  a 
McCaslin  conveyer  of  the  overlapping 
gravity-bucket  type,  which  encircles  the 
entire  boiler  room,  running  directly  un- 
der the  ashpits  and  up  into  a  monitor 
above  the  coal  bunkers,  where  a  trip  set 
at  the  desired  location  empties  the  buck- 
ets as  they  pass.  The  conveyer  is  driven 
by  a  20-horsepower  General  Electric  in- 
closed motor,  which  is  located  at  one  end 
of  the  monitor.  The  starting  box  is 
placed  near  the  motor,  so  that  it  is 
necessary  to  start  the  machine  at  this 
point,  as  it  is  always  well  to  look  things 
over  before  setting  the  conveyer  in  opera- 
tion. There  is  a  second  switch,  however, 
in    the    basement    near    the    crusher    con- 


January  12,  1909. 

trolling  the  motor  circuit,  and  this  may 
he  opened  at  any  time  to  stop  the  con- 
veyer. If  the  coal  is  01  lump  si/e  it  is 
^rst  passed  through  a  McCaslin  single- 
roll  crusher,  driveny  by  a  30-horsepower 
•General  Electric  inclosed  motor.  This 
machine,  by  means  of  gearing  and  a 
winch  is  also  called  into  service  to  pull 
the  cars  from  the  spur  into  the  lioiler 
house. 

From  the  chain  grates  ashes  drop  into 
steel-plate  hoppers  immediately  below  and 
thence  through  undercut  gates  into  the 
buckets  to  Ixr  conveyed  to  the  ash 
bunker  above.  As  this  is  directly  over 
the  track  the  ashes  arc  run  into  the  empty 
cars  and  from  these  dumped  through  the 
.iiestlework  into  the  ravine.     It  is  the  in- 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGlNLtK. 

lion   i>  m   two   VVcb»tcr   "Sur ' 

vacuui!  dwater   heater^      f    ;:•, 

liorMpower    capacity    each.     I- 

tlip    water   is  conveyed  in  an  .'■ 

(hrouKh   the   tunnel   to   the   bo 

druppmg   vertically   to  the  ba<>< 

first  connecting  to  a  Wamwru 

Cuiulcnser,    v.    '     '  ; 

iht-ncc  to  a 

tinuing     to     the     p;^inp»     liiruugh    O-utch 

branches. 

Steam    from    t  m   the    boiler 

house   and   the    -  ^inr^    i>    paucd 

through    the    Wainwright  and 

utilized  to  increase  the  tcxv.t,. ^  uf  the 

teed  water.  The  ci:^denser  is  4  fed  in 
length,  18  inches  in  diameter  and  con- 
tains   thirty-six    i'>i-inch    corrugated-cop- 


W 


biter  and 


Laijikpr      ^'Alxlk 


flXJMIIg      TJ»l>.ll       ..I       !.'i<-       >.   . 

gredicou  c-untAinrd    ui    ti  ^ 
rchcair'  r|    italu    #>    u^iit*    is 

dbmr*'  loog  and  co«H»w^  loo 

tr-  t^h  copper  tabtnc  whdc  tbr 

^t  _  loclics  in  diaactcr  bjr  ftVi  feet 

high,     ibe  rvhcatcr*  were  badt  u»  wick- 

fttaitii   A   iifrtturr   <.l    (fill   FM  '.;riiti     U-A    •(   |l|f 

pr  n  oa 

aCo'uiit    •■!    iraK-t.    AH'i    Kidtr    •*■     ju^»    mi<  €%• 

prcMcd  bjr  Ihr  maaagcncat  a»  to  ikc  ad- 
vuabdiiy  of  usuif  live  MaMa  lo  Mcvr* 
thifl  »<ldhional   too  decrees  in  tkK  feed 


m 


2BI=3E 


i-i.  v\  or  srEVM   ni'iN'.  is 


■olllR    lioi  vl    AXO   nil>-WATn    AtTAMAJVt  IM  »M«M«jrT 


iiioii    ui    the    near    future    to    kim-    '"«■ 

ic*  free  passage  to  the  ravine  by  means 

a    >pout   connection   to  the   bunker,   as 

xi..riii>;    tlic    a'.lir^   to   any   depth    they 

1    into   a    soli<l    ma**,    cau-ing 

..;;..  uhy    in    their    removal       With 

•    »poMt   arrangement    there    wouUI    be 

need  for  storage,  and  as  the  deman«l 

r  a»h  filling  is  great,  there  would  Ik  n<» 

lation     m    the    ravine      With    the 

:   arrangement  it  is  an  easy  matter 

Mcigh  the  ashes  on  the  car  scales 

Path  or  iiir   l-rro  Watm 

Most   of   the   water    for   boiler    feeding 

ines    from    the    returns    of    the   lir.itmg 

^tem  and  whatever  is  lacking  is  madr 

from  I  he  citv  mains      The  coodensa- 


[>CI       ;  UIK■^      yi      IIU  lir  •.      I' 

withstand  a  workmg 
pounds.  The  air  di 
pilM*     10  feet    high      1 


blank   tiange,  an 
<iutlet  IS  the  jii 

The  two 
Snyder  on- 
Mxl4x8xtR 


film      to       . 

tlir.'Uifh  .»   'k^ 

ured      There  are  two 


•UK      It   IS  built  lo     »»«•■'      r.^MMjiKfiftt    ^%^ 

pressure    of    ia$     *»:» 

.      »^  ... 

inntng  or 
I- run)  the  main  * 
the  water  to  e» 
tcet  *W*«  U»«     w«y  op  thfoafh  •  »r*'"- 
%  rrmbinktiom  check  Mi^ 

Wibor  atuwrxym 

njttrrt  "       bluwow    I'lwwwrt 

Mcto  boiler,  cw^ 

tbe  r 

and  C' 

^teotc  fcx* 

:ne»ft-  Ur'k 

aH*   of    iimamkm  ^"l^   ****--   **^   '*   ^"' 


rrKratrrs     art 


^     r»rfmr^ 


\    Tig       »  »J»»        »tw» 

salse  a«  the 


100 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  12,   1909. 


feet  of  2-inch  brass  piping  to  cool  the 
water  before  discharging  it  to  the  sewer. 
The  overflow  to  the  sewer  is  at  a  point  8 
inches  from  the  top  of  the  tank,  which 
is  always  nearly  full  of  water  and  will 
tend  to  cool  additional  water  as  it  is  re- 
ceived. A  4-inch  connection  leading  to 
an  exhaust  head  above  the  roof  allows  the 
steam  and  vapor  to  escape. 

Boiler  Piping 
Owing  to  the  size  of  the  plant  and  the 
distance   between    the    boiler    and    engine 


diameter,  93  feet  long,  and  near  the  front 
edge  of  the  boilers  is  carried  on  roller 
supports.  Leaders  8  inches  in  diameter 
connect  the  boilers  to  the  header,  and  to 
provide  for  expansion  these  are  turned  in 
long  radius  bends,  as  shown  in  Fig.  3. 
Each  leader  is  provided  with  a  Chapman 
nonreturn  stop  and  check  valve.  At  the 
center  the  main  header  is  sectionalized  by 
a  stop  valve,  and  to  each  half  are  con- 
nected four  boilers  and  one  of  the  12- 
inch  delivery  lines.  The  supply  lines  are 
cross-connected,  so  that  either  set  of  four 


tons  and  three  colored  miniature  lamps; 
one  button  starts  the  motor  to  open  the 
valve,  another  button  stops  the  motor,  and 
a  third  button  starts  the  motor  in  the  op- 
posite direction  to  close  the  valve.  A 
red  light  in  connection  with  the  first  but- 
ton shows  the  valve  opening,  a  white  light 
shows  that  the  motor  is  running,  and  the 
blue  light  shows  the  valve  closed.  After 
a  few  trials  it  is  an  easy  matter  to  tell 
the  approximate  position  of  the  valve, 
and  the  control  panels  are  often  tried  out 
to  show  that  they  are  in  working  order. 


FIG.     4.     TRANSVERSE    SECTION   THROUGH    BOILER    HOUSE 


rooms,  an  elaborate  system  of  piping  has 
been  arranged  to  carry  the  steam  from 
one  department  to  the  other.  The  ar- 
rangement of  this  piping  is  shown  in  the 
plan  views,  Figs.  3  and  7.  Primarily 
the  system  consists  of  a  large  main  header 
in  the  boiler  room,  which  is  connected  to 
a  large  distributing  header  in  the  engine- 
room  basement  by  two  12-inch  mains  run- 
ning through  the  tunnel  and  measuring 
nearly  600  feet  in  length.  The  main 
header  in  the  boiler  room  is  16  inches  in 


boilers  may  supply  either  line,  and  at  the 
center  of  this  connection  expansion  is  pro- 
vided for  by  the  U-bend  shown  in  the 
drawing. 

Each  of  the  supply  lines  is  equipped 
with  motor-operated  valves,  and  these 
may  be  controlled  from  five  different 
places  on  the  engine-room  side  of  the  tun- 
nel. Three  of  these  points  are  in  the  en- 
gine room,  one  in  the  engineer's  office  and 
one  in  the  pump  room.  At  each  control 
point  is  a  panel  carrying  three  push  but-. 


There  is  also  provision  to  close  the  valves 
by  hand  in  the  boiler  room.  With  this 
arrangement  the  valves  may  be  readily 
closed  at  either  end  and  much  trouble 
averted  if  a  supply  line  should  accidentally 
burst  in  the  tunnel.  The  Chapman  Valve 
Manufacturing  Company  designed  this 
equipment. 

The  auxiliary  header  shown  in  Fig.  4 
is  6  inches  in  diameter  and  was  de- 
signed to  supply  all  steam  required  in  the 
boiler  house.     It  has   connections  to  the 


January  12,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


n  f=h 


1^ t 


Detail  of  iuppertlB|  Maias  la  Tmaacl 


T-r- 


B«U«T  Cbalr 

DcuU  of  16 'Boiler  Header 


V_/-E»ll«f  CI 


nc.    5.    DCTAILS  OF  KOXX  BCAOCR   AND  PtnNC  IN   TUMITtL 


main  header  on  either  side  of  the  section- 
alizing  valve,  and  extends  from  the  front 
of  the  boilers  to  the  wall,  where  it  drops 
to  the  basement  to  supp)y  the  auxiliary 
equipment. 

The  12-inch  supply  lines  are  connected 
to  the  top  of  the  main  header  and  from 


angle  valves  run  horizontally  to  the  rear 
with  long,  sweeping  bends  and  return  to 
points  in  line  with  the  tunnel.  Here  drip 
pockets  are  provided  and  the  mains  rise 
vertically  is'-^  feet  to  enter  the  tunnel, 
and  at  the  entrance  are  bent  on  a  6- foot 
radius.   In  the  tunnel  their  arranfetneni 


wbB,  to  ikai  «B 


mST    OOMf     HI     fMMf 


"^ 


r»i  I  It  rtf* 


r»  ut  rt»« 


na  6l  o>r^i.io  nxi  um>  m  itkam  nrnfc 


and  method  of  support  ■%  mown  m  Fig  S 
The  two  supply  mains  occupy  the  arch  of 
the  tunnel  and  at  point*  u  '.  '  are 

supported     by    6  inch     chat-  ing 

transversely    across    the    Ur  nn 

bedded  in  the  rra^rtnrr      Tli«-  *re 

24  inches  apa"  w ten  carry  •  block 

supporting  an  -  iter  confi.fniint  lo 

the  shape  of  the  pipe     Thi»  ar 

ried   in   lninn>""«    ■»"   •♦"•  of 

Krew  rods  u  »*•* 

the  block  and  arr 

and  below.     At  a  ' 

the    center    point    the    "•»"«    »f'    "r '" 


anchored  to  tbc  t 

pansion  naj 

Toward  tbc 

vided  for  by  U-l 

tally  and  at  ngbt  aaglct  for  a 

ao  feet,  and    as    the    miiw    are 

aockorrd  in  the 

mcuM  of  •  lOHock 

tbc  lUd  work  of  the 

paaskn  or  coocractioa  flMMt  kc 

by  the  U-kw^ 

Ample  proTtaioa  koa    kaaa    ■ 
dratfung  the  anains.     Tkere  it  • 
at  the  bottom  of  the  vertical 
the  boiler  roooi  to  the 
tbc  cciHcr  of  the  tainnl.  a»d  a  ikM 
capanaioa  ioofmrnr  tkc 
fint  two  dripa 
ftwtxTtioa  with  tkc  mmim 
4a  arc  tik«i  kjr  a 


.    .rtl    to    tkc 

•:'•    ff*d 
from  tkc  ea; 
giac-rooai  tysccai  of  4ripa 

In  tkc  ton nil  tkerc  arc  two 
00c  an  ft>iRck  rf«nm  from  tkc  W« 
heaters  and  tkc  oikcr  a  trkick  1 
line  Tkc  tonmtr  k  koog  fro*  tkc 
plyoMin  ckinatli  If  iB«n»  el  a  ro4 
Tided  wiik  a  tmakikliL  •»  ik 
lion  aay  kc  r«n4ir  ••'♦•^ 
•ewer  litm  h  carried  •■ 

«  rl.!  V«    tkc 

W  of 

,^™w.  rt  ;H  f*-  .- 4-  ..  f^  Vick  I* 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  12,   1909. 


crown  of  the  arch,  and  from  the  engine 
room  to  the  boiler-house  wall  has  a  total 
length  of  410  feet.  About  60  feet  from 
the  boiler  house  the  tunnel  emerges  from 
the  side  of  the  ravine,  and  for  the  re- 
mainder of  the  distance  is  carried  above 
ground  resting  on  a  heavy  concrete  arch 
where  the  sloping  bank  of  the  ravine 
necessitates. 

Engine  Room 
In  this  department  every  effort  has  been 
made    to    secure     a     sightly    appearance. 


one  end  is  a  gallery  floor  11  feet  wide 
and  13  feet  above  the  engine-room  floor. 
Looking  from  this  gallery  nothing  but  the 
generating  units  and  switchboard  are 
visible.  There  is  no  auxiliary  apparatus 
in  the  room,  not  a  pipe  is  visible  above 
the  engine-room  floor,  and  the  cables  are 
all  concealed,  including  even  the  main 
generator  cables,  which  enter  the  bottom 
of  the  flywheel  pit  and  make  connections 
at  the  bottom  of  the  generator  frame. 
Even  in  this  pit  a  pier  is  built  to  within 
18  inches  of  the  generator  frame  to  con- 


building  are  also  covered  with  the  white- 
enameled  terra  cotta,  and  the  walls  above 
the  terra  cotta  are  tinted.  The  ceiling  is 
paneled  and  around  the  border  is  studded' 
with  glazed  incandescents,  so  that  the 
room,  minus  the  machinery,  might  readily 
be  mistaken  for  an  elegant  banquet  hall. 
To  give  the  machines  a  setting,  both  the 
engines  and  generators  are  raised  from 
the  floor  and  rest  on  8-inch  capstones. 
Brass  railings  inclose  the  flywheels  and 
generators,  the  floor  stands  to  operate  the 
throttle  valves  are  polished,  as  is  also  the 


V777777z/j 


.  Eihauat  Riser 
.Vtuiospbere 


FIG.     7.     rL.\.X   OF  PIPE  CELL.^R  AND    ELL   EXTENSION    AND    STEAM    AND    EXHAUST      HE.\DEI<    liETAIL 


I 


Every  little  detail  has  been  given  atten- 
tion, and  the  result  is  an  engine  room  of 
surpassing  beauty.  The  room  is  45  feet 
7  inches  wide  by  106  feet  long,  and  has  a 
clear  head  room  of  24  feet.  The  engine- 
room  floor  is  at  a  level  40  feet  below  the 
main  floor  of  the  building,  and  the  loca- 
tion is  such  as  to  secure  an  abundance  of 
daylight  from  a  large  open  court.  The 
generating  units  are  spaced  uniformly 
throughout  the  length  of  the  room,  and  at 


ccal  as  much  of  the  cables  as  possible. 
The  switchboard  is  all  of  white  marble, 
and  there  is  nothing  to  suggest  electrical 
connections,  except  the  switches  and  the 
instruments  on  the  front  of  the  board. 
The  floor  is  laid  with  marble  and  on  the 
walls  a  wainscoting  of  white-enameled 
terra  cotta  rises  to  a  hight  of  11  feet. 
The  gallery  is  similarly  finished,  and  in 
front  is  inclosed  by  a  handsome  brass 
railing.     Five   structural   columns   of   the 


valve  gear,  and  the  small  oil  piping  to  the 
bearings  and  cylinders  is  nickel-plated. 
Gold  trimmings  on  both  engines  and 
generators  add  to  the  attractiveness  of  the 
machines,  and  the  oil  stands  seen  in  the 
photograph  have  been  specially  designed 
for  the  plant  and  are  made  of  highly  pol- 
ished brass.  The  combined  effect  of  all 
these  little  features  is  most  pleasing  to 
the  eye,  and  the  universal  verdict  of  visi- 
tors to  the  plant  would  in  all  probability 


January  12,  1909. 

be,   "the   most  attractive   engine   room   in 
the  country." 

This  neatness  and  the  extreme  care  of 
detail  has  not  been  limited  to  the  engine 
room.  In  the  tunnel  the  floor,  walls  and 
pipes  are  washed,  and  even  the  tops  of  the 
boilers  and  the  steam  piping  above  arc 
cleaned  at  regular  intervals.  By  no 
possibility  must  a  piece  of  coal  or  a  little 
ksh  be  allowed  to  remain  on  the  floor,  and 
I  can  of  grease  or  anything  at  all  un- 
sightly "dare  not  show  its  face."  Even 
the  tiring  tools  arc  all  concealed  in  a  case 
provided  for  the  purpose.  This  extreme 
:lcanliness  has  made  even  the  boiler  room 
just  as  attractive  to  lady  visitors  as  the 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

in.iependcntly.     A  R 
Ko\crnor  controls  f: 

oilers  art 

,  and  I.i: 
pumps  are  provided  ior  emergency 
A  Schaeffer  &  Budenbcrg  tachometer 
mounte«l  on  a  floor  stand  and  belted  to 
the  main  shaft  indicates  the  ■  -  '  -  •'>: 
engines,  which  normally  is  I.^ 
per  minute.  A  Monarch  spccj  uitut.  set 
for  ijo  revolutions  per  minute.  U  in- 
cluded in  the  .  and  a  Monarch 
engine  stop  is  .  with  rnrh  throt- 
tle. The  stop  is  o|*<:rated  < '  .»t 
three  different  points,  a  push  r  iig 
provided  at  the  engine-rooin  door,  one  on 


»03 

-:i.     Tbc  oil   (ro<n   the   crank   pn   it 

^d  to  a  ict  of  Bo(ur  >jt]  aim,  umI 

vent  io)r  oil  frooi  drtpptnc  to  tbr 

K^.T    ..r    ,»,,    ,1  .-r,  ,1^  croMh««d 

:>ed  to  a  tamSkr 

.->  <>t  irr  i;xmc  makr.     Tbe  od 

1  bjr  loull  ponpc    to    a    task 

"  trie  cn(ioe  roon.  and  proviuoo  i» 

>''r  for  the  oMal  fnvtty  flow,  the  coa- 

tbc  bomac*  and  variottt  poim* 

ncinc    imiu    being    nude    by 

:  nidcei-platcd  pipio 

n'    'he  engtoe-rooa  floor 

EJ-imucAL  Eqwuzmj 
To   the   cnfioct   joo-ldlovan    Natxad 


na    &    KKGINE  BOOM 


the  colninn  iirar  the  m^ne  and  Mill  »< 
other 

^t>>p   ■ 


It   vallcries   or    museums,   and    in    going 
.'li  the  building,  instead  of  recnving 
i*t  visit,  it  is  usually  the  hrsl   pl.u-c 
.  to 

cf|uipmrnl    of   the   engine   roorn    is      f 
ive    Kice    &    Sargent    tandrm    compound     ttcing  and  the  throttle  cl 
ninn.,,  tHxjbxjib  inches.     A»  i*  uiual  in      k   the  umuI  pr».tt..    1., 
tidcm   compounds   of   this    make,   a     tiif-.it)%  of  the  oh 
■  ccentric    \^    provided,    so   that    the     the  <li''  - 
may   ho   operated  by  direct   ccceti-      that    • 
"(vcmcnt    .ind   no    wri^lplatr*    em-     •  • 

One   eccentric    work*     all     four 
valvr*.  and  each  of  the  other  two     t 
of  exhaust  valves,  *o  that  the  ex-      • 
•nst    from  each    cylinder    is    conlro|lr<l 


id.    It 


Uxcut 


Lubncaiioa   ••  effected   b^   ihr   gravity 


ton* 


IS 

■•rr%  m\ 
ih«'    l*«irtl 


n  ■naiaafly  altratfitw 


liw  «stw«  kaifib  ^ 


104 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  12,   1909. 


the  board  and  a  base  raising  the  panels 
about  8  inches  from  the  floor  add  to  the 
appearance  of  the  board.  Each  generator 
panel  is  equipped  with  a  Weston  ammeter 
and  voltmeter  and  a  recording  ammeter 
made  b}-  the  French  firm,  Chauvin  & 
Arnoux,  of  Paris;  a  circuit  breaker  on 
each  side  and  the  main  knife  switch  for 
the  generators.  On  No.  3  generator  panel 
there  is  also  a  recording  voltmeter  of 
French  make.  The  feeder  panels  show 
nothing  but  I.  T.  E.  circuit  breakers  con- 
trolling the  various  circuits  of  the  build- 
ing, which  are  all  two-wire.  These  cir- 
cuits are  further  protected  by  Noark  in- 
closed fuses  at  the  back  of  the  board  and 
are  provided  with  an  electromagnet,  which 
in  connection  with  an  annunciator  board 
will  immediately  show,  in  the  event  of 
trouble,  whatever  circuit  is  out. 

At  the  end  of.  the  engine  room  there  is 
also  a  meter  board  of  white  marble  con- 
taining 14  Standard  brass-cased  gages  for 
indicating  pressures  of  ammonia,  air, 
steam  and  water,  the  steam  gages  indicat- 
ing both  boiler  and  heating  pressures. 

In  addition  to  these  instruments,  there 
is  a  handsome  recording  board  in  the 
superintendent's  office,  some  200  feet 
distant.  This  contains  five  Whitney  col- 
umn-tj'pe  recording  ammeters,  one  for 
each  generator,  and  one  recording  volt- 
meter made  by  Chauvin  &  Arnoux.  These 
instruments  are  all  inclosed  in  square  glass 


There  is  also  a  Dibble  telethermometer 
to  record  the  temperatures  in  the  music 
hall  350  feet  away,  and  a  Queen  &  Co. 
telemanometer  for  recording  the  boiler 
pressure,  and  in  addition  a  recording  in- 
strument to  show  the  length  of  time  each 
generating  unit  is  on. 

Both  the  French  and  Whitney  meters 
are  handled  by  Machado  &  Roller,  of  New 
York  City,  and  were  furnished  on  ac- 
count of  their  accuracy  and  the  small 
amount  of  current  required  to  operate 
them.  The  French  instruments  are  of  the 
d'Arsonval  type,  equipped  with  mechan- 
ism of  unusual  size  so  that  the  torque  is 
unusually  large  when  compared  to  the 
friction  of  the  pencil.  The  Whitney  in- 
struments are  operated  from  the  same 
shunt  as  the  French  recording  ammeters 
in  the  engine  room,  that  is,  the  two  re- 
cording ammeters  for  each  machine  are 
operated  in  parallel,  and  the  Whitney 
instruments  at  a  distance  of  200  feet  from 
the  shunt. 

The  operation  of  the  Whitney  meters  is 
somewhat  unusual,  but  broadly  speaking, 
the  principle  on  which  the  meter  is  based 
consists  in  causing  the  variations  in  the 
current  to  be  measured  to  control  the 
variations  in  pressure  of  a  body  of  air  in 
a  closed  vessel,  these  variations  being  in 
turn  indicated  by  the  rise  and  fall  of  a 
column  of  oil  of  comparatively  large 
diameter,    carrying   a   hollow    float   which 


FIG.    9.    RECORDING  BOARD  IN  SUPERINTENDENT'S  OFFICE 


cases  resting  on  a  marble  base  supported 
by  brackets.  In  the  space  below  these 
meters  are  some  Standard  pressure  gages, 
one  to  indicate  the  pressure  of  the  heating 
supply,  another  the  pressure  of  the  heat- 
ing returns,  a  third  to  indicate  the  water 
pressure  for  elevator  service  and  still  an- 
other to  show  the  air  pressure  for  the 
Johnson    system    of   temperature    control. 


about  i^i  pounds  to  the  square  inch  is 
delivered  to  the  pipe  A,  enters  the  cham- 
ber B  and  then  flows  through  a  series  of 
porous  diaphragms  made  of  filter  paper, 
whose  prime  function  is  to  serve  as  an  air 
resistance  and  incidentally  to  remove  any 
dust  particles.  The  air  then  enters  the 
passage  D,  into  which  is  drilled  the  open- 
ing E  capped  by  the  valve  F.    This  valve 


supports  the  recording  pen  at  its  ex- 
tremity. The  chart  drum  is  rotated  i 
inch  an  hour  by  internally  placed  clock- 
work. The  pen  has  a  stroke  of  6  inches 
and  the  drum  a  circumference  of  24 
inches.  Fig.  10  shows  the  construction  of 
the  meter,  and  its  operation  may  be  ex- 
plained as  follows : 

Air  at  a   fairly    constant    pressure    of 


Ay 

^^3l       I     Hj-iiJGl 


.7 


B=& 


;^ 


yy'vy^vw^^vsvv\\x\\ssvsvsvs^\w;:^v^ry?-n 


FIG.     10.     CONSTRUCTION   OF   COLUMN   TYPE    ' 
METER 

is  a  small  flat  disk  resting  on  a  circular 
seat  with  escape  ports  G  below  it  and  a 
pin  H  resting  on  top.  On  the  pin  rests  a 
spool  /  carried  on  one  end  of  the  lever  /, 
on  the  other  end  of  which  is  the  counter- 
weight K  by  means  of  which  the  effective 
weight  on  the  pin  H  can  be  adjusted.  The 
spool  is  wound  with  wire  through  which 
the  current  to  be  measured  is  passed,  this 
being  done  by  means  of  the  two  thin, 
short  copper  ligaments  L  which  support 
and  form  the  pivots  about  which  the  lever 
can  oscillate.  A  magnet  M  furnishes  a 
field  of  force  of  such  strength  that  the  re- 
action between  it  and  the  current  forces 
the  spool  down,  with  a  force  increasing  as 
the  current  increases.  The  valve  F  is 
thus  a  variable-loaded  safety  valve  whose 
blowing-off  point  is  constantly  and  pro- 
portionately varied  by  the  current  varia- 
tion.  The  counterweight  K  on  the  levei: 
is  so  adjusted  that  when  no  current  i 
passing  through  the  spool,  the  weight  01 
the  valve  pin  is  such  as  to  give  a  zerc 
reading  on  the  scale.  The  air  pressurt 
cannot  give  a  higher  reading,  as  any  tend 
ency  to  increase  simply  results  in  lifting 
the  valve  slightly  higher,  whereupon  more 
air  escapes  and  the  pressure  falls  back, 
and  vice  versa  with  the  opposite  condi- 


January  12,  1909. 

lion,  due  to  the  constant  flow  of  air  from 
the  high-pressure  supply  at  A.  The  total 
motion  of  the  spool  is  less  than  a  hun- 
dredth of  an  inch,  and  the  only  work 
that  the  varying  current  has  to  perform 
is  to  control  the  air  pressure.  The  actual 
energy  required  to  move  the  liquid  and 
to  show  the  variation  in  current  readings 
being  supplied  by  an  independent  source. 
With  these  conditions,  the  instrument  is 
extremely  accurate  and  a  drop  of  from  20 
to  25  millivolts  for  full  scale  indication  is 
all  that  the  meters  require. 

Steau    Slpplv   and   Exhaust 
Below  the  engine  room  there  is  a  pipe 
cellar  and  an  ell  extension   which   afford 


POWER  AiND  THE  ENGINEER. 

arch  system  of  engine-stops.  As  the  line* 
to  the  engines  rise  from  the  top  of  the 
header,  no  separators  arc  rr<jmre<l,  and 
from  each  a  2-inch  connettjon  is  nude 
to  the  engine  receiver  for  reheating  par- 
poses.  To  all  the  auxiliary  equipment 
steam  is  supplied  by  a  5-inch  branch,  to 
which  six  lines  are  tapped  to  supply  the 
various  units.  To  the  elevator  pump« 
there  are  two  3-inch  connr  ■ 
.vinch  to  the  two  smaller  r. 
two  2^^-inch  pipes  to  the  vacuum  \t\itnp^ 
and  ammonia  compressor,  and  a  2  inch 
tap  extending  to  the  drip-receiver  pump 
and  the  two  small  pumps  for  oil  circula- 
tion. There  is  an  R-inch  connection  to 
the  main  header  to  supply  live  steam  to 


»Of 


tncbet  M  tt  cmert  the 
agatn  to  M  incfac*  toward  the  wcM 
of  the  room.     Eadi  of  the 
is  provided  wkli  a  i»-iadi 
6-inch   maim  oooocct  the  larft 
pompt  to  the  cxhaoM  maia  ami  a 
ber  of  MBallcr  conwictioBi  to  the  14 
end   of  the   Uae   rciieves   the 
eqaipmcat  of  exhaoM  itcam. 

From  both  the  t4-iiidi  and  a4-tedi 
of  the  exhaiMt  naiiw  ddivery  b 
the  heating  tynem  throvgh  Utttly 
bined  grease  estractort  and  mafler 
On  the  large  end  of  the  main  the  a 
unk  is  5  feet  in  diameter  hjr  14  fed 
and   from  a  cnntinuaiioa  of  the  24 
main  past  the  nmfler.  tvo  16-iack  ami 


Hi 


-1- 


j^^irjui .... 


r 

II    •* 


t_u — '     '     *     ^     '  :  » 


;  ir    t 


■un)  sbow 
' 


Mmwiw  sbow 


ArehitMtOfai  Hall  abova 


y^ 


Fu>  cr  alwvo 


Stack 


s_ 


i: 


^^' 


r 


1. 


LMtl  V* 


BeokStKk  Itaa 


Caoii 


i_Jl. 


._:Pr 


3£ 


[ 


--♦--<■ 


--< 


\A 


P^ 


■ft 


Hi;      I :      ■.>.sm\L  niTi.isr  or    iirAiiNo  ^^*tIv^ 


■nij)lc  space  for  all  the  piping  CMiincclion*. 
In  this  cellar  is  located  the  24  inch  steam 
header  and  receiver  which  connects  to  the 
expansion  loops  at  the  end  of  the  12-inch 
supply  mams  and  supplies  all  live  steam 
used  in  this  division  of  the  plant.  The 
header  is  no  feet  long  and  is  supported  3 
feet  above  the  floor  on  roller  blocks.  Each 
engine  is  fed  by  a  6-inch  branch  taken 
from  the  top  of  the  header  and  carried 
op  with  a  long  radius  bend  to  a  gate 
▼alve.  which  is  operated  by  hand,  and 
thrnce  through  a  return  loop  to  the  throt- 
tle valve,  which  is  controlled  from  the 
floor  stand  in  the  engine  room  and  in 
nearly  all  case*  is  operated  by  the  Mon- 


tiu-  stem     Ti  -^  ;!"• 

hea'  is  made  -res 

sure  [cUut-ing    vaK--  *Hy 

live  steam  is  not  i.  .ro- 

\i»ion  has  been  made  »<'  \h*\.  »i>  :"f  ca»e 
of    extreme    weather    the    boiler*    mar    be 
called  into  service  to  supply  the  deman  !• 
of  the  heating  system 
Exhaust  from  all  the 

chinery   is   «  !' '    ^   a 

serving  as  ih*^  *»ire  rapply  to  the 

heating    «y«tem        1  i<-    main   it   supported 

aJxive  the  »ieam  hejiler  in  much  the  Mine 

w.iv  j«  t' 

the   ell   e> 

14   inches   m    diameter,    tncfe**e*    to    » 


beyond   '  ** 

almoaph'  r^wwj 

MM«  Tal^  di 

At  the  unallcx  cnU  cf  the 
the  mttOer  task  it  4  fM<  <■  ^tamttm  If 
■,  feet  !.«(.  and  from  tMt  ttflfe  eoHwr 
II  >n*  are  made  to  a  9-mdi  aad  a  laiack 
hwiii^  mate,  aad  alto  10  a  ^\mA  Wm 

fapfj«in«  X  K.-(  ««frr  Kratrr      At  tkt  iBa 
of  '^ 


to 


^i 


-rd    It    th 
trap*  which  «JiKharg« 


J  W 


io6 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  12,   1909, 


FIG.     12.     VENTILATING   SYSTEM   IN  LEFT   HALF  OF  BASEMENT 


January  12,  IQOQ. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


tar 


nd  IW  <Sr*%ii  of   Ibr 


•    f-   irwKf«    m    ti»p 


riG.     IJ.    XtNTILATIMC  SYSTIM   IH    HH-Hf    U  kUT  09  %A»t 


io8 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  12,   1909. 


mains  which  supply  the  risers  to  all  parts 
of  the  building.  The  supply  and  dis- 
tributing mains  are  suspended  from  the 
ceiling  of  the  basement,  and  all  are  prop- 
erly dripped,  covered  with  magnesia  pipe 
insulation,  and  ample  provision  has  been 
made  for  expansion. 

In  all,  116  risers  supply  steam  to  over 
36,000  square  feet  of  radiation  upon  the 
upper  floors,  which  is  subdivided  into 
units,  varying  from  42  to  972  square  feet 
each.  The  risers  vary  in  size  from 
i^  to  2J/2  inches  and  are  all  drained  at 
their  lower  ends.  The  pipes  are  anchored 
at  the  base,  expansion  upward  is  provided 
for,  and  all  are  concealed  in  chases  in  the 
walls,  branch  connections  to  the  radiators 
being  made  in  nearly  all  cases  under  the 
floors.  Throughout  the  building  the  sup- 
ply mains  are  paralleled  by  the  returns,  of 
which  there  are  114  returning  to  a  header 


returns  are  all  H-inch,  and  radiators 
larger  than  this  are  fitted  with  ^-inch 
return  connections. 

The  radiation  is  all  operated  on  the 
Webster  vacuum  system,  and  from  the  re- 
turn header  in  the  engine-room  sub- 
basement  the  air  and  condensation  is 
pumped  by  a  duplicate  set  of  Knowles 
8xi4xi6-inch  vacuum  pumps  to  a  3x6-foot 
steelplale  air-separating  tank,  which  is 
provided  with  a  4-inch  vapor  connection 
to  the  roof.  From  here  the  condensation 
flows  by  gravity  to  the  Webster  open  heat- 
ers, of  which  there  are  two,  rated  at  1500 
horsepower  each.  From  the  heaters  the 
condensation  is  taken  as  boiler  feed  and 
carried  to  the  boiler  room,  as  previously 
described. 

All  radiating  surface  is  controlled  by 
the  Johnson  system  of  temperature  regu- 
lation ;   3^3  thermostats    of    the    Johnson 


FIG.     14.     .\.MMONIA   COMPRESSOR   IN    PUMP  ROOM 


in  the  engine-room  subbasement.  All  but 
nine  of  these  return  lines  are  }i  inch  in 
diameter;  four  of  the  nine  are  i-ihch 
pipes  and  five  are  ij4  inches  in  diameter. 
Bundy  standard  radiators,  fitted  with 
Jenkins  radiator  valves  on  the  supply 
and  Webster  thermostatic  release  valves 
on  the  return  end,  are  installed  through- 
out the  building.  In  some  of  the  larger 
rooms  Bundy  circular  radiators  are  used, 
this  type  being  preferred  when  the  side 
walls  were  required  for  exhibiting  works 
of  art.  Radiators  up  to  40  square  feet  of 
heating  surface  are  supplied  with  steam 
by  ^^-inch  pipes,  from  40  to  90  square 
feet  by  i-inch  pipes,  and  from  the  latter 
size  up  to  250  square  feet  the  pipes  gradu- 
ally increase  in  diameter,  in  proportion 
witH  the  radiating  surface,  up  to  i^ 
inches.  Above  this  limit  2-inch  supply 
connections  are  made.  Up  to  the  limit  of 
250  square  feet  of  radiating  surface,  the 


pneumatic  type  are  installed  throughout 
the  building,  and  these  control  a  total 
number  of  646  heat  sources.  In  a  large 
number  of  the  smaller  rooms  a  single 
thermostat  controls  all  the  radiators  pro- 
vided for  their  heating,  while  in  the  larger 
rooms  a  few  thermostats  control  a  large 
group  of  radiators,  and  are  so  placed  as 
to  secure  the  average  temperatures  of 
the  rooms.  Pneumatic  pressure  for  the 
thermostats  is  supplied  at  15  pounds  pres- 
sure by  a  duplicate  set  of  Marsh  compres- 
sors in  the  pump  room.  A  feature  in  the 
installation  of  thermostatic  control  was  in- 
troduced in  the  form  of  push  buttons  to 
regulate   the   skylight   radiation. 

Ventilation 
The    entire    building   is    ventilated    me- 
chanically, and  the  installation  of  fans  re- 
quired to   supply   the    fresh    air    and    ex- 
haust the   foul   air  is  one  of  the  largest 


ever  placed  in  a  single  building.  The 
supply  fans  have  a  capacity  of  over  600,000 
cubic  feet  of  free  air  per  minute,  and  the 
exhaust  fans  a  capacity  slightly  greater. 
For  convenience,  the  fresh-air  apparatus 
is  arranged  in  15  stations,  containing  in 
all  19  fans,  and  the  exhaust  equipment  in 
21  stations  containing  30  fans.  The  equip- 
ment is  Sturtevant,  driven  by  C.  &  C. 
direct-current  motors  of  the  slow-speed 
multipolar  type.  The  motors  are  direct 
connected  to  the  fans  and  may  be  varied 
by  field  control  from  two-thirds  to  full 
speed.  The  fan  wheels  vary  in  diameter 
from  2j4  to  10  feet,  depending  upon  the 
service  required. 

For  convenience  in  making  duct  con- 
nections the  19  centrifugal  blowers  are 
arranged  in  three  general  divisions :  the 
first  division  including  Systems  i  to  6 ; 
the  second,  .Systems  7,  8  and  10,  and  the 
third.  Systems  9,  11,  12  and  13.  Even  in 
this  case  some  of  the  connections  are  500 
feet  in  length,  but  on  the  whole  a  con- 
venient installation  has  been  secured.  In 
the  first  division  all  the  fans  have  a  com- 
mon intake  from  a  large  continuous  air 
filter,  which  is  provided  with  fresh  air 
from  nine  large  outer  windows.  Within 
the  intakes  and  between  the  filtering 
chamber  and  the  fans  are  tempering  coils, 
which,  like  the  direct  radiation,  are  con- 
trolled by  thermostats.  The  air  filters  are 
of  the  usual  cheesecloth  type,  with  frames 
mounted  in  racks  zigzagged  to  secure  the 
maximum  area  of  filtering  surface.  The 
areas  of  the  filters  for  the  different  divis- 
ions are  proportioned  for  velocities  of  30 
to  45  feet  per  minute. 

For  System  9  an  air-washing  equipment 
was  provided  instead  of  the  usual  type  of 
filter.  This  consists  of  a  spray  chamber, 
an  eliminator  to  separate  the  particles  of 
water  from  the  air  and  two  sets  of  tem- 
pering coils :  one  to  raise  the  temperature 
of  the  air  above  the  freezing  point  in  very 
cold  weather,  and  the  other  for  tempering 
the  air  the  desired  amount.  The  spray 
chamber  consists  of  a  system  of  piping, 
with  a  series  of  nozzles  in  staggered  rows, 
which  .spread  out  the  water  in  a  thin  sheet 
perpendicular  to  the  direction  of  flow,  and 
with  the  nozzles  distributed  in  this  man- 
ner a  continuous  sheet  of  water  is  pro- 
vided for  the  air  to  pass  through,  which 
it  does  in  this  particular  installation  at  a 
velocity  of  10  feet  per  second.  The  water 
from  the  nozzles  is  used  over  and  over 
again  and  is  circulated  by  a  small  motor- 
driven  centrifugal  pump.  When  it  be- 
comes too  dirty  for  further  use,  it  is  dis- 
charged to  the  sewer  and  a  fresh  supply 
taken.  Between  the  spray  chamber  and 
the  fan  intakes  is  the  eliminator,  consist- 
ing of  a  number  of  rows  of  inclined 
baffle  plates,  which  are  in  reality  vertical 
strips  of  sheet  copper  6  inches  wide,  pro- 
vided with  hook  edges  on  the  side  toward 
the  fan  to  catch  the  particles  of  water. 

All  of  the  supply  systems  except  one 
are  provided  with  tempering  coils,  which 
have   a   total   heating    s  irface    of    87,042 


L 


January  12,  1909. 

linear  feet  of  i-inch  pipe,  and  for  the  mo«t 
part  are  i-inch  pipe  screwed  into  mani- 
folds on  the  steam  and  return  ends  on 
2j^-inch  centers.  From  the  fans  to  the 
flues  making  connection  with  the  various 
sections  of  the  building,  connections  are 
made  bv  means  of  brick  ducts  nndTn^-.fM 


I'OVVER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

Di»k  faru  of  the  Bbckman  typ«  mrr.  , § 

wherever  conditions   would   wu 
in   all    there   are   21    equipment, 
type;  19  of  these  are  located  in  the  ^!,k 
and  are  arranged  to  draw  throt;Kh   .rrr, 
cal  flues,  the  air  escaping  thr  .uKh   r  -.: 
'       *'      The  other  ntnc  cquip- 


Hi.      15      WATFk   FILTERS,  COOLING  TANK   AXU    VACUUM    OiAKINC    AWAaAtUS 

the  flo<^r,  or  by  means  of  galvanized-irun 
criling  ducts.  In  general  these  conncc 
are  proportioned  for  a  velocity  oi 
.  of  about  1200  feet  per  minute,  and 
the  vertical  flues  for  a  velocity  of  500  t<> 
'"-«    feet    per    minute.      In    practically    all 

.  the  ducts  have  been   run  below  the 

i>C    system,    so   that    it    would    not    be 

^sary  to  pass  the  pipes  through  them 

In   the   basement   all    fresh-air   duct   work 

ti    covered    with    magnesia    block    i    inch 

;  this  is  wired  on  and  is  covered  witli 

ince  canvas.  .Ml  flues  at  points  above 
the  tuscment  are  covered  in  the  same  way, 
«nd  the  tempering  coils  and  fan  casings 
and  the  connections  between  them,  as  well 
U  the  centrifugal  exhau<t-fan  casing*  nrr 
covered  with  the  same  m-ifrrin!   r ' '-   inrhr. 


driakinc    **^*f    *o<l     lor  , 

kncbca   10  be   HMuUcd   i.  -  .t-t* 

•a.  n»dc  acccMvy.  aad  a  ty«*««i  otf  10 
ton*  t^pmrny  hu  beta  imCalM      A    .-• 

^>mprtfor.  drwra 
'•  :»•    cacuie.    cn^fr.,  . 

amimwM  vhicb  cook  the  dnaloac  watrr 
For  thit  t^urn..*^  ibe  Mnmcwg  is  espAnded 

i  a  looo-saOaB  task  usd 

- "  *-  •"  <kfr«o  Fabrfhiit 

The   water  >d  10  tW   mnao* 

ootlets  in  the  cmiiotr^  by  a  Gardarr  pa- 
ton  pmop.  6Ma6  inrWi.     In  the  kitdMs 

>•  to  be  aaplojrcd.  and 
.:      ■.   .    .-vd  pomp  are   readr   for 
this  •cnnrr. 

HrHAtasc  Eixvaiom 

-annent  there  are  three  •jus 
.tors  for  earrriof  piMwiaiix 
rh«*<  Uve  a  liftmg  capadty  of  y»o 
poonda  each  and  were  dea^md  to  r«i 
at  a  speed  of  2$o  feet  per  inwii  TWr* 
is  also  »  —  •  •  -'orator.  miA  a  uhlfcww 
IJ  f«ct  .    17  (ret  9  wirlwi     .\t 

the  ustai  w  ,|  |^  pv^n^ 

per  square  ^tor    ««    |i|| 

tofioo  ^  <*p»dnr    CM    be 

dotiWed  .  ,4d|  ft^mo.  vhtck 

'f.    io«6«  ol 

TH  is  inm'^  pv<ap  aad  m 

•     viopoti-.:.   cMint  the  frri|l>t 

"f  power  of  jn.ono  pr->co4t 

1  pumpnc  nuipmin  »  a  dopl*- 

if  Wiboo-Svydcr 

piuogcr  pooipa.  wkkh  ar« 

coBipound.  with  dnwnsMM  i4xaaxiSHsa« 

inches.      Another   elewior   pmnp   of   tkt 


ti^.  iirnl  the  supply  ot   iresh  air  di 
!  downward, 
the  exhaust  system  a  total  capacity 
"»,ooo  cubic    feet    per    minute,    dis- 
•d   among  30   fans,   has   been   pro-     menis  were  by  ncccMity  ccntrifutal 


rta.  i&  lUVAm  ruMOM  ramc  ak*  racvt/it  guaiiibc  MACatMEa 


and  these  are  m- ■  .Ily  dii 

•-d  throughnut  the  lan  are 

fans     Some  of  :1.  •!!» 

!  in  the  basement.  K'cr 

r  have  been  installed  in  the  attic  al 

convenient    to    the    exhaust    flues 


le    to     the     font: 
the  long   vrn; 
chargtiig  the  air 


Snm« 


RtniK 

rrfrierration      for     coolirc 


makt,  liHTmll 
«Hird  for  irf|lf 
disrIiMfv   tek) 
"   in  iWair<ir  bf  j^  I' 
-t   I'Ttm  tW  •!*▼•«• 
<n  •  task.  baiBn  • 


*«l 


no 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


Januarj-  12,   1909. 


Vacuum  Cleaning 
To  be  thoroughly  uptodate,  the  building 
was  equipped  with  a  vacuum-cleaning  sys- 
tem installed  by  the  Vacuum  Cleaner 
Companj-,  of  New  York  City.  This  is 
used  principally  to  clean  the  floors  and 
to  draw  dust  from  rugs  and  all  uphol- 
stered work.  The  equipment  consists  of  a 
double  filter,  in  which  the  coarse  dirt  is 
removed  first,  and  the  air  with  the  finer 
particles    of    dust    is    discharged    under 


Relative  Rate  of  Heat  Transfer  to 

Water  At  and  Below  the 

Boiling  Point 


By  W.  M.  Sawdon 


The  writer  was  much  interested  in  the 
article  entitled  "Tests  on  Live  Steam  Feed 
Water  Heating,"  by  Sydney  Bilbrottgh,  in 


FIG.    I.       APPARATUS    FOR   DETERMINING   RELATRT,    RATE    OF    HEAT    TRANSFER 


so  simple  and  crude  an  experiinent  were 
not  justifiable.  This  is  especially  true 
when  we  consider  that  his  deductions  are 
exactly  contrary  to  the  most  inodern 
thought  along  the  lines  of  heat  transfer. 
Mr.  Bilbrough  does  not  explain  how  he 
prevented  radiation  nor  how  he  corrected 
for  it  and  from  his  conclusions  it  would 
appear  that  he  either  forgot  or  neglected 
that  very  important  factor.  '  It  does  not 
seem  fair,  therefore,  that  such  conclu- 
sions should  be  allowed  to  stand  without 
further  consideration  and  proof. 

The  heat  lost  by  radiation  from  a  small 
piece  of  apparatus  not  properly  insulated 
is  likely  to  be  large  and  is  in  no  wise  to 
be  neglected.  It  depends  upon  the  charac- 
ter of  the  apparatus  as  well  as  upon  the 
time  or  rate  of  heating.  Unfortunately, 
tests  for  radiation  corrections  are  difficult 
and  likely  to  be  misleading,  but  it  is  self- 
evident  that  when  the  temperature  of  the 
water  and  the  surrounding  air  are  the ; 
same,  radiation  will  be  nil,  and  that  when 
the  water,  is  boiling,  radiation  will  be 
greatest.  Mr.  Bilbrough's  own  experi- ' 
ments  might  then  be  used  as  proof  of  the 
falsity  of  his  conclusions,  since  he  found 
the  apparent  transfer  of  heat  to  be  the 
same  at  the  high  temperature,  when 
there  was  much  radiation,  as  at  the  low 
temperature  when  the  radiation  was 
slight. 

For  the  purpose  of  determining  to  what 
extent    such    experiments     could     be     de- 


water  into  the  second  filter.  A  duplicate 
set  of  suction  engines,  12x15  inches,  is 
provided. 

Co.MPRESSED-AIR     SuPPLY 

There  is  considerable  use  for  com- 
pressed air  in  the  plant.  It  is  used  to 
blow  dust  out  of  the  generators,  from  the 
plumage  of  stuffed  birds  and  similar  uses, 
and  is  also  required  in  the  elevator  pres- 
sure tank.  The  installation  supplying  the 
air  is  a  National  Brake  and  Electric  Com- 
pany compressor,  which  is  single-stage 
and  compresses  the  air  to  90  pounds.  It  is 
driven  by  a  35-horsepower  National  Elec- 
tric motor,  running  at  150  revolutions  per 
minute,  and  at  this  speed  the  compressor 
has  a  capacity  of  200  feet  of  free  air  per 
minute.  The  motor  is  automatically  con- 
trolled from  a  Cutler-Hammer  board.  The 
air  is  stored  in  a  reservoir  3  feet  in  diame- 
ter by  10  feet  long,  and  is  uniformly  main- 
tained at  go  pounds  pressure  by  an  auto- 
matic control. 

Baker,  Smith  &  Co.,  of  New  York  City, 
were  the  engineers  and  contractors  in 
■charge  of  the  entire  installation,  and  to 
•them  much  credit  is  due  for  the  excellent 
-arrangement  and  design  of  the  plant. 


TABLE   1.      TEST  OF  RATE  OF  HEAT  TRANSMISSION   AT  AND  BELOW  BOILING 

TEMPERATURE. 

WITH  HAIR   FELT  JACKET. 

Weight  of  water.  2  lb.  Date,  June  22,  1908. 


Temperature. 

B.T.U. 

Loss 

BY    R.VDIATIOX. 

Total 

t-  rr 

Time. 

Diff. 

Water. 

Air. 

Diff. 

Mean 
Diff. 

Is 

^0 

In 
Liquid 
Above 
Initial. 

Taken 
up  by 
Steim. 

Total 
Above 
Initial. 

Per 

Min. 

From 

Curve. 

In  Time 
Incre- 
ment. 

Total. 

B.t.u. 
Trans- 
mitted. 

2:. 57 

89.5 

87 

2.5 

10.32 

3:00 

3 

108.0 

21.0 

12.0 

10.32 

37.0 

37 

0.04 

0.12 

0.1 

37.0 

0.3 

6 

1,50 . 0 

63.0 

42.0 

10.32 

121.0 

121.0 

0.42 

1.5 

1.6 

122.5 

06 

9 

182.0 

88 

94.0 

78.5 

10.31 

195.0 

^ 

195.0 

1.30 

3.9 

5.5 

200.5 

09 

12 

207.0 

119.0 

106 .  5 

10.30 

235 . 0 

9.5 

244 . 5 

2.5 

7.5 

13.0 

257 ,  5 

*09.5 

12.0 

211.0 

123.0 

121.0 

10.29 

243.0 

19.5 

262.5 

3.26 

1.6 

14.6 

277.0 

12 

lo 

211.2 

88 

123.0 

123.0 

10.24 

243 .  5 

110 

321.0 

3.37 

8.4 

23.0 

344.0 

1.5 

18 

211.2 

123.0 

123.0 

10.16 

243 .  5 

1.54   5 

398.0 

3.37 

11.0 

34.0 

432.0 

18 

21 

123.0 

123.0 

10.07 

243 . 0 

241.5 

484 .  5 

3.37 

11.0 

45.0 

529 . 5 

21 

24 

88.. 5 

122.5 

123.0 

9.98 

243.0 

328 .  5 

57 1 .  5 

3.37 

11.0 

56.0 

627.5 

24 

27 

122.5 

122.5 

9.90 

243.0 

405 . 5 

648 . 5 

3.33 

11.0 

67.0 

715.5 

27 

30 

122.5 

122.5 

9.80 

243.0 

.502.5 

745.5 

3.33 

11.0 

78.0 

823 . 5 

30 

33 

89 

122.0 

122.5 

9.71 

243.0 

589 .  5 

832.5 

3.33 

11.0 

89.0 

921,5 

33 

36 

122.0 

122.0 

9.63 

243.0 

066.5 

909 . 5 

3.32 

10.0 

99.0 

1008.5 

36 

39 

122.0 

122.0 

9.55 

242 .  5 

744.0 

986 . 5 

3.32 

10.0 

109.0 

1095 . 5 

39 

42 

89.2 

122.0 

122.0 

9.47 

242.5 

821.0 

1063.5 

3.32 

10.0 

119.0 

1182,5 

42 

4.5 

122.0 

122.0 

9.39 

242 .  5 

898.5 

1141.0 

3.32 

10.0 

129.0 

1270.0 

45 

48 

122.0 

122.0 

9.30 

242 . 5 

985.5 

1228.0 

3.32 

10.0 

139.0 

1367.0 

48 

.51 

89.2 

122.0 

122.0 

9.22 

242.5 

1062.5 

1305.0 

3.32 

10.0 

149.0 

1454.0 

.51 

.54 

122.0 

122.0 

9.14 

242.5 

1140.0 

1382.5 

3.32 

10.0 

159.0 

1.541.5 

.54 

.57 

122.0 

122.0 

9.05 

242.0 

1227-.0 

1469.0 

3.32 

10.0 

169.0 

1638.0 

.)/ 

60 

89.. 5 

121.5 

122.0 

8.97 

242.0 

1304.0 

1546.0 

3.32 

10.0 

179.0 

1725.0 

4:00 

63 

121.5 

121 .  5 

8.88 

242 . 0 

1891.0 

1633.0 

3.28 

9.8 

189,0 

1822.0 

03 

66 

121.5 

121.5 

8.80 

242.0 

1468.5 

1710.5 

3.28 

9.8 

199.0 

1909.5 

4:06 

69 

90 

121 

121.5 

8.71 

242.0 

1555.5 

1797.5 

3.28 

9.8 

208.0 

2005.5 

*Boiling. 


In  discussing  the  function  of  oxygen  in 
'tbe  corrosion  of  iron  Prof.  W.  H.  Walker 
•said  that  internal  protection  of  boilers 
■could  be  provided  by  merely  keeping  out 
•the  oxygen,  ordinarily  carried  by  feed 
"water,  bv  a  preheatSr  and  a  dry-vacuum 
pump. 


a  recent  number  of  Power  and  The 
Engineer.  One  of  his  statements  is  "that 
the  rate  of  heat  transmission  through  a 
boiler  plate  is  exactly  the  same  from  a 
fire  or  flames  to  cold  water  as  it  is  to 
boiling  water." 

On  carefully  reading  this  article  it  ap- 
peared that  such  broa^  generalizations  on 


depended  upon  and  wherein  Mr.  Bilbrough 
had  failed  in  his  observations,  some  sim- 
ple tests  of  a  sirnilar  character  were  made 
in  the  laboratory  of  Sibley  College. 

Apparatus 
The  apparatus  was  somewhat  similar  to 
that  employed  by  Mr.  Bilbrough  and  will 


January  12,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


be  clearly  understood  by  reference  to  the 
photograph.  Fig.  i.  The  tank  was  made 
from  an  old  Carpenter  calorimeter  from 
■which  the  bottom  had  been  removed.  A 
stirring  device,  consisting  of  a  ring  of 
sheet  metal  turned  down  at  the  edge  for 
stiffness  tind  having  a  small  rod  soldered 
on  for  a  handle,  was  inserted  and  then  a 
new  bottom  soldered  on.  This  left  three 
'    !<'S  in  the  top.  one  through  which  the 


( 0.165  square  f<x<i)  and  of  pr<.>iectiog  any 
insulating  matrrin!  which  nuKht  be  placed 
around  the  c. 

The  heat  ^  . .  >a  gas  flame  from 

a  special  burner  belonging  to  the  Junker 
calorimeter  and  the  pre«»ure  of  the  gat 
was  kept  constant  by  a  pre«sure  regulator. 
This  pressure  was  equal  to  10  millimeter* 
of  water  and  the  gas  was  from  the  city 
mains. 


a  null  platform   scale-     The 
gradostad  to  bftictbt  o<  a  poond. 
liof  rcadmg  to  bondrctfilH  ol  a 


T.\BLE 
Welclit  of  water.  2  lb. 


K.\UIATION  TEST.  WITH   HAIK  FELT  JAfKKT^ 


23.  I1«>>* 


Time. 

TcUPrRAlT-RC. 

H'elchi. 
f  iTTMa 

B.t.u. 

In 
Liquid 

Um» 

■r  Rai 

•' 

Dur. 

Hater 
78  5 

Air. 
80 

Uin. 

Mrdll 

DiR 

Above 
Inlllal. 

Total 

i>ur. 

IVr  Mio 

-•» 

10.  aa 

J  7 

3 

104  0 

80 

10  aa 

81 

JO 

0 

145  0 

80 

10  31 

laa 

33 

W 

174  0 

SI 

10  31 

191 

3« 

12 

-•03  <t 

10  .v> 

?49 

37 

13 

211   0 

10 

*«:88 

14 

211   5 

81 

130  5 

10 

40 

1ft 

210  0 

129  0 

130  0 

10  . 

', 

.      43 

19 

200  .'. 

125  5 

127  5 

10  .'. 

1  <n 

III 

, 

.■  as 

4« 

22 

202  0 

HI 

121   0 

123  5 

10  24 

347 

19 

8 

so 

40 

25 

ltt7   .-. 

110  5 

118  9 

10  38 

388 

38 

• 

a  0 

52 

28 

193  0 

112  0 

114   5 

10  33 

339 

87 

9 

a  0 

55 

31 

1M9  U 

81 

108  U 

IIU  0 

10  21 

221 

4A 

8 

2  «7 

10:00 

3« 

183  0 

102  0 

105  0 

10  20 

309 

07 

12 

3  4 

05 

41 

177   5 

Oft  5 

09  5 

10  20 

198 

•8 

11 

2  2 

10 

4« 

173  0 

02  U 

09  5 

10   19 

189 

77 

0 

1  •» 

15 

51 

100  0 

88  0 

90  0 

10  to 

181 

85 

H 

1  0 

30 

00 

158  0 

82 

7«  0 

H2  0 

10   17 

159 

107 

22 

1  47 

45 

HI 

149  0 

82 

ft7  0 

71   5 

10   17 

141 

125 

IH 

1  3 

11:00 

00 

142.5 

ftO  5 

04  0 

10    10 

128 

138 

13 

0  87 

15 

111 

130.5 

84 

52  5 

.■ift  5 

10    10 

110 

150 

13 

0   8 

30 

120 

132  0 

48  0 

50  5 

107 

150 

9 

0  0 

12:00 

150 

123  5 

84 

ae  ft 

44  0 

10.13 

90 

176 

17 

0  57 

2:30 

1H0 

103.0 

87 

16.0     < 

28.0 

10.  la 

49 

317 

41 

1  Zi 

5:00 

sae 

00  ft 

80 

7  5     , 

13.0 

10.1a 

88 

aao 

IS 

068 

MrTMoe 

Two 

poaodi  of    water    ».•      Arrfafijr 

weighed    on 

an    accurate                     aii4 

pourrt) 

in»   ,    » 

\^r  '-i.tonmetrr     ......   .^^w- 

•mc 

-t  a  softcseat  Iragfii  ol 

tcinprratare   cooditaans   to 
>.  it  was  thorotaghlt   turrcd 

.re  taken. 

■     rd   and   t 

-Ighl       DM' 

rt  im*^. 

i  • 

.«d  boilr.; 

1 

td   rcsnlt*                    aa«i> 

*Bolllnc.  wa*  turned  off. 


TABLE  3.     TEST  OF  R.-ITE  OF  HE.\T  TRANSMIS.SION   AT   AND  BKLoW   H4>ILI.N(i 

TEMPKKATl  UK. 

UITHOIT  J.VKET  O.S  CALOKIMETEK. 

Wrlsht  of  water.  2  lb.  Dale.  July  II.  1908. 


Time. 


TCMPSaATCBB. 


Diff.     ^ 


Air. 


*8:3>» 

1 1 

JU 

(• 

41 

17 

211 

u 

44 

20 

211 

0 

47 

23 

311 

u 

SO 

26 

311 

0 

ftft 

31 

«:00 

30 

Oft 

41 

10 

40 

1ft 

ftl 

30 

fft 

3ft 

01 

30 

06 

3ft 

71 

1' 

40 

70 

1.'. 

81 

Diff. 


0:1 

IJf' 


ill 

\M 
134 
134 
134 

I, 11 


Mean 
Diff. 


Bt  t 


Low  ar  Raoiatiok. 


Prr 


tn 


*" 


I.i'i 

At. 
Iiii' 


63  n 


•  ft 

0  - 


63 

l: 

1  ■ 


III  .-. 
17  O 

ir  n 


T  .ul 
II  t  u. 
Italic 

miiMi 


I           !           .           1           ■           .          ^J — , 

1 

• 

' 

. 

""1 

• 

• 

i 

• 

mar 

- 

1 

. 

» 

« 

M 

• 

fCAia  f 


78 


S   OS     .•»»'• 


» 

I  «iin  1- 
-1   V  rrsi- 

made 

stirring  ro<l  passed,  one  for  the  thrrtnome 

•rr  .ind  the  third  for  the  Mearn  to  pass  out. 

rectangular  piece  of  asbestos  board. 

iw  i%\2  inches  and  '4  inch  thick,  was  fut 

■cut  at  the  center  so  as  to  fit  closely  over 

the  outride  of  the  calorimeter.     This  was 

•lipped   on   so   that     the    bottom    of    the 

•'I    was   flush   with   the  bottom   of  the 

timrlrr.      It    served    the    double    pur- 

^«e     of     defining     the     heating     surface 


The    ihrrm-iiirtcr 
degrees  Kjlirrtihrit. 
gree  divisions  and 
mated  to  Ji  degrr«- 
'i  degree  were  n-  • 
ble   in    ihh    exprin 
attempt  ed. 

r 


hail 


luifMd   <i4   at   tW 
•in  to  kod  aad  tW  %am  at  kaal 
r  noted     TW  lag  &mi  r*- 
...^  •<   two   te«i«    are   liioan    la 

Table*  a  and  4 


IUMA.r» 
Tlie  rrMilts  ol  »••»»    <T.14»« 
are  stwwn  grapl* 


>•.!   O 


this,  together  with  ll.<  Uirnet.  rcsttd  u*il«i     plaa  thi  beat  pi»»»«« 


«^    wra-^ 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  12,   1909. 


This  is  used  as  ordinates  and  the  time  in 
minutes  as  abscissas  in  plotting  the  curves. 
Curve  a  is  made  up  of  two  straight  lines 
which  meet  in  an  angle  at  the  boiling 
point  and  clearly  shows  that  the  rate  of 
heat  transfer  is  greater  above  than  below 
this  point.  The  dotted  line  is  an  extension 
of  the  upper  end  of  a.  Curve  c  is  plotted 
in  the  same  way  and  is  one  continuous 
straight  line.  This  shows  that  with  no 
insulation  and  no  correction  for  radiation 
the  rate  of  heat  transmission  remains  the 
same.  This  result  corresponds  to  that  of 
Mr.  Bilbrough  and  shows  plainly  wherein 
he  failed. 

In  order  to  make  the  radiation  correc- 
tion, the  mean  difference  in  temperature 
of  water  and  air  for  each  small  interval 
of  time  and  the  corresponding  loss  of  heat 
per  minute  were  calculated.  These  were 
then  plotted  as  shown  in  Plate  2.  As 
might    be    expected,    the    upper    ends    of 


■ 

EaJiation  Cu 

ves 

/ 

/ 

/ 

° 

\/ 

/ 

/ 

/ 

/ 

;  / 

/ 

/ 

^^ 

/ 

• 

wc/ 

/ 

|-90- 

/o 

^'^ 

/•^ 

"  70 

/ 

A 

'^ 

s 

S,50- 

9 

■C40- 

5 

/ 

/ 

> 

1 

/ 

f 

/ 

/ 

/ 

// 

f 

0 

1/ 

i 

1 

B.T.L".  ila.iiatecl  per  liin. 

2       i       :i       j       4 

1 

u 

these  curves  afford  little  definite  infor- 
mation of  the  radiation  at  the  higher  tem- 
peratures. The  reason  for  this  is  that 
parts  of  the  apparatus  such  as  the  iron 
stand,  the  asbestos  board  and  even  the 
lower  end  of  the  hair-felt  jacket  acquire 
a  temperature  much  higher  than  that  of 
the  water  and  these  parts  yield  up  heat 
to  the  water  for  a  considerable  time  after 
the  gas  is  turned  off,  and  the  radiation 
through  this  period  appears  to  be  only  a 
small  part  of  what  it  really  is.  The  water 
equivalent  of  the  apparatus  might  be 
found,  but  this  would  be  useless  since  the 
temperature  of  the  several  parts  could  not 
be  easily  measured. 

The  best  that  can  be  done,  then,  in  the 
way  of  correcting  for  radiation  is  to  pro- 
duce the  curve  found  for  the  lower  part 
of  the  range  where  it  is  consistent.  This 
is  the  manner  in  which  these  curves  were 
drawn  and  while  they  are  not  absolute 
they  are  conservative,  especially  in  the 
case  of  the  noninsulated  test.    From  these 


curves  the  radiation  was  taken  and  ap- 
plied to  tests  (Tables  1  and  3)  and  a 
curve  o'  so  corrected  was  drawn  on  Plate 
I.  The  corresponding  curve  for  c  falls 
so  close  to  curve  a  that  it  was  omitted. 

If  the  efficiency  of  the  heating  surface 
remained  the  same  with  the  jacket  on  the 
calorimeter  as  without,  then  these  cor- 
rected curves  should  coincide,  since  the 
B.t.u.  supplied  times  efficiency  of  transfer 
equals  B.t.u.  in  liquid  above  initial  plus 
B.t.u.  carried  away  with  the  steam  plus 
B.t.u.  lost  by  radiation. 

It  is  quite  probable  that  the  efficiency  of 
transfer  is  slightly  greater  in  the  case  of 
the  insulated  test  since  the  hair  felt  near 
the  bottom  would  become  heated  and 
transmit  some  heat  to  the  water. 

Summary 
(i)     Test    with    calorimeter    jacketed, 
radiation     disregarded.      B.t.u.     absorbed 


Gain  by  hot  water  over  cold, 
1253—  1245 


1245 


=  0.64 


per  cent. 

(3)  Test  with  calorimeter  jacketed 
and  corrected  for  radiation.  B.t.u.  ab- 
sorbed below  boiling  point (12.5  minutes)^ 
277  B.t.u.  per  hour  = 


277  X  60 
12.5 


1329 


B.t.u.  absorbed  above  boiling  point    (56.5 
minutes)  ^  1728.5  B.t.u.  per  hour  ^ 


1728.5  X  60 
56.5 


1835. 


Gain  by  hot  water  over  cold, 


1835 


1329 


1329 


-38 


per  cent. 


TABLE  4.     RADIATION  TEST.  WITHOUT  JACKET  ON  CALORIMETER, 
Weight  of  water,  2  lb.  Date,  July  11,  1908. 


Time. 

Temperature. 

B.t.u.  in 

Loss 

BY  Radiation. 

Mean 

Weight, 

Liquid 

Diff. 

Gross. 

Above 

Actual. 

Diff. 

Water. 

Air. 

Di£E. 

Initial. 

Total. 

Di£f. 

Per  Min. 

10:14 

76.5 

78.5 

9.54 

17 

3 

107.5 

9.54 

62.0 

20 

6 

138.5 

9.54 

124.0 

23 

9 

170.0 

79.0 

9.53 

187.0 

26 

12 

198.0 

9.53 

242.0 

*27i 

13.5 

211.0 

132.0 

9.52 

269.0 

30 

16 

208.0 

80.0 

128.0 

130.0 

9.51 

263.0 

6 

6 

2.4 

32 

18 

205.0 

125.0 

126.5 

9.50 

257.0 

12 

6 

3.0 

34 

20 

200.5 

120.5 

123.0 

9.50 

248.0 

21 

9 

4.5 

37 

23 

194.5 

114.5 

117.5 

9.50 

236.0 

33 

12 

4.0 

40 

26 

188.5 

80.0 

108.5 

111.5 

9.49 

224.0 

45 

12 

4.0 

43 

29 

184.0 

104.0 

106.5 

9.49 

215.0 

54 

9 

3.0 

46 

32 

177.5 

97.5 

100.5 

9.49 

202.0 

67 

13 

4.33 

49 

35 

173.0 

93.0 

95.5 

9.48 

193.0 

76 

9 

3.0 

52 

38 

168.0 

88.0 

91.0 

9.48 

183.0 

86 

10 

3.33 

55 

41 

163.5 

83.5 

86.0 

9.48 

174.0 

95 

9 

3.0 

11:00 

46 

157.5 

77.5 

80.5 

162.0 

107 

12 

2.4 

05 

51 

152.0 

72.0 

75.0 

151.0 

118 

11 

2.2 

10 

56 

147.0 

80.0 

67.0 

70.5 

141.0 

128 

10 

2.2 

15 

61 

142.0 

62.0 

65.0 

131.0 

138 

10 

2.2 

20 

66 

138.0 

58.0 

60.0 

123.0 

146 

8 

1.6 

30 

76 

130.5 

50.5 

54.5 

108.0 

161 

15 

1.5 

45 

91 

122.0 

42.0 

46.5 

91.0 

178 

17 

1.13 

12:00 

106 

115.0 

35.0 

38.5 

77.0 

192 

14 

0.93 

15 

121 

109.5 

29.5 

32.5 

66.0 

203 

11 

0.73 

30 

136 

105.5 

25.5 

27.5 

58.0 

211 

8 

0.53 

45 

151 

102.0 

22.0 

24.0 

51.0 

218 

7 

0.47 

1:00 

166 

99.5 

19.5 

21.0 

46.0 

223 

5 

0.33 

♦Boiling,  gas  turned  ofif. 


below    boiling    point    (12.5    minutes)    = 
262.5  B.t.u.  per  hour  = 

262.5  X  60 


12.5 


=  1260 


Weight  of  water  actually  evaporated  -= 
i.6r  pounds. 

Weight  of  water  evaporated  per  hour 
per  sqi:r~e  foot  of  heating  surface  ^ 


B.t.u.  absorbed  above  boiling  point    (56.5 
minutes)  ==  1535  B.t.u.  per  hour  = 
1535  X  60  _ 
56.5 
Gain  by  hot  water  over  cold, 

1630  —  1260 


1.61  X  60 
69  X  0.165 


=  8.48 


pounds. 


Conclusions 


1260 


=  29 


per  cent. 

(2)  Test  with  calorimeter  bare,  radia- 
tion disregarded.  B.t.u.  absorbed  below 
boiling  point  (14  minutes)  =  290.5  B.t.u. 
per  hour  = 

290.5  X  60 


H 


=  124s 


B.t.u.    absorbed    above    boiling   point    (67 
minutes)  =  1399  B.t.u.  per  hour  = 
1399  X  60 


67 


=  1253. 


(i)  That  with  no  protection  from 
radiation  the  loss  of  heat  may  be  suffi- 
cient entirely  to  eclipse  the  gain  by  boil- 
ing water. 

(2)  That  there  is  a  gain  in  the  rate  of 
heat  transfer  by  boiling  water  over  cold 
water  of  at  least  38  per  cent,  in  an  ap-' 
paratus  of  this  kind.  Actual  boiler  tests 
in  the  Sibley  laboratories  have  confirmed 
this  latter  conclusion.  As  to  whether  this 
gain  is  due  to  rapid  circulation  of  the 
water  remains  for  future  experiments  to 
prove.  1 


January  12,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


"J 


Coal;     Its   Composition    and    Combustion' 

General    Discussion     of    the    Element*    which     Combine    to    Promote 
Combustion:  How  to    Ascertain  the  Degree  o(  Combustion    AlUiocd 


BY        WILLIAM         H.         BOOTH 


It  is  usual  to  speak  of  heat  under  vari- 
ous names.  It  is  thermometric,  specific,  or 
latent.  By  the  first  is  meant  that  prop- 
erty of  heat  which  sets  up  molecular 
vibrations  in  a  substance,  which  are  capa- 
ble of  transmission  to  surrounding  bodies 
by  radiation  or  by  contact. 

By  specific  heat  we  mean  the  amount 
of  heat  energy  that  is  necessary  to  set  up 
a  certain  degree  of  thermometric  heat  in 
a  unit  or  mass  of  some  body.  The  same 
addition  of  heat  to  a  pound  of  lead  that 
has  made  a  pound  of  water  comfortably 
warm  would  enable  the  lead  to  burn  a 
hole  through  a  man's  hand. 

By  latent  heat  is  understood  heat  that 
hmt  become  converted  into  energy  of  con- 
■lion  without  thermometric  manifesta- 
is  when  heat  added  to  ice  at  32  de- 
Fahrenheit  enables  that  ice  to  exist 
as  a  free  liquid  and  still  only  to  affect  the 
thermometer  to  32  degrees  Fahrenheit. 
Here,  heat  represents  mobility  of  the 
molecules. 

In  a  wide  general  sense  every  chemi- 
cal reaction  may  be  cited  as  a  combus- 
tion Certainly  the  converse  is  true — 
combustion  is  a  chemical  reaction.  All 
^'•b^tances   are,   in   a   broad    sense,    fuels. 

•  are  difficult   to  ignite.     Many  have 
■  \y   entered    into   combustion    or   are 

results  of  chemical  processes  so  energetic 
that   it   is   difficult   to  establish   any  other 
reaction.     Lime,  for  example,  is  the  prod- 
act   of  a    combination   of  the   metal   cal 
ctum  with  the  gas  oxygen,  and  the  energy 

•  ion  is  so  great  that  the  metal  calcium, 
/h    one    of     the     most     common     of 

p's     so-called     elements,     is     hardly 

'.  n  except  as  an  oxide  or  a  carlmnate 

Aluminum    is    a    metal    that    unites    so 

rlrmlv  with  oxygen  that  it  will  usurp  the 

-  of  iron  in  a  mass  of  burned  iron, 

MMw  convert  a  mass  of  mill  scale  into  pure 

iron  by  itself  becoming  an  oxide.     Hence 

The   fuels  that   are 

1    as    fuels    are    wood 

ou!   .tiid    niiiicral    oils.     Tliese    are 

!    free     in     nature,     and     are    easily 

il    and    give    out    considrrahle    heat 

of   experience   have   taught    us   that 

air  is  necessary  to  combustion.     The  fire 

of  wood  bums  the  better  when  the  wind 

blows  upon  it.     The  wind  we  can  feel,  if 

we  cannot   see  it.     The  effect   is  to  blow 

■wav   the   COj   and   leave  the   fuel   frrrlv 

<rd  to   fre»h   <iupplie<  of  oxygen 

'bon  ga*  is  ideal  only     Carbon  exi*t«, 

•trart  nf  pap*r  r*«<1  b»for«>  th#  Aa*»<-I* 

>f    KodoMr^ln  ChAra*    (KnclAoili.    I** 

t»mh0r   0.    IttON 


as  gas,  m  the  electric  arc  at  3600  degrees 
Centigrade.  When  carbon  is  burned  to 
monoxide.  CO,  there  are  set  free  4415 
B.t.u.  per  pound.  When  this  monoxide 
is  burned  to  dioxide  a  funher  heat  of 
10,232  B.t.u.  is  set  free.     W'  -rr- 

ence?     Physicists  say  that  i).  la- 

tion   also   generates   at    least  •  0. 

or  5817  units  more  than  is  •  tn- 

cally  discoverable.  They  say  that  the  5817 
units  have  become  latent  t>ecause  the  car- 
bon which  was  solid  is  now  gaseous  in 
the  CO.  Therefore,  the  total  heat  of  com- 
bustion of  carlmn  gas,  if  carbon  could  be 
taken  in  its  gaseous  form.  i<  to.233  X  a  = 
20,464   B.t.u.   per   pound 

Now,   in   CO,   there  are    12  degrees   of 
C  and  32  degrees  of  O,  or 


Then 


C  :0  :  :3    B. 

ao.464  X  H  =  7674 


B.t.u.  produced  by  the  combustion  of  1 
pound  of  oxygen 

Now,  for  combustion  with  hydrogen : 
One  pound  of  this  gas  gives  62,100  Bt.u 
The  ratio  of  the  two  elements  HiO 
is  I  :8. 

Now 

62.100  X  yi  =  7763 

B.t.u.  This  is  almost  exactly  the  heat 
developed  when  oxygen  is  destroyed  l>y 
gaseous  cart>on. 

In  each  case  three  volumes  of  gas  be- 
come two  volumes,  so  there  is  no  differ- 
ence due  to  a  different  degree  of  con- 
densation. Let  there  be  next  taken  the 
hear  of  .  •<•«  of  hydro- 

carlxin*  OH*    and 

CA\,  These  are  »hown  in  the  second 
r..!iiriui  in  B  t  u.  per  pound  of  the  hydro 


attt. 

Bl.« 

'  •". 

_     II   mU, 

-     II    -  •  •• 

•  .M. 

tl   -  M« 

'11. 

.]    _  trra 

«  .H. 


^JWT 


ijrl>of      In  the  third  eo|iimn  u  the  ratio 
ol  t:  '  fourth 

t|,r  n  used 

Thi«    table    givrt    room    for   thought       tl 

s)i.iwv    m    the    fit»t    place,    a    Kra.Jually   «k 
,  rr.mnif   reMill   in  heal    '  '  po««d 

•  .11.    t>» 


»(.    >n(! 


fercnce  of  beat  act  free  ol  17  per  emtL 
(nearly),  hontd  u  vapor  aad  hmmtd 
as  liquid.  bcninM  or  CH.  gives  a  difcr 
cnt  amooni  o<  beat  agaia  The  igwca  kr- 
come  coofttttag  when  tkm  treated,  aad  ii 
IS  ncccaaary  to  deal  with  tlKai  by  tbe 
molecnlc,  as  tbcy  are  treated  br  th«> 
chemift. 

How  coal  is  formed  caawN  U  ^^ 
with  absolute  ceruinty.  bat  the  proba- 
bility H  that  the  coal  plaota  aecaMlaaad 
like  the  accamalatiaa  of  the  paat  tags  aad 
became  boricd  in  aaad  aad  gradaaDy  Malt 
to  a  considerable  depth  ia  dM  rank 
There  under  the  iaflocacc  of  beat  aad 
pressure,  the  vegetable  attttcr  cbaaged  its 
nature.  Its  watery 
driven  off  and  the 
carbonixcd.  and  tlien  were  abo  set  ap 
those  reactiom  tbai  prodaced  trbai  tae 
term  the  bitumiaoaa  qaaHly.  TWra  i»  aa 
iMinflMn  in  coal,  bat  wbat  wt  OMaa  by 
iNtttminoofl  is  kfiown  to  all  SooM  eoal 
was  to  nracT  '  *'  at   its  bydtacar 

bonaccoos  foa*  Irirca  o#  to  be 

at»sorbed  in  other  racfca.  sach  aa  cartua 
cby  shales,  or  il  escaped  to  tW  sarfac* 
and  was  lost  Thut  possibly  tbe  Welsb 
coal  wat  formed  with  its  short 
qualities  that  earn  for  it  the  trrai 
less."  brcaose.  though  not 
all  drctnnstanecs.  it  eaa  be  bonwd  wkb- 
out  tmoV'  Moiplc  prccaalieaB  are 

tiken  tbO  greater  beat  or 

preawire  •  'asost  all  tba  bj^ro- 

(cnout  n*  ' '  'iven  oa  aad  lae  tval 

it  ronvened  tnto  aatbradM:  a  ibMjr  bard 
\jnrty  of  carboa 

If  tamples  of  eoal  be  cxaaiiaid  iMr 
r'<n)pr.«ition  ranaot  be  regarded  at  aa  dM* 
iftrv.x  at  1%  their  behavior.  TWrv  ia  a 
tiSttarce  fooad  ia  parts  of  tbt  West 
In.hr*  which  rtaaaAki  aadiraciia  ia  tp- 
pcaraocc.  bat  It  is  ptasdc  brittlr  It  m 
uid  not  to  coatala  man  tkaa  t  per  csat 
of  hydrogen  to  gp  of  carboa  Yet  this  t 
r,rr  rmt  rrttfely  chaages  tbs  aBtars  af 
a 

a 


•  )^>gcn  per  pound  ol  CM.h.  ilcit  u  1  •!•• 


mod^  Ordiaary  Mti 

ctmtairi*    »'•;    OMKh   mtH 
ff.rM^   f»n4    toftm   at   the 

aftd  wbca  "n  m  sapoasd  la  bMi 
.  in  spots  aad  gtvts  aff  tm 
Nothii«  ia  haoM  reislly  of  tht 
of  cnal  It  CM  W 
asid  sritb  cioat  aKararr 


a  piM*  of 
iaMof 


114 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  12,   1909. 


•elements  are  joined  together  seems  quite 
"beyond  finding  out.  Thus,  if  a  piece  of 
coal  be  exposed  to  distillation  in  a  retort 
and  the  different  things  collected  that  are 
produced,  there  will  be  found  tar,  creo- 
sote, carbolic  acid,  cresylic  acid,  hydrogen, 
\arious  light  and  heavy  hydrocarbon 
gases,  and  so  much  water  and  ammonia. 
But  it  cannot  be  said  these  substances  are 
present  in  the  coal.  They  have  simply 
been  built  up  or  broken  down  froip  the 
'  material  of  which  coal  is  really  formed, 
and  "for  anything  known  to  the  contrary,  a 
piece  of  bituminous  coal  is  homogeneous 
throughout  in  chemical  composition  and 
only  splits  up  into  many  and  various 
bodies  when  heated.  But  since  it  cannot 
be  known  what  this  substance  is  there  is 
no  reason  further  to  inquire  into  it.  And 
it  may  be  inferred  that  if  the  coal  begins 
to  split  up  as  soon  as  heated  so  it  will 
continue  to  split  up  as  more  heat  is  ap- 
plied, the  material  splitting  up  more  and 
more  into  lighter  and  heavier  portions  so 
that  nothing  but  pitch  remains  in  the  still, 
and  after  a  little  further  heating,  even 
this  is  resolved  into  coke  and  vapor. 

When  coal  is  burned  in  a  fire  exposed 
to  air,  there  is  a  perhaps  more  compli- 
cated set  of  reactions  put  into  operation. 
These  are  operations  both  of  distillation 
and  combustion.  An  experiment  first 
shown  by  Horace  Allen  was  the  sprink- 
ling upon  a  red-hot  plate  of  porcelain  of 
some  finely  divided  bituminous  coal.  At 
once  vapor  commences  to  be  given  off  and 
a  dark  spot  surrounds  each  bit  of  coal. 
The  coal  does  not  glow  so  long  as  the 
■vapor  is  coming  away  from  it.  When  the 
vapor  ceases  to  escape  the  coal  begins  to 
get  hot  and  the  dark  spots  on  the  plate 
disappear.  The  coal  now  begins  to  glow, 
to  sparkle — in  fact,  to  oxidize  and  dis- 
appear. 

Now,  from  this  experiment  much  may 
"be  learned.  First,  that  the  primary  effect 
of  heating  coal  is  to  drive  off  its  volatile 
portions.  Actually,  of  course,  heat  ren- 
ders the  coal  partly  volatile  and  drives 
this  part  away.  The  vaporizing  of  this 
demands  heat  and  the  vapor  renders  so 
much  heat  latent  that  it  dulls  the  surface 
of  the  plate.  When  this  chilling  effect  is 
finished  by  the  escape  of  all  vapor,  the 
remaining  bit  of  coke  gradually  becomes 
hotter.  But  it  does  not  oxidize  brightly 
until  it  has  attained  a  high  temperature. 
These  actions  teach  that  coal  upon  a 
grate  will  be  very  seriously  cooled  if  fresh 
coal  is  thrown  upon  it,  and  that  the  vola- 
tile matter  must  be  thrown  off  any  piece 
of  coal  before  its  carbon  skeleton  will 
begin  to  burn.  In  a  thick  bed  of  coked 
coal  on  a  grate  the  djifling  effect  of  fresh 
coal  may  not  extend  right  down  to  the 
grate  surface  and  the  fuel  next  the  grate 
will  burn  with  the  incoming  air  at  the  ' 
same  time  as  the  gas  from  the  green  coal 
burns  on  the  surface.  If  the  fuel  bed  is 
thin,  the  carbon  dioxide  first  produced  on 
the  grate  comes  to  the  surface  as  dioxide, 
and  hinders  the  combustion  of  the  volatile 


matter.  If  the  fuel  be  thick  the  dioxide 
may  be  converted  into  monoxide  in  its 
upward  passage  through  the  fuel,  and  this 
will  again  hinder  the  combustion  of  the 
volatiles.  The  final  gaseous  mixture 
above  the  fuel  will  be  very  complex,  and 
usually  it  will  be  by  no  means  very  hot. 
Experience  tells,  as  explained  by  Mr. 
Swinburne,  that  this  mixed  mass  ought 
to  be  kept  hot  in  a  nonabsorbent  furnace 
until   combustion   is   complete. 

What  now  deserves  attention  is  a  sim- 
ple means  of  examination  of  a  fire  with 
the  object  of  ascertaining  to  what  degree 
combustion  has  attained.  This  is  blue 
glass  of  a  deep  tint.  Blue  glass  will  not 
permit  the  passage  of  light  of  a  wave 
length  greater  than  blue.  It  is  because  it 
will  not  permit  this  that  it  is  blue.  High- 
temperatiire  radiation  has  the  shortest 
wave  length.  Violet  light  has  double  the 
number  of  waves  per  inch  that  represent 
red  light,  and  red  light  has  millions  of 
times  the  waves  per  inch  of  sound  notes. 
Sound  would  become  visible  to  a  man 
moving  fast  enough  toward  its  vibratory 
origin.  Low-temperature  flame  is  red,  or- 
ange, yellow ;  blue  is  hot ;  violet  is  so 
potent  that  it  brings  about  various  chemi- 
cal reactions,  as  in  photography.  A  red- 
hot  brick  seen  through  blue  glass  becomes 
drab,  and  gives  no  illumination.  A  bril- 
liantly incandescent  brick-lined  furnace 
seen  through  blue  glass  appears  of  a  light 
French  gray,  and  is  of  illuminating 
quality. 

Now,  if  a  dull  flaming  fire  be  observed, 
such  as  is  obtained  if  badly  mixed  gases 
rise  directly  upward  from  the  fire  to  pass 
among  cold  tubes,  there  will  be  seen 
through  blue  glass  no  illumination  above 
the  fire  beyond  about  6  inches.  The  flames 
are  resolved  into  dark  streams  of  gas ;  no 
light  comes  from  them.  But  if  the  in- 
terior of  a  furnace  be  observed  when 
properly  lined  with  brick,  and  with  suita- 
ble direction  of  flow  and  air  mixture,  the 
whole  will  be  illuminated.  Streaks  and 
splashes  of  dark  gas  will  be  seen  coming 
forward  over  the  fire,  and  these  melt  away 
as  they  travel,  and  burn  and  help  to  keep 
up  the  temperature.  The  dark  streaks  are 
simply  gas  not  hot  enough  to  give  violet 
light.  They  are  red  or  yellow  flames  of 
burning  gas  ready  to  produce  smoke  if 
sent  upon  cold  surfaces.  Kept  off  cold 
boiler  plates,  they  complete  their  high 
temperature  combinations,  and  may  then 
be  used  for  heating  anything. 

It  is  not  that  blue  glass  marks  the  state 
of  combustion  beyond  which  one  must 
pass,  but  it  seems  certain  that  if  a  properly 
mixed  gas  attains  this  temperature  before 
exposure  to  cold  surfaces,  it  will  be 
properly  burned.  It  would  be  interesting 
to  experiment  with  red,  yellow,  and  green 
glass,  so  as  to  find  how  these  help  in 
analyzing' the  state  of  a  fire.  It  is  cer- 
tain that  if  blue  glass  cuts  the  flame  very 
short  there  is  imperfect  combustion. 

Now  I  have  not  told  you  much  about 
coal,    for   I   know   nothing   myself   of  the 


way  it  is  put  together.  All  I  can  infer 
is  that  a  very  small  amount  of  combined 
hydrogen  will  change  the  physical  nature 
of  much  carbon.  Analysis  of  coal  seems 
to  point  to  the  presence  of  oxygen  as  the 
patent  cause  of  so-called  bituminosity. 
Knowledge  of  the  phenomena  of  heat — 
such  as  latencj' — teaches  that  the  fuel  bed 
must  be  chilled  when  fresh  coal  is  giving 
off  vapor. 

On  the  supposed  atomic  arrangement  of 
hydrocarbon,  speculation  may  be  indulged 
in  on  the  facts  that  hydrocarbon  is  first 
attacked  by  the  oxygen,  and  that  the  car- 
bon is  set  free  by  itself  or  in  some  dif- 
ferent combination  with  hydrogen,  and  so 
readily  condenses  on  the  first  cold  surface. 
And  so  it  is  learned  to  mix  atoms  of 
oxygen  in  excess  of  what  the  hydrogen 
atoms  will  snatch  up  and  to  maintain 
everything  hot  until  the  carbon  has  had 
its  chance  to  find  its  own  atoms  of  oxygen. 
And  as  it  may  be  inferred  that  a  thick 
fuel  bed  implies  shortness  of  oxygen  above 
the  fire — for  the  fire  has  perhaps  been 
converted  into  a  gas  producer — so  it  may 
be  learned  not  always  to  regulate  com- 
bustion at  the  chimney  damper,  but  to 
keep  this  open  sufficiently  to  pull  in  all  the 
air  we  need  as  a  maximum  above  the  fire, 
and  to  regulate  the  combustion  by  com- 
bined movements  of  the  door  grids  and 
ashpit   dampers. 

Safety  valves  are  locked  up  from  tam- 
pering ;  why  not  also  lock  the  chimney 
damper?  It  should  be  locked,  for  it  is 
not  fit  to  be  used  as  a  regulator  of  the 
combustion  of  bituminous  coal,  for  this  is 
a  double  process,  the  coal  burning  par- 
tially as  solid  fuel  on  the  grate  and  partly 
as  gas  above  the  fire,  and  each  operation 
requires  separate  and  yet  conjoint  air 
regulation. 

Ordinary  coal  has  a  calorific  capacity  of 
about  14,000  B.t.u.  per  pound.  The  vola- 
tile matters  distilled  from  it  have  a  capa- 
city of  18,000  to  24,000  B.t.u.  The  extra 
^000  to  10,000  heat  units  they  now  possess 
are  borrowed  from  the  heat  of  combustion 
of  the  solid  fuel  on  the  grate,  and  when 
the  green  gas  is  wasted  unburned  it  is 
carrying  with  it  the  latent  heat  of  distilla- 
tion. xA.ssuming  20,000  as  its  average  heat 
value  and  assuming  one-third  of  the  coal 
to  be  volatile,  the  green  gases  carry  off 
nearly  half  the  heat  value  of  the  coal. 

Though  the  molecular  structure  of  coal 
may  not  be  discoverable,  there  can  be  no 
doubt  as  to  the  results  of  the  systems  of 
combination  ordinarily  adopted.  If  fired 
on  the  coking  system,  the  gas  is  driven  off 
more  or  less  steadily  and  continuously, 
and  places  less  of  a  tax  on  the  surface  at 
any  one  moment  in  respect  of  maximum 
air  supply  above  the  fuel  to  burn  the  gas 
than  is  levied  when  fresh  coal  is  spread 
heavily  over  a  fire  at  more  or  less  wide 
intervals  of  time. 

The  heat  of  combustion  of  carbon  and 
hydrogen  together  is  sometimes  more  and 
sometimes  less  than  the  heat  necessary  to 


January  12,  1909. 

liquefy  or  gasify  the  carbon  and  to  liquefy 
the  hydrogen. 

In  sohd  fuel  the  carbon  has  not  changed 
its  state,  but  any  hydrogen  has  been  some- 
how rendered  solid  by  its  combination 
with  carbon. 

The  gaseous  hydrocarbons  become  liquid 
when  their  molecular  weight  gets  up  to 
about  70  to  80,  and  solids  begin  to  appear 
when  the  molecular  weight  reaches  128 
or  136. 

The  trouble  with  coal  is  that  it   is  not 
simply   a   hydrocarbon   of  even    unknown 
proportion,  or  a  mixture  of  hydrocarbons. 
It    contains    oxygen    built    into    its    solid 
structure,  and  this  oxygen  is  not  neces- 
sarily  there   as   water   with   some   of   the 
hydrogen  as  HiO.     But  it  is  there,  and  it 
'  s  off  in  distillation,  and   forms  that 
lex     substance  —  tar.      Tar    contains 
■I,  which  is  GH.O,  the  carbolic  acid 
.   and   there   are   phenols   with   eight 
and  nine  carbon  atoms,  and  even  ten. 

It   would   fill   this  whole  paper  only  to 
name   the   known    carbon    organic    com- 
pounds containing  the   three   elements  C, 
H  and  O  variously  hooked  together.     But 
•'    all  the  knowledge  of  the  many  sub- 
rs  given  out   from  tar.  it  cannot  be 
they  are  present  in  coal  in  the  form 
take    on.     But    the    main    facts    of 
>s  can  be  relied  on.     Heat   is   swal- 
1    up   when    solids    are    liquctied    or 
Is  gasified,  and  these  are  the  things 
li.iiii"-"   »"  i'":il   wlirn  burned.     Thrv 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


in  the 

-     :gh 
lu 


r<riij.Lraturc  conservation.  The  behavior 
and  pr.JiKTties  of  the  tra-r.  ;.  livdrocar- 
bons  may  be  regarded  . 

boundmg    walls     of    ki; 

which  glimpses  may  be  ha<l 
serve  as  the  jumpinr  ''' 
ing  machines  of  >; 
and  after  all  it  is  : 
ferentiates  the  eiii. 
mechanic  .Arniies  art 
conveyed  by  cnhcr  ball 
chine,  but  both  these  frail  crali  may  ier\t 
to  point  the  way  by  which  an  army  may 
best  proceed.  The  mere  speculative  engi- 
neer will  not  perhaps  carry  out  work  »o 
well  as  the  constructional  man  who  fol- 
lows beaten  paths,  but  his  speculative 
habit  of  mind  d<K->  enable  him  to  point  the 
way  for  others  to  follow. 


or 

lU- 


Individual   Motor  Drive  for  Wood- 
working Machincr>' 

In  the  town  of  Shcfheld.  Tcnn.,  the  Cen- 
tral Pennsylvania  Lumber  Company  has 
located  a  new  lumber  mill  for  sawing 
rough  boards,  as  well  as  finished  lumber 
The  total  capacity  of  the  plant  is  about 
175,000  fetrt  of  lumlter  per  day,  largely 
hemlock.  The  mill  is  of  concrete  con- 
struction throughout,  securing  as  great 
protection  from  tire  as  is  possible  in  a 
woodworking  mill. 

As  is  thf  (.i«<-   with   luarK    a'.]  nrw    mill*. 


mcaMinng  iaMnonnMs  and  <tm- 

;.  ..,..;k  •irricet.  hat  be«a  nwtallH  aad  ar- 

rangvmmts  made  to  bnra  dM  rdMc  (ma 

the  mill  under  the  bodcrt. 

Tht   log*  are  ooovrycd  op  tfcf  tnefia* 

pood  bjr  a  "log  eh.  '  ^ 

iito  the   mill,   tlw  r^ 

fi    by    a    t$-hantpomtrr   faack-gcorcd 

f  runmng  at  S«9  rrrolatKMu  per  oma- 


n&    I.    M< 


6  ruox  MM.  a^m  . 


-    »rt 


ute      The  rham  it  tgo  irrt  in 

carries  jj  *tcel  dog*  for 

From  the  top  of  th-  •• 

rolled  either  to  th^  ^^ 

the  eqoipntent   it   pr'>M<]r<]    m   aapiirat*; 

that  it.  on  the  hghl  are  laad  bhIIs.  SMV 

-  (or    r»- 

•1 

1  iW  Irtt 


'■peralev! 


nr*t   vtwed   mo  loaibar 

><i    inillt     r>.  h    ■<{  mhtch  it 


<l  l«i«ber  N 
10  ilto 


(W 


M  Ike 


.ft      Jfv! 


rtr.    J.   TBiMMCRS  imivtx  BY  jo-HOBSKrown  uanm 


r<i.iri|    it^    perfect    combustion,    and     the  electric  power  hat  br.n  .tf.r  imcd  upon 

icer  who  can  best  lit  practice  to  meet  for  driving  the  en'  Whet 

■c'%    law»   «»n    proper   condition*    will  ever    po«tibl«"    •'■  '"'  ' 

itilife  coal  at  regards  economy  and  douircted  to  • 
line**      The  knowledge  of  what  hap 
thrrmocheinically   in   the  life  hitlory 

<-   hydrotarl)on«   furni«hes  ampl«"  rx  niv! 

ition     of     the     failure     of     ordinary  .on  1 

mnhiMl*    of   burning    it    withotit    heat    or  er«.  eiign>e».  generate,  luotois  aod  a11  the 


rriif    *»4 


>n4«rd  w 

,   III      irw  *   . 


Wt-  1m«  fM»««4  t^ 


Ogef*  It  la 


ii6 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  12,   1909. 


carried  by  line  rolls  to  the  trimmers, 
which  consist  of  a  row  of  saws  mounted 
on  swinging  arms  driven  by  belts  from  a 
line  shaft,  from  which  they  are  hung. 
The  saws  are  spaced  for  trimming  oflf  the 
lumber  ends,  leaving  standard  lengths. 
One  trimmer  has  eight  saws  and  the 
other  ten.  Each  set  is  operated  by  a  30- 
horsepower  motor  running  at  840  revolu- 
tions per  minute.  The  motor  also  oper- 
ates a  No.  2  Clark  Brothers  pintle  chain 
for  conveying  the  lumber  away.  The  ten- 
saw  trimmer  is  known  as  the  6  to  22-foot 
automatic  trimmer,  and  will  handle  ma- 
terial up  to  6  inches  in  thickness.  The 
eight-saw  trimmer  is  rated  as  a  6  to  24- 
foot  automatic  trimmer  for  use  on  ma- 
urial  up  to  II  inches  thick. 

After  being  trimmed  the  lumber  is  con- 
veyed on  a  chain  through  the  assorting 
.shed  where  it  is  loaded  onto  cars  by 
manual  labor.  The  chain  travels  at  the 
rate  of  32  feet  per  minute,  being  driven 
by  a  15-horsepower  back-geared  motor 
running  at  1 120  revolutions  per  minute. 

Provision  is  also  made  for  the  removal 
of  the  refuse  material  by  means  of  con- 
veyers from  the  different  mills.  All  saw- 
dust is  conveyed  directly  to  the  boiler 
room  and  automatically  fired.  From  the 
band  mills  and  the  edgers  the  slabs  are 
carried  to  slasher  saws,  which  are  saws 


This  pulp  wood  is  used  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  paper  and  must  have  a  length  of 
16  inches  .and  over.  The  balance  of  the 
refuse  is  cut  into  chips  by  the  hog,  from 
which  it  is  dumped  into  cars  for  ship- 
ment to  nearby  tanneries. 

The  slasher  is  operated  by  a  30-horse- 
power,  840-revolutions-per-minute  motor, 
which  also  operates  six  conveyer  chains, 
each  TOO  feet  in  length.  The  hog  is 
driven  by  a  75-horsepower  motor,  690- 
revolutions  per  minute,  direct-connected. 
It  has  a  large  rotating  element  weighing 


operated  by  a  lo-horsepower,  1120-revolu- 
tions-per-minute  motor. 

The  woodworking  equipment  was  sup- 
plied very  largely  by  Clarke  Brothers, 
and  the  motor  equipment  by  the  Westing- 
house  Electric  and  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany. 


The  Small  Fan  in  the  Engine 
Room 

By  W.  H.  Wakeman 


Many  engine  rooms  are  too  hot  to  be 
comfortable,  because  no  attention  is  paid 
to    proper   ventilation,   but   by   locating   a 


FIG.    I 


FIG.     3.     KlGHl-HAMJ    BAND    MJLL    DRIVEN    BY     I5O-HORSEPOWER     MOTOR 


mounted  on  a  shaft  and  4  feet  apart.  From 
the  slashers  the  4-foot  lengths  are  taken, 
together  with  other  refuse  from  the  mills 
with  the  exception  of  the  sawdust,  by  con- 
veyers to  a  machine  known  as  a  "hog."  A 
certain  percentage  of  this  material,  how- 
ever, before  reaching  the  hog  is  taken  out 
of  the  conveyer  by  hand  and  loaded  into 
cars  for  shipment  to  paper  manufacturers. 


approximately  2000  pounds,  which  car- 
ries 24  knives  on  a  diameter  of  60  inches. 
Owing  to  the  weight  of  the  moving  ele- 
ment of  the  hog,  the  starting  conditions 
are  particularly  severe,  but  the  motor, 
which  is  of  the  slip-ring  type,  brings  the 
machine  up  to  speed  quickly  without  un- 
due overload.  The  main  refuse  conveyer 
for  carrying  refuse  to  the  boiler  room  is 


small  fan  near  a  desk  where  the  daily  log 
is  written,  or  if  it  can  be  moved  from 
place  to  place  in  order  to  be  near  various 
repair  jobs,  it  will  add  much  to  the  com- 
fort of  those  employed  in  this  work,  not 
only  by  admitting  fresh  air,  but  by  keep- 
ing that  which  is  already  in  the  room 
from  stagnation. 

The  brushes  and  commutator  on  one  of 
my  dynamos  were  running  quite  warm, 
and  it  was  not  practical  to  shut  down  or 
reduce  the  load.  A  small  fan  was  located 
where  it  could  circulate  air  rapidly  over 
these  parts,  as  shown  in  Fig.  i.  By  hold- 
ing a  hand  in  this  air  blast,  not  only  near 
the  fan  but  also  after  it  had  passed  the 
dynamo,  the  difference  in  temperature  was 
plainly  felt,  thus  showing  that  much  heat 
was  dissipated  by  the  swiftly  moving  air. 
In  a  short  time  the  brush  holders  were  as 
cool  as  before  the  machine  was  started. 
This  is  also  a  very  good  plan  for  blow- 
ing out  dust  that  accumulates  in  the  arma- 
ture and  field  coils  of  dynamos  and 
motors. 

The  success  of  this  experiment  sug- 
gested similar  action  when  a  main  bear- 
ing began  to  heat  and  the  result  was  very 
satisfactory.  This  is  illustrated  in  Fig.  2, 
and  it  is  much  cleaner  and  better  than  the 
barbarous  plan  of  turning  a  stream  of 
water  on  a  bearing  that  is  warmer  than  it 
ought  to  be. 

As  the  air  blast  carried  off  much  heat 
in  these  two  cases,  why  will  it  not  do  good 
work  in  the  case  of  a  gas  engine,  as  illus- 
trated in  Fig.  3?  It  might  not  be  suffi- 
cient for  hard  service,  but  it  is  worth  try- 
ing,  as   it  will   save   some   or   all   of  the 


January  12,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER 


H7 


rxpense  of  water  for  the  jacket,  and  this 
is  a  comparatively  large  item  in  some 
cases. 

Fig.  4  illustrates  a  fan  blowing  air  on 
the  cylinder  of  an  air  compressor,  thus 
preventing  an  excessive  accumulation  of 
heat  where  it  is  not  wanted.  There  are 
other  places  where  the  air  blast  from  a 
portable   fan  will   facilitate  operations,  or 


The  Operator  for  the  G«» 
Producer 


By  J   C.  MiLLu 


The  discussion  that  has  been  goii«  on 
as  to  what  grade  of  man  is  required  to 
secure  the  best  results  from  the  gat  pro- 


ne. 3 


rio.  4 

• 

r  diMgrrrahlr  work  more  comforta  l;  t,  it  very 

he  detail*  of    which    will    occur    to  Oi.tild  b«  to  .1 

engaged   in   such    work   after  con-  and  operated 

ng  the  foregoing  incident  1  and  suf-  ducer  and  hail 

nt  ♦iiitt  from  them 


The  ooc  dement  that  aast  be  cnutd 
cred  above  all  others  ia  ga»-^odac*r 
operation  ts  rdiabilrty.  Ecomamf.  case  o< 
operauoo.  adaptability  to  load  aad  other 
good  qoalttie*  (ade  ioto  aotUvgacaa  vhca 
compared  with  reliabtliijr.  ItiliiMliij  ia 
a  producer  plant  aMaoi^  hrat.  •■  ahOitjr  lo 
iumub  a  rcfvlar  tnpply  of  cool  gas  of  a 
unitonn  qttalily;  tccood.  a  gas  of  aas- 
lurm  heal  value  rcgardleM  of  tht  ^nanticjr 
lupplied,  third,  mcaas  for  oooliiig,  re- 
movtnc  ashes  and  clinkers  aad  sappljriag 
water  as  required,  wtthoot  affecting  the 
heat  value  or  qoMKMy  of  gas  fumiahod. 

The  writer  ia  convinced  by  his  csyeri- 

rnce  that  more  judgawnt  ia  neeeasary  lor 

-r  operation  of  the  gas  prodacer 

■■■•M  of  the  steam  bofler.    Ia  thr 

.tvc  v>t  the  steam  plast.  water  amM  be 

kept   at   a  certain  levd;   the 

thows  this     Prcsaare  aratt  be 

the  steam  gage  thoers  »bal  it  is. 

tioo  of  the  fire  may  be  made  at  any  lime 


itmg     With  the  boiler  there  is  a 
f'T  all  operations  and  jodgBMat  is 
only  in   iwfrgitin      The  gas  producer 
'*  a   '  "ipoMtioa    The  opmtions 

arr  no  good  view  caa  be  bad 

the  beat  value  of  the  gas  la  a 
'  )  odgBMnt,  and  good  j% 
too    No  oonliaaoaa  record  is  at 
tniide     Gas- storage  lepacitj  is 
the  producer  must  be  constantly  in  good 

•nd«t:on  •      -"    --  *•    — " — -—  10  de* 

;-An<l»       '.  I 

by  the  depth  '^l  the  firr,  mr  uram 
the  demand,  and  atmospheric 


'•atrciasd. 

SAuaMiv't  Uawtaa  Cuuisa 

Tie  salesaaa  oflen  idb  the  baytr  that 
he  caa  put  in  a  charge  of  coal  one*  or 
twiee  3  day  awd  leevr  the  producer  la  its 

practice  aad 

rder  to  sefl 

the  gooda     l(  the  dnnand  for  gas  it  ■• 

^v^n  .,r  .{  the  beat  in  furnaces  b  to  W 

!  at  constant  valor,  atitnsioa  st 

;-^i-,,,.  koterrals  is  aaccsaary 

The  gas  producer  plant  has  no  place  ler 
a  cheap  operator  vitbont  fudamaat    TW 
inghwer  of  a  smm 
>tr%x    man    for    il.    If  he 
-r  udice      He  viD  lead   the    novice   la 
f  plant  practice  by  al  he  haa 
>«sly  in  boiler  and  lf« 
If  he  operatas  a  gaa  cnchw  hi 
r<  Vip  win  ind  mors 


1      .r.     I 


KKton  aad  the 
the  gas  ingt^' 

aerations  a>v 
•on  ia  ordae  to 


.««  .Mt  d  order     Beitee  ) 
n*94t4  to  operate  a  f 
pUM  than  a  tieam  fisnt 


ii8 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  12,  1909. 


Some     Recent    Steam     Engine    Failures 

Description     of     a    Number     of     Interesting    Accidents    Which     Were 
Reported     by     the     Engineering     Expert     of     a     Casualty     Company 

BY       HOWARD      sT       KNOWLTON 


Four  or  tive  months  ago,  in  Power 
AND  THE  Engineer,  a  number  of  steam- 
engine  failures  were  presented,  as  drawn 
from  the  practice  of  one  of  the  large  acci- 
dent-insurance companies  during  the  past 
two  or  three  years.  A  number  of  addi- 
tional failures  have  since  come  to  hand 
from  the  same  source.  Every  casualty 
company  dealing  with  accidents  to  power- 
plant  machinerj-  has  exceptional  oppor- 
tunities to  point  out  instances  of  poor 
practice  and  their  remedies,  and  these 
practical  considerations  are  independent 
of  the  locality  in  which  the  machinery  is 
operated,  in  great  measure.  In  the  fol- 
lowing notes  upon  some  typical  accidents 
to  steam  engines  the  report  of  the  casualty 
company's  engineer  has  been  followed 
closely,  and  a  few  sketches  have  been  in- 
cluded by  way  of  illustration. 

Condenser* Water  Backs  up  into 

Cylinder 
One  notable  failure  was  of  an  engine  of 
the  cross-compound  type,  with  cylinders 
26^x401/4x54  inches,  making  40  revolu- 
tions per  minute  with  a  boiler  pressure  of 
80  pounds.  Each  cylinder  had  a  slide 
valve  at  each  end,  and  gridiron  expan- 
sion valves  of  automatic  type  were  used 
on  the  high-pressure  cylinder.  At  the 
time  of  the  accident  the  engine  began  to 
gain  speed  suddenly.  The  engineer  shut 
the  stop  valve  and  the  speed  fell,  but  be- 
fore motion  ceased  the  bedplate  on  the 
low-pressure  side  broke  and  the  crank 
pedestal  was  forced  forward  Yi  inch.  The 
piston  was  driven  1/16  inch  up  the  cone 
of  the  rod,  the  cotter  bent  and  the  crank 
pin  loosened.  The  speed  increase  was 
due  to  the  governor  losing  control  of  the 
valves  through  the  slackening  of  a  set 
screw.  The  damage  was  caused  by  water 
in  the  condenser,  as  the  engineer  did  not 
shut  off  the  injection  or  break  the 
vacuum.  The  speed  was  so  slow  that  the 
water  was  forced  into  the  condenser  more 
rapidly  than  it  was  removed  by  the  air 
pump,  and  thence  flowed  back  into  the 
cylinder  through  the  exhaust  pipe.  An 
automatic  cutoff  gear  and  a  vacuum 
breaker  have  since  been  installed  at  the 
suggestion  of  the  casualty  company. 

Crack  in  Crank  Pin 
In  another  case  an  accident  occurred  to 
a  horizontal  tandem-compound  engine 
with  cylinders  20x43x54  inches,  normal 
speed  52  revolutions  per  minute,  and  a 
boiler  pressure  of  125  pounds.  The  crank 
was  of  forged  wrought  iron  or  steel  sup- 


posed to  be  shrunk  upon  the  shank  of  the 
crank  pin,  which  was  also  secured  by  a 
key.  The  journal  of  the  pin  was  9^ 
inches  long  by  6  11/16  inches  in  diameter, 
and  the  shank  7^  inches  long  by  "^Yi 
inches  in  diameter ;  and  between  the  two 
was  a  collar,  as  illustrated  in  Fig.  i.  As 
far  as  was  kntown  the  pin  was  put  in 
when  the  engine  was  built,  but  it  was  not 
known  when  the  key  was  put  in.  The 
large  end  of  the  connecting  rod  began  to 
run  warm  and  to  knock,  and  red  oil  be- 
gan to  ooze  out  of  the  crank  eye  around 
the  pin  and  kej'.  A  faint  crack  was  no- 
ticed on  the  end  of  the  pin  at  the  back 
of  the  crank.  The  key  was  taken  out,  re- 
fitted and  driven  up  tight;  the  bleeding 
continued  and  the  crack  extended  until  it 
reached  entirely  across  the  end  of  the  pin. 


FIG.     I.       CRACK    IN     shank    OF    CRANK    PIN 

As  the  pin  was  evidently  slack  and  mov- 
ing, it  was  thought  best  to  take  the-  pin 
out  for  examination,  particularly  as  the 
extent  of  the  crack  was  unknown.  After 
some  trouble  and  heating  the  crank  eye 
with  gas,  this  was  done.  It  was  then 
found  that  the  shank  of  the  pin  had  been 
bearing  at  the  back  and  front  at  opposite 
ends  of  the  diameter,  lying  in  the  plane 
of  the  line  of  centers  of  the  engine,  and 
that  it  had  been  moving  and  had  worn  the 
crank  eye  oval.  A  wedge-shaped  piece 
had  also  been  split  off  the  end  of  the 
shank.  The  only  probable  solution  was 
that  the  pin  was  turned  out  of  an  old 
crank  shaft  with  a  crack  in  it,  which 
gradually  extended  when  the  pin  began  to 
get  slack,  and  the  pressure  of  the  crank 
eye  upon  it  became  concentrated  on  the 
semi-detached  piece. 

Piston  Bext  by  Closing  Stop  Valve 
PEFORE  Breaking  Vacuum 

A  case  of  piston  bending  occurred  in  a 
high-speed  inverted  triple-expansion  en- 
gine making  383  revolutions  per  minute, 
with  l4x20'/2X30x  14-inch  cylinders.  The 
engine  was  direct-connected  to  a  dynamo. 
The  exhaust  steam  from  the-  engine  was 
led  through  a  valve  in  the  exhaust  pipe  to 


a  jet  condenser,  or  when  this  valve  was- 
closed,  through  an  automatic  atmospheric- 
relief   valve  to   the   outer   air.     The   con- 

. denser  was  cleared  by  a  pair  of  Edwards- 
air  pumps  driven  by  an  electric  motor,  the- 
latter  receiving  current  from  the  dynamo- 
driven  by  the  engine.    Water  for  the  con- 

_denser  was  taken  from  a  pond  whose- 
surface  was  about  15  feet  7  inches  below 
the  centers  of  the  cylinders.  Thus,  if  the 
air  pumps  did  not  clear  the  condenser,  the 
water  from  the  pond  would  be  forced  into- 
the  low-pressure  cylinder  if  the  pressure 
in  it  were  less  than  8  pounds  absolute  per 
square  inch. 

The  usual  practice  of  shutting  down' 
was  to  close  first  the  engine  stop  valve 
and  then  the  valve  in  the  exhaust  pipe  to- 
shut  off  the  condenser.  On  the  evening, 
of  the  breakdown  this  practice  was  fol- 
lowed, but  the  engine,  instead  of  coming 
gradually  to  a  standstill  as  usual,  stopped' 
suddenly  as  the  engineer  was  about  to 
close  the  valve  in  the  exhaust  pipe.  The 
cause  of  the  stoppage  was  an  inrush  of 
water  from  the  condenser  into  the  low- 
pressure  cylinder,  which  bent  the  piston- 
and  stretched  the  bolts  in  both  ends  of  the 
connecting  rod.  The  accident  was  caused 
by  the  closing  of  the  engine  stop  valve 
before  the  vacuum  was  broken.  If  the- 
engineer  had  destroyed  the  vacuum,  either 
by  closing  the  injection  valve,  or  shutting 
off  the  condenser,  or  by  opening  the 
atmospheric  valve  before  touching  the  en- 
gine stop  valve,  the  accident  would  not 
have  happened. 

Imperfect  Weld  in  Piston  Rod 

An  accident  occurred  to  a  isoo-horse- 
power  horizontal  tandem-compound  en- 
gine, the  normal  speed  of  the  engine  being 
39  revolutions  per  minute  with  a  boiler 
pressure  of  about  100  pounds  per  square 
inch.  The  low-pressure  cylinders  were 
next  the  cranks.  The  piston  rods,  5^ 
inches  in  diameter,  were  cottered  into  the 
crossheads  at  the  front  ends  and  swelled 
at  the  back  ends  to  receive  the  pistons. 
The  enlarged  ends  were  also  bored  to  re- 
ceive the  front  ends  of  the  high-pressure 
piston  rods,  which  were  secured  by  the 
same  cotters  as  the  low-pressure  pistons. 
One  morning  the  rod  of  the  low-pressure- 
cylinder  on  ope  side  broke  without  warn- 
ing, about  22  inches  in  front  of  the  pis- 
ton. The  cover  at  the  back  end  of  the 
cylinder  was  driven  off,  leaving  pieces  of 
the  flange  upon  some  of  the  studs.  The 
other  studs  were  broken.     The  high-pres- 


January  12,  1909. 

sure  cylinder  was  split  at  the  back  in  two 
places,  and  a  piece  measuring  about  20x18 
inches  was  knocked  out  of  the  side.  The 
back  cover  was  broken  in  pieces,  which 
were  blown  against  the  end  of  the  engine 
house,  damaging  the  wall.  Curiously 
enough,  the  pistons  were  undamaged  save 
for  the  breaking  of  the  rings.  The  rod 
was  of  steel  and  had  been  welded  four 
years  ago  on  account  of  a  crack  at  the 
cotter  hole  at  the  back  end.  The  appear- 
ance of  the  fractured  surface  showed  that 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

o.j6  per  cent.  The  appearand 
turcd  surfaces  indicated  o. 
the  steel,  though  it  was  po»- 
a  speed  of  425  revolution*  ; 
might  have  been  the  result  -^t  - 
stress  produced  by  cumulative  \; 
.\!Khronizing    with    the    period    of    the 


Ckack  i>f  Valve  Chest 
Another   accident  occurred  to  a  hoiv 
zontal  triple-expansion  engine  installed  in 


FIG.     2.     BKKAK   I.N   LOW-PRESSURE   PISTON   ROD  DUE  TO  IMPERrECT  WELO 


the  weld  had  been  very  imperfect ;  the  two 
pieces  broken  had  been  joined  only  upon 
the  surface. 

'h.NNK     ShAKT     BrE.\KS     RePE.MEDLV 

>ase  of  shaft  breakage  occurred  in  ;i 
>pccd    inverted    vertical    noncondens- 
l<juble-acting  two-crank  engine,  cylin- 
ders 9xi5'/ix8  inches,  direct -connected  to 
a  dynamo  and  running  425  revolutions  per 
minute,    the    boiler    pressure    being     140 
pounds    per    square    inch.     The    engines 
were  installed  in  IQOO.     In  1905  the  crank 
■    was   found  to  be   slightly  Ikmu  and 
replaced,  the  old  shaft  being  kept  as 
it  ^|^.^rc  after  lieing  trued  up  by  skimming 
up  the  bearings  in  a  lathe.     In  1907.  after 
having  run  less  than  two  years,  the  new 
shaft  broke  through  the  web  of  the  crank 
next   the  dynamo,  and  a  third  shaft   was 
'  '  red,   the   spare   shaft    first   mentioned 
.:  used  to  keep  the  engine  in  service, 
i-ausc  of  the  breakage  was  not  ascer- 
<!.      The     company's     inspector     re- 
pt^rted   the   shaft   to  be  hard  and   brittle, 
but   the  makers  of  the  engine  state«l  that 
it  was  made   from   their  stan«lard  quality 
i.f  ^ircl,  of  about  .V2  tons  tensile  strength, 
considered   the    breakage    to    have 
caused  by  the  bearings  being  out  of 
'T  level,  and  advised  that  these  bear- 
^hould  l>c  lined  an<l  adjusted  In-fore 
A  shaft  should  be  put  in.   The  dynamo 
.ture     was     accordingly     lifted,     the 
i-s   were    relined     witli     white     metal 
leveled,   and    the    new    shaft    l>edde«l 
them.      Kight   weeks   later   the   new 
'  broke  in  the  same  place  as  the  old 
The   two   surfaces   of   the    fracture 
were  quite  close  when  the  ins|)ector  saw 
:.  but  when  the  shaft  was  taken  out 
(wtrhes   of   white   metal   were    found 
I    in   the  crack.     The   makers   .'f 
•   again  attributed  the  fracture  t-- 
!>earings    bring    out    of    line,    but    the 
lity  CMinp.uiy's  engineer  decided  that 
tne   from   impri>|K-r  treatment  of  the 
°  during  manufacture, 
test  gave  an  ultimate  strength  of  34-4^ 
per  squarr  inch,  an  elongation  of  j8.$ 
p< '  rent,  in  2  inches,  with  a  reduction  of 
area  of  41  56  per  cent.     The  carbon  was 


1902.  The  high -pressure  piston  was  9t> 
inches  in  diameter  and  one  low-pressure 
piston,  37  inches  in  diameter,  was  coupled 
to  the  crank  pin  of  the  other,  the  cranks 
being  set  at  right  angles  to  one  another. 
The  stroke  of  all  »hr  pistons  was  60 
inches,   and    the    ^'  •62    revolu- 

tions per  minute,    i  •  pressure  was 

160  pounds  per  square  inch.  The  high- 
pressure  cylinder  consisted  of  a  plain 
cast-iron  liner  shrunk  into  an  outer  eat- 
ing, with  which  were  cast  Corliss  valve 
l>oxes  and  connecting  passages.  Longi- 
tudioal  and  transverse  sections  taken 
through  the  middle  of  thr  -"vlinder  are 
shown  in  Fig.  3.   .\fter  e  years, 

steam    was   observed   c-  n   below 

the  lagging,  and  on  removing  the  latter  a 
crack  31  inches  long  was  found  as  indi- 
cated at  A  A.  The  weakness  of  the  design, 
notwithstanding  the  cross  ribs  which 
stiffen  the  Hat  top  of  the  steam  passage. 
is  self-evident,  and  the  fracture  is  not  tur- 


119 

muancc    of    *n 

.'  iocb     rjliadcft. 

>«■  per  mitmMt  wo4tr. 

t>rtamut.    A  nrw  lorn- 

er  was  fitted  to  tlut  capBc 

_,      _      rjthrf     r.i.i      mif^ifw  TW 

cyhnder  was  -  r^ 

and     of     rert..iiji.iu«,     V..../1.  »<x.m.»i     ^j<ij 

incbe«  wide  and  15  iadMS  dcvpw  Uk  hack. 

front  and  tides  betof  flat  and  varysng  im 

thickneM  from  H  to  H  inck     It  was  4m 

<   a  flat  portioa  ol  iW 

:-to   two  pnnagi  1.   oa* 

l«f  of  about  a4JMV(  imtkm 

•icflicBit  wWck  rccuvad  nc 

m  the  high  prcaaurt  cyliadcf  aa4 

the  >f, 

/4«:  • 

the  ■  rw 

exh 

T  '.a  ihr  froM 

rar  the 


{loundt  absolute,  and  the  prcMorc  m  iIk 
exhau»i  passage  about  J  poaad*  «)»<. 
lute,  so  that  the  uwbahnrtd  prr« 

the   -    was    about  a    powKi.    y^^ 

s^U'-  d  00  tbe  froiN  of  ibc  caM- 

iTit;  :;    i.>   pounds    per    square    ndi 

1>  r:nir    the    temporanr    abscsKC    of    Ibe 

nrhrs  was  bloww 

tffmt   Ibc    Sir— I 

nu  a  cofTe- 

wa«  Ibc  IroM  wall  of  ibc 

Cast::.^   -. »   ;..'■   ^»^^init   txxtt^mr   itattt 

the    air.     Tbc    tt:  <b 


UrtvlcJ    tr.r    lull    length    •■!    in*    .fTral 


(E 


VO 


j.riMiiK' 
.It  hi«h  1 

t      «cak     '!• 

!       In    th"^ 

.,1- 
its 

(->lin"ter   > 
ru:ng  ihc 

bolls. 

PitABffAirrAfXS  or  Rrt  t 
An  imponant  case  oi  r^iM.i' 


•r        ■l\T1 

!   a   new 


K  ix  vALfi  canr 


■  irtiitn    tititllffrtW't   \rt    ttx    nT»»         \Tt    •♦ft 

i 


<   due  IOfk»r  ■    r|g 

tb« 


120 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  12,  1909. 


spindle  becoming  loose  and  falling  out, 
leaving  the  valve  stationary  and,  as  it 
happened,  covering  the  port,  so  that  the 
steam  discharged  from  the  lower  end  of 
the  cylinder  could  not  get  into  the  lower 
end  of  the  condensing  cylinder,  but  re- 
mained in  the  cracked  casting,  practically 
doubling  the  pressure  in  it.  The  accident 
illustrated  the  great  disadvantage  in  using 
rectangular  flat-sided  castings  for  hold- 
ing steam.  The  existence  of  the  cracks 
in  the  partition  and  of  the  incipient  cracks 
in  the  outer  wall,  all  running  vertically 
up  the  junctions  of  these  surfaces  with  the 
flat  sides  of  the  box,  prove  the  inferior 
design  of  this  form  of  cylinder  even  when 
stressed  within  the  limits  of  ordinary 
practice,  while  the  accidental  loosening  of 
a  key  is  but  one  of  the  many  other  acci- 
dents which  may  occasion  dangerous  rises 
of  pressure  in  the  valve  chests  of  the  low- 
pressure   cylinders   of   compound   engines. 

A  Distorted  Cylinder 
Another  engine  to  suffer  accident  was 
a  vertical  triple-expansion  unit  with 
20j4x33x53-inch  cylinders  having  a  36- 
inch  stroke,  running  at  no  revolutions 
per  minute  and  supplied  with  superheated 
steam  at  a  pressure  of  180  pounds  per 
square  inch  by  water-tube  boilers.  The 
engine  was  placed  in  service  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1907,  and  almost  at  once  the  high- 
pressure  piston  rings  began  to  break  and 
the  piston  to  show  signs  of  scoring.  The 
trouble  was  attributed  to  priming,  which 
was  admitted  to  have  occurred.  The  pis- 
ton was  taken  out,  filed  smooth,  and  fitted 
with  new  rings.  Later  on  these  broke, 
and  it  was  noticed  that  the  piston  and 
cylinder  were  scored  at  each  end  of  a 
diameter  and  not  all  around  the  circum- 
ference. To  shorten  the  stoppage  in  case 
of  the  rings  again  breaking  a  complete 
new  piston  was  made,  and  to  lessen  the 
risk  of  binding  the  allowance  between  the 
diameter  of  the  cylinder  and  piston  was 
increased  to  0.0265  inch.  This  piston  was 
installed  and  appeared  to  work  well.  A 
little  later  the  cylinder  cover  was  taken 
off  to  test  the  tightness  of  the  valves. 
When  the  steam  was  turned  onto  the 
valve  chests,  leakage  was  observed  near 
the  lower  end  of  the  cylinder  bore,  and  a 
circumferential  crack  8J-2  inches  long  was 
discovered.  The  cylinder  was  found  to 
be  scored  in  the  vicinity  of  the  crack  and 
diametrically  opposite  it.  The  corre- 
sponding parts  of  the  piston  were  also 
deeply  grooved.  Evidently  the  cylinder 
had  changed  its  circular  form  when  heated 
and  became  oval,  the  allowance  made  on 
the  piston  not  being  sufficient  to  com- 
pensate for  its  own  expansion  and  for  the 
deformation  of  the  cylinder  barrel.  This 
allowance  was  increased  to  0.04  inch  when 
the  new  cylinder  was  put  in.  The  de- 
formation is  readily  accounted  for,  as  the 
cylinder  casting  was  very  complex,  con- 
taining not  only  the  cylinder  barrel,  but 
four  chests  for  drop  valves,  steam  and 
exhaust   nozzles  and  brackets   for  attach- 


ment to  standards  to  which  it  was  bolted. 
The  position  of  the  crack  was  just  below 
the  top  of  the  bottom  steam-valve  box. 
Whether  it  was  the  result  of  heating  or 
of  stresses  set  up  during  the  cooling  of 
the  casting  is  uncertain,  though  the  former 
is  probably  the  cause,  for  such  circum- 
ferential cracks  are  not  uncommon  when 
there  has  been  "seizing"  between  cylinder 
and  piston. 

In  another  case  the  horizontal  low-pres- 
sure cylinder  of  a  compound  engine  was 
found  grooved  and  cracked  in  the  same 
way  after  working  for  a  short  time  with 
a  piston  0.012  inch  in  diameter  less  than 
itself.  The  grooving  was  clearly  traceable 
to  the  distortion  of  the  cylinder  bore,  since 
it  occurred  in  two  places  diametrically 
opposite  each  other.  Similar  circumferen- 
tial cracks  were  found  cutting  through 
the  grooves  scored  in  the  liner  of  the 
cylinder  of  an  internal-combustion  en- 
gine where  the  piston  had  evidently  been 
too  large,  and  having  run  hot  had  seized 
the  cylinder  wall.     In  this  case  the  cracks 


FIG.     4.     FR.'^CTURE   IN   PISTON    ROD  OF   AIR 
PUMP 

had  clearly  not  been  the  result  of  cooling 
strains,  as  the  liner  was  a  simple  pipe. 
These  cases  indicate  that  in  turning  pis- 
tons for  cylinders  of  complex  shape,  allow- 
ance must  be  made  not  only  for  expansion 
due  to  the  heat  of  the  working  fluid,  but 
also  for  the  distortion  resulting  from 
the  unequal  expansion  of  unsymmetrical 
shapes. 

Fractures  of  Rod  and  Beam 
A  case  of  rod  fracture  occurred  in  an 
air  pump  run  in  connection  with  a  hori- 
zontal cross-compound  engine  makihg  JZ 
revolutions  per  minute.  The  air  pump, 
single-acting,  vertical,  19x21  inches,  was 
driven  from  the  low-pressure  piston-rod 
crosshead  by  links,  bell-crank  levers  and 
links  to  the  pump  crosshead.  The  cross- 
head  was  cottered  into  a  cone  upon  the 
rod,  as  shown  in  Fig.  4,  and  the  rod  was 
guided  below  the  crosshead  by  the  gland 
in  the  air-pump  cover  and  above  by  a 
brass  bushing  in  a  cross  arm  fixed  to  the 


engine  bedplate,  and  not  by  the  method  of 
slide  blocks  on  the  crosshead  arms.  The 
upper  part  of  the  rod  which  passed 
through  the  guide  bushing  was  2  inches 
in  diameter.  The  conical  part  on  which 
the  crosshead  was  cottered  tapered  from 
254  inches  at  the  upper  end  to  2^^  inches 
at  the  lower  end,  and  the  part  below  the 
crosshead  was  reduced  to  2^  inches  in 
diameter,  the  shoulder  at  the  junction  of 
this  part  with  the  lower  end  of  the  cone 
being  square.  The  lower  part  of  the  rod 
was  sheathed  with  brass  y%  inch  thick. 
The  rod  broke  at  the  abrupt  change  of 
diameter  at  the  lower  end  of  the  cone 
where  the  brass  sheathing  began.  The 
appearance  of  the  surfaces  of  the  fracture 
showed  that  the  rod  had  been  cracked 
nearly  half  way  through  before  the  final 
break.  The  fracture  was  caused  by  the 
bending  stress  produced  by  the  horizontal 
component  of  the  diagonal  thrust  of  the 
links  connecting  the  bell-crank  levers  to 
the  crosshead,  intensified  by  the  abrupt 
change  of  section.  Air-pump  rods  guided 
like  this  one,  above  and  below  the  eross- 
head,  but  not  by  the  crosshead,  frequently 
break,  but  generally  through  the  cotter 
hole,  the  hole  being  usually  driven,  as  in 
this  case,  in  a  plane  passing  through  the 
center  line  of  the  engine,  so  that  the  bend- 
ing stress  is  concentrated  at  the  edge  of 
the  cotter  hole  where  there  is  little  ma- 
terial to  resist  it.  This  is  a  typical  case. 
Another  case  of  a  broken  beam  may  be 
cited,  not  as  an  illustration  of  the  effect 
of  overloading,  but  by  way  of  a  hint  to 
those  who  have  engines  connected  by 
shafting  or  gearing  to  other  engines  or 
turbines.  In  this  case  the  engine,  a  con- 
densing beam  unit,  with  cylinders  28 
inches  diameter  by  48  inches  stroke,  run- 
ning at  "iz  revolutions  per  minute,  was 
coupled  to  a  water  wheel  by  shafting  and 
gearing.  On  the  occasion  of  the  break- 
down, the  water  wheel  was,  as  usual, 
started  first,  and  immediately  the  engine 
beam  broke  off  short  between  the  air- 
pump  gudgeon  and  the  main  center. 
Whether  the  breakage  occurred  before 
the  piston  had  completed  its  first  up- 
stroke or  immediately  after  the  driver  had 
begun  to  open  the  stop  valve  to  admit 
steam  was  not.  known,  but  it  was  clear 
that  the  water  caused  the  trouble — pre- 
sumably accumulation  of  condensed  steam 
leakage  on  the  top  of  the  piston.  There 
were  no  safety  valves  on  the  cylinder. 


Wherever  there  is  a  line  shaft  attention 
should  be  given  to  keeping  the  shaft  clean. 
Aside  from  other  considerations  an  ac- 
cumulation of  dust  and  grease  on  the 
shaft  is  an  added  fire  hazard.  The  easiest 
way  to  prevent  dirt  and  dust  from  collect- 
ing is  to  provide  each  shaft  with  loosely 
fitting  disks  of  strawboard,  leather  or 
other  material,  which  are  free  to  whirl, 
and  as  the  shaft  rotates,  will  travel  back 
and  forth  preventing  any  deposit  or  ac- 
cumulation of  dust  or  oil. 


January  12,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


in 


Practical     Letters    from     Practical     M 

Don't  Bother  About    the    Style,    but    ^^'ritc    Just    What    ^'ou  Think. 
Know  or  Want  to  Know    About  ^  our  Work,  and   Help  Each  Olher 

we~~Fay    for    useful    ideas 


en 


Dimensions    and   Capacity   of 
Rectangular    Tanks 


While  tables  are  published  showing  the 
apacity,  in  gallons,  of  cylindrical  tanks  of 
tandard  size,  the  same  is  not  true  of  rcct- 


be,  or  to  find  the  capadt,  for  i   foot  in  Jo  Handle   Wood   BcoooouCAUy 

hight    and    multiply    by    the    hight.     The  .^^ 

chart  may  al»o  t>e   used   where  the  capa-  We  are  btiniav  frota  6ao  U>  floo  eordi 

city  is  given   and   the   size   is  desired,  or  of   wood  prr   moHCk     It  ia  dcli»«fad  kf 

where  the  capacity  and  one  ut  two  of  the  cnotract.    as    near    ihr    plani    aa 

'liiTunsions  are  given  and  others  are  re-  to  pile  it.  and  wc  ted  thai  the 

•luired.  frofii    'hr    f.ilr    10   tkf   bo*ler»   M   as   •■■ 

The  two  following  examples  show  how  -timc.      TIic    plaM    m 

<<«^     *i«jC    of    a    ■OlltML    ilw 


ingular   tanks,   for  the   possible  combina-      the  chart  is  applied :    What  is  the  capacity     li^«i<^^<i 


i^jm 


TT 


LM  N-j  j  n 


1 


1 

• 

4 

' 

Wwmk 


CHATF  roa  oaroMiNiNo  the  dimknsi  on*  AMD  CAraorv  or  aacra*!' 


with  three  variables  is  so  great  that      in  gall-nt  of  a  tank  4'''>^^''  f«^*    ^*»' 
.  complete   table  would  be  Iwth  cumt)er-     ing  v» 

nmr  t,,  >,  i,,,iir  and  difficult  to  use.  "•'■'  — 


lying  chart  is  designed  to 
>  the  dimensions  of  tankt 
<>  up  to  lyx)  gallons  and 
f.      It   bri-  -asy   in 

of  *urh    '  ^  as  to      ; . 

!\  i.vt  r   I ;  •  >ne  or      atJ-o* 

I   the   dm  ;.|y   the 

■pacity  by  two  or  four,  aa  the  case  may         Brooklyn,  N    Y 


to  Ihe  9-fool  line  and  down  lo     nsake     ingBniKm* 


the  hight  of  a  Unk  6a9  '•«*•     1 


•J  feet  atul  ilij* 


\tAb^  Me*if'^ 


t22 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  12,  1909, 


Central  Valve  Engines 


TTie  Centrifugal  Pump 


Having  seen  in  a  recent  issue  an  illus- 
tration of  a  central-valve  engine  of  Eng- 
lish design.  I  am  inclosing  a  sketch  of  an 
American  product  which  has  proved 
to  be  very  practical.  The  cranks  of  the 
engine  are  set  at  180  degrees,  as  shown, 
with  the  single  eccentric  mounted  on  the 
shaft  between  them.  The  valve  travels  in 
a  removable  bushing,  in  which  the  ports 
are  accurately  machined ;  the  valve,  as 
shown,  is  in  its  central  position.  The 
spaces  5  are  in  communication  with  the 
steam  pipe,  while  the  spaces  E  lead  to  the 
exhaust  pipe.  At  A  and  A'  are  ports  to 
the  right-hand  cylinder,  while  B  and  B' 
lead  to  the  left-hand  cylinder. 

The  action  of  the  valve  is  similar  to  any 
slide  or  piston  valve,  and  if  displaced  up- 
ward an  amount  equal  to  the  steam  lap, 
steam  will  be  admitted  on  one  side 
through  the  port  A'  and  on  the  other  side 
through  the  port  B,  the  exhausts  at  the 
same  time  being  through  ports  A  and  B', 
respectively.  Cutoff  and  compression  fol- 
low on  the  return  motion  of  the  valve. 


^^ 


^ 


In  the  December  i  issue,  George  P. 
Pearce  takes  issue  with  my  statement  in  a 
previous  number  that  when  the  discharge 
opening  of  a  centrifugal  pump  is  closed 
no  further  power  is  required  by  the 
water  within  the  impeller  after  having 
been  brought  up  to  speed.  As  pointed  out 
in  the  original  article,  a  certain  amount  of 


»\^  "L  l')^'" 'a 


AN   A.VIERJCAN   CENTRAL-VALVE  ENGINE 

In  practice  the  steam  lap  is  a  trifle 
greater  for  the  top  end  of  the  cylinders 
and  the  exhaust  lap  greater  for  the  bot- 
tom end.  This  in  a  measure  offsets  the 
irregularity  due  to  the  connecting  rod 
and  gives  an  earlier  cutoff  at  the  top  and 
more  compression  at  the  bottom,  as  is 
customary  in  vertical  engines. 

H.  L.  Dean. 

Hyde  Park,  Mass. 


FIG.    I 

power  would  still  be  required  to  overcome 
friction  and  to  supply  the  energy  wasted 
in  eddies,  but,  as  I  understand  Mr.  Pearce, 
that  is  not  in  question  and  need  not  be 
discussed. 

Mr.  Pearce's  position,  and  that  of  a 
number  of  other  contributors,  is  indicated 
in  the  following  paragraph  from  his 
letter  : 

"Surely  a  centrifugal  pump  running 
with  suction  open  and  discharge  closed  is 
operating  under  a  considerable  load,  for 
the  shape  of  the  impeller  is  such  that  it 
is  constantly  trying  to  throw  more  water 
into  the  outer  casing,  and  as  this  is  im- 
possible then  it  is  forcing  its  way  through 
the  water  against  the  resistance  due  to 
the  pressure  built  up  in  the  casing,  due 
to  its  circumferential  velocity." 

No  power  or  expenditure  of  energy  is 
required  to  withstand  a  pressure  as  long 
as  there  is  no  flow,  in  the  same  way  that 
no  mechanical  work  is  performed  by  a 
man  carrying  a  hodful  of  brick  on  a 
level  walk.  The  man  does  work  in  a 
mechanical  sense  only  when  he  begins  to 
climb  the  ladder  and  to  create  a  flow  of 
bricks  from  a  lower  to  a  higher  level. 

To  put  the  case  more  graphically,  con- 
sider Fig.  I.  Let  the  radial  line  be  one  of 
the  impellers  of  a  centrifugal  pump,  and 
let  the  circle  at  its  extremity  be  a  solid 
circular  wall  of  water  in  the  casing  of  the 
pump.  The  little  squares  on  the  radial 
line  represent  cubes  of  water.  Now,  when 
the  impeller  is  rotated  the  cube  on  the 
end  will  press  outward  by  reason  of  the 
fact  that  it  is  continually  constrained  to 
change  its  direction  of  motion,  and  will 
exert  a  pressure  upon  the  circular  wall  of 
water  in  the  casing.  The  next  cube  will 
similarly    exert    a    pressure    on    the    first 


cube,  and  so  on  down  to  the  center  c 
rotation.  Each  cube  will  try  to  push  thoi 
ahead  of  it  off  the  impeller,  the  resu 
being  a  certain  definite  pressure  pe 
square  inch  between  the  outside  cube  an 
the  stationary  water  in  the  casing.  A 
long  as  the  impeller  is  rotating  with  un 
form  speed,  this  pressure  will  be  maii 
tained,  and  if  it  is  assumed  that  the  who 
space  within  the  circle  be  filled  wit 
water,  there  will  be  uniform  pressure  a 
around  the  circle.  If  it  could  be  mac 
a  further  condition  that  there  would  \ 
no  friction  between  the  outside  cubes  an 
the  surrounding  wall  of  water  no  pow( 
would  be  required,  once  the  mass  of  wat( 
in  the  impeller  were  brought  up  to  speei 
and  at  the  same  time  the  pressure  woul 
be  maintained. 

What  actually  happens  is  that  a  certai 
amount  of  power  is  lost  in  skin  frictio 
in  overcoming  viscosity  and  in  the  pre 
duction  of  useless  eddies,  both  within  th 
impeller  and  in  the  surrounding  chan 
ber,  but  this  consumption  of  power  nev( 
amounts  to  as  much  as  the  power  n 
quired  by  the  pump  when  delivering  wate 
In  fact,  this  loss  of  power  due  to  frictio 
and  eddies  remains,  roughly  the  sam 
whether  any  water  is  being  delivered  c 
not,  but  an  increased  amount  of  power  : 
required  for  accelerating  new  masses  c 
water  as  soon  as  delivery  begins. 

It  is  probably  true,  as  Mr.  Pearce  state 
that  the  eccentric  casings  used  with  som 
centrifugal  pumps  cause  an  increase  of  tli 
losses  due  to  eddies.  On  the  other  han( 
however,  the  casings  of  all,  except  th 
last  stages  of  most  multistage  pumps,  ar 
concentric  with  the  shaft. 

Mr.  Pearce  also  refers  to  the  shape  c 


J- 


Various  Shapes  of 
Impeller  Blades 


FIG.    2 

the   impeller   being   such   that   it  is  co 
stantly    trying    to    throw    water    into   t 
casing,  and  he  will  therefore  probably 
surprised  to  learn  that  the  blades  of  ii 
pellers    may    have    different    shapes, 
shown  in  Fig.  2,  and  that  as  long  as  I 
delivery   pipe   is   closed   off  these   sha]  1 
have  little  influence  upon  the  amount 
power    consumed    or    upon    the   pressij 
generated.     As  soon  as  flow  begins,  he  I 


anuary  12,  1909. 

r,   pumps   with   the  different   impellers 
libit  different  characteristics. 
!r.    Pearce   asks    if   the    charts    which 
jmpanied  my  first  letter,  showing  that 

power  required  falls  off  as  the  flow  is 
uccd  by  throttling  the  discharge,  were 
rted  from  actual  tests  or  from  theoreti- 

formulas.  They  were  plotted  from 
s  and  nearly  all  charts,  wherein  the 
rer  consumed  by  centrifugal  pumps  is 
ted  as  one  coordinate  and  water  de- 
red  as  the  other,  show  the  same  thing, 

power  consumed  at  no  load  being 
lewhere  around  a  quarter  or  third  of 

power  consumption  at  the  point  of 
timum  efficiency,  upon  which  the  nomi- 

rated  capacity  of  the  pump  is  usually 
k1. 

Geobce  H.  Gibson. 
ew  York  City. 


Commutator  Trouble 


he  commutator  trouble  A.  L.  Baker 
itions  in  a  recent  issue  might  be  caused 
I  number  of  things,  among  which  are 
following  :  Brush  position  ;  running 
t  does  with  a  weaker  field  than  that 
which  the  machine  was  designed,  the 
ihes  will  probably  need  a  greater  for- 
d  lead  than  at  normal  voltage.  Brush 
jng ;  if  the  several  sets  of  brushes  are 
spaced  equally  around  the  commu- 
r,  sparking  will  occur;  this  spacing 
best  be  checked  by  aid  of  a  strip  of 
T  of  a  length  equal  to  the  commutator 
imfcrcnce,  on  which  has  been  marked 
IS  many  equal  divisions  as  there  arc 
ih-holder  studs;  the  paper  should  be 
ed  to  the  commutator  and  each  stud 
to  that  the  toe  of  the  brush  will  come 
be  mark ;  care  should  be  taken  that 
''  '  <-s  all  lie  in  line  with  the  commu- 
Tight    brushes ;   every   brush 

■    gone   over    to   see    that    it    fits 
loose    in    its    holder    to   allow 

.'  to  press  it  against  the  commu- 

rk   streaks   are   often   caused  by 

t  brushes ;  on  the  other  hand,  a  brush 

fits    too    loosely    in    its    holder    will 

cause   trouble.      Brush   contact:   too 

b  care  cannot  be  taken  in  sanding  the 

hes  ,  a  coarse  p.ij>er  may  first  be  used, 

the  finishing  touches  should  always  be 

!  with   a    very   fine   grade,   the   brush 

t   under    the    trnsion     of     the     spring 

;  smoothing  should  .ilwnys  be  done  in 

•ion  of  rotation.     Metal  bridges; 

othing  or  turning  off  the  com- 

itor,  it  should  be  carefully  examined 

'■•"-'  bridges  across  the  mica  strips 

he  bars;  if  these  exist  they 
iin  ur  rpiii.i\rd;  a  knife  blade  will 
illy     acrotiiplish     this     very     succets- 

th^re  are  no  errors  in  the  design  of 
me.   a   rigid    appliiation    of    the 
hints     should     prmlnrr     hetfrr 
THitation. 

Edward  Ciik.<«ky 
henertady.  NY 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

Interesting  Indicator  Diagraim 

Tracing  Fig.  i,  it  will  be  noticed  that 
both  ends  are  joined  I  have  noticed  sev- 
eral diagrams  Itke  these  for  five  years 
past.  None  of  us  has  t>een  able  to  give 
the  cause,  although  various  arguments 
have  been  advanced.     In  the  present  case 


la  Plf.  &  M  the  cqgiae  vaa  villi  cscm> 
M»e  eonprcMkn.  it  ran  jeHdljr.  Aa  Itft. 
it  ran  Ukc  a  dock,  st  ^hr  taya^  is.  TW 
fuel  here  va*  mt  e  Imi  coadi- 

tioo  very  IsttJc  ct^  -  idnd.     I  «■ 

told  that  th*  nviag  was  aboai  tvo  %em 
pw  w«ek. 

J.  B.  Latovs. 

ToroMQi,  Can. 


GxapKite  ID  Boilcn 


ex  5 


FML    I 

the  instrument  was  an  outside-spring 
Tabor  indicator,  with  Houghtaling  reduc- 
ing motion.  The  piping  was  5.i-inch,  with 
an  angle  valve  at  each  end  and  there  was 
an  indicator  cock  between  the  indicator 
and  piping.  My  assistant  could  not  help 
making  these  diagrams,  while  I  could  not 
make  one  after  him.     I   could  not  detect 


'     I    hi'i    tn    ft!)    rAfbrf 
'.4t  of  butk-r  wAthtt  m 
*     •  -4inmg     MS     iy>horvrf>o««f 

»»f^ -H-iIcrs.      TVse    buiier*    v«rv 

waahcd  oat  every  aix  »erk»  WKca  1 
doae  up  a  clean  hoOrr.  1  pot  j  poandi  ol 
flake  graphite  in  each  dnaa. 

When  a  hosier  was  opemd  ap  after  ite 
treatmcof,  and  tbt  tarWa*  CiMacr  rva 
thr  be*,  the  acalc  caav  off  vwy 

m  ^Tanrinmt  ibc  ride  of  acak 

which   wat   nc«t   the  luhe. 
be   seen  clmging   to  it     The  m 
lion  was  r>und  rxisttnc  in  tbt 

Since  1  received  my  bocaaa  and  had 
charge  of  boilers^  I  have  oaed  this  mbm 
idea  and  find  it  works  fine.  capadaMy  in 
retum-iubolar  botlera.  vkrrt  iIm  takH 
are  harder  to  cUan 

FaAVK  Wttyrax. 

'"hicago.  in 


ScoTAge  Batteiy  Trodblci 


na  2 

what  he  did,  nor  can  he  explain  it.  These 
have  been  repeated  so  often  that  I  feel 
satisfied  that  it  must  he  due  to  %nme  pecu- 
liar manipulation  of  the  instrument.  I 
should  like  tu  see  it  discussed 

The  diagrams  in  Fig  2  show  plainly  the 
effects  of  excessive  and  moderate  com- 
pression of  exhaust  steam.  The  engine 
was  an  old  one  which  had  just  tieen  re- 


M.    H«nv% 

id  that  tkt  plates  vert 

><^lk«M.    If  thai  ia 

•       '  '->   had  hMsi  duriad 

4«  V  :  r  ,r.,  prokaMj 

ol     IJir     rir-'r.     »!r      ■:'h< 

durgtag  tbt  hatttr«t«.     la 
scparaiora.  tbty  sboold  ht  of  tht 
ihickocMk   hot   the  plalta   sbaald   aai  bt 
1  ^fi  ^f^  ff^^n^  ^ifip  tlaaatr.     Tbt 

Slid  aot  haw  aiood  ia  ibt  mrtd 
i;>Sirrcsahlt    kagtb     of 

'  urging. 
the  eltctroliW  is  placed  ai  the  cell 
In  rtttrtacv  lo  tbt  baitttitt  bt 
>f    lalphaib^  I 
'•^    u^Tmiatd  by  tbt  piM 
•      nior  tbaa  tiny  s»«rt 

'       aKttr    ttiinKAlr    A&kr«    nxMt    f '  ^'■i    c 


na  J  soai  oar^* 

I  ni»  fnuit  not  be  «*•  ♦*<   unt»^t  «   •• 
fitted      The  rmdition  of  tht   engine  can     liv^  kaown  thai  salpbaliai  baa 

marked 

poasihie 

try.     As  "raa  the 

!,    I    have  report 

(he   owntr    an  I  •-ngmetr   that 

......    is   tht  ease      lie    c:^(mt  ran   per 

fectly  smooth  in  the  laat  condHior 


124 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  12,  1909. 


examination  of  the  connections  between 
the  batteries  should  be  made,  as  a  poor 
joint  will  corrode  and,  although  the  bat- 
tery may  be  fully  charged,  it  will  be  im- 
possible to  get  any  current. 

Short-circuiting  is  a  very  prolific  source 
of  trouble.  If  current  has  been  taken 
from  only  a  few  of  the  batteries  instead 
of  the  complete  set,  it  may  be  possible 
that  those  used  most  have  been  discharged 
too  low.  By  connecting  these  batteries  in 
the  circuit  they  could  be  brought  up  and 
then  placed  in  service  again. 

If  1.210  electrolyte  is  used,  it  should 
not  go  below  1.170  in  density.  When 
water  is  added,  the  electroljte  should  be 
stirred  with  a  glass  tube,  as  the  water  is 
lighter  and  may  remain  on  top. 

C.  A.  Davies. 

Cincinnati,  O. 


Some  Indicator  Diagrams 

One  feature  of  F.  L.  Johnson's  article, 
entitled  "Some  Indicator  Diagrams," 
needs  to  be  discussed.  It  can  hardly  be 
denied  that  compression  does  lower  the 
maximum   output   of  an   engine,   but  the 


FIG.   3    (reproduced) 


case  he  cites,  of  an  engine  that  was  un- 
able to  carry  its  load  after  losing  the 
vacuum,  is  not  a  fair  argument  against 
compression.  The  valves  could  have  been 
set  so  as  to  retain  the  compression  and 
a  greater  load  could  have  been  carried. 

My  idea  would  have  been  to  ignore 
equal  distribution  of  load  between  the 
cylinders  and  adjust  the  low-pressure 
cylinder  cutoff  equal  to  the  ratio  between 
the  high-pressure  and  low-pressure  cylin- 
ders. This  would  result  in  little  or  no 
drop  between  the  high-pressure  cylinder 
and  the  receiver  and,  although  the  low- 
pressure  compression  would  be  more  than 
desirable,  it  would  not  rise  above  the  ad- 
mission line  and  make  the  loop  (in  his 
F'g-  3)1  which  is  negative.  The  loop  at 
the  other  end  of  the  card  would  also  be 
eliminated,  and  the  engine  could  carry  a 
heavier  load  than  it  did  under  the  condi- 
tions mentioned. 

A.   L.   HOYLE. 

Philadelphia,  Penn. 


sion  line  leans  in  above  the  atmospheric 
line  in  Mr.  Johnson's  Fig.  4,  which  is  a 
low-pressure  card.  I  get  practically  the 
same  result  from  the  engines  I  am 
running. 

WiixiAM   Hopkins. 

Hastings,  Mich. 

[In  the  case  mentioned  the  valve  was 
set  with  little  lead;  the  piston,  therefore, 


FIG.    4     (reproduced) 

began  its  stroke  before  the  valve  opened 
■the  port  enough  to  supply  the  steam  pres- 
sure necessary  to  produce  a  vertical  line  to 
the  top  of  the  diagram. — Editors.] 


Location  of  Steam  Traps 

In  Fig.  I  is  shown  the  ordinary  ar- 
rangement of  the  small  trap,  in  connec- 
tion with  the  steam  separator,  which  is 
a  fair  example  of  the  way  they  are  found 
in   active   practice.     I   have   observed,    in 


I  should  like  to  know  why  the  admis- 


connection  with  the  placing  of  traps,  that 
a  long  pipe  of  small  size  is  run  from  the 
separator  to  the  trap.  While  the  trap  may 
discharge  the  accumulated  water  quickly, 
the  new  discharge  has  to  come  through 
this  small  pipe.  Some  bad  water  wrecks 
have  occurred  from  this  arrangement. 
A    steam   separator   or  trap    should  ht 


no  larger  than  necessary  to  do  the  work, 
as  the  two  appliances  present  radiating 
surfaces  which  are  wasteful  even  though 
they  are  well  covered.  This  is  no  rea- 
son for  selecting  one  so  small  that  it  will 
not  work  satisfactorily,  however. 

The  placing  of  the  steam  drums  to  be 
drained  by  the  trap  may  be  so  as  to  give 
the  trap  more  advantage  and  facilitate  the 
safe  working  of  the  whole  system.  An 
example  is  shown  in  Fig.  2.  A  better  ar- 
rangement would  be  to  have  the  steam 
drum  as  shown  in  Fig.  3;  this  is  a  much 
safer  drum  and  costs  no  more  than  the 
other  type. 

The  entering  pipe  should  not  be  placed 
too  close  to  the  lower  surface,  as  room 
must  be  allowed  for  the  collection  of  the 
condensed  water  going  to  the  trap,  other- 
wise a  counter  current  might  be  started 


To  Trap 


FIG.    3 


and  carry  the  water  through  the  main  ti 
the  engine. 

C.  R.  McGahey. 
Lynchburg,  Va. 


Probable  Cause  of  Air  Compresso 
Explosions 


On  one  occasion  I  had  to  look  for  th 
cause  of  two  air-compressor  explosion 
The  air  was  compressed  to  17  pounds  pe 
square  inch.  In  both  cases  the  pip< 
were  ruptured.  Various  theories  wei 
investigated,  such  as  simple  failuJ 
of  the  pipe,  oil  spray  in  the  pip 
oil  ignition  at  the  extreme  end,  pot 
grade  of  oil,  leaky  discharge  valves.  Tl 
last-named  offered  the  most  plausible  e: 
planation,  as  air  which  had  been  con 
pressed  evidently  leaked  back  into  tl 
cylinder  where  it  became  recompresse ! 
This    recompression   will    make   it   hott ' 


January  12,  1909. 

id  hotter  until  it  cither  reaches  a  point 
here  radiation  will  take  the  heat  faster 
an  the  temperature  can  rise,  or  the  tem- 
srature  will  rise  until  the  oil  catches 
•e.  The  best  of  oils  will  take  fire  if 
sated  enough. 

F.     W.     HOIXMANN. 

Baltimore,  Md. 


,xtraneous    Supervision  of    Power 
Plant* 


Tlie  recent  quotat;on  from  a  pamphlet 
nt  out  by  the  Engineering  Supervision 
Dmpany,  of  New  York,  and  which  Powes 
w  fit  to  comment  upon  editorially  in  the 
ecember  29  number,  needs  more  than  a 
issing  glance. 

The    statement    made    in    reference    to 
'  rs   being   led   astray   by  ambitious 
to  the  extent  of  receiving  from  10 
50  per  cent,  of  the  cost  of  work  done 
id    possibly    of    supplies    purchased     is 
laritablc  to  the  engineer,  because  he  has 
len   led  by  the   ambitious  agent.     Such 
statement  is  an  insult  not  alone  to  the 
Igineer,    but    also   the    agents.      A    wide 
[perience     with     engineers     and     supply 
combined  with  a  practical  expcri- 
■  more  than  20  years,  forces  mc  to 
It   the  author  of  the  pamphlet   in 
■I    should    quickly    join    the    famed 
tuiiias  club.     The   statement   that   more 
an   one-half  of  the   plants  arc  afflicted 
r  such  practice  is  most  absurd  and  shows 
-  '•-ivciy  the  attempt  of  the  company 
•le  the  engineer  in  the  eyes  of  his 
tipl  yrr  simply  to  gain  the  business  they 
r\(      Such   tactics  arc  contemptible  and 
the    consideration    of    any    fair 
man.     A   concern   which   tries   to 
business   by   any   such    methotls   is 
:;  the  consideration  of  business  men, 
bo  readily  recognize  the  despicable  argu- 
ents  as  being  in  keeping  with  some  bust- 
its   firms   which   try  to   injure   competi- 
just  such  tactics. 

rnncern  which   feels  that   it  is  not 

■   by  the  engineer  has  the 

I  rig  a  change  at  any  time. 

ule   there   may   be   some   engineers 

>•  out   for  graft,  the  percentage  is 

r  from  the  50  per  cent,  mark   referred 

'  m  the  circular.    The  practice  may  have 

!«n  in  vogue  in  years  past,  but  today  the 

—-'■T   rcali/es   that   the   lietter   the   re- 

'iduced  by  himself  the  more  valua- 

services  are.     He  know*  thi^  he 

"   ^♦•r^   hi*   fellow   .i^^'"-i.T»»'*   t.^)"!.' 


•t  be  attained  by  following  up 
1>  referred  to. 
Agents  who  have  meritorious  arinlr* 
'  •-!<■  are  able  to  make  good  withoMt 
•o  bribe  the  engineer.  They  re.ili''- 
>w  inip<^«<ihle  it  would  Ix-  l<>  -!•>  i'  f  • 
fir  a^«<M  ijtion  with   cnginrrr<   !'a<   <■  ! 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

cated  them  to  the  realization  that  da- 
ncers are  as  honest  a  body  of  men  as 
exists  in  the  world  today  An  agent  win 
hesitate  before  f  rl]  a  worthless 

arti  Ic  by  any  s  !».  for  he  fully 

rcali/rs  that  the  law  is  waiting  for  hhn; 
he  a!»o  realizes  that  a  sale  made  under 
such  conditions  means  that  he  can  cootrol 
the  business  only  until  tome  other  man 
like  himself  underbids  him.  The  co«t  to 
a  firm  conducting  busin«M  tutder  the 
specified  conditions  is  beyond  reeompenac 
where  an  article  of  any  W'  Land 

the  sale  of  an  unworthy  ar-  Vjoed, 

as  it  would  work  a  senou«  injury  to  the 
man    recommending   the    purchase. 

The  attempt  to  belittle  the  competcncjr 
of  engineers  by  referring  to  them  as  non- 
technical, is  somewhat  modified  by  refer- 
ence to  their  practical  knowledge  received 
through  hard  knocks. 

Experience  has  told  th>-  " 

the  man  who  has  received  ; 
tion  is  the  man  to  employ,  n 
ijcsired.      Men    of    this    clas«  r 

tnin<l5  broadened  by  the  worM'i  greatest 
teacher.  While  they  have  no  sheepskin 
to  show  that  they  graduated  from  some 
engineering  college,  they  are  in  the  large 
majority  capable  of  giving  engineering  ad- 
vice about  the  installation  and  operation 
of  plants  that  will  be  worth  more  than 
that   given  by  the  tr  '  '     .• 

practical  experience. 
is   only   gained   by   the    work    r 
actual  operation  of  a  plant      Ir  ^ 

obtained  by  casual  observation,  or  trom 
a  few  days  spent  now  and  then  in  making 
some  test.  The  president  of  one  of  the 
largest  technical  schools  in  the  world  once 
said  that  they  did  not  turn  out  engineersi, 
but  simply  prepared  them,  and  out  of  the 
graduates  not  50  per  cent,  ever  became 
rnvjinrrrs  Thrrr  is  giHwl  rravifi  for  the 
.ih<>\c  stiitrmrnt,  for  iinlr»»  .i  •"-"  ^»% 
an  aptitude  for  engineering  hr 
be  a  success,  whether  he  be  i 
or  practical. 

The   technically   educated   man    has   an 
advantage  if  he  will  only  improve  it.    To 
do   so   he   must  of  necessity   start  at   the 
Kittom   of  the   ladder  and   work   hit  w»y 
through  the  hard  school  of  practKa' 
pencncr    and    with    th**    .i'1vsfn,<»rr 
early  training  he   wi!' 
in   advance   of   his   l<- 
and  be  a  far  better 
adapted    for   an  engr 
man  will  be  able  to  give  ' 

the  very  br'   *' **,  bu! 

men  are  wi'  irt  in  a  n 

tiiin    and    W"rk    >■<-•'     .s 
•  V  •"-       f     pr  j./ti'  jl     V 
A     educa' 
liy  ab*^r: 
press   and   '' 
i-i«tion*.     *> 
r   ,.i'  ! .    J   1  "Ic  mor«  cooperatwn  mt  th' 

„,..        ,f         ,.,        rninlMrrr         »>■»         «'»e        •?'■ 

•nfmtit  ni»  rii«ni»" 


The   propOMd    iriifi    •!    ■iiiiiiMiia 
voold  lead  to  the  ooopldc  coMrol  oi  tW 
rtriom  plasta.     A»  the  DamoSiIct  K...  ,i, 
csdedly  stated  that  ir 
the  cnginecrv  are  yf 
amiM   to  foppot' 

slightly   aCcCWd    ««•  ti«    m*-    utmr    unt       if 

IS  a  poMibdity  lo  to  MfcrrMc  tkal  tW 
cnplojrtac  ftra  voold  ia  •  tkori  space  of 
time  be  forced  to  expend  a  large  mbi  m 
bring  the  plant  hndi  to  its  past  cfcieao 
It  would  make  tto  dt€ercace  to  the  Mpar- 
^  -vld  bare  theirs  aad  ikai 

'>  'Adag  for.    It  it  no  eh^n. 

tabic  gamt,  )«nt  biMimw  «bidi  ibr>  ■  - 
trjrinc  to  obuin  bjr  fab*  reprvMrnai.^ 
It  is  a  terioos  propoMtioa  to  be  comsdcred 

by  engi— renrraJ  and  also  by  bMs- 

ness  t\-  ■  accepting  any  propoaals 

from  surr.  a  c-jncem  The  enginrrr  will 
be  forced  to  lower  his  sMf*AM  in  hfe  to 


•Kao 

:•>«  cunmtuA  Uborer  gcts^  Tbr  batsacas 
firm  which  enters  tnto  a  coairact  ariik 
tuch  a  company  will  be  badly  wtnt^  sad 
the  end  will  be  a  retora  »«  r.,..— 
methods.  A  compsteat  ««ine<-- 
Operation  on  the  pan  of  tbr  r»np»^'^*T 
makes  a  eombtaattoa  that  caaam  b« 
beaten 

T    S    KOAT. 

I.owell.  Maa*. 


Whai    Rcvcncd  the  PoUnty 


In   an*wer  to  the 
the   »h     '    ■'•'■  «~- 
•tale  t 


k  -     _  >.•- 


inqmry 


case    the    troaWt    iri  tM<t    oa 

attempting     to     itarf  tn     gw 

niorning 

-hutttng  dowiv  dw  to  a 
in  th*-  arwiatarr  or  1m^4 
e  rrvK  btne.  wbsch  CMwtt^  (He 
rop  B»or«  rapidly  oa  tbsa  nM 
«  tbe  olWr  WMi  aay  olbrr 
■«.  or  aay  oibrr 
.  Jl   Vi!s.   ibc 

M  matmnMf  bt  r»> 


i>»r4  nn  tr  iiiM>  lt«—  A**  c»«te  saai*      \s 


t     *   im^t 


K    Y 


126 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  12,  1909. 


The     Plunger     Hydraulic     Elevator 

Operation  of  the  Valves  in  the  "Standard"  Plunger  Freight  Elevator 
Clearly    Explained;    How    the   Lifting   Cylinder   is   Designed 

BY      WILLIAM      BAXTER,      j^. 


For  the  operation  of  freight  elevators 
the  Standard  Plunger  Elevator  Company 
provides  simple  hand-rope-operated  valves. 
These  valves  are  made  to  be  moved  by  a 
lever  if  the  car  speed  is  very  low,  by 
single-geared  rack  and  pinion  for  moder- 
ate speed  and  by  a  double-geared  rack  and 
pinion  for  high  velocity ;  they  are  also  of 
the  balanced  and  unbalanced  types.     An 


Unbalanced  Valve 


lo  Check 
V»lve 


FIG.  ■287 

unbalanced-type  valve  with  double-geared 
rack  and  pinion  is  shown  in  Fig.  287,  and 
a  balanced  valve  of  similar  design  in  Fig. 
288.  The  unbalanced  valve  is  not,  strictly 
speaking,  unbalanced;  it  is  only  so  when 
used  in  an  installation  where  the  dis- 
charge tank  is  located  higher  up  than  the 
valve.  Looking  at  Fig.  287  it  can  be  seen 
that  if  the  pressure  acting  upward  against 


the  under  side  of  piston  B  is  the  same  as 
the  pressure  acting  downward  on  piston 
D  the  valve  will  be  perfectly  balanced,  be- 
cause the  pressure  from  the  supply  tank 
acts  equally  against  the  under  side  of  D 
and  the  upper  side  of  C.  The  pressure  of 
the  atmosphere  acts  on  top  of  D,  and  if 
the  discharge  tank  is  on  a  level  with  the 
valve,  the  same  pressure,  or  nearly  so, 
will  act  under  B ;  therefore,  the  valve 
will  be  fully  balanced.  If,  however,  the 
discharge  tank  is  several  feet  above  the 
valve,  the  pressure  acting  under  B  will 
be  greater  than  that  acting  down  on  D, 
and  the  valve  will  not  be  fully  balanced. 
The  valve  in  Fig.  288  is  fully  balanced, 
no  matter  whether  there  is  a  back  pres- 
sure from  the  discharge  tank  or  not,  be- 
cause this  pressure  acts  equally  against 
the  under  side  of  piston  B  and  the  upper 
side  of  piston  A  ;  and  the  pressure  of  the 
atmosphere  acts  equally  against  the  under 
side  of  A  and  the  upper  side  of  D.  For 
slow-speed  cars  this  type  of  valve  is  bet- 
ter than  the  complicated  pilot  valve,  with 
its  accompanying  automatic  stop  valves, 
because  it  accomplishes  all  that  the  more 
complicated  and  expensive  construction 
can  accomplish  and,  being  far  more  sim- 
ple, is  not  as  liable  to  get  out  of  order. 
It  is  not  desirable  for  fast-running  eleva- 
tors, however,  because  the  movement  of 
the  car  cannot  be  controlled  with  as  great 
precision  by  means  of  the  hand  rope, 
owing  to  the  rapid  motion  of  the  car  and 
the  long  distance  through  which  the  rope 
has  to  be  pulled  to  effect  a  stop.  This  is 
the  only  advantage  of  the  pilot  valve  with 
car-lever  control.  With  it  a  fast-running 
car  can  be  stopped  even  with  the  floors 
of  the  building  by  anybody  after  a  few 
days'  practice,  but  with  the  hand-rope  con- 
trol only  the  most  experienced  car  opera- 
tors can  obtain  results  that  are  at  all 
satisfactory  in  large  office  buildings. 

Lifting-cylinder  Design 
The  casting  that  forms  the  upper  end 
of  the  lifting  cylinder  is  made  in  several 
designs  by  the  Standard  Plunger  Elevator 
Company,  one  design  being  shown  in  Fig. 
289,  which  is  a  vertical  sectional  view. 
The  main  casting  is  marked  /4  ;  at  B  is 
the  stuffing  box  and  C  is  the  upper  end  of 
the  top-pipe  section  of  the  cylinder.  The 
casting  A  is  provided  with  a  brass  sleeve 
D  that  fits  the  lifting  plunger  and  serves 
as  a  guide  for  it.  This  sleeve  fits  tightly 
at  the  upper  end  all  the  way  around  the 
circle,  but  at  the  lower  end  it  is  held 
in  the  central  position  by  means  of  radial 


webs  A'  A' ,  which  are  narrow  enough  to 
afford  free  passage  for  the  water  but  at 
the  same  time  firm  enough  to  give  the 
sleeve  proper  support.  Their  construc- 
tion is  more  clearly  shown  in  Fig.  290,  a 
horizontal  section  through  the  lower  end 
of  A  and  D.    The  stuffing  box  B  is  pro- 


FIG.  288 


vided  with  a  gland  E  pressed  down  by 
studs  F.  The  box  itself  is  secured  to  A 
by  studs  F'.  The  packing  may  be  of  hemp, 
or  any  good,  soft  packing  material,  but 
usually  a  special  design  of  double  cup 
packing  is  used.  The  stuffing  box  is  made 
with  a  rim  B'  which  forms  a  basin  to 
catch  any  water  that  may  leak  out  of  the 
cylinder.     A  drain  pipe  B"  is  tapped  in 


anuary  12,  igrr). 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


^^^! 


I J 


I       A 


!     I 


i! 


1 — ^ — r 


V 


/ 


i- 


ru:   380 


\ 


jn 


on  one  side  to  remove  the  water  a*  fast 

as  it  accumulate*. 

Fit?.   391    is  a  vertical    fection    of    the 

!■!■::. j.-r    r-r.'l    ■■.sr.\    in    .     ■  •  .—    -     ...   ■■     the 
,■  !  ■    ••"'    '    ;■    ■;  '  w.:.   r     :  ..     .  ■.,  rflfl 

1-    ::  .1  1.-    up   of    the    part*    A. 
I',  which  are  held  tORcther  by  a  I 
tral  bolt  G    The  upper  part  A  is  screwed 
into  the  lower  section  of  tif  nl"  -.-..r  /> 
The  parts  B.  D  and  F  are  .  htljr 

against  each  other  by  the  Uii  w  .11  i  nut 
C,  and  all  the«e  parts  are  held  firmljr 
against  A  by  screwing  the  end  of  (<'  into 
A,  as  shown.  The  part*  A  and  P  are 
made  of  cast  iron,  wl  •?   in 

time,  a^  thi^  part  of  t'  not 

-'■■     -  •     ' ■:•.'■■  ■■:.■  ■  the 

^-;.:::  •■    '   •■  ;.    ^t-'irg,    J-ikj     /--,  >  ac- 

count these  parts  are  incased  in  braM,  as 
shown  at  A'  and  E.  The  construction  of 
the  upper  part  A  is  simple,  bat  the 
part  B  is  better  illustrated  in  Figs. 
292,  293  and  294.  the  first  being  a  view 
similar  to  that  in  Fig.  iQi.  the  second  a 
horizontal  section  through  /.  /-  Ftp*  toi 
and  292,  and  the  third  another  • 
section   on   a   line  just   above  V. 


r 


lUywar 


rtc.  292 

Fig.  JQi.  This  piece,  it  will  be  noticed, 
has  four  holes  marked  B'  that  radiate 
from  a  central  opening  larger  in  diame- 
ter than  the  bolt  G  opposite  and  below 
these  holes.  Above  the  hole*  the  cen- 
ter hole  of  B  fit*    the    bolt    G    and    the 


rtc;   jgo 


latter   is  kept    fr 

II 

by   the 

two  keys  AT  A',  1 

i- 

The  part  D  i* 

Sliltpl)    J 

shaped   at   its   en 

d<    •.r>    'if 

tion    depending 

B  and  into  a   r' 

end  of  F,  thi*  c< 

to  bring  th-  •'^• 

. . .  _ 

G  i*  screwr 

the 

part 

A. 

a*    t-  a> 

'           ■'.  in   }  .k- 

-^ji       In 

th:« 

latt< 

rr   1''    • 

It  will  h* 

•  noticed 

that 

a  »<■?<•» 

t^  ruiJ 

the*e   1 

rrfrrrni  r   «• 

•0    all    1 

P* 

.-,     1       ^r          I 

in    h. 

hevr 

««. 

locked 

thereforr. 

f^e 

^--- 

turn,  but 

even  if  1 

n                »^<nio»< 

after  bf 

1: 

III               ••  ^ 

the  nut 

is   no* 

HI 

h 

J 


•  r  f  T  '  ' 


1       I 


128 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  12,  1909. 


are  disconnected  from  part  A.  The  lower 
casting  F  has  a  longitudinal  opening 
through  it  considerably  larger  than  the 
bolt  G,  and  this  opening  has  lateral  con- 
nections with  the  exterior  of  the  casting. 
As  the  part  D  is  also  hollow,  there  is  a 
free  passage  through  the  end  of  the 
plunger  from  the  bottom  of  the  casting  F 


Saturated  Air  as  a  Cooling  Agent 


FIG.   293 

to  the  holes  B' B'  in  the  part  B.  The 
object  of  this  construction  is  to  provide 
positi\''e  means  for  stopping  the  upward 
movement  of  the  elevator  car  before  it 
reaches  the  overhead  beams,  if  for  any 
reason  it  should  fail  to  stop  at  the  upper 
floor.  When  the  elevator  is  in  perfect 
running  order,  the  top  automatic  valve 
will  stop  the  car  even  with  the  upper 
floor  and  then  the  holes  B'  B'  will  be  some 
distance  below  the  stuffing  box  in  Fig. 
289,  but  if  the  stop  valve  fails  to  operate 
and  the  car  continues  upward,  it  will  not 
rise  far  enough  to  strike  the  overhead 
beams  before  the  holes  B'  will-  pass  above 
the  stuffing  box,  the  water  in  the  cylin- 
der will  find  an  outlet  and  the  plunger 
will  rise  no  farther. 


By  Arthur  Pennell 


Whenever  it  is  desired  to  liquefy  steam 
or  other  condensable  vapor,  some  cooling 
agent   must   be   employed    which    has    the 


FIG.  294 


ability  to  absorb  the  heat  evolved  by  such 
condensation  and  act  as  a  vehicle  for  its 
disposition  by  some  natural  means.  Cold 
water,  the  most  obvious  agent  for  the  pur- 
pose, is  often  unattainable  or  too  expen- 
sive. Air,  which  is  omnipresent  in  unlim- 
ited quantity,  also  possesses  properties 
which  render  it  an  efficient  cooling  agent. 

Some  Properties  of  Air 

Absolutely  dry  air  does  not  exist  in  the 
lower  strata  of  the  atmosphere.  It  always 
carries,  mechanically  mixed  with  it,  more 
or  less  water  vapor.  Air  is  said  to  be 
saturated  with  water  vapor  when  a  cubic 
foot  thereof  consists  of  a  cubic  foot  of 
water  vapor  at  the  elasticity  due  to  the 
temperature  and  a  cubic  foot  of  dry  air 
whose  elasticity  is  the  difference  between 
the  barometric  pressure  and  the  elastic- 
ity of  the  water  vapor.  The  humidity  of 
such  air  is  100  per  cent.  The  two  mixed 
form  one  cubic  foot  of  saturated  air  at 
barometric  pressure. 

Everybody  must  have  witnessed  a  white 
fog  in  a  valley  on  a  bright  summer  morn- 


FIG.     I.     surface  condenser    USING  AIR  AS  COOLING  AGENT 


FIG.    2.     SINGLE  UNIT  OF  PENNELL  FLASK-TYPE  STEAM  CONDENSER 


ing.  The  air  in  the  fog  must  have  been 
completely  saturated  inasmuch  as  minute 
vesicles  of  liquid  water  were  visibly  float- 
ing therein.  As  the  sun  rose  higher  and 
higher,  the  fog  gradually  dissipated.  Suffi- 
cient heat  had  arrived  both  to  vaporize  the 
liquid  vesicles  and  warm  the  air  suffici- 
ently to  be  able  to  absorb  it.  If,  at  such 
moment,  the  shade  temperature  was  62  de- 
grees Fahrenheit  and  the  barometric  pres- 
sure 29.92  inches  of  mercury,  each  cubic 
foot  of  such  air  would  have  weighed  0.0761 
pound  and  consisted  of  a  cubic  foot  of 
water  vapor  at  an  elasticity  of  0.556  inch 
of  mercury  weighing  0.000881  pound,  and  8 
cubic  foot  of  dry  air  at  an  elasticity  of  29.9^ 
— 0.556  inches  of  mercury,  weighing  0.074; 
pound.  Further,  each  pound  of  dry  aii 
present  would  have  carried  0.01179  pounf 
of  water  vapor.  By  noon,  we  will  assume 
the  shade  temperature  had  risen  to  82  de 
grees  Fahrenheit.  The  air  was  no  longe 
saturated  but  carried  the  same  load  0 
water  vapor  in  a  state  of  superheat.  I 
such   air  had  the   opportunity  of  passinj 


January  12,  1909. 

over  a  wet,  hot  surface,  it  would  absorb 
water  vapor  at  the  expense  of  the  heat  of 
Ihe  surface.  Should  it  succeed  in  saturat- 
ing itself  with  such  water  vapor  at  82 
degrees,  the  pound  of  dry  air  would  be 
mixed  with  0.02361  pound  of  water  vapor 
and  would  have  absorbed  o.oiiSj  pound 
of  water  vapor  from  the  hot,  wet  surface 
A  familiar  practical  example  of  the  fore- 
going occurs  whenever  a  freshly  sprinkled 
street  pavement  is  drying  under  a  hot 
breeze. 

Some  Test  Data 
Fig.  !  shows  sections  of  one  of  a  pair  of 
condensers  using  saturafinc  air  as  a  cx)!- 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


110 


Arera«e  noftin  prwuf*  •!  anctn*  t»wt. 


ring 

-Alrf 

..tilt 


•if*    t 

WTHf 


trmiXTftturr 


T«-*m   <t)tl.lr«l 

of   ttcki 


dty  wsir: 


1J»  • 
IS  U 

mi 
lu  4 

I0« 

0  I 

«7 

71.&M 

in  ft 

012.060 

i»ii  a 

SI.IM 


Cam  af  warn  tm  MO  fiHafnt  t,v^. 
tor  M  teWK.  anAr 


AMomt-r    - 
from  the 
75  degree*   } 
and  ih#  mvul*-- 


bcing 
'  ml  a 


icmpcntare  of 
•o  fccc 


Vfrmfit   ^69175  poonds 


ndred  indkaicd  kone- 

■  )  will  reqvirt 

65076  pounds  of    rircvbtiac    water    per 

hour;    or.    1^00.75    pottadt    per    aiavtc; 

liffinff  lott  poond*  per  ■unoie  woold  r»- 

quire  I  i2  bof«cpower ;  adding  90  per  ccM. 

for    friction.    1  qB   hoeMpowcr.   vllidi  m 

15  cents  per  horsepovcr  lor  tw«at]r-fMr 

•ft  J9.7  rents. 

of  irapor  at  iIm  foiidiiim 

;-      -rr,  IJJ.7  degrees  Fakrcnbett  i* 

r»  ..f  m<-renry.  whidi  dedacted 

'iroaieter  r  to  ding  for 

.-...   -.-.,-.  ...J»e«.    show*    the    ideal 

•m  would  be  34-733  inclwa;  kovrrer. 

deaJ  is  impoMible  to  obtain  bjr  mm- 

cal  means.  Abooi  aiM  iadm  rfiBiild 

A  under  best  coodiliuns. 

■«  noted  that  the  total  weigfit  of 

!.  condensed  at    a    tinipinfre    of 

degrees     Fahrmbeit.     «ii     rt.yfo 

rounds.     The  coo  '  'Ceded 

^    the   atmospherv  '    ^gp 

feet,   or   ji.i$i>  poun'!  rt. 

"' "'irbl     of     water    atmotpftrncaJljr 

was  only  4J.5  per  ceai  of  the 

tke  steam  conditMsJ     This  rt* 

-  (inrr*4>nr«fH  %m  flic  resoll  of 


The   amount    of    steam 

v:arr    f -   «    .  f   tiirfacc  per  kour   waS  iO!0 

eMMSMBg  temperatnra 

-W.l-      .1.-       ,       ,^ 

•er 

<-r  iqaar*  Inof  ol  tnr> 

*rtmce. 

-i  witk 

ine  to  j9  ic««  of  fine 

-r     Manifestly,  to  ok> 


ble  of  s 


riG     3       AW    ICE-PtANT    l>l«TAU.\TIOM   OF  TBI   rSKKKU.  COI«Oai«»»a 

ins  agent,  erected  on  the  premise*  of  the     Av»r««»  smouni  OMd  psr  mlBui'  •■ 
Armour     Packmg    '  - .,    of    Kanu* 

Citv.     Thev  were    '  ■  condcn»r,  at 


i  10  U.U      100   det 

IIO0  4M      * 

MO  7« 


-«g  ogwed  foe  a 

thss  tyfe  of  ca»* 

for    rnailiniMH 

these    vapors   ar> 

• '  gtng  from  oesBW 

nlMM  to  over  600  do- 


I  t<il.il  <>i  aW'fUt   iiuu  l)<>i  "((I  >M€r.     .\^ 
of  them,  while  clean.  w.t>    iM-'  tn  prr 

form    the   duly,    and    a    cmi. 

wa^  iM-iiiif  in«iAllrd,  the  secu: 

equipji..!  t tilr-TMe  the  steam  from  tin 

comtKHiiHl  ciiititir     The  re»ultt  nf    

hour  tr>t    follow,  this  condrn^rr 


I  I 


Fig    •  lapitssts  a 


««ki    UJm^ 


tW*  of 


ilie  lar    swd    o«    iiw    u^    twy. 


at    4    kpccd    of    45    rcvoUiUuu*    per    nun 
ate: 


130 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  12,  1909. 


a  thin  sheet  over  the  surface,  thoroughly 
wetting  it  down,  to  be  received  in  a  col- 
lecting trough  and  thence  into  a  catch  can, 
from  which  the  circulating  pump  returns 
it  to  the  distributing  system  on  the  top. 

Conditions  were  such  that  only  10- 
minute  tests  were  practicable,  the  results 
of  one  of  which  is  appended : 


c 

i 
a 

OQ 

© 
1 

9 

OS 

•a  MO 

gfe"S 
•0  a^ 

r 

CO 

13     . 

It  . 

ft? 

a| 

a.  a 
E-iO 

10 

24 

6 

3 

183 

150 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  circulating 
water  reached  a  temperature  of  183  de- 
grees or  19  degrees  below  that  of  the  con- 
densing steam  inside.  In  this  case,  the 
surface  was  new  and  absolutely  clean. 
Calculation  shows  that  416.4  B.t.u.  were 
transmitted  per  hour  per  square  foot  for 
each  degree  of  difference.  Further,  the 
amount  of  water  required  to  "make  good" 
will  be  noted.  The  atmospheric  vaporiza- 
tion was  50  per  cent,  of  the  amount  of 
condensation  water  delivered.  In  this 
case  the  steam  came  direct  from  the 
boiler  and  was  probably  more  nearly  dry 
than  in  the  other  test.  The  amount  of 
"make  good"  water  varies  with  the  weather 
conditions,  probably  ranging  from  33  per 
cent,  in  zero  weather  to  66  per  cent,  in 
hot,  dry  summer  weather. 


Power  Transmission  in  Great 
Britain 


By  W.  H.  Booth 


A  paper  read  some  time  ago  by  Mr. 
Snell  before  the  Institution  of  Electrical 
Engineers  in  London  appears  to  be  the 
first  public  recognition  by  an  electrical 
engineer  that  the  electrical  transmission 
of  energy  has  limits  to  its  commercial 
application.  The  fact  that  electrical  driv- 
ing of  machinery  can  very  often  be  shown 
to  have  effected  enormous  economies  and 
often  to  have  resulted  in  better  work  and 
improved  output  has  too  frequently  been 
confounded  with  electrical  -  transmission 
economies.  In  order  to  transmit  elec- 
tricity a  power  plant  must  be  laid  down 
consisting  of  steam  engines  and  boilers 
much  in  excess  of  the  power  sold,  and  of 
costly  electrical  generators  also  in  excess 
of  the  power  sold,  for  there  must  be  a 
plant  to  make  up  the  various  losses  of 
transformation  and  transmission.  But  the 
power  user  may  himself  be  in  as  good  a 
position  to  manufacture  electricity  as  is 
the  big  supply  station  and  the  power  user 
can  adopt  electric  driving  just  as  easily  as 
if  he  purchased  current.  In  Great  Britain 
electricity  has  been  attempted  to  be  trans- 


mitted to  users  who  are  themselves  as 
well  placed  in  respect  of  fuel  as  is  the 
power  station,  and  whose  load  factor  is 
far  superior  to  the  best  load  factor  ever 
yet  obtained  by  any  power  station.  Power- 
transmission  enthusiasts,  encouraged  by 
the  economy  of  electric  driving  of  the  iso- 
lated scattered  machinery  of  an  iron- 
works, a  shipyard  or  a  system  of  docks, 
have  imagined  they  could  obtain  equal 
economies  in  driving  cotton  -  spinning 
mills,  with  their  steady  loads  and  load 
factors  of  92  per  cent.,  and  they  have 
overlooked  a  most  important  factor  of  the 
problem. 

Excepting  only  a  few  of  the  warmer 
days  of  summer,  a  spinning  mill  requires 
to  be  constantly  warmed  by  artificial  heat. 
Approximately  one-tenth  of  the  heat  value 
of  all  the  coal  burned  for  power  appears 
as  heat  in  the  factory,  for  practically  no 
worl?  gets  out  of  the  factory  and  all  the 
power  taken  by  the  machinery  appears  as 
heat,  and,  in  really  hot  weather,  provides 
more  heat  than  is  wanted.  But  every 
night,  Sundays,  and  all  the  time  for  three- 
fourths  of  the  year,  there  must  be  addi- 
tional steam  heat  which  the  mill  owner 
must  generate  in  boilers,  no  matter  how 
he  obtains  his  main  power.  Thus,  if  he 
purchase  transmitted  electrical  power,  he 
must  still  have  a  couple  of  boilers.  Even 
if  small,  he  must  pay  a  fireman,  build  a 
chimney,  and  must  pay  for  main  power, 
to  a  profit-making  company,  so  much  per 
unit  as  will  pay  that  company  for  the  coal 
they  burn  in  generating  electricity  at  a 
poor  load  factor,  and  for  the  large  capital 
sunk  in  transmission  lines.  Now  it  is  not 
possible  under  equal  fuel  conditions  for 
any  such  power  station  to  compete  with  a 
steady  load  of  1000  indicated  horsepower 
produced  by  the  user's  own  plant;  for  the 
cost  of  the  user's  plant  is  not  more  than 
the  cost  of  the  plant  at  the  power  station 
per  1000  horsepower,  and  there  is  no 
costly  transmission  line.  The  user  practi- 
cally saves  nothing  in  wages,  for  he  must 
have  a  heating  plant,  and  he  can  borrow 
money  at  4  per  cent,  on  bonds  or  deben- 
tures, and  that  is  less  than  the  usual  in- 
terest that  power-transmission  companies 
have  to  pay  for  borrowed  capital. 

Cotton  factories  in  Great  Britain  are 
very  usually  placed  along  canals  for 'the 
benefit  of  condensing  water  and  there 
seems  no  reason  why  a  group  of  mills 
should  not  obtain  power  from  a  common 
power  station  near  to  each  member  of  the 
group ;  so  near,  in  fact,  that  artificial 
heat  would  be  supplied  from  the  same 
center,  thus  saving  every  mill  the  ex- 
pense of  boilers  and  chimney  and  the 
wages  also,  for  one  fireman  at  a  central 
station  could  probably  supply  heating 
steam  for  a  dozen  mills.  The  load  fac- 
tor of  the  central  station  would  be  better 
than  that  of  any  one  of  the  factories  and 
might  be  95  per  cent. 

Ordinary  central  power  stations  owe 
their  poor  load  factors  of  25,  30  or  40  per 
cent,  to  the  very  bad  load  factors  of  their 


very  few  customers.  The  central-station 
man  goes  to  the  little  user  and  says :  "I 
can  supply  power  for  4  cents  per  unit 
which  costs  you  12  cents."  So  the  little 
man  says  he  will  take  it  and  then  there 
begins  an  attempt  to  explain  the  maximum 
demand  system  of  charging.  The  little 
man  goes  away  from  the  interview  under- 
standing that  his  current  will  cost  any- 
where from  4  to  16  cents,  more  probably 
the  latter,  but  that  he  may  hope  to  ap- 
proach but  never  get  down  to  the  former 
figure  if  he  will  keep  the  small  drill  and 
the  forge  fan  at  work  from  7  to  9;  run 
two  light  lathes  from  9  to  11,  the  big  lathe 
on  a  light  cut  from  ii  to  12,  warm  the 
shop  and  boil  coffee  from  12  to  i,  and  so 
on  throughout  the  day,  endeavoring  to 
keep  a  steady  load  all  day  with  no  peak  in 
it.  The  result  is  he  does  not  become  a  cus- 
tomer, nor  do  four  thousand  other  little 
would-be  users  of  current,  all  of  whom 
the  central-station  man  insists  upon  fining 
heavily  because  he  himself  has  failed  to 
grasp  the  true  essentials  of  successful 
business.  Every  electrical  supplier  ought 
to  receive  some  training  in  an  insurance 
office  so  that  he  may  grasp  the  significance 
of  the  great  laws  of  average. 

There  are  four  thousand  Httle  users 
with  perhaps  20,000  horsepower  of  plant, 
and  if  the  power  station  could  get  hold 
of  them  all  they  would  give  perhaps  a 
load  factor  of  80  per  cent,  on  a  plant  of 
500  or  1000  horsepower  and  current  could 
be  sold  at  a  flat  rate  of  6  cents  to  every 
little  user. 

Power  users  differ  from  light  users,  for 
light  users  practically  use  light  at  the 
same  moment,  and  numbers  do  not  greatly 
reduce  the  abnormal  peak  load.  This  can 
only  be  dealt  with  by  an  enormous  plant 
excess  above  average  demand,  or  of  a 
system  of  cheap  storage  such  as  the  gas 
people  possess.  It  is  certain  that  the 
paltry  little  power  stations  of  small 
municipalities  cannot  be  expected  to  com- 
pete with  a  user's  own  plant  when  there 
is  the  added  difficulty  of  heat  supply  to 
contend  with,  nor  can  big  stations  success- 
fully supply  current  to  large  users  with  a 
high  load  factor.  These  facts,  combined 
with  the  paralyzing  effect  of  the  maximum 
demand  system  of  charging,  and  the  too 
optimistic  views  of  power-distribution 
companies,  have  brought  the  business  to 
its  present  poor  condition.  Power  sta- 
tions have  even  been  put  up  to  sell  cur- 
rent to  coal  mines  and  others  who  had 
their  own  plant  and  simply  purchased  any 
excess  power  they  happened  to  require. 
Coal-burning  stations  have  been  erected 
to  produce  power  in  the  middle  of  a  lot 
of  blast  furnaces  whose  waste  gases 
would  have  been  equal  to  the  supply  of 
many  times  the  power. 

The  paper  of  Mr.  Snell  much  resembles 
a  bomb  in  the  camp,  for  it  points  out  to 
electrical  engineers  facts  against  which 
they  have  shut  their  eyes  and  ears, 
and  which  have  finally  compelled  recog- 
nition. 


January  12,  1909. 


Potblyn.  P.  D. 


By  John  Watson 


No  institution  of  learning  had  ever 
fiven  him  permission  to  write  M.  D., 
Ph.  D.,  or  anything  else  after  his  name, 
icverthelcss  the  school  of  hard  knocks, 
:ommon  sense  and  experience  had  surely 
fiven  him  the  right  to  sign  his  name 
'Potblyn  P.  D."  Do  not  suggest  the  addi- 
ion  of  "Q"  to  the  title,  for  the  old  "Doc" 
was  not  noted  for  the  celerity  of  his 
novcments,  but,  on  the  contrary,  was 
rathrr  slow-going  and  took  his  time  to 
;hink  things  out  before  applying  his  pre- 
(criptions.  "P.  D."  stands  for  pump  doc- 
tor, and  Potblyn  has  been  applying  his 
remedies  to  sick  and  complaining  pumps 
For  many  years,  and  his  usually  success- 
ful  diagnosis   and   treatment    of    a    case 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

line.  On  reaching  the  pump  room  00c 
would  thmk  that  pumps  were  the  leaM 
of  all  his  interests.  Vou  all  know  the 
kind  of  cheery,  old  family  doctor  who, 
when  he  enters  a  sick  room,  starts  a  gen- 
eral conversation  on  the  topics  of  the  day. 
meanwhile  studying  the  patient  out  of  the 
corner  of  his  eye.  So  "Doc**  would 
leisurely  take  off  his  coat  and  start  talk- 
ing politics  or  prize  fights,  or  anything 
hut  pumps.  His  eyes  and  ears  were  all 
wide  upcn,  taking  ever)-thing  in  and  %u 
ing  up  the  situation  so  at  to  have  some 
idea  of  where  the  trouble  lay  before  be 
made  any  move.  He  was  a  "wise  old 
guy,"  for  when  he  did  get  started  he 
generally  had  something  to  go  on  and 
gave  the  impression  that  he  knew  ju«t 
what  he  was  about,  where  the  trouble  wat 
located  and  how  to  fix  it. 

We  always  used  to  look  forward  to  the 
return  of  "Doc"  from  one  of  his  trouble 


HOW   THE  PUMP   WAS   CDNKICT«I>   OP 


surely  entitle  him  to  some  sort  of  a  doc- 
tor's  degree. 

We    have    had    "troublemen"    working 
tor  the  concern,  whose  idea  of  fixing  an 
"    '     Tory  pump  was  to  go  at   it  the 
with  wrench  and  hammer,  open 
sl.iin  anmnd,  an<l  give  a  ijreat   im- 
lon  of  being   bu*y   an<l   dmng   some- 
Old      Doc's'    mcth*Kl    was    quite 
'cnt.      He   might    be   sent   to   a   plant 
where   everyone,    from   manager    to   nijer, 
wa«  swearing  at  a  pump  that  appeared  to 
be  iiu.ipable  of  performing  the  service  for 
which  it   W.1*  IxMighl.  and  perhaps  it  was 
pounding  and  flamming  and  making  noise 
ich    to    disturb    the    whole    nciulibor- 
!      "Doc"  would  •aimler  in   jirr^rnt  his 
and  have  a  rl'       ■ 
to  meet  you"  i 
<'i; Tintendrnl,  chief  enKi"'*er  and  rvcry- 
■  tr     he     met     a«     he     pa<»rd     down     the 


trips,  for  he  alway«  came  up  in  the  draw* 
ini,'   •  ' 

cut. 
his 

valua.  . 

which   should  be  covered  m  lulure  con- 
structions.    It  was    a    rather    poor    tnp 
when  "Doc"  did  not  "invent**  something 
,»n«l  ■ 
I  r. 
hi*  ' 
he   ;• 

whKh   later   r 
nun.  when  w^ 
hear  hit  stoT) 
We  had  a 
dirrd  acting  i 


IS» 


aod  everybody  frooi  dMef  intwiiii  to 
blueprint  bojr  look  a  shoe  at  tbc  sotetka 
of  the  dificolty.  We  snu  tbcoi  a  ■«»• 
ber  of  socKcatioiM  as  to  the  caoae  aad 

r..M.,u    1.,..  ,11  ^,.i_i  ..    .....  reliel     W« 

afefaOy  (•• 

*•-     i:\-:.^:a  t.     DUI     CUUIO     lUM]    OOlhfllg    m 

the  destirn  that  woold  aeeoMH  for  fW 
troul '  - n  was  caOcd  iMo  tW 

.tnd   .  .c  had  any  mtggmiamt 

"iirr     No*  a  sMBcaL 

Can  yon   fix   it?"  Mid  th<-   nvBnavrr 

-Yes."  replied  "Doe  " 
•TTienir 
until  yxM  . 

".V" 


"•*  and  <]<«)  T  cr-mr  oack 


tance,  it 

I.-  .•,.   . 


ifidefwe    of   yovth    wooM 
■tnd  although  it  invohrad  • 

-fKe  of 


'.  »tAi- 
<iiu   n\   4»   rir    i<r:n,j   'hrta,  bol 
'•Mtt   a  remedy      Thu  was   fol- 
'>g  an  of  hia 
He  opened 
'ft  *nd  eaanuned  tiM 
lost  motian."  pnmptd 
'nber,  pot  on  a  larsw 
■Qcd  the  cushion  fv- 
l(a«e.  \ar  rd  up  and  down,  and 

tried  e\cr  •   »--   — k!  conceira. 

lie  toolc  !    tent  them 

hooir  if  rations     They  ap- 

pear' t  and  ve  had  no  fnr- 


beitan    to 

kind   nf 


dcr%      We  had  it  a' 


iscoaraged"   and 

"nociM  poena 

1  pii'ir^M  and  valrti 

•on   f  or  tht 

'     «K«p    «t 


gn  imo  ibt 


4 


A   c 
cr««tin» 


ieikrs  here  get 

f.-I.- 


-Ynn 


nm    pnwr     w0  CBMf 


rtf!ai«  tiui  go  vMi  N .  yon  f 

I  go  down  m  tht  shop  and  < 

«    %a:uAU<     e««f>UHiy    down   thert  a   lool   and   tl 

iy  anjuoos  to     |1|  come  Uch  and  tefl  yon  al  aham  1 

Wt  cornrrvd  hin^  however,  and  nn 

^A  ^tn.irr>t,nm      Stni  trll  hi*  MoTy      Me  hnd  In  Itl  ■  • 
awd  thrr*  wna  no  wm  tfy^ag 


in    .j'l   .       ■. 

conid  do  the 


They    wrote    j'- 


an   I.,   lKt.«    Cktrt    •' 

*4  « 
.<rm*fm%  wh*rh  h»  hnd  triad 


132 


finally   reached   the   point  where   he   said 
that  he  was  ready  to  give  up. 

"I  sat  down  on  the  floor  that  afternoon 
with  my  back  against  the  wall  and  as  I 
smoked  my  after-dinner  twofer  I  watched 
that  cussed  pump  run  down  and  bang  on 
the  end  of  every  stroke.  I  wasn't  much 
like  the  gay  lad  that  came  in  there  a  week 
before  confident  that  he  could  fix  anything 
on  earth.  I  was  homesick.  I  wanted  to 
see  mama.  I  thought  of  all  the  gay  and 
happy  children  at  home,  and  there  was  I 
and  there  was  that  damn  pump.  The  engi- 
neers cast  pitying  smiles  on  me  as  they 
passed.  Talk  about  your  markdowns,  I 
felt  like  a  left-over  from  a  rummage  sale. 
I  was  staring  across  the  room  without  see- 
ing an3thing  in  particular,  when  some- 
how my  eye  fixed  itself  on  a  piece  of  pipe 
leading  from  the  high-pressure  exhaust 
connection.  Unconsciously  my  eyes  fol- 
lowed it  to  its  other  connection  and,  say, 
the  light  that  broke  on  me  had  Luna  Park 
illumination  'skinned  a  mile.'  I  wanted  to 
kick  myself,  but  I  thought  I  had  better 
hold  oflF  until  I  found  out  whether  the 
light  was  a  real  beacon  or  only  another 
lightning  bug.  I  couldn't  do  anything 
until  the  pump  was  shut  down,  but  I  did 
cheer  up  some,  voted  myself  a  fresh  cigar 
and  went  out  and  threw  stones  at  the 
frogs. 

"Soon  as  they  shut  the  pump  down  I 
went  at  it,  broke  a  union,  took  out  a  sec- 
tion of  pipe,  put  in  a  valve,  and  had  it  all 
done  before  the  engineer  got  onto  what  I 
was  doing.  You  bet  I  was  on  hand  when 
he  started  up  in  the  morning  and,  say, 
that  darned  old  shebang  started  off  and 
ran  just  as  nice  and  quiet  as  a  rubber- 
tired  baby  carriage  when  the  kid's  asleep. 

"Not  a  bang,  not  a  murmur ;  she's  all 
right  from  then  on,  but  as  I  may  have 
remarked  you're  a  lot  of  blasted  idiots  not 
to  have  known  what  was  the  matter,  and 
I'm  another  not  to  have  found  it  sooner. 
Some  chump  put  in  a  bleeder  for  live 
steam  to  the  low-pressure  cylinders  to 
use  in  starting.  That's  all  right  and 
worked  all  right,  for  we  had  to  use  it  to 
start  up,  but  the  fourteen  kinds  of  a  fool 
connected  it  as  shown  in  this  drawing. 
[See  sketch.]  He  put  in  only  one  valve 
at  A  and  he  connected  the  two  branches 
into  the  high-pressure  exhaust  pipes,  thus 
forming  a  cross  exhaust  from  B  to  C.  It 
was  only  a  ij^-inch  pipe  on  a  26-inch 
cylinder,  but  it  was  just  enough  to  make 
all  of  the  trouble  and  cost  the  company 
some  hundreds  of  dollars.  I  put  an  angle 
valve  in  place  of  the  elbow  between  C 
and  D  and  fixed  the  whole  trouble.  Now, 
if  the  cheerful  idiot  that  did  it  will  come 
outside  we  will  kick  each  other  and  feel 
better." 

But,  alas,  "the  cheerful  idiot  that  did  it" 
had  "graduated"  shortly  after  laying  out 
the  piping  for  that  job.  He  should  have 
known  better  than  to  make  such  a  con- 
nection, but  he  slipped  up  on  it  somehow 
and  it  was  such  a  comparatively  small 
pipe  that  in  checking  the  drawings  and  in 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

erecting  the  pump  it  escaped  notice.  It 
probably  would  not  have  made  any  trou- 
ble but  for  the  fact  that  it  happened  to 
be  on  a  compound  pump  handling  a  large 
quantity  of  water  against  a  low  head.  The 
momentum  of  the  water  column  is  liable 
to  cause  trouble  under  such  conditions 
and  this  crossover  connection,  or  "cross 
exhaust"  as  pump  men  call  it,  added  just 
enough  power  at  the  end  of  the  stroke  to 
overcome  the  cushion  and  make  the  pis- 
tons strike  the  heads. 

Do  you  wonder  that  special  instructions 
were  issued  to  all  draftsmen  to  look  out 
for  all  possible  cross-exhaust  connec- 
tions however  small? 

Potblyn  had  "solved  the  mystery"  and 
gained  a  reputation.  His  telegram  has 
become  a  byword  in  the  shop  and  when- 
ever a  pump  gives  trouble  we  suggest  to 
Potblyn  that  we  have  another  mystery  for 
him  to  solve.  He  is  very  good  at  it  and 
is  particularly  keen  to  spot  a  cross-exhaust 
connection,  even  if  it  is  only  where  some 
engineer  has  failed  to  put  the  necessary 
valves  in  his  cylinder-drip  piping. 


January  12,  1909. 


I 


Some  Queer  Definitions 


By  J.    E.    WOODWELL 


Someone  has  said,  "There  is  nothing 
new  under  the  sun."  It  is  certain  that 
this  person  never  had  the  pleasure  and 
the  enlightenment  which  comes  from  the 
perusal  of  civil-service  examination  pa- 
pers. Those  who  have  had  this  privilege 
have  learned  many  new  things,  and  the 
end  is  not  yet.  If  originality  is  a  desira- 
ble quality  in  electricians  and  engineers, 
Uncle  Sam  has  an  abundance  of  good  ma- 
terial to  select  from.  The  writer  has  fre- 
quently drawn  up  technical  examination 
questions,  and  later  in  reading  the  re- 
plies has  made  many  startling  discoveries, 
some  of  which  should  prove  interesting 
to  the  profession. 

Noah  Webster  was  not  a  mechanical 
engineer,  but  we  prefer  his  definitions  to 
some  of  those  given  by  candidates  for  the 
title.  For  instance,  a  toggle  joint  is 
variously  described  as :  "An  imperfect 
joint,"  "a  bad  joint,"  "a  substantial 
'soldier'  joint,"  "a  peculiar  connection 
used  in  bringing  two  ends  of  the  con- 
ductor together  or  making  it  as  one  con- 
ductor ;  the  combination  of  splicing  of 
two  ends,"  "toggle  joints  are  used  on 
flexible  shafts  and  on  corner  braces  such 
as  electricians  use." 

The  definitions  of  an  eccentric  are  even 
more  eccentric  than  the  object  itself.  We 
are  of  the  opinion  that  the  ^entire  engine 
would  be  eccentric  under  the  following 
conditions :  "Eccentrics  are  used  on  en- 
gines, air  compressors,  and  'varies'  other 
machines,  and  is  generally  connected  to 
the  piston  rod."  Lest  any  of  the  readers 
should  be  ignorant  of  the  connection,  we 
will  give  this  man's  explanation  of  how 
it  is  done:    "A  bell-crank  lever  is  used  to 


connect  the  piston  rod  of  an  engine  to  the 
eccentric."  Another  who  described  eccen- 
tric as  meaning  "lively ;  full  of  energy," 
possibly  had  in  mind  this  same  appli- 
cation. 

There  is  evidently  a  difference  of  opin- 
ion regarding  the  bell-crank  lever.  A  cer- 
tain individual  states  that  it  serves  to 
give  a  "Double  or  'thrible'  motion."  Still  * 
another  definition  is  that  "A  bell-crank  I 
lever  is  a  lever  shaped  like  a  bell ;  a  lever 
used  to  ring  a  bell." 

In  answer  to  the  question :  "Describe 
the  construction  of  a  self-oiling  bearing 
on  a  motor  or  dynamo,"  this  response  was 
received :  "Have  the  oil  cup  full  of  oil 
with  a  small  plug  in  the  outlet."  We  feel 
morally  certain  that  this  man  does  not 
own  stock  in  the  Standard  Oil  Company. 

The  public  should  not  be  deprived  of 
the  benefits  of  the  information  contained 
in  the  statements  that : 

"Armature  cores  are  laminated  to  sepa- 
rate each  layer  of  wires.  The  disks  ex- 
tend outwardly." 

"Armature  cores  are  laminated  for  their 
magnetic  influence  on  the  field  coils.  The 
disks  extend  relatively  to  the  north  and 
south  poles." 

"They  are  laminated  in  order  to  make 
the  break  between  the  positive  and  nega- 
tive poles." 

"Armature  cores  are  laminated  so  as 
to  give  them  more  surface  to  'effect'  the 
magnetic." 

The  man  who  said  that  an  idle  pulley 
is  "One  that  remains  idle  on  the  shaft" 
did  not  venture  far  into  mechanics.  An- 
other replies,  "Idle  pulley :  where  the  belt 
should  run  when  the  machine  wants  to  be 
stopped."  This  machine  is  evidently  en- 
dowed with  greater  intelligence  than  the 
operator. 

The  author  of  one  of  the  descriptions 
of  a  bushing  mat  possesses  a  fine  legal 
mind,  but  displays  a  decided  lack  of  train- 
ing. It  reads  thus :  "A  bushing  is  a 
mechanical  term  used  to  designate  the 
part  that  fits  into  another  part  to  sepa- 
rate the  third  part  that  may  or  may  not 
go  into  the  bushing;  or,  in  other  words, 
it  is  the  part  that  separates  two  parts 
which  fit  into  one  another  either  tightly  or 
closely." 

The  man  who  described  a  circular  mil 
as,  "A  round  cutter  or  a  cutter  that  cuts 
while  revolving,  as  a  saw  or  milling  cut- 
ter," was  more  of  a  machinist  than  an 
electrician ;  but  the  man  who  described  it 
as  "A  table  used  in  determining  a  certain 
value  of  electric  current  representing  a 
part  of  one  ohm,"  has  not  yet  found  his 
calling. 

In  this  practical  age  seeing  is  believing, 
and  a  certain  applicant  in  describing  an 
ampere-turn  said :  "It  is  something  I 
never  saw  on  a  motor."  Here  are  other 
definitions  of  the  same  term : 

"Ampere-turn  is  used  to  measure  the 
voltage  with." 

"Ampere-turn  is  the  turn  given  in  its 
rotation  around  the  armature." 


January  12,  1909. 

"Ampere-turn  :  number  of  coils  wound 
on." 

"Ampcrc-tum  is  the  power  obtained  by 
the  resistance  of  a  volt." 

"A  turn  that  the  amperes  take  in  a  re- 
sistance coil  to  reduce  the  'amprereage'." 

"Ampere-turn  is  the  number  of  turns 
of  wire  on  the  armature." 

There  is  room  for  a  difference  of  opin- 
ion in  most  of  our  human  affairs,  and 
there  is  always  a  chance  for  intelligent 
men  to  vary  in  their  statements,  but  it  is 
hard    to    reconcile    all    the    following    de- 


POVVER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


pies  from  a  great  number 
"passed  them  up"  for  th^ 
all  persona  interested 


and     three- foofllM     tars 


Pressure  on  the  Excenlrk   aiuJ 
Crank  Pin 


By  M.  R.  Cauy 


Fig.  I  shows  four  positions  of  a  .r.inV 
pin   during   one  cycle.     The  tj. 

dimrn>i<jri*    f,f    the    pin    are   2    ■>.     .- 


FIG.     I 

scriptions  of  back  lash.  We  cannot 
imagine  anything  which  would  fulfil  all 
these  requirements : 

"Back  lash  is  a  term  applied  to  a  strap 
on  an  engine." 

To  lash  and  lash  back." 

To  throw  back  the  table  after  having 
finished  the  work,  making  a  reverse 
nifjfion." 

The  back  lash  is  used  in  lacing  a  belt." 

"The  loose  side  of  a  belt  running 
'acrost'  two  pulleys." 

A  certain  very  cautious  individual  con- 
sistently avoided  becoming  involved  in 
technical  matters  beyond  his  reach.  He 
said :  "Back  geared  means  a  machine 
constructed  with  gears  on  back  instead  of 
iny  other  part  of  same." 


diameter  by  3^  inches  lony  and  6lj8 
inches    in    circumferc  h,    miJti- 

plied  by  the  length,  v, .  c  area: 

6j8  X  2.50  =  15.70 

square  inches.  As  the  pin  only  touches 
on  one  side,  it  has  a  useful  area  of  one- 
half  of  the  whole,  or  7.85  square  inches. 
With  a  piston  7  inches  in  diameter  and 
having  an  area  of  58.48  sqiure  inches, 
with  a  constant  pressure  of  jo  pounds  per 
square  inch,  there  will  be  a  toul  approxi- 
mate pressure  of  1154.40  pounds. 

Of  course,  there  is  a  p<TJo4  in  th*  nrele 
of  movement  when  no  • 
upon   the  crank   pin 
at  a  speed  of  joo  rcvoiutiont  p 
an<i    the    center    of   the    pin    Ir.i  ;    -j 


nc  3 


no.  4 


hs 


One  man.    who    drew    from 

his  im.i.  •  jther  than  his  e<liication 

or   experience,    made    heroic    attempts   to     of  the  crank  pin 
answer  most  of  the  questions.     To  a  por-     tn  •  '"•  "■••<>»<•    »* 
tion    of    them,     however,     he     hopelessly     !>• 
realized    that    this    method    of    solution 
would   not   be    applicable,    and     whrn     hr 
came  to  crrtain  of  the  defif    ■ 
scriptions   iii'tcrtrd,  in   lieu 
the  word*      "Past  it  up" 

We  brlievrd  this  to  be  good  advice,  and 
have  accordingly  selected  these  few  exam 


>     of  the  < 


.•otai 


iu 


•iS 

ianhtf 

tk^  '*~-ar  B>vTw»rin  of  tkt  ftm 

•4    lacbcs    darMs    on* 

•  i.c  wtc  body  of  the  ccsMrr  o4  the 

pasftcd  throqgb  jjiQ  lachcs,  aad 

•ht  bacar   muttmem  of 

pm  has  heca  ia«  mcJms 

-  iimmg  jao  rcvohs- 

•-  soriacc  of  the  pn 

:ociCy   of    157    lect. 

"'Car 


a    crank    p«a    as 
ih«  pom*  C 


oi 

cij: 


t  one  «e- 


'-""'    rnoiS    ■««»- 


...unMt  6|J6 
m.  cqaafang   the 

»P  tprvd   M   MMKh 

in  apposed  to  he 

by    i:\Any    c  .  •  xtx  nMHung   aaal 

ular    Teiorsty    are 

ttorc  carrying  the 

anhalanced    slide    ▼ahrc.    the    load    beiag 

appr<>«ini.i?rK     I XIO  pOOnd*       T>i<    •urfaCV 

u<  by  the  e  .  i«M 

hat  I   .• 
like  th^ 

du- 

T 
nc 

an 


ne-lMlf 

rx-     :4tj     inches    in 

'  r  ijoo  poonds  OMHI  he  esr- 

*ce.  msb^  Iht 

•'<|v>fv  tech 

oa  the  ecrmirk  trass! 

at  «.    F    mwasstit    iha 

lower,  this  beuic  txS7  iachcs  te  oat  rrvo- 

lotion,    '^'     '  >'     *^''    (imr    in    ^OCSClOB    3J7% 

inches.  char  dtoi  tht 

-  of  the  piston's 
iU'i  true  imkiag  eondiiiaa  flight  ht 
lakm  a*  an  avcraft  bstns—  iht  saliiMM 
nx  f  the  sccvnirk.    TW  oatsids 

or  -ant  of  tht  sccMMnr  m  eon- 

si'  A  ofktng  te  the  path  shown  hr 

l»  .  tr  in  ni  X 

The  eceen  jay    cas»».    ««eh» 

It  nne  rrawai  why  the  oat-  •    pm 

for  carrytag  the  rtirt  gm*  '  »•  •■  "hsd 
•«>   «4H*f*<^nnly   on  the  ceasrt  <r«flfk   <a 

•W  kad  haRMn  that  ol  *• 

•r  to  lh« 


At  far  as  -thittii  ts 
caa  he  aiach  kiasrid  aafcr  ihl 


.  i.  f  iW. 


>ry     of     %h*     »<^*fM«     .f 
riMl  <h«a8«dL  as  la 


sua  the  startim  porot.  and  si 


134 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  12,  1909. 


by  the  form  of  eccentric  rod,  and  the 
length  of  the  valve  or  eccentric  rod  has 
some  effect  on  this.  It  can  be  clearly  seen 
from  Fig.  4  that  the  wearing  condition  of 
the  eccentric  strap  having  a  rod  as  shown 
at  A^  will  be  much  more  uniform  on  the 
eccentric  than  the  one  having  a  rod  as 
shown  at  M,  as  the  two  velocities  will 
blend  better  on  the  one  having  the 
long  rod. 


Catechism   of  Electricity 


A    Large    Wood  Pulley 


The  illustration  shows  a  large  wood 
split  pullej'  which  was  furnished  recently 
on  a  rush    order    by    the    Reeves    Pulley 


895.  How  should  the  motor  be  shut 
down? 

Open  the  circuit  breaker  or  main  switch, 
allowing  the  machine  to  slow  down  of  its 
own  accord.  Never  stop  a  motor  by  re- 
leasing the  lever  of  the  starting  rheostat, 
as  this  would  burn  the  contacts  on  the 
box  and  might  puncture  the  insulation  of 
the  field  and  armature  coils. 

896.  May  the  load  now  be  placed  on 
the  motor? 

The  motor,  if  new,  should  be  allowed 
to  run  without  load  for  a  day  or  two  so 
the  bearings  and  brushes  may  have  .  a 
chance    to    conform    themselves    to  actual 


PULLEY    132    I^•CHES    IN    DIAMETER    MADE     IN   TWENTY-EIGHT   AND   ONE-HALF    HOURS 


Company,  Columbus,  Ind.  It  was  132 
inches  in  diameter,  24  inches  face,  and 
had  a  4s|-inch  bore.  The  order  was  re- 
ceived at  9:40  a.m.,  and  28^  working 
hours  later  the  pulley  was  loaded  on  a 
car  and  started  to  its  destination. 

This  is  the  only  firm,  so  far  as  we 
have  knowledge,  which  builds  such  pulleys 
all  wood.  They  have  been  building  them 
for  the  past  twelve  years. 


working  conditions.  When  ready  for  the 
load,  place  the  belt  on  the  pulley  and 
start  the  motor  as  before,  closely  watch- 
ing the  machine  and  everything  connected 
with  it  so  as  to  be  ready  to  open  the  main 
switch  or  circuit  breaker  the  instant  there 
appears  to  be  anything  wrong. 

When  load  is  first  thrown  on  a  ma- 
chine an  ammeter  should  be  in  circuit  for 
the   purpose   of  ascertaining  whether  the 


machine  is  operating  at  its  proper  load, 
for  if  it  is  overloaded  trouble  may  be 
experienced.  The  correct  normal  load  in 
amperes  is  stamped  on  the  nameplate 
mounted   on   the   field   frame. 

897.  Mention  any  general  precautions 
that  should  be  observed  after  the  load  is 
placed  on  the  motor. 

Inspect  the  motor  frequently  for  the 
first  few  days,  to  guard  against  hot  bear- 
ings, loose  connections,  etc.  Keep  all  parts 
of  the  machine  free  from  water,  carbon 
dust  and  dirt  of  all  kinds.  Keep  bear- 
ings properly  filled  with  oil,  and  see  that 
they  do  not  leak  or  throw  oil ;  also  see 
that  the  oil  does  not  overflow  into  the 
machine.  Use  every  precaution  to  pre- 
vent oil  from  reaching  the  commutator  or 
the  armature  windings.  At  first,  the  oil 
in  the  bearings  should  be  changed  once  a 
week;  later,  two  or  three  times  a  month. 

Cleanliness  is  particularly  essential,  both 
inside  and  outside  the  machine.  A  hand 
bellows  is  convenient  for  blowing  out 
dust,  etc.,  from  the  inside  of  the  machine, 
and  an  oily  cloth  for  wiping  dust,  etc., 
from  the  outside.  Cover  the  machine 
when  not  running,  to  protect  it  from  dust. 

898.  What  troubles  are  most  liable  to 
arise  in  the  operation  of  a  direct-current 
motor? 

Sparking,  heating,  noise  and  abnormal 
speed. 

899.  In  which  parts  of  the  machine  do 
the  sparking  and  heating  usually   occur? 

Sparking  at  the  commutator,  heating 
at  the  commutator,  brushes,  armature, 
field  magnets  and  bearings. 

900.  What  are  the  usual  causes  of 
sparking  at  the  commutator? 

(i)  The  armature  may  be  carrying  too 
large  a  current,  owing  to  an  overload  on 
the  machine,  or  to  friction  such  as  that 
caused  by  the  armature  shaft  not  turn- 
ing freely  or  the  armature  striking  the 
pole  pieces.  A  coil  in  the  armature  may 
be  short-circuited  or  reversed,  or  there 
may  be  an  open  circuit  in  the  armature. 
Too  little  resistance  in  the  starting  rheo- 
stat will  cause  sparking.  If  the  armature 
or  the  pulley  is  not  perfectly  balanced, 
there  will  be  vibrations  of  the  machine 
which  may  produce  sparking. 

(2)  The  brushes  may  make  poor  con- 
tact with  the  commutator,  they  may  have 
too  high  resistance,  or  they  may  not  be 
at  the  neutral  points. 

(3)  The  commutator  may  be  rough, 
not  perfectly  round,  or  may  have  some 
high  bars  in  it. 

(4)  The  field  magnets  may  not  be 
fully  excited,  or  one  pole  may  be  stronger 
magnetically  than  another. 

901.  How  can  one  tell  whether  the 
sparking  is  caused  by  an  overload  on  the 
armature? 

In  case  of  a  belted  motor  the  tension 
side  of  the  belt  becomes  very  tight,  and 
the  belt  sometimes  squeaks  owing  to  its 
slipping  on  the  pulley.  In  either  a  belted 
or   direct-connected    motor    an    overload 


January  12,  1909 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


IIS 


causes  overheating  of  the  armature,  and 
this  latter  may  be  detected  without  stop- 
ping the  machine ;  simply  hold  the  hand 
in  the  current  of  air  caused  by  the  rota- 
tion of  the  armature  and  note  the  tem- 
perature by  the  sense  of  feeling. 

To  determine  whether  the  overload  is 
friction  within  the  machine,  stop  the 
motor,  and  while  turning  the  armature 
slowly  by  hand  notice  if  it  turns  hard  at  a 
certain  part  of  each  revolution.  If  it  turns 
hard  there  is  some  sort  of  mechanical 
obstruction  within  the  machine ;  if  it  does 
not  turn  hard,  the  trouble,  if  an  overload, 
is  either  a  too  tight  belt  or  trying  to 
accomplish  too  much  work  with  the  motor 
capacity  available. 

902.  lyhat  are  the  symptoms  caused  by 
a  short-circuited  coil  in  the  armature* 

A  short-circuited  armature  coil  becomes 
much  warmer  than  the  others  while  the 
machine  is  in  operation  and  is  very  liable 
to  be  burned  out.  The  motor  draws  more 
current  than  usual  and  if  the  armature  be 
felt  when  the  machine  is  first  shut  down, 
the  short-circuited  coil  can  usually  be 
located  by  reason  of  its  higher  tern 
perature. 

903.  Hou!  should  trouble  due  to  a 
short-circuited  armature  coil  be  remedied^ 

By  removing  the  short-circuit.  A  piece 
of  metal  between  the  commutator  bars  or 
between  their  connections  with  the  arma- 
ture winding  is  usually  the  cause,  in 
which  case  it  is  easily  remedied.  If,  how- 
ever, the  trouble  is  in  the  coil,  the  defec- 
tive coil  will  probably  have  to  be  replaced 
by  a  new  one. 

Generally,  the  condition  of  a  coil  will 
readily  indicate  whether  repairing  or  a 
removal  is  necessary.  *  When  a  coil  in  a 
low-voltage  machine  has  become  injured 
throuKh  careless  handling,  it  may  be  pos- 
sible to  repair  the  damage  by  separating 
the  wires  properly  and  applying  a  coat  "t 
•hellac  or  some  good  insulating  com- 
pound. Even  in  motors  of  higher  volt- 
age it  is  often  possible  in  this  manner  to 
remove  a  small  trouble  without  replacing 
the  coil. 

904.  Describe  how  to  rtmove  an  arma- 
ture coil. 

If  a  coil  is  entirely  burned  out,  it  may 
be  easily  removed  by  cutting  it  in  two, 
but  this  should  not  be  done  unless  it  is 
certain  that  no  part  of  it  can  be  used 
again.  Formed  coils  cannot  be  used  a 
second  time  if  a  part  of  them  is  cut  out. 
When,  however,  an  accident  ha|iprn»  to 
a   hnnd  wound   coil,   the    ^•  in   it 

may.  by  taking  it  off,  be 

905  It  it  not  advisable  to  keep  a  sut 
ply  of  wire  on  hand  in  the  station  (or  n 
placing  damaged  cotlsf 

It  i«  important  always  to  have  in  the 
station  the  proper  wire  for  tuch  coiU  a* 
may  hr  wound  by  hand  •■■ 
or  on  the  t'lrld  cniU  .\  m: 
of  it  to  wind  at  lea»l  oi»e  «ir  li*.>  >>'tl- 
shouM  hr  provided  When  a  nn»t«»r  •* 
built   tip  of   formed    coil*,    there    should 


alMa>>    be    within   reach   sc  -of 

tfic    "lifTcrent   kinds   that   m  -led. 

Besides  these  should  i.W>  b<-  {>.'  >vidcd  the 
shellac,  oil,  tape  and  wlutevcr  other  ma- 
terials may  be  necessary  in  repairing  any 
particular  machine. 

906.     Explain  how  to  replaee  an  grmim 
lure  coil. 

The  manner  of  replarinjj  r«>iU  d*T>^nd» 
altogether  on  their  c  • 
t>pe  of  the  machine  i 
a  coil  is  to  be  wound  on  by  hand,  care 
must  be  taken  to  notice  how  the  old  coil 
was  wound  on  and  connected,  and  the 
new  one  must  be  put  on  in  the  same 
Planner. 

.•\  common  type  of  f  •  !>  used  on 

direct-current   machine  manner 

of    applying    them,    is    illi;^:r,t:cd   in    Fig 
.?7Q      Such    coils    when    supplied    fnr   rr 
pairs  are  usually  already  bent  ' 
as  the  two  shown  at  a  and  r     \'. 
is  not  the  case,  as  with  the  coil  shown  at 
</.  they  must  be  shaped  to  conform  with 
the  rest  of  the  coils.     When  properly  bent 


fic    279.     poaMco  coiLa   and   urrHoo  or 

rtAaNc  THEM  iw  rosmow  o**  r„, 

AiMATvat  coat 

they  can  be  clipped   in  the  ^Wtrd  arma- 
ture core  a- 
tremcties  be;   „ 
tator  bars  in  the  usual  nunner 

907.     U'hat  art  the  symptomu  cf  a  rr- 
:\tsed  coil  in  the  at  mature* 

The    motor    *\'  ih»A 

usual,    but   the   «  "■•*♦*' 

than   the  other   cuii»      \i 
plied   in   the  same  directi.  •  I 

fteparately  by  way  of  the  commautor 
bars  and  a  ny\onr%u-  fimllr  \ir  held  orer 
the  excite*!  n  applied 

10  the  rever»<-.j  >.  ■■.\  «  the  oppo- 

site direction  to  that  fd  to  the 

V  kote  frtmHr  due    f-    «    »*• 
versed  ormtaturt 

.(  thr  '>«?  cgrtw 

:,  Wiuth*9 

ittif  retutmn* 

I"-. 

H  ihrrr  t%  i|Mrkmtf  ituoi  this  M«fC«  H 


will  occur  or  '  tog  op  the  aoior 

The  motor  «>  '.^rt  Mtddmly 

91a  Wkat  skomid  bt  4om4  to  dtterwmmt 
n-iuikfr  m  as^Mr  Im*  •  Pofh  ^^^ "^ 
armtature  or  pmlUyf 

A  poorly  balanced  arantitrr 
osualty  cattacs  vibrattoot  0(1  ■'-  -  ^r-  ^:a 
more  tborooglily  dMtribaled  nature  tJttB 
ihos«  due  to  other  caosc*  and  the  nbmiaaa 
with  the  speed  of  routioa.  to  that 
4c  may  be  rcoi(ittwd  in  this  way 
if  the  mdicariona  poiol  to  the 
the  policy,  or  bodi  anaansre  1 
being  mbalanccd.  they  should  be  rt»wnd 
from  the  machine  and  tested  separately 

The  armature  shotdd  be  tr«icd  by  plac 
ing  it  so  that  its  shaft  is  Mpportcd  at  dkr 
ends  opon  two  katle  edges  psfalM  lo 
each  other.  Then,  if  the  armature  is 
poorly  balanced,  the  heavy  sMle  wiD 
cause  a  routioo  except  when  this  iidr 
happens  to  be  downward  By 
armature  at  real  on  ilw  knlft 
different  points  aroaad  Ike  ihalt  iW 
weighty  side  may  be  caaij  fonnd  By 
provid:f«  a  shaft  for  the  poBr*  **  •!•» 
may  be  tested  m  the  same  way 

911      Hote  com  a  poorly 
twrr  ^r  pulley  he  remr4it4f 

ttenhi. 

Of.  -he  core  or  by  nor 

ing  holes  m.  or  ttlmg  o4l.  the  heavy  sMr 

gia.  If  it  is  imporkml  tkoi  ikr  motor 
be  not  skmt  iowm.  com  sporktmg  dmo  lo 
xihrati.^mi  of  the  mtotkmo  W  rt4mer4  •*• 

f     r  jri/%  f 

If  .  jri  s^  fj'taBy  efrotttmm  by  |Mbi 

• ••■  the  brashes  so  they  prass 

n  ipon  the  eonmnrtamr.    TV^ 

h.  .>  liable  to  develop 

heat,   both   in  the   bmshcs   and 
^...,    .^A   'Hoold  be  rewiffled  10  only 
ca  t»n     llBi^kt 

the   »iDrj....i       --    • ^"    ••" 

or  foondats* 

nay  be  overcame  wi'rvoct  moti 

Qt.t     Is  thtrr  mot  okmrnfO  oormt  «fur*- 

ht  eomrmmtoHo  of  dir/««warrml 


b  mnally 

r,».,v,.tr.<    ■;•»'    C. 


noch  as  it  tends  to  df<r  •»• 

and  Lummim —  cansas  ir^<«o'  •  !■• 
ifgulation  ©f  »h»  amefclne  — <  *-'"*" 
heat  la  the  -WA  h  ormra.     A 

in  pr  HI  eniidii« 

wMwnl  any  tpMhing 


136 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  12,  1909. 


POWER 

ML^TuE  Engineer 

DEVOTED  TO    THE  GENERATION    AND 
TRANSMISSION   OF  POWER 


For  the  Good  of  the  Order 


Issued  Weekly  by  the 


Hill  Publishing  Company 

Jobs  a.  Hill,  Pres   and  Treas.  Kobeet  McKean,  8ec'y. 

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6  Bouverie  Street,  London,  E.  C. 


Correspondence  suitable  for  the  columns  of 
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Cable  address,  "Powpdb,"  N.  Y. 
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CIRCULATION    STATEMENT 

During  1908  ice  printed  and  circulated 
1,836,000  copies   of  Power. 

Our  circulation  for  December,  1908,  was 
(weekly  and  monthly)    191,500. 

January    5 46,000 

January    12 38,000 

None  gent  free  regularly,  no  returns  from 
news  companies,  no  back  numbers.  Figures 
are   live,    net  circulation. 


Contents  n.ai 

New   Power   Plant  of  Carnegie   Institute     97 
Relative  Rate  of  Heat  Transfer  to  Water 

At  and  Below  the  Boiling  Point 110 

Coal:  Its  Composition  and  Combustion..    113 
Individual    Motor   Drive  for   Wood-work- 
ing   Machinery 115 

The  Small  Fan  In  the  Engine  Room 116 

The  Operator  for  the  Gas  Producer 117 

Some  Recent  Steam  Engine  Failures....    118 
Practical    Letters    from    Practical    Men : 
Dimensions    and    Capacity    of    Rec- 
tangular Tanks To  Handle  Wood 

Economically. ..  .Central  Valve  En- 
gines  The  Centrifugal  Pump 

Commutator     Trouble Interesting 

Indicator    Diagrams Graphite    in 

Boilers Storage  Battery  Troubles 

....  Some  Indicator  Diagrams. . . . 
Location  of  Steam  Traps Prob- 
able Cause  of  Air  Compressor  Ex- 
plosions. . . .  Extraneous  Supervision 
of  Power  Plants. ..  .What  Reversed 

the    Polarity 121-125 

The  Plunger  Hydraulic  Elevator 126 

Saturated  Air  as  a  Cooling  Agent 128 

Power  Transmission  In  Great  Britain...    130 

Potblyn,   P.   D 131 

Some  Queer  Definitions 132 

Pressure    on    the    Eccentric    and    Crank 

Pin     133 

A    Large   Wood    Pulley 134 

Catechism    of    Electricity 134 

Editorials     '. 136-137 


The  opportunities  for  self-improvement 
afforded  by  meetings  of  engineers  are 
often  sacrificed  or  minimized  by  lack  of 
sufficient  preparation.  Instead  of  having 
a  definite  program  arranged  for  each 
evening,  a  subject  selected  for  presenta- 
tion and  discussion  and  somebody  pre- 
pared to  elucidate  and  intelligently  dis- 
cuss it,  a  chance  is  taken  that  something 
will  come  up  which  will  make  the  meet- 
ing worth  while  The  inquiry  "Has  any- 
body anything  to  offer  for  the  good  of 
the  order?"  often  meets  with  a  barren 
response,  and  this  part  of  the  meeting,  to 
which  the  routine  business  should  be 
merely  incidental,  is  often  made  a  very 
subordinate  feature.  As  a  result  the  mem- 
bers disperse  without  having  added  any- 
thing to  their  stock  of  knowledge,  with- 
out having  had  their  interest  excited,  and 
really  in  a  condition  seriously  to  wonder 
if  it  is  all  worth  while. 

There  are  thousands  of  subjects  any 
one  of  which  will  afford  the  material  for 
an  evening's  consideration  to  the  profit  of 
the  participants.  The  man  who  goes  to  a 
meeting  and  engages  in  the  discussion  and 
mastery  of  a  subject  which  has  been  a 
mystery  to  him,  who  goes  away  with 
new  ideas  and  an  awakened  interest,  is 
likely  to  return  and  to  become  a  valuable 
member  and  a  better-informed  engineer : 
to  derive  the  real  benefit  from  the  asso- 
ciation which  its  prospectus  holds  out. 
Many  a  man  owes  his  success  to  the  cir- 
cumstance which  impelled  him  to  grasp 
some  particular  problem  connected  with 
his  vocation  and  wrestle  with  it  until  he 
mastered  its  intricacies  and  made  it  a 
part  of  his  equipment.  The  knowledge 
which  the  real  engineer  possesses  has  to 
be  dug  out  by  work  and  application.  He 
cannot  buy  a  handbook  or  library  and 
sit  with  his  feet  on  the  desk  and  his  pipe 
in  his  mouth  and  look  at  it  and  imbibe  an 
engineering  education.  He  cannot  master 
principles  and  absorb  the  value  of  pre- 
cedents by  reading  "easy"  articles  which 
do  not  make  him  get  out  his  pad  and 
pencil  and  think.  One  article  which  it 
takes  a  whole  evening  or  a  week  of  eve- 
nings to  read  and  understand  may,  when 
mastered,  be  worth  pages  and  volumes  of 
discursive  reading  which  has  cost  no  ef- 
fort. 

The  association  affords  an  opportunity 
for  a  collective  attack  upon  an  article  of 
this  kind.  Take  for  example  the  article 
by  Mr.  Jeter  in  our  issue  of  January  5. 
This  article  describes  a  new  and  ingenjous 
way  of  determining,  by  a  glance  at  one  of 
the  charts  accompanying  it,  whether  a 
riveted  joint  in  a  plate  of  given  thickness 
and  with  a  given  pitch  of  rivets  will  fail 
by  tearing  the  plate,  crushing  the  plate 
or  shearing  the  rivets.  The  article  while 
somewhat  forbidding  from  its  length  and 
the  formulas  involved  is  very  simple  when 
one    gets    into   it,    and    the    instructor    of 


any  association  can  easily  master  it  or 
refer  it  to  somebody  who  can,  and  pre- 
sent it  in  abstract  to  the  association,  ex- 
plaining knotty  points  and  helping  all  the 
members  to  a  thorough  understanding  of 
the  subject.  In  order  to  encourage  this 
use  of  the  article  we  will  be  glad  to  loan,, 
at  no  charge,  lantern  slides  of  the  illustra- 
tions and  charts  accompanying  the  article 
to  any  association  which  desires  to  use 
them  in  this  way. 


High  Boiler  Efficiency 


The  boiler  user  is  constantly  reminded: 
by  the  manufacturers  of  boiler  compounds 
and  tube  cleaners  of  the  inefficient  re- 
sults due  to  scaled  boiler  surfaces,  a  fixed- 
ratio  of  loss  to  thickness  of  scale  often 
being  given.  It  has  been  pointed  out  by 
various  authorities  that  such  a  ratio  could 
not  possibly  exist,  as  it  is  a  well  known 
fact  that  the  quality  of  the  scale  is  gener- 
ally of  considerable  more  importance 
than  its  quantity.  However,  it  is  impos- 
sible to  place  too  much  stress  on  the- 
necessity  of  keeping  the  inside  of  the  heat- 
ing surface  clean,  as  not  only  efficiency 
but,  what  is  of  far  more  general  import- 
ance, the  safety  of  the  boiler  are  depend- 
ent upon  this  condition. 

When  it  is  desired  to  keep  the  effici- 
ency of  a  boiler  to  the  highest  point,  the- 
condition  of  the  exterior  portions  of  the 
heating  surface  is  generally  of  more- 
moment  than  the  condition  of  the  in- 
terior, particularly  in  the  case  of  water- 
tube  boilers.  A  thin-  layer  of  soot  or 
ashes  is  a  very  effective  nonconductor  of 
heat  and  often  portions  of  the  heating 
surface  are  allowed  to  become  banked  up- 
with  soot  and  ashes  until  the  effectiveness- 
of  the  surface  is  almost  totally  destroyed. 
If  similar  conditions  were  the  result  of 
scale  accumulations  on  the  interior  sur- 
faces the  metal  would  be  at  once  de- 
stroyed, but  in  the  case  of  external  dirt 
no  effect  is  produced  except  a  rise  in  the 
temperature  of  the  escaping  gases,  and 
hard  steaming.  The  result  is  that  often 
the  cleaning  of  the  external  portions  of 
the  heating  surface  is  neglected  and  the 
economy  suffers.  In  many  plants  the 
periods  between  blowing  off  the  external 
portions  of  the  heating  surface  range 
from -three  days  to  a  week.  This  is  very 
much  too  long  for  economical  operatioft 
where  bituminous  .  fuel  is  used,  and  in 
most  plants  once  a  day  is  hardly  often 
enough  if  the  highest  economy  is  desired. 
The  largest  dividend  payer  in  the  boiler 
room,  next  to  a  skilled  fireman,  is  a  clean- 
ing gang  to  keep  the  heating  surfaces  as 
nearly  perfectly  clean  as  possible.  In 
selecting  boilers  the  importance  of  this- 
cleaning  should  be  borjie  in  mind,  and  the 
facilities  offered  by  various  forms  of 
boiler  or  setting  to  accomplish  proper 
cleaning  should  receive  due  weight  in  de- 
termining the  kind  to  be  selected. 


January  12,  lyog. 
Gas  Power  for  Marine    Service 


The  possibility  of  applying  gas  power 
to  the  propulsion  of  siiips  is  brcoiiiing 
more  and  more  a  live  question,  nothwith- 
standing  the  fact  that  land  practice  has 
P"'    yet    attained    what    might    \ye    called 

ility.  Of  course  the  chief  object  in 
t'liMdering  the  internal-combustion  en- 
gine for  marine  purposes  is  the  saving  in 
fuel  consumption,  which  would  reduce  the 
cubic  feet  of  fuel  storage  and  thenhy  in- 
crease the  freight  space.  The  saving  in 
the  cost  of  the  fuel  is  also  a  consi<lera- 
tion.  but  space  economy  is  the  chief  at- 
ir.iLtion.    In  view  of  the  much  greater  space 

'.pied  by  a  four-stroke  gas  engine  as 
«.w,iipared  with  either  a  steam  engine  or  a 
turbine,  it  would  seem  that  the  net  re- 
sult might  not  be  a  reduction  in  total 
plant  and  fuel  space  after  all.  Of  course, 
the  duration  of  the  unbroken  voyage 
would  be  a  controlling  factor.  For  a 
coastwise  schedule,  the  saving  in  fuel 
space  might  l>e  much  less  than  the  excess 
in  engine  space,  as  compared  with  steam. 
'n  any  event,  the  high  value  of  space  on 

ssel  of  any  commercial  type  undoubt- 
rniy  points  to  the  use  of  a  two-stroke 
engine  in  the  solution  of  the  marine  gas 
pf>wer  problem.  It  is  unnecessar>'  to  ex- 
plain in  «letail  the  enormous  space 
economy  of  the  two  stroke  engine  over  the 
four-stroke  type;  everyone  who  is  familiar 
with  the  subject  knows  all  the  points. 
Provision  of  ade(|uate  means  for  going 

i<\   or   reversing   suddenly   and   vigor- 

!>•  is  recognized  as  lK*ing  another  seri- 
problem.  A  flywheel  on  a  large 
marine  engine  would  Iw  an  anomaly,  and 
the  only  other  exiH-«lient  for  quickly  ap- 
plying' the  full  power  of  a  gas  engine  to 
hs  Io.'kI  is  the  combination  of  thrr<r  or 
more  donblf-a 'ting  two-stroke  cylinder*, 
or  their  ef|uivalent.  with  a  flexible  trans- 
mi"*sion.  such  as  electrical  apparatus,  bc- 
♦"••••n   the    engine    and    the    loa«l.      With 

'rical  transmission  the  quick  applica- 
n  11  of  full  power  in  either  direction 
would  Ikt  easy,  but  what  woubl  Ixrcome 
of  fbr  pnrious  Space  rcditction,  not  to 
menli-'ti  \v<  iw'ht  and  co«t  of  npparatu*' 

All  theorizing  aside,  there  i«i  much  ti 
work   to  br  done  on  Iniih  the   gas   cuw 
»n<l   the   priKlucer— es|>ecially   the   latter — 
before    we    will    l>e    prepared    to    tackle 
long  distance"  marine  service. 


Loops    in  Noncondcnsing  Com- 
pounds 

With  a  compound  engine  runnink'  nin 
condensing  the  unlicalor  diagr.im  from  the 
low  showed     lh.it     ex- 

pa'  .  iw  the  alni..»t>hrric 

l»t*  t.n  il 
^r  the  nr^- 
rhangmg   the    length   of   the   cutol)    were 
futile. 

\clvire   was   «nuRht    from   a  con«ulling 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

engineer,  who  thoughtles%I) 
remo\.tI  i.f  the  loop  w;i-  > 
•1^'  iit  and  wi 

nio;».  i..v  .^^p  from  tl 
same  means  |hat  the  ' 
in  vain. 

I-'ailure  to  accomplish  the  He«irH  r«^iflt 
of    course    attended    eN 
din-rtjon     nnd     the 

by 

pressure  cyhnder.  l  he  g  made, 

an  indicator  diagram  \v.. .   , ,  and.  as 

should  have  been  expected,  but  much  to 
the  surprise  of  all  intere>ted.  the  nega- 
tive loop  was  still  in  evidence  and  as  brge 
as  ever. 

It  is  not  undrr«tood  why  any  great  dif- 
ference   in    t! 
low  pressure 

to  result  from  a  change  m  the  (li.inuter  of 
the  high-pressure  cylinder.  To  do  the 
work  a  certain  amount  of  steam  was  rr- 

quired  per  stroke.    This  am'> *  -'-ain. 

bit  off  by  the  cutoff  of  the  ure 

cylin<ler,  fell  to  a  pressure  i>.  1  w  tn.n  of 
the  atmosphere  when  c\().iii<l.d  to  the 
voltmie  of  the  low-prc-^ 
change  in  the  volume  t 
could  t>c  made  by  altentiK  the  »ue  of 
the  high-pressure  cylimler,  and  the  only 
way  the  loop  could  Ikt  avoided,  with  the 
same  initial  pressure,  was  by  reducing 
the  number  of  times  the  steam  was  ex- 
panded, i.e..  by  reducing  the  volume  of 
the  low-pressure  cylinder  which  each 
charge  of  steam  eventually  comes  to  fill 
In<licator  diagram*  t.ikrn  >•••{•  irr  the 
change  of  hi;  --ter 

showed  that   •  for 

the  work  under  t  -ra- 

tion.     If    the   op«  •        ^  A  ere 

right,  then  the  change  to  be  made  was  a 
change  in  the  size  or  power  of  the  en- 
gine, and  this  could  only  be  done  bjr  a 
change    in    the   size   of   the    ' 
c>lin<ler.  for  it  is  the  low  ; 
der  •     that    is    refer  r  k- 

ter;  ■    power  of  a  :   en- 

gine 


■J7 


X'alvcs  for  Superheated  Slcam 


I  iir     .Miirrn  .01    rnglT" 

pean  power  plants  i«  r 

tb.    •     . 

tl;. 


I   of  the  II 

.   well,  b  -■  •       con- 

ditions and  t'  this  ilif- 

fer 

\  tT,  who  had  I 

of  cue  uf  the  traRMllantK  liiH-r*. 


machtnrry   and   at    liiiie 


or 


i  easier  and  thgnper  to  kttp 
and  ow  teat  tigta  and  in  Knr 


I 
an<! 
dir. 
apt 

SJfl 


vaJve  b 
erir  the 
ctean  • 
earl 
ber 
vei 


-oa  tbr  < 


negligiblr 
.an   enguirr 


in       ^rr-^rii 


*9t 
1r 


tie 


eatr 


■  ■  -     r:i<n    -•rr  t««fr 

'■te.   This  tfpe  «a» 


With  the  ad 

■■:  ti:c*.^utc%  the  donblr- 
w  '"k  p3ntkl-«ral  ralre* 

ricd   to   dr««« 

use.     Tbr  in- 

troduction    of    suprrbeal    lironglH    a    m 

factor     inf.i     llir     fir.).l.r!i        fi     .(<->!..%.      «^ 

whKh    t'  10 

have  an  .    le 

note  tlu-  •«. 


tUfrr. 

f.  f    u.e    rn    higlh* 

pr,.      •.         , 

rani  lmr«  in  iMa 

t .                     -4 

M                           _                                » 

It    •       ;     -♦ 

?t.  snperflootts  to  prafhny 

a«   - 

'  the  fniare      Prtwwss 

hav 

•     and    ••«.-»   s.-j". !.    itst. 

an-! 

•rnprtibab!- 

1  lU 

fwf»,r..                                                                    ^, 

ai 

Wll  ' 

m    -nr    -istk. 

U 

•wt.   and  the 

.-'ini  t     the  more  nwd 

i  ahrcuiMU. 

FloAtijig  Central  SlAbooa  PiopOK. 


IV»rni1.^f    >A    WTIiim    T     T\ 


i  at     in> 


;>iirj»  K 
proyolsk 


-■pi^i»;*.ja  H 


boMt  and  URuiar  %rM«l»  hf  Mrmw  4rrv«« 


I  r«f*«4ri  In  a 


138 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  12,  1909. 


Power  Plant  Machinery  and    Appliances 

Original        Descriptions       of        Power       Devices 
No     Manufacturers'     Cuts     or      Write-ups      Used 

MUST     BE     NEW     OR     INTERESTING 


The  Detroit  Return  Trap 


An  improved  and  modified  form  of  the 
tilting  return  trap  is  illustrated  herewith. 
It  is  known  as  the  Detroit  trap,  and  con- 
sists of  a  galvanized-steel  tank,  held  in  a 
horizontal  position  by  a  weighted  arm,  as 
shown  in  Fig.  i,  and  supported  in  two 
stuffing-box  bearings  located  in  lugs  in 
the  cast-iron  base  of  the  trap. 

Both  steam  and  water  connections  are 
situated  in  the  base,  where  expansion  and 
contraction  of  the  pipes  cannot  in  any 
way  distort  the  adjustment  of  the  trap  and 
render  it  inoperative. 

Condensed  steam  enters  by  pressure  or 
gravity  at  A,  Fig.  i,  and  fills  the  tank 
through  the  bottom  connection  at  the  left. 
The  vent  valve  B  communicates  with  the 
top  of  the  tank  inside  and  has  a  flexible 
connection,  as'  shown,  leading  to  the 
sewer.  This  valve  remains  open  as  long 
as  the  tank  is  in  a  horizontal  position  and 
serves  to  let  out  the  air  as  the  tank  fills. 

When  enough  condensation  has  been 
collected  to  disturb  the  equilibrium,  the 
trap  tilts  over  on  the  buffer  spring  C, 
closing  the  vent  valve  and  opening  the 
steam  connection  at  D.  This  puts  boiler 
pressure  on  top  of  the  contents  of  the 
tank   and,   by   means    of    suitable    check 


FIG.     I.     THE   DETROIT   RETURN   TRAP 


FIG.    2.       SPECIAL    .\PPLICATION   OF    THF,    DETROIT    RETURN    TRAP 


valves  in  the  intake  pipe,  allows  the  trap 
to  deliver  to  the  heater,  receiver,  or  wher- 
ever required. 

To  use  as  a  boiler  feeder,  it  is  only 
necessary  to  place  the  trap  at  a  'convenient 
point  above  the  water  level  so  that,  when 
discharging,  the  contents  will  flow  to  the 
boiler  by  gravity.  With  condensation  at  a 
very  low  pressure,  another  trap  is  used 
to  deliver  to  the  one  feeding  the  boiler, 
in  which  case  the  installation  is  known  as 
a  double-trap  system.  Properly  modified, 
these  traps  are  successful  in  draining  sys- 
tems in  which   a  vacuum  is  carried. 

A  special  application  of  this  trap  is 
shown  in  Fig.  2.  This  consists  of  an 
auxiliary  tank  arrangement  for  use  in 
places  where  large  quantities  of  conden- 
sation must  be  taken  care  of. 

The  illustration  shows  an  outfit  de- 
signed to  handle  50  gallons  of  condensa- 
tion per  minute.  The  trap  itself  has  a  vol- 
ume of  8  gallons,  and  the  auxiliary  tank  50 
gallons.  A  4-inch  connection  leads  to  the 
large  tank,  the  connection  to  the  trap 
proper  being  of   such   size  that  both  will 


January  12,  1909. 

ill  at  the  same  rate.  When  full,  the  tili- 
ng of  the  trap  turns  steam  at  boiler  prcs- 
lurc  into  both  tanks,  using  the  auxiliary 
ronnection  A  for  the  larger  one,  and  the 
lischarge  in  each  takes  place  at  the  same 
ime. 

With  this  arrangement,  a  relatively 
imall  trap  can  take  care  of  large  volume* 
)f  water,  it  being  only  necessary  to  pro- 
K>rlion  the  areas  of  the  two  water-supply 
-o  the  tanks  will  fill  and  empty  at 
me  rate,  the  trap  acting  merely  as  a 
liiot  valve  on  the  system. 

These  traps  are  manufactured  by  the 
\nuTican  Blower  Company,  Detroit, 
^lich. 


Stanley  Steam  Separator 

One  of  the  advantages  of  this  separator 
•  the  conical  taper-shaped  head,  whicli 
s  grooved  or  lipped  so  that  the  lips  over- 
lanis'  each  other,  as  shown  in  the  illustra- 
ion.     This  permits  the  water  from  any 


1_J 


I'OWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

steam,  does  not  come  in  contaet  tr«h  wiy 
iintnl     surface    that     sur-  -y 

<>tcain,    thus    preventing  -i 

the  dry -steam  chamber  after  - 

The  design  is  such  that  thi     ..„ 
ume  of  steam  passing  through  the  --ciara- 
tor    is   broken    up   into   i--. -.11    vol- 
umes by  changing  the   •  f  ftow 
into  an  acute  angle,  thi: 
wntrr  to  drop  freely  to  t 

hamber,  whence   it   t*  tmntcUi- 
ved. 

i  his  separator  has  no  baffles,  funnel, 
pockets,  troughs  or  vertical  surface  lor 
water  to  lie  in  or  cling  to,  and  it  is  de< 
signed  for  a  separator  and  receiver.  It 
is  manufactured  by  W.  E.  Stanley. 
Louisville.  Kv 


"Union-Cinch     Pipe  Fittings 


The  "Vnion-Cinch"  pipe  t'lf  -e 

of  which  is  shown  in  Fij:    t,  m 

sizes  correspfjnding  to  %•  -c 

up  to  I -inch,  an<l  are  c-;  d 

for  use  in  connection  with  "il  pumps 
and  oilers.  They  are  manufactured  by  the 
Sight  Feed  Oil  Pump  Company,  Mil- 
waukee, Wis. 

It  is  possible  to  use  ordinary  rough  pipe 
with  these  fittings,  if  care  is  •  '     1 

ftlitii:   (!n*  rnds   of    the    pijH- 


no.    I 


L'.M'i.N  •<  1  M  M      1  ir»    I J  •  11: 


Each  fining  i*  a  mmtim,  aad  tkr  pipiac 
may  be  taken  down  at  any  poiM  «hrrr  a 

f.Xliiiit    i«    invrrip*!       Thr      .  .tnt    i»    ::.*•!<•    \i\ 


I   IjJ      .'  I  Rf'- 

t  rd  and  the  *olt 

tot  amid 
,»  good  lor 
1000  paood*  pccwufc  fcf  Mtitare  indi ;  or. 
b  fart,  is  ahaolalcljr  liclN  ondrr  aajr  pre»- 
surr  that  the  tuhJng  wfll  stand  This  type 
of  joint  may  be  taken  dawn  and  ondr  ap 
again  any  nonbcr  of  tinm  wiOMaK 
trouble 


"Standard"  1odq>eiidcnt  Steam 
Gage  Movement 

The  arcompanyint  iUnrtrmikiB  show* 
a  gage  novcnient  tbai  is  dinincUrc  in 
character  in  that  a  liberal  air  ipnor  tc^ 


tTAW 


%»r«  ■»••»»» 


^r\NLtV  STKAM    SEPAKATOa 

nnr  li|>  to  drnp  clear  nf  hII  ihr  oib<>r«     It      stn.-ih;    btit    drawn  Mcel    ' 
•  'ince  the  •• 
I  it  can  n< 
<l   over   to    the   rinjine.   anu   trial  •  »*»-*'-•-•'. 

.  .ificr  Im-juk  ^rp.ir.itc«l  from  the 


VlkAaf^t' 


140 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGIXEER. 


January  12,  1909. 


Presentation  to  an  Engineer 


Arthur  S.  Vincent,  for  more  than 
twenty-one  years  in  the  employ  of  the 
AVii'  York  Tribune,  first  as  machinists' 
helper  and  latterly  nieclianical  superin- 
tendent of  the  Tribune  building,  recently 
resigned  to  go  with  the  Belnord  Con- 
struction Companj-,  of  New  York,  as  me- 
chanical superintendent.  In  view  of  his 
pending  change,  a  number  of  friends  as- 
sembled at  the  Tribune  building  Satur- 
day afternoon,  January  2,  to  give  him  a 
"send-off,"  and  at  the  same  time  to  pre- 
sent him  a  silver  tea  service.  There  were 
present  the  members  of  the  engineers" 
and  building  departments  of  the  Tribune 
and  a  number  of  invited  guests,  including 
James  P.  Holland,  business  agent  of  Ec- 
centric Firemen's  local  union  No.  56,  who 
made  the  presentation,  and  D.  A.  ]\Iason, 
who  will  succeed  Mr.  Vincent.  The  com- 
mittee in  charge  of  the  occasion,  which 
was  most  felicitous,  comprised  John 
Smith,  Christopher  Hatfield,  William 
Funk,  "Gus"  Hedin  and  John  Heal}^ 


B 


lt( 


usiness  items 


F.  E.  Myers  &  Brother,  of  Ashland,  Ohio, 
are  distributing  their  annual  calendar  poster 
for  1909. 

The  Ashton  Valve  Company.  271  Franklin 
street.  Boston.  Mass.,  is  sending  out  an  at- 
tractive calendar  for   the  new   year. 

The  Minneapolis  Steel  and  Machinery 
Company  will  remove  its  Dallas  (Texas)  of- 
fice to  the  Praetorian  building.  J.  P.  Green- 
wood is  the  company's  representative  in  that 
section. 

The  Ohio  Blower  Company,  Cleveland, 
Ohio,  reports  recent  sales  of  eight  stenm 
separators,  one  oil  separator,  eleven  cast-iron 
exhaust  heads  and  twenty-one  gravity-closing 
ventilators. 

R.  A.  Zoeller,  manufacturers'  agent  of  Tar- 
boro,  X.  C,  would  like  to  hear  from  manu- 
facturers of  steam  specialties,  with  a  vie'w 
of  handling  their  goods  in  his  section  of  the 
country. 

The  American  Steam  Gauge  and  Valve 
Manufacturing  Company  announces  that  after 
January  1.  .Tohn  B.  Guthrie  will  be  its  sole 
representative  in  the  Pittsburg  district,  with 
offices  in  the  Columbia  Bank  building,  corner 
of  Fourth  avenue  and  Wood  street,  Pitts- 
burg,  Penn. 

The  Nelson  Valve  Company,  of  Philadel- 
phia, recently  estaljlished  two  branch  offices 
in  the  middle  West  to  keep  pace  with  its 
rapidly  exp;inding  business,  one  in  Detroit,  in 
the  Penobscot  building,  the  other  in  Cleveland 
in  the  Perry  Paynf  building.  .Tohn  M.  B\ilk- 
ley  has  been  appointed  sales  manager  for 
the  territory  of  Ohio  and  Michigan. 

D.  D.  Pendleton,  who  was  connected  with 
the  WestinghouHc  Electric  and  Manufactar- 
In^  Company,  of  Pittsburg,  for  some  15 
years,  recently  opened  an  office  as  district 
sales  manager  of  thp  American  Boiler  Econ- 
omy Company,  manufacturer  of  the  Copes 
feed-water  regulator,  and  the  Copes  pump 
governor.  Mr.  Pendleton's  offices  are  located 
In  the  Fridk  building  annex,  Pittsburg,  Penn. 
The  Commercial  Testing  and  Engineering 
Company,  recently  opened  offices  and  labor- 
atories  In   the   Old   Colony   building,   Chicago, 


where  it  will  specialize  along  the  lines  of 
boiler-room  economies,  coal  analysis,  heat- 
value  method  of  purchasing  fuel  and  coal 
washing  and  preparation  for  operators.  The 
officers  are :  Edward  H.  Taylor,  president ; 
Harry-  W.  Weeks,  vice-president;  W.  D. 
Stuckenberg,  treasurer ;  B.  J.  Maynes, 
secretary. 

The  Buffalo  Steam  Pump  Company,  of  Buf- 
falo. X.  Y.,  has  contracted  with  the  city  of 
Grand  Rapids,  Mich.,  to  furnish  ten  sewage 
pumps  having  a  total  capacity  under  maxi- 
mum conditions  of  over  230.000  gallons  per 
minute.  The  pumps  are  to  be  placed  in  four 
stations,  one  station  to  contain  two  18-incli 
pumps,  one  to  contain  two  24inch  pumps, 
one  to  contain  two  24-inch  pumps,  and  the 
fourth  station  four  40-inch  pumps.  The  ten 
pumps  together,  without  motors,  will  weigh 
approximately  200,000  pounds.  Westinghouse 
electric  motors  will  be  used  to  operate  them. 
The  Buckeye  Boiler  Skimmer  Company, 
South  End,  Toledo,  Ohio,  is  in  receipt  of  a 
communication  from  the  general  foreman  of 
the  El  Paso-Xortheastern  System,  Alamog- 
erdo,  N.  M.,  in  which  he  says  :  "The  skimmer 
arrived  O.K.  and  we  at  once  applied  it  to 
our  Xo.  2  boiler.  We  were  eight  hours  put- 
ting it  on,  and  that  same  night  we  began 
operating  it.  To  our  surprise  the  boiler 
doesn't  prime  over  any  more.  Fifty  gallons 
of  lime  and  magnesia  have  been  skimmed  off 
in  sixty  days,  and  we  have  also  experienced 
a  decided  saving  in  fuel.  After  the  second 
week  we  cleaned  the  boiler  and  found  at  least 
half  a  wagon  load  of  old  scale,  which  I  con- 
sider very  fine.  We  wash  our  boiler  only  once 
in  two  weeks  now,  where  previously  we 
washed  it  twice  in  one  week.  Mr.  Martin, 
general  manager  of  the  E.  P.  &  N.  E.  railroad 
system,  who  is  authority  in  this  section  on 
bad  water  and  treating  appliances,  claims  this 
device  the  best  he  ever  saw,  and  has  ordered 
three  more  to  be  put  on  as  soon  as  we  can 
conveniently  get  to  it." 


New  Equipment 


Dr.  .1.  I.  Coleman,  Hurdle  Mills,  X.  C,  is 
in   the  market  for  a  100-light  dynamo. 

The  Escondido  (Cal.)  Mutual  Water  Com- 
pany will  install  an  electric  lighting  and  power 
plant  to  cost  $30,000. 

It  is  reported  that  about  $10,000  will  be  spent 
in  improving  water-works  and  electric-hght 
plant  at  Marlow,  Okla. 

The  Portland  (Ore.)  Railway  Light  and 
Power  Company  has  had  plans  prepared  for 
a  new  power  station. 

The  Waurika  (Okla.)  Ice  and  Electric  Com- 
pany will  build  a  30-ton  ice  plant  in  connection 
with  electric-light  plant. 

It  is  said  that  plans  are  being  prepared  for 
a  power  station  at  Garden  City,  Kans.,  for  the 
Kansas-Colorado  Railroad. 

The  City  Council,  Waukegan,  111.,  is  said 
to  be  considering  the  purchase  of  a  5,000,000- 
gallon  water-works  pump. 

The  citizens  of  Cherokee,  Okla.,  are  said  to 
have  voted  to  i.ssue  $6.5,000  bond.s  for  watre- 
works  and  sewerage  system. 

The  city  of  Thomaston,  Ga.,  voted  .$10,000 
bonds  for  the  purpose  of  enlarging  and  im- 
proving  electric-light    plant. 

The  City  Council,  Wooster,  Ohio,  is  said  to 
be  considering  the  question  of  establishng  a 
municipal   electric-light  plant. 

Th2  city  of  Thomaston,  Ga.,  contemplates 
doubling  the  municipal  electric-light  plant. 
W.  C.  Hartman,  superintendent. 

The  Union  Central  Light  and  Ice  Company, 
Hubbard  City,  Texas,  will  make  additions  and 
improvements  to  cost  about  $10,000. 


Bids  will  be  received  until  11  a.m.  December 
22  by  Capt.  O.  W.  Bell,  Jefferson  Barracks,  Mo., 
for  a  complete  electric-lighting  system. 

The  question  of  constructing  an  electric  light 
plant  at  Bellefonte,  Penn.,  is  said  to  be  under 
consideration.     W.  Kelly,  borough  clerk. 

The  citizens  of  North  Arlington,  N,  J.,  have 
voted  to  issue  $25,000  bonds  to  install  water- 
supply  system.     H.  C.  Bayhss,  borough  clerk. 

The  Rochester  (N.  Y.)  Railway  and  Light 
Company  is  having  plans  prepared  for  a  vertical 
retort  gas  plant,  which  will  cost  about  $150,000. 

The  Waurika  (Okla.)  Ice  and  Electric  Com- 
pany has  been  incorporated.  Capital,  $50,000. 
Incorporators,  T.  B.  Martin,  E.  W.  Gautt  and 
others. 

The  Las  Cruces  (N.  M.)  Electric  Light 
and  Ice  Company  has  applied  for  franchise 
to  construct  electric-light  plant  and  water 
works. 

Church  E.  Qates  &  Co.,  Fourth  avenue  and 
138th  street,  New  York,  have  filed  plans  for 
the  construction  of  a  power  house  to  cost  about 
$50,000. 

The  City  Council,  Linton,  Ind.,  will  enlarge 
and  re-equip  the  municipal  electric-light  plant. 
It  is  said  about  $15,000  will  be  spent  on  new 
equipment. 

The  Brattleboro  &  Vernon  Railroad  Co.  has 
been  incorporated  to  construct  an  electric  rail- 
way. Incorporators,  C.  R.  Crosby,  G.  L.  Dun- 
ham, of  Brattleboro,  and  others. 

The  city  of  Marlow,  Okla.,  will  make  im- 
provements to  electric-light  plant  and  water 
works  to  cost  about  $10,000.  T.  T.  Eason, 
chairman,  purchasing  committee. 

Bids  will  be  received  about  December  20 
for  construction  of  water-works  at  Hays,  Kan. 
Cost,  about  $18,Q0G.  Orr  Engineering  Com- 
pany, Kansas  City,  Mo.,  engineers. 

The  Lake  Superior  Power  Company,  Sault 
Ste.  Marie,  Ont.,  is  said  to  be  making  plans 
for  a  new  hydroelectric  plant  to  cost  about 
$110,000.     L.  H.  Davis,  chief  engineer. 

The  Booneville  (Ark.)  Light  and  Power 
Company  has  been  incorporated  to  construct 
and  operate  electric-light  and  power  plant  and 
water-works  system.     J.  T.  Thayer,  president. 

The  Freeport  (111.)  Interurban  Railway  Com- 
pany ,has  been  incorporated  to  construct  an 
interurban  electric  railway.  Owen  T.  Smith, 
W.  A.  Hance  and  Edward  Courtney,  incor- 
porators. 

Plans  are  being  made  for  additions  and 
improvements  to  the  municipal  electric-light 
plant  and  water  works  at  Macon,  Mo.,  to 
cost  about  .?18,000.  E.  S.  Bennett,  super- 
intendent. 

.  The  Acme  Hosiery  Mills,  Asheboro,  N.  C, 
recently  incorporated  with  $100,000  capital, 
is  ready  to  buy  equipment  including  40- 
horsepower  engine  and  70-horsepower  boiler. 
O.    R.    Cox,   secretary. 

The  Grand  Junction  (Colo.)  Electric  Rail- 
way Company  has  completed  plans  for  con- 
struction of  new  electric  railway,  which  is  to 
cost  over  $2,000,000.  A  power  plant  will  be 
constructed  at  Debeque. 

The  Vernon  Light  and  Power  Company, 
Vernoi).  Texas,  will  buy  in  the  next  thirty 
days,  '150-horsepower  engine,  100  kilowatt 
alternator,  boiler  feed  pumps,  lubricators,  etc. 
About  $5000  will  be  expended. 

The  De  Kalb  (111.)  Midland  Railway  Com- 
pany has  been  incorporated  to  construct  an 
electric  railway  from  DeKalb  to  Sandwich. 
Capital,  $1,50,000.  Incorporators,  J.  W.  Mc- 
Queen, W.  G,  Wilcox,  Elgin,  III.,  and  others. 

L.  W.  Trumbull,  Van  Vleck,  Texas,  is  in- 
terested in  an  electric  and  refrigerating  plant 
to  supply  a  town  of  about  five  thousand  and 
would  like  to  hear  from  manufacturers  of 
electrical  equipment  and  refrigerating  ma- 
chinery. 


January   19,    1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


141 


Hampton  Power  Plant  of  the  D.,  L.  &  W.  R.  R. 

The    Largest    of    Its    Kind    in    the    Anthracite    Kexion.     liinployuig 

Both    Steam    and    Electric    Apparatus    of     the    Wt^l    Mfxlcrn    Type 


BY 


WARREN 


O. 


ROGERS 


A  central   power   station   at   the   mines, 

4he   ideal   condition   to   which   mechanical 

•:cers  have  given  more  or  less  atten- 

is  found  in  the  Hampton  power  plant 

01  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  &  Western 

Railroad  Company,   Scranton,   Penn. 

In  the  mining  of  coal,  three  kinds  of 

power   are   available :    steam,    compressed 

air  and   electricity.     These  mediums  are 

'    i-d  in  operating    all    kinds    of    mine 

:ng,     pumping,     ventilating,     drilling 

and    machine   operation.     The    mining   of 

en.:!  IS,  therefore,  to  a  large  extent,  a  me- 

:  al   proposition,   and  the  txrst   means 

I  will  not  only  insure  reliable  opera- 

l»ut    the   cheapest   power,   all   things 

V.  ...idered,  should  be  selected. 

The    central    station    idea    has    proved 


instances  bcin^  ith'Tc  t  •        ..t  long. 

.Among    the    first     to  ;it     with 

I  licirically  operated  l>rtuKer»  was  the 
I^ickawanna  cunipaiiy,  which  has  l>een 
experimenting  for  several  years,  with 
most  favorable  results.  This  was  abo 
one  of  the  first  of  the  anthracite  com- 
panies to  adopt  the  electric  locomotive  for 
mine  haubge,  thus  doing  away  with 
steam  and  compressed  air  locomotives. 

Owing  to  the  successful  outcome  of 
these  and  other  electrical  cxjwriments,  the 
Hampton  power  plant,  the  largest  of  its 
kind  in  the  anthracite  tcki"".  was  in- 
stalled. This  station,  which  lus  a  boiler 
capacity  of  more  than  8500  normal  horse- 
power, and  an  electrical  output  of  4500 
kilowatts,  supplies  steain  to  five  collieries 


;     *       a'    :  ^-1     .■;<:    .1.  ..r.      .»       Mil 
••,'■:•  ;  :     »    !rj'  _r  r    ;  i    aIio 

.    ■     .  ■  :    -.r.    '    r  .•:•!•  --       t     ?:.<■    od 

h'  .■.\r     a:.<\     «'  Tk.     !.'f^\<,     in      ahuh     arc 

shower  buha.  tubs  and  lodicr«. 


The  origwal  boiler  plftol  ooasMUd  ot 
Uittn  jij'borsepowrtr  Bakcock  k  Wdoos 
watrr-tube  boikrt»  >bo»u  m  Fic^  ^  wkidi 
are  equipped  with  llcCliv*  Hokcrs.  A 
number  of  duagc*  have  bees  made  m  iIm 
arrangement  M  t^re  furnace,  howcrer.  da* 
to  the  f]  'ley  aatkrwckn  b  aaad 

as  fuel  -tor*    verc    fo«ad   of 

paramount  imponaacc  in  ihts  plaat  for 
the  successful  bomiag  of  barley  fval: 
•uAcient     grate     area,     fomac*    ardM^ 


hl.    I    ..»NtKAi.  virw  or  lut  ^Jll  ui    iiu  iiAMnoK  rown  sTATioa 

cc.,.1 -n.i  .il     in    Other    phases    of    power  and  electricity  to  15  additt-naJ  mtrtrt    The  iiiimary  to  j— **^'|'  ^ ''|^/**'r*'' 

>n,  and   recent    installations   of  nearest   mine  is  only  ''*'*•  '""*    lumwoafinn 

...,.;>     driven    machinery    a      mines  froii'  »>'•  *«:i»i.iii     fhr  1  and  *"»*'^****  "'^^^ 

demonstrated  that  the  centra'  power  aw..  The  »'******^^ j"'  **  ?! 

at     the     mines     is     productive     of         lhc,...wcr  '  »-•"»  "  '  '^''''  ^JtJ**        "^^rf^lW 

mv    and    rffirirnrv       In    the    instance  formed    l»y     r 

.K«>      rmtmJin«      tn       rt 

M     •taom  emera  Um  t^ 

througli  a  awnber  oi    r«  p»T»t  w 
>«rir  «4ll.  tiM  iaf|ly  batag 
Um  frtoM  ol  tiM 


at  minimum  cost.   Under  the  modern 

>ds  of  wiring  mine«  from  a  central 

n,    the    transmission     losses    which 

into  the  question  <«f  r-<>rii>mies  are 

low.     Where  «team  1*  iMnl.  the  loss 

due     to 

'.'•■.   tlie   {)!, 


italton    reservoir. 
I  ig    I.  an''  ••  "'  ' 
The  bv. 


J     ^ 


TMs 


/ 


•ok  •<  < 


142 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January    19,   1909. 


ment,  the  fuel  consumption  has  been  re- 
duced about  20  tons  per  day,  with  the 
same  load. 

The  changes  made  in  the  stoker  to  meet 
the  conditions  of  burning  a  very  fine  fuel, 
were  to  prevent  the  movement  of  the 
grate  bars  more  than  necessary  to  pro- 
duce the  proper  amount  of  feed.  The  bot- 
tom end  of  the  grate  on  each  boiler  has 
been  equipped  with  a  cleaning  plate  to 
facilitate  dumping  the  ashes.  The  grates 
have  an  air  space  of  20  per  cent. 

Forced  and  induced  drafts  are  used  in 
all  the  boiler  installations,  the  pressure 
in  the  furnace  being  almost  balanced 
with  a  slight  vacuum.  The  blowers  were 
furnished  by  the  American  Blower  Com- 
pany and  are  driven  by  engines  of  suita- 
ble size  built  by  the  same  company.  The 
blower  system  is  in  duplicate,  there  being 
two  12-foot  induced-draft  fans,  and  two 
lo-foot  forced-draft  fans.  The  speed  of 
the  engines  and  fans  is  regulated,  as  the 
steam  pressure  raises  or  falls,  by  a  Fos- 
ter reducing  valve. 

The  stacks  are  simply  for  the  purpose 


FIG. 


2.    ARRANGEMENT  OF  AIR  AND  STEAM 
DUCTS 


of  carrying  away  the  gases,  and  are  not 
depended  on  to  create  a  draft.  They  are 
of  iron,  the  tops  being  60  feet  above  the 
surface  of  the  grates.  Two  Green  econo- 
mizers are  used  with  the  old  boilers,  the 
gases  passing  through  them  to  the  in- 
duced-draft fans.  The  stack  temperature 
averages  550  degrees  after  leaving  the 
economizers. 

The  new  section  of  the  boiler  room  con- 
sists of  six  2-drum  Stirling  boilers,  each 
of  625  horsepower,  the  ratio  of  heating 
surface  to  grate  area  being  30  to  i.  The 
new  boilers  are  equipped  with  the  Parsons 
system  of  forced  draft  without  econo- 
mizers. They  are  hand-fired,  and  the  fur- 
naces are  equipped  with  stationary  grates 
having  an  air  space  of  10  per  cent.  These 
furnaces  are  constructed  with  arches  to 
assist  the  furnace  temperature,  also  doors 
at  both  ends  of  the  grates.  Ash-dumping 
plates  are  also  arranged  to  facilitate  clean- 
ing the  fires. 

The  boilers  are  equipped  with  Mur- 
ray^ Williams  and  Vigilant  boiler  feed- 
water  regulators. 

As    shown    in    Fig.   4,    the   coal   is    de- 


12  CoDDectioD  for  / 

UjdeTArk  and  Central  Mine 


January   19,    1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


^    th«   ucun    ISO   decrrr*      Tb« 
»»ure  carried  u  tyj  pova4»  p« 

inch. 


PVI«G  Alio  VaUTU 


H(j.    4.    vn.v,    IN    lilt  milieu   KoiM 


Ejch  boiler  is  cwtected  to  «  u  tack 

main  licadcr  of  ^m  loey  rwiiiiiiiijB.    Br 

f  oac  ol  tW  hoalert  dHtald 

c  aeddaK  or  a  mcoob  o| 

c^Ucr  UcocDc  defacti*^  the 

^it^rt  and  Mctioa  of  ooiaji 

be   operated,  tlnu   pn  iiiwi^ 

«Km  of  the  mine*  dcpeadi^  oa 

n  for  McMB  and  povcr. 

.  i.c  ^-^itncciioa  betwmi  cadi  boflti  aatf 

header  t%  of  s-iocb  pipe,  ma  ill  villi  bflad^ 

'■4  feet  6  iorbet  ia  tW 

•  A  Wikos  boilen,  and 

'  tame  radtoa  ia 

eetioa.     TW   t»- 

^«n)t  at  a  radisB  of  6  la« 

'  end  of  liw  flHt  aad  7  Imi 

0  inches  at  the  other. 

Frooi  (he  12  inch  header  the  varioaa 
pipe  lino  extend  to  the  central  power  na- 
tion, and  to  the  varioot 
pipes  vary  in  ttie  and  kafth,  the 
nmntaf  to  the  twitiat  ttMioa  bdaf  u 


livcred  to  the  hopper  in  the  case  of  the 
Babcock  &  Wilcox  boilers  by  means  of 
chutes  from  the  storage  bin  located  above 
and  between  the  two  rows  of  boilers.  In 
the  case  of  the  new  installation,  the  fuel 
is  delivered  on  the  floor  in  front  of  the 
boiler. 

In  Figs.  3  and  5  are  shown  a  plan  and 
elevation  of  the  boiler-room  layout.  As 
will  be  seen,  the  Babcock  4  Wilcox  boilers 
are  arranged  in  seven  batteries  of  two 
boilers  and  one  of  one  boiler.  The  Stirling 
boilers  are  arranged  in  one  battery  of  five 
boilers,  the  sixth  boiler  being  set  so  that 
it  will  be  the  first  of  a  second  battery 
of  six  boilers,  space  being  provided  for 
boilers,  as  shown.  Each 
:  '•»!  with  a  ^tiprrhr.itrr  which 


rtc    $  nxTATTow  or  aonjoa  aooM 


no.  6    snnwiito  the  ooAL-comrwn  mtTALLAnoM 


rndal  MCh 


"•1.  hi 


that 


144 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January   19,   1909. 


VIEW   IN   THE  TURBINE  ROOM    OF    THE    HAMPTON    PLANT 


one  ordinary  length  of  pipe  is  required. 
Other  applications  of  the  welded  pipe  are 
in  the  pipe  connection  between  the  boiler 
and  the  main  steam  header  and  the  header 
and  the  prime  mover.  The  piping  system 
was  furnished  by  the  M.  W.  Kellogg  Com- 
pany, which  also  makes  the  improved  Van 
Stone  joint. 

Another  feature  in  the  welding  art  is 
that  of  the  welded  separator  placed  in 
the  12-inch  steam  line  leading  to  the  tur- 
bine house.  This  separator  is  located  on 
the  outside  of  the  building,  but  is  pro- 
tected bv  suitable  covering,  as  are  also  the 


various  steam  pipes.  It  is  constructed  of 
open-hearth  steel  and  has  no  joints  what- 
ever, with  the  exceptit»n  of  the  inlet  and 
outlet  flanges  and,  in  addition,  even  the 
supporting  lugs  at  the  bottom  are 
welded  to  the  cylinder  of  the  separator. 
The  body  of  the  separator  is  welded  to- 
gether, and  also  to  the  top  and  bottom 
heads.  The  flanges,  which  are  made  of 
rolled  steel,  are  also  welded  on.  This 
separator  was  also  furnished  by  the  Kel- 
logg company. 

The  valves  throughout  the  plant  are  the 
product  of  the  New  Bedford  Boiler  and 


Machine  Company.  The  globe  valves  are 
of  the  extra-heavy  type  for  high-pressure 
service.  They  are  designed  for  a  work- 
ing pressure  of  300  pounds.  The  seats 
and  disks  are  constructed  of  nickel  bronze 
which,  having  the  same  coefficient  of  ex- 
pansion as  cast  iron,  makes  a  serviceable 
combination. 

Disposal  of  Ash 

A  most  unique  method  of  disposing  of 

the  ash  has  been  adopted,  which  not  only 

eliminates    all    expense   in   the   matter  of 

cartage,    but    is    turned   to   practical    use. 


FIG.    8.     SHOWING  THE  TURBINE  LAYOUT    AND   DRY-VACUUM    PUMPS 


January   19,   1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


U5 


riG.    9.    ALLIS-CHALMEaS  TVRBINI  AND  BVIXOCK  ALTUNaTM 


Under  the  a«hpits  of  the  Rabcock  &  VVil- 
»x  boilers  a  tunnel -has  been  constructed, 
.-I  «  rneath  the  furnace  doors  of  the  new 

another    set    of    tunnels    has    been 

The  ashes  fall  from  the  grate  in 
'St  instance,  and  pass  into  a  tunnel 

has  a  slope  of  H  inch  to  the  foot. 

case  of  the  Stirling  iKjilers  the  ashes 
ire  pulled  out  into  the  conveyer  lines 
from  both  the  furnace  and  the  ashpits. 
J>e  latter  being  cleaned  but  once  a  week. 
Pin  hole  grates  are  used ;  consequently, 
rrry  little  ash  falls  through  into  the  ash- 
)it       Water    from   the   mines    flushes   the 


ash  into  a  bore  hole  leading  to  abandoned 
mine  chambers.  It  is  estimated  that  about 
50  tons  of  ash  is  flushed  into  these  cham- 
bers from  under  the  boilers  each  day  Aj 
the    ashes    in    time    harden    *i:"  to 

support  the  roof  of  the  mme,  '.  al 

cr>himiis,  which  were  left  m  pUcc  t'ur  this 
purpose  can  be  removed 

Coal  Cotmnra 

The  barley-coal  supply  comet  from  the 
washeriet  in  ordinary  railroad  cart.  Frooi 
these  cars   it    is  dumped   into  a   concrete 


pit  having  a  capacity  01  too  lOMk.  froai 
which  It  pattrs  otMo  an  mdl*m  cowieyaf 
bell  and  u  tbca  coM»«yH  ap  as  MKtor 
and  along  aa  appcr  Aoor  m  iW  koiir* 
houw.  Fig.  &  AlMg  tke  paik  ot  tW  WH 
i«  an  arrangetBCOC  IcBovB  aa  tke  tnpper. 
w  *e«  tbe  eri> 

4  'OCI|B  whi 

into    tbr    bonkeri.       I  be 

tlo«K  4I  ntf  the  track  made  for  N  at  f«M 
:  to  load  tW  b«akrrv  and 

» ;  »■   ■        the  «'^'  .•»r«.  Sa^W   %r»-^ 

The  cootnrer  bet! 

iNr     N  "let 

•Ml     «k«<h 


Mirr  lenglh  oi  thr 

.  -.><)!>     of    1000    ' 

nc    on    wharh    Ike    cr- 


rtr.     10    KUCVATION  or 


omit  nrtBiMt  MtT.  nr^ACVUM  nmt  Mn  • 


pee  lit 


146 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January   19,   1909. 


Pumps 
The  pump  room  contains  two  of  the 
Scranton  Pump  Compan}''s  22  and  12  by 
24-inch  pumps  of  the  outside-packed  type, 
each  equipped  with  a  counter  which  acts 
as  a  check  on  the  amount  of  water 
pumped.      There     is     also     one     tandem 


dentally,   it  may   be  said  that   the   Curtis  and  steam  pipes  of  one  of  the  Curtis  tur-! 

turbine  shown  at  the  extreme  end  of  the  bine  sets,  dry-vacuum  pump  and  exciter 

turbine  room^  Fig.   7,  is  one  of  the  first,  units  is  shown  in  Fig.  10. 

if  not  the  first,  turbines  of  500  kilowatts 

manufactured    by    the    General     Electric  Condensers 

Company,    thus    making    the    Delaware,  Four  of  the  Curtis    turbines    are    con- 

Lackawanna    &    Western    Railroad    Com-  nected    to    Worthington    barometric    jet 


FIG.     II.     SHOWING  THE  BAROMETRIC   CONDENSERS 


FIG.     15.     ELEVATION  OF  LIGHTNING-ARRESTER 
ARRANGEMENT 


duplex  Epping-Carpenter  pump,  which  is 
held  as  a  reserve.  In  the  pump  room  is 
also  a  Westinghouse  air  pump  which  com- 
presses air  for  cleaning  the  tubes  of  the 
boilers. 

The  feed  water  for  the  boiler  is  taken 
from  the  reservoir  already  mentioned  and 
is  passed  through  a  6000-horsepower 
Cochrane  feed-water  heater. 

Turbines 

A  section  of  the  turbine  room,  which  is 
about  25  feet  from  the  boiler  room,  is 
shown  in  Fig.  7.  The  five  Curtis  tur- 
bines are  located  on  one  side  of  the  room. 
They  are  of  500  kilowatts  capacity  and  are 
direct-connected  to  alternators,  generat- 
ing a  current  of  2300  volts  at  a  speed  of 
1800  revolutions  per  minute.  In  the 
right-hand  corner  is  shown  part  of  the 
air-pump  pit. 

The  12-inch  steam  header  enters  the 
basement  and  is  tapped  for  a  6-inch  p'lpe 
leading  to  each  Curtis  turbine.  The  ar- 
rangement of  the  piping  is  shown  in  Figs. 
8  and  10,  the  former  being  a  plan  view 
of  the  turbine  layout  and  dry-vacuum 
pumps. 

In  Fig.  9  is  shown  an  Allis-Chalmers 
turbine  direct-connected  to  a  2000-kilo- 
watt  Bullock  three-phase  6o-cycIe  alter- 
nator. It  runs  at  a  speed  of  1800  revo- 
lutions per  minute  and  generates  a  cur- 
rent of  2300  volts.  This  turbine  has  only 
been  in  operation  a  few  months  and  repre- 
sents   the     latest     turbine    design.     Inci- 


FIG.      13.     GENERAL    VIEW    OF    THE    SWITCHBOARD 


pany     a     pioneer     in     turbine     practice. 

In  the  rear  portion  of  Fig.  9  is  shown 
the  Curtis  turbine,  switchboard  and  one 
of  the  lo-ton  cranes,  the  other  being  over 
the  Allis-Chalmers  turbine  and  used  for 
handling  the  outer  bearing,   if  necessary. 

An  elevation  showing  the  arrangement 


condensers  and  one  is  connected  to  a 
Worthington  surface  condenser.  The 
Allis-Chalmers  turbine  is  connected  to  a 
Tomlinson  barometric  jet  condenser.  The 
barometric  condensers  are  placed  on  the 
outside  of  the  turbine  building,  as  shown 
in  Fig.  II. 


January   19,    1909. 

As  is  well  known,  mine  water  contains 
more  or  less  sulphuric  acid ;  therefore, 
considerable  trouble  has  been  encountered 
with  the  condensers,  as  mine  water  is  used 
for  condensing  purposes  in  the  jet  con- 
densers. In  this  case  the  water  contains 
39  grains  of  free  sulphuric  acid  per  gallon 
of  water. 


POWKR  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

the  condenser  to  the  circulating  pomp, 
and  then  through  the  heater,  the  iorplas, 
if  any.  returning  to  the  rc»cr\.iir. 

The  vacuum  is  h  ;    "    '  '  Wonli- 

ington  vacuum  pui  for  the 

Curtis  turbines,  one  1h.i::>;  ^  reserve 
There  i*  also  a  Union  Steam  Fump  Oir- 
pany's  vacuum  pump  for  the  new  turl 


The  cundi-Uikcr  heads   were  attacked  as 

n  TTi.nttcr   of   course,   and   to   obviate   this 

•vcro  lini-d  with  lead  as  a  protection. 

a  diOirulty  was  encountered,  as  air 

I    get    between    the    lining    and    the 

......     when   the   condensers   were   not    in 

use;    con»e<|ucntly,    when   a    vacuum    was 

■gain   formed   the  air,  due  to  rxpan>iun, 

would   push    the    lead    lining    inward,    re- 

t:    the    area  of   the   condenser   heads 

'-quiring  more  water  to  pro<lucc  the 

vacuum.      \Vo<m1   linings   were    next 

ind  have  given  fair  satisfaction,  and 

if  the  condensers  could  be  operated  con- 

"" isly  ihere  would  be  but  little,  if  any. 

■  c  encountered.  The  alternate  wet- 
iiii.'  .md  drying,  however,  tend  to  loosen 
(he  w(xk1  i-.-i>inK      Water-Mippiy  pipes  lead 


The    layout   of  these   units    is    shown   in 
Fig.  8 

Excmai  Sets 

As  in  all  other  apparatus,  the  exctirr 
units  are  in  duplicite.  as  shown  in  Fig.  ti 
One  set  cunsiMs  of  a  ,v>-kilowalt  West- 
inghouse    1^5- volt     j  '  >r, 

driven    by     a     dir. .  -It 

three  phase  6i)  • 

lion   uiotDr.   wr 
iKMis  |)er   minute,  and  n 
c<>mp.iny       The  other    tn 
direct-current  generator  of  the  tame  capj 
city,    driven    by    a     Uxli-inch    McHwen 
steam  engine.     This   unit   i«  held  m   re 
serNf-  and  used  in  starting  up  in  case  the 
cnlirr    plant    shoult!    be    ili'»e<l    down    f^r 


U7 

generator    pancK    ibc 

atihr    '    '  tnnt 

P***-  cqiiippcil    viiJi    tlw 

hcs.  rrcocdim  wmramemu, 

.'rnahtr  that   a   r^nl^nfli 


All  caMtt 

■  ii>..»ic-i     in    ifOS-pipC    Mi4 

whicb  are  arranged  m  •■ 

T.j(K    fiianoer.     The   Iced  liaea.  i»- 

m   ihp   MwT  r*m4mt.   p««4  Co   Ike 

'ranged 

»1  back 

rtcmn  in  F«.   IJ. 

'  ihr  ti^btning-ar- 

arrangnaent  and  UkmhT 

-"     11   ari.j    ic  -r»  af« 

ired  to 

'ix«.     Be> 

*  a  coocee#e 

tftrlwa  ilMck 

-'■■*  arrmera 

^-nig  M  caae 


mchn  apart  and  aer 

■!uiiri    fr<-<!   Iirw*   tkSW 


I 
«ent 


it 
ih< 


ten. 

.f..i 


iiiiin|{    i>>    t> 


Effect  of  Siprrhc«ted  SlmiB 
Mineral  CvlincJet  Oils 


Nrr'»r»hnB  »• 


rhangv  ot  a 

.   til  J.  «•    in   J  <  ■»! 


rin    14.    n.\^  or  ugmtmn<.  \iiaRam  tAYotrr 


comlenser  liia'h   (n'ln  ' 
liown  in  Fig    11      The    . 
tank   by  gravity  through   loiKrttc 


Thi»  unit  runt  ai  9*o  rrsd 
iiioule 


SwiTCHkiABS 


surface  condenser  obtain*  its  water  A    . 

the    reservoir    containing    the    feed      sh«mi 
raier    The  course  of  the  water  is  through     nf     Vermont 


148 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  19,  1909. 


Development  of  the  High  Speed  Steam  Engine 

Why  the  Compound  Single  Valve  Engine  Is  Preferable  Where  High 
Efficiency  Is  Necessary;  the  Angle  Compound  Engine;  Inertia  Thrusts 


I 


Tuesday  evening,  December  15,  Frank 
H.  Ball  lectured  before  the  Modern  Sci- 
ence Club,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  on  "The 
Development  of  the  High-speed  Engine." 
Lantern-slide  illustrations  were  freely 
used.  The  lecture  hall  was  filled  and  the 
discussion  which  followed  the  lecture  was 
pertinent  and  interesting.  What  Mr.  Ball 
said  was,  in  part,  as  follows : 

It  has  been  said  that  Charles  T.  Porter 
is  the  father  of  this  type  of  engine,  and 
it  is  true  that  he  built  and  sent  to  the 
Paris  Exposition  of  1875  a  remarkable 
engine  which  attracted  great  attention  be- 
cause it  ran  at  much  higher  speed  than 
was  customary  at  that  time;  and  it  ran 
very  smoothly  and  quietly.  The  perform- 
ance of  this  engine  was  partly  due  to  the 
design,  which  made  it  extremely  rigid, 
and  partly  to  the  liberal  size  of  the  bear- 
•tigs  and  the  perfect  workmanship. 

Mr.  Porter  embodied  in  this  engine  a 
pet  theory  of  his  regarding  the  use  of 
heavy  reciprocating  parts  for  the  purpose 
of  absorbing  the  shock  of  the  impact  of 
steam  on  the  piston  during  admission  and 
giving  off  the  stored-up  energy  to  the 
crank  pin  during  the  latter  part  of  the 
stroke,  when  these  parts  are  being 
brought  to  rest.  In  otheV  words,  these 
heavy  parts  were  to  act  as  a  flywheel  in 
equalizing  the  effort  on  the  crank  pin 
throughout  the  stroke. 

Those  who  have  seen  Mr.  Porter's  book 
on  the  Richards  indicator  will  remember 
the  elaborate  tables  given  for  calculating 
the  effort  on  the  crank  pin  as  modified 
by  the  inertia  of  the  reciprocating  parts. 
These  calculations  are  all  very  correct, 
and  are  theoretically  beautiful,  but  experi- 
ence has  shown  that  this  refinement  is 
unnecessary  and  that  heavy  reciprocating 
parts  are  very  difficult  to  counterbalance, 
and  are,  therefore,  very  destructive  to 
foundations,  so  that  extreme  lightness  of 
these  parts  is  now  considered  desirable 
for  high  speed. 

The  Porter  engine,  although  it  ran  at  a 
high  speed,  did  not  belong  to  the  class 
since  called  high-speed  engines,  because 
its  valve  gear  was  entirely  different,  and 
it  did  not  use  a  shaft  governor. 

The  chief  characteristics  of  the  modern 
high-speed  engine  are  the  shaft  governor 
and  generally  a  single  valve.  The  first 
engines  that  came  into  general  use  with 
these  distinguishing  features  were  built  by 
the  Armington  &  Sims  Company,  of 
Providence,  R.  I. 

Then  followed  the  familiar  straight- 
line  engine  of  Professor  Sweet,  and  an- 
other that  will  be  called  to  your  attention 


soon,  and  as  the  electrical  business  grew, 
the  number  of  builders  of  these  engines 
increased  greatly. 

At  first  the  electric  generators  were  all 
belt-driven  machines  of  small  capacity, 
and  the  engines  were  therefore  small. 
Later  the  generators  grew  in  size,  and  as 
the  horsepower  of  the  engines  increased 
to  correspond,  the  question  of  efficiency 
became  more  important.  The  Corliss  en- 
gine was  then,  as  it  is  now,  the  standard 
of  efficiency,  but  the  regulation  was  less 
satisfactory  than  with  the  shaft-goven]or 
engines,  and  it  was  inconvenient  and  cum- 
bersome to  belt  from  the  slow-speed  en- 
gine to  the  high-speed  generator.  There- 
fore it  became  a  choice  of  evils  between 
the  inconvenience  of  the  slow-speed  en- 
gine and  the  less  efficient  performance  of 
the  high-speed  engine,  with  the  advantage 
clearly  on  the  side  of  the  shaft-governor 
engines  for  small  powers,  and  the  Corliss 
engine    for    large    powers,    but    with    the 


FIG.      I.       160-HORSEPOWER     SIMPLE     ENGINE. 
UNBALANCED  RADIAL  FORCES  WITH  RE- 
CIPROCATING  PARTS  COUNTER- 
BALANCED 

boundary  line  of  good  practice  not  clearly 
defined.  The  tendency  seemed  to  be  to 
mcrease  the  field  of  the  Corliss  engine, 
and  to  limit  the  use  of  high-speed  engines 
to  still  smaller  powers,  when  it  was  found 
that  single-valve  engines  were  peculiarly 
adapted  to  compounding,  and  unlike  the 
Corliss  engine,  these  compound  engines 
were  very  desirable  for  noncondensing 
service. 

This  changed  the  situation  materially, 
for  it  was  found  that  the  high-speed  com- 
pound engine  was  appreciably  more  effici- 
ent than  the  simple  Corliss  engine,  so  that 
the  boundary  line  of  good  practice  was 
moved  up  a  long  way  into  the  field  of 
larger  powers,  which  had  been  held  by  the 
Corliss  engine. 

These  compound  engines  first  appeared 
as  tandem  engines,  or  as  cross-compounds, 
but  always  with  a  shaft  governor,  and  for 
many  years  the  single  valve  was  uni- 
versally used.  During  all  these  years 
there  was  great  similarity  between  the  en- 


gines produced  by  the  large  number  of 
builders  of  this  class  of  machinery,  but 
presently  there  began  to  be  a  divergence 
in  the  ideas  of  designers.  Some  sought 
to  improve  the  efficiency  of  the  single- 
valve  engines  by  the  use  of  complicated 
valve  gears  and  an  increased  number  of 
valves,  while  others  claimed  that  the  small 
gain  in  efficiency  to  be  obtained  by  a 
multiplication  of  the  valves  and  parts  is 
more  than  offset  by  the  increased  cost  of 
maintenance,  and  the  greater  liability  of 
interrupted  service,  and  that  where  high 
efficiency  is  desired  a  better  plan  is  to 
use  a  compound  engine  of  simple  design 
and  few  parts. 

The  advocates  of  the  multiple-valve 
high-speed  engine  answered  this  argument 
by  proposing  to  compound  the  four-valve 
engine,  while  the  opponents  of  the  plan 
condemned  it  severely  as  being  a  wholly 
impracticable  arrangement,  because  of  the 
greatly  increased  number  of  parts  and  the 
rather  appalling  complication,  which  was 
held  to  be  very  objectionable  for  high 
speed. 

Those  who  advocated  the  simpler  valve 
gear  for  high-speed  engines  sought  to 
realize  the  extreme  of  simplicity  and  few- 
ness of  parts.  An  illustration  of  the  de- 
velopment in  this  line  is  found  in  the  type 
known  as  duplex-compound.  Comparing 
this  with  the  compound  engine  just  con- 
sidered the  difference  in  the  valve  gear 
is  rather  startling  to  the  man  who  is  ex- 
pected to  maintain  these  mechanisms. 

Bear  in  mind  that  both  these  engines 
are  compound  engines.  The  engine  wtih 
complicated  valve  gear  gives  slightly  bet- 
ter efficiency,  but  the  saving  is  unimport- 
ant. The  following  table  of  the  number  of 
parts  in  the  valve  gear  of  both  engines 
makes  an  interesting  showing : 


Number  of  eccentrics 

Number  of  eccentric  crank- 
pins  

Number  of  eccentric  rods... 
Number  of  connecting  links 

Number  of  rock  arms 

Number  of  rock-arm  pins  .. 

Number  of  valves 

Number  of  valve  stems 

Number  of  stuffing  boxes... 

Total  number  of   working 
bearings 

Total 


EiKht-valve 

Duplex 

ConipouiKl. 

Oonipountf. 

2 

0 

0 

1 

2 

1 

12 

0 

19 

2 

26 

2 

8 

1 

8 

1 

8 

1 

85 

9 

42 

6 

The  question  naturally  arises,  what  i» 
the  increased  efficiency  to  be  obtained  by 
all  this  complication?  The  relative  per- 
formance of  the  three  classes  of  engine. 


January   19,    1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


the    Corliss,    the     four-valve     high-speed 
engine  and  the  single-valve  engine,  may  be 
best   illustrated   by  comparing   simple  en- 
gines of  these  types.     The  Corliss  engine 
has  been   so    long    known    and    so    fully 
tested  that  its  performance  is  well  estab- 
lished   as    approximately    26    pounds    of 
steam   per   horsepower    per    hour    under 
;1    conditions.     The     single-valve    en- 
has   been   very   definitely   located   at 
ut  30  pounds  per  horsepower  per  hour, 
the    four-valve   high-speed    engine    is 
r  and   its   efficiency    is    not    so    well 
'.  n.     Without  regard  to  what  may  be 
finally  considered  a  fair  representation  of 
the  average  performance  of  this  engine,  it 
must  be  evident  that  because  it  does  not 
use  the  releasing  valve  gear,  and  because 
its   clearance   is   necessarily   greater    than 
the  Corliss  engine,  its  efficiency  must  fall 
short   of  the   standard    efficiency    of    the 
sing-gear  engine,  and  its  performance 
'  therefore  be  between  the  Corliss  and 
the  single-valve  types. 

It  has  been  abundantly  demonstrated 
that  the  single-valve  compound  engine  de- 
velops power  on  a  consumption  of  from 
22  to  24  pounds  of  water  per  horsepower 
hour  and  therefore  it  is  a  more  effi- 
cngine  than  any  type  of  simple 
engine. 

't  becomes,  then,  a  question  of  the  prac- 

lity   of  compounding  the   four-valve 

speed  engine.     Here  again  an  inter- 

-:  comparison  may  be  made  between 

i...    ;wo  types  of  valve  gear,  as  follows: 

UrMllEB  OF   MOVINO   PARTH   kJtV   WOKKINO 
BEABINUH   IX   TALVB  OBAB. 


1 
Vbur-valrn  ijrpe 

Hlint>ln     1 
Enirlno. 

71 
II 

1 

r<imi>oun<l 
Entfln". 

ir 

It 

m  this  table  it  appears  that  the  sin- 

ilvc     engine     may     be     compounded 

ut  increasing  the  number  of  parts  of 

tl;j.   valve  gear,  whereas  the  compounding 

of    the    four-valve    engine    increases    the 

inim)>er  of  these  parts  60  per  cent. 

The  matter'  is  summed  up  by  the  advo- 
cates  of  simplicity   in  high-speed  engines 
^*    •Uows;      Where  the  efficiency   is   not 
'tant    the   simple  single-valve   engine 
'•^irable    because     it     represents    the 
-•St    initial   investment   and   the   least 

H  is  necessary,  then  the 

live    engine    is    better 

'  valve  engine,  because 

--s  not  increase  the  number  of  part* 

r   valve   gear   and   it    is  appreciably 

efficient    than   any   form   of   simple 

•  liKiue. 

Leaving   these   compari«ons   and   going 

to  the  early  days  of  the  high-^prr.l 

r,    vnii    will    rrnr-rnhfT    thr    pti>nr/T 


-      of       1 
4mr    time    I 


gine  which  is  to  be  followed  in  its  de- 
velopment through  all  these  totcnrcning 
years. 

The  distinctive  features  of  the  high- 
speed engine  are  the  shaft  governor  and 
the  single  valve,  but  we  will  not  under- 
take to  follow  the  development  of  these 
governors.  A  description  of  one  of  the 
latest    designs    may    be  ti      The 

features  of  this  constru'  iie  grav- 


FIC.     2.      160-HOKSCrOWni    SIMPta    EKGIMC 

UNBAU^NCZO   EAOIAL   POaCTS    WrTH 

REanHXATINC  PAITS  OOUKTEB- 

BA1.ANCZB 

ity  balance  and  the  arrangement  of  the 
springs.  During  the  whole  period  of  the 
development  of  the  engine  the  same  form 
of  the  valve  has  been  used  continuously 
in  the  simple  engine. 

Going  on  now  to  the  compound  engines 
as  the  next  stage  of  development,  the 
duplex-compound  will  be  investigated  as 
being  along  the  line  of  extreme  sim- 
plicity.    The  latest  development  along  the 


It  u  the  ftrntnl  plaa  of  ^tt  ■■»• 
oioth  caciBc*  intttOcd  in  one  of  the  la«i> 
traction  power  linain  m  New  Yodi  O17. 
and  has  beta  rtij  mkocmM  there  aad 
elsewhere. 

Enfinecrs  do  aol  accai  to  hove 
however,  the  pccsliftr  advaattcc*  ol 
form  of  oooacnKtaaa  for  mbaB 
engines,  where  ibt  eoaMcrWancc 
makes  smooch  twrnm^  Mid  freedo 
vibrattOQ  iocrcsiiagljr  diftcali  w  llM  ipwd 
is  increased. 

With  even  moderately  high  speed  it  hos 
been  found  wbolljr  impracticable  to  dipiad 
00  ordinary  fooodstsoaa  to  natm  the  tm- 
balanced  inertia  ihnM  of  the  raciproct- 
ing  parts  of  horiaoottl  m^mm,  to  a  ecr* 
tain  amouol  of  oooMcftelaaBC  u  tWre- 
f  rc  placed  oppoaite  tiM  craalc  lo  mmnl- 
ut  these  inertia  thtMla. 

The  diftcvlty  here  taeoaaterad  is  tfrni. 
while  it  netralttei  koriaoaial  throattc  it 
also  devdopa  aa  wnhalaiiced  thrwl  hi  a 
vertical  plane,  so  that,  coatrary  to  a  vary 
prevalent  idea,  the  raciprocaiiag  parts  of 
an  engine  cannot  be  cooalcrtolaaccd  by  • 
rotating  cooMerweitlN.  aad  il  baeoaaa  • 
matter  of  choke  as  to  wkM  part  ol  fM$ 
thrust  shall  be  traaaferred  from  iW  plaae 
of  the  engine  lo  a  plasie  at  right 
to  it  With  horiiontal  eiifuws  it  is 
mon  practice  to  use  a  rooatrrweiglM  to 
the  extent  of  transferriag  tbe  tarper  part 
of  ihr  trrr'.'tx  throsl  to  s  Vertical  plase. 
becA  irf  foaodanoaa  restst  verti- 

cal ii^^          ...-.>re  sooccasfaBy   thaa   horv 
tonial  thrusts^     The  ■agaiiade  of 
thrusts  increases  as    tbc    sfaare    of 
speed  nf  lotatloa.  SO  thai  at 
speeds  they  become  very 

It  hat  been  postlively 
the  coonterbolaace  ia  the  dliiim  «Im>I 
of  s  locoowiivc.  necsasary  to  preveat  ike 
engine  from  ^aosin^  badly  ai  bi(li 
develops  •'^  mtiffi  vrfttfaT  tfirvt'  tl 
wheels.  » 


th*« 


the 


t   the 
.-jsred  to 
oi    the 
(«  parts  whtfi  the  craoll 

f     crntrri  \     pfaCttCaSy     pi 

-e  be  uttsiaid 
^  part*  are  om 


riG    J.     160- Hoescpown   AWGLa-ctmrwxp     both  trt*  «•«  r^  .i...- -...^ 
KNciNi.    UNBAU^MCsa  aAiHAL  foacxs         to  we««h  the  same,  aad  the 


WITH    RBTirauCATI**'.   PASTS 


tkrasis  as   ike 


line  followed  is  a  new  type  of  compound  ______ 

engine  that  many  of  you  have  oot  seen  ai«li  maipn^i   •— *"^  "^   '** 

Thi«   engine  is  called   ftr    ^lele-com-  that   resnarhaUe   smaaihMM   o4ra 

pound"    becaasc    the    »  re    sod  is  obcsmcd  evew  ai  very  bigfc  speed 

.      .1 Hi   gg^  tv-,    t.-..n.*Mit.*\   i«fiidr««  bocamee  a 

of  the  '    •<*»   ""^   ' 

-«  rods     ptMw.  .-,  ,-.  ....  *  r--  «<  »*"  •— - 
pkcad     rach  rwtdotsoi^  MSaad  ol  1' 

'*d4i»rily  deHveeed  lo  IW    .-™ 
TMs  Is  a  varr  Is 


•< 


ISO 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  19,  1909. 


condition  for  uniform  rate  of  rotation 
without  heavy  fl\^vheels  and,  because  the 
shocks  of  impact  are  small  on  all  these 
bearings,  the  wear  is  proportionately 
slight  and  the  tendency  to  heat  is  re- 
duced. 

Among  the  many  views  shown  on  the 
screen  were  three  showing  the  inertia 
thrusts  of  the  reciprocating  parts  on  the 
crank  pin.  These  were  graphic  illustra- 
tions of  the  extent  and  direction  of  the 
force  developed.  Fig.  i  shows  the  direc- 
tion and  extent  of  the  inertia  force  in  an 
engine  with  unbalanced  reciprocating  parts  ; 
Fig.  2  shows  the  transference  of  force 
from  the  horizontal  to  the  vertical  plane 
when  the  reciprocating  parts  of  the  engine 
are  as  nearly  balanced  as  may  be  by  re- 
volving weights  ;  and  in  Fig.  3  is  shown 
the  inertia  stress  exerted  in  the  angle- 
compound  engine  with  the  weight  of  both 
sets  of  reciprocating  parts  made  to  weigh 
the  same,  with  the  counterbalance  suffi- 
cient to  neutralize  the  inertia  thrust  at 
each  center.  There  are  thus  four  small 
inertia  impulses  at  each  revolution  in- 
stead of  the  ordinary  two  large  ones  of 
the  single  engine. 


generator  must  stop,  because  no  other 
method  of  driving  it  has  been  provided. 
This  would  leave  the  rooms  in  darkness, 
as  the  local  electric-lighting  company  de- 
clined to  supply  current  in  case  of  such 
an  emergency,  and  would  not  run  wires 
into  the  plant  for  this  purpose,  as  they 
wanted  all  of  the  job  or  none  of  it. 

Again,  a  large  power  pump  draws  water 
for  a  certain  manufacturing  process.  It 
must  deliver  water  nearly  every  hour  that 


is  large  enough  to  send  the  products  of 
combustion  to  the  low  stack  at  a  very 
rapid  rate ;  but  if  the  single  engine  which 
drives  it  is  temporarily  disabled  no  other 
means  can  be  used  to  make  it  revolve,  be- 
cause none  has  been  provided. 

These  illustrations  show  the  advisability 
of  providing  more  than  one  way  to  drive 
these  important  auxiliaries,  especially 
when  the  comparatively  small  expense  in- 
volved is  considered. 


Reserve  Power  for  Auxiliaries 


By  W.  H.  Wakeman 


There  are  many  large  and  medium- 
sized  plants  in  which  the  operation  of  the 
main  engine  depends  on  the  action  of 
auxiliary  apparatus  which  is  not  equipped 


^ 


with  reserve  power  of  any  kind  for  driv- 
ing it,  in  case  the  regular  means  fails  on 
account  of  an  accident  or  the  wearing  out 
of  some  essential  part. 

For  illustration,  a  certain  mill  that  is 
run  twenty-four  hours  per  day  is  lighted 
by  electricity  supplied  by  a  generator 
driven  by  a  simple  high-speed  engine.  If 
this  engine  is  disabled  by  an  accident  the 


the  plant  is  in  operation,  or  else  the  sup- 
ply does  not  equal  the  demand ;  conse- 
quently, if  it  stops  for  any  cause,  the  main 
engine  must  be  shut  down  until  the  dam- 
age is  repaired. 

A  certain  plant  which  develops  about 
1000  horsepower  is  equipped  with  a  stack 
sufficient  for  about  200.  A  fan  is  located 
between  the  boilers  and  this  stack,  and  it 


Fig.  I  is  a  compact  double  engine  which 
can  be  used  as  shown,  or  if  one  piston, 
cylinder,  crosshead  or  connecting  rod 
must  be  repaired,  that  part  can  be  discon- 
nected and  the  other  used  to  drive  part 
of  the  load,  or  carry  the  whole  of  it,  if 
possible.  Such  an  engine  ought  to  be  de- 
signed so  that  one  cylinder  will  be  large 
enough  to  do  nearly  all  of  the  work ;  then, 
if  both  are  used  the  liability  of  accident 
will  be  made  less  and  the  parts  will  prove 
durable.  The  engine  as  a  whole  will  not 
show  its  greatest  possible  efficiency,  but 
inasmuch  as  it  develops  only  a  small  part 
of  the  power  used  this  is  of  little  conse- 
quence. 

Fig.  2  occupies  more  space,  but  the  de- 
sign is  excellent  for  several  reasons.  This 
shows  two  separate  engines,  with  one  fly- 
wheel that  is  common  to  both.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  run  one  "over"  and  the  other 
"under,"  as  both  must  revolve  in  the  same 
direction. 

A  substantial  cutoff  coupling  is  provided 
for  each,  with  a  suitable  lever  to  operate 
it,  by  means  of  which  either  one  or  both 
of  the  engines  can  be  disconnected  with  nc 
delay  whatever.  They  also  make  it  prac- 
tical to  set  the  cranks  in  any  desired  posi- 
tion in  relation  to  each  other  at  pleasure, 
as  it  is  only  necessary  to  shut  off  steam 
from  both  cylinders  and  set  one  crank  or 
either  center.  Release  the  other  coupling, 
set  this  crank  with  the  other,  directly  op- 


January    19,    1909. 

posite  to  it.  or  at  any  point  between  these 

extremes.     Throw   in   the   lever   and   the 

cranks  must  remain  in  the  given  position. 

A  heavy  balance  wheel  is  provided  for 

each   engine    for    the    following     reason : 

The  turning  effect  on  the  crank  shaft  in 

each  case  is  not  constant,  but  varies  with 

the   position   of   the   crank   pin.   therefore 

the  resulting  strain  on  the  cutoff  coupling 

lid   be  severe   if   it   was   not   counter- 

d  by  the  steady  motion  of  the  balance 

'  cl.    On  this  account  a  throttling,  slide- 

.  e  engine,  with  a  valve  designed  to  cut 

at  seven-eighths  stroke,  is  better  than 

'    of  the   automatic    type,    because    its 

tion    is   more    nearly     uniform     in     thi^ 

■>'-Ct. 


Catechism   of   Electricity 


-!4.     //    thv    sparking    is    due    to    the 
'  (hfs,  how  should  it  be  remedied' 
i  the  brushes  do  not   conform   to  the 
•  aturc  of  the  commutator,  or  are  not 
nth,     a     strip     of     coarse     sandpaper 
:1<1     l)f     wrapped     face     upward    once 
i)d  the  (.ointiiutator,  alltjwiiig  it  to  lap 
■tipic  oi  inches  over  the  first  turn.     By 
sly    turnuig    the    armature    while    the 
>hcs  arc   thus  pressing   on   the  sand- 
'T   around   the   commutator,   the   con- 
■   sut iaic  of  the  brushes  will  l)c  given 
'  '     urvature.     Then  remove  the 

JK.T  and  give  each  lirush  the 
nctc>.var\  >iii<x)thness  by  drawing  back 
and  forth  under  it  a  short  strip  of  tine 
sandpaptr,  keeping  the  back  of  the  sand- 
paper ihroughuut  its  length  close  against 
the  surface  of  the  commutator.  Use  a 
bellow*)  to  blow  out  the  carbon  dust  from 
the  commutator,  brushes  ;^nd  brush  hold- 
ers and  adjust  the  tension  spring  of  the 
brush  holder";  so  the  bru.shes  are  given 
-<-  upon  the  commutator 

Oil  IS  somctime<i  applied  to  the  commu- 
tator for  the  purpose  of  reducing  the 
noise  or  chattering  of  the  brushes  and 
when  much  of  it  has  been  applied  the 
brushes  becrjme  sticky  and  rea<lily  col- 
lect dirt  on  their  contact  surface,  produc- 
ing sparking.  They  Oiould  then  be 
tied  by  a  cloth  moistene<l  in  oil  or 
inr 

S.  /i  there  any  strnple  u-ay  of  OJCfr- 
.'jiwiM*;  uhifher  sfarkinti  is  caused  by 
brushit  '•'  /.'.»  hinh  resistame* 

Yes.  thi»  may  be  ilctected  by  the  abiior 
m.Tlh'    hifti    trrTiprr.iftirr    of    the    bru*hc» 
re|»lace<l  by  other* 

•H-C, 

'  '1.    How  is  ont  lo  know  if  tht  brusktt 

arc  at  the  «.  "  'if 

If  there  1*  iiid  by  •hiding  ihr 

bru«he<    «lighlly    around    the    r<>nimiitator 
Kv  m#-.i,.  of  the  rocker  ami  the  •'.  .-Im..- 

«ed,   it   prove*   thai    ih'- 
wrrr  not  at  the  neutml  p»>inl«      1" 
howr\er.   tlir    bru»hr«   are   not    »p.i"! 


low  ER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

explained  in  893.  no  amount  of  shihii^ 
will  place    them    at    the    neutral    points 
They    must     then    he     readM>«*'-'i     »--f.jrc 
satisfact 
Q»7  .   ,0 

ne    end    t»la\     tt>    fhr 
ariii.iuire  shaft,  allowing  it 
ward  and  forward  in  accor>i«..v    .,.,,.  ,„^ 
motion  imparted  to  it    by    the    belt,    the 


ISI 


homein^   will  gcfirr»ll>  «nooancc  ittclf  hf 
^^  'rvftbe*  to  oukc  a  rhiTirrw^ 

"*-  '»  pamcuUriy    tW    caw    m 

hich-tpecd  niolorv.    With  an'  Bnr%cti  coas- 
mot.ti<  r   rhrrr   will  be  a  oouceahlr 
*"  UiMhr«  wben  tbe 


■«#   ik»mU  b4  «(b- 


•v,t    tpbarking^    f  -->|;hnr>|    ^fw^ 

oooimatator      Aft*^   rnifcii 

:   %% 

<no4 

MtlwK  on   a  clcwi  per- 

«  doth,  and  wkde  ikr 

«  n  moooo.  oKne  fkc  dodi 

it     M)     fk.-     .  -t     ..1) 


'*•«*. 


in  time  cause  it  to  l^ecome  gr< 
roughened.  Hard  parti  !..  i"  • 
brushes  will  scratch  th> 

it  may  l)e  that  the  co .n.ii.T 

turnefl  out  of  the  shop  in  a  rr. 

5>on>etimes  a  bar  in  the 
f.f    ^.Mcr    metal    than    th*-    • 
\v« 

tn    '' 

will  then  br 
and  the  comr 
ing  in  sparking. 

A    high   liar   in   the  cowf"-'  ■ 
projecting    Mrip   of     mica 
bars,   which   on   account   «'* 
does    not    wear    down    a*    •! 
bars,  will  ihr 
face  »»f  the 


I-P 


Whim' 

{>i.«tir>lr      lo     Mr     tbc     .  nrr!fni|l*|.  f      i 

lr«rl  from  rtid  lu  «a4  aad  Um  ial 
>br«    cm    \m    ■Hfit 


II        ■>      •  11  ■      t  II  r     ■•  «  -      ^  II 


^    ..    £A^    . 


tion  of  the  latter,    am!    th 
»parking 
oiH     If'iMl  \M  Ike  kttt  gmide  mitk  rHfr* 


<  Ion*  ol  a  ttv 


\m*% 


M 


152 

are    so    adjusted    that    the    file    will    just 
touch  the  commutator  a. 

The  separate  parts  of  the  file  rest  are 
more  clearly  illustrated  in  Fig.  281,  where 
a  represents  one  of  the  pieces  of  iron, 
provided  with  slots  b,  etc.,  for  the  re- 
ception of  the  cap  bolts.  The  other  end 
is  made  adjustable  by  being  provided  with 
an  extra  piece  c,  whose  hight  is  regu- 
lated by  the  screws  e,  etc.  The  piece  c 
after  having  thus  been  raised  to  the 
proper  hight  is  held  in  position  by  the 
screws  d,  etc.  The  part  c,  consequently, 
rests  on  the  screws  e  and  e  and  is  held 
on  them  by  the  screws  d  and  d.  The  lat- 
ter screws  are  countersunk  so  that  they 
will  not  be  in  the  way  of  the  file.  The 
bar  a  should  be  of  such  dimensions  tha,t 
the  pressure  on  the  file  will  not  cause  it 
to  move. 


Driving  up^Bags  in  Steam  Boilers 


By  M.  Kennett 


Among  the  many  defects  to  which 
steam  boilers  are  subject,  there  is  none 
more  common  than  that  which  is  usually 
called  a  bag.  These  are  sometimes  called 
blisters,  although  a  blister,  or  lamination, 
which  is  the  correct  name,  is  an  entirely 
different  phenomenon.  In  the  days  of 
iron  boiler  plates,  laminations  were  quite 
common,  but  they  are  seldom  found  in 
modern  steel  plates,  although  occasionally 
met  with,  and  the  writer  has  noticed  that 
they  appear  to  be  more  common  in  the 
heavy  plates  which  have  recently  been 
coming  into  more  general  use,  than  in  the 
lighter  ones. 

A  bag  is  caused  by  the  sheet  becoming 
overheated  from  some  cause  and  forced 
out  by  the  pressure.     This  overheating  is 
usually    caused    by    an    accumulation    of 
scale  or  sediment  on  the  fire  sheet,  or  it 
sometimes  occurs   around  the  blowoff  at 
the  rear.     There  are  two  methods  of  re- 
pairing a  bag:  one  is  to  drive  the  metal 
back  to  its  original  position,  and  the  other 
is  to  cut  out  the  affected  portion  and  put 
on  a  patch.     Generally   speaking,   it  is  a 
great  mistake   to   patch   a   boiler   on  this 
account  unless  the  bag  is  unusually  deep 
or  very  large.     A  patch  is  objectionable 
for  several  reasons.    If  it  is  of  considera- 
ble size  it  weakens  the  shell,  unless  pro- 
vided   with    the    same    design    of    riveted 
seam  with   which   the   longitudinal  joints 
.-are  provided,  and  this  is  usually  imprac- 
'tical    unless    a    half    sheet    or    two-thirds 
•sheet  is  put  in.     Owing  to  the  difficulty 
.of  doing  the  work  under  unfavorable  cir- 
-cumstances,  the  rivet  holes  often  do  not 
vcome  fair  when  the  patch  is  to  be  riveted- 
"(Up,  and  the  drift  pin  is  resorted  to,  with 
-ihe  result  that  the  rivet  holes  soon  crack 
-out,    forming    what    are    known    as    fire 
•  cracks  and   causing   a   great   deal    of  an- 
saoyance  froan   the   resulting  leakage   and 
I  :oFrt3sion  .of  the  sheets.     Furthermore,  it 
ikS  much  m^s  ve;ifpensive  to  put  on  a  patch 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

than  it  is  to  drive  up  a  bag,  even  of  con- 
siderable size. 

The  process  of  driving  up  a  bag  is  so 
simple  that  there  is  little  excuse  for  an 
engineer  calling  in  a  boilermaker  to  do  it, 
yet  frequently  bags  are  allowed  to  remain 
in  boilers  for  months  at  a  time  because 
the  engineer  dislikes  to  call  in  the  boiler- 
maker.  It  is  not  good  practice  to  allow  a 
bag  to  remain  in  a  boiler,  as  it  forms  a 
pocket  which  is  apt  to  collect  more  sedi- 
ment and  serious  results  are  liable  to 
follow. 

To  drive  up  a  bag,  the  plate  must  be 
heated  to  a  dull  cherry  red,  and  with  a 
short-handled  sledge  hammer  light  enough 
to  be  handled  easily  and  quickly  it  should 
be  driven  back.  Care  must  be  exercised  to 
start  around  the  outer  edge  and  gradually 
work  in  toward  th^  center,  for  if  the 
work  is  started  in  the  center,  the  plate  is 
certain  to  be  buckled  and  cannot  be 
straightened  without  probably  removing 
some  of  the  tubes  and  driving  it  back 
from  the  inside.  When  a  bag  forms  in  a 
boiler,  the  metal  is  stretched  and,  of 
course,  is  reduced  somewhat  in  thickness, 
and  in  driving  it  back  the  metal  must  be 
made  to  flow  back  to  its  original  position. 
In  order  to  do  this  it  is  plain  that  work 
must  be  started  on  the  outer  edge,  gradu- 
ally proceeding  in  toward  the  center  as 
the  metal  is  forced  in  ahead  of  the  ham- 
mer. In  the  case  of  a  very  deep  bag  it 
is  sometimes  impossible  to  cause  the 
metal  to  flow  back  sufficiently  to  prevent 
buckling  and  in  this  case  it  is  a  good  plan 
to  drill  about  a  i-inch  hole  in  the  center 
of  the  bag,  so  that  the  surplus  metal  will 
flow  into  this  space,  almost  completely 
closing  it  by  the  time  the  sheet  is  straight- 
ened, after  which  it  should  be  reamed  out 
and  fitted  with  a  rivet. 

The  essential  apparatus  is  a  forge  of 
some  kind  for  heating  the  plate  and  a 
hammer.  This  forge  must  be  such  that  it 
may  be  easily  pushed  aside  out  of  the  way 
when  the  required  heat  has  been  reached, 
for  the  thin  sheet  will  cool  quickly  and 
no  time  can  be  lost.  A  style  of  forge 
which  the  writer  has  used  to  good  advan- 
tage is  made  of  a  common  galvanized- 
iron  water  pail  as  follows :  About  3  or  4 
inches  from  the  bottom  a  number  of  holes 
are  cut  and  into  these  pieces  of  ^i-  or 
5^-inch  pipe  are  slipped  to  serve  as  grate ' 
bars.  Below  the  grates  another  hole  is 
cut  and  a  short  piece  of  ^-inch  pipe  in- 
serted, to  which  a  hose  leading  to  a 
small  bellows  is  attached  for  the  blast. 
This  will  be  found  to  be  an  excellent 
forge  for  the  purpose,  being  inexpensive 
and  so  light  that  it  is  easily  removed. 

When  ready  to  proceed  with  the  work, 
remove  the  boiler  grate  bars,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  one  on  either  side,  and  lay  a 
couple  of  boards  across  these  to  set  the 
forge  on.  Fill  the  forge  with  charcoal 
and  set  it  on  the  boards  close  up  against 
the  boiler  shell  and  directly  under  the 
bag,  and  by  means  of  the  blast  from  the 


January  19,  1909. 


bellows  bring  the  metal  to  a  dull  red' 
heat.  A  small  pile  of  charcoal  placed  in 
the  bag  inside  the  boiler  will  assist  in  this 
somewhat.  Do  not  hurry  the  heating,  and 
when  the  desired  temperature  is  reached, 
remove  the  forge  as  quickly  as  possible 
and  with  the  hammer  begin  driving  up  the 
sheet,  working  around  the  outer  edge. 
Work  until  the  metal  is  almost  black  and 
then  heat  it  again,  working  in  toward  the 
center  all  the  time  and  taking  care  not  to 
drive  the  sheet  up  too  far.  It  is  better, 
if  anything,  not  to  drive  it  up  quite  far 
enough  rather  than  too  far,  as  the  finish- 
ing may  be  done  with  a  flatter  as  a  final 
touch,  using  a  straight  edge  to  make  sure 
there  is  no  depression  remaining  in  the 
plate.  Of  course  this  cannot  all  be  done 
in  one  heat,  and  if  the  bag  is  very  deep 
or  large,  a  great  many  may  be  required. 
In  one  case  a  large  bag  required  80  heats, 
although  not  all  in  one  spot. 

Some  engineers  are  of  the  opinion  that 
if  a  sheet  has  once  bagged  and  been 
driven  back,  it  is  apt  to  bag  again.  There 
is  no  good  reason  to  suppose  that  this  is 
the  case,  however,  and  the  experience  of 
a  good  many  years  in  this  line  of  work 
does  not  justify  it.  The  metal  is  practi- 
cally the  original  thickness,  and  unless 
scale  or  sediment  of  some  kind  is  allowed 
to  accumulate,  there  is  no  reason  why  the 
sheet  should  come  down  again. 

A  small  amount  of  oil  or  grease  will 
produce  a  serious  bag  and  one  difficult  to 
repair,  because  it  extends  over  a  great 
area,  and  for  this  reason,  as  a  rule,  can- 
not be  driven  back.  Furthermore,  the 
patch  required  is  so  large  that  the  usual 
single  -  riveted  seam  would  seriously 
weaken  the  shell,  and  a  joint  similar  to 
that  in  the  longitudinal  seams  must  be 
used.  These  are  not  practical  where  ex- 
posed to  the  fire,  and  the  consequence  is 
that  half  or  two-thirds  of  a  sheet  must 
be  put  in  to  bring  these  joints  above  the 
fire  line. 


Dimensions  of  Valve  Parts 


By  O.  James 


The  table  on  the  opposite  page  gives 
values  which  will  facilitate  the  design  of 
composition  valves  for  pressures  up  to  200 
pounds  per  square  inch  and  for  sizes  from 
i-inch  to  9^-inch,  with  additional  11^- 
inch  and  13-inch  heavy  sizes. 

This  table  is  excellent  for  those  who 
have  to  design  valves,  as  each  figure  or 
size  has  been  carefully  checked  by  draw- 
in<;  the  valve  either  to  full  or  half  scale. 

The  angle,  cross  and  globe  valves,  with 
the  different  combinations  of  stop  and 
check  valves,  for  both  light  and  heavy 
pressure,  have  been  carefully  treated,  as 
will  be  seen  from  the  different  sketches 
above  the  table.  Provision  has  also  been 
made  for  loose  seats  in  all  the  valves 
above  5  inches  in  diameter. 


January    19,    1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


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h      V  -  f-H  _ 


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"••'»oA  "I   '^s 


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^.»  ■  ■  ■  »i  I    11  ■  II 1     a     ^     « 
^^— — «  — r»»»f»wn«     M     M      *i 


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r 

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♦ <jLi-i-<r«  Jt  Jf  T 


f! 


154 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  19,  1909. 


The     Plunger     Hydraulic      Elevator 


Different     Designs     of    the    Lower    Casting    in 
Elevcktors     Described,     with     Illustrations     of 


Standard ''    Plunger 
Piping     Connections 


BY      WILLIAM     B  A.X  T  E  R,     JR. 


Construction  of  Plunger  Lower 
Casting 
The  lower  casting  F  of  the  plunger  is 
arranged  to  carry  the  guide  brushes  H 
that  hold  the  plunger  in  the  center  of  the 
cylinder.  The  construction  of  this  casting 
and   the   way    in   which    the   brushes    are" 


down  and  a  key  /,  Fig.  291,  is  put  in  above 
the  brush  to  prevent  it  from  jumping  up. 
The  brush  is  forced  down  until  the  back 
rests  hard  against  the  bottom  F"  of  the 
side  grooves >  in  casting  F.  The  keys  / 
are  not  driven  in  endwise  but  sidewise> 
that  is,  toward  the  center  of  the  casting 


-H 


FIG.  295 


FIG.    297 


FIG.  296 

held  in  place  may  be  fully  understood  by 
the  aid  of  the  two  horizontal  sections, 
Figs.  295  and  296,  taken  on  lines  N  N  and 
MM,  Fig.  291,  and  the  vertical  elevation. 
Fig.  297.  The  two  sectional  views  also 
show  a  section  of  the  cylinder  C,  to  pre- 
sent more  clearly  the  relative  positions  of 
the  several  parts.  In  Fig.  295  it  will  be 
seen  that  the  brushes  are  held  in  grooves 
cast  lengthwise  of  the  casting  F,  and  that 
these  grooves  are  provided  with  flanges 
a  along  their  inner  edges,  to  prevent 
forcing  the  brushes  too  far  in  toward 
the  center,  and  other  short  flanges  F'  to 
lock  them  in  position.  The  brush  back 
is  made  with  short  flanges  H'  that  slide 
in  back  of  the  flanges  F'.  In  putting  the 
brush  in  position  it  is  raised  to  the  top 
of  the  groove  and  then  pressed  in  until 
the  flanges  H'  can  be  forced  down  back 
of  the  flanges  F',  then  the  brush  is  driven 


H- 


FIG.  298 


January   19,    1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


and,    when    in    position,    are    clinched    so 
they  cannot  work  out. 

The  shape  of  the  brush  is  more  fully 
shown  by  the  aid  of  Fig.  298,  which  is  a 
view  looking  at  the  face  of  the  brush.  The 
positions  of  the  short  flanges  //'  arc  clearly 
shown,  there  being  six  of  them  arranged 
in  pairs.  At  the  lower  end  the  brush 
back  is  tapered  off  so  as  to  facilitate  get- 
ting it  in  the  groove  back  of  the  flanges 
F'  of  the  casting  F.  The  space  ab«jve  the 
flanges  /•'  is  greater  than  the  lenKth  of 
the  brush  flanges  //',  so  there  may  be  no 
difhculty  in  pushing  the  brush  into  the 
proper  position.  TTic  brushes  are  made 
of  hard  spring-brass  wire,  about  No.  22 
gage.  The  back  is  of  babbitt  metal  and 
is  cast  around  the  wires  to  hold  them 
firmly  in  position.  The  grooves  in  the 
casting  /'',  into  which  the  brush  backs  fit, 
are  not  machine<l,  but  are  simply  care- 
fully cast,  and  the  burs  well  cleaned  off. 
As  the  brush  back"  is  soft,  there  is  no 
difficulty  in  forcing  it  into  place.  If  it 
-'■"lid  fit  too  tightly,  it  can  be  easily 
"•d  off  where  it  binds.  When  the 
r)rishes  are  in  place  in  the  casting  F  the 
water  in  the  cylinder  can  reach  the  cen- 
tral space  through  the  openings  above  and 
Vinw  the  brushes  and  also  through  the 
■  "<  between  the  brush  back  and  the 
:ng,  as  these  are  not  tight  fits. 

\SilTHKK    DeSICS    OF    Pl.fNCE«    ESD 

•lother   design   of   plunger   end   made 
Ik-    Standard    company    is    shown    in 
yf^i,  which  is  a  vertical  elevation   m 
<'>n,  showing  the  plunger  at  its  high- 
l>o*ition,    that    is,    in    the    position    it 
lies    when    the   car   is    even    with    the 
, ,  ' T  fl«K»r  of  the  building.     The  brusnes 
in  this  case  are  held  by  the  bolls  B.     A 
'■   'ironlal  section  through  the  lower  end 
•lie  casting    /•"   is   shown   in    Fig.   joo, 
which  it   will  be  seen  that  there  are 
three  brushes.    The  design.  Fig    JQI, 
lUo  Ik-  made  with  three  brushes,  but 
jQy  cannot  he  n)a«le  with  four,  unless 
are  made  considerably  narrower  and 
t>olts  li  are  set  farther  away  from  the* 
center.     This  design  is  simpler  than  that 
"•   l-'ig.  j()i,  but  it  is  not  as  perfect.     In 
latter  if  the  car  overruns  the  upper 
limit   of  travel  the  holes  B'  in  the  piece 
B   will   |>ass   a)M>ve   the    stuffing   hnx   and 
let  the  water  in  the  cylinder  flow  out  be- 
fore  the   brushes   reach   the   packing,   but 
in    Fig     .v;   it   ran   be    *erii   that    for   the 
water  to  rM-.-)|>c  the  plunger  must  run  up 
until  the  part   /*'  of    the    casting    passes 
above  the  gland  F.,  and  this  will  carry  the 
upper  end  of  the  brushes    up    into    the 
stuffing      If  the  latter  is  of  the  cup  type 
h  may  not  be  damaged  to  any  extent,  but 
if  it  is  hemp  it  is  liable  to  be  pulled  -'Xi' 
f*1   place.      This    plunger    end    cannot    )>. 
I  with  the  cylinder  top  shown  in   I    . 
unless   there   it   so  miicli   lir.«<t    i 
r   the   elevator   car.   when   even    >»i' 
top  floor,  as  to  permit  running  it  «<-\ 
eral   feet   higher  before  the   cistink'    /"  i« 
high  enough  to  permit  the  water  «■■  •-  •■  "< 


If  with  this  cylinder  top  the  plunger 
!.  al'l  run  normally  as  high  a*  1;  1, 
iriwn  in  Fig.  299,  the  brushe->  h.uI.I  be 
carried  up  into  the  brass  lining  IJ  and.  hy 
being  bent  back  and  forth  at  every  trip, 
would  soon  become  useless.  The  cylinder 
top  in  Fig.  399  is  very  much  sboner. 


-^31 


nc  «o 


\^ 


v\ 


the    tilufkvrr    cati    Ttt^    •■••.f    o    k> 


into  the  bore  of  ifec  castu^. 

Pmac  CmfvaL-noiif 

■occtioos  between  the  poapi. 


rir  valor 

'   '  •!    If,    ». 


•  elak>- 

u^ed  IS  thi>wn  in  Fig    JDI      In  this  4»- 

the  lower  ponkm  of 

/'    the  ploiwrr.  C  tke 

r>rtnc  boffers  pnt*i6td 

->n  when  at  the  lover 

<  shown  at  F.  aad 

tirriiJr    rftcic-aad- 

r  type  tank   is 


J  // 

water  in  the 

char-.-  ' 


igh  the  r 

stary  qtu 

tank  H  mean 

Mil'    iir     lilt   . 

lions.   « 


.-iA.     The 

'    C   t»   4s» 

h  <.   Trcmglh  the  pipe 

nk  the  pOHip  draws  «• 

■too  pipe  M.    The 

•^nmp  Icwds  to  the 

'Se  Uller  the 


wder  to  keep  iW 

•     tn    ^hr    t>fr%%t:tt 


TT       in   Mffr   mM4 


>nMll  air 


with  a 


It    whew   ihr   prr»*«re   faB* 


an<l 


of    thrw    hr-ng    u^ 
Th<  more,  vwr  *«  tiw 

itoi  1  itte  (•uR-p  drtitery  pipe   V 

4a<rd  m  the 


156 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  19,  1909. 


pensed  with  without  impairing  the  system, 
and  we  may  also  add  that  the  balanced 
main  valve  F  can  be  replaced  by  one  of 
the  unbalanced  type,  such  as  shown  in 
Fig.  287.  The  valve  in  the  suction  pipe 
M  may  also  be  discarded. 


The  Nature  of  the  Volatile  Matter 
of  Coal* 


By  Horace  C.  Porter  and  F.  K.  Ovitz 


In  connection  with  the  fuel  investiga- 
tions being  conducted  by  the  Technologic 
Branch  of  the  United  States  Geological 
Survey,  a  special  effort  is  being  made  to 
determine  the  chemical  and  physical 
structure  of  coal.     The  chemical  investi- 


can  Chemical  Society,  of  which  the  pres- 
ent statement  is  an  abstract,  relates  to  the 
second  of  these  three  lines  of  investiga- 
tion. Dr.  Porter  is  in  charge  of  the  chem- 
istry of  the  distillates  of  coal  under  the 
United  States  Geological  Survey.  The 
statement  is  in  part  as  follows : 

It  is  a  familiar  fact  to  retort-coke-oven 
and  gas-works  operators  that  the  volatile 
products  of  coal  are  largely  affected,  both 
in  quantity  and  character,  by  the  condi- 
tions of  temperature  and  rapidity  of  the 
rise  of  temperature  in  the  coal,  and  by  the 
conditions  to  which  the  products  are  sub- 
jected after  leaving  the  coal.  The  usual 
laboratory  determination  of  volatile  mat- 
ter serves  almost  universally  as  a  more  or 
less  valuable  indication  of  the  coal's 
adaptability  to  industrial  uses  either  for 
combustion,  destructive  distillation  or 
gasification.     The   method    for    this    de- 


comparing  the  heat  values  of  coal  and 
coke.  When  coal  is  fired  under  a  boiler, 
either  by  hand  or  mechanically,  it  first 
undergoes  a  process  of  distillation,  and 
both  the  quantity  and  quality  of  the  vola- 
tile products  and  the  relative  ease  of  their 
liberation  are  concerned  very  largely  in 
the  boiler  efficiency  and  the  production  of 
smoke.  It  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that 
coals  of  different  origin  may  yield  volatile 
gases  carrying  different  percentages  of 
tarry  vapors  and  heavy  hydrocarbons  and 
may  on  that  account  differ  in  smoke- 
producing  tendencies.  A  knowledge  of 
the  chemical  reasons  why  coals  smoke  in 
varying  degrees,  and  why  high  volatile 
coals  are  hard  to  burn  with  maximum 
efficiency,  is  a  necessary  preliminary  to  the 
taking  of  intelligent  steps  toward  im- 
provement in  these  respects. 

The  gas   producer   for  bituminous   arwi 


FIG.  301 


gation  is  being  pursued  along  three  special 
lines:  (i)  The  chemistry  of  combustion 
in  the  furnace,  that  is,  determining  the 
chemical  composition  of  the  hydrocarbons 
given  off  during  the  process  of  combus- 
tion ;  (2)  the  hydrocarbons  which  are 
given  off  at  different  temperatures,  start- 
ing with  a  normal  temperature  and  deter- 
mining the  nature  of  the  hydrocarbons 
given  off  at  each  of  a  series  of  suc- 
cessively higher  temperatures  from  the 
normal  to  the  temperature  of  the  ordinary 
furnace,  and  (3)  the  hydrocarbons  exist- 
ing in  the  coal  at  normal  temperatures 
to  be  determined  by  solution  and  subse- 
quent analytical  methods. 

A   paper   presented   by   Dr.    Horace   C. 
Porter  at  the  June  meeting  of  the  Ameri- 

•Presented  with  the  permission  of  the  di- 
rector, U.  S.  Geological  Survey.  . 


termination  is,  however,  an  arbitrary  one 
and  does  not  duplicate  closely  that  of  any 
industrial  operation,  nor  is  the  character 
of  the  volatile  matter  produced  by  the 
laboratory  method  known  with  any  degree 
of  certainty.  Furthermore,  the  results  by 
the  laboratory  method  are  very  sensitive 
to  varying  conditions,  and  the  influence 
of  such  variation  on  the  character  of  the 
volatile  products  has  not  heretofore  been 
the  subject  of  extended  study. 

The  importance  of  the  role  played  by 
the  volatile  matter  in  all  industrial  appli- 
cations of  fuel  is  generally  recognized. 
There  are  more  heat  units  in  the  volatile 
matter  in  proportion  to  its  weight  than 
in  the  fixed  resfdue.  Pittsburg  coal,  of 
30  per  cent,  volatile  matter  and  7  per 
cent,  ash,  has  36  per  cent,  of  its  heat 
value  in  its  volatile  matter,  as  shown  by 


low-grade  fuels  is  coming  more  and  more 
into  favor.  Here  also  the  volatile  mat- 
ter in  the  fuel  plays  a  very  important  role, 
since  at  the  top  of  the  fuel  bed  a  process 
of  distillation  is  continually  going  on.  A 
certain  proposed  new  type  of  producer 
will  utilize  high  volatile  fuels,  such  as 
bituminous  coal,  lignite,  peat  and  wood, 
by  passing  the  hot  gases  from  the  pro- 
ducer through  the  raw  fuel  in  a  series 
of  preliminary  chambers,  thus  distilling 
the  valuable  hydrocarbon  gases,  as  well  as 
ammonia,  out  of  the  fuel  before  it  is 
charged  into  the  producer  itself. 

Attention  need  hardly  be  called  to  the 
preeminent  importance  of  the  volatile 
matter  of  coal  in  the  illuminating-gas  and 
by-product  coke-oven  industries.  It  is  of 
interest  to  note,  however,  the  increasing 
favor  accorded  by  the  gas  industry  to  the 


January    19,    1909. 

vertical  gas  retort,  as  most  successfully 
operated  by  the  Bucb  system  at  Dessau, 
Germany,  and  to  explain  that  one  advan- 
tage of  this  process  lies  in  avoidmg  de- 
composition of  certain  valuable  gases  in 
passing  over  heated  surface,  as  occurs  in 
th<-   ordinary  processes,  although    at    the 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 
DrrzKiORATioN    is    Heating    Valub    at 

OrOINASY  TcifnOLATtTUS 

In   C'jnnecti'  • 
ments  not  yet  > 

tion  in  heat  value  of  various  coaU  dunog 
storage  under  different  conditions,  a  lib- 


TABLE  1.  ANALYSIS  OF  COAL  USED  IN  EXPCRIMC.NT:? 


Voniu-lNville.  I*a                                                                                  1    lU               ^  67 
Zleclcr.  Ill                                                                                             7  67               30  38 
X.-rnlan.  Wvu                                                                                    ■»    1.1               :iu  «« 

4  «  <j  > 

in  the  bboraiory  at  a  tcmpcyaiarT  ranf- 
inff  froa  ao  to  as  ^tJtf^  In  toatt  ol 
'hr  Koctles  the  coal  was  tmraert^d  in  das- 
watrr  and  the  interstice*  well  tUlcd 
w-n  water  br  attariuf^  a  panul  ruemum 
for  aboot  onr  fw«r.  Aboot  400  c«kk 
centimete-  -rnatacd  above  iIm  Mr- 

face  of  t! 

The  gas  Uberalcd  daring  ikcac  txptri- 

-luted  almoM  tatinlj  of  mct^ 

a   very  sliglM  aBoont  of  COW 

r.'i  ru  more  than  doob-  of  CO 

^nd  heavy  hydrocarbon.  lra««a 

ould  be  detected  by  the  ftHailiiim  frac- 

Monai  combttstion  method     Whether  this 


same  time  a  higher  gas  yield  is  obtained 
by  using  higher  temperatures  in  the  re- 
tort itself. 

Purpose  of  the  Invtstication 
The    purpose    of    the    investigation    de- 
■  <1  in  this  paper  has  been:      (i)   To 
'.    light  on  the  nature  of  the  volatile 
!Cts  from  coal,  and  on  the  manner  in 
ii  they  are  affected  by  the  conditions 
prevailing   during   their   formation,  or   to 
-which    they    are    subjected    after    forma- 
tion; (2)  to  contribute,  in  the  interests  of 
smoke  abatement,  some  data  on  the  com- 
parative  amount    and    character     of     the 
and   vapors  distilled  from  different 
at  low  temperatures,  a  subject  inti- 
mately   concerned    in    the    production    of 
■Mke;   (3)  to  prove  experimentally  that 
■•  volatile  product  of  coal  is  to  some  ex- 
Wnt  incombustible,  and  that  the  propor- 
«ion  of  inert   volatile  varies   in   different 
;   and,  fmally,   (4)   to  show  that   the 
^cn  of  coal  is  in  many  cases  evolved 


TABLE  2.     AVERAUL   i 


r  to  ORAIU  AIR-I' 


e*t 
Tem 

In 
Coal 

I>r 

rt  1 

Coal 

10  wtinviea  kiaHng  at  300* 
ConMlUrtlte.  Pb 
Ziecler.  Ill 

10  minut*M  hrating  at  OOU* 
ConnelUvllle.  P» 
Zleder.  Ill 

10  minviu  at  700*; 
ConnelUvllle.  Pi 
Ziecler.  Ill 
Sheridan.  Wyo 
Pocatwnlu.  W.  V» 

10  minute*  at  SOO* 
ConnelUvllle.  Vm 
Zlesler.  Ill 
SlicrUUn.  Wyo 
PocahonlM.  W.  Va 

US 

tu 

441 
»40 

V. . 

■- 1 

•  a 

4  i 

<  a 

IS  0 

19 

90 

'm 

ITS 

«T4 

»  0     0 
1«  s 

•  1  • 

« 

ii 

..2 
\H9 


^ABLE    3.     ABSOLLTE   QUANTITIES    OF   SMOKING    AND    NONSMOKINli    PRODUCTS.*       tUe 

(10  Mloutas  HaaUoa.) 


riy  be 

-   to  dccoswpoxioM  ol  tha 

♦-"  ■"  •*"  cmI  aa 


1 

1 

_. 

BMOKtMO 

PaoocCTw. 

NOHaaia 

K 

Tar. 

Per 

Cam. 

■■■' 

xiiaiioii    (II 
Coal. 

Film- 

ac*. 

Coal. 

lllu 

' 

OG 

'  ..      .  IKrille.  Pa. 

MO 

MO 

sss 

i7S 

II 

II 

S.4 

IS  » 

0 

4 

>.    P». 

600 
600 

441 
440 

4  0 
6  S 

16 

IV 

40 
3« 

11 

IS 

u 

11 
S6 

•■     »*n 

V      • 

'.>H 
0 

;)I0 

14'. 

.'« 

III.- 

ISA 

.-.   P». 

MM 

«K7 

12  « 
0  8 

7  0 
6  A 

4H 

166 
76 
7t 

IM 

243 
123 
Ii"" 
24' 

31 

t' 

aa 

^■1 

*IOcninMor  ft 

Ml 

00  lrn 


Jr.  I 


(w    'jrriijctj    «i;i."Ui     lurTr.cr     iTuaiy.       Tte 

fact  that  the  oiygra  of  the  atr  tmt 
/   w»  raptdty  abaorhad 
Toi*  !n<fKaie«  a  chaaga  ol  cam- 

U  u  maaaahla  10 
cer    9iuuNiiy    ol   goa 
n  the  BMoiig  ol  iba  coal 
t  of  the  e%ttt  nt€tttt  ik*A 
during 


•  4 


,j»    {'rr»iiirr    in    ttc    r»t<    . 

mersed.  reached  at  om  ts 
rocrmry. 


VatAlUM    MaTTB  at    Ml 


'•  viiLitilr  ni.iticr  very  brKrjy  m  com 
•ton  with  rarlKin  at  CO  and  COi  as 
well  a*  with  hydrogrn   at  water,   thereby 
*•»"' lining  in  great  degree  the  discrepancy 
I    in   these  cases    between    the    <lc 
'Oed    calorific    value   and    thai   calcu- 
by   Du    I.ong't  formula 


^5    p<iundt   of    bitummoiit    ci  j1 


>l   buca- 


nil       IK  J  1 


rrmoving  gat  sample* 


158 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  19,  1909. 


Volatile  Matter  at  500  to  iioo  Degrees 
.  Centigrade 

In  studying  the  nature  of  the  volatile 
matter  at   the   medium   and   higher   tem- 
peratures, 500  to  IIOO  degrees  Centigrade, 
two  sets  of  experiments  were  run,  using 
a  different  apparatus  in  each.     In  one  a 
xo-gram  sample  was  heated  in  a  platinum 
retort  suspended  in  an  electric  resistance 
furnace  maintained  constant  at  the  desired 
temperature,  the  gases  evolved  being  col- 
lected b\-  displacement  of  water  in  a  bot- 
tle.    No  attempt  was  made  in  this  set  of 
experiments   to   duplicate  the  methods   of 
industrial    practice.      The    apparatus    was 
designed   with   the    idea    of    maintaining 
definite  and  controllable  conditions  which 
would  yield  results  comparable  with  each 
other   in    experiments  on   different   scale. 
The  other  set  of  experiments  was  run  on 
a    somewhat    larger    scale,     heating    400 
grams  of  coal  in  a  cast-iron   retort  rest- 
ing   in    a    cylindrical     electric     resistance 
furnace,    the    tar,    water,    ammonia,    CO2, 
H2S,   and   gas   being  collected   in   appro- 
priate   absorption    apparatus    and    meas- 
ured. Owing  to  the  heavy  nature  of  the 
retort  and  the  large   sample  of  coal  the 
temperature   in   the    coal    could    not    be 
varied  as  easily  in  these  experiments  as 
in  those   using  the  platinum  retort.     Ac- 
cordingly    one     set     of     conditions     was 
adopted  approximating  as  nearly  as  pos- 
sible those  of  industrial  by-product  coke- 
oven   practice,   and   a   number  of  typical 
coals    compared    under    these    conditions. 
The  object  was  rather  to  compare  the  dif- 
ferent  coals   with    each    other   under   this 
set  of  conditions,  than  to  determine  abso- 
lutely   the    industrial    by-product    yields ; 
and    further,   to    determine   the    composi- 
tion of  the  volatile  matter  from  different 
coals  under  these  conditions. 


Series  of  Tests  of   10  Grams  of  Coal 

The  series  of  tests  on  10  grams  of 
coal  in  a  platinum  retort,  at  various  tem- 
peratures, is  not  yet  completed,  but  has 
yielded  sufficient  results  to  show  their 
approximate  agreement  with  those  ob- 
tained on  400  grams  of  coal,  and  also  to 
indicate  the  composition  of  the  gas  pro- 
duced from  different  coals  in  the  early 
stages  of  heating  at  low  temperatures.  A 
thermocouple  was  inserted  in  the  retort 
to  determine  the  temperature  under  the 
surface  of  the  coal  itself.  The  tests  were 
run  in  an  atmosphere  of  nitrogen,  which 
was  passed  through  the  retort  until  the 
exit  gases  contained  less  than  i  per  cent, 
oxygen.  The  tar  was  collected  in  two 
6-inch  tubes  of  absorbent  cotton  heated  to 
100  degrees  Centigrade  and  also  weighed 
on  the  neck  of  the  retort.  The  water  was 
collected  in  a  s-inch  CaClz  U-tube,  and 
always  contained  a  slight  amount  of  light 
oil,  driven  over  from  the  tar,  causing  an 
error  of  i  per  cent.,  or  less. 


Smoke  Formation  .a.nd  the  Composition 
OF  Low  Temperature  Gases 
From  the  results  given  in  Table  2  and 
in  different  form  in  Table  3,  it  may  be 
seen  that  the  low-temperature  gases  are 
high  in  illuminants  and  the  higher  homo- 
logues  of  methane,  and  low  in  hydrogen. 
Comparing  the  lour  coals  at  700  degrees, 
where  the  gas  begins  to  be  formed  in 
considerable  amount,  the  Connellsville  is 
the  richest  of  the  four  coals  in  illuminants 
and  heavy  hydrocarbons  and  the  Poca- 
hontas the  highest  in  hydrogen.  The  high 
CO2  and  CO  from  the  Illinois  and  Wyo- 
ming coals  accords  with  other  experiments 
on  these  coals.  The  tar  at  700  degrees  is 
greater  also  in  the  Connellsville  coal.  The 
smokeless  character  of  the  Pocahontas 
coal  may  be  connected  more  or  less  with 
the  presence  of  considerable  hydrogen  in 
its  gas  at  low  temperatures,  since  the  low- 
ignition  point  of  hydrogen  tends  to  assist 
in  the  burning  of  other  gases  present. 

From  the  tables  the  bearing  of  these 
results  on  smoke  formation  may  be  seen. 
The  smoke-producing  constituents  of  the 
volatile  matter  are  here  considered  as  in- 
cluding tar,  and  the  heavier  hydrocarbon 
gases :  benzine,  ethylene  and  homologues 
of  methune,  calculated  as  CsHe.  While  at 
440  degrees,  in  the  coal,  the  Illinois  coal, 
and  probably  also  the  Wyoming,  has  pro- 
duced more  smoky  gases  than  the  Eastern 
coals  ;  at  565  degrees  and  higher  the  Con- 
nellsville produces  much  more.  This  ac- 
cords with  the  finding  in  practice  of 
greater  difficulty  in  burning  coals  of  the 
Connellsville   type   without   smoke. 

Conclusions  Drawn  from   Experiments 
]\Iade 

1.  Some  coals  liberate  gas  during  stor- 
age, of  a  composition  similar  to  that  of 
natural  gas,  and  some  coals  rapidly  ab- 
sorb o.xygen  from  the  air  during  stor- 
age without  forming  CO2. 

2.  During  drying  in  air  at  105  degrees 
Centigrade,  some  coals  lose  appreciable 
amounts  of  CO2,  and  most  coals  take  up 


4.  The  volatile  matter  of  coal  com 
prises  a  considerable  proportion  of  non 
combustible  matter,  varying  with  the  typ' 
of  coal. 

5.  A  modification  is  suggested  of  Du 
long's  heat-value  calculation  for  coal 
based  on  experimental  results  showing  thi 
distribution  of  oxygen  between  hj'drogei 
and  carbon. 


Steel  Belts  for  Power  Transmission'' 


Steel  belts,  or  metal  belts,  are  by  nc 
means  unknown,  yet  they  are  not  gen- 
erally used  and  are  considered  as  particu- 
larly unadapted  for  heavy  duty.  Thus  th( 
development  of  steel  belts  for  heavj 
power-transmission  service  in  Germany  ij 
of  more  than  passing  interest.  The  sub- 
ject of  this  article  is  the  steel-belt  de- 
velopment of  the  Eloesser-Kraftband- 
Gesellschaft,    of   Berlin. 


FIG.    I.      JOJXT   OF  a   GERMAN    STEEL   BELT 

As  would  naturally  be  expected,  the 
joint  or  splice  of  a  steel  belt  is  one  of  the 
critical  features.  The  joint  construction 
used  by  this  German  firm  is  illustrated  by 
Fig.  I.  It  consists  of  two  steel  plates,  an 
under  and  an  upper,  between  which  the 
ends  of  the  belts  are  joined.  These  plates 
taper  from  a  thickened  section  at  the  cen- 
ter to  comparatively  thin  edges.  In  the 
size  illustrated,  the  upper  plate  is  made 
with  a  series  of  holes  in  order  to  lighten 
it.  Each  of  these  plates  is  shaped  to  a 
circular  arc,  whose  radius  is  equal  to  the 
radius  of  the  smallest  pulley  on  which  the 
joint   is   to   be    used.     Thus,   for   a   given 


COMPARISO.N   OF   ROPE,   LEATHER-BELT   AND  STEEL-BELT   DRIVE. 


Item. 


Breadth  of  belt  space  . 


Breadth  of  pulley 

Weight  of  pulley 

Weight  of  rope  or  belt. .  .  . 

Total  weight  of  drive 

Cost  of  pulleys 

Co.st  of  ropes  or  belts 

Total  cost 

Power  lost  in  per  cent    .  .  . 
Power  lost  in  horsepower. 


Leather- 

Steel-belt 

Rope  Drive. 

belt  Drive. 

Drive. 

6  ropes 

.7OO  m. 

100  mm. 

4.5  mm.  in  diameter 

380  mm. 

.JOO  mm. 

110  mm. 

1000  kg. 

.320  kg. 

270  kg. 

240  kg. 

140  kg. 

13  kg. 

1240  kg. 

660  kg. 

283  kg. 

720  marks 

400  marks 

2.50  marks 

600  marks 

1.300  marks 

750  marks 

1340  marks 

1700  marks 

1000  marks 

13   '^'r 

6   "^'r 

0.5% 

13  h.p. 

6  h.p. 

0   5  h.p. 

oxygen  to  a  considerable  extent,  but  none 
of  those  tested  showed  any  considerable 
formation  of  combustible  gases. 

3.  The  nature  of  the  volatile  products, 
distilled  from  several  coals  at  low  tem- 
peratures in  the  early  stages  of  heating, 
vary  in  different  coals  in  accordance  with 
their  smoke-producing  tendencies. 


joint  there  is  a  minimum  limiting  diameter 
of  pulley  on  which  it  can  run,  but  no  simi- 
lar maximum  limiting  diameter ;  for  a 
given  joint  can  be  used  on  pulleys  of  any 
diameter  larger  than  the  one  to  which  the 
plates  are  particularly  fitted. 

♦Condensed  translation. 


January    IQ.    IQ-'Q- 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


i» 


The  belt  itself  is  made  of  a  uniform 
quality  of  steel  of  an  even  thickness  and  is 
tempered.  The  ends  arc  carefully  brought 
together,  fitted  and  soldered  with  a  special 
solder  that  flows  at  a  comparatively  low 
temperature.  This  joining  is  then  placed 
between  the  two  plates  that  we  have  de- 
scribed, and  these  plates  are  fastened  to- 


ping of  the  belt  on  the  pulley,  iriveti  in 
nguri-^  a>  le>s  than  l/io  of  ■ 
the    narrow    width  of   the   !>• 
\Mt)i    leather   belt»,    the  i   being 

.ilx.ut     I     to    5,    and    th-  ;'eed    at 

which  these  *belt»  can  be  run,  given  at 
ICO  meters  per  second,  or  say  iQ/no  feet 
per  minute.     This  btter  figure  it  striking 


•n 


.  ■  'er    polk-> 

J    UBAllct 

I    the     Mraint     opn 

.  rrdoction  of  the  sue  of  bear- 

in    auay    catc*— r^pcciaUy   oa 

fa 

inr^uKri    a    mmciFn    <<i    tnc     |fn,«^i«i    <!•• 

menMont     of    laaduacfT.    avoadaBor    oi 

•  ■  ti4rratare  and  bomidti't  ihcrdbf 

'«eniny  <»#   tHe   rw|t:  <laaet) 

■.i^Uctl  it>  esMtaag 

!  atmg  tbr  poDry 

Ther  beht.      ikit  kut  fcalnrc  M 

.  true  of  portable 

•gh 

both   g«s- 
<»•  cncwca. 

for  dnviag 
•ps  ari-]  •4ber  OHaa* 
/^t«»       T1»r  l»hlr  tivc* 

-    a 
to 


nd  a 


rrnM^la 


Fi«;.  2.   A  250-Hoii.sEPi»wrji  5raa.-Bti.T  wivt 


!    r   '^hle  are  n  ♦ 

.-nl»   l«r.auM-  I  ol 

icfr»l  a«ily 

RcnduutTATiTi  InttAixAn" 
\i.  illaMr«t>n«i«. 


gtne  to  ^■ 
of  the  »tt 
4  inchet:   ib^ 
'  T-h  wa»   f<^ 
h*  on  tbc 


ride,  or  AbOlM   n   MMlK 


ite  Anatrmlun  o«i*«il  •! 

.(ior«  and  boiicT.   »fc    «■ 
•i»4   iW   dniMiid    tat 

l|     |m|iiH<4     (mm 


.V     A 


|ftO-MO«liKmw««  !»T«at^M4.f  wuv* 


gcihrr  by  means  of  tcrews,  at  ihown  in 
the  ilhutration.    Fig.    t. 

AWANTAcrs  ^ 

\  number  of  interesting  claim*  are 
made  for  the«e  belts  Thrrr  of  thr  tn  ••! 
ttrikitiL'    .irr        The    ^mall    .inv>um   <•(    «lii« 


if  we  compare  it  with  thr 
given  for  leather  ••'I'-l?  . 
minute.     It  i»  *«r 

llr.  •     *     ' 


to  ran  ihrw     I ' 

.  >     nw4rf>      tttt  I|WJ 


.1   tmfW^m^^ 


cuAJty.  bai  «•!?  •  t^** 
ife 
-  r 


o<  «kt 


..<  .iiii< 


i6o 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January   19,   1909. 


Practical    Letters    from     Practical    Men 

Don't  Bother  About    the    Style,    but    Write    Just    What    You  Think, 
Know  or  Want  to  Know   About  Your  Work,  and  Help  Each  Other 

WE     PAY     FOR     USEFUL     IDEAS 


Extraneous    Supervision    of   Power 
Plants 


I  trust  that  you  will  give  me  space  for 
a  self-discussion  of  your  editorial  on  "Ex- 
traneous Supervision  of  Power  Plants" : 

First— Let  me  state  that  I  recognize 
the  fairness  of  your  presentation  of  the 
subject,  but  I  do  not  agree  with  your  con- 
clusions. 

Second — I  wish  to  call  attention  to  the 
fact  that  I  purposely  modified,  in  the  same 
paper  in  which  the  original  matter  was 
published,  viz.,  the  Record  and  Guide,  my 
remarks  about  graft  in  the  engine  room. 
By  this  I  mean  that  I  publicly  stated  that 
there  were  a  great  many  high7class  engi- 
neers who  recognized  the  evils  of  the  graft 
system  and  the  system  of  receiving  com- 
missions on  supplies  and  repairs  as  fully 
as  I  did,  and  they  further  recognized  the 
fact  that  an  honest  engineer  who  would 
not  take  graft  was  placed  at  a  serious  dis- 
advantage when  applying  for  a  position, 
because  other  engineers  who  were  not 
honest  and  who  expected  to  take  graft  and 
commissions  were  able  to  offer  to  take  the 
position  at  a  very  much  less  salary. 

It  is,  of  course,  a  matter  of  common 
knowledge  and  of  individual  knowledge 
that  in  a  great  many  plants  in  this  city, 
the  purchasing  agents,  whether  they  be 
engineers  or  others,  exact  commissions  on 
purchases.  It  is  not  the  amount  of  these 
commissions  that  is  the  serious  draw- 
back, but  it  is  the  fact  that  a  fair  judg- 
ment as  to  quality  of  the  supplies  is  ab- 
solutely precluded.  It  is  also  a  fact  that 
in  many  instances  repairs  are  undertaken, 
which  would  not  otherwise  be  necessary, 
merely  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  com- 
missions; and  in  such  cases  the  employer 
not  only  pays  the  commission  made  by  the 
repairman  to  the  engineer,  but  he  spends 
probably  nine  times  the  amount  of  this 
commission  in  an  unnecessary  repair.  How 
can  an  honest  engineer,  expecting  to  re- 
ceive nothing  more  than  his  salary,  com- 
pete with  an  engineer  who  counts  on  these 
commissions  and  graft  as  part  of  his 
salary;  and  is  it  any  wonder  that  where 
such  conditions  do  exist  the  Edison 
company  is  able  to  come  in  and  shut 
down  a  plant? 

It  is  my  honest  opinion  that  with  a 
properly  and  honestly  managed  plant, 
whether  operated  under  engineering  super- 
vision or  not,  there  is  no  chance  at  all 
of  shutting  the  plant  down  after  it  is  once 
installed,  but  with  dishonest  or  incompe- 


tent management  the  shutting  down  of  a 
plant  is  a  foregone  conclusion. 

Now  as  to  your  conclusion;  your  idea 
is  that  the  engineer  of  the  plant  becomes 
an  automaton,  a  mechanical  automaton 
you  say,  whose  strings  are  pulled  by  the 
engineering  supervision  office.  This  con- 
ception of  the  relations  between  the  super- 
vision company  and  the  operating  or  chief 
engineer  is  entirely  erroneous.  It  must 
be  evident  to  anyone  who  is  familiar  with 
the  operation  of  the  modern  complex  plant 
that  any  attempt  to  operate  this  plant 
without  a  high-grade  trained  engineer  on 
the  premises  would  be  disastrous.  It  is 
the  writer's  opinion,  and  one  that  he  has 
stated  frequently,  that  unless  the  chief 
engineer  worked  in  sympathy  with  the 
supervising  engineer,  no  good  results  can 
be  accomplished;  and  the  chief  engineer 
of  the  plant  is,  in  my  estimation,  one  of 
the  most  important  members  of  the 
organization  of  the  supervision  company, 
and  I  see  no  reason  why  there  should  be 
any  more  conflict  between  the  chief 
operating  engineer  and  the  advisory  con- 
sulting operating  engineer  than  there  is 
between  the  architect  of  a  building  and 
the  builder.  The  supervising  advisory 
engineering  office  has  functions  to  perform 
requiring  a  whole  office  staff  consisting 
of  draftsmen,  engineers,  stenographers, 
auditors,  etc.,  which  cannot  be  properly 
performed  by  a  single  chief  engineer  no 
matter  how  good;  and  on  the  other  hand, 
a  chief  engineer  has  duties  to  perform 
which  could  not  be  performed  by  any 
organization  unless  located  directly  on  the 
premises  operated. 

A  large  plant  has  its  advisory  consulting 
engineer,  and  if  the  small  plant  is  to 
compete  with  service  from  the  central 
station,  it  must  have  at  its  disposal  engi- 
neering services  and  purchasing  services 
equal  to  those  available  to  the  central 
stations. 

You  speak  of  contracting  engineering 
companies ;  the  supervision  company  is 
not  a  contracting  company.  I  have  al- 
ways objected  to  a  contracting  engineering 
company,  as  I  think  it  essential  that  the 
interests  of  the  employer  and  of  the  ad- 
visory engineer  be  identical  and  not  op- 
posed, as  they  are  to  a  certain  extent 
where  a  contract  for  operation  is  entered 
into.  That  is,  the  supervising  engineering 
company  should  be  paid  for  its  services 
the  same  as  the  architect  is  paid,  and  the 
plant  should  be  operated  to  the  best  in- 
terests of  all  concerned. 


Another  point  of  importance  in  connec- 
tion with  the  relations  between  a  super- 
vision company  and  the  operating  engi- 
neer is  that  efforts  to  effect  improvements- 
are  noted,  and  the  capable,  honest  engi- 
neer is  sure  of  advancement  as  well  as- 
steady  employment.  As  examples  of  this, 
may  be  noted  the  chief  engineer  of  the 
Langham,  who  started  as  assistant  engi- 
neer ;  the  chief  of  the  Weil  &  Mayer  build- 
ings, who  has  been  promoted  from  one 
plant  to  another  paying  better  inside  of, 
one  year ;  the  chiefs  of  Reisenweber's,. 
Acker,  Merrall  &  Condit's,  Langsdorf's,. 
Saks  &  Co.,  all  promoted  from  assistant 
engineers  to  their  present  positions ;  in< 
fact  nine-tenths  of  our  chief  engineers- 
have  graduated   from  assistants. 

P.  R.  Moses. 
Engineering  Supervision  Company, 

New  York  City. 


Multiple  Feed  Lubricator 


Several  months  ago  I  constructed  2^ 
lubricator,  a  sketch  and  description  of 
which  are  herewith  submitted. 

The  reservoir.  Fig.  i,  is  made  of  5-inch' 
iron  pipe,  15  inches  long,  capped  at  botb 
ends.  The  sight  feed  is  attached  directly 
on  the  pipe.  There  are  two  sight  feeds  for 
lubricating  two  different  steam  cylinders,, 
but  any  number  of  sight  feeds  may  be 
attached.  There  is  a  gage  glass  to  denote 
the  hight  of  oil;  C  is  a  54-inch  cross- 
valve  connecting  the  bottom  of  the  reser- 
voir with  the  pressure  pipe  M,  which  can- 
be  connected  to  any  steam  pipe;  it  is  pre- 
ferable, however,  to  connect  this  pipe  di- 
rect from  the  main  steam  pipe  so  that 
pressure  is  always  available.  The  valves- 
D  D  are  for  feed  regulation.  The  valves- 
E  E  must  be  kept  closed  at  all  times  while 
in  operation,  as  they  are  ordinary  gage 
valves.  At  F  F  are  oil-feed  pipes  leading 
to  the  cylinders ;  at  G  is  a  >^-inch  filling 
valve,  on  top  of  which  is  a  funnel  H  con- 
taining a  brass-wire  screen  for  a  strainer;, 
the  top  of  this  funnel  is  closed  with  a 
leather  cup  to  keep  out  dust  and  dirt.  At 
/  is  a  J'^-inch  air  vent  to  be  opened  when- 
filling  and  also  when  draining  out  the 
water.  Valves  7  and  K  K  are  to  drain 
the  body  and  sight  feeds ;  all  drains  are 
piped  together.  At  L  L  are  sight-feed 
glasses.  The  part  M  acts  as  a  ^-inch 
condenser  and  pressure  pipe.  The  highest 
point   is  6  feet  above  the  top  of  the  oif 


January   19,   1909. 

reservoir.     At  N  N  arc  J^-inch  pipes  on 
the  inside  of  the  reservoir,  which  extend  to 
the  top  of  the  body  of  the  lubricator ;  they 
connect   to  the   feed-regulating  valves  D, 
the  shanks  of  which  are  tapped  out,  and  a 
:  t  nipple  and  elbow  screwed  in  and  the 
vertical  pipe  screwed  into  the  elbow. 
lo  fill,  after  once  in  operation,  it  is  only 
n-'rcssary   to   close   the   valve   C  and   the 
valves  D.    The  valves  E  E  serve  an- 
'    purpose    beside    holding    the    gage* 
and.  as    mentioned,    must    be    kept 
v.-^cd,     as     the     pressure     would     imme- 
diately force  the  oil  through  them  to  the 
oil  feed   pipes   and   empty   the    lubricator. 


To  Cyliado-. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

Where  the  tteani  cylinders  arc  quttr    . 
distance  from  the  '  it  would  be 

better  to  run   the  ;.*   from  the 

top  of  the  reserve .  'm. 

der  and  place  the  in 

Fig.  2.    It  is  also  wcii  tu  m. 
pipes  covered,  especially   if   ■    , 
cold  draft,  or  where    the    pipe    is    rather 
long,  as  it  may  cause  trouble  by  chokmc 
with   cold  oil.      When   placmg  the    inde 
pendent  sight  feed.  Fig   2.  directly  on  the 
cylinder  or   steam  pipe,  the   vame  adran 
tage  of  forcing  any  amount  t|y 

into   the  cylinder   in  case  c;  .is 

had.  but  in  a  different  way. 


ToCyliadv 


f6i 


This  action,  however,  it  taken  advantage 

of  when  f'lr^t    •  r  pump; 

T,    in   cA%r    .(  '!rv    for 

■  of  oil,  any  amount  ni  ue- 

■-ly  be  forced  to  any  cylif  ,'en- 

the  valve  E  for  a  few  moments  and 

closing  it  again. 

loihrr    advantage    of    this    lubriralor 

o  iliat  any  pipe,  glas*  or    drain    ran    be 

blown   otn    without    interfering   with    any 

't  part,    as    long    a«    there    i*    tteam 

<ure. 


the 
in  • 

\Cli 


In  Ft«  a.  ia  Men  a  atcam  ptpe  le>dim  to 

r  pbc«l 
-ifty  OOR- 


cloac  the  ralrr  B  and  tkmif 
top  iralvr  V  |Um 


thr 

feetl      -..  .... 

the  vahrt  0  for  a  < 

nnrtonaH.  O. 


Mr.  blieekao'a  Motor  Troiibie 


The  cause  of  the  trovUc  reported  bf 

1K,-T,..    «^i.o«'han  oa   page    toil    ot   tW 

nomber  may  he  readily  es- 

i.iaii>«-u    uj    tnc   laei   that   the 

qaestioo    had   a    eetapommi 

Its  field  magnet.    Sncfa  a  aMilor  hat  two 

Nrld  wmdinga.  one  a  iknnt  nindim  eon* 

ro««  the  bnc  and  the  oilHr  a 

■  ikding  which  csrrica   the  cnbrr 

annBtnre  cnrrcat.    It  is  OMMaary  to  cam- 

nect  tbeM  •w"  f.rUi  windinfi  ao  that  ikcy 

assist  ea  biiililini  ap  the  Mag- 

oetic   heU: u   caae.   hovrver.   the 

series  wtndsng  most  he  connected  so  aa 
to  oppose  the  shoni  nindnn. 

Whtt  happened  vaa  thfa:  When  IW 
workman  stancd  the  healer  the  dalch  on 
the  shaft  was  not  throwa  ont  qnkfcly 
enoogh  to  prevent  the  nmor  froni  slnM- 
tint  dova  It  stopped,  aa  ttaled  by  Mr. 
Shccfaaa.  whtk  sull  connected  lo  the  line. 
That  wonid  r»t>i<-  tl>«-  mt«.>r  f.>  take  a 
very  heavy  o;  mainre 

„^  .»,.  ,.,.v....».  ..^4  the  r»* 

luh  -he  voltage  of  the  gen* 

rrator  wouia  ar.ip  o4l  lo  a  very  low  valat. 
The  motor  at  a  standatill  pni  aknoil  • 
short  circoii  00  the  generator,  and  ander 
these  conditsons  the  generator  cenM  not 
hold  II «  voltage  The  hw  voliagc  gfaatti 
decreased  the  •trcngth  of  the  ceinnl  in 
the  shont  6eld  ainiiing  of  the 
while  the  current  in  the  acriea 
was  much  stronger  than  normal , 
qttcntly.  the  series  field  winding  was  At 
ttroogcr  and  resersed  the  polarity  of  the 
field  magnet,  caaaiag  the  nmier  to  ran 
backward  aa  aoon  a*  the  daidi  on  the 
shaft  waa  thrown  ont.  The  reiersed  d>- 
rrr^irm  and  the  heavy  iarrtnl  wonId 
OMtor  to  ipaik  rkiensli  TW 
•  <mU  very  ipcadfly  drop  off  as 
the  motor  gamed  speed,  bnl  the  irieeaed 

Hi rr< firm    r.f    r<.fi'ion    aOMld    itfll    aCCOnHl 

'•ewshea  were  an* 


n  <-  ^>gh  >{'"'  ***  ^■■*  **  *^  **^ 
that  the  nmior  was  ranmng  aa  a  teHaa 
motor  withont  kmd  It  M  to  be  fariWr 
noted  that  the  shont  field  windnig  of  the 
motor  would  gradMOy  build  i»  and  aa  k 
opposed  the  series  wmdng  wonId  «* 
(nnher    weaken    the    amanetism    of    the 


n- 


i«r  of  the 


en  the 


to  ran  a  bttU  longir  k  w 
the  rokage  would  haw  rswn 
for  rh*'  t**"^  fvM  wsndkag  to 
the  -*>m   ■*• 

rf.   .' 

•  r  iklSUg  SO  II  « 

-  '    1    •!»'.«♦♦ 


I62 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January   19,    1909. 


■count  for  the  reversal  of  the  meters,  in- 
asrtiuch  as  the  large  current  would  still 
flow  in  the  usual  direction  as  there  was  no 
action  to  reverse  the  generator.  In  fact, 
there  seems  to  be  no  reason  why  the 
polarity  of  the  meters  should  have  been 
changed,  unless  the  ammeter  was  of  such 
a    design    as    to    become    reversed    by    a 


About  ^' above  High 
Water  Level  in 
the  Wells  [ 


Air  Pump  Arrangement  in  a 
Pumping  Station 


While  visiting  a  large  pumping  station 
recently,  my  attention  was  called  to  the 
arrangement  shown  herewith.  The  main 
suction  line  connects  to  115  driven  wells, 


CoiiuecEiug  to  Suction 
of  Air  Compressor 

I        m 


To  Pumps 


AIR-PUMP    ARRANGEMENT    IN    A   PUMPING    STATION 


large  current.  It  is  in  fact  very  quest iona- 
"ble  whether  the  meters  actually  did  re- 
verse, for  it  is  frequently  reported  that 
meters  have  become  reversed  when  as 
a  matter  of  fact  the  pointers  are  only 
stuck  at  one  end  or  the  other  of  the 
scale.  I  am  not  casting  any  reflection  on 
^  the  accuracy  of  Mr.  Sheehan's  statements, 
but  merely  suggest  that  an  instrument 
may  appear  to  be  reversed  when  a  more 
careful  investigation  will  show  that  this 
lias  not  happened.  In  the  instance  under 
discussion  the  voltmeter  pointer  would 
drop  back  practically  to  zero  and  might 
easily  become  caught  at  the  lower  end  of 
the  scale,  due  to  the  sudden  swing,  while 
the  ammeter  pointer  would  go  off  the  scale 
at  the  upper  end,  and  might  stick  there. 

It  might  be  of  interest  to  Mr.  Sheehan 
and  the  motor  attendant  to  note  that  the 
connection  of  the  series  field  winding  as 
it  now  stands  is  not  usually  employed  ex- 
cept where  it  is  desired  to  maintain  a  very 
close  speed  regulation  through  all  changes 
of  load.  The  opposing  influence  of  the 
series  field  winding  causes  decreased  abil- 
ity of  the  motor  to  carry  a  heavy  load,  and, 
just  as  has  happened  in  this  case,  when  the 
load  becomes  too  heavy  the  motor  will 
stop.  By  reversing  the  connections  of  the 
series  field  winding  and  making  it  assist 
the  shunt  winding  the  motor  will  be  better 
able  to  stand  up  under  severe  load  condi- 
tions and  will  also  have  better  starting 
torque.  The  drop  in  speed  from  no  load 
to  full  load  will  be  greater  than  it  now 
is,  but  in  all  probability  this  will  not  be 
objectionable. 

S.  A.  Fletcher. 
Wilkinsburg,  Penn. 


the  water  level  of  which  is  ordinarily  from 
10  to  12  feet  below  the  pumps,  which  are 
located  in  a  circular  pit  about  25  feet  be- 
low the  level  of  the  engine-room  floor. 

During  the  dry  weather  of  last  year  the 
water  level  fell  to  such  an  extent  that, 
on  account  of  so  many  wells  being  con- 
nected, considerable  air  was  drawn  into 
the  suction,  causing  the  pumps  to  pound 
badly  when  any  attempt  was  made  to  run 
llicm   above   half-speed. 

Just  outside  the  pump  connections  on 
the  suction  line  was  a  tee  having  a  verti- 
cal pipe  10  feet  long  capped  on  the  end, 
which  acted  as  an  air  chamber.  This 
pipe  was  extended  up  level  with  the  en- 
gine-room floor,  making  about  35  feet 
above  the  highest  water  level  in  the  wells. 

The   top  cap  was   drilled   for  a    i-inch 


As  all  air  coming  from  the  well  con- 
nections would  naturally  follow  along  the 
top  of  the  suction  line,  it  would  pass  up 
into  the  vacuum  chamber  and  be  removed 
through  the  compressor,  leaving  a  solid 
body  of  water  entering  the  pumps.  Since 
making  this  arrangement  no  trouble  has 
been  experienced  in  operating  the  pumps 
at  their  full  capacity. 

S.     KiRLIN. 

Fort   Worth,   Tex. 


How  to  Set  Brushes 


There  has  been  a  discussion  for  some 
time  relative  to  the  proper  way  to  set 
brushes  on  motors  and  generators.  There 
seems  to  be  a  wide  difference  of  opinion 
regarding  this  matter,  which  is  probably 
due  to  the  fact  that  each  person  in  re- 
lating his  experience  has  reference  to  the 
type  of  brush  holder  with  which  he  is 
familiar,  and  as  different  types  of  holder 
require  different  treatment,  there  arises 
an  apparent  contradiction  of  one  writer 
by  another. 

Some  brush  holders  require  brushes  set 
zvith  the  direction  of  rotation  of  the 
commutator,  and  others  require  brushes 
set  against  the  direction  of  rotation.  In 
Fig.  I  is  shown  a  brush  holder  of  the 
first  class,  which  must  always  be  set  as 
indicated  by  the  arrow.  If  set  in  the  op- 
posite direction  trouble  will  surely  ensue, 
as  an  inspection  of  the  figure  will  show, 
because  the  surface  of  the  commutator 
and  the  brush  would  form  a  toggle  joint, 
and  the  brush  would  tend  to  dig  into  the 
commutator  and  either  break  itself  or 
bend  the  brush  rigging. 

In  Fig.  2  is  shown  a  brush  holder  of  the 
other  type  which  is  used  by  one  of  the 
large  manufacturing  companies.  This 
brush  is  set  against  the  direction  of  rota- 
tion but  an  inspection  of  the  cut  will 
show  that  there  is,  in  this  case,  no 
tendency  for  the  brush  to  dig  into  the 
commutator  surface. 


FIG.     I 


Ijipe  to  connect  to  the  intake  of  a  small 
steam-driven  air  compressor,  which  was 
not  being  used  at  the  time.  By  running 
the  compressor  (or  vacuum  pump,  as  it 
was  in  this  case)  at  a  moderate  speed,  a 
26-inch  vacuum  was  maintained  on  the 
i-inch  line. 


From  the  foregoing  it  is  seen  tliat  no 
hard  and  fast  rule  for  brush  setting  can 
be  made,  but  each  type  of  holder  must  be 
treated  as  recommended  by  the  manu- 
facturer of  that  particular  type. 

R.  H.  Fenkhausen. 

San  Francisco,  Cal. 


January    19.    igoj. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


1^ 


Capacity   of   Rectangular  Tanks 


By  the  use  of  the  accompanying  dia- 
gram the  capacity  of  rectangular  tanks 
may  be  found.  Tables  giving  the  cubic 
contents  of  this  style  of  tank  for  i  foot 
of  depth  will  be  found  in  many  hand- 
books, but  it  is  necessary  to  multiply  this 
value  by  the  hight  of  the  tank  to  tind  the 
total  capacity.  The  diagram  also  serves  as 
a  ready  means  for  securing  the  dimen- 
sions of  tanks  of  equal  capacity. 

The  lines  running  upward  from  the 
lower  left-hand  corner  to  the  right  repre- 
•lent  the  width  of  the  tank,  and  are  so 
labeled.  The  lines  running  upward  from 
right  to  left  represent  the  hight  of  the  tank. 
The  lower  margin  gives  the  length  of  the 
tank  in  feet.  The  left-hand  margin  gives  the 


.'Srio  ffalkm^,  it*   hight   n  7  fe*t  Tm4  the 

Wl'!' 

Pr 

gin  to  the  hight  line,  marked  7.  across  to 
the  width  line  7,  and  then  downward  to 
the  lower  margin,  where  the  length  is 
found  to  be  9.55  feet. 

.'^iijiix^)**  the  capacity  ui  a  tank  cqtuls 
300D  gallons,  then  the  dmicnsion^     ' 
of  this  capacity  are  found  b>  ti 
be  5x9^5x8.45  feet,  6x8x8  15  fee 
John   B    - 

\nrora.   III. 


ht«  suteaacM.  m  I  bdicvc  ikc  %um  vdl 
i  intercat  lo  mmaj  cngiaecn. 
G    Htj-Ki-ii 

I'    ••'.^•.■'.     I  »rr 

(M;     iic).klu]^cr  »    '.'■•-■ 
Mr.   johntoo  to  Mr.    ^ 
marks  were  qootcd  ia  tne  *t\yctr 
tioo.    and    he    cemmamd    a* 
"What  I  mtd  abooi  tkr  mc  o<  mad  rv- 
fetTMl  «4tttrrlv  10  rfosilif«d  piBt,  aad  ay 


•I    W 


Cast  Iron  Crosshead  Pins 

F.   L.  Johnson  stated,  in  an  article  in 
the  December  8  issue,  that  "fomehow  it 


^nd  IW  COM- 
prnmau  made  tbcrc  m  luff  mtd  tmd 
wrooffhi  iron,  and  not  b<f  wa  tied  aad 
cast  iron.  What  I  had  in  ouad  for  crow- 
head  pim  was  caH  troa.  wUdi  ia  men 
considered  at  afl  by  tW  Vsi  cagia* 
builders'  referred  to  by  Mr  HiibJatu 
These  vansc  enfiac  beildcra 
pias  aad  broatc  boxc*  lor  Ibt 


L«>S>B   Hi   ^VVt 
I  ;A4JIAU    OlVlHc;    »••»    VI!MM#«    or     l*     \     CALLnMt    IM    «»l.tA»Ct1Aa    T*WK» 


capacity    lit    thr   tank    J..r    1    !    ■  •    iti   .1.  t  •" 
while   the    upper    margin    K■vr^    il.< 
capanti 

K*.  .TTi  rmmplr,  ^tippose  the  capacity  of 
•     '  .   liar     lank     is     re 

quir  t  solving  this  prob 

lem  M  shown  in   dotted  lines  on  the  dia- 
gram.     Starting   with   the   length.  0   f^'t 
project  upward  to  the  6- foot  line.  Acr    ^^ 
to  the  8  foot  line,  then  upward  to  \\\r  • 
margin,  where  the  answer  m  fouiK!  t     ' 
ja40  gallons 

Thr  Kivrn  rapacity    of    a    tank    equal* 


«  n 


iLrti  in.*^W   .'I  '*i'     ''^w 


164 


POWER  AXD  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  19,  1909. 


is  ample  for  a  cast-iron  pin  may  be,  and 
usually  is,  insufficient  for  a  steel  pin.  Not 
long  ago  I  saw  a  cast-iron  crosshead  pirt 
that  had  been  in  daily  use  for  more  than 
25  years  and  the  most  careful  measure- 
ments failed  to  detect  any  wear.  I  have 
never  known  of  a  hot  or  cut  pin  where 
cast  iron  was  used,  but  have  personally  had 
several  cut  steel  pins.  I  would  use  cast 
iron  for  crosshead  pins  because  they  run 
w^ith  less  friction,  are  more  easily  lubri- 
cated, wear  better  and  give  less  trouble 
than  steel  pins." — Editors.] 


Engine  Wreck  Prevented    by 
Quick    Action 

At     our    street-railway    power     station 
two   cross-compound  vei  tical   engines   are 


Kuock-off  Bar  tiroke  here 


equipped  with  the  type  of  releasing  gear 
shown  in  Fig.  r.  Not  long  ago  the 
knockoff  bar  broke,  as  shown  in  Fig.  i, 
and,  dropping  down,  became  wedged 
against  the  knockoff  lever,  as  shown  in 
Fig.  2,  forcing  the  governor  down  to  its 
lowest  running  position,  when  the  engine 
would  take  steam  at  seven-eighths  stroke. 
The  governor  belt  being  intact,  the  idler 
pulley  kept  the   lugs  in  contact  with   the 


Uow  Knock-oS 
Bar  Jammed 


governor  collar  and  prevented  the  gov- 
ernor from  assuming  its  lowest  position 
and  bringing  the  safety  cams  into  action. 
Of  course,  the  engine  started  to  race  and 
only  quick  action  prevented  a  wreck.  The 
throttle-valve  wheel  is  handled  from  the 
floor  and  the  engineer  was  on  the  valve 
deck.  Knowing  that  there  was  no  time 
to   come   down   in   the   ordinary   way,   he 


jumped  from  the  upper  deck  to  the  floor 
and  shut  the  throttle. 

Tho.m.^s  Sheeh.^x. 
Pittsfield,   Mass. 


Faulty  Indicator  Diagrams 

In  a  recent  number,  under  the  heading 
"Faulty  Indicator  Diagrams,"  a  contribu- 
tor asked  what  could  be  done  to  benefit 
the  engine.  The  trouble  is  due  to  incor- 
rect valve  setting,  and  the  only  thing  to 
do  is  to  set  the  valves  correctly. 


CORRECT  AND  INCORRECT  DIAGRAMS 

I  believe  the  problem  can  be  solved  by 
plotting  correct  diagrams  on  the  faulty 
ones  to  compare  them.  The  illustration 
shows  the  full  lines  indicating  the  correct 
diagrams ;  the  dotted  lines  the  faulty  ones. 
E.  J.  Farkas. 

Detroit,  Mich. 


Condenser  Tube  Packing 


The  tubes  of  a  surface  condenser  began 
to  leak  badly,  and  were  repaired  in  the 
following  manner :  The  tubes  were  an- 
nealed on  one  end  and  flanged  over  leav- 
ing a  collar  A.  (See  sketch.)  The  holes 
in  the  condenser  head  were  bored  and 
tapped  with  a  radial  drill  press.  Brass 
glands  were  made  in  the  usual  manner 
by  the  aid  of  an  adjustable  box  tool,  and 
the  edges   rounded. 


REPAIR  OF  CONDENSER  TUBE 

One  end  of  each  condenser  tube  was 
packed  by  placing  a  rubber  gasket  C 
underneath  the  collar  of  the  tube,  and 
the  gland  screwed  down  against  the  face 
of  this  collar.  The  other  end  of  the  tube 
was  packed  in  the  same  manner  as  water- 
glass  tubes,  allowing  the  tube  to  pass 
through  the  gland,  squeezing  the  rubber 
against    the    outside    of    the    tube.      This 


made  an  excellent  job  and  for  six  years 
the  condensers  have  not  leaked. 

Samuel  Kinsey,  Jr. 
Peoria,  III. 


A    Homemade    Relief    Valve 


Herewith  is  described  the  way  I  made  a 
relief  valve  to  put  between  a  pump  and  a 
water  motor.  I  got  an  old  globe  valve 
and,  removing  the  stem,  filed  the  threads 
off  to  make  a  smooth  surface.  A  slot  for 
the  lever  arm  was  then  cut,  and  a  hole 
drilled  and  tapped  to  receive  a  5/32-inch 
button-head  machine  screw,  as  shown  in 
the  illustration.  The  lever  was  cut  from 
a   piece   of   3/32-inch    band    iron   and   the 


A   homemade  relief  valve 

necessary  holes  drilled  in  it.  The  ful- 
crum was  made  from  a  piece  of  No.  8 
wire,  bending  it  in  the  middle  where  it 
passes  through  the  lever,  and  securing  it 
around  the  valve  body,  as  shown. 

A.  C.  Grant. 
Middlefield,  O. 


An  Old  Haystack  Boiler 

The    article    on    the    above    subject    on 
page    1039    of   the    December    22    number 


a  float-stone  water  gage 

interested  me  greatly.  It  seems  a  pity 
to  let  those  old  fellows  rust  but,  of  course, 
it  is  impossible  to  preserve  all  of  them. 
The  method  of  running  the  vertical  seams 
straight  instead  of  staggering  each  tier 
seems  to  me  to  be  wrong.  Mr.  Maple- 
thorpe  says : 

"There   is    no    sign    of    gage    cocks    or 
water  gage." 


January    19,    1909. 

It  is  peculiar,  for  the  only  part  of  the 
lialf-tonc  which  stands  out  by  itself  is 
probably  all  that  is  left,  outside  the  boiler, 
of  the  water  gage. 

On  top  of  the  haystack  boiler  is  an  up- 
right which  supports  a  sheave.  If  this  is 
what   I   take  it  to  be  then  it  is  part  of  a 

iter  gage  much  used  in  the  early  fla>  ^ 

When  Puffing  Billy  was  used  at  Killii)(<- 
worth  colliery  in  England,  that  is  sub- 
«..-qucnt    to    1813,    these    haystack    boilers 

re  used  for  raising  steam  for  the  wind- 
.   ^  engines.    There  was  as  a  general  thing 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

fing  box  C  and  over  the  two  thcaves  D 

D,.   D   being   the   st  •  n  the 

half-tone.     As  the   u  ^/^wn" 

the  heavy  float  stone 

£.     The  relation  of  • 

marks  X  Y  showed  the  cHgiticrr  where  hit 

water  was. 

If  .Mr  Maplethorpe  will  crawl  mude 
that  old  boiler  he  will  probably  6nd  an 
old  float  stone. 

It  is  merely  a  question  r^' 

ity.     In  air  the  stone  wei;.; 

the  iron  weight  £  but  with  xhr  *tonc  part 


Uttt  il  CM  b«  doML     For  ffsr  Iff 

»tU  not  dMOHS  such  a  qv- 

the  accompany  iii,{  'fti^rain'! 

\3  and  24  t  'OM-codpooad  co«- 

not  6s 

earh    > 


«brfv 
»  the 


t.T    tjiin-jcf* 


to  know  tKe  dbfttt  m 
I'Muxun  X  :arj(rr  cylinder  on  an  old  c«giar 
frame  when,  by  compoofidnit  the  M^hb  m 
not  only  uvcd  bat  iW  extra  worit  »  prat- 


C|tll*J«r  U  >  » 

Vmuboi  Zl 

Bollar  l'r«<(ur«  14}  Lb*. 


K.r.M.  c 

l;«-f«U»r   i'l«ai<ir<   l»  Li>> 


Cltt»i. 


Cyllaaar  U  > 
1L.Y.U.  « 

\  wuun.  U.i 


KmvIxi  rraaaarr  UJ  L 
BstUt  frittvr*  lU  !.{>•. 


nt\nR\Mc  FROM  A  13  AXD  24  tv  j6-ii(CH  caoss-coMrofXD  cowMMUMC  tiratwt 


cr  a  platform  or  the  brickwork  built     ly  immrfked  in  water  the  stone  would  bal- 
I  J.  .-irr>und  the  boiler  to  near  the  hight  of     lance  the  weight  £  in  air 


firalljr 


bjr  tt 


tore  cthm4tn 


the  water  level.  The  engineer  with  hi» 
wrx  <lcn  vileil  clogs  would  ascertain  the 
levrl  tif  the  water  by  kickmg  the  platr 
The  sound  would  tell  him  whether  there 
was  water  or  steam  behitjd  the  part  <ij 
the  plate  where  he  was  tapping  it  with  his 
foot.  This  was  much  the  same  as  we  tap 
a  plastered  ceiling  or  wall  4o  find  where 
•'•'-   joints   or    studding    are. 

\  later  invention  in  the  way  of  a  water 
K-ige   wa*   e\ii|eiitlv   u  •   ' 
boiler  referred  ti'      It 
of     stone     somewhat     hkt     >k     ► 
Crin«Utone<   wlieti  worn  small  •■' 
tited  for  till*  purpose.     Th'- 
"fl'ut     «t<>ne«"    and    their     ,!,, 

wn  in  the  accompanying  cut  in  whi  l; 
..  1%  the  float  «tone  and  B  i«  a  copper  wire 
one  end  of  whirh  it  tecured  to  the  ;!  j' 
•tone  and  the  other  end  to  the  ir-.n  .» 
B.     The  wire  pa«ses  up  through  xhr 


1     .\    Di 


New  York  Ciiy. 


Compounding  Lnginc* 


rrooire  more  tteain  t>*  do  tlw  rctra  work 


Recently  in 
|it>wer  of  t  ■" 
Wakeman    « 


Cm  and  B«il« 


.^1 


J^0h   aW>«l    f<wff    ft 


■l»ix]v    .nijjriT 


;j4t  it«E  !il  Ihe  L>n?n*l- 


^1^.  .i,.r 


i66 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  19,  1909. 


Pump  Cylinder  Repair 

An  accident  happened  to  one  of  the 
high-pressure  cylinders  of  a  pumping  en- 
gine, and  as  the  pump  was  needed  almost 
any  moment,  the  owners  looked  for  the 
quickest  way  to  repair  it. 

The  trouble  was  due  to  one  of  the  sec- 
tions of  packing  ring  breaking  and  cut- 
ting a  score  the  full  length  of  the  cylinder 
about  V^  inch  wide  and  5/16  inch  deep. 

Several  machine-shop  superintendents 
wanted  to  rebore  the  cylinder,  but  as 
this  would  necessitate  a  new  piston,  and 


ILLVPTRATING   A    PUMP-CYLINDER   REPAIR 

considerable  time,  we  gave  up  this  idea 
and  resorted  to  the  following  method  : 

An  iron  casting  C  was  bored  to  fit  the 
piston  rod  B,  and  turned  to  a  nice  sliding 
fit  in  the  cylinder.  A  slide  rest  D  was 
fitted  to  the  top  of  this  casting  and  held 
with  the  bolt  H. 

'With  this  arrangement  we  planed  a 
dovetailed  slot  in  the  cylinder,  the  full 
length,  raising  the  piston  rod  by  water 
pressure  and  lowering  it  by  allowing  the 
water  to  escape  from  the  lower  cylinder. 
The  slot  was  planed  as  far  down  as  could 
be  with  the  slide  rest  on  the  top  of  the 
casting,  and  then  we  finished  by  placing 
the  slide  rest  on  the  under  side.  Next  a 
bronze  strip  was  prepared  the  exact  size  of 
the  slot  and  driven  to  the  bottom  of  the 
cylinder.  As  this  strip  was  rather  slender 
and  long  it  was  soldered  on  a  reinforce- 
ment at  /].  A  washer  G  was  placed 
under  the  casting  C,  so  we  could  loosen 
the  nut  holding  it,  allowing  it  to  turn 
without  binding  on  the  taper  end  of  the 
rod. 


By  swinging  this  casting  in  a  circular 
motion  it  was  possible  to  plane  off  the  ex- 
cess metal  to  the  same  arc  as  the  cylinder. 
This  made  an  excellent  job,  and  took  but 
a  short  time  to  finish. 

There  was  quite  a  discussion  as  to 
whether  to  cut  the  bronze  strip  off  flush 
with  the  end  of  the  cylinder  or  cut  it  off 
a  little  short,  to  allow  for  expansion,  but 
finally  it  was  decided  that  the  best  plan 
was  to  cut  it  off  the  same  length  as  the 
cylinder  and  let  the  metal  take  up  itself. 
This  cylinder  was  opened  again  after  run- 
ning about  one  year  and  if  the  exact  place 
where  the  strip  was  had  not  been  known, 
it  could  not  have  been  detected. 

Samuel  Kinsey.  Jr. 

Peoria,  111. 


What  a  Substitute  Piston  Did 


A  very  dangerously  designed  piston  rod 
which  came  to  my  notice  recently  partly 
wrecked  a  26x5i-inch  Corliss  engine,  run- 
ning 56  revoluions  per  minute. 

The  piston  was  6  inches  thick.  The 
end  of  the  piston  rod  was  threaded  for 
iy2.  inches  and  engaged  with  a  corre- 
sponding thread  in  the  ij^-inch  cast-iron 
follower  plate,  there  being  no  thread  in 
the  piston  spider.  Instead  of  securing  the 
rod  with  a  nut,  it  was  left  flush  with  the 
follower  plate.  The  strain  on  the  cast- 
iron  thread  caused  it  to  strip,  allowing  the 
piston  to  deliver  a  blow  against  the  head, 
cracking  it  in  several  places,  and  as  the 
momentum  in  the  wheel  forced  the  rod 
back  it  caught  on  the  piston,  breaking  the 


rod  having  been  put  out  of  business  by  a 
dose  of  water,  this  freak  piston  was  put 
in  without  the  builders'  knowledge. 

R.  F.  Blanchard. 

Fitchburg,  Mass. 


Indicator  Stop  Device 


This  device  for  taking  indicator  dia- 
grams is  somewhat  unusual.  It  consists 
of  a  3/2-inch  board,  42  inches  long  and  6 
inches  wide.     The  upper  end  swings  on  a 


HOW    THE    PISTON   ROD    WAS    PUT    IN 

crank.  The  cylinder  was  cracked  by  one 
of  the  thin  steel  packing  springs  being 
jarred  out  of  place  and  wedging  under 
the  piston.  A  piece  was  broken  out  of 
the  back  side  of  the  piston  and  was 
afterward  found  in  one  of  the  exhaust 
ports. 

It  may  be  said  in  favor  of  the  engine 
builders  that  this  piston  and  rod  were  not 
of  their  design.     The  original  piston  and 


pivot  at  A,  Fig.  i ;  the  lower  end  has  a 
projection  which  swings  in  a  block,  slid-^ 
ing  on  a  spindle  fastened  to  the  cross- 
head.  A  piece  of  iron  B  is  placed  over  a 
J-^-inch  board  of  the  same  shape,  but  does 
not  come  quite  to  the  edge  at  the  curved 
part.  Both  are  fastened  to  the  main 
board.  A  lever  C  is  attached  at  D  with 
a  joined  spring  at  F,  as  shown  in  Fig.  2. 

The  indicator  cord  is  attached  to  a 
projection  at  E. 

When  desiring  to  put  a  new  cord 'on' 
tlie  indicator  diagram,  a  string  running 
to  another  projection  back  of  E  may  be- 
pulled  through  the  groove  left  between  the 
main  board  and  the  iron  B,  which  will' 
bring  E  in  line  with  A,  and  all  motion  of 
the   indicator  will   cease. 

In  making  this  device  it  is  necessary 
to  locate  the  point  E  down  from  A  ac- 
cording to  the  length  of  diagram  desired' 
and  to  place  D  so  that  when  E  is  pulledl 
lip  it  will  come  exactly  over  A. 

Bert  E.  Evans. 

Springfield,  Mass. 


January    19,    1909. 


An   Oiling   Device 


The  accompanying  photograph  is  01  an 
oiling  device  attached  to  the  frame  of  our 
engine.  The  oil  tank  above  the  main  pil- 
<'  w  block  was  originally  a  piece  of  6-inch 
;i  pipe.  It  has  a  head  welded  in  at 
tit  her  end.  A  gage  glass  is  attached  to 
show  the  amount  of  oil  in  the  tank.  The 
front  oil  guard  of  the  engine  has  been  re- 
moved so  as  to  give  a  better  view  of  the 
arrangement. 

The  pump  is  fastened  directly  to  the 
•It  side  of  the  engine  frame  and  con- 
ted  to  the  rocker  arm  from  which  it 
ives  its  motion. 

\fter  the  oil  has  lubricated  the  various 
^ rings  and  drops   into  pans,  as  shown, 


POWER  A>'D  THE  ENGINEER. 

B.t.u.     One    horsepower    corresponds    to 
33.000  foot-pounds  per  minute,  or 


33.eoo  X  60 


778 


=  2543 


B  t.u.  per  hour. 


The  heat  in  the  ■Aul 

heat  taken  in  mi:.  rmcd 

into  work.     Using  the  aU>vc  inures,  then. 

35^1  —  iMi  =  32,^79 


IJ.t  u    above  3.'  degrees- 

Lfx>king  in  the  steam  Ublc,  it  is 
that  the  total  heat  in  the 
pounds  gage  pressure  is  1 1  . 

M4&9  X  30  =  34-«67 


THE    UILINO    l>E\'ICE    ATTA«.UU>    iu   LMi.t.Nt.   HUkUL 


it  runs  into  the  filtering  tank  just  brlow 
the  pans,  where  all  sediment  is  removed 
and  the  oil  used  over  and  over  again. 
F    H.  Javney. 
Minneapf'lis,  Minn 


Calculation  of  Cooling  Surface  for 
Surface  Condenser 


The  article  by  C.  L.  Hubbard,  on  con- 
densers, in  the  December  22  issue,  at- 
"•^ctcd  my  attention,  and  I   wish  to  offer 

:iie  comments  on  the  calculation  of  cool- 
ing surfaces.  Attention  should  be  di- 
rected to  the  analysis  of  the  formula 

W  L 


B  t  u     The  error  is,'  therefore. 

.  -r  4  ^  per  cent.,  and  radiation  woald  lend 
.lie  it 

V 

same    ■ 
equals 

II    •    ii<.»7        i.i.167 

B  t  u     The  heat  kft  in  the  exhaatt  equals 
13,167  —  »$4a  =  *ojb»s 


180  (T- I)  • 

-whcrr  /.  it  the  latent  heat  of  the  Mrnm  at 
T   pressure.     This,  at   ■ 
>  that  the  steam  is  satuta 
iidenser  pressure  but,  as  will  be  shown, 
i«  i\  not  so. 

Assume    an    engine   exhausting    10   th'^ 
'lit    a    back    pr< 
.md  also  an  rn. 
JO  puiiiuU  I  j    .:cam  per   i' 
power  at  a  pre*»iirc  of  80  ; 
The  total   heat    for  30  poutnU   »».   tJ»c»c 
ioTr. 


B.tu.     The   heat    cor 
rated  sinm  at  coodci 

if  X  11194  -    I-  - 

B.t  o      The  rrrof  »f»»o«i»»fs  In 


to   sala- 

re    ri^ulU 


5*. 


[wr   I  fTii 


error  i» 
tit 

ih«f. .-.       j»r     u 

1    ilM>  take 
prcssuiK    ■ 
the  boii 
cooden- 
«a»  the 


w.   l^r^r   (   .   Yf 


t^ 


'<-aediB 
tonal  fnn— li 


«M-v    of    ex 
'Tiaor  of 
c  of  the 

>  this  ratso;  hai  IW 
Klra  i«  mtirdj  too  cmdr  aad  mmoattitK 
to  be  profMcaicd. 

The  methods  of  rnmpptit  the  total 
heat  as  iDnstratcd  may  he  nhjirtinnatik  to 
tome,  on  account  of  the  onccrtainij  m  the 
data  00  the  trammiMion  of  heal 
the  platca.  The  tap<riuwnH 
■    ■      ■      .nd 

m  the  aetaal 
cu(ul('.^>n»  th^t  cxiu  ui  A  ioadnncr.  The 
rapidity  of  the  cooling  water  pawini 
through  the  tvbcs  affects  the  rate  ol  ah 
torptioa;  the  htct^rr  •?>« 
higher  the  abao^ ' 


Atcd    on    actnal 

trr«>rrtK4iiy    tOTTeCt.    and    thm 

bjr  a  factor  expretatng  the  tfcwnij 
cooler. 

\LrmomtB  A. 
RrooklyB.  N.  Y 


Method  oi  Scttiiig  Gas  Eagioe 
Valm 


S'carfjr  all  directions  for 
give  certain  crank  angles  at  wVkk  Ik* 
%aUet  should  open  or  dose  Tht  caas 
having  hsed  contoors  allows  of  adtnfll- 
ments  yaij  by  varying  tht  rtlatrre  Wnd  or 
lag.  and  the  amooat  of  dtnrancc  or  le« 


have  alrtady  brrn  naffhod  en  the  nhrvi 
Wh\  r.4  Ki\r  .Sr^mt*  pklon  posinons  and 
•r!  -«  th«  pMon  H  at  thot* 

p,  ..»«    he   nwdr   <m   the 

B  lawa.  or  mnmf- 

IT' 

e« 

•ttrn    t^<■    p<*l  «;.    ivst    Ksrira    »> 

taw  distanrr.  and  tha  aftnniM  •^ 
when  the  pMlon  »tani   itttMan 

fftMl  the  rM  «*f  WMfc  Iht  fAa> 

ten  pli  '«•  «he 

valve  ••  "^  "^"^ 

right  ptarv 

WhV     tK«'     . 

&  »«• 


i68 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  19,  1909. 


What    Knocked  the  Cyhnder 
Head  Out  ? 


Some  time  ago  both  cylinder  heads  of 
an  Atlas  automatic  cutoff  engine  were 
knocked  out,  the  wrist  strap  pulled  apart 
and  the  connecting  rod. badly  bent. 

The  piston  was  fitted  with  rmgs,  made 
in  three  sections  with  a  lap  joint  and  a 
brass  bushing  and  a  coiled  spring  under 
each  joint.  One  of  the  sections  began  to 
rattle  one  day  and  an  examination  showed 
that  the  rivets  had  worked  loose.  We  re- 
paired them  and  replaced  the  rings. 

As  the  engineer  was  putting  the  piston 
in  place  the  "boss"  came  around  and,  no- 
ticing the  way  he  was  placing  the  rings, 
told  him  they  were  wrong,  stating  that  the 
bushings  and  springs  should  be  in  the 
center  of  each  section  instead  of  at  the 
joint.  As  one-half  of  the  outer  rings 
travel  over  the  counterbore  in  this  type 
of  engine,  it  may  account  for  the  trouble. 

The  bushing  being  in  the  center  of  each 
section  may  have  allowed  the  sections  to 
rock,  thus  letting  one  end  of  a  section  ex- 
tend out  far  enough  to  catch  in  the  coun- 
terbore, when  the  velocity  of  the  flywheel 
pulled  the  wrist  strap  apart,  carrying  the 
crank  and  connecting  rod  around,  the 
connecting  rod  striking  the  crosshead, 
knocking  it  through  the  crank-end  cylin- 
der head  and  the  piston  out  through  the 
head-end  cylinder  head. 

W.  A.  Hamlin. 

Paola,  Kan. 


Firemen's  Conditions  Should  Be 
Improved 


While  the  many  developments  in  boil- 
ers, engines  and  their  accessories  have 
placed  greater  responsibility  on  engineers, 
there  has  been,  to  a  great  extent,  corre- 
sponding improvement  in  the  status  of  the 
engineers  themselves. 

Passing  over  the  question  of  salaries, 
the  average  engineer  nowadays  has  privi- 
leges, and  his  comfort  and  convenience  are 
consulted  to  an  extent  unthought  of  in 
the  old  times.  These  things  had  to  come 
and  will  continue  to  come  in  the  natural 
evolution  of  events. 

But  what  of  the  fireman  ?  Happening  in 
a  boiler  room  recently,  just  as  watches 
were  being  changed,  the  engineer  made 
the  remark  to  me  that  "there  are  two 
dandy  firemen."  Yet  as  we  talked  these 
firemen  were  washing  in  a  greasy  pail, 
and  their  street  clothes  hung,  exposed  to 
ashes  and  dirt,  on  the  bare  wall. 

In  another  plant,  wagons  deliver  fuel 
directly  from  a  driveway,  along  the  whole 
front  of  the  boiler  room,  which  is  practi- 
cally wide  open  all  the  time.  The  fuel 
is  dumped  on  the  floor  along  the  boiler 
fronts,  leaving  but  a  small  space  for  the 
firemen  to  stand  in  while  at  work. 

What,  then,   of  the   average  stationary 


fireman?  Is  his  life  made  any  easier,  does 
he  get  any  more  thought  from  employers 
than  he  did  twenty  years  ago? 

W.    AULD. 

Milwaukee,  Wis. 


An  Unusual  Crank    Shaft    Repair 

The  engine  on  which  the  herein  de- 
scribed repair  was  made  is  a  6oo-horse- 
power,   18  and  36  by  36-inch,   cross-com- 


J-High  Pressure 
ii       Side  Crank 


ties  of  thermit  welding,  it  was  decided 
to  adopt  the  following  method,  which 
proved  entirely  satisfactory : 

The  pin  was  drilled  through  as  shown 
by  Fig.  2,  leaving  the  original  pin  as  a 
shell.  The  bore  was  made  5^  inches  on. 
one  end  and  5  inches  on  the  other,  thus- 
leaving  a  J4-inch  shoulder,  so  that  when 
the  pin  was  drawn  in  against  the  shoulder, 
the  small  end  could  be  riveted  into  the 
countersink,  flush  with  the  cheek  of  the 
crank,    thus    preventing    side    motion    on 


t 


Center  of_ 
Flywheel 

# 

Flange       (" 
Coupling-- 

/^ 

T 
-^ — 

><^ 

SHOWING   THE  LOCATION     OF     THE    CRACK 


pound  condensing  engine,  side  crank  on 
the  high-pressure  side  and  center  crank 
on  the  low-pressure  side,  direct-connected 
to  an  8-inch  line  shaft  on  the  low-pressure 
side.  The  rather  unusual  design  of  this 
engine,  the  first  of  its  type  put  out  by  the 
builders,  made  it  a  subject  of  much  in- 
terest and  attention.  It  was  prophesied 
that  it  would  run  warm  on  the  low-pres- 
sure side,  but  the  engine  was  on  duty 
150  continuous  hours  per  week  for  more 
than  a  year,  and  after  the  first  night  evi- 
denced no  cause  for  uneasiness,  running 
but  a  trifle  warm  after  this  hard  service. 
Needless  to  say,  then,  that  after  a  little 
over  a  year's  time  the  superintendent  was 
astonished  to  find,  upon  taking  out  the 
center-crank  connecting-rod  brasses  for 
examination,  a  small  and  almost  imper- 
ceptible crack  on  the  surface  of  the  center- 
crank  pin,  running  about  H  of  the  way 


Xejv  Pin 


around  the  pin,  as  shown  in  Fig.  I.  The 
extent  of  this  crack,  after  being  drilled  in 
for  ^  inch  or  so,  and  examined  by  repre- 
sentatives of  both  the  builders  and  the 
plant,  was  still  only  a  matter  of  conjec- 
ture. The  question  to  be  solved  was  how 
to  make  the  repair  with  the  least  possible 
interruption  to  service,  and  at  the  same 
time  at  a  cost  which  should  not  be  pro- 
hibitive. A  new  crank  shaft  being  out  of 
the  question,  and  those  in  charge  not 
knowing  sufficiently  well  the  staying  quali- 


the  part  of  the  pin,  and  at  the  same  time 
serving  to  draw  the  crack  together.  The 
shoulder  was  made  to  come  midway  the 
length  of  the  pin,  so  that  the  confined! 
air  would  not  cushion  against  the  shoul- 
der, but  would  escape  through  the  origi- 
nal oil  hole.  It  was  a  drive  fit,  the  crank 
cheeks  being  warmed  and  the  pin  pulled 
in  with  a  stud  at  the  small  end  and  driven 
in  at  the  large  end  at  the  same  time. 

The  method  of  boring  out  is  also  of 
interest.  A  timber  superstructure  was. 
built  up  above  the  crank  shaft,  the  ends. 
being  supported  by  the  flywheel  on  either 
side  and  an  old  lathe  head,  rigged  up  with 
a  self-feed,  was  inverted  and  bolted  to  the 
timber  work.  The  distance  between  the 
crank  cheek  and  flywheel  did  not  permit 
the  headstock  being  set  upright  in  the 
usual  position,  as  the  feed  works  inter- 
fered with  the  hub  of  the  flywheel,  hence 
the  necessity  of  inverting  it. 

The  first  drill  was  made  with  an  i%- 
inch  twist  drill  and  after  being  redrilled 
to  2l4  inches  a  regular  boring  bar  was 
used  in  the  usual  manner.  A  small  ij4- 
horsepower  vertical  engine  was  used  to 
drive  the  lathe  head.  More  than  six 
months  have  passed  and  everything  seems 
to  indicate  the  entire  success  of  the  re- 
pair. 

L.  C.  Blake. 

St.  Louis,  Mo. 


The  fourteenth  entertainment  and  ball 
of  the  Eccentric  Firemen's  local  union 
No.  56,  I.  B.  of  S.  F.,  of  New  York  City, 
will  be  held  at  the  Grand  Central  Palace^ 
Saturday  evening,  January  23.  Aside' 
from  the  entertainment  program,  as  usu- 
ally provided  by  the  best  professional 
talent,  there  will  be  a  special  four-hand' 
reel  exhibition  and  exhibition  drill  by  the 
Eccentric  Firemen's  Fife  and  Drum 
Corps.  The  proceeds  of  the  occasion  willl 
be  turned  into  the  death-burial  fund. 


January    19,    1909. 


i'UUhK  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


i«» 


Transmission    of    Power    by    Leather  Belti 


A  Diagram  Giving,   without  Calculation,   the  Size.   >|><-..:     (  ,,,^,  .t, 
etc..     of     Bells.     Including     Effects     of     Slip    and    C  ' 


ing 


cnt.'itu^dl     ioicc 


I 


B    Y 


CARL 


G. 


B    A    R    T    H 


The  common  assumption  that  the  sum 

fif  the  tensions  on   the    tight    and    slack 

!es   of   a    belt     remains    constant     was 

•  wn  to  be  a  fallacy  by  Wilfred  Lewis  in 

■6.*'     The    coefficient    of    friction    be- 

ivM-en    the    belt    and    the    pulley    varies 

greatly  with  the  velocity  of  slip,  and  the 

centrifugal   force  of  the  belt   has  a  great 

deal    of   effict.      The   accurate   calculation 


Mr    Barth  has  evolved  formoU*  cover- 
ing  all  of  the  \a:  ..  \^g^ 

to  construct  the        .  ;a|fr« 

170  and  171,  the  n.tture  ^i 
can   best   be   described  an.; 
working  out  a  couple  of  examples 

KxAMi»L£   I:     The  maximum  cone   ,.»>, 
on  the  countershaft  of  a  bthe  is  a  trwhes 


(<) 


l-MIA.      THE   USE  OF  THE  BELT-SCALU   IS   SHOWN    IN 

nriKRMiMNi.  nir  irsGTH  or  a  mew  belt 


and  miflMcac*!  froa 

And  what  mmwim 

it  not  be  alkmcd  to  (all  brio*  to 
the  ahtnt-^titrmtaed  poO  •iiImi«i 

To  get  tlic 

ti"n  <  a  I.  «r  tirvl  turn  to  ifec 

portian  of  the  dta(ruB  plate,  »^  oa  itt 
•     and  nde  iia««  tkt 
■ "»«   P<T   miawe.     Fr 

'  >  the  Left  oMil  mx  mttr- 
ne  from  the  pooM  read- 
mt  23  mcbet  on  the  tcale  ot  pollry 
tert   at   '^'   ♦-  ••  -n  Uae  of  the 
P"^"i  •  .  tmtrwttkm  t, 

the  diagi'iiai   nnr  upward  to  iW 

line  of  the  main  portiOM  ot  Ikt . 

and  there  read  the  velocilj  d  iW  bdl  to 

h*"  »h~rt  f-xnn  f«-f  per  namMc.    TW 

- '-rred  to  haw  han 

"flnuB  bjr  hmB  drdn. 

«  note  the  po«M  that  rormpiMdi 

•-It    •'xvt    '.4    i^nr«   irr^   ^ff  aMMta* 

in  that  .^aoM  kae  of 

*'""  -n      wn>rii 

of 


TW  Hrtfc  he 
owl  iW 
•  at  tW 

...   :     IW  a. 


treme   I' 

and  there  .»«.  ..^ 


rtton  of  the 


T    ,  I... 


VtlOClTv  m  MLT    nt  um\in      w  %t  -rifwm  ar      yr 

OUM[I[R  or  PUUCt    >*      7~~7~r~r~FT7         7      7~ 


^  -        *     i-        r 


MaTH'l  «lT  litM  «lit. 


SLIOC  RULE    TIM    THE   MuKC   CONVKMENI 

of  the  >i/e  or  capacity  of  a  l>elt  1*.  ihcrr  i-inrh  doiiM.-  Ult      T\.r  m-*< 

fore,    a    much    more    complicated    nutter  t«  t<>  t>e 
!ti.in   the  allowance  of  »o  many    frrt    j*.  r         "miig   i..,    ; 
ite   of   belt   to  the   hor»e|MJHrr.    •  '   to  be  A 

"Mcn  the  latter  calculation  i*  m<Hlif"  ' 
allow  for  anKle  of  contact. 


••IVo*?.  A.  H    M    K.  Vol    VII.  p.  M» 
'Atotrart     of     Dap«r     pr«>«>niMt     ai      ib« 
•fnlhly    in«wiln«.   January    I'.'     ■■(   tb*  Aw«r1 
c«n    BorUly    of   M»<-haiil<-al    l:ntirw.  r«. 


rtr  r«Li«LEM»  amrKs  si  m 

jfi      iKe  tH-Tt  fM.ltx**   A    tfki  o«i  fW   i^Mval 

'h 


initial  tmaMiw  wtU  the  i- 


(»     >»iwtH     tW 


170 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  19,  1909. 


vertical  line  marked  140  degrees  and  then 
the  new  diagonal  until  it  intersects  the 
vertical  marked  170  degrees  at  the  top  of 
the  diagram,  in  the  field  marked  "Arc  of 
Contact,"  and  then  continue  horizontally 
until  we  intersect  the  interpolated  verti- 
cal line  for  the  belt  speed  1700  feet  already 
noted. 

From  the  point  of  intersection  we  fol- 
low the  diagonal  upward  and  to  the  right 
until  we  meet  the  vertical  scale  of  pounds, 
on*  which  we  now  read  the  belt  pull  to  be 
140  pounds;  and  continuing  horizontally 
until  we  meet  the  vertical  line  extending 
upward  from  the  point  corresponding  to 
the  belt  speed  originally  found  on  the 
scale  of  belt  speeds  in  this  section  of  the 
diagram,  and  from  this  line  diagonally  to 
the  vertical  scale  of  horsepower,  we  read 
off  the  horsepower  transmitted  to  be  7.2. 

To  get  the  answer  to  question  (b),  we 
proceed  exactly  as  before,  with  the  width 
and  thickness  of  the  belt,  except  that  we 
follow  the  diagonal  across  the  portion  of 
the  diagram  headed  "Arc  of  Contact" 
until  we  meet  the  border  line  for  180  de- 
grees. From  here  on  we  proceed  hori- 
zontally until  we  meet  the  vertical  line 
that  corresponds  to  the  belt  speed  1700 
feet  in  the  field  marked  "Velocity  for 
Maximum  Initial  Tension  for  Machine 
Belt."  From  the  point  of  intersection  on 
this  vertical  line  we  then  pass  diagonally 
to  the  scale  of  pounds,  and  there  read 


Tension  for  Machine  Belt."  The  answer 
read  off  on  the  vertical  scale  of  pounds  is 
113  pounds.  The  movements  for  this  solu- 
tion on  the  diagram  that  differ  from  those 
for  the  answer  to  question  (b)  are  indi- 
cated by  little  dotted  circles  around  the 
points  of  intersection. 

Example  2 :  The  countershaft  in  Ex- 
ample I  is  to  be  driven  by  a  belt  to  run 
at  a  speed  of  3000  feet  per  minute,  (a) 
What  diameter  of  pulley  is  required  to 
give  this  belt  speed?     (b)  What  pull  must 


marked  300  on  the  scale  of  revolutions  on 
the  right,  until  we  meet  the  diagonal  line 
from  the  point  marked  3000  on  the  hori- 
zontal scale  of  velocities.  From  the  point 
of  intersection  we  then  go  vertically  down. 
to  the  scale  of  pulley  diameters,  and  there 
read  off  38  inches  as  the  nearest  even 
diameter. 

(b)  To  get  the  pull  of  the  belt  we  re- 
member that  the  cone  belt  was  found  in 
Example  i  to  transmit  7.2  horsepower. 
We  therefore  note  that  point  on  the  ver- 


VELOCITY  FOR  INITIAL 

TENSION  IN  BELT 


MAXIMUM, 


MINIMUM. 


<.cS^  I/O 

r^       160 

<^   ISO* 

^  140 


O     500 
/<^  180°  > 


^    1000' 500| 

MACHINEcr:^°°' 
1300'     k! 


PULL  AND 

TENSION 

IN  POUNDS 


6" 

WIDTH 


maximum  initial  tension  to  be  168  pounds. 
Those  movements  for  this  solution  on  the 
diagram  that  differ  from  those  for  the 
answer  to  question  (a)  are  indicated  by 
little  filled-in  circles  around  the  various 
points  of  intersection  noted. 

For  the  answer  to  question  (c),  we 
proceed  in  every  respect  as  we  did  for 
question  (b),  except  that  we,  of  course, 
proceed  from  the  point  corresponding  to 
the  belt  speed  1700  feet  in  that  field  of  the 
scale  on  the  top  line  of  the  diagram  which 
is  marked  "Velocity  for  Minimum  Initial 


5"     4"       3" 

OF   BELT 


2000  3000'   4O0O'l2O0O'   3000'  3500' 

^.MACHINE     rT, COUNTER  SHAFT 
'""     BELT       '5po        BELT 


600 
1000' 


the   belt   transmit?      (c)    What   width   of     VELOCITY     FOR 
double  belt  must  be  used?     (d)  And  what 

will  be  the  initial  tension  under  which  the  PULL  OF    BELT 
belt  must  be  put  up,  and  to  which  it  must 
be  again  retightened  after  falling  to  the 
minimum?      (e)    What   will   be   its   mini- 
mum tension? 

Solution:  (a)  As  the  countershaft  is 
to  make  300  revolutions  and  the  belt  is  to 
run  at  3000  feet  per  minute,  we  turn  to 
the  small  diagram  at  the  right-hand  bot- 
tom corner  of  the  main  diagram,  proceed 
horizontally    to    the    left    from    the    point 


i 

i. 

tical  scale  of  horsepowers  at  the  extreme 
right  of  the  main  diagram  which  corre- 
sponds to  7.2,  and  then  follow  the  diag- 
onal from  this  point  toward  the  left,  until 
we  meet  the  vertical  line  extending  up 
from  the  point  marked  3000  on  the  scale 
of  velocities  on  the  bottom  line  of  this 
portion  of  the  diagram.  From  this  point 
of  intersection  we  continue  horizontally  to 


Jmuary    19,    1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

100 

80 


000'  3000'     2000'  lootf     700'     soo'.vaOCITY  or  BELT  prR  MIN. 


150  REVOLUTIONS 
PER  MIN. 
200 


300 


1        i         '1        J. 
40'      30*  20"      15* 

DIAMETER   OF  PUIIEY 


10-  r    r  r 


10 


•7t 


the  left  to  the  verticd  Kale  of  ^_. 
whicb  «c  ibcn  read  off  tW  poB  flo 
(c)    From  the  point 

»h<«e  80  pounds  ««  now  cool 

ootlly  to  the  left  amd  »«  neat  IW  ««r- 
(kal  Imc  ratcndinc  up  (rooi  the  pcim 
corrcapondtng  to  Um  bdt  i^ecd  jooo  on 
the  teak  mariud  'Vciociiy  fcir  PmI  o| 
Countenhaft  Bdt*  at  the  benoM  ol  tkm 
central  portioo  of  the  aaw  d^grwR. 
Front  itni  tN.nt  »<.  comawe  homotaMy 
to  '  correapoodnt  to  dw 


!r«T«c«.  and  thca 

ne  left.|Miid  ace- 

Voy    iiw^iiaiuii 

■4tb    Aod    llttcAdKM    fraa 

tS'ttal  aloog  which  wc  mix 

'  m  tnrc  a  prafcr  hrit 

Esampic  1  a  ihkkmtm 

oi  /^  inch.  w«  Bad  tiM  width  lo  ht  jH 

inches. 

(d)  To  fnd  iMiiiiimn  Wbal  taHmi 
for  this  belt,  we  proceed  esaclly  as  m 
Example  1.  except  that  we  as*  the  seal* 
marked  'Vdocaty  for  llmmwm  Iwtml 
Tenaian  for  Couotcrshafl  Bdt'  at  tht  M^ 
■fttioa  ol  the 
off  OS  the  scale  ol 
«■  iS7  ptmnds. 

ir"'     SirriLrl*.    wr    find 


Beltii«.^  P  W 


;.-iirur»  |.,r  whghmg  the  ii 

<lt.    In  the  CMC  ol  eadh 

ti.rKc  %:aIc%  are  pot  diredly  on  a  hell  ia 

ii«   final   fwMMKvi  over   its  pnOeyx   wMe 

bdt  with  wire  lac««,  this 

tmder  the  ra9Mnd  ifl»- 

'  designed  bdt  hcwch 


\t  •■n  's» 


•f 


•.nr  puiMys  on  which  the 

A  belt  cvt  and  laced  lo 

irmion    when   the   bench 

ri%  proprrhr  adjnsle«L  wdi 

orwiC  a  drwrad 

mewuke*  x 

-•-  the  ,.   . k 

-tad  the  hrat  Hnpviwvd  beil 

tir    wrrr    m^tl*  by   the    BcthlAlWI    S«mI 

umpany  in  the  yvar  tgaa 
•am  up.  the  writ*' 
«  ha*  maady 


eMaUish  a 
lU  t-  r  the  relaliaa  betwiew  the  !«■•■■■ 


Wn«b»T 


\»    » 


172 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  19,  1909. 


nulla  for  the  relations  between  the  ten- 
sions in  the  two  strands  of  a  belt-trans- 
mitting power,  which  formula  takes  ac- 
count of  the  influence  of  the  sag  in  a  hori- 
zcntal  belt,  and  agrees  substantially  with 
the  results  of  the  experiments  made  by 
Mr.  Lewis,  when  plotted  in  the  manner 
first  done  by  Professor  Aldrich. 

(c)  To  establish  a  formula  to  express 
the  relation  between  the  coefficient  of  fric- 
tion between  a  belt  and  a  cast-iron  pulley, 
and  the  velocity  with  which  the  belt  slips 
or  slides  over  the  pulley,  as  revealed  by 
plotting  the  results  likewise  obtained  by 
Mr.  Lewis. 

(d)  The  construction  of  a  diagram  em- 
bodying the  formula  expressing  the  rela- 
tion between  the  two  tensions  in  a  belt, 
the  well-known  formula  for  the  loss  in 
effective  tension  due  to  centrifugal  force, 
and  the  likewise  well-known  formula 
for  the  ratio  between  the  efifective  parts 
of  the  two  tensions,  as  determined 
by  the  coefficient  of  friction  and  the 
arc  of  contact  of  the  belt  oh  its  pul- 
leys. These  formulas  are  so  correlated 
on  the  diagram  that  problems  dealing  with 
the  contained  variables  may  be  solved 
graphicall}',  w-hile  a  direct  algebraic  solu- 
tion is  possible  only  for  a  vertical  belt,  or 
what  is  the  same  thing,  by  neglecting  the 
effect  of  the  sag  of  a  horizontal  belt.  A 
plate  containing  this  diagram  accompanies 
Mr.  Earth's  paper. 

(e)  Also  by  means  of  the  better  knowl- 
edge gained  of  the  elastic  properties  of 
leather  belting,  to  develop  a  formula  for 
the  creep  of  a  belt  on  its  pulley  due  to  the 
difference  in  the  tensions  in  the  two 
strands,  along  the  lines  outlined  by  Pro- 
fessor Bird  in  his  paper  on  "Belt  Creep," 
read  at  the  Scranton  meeting  in  1905. 

(f)  The  construction  of  diagrams  show- 
the  pulling  power  and  other  relations  of 
the  two  tensions  of  a  belt  of  i  square  inch 
cross  section  and  180  degrees  arc  of  con- 
tact at  different  speeds,  under  certain  con- 
ditions and  assumptions  recommended  by 
the  writer.  Also  a  modification  of  these 
diagrams  for  extended  practical  use,  on 
which  may  be  read  off:  (i)  The  pulling 
power  of  a  belt  of  any  width  and  thick- 
ness and  any  arc  of  contact,  between  140 
and  180  degrees;  (2)  the  initial  tensions 
below  which  the  belt  must  not  be  allowed 
to  fall  in  order  to  confine  the  slip  and  the 
consequent  loss  of  efficiency  of  trans- 
mission within  certain  limits;  (3)  the 
initial  tension  to  which  it  is  recommended 
that  the  belt  be  retightened  after  falling 
to  this  minimum  limit.  ("Plate  2  of  the 
paper,  reproduced  herewith.) 

(g)  Finally,  the  construction  of  a  slide 
rule  serving  the  same  purpose  as  the  dia- 
gram just  mentioned,  but  which  is  much 
handier  than  the  diagram.     See  Fig.  2. 


.^n  exchange  states  that  sileo-vanadium 
steel  is  now  used  in  making  transformers, 
as  on  account  of  its  improved  magnetic 
quantity  .it  decreases  the  core  loss. 


The  Effect  of  Steam  Jacketing 

To  THE  Editors  : 

I  inclose  a  copy  of  a  letter  written  to 
Bryan  Donkin,  of  London,  with  whom 
I  had  numerous  interviews  when  he  was 
upon  the  Continent. 

This  letter  is  interesting  from  the 
theories  which  are  there  brought  out  and 
which  have  since  been  recognized  as  cor- 
rect and  largely  applied. 

H.     BOLLINCKX. 

Brussels. 

M.   BoLLiNCKx'   Letter  to   Mr.   Donkin 

I  am  in  receipt  of  your  kind  letter  of 
the  second  instant,  and  have  just  finished 
reading  the  pamphlets  which  you  inclose. 

I  conclude,  firstly,  that  the  marine  ma- 
chines are  not  very  economical,  as  I  have 
always  thought,  and  of  which  I  have  had 
proof  in  my  own  country  in  a  compound 
vertical  machine  of  500  horsepower  con- 
suming nearly  10  kilograms  (22  pounds) 
of  steam  per  horsepower-hour. 

All  that  you  say  in  your  paper  is  per- 
fectly correct  according  to  my  idea,  and 
it  is  by  following  these  ideas  that  I  have 
constructed  my  engines  for  a  long  time : 

(i)  The  admission  of  the  steam  at  the 
top  of  the  jacket  in  order  that  the  water 
shall  be  thrown  to  the  bottom  of  the 
jacket  and  that  the  cylinder  shall  be  freed 
from  drops  of  water. 

(2)  Surfaces  carefully  polished  in 
order  to  diminish  initial  condensation. 

(3)  The  smallest  amount  of  surface 
possible  in  the  presence  of  the  entering 
steam,  and  these  surfaces  well  polished  as 
above  stated. 

(4)  To  diminish,  if  possible,  the  clear- 
ance space;  but  I  attach  less  importance 
to  this  last  point. 

As  I  have  written  you  before,  I  try  to 
make  my  cylinders  as  thin  as  possible,  and 
it  is  for  this  reason  that  I  use  the  heavy 
reinforcing  rings  in  order  to  give  them 
the  necessary  strength.  I  am  going  to 
use  the  same  thing  for  the  heads  of  my 
cylinders,  and  even  for  the  pistons.  I 
am  going  to  heat  the  pistons,  as  M.  Ber- 
ger-Andre,  of  Thann,  has  done,  as  the 
reason  that  I  have  for  heating  the  cylinder 
wall  is  the  same  as  that  for  heating  the 
piston,  and  it  is  only  the  difficulty  of  heat- 
ing the  latter  which  has  delayed  my  doing 
it  up  to  the  present.  But  within  the  last 
six  months  I  have  been  able  to  obtain 
tubes  strong  enough  so  that  I  could  make 
a  hollow  piston  rod  by  which  I  will  intro- 
duce the  steam,  and  into  which  will  pass 
a  second  tube  for  taking  out  the  water  of 
condensation.  M.  Berger-Andre  has  ob- 
tained in  this  way  an  economy  of  5  per 
cent.,  but  the  difficulties  of  construction 
and  of  maintenance  led  him  to  abandon 
the  idea. 

I  have  read  with  much  interest  the  ac- 
count of  your  tests  on  the  Sulzer  engine, 
in  which  you  introduce  the  steam  dur- 
ing the  compression  and  before  the  admis- 
sion.    I  am  astonished  that  this  filling  up 


did  not  cause  the  pressure  to  moun1 
higher  in  the  clearance  spa(^e,  which  goes 
to  prove  the  enormous  amount  of  con- 
densation which  is  taking  place  in  thai 
space  at  the  moment  of  the  injection  ol 
the  steam;  and  certainly  if  the  surface: 
are  not  of  a  certain  temperature  one  wil 
never  obtain  a  certain  pressure  by  com- 
pression in  that  space. 

I  come  now  to  the  tests  in  which  th< 
jacket  was  heated  by  steam  having  z 
higher  pressure  than  that  which  was  usee 
in  the  cylinder.  I  have  read  a  greal 
many  reports  of  tests  made  upon  this  sub- 
ject, and  yours  interest  me  the  more  be- 
cause you  have  approached  the  subject 
with  so  much  care.  The  economy  is  low 
but  I  should  certainly  have  said  that  ii 
would  have  been  more  considerable.  ] 
do  not  know  to  what  to  attribute  this 
effect.  I  have  already  investigated  th( 
subject  of  the  tests  on  the  compound  en- 
gines constructed  by  my  competitors  anc 
myself,  but  they  have  only  resulted  ir 
confusing  my  ideas,  for  I  have  constructec 
compound  machines  (and  they  also)  when 
the  jacket  of  the  larger  cylinder  and  th< 
receiver  were  heated  with  steam  at  si> 
atmospheres  and  the  efficiency  remains  th< 
same  as  that  of  machines  in  which  the  re- 
ceiver is  not  provided  with  a  reheater  anc 
in  which  the  jacket  of  the  low-pressure 
cylinder  is  heated  simply  with  the  charge 
coming  from  the  high-pressure ;  that  is  tc 
say,  with  the  same  steam  which  operate: 
in  the  low-pressure  cylinder  itself.  It  ma} 
be  that  when  the  jacket  is  heated  b) 
steam  of  a  greater  pressure  than  thai 
which  is  used  in  the  cylinder,  there  ii 
practically  no  circulation  and  that  th( 
water  deposited  about  the  cylinder,  th( 
film  of  water,  as  you  say,  hinders  the 
transmission  of  heat.  I  do  not  know 
anything  about  it,  but  the   fact  is  there 

I  know  also  of  the  tests  with  super- 
heated steam,  and  Schaerer  sent  me  ar 
apparatus  four  months  ago,  but  it  is  noi 
yet  in  place  so  that  I  cannot  make  test; 
upon  my  engine.  The  superheated  steair 
will,  of  course,  give  less  advantage  wher 
one  has  a  good  boiler  which  furnishes  dr) 
steam  and  a  good  compound  engine  whicl 
does  not  consume  more  than  5.7  kilograms 
(12.5  pounds)  of  steam  per  indicatec 
horsepower  like  ours. 

One  thing  which  astonishes  me  also  is 
that  engines  where  the  steam  coming 
from  the  boiler  circulates  in  the  jacket  be- 
fore entering  the  cylinder  do  not  give  3 
greater  economy  when  the  passages  (the 
entrances  for  the  steam  to  the  valve)  arc 
so  small  as  to  produce  a  fall  in  pressure 
of  one  or  two  atmospheres.  In  effect,  this 
constitutes  a  jacket  operating  at  a  pres- 
sure higher  than  that  of  the  steam  in  th« 
cylinder,  and  the  steam  itself  is  somewhal 
superheated,  owing  to  its  sudden  loss  oi 
pressure. 

Hirn  and  Hallouer  pretend  to  have  ob- 
tained good  results  in  this  way  and  con- 
cluded even  that  expansion  is  unnecessarj 
to  the  economical  use  of  steam  and  thai 


January    19,    1909. 

irottle  governing  is  quite  sufficient.  Is 
[lis  your  own  opinion? 
Jackets  heated  by  means  of  oil  must 
iperate  poorly,  as  the  conducting  power 
if  the  oil  is  not  good.  I  believe  that  a 
ery  thin  jacket  could  be  made  to  give 
;ood  results,  and  I  believe  that  if  the 
ylindtr  barrel  is  well  provided  with  fins 
I   will    transmit    heat    still    more    quickly. 


:A  ■' 


FIG.     I 

•hat  the  difference  in  temperature  be- 
the  metal   interior  of  the  cylinder 
c  steam  will  be  reduced.    If  you  re- 
•his  difference  you   reduce  also  the 
.   condensation.      Is   this   your   idea? 
ive  also  experimented   (but  the  en- 
I   believe,  was  not  well   run  during 
St)    with   an    apparatus    in    the    re- 
fer separating  from  the  steam  com- 
:  om    the   high-pressure   cylinder    on 
ly  to  work  in  the  low-pressure  all 
iter  which  it  contains, 
.ways  use  a  separator  upon  the  high- 
■re   cylinder,   an<l    I    believe    that    if 
iter  can  be  separated  from  tlie  rtcam 
it  enters  the  low-pressure  cylinder, 
lid  do  a  great  deal  of  good. 

H.    BoLI-INCKX. 

M    Bollinckx'  letter  is  accompanied  by 
rinls    reproduced   herewith,   showing 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

Alcohol    versus    Gasolene  for 

internal  Combustion 

Ejigines 

By  James  E.  Sntiy 


«•  cummcnt 


There    has   been 
on   the  possibilities 
as  a  substitute  for  k 
combustion   engines       '\ 
the  relative  merits  of  the  tw<    • 

out    sonic    facts   which   are   u  ■    ^    

known,  and  which  are  of  interest  to  both 
the  engme  operator  and  the  designer. 

Gasolene  consists  principally  of  a  mix 
ture  of  pcntane  and  hexane.  The  heat 
value  of  these  compounds  is  al>out  21,000 
B.t.u.  per  pound,  while  that  of  alcohol  is 
tut  13,700  B.t.u.  per  po-'n-l  However, 
there    is    a    comp<-:  which 

eliminates    most   of  The 

reaction  which  expresses  the  explosion  of 
gasolene  vapor  is  as  follows: 


3L'.H,.  -*■  l»  O,      -f  T«!l,      - 
13  CX>,     -   U  B.U,    '     16  N 
3  voU.  -t-  la  ToU.  -f  7S  Tola.  • 
13  ToU.  t-   U  vol*.    .  T«  Vol*. 

Hence,  97  volumes  of  explosive  mixture 
produce  102  volumes  of  "burned"  g^scs, 
tliere  being  a  certain  increase  of  v<ilume 
due  to  the  increase  in  the  number  of  gas 
molecules.  Thus,  if  I  cubic  foot  of  the 
mixture  were  exploded,  1.0515  cubic  feet 
of  gaseous  products  would  be  formed  even 
if  no  heat  of  combustion  were  given  off 
The  specific  heat  of  the  rrsultinK  Ease* 
would  be  about  018387  at 
ume  Since  1  pciund  of  i>ri: 
15.9  pounds  of  air,  there  would  rctult 
16.9  pounds  of  spent  gases;  310  R.l.u 
would  be  required  to  raise  the  tempera- 
ture of  this  weight  of  gas  1  decree 
Fahrenheit.  Taking  the  heat  value  of 
gasolene  as  2i/)oo  B  t.u.  per  pound,  the 
rise  in  the  temperature  of  the  exploded 
■  !  1  '      'ctically 


r.«,o  4  T  0, 

4  VX 

•  00,  ♦  •  u,o 

•  »» 

1  vol.    -t^  t  voU. 

♦  »"  » 

•  rate.  ♦  Ivoto. 

*  «  > 

rir.    2 

I  or 

.  ig.  I  the  grooved  exterior  wall  of  the     tim- 

c>'linder,  and   in   Fig.   a  an  indicator   for     an  1 

»hr>wing  the  action  of  the  steam'.     At  the     •< 

period  of  admission  the  steam  in  the  glass 

'    (   during 

the   in 


I7J 

\  wbtdi  n  more  tiun  100  dr- 
?han    that    coaipated    for    tikr 


>ttM  Inn*' 
\  c:u»c  stndjr  of  tJ.c-.<  -.t:^  :.        • '!ig% 
(If    w^fnr    o<her     uttrrrtiitkK     !*.:>       tor 
ne  volome  ot  gaaoknc  vafor 
-jsii  5D  per  COM.  nore  air  ikan 
-rnc  volume  of  aleohol  vapor.    On 
->-'  t  "  t>><'  formab  it  wSt  be  en- 
alcohol  molentle  cootaui* 
--'-re  doc*  001  require  a» 
rnbattMM  as  a  bytSro 
(ar[j..n  trt'ircuir      Hovcrcr.  Um  oaum 
coQtained  in  the  molaeale  ffrealiy  fKft* 
utrs    the  <i« 

that    ak^  .j^ 

uto  thai  mixM 

*ir      It   u   probable   thM 

less  trouble  from  nrfiadvr 

deposits  of  soot  with  alcohol  than  with 

gasolene. 

As  to  mixing  of  the  charge,  therv  i» 

ntage  for  cither  fuel     If  amj 

ilcoKol  vapor  it  shghlljr  heavier 

^apor;    therefore    the 

!  lie  what  noec 

tcMUK  iactA  indKatr  that  1 

-  (r>  alcohol  in  orariy  every  wmf 

Ihr  increase  of  the  tvrmtit  h 

over  ifm'.rr   and  the  theOTCb- 

cal   '  ■MOO  is   10»  4e 

grer,    ,.,.  •'-     the    iiMal 

pressure  •  "^ic  mtaturr 

will    be    Krr.'rr  trijn    fivti    •>(    the   akohol 

miviurr     Tr«i«  Have  probably  been  uwdr 

.  Sicb  show  that  akohol 

:»e,  or  even  Better,  vvt 

'  put  on  the  csrhurescr 

fT  than  em  the  furf. 

A  few  ye  e  indutirtal  aleo 

I  because  t4 

....  be 

f  products 

jiM-     In  «pti«  of  the 

le  has  bevn 

ihol    lor    o 

•tiB  to 

.«  •  tmmi  on  any  r 

s<  t  at  the  same  p^ 

iia  aUI  he  a 

i  ■  •  ' ' ' 

A'  ^   thovld   mat   be 


can   be  dtWt' 
n     »u<^    SI    '• 


ration   of   steam    n'. 

denser      Donkin  m 

mmt.  but  that  here  shown  is  claime.i 

M.  Bollinckx  to  have  been  invenir«l  if 

pendently  by  himself.— EoiTmis  1 


peraturt 


^    rawed    ihr<><rt«t*il»     *m  *Ah«: 


t%      |l?Mt»«»»» 


174 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  19,  1909. 


POWER 

Mr^TiiE  Engineer 

DEVOTED  TO    THE  GENERATION   AND 
TRANSMISSION   OF  POWER 


The  Line  "Recognizes"  the    Staff 


Issued  Weekly  by  the 


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CIRCULATION    STATEMENT 
During     1908    we    printed    and    circulated 
1,836,000  copies  of  Power. 

Our  circulation  for  Decemier,  1908,  ivus 
(weekly   and  monthly)   191,500. 

January    5 46,000 

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None  sent  free  regularly,  no  returns  from 
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Contents  pagh 

Hampton  Power  Plant  of  the  D.,  L.  &  W. 

Railroad    Company 141 

Development    of    the    High    Speed    Steam 

Engine     148 

Reserve    Power    for   Auxiliaries 150 

Catechism    of    Electricity 151 

Driving  Up  Bags  in  Steam  Boilers 152 

The    Plunger    Hydraulic    Elevator 154 

The    Nature    of    the    Volatile    Matter    of 

Coal     156 

Steel  Belts  for  Power  Transmission 158 

Practical  Letters  from  Practical  Men : 
Extraneous  Supervision  of  'Power 
Plants.  ..  .Multiple  Feed  Lubricator 
....  Mr.  Sheehan's  Motor  Trouble 
....Air  Pump  Arrangement  in  a 
Pumping  Station.  ..  .How  to  Set 
Brushes.  ..  .Capacity  of  Rectangular 
Tanks.  ..  .Cast  Iron  Crosshead  Pins 
....Engine  Wreck  Prevented  by 
Quick  Action.  ..  .Faulty  Indicator 
Diagrams.  ..  .Condenser  Tube  Pack- 
ing. .  .  .A  Homemade  Relief  Valve 
....An  Old  Haystack  Boiler.... 
Compounding  Engines.  ...  Gas  and 
Boiler  Explosions.  ..  .Pump  Cylin- 
der. Repair.. What  a  Substitute 
Piston  Did.  ..  .Indicator  Stop  De- 
vice.... An  Oil  Device. ..  .Calcula- 
tion of  Cooling  Surface  for  Surface 
Condenser.  .  .  .Method  of  Setting  Gas 
Engine  Valves.  ..  .What  Knocked 
the  Cylinder  Head  Out.  .  .  .Firemen's 
Conditions  Should  Be  Improved 
....An  Unusual  Crank  Shaft  Re- 
pair      160-168 

Transmission      of      Power      by      Leather 

Belting    169 

The  Effect  of  Steam  Jacketing 172 

Alcohol    versus    Gasolene     for     External 

Combustion    Engines 173 

Editorials     174-175 


The  engineer,  realizing  his  absolute 
responsibility  for  the  ability  of  the  vessel 
to  move,  has  been  accustoined  to  shrug 
his  shoulders  in  the  inconspicuous  back- 
ground vv^hile  press  and  public  and  official- 
dom lauded  and  feted  the  captain  of  a 
vessel  which  had  made  an  exceptional 
run.  "Fighting  Bob"  Evans  modestly 
brushes  this  credit  aside.  "I  am  not  the 
one  man  who  took  the  fleet  to  San  Fran- 
cisco," says  he.  "The  man  who  brought 
the  fleet  around  the  Horn  is  the  man  who 
boiled  the  water  in  the  fireroom  and  the 
man  who  peeled  the  potatoes.  They  have 
done  as  much  to  take  it,  step  by  step,  as 
the  keen-eyed  officer  on  the  deck  or  the 
gray-haired  captain  on  the  bridge." 

The  pendulum  may  hit  the  engineer  in 
swinging  back. 


Hackneyed  Contributions 


There  are  some  engineering  subjects 
which,  like  the  poor,  will  always  be  with 
us ;  such  as  how  to  keep  the  ashpit  clean, 
methods  of  firing  practiced  fifty  years 
ago,  necessity  of  keeping  the  water  level 
at  the  second  gage,  objections  for  and 
against  valves  in  the  water-column  con- 
nections, loss  of  boiler  economy  for  each 
one-sixteenth  inch  of  scale,  whether  the 
pressure  should  be  on  the  stem  or  disk 
side  of  a  globe  valve,  and  whether  a  belt 
should  be  run  hair  or  flesh  side  to  the 
pulley. 

Superheated  steam  has  been  a  live  topic 
for  discussion,  and  many  articles  have 
been  written  by  those  who  did  and  did  not 
know  what  they  were  talking  about;  but 
with  the  passing  of  the  years,  many  of 
the  old  notions  regarding  the  use  of  super- 
heated steam  have  been  dispelled,  especi- 
ally regarding  its  effect  upon  packing, 
cjdinder  lubrication  and  the  operation  of 
valves  other  than  those  of  the  poppet  type. 
Not  many  years  ago,  a  member  of  a  cer- 
tain engineering  society  had  under  way 
the  preparation  of  a  paper,  to  be  read  at 
the  next  meeting  of  the  society,  regard- 
ing the  difficulties  encountered  in  using 
superheated  steam,  and  especially  dealing 
with  its  nonuse  in  the  ordinary  type  of 
steam  engine.  Doubtless  the  paper  would 
have  been  read  before  an  intelligent  body 
of  men  as  planned  had  it  not  been  pointed 
out  that  the  difficulties  which  were  singled 
out  as  restricting  the  use  of  superheated 
steam  had  been  so  overcome  that  they 
were  not  classed  as  difficulties,  any  more 
than  any  other  feature  in  steam-plant 
operation. 

In  posing  before  the  public  as  an 
authority  the  individual  should  know  that 
his  position  is  unassailable.  If  a  writer 
makes  an  erroneous  statement  it  will  be 
strange  if  someone  does  not  bring  the 
matter  to  his  attention.  The  one  who  is 
mistaken  in  his  beliefs  may  have  some  ex- 


cuse, and  the  one  who  does  not  know  may 
learn  through  the  school  of  criticism. 
Both  of  these  kinds  of  writers  are  being 
constantly  met  with  by  the  editorial  force 
of  this  paper,  and  they  are  dealt  with 
courteously  and  a  helping  hand  is  given 
when  required. 


The  Future  Large  Gas  Engine 

Reciprocating  steam  engines  for  land 
service  are  built  up  to  about  twelve  thou- 
sand brake  horsepower  and  turbines  up 
to  fourteen  thousand  kilowatts,  or  about 
twenty  thousand  brake  horsepower  per 
unit.  Twin-tandem  gas  engines  have  been 
built  in  this  country  up  to  five  thousand 
four  hundred  brake  horsepower,  or  one 
thousand  three  hundred  and  fifty  horse- 
power per  cylinder,  using  a  rich  gas ;  with 
less  "snappy"  gas  the  same  engine  could 
doubtless  be  worked  up  to  fourteen  or 
fifteen  hundred  horsepower  per  cylinder 
by  building  it  with  higher  compression. 
These  figures  mean,  obviously,  that  the 
gas  engine  of  the  future  for  large  power- 
plant  service  must  be  built  in  much  larger 
units  than  the  present  knowledge  of  de- 
sign permits,  if  it  is  to  compete  with 
steam.  Urban  central  stations  cannot 
afford  to  provide  one  and  a  quarter  square 
feet  of  generating  room  ground  plan  for 
each  brake  horsepower  of  output,  which  is 
about  the  size  of  the  huge  Gary  plant. 
Nor  is  it  usually  profitable  to  divide  the 
total  output  of  even  a  big  station  into 
twenty  or  more  units. 

The  greatest  internal  cylinder  diameter 
thus  far  employed  in  this  country  is  forty- 
four  inches ;  somewhat  larger  cylinders 
are  in  successful  service  abroad,  but  the 
difference  is  not  important  from  the  view- 
point under  discussion.  To  develop  ten 
thousand  brake  horsepower  at  eighty-five 
per  cent,  mechanical  efficiency  a  twin 
tandem  four-stroke  engine  would  need 
cylinders  not  less  than  eighty  inches  in 
diameter,  which  is  far  beyond  any  re- 
corded size  ever  built. 

The  chief  difficulty  in  the  way  of  build- 
ing large  engines  is  the  enormous  quanti- 
ties of  heat  to  be  got  out  of  the  cylinder 
per  cycle,  which  difficulty  is  augmented  by 
the  well  known  decrease  in  the  ratio  of 
wall  surface  to  volumetric  capacity  with 
increasing  diameters.  Consideration  of 
this  feature  of  the  problem  alone  would 
lead  straight  away  from  the  accepted 
"ideal"  of  a  hemispherical  combustion 
chamber  and  in  the  direction  of  a  flat- 
tened extension  of  the  cylinder  proper,  but 
only  actual  experiment  can  determine  how 
far  one  could  go  in  that  direction  without 
developing  other  difficulties  of  a  more  or 
less  prohibitive  nature. 

Whatever  may  be  the  method  of  doing 
it,  however,  it  is  quite  evident  that  the 
construction  of  much  larger  units  than 
have  j^et  been  produced  must  be  made 
practicable   if  the  gas   engine   is   to  gain 


January   19,    1909 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


•7$ 


le  standing  in  large  power-plant  work 
jat  its  rapid  imprcvcment  in  operating 
[jaracteristics  bids  fair  to  justify. 


Boiler  Plant  Capacity 

The  average  plant  consisting  of  several 
oilers    is   laid   out     to    operate    on    one 
:.i' k    and  this  stack  is  generally  propor- 
properly   to   serve   the  boilers   in- 
i.11.-  <i.     It  often  happens  that  rhe  original 
apacity  is  soon  outgrown  and  the   need 
'      '  litional  boilers  is  felt,  and  these  are 
<1  and  connected  to  the  stack  with- 
out any  thought  being  given  to  the  ques- 
inn  of  whether  the  stack  is  of  sufficient 
ty   properly   to   care   for   the  added 

metimes  transpires,  too,  that,  owing 
^  .. cral  such  additions  of  boilers,  the 
iverloading  of  the  stack  becomes  so  pro- 
lounced  that  further  additions  to  the 
joJlcr  equipment  tend  to  reduce  the  capa- 
f  the  plant  as  a  whole  rather  than 
rease  it. 

iiould  be  the  duty  of  every  progres- 

■  ngincer  to  know  at  what  points  the 

apacity  of  his  plant  will  be  reached  first, 

10  that  when  the  call  for  additional  power 

comes   he   will  be   ready   to   suggest   how 

^'       nployer's  money  can  be  most  advan 

isly  spent  to  obtain  the  desired  in- 

in  capacity. 

I  bfjilcr  plant  there  are  three  main 
rs  of  general  design  that   limit   the 
ity,  and  each   of  these   is  of   practi- 
<qual  importance,  although  this  does 
.•em     to    be     generally    appreciated. 
:irst,   and  the    one    which    is    often 
icd  to  be  the  all  determining  factor, 
actual  boiler  capacity,  or  extent  of 
i«  surface.     The  second  is  the  grate 
!»v  or  area;  this  is  fairly  well  taken 
a  genera!  thing,  on  account  of 
1   grate  surface  l>eing  alw-ivN  in- 
-I  with  each    addition    to    the    Ixiilrr 
ity.     Thirdly,   is   the   draft   capacity. 
liis  is  liable  to  be  anything  in  a  plant 
has    been    through    several    changes. 
ist  be  remembered  that  draft  capacity 
■    simply  a  chimney  capable 
I     given  volume  of  air,  but 
;lic  gas  passages  fr' 
•  y  are  of  ample  pr.  , 
r   shape;   also,  that   the  dr^it   be   oJ 
orrect  intensity  or  sharpness  to  suit 
(ualily   of    fuel    used.      Some   of   the 
r  grades  of  fuel  are  only  burned  sue- 
tully  with  artificial  draft.    The  quality 
ic  fuel  also  aflTecIs  the  grate  are.i   -- 
.1 

'  briiler  plant  i  signs  <.i 

'tr?rrmine     i;  if    'he 

r,  grate  ar«.»   .tii'!   'Ir.-if?    c^'' 
•r(\    when    thr    rl.iss    ■.!     !    • 
«»rd  IS  considered,  so  that  thr>  m.i>   « 
in  uni«on   to   produce   the    Inchr  t     I'l 
capacity.     Thit   correct    pr-  o< 

the  several  capacitie*  will  tti*..  . i  the 

fcononncal  grnrration  of  steam      Rrmein- 


ber  that  all  any  boiler  can  do  i^  to  absorb 
a  cenain  portion  of  the  heat  gcurr  ,;cii  un 
the  grate  and  to  generate  the  :  t 

of  heat  that  a  given  boiler  is  ^..,,-^.^  of 
absorbing  efficiently,  requires  the  cor* 
rect  Krate  and  draft  capacity  for  the  par- 
ticular kind  of  fuel  used. 


ever,   thai   cardcaa 

gcu   carclcaa 

haadlan   estber  a   Mean 


MpcfwMcwScBce    k^ 


A  Remarkable  Statement 


rrtiin     fix 


plWH    Of    H0I 

•'t«aal  pre- 

jM  DOC  h* 


Un  January  4  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States  reversed  the  decision  of  the 
I'liited  States  Circui- 
i-iglitycent  gas   law 

iioiincing  the  decision  oi  liic  ^c 

kutus   W.    Peckham   made   pv.  ;L» 

stract  of  the  opinion  in  which  the  follow- 
ing  statement  was  made : 

"The  proof  unquestionably  shows  great 
possible  if  not  probable  danger  of  ex- 
plosion in  the  mains  or  other  pipes  if  the 
pressure  demanded  were  applied  to  them 
as  they  now  are." 

The  State  law  in  question  required  that 
gas  of  at   least  twenty-two  candle  power 
should  be  supplied  at  a  pressure  not  ex- 
I  ceding  two  and  one-half  inches  of  water. 
It  surely  cannot  be  this  pressure  to  which 
the  court  refers,  as  the  stress  set  up  in 
the  walls  of  a  twelve-inch  cast-iron  pipe 
three-fourths  inch   thick  by  this  pressure 
would  be  too  small  to  be  mcaMired.     But 
what   else   can   the   decision    refer   to  and 
why  should  that  portion  of  thr  bw  hr  de- 
clared null  and  void '   Ilh: 
not   explode   on   the   apj 
sure;   in   fact,  we  seem    to    have    heard 
somewhere  that  air  or  rath"  .x^lth  ir 
rather  large  quantities  must  i 
l>r<  sent   along   with    illuminaiKin     k"    ■" 
.r.iir     that     an     explosive     mixture     be 
|.  riTir<l,  and  even  ll'  .-xlernal 

i  I  .It  i>   r<«|Uircd  t<'  ' 

It   IS  not   often   • 
this  order  appear*  :• 

^'ip-t  inr  (  .  iirt  and  it   '■  '•« 

ili..t  wl.cn  the  full  text  1  .  "he 

•  liihculty  will  have  a  rational  expbnatioo 

However  much  the  intri '  •''  ''"' 

mind  may  be  beyond  tl>' 
the 


In  every  otiten. 


mjuirr'!    01    1    mail     i^wraiim     a 

barrow     That  either  djmaaulc  or  a 

L 


^  ui  Kicat 

!ty   u  abo 

to  mtnut  tbc  mc  of  tnhtt  to 

tx-rw  It  it   dAnccroH^ 


or 

The  fact  slNivU  not 


rrirjii   rigrii   lor  ooing  »ucii  a  my 


but  maybe  jroa  arc  doing  sooMtldaf  j«l 
as  careless  in  jroor  own  boikr  rooM.  To 
tho^  nM  sfn^inccd  with  ike  habits  of 
r  be  explained  bcrc  UhI 
bekm  90  degree*  Fabr«i- 
hett  It  M  in  a  iroicn  cundiiioiw  and  ibai 
for  efTectivc  use  it  hmmI  be  tha««d  onL 
It  is  this  thawing  operation  tbat  baa  givas 
so  many  opportwutiea  for  cardcaancaa 
and  ignorance  to  decrease  tbe  daatb- 
benefit  funds  of  a  certain  daaa  of  fra- 
ternal organtxatsona.  Tbc  djmandl*  cart- 
ridges are  thawed  properly  kgr 
them  in  a  wateftifht  vessel 
by  w  II  healed  to  a  timniafra 

not  c '  •    t  SO  dtgrces  Fabrcnbcil- 

In  the  power  plant  of  a  certain  Wtm- 
em  mine  two  6i>-bora«power  rttnf»« 
tubular  boilers  were  mstaBcd  and  of«r- 

I.I..*    u..   >^. ..».(•   r>m>iirr        (tnr    Of 

.ttrr  \o  trvaw   nj»  a**'"   •-"■"  "T 

rin  on  a  sawdnt  bed  on  top 

•   tbe  boiler  done*.     Nov  tbe 

not  know  »♦•••  tS»  u 

of  steam  at  80  potr 

'-•4    lUtrrrx    F^^f  * 

.twsiust  ma%  acattefTd 
brcanr  soaked  wnb 
dywMi^  stKbs^  thaa 


lirmifirK 
with  the 
Uc  e«pl« 


.^t>>1 


of  lb* 


wrecii  oi  tbe  buh- 


*%    M* 


Steam   Boiler*  and   Dynamite 


,i.1...ir>nK     Ka\f     iHClirrf"!     it>n\ 


did 


taiK*     b* 

ii.e-!. 


i-9  Ike  »t*4i«al 
,4      <> 


•  k«  <.J- 


W  u«««k>slAkC«;.    tM» 


.utfr"' 


176' 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


1 


January  19,  1909. 


Power  Plant  Machinery  and    Appliances 


Original         Descriptions       of 
No     Manufacturers'     Cuts     or 


Power       Devices 
Write-ups      Used 


MUST     BE     NEW     OR     INTERESTING 


Hopkinson  Flashlight  Indicator 


It  is  generally  admitted  that  for  en- 
gines running  at  more  than  200  or  300 
revolutions  a  minute  the  ordinary  indi- 
cator  does   not    give    satisfactory    results. 


traces  out  a  line  on  the  card.  The  objec- 
tions to  this  form  are  twofold :  Firstly, 
that  the  deflections  of  the  diaphragm  are 
not  exactly  proportional  to  the  pressure 
acting  upon  it ;  and,  secondly,  that  the 
heat  of  the  steam  or  gas  is  likely  to  affect 
the  calibration  of  the  instrument  bv  alter- 


Glasgow,  and  sold  under  the  name  of  the 
Hopkinson  Flashlight  Engine  Indicator. 

The  distinctive  features  of  the  Hopkin- 
son indicator  are  shown  in  Figs.  2  and  3. 
The  body  of  the  instrument  is  bored  to 
receive  a  piston  F,  the  top  of  which  is 
fitted  with  a  wire-hook  arrangement  which 


The  inertia  of  its  piston  and  parallel  mo- 
tion seriously  distort  the  diagrams,  while 
slackness  of  the  motion  joints  and  fric- 
tion of  the  pencil  on  the  paper  introduce 
other  errors  which  are  by  no  means 
negligible.  When  we  come  to  really  high 
speeds,  such  as  those  of  petrol  and  other 
engines,  the  only  practicable  form  of  in- 
dicator is  the  optical  type,  in  which  a 
minute  motion  of  a  diaphragm  or  piston, 
subject  to  the  cylinder  pressure,  is  magni- 
fied and  made  visible  by  means  of  a  beam 
of  reflected  light.  The  optical  principle 
at  once  does  away  with  inertia  troubles, 
and  when  embodied  in  a  suitable  type  of 
apparatus  is  capable  of  giving  valuable 
results  at  the  highest  speeds  at  which  any 
engine  can  run.  Very  good  work  has 
been  done  with  such  indicators,  which 
have  now  been  in  use  for  some  years. 

In  the  usual  form  of  optical  indicator 
the  pressure  of  the  steam  or  gas  acts  un- 
derneath a  metallic  diaphragm,  which  is 
attached  to  a  mirror.  The  deflections  of 
the  diaphragm  cause  the  mirror  to  rock, 
so  that  a  spot  of  light  reflected  from  it 


1 


L 


FIG.    3 


*-^g^B 

M 

^^^^m 

y        '*  •     ^' 

u 

1     Oj^Q 

1 

" 

w 

IL 

FIG.    4 


ing  the  elasticity  of  the  diaphragm.  To 
avoid  any  possible  source  of  error  or  trou- 
ble from  these  causes.  Prof.  Bertram  Hop- 
kinson, of  Cambridge  University,  has  de- 
vised the  instrument  shown  in  Figs,  i  to 
3,  which  is  manufactured  by  Dobbie-Mc- 
Innes,    Limited,    of    57    Bothwell    street. 


embraces  at  the  center  a-  flat  steel  spring 
D  fixed  transversely  above  the  piston.  The 
hook  does  not  hold  the  spring  tightly 
enough  to  prevent  the  piston  taking  its 
position  freely  in  the  bore.  The  springf 
is  clamped  at  each  end  to  the  rotating 
head    of   the    instrument    in   the    manner 


::iuiry    ly,    I'jf/j. 

•I.  Before  insertion  it  is  slightly 
'1,  but  when  in  position  it  is  held 
traight  hy  a  moderate  pressure  of  the 
wo  binding  scre-\vs.  Above  the  spring, 
did  parallel  to  it,  is  a  spindle  /,  to  the  cen- 
er  of  which  a  small  mirror  H  is  fixed. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

illustrated,   but   in   which   a: 
fixed    to    the   engine    crarik 
sprini;  clip  to  the  in 
we   understand   tha:    .'.,>... 
prepared  to  supply  better  m 
rangcmenis   for  most  cases 


>77 


'r<.>m  Hi  u  ^  mtcwimI  k» 


rrfrarlt  the  bcaai  to  R». 
<*  <Jb%tr%rt  it  placed. 

tilujfrt]  jt  R^  ii  €•• 


•loCtMMM    o4    two 

bjr  tW  HoffaB 

-n  a  sat  a«M* 


QOO    rcTClatitMi*    p«-r 


na  5 


spindle  is  carried  on  pointed  center*. 
t  which  spring  clips  press.  It,  and 
'>rc  the  mirror,  are  caused  to  rock 
ans  of  a  thin  steel  strip  K  connect- 
.e  spring  and  spindle,  the  flexibility 
-  strip  allowing  it  to  accommodate 

i  to  the  circular  motion  of  the  spin- 
The  length  of  the  diagram  is  ob- 
I  by  rcKking  the  hea«l  of  the  instru- 
.iroiind  the  Ixxly,  the  motion  taking 
on  the  liall  bearings  shown  in   I'ig 


To   rendrr   thf 
obtain   a   * 
camera    !:• 
attacbrd  to  the  mdicatnr 
llccting   mirror   is   "»■  ' 
spot  of  light  upon 
or  pf    •     -     •        • 
of   1^  I 


di.icrri'n    visible,   Or   lO 
'1    of    it.    a 


•IM  » 
>tao  ol 


4  ikt 


no    permanent 


■•iiokc.    <>(     (u    IK4C    lUc    gdtci^    Um{X    ui 


rn.    f» 

motion  of  ih'  head  ihmuffh  an  angle     tlir  digram,  a  tele« 

|Mn;j       ! 


drtvrn  through  a   motion    which 


«  II 


178 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  19,  1909. 


Veeder  Liquid  Tachometer 


The  liquid  tachometer  described  and 
illustrated  herewith  is  manufactured  by 
the  Veeder  Manufacturing  Company, 
Hartford,  Conn.  This  instrument  makes 
use  of  a   liquid  in  a  device   similar   to   a 


FIG.      I.      VEEDER    LIQUID    TACHOMETER 

centrifugal  pump.  Its  principle  in  action 
is  that  the  pressure  developed  by  the 
centrifugal  force  of  the  liquid,  when  the 
instrument  is  running  at  a  certain  speed, 
is  a  definite  quantity.  This  pressure  forces 
liquid  up  the  indicating  tube  A,  Fig.  I,  and 
is  balanced  by  the  pressure  due  to  the 
hight  of  the  column  of  liquid  in  the  tube. 
Fig.  2  is  a  sectional  view. 

The  instrument- shown  in  Fig.  i  illus- 
trates one  of  its  present  forms  with  the 
paddle  removed.  The  only  moving  part 
is  in  the  paddle,  which  imparts  the  neces- 
sary centrifugal  force  to  the  liquid  con- 
tained in  the  body.  A  small  reservoir  B 
is  located  directly  over  the  paddle  case, 
in  the  center  of  which  is  a  glass  tube 
through  which  the  liquid  flows  to  the  indi- 
cating tube  A. 

A  suitable  zero  mark  is  provided  around 


this  small  tube  in  the  center  of  the  reser- 
voir. The  liquid  rises  by  capillary  attrac- 
tion in  this  small  central  tube  somewhat 
above  the  level  of  the  liquid  in  the  reser- 
voir. This  enables  the  tachometer  to  be 
set  at  zero,  a  displacement  clutch  operated 
by  small  thumb  nuts  (shown  at  C) 
enabling  the  operator  to  raise  or  lower 
the  hight  of  the  liquid  so  that  its  surface 
shall  be  exactly  at  the  zero  mark. 

A  free  passage  is  provided  from  the 
reservoir  to  the  center  of  the  paddle 
wheel,  allowing  the  liquid  to  flow  freely 
to  the  paddle  wheel,  from  which  it  is 
thrown  out  through  very  small  orifices  in 
the  periphery  of  the  paddle  case.  A  small 
handle  D  is  placed  at  the  front,  with 
which  to  operate  a  valve  to  choke  the 
passage  from  the  pump  to  the  indicating 
column.  This  is  to  prevent  the  dancing 
or  vibration  of  the  liquid  column,  due  to 


any  fluctuation  in  the  speed  of  the  revolv- 
ing body  whose  revolutions  are  being 
indicated. 

The  blades  of  the  paddle  are  radial  so 
the  device  may  be  reversed.  A  ball  thrust 
bearing  is  provided  for  the  paddle  shaft, 
thus  eliminating  any  wear  that  would 
prove     injurious.     The    outlets     for     the 


liquid  consist  of  a  number  of  small  radial 
holes,  equally  spaced  around  the  periphery 
of  the  paddle  case. 

The  apparatus  is  so  sensitive  that  at 
the  maximum  speed  for  which  it  has  been 
constructed,  namely,  2500  revolutions  per 
minute,  a  difference  of  one  or  two  revolu- 
tions is  very  noticeable.  It  is  portable  and 
there  is  no  difficulty  in  holding  the  col- 
umn practically  vertical.  It  may  be  used! 
either  by  holding  it  in  the  hand,  the  pad- 
dle-shaft wheel  being  driven  by  a  short, 
flexible  shaft  thrust  against  the  end  of  the 
revolving  member  whose  revolutions  arc- 
to  be  measured,  or  it  may  be  fastened' 
down  and  driven  by  gears. 

Among  the  many  applications  to  whichi 
the  tachometer  has  been  adapted  is  that 
of  testing  dynamos,  engines  and  other  ma- 
chines having  revolving  members.  It  has- 
also  been  adapted  for  switchboards,, 
grouped  with  the  other  instruments,  and' 
gives  a  continuous  indication  of  the  revo- 
lutions per  minute  of  either  the  engine  or- 
generator. 


Obituary 

Alfred  R.  Wolff,  who  died  on  January 
7,  at  his  home,  15  West  Eighty-ninthi 
street,  New  York,  after  an  illness  of  sev- 
eral months,  was  born  in  Hoboken,  N.  J.,. 
March  15,  1859.  His  early  life  was 
marked  by  evidences  of  great  ability  and 
he  graduated  from  Stevens  Institute  in  the- 
first  half  of  his  eighteenth  year.  He 
entered  the  United  States  revenue  cutter 
service,  where  he  remained  for  some 
years,  leaving  to  become  assistant  to- 
Charles  E.  Emery.  Later  he  became  a 
member  of  the  firm  of  Whitman  &  Wolff,, 
consulting  engineers,  and  afterward  opened 
an  office  and  devoted  his  energies  to  heat- 
ing and  ventilation.  He  was  an  engineer 
of  rare  ability  and  wrote  to  some  extent 
on  engineering  topics,  such  as  "The  Most 
Economical  Point  of  Cutoff,"  "The  Wind- 
mill as  a  Prime  Mover,"  "Value  of  the 
Study  of  the  Mechanical  Theory  of 
Heat,"  "Expansion  of  Steam  and  Water," 
"Friction  of  Noncondensing  Engines," 
"The  Influence  of  Steam  Jackets  on  the 
Pawtucket  Pumping  Engines,"  "Record- 
ing Pressure  Gages,"  "Steam  Consump- 
tion of  Engines  and  Water  Meters."  He- 
served  on  several  committees  for  the 
American  Society  of  Mechanical  Engi- 
neers, among  the  most  important  of  which 
was  the  .committee  on  standard  pipe 
sizes. 


The  annual  stag  banquet  of  the  Louis- 
ville Association  No.  i,  N.  A.  S.  E.,  was 
held  Thursday  evening,  January  7,  at  8:3a 
o'clock,  at  the  Gait  house,  Louisville,  Ky. 


Three  3500-kilowatt  Curtis  horizontal 
turbo-generators  will  be  installed  in  the 
new  power  house  of  the  California  Elec- 
tric   Generating    Company,    Oakland,    Cal. 


p 


January    19,    1909. 


Inquiries 


Qupntiotm  are  not  antirrretl  unlrnii  thry  are 
of  fjftifral  intrrritt  and  arr  arromfnininl  hy 
the    nnmr    iiml    ii<lilr»nn    nf    thr    in</iiir»T. 


Urndtmg  and  Dncct  Current 
\\'hat    is   the   difference   between   alter- 
nating and  direct  current,  as  regards  di- 
rection of  flow? 

R.  B. 
Alternating  current  flows  alternately  in 
opposite   directions;    direct    current    flows 
always    in   one   direction.      Read   the   edi- 
torial on  page  j.15  of  the  August  25  num- 
-  of  PowEs  AND  The  Engineer. 

.ibsolute  Terminal  Pressure 

Will  you  please  explain  what  is  meant 
by  absolute  terminal  pressure? 

A.  W.   1'. 
The  term  "absolute,"  as  used  in  s()cak- 
'"f    of    steam    pressures,    means   pressure 
Koned   from  a  perfect   vacuum  of   14.7 
l>' Hinds  below  atmospheric  pressure.     The 
absolute   terminal   pressure   wi>uld   be   the 
terminal  pressure  reckone*!   fr«)m  vacuum 
and   expressed    in    pounds   pressure   abso- 
lute.     If  the   terminal  pressure  were  two 
r"'im«ls  absolute,   it   would  mean  that  the 
sure  was  12.7  pounds  l)clow  the  pres- 
■   of  the  atmosphere,  or  alxjut  26  inches 
\  acuum. 

nder  Ratio  for  Compound  Engines. 
'.hat    is   the   proper  cylinder   ratio   for 
i|H>und  engines  ' 

II  n.  S. 

This  must   be  settled  by  the  conditions 

•■•••!rr  which  the  engine  is  to  be  operated. 

•!»   a    steam   pressure  of   from    125   to 

pounds,  if  the  engine  is  to  run  non- 

lensing,    the   cylinder    ratio    that    will 

lie    found    to    be    the    best    will 

■m  2'1  to  I  to  3  to  I.     For  con- 

tlriisii,i{  1  iik'iius  with  a  fairly  stea<ly  load, 

.'iti<l  fi.r  str.ini  pressures   from   1^5  to   150 

ids,  a  cylinder  ratio  of  from  4  to   1 

,  or  6  to  I  will  give  economical  results. 

With    noncondensing    engines    there    is 

little   to   be   g.-<.ined    by   compounding    for 

a  steam  pressure  of  less  than  \2$  iMiumU. 

Ratio  of  Expansion 

\Vill  ynu   please  explain   what    is   nx-.int 

•ttio  i»f  expansion  and  how  to  find  it* 

.Nf.  O.   D. 

Ratio  of  expansion  is  the  pro|M>rtif>n  the 

1  volume  of  the  steam  in  the  .>  tinder 

s  t«(  the  volume  at  cuti  fT       1  ■>  tmd  the 

•   of   expansion,    divide   the   stroke    in 

rt    by    the    numl>er   of    inches   of   the 

ke  complrtr<|  when  cutoff  takes  place. 

•  '■   Imt   exact    in   calculating   the   ratio  of 

expansion,   the  clearance   must   he  ktvtwn 

If,  for  in«i.ince. 

•  irr   i»   mrh    'hit   il 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

nally  the  cutoff    would    be    at    n««'.<ifth 

stroke  and  the  ratio 

be  5,  but  actually  the  > 

of  the  stroke  and  the  ratiu  ui  c)^l■nMoa 

would  be  4-»jR 

The  Horsepower  of  Belting. 

I  have  a  belt.   16  it    " 
over  two  pulleys,  eac' 
in  diameter  and  r 
I>cr  minute.     Wl. 
horsepower  that  it  will  transmit  - 

W.   M    C 

There  are  a  great  many  different  rules 
for  calcubting  the  hnr  '  ■    • 

all  based  on  the  resul- 
different  conditions.     Uric  r::!., 
monly  used  says  that  a  bell  1 
running   1000  feet  per  minute   \«. 
mit    one   horsepower       In    your 
have  a  belt   16  inches  wide  running  3140 
feet  per  minute  ami,  acL-.riliiiif  ti.  lUr  rule, 
it  will  transmit 

16  X  3140 

-^^^—  —  50.34 

looo 

horsepower.  ,\nother  rule  say*  that  at 
70  feet  of  belt  surface  per  minute  one 
horsepower  will  be  transmitted.  Apply- 
ing this  rule  you  will  have 

horsepower.    These  rules  are  meant  to  he 
applied  to  single  belts.     Double  ' 
transmit    from   70  to    too  per  i. 
power  t'  •     ones.     They 

be    overi  •>    or    Vft    l>rr 

some  time,  but  this  p-  the 

rLisfiL-ity  of  the  belt  ai: Ijfe. 


'79 


dtacram  ami  tJw  nlrTThri. 4,  ,.f  • 


'cctmc     SteuB     TartttMr 


rui 

F 


such  a  way  at  to  be  ami 


Th 


um%    mr 


'•if     I.M 

know  l> 
opportt: 
who  ki> 
well 


111  prrscnfatinn  al 
•nr  man 
■>•  KmI  rt 
>C  tkcai   (Mt«,  mmk 
I  them  umtHf  ami 


Book  Reviews 

The  Sttam  TfaaiNt    By  James  Ambrose 
Moyer.     John    Wiley    &   Sons.    New 
York.     Goth;  370  pages.  6x9  inches, 
illustrated.     Price.  I4. 
The  author  hn^  Hrrn   »rstmftf»r  nf 

perimental    «r 

been   an   en^' 

in    the    steam-turbine  :    of   the 

General   Fleotric  <  ."'  is    now 

engineer  with  We  •  'ch.  Kerr 

&  Co..  so  thai  he  m  w^ 

the   subiect.   both  by 

ob-  ~ -      . 

m.->; 
de- 

«tr 

of 

a    .1:.. 

dynamics   and    ni<  It    was 

ten''-'     '-  •—       ' 

au( 
le«' 
Ihr 


peniL      I 

School     fi»      \  "Trr  »j«.r»ijrTvr.      «    r».*^> 

III.     Eight   volomrsw  cadi  riMiiii— g 
about    400  pa.  .nil 

mnrr  than    «r*  .  4^ 

to    r  .^"iha   if-    tfj-v*    t»4- 

umns;  therefore,  no  altraip' 
to  do  »"  '•  '•  •  ■"♦" 
woric  ot 


and  mi4abaraii>««  mckpdr* 


i   to  the  stroke  ot  the  |ii»i'>ii 
..i«ton  travel   before  cut'>fT      :^    , 
the   stroke  of  the  engine   to  be   .fo     no  writer  u|> 
r»  and  the  cutoff  to  take  pbr**  .nf^T     tf*  ••"'•••' 
piston  has  traveled  6  inchrt       N   • 


i8o 


POWER  AND  THE  EN'GIXEER. 


January  19,  1909. 


B 


It( 


usiness  items 


W.  H.  Smead.  formerly  mechanical  engineer 
for  the  General  Fire  Extinguisher  Company, 
Atlanta,  Ga..  has  opened  an  office  for  himself 
in  the  McAdoo  building.  Greensboro,  N.  C, 
where  he  will  make  a  specialty  of  designing 
steam-power  plants  and  heating  systems.  While 
with  the  fire-extinguisher  company  he  designed 
the  power  piping  for  the  New  Orleans  water- 
works. White  Oak  Cotton  Mills  and  other  plants. 

James  II.  .Tarvis,  chief  engineer  of  the 
Charlotte  (ieneral  Electric  Company,  of 
Charlotte.  Mich.,  has  sent  a  letter  to  C.  P. 
Bassett.  of  Charlotte,  manufacturer  of  the 
McXaughton  grate  bar.  in  which  he  says : 
"We  have  had  some  of  your  McXaughton 
sectional  grate  bars  in  use  for  more  than  a 
year  and  we  find  them  to  be  very  economical 
of  fuel.  They  do  not  overheat  or  clog  and 
they  are  just  as  straight  as  the  day  they  were 
put  in,  the  construction  of  the  bar  being  such 
that  they  will  not  warp,  and  they  make  a 
nice  even  surface  to  tire  on." 

The  business  heretofore  carried  on  by  the 
American  Engineering  Specialty  Company,  with 
headquarters  at  Chicago,  and  branches  and 
agents  in  various  cities  through  the  middle  West 
is  now  conducted  in  the  name  of  Warren  Webster 
4  Co.,  with  main  office  and  works  at  Camden, 
N.  J.  This  change  will  give  to  architects,  engi- 
neers, contractors,  users  and  intending  purchasers 
of  "Webster"  apparatus  the  full  advantages 
of  the  "Webster"  organization,  which  now 
covers  all  parts  of  the  country.  It  implies  no 
change  in  the  personnel.  The  same  representa- 
tives with  whom  the  trade  is  already  acquainted 
will  be  glad  at  all  times  to  give  inquiries  their 
best  attention. 

The  Northern  Electrical  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, Madison,  Wis.,  announces  the  enlargement 
and  removal  of  its  St.  Paul  district  office  to 
1046  Security  building,  Minneapolis,  Minn. 
This  betterment  of  their  sales  office  facilitates 
doaer  relation  with  their  customers  in  the  twin 
cities  and  improves  their  office  surroundings. 
T.  E.  Drohan,  who  has  been  representing  them 
in  the  St.  Paul  office,  will  continue  in  charge 
of  the  Minneapolis  office.  His  experience  as 
superintendent  of  the  Northern  works  makes  it 
possible  for  him  to  serve  customers  in  his  terri- 
tory to  excellent  advantage,  as  his  sales  interest 
is  coupled  with  an  intimate  knowledge  of  manu- 
facture and  design. 

Methods  of  cooling  water  for  steam-condensing 
and  other  plants  are  fully  described  in  Bulletin 
104,  "Water  Cooling  Towers,"  just  issued  by 
the  Wheeler  Condenser  and  Engineering  Com- 
pany, of  Carteret,  N.  J.  After  explaining 
the  physics  of  water  cooling,  the  different  types 
of  cooling  tower  are  di.scussed,  more  especially 
the  Wheeler-Barnard  tower,  the  essential  feature 
of  which  is  the  use  of  galvanized,  woven-wire 
mat  as  the  "filling"  medium  over  which  the 
water  trickles.  This  tower  is  built  in  the  forced- 
draft,  natural-draft  and  open  styles,  and  the 
numerous  full-page  illustrations  adequately 
show  its  con.struction  and  manner  of  installation. 
There  are  al.so  various  tables  on  humidity, 
air  and  vapor  mixtures,  etc.,  which  should  be 
of  value  to  engineers. 

The  Westinghouse  Machine  Company  reports 
good  progress  during  recent  months  in  the  steam- 
turbine  business,  despite  the  general  depression 
existing  in  the  machinery  market.  While 
business  has  been  considerably  below  normal, 
there  have  been  many  encouraging  features  in 
all  directions  of  power  application.  Out  of 
the  most  important  busine.ss  covering  .some 
twenty  machines  ranging  in  size  up  to  10,000 
horsepower,  they  find  the  usual  activity  in 
electrical,  power  and  traction  work,  and  a  fair 
demand  from  various  industries,  including 
phosphate,  cement  and  rubber  mills,  steel  car 
works  and  oil  refineries.  Inquiry  for  exhaust 
steam  turbines  is  active,  and  .several  equipments 


have  been  contracted  for.  While  there  have 
been  important  power  extensions  in  turbine 
equipment,  the  steam-engine  business  of  the 
Westinghouse  Machine  Company  has  been 
fairly  active,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  number  of 
orders  for  engines  recently  received. 

Cia  Azucarera  del  Panuco.  Tampico,  Mex..  has 
placed  an  order  with  the  Westinghouse  Machine 
Company  for  a  complete  producer  gas-electric 
power  plant.  This  initial  installation  will 
consist  of  a  vertical.  3-cylinder.  single-acting 
engine  and  a  1.50-horsepower  suction  producer, 
designed  to  operate  on  small  anthracite.  The 
use  of  the  suction  producer  in  such  large  sizes 
has  proven  thoroughly  practicable,  and  con- 
siderable business  is  anticipated  along  this  line. 
Even  larger  sizes  of  producers  of  the  suction 
type  are  contemplated  by  the  builders.  The 
New  York  Standard  Watch  Company,  of  Jersey 
City,  N.  J.,  also  operates  a  suction  producer 
gas  plant  of  con.'iiderable  size,  and  recently 
added  another  unit  to  its  plant.  A  number 
of  contracts  have  been  let  for  gas  engines  oper- 
ating temporarily  on  natural,  or  illuminating 
gas,  with  the  intention  of  later  changing  over 
to  producer-gas  operation.  A  200-horsepovver 
plant  has  been  ordered  by  Seaver  &  Co.,  Chelsea, 
Mass.,  and  by  the  Cambridge  Gas  Company, 
Cambridge,  Md.  The  Shelbourne  Falls  (Mass.) 
Electric  Light  Company  has  adopted  the  power 
gas  system  and  has  ordered  a  175-horsepower 
Westinghouse  suction  producer  for  anthracite. 

C.  S.  Davis,  president  of  the  William  B.  Pierce 
Company,  of  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  recently  gave  out 
the  following  interview:  "Notwithstanding  the 
business  depression  of  the  past  year,  we  have 
more  than  held  our  own  in  business.  The  fact 
that  we  have  increased  both  our  factory  and 
office  forces  during  the  past  year  would  seem 
to  bespeak  a  healthy  state  of  affairs.  The  fact 
of  the  matter  is,  our  proposition,  the  Dean 
boiler-tube  cleaner,  is  a  fuel  saver  of  the  first 
order.  As  a  rule  in  busy  times  people  are 
prone  to  overlook  the  loss  of  fuel  due  to  scale. 
Then,  too,  lots  of  fellows  are  willing  to  let  'well 
enough'  alone.  'Maybe  we  have  scale,  as  you 
contend,'  they  tell  us,  'but  we  really  haven't  the 
time  to  investigate.'  So  the  waste  goes  on. 
Well,  this  past  year  our  words  fell  on  -fertile 
soil.  People  wanted  to  cut  down  expenses. 
They  had  time  to  investigate.  Were  they 
wasting  coal?  Did  they  have  scale  without 
their  knowing  it  ?  Here  was  an  opportunity 
to  find  out.  Lots  of  concerns,  with  only  remote 
thought  of  purchase,  ordered  the  Dean  on  trial 
just  to  ascertain  its  merits.  When  they  saw 
what  the  Dean  did,  they  were  only  too  glad 
to  send  us  their  check.  So,  we  reaped  a  good 
harvest." 


New  Equipment 


The  Orofino  (Idaho)  Electric  Company  is 
constructing  a  hydroelectric  plant. 

The  Seattle  (Wash.)  Ice  Company  is  erecting 
a  new  plant,  which  is  to  cost  $300,000. 

The  Merchants  Power  Company,  Memphis, 
Tenn.,  is  erecting  an  addition  to  its  plant. 

The  citizens  of  Tacoma,  Wash.,  will  vote  on 
proposition  to  build  a  municipal  power  plant. 

The  citizens  of  Conroe,  Texas,  voted  to  issue 
$77,000  bonds  for  construction  of  water-works. 

St.  Joseph's  Hospital,  Baltimore,  Md.,  has 
awarded  contract  for  the  erection  of  a  power 
house. 

The  Findlay  (Ohio)  Table  Manufacturing 
Company  will  install  a  new  steam  turbine  in  its 
power  plant. 

The  Cincinnati  (Ohio)  Traction  Company 
has  filed  plans  for  a  new  power  house  to  cost 
about  S32,000. 

It  is  said  the  Paxton  (111.)  Electric  Company 


is  considering  plans  for  the  installation  of  a 
20-ton  ice  plant. 

The  Humbird  Lumber  Company,  Sandpoint, 
Idaho,  is  considering  plans  for  a  power  plant  in 
connection  with  mill. 

W.  T.  Wingate  has  been  granted  franchise 
by  the  City  Council  to  operate  an  electric  light 
system  in  Maysville,  Mo. 

It  is  reported  that  the  Merchants'  Heat  and 
Light  Company,  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  will  erect 
an  additional  power  house. 

The  Fairfield  (Iowa)  Gas  and  Electric  Com- 
pany contemplates  remodeling  plant  at  an 
expenditure  of  about  $40,000. 

The  Kentland  (Ind.)  Light  and  Ice  Company 
is  planning  to  build  an  electric  light,  water  and 
ice  plant.     Hugh  Hill,  president. 

The  Independent  Ice  Company,  Nashville, 
Tenn.,  has  been  granted  permit  to  erect  factory 
building,  boiler  and  engine  rooms. 

It  is  reported  that  the  Citizens  Electric  Com- 
pany, Williamsport,  Penn.,  will  install  addi- 
tional boilers,  engines  and  generators. 

The  Charleroi  (Penn.)  Water  Company  is 
considering  the  installation  of  a  filtration  plant 
and  a  new  duplicate  pumping  station. 

Bids  will  be  received  until  11  a.m.,  Feb.  5, 
by  Capt.  C.  H.  Lanza,  Key  West,  Fla.,  for  fur- 
nishing condenser,  filter,  feed-water   heater,  etc. 

The  Prospect  Rock  Heat,  Light  and  Power 
Company,  Georgetown,  Penn.,  is  being  or- 
ganized, and  site  has  been  secured  for  power 
house. 

It  is  reported  that  the  City  Council,  Kearney, 
Neb.,  has  passed  an  ordinance  providing  for 
the  issuance  of  $100,000  bonds  for  water-works 
system. 

The  Paulding  County  Electric  Company  is 
asking  bids  on  dam  and  power  house  to  be  erected 
on  Punking  Vine  creek,  near  Dallas,  Ga.  W.  S. 
Lotus,  of  Dallas,  is  president. 

The  citizens  of  Blacksburg,  S.  C,  voted  to 
issue  $15,000  bonds  for  the  construction  of  an 
electric  light  plant,  etc.  P.  H.  Freeman  is 
chairman  of  Public  Works  Commission. 

Bids  will  be  received  until  Feb.  2  by  the  board 
of  Water  Commissioners,  Kenosha,  Wis.,  for  a 
horizontal  cross-compound  high  duty  pumping 
engine  of  6,000,000  gallons  capacity  in  24  hours. 

The  Southern  New  Hampshire  Street  Railway 
Company  is  contemplating  the  erection  of  a 
new  power  station  in  Methuen,  Mass.  The 
present  power  plant  is  located  at  Portsmouth, 
N.  H. 

It  is  reported  that  the  Rock  Island  Souther.n 
Railroad  Company  will  shortly  place  contracts 
for  the  construction  of  power  plant  on  Edwards 
river.  W.  W.  McCullough,  Monmouth,  111., 
is  general  manager. 


Help    Wanted 

Advertisements  under  this  head  are  inserted 
for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  words  make 
a  line. 

AN  ENGINEER  in  each  town  to  sell  the 
best  rocking  grate  for  steam  boilers.  Write 
Martin   Grate   Co.,    281    Dearborn   St.,    Chicago. 

WANTED— Thoroughly  competent  .steam 
specialty  salesman;  one  that  can  sell  high- 
grade  goods.     Address  "M.  M.  Co.,"  Power. 

AGENTS  to  sell  one  of  the  best  known  and 
widely  advertised  sliaking  grates  on  the 
market.  Exclusive  territory  granted  to  any- 
one who  can  make  good.  Liberal  commission.' 
Perfection  Grate  Co.,  Box  1081,  Springfield, 
Mass. 

WANTED — A  practical  mechanical  engi- 
neer and  machinist  who  thoroughly  under- 
stands steam  and  gasolene  engines.  Must  have 
means  to  invest  in  the  best  thing  he  ever  saw, 
and  make  our  rotary  engine  his  life  work.  Par- 
ent companv  organized  and  three  1.5  horsepower 
engines  running.  Best  of  references  required. 
Motsinger  Rotary  Engine  Company,  Greens- 
burg,  Pa. 


January  26,   1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


iti 


Setting    the    Valves  of    the  Cummer 

An  Old  Time  Elngine  with  Special  Excenlnc  Shah-     A  Study  ol  Valve 

Movement  and   Explicit   Directions  for  Overhauling  and  Valve  Setting 

BY  H.   E.  COLLINS  AND  J.  H.  FRANCIS 


,ngme 


The  Cummer  engine  is  probably  not  a« 

well  known   as   many    of    our    American 

automatic   cutoff   engines,   due   largely   to 

the    fact    that    not    many   engines   of   this 

type  have  been  built  in  the  past  15  years. 

Previous   to  this  time,  say   from    1884   to 

^)$,   quite   a   large    number    were    built 

nging   in   sizes   from   50  to  3000  horse- 

wer.     Nearly  every  State  in  the  L'nion 

■i  one  or  more  Cummer  engines  in  use 

the    present     time,    and    consequently 


the    engine    is    shown    in    Fig.     1.     The 
cylinder     is     provided     with     two    steam 
valves,  two  cutoff  valves  and  two  cxhau»i 
valves.    These  valves  are  of  the  flat  grid 
iron    type,   and   the   seats    for   the   strain 
valves  are  vertical,  being  on  the  side  and 
at  each  end  of  the  cylinder     Each  «eat  hat 
three    steam    ports.      The    ex'- 
seats  are  horizontal,  and  locatt  . 
^team  chest. 
The  exhaust-valve  stem  connects  to  the 


Th«  cvtof  «aJvc  has  two  ports  «i4  «« 
tten  i*  oonorcicd  lo  a  tbdt  U>  vImcIi  ako 
u  attached  th«  oMof  <CCMrt/K  rod 

-  are  aoMHad  oa  a  dball 

r  wrth  tiM  cnak  ik»h  md 

driv:.  i,\   A  train  of  thrrc  tpmt  g«an  m- 

clcMed    in  an    od-tiglM    caM.    whack    abo 

•   hcarinf  for  one  aid  oi  iW 

>ft  and  the  itnii4iiii  gair 

di'  .'KW  10  tb«  fcccalrvn  at 


nC      I.    ILtVATlOM    AMD  VLAN   OV   TNI   iT^MMB  BMOtHk 


re   arc    many    rnginerrt    more    <>r    lc»» 
'rrestcd    in    a    detcriplu^    of    a    simple 

ntnhrxl  of  setting  the  valves  on  this  en* 

f'fK.      .\    description    of    the    valve*,    the 
Ivr  mrchanitm  and  the  governor  itiiKht 

al*4>  be   of   inlrrrat   tu   some   not    f;iniiliar 

with  thit  type  of  engine. 

The  general  design  and  arrangement  of 


on 


t<.M«-r   end  of    a    rocker 

pivotrd    at  lit    center    an-f 

the  center  of  the   frame       i  < 

end  of  the  t^^i-rt  ■>     ..imr.ir. 

\al\f  »trtn  I 

giving  the  »irj 
with  the  main 
haust  N 


«»"«•■»      t»^    'V*! 


l82 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  26,  1909s 


main  shaft,  a  shorter  range  of  movement 
for  the  governor  to  operate  the  cutoff 
eccentric  is  obtained.  With  this  particu- 
lar design  the  working  range  of  the  gov- 
ernor is  reduced  to  one-fourth  that  of 
many  other  designs.  Another  feature  of 
this  governor  is  the  fact  that  speed 
changes  can  be  made  while  the  engine  is 
running. 

In  Figs.  I  and  2  the  main  eccentric  is  at 
G  and  the  cutoff  eccentric  at  H.  The  main, 
valve  on  the  crank  end  is  at  M,  the  cutoff 
valve  at  .V,  and  the  exhaust  valve  seat  on 
the  head  end  at  O.  The  main  eccentric  rod 
is  connected  to  the  top  end  of  a  recipro- 
cating rocker  P,  from  the  lower  end  of 
which  the  exhaust  valves  are  driven  by 
the  exhaust  rod  R. 

By  referring  to  Fig.  2  a  clearer  under- 
standing of  the  governor  and  eccentric 
arrangement  will  be  obtained.  It  will  be 
noted  that  the  eccentric  shaft  has  one 
bearing  in  the  engine  frame  at  S  and  the 
other  in  the  gear  case  at  T.  The  governor 
case  and  cutoff  eccentric  ride  on  the  main 
eccentric  shaft,  the  cutoff  eccentric  and 
sleeve  slipping  on  the  shaft  up  to  a 
shoulder,  and  extending  back  to  the  col- 
lar U  which  clamps  to  the  cutoff-eccentric 
sleeve.  The  collar  U  has  two  pins  to 
which  are  attached  the  links  V  V ,  shown 
in  Fig.  3,  so  that  when  the  weights  W  W 
fly  out,  they  act  on  the  cutoff  eccentric, 
throwing  it  forward  in  its  travel,  or  back 
when  the  weights  come  in  again.  The 
action  of  these  weights  is  held  in  check 
by  the  weight  and  spring  attached  to  the 
large  bell  crank  X,  shown  in  Fig.  2,  which 
is  under  the  engine  frame  and  pivoted  at 
Y.  On  the  other  end  of  this  shaft  is  a 
rocker  arm  which  acts  on  the  thrust  rod 
A  in  the  hollow  governor  shaft.  At  the 
end  of  the  rod  is  a  crossbar  B  which  ex- 
tends through  slots  in  the  governor  shaft. 
To  each  end  of  the  crossbar  B  are 
attached  the  links  C  C,  which  in  turn  are 
attached  to  the  small  bell  cranks  D  D, 
pivoted  at  ££  and  secured  to  the  gov- 
ernor weights  W  W  by  the  adjustable 
links  FF. 

With  this  arrangement  the  weight  and 
spring  on  the  large  bell  crank  tend  to  hold 
the  thrust  rod  in  a  direction  toward  the 
gear-case  end  of  the  shaft,  and  through 
the  crossbar  B  and  the  bell  cranks  D  D 
tend  to  hold  the  weights  W  W  always 
toward  the  shaft  center.  Aside  from  fric- 
tion the  work  that  the  centrifugal  force 
of  the  governor  weights  has  to  do  is  to 
lift  this  dead  weight  and  overcome  the 
spring  tension,  and  when  it  does  that  or  is 
in  turn  overcome  by  these  forces,  the 
changing  position  of  the  governor  weights 
operates  the  cutoff  eccentric.  By  turning 
the  screw  C,  Fig.  2,  the  tension  can  be 
altered,  and  the  purchase  of  the  spring 
on  the  lever  can  be  changed  by  putting 
the  pin  H'  through  any  one  of  the  holes 
provided  for  it.  The  dead  weights  can  be 
lifted  off  or  placed  in  position  while  the 
engine  is  in  motion. 

In    Fig.    4   the   main    steam    valve,    the 


cutoff  valve  and  the  exhaust  valve  are 
shown  in  plan  and  section.  The  main 
valve  admits  steam  through  its  three  ports 
direct  into  the  cylinder  ports,  and  the 
cutoff  valve  uses  one  of  its  outside  edges 
for  a  cutting  edge  and  thus  controls  the 
three  ports  of  the  main  valve  with  its 
two.  In  the  same  way  the  exhaust  valve, 
with  only  three  ports,  controls  the  four 
exhaust  ports  under  it.  Figs.  5,  6  and  7 
show  more  clearly  the  arrangement  of  the 
valves  in  the  cylinder.  The  main  valve  M, 
cutoff  A''  and  exhaust  G'  can  all  be  located. 


Valve  Action  During  One  Revolution: 
Figs.  8  to  17  inclusive  are  used  to  illus- 
trate the  relative  positions  of  all  the  valve- 
edges  for  a  given  position  of  the  crank 
and  under  varying  conditions.  In  these 
illustrations  the  main  steam  and  cutoff' 
valves  are  shown  in  section  over  the 
steam  ports  for  convenience  in  grouping 
and  to  avoid  the  use  of  dotted  lines.  As 
the  true  relative  position  of  the  valves  in 
the  cylinder  are  shown  in  the  previous 
illustrations,  this  arrangement  should! 
cause  no  confusion. 


1 

FIG.    2.    VERTICAL  SECTION  ALONG  THE  CENTER    LINE    OF    THE    GOVERNOR    SHAFT 


Steam  enters  the  steam  chest  H'  at  the 
top  and  passes  the  main  and  exhaust 
valves  into  the  steam  port  /',  exhausting 
into  port  /'  through  exhaust  valve  G'  into 
the  exhaust  passages  K'  and  finally  out  at 
L'.  The  valve  stems  K,  L  and  R  in  each 
case  extend  through  the  entire  length  of 
the  steam  and  exhaust  chests  respectively. 

The  cylinder  is  equipped  with  six  sepa- 
rate valves,  two  on  each  valve  stem,  or 
in  other  words  three  separate  valves  in 
six  parts  do  the  work  of  one  ordinary 
slide  valve. 


In  Fig.  8  the  valves  are  all  shown  cen- 
tral on  their  travel  over  their  respective 
ports.  On  the  center  line  A  B  in  each- 
illustration  are  shown  the  valve  circles  of 
diagrams.  The  cutoff  valve  has  greater' 
travel  than  the  main  steam  and  exhaust 
valves,  and  the  larger  circle  denotes  the 
path  of  the  cutoff  eccentric,  the  inner  cir- 
cle denoting  the  path  of  the  main  eccen- 
tric. The  position  of  the  crank  will  be 
shown  at  C,  the  main  eccentric  at  M  and- 
the  position  an  exhaust  eccentric  would' 
occupy  at  E,  while  the  position  of  maxi- 


January  26,  1909. 

•mum  cutoff  is  shown  at  CO.  It  will  be 
•noted  in  Fig.  8  and  succeeding  figures  that 
the  outside  edges  and  inside  edges  of  'he 
cutoff-valve  ports  arc  the  cutting  e-iyi-s, 
while  the  inside  ed^es  of  the  main  steam- 
valve  ports  are  the  admission  and  cutoff 
«dges    for   that   valve.     For   the   exhaust 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


uti 


advance    for    the    main    r 

30  -f  90. degrees  ahead  <  ; 

and  the  cutoff  C  O  is  adva 

grees  beyond  th'- 

position  of  nuxi: 

tion    of    the    ecccr  t.';_5    : 

should  have  from   1 '»>  •" 

and  cut  off  at  a' 

stroke,    the    cuti.; 

function   at    the   same   time. 


with  the  crank  C 

!er.        TT;r     ilirfl^     of 


i 
t 


Utia   Valir 


^ 


.'    is 

<  C. 
•  de 


Ha  '  oftn  iti. 

here   »{]>   !r  c  ..u'.i.n    . 
pon»   than  the    matn 


li  will  be 


1     1 


<LUt»lI   fM«<t*  iiMta«   b*  wibrr       ii 
'^-^ed  that  the  c«lo4l  valve  6ott 
(he   mam-valvc  pon%.   whca 
e  open  f aU  10  the  otMt^cr 
ahhooih  Ihc  cvtotf  vaKe  it  now  tra 


H 


the 


il. 


J        J 


Fir.    ;^    nm-EBNOR  wHEri. 


c«ta«  Vat.* 
ria  4.  VALVES  or  thi  flat  caiMaox  rt  1 


t  •  k*>M     I  m,^ 


\T:....rz-zz, 


% 


■f^ 


riC      5.     ELEVATION    AND   PAST    SCCTION    THBOl-CH    STCAU    (  IIKST 


rii.    ri    HoaizoivTAL  mpctkmi  lawvoa  t«a  out 


nc.     7      rkwsvrii.sc    sr»"Ti..s     :iiw    •.;ii 
<  M.INKIU 

^•Ive  the  out«ide  edges  of  the  valve  and 

the  insi<!r  nlitr^  of  the  port*  arc  thr  w  .r'- 
inn  r<lK''">       I"  return  to  Iik   X,  tti.- 

)s  on    the    head-end    center    with    ^  c 

•  entries  and  valves  central      In  Fik    <> 

tite  eccentrics  are  advanced  to  the  proper 


mm^^'^A  r'^'f. 


■T^ 


^ 


^ 


flM- 

h' 
(.. 

ni  •;. 

sures  a  full  sir.> 

both  valves      Tlw   

on  the  crank  end  and  cUhH 

10  thow*  the  II 


to  tb«  Ucm1-«oU  »tcani  (tuxti  jj:4  l- 


nc   8 


rthHIgli 
And  a*- 


i(i4   nrtotf   valv«» 


ira««l 


«r.»uM  -• 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  26,   1909. 


end.  The  piston  has  traversed  about  95 
or  96  per  cent,  of  its  stroke,  with  the  ex- 
haust closing  on  the  crank  end.  On  the 
head  end  release  will  occur  immediately 
at  about  97  per  cent,  of  the  stroke.  The 
cutoff  valve  still  covers  the  main  valve 
ports  on  the  head  end,  but  the  eccentric  M 
is  now  moving  the  fastest  and  will  cause 
the  main  valve  to  overtake  the  cutoff  by 
the  time  the  piston  has  reached  the  end 
of  its  travel.  This  is  shown  in  Fig.  13, 
where  the  crank  C  has  reached  the  crank- 
end  dead  center.  Here  the  main  valve  is 
shown  open  for  lead  on  the  crank  end, 
and  the  head-end  exhaust  is  open  for 
release. 

Fig.  14  shows  the  crank  C  advanced  to 
the  position  opposite  to  that  in  Fig.  10,  but 
the  piston  is  not  advanced  as  far  on  its 
return  stroke  as  it  was  for  the  same  angle 
of  advance  of  the  crank  C  on  the  other 
end.  In  other  words  when  the  crank-end 
steam  ports  are  full  open,  the  piston  is 
at  an  earlier  point  of  its  stroke  than  on 
the  head  end.  The  head-end  exhaust  is 
also  shown  full  open. 

Fig.  15  shows  the  main  steam  and  cut- 
off valves  at  the  point  of  cutoff  for  the 
crank  end,  the  exhaust  traveling  toward 
closure  on  the  head  end.  In  Fig.  16  the 
valves  have  advanced  to  the  point  of  ex- 
haust closure  on  the  head  end,  from 
which  point  all  parts  will  again  reach  the 
positions  shown  in  Fig.  9.  On  account 
of  the  angularity  of  the  connecting  rod, 
all  the  functions  of  the  valve  are  per- 
formed at  an  earlier  point  in  the  piston 
stroke  on  the  crank  end  than  on  the  head 
end. 

The  diagrams  shown  in  Figs.  8  to  16 
inclusive,  represent  valve  action  with  the 
governor  centrifugal  weights  at  their 
inner  position  and  the  cutoff  eccentric 
C  O  in  the  position  shown.  To  give  a 
minimum  cutoff  the  C  O  eccentric  must  be 
advanced  to  the  position  of  minimum  cut- 
off, as  shown  by  the  full  line  in  Fig.  17, 
the  position  for  maximum  cutoff  being 
shown  by  the  dotted  line.  The  crank  C 
has  advanced  far  enough  on  its  travel  for 
the  piston  to  have  moved  about  one- 
thirtieth  of  its  stroke.  At  that  point  the 
cutoff  valve  should  cut  off  for  minimum 
operation.  The  relative  positions  of  the 
other  valves  at  this  point  are  indicated 
in  the  drawing. 

Overhauling  the  Engine 
In  overhauling  an  engine  it  would  be 
well  for  the  engineer  to  examine  the  ex- 
haust-valve clamp  where  it  ,  fits  in  the 
exhaust  valve.  As  a  rule,  considerable 
lost  motion  develops  at  this  point  and 
some  of  the  travel  of  the  valve  is  lost. 
The  ends  of  the  slots  in  the  valves  should 
be  dressed  out,  and  a  steel  plate  riveted 
to  the  side  of  the  clamp.  The  clamp  can 
then  be  fitted  snugly  into  the  valve.  Care 
should  be  taken  that  the  valve-stem  hole 
is  parallel  with  the  face  of  the  exhaust 
valve;  also  note  that  the  travel  of  the 
thrust   rod,  which   connects  to  the  large 


FIG.    9 


FIG.  10 


FIG.    13 


I 


January  26,   ipoQ, 

|>ell  crank,  should  be  about  21/2  inches  for 
1  iox20-inch,  up  to  314  inches  for  engines 
irith  48-inch  stroke.  If  for  any  cause  this 
imount  of  travel  is  not  obtained,  the  range 
of  tin-  cutoff  is  limited.  It  has  been  dis- 
covered   on    several    engines    where    the 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

and  toward  the  crank  shaft  Locate  and 
clamp  the  steam  valve  at  the  head  end 
of  the  cylmder  so  that  the  port*  *how  full 
open.     Qamp  the  valve  t<  ■  to  the 

valve     stem.     Turn    the  liuli 

through  iHo  degrees,  or  u>  ilut  the  throw 


V-Jl 


I 

J  - 


J      ^. 


18; 

the  nrlioder,  and  tmn  %ht  coecmrK  »kaft 
>t  the  bead  cad 

•  ^    nw  MKt»fA 

'•r  coKioc  rvH  over,  tbe  rela- 

«■   ot   die  craali   pin    tr^    iK.- 

•«in  be  as  m  Rf    ii^ 

tmder.   dw   pia  aoti   rcrrrnf»c 

tbe   posiiiom   themm  hy   tbc 


'!»fe 

gear  oo*«r  caa  mam 
care  beiat  takra  Ikit 

in  pl»i 

r 

,  ..V    . 

HIT-..,,--     v    i.-irfc 

'Otat     T«ni  »Kc 

fi  II  is  to  ran 

rlosr  at  abeat 

AlikA^t 

a    tbe 

kk;.    14 


am: 


iH€    to   tbe   o^fHJMle  dead  center    and 


lOvrrnor  had  been  dismantled  for  repairs. 

reassembling  of  the  parts,  the  two 

cb    that    fit    over    the    ends    of    the 

ir   which   passes   through   the  gov- 

ihaft,   had   not  been   folded   in  be- 

the  two  connecting  links  as  shown 

n  Fig.   18  or  at  C  in   Fig.  2.     They 

en  connected  as  shown  at  B,  Fig. 

IS  reducing  the  travel  of  the  thrust 

l>out    one-half,    and    instead    of  the 

being  able  to  carry   steam    up  to 

luarters    of    the    stroke,    the    cutoflF 

would   close   at   less   than   one-half 

rokc. 


J 


j_£e_{_        I 


n<.    10 


ibc 

n    dM 

:)  the  »amr  manner.     It  aay  be  aacei 
vary,  if  the  cxbatiM  vahraa  do  imi  o^ca 
and  close  as  desired  to  adoaca  or  ratatd 
tbe  coocatric  oac  or  laore  taMi  el  tbe 

tbe 


dnviag  gear,     la 
valves  sboald  be 
p4~.         thf  prrrp^  lead  as  ia  dM  ftrsl  trial     l> 
<t  tbe  opcraiiaa  is  tkmibr  to  a 

'>— 1 


\<\     riTIirr        !•   »iT)(f 


•r«  tbe  valva* 


.SiTTiMc  THE  Valves 

m11  m.w  l»e  assumed  that  the  ciikim> 

ticctrd   and    the    (>oint<i    inrnti<>iui! 

k>  II  care  of      The  upper  half  of  the  gc.tr 

i-r  .ind  the  intermediate  gear  should  br 

ti.  '\cd.    The  weights  also  removed,  and 

<r    i>ring  disconnected  on  the  hell  under 

r   tTigme   frame.     Adjust  the  main  and 

'    eccentric  so  that   when  the  cccen- 

slan<l     plumb     up     or     down     the 

arm  is  in  exactly  a   vrrt1r.1l  p«>*i 

■id  the  cutoff  slide  i«  central  m  tlie 

t      These  ro<U  can  then  Ix-  sr«  iirr«| 

'irnlly.     The  next   itrp  1*  to  I<x.iir 

"-am    valves    in    the    relation    to   the 

:ii  the  cylinder  and  the  main  eccen 

Turn  the  eccentric  shaft  so  that  thr 

•  ■•*  of  the  main  eccentric  i«  on  a  bon 

•nial  line   with   the  center   nf  the  shaft 


I  ■  ■  '  lie    ygmwa 


1 


rj 


I  Ikt    ir^is^    o4 


rnd  ot   til 
Place  t»»e 


same  I 
mftnt 


UJtamim* 


of  its  dead  ceaters.  sajr  the  onr  nrarr.t     be 


i86 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  26,   1909. 


The  first  step  is  locating  the  cutoflf 
valve  in  relation  to  the  steam  valve  and 
the  cutoff  eccentric.  Turn  the  engine 
until  the  throw  of  the  main  eccentric  is 
horizontal  and  toward  the  crank  shaft. 
Now  turn  the  cutoff  eccentric,  which  as 
yet  should  not  be  connected  to  the  gov- 
■ernor  weights,  so  that  it  stands  in  line  with 
the  main  eccentric.     Set  the  cutoff  valve 


the  steam  valves  are  covered  by  the  out- 
side edges  of  the  cutoff  valves.  The  next 
step  is  to  locate  the  cutoff  eccentric  in 
relation  to  the  main  eccentric. 

Place  the  crank  again  on  the  dead  cen- 
ter, say  the  one  nearest  to  the  cylinder. 
Now  turn  the  engine  in  the  direction  it 
should  run  until  the  crosshead  has  trav- 
eled ^i  inch.  Turn  the  cutoff  eccentric 
over  until  the  cutoff  valve  at  the  head  end 
of  the  cylinder  just  closes  the  ports  of  the 
steam  valve  at  that  end.  Move  the  gov- 
ernor weights  out  to  their  extreme  outer 
position,  care  being  taken  not  to  disturb 
the  position  of  the  cutoff  eccentric,  and 
secure  the  weights  to  the  cutoff  sleeve  by 
means  of  the  clamp  provided  for  that 
purpose.  The  relative  positions  of  the 
crank,  main  eccentric  and  cutoff  eccentric, 
if  the  engine  runs  over,  will  be  as  shown 
in  Fig.  20.  Turn  the  sleeve  so  that  the 
weights   are   in  their  extreme  inner  posi- 


is  provided  with  two  holes  for  the  ful- 
crum pins  at  the  ends  of  the  weights  for 
the  new  position  of  the  weights.  The 
valve  setting  will  have  to  be  entirely 
changed  to  suit  the  opposite  direction  of 
rotation. 


Use  and  Abuse  of  Follower  Bolts 


By  W.  H.  Wakeman 


An  engineer  was  sent  to  a  distant  city 
by  a  prominent  engine-building  firm  to 
erect  one  of  their  large  horizontal  cross- 
compound  engines.  While  he  was  assem- 
bling the  parts  he  twisted  off  one  of  the 
follower  bolts  by  bringing  too  much  lever- 
age to  bear  on  it.  Removing  the  broken 
stub  he  inserted  another  and  broke  that 
in  the  same  way.    Not  daunted  by  this  ex- 


^mzzzmzzzzmM. 


■/////////////Mm////////////////////////m^^^ 


FIG.      19.     RELATIVE   POSITIONS  OF   CRANK   AND 
MAIN   ECCENTRIC   AT   DEAD   CENTER 


w///////////////////////////////////////m^^^^^ 


7///////////////////////////////^^^ 


y///////////////////M/M///^ 


FIG.    I.     SHOWING  WHERE   BOLT    HEAD   LODGED 


FIG. 


20.     RELATIVE    POSITIONS    OF    CRANK, 

.MAIN    AND  CUTOFF   ECCENTRICS 


at  the  head  end  of  the  cylinder  so  that 
its  ports  are  lined  up  with  the  ports  in  the 
head-end  steam  valve  as  shown  in  Fig.  8. 
Rotate  the  engine  until  both  eccentrics 
stand  with  the  center  of  their  throw 
toward  the  cylinder  and  locate  the  crank- 
end  cutoff  valve  in  a  similar  manner, 
bearing  in  mind  that  the  outside  ports  of 


tion,  and  if  the  cutoff  eccentric  and  valves 
have  been  properly  located,  the  ports  of 
the  steam  valve  at  that  end  will  not  be 
covered  by  the  cutoff  valves.  Turn  the 
engine  again  until  the  crosshead  is  in  the 
same  position  at  the  other  end  of  the 
stroke.  Throw  the  weights -out  as  before 
and  if  necessary  adjust  the  cutoff  at  the 
crank  end  of  the  cylinder  so  that  it  just 
closes  the  ports  of  the  steam  valves.  A 
slight  readjustment  of  the  valves  may  be 
necessary  after  an  indicator  card  is  taken. 

A  sufficient  number  of  weights  should 
be  added  to  the  bell  crank  to  bring  the  en- 
gine to  the  required  speed.  The  purpose 
of  the  spring  on  the  bell  crank  is  to  give 
steadiness  to  the  governor,  and  just  suffi- 
cient tension  should  be  given  it  to  keep 
the  governor  from  hunting. 

To  change  the  direction  of  rotation  of 
the  engine,  the  governor  weights  must 
be  disconnected  and  reversed.     The  case 


perience  he  put  in  another  and  caused  it 
to  share  the  same  fate.  The  fourth  vic- 
tim was  screwed  in  and  practically  twisted 
off  like  its  predecessors,  but  it  was  down 
into  position,  and  owing  to  the  fact  that 
the  material  was  not  completely  severed, 
the  head  remained  in  place.  The  engineer 
sent  to  the  shop  for  three  more  bolts,  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  them  in,  all  other  parts 
were  assembled  and  the  engine  was 
started. 

After  the  engine  had  been  in  service  a 
short  time,  the  head  of  the  bolt  that  really 
v/as  broken  when  put  in,  but  did  not  fall 
apart  at  that  time,  came  off  and,  while 
falling  toward  the  bottom  of  the  cylinder, 
was  caught  between  the  head  and  the  pis- 
ton, as  illustrated  in  Fig.  i.  This  shows 
that  it  stopped  at  a  thin  part  of  the  head, 
and  due  consideration  of  the  momentum 
of  the  heavy  parts  as  shown,  also  of  th« 
very  great  leverage  exerted  by  the  crank 

Bi 


p 


January  26,  1909. 

due  to  its  position  near  the  inside  center, 
makes  it  plain  that  something  was  broken 
before  that  piston  began  to  move  in  the 
opposite  direction.  The  cylinder  head 
proved  to  be  the  weaker  part ;  conse- 
quently, the  bolt  head  was  forced  through 
between  two  webs  as  shown  in  Fig.  2, 
although  the  hole  is  made  comparatively 
larger  than  it  was  originally. 


Fia  2 

le  head  was  removed,  taken  to  a  ma- 
shop    and    the    ragged    hole   bored 
I      It  was  tapped  with  a  3-inch  pipe 
:  plug  screwed  in  and  in  I'/j  hours 
•.    <.i)gine  was  in  service  again. 
There  are  several  lessons  to  be  learned 
this   incident.     Of   course,   the    fol- 
bolts  ought  to  have  been  a  better 
the  threads  made  to  receive  them, 
king  this  condition  as  actually  found 
cctin^   engineer    should    have    d\f>- 
d  the  imperfection  before  he  twisted 
ic   first    bolt,    because    they    ought 
s  to  be  loose  enough  to  screw  down 
place    without    using    a    leverage    of 
12  inches,  which  is  sufficient  to 
•  down  properly,  if  it  is  a  good 
!:>  not  enoti(;h  to  spoil  it  if  only  a 
it  has  l>een  provided. 
.  ing  destroyed  one  bolt  by  applying 
ich  force,  there  certainly  was  no  ex- 
tor    repeating    the    operation    once, 
the   repetition   of   it    twice   causing 
ilure  of  a  third  boll  under  the  same 
ions   shows   that    experience   is   not 
^  a  competent  teacher,  although  fail- 
'  ir  to  comprehend  the  Ics- 
not  always  to  be  charged 
:    tite    instructor.      If   we   take   into 
■  t   the   fracture   of   the    fourth   bolt, 
was   really  accomplished   the  same 
ho    evidence   of    poor    judgment    it 
r    still,    but    this    was    not    demon 
.muA  until  a  later  period 

DcrtcTtvK   Bolt   Discovk«xo  in  Timi 

"^■^     first   engine  thai   I   h.i<l   c!>arice   ■  ' 
Med  with  Dunbar  packing:  ntii.'-    >     I 
•»•    held    in    pl.t 
■Me  out  one  d.i . 

and  while  tcpl^i  ihk- 
«nc  of  Ihem   until   r 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

was  practically  broken  in  two.  but  having 
a  well  developed  sense  of  feeling,  even 
while  lifting  on  a  wrench,  I  wa«  aware  of 
the  fracture,  or  crack,  before  the  parts  be- 
came entirely  separated;  cr-  -  -'..  { 
not  only  instantly  ceased  tiir  xJi 

head,  but  was  able  to  turn  the  -.s:  ,v  ImjU 
backward,  thus  removing  the  lower  part 
of  it  without  further  trouble  Tiw,  wm  a 
defective  bolt,  as  the  leverage  was  not 
sufficient  to  ruin  a  sound  one. 

A  socket  wrench  with  a  square,  straight 
handle  was  made  for  these  bolts,  and  I 
always  used  a  monkey  wrench  of  a  cer- 
tain size  on  this  square  handle,  as  shown 
in  Fig.  3.  which  is  a  plan  of  the  cylinder 
and  piston.  From  this  handle  to  the  place 
where  force  was  applied  by  hand  was  10 
inches.  For  about  30  year*  I  Hnvr  m^H  a 
similar  wrench  on  var' 
have  not  increased  the  !■ 
Having  never  fract  ;-    1  *•«• 

bolt,   nor  had  one   w    rk   !  ;::   ;  r^.tice 

during  this  lime,  it  is  good  evidence  that 
the  rule  adopted  is  practical  and  safe  to 
follow. 

Intelligent  Application  or  the  Wrench 
Requisite 

A  little  practice  in  c-  •  in- 

telligent application  of  d. 

and  due  observation  of  results  secured 
will  enable  any  engineer  to  avoid  much 
of  the  trouble  and  worry  that  we  fre* 
quently  hear  of  along  this  line.  For 
illustration,  when  screwing  in  a  follower 
bolt,  it  is  not  difficult  to  decide  whether 
it  is  binding  in  the  threads,  or  if  it  is 
going  in  loosely  until  the  head  strikes  the 
folliiwer  plate.  In  the  former  case  it 
ought  to  be  taken  out  and  a  suitable  tap 
turned  into  the  hole,  or,  if  this  is  not 
practicable,  a  die  may  be  used  to  cut  the 
threads  down  until  the  bolt  will  fit  tight 
but  still  will  go  in  until  the  head  holds 


the    litfKt     ,,4 


i9l 

TvAin^ 


.'.,.     *ic.-    r:.aii)     »r^T\    :.    jfi    oj 

repair   work;   therelurc.  die  Undavy   i» 
toU  ful  tiMo  Boder  better  rnaii 

t^  'Jtovcr  bolt  H  too  t%hi  ii 

mfttifi  tonioaal  am^gUi 
<aio  place  wiihoot  Irmowrt, 
Ui(   icmrtabcr  ibai  the  actioa  d 

t<nd»  to   fatten   it   rr..  rr    trmrrit    tn 

and 

of  the     .  Ir"  aad 

f'ttiufiiij  of  having  to  rm<j\r  it 
Uioald  be  taftcseat  to  prrrcnt  Iravim  il 
in  bad  coodition. 

If  the  boh*    are    loo   mmII    ikrrv    b 

usoally  but  one  rcswdr.  which  b  to  pot 

them   in  and  get   the  cagiae  tUncd  oo 

but  racMoroBctti  nughi  to  be  tahao 

:>ew  boks  ondr   witKoul  ddijr.     fm 

them  in  place,  not  '  .aaoe  thai  i» 

ttrr\riitr-ii     tn     '\nti     •  ._   ., 

bat 

!>■'•. W11111    1:1    ;r.e    >rr»    i>rar    follirt- 

In  any  cate  where  five  or  OMce  iol- 
lower  bolts  are  lucd  ia  a  pirton,  it  wiB  4o 
no  harm  to  leave  one  ool  for  a  daj  to  be 
used  'el  bjr  whkh  to  ohIw  aav 

one«  4  Mitg  fit  in  a  hole  hi  • 

piccr  «  uppcd  ooi  lor  the  par- 

[>..<>r  1  the  old  boh  if  a  looM  it 

It  IS  better  to  ate  oMcrc 

(K^'.      >r<.     ix  >.1.M.^      K.t     ^, 

-aciory 

"II    OHM    ci>iTimon    tnn    in* 

it  Mcma  appropriate  to 
suggciiioas  along  this  hoe  lor  the 
of  n«her*  AI(lwM»th  eapctt«m  took  ar* 
okmg  repairs  w  oip 
?e  wMoctiow*  «  ■«■( 
ins  advanced  nicthod*  where  good  ro- 
suits  itr  %e<^iirr«!.  ar»!  T  ^m  free  to  aAoll 
that  i«  dooc  is 

less  :....-   . —  -  .ix  b«t  la* 

practical  machtotst  woold  reqatrv- 


•f.'Wl/!iril!!iaUiX£U. 


■}• 


nc  J.    attuwixt.  Arn-ii-Atwa  of  aM*i.«Ls 


at  It  was  intended  la     I ' 

fyf\t       It     I1  iti.i       in. I     :>     l:ll)i. 


Is    Mtt 

.  Uhlr 


«»»d 


^      rv^   .w... 


i8S 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  26,  1909. 


Blowing    the    Works    Whistle    Automatically 

Interesting   Description    of    an    Arrangement  for  Doing    This,   without 
Depending    upon    the  Human  Element,   Except    to    Wind    the    Clock 

B~Y        FRANK        S    A    W    F    O    R    D 


There  are  probably  very  few  works  of 
any  pretensions  without  a  steam  whistle 
for  giving  the  signal  to  start  or  quit 
work,  as  the  case  may  be ;  ranging  from 
the  small  shrieker  for  the  little  shop,  to 
the  deep-toned  chime  whistle  for  the  large 
works.  In  most  cases  the  whistle  is  left 
to  the  care  of  the  watchman  or  fireman, 
who  pulls  a  string  at  the  appointed  time, 
and  very  often  the  only  guide  he  has  to 
rely  on  for  indicating  the  appointed  time 
is  a  pocket  timepiece  of  greater  or  less 
reliability. 

It  is  thought  the  following  description 
of  an  arrangement  for  blowing  the  whistle 
automatically,  and  dispensing  with  the  hu- 
man element  entirely,  except  so  far  as  is 
necessary  to  wind  and  check  the  clock, 
will  be  found  useful  in  many  works.  The 
arrangement  consists  of  four  principal 
parts :  the  whistle,  the  magnet  for  blow- 
ing it,  the  relay  for  closing  the  cir- 
cuit and  the  clock. 

The  clock  may  be  of  any  pattern  de- 
sired, but  should  preferably  be  of  the 
regulator  type,  with  a  pendulum  beating 
seconds,  and  should  be  capable  of  keeping 
time  to  within  five  seconds  per  week.  An 
additional  wheel  is  required  in  the  clock 
movement  making  one  revolution  in  24 
hours,  and  also  a  circuit-closing  arrange- 
ment to  operate  the  relay.  The  relay  in 
turn  closes  the  power  circuit  and  oper- 
ates the  whistle  magnet.  The  clock 
should  be  placed  in  a  suitable  position, 
where  it  will  be  free  from  vibration  and 
where  it  can  be  readily  checked  and  cor- 
rected.    The  office  is  the  best  place. 

The  relay  may  be  near  the  clock  or  the 
whistle  magnet,  as  may  be  desired,  the 
only  connections  required  being  a  pair  of 
wires  from  the  clock  and  another  pair  to 
the  magnet.  The  magnet  should  be  placed 
as  near  to  the  whistle  as  possible,  and 
connected  to  the  whistle  valve  by  a  small 
flexible  steel  wire  or  chain. 

The  whistle  will,  of  course,  need  to  be 
above  the  roof  of  the  boiler  house,  and 
steam  should  always  be  left  on  right  up 
to  the  valve,  the  valve  being  attached  to 
the  whistle,  and  the  bottom  of  the  pipe 
should  be  drained  to  insure  dry  steam. 
The  whistle  will  then  respond  promptly 
when  operated.  If  there  is  much  pipe  ex- 
posed to  the  open  air  above  the  roof  of 
the  boiler  house,  it  is  preferable  to  have 
the  pipe  well  lagged  with  nonconducting 
composition,  for.  if  it  is  left  bare,  it  is 
quite     possible     that     considerably     more 


steam  will  be  condensed  than  will  be  used 
by  the  whistle. 

The  Clock 
Referring  to  the  sketches  and  taking  in 
hand  the  clock  first,  Fig.  i  shows  an  out- 
line of  the  circuit-closing  device  fitted  to 
the  movement,  A  being  the  minute  hand, 
B  the  hour  hand.  On  the  minute-hand 
arbor  is  fixed  the  double  cam  C  on  which 
rest  two  >^-inch  diameter  steel  rods  D. 
These  rods  are  fitted  into  little  hard-rub- 
ber blocks  E  which  insulate  the  rods  from 
the  clock  frame,  and  from  each  other. 
The  rods  are  held  by  small  pinching 
screws  in  the  rubber  blocks.     A  piece  of 


CIRCUIT-CLOSING    DEVICE    FITTED    TO 
CLOCK    MOVEMENT 


THE    RELAY 


Steel  rod,  shouldered  at  each  end  to  form 
pivots,  is  fitted  tightly  into  each  rubber 
block  at  right  angles  to  the  steel  rods  D, 
and  insulated  from  them.  The  complete 
rods  are  mounted  in  the  brass  frame  J, 
which  supports  the  pivots  at  the  front 
end,  the  rear-end  pivot  being  supported 
by  the  clock  plate.  At  F  are  shown  the 
contact  springs,  of  phosphor  bronze  about 
0.005  inch  thick,  with  small  platinum  tips 
at  the  outer  ends,  the  inner  ends  being 
secured  to  th'?  hard-rubber  blocks  by  two 
small  screws.  The  action  of  this  arrange- 
ment will  be  apparent.  Upon  the  cam  C 
advancing,  the  lower  of  the  two  rods  D 
falls,  bringing  the  bronze  spring  F  into 
contact,  and  closing  the  circuit.     The  cir- 


cuit is  again  broken  when  the  upper  rod 
falls. 

The  duration  of  contact  may  be  made 
as  long  as  desired  by  adjusting  the  dis- 
tance between  the  ends  of  the  rods  D. 
The  ends  of  the  rods  D  which  rest  on  the 
cam  C  should  be  bent  at  right  angles,  so 
as  to  lie  across  the  cam,  and  both  the 
tips  of  the  cam  and  the  ends  of  the  rods 
should  be  filed  square  to  knife  edges  to 
allow  the  rods  to  fall  clear  and  also  to 
permit  a  close  adjustment.  If  nicely  fitted, 
the  duration  of  contact  may  be  made  as 
short  as  five  seconds  if  desired.  This 
make  and  break  will  take  place  every  half 
hour. 

Another  contact-making  device  is  neces- 
sary to  complete  the  circuit  at  the  times 
when    it   is   desired   to   blow   the   whistle. 
On  the  arbor  of  the  hour  hand  B  is  fitted 
a  pinion  meshing  into  a  wheel   G,  which 
should    have    a    ratio    of   2    to    i,    wheel 
G  thus  making  one  revolution  in  24  hours. 
If  wheel  G  has  48  teeth  and  the  pinion  on 
B  24  teeth,  each  tooth  on  G  will  corre- 
spond to  half  hours.     This  will  be  found 
very   convenient   for   locating   the   contact 
pins,  which  are  of  brass  about  1/16  inch 
in   diameter  by    3/16    inch    long,    riveted 
into  the  rim  of  the  wheel  G.     The  posi- 
tions   of   the    contact   pins    on    the    wheel 
rim  may  easily  be  found  by  dividing  the 
rim    into    24    parts    corresponding    to   24 
hours  and  fitting  the  pins  at  the  times  il 
is   desired  to  blow  the  whistle.     At  H  i 
hard-rubber  block  is  secured 'to  the  clocl' 
frame.     This  rubber  block  carries  a  phoS' 
phor-bronze   spring  /,   which   makes   con- 
tact  with   the  bra'ss  pins   in   wheel   G.    I 
is  not  necessary  to  have  a  platinum  tip  or 
this    spring,   as,   owing   to   the    revolutioi 
of  wheel  G,  a  rubbing  contact  is  obtainec 
and    the    pressure   of  the   spring   may  b( 
made   comparatively  heavy,   the   thicknes 
being  preferably  about  0.025  inch. 

The  action  of  these  two  contacts  is  a 
follows:  Contact  is  made  by  cam  C  ever; 
half  hour,  and  the  duration  of  this  con 
tact  is  made  as  long  as  it  is  desired  t 
blow  the  whistle.  This  half-hour  contac 
is  connected  in  series  with  the  contact 
on  wheel  G  and  spring  /,  and  current  car 
not  flow  until  both  contacts  are  made,  an 
it  is  interrupted  when  either  contact  i 
broken. 

Thus  the  whistle  blows  at  the  time 
determined  by  the  pins  on  G,  an 
for  a  length  of  time  as  determine 
by  C.  If  it  is  desired  to  blow  a  cod 
call,   this   could   easily    be    arranged    fc 


January  26,   1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


'.%j 


by  providing  a  suitable  cam  at  C.  The 
rest  of  the  clock  may  be  of  ordinary  rirsi- 
class  construction  and  calls  for  no  de- 
scription beyond  that  previously  given 

\  The  Relay 

The  relay,  Fig.  2,  which  is  operated  by 
the  clock  circuit-closing  device,  and  which 
in  turn  operates  the  whistle  magn<i 
should  be  capable  of  being  operated  ^> 
about  si.x  ordinary  dry  cells,  and  should 
have  magnets  and  contacts  in  duplicate,  to 
eliminate  the  chances  of  failure  as  much 
as  possible.  The  type  shown  in  Fig.  2 
was  adopted  by  the  writer  and  proved 
very  satisfactory.  As  may  be  seen  it  is 
extremely  simple.  The  magnet  spools  A 
ar«-  I  inch  in  diameter  by  2  inches  high, 
an'!  wound  with  No.  28  Brown  &  Sharpe 
-vered  copper  wire,  the  cores  being 
h  diameter  soft  steel,  with  hard- 
rubhrr    washers   fitted   tight    at   each   end 


SECTION   TMROt'GH    WHlSTtX   MAGNET 

lO   form   the    s(xxjI.     The    M)ft-»teel    core* 
ire  riveted  to  a  yoke  of  similar  material 
I  inch  wide  by  l/i  inch  thick.     The  com 
>lrir  magnets  are  secured  to  a  brass  bas«- 
)blr   by    screws   through   the   yuke      Thr 
irmatures  C'  are  of  the  same  *i/r  and  mn 
erial    a*     the    yokes,    and    are    momiir.i 
ibrvc    the    magnets    A     on     br.i^'*     r<lKr.. 
•hich  fit  loosely  into  holes  drillr.l  in  thr 
Op  end  of  B.  Across  the  armatures  and  .it 
%ht    angles   to   them   are   secured   bra^> 
«d«   P,    Hi    inch   square,   the   outer   end* 
•tng   turned   and    screwed   to  carry    the 
djustalilr     counterweights     F..     and     llir 
IMier   end*   carrying   'hr    fnrkrd   pieee*    / 
lirse    fi>rk*    are    «i 
If*   14  Brown  &  Si 

'  through  hard  ruhl"  ^  in  ilir 

■  •(  the  rf>d*  /),  thr  <  le  fork* 

•itig  downward     At  G  are  shown  two 

"     -up*      These     cups     are    bra«« 

iired  In  a  hard- rubber  base  and 

A\r    tu.i    m  inch    holes     drilled     in     the 


upper  end  of  each  to  contain  the  mer- 
cury, and  a  termiiul  H  for  connection  to 
the  circuit. 

At  /  is  a  brass  pillar  carrying  a  croM 
piece  on  top  with  two  snull  adjutling 
screws,  as  showa  Normally  the  ends  of 
the  rods  carrying  the  fork*  /•'  are  held 
up  against  the  adju'ttng  »rrrw*  by  th«- 
.  •.iii!T>r\srit;ht*  /•  • 
ju-tiiii;     -icrcw.    til? 

between  the  forks  and  the  mercury  cups, 
and  also  the  distance  between  the  arma- 
tures and  the  poles  of  the  magnets.  The 
distance  between  the  forks  and  the  mer- 
cury cups  should  not  be  less  than  H  inch, 
and  not  more  than  I/4  inch  between  the 
armature*  and  the  pole*  of  ih*'  magnets 
.\ny     desired  these 

limits  may  be  n  e  coun- 

terweights E  and  the  adjusting  screws 
on  /. 

The  two  pairs  of  magnets  A  are  con- 
nected in  parallel  to  the  wires  from  the 
clock,  and  the  mercury  cups  C  to  the 
whistle  circuit.  When  the  clock  circuit  i« 
closed,  the  magnets  A  pull  the  fork*  /• 
into  the  mercury  cups  G,  which  close*  the 
whistle-magnet  circuit,  and  upon  the  olock 
i-ircuit  being  again  opened  the  coumer- 
weights  /•  pull  the  forks  out  of  the  mer- 
cury cups  up  to  the  screws  on  /.  The 
counterweights  should  be  adjusted  so  as 
to  pull  the  forks  up  smartly,  but  not  heavy 
enough  to  prevent  the  magnets  operating 
the  fork*.  A  drop  of  oil  should  be  floated 
on  top  of  the  mercury  in  the  cups  G  to 
prevent  oxidation  by  the  arc  formed  on 
breaking  the  whistle-magiK't  .ircuit.  All 
of  the  various  part*  are  mounted  on  a 
bra**  hiiocplate  of  suitable  sixe.  and 
should  be  fitted  into  a  <li*t  proof  box 
with  glass  top  and  side* 

WiiisTtE  Macket 
Thi*  IS  of  the  solenoid  type  and  1* 
*huwn  in  section  in  Fig.  J.  .^t  A  is  the 
magnet  yoke  which  is  a  rectangular  forg- 
ing and  has  fotir  Iur*  ff  .-ittaf-heH  for 
mounting.      11  '^* 

\«>ke  A  and  i»  n'  "^ 

aUiut    1*4  inche*  it  No   JO 

Brown  &  ^'    '  *'" 

and    the 

.lIxMlt       .|      I'       '    •    >       '■  *       "      ""  '"    ' 

\,,uv       I  lir  ti.riiirr  I  after  willll- 


lu.lr   ..! 
tn*hril 


should  be  soldered  to 

Minding   •'•    'iriliijir 
•iniMt      ' 


and  pinned  into  tlw  top  end.  ^^^  ,..  , 
end  having  a  brmas  wasber  /  aoldrre^ 
therela     A   sborl  psec*  of  ;.  '     *« 

rod  /  H  also  screwed  tsglH  <• 

torn  end  of  iht  phiinii.  tlu« 
I<mmHv   thrtMigli   tkc  ploc  A 

at  fthown.    Tbe  braaa  aptral  tarn- 

«prmff  K  holds  the  pj—gtr  «p 

%  biKbnt  poaMoo.  iImi  ii^  wiA  tW 

on   y    mtin«    araifWt    F.     Upoa   tW 

coil  C'  bring  ^  'he  pioneer  c.   m 

palled  downw^i-.    .«...i.»(   the   icsHsoa  ol 

spring   K   until   the   washer  /   scHkc*  P. 

The  fttoctsoa  of  iIm  waabcr  is  to  prevtat 

the  phoifcr   tiirtlBg   lo  pl«c   F  kf  ikt 

'nacBcfiMH  fftaiBsd  fai  iIm  bmc* 

lit.  ibat  tassriag  •  proaift  r»- 

e  planffrr  when  ibc  eofl  ii  d^ 

The  stroke  of  the  plviffer  aay  to 
varied  by  adjiuting  the  Mrta  oa  rod  /. 
and  the  most  rSectiyrt  poll  of  iht  pliBctr 
is  foand  by  adjostiac  pftog  F.  A  hole  b 
drilled    throogh    the   top  end   of   1/    for 


na  4.  MAOUM  o»  oDsincnovt 


sttirhtng  the  cord*  or 

e  valv*.     Car*  wmm  he  taktm 

til  kMk  rtra«lH  te  Mw  wstk 

I  tha  pi—gir  10  aBow  m  lo 


and  iW  U»«  of 

!    trach 

atta  foe  m 


1  tiial 


UHMid  be  kd  froM  «W  •U»«k  in^ 
rwmagh  So  ofvraM  a«y  iiat  «l 


4.      At 

br.V     • 


igo 


POWER  AXD  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  26,  1909. 


six-cell  battery  of  ordinary  dry  cells ;  D 
is  a  single-pole  switch  for  cutting  out  the 
relays  when  it  is  desired  to  stop  the 
whistle ;  jE  is  a  pair  of  terminals  which 
may  be  used  to  connect  to  a  fire-alarm 
system,  or  to  a  push  button ;  F  is  the 
whistle  magnet,  and  G  a  double-pole 
switch  for  connection  to  the  power  circuit. 
The  magnet  as  described  is  suitable  for 
connection  to  a  direct-current  circuit  of 
no  volts.  For  any  other  voltage  the 
winding  of  the  coil  may  be  modified  ac- 
cordingly. This  apparatus  may  appear 
somewhat  elaborate  from  this  description, 
but  it  may  be  said  that  a  similar  rig  has 
been  in  use  for  many  years,  and  has  never 
been  known  to  fail,  and  moreover  has  had 
practically  no  attention  beyond  winding 
and  adjusting  the  clock. 


ton  rings  in  the  high-pressure  piston 
were  found  broken,  and  one  of  them 
jammed  over  another  in  the  same  slot. 


A  Split   Cylinder    on    the 
ship   "St.  Paul" 


St^ 


eam- 


The  fact  that  the  .^^jperican  line  steam- 
ship "St  Paul"  arrived  at  New  York  two 
days  late  upon  a  recent  trip  was  attributed 
by  the  press  to  stress  of  weather,  but 
was  partly  due  to  a  cracked  high-pressure 
cylinder. 

Steam  was  reported  coming  in  con- 
siderable quantities  from  the  high-pres- 
sure gland  of  the  port  engine  and  a  shut- 
down was  ordered.  An  examination 
showed  that  the  steam  was  not  coming 
from  the  gland,  but  from  an  opening  in 
the  bottom  of  a  bracket,  as  shown  in  the 
accompanying  sketch.  The  bracket  was 
hollow,  and  a  crack,  which  was  open  1/16 


EDI m      Ti     m,^ 


1^     y^m/ZmhTTTTM/TTTTT?^^ 


Catechism  of  Electricity 

923.  //  the  commutator  is  eccentric  or 
too  rough  to  he  smoothed  evenly  by  means 
of  a  aie,  zchat  should  be  done  with  it? 

It  should  be  turned  down  in  a  lathe.  If 
the  armature  is  large  and  difficult  to  re- 
move from  the  machine,  a  portable  lathe 
or  truing  device  can  be  attached  directly 
to  the  shaft  of  the  armature  as  shown  in 
Fig.  282,  and  the  commutator  turned 
down  without  removing  the  armature 
from  the  motor.  The  armature  should  be 
held  stationary  and  the  device  revolved 
around  the  commutator  by  hand,  using  the 
shaft  as  a  bearing.  The  tool  is  moved 
across  the  commutator  by  a  screw  feed 
actuated  by  a  detent  clamped  to  the  shaft. 

If  the  armature  is  small  and  easy  to 
remove  from  the  machine,  it  should  be 
placed  in  an  ordinary  stationary  lathe  and 
the  commutator  turned  down  in  the  usual 
manner. 

924.  In  case  it  becomes  necessary  to 
remove  the  commutator  from  the  arma- 
ture, how  should  this  be  done? 

The  simple  device  shown  in  Fig.  283  is 
convenient  for  this  purpose.  It  consists 
of  two  pieces  of  iron  c  and  c,  shaped  to 
fit  back  of  the  collar  b  on  the  commu- 
tator spider.  Through  holes  in  the  ends 
of  c  and  c  are  passed  bolts  e  and  e,  and 
over  the  outer  ends  of  the  bolts  is  slipped 
the  bar  f  which  bears  against  the  shaft  d. 
Before   commencing  to   remove   the  com- 


.^v.>.i^xxxxm.v^v^v^^^^ 


SHOWING   THE   CRACK    IN    A    CYLINDER   OX  THE  STEAMSHIP      ST.   PAUL 


of  an  inch  and  2^  feet  long,  connected  its 
interior  with  that  of  the  cylinder. 

The  high-pressure  cylinder  was  cut  out 
by  blocking  the  piston  valve  in  the  mid- 
position  and  admitting  the  steam  directly 
to  the  first  intermediate  receiver.  The 
revolutions  were  cut  down  on  this  en- 
gine to  66  per  minute,  but  the  full  speed 
of  86  revolutions  was  kept  up  upon  the 
starboard  engine.  Some  six  hours  was 
occupied  in  making  the  repairs.    The  pis- 


mutator  it  is  necessary  to  have  all  the 
wires  disconnected  from  it.  By  screwing 
up  the  nuts  g  and  g,  the  spider  and  com- 
mutator will  be  drawn  oflf.  After  pro- 
ducing the  first  strain  on  the  bolts,  how- 
ever, it  may  be  necessary  to  give  the  com- 
mutator a  light  rap  to  start  it. 

925.  What  characteristic  features  are 
present  when  the  sparking  is  caused  by 
weak  field  magnets? 

The    speed    of   the   motor   will    be    un- 


usually high  with  weak  field  magnets  un- 
less the  magnetism  is  very  low  or  lack- 
ing altogether,  in  which  case  the'  motor 
will  run  very  slow,  stop  or  perhaps  run 
backward.  If  the  pole  pieces  are  tested 
by  holding  a  piece  of  soft  iron  near  them 
there  will  be  little  if  any  attraction. 

926.  How  may  the  trouble  be  definitely 
located? 

Place  wooden  chips  under  the  brushes 
so  they  do  not  come  in  contact  with  the 


riG.       282.  COMMUTATOR-TRUING       DEVICE 

MOUNTED   ON   THE   ARMATURE    SH.\FT 

AND     OPERATED     BY     HAND 


FIG.     283.     SIMPLE  DEVICE  FOR  REMOVING  THE 
COMMUTATOR  FROM    THE  ARMATURE 

commutator,  and  with  the  field  rheostat 
short-circuited,  close  the  field  coils  upon 
the  supply  circuit.  If  upon  opening  this 
circuit  there  is  no  spark  there  is  a  broken 
wire  or  connection  somewhere  in  the 
circuit.  If  there  is  a  spark  the  circuit  i.' 
not  broken,  but  one  of  the  magnet  coib 
may  be  short-circuited.  This  may  be  de 
termined  by  testing  with  a  piece  of  sof' 
iron  which  when  held  between  the  pol( 
piece  of  the  short-circuited  coil  and  th( 
adjacent  pole  piece  will  be  attracted  U 
the  latter,  but  not  to  the  former.  An 
other  method  of  testing  for  a  short-cir 
cuited  field  coil  consists  in  passing  a  cur 
rent  through  the  field  circuit  and  measur 
ing  the  drops  of  potential  across  the  dif 
ferent  coils.  A  short-circuited  coil  wil  1 
show  little  or  no  drop  in  comparison  will 


January  26,   190J. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


*9t 


le  others.  A  short-circuited  coil  may 
e  caused  by  its  wire  being  grounded  at 
wo  points  on  the  frame. 
One  of  the  field  coils  may  be  reversed, 
roducing  a  weak  field.  This  can  be  de- 
!rniincd  by  passing  a  current  through 
le  field  circuit  and  moving  a  compass 
eedlc  from  one  pole  piece  to  the  other 
1  succession.  The  needle  will  reverse  its 
irection  at  each  succeeding  pole  if  none 
£  the  coils  is  reversed. 


Condenser  and  Back  Pressures 
in   Refrigerating  Plants 


By    F.   E.    Matthews 


How  does  a  refrigerating  engineer 
now  when  the  condenser  pressure  and 
ack  pressure  of  his  plant  are  right  for 
lost  economical  operation?  What  are 
l»€  proper  pressures? 
.In  general,  with  an  engineer  who  is 
unih.ir  with  the  underlying  principles  on 

the  efficiency  of  refrigerating  sys- 

lepends.   it    is   largely  a   matter   of 
'  nt.     Such  judgment  must  be  based 

'wiedge  of  the  temperature  of  the 
on<irnscr  water,  whether  there  is  suffi- 
ient  condenser  surface  for  the  comprcs- 
or  and  whether  or  not  the  condenser 
iip<  s  arc  free  from  uncondensable  for- 
igii  Kases.  With  these  things  known  to 
lit,  condenser  pressure  for  different 

itures  of  cooling  water  should  be 

mutely  as  follows  : 

iM-r  riiimiti-  iht  inti  iwr  '24  hours — 

•••r.  (lpsrc«a  F 


tively  far  more  importance  than  the  Ut- 
ter in  Its  cflTea  on  the  general  eftcimcy 
and  economy  of  the  plant. 

As  regards  both  condenser  and  back 
pressure,  the  limit  that  should  be  itri\ni 
toward,  but  which,  of  course,  can  never 
be  reached,  and  produce  work,  it  when 
the  pressures  in  the  condenser  and  ex- 
pansion coils,  respectively,  ar- 
the  corresponding  liquid  terin>' : 
the  same  as  that  of  the  condenser  cool- 
ing water  and  the  cold-storage  brine  tem- 
perature, respectively,  to  be  produced. 

Atmospheric  ammonia  condenser*  em- 
ployed in  temperate  climates  where  cool- 
ing water  of  from  55  to  70  degrees 
Fahrenheit  is  available  usually  contain 
about  the  square  feet  of  heat  radiating 
surface  per  ton,  and  as  indicated  in  the 
first  table,  are  cooled  by  from  one  to  three 
gallons  of  water  per  minute  per  ton  per 
twenty- four   hours. 

Not  only  does  the  amount  of  cooling 
water  required  per  ton  vary  with  its  tem- 
perature, but  also  with  the  cooler  tem- 
peratures required  and  the  condensing 
pressure  encountered. 

If,  for  example,  a  cooler  is  to  be  main- 
tained at  20  degrees  Fahrenheit,  a  back 
pressure  of  15  pounds  is  to  be  carried,  re- 
sulting in  o  degree  ammonia  within  the 
expansion  coils,  and  the  head  pressure  be 
145  pounds,  only  0.75  gallon  of  cooling 
water  will  t>e  required,  provided  it  be 
"sufficiently  c<>ol  to  rise  io  degrees  in  tem- 
perature and  still  be  lO  degrees  ct>oler 
than  the  temperature  of  the  condensed 
ammonia  corresponding   to  the  pre»sure. 


.  iiquiil  aniinoola,  degnc*  t^ 
Inn  {M>r  '24  hour*— 

-•4tr.  Ih  

.ri'  u!  t.uiiii<-ii<«>«l  hquiii  aminoala. 
inlniitr  prr  ton  per  2t  hotim    - 


flO 
IS3 

«5 
200 
100 

70 
220 
IDS 

75 
23S 
110 

W 

lis 

•6 

310 

lao 

90 

aoo 

lift 

130 
77 

isa 

HS 

IM 
W 

in 

M 

300 
100 

330 
lOS 

3tS 

110 

13S 

75 

140 
HA 

l&A 
90 

170 
M 

Its 

300 

too 

31S 
106 

Ailliin  the  expansion  coils  of  a  re- 
tting system  depend   upon  the  tem 

trcs  on  the  outside  of  stirh  coils 
«•  air   or   brine   t«i   ' 

^c    practice   tiack   \>: 

iitii>n      of      require«l 

'!    In-    .-miir"  iMiii.if  <-]'. 


iquicl  BiniiiuiUa,  (l(«rMS  f. 
ing  <.r  back  pres-  Now.  the  temperature  corresponding  to  145 
pounds  head  pressure  is  &t  degree* 
Fahrenheit,  so  that  8a  —  JO  =  5^  degrees. 
the  required  temperature  of  the  cooling 
water. 

Where  there  is  only  r,nr  (♦•mp«^mMr«'  to 
be  pt 
meiit 

«0 


!      For 

I'lr   the 

temperatures 


1-..II.. 


w  s 


-•r   prr^surr 


13 


10 

IS 

so 

10 

13 

IS 

10 

s 

0 

33 


33 

3S 
13 


SO 
»s 


nil's    between    such    pressures    being    .%- 
«iI>"rMnt  to  the  efficiency  of  a  refriger.i' 
IK  ^yttem  as  wide  ones  are  to  that  of  .1 
••jin  engine  in  which   the  economy  m 
r.ises   with    the   range    between    boiirr 
T^'i-r  ■  'ire. 


Tl. 


■  r% 


1   »• 


I 


"  ior  the  last  pound  of  incrr.i»e'i 
pressure  half  so  diligently  as  for  tlir 
•ich  of  vacuum  in  the  steam  rondm 

although    the    pressure    i»    of    reb 


♦tich 

that 

the 

lemprrature 

1  erati 

irr 

tions 

tl.r 

pipe 

requ 

ired 

to 

allow 

■  ..>••«.  ^ 

fli    *■  V       i!  •  ■ 

:  1     1 

r<« 

r  X  jiju'ii  F« 

jnd 

■ 

lower     1 

rf^ 

♦«^er»l 

differ**** 

»"»••■  ■ 
b*di    I 

trmprrmtut 


the  toul  cooliag  w«Hi  be  low  trr— 
ture.  It  IS  ossalljr  advtMbk  to  rcdi. 
icmperature    raqgc    bctwcca    iW    u.«u«: 
anmonu  and  tbc  smrooadti^  air  mmk»^ 
up  for  the  rcdwsd  m^  by  tbe  ■milli 
tioa    of    iartndf    propwUuMtdy    mart 
pipe.     la  tliis  case  the  cxpcadiittrc  oi  as 
abnormal  amount  of  pipe  m  a  Mnl  per 
!jcjr  allows  ol  as  m- 
i  tiM  cttire  plaaL 
■  of  prodaoag  a  low 
t  .'I'  horn  reduce*  ike 

-It— «r  thai  part 

Oi     .1     wi,.,,     ,1     rr.jjirr.;    tO    CaTTy    tlW    loW 

back  pressarc  because  of  ikal  low  Mas- 

I 


•ht  way  of 


:re  bosca.     Tke 

'e  and  tcnperatare  beaog 

ft:  -  "to  cool  the  low 

ture  box  may  be  siificictitljr  colder 

the   high- temper aiarr    >-^.-.    ««   10 

the  pipe   surface  in   - 

boxes  to  be  reduced  •  i-<-n  a» 

per    cent.      This    conditMMi    woold 

^efl  tke 

boxes 

44  J«» 

In    .  ^    «'er 

deavor    so   to 
valves  as  lo  carry  tke 
sure  possible  and  still  prodace 
refrigrralton  in  ht«  coldet*  —  '— - 
limit   lo  po««ibilitie«   in   ' 
when  no  more  aimoocua  trr<i  c»n  »e 
on   the   expanskm  coSs  wkkoot 
liquid  ammonia  to  retara  to  tke 
•or.  causing  it  lo  pooad  aad  ike 
rod  stvftog  boxes  to  Irak. 

Tlir   KxcV   nrrsturr  can  be   camed  OH- 
^etrvcf   o4  tke 


oti  on  ihr 


srttem 

If     »hr      r 


-  <><M     am. 

kkoald  be 


0(I 

Ike 


lU  j>i  <  a  Ike  alert 


,   «. 


■  !1UUI4    ^ 


tpiiati  at. 


192 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  26,  1909. 


Inaccuracies    Due  to  Drum  Motion  Distortion 

A  Practical  Analysis  of  This  Cause  of  Errors  in  Indicator  Diagrams, 
with  Results  of  Tests  to  Determine  Their  Magnitude  in  Various  Cases 

BY      JULIAN       C^       SMALLWOOD* 


Everyone  who  has  considered  the  sub- 
ject is  aware  that  that  exceedingly  use- 
ful device,  the  indicator  diagram,  is  full 
of  errors.  The  straight-line  motion  of  the 
indicator  and  the  apparatus  for  reducing 
the  motion  of  the  engine  crosshead  may 
be  faulty  in  principle  or  workmanship,  or 
both.  The  indicator  spring  rarely  records 
steam  pressures  truly  and  the  drum  mo- 
tion does  not,  by  any  means,  accurately 
correspond  with  that  of  the  crosshead. 
Of  these  four  sources  of  error,  however, 
the  first  three  are  under  control  and,   if 


to  reduce  the  movement  of  the  crosshead 
of  an  engine  to  the  length  of  the  indica- 
tor diagram  to  be  taken.  The  pin  is 
shown  at  the  head-end  dead  center  in  full 
and  the  dotted  figure  represents  the  other 
end  of  its  stroke.  The  spring  is  shown 
by  the  spiral,  one  end  of  which  is  fast- 
ened to  the  drum,  the  other  to  the  axis 
upon  which  the  drum  oscillates.  Begin- 
ning at  the  head-end  dead  center  there 
is  a  certain  pull  in  the  cord  which  is  re- 
sisted by  the  spring  tension  Th  at  this 
point.      As    the    crosshead    moves   to    the 


''7"  Crank  End 


K.  Maximum 


T,  Average 


T,  Average 


K.  Maximani 


FIG.     I 


they  exist,  constant.  Thus,  a  high  degree 
of  excellence  in  workmanship  may  render 
negligible  any  errors  in  the  duplicating 
and  straight-line  motions  when  their  de- 
sign is  correct.  Indicator  springs  may  be 
accurately  calibrated  and  compensation 
made   for  their    error.      But    inaccuracies 


5WJ  a.l>.M. 

100  E.P.M. 

4W  E.P.M. 

Sprinj 

3'JO  B,P.M. 

a 

T«Mi<m     30  Oi. 

240E.P.M. 

0. 

300  B.P.H. 

Nti  Spwii"  r.i 


FIG.    2 

due  to  drum-motion  distortion  are  neither 
constant  for  different  conditions  of  speed 
nor  easily  determined  for  particular  ones. 
Therefore  these  inaccuracies  are  worthy 
of  special  attention.  It  is  the  purpose  of 
this  article  to  make  an  analysis  of  them 
and  to  present  the  results  of  tests  made 
to  determine  their  magnitude  under  dif- 
ferent conditions. 

It  is  well  first  to  consider  the  cycle  of 
events  in  the  nature  of  an  indicator  and 
the  forces  controlling  it.  Fig.  i  repre- 
sents a  plan  section  of  a  drum,  the  string 
of  which  is  attached  to  the  pin  of  a  device 


•Instructor    In    mechanical    engineering   at 
the   University   of   Pennsylvania. 


left,  this  tension  will  increase  in  a  rate 
proportional  to  the  extension  of  the 
spring,  becoming  maximum,  To ,  when  the 
drum  has  revolved  as  far  as  it  will  go 
in  a  clockwise  direction.  Thus  the  aver- 
age value  of  the  spring  tension  is 
(Th—  Tc)  -f-  2.  The  work  done  by  this 
force  is  expended  in  overcoming  the 
kinetic  energy  of  the  drum.  This  latter 
varies  as  the  square  of  the  drum's  speed. 
Now,  the  motion  of  the  crosshead  is  ap- 
proximately harmonic  and  therefore  the 
velocity  of  the  drum  is  zero  at  the  ex- 
treme positions  of  its  travel  and  maxi- 
mum in  its  mid-position.  These  forces 
are  represented  in  Fig.  i  by  the  arrows. 
It  is  obvious  that  the  least  distortion  will 
ensue  when  the  maximum  value  of  K 
(or  the  force  of  acceleration  at  mid- 
stroke)  is  just  balanced  by  an  average 
drum-spring  tension. 

Considering,  now,  the  reverse  motion, 
it  is  seen  that  the  spring  tension  is  the 
only  force  acting  and  that  it  is  maximum 
at  the  crank-end  dead  center  and  dimin- 
ishes in  the  same  way  as  it  has  increased. 
This  force  imparts  kinetic  energy  to  the 
drum  which  stores  part  of  it  until  the 
end,  of  the  cycle,  when  it  is  delivered  in 
an  effort  to  stretch  the  cord.  The  ten- 
sion Th   also  operates  to  do  the  same. 

In  the  foregoing  discussion  no  attempt 


has  been  made  to  point  out  the  inaccu- 
racies of  the  drum  motion  between  its 
limits,  the  object  being  to  determine  the 
deformation  only  at  the  ends  of  the 
stroke.  It  will  be  seen  that  this  is  de- 
pendent upon  five  quantities,  namely,  the 
spring  tension,  the  revolutions  per  minute, 
the  elasticity  of  the  cord,  the  mass  of  the 
drum  and  the  length  of  the  diagram,  the 
first  and  last  of  which  may  be  conveni- 
ently varied  to  suit  any  particular  condi- 
tions. Further,  the  deformation  at  the 
crank   end   will   be   produced   by   an    ab- 


normal stretch  of  the  spring,  while  that  at 
the  head  end  will  be  permitted  by  the  elas- 
ticity of  the  cord.  The  former  may  be 
expected  approximately  to  vary  directly  as 
the  mass  of  the  drum,'  length  of  diagram 
and  square  of  the  revolutions  per  minute, 
and  inversely  as  the  spring  tension.  Simi- 
larly the  latter  will  vary  directly  as  the 
spring  tension  and  the  elasticity  of  the 
cord. 

To   Minimize   Drum-motion   Distortion 

It  follows  from  the  above  considerations 
that  to  reduce  drum-motion  distortion  to 
its  minimum  it  is  necessary  to  have  the 
mass  of  the  drum  as  small  as  possible,  the 


January  26,   1909. 


fH>\VER  AND  THE  ENGIVFFR 


cord  as  nearly  nonelastic  and  as  short  as 

may  be  and  the  reducing  motion  such  as 

to  give  the  smallest  diagram  that  will  be 

convenient    to    use.      Further,    and    more 

rtaiit,   the    spring   tension    should   be 

cd  to  the  speed  of  the  engine  to  be 

ited,   so  that   its   average   value   just 

i.es  the   force  of  acceleration  of  the 

drum  in  its  mid-stroke  and  is  no  greater; 

for,  if  it  is  greater,  the  effect   will  be  to 

increase     the     deformation     due     to     the 

stretch  of  the  cord. 

With   these   considerations  in   mind   an 
attempt    was    made    to    measure    by    tc^ts 


the   magnitude  of  th*   .«-•'..'".- 

duced   by   drum-ni' 

results  of  ■' 

curves    a 

indicators,    whusc   Jnimi   were 


The 

:  by  the 

Two 

4  differ 


ent  weights,  werr  •.••••^       1  ney  were  r^jr. 

nected  to  a  cr 

which   derive*] 

motor    supplied    with    a    heavy    riywhcel 

to  obtain  uniformity  of  rotation      S'--..K 

were     varied     through     fine 

by  changing  the    motor    re»t--..iu  r,    ^r... 

l-rakinir     the     crank     »hafl       Determine 

lions    at    various     •pring     tension*     were 


:  'jy>  r:.a4i;i(  t«o 

hcator  pracil  al 

x^c6  Ime  "     In  tlw 

uh  end  coold  be  4r- 

bctoc  taken  to  http  tW 

poHtioa  on  ibe  dnaa  for 

a  ihow%  Qor  of  tbc  dl»> 

TH*    fr*ulf»    «cTe 


of 

'he  vertkal 
rcprr- 

Thit   4m- 


grim,     fcprcicntmjt    iti.- 


&00 


S 

:S 

> 
■     loo  — 


I 


n 


ii 


10         Sprinc  Tanaiuoa 
tSloootiim.    i         2.:> 


2U  Ounc«a 
0  2.5 

7.5 


LS 


U 

rs 


u 


u 
u 


li      • 


HKi 

tOu 

ton 

\ 

\ 

\ 

\ 

\ 

JJU 

\ 

' 

ux 

A 

(  Klucxalwa, 


-J 


U 

u 


194 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  26,  1909. 


lighter  of  the  two  drums  tested  with  an 
average  spring  tension  of  20  ounces,  shows 
that  up  to  50  revolutions  per  minute  the 
<irum  follows  the  reduced  motion  of  the 
crosshead  very  closely,  but  that  above  this 
speed  the  distortion  at  the  crank  end, 
against  the  stretch  of  the  cord  becomes 
measurable  and  increases  rapidly  with 
increasing  speed.  The  elongation  on  the 
head  end  against  the  tension  of  the  spring 
does  not  begin  until  a  speed  of  80  revolu- 
tions is  reached.  At  250  revolutions  the 
elongation  at  the  head  end  is  equal  to  a  b, 
and  on  the  crank  end  to  b  c,  each  equal 
to  about  i^  per  cent.  At  a  little  above 
300  revolutions  the  fling  is  sufficient  to 
throw  the  drum  against  the  stops  on  the 
head  end  and  no  increase  of  speed  would 
be  practicable  at  this  drum  tension. 

Diagrams  Made  with  Different  Spring 
Tensions 
In  Fig.  4  a  number  of  such  diagrams 
made  with  different  average  spring  tensions 
are  grouped  upon  the  same  chart  for 
each  of  the  two  drums.  The  points  at 
which  distortion  begins  upon  the  head 
end  are  formed  by  the  curve  A  B,  which 
represents,  therefore,  the  number  of 
revolutions  per  minute  at  which  overtravel 
at  the  head  end  commences  for  any  par- 
ticular spring  tension.  Another  curve  is 
drawn  through  the  points  at  which  head- 
end elongation  is  i  per  cent.  Over- 
travel  at  thie  crank  end  is  ignored,  since 
it  is  permitted  by  the  stretch  of  the  indi- 
cator cord  which  is  in  turn  dependent 
upon  its  length  and  texture.  It  would 
therefore  be  impracticable  to  apply  a  gen- 
eral rule  for  setting  the  drum  spring  for 
this  end. 

The  weight  of  the  moving  parts  of  the 
heavier  indicator  drum  was  found  to  be 
about  27  per  c*t.  greater  than  that  of  the 
lighter. 

The  indicator  cord  used  in  the  tests 
was  2  feet  long.  Although  of  very  good 
quality,  it  showed  in  a  preliminary  test  a 
stretch  of  0.05  of  an  inch  per  foot  per 
pound  dead  weight,  and  this  after  it  had 
been  previously  stressed. 

Inspection  of  the  curves  may  astonish 
some  engineers  who  are  accustomed  to 
place  unquestioned  reliance  upon  the 
truth  of  indicator  diagrams.  The  inaccu- 
racies shown,  however,  may  easily  be  veri- 
fied by  a  simple  trial.  It  appears  that  de- 
formation begins  with  comparatively  low 
speeds  and  that  the  speed  corresponding 
to  the  beginning  of  deformation  increases 
with  the  increase  of  spring  tension.  With 
low  spring  tensions  the  deformations  be- 
come enormous  at  high  speeds.  It  will  be 
noticed,  too  (considering  the  curves  for 
the  lighter  indicator),  that  though  the  de- 
formations at  the  two  ends  of  a  diagram 
are  nearly  equal  immediately  after  the 
critical  speed  has  been  reached,  beyond 
this  the  elongation  due  to  overtravel 
against  spring  tension  becomes  greater  in 
a  progressive  ratio.  This  is  as  would  be 
expected  since  the  cord  is  limited  in  its 


elasticity,  while  the  spring  is  not.  The 
difference  is  not  so  marked  in  the  curves 
for  the  heavier  indicator,  but  this  is 
probably  due  to  the  fact  that  higher  spring 
tensions  here  are  needed  to  overcome  the 
inertia  of  a  greater  mass.  Thus,  upon  the 
return  stroke  both  Th  and  K  have  a  greater 
value  than  would  obtain  in  the  small 
drum,  and  the  cord  stretches  accordingly. 
And,  finally,  it  may  be  observed  that  the 
head-end  elongation  varies  approximately 
as  the  square  of  the  speed,  that  the  crank 
end  varies  at  a  somewhat  lower  rate  and 
that  the  head-end  elongation  at  constant 
speed  varies  nearly  inversely  as  the  spring 
tension. 

Consider,  now,  the  error  introduced  into 
an  indicator  diagram  by  the  inaccuracy 
of  the  drum  motion.  Fig.  5  represents 
a  diagram  which  has  3  per  cent,  elonga- 
tion at  one  end  and  i  per  cent,  at  the 
other.  An  inspection  of  the  curves  will 
show  that  this  amount  of  distortion  may 
ordinarily  be  met  with.  The  mean  ordi- 
nates  obtained  from  the  distorted  and  cor- 
rect diagrams  are  1.06  and  1.03  inches, 
respectively ;  that  is,  an  error  of  about  3 
per  cent.  In  measuring  the  cutoff  from 
such    a   diagram   it   will    readily   be    seen 


to  the  best  setting  of  the  drum  spring  as 
previously  determined  there  will  be,  how- 
ever, no  stress  in  the  cord  at  mid-stroke. 
Beyond  this  the  work  done  by  the  spring 
increasingly  exceeds  the  kinetic  energy  of 
the  drum  and  therefore  the  pull  in  the 
cord  will  increase  and  deformation  due  to 
its  stretch  will  increase  up  to  the  end  of 
the  stroke.  Upon  the  return  stroke  the 
tension'^in  the  string  is  diminishing  up  tO' 
the  end  of  the  crosshead's  travel.  It  is- 
thus  seen  that  under  the  best  conditions- 
there  is  a  varying  stress  in  the  cord 
throughout  a  complete  motion  of  the  drum, 
and  we  may  therefore  expect  distortion 
of  the  diagram  in  all  its  parts,  and  the 
farther  the  stress  in  the  cord  departs  from, 
a  uniform  one  the  greater  will  be  the  in- 
accuracy. Obviously  if  the  spring  ten- 
sion at  mid-stroke  is  greater  or  less  than 
is  necessary  to  overcome  the  effect  of 
inertia  at  this  point  this  departure  willl 
be  more  marked. 

The  results  and  considerations  pre- 
sented lead  to  the  conclusion  that  a  per- 
fect indicator  diagram  correctly  repre- 
senting the  relation  of  pressure  to  piston* 
position  cannot  be  made  with  a  spring- 
actuated  drum,  because  of  the  inaccuracies 


FIG.    5 


that  the  error  may  be  still  greater.  In 
some  cases,  however,  the  error  due  to  in- 
creased area  of  the  indicator  diagram  may 
be  offset  by  the  increased  base  length,  so 
as  to  make  the  error  in  the  mean  hight 
negligible. 

Deformation  at  Mid-stroke 
Hitherto  nothing  has  been  said  con- 
cerning the  amount  of  deformation  in 
mid-stroke.  This  is  difficult  to  determine 
and  requires  special  apparatus,  but  it  is 
hoped  that  a  presentment  of  the  subject 
may  be  made  at  some  later  time.  For  the 
present  purpose,  however,  it  will  be  suffi- 
cient to  make. the  following  observations : 
Starting  from  the  head-end  dead  center 
the  tension  of  the  spring  is  small,  while 
the  opposing  force  due  to  the  velocity  of 
the  drum  is  zero.  Hence  no  appreciable 
distortion  can  result  since  the  stretch  of 
the  cord  is  small.  If  this  initial  stress 
could  be  maintained  in  the  cord  the 
drum's  motion  would  be  an  exact  dupli- 
cate of  that  of  the  crosshead.     According 


introduced  by  drum-motion  distortion. 
These  inaccuracies  may  be  reduced  to  the 
minimum  by  using  piano  wire  instead  of 
cord,  as  short  as  possible  in  length,  and 
by  properly  adapting  the  spring  tension  to 
the  speed  of  the  engine  to  be  indicated. 

Allowing  for  Errors 
The  following  simple  procedure  is  sug- 
gested to  allow  for  errors  when  accurate 
determinations  are  desired :  Before  put- 
ting in  the  indicator  spring  when  indi- 
cating an  engine  two  vertical  lines  may 
be  drawn  to  correspond  to  the  ends  of  its 
stroke.  These  are  perpendiculars  at  the 
extremities  of  a  "no-speed  line ;"  that 
is,  a  line  drawn  by  turning  the  flywheel 
at  such  slow  speed  that  no  effect  of 
inertia  is  produced.  Leaving  this  card 
on  the  drum,  if  the  engine  is  now  run  at 
the  various  speeds  at  which  it  is  to  be 
indicated  and  horizontals  drawn  at  these 
speeds,  the  elongation  will  be  shown  by 
the  distances  of  the  ends  of  such  lines- 
from  the  neighboring  verticals.    The  cor- 


January  26,   1909. 

rections  may  then  be  made  after  the  en- 
gine has  been  indicated.  These  correc- 
tions, of  course,  involve  only  the  elonga- 
tion of  the  diagram  and  do  not  consider 
deformations  at  mid-stroke,  but  the  former 
is  very  likely  the  more  considerable. 

It  is  suggested  that  the  device  for 
tightening  the  spring  of  an  indicator  be 
marked  in  such  a  way  that  the  tension  of 
the  spring  may  be  adjusted  for  any  de- 
sired amount  without  actual  measure- 
ment. This  may  be  simply  accomplished 
by  first  measuring  with  a  spring  scale  the 
tension  at  the  limits  of  the  drum  travel 
for  each  adjustment  and  marking  with 
a  scries  of  lines  the  locking  device  to 
correspond.  From  the  curves  presented 
in  this  article  the  indicator  may  then  be 
conveniently  adjusted  for  any  particular 
test   so  that   the   least  error   results. 


Reservoir  Moved  by  Internal 
Forces 


Bv   J.   O.   FSAZIES 


few  years  ago  the  writer  had  an  ex 
^  experience  with  an  old  boiler  which 
iised  for  the  collection  of  water  from 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

P.  There  was  a  s-inch  exhaust-cteam  con- 
nection L.  which  served  to  raU 
ponion  of  such  surplus  rx'  .  as 
might  exist  at  any  tif  r  rrsrr- 
voir,  from  which  all  ih.  imps  re- 
ceived their  supply.  Another  outlet,  which 
then  existed  on  the  other  side  of  the 
house,  gave  relief  to  the  greater  portion 
of  the  exhaust. 

In  putting  up  a  double-effect  evaporat 
ing  apparatus  the  preceding  year,  the 
system  had  been  piped  to  the  new  appara- 
tus. Considering  it  was  to  run  nearly  all 
the  lime  (and  when  it  didn't  run  there 
were  presumably  few  of  the  pumps  or 
engines  running)  and  to  pre%*ent  the  ex- 
pense and  time  of  changing  the  pipes  AT 
and  /?.  which  were  only  6  inches  in  diame- 
ter, they  were  left  as  the  sole  outlet  for 
such    surplus  of   exhaust    a^  'ist 

at  any  time.    There  were  ab.  ^me 

horsepower  in  the  house  and  about  30 
steam  pumps,  with  steam  cylinders  rang- 
ing from  16  down  to  5  inches  in  diameter, 
so  it  will  be  seen  that  the  size  of  the  pipe 
depended  upon  to  carry  off  the  sorplos 
was  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  sixes  of 
the  engines  and  pumps  It  is  a  ustui  con- 
dition in  such  houses  that  when  the 
ilouble  effect   evaporator,   which  generally 


RCSUVOIR    AND  CONNCCnONS 


the  heating  coils  in  a  sugar  house.  The 
boiler  was  j6  inches  in  diameter  and  60 
feet  long,  and  when  nearly  full  of  water 
was  tiK.M.I  riulwise  about  I  foot  from 
an  mtcru.il  luitlut  <>f  exhaust  steam  and 
r       An   unusti.  '  ition   of   cir 

tances  was  n<  ■  produce  the 

's     brought     about,     whose     remote 
ability  of  simultaneous  occurrence,  as 
well  as  the   necessities  of  rush   work   in 
connection  with  other  machinery,  had  per- 
haps been  the  reason  why  the  matter  had 
not   rrrrived   more    serious   considerall'-ii. 
and    ^c,f]ic    mrans    provided    for    their    .i^ 
The    action    of    the      .  rt 
nts  will  best  be  undrr>t'    <l 
l»y  fetrrrni  r   t..   r!ir   sketch. 
In    thi^    illiMtr.ition.    A    represents    thr 
voir,   which   many   vears   before   h.i'l 
I    -   ■>   '-linlation  boiler,  when  plain 
^    without    any   flues   were 
'•r%,iMmi{   type    on    the    plantation 
reservoir  received  all  the  roiMlrtMr  : 
rn  the  e^.l 
which  cjj* 


consumes   all   the  exhaust 
running  but   few  of  Ihr  - 
operation,  and  thus  the 
that    ■ 
to  r. 


H  inch   and    l<> 
through    the    r 
loaded  to  carry  a  1 
the  exhaust  «v»"" 
hausi  steam    • 


steam,   is   not 


•h* 


'lavinc 


water.     I 


19S 

soch  additioBal  cold  water  as  m«hc  be 
necessary  to  make  op  the  buarr  so^ 
ply.  There  were  foor  hosier  poa^ 
feeding    (roa   the   reservoir,  all   cooplcd 

about    1\    ihr    i><u-    kK<.«>n    xt     ^         I  >..,    t,^, 

voir 
ing 
U 
whi! 
the 

heard  a: 
sounds  a: 


^ig  the  rooada  one  day  aad 

r  hoikn,htkmdwlmk 

located,    the    vnler 

moMCioa  ot  aniaaulaar 

tevcral  Mcoods  Wlore 


the^e     touiiut     cvold     bc 

the  b>ilers  .n  the  nrigiibochood  d  ike 
rescrrotr.  RMluag  aroaad  to  tlua  poaM 
a  sight  met  ibe  gaac  wbtch  wiU  not  grow 
dim  for  a  long  time  to  coon.  There  vaa 
thai  heavy  rcscnrair  of  water,  vhkli 
could  not  weigh  nodi  less  than  1$  loaa. 
actually  launching,  dm  m  the  d  rectaoa 
of  S  then  ui  a  few  aecaoda.  wuli  a 
'vvcmem.  toward  S.  Tbrre  waa 
•  much  atcaai  from  »omfb<u. 
«nd  the  rnly  potublc  aoorce  wa*  iIm 
evaporator  llp<>n  invrrtjgaiios  k  was 
found  thai  ih*^  ■  »r 

off.   and  the    1:.- ,    the  wiMle 

which  was  in  full  blast,  bad  bees 
toward  the  heater.  Tbe  hrm  Move  waa 
to  raise  the  wcifhi  00  Ibe  rdief  valve  / 
and  turn  tbe  ttcaa  bacii  iato  tbe  evapo- 
rator 

B.>  boiler  roan  tbe  ttmmmatiom 

had  the  healer  was  ibere.  or 

nearly  there,  but  what  bavoc  ■wnm  tbe 

piping.      St:<rli  >n   oitw*   of   xH    f<^r    ri-rimfm^ 

as  at  £,  «  rr 

was  ntnr  i« 

floor.     A  as 

disable'^.  -^     «  -•'    II  nr>tfrr«   aiTii  a 

»..fl--  .•     --  Wei.  tbe  Am 

!iri.  aahric  water 

«o«bl  swMbtv  a 

Ugiui  a  nub  for  clMia 

ir«    and    all    tbe 

ob^  and  bjr 


'hirMT  intti  wriKr    aivI  a-ttb 


ri'turt    miTD    mjn^     rrLikr«riiii    tn    ir«    «*t 

of  pipe  fiitina«      ll  IS  well  to  evplaio  ibal 

not  fern  waser  is  ao 

tt    »t^    y>r  iilUIHM  I    *<4 
■r«d««t     i' 

«  \k  ^     •  as 


f*k*U*«    Pi««*  %—*>t»t 

^  t    m'-^wgli    »prsni 


•r    (twmimixMf*'  n    « 


^  ttmt %var 


%w%>    Wt 


196 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


and  had  not  learned  how  to  keep  the  ap- 
paratus working  by  feeding  water  when 
the  supply  ran  short.  He  threw  the  relief 
valve  /  open  and  the  steam,  endeavoring 
to  get  out  through  an  opening  far  too 
small  at  best,  found  the  butterfly  valve, 
which  had  not  been  shut  for  a  long  time, 
closed  and  consequently  deflected  all  the 
steam  down  into  the  reservoir  on  top  of 
the  water.  When  the  commotion  began 
the  water  tender  put  more  water  on  at 
the  supply  pipe  /,  which  would  quite 
naturally  make  matters  worse.  First,  the 
volume  of  steam  coming  in  through  L 
would  force  the  water  to  the  end  N  and 
plug  up  the  vent  B,  which  under  the  cir- 
cumstances would  be  of  little  service. 
Then  the  flood  of  cold  water  coming  in  at 
/  would  so  condense  the  steam  as  to 
create  a  lower  pressure  at  the  end  S, 
which  would  cause  the  water  to  surge 
back  toward  that  end,  to  be  followed  by 
an  accumulated  pressure  sending  it  back 
toward  A'. 

It  would  be  hard  to  form  an  accurate 
idea  of  how  long  this  action  continued, 
but  judging  from  circumstances  perhaps 
from  five  to  eight  minutes.  During  this 
period  it  was  evident  that  the  reservoir  was 
acted  upon  in  alternating  directions,  with 
a  period  of  about  ten  seconds  each  way, 
that  it  launched  toward  N  about  ij^ 
inches,  then  about  twice  that  amount 
toward  5",  making  a  total  gain  toward  5" 
of  14  inches  before  the  commofion  was 
over.  Among  the  provisions  made  for  the 
prevention  of  a  possible  repetition  of  the 
trouble,  at  least  in  such  violent  form,  was 
a  sheet-iron  flange,  with  only  a  i-inch 
hole  for  drainage  between  the  flange  T 
and  the  reservoir.  The  butterfly  valve  G 
was  taken  out  altogether. 


Elxperiments  on  Gas  Producers 


By  W.  H.  Booth 


In  a  recent  paper  read  before  the  Brit- 
ish Iron  and  Steel  Institute  by  W.  A. 
Boru,  some  interesting  facts  relating  to 
producer  gas  were  made  known.  These 
had  to  do  very  largely  with  gas  as  pro- 
duced for  furnace  work  to  which  the  re- 
generative principle  is  applied,  and  the 
experiments  bear  upon  the  use  of  water 
vapor  in  the  air  fed  to  the  producer.  The 
argument  put  forward  by  the  authors,  for 
R.  V.  Wheeler  collaborated  in  the  work, 
was  that  it  was  not  advisable  to  put  more 
steam  into  the  air  blast  than  corresponded 
with  a  saturation  temperature  of  60  de- 
grees Centigrade ;  that  is  to  say,  assuming 
air  at  60  degrees  Centigrade  to  be  satur- 
ated with  water  vapor  that  amount  of 
water  vapor  would  be  the  ratio  of  steam 
to  be  supplied.  With  any  higher  ratio  of 
steam  the  thermal  efficiency  falls  and  the 
gas  becomes  less  suited  for  furnace  work. 
Experiments  showed  that  with  even  less 


ratios  of  steam  better  results  were  ob- 
tained in  rapidity  of  gasification  and  high 
efticiency. 

With  a  6o-degree  Centigrade  saturation 
temperature  a  producer  rated  to  consume 
16  hundredweight  per  hour  (1792  pounds) 
was  successfully  worked  at  24  hundred- 
weight (2688  pounds)  with  a  fuel  depth 
of  42  inches. 

The  saturation  temperature  was  suc- 
cessively lowered  to  55,  50  and  45  de- 
grees Centigrade,  with  the  result  as  be- 
tween 60  and  45  degrees  that  the  average 
coal  consumption  (night  and  day)  rose 
from  17.5  to  18.4  hundredweight  per  hour ; 
the  CO2  produced  fell  from  5.10  to  2.35 
per  cent.,  the  carbon  monoxide  rose  from 
27.3  to  31.6  per  cent.;  and  the  hydrogen 
fell  from  15.5  to  11.60  per  cent.,  methane 
remaining  the  same  at  3.05  per  cent,  and 
nitrogen  rising  from  49.05  to  51.40  per 
cent. 

The  total  combustible  gas  increased 
from  45.85  to  46.20  per  cent.,  and  its 
calorific  value  from  178.7  units  per  cubic 
foot  to  180  gross,  and  from  166.9  net 
units  to  170.5,  the  yield  of  gas  per  ton 
falling  from  i3S,ooo  to  133.700  cubic  feet. 
The  steam  consumption  per  pound  of  fuel 
was  diminished  from  0.454  to  0.2  pound, 
and  while  in  the  first  case  only  76  per 
cent,  of  the  steam  was  decomposed,  all 
was  decomposed  at  the  45-degree  Centi- 
grade test.  The  ratios  of  the  oxygen 
from  the  steam  and  from  the  air  were 
0.44  and  0.33,  respectively,  and  the  effici- 
ency ratios  0.725  and  0.73.  Thus  the 
efficiency  was  practically  the  same. 

As  to  the  use  of  gas  in  furnace  work, 
the  authors  state  that  their  previous  con- 
victions as  to  the  greater  suitability  of 
carbon  monoxide  have  been  confirmed  and 
they  emphasize  the  importance  of  carbon 
monoxide  for  steel  melting  or  reheating 
furnaces. 

Needless  to  say,  where  hot  gas  is  being 
supplied  direct  from  a  producer  to  a  fur- 
nace it  is  important  that  as  high  a  per- 
centage as  possible  of  the  steam  should 
be  decomposed,  or  otherwise  there  must 
be  loss  of  excessive  cooling  without  addi- 
tional calorific  capacity  of  the  gas  pro- 
duced. The  reactions  in  a  producer  are 
probably  very  complex.  The  general  re- 
actions expressed  by  C  +  2  OH2  =  CO2  -f 
2  H2  comes  more  and  more  into  play  as 
.  compared  with  the  reaction  C  -|-  OH2  = 
CO  -f  H2,  when  more  and  more  steam  is 
added;  so  that  the  equilibrium  point 
of  the  reversible  reaction  CO  -f-  OH2  = 
CO2  +  H2  becomes  shifted  more  and  more 
to  the  right,  as  does  also  the  reversible 
reaction  2  CO  =  C  -f  CO2.  In  one  test 
the  raising  of  the  steam  saturation  tem- 
perature from  45  to  80  degrees  Centigrade 
increased  the  carbon  dioxide  sixfold; 
doubled  the  hydrogen  and  halved  the  car- 
bon monoxide.  This  question  of  equili- 
brium is  one  of  the  phenomena  of  mass 
action  which  deserves  greater  study  than 
perhaps  practical  men  have  yet  accorded 
it.    This  is  especially  so  with  regenerative 


January  26,   1909. 

working,  for  action  and  reaction  occur  m 
the  gas  during  its  passage  through  the  re- 
generator. Equilibrium  of  any  gaseous 
mixture,  such  as  one  of  hydrogen,  steam, 
carbon  monoxide  and  carbon  dioxide,  is 
dependent  upon  the  relative  proportions 
of  the  gases  and  upon  their  temperature. 
At  any  given  temperature  the  state  of 
equilibrium   is   defined  by   the   expression 


CO  X  H,0 


=  K, 


COt  X  //, 

the  product  of  the  concentrations  of  the 
monoxide  and  the  steam  being  a  definite 
ratio  to  the  product  of  the  concentrations 
of  carbon  dioxide  and  hydrogen. 

Hahn    showed   by   experiment   that   for 
temperatures    of    1086    to    1205    degrees 
Centigrade,  which  fairly  correspond  with 
the  temperatures  in  the  hottest  parts  of  a 
regenerator,   K  varies   between    1.95   and 
2.10,   so  that  practically  we  may  assume 
K    equals    2.0.      Any    mixed    gas    of    the 
above  order  passing  through  a  regenera- 
tor which  has  a  higher  limit  of  tempera- 
ture of  about  the  above  figure  will  tend 
to    arrange     or     rearrange     its     dynamic 
equilibrium    until    the    aljove    equation    is 
fulfilled  with  the  value  of  2  for  i^;  and 
the  tendency  will  be  the  greater  when  the 
initial  ratio  is  most  removed  from  K  =  2.0, 
for  the   stress   tending  to   rearrangement 
will  be  greater.     It  is  therefore  useless  to 
start  with  a  gas  too  rich  in  CO2  and  H, 
for     equilibrium     will     tend     to    produce 
CO  -j-  H2O.     A  producer  gas  heated  to 
1 100  degrees  Centigrade  will  attain  equili- 
brium with  CO2  —  10.2,  CO  =  20.6  and 
H2  =  18.0,  and  was  found  to  do  so  when 
it  contained  initially  the  above  three  gases 
in  the  ratios  17.8,  10.5  and  24.8. 

The  authors  do  not  express  any  dog- 
matic opinions,  but  base  their  arguments 
on  the  assumption  of  the  correctness  of 
Hahn's  formula  for  K  and  consider  that 
this  should  be  further  investigated  in 
order  to  prove  or  disprove  its  correctness. 
Incidentally  the  thought  arises  that  the  re- 
actions within  the  cylinder  of  a  gas  engine 
are  probably  extremely  complex,  consist- 
ing of  an  innumerable  rapid  series  of 
changes  of  equilibrium  in  the  mass  of  the 
burning  gas.  But  such  violent  reactions 
only  make  their  joint  effect  felt  as  an 
integrated  result  in  the  shape  of  fairly 
even  pressure,  for  the  waves  which  appear 
on  an  indicator  diagram  and  often  form 
the  subject  of  much  speculative  writing  do 
not  seem  to  live  when  the  indicator  spring 
is  changed  for  a  stiffer  one  of  less 
movement. 


The  presentation  of  further  experi- 
mental data  in  regard  to  superheatec 
steam  will  be  looked  forward  to  witl 
great  interest,  but  what  we  now  need  is  ■< 
thorough  review  of  the  properties  0 
saturated  steam.  At  present  our  knowl 
edge  of  the  heat  required  above  saturatioi 
is  probably  more  accurate  than  what  w 
know  about  saturated  steam. — Prof.  R.  C 
H.  Heck. 


January  26,   1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


tv 


Practical     Letters    from     Practical     M 

Don't   Bolhcr  Abuul    ihe    Slyk.    but    Virile    Jujl    VI  lial    "lou  Tliuil. 
Know  or  Want   to  Know    About   ^our  Wort,  and   Help  tUth  (Jihcr 

WE     PAY     FOR     USEFUL     IDEAS 


en 


Governor    Link  Arm   Caused 
Trouble 


Our  company  bought  a  16  and  25  by  4- 
inch  cross-compound  engine.  The  gov- 
ernor was  of  the  type  shown  in  Fig.  i. 
This  engine  was  belted  to  a  175-kilowatt 
generator  and  was  operated  at  a  speed 
of  250  revolutions  per  minute.  It  was  con- 
cluded to  make  a  direct-connected  outfit 
of  it,  so  a  new  subbase  and  field  frame 
and  an  outboard  bearing  for  the  armature 
•haft  were  made.  The  flywheel  was  re- 
iiKned  and  a  flanged  coupling  used  to 
couple  the  crank  and  armature  shafts  to- 


the  eccentric,  after  placing  three  paper 
liners,  each  0.01  inch  thick,  between  £  and 
F.  Fig.  2. 

1    next    removed   all    tension    from   tiic 
springs  S.  put  more  tension  on  springs  S" 
and   started   up   the   engine;   although  it 
governed    well    the    speed    was    only    160 
revolutions  per  minute.     I  shut  down  th' 
engine,  took  off  the  sj' 
the  link  L  and  placed 
square  on  the  eccentric.     When  I  tncd  to 
put   the  link  /.  back  into  the  slot  of  the 
weight  ly  I  found  the  link  was  i/i6  inch, 
out  of  line  with  the  weight  arm.  so  it  had 
to  be  sprung  into  place   (see  the  dotted 
lines  in  Fig.  2).     When  the  tension  was 
removed  from  the  springs  5  there  was  so 


2 


2 


^Tf 


FIG.    1 

gether.     In  testing,  the  load  was  obtained 
through   a   water  rheostat.     When  every- 
thing was  ready,  the  engine   wa>»   started, 
when  the  speed  g"'   up  t<>  ab<>ui    100 
lutions   per   minute   the   govrrn-T    \k 
to  hunt,  the  speed  running  from   100 
;<x>  revolutions  per   minute,   and   then 
'I  again  and  so  on.     The  engiite  was 
'    down    and   after    several   trials   and 
V    examinations    the   trouble    wa«    lo- 
I      What   nude  it   more  difficult    m4« 
fact     that     with     a     1".t<l     »h«-     rtu'inr 
I  fiiully  r 
I  and  2.    ' 
'ic    strap    /-    pulled    back    ai    the 
ing    the    cover    plate    to    J.iinl    ..^ 
the  r.   rutric  al  A,  and  tli< 
the  eccentric  al  B.  Fig    j      ;    ^. . 
tbc  springs  and  pulled  the  strap  >^<i 


nc  3 

much  pby  in  the  piiu  that  the  link  would 
1,    but    when    both  «ere 

:   they  pulled  the   m  to 

i(»  uiic  center  and  held  it  :  ib« 

link   /.   had  to  be  sprung  in^  *   in 

the    weight,    pulling    the    tcccntrK    strap 
with  it. 

I  had  a  new  link  made  with  a  Vi6-in>.h 
-'»—     -^    ihowo   al   If.     The   cngmc    u 
very  nicely  by  that  means, 
itieodcnl  could  oot  tec  bow 
It   v.  r  rafftoc  had  no<  given  any 

^•on  is  that  it  was 
,  >r  and  h»<!  rrr^.tth 
rady.  an«! 
>-»  the  loa 


•»**« 


mtt 

h  a 
■  a» 


tS 


In.iuttion    Motor    Operates    AS 
4    CtcXMrtalof 

Rrcrotljr     the     L.-1I     -1,   - 
power  cooipa.' 
iodoctioQ  mot^  c 
water  wheel      Th- 
done  is  situated  on  *  >ma 
ntshuMi  aboot  jo  hor»fpow< 
but 
hor 
the  miU. 

The  power  compuiqr  offered  lo  fM  iW 
mi>ior  in  foe  a  two  mootlM'  tnat  clMfg- 
ing  only  for  (hr  <-  ••f^nt  Mcd  iJiiiB^  tlM 
time:  hut  if  attoa  pro*«d  mc- 

cessful.   •»•-  -«»   to   pay   lor   iIh 

inutur  ai.  ju.  aad  a  mouaMHi  Ml 

ofSj^T-  ■«  rr  per  moath,  tW 

charw      -     .   S        \  «naller  a»o«or 

f  the  tmullaiaoa.  kai 
n  the  pbM  at  imhs  oI 
Ivw  water. 

The  motor  acts  aa  •  gio»wu»  10  iIm 
water  wheel,  which  is  wtchowt  such  a  4»- 

pen'  rh 

|0    '  -T>>f    r    II     K'tf     OW 

cunt  t  carwct 


'  b^kw^fd  II  the  pklwr  b 
■I,  the  meter  imHwdiaidy  tiarta 
tod  the  speed  drops  aboi  »  per 
motor  rw— mg 
as   ipitd  MA 


I 


imx 


ik'*^  irx  inrtrf  rvws 

upon  tlie  iov  ci 
wheel     The  wheel  fMe  la  an  to 
fufl  flow  of  the  ttma 
rnttre  heweM  01  the  bwaA^ 
This  airai^imiM  tea  ha 

m.  .otK     r*w<«iniMVLi>lv,   ^^  and  Bk«Vt 


turned  owl  MHy 


iJumtwg  So 


II  ago. 


la 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  26,  1909. 


The  electric  company  is  satisfied,  as 
the  customer  runs  his.  picker  at  non- 
peak  hours  and  is  helping  them  out  at 
peak-load  hours  to  a  small  extent. 

Joseph  B.  Crane. 

Broadalbin.  N.  Y. 


Hygrometry 


Referring  to  \V.  Vincent  Treeby's  com- 
ments on  Mr.  Hart's  contribution  on 
hygrometry  which  appeared  in  the  issue 
of  January  5,  Mr.  Treeby  says  that  when 
we  state  that  steam  is  saturated  we  intend 
to  convey  the  idea  that  it  is  saturated 
with  heat  units.  The  word  "saturation" 
applied  to  any  physical  material  is  usually 
taken  to  mean  that  it  is  saturated  or  con- 
tains all  of  a  given  substance  that  it  is 
possible  to  hold  without  losing  any.  For 
instance,  in  the  case  of  a  salt  solution, 
brine  is  saturated  when  it  contains  or  dis- 
solves all  of  the  salt  possible  without  pre- 
cipitation. 

I  believe  that  the  word  "saturation" 
when  used  in  connection  with  steam  is 
more  or  less  a  misnomer  and  does  not 
convey  a  true  meaning  in  this  sense.  By 
"saturated  steam"  I  understand  that  the 
steam  is  generated  and  is  held  in  contact 
with  water.  It  certainly  is  not  saturated 
with  heat  because  heat  can  be  added  in- 
definitely, thereby  producing  superheated 
steam,  except  that  it  is  in  another  sense 
saturated  with  heat  units,  or  it  contains 
as  many  heat  units  as  it  will  contain 
while  in  contact  with  the  water. 

Technically,  to  my  mind,  it  is  saturated 
with  water;  that  is,  dry  steam  contains 
all  the  water  it  will  hold  without  pre- 
cipitation if  it  remains  in  a  quiescent 
state. 

C.  W.  C.  Clarke. 

New  York  City. 


Sea    Water  Caused  Foaming 

At  one  plant  where  I  was  employed  we 
dug  a  well  near  a  river  in  which  salt 
water  flowed.  The  soil  was  loose-sand 
gravel  and  the  well  was  dug  12  feet  below 
the  river  level  at  low  water.  We  used 
8x8-inch  timber  cut  so  as  to  form  a 
hexagon  curb  14  feet  across,  each  tier  of 
curb  being  i  inch  smaller  on  each  side 
than  the  one  below,  thus  forming  a  bell- 
shaped  curbing.  The  ends  were  cut  to 
fit,  and  were  spiked  at  the  corners  and 
toe-nailed  at  the  sides.  The  weight  of 
earth  on  the  outside  assisted  in  pushing 
the  curb  down. 

We  dug  out  about  a  foot  below  the  curb 
all  around  and  six  men  standing  on  the 
curb,  each  with  a  piece  of  timber,  gave 
a  few  blows  all  together  on  top  of  the 
curb  to  drive  it  down. 

The  well  worked  all  right  until  a  dry 
spell  came  and  our  supply  of  fresh  water 
for  the  well,  which  (;ame  from  the  hills, 
failed,  and  we  were  soon  pumping  brack- 
ish water  into  our  boilers. 


Dutch  ovens  were  used,  and  when  one 
was  fired  a  little  harder  than  the  other 
that  boiler  would  get  busy  passing  water 
into  the  engine,  and  in  five  minutes  there 
would  be  no  water  in  the  water  glass. 
The  engine,  a  24x30-inch,  was  usually 
flooded  to  a  standstill,  or  nearly  so. 
When  this  happened  we  deadened  the  fire 
as  quickly  as  possible,  and  after  again  get- 
ting the  boiler  filled  to  its  proper  level,  it 
was  put  to  work.  This  kind  of  trouble 
continued  until  the  end  of  the  summer. 
D.  F.  Bedford. 

Brantford,   Can. 


Compound  Feeder 


Referring  to  the  illustration,  it  will  be 
seen   that  this   feeder  operates   with   con- 


BOILER-COMPOUND    FEEDER 

densed  steam.  It  is  made  from  a  piece 
of  3K-inch  pipe,  3  feet  long,  with  the 
ends  capped,  the  caps  being  tapped  for  a 
J^-inch  pipe.  It  can  be  placed  in  any  con- 
venient part  of  the  boiler  room,  preferably 
near  the  feed  pipe  and  always  below  the 
water  line  in  -the  boiler,  the  lower  end 
being  connected  to  the  feed  pipe  between 
the  check  valve  and  the  boiler  with  a 
Yi-mch.  pipe. 

The  condenser  pipe  leading  from  the 
upper  end  to  the  dome  or  steam  space 
should   be    about   6  feet    high    above   the 


water  level  in  the. boiler.  To  fill,  close  the 
valves  A  and  B,  bpen  the  drain  and  air 
cocks  C  and  D,  and,  after  draining,  close 
the  drain  cock  C  and  fill  by  means  of  the 
funnel  through  the  valve  E. 

By  making  the  solution  extra  strong  it 
is  not  necessary  entirely  to  fill  the  body 
of  the  feeder,  as  it  will  finish  filling  with 
clear  water  from  the  feed  pipe  by  slightly 
opening  the  valve  A.  When  full,  close  the 
air  cock  D,  open  the  valve  B,  and  the 
feeder  will  operate,  its  rate  of  feed  being 
regulated  by  the  valve  A. 

George  Russell. 

Spring  City,  Tenn. 


High  Water   Level 

This    question    of   the   proper    hight   of 
water  in  boilers  is  too  often  left  to  the 
fireman,  who   cannot,   in  many  instances,.  . 
tell  how  far  below  the  gage  the  tubes  are 
located. 

A  maker  of  boiler-feed  regulators  ex- 
perimented as  to  the  proper  hight  of 
water  for  economical  steaming  and  found 
that  the  result  of  lowering  the  water  line 
from  three  gages  down  to  one  gage  was 
not  very  marked,  but  when  lowered  to  2- 
inches  above  the  tubes  a  great  difference 
in  economy  was  made.  In  many  locali- 
ties the  law  requires  the  bottom  of  the 
gage  glass  to  be  placed  2J/2  inches  above 
the  flues,  and  the  fusible  plug  about  the 
same.  So  we  have  in  practice  at  least  5. 
inches  of  water  over  the  tubes,  with  the 
probability  that  the  water  will  show  at 
least  6  inches  in  the  glass  and  more  thani 
8  inches  above  the  tubes. 

If  the  tubes  are  carried  high  in  the 
boiler  the  water  line  is  so  high  that  it  is 
well  up  to  where  the  cross  section  is  nar- 
row, and  provides  a  small  disengaging 
surface  for  the  steam,  causing  extra  fric- 
tion and  resistance  for  the  steam  to  rise 
and  separate,  which  is  reflected  back,  and 
means  extra  coal  consumption.  Having 
the  largest  space  for  the  easy  disengaging 
of  the  steam  from  the  water  means  carry- 
ing the  water  line  as  low  as  possible. 

It  is  true  that  piping  will  sometimes 
shake  a  boiler,  but  the  water  line  should 
be  carefully   looked   after   in   such   cases. 

In  one  steam  plant  feed-water  regula- 
tors were  put  in.  The  old  gage  columns 
were  left  in  place  and  the  regulators 
placed  on  the  side  of  the  boilers.  In  these 
regulators  the  feed  .valve  was  held  in  posi- 
tion by  the  float,  so  that  the  valve  was 
always  open,  a  constant  stream  entering 
the  boiler.  The  pressure  in  the  feed  pipe 
operated  a  pressure  regulator  on  the 
pump,  which  was  of  such  design  that  the  J 
only  pressure  on  the  metal  diaphragm  was  J 
the  difference  between  boiler  pressure  and 
that  in  the  feed  pipe.  With  no  more  than 
5  pounds  extra  pressure  in  the  feed  pipe 
the  pump  would  supply  the  boilers  with 
perfect  regulation,  with  the  feed  valve 
well  open. 

The  bottoms  of  the  old  gages  were  4 


January  26,   1909. 

inches  above  the  flues  and  the  engineer 
wanted  the  regulator  set  to  carry  2'- ', 
inches  of  water  in  the  old  glass,  making 
6^  inches  of  water  above  the  tubcv 
Carrying  the  gage  half  full  would  briti^ 
the  water  level  nearly  10  inches  above  the 
tubes. 

After  awhile  the  water  could  not  be 
kept  up  except  by  carrying  about  ya 
pounds  excess  pressure  in  the  feed  pipe. 
As  the  water  came  in  under  the  valve  the 
excess  pressure  tended  to  raise  it  and 
depress  the  float  which  had  to  be  more 
immersed  so  as  to  shut  oflF  the  valve,  and 
this  tended  to  carry  the  water  line  higher 

The  trouble  was  that  the  firemen  were 
afraid  to  see  the  water  so  low  in  the  glass 
and  took  measures  to  fill  the  boiler  up 
fo  that  it  showed  a  half  glass  and  the 
«ngincer  partly  agreed  with  them. 

The  result  was  that  the  water  was  car- 
ried 10  or  12  inches  above  the  tubes,  with 
increased  cost  for  coal  and  increased  mois- 
ture in  the  steam. 

*  W     E.    Crank 

Brf.ndalbin.  N.  Y. 


Air  Compression  Under  Difficulties 

\s  an  example  of  what  may  be  expected 
in  air  compression  when  running  the  com- 
pressor with  restricted  inlet  passages  or 
valve  opening,  the  accompanying  indica- 
tor diagrams,  Figs.  i.  2  and  3,  should 
prove  of  interest  to  engineers  who  have 
compressors   in  their  plants. 

In  Figs.  I  and  2  are  shown  normal  con- 
ditions   in    the    air    end    of    a    t  ■ 
a8  and   17  by  26-inch  tandem  C": 
conncrtrd  to  a  16  and  jo  by  .)6-tncii  v:r<i><. 
comp<nind  Corliss  engine.     The  first  stage 
compresses   to   25   or   26   |x)unds,   and   in 
the  high-pressure  cylinder  the  compression 
ia  completed  to  too  pounds.     Recently  an 
accident   to  the   low-pressure   side  of  the 
engine  put  that  side  out  of  business  for 
twenty-four    hour*      As  it    was   impossible 
to  get  aloriK  witliout  air  for  any  length  of 
time,  and  still  keep  all  parts  of  the  plant 
in    operation,    the    master    mechanic    de- 


na  I 

ciikd  to  run  the  compreator  on  the  'ugh- 
pres^iirr      I.   ,,:  nr     Thi»  was  done  in  the 

fnllowitiL;    in.iiiiirr 

The    low-preiaure   connrvting    rod    wai 
taken  off,  both  steam  and  rxhatut   vslv* 
taken  out  and  the  tmnnels  repl.i.  r.|     1 
the    positive-motion    air  inlri    v.il. 
•everal  of  the  poppet   type   of   •' 
valves  oti   the  first   stage  were   t... 
Thi»     rh.uu''     allowed     free     e\!   . 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

steam  through  the  low  pressure  m*»™ 
fviui'lcr,  an  air  1  ^-d  a»  pot- 

siblc.  through  th'  , .  air  cylin- 

der, and  an  intcrcoolcr  into  the  high-pres- 
sure cylinder. 

When  the  compresior  waa  ataited  again 
it  took  over  an  hour's  running  at  full 
speed  to  get  the  line  pressure  up  to  80 
pounds;  wh.  ->ked 

up"  we  couii.  I  loQ 

pounds  in  10  latnuto.  It  »oon  became 
evident  that  unless  the  demand  for  air 
was  lessened,  the  pressure  could  not  be 
raised  above  80  pounds,  which  was  about 
iS  pounds  too  low  to  operate  some  of 
the  pumps  and  hoists. 

After  speculating  on  the  interesting 
question  of  how  much  air  t;  rsaor 

was  turning  out  in  its  one  .ition. 

we  decided  that  the  trouble  L>  m  the  in- 
take rr.ii«t3nre  to  thr  air,  f\'r  \~  mking  it 
a»  12-5 

Pt"'  ...         ^--        -  inlet 

poppet  valves  designed  for  air  at  as 
pounds. 

The  master  mechanic  then  decided  to 
get  the  required  line  pressure  by  running 
a  I -inch  bleeder  to  the  third  stage  of  the 
four-stage  h:. ' 
*ide.    The  pr 


ria  2 

were  25,    115.  350  and    1000  por 

although    the    second    stage    wo...    

suited  the  purp^ise  better,  the  bleeder  was 

connected  to  the  third  stage  fnr   —  - 

of  despatch  and  convenience    \  •• 
placed  in  the  bleeder  t 
sure  and,   the   other   r' 
to  ' 
prc- 

demand      A  « hen 

the  quantity  r'  iccdL 

the  compressor  was  able  to  hold  105 
pounds  with  the  bleeder  \alve  dosed,  and 
then  wishing  to  tee  exactly  what  wa« 
doing  in  •'  •  ' — '  '  -'  -  ■  air  cyliod*--  ' 
put  on  *  (he  dug- 

shown  in  li^    j^ 

A«  r«p<^n«>H    ihr  •dtni««tn«i  line  pwwr>d 
to  » 
pre 

the 

gr-i 
tra 


'(iji'tr  I' 


H." 

««ii   i,    »    if:e  cjpici:*    «At   rc.it>:eO 

.\no(her  tnteretting  po<pl  ia  ia 
inc  the  coayieaason  cunrcs  — der  tW  dif- 
ferent conditions.  By  plo(Uf«  oat  ike 
isothermal  curte  on  Fic  jl  it  wtlt  be  teen 
that  the  actoal  curve  gets  madi  acarrr  to 
an  adiabatic-cooipressMm  cvr*«  tlMa  on 
Fig    2.    tbns    rai»in«    the    mr^n   rffn-tt** 


B* 


^ 


Vm.  L>m~ 


prcaaarc  and  bcoea  tkc 
per  mil  of  free  tkt. 
While    Fit     .'    rfy»<«w<s    an 


inirt  «alTcs.     For 

xtXrv  springs  to  replace 

ia    quite    porssible    to 

cm*'-  otaon  in:-- 

POUII  01  aumit«K<«l  MglM  CBSIM   br  \cm 

doe  to  a  ilippud  eeoantrK.  loat 

I  of  wkKk  wtMM 
'gree  of  vacwaa  at 
tone  of  adflttSMoo.  an 
eaaary  woHi  upon  the 
A  case  in  point  b  tlwi  of  an 

-> -M    bis    incyw   %mmt    a 

o«i  mio  a  bnsli.  10  get 
'roa  the  rand 
«ard  the 


the 

the 


andthr 


'  '.St  there  sM«ai  M  be 
formaison   am   tk 
I'Fjin.i  >  !»■•  Ti     III     I."      k<->Jh     "*     •'^■^*    '  Pt% 
lonmals.  and  if  more  stte«l>  >«n 

to  this  importani  branch  ot  <  cr   ■  r«.  I 
am   •«re   it  wonid  p*«»«»  moi 


iHfJoded 


r.  t    init^m*     !    f»»! 


ul  an  aif   vb-  '     '  '-^  •*1» 

!•««<(«»      I   ha  tbc^f^   tw» 

'fnpoflsa:  t«^*wn»  ( 

maulad   was  *»  f 

place  M  winch  10  €^*i  tha  aw.  ih«>  ntpa 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  26,  1909. 


is   the   opinion   of   other   readers   on   this 
subject? 

J.  A.  Carruthers. 
Bankhead,  Can. 


Criticism  of  Turbine  Installations 


I  wish  to  make  some  comments  upon 
the  criticisms  by  E.  H.  Lane  in  the  issue 
of  January  5. 

Mr.  Lane  comments  upon  the  small 
size  of  the  condenser,  and  also  upon  what 
he  calls  a  deficiency  in  circulating  w^ater 
capacity  in  the  condensing  equipment.  He 
states  that  the  American  practice  is  to 
allow  not  less  than  60  pounds  of  con- 
densing water  per  pound  of  steam;  and, 
further,  that  the  temperature  of  the  water 
the  year  round  must  be  considered.  His 
figure  of  60  pounds  might  be  all  right  for 
New  York  City  and  vicinity,  but  it  cer- 
tainly would  be  insufficient  in  Florida 
and  excessive  in  Labrador. 

I  wnll  not  attempt  to  answer  Mr.  Lane's 
question  as  to  what  temperature  of  circu- 
lating water  is  necessary  to  maintain  the 
condensed  steam  at  28^  inches  vacuum, 
as  this  would  depend  somewhat  upon  the 
design  of  the  condenser. 

As  regards  the  size  of  the  condenser, 
that  is.  the  square  feet  of  cooling  surface, 
Mr.  Lane  states  that  the  latest  American 
practice  is  to  allow  4  square  feet  of  cool- 
ing surface  per  kilowatt  for  turbine  in- 
stallations. This  was  latest  American 
practice  in  1904.  About  1906  the  engi- 
neers of  the  country,  and  I  suppose  the 
manufacturers  afterward,  awoke  to  the 
fact  that  this  rate  of  surface  was  exces- 
sive, especially  in  the  larger  units,  and 
today  the  standard  American  practice  for 
large  units  in  temperate  latitudes  is  about 
2  sQuare  feet  per  kilowatt  maximum 
rating,  or  practically  half  that  quoted  by 
Mr.   Lane. 

.Another  factor  enters  into  this  particu- 
lar machine  which,  as  I  understand  it, 
has  a  normal  rating  of  only  about  7000 
kilowatts,  the  10,600-kilowatt  rating  being 
a  periodic  maximum. 

From  the  foregoing  it  will  be  seen  that 
the  ratio  of  the  cooling  surface  to  kilo- 
watts at  the  normal  load  is  2.3  to  i,  and 
at  the  m.aximum  capacity  is  1.3  square  feet 
per  kilowatt.  The  condenser  provided  is 
very  close  to  the  .American  practice  today 
for  large  steam  turbines.  There  are  a 
number  of  14,000-kilowatt  turbines  oper- 
ating today  in  this  country,  having  a 
maximum  rating  of  14,000  kilowatts  for 
24  hours,  which  are  equipped  with  con- 
densers containing  25,000  square  feet  of 
cooling  surface,  which  maintains  a 
vacuum  of  28^  inches  under  all  condi- 
tions and  which  gives  a  ratio  of  1.8  square 
feet  per  kilowatt. 

There  are  other  machines  which  have  a 
rating  of  9000  kilowatts  normal,  which 
are  provided  with  the  same  condensers. 
The  steam  consumption  of  these  big  tur- 


bines   is   practically   the    same   as    quoted 
for  the  Buenos  Aires  machine. 

The  reason  for  the  small  surface  in  this 
condenser  not  taking  into  consideration 
the  tem.perature  of  water  may  be  due  to 
efficient  design.  The  ordinary  condenser 
as  manufactured  is  far  from  efficient  in- 
asmuch as  the  steam  does  not  get  the 
best  kind  of  action  on  the  tubes. 

I  have  a  case  in  mind  where  the  con- 
denser surface  was  reduced  about  15  per 
cent.,  which  resulted  in  increase  in  vacuum 
of  over  Yi  inch.  This  condenser  had  a 
ratio  based  on  normal  rating  of  turbine 
before  changes  were  made  of  3.4  square 
feet  per  kilowatt.  After  the  changes  were 
made  the  ratio  was  2.9  square  feet  per 
kilowatt  on  the  normal  rating  basis. 

Where  salt  circulating  water  is  used  it 
is  desirable  from  a  maintenance  stand- 
point to  have  as  few  tubes  in  a  condenser 
as  possible. 

In  reference  to  the  installation  of  elec- 
tric auxiliaries  I  can  but  agree  with  Mr. 
Lane  that  this  is  apparently  a  step  back- 
ward  rather   than   forward. 

C.  W.  C.  Clarke. 

New   York   City. 


Centrifugal  Pumps 

The    recent    discussion    regarding    the 
action  of  centrifugal   pumps   has  brought 


ONE  TYPE  OF  IMPELLER 

out  some  very  interesting  points.  That  it 
takes  less  power  to  run  one  of  these 
pumps  with  the  discharge  valve  partially 
or  wholly  closed  is  logical,  and  any  opera- 
tor of  this  type  can  easily  demonstrate 
the  fact  to  his  own  satisfaction,  although 
the  exact  amount  may  vary  greatly,  de- 
pending on  different  details  of  construc- 
tion, etc. 

In  regard  to  George  P.  Pearce's  criti- 
cism of  Mr.  Kellogg's  article,  I  beg  to  dif- 
fer with  him,  especially  where  he  com- 
pares a  centrifugal  pump  to  the  water 
brake  used  by  the  Westinghouse  Machine 
Company,  as  described  on  page  1025  of 
the  June  30,  1908,  issue.  While  the  cen- 
trifugal pump  is  built  on  easy  curves,  to 
reduce  friction  loss  to  a  minimum,  the 
water  brake  is  constructed  to  give  the 
greatest  possible  resistance,  resulting  in 
the  power  being  quickly  transformed  into 
heat.  The  appearance  of  the  steel  im- 
peller and  casing,  after  a  few  hundred 
hours'  use,  gives  an  idea  of  the  violent  im- 
pact between  the  moving  parts,  while  the 
cast-iron   impeller  in   a  centrifugal  pump 


will  run  month  after  month  at  1000  revo- 
lutions or  more  per  minute  and  not  show 
any  particular  wear  or  sign  of  excessive 
friction. 

The  construction  of  impellers  differs- 
with  dift'erent  manufacturers,  but  in  con- 
sidering the  type  shown  in  the  accom- 
panying illustration  the  water,  as  it  enters 
the  center  of  the  impeller,  flows  through 
easy  bends  to  the  periphery  and  here, 
where  the  velocity  and  friction  are  great- 
est, a  smooth,  narrow  disk  is  found,  which 
offers  a  minimum  of  resistance  to  the 
surrounding  water.  With  the  discharge 
closed  there  is  no  water  flowing  from  the 
suction  to  the  impeller  and  consequently 
no  discharge  at  the  periphery,  and  the 
body  of  water  inside  the  impeller  is  mo- 
tionless relative  to  the  impeller,  due  tO' 
the  pressure  in  the  casing.  The  only 
power  required  would  be  that  necessary 
to  overcome  the  friction  of  this  smooth 
water-filled  impeller  rubbing  against  the 
surrounding  water,  plus  the  friction  in 
the  bearings,  etc.  Altogether  this  fric- 
tion cannot  amount  to  a  great  deal  and 
the  fact  that  a  turbine  pump  of  this  type 
will  run  in  this  condition  for  several  min- 
utes before  there  is  any  appreciable  in- 
crease in  the  temperature  of  the  water 
in  the  casing  would  tend  to  prove  that 
such  is  the  case. 

R.  Cederblom. 

Gary,  Ind. 


Dashpot  Does  Not  Seat 


Why.  will  not  the  head-end  dashpot 
seat  when  the  load  is  below  300  amperes^ 
and  the  hooks  push  it  down? 

The  engine  is  a  30x48-inch  Corliss, 
with  seven-eighths  cutoff  and  double 
eccentrics.  The  valves  open  away  from 
the  center  of  the  cylinder  and  have  equal 
travel ;  the  same  is  true  of  the  wrist- 
plates. 

By  using  the  starting  bar  and  working 
the  wristplate,  the  hook  engages  the  catch 
block  with  a  little  clearance  and  the  dash- 
pot  seats  nicely.  Why  should  it  act  so? 
Elsworth  Davis. 

Zanesville,  O. 


Pumping  Hot  Water 


In  regard  to  C.  R.  McGahey's  article 
under  the  above  title,  in  the  December  15 
issue,  I  cannot  see  why  it  should  be  any 
more  difficult  to  pump  hot  water  than 
cold,  if  machinery  designed  for  the  work 
is  supplied. 

I  have  worked  in  three  different  plants, 
all  over  2000  horsepower  capacity,  each 
equipped  with  open-type  heaters,  and  this 
part  of  the  plant  was  one  of  the  least  of 
our  troubles. 

If  a  plant  is  equipped  with  an  outside- 
packed  plunger  pump,  with  either  brass 
or  good  hard-rubber  valves,  large  enough 


January  26,   1909. 

to  handle  the  necessary  volume  of  water, 
no  trouble  will  be  experienced  beyond  the 
ordinary  amount  of  repair  work.  In  two 
of  the  plants  the  pressure  on  the  feed 
line  was  maintained  by  a  pump  governor, 
and  the  water  level  m  the  boilers  was 
controlled  by  automatic  feed-water  regu- 
lators. 

A  pump  should  be  provided  with  pet 
cocks  on  top  of  each  water  cylinder,  in 
order  to  release  air  in  case  of  failure  of 
the  water  supply  to  the  pump. 

I  have  pumped  water  at  210  degrees 
and,  in  case  of  losing  the  water  in  the 
heater,  have  used  a  cold-water  line  to  sup- 
ply the  pump  until  normal  conditions  were 
regained.  The  only  perceptible  chan^i- 
shown  by  the  pump  was  the  leakage  at 
the  glands,  which  gradually  ceased  as  soon 
as  the  pump  began  to  warm  up  with  the 
return  of  hot  water. 

Occasionally  in  changing  from  cold  to 
hot  water  it  became  necessary  to  open  the 
pet  cocks  to  relieve  the  water  cylinder  of 
steam  or  air,  but  we  were  not  compelled 
to  stop  the  pump,  as  this  was  only  momen- 
tar>-,  usually  lasting  over  three  or  four 
kes.  In  such  a  system  the  extra  air 
iibcr  would  be  superfluous,  and  I  disa- 
gree with  Mr.  McGahey  about  using  a 
valve  to  choke  the  pump  discharge,  as  this 
would  compel  the  check  valve  at  the 
boiler  continually  to  open  and  close,  due 
to  insufficient  pressure  to  hold  it  open, 
thus  causing  undue  wear  and  a  certain 
■mount  of  hammering  at  this  p<jint.  It 
would  he  better  to  throttle  the  pump  dis- 
charge at  the  valve  l)etwcen  the  check 
and  the  boiler.  I  cannot  understand  why 
thi>  could  not  be  done  with  one  boiler, 
the  same  as  with  two  boilers  connected  to 
•  1  •    feed  line. 

CHARt.ZS    A.    CaVTSUl 

A  mdbrr,  Penn 


Caus«  of  Trouble  with  Oil 
in  Bearings 

I  Ihc  December  8  issue  was  published 
a  'ketch  «'f  lM>arinKs  and  sh.tft  Mip|M>riing 
a  pullcv,  in  which  the  writer  <lrs<rit>es  a 
nirtho«l  employed  in  overcoming  .m  .mI 
tT'MiMe.  I»ut  there  was  no  explanation 
-ed  as  to  the  reason  why  the  oil  in 
outside  chambers,  in  which  oil  ring* 
were  hung,  were  drained  of  their  con- 
Uflts  in  the  manner  described. 

Perhaps  it  is  not  generally  known  that 
In  tuntinK  journals  it  is  not  ^<>  imi.  h  the 
actual  ciitiiMK  of  the  mel.ll  .ii  k'einng  a 
n  cliip.  and  an  experirnied  l.ith«  hand 
.vs  how  to  trim  hi*  t«->lj  in  .  r,!rr  fo 
■in  a  proper  finish,  thus  il< 
'  would  he  observed  under  • 
•ical  examnutif>n  a  complete  •ene«  <>f 
•Is  running  the  entire  length  of  the 
It  or  journal  I  believe  that  on  the 
'Hals  in  question  there  w  ^*  of 

tU,  and  they  naturally   •■  the 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

oil  as  soon  as  the  shaft  had  bedded  itsdf 

in  the  bearings. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  oic.  and  no 
doubt  to  other  readers,  if  the  corre- 
spondent would  fill  hofl;  .,  ..^^,1,  ,jp  1^ 
the  centers,  not  fr.  },^ 

plug   the   holes   u;  ,,' 

each  of  the  chambers,  and  let  as  know 
result  of  the  experiment. 

HOBATIO  W.    HlTTOJ* 

Glasgow,  Scotland 


Pressure    Required    to  Lift  a 
Check  Valve 

1    read    with    much    inter.  -    p 

Pearce's  short  article  on  "k.  imp 

Pressure,"  found  on  page  ^70  of  the  De- 
cember 8  number,  and  beg  to  present  the 
following  solution  to  his  problem,  to- 
gether with  a  short  discussion  of  the  drop 
in  pressure  on  the  front  or  delivery  side 
of  check  valves . 

The  forces  holding  the  valve  to  its  scat 
are  the  pressure  per  square  inch  into  the 


coMCAL  (m  rvrrmt  oovblk-seatvo  »al- 

ANaMC  VALVK 

area  of  the  valve  plus  the  weight  of  the 
valse,  or  in  this  case: 

100  X  1963  +  5  =  196B 
(Mjunds  The  force  lifting  the  valve  is 
the  pressure  per  vjuarc  inch  beneath  it 
into  the  area  upon  which  that  pressure 
acts.  The  area  of  seven  i-inch  holes  i» 
5.5  square  inches:  then 

ig6B  =  5-5  X  trfumre 
and 

iq68 
prttrmn  ^  — *^—  •  15* 

pounds. 
This, 

rovrr   ni 


which    requires    a    prrfrctiy    tigfat-cr^MtMl 
point. 

It  is  very  evident  in  this  cue  that  if 
there  were  a  gage  placed  on  both  th* 
receiving  and  delivery  sidct  of  the  chcdi 
valve.  If  '  '  '  '     ft  in  pre*'  — 

after   th-  m8  I**' 

on  • 
nf  • 


rtui 

for 

It 
frr 

pat- 


i  tiiOT 


of  the  t 


agr  ehawibcr  Itmy  the  puwp  estimki)  oa 


^lUriM. 
thcdwdkargc  pipe. 


<iu«  tu  AmtA  inctmm 
»hik  the  ■rtiHinina 
until  the  two  were  «qwaluc4.  and  ihca 

••,r.    «,.,.!.l   »-.,^    r.^ *.f.    raHM  fh« 

e  le  the 

nj   i>      ri«-*u    r.t     nuid    cm    XT\r     >  UV«, 

the  valve  would  doac  doc  to  the 

'iitd  to  horn  bade  aMo  the 


■rusibic  hcfc  is  that  the  ratso  cA  th« 

^^'^^     >  (be  idwinion  or  deltv«ry  side  ol 

-.J.^r   to  the  tm  of  the  dwdsafge 

r  rr.ri>rr  ssde  ia  loo  tmmJX 

George  H  Andersoo  is  oorrcei  a  th* 
statcoMtN  tbs'  f^'  •■■•*i  "">4«re  P  oo  tha 
discharge  or  ^ach  ssde)  of 

a  check  valve  n  n^tui  10  inc  area  of  tha 
passage  plus  the  area  of  the  saai  aMk*- 
plicd  by  the  prcaaarc  per  ooil  area,  whit 
the  tola]  presaare  /*•  oo  the  adaMMieo  or 
recmrer  side  (ffoiM  aide)  is  a^oal  la  tht 
area  of  the  passage  OMkipliad  by  iha 
pressure  per  unit  area.  This,  of  eaorta. 
assumes  a  balanced  vahre;  the  weight  of 
the  valve  woold  increase  the 


rij  II.  iTj«i  -nr  profccted  afta  of 
'41  a  plane  paralM  to  the  plaoe 
-<    the   area   of    the   aaasage    is 


K  the 

ing  <if  the  passage  i*  the  area 

of  I  whose  diaoMier  is  d^  whdt 

the  --i  he  scot  is  eqoal  the  araa  of 

the  annular  ring,  whose  ootside  diaaeear 
IS  d  and  w*»-»»'  •'■>■•.•'  ^•••~»«»»  •*  ^ 

WHh  f«    Mid 

ports  having  pro^r  raiioi  ot  teat  area  to 

passaae  area,  there  naghi  mm  to  be  varsa- 

pnasurrs  which   osald  be  pre- 

n  tbc  ordosary  gaga 

In  tluft  cosmectioo  it  wooM  be 

ing  tr.  hear  from  soaoeooe  who  I 

hlc  tisM  io  the  d(a%B  ao 

\alee«  ti»«^  fnc   torh  a  daw  of 


TU-       .1. 


dnobli  lest 


or 

ri    mij    he   io 

ire  on  the  froot  side  OMiy  be 
•hat  on  the  bach  at  the  ■■  mat 

* 

isMaci  with  a  rerrss  in  the  «aH« 
a*  thrfwn  at  so     TV  toid  is  M  hMo  iMa 

fCCe«*  t^f  ^-r^  '*^'  t"  »♦»  ^' 

I.  ^ 


roual     tS?     tN'     p»»-«»nf»      p** 


202 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  26,  1909. 


ing  the  weight  of  the  valve),  when  the 
valve  is  proportioned  as  expressed  by  the 
following  equation : 

d=   =  d>'  +   da'-  —  d^= 

F.  C.   Helms. 
Schenectady.  X.  Y. 


Practical    Hygrometers 


The  practical  hygrometer  described  by 
J.  J.  O'Brien  in  the  issue  of  December  29, 
will,  as  he  says,  "be  accurate  enough  for 
all  practical  purposes;"  but  it  will  tell 
very  little  to  the  observer  except  that  the 
air  is  more  or  less  moist  at  one  time  than 
another.  To  obtain  the  percentage  of  hu- 
midity in  the  air  by  means  of  the  instru- 
ment described,  a  set  of  tables  is  needed. 

Such  tables  may  be  obtained  by  writing 
to  the  United  States  Department  of  Agri- 
culture, Weather  Bureau,  Washington, 
D.  <'..,  inclosing  ten  cents  (the  cost  of  the 
^-■jles)  and  asking  for  "Psychrometric 
Tables  W.  B.  235."  These  tables  give  con- 
siderable very  useful  information,  includ- 
ing the  methods  of  obtaining  the  formulas, 
and  the  use  of  various  kinds  of  hygrome- 
ter. The  hygrometer  should  be  hung  in  a 
moving  current  of  air. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  need  of  tables 
when  using  the  apparatus  in  question, 
showing  that  the  difference  in  temperature 
between  the  thermometers  is  not  the  only 
factor  to  be  taken  into  consideration,  if 
the  barometer  stands  at  30  inches,  the 
temperature  of  the  air  is  32  degrees 
Fahrenheit,  and  the  difference  between 
the  wet  and  dry  thermometers  is  10  de- 
grees Fahrenheit,  then  the  relative  hu- 
midity of  the  air  is  2  per  cent. 

With  the  air  temperature  at  80  degrees 
Fahrenheit  and  a  difference  of  10  degrees 
Fahrenheit  between  the  thermometers,  the 
relative  humidity  is  61  per  cent.,  a  very 
different  figure.  The  tables  also  give 
vapor  pressure,  and  temperature  of  the 
■dewpoint. 

J.    G.   OULD. 

Brooklyn,   X.   "S'. 


Indicating  Engines 


Having  two  weeks  off  recently,  I  de- 
cided to  try  engine  indicating.  I  first 
called  at  a  lumber  mill  where  there  was 
a  Corliss  engine  rated  at  100  horsepower. 
The  superintendent  did  not  think  it  worth 
while  to  bother,  but  when  I  told  him 
that  I  would  charge  him  nothing  if 
the  valves  were  found  to  be  properly  set, 
he  agreed.  Fig.  i  shows  the  manner  in 
which  the  valves  were  operating. 

I  next  called  at  a  factory  where  a 
high-speed  automatic  engine  was  in  use. 
The  engine  seemed  to  be  running  nicely, 
with  the  exception  of  a  knock  in  the 
steam  chest  whenever  the  load  changed 
very  much.  Both  the  superintendent  and 
•engineer  were  anxious  to  have  the  en- 
gine  indicated;    Fig.    2   shows   the    steam 


distribution.  As  will  be  seen,  one  end  of 
the  cylinder  is  developing  all  the  power, 
and  the  other  end  is  doing  negative  work. 
At  CA  is  the  expansion  line  and  CBA 
are  exhaust  and  compression  lines. 

The  valve  did  not  open  to  admit  steam 
to  this  end  of  the  cylinder.  The  exhaust 
valve  opened  at  A,  however,  and  exhaust 
steam  entered.  When  the  exhaust  valve 
closed   at   B   the   steam  was   compressed. 


The  expansion  line  CA  would  lie  directly 
on  the  exhaust  and  compression  line  were 
it  not  for  the  cylinder  condensation  but, 
owing  to  the  little  steam  that  does  get 
in  being  condensed,  a  partial  vacuum  is 
formed  in  this  end  of  the  cylinder,  so 
that  the  expansion  line  falls  below  the  at- 
mospheric  line. 


This  engine  had  been  running  so  long 
this  way  that  a  shoulder  was  worn  on 
the  valve  seat,  and  the  valve  could  not  be 
properly  set  until  the  seat  was  planed  off. 
This  explained  the  knock  in  the  steam 
chest  when  the  load  changed. 

I  called  on  another  engineer  and  was 
treated  to  a  discourse  on  the  slide-valve 


FIG.    3 

engine  and  power-plant  operation  in  gen- 
eral. He  wound  up  by  saying  that  he  had 
been  "running  engines  for  40  years"  and 
had  had  charge  of  that  particular  engine 
for   12  years. 

The  president  of  the  company  employed 
me  to  indicate  the  engine.  Fig.  3  shows 
what  I  found.  The  pencil  was  held  on  the 
drum  for  three  revolutions  when  the  dia- 
gram at  the  left  was  taken.     There  was 


about  %  inch  lost  motion  in  the  valve 
gear;  thus,  the  points  of  steam  distribution 
were  not  constant  but  varied  for  different 
strokes.  The  point  of  cutoff  was  varied 
so  that  one  end  of  the  cylinder  would  be 
carrying  most  of  the  load  during  one 
revolution ;  then,  again,  the  other  would 
carry  the  most.  This  card  also  shows 
how  the  compression  and  admission 
varied. 

Out  of  twelve  engines  I  found  only  one 
running  with  proper  steam  distribution. 
Ray  L.  Rayburn. 

Decatur,  111. 


Central  Valve  Engines 


In  a  recent  issue,  J.  J.  Stafford  con- 
tributes a  description  of  "central-valve 
engines,"  which  title,  by  the  way,  is  a  mis- 
nomer, as  far  as  the  term  is  understood  in 
England,  as  the  engine  fitted  with  the 
valve  gear  which  he  describes  is  one  of 
numerous  types  of  high-speed,  inclosed, 
double-acting  engine.  The  term  "central- 
valve  engine"  applies  to  a  special  and  alto- 
gether different  class  of  single-acting  en- 
gine, in  which  type  the  piston  rods  are 
hollow  and  fitted  with  steam. ports,  the 
valves  sliding  up  and  down  inside  the  pis- 
ton rods,  actuated  by  an  eccentric  in  the 
center  of  the  crank  pin ;  there  being  two 
connecting  rods,  one  on  each  end  of  the 
crank  pin,  which  are  worked  from  a  long 
crosshead;  or,  in  some  sizes,  from  two 
short  gudgeon  pins,  the  whole  arrange- 
ment forming  a  very  interesting  and  eco- 
nomical combination. 

It  is  not,  however,  my  main  object  to 
point  out  the  misleading  definition,  but  to 
show  that,  even  if  Mr.  Stafford  is  run- 
ning several  sets  of  high-speed  engines, 
he  is  evidently  not  conversant  with  the 
most  elementary  principles  of  valve  set- 
ting, as  covering  the  simplest  slide-valve 
engines. 

His  sketch  shows  that  the  two  pistons 
are  at  the  ends  of  their  respective  strokes, 
though  how  they  have  got  there  is  a  more 
difficult  matter  to  arrive  at,  seeing  that 
the  lower  high-pressure  and  the  upper 
low-pressure  ports  are  wide  open  for  the 
admission  of  steam.  He  says :  "In  the 
position  shown  the  high-pressure  piston 
is  at  the  bottom  of  the  stroke,  and  the 
valve  has  just  opened  to  admit  steam  to 
that  end  of  the  cylinder."  I  agree  that 
"the  valve  has  just  opened  to  admit 
steam,"  with  a  vengeance.  It  cannot  open 
any  farther,  because  the  piston  valve  is 
almost  in  its  lowest  position,  and  any 
farther  movement  of  the  eccentric  will  be 
toward  cutting  off  the  steam,  before  the 
piston  gets  far  on  its  way,  and  the  steam 
in  the  lower  end  of  the  high-pressure 
cylinder  will  be  on  its  way  to  the  ex- 
haust, or  receiver,  before  the  up-stroke  is 
anywhere  near  completion. 

It  is  quite  sufficient  to  deal  with  the 
high-pressure  side  alone,  in  considering 
the  relative  positions  of  the  high-pressure 


January  26,   1909. 

crank  and   the  eccentric   (the  position  01 

the  latter  being  assumed   from   the   posi 

tion  of  the  valve  as  shown).     The  crank 

is  on  the  bottom  center,  and  the  valve  is  at 

the  bottom  of  its  travel ;  therefore,  if  we 

imagine  a  line  drawn  through  the  center 

of  the  connecting  rod  and  crank  pin.  that 

vould  be  coincident  with  the  center 

I  the  eccentric  in  its  lower  position 

iliar  combination,  to  say  the  Ic 

.  scarcely  workable  one. 

Ill   the  ordinary  slide-valve  engine,  ad- 

n-.it'ing   steam    to   the   cylinder    from   the 

r"  edges  of  the  valve,  the  eccentric 

at  90  degrees,  plus  the  angle  of  ad- 

.  in  advance  of  the  crank,  but  in  the 

of    \alvc    under    discussion,    which 

•  ■<  high-pressure  steam  on  the  innrr 

of  the  valve  faces,  the  position  of 
centric  is  behind  that  01  the  hijjh- 
irc  crank,  or.  say.  180  dcurces  from 
sition  required  in  an  ordinary  slide- 
engine  to  run  in  the  same  direction. 
.  this  it  will  be  seen,  on  examining 
Stafford's   sketch,  that   the  top  edge 

•  ring  D.  shown  in  his  Fig.  2.  should 
-t  below  the  top  edge  of  the  bottom 

virc  port,  thus  giving  an  ammmt 
<  equal  only  to  the  desired  lead 
.ii  particular  size  of  cn«iiu-.  instead 
ing  full  port  opening  in  such  a  posi- 
f  the  piston  as  shown  in  the  sketch 
cd  to. 
conclusion,   I   would  point  out   that 

•  lative  positions  of  the  low-pressure 
and  the  eccentric  (common  to  both 

^)   are  the  same  as  in  the  ordinary 

.alvr   engine,    and    as    Nfr     Stafford 

.  the  steam  p.i  ^h 

ic  valve  and  o\  ;cr 

01  the  valve  faces,  or  nngs.  A  and 

his  sketch. 

J.  Babnett. 
iichester,  England. 


Mr 


Introd 


ucing 


Steam 
Coils 


into  Heating 


I  have  charge  of  a  heating  and  venti- 

""v  plant.     In  the  fan  discharge  there 

>riginally  6400   feet   of    i-inch   pipe, 

Ahich   the    exli  .  '    .1 

engine  exhaii  -; 

'  -ng  one   riul   >  t    '.).'     .^ili. 

K'    the    maxinuiiii    •in.uitity 

r    the  enil  of  the  coils  f.irthest   from 

ilet   remained  quite   cool,   while   the 

lext   to  the  inlet   had  a  temperature 

■>  degrees  Fahrenheit. 

Iiappened    that    on    the    side   of    the 

in     chamber     where     the     cold     air 

'  d.  there  was  one  room  in  particular 


ruoiii     ■•*■  ■*  - 

in  the  ro<<ni 

*,  inur  large   wiikIows  an<l 

.     ^tass    doors,     wlnle    aUmf 

tiird  of  the  partition  wall  W4«  kIi^ 
-    "Tiants   of   this   room    rotnplaincJ 
tim^s   about    it    l>eif«g    cooler 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGI.* 

than    the    other    rooms,    which    wire    all 
heated    from    the    same   nlmmi-         .,    ^. 

The  coils  were  put  toi. 
and-left   couplings,  9  fcti    . 
closed  in  a  casing  of  No.  j< 
with  folded  sc. 
take  the  two  c 


*  ihM   ticMi  at   A 

•-*  be  adiwtt.-' 
botli  Ctrl 

n-      cnamoer  oot.atn«d. 


«>J 


rrjuj 


»    the 


Cominulalar  Troubles 


a 


&.««jn  K-^U 


-i 


iht    nvwhifw    l»     >f  «'•■!   •!*■ 


will   tnrr- 

sr  »ad 
tchtti€%. 
also     di: '  ■•€ 

xjMWtimcs   caosrd    hj    a    r««ii 


M  br    diaated    lor    rmt 

whKii   will   bold   tb«  bnssh    ^ 


•n« 


'1 


mnvrm    e^u**     >('    *earkiri<    ;i 


afiar* 


al  Ur 


OuifSfT.    Ml«« 


}^l.. 


^^ii 


width  of  three 
H-inch  hole  w 

,>..^.    ....I   1   I  < 

in  the  I 

.f    Ihr      1.. 


MOW    TUB   JOIKT    WAS    MAOV 

f  f^ 


cast-iron  h*' 
!  in  three  oi  ibc 


wetr 
Harder 

■\€t      \r 


riraa' 


t4  iW  c 
Ike  rk«- 


orrar   vtkrrv 
«  atv  toiler 


^_     l««i«>V^*    aSvk    Ar« 


m«d  up  on  the  U-boH.  ■  ioo*  l«^»  ••• 


rr   nac 


204 

and  give  the  commutator  a  good  sand- 
papering in  order  to  remove  any  rough- 
ness, and  fit  the  brushes  to  the  commu- 
tator by  drawing  a  piece  of  sandpaper 
back  and  forward  under  the  face  of  each 
brush.  Start  up  the  machine  and  wipe  a 
little  dynamo  oil  on  the  commutator;  if 
possible,  run  the  machine  without  load 
for  a  few  hours,  wiping  a  little  oil  on  the 
commutator  occasionally  in  order  to  get 
a  gloss. 

H.  Jahnke. 
Milwaukee,  Wis. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

but  probably   the    real    trouble   is   in   the 
commutator. 

I  have  found  most  of  such  trouble  to 
be  caused  by  high  or  flat  bars.  If  the 
commutator  is  badly  burned  on  one  bar, 
it  indicates  an  open  coil. 

H.  E.  Haslem. 

Paterson,  N.  J. 


I  believe  the  trouble  is  due  either  to 
overload,  which  causes  the  machine  to 
heat  up,  or  to  a  dirty  commutator  and 
brushes.  Carbon  brushes  produce  a  coat- 
ing on  the  commutator  which  insulates 
and  blackens  it  'in  spots.  This  film  is 
liable  to  mix  with  the  carbon  dust,  coat- 
ing the  brushes  with  a  nonconducting, 
sticky  substance. 

Vibration  is  another  cause  of  sparking, 
and  a  poor  foundation  will  cause  the 
vibration.  Belt  slipping  will  also  cause 
sparking,  as  will  weak  fields  or  a  ground, 
and  high  or  low  bars  will  also  cause  this 
trouble. 

Francis  J.  Doyle. 
Benson.  Minn. 


A  Chronograph 

.  All  specifications  for  steam  engines 
which  are  to  be  used  as  prime  movers  for 
electric  generators  contain  a  paragraph 
stating  the  allowable  variation  in  angular 
velocity  of  the  revolving  parts.    This  may 


January  26,  1909. 

is  connected  to  a  clock  and  governor  by 
gears,  as  is  also  the  feed  screw,  on  which 
is  mounted  a  tuning  fork  vibrating  100 
times  per  second.  The  ratio  of  the  gears 
and  the  feed  screw  is  such  that  the  car- 
riage moves  about  half  an  inch  for  each 
revolution  of  the  drum.  Near  the  end 
of  the  tuning  fork  is  mounted  a  small 
magnet  which  keeps  the  fork  in  vibration. 
A  general  idea  of  the  arrangement  of  the 
chronograph  may  be  obtained  from  Figs. 
I  and  2. 

When  any  engine  is  to  be  tested  six 
or  eight  small  holes  are  drilled  and  tapped 
at  equal  distances  on  the  edge  of  the  rim 
of  the   flywheel,  into  which  are  screwed 


The  trouble  with  Mr.  Baker's  commu- 
tator is  that  it  is  not  even.  I  advise  him 
to  turn  it  off  and  then  sandpaper  it.    The 


FIG.    I 


FIG.    2 

Steel  pins  about  3  inches  long.  The  chron- 
ograph is  connected  as  shown  in  Fig.  3. 
A  piece  of  blueprint  paper  is  placed  on 
the  drum  and  the  pointer  at  the  end  of 
the  fork  draws  a  continuous  record,  as 
shown  in  Fig.  4.  A  brass  nozzle  is  so 
placed  that  a  jet  of  salt  water  issuing 
from  it  will  strike  each  pin  in  turn,  clos- 
ing the  condenser  circuit,  as  shown  in  Fig. 
3,  and  in  discharging  through  the  drum 
make  a  spot  on  the  record.  After  the 
record  has  been  taken  it  is  a  very  easy 
matter  to  determine  the  variation  in  the 
velocity  of  the  flywheel  by  comparing  the 
space  in  time  between  the  spots  on  the 
record. 

W.    L.    DURAND. 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 


FIG.     3.     DETAIL    OF    CONNECTIONS 


brushes  should  be  adjusted  to  the  load, 
v/hich  will  often  stop  the  sparking.  A  lit- 
tle sandpapering  of  the  commutator  while 
running  will,  as  a  rule,  keep  it  in  good 
condition.  I  also  find  that  a  little  vaseline 
used  on  a  commutator  keeps  it  in  a 
smooth,  glassy  condition. 

Why  not  try  a  set  of  graphite  brushes 
in  place  of  the  carbon  brushes?  I  find 
they  give  good  results. 

Maurice  W.  Campbell. 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 


Condcuser  Discharge^ 


I  believe  Mr.  Baker's  trouble  is  due  to 
various  causes,  such  as  improper  setting 
of  brushes,  uneven  tension,  poor  connec- 
tion between  the  brush  holder  and  leads. 


time  -.-06-Secoiids- 
FIG.    4 

or  may  not  be  lived  up  to  by  the  builder, 
and  can  only  be  determined  by  actual  test. 
The  following  is  the  description  of  a 
chronograph  which  has  been  used  for  this 
purpose  with  excellent  results. 

This  instrument  consists  of  a  hollow 
drum  made  of  an  alloy  of  75  per  cent, 
aluminum  and  25  per  cent,  zinc  fastened 
to  a  spider  and  suitably  mounted  on  a 
bedplate  of  the  same  material.    The  drum 


Rope  Drive  for  Governors 

In  an  article  in  the  December  8  issue, 
by  Cornelius  T.  Myers,  is  shown  a  ropef 
drive  for  governors.  It  seems  to  me  that 
its  only  advantage  is  the  reduced  liability 
of  the  drive  breaking.  If  the  belt  shown 
in  Fig.  I  slips,  it  must  be  due  to  looseness 
of  the  belt  or  to  "freezing"  of  the  gov- 
ernor. 

If  the  safety  stop  is  adjusted  so  as  to 
operate  before  the  idler  reaches  the  lower 
part  of  the  belt,  provided  the  upper  part  is 
the. slack  side,  there  can  be  no  danger  of 
slipping.  If  the  governor  "freezes,"  then  , 
the  rope  will  either  slip  or  break  some- 1 
thing.  i 

It  looks  to  me  as  if  ball  'br  roller  bear- 1 


January  26,   1909. 

ings  would  serve  a  useful  purpose  in  gov- 
ernor design  to  eliminate  friction. 

R.  McLaxzs 
Berlin,  Can. 


Mr.  Sheehan's  Motor  Trouble 


I  have  read  with  a  great  deal  of  inter- 
est  the   description   by   Thomas   Sheehan, 
«-in   fi,ige   loii   of  the   December   15   issue, 
[>eculiar  case  of  trouble  which  hap- 
1    with    two    compound-wound    250- 
att  General  Electric  dynamos,  one  of 
I    was   driven    as    a   generator   by   a 
r  wheel,  while  the  other  was  operat- 
s   a   motor   in    a   mill    about   half   a 
iway.    The  statement  that  the  meters 
were  reversed  gives  a  clue  to  work  from 
riu'it  away.     This  shows  that  the  polarity 

•  generator  had  been  reversed  by  the 
-nt,  which  could  have  been  accom- 
d  in  any  one  of  three  ways:  By  re- 
ig  the  direction  of  rotation  and  the 
ctions  of  the  shunt-  and  series-field 
ngs,  by  shifting  the  brushes  back  the 
ce  of  the  pole  pitch  and  keeping  the 
ion  of  rotation  the  same,  or  by  re- 
ig  the  polarity  of  the  field  magnet 
ut  changing  the  direction  of  rota- 
or  the  connections  of  shunt-  and 
-field  windings. 

•  first  two  methods  resemble  ,each 
in  that  the  magnetic  flux  traverses 

J  tic   circuit   in   the   same   direc- 
h  cases;  that  is  the  polarity  of 

•  lu  remains  unchanged.  It  is  evi- 
rhat  the  polarity  of  the  machine  in 
resent    case    was    not     reversed     by 

of   the    first    two    methods,    which 

only  the  hypothesis  that  it  was  re- 

I   by   reversing   the  polarity  of   the 

iiannct,  which  was  doubtless  accom- 

il  in  the  following  manner: 

•  coniiTtifin*    of    the    machines    arc 

in    Fig.    I,   both 

r  field    windings 

hein^'   M-  that   is,   so 

'liat    the  _   opposed   the 

tizing  effect  of  the  shunt  winding. 

has  the  effect  of  weakening  the  field 

th  as  the  load  current  increases. 

'-n   the   beater   was   thrown   on   and 

the  speed  of  the  motor  down  to  a 

V  current  to 

■id  fhi^  --ar- 


■  the  large  current  m  the  armature*. 

•-d    the    tield    strength   of   both    ma 

-  to  a  very  low  value.    The  line  cur 

■in   rotr  to  such  a  value  that  the  ^eri^t 

leld  wui'Img  of  the  generator  cofujilrtcl. 


.at  due 

Thr  rhr     »  i'<,  in  the  »'r 
»f  the  ni.i  l:itirs   were  e% 
o   that    the    Oumt  field    exrilati-n    of    th-- 
rcnentor  wa*  contiderably  »truiiurr  than 
htt  of  the  motor,  and  atiumtng  that  th« 


POWER  AND  THE  E.NGINttR. 

series  neld  excitation  of  the  two  nta^'hinft 
was  equal  for  any  given  currait.  the  ratio 
of  the  strength  of  the  shunt  windti^  to 
that  of  the  series  winding  was  greater  in 
the  generator  than  in  the  motor.     This 

being  true,  when  the  lir-    •  had  in- 

creased  sufficiently  to  n^  e  shom 

win<!  rvd- 

ing  -d- 

ized  aiui  the  !i.Agnet 

was  reversed  'ppotitc 

direction  by   the   >encs 

The  motor  armature  .■.  '-volviag 

with  considerable  inertia  and  built  up  a 
generator   electromotive   force    with    the 


polarity  at  its  terminals  reversed,  but 
with  the  current  flowing  through  the  cir- 
cuit in  the  same  direction  as  before.  This 
is  all  that  was  needed  to  overcome  the 
residual  magnetism  of  the  generator  and 
reverse  the  polarity  of  its  field  magnet 
and,  consequently,  that  of  the  machine 
terminals. 
As  soon  as  the  motor  be^an  to  act  at 


by  the  water  wheel,  built  up  io  it<^cmal 
voltage  of  reversed  polarity,  which  left 
the  motor  armature  short-circuited  serosa 
the  generator  terminals  as  indicate)  in 
Fig.  a. 

It   is   evident   that  the   current   m   ii>^ 
line  and  series-field  winding  of  the  motor 
rose    to    a    Urge     .    ' 
while  the  r«irr<^t  f 
up  very  ^' 
at   all.   if 

with    at  >•    It    « 

evident    t!  '  >r   was 

reversed  by  the  current  in  the  series 
winding  and   was   also   weak,   while   1^' 


t     ii:  b«..'»>- 


rJr 


na   J 


dent  itet   Um  Md   wi 
rhsngid  to  a  ttraiglM 
tioa  inrtcad  of  tlM  diflcrcnttal 
or  the  SMK  ironMc  wtU  —     - 

Scncnceia^,  N.  Y. 


In  regard  to  Mr.  Sh whin's 
hte,  I  would  My  that  according  10  iW 
of  starttng.  there  is  no  ■ 


emor  on  the  water  whcclic  aatf  the 
are  throttled  for  a  giv«n  load. 

When  the  large  beater  was  thrown 
the  probabdjtics  arc  that  the  gates 
oo(  open  far  cnongh  lor  the  genrralor 
supply  the  reqnircd  anHMM  of 

rnotor  to  carry  iIm  load,  and  tW 
».!>  brought  to  a  standstill     This 
calljr  cansed  a  short-circuit  oa  the 
tor.  still   farther   reducing  Rs 
vohagc.    This  km  voltage  at  the 
tor  rcdaced  ibc   shnnt-Md  cnrreat 
left  the  fields  m    an    uw 
Then,  the  large  amiatnre  leactance. 
by  the  short-arcvit  cnrroM  fWinn>g  ■) 
armature,  revetaad  the  field 
the    generator,   eanring   the 
polarity  which  is  noted  hjr  tke 
the  m<-"-'» 

T)  ^e  motor  started  o4l  in 

oppmiir  <uTT\itan  when  the  beater 
thrown  off  is  probably  <ecanst  the  tm 
was  differentially  wonad.  and  when 
mot^  was  almost  stOMsdL  and  stdl 
nectcd  to  the  bne.  the  cnrrent 
through  the  series  field  and 
greatly  in  excess  ol  nonanl  and  the  mag- 
netic field  set  op  by  the  series  field  over- 
ihe  weak  shnnt  fields.     They  were 


•r    BfAjl    f«i-: 


tke 
of 
of 
of 


.  that  the  mtmat 
kUrt  uf>  u)  the  r^fht  dt' 
shutdown.  becau»e  on  t(j 
WIS   in  normal   conditian   Mid  tW    xi—t 

t'f!!   f-iH?   rivifr,!  !*f.  f»  the  csrrewt  was 
If  the  hnr  car 


lk#    irw-trrft. 


lie  11       1   I       irjt        tjirr 

would  be  advisable 
the    motor    cunncctru 
and  also  recharge  the 
Itenrrstne  back  In  1^' 


.Aii>«rT 
of  the 


I 
't 

limeai 

la  ' 

h 

rf« 

Wfr*^ 

'It    and 

the     weak     arid. 

.-     (oiti-Vi 

.-  _i  ■    f  A    •}r    ijwfor 

fidlowtBg  espiansw 

«     reversed 

^•^tU} 

set     W> 

-»  •».? 


Ptom  the  Iwaffdai  analy* 


>«osar  w«ih«st    **  r"  •< 


206 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  26,  1909. 


connections  it  will  operate  as  a  differential 
compound  motor,  the  shunt  and  series 
fields  opposing  each  other,  because  the 
relative  direction  of  current  in  the  series 
field  has  been  reversed. 

When  the  motor  was  stalled  by  the 
overload,  there  was,  momentarily,  an  ex- 
cessive current  through  the  armature  and 
the  series  field.  This  produced  an  exces- 
sive magnetomotive  force  opposing  the 
shunt-held  magnetomotive,  and  must  have 
overpowered  it,  thereby  reversing  the  resi- 
dual. The  reversed  field  would  cause  the 
motor  to  reverse  its  direction  of  rotation, 
which  condition  would  endure  until  the 
shunt  held  again  established  the  correct 
polarity.  The  weakening  of  the  field  on 
account  of  the  dififcrential  action  would 
account  for  the  high  speed. 

Selby  Haar. 

Schenectady,  N.  Y. 


It  is  my  impression  from  reading  Mr. 
Sheehan's  letter  that  when  used  as  a 
motor  the  machine's  series  fields  were 
connected  as  they  were  originally,  when 
the  machine  was  to  be  used  as  a  genera- 
tor, with  the  result  that  when  the  ma- 
^  chine  was  stalled  the  very  heavy  rush  of 
current  through  the  series  fields  was  suffi- 
cient to  overpower  the  shunt. 

The  voltage  had  probably  dropped  con- 
siderably at  the  same  time,  so  that  when 
the  clutch  was  thrown  off,  the  series  field 
predominated,  and  the  motor  then  acted  as 
3  series  motor,  reversed  and  tended  to 
run  away.  Opening  the  circuit  under 
heavy  load  and  low  voltage  reversed  the 
generator  so  that  on  starting  again  the 
motor  operated  correctly,  the  instruments, 
however,  being  reversed.  It  would  be  in- 
teresting to  know  what  did  happen  at  the 
generator  end. 

Henry  D.  Jackson. 

Boston.  Mass. 


Whistle  Made  from  a  Mercury 
Flask 


The  accompanying  illustration  shows  a 
whistle  made  from  a  mercury  flask.  The 
flask  was  cut  in  half,  about  3  inches  from 
the  filling  plug,  and  tapped  at  the  filling 
plug  for  a  1 14 -inch  pipe.  A  piece  of  i%- 
inch  pipe,  about  10  inches  long,  was  cut 
with  an  ordinary  thread  on  one  end  and 
on  the  other  end  a  long  thread  about  5 
inches  long,  and  screwed  in  the  smaller 
half  of  the  mercury  flask. 

A  disk  was  cut  from  a  sheet  of  ^-inch 
copper  plate,  3V  inch  less  than  the  inside 
diameter  of  the  flask,  and  a  hole  cut  in 
the  center  so  as  easily  to  slip  over  the 
iH-inch  pipe.  A  i^-inch  screw  flange 
was  riveted  to  the  copper  disk  and 
screwed  on  the  end  of  the  pipe  flush  with 
the  small  half  of  the  mercury  flask.  A 
Kx^-inch  reducer  was  made  a  locknut 
*o  keep  the  disk  from  working  loose.  The 
protruding  thread  was  cut  off  flush  with 
the  reducer. 


A  piece  of  Va-inch  pipe,  13  inches  long, 
was  cut  with  an  ordinary  thread  on  one 
end,  and  a  thread  6  inches  long  on  the 
other  end,  and  screwed  in  the  reducer. 
The  larger  half  of  the  flask  was  tapped 
for  a  y>-inch  hole  and  a  3/2 -inch  iron  pipe 
screwed  into  it.  This  was  screwed  onto 
the  6-inch  thread  the  required  distance  to 


m-  Cap 


Reducer  H  x  IM 


or  B    Long  Thread 


SECTION    THROUGH    THE   WHISTLE 

obtain  the  tone  of  the  whistle  and  locked 
with  a  j4-inch  locknut.  The  other  end  of 
the  J/2-inch  pipe  was  capped. 

A.    C.    Harrison. 
Jersey  City,  N.  J. 


An  Error  in  Figures 


In  reply  to  the  letter  written  by  W.  E. 
Sargent,  and  published  on  page  963  of  the 
December  8  issue,  I  would  say  in  defense 
of  the  N.  A.  S.  E.  that  since  Mr.  Sar- 
gent got  his  information  from  the  Boston 
Globe,  I  would  much  rather  believe  that 
the  reporter  for  the  Globe  erred  in  his 
report,  than  to  believe  that  Mr.  Sargent 
was  right,  as  per  his  formula  for  a  150- 
horsepower  engine,  using  30  pounds  of 
vv-ater  per  horsepower-hour,  running  10 
hours  per  day,  steam  costing  $15  per 
1000  pounds,  or  a  total  of  $675,0010  per 
day. 

I  would  suggest  the  following  formula 
for  Mr.  Sargent: 


150  X  30 


X  10  X  15  =  $675. 


which  would  be  an  unreasonably  high  cost 
for  power. 

I  would  further  add  that  in  a  locality 
where  fairly  good  steam  coal  sells  for 
$4.50  per  ton,  figuring  about  7  pounds  of 
water  per  pound  of  coal,  this  problem 
would  figure  out  as  follows : 

1 50  X  30 
1000 —  X  10  X  0.32  =  $14.40 

per  day. 


From  this  result  I  would  rather  believe 
that  the  Boston  association  that  gave  the 
reporter  the  estimate  on  power  cost,  gave 
it  as  from  0.15  to  0.30  per  1000  pounds  of 
steam,  rather  than  from  $1.50  *o  $3,  which 
mistake  could  easily  be  made  by  misplac- 
ing the  decimal. 

C.    G.    SiGWALD. 

Minneapolis,  Minn. 


H 


omema 


de  Bl 


ower 


Head 


Herewith  is  a  description  of  a  blower 
head  which  I  used  in  the  stack  of  a 
6o-horsepower  return-tubular  boiler. 

To  make  it  I  used  a  2x^4-inch  reducing 
coupling,  turned  out  as  shown  at  B.  A 
short  piece  of  ^-inch  steam  pipe  A,  so 
threaded  as  to  reach  entirelj'  through  the 
coupling  ij^  inches  at  the  top,  was  ob- 
tained ;  also  a  reducing  bushing  turned 
down  to  cone  shape  as  at  C,  and  a  v)^-inch 
pipe  cap  D. 

The  54-inch  pipe  was  drilled  with 
twenty  ^-inch  holes,  as  at  H,  for  the 
steam  to  pass  to  the  body  part  of  the 
coupling.  The  reducing  bushing  was 
screwed  on,  as  shown,  until  the  space  E 
was  ^V-  inch  wide. 


HOMEMADE    BLOWER    HEAD 

The  idea  is  that  the  steam  coming  out 
in  funnel  shape  will  catch  the,  entire  col- 
umn of  air  inside  the  stack  and  force  it 
out,  where  a  simple  piece  of  pipe  would 
only  set  a  core  of  air  in  motion  in  the 
center  of  the  stack. 

Herman  E.  King. 

Columbia,  S.  C. 


January  26,  1909. 


POWER  AN'D  TriE  FA-r.TVFRIt 


«V 


A    Concrete    Feed-Water    Storage    Tank 

Why  Such  a  Tank  U  the  Most  Seniceable;  PU.n  Dn«tic,.  nuiU- 

ins    One;    U»ed    lor  Water    Sohening.  AIk..  with  the  Lime  Pioco. 


BY 


WARREN  H.  MILLER 


\      Whenever  a  power  plant  u»cs  city  water, 

or,    in    fact,    any    source    of    feed    water 

^ther  than  the  direct  suction  of  its  own 

^  •  'I  pumps  from  some  natural  supply  on 

i^Tound,  this  feed-water  supply  at  once 

incs  the  most  vulnerable  point  in  the 

r   system.      Stoppage   of   this   supply 

'ip  cvrrything.     It  is  always  sudden; 

Mom  la^t»  long;  but  in  the  short  hour 

'   that   it   does   last,   there  is  nothing 

t  but  to  bank  tires  and  shut  off  the 

.1  all  over  the  plant.    Those  who  have 

iged  large  steam-distribution  systems 

lot   need  to  be  reminded  of  what  a 

-rous,  uncertain  business  starting  all 

Ip  again  is. 

It  is  the  city  water  you  an-  drinrndent 

,   your   first   notice   is   usually  of  the 

null   with   the   monkey   wrench,   who   an- 

n     nces    that   your   main    is   going   to   Ix* 

oflF  in   half  an   hour   to  make   some 

ae  five  blocks  up  the  street.     Or  else 

a  telephone  call,  to  the  effect   that 

\n  has  burst  and  your  main  will  Ik: 

■>f    business    until    the    street    is    duK 

up    iH'l  thr  thing  repaired. 

If  >•  i:  |.timj>  your  own  feed  water  from 

11.  your  shrift   is    liktly    to    be    still 

er.     The     well  •  pump     steam     valve 

>,  and  you  have  precisely  the  capa- 

of    the    small    storage   tank    to    run 

boilers  on.     In  fact,  it  is  absolutely 

itial  to  provide  three  <»r  four  hours' 

tfc    capacity     for    boiler -feed    water 

•ill  not  use  up 

nor  get   to«> 

I  far   ii"ii,   iii.    1...H,  J   pi.,i:i. 

I      .^  t\  li(i"irn  .li  ir..n  tank  |H>>*essc5  a  nuni 

I  her  of  •iivadvantage*.    It  holds  little  water 

for  the  land  if  occupies;  it  i»  expensive  to 

md  have  delivered  uo  the  ground,  be- 

-    n'iring   to  be   ..         ''    '    on   the 

n:    it  carrie«  .tion   of 


depreciation  and  requires  no  rcfMirs. 

costs   hardly  more  than  thf    ^ 

for  an  iron  or  wood  tank. 

the  time  you  are  t! 

latter    because   of 

tank    will    still    b< 

its  mnximtmi  itrr; 

fast  MC    cur\r. 

maii  ,  put  it. 

The  most   economical   way   to  get  the 
thing  up  is  to  put  most  of  the  tank  under 
ground,  and  leave  not   more  than  6  or  8 
feet  above  ground  to  r<  - 
These    mount    up    surj'- 
hight.     .Xt  6  feet,  the  ; 
pressure    will    be    4,^^    ; 


It     trv  :.  oHko  •  ^ 


the 


■hr 
«1 


'•.    nfurrd   oa   tfec  pn 

The  fint  cu 
op  th«  outside  i   fi  ..  1  1^    .-^  ^al  a»J  ibe 
expanded  ractaJ  to  ihctn.  N  Uupcd  Mfa- 
fUi  scrip  itod  bcm^ 

•ff  the  %-3r1irr  -/the 


the  eipusdrd  mtttaL 


'Vr«T9«Tr    at   brlM   IIm 


->l 

■-< 

<mL    TW 

4 


foot  at  ground  level.   It  ii  entirely  pcrmi* 

fible  to  neglect  the  watr-  — '-'    - 

ground      Kven  in  poor 


.    It    retjuircs    ii).i«>i\r  inr  MjUatrc  fuut.  p(ci^iMl>  *t  ui  iumu 

'hr   corner  of   »onir    i  -ns. 

to  the  power  plant,  and  heavy  A  pit 

•11   if  set   on   the  ground.     The  equal    to 

ure  tank  is  better,  but  has  the  lank,  and  a  fooitng  or 

.„;r  •'XMXttons  a«  to  depre-ialion  of  iron      ■■  '"■  •"*  '*'"''    '* 

work,  area  of  floor  npacr,  etc. 


^  titt 


^ICTANCUI^R  Cottctm  Tanks  Bist 
1    ih«'   wh"!*".    th*    r^rtanpfilnr    rrin- 


angte  around  the  power-      in  po«tttnn 

for    rxaiiifilr        Tt    )\.i%    no  Thr  I'rt'irn  thown  fof  the  f* 


.1    IW   t* 
•H0  W^etoa: 


ao8 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  26,  1909. 


anthracite-cinder  filling.  The  city  water 
was  led  into  it  at  ground  level  from  a 
spur  of  the  suction  piping.  When  using 
the  tank  water,  the  meter  valve  was  closed 
and  the  tank  valve  opened,  when  the  feed- 
pump would  suck  it  back  through  the 
same  pipe. 

It  often  occurs  that  there  is  exhaust 
steam,  not  otherwise  condensable,  which 
may  be  led  into  the  feed- water  tank.  If 
a  tee  is  left  on  the  main  exhaust  pipe,  and 


is  well  worth  while,  being  inexpensive  and 
in  no  sense  a  nuisance. 

Tank  Suitable  for  Water  Softening, 
Also 
A  farther  use  for  this  tank  is  for  water 
softening  where  the  lime  process  is  used. 
There  is  plenty  of  depth  for  settlement, 
and  the  large  24x24-inch  manhole  in  the 
ceiling  gives  facility  for  handling  the 
sludge.      If   boiler    compounds    are    used, 


1  Roagh  Hemlock 


Spreader  for 

Keeping  Expanded  Metal 

from  Forms 


Crossed  Nail  Spreader 


was  charged  with  its  quota  of  compound. 
To  do  this,  the  drip  in  the  bottom  of  the 
charger  was  opened,  and  the  feed  water 
drained  out  of  it.  It  was  then  filled  by 
way  of  the  funnel  at  the  top  with  a  satur- 
ated solution  of  the  compound.  The  con- 
necting nipple  valves  were  then  -opened 
and  the  main  feed  gate  shut,  thus  forcing 
the  incoming  feed  water  to  pass  through 
the  charger  driving  along  the  compound 
before  it.  As  only  one  set  of  boiler  checks 
was  left  open,  that  particular  boiler  re- 
ceived the  total  charge  intended  for  it. 
The  actual  cost  of  the  feed-water  stor- 
age tank  described  was  $482.26 ;  the  iron 
tank  which  it  replaced  cost  $648.68,  in- 
cluding $120.56  for  a  foundation  of  10- 
inch  I-beams  cut  into  brick  walls  across 
a  14-foot  alley  between  two  buildings. 
This  is  the  cheapest  possible  foundation. 
Supposing  that  the  iron  tank  were  to  be 
placed  on  concrete  piers  on  the  site  of  the 
present  tank,  the  tank  being  12x12  feet, 
five  piers  would  be  required  besides  the 
footing.  With  the  top  of  the  piers  2  feet 
above  grade  and  the  bottom  of  the  foot- 
ings 4  feet  below,  the  estimated  cost  of 
this  foundation  would  be  about  $140.  As 
the  tank  itself  cost  $528.12,  set  up,  to  re- 
place  the    concrete    storage   tank   with   a 


Vf 


J 


t 

1 


^t-t: 


J-^   '!_ 


3"  loga                         X"  Corr.  Rods 
Exp.  Metal 
5'  X  6'  .Sheets 

I 

1 

-4H" 

Plan  of  Storage  Tank 

V"Corr.  Rods 

1  •  -  -r 


-5  2 
4"  Exhaust 


^^-#= 


IK   Fee^l 


>«-  -MH' 


4'  Exh.- 


lii   Feed 


Side  Elevation 


3    loga  Exp.  Metel 


Cross-Section 


FIG.    3 


a  suitable  pipe  led  off  to  the  tanks,  much 
of  this  steam  will  be  condensed  and  give 
a  preliminary  heating  to  the  feed  water. 
This  pipe  should  run  the  length  of  the 
tank  just  above  the  water.  Into  the  op- 
posite end  enters  the  water-supply  pipe, 
about  lYi  inches  in  size,  and  perforated  all 
along  the  top  with  ^-inch  holes.  A  large 
surface  of  cold,  flowing  water  is  thus  ex- 
posed to  the  incoming  steam,  and  a  quan- 
tity of  heat  interchanged.     This  economy 


the  writer  prefers  to  introduce  the  charge 
directly  into  the  feed  line.  For  that  pur- 
pose, a  4-inch  nipple,  capped  at  both  ends, 
exactly  held  a  charge  for  one  boiler.  This 
was  by-passed  around  the  main  feed  line 
gate  valve  by  attaching  it  above  and  below 
with  ^-inch  nipples  with  a  54-inch  union 
and  valve  in  each  nipple.  A  drip  valve 
was  put  into  the  bottom  cap,  and  a  feed 
valve  and  funnel  tapped  into  the  top.  Just 
after  blowing  down,  each  boiler  in  turn 


steel    one   on    the    same    site   would   cost 
.12.    The  cubic  contents  were  identical. 


When  the  terminal  pressure  of  an  en- 
gine cylinder  is  practically  equal  to  the 
back  pressure,  as  in  some  compound  en- 
gines, the  mean  effective  pressure  formula 
reduces  to 

^m  =  />i]  log  R, 
pb   being  the  back  pressure. 


January  26,   1909. 

Electric  Dynamometers 

By  G.  E\tRETT  Quick 

Motors  havf  often  been  rated  from  so- 
called  power  determinations  in  which  the 
power  was  absorbed  by  crude  devices  or 
standard   machines   giving   merely   an   es- 
timated value,  subject  to  wide  variations. 
A  true  test  worthy  of  the  name,  requires 
some  means  of  loading  by  which  observa- 
s  may  be  made  for  accurately  comput- 
thc  power  developed.     The  apparatus 
doing   this    is    called    an    "absorption 
mometer,"  while  a  transmission  dyna- 
mometer   is    an    apparatus    by    means    of 
which  the  mechanical  power  delivered  by 
one  machine  to  another  may  be  measured. 
The  simplest  type  of  absorption  dyna- 
mometer  is   the   friction   brake,   which    is 
Cde  in  various   forms.     In  all  forms  of 
I  brake,  the  force  opposing  rotation  is 
ned   by   the    friction    of   a    revolving 
■    with  a  strap,  disk,  or  wooden  arm 
tably    clamped    to    it.      If    these    are 
;"-d  to  the  pulley  and  allowed  to  re- 
freely  with  it,  the  load  is  zero,  but 
Id   stationary,   the   weight   or   spring 
red  to  hold  the  brake  from  revolv- 
-  a  direct  measure  of  the  power  ab- 
'1  by  the   friction.     Fig.    i   shows  an 
ir  sketch  of  a  prony  brake,  in  which 
the  friction  wheel,  L  the  horizontal 
•ice  of  the  weight  from  the  center  of 
A  heel,  which  is  the  radius  of  the  circle 
which    would    he    described    by    the    sus- 
pended weight  if  it  were  allowed  to  re- 


=  Horsepower. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENCiXEER 

6.2832  X  Rro.  per  •fit*.  X  Arm  tengih  y 

IVright  =  Fool-pomndi  per  mimmU 
and 

Foot-pounds  pertmm.   _ 
33.000  ~ 

By  the  use  of  a  chart  sir"-!. ^^^ 

shown  in  Fig.  2,  separate  c.i  for 

each   reading  may  be  avoidru       \     hart 
for  each  length  of  brake  arm  is  required. 

Euurntic  DY.VAMOMrrvu 

The  well  known  prony  brake  is  stiU  tncd 
in   the    great    majority   of   tests,   and   on 


nc    I.    siMru  rioNY  nAKE 

account  of  its  simplicity  and  low  initial 
cost,  and  in  spite  of  its  inherent  defects. 
It  will  no  doubt  always  be  widely  used. 
However,  other  types,  such  as  the  Aldcn 


tng  (ar  oMirc  power  ikMi  caa  b*  Mtaafae* 
:>  abM>rbcd  bjr  •  ua^  pramr  Waic 

jH   !>IJ<"»  of  dcCtnc   litrLanv -rrw'rr     «■ 

clrc  'or,  Moai  rwi 

cal  -no  ckctncal 

enrtici.  wt  un  tn  lurn  1*  <ii»'  'rM 

in  an  cxtrmaJ  cironi.  or  m  jtm 

Itself.  Under  cenaia  conUi:^^.>«  tht 
power  ordtnariljr  wasted  in  rbroftats  mmf 
supply  osefttJ  power  to  other  circwiu 

The  beat  knowa  type  o<  ckctric  dywa- 
mofneter.  and  ia  fact  tbe  only  om  whidi 
hai  been  extcmsvely  aMd.  M  the  Maadartf 
elect  rK  inierchaageabk  aMtor  or 
ator  cunnccied  by  belt  or  fleubl*  . 

to  the  lr»t  motor.  Wbca  atrd  to  load  l 

of  widely  rarymg  tpecd.  tbe  belt  drive 
with  different  paOcy  ratio*  u  arcnaary. 
"  tbe  power  abaerbed  is  iBfaiiid  bf 
,cenerator  oalpai  ia  ekctrkai  aailt. 
tiic  «arublc  loaac*  of  the  dnnaf  bch  aad 
amuture  rcvtttaaoe  laake  a  caUbraiiea 
curve  very  naoertaia.  Wkb  direct  drive 
the  curve  is  more  rdiahlc.  ahhowih  sah- 
ject  to  variatiom  dae  to  the  variable  re> 
sistance  of  the  guwrator  ceadactors  The 
electric  output  aad  ooaaaqaaMljr  the  load 
on  the  motor,  ia  contfoBed  by  paMiai  the 
electric  current  throa^  aa  adji 
rhortta!  For  ■Ban  capackks  a 
rheot'T  -rvrTalfy  of  the  iroa  tnd"  type. 
nuy  Sot  for  Bwdiuiii  and  larga 

capa  well  kaown  water  rhaaaiM 

IS  more  practicable. 

fer»  bf 


nc. 


2.  asnasNcs  ciravta  voa  dynamomctib 


vpfve  with  the  friction  pulley.  The  im- 
iry  «perd.  in  fret  jkt  mimiie.  which 
Aeiitht  would  attain  under  these  con 
■1*.  multiplied  by  the  weight  opixxnik' 
rotation,  gives  the  power  ab»«>rlM-.! 
■  >ot-pound«  per  mintite.  The  inia,{ 
ury  speed  1*  obtained  t  .  '      ' 

♦"nath  /.  of  the  arm  h\ 

Uy  the  rcvu4ij';   ;: .  ;►«- 
wheel  M      In  *h<.rt. 


brake  ami  the  rlectrk  «fyn*n*om»t»r  h 


nd  nut 


.IV  W  4 


bv  tbe  tor 


tammg  »< 

borM-pov 

lint 


<:tuc.      ',;    aCordi   aa 

'  fn'  ieal  OMaafS  o<  o^ 

!«••  of  the  brake 

-  aad  also  of  pal* 

11  It  for  a  cootsBwoat  fwa* 

ut  eaeeMf*'  »^'«' "-     <  •»— 

.<,,r  .•■      -r-r-       It  OMT  ^ 

mitvion  dyruimanMcr  lO  in«<'  :n»- j--»ri«^*'» 

ladicattow  of  the  power  rv^airrd  to  opee- 

ate  aay  partkalar  aachaw  by  aotsai  Ae 

poaada   paO   saertad  at  the  tad  at  the 

weight  Irrrr  and  the  speed  ol  thr 

annaiarc.     It   affords   a 

rarate  BMthod  lor 

!«••»•:    rrautrrd    u>     *cT«iv    test 


«tnc  «o  the 

rakulaiMMM, 

iimpirattwfy 


^eral 

dynamoainer    aa 
'^.•it\yr    Flrxtrv    C, 


rTiprn»«iinc 


r  •' 

II  W 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  26,  1909. 


manner  as  to  permit  the  field  magnet  to 
oscillate  about  the  armature,  remaining 
concentric,  of  course,  in  order  that  it  may 
revolve  freely  under  all  conditions.  Two 
arms  extend  horizontally  from  opposite 
sides  of  the  field-magnet  frame  to  which 
they  are  rigidly  secured.  The  short  arm 
or  balance  lever  contains  an  adjustable 
weight  to  balance  tli£  complete  dj^namom- 
eter  on  its  bearings.  The  long  arm 
or  weight  lever  is  provided  at  its  outer 
end  with  a  hanger  similar  to  that  on  an 
ordinar>-  platform  scale,  on  which  slotted 
weights  may  be  placed,  or  if  preferred  a 
spring  scale  may  be  used  for  measuring 
the  pull  exerted  at  the  end  of  the  lever 
when  the  dynamometer  is  in  operation. 
The  torque  exerted  by  the  revolving 
armature  on  the  field  magnet  tends  to 
carry  the  frame  around  with  the  arma- 
ture,   and    this    torque    acts    in    a    similar 


paratively  little  added  capital  is  required 
to  avail  oneself  of  such  a  test  outfit. 

Eddy   Current  Dynamometer 

A  special  form  of  electric  dynamometer 
is  the  so-called  eddy-current  brake,  which 
meets  with  a  somewhat  limited  use  as 
an  absorption  dynamometer  for  compar 
atively  small  powers  when  a  continuous 
load  is  required.  The  field-magnet  yoke 
and  attachments  are  constructed  and 
balanced  essentially  the  same  as  in  the 
previous  type,  although  the  field  excita- 
tion must  be  obtained  from  a  separate 
source.  The  armature,  instead  of  hav- 
ing the  customary  winding  and  commu- 
tator with  connections  to  an  external  cir- 
cuit, is  made  up  of  copper  disks  or  other 
short-circuited  conductors  in  which  cur- 
rents are  set  up  by  rotation  with  the 
field    and    the    heat   thereby   generated    is 


Compound  Cylinder  Ratios  for 
Equal  Work 

In  the  following  is  shown,  step  by  step, 
the  derivation  of  the  formula  by  which 
was  prepared  the  table  of  cylinder  ratios, 
on  page  215  of  this  number : 

Let  /  =  Initial  pressure  absolute, 
/  —  Terminal  pressure  absolute, 
/)  =  Back  pressure  absolute, 
R  =  Ratio  total  expansion, 
r  ^=  Volumetric  ratio  of  cylinders, 
M.P.  =--  Mean  pressure, 
M.E.P.  =  Mean  effective  pressure. 


R  :  1  +  logs  R   ::  I  :  M.P. 


Hi-^logf  R) 

M.P.= J 

R 


I    1 


(i  +  logs  R). 


R        (I) 


FK-.     3.     ELECTRIC   DYN.\M0METER   COUPLED    TO    .\X    .\UTOMOBILE    ENGINE 


manner  to  that  of  the  frictional  resistance 
of  the  friction  brake,  but  without  the 
objectionable  vibrations. 

Although  the  electric  dynamometer  is 
used  more  for  absorbing  a  known  me- 
chanical power,  it  can  also  be  employed 
as  a  combined  motor  and  indicator,  driv- 
ing a  machine  and  at  the  same  time 
measuring  the  power  required  to  do  it, 
thereby  serving  as  a  simple  transmission 
<lynamometer. 

The  current  for  driving  is  obtained 
from  any  direct-current  circuit  of  suit- 
able voltage.  The  commutating  poles 
afford  a  very  wide  range  of  speed  con- 
trol by  varying  the  field  strength  with 
the  rheostat  connected  in  the  shunt-field 
circuit  of  the   machine. 

Owing  to  the  fact  that  this  dynamom- 
■eter  can  be  used  regularly  as  a  power 
motor  for  driving  shop  equipment,   com- 


dissipated  to  the  atmosphere  by  radiation 
and  connection  without  recourse  to  an 
external  rheostat.  However,  a  small 
rheostat  is  required  in  the  -field  circuit 
for  regulating  the  strength  of  the  field 
magnet,  and  consequently  the  load  ab- 
sorbed. 

The  rotor  of  this  dynamometer  is  very 
rigid  and  is  not  subject  to  electrical 
breakdown;  there  being  no  armature 
wiring,  commutator  or  external  circuit, 
the  initial  cost  is  less  than  that  of  the 
dynamo  type.  Obviously,  the  capacity  of 
this  type  is  limited  to  small  powers  as 
only  a  limited  amount  of  energy  can  be 
dissipated  in  the  form  of  heat  by  air 
cooling.  However,  the  temperature  of 
the  rotor  may  be  allowed  to  reach  a 
much  higher  value  than  that  allowed  in  the 
dynamo,  since  no  combustible  material 
need  be   used  in   its  construction. 


But 


So  that 


R 


t  and 


M.P.  =  t(i-j-logs  R).  (2) 

M.E.P.  =  M.P.  —  b. 


M.E.P.  =  t  {i-\- logs  R)-d        (3) 

If  the  work  is  to  be  equally  divided  the 
mean  effective  pressure  in  the  low-pres- 
sure cvlinder  will  be 


M.E.P. 1  = 


_    t  (i  +  log^  R)—b 


(4) 


and  the  mean  pressure  in  that  cylinder 

t  (H  log.  R)  —  b 
M.P.,=  — ^4—* -f  b.      (5) 


By  transposing  formula    (2)    it  is   seen 
that 

M.P. 


logs  R  = 


t 


(6) 


Substituting  for  M.P.  the  value  given 
by  formula  (5)  the  log  e  of  the  ratio  of 
expansion  in  the  low-pressure  cylinder 
(which  is  the  same  as  the  volumetric 
ratios  of  the  cylinders,  for  the  contents  of 
the  high-  are  expanded  to  the  volume  of 
the  low-)   is  found  to  be 


t  {i+loge  R)  —  b 


+  b 


log. 


logs   R-\- I 


logg    r  = 


(7) 


when  — —  =  I,  i.e.,  when  the  diagram  ends 
in  a  point  this  reduces  to 

,  log  f  R 

logs  »'=_^i (8) 

2 

and  since  halving  a  logarithm  gives  the 
logarithm  of  the  square  root,  formula  (8) 
simply  means  that  for  the  condition  cited 


=V" 


R 


January  26,   1909. 


Heat  in  Steam 


I'v  Joseph  H.  Haki 

f  <i.K-i:i<n  of  the  anil  iini   ui   ticat  ui 
11  under  various  operating  conditions, 
t        quantity    of    this    heat    available    for 
t'     1 -formation  into  work  and  the  various 
ions  of  this  heat  quantity  which  pro- 
condensation   and   superheating   and 
ii|ually    important    changes    in    the 
•n  content  is  a  question  of  the  great- 
«       inii)ortance  not  only  to  the  designing 
Tieer,    but    to   the   operating  and    sta- 
ry   engineer   as    well.    As    a    general 
:    almost    every    man    familiar   at   all 
the  operation  of  steam  engines  has  a 
information    in    regard   to   the   sub- 
•f  heat   units  and  a  number  of  heat 
-■es  and  tlic  amount  of  heat  available 
'    certain    circumstances,    but    in    re- 
to  all  the  heat  relations  possible  in 
1  under  various  conditions  of  opera- 
thcy    are    not    familiar.      Thus    such 
•iienis  as  the  one  that  the  quantity  of 
\n  steam  is  approximately  the  same 
•(.•ndent  of  its  temperature  is  one  not 
iinr|rr"^t«KHl.     .Again,   the   stateriient 
0  heat  of  saturated  steam  i^ 
.-  to  an  interesting  situation 
and    one    not    clearly    underst(KM|    by    the 
average    operator.      These    two    examples 
will   serve   to  illustrate  the   type  <if  diffi- 
'■-•s  which  arise,  and  it  is  the  nbject  of 
irlicle  more  fully  to  explam  the  con- 
m.tion  of  heat  and  steam,  the  variation 
of  rimount  with  tenijierature  and  the  varia- 
of  the  quantity  available  fur  trans- 
i.ttion  into  work  under  various  stand- 
ard  conditions   and   the  causes  of  'steam 
condensation  under  conditions  not  clearly 
understood. 

Thus   it   is   assumed   that   the   average 
engineer  or  reader  of  this  article  is  more 
or    less    familiar    with    the    drtinitions   of 
•fwrifv   hr;\t    and    latent   heat    and    has    a 
•■•n    of    what    i*    known    as 
Specific  heat  i*  cletined  as 
ity  of  heat  re<|uired  to  heat  one 
•   material  one  degree  Fahrenheit, 
iired  in  B.t.u.,  where  a   B.t.u.  is  the 
tity    of   heat    required    tn    raise   one 
I   of  water  one  degree    Fahrenheit. 
'  quantity  is  referred  t')  heat  held 
under    varying    coutltiiDnt,    an<l 
ic    heat    is   often   det'incd   as   the 
•hr    heat    under    rrrtun    rtrrum 
'   in  an  e<|in\  1! 
the     same     '  1; 
)t  heat  IS  defined  as  the  quanlilN 
■    required    to   rhangr    the    «»ate   <  :     . 
without  change  in  Innprr.iture.  and 
irenerally  known  that  thi%  Uimf  li.  .' 
\en  nut  in  cnnden^atioit  i>r   s..|i.!i' 
■I     in     li<i 
■  «-vpr.    'ht 


<n    space,   m 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER, 

LaTIKT    HjUT    PoTtXTIAL    F.S»*,.^ 

A  rise  in  temperature  oi  .: 
ing  more  or  less  than  an  mt.rca>c  m  •   r 
kinetic    energy    of    the    molccuirt      The 
ttinr       -  ■     ■  ^^ 

the  tiicaii  ku.' 

and   thesr  c.;- 

Lull' 

the 

by  their  mulr 

a   liquid   the>    

some  unknown  bonds,  i 
gravitation,     but     still     :'..        t.   •sj^j      t,, 
possess   a   certain   free    path    and    hmrr 
capable     of     possessing     ki? 
Thus,  when  a  pound  r,f  ^ 
oni 
ent ; . 

of  the  midecuies  and  a  portion  used  to 
cause  expansion  or  a  ^irrd  hitf.'  ..«  tK.- 
bonds  which  tie  the  i: 
Latent  heat  is  in  reality  j^  hiulu  ru>T^y 
of  the  molecules,  or  energy  of  position, 
and  the  !  ■  '  ' 
steam  p' 

in  exact l>    th*.  manner   '  wn 

ab^ivc    the    surfnrr   nf    ■  ;    « 

«• -capes  the  t;  ..»»- 

Msses  energy         .  j\e% 

of  steam  liave  possessed  at  one  lime  suffi- 
cient kinetic  energy  to  rise  from  the 
surface  of  the  water  due  to  their  motioa. 
against  the  force  of  co»  '    -       ' 

ing  a  portion  of  their  \  • 
ball   thrown   into   the   air   doc»   m   rum^ 
higher  and  hiphrr 

When 
tain  ani< 

raising  the  temperature  or  kinrtic  enerfjr 
of   the    moleculo   of   the     water,    and    a 
small   fractional  part  is  used  up  in  pro* 
ducing  the  change  of  relative  pr>tiiion  and 
is    apparent    as    potential    energy      Tbe 
molecules  ha\' 
over   several    • 
aver 
is  t 
the 
p<>*'-' 

enough  above  the  mass  of  liquid  to  be> 
come   practically   free   from   their   iiir.»<- 
live    power    and    ibey    lose    du- 

r     a     brtr         

•lergy.    p- 


\,\.  II .  *  II.. 

I; 
err . 


,0- 

•hr 


nrrgy  m  cscaptns 

linirttf    tfvir    f.  .<. 


:iT-iiri«r<.i,    .jrvi    nmcr    tW 

-nenoQ   of   a   (aO   ia  btrM 
'  c^'  41    wrtth   ri«r   in    trm 

fwrattirr  .\inf[    j«r4m       TV"    («■ 

•r. 
apparem    hear 

the  t't-il  l.rj' 

tbe  ly 

•c»    at 


•mall  a  prrrmfA^   .1  tW 
r|7  mvol*«d    ikM  -rm 


It  H  possible  under  1 

I  I,...  .1  ,   .-..  .1.    . 


nomrfton  t^cc 

crilW-jI    frtufw 

rasp- 


plied      T 


r»m  at  a  gtrtm  pr«»- 


thwi 


rt.   ."r,  -aSfi 


oirn»C' 


of  the  case  wouhi 
icts   as  ihey  arise    1    : 
'   the  conditions  at  the  outset  m 


ilu* 


bafWw  hnr  aixt 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  26,  1909. 


temperature,  and  only  a  certain  number 
can  exist  in  the  steam,  and  the  transfer 
of  molecules  to  the  steam  from  the  water 
with  the  consequent  loss  in  kinetic  energy 
and  product-ion  of  potential  energy  of 
position,  is  exactly  counterbalanced  by 
the  number  of  molecules  of  steam  trans- 
ferred from  the  steam  to  the  water  with 
their  consequent  loss  of  potential  energy 
of  position  and  equivalent  rise  in  kinetic 
energy*.  Any  increase  in  pressure  on  the 
steam  or  diminution  in  the  volume  of  the 
same  results  in  a  crowding  of  the  mole- 
cules from  the  steam  into  the  water,  with 
a  corresponding  increase  in  the  average 
kinetic  energy  or  temperature  of  the 
water  and  of  the  steam  as  well,  since 
there  are  then  less  molecules  in  the  steam 
and  less  potential  energy  in  the  system, 
with  an  increase  in  the  average  kinetic 
energy  of  all  the  molecules.  This  con- 
dition explains  in  reality  what  is  known 
as  the  negative  specific  heat  of  saturated 
steam. 

When  steam  in  contact  with  water  is 
heated  one  degree,  the  kinetic  energy  of 
the  entire  mass  of  molecules  in  both  the 
water  and  steam  is  increased  a  certain 
definite  percentage  depending  upon  the 
absolute  temperature  of  the  system.  The 
increase  in  kinetic  energy  of  the  mole- 
cules in  the  steam  results  in  an  increased 
pressure  which  means  that  a  number  of 
the    molecules    are    transferred    automati- 


cally to  the  water  and  give  up  their  latent 
heat  of  position,  which  energj-  is  apparent 
in  increased  average  kinetic  energy  of  the 
molecules.  This  energy  results  in  a  fur- 
ther rise  in  temperature.  Hence  when 
heat  is  added  to  a  mixture  of  water  and 
steam,  or  what  is  known  as  saturated 
steam,  the  amount  of  steam  actually  di- 
minishes in  quantity  as  determined  by 
weight.  The  temperature  of  the  water  is 
raised  a  much  larger  amount  than  the  heat 
put  in  would  warrant  according  to  the 
specific  heat  of  the  water,  and  the  extra 
heat  that  is  evolved  in  increased  rise  in 
temperature  of  the' water  and  steam  comes 
from  the  latent  heat  of  condensation  of 
the  fractional  part  of  the  steam  which 
disappears.  Hence  arises  the  statement 
of  the  negative  specific  heat  or  the  pro- 
duction of  heat  with  rise  in  temperature 
of  saturated  steam. 

Cause  of  Much   Difficulty  in   Design 
AND  Operation 

This  anomalous  behavior  of  steam  in 
contact  with  water  is  the  cause  of  much 
difficulty  in  steam  design  and  operation. 
Saturated  steam,  that  is,  steam  in  connec- 
tion with  the  water  in  the  boiler,  changes 
in  amount  with  every  variation  in  pres- 
sure and  volume  of  the  same  and  does 
not  behave  as  a  normal  perfect  gas  would 
under  the  circumstances.  Thus  with 
saturated  steam  entering  the  cylinder  of 


a  steam  engine,  the  increase  in  volume 
which  results  from  expansion  in  the  cylin- 
der and  the  transfer  of  a  portion  of  the 
kinetic  energy  of  the  molecules  into 
energy  of  the  piston,  results  in  a  diminu- 
tion in  the  kinetic  energy  of  the  mole- 
cules sufficient  to  cause  a  portion  of  the 
steam  to  change  into  water  and  to  give 
up  its  latent  heat,  in  order  to  maintain  the 
temperature  normal  for  saturated  steam 
at  this  pressure  and  temperature.  Hence, 
the  phenomenon  of  cylinder  condensation 
which  is  augmented  greatly  by  the  fur- 
ther radiation  of  heat  through  the  walls. 
Sufficient  has  been  shown  to  warrant 
the  statement  that  the  behavior  of  steam 
under  all  conditions  of  operation  and 
theory  is  a  purely  mechanical  one,  and  the 
transfers  of  kinetic  to  potential  energy 
and  vice  versa  are  responsible  for  all  the 
anomalous  conditions  existing  in  the 
utilization  of  steam.  Any  diflSiculty  or 
misconception  or  ambiguity  that  arises 
in  the  utilization  of  steam  can  be  ex- 
plained and  clearly  understood  by  a  refer- 
ence to  the  kinetic  and  potential  energy 
of  the  molecules.  This  latter  conception, 
known  as  the  kinetic  theory  of  gases,  is 
the  basis  of  thermodynamics  and  has  sug- 
gested many  possible  developments  of  a 
mechanical  nature  which  are  used  in  prac- 
tical applications  to  eliminate  the  more 
serious  difficulties  in  power  production  in 
this  field. 


THREE    ALLIS-CHALMERS    STEAM    TURBINES  AND  GENERATORS^  EACH   7SO-KIL0WATT  3-PHASE    60-CYCLE    23OO-VOLT,    INSTALLED 
IN    THE    NEW    POWER    PLANT    OF    THE  PACIFIC  MILLS,  LAWRENCE,  MASS. 


January  26,   1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


its 


Heat  Losses  in  an  Electric  Power    Purchasing    and    Bunung    ol    Coal 
Station 

By     11.     W.     RlCHAtMON 


At  a  recent   meeting  of  the   Institution 
of  Civil  Engineers,  a  paper  was  read  on 
"An  Investigation  of  the  Heat  Losses  in 
'Icctric  Power  Station,"  by  F.  H."  Cor- 
)i  which  the  following  is  an  abstract : 
An  inquiry,  originating  from  Blackburn, 
in  1903,  showed  that  the  average  coal  con- 
tion   of  34  principal   generating   sta- 
of  the   United   Kingdom   was  about 
lunds  per  unit  generated.     The  fig- 
ranged  from  3.6  pounds  to  15  p<  unds. 
-burn  standing  at  10  pounds.    Rough 
on  the  various  sections  of  the  plant 
ed    in    considerable    rearrangement, 
steam-pipe    system    was    overhauled 
more  effectively  drained,  and   steam 
icparators  and  driers  were  in  consequence 
dispensed  with.     Engine  stop  valves  were, 
where    possible,   attached   directly    to    the 

- •    steam   pipes.     The  steam   ring  was 

rded,     and     generally     the     effective 

radiating  surface  was  greatly  dimin- 

Better-fitting  boiler  dampers  were 

led,  the  condition  of  the  brickwork 

improved,  and  the  whole  process  of 

ustion    was     more    thoroughly    con- 

(J     by     the     institution     of     flue-gas 

analysis.     These    and    similar    alterations 

—  •pied  about  three  years,  and  the  fuel 

imption  fell  during  that  time  to  about 

Is  of  the  same  coal  per  average 

rated,  a  reduction  of  40  per  cent. 

.cr  progress  being  imperative,  it  was 

■  led    to    conduct     tests    covering     the 

whole    operation    of    the    works,    viewing 

the    losses    peculiar   to    each   part    of   the 

plant   in   their   relationship  to  each  other 

and  to  the  whole ;  and  arrangements  were 

made,    and    apparatus    devised,    for    their 

<-cution.     After   isolated  trials  of  the 

us    tyiies    of    apparatus    had    proved 

llicir    reliability,    simultaneous    tests    were 

arranged,   of   a   duration    long   enough    to 

embrace   all   conditions   of  operation   met 

with  in  routine  work. 

The    Blackburn    undertaking   comprises 
two  adjoining   stations  of  2300  kilowatts 
capacity  each,  containing  12  mechanically 
!    Lancashire    b<jilers,    six    fitted    with 
rheatcrs ;   15  high  speed  engines  driv- 
ing  grnrrators    from  60  to   775   kilowatts 
in    si/c.    controlled     from     three     switih 
'U;    steam  piping   3   to    14   inches   in 
•ncter;  ejector  and  jet  condensers  fed 
(rotn  an  overhead  water  tank  above   the 
boiler     house:     low-»pee<l      stram-driven 
f««d  pumps;  four  batl^ric*  <>f  r.nnontiiers 
"iling    1504    tubes;    two   chimneys,    ffp 
J!V>  feet  high,  respectively.     The  tcvt 
Sus 
the 
the  • 
war.-  . 

il  units.      1  he  net  results  show  a  con 
..::iplion  of  5.15  pounds  of  real,   and   ■> 
total  evaporation  of  330  po"n*^«  "'  water 
— -  average  xtnit.—Mfchamual  F.ngimtf 


The  purchasing  of  coal  for  power  plants 
of  any  k  should  receive  a  great 

deal  of  1  .,n,  as  th**  «noomy  of 

the  :  of 

the  few 

lar^'  ascd   by 

the   ■       ...  ^     .;      .   who  m 

most  cases  docs  not  understand  the  pectt- 
liar  charcateristics  of  coal  and  seldom, 
if  ever,  does  he  consult  his  engineer  be- 
fore making  a  purchase. 

All  coal  companies  sell  the  very  best 
fuel  obtainable,  according  to  their  agents, 
and  the  man  who  can  show  the  p-.jrrhas 
ing  agent  a  coal  which  is  '  * 
value  and  at  a  low  price  w 
obtain  the  contract.  The  coal  1$  then 
sent  to  the  power  plant  and  the  engineer's 
troubles  begin.  The  purchaser  of  the  fuel 
understands  that  the  coal  contains  a 
great  many  heat  units,  but  he  is  generally 
ignorant  of  the  conditions  under  which 
the  coal  is  to  be  burned.  What  I  wish 
to  make  plain  is  that  the  B.t  u.  value  does 
not  show  that  the  coal  is  just  what  is 
wanted  for  any  particular  plant.  Every 
plant  is,  of  course,  equipped  with  certain 
grates  or  stokers,  and  these  furnaces  may 
be  adapted  to  some  fuels,  but  wiU  not 
burn  other  grades  economically. 

The  B.t.u.  value  of  coal  is  determined 
principally  by  the  amount  of  ash.  One 
coal   may   show   by   an.il  ■*-x  cent 

volatile,  75  per  cent,  fiv  .  and  10 

per  cent,  ash ;  another  cual  will  show  J5 
per  cent,  volatile,  65  i>er  cent  fixed  car- 
bon and  10  per  cent.  ash.  The  B  l.o.  value 
of  these  two  coals  will  be  the  same,  but 
they  do  not  burn  equally  under  the  sa.nw 
conditions.  For  a  poor  furnace  the  high 
volatile  coal  is  unsuitable,  and  in  many 
installations   nu   a<!  are   possible 

that  will  twftrr  ftr  In  this  oue. 

if  a  low  il  I*  Iftcd,  il  will  often 

solve  th< 

The  coal  dealer  explains  to  the  pur 
chasing  agent  that  hb  c-'I  ■-  ^i'l-?!  m  \\<-*\ 
value  and  offers  it  at  a  ■ 

will     invariably     attract  i --..■ 

iKent  and  cause  him  to  purchase  a  large 


«»e«i 

not    '■ 

severe  in     a     p- 

wherr  *crc    a« 

the 

ma-l. 


for 
will 


T^ 


To  detenniot  wludb  cod  is 
A    pantcular    plaai.    most 

^?  It  is  good  r* 

•re  an  cargor. 
pr.Acuufe  u  proper  lo  ptjfittc 
that  the  purdua«r  umj  be  as—r ad  ikat 
be  is  receiving  coal  of  the  qvaiHy  be  de- 
sires and  It  will  dsUfiiiiiM  wbetbcr  or 
not  the  coal  dealer  is  fsMUImg  bia  obl«a- 
tioos  Simply  knew  if  the  Bxo.  vahM  o^ 
the  coal,  however,  b  not  aa  asawraatr  that 
it  is  the  coal  warned.  To  drtsiwiae  thsa 
it  is  nccesury  actnaOy  to  bora  the  coal 
and  carefully  obacrve  the  cvaporntaa  ol 
the  botlert-  It  n  preferable  to  aahe  icM* 
on  aD  of  the  boikra.  as  Biertly  trying  the 
coal  mder  oae  will  not  give  gcBcral  re- 
suits  That  these  obacrratioas  aaay  be 
•iVm  with  any  dagrae  of  aotoracy.  •*  is 
rable  to  weigh  the  coal  aad  mc  a 
-r  of  sooK  kiDd  hi  the  boOar^ 
line.     If  only  the  weight  of  the  ooal 

SUmed    h»^     y^^n    A-tmr^.n^ 

can   be    : 

the   wattniTTrr    rraaingi   anu  _ 

pounds  of  coal  per  hJoaran  how.  Il  ia 
thus  easy  to  determine  the  grade  of  fnti 
which  win  burn  with  the  beat  economy  m 
the  plant,  and  all  that  rimaini  lo  do  la 

tn  amtfrre  all  ooal  of  Ihia  grade  thai  ia 

o  any  contract  lo  make  Mre 

4I  in  each  carro  it  of  \hr  xMUa 
quality. 

The  ir—r-'i^  "■  ...m"''-'"  -"  aol 
familiar  arith  the  lamglwg  and  the  anair* 
•i«  of  coaL  It  ia  generally  tunssdind  thai 
this  It  totnrthing  beyond  them  and  r»- 
quiring  the  skill  of  a  rhnniat  ThM  M  a 
wrong  imprcmion.  as  any  anginoar  M 
ordinary  inliUfWi  can  analyi*  hia  own 
real  TwA  forms  of  analyaia  art  madt. 
'xf  '  akhaaic^  whsch  tagmrea  a 

.hrtnical  rlrfTH-n(«  Thas  is  aol  of  avy 
grrat  value  tu  the  eHg^~ ■  *  ''*W  ochv 
form    u    the    protmut-^  TWa 

give*  the  perrcniagaa  01  mMiii*  cao^ 
hauiblc  Amcd  carbon  and  aah.  which  ara 


f>i  ^^^t^ 
n    of    a 


fder    4s 


rrt  M  isiMtallr  adverae  to  the  pnr- 

e«p«nafve  liiiii  mibsi      la  Ma 

'n<fr»«-rf   can  ptmaii   sn  ^haai 

>   lai  aptnasw   and  rr- 

t     f   •ftOl  la 


the  roal 


i«4  mmI 


Utt   ttxu 


214 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  26,  1909. 


There  has  been  considerable  agitation 
for  the  purchasing  of  coal  on  the  B.t.u. 
basis,  which  is  all  right  as  far  as  it  goes, 
but  the  best  method  is  to  find  the  proper 
coal  and  then  contract  for  this  particular 
grade  and  obtain  it  as  long  as  possible, 
for  generally  if  too  many  requisites  are 
demanded  for  a  particular  coal  the  coal 
dealer  will  state  his  particular  price,  and 
in  the  end  but  little  is  gained. 


Pipe  Sizes  Without  Figures 
Bv  J.  E.  Bates 


Frequently  an  inquiry  or  discussion  is 
seen  in  the  correspondence  columns  of 
mechanical  journals  as  to  how  to  get  the 
proper  size  of  a  single  pipe  that  will  be 
required  to  carry  the  same  volume  as  two 
or  more  pipes,  and  while  it  can  be  figured 
out  very  readily  by  getting  the  area  of 
the  pipes,  there  is  a  much  quicker  way  of 
getting  the  same  results  which  has  the 
advantage  of  requiring  no  more  knowl- 
edge than  the  ability  to  read  correctly  the 
figures  on  a  rule. 

Suppose  there  are  an  engine  and  pump 
to  connect  up  and  it  is  desired  to  know 
what  size  of  pipe  will  be  ample  for  both. 
Take  a  steel  square  or  any  true  right 
angle  and  lay  off  the  diameters  of  the 
pipes  on  the  legs  of  the  square;  then 
measure  across  from  the  points  repre- 
senting these  diameters,  and  this  will  be 
the  diameter  of  pipe  wanted. 

Suppose  the  steam  inlet  to  the  engine  is 
3  inches  and  that  on  the  pump  i^  inches: 
then  the  distance  from  the  end  of  the  3- 
inch  mark.  Fig.  i,  to  the  end  of  the  1^- 
inch  mark  would  be  about  3H  inches, 
which  would  mean  the  nearest  commer- 
cial size,  or  a  3^-inch  pipe.  This  is  simply 
the  solution  of  a  right-angled  triangle,  in 


FIG.    4 

which      the     diameter     obtained     is     the 
hypotenuse. 

Taking  another  case,  suppose  we  have 
an  engine  with  a  4-inch  steam  inlet,  an- 
other engine  with  a  2j^-inch  steam  inlet 
and  a  pump  with  a  i^-inch  inlet.  Then  a 
right-angled  triangle,  Fig.  2,  with  a  base 
of  iJ4  inches  and  a  hight  of  21^  inches, 
will  have  a  hypotenuse  about  2^4  inches 
long.  Now  take  this  resulting  hypotenuse 
and  use  it  as  a  base  for  another  triangle, 
the  hight  of  which  will  be  equal  to  the 


inlet  diameter  of  the  other  engine.  The 
result  obtained  is  4'/$  inches,  or  a  5-inch 
pipe.  This  will  mean  that  a  S-inch  pipe 
will  be  run  from  the  boiler  to  the  4-inch 
connection,  a  3-inch  pipe  from  there  to 
the  other  engine,  and  a  ij^-inch  pipe  to 
the  pump,  assuming  that  the  pump  is 
farthest  away  from  the  boiler.  If  the 
engine  with  the  2>^-inch  opening  is 
farthest  from  the  boiler,  the  pump  next 
and  the  engine  with  a  4-inch  inlet  near- 
est, it  would   require   a   5-inch  pipe  from 


T^ 


the  boiler  to  the  4-inch  outlet,  a  3-inch 
pipe  on  to  the  pump  outlet  and  a  2^- 
inch  to  the  other  engine. 

Taking  it  another  way,  if  the  engine 
with  the  4-inch  inlet  was  farthest  from 
the  boilers,  the  2^-inch  connection  next 
and  the  pump  nearest,  the  problem  would 
be  as  represented  in  Fig.  3.  In  this  event 
there  would  be  a  5-inch  pipe  from  the 
boilers  to  the  smaller  engine,  with  a  i%- 
inch  outlet  to  the  pump  and  a  4-inch  pipe 
on  to  the  larger  engine. 

As  a  proof,  the  area  of  a  pipe  is  the 
square  of  its  diameter  in  inches  times 
0.7854,  or  to  express  it  in  a  formula, 
where  d  represents  diameter  in  inches,  we 
have : 

(P  X  0.7854  =  A. 

The  area  of  an  i^-inch  pipe  is  1.227 
square  inches ;  of  a  2j/2-inch  pipe,  4.908 
square  inches ;  of  a  4-inch  pipe,  12.566 
square  inches.  The  sum  of  these  areas 
gives  a  total  for  the  three  pipes  of  18.70 
square  inches.  The  area  of  a  5-inch  pipe 
is  19.635  square  inches,  which  is  the  near- 
est size. 

Suppose  the  pipes  are  10,  6  and  2  inches, 
respectively,  the  problem  would  work  out 
as  in  Fig.  4,  and  a  12-inch  pipe  would  be 
required.  Reducing  this  to  figures  as  a 
check,  we  obtain  : 

Square  ■ 
Im-lii-H. 

Area  of  10-lnch  p'pfi IH.rA 

Area  ol    6-inch  pipe 28.27 

Area  of    2-lnf;))  pipe 3.14 

Total 109 .95 

Area  of  12-inch  pipe 113.10 


To  find  the  size  of  pipe  required  for 
any  number  of  openings,  begin  at  the 
opening  farthest  from  the  boiler  and  work 
toward  the  boiler.  Suppose  there  qre  five 
different  steam  inlets  to  pipe  to,  which 
may  be  numbered  i,  2,  3,  4  and  5,  No.  i 
representing  the  opening  nearest  the  boiler 
and  the  others  numbering  consecutively 
as  to  their  relative  distances  from  the 
boiler.  For  sizes  take  No.  i  to  be  3^A 
inches  in  diameter;  No.  2,  5  inches;  No.  3, 
2  inches;  No.  4,  2^  inches;  No.  5,  6 
inches. 

Beginning  with  opening  No.  5  as  the 
base  and  opening  No.  4  as  the  hight,  a 
hypotenuse  of  6xV  inches  is  obtained. 
This  would  mean  the  use  of  a  6>2rinch 
pipe  between  No.  3  and  No.  4  openings, 
and  a  6-inch  pipe  between  No.  4  and  No.  5 
openings,  the  diameter  of  the  opening 
farthest  from  the  boiler  always  determin- 
ing the  size  of  the  pipe  to  use  between  it 
and  the  next  steam  outlet.  Taking  the 
hypotenuse  already  obtained  as  a  base, 
draw  another  triangle,  the  hight  of  which 
will  be  determined  by  the  diameter  of  No. 
3,  or  2  inches.  A  resulting  hypotenuse  of 
6^  inches  is  obtained,  and  this  means  a 
7-inch  pipe  between  No.  2  and  No.  3. 
Taking  this  last  hypotenuse  as  a  base  and 
opening  No.  2  for  the  hight,  a  hypotenuse 
of  8^8  inches  is  obtained,  or  an  8j^-inch 
pipe  between  No.  i  and  No.  2  openings. 
With  the  hypotenuse  last  obtained  as  a 
base  and  No.  i  opening  as  the  hight,  the 
final  resultant  is  QrV  inches,  which  will 
determine  the  size  of  pipe  to  run  between 
No.  I  opening  and  the  boilers,  or  practi- 
cally a  9-inch  pipe. 

By  computation  the  following  areas  are 
obtained : 


No. 
3 

^g 

^^'--^%. 

Uo. 

^^^^/ 

FIG.  5 

Square 
Inches.^ 

Area  of  No.  1  pipe  ....*. 9.621 

Area  of  No.  2  pipe 19.63.5 

Area  of  No.  3  plpo  3.142 

Area  of  No.  4  pipe 4-908 

Area  of  No.  5  pipe  28.274 

Total  area 65.580 

Area  of  9-inch  pipe 63.617 

This  is  within  1.963  square  inches  of 
what  the  figures  call  for,  which  is  cer- 
tainly near  enough  for  all  practical  pur- 
poses. 


January  26,   1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


*>s 


Cylinder   Ratio*   for   Compound        '^^  terminal  pressure  is  not  given  it  mty    cqtuiljr 
Engines  '  "«  **»•  initial  by  th. 


The  accompanying  table  gh'cs  the  cylin- 
ler  ratios  which  in  two-stage  compouri'!- 
wilf  produce  an  equal  division  of  the  work 
letwccn  the  two  cylinders,  with  no  drop 
^r  I'rce  expansion  in  the  rec'.-iver.    It  con- 
only  the  ideal  diagram,  unaffected 
carance,     wire    drawing,    compres- 
tc 

I  the  total  ratio  of  expansion  in 
-t  rohmin.  If  not  given,  it  may  be 
Hig  the  initial  by  the  ter- 
IxJth  absolute. 
i'ie  the  back  pressure  by  the  termi- 
cssure,  both  absolute,  and  find  the 
nt  at  the  head  of  the  columns.     If 


Ml  n.   will   be   fotmd    the    cylmdcr    ratto 
which  will  produce  an  equal  division  of 
the  load  as  represented  by  the  ideal  dta 
gram. 

What  ihonW  Sr  the  ratio  between  the 
cylinder   ■  '.   engine  to  work 

with    an    :  of    ijo  pound*. 

.ihioiutc,     ten  1*     and     exhau*t 

agamst   an   ab>-  .-.■ ^k   pressure  of  3 

pounds,  in  order  that  the  work  may  be 


Th< 


natnral 


.m    cods    M    a    pomi.    ihr 


Cylinder  Ratios  for  Compound  E-neine*.  with  Elqual  Distribution  trl  I.oad. 


0  QL-oncvr  or  Hack  fuza^i.mM.  Utviuui  »t  Ti-uuxai.  i'«t— f ■«.  tiutu  X>- 

U.05     0.10     0.15     0  20     0.25     0  30     0  U     040     0  4'      "    '-"     " 


/Ul  I    /. ' 


8.S 


15  5 


17  & 


III 


If  & 


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2l6 


POWER, AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  26,  1909. 


terminal  is  unity.  The  values  in  the  body 
of  the  table  are  the  volumetric  ratios;  the 
volume  of  the  low-pressure  cylinder  di- 
vided by  the  volume  of  the  high-.  The 
second  row  of  figures  give  the  ratios  of 
cylinder  diameters  when  the  strokes  are 
the  same.  For  example,  in  an  engine 
using  13  expansions  and  with  a  back  pres- 
sure one-half  the  terminal,  the  low-pres- 
sure cylinder  must  have  2.81  times  the 
volume  and  1.68  times  the  diameter  of  the 
high-.  The  derivation  of  the  formula  by 
which  the  table  was  computed  is  given  in 
another  column. 


Marine  Engines 

About  the   reciprocating  marine  engine 
there  is  absolutely  nothing  new  to  record. 
The  manufacture  of  such  engines  has  be- 
come  as   simple   and  monotonous   as   the 
weaving    of    calico.      Attention    has    been 
concentrated   on   the   turbine.     The  posi- 
tion,   so    far   as   marine   propulsion   as   a 
whole  stands,  has  been  made  quite  clear. 
The  turbine,  to  be  efficient,  drives  the  pro- 
peller too   fast  for  it  to  be  efficient,  ex- 
cept for  speeds  over  18  knots.     Either  the 
turbine  must  be  sacrificed  to  the  propel- 
ler, or  the  propeller  to  the  turbine.    It  has 
come  to  be  fully  understood  that  the  econ- 
omy of  the  turbine  lies  at  the  low-pressure 
•  end.     In   the   reciprocating  engine   steam 
cannot,  as  a  rule,  be  expanded  much  below 
7   pounds   absolute    in    the    low-pressure 
cylinder.     This  cuts  off  a  large  section  of 
the  toe  of  the  diagram.     But  the  turbine 
can  work  down  to   i^   pounds  absolute. 
The  result  is  that,  instead  of  exhausting 
direct  from  the  low-pressure  cylinder  into 
the  condenser,  it  is  worth  while  to  inter- 
pose a  turbine  and  exhaust  through  it  to 
a  condenser  fitted  with   special   auxiliary 
air   extractors.     This   turbine  may  be   of 
fairly  large  diameter  running  at  a  reasona- 
ble speed.    Three  screws  are  then  used  to 
propel  the  ship.     This  system  of  propul- 
sion  has  been   for  some  time  under  dis- 
cussion, and  has  at  last  been  put  to  the 
test  on  a  large  scale.     The  first  merchant 
steamer  to   be  fitted   is  the  "Otaki,"   the 
property  of  the    New    Zealand    Shipping 
Company,   Limited,   London.     The   vessel 
was  built  by  W.  Denny  Brothers,  and  en- 
gined    by    Denny   &    Co.,    Limited,    Dum- 
barton.    The  "Otaki"   is  fitted   with   two 
sets  of  reciprocating  engines  in  the  wings, 
driving  twin   screws;   between  these  two 
engines  is  interposed  a  low-pressure  tur- 
bine  of  very  large  size,  which   drives  a 
center  screw.     The  turbine  revolves  only 
in  the  ahead  direction,  and  change  valves 
are  fitted  so  that  the  steam  may  be  either 
passed  directly  into  the  condenser  or  to 
the  turbine.     Hence   in   maneuvering  the 
vessel    becomes    an    ordinary  twin-screw. 
The  twin-screw  engines  are  triple-expan- 
sion of  the  ordinary  design,  241^4,  39  and 
58    by    39.      The    "Otaki"    is    virtually    a 
•sister  ship  to  the  "Orari,"  which  was  built 
and  delivered  in   1906  to  the  same  com- 


pany. The  boiler  installation  is  precisely 
the  same  as  in  the  "Orari."  The  only 
alteration  that  was  made  by  the  builders 
was  that  the  length  was  slightly  increased 
to  make  up  for  the  loss  due  to  the  three 
tunnels,  as  against  two  in  the  "Orari,"  and 
the  stern  post  was  so  arranged  that  the 
third  screw  could  be  fitted  in  an  aperture. 
The  dimensions  of  the  "Otaki"  are 
464x60x34  feet,  or  4  feet  6  inches  longer 
than  the  "Orari."  Otherwise  the  vessels 
are  the  same.  The  economical  results 
seem  to  be  very  good.  During  the  trial 
trip  of  the  ship,  which  were  made  in  No- 
vember, the  consumption  of  water  for  all 
purposes  came  out  at  12.3  pounds  per 
indicated  horsepower  per  hour,  a  con- 
sumption probably  the  best  ever  attained 
at  sea. 

The  purpose  of  the  combination  we 
have  just  described  is  the  attainment  of 
the  economy  of  fuel.  It  has  not  been 
adapted  to  get  over  the  speed-efficiency 
trouble.  During  the  last  year  a  radically 
different  scheme  has  attracted  a  good  deal 
of  attention.  It  is  to  let  the  turbine  run 
at  that  number  of  revolutions  which  best 
suits  it,  and  the  propeller  at  its  best  speed, 
the  reconciliation  of  conflicting  conditions 
being  effected  by  the  interposition  of 
transmission  gear  of  some  kind.  When 
the  screw  propeller  was  first  introduced 
it  was  found  that  it  would  have  to  be  run 
too  fast  for  the  slowly  revolving  st.eam 
engines  of  those  days.  Therefore  gearing 
was  introduced,  the  screw  making  two  or 
three  turns  for  each  one  of  the  crank 
shaft.  Now  we  find  the  conditions  re- 
versed, and  it  has  been  proposed  to  drive 
the  screw  by  spur  gearing.  The  circum- 
stances are  more  favorable  than  those  just 
mentioned,  because  a  pinion  will  drive  a 
spur  wheel  with  less  loss  of  power,  less 
friction  and  vibration,  than  a  spur  wheel 
will  drive  a  pinion.  But  electricity  pro- 
vides a  better  way  out  of  the  difficulty. 
The  turbine  drives  a  dynamo  at  one  speed, 
and  that  drives  motors  at  a  much  lower 
speed.  All  the  arguments  in  favor  of  this 
plan  were  very  ably  set  forth  by  W.  P. 
Durtnall  to  the  Institute  of  Marine  Engi- 
neers on  July  2  and  dealt  with  in  our  im- 
pressions for  July  24  and  November  6. 

Superheating  enjoys  a  strictly  qualified 
popularity.  Used  in  moderation  it  pro- 
motes economy  without  drawbacks.  At- 
tempts to  use  very  hot  steam,  however, 
have  not  been  commercially  successful.  It 
would  occupy  far  more  space  than  we  can 
spare  to  set  forth  the  reasons  why  in  any 
detail.  Great  benefit  is  obtained  by  dry- 
ing the  steam  thoroughly  in  the  super- 
heater, and  raising  its  temperature  about 
100  degrees  in  the  valve  chest  above  that 
normal  to  the  pressure.  With  such  steam, 
and  a  pressure  of  160  pounds,  and  clear- 
ance reduced  to  a  minimum,  an  indicated 
iiorsepower  may  be  had  for  a  pound  of 
good  coal  per  hour,  and  this  may  be  re- 
garded as  the  most  that  can  be  obtained 
from  any  commercial  kind  of  steam  en- 
gine whatever. — The  Engineer,  London. 


Gas    Power    as    an    Aid    to 
Electrical  Industries 


By  TPhilip  W.  Robson 


Most  of  the  generating  stations  in  oui 
smaller  towns  find  it  difficult  to  show 
satisfactory  financial  results.  This  is  nol 
a  prejudiced  statement,  for  though  per- 
sonally I  have  long  felt  its  truth,  I  arr 
able  to  quote  a  prominent  electrical  engi- 
neer as  its  author.  I  refer  to  J.  F.  C 
Snell,  who  dealt  fully  with  this  aspect  oi 
the  matter  in  his  paper  read  in  the  earlj 
part  of  last  year  before  the  Institution  oi 
Electrical  Engineers.  On  account  of  their 
unsatisfactory  financial  position,  Mr.  Snell 
actually  advised  the  entire  elimination  oi 
independent  electricity  stations  in  the 
smaller  towns  in  favor  of  central  plants 
each  supplying  groups  of  towns.  This 
drastic  step  is  not  at  all  necessary  if  gas 
power  is  adopted  in  lieu  of  steam,  and 
this  opinion  is  the  result  of  the  frequent 
opportunities  I  have  had  of  making  care- 
ful comparison  in  the  actual  running 
costs  of  the  best  steam  engines  as  against 
gas  engines.  I  will  give  one  characteristic 
example  of  a  new  slow-speed  vertical-mill 
steam  engine  fitted  with  surface  con- 
denser and  all  the  latest  steam-saving 
appliances : 

COMPARATIVE  COSTS. 


Output  of  engine 

Weekly  working  costs, 
55  hours: 

Coal 

Coke 

Wages . 

Oil 

Water 

Sundries 

Weekly  saving  in  favor 
of  gas  engines 

Annual  (52  weeks)  sav- 
ing in  favor  of  gas 
engines 


Steam. 


250  I.H.P. 


£9  10  0 
0  0  0 
2  16 
15  0 
0  7  6 
0   15     2 


£13  19     2 


Gas. 


250  I.H.P. 


£0  01 

3     0  0 

2     0  0 

0     6  0 

0     0  0 

0     5  9 


£5  11     9 

8     75 

435     5     8 


In  the  above  comparison  both  the  steam 
engine  and  the  gas  engine  are  assumed  to 
work  on  constant  load,  but  in  the  case  of 
the  fluctuating  load  which  is  usually  ex- 
perienced in  a  generating  station,  the 
comparative  saving  would  be  still  more  in 
favor  of  the  gas-power  plant,  while  the 
standby  losses  with  the  latter  would  be 
practically  negligible.  For  such  reasons 
it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  run- 
ning costs  of  a  small  station  driven  by  gas 
engines  will  be  only  one-third  of  the  pres- 
ent costs  with  a  steam  plant.  In  addition, 
it  is  not  to  be  forgotten  that  with  a  gas- 
engine  combination  there  is  no  boiler,  and 
consequently  no  smoke,  and  few  ashes, 
besides  which  the  plant  can  be  got  on  full 
load  within  30  minutes  from  starting  with 
everything  cold. 

It  is  pleasant  to  record  that  during  the 
year  several  gas  engines  have  been 
ordered   for  use  in  such  generating  sta- 


January  26,   1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


tions,  and  I  do  not  doubt  that  experience 
will  justify  a  great  extension  of  their 
adoption.  I  believe  that  gas  power  will 
prove  to  be  the  salvation  of  small  sta- 
tions. 

Lasce  Units  for  Big  Stations 
he  problem  of  large    units    is    quite 
•crent.     The  large   gas  engine  is  still 
L   :nparatively    in    its     infancy,    and    the 

0  of    the     Johannesburg     station     is 
'   sufficient  in  itself  to  scare  even  bold 

Is  from  contemplating  lar^e  >fas  units 
progress    is   being    maintained   at    a 

1  rate,  and  an  astonishing  chan^;c  of 
ng  ha«i  takrn  place  in  the  yr.ir  In 
t  of  this,  the  city  of  Birmingham  is 
illy  inviting  proposals  at  the  present 

for    3000-kilowatt    gas-driven    sets, 
lidence  has  been   restored  to  a  large 
:it  by  the  organized  visits  which  lead- 
'lectrical  engineers  have  paid  to  the 
•incnt  in  the  course  of  the  year,  when 
'.as    made    pcjssible    for    them    to    see 
V   large  engines  successfully  at  work, 
think  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  best 
-  of  brge  engine  work  well,  and  the 
consumption    is   only  about   one-half 
of  the  best  large  steam  engines,  but 
nnection  with  their  adoption  I  would 
if  I   may  do  so  without   being  mis- 
rstood,  to  utter  a  word  of  warning, 
-^e  are  two  chief  factors  in  making  a 
prime  mover  a  success :  it  must  first 
be  made  right,  and  it  must  afterward  be 
»■  rkcd      right.       Both      require      special 
vledge,   and,    speaking    from    experi- 
1..  '  <.  as  an  engine  maker,  I  am  bound  to 
admit  that   I   very  often  find  our  engines 
*      -r   looked   after   by  the    station   engi 
■>    and    attendants    than    by    our    own 
I   think   other   engine   makers   will 
mr  out  in  this,  and  after  all  one  of 
itial    elements    in    the    successful 
n  of  gas   power  on   a  big   scale 
in   central    stations   is   that    station   engi- 
neers  shall   in   all  cases   be  educated   up 
to  them.     With  this  (bject  in  view  I  ad- 
that   a   ti     '  i/ed 

lit  be  firs'  say 

a    unit    u:     l:.  :i:    4QO   to    5(»  > 
Thii    wr>'iM    •<!^v^^•<    h«"    n 


an   rxtx-ritiK Dtal    set    to    make    all    coii- 
'••■fncd   ;»;ijiuinted    with    the   general   he- 
ir and  inanngrment  of  gas  units.   Tbe 
«ition  from  this  first  set  to  a  tub«e 
t   larger  unit   would  be  to  easy  and 
'  !    ■  complete 

1 
thr 

Xi'  rf     yttW     wr)rk     <|llltr     .0 

!U)n,  'hose  of  3U"i>  1;  .f^'■.•     a 

that  apart  from  t{>acr 

ii  not  at  present  a  gre^ti  » -  •  > 

tbe  larger  unita. 

:tAM  TuRBiNu  vtasus  Ga*  Enoin 
I  am  ;    • 
which  w 


parison  of  the  merit*  of  »h*  tarbin^  with 

those  of  the  '. 

frequently.  }■ 

m<:  •  cr.     ibc 

tuf'  .  ini     jfi.I 

consequently   a    L. 

water   for  the  con 

plant    will    work 

water.      *     :  iij,»kffj, 

of  these  imors  of 

the  rapid  <!! 

renewal  of  h 

arc 

wil 

son.     Nor  must   it   be 

only  pressure  in  a  l-.i^  ,    ,   _. 

within  the  worku  There  are 

no  high-pressure  U,...  .  -  ..  <.  J  heaters,  feed 
and  steam  pipes,  and  all  the  other  high- 
prc-  "tigs  which  are  necessary  in  a 

mt)  .  plant.  The  absence  of  these 

is  an  important  advantage. 

The  L'se  or  By-i-  ^*is 

There  has  been  a  gr-  ^lon  dur- 

ing the  year  in  the  use  ot  gas  engine*  in 
conjunction  with  blast  furfi.r  md  cokc- 
nvcn  gases,  which  are  't  of  the 

great   iron   works  and  <.<>iiirs  ;-^      In  the 
majority    of    cases    these    engines    drive 
dynamos,  and  the  works  are  accordit  . 
tquipfv-d    fnr    r|ertri<*    dn\r       This    *p 

of  —  a  HKA*: 

\a;  .  !r<t  for 

elect  ricai    engineers    than    t  ..'ine 

builders      There  are  many        .  ooi 

at  the  present  time  for  engines  and 
dytumos  for  this  class  of  work,  a  great 
deal  of  which  will  be  carried  out  in  the 
course  of  the  new  year 

Isnu^Tto  Inst 
The  pa»t  vr.ir  ^.i*  %»  '•^nftnn- 

ance  of  • 
plants,     i 

influence  on  the  - 
cal  working  of  g.' 
ducers.  and  it  is  t 

cal  ■ '   *"'■'  '"  '  ■•- ""    "• 

pr<"  with  economy  in  > 


an<t 

gra'-i  — 
ating  dcctriri' 

MrUCTIMO   iNTt*' 

In    Tti cimiparatKcIv     !•  > 

wherr     fftrjt.     cirrrnt      i»      j^a'Ii'' 

'  e  pubbc  tupp' 
■  fvlnohtMnT  ri 


Heetrseal  tntrgf  m  al  tmAn  (actoncs 
iHiyrnnd  wkh.  aad  keacc  if  ga* 
4re  put  m.  <ljniaaos  are  abe  re 
qutmL  The  ekctrkal  trades  bcBcfci  tWrr- 


'.■■tt    to    .It     lTX%t     An    r>i'u>1 


tk* 


L^KZ.    rr*A*«r 


the  ose  of  gas 

i\A%  iiuj  na'i  tnc  rtfcci  ol  »k«lts«B  OMI  a« 

enonoovs     Butaber     of     Moderate     laaad 

^moa    and    oclwr    cqiupmcnt.    to    tW 

OS  AiatAt  antagi  of  the  elacirK  tndt» 

sbovid  be  a^ccaalljr  noted  al  pras 

•  hen  masy  of  tbe  Latter  are  aaiorts- 

a   moac   dcpetaacd  cosdHMMS  — 

•r..«;  Tim*4.  L<Mid>Mi 


New  Swedish  PcAt  InvcoboQ 


In  stattaf  that  ooAstderablr  mamtf  bas 
been  expended  on  Dartmoor  aad  llw  Goaa 

and  Tt^v,.K%  n  .  •.  .•>  F>>cUnd  m  aitsmpti 
to  marlMtabk  tarn 

r--  «   ^♦ai  joatfb  C 

■«    ■'  •mooib    ol    a 

prr-  'Htlj  »(ircr»*ful 

1  'SBplo^^M  "••  tne 

its  jei   bal    Ibc 

n*  ricd    vtib    a 

•  fur  aw  as  a  fnd  bi 

the  loww^  or  for  pm- 

ting  It  to    other    nsefvl    parposrs.    bave 

hitherto  ••«.«r.t    ,  ,    !^..r    I  .wt       K    a«v 

method  *rd 

according  t<^  *  >  •  jh  ">uit...i  ,..-j«.  »   iiiic 

it    IS  claimed,   prat   nuy   bcvoaH  •  wy 

"     cotnmodity      TW  aiiialoe  b  a 

icientMi,  wte  bat  be«n  casBfd 

IS   cApcruner*  ars  aad  baa  aa« 

reached  th«-  »  »«»T*  laciery 

plant  hi 

TY  r  h»  pML 

"oai  the  kog.  h  ana  of  all 


■•«mI  • 


H    timaa   imposMtal*   10 

«f,^      r^it     At       »f.Iifv*fi     t»-Ttf»*»*1  >»»'      W^ 


f.rvXiCi 


2l8 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


January  26,  1909. 


POWER 

DEVOTED  TO    THE    GENEll ATIOX    AND 
TRANSMISSION   OF   POWER 

Issued  Weekly  by  the 

Hill  Publishing  Company 

John  a.  Hili.  Pres.  and  Treas.         Roi-.f.rt  M.  Ke  \n,  Sec'y. 

jO.')  Pearl  Street.  New  York. 

So")  Dearborn  Street.  Chicago. 

6  Boiiverie  Street,  London.  E.  ('. 


Visiting 


Correspondence  suitable  for  the  columns  of 
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dre.ss  of  correspondents  must  be  given — not  nec- 
essarily for  publication. 

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of  Congress  of  March  3.  1S79. 


Cable  address.  "PowpfB."  X.  Y, 
Business  Telegraph  Code. 


CIRCULATION    STATEMENT 

Dttrinrj  1908  we  printed  and  circulated 
1.836,000  copies  of  Power. 

Our  circulation  for  December,  1908,  was 
(tceekly  and  monthly)  191,500. 

January    .5 46,000 

January    VI 38,000 

January    19 38,000 

January    26 38,000 

None  sent  free  regularly,  no  returns  from 
ncics  companies,  no  back  numbers.  Figures 
ore  live,  net  circulation. 


Contents  page 

Setting  the  Valves  of  the  Cummer  En- 
gine         181 

Use  and  Abuse  of  Follower  Bolts 186 

Blowing  the  Works  Whistle  Auto- 
matically         188 

A     Split     Cylinder     on     the     Steamship 

"St.     Paul" 190 

Catechism    of   Electricity 190 

Condenser  and  Back  Pressures  in  Re- 
frigerating   Plants    191 

Inaccuracies  Due  to  Drum  Motion  Dis- 
tortion         192 

Reservoir  Moved  by   Internal   B'orces.  .  .  .    195 

Experiments   in  Gas   Producers 196 

Practical  Letters  From  Practical  Men  : 
Governor  Link  Arm  Caused  Trouble 
....Induction  Motor  Operates  as  a 
Generator  ....  Hygrometry  ....Sea 
Water  Caused  Foaming"  ....  Com- 
pound Feeder.  ..  .High  Water  Level 
.  .  .  .Air  Compression  Under  Dif- 
ficulties...  .Criticism  of  Turbine 
Installations.  .  .  .Centrifugal  Pumps 
....  Dashpot  Does  Not  Seat .... 
Pumping  Hot  Water.  ..  .Cause  of 
Trouble  with  Oil  In  Bearings.... 
Pressure  Required  to  Lift  a  Check 
Valve....  Practical  Hygrometers 
.  .  .  .Indicating  Engines.  .  .  .Central 
Valve  p:ngines.  ...Introducing  Steam 
Into  Heating  Coils.  ..  .Commutator 
Troubles  ....  A  Chronograph  .... 
Rope  Drive  for  Governors.  ..  .Mr. 
Sheehan's  Motor  Trouble.... 
Whistle  Made  from  a  Mercury 
F'lask.  .  .  .An    F>ror    in    Figures.... 

Homemade    Blower    Head 197-206 

A  Concrete  Feed-Water  Storage  Tank .  .  .    207 

Electric     Dynamometers 209 

Compound    Cylinder    Ratios     for     Equal 

Work     r 210 

Heat    in    Steam 211 

Heat  Losses  in  an  Electric  Power  Station  213 

Purchasing  and   Burning  of  Coal 213 

Pipe  Sizes  Without  Figures 214 

Cylinder    Ratios    for    Compound    Engines  215 

Marine    Engines 216 

Gas  Power  as  an  Aid  to  Electrical  In- 
dustries        216 

Editorials     218-219 


The  engineer  who  has  frequent  oppor- 
tunities to  visit  other  plants  than  his  own 
possesses  a  material  advantage.  To  see 
other  makes  and  types  of  apparatus,  to 
exchange  ideas  with  other  engineers  re- 
garding methods  and  results,  to  discuss 
difficulties  and  swap  experiences,  can  but 
ir.ake  a  man  broader,  better  informed  and 
capable  of  greater  things. 

Comparatively  few  engineers  are  so 
favored.  The  activity'  of  the  ordinary 
member  of  the  craft  is  confined  to  a  small 
sphere,  and  the  condition  that  he  shall  be 
constantly  within  it  is  imperative.  When 
he  does  get  a  day  off  he  is  naturally  more 
it'clined  to  spend  it  in  some  other  way 
than  in  visiting  other  plants.  And  yet 
there  are  evenings  when  one  might  drop 
in  at  the  power  house  or  the  electric-light 
station  or  some  of  the  hotel  and  other 
plants  which  run  at  night. 

Have  j-ou  exhausted  the  possibilities  for 
information  of  all  the  plants  in  your 
neighborhood? 

Have  you  noticed  that  it  is  the  man 
who  devotes  some  of  his  spare  time  to 
visiting  around  in  this  way  who  gets  on, 
and  who  is  looked  up  to  and  sought  when 
something  of  importance  is  up? 

The  next  best  thing  to  visiting  one- 
self is  being  visited.  An  intelligent  and 
interested  caller  can  be  made  a  fertile 
source  of  information,  and  in  return  for 
your  courtesies  to  him  will  gladly  be 
drawn  upon  for  any  knowledge  which  he 
may  possess  about  the  things  in  which 
you  are  especially  interested.  The  men 
who  knew  two  or  three  things  about  engi- 
neering and  hugged  them  to  themselves, 
have  been  swept  aside  (they  never  were 
engineers)  by  men  who  by  a  free  ex- 
change of  knowledge  have  learned  more 
in  weeks  than  the  niggards  would  acquire 
in  a  lifetime. 

And  finally  for  the  man  who  has  neither 
the  chance  to  make  visits  to  nor  receive 
visits  from  his  kind  there  is  the  weekly  or 
monthly  arrival  of  his  technical  paper. 
Here  he  will  find  accounts  of  the  visits 
of  the  editors  to  different  remarkable  and 
interesting  plants.  Photographs  of  the 
different  features  of  the  plant  will  be  re- 
produced, so  that  the  reader  who  follows 
the  article  clqsely  and  intelligently  may 
know  how  the  plant  looks  and  how  it  is 
put  together  almost  as  well  as  though  he 
had  been  over  it  himself.  These  articles 
are  not  simple  enumerations  and  catalog 
descriptions  of  the  proprietary  articles  and 
machinery  which  go  to  make  up  a  power 
plant,  but  seek  to  answer  the  questions 
that  an  intelligent  engineer  would  ask  and 
to  point  out  the  things  which  would  in- 
terest and  attract  him  if  he  were  visiting 
the  plant  himself.  In  your  paper  also 
those  who  have  had  exceptional  oppor- 
tunities for  observation  or  have  devoted 
study  and  thought  to  some  particular  sub- 
ject come  to  talk  to  you  upon  the  things 
with    which    they  are   especially   qualified 


to  deal,  and  if  you  do  not  catch  their 
meaning  and  require  some  point  straight- 
ened out,  they  or  the  editors  are  always 
glad  to  be  called  upon  for  an  explanation. 
If  you  do  not  agree  with  them,  there  are 
the  correspondence  columns  where  you 
can  argue  it  out  with  them  and  other  con- 
tributors to  your  own  satisfaction,  besides 
making  a  little  cigar  or  book  money  by 
your  trouble. 

The  next  time  you  have  a  caller,  try 
to  make  it  worth  his  while  to  have  called, 
and  do  not  let  him  go  until  you  have 
profited  by  all  that  he  is  able  and  willing 
to  tell  you. 

And  the  next  time  your  paper  comes  see 
if  you  have  been  getting  out  of  it  all  the 
good  which  it  is  capable  and  willing  to 
do  vou. 


Failure    of    a  Butt  Joint 


On  another  page  of  this  issue  will  be 
found  a  description  of  the  failure  of  a 
triple-riveted  butt  double-strapped  boiler 
seam.  (Two  other  similar  cases  are 
known  to  the  writer  of  the  article.)  From 
the  description  of  this  failure  it  would  ap- 
pear that  it  was  caused  by  an  action  simi- 
lar to  that  supposed  to  produce  a  like  de- 
lect in  the  lap  form  of  seam.  It  has  gen- 
erally been  assumed  that  this  defect  in  the 
lap  seam  was  caused  by  the  ends  of  the 
sheets  being  out  of  line,  and  the  circum- 
ferential stresses  produced  by  internal 
pressure  causing  the  plates  to  bend  along 
the  oiiter  line  of  rivet  heads,  this  action 
being  repeated  with  each  chajige  or  pul- 
sation in  the  steam  pressure. 

While  this  explanation  is  doubtless  in 
the  main  correct,  it  does  not  explain  why 
these  lap  cracks  invariably  start  on  the 
under  side  of  the  outer  lapping  sheet  and 
never  on  the  top  of  the  under  lapping 
sheet.  As  far  as  the  foregoing  theory  of 
their  formation  is  concerned,  they  should 
be  as  likely  to  occur  on  one  side  of  the 
lap  as  the  other.  It  is  not  impossible  that 
the  form  of  the  seam  is  not  the  only  factor 
to  be  held  responsible  when  failure  occurs 
to  a  lap  joint. 

While  the  record  of  a  single  failure  of 
the  butt  form  of  joint  would  not  justify 
speculation  as  to  the  probability  of  other 
failures  of  a  similar  character,  it  does  not 
require  a  great  stretch  of  the  imagination 
to  picture  this  type  of  joint  being  made 
so  that  the  true  cylindrical  form  of  the 
boiler  would  not  be  maintained  at  the 
joint,  and  as  a  consequence  bending  of  the 
sheet  might  take  place  in  operation. 

It  has  been  previously  suggested  in 
these  columns  that  there  is  an  apparent 
need  for  further  investigation  of  riveted 
joints  and  it  would  seem  that  there  is  an 
interesting  and  profitable  field  of  investi- 
gation open  to  some  institution  of  learn- 
ing, to  determine  by  actual  experiment  on 
boilers  under  pressure  just  how  deforma- 
tion occurs  at  the  seams  when  made  true 
to  form  and  otherwise. 


January  26,   igoj. 

The  State  of  Massachusetts  is  spend- 
ing, directly  and  indirectly,  a  vast  sum  of 
[noney  annually  in  an  endeavor  to  in- 
lurc  as  far  as  possible  that  steam  Ixiihr^ 
m  its  bounds  be  immune  from  ex|)l<».i<-ii. 
^Vhy  would  not  a  careful  investigation  of 
what  actually  happens  to  boiler  joints  un- 
ler  working  conditions  be  of  advantage 
ir  accomplishing  the  desired  result? 

If  maintaining  the  true  cylindrical  form 
>f  tile  shell  at  a  butt-strapped  seam  is  of 
fqua!   importance  to  the   type  of  joint   in 
ring   it   safe   for  continued   use,   the 
r   the   facts  arc    known    the    better, 
of    boiler    construction    is    of   the 
^t  importance  to  the  public,  and  no 
kature  should  be  guessed  at  or  surmised 
that  will  admit  of  direct  proof  by  experi- 
ment.     The    numl>cr    of    extremely    dan- 
r  -      -    cracks    that    have    recently    b«*en 
crcd    in    boilers,    before    they    have 
ly    caused    explosions,    would    seem 
lit  to  a  need  for  a  periodical  exami- 
I    of    old    boilers    under    hydrostatic 
re,   with   all   the   longitudinal   seams 
•red   so  that   every   facility   may  be 
<-d  to  detect  such  defects. 

fact    that    the   boiler    did    not    ex- 
is  evidently  due  to  the  fact  that  the 
although    split    nearly    across,    was 
■  d  in  position  by  being  riveted  to  the 
of  the  head  on  one  side  and  to  the 
-   sheet  on  the  other. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


Ji9 


The  Actual  Cost  of  Power 

the   great   majority   of   cases   where 

ccjsts  are  figured  from  the  records 

rating  plants,  the  t<Jtal  expense  per 

;x^>\ver  or  per  kilowatt -hour  is  calcu- 

Aithout  taking  into  account  the  fixed 

■  •■*  of  the  installation.     It   is  usually 

rnt    from   the   p<unt  of  view   of  the 

operator    to    determine    what    his 

-    costs    him    month    by    month,    as 

t'actured   under   the  local   conditions 

station,     lie  ca4i  ordinarily  do  little 

thing   to   reduce    the   tixed   charges, 

V     ;<   by   properly  maintaining  the  plant 

■'      tfset    its    depreciation;    the    o|)eratiiig 

pure   and   simple,   are   the    facts  he 

deal  with,  and  u|M>n  which  he  must 

lis  work  in  the  interests  of  economi- 

-iMluction. 

IS  important   for  the  engineer  to  lie 

'    10  figure   power  costs  including  the 

x«>l    charges,    however,    when    (Kcasion 

•  ciate  the  influence  of 

•,    depreciation,    insur- 

'■.iXK*  on  the  unit  cost  <>f  jH^rr 

It    is    eviflrnf    th.lt    thr    v;rr.itrr 

■  that  cm  '  'it. 

ill  Ik-  the  !  •  <<'S 

'lit      In  v>me  case*  these  charges  .if 

high,  in  others  low.    An  example  nt 

'    power  actually  cottt  in  a  nKxlrrn 

igine  slAlion  in  the  past  yr.ir  ni.iv  l>e 

This  stalitm  n'titaineil  i»>>    Vmrri- 

DirsrI     rPKinrs     of     ^tJf, 

with  triplr   ir>xJ4-inch  > 

<  trd  to  .illernalors  runitiutf    1O4 
^   per   minute 


The  total  eo«t  of  the  station  was  shf>'rt      attnij  trrmnmy  and  serrk-r   ftii^^'fty    ire 


M<    piatii   was  made  up  01   t  ^     mg 

itiiiis:      Fuel   oil.   Su*)      a  I     r„,i 

and  waste.  $347;  w.  . 

pairs.  $5;  oil-pbnt  ;-, .  ,-*.,.  v.^^.,iv 

plant  repairs.  $ij;  total.  fXiJ^.  The 
ci.ergy  delivered  at  the  swit  ' '  '  .  m 
817.000     kilowatt  hours.     Th-  i^ 

«■<>^t   was  thus  abtiut    I   cent   ;•• 
li««ur.     The  total  cost  of  thf  ■ 
e\er.   included   the     • 
cost    of    the    pLinl. 

cent. ;    depreciation,    taken    at    seven    per 
cent. ;  taxes,  one  per  cent. ;  insurance,  one 
per  cent. ;  total  fixed  charges,  fifteen  per 
cent.     The  plant   cost   was  made  up  of: 
Building,   $J9.j88:    real     esUte.     $I7,VS7; 
oil     paint.     $j8.500     ($85.50    per     hurse 
IH>wer )  ;   electric   plant.  $0500.     The  total 
fixed  charges  were,  ther- 
cent.    of    $ir»?.nnr».    or 
year.     Tli 
tion  per  k 

the   fixed   charges   per   k  ir.  the 

latter  coming  to  about    i  ,.  Thus 

the  total  cost  of  producing  power  in  this 
plant   is  not  far  from  2.gj  cents  per  unit 
generated,  and  the  influence  of  the  inilul 
t  in  the  station  become*  clearly 

111  nuking  the  choice 
ment.  it    is.  of  course.   : 
sider   the    features   of  operat 
ence  and  reliability,  safet\ 
heavy   repairs,  overload 
liability  of  the  fiukers.  t! 
the  equipment  for  repair 


FuTDAce  Afcha 
It  hai  hem  Mid,  and  hftti|«    iH*' 


1  9fum  tkr  mat 

and    cent*    denunds    not    ooly    that    tW 

UiaJI   br  caaMrvclc^ 

A   be   burard   to  tW 

Uut   tlul  a  km  grade  ol 

'«-   *rtfrrr^   tr;.- -rttfttlly. 

e  bnt 

f   iKi. 

t«  moer  yoybf 

,^j  i«,n  f^.   ^ 

:    furtuKT    It   rftomi    b»< 

eOL  as  the  CMt 
trh  mtn,  «Imc^ 


.ly    be    excellent,   av    111   ihc    •-a^c 
..    on    oil    costing    fntm     i    to    4 
cents  per  gallon:  the  rej  Mr  from 

alarniing,  also;  but  the  ''f  the 

station  is  high.    It  mast  »1. 

;...,,.,. I, luring  a  case  of '.!  .    ..  he 

-  of  the  plant  exerts  a  pnwer fn! 
i!;:r;.iur  irti  the  ultimate  economy  of  pro 
diiction.      The   output   of   the    statKm    for 


year    .tt    ! 

If  the  CI- 

load  <  n   ' 

hour  «lue  ' 

go  down.     If  the  plant  could  be  o|>#r*trtl 

at  full  load  for  evef»   !.»...-.  .1.^      t  • 

year,    doubtless    in 


or 


•-■<  •  r,lj  be- 
•  r*t«d  ffVM 


sagncd.  thus  raaknig  ibc   >Mlii<g 

of    the    l»  ilcr     m>'»t-    rffk  mt!         \     furiikC* 


feet  CKfiil 


lulljd  Ml 

rot    in  I  I  • 
S  tiM  hrsck 


TWTrWTflJ    "ff^    ♦W4B*»' 


f  iii^Mfw    < 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGLNEER. 


January  26,   1909. 


Coal   and  Coke  Production  in  the 
United  States 


The  following  table  lias  been  compiled 
largely  from  data  communicated  by  the 
several  State  mine  inspectors,  estimates 
having  been  made  only  where  no  such  sta- 
tistics were  available,  but  in  all  cases  upon 
the  basis  of  good  information : 


PRODUCTION   OF   COAL   IN   THE   UNITED 
STATES. 


demands  during  tlie  last  12  months,  we 
have  exhausted  about  61  square  miles  of 
our  available  coal  lands.  If  our  produc- 
tion should  remain  stationary,  at  this  total, 
in  future  years,  it  would  require  over  6000 
years  to  exhaust  our  coal  beds ;  if.  how- 
ever, the  future  production  should  in- 
crease at  a  rate  equal  to  that  shown  in 
1907,  the  available  coal  seams  would  last 
only  about  200  years. — Engineering  and 
Minins  Journal. 


States.  ' 

Biliiininous: 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

California  and 

Alaska 

Colorado 

Georgia  and  North 

Carolina 

Illinois 

Indiana 

Iowa 

Kansas 

Kentucky 

Maryland/ 

Michigan 

Missouri 

Montana 

New  Mexico 

North  Dakota 

Ohio 

Oklahoma 

Oregon 

Pennsylvania 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Utah 

Virginia 

Washington 

West  \'irginia 

Wyoming 


1907. 
Short  Tons. 


14,417,863 
1,930,400 

45,300 
10,920,527 

36.5,300 

(c)51,317,146 

11,692.072 

(a)  7, .568. 424 

6^137,040 

1(7,207,060 

.5,529,663 

(6)    1,898,446 

4,3.50,000 

1,810,000 

(a)   2.302,062 

268,300 

32.46,5,949 

3,4.50,000 

51,600 

149,7.59,089 

6.760,01 

1.300,000 

1,967,621 

4. .570, 341 

3,713,824 

47,205.965 

6,218,8.59 


Total  bituminous. 


Anthracite: 

Colorado 

New  Mexico .  . 
Pennsylvania . 


Total  anthracite. 
Cirand  total 


1908. 
Short  Tons. 


11,950,000 
1,750,000 

55,000 
9,773,000 

275,000 

48,000,000 

12,000,000 

7,050,000 

5,600,000 

9.526.000 

5.000,000 

2,000,000 

3,900,000 

1.800,000 

2,725,000 

250,000 

30,000,000 

3,2.50,000 

25,000 

118,309,000 

5,009,000 

1,2.50,000 

2,000,000 

4,000.000 

3,000,000 

44,091,000 

6,100,000 


388,222.868 


45,113 

17,000 

86.279,719 

86,341,832 

474, .564, 700 


338,688,000 


30,000 

10,000 

80,240,000 

80,280,000 

418,968,000 


(a)  For  the  fiscal  year  ending^  June  30. 
(h)  For  the  12  months  ending  November  30, 
1907. 

(c)  .\s  reported  by  the  U.  S.  Geological  .Survey 


PRODUCTION  OF  COKE  IN  THE  UNITED 
.STATES. 


1       1907. 
States.                 |Short  Tons. 

1908. 
Short  Tons. 

3,096,722 
1,097,051 

71,460 

372,697 

77,0.55 

31.400 

203.4.37 

310.640 

57,600 

23,516,.309 

495,200 

324,692 

1.622.734 

61.400 

4.078.222 

1.6.50,000 

2,800.000 

Colorado          

8.54.000 

Georgia  and  North 

70,000 

270,000 

60,000 

Montana. 

30.000 
260,000 

Ohio     

250,000 

50,000 

11,287,000 

Tenries.see 

Utah             

250,000 
290.000 

1.200.000 

Washington 

West  Virginia 

48,000 
2,978,000 

Other  .states  (c) 

2,000.000 

Total 

37,066,619 

22,697,000 

Hidden  Crack  in  a  Strapped 
Butt  Joint 


The  triple-riveted  butt-strapped  joint 
has  been  assumed  to  be  a  complete  remedy 
for  the  hidden  crack  to  which  the  lap  joint 
is  liable.  The  following  account  of  the 
failure  of  a  butt  joint  in  this  manner  will, 
therefore,  be  of  exceptional  interest.  It 
is  written  by  T.  T.  Parker,  chief  boiler 
inspector  of  the  Fidelity  and  Casualty 
Insurance  Company,  and  will  appear  in 
the  bulletin  issued  by  that  company.  Mr. 
Parker  says  that  this  is  the  third  instance 


Inner 

Strap 


(c)  Includes  output  of  by-product  coke  for 
Ma.s,sachusetts,  Maryland.  Minnesota,  New  York, 
Michigan,  Wisconsin.  New  Jersey. 


If  the  production  of  coal  in  1908  had 
shown  as  large  an  increase  as  in  1907,  the 
long  predicted  half-billion  total  would 
have  been   reached.     To  satisfy  our  fuel 


WHERE   THE  FAILURE   OCCURRED 

of  the  kind  wliich  has  come  to  his 
attention  : 

A  recent  failure  of  a  horizontal  tubular 
boiler  by  rupture  through  the  double  pitch 
of  rivet  line  of  the  longitudinal  seam  is 
of  more  than  usyal  interest.  The  boiler 
was  72  inches  in  diameter  and  of  j^  -inch 
shell  plate.  It  was  about  sixteen  years 
old.  The  inner  and  outer  straps  were 
each  %  inch  thick.  The  joint  was  triple- 
riveted,  the  single  pitch  being  3.>^-inch, 
the  double  6-54-inch  and  the  rivet  holes 
l^-inch.  This  represents  standard  prac- 
tice for  this  thickness  of  plate  and  the 
calculated  efficiency  of  the  joint  is  86  per 
cent,  of  the  solid  plate,  the  weakest  sec- 
tion of  the  joint  being  the  net  plate  in 
the  double  pitch  or  outer  row  of  rivets, 
at  which  point  the  failure  occurred. 

The  boiler  had  been  cut  out  and  thor- 
oughly cleaned  and  steam  had  been  raised 
to  80  pounds  preparatory  to  cutting  the 
boiler  in  with  others,  when  the  engineer 
noted  steam  escaping  through  the  brick- 
work at  the  rear  sheet  on  top.  Remov- 
ing some  of  the  brickwork  disclosed  a 
crack    extending    for    five    rivets,    a    dis- 


tance of  3iy4  inches,  the  rupture  being 
from  x5-in(^h  to  '4-inch.  The  main  valve 
had  not  been  opened.  The  engineer 
quietly  pulled  the  fire  and,  pumping  up, 
reduced  the  pressure  to  zero. 

The  removal  of  the  straps  resulted  in 
finding  the  plate  cracked  on  the  inside 
from  rivet  to  rivet  from  the  rear-head 
seam  to  the  circular  seam.  This  condi- 
tion, of  course,  had  been  hidden  by  the 
inside  strap  and  was  not  revealed  until 
the  crack  had  broken  through  and  leaked. 
The  rivet  holes  had  been  punched  and 
the  burs  were  not  removed.  There  were 
slight  marks  in  the  plate  along  the  double- 
pitch  line,  indicating  the  usual  bending 
action  when  the  sheet  entered  the  cold 
rolls.  The  plate  at  the  fracture  was  full 
size  and  showed  no  reduction  in  area, 
which  is  significant  of  segregation  of  car- 
bon at  the  end  of  the  sheet. 

^Multiplying  the  80  pounds  pressure  by 
the  radius  gives  a  pressure  of  2880  pounds 
per  square  inch  on  the  shell.  This  multi- 
plied by  ;i3  inches  gives  95,040  pounds  on  a 
strip  the  length  of  the  fracture.  According 
to  all  calculations  this  condition  should  have 
resulted  in  a  terrible  explosion,  as  there 
was  nothing  to  hold  the  ruptured  sides  of 
the  sheet  together  save  the  frictional  re- 
sistance of  the  rivet  heads  to  the  severed 
plate.  It  is  impossible  to  determine  how 
long  the  crack  existed  under  the  strap 
prior  to  showing  through  the  sheet,  but 
there  is  no  doubt  it  first  started  from  the 
inner  side  and  worked  outwardly.  Had 
the  boiler  been  made  with  lap  seams  un- 
questionably an  explosion  would  have  oc- 
curred, as  the  strength  of  the  inner  .straj 
in  connection  with  the  frictional  value  0: 
the  rivets  on  this  strap  would  have  beet 
lacking.  The  accident  leads  one  to  believi 
that  a  test  piece  should  be  cut  from  eaci 
end  of  each  sheet  and  subjected  to  thi 
usual  chemical  and  physical  requirements 
and  that  the  rivet  holes  in  such  seams,  i 
punched,  should  be  reamed  ottt  at  least  ]/ 
of  an  inch,  with  a  view  to  removing  th 
evil  effects  of  the  punch. 

The  conduct  of  the  engineer  in  charg 
was  truly  admirable.  First,  there  was  hi 
carefulness  in  noting  and  examining  tli 
defect ;  second,  his  courage  in  staying  wit 
the  boiler  (a  dynamite  bomb  with  the  fus 
burning)  until  the  pressure  had  been  can 
fully  removed.  Such  devotion  to  duty  i 
the  moment  of  danger  stamps  the  eng 
Tieer  as  a  hero  in  the  highest  degree  ar 
reflects  great  credit  on  the  profession. 

The  entire  sheet  was  condemned,  ( 
course,  and  a  new  boiler  was  ordered. 


The  twenty-fourth  anniversary  of  Ne\ 
ark  Association  No.  3,  N.  A.  S.  E.,  will 
held   at   the   new   Auditorium,   81   and  1 
Orange   street,    Newark.    N.   J.,   Februa  i 
12  next. 


The  next  meeting  of  the  National  G 
and  Gasolene  Engine  Trades  Associatii 
will   be   held   at    the    Auditorium    hot  ^ 
Chicago,  Tuesday,  February  9. 


January  jIb,   lyoy. 


l^WEK  AND  THE  ENGINFFR 


Power  Plant  Machinery  and   Appllanc 


es 


Original     Description  s     of 
No      Manufacturers*      Cut 


o  r 


Power     Devices 
^^  rite-un«      Used 


r  I  t  e  -  u  p  f 


MUST     BE     NEW     OR     INTKRESUNG 


Center  Crank   and   Crosshcad   Pin 
Oiler 


'■  he    accompan>inK   illustratii>n.    lig.    i, 
•<s«nts   a   device    for  oiling;   the  crank 
<»f  a   hiRh-siK-cd   center  crank   enxme. 
manufactured  by  William  W.  Nugent 
&   Co.,    i8  to  30    West     Kandulph    street, 
niirago.     The  object  of  this  oiler   is  to 
.  idc  a  continuous  tube  from  a  station- 
oil  supply  to  the  crank  pin  wjien  the 
ne  is  in  motion.     The  tut>es  telescnjHr 
1  arc  self-hibricating. 
I  in.  2  shows  a  method  of  oiling  a  cen- 
ter crank  and  cros>head  pin  on  a  vertical 
trtink  engine,  such  as  vertical  gas  engines. 
The  oil   is    fed   umlcr  pressure   and 
t    go  to  the   parts   to  l>c   oiled.     This 
device  will  stand  high  speeds. 

The    illustrations    show   how   the   oil    is 

distributed    to    the    parts    to    be    oiled    by 

^      -IS     of     the     Nugent     steel     oil  tight 

klc     joints.      This     metho<l     prevents 

•  circuiting   of    generators,    in   dircrt 

■  r\r<\  units,  <lue  to  splashing  oil,  and 

•  T    from    tr«>iible    in    the   brasses, 

It,  is  eliminated  almost  entirely. 


Simples    BUroi  Valve 


Tn   Hk    I   M  tkamm  tW  rs1rn<»« 

uf  a 

hnat  a  teal  or  a 

'«!. 

\)r     SinifJri     iA.^ 

The    ». 

..tm,          »> 

HI 

ji 

roil 

prrsscd  »hrn  tlx  »^»c 


lilt    MutM    UL\>k-II.N   uXiXIl 


1       " 


nc    2.    ocTAiu  or  ct.\n%'r\n 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGINEER. 


January  26,  1909. 


easy  movement  to  the  valve,  at  the  same 
time  reducing  the  wear  and  tear  on  the 
packing,  giving  a  free,  unrestricted  blow- 
out through  the  port  (which  is  curved). 
See  Fig.  3.  This  .removes  severe  strains 
from  the  valve  body. 

The  valve  has  no  seat  nor  projection  on 
which  scale,  sediment,  etc.,  can  accumu- 
late, in  either  the  closed  or  open  position. 
The  operation  of  the  plug  valve  V  is  ex- 
posed to  view,  as  well  as  the  means  of 
preventing  the  rotation  of  the  plug  valve, 
and  the  means  of  adjusting  the  packing. 
The  valve  is  also  made  in  the  globe  or 
Y-valve  shape  and  with  special  connec- 
tions and  flanges  as  ordered.  It  is  manu- 
factured by  the  Simplex  Engineering 
Company,   Philadelphia,  Penn. 


FIG.    3 


Emergency  Non-return  Stop  Valve 

Referring  to  the  drawing,  the  flange  A 
is  attached  to  the  nozzle  of  the  boiler,  and 
the  flange  B  is  attached  to  the  main 
steam  line.  The  seat  C  has  an  extending 
flange  which  fits  in  a  groove  cut  in  the 
flange  A,  and  the  lower  face,  fitting 
against  the  flange  of  the  boiler,  is  held  in 
position  by  the  bolts  D,  to  prevent  the 
scat  from  working  loose.  No  screw 
threads  are  employed  to  hold  the  seat  in 
position,  therefore  it  is  easy  to  remove. 
The  method  of  guiding  the  valve  disk  E 
on  the  long  stem  held  in  position  to  the 
valve  seat  C  dispenses  with  the  stem  pro- 
jecting from  the  valve,  and  is  also  in- 
tended to  assist  in  preventing  hammer- 
ing and  chattering  of  the  disk.  Also, 
attached  to  the  valve  disk  £  is  a  piston  F 
provided  with  piston  rings  G  which  take 
up  the  wear  inside  the  dashpot  H.  A 
drain  is  provided  to  remove  the  water  of 
condensation  which  might  collect  on  top 
of  the  valve  seat. 

When  attached  to  the  boiler  and  steam 
header,  with  the  stem  and  handwheel 
opened  full,  the  valve  is  in  operation,  sub- 
ject to  the  conditions  existing  in  the  pipes 
to  which  the  valve  is  attached.  With 
the  main  header  pressure  150  pounds,  the 
valve  disk  E  is  expected  to  remain  on 
the  seat  C  until  the  individual  boiler  has 
attained  a  pressure  of  150  pounds,  or  the 
same  pressure  as  the  header,  before  steam 
can  pass  into  the  header.  This  feature 
points  out  a  lazy  boiler,  so  that  one  boiler 
cannot  have  the  pressure  of  all  the  other 
boilers  when  the  individual  boiler  pres- 
sure drops. 

The  opening  and  closing  of  the  valve 
being  subject  to  the  pressures  above  and 
below  the  valve  tlisk  E,  the  valve  cannot 
be  opened  into  a  boiler  out  of  use,  in 
which  men  may  be  working.  Should  a 
tube  blow  out  in  an  individual  boiler,  that 
boiler  alone  is  crippled,  as  the  valve  disk 
E  closes  on  its  lower  seat  automatically 
by  the  drop  in  pressure. 

When  desiring  to  discontinue  using  a 
boiler  it  is  only  necessary  to  stop  firing 
and    the    valve    will    close    without    hand 


manipulation.  To  insure  the  certainty  0 
the  valve  being  closed,  the  handwheel  t 
which  the  stem  is  attached  is  screwe^ 
down   its   full   stroke. 

In  the  event  of  a  header  explosion,  th 
valve  disk  E  is  thrown  wide  open  0 
account  of  the  drop  in  the  steam  pres- 
sure on  the  header  or  outlet  of  the  valv 
and,  coming  in  contact  with  the  uppe 
seat  in  the  valve  body,  shuts  off  th 
steam  flow  from  each  boiler  to  which  thi 
valve  is  attached. 

If  an  accident  to  the  engines  occur 
this  valve  may  be  closed  from  a  distanc 
by  opening  the  small  pilot  valve  which  re 
leases  the  steam  on  the  upper  piston  am 
allows  the  boiler  pressure  beneath  th 
valve  disk  E  to  close  the  valve  against  th 
upper  seat  without  manipulating  the  hand 


rm 


EMERGENCY     NON-RETURN     STOP    VALVE 

wheel.  It  will  be  noted  this  valve  hai 
but  one  moving  part,  a  valve  disk  t( 
which  is  attached  a  piston.  It  is  manu 
factured  by  John  V.  Schmid,  1823  Wes 
Allegheny    avenue,    Philadelphia,    Penn. 


Personal 


J.  E.  Woodwell,  of  L.  B.  Marks  &  J.  I 
Woodwell,  New  York  City,  has  been  n 
tained  by  McKim,  Mead  &  White,  arch 
tccts,  as  consulting  engineer  for  the  er 
tire  mechanical  and  electrical  equipmen 
including  the  heating  and  ventilation,  elec 
trie  lighting  and  power,  mail-handling  d( 
vices,  etc.,  of  the  new  United  States  po 
office  to  be  erected  at  the  Pennsylvaii 
terminal  station  in  New  York  City.  Tl 
cost  of  this  installation  will  be  upward  < 
$500,000.  The  firm  has  retained  Prof.  ' 
H.  Woodbridge,  of  the  Massachuset  j 
Institute  of  Technology,  as  associate  co  , 
suiting  engineer  for  the  heating  and  veni ; 
lation  of  this  building. 


L 


January  26,   1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


nquiries 


Quettlons  are  not  anmrrred  unlets  thr^  ore 
of    iifn*^al    inlr-rrnt    ami    arr    ati-umpnnted    bv 

th'     mini'     and    a'hlrt^t    of    th'     in-jumi. 


Comparative  Lvapuralive  Power 

I'l  J.  G.  Mcintosh's  book,  "Technology 

igar,"  I  find  the  following  paragraph: 

1  ..c    comparative    evaporative    power    is 

I.   •    increased    by   adding   more   units    (in 

king    of    double    and    triple    effects)." 

a  quadruple  effect  cut  in  two  double 

s    give    nearly    double    evaporation? 

plantation    has    a    standard     double 

'   and   adds   to   it   another  cell,  mak- 

t  a  triple  effect,  will  this  increase  its 

ity  for  evaporation,  or  will  it  be  bct- 

u>   io  run  the  third  cell  as  a  single  effect 

to  be  able  to  evaporate  more  liquid? 

E.   H. 
tnpared  with  the  compound  or  triplc- 
iision  engine,  if  the  evaporating  con- 
is   are   analogous   to   comparing   the 
r  capable  of  being  developed  by  the 
:c   three  cylinders  of  a   triple   engine 
to  the  power  capable  of  being  developed 
l>v    the    low-pressure    cylinder,    the    para- 
1  quoted  is  right,  as  the  low-pressure 
ter  with  the  same  initial  pressure  will 
.     develop    the    same    power    as    the 
<•    three,    but    with    less    economy   of 
1.     In  the  triple-effect  evai>orator  the 
my   of   steam   will   be   greater   when 
;>arrd  with  single  effect  than  it  will  be 
in  a  triple  engine  compared  with  a  good 
rnglc    engine,   and   the   economy   will    be 
due  to  a  different  principle  than  that  of 
the  triple  engine. 

Any  one  of  the  units  of  a  triple-effect 

m  of  evaporators  will  evaporate  the 

quantify  per  hour  as  the  whole  three 

I  the  initial   steam  pressure 

III  in  the  condenser  are  the 

when   used  single  or  triple,  but.  of 

~c,  there  will  l>c  three  times  as  much 

•team  used  in  the  single  effect. 

Quadruple   effects   cut   into  two   double 

effei-ts    will   give   double   the  quantity   of 

--       >rafion.     provide*!     the     pressure     of 

1  in  the  two  first  effects  of  the  two 

it  in  the  first  effect 

;tn    in    \hr   .•..mlrii. 
iiu!»t.  <»i  ».i.iir-.t.  U;  the  ^ 
.\s  triple  effects  are 
'I.  the  comparatively  l.ir^ 
tig  surface  in  each  unit  ; - 
.:   used   to  their  full   capacity  u  »in- 
K.<    effects,   for  if  the  full  steam  pressure 
were  used  on  a  single  unit,  that   i\.  u*ed 
an  the  first  of  the  whoir  ihr.         '  ' 

tmit   Mould  priiiir  ur    f'l.irn   ' 

■    concentrate   wuuM   '• 


ratmg  cajnctty  anless  the  ctcam  pre«4are 

i5  a'  ...         -  ^  ^  ^^^ 

J-t-r  Wf»iM 

.'.    iit«.rc^>c   the  «..t(M 
i^r.,'.r   unit   is   u»e<I   t 
heavier     or     more     coi  ,if^ 

which  circulates  with  f:  .  .^   .tnd 

therefore  needs  mure  heating  farfacc  (or 
a  given  rate  of  evaporation. 

Run  as  a  single  effect  to  get  tlic  mott 
liquor     evaporated     where     cconooiy 
steam  docs  not  count. 

\\. 
ble 

Iiml    il    iiiti.iilin^ 
vi<lcd   cciinoniy   is    : 
does  not  result. 


Book  Reviews 


SHAmNC,    Priurvs,    liri.Tixr.    a»d    Rnnt 
Tra.\smi>mon.      By    Hubert    H.    Col- 
lins.    Hill   Put:  \^ 
York.    Cloth;  :  ,«; 
illustrated.     PrKr,  %i  30. 
This  is  another  of    the    Pown    hand- 
books, nude  up  largely  of  material  which 
has   appeared   in   the  columns  of   Pown, 
and  has  thus  had  the  advantage  of  previ- 
ous prcsentati                              md  revi»iofi. 
It    contain*    r                                ■"•    f'*'    •>»«' 
putting    ' 
care  and 

and  rope  transmissions,  spit 
end  belts,  etc.     Il  treats  the 
the  practical   rather    than    the    acadeinic 
standpoint    and    should    furnish    the   man 
who   uses   it   hints   which   will   be   worth 
many  times  its  cost. 

MoDCMM  Pown  Gas  PioDt'cn  PkA.  ,,  , 
By     Horace     Allen.      The     Technical 
!  td,    LcwMlon, 
(x7  tnchct; 


satisfying  that  the  reviewer  has  rvrr 
read  W-it-  the  escepfv."  •*  w..«^  i»^. 
grai  .  left  in  •' 


on  page  MJ 


BotiAA.   By  Hohrrt  F    Cr4^m%.    HH  P^^ 
iMhtng  Conpar  *k     Oath; 

f/*  pafr«.  4V,, 
II. 

-  V.    t»hk}i    it    i««r    tit  liv 

haadboofc  .  -ly 

f rocn   Pcr> 
with  a  d' 

l*nler  as  <  a  j^  ..,,  ■    ->: 

bf  a  wat  J  IMS  loUuM   %mm- 

*i    the    tflu»r«7    o4    Rnm^ 

f    Bwrifiwif    *»<fywgth     of     Bod- 

•al  TnWIar 

alalaig    iW 

Jumls  and  lor  fmi 

'<    Brarrd    m    Bodcr 

-  jphsrai     iJvternuaatiiM     M 


•    .     V-    ! >r     I 

f     :c»;   and    Y 

The   prrsentatUi*)   i«    u> 

whirh  hat  ntafjr-  •►^  mi- 

pra<^ 

pagr 


•» 

w 

til 


Books  Rrccivcd 

The   r.Irl    .~i    .V,    Wni^  »•,    tio.^ 

Ward.     I  gmt  Pol. 


4or»."     I  J    a 

-   OaafMr 

tralKint  .  i.'-.<tr  ir<I  .x 

1  -rmttkm     ol 

.Sht|>«  >    H«ln.     j    E 

I.n>p*nco('  =Udil>ii»a.  VmtL 

•  itM  MrhM.  Mf 

.!••«•;  uUn.  m- 

«kAcU.    I'fu.«.  i;  ^ 


Persooal 


S#.     •trr»' 


Rutinett  Items 


ing   surface    in   priHMirtt.«ii    • 
of  the  evaporator.  s«i  that  tht 
would    be    small    when    used    as    single 
effects. 
With  the  same  amount  of  heating  - 
'e  new  a»  ■ 
».  it  will 


224 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGIXEER. 


January  26,   1909. 


power  boiler  for  the  Pilgrim  Laundry  Com- 
pany, of  I'hiladelphia,  two  l:2:2-horsepower 
boilers  for  the  Southern  Tacific  hospital  at 
San  Francisco,  and  two  234-horsepower 
boilers  for  George  W.  Clayton  College,  Den- 
ver,   Colo. 

The  Tower  Specialty  Company.  Ill  Broad- 
,'way.  New  York,  builder  of  the  Foster  super- 
heater and  Heenan  refuse  destructors,  re- 
cently received  orders  for  16,500  horsepower 
of  superheaters,  including  those  placed  in 
boilers  and  separately  fired  units.  They  have 
also  just  been  advised  that  the  proposal  to 
the  city  of  Portsmouth.  England,  covering 
two  Heenan  destructors,  each  of  100  tons 
daily   capacity,  has  been  accepted. 

The  fact  that  equipment  for  power  plants 
and  industrial  works  is  taking  the  lead  in 
the  resumption  of  business  is  well  brought 
out  by  a  list  of  recent  sales  comprising  80 
fans,  blowers  and  exhausters  issued  by  the 
Green  Fuel  Economizer  Company,  of  Mat- 
teawan,  X.  Y.  These  fans  are  to  be  used  for 
such  purposes  as  mechanical  draft,  heating 
and  ventilating,  hot-blast  drying,  etc..  and 
their  number  indicates  that  many  mills  and 
other  plants  are  being  put  into  shape  in  an- 
ticipation of  manufacturing  operations  on  a 
large   scale. 

Henry  W.  Hess,  chemist  of  the  Toledo  Gas, 
Light  and  Coke  Company,  Toledo,  Ohio,  made 
an  examination  of  the  liquid  removed  from 
a  boiler  by  a  Buckeye  boiler  skimmer  and 
reports  that  he  found  the  suspended  solid 
to  have  been  composed  of  calcium  and  mag- 
nesium carbonates  mixed  with  a  small  amount 
of  clay.  In  this  particular  case,  the  skim- 
mer removed  one  hundred  gallons  of  such 
liquid  containing  solids  to  the  amount  of 
0.0259  pound  per  gallon,  or  92.59  pounds 
per  hundred  gallons,  each  day.  This  skim- 
mer is  made  by  the  Buckeye  Boiler  Skimmer 
Company,   South  End,  Toledo,  Ohio. 

The  Dearborn  Drug  and  Chemical  works 
rtports  that  the  general  business  of  the  com- 
pany for  the  last  six  months  of  1908  was 
larger  than  for  any  other  six  months  in  its 
history,  indicating  the  quick  return  of  pros- 
perous business  conditions.  The  percentage 
of  increase  the  past  few  months,  and  especi- 
ally for  .January,  in  the  Eastern  department 
of  the  company  is  particularly  gratifying. 
Grant  W.  Spear,  vice-president  and  Eastern 
manager,  at  the  general  Eastern  oflBces.  299 
Broadisay,  Now  York,  who  has  been  for 
yors  vice-president  of  the  Dearborn  com- 
pany, at  Chicago,  ably  assisted  by  Herbert  E. 
Stone,  as  general  sales  manager.  P.  H.  Hogan, 
manager  of  the  Boston  office,  and  Paul  T.  Payne, 
manager  of  the  Philadelphia  office,  with  P.  G. 
Jones  as  special  representative  in  the  Phila- 
delphia district,  together  with  such  popular 
and  able  representatives  out  of  the  New 
Y'ork  office  as  Messrs.  McConnaughty,  Mitchell 
and  others,  constitute  a  most  effective  or- 
ganization, which  is  an  assurance  of  the  high- 
grade  manner  in  which  the  affairs  of  the 
Dearborn  company  will  be  handled  in  the 
Atlantic  coast  States. 

An  announcement  of  interest  In  the  fan 
and  blower  business  has  just  been  given 
out — the  consolidation  of  the  American 
Blower  Company,  of  Detroit,  and  the  Sirocco 
Engineering  Company,  of  New  York.  S.  C. 
Davidson,  of  the  parent  Sirocco  works,  Bel- 
fast, Ireland,  is  financially  interested  In  the 
deal.  The  factory  of  the  Sirocco  Engineer- 
ing Company,  at  Troy,  N.  Y'.,  and  the  plants 
of  the  American  Blower  Company,  at  Detroit, 
will  continue  in  full  operation  under  one 
management,  and  the  home  office  will  be  at 
Detroit.  In  anticipation  of  a  general  im- 
provement in  business,  also  the  necessity  for 
increased  foundry  facilities,  and  the  consum- 
mation of  the  "AP.r" — Sirocco  consolidation, 
the  American  Blower  Company  purchased 
outright   during    1908    the   complete    foundry 


and  plant  formerly  operated  by  the  North- 
western Foundry  and  Supply  Company,  De- 
troit. The  large  triangular-sbaped  property, 
owned  and  occupied  by  the  American  Blower 
Company  since  about  1881,  being  entirely 
covered  by  buildings  by  the  completion  in 
1007  and  1908  of  a  large  steel-plate  fan 
shop  and  office  addition,  the  company  re- 
cently purchased  a  large  tract  of  land  across 
the  street,  upon  which  it  is  expected  new 
buildings,  covering  approximately  175x300 
feet,  will  be  erected.  All  business  of  the 
Consolidated  companies  will  hereafter  be 
transacted  under  the  style  and  name  of 
American  Blower  Company.  The  personnel 
of  the  management  of  the  new  company  is 
as  follows  :  James  Inglis.  president,  who  has 
been  at  the  head  of  the  American  Blower 
Company  :  William  C.  Uedfield.  vice-president, 
who  was  president  of  the  Sirocco  Engineer- 
ing Company ;  Charles  H.  Gifford,  treasurer, 
who  was.  until  a  year  ago,  manager  of.  the 
B.  F.  Sturtevant  Company :  Mr.  Still,  the 
secretary,  is  well  known,  especially  among 
engineers,  as  chief  engineer  of  the  American 
Blower  Company. 


New  Equipment 

The  Ozone  Ice  Company,  Bogalusa,  La.,  has 
awarded  contract  for  the  erection  of  ice  plant. 

The  Athens  (Wis.)  Electric  Light  and  Power 
Company  contemplates  installing  larger  gener- 
ators. 

The  Idaho  Power  and  Transportation  Co., 
Idaho  Falls,  Idaho,  is  planning  to  double  its 
output. 

The  Lebanon  (Ky.)  Light,  Ice  and  Power 
Company  is  contemplating  increasing  output 
of  plant. 

Water-works  at  a  cost  of  $20,000  will  be 
constructed  at  Swink,  Colo.  E.  G.  Ritchie, 
city  clerk. 

It  is  reported  that  the  Osceola  (la.)  Light, 
Heat  and  Power  Company  is  planning  to  install 
an  ice  plant. 

It  is  reported  that  water-works  will  be  erected 
at  Kearney,  Neb.,  at  a  cost  of  $100,000.  G.  E. 
Ford,  city  clerk. 

The  citizens  of  Albion,  Neb.,  voted  to  issue 
bonds  for  the  construction  of  a  municipal  lighting 
and  heating  system. 

The  Chicago  &  Northwestern'Railroad  Com- 
pany has  commenced  construction  of  power 
house  at  CUnton,  Iowa. 

The  Jefferson  (Texas)  Ice,  Light  and  Power 
Company  is  contemplating  the  installation 
of  a  producer  gas  plant. 

It  is  reported  that  the  Black  well  (Okla.)  Elec- 
tric Light  and  Power  Company  contemplates 
in.stalling  gas  engines  in  plant. 

The  Keokuk  (Iowa)  Gas  and  Electric  Com- 
pany has  been  incorporated  by  Frederick  Sargent 
and  associates.     Capital,  $300,000. 

The  citizens  of  Sapulpa,  Okla.,  voted  to  issue 
86.5,000  bonds  for  extending  and  improving 
water-works.     S.  N.  Kurd,  city  clerk. 

The  City  Council,  Hugo,  Okla.,  will  receive 
bids  until  February  2  for  construction  of  water- 
works plant.     W.  T.  Echols,  city  clerk. 

The  .Sorento  (111.)  Electric  Light  Company 
will  enlarge  its  plant.  Will  need  a  1.50-horse- 
power  engine  and  100-kilowatt  generator. 

The  Fowler  (Ind.)  Utilities  Company  con- 
templates installing  new  equipment,  including 
engine  and  generator,  meters,  tran.sfortners,  etc. 

The  Citizens  Electric  Company,  Williamsport, 
Penn.,  contemplates  installing  additional  equip- 
ment, including  engines,  generators  and  boilers. 

The  Union  Central  Light  and  Ice  Company, 
Hubbard  City.  Texas,  contemplates  the  erection 
of  a  new  electric  light  plant  and  an  addition  to 
ice  plant. 


It  is  said  about  $40,000  will  be  expended 
for  reconstruction  of  municipal  electric-light 
plant  at  Topeka,  Kan.  H.  K.  Goodrich,  super- 
intendent. 

The  Savannah  (Ga.)  Ice  and  Storage  Com- 
pany has  been  organized  to  establish  ice  and 
cold-storage  plant.  J.  G.  Nelson,  and  others, 
organizers. 

The  village  of  Bergen,  N.  Y.,  has  been  author- 
ized by  the  Public  Service  Commission  to  con- 
struct a  municipal  electric-light  plant  and  water- 
works system. 

The  Scholl  Engineering  Company,  Youngs- 
town,  Ohio,  has  been  awarded  contract  for 
constructing  water  works  at  Girard,  Ohio,  and 
will  receive  all  sub-bids. 

Plans  are  being  made  to  increase  the  output 
of  the  municipal  electric  light  plant,  Bethany, 
Mo.  A  new  generator  will  be  installed.  J.  F. 
Slinger,  superintendent. 

Plans  are  being  considered  for  the  installation 
of  a  .500-kilowatt  steam  turbine  in  the  muni- 
cipal electric  light  plant  at  Jamestown,  N.  Y. 
Chas.  G.  Sundquist,  manager. 

The  West  Penn  Electric  Company  is  said  to 
be  planning  the  erection  of  another  power  house 
at  a  cost  of  over  $1,000,009.  L.  H.  Conklin 
Cormellsville,  Penn.,  is   general   superintendent. 

Plans  are  being  considered  for  improvements 
at  the  municipal  electric  Ught  plant  at  Elberton, 
Ga.  These  will  include  a  new  alternator,  tur- 
bine pump  and  50-horsepower  motor.  G.  W. 
Hubbard,  superintendent. 

The  Pasadena  Rapid  Transit  Company  has 
been  incorporated  to  build  an  electric  line 
between  Pasadena  and  Los  Angeles.  Capital, 
$3,000,000.  Incorporators,  E.  J.  Sheehan,  W.  H. 
Smith,  E.  H.  May,  of  Pasadena,  and  others. 


New  Catalogs 


Hancock  Inspirator  Company,  85  Liberty 
street.  New  York.  Catalog.  Valves.  Illus- 
trated, 40  pages,  Gx9  inches. 

Thos.  H.  Dallett  Company,  Philadelphia, 
Penn.  Catalog  No.  100.  Air  compressors. 
Illustrated,  24  pages,  6x9  inches. 

The  M.  W.  Kellogg  Company,  50  Church 
street.  New  York.  Catalog.  Piping  and  chim- 
neys.    Illustrated,  48  pages,  8^x11  inches. 

American  Steam  Gauge  and  Valve  Manufac- 
turing Company,  Boston,  Mass.  Catalog. 
Valves,     Illustrated,  90  pages,  6x9  inches. 

Wm.  A.  Harris  Steam  Engine  Company, 
Providence,  II.  I.  Catalog.  Harris-Corliss 
engine.     Illustrated,  80  pages,  7x10  inches. 

Western  Electric  Company.  463  West  street, 
New  York.  Bulletin  No.  5370.  Steam  tur- 
bines.    Illustrated,   12  pages,  8x101/2    inches. 

Wagner  Electric  Manufacturing  Company, 
St.  Louis,  Mo.  Bulletin  No.  82.  Polyphase 
motors.     Illustrated,  16  pages,  8x10 1/2  inches. 

Walch  &  Wyeth,  8T  Lake  street,  Chicago, 
III.  Booklet.  Erwood  straightway  swing  gate 
valve.      Illustrated,    16    pages,    6^x7    inches. 

Ridgway  Dynamo  and  Engine  Company, 
Ridgway,  Penn.  Bulletin  No.  20.  Single- 
valve  side-crank  engine.  Illustrated,  14 
pages,    8x10  V2    inches. 

Lathrop  Engineering  Company,  126  Liberty 
street,  New  Y'ork.  Pamphlet.  Lathrop  system, 
of  "Equalized  Draft"  for  steam  boilers.  Illus- 
trated, 16  pages,  4x7i  inches. 


Help  Wanted 

Advertisements  under  this  head  are  inserted 
for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  words  make 
a  line. 

AN  ENGINEER  in  each  town  to  sell  the 
best  rocking  grate  for  steam  boilers.  Wnte 
Martin   Grate  Co.,    281    Dearborn   St.,   Chicago. 


February  2,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


En 


gy 


1  n 


Pound      of     St 


Net  Energy  of  Elxpansion  from  150  Pounds  down  to  At-  --^ 
proximates  Energv-  from  Atmospheric  down  lo  27  I  -2  In 


B    Y 


FRED 


earn 


R. 


L    O    W 


A  correspondent  writes:  "In  your  issue 
of  Octol)er  26.  page  675.  the  following 
statement  appears : 

When   it  is  remembered  that  there 
is  as  much  power  in  the  steam  from 
atmospheric    pressure    down    to    27VS 
inches  as  there  is  from    150  pounds 
down   to  atmospheric   pressure,   it   is 
easily  seen  that  the  power  of  a  non 
condensing  plant   can   be   doubled   by 
the  addition  of  an  exhaust-steam  tur- 
bine  and   condenser. — Gerald   Stoncy, 
t)efore  the  British  Association. 
I    would    like    very   much    to    sec    this 
example    worked    out    in    full,    so   that    I 
might  follow  It  step  by  step." 
The  energy  is  proportional  to  the  area 
f  a  diagram  in  which,  as  in  that  made 
y    the    steam-engine    indicator,    vertical 
distances    represent    pressures    and    hori 
zontal  distances  volumes.     Fig.   i   is  such 
a   diagram,   plotted   upon   the  assumption 
that  the  product  of  the  pressure  and  vol- 
ine    remains    constant.      A    volume    o  i 
"f   steam    at    120   pounds    absolute    pres- 
sure   is   expanded    to    twice    that    volume 
o .',  and  in  so  expanding  generates  etierg> 
represented    by    the    space   B  C  ^  l.      It    is 
started  with  one  volume  at  120,  and  since 
the  product   of  the  volume  and  pressure 
remains  constant  the  pressure  at  two  vol- 
(inies  C   must  be  60.     Notice  that  this  area 
made   up  of  a   triangle   ABC  and   a 
'  ctangle    A  C  ^  I,   each    60   pounds    high 
iid  one  volume  wide. 
Suppose  this  steam  at  60  pounds  to  lie 
again    doubled    in    volume.      Its    pressure 
would   t>e   reduced   to  .^o  pounds   and  an 
amount    of    energy    proportional     to    the 
area    ("/)./ 7   would    be   devrlopr.I       Thtt 
area  consists  of  a  triangle  C" />  /  .  and  a 
'Ctangle    /:  D  4  f,   each    30    pounrls    high 
tid  two  volumes  wide,  and  since  the  area 
BC  f  is   twice   as   high,   but   only   half 
<   wide  as  2CD4.  their  arr.i  •   ' 

jual ;   and   since  the   work    |>' 
'•nte«l   by   the   arc.*    • 
If  thr  fli.iRr.im  m  • 

uii;  t "  ■■-.  ■■  •■■  ,•  •' 

St  expansion  from  15  to  jYt  pounds  re- 
It'-    in    the    development    of    at    much 
as    that    from    ijo    to    60.     The 

■  ■Kv  developed  depend*  '-  

r  of  times  the  steam   1 

the  "ratio  of  ex; 

divided  by  the  1 

U  the  product  of  \Uc  iiiraii  prcA*u;c  «!.;: 


ing  expansion  and  the  increase  in  vol- 
ume. In  the  early  part  of  the  diagram 
the  pressure  is  high  and  the  volume  corrt- 
spondingly  small.  In  the  later  part  of  the 
<liagram  the  pressure  is  small,  but  the 
volume  is  correspondingly  great,  and 
their  product  (the  energy)  is  cqoal  for 
the  same  ratio  of  expansion. 

This  much  by  way  of  simple  illattra- 
tion,  but  unfortunately  steam  doc*  not 
expand  in  this  way.  A  perfect  gas  would 
expand  according  to  this  mode  if  its 
temperature  were  kept  constant  Steam 
rools  as  it  expands  and  its  voIurTir  would 
increase  less  rapidly  than  the  expansion 


uo 

110 
100 

K 

m 

70 

« 
W 


found  bow  many  heal 

of  the  floid  carnet  to  and  horn 

takes  out.  the  differcac*  viQ  he  the  ■■■»• 

ber  of  beat  oails  that  have  beta  coatmad 

into  work,  for  the  ideal  caae  at  least,  fee 

each  pound  of  Mcaaa  ascd.    As 

unit  is  eqo'''''""  "»  778 

work  can  "d  ta  ihoae  aails  ly 

simple  moitipiicaiion. 

ibcre  are  rcpcodoced  iMicaah  a  ooaple 
of  fracmcnu  from  Pcahodjr's  Tables 
of  the  Properties  of  StcaM.'  The  aac- 
ond  line  gives  the  props  rtisi  for  MMM 
of  a  pounds  abaoloie  preaearc,  the  ptaa 
sore  ^  being  given  in  the  first  colaaai     la 


i 


J— Ll, 


:        •        • 


m         * 


no   I 


curve  in  Fig.  I  shows,  dr 


prrs- 


diagram  daab  wttb  •  t*tyum  H^**t*itit  »J 
tteani 
Let   us  go  al   the  problrtr 


.umcrtfil    mtj    ytv'< 


cod  rohaan  is  gtvta  the  Faiwaa 


trM  to  nimK  a  aaaid  al  a 


•rale     ua  tae 


«paiM.  J* 


226 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  2,  igc^. 


most  of  the  values  of  the  steam  table  are 
reckoned.  Locate  the  point  B  at  the  hight 
corresponding  to  the  temperature,  126.3, 
to  the  chosen  scale,  and  at  such  a  dis- 
tance from  the  line  I J  that  the  area 
A  B  H I  will  be  proportional  to  the  94.3 
B.t.u.,  which  the  table  says  it  has  re- 
quired to  bring  the  water  from  32  de- 
grees to  this  point.  In  other  words,  to 
bring  the  pound  of  water  from  32  to  126.3 
degrees  has  required  94.3  B.t.u.  of  energy 
in  the  form  of  heat,  and  the  area  A  B  H I 


located  for  different  temperatures  in  this 
way  the  change  would  be  found  to  occur 
along  some  such  curve  as  A  B  C. 

At  341  degrees  the  water  under  120 
pounds  pressure  would  be  ready  to  boil, 
and  any  further  addition  of  heat  would 
go  to  making  it  into  steam,  which  process 
will  take  place  at  constant  temperature. 
In  the  fourth  column  of  the  table  it  will 
be  seen  that  the  "heat  of  vaporization"  r 
of  120-pound  steam  is  874  B.t.u.,  i.e.,  that 

874  X  778  =  679,972 


FRAGMENTS  OF  PEABODY'S  "TABLES  OF  STEAM  PROPERTIES." 


102.0 
126.3 
141.6 

153.1 
162.3 
170.1 


243 
153 
115 

92  , 

78 


70.0 

94.3 

109.6 

121.11 
130.3 
138.1 


1043.1 
1026.2 
1015.5 


1007. 
1001 


995.7 


981.1 
961.9 
949.6 

940.6 
933.4 
927.1 


62.0 
64.3 
65.9 

66.9 
67.8 
68.6 


0.1332 
0.1756 
0.2012 

0.2201 
0.2351 
0.2478 


1.8574 
1.7519 
1 . 6895 

1 . 6447 
1.6100 
1.5815 


m:oi|V 

118.628:0 

17.22 

11.56 

8.32 


90.60 
73.38 
61.82 


0.00298r>77 
0.00575^Re 
0.00843261 

259 
255 
251 


0.01104 
0.01363 
0.01618 


118  1  339. 8fi 

119  340.45 

120  341.02 


121 
122 
123 


341.7 
342.3 
342.9 


310.8 
311.4 
312.0 

312.7 
313.3 
313.9 


874.8 
874.4 
874.0 

873.5 
873.0 
872.6 


792.8 
794.3 
791.8 

791.3 
790.7 
790.2 


82.1 
82.1 
82.2 

82.2 
82.3 
82.3 


0.4902 
0.4911 
0.4919 

0 . 4927 
0.4935 
0.4943 


1.0946 
1.0931 
1.0918 

1 . 0903 
1 . 0889 
1.0875 


3.776 
3.746; 
3.717 


3.689r,« 
3.66I2I 
3. 6332g 


0.2649<,i 
0.2670,1 
0.2691^^ 


0.2711 
0.2732 
0.2753 


118 
119 
120 

121 
122 
123 


Zero  ol  J-'ahrenbeit  Scale" 


AbBolDte  Zero  of  Temperature 


MG.    2 


represents  that  energy  just  as  the  area  of 
the  diagram  from  a  steam-engine  indica- 
tor represents  energy. 

Now  look  at  the  line  of  the  table  for 
120  pounds  pressure.  The  temperature 
here  is  341  degrees,  and  the  heat  of  the 
liquid  is  312  B.t.u.  Imagine  the  point  C 
to  be  located  at  a  vertical  distance  corre- 
sponding to  341  degrees  Fahrenheit,  and 
at  such  a  distance  horizontally  from  the 
line  /  /  that  the  area  A  C  G I  will  repre- 
sent 312  B.t.u.    If  a  number  of  points  were 


foot-pounds  of  energy  in  the  form  of  heat 
are  required  to  tear  the  molecules  of  that 
pound  of  water  at  341  degrees  apart  and 
convert  it  into  dry-saturated  steam  of  the 
same  temperature.  Of  this  energy  822 
B.t.u.,  as  shown  in  the  sixth  column,  are 
required  to  push  back  the  surroundings 
as  the  water  expands  into  steam,  to  per- 
form external  work  A  p  u,  while  the  rest, 

874  —  82.2  =  791.8 
B.t.u.,     are     required     to     overcome    the 


attraction  of  the  molecules  for  each  other, 
to  do  internal  work  p,  as  shown  in  the 
fifth  column. 

At  C  the  pound  of  water  is  about  to 
change  into  steam.  As  the  process  takes 
place  at  constant  temperature  the  change 
of  state  will  be  represented  by  a  hori- 
zontal line  C  D.  If  the  pound  of  water  is 
all  changed  to  steam  the  line  CD  must  be 
of  such  length  that  the  area  C  D  F  G  will 
be  proportional  to  874,  the  heat  of  evapo- 
ration, on  the  same  scale  as  the  rest  of 
the  diagram.  If  only  0.98  of  the  water 
is  changed  to  steam,  i.e.,  if  there  is  2  per 
cent,  of  moisture  it  will  take  only 

0.98  X  874  =  856.52 

B.t.u.  to  make  the  change,  and  the  area 
C  D  F  G  would  be  drawri  to  represent  that 
number  of  units.  Similarly,  to  produce  a 
mixture  of  steam  and  water  of  any  qual- 
ity X  (the  quality  being  the  fraction  of 
the  mixture  which  is  steam,  0.98  in  the 
above  case),  will  require  xr  heat  units, 
r  being  the  heat  that  would  be  required 
to  evaporate  the  whole  pound. 

To  convert  the  pound  of  water  from 
126.3  degrees,  at  B,  into  the  pound  of 
steam  at  120  pounds,  or  341  degrees,  has 
taken  an  amount  of  energy  in  the  form 
of  heat  proportional  to  the  area  of  the 
diagram  B  C  D  F  H,  made  np  oi  B  C  G  H, 
which  is  the  difference  between  the  heats 
of  the  liquids  q  at  341  and  126.3  degrees, 
and  C  D  F  G,  the  heat  of  vaporization  of 
the  mixture  and  equal  to  x  r,  or  to  r  if  jt 
is  unity  and  the  steam  is  dry  saturated. 
Therefore,  the  heat  put  into  the  pound 
of  steam  is 

q\  —  ?2  +  Xi  n, 

the  subscripts,  or  little  figures  below  the 
letters,  meaning  at  the  higher  tempera- 
ture for  I  and  at  the  lower  for  2. 

Now,  suppose  expansion  to  take  place 
without  any  heat  being  either  added  to 
or  taken  from  the  mixture.  In  Fig.  2 
addition  of  heat  has  resulted  in  movement 
to  the  right ;  abstraction  of  heat  would  be 
represented  by  movement  to  the  left.  As 
the  steam  expands  its  temperature  falls, 
and  as  no  heat  is  added  or  abstracted  the 
change  of  state  would  be  represented  by 
a  vertical  line,  as  for  instance  D  E,  1I  the 
expansion  occurred  between  341  and  126.3 
degrees.  This  would  result  in  a  pound 
of  mixed  steam  and  water  at  126.3  de- 
grees, for  even  if  the  steam  were  initially 
dry-saturated,  there  has  been  condensa- 
tion due  to  the  conversion  of  heat  into 
work.  The  area  BEFH,  therefore, 
represents  the  heat  of  vaporization  of 
that  part  of  the  pound  of  working  fluid 
which  is  still  steam,  or  Xiri.  The  heat 
of  vaporization  r^  at  2  pounds  or  126.3  de- 
grees may  be  taken  from  the  table.  How 
shall  X2,  the  quality  after  expansion,  be 
found? 

The  area  CD  F  G  is  proportional  to 
xxn.  Its  hight  CG  =  Ti,  the  absolute 
temperature    at     120    pounds.     Then    its 


February  2,  1909. 

length  C  D  must  be  its  area  divided  by  r , 
hight  or 

r»    • 

The  horizontal  distance  of  any  point 
from  the  line  /  C,  which  passes  through 
the  point  of  32  degrees,  is  proportional 
to  the  "entropy  of  the  liquid"  9,  at  the  tem- 
perature corresponding  to  the  vertical 
position  of  the  given  point.  For  example, 
the  distance  /  C  of  the  point  C  is  04Q19. 
the  entropy  of  the  liquid  •,  at  341  degrees 
(see  seventh  column  of  the  table  opposite 
120  pounds). 

The  line  J  D  =  C  D  -\-  J  C  \i  propor- 
tional, therefore,  to 

'  1 
Similarly  the  line  K  E  m  proportional  to 

r,  r. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


The    heat 

li   Xt   ft. 

Then    the   number 
verted  into  work  is 


remaining    after 

of   heat    antts   coo- 


T^ 


+  ".• 


And  since  these  lines  are  equal, 
X,  r,      ,    ^  X.  r. 


-f  *, 


+  *. 


(0 


r.     ■    '^     r, 

.Ml  of  these  quantities  with  the  excep- 
tion of  X  are  obtainable  from  the  steam 
tables,  and  if  one  of  the  x's  is  known  the 
'^»her  can  be  easily  determined. 


*i  Tx  -'r  qx  —  qt  —  Xt  Tu  (3) 

And  if  each  heat  unit  is  equivalent  to  778 
foot-pounds,  the  net  energy  iU  developed 
by  making  a  pound  of  water  into  steam 
and  expanding  it  (the  energy  represented 
by  a  pressure-volume  diagram  bke  Ftg 
3)  would  be 

£.  =  778  (xi  fi  -I-  fl,  —  9»  —  x»  r,),    (4) 

For  dry-saturated  steam  expanded  from 
lao  to  2  pounds  absolute  these  quantities 
become: 

xi  =  1.  X,  =z  aA>j8. 

rt  =  874.  ri=rioiS>5 

^  =  312.  9.  =  94-3- 

^1  =  7918.  p,  —  r/ii  n 

and 

/T.  •  mi  (I  X  "7*  -f  311  —  iH  ]     0  ••u*  ■  lou.si  » 

714.398  fu>4p"UHjt 

The  area  b  e  f  a  of  Fig.  3  is  the  product 
of  the  pressure  and  volume  of  the  stcain 
(or  mixture)  at  the  lower  temperature 
It   is  proportional  to  the  external   work 


K 


nc  3 
Transposing  formula   (i) 


nc.  4 


nc  5 


r.- Ij_ 


The    values   of 


arc    given    in 


(» 


the 


eighth  column  of  the  table.  If  you  try 
to  calculate  them,  remember  that  T  is 
the  absolute  temperature,  i.e.,  the  Fahren- 
heit temperature  plus  459^5. 

AssumitiK  dry  saturated  steam  to  start 
with,  xi  ~  t,  and  the  following  quanti- 
ties may  be  found  in  the  tabic ; 


done  by  a  pound  of    ' 

this  mixture.     If  ihr 

all   steam,  this    value    reduced    u> 

would  be  the  A  f  m  of  the  sixth  i 

of  the  table.     For  x  per  cent,  of  a  : 

still   in  the  condition  of  steam  it  « 

be  Xi  ^  A  M.     And  this  is  the  amount  of 
work   .\  ■     '  Jooc  upon 

the  »!' 


It 


-P-  =  1.091a 
*  I 

#,  =  04919. 

Substituting  th 
I  X  I.' 


-  I75«9^ 


r, 
#,  =0.1756. 

.75  «9 


Thi»  i«  onU  rr^nmon  arithmetic 

I  ovm 

1  Muiiii>ir 

1  avui 

O.WIf  Add 


I;  ■•    ^hr    to- 

by   hig.   4 
tented  by  I 

in   formula   (4).  uid   in 
heat  of  evaporation  '   " 
internal  energy  p  an<! 
and  >»' 
(4»     '• 
I' 


I 
ing 


•-  J  |M»un<i« 
'   tub- 
rntetl 


foood  bjr  sabtractiflc  ,,p,  „,„^  ^  ,^  ^ 
ia  lororaU  (4).  0  beisff  tike  beat  c^otr*. 
1cm  of  the  imcnal  wofk  aod  ibe  ditfcr. 
cssec  bctvcoi  r  and  tht  catcrMl  wwli.  w 
that  tufairsctiiig  0,  imutmd  of  ^  Imm  m 
the  moh  tlw  eKtcrsal  worti  at  iIm  lower 
P^cMore.  thr  ' «.  of  Fig    3,     TW 

fonntUa  for 


If  the  total  csMrgjr  of  r  ■iwiiwim.  Fis.  ^ 
ia  dcsircdl  the  area  mbcd  oi  iIm  figwv 
must  be  sobtractcd  (rom  Ftf.  4,  Tlua  ia 
the  external  work  of   the   sMaai  at  tW 

hig*"     "      '      pmth   a   ^ommi  ol 

X'  r  of  aa 

make   '.i.r  itrr  a  «  1 

diagram,  a  pfmm^  aoald  Im««  to 

be  evaporated  in  tU  lUlct  md  tkc  woHk 
dooc  by  that  water  in  rtungiwg  iaio  Mcaa 
it  propocttaoal  to  tkc  area  mbed.  TWa 
can  be  tobtracied  b^  f.Ar^iag  tW  ri  ol 
fommla  to^i.br  Intt  tliia  ancft 

le«s  than  r.  and  : -^«t  tbt 

for  the  total 
pkiuioQ! 


Iv 


j  czr 


^ 


no.  6 

/v««77S('i#.-f#|-fi-Jr,#»).  (ft) 

na  |iM  •  .  >ia  <•■»)• 

fiB*il>.  h'  a^  tbc  Mt  c«ff|y  4m 

ansKKi.  that  rrpre«cnted  by  FVg  4 

the  energy  to  cspd  the  raf«nd*<d  !•■■■ 

mutt    Ijr    drtiurtnl     bKvK      ari    I*    4aWV   fcv 

•  aftftracttd 

ttl    ■<  I  1     >rvs*cinc    lo*  0f  t'     '. 


r.-- 


\jH*lnnj 


the   nd  «f>' 

*<^'oa*y  had 

rnt  ^notc- 


—  rf.      1 . » , 


iW 


Mr 


•  IIM  Huiiirif  I 
I.TftU)  I  toil  iMvl'l" 


The  heat   put   into  the   pound  of  steam 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  2,  1909. 


from  Peabody's  Temperature  -  Entropy 
Table.  On  the  first  follow  the  line  for  358 
degrees  (the  temperature  in  even  de- 
grees most  nearly  corresponding  with  150 
pounds)  to  the  quality  nearest  unity, 
which  will  be  in  the  triple  column  on  one 
side  or  the  other  of  the  broken  line  ex- 
tending zigzag  across  the  table.  To  the 
right  of  that  line  the  figures  in  the  col- 
umn marked  quality  mean  degrees  of 
superheat,  while  to  the  left  they  mean 
the  fraction  of  the  pound  converted  into 
steam,  the  x  of  the  foregoing  calcula- 
tions. The  quality  nearest  unity  lies  in 
the  triple  column  under  No.  1.56,  and 
gives  the  heat  contents  as  1185. 

On  the  other  page  in  the  column  bear- 
ing the  same  number,  1.56,  and  opposite 
212,  find  the  heat  contents  (after  expan- 
sion to  that  temperature)  of  a  pound  of 
steam  (having  the  initial  quality  given 
at   the    higher   temperature)    to   be    1018. 


if 


372'177.9 
371  175.7 
370  173  6 

369'l71.5 
368,169:4 
367J167.3 

366  165.3 
3651163. 2 
364  161 .2 

363  159.2 
362,157.2 
361  155.3 

360  153.3 
369  151,4 
358  149.5 

367  147.. 
366  145 .8 

356  143. 

364  142.1 


1.56 


1200 
1108 
1197 


2  506 
2  620 
2  646 


3  1196  2.672 
2  1195  ?.700 
1   1194  2  725 


9997  1193.3  2.752 
99S8  11192  3  2  782 
9979  1191  2;2  812 


9971 
9963 
9955 


1190.2  2.843 
1189  .2i2  874 
1188  1I2  906 


9946  1187. 1'2. 938 

9938  11S6. 12.971 

9929  1185  0  3  004 

9921  1183.9  3.037 

9913  1182.9  3.070 

9904  1181  9  3  105 


21 

19 
18 

17 
16 
14 

13 
12 
11 

10 
8 
7 

6 
5 
3 

2 
1 


22 


1208 
1207 
1206 

1205 
1204 
1203 

1202 
1201 
1200 

1199 
1198 
1197 

1196 
1195 
1193 

1192 
1191 


2  654 
2.680 
2  706 

2.732 
2.7G0 
2  786 

2.814 

2.842 
2  870 

2.899 

2  928 
2.957 

2.986 
3.017 

3  047 

3.079 
3.108 


9998    1190  013  135 


9895    1180.8  3  141    9989    1189.0  3  170 

363  140  3    9887    1179.8  3.17619980    1187,9  3  206 
352  138  5    9878  |ll78  .7;3  .211    9971    1186.8  3.242 


table  says  that  steam  at  212  degrees  and 
99.89  per  cent,  dry  has  a  heat  content  of 
1145.6  B.t.u.  This  same  steam  expanded 
to  108  degrees  would  have  987.5  B.t.u. 
(found  by  locating  the  value  for  the  lower 
temperature  in  the  same  column  of  en- 
tropy)  and 

778  (1145-6  —  987-5)  =  123,000 
foot-pounds. 

Numerous  diagrams  have  been  devised 
from  which  these  values  can  be  meas- 
ured. Of  such  are  those  by  H.  F.  Schmidt 
and  W.  C.  Way,  on  page  524  of  Power 
for  August,  1907,  and  one  by  R.  M.  Neil- 
son,  which  will  appear  soon. 

It  is  the  heat  which  develops  (or  re- 
appears as)  work  in  falling  from  one 
temperature  level  to  another,  and  it  is  the 
temperature  range  rather  than  the  pres- 
sure range  which  should  be  compared 
when  the   relative  amount  of  work  is   in 


Sis' 

|Q 


228  20.02 
227;19.64 
226|19.28 

225  18.91 


224 
223 

222 
221 
220 


18.56 
18.21 

17.86 
17.52 
17.19 


219  16.86 
218  16.53 
217  16.21 

21615.90 
216  15.59 
214  15.29 

213  14.99 
212  14.70 
21l'l4.41 

210  14.12 
209  13.84 
208  13.57 


1.56 


8809 
8800 
8791 

8782 
8774 
8765 

8757 
8749 
8740 

8731 

8721 
8713 

8704 
8695 
8687 

8678 
8669 
8660 

8652 
8643 
8634 


<Si 


1.57 


1037.7  17.56  8881 
1036.5'17.S6  8872 
1035.3,18. 17i  8863 


1034.118.48 
1032.8  18.79 
1031.6  19.12 


8854 
8845 
8836 


1030.4  19.44  8828 
1029. 2119.78  8820 
1028.0  20.13   8811 


1026.7:20.48 

1025.4  20.84 
1024  2,21.21 

1022.9  2^58 
1021.7|21.96 

1020.5  22.35 

1019.3,22.74 
1018.0^3. 11 
1016.8  23.48 

1015.5!23.90 
1014. 2124. 34 
I013.0,'24.78 


8802 
8792 
8783 

8774 
8765 
8756 

8748 
8739 
8730 

8721 
8712 
8703 


^3 

s 


1044.6;17.70 
1043.4:18.00 
1042.2  18.32 

1041.0  18.63 
1039.7:18.95 
1038.5  19.27 

1037.2,19.60 
1036.0  19.94 
1034.8.20.29 

1033.5!20.65 
1032.221.01 
1031.0|21.38 

1029.7  21.75 
1028.5'22. 13 
1027.2j22.53 

1026.0  22.93 
1024.7i23.30 
1023.5:^3.67 

1022.2,24.10 
1020. 9124. 53 
1019.7  24.98 


SECTIONS  OF  PAGES  FROM    PEABODY  S  TEMPERATURE-ENTROPY   TABLES 


If  the  difference  between  the  heat  con- 
tents at  the  two  conditions  be  multiplied 
by  778  to  reduce  it  to  foot-pounds,  it  will 
be  found  that 

778  (1185  —  1018)  =  129,926 
foot-pounds, 

which  is  the  total  net  energy.  Fig.  3,  for 
one  pound  of  steam  in  that  initial  con- 
dition expanded  adiabatically  through  that 
range. 

Under  the  same  column  (1.56)  and  op- 
posite 108  the  heat  contents  are  given  as 
879.7,  so  that  if  this  same  pound  of  par- 
tially condensed  steam  is  further  ex- 
panded down  to  108  degrees  the  energy 
developed  will  be 

778  (1018  —  879-7)  =  107,597 
foot-pounds. 

But  starting  over  again  with  practically 
dry  steam  at    atmospheric    pressure    the 


question.  The  temperature  of  steam  of 
150  pounds  absolute  is  358.3  degrees,  and 
of  steam  at  27J4  inches  vacuum  about  108 
degrees,  so  that  the  ranges  compare  as 
follows : 

358-3  212 

212.0  108 


146.3 


104 


A  glance  at  Fig.  2  will  show  that  the 
energy  represented  by  a  diagram  like  Fig. 
3  will  not  be  the  same  for  the  same  range 
of  temperature ;  B  C  D  E  oi  Fig.  2  is  equi- 
valent to  b  c  de  of  Fig.  3.  The  dotted 
line  M  N  divides  the  temperature  range 
equally,  but  the  energy,  equivalent  to  the 
area  MCDN  developed  by  the  fall 
through  the  first  half  of  the  range,  is  less 
than  that,  equivalent  to  B  M  N  E,  de- 
veloped by  the  fall  through  the  second 
half.      If     the    cycle     were     changed    to 


CD  EL  it  is  plain  that  equal  falls  in 
temperature  would  produce  equal  amounts 
of  work.  Just  as  the  vertical  line  DE 
represents  expansion  without  reception  or 
loss  of  heat  (adiabatic  or  isentropic  ex- 
pansion), so  the  line  L  C  represents  com- 
pression by  the  same  mode.  The  dia- 
gram then  consists  of  a  line  CD,  repre- 
senting expansion  at  constant  tempera- 
ture (the  expansion  of  the  water  into 
steam  represented  by  the  steam  line  of 
the  pressure-volume  diagram  c  d.  Fig.  7), 
a  line  D  E,  Fig.  2,  representing  adiabatic 
expansion  {d  e  in  Fig.  7),  a  line  EL, 
representing  compression  at  constant  tem- 
perature (the  line  e  I  of  Fig.  7,  during 
which  the  steam  is  being  reduced  to  its 
original  volume  at  the  constant  tempera- 
ture of  the  condenser),  and  the  line  LC, 
representing  adiabatic  compression  to  the 
original  temperature  (I  c  in  Fig.  7).  This 
is  called  the  Carnot  cycle,  and  from 
steam  worked  in  this  way  the  energy  pro- 
duced and  represented  by  a  diagram  like 
Fig.  7  will  be  directly  proportional  to  the 
temperature  range. 


A  Dangerous  Omission 


By  W.  H.  Wakeman 


Power  for  October  20,  1908,  contained 
a  short  article  under  the  above  title,  and 
the  illustration  is  herewith  reproduced  for 
reference  with  the  following  explanation 
(see  Fig.  i)  :  A  direct-acting  steam  pump 
A  is  used  to  operate  hydraulic  elevators. 
It  discharges  water  through  B  into  the 
pressure  tank  C.  A  relief  valve  is  shown 
at  D,  which  opens  and  allows  water  to 
flow  into  the  surge  tank  E  when  the  safe 
limit  of  pressure  is  reached.  A  power 
pump  F  was  installed  and  is  driven  by  an 
electric  motor.  It  was  connected  to  the 
system  by  inserting  the  cross  G.  The  re- 
lief valve  D  was  removed  and  connected 
at  H,  while  /  represents  a  stop  valve. 

The  original  article  called  attention  to 
the  fact  that  /  might  be  closed  and  F 
started,  thus  causing  trouble  and  expense 
by  creating  a  very  high  water  pressure 
from  which  there  would  be  no  automatic 
relief. 

This  is  exactly  what  did  happen  about 
midnight  a  short  time  ago,  since  the 
original  article  appeared.  There  was  no 
engineer  in  charge,  but  the  fireman  on 
duty  heard  an  unusual  noise  in  the  pump 
room.  On  going  in  to  investigate  the 
matter  he  found  that  the  heavy  cast-iron 
air  chamber  that  formerly  was  located  at 
/  had  leaped  upward,  making  a  large  dent 
in  the  ceiling  above  it,  and  had  then  fal- 
len to  the  floor,  while  water  was  coming 
out  of  an  irregular  hole  that  was  left 
when  the  air  chamber  failed.  The  switch 
was  pulled  out  and  the  pump  stopped. 

The  air  chamber  is  illustrated  in  Fig.  2. 
.The  break  occurred  in  the  lower  part  of 


February  2,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


--g5^ 


jj 


U 


i K^ — D 


-^     \ 


'f 


M 


=r\ 


^ 


-iju 


FlC.    I 


the  neck,  which  is  5  inches  in  diameter, 
while  the  head  above  it  is  12  inches.  It 
is  about  31  inches  high  above  the  break, 
and  the  flange  below  is  14  inches.  Fig.  3 
i«  a   plan  of  the  broken   flange,   showing 

rupture   of   very   irregular   form.      The 

11  is  from  H  to  f)  inch  thick;  its 
appearance  indicates  that  the  break  was 
new,  and  the  metal  was  free  from  air 
holes,  etc. 

It  is  morally  certain  that  the  immediate 
cause  of  this  so-called  accident  was  thr 
fact  that  the  valve  /,  Fig.  i,  was  closed. 
and  as  this  prevented  the  relief  valve  // 
from  opening,  a  very  high  pressure  accu- 
mulated in  a  short  time,  especially  as  it 
could  not  find  even  partial  relief  by  start- 
ing seams  in  the  tank  C,  as  it  did  on  a 
former  occasion.  The  automatic  elec- 
trical apparatus  evidently  failed  to  work 
properly. 

Fig.  4  illustrates  the  pressure  . 

connected  to  this  pump.  1 
evidently  made  a  complete  circle  on  tJic 
dial  and  was  forced  against  the  pin  with 
sufficient  force  to  loosen  it  from  its  pivot ; 
consequently,  it  gave  up  in  despair  the 
effort  to  indicate  the  great  pressure  re- 
•uiling  from  this  mismanagrincnt  arul 
hung  idly  on  the  pivot,  point  down- 
,rd 

The    fnllnwing    fact*     •houM     he    taken 


ago  l)y  tW" 
.I'lvinrfl    llir 

previous    experience    with    *lrani    .ml 
,..itrical    machinery,    to    install    .1    '   '    ' 
valve  between  /  and  /.  and  offi  rr.l  • 
ply  the  valve  and   install  it   c<.n  .  ' 
$J0,  but   he   replied  that    it   was 
Mry ,  flierefore,  it   was  oni 
Stated    rrsulf,    which    t^    ss 
fxpccte^   by   any  prar- 
\.r»%  than  10  days  pf^  fad 


ure  the  night  engineer,  who  held  a  license 
the  night  previous  to  the  date  of  disaster: 
under  the  city  government,  was  kept  on 
duty  for  j6  hours,  because  nobody  was 
provided  to  release  him,  and  then  dis- 
charged for  some  trivial  fault  a  few  dajrs 


^ 


^ 


Utcr.    He  fmkktd  his  labors  at  thtt 
ihcrdorc.  h  occarrtd  tht  ftm 
a  new  man  wm  epemu^  tbt 

The  new  owa  had  not  temni  a     

for  thu  plant,  as  the  law  alo»i  oae  w«tfc 
m  which  to  iccarc  the  aiiriMaij 
The  troofalc  coold  ooi  law  beep 
by  the  dsKhaffftd  cnployeet,  as  the  ^ 
fireman  operated  the  plaM  for  la  hamrt 
after  be  left,  and  the  aighi  tmm  kmd  baas 
oa  doty  for  aeveral  hoar*  when  the  fail- 
arc  ocnrred.  W^.t.  ,t^  ^^ 
eoold  have  kept  -   / 

the  pomp  was  citnrr  m  active 
or  elte  liable  to  be  Martcd 
any  time,  and  thw 
lion  with  the  relici  iMvc  H.  the 
tesdcnt.  who  aOowcd  soch  a 
state  of  affairs  to  exttt  after  he  had 
iafonncd  of  it  and  warned  of 
happen  at  any  time,  ii  directly 
A  relief  valve,  which  is  only  another 
oarac  for  a  safety  vaHe.  shoald  never  be 
located  where  an  ipsorant  or  careleaa 
6rcnun  can  prevent  it  from  opceaiiag  hy 
closing  a  vahre.  and  amj  man  who  dom 
not  anderstaad  Ihia  prim  i»li.  or  it  no* 
sttftdently  impriaaid  with  ila  importaaev 
to  apply  it  rigidly,  b  not  ^nalifted  to  have 
charge  of  a  steam  platt  locaMd  in  one  ol 
the  largest  liiiilttiati  hs  dM  ccatral  pan 

of  the  ritv  of  whirli  it  forma  a 
00s  par' 


na  J 


^ 


^^ 


230 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  2,  1909. 


The     Plunger     Hydraulic     Elevator 

Construction  and  Operation  Details  of  the  Highest  Type  of  Passen- 
ger   Elevator    Made    by   the   Standard    Plunger    Elevator    Company 

BY      WILLIAM      BAXTER,      yR. 


For  the  highest  type  of  passenger  eleva- 
tor the  Standard  Plunger  Elevator  Com- 
pany uses  the  system  shown  diagrammati- 
cally  in  Fig.  302.  In  this  arrangement  it 
will  be  noticed  that  the  discharge  tank  G 
is  located  several  floors  above  the  top  of 
the  lifting  cylinder.  The  hight  of  the 
discharge  tank  varies  according  to  the  car 
speed,  and  ranges  from  about  40  feet  for 


FIG.  302 

moderate  car  speed  to  double  this  hight 
for  speeds  of  500  or  600  feet  per  minute. 
In  addition  to  setting  the  discharge  tank 
at  an  elevation,  the  discharge  pipe  Q  is 
connected  with  the  inlet  pipe  P  through 
a  branch  R  in  which  is  inserted  a  check 
valve  L.  The  object  of  this  pipe  connec- 
tion is  twofold ;  first,  it  prevents  drawing 
the  plunger  away  from  the  water  in  mak- 
ing stops  on  the  upward  trips'  and,  second, 
it  saves  a  considerable  quantity  of  pres- 
sure water,  and  thereby  increases  the 
efficiency  of  the  apparatus.  The  valve  L 
permits  water  to  flow  freely  from  the 
pipe  Q  into  the  cylinder,  but  prevents 
water  from  passing  through  it  from  the 
cylinder  to  the  pipe  Q.  The  operation  of 
the  system  is  as  follows :  Suppose  the 
elevator  is  running  up  at  full  speed  and 
that  the  operating  valve  F  is  closed 
quickly;  then  the  momentum  of  the  coun- 
terbalance D  will  carry  the  car  upward 
and  draw  the  plunger  away  from  the 
water,   as  explained   in    previous   articles. 


This  would  be  the  effect  if  the  pipe  con- 
nection R  were  not  provided,  but  with  this 
connection,  as  soon  as  the  plunger 'begins 
to  draw  away  from  the  water,  the  vacuum 
developed,  assisted  by  the  pressure  due 
to  the  elevation  of  the  tank  G,  will  cause 
water  to  run  down  through  the  pipe  Q, 
the  valve  L  and  the  pipe  R  into  the  cylin- 
der and  keep  the  latter  full.  When  the 
plunger  comes  to  a  state  of  rest  there  is 
no  empty  space  under  it,  and  as  a  result 
the  car  will  not  drop  down  as  would  be 
the  case  if  watery  could  not  enter  the 
cylinder. 

To   avoid   drawing   the    plunger    away 


placed  high  enough  to  develop  as  much 
pressure  as  may  be  necessary  to  cause 
water  to  flow  in  through  the  pipe  R  and 
follow  up  the  plunger  as  fast  as  it  moves 
until  its  motion  is  arrested  by  the  greater 
weight  of  the  car.  All  the  water  that  is 
drawn  into  the  cylinder  through  the  pipe 
R  in  making  stops  represents  energy 
saved,  because  it  reduces  the  amount  of 
water  drawn  from  the  pressure  tank  H. 
It  is  not  practicable  in  all  buildings  to 
set  a  discharge  tank  at  the  desired  eleva- 
tion, and  in  such  cases  the  elevated  tank 
G  must  be  replaced  by  a  pressure  tank 
located    in    the    basement.      A    system    of 


from  the  water  by  too  rapid  a  valve 
closure  on  the  upward  trips  when  the 
simple  pipe  arrangement  of  Fig.  301  is 
used,  the  pilot  valve  is  adjusted  so  that 
the  main  valve  cannot  close  too  rapidly. 
With  the  arrangement  of  Fig.  302  it  is 
immaterial  how  quickly  the  main  valve 
is  closed,  providing  the  discharge  tank  is 


this  kind  is  shown  by  Fig.  303,  which  i$ 
far  more  elaborate  than  Fig.  302  an^ 
shows  every  detail  of  a  high-class  paS'^ 
senger  -  elevator  system.  Of  the  tw(| 
tanks  shown,  the  top  one  is  the  pressuri 
and  the  lower  one  the  discharge  tank.  Thfl 
pipe  Q  leads  to  an  inverted  U  consisting 
of   two   legs,   as    shown,    the    function   ot 


February  2,   1909. 

which  is  to  maintain  a  uniform  pressure 
in  the  discharge  tank.  This  L'-pipe  is 
extended  up  to  whatever  hight  may  be 
necessary  to  develop  the  required  pres- 
sure. At  the  bend  at  the  top  a  short  vent 
pipe  is  provided,  which  is  open  at  the 
upper  end,  so  as  to  prevent  the  inverted 
U  from  acting  as  a  siphon  and  drawitiK 
the  water  out  of  the  tank.  The  pilot- vahr 
lever  A'  is  actuated  by  the  r<»pe  J  wliicii 
runs  under  stationary  sheaves  /'  at  the 
bottom  and  over  and  under  the  two 
sheaves  J"  at  the  top  of  the  pit  at  the 
bottom  of  the  shaft.  At  the  top  of  the 
building  the  rope  /  runs  over  other 
-'•■  avcs,  as  shown  in  P'ig.  304  which  rcpre- 
ti  all  the  apparatus  at  the  upper  end 
ot  the  elevator  well,  and  also  the  elevat<  r 
car.  The  lever  L  of  the  top  automatic 
;>  valve  V  is  actuated  by  the  rope  /, 
!   the  lever  L'  of  the  down  automatic 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINI  i  k 

through  the  suction   iji^r     f     ..i.I  Jrl.vcn      i> 
into  the  pre 

B     The  air  .     ....,  ,       , 

the   discharge   tank   \\  <   K     thi 

and  into  the  pre     - 
K'.     Each   tank    : 


i: 

»vl;.  :;     ;i.c     ijr 
•  i.«:r.in.,n  of  the  i 
by  a  pressure  regulator   .S 
nected  with  the  pressure  • 
St.    This  regtilator  c<  -  valve  in 

the  steam  pipe  and  t).  itd  Marts 

the  pump  whenever  re  .  -hic  varia- 

tions of  pressure  in  the  Link. 

The   operation   of   the     elevator    1- 
follnws        To    Start    o; 
pilot  \al\e  lever  .Y  is 
the  main  valve  to  be  - 
this  allows  water  »•>  |>i 


-  *■'"  ^"  k  ogtm 

ittckftrpt 

•    ^  Ai » r  r  caa  PAM 

'ca  the  ear  it  4»> 


cyliaikr  C  caa  pM*  fraa  iW 

t*'    to    tbe    nownrtioa    E.    tlwaet 

uk!>  the  main  vahw  to  iW  pipe  £'  m4 

ink  diroash  tW  pif«  f . 


t*'-  dtfcrral 

\t*ni\     ii'.«<-     prrvcniri]     in     rig      Ji^    t^M 

arrangement  bemg  m  ikr  fomiam  ol  ikt 

fu   upoa   wbadi   tW  opcratiag   Icrtrs 

mounteJ.     Tbc   tman   vatv«  abo  fe 

(»furidc<l  with  a  safety  (ratsrc  «ol  skowa 

'^  nrhtr  ^r^wiaca     TWw  poaatt  ol  4il> 

'<  oadcrMood  bjr  laiponaaa 

•  fiKh    i*    .in    rtiLir(«d    tee- 


ih 


•4 


H-_Anr 


%ji\c    »      l^  .uiu.iiKi   uy   iiic   rope  i  .  "•"■    <-*'tk    ih; 

points  of  attachment  of  thc»c  ropes  n»ain  valve  t 

ir  and  the  way  m  w  are  through  the 

!   .It    fhr   top  of   til-  .veil  />*     anil    In 

II  of   the   car   budti 
shown  m  l-ig.  joj  at  // //.    Xhc  v-vinter 
ki!  ill.  r  i.Mif.-r*  are  of  «mnlar  detiKn,  •"" 

.illy  provided  with  the 
u«  I     iwMu.piis     shown    below     tl" 
•prmgs  in  the  car  buffers.     If  < 


the     tlu 


.   n   .>f«i    il    «.    akitri      'f 


•    tr.cm,    »^lU    I      tN*        ctirvK 
.a  ^  Fat   At  omt  ot  Ik*  ini9t\ 


Wrf' 

I. 


•Sii   a^t 
\tf  hit* 


ail  until    i!.< 

of   •  :r»t*    f!r 

Stroke  III  the  tnitirr*  d- 

of  the  rlrv4ii«r,  being  n 

tpeeil    in.  rr  nr«.      The  pump  on   Ihr 

'•'^"       •.\4tcT    from    the    di«charv 


J    •»•«««    tlH 


232 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  2,  1909. 


V"  and  W"  are  made  so  that  they  can 
swing  past  each  other.  This  view  also 
shows  the  way  in  which  the  bearings  of 
the  shafts  A  and  B  are  made  water-tight 
by  the  use  of  the  cup  packings  a'  and  b'. 
The  shafts  are  incased  in  brass  tubing  a  b 
to  prevent  corrosion. 

The  safety  device  attached  to  the  main 
valve  in  Fig.  303  is  clearly  shown  in  Fig. 
305 ;  it  consists  of  the  small  pipe  connec- 
tion a,  and  its  operation  is  as  follows : 
Suppose  the  car  is  running  upward ;  when 
it  reaches  the  upper  floor  the  top  stop 
valve  Z  will  close,  and  at  the  same  time 
the  main  valve  piston  T'  will  move  to  the 
left,  thereby  locking  pressure  water  in 
the  space  S'  between  the  main  valve  and 
the  stop  valve.  This  pressure  will  force 
the  cup  packings  of  the  stop  valve  Z  out 
so  as  to  develop  possibly  sufficient  fric- 
tion to  prevent  the  lever  V  and  the  weight 
of  the  sheave  V  from  shifting  the  valve 
to  the  open  position  when  the  car  starts 
on  the  down   trip.     When  the  pipe  a   is 


Coal  Specifications  and  Tests 


FIG.   306 

provided  this  cannot  happen  because  in 
order  to  run  the  car  down  the  main  valve 
has  to  be  moved  to  the  left  so  that  the 
piston  R  may  be  carried  beyond  the  port 
and  thus  open  communication  between  E 
and  £'.  As  soon  as  the  main  valve  moves 
far  enough  for  the  piston  T  to  pass  to  the 
left  of  the  inlet  of  the  pipe  a,  the  pres- 
sure in  S'  drops  to  equality  with  that  in 
E'  and  then  the  friction  of  the  cup  pack- 
ings of  the  valve  Z  is  so  reduced  that  the 
valve  cannot  stick.  It  might  be  said  that 
this  same  result  could  be  accomplished  by 
putting  additional  weight  on  the  lever  V, 
but  this  would  increase  the  tension  on  the 
operating  rope,   which  is  objectionable. 


Professor  Rateau  has  granted  a  license 
to  the  British  Westinghousc  Company  for 
the  manufacture  of  his  steam  turbine  and 
the  company  has  sold  two  units  of  5000 
kilowatts  capacity  each  to  London  city. 


By  a.  V.  DoANE 

The  practice  of  buying  coal  by  specifica- 
tion, rather  than  by  trade  name  or  other 
time-honored  methods,  is  rapidly  increas- 
ing among  large  purchasers  of  fuel,  and 
while  this  tendency  is  undoubtedly  in  the 
right  direction,  it  is  by  no  means  a  simple 
matter  to  write  satisfactory  specifications 
or  properly  to  enforce  them  when  written. 
It  is  practically  impossible  to  draw  any 
general  specification  which  shall  be  uni- 
versally applicable,  for  the  reason  that 
coal  is  a  natural  product  varying  widely 
in  composition  from  lignite  to  graphite. 
The  great  variety  of  purposes  for  which 
coal  is  used  and  the  conditions  under 
which  it  is  burned  make  it  necessary  to 
select  the  kind  best  suited  to  the  particu- 
lar work  to  be  done,  if  the  best  results  are 
to  be  obtained.  The  most  that  could  be 
done  in  the  way  of  general  specifications 
vi^ould  be  to  formulate  requirements  suited 
to  the  different  classes  of  service. 

As  by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  bitumi- 
nous coal  mined  is  used  for  generating 
steam,  specifications  for  coal  to  be  used 
for  this  purpose  have  naturally  been  given 
the  most  attention.  Even  in  this  special 
use  of  fuel  there  are  wide  variations,  as 
the  quality  and  composition  of  the  coal 
which  can  be  economically  obtained  in 
different  sections  of  the  country  vary 
considerably. 

The  types  of  boiler  and  furnace  in  use 
should  be  considered  in  specifying  the 
quality  of  coal  desired.  For  instance,  ver- 
tical boilers  do  not  give  as  good  results 
with  coal  containing  a  high  percentage  of 
volatile  matter  as  the  horizontal  type, 
while  even  a  gas  coal  can  be  burned 
smokelessly  and  efficiently  in  a  properly 
designed  and  proportioned  furnace. 

If  more  care  were  given  to  selecting  the 
coal  best  suited  to  the  particular  case 
under  consideration,  and  to  the  training 
and  supervision  of  firemen,  the  smoke 
nuisance  would  be  largely  abated,  with 
considerable  saving  in  the  fuel  charges. 
There  is  generally,  at  first,  considerable 
opposition  on  the  part  of  coal  dealers  to 
bidding  according  to  specifications.  There 
are  several  reasons  for  this :  The  oppor- 
tunity for  selling  inferior  coal  at  a  good 
price  is  much  diminished;  there  are  more 
bother  and  detail  about  delivering  and 
billing;  also,  a  quite  general  fear  that, 
owing  to  rejections  or  onerous  require- 
ments, they  will  sustain  losses,  which  fear 
often  leads  to  an  increase  in  the  price  bid 
as  a  precautionary  measure. 

Ill-advised  and  too  severe  specifications 
or  lack  of  judgment  and  tact  in  enforce- 
ment have  sometimes  caused  a  prejudice 
against  this  method  of  purchasing  coal, 
also,  but  as  a  rule,  if  the  dealer  is  treated 
fairly  and  the  matter  is  properly  ex- 
plained, he  soon  becomes  accustomed  to 
the    change.      The   linnrst    dealer    is    pro- 


tected by  the  specification  method,  as  un- 
scrupulous competitors  who  under  the 
old  system  might  have  bid  on  furnishing 
some  well  known  high-grade  coal,  intend- 
ing to  substitute  an  inferior  and  cheaper 
grade  when  making  deliveries,  will  hesi- 
tate about  playing  this  trick  if  they  know 
that  the  coal  will  be  tested  and  that  they 
will  be  held  strictly  to  the  terms  of  the:  ^ 
contract. 

Writing  Specifications 

In  writing  specifications  the  properties; 
which  the  coal  should  possess  must  be- 
carefully  considered,  having  in  view  the 
types  of  boiler,  furnace,  stoker,  etc.,  meth- 
ods of  handling,  storage  and  disposal  of 
ashes,  character  of  the  load  on  the  en- 
gines and  the  characteristics  of  the  coals 
which  can  be  readily  obtained  in  the 
locality. 

The  amount  required,  place  and  time 
of  delivery,  mechanical  condition  of  the 
coal  and  allowable  proportion  of  slack 
should  be  specified.  The  maximum  per- 
centage, based  on  dry  coal,  of  ash,  volatile 
matter  and  sulphur  and  the  minimum  of 
B.t.u.  per  pound  should  be  defined.  Also^ 
the  coal  should  not  heat  dangerously  wheni 
stored  in  large  piles,  nor  cause  an  undue 
amount  of  smoke  when  fired  with  rea- 
sonable care. 

In  some  cases  the  bidder  is  allowed  to- 
submit  his  own  specifications  covering  the 
properties  which  he  guarantees  the  coal 
shall  possess,  and  the  payment  is  based' 
on  the  success  of  the  contractor  in  de- 
livering coal  up  to  the  standard  he  bas- 
set. If  the  price  paid  is  based  on  the 
B.t.u.  contained  .and  the  coal  is  weighed 
when  received,  the  determination  of  the 
heating  effect  may  be  based  on  the  coal  as 
received,  thus  correcting  for  moisture. 

The  methods  of  sampling  and  testing 
should  be  described  and  in  case  of  disa- 
greement between  the  contractor  and  pur- 
chaser some  way  should  be  provided, 
generally  by  calling  in  a  disinterested  ex- 
pert, of  settling  the  controversy. 

The  basis  of  payment  is,  of  course,  one 
of  the  most  important  features  of  the 
contract.  It  is  usual  to  pay  the  price  per 
ton  quoted  by  the  successful  bidder,  de- 
ducting a  specified  amount  as  penalty  for 
failure  to  deliver  coal  up  to  the  standard,, 
and  adding  a  stated  sum  as  premium  for 
exceeding  the  requirements.  The  amount 
of  B.t.u.  per  pound  and  the  percentage 
of  ash  are  generally  the  items  on  whicb 
premiums  are  paid  or  penalties  deducted^ 
but  in  some  cases  the  amounts  of  volatile 
matter  and  moisture  are  included.  In 
some  instances,  too,  any  variation  from 
the  specified  standard  makes  a  change  ift 
the  price.    ■ 

Another  method,  and  one  which,  con- 
sidering the  unavoidable  errors  in  samp- 
ling and  testing,  seems  more  equitable,  is 
to  allow  a  small  variation,  perhaps  i  or  2 
per  cent,  above  and  below  the  standarct 
before  the  premium  or  penalty  becomes 
operative.     The    amount   to   be   deducted 


February  2,   1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


OS 


or  paid  as  premium  should  be  given  care- 
ful consideration  in  order  to  protect  the 
interests  of  both  parties  to  the  contract. 
The  purpose  should  be  to  deduct  enough 
from  the  price  bid  to  make  good  any  loss 
sustained  by  the  purchaser  through  fail- 
ure to  receive  coal  of  the  specified  quality 
and  to  add  enough  to  reward  and  encour- 
age the  contractor  if  the  standard  is  ex- 
ceeded. 

It  may  be  said  that  if  the  required  B.t.u. 
per  pound  are  received  it  is  hardly  fair 
to  make  a  deduction  for  excess  percentage 
of  ash,  but  aside  from  payment  for  inert 
matter  there  are  other  important  consid- 
erations: In  using  a  coal  having  a  high 
ash  content  more  coal  must  be  handled 
by  the  fireman  to  produce  a  given  result, 
the  ash  must  be  heated  to  the  temperature 
of  the  furnace  and  much  of  this  heat  is 
lost.  The  ash  clogs  the  fire,  requiring 
more  draft;  the  fire  must  be  sliced  or 
shaken  more  frequently,  resulting  in  a 
loss  of  unbumt  coal  through  the  grates, 
'  ater  tendency  to  form  clinkers  and 

ised   expense    in    handling   and    dis- 
of  ashes.     If  the  ashes  have  to  be 

1  to  a  considerable  distance,  this  item 
may  make  it   economical   to  buy  a 

r-priced   coal   with   a   small   percent- 

.f  ash.   rather   than   a  cheaper   coal 
wit II  high  ash  content. 
In   the   case  of  Government,    State   or 

.  ipal  contracts,  the  bidder  is  usually 

red  to  make  a  deposit  with  his  bid, 
^hich  may  be  retained  if  he  fails  to  exe- 
B|e  the  contract,  if  it  is  awarded  to  him. 
Bd  the  successful  bidder  is  also  required 
%  ^ive   bonds   to   insure  the   satisf.nctory 

ing  out  of  his  obligations. 

Tests 

was  formerly  the  custom  to  calciilai' 
:eat  units  in  the  coal  from  the  rc^ilts 
I  ultimate  analysis.  This  method  ha* 
ur.  !i  largely  superseded  by  the  calorim- 
eter test  which  is  more  accurate  and  can 
be  made  rapidly  and  conveniently,  especi- 
ally if  a  simple  and  easily  manipulated 
calnriiiirtcr    is    employed. 

In  .n.ldition  to  the  heat  units,  determina- 
tions of  moisture,  volatile  matter,  sulphur 
and  ash  are  commonly  made. 

The  moisture  lest  is  a  difficult  one  to 
ouke  with  accuracy  as.  if  an  attempt  i» 
ide  to  drive  off  all  the  water  by  heal- 
ing the  coal,  some  of  the  combustible  vola 
tfle  is  very  likely  to  go  with  it. 
In  the  s.itne  manner  the  tr  • 
attcr  *li'.ws  that  there  is  t 
Hoc    between    comhinnl    water    •> 
bsttible  volatile  matter  on   \hr 
and  between  the  latter  and 
-rhon  on  the  other.     In  a: 
■<•  the  error  it  is  customary  to  heat  ihr 
1  in  a  pl.itiniim  rrucihl'-  f^^r    ■   't-*-    •■ 
.•   over  a    <t.in.|.»r.l    (Vuiir 


not  follow  that  it  will  make  an  eqttaUy 
good  showing  under  the  boiler «.  unless 
the  plant  is  particularly  adapted  to  bom 
coal  of  this  kind.  If  anthracite  screen- 
ings, buckwheat  or  some  of  the  other 
small  sizes  of  hard  coal  are  mixed  with 
the    ':  ■.    coal    the    percentage    of 

vola:  ^oft  coal  may  be  cuiuidcra' 

bly  higi.cr  than  would  be  desirable  if  it 
were  to  be  used  alone.  It  is  much  more 
■Jiflkult  to  secure  smokeless  cumbuttioa 
with  a  high  volatile  coal  than  with  one 
containing  only  a  moderate  amount 

It  is  customary  in  reports  on  boiler 
tests  to  state  the  evaporation  per  pound 
of  C'  or  coal  fr  ire 

and  iing  the  r  ;b- 

tracting     these     cc:  ly 

combustible.     This  <-en 

shown  to  be  erroneous,  as  in  some  coals, 
particularly  those  from  the  western  part 
of  the  country,  a  large  proportion  of  the 
supposed  combustible  volatile  is  in  reality 
water  of  composition.  This  error  ranges 
from  3  or  4  per  cent,   for   I  als 

tc   14  or  more  for  We«trrn.  i  a 

true   basis   of   con-'  ^   dcu:cj   an 

ultimate  analysis  i> 

The  test  for  sulphur  is  of  considerable 
importance  with  some  coals,  particularly 
those  from  the  West,  which  contain  from 
I  to  5  per  cent.  While  sulphur  is  com- 
bustible, it  has  only  about  one-quarter  of 
the  ■  It  makes  a 

ix\%\\  nibincd  with 

iron  or  1: 
into  the 
ply  and  oiten  rur 

The  hot   gases  .  »"'   »'« 

coninionly   *upp"ve<l  t.i  .itt.ick   irxji.  Kit   it 

i«  doubtful  if  the  c -    •     ..         '  >.    >. 

shell  is  injured;  > 

smoke  "" 

and    if   «!  ctl 


vo-calird 
^  caused 

ti.rjti«iti 


ironwor- 
It   i.   • 
sp< 

by  iii-    -«'. •■•■ - 

has    shown    that    while    the 

pyrites  in  a  coal  which  ha»  *  - 

heat   mav  plav  some  part  in  starting  the 
act  >*'•'"'  »' 

thr  ♦««»•  •*> 

dcj 

ously.   w 

•■   ••••-  ..    „ 

'«  taken  • 


important  oftnMmm  h  the  tdtimetiam  «t 
the  sample,  as  it  is  rridcst  that  if  tkta  b 
not  tm^  rcprcMfltttivc  of  the  oonl,  ikc 
care  and  rdhMOMat  wtik  wbidb  tW 
are  carried  oat  arc  of  bttk  mc 

If  the  coal  M  ddit«r«d  by 
hoisted  in  bodccu  a  mmi^ 
be  takes  from  cadi  land  or  fraai  tkc  tnka 
oc  cosvcjrcra  at  convcnicfli  mtcfi^nls  asd 
pot  in  a  pile,  from  wkadi  ikt  aaiflc  b 
taken.  If  ncccaaary  to  okttia  tW 
from  a  pile  or  car.  ■■•B  ponsHH 
hk  taken  from  diflcrcM  parts,  not  only  on 
the  surface  bat  at  tooic  dwtanei 
as  there  is  a  teodcacy  for  tbc 
lumps,  which  contain  tbe  mom  slate  or 
booe.  to  settle  to  tbc  bonoai,  pnnicniarty 
in  railroad  cart. 

Enoogb  coal  sbonid  be  takes  to  make 
a  pile  containing  aboot  one  bnabcL  Tbia 
should  be  sprnd  oat  fUi  00  a  daan.  dfy 
surface  and  aU  large  tonipa  brokak  TW 
pile  shoold  then  be  divided  itto  qmrttn 
and  a  section  reiectcd.  The  hnnpa  sboold 
then  be  broken  fin*'  *"-'  '*^  coal  abow- 
eled  over,  thorough  '.  and  again 

quartered  and  a  section  rejected, 
ing  the  operation  until  there 


from  vbick  tbc  tons- 
iken  and  pland  in  an 


quart  A  fin  can  with  a  frktiea  tofc  neb 
as  is  used  for  paint  or  r%nMk,  i*  «• 
venienl. 

In  order  to  idmtifjr  tbc  aMHpIc  a  bnw 

bbel  holder,  socb  as  is  pal  on  drawer*  or 

cases,  may  be  bent  to  fk  Ibe  omm4»  ol 

thr   ran  and   soldered  at  the  romcra  to 

place.     A  card  is  then  slippod 

V  .4ft^r  wfth  fit«  ncccaaary  infor- 

>«card  ia 


1  i  br  taken  by  a 

rtbascr  and  bnle 
^  pot  on  teMs  of 

It  is  commor 

must  for  analfsb  and  ibcn 
to  ibo«  tbc  Mgb 


ol 
I  • 


,rtt  oi  a  .-mpk  of  the  coal  as 

by  thr  purchaser  wsO  fad  to  e^Ml  tbc 

■res  gt«m  m  tbr  report. 

In  M.iWin^  coMracU  il  b - 

tlM<  sre  10  be  oaadc  to  a«M4- 

.^.v...4.    xAotr^   bf   tbc 


wl.Kb    U    UU    l-t't»'J    • 


qMremmts.  if  tbr  tests  arc 
compHeni  pcr»on  and  the  I*  " 
t  ..•<.  to  the  oon»r»rt   »** 


by  • 


»>.» 


•ory  result  in  the  calonmetrr.  «t   .1' 


..^kj: 


(■•al    Trin 


234 


POWKR  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  2,  1909. 


Surface    Condensation    for  Steam   Turbines 

Coefficient  of  Heat  Transference,  Influence  of  Air  Leakage,  Condenser 
Pumps,  Temperature  of  Air  and  Water  and  Contra  vs.  Ordinary  Flow 

b"y      professor      E^      J  o  s  s  e 


On  shipboard  surface  condensers  are 
always  preferred  because  the  condensed 
water  should  be  fit  for  use  as  boiler  feed. 
Even  in  stationary-turbine  plants  prefer- 
ence is  often  given  to  the  surface  con- 
denser over  the  more  economical  jet  con- 
densers for  three  reasons:  (i)  the  sur- 
face condenser  produces  a  good  vacuum 
more  easily  than  the  jet  condenser;  (2) 
the  condensed  water  is  free  from  oil  and 
can  be  reused;  (3)  there  is  danger  that 
the  cooling  water  of  the  jet  condenser 
might  flow  back  into  the  turbine.  Messrs. 
Tosi,  of  Leghorn,  are  installing  an  air- 
operated  nonreturn  valve  to  obviate  this 
difficulty.     As   a   rule   surface  condensers 


2'' 

Is 

1 

05 

•5 

/ 

J 

/ 

J27' 

5  28 

2»" 

7M 

' 

4 

/ 

/ 

/ 

A 

/ 

=9  y 

/ 

/ 

/ 
/ 

/ 

^ 

^ 
^ 

y- 

/ 

g 

^ 

^ 

>^ 

32  4U  41  5U  5960'        88  70         77    80'      88' 

Kutio  of  Gooliag  Water  to  heed  -  DegreeB  1". 
FIG.    I 

are  insisted  upon  for  turbines  and  they 
may  cost  from  30  to  60  per  cent,  of  the 
whole  turbine-plant  cost.  On  board  ship 
the  large  dimensions  and  weight  are  fac- 
tors of  importance. 

An  investigation  was  made  of  the  efifect 
of  increasing  vacuum  on  the  thermal  effici- 
ency of  the  prime  mover,  bringing  out  the 
facts  that  the  available  heat  increases  con- 
siderably as  the  vacuum  increases  above 
21  inches.  The  reason  is  that  the  specific 
volume  of  the  steam  augments  rapidly  as 
the  condenser  pressure  is  reduced,  and  the 

•Abstract  of  paper  read  before  the  summer 
meeting  of  the  Schlffsbautechnische  Gesell- 
schaft  at  Berlin,  June  16  to  18,  1908,  by 
Prof.  E.  Josse,  director  of  the  department  of 
engineering  at  the  Technical  High  School  at 
Charlottenburg. 


cylinders  of  reciprocating  engines  cannot 
for  practical  reasons  be  enlarged  to  ac- 
commodate this  volume.  It  is  well  known 
that  reducing  the  vacuum  below  26  inches 
does  not  increase  the  efficiency  of  steam 
engines.  In  turbines  there  is  ample  steam 
space  -for  large  volumes  and  the  lower 
condenser  pressures  can  be  fully  utilized. 
These  investigations  proved  that  the  engi- 
neer is  on  the  right  track  when  he  en- 
deavors further  to  improve  the  condenser 
vacuum.  What  can  be  achieved  by  en- 
larging the  condenser  dimensions  has  al- 
ready been  done  and  it  is  no  good  to  go 
farther  in  this  direction.  Other  ways 
must  be  found. 

The  attainable  vacuum  depends  on  the 
temperature  and  mass  of  the  available 
cooling  water.  Given  an  unlimited  amount 
of  cooling  water  at  60  degrees  Fahren- 
heit, the  steam  pressure  can  be  reduced 
to  half  an  inch  absolute,  or  a  98  per  cent, 
vacuum.  With  warmer  circulating  water, 
the  vacuum  will,  of  course,  be  poorer.  In 
Fig.  I  are  plotted  the  possible  vacua 
with  various  ratios  of  circulating  water 
to  condensed  steam  and  various  initial 
temperatures.  On  board  ship  a  ratio  of 
50  to  60  can  generally  be  managed  and  an 
excellent  vacuum  should  hence  be  realiza- 
ble, if  other  considerations  did  not  com- 
plicate the  problem. 

Coefficient   of   Heat   Transference 

In  order  that  the  steam  may  give  off  its 
heat  to  the  cooling  water,  the  heat  has  to 
pass  through  the  metallic  wall  of  the  con- 
denser tube  and  may  be  considered  in 
three  stages :  in  the  transference  from  the 
steam  to  the  metal ;  in  the  metallic  wall  of 
thickness  d  and  thermal  conductivity  L; 
and  in  the  transference  from  the  metal  to 
the  water.  The  coefficient  of  transference 
IJ ,  the  number  of  heat  units  transferred 
per  hour  through  i  square  foot  of  metal- 
lic condenser  wall  when  the  temperature 
of  the  steam  is  i  degree  Fahrenheit  higher 
than  that  of  the  water,  can  be  deduced 
from  the  formula 


have  the  value  of 


I 

I 
A, 

,      d      . 

I 

u 

'      L      ■ 

A, 

d  being  the  usual  thickness  of  condenser 
tubes  (i  millimeter  or  0.0393  inch).  For 
this  thickness  the  value  of  L  is  fairly  well 
known  and  may  be  given  as  18,430  for 
brass,  61,500  for  copper,  11,270  for  iron, 
5740  for  zinc,  11,050  for  tin  and  2660  for 

d_ 
L 


18,430 

paratively  little  importance. 
I 


and  be  of  com 


The   term 


is   the   most  importan 


and  has  been  investigated  with  the  aid  o 
two  concentric  tubes,  water  being  sen 
both  through  the  inner  tube  and  the  an 
nular  jacket.  The  values  of  various  ex 
perimenters      differ     greatly.       Professo 


1500  pT-| —    1  1  1   1   ,  ,  1  j  1  1  1 — [ 

— 1  i  1  1  1  /T  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1 

■ 

T^- 

1/ 

0 

/ 

zt  . 

u 

Q. 

aZ 

?                   -                   H^ 

2                   I            "     A 

t                  .            -     -W- 

5  1200            -        -   -    ix 

a                    ^            _  _  0$   _ 

-!>' 

i.                             -        / 

''   % 

<.                                      IT 

^L 

? 

U                           'I     $i> 

a                      "  ~              ,  >  ^iS^Si- 

°    ,nnn-"""  =  "'^  =  #r  = 

1000 -,---%-,* 

Z.                 :       £   :     / 

:               7 

=        i       -     ^^  -  J 

z 

P                          .       T             Zi 

z 

^     900                il             U4 

-^  X 

u    »""              *             .r'- 

7 

'■5                                         „                 hS^ 

z 

§              f      ^zfc 

.     z  _ 

I 

. 

S.                   al       W-                 / 

^ 

°-             ist      %            / 

7 

Z                           _,'" 

^700        §t-    J*            J       2. 

H                Ojt^^          i^/      /. 

"f       "  A^*"" 

•           -sni-J      "oV     -, 

s^b^ 

:     ,#^: 

_.Cl.  _!2,il(!t__.  ?_     (^Z 

^-^^ 

-     600    l~-f+        „'--     /-*■    gi 

S-^^  ■^ 

3             ''    /      J-~'''' ' 

S                 ('  -^y        ■' 

•0                        Zt    ,^iL      «^^ 

2      500          ,9            Z^        ^S*     - 

0      sou      -iS     ^            J        -^^ 

.     T      K      1 

^                    /             '^    7<^\\      > 

p,~ei^^--2Li-^^—^' 

a                if         I    /&t  kvcci. 

";        .   f^  ~Pr' 

^  -  '^ 

S      400          t         .%J^ ''-'X- 

©■- 

0              ^      ZLl-        X 

°                         ^5                 \e   ^' 

==■ 

s         1      y        i^' 

~         f      'i±     '^ 

a      ^"^      "        ^^'x'"        ' 

1 

H                 -     t-t-£i 

^J_j_u'  x  X'   "    ^ 

S                  ^J 

i    Upudense  rj  Ljes,  t. 

r  J 

5          'V                     — 

±ir 

=?   ,..n=i±  =  :::   :  =  ==.  =  =  = 

.  =  =  =  =  =  .  =  ±±=.   =. 

12  3  4  5  6 

Kate  of  Flow  of  Cooling  Water  -  Feet  pur  SecouJ 


Josse  agrees  best  with  Ser,  who  gave  th' 
approximate   formula 

^  —  2  =  510  J    V   , 

where  V  is  the  velocity  of  water  througl 
the  tubes  in  feet  per  second.  This  velc 
city  is  the  decisive  factor;  far  more  im 
portant  than  the  material  of  the  con 
denser  tubes  and  their  thickness,  and  als 
of  greater  consequence  than  the  velocit 
of  the  steam,  about  which,  or,  rather,  dj 

,  there  is  even  less  agreemen 


term 


Ai 


aluminum.     The  middle  term 


would 


The  coefficient  Ai  is  generally  suppose 
to  be  about  2085,  although  Ser  give 
a  much  higher  figure.  From  an  anafysi 
of  Ser's  figures  and  his  own  experiment 


bruary  2,   1909. 

Professor  Josse  concludes  that  3900  is  a 

correct  value.     The  velocity  of  the 

I  has  its  influence,  but  the  whole  term 

not    count    for    much.     For    water 

ng  at  the  fate  of  1.64  feet  per  second 

s  formula  would  be: 

'    =     -     4.      '      -h-i-=  -L- 

/  3900  IS.4AO  653  44'; 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

where  U     \%   the   utaration   temperature 
and   /,    the   temperature   of  the  cooling 

water  at  entrance,  /  being  '"^      '      ' 
temperature.     It    will   be    ^ 

'luadratic  fori      ,;       ^.m:. 

form  at  all  w  tern 

Infllcxcb  or  Ai«  I^akact  ,^^. 


/•fc 


4c- 
•}jai«ed    bjr 


L    ^  445- 


rd    .\ir 


nc  3 

1 1    Ax   be    increased   to   twice    its   value 

U  would  rise  only  to  475,  and  if  the  tube 

'*     '   icss    be    increased    to   2    millimeters 

lid  hardly  be  affected.     An  increase, 

•  er.  in  the  rate  of  flow  from  1.64  to 

•  per  second  would  raise  {/  to  625. 
I  increase  of  the  steam  flow  is  un- 
ble  the  best  plan  is  to  accelerate 
>w  of  the  circulating  water  and  by 

'iicinK   the  baflUe  strips  or  retardcrs 
pe,  Henneberg  &  Co..  of  Hamburg, 
iidcnser  tubes,  in  order  to  break 
currents    up    into   vortices,    he 
C   at    a    velocity  of   .v.'S    feet 
\  from  614  to  922.  The  results  of 
Josse's   experiments   conducted 
!■  nsers  and  of  experiments  made 
hers    with    physical    apparatus    are 
I  in  Fig.  2,  the  curves  showing  that 
idcn^er  tests  better  results  are  ob 
!  than  in  rxpcrimcnts  conducted  'n 
lysic.il  lalM>rat<^>ry. 
Opinion*  differ  concerninK  if''-   it)<;<(-. 
'*f    ^'    with    greater    diffcrenccN    <<\    tim 
ire       Arcr.linK    to    some    the    heat 
•erre«l    shouM    increase    proportion 
o  the  difference;  according  to  WeU* 
•hers,  proportionally  to  the  square  of 
mperature  difference*.     His  investi 
s  were  conducted  t.       ' 

*  in   different    p«»f ' 
r   tube*       If  tl' 

*  a»  a  linear   : 

the  ri»e  i»i   ihr  im 
■\\i.    water    should    f<>i 
iial  law  and  it  was  found  to  he  *<> 
curves  in  Fig.  3  arc  in  eifi  .Il\  .1.    >■ 
nent  with  the  formula 


ence  of  atr  le 

passes  into  th. 

-team,   the  tc: 

that    of   the    steam,    ti  • 

mixture   will   be  the   «i: 


air  pump.     li 
nr    thr    Temper 

pressure  the  ; 

-IJ  be  equal  to  t;.. j.  > - 

sure:   that  is,    the    partial    air    pressure 

would  be  zero  and  the  r <  •  • 

to  deal  with  an  enormou 
air  pressure  s'      "  '     " 


■-rmsatng  iW 
riiftjiicd    tAaaig  plaer  !■ 

«t   the 

M  4»- 

'B*  stemm  wiO  be 


air- 


13 

1 

1 

Si,. 

3w 

y 

-  4  • 

1j 

/ 

'X 

Air 

>*>;hkR«<f.     Ill   U4h  vAM«k  the 

t  <^f  the  c«r«e  m  horuontaL  lc. 

peratarc  rite  at  6r«t     la 

jI«v:(   All  r-T    .  mt     ,\   'K* 


»,n 


na  4 

duced  to  zero   and    the    lemperatorc  be 

-it    the    sj. 

tUIC   •>!    (I  '  :• 

denser   is  e 

«tcaiii.   for    while    the    heal 

\X:    Ml     vfr  I'Ti     to     Iiirfjl     f.ikrs 


rhrrmal    insulator   and   its   C/    it    of    the 


irnia  rm  lh#  hmlint  of  sir  whet. 


•  , 

1 

i^  i 


na   S 


b«M  he 


"/ore 


fw. 


236 

condensed  water  may  either  be  removed 
separately,  by  a  so-called  dry-air  pump,  or 
both  together,  by  a  wet-air  pump.  As  dry- 
air  pumps  have  to  deal  with  high  compres- 
sion ratios,  with  high  vacua  and  single- 
stage  pumps,  the  clearances  must  be  small. 
When  the  clearance  amounts  to  5  per  cent, 
the- vacuum  cannot  be  maintained  at  more 


100       200300400500600      700       800900 
Cooling  Sarface  -  Square  Feet 

FIG.    6 


than  95  per  cent,  and  the  clearance  must 
be  reduced,  or  other  expedients  adopted. 
Three  are  mentioned:  (i)  the  air  pump 
may  be  built  in  two  stages ;  (2)  the  pump 
may  be  fitted  with  an  equalizing  pipe  so 
that  the  two  sides  of  the  piston  are  con- 
nected near  the  end  of  each  stroke,  the 
volumetric  efficiency  is  raised  by  this  ex- 
pedient, but  considerable  more  power  is 
absorbed  to  accomplish  the  result;  (3) 
with  the  wet-air  pump  the  clearance  space 
is  made  to  receive  the  condensed  water 
which  will  fill  at  least  part  of  it. 

Fig.  7  illustrates  the  construction  of 
these  double-acting  wet-air  pumps.  It 
will  be  noted  that  means  are  provided  in 
the  upper  valve  deck  to  allow  the  non- 
condensable  vapors  to  enter  above  the  pis- 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

illustrated.  It  is  important  in  this  pump 
that  the  valves  should  be  very  light  in 
weight. 

Temperature  of  Discharged  Air 
Returning  to  the  temperature  at  which 
the  mixture  of  condensed  water  and  air 
should  be  withdrawn,  the  case  represented 


February  2,  1909. 

cubic  meters  per  hour,  then  the  tempera- 
ture might  rise  to  29  degrees  Centigrade. 
If,  on  the  other  hand,  two  kilograms  of 
air  should  leak  into  the  condenser  in- 
stead of  one,  the  cooling  would  be  carried 
down  to  15  degrees  Centigrade. 

The  temperature  of  the  discharged  air 
is  a  criterion  as  to  the  fitness  of  the  con- 


FIG.    7 

in  Fig.  8  is  that  of  a  28H-inch  vacuum, 
one  kilogram  of  air  entering  per  hour,  and 
the  air-pump  capacity  is  50  cubic  meters, 
1765  cubic  feet  per  hour.  The  abscissas 
are  the  temperatures  at  the  condenser  out- 
let. If  the  pump  is  merely  to  remove  the 
dry  air  the  flow  of  air  would  be  little  in- 
fluenced by  the  temperature,  as  the 
straight  line  in  the  upper  part  of  the  dia- 
gram indicates,  but  the  partial  pressure 
of  the  air  at  saturation  temperature  dwin- 


denser  plant,  but  caution  should  be  exer- 
cised in  forming  an  opinion.  A  claim  that 
the  condenser  must  work  the  better  the 
lower  the  temperature  of  the  discharged 
air  is  unjustified.  The  air  temperature 
may  be  low  because  there  is  much  air 
leakage,  or  because  the  pump  delivery  is 
poor.  Air  leakage  becomes  a  serious  fac- 
tor when  a  high  vacuum  is  to  be  utilized 
and  the  air  must  be  cooled  whether  a  dry- 
or  wet-air  pump  be  used. 

Temperature  of  Condensed  Water 
As    regards   temperature   of   condensed 


HEAT  TRANSFERENCE  COEFFICIENTS  FOR  AIR. 
Length  of  pipe,  52  inches;  internal  diameter,  0.91  inch;  air-flushed  surface,  148  square  inches. 


Experiment. 


10 


11 


12 


13 


14 


15 

16 

26.8 
1.56 

26.8 
1.56 

87 

90.5 

184 
136.4 
1.79 
262.1 

189 
140 

1.46 
215 

16.3 

13.38 

41.3 

34.4 

0.62 

0.565 

Air  pressure,  lb.  abs..  . . 
Steam  temp.,  deg.  F. .  . 
Air  temp,  at  entrance 

deg.  F 

Air  temp,  at  discharge 

deg.  F 

Air  temp.,  mean,  deg.  F. 

Air  wt.  per  hr.,  lb 

Air  vol.  per  hr.,  cu.ft.  .  .  1000 
Air  speed  In  pipe,  no.  ft. 

per  sec 62.2 

B.t.u.    transferred,    per 

hr 1282 

Heat  transferred,  coeff. 

=  U 10.52 


Inches  of  vac.  =        14.4 
14.95    14.95    14.95    14.95    14.95    14.95    14.95     7.57 
Al  ways  2  12° 


14.4 
7.57 


14.5   I 
7.54 


14.6 
7.50 


62.1      62.4      65.1      67.5      68.6      70 


67.6     67.5      67.1 


138        144.5  156.2  160.8  164.3    161        171.1    149. 

100.5    104.1  110.3  114.9  116.7    114.9    119.4    108. 

70.8    '65.9  24.4  16.7  12.9        9.16      5.4      34. 

656.5  351  242.2  187.2  132.9  79.1  986 

40.8  21.8  15.1  11.64   8.27   4.92  61. 

906  530  371  295    198    134   670 

8.56   5.51   4.02   3.29   2.17   1.59   6 


7  165.2 

5  116.7 

2   19.6 

572 


35.6 
458 
5.15 


67.3   68 

164  174.6 

117.6  121.2 

15.3    8.7 

451  268.1 


67 


28 
366 
4.22 


16.03 
221 
2.72 


14.4 
7.57 


68 

183 
125.7 

4.82 
142.9 

8.9 

132 

1.79 


26.8 
1.56 


26.75 
1.63 


80.5   86.4 

161.7  183.8 
122.1  134.8 

3.8    2.75 
543    409.5 
I 
33.8  I  25.5 

73.5  j  64. 

0.86   0.955 


ton  on  each  down  stroke,  together  with 
the  water  which  flows  in  through  the  cen- 
ter ports  passed  over  by  the  piston. 

A  pump  of  this  design,  20  inches  in 
diameter,  6.3  inches  stroke  and  running  at 
250  revolutions  per  minute,  for  a  plant 
condensing  22,000  pounds  of  steam  per 
(hour  with  a  vacuum  of  28  inches,  was  also 


dies  to  zero  and  the  air  volume  becomes 
very  great. 

In  the  case  represented  the  volume  to 
be  removed  would  equal  the  pump  capa- 
city of  so  cubic  meters  at  25.6  degrees 
Centigrade,  when  the  partial  air  pressure 
will  be  0.017  atmosphere.  If  the  pump 
had  a  capacity  of  2800  cubic  feet,  or  80 


water  the  two  systems  diflFer.  When  the 
air  is  separately  withdrawn  the  condensed 
water  need  not  be  cooled.  When  a  wet- 
air  pump  is  used  extra  cooling  of  the  con- 
densed mixture  is  necessary,  lest  an  after 
escape  of  air  ensue ;  Professor  Josse  first 
cools  the  liquid,  then  the  air,  by  bringing 
it  into  contact  with  the  liquid,  as  the  cool- 


February  2,  1909. 

ing  of  the  water  requires  much  smaller 
surfaces  than  the  cooling  of  the  air.  This 
arrangement  is  said  to  save  surface  space. 
The  extra  cooling  of  the  liquid  is  inso- 
far undesirable,  as  the  cold  feed  water 
has  afterward  to  be  reheated  with  modern 
high  vacua  which  generally  do  not  re- 
<iuite  a  cooling  of  more  than  a  few  de- 
t/'.-.-s  below  saturation  temperature.  This 
of  heat  will  not  amount  to  more  than 
'  ij^  per  cent,  of  the  heat  of  the  feed 
er.  The  wet  pumps  are,  on  the  whole, 
simpler,  occupy  less  space,  absorb  less 
power  than  dry-air  pumps.  Another  point 
is  that  the  steam  withdrawn,  together 
•with  the  air,  has  to  be  compressed ;  for 
•this  purpose  injection  is  sometimes  re- 
sorted to.  In  the  wet  pump  the  steam  will 
condense  again  as  soon  as  compression  is 
<)egun. 

A  Scries  of  Conde.vser  Tests 
Professor  Josse's  experiments  have  ex- 
tended over  three  years,  during  which  his 
improved  condensers  have  been   working 
satisfactorily. 

The  first  series  of  tests  concerns  the 
joo-kilowatt  Parsons  turbines  of  the  engi- 
tieering  laboratory  at  Charlottenburg, 
which  a  vertical  pipe  of  ample  dimensions 
<onnects  with  the  surface  condenser 
t>elow.  The  wet-air  pump  of  Professor 
Josse  is  driven  by  belting  from  an  electric 
motor  at  .100  revolutions.  The  chief  di- 
tnensif)ns  arc  as  follows: 

Ooollnt  nurfac* sas      mj   ri. 

Tub»»««.  <lum»'t«»r 0.7»     In. 

Tali«w.  thi<-iiii...« 0.04      in. 

Tub«".  IruKlh     W>,  In. 

.mr>"r  of  tutMsi  (upiwr  net)         SM 
.tn»<»<r  at  IuIjo*  (Iowt  ««»t)         Ml 

ToUl  «wt 

.rfArn  (uppor  IM<I)  4MS>,  aq.  ft. 

.rr»rn  (lownr    ••t)  ,     477.9  M].  ft. 

ToUl   nurfAcc 961       wj.  n. 

ToUl   rroM  ■BCtlOD     (upp«r 

»ub*«) UM      M).  in. 

Tui«J  rroM  — ctloa    (  lovor 

«nf--«) ISA     M].  in. 

-(•  duty  of  the  cojidenscr  was 
J5  ^  'jf  steam  condensed  per  hour 

l>er  square  meter  (7.15  pounds  per  square 
foot)  of  cooling  surface.     The  excess  of 
«ooling  over  the  theoretical  at  the  highest 
ijum  was   16  per  cent.,  with  a  27  inch 
mm,   which   went  dnwn  to  f  p^r  cent 
•^'•rcnce  in  •  -i  the 

"irr  of  •'  <Jij- 

WAs  grnerailjr  less 
;rade. 
he  average  coethcicnt  of  heat  trantfer- 
f  was  high  to  600,  even  800,  alth"'<et' 
rale  of  flow  of  the  cooling  water 
1  rule,  only  0.4  of  a  meter  prr  snoiiM 
'•     inches).      This     high     rffirirnry     is 
!    to     the     good     «rrvi  »■<       f     t' »• 
Thr  cooling  water  w.i\  vc.    ;   :: 
id  not  required  any  cleaning 
•  <. 
he  «econ«l  con  ' 
'<    that    of   the       • 
the    laboratory    built    at    the 
T^i'-ktricilats  GeseiUrhaft     Thi* 

<   built   for  experimental   pur: 
■       f  r>^ruliar  construction      If   - 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

6ao  tubes,  disponed  in  an  .:ppcr  and  J.jwcr 

condense.-,   i^. 

condcn!>er     r 

being  588   n 

three  sets  ot  .  .... 

a  length  of  IJOO  : 

a  comm   •     - 

meters 
surface 
feet). 

2000   kilogr-jui    1  .  .  i»;    oi    steam 

per    hour.    65    kii   .  j>ct    hour    per 

square    meter    (i^j    pounds    per    square 
foot),  nearly  twice  as  much  as  the  first 
condenser.    The  best  vacuum  reached  was 
96^  per  cent.,  and  nearly  50  per  cent,  more 
than  the  theoretical    amount    of    coolinc 
water   was   needed    for  this   per:' 
The  wet  pump  was  also  too  sn. 
heat  transference  was  very  good,  the  co- 
efficient  rose  to   1470  in  the  case  of  the 
top  tubes      For  the  condenser  as  a  whole 
the  heat   transference  was  786,  when  the 
cooling-water    ratio    was    5a     The   cros* 
tubes  were  added  to  see  whether  vorticr« 
set  up  in  the  steam  would  raise  the  eflicj 
ency;  no  such  effect  was  observed 

G)NT»AnX)W   AND   OtOINAkV    Fl^W 

Professor  Josse  then  discusses  the  pip 
ing   system  connecting   the  pumps  to  the 
condensers,  the  main  case  being  where  a 
cooling-water   ratio  of   only   21   could   be 
obtained,    in    consequence    of    which    the 
vacua  were  much  lower  than  what  they 
should  be.     He  questi-^-- '     '       ■' 
fication  of  the  general 
contraflow   and   ordinar>  tlic 

greater  portion  of  ih^  c^v  -"  i« 

a  rise  of  ter 
side,   the    ten 

remains  that  ot  the  satur.>' 
the     term     "contraflow"     s' 
speaking,  only  be  applied  if  there  m  4  ' 
perature  fall  in  the  one  *\'."  •    ••     -.,  . 
corresponding  temperature  -  op- 

posite direction.     As  far  a^ 
tion   is   concerned,    it     is 
which  direction  the  water  flo»i.    The  ccn 


fi>ft» 


<::s^n 


m 
It 

'^   r      *'  • 

flow   S' 


team  %m 


Incfcanag   die  Eftciencs    ^    : 

p«city  ol  Large  G«s  I...,  r 

by   Cooling  iKe  CKai^c 


By    F    F     T. 


rs,   of   IW   T 
' —  ''—- rtaajr.kaa 


to  aK:rrT.i:ri   :r.c    mnuence   oi   dari*  I 

peratvre  oa  both  tbc    nipacwj    aad 


fHL    I 


M« 


reliability   aod   ecooowji    of   gfts 

Fif.  I  «*•  -■  "-  •bcoctbtti 

the  intr-  nf  proctaa  of  ikt 

gas  cnctne   nt>mt«d    vMi 

coolmt   lb*   elkarvc.     Anrwdim    to 

fig fain   HI   work 

ait.  e«cni«d    by    tbt 

area  aions  tbc 
furthrf   rcMilt  aa  aB 

-jrrs     to    tbt    Qdk 


gtr 


a«  a 

B    ol 


'i«-tu!K 


uil  m  rwiks.1 


g>  .J^\ 


'<4f«  of  a 
otc  hkmmt  «fM      Tba 

*M  fH«l»  iW  air  r^ 


238 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  2,  1909. 


pipe   above,    which    is    provided    with    a 
cooler,  as  shown  in  the  sketch. 

In  the  first  trial  the  engine  ran,  with- 
out cooling  the  charge,  at  its  maximum 
capacity,  yielding  a  mean  pressure  in  the 
working  cylinder  of  4.55  atmospheres  and 
developing  395  indicated  horsepower.  The 
charge     temperature     was     90.5     degrees 


,  Operation  with  Cooling 
^Operatiou  witbout  Cooling 


FIG.     3.     ACTU.\L   DI.\GR.\MS    T.^KEN    AT 
HOERDE 

-»fT,j<-  T,    :  T.=12.3  :  88 

I      I     Clearauce  (or  the  Upper  Diagram. 


Initial       _300  Dcg.  C.  with  Cooling.       | 
Temperature      330  Deg.  C.  without  Cooling.J 

i_    .   Clearance  for  the  Lower  Diagram. 
«T,  |<- 

4.     DIAGRAM    SHOWING  EFFECT   OF    Mi: 
TURE  COOLING  ON  COMPRESSION 
RATIO 

Cooling    Water    Outlets 


grade.  From  this  follows  a  theoretical 
increase  of  capacitj',  with  cooling,  of  0.198 
of  the  amount  attained  without  cooling. 
The  practical  increase  was  0.165  of  the 
ordinary  result.  In  other  words,  when 
cooling  the  charge  the  engine  showed  an 
increased  output  of  17  per  cent,  beyond 
what  was  attainable  without  cooling. 

Fi&-  3  gives  two  diagrams  plotted  one 
above  the  other,  the  one  taken  without 
and  the  other  with  cooling.  The  pump 
work  amounted  to  55  indicated  horse- 
power in  the  first  and  to  51  indicated 
horsepower  in  the  second  instance.  But 
this  diflference  is  probably  due  to  the  fact 
that  the  charging  pump  was  too  large  for 
ordinary  operation  and  its  intake  had  to 
be  throttled,  while,  owing  to  the  larger 
free  volume  taken  when  cooling,  the 
throttle  was  opened  and  its  resistance 
diminished.  The  cooler  carried  away 
approximately  38,500  heat  units  per  hour 
from  the  charge.  A  comparison  of  heat 
absorption  by  cooling  water  with  and 
without  mixture  cooling,  respectively,  gives 
the  following  results,  it  being  assumed 
that  700  heat  units  per  horsepower-hour 
were  being  carried  away  by  the  cooling 
v/ater  :  Output  without  intercooling  :=  395 
indicated  horsepower ;  loss  to  cooling 
water  of  cylinder  =  700  X  395  =  276,500 
heat  units  per  hour.  Output  with  inter- 
cooling =  460  indicated  horsepower,  and 
it  was  ascertained  that  the  heat  loss  to 
the  cooling  water  for  the  cylinder  was 
not  larger  than  before,  276,500  heat  units 
per  hour.  In  addition,  there  were  wasted 
38,500  heat  units  for  cooling,  making  a 
total  of  315,000  heat  units  per  hour.  An 
engine  not  equipped  with  the  cooling  de- 
vice would  lose,  for  the  same  output  of 
460  horsepower,  460  X  700  =  322,000  heat 
units  per  hour.  It  follows  that  the  cooling 
also  has  a  favorable  effect  on  the  total 
heat  carried  away  per  unit  of  power  de- 
veloped. 


CoolinK    Water    Inlets 
COOLER  OF  OECHELHAUSER  ENGINE  AT  HOERDE 


FIG.    6 


Centigrade.  In  the  second  trial  the  engine 
ran  with  cooling  of  the  charge  and  yielded 
a  mean  pressure  of  5.29  atmospheres,  or 
460  indicated  horsepower  in  the  working 
cylinder.  The  cooler  reduced  the  charge 
temperature  from  90.5  to  30.5  degrees 
Centigrade,  the  difference  or  refrigeration 
amounting,  therefore,  to  60  degrees  Centi- 


Among  other  advantages  of  the  Junkers 
system  may  be  mentioned  that  tlie  num- 
ber of  misfires  is  reduced,  whereby  the 
average  mechanical  efficiency  of  the  en- 
gine is  increased.  Also,  part  of  the  water 
vapor  of  the  charge  is  separated  out  by 
the  cooler,  by  condensation,  which  must 
have  a  favorable  effect  on  the  combustion 


process.  But  these  advantages  are  not  all 
that  can  be  realized  by  the  innovation  of 
mixture  cooling.  If,  instead  of  reducing 
the    temperatures    of    the    whole    cyclic 


Without  Cooler 


With  Cooler 


•w////,'/////////l  ^  ■■//. vM'//////////y/AyM. '/.v/A 

FIG.   7  FIG.  8 

200- HORSEPOWER  KOERTING  ENGINE  WITH- 
OUT  AND   WITH    COOLER 


Water 

Chambers 
with  Bibs 


Cross 
Sections 
foT  Air  & 
Gas  Flow 


FIGS.    9   AND    10.     EXPERIMENTAL   COOLER   FOR 
200-HORSEPOWER  KOERTING  ENGINE 


FOUR-STROKE   TANDEM    ENGINE 
WITH    COOLER 


I 


process,  cooling  is  used  for  increasing  th& 
compression  pressures,  then  a  far  greater 
capacity  may  yet  be  obtained.  For  in- 
stance, cooling  the  charge  by  only  30  de- 
grees Centigrade  allows  an  increase  of 
compression  pressure  from  13  to  about  21 
atmospheres  to  be  used,  without  thereby 
increasing  llic  cylinder  temperature  above 


i-LL»ruary  2,  1909. 

that  of  ordinary  engines.  A  Korting  en- 
gine running  on  producer  gas  and  driv- 
ing an  electric  generator  showed  thus  an 
increased  capacity  of  12  per  cent,  at  the 
switchboard.  The  fact  was  also  confirmed 
that  preignition,  which  had  been  a  weak 
feature  of  th<r  particular  installation, 
'  -pea red  entirely  when  cooling  the 
re. 

to   the   construction    of    the   cooler, 

surfaces   which  absorb  the   heat  of 

ises  must  bear  the  correct  propor- 

to    the   others    which    conduct    their 

heat   to  the  cooling  water.     The  coolers 

^T,-   inade  of    copper    and    are    tinplated. 

are  mounted  in  solid  cast-iron  cas- 

:n   such  manner  that  the  rcciprocat- 

novemcnts,     which     accompany     the 

•ion  of  large  engines,  do  not  impose 

■  Tahl'"    «tre<;';<'«    on    the    cnoljng    sys- 

to  pass 

I'ln,  and 

iih  01  their  travel  is  short,  so  that 

iction   resistance   is   small. 

s.  5  and  6  show  the  cooler  used  at 

tiK-   ilorde  Verein.     Figs.  7  and  8  show 

an  arrangement  of  coolers  used   in  con- 

n  with  Kurtii^.  It  will  be 

It  that  the  apj  r  floor  space 

-  engine  is  not  changed  at  all.     The 

rs   are   put   in   place   from   one   side, 

Irawers,  and  can  be  removed  for  in- 

>n  and  cleaning   in  a  few  moments 

loosening  the  cover.     Fig.   1 1  gives 

rmatic  view  of  a  tandem  four-stroke 

Turic  with  coolers  built  in  both  the  air- 

.  is-intake  pipes.    They  show  very 

results,   especially    in    summer . 

it  is  impossible  tn  realize  such 

:.»ble  increase  of  ca|).ii  ity  as  with 

trf'ke  engines,  because  the  air  is  not 

ressed  before  it  passes  to  the  engine 

ler  and  the  temperature  difference* 

dir  iiierefore  smaller. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

T«t«  of  Run-of-Mine  Coal  and 
Coal  Briqueb 


*it 


':•«•     "^ttru 


A  bulletin  cm  th# 

r«w;»3ra 

4»e 

0 

the  r 

I.      1... 
meat's  m 

the  . 

creased    t          ^,    .  . 

10- 

.-    .,  V     .            '    »^ 

t  >>^ 

boilers  tested. 

3.     The  smoke  pr' 
been  more  dense   \-. 
with  coal;  on    ' 
the   smoke  dr: 
less  V 

..1..^ 1      L.. 

•r-reatet 

.in 

the 

•he 

4 

f.icility    \% 
whole    af' 

coal  hat 

tained. 
5.     In  locomotive 

t.^   >,.>..« 

tion  of  briquets  for  1 
marked    increase   in 
crease  of  boiler  cat' 

HI     in 

n  a  dccn 

in 

ase 

0.     in   • 

boqurt  ^tocvm  will  wm  M  • 
•ad  to  <Mce»ir 


rrrt'.r 
the  • 


i  selcclcd  lor  tht  trtft  •«»  'Ac- 
lum  a  mmr  ■  nrl iiig  %) 

maJ.  Aad  thm  carloads  *r%mrm4 

'Wen  siv 

rapot^  to 
ruber  tor  tlunjr  day%  cm  the  way  10 

I."'jit    ?r«tin«    t  lanC.    btfajft    knag 

HMdr  y^omtd  hm  iMtIc 

•-  '-tBnf«  •  dr- 

•  hkk.  iMv- 

r»rr.       «j  -Sc 


Th' 


ulcftal  vaa 

•*    Ui««ct    ^ImM    of    Ikt 

(ieolo^iol   Smrrrf,  m  St. 

■t   Iq  per   UMW  or  04|  cm  fti 

TTtr  \tx\*.   itTv  >unt  of  ^BmTMg  w^ 


e^'aporative    efficiency    of    the   boiler      It 
does  not  appear  to  have  affer'"'  •.v.'.».^ 
or  otherwise  the   amount   of 
dnced.     The  briquets  used   f 
of  tests   were   of  a   form   f- 


-  cot!  of  the  briquet 
I  eKarfcs,  is  caliaHN 
f  knowca:  tk^ 


•  ctml     Tim 

in    art    r«p«fn«M«lal 


ording  to  a  contemporary,  the  tur- 
tubeless  Ixiiler  is  made  of  concen 
nnular  conical  vessels  with  narrow* 
spaces  and  narrow  flame  *pace», 
•  1  by  a  liqui<l  fuel  burner  fr-  t!i  ^''Iow. 
^tram  prcnluced  in  the  f  ■>er 

rids  through  a  helically  ■  /T- 

r  tube  placed  in  the  middle  xp-icr  of 
....    .nnermost  cone.     The  issuing  steam  i^ 
dried  and  comet  out  at  a  high  temper.) 
■      ;.;  that  may  he  over  600  <le 
it 


An   itiirrrsting  departure  ui  *t.rj  work* 
prartirr    IX    al^nt    to    l>e    Ix-gnf    hy    th' 
ate»   Steel   Corpor 
.  ...uent    of   a   bureau    ; 
rch  near  Duquesne.  Penn     A  I.iUt.4 
•nr\   \s  I  )  be  erertr.!    •'  'k  starting  in 

the  «priiiif,  and  r\:  will  be  sr* 


hrtquett  in  acr 

the   ' 


!  motive 

s,  hs    F 
Ah-'na. 


jind   !>ri<iur»«    <in 


I  S«Mr«  G«ele«i- 

^    WW 


iu^cxloe    a4   tba 


•-^   St   t» 


-   •  1- »•» '»»   f 


•ire   for  the   Ix-nrtir 

^titurnt     eomp.-inir« 

r-d  States  Steel  riirp..r..M  1. 


.*e   gEf*>  ?i     '  »♦• 


240 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  2,  1909. 


Altoona,  where  they  were  unloaded  by 
hand  and  stacked.  They  were  handled  a 
third  time  in  taking  them  to  the  firing 
platform  of  the  test  locomotive.  After 
these  three  handlings  they  were  still  in 
good  condition,  very  few  were  broken,  and 
the  amount  of  dust  and  small  particles 
was  practically  negligible. 

Conclusions    Reached 

The  results  of  the  tests  justify  the  fol- 
lowing conclusions : 

(a)  The  evaporation  per  pound  of  fuel 
is  greater  for  the  Lloydell  coal  briquets 
than  for  the  same  coal  in  its  natural  state. 
This  advantage  is  maintained  at  all  rates 
of  evaporation. 

(b)  The  capacity  of  the  boiler  is  con- 
siderably increased  by  the  use  of  coal 
briquets. 

(c)  The  briquet  process  appears  to 
have  little  effect  in  reducing  the  quantity 
of  cinders  and  sparks ;  the  calorific  value 
of  these,  however,  is  not  so  high  in  the 
briquets  as  in  the  natural  fuel. 

(d)  The  density  of  the  smoke  with  the 
coal  briquets  is  much  less  than  with  the 
natural  coal. 

(e)  The  percentage  of  binder  in  the 
briquet  has  little  influence  on  smoke  den- 
sity. 

(f)  The  percentage  of  binder  for  the 
range  tested  appears  to  have  little  or  no 
influence  on  the  evaporative  efficiency. 

(g)  The  expense  of  the  briquet  pro- 
cess under  the  conditions  of  the  experi- 

.ments  adds  about  $1  per  ton  to  the  price 
of  the  fuel,  an  amount  which  does  not 
seem  to  be  warranted  by  the  resulting  in- 
crease in  evaporative  efficiency. 

(h)  With  careful  firing,  the  briquets 
can  be  used  at  terminals  with  a  considera- 
ble decrease  in  smoke. 

(i)  The  briquets  appear  to  withstand 
well  exposure  to  the  weather,  and  suffer 
little  deterioration   from  handling. 

Western-coal  Briquets 
In  cooperation  with  the  Missouri  Pa- 
cific, the  Lake  Shore  &  Michigan  South- 
ern, the  Michigan  Central,  the  Chicago, 
Rock  Island  &  Pacific,  the  Chicago,  Bur- 
lington &  Quincy,  and  the  Chicago  &  East- 
ern Illinois  railroads,  100  locomotive  tests 
have  been  made  by  the  United  States 
Geological  Survey  to  determine  the  value, 
as  a  locomotive  fuel,  of  briquets  made 
from  a  large  number  of  Western  coals. 
All  tests  were  made  on  locomotives  in 
actual  service  on  the  road.  In  some  tests 
there  was  small  opportunity  for  procur- 
ing elaborate  data,  but  in  others,  where 
dynamometer  cars  were  employed,  it  was 
possible  to  obtain  more  detailed  results. 
The  purpose  which  these  tests  were  in- 
tended to  serve  was  not  so  much  to  de- 
termine the  evaporative  efficiency  of 
briquets  as  to  investigate  their  behavior 
in  practical  use. 

Briquets  made  from  Arkansas  semi- 
anthracite,  two  qualities  of  Indian  Terri- 
tory   slack,    Indian    Territory    screenings. 


^lissouri  slack,  Indiana  Brazil  block  slack, 
coke  breeze,  and  a  mixture  of  coke  breeze 
and  washed  Illinois  coal  were  tested,  and 
comparisons  were  drawn  either  with  the 
same  coal  that  was  used  in  the  briquet  or 
with  coal  similar  to  it.  In  nearly  every 
test  the  results  reported  show  that  the 
coal  when  burned  in  the  form  of  briquets 
gives  a  higher  evaporative  efficiency  than 
when  burned  in  the  natural  state. 

For  example,  Indian  Territory  screen- 
ings give  a  boiler  efficiency  of  59  per  cent., 
whereas  briquets  made  from  the  same  coal 
give  an  efficiency  of  65  to  67  per  cent. 
Decrease  in  smoke  density,  the  elimina- 
tion of  objectionable  clinkers,  and  an  ap- 
parent decrease  in  the  quantity  of  cinders 
and  sparks  are  named  as  the  chief  rea- 
sons for  this  increased  efficiency. 


An  Obscure  Armature  Trouble 


By   H.  F.  Rudolph 


The  following  case  of  motor  trouble 
caused  much  worry  to  the  electrical  force 
in  an  industrial  plant  and  was  finally 
brought  to  the  attention  of  the  writer,  who 
found  the  cause  of  trouble  more  through 
accident  than  anything  else.  A  6-horse- 
power  series-wound  direct-current  crane 
motor  had  a  winding  of  a  peculiar  char- 
acter; the  coils,  instead  of  being  form- 
wound,  were  hand-wound  directly  in  the 
slots  and  the  winding  •  was  so  arranged 
that  the  finishing  end  of  the  wire  in  each 
coil  was  connected  to  the  bottom  of  the 
cummutator  bar,  after  which  the  begin- 
ning end  of  the  coil  was  brought  through 
the  slot  and  connected  to  the  top  of  the 
commutator  bar.  The  armature  winding 
was  wave-connected,  with  two  brushes ; 
the  machine  was  a  four-pole  motor,  and 
the  brush  holders  were  so  located  that  the 
top  connection  from  each  of  the  armature 
slots  led  to  the  commutator  bar  directly 
opposite  (Fig.  i).  This  motor  burned  off 
two  or  three  end  connections  per  week  at 
the  point  x  in  the  sketch  and  no  amounc 
of  investigation  supplied  any  clue  to  the 
cause  of  the  trouble.  A  new  armature 
was  finally  procured  from  the  makers, 
which  developed  the  same  trouble,  burning 
off  four  end  connections  the  first  week. 
The  motor  was  not  overloaded,  and  the 
field-magnet  coils  were  not  partly  burned 
out,  so  the  motor  was  kept  going  for 
some  time  by  repairing  the  spare  arma- 
ture and  changing  armatures  every  few 
days.  Finally  the  coils  were  all  discon- 
nected from  the  commutator  and  individu- 
ally tested  for  grounds,  short-circuits  or 
loose  connections,  and  a  bar-to-bar  test 
of  the  commutator  was  made  with  a 
io,ooo-ohm  magneto.  No  trouble  being 
found,  the  armature  was  reconnected  and 
put  back  in  service;  it  burned  oflF  four 
leads  the  first  day. 

We  gave  up  in  despair  and  appealed  to 
the  manufacturers,  who  suggested  that  ex- 


pansion and  contraction  of  the  wire  might 
be  the  cause  and  suggested  the  change 
indicated  in  Fig.  2.  The  wires  were  cut 
at  5"  and  new  pieces  of  a  larger  size 
spliced  on  and  loops  for  expansion  left 
at  tlxe  commutator  end.  A  band  of  twine 
was  wound  on  next  to  the  commutator 
and  the  armature  replaced  in  the  motor, 
where  it  promptly  burned  out  six  coils 
completely.  The  design  of  the  winding 
was  such  that  replacing  six  coils  involved 
the  complete  rewinding  of  the  armature. 


This  was  done  and  before  the  commu- 
tator was  replaced  it  was  again  tested  for 
short-circuited  bars,  this  time  with  no 
volts  instead  of  the  magneto.  Upon  the 
application  of  the  current  the  mica  at  first 
smoked  and  finally  became  red  hot,  re- 
maining so  until  the  current  was  with- 
drawn. As  all  bars  tested  the  same,  new 
mica  was  placed  in  the  commutator  and 
the  armature  connected  and  put  in  ser- 
vice, where  it  remained  for  six  months 
without  a  sign  of  trouble. 

In  the  meantime  the  spare  armature 
was  tested  and,  the  mica  proving  defec- 
tive, new  mica  was  inserted  and  the  old 
armature  coils  reconnected.  In  order  to 
satisfy  ourselves  that  it  was  the  new  mica 
and  not  the  new  coils  that  cured  the  trou- 


ble, the  armatures  were  again  changed, 
but  not  a  sign  of  trouble  has  been  seen, 
although  the  old  armature  has  been  in 
service  three  months. 


The  United  States  Civil  Service  Com- 
mission announces  an  examination  on 
February  17  to  secure  eligibles  for  a 
vacancy  in  the  position  of  engineer  (com- 
petent to  take  care  of  a  pumping  plant, 
tank  house,  etc.)  in  the  Indian  service  at 
Fort  Berthold,  North  Dakota. 


February  2,  190^- 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER 


«4t 


Practical     Letters     from     Practical     M 

Don't  Bother  About    the    Style,    but    U  rite   Ju*i    What    ^ou  llunk. 

Know  or  Want  to  Know    About  ^'our  \X'ork.  ami  Help  E-n  h  Other 

we~Tay    for    useful    ideas 


en 


Low    Pressure    Turbines    and 
Steam  Ejigines 


The  article  in  the  January  5  issue,  by 
J.  R.  Bibbins,  states  that  "Professor 
RRtrau's  work  in  steel-mill  and  mine 
ing  has  also  resulted  in  the  practical 
cation  of  low-pressure  turbines  in 
connection  with  the  steam-regenerative 
principle,  permitting  the  turbines  to  oper- 
ate constantly,  using  the  exhaust  steam 
from  engines  intermittently  operative.  His 
vork  has  been  brought  to  our  notice  in 
this  country  by  H.  H.  Wait  in  discussing 
reRcnerative  application  to  steel  mills. 
(American  Institute  of  EUectrical  Engi- 
neers, December,  1907.)" 

Mr.  Bibbins'  statement  is  undoubtedly 
correct  as  to  his  personal  knowledge  of 
the  question,  but  I  wish  to  say  that  I 
introduced  Professor  Rateau's  steam- 
regenerative  principle  in  America,  and 
•  been    working    to    develop    it    since 

In   1904,  Professor  Rateau  himself  pre- 
sented  to  the   American    Society   of    Me- 
ical  Engineers,  at  a  meeting  held  in 
igo,  a   paper   on   "DifTcrent   Applica 
of   Steam   Turbines."     This   paper 

descril>ed    his    regenerative    system 

and  gave  illustrations  of  what  had  b«en 
done  by  him  previous  to  his  coming  tn 
America. 

On  September  21,  1904,  I   read  a  paper 

before  the  Western  Society  of  KnK'niecrv 

entitlcfl.  "l  fili.-.ifion  of  Exhaust  Steam  in 

Connr  ti.  n     with     Low  -  Pressure    Steam 

I  Turbines,"   and    in    October,    1905.    1    .lU' 

"  .1    a    paper    before   the    l-akr    Superior 

ing    Institute,   entitled,   'The    Utiliia- 

of  Exhaust  Steam  from  Rolling- Mill 

:nes.  Hoisting  Kngmes.  etc  ,  by  Means 

of  ^tram  Regenerators  and  l^w-Pressure 

TurMrfs  on  lb^  Rafr.ia  .Sv*tem  " 

Thr    I    •  - 

plant  i\r 

before    the    American    In^titutr 
trical  Engineers,  was  put  up  by  t 
Steam  Regenerator  Company.  \v 
the  sole  contractor   for  the  n\'.. 
ment    This  same  company  ha» 
at   sole   contractor    for    the    V'ji.'i.  .n.  ••■ 
plant   nf  the    American    Sheet    and    Tin 
Pla- 
Ofll 

regrnrr.iM',  r 
only  pljrit<  !■  *■' 

hau<it    of    intermittent  • 
'•omponnded    with    lnw   , 


Incidentally    I    should    like    i  ..^ik 

that  two  of  the  mott  complete  and  ttrik* 
ing  articles  regarding  the  use  of  rxhaosl 
steam  in  low-pressure  turbines  were  pub- 
lished in  PowEc;  one  by  F.  G.  Gatchc. 
entitled,  "First  Rateau  Regenerator  In- 
stalled in  America,"  and  one  by  Profes- 
sor Rateau  in  the  issue  of  Octotwr,  1907. 
under  the  heading,  "Compotindtng  Piston 
Engines  with  Turbines." 

I  strongly  agree  with  Mr.  Bibbins  when 
he  mentions  J.  W.  Kirkland  in  connec- 
tion with  low-pressure  turbine  work,  as 
no  '■:  s  more  than  I  do  the  splen- 

did .    work  done  l>y   Mr.   Kirk 

land  <>t\  thu  subject. 

L.  Battu, 
President,  Rateau  Steam  Regenerator  Ca 

Nrw  York  City. 


icjitrt    2    cirar    pAUi    lor    inr    lu^    »A^aJ 

aaythtng  happen  10  rtof  tkt  gemtrmot 
Errna*  VtatL. 
Decator.  lU 


the 


A  Safety  Stop 


The   stop   shown   in   the   .1 
illustration  was  made  and  p~:  -:;■  ->   W. 
A      Bright,     foreman     of     the     Decator 


SdectioQ  and  Saiety  ol  Pipe 


In  the  iaaoc  ol  Dcccabcr  is  thtrt  m 
an  article  oa  "Scicctw  am4  SalMy  ol 
Pipe  Fatiogi.''  bjr  A.  j.  Dias«,  ia  w^tA 
there  appear*  to  me  to  be  a  mmik*.  Oa 
page  9M.  ia  f^uring  tW  ttUtm  am  iW 
cap  screws  of  tbc  boaact  ol  tkr  aagk 
valve,  be  baa  added  the  mrtm  4m  m 
tigbtcniaff  tbc  cap  screws  lo  ihai  ol  A* 
stem  pritmti  oa  tbe  ■adtr  tide  d  ika 
boaaci,  wkUk  1  do  aoi  driali  m  coerKi. 

Takii«  fhc  igam  tivca  ia  hk  artida. 
the  total  wrm  dar  to  tbc 

176.56  pooada.  aad  tbai 
c:iTig  cap  Krcwa  j6i^S 
be  adds  togvtbcr  to  frt  tfM 


rat  wuamr 

Novelty  Works,  and  is  a  oeai  Imie  4ew» 
It  it  intended  to  take  the  pla<- 
pin    utcd    on    loaic    Corliss-eng 
emors. 

T-l.-    -fpyifg    i(   Vr'*    •inir>lr    Afiii    ant    rtliCt 

I   make   J 


iTtr    ..n  ; 

crd       It 


'««um.    <■» 


thr 


242 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  2,   1909. 


screws     upon     admitting     steam     to     the  mercial  lines,  "and  whether  they  think  the 

valve.  diagram   shows  a   feasible  plan. 

W.  O.  Perkins.  F.  L.  Rolph. 

Bristol,  Conn.  Indianola,  111. 


A  Lighting  Problem 


Keeping  Plant   Records 


The  accompanying  sketch  shows  the 
proposed  circuit-arrangement  for  a  small 
country  town  which  is  going  to  be  lighted 
from  a  larger  town  several  miles  away. 
The  public  square  has  a  multiple-arc 
lamp  at  each  corner,  indicated  by  the 
crosses;  the  rest  of  the  lamps,  indicated 
bv   circles,   are   series   tungsten   incandes- 


Not  very  long  ago  the  editors  of  Power 
AND  The  Engineer  strongly  urged  the 
operating  engineer  to  keep  records  from 
which  to  compute  the  cost  of  his  plant 
output,  but  in  the  issue  of  December  8 
Ihey  disparage  the  only  means  many  of 
us  have  of  keeping  such  records.  While 
the  criticisms   in  this  latter  editorial  are 


^ 


^ 


A 


0 


^ 


^ 


6 


6 


0 


0 


(?■ 


■o 


?) 


(?■ 


6 


■o 


PROPOSED  LIGHTING  CIRCUIT 


6 


-o 


cenls,  fourteen  in  number.  The  town  be- 
ing small,  it  is  proposed  to  use  a  three- 
wire  circuit  and  connect  two  of  the  arcs 
on  each  side  of  the  neutral  wire  and  the 
series  lamps  on  a  separate  circuit.  I 
suggested  connecting  them  as  shown  in 
the  diagram;  as  a  time  switch  will  be 
put  in  to  handle  the  street  lights,  this  will 
save  a  switch. 

It  is  also  proposed  to  run  secondary 
circuits  for  commercial  lighting,  as  in  the 
diagram,  instead  of  running  three  wires 
both  ways. 

I  would  be  glad  to  have  the  opinion  of 
some  other  readers  as  to  how  they  would 
connect  these  circuits  and   run   the  com- 


doubtless  well  founded,  it  is  nevertheless 
true  that  the  periodical  reading  of  switch- 
board instruments  and  the  ordinary  meth- 
ods of  measuring  water  and  weighing  coal 
can  be  made  to  give  valuable  results.  Two 
years  of  experience  with  the  methods  un- 
der discussion  have  demonstrated  to  me 
that  with  careful  readings  and  familiarity 
with  the  plant  a  reasonably  close  deduc- 
tion can  be  made  of  the  cost  of  output, 
even  when  elevator  service,  heating,  etc., 
have  to  be  taken  into  account.  I  have 
wished  that  some  small-plant  man  would 
tell  how  he  keeps  his  records,  but  per- 
haps they  all  think  that  without  automatic 
recorders  and  special  apparatus  it  would 


be  useless  to  try  to  come  anywhere  near . 
any  useful  figures. 

We  have  no  way  of  weighing  the  coal 
automatically ;  even  the  man  who  wanted 
to  sell  us  a  machine  said  it  could  not  be 
installed  owing  to  lack  of  head  room. 
However,  by  many  tests  of  the  barrow 
capacity  which  are  made  at  frequent  inter- 
vals, I  find  that  we  get  what  we  pay  for 
in  pounds,  though  not  always  in  quality. 
As  to  the  water,  I  have  done  nothing  yet 
to  verify  the  meter,  but  expect  to  do  so 
before  long.  For  obtaining  an  idea  of 
the  output,  we  have  found  reading  the 
ammeter  once  an  hour  is  often  enough,  as 
the  load  comes  on  gradually  and  remains 
at  practically  one  point  from  10:30  a.m. 
until  5  p.m.,  and  then  falls  off  gradually. 

The  voltage  is  kept  constant  and  the 
load  in  amperes  is  put  down  each  hour 
on  a  log  sheet.  The  next  morning  I  fig- 
ure the  total  ampere-hours  of  the  day's- 
run.  It  is  also  noted  on  the  sheet  when 
engines  are  put  on  and  taken  off,  so  that 
the  difference  in  their  consumption  of 
steam  can  be  taken  into  account.  The 
ampere-hours,  the  number  of  hours  run, 
the  kilowatt-hours  and  the  percentage  of 
the  rated  load  made  by  the  Corliss  and 
the  automatic  engines  are  put  down  so 
as  to  be  seen  at  a  glance.  The  number 
of  barrows  of  coal  and  ashes  is  also  added 
and  this  coiTipletes  the  log  sheet  for  one 
day.  Saturday's  sheet  also  shows  all  of 
the  items  for  the  week  and  the  sheet  for 
the  last  day  of  the  month  contains  them 
for  the  whole  month,  as  well  as  the  coal 
delivered  to  the  plant,  the  water  (by 
ordinary  meter)  evaporated,  and  that  used 
for  blowing  down  and  washing  out  the 
boilers  and  heater,  the  average  tons  of 
coal  burned  per  day,  the  percentage  of 
ashes  to  coal  and  the  number  of  loads  of 
ashes  which  we  must  pay  to  have  re- 
moved. 

From  the  records  mentioned  I  figure 
how  much  of  the  coal,  etc.,  must  be 
charged  to  lights,  and  I  do  not  think  1 
am  seriously  out  on  the  cost  per  kilowatt- 
hour. 

Of  course,  by  this  system  one  cannot 
tell  exactly  the  evaporation  per  pound  of 
coal,  but  having  the  coal  company's  bill, 
the  water  bill,  the  supplies  bill,  the  pay- 
roll and  a  good  idea  of  the  number  of 
kilowatt-hours  generated,  I  am  able  to 
tell  very  nearly  what  the  costs  are.  Any 
engineer  who  has  not  tried  it  before  will 
find  keeping  plant  records  more  interest- 
ing than   any   other  branch   of  his   work. 

A.     N.     BOGART. 

New  York  City. 

[We  are  glad  to  learn  of  Mr.  Bogart's 
excellent  work  in  the  systematic  keeping 
of  plant  records,  and  we  admit,  most 
cheerfully,  that  the  methods  under  dis- 
cussion may  be  made  to  yield  fairly  satis- 
factory results  under  the  close  super- 
vision of  a  painstaking  chief.  Our  experi- 
ence, however,  is  that  unless  the  super- 
vision is  exercised  to  a  burdensome  de- 
gree,  records  taken  as  described  become 


Febmary  2,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


MS 


slovenly  and  unreliable.  However,  our 
criticism  was  directed  at  the  plant  owners 
who  fail  to  provide  adequate  facilities,  not 
at  the  engineers,  like  Mr.  Bogart,  who  do 
the  best  they  can  with  what  they  have.— 
Editors.] 


gallery  railing  and  is  operated  from  the 


rear,  as  suted.     It  is 
easily   seen    from   tht 
below. 

W. 
Indianapolis,  Ind 


'  and  very 
Aim  Boor 

Ruftsux  Coorca. 


A  Station  Load  Indicator 


A  New  (>)  Steam  Gage 


In  an  clcctric-liglH  plant  with  which  1 
am  connected  it  is  necessary  for  the  en- 
gine-room force  to  know  at  all  times  the 
load  on  the  station.  For  this  purpose, 
there  was  formerly  mounted  on  the 
switchboard-gallery   railing   a   frame  hav- 


Under  the  heading  announdnif  that  vah- 
jccts  to  be  eligible  ff ' 

(!cpartmcnt    must    ^r 

there  appears  in  '  >iraa 

devoted  to  the  d'-       .  plant 


ing  card  figures  to  indicate  the  load.     As     machinery  and  appliances,  in  the  iaaoe  of 


clau  of 

satceptibic  to  iar.  ahtwogh  it  h.  o4  coanc. 
(rcc  iron  dkttonbam  dw  10  relative  mu9t 
■mto  of  tlwcMraad  ikt  ipri^ 

P  R   AusM 
Cbtcago^  in 


ApprozunatioQ  ol  Tcnninal 
PrcMue 


:  he  grapliical  method  of  working  ftvl^ 
icms  appcab  to  many  taginctrs  wte  Imw 
a  r*nr  marlied  dislicc  for 
fr>' 

a  K  iitctbod  of  getting  a  cIom  a^ 

pro&inutKia  of  tbc  terminal  prvMvre  m 
an  engine  with  aay  fautial  orttt^tr  xni 
point  of  ciitofl 

rv;  <-  ftrtAc  of  tht 

engine  ipiut  !nr  prrrmiagr  of  ckmraatt. 
if  more  accvratc  reaoha  are  4eMr«d)  In 
bight  OP  repreacnu  the  ahaoltNs  Miiial 
preaaore-  The  atmoephcric  mm  £  F  t^ 
drawn  parallel  to  the  vacnum  iac  OL. 
and  at  a  distance  above  il  Ofnal  to  14.7 
or  IS  povadi  on  the  Mala  wmL  hi  dtfa 


CI  *--*le 


ric.   I 


ric 


ivigooal 


fU»C    CUt'>fT 

>ec«  the 


ce  at 

take  place 


The 


.;  Was  inconvenient  for  the  switchboar<l 
operator  to  change  the  cards  every  hal; 
hour,  I    '    ^  ■'  ator,  as  shown 

in  the  lies.     Fig.    i   is 

iiul  1  )g.  i  A  back  view, 
of  a  piece  of  sheet  iron  jo 
inches  Mjuare,  mounted  on  a  light  wooden 
frame.  The  dial  scale  and  figures  are 
painted  white  on  a  black  background ;  the 
pointer  is  gilded.  Across  the  back  a  strip 
A  is  fastened,  leaving  a  space  of  about  i 
inches  between  the  strip  and  the  sheet 
iron.  Through  the  center  of  the  strip  A 
and  the  sheet  iron  is  passed  a  short  pircc 
of  ^^-inch  pipe  just  long  enoii^"*!  '."  rr.t  h 
thruuKh  with  room/fxr  l^ 
end  to  hold  it  in  place      Tli- 

passed  a  piece  of  |-4-inch  pipe,  to  on^ 
.  :A  of  which  is  fastened  the  pointer.  T^ 
the  other  end  is  fastened  a  short  pointer  B 
-~ii\  handle  C. 

The   short  pointer  works  over  a  unall 
dial  similar  '■>  ili<-  Ic, 
dial,  ami  i\  tiM<l  m     > 
/)  is  a  tension  washer  lo  hold  the  putiitcr 
in  place  when  set. 

T|ie  hours  from  I  lo  12  are  ' 
a  circular  piece  of  sheet  iron  / 
fastened  lo  a  wooden  hub  and  n 
the  pipe  Ix-twrrn  the   front   ihert   a: 
strip  A.      nuoiigh  a  hole  //.  in  the  front 
sheet,  the  hour    ' 
at    %    tim*-.    fhr 


CBATMICAL    MrTNOO  OT  WTaMtMtlM   Afm»USIAl»»    u»    TtaMlSAI. 


January  14.  a  deacription  of  an  io<! 
lean-fagc 

,f  new  a»- 


.Irn'. 


■  «rd-      1' 


244 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  2,  1909. 


size  to  keep  the  steam  line  well  up.  The 
absolute  initial  pressure  will  be  115 
pounds,  and  as,  theoretically,  the  pressure 
varies  inversely  as  the  volume,  the  termi- 
nal pressure  will  be  in  the  neighborhood 
of  ^  of  IIS  or  43H  pounds,  or  28^ 
pounds  gage.  The  actual  pressure  in  an 
engine  at  the  end  of  the  stroke  will  be 
less  than  the  computed  result,  owing  to 
the  exhaust  valve  being  open. 

By  plotting  out  the  expansion  curves 
for  the  different  points  of  cutoff,  it  will 
be  found  that  the  power  derived  from 
an  engine  does  not  increase  in  propor- 
tion to  the  length  of  cutoff  by  any  means, 
i.e.,  if  cutoff  takes  place  at  J4  stroke,  and 
it  is  increased  to  }i  stroke,  the  power  de- 
rived will  not  be  three  times  as  much, 
although  three  times  as  much  steam  is 
being  used  than  with  the  former  cutoff. 

This  goes  to  show  how  important  it  is 
to  steam  users  to  secure  engines  that  will 
carry  the  average  load  at  an  economical 
point  of  cutoff. 

J.    A.    Carruthers. 

Bankhead,  Can. 


Piston  Repair 


Not  long  ago  one  of  the  engines  where 
I  was  employed  gave  signs  of  trouble  in- 
side the  cylinder,  and  upon  removing  the 
head  we  found  that  a  H-inch  hexagon 
nut  had  got  into  the  cylinder  on  the  crank 
end,  between  the  piston  and  the  cylinder 
head,  and  the  nut  of  the  cast-steel  piston 


FIG.  3 


FIG.    4 


of  the  type  shown  in  Fig.  i  was  cracked 
as  shown  in  Fig.  2. 

As  we  needed  that  particular  engine  the 
next  morning,  we  at  once  got  to  work  and 
procured  a  piece  of  ^-inch  steel  plate 
which  was  cut  and  drilled  in  the  shape 
shown  in  Fig.  3,  fitted  into  the  recess 
(A,  Fig.  i)  of  the  piston,  and  securely 
fastened  in  place  with  machine  bolts,  as 
shown  in  Fig.  4,  the  plate  being  drilled 


with  a  clearance  drill  and  the  threads  cut 
in  the  piston. 

The  engine  was  started  the  next  morn- 
ing and  is  running  at  the  present  time. 
W.  E.  Chandler. 

East  Walpole,  Mass. 


Noncorrosive  Float  Valve 


Thermometer    for   Jacketing  Water 

One  item  gas  engineers  are  prone  to 
ignore  is  the  amount  of  engine-jacketing 
water  used.  A  scheme  we  adopted  to  de- 
crease   our    water    consumption    was    to 


SHOWING     LOCATION     OF     THERMOMETER 

place  thermometers  on  our  outlet-water 
line  just  over  the  cylinders.  Thus,  we 
can  watch  the  cylinder-water  temperature 
and  incidentally  avoid  turning  too  much 
water  off. 

We  also  placed  a  valve  in  the  inlet  pipe, 
having  a  pointer  and  index  plate  which, 
after  experimenting,  was  marked  at  the 
proper  point.  We  find  that  the  engines 
work  with  the  water  temperature  at  about 
140  degres  Fahrenheit. 

James  AylWard. 

Elyria,  O. 


Hydrostatics 


On  page  1051  of  the  December  22  issue, 
Mr.  Livingston  presents  the  results  of 
some  original  investigations  of  the  laws 
of  hydrostatics.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to 
state  that  there  is  a  flaw  somewhere  in 
the  experiment,  for  it  would  be  contrary 
to  all  laws  of  hydraulics  if  the  check  valve 
were  placed  in  equilibrium  by  equal  unit 
pressures  on  unequal  areas.  Does  Mr. 
Livingston  know  that  the  check  valve  was 
in  equilibrium  ?  Does  he  know  that  it 
moved  off  its  seat?  It  would  seem  more 
probable  that  either  there  was  a  leak 
through  the  casting  or  that  the  water 
leaked  through  the  valve  seat. 

If  Mr.  Livingston  desires  to  be  exact 
in  figuring  the  pressures  on  the  two  sides 
of  the  valve,  he  should  take  the  pressure 
on  the  top  of  the  disk  equal  to  the  head 
shown,  5  feet  8  inches,  less  the  hight  of 
the  disk,  remembering  that  the  pressure 
on  the  area  taken  by  the  stem  is  that  of 
the  head  on  the  top  of  the  stem,  and 
not  that  on  the  valve  seat,  this  also  being 
true  of  the  pressure  on  the  stem  on  the 
under  side  of  the  disk. 

W.  L.  Durand. 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 


Difficulty  has  been  experienced  in 
attaining  a  standard  hight  of  the  elec- 
trolyte in  pilot  cells  of  storage-battery 
installations  by  corrosion  of  the  movable 
joints  of  the  float  valve,  causing  sticking 
and  failure  to  operate,  the  result  being 
either  a  flooded  cell,  or  no  replacement 
for  evaporation. 

It  is  necessary  with  all  pilot  cells  that 
the  electrolyte  be  kept  at  a  constant  level 
so  as  not  to  deflect  the  specific  gravity  or 
the  temperature  readings.  A  sudden  flood- 
ing of  water  would  give  a  low  reading 
by  at  least  two  points,  for  which  no  benefit 
of  discharge  or  charge  could  be  shown. 
By  the  condition  of  the  pilot  cell  the 
standing  of  the  entire  battery  is  judged^ 
both  in  charging  and  discharging.  There- 
fore, the  necessity  of  having  a  float  valve 
which  can  be  relied  upon  is  readily  seen. 

The  accompanying  diagram  gives  an 
idea  of  how  a  noncorrosive  float  valve  is 
constructed  to  meet  all  the  requirements 
of  a  good  cell  filler.     The  materials  used 


^ 


CONSTRUCTION    DETAILS   OF   FLOAT   VALVE 

are  glass  and  hard  and  soft  rubber.  The 
glass  float  at  A  may  be  made  out  of  an 
old  75-candlepower  lamp,  by  first  remov- 
ing the  metal  base  and  sealing  in  the 
hard-rubber  arm  C.  The  counterbalance 
weights  X  are  made  of  lead  and  placed 
as  shown.  The  arm  C  moves  on  a  hard- 
rubber  pin  inserted  at  D.  The  projec- 
tion K"  is  a  hard-rubber  holder  for  a  glass 
tube,  tapered  at  one  end.     A  strip  of  soft 


February  2,  1909. 

rubber  is  fastened  at  O  to  close  the  open- 
ing in  the  glass  tube  when  the  water  raises 
the  float  A.  The  storage  tank  for  the 
water  is  placed  about  2  feet  above  the 
cell.  This  style  of  float  valve  has  been 
operating  two  years  successfully. 

Malcolm   C.   Saecdl 
New  York  City. 


Pressure    Required    to  Lift  a 
Check  Valve 


Mr.  Helm,  in  his  academic  discussion  of 
Mr.     Pearce's     vah'e-lifting    problem,    on 
patre   201    of   last    week's    issue,   correctly 
that   his   method   of  figuring   by   the 
t..,.<.rence  in  area  between  the  top  of  the 
▼alve  and  of  the  seven  holes  in  the  seat 
"assumes  that  the  valve  cover  makes  per- 
fect   contact    with    its    seat."      In    other 
!s,  he  assumes  that  there  is  no  pres- 
acting   between    the    valve    and    the 
in   which  case  the   pressure  holding 
its  seat  should  be  reckoned  from  ab- 
solute   zero,    and    not    from    atmospheric 
nr,  .4ure. 

r  pressure  on  top  of  the  valve,  then. 
1  be  IIS  pounds  per  square  inch,  ap- 
mately,  and  the  pressure  required  to 
he  valve  by  acting  on  the  5.5  square 
s  of  the  seven  i-inch  holes. 


=  4i< 


IIS  X  1961  -t-  5 
5  5 

pounds   per   square   inch   or   395   pounds. 

'     a  matter  of  fact,  however,  the  valve 

not    make    anything    like    a    perfect 

ct  with  its  seat.    A  pair  of  accur.itely 

kI    ^iirfnrr    plate*,    carrfully    iiianipu- 

-ulition.    The 

:;c  existing  in 

im  of  liquid  under  the  valve  is  pretty 

■-   that    of    the    fluid    surrounding   it, 

Tig  with  the  condition  of  the  surfaces 

•1.      the   length   of   time   they    remain   in 

contact 

J.  H.  McCARTin 
thiehem,  Penn. 


I    read   R.   S.   Livingston's  letter   in  the 

December  22  issue,  entitled.  "Pressure  on 

^'  •''  Sides  of  a  Valve  Disk,"  in  which  he 

ibes  a  simple  experiment  performed 

ny  Himself  several  years  ago.  which  seems 

to  *hnw   that    result"!   obtaiiinl   in   practice 

•ree  with  theories  ar 

-  ir^  and  figures  h.iS' 

they  give  results  which  are  not 

•tie  out  in  practice 

If.  however,  the  pr«»blem  is  looked  into 

mi.rr  carefully  it  will  be  found  that  ihey 

i?ree.  and  that  when  taken  together. 

one    serves    its    p-"^^ 

the  truth   which   : 
and     requires     the  ot 

V  find   experiment   in   • 
-n   law   ar 
r    i?    in 

id 
. „  \r\  ill  the  form  nf 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

a  dia^ammatic  sketch  on  page  1051  coo- 
^'*'  !y  of  a  check  valve  having  a 

ruf^;  lapper  2^,  inches  in  diarae- 

ter  which  closes  a  paisage  having  a 
diameter  of  3|>|  inches.  The  upper  of 
back  side  of  the  valve  is  acted  on  by  a 
column  of  water  5  fe«t  8  inches  high 
which  gives  a  pressure  P  of 

5  66  X  0434  =  2456 

pounds  per  square  inch  above  the  vaJve, 
which,  acting  on  the  area  {A  =  5.157 
square  inches)  of  the  valve,  gives  a  total 

force  of 

F  =  2-456  X  5-«57  =  1247 

pounds  tending,  to  hold  the  valve  on  hs 
seat. 

This  assumes  that  the  valve  disk  or 
cover  makes  perfect  contact  with  its  seat. 
thus  preventing  the  pressure  of  the  fluid 
from  acting  on  the  under  side  of  the 
clapper. 

The  area  At  of    the    passage    is    3.34 
square     inches,     being    20625    inches     in 
dian^eter ;     hence,     the     pressure    ^.    p^ 
square   inch   on  the   front   or   ur- 
of  the  valve  necessary  to  cause  e<i  ; 
or  to  balance  it  will  be 

p^  =  12.67  -^  3-34  =  3^ 

pounds,  which  corresponds  to  a  head  of 
water  of 

iS  -i-  0434  =  a75 

feet,  or  105  inches  above  the  valve  seal, 
which  means  that  the  water  wilt  '•«''  •" 
the  H-inch  pipe,  to  a  hight  of 

los  —  68  =  17 

inches,  plus  a  small  amount  required  to 
overcome  the  weigh'  •■'  '*  ••  ^  i'^*-  -■- ''  He- 
fore  the  valve  will  ull 
tiegin  to  overflow  ir-m 

The  results  of  Mr.  1  n- 

nient.  wl  r," 

*h<'W«l  ir\ 


oil.      In     other     words. 

the 

1     r,.. 

A  hen  the 

lead  and 

expcnmcnl 

showed   that    •'•'■"-    ■•"• 
pressure    apf 
(average   of   i.-'-    (*••    • 
U.1S    artiiallv    required 

"'*   gave   a 

rt         COM. 

•San 
Ur 
«^ 

tral 

.  f 

>w  If  Mr    IJviii«tfon  or 


MS 

aMtmcd  to  obcaiB.  and  opoa  m^dth  the 
theoretical  figures  are  bucd.  he  wfli  ted 
that  theory  and  praetioe  are  aot  ai  vart- 
ante,  bat  are  tn»e  fricada.  each  oae  act- 
ing as  an  aid  to  the  other. 

F.    C    HCLML 

SeocBcetady,  ri .  Y 


Throwing  Lamp*  in  Senci  and  10 
Parallel 


On  page  71  of  the  jaoaary  5 
Williams  asks  for    •    diagraai 
coooectioat  to  throw  thrac  !■ 


t  J. 


0 


Ma.  noucH's  puaukm 

paralld  to  scrk*  aad  mtt  9fr^ 
acoonpoBytng  sketch  shows  a  cxiIkaI 
ostag  two  Bsngk-polc,  shigfc-throw 
switches  which.  00  doMiB,  wiB  pot  the 
lamps  in  par»lld  tad  oa  Oftmimg  p«ts 
iben  in  scries. 

Jomu  Fhucm 
Brooklyn.  N.  Y. 


The  first  of  the  two 
suboittted  shows  oae  NMthod  of 
the  itquireBKBU  of  Mr.  WiOiBaa    With 


T 


■^i— > 


T-~T 


na  I 


■"-T-TT  - 


na  a 

•  Itch  cttw 


246 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  2,  1909. 


ment  indicated  in  Fig.  2  is  preferable.  A 
double-throw  double-pole  switch  is  used; 
closed  to  the  left,  as  here  represented,  it 
will  connect  the  lamps  in  parallel ;  closed 
to  the  right  it  will  put  them  in  circuit  in 
series,  and  when  open,  the  lamps  will  be 
entirely  disconnected  from  the  circuit. 
George  W.  Malcolm. 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 


Connect  a  triple  -  pole  double  -  throw- 
switch  as  shown  in  the  accompanying  dia- 
gram, in  which  5"  is  the  series  circuit  and 
P  the  parallel   circuit.     With  the  switch 

-h  -  +  - 

S  P 


HE 


MR.    ATWOOD  S    SOLUTION 

in  the  lower  position  the  lamps  are  in 
series;  with  it  in  the  upper  position  the 
lamps  are  in  parallel. 

E.  M.  At  WOOD. 
Lawrence,  Mass. 


Interesting  Diagrams    from    a 
Vacuum  Pump 


Dry 


The  accompanying  diagrams  were  taken 
from  a  dry-vacuum  pump  driven  by  a 
cross-compound  Corliss  engine.  Each 
engine  piston  rod  extends  through  the 
head-end  cylinder  cover,  and  connects  to 
an  air-pump  piston.  The  steam  cylinders 
are  18  and  30  by  30  inches ;  the  air  cylin- 
ders, 40x30  inches.  Four  barometric  con- 
densers, of  a  total  capacity  of  10,000  horse- 
power, are  connected  by  suitable  air  pipes 
to  this  pump,  which  was  installed  to  take 
the  place  of  a  number  of  smaller  dry-air 
pumps. 

At  the  time  these  diagrams  were  taken, 
the  outfit  had  been  running  quite  a  while, 
but  had  never  been  indicated.  The  gov- 
ernor was  not  in  operation,  the  speed  be- 
ing controlled  by  throttling,  as  will  be 
seen  by  an  inspection  of  the  "before  ad- 
justing" diagram,  Fig.  i. 

Through  carelessness  on  the  part  of 
the  erector,  one  of  the  low-pressure  ex- 


haust valves  had  been  put  in  upside  down. 
The  governor  was  connected,  and  a  few 
changes  in  the  valve  gear  resulted  in  the 
steam  distribution  shown  "after  adjust- 
ing," Fig.  2. 

The  valves   of  the  air  cylinders  are  of 
the  Corliss  type,  positively  driven,  and  as 


High  Pressure  Steam  Cyl. 
Before  Adjusting 
Scale  -  SO 


trouble  is  experienced  with  water  entei 
ing  the  air-pump  cylinders.  The  air  con 
ing  from  the  condensers  is  passed  throug 
a  baffle-plate  separating  arrangement  an( 
before  entering  the  pump,  it  is  passe 
through  a  large  drum,  which  is  intende 
to  act  as  a  separator  for  any  water  th? 


East  Air  Cyl. 

Before  Adjusting 

Scale  -  8 


Low  Pressure  Steam  Cyl. 
Before  Adjusting 


set  by  the  erecting  engineer  gave  diagrams 
as  shown  by  Fig.  3.  By  changing  the 
eccentrics  driving  these  valves  and  mak- 
ing some  alterations  in  the  lengths  of  the 
valve  rods,  the  diagrams,  "after  adjust- 
ing," Fig.  4,  were  obtained. 

This  air  pump  is  provided  with  a  rotary 
valve  which,  at  the  end  of  each  stroke, 
opens  a  passage  between  the  two  ends  of 
the  cylinder.  The  air  in  the  clearance 
space,  at  a  little  more  than  atmospheric 
pressure,  is  then  permitted  to  expand  into 


FIG.    3 


liast  Air  Cyl. 
After  Adjusting 


the  other  end,  where  it  may  be  forced  out 
on  the  next  stroke.  The  point  in  the 
stroke  where  this  valve  closes  is  clearly 
indicated  at  A,  Fig.  4. 

Although  every  precaution  is  taken  to 
separate  the  air  from  the  water  before  it 
leaves  the  condensers,   a    great    deal    of 


FIG.   4 

may  be  carried  over  from  the  condensers 
Yet  water  is  being  continually  forced  ou 
of  the  relief  valves,  and  it  is  necessary  t< 
run  quite  slowly  to  avoid  danger  0 
wrecking  the  pump. 

A.  L.  Westcott. 
Columbia,  Mo. 


February  2,  iQCx; 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER 


<47 


Repairing    a    Valve    Rod   Stuffing 
Box 


The    accompanying    illustrations    ^how 
how  a  quick  repair  was  made  to  the  valve- 
rod  stuffipR  b<ix  on  an  indirect  piston-valve 
eriK'ne.     The  exhaust  pipe  filled  with  con- 
densation   one    night    and     the    assistant 
•tnrted    up    the    next     morning     without 
injj  the  drain  on   the  pipe,  which   re- 
■  <l  in  a  broken  gland  at  .-t,  Fig.   i 
We    removefl    the   cap   screws    and    re- 
placed them  with  long  studs,  as  shown  in 
Fig.  2.    The  brass  gland  was  held  in  place 
-    •*-  a  strip  of  wood,  with  nuts  as  wash- 
nstead  of  the  screwed  gland.     There 
only  room  enough  for  two  turns  of 
packing,  yet   it  held  so  well   that  we 
red  the  wo«xl   strip  with   a   cast-iron 


I 


ti 


Is 


c 


gland  of  the  ordinary  pattern,  and  drilled 
two  extra  holes  in  the  head  fur  gland 
sttids. 

George  C.  J.nm»>«'N 
I'.i.ffalo,  N.  Y. 


Power  Consumed   in  Centrifugal 
Pumps 

1  have  noted  frequent  «li<cu«»ton  in 
refrrrncc  to  the  power  consumed  in 
crtitriftufal  pumps  when  working  under 
he.T'K  ^Mfliririit  !'•  pr.Mrif  .!!  hirge,  and 
I  andrr  .1  il..v.<l  .liM  li.irw:«  ,  .m.!  ■  ■.;  to  offer 
tome  practical  experience  I   ha\e  ha<l 

1-ast   year   1    hati   from   one   to   twenly- 
fi\-e   pnmp4,    of   all   capacities,    under    my 
'•■"<■,   most    of   them    working   a   24  hour 
•t.  and  operated  by  an  automatic  device 
•rollefl    by    the    rise    and    fall    of    the 
•  r   in   the    huildinir    excavation*,    etc., 
I   which  were  ).■  '>rd 

'       P.rf,-rr  tlir  lomalic  devic*  WM 

<lr vices    wrrr    uted    lo 
•k'c  according  to  tie  tup- 
'  ply,  which   varied  greatly   with   ti-!rv  etc 
'•  may  »ound  peculiar,  but  <»f  thr  three 
•lirnls     where     frequent     ^I'M't'iniT     ■n*l 
«i.Trttng  were  gwierally  nece»».»ry.   it   wa« 
found  most  economical  trt  allow  lb«-  m«i«or 
to  run  inniifMially  am!  cl<>*r  \\r 
hv  a   fl<  .If.   in  prrferrmr   t.>    ••  1 
(indrr  the  usual  1  ■ 
•  ling  resistance  in   ••< 


motor.    The  rank  of  the  three  rrseth.^i  m 
ec<>[i"!n>     wa»    at     follows 
diith.ir-^i-    entirely,    sliding    ■ 
variation  of  «pced,  ami  iniemuttent  »tart- 
ing  and  stopping. 

1  noted  that  in  pamp*  where  either  the 
suction  or  discharge  wat  choked  near  the 
pump  the  only  power  rrtjuirol  was  that 
consumed  in  the  it 
the  side  walls  an  . 
vanes,  which  in  turn  » 
heat.  Or  I  judged  xh: 
required,  as  the  c- 
but    little   above    t!.  . 

running  light.  This  was  not 
where  the  oump  supporr—'  -  '•• 
of  water  but   did  not 


8.Tme    power   was    reqiiir--: 

charging  under  ab<^ut  seven  • 

length  of  the  column,  with  the  vamc  »pced 


Aater  on 
of   the 

■•i?ii 

the    C2:« 

H  coltimn 

for  the 

lis- 
•he 


■A  • 

T 


nc.  a 

.\    spectfK   case   was   that   of  a   a-meh 
pump    working    under    an   85- fi' 
with  7  feet  for  the  suction      I   ' 
difficulty  in  making  it  keet> 

running,  for  when  at   rest   :'.-      : 

the  column   forced   the  packing  out.     In 
order  to  watch  the  action  of  the  gland  a 
\acuum  gage  was  put  nn  the  surti<  n.  and 
.•»  gate  valve  on  tli' 
the   gate    valve    h.. 

pump,   the   current    %.>•■■  *»f    it« 

motor     was     reduced  vactrnm 

dropped  lo  from  8  lo   10  inchev  «" 
sufitcient  to  support  the  c<  lumn  of  »<i 
in  the  tuction  pipe,  and  the  pump  toon 

became  very  hot     If  the  spr<-  ' tttft- 

cient  to  discharge  in  cases  v«  K-atr 

valve  was  open,  ll 

same    p«»«fr    n*    ■-■ 

tinder  *f 

many    rr 

at   the  lime,  but  untonunateix  tlicy  wmtt 

destroyed  in  a  fire 

I   cam*  lo  the 

Put • 

rei 

llu  ->" 

tlir  •«•*» 

the 

I',....  .nst    1 

water    wHhoot     ■' 


r.ini[>«    •hen    vorLsni    Wkire    foil 
lowty    V' 

$qmre  of  f*/  ^«rtf  «>  m 

A^W.      I    also    found    1 
pomp  «r  asrd  was  mo»- 
dischaffing  at  a  % 
ltme«  lk» 


RerliHc 


Elfcct  ct  Scale  in  Boilen 


K.  Ilii- 
i>C<eti.''.  • 

of  V.....    - 


^Irr  m  iW 

,1  1    ./IB_>I>.  1*1 


«  tW  ckar 


f»  ■n  .^wt'.  -ji  Til  Hy 


>UAt    cAtcai    tbe 
'  -rw^rd  by  a  4r- 
■sd  latea. 

7Mi«K«  lo  he 

charaner  of  ■ 

as  well,  and  ai*-  : 

the  difference  of  liniparalMW  brf  «ew  tftt 

instde  and  ooissde  tarlaora  el  iW  ketkr 

I  '  scak  »■'  ,    «cli  la 

thick  -alers  th.  uJ  teal, 

showed  ■  drop  is  tfcMiHf  oi  o«tt  jo  per 
cent.  On  the  oiWr  hand,  i  bavt  s«<m 
'%  iacfa  of  scale  nn  the  botlee  slsril,  tm4 
fjw  ,,^i.  of  ihc  lube*  p» -•-."»  m»nt4 
«fth  the  cftr>  '  hniirr 


'•I 

th  wvy  iMlt   tm- 

I   wMh  very 

«e  « 

prodiirri  ■  bard  waW.  kmH  Moe«  oHen 

a    tendency   to  collact    in    la««v 

lamps   or    nwsaes.   in    wlnrli   staia 

— ■«»»  liable  to  pro.*''-*'  r»«»»krMi«g 

'4<|iMnl  onmsff 

.. •    .»,,,  ,„  .„j„,,  ' 

of  ( 

T  tswsltir    be    wskr^i    owi 

vrf  >  'lb   a  bnv.  or  be   tf^- 

.!  ttUimm^   duwn  ol                                   >«i 

-  h»«*  Srm  the  prr  •! 

«^  water,  m  wlmb  <*««  iftw 


Mne  wirb  tl  aa 

■  n«    lir^frr*    i-f   K>r«li 


a  afale  ol  «ai> 


248 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  2,  igoy. 


is  also  very  effective  in  precipitating  sul- 
phate of  lime  deposits,  as  is  also  caustic 
soda,  but  the  simple  soda  ash  is  usually 
conceded  to  be  about  the  best  solvent  for 
this  form  of  scale. 

Among  the  other  common  enemies  of 
the  boiler  might  be  mentioned  the  car- 
bonates and  chlorides  of  magnesia,  oxide 
of  magnesia,  silica  and  clay  substances. 
Of  these  latter  the  chloride  of  magnesia 
is  the  most  objectionable.  At  a  tempera- 
ture of  290  or  295  degrees  Falirenheit  it 
will  begin  to  give  up  free  hydrochloric 
acid,  due  to  decomposition,  and  as  the 
temperature  increases  to  near  298  degrees 
this  liberated  hydrochloric  acid  combines 
with  the  oxide  of  iron,  continually  form- 
ing on  the  surface  of  the  boiler  shell,  with 
the  result  that  the  plates  are  corroded  and 
pitted. 

Deposits  in  boilers  due  to  grease  and 
oils  in  the  feed  water  are  also  sources  of 
great  annoyance  and  danger,  as  a  very 
thin  film  of  this  substance,  while  soft  and 
apparently  porous,  forms  a  most  perfect 
nonconductor,  prevents  the  water  from 
coming  in  contact  with  the  plates,  and  is 
almost  certain  to  bring  about  overheated 
sheets  and  tubes,  with  the  attendant  disas- 
trous consequences. 

Mr.  Williams  further  asks :  "If  the  loss 
with  jf  inch  of  scale  is  so  great,  it  would 
be  interesting  to  know  where  this  heat 
S^oes  to.  Does  the  boiler  setting  absorb" 
ir.ore  heat  than  it  would  otherwise,  or  is 
the  loss  entirely  accounted  for  by  a  rise 
in  the  temperature  of  the  escaping  gases?" 
To  the  first  I  would  reply,  not  at  all ;  to 
the  latter,  not  entirely,  but  possibly  to 
some  extent. 

We  all  know  that  the  degree  of  heat 
transmitted  from  the  furnace  to  the  water 
in  the  boiler  depends  upon  the  conduc- 
tivity of  the  intervening  metal,  and  it  is 
also  known  that  the  water  cannot  be 
heated  to  a  higher  temperature  than  is 
equal  to  a  corresponding  pressure  of  the 
steam. 

Let  us  consider  steam  at  100  pounds, 
absolute  pressure,  the  corresponding  tem- 
perature of  which  is  327.9  degrees.  It  is 
impossible  to  increase  the  temperature  of 
the  water  above  this  without  increasing 
the  steam  pressure. 

With  a  boiler  plate  free  of  scale,  with 
the  water  in  perfect  contact  with  it,  it  is 
impossible  to  heat  the  plates  much  higher 
than  the  temperature  of  the  water,  or 
327.9  degrees  at  100  pounds  pressure,  a 
temperature  which  any  plate  will  stand 
without  any  injury  whatever. 

Suppose  the  plates  are  coated  with  a 
thick  deposit  of  nonconducting  material, 
thoroughly  insulating  the  water  from 
them,  then  it  is  evident  that  the  tempera- 
ture on  the  different  sides  of  the  plates 
cannot  equalize  as  formerly,  one  counter- 
acting the  other,  thus  permitting  the  plate 
to  reach  a  higher  temperature  than  the 
water  in  the  boiler  and  the  consequent 
overheating  of  the  plate  until  it  may  reach 
a  cherry   red,  depending  upon  the  thick- 


ness, quality  and  nonconducting  properties 
of  the  scale.  This,  then,  explains  where 
the  heat  goes,  not  in  the  brick  setting  of 
the  boiler,  nor  all  in  the  escaping  gases, 
but  the  greater  part  is  absorbed  by  the 
plates,  which  accounts  for  their  rise  in 
temperature.  If  the  plates  did  not  take 
up  or  absorb  what  the  water  loses,  there, 
would  never  be  any  danger  of  overheat- 
ing due  to  the  presence  of  scale  in  the 
boiler. 

J.  L.  Br.\dshaw. 
Memphis,  Tenn. 


shows  the  valve  setting  for  winter,  as  we 
use  the  e.xhaust  steam  for  heating  with  the 
Paul  system. 

M.      E.     CUNNINGH.AM. 

Waterbury,  Conn. 


Low  Compression  Saves  Coal 

I  used  to  be  ashamed  to  send  my  indica- 
tor diagrams  for  engineers  to  criticize, 
but  when  I  saw  a  set  of  diagrams  from 
a  cross-compound  engine  which  M.  E. 
Copley  praises  as  evidence  of  the  only  way 
to  set  valves  to  save  coal,  I  thought  they 
resembled    a    pair    of    Chinaman's     shoes 


after  having  been  worn  over  the  Texas 
border  on  the  way  to  Uncle  Sam. 

Mr.  Copley  says  that  slight  compres- 
sion saves  coal.  Perhaps  it  does,  but  the 
valve  setting  on  his  compound  engines 
does  not  seem  to  me  to  be  the  best  for  the 
coal  pile.  Readers  who  know  about  indi- 
cator diagrams  can  see  that  the  exhaust 
valves  do  not  get  open  until  the  piston 
has  traveled  over  half  stroke.  Steam  on 
the  one  side  of  the  piston  is  pushing  the 
piston  ahead  and  the  piston  is  pushing  the 
steam  out  through   the  exhaust  port. 

What  good  is  a  condenser  to  an  engine 
with  such  valve  setting?  If  an  engineer 
wants  to  get  the  benefit  of  the  condenser 
he  should  set  the  valves  so  the  exhaust 
will  open  before  the  piston  reaches  the 
end  of  the'  stroke  and  close  as  late  as 
possible. 

I  inclose  a  set  of  diagrams  from  an  old 
Corliss  engine  in  service  since  1872.  In 
summer  I  run  condensing,  as  the  diagram. 
Fig.  I,  shows.  With  this  valve  setting  the 
engine  runs  on  2^^  pounds  of  coal  per 
horsepower-hour.      The   diagram.    Fig.   2, 


Grea?e  Lubrication  of  Governor 
Pms 


I  use  grease  successfully  in  the  lubri- 
cation of  the  governor  pins  of  four  West- 
inghouse  compound  noncondensing  en- 
gines under  my  charge.  This  1  consider 
a  difficult  lubricating  proposition,  as  the 
weight  on  the  bearing  and  journal  is 
heavy  and  the  motion,  instead  of  being 
one  of  continuous  rotation,  is  an  oscilla- 
tion through  a  short  arc,  only.  The  en- 
gines are  direct-connected  to  114-volt  di- 
rect -  current  generators,  delivering  cur- 
rent for  forming  and  charging  storage 
batteries  in  the  process  of  manufacture, 
and  for  laboratory  purposes.  For  this 
work  the  requirements  as  to  constancy  of 
voltage  are  very  exacting,  and'  the  matter 
of  close  speed  regulation  is  therefore  of 
unusual  importance. 

The  plant  consists  of  two  18  and  30  by 
16-inch  350-horsepower  engines,  each  di- 
rect-connected to  a  2000-ampere  eight- 
pole  generator,  and  three  12  and  20  by  12- 
inch  150-horsepower  engines,  each  direct- 
connected  4o  an  8oo-ampere  six-pole  gen- 
erator. These  engines  run  at  150  pounds 
steam  pressure  and  are  operated  for  thir- 
teen consecutive  shifts  through  the  week — 
two  shifts  each  24  hours  for  six  days  in 
the  week,  Tuesday  to  Sunday,  inclusive, 
and  one  shift  on  Monday. 

The  governor  pin  of  one  of  the  larger 
units  is  lubricated  by  oil,  from  a  regular 
Westinghouse  center  oiler,  which  con- 
sumes 2I/2  to  3  gallons  of  oil  per  week  of 
thirteen  shifts.  The  governor  pins  of  the 
other  350  horsepower  engine  and  the 
three  150-horsepower  engines  are  lubri- 
cated with  an  A  No.  i  grease,  and  con- 
sume 4  to  6  ounces  of  lubricant  per  week 
of  thirteen  shifts. 

The  lubrication  by  grease  is  accom- 
plished as  follows  :  The  governor  mechan- 
ism is  of  the  Westinghouse  hiyh-speed  en- 
gine type.  The  governor  pin,  which  is  3^ 
inches  in  diameter  and  12  inches  long  on 
the  larger  engines  and  2x12  on  the  smal- 
ler, runs  in  a  brass  bushing  which  is  car- 
ried on  a  radial  extension  of  the  flywheel 
hub.  Fixed  to  one  end  of  this  pin  is  the 
lever  carrying  at  its  ends  the  two  gov- 
ernor weights,  aggregating  1000  pounds. 
In  the  operation  of  the  governor,  the  pin 
oscillates  through  a  maximum  arc  of 
about  54  inch,  between  light  load  and  full 
load  on  the  engine.  The  movement  of  the 
pin  in  the  bushing  is  therefore  relatively 
small.  At  the  same  time  the  importance 
of  safe  and  effective  lubrication  is  very 
great.  Any  least  liability  of  "sticking" 
would  condemn  the  lubricant  causing  it, 
for  it  would  result  in  impairment  of  the 
governor    action,    which     would    not    be 


February  2,  1909. 


POWKR  AND  THK  KNiilNEER. 


tolerated  in  these  engines,  operating  under 
the  stated  exacting  conditions,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  risk  of  racing,  with  its 
attendant   danger  of  bursting  flywheels. 

The  grease  is  applierl  by  means  of  two 
ordinary  hand-feed  spring-tension  cups, 
set  in  {'..-inch  tapped  hf»les  in  the  bushing. 
These  holes  meet  a  half-round  grfxjve  of 
!^-inch  radius  scored  on  the  inside  or 
bearing  surface  of  the  bushing,  and  run- 
ning to  within  fi  inch  of  the  ends.  This 
(top)  groove  is  thus  fed  direct  by  the 
two  grease  cups;  and  two  similar  hori- 
zontal grf)oves,  spaced  at  60  degrees  from 
the  lop  groove,  arc  fed  from  the  latter  by 


Transformer  CofinectiocM 


I  submit  the  accomfunying  diairram  and 
the  following  fr)r  criticism :  Two  trans- 
formers arc  connected  in  open  delta  on  a 
three  phase  line  suppl)ing  current  to 
three-pha*e  induction  motors,  ami  a  sin- 
gle-phase transformer  is  connected  to  one 
leg  for  lighting  If  the  power  transform- 
ers are  ctmnectcd  t»»  phages  1  and  3  should 
not  the  lighting  transformer  \h-  connected 
to  phase  3'  How  will  thi*  affect  the 
regulation  of  the  system'  The  moj.ir* 
are  used  in  the  daytime  ami  the  lighu  are 


T*  L1«M« 


MR.    rAKKOLL.S    TRANSFOH\|FH    IIINVKIION 


scleral  diagonal  gromes,  which  serve  alv» 
further  to  distribute  the  lubricant  over  the 
journal. 

This  arrangement  answers  well  and  for 
nine  years  has  prove<l  the  efTcctiveness  of 
Krease  for  governor-pin  lubrication.  The 
CtMis  arc  filled  once  a  week,  and  the  lubri- 
cant is  not  fed  into  the  liearing  by  screw- 
ing clown  the  plungers  uf  the  cup,  but  is 
allowed  t»»  (\i-v/  naturally.  The  cups,  once 
filli-d,  rcfjuirc  no  further  attention  during 
the  thirteen  consecutive  shifts  and  there 
is  neither  wa^te  nor  lack  of  lubricant. 

!i!iou,  h     this     and     other     experience 
..;  to  show  the  success  of  grease  liibri- 
catitm  and  its  economy,  as  compared  with 
ril.  make  me  an  adviK-ate  of  grease  as  a 
lubricant,    I    am    ready    to    conce<le    that 
1 1',  rr  .ire  places  where  oil  must   l>e  used. 
^,    in    these    same    Weslinghouse    en- 
ginrs   the   lubrication  of  the  main  eccen- 
tric rrxl  and  its  a|>purteiiances  i*  effected 
b\  oil  f.  •!  at  the  toM  .if  the  nnl  ami  shaken 
down   by    the  oscillaii'n    to    the    iKaring 
■nrfaces   Ih-Iow.      Here,  oi   c«  ur«c.   gre.isr 
would   not    serve.      Mul    aside    from    such 
S|»rcial  cases,  in  the  writer's  opinion,  since 
the  lubrication  of  any  moving  |Mrt  of  a 
machine   Is   really  a  grfajing,  il   is  better 
to  use  good  grease  tA  liegin  with-     The 
value  of  oil  as  a  lubricant  resides  in  its 
lit     greasinesv     while     its     other 
icimI  to  waste  an«l  to  mrs*. 

hi  <<>nt-lusi(iii,    I    wish   to     ' 
engine  P»om   in   whiih  gre.i 
this    wrtrk,    as    «les€ribf<l.    1- 
h'H    one,    the    temprralun     '• 
driirres    Fahrenheit    for    seven   mnnili 

.1,^     v-.r 

I-'HANK    Vlfl.l'Ni. 
'   iiiri    r  iiifinrrr,    I'l-rtrir    'si.  ••■■-- 
n.i»trr\    <   ■ 
lliilndrliihia.    I'rnn 


then    turned   off;    at    iukmi    uh-    llk;nI^    4rr 
on  and  the  motors  are  out  of  sersicr 

R.  S.  CARaiiu. 
I'ortlami.  Ore 


Reversed  Polarity 

The  trouble  cauvrd  by  tlie  reversing  of 
the    polarity    uf   one     of    the    generators 
o|ierating  a  ihrvc-wirc  system.  whKh  Mr. 
Young  gave  an  tntere«ltng  account  of  in 
the    numlier    of    Drcembcr    JJ,    could    be 
caused    in    a    number   of   di*' 
In    this    cas*-,    h»'W«vcr.    il 
due   to    •• 
ing  llie  II 

direv  Hon.       1  his    1*     <>i 
generator*   ha\ing   a    n 
\ery  soft  iron.     I  have 
polarity  being  rever*c>l 
shock  on  or  rear  the 
pairs  ar< 
relit    ff' 
llir 


cai: 

1 

wire*  gase  v 
brc;)ii-><  ''  '  '• 
the 

the  

oat  side 


ntitd.Ir     730  \-i»t 


the   *»»»*•**•    •!•• 


\'. 


^^  iwcnflifi    to    breomr    still 

^^   ■  '   tbr  bnuli  canftrri»ij«M  bad 

the  car  real  flowing  m  tkt 

Alth    a    la*d     V'^il.I     ii.><:ir«J|y 

lend  to  bjwrr  the  mac-  gk 

the   -r.r.ii,.,,    mslcsd 

Iher  g   thr   dr 

*ne   I  It  •u>n   t •  nnci 

tioo*  '  ,«  irsi  plare 

no    other     4Hcf,itKia     wuuld    ba«e    !«•■ 

nerdrd 

I'  ;<pefis  that 

<"a»-  'tanged,  or  tf 

'  "■  the  appcsrsAcc  of 

j;-;.r4'  ;.      |„  ,.,  h  catrs.  and  m  fart 

nearly    r»ery    case    wl»rre    diretrt    cwrrvM 

can  be  « •■•  ..tw-i  .>  .»,,  ^.^^.  ..  >. .—    ^he 

writer  fj  Ǥ 

this    ooi'  -.    *ty    a*    ffi    r«nvr    the 

pi>laritir  ■  «  «  thowld  for  propre 

II   u   4  guod  idea  to  kave  a 

:  connected  acmvs  f^  two  owl- 

»;Uc  ZA>^«(>h  wires  and  -fhef  on 

the   swrtrhhraH  rtf,   br<'  mt  tW 

grri'  f  the  operator  can  see 

It  <  ng  wKrifirr   ■f  0.4  the 

pitlarity  i*  reversed      !•  m 

n.eiltately    remedy    the        _     ..~.     aul 

kerp  ctisiomers  wailing  f<>r  liglM  or  »oaer 
po«er 

PkABg  A^  Bnjai 
llennington.  N    H. 


C«rd  liKJning 


rvatter  * 

TV 
five 


'iw    iMwe    ago    to 
of   inlca*'^   '^ 

m. 


m  tlw  iMk. 
iio   two 


ll»c   irwlrtmc    »   fi>fni  uf  card  irv.*c  s 


■way    be 


nrrd    Mo' 


k  b»  any 


iw  H   ftw 


Itir      itr^Mli 


lUriri 


250 


Water  Evaporated  per  Pound 
of  Coal 


Under  the  above  caption  appears  a  very 
interesting  letter  by  E.  E.  Edwards,  on 
page  1052  of  the  December  22  number. 
If  Mr.  Edwards  will  make  a  test  of  his 
coal  he  will  very  likely  hnd  that  it  is  much 
higher  in  heating  value  than  his  boiler 
trial  indicated,  and  that  the  trouble  is 
more  apt  to  be  in  the  boiler  and  furnace, 
in  the  form  of  air  leaks,  poor  circulation 
and  faulty  boiler  setting. 

If  he  would  take  a  sample  of  his  flue 
gases  and  have  them  analyzed  he  would 
doubtless  be  surprised  at  the  results. 
C.  T.  McKnight. 

San  Antonio,  Tex. 


Cement  Roofing 


In  many  cases  cheap  roof  construction 
is  used,  which  in  the  end  proves  very 
expensive.  I  caused  to  be  placed  on  a 
roof  about  30  squares  of  corrugaled  iron 
that  did  not  last  quite  a  year.  Before  it 
had  become  entirely  unserviceable,  I  re- 
paired it  with  a  permanent,  and  what  I 
consider  the  best,  roofing  that  can  be  used. 
I  stretched  over  the  entire  roof  a  2-inch 
mesh  poultry  wire,  and  with  a  trowel 
spread  cement  about  ^  inch  thick ;  by 
troweling  the  cement  when  in  a  plastic 
condition   it  entirely  enveloped  the  wire. 

No  crack  nor  check  appears  in  the  roof, 
which  has  4xi2-foot  spans,  although  the 
iron  has  nearly  disappeared.  In  testing 
this  roof,  several  men  at  a  time  have 
walked  over  it,  and  it  showed  no  weak- 
ness. It  is  fireproof,  and  will  practically 
last  for  all  time.  But  the  most  interest- 
ing fact  about  this  cement  roof  is  the  cost, 
about  $2  per  square,  buying  the  wire  and 
cement  at  retail.  I  used  three  parts  sand 
and  two  parts  cement. 

Arthur  Sev.mour. 
Linton,  Ind. 


Steam    Gages    and    Indicator 
Springs 


One  night  while  indicating  our  engines 
we  noticed  an  unusual  drop  in  pressure 
between  the  boilers  and  engines.  The 
gage  at  the  boilers  showed  100  pounds 
pressure,  while  the  indicator  on  No.  i 
engine  showed  an  initial  pressure  of  74 
pounds,  a  difference  of  26  pounds.  No.  2 
indicator  on  No.  2  engine  showed  a  drop 
of  20  pounds,  although  20  feet  farther 
from  the  boilers  than  engine  No.  i.  There 
is  no  apparent  reason  for  such  a  drop, 
as  the  pipes  are  short  and  of  ample  size 
and  have  straightway  valves. 

To  locate  the  trouble  we  put  No.  i  indi- 
cator on  one  of  the  gage  connections 
to   the    boilers.      With    the    same    spring, 


POWER  AXD  THE  ENGINEER. 

and  the  same  gage  pressure,  100  pounds, 
the  indicator  showed  82  pounds,  a  differ- 
ence of  18  pounds.  We  then  tried  No.  2 
indicator  in  the  same  way.  This  gave  us 
90  pounds.  A  50  spring  was  used  in  both 
cases.  We  next  tried  No.  i  indicator  with 
a  No.  60  spring  and  got  a  reading  of  90 
pounds,  the  gage  still  showing  100  pounds 
P'-essure.  The  last  two  readings  being 
alike,  the  No.  50  spring  in  No.  i  indi- 
cator must  be  8  pounds  heavy,  and  the 
steam  gage  10  pounds  light,  if  the  two 
springs  are  correct. 

The  steam  gage  was  tested  six  months 
ago.  The  indicator  springs  are  also  prac- 
tically new,  and  of  a  well-known  make. 
The  difference  in  this  case  is  in  favor  of 
the  boilers,  but  in  many  others  it  may  be 
otherwise. 

The  question  is,  how  long  may  we  ex- 
pect springs  to  retain  their  accuracy  and 
steam  gages   to   remain   correct? 

W.  J.  Wilkinson. 

North   Bay,  Ont. 


February  2,  1909. 

Culm  and  Coal  Dust  for  Fuel 


Development    of    the    High   Speed 
Engine 


I  think  Frank  H.  Ball,  in  his  lecture 
before  the  Modern  Science  Club,  as 
quoted  in  the  January  19  number,  is  "off" 
in  some  of  his  historical  statements.  He 
credits  Mr.  Porter  as  having  shown  a 
high-speed  engine  at  the  Paris  exposition 
in  1875.  There  was  no  1875  Paris  exposi- 
tion. Mr.  Porter  exhibited  a  high-speed 
engine  in  the  London  exhibition  in  1862, 
which,  though  not  as  high-speed  as  his 
later  ones,  was  fast  enough  to  astound  the 
English  builders,  and  at  the  Paris  exhibi- 
tion he  exhibited  three,  one,  I  think,  about 
I2x24-inch,  which  ran  at  200  or  250  revo- 
lutions per  minute,  and  a  6x  12-inch  en- 
gine which  he  thought  to  run  at  1000 
revolutions  per  minute,  if  I  remember 
correctl3%  and  which  he  did  run,  I  believe, 
at  600  or  700  revolutions  per  minute.  The 
third  engine  was  a  complete  6xi2-inch 
engine  with  one-quarter  of  the  cylinder 
cut  out  to  show  the  construction  and 
action  of  the  valves  and  valve  motion. 

As  to  the  Armington  &  Sims  people 
building  the  first  single-valve  shaft  gov- 
ernor, I  do  not  think  they  started  in  busi- 
ness until  the  early  eighties;  while  the 
first  Straight-line  engine  was  built  in  1871, 
and  the  second  built  at  Cornell  in  1875, 
and  exhibited   at   the   Centennial   in    1876. 

J.  C.  Hoadley  had  l)uilt  shaft-governor 
single-valve  portable  engines  before,  but 
they  wore  not,  as  far  as  I  know,  intro- 
duced in  regular  horizontal  engines  before 
Mr.  Hoadley  went  out  of  business. 

Though  Mr.  Sims  was  a  Hoadley  man, 
when  the  Armstrong  &  Sims  engine  came 
out  it  could  not  be  said  to  be  a  continua- 
tion of  the  Hoadley  design,  being  differ- 
ent in  all  essential  features. 

John  E.  Sweet. 

Syracuse,  N.  Y. 


In  Mr.  Jeter's  article  on  "Culm  and  Coal 
Dust  for  Fuel,"  published  recently,  there 
are  several  statements  that  are  not  borne 
out  by  the  experience  of  some  us  who 
have  experimented  with  briquets.  He 
states  that  a  ton  of  briquets  made  from 
anthracite  dust  equals  three  tons  of  best 
anthracite,  as  proved  by  a  number  of 
tests. 

The  best  anthracite  to  my  knowledge 
comes  from  Colorado.  According  to  Kent, 
the  approximate  analysis  of  the  best 
quality  of  Gunnison  county  coal  is  as 
follows :  Moisture,  2  per  cent. ;  volatile 
matter,  2.5  per  cent. ;  fixed  carbon,  91.9 
per  cent.,  and  ash,  3.6  per  cent.  This 
w-ould  give  a  heating  value  of  14,100 
B.t.u.  per  pound  of  coal.  According  to 
Mr.  Jeter's  figures,  a  ton  of  briquets 
would  develop  42,300  B.t.u.,  to  attain 
which  would  require  the  consumption  of 
one-half  hydrogen  by  weight,  or  by  vol- 
umes 12  parts  hydrogen  to  one  of  carbon. 
The  first  briquets  of  my  acquaintance 
were  made  from  Carterville  (111.)  washed 
slack.  There  was  little  difference  in  the 
burning  qualities  between  them  and  the 
egg  coal  from  the  same  district.  The 
smoke  was  no  greater  and  the  ash  slightly 
less.  In  my  young  days  I  believed  the 
nearer  the  boiler  was  to  the  fire,  the  bet- 
ter it  would  steam.  This  is  undoubtedly 
true  with  anthracite  or  wood,  but  it  is  a 
great  mistake  with  soft  coal,  and  the 
lower  the  ratio  between  the  volatile  mat- 
ter and  fixed  carbon,  the  farther  the  grate 
should  be  from  the  shell  of  the  boiler. 
My  last  venture  was  to  set  the  grates  48 
inches  from  the  boiler  (for  Belleville,  111., 
screenings),  and  my  next  one  will  be  54 
or  60  inches.  In  the  last  case  the  ratio  of 
volatile  matter  to  fixed  carbon  was  about 
I  :  I  and  the  amount  of  soot  generated 
•was  quite  small. 

I  believe  that  anthracite  culm  washed 
and  briqueted  can  be  made  the  ideal 
fuel.  The  ash-forming  ingredients  and 
sulphur,  if  present,  can  be  removed  in 
great  part  by  washing  and  a  pitch  binder 
■will  furnish  enough  hydrocarbons  that  the 
resulting  briquets  will  approach  the  semi- 
bituminous  coals  of  Maryland,  West  VirJ 
ginia  and  Arkansas  in  composition  andl 
heating  qualities.  As  anthracite  does  not 
usually  exceed  10  per  cent,  in  ash,  and 
pitch  has  none,  the  briquets  should  be  an 
improvement  on  the  general  run  of  com- 
mercial coal  in  that  respect.  They  will 
need  ample  room  for  combustion  of  the 
volatile  matter  and  must  be  fired  as  bitu- 
minous coal  is  fired,  and  when  properly 
handled,  produce  no  more  soot  or  smoke 
than  George's  creek  or  Pocahontas  coals. 
LeRov  Baker.  ^ 
St.  Louis,  Mo. 


A    imiform   boiler-construction   law   for ' 
the  Dominion  of  Canada  is  being  agitated^ 
with  a  bright  prospect  of  its  adoption. 


I-"ebruary  2,  igOQ. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


«i 


Some    Useful    Lessons    of    Limewater 

Various    Practical     Experiments    for    tKc    Boiler    Room.  Which   U'lll 
Add    to   the   Furnactman's    Knowlcdyc    and    Incrcavr    Hi»    F.tfKimcv 


BY      CHARLES       S.      PALMER 


Mr.  Furnaccman,  this  is  for  you.  You 
arc  sittiiiK  "n  that  barrel  of  lime  that 
has  been  rolled  into  your  boiler  room, 
waitinK  for  the  masons  to  put  on  that 
addition  to  the  mill.  But  you  are  not 
*t>>t)king  of  the  mill;  what  is  bothering 
:  is  the  trouble  with  the  water,  and 
ii  .It  scale  that  will  get  onto  the  Ix^iler 
tubes.  The  water  looks  all  ritiht ;  and 
there  is  the  heater  in  the  corner  which 
<]oes  take  out  sr)mc  of  the  stufT  that  makes 
the  scale ;  while  up  on  your  shelf  are 
those  samples  of  l)oilcr  compounds  that 
the  salesmen  left  for  you  to  try;  and 
sometimes  they  work,  and  just  as  oftrn 
they  don't,  and  you  are  at  your  wit's  end. 
Now,  you  may  not  believe  it,  but  you  can 
<lo  a  bit  of  .study  and  thinking  right  down 
"here  in  th.s  dusty  place — thinking  and 
<lomg.  too — that  will  help  you  to  get  onto 
jrour  job  a  little  better.  Try  it ;  it  will 
not  dn  any  harm,  and  it  may  put  you  on 
jrour  feet  as  you  have  never  stixnl  l>efore. 
It  may  help  you  to  tmdersiand  y<jur  work 
'better,  and  no  man  is  doing  right  by  him- 
•"  '•'  or  his  business  unless  he  knows  how 

lo  the  thinking  that  goes  along  with 
i:iN  spe."ial  work.  Some  of  the  best  and 
most  skilful  workmen  wear  plain  clothes, 
jnci  I  Ik  I  Mits  that  will  lie  contained  in 
thiNt  .ir'.iJ.  •,  n«ay  put  a  dollar  or  two  in 
your  pocket. 

Do  you  know  that  you  arc  silting  on 
your  opiMtrtunity?  l)o  you  realize  that 
that  Itarrel  of  lime  has  some  secrets  that 
it  will  pay  you  lo  know  about?  There  i» 
a  whole  coll<  of  practical  chem- 

istry   riKht    '  .    waiting    only    for 

yon  to  take  l.>il<l  oi  :t  and  use  it  in  vour 
dail>  work  and  thinknig.  It  isn't  nirr«-lv 
a  m.itti  r  of  muscle  that  makes  t' 
tncv  Utween  a  low-paid  and  .1 
man.  There  i»n't  anyone  who  is  holding 
yon  kick,  except  one  man,  and  he  cer- 
tainly has  got  it  in  for  you.  That  man 
U  the  chap  that  walks  under  your  hat. 
Did  yon  ever  think  of  that?  Then  lake  a 
twacr     a  ifoixl  Ii.ii .!  ' 

yon  tr>  .! lit-  1 

down   here   in   the   iMiiUr   r<»>ii>      1'.    -     1  ' 
hurt,  and  len  lo  one    it    will    «Imw     v-m 
tomrlhiiig    thai    yon   can    n«r   t. 
fnan   who  |iay«  your    waKc«,   aifi 
lo  cnmnund  more  pay.    So,  lake 

'I,  here  and  now,  and  tell  us  if  w< 
■  r  your  hea«l,  for  we  want  you  lo  ! 
vjinetluMK  '"  \ur    uK.iiiijge.     thKc  ^^'■■■ 
frl  «(artri|    snu'tl  iii-l  it   ..My 
t-rt    the   apt».»r.iHi» 

will     Mill      M,llll      in      ' 


help  lessons  from  your  drugipst ;  and  for 
every  dollar  you  put  out  now  on  this 
furnace-room  laboratory,  to  use  right 
down  by  your  boiler,  you  will  gel  a  re- 
turn some  lime  that  will  pay  you  back  len 
to  one :  not  only  in  the  mental  satisfac- 
tion of  knowing  your  work  better,  not 
only  for  your  being  able  to  hold  your  head 
higher  from  knowing  what  other*  know 
and  are  learning  with  you,  but  - 
for  the  t>etter  position  and  pa> 


one  arm  j  inrbrt  kwg  and  oi 

one  arm  S  uiclict  InQK- 
J  gU»*  tftmaf  rod^  yi6  or  )4  mtk  m 

dtanxirr 
I   ft>n(   of   rubber  taboig  lo  fit   iW  gU** 

lubr* 
J  foar-oame    glui    iasln.     villi    fkum 

tl*««  l»fiier 


lit 


bottk  ol  liydimtlurk  and. 
f  oilffk  acid. 


r:a   1 

can  command  in  the  long  run.  and  per> 
haps  in  the  »h  »rt  run.  If  it  should  hap- 
pen that  your  druggist  cannot  supply  y»tt, 
the  <l  from  Kimer 

&  ;e.    New    V<>iit 

Citv.    i.r    1.     !i.    .S.tri{etit    &    Co 
145  I-ike  street.  Chicagn,  III      '1  ' 
will  charge  $t  f.»r  ihr 
to  ship,  and  the  latter  .v 
the  nearest  railroad  sutkm  for  I3.50 


i 


\  '- 


Tilt  FiatT  Ltaao* 


eM.Wl 

'  Om  o< 
'nio  $mf 


k   uf   iW 
•Mi  a   pbiii  •  - 


Mclie*  ami**  tkt 

it   (  i>r  6  ir    hf «  tii4 


(ivll      liiniul,     pliri     |.>«ig 


SfOOVf<l*gl* ' 


f       Ml"       fo 
4  pufill  .  ■i4  1^  tbt 

'    •««•    ikat    a*** 


r.I  \    ■ 


in  sheets,  fold,  crease  and  est  it  as  shown 
in  Fig.  I.  Take  a  piece  about  "jVi  inches 
square,  fold  it  twice,  as  shown  at  a,  lay 
it  down  and  trace  a  curve  from  the  closed 
corner  of  the  paper,  as  at  h.  and  cut  this 
folded  paper  alone;  the  curve ;  when  you 
open  it,  it  will  look  something  like  c.  Or, 
if  you  get  the  filter  paper  in  packages  of 
"cut"  paper,  you  will  fold  it  as  shown  in 


FIG.  3 

Fig.  2.  Referring  to  a,  first  fold  it  across 
the  line  /-J",  to  halve  it,  and  then,  to  quar- 
ter it,  fold  along  the  line  $-4,  folding  the 
point  /  over  and  down  on  point  -?;  then 
when  you  open  it,  it  will  look  much  like  c, 
Figs.  I  and  2. 

Next,  fit  this  piece  of  quarter-folded 
filter  paper  down  into  a  funnel  about  4 
inches  across,  so  the  point  or  apex  of  the 
cone  of  the  paper  fits  nicely  down  into 
the  opening  of  the  stem  of  the  funnel. 
You  will  notice,  when  you  have  done  this, 
that  on  one  side  there  is  only  one  thick- 
ness of  paper,  while  on  the  other  side 
there  are  three  thicknesses.  That  is  all 
right ;  it  will  do  its  work.  You  will  also 
note  that  when  the  paper  is  in  the  fun- 
nel, closely  fitting  it,  it  will  look  like  Fig. 
X  You  will  further  note  that  to  have  the 
conical  cup  of  filter  paper  closed  on  the 
under  side,  where  it  fits  the  funnel,  the 
paper  has  to  turn  back  on  itself  twice. 
.'Ml  this  may  seem  simple  to  the  man  who 
knows  all  about  it,  but  you  will  have  to 
use  your  wits  to  get  some  of  these  sim- 
ple things  right.  You  can  do  it,  how- 
ever. A  sketch  of  the  corrugated  funnel, 
with  its  stem  in  a  bottle,  is  shown  in 
Fig.  4. 

When  the  filter  paper  has  been  fitted 
into  the  funnel,  which  has  been  set  with 
its  stem  in  the  neck  of  a  clean  bottle,  as 
stated,  dampen  the  paper  with  a  few  drops 
of  water,  to  "break  its  back ;"  otherwise, 
it  will  spring  back  and  crawl  out  of  the 
funnel,  even  if  the  funnel  is  standing  up- 
right. 

The  next  step  is  to  open  the  bottle  of 
limewater,  which  may  be  quite  milky. 
Don't  lay  the  cork  down  anywhere,  but 
hold  it  between  the  third  and  fourth 
fingers  of  the  right  hand,   with  the  palm 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

upward.  In  fact,  that  will  be  found  to 
be  the  best  way  to  take  the  cork  out  of 
the  bottle.  The  cork  will  not  get  soiled, 
then,  and  is  ready  to  go  back  in  place 
instantly.  Or,  you  may  hold  the  cork  in 
your  left  hand  and  use  it  to  direct  the 
stream  of  liquid  as  it  is  poured  into  the 
filter  paper  in  the  funnel.  If  the  cork  is 
held  close  to  the  mouth  of  the  bottle,  as 
it  is  tipped  with  care  to  pour,  the  stream 
will  follow  down  the  side  of  the  cork. 
We  are  to  filter  the  milky  limewater 
through  the  funnel  into  a  second  clean 
bottle,  say  half  a  pint,  or  even  a  pint  or 
more ;  for  you  will  use  this  limewater  on 
a  number  of  different  occasions.  If  the 
stem  of  the  funnel  fits  too  tightly  into  the 
mouth  of  the  second  bottle,  slip  a  bent 
match  or  wooden  toothpick  between  the 
funnel  stem  and  the  mouth  of  the  second 
bottle,  to  leave  a  crack  for  the  air  to 
escape  through  as  the  filtered  limewater 
runs  in  (as  shown  in  Fig.  4). 

How  TO  Clean  a  Bottle 

To  digress  for  a  moment,  you  may  as 
well  learn  a  trick  for  cleaning  bottles. 
Tear  up  a  small  piece  of  common  paper 
(any  kind,  newspaper  will  do),  say  a 
piece  5  inches  square,  into  little  bits  the 
size  of  a  dime  or  smaller.  Put  these 
paper  bits,  with  a  little  soapy  water,  in 
the  bottle  and  shake  well,  and  with  a 
motion  to  make  the  wash  water  swing 
around  the  inside  of  the  bottle.  The 
edges  of  the  paper  cut  off  the  dirt  from 
the  smooth  surface  of  the  glass,  and  when 
the  bottle  is  rinsed  several  times  it  is 
clean,  cleaner  than  washing  with  shot 
will  make  it,  as  a  rule. 

To  go  back  :  Don't  fill  the  filter  paper 
in  the  funnel  higher  than  to  within  about 
Yi  inch  from  the  top,  then  there  will  be 
no  danger  of  the  milky  water  creeping 
up  above  the  paper,  running  down  the 
side  between  the  paper  and  glass  and  thus 
get  through  without  going  through  the 
paper.  All  this  and  a  dozen  other  points 
you  will  learn  by  trying;  it  is  really  very 
simple,  and  anyone  can  do  this  in  a 
kitchen  or  boiler  room.  Filter  enough 
into  the  second  bottle  of  water  so  that  it 
will  be  full,  for  it  will  be  found  that  the 
air  will  act  on  thi's  filtered  limewater,  and 
if  the  bottle  is  full  to  start  with  less  air 
can  get  in  below  the  cork. 

It  takes  a  few  minutes  to  get  this  bottle 
of  filtered  limewater  ready  for  use.  When 
it  is  ready  you  will  label  it  with  one  of 
the  adhesive  labels  which  came  with  your 
outfit ;  or,  if  you  haven't  that,  get  your 
wife  to  make  you  some  flour  paste  by 
cooking  a  teaspoonful  of  common  wheat 
flour  in  hot  water.  You  should  write 
"Limewater"  on  the  label.  If  you  know 
how  to  do  all  this,  why,  just  skip  the 
reading  up  to  this  point;  but  you  will 
have  this  first  reagent  on  hand;  and  you 
had  better  fill  the  bottle  of  lime  again  with 
water,  shake  and  cork  it,  laying  it  as'-'e 
ready  to  filter  more  limewater  as  needed. 

This  bottle  of  filtered  limewater  is  the 


February  2,  1909. 

door  leading  to  a  whole  lot  of  useful  facts 
and  self-instruction ;  indeed,  it  is  a  labora- 
tory by  itself.  Look  at  it.  It  is  as  clear 
as  water,  and  you  may  doubt  whether  it 
is  anything  more  than  common  water. 
But  just  taste  it;  that  is  test  No.  i.  It 
is  perfectly  safe  to  taste  it,  for  you  may 
have  given  some  of  it  to  your  baby  at 
home,  with  its  milk.  Before  you  get 
through  with  this,  you  will  see  why  you 
gave  it  to  the  baby.  The  limewater  tastes 
slightly  bitter-sweet,  and  it  has  also  what 
is  called  an  "alkaline"  taste,  a  taste  that 
you  will  want  to  learn. 

Pour  some  of  the  limewater  into  a 
clean  tumbler  or  one  of  the  little  thin- 
glass  cups,  "beakers"  they  are  called. 
Breathe  down  into  this  limewater  strongly; 
or,  better  still,  blow  through  the  lime- 
water  your  good,  sound  breath,  through  a 
clean  pipe  stem,  a  straw,  or  one  of  the 
pieces  of  glass  tubing  which  came  with 
your  outfit. 

How  TO  Prepare  Glass  Tubing 
When  you  use  glass  tubing,  it  is  a  good 
thing  to  soften  the  edges  at  the  ends  by 
holding  the  tube  in  a  hot  flame  for  a  few 
moments  so  as  almost  to  melt  the  glass, 
if  the  ends  are  not  already  rounded; 
the  ends  of  the  tube  may  also  be  rounded 
with  a  file ;  but  be  sure  to  smooth  the 
edges,  or  you  will  cut  your  tongue,  your 


I 


FIG.    4 

corks,  or  your  rubber  tubing,  and  it  i" 
simply  a  matter  of  doing  things  shipshape 
to  round  the  edges  of  glass  tubing. 

As  you  blow  your  breath  into  the  lime- 
water,  and  as  you  shake  the  liquid  around, 
so  that  the  gases  of  the  breath  can  mix 
well  with  the  liquid,  you  will  notice  that 
a  whiteness  comes  in  the  limewater.  It 
gets   milky,   and   if  left   standing  a   white- 


February  2,  igofj. 

'liment  soon  appears.     This  white  sedi- 
ment  is  lime   (or  calcium)    carbonate.     It 
is  a  unicjn  of  the  carbfjnic-acid  k<>s  from 
the  breath  with  the  "base,"  lime,  and  the 
two   to^fther   have   made  the   "salt."   car- 
brtnate  of  lime  (or  calcium,  calcium  being 
the  hidden  metal  that  is  at  the  bottom  ui 
the  lime,  just  as  iron  is  the  metal  at  the 
'■'  ttom  of  common  iron  rust).     The  car- 
Mic-acid  gas  in  your  breath  came  from 
burning  of  the  food  in  your  body,  by 
millions     of     tiny     furnaces     in     the 
isclcs    and    red    blood    corpuscles;    and 
■    luHRs  make  the  chimney    from  which 
the  invisible  smoke  of  the  breath  Rave  off 
the    carbonic-acid    gas,    just    a<^    truly    as 
thouKh   the  carbon   of  the   f<MMl   had   In-en 
'•'irned  in  your  urate  under  your  Iwilers. 
his  shows  again  that  the  limewater  is  an 
live  chemical.     This  is  test   No.  2. 
Von    well   know    that   all   of  your    f<XKl 
iitains  carlxm.  the  same  element   which 
.ikes    up   the    bulk    of   coal.      You    know 
IS  from  the  fact  that  if  the  bread  toast 
■IS  tor)  much  fire,  it  shows  real  coke  or 
charcoal  on  the  edges;  and  if  your   roast 
beef  gets  burne<l.  there  is  the  same  coke 
or    charcoal    on    the    surface.      You    alxi 
know   that  bread  and   meat   will   bum   in 
the  fire  as  though  they  were  of  dose  kin 
to  wrxxl  ancl  coal :  the  same  thing  is  true 
of  sugar,  starch  an«l.  especially,  butter  aiid 
fat*.     Now  this  turns  your  own  attention 
to  that  fire  right   at  hand.     Why  not  test 
that  with  this  limewater?     You  will  do  it 
in  the  follr)wing  manner : 

How  TO  ,^ppLv  THE  Test  to  the  Fiinac-e 
Fire 

You  will  need  a  common  wide-mouthed 
bottle,  say,  a  hor^eradl^h  Ixittle  (see 
Fig.  5).  Fit  this  with  a  good  cork, 
which  has  two  holes  just  wide  enough  t«) 
lake  in  tightly  the  two  pieces  of  In-nt -glass 
tubmg  .  /   and   //      Make  the  hoU-s  in  the 

rk    with   file  small   blade  of  your   knife, 
with   the  cork   cutter   that   comes   with 

iir  outfit ;  then  round  the  edges  of  the 
...les  in  the  cork  with  a  rat -tail  file. 
The  brnt -glass  tubes  come  with  the  outfit. 
You  will  note  that  one  «»f  these  pieces  of 
glass  tubing  gr>es  just  throtiKh  the  cork 
and  the  other  piece  reaches  d<>>Mi  Ixl-w 
the  surface  of  limewater  uliirh  li.i>  li<  <  n 
poure<t  into  the  bottle.  The  tiibiiig  ,(  I* 
joined,  by  the  bit  of  rublier  tulung  C,  to 
ihe  stump  of  a  common  clay  pipe.  You 
will  want  to  try  this  piece  of  ap|>anitus.  by 
sucking  with  your  mouth  at  the  end  of 
lulie  H  Naturally,  bubbles  will  come 
through  the  limewater,  as  indicated  by  the 
arrows.  Don't  blow  in  this,  unless  yoii 
want  to  force  the  limewater  out  of  the 
pipe.  Your  common  sense  hiII 
why.  Now  that  >oti  kn<>\%  ili..< 
and  tiiltes  fit  fairly  lightl>.  p! 
small,  live  an<l  glow^iK  imjN  t 
boiler  fire  in  the  pijH-  ln»wl  Tbrrr  >•>»! 
^avr  the  rr.il  Turkish  pipe,  with  wril- 
led  smoke ;  but  what  ymi  are  after  i« 
iiir  action  of  the  ga«  front  the  glowing 
COaU  on   the   limewater.      It   will   ikH   hurt 


PfJWER  AM)  THE  ENGINEER. 

you  to  suck  »ome  of  this  any  more  than 
it  does  to  smoke  your  old  pipe  with 
totacco  in  it. 

.\s  you  draw  the  burnt  gas  from  the 
glowing  crali  through  the  '.<><>.  -^  .-.,  .  .. 
will  notice  the  same  mil. 
and  the  same  white  se<linic-iii  »:u  t;a-  " 
as  when  you  blew  into  the  limewater  with 
your  breath,  and  for  the  same  gnnd  rea- 
sons. The  coal  is  nu*'slly  made  up  of 
carbon,  and  if  you  don't  pack  the  coal  too 
tightly  in  thr  pipe,  you  will  not  get 
much  •  1  need  to  nr»ie  ik»w 

except  id  gas.     This  arid 


V 


IE 


Kit 
ba 


wdl  unite  with  the  lime,  which  i»  j 
,  and  together  the  two  will  make  thr 
same  white  insoluble  salt,  carb<male  of 
lime  (or  of  calcium).  Note  thai  the  lime, 
as  such,  IS  vdtible  to  a  considerable  em- 
tent  in  water,  while  the  carbonate  of  lime 
is  Hol  soluble:  or.  as  they  say,  when  a 
thing  is  NO/  soiubU.  it  is  insoluble  K*.  * 
matter  of  measure,  it  takes  about 
or  eight  hiindretl  parts  of  water  |. 
solve  one  part  of  lime  (not  very  mtx-h. 
but  enough  to  thow  well )  ;  and  «l  lakes 
some  sixteen  thousand  parts  of  water 
(cold  water)  to  dissolve  one  part  of  car- 
boiuite  of  lime:  not  very  soluble,  so  it  b 
called  insoluble. 

Tmi  Ra»is  or  BoiLca  Scau 
Now   this   white   sediment   of   insAlnble 
carbonate  of  lime  (or 
jtirt  of  fhf  srrilr  th.it   • 
b 

hardne»»  water  1%  another  lhin«.  wh»rh 
you  will  study  bier).  But  this  form  of 
carlxmate  of  lime  is  the  same  thing  a* 
ci>nim>«i  while  lime«t(ine  or  mar^-'-  -—'  •• 
is  the  same  as  much  of  your 


i6J 

« 
ncf,  into  aao(t>rr  \,*\\c  \.^  rrm  1m«*  • 
new  kind  ut  ^  nut  ckt 

oriiriTtjt  tifii. 


rv  "-.tjfrt    !>•    alMw-ltr    w«ncafv«l    m 

Yoa'  can  begin  to  giir»«  for  jnf  ailf 
what  has  ba^pnsrd  If  jro*  gut  tW  isak" 
rarlinnate  of  Itme.  hf  addnv  tW  CV'- 
t-  '«  heenih  lo  tW  "Wm.* 

h-  >an  wmu  base  a  'Mk* 

which    has    siili     more    of    tW 
acid.    ir\    f:irt     ^'t    r«<r.i    ,^    tr 

lime   I  ..,...., 

And  il  ff  ihmg  for  yam  ia  ikat 

th  .or  hkartoMM  «l 


L 


rm    I 


hoH    tl<-i »   It  gd   ! 

water  ^npfi'v  i«    , 

tv.   '      ' 

%f,'  anw  law  egWg 

Ihe  next   »tep  with  the  limewaier.  car^wiK  anrf  wWi  go  a#.  tmm  mmm  wM 

(;..    I.  .    '.     f..    t^^^    I.  .L.-r     .,f     If    rmjirr    ill       coi**  ik*  wMlT, 

«i  t>i4  \tfy  aMKftk 


Wi  t9*%-     TW  fAMB 


h«ii  a 

lliriit    \' 

a- 

it      .-•-     

plac*  of  (iltrr  paper  and  wMk  • 


tWrw  ^ati  I't  "S 
sr  %..iii»  mA  kf 


ma 


254 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


l^ebruary"2,  1909. 


plain  carbonate  of  lime  is  insoluble  in 
water.  From  this  plain  and  insoluble 
carbonate  you  made  some  extra,  or  double, 
or  bicarbonate  (by  adding  extra  carbonic 
acid)  :  and  this  extra  or  double,  or  bicar- 
bonate of  lime  is  somewhat  soluble  in 
water.  This  is  "hard"  water,  and  it  can 
be  broken  up  and  the  limelike  part  thrown 
down  again,  as  the  insoluble  plain  car- 
bonate; just  as  happens  in  making  soft 
scale  on  your  boiler  tubes  from  your 
temporary-hardness  water.     , 

This  temporary-hardness  water  can  also 
be  made,  of  course,  not  only  by  blowing 
the  breath  through  limewater  until  the 
first  plain  insoluble  carbonate  has  partly 
redissolved  as  extra  or  bicarbonate,  which 
is  fairly  soluble,  but  also  by  sucking  the 
gas  from  the  glowing  coals  (as  in  Fig.  5) 
through  the  limewater  in  the  horseradish 
bottle  until  it  begins  to  clear  again,  say 
five  minutes'  suction  with  good  glowing 
coals  in  the  pipe  bowl.  After  it  begins  to 
cfear  up,  open  the  bottle,  filter  the  water 
clear,  pour  it  into  a  clean  tumbler  or 
beaker,  and  warm  it.  Enough  plain  in-, 
soluble  carbonate  will  come  down  so  that 
you  will  notice  it  if  you  look  for  it,  and 
yet  so  little  that  one  can  easily  overlook 
it  if  he  doesn't  look  for  it. 

This  is  only  the  beginning  of  what  that 
barrel  of  lime  will  teach  you  ;  but  with  all 
the  bother  of  this  fussy  filtering,  you  may 
have  done  another  piece  of  filtering  which 
•is  worth  your  while,  j\Ir.  Furnaceman. 
That  is,  filtering  out  some  clear  ideas 
from  the  milky  water  of  careless  ignor- 
ance and  prejudice.  In  the  next  article 
we  will  begin  to  discuss  this  filtering  of 
new   ideas,   carefully  and   one   at   a   time. 


Calorimeter  Tests  of  Steam 


Bv   W.   H.   Booth 


Electricity  in  Great  Britain  Mines 

The  appointment  of  an  electrical  in- 
spector of  mines  in  Great  Britain  is  in 
itself  an  indication  of  the  great  strides 
being  made  in  the  application  of  electricity 
to  mines.  It  is  estimated  that  50  per  cent. 
of  the  new  plant  being  put  down  in  Brit- 
ish mines  is  designed  for  production  and 
distribution  of  electrical  energy.  The 
electrical  industry  is  devoting  a  more  in- 
telligent study  to  the  special  conditions 
encountered  below  ground,  on  the  one 
hand,  to  increa.'-e  the  safety  and  efficiency 
of  the  machine,  and  on  the  other  to 
cheapen  the  cost.  Mining  engineers  are 
now  rapidly  discovering  advantages,  from 
a  purely  mining  point  of  view,  in  the  use 
of  electricity. — The  Mining  World. 


At  Charlottenburg  146  horsepower  are 
transmitted  by  means  of  a  belt,  10  milli- 
meters =  0.39  inch  in  width  and  5  milli- 
meters :=  0.185  inch  thick,  running  at  a 
speed  of  61.5  meters  a  second,  equal  to 
12,10,3  feet  per  minute,  with  a  tension  of 
200  kilograms  =  440  pounds.  On  the 
same  shaft  in  another  place  is  a  loo-milli- 
meter  =  3.94-inch  steel  belt  replacing  a 
600-millimeter  =  23.6-inch  leather  one, 
both  carrying  250  horsepower. 


Papers  on  power  plants  are  often  read, 
particularly  in  Europe,  in  which  great 
weight  is  accorded  to  the  calorimeter 
tests  of  the  steam  produced  by  a  boiler. 
It  is  more  or  less  amusing  to  note  the 
assumption  with  which  the  reader  of  the 
paper  sets  forth  his  figures  of  99.01  per 
cent,  of  dryness  and  the  solemnity  with 
which  his  listeners  sit  and  receive  such 
figures,  and  the  natural  sequel  to  such 
figures  in  the  shape  of  some  grotesque 
efficiency  of  the  boiler  which  never  could 
have  given  such  an  efficiency  of  dry 
steam.  It  is  no  part  of  this  article  to 
throw  doubts  on  the  accuracy  of  cal- 
orimeter instruments.  Doubtless  they  give 
accurate  results  for  the  steam  passed 
through  them,  but  the  crux  of  steam-dry- 
ness  testing  rests  entirely  with  the  sam- 
ple of  steam  tested.  The  calorimeter  tells 
what  water  there  is  in  the  small  sample 
passed  through  it,  but  it  does  not,  nor 
can  it  ever  tell  how  much  water  is  pass- 
ing through  the  main  steam  pipe  from 
which   the  sample   is  taken. 

An  old  steam  engineer  was  recently 
passing  by  a  boiler  which  was  being  tested 
for  the  purpose  of  glorifying  the  particu- 
lar mechanical  stoker  with  which  the 
boiler  was  fitted.  The  calorimeter  test 
was  in  progress.  "Why,"  asked  the  old 
man  of  the  young  experimenter,  "do  you 
take  your  sample  of  steam  from  that  par- 
ticular place?  Why  do  you  not  use  this 
cock  which  is  specially  provided  and 
from  which  these  samples  of  steam  are 
to  be  drawn  ?"  The  reply  of  the  young 
experimenter  was  as  instructive  as  it  was 
ingenious.  "Because,"  said  he,  "the  steam 
came  so  very  wet  at  that  tap  and  here  I 
get  it  dry."  And  does  not  that  reply  give 
away  the  whole  case  for  the  calorimeter 
test? 

From  two  points  on  one  valve  box  or 
casing  there  was  to  be  drawn  steam  wet 
or  dry.  Both  the  samples  could  not 
represent  the  truth  of  the  matter.  The 
test  was  made  of  dry  steam.  Yet  the 
pipe  was  carrying  a.  lot  of  water  and  this 
water  was  going  to  be  counted  unto  the 
mechanical  stoker  for  evaporation.  Granted 
that  the  steam  was  not  so  wet  as  the 
one  point  showed  it  to  be,  it  could  not 
have  been  so  dry  as  the  other  tap  ap- 
peared to  indicate. 

All  manner  of  devices  and  arrange- 
ments are  put  up  with  the  object,  or  pre- 
tense, of  drawing  a  correct  sample.  A 
pipe  is  turned  toward  the  current  of 
steam.  It  is  fitted  with  a  cross  piece  ex- 
tending right  across  the  pipe  and  per- 
forated. An  attempt  is  even  made  to 
draw  steam  through  the  sampling  tube 
at  the  same  velocity  with  which  it  is 
flowing  in  the  main  pipe,  so  that  the  cor- 
rect proportion  of  water  particles  may 
be  taken  along.  If  such  precautionary 
guess  work  is  admitted  desirable,  is  it 
not   convincing  proof  that   such   sampling 


must  be  quite  unreliable?  No  man  can 
possibly  say,  with  the  most  elaborate 
means  of  take  off,  that  the  calorimeter 
is  being  fed  with  steam  of  the  quality 
the  boiler  is  producing.  Why,  therefore, 
should  the  mockery  of  the  test  be  con- 
tinued? It  was  "sprung"  on  the  electrical 
steam  user  as  a  piece  of  refinement  which 
was  demanded  by  modern  conditions,  and 
it  has  clung  on  as  the  obsolete  and  dan- 
gerous vermiform  appendix  has  clung 
to  mankind  for  long  ages  after  he  has 
ceased  to  hibernate  and  require  such  an 
addition.  Indeed  man  today  often  dies 
of  inflammation  caused  by  the  very  nuts 
he  once  stored  in  the  appendix  that  was 
made  for  such  food. 

But  how  can  the  quality  of  steam  be 
really  known  which  a  boiler  is  giving 
forth?  Plainly  and  bluntly  it  cannot  pos- 
sibly be  known  by  any  method  short  of 
testing'  the  whole  output  in  a  suitable  cal- 
orimeter. This  plain  statement  refers 
solely  to  saturated  steam.  All  saturated 
steam  at  a  given  pressure  has  a  given 
temperature,  no  matter  how  wet  or  how 
dry  it  may  be.  The  thermometer  does 
not  help  us,  for  steam  and  water  which 
come  out  of  a  boiler  together  have  no 
temperature  difference.  But  this  very 
fact  is  a  hint  toward  a  certain  elucida- 
tion of  the  problem. 

Given  a  thermometer  in  the  boiler 
steam  space  and  another  one  of  equal 
readings  in  the  steam  pipe,  and  a  super- 
heater in  between,  and  the  two  thermome- 
ters will  give,  not  the  percentage  of  wet- 
ness, but  that  of  dryness,  and  this  dry- 
ness will  always  be  over  100  per  tent.,  or 
at  least  not  less  than  that,  if  any  reliance 
is  to  be  placed  on  the  figures  of  the  test. 
One  thermometer  must  read  a  trifle  above 
the  other,  and  when  it  does  this  it  is  proof 
the  steam  is  dry.  Some  sort  of  a  small 
superheater  is  therefore  necessary  if 
boiler  tests  are  to  be  made  for  figures  on 
which  the  slightest  dependence  is  to  be 
placed.  Not  one  in  all  the  many  pub- 
lished boiler-test  records  is  likely  to  be 
correct  unless  some  slight  superheat  at 
least  has  been  given  to  the  steam..     *" 

The  proceedings  of  the  technical  socie- 
ties teem  with  boiler-test  figures,  books 
have  elaborate  tables  of  test  figures,  and 
conclusions  are  drawn  from  such  figures 
and  theories  advanced  on  no  better  foun- 
dation than  the  baseless  fabric  of  a  vision. 
Boiler-test  figures  may  be  found  show- 
ing very  nearly  90  per  cent,  efficiency  for 
the  boiler  alone,  apart  from  the  help  of 
the  feed  heater.  As  the  conjurer  says 
after  each  of  his  juggling  displays,  "Isn't 
it  marvelous?"  It  is.  Any  engineer  who 
wishes  credence  to  be  lodged  in  his  test 
fi^j;ures  should  endeavor  to  have  his  test 
include  for  the  superheater  also,  and  in 
view  of  the  present  uncertainty  as  to  the 
true  specific  heat  of  steam  he  should  aim 
only  to  get  a  superheat  of  a  few  degrees, 
just  sufficient  to  render  it  certain  that 
there  is  superheat.  Otherwise,  no  one 
who  knows  will  place  any  value  on  the 
figures  of  his  test. 


February  2.  \(jO/j. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENOlNEER. 


Horatio    Allen    and    the    Novelty    Works 

Sketch  of  the  Career  o{  the  Man  Who  Brought  the  Firri  Locomotive 

to    America    and   Bttamt-   the   Head  of    an   Immense   Fji^me  hvi 


BY 


EDWARD 


BUFFET 


It   was  Horatio  Allen   \\\^i  \>m<uv.\\\   im- 
•    locomotive    to    America,    who    acted 
a-  runniiif;-  rngineer  on  the  first  trip,  and 
who  later  grew  to  be  of  the  tirst  magni- 
tude a»  a  builder  of  marine  engines. 
To  understand  how  he  came  to  import 
l«Koniotivc    we    must    look    back    to 
time   when   the    Delaware   &    Hudson 
Canal  Company  was  pioneering  what  has 
since  become  a  tremendous   factor  of  in- 
dustr)',    the    transportation    of    anthracite 
to  tidewater.     At  this  time   Horatio  Allen 
was  a  young  civil  engineer  just  beginning 
•iiakc  his  mark  in  life. 

I-"kom  I-aw  to  Locomoti\ts 
He  was  born  May  to,  \9o2,  in  Schenec- 
tady. N.  Y.  His  father.  Dr.  Benjamin 
Allen,  a  schrn^l  principal,  gave  him  a  good 
•tart  on  the  road  of  learning  and  at 
eighteen  the  Ixiy  graduated  from  Colum- 
bia College  with  high  rank  in  mathe- 
matics. Those  were  days  wlun  none  of 
the  doors  of  a  college  o|K»ed  directly 
upon  technolitgical  walks  of  life,  so  that 
a  young  fellow  who  luid  been  mingling 
on  conmton  fixjting  with  the  rest  of  the 
scholastic  herd  would  have  l>ecn  no  more 
likely  to  have  his  attention  called  to  engi- 
neeriiiK  ^'^  •»  \'x.iIi"M  i'  ■  ' 
be  lik(l>  I"  ^^l.  .  t  tlu  ;. 
wici)  ni;in  a>  a  l«»gicat  sequence  lu  t^iitg 
his  degree. 

It   is  therefore  not   to  lie   wondered  at 
that  Horatio  Allen  at  first  srt  al>out  read- 
ing law,  as  his  later  engine-building  con- 
lcmpr>rary.  Charles  T.   Porter,  and   m.uiy 
Others  h.ivr  doiic,  from  lack  of  reason  !•> 
contrary    if    from    no    niorr    r.iti 'i.tl 
•ive       Hut    it    l<K)k    him   U-".    tnm     tli  in 
il    ilnl    M'      P'Tirr    to     di*co\«r     !ii»     i'  >! 
ad.ipidltu  ^^  .11x1  switch  off  njMir:  •' I   'w:'  • 
k.     So  at   alioul    the   ir 
•■  .vote    he   cnlered   ihe    <  ■    , 
Delaware  &  Hudson  company.    After 
rd   he   <pent    a   ye.c      •    '"       •••-..ti    id 
tapeake   &    Delaw  < 
'   1A15  he 
I    of   ihr 

■:  k         H-    ^ 

John    W 


Miurii.iii   engineer*,   ami    in    p-i" 
Horatio     .MIrn       Though     at 
twenty  hvr-  \' 
that    thrv    n" 

»•> 

for. 

to   the   world   as   technical    leaders.    .Mini      Mr 
threw  up  his  job  in  order  to  go  to  Kng       th* 
land  and  acqiuint  himself  w  ith  what,  he     or<: 
was  convince<l.  would  prove  the  CATryv\^      '; 
power    of    the    future.      But    perhaps    hr 
already   had   the   - 
tlian   appears,    for 
received  a  commi 
the    Delaware   & 
powering   him  to  prt^ 
and   one  or   more   Iw- 

mile    railroad    which    it    was   Iniilding   to     %  h 
connect  its  mines  in  Pennsylvania  with  the     duU^n  >i>t 
canal.     One  locmnotive  the  company  de- 
sired as   a    pattern    for    <>  ^""   "**  " 
a<l(litioful    t-ntrinrs   in   the    I 
as  an  ./• 
wish  t< 
The    Ml- 
three  t»  • 
Mr.    Allen's   pa»- 

mitling  him  to  re:. 

months,  the   whole  n<  ' 


at 


wlM<rl*  and 


e», 
II 


T»* 


.'siiruriiriuc*'    l-»«.'«i 


at 

hi 

sir 

\s< 

>iil<l 

JM 

MM- 

"^•1 

l>.>rt 

on 

imprn\ 

,  _   .  . 

II. 

. .    ... 

Vi»iT  rt%  SrcrtiRMtDK 


■i.il   and   when 

'♦t  on  this   «id«      :  

0'*««T  or   Kxowxxonr    *v   ^' 

i  he  performaiKCS  of  the 

<•   on   tlir     ■       ■  "     ■ 

KngLuid 


256 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  2,  1909. 


of  such  an  engine  in  service  was  only 
4  to  6  miles  an  hour,  and  had  it  jumped 
the  track  at  that  velocity  he  might  have 
stepped  off  upon  the  ties  without  losing 
his  cigar.  However,  he  was  at  the  time 
running  without  load  and  may  have 
speeded  up  the  machine  enough  to  startle 
the  beholders. 

More  than  half  a  century  elapsed  before 
Horatio  Allen  again  visited  the  scene  of 
his  exploit,  which  occasion  was  marked 
with  lively  emotions  at  the  memories  it 
awakened. 

Railroading  in  South  Carolina 
The  month  after  his  epoch-making  run, 
Mr.  Allen  became  chief  engineer  of  the 
South  Carolina  railroad.  It  was  then  in 
question  whether  to  employ  horse  or  loco- 
motive traction  there,  and  his  counsel  in 
favor  of  the  latter  was  unanimously  ac- 
cepted by  the  directors.  As  he  has  stated 
in  his  pamphlet,  "The  Locomotive  Era," 
there  was  no  reason  to  expect  any  ma- 
terial improvement  in  the  breed  of  horses, 
but  in  his  judgment  the  man  was  not  liv- 
ing who  knew  what  breed  of  locomotives 
the  future  was  to  place  at  command. 

By  his  recommendation  the  gage  of  the 
road  was  made  5  feet,  but  a  similar  sug- 
gestion that  he  later  made  to  the  Erie 
road  was  f ejected,  to  the  great  disadvan- 
tage of  modern  heavy  railroading.  A  rail- 
road gage  is  one  of  the  standards  which 
it  seems  impossible  to  change  and  which 
is  snatched  at  by  the  anti-metric  cranks 
as  an  argument  against  changing  any. 

Invention  of  the  Swiveling  Truck 
To  Horatio  Allen  is  due  a  large  share, 
if  not  the  whole  credit,  of  originating 
the  swiveling  truck.  The  light  plates  on 
6xi2-inch  stringers  which  then  served  for 
rails  were  incapable  of  sustaining  a  heavy 
weight,  the  safe  load  on  the  Liverpool  & 
Manchester  railway  being  three  tons,  or 
even  less,  per  pair  of  wheels.  Hence  the 
limitation  of  locomotive  wheels  to  four 
necessitated  the  use  of  light  engines  and 
entailed  correspondingly  heavy  operating 
expense  in  transporting  a  given  quantity 
of  freight.  In  1831,  Mr.  Allen  called  the 
attention  of  the  South  Carolina  railroad 
directors  to  this  difficulty  and  recom- 
mended the  employment  of  more  than 
four  wheels,  with  swiveling  trucks  to  en- 
able the  passage  of  curves.  Consequently 
he  was  empowered  to  place  contracts  with 
the  West  Point  Foundry  for  locomotives 
built  on  that  principle.  The  first  of  these 
was  the  "South  Carolina,"  and  put  in 
operation  early  in  1832.  A  couple  of  years 
later  a  patent  was  granted  to  Ross  Win- 
ans,  of  Baltimore,  for  eight-wheeled  cars 
with  two  trucks.  Some  such  were  built 
or  used  by  the  Newcastle  &  Frenchtown 
Turnpike  and  Railroad  Company  in  defi- 
ance of  Ross'  patent  claim.  This  led 
to  twenty  years'  expensive  litigation, 
virtually  involving  the  interests  of  all  the 
railroads,  and  it  was  not  until  1858  that 
Winans'    patent   was    finally    declared    in- 


valid. During  the  dispute  recourse  was 
had  to  evidence  that  the  double-truck 
principle  had  been  employed  before  the 
patent    date   by    Horatio    Allen. 

The  South  Carolina  railroad  locomo- 
tives of  this  type  were  double-enders,  con- 
sisting-of  two  engines  facing  apart  and 
joined  by  a  firebox  in  the  middle.  Each 
boiler  was  double-barreled  and  rested  on 
a  four-wheeled,  jointed,  swiveling  truck, 
there  being  one  cylinder  to  each  truck. 

John  B.  Jervis  himself  was  another 
pioneer  in  using  the  truck  form  of  con- 
struction and  seems  to  have  been  at  least 
a  close  second.  The  truck  idea  had,  in- 
deed, been  foreshadowed  as  long  ago  as 
1812  in  an  English  patent  to  William  and 
Edward  W.  Chapman. 

After  completion  of  the  South  Caro- 
lina railroad,  Mr.  Allen  was  variously 
occupied.  He  married,  traveled  abroad 
for  two  or  three  years  and  served  as 
principal  assistant  engineer  of  the  Cro- 
ton  aqueduct  under  his  old  chief,  John 
B.   Jervis. 

The  Novelty  Works  and  the  "Novelty" 
Horatio  Allen's  Lchrjaehre  and  IVan- 
dcrjaehre  came  to  a  close  in  1844,  or 
thereabouts,  when  he  entered,  as  one  of 
the  proprietors,  that  famous  engineering 
works  in  New  York  City  with  which  his 
subsequent  career  is  identified.  He  be- 
came a  member  of  the  firm  of  Stillman, 
Stratton  &  Allen,  owners  of  the  "Novelty 
Works." 

About  the  early  part  of  the  thirties, 
Rev.  Dr.  Eliphalet  Nott,  president  of 
Union  College,  Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  who 
had  been  active  in  introducing  anthracite 
for  house  stoves,  invented  a  steam  boiler 
to  run  on  that  fuel  and  decided  to  build  a 
steamboat  in  which  to  make  a  test.  Be- 
sides burning  this  novel  fuel,  he  proposed 
to  install  a  novel  mechanical  equipment 
throughout,  wherefore  the  boat  was  called 
the  "Novelty."  This  name  attached  itself 
to  a  shop  which  he  established  to  do  re- 
pair work,  etc.,  on  the  vessel.  It  con- 
sisted of  a  wharf  and  some  buildings  situ- 
ated in  New  York  City,  on  Burnt  Mill 
point,  so-called,  at  the  foot  of  Twelfth 
street,  East  river.  The  "Novelty"  her- 
self ran  from  New  York  to  Harlem.  The 
Novelty  Works  gradually  extended  its 
attention  to  outside  business,  and  from  an 
equipment  of  a  few  tools  in  a  little  shed, 
grew  to  be  the  biggest  marine-engine 
building  establishment  in  the  country. 

Development  of  the  Works 
In  the  early  days  the  business  was  con- 
ducted by  Nott  &  Co.,  under  superintend- 
ence of  N.  Bliss,  formerly  of  the  West, 
the  foreman  being  Ezra  K.  Dodd,  who 
afterward  was  made  chief  engineer  of  the 
"Novelty."  Later  Thomas  B.  Stillman 
took  charge  of  the  plant  and,  in  1838,  it 
passed  into  the  hands  of  a  firm  includ- 
ing himself,  John  D.  Ward,  Robert  M. 
Stratton  and  C.  St.  John  Seymour. 
Messrs.  Ward  and  Stillman  were  the  me- 


chanical men  of  the  firm.  Among  the 
work  turned  out  were  two  ocean  steam- 
ers, the  "Lion"  and  "Eagle,"  for  the  Span- 
ish government.  Mr.  Ward  retired  from 
the  firm  in  1841  and  Mr.  Seymour  not 
long  afterward,  Mr.  Allen  being  admitted 
about  1844.  Eventually  he  secured  prac- 
tical control  of  the  enterprise  with  the 
financial  aid  of  Brown  Brothers,  bankers, 
Mr.  Stillman  retiring. 

In  1855  the  concern  was  chartered  as  a 
corporation  with  $300,000  cash  capital,  the 
corporate  title,  "Novelty  Iron  Works,  of 
New  York,"  expressing  what  had  from 
the  beginning  been  its  popular  designation. 
Horatio  Allen  became  its  president  and 
dominating   spirit. 

A  Great  Old-time  Engine  Shop 
It  may  be  of  interest  to  summarize  an 
account  of  the  Novelty  Works  given  about 
the  time  of  the  war,  in  order  to  estimate 
how  progress  in  similar  plants  has  been 
made  between  that  period  and  the  era 
of  West  Allis  and  East  Pittsburg. 

Near  the  entrance  gate,  with  its  porter's 
lodge  and  offices,  was  a  large  crane  for 
handling  shafts,  cylinders,  boilers,  vacuum 
pans  and  other  ponderous  pieces  of  ma- 
chinery. To  the  left  was  the  iron  foun- 
dry, 206x80  feet,  with  a  wing.  It  con- 
tained four  cupola  furnaces  capable  of 
melting  at  one  heat  65  tons  of  iron,  which, 
could  be  cast  into  one  mold.  There  was 
also  another  furnace.  The  foundry  blast 
was  led  through  an  underground  pipe  of 
5  square  feet  sectional  area.  Some  of  the 
foundry  cranes  were  as  strong  as  20  tons 
load.  Here  were  made  the  bedplates  for 
the  steamship  "Atlantic,"  weighing  2iT 
tons,  and  for  the  "Arctic,"  60  tons.  In 
the  summer  of  1854  there  was  cast  the 
cylinder  of  the  steamer  "Metropolis,"  of 
the  Fall  River  line,  having  a  diameter  of 
105  inches  and  a  length  of  14  feet,  with 
12  feet  stroke  of  piston.  Twenty-two 
people  sat  down  to  lunch  in  the  cylinder, 
with  room  to  spare,  and  a  horse  and 
chaise  were  driven   through   it. 

The  smiths'  shop  was  equipped  with 
thirty  forges,  hammers  and  some  cranes- 
of  large  capacity,  evidently  of  gib  type. 
In  one  case  a  piece  of  iron  weighing  14,366 
pounds  had  been  forged  and  handled. 
There  were  also  machine  and  finishing- 
shops,  two  boiler  shops,  etc.,  each  with 
its  approprijjte  machinery. 

The  whole  establishment  was  divided 
into  twenty  departments,  each  having  its 
foreman,  viz. : 

Iron  founders,  brass  founders,  machin- 
ists, boilermakers,  carpenters,  copper- 
smiths, blacksmiths,  metallic  lifeboat  build- 
ers, instrument  makers,  hose  and  belt 
makers,  painters,  masons,  riggers,  labor- 
ers, cartmen,  watchmen,  storekeepers, 
patternmakers,  draftsmen  and  clerks.  .\\\ 
told,  an  average  number  of  more  than 
1000  men  were  employed,  and  the  work 
turned  out  amounted  to  some  $1,330,000  a 
year.  At  one  time  over  1500  men  were 
employed    and    owing    to    the    scarcity   of 


February  2,  1909. 

labor  Mr.  Allen  went  to  Europe  to  obtain 
hands.  The  works  fKcupicd  nearly  two 
blocks  and  included  two  slip>>  sulticient  in 
size  for  the  largest  >teain  vessels.  Ma- 
chinery for  many  of  the  old  Collins  line 
and  Pacitic  Mail  steamships  were  built 
''"■re.     In   addition   to  marine    work   iha 

iipany  turned  out  a  varied  line  of  me- 
ciianical  products,  such  as  stationary  en- 
gines, pumps,  sugar  machinery,  vtram  fire 

jines,  and  hydraulic  presses. 


I'OWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

incr«rt<rd    pre^rnre    the    ff.n,„n'u-i]    t,,m»      « ;?!■  w.m,  ;nir»r.t. 


47 


p.-4n«ii>ii   IS   tnon 

p,ir.....i,    r....,n. 

aini    Mr     i>\ 
comparalivr 

St. 
tf, 
If 


Ithrrwoot! 


.\llex'.s  En'gineerixc  Faith  an 
Praitice 

Horatio   Allen    wa>»   a    firm   l>eltever   in 
illatmij-cylinder    engincM    a>    compared 
:i  Ix-am  engines  for  sidewheelcr».     He 
>ie  a  pamphlet,  1H67,  claiming  for  them 
Miperiority  ui  compactness,  ligiitncss,  sim- 
plicity   and     application     of     power.      .\n 

lijective  jMjmt"  (to  Imrrow  a  term  from 
<  rtain  Mrs.  Malaprcip  of  our  acquamt- 
ance)  seems  to  have  resided  in  the  valve 
mechanism.  An  experimental  valve  gear 
which  Mr.  .Mien  applied  to  the  engmes 
of  the  "Adriatic"  caused  so  much  trouble 
that  it  had  to  be  taken  out.  it  employed 
brge  conical-plug  valves  with  a  device  for 
nftiiig  them  to  be  turne<l,  so  as  to  pre- 
vent their  jamming.  It  would  probably  be 
indulging  in  unwarrantable  panegyric  to  de- 
scribe .Mr.  .\llen  as  a  great  inveiiicir  But 
he  l»elKvcd  in  him>elf  and  he  di»lM  luved 
in  Sickels,  of  whom  lie  considered  hiiiiM-lf 
a  standing  rival,  and  whose  cutoff,  C.  V. 
Porter  says,  he  would  never  allow  to  be 
applied  at  the  Novelty  Iron  Works.  The 
same  authority  tells  us,  however,  that  Mr. 
Allen,  in  his  later  year.s,  when  judging  at 
the  Centennial,  unite*!  in  an  award  to 
Sickels  with  an  e.xpression  of  cordial  ad- 
miration. 

At  the  time  of  the  war  the  Novelty 
woiks  built  engines  for  several  ve^scU 
of  the  Federal  navy,  including  the  duuble- 
turreted  monitor  "Mianlonomah." 

From  this  period  dated  a  long  con- 
troversy in  the  navy  upon  the  economy  in 
using  steam  expanse  ely.  Chief  H.  F. 
lsherwo<xl,  of  the  Bureau  of  .*^i< 
neering.  and  others,  atUocatcl 
pressures  with  nnM|cr.iie  ratio's  ..i  «  xpjn- 
•ion.  while  their  opintnents.  iiulu'lmg  E. 
N    DickerMMi.  advise<l  high  prr»Mu<  %  and 

high   expansive  ratios.     The   d ■     ••• 

came  so  animated  that  a  commi 

formed    under    (iovernment    ati-j.      >     f 

nuke    tests   an«l,    if   po«>ililr.    .iti«\\<r    the 

queslififi.     Thc^r  rxperiinrni 

on   at    the    Noxrity    work^, 

direction   of    Mr      Mien,    wt 

high  rxp.insion   party,  but    w 

jndginrtK   .Intnl.-  the  trials 

The«r     iii\  r>nt;.iiion«     lasted     ««    niaii> 
years  that  the  world  grew  wr.ir\      i 
'"?    for   the   results   and   tlie   (i..\- 
•I  of  paying  for  them.     It  *« 
points    .11    issue    were    not    .1  i 
led  and  the  result*  did  ii"t  lt.    • 

■-    the   rxif' 

r  data  coll 


failed. 


Ncvs       I  .:  ,  t    tu<    (he 


The  CuMiJiri;  \t\us 


KngiiieerinK  work  flourished  durin. 
war   and  the    No. 
>erv    hnsv       B-it 


and   since  the  machinery  built 
sort    that    often    rixmr  il    .•    .. 
time  to  complete.  ' 
penscs  to  exceed  inr  • 
contracts.     In  later  y< 

■    ■•       the      . 


\' 


ened. 

grow  in...  the  real   ■ 

by    the 

All   lhi>  . 

u  ind  u|>  till 

ItiNloric      t•^: 

<  si>ience. 

Mr.  Allen  survived  the  « 
years.     Hit°  death  occurred 
hours  of  the  close  of  the  nii;ui  <ir..,.ir  .>i 
the  century,  at  his  hrnne  near  South  Or- 
ange. N.  J. 

Horatio  .Mien  made  a  ynr>rf^  «f  inven- 
tions,   from    iK4t 
them   rrln'int:  t., 
k" 
the 

in  methods  of  tcmching  a 
constructed  a  number  of  ii 
the  purpose,     lie   «rat  the  '   an 

eirr  '        • 


1  oi  a  fr»—  ol 


m  tW 


I"" 
ink' 
Panama   rail 

I.'.. It     n, 


Novrh* 


X"'    •• 


m 


tni     «<•'.  X  I 


*.^'Dti    mmm 


2^S 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


Fclnuar.v  2,   iyo9. 


The  Alinement  of  New    and  Re- 
alinement  of  Old  Shafting 


Bv  James  Lomas 


While  discussing  this  subject  with  a 
friend  of  exceptional  experience,  he  ven- 
tured the  astounding  remark  that  it  would 
be  impossible  to  find  a  line  of  shafting  in 
any  mill  or  works  in  approximately  true 
alinement.  There  is  undoubtedly  much 
truth   in   his  statement. 

The  importance  of  shafting  being  cor- 
rect in  its  position,  that  is,  level  in  its 
bearings  and  in  a  perfectly  straight  line 
sidewise  the  whole  length,  cannot  be  over- 
estimated. Those  persons  of  experience 
who  have  had  to  deal  with  the  faults  and 
follies  of  incorrect  and  badly  executed 
Avork,  know  well  the  extra  cost  of  main- 
tenance requisite  to  keep  a  mill  or  works 
in  constant  operation ;  overtime  for  the 
cngineer-in-charge  ;  occasional  stoppage  of 
the  machinery  through  needless  friction  in 
the  bearings ;  wheels,  pulleys  and  coup- 
lings loosening  daily,  and  breaking;  extra 
cost  of  fuel  and  labor  in  the  fire  room ; 
extra  wear  and  tear  of  the  engines,  etc. 
These  are  only  some  of  the  troubles  at- 
tributable to  shafting  not  being  in  aline- 
ment. 

The    causes    of    all    these    troubles    are 
manifold.      On   new   work   the   system    of 
electing  generally  carried  out  is   unques- 
tionably faulty ;  and  such  faults  may  arise 
from   many   sources,   such   as  the  settling 
of    the    foundations    of   the   building,    the 
warping  or  twisting  of  the  floors   where 
wood  beams   have  been   used,   the  distor- 
tion  in    structural    steel    and    iron    work ; 
find  where  fireproof  floors  are  constructed 
cither   of   brick,   concrete   or   similar   ma- 
terial and   the   shafting   is   erected   before 
the  floors  are  thoroughly  set  and  dry  (and 
this  usually  takes  considerable  time),  the 
result   of   the   millwright's    labor   will   be 
unsatisfactory.     As    soon    as    a    mill     or 
workshop  building  is  sufficiently  advanced 
in   construction   to   enable   the   millwright 
to  fix  the  hangers  or  brackets  he  is  gener- 
ally told. to  do  so.     Often  this  occurs  be- 
fore the  windows  are  in  their  places.    The 
reason   for  doing  this  is  because  there  is 
much  to  be  saved  in  cost  of  erection.    The 
room   is   clear   of    obstructions    and    this 
simplifies  the   work  very  much ;   scafi^old- 
ing  is  often  at  hand  and  there  are  many 
rither   conveniences   which   help  the   work 
forward.     This   method,  of  course,   suits 
the    workman,    the     contractor    and     the 
f-wner,  and  on  first  sight  appears  strictly 
economical,  as  it  gives  a  quickly  executed 
and  cheap  job.     But  after  giving  the  mat- 
ter   fair   consideration    it    will    readily   be 
found  to  be  false  economy  and  an  increas- 
ing extra  expenditure    will    be    requisite 
until  the  work  is  remedied.    To  illustrate 
this  refer  to  Fig.  I,  where  A  A  shows  a 
line    of    shafting    attached    underneath    a 
floor,    above    which    a   quantity   of   heavy 
machinery  is  being  installed.   The  weight  of 


;'-iC  machinery  has  distorted  the  floor;  the 
shafting,  of  course,  is  out  of  alinement,  no 
matter  how  carefully  the  work  was  done 
before  the  heavy  machiner}'  was  placed  in 
position.     . 

The  same  thing  occurs  if  a  line  of  shaft- 
ing is  carried  on  a  ground  floor  through 
floor  stands  or  pillow  blocks,  as  the  floor 
or  foundation  is  almost  sure  to  settle. 
Luckily,  the  remedy  is  simple  if  those  who 
are  responsible  can  be  led  to  see  it.  The 
logical  system  to  adopt  is  to  allow  the 
mill  to  be  finished  and  the  shafting  erected 
before  the  machinery  is  fixed.  Then  a 
short  time  before  the  machinery  is  put  in 
operation  realine  the  shafting  and  make 
all  the  bolts,  etc.,  secure ;  the  shafting  is 
much  more  likely  to  run  under  better 
conditions  and  for  a  longer  period  without 
attention  except  the  usual  oiling  and 
cleaning,  etc. 

Of  course,  tnany  people  will  be  tempted 


Fig.  2-7  its  simplicity  will  1)C  apparent,  and 
the  cost  of  putting  mill  shafting  in  order 
will  be  a  mere  fraction  compared  to  the 
advantage  gained.  Let  mill  owners  think 
for  one  moment  of  the  continual  loss  oc- 
curring through  the  defective  condition  of 
their  mill  shafting,  that  has  probably  been 
working  for  years  without  any  attention 
further  than  the  usual  oiling.  As  long  as 
the  motive  power  is  sufficient  to  move  tlic 
shafting  around  it  is  not  considered 
necessary  to  do  anything  more  until  sud- 
denly there  is  a  smash  and  everything  is 
stopped,  sometimes  for  days.  Yet  to  rem- 
edy all  this  is  such  an  extremely  simple 
matter  to  the  practical  man,  as  will  be 
seen  by  again  referring  to  Fig.  2-/,  and 
the  benefits  to  be  derived  therefrom  need 
not  be  further  commented  on.  The  work 
of  realining  may  be  done  when  the  mill 
is  stopped  for  a  holiday  or  at  a  week-end, 
and    little    or    no    inconvenience    need    be 


/////////////////////////////////////////////////// 


FIG.  6 

DEVICES   FOR    ALINING   SHAFTING 


j/  FIG. 
Wroug  Way  to  Tlace  Level 


FIG.  7 


to  think  this  system  entails  a  lot  of  un- 
necessary labor,  but  if  they  will  reason 
the  matter  out  and  place  the  work  in 
skilled  hands,  1  venture  to  say  they  will 
be  well  satisfied  with  the  result,  as  they 
^\ill  unmistakably  save  money. 

Let  anyone  take  the  trouble  to  test  a 
line  of  shafting  erected  under  the  first - 
named  conditions,  wiieii  the  shafting  has 
been  at  work  three  months,  and  he  will 
require  no  further  confirmation  that  tlie 
.system  is  entirely  wrong.  However,  under 
any  circumstances  it  is  necessary  to  have 
a  second  alinement  to  obtain  the  best  re- 
sults, and  if  strict  economy  is  to  be  con- 
sidered a  periodical  alinement  should  be 
made,  say,  every  twelve  months.  Of 
course,  the  bearings  should  be  under  con- 
stant exainination. 

If  the  reader  will  study  the  method  of 
the  realinement  of  old  shafting  shown  in 


suffered  liy  anyone.  I  have  undertaken 
many  such  jobs  and  in  no  case  has  it  taken 
more  than  two  week-ends  to  complete  a 
fairly  large  job.  It  has  been  found  that 
the  shafting  lias  been  frequently  out  of 
level  from  '/'  inch  to  2  inches.  In  one 
case,  that  of  a  new  mill  with  the  sliafting 
erected  \)y  one  of  the  best  known  firms 
in  tiie  country,  the  shafts  were  2J/2  inches 
diameter  and  tlie  distortion  was  owing  to 
the  steel  l)eams  that  the  hangers  were 
attached  to  and  which  were  imbedded  in  a 
fireproof  ceiling;  the  floor  above  was  cov- 
ered with  heavy  machinery.  The  irregu- 
lar torsional  strain  on  the  shafting  was  the 
cause  of  about  a  dozen  ends  of  shafts 
twisting  ofi^  and  the  split  muff  couplings 
were  con.stantly  coming  loose.  This  went 
(\n  until  tlie  wliole  of  the  shafting  had 
been  realincd,  altliough  the  mill  had  not 
been    at    work    more   than   twelve  months. 


I"ebriiar>   2.  lyoy. 

Where   the    shafting   is   carried   in   atl- 

-ial#t;  bearings  the  levehnK  i>  a   simple 

Iter,    but    where    nunadjiistable    iittiinjs 

in   use  the   work  is  much   mure   ilith- 

It,  still  not  so  much  so  but  that  intelli- 

it  workmen  can  deal  with  it.     The  best 

<-  to  use  for  the  purpose  is  piano  wire 

ich,   when    used   as   shown    in    Fig.   3, 

^.'ivcs   very   little   deflection   or   sag.     The 

next  best  is  the  strongest  line  procurable, 

•   fairly  fine. 

ilow    TO    EkElT   AXD   AUXE    ShaFTIXC 

I  laving    determined     the     position     an<l 

>(■  i*f  hanger,  wall  bracket,  pillar  bracket 

pillow  bliK'k  to  be  used,  tit  the  two  end 

i'l-irings  in  position.     Next  secure  the  line 

short  a  distance  as  possible  beyond  the 

I  of  each  In-aring.    The  usual  method  of 
doing   is   by   driving   a    spike   into   the 

II  <jr  other  convenient  place      The  line 
arrieil  through  the  end  beari-  ! 

;t    and    ma«le    secure.      This    i 
ry     unsatisfactory,    inasmuch    as    in»m 
'ious  reasons  considerable  deflection  or 
.;  occurs ;  consequently,  the  line  requires 
lie  repeatedly  tightened.     A  much  bel- 

indhiMl  is  shown  in  Fig.  3;  a  bracket 
li  |»ullcy  is  fixed  at  each  end  0/  the 
.ft  line  and  the  line  placed  through  the 
1  liearings.  A  weight  is  fastened  to 
i»  end  of  the  line  (see  Imks.  i  and  j). 
lis  the  line  is  kept  taut  without  further 

tbie 

\t  this  stage  it  will  lie  necessary  to  get 

line    level    from   end    to   end.   having 

ced  in  each  en<I  bearing  a  strip  or  float. 


IHjWEk  AND  THE  1 

be  carried  by  a  coH  s'faeVff  »«  crt'' 
<snd  hung  from  '.'■ 
or  a  temprimry    ' 
6-/-.  wl 

der  the  

leveled  the   straight-edge, 
tixed    hangers    ^<    •'    •    •' 
p;irallel  to  the  st- 
ing made  that  secur< 
m  the  cord  //.  Fig  6. 

lalion   will    »how    the   rclalnc   pi>»titua  «*< 
the  central  hanger  f\] 

Next,    tix    the 
allowance    for   lb< 

line;   having  made    this    wcurr    place    a     eif 
wo«m1  center  as  per  Fh-    •»  '     "<  »'>•-  •••■■'       '• 
die  of  this  center  be.r 

rord  line.     There  will  wn  n   i«  .  .1 

fieflectmn   on   the  cord   line  in 


JM 


•  il  .-f  wafer      See   I  i« 


^-id  i:^ 


l«krm 


''ha  Ming 


may    then   1. 
•iecurc.      Ma 
position  the 
in    the    J«< 
their   i- 

made   t^. k    ....    .  >«..• 

caps  on  the  bearings,  etc. 

be    revolved    to   injure    il 

placed  in  the  hearings  l>el- 

is   dime.      1  ' 

rrlnV'*'-    r*ii 

ar    ' 

si 

the  bearings,  as  there 
tion  in  the  shaft,  and  11  :. 
.  I    the   ( enter   betwrrn   tb' 


The 


Heating  Power  ol  Sicabi  CoJt 


:3ee::5 

[.Vil'lVzi: 



IW     .->5--_l 

s:::s::^;:±: 

lalllKlI 

I!Z"!::.kZ  I 

. 

:::i5i: 

i:^:i:^si.s 

1  il 

"i.sii.s:. 

,                                                        * 

"• ::  s : : : : . 

s:::-!;::!Z 

3s 

^ 

1—  _.k„ 

_!::::'5:: 

J          * 

i»  -f- '  5 — 

I-fc  —  -511    . 

KT      w 

..    ^lii: 

:::'s::::;s  : 

3!s--i;; 

!  _-_  4 

!fc 5j 

S*--"   ■ 

5;::::-s::  :! 

_:i. !  h  j^!: 

- 

::.:5::::-?2^, 

::::::  i :::! < 

.,_  — 

"i"iiiii.;!i  u 

::::::::::!! S 

fc" 

.     n»     .      .     .       _    .    _    . 

i  .  :r:::: 

::::::::  33r 

"  .  -r"-- 



:::::j 

-> 

«•«•■»           !<• 

«           IJW            •••           !■■ 

!«•          WM 

Vatoclii  •!  Air  UfOTfb  C«tU 


' 

i* 

l>. 

•  1, 

I" 
J 

i 

„ 

«• 

■»<■* 

m  Mm  mt 

cvwrt*  f^Homm*.  tsrwct  or  itcam  con 


nade  as  per  Fig   4.  and  Mrureil  the  hear-    r rector     will     be     mule4      Srr 
hiRs  *«i  as  to  |io!«|  the  sin; 

central  lifir  m:irfced  /;  on  i  •    w»»rti   •»••  *»" 

to   the    '  !   or    wire  t    tint    t.;. 

of  the  I-  ^      .re  t-.  !•.       -   !  '  . 

•ceed  to  fix  the  «tr 

'  of  which  must  be  .  ^.■ 

•>ce    between    the    emi 

ml    i«    vrr  "  .III,    i>f    I  • 

unequal  iween  rh' 


■  •1  I 


«.«i  iW     «rl>>^ 


26o 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGINEER. 


February  2.  1909. 


area.  Manifestly  the  higher  the  velocity 
the  more  rapid  will  be  the  rate  of  trans- 
mission ;  hence  the  primary  advantage  of 
the  blower  system  of  heating  under  which 
the  air  is  compelled  to  pass  rapidly  across 
the  surface  of  exposed  steam  pipes. 

The  ultimate  temperature  given  to  the 
air  passing  across  a  stack  of  steam  coils 
must  depend  not  only  on  the  steam  pres- 
sure, but  on  the  initial  temperature  of  the 
air  and  above  all  on  the  arrangement  of 
the  pipes.  The  less  the  depth  of  the 
heater  or  the  distance  across  which  the 
air  passes  the  greater  will  be  the  con- 
densation per  unit  of  surface,  but  the  less 
will  the  temperature  of  the  air  be  in- 
creased.    Intensity  of  temperature  with  a 


Scale  and  Table,  Giving  Epuivalent 
Graduations  of  the  Fahrenheit 
and  Centigrade  Thermo- 
meters* 


By  M.  T.  H.wd 

The  accompanying  scales  and  chart  are 
intended  to  give  at  a  glance,  without  any 
calculation,  the  equivalents  between  any 
degree  or  tenths  of  a  degree  of  the  Centi- 
grade and  Fahrenheit  thermometers.  In 
the  center  of  the  chart  is  shown  a  double 
scale  divided  into  degrees  and  tenths  of 
a   degree.     The  scale  on  the-  right  is  the 


the  corresponding  equivalents  of  the  Cen- 
tigrade  scale.  * 

In  order  to  make  the  chart  symmetri- 
cal and  easy  to  read  a  scale  of  45^  inches 
for  9  degrees  Fahrenheit  was  used  and 
then  doubled.  The  reproduction  is  on  a 
reduced  scale,  of  course.  Instead  of  ex- 
tending this  scale  in  a  vertical  line,  the 
recurring  points  on  each  scale  have  been 
placed  on  a  horizontal  line,  i.e.,  the  point 
showing  9  degrees  above  freezing  on  the 
Fahrenheit  scale  or  41  degrees  Fahren- 
heit actual  reading,  has  on  the  scale  as 
laid  out  the  same  relative  position  as  59 
degrees  Fahrenheit,  Tj  degrees  Fahren- 
heit, 95  degrees  Fahrenheit,  etc.  Also  5 
degrees  Centigrade  has  the  same  relative 


»«  890  S8S  876  269  iSO 


2afi  ^  SL8  26g  ^ 


249  2S8  2g9|219 


24g  28S  ffig  218208  198 


m  160 159  149  IM  12?  LIS 


ItOlSIJIZUU'liOi 


II  I  J 


I.  Iltl 


V    z    a  £i  7  5 

440  464lk32  500518  536 


£  v  e 

4  572  54)60! 


»1  nt  282  272  262 


223  213203193 


222gl2g08|192 


1721621152142 


0     V    ^    f     5y/JaZVXWVUT8RQF.\MLiiJlI 

Ceutigrade 


G    F   E   D  C    B  A 


A    B   C     D     £     F     C 


H     J     K     L     M    .\     P     U     R     S     T     U     V     \V    S 
Fahrenheit 


Copjrigbt,  1908, 


e    ^  V  0 

hj  M.T.  Hani 


SCALE   AND  TABLE  GIVING  EQUIVALENT    GRADUATIONS   OF   THE    FAHRENHEIT   AND   CENTIGRADE  THERMOMETERS 


given  steam  pressure  can  only  be  obtained 
by  depth  of  heater. 

These  relations  are  not  generally  known 
with  exactness  except  by  those  directly 
interested  in  the  manufacture  and  in- 
stallation of  such  apparatus.  Special  inter- 
est, therefore,  attaches  to  the  accompany- 
ing curves  from  the  catalog  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Fan  Company,  Watertown,  Mass. 
Without  going  into  details  of  construc- 
tion or  conditions  these  suffice  to  show- 
that  minimum  velocity  and  maximum 
depth  of  heater  are  essential  to  intensity 
of  temperature.  Between  these  extremes 
lies  average  practice  with  heater  depths 
ranging  from  four  to  six  sections  (i6  to 
24  pipes)  and  velocity  from  1200  to  1800 
feet  per  minute. 


Fahrenheit  thermometer  scale  and  that  on 
the  left  is  the  Centigrade  thermometer 
scale.  It  will  be  noted  that  from  the 
graduations  of  the  Fahrenheit  and  Centi- 
grade scales  each  portion  of  the  Fahren- 
heit scale,  advancing  by  9  degrees  from 
the  freezing  point',  has  a  coincident  por- 
tion of  the  Centigrade  scale  advancing  by 
5  degrees.  The  chart  is  based  on  this 
duplication  of  scale.  It  is  necessary,  there- 
fore, only  to  lay  out  to  any  scale  nine 
equal  divisions,  subdivided  into  tenths  if 
desired,  using  this  as  the  Fahrenheit 
scale,  and  then  dividing  the  space  on  the 
other  side  of  the  vertical  into  five  equal 
divisions,  subdivided  into  tenths,  to  have 


♦Copyright,    1908,   by   M.   T.    Hand. 


position  as  15  degrees  Centigrade,  25  de- 
grees Centigrade,  35  degrees  Centigrade, 
To  use  this  chart  the  whole  degrees  of 
either  the  Fahrenheit  or  Centigrade  ther- 
mometers are  found  opposite  each  other  in 
corresponding  columns  on  either  side  of 
the  scales.  For  example,  185  degrees 
Fahrenheit,  which  is  found  in  column  / 
of  the  right-hand  side,  has  its  equivalent 
in  column  /  of  the  left-hand  side  directly 
opposite,  namely,  85  degrees  Centigrade. 
For  tenths  of  a  degree  of  either  ther- 
mometer the  corresponding  tenths  of  the 
other  thermometer  are  read  directly  from 
the  scale,  i.e.,  if  the  example  had  been  to 
find  the  Centigrade  equivalent  to  185.5  ^^' 
grees  Fahrenheit,  the  whole  degrees  would 
have  been  read  as  .stated  from  the  chart. 


February  2,  1909. 

while  the  graduation  of  the  right  or 
Fahrenheit  side  of  the  scale,  five  divisiMrr, 
above  the  horizontal  line  marked  1H5  de- 
grees Fahrenheit,  is  at  once  seen  to  be 
opp<j!«ite  the  graduation  equivalent  to  a28 
degree  on  the  Centigrade  scale.  There- 
fore, 185.5  degrees  Fahrenheit  equals 
85.28  degrees  Centigrade.  To  familiarize 
the  reader  with  this  process  several  ex 
amples  and  answers  are  given  below  : 

Examples 

Change  296.8  degrees  Fahrenheit  to 
'"rntigrade:     296    degrees    Fahrenheit    is 

ind  in  the  right-hand  chart  column  Q. 
iti  the  left-h^d  chart  column  Q,  and 
nearest  the  horizontal  line  opposite,  is 
found  147  degrees  Centigrade,  while  on 
the  scale  on  the  left-hand  side  and  across 
from  the  graduation  corresponding  to  0.8 
degree  Fahrenheit  above  the  horizontal 
line  marked  296  degrees  Fahrenheit  is 
found  the  graduation  to  give  o.li  degree 
Centigrade.  The  total  result  is.  therefore, 
296.8  <Iegrecs  Fahrenheit  equals  I47"  de- 
grees Centigracle. 

Change  200.3  «legrees  Centigrade  to  its 
equivalent  Fahrenheit  reading :  200  de- 
grees Centigrade  is  found  in  the  left-hand 
chart  column  /'.  In  the  right-hand  chart 
column  ",  on  the  horizf)ntaI  line  opposite, 
is  found  .192  degrees  Fahrenheit.  As  the 
top  of  the  scale  has  been  reached,  return 
to  the  bottom  for  the  fraction  of  a  de- 
gree above  200  degrees  Centigrade,  and 
accordingly  across  from  the  graduation 
Correspon<linK  to  0.3  degree  Centigr.ide 
at  the  extreme  Iwttom  of  the  scale  is 
found  the  Fahrenheit  scale  graduation  0^4 
degree  Fahrenheit.  Therefore.  200J  de- 
grees Centigrade  is  equal  to  .^-^.54  de- 
grees  Fahrenheit. •• 

Change  4115  degrees  Fahrenheit  to 
Centigratle:  411  degrees  Fahrenheit  is 
found  in  rolirtnn  A'  on  the  right-hand 
chart.  In  the  left-hand  chart  column  A' 
it  foun<l  211  «legrre>.  Centigrade  on  the 
horizontal  line  nearest  op|...Mtr  the  hori- 
zontal line  indicating  411  degr*- 
heit.  but  thi*  line  is  aliove  the  1 
reading  it  is  desired  to  tran'*|>oHe.  It  i», 
••"•refore.  evident  that  the  whole  degree* 

iitigrade  corresponding  to  411   degrees 

hrenheit  is  not  211  degrees  Centigrade, 

t    210   degrees    Centigrade.      Then    read 

the  fractional  part  of  the  Fahrenheit  lem- 

prrrttitrr  fltrrrtly   across   from  the  05  de- 

iiheit     scale     a»     oKj     degree 

Therefore,     4"  5     «•<•«'«'«■♦ 

lirrnheit     i»     equal     to     aioK.I    degrees 
•  ntigradr  t 


of 

R' 
9^ 
Y- 
«•• 

r 
a*' 

f>f 
I- 
I' 
or 
e<  ■ 


In     rrftillnr    fr-tn     Hi" 


VmUfFuUrU,    '-^ 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

A    little    practice    will    enable    one    to 

!!!::;• 'iutely  make  the^c  transpotiiiun* 
ir.iii  ..nc  thcrmocneter  rradiiig  i>j  the 
other. 


A    "Valveloa"  Engine 

I'.v    W    H    UoUTM 

A  novelty  m  engine  work  appeared  at 
the  Olympia  exhibition  of  f>...»..f  .  ar»  m 
London  recently.     It  wa>  '  aa  a 

valveless  engine  and  was  oi  i  tm.  n  origin. 
Actually,  however,  it  was  not  a  valveless 
engine,   but   was  a  curiuti-  1  >n   of 

the    slide    valvr     with     nv  r.     of 

which    one 
particular 

practicable  by  reason  oi  the  p<-' 
bemg  smgle-acting  with  an  , 
cylinder.  Conceive  of  a  cylmder  with  a 
bore  about  >^  inch  larger  than  the  piston, 
leaving  an  annular  space  between  the 
cylin<ler  and  piston  of  '4  or  5/16  of  an 
inch.  Into  the  closed  end  of  the  cylmder 
projects  the  cover,  the  projecimg  boss 
being  of  the  same  diameter  as  the  piston. 
so  that  there  is  a  deep  annular  space 
around  the  projecting  boss. 

In  the   cylinder,    titling  closely   one  in- 
side the  other  an  easy  working  fit.  are  a 
pair   of   ground   cylindrical    shells   longer 
than  the  cylinder  and  of  such  a  thickness 
that    while    the    smaller    one     tits     nicely 
within  the  larger,  the  former  act*  as  the 
cylinder  for  the  pi»tt»n  and  ihr  largrr  one 
slides    nicely    inside    the 
The  smaller  shell  project  %  ; 
the  open  end  of  the  cylinder  an 
it   a   pin   attachment    for   a   pn 
rod.    The  larger  shell  is  a  little  short  and 
has  a   simibr   attachment      The  tw'>    "•■ 
caused  to  work  up  and  down  by  ecrr 
on   a    shaft   driven   from    ^'        '      '     mui* 
of  a  1:2  chain  gear,  so  a»  "  t)tto 

cycle  of  a  I" 
jm   into  t! 


cylinder   has   an   inM   prtrt 
hallway  around  it,  a  ' 
projection,   and    an   ^ 
tame  level  nearly  halt 
side  of  the  cylinder.      •  .■■ 
similar  ports,  also  at  the 
tl  '    •'  • 


irfr 


t» 
o|»erali«>ns 


vt.  compf 

i»>     llir 


4    !! 
9     * 


thr    sit 


ifirw     4..r     k^kt. 


"*-^^ft4 


"  '-<  math 

'  last  word 

in  jx-'f-'i  rT^if»<%  mnh  !»_  \l^a%  aad  tlw 
long  rvhbum  *fr1*cr%  and  it  is  arild— id 
bccattsc  it  'Kit  the 

So   far   .  -i    a/r 

today  that  prsclicaUy  ihrrr  were  hot  twt> 
innusaliofw.  m  jTl  »!.j!  xtr^'.   .-,.*.»    ..rwr 
bu  year, 
lent  and  tl  • 
lion  of  the 

engine    of    thr     «i  nitr    tir^tti    \  »f         1  f.r    <r. 

ginr.   which  is  coopoond.  has  thr  c^lm 
drrs  brought  very  dose  tagnK<^ 
Ihrrr  ••  a  Mill.  *h*wt  crank  sh.. 

of     the    rx&«fi4rK«^ 

•S«-  j."i  jrar     TWrr 

■  big  tlKMr 

aad   ihr 

I  •    steain    cars.     Thit     t% 

tlu  It  dor«  ml  M«ai  a  g'f  At 

number  as  a  Man  for  ibr  rsmtwal  »a 
prrmacy  of  the  Mcbm  car  vIhcIi  ■■ny. 
not  without  good  WMUit  bclsrv*  ««■ 
occur  Bat  it  will  need  10  ■»««  qmmkif. 
for  mn4nnn«  is  »"*.  I  briirve.  so  ftnnly 
(*'  direct iufis  as  wmm 

ff  'g^ij  a  iasliy  haas- 

r>e«s.  :■  -hhy.  aad  «<rry 

little    t;  .      ^  <•    ififr  t»«i    of 

the  an  of  flying,  as  *' 
\V right  brothers.  nia>   .». 
the    last    new    thing   m   iK 
flying.      Flying   is  an   amimpii%om    i*."t. 
and  nothing  is  Idnfy  lo  pwal  a  wry 
'■■  advance  daring  thr  nrai  t«« 

'   w>d 

p-  '   htitr  mnre  nth,  it  to  aorlk 

J  -iir  t'^  i  t  'c^.  «r<*^>1  MMaof  car 


pii«r«       It    may     br 
•  •Kild  prrfcf  the  woni  .invrr^wr     i' 
a    ronnrctmn.    hot    it    wdl    not    he 
g..  <f  ai 


tlw 


the  habkj  nt  tbr 


1    k» 
Im 


to    hui 


W'lK^I     "^ 


Iktslor 


26i 


POWER 

Jt-THE  Engineer 

DEVOTLD  TO    THE   GENERATION    AND 
TRANSMISSION   OF  POWER 

Issued  Weekly  by  the 

Hill  Publishing  Company 

JoBX  A.  Hill,  Pres.  and  Treas.         Kobebt  McKean,  8ec'y. 

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Correspondence  suitable  for  the  columns  of 
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Entered  as  second  class  matter,  April  2,  1908,  at 
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Cable  address,  "'Powpub,"  N. 
Business  Telegraph  Code. 


Y. 


rlRCULA  TTOX    f?TA  TEMEXT 

During  1008  trr  printed  and  circulated 
l,8.*i6.000   copitJ.    of   Power. 

Our  circulation  for  January,  1909,  icas 
(treelily   and    monthly)    IfiO.OOO. 

February     2 40,000 

yone  sent  free  rerjularhj,  no  returns  from 
fleir*  companies,  no  back  numbers.  Fifjures 
arc    lire,    net    circulation. 


Contents  page 

Energy  in  a  Pound  of  Steam 225 

A  Dangerous  Omis-sion 228 

The  Plunger  Hydraulic  Elevator 230 

Oial  Specifications  and  Tests 232 

Surface  Conden.sation  for  Steam  Turbines.  .    234 
Increa.-iing   the   Efficiency   and   Capacity   of 
Large    Gas    Engines    by    Cooling^  the 

Charge 237 

Tests   of    Run-of-Mine   Coal   and    Coal    Bri- 
quets        239 

An  Obscure  .Armature  Trouble 240 

Practical  Letters  from  Practical  Men: 

Txnv  Pressure  Turbines  and  Steam  En- 
gines. ...  A  Safety  Stop.  .  .  Selection 
and  Safety  of  Pipe  Fittings.  .  .  A  Light- 
ing Problem  Keeping  Plant  Records 
.  .  .  .  -\  Station  Load  Indicator.  .  .  A 
New  (?)  Steam  Gage.  .  .  .Approximation 
of  Terminal  Pressure.  .  .  Piston  Repair 
.  .  Thermometer  for  Jacketing  Water 
.  .  Hydrostatics  .  .  Noncorrosive  Float 
Valves  Pressure  Required  to  Lift  a 
Check  Valve  .  .  Throwing  Lamps  in 
Series  and  in  Parallel  .Intere.sting 
Diagrams  from  a  Dry  Vacuum  Pump 
Repairing  a  Valve  Rod  Stuffing  Box 
Power  Consumed  in  Centrifugal 
Pumps  F:frfct  of  Scale  in  Boilers.  .  .  . 
Ixjw  Compression  .Saves  Coal.  .  .  .Grease 
Lubrif;ation  of  ^^Jovernor  Pins  .  .  Trans- 
former Oinnections  .  .  .  Reversed  Polar- 
ity .  Card  Indexing  Water  Evap- 
porated  per  Pound  of  CV>al  Cement 
Roofing  Steam  Gages  and  Indicator 
Springs  .  Development  of  the  High 
Speed  Engine         Culm  and  Coal  Du.st 

for  Fuel 241-2.50 

fiome  Useful  Lessrjns  of  Limewater 251 

Calorimeter  Tests  of  Steam 2.54 

Horatio  .\llen  and  the  Novelty  Works 255 

New  Turbine  Plant  for  the  Atlantic  Mills.  .  .    2.57 
The  .\linement  of  New  and  Reallnement  of 

Old  Shafting 258 

Heating  Power  of  Steam  Coils 2.59 

Scale  and  Table,  Giving  Equivalent  Gradua- 
tions of  the  P'ahrenhcit  and  Centigrade 

Thermometers 260 

A  "  Valveless"  EnKine 261 

Editorials 262-263 


I'ow  i-:r  .\xi)  the  ex(;ixrer. 

More  Frequent  Internal    Inspection 

Becatise  a  steam  boiler  is  covered  by  an 
insurance  policy  is  no  ground  to  believe 
that  it  is  safe  to  operate  for  twelve  months 
without  an  internal  inspection.  Neverthe- 
less, this  is  a  view  held  by  some  engi- 
neers and  more  steam-plant  owners. 

An  insurance  policy  covering  a  'boiler 
risk  is  a  mighty  good  document  for  two 
reasons :  it  demands  the  payment  of  dam- 
age losses,  and  practically  insures  a  safely 
operated  boiler  because  of  the  inspection 
feature  which   accompanies  it. 

There  is  no  need  of  going  into  the  ques- 
tion as  to  what  the  inspection  of  boilers 
amounts  to ;  it  is  already  known.  How- 
ever, the  importance  of  frequent  inspec- 
tion is,  in  most  cases,  greatly  underrated, 
not  only  by  the  engineer,  but  also  by  the 
insurance  companies,  although  one  com- 
pany at  least  is  sitting  up  and  taking 
notice  of  its  desirability.  The  practice 
has  been  to  make  three  inspections  each 
year,  two  external  and  one  internal. 
While  the  external  inspections  are  efficient 
as  far  as  they  go,  they  do  not  reach  the 
vital  parts  of  the  boiler. 

There  are  hundreds  of  engineers  who 
never  know  whether  the  safety  valve  and 
the  steam  gage  operate  together  until  the 
inspector  makes  his  quarterly  visit.  This 
is  because  the  engineer  has  no  means  of 
checking  up  his  steam  gage  for  accuracy. 
The  fact  that  the  lever  of  a  ball-and-lever 
safety  valve  is  marked  lOO  at  a  certain 
point  is  no  assurance  that  the  valve  will 
blow  off  at  TOO  pounds  gage  pressure. 
The  external  inspection  takes  in  these 
matters  and  is,  therefore,  of  value,  especi- 
ally in  the  smaller  plants ;  but  the  internal 
inspection  is  the  kind  that  counts  most 
for  safety  and  economy. 

One  inspection  company  which  formerly 
made  a  practice  of  making  two  external 
and  one  internal  inspections  yearly,  now 
not  only  makes  the  same  number  of  ex- 
ternal inspections,  but  has  adopted  semi- 
yearly  internal  inspection  instead  of 
annual.  Surprising  as  it  may  seem,  the 
cost  of  repairing  defective  boilers  under 
the  old  method  of  inspection  exceeded  the 
losses  due  to  violent  explosion,  and  these 
losses  are  confined  to  ruptures  and  not 
mere  bagging  which  results  from  scale, 
oil,  etc.  The  twice-a-year  internal  inspec- 
tion has  so  reduced  these  lesser  losses 
that  the  company  has  found  that  although 
it  costs  more  to  operate  the  inspection  de- 
partment, due  to  the  increased  duties  of 
the  inspectors,  the  saving  made  in  avoid- 
ing expensive  repairs  amply  compensates 
for  the  extra  work  and  expense  involved. 
The  insurance  company  is  not  the  only 
party  benefited,  as  the  steam-plant  owner 
is,  under  this  new  system,  doubly  sure  that 
his  boilers  are  kept  in  good  condition,  re- 
gardless of  the  qualifications  of  his  en- 
gineer. 

What  is  sauce  for  the  goose  is  sauce  for 
the  gander.  If  the  making  of  two  internal 
inspections  is  a  paying  proposition  to  the 


Fcljruary  2,   1909. 

insurance  company  it  is  a  good  thing  for 
the  engineer.  True,  most  engineers  do 
not  yearn  for  the  task  of  inspecting  boil- 
ers, but  it  is  a  duty  that  must  be  per- 
formed, and  if  properly  carried  out  is  a 
remunerative  investment,  not  only  in  dol- 
lars and  cents  but  in  ease  of  mind. 

.\  perusal  of  the  reports  of  boiler-insur- 
ance companies  for  a  year  will  present  a 
startling  array  of  facts,  and  the  most 
significant  of  all  is  the  faulty  condition 
of  boilers,  due  to  scale,  etc.,  which  good 
management  and  frequent  inspections 
would  have  prevented. 

There  will  doubtless  be  some  opposition 
on  the  part  of  the  ste^m-plant  owner 
against  the  so-called  hardship  of  cutting 
out  a  boiler  twice  a  year  for  internal 
inspection  and  while,  to  some,  it  may  be 
lime  and  money  ill  spent,  to  the  great  ma- 
jority it  means  the  saving  of  time  and 
money  spent  in  repairs,  when  of  a  nature 
not  covered  by  the  risk. 

In  the  steam  plant  not  covered  by  an 
insurance  policy,  nor  under  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  a  State  inspector,  it  is  the  duty 
of  the  engineer-in-charge  to  keep  his 
boiler  in  a  safe  condition.  He  has  to  say 
whether  the  boiler  shall  be  internally  in- 
spected twice  a  year  or  not.  The  re- 
sponsibility  is  his. 


Turbine  Cond 


ondensers 


We  present  in  this  number,  among  our 
leading  articles,  an  abstract  of  a  paper  on 
"Surface  Condensation  for  Steam  Tur- 
bines," by  Professor  Josse,  director  of  the 
engineering  department  at  the  Technical 
High  School  at  Charlottenburg.  This 
paper  has  already  been  commented  on  in 
our  correspondence  columns  and  has  ex- 
cited considerable  interest.  The  curve 
sheets  and  table  have  been  converted  into 
English  measures  and  are  of  more  than 
passing   interest. 

To  manufacturers  and  users  of  con- 
densers this  paper  is  of  especial  value, 
giving  as  it  does  additional  data  regard- 
ing the  transfer  of  heat  through  tubes 
from  steam  to  water,  supplementing  the 
excellent  work  of  Weighton,  Stanton  and 
Morison  in  England,  Ser  and  Joule  in 
France  and  Hepburn  in  America. 

The  investigation  of  the  heat  transfer- 
ence between  air  and  water  is  put  out  in 
excellent  shape  for  use,  as  is  also  the  pro- 
blem of  taking  care  of  the  air  leakage 
into  the  condenser.  The  details  of  the 
wet-vacuum  pump,  as  illustrated,  show 
a  development  of  the  suction-valveless  air 
pump  somewhat  different  from  similar 
pumps  in  the  United  States,  and  the  man- 
ner of  introducing  the  nonconden sable 
vapors  to  the  barrel  of  the  pump  is  new. 
The  piston  speed  of  this  pump,  260  feet 
per  minute,  would  be  considered  quite 
too  high  for  good  results  in  this  country, 
necessitating  very  light  valves  and  valve 
springs. 

Professor  Josse's  condensers  are  small 


February  i,  iy09. 

compared  with  surface  con<len<»ers  for  tar- 
bine  work  as  we  know  them,  an«l  \V(i;<h 
ton's  experimental  condensers  were  c\fn 
smaller.  It  is  nnfonimate  that  none  of 
the  larjjer  condensers,  say  from  5000  to 
10,000.  or  even  15.000  square  feet  of 
-•"•face,    has    been     tested     to    the     point 

re  the  vacuum  fell  off  from  lack  of 
;iipility  to  condense  the  steam,  as  other- 
wi>e  an  opinif>n  niiKht  l>e  formed  as  to  the 

i<-  of   the   coefficient   of   heal    transfer- 
l'   under  the  condition  olitaiiiini;   in 

ace  condensers  of  commercial  >i/e  for 

ine  work. 

rnfcsftor    Josse's    statement     that     the 

lace-condenser  outfit  for  turbine  work 

ti  iv  cost  thirty  to  sixty  per  cent,  of  the 

•    of   the    whole    turbine   plant,    which 

iimably    applies   to    marine     work     in 

■iiany,  is  more  than  surprising. 


Loss  in  Alternating  Current 
Wires 


When  electric  current  passes  "through** 
Aire   the   (Kissage    involves    two   losses. 
of  pressure  or   voltage  and  the  other 
'ergy.  the  latter  being  the  o<>iiMi|Uence 
iie   former.      If  the  current    i*   -.|    the 
<  ct"    class    and    rea-.'  nalil>     >t<  .i.ly    in 
U-,  the  prop«>rtion  of  ihe  applu'l  pres- 
used     up     in     forcing    the    current 
iigh   is  exactly  the   oame  as  the  pru- 
lon  of  the  applirti  energy  wasted  bjr 
csistance  «»f  the  wire.     That  is  to  say, 
.•  "ilrop"  in  the  circuit  is  ten  per  cent. 
ui    (lie   afiplied    VMltage.    ten   per   cent,   of 
1^.-  .ipplied  energy  will  be  l<.st  in  forcing 
iiung    ninety    per    cent     through 
It  ;  if  the  "drop"  is  two  per  cent  , 
two  per  cent,  of  the   applied  energy 
.-    ;  Ik-  used  up  in  overcoming  the  resist- 
ance of  the  circuit,  and  so  on. 

When  the  current  is  either  an  alternat- 
ing or  a  rapitlly  pulsating  direct   current 
■     i»f    the    early    ar« 
id.  the  percentage  ■ 
rarcl)    ci|iials  the  |K'rtefitaKe  .»|   pr«.^ 
"<lrop"  in  the  circuir      T'*  ■  l-.wrr  the 
r   facti»r  of  the  C" 
.  the  greater  will  b< 
Iween  the  percentage  of  energy  lost  ami 

•''■•    of   pressure   "drop,"   !»<•«- low 

r  factor  is  due  to  a  c<"  ro- 

'  lied  in  the  \m'i;i   u-  of 

and    self  iikIu  <■!    by 
iirrcut    III    the    circiitl    wires       Ihe 
■f  rtpiri    nrr   the   wire*   of  a   circuit, 
its  self  induction  and 
r   factor 
The    practical    moral    of    the    f.T.y.  nk' 
niiKirulion  is  that  alternating nirr.  ni 
wires  should  \*c   lin-ateil   .l^   ■ 

■r  as  the  pressure  .ir-  '   

It.  and  that  tHe  pet 
in    a    n\>  ' 
•  d.  ••  iii« 


l*U\VER  AND  THR  K\«;i.VKKk 


minals  of  the  machini 

•  V.  .  --iM     .Irwi,     III     ■.., 
»ire^     lll.l\      -••  li    ;    c      If,, 

sertousl . 


J.Ir 


.l.|fr 


Natural  Resources 


f'owcf  (rom  NUgara  LunjlnJ 


On  1  • 
CMised  t. 

the     anlhr^cile     r                         i  tte     he 
will  be  resumed  •  :                 -y   16,  m  .\,  .. 
York,  when  the  defrndanU  will  open  their 
side  of  the  case. ,r..    „,    ,,. 

The  Government  hat  offered  in  rvidcacc     limit  the  iu<al 
a   table  of  statistics  sh 
76,000.000    tons    of    c< 
alx 
b> 

''^■'  '  itic  ImiuU  uI  the  r«ii- 

rii.f 

Have  we  learned  the  lc»son  of  the  coal-     vir«s 
fields .' 

Who   could    have    foreseen,    when   Col 


•iiidunrr  ol  thr 
«JO  cwbtc  l«vt 

.i!r-!     Ol.>I      ),. 


•  1      .fJrt^i 


d  of  the     »^< 

fiu    and     thr 

I  it,     am 


George  Shoemaker  brff.-'  • 

black- rock     fuel     into 

nearly  «• 

that  in  .< 

p.  r- 

an>i 

people    would    eume    t 

more   than    upon   any 

Who  could   have   foreseen   Ihe  enormous     not 

possibilities    of    a     perpetual    comer    in         ' 

anthracite  coal,   and  with   what   dm»M>n 

would  a  forecast  of  th-      - 

and   an   appeal   to   fori 

met. 

\nd    yrf    w^    ht*   jw^^mif   thr«>«^    %n- 


hihiy    oi    electrical    tra' 
ifowed   water  p<iwers  |i 
ii>i    \al'ie    with    great    • 
While  there  might  ha%<    .~ 
culty   in   establishing  a   go\ 


ihi 


^  Mui  t. 


wiih    pl< 

\et""l 

lie 

inlri 1 •>•       1  < 

liniie«l    in   a    1 


t     Ihe     I 


264 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  2,   1909. 


Power  Plant  Machinery  and    Appliances 

Original        Descriptions       of       Power       Devices 
No     Manufacturers*     Cuts     or      Write-ups     Used 

MUST     BE     NEW     OR     INTERESTING 


Receiver    Pressure    Regulation   for 
Compound  Engines 


In  plants  where  low-pressure  steam  is 
used  for  heating  or  industrial  purposes 
and  where  the  amount  of  steam  so  used  is 
less   than   the  exhaust   from   the   engines, 


engineer,  of  45  Milk  street,  Boston,  Mass., 
has  devised  two  forms  of  pressure  regula- 
tor which  have  been  installed  in  many 
plants  on  cross-  and  tandem-compound  en- 
gines. The  two  types  are  used  as  best 
meets  conditions.  The  advantages  claimed 
to  be  secured  are  more  uniform  pres- 
sure in   the   receiver  than  is  possible  by 


with  the  receiver  pressure  admitted  to  the 
cylinder  below  the  piston.  Above  the  pis- 
ton the  cylinder  is  open  to  the  atmosphere 
The  piston  rods  R  and  R'  connect  with 
the  arm  A,  and  through  this  move  thf 
trip  rods  of  the  valve  gear  T  and  T'.  Tc 
the  rod  R  is  connected  the  arm  B  and  or 
this  arm  are  hung  two  weights  W  and  IV 


RFXEIVER    PRESSURE    REGULATOR 


S 


^W 


FIG.     2.     TYPE      B      RECEIVER    PRESSURE   REGULATOR 


it  is  often  economy  to  use  a  compound 
engine,  taking  the  low-pressure  steam 
from  the  receiver.  In  such  cases  it  is 
difficult  by  hand  regulation  of  cutoff  in 
the  low-pressure  cylinder  to  hold  the  re- 
ceiver pressure  constant,  as  the  demand 
for  steam  or  the  load  on  the  engine  varies. 
To  secure  this  result,  Charles  T.  Main, 


any  other  means,  thus  giving  a  uniform 
steam  supply,  and  saving  of  fuel  by  avoid- 
ing the  blowing  off  of  steam  through  relief 
Aalves  or  the  supply  of  high-pressure 
steam  to  the  receiver  through  reducing 
valves. 

In  Type  A  regulator,  Fig.  i,  there  is  a 
small  cylinder  C  in  which  is  a  piston  P, 


i 


When  the  pressure  in  the  receiver  i: 
creases,  it  raises  the  p'iston  and'  increas 
the  cutoff  in  the  low-pressure  cylinde 
when  the  pressure  falls,  the  weights  bring 
down  the  piston,  thus  decreasing  the  cut- 
off in   the   low-pressure  cylinder. 

The   weight    W   determines   the   lowesi 
pressure  to  be  carried    in    the    receiver 


February  2,  1909. 

and  the  weight  JV',  as  it  swings  from  the 
vertical  under  pivot,  balances  the  variable 
pressure  fn^m  the  shortest  possible  cut- 
off to  full .  'Stroke  on  the  low-pressure 
cylinder. 

The  hand-wheel  H  is  used  to  get  a  long 
CUtoflF  when  starting  up  the  engine,  also 
to  fix  the  minimum  cutoff,  or  if  desired 
to  run  with  fixed  cutoff.  The  nuts  .V  and 
A^'  can  be  set  to  limit  the  range  of  cutoff. 

Type  B  regulator  works  on  the  same 
principle,  but  has  a  series  of  weights  If", 
which  arc  lifted  in  turn  as  the  rod  R 
rises.  The  weight  H'  determines  the 
lowest  receiver  pressure  and  weights  IV 
balance  the  variable  pressure  through  the 
extreme  range  of  cutoff. 


A  Novel  Design  of  Indicator 

We  illustrate  herewith  a  novel  design  of 
•team-engine  indicator,  the  joint  inven- 
tion of  George  A.  Mower,  of  147  Queen 
Victoria  street,  London,  and  James  F. 
Cill.  In  this  device  perforated  diagrams 
are  obtained,  the  perforations  being  pro- 
duced by  the  passage  through  the  paper 
of  an  electrical  current. 

The  apparatus  comprises  a  cylinder  A, 
piston  fi  and  calibrated  springs  C,  as  in 
the  or«!inary  type,  but  as  it  is  only  neces- 
sary that  the  piston  shall  move  to  a  very 
small  extent,  the  cylinder  A  is  made 
Corresp*)ndingly  short.  Fixed  rigidly  to 
the   piston  ^   is  a   light   metallic   rod  or 


^ 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

laminated  pUte  K  u  to  dispcwed  that  the 
contact  points  F  on  the  piston  rod  P  just 
barely   touch   the   edge  of   the   laminated 
plate  A'    The  series  of  meui  foil  »tnp4  Si 
is  approximately  the  same 
the  contact  points  /•  on  the  ; 
but  they  are  slightly  differcr.tl)  ; 
that    ^as  in  a    vernier    wale  1 
movement   of    the   piston    will   C4u>-c   the 


or-TfT 


na  4 

metal  strips  .\f  to  be  electrified  in  succes- 
sion ;  one  of  the  series  uf  contact  points 
/■'  making  electrical  contact  with  one  of 
the  series  of  metal-foil  strips  i/,  thus  as 
the  piston  moves  up  through  its  limited 
amount  of  travel  the  point  of  electrhral 
contact  will  move  through  a  large  range 
on  the  plate  A,'. 

A  similar  bminaled  plate  O  of  approxi- 
mately the  same  si/e  as  the  pUle  K  is 
secured  thereto  by  means  of  a  hinge  /* 
and  spring,  so  that  it  lies  on  the  plate  K 
with  its  conductors  all  at  rn-'"  -••■'--«  to 
those  on  the  plate  K.     A  *<^  llic 

rod  /:'  arranged  at  right  atiwi'^*  '  and 
with  contact  p<>inl«  (#  timilar  l<>  ih<>\r  on 
\\\r  |.i«!.>n  rod  P.  «he 

I'r.iin.     /    of  the  ai  t« 

mo\r   through   a   I 
make  rlrctrical  co; 
(trips  on  the  *ccon<l   plate 
points  (i  are  on  a  tube  //  n. 
the  n»d  /:  by  the  ebonite  or  other  t 
conducting  sleere  /.   T>f-  --- —•  -— t 
connecieti  through  suit 
to  1' 
An 


»**'  '^  jrr   ttkrm  by  tW 

*f'  r«dMeiin   «ear  to 

•  oa  the 

•<xtficiiy 

•.  «ttd  by  dstm^ 

il   psrrrr  holm  M 

(be  pmprt  which  is  ilw  oal)  Mipcdaacal  m 

the  (ul!i   •>f  'hr  (urrrfit      Thr  ^MSliaa  of 

orrcsyowd  lo  tke 

— .  —         .,.  ..„  ,  —  ••  «.»wlmioe%  at  riglM 

antlrs  whidi  are  tkttnktd  ai  tW  tamm 

mttant.  thus  producing  a  dt^taai  fnaa 

which  may  be  obUOMd  a  tnw  rmed  ol 

a  the 


^  iW— riM  anO  a^ 

g  denned  hy  mmI 


WagDcr  Indiirtioo  Motor  Suitcf 

The  accowpawysng  engratmc  tU*«tr«ica 

the   type   of    vurtmg   apparains    b«li   bf 

the  V  K-  Mamrfactnnng  Coii* 

pan  .for  Me  wiib  w^fmrtii 

xtion  nmors  ol  nnrt 

TV  »«art«-f  «  M  tW 


*wiich    f 
!\Ued      I 
a  number  of 
fefent    percms-fc. 


>>er  vincti  m  oB- 

it    ofMttded    wMl 

■■m  dif- 


from  which  any  desired  ta^  aajr  bt  t^ 


•  niSM  ft> 


tube  P  with   a  series  of    ♦hort    teeth    /•  ••" 

forming  electrical  contact  points  at  equal  m<- 

■-'-'■vals   along   its    length.     The   teeth    F  •' 

formed    integrally    with    the    piston 

n. 

le  laminated  pl-itr   K  is  mount***!  on 

trame  of  the   indicator  In  a- 
in*iilated    ra«e    /  .   and   i\   > 
'■:    .1    *rrir*    of   alternate    »trip«    0/    mnil 
full    \[    and    in«tiljtlii|.'    rn.ilrriji    V        Ilin 


^M  I  num  wt 


W 
thr 


i..: 


266 


POWER  AXn  THE  ENGINEER. 


Fel)ruar\-  J,   iQOO. 


Starting  the  motor  the  handle  is  moved 
always  in  the  one  direction.  It  may  be 
turned  back  to  the  "ofF"  position  only 
from  the  first  starting  position ;  after 
once  passing  the  first  starting  position  it 
cannot  be  carried  to  the  "off"  position 
except  by  moving  it  through  all  of  the 
succeeding   positions. 

In  the  ■■  oflf"  position  the  transformer 
and  motor  are  both  dead.  Upon  turning 
the  operating  handle  into  the  first  starting 
position  the  motor  is  connected  to  the 
sub-voltage  tap  of  the  transformer,  with 
the  fuses  short-circuited ;  the  connections 
thus  established  cause  the  compensator  to 
deliver  sufficient  pressure  to  start  the 
motor  with  minimum  line  disturbance. 
Turning  the  handle  to  the  second  posi- 
tion connects  the  motor  to  the  full  voltage 
and  disconnects  the  autotransformer,  the 
fuses  being  still  short-circuited.  Finally, 
in  the  third  or  full  running  position  the 
fuses  are  cut  into  the  circuit.  This  starter 
may  be  used  in  connection  with  any 
standard  make  of  squirrel-cage  motor. 
It  is  built  for  two-  and  three-phase  work 
at  any  of  the  standard  voltages. 


Technical  Education 


Bv  11.  Addison  Johnston 


Dinner  to  N.  A.  S.  E.  Officers 


Friday  evening,  January  22,  the  Chicago 
Association  of  the  N.  A.  S.  E.  gave  a  din- 
ner to  the  officers  of  the  national  body  at 
the  Boston  oyster  house.  The  dinner  was 
entirely  informal,  as  it  was  arranged 
simply  because  of  the  officers'  presence 
in  Chicago  on  business  connected  with  the 
association. 

John  F.  McGrath,  of  No.  28,  was  mas- 
ter of  ceremonies,  and  all  the  distin- 
guished visitors  were  asked  to  say  a  few 
words  to  the  assembled  members  and 
friends.  The  speakers  were  introduced  in 
the  following  order:  Fred  J.  Fisher,  of 
Los  Angeles,  Cal.,  national  president ; 
Joseph  F.  Carney,  of  New  York,  past 
national  president ;  WilliamJ.  Reynolds,  of 
Hoboken,  N.  J.,  national  'vice-president ; 
Royal  D.  Tomlinson,  of  Milwaukee,  past 
national  president ;  John  W.  Lane,  of  Chi- 
cago, editor  of  National  Engineer ;  John 
A.  Kerby  of  Cincinnati,  E.  J.  Lee*  of 
Albany,  N.  Y.,  J.  H.  Van  Arsdale  of  St. 
Louis,  W.  W.  McLane  of  Boston  and 
Alfred  Johnson  of  Chicago,  trustees ;  F. 
W.  Raven,  of  Chicago,  national  secretary. 
Nearly  two  hundred  members  participated 
in  the  enjoyment. 


Hoboken  .Association  No.  5,  National 
Association  of  Stationary  Engineers,  will 
hold  its  annual  entertainment  and  ball  at 
Odd  Fellows'  hall,  on  February  9.  The 
committee  has  prepared  a  first-class  enter- 
tainment, and  it  is  expected  that  the  event 
will  be  up  to  the  usual  high  standard. 


Silk  City  Council  No.  18  CPaterson,  N. 
J.),  Universal  Craftsmen,  Council  of 
Engineers,  will  hold  its  annual  entertain- 
ment and  reception  on  February  12.  A 
good  time  is  assured. 


The  trouble  with  the  ordinary  technical 
graduate  is  that  when  he  gets  his  diploma, 
and  can  play  three  scales  and  "Home, 
Sweet  Home"  on  the  engineering  piano 
with  one  finger,  he  thinks  he  is  second 
onlj'  to  Paderewsiy.  He  forgets,  or 
rather  he  has  never  realized,  that  long  ex- 
perience in  actual  construction  is  neces- 
sary before  he  can  safely  and  surely  apply 
his  mathematical  theories  to  everyday 
work. 

The  engineering  school  does  teach  a 
man  a  whole  lot  about  hozi.'  to  build  en- 
gines, that  it  is  very  essential  that  he 
should  know,  but  the  only  way  to  learn 
to  build  engines  is  to  build  engines.  In 
this  connection,  hear  the  sad  story  of 
Jones : 

Jones  was  a  young,  quite  recent,  tech- 
nical graduate,  and  what  he  did  not  know 
about  engineering  was  not  worth  knowing. 
Jones  had  not  specialized  particularly  on 
thermodynamics,  but  he  thought  he  knew 
something  about  it,  and  there  is  no  doubt 
that  he  passed  his  examinations.  Jones 
was  great  on  accurate  calculations ;  noth- 
ing worried  him  so  much  as  leaving  off 
the  decimals ;  why,  he  could  figure  out  the 
proper  diameter  of  a  staybolt  to  nine 
places  of  decimals  and  tell  the  probable 
error  and  all  that.  Jones  was  a  very 
decent  fellow,  but  one  thing  he  hated,  and 
that  was  to  notice  those  awful,  inaccurate, 
rule-of-thumb  methods  which  prevailed  in 
some  shops.  Why,  in  one  shop  Jones  had 
visited,  instead  of  having  the  last  batch 
of  bolt  iron  properly  tested  as  to  its  elas- 
tic limit,  ultimate  tensile  strength  and  re- 
sistance to  shear,  and  calculating  the 
allowable  stresses  and  figuring  a  factor  of 
safety,  the  superintendent  had  just  casu- 
ally remarked  that  he  "guessed  six  five- 
eighth  l)olts  would  do  for  that  there 
flange,"  and  that  was  all  there  was  about 
it.  It  was  simply  shocking  that  such  prac- 
tices were  allowed  in  this  scientific  age. 

Well,  one  day,  at  the  club,  Jones  was 
comfortably  explaining  to  the  company  the 
beautiful  accuracy  of  scientific  mathemati- 
cal calculation  as  compared  with  the  un- 
reliable guesswork  of  cut-and-try  schemes, 
when  an  acquaintance.  Brown,  by  name, 
who  was  in  the  gas-engine  busines.s,  asked 
him  if  he  could  give  any  simple,  accurate. 
method  of  calculating  the  compression 
pressure  in  a  gasolene-engine  cylinder 
when,  the  percentage  of  clearance  was 
known. 

"Why,  certainly,"  said  Jones,  swallow- 
ing the  bait  whole,  quite  pleased  at  the 
opportunity  to  be  of  assistance.  "The 
pressure  of  a  gas  varies  inversely  as  the 
volume,  'Mariotte's  law,'  you  know.  Pres- 
sure multiplied  by  volume  before  com- 
pression equals  pressure  by  volume  after 
compression,  like  this,"  and  he  stepped 
to  a  small  blackboard  and  wrote : 
A  Vt  =  P2  V2. 


"Oh !  I  see,"  said  Brown,  who  knew 
something  of  mathematics  himself,  even 
though  he  was  a  practical  man.  "Well, 
just  for  an  example,  what  would  a  pres- 
sure gage  show  the  compression  to  be  on 
an  engine  with,  say,  20  per  cent,  of  the 
total  cylinder  volume  as  clearance?" 

"That's  easy,"  replied  Jones.  "The 
normal  air  pressure  is  14.7  pounds,  and 
we  call  the  total  volume  100;  then  the 
clearance  will  be  20."  Then  he  laid  out 
the  following : 

Pi  —  14.7.     l\  =  100.     V2  =  20. 

P.J\  =  P.l\.     P.  =  73-5. 

"There,  that's  it :  73.5  pounds  compres- 
sion." 

"Must  be  something  wrong,'"  said 
Brown.  "I  saw  an  engine  with  20  per 
cent,  clearance  tested  and  it  had  no 
pounds." 

Jones  checked  over  his  figures.  "Can't 
find  anything  wrong  with  the  figures; 
must  be  the  equation  that's  wrong.  Um 
— um.  Say !  that  equation  is  wrong.  I 
have  got  the  isothermal  instead  of  the 
adiabatic  equation.  You  see  the  air  gets 
hot  when  it  is  compressed  and  that  runs 
the  pressure  up.  I  should  have  written 
the  equation  this  way :" 

"I  guess  this  will  bring  it  out  about 
right." 

Jones  always  carries  a  little  table  of 
logarithms  in  his  pocket  and  pretty  sooa 
lie  said,  rather  dubiously:  "That  works 
out  to  142  pounds  compression  ;  seems 
about  as  far  out  too  high  as  the  first  one 
was   too   low." 

"Well,  put  it  on  the  board  beside  the 
other,  anyway,"  said  Brown.  "After  awhile 
we'll  average  them  up.  Looks  to  me, 
though,  that  you  forgot  to  subtract  14.7 
from  your  figure  to  get  the  gage  pressure^ 
You've  got  the  absolute." 

"Why,  so  I  have,"  replied  Jones.  "Never 
thought  of  that ;  but,  say,  that  first  figure 
was  too  high  by  the  same  amount.  It 
should  have  been  only  58.8  pounds.  The 
last  one  looks  a  little  better  now,  though; 
T42  —  14.7  =  127  pounds  compression 
gage.  That  engine  you  saw  must  have 
had  leaks  in  it." 

"No  it  didn't,"  said  Brown.  "But  it 
strikes  me  the  Prof.  John  Perry  says  that 
1. 41  is  too  high  for  air;  1.37  is  the  proper 
figure." 

"Well,  perhaps  it  is,"  said  Jones,  look- 
ing slightly  worried.     "I'll  work  it  out." 

Jones  works  out  again  : 

P:i  =  119 
pounds  gage. 

"Getting  closer,"  said  Brown.  "But 
that's  too  high  yet ;  now  I  come  to  think 
of  it,  some  other  fellow  says  that  1.33  is 
the  proper  figure  to  use  instead  of  1.37." 

Jones  works  out  once  more : 

P,  y,'''=p,F,"\ 

P.  =  III  ^ 

poimds  gai.'^e.  f 


February  2,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  KXCJIXEER. 


Ihcre,  that's  right,"  he  exclaimed. 
"Vcjur  pressure  gage  must  have  read  a 
pound  too  low." 

I'crliaps  it  did."  replied  Brown.     "\Un 
:ns  to  me  that  you  iiave  missed  m>:ik- 
\H.     You   see  there  is  always  a  slight 
lum    in   a   gas-engine   cylinder   at   the 
of   the    suction    stroke.      The   piston 
iiKives  out  so  fast  that  the  air  cannot  get 
through  the   valve  quick   enough   to  keep 
tile  pressure.     I  don't  supixjse  the  pres- 
would  be  over  14  pounds  in  some  en- 
s  when  the  piston  started  on  the  com- 
-■.ion  stroke." 
Jones   said  nothing,  but  worked   it  out 
with   the  new  value  for  f>, : 


P,  =  14  pounds  : 
itids  gage. 

Phis  is  rotten,' 
..■  worse." 
We've    onlv    a 


'  1  *  I       —  '  1  '  1 

20 


». 


P,  =  106 


said  Jones.     "It's  get- 


few  more  left,"  sai<I 
wn.  "Have  you  ever  noticed  that 
I*  mechanically  operated  inlet  valves 
not  close  until  the  pi^^^^n  has  nt. 
k  alxnit  5  per  cent,  of  the  comprt - 
kr'  Voii  did  n<»t  take  that  inin 
..unt." 

Oh,  well,  I'll  work  it  out  a  few  titiu- 
re,"  said  Jones,  crossly.  "That  5  per 
'.  loss  will  just  about  have  the  effect 
iicrea-iitig  the  clearance  to  2X  per  cent, 
'cad  of  20  per  cent. 

I',      ai    • 

/':    =    97 


/',-i4. 


•  re's  another  thing  wc  did  no* 
•  account,"  said  Brown.     '"There" - 

•  lf»t  of  hot  exhaust  gas  in  fh« 
iider  that's  going  to  warm  up  thr 
rgc  and  «rnd  the  pressure  up  a  little" 
Vcs,"  ftiiap|>rd  Jones,  "and  now  y«»u 
'ition  heat,  I  «upi>«i*e  the  cold  i 
rge    will    he    warmed    by    contact 

Ihc    warn)    cylitwlrr    walls,    to   Ikkiii    \\  ■  .. 
and    the    ho'     •••ntpressed    chargi-    will    !•«■ 
'    with   the    Marni    t->iui- 
h  with,  and  litrl-    ,|r..i,> 
t;a%olene    wdl    make    mMuv    \ 
c  the  pressure,  and  little  le.il 
piston  will  lower  the  pre»»i 
know    any    more    little    van 
Its   or    con«tantly     varying 

•  ing  them  now  " 


do  yott  fiirnre  yottr  eomprcMioa  iipater  to 

g«' 

■■•!v.--i;:i    n   . 
It     leak    out     r 

get   out   a    new   type   of   ei  . 
«»ur  mouth  and  shut  our%e><.-  .. 
real    good    guess;    then,    if   thr 
doesn't   suit,  we  j".    *      '      '     . 
connecting   rod  or 
der  head  until  it  Ul«c: 


Marine  Fjiqintrn*  Canvrtif^an 


Alfrct]    R.    Vtolff 


at 


ck    muh 


We  present  herewith  a  1 

late    Alfred    R.    Wolff,    wl 

January  7,  was  announced  in  ti 
19  numlter.      As    prrvi       ' 
Wolff   was   one   of   tt.' 


the 


I  he    PrTStdmi 
visitor. 
On     I 


I'     1 1" 
\'«>«bufi. 


n  rrs«ili«<4  M 


i.C'lf«,      •• 


CocnKinrd  .AaMxruliam.  N.  A.  S.  £• 


rw 


J<mr<  worked  out 

ii7-fii94-im-to6-»-y7   ^  ^^^ 
S 

pounds  gate 

"  '  "   '   .ilmnt    riKiit.  rn  - 

1.    almost    for    the   ensinr    I    •  n 


208 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  2,   1909. 


combined,  earnest  efforts  of  the  officers 
and  the  several  committees,  who  deserved 
the  hearty  praise  bestowed  upon  them. 


Excentric  Firemen's  Ball 


The  fourteenth  annual  entertainment 
and  ball  of  the  Eccentric  Association  of 
Firemen,  Local  No.  56,  I.  B.  of  S.  F.,  of 
New  York,  was  held  at  Grand  Central 
Palace  on  Saturday  evening,  January  23. 
The  large  and  prettily  decorated  hall  was 
filled  to  its  capacity.  A  vaudeville  per- 
formance preceded  a  long  dancing  pro- 
gram, and  goodby's  were  said  after  a  most 
enjoyable  night.  This  event  always  at- 
tracts many  people  prominent  in  the  engi- 
neering world,  and  besides  these  there 
were  present  a  number  of  distinguished 
guests,  including  J.  Pierpont  Morgan  and 
daughters,  William  K.- Vanderbilt,  Post- 
master E.  M.  Morgan  and  wife  and  Lewis 
Nixon. 


Business  Items 


Schuchardt  &  Schutte  have  removed  their 
New  York  offices  and  warerooms  from  136 
Liberty  street  to  the  West  Street  building,  90 
West  street. 

Arthur  Hoyt  Bogue  has  resigned  as  general 
manager  of  the  Atlas  Preservative  Company 
of  America  and  has  opened  an  office  as  manu- 
facturers' direct  representative  at  142  Tearl 
street.  New  York. 

Jersey  City  Association  No.  1,  N.  A.  S.  E., 
wishes  to  get  manufacturers'  catalogs, 
samples,  etc.,  for  its  meeting  room.  Such 
catalogs  should  be  sent  to  John  T.  McEntee, 
secretary,  295  Third  street,  .Jersey  City,  N.  J. 

John  P.  Cosgro.  who  during  the  past  few 
years  has  spent  considerable  time  in  the 
southwestern  part  of  this  country  and  the 
ricrthern  States  of  Mexico,  has  been  ap- 
pointed district  manager  of  the  Allis-Chalmers 
Company,  with  offices  in  the  El  Paso  & 
Southwestern    building.    El    Paso,    Tex. 

Henry  I.  I.ea.  who  has  been  associated  with 
the  Emerson  McMillin  and  the  Dawes  syndi- 
cates, the  Western  Gas  Construction  Com- 
pany and  the  Westinghouse  Machine  Com- 
pany, has  opened  an  office  in  Uoom  GIG,  The 
Rcokery,  Chicago,  111.,  as  gas  engineer.  He 
will  design,  construct  or  manage  gas  works 
and   make   examinations  and    reports. 

Cyrl  .1.  Atkinson,  designer  of  the  Atkinson 
gas  producer,  which  has  been  manufactured 
by  the  Industrial  (Jas  Power  Company,  lately 
severed  his  connection  with  that  company, 
and  is  now  located  with  the  Dornfeld-Kunert 
Company,  of  Watertown,  Wis.,  which  is 
building  under  his  management  and  super- 
vision improved  forms  of  his  gas  producer, 
both  of  the  suction  and  pressure  types. 

The  copartnership  heretofore  existing  be- 
tween Frank  B.  Williams  and  George  H.  Wil- 
liams, doing  business  under  the  firm  name 
of  I.  B.  Williams  &  Sons,  Dover,  N.  H.,  has 
been  dissolved  by  mutual  consent,  George  H. 
Williams  retiring.  The  business,  that  of  mak- 
ing leather  belting,  will  be  carried  on  in  future 
under  the  same  firm  name  by  Frank  B.  Wil- 
liams, who  assumes  all  outstanding  obliga- 
tions. 

The  Minneapolis  Steel  and  Machinery 
Company  has  been  given  the  contract  for  fur- 
nishing  the   new   engine   for   elevator   "D"    of 


the  Consolidated  Elevator  Company.  Duluth, 
Minn.  They  will  install  a  26-  and  52-  by  48- 
inch  vertical  tandem  compound  Twin  City 
Corliss  engine,  with  flywheel  16  feet  in  diam- 
eter grooved  for  twenty  two  2-inch  ropes.  The  ■ 
entire   engine  will   be  completed  by  April. 

The  National  Tube  Company  has  ,iust  is- 
sued a  handsome  pamphlet  under  the  title  of 
••Shelby  Steel  Tubes  and  Their  Making.'-' 
After  a  brief  review  of  the  history  of  the  art, 
the  seamless  process  is  described  step  by  step, 
ilhstrated  by  numerous  half-tone  reproduc- 
tions of  photographs  of  the  processes  and  the 
product  in  the  various  stages.  It  is  beauti- 
fully printed  upon  heavy  plate  paper  and  will 
make  an  attractive  and  interesting  addition 
to  the  library  of  an  engineer. 

Edward  C.  Brown,  manager  of  the  Hawai- 
ian office  of  the  Dearborn  Drug  and  Chemical 
Works,  at  42  Queen  street,  Honolulu,  is  mak- 
ing an  extensive  oriental  trip  of  three  or 
four  months,  during  which  he  will  visit 
Japan,  the  important  seacoast  cities  of  China, 
Australia,  the  Philippines,  Java  and  other  im- 
portant islands  in  the  Pacific  ocean.  Mr. 
Brown  has  most  successfully  handled  the 
Dearborn  company's  business  in  the  Hawaiian 
islands  since  that  department  was  opened 
some   ten   years   ago. 

The  Lagonda  Manufacturing  Company  is 
distributing  an  interesting  booklet  of  twenty- 
four  pages  on  "The  Scale  Question."  The 
booklet  gives  numerous  facts  about  steam- 
power  plant  economy  and  protection  and  will 
interest  all  who  own  or  have  charge  of 
boilers,  economizers,  condensers,  etc.  Among 
the  new  Lagonda  products  described  therein 
is  the  Weinland  air-driven  wing-head  cleaner. 
This  machine  is  a  miniature  rotary  engine 
which  goes  into  the  tube  and  rotates  the 
cleaning  head  in  much  the  same  manner  as 
a  turbine  does,  but  is  claimed  to  be  more 
powerful.  The  booklet  will  be  sent  to  all 
who  write  to  the  Lagonda  Manufacturing 
Company,    Springfield,    O. 


New  Equipment 


It  is  said  the  McCook  (Neb.)  Electric  Light 
Company  is  planning  to  rebuild  its  plant. 

The  Mammoth  Spring  (Ark.)  Electric 
Light  Company  will  rebuild  its  burned  plant. 

E.  C.  Bowman,  Birmingham,  Ala.,  contem- 
plates the  construction  of  a  cold-storage 
plant 

The  Houston  (Tex.)  Electric  Company  is 
planning  the  installation  of  additional 
equipment. 

The  Carthage  (N.  Y.)  Electric  Light  and 
Power  Company  is  planning  to  install  another 
generator. 

The  citizens  of  Glasgow,  Mont,  voted  to 
issue  .$50,000  bonds  for  water  works.  J.  J. 
Mullins,    town    clerk. 

The  Ocala  (Fla.)  Ice  and  Packing  Com- 
pany will  increase  the  capacity  of  its  ice 
and  cold-storage  plant. 

G.  W.  Cavanah,  town  clerk,  Sebree,  Ky.,. 
will  receive  bids  until  Feb.  15  for  construct- 
ing   water-works    system. 

J.  Fletcher,  owner  of  the  electric-light  plant 
at  Wolsey,  S.  D.,  contemplates  installing  a 
new   engine   and   generator. 

The  Ennis  (Tex.)  Ice,  Light  and  Power 
Company  contemplates  installing  a  200- 
horsepower  boiler  and  engine. 

The  Valley  Electric  Company,  New 
Brighton,  Penn.,  Is  planning  the  installation 
of  a   500-kilowatt   turbine   unit. 

A  new  electric-light  plant  is  to  be  built  at 
the  De  Pauw  University,  Greencastle,  Ind. 
R.  L.  O'Hara  is  president  of  board  of  trustees. 


The  City  Council.  Barberton,  Ohio,  is  said 
to  be  considering  the  purchase  of  a  new  air 
compressor  for  the  water-works  plant,  to  cost 
about  .$e000. 

The  Lincoln  (111.)  Railway  and  Light 
Company  has  under  consideration  the  ques- 
tion of  installing  a  steam-heating  plant  using 
exhaust    steam. 

It  is  reported  that  a  new  dynamo  and  en- 
gine will  be  installed  in  the  Municipal  elec- 
tric light  plant  at  Quincy,  Pla.  B.  A.  Puck- 
ett   is   manager. 

The  Skagit  River  Power  Company,  Denver, 
Colo.,  has  completed  plans  for  the  construc- 
tion of  a  100,000-horsepower  plant.  E.  M. 
Riggs    is   president. 


Help    Wanted 

Advcrtisemoits  under  this  head  are  in- 
scrted  for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  words 
make  a  line. 

AN  ENGINEER  in  each  town  to  sell  the 
best  rocking  grate  for  steam  boilers.  Write 
Martin  Grate  Co.,  281  Dearborn  St.,  Chicago. 

WANTED — Thoroughly  competent  steam 
specialty  salesman;  one  that  can  sell  high- 
grade   goods.      Address   "M.    M.    Co.,"    Power. 

SALESMAN  WANTED— Young  man  ex- 
perienced in  selling  mechanical  draft  appar- 
atus in  New  York  City  and  vicinity.    Box  93, 

I'OWEK. 

WANTED — Technically  educated  drafts- 
man on  general  line  of  boiler  shop  drawings; 
must  be  speedy  and  experienced  in  this  par- 
ticular  line   of   work.      Box   92,    Power. 

FUEL  CO.MBUSTION  —  Important  firm 
handling  well  introduced  special  fuel  combus- 
tion apparatus  desires  local  representatives 
in  New  York  (Buffalo  section),  northern 
Ohio,  Minnesota,  Iowa  and  Colorado.  Full 
particulars     to     "Fuel     Experts,"        Box     87, 

I'tiWER. 

WANTED — A  good  live  agent  in  every 
shop  or  factory  in  the  U.  S.  to  sell  one  of 
the  best  known  preparations  for  removing 
grease  and  grime  from  the  hands  without 
injury  to  the  skin.  Absolutely  guaranteed. 
An  agent  can  make  from  !)!5.00  to  $25.00  over 
and  above  his  regular  salary.  This  is  no 
fake.  Write  for  free  sample  and  agents' 
terms.     The  Klenzola  Co.,  Erie,  Pa. 

Situations  Wanted 

Advertisements  under  this  head  are  in- 
serted for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  words 
make  a  line. 

SALESMAN,  technical  graduate,  29,  selling 
and  engineering  experience  in  gas  and  steam  en- 
gines, motors  and  other  power  machinery, 
wants  position.      Box   90,    Power. 

HAVE  PASSED  steam  engineering  corres- 
pondence course  and  taken  two  months'  shop 
work  at  Highland  Park  College,  Des  Moines, 
Iowa.  Would  like  employment  as  engineer  in 
small  stationary  plant  or  fireman  in  large 
plant.     Box  94,  Power. 

POSITION  WANTED  as  chief  engineer; 
experienced  with  all  kinds  of  engines,  steam 
turbines,  a.c.  and  d.c.  generators,  motors  and 
switchboards,  boilers  and  pumps.  I  can  get 
results  and  furnish  the  references;  have  been 
seventeen  yeai's  in  the  mechanical  and  en- 
gineering  business.     .Box   9,    Power. 

CHIEF  ENGINEER,  experienced  with, 
compression  ice  plants,  Corliss,  turbine  and 
gas  engines  in  central  stations,  desires  to 
make  a  change  to  any  kind  of  plant.  At 
present  operating  a  central  station  containing 
two  makes  of  turbines,  compound  condensing 
Corliss  engin(>s,  and  a.c.   and  d.c.  generators. 

Box    91,    I'OWER. 

POSITION  WANTED  by  a  thoroughly  com- 
petent and  practical  engineer.  Long  experi- 
ence in  erecting,  inslalling  and  operating 
steam,  water  and  electric  power  plants;  cap- 
able of  taking  lull  charge  of  any  plant.  Am 
now  holding  good  position  under  first  class 
Massachusetts  license,  but  desire  to  change. 
I5est   of    references   on   application.      Box    77, 

I'OWER. 


Miscellaneous 


Advertisements  under  this  head  are  in- 
serted for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  words 
make   a   line. 

MACHINERY  built  to  order;  up-to-date 
plant.  Write  Brunswick  Refrigerating  Co., 
New  Brunswick,  N.  J. 

IF   YOU    DESIRE    to    learn    the   latest  Im- 


I'cbruary  9,  190Q 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER 


A      Low-Head      Hydroelectric     Development 

An  Interesting  Plant  at  MiUord.  Maine,  lo  De\'clop  12.000  Hor>cpo%«rf 

under  a  Hcarl  of  20  Fed.  and  Generate    I  hrer-pliast-  22(J(J-voll  Currcnl 


B 


S. 


i-^ 


Low  -  head  water  -  power  developments 
are,  as  a  class,  of  much  greater  import- 
ance to  the  countr)'  than  those  of  any 
"•'ler  type,  both  because  of  their  numcri- 
superiority  and  from  the  fact  that  the 
conditions  which  render  them  possible  are 
more  frequently  met  with  near  large 
manufacturing  centers,  where  the  current 
generated  may  be  used,  than  are  condi- 
tions necessary  to  high  or  medium  heads, 
which  require  the  vicinity  of  mountains. 
Iiills  or  unusual  geological  formations  sad 
■>•'  <-xist  at  Niagara. 

\t  Mil  ford.  Me.,  there  has  been  place<: 
in  ^uccessful  operation  one  of  the  mos* 
interesting  of  the  low-head  power  develop 
ments  to  be  met  with  anywhere  in  thi 
United  States.  The  source  of  power  i^ 
the  Penobscot  river,  which  flows  in  a 
group  of  lakes  in  Piscataquis  county,  not 
far  from  the  Canadian  border,  and  flows 

•  11     ;i     I'l-tirral     sf)nthrastprl\      rlirrrtidii     li> 


>i<.      I      Tiir   t>\u    ANr>   r«iwt>    ii'>)  m    s:   wiir<«r' 


rcarhc«  a  tr? 
mile*. 

ihr  .  MU<or*1  'th- 

en>  opanr  s 

dam.    wbcfT   •bov* 
dnrclopcd  ttndrr  * 
*^"^lHT       to  oprratr  elccir 


CCM- 


rt      1>» 


Nanli*ff«  P%ptr  C  Hi^iBT  H  mmiat  ttm 


t«  oAk  fM< 


S..U!' 

of 


»tw 


1.  vWffv  tW 


rir.    2    MCTioH  or  rown  movu 


270 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  9,  1909. 


other  industrial  establishments  in  the 
vicinity  of  Milford,  and  the  manufactur- 
ing city  of  Bangor  is  situated  on  the  river 
10  miles  below ;  so  that  there  was  every 
prospect  of  being  able  to  dispose  continu- 
ously of  the  full  available  quantity  of  cur- 
rent, and  this  expectation  has  been 
realized. 

Across  the  river  from  Milford,  in  the 
vicinitj'  of  Old  Town,  are  two  woolen 
mills  and  a  pulp  mill,  water  for  which  is 
taken  from  the  river  through  a  canal  dis- 
charging below  the  new  dam ;  but  the 
amount  of  power  diverted  by  this  means 


no  openings  with  the  exception  of  a  25- 
foot  log  sluice  next  to  the  power  house 
and  adjoining  the  dam  on  the  eastern  side 
and  a  fishway  30  feet  at  the  bottom  and  10 
feet  at  the  top,  which  extends  between 
the  log  sluice  and  the  power  house.  These 
are  controlled  by  steel  gates,  motor-oper- 
ated.' 

Power  House 
The  power  house  is  located  at  the  east- 
erly end  of  the  dam  on  the  Milford  side, 
being  constructed  of  concrete  as  far  as  the 
generator  floor  and  having  brick  walls 
above  that  level.     It  has  a  length  of  225 


from  the  power  house.  These  are  built 
of  structural-steel  frames,  securely  braced, 
and  extend  6  to  7  feet  above  the  crest  of 
the  dam.  The  general  construction  is 
clearly  shown  in  the  side  elevations  of  the 
power  house.  The  steel  gates  are  motor- 
operated.  All  of  the  rigging  is  so  ar- 
ranged that  there  are  no  gears  or  other 
appliances  liable  to  be  clogged  or  have 
their  operation  interfered  with  by  ice  or 
other  debris  that  may  be  carried  through 
the  racks.  Water  enters  to  each  turbine 
through  a  separate  flume,  the  walls  of 
which   are   of    concrete    reinforced    with 


FIG.     3.     THE  GENERATORS  AND  EXCITER   UNIT 


is  not  enough  seriously  to  affect  the  Bod- 
well  company's  project. 

Concrete  Dam 
The  dam  built  by  that  company  ex- 
tends 1000  feet  from  the  new  power  house 
to  the  abutments  of  the  canal  above  men- 
tioned on  the  western  side  of  the  river. 
This  is  of  solid  concrete  construction,  12 
feet  wide  on  the  crest  and  varying  from 
14  to  S2  feet  at  the  base.  This  latter  dif- 
ference is  accounted  for  by  the  irregu- 
larity of  the  bed  of  the  stream,  necessi- 
tating stronger  and  wider  foundations  in 
its  deeper  parts.  The  spillway  extends  the 
entire  length  of  the  dam,  and  there  are 


feet  10  inches  and  a  width  of  84  feet  8 
inches  and  is  divided  into  three  main 
parts.  The  central  part,  with  pitch  roof, 
contains  the  hydraulic  turbines  and  gov- 
ernors and  the  electric  generators ;  the  up- 
stream aisle  contains  the  rack  and  flume 
gates  and  the  down-stream  aisle  houses 
the  auxiliary  electrical  machinery  and 
other  apparatus. 

Up  to  elevation  115,  which  is  15  feet 
above  the  crest  of  the  dam,  or  datum,  the 
foundations  and  walls  are  of  concrete. 
All  walls  above  this  elevation  are  of  brick 
surrounding  a  steel  frame.  There  are  two 
sets  of  racks,  outer  and  inner,  the  former 
being  placed  a  short  distance  up  stream 


steel.     Discharge  is  directly  into  the  river 
below  the  dam. 

The  Turbines 
The  hydraulic  turbines  are  built  for 
operating  at  their  best  efficiency  under 
a  head  of  20  feet  and  a  speed  of  150  revo- 
lutions per  minute.  Under  these  condi- 
tions the  flow  of  water  through  each  is  at 
the  rate  of  483  cubic  feet  per  second,  with 
delivery  of  875  horsepower.  Each  turbine 
has  two  45-inch  runners  of  the  Francis 
type,  mounted  on  a  heavy  vertical  shaft 
and  with  central  discharge  casing  con- 
nected to  a  draft  tube  built  of  reinforced 
concrete.     Every  portion  is  easy  of  acces» 


February  9,   1905. 

for  inspection  and  repairs.  The  water 
flow  is  regulated  by  movable  vanes,  oper- 
ated by  vertical  shafts  and  levers  from  the 
piston   of  an   oil-pressure   governor. 

The  head  under  which  these  turbines 
run  will  be  increased,  perhaps  as  much  as 
5  feet,  by  the  raising  of  the  head  water, 
and  it  is  also  expected  farther  to  increase 
the  head  by  improvements  in  the  river 
below   the  power   plmt,   bringing   the   tail 


nc 


4      ONE   OF    THK    ALLISCHAI.MUS    TWIN 
TUKBINKS 


water  down  nearly  or  quite  to  the  top  of 

the  oiitlrt  of  the  draft  tubes  and  making 

the  ordinary  working  head  from  ^5  to  r] 

feet     The  dam  was  built  heavy  enough  to 

have     the     required     hight     added,     and 

grooves  were  left  in  the  top  of  the  struc 

tBre   for  bonding      The   wheel*   are   built 

for  operating  at  their  best  rfiicirncy  under 

a    head    of    jo    feet    at    the    speed    above 

noted;  but  with  a  head  of  25  fcrt  the  per- 

•  ige  of  cfTicirricy  will  not  W  materially 

■ed.      I'lnicr    a    14-fool    head    normal 

•peed  if  al»o  maintained  and  the  output  i* 

rrl.ifively  high      .Ml  parts  are  »o  proper- 

'i  that,  when  running  under  the  full 

'-mplated  head  of  rj  feel,  the  machine 

^tand  the  ot>crating  tlre^te*  within  a 


ifely 


\  r  i*  of  highest  rrooomv 

when     llir     nirr^s      dr\r|.  ji<-.!      i-    ■ 
natural    reinurrr*   .iv.nl.iMr    is 
r  all  operalmg  mnditi-'iv    » 
mches,  or  .^o  per  crt^t  .     i  •!  ■ 
ble  head   will   cau«e  »ertnut   reducton  of 
the  raparttv  of  the  plant,  if  »>!<•   »••'». in^« 
art  ni.f    <lrsit;ned  with  rarrfnl   .    • 
''"-  of  ^iich  condition*     Thr 
'ior»epower    unit*    hrtni; 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

150  revolutions  per  minute,  thia  nuut  a|«o 

be  maintained  at  the  1    .  ' 

caused  by  backwater  r 

•^^  larbmcs 

**"  poMilOe. 

Uhilc  It  1,  not  deaign  a  tur 

bine   to   meet   the  cnta  of   speed 

-nd  power  at  20  feet  and  at  the  tame  time 
show  a  good  eflkiency,  it  calls  for  more 
than   ordinary    engineering    tkiU    alto   to 
obtain    satisfactory   re«uhs  under  the   re- 
duced head  of  14  fe«      It  must  be  bom* 
in  mind  that  when  test*  arr 
the  flume  at  Holyokc  to  pr 
ency  of  the  turbine,  sucfi  t-       i%e  to  be 
made  at  a  head  which  d<^i  i.  -t  .ary  much 
It  is,  therefore,  an  easy  task  to  design  a 
runner  which  shows  up  nicely  at  Holyoke. 
while   it   is  questionable   whether   tiKh  a 
runner    will    give    in    operation    a    re«alt 
which   is   the   most  satisfactory   commer- 
cially.    Many  engineers  believe  • 
secure  a  high-grade  wheel  wh.>n  • 
on   the   test    sheet    that   the  c* 

cceds  80  per   cent.,   and   qi;  ;his 

very  turbine  will  not  be  as  gooil  an  earner 
of  money  in  the  plant  as  another  one 
which  probably  showed  less  efficiency  at 
ifolyoke.  but  was  designed  to  be  better 
adapted  for  the  commercial -operating 
conditions.  From  this  point  of  \icw  the 
special  turbines  at  Milfurd  were  drtignrd. 
and  it  is  : 
ancr  ha<. 
..I! 

'  ralor.  in 

the  basement  above  the  wheel,  is  a  thrust 
bearing  carried  by  a  cast  iron  base  ring 
grouted  into  the  concrete  arch  over  the 
turbine  pit  at  elevation  107.  Each  of  the 
hearings  origmally  used  with  the  tir«t  of 
the  units  to  be  installed  consisted  of  two 
cast  iron  disks  with  an  annular  groove 
to  which  oil  was  suppi  '  -  pounds 

pressure      This   made  uf  bear- 

mg,   but    wa^  to  maintain   and 

entailed   too   k  -in   otx-ration;   as 

an  accident  or  wrong  \\  n  by  an 

i>peralor,  re»tt!f<',.F  .,,  ,  o(  the 

mechanism,  n  he  pres- 

sure to  drop  or  iK^  '  i»     ;.! 

cause  every  unit   • 

be  put  out  of  coil  'A 

ing   th*"    «lt»V*    thr 


manited 

After  A 
ing    which    disaster    « 
avoided  by  a  cloae  mark 
to  equip  all   of   the   u*' 


do« 


J71 

the  anil  hu  bcca  ia  rowiiwiiai  n>ifniw 
ever  since,  at  decreased  teM»tiaii«,  wiik 
no  change  ol  osL 

For  cadi  ol  iJm  twhtw*  ■  tJus  Mataos 

litre   has   been   provsd^    '    "••teaj  o4- 

gotrmor,  so  ^s  lo  b« 

.»  t;ther  from  the  •«ii  r.u<4rd  or  Mw 

portion  of  the   ma«   floor      TWat  gor- 
cmors   can     be    coairallad    by 
•vttchboard  rtwuction.  amoiHii 
tjoo  by  Ayballs  or  hand  regnlaiaon     TWy 
are  dnvcn  (roa  the  whed  shahs  ihin^h 
'i  gear*,  ibafting    and    l«k 
h  goycraoi  ia  cjrlindrkal  1 
made  up  of  two  cJttnhera,  tbe  og^er 
an  ofl  and  the  lower  a  gresMne 
the  latter  has  an  osl  gage  and  a  gr <  wmi  1 
gage,  so  that  the  voiume  ol  ut  nad  od 
and  eai*t  ing  prcaaorc  are  always  in  pftaM 
%  iew.  and  It  is  provided  anch  an  a^it 
safety  valve     Bdwecn  the  two 

a  horiaootal  diffcraaiial  cylinder,  the 
n  of  whkh  ia  directly  connectad  la 
:he  regulating  shah. 

The  oil  p«unp  ia  ol  the  m^gj  type  a^d 

placed  in  the  od    tmtwrii.     Ii    ia    adl 

I  :^ricjiiri^-   and  IS  connected  by  a  shaft. 

"Ogh    the    casm^    dwwniy 

..........  .u.^uic.    Tbe  cham  which  larw« 

a  pan  ol  the  cooncciiqg  mmStmimm  » 

easily  dctacbtd.    Tbc  flyhala.  whidi  are 

•Ictigned  as    a    sendtive    h«l    ■biolaHly 

■r  imed  and  carefaly 

quired   piinmaga   ol 

They    are    drivM   hp 


change   to  speed. 


i'4  '^1  n<  <.«n(MAi#ii  t<  \\, 


iTi*      r.'    rwi" 


272 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  9,  1909. 


of  the  power  plant  and  is  36  feet  wide. 
Room  is  provided  for  12  alternating-cur- 
rent generator  units  of  750  kilowatts  capa- 
city each  and  one  300-kilowatt  exciter 
unit,  the  distance  between  units  being  16 
feet.  Another  exciter  of  200  kilowatts 
capacity  is  driven  by  a  three-phase,  2200- 
volt  induction  motor  and  placed  below  the 
switchboard  gallery  in  the  same  bay. 

The  generators  are  of  the  revolving- 
field  type,  three-phase,  25  cycles,  delivering 
current  at  a  terminal  pressure  of  2200 
volts.  Excitation  is  120-180  amperes  at 
125  volts.  The  switchboard  is  of  blue 
Vermont  marble  and  located  in  a  gallery 
15  feet  above  the  floor.    It  consists  of  the 


Miscellaneous  Improvements 


By  W.  H.  Wake.man 


Fig.  I  illustrates  the  governor  of  a  Put- 
nam engine,  with  its  substitute  for  a  dash- 
4)ot,  which  is  designed  as  follows :  The 
column  of  this  governor  is  hollow  and 
contains  a  rod  which  connects  the  inner 
ends  of  the  fly-ball  arm  to  the  hollow 
casting  A  that  is  pivoted  to  the  lever  B 
and  is  carried  by  a  shaft,  one  end  of 
which  rests  in  the  bearing  C.  The  cap  on 
this  bearing  is  lined  with  leather  instead 
of  babbitt  metal,  and  it  is  held  in  place 


cap  was  what  would  be  called  "brass, 
bound,"  if  it  were  on  the  crank  pin  of  an 
engine;  therefore,  it  could  not  be  tight- 
ened until  repaired.  To  turn  out  the  cap 
screw,  remove  the  cap  and  take  out  the 
leather  lining  was  a  short  job,  and  as  it 
would  take  several  minutes  to  fit  a  new 
leather  lining  into  place,  a  piece  ot  writ- 
ing paper  was  fitted  into  the  cap  and  the 
leather  put  back.  This  was  sufficient  to 
give  the  cap  a  hold  on  the  shaft,  and  pro- 
vided enough  friction  to  control  the  gov- 
ernor perfectly.  The  advantages  of  this 
method  are  that  it  required  less  than  five 
minutes  to  do  the  job,  and  the  perfect  fit 
of  the  leather  on  the  shaft  was  not  dis- 
turbed. From  present  indications  it  will 
probably  last  a  year. 
The  two  pump  governors  shown  in  Fig. 


FIG.     6.     SWITCHBOARD  GALLERY 


FIG.    I 


usual  complement  of  generator,  feeder  and 
exciter  panels  and  special  regulator  dnd 
auxiliary-circuit  panels.  For  all  2200-volt 
connections  oil  switches  are  used.  They 
are  located  in  concrete  cells  on  the  thrust- 
bearing  floor  directly  underneath  the 
switchboard.  The  power  transformers, 
designed  to  step  up  from  2200  to  22,000 
volts,  are  placed  in  the  basement  of  the 
south  bay,  and  in  the  room  above  are  two 
banks  of  instrument  transformers.  The 
station  is  served  by  a  25-ton  Niles  crane, 
electrically  operated,  and  is  heated  by  the 
blower  system,  a  motor-driven  Sturtevant 
blower  being  placed  in  a  subbasement  un- 
der the  transformers. 


and  clamped  on  the  shaft  by  one  cap 
screw.  When  the  governor  balls  rise,  A 
falls,  and  vice  versa,  thus  causing  the 
shaft  to  turn  slightly  in  the  bearing  C. 
As  it  does  not  move  freely  it  offers  re- 
sistance to  rapid  changes  in  the  position 
of  the  governor  balls ;  therefore,  it  is  a 
very  good  substitute  for  a  dashpot. 

The  leather  lining  is  durable  but,  of 
course,  it  wears  slowly,  and  when  it  be- 
comes too  loose  the  engine  races.  To 
remedy  this  defect  it  is  only  necessary  to 
tighten  the  cap  screw.  One  day  this  en- 
gine raced  when  starting  up,  which  was 
very  unusual,  and  applying  the  natural 
remedy  made  no  improvement  because  the 


2  are  designed  for  iJ/2-inch  pipe.  The 
vertical  central  pipe  is  2  inches,  with  a 
cross  at  its  terminal,  into  each  horizontal 
outlet  of  which  a  i^-inch  nipple  was 
screwed,  followed  by  a  valve  as  shown. 
The  connection  between  this  valve  and  the 
pump  governor  on  each  side  was  origi- 
nally i^,  inches,  but  proved  to  be  too 
large  for  smooth  running  under  existing 
conditions.  A  sediment  catcher  is  located 
below  Ihe  cross,  also  a  trap  for  removing 
the  water  of  condensation. 

These  governors  control  two  duplex 
pumps,  with  7^-inch  steam  pistons  and 
6- inch  water  cylinders,  taking  water  under 
20  pounds   pressure   and   raising   it   to  45 


February  9,  1909. 

pounds.  As  the  area  of  a  6-Jnch  circle 
is  28  square  inches,  and  the  actual  pres- 
sure per  square  inch  to  be  overcome  by 
steam  pressure  is 

45  —  20  =  25 
Is,   the   total   resistance  exclusive  of 
i)n  is  700  pounds.    The  area  of  a  7J4- 
inch  circle  is  44  square  inches;  therefore, 
it  r,.f^uires 

700  -f-  44  =  16 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


suit  was  noisy  operation  that  coald  not  be     not    practical 

Fig.   4  it  the 


toU 


'  1  now  as  readily 

rt  were  reduced. 
M  the  water  pres- 
sure, but  the  quantity  of  steam  tlut  can 

be  admitted  in  a  given  lime  ■    '--- 

than   formerly;   therefore,  tl 
not  start  quickly  enough  to  c 
ing  in  the  water  cylinders  an' 


rj 


average    cowdNtcMn. 
Mean   end   <ti   a   dirrci- 


y 


*  Mown  om  a4  tk* 


pump  arv' 


.Ttf  onni  tt 
rate    before   ikt 


OMWgh  fo  ailow  at  Www  $  Mctws  of  w«rr 


!s  >tcam  pressure  to  balance  the  load, 

I  must  be  increased  in  order  to  give 

the  required  speed,  but  even  then  only  a 

Itght  pressure  is  sufficient  to  do  the  work. 

Fig.  3  illustrates  this  point,  as  there  is 

a  Mater  pressure  of  20  p<^>und$  acting  on 

the  water  piston,  which  tends  to   f<  rcc  it 

■r,   while   the   pressure 

is  45  pounds  .  thcre- 

•nly  tlir  IS  to  be  provided 

If  the  sii  s  of  these  pumps 

6  inches   in   diameter,   the   required 

I  re  would  be  25  pounds,  and  if  they 

only  5  inches  it  would  be  jff  pounds, 

1  is  about  one-half  of  the  boiler  pres- 

Thi*    would    l>e    more    satisfactory 

il.  and  for  this  case  in 

ip  cocks  arc  pruMdcM 

ic  steuiii  cylinder  of  each  pump,  an«l 

is  no  drip  pipe   for  the   fran\e 

The  1 54-inch  pipe  between  the  cross  on 

I  nr  «ide  and  a  governor  on  the  other  wa* 

out.    bushings    which    reduced    the 

tigs  to  the  right  si/e  for  '^  inch  pipe 

suhsiituied   and   a    suitable   connec- 

is   shown   w.ns   inadr    for  one  pump. 

»«Tvirr     rrndcrrd     pr'"\rd    to    be    SO 

for  the 


'«■    now 


Ibr    rr 
quantity 
causing  a  sudden  rrdmti"" 
the    govrrnor*     rrsp<ifidri| 
^  a  full  cbarjir  <•(  str.im  t 

a«    the    pi|»r    was    l.uk:'-    '■ 
W   the    nrrrs«ary    fiiinti?- 


h 


nc  3 


the   i>rrs«ure  dotS  OOl   foil  rttooc 


anpwa  ponp  hi  Mr  p* 


274 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  9,  1909. 


small  space  with  other  valves  and  several 
pipes,  making  it  inaccessible  for  cleaning 
and  repairs.  The  overflow  pipe  was  origi- 
•nallj-  of  small  size  and  made  as  short  as 
possible,  with  few  fittings.  Air  would 
sometime^  be  trapped  in  this  pipe,  and 
thus  prevent  water  from  flowing  away 
freely,  causing  it  to  spill  on  the  floor  and 
cause  trouble.  To  prevent  this  action  the 
pipe  was  increased  from  ^  to  i  inch,  and 
a  tee  used  in  place  of  the  first  ell,  as 
shown   under   the    main    lever.     As    the 


cal  header,  on  the  top  of  which  is  a 
^-inch  angle  valve  that  is  opened  one- 
sixth  of  a  turn.  This  allows  all  air  to 
escape  to  the  return  pipe,  preventing  ex- 
cessive pounding,  even  when  steam  is  first 
turned  on,  and  keeping  the  pipes  free  from 
air  at  all  other  times ;  but  it  does  not 
waste    heat,    because    the    return    pipe    is 


lower  inlet,  while  the  bypass,  or  blowoff 
valve,  is  of  the  angle  type,  located  lower 
down,  with  a  dead  end  or  pocket  still 
lower,  formed  of  the  same  pipe ;  conse- 
quently, if  the  incoming  water  contains 
sand,  scale  from  the  inside  of  the  pipes 
and  other  foreign  matter,  it  will  lodge  in 
this  pocket  instead  of  going  into  the  trap. 


FIG.    4 


FIG.    5 


upper  outlet  was  left  open  the  air  escaped 
freely,  yet  the  water  did  not  overflow, 
because  the  tee  was  as  high  as  the  small 
reservoir  provided. 

The  original  small  pipe  became  filled 
with  sediment  from  the  water  used,  at  a 
point  beneath  the  floor,  but  this  objection 
was  removed  by  making  a  pocket  above 
the  floor,  using  i-inch  tees  and  suitable 
nipples  for  this  purpose.  Two  plugs 
were  provided,  the  threads  coated  with 
graphite,  and  they  were  screwed  in  only 
lightly  in  order  that  they  may  be  easily 
removed  when  the  trap  thus  formed  be- 
comes filled  with  sediment.  These  are 
located  high  enough  to  admit  of  setting 
a  pan  under  them  to  prevent  staining  the 
floor  with  muddy  water  when  the  pipe  is 
washed  out. 

Fig.  6  illustrates  a  tilting  steam  trap 
located  where  it  receives  the  discharge 
from  three  long  drip  pipes,  which  dis- 
charge water  from  different  parts  of  a 
heating  system.  Sometimes  this  part  of 
the  system  is  noisy  because  the  water  re- 
sulting from  the  condensation  of  steam 
is  warm  in  one  drip  pipe  and  cold  in  an- 
other; therefore,  one  kind  of  water  ham- 
mer is  the  result.  By  throttling  the  dis- 
charge from  the  warm  pipe,  for  which  a 
valve  is  provided,  this  can  be  prevented, 
as  it  regulates  the  flow  until  there  is  little 
difference  in  the  temperature  of  the 
pipes,  resulting  in  smooth  operation. 

These  three  pipes  discharge  into  a  verti- 


about  400  feet  long,  which  is  sufficient  to 
allow  the  returning  water  to  become  cool ; 
therefore,  the  small  amount  of  steam  that 
passes  this  valve,  usually  under  3  pounds 
pressure,  goes  into  the  feed  water  and 
gives  it  a  higher  temperature  than  it 
would  otherwise  have. 

The  outlet  from  this  vertical  header  to 
the    trap    is    connected    just    below    the 


When  pressure  is  off  from  the  heatinf 
system,  a  plug  at  the  lower  extremity  is 
unscrewed  and  all  sediment  removed.  It 
is  surprising  to  note  how  quickly  such  a 
pocket  will  fill  with  sediment.  This  ar- 
rangement of  drip  pipes,  etc.,  was  devised 
to  take  the  place  of  connections  that  did 
not  give  good  results  on  account  of  poor 
design  and  inconvenient  operation. 


February  9,   1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


v$ 


Modern    British    High-Speed    Steam    Engine 


Current   British    Practice,    Giving    Efficiencies.    Mctlio*!*    <A    G 
ing    and    Lubrication     and     Pnncipal     Details    o(     .Starj.iard     \Uk 


ovcfii- 


BY        JOHN        DAVIDSON 


;ic  high-speed  engine  is  largely  used 
in  Kngland  for  all  purposes,  and  it  may 
*afely  be  said  that  more  high-speed  en- 
1  for  use  on  land  are  manufactured  in 
.  .  l.ind  than  in  any  other  country  in  the 
world.  The  majority  of  these  engines  are 
for  use  at  home,  but  a  great  numt>er  are 
sent  abroad.  English  productions  in  this 
direction  l>eing  used  in  almost  every 
country. 

The    term    "high-speed"    is    somewhat 

misleading — although   no   doubt   generally 

•  rstood— but   "quick   revolution"    is   a 

correct  definition  of  the  type  of  en- 

under    consideration,    as    it    is    high 

1   of    revolution    only    which    makes 

these  engines  difFcr  from  any  other  type. 

All  engines   running  at  speeds  exceeding 

I30  revolutions  per  minute  are  generally 

-en  of  as  high-speed  engines,  and  they 

in  general  use  running  at   speeds  up 

00    revolutions    per    minute    for    the 


As  illustrating  general  practice  of  the 
leading  high-speed  engine  builders  in 
England  today  the  follow  int;  table  is 
given: 


I.H.P. 

50. 
100 

2U>. 


K< 


M 


1- 

»V»i  •..,   .■■-. 

SM  to  OUO 

&nu 

350  t«  »7i 

2A0 
.200 
.160  to    180 


Htmd 

ft.V) 
«7S 
7S0 
775 

aoo 

900 

1000 


The  Eakly  HicH-srux>  ........... 

Although   the    high->perd    enipne    wms 
first  intr  r  i* 

now  in  i:  ipid 

strides  having  been  made  during  the  last 
few  years  despite  the  competition  of  the 
steam  turbine.    Even  mill  owners  have  at 

last    recognized   th-      — ' -  '    ' -lity 

and  economical  %v  ^ed 

type  oi  engine  for  dm  tag  Uicir  mill},  bat 


<; 


ric.   I    STCAM  coNSUnmoN  or  a  Murut-zxrAHtion  iftcn-frur>  isr.ivi 


""  'Her  powers,  whereas  the  speed  of  the 
^t   engines   usually  does   not  exceed 
iuu  to  350  revolutions  per  minute. 

Piston  Snzo 
The  piston  speed  of  the  engines  is  not 
much  in  rxrrss  of  that  of  slow-jpecd  en 
gines,  cxcrjit  in  the  case  of  the  larger 
powers.  The  early  high-speed  engines 
were  made  with  short  strokes,  and  conse- 
quently with  low  piston  speeds,  but  dur- 
ing the  last  few  years  there  has  been  • 
tendency  to  increase  the  strokes  and  pis- 
ton  speed*  This  has  most  i  •  '  "  "  '  ""cn 
brought  about  h\   »he  nrrrs  .n- 

<Mny  in  desiK'' 
petittrrn       In 


It   will   he   readily   seen   that    Irom 
'*t  the  same  weight  of  material  J<,  per 
more  power  is  then  obtainable 


the  slow-speed  Corli*> 
firm  hold,  an 

will  l>e  many  ,, r......    - 

of  engine  will  be  largely  used.     A 

ber  ...--, 

rlr 


luch  a 

nutn- 

'- vcn 


ipr 

1 

the 

hor- 

of  . 

the 

of     cfiitme 


igh  ipeed   enginrt 


of 


<^cd  bjr 


flCJUoTl.    wi  rn   rum 

rouiion.  are 


it  VM  an  CXI 


r-«cliaff 

w  oonsual 

Ikvhics.  bat 

■nd  nHAciml 


The    introdnction    of 
however.  <lid  away  wjlli  iW 
single-acting  cogiac*  and 
nbers  of  tht»t  cflf 
r.ed  oiling  was  fint  hrnngbt  into 
ail   engine  boildcrs  of  today  sm 
Kibncation  and  doable-acting 
T^'oc  of  the  singW  acting  type 
factttfcd. 


AvTAirTAcis  or  t«s  Hica- 
High- speed  engines  have 
tages  OTcr   tbe   slow-speed  typa^ 
may  be  sommariicd  as  follows: 

power,  and  tnna  it  occnpM 
and  reduces  tbe  cost  of  tbe 

Wha«  <fT..n..r     <       tr^4if>..n.    Mid 

are  ces  tbe 

The     r'tg:\    »|«rr>j     «-i-.^-;'r     i>     '•»     tbc 

type  manubcturcd.  t«  rdtabk  and  m 

ject  to  a  mininMHn  of  w«nr. 

It   may   appear   1  own w bat 

to  say  that  there  is  constdaral 

in  3  highspeed  engine  tban  m  a  slow- 

Kine,  bat  ncsertbelesa  it  it  a  fad. 

!:i«h  spaed  cngbK*  ol  tbc  boat 

ustnents  arc  reqoifcd 


is  no  doabt  pmmpaBy  dnc  to  lh« 
laci  that  an  the  wearmc  parts  of 
speed  engines  arc  large,  aad  ibc 
ation    is    SHMt 


^w  partkwiBff*  arc 
gtven  l»eiow   oi   a   jai^boescpowcf 
crank    cngiise    after    ranaiBg    7 
la  bow*  per  day  Mid  joo  daya  par  y«tf : 


tw 


k  « 


i'-- 


i  •  <  %»   •'< 


arc 

! 


Mid  tbSiL    SOgCiUf     s:!^ 


276 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  9,  1909. 


and  the  necessary  perfection  of  workman- 
ship put  into  the  engine,  accounts  for 
their  success. 

Again,  high-speed  self-lubricating  en- 
gines require  much  less  attendance,  and  it 
is  common  practice  to  put  one  man  in 
charge  of  from  four  to  six  high-speed 
engfines  in  a  generating  station.  This  is 
only  rendered  possible  by  the  automatic 
system  of  lubrication  adopted,  and  is 
rarely  found  possible  in  the  case  of  slow- 
speed  engines. 

Economy 
There  are  also  many  points  in  their 
favor  as  regards  economy,  and  actual 
tests  of  modern  engines  have  shown  that 
high-speed  engines  have  at  least  as  high 
economy  and  efficiency  as  any  other  type 
of  engine  manufactured.  In  Fig.  i  is 
shown  the  consumption  of  steam  per  indi- 
cated and  per  brake  horsepower  of  a  high- 
speed triple-expansion  mill  engine  work- 
ing with  steam  at  a  pressure  of  175 
pounds    per    square   inch   and    exhausting 


equal  to  the  best  Corliss  engine  results, 
and  owing  to  the  high  efficiency  resulting 
from  the  forced  lubrication  and  throttle 
governing,  the  economical  performance  at 
light  loads  is  relatively  much  better  than 
in  the  case  of  slow-speed  engines. 

The  type  of  engine  cylinder,  viz.,  piston- 
valve  cylinders,  also  renders  the  use  of 
superheat  practicable,  and  great  advan- 
tages  are   thereby   obtainable.     In   Fig.   2 


s 

1    1    J    1    1    1    1 

y\ 

1 

1 

1  1 

/\ 

6 

M      S 

a 

•J     10 

1 

/* 

■• 

. 

/ 

,<> 

•> 

.'X 

.^^^ 

y 

2     16 
5     18 

0^ 

y 

^^y 

■?' 

y 

y 

r 

V- 

20 

y' 

1 

2'JO      180      100       140       120       100        SO         00         40        20 
Superheat  at  Stop  Valve  in  Degrees  Fahrenheit 


FIG.     2.     GAIN   FROM   SUPERHEAT 


gain,   a    large    percentage    of    economy   is 
derived  from  the  use  of  superheat. 

Methods  of  Governing 
The  method  of  governing  small  high- 
speed engines  is  most  generally  by  means 
of  a  plain  centrifugal  governor  fixed  to 
the  crankshaft  and  acting  directly  en  a 
throttle  valve.  In  the  case  of  lathe  en- 
gines several  makers  are  now  fitting  a 
governor  which  at  light  loads  controls  the 
speed  of  the  engine  by  throttling,  and  at 
heavy  loads  by  altering  the  degree  of  ex- 
pansion, in  the  high-pressure  cylinders. 
This  has  been  found  the  most  economical 
method  of  governing.  In  the  early  days 
of  high-speed  engines,  many  makers  used 
crankshaft  governors  which  acted  directly 
upon  the  steam-distributing  valve  and 
controlled  the  speed  of  the  engine  by 
altering  the  cutoff  throughout  the  whole 
range.  This  type  of  governor  is  largely 
used  in  America,  and  with  great  success 
for  medium-speed  engines,  but  for  high 
speeds    it    has    been    found    impracticable 


FIG.     3.     BROWETT-LrNDLEY    VERTICAL   ENGINE 


into  a  condenser  having  a  vacuum  of  26 
inches,  the  steam  being  superheated  100 
degrees  Fahrenheit.  These  are  the  ordi- 
nary present-day  conditions  as  regards 
steam  pressure  and  vacuum  for  ordinary 
slow-speed  mill  engines,  so  it  will  at  once 
be  seen  that  the  results  obtained  leave  lit- 
<le  to  be  desired.  A  consumption  of  11.8 
pounds  per  brake  horsepower,  or  10.9 
pounds    per    indicated    horsepower    being 


is  shown  the  percentage  of  gain  due  to 
superheat  ranging  from  0  to  200  degrees 
Fahrenheit  on  a  high-speed  triple-expan- 
sion engine.  From  this  curve  the  advan- 
tages of  superheat  are  apparent,  and  150 
to  200  degrees  Fahreriheit  are  quite  suita- 
ble for  high-speed  engines.  At  200  de- 
grees Fahrenheit  the  saving  in  steam  con- 
sumption is  no  less  than  26  per  cent.,  and 
although   this  cannot  be  counted   as  total 


and  of  very  little  advantage,  except  per- 
haps for  small  engines.  The  method 
adopted  for  governing  by  expansion  in 
the  case  of  heavy  loads  only,  will  be  de- 
scribed in   detail    later. 

Standard  Type  of  Details 
High-speed  engines  are  built  in  all  the 
usual  varieties,  viz.,  simple,  compound  and 
triple-expansion,  and  the  principal  British 


February  9,  1909. 

makers  build  engines  in  standard  sizes  up 
to  3000  indicated  horsepower. 

Cylinders.  Piston  valves  for  all  cylin- 
der* are  universally  used,  these  being  the 
ry  type  to  suit  all  condi- 
>  pressure  and  superheat. 
The  cylinders  arc  simple.  In  the  case  of 
two-  and  three-crank  engines,  each  cylin- 
der with  its  line  of  parts  is  usually  quite 
independent  of  the  other,  that   is  to  say. 


POWER  AND  THE  EN-^lmluK. 


■  nfAOKT 

revc:.! 


water  irom 


usually  made  a  little  mo; 

of  the  engine,  10  as  to  prevrm  on  ^>r^ng 


J77 

heck  piece* 
1  tf '»   ii4 


thcK  cnc- 


»  I't:  ^r.r  t!f  im 

nknuntd  by  curiae 
ili^ihi  uuital  ifriac  aad  ky  i!k— tc 


_-.^^J= 


1-^X 


^K      ._ 


i=^ 


■      4.     TYPE  OP   PISTON    RING   IK   COM- 
MON   USE 

the  cylinders  are  not  stayed  together  in 

.vay.    This  leaves  each  engine  entirely 

'f  ht  crnt^rrd  over  its   own   crank, 

■  'ion  owing  to  un- 

the   temperature 

of  the  steam.     Steam  jacketing  has  been 

tried,  and  no  benefit  being  derived,  it  has 

been  abandoned  by  most  makers. 

It  may  be  of  interest  to  note  that  all 
builders  of  this  type  of  engine  appear  to 


wilh  which 
if,  frame  and 
be<l  or  ba*e.  1  he  arrangement  referred 
to  will  be  clearly  seen  by  referring  to  Fig. 
3,  which  shows  in  section  the  type  of  two- 
erank  compound  engine  as  manufactured 


na  6l  domoh  nsTOMt  showing  paiiv 


AM*    VAflS 


carried    up    the    rod    and    being    drawn     stcaBi  free  acccM  bdttad  Um 


^  box  into 
.en    the 


It 


that  the  distance-pi- 
V    the   bottom    cylinder 
Lu. ^r,  a:A  j.^  :l.:.  cover  and  the  crosshead 
guide  are  bored  out  at  the  same  Mtting 

and  the  cover  afterward  turnr  ' 

drel   i'ltted  into  these  two  n 

t'ulonj.       i  ''*f 

snull  engine*  "> 

ment.  but  the  Ic 
compound  and  tr 
are  usually  made  (  ' 
the  '  ' 

u»r.! 

it  Of  ill 


rmgs  It  placed  a  str' 
which  W«-— ••  »'«•"«  ^ 
flanges. 


pltltMl 


TW 


•r 

mmi  ate 


»jiiy 

u»r<j     n 

appear    » 

villi 

may 
alnv 

!T^    (Ui^i 

r 

may  app^ 

4 

f^ 


r-f 


J 


ri(.       C        M>MIBAl.TV    TVIt   OP    RING 


'-Jy        na   7    •«"' 


'.rowctt.  l.in.llry  ft  Co..  Ltd.  ff  Ma" 
■  ^r    <.  r   ....^(.r*   ranging  from    u^i  i" 
'. or,  and  thi«   may   W   tiV-v 
in  Ml  01  the  best  stand.ir  '  ''-  ■        <U- 
In    this    envine    the  are     Ing 


'  ^.>   ^t   ^•.L.l^turr  trai^Ai  *    •<  <  • 


openmg*. 


both   back  and   front,  to     lUe  type  ^i  ring  shown  m 


278 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  9,  1909. 


owing  to  it  being  perfectly  balanced.  It 
is  the  usual  practice  to  fit  liners  of  hard, 
close-grained  cast  iron  in  the  cylinder- 
valve  chests  for  all  except  the  smallest  of 
engines.  For  compound  engines  up  to  400 
indicated  horsepower,  one  valve  placed 
between  the  high-  and  low-pressure  cylin- 
ders is  generally  used.  The  arrangement 
is  shown  in   Fig.  7,  and  it  is  certainly  a 


compared  with  the  stroke,  the  average 
practice  being  between  two  and  three- 
fourths  to  three  times  the  length  of  the 
stroke.  A  few  firms,  however,  make  their 
connecting  rods  as  long  as  three  and  one- 
fourth  times  the  stroke. 

Valve  Gear.  The  gear  for  driving  the 
valves  consists  simply  of  an  eccentric 
keved  to  the  crankshaft,  driving  the  valve 


CROSSHEAD  AND  PISTON  ROD  FORGED  IN  ONE  PIECE 


very   simple   engine,   only   one   valve   and 
gear  being  reqiiired. 

Motion  Work.  The  marine  type  of 
crosshead  and  connecting  rod  is  used  by 
all  builders,  all  wedge  and  cotter  adjust- 
ments having  given  place  to  the  simple 
cap  and  two  bolts.  For  engines  up  to 
about  600  horsepower  the  crosshead  and 
piston  rod  are  usually  forged  in  one  piece, 
but  for  larger  powers  the  two-bearing 
crosshead  of  the  marine  type  is  generally 
adopted  so  as  to  make  it  easy  to  withdraw 
the  piston  rods  and  crossheads,  which 
would  otherwise  be  a  difficult  matter.  The 
design  of  these  details  is  shown  in  Figs. 
8  and  9. 

The  piston  rods  and  ci-ossheads  are 
usually  made  of  high-carbon  steel,  0.4  to 
0.5  per  cent.,  mild  steel  being  used  for  the 
connecting  rods.  The  crosshead  bushings 
are  made  of  phosphor  bronze,  and  these 
working  in  conjunction  with  hardened- 
steel  crosshead  pins  of  ample  size,  are 
very  durable.  The  crank-pin  bushings  are 
lined  with  white  metal  in  every  case. 
Cast-iron  crosshead  slippers  are  always 
used.  Experience  has  shown  that  even 
with  the  most  perfect  system  of  lubrica- 
tion, large  bearing  surfaces  are  necessary ; 
consequently  the  pressure  per  square  inch 
is  very  low.  General  practice  shows  the 
maximum  pressure  per  square  inch  on 
crosshead  pins  to  be  900  pounds;  on 
crank  pins,  350  pounds,  and  on  crosshead 
slippers,  40  pounds. 

Although  the  piston  speeds  of  these  en- 
gines are  by  no  means  low,  there  has 
been  very  little  tendency  to  cut  down  the 
weight  of  the  parts.  In  the  early  engines 
the  parts  were  made  as  light  as  possible, 
but  apparently  experience  has  shown  that 
there  is  no  necessity  for  this,  and  that  it 
is  far  more  advisable  to  make  the  parts 
of  ample  strength  and  thus  to  a  great  ex- 
tent prevent  buckling,  should  there  be  a 
slight  rush  of  water  into  the  engine.  With 
a  view  to  decreasing  vibration,  connecting 
rods    are    made     of     considerable    length 


spindle  through  an  eccentric  rod  in  the 
usual  way.  In  small  engines  the  valve 
rods,  together  with  the  crosshead,  are 
made  in  one  piece,  and  the  guide  is  gener- 
ally formed  by  swelling  out  the  valve  rod 
at  the  bottom  end,  this  working  through  a 
long  bushing.  The  design  of  valve-rod  end 
is  similar  to  that  of  the  piston  rod,  viz., 
marine  type,  a  pair  of  phosphor-bronze 
bushings  being  fitted  and  made  adjustable 
by  cap  and  bolts.  Eccentrics  are  made  of 
cast  iron,  the  latter  being  in  all  instances 
lined  with  antifriction  metal. 


Gun-metal  bushings  for  the  main  bearings 
are  not  fitted  by  any  of  the  large  firms 
except  when  specified. 

It  has  been  found  in  practice  that  cast- 
iron  bushings  are  preferable,  and  when 
heating  occurs  due  to  foreign  substance 
getting  into  the  bearings,  or  want  of 
lubrication  caused  by  neglect,  cast  iron  is 
less  liable  to  close  in  than  gun  metal.  It 
is  the  general  practice  not  to  fit  liners  to 
any  of  the  bushings,  but  simply  to  ad- 
just them,  metal  to  metal,  when  the  main- 
bearing  bolts  are  tightened  hard  down. 
Owing  to  the  ample  surface  provided  in 
the  main  bearings  of  these  engines  and,  as 
already  stated,  the  excellent  system  of 
lubrication,  adjustments  are  very  rarely 
required  and  certainly  not  for  several 
years. 

Crankshafts.  Crankshafts  are  made 
from  solid  forgings  of  Siemens-Martin 
acid  steel  to  specification  equal  to  that  of 
Lloyds  except  for  the  largest-sized  engines, 
in  which  case  the  crankshaft  is  sometimes 
built  up  of  three  equal  parts,  couplings 
being  formed  solid  at  the  end  of  each 
portion.  It  is  more  general,  however,  to 
make  shafts  for  engines  up  to  2000  horse- 
power in  one  'solid  piece.  The  strength 
of  the  shafts  is  somewhat  greater  than  of 
shafts  used  in  slow-speed  practice,  but 
this  is  principally  brought  about  owing  to 
the  necessity  for  large  bearing  surfaces. 
To  provide  for  this,  with  the  ordinary 
type  of  shaft,  would  necessitate  a  great 
length  of  engine,  and  no  advantage  would 
be    gained     thereby.     The     pressure    per 


r::j. 


FIG.     9.     TWO-BEARING    CROSSHEAD  OF   MARINE  TYPE 


Main  Bearings.  The  standard  practice 
regarding  these  appears  to  be  plain  bush- 
ings of  cast  iron  lined  with  antifriction 
metal,  the  bed  with  its  caps  being  bored 
out  to  receive  them.  One  large  firm, 
however,  does  not  fit  loose  bushings  to 
the  main  bearings  at  all,  but  simply  lines 
the  bed  and  cap  with  antifriction  metal, 
afterward  boring  the  lining  out  in  place. 


square  inch  on  the  main  bearings  of  en- 
gines rarely  exceeds  200  pounds,  this  be- 
ing calculated  on  the  maximum  pressure 
obtainable,  as  measured  from  the  indi- 
cator diagram.  This  in  most  instances  is 
the  determining  factor  for  the  size  of  the 
crankshaft. 

Flywheels.    Owing  to  the  high  speed  of 
rotation,  the  flywheels  are  necessarily  of 


February  9,  1909. 

small  diameter,  the  maximum  speed  on 
the  rim  usually  not  exceeding  6000  feet 
per  minute.  Tfiese  wheels  are  made  in 
plate  form  and  never  with  arms,  this  de- 
sign being  most  suitable  for  such  small 
diameters  and  much  stronger  than  could 
possibly  be  made  with  arms.  Owing  to 
the  great  number  of  impulses  per  minute, 
it  has  been  found  that  wheels  of  a  fairly 
good  fit  and  simply  keyed  on  soon  work 
loose,  and  the  practice  today  adopted  by 
all  firms  of  repute  is  to  make  the  shaft  a 
forcing  fit  for  the  wheel,  the  latter  then 
being  forced  on  by  hydraulic  pressure.  In 
the  case  of  large  engines,  if  this  system 
is  adopted,  the  crankshaft  and  flywheel  be- 
come a  very  unwieldly  piece  of  machinery 
for  transit,  and  owing  to  this  it  is  usual 
to  form  a  coupling  solid  with  the  crank- 
shaft and  carry  the  flywheel  between  this 
coupling  and  the  coupling  of  the  dynamo 
or  extc  ••  carrying  the  wheel  in  the 

case  of  r  kj.  This  arrangement  was 

first   introduced  bv  the  late  Mr.  Willans. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

Causes  ol  Elngine  Failure 

By  R.  CrtmnLOH 


When  an  engine  gets  a  do«c  of  water 
in  the  cylinder  while  niiming  at  foil  speed 
and,  as  a  result,  becomes  more  or  less  6t 
for  the  scrap  pile,  it  i       '  seen  that 

an  unusual  force  was  i  \y  broacht 

>' '  and   it   is  <   to  look 

"  a  little  tec  "how 

It   luppcncd  ■■     The   f  -df  is,  of 

course,  the  kinetic  en-    .  ■ -.c  moving 

parts  of  the  engine,  principally  the  Ay- 
wheel,  the  sire  of  the  energy  drpc!-'-  - 
on  the  weight  of  those  moving  part 
the  velocity  at  which  the>-  were  movini; 
at  the  time  of  the  accident  A  hundred' 
pK)und  weight  resting  on  the  floor  doe« 
not   f>n«*r<«   energy,    hot   m   pi^-kinp    )•    -ip 


on    it.      This    amount    oi    work    is    now 


V9 

•oto   b!a>    in  tht  iorai  o<  kmctx   csKrsy 
tr  roooM  the  rrimi»n  ofcrcd. 

tlvc    ....    ..   ibc  force  thm  kroe«te  iaio 

action  '*«Tr'*^'Tg  oa  Uk  bac  dara^ 
which  the  chaagc  oocors.  la  a  kiaij  «». 
fine  with  a  poadcrow  ijrwhHl  tim  forw 
*^'  <   aaacMcd.  bai   coasidtf  a 

lit-  nch    atfair    wflh    l«bt    hdl- 

"  'A  iochcs  n  daaartcr.   fMa- 

<*>=  -  rvoloboas  per  oaaaic     S«^ 

poac  the  tacc  of  the  whcd  hai  w  14  mrhiu 
and  of  an  averacc  thickatM  of  1  iack 
If  w«  disregard  all  the  dber  ■wm^  pans 
and  coaatdcr  oaljr  the  two  «rWd  nmt  ^m 
vetffkt  of  these  aould  be 

X  65  X  3.1416  X  I  X  14  X 
14*1006 

pooads.    With  «7s 
we  gel  a  vchKiiy  of 


leet   per   sccoad.   aesr 

kioelic  energy  of  the  iw    mn^^ 

then,  accordiflt  to  the  f< 


•vaAUhle 


DIACKAM   SBOWINC  OISTMBUTION  Of  TBB  VOBCX  OT  A  MX»W 


and  It  iij>  !i;i  .i'U.iiit.iKc  (<t  inakiMK  J  ^c{> 
simple  tl>  wheel  <asting.  The  flywheel 
practically  consuts  of  a  heavy  rim  with  jn 
inner    plate    or    rim    suitable    for    uttacli 

nt  to  the  coupling. 

'1/  Tkrowert  In  engines  of  the  forced 
lubrication  type  there  is  a  great  .itiiomir 
of  splash  inside  the  crank  case.  althouK^ 
none  of  the  working  parts  are  allowed  tu 
dip  into  the  oil.  It  i»  therefore  ne  e**ar> 
to  provide  means   for  preventing   this  oil 


leaking  jnk 

shaft  In 

the  rn 

ing   ..f 

more  or  le**  success,  but  it 

that  by  making  a  ring  of  th' 

in  Fig.  .t  oil  leakage  i«  entirely  , 

The    arrangement    is    «imple    an«    • 

same   time     perfectly     eflfective       .^f     th*-      ,.f 

governor  end   of   the   engine   there   )«   "        den    i"i'i    ■>• 

nece*»ity     for     the     erank«haft     t n^.r      hi  the  c;rltn<! 

through   thr  general) 

closed   in  b'. 


-lorru,   >*.)  to   speak.   11    wir    «tcign;   in   inc 
form  of  potential  energy   as  long  as  held 

"Utpinar)    .<* 

p>  '  1    into   kioci*i 

•  t<  rloor.  docs  the 

as  wat  expended 

in  '. '  I*'*'-!      T>  «•  ftamr 

with  a  sd 

initted     t"     mr     ^Jiiii«ir.      "n     >i.*iiii>k     uf*,     a 

certain  amount   of  work   is  dnoe  by   the 
.     ^-  the  engine  up  to  ipcrd. 

used    lo    nirri'rMTtr    (rK 

:  vbuuld  not  I ' 
ainiag  part   g 
•,ukr\%  of  the  engmr 

l.nt    at    f^'    rr.^: 


it  .     *      ,. 

L«ow6i7>n6 
footpooadi^  where  W  *  1 

the     m<ivin,r     rvirt*      y    — ;    |^f 

t  ^     The 

stcitrij-up  mrr^  dcpeads  oa  the 
rif  the  resistaace  to  ff^mim     As 
practicaOy  inciwwpmsiMe.  if  a 
ii  should  happen  to  60  the 
the  psstoe  and  the  cylatder 
the    cooBpressaaa    period   ol    the 
when  there  a  odd  he  ao  oallei  lor 
action  woold  he  ideabcal  to  the 
a  blow      To  dtlsf  unae  the  foeee 
Mow  it  is  nicr— rj  id  kaow  the 
quired  to  bnag  the  ainiig  parts 
mgine  to  rest,  if  they  actnallj  c 
rest,  which  h  not  at  aD  kkdy.  if 
tng    m    only    redacMig    the 
atnooM  (*f  rrtw^wa  aasel  be 
ftoch  6g  ^  a 

an  lasts- 
engtae  are  o4 

•ian<!  thlt  Mow.  ie^  aetaaly  lo 
efu  «t    Wfiiiag    the 


re 

ol 

of 


km 
re- 


al the 


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•I 


28o 


POW^ER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  g,  1909. 


inches  from  the  fulcrum  of  this  lever,  the 
force  at  this  point  is  correspondingly 
greater  and,  the  crank  and  connecting  rod 
forming  a  toggle  joint,  the  force  or  pres- 
sure is  distributed  toward  the  shaft  jour- 
nals as  well  as  against  the  cylinder  head, 
which  explains  the  broken  journals  or 
split  and  cracked  frame  which  are  often 
a  result  from  a  dose  of  water  in  the 
cylinder.  Considering  the  thrust  against 
the  cylinder  head  alone,  if  the  crank 
should  be  in  the  position  shown  in  the 
diagram,  the  distance  C  A,  which  we  get 
by  prolonging  the  line  representing  the 
connecting  rod  until  it  intersects  the  ver- 
tical center  line,  would  be  about  4V2 
inches.  The  thrust  on  the  head  would 
tlien  be 


A  New  Departure  in  Flexible 
Staybolts* 


562,469.584  X  32K 


AV^ 


pounds,  or 


4,062,280.329 


12  X  12  X  C.7854 


=  4,062,280.329 


=  35,918.233 


pounds  per  square  inch,  all  on  the  assump- 
tion that  the  engine  was  strong  enough  to 
withstand  the  shock.  No  engine,  how- 
ever, is  built  to  do  so  and  some  part  is 
smashed  long  before  the  full  kinetic 
energy  has  been  developed. 


Cost  of  Producing  Electricity 


E.  A.  Ashcroft,  in  a  paper  recently  pre- 
sented to  the  Faraday  Society,  estimates 
the  cost  at  which  electricity  can  be  pro- 
duced in  a  5000-kiIowatt  plant  as  £8  6s. 
6d.  per  kilowatt-year  for  steam,  £6  i8s. 
for  gas  engines  and  Ij  4s.  for  oil  engines. 
The  items  are  fuel,  labor,  upkeep  (com- 
prising maintenance  and  depreciation)  and 
capital  charges.  He  divides  water  power 
into  two  classes :  first-class  powers  yield- 
ing an  even  supply  all  the  year  round 
without  high  cost  of  regulation  or  of  de- 
velopment, with  which  sort  of  a  plant  he 
estimates  that  a  kilowatt-year  can  be  pro- 
duced for  £2,  made  up  of  fuel,  6s. ;  upkeep, 
8s.;  capital,  13s.;  royalties  on  rights,  13s. 
The  cost  for  water  powers  of  the  second 
class  he  estimates  at  £5  6s.- per  kilowatt- 
year,  made  up  of  fuel,  8s. ;  upkeep,  13s. ; 
•capital,  £4  2s. ;   royalties  on  rights,  3s. 

Mr.  Ashcroft  was  quite  aware  that 
water  powers  of  his  first  class  are  not 
■often  met  with.  He  mentions  a  develop- 
ment near  Vacheim  on  the  Sogne  Fjord 
capable  of  yielding  7500  kilowatts,  or  1000 
"horsepower,  which  can  be  developed  for 
less  than  £5  per  horsepower,  including 
payments  for  dam  rights.  At  Meraker, 
near  Trondhjem,  3000  horsepower  had 
been  sold  at  £1  5s.  6d.  per  electrical  horse- 
power on  a  seven-year  contract,  and  at 
Notodden  (the  Birkeland  Nitrate  Works) 
the  price  was  £1  8s.  per  horsepower  for 
3000  electric  horsepower.  Water  power  is 
"being  more  closely  studied  than  it  used 
'to  be ;  several  governments,  Swiss,  Bavar- 
•ian,  Wiirtemberg  and  others,  have  now 
taken  up  the  problem  quite  seriously. 


The  increasing  size  and  '  pressure  of 
boilers  makes  this  subject  of  vital  im- 
portance to  those  who  are  responsible  for 
the  management  of  that  type  of  boiler  in 
which  the  firebox  is  stayed  by  a  large 
number  of  bolts. 

In  recent  years  some  form  of  flexible 
staybolt,  that  is,  one  having  a  movable 
joint,  has  been  very  extensively  used  in 
the  breaking  zone  of  locomotive  boilers, 
but  their  high  cost  and  the  difficulty  of 
applying  them,  their  rigidity  from  rust  and 
scale  and  the  fact  that  their  use  throws 
an  additional  service  on  the  adjacent  bolts 
because  of  lost  motion  has  militated 
against  their  more  general  use. 

It  is  well  known  that  staybolts  fail  not 
because  of  the  tensional  loads  upon  them, 
but  from  flexural  stresses  induced  by  the 
vibration  resulting  from  the  greater  ex- 
pansion of  the  firebox  sheets  than  of  the 
outside  sheets ;  but  notwithstanding  the 
general  acceptance  of  this  theory,  engi- 
neers have  designed  staybolts  solely  with 
respect  to  the  tensional  loads.  It  is  quite 
general  practice  to  recess  the  bolts  below 
the  base  of  the  threads  and  this  has 
effected   a   slight   reduction    in     the    fiber 


it   is  thus  possible  to  apply  and  head  up 
the  bolts  in  the  usual  manner. 

Tests  were  made  of  such  a  bolt  in  com- 
parison with  ordinary  iron  bolts  by  clamp- 
ing one  end  of  the  bolt  in  a  machine  and 
revolving  the  other  end  through  a  radius 
of  3/16  of  an  inch,  the  specimen  being  6 
inches  long  from  the  end  of  the  right 
head  to  the  center  of  the  rotating  head. 
A  tensional  load  of  4000  pounds  was  also 
applied  to  the  bolt.  A  i-inch  iron  bolt 
having  an  actual  breaking  strength  of 
32,500  pounds  and  weighing  20  ounces 
broke  with  6000  such  vibrations.  An  iron 
bolt  y?,  of  an  inch  in. diameter,  having  an 
actual  breaking  strength  of  24,500  pounds 
and  weighing  15  ounces,  broke  with  5200 
such  vibrations,  while  a  spring-steel  stem 
bolt,  I  inch  in  diameter  at  the  end  and 
7/16  inch  in  the  stem  and  with  an  actual 
breaking  strength  of  32,000  pounds  and 
weighing  10  ounces,  withstood  500,000 
such  vibrations  without  breaking.  On 
some  such  bolts  the  test  was  continued  to 
a  million  vibrations  without  failure.  The 
paper  contains  a  calculation  to  show  that 
with  staybolts  spaced  4  inches  apart  and 
with  a  temperature  of  the  inside  sheet  of 
400  and  of  the  outside  sheet  of  100  de- 
grees, the  expansion  between  two  bolts 
will  be  0.0079  of  an  inch  and  each  bolt 
will    deflect    0.00395    of    ^n    inch.      This 


W\.\N'V^'\'V\A^ 


FLEXIBLE    SPRING-STEEL    STAYBOLT 


stress,  but  practically  no  effort  has  been 
made  to  design  a  bolt  to  meet  the  flexural 
stresses  or  even  to  calculate  their  magni- 
tude. The  stress  increases  in  direct  pro- 
portion to  the  diameter  and  decreases  as 
the  square  of  the  distance  between  the 
sheets. 

It  is  obvious  that  the  remedy  does  not 
lie  in  the  use  of  a  slow-breaking  material, 
but  in  the  employment  of  a  material  of 
sufficiently  high  elastic  limit  to  meet  the 
conditions  of  service.  It  is  also  possible 
to  reduce  the  diameter  of  the  bolts 
greatly  by  the  use  of  such  a  material,  thus 
proportionately  reducing  the  fiber  stress 
in  flexure. 

Staybolt  material,  however,  must  pos- 
sess sufficient  ductility  to  enable  the  ends 
to  be  readily  hammered  over  to  make  a 
.steam-tight  joint  and  to  afford  addi- 
tional security  against  pulling  through  the 
sheets.  To  meet  these  conditions  the  bolt 
shown  herewith  has  been  designed,  of  the 
same  grade  of  steel  as  that  used  in  the 
manufacture  of  springs.  It  is  oil-tempered 
and  will  .safely  stand  a  fiber  stress  of 
100,000  pounds  per  square  inch.  Its  high 
elastic  limit  makes  it  possible  to  reduce 
the  diameter  to  Yi  or  7/16  of  an  inch,  or 
even  less.    The  ends  are  of  soft  steel  and 


amount  of  deflection  will  stretch  the  usual 
type  of  bolt  beyond  the  elastic  limit.  In 
practice,  however,  one  bolt  may  hold 
rigidly,  throwing  the  entire  deflection  on 
the  adjacent  bolts,  or  neither  bolt  may  de- 
flect and  the  sheet  will  then  buckle.  The 
author  figures  that  under  the  conditions 
assumed  and  supposing  the  bolts  to  be 
rigid,  the  sheet  would  buckle  Yf,  of  an 
inch,  which  must  ultimately  lead  to  a 
crack  in  the  furnace  sheet.  If,  however, 
the  bolt  deflects,  allowing  the  sheet  to 
normally  expand,  the  latter  will  be  re- 
lieved of  the  extraneous  load. 

A  bolt  of  sufficient  flexibility  to  deflect 
under  the  forces  following  expansion  and 
of  material  which  will  not  be  stretched 
beyond  the  elastic  limit  in  resisting  these 
forces  will  greatly  assist  in  reducing  the 
cost  of  boiler  maintenance  by  eliminating 
broken  staybolts  and  reducing  the  stresses 
in  the  furnace  plates.  If,  in  addition,  the 
bolt  has  a  smaller  diameter,  the  life  of 
the  furnace  plate  should  be  farther  in-J 
creased,  as  such  bolts  will  interpose  lessl 
obstruction  to  the  circulation  of  the  water 
in   the  water  legs. 


♦Abstract  of  paper  by  H.  V.  Wille  pre- 
sented l)efore  the  American  Society  of  Me- 
chanical  Engineers.       / 


One  advantage  in  using  large  boiler 
units  is  the  reduction  in  heat  units  lost 
by  radiation  per  pound  of  coal  burned  and 
pound  of  water  evaporated. 


February  9,   1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


U 


\ 


282 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  9,  1909. 


The  Installation  of  Direct-Current  Motors 

Plain   Directions  for  Setting  Up  and  Operating  Motors,   with   Some 
General  Rules,    Observance    of    Which  Will  Insure  Excellent  Results 


B  Y        R. 


H. 


FENKHAUSEN 


When  installing  motors  of  any  type,  one 
of  the  first  requirements  is  a  knowledge  of 
the  proper  size  of  wire  to  use.  Many  ex- 
cellent wiring  tables  have  been  compiled 
for  this  purpose,  but  in  case  none  is 
available  the  following  formula  will  give 
the  correct  size: 

Let  cm.  =  Circular    mils    in     required 
size, 
D  =  Distance  in  feet  one  way, 
/  =  Current   in   amperes   at   full 
load, 


5.5  volts.  Substituting  the  known  values 
for  the  corresponding  letters  of  the  for- 
mula : 


F  =  Volts  lost  in  line, 
21.5  =  Constant  =  resistance  of  a 
two-wire  circuit  I  foot  long, 
of  wire  i  mil  in  diameter. 

1  X.  D  X  21.5 


V 

Example:  Twenty-five  amperes  at  110 
volts  must  be  transmitted  300  feet  with  5 
per  cent,  drop;  S  per  cent,  of  no  volts  is 


25  X  300  X  21.5 


=  29,318. 


5.5 

This  is  the  required  cross-section  in  circu- 
lar mils,  and  it  will  be  found  by  reference 
to  Table  i  to  fall  between  Nos.  5  and  6  of 
the  standard  sizes ;  either  of  these  sizes 
will  be  close  enough  for  practical  use,  or 
one  wire  may  be  run  of  each  size  for 
closer  results. 

The  full-load  current  taken  by  various 
motors  may  be  obtained  from  Table  2, 
calculated  by  the  formula 


/  = 


H.P.  X  746 


Eye        ' 

where 

/  =  Current  in  amperes, 
H.P.  =  Rated  horsepower  of  motor, 
746  =  Watts  in  i  horsepower, 
E  =  Voltage  of  circuit, 
e  =  Efficiency,  varying  from  50  per 
cent,   in   very   small   motors  to 
95  per  cent,  in  large  motors,  87 
per  cent,  being  an  average  effi- 
ciency  for  moderate-sized  ma- 
chines. 

The  result  obtained  by  use  of  this  for- 
mula should  be  increased  by  25  per  cent, 
at  least,  to  allow  for  overloads  on  the 
motor. 

The  wiring  may  either  be  run  open  or 
inclosed  in  iron  conduit,  but  around  in- 
dustrial plants  open  work  will  usually 
give  better  satisfaction  when  large-sized 
wires  are  to  be  run,  owing  to  the  greater 
facility  in  installing  the  wires  and  accessi- 
bility when  repairs,  alterations  or  exten- 
sions are  to  be  made  to  the  distribution 
system. 

Separate  Supply  Circuits  Desirable 
Separate  circuits  should  be  run  for 
motors ;  if  they  are  supplied  from  light- 
ing circuits  the  rush  of  current  at  start- 
ing will  cause  disagreeable  fluctuations  at 
the  lamps.  This  applies  particularly  to 
elevator  and  other  motors  requiring  fre- 
quent starting  and  having  widely  vary- 
ing loads.  In  cases  where  the  110-220- 
volt  three-wire  system  is  used  to  supply 
both  lamps  and  motors,  no  motors  larger 
than  %  horsepower  should  be  connected 
to  the  neutral  and  one  main  wire,  or  seri- 
ous unbalancing  of  the  system  will  result. 
The  supply  line  to  each  motor  should 
terminate  at   a  starting  panel   containing 


the  fuses  or  circuit-breaker,  main  switch 
and  starting  or  speed-regulating  rheostat.. 
The  fuses  should  be  of  the  inclosed  type 
and  their  proper  capacity  may  be  ascer- 
tained in  the  same  manner  as  that  of  the 
line  wires,  except  in  such  cases  as  where 
a  starter  with  an  overload  release  is  used 
or  where  a  circuit-breaker  is  used  in  addi- 
tion to  the  fuses.  In  these  cases  the 
fuses  are  not  intended  to  blow  unless  the 


overload-release  or  circuit-breaker  should 
become  inoperative,  and  therefore  they 
should  be  of  greater  capacity  than  when 
they  are  used  as  the  only  safety  devices^ 
Table  3  gives  the  fuse  ratings  recom- 
mended by  one  of  the  largest  controller 
manufacturers  in  the  United  States. 

Switches  and  Connections 
All  switches  for  currents  in  excess  of 


February  9,  1909. 

25  amperes  should  be  of  the  quick-break 
type,  as  the  arc  drawn  by  opening  a  direct- 
current  circuit  is  much  more  destructive 
than  one  formed  with  alternating  current. 
Self-contained  motor  panels  carrying  all 
necessary  apparatus  are  on  the  market  and 
their  use  is  advisable,  where  the  slight 
nttra  cost  will  not  be  a  detriment.  Fig.  i 
ihows  such  an  installation.  Fig.  2  shows 
1  cheap  but  reliable  singlc-pole  carbon 
arciiit  breaker  recently  placed  on  the 
---'  t,  and  intended  as  a  substitute  for 
It  is  made  in  capacities  up  to  75 
res  at  250  volts,  on  direct  current, 
vhen   installed  one  in   each   lead  of 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

ing  type  it  will  give  a  valuable  record  of 
the  time  the  machine  is  idle,  the  load  fluc- 
tuations and  the  manner  tn  which  the 
controller  is  handled ,  this  will  osoalljr 
make  the  operator  more  careful,  with  a 
consequent  decreaM  in  power  and  r<-p«ir 
bills. 

MoTOt    FtAMtS   AND   LOCATION 

The  "Tieads"  or  journal  brackets  of 
nearly  all  motors  are  bolted  on  with  foor 
bolts  or  some  maltiple  thereof,  which 
allows  the  same  motor  to  be  mounted  00 
the  floor,  wall,  or  ceiling  simply  by  rotat- 
ing the  heads  through  90  degrees  or  180 


na  3 


,  a 


tator  and  urusart  nore  yccrwMtit  ^ot 
«llcw  the  beh  to  ke  located  where  «  m 
out  <  ■  Whca  locatii«  a  waatar, 

««P^  .<T  ot.  do  act  inrpn  <hi 

it  BU)  U  accrvaary  to  dlBaaatlc  it  lar 
repairs  some  day.  ud  Wave  rooa  to  re- 
move the  arvttiore  wiihoM  ddMi^  Mf 
the  machinery  hi  the  tbo^:  afco  War  ia 
mind  that  the  load  that  a  asotor  caa  Midy 
carry  >.   ».,.^..v*.<  v..   .1^. 

ing  : 

i*v  a  U  I  «iTr>oui  vmiiutiaa  arjl  oaly  carry 
about  three-foartlH  of  the  load  tlwi  oeaM 
be  carried  if  the  motor  were  gi««a  ptefti 
vemilatin**  The  ratiac*  of 
inelo"  '  oOy-iad* 

tratr  rflccttvdy     Brciasi  of  iW 

poorer  ventilatsea  of  the.  two  bttcr  tyyc* 
'hr\  are  fivea  lower  rattan  W  the  aaaa- 
■rn  than  npea  aMtort  of  the  wtmt 
:ii  Aod  wtadtnr* 

ScillW  Movtw^  n«  Till  r'^  ^DJknmis 
The    frame*    of    tto-voh    to    Jf^-wili 
motors    shoold    be    insalatcd 
ground,  bat  oa  circuits  of  9^ 
over  the    antor    frame    shoaM    he    weff 
groiiaded  to  prcvcni  iajury  to  the  atMsd- 
m  h  thecwtofagTBaai  ia  the  aniar 


i=*-- 


-<r 


»►-  4 


lino  Tuinr^  aiicaipciag  to  hah  • 
todatioa  one  shoald  avh* 
sare  t.^.>'  ■•'■■^  ttj aadatioa  t»  pr-'— '-  — s» 
and  level,  then  locate  the  si  i» 

cloae  a*  possihlr.  lettiag  thrwi  «itn  ike 
idjastmg  •errw*  at  opfoaMe  ead^  •• 
ilaMrated  m  Fkg  ^  hat  do  aei  hak  thaa 
down.  Place  the  amtor  m  poMUoa  aa  the 
rafla  and  liae  M  a^  witfi  the  drrvea 


I  I        '*  rafla  and  liae  M  at  witfi  the  drrvea  paSry 

\i    u-  T^      A  ulk  line  shoaM  be  pracwad  and  hy  a«d 
1  brlaer  •irvtrhed  acreaa  the  tare  ti 


helper 


by  the 


ircuit  not  only  renders  a  switch  and 

unnecessary,  but   makes   the   molur 

It    nonclotable    on   overload,    as    one 

'cr  will  trip  at  soon  as  the  other  is 

I  if  a  short-circuit  or  heavy  overload 

>'  »tiU  on  the  line. 

Fig.  3  show*  complete  connections  for  a 

•    r  with   rejtuljt; 

All    inoiuf     41)    uii.:' 

--d    in    if*    rtr--'" 
>n  ihr  mnlor  pati'-' 
.      afor    may    avoid    '>\r- 
motor,  by  observing  the  ammrtrr   1-  ■ 
•"-I*     If  this  ammeter  be  of  the  r<- 


'    ,■-....    ^   and  the  olhae   slg 

•«  whea  the  hat  har«*v  towhrs 

The  kaa  ••  nan 


W 


\   with   inKrchAa^obk     ni^s  ui   at 
xrt.  Soaw  ava  go  iMa  lar  aad  eal  *t 

00  cashnga  or  other     Haed  ope  b«  M 


•<-<l       {Mi     ' 

:i  or    |l 


•itrtt   S^    •' 


'are*  OMMt  be  mod*  wWw  M 


284 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  9,  1909. 


After  the  motor  is  lined  up  the  rails 
should  be  bolted  down  and  the  motor 
moved  toward  the  driven  pulley  as  far  as 
possible  before  taking  the  belt  measure- 
ment, which  will  allow-  maximum  adjust- 
ment before  it  becomes  necessary  to 
shorten  the  belt.  Whenever  possible  the 
driving  stretch  of  the  belt  should  be  the 
low'er  one.  The  pulleys  should  be  as  far 
apart  as  conditions  will  allow ;  the  belt 
may  then  be  left  slack  and  a  large  arc  of 
contact  with  the  pulleys  obtained,  decreas- 
ing the  wear  on  the  belt,  bearings  and 
shafting  and  materially  reducing  the  fric- 
tion loss  of  the  drive  and  the  motor  cur- 
rent in  consequence.  The  belt  should  pre- 
ferably be  endless,  but  under  no  consid- 
eration should  a  belt  fastening  be  used 
that  is  thicker  than  the  belt  itself ;  if  it  is, 
a  disagreeable  jar  will  be  felt  each  time 
the  joint  strikes  the  motor  pulley.  In  put- 
tmg  on  an  endless  leather  belt  care  must 
be  used  not  to  run  the  belt  against  the 
laps ;  otherwise  the  thin  edges  of  the  laps 
will  gradually  loosen  until  the  pulley 
catches  them  and  rips  the  belt  apart.  Be- 
fore starting  a  motor  be  sure  that  the 
bearings  are  filled  with  a  good  quality  of 
engine  oil,  and  see  that  all  oil  rings  rest 
on  the  shaft  and  turn  with  it.  If  the 
brushes  are  not  fitted  to  the  commutator 
a  piece  of  sandpaper  should  be  held 
around  the  commutator  with  the  rough 
side  up  and  the  armature  rocked  back  and 
forth  until  the  brushes  are  properly  fitted, 
cfter  which  they  should  be  set  on  the 
neutral  point.  The  "no-load"  neutral 
point  is  usually  located  at  the  factory  by 
chisel  marks  on  the  rocker  arm  and  frame. 
For  reversing  the  motors  the  brushes 
should  be  set  exactly  on  this  point,  but 
for  nonreversing  motors  they  should  be 
moved  back  slightly  in  the  direction  op- 
posite to  the  rotation  of  the  commutator, 
until  sparkless  commutation  is  obtained 
with  full  load.  When  reversing  motors 
are  heavily  loaded  running  in  one  direc- 
tion and  only  lightly  loaded  when  re- 
versed, "back  lead"  should  be  given  the 
brushes  for  the  direction  of  rotation  in 
v.hich  the  motor  is  heavily  loaded. 

Starting  Up  and  Shutting  Down 

In  starting  up,  first  close  the  main 
switch  and  then  slowly  cut  out  the  resist- 
ance until  full  speed  is  reached.  If  the 
motor  runs  in  the  wrong  direction  it  must 
be  shut  down  and  the  brush  leads  re- 
versed. In  series-  or  shunt-wound  motors, 
either  the  brush  or  the  field  connections 
may  be  reversed  to  change  the  direction 
of  rotation,  but  for  compound-wound  or 
interpole  motors,  the  brush  connections 
alone  may  be  changed;  otherwise  there 
i<  danger  of  reversing  the  series  or  com- 
pensating windings.  For  this  reason  it  is 
well  to  adopt  the  rule  of  changing  the 
brush  connections,  regardless  of  the  kind 
of  winding.  If  the  series  winding  of  a 
compound-wound  motor  is  reversed,  the 
application  of  a  heavy  load  to  the  motor 
is  liable  to  cause  the  series-field  winding 


to  overpower  the  shunt  winding  and  pos- 
sibly cause  the  reversal  of  the  motor,  with 
disastrous  results.  A  sure  test  for  the 
series-field  connections  is  to  put  a  light 
load  on  the  motor  and  then  short-circuit 
the  series-field  winding.  If  the  speed  of 
the   motor   increases   the   connections   are 


TABLE  1.     UNDERWRITERS'  WIRE 
TABLE. 

Maximum  Current. 


Rubber- 

B.  &  S. 

Covered 

Weather- 

Circular 

Size. 

Wire. 

proof  Wire. 

Mils. 

14 

12 

16 

4,107 

12 

17 

23 

6,530 

10 

24 

32 

10,380 

8 

33 

46 

16,510 

6 

46 

65 

26,250 

5 

54 

77 

33,100 

4 

65 

92 

41,740 

3 

76 

110 

52,630 

9 

90 

131 

66,370 

1 

107 

1.56 

83,690 

0 

127 

185 

105,500 

00 

150 

220 

133,100 

000 

177 

262 

167,800 

0000 

210 

312 

211,600 

TABLE  2.     RATING  OF  DIRECT- 
CURRENT  MOTORS. 
Full  Load  Current. 


H.P. 

115  Volts. 

230  Volts. 

500  Volts. 

^         i 

1.9 

0.95 

0,42 

X 

2.7 

1.35 

0.62 

i 

5.0 

2.50 

1,15 

f 

7.5 

3.75 

1.70 

1 

9.2 

4.60 

2.10 

2 

17.5 

8.75 

4.00 

3 

24.6 

12,30 

5.60 

!4 

32.0 

16,00 

7.50 

5 

40.0 

20,00 

9.20 

7i 

.57.0 

28.50 

13.00 

10 

76.0 

38.00 

17.50 

15 

110.0 

55.00 

25.00 

20 

144.0 

72.00 

34.00 

25 

176.0 

88.00 

40.00 

30 

210.0 

105.00 

49.00 

35 

250.0 

125.00 

57,00 

40 

280.0 

140 . 00 

65.00 

45 

320.0 

160.00 

75.00 

50 

350.0 

175.00 

80.00 

60 

430.0 

215.00 

100.00 

75 

520.0 

260 . 00 

120.00 

100 

700.0 

350.00 

160,00 

125 

880.0 

440 . 00 

210.00 

150 

1056.0 

530.00 

245.00 

175 

1230.0 

615.00 

280 . 00 

200 

1400.0 

700.00 

325.00 

TABLE  3.     FUSES  FOR  MOTORS. 
With  Overload  Starting  Boxes. 


H.P. 

115  Volts. 

230  Volts. 

500  Volts, 

i 

4 

2 

1 

i 

8 

4 

2 

1 

15 

8 

4 

2 

30 

15 

7 

3 

40 

20 

10 

4 

50 

25 

12 

5 

60 

30 

15 

7i 

90 

45 

20 

10 

115 

60 

25 

15 

175 

90 

40 

20 

225 

115 

50 

25 

300 

150 

60 

30 

350 

175 

75 

35 

400 

200 

90 

40 

450 

225 

100 

50 

600 

300 

125 

60 

700 

350 

150 

75 

800 

400 

200 

correct,  but  if  the  motor  slows  down  the 
series  winding  is  reversed  and  should  be 
changed  immediately. 

When  shutting  down  a  motor  do  not 
pull  the  rheostat  arm  away  from  the  re- 
taining magnet,  but  open  the  main  switch 
and  the  rheostat  will  release  as  soon  as 


the  motor  slows  down.  Many  operator: 
are  puzzled  by  the  fact  that  the  retaining 
magnet  does  not  release  the  rheostat  arn 
until  the  motor  speed  has  dropped  abou 
50  per  cent.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  tha 
the  retaining  magnet  is  energized  by  th 
counter-electromotive  force  of  the  arma 
ture,  which  also  keeps  the  shunt-fieli 
winding  excited,  until  its  speed  is  no  Ion 
ger  sufficient  to  hold  up  the  voltage. 

The  shunt-field  circuit  of  a  motor  mus 
never  be  suddenly  broken,  even  thoug! 
the  armature  be  stopped,  as  the  sudde; 
opening  of  a  highly  inductive  circuit,  sue 
as  that  of  a  shunt-field  winding,  causes  a 
induced  voltage  greatly  above  the  norms 
voltage  at  the  terminals  of  the  winding,  i 
the  circuit  is  broken  very  quickly,  an 
this  may  puncture  the  insulation  of  th 
motor  windings.  If  the  circuit  must  b 
broken  it  should  be  done  by  graduall 
drawing  an  arc  until  it  breaks.  Mo; 
motor  starters  are  so  connected  that  th 
field  winding  discharges  the  induced  voll 
age  through  the  armature  and  resistanc 
when  the  rheostat  arm  flies  to  the  "off 
position. 

Curing  Warm   Bearings 

In  case  the  bearing  of  a  motor  becom( 
too  warm  do  not  stop  the  machine,  b< 
cause  the  babbitt  will  contract  and  gri 
the  shaft  and  necessitate  rebabbitting 
keep  the  machine  running  slowly,  with  th 
load  ofi,  and  keep  pouring  cool  oil  on  tl 
bearing  until  it  cools  down  to  a  sa: 
working  temperature.  The  motor  mi 
then  be  stopped  and  the  bearings  shoul 
be  removed  and  any  slight  roughness  c 
the  shaft  or  bearings  removed  with  a  fi 
or  scraper ;  the  bearings  should  then  1 
calipered  and  if  not  too  loose  may  be  r 
placed.  If,  however,  the  bearings  ai 
badly  cut,  there  is  no  remedy  save  r 
babbitting. 

When  the  fuse  or  circuit-breaker  in 
motor  circuit  opens  the  circuit,  the  ma 
switch  should  be  opened  the  first  thin 
Then  the  circuit-breaker  (if  there  is  on< 
should  be  closed  and  again  tripped  1 
hand  to  make  sure  that  burning  of  tl 
contacts  has  not  rendered  it  inoperativ 
The  breaker  should  then  be  closed  (or  tl 
fuse  replaced)  and  the  motor  started  ; 
usual.  If  the  fuse  or  the  breaker  aga 
"blows,"  trouble  must  be  looked  for 
the  motor,  as  will  be  explained  in  a  subs 
quent  article. 

In  plants  where  many  motors  are 
use,  the  various  departments  should  1 
divided  into  routes  and  these  rout 
should  be  so  laid  out  that  one  of  tl 
motor  inspectors  will  visit  each  motor 
least  twice  each  week.  The  inspect 
should  carry  an  oil  can  and  keep  all  ( 
wells  filled  to  the  proper  hight,  being  car 
lul  to  remove  the  side  plugs  when  fillin 
in  order  to  avoid  getting  the  wells  t( 
full.  He  should  also  inspect  the  bearin; 
and  by  testing  the  air  gap  satisfy  himse 
that  they  are  not  dangerously  worn.  Tl 
commutator  should  then  be  inspected  ai 


February  9,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


if   necessary   smoothed   down   with   sand- 
paper   (never  emery  cloth),  after   which 
the  brush  tension  should  be  tested  by  rais- 
ing   each    brush    from    the    commutator, 
J  careful  that  all  brushes  of  the  same 
;)  arc  in  contact  with  the  commutator 
Lcfore    raisin^,'   any   brush    of  that    group. 
If    the    ci  iiimutator    needs    lubrication    it 
!'l   be   lightly   touched    with    a   clean. 

,   tly  oily   rag    (never   use   waste)    and 

the  surplus  oil  immediately  removed  with 
a  dry  cloth. 


Lubricants  for  Cylinders 


Bv  John  M.  Sewell 


.i  perfectly  smooth  surface  exists  only 
in  theory.  With  the  most  modern  appli- 
ances it  is  possible  at  the  best  to  produce 
only  a  comparatively  smooth  surface  and 
:i  two  surfaces  of  this  kind  come  to- 
cr  in  sliding  contact,  their  rouKhness 
t»  evidenced  by  the  frictional  resistance 
to  the  motion  and  the  wear  of  the  surfaces 
in  contact.  The  interior  surfaces  of  the 
cylinders  fitted  with  the  reciprocating  pis- 
tons, together  with  pistons  themselves, 
form  excellent  examples  of  surfaces  in 
ftliding  contact.  Lubricants  are  used  to 
reduce  both  the  frictional  resistance  and 
wear.  This  is  accomplished  by  intcr|»o«.ing 
a  thin  layer  or  film  of  the  lubricant  be- 
tween the  two  moving  surfaces,  tilling  up 
the  minute  depressions  and  preventing  the 
very  small  projections  of  one  surface  from 
engaging  with  and  dislodging  similar  pro- 
•-  'ions  on  the  other  surface. 

iie  question  of  cylinder  lubrication  is 
an  attractive  one,  and  it  is  cne  that  is  ex- 
tensive   in    its   scope.      Ihiwever.    for    the 
purpose    of    discussion,    all    cylitxlers    re- 
quiring lubrication  may  be  gri.ii|»e<l  under 
four  heads  t>r  classes       1'\t^i,  the  i  \lnuler» 
of  the  steam  engine;  second,  the  .\liii<ler» 
of  explosive  umtors  or  gas  engines;  third, 
the  cylinders  of  air  compressors  and  am- 
.monia  compressors;  fourth,  the  cylinders 
■  ^  and  hydraulic  machinery.    These 
:nav    l>e    farther    distinnuished    by 
•    cylinder,  whether  ver- 

It    has    been    ar.  oil,     or     its 

equivalent,   need   n  irily   be   u»e<l 

on   slidmg    surfaces,  but   that    water   will 
•crve  the  purpose.    This  cannot  be  clenie.! 
for  when  water  it  used,  it  forms  a 
between  the  moving  surfaces  and  rr.! 
the    friefion       But    water    cuinot    )n 
me  ■ 

W 
Cal    t>pr<i    ot     rnKlllc, 

success,  and  in  every 
■ration   i«   practical,   it 
ible   10   inf)uire   into  the 
I    pile   before   coming    l<>   al- 
lusion regarding  the  econ.  n.. 
I     of     luhrit.itinn     for     use     1: 
nders.     Il  is  clearly  imp«»s«ible  to  »»...■. 


the  use  of  some  tort  of  i<ir 

majority  of  cates,  no  r 

water  may  work  under  tmam  ffujui 

The  CoNoiTioNt  to  k  Mti 

The  question  it,  then,  to  obi^...  i<,c 
lubricant  for  the  existing  conditions  and 
no  one  can  tell  these  condition*  be'ier 
than  the  man  in  charge  of  the  mac>>inery, 
for  the 
same  in  .1 

met   with  are.      l-ir>l.   the  ir 
the   cylinders   arc   made   is 
needs  better  lubricant ;  scci>nd,  the  loca- 
tion of  the  valves  may  be  different,  which 
would   make  necessary   a  better  kind  of 
lubricant:  third,  high  t< '       - 
heat  or  steam,   the  hr.i' 
pression,    or    the    1  ■ 
combustion  of  the  , 

chamber;   fourth,   water  due  to  the  con- 
densation   of    steam    on    account    of    the 
cooling  effect  of  the  cylinder  walk;  fifth, 
water  retained  by  the  steam  and  carried 
over  from  the  boilers  into  the  cylinder*, 
which   may   often 
some  impuritie* :  »• 
pressure  of  ti- 
the walls  of  tl 

As  a  consequence  of  these  condition*,  a 
cylinder  oil  or  other  lubricant  to  be  valua 
ble  must  possess  the  following  character- 
istics :     First,  it  III        ' 
ing  |H«int  "r  pf>ini 
the 

pO'' 

free  from  contact   under  pre**urr ,   ti 

it   must   be  as   fluid    as    consistent     » 

pressure   conditions ;    fourth,   it    must    be 

capable    of    resisting    the    action    of    the 

atmosphere:   fifth,  it   must  be  free  from 

cort 

the 

fore   be   scrti  *l  •< 

tions    cannot    be 

lubricant,  but  mutt  br 

The    selection    of    a    .  >  '•-. 
therefore    necessitates    a    »tud> 
exi  ■ 
per 


I  11.    I  ii>»«f«^«  ( 


agr  is  > 

It  is 

what     I' 


r..,.All.       .l..fl«< 


l»      •  Ot.AirK'3       !!!*  y      '.bKr 

ral   od.   sodi   as   pro4accd 

aimI  brtumimwn   sluk  kf 

'httlfUtf<n     sr«^iblc  od; 

U    cMh 


then 


ntn   ior  a    cyt**^''    com 


d    motumtt 

cxMi  in  ever}  ttr^ni  isunocr,  aad  lo  a 
certain  extent  m  the  cylmdrr  ol  rtplatm 
encmes  Hencr  the  m«  d  cadMT  ol  tknt 
01U  fna«t  be  retarded  at  camuvy  10  ^ood 

•>iMe  jatl  what  lakes  place  when 
these  two  oils  is  Mcd  a  Ike 

,     .1    a  tsIifiJrf    (t«n(kjunti       Tl 

tt  a  compounil 


•■  rvr    nrai 
Mm  caseat  aad  a  por- 

t  li:x  diuLAAsjcialcd 


yrigtmTty 


■t 

■ow 

•rAtimt 

10 

« 

iC« 

•.•■■,1-T^    j>iti'<i«    ano    »n»cs 

aadi 

umcd  or.  as  hi  mmmj  east*,  to 

•  thai  ikr  cylmdrr  »  Mow* 

"   same   set^f^   w««ld  likt 

fdoAs  w«rr 

•h  ..{  t 


h**ifMflvmicldd|y*o 


I    CTwd»     Od 

TW  k«««t 


iiipltfr.  tttrj   itpif  t  »k»  Um« 


'o  joo  d., 


286 

Specific  Gravity  and  Viscosity 

At  first  the  ordinary  lubricant  oils  were 
obtained  from  the  residuum  by  further 
heating  and  distillation,  but  this  destroyed 
many  of  their  valuable  lubricating  proper- 
ties. At  present,  this  residuum  is  treated 
in  a  vacuum,  or  in  superheated  steam, 
which  prevents  decomposition  of  the  dis- 
tillate and  preserves  its  lubricating  proper- 
ties. The  first  products  of  this  final  dis- 
tillation are  the  higher  machine  oils  and 
the  last  products  are  for  the  heavy  ma- 
chine and  Cylinder  oils.  At  one  time  the 
specific  gravity  of  an  oil  was  made  the 
criterion  by  which  it  was  judged  and 
selected.  That  is,  the  oil  possessing  the 
highest  specific  gravity  was  thought  to 
be  the  best  suited  for  cylinder  lubrica- 
tion, but  this  theory  was  soon  exploded 
when  it  was  found  that  some  of  the  ma- 
chine oils  possess  more  specific  gravity 
than  the  more  viscous  oils. 

Then  viscosity  was  made  the  standard 
of  comparison  and  this  to  a  great  extent 
is  the  characteristic  which  influences  the 
selection  of  oils  at  the  present  day.  But 
even  this  properly  cannot  be  relied  upon, 
for  the  very  reason  that  the  viscosity  may 
not  be  due  to  the  friction  and  cohesion 
of  the  oil  molecules  alone,  but  to  the  pres- 
ence of  paraffin,  in  which  case  its  value 
as  a  lubricant  may  be  evert  less  than  that 
of  an  oil  of  less  viscosity  but  possessing  a 
smaller  per  cent,  of  paraffin.  Farther  than 
this,  the  viscosity  of  an  oil  changes  with 
its  temperature,  the  higher  the  tempera- 
ture the  less  viscous  it  becomes.  What 
is  desired,  then,  is  an  oil  the  viscosity  of 
which  at  the  actual  working  temperature 
will  still  be  sufficiently  great  to  prevent  its 
being  squeezed  out  from  between  the 
rubbing  surfaces  under  the  effect  of  the 
pressure. 

Another  impurity  in  oil  which  lowers 
its  efficiency  as  a  lubricant  is  sulphur. 
This  may  be  present  owing  to  the  im- 
proper methods  of  refining.  To  determine 
whether  sulphur  is  present,  heat  a  very 
small  quantity  of  oil,  say  for  fifteen  min- 
utes, at  a  temperature  of  300  degrees 
Fahrenheit  and  then  allow  it  to  cool. 
When  cool,  compare  the  color  of  the 
treated  sample  with  that  of  the  untreated 
oil  and  if  the  treated  sample  shows  per- 
ceptible darkening,  it  may  be  safely  as- 
sumed that  sulphur  is  in  the  oil. 

Requisite  Qualities  for  Cylinder 
Lubrication 

This  brings  us,  then,  to  a  consideration 
of  the  qualities  of  the  oils  required  for 
lubricating  the  four  kinds  of  cylinder  re- 
ferred to :  In  selecting  an  oil  for  steam 
cylinders  the  viscosity  should  be  propor- 
tional to  the  weight  and  the  speed  of  the 
piston.  The  flashing  point  must  be  gov- 
erned by  the  steam  pressure  carried.  If 
this  is  high,  then  the  oil  should  have  a 
correspondingly  high  fire  test.  The  flash- 
ing point  should  not  fall  below  400  de- 
grees   Fahrenheit   in    any   case;    and   the 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

more  animal  fat  the  lower  the  fire  test 
which  ordinarily  calls  for  from  500  to  600 
degrees  Fahrenheit.  It  is  most  difficult  to 
obtain  a  much  higher  test.  Although 
cylinder  walls  of  an  explosive  engine  are 
cooled  with  water  jackets,  it  is  neverthe- 
less a  fact  that  the  lubricants  are  subject 
to  the  evaporative  effect  of  the  intensely 
hot  gases.  To  withstand  this  successfully 
an  oil  of  high  fire  test  is  required,  and  for 
general  use  a  pure  mineral  oil  is  the  best. 

For  compressor  work  the  cylinder 
lubricant  must  withstand  not  only  great 
heat  or  cold  but,  probably,  ammonia  influ- 
ences. This  means  either  a  high  fire  test 
or  a  low  cold  test,  or  both ;  and  the  purely 
mineral  oil  fulfils  these  requirements.  If 
ammonia  is  used  it  is  imperative  that  only 
pure  mineral  oils  be  used,  since  any  ani- 
mal oil  in  conjunction  with  ammonia  will 
form  soap,  which  in  turn  will  cause  no 
end  of  trouble  in  the  machine  and  the 
condensing  coils.  Another  mineral  that 
is  regarded  as  a  good  cylinder  lubricant 
is  graphite.  In  a  finely  divided  or  flake 
form  it  gives  an  exceedingly  smooth  skin 
to  the  metal-rubbing  surfaces  and  at  the 
same  time  considerably  lowers  the  coeffi- 
cient of  friction.  The  main  trouble  with 
the  use  of  graphite  formerly  lay  in  the 
fact  that  it  could  not  be  fed  into  the  cylin- 
der like  oil,  and  it  could  not  reach  all  the 
surfaces  that  needed  lubrication.  This 
disadvantage  restricted  the  use  of  graphite 
for  a  long  time  to  special  cases  for  emer- 
gencies. At  first  an  attempt  was  made  to 
mix  the  graphite  with  the  cylinder  oil  so 
as  to  get  it  into  the  cylinder  at  the  re- 
quired points.  The  difficulty  met  with, 
however,  was  that  the  graphite  would  not 
stay  mixed  with  the  oil  and  would  settle 
to  the  bottom,  in  which  case  it  became  not 
only  useless  as  a  lubricant,  but  very 
troublesome.  After  much  experimenting 
this  difficulty  has  been  overcome  by  the 
application  of  a  new  principle  in  the  mix- 
ing of  the  graphite  and  oil. 

Properly  speaking,  two  oils  are  used  at 
about  the  same  specific  gravity,  but  of 
such  natures  that  they  will  not  mix  to- 
gether, as  oils  usually  do;  that  is,  they 
repel  each  other  somewhat  as  do  water 
and  oil.  In  one  of  the  oils,  called  the  de- 
veloping oil,  the  graphite  is  thoroughly 
mixed  and  ground  until  every  particle  of 
the  graphite  is  surrounded  and  incased  by 
a  film  of  oil.  This  mixture  is  added  to 
the  other  oil  and  the  grinding  and  mix- 
ing continued,  until  the  distribution  of 
the  graphite  is  complete  and  uniform 
throughout  the  mixture.  It  has  been 
found  that  this  compounded  lubricant 
works  well  in  cylinders  if  properly  mixed, 
with  the  right  quality  of  oils. 

In  conclusion,  it  should  be  said  that 
there  is  no  part  of  an  engine  where  so 
much  risk  is  taken  in  changing  lubricants 
as  in  the  cylinders.  Therefore,  it  is  ad- 
visable, where  a  lubricant  is  giving  good 
service,  not  to  change  a  certainty  for  an 
uncertaintv. 


February  9,  1909. 
Hudson-Fulton  Celebration 


We  have  received  a  synopsis  of  the 
plan  and  scope  of  the  Hudson-Fulton 
celebration,  which  will  begin  on  Septem- 
ber 25  of  this  year  and  will  continue  for 
eight  days  in  and  around  Greater  New 
York  and  the  following  week  in  the  cities 
along  the  Hudson  river,  as  far  north  as 
Troy,  with  general  participation  through- 
out the  State.  It  will  surpass  anything 
ever  attempted  in  any  city  of  the  Union. 

The  commission  in  charge  of  the  cele- 
bration is  incorporated  and  consists  of 
365  members  appointed  by  the  governor 
of  the  State  of  New  York  and  the  mayor 
of  the  City  of  New  York.  Its  member- 
ship includes  the  mayors  of  all  the  46 
cities  of  the  State  and  the  presidents  of 
38  incorporated  villages  along  the  Hud- 
son. The  president  of  the  commission  is 
Gen.  Stewart  L.  Woodford,  18  Wall 
street.  New  York,  and  the  presiding  vice- 
president  (also  acting  president)  is  Her- 
mann Ridder,  182  William  street.  The 
headquarters  is  in  the  Tribune  building, 
where  the  secretary,  Henry  W.  Sackett, 
is  to  be  found.  The  treasurer  is  Isaac  N. 
Seligman,  i  William  street,  New  York  City. 

The  purpose  of  the  commission  is  to 
arrange  for  the  celebration  of  the  three- 
hundredth  anniversary  of  the  discovery  of 
the  Hudson  river  by  Henry  Hudson,  in 
1609,  and  the  one-hundredth  anniversary 
of  the  successful  application  of  steam  to 
the  navigation  of  the  river  by  Robert 
Fulton  in  1907.  Because  the  two  historic 
events  occurred  on  the  same  river  and 
their  anniversaries  came  so  closely  to- 
gether, it  was  deemed  advisable  to  post- 
pone the  1907  anniversary  and  celebrate 
both  together. 

The  plans  for  the  celebration  have  been 
formulated  with  a  view  to  the  interna- 
tional, national,  interstate.  State  and  local 
significance  of  the  events  to  be  com- 
memorated. 

Saturday  and  Sunday,  September  25 
and  26,  will  be  religious-observance  days; 
Monday,  September  27,  will  be  reception 
day;  Tuesday,  September  28,  will  be  his- 
torical day;  Wednesday,  September  29, 
will  be  general  commemoration  day; 
Thursday,  September  30,  will  be  military- 
parade  day;  Friday,  October  i,  will  be 
Hudson  river  day;  Saturday,  October  2, 
will  be  general  carnival  day  in  New  York 
City. 

In  all  the  cities,  October  2  will  also  be 
Children's  Day,  devoted  to  fetes  in  pub- 
lic and  private  parks  and  playgrounds. 

The  upper  Hudson  week,  which  will 
begin  Sunday,  October  3,  will  be  some- 
what in  the  nature  of  an  Old  Home 
Week.  Each  county  has  been  assigned  a 
day,  as  follows :  Dutchess  county,  Mon- 
day, October  4;  Ulster  county,  Tuesday, 
October  5 ;  Greene  county,  Wednesday, 
October  6;  Columbia  county,  Thursday, 
October  7 ;  Albany  county,  Friday,  Oc- 
tober 8;  Rensselaer  county,  Saturday,; 
October  9.  1 


February  9,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


Practical     Letters    from     Practical     M 

Don't   Bother  About    the    Style,    but    Write    Just    U  hat     ^  ..u    I  riifjt. 
Know  or  VI  ant   to   Know    AU>ut   ^  our   Vl'ork.   ami   Hcl(.   K-ac  h   <  >lhcr 

we~Fay    for    useful    ideas 


en 


Connecting    Rod  Design 


The    accompanying    illustration    shows 
the  end  of  a  connecting  rod  which  frac- 


of  tough,  refined  wrought  iron  or  nickd  from  wludi  lo  ttadbr 

steel,  and  should  be  annealed  at  frequent  pant 

intervals.  GoAL*  E   FuuUttAJi. 

The  drawings  from  which  this  rod  was  Pittsburi.  Pcan. 

ni.-i.li-  sh,.wri|  the  cap  and  bolts  in  po*i-  _____^^_^^_ 

Chute  for  Haadlii^  Wood 

I  caa  iimm  ID  L  Bb 
which    I    Invc 

Make  •  eimtr,  aboot  900  foci  kaig  mA  6 
wtucii   IW  «oo4  ii  4»> 

'■  lower  wklis  arc  rsiwvvv^ 
tbe  wood  will  keep  tlidaig  4owm 

The  grrar   rxs^-nte  wo«ld  be  lb*  gra4* 
ing  of  th'  »m1  to  tbt  lof  ol  Ikt 

'"<"-'-  '  'be  dMic.  ^'^^   " 


»i       r  I 

Pbiladripbia.  Pem 


H.  fumt 


BoUcr  Setting 


SHOWING   THE    riACTUKX    IN     A    CONNICTINO 


Tbe  tltettb  thomt  ibt  Mtiiaf  of  a  boAce 

in    a    plant    where   I    •■   taiploflA      A* 
urigiiuUy    Mt.    comMceablc    MBohv    •■■ 


tnred  in  service  about  as  indicated.  The 
•de  view  of  the  rod  presents  an  appear- 
ance  of  f?rrat    »ir«*nK'th.    which   on   closer 

Mg.    The 
1  with  a 
cur\r  ..I  (IS,  but  the  »{(>od  effect 

of  tills  I'  n  is  neutralued  by  the 

recesses  for  the  bolt  heads,  which  are  of 
such  large  diameter  relative  to  the  width 
of  the  rod  end  that  but  a  slight  amount  of 
metal  it  left  on  each  side  to  reinforce  the 
weak  section. 

A   thin    wall   i>(   nirt.il    su<  in- 

trodurrd  for  the  jMtrjv'^r  of  ing 

a  hr.4\  V    i;  '  11  '  •  '  ><•* 

more    li.iriM    M.  r.    ..  'Ill 

creases  the  ^tliTnes«  of  the  memt>er,  it 
may  for  »i  .•  k-v  reason  render  it  I'»s 
able  I"  r  The  strr*»  rtcvrl 

will  Ix-  !  '.      :r\  uic  thin  portion.  an<!  tti.i» 
cause  .1   ifi  k  which  would  not  );.».<    in- 
curred  hut    for   the   presence    of   such   a 
thin  web. 

In   Ihi*    ifMf.ifirr    tJir 
qoite  large,    f<>r   tlir    rr 
been     giving     trouble     by     ' 
quently,    the    break    occurrm.. 
head    and    not,    as    might    baNr    h'-c- 
peeled,  at  the  root  of  the  thread      i 
for  such  service  as  this  should  Ix-   ' 


J  u 


-t:'- 


fi 


^^ 


A      .-><Ufe4 


iv>    »•:.  -»-m" 


288 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  9,  1909. 


making   the  change   the  smoke   and   soot 
have  disappeared. 

I  am  not  in  a  position  to  state  the 
amount  of  gas  that  has  been  saved,  be- 
cause the  boiler  is  connected  on  a  6-inch 
main  with  a  number  of  other  burners. 
However,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  there  is  a 
saving  of  gas  because  of  the  more  per- 
fect combustion. 

C.  S.  RoBixsox. 

Independence.  Kan. 


An  Emergency  Packing  Ring 

The  packing  ring  gave  way  in  a  CorHss 
engine,  with  no  new  ones  nearer  than  the 
factory,  and  the  engine  was  needed  very 
badly.     The  f\-pe  of  ring  is  shown  in  Fig. 


D.  Slots  should  be  cut  on  the  inner  sur- 
face of  the  ring  before  the  ring  is  sawed 
into  its  different  sections.  Holes  should 
be  drilled  in  the  proper  places  to  receive 
the  pins  for  holding  the  ring  in  position 
on  the  bull  ring  while  it  is  being  placed 
in  the  cj-linder.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to 
state  that  after  the  bull  ring  is  in  place 
the  pins  must  be  removed  to  allow  the 
springs  to  force  the  packing  ring  outward 
against  the  cylinder  walls. 

C.  L.  Greer. 
Handlev.  Tex. 


Crosshead  Repair 

The    accompanying    sketch    shows    the 
method    employed    by    which    a    cracked 


from  parallel  to  series  and  vice  versa,  by 
means  of  standard  switches. 

The  diagrams  are  the  same  except  that 
in  Fig.  I  two  four-point  pole-changing 
switches  are  used,  while  in  Fig.  2  two 
double-pole  double-throw  knife  switches 
are  used.  In  both  cases  U,  h  and  U  are 
battery  lamps ;  5"  and  5"  are  the  switches. 
Fig.  I  shows  the  lamps  in  series  using  the 
pole  -  changing  switches ;  Fig.  2  shows 
them  in  multiple,  using  the  knife  switches ; 
a  and  b  are  common  wires  between  the 
Irmps. 

This  arrangement  of  wiring,  for  auto- 
mobile sidelights  and  taillight  makes  it 
possible  to  economize  on  battery  current 
while  the  machine  is  standing  at  the  curb 
on  the  street. 

It  is  required  by  law  and  is  necessary. 


I.  Such  a  ring  is  placed  in  'uit  slot  of 
the  bull  ring,  and  held  against  the  action 
of  coil  springs  by  small  pins,  which  are 
inserted  through  holes  in  the  rim  of  the 
bull  ring,  and  also  pass  through  holes  in 
the  packing  ring  Tnot  shown  in  the 
sketch).  These  coil  springs  press  out- 
ward against  a  tee-shaped  piece  of  iron. 


crosshead  was  repaired.  The  ban,d,  which 
was  made  of  Swedish  iron,  was,  after 
being  finished  on  a  lathe,  xl  inch  wide, 
5^  inch  thick  and  of  6y-  inches  inside 
diameter.  It  was  made  with  ^a^-inch 
shrinkage  fit  and  put  on  hot. 

C.     D.     DiSPENETTE. 

Greenville.  O. 


FIG.    I 


/= 


Throwing  Lamps  in  Series  and 
Parallel 


m 


the  stem  of  the  tee  being  inside  the  coil 
spring  and  the  cross  piece  pressing  against 
the  slots  shown  on  the  inner  surface  of 
the  ring.  At  B  is  shown  how  the  sections 
overlap,  making  a  steam-tight  joint. 

To  make  such  a  ring  as  is  made  at  the 
factory  is  difficult,  but  a  substitute  may 
be  easily  made  as  follows :  Two  rings  are 
bored  and  turned  to  the  proper  diameter 
for  the  finished  rings,  and  the  sides  ma- 
chined perfectly  true.  The  two  rings  are 
then  riveted  together  forming  a  single 
ring.  At  least  two  rivets  should  be  placed 
in  what  is  to  be  one  section  of  the  ring. 
The  ring  is  then  cut  with  a  hacksaw,  as 
shown  at  C,  Fig.  2,  after  which  the  differ- 
ent sections  may  be  separated  as  shown  at 


On  page  71  of  the  January  5  issue,  E.  J. 
Williams  asks  for  a  diagram  showing 
how  to  throw  three  lamps  from  series 
to  parallel  and  vice  versa.  The  accom- 
panying diagram  indicates  a  method  using 
only  one  double-pole  single-throw  switch 


6 


r 
O 


O 


U — ti 


MR.    DURAND  S    SUGGESTION 

which,  on  closing,  connects  the  lamps  in 
parallel  and  on  opening  puts  them  in 
series. 

W.    L.    DURAND. 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 


FIG.    ± 

to  prevent  accidents,  to  have  these  liglits^ 
burning.  When  the  lamps  are  thrown  in 
series  they  draw  only  one-third  the 
amount  of  current  as  when  in  multiple; 
however,  the  candlepower  is  reduced  in 
the  same  proportion,  but  it  is  only  neces- 
sary to  have  a  light  even  though  it  is  not 
brilliant.  A  special  lever  switch  mounted 
on  the  dashboard  of  the  automobile  would 
be  ideal  for  this  wiring  scheme. 

J.  E.  Washburn. 
Cleveland,  O. 


I  am  submitting  two  wiring  diagrams  by 
which  three  battery  lamps  maybe  switched 


I  think  the  sketch  herewith  will  solve 
Mr.  Williams'  problem,  using  the  same 
source  of  current.    If  he  wishes  to  use  two 


February  g,  1909. 

different  currents,  however,  he  may  employ 
a  double-point  double-throw  knife  switch. 
The  switch  shown  in  the  sketch  is  a 
double-point  single-throw  switch. 

James  F.  Dryuf..n. 
omoke,  Md. 


I   inclose  a   rough  sketch  of  a  method 


U. 


/^^ 


J 


+ 


UJ 


MR.   DRVDE.S  S   SOLUTION 


Switch 


IR     nKNJAMIN  S   UIACHAM 

ii  rntiM  \yf  r«ctrn<lrf|  lo  nny  number 

iio»t  de- 


POVVER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 
Eifect  oi  Scale  in  Boilers 


If  the  furnace  tefnper.it  ire  of  boikn 
a  verges    2000  degrees  t.   it   is 

quite  tiear  that  the  esc  would 

be  240  to  300  degrees  \  -e  scal- 

ing than  after  scaling,  11  :■  t.ic  th»t 

the  -ciK-  caii-.c<!  an  increase  of  ir.  m  13 
to     15     [KT    cent,    in    t'  ,n; 

f'tlicrwi^e.    IS    Hilton    W  ■<:%, 

where  (J.  -ry 

ccrt.iiii  ti  •»»« 

any  such  rise  in  temperature  of  rv.-aptng 
gases,  and  that  the  direct  effect  of  scale 
on  fuel  hills  is  small. 

But  there  is  no  justification  for  letting 
scale  form  in  boilers,  as  all  the  ditrnora- 
tion   and   repairs   to  boilers  '    im 

scale  rat)  hr  pr*'\<mtr<l.   and  -or 

of    V 
an  o; 

treatment,  whereby  the  scale-iorming  im 
purities  are  arrested  at  nominal  cost,  so 
that  the  boilers  can  be  cleaned  by  merely 
washing  out  with  a  hose. 

We    have    installed    large    numbers    of 


such    hc.i 
surrrss  \'. 


nC  ut  iKitli.:   <o:i; 
V      h.-t      f»r      f-'H 


saving  line   to   hc.i' 
haust  is  far  more  i-   . 
saving    arising   directly    from   scale    pre- 
vention. 

Erith's  ENciNruiNc  Company,  Ltt> 
London.  Evngland. 


Commutalor  Trouble 


III      n  l'i>       i>'       A        1-      I' 

commutator  advice.  I  nv 


lull)     IkUoWi),    ' 

that  is  where  i 

does   not   say   what   hit  load  i»   « 
bad  sparking  occurs,  I  takr  it  f  - 
that  he  is  carrying  the 
As  the  machine  was 
volts,  and  only  2ao  vol- 
rird.    tli« 
f  litw  •! 


t.ikr   t! 


t  a  few 

It 

;re 
oi  ten 
.As  h* 


.c  drop*  at  ful 
t.i  uit    rrtittancc  lo  |Ct 
poundinf. 

From  t!  ^ 

not  thtnl  «. 

'•J   tr*t    tuv   ofKSft 
i»  no(  brm  -J  '  «• 
i   am   tnchnrd  10  ihiak  the  troc' 
weak  6eid.  it  the  l>riiiKr>   ^n.i 
alMolntely  correcL 

Ensley.  Ala. 


ComplCMioQ 


I     »' 
agar 


I   it,  but  tbcy  do  aol 

•  rfi   with   no 

show     <&•• 

an  nwdtm 

'<  'iiacraaM 

«t  too 


I  divWIc  tlw  cthBdtr 
<4 


^\. 

nm  hibbmisiim;  cDMr«> 
and  slcui  puMge*.    drsigMtcd    by    tiM 


•  t. 

A 


.%n,   the    l.ifujn   are   in   series .    if 
lies    wfTf    ,1.  Mil    iliry    wouhl    1 '' 


>rallrl 


iladrlphta.   Pcnn 


1       .\     RlNJAMIN 


^90 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  g,  1909. 


Do  Crank  Pins  Always  Wear 
Hat? 


An  old  crank  of  the  center-crank  type 
"was  brought  into  the  machine  shop.  It 
had  evidently  been  in  use  for  a  long  time, 
for  the  crank  pin  was  worn  so  small  that 
the  owner  felt  that  it  was  no  longer  safe. 
One  of  the  men  measured  the  crank  with 


than  when  new.  Two  experts  measured 
it  carefully  with  a  micrometer  and  pro- 
nounced it  out  of  round  not  to  exceed 
0.002  of  an  inch. 

One  from  a  20-horsepower  gas  engine 
had  been  in  use  for  thirteen  and  one-half 
years.  Measuring  with  a  scale  from  the 
pin  to  the  washer  that  had  been  faced  on 
the  bell  to  give  the  brasses  a  bearing 
showed  that  the  pin  was  a  full  %  of  an 


his  calipers  and  then  told  another  of  the 
men  to  measure  the  flat  spots  on  the  pin 
and  tell  which  way  the  crank  turned. 

That  seemed  tolerably  easy  to  do,  and 
the  man  took  his  calipers  and  went  to  the 
crank.  A  glance  at  the  pin  and  bell 
showed  which  side  of  the  pin  received  the 
pressure,  for  the  pin  was  badly  out  of 
center  with  the  bell,  but  the  most  careful 
calipering  failed  to  show  that  it  was  out 
of  round;  neither  could  any  flat  spots  be 
found. 

In  a  discussion  which  had  taken  place 
about  the  wear  of  crank  pins,  the  ap- 
parent fact  that  pins  would  always  wear 
out  of  round  had  not  been  questioned,  but 
the  talk  had  been  confined  to  the  ulti- 
mate shape  and  position  of  the  results  as 
compared  to  the  original  position  of  the 
pin.  The  same  question  came  up  in  an- 
other place  some  time  later.  A  crank  pin 
was  examined  that  measured  ^  inch 
closer  to  the  bell  on  one  side  than  on  the 
other,  and  yet  this  pin  was  round  as  far 
as  the  ordinary  measurements  could 
detect. 

The  usual  assumption  is  that  crank 
pins  should  wear  flat,  and  the  assertion  is 
often  made  that  they  do  wear  flat  in 
steam-engine  practice.  The  cranks  re- 
ferred to  were  from  small  steam  engines 
of  not  over  40  horsepower,  but  for  some 
reason  they  were  round. 

If  it  is  proper  and  natural  for  a  steam- 
engine  crank  pin  to  wear  flat,  it  would 
seem  even  more  natural  and  proper  for  a 
gas-engine  crank  to  do  so.  I  measured  some 
worn  gas-engine  cranks  to  see  how  they 
wore.  One  from  a  40-horsepower  engine 
had  been  in  hard  service  for  about  four 
years.  It  had  run  dry,  had  become  cut 
several  times  and  had  been  redressed  by 
-filing.     It  was  practically  J4  inch  smallerw 


inch  nearer  to  it  on  one  side  than  it  was 
on  the  other,  yet  the  micrometers  showed 
that  the  pin  was  round  within  0.0015  of 
an  inch.  This  pin  was  7/32  smaller  than 
the  original  size. 

A  crank  from  a  15-horsepower  gas  en- 
gine had  been  in  use  more  than  ten  years. 
It  was  more  than  %  of  an  inch  smaller 
than  the  original  size.  It  was  3/32  of 
an  inch  removed  from  its  original  center 
and  was  practically  round,  being  out  but 


they  were  found  to  be  round.  Pins  have 
been  pronounced  out  of  round  by  men 
who  were  not  skilled  in  using  measuring 
instruments,  when  experts  found  the  trou- 
ble in  the  men  and  not  in  the  cranks. 

Pins  from  side-crank  engines,  if  taken 
out  and  revolved  on  the  original  centers, 
often  will  not  run  true  where  the  brasses 
bear,  but  this  does  not  prove  that  they 
are  not  round  there  any  more  than  it 
would  prove  that  an  eccentric  is  not  round 
because  it  does  not  run  true  when  put 
en  a  mandrel  that  causes  the  hole  to  run 
true.  It  may  be  that  crank  pins  on  lar- 
ger or  smaller  engines  than  these  men- 
tioned will  show  different  results,  and  it 
may  be  that  engines  designed  differently 
may  also  do  so,  and  if  such  is  the  case  it 
will  be  interesting  to  know  it. 

In  Fig.  I  the  full  circle  represents  the 
original  pin  and  the  dotted  lines  represent 
the  shape  it  was  thought  it  would  assume 
from  wear  and  its  position  in  relation  to 
the  original.  In  Fig.  2  is  shown  in  out- 
line the  original  pin,  the  dotted  circle 
representing  the  pin,  which  has  been  worn 
round  but  not  flat.  ^ 

W.  O.  Platt. 

Oil   City,   Penn. 


Trouble  Caused  by  a  Ground 


The  equipment  in  the  generator  room 
of  a  paper-mill  power  plant  consisted  of 
three  500-kilowatt  three-phase  440-volt 
revolving  -  field  alternators,  direct  -  con  - 
nected  to  water  turbines.  The  alternator 
shafts  were  extended  for  driving  the  ex- 


=  Ground 


Ground 


SHOWING  HOW  TROUBLE   WAS   CAUSED    BY    A    GROUND 


o.ooi  of  an  inch.  These  pins  had  not  been 
carefully  used  and  should  have  shown  the 
effects  of  wear  in  a  marked  and  unmis- 
takable way. 

It  takes  constant  attention  and  careful 
work  to  have  pins  turned  on  center-throw 
cranks  so  perfect  that  the  micrometer  will 
not  find  any  variation  from  round.  Pins 
were  measured  on  cranks  where  the  en- 
gines had  always  received  good  care,  and 
here  there  were  no  signs  of  cutting,  and 


citers  and  various  other  machinery.! 
There  were  two  37.s-kilowatt  excitersj 
belt-driven.  No.  i  alternator  carried  No.J 
I  exciter;  No.  2  alternator  carried  a  low- 
pressure  centrifugal  pump,  direct-con- 
nected and  a  high-pressure  power  pump, 
belt-connected ;  No.  3  alternator  carried 
No.  2  exciter  and  the  mate  to  the  centrif- 
ugal pump.  To  complete  the  "mess" 
there  was  a  gallery  switchboard  stuck  up 
under  the  roof  and  a  spiral  stairway  lead- 


February  g,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER 


ing  to  ii.  Oric  night  I  went  to  the  genera- 
tor room  and  found  the  attendant  acting 
rather  dizzy.  I  first  thought  he  had  got 
a  series  of  hurry  calls  up  the  winding 
stairs,  but  a  whiff  of  his  breath  was  suffi- 
cient proof  that  the  stairs  were  not  wholly 
to  blame. 

Soon  after  taking  charge  I  found  that 
the  commutator  of  No.  2  exciter  wa^ 
damaged  in  a  rather  peculiar  manner,  th'.- 
insulation  between  the  bars  being  burned 
all  around  the  outer  end,  and  extending 
from  one-fourth  to  one-third  the  length 
of  the  bars.  A  test  showed  the  armature 
to  be  grounded  and  the  commutator  ran 
too  warm,  but  the  machine  generated  all 
right. 

One  Sunday  morning  the  attendant 
wished  to  shut  down  No.  I  alternator  and. 
therefore,  changed  over  to  No.  2  exciter. 
Soon  after  doing  so  he  noticed  that  No.  2 


citer    and    grounded    coil    thort-drcaitH 

some   current    from   a   part   of   the   cotli. 

making  them  weaker  than  the  o»h"'     '  v 

doubtcdiy  the  primary  cause  of  • 

was  that  at  some  time  the  *    '  ' 

had    been    punctured    by 

charges,  and  the  grounded  exciter  did  the 

rest. 

H.  L  Stkonc 
Portland,  Me. 


A   Blowoff   Arrangcmcnl 

The  sketch  illustrates  a  blowoff  arrange- 
ment I  have  been  using  for  five  year» 
At  i4  is  a  2-mch  angle  valve  on  the  scum 
blowoff,  to  be  used  in  case  of  repairs  on 
the  blowoflF  valve.  The  scum  blowoff 
leads  into  the  boiler  at  the  top  and  ex- 
tends down  just  below  the  normal  water 


>Howii«o  Ml.  niTLSY's  Btjoworr  AUAjvcBiftirr 


alternator  was  vibrating  back  and  forth 
on  the  base  with  each  revolution  of  the 
tield.  My  first  impression  was  that  the 
anchor  bolts  were  l«>ose.  but  a  trial  with 
a  wrench  showed  them  to  be  tight. 

As     fhr     exciter     was     known     to     b* 
'I.  1  started  testing  the 
'uit  for  a  ground,  and  •: 
It  about  one  third  of  the  field  c<>jis  were 
rmer  than  the  others.     The  circuit  was 
-•n  broken  between  the  cool  coils  and  the 
irm  ones  and  a  te«l  showed  the  groun  1 
W  among  the  cool  ones,  and  the  fir  t 
!        I    I        'I   to   be   "it"      When   the 
•^  I   it   was  found   that   the 

msulati.ti    .«lt!    .uifh  very  heavy.   Ii.nl  f>er:i 
ptitKturr«l  4ii«l  .1  ))ole  as  large  a»  a  (juartf : 
'  a  dollar  htirnecl  in   it,  thus  grounding 
r  coil  on  the  pole  piece 
The   skrtrh    (on   page  ago)    shows   how 
•*' iible  occurred     The  grounded  ex 


line,  with  'an  ell  facing  toward  the  front 
of  the  boiler  At  D  is  a  Jinch  gate  valvr. 
and  at  t  a  2  inch  Y-ralve 

While  the  boiler  is  in  use  the  valves  B. 
I    and  D  are  open,  arnl  valv«  £  is  closed 
When   I   bl«>w  off  the  bi>iler,  about  every 
r%  B  and  C  •odopan 
Mown  Hmm  moagh 
I  blow 

,,ti    ■  tod 

open  valve  tt  in  the  line  kading  to  ibr 
main  steam  header 

With    B   <»pen.    I     get     pra.  cically    dry 
steam,  and  the  arculalion  m  i»"-  Kl..«off 
pipe    removes    anjr    mud    or    1 
from  the  dnV 


\\\'<     bv     »f 
t^riunfh    thr 


latioo   enough   to   kerf   tiw    >^. 
dear  of  mod.  etc.     I 
"»d  with  th-   "    -     ■ 

the  bat  r 
T"  renew  the  oi»*  in  s^ivr  t     ft 
once  a  vcar     I  un  OHag  tW  a 
on  ;  ho€tpomtt     trtmm-t 

b. 

Buffalo.  N.  Y. 


W^^      ? 


Rocognizing  the  >ui 

The    editorial.    "Jht    Lm* 
the  Staff,"  on  page  174  of  ill*  Ji— n  19 
number,   is  ia  iMcpiag   witll  tW   at 
ttiarine    enffir^'  the 

l-ightiriK    li  -^aiiir 

ito   little   credit    t»f    lurgctUBg  IW   mmmi 
standing    of    ibe    navigMor    w   far   a*   ID 
admit  that  "the  man  who  broaghl  ihr  Itvt 
around  the  Horn  is  the  nMs  who  hodad     V 
the  water  in  the  faetoei  and  the  ■■■ 

who    prr'—'    •►"    '— •tr-.  '        TV^    .««^    ol 

this  mi  lam 

exten!    s-  ■■' 

reir...  ••    ■  • 

tak'  ■  '■tn^t'S 

<»ft.  .iredcip 

tai-  wwMid  hav«  hatn 

m'  z'^mir^  had  earn 

par-  iter  and  pad 

in»:  ,     -  1  lo^'-^jt  Mfei 

at  the  whccL     Other  eonn  ^vU 

rxisis     Drtwrrri     <€nrrt*     "i  <w 

partment  as  a  whole  and  t)  en- 

gine dcpaftncnt'  Is  H  that  the  ir<k  oA 
cer  ItvH  tn^  hn^  W*  »»iwg  centnrw*  hr 
f <- '        '  thovghl   ov 

C;i-  '«se  the  c«g» 

neer  i«  in  a  poswwn  to  rawanand  a  *ahtrf 

in  Wrrfi'tf  »i?h  bis  ifvrrjsin*  rr*^  ^  *!hSi 

tic 


T' 

•\j' 

•h 

■Off  ol  o^naBs 

r  ».  <■ 

IS    '' 
Ihr 

..1    la^Ml 

sc 

ct««M«T.  and.  m  w««.  <a* 

t*" 

rtr-.»t»i'«<       n      f?v»j       tir#<tll^ 

hai 

mi 

•n- 

^> 

nr 

a« 

f.w-Tti      nm^^-""^     - 

V, 

icrted  it>  the  ^aschnaw  ed  fhf 

aMf  9U»   tmmi*   •««%  «<  thr 

mcirtrrrt 

•^ 

« -  »  * 

•• 

» 

•hi 

1 

.■     rrtitf 


<♦      •* »         ►-«••' 


-V* 


292 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  g,  1909. 


at  work  on  the  furnaces  and  the  hundred 
other  jobs  requiring  doing  in  the  short 
time  the  ship  would  be  in  port.  Needless 
to  mention,  all  was  noise,  dirt  and  seem- 
ing confus'on,  and  myself  in  the  thick  of 
it.  As  the  men  were  preparing  to  swing 
open  another  smokebox  door  I  was  sur- 
prised to  see  them  hesitate  and  look  over 
my  shoulder  and  on  turning  was  even 
more  surprised  to  see  the  third  mate,  Mr. 
Smitzer,  standing  watching  operations  in 
the  company  of  a  stranger.  This  third 
mate  was  one  of  those  men  who,  having 
failed  in  the  battle  of  life,  are  fond  of 
telling  yarns  of  the  time  they  were  "in 
command,"  and  have  no  little  idea  of  their 
importance.  He  condescended  to  recog- 
nize my  presence  with  a  brief  nod.  I 
noticed  one  of  my  men  at  this  point  mut- 
ter to  his  mate  and  they  both  grinned 
maliciously.  It  occurred  to  me  that  Mr. 
Smitzer  had  had  this  same  man  logged  for 
throwing  some  scraps  of  food  in  the 
scuppers. 

On  a  question  from  the  stranger  Mr. 
Smitzer  approached  me  with  a  supercili- 
ous air.  The  conversation  that  followed 
was  interesting. 

"How  manv  boilers  have  we,  Mr. — er 
— er?" 

"Six."     This  from  me. 

Smitzer,  turning  to  the  stranger,  who 
was  listening  to  my  answer,  said :  "We 
have  six  boilers !" 

"And,  how  many  fires  in  each  boiler, 
Mr. — er— er  ?" 

"Eight."'  This  to  the  stranger,  who 
originally  asked  the  question. 

"We  have  eight  fires  to  each  boiler !" 
This  from  Smitzer,  impressively. 

"How  many  men  are  on  duty  at  a 
time?"  asked  the  stranger,  pleasantly. 

"How  many  men  have  we  on  duty  at 
one  time?"'  anxiously  parroted  Smitzer, 
getting  ready  to  enlighten  the  stranger  in 
my  stead. 

"Twenty-four." 

"We  have  twenty-four  men  on  duty 
down  here  at  one  time.  Think  of  it !  You 
see,"  explained  the  garrulous  Smitzer  to 
the  stranger,  "we  have  to  drive  her  all  the 
time!"    JVe  have  to! 

At  this  moment  the  stranger  walked 
across  the  boiler  room  to  look  into  the 
uptake  of  a  clean  boiler,  Mr.  Smitzer  stay- 
ing behind  to  gaze  around  him  with  arms 
akimbo.  Suddenly  a  startled  yell  rang 
out  and  the  stranger  and  I  turned  in  time 
to  see  a  great  stream  of  ashes  pour  from 
the  opened  smokebox.  The  air  was 
filled  with  ashes  and  soot  at  that  end  of 
the  boiler  room  and  in  the  midst  of  it  all 
scrambled  the  unfortunate  third  mate. 

Of  course,  I  saw  to  it  that  the  men 
were  severely  spoken  to,  and  that  some 
of  the  ashes  were  removed  from  Smit- 
zer's  clothes  before  he  returned  to  the 
deck.  What  is  the  moral?  Why,  there 
are  several  of  them. 

B.   Slattery. 

New  York  Citv. 


Some  Vertical  Centrifugal 
Pump  Troubles 


We  have  a  vertical,  centrifugal,  belt- 
driven  pump  in  our  plant,  used  for  circu- 
lating water.  As  the  sand  which  freely 
mixes  with  the  water  is  very  sharp,  the 
casing  of  the  pump  is  provided  with  re- 
movable liners  in  order  to  protect  the  in- 
terior. These  linings  have  to  be  renewed 
every  six  or  seven  months. 


operator  is  careless  and  puts  too  much 
oil  in  the  top  bearing  the  oil  will  run  to 
the  pulley,  then  onto  the  belt,  causing  it 
tc  slip,  and  ruining  the  belt.  In  order  to 
prevent  this  trouble  we  put  an  oil  guard 
around  the  shaft  at  the  lower  part  of  the 
top  bearing  as  at  A. 

At  one  time  the  pump  failed  to  pick  up 
water.  After  disconnecting  a  flange  in 
the  discharge  pipe  it  was  found  that  the 
pipe  was  full  of  sand  to  the  end  of  the 
outlet.     As  there  was  not  ample  pressure 


1"=^ 


Referring  to  Fig.  i,  the  first  two  liners 
are  the  protectors  for  the  top  and  bottom 
of  the  casing,  while  at  the  right  is  a 
ring  for  protecting  the  sides. 

One  of  the  most  common  troubles  with 
this  type  of  pump  is  that  it  may  not  throw 
enough  water,  due  to  a,  slipping  belt.  The 
pulley  on  the  shaft  of  a  vertical  centrif- 
ugal pump  is  usually  placed  between  two 
shaft  bearings,  as  shown  in  Fig.  2.     If  the 


y/jiiitiiiis 


in  the  pump  to  force  the  sand  out  of  the 
pipe,  it  was  not  able  to  pick  up. 

A  common  trouble  experienced  with 
vertical  centrifugal  pumps  is  that  the  im- 
peller will  work  down,  due  to  the  support 
holding  the  shaft  and  impeller  wearing 
or  working  loose,  when  the  bottom  side 
of  the  impeller  will  rub  against  the  lower 
lining  plate,  thereby  wearing  this  lining 
and  lower  part  of  the  impeller  out  in  a 
short  time,  besides  causing  more  fric- 
tion, which  takes  more  power. 

We  have  a  gage  at  a  convenient  point 
on  the  vertical  shaft  by  which  we  can  see 
when  the  impeller  is  going  too  low,  when 
it  is  adjusted  again.  Here  is  where  an 
electric  motor  would  be  the  thing  for  driv- 
ing a  vertical  centrifugal  pump,  because 
should  the  impeller  work  down  too  low 
and  rub  against  the  lower  lining,  or  any 
of  the  bearings  wear,  or  be  carelessly  ad- 
justed and  out  of  alinement,  the  increased 
friction  would  be  indicated  at  once  by  a 
meter   connected   to  the  motor. 

H.  Jahnke 

Milwaukee,  Wis. 


Neatsfoot  Oil  on  Belts 


In    the    January    5    number,    page    70 
Charles    Haeusser   writes     regarding    the 
detrimental     effect     of    neatsfoot    oil    or  I 
belts.     We  have  seven  belts  in  our  plant 
ranging    from   4   inches    to   22    inches   iri 
width,  and  neatsfoot  oil  is  applied  to  eacl 
with    gratifying     results.      It    is     in    m:}   ' 
opinion    the    best    belt    dressing    one   cai 
use. 

Joseph  H.  Jacobuc.ci. 

Rawlins,  Wyo. 


February  9,  1909. 

New  Method  of   Exjualizing 
Cutoff 


:  he    two    sets    of    diagrams    shown    in 
Figs.   I   and  2  were  taken  from  the  same 
*' '  "-liss   engine.      Fig.    l    was   taken    with 
fifovernor  as  sent  out  .with  the  engine; 
ill,'.  2  was  taken  after  I  had  put  my  im- 
provement  on.      It   will   be   seen   that   an 
I   cutoff   is  obtained  on   both  ends  of 
2.  even  with  a  variable  load. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

moved  the  same  distance  as  when  on  the 
'    '-tr.ke    from   A   to   B,  l>ut   the  piston 
\s'>uld   not   be   at   half  stroke,  a%    sh.jwn 
by   the  dotted   lin<s.     To  over 
difference    in    the    eccentric    tr«,.. 
crank-head  valve  must  be  left  open  U  ■ 
at    full    load    and   close    sooner   at    ligti! 
load. 

In   order  to  do  this    I    !• 
lower  end  F  r^f  the  goverii 

"T""'  of  the  cr^lik  cii'i  >anr 

!<■  IcnKth    I    I'M-k    .1    M<-,  r 


leu  iboold  the  arrr.   >»r   Uiw^r,^  i      In 
my  case  the  anr  te« 


Municipal  Owncnkip 


lopal  like- 


flc.   2 


J\/^ 


C)    X    c 


'"  J*  o« 

brr  ^,  seems  to  have  b«B  wntioi 

ifttumi>ti  ,n    (ii^t    ti\r    mmtmiwM 
•fuh  and 
a:i  r^tuT  be  made  sa 
^rr  most  ianuhar  sntb  ■ 
"Mtm  thai  so  far  tnm 
<-  ibc  actnal 
.  ut  tbc 
■    ■'»  4nticr  in 
.'Urns.     Tbts  M  tkt  case 

ieft   oat   of  c<  n%tdrT*'.t-m 

ibc  basmcss  mr 


iioa  It  ( 


at  a 

wnk 
ti 


tape  mc! 
Tbi«  " 
has 


Ik  jMX'I  !*4b  bt   r«4- 

t>S 


«      1141:      X      Jf-TTT)  » 

'  cmphasuvd  thv 
!>'u<»»  vhidi  bt  kas 
tK#  <M«M>tt  nf  nm^. 


I • V"V-ia|T      '  V 

1 
7] 


ino 

.  ^ 

r<   ■•([7\     rx    ri      >T»jr     ni      t-c     r»  ♦ 

snd  niatptnmt.  mm  bmcb  ■bo*v 

..kit^t^ 

,><mi$»m 

ind   inri 

MTx  a*  w^i*^  Ism4h« 

-     •    *?• 

•  »t  pf»<^!K»-«    Set  al- 

ric   3 


.:  to  Fig.  3.  It  will 
piston  i>  at  half  «ti    > 
lM^   travclril   from   /f   to  B,  and   ihr 

;.!ri.     li..,    u  .,.rc|    UlC    SaHIC    SkS    the    pill, 

<.  due  to  the  angularity 
IKK  rod.  On  the  return 
travrU  from  the  outer  cen- 

«-r  I    •■    L  \  111  or«l<  ■         ■' 

lalf  iiroke      The  < 

c  on  thi<>  fcti; 
>    IS   al    /:    the   ■ 


in  >' 

Hlttl 


4    hravv 


294 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  9,  1909. 


The  manager,  to  start  with,  is  apt  to 
owe  his  appointment  to  his  pclitical  ac- 
tivity quite  as  much  as  to  his  technical 
and  executive  ability,  and  this  is  to  be 
expected;  or  if  this  is  not  the  case,  he 
knows  that  a  change  of  administration 
may  bring  his  career  to  a  sudden  and  un- 
deserved end.  His  salary  is  always  lower 
than  it  would  be  under  private  owner- 
ship, and  there  is  not  the  opportunity  for 
promotion  which  exists  in  private  com- 
panies. The  best  class  of  managers  are 
therefore  not  permanently  attracted  to 
municipal  plants,  the  proof  of  this  state- 
ment being  that  municipal  managers  ^are 
constantly  seeking  employment  in  private 
companies,  while  ther^  is  no  tendency  the 
other  way.  It  is  not  true,  therefore,  that 
municipal  office  attracts  technical  ability 
of  the  highest  order;  just  the  contrary  is 
apt  to  be  the  case. 

Similar  considerations  affect  the  minor 
employees  in  the  same  way  all  along  the 
line  with  the  result  that  cities  rarely  get 
the  best  class  of  workmen,  and  do  not  get 
as  much  or  as  good  work  per  employee 
as  do  private  employers.     Most  of  them 
know,  that  they  are  not  employed  solely  on 
their  merits,  and  act  accordingly,  especi- 
ally as  the  power  of  summary  and  per- 
manent dismissal  is  rarely  in  the  hands  of 
the  manager,  who,  by  the  way,  is  properly 
called    a    superintendent    rather    than    a 
manager.    It  is  notorious  that  the  produc- 
tive  capacity  of  a   city  workman    is   not 
usually   over   one-half  of  what   a   private 
business  expects  to  obtain  and  does  get. 
If  the  employees,  from  top  to  bottom, 
are  inferior  to  those  of  a  private  plant  of 
like    capacity,    and    take    a    less    personal 
mterest  in  their  work,  it  follows  that  the 
plant  will  not  be  run  at  its  greatest  effici- 
ency and  economy,  nor  will  the  machinery 
receive  the   same   care  as    in    a    private 
plant.      This    means    that    there    will    be 
larger  bills  for  repairs,  that  operating  ex- 
penses will  be  heavier,  and  that  deprecia- 
tion will  be  greater.     And  experience  has 
shown  that  these  expected  unfavorable  re- 
sults are  fully  realized  in  all  particulars. 
You  say  that  "graft,  ignorance  and  in- 
competence are  not  inevitable"  in  city  un- 
dertakings   of    this    character.     That    is 
true;  there   are  exceptions,  but  they  are 
rare.     But  at  least  two  of  these  three  dis- 
graces are  prevalent  in  the  great  majority 
of  our  American   cities;   and  until   there 
is  a  complete  revolution  in  our  methods 
of  city  government,  they  will  continue  to 
'   be  the  almost  universal  rule.     The  cases  are 
so  few  where  municipal  electric  plants  have 
been  operated  on   business  lines   for  any 
extended    period    that    the    editorial    re- 
ferred to  seems  likely  to  be  productive  of 
serious    misapprehension    on   the   part    of 
such  of  your  readers  as  are  not  familiar 
with  the  conditions  that   actually  prevail 
in  the  great  majority  of  such  plants — con- 
ditions far  removed  from  the  ideal. 

Arthur  Williams. 
New  York  City. 


Reduced  the  Back  Pressure 


Natural  Gas  for  Fuel 


I  once  had  charge  of  a  plant  having  one 
engine,  the  indicator  cards  of  which 
always  showed  a  back  pressure  of  4 
pounds  when  the  back-pressure  valve  was 
up.  In  my  hunt  for  the  cause  I  examined 
the  exhaust  head  and  found  the  core  A 
extended  down  to  within  ^  inch  of  the 
baffle  B    (see  illustration). 

In   this  case,  the  e.xhaust  pipe  being  6 

(Jure  taken  out 


I  noticed  an  article  in  the  December  22 
number  by  W.  D.  Ranney,  on  natural 
gas  for  fuel,  wherein  he  says  he  obtains 
a  boiler  horsepower  on  27.95  cubic  feet 
of  gas.  Now,  27.95  cubic  feet  of  gas  is 
equivalent  to  ,only  27,950  B.t.u.,  and  a 
boiler  horsepower  is  966  X  34^  =  Z2),2>2'7 
B.t.u.,  hence  his  figures  must  be  wrong. 
I  am  assuming  Ohio  natural  gas  to  con- 
tain  1000  B.t.u.  per  cubic  foot. 

Edward  H.  Lane. 

Kansas  City,  Mo. 


St 


earn 


Piping 


SHOWING   HOW   CORE  IN  EXHAUST   HEAD 
INCREASED   BACK    PRESSURE 

inches  in  diameter,  the  baffle  plate  should 
have  been   at   least   V/^   inches   from  the 
core  A.    I  removed  the  core  A  and  thus 
reduced  the  back  pressure  3  pounds.  ^ 
A.  Waldron. 
Lynn,  Mass. 


Electric  Discharges 


In  regard  to  George  A.  Raymant's  ar- 
ticle in  the  December  22  issue,  page  1045, 
he  will  find  that  if  he  thoroughly  insulates 
himself  from  the  ground  and  stands  in  a 
cloud  of  steam  issuing  from  a  leak  in  a 
high-pressure  steam  pipe  and  brings  his 
hand  near  the  ground  or  pipe,  he  will  in- 
variably obtain  sparks.  If  he  will  get  in 
a  dark  place  where  steam  is  escaping 
from  a  pop  safety  valve  or  other  large  leak 
directly  into  the  air,  he  will  see  a  halo  of 
sparks  and  blue  light  around  the  leak. 
In  fact  he  will  see  a  miniature  thunder 
storm.  In  his  case  the  calking  chisel  was 
the  lightning  rod  and  it  was  struck  with 
miniature  lightning  bolts.  The  electricity 
is  generated  by  the  friction  of  the  steam 
passing  through    the   air. 

Howard  Gluvs. 
Richmond,  Ind. 


Having   read   the  article,    "Steam    Pipe 
Connections,"  by  Fred  Dubell,    on    page 
1099  of  the  December  29  number,   I  am 
led  to  call  attention  to  that  part  of  the 
article    under   the   subhead,    "Steam    Pipe 
Should    Drop    Toward    Boiler."     This   is 
a    statement    I    challenge.     As    steam    on 
leaving    the    boilers    begins    to    condense, 
the  water  falls  to  the  bottom  of  the  pipe 
and  is  carried  along  with'  the  steam,  and 
it  is  impossible   for  the  water  to   return 
to  the  boilers  against  the  flow  of  steam. 
I  have  in  mind  an  instance  of  a  ^-inch 
vertical  steam  pipe  96  feet  high,  piped  di- 
rect from  a  battery  of  boilers.     This  pipe 
ran  horizontally  for  about   15  feet  to  an 
elevator  shaft,  then  up  96  feet  to  a  tem- 
porary bathroom.     This  pipe,  contrary  to 
expectation,    always    stood     full    of    cold 
water,  except  when  the  valves  were  open 
at  the  upper  end,    although    the    boilers 
carried  a  steam  pressure  of  100  pounds. 
In   steam  pipes    dropping    toward    the 
boilers    the    water    accumulates    in    slugs, 
and  when  the  flow  of  steam  is  sufficiently 
obstructed   it   passes    on    to    the    engine 
cylinder,  washing  out  the  oil.    Valves  and 
valve  seats  are  cut,  also  the  cylinder.^  and 
packing;  piston  rings  are  broken  and  en- 
gines are  wrecked. 

In  twenty-five  years'  experience,  sev- 
eral of  which  were  spent  in  inspection 
service,  I  have  never  known  an  engine 
wrecked  from  water  in  steam  piping,  ex- 
cept when  the  pipe  dropped  back  toward 
the  boilers. 

Steam  piping  should  always  drop 
toward  the  engine.  When  erected  in  this 
way  the  condensation  is  carried  along 
with  the  steam,  and  even  if  allowed  to 
go  into  the  engine,  does  but  very  little 
harm.  It  is  better  practice  to  connect  to 
the  engine  through  a  steam  separator,  or 
receiver,  with  a  good  steam  trap  to  carry 
off  the  condensation.  It  is  certainly  safer, 
and  better  for  an  engine  to  operate  with 
even  wet  steam  all  the  time  than  to  have  a 
cylinder  full  of  water  occasionally  and 
saturated  steam  the  remainder  of  the 
time. 

In  practice  the  steam  main  dropping 
from  the  boilers  to  the  engine  in  calorim- 
eter   tests   always    shows   drier    steam   a1 


February  9,  1909. 


he    engine    than    where    the    pipe    drops 
:oward  the  boilers. 

T.  J.    B(o=. 
Chattanooga,   Tenn. 


Combustion  Formulas 


In  the  December  15  number  Mr  Ncciy 
:ontributcd  an  article  of  real  value.  I 
have  checked  his  charts  with  a  number  of 
inalvMs  of  my  own,  and  some  from  vari- 
ous authors,  and  find  that  No.  2  chart 
gives  results  as  accurately  a'«  samples  can 
be  taken  in  a  mine. 

The  classifications  attempted  by  the 
fuel-testing  plant  here  at  St.  Louis  showed 
that  the  hydrogen-carbon  ratio  was  the 
n>ost  satisfactory  one.  and  that  fixed  car- 
boi:  alone  was  not  reliable  except  in  true 
anthracites.  We  used  to  have  a  rule-of- 
thumb  method  of  estimating  heating  val- 
ues for  Mississippi  valley  coals,  which  was 
lc>  add  the*  fixed  carbon  and  volatile  per- 
centages and  multiply  by  150.  This  gives 
too  low  results  on  the  best  bituminous 
coals  and  too  high  on  the  poorest. 

Mr.  Neelys  chart  is  practically  exact  on 
of  the  .\ppalachian  range,  but  varies 
.vhat  in  somr  of  the   Western  coals, 
'tunatrly,  the  result";  as  published  by 
•iiel  testing  plant  give  only  two  each 
of  Colorado  ami  Wyoming  coals  and  these 
•re  among  the  poorest  of  the  two  States. 
For   comparison    I    will   quote   three   with 
which   I  have  had  some  practical  experi- 
ence;  two  are    from   the   past-carbonifer- 
ous peritxl  of  the   Rocky  mountains,  and 
the  thirf!  1*  a  well  recognized  bituminous 
coal 


■Mk 

•»prlnif», 

•A' 

^ 

Trtnl. 

HIS 

MM.1rl>, 

*«II        

3C.N 

sa-io 

1.K 

1  ij 
SB.86 

•  nl. 

.   M 
JO  TO 
U  HO 

Tout  com  boat  Iblf 

aaae 

M.Oi 

•MO 

According    to    Mr.    Neely'a    table    the 

combustion   values   would  be.  resprrtively, 

14600,    15,000   and    12.600    Btu.    whereas 

the  values  given  by  the  respective  analyst* 

»"•    13..240.   i3.<>8o  and   12.4JO  B.t.u      The 

inaiiorf  for  the  differences  <hown  is 

.1-  -f  ■    .    1  'ilr  matter  of  the  Appalachian 

'>a1  .ll>    marsh    gas    <CII.>.    and 

'Hat  of  the  U  r»trrn  coals  i* 

■^vgen  compouml*.  which  r' 

•'^r  of  a  large  part  of  it*  li>.lr .w''' 
'  iHTion        (>i     the     other     h.iii'l.     thr 
make  an  excellent  thnwing 
..iLcrs.   as   the   oxygen   of   the 
tile    matter    is    readily    converte<l    i" 
•"n    monoxide    and   their   cnmp.irativc 
-'lorn    from   ash   and    sulphtir    prr vents 
ition  of  rlinker*      In  \\\'-   W 
rti  thr   «nitthpm   firl.!   ttir 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

■^'and   transp'-.rtation   and   handting   with- 

nobce- 
- .  ibe  c»»*l 
in  ap(K 
.liK.-    .lii-i   iidfiiitc}->.    ui"u||ii    usually   ciMi- 
taining   less    than    60  per   cent.    o(   fixed 
arbon. 
Kent'*  table,  given  by  Mr.  N'eely,  gives 
for  most  steam  coalt. 
iiy  estimate*  based  on 
co.ii,  <lry  and  tree  from  ash.     It  has  been 
said    that    one    could    prove    anything   by 
statistics     The  situation  here  in  St.  Louu 
is  this .     .\  representative  coal  of  lllinou 
has  a  formula  something  like  the  follow- 
ing 

Moisture,  la  per  cent  . 
Vol  T,  33  per  cent  . 

Fi.x  41  per  cent  , 

Ash,  14  per  cent 
This  is  not  the  best  nor  the  worst  coal 
in  the  State ;  in  fact,  its  compoMtiun  t« 
about  as  fair  an  average  as  can  be  had 
The  sum  of  its  combustible  ingredients  it 
74  per  cent.,  which  makes  it  fall  below 
Mr  Neely's  chart,  but  its  heating  value 
per  pound  of  coal  f*  lafA)  Btu.  so  it 
falls  in  line  with  Mr  N'eely's  straight  line, 
if  it  were  extended  .According  t<<  Kent* 
formula,  by  interpolation,  it  would  -base 
13,680  Btu.  per  pound  of  combustible  and 
10,123  P^r  pound  of  coal  The  actual  re- 
sults show  10,580  Bl  u  per  pound  of  coal 
and  14.600  B.t.u.  per  pound  of  combustible, 
a  diflference  of  nearly  40  per  cent.  The 
moisture  and  ash  contents  are  j6  per  cent . 
or  one -fourth  of  the  whole,  or  a  total  of 
5 JO  pounds  in  1   which  has  tQ  be 

tran»pf>rtrd  ar  '.   before   it   is  de- 

livered to  the  boiler*,  and  again.  jBo 
pound*  of  ash  base  to  be  raked  out  of 
tht  a*hpit  for  each  ton  consumed,  and. 
in  a  city.  r<-Mi.>vr<i  at  a  considerable  cost 
Yet    on  'I    of    "heat    umts    per 

pr.und  01  ...ai  -liT  and  free  from  ash."  it 
compares      favorably     with      handpickril 
Buck  mountain  or   Pocahontas  coal 
The  real  ie«t  of  a  tiram  coal,  from  an 

*    much 

Man> 

look  at  •  '  *' 

its  fixed  "♦ 

value  by  that.    Th-  •' 

way,  as  a  certain  at:.   

IS  an  advantage,  provided  it 
'      •      '  \      With    the    <Miiu.    ru..   .  . 

w-h.   a   large   amount  of  *ol> 


here  in 
from  il>' 
rhird    r 

..f 


ffrr^lcr     rKnrfiw     li.f     iKr 


•■rm     r>«-i 


gain 


:>TtT    >i^riT 

It  has  olini  hcoi  aatd  ikai 
Rocky    mooauia   coal*,    vmtk 
quoted,  sre  fS<Mr  of  picked 
<lo  n>  ■  ;>rcM«i  tlK  aane 

rear*  ^anjr  aaiplii  ol 

coab  and  inmoA  tW   fnlnaa^ 
cootenU:    MoMlure.    4   10    10 
*-<'biile    matter,    jo  to   jS  per 
.,>_^  S>  to  st  per  ccat 
cent:  Mdplnr.  Icaa 
<  mc  car  d  eosl.  or 
'  ivrd    under    a 
yiel'led  iSjo  pnaafc  of  eoarvr  ai 

;«<•:  crv.x 

UBor 

St    Looia.  Ma 


aa    1   u. 


A   300  or  250  Voh 
iof  Molon 


The  anick  B~*"  •»■-  capttoo.  mrmum 
by  A  Chuholn  'ceabrr  15  hmc 

^  'ery  minc-Aumg,  or  elM  I  kaw 

'ed  Ilia  irtaim  If  kr  kaa  us^ 
irnocfi  hi«  motor  eoMHctioaa  to  W  i^i4t 
10  a  500-roli  tfcrat-wirt  wpi^tm,  «di  md 
good .  but  if  iicade^  aa  I  laiply.  le  kr  a 
coounon  500-voh  tjnum  I  canoei  sev  tKm 
It  is  ai  all  pracbcaL 

I   would  can  bis  attcfltiao  by    «..      . 
frieT>dl>    criticism   to   the   aB 
error   <>(  *••  •  '-••    -        <    -i-- 
whirb   a(  sn^^ 

'{,    and  /'  arr  ;«i.  •.fiiirurv   K«rTtng  bOBTSt, 

•och  as  would  be  wmA  Uit  ■Mors  twm 

ing  at  any    voltage.*     Nov.  tkrrr  k  ma 

ktKh   ihmg  a*  an  ortfioary   Miilig  koa 

■  yoo  Ibaik  to  put.  My. 

>vok  itarfg  koa  oa 

:  ■  vwer  iwiior  oMig  fKB 

•  works 

I     E. 


Ilic  Modern  SiHacr  CcnAmtet 


Hrtrtttrf 


•  ok's  rwfiy  m  tka 

i*»     K-HJ      '.•    Vff 


or  Ike 


296 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  9.  1909. 


cient  as  an  air  remover  than  an  ordinary 
air  pump,  but  the  amount  of  power  re- 
quired is  at  present,  I  believe,  an  open 
question,  and  not  to  be  recommended,  ex- 
cept a  high  vacuum  is  required,  as  in  tur- 
bine work. 

W.  Vincent  Treeby. 
Stratford,  England. 


light  nipple  from  a  fitting,  when  it  will  be 
found  that  it  will  start  more  easily  if  the 
wrench  is  a  proper  distance  away.  There 
is  a  strap  wrench  made  that  will  not 
crush  even  the  lightest  brass  pipe,  or  in- 
jure the  surface  of  studs  or  pipe,  that 
Mr.  Collins  did  not  get  into  his  very  com- 
plete list  of  wrenches. 

Peter  H.  Bullock. 
Concorn  Junction,   Mass. 


Wrenches 

On  page  15  of  the  Januarj'  5  number, 
Mr.  Collins  gave  some  sensible  advice  in 
regard  to  the  use  of  wrenches.  With  an 
extended  experience  in  charge  of  men  and 
tools,  I  have  had  all  the  trouble  enumer- 
ated by  the  author  in  the  misuse  of 
wrenches. 


Turning  a  Worn  Turbine  Shaft 


three  days  to  remove  0.09  inch  from  the 
diameter  of  the  shaft,  the  shaft  being  11 
inches  in  diameter  and  the  cut  17  inches- 
long. 

In  order  to  center  the  bar  we  used  the- 
center  in  the  end  of  the  turbine  shaft. 
About  16  inches  from  this  end  we  found' 
a  place  where  there  was  an  o'ilway  in  the 
box,  hence  the  shaft  was  not  worn  at 
this  point.  We  could  not  get  a  very 
smooth  finish  with  the  long  toolholder 
we  had,  but  we  got  the  finishing  touches 
on  by  placing  a  piece  of  ^xiVa-inch  band 


While  putting  a  new  guide  bearing  in 
one  of  our  5000-kilowatt  Curtis  turbines 
we  found  the  shaft  worn  badly  on  one 
side.  We  proceeded  to  put  the  guide  bear- 
ing   in,    but    before    putting    up    the    dies, 


IM  Hardeuud  Steel  Center, 70  Auale. 
Taper.  Shank  True  to  Center  of  the  Shaft, 


lJi">^         ^    4 


.Detail  for  Head  Post 

for  Lead  Screw. 

Mild  Steel 


2 
__^. 


Detail  lor  Bar  Head. 
Gray  Cast  Iron 


6}i--^ 


jnA)  J    m    I  Um 


Box  for  Pinion  Shaft, 
Cast  Iron 


O  o 

o O 

)  c 

>  < 


Centering  Foot  for  Bar. 

Cast  Iron 


FIG.      I.     DETAILS    OF    THE    TURNI.VG    TOOL 


There  is  one  statement,  however,  that  is 
not  absolutely  correct,  and  that  is  where 
he  says  a  pipe  wrench  should  always  be 
used  close  to  the  fitting  the  pipe  is  being 
screwed  into.  On  extra-heavy  pipe  and 
generally  on  butt-welded  iron  pipe  this 
will  do,  but  on  standard  pipe  the  wrench 
should  be  at  least  one  and  a  half  times 
the  diameter  of  the  pipe  from  the  fitting; 
if  it  is  a  close  nipple,  a  nipple  driver 
should  be  used.  The  reason  is  that  the 
wrench  distorts  the  pipe  and  the  oblong 
frets  bind  in  the  fitting.  This  is  especi- 
ally so  where  it  is  necessary  to  remove  a 


we  took  measurements  in  order  to  make 
a  turning  tool  with  which  to  turn  the 
shaft  down.  The  accompanying  sketches 
show  how  we  did  the  job. 

In  Fig.  I  are  shown  the  details  of  the 
turning  tool.  Fig.  2  shows  the  machine 
in  operation.  I  would  suggest,  however, 
to  anyone  desirous  of  using  this  machine, 
to  substitute  a  worm  gear  for  the  gear- 
ing shown,  use  a  small  motor  for  a  drive 
and  mount  it  where  the  crank  is  shown. 

As  we  were  pushed  for  time  we  took 
the  crank  from  a  drill  press  and  turned 
the   turning   tool   by  hand.     It   took   only 


FIG.   2.     HOW  THE  MACHINE  IS  OPERATED 

iron  in  the  place  of  the  toolholder,  with  an 
emery  brick  fastened  to  the  end.  By  put- 
ting a  set  screw  in  the  lower  end  of  this- 
strap-iron,  we  could  work  that  end  away 
from  the  head  and  thus  increase  the  ten- 
sion, on  the  brick.  We  used  water  on  the 
brick. 

As  the  space  betwen  the  shaft  and  bear- 
ing case  was  too  close  to  get  an  ordinary 
incandescent  lamp  in  we  mounted  one  of 
the  oil-switch  pilot  lamps  on  a  broom- 
stick and  used  it  for  a  lamp. 

Edward  H.  Lane. 

Kansas  City,  Mo.  ! 


February  9,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


Development   of    the    Surface    Condenser 

Dcscrijjtions    of    the    \'arious   Tyjx-s    ul   >urt.»' <    <   ■:    '•    ■      i .'..::  . 
with  Watt's  and  Includmg  the  Most  Modern  Ai>t>uiaiui  vn.  li.t    M4tiii.r( 


BY        WARREN 


O 


ROGERS 


To  James  Watt  belongs  the  distinction 
of  designing  the  first  surface  condenser, 
although  it  is  true  that  Savary  condensed 
steam  in  the  cylinder  of  his  engine,  if 
engine  it  may  t>e  called,  by  pouring  cold 
water  over  it  to  produce  a  more  rapid 
vacuum. 

In  Newcomen's  engine,  which  was  the 
first  reciprocating  engine  put  to  practical 
use,  the  steam  was  condensed  from  the 
bottom  end  of  the  cylinder.  The  piston 
was  kept  tight  by  a  small  amount  of  water 
on   its    upper   surface.     When   the   piston 


--.  n 


'•I  ri-nicdying  the  defect  by  experimcnliiig 
with  different  materials  for  cylinder  coo- 
^traction,  in  order  to  find  •  »ub»tance 
that  would  take  m  aixl  give  out  heat 
slowly.  It  was  only  after  an  examination 
of  the  properties  of  steam  that  he  coo- 
eluded  • 
to  the  ' 

•lensin|{  ^inc,  4x1c  >^  <u^ 

that   th'-  .'ire    of  -nicd 

steam  should  be  as  low  as  100  degree* 
Fahrenheit,  or  lower,  in  order  to  maintam 
a  good  vacutun;  the  other,  that  the  cyltn- 


ihe  air  M  ilw  eemirntiiuc  .L^r-..-^-      T>r 
inlet  between  the 
panp  vat  btttd  « 
and  a«  the  ploagr- 

the  water  waa  forcr<i  j;>  ■■  r<i«^n  'tunr.  •.. 
the  top  of  the  pi— gei.  oa  Ma  AwM< 
ttrokc.  and  espdkd  tkro«agh  the  ijafhatfr 
ptpc  on  lU  apwa/d  Mroke  T^m  eom^ 
ilenser  embodica  the  pnnciplti  o4  heih  ihe 
)rt  and  sorface  coodeaaef  m  a  rratfr  torm 
This  inventxio  was  not  pate«Md  ■■bl 
four  ytnrt  later,  and  tt  «*>  three  year* 
more  before  ncaai  prr  racwaoi 


A 


n 


r  I 


iJ 


u 


''^    1.1 


reached  it*  hiithett  point  of  travel,  the  in 
jection    valve    ,-f    wa»   opened,   and    .•• 
admitted  to  the  cylinder,  a*  ^li-wn  1: 
1.     This  supply  of  water  ■   the 

•team,  the  air  etcaping  thi.'uv '•■■•" 

B,  while  the  condrn*ed  «team  atxl 
tion   \».r 


!rr   •boold  ) 
.    It 

;ti  i7<.^  V. 
In 


a«  the  •team  enter      were  •( 

K»e»»  witn  •■f'-   »».«•- 
vet!  thr  m»»t**fi  ihW      •**»   ..I   tW  pu*am  lh< 


moment       When    Watt    oti 
•  Mefulne**   of    Newcomen's    li.-^ 
'tdrnsing  «leam  he  tried  rariou*  »' 


298 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


FIG.    3 


as  cool  as  the  air  in  the  neighborhood  by 
the  application  of  water  or  other  cold 
bodies."' 

There  were  no  drawings  attached  to  the 
specification  papers,  but  from  fragments 
of  Watt's  experimental  apparatus  it  is 
evident  that  the  design  shown  in  Figs.  2 
and  3  is  approximately  the  arrangement 
of  the  first  separate  condenser,  from  which 
grew  the  surface  condenser,  although  the 
jet  type  was  employed  by  Watt  in  con- 
nection with  his  subsequent  engines,  and 
became  almost  universally  used  during  the 
years  preceding  1831.  Fig.  2  shows 
Watt's  engine  and  condenser  of  1769. 

In  183 1  Samuel  Hall  invented  a  com- 
mercial surface  condenser.  In  the  speci- 
fications of  Hall's  patent  the  following 
may  be  found : 

The  condenser  "consists  of  an  improved 
mode  of  using  a  system  of  metallic  sur- 
faces, which  may  be  composed  of  ves- 
sels, channels,  passages,  or  pipes,  of  any 
convenient  form  and  arrangement  for 
condensing  the  steam  and  cooling  the 
water  resulting  therefrom  on  its  passage 
from  the  condenser  to  the  air  pump." 

Two  years  later  Hall  obtained  a  second 
patent  in  which  the  circulation  of  the 
condensing  water  is  described  as  passing 
through  a  cistern  containing  the  tubes, 
the  cold  water  entering  the  cistern  at  the 
top  at  the  end  of  the  cistern  nearest  to  the 
air  pump,  and  escaping  at  the  bottom  of 


the  other  end  next  to  the  working  cylin- 
der. In  the  Hall  condenser  the  steam 
flowed  through  the  tubes,  the  cooling  wa- 


FIG.    6 

ter  flowing  about  them  on  the  outside. 
With  this  exception  this  condenser  of 
seventy-six  years  ago  was  practically  the 
same,  as  far  as  construction  goes,  as  many 
of  the  surface  condensers  of  today. 

A  type  of  this  condenser  is  shown  in 
Fig.  4,  in  which  the  general  arrangement 
of  the  condenser  and  air  pump  is  illus- 
trated. It  is  seen  that  the  steam  passes 
downward  through  the  tubes  to  the  air- 
pump  suction.  The  circulating  water  was 
circulated  upward  by  a  centrifugal  pump. 
Strange  as  it  may  seem,  the  design  of 
surface  condensers  remained  almost  the 
same  as  it  was  in  1831,  up  to  within  a  few 
years.     The  most  important  change  made 


Steam 

1 


ws 


m 


^  7777777777//////////////////////////777W/. 


FIG.    4 


February  9,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  EXCIN 


«w 


nc.    13 


has  been  that  of  circulating   the  cooling     of 

water    tfirniiKh    the    condenser    lubes    in-  In  lig.  5  i 

•tend  of  !(:r  steam;  this  change  is  prefera-      and  built   fr>i 


ble,  and  it  now  invjii-iui)  j<i>>ii;'-.i  1  r'>rM 
biy  J.  F.  Spencer  took  as  active  a  part  a» 
;»'>\  '  method     -•< 


mU 


I  be  t«ni  tkal  llM 

uM  d  two  mam» 

4  waAc  fUia  crMrBl  m  fht 

uaber      TIm  mnhi^  wwm 

tite  bo(to«  mhI  p*««^  id 

ih  lb*  botuai  Uali  ol  tabas 

enters  the  rtunAtr  at  thM  tmi  mi,  tv- 

■'•     <lirf«i»(M    oi     iow.    paM« 

p^r  bank  ol  lobn  le  iba 

'CUB  (rtaa  Um  ewgHt  qMb- 

iW  kit  Milt  aai  pMii^ 

'i<'«n  'j«cr  and  swrnMBAag  iht  labi^  !• 

cnaMknsMl.    iW     wM«f    a| 

paMint  •  7«a 

lam  om\" 

TW  brM  liiitti  twU  mtUn      iilmm 

^•>     U  IK  4 

-ere  ptec»M 


rvjfitoet 

•^  ffic^  *9t*r^t  'Iff* '      '  ^^  ^   '^^ 


ri<.    7 


300 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGTNEER. 


February  g,  1909. 


top  and  the  condensed  steam  discharging 
at  the  bottom. 

In  Fig.  7  is  shown  the  modern  type  of 
double-tube  condenser.  A  comparison 
with  Fig.  6  shows  but  a  slight  difference 
in  construction.  No  ferrules,  washers,  or 
packing  of  any  kind  are  used,  the  tubes 
screwing  tirmly  into  the  tube  heads  at  one 
end,  as  shown,  thus  taking  care  of  the  ex- 
pansion. The  arrows  designate  the  path 
of  the  cooling  water,  also  that  of  the 
steam  and  products  of  condensation. 

Fig.  8  shows  a  type  of  single-tube  con- 
denser familiar  to  all.  The  design  allows 
of  a  good  distribution  of  steam,  and  each 
tube  is  supposed  to  do  its  share  of  work. 
The  arrangement  of  the  air  and  circu- 
lating pumps  is  also  shown.  In  the  con- 
densers shown  in  Figs.  7  and  8  the  weight 
of  the  condenser  rests  on  the  air  and 
circulating  pumps.  While  this  does  not 
interfere  with  the  attendant  getting  at  the 
valves  of  each,  it  does  necessitate  an 
extra   amount   of  work   when   it   becomes 


the  circulating  water;  in  this  case  two 
passes  of  the  water  are  provided  for,  but 
as  many  as  desired  may  be  provided. 


The  application  of  the  surface  con- 
denser is  varied.  That  they  may  be 
attached    to    the    individual    auxiliary    is 


FIG.    8 


FIG.    9 


FIG. -14 


necessary  to  remove  the  air  or  circulating 
pumps.  To  obviate  this,  some  builders  of 
surface  condensers  manufacture  a  design 
which  is  supported  independently  upon 
four  or  more  supporting  columns. 

In  Fig.  9  such  a  type  is  shown.  It  is 
manufactured  by  the  Epping-Carpenter 
Company.  By  breaking  the  connection 
between  the  condenser  shell  and  the  pipe 
connection  to  the  pumps,  either  the  con- 
denser or  duplex  pump  may  be  removed 
without  disturbing  the  other.  The  in- 
terior construction  of  the  condenser  is 
shown  in  Fig.  10.  The  tubes  are  held  in 
place  by  means  of  screwed  glands  on  one 
end  and  so  made  that  expansion  and  con- 
traction are  taken  care  of.  Fig.  11  shows 
the  construction  of  the  tube  packing  and 
glands.     The  arrows  indicate  the  path  of 


y/,//////.'///////////^ 


FIG.    10 


I'ebriiary  9,  1907. 


POWER  AND  THE  I 


i:r. 


shown   in    Fig.    12.     This   represent^ 
type   of   surface   condenser   manufac::: 
by  the  Union  Steam  Pump  Coni!>;iH> 
is  a  most  convenient  arrai  . 
certain    conditions.      An    ii, 
pump  is  used  to  remove  the  \\.»:<  r  •  : 
densation   and   maintain   a   va.uuni       i  1 
water    handled    by    the    pump    is    forced 
through  the  condenser  tubes  and,  as  the 
amount  of  water  passing  through  them  i- 


>icn  joint  in  the  thcU.  a»  Uiowa    Thit     Ur«c 


h  a  iiianhotv. 

both  cn<U  for 

Icanmg.     The    upright    po«ilion    rf    the 

!'•-    >vhich  are  f--*'  "••^'    ■  '  '••'  ^'-■ 
natural 


a«  th*  ««f  «k4 


Cooling  Tfm«» 


-■-^"- 


_l 


tier  reprcicnt    .       ,.4 
-  ^  ,      »elopinrol  m  cagMwrfM^g  pti^rr%^ 
^     'hrtr  adopiHMi  hM  Wen  r*pi  ♦    >hr 
'etign  HM  c AiMuc ' 


fernit   ' 

lagc   1. 


r  are 

ACM   tile  s^rcMtty 
C  r«wl   I*    »   pmmt   r* 


■OttlMMNH  Mpply  Of  CBM 


lafacTwrMn    ylMM«    ikrv 


•H«- 


tf%   kMt 


-1    tSr    I 


>nv    timr'*    Rrr.Ttrr    thrtrt    fh.it    nerr«»srv 


.^rea  i*  rcatriettd.  this  trt^ 


'«  are   made  large,  and   ilir    ;r  1  • 
.    U)  the  p;i*«,T!"-  ■'*  •'>'■  »  >i'f   !      !  ■    ■ 
A  condenser 

-■■-■mn,     a*     rru.ll'l'.     r>;.,in     :■    ' 

II.  i«  <thi>wn  in   liu    11 


302 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  9,  1909. 


readily  by  mechanical  means,  since  the 
pressure  of  the  latter  under  ordinary  con- 
ditions is  qaite  small.  The  ordinary 
water  vapor  in  the  air  is  in  an  unsaturated s 
condition,  due.  in  a  great  measure  to  the 
fact  that  the  air  or  water  vapor  has  be- 
come heated  some  time  after  its  contact 
with  a  water  surface.  When  brought  in 
contact  with  this,  however,  it  absorbs 
additional  water  in  the  form  of  vapor  until 
it  becomes  saturated.  Air  in  reality  gener- 
ally possesses  the  remarkable  property  of 
absorbing  large  quantities  of  water  vapor 
trom  a  water  surface  with  which  it  is- 
brought  in  contact.  It  can  only  do  this, 
however,  when  the  water  vapor  present  is 
in  an  unsaturated  condition. 

Very  seldom  in  actual  practice,  except 
during  periods  of  rain  or  great  humidity, 
does  the  aif  or  the  water  vapor  approach 
the  saturation  point.  Under  these  latter 
conditions,  however,  the  air  does  not  ab- 
sorb water  vapor,  and  therefore  possesses 
very  little  cooling  effect  on  the  water. 
This  cooling  effect  under  ordinary  circum- 
stances is  very  large,  since  every  pound  of 
water  evaporated  by  this  means  is  accom- 
panied by  the  absorption  of  heat  from  the 
remaining  water,  equivalent  to  the  latent 
heat  of  vaporization  of  the  water  changed 
into  the  vapor.  Cooling  towers  are  quite 
variable  in  their  action  as  dependent  upon 
the  condition  of  the  atmosphere  in  regard 
to  humidity,  since  the  actual  loss  of  heat 
by  conduction  from  the  water  to  the  air 
is  quite  small  under  all  circumstances. 

This  variability  of  cooling  towers  with 
atmospheric  conditions  has  led  to  the  de- 
velopment of  the  two  types.  The  amount 
of  cooling  produced  depends  primarily 
upon  the  condition  with  respect  to  hu- 
midity of  the  air  and,  secondly,  upon  its 
temperature.  The  capacity  of  the  tower 
depends  upon  these  factors  and  upon  the 
amount  of  air  brought  in  contact  with  the 
water  per  unit  of  time.  This  latter  feat- 
ure is  the  main  determining  factor  in  the 
development  of  the  two  types.  These  are 
known  respectively  as  the  closed  and  open 
types  of  tower. 

The  Open-type  Tower 
The  open  type  consists  of  an  openwork 
iron  structure,  with  a  standpipe  for  the 
conveyance  of  the  supply  water  to  the 
top,  and  possesses  a  spraying  device  at 
this  point  and  various  devices  installed 
throughout  the  tower  for  the  separation 
of  the  water  into  small  particles  with 
large  surfaces  for  evaporation  and  its  re- 
tardation throughout  the  descent.  This 
mechanism  furnishes  a  very  large  water 
surface  for  contact  with  the  air,  and  as- 
sures complete  saturation  of  the  air  in 
the  tower. 

By  great  retardation  of  the  descending 
water  very  large  quantities  of  air  can  be 
brought  in  contact  with  a  given  water  sur- 
face, therefore  the  amount  of  water  ab- 
stracted from  it  in  the  form  of  vapor  can 
be  made  comparatively  large  and  the 
cooling  produced  by  this  means  considera- 


ble. Such  a  tower  is  open  at  the  sides 
and  depends  for  air  circulation  upon  the 
natural  air  circulation  in  the  atmosphere. 
Its  efficiency  varies  with  the  velocity  of 
the  wind,  its  humidity  and  temperature, 
and  also  upon  the  design  of  the  tower  for 
separation  and  retardation.  Various  in- 
teresting problems  in  constructive  details 
have  arisen,  and  the  deterioration  factor 
in  this  type  is  quite  large,  since  the  de- 
structive effect  of  air  and  water  under 
these  conditions  is  m'ost  pronounced. 

The  Closed  Type 

The  closed  type  of  tower  is  practically 
identical  with  the  open  type  in  construc- 
tion, with  one  important  modification. 
The  walls  of  the  tower  are  inclosed  and 
air  is  supplied  at  the  bottom  and  forced 
upward  throughout  the  tower  by  means 
of  a  fan.  The  air  supply  under  these  cir- 
cumstances can  be  varied  by  mechanical 
means  and  the  resulting  cooling  effect 
made  practically  independent  of  tempera- 
ture and  humidity  variations  of  the  out- 
side atmosphere.  The  operation  of  the 
tower  is  further  independent  of  the  exist- 
ence of  winds  for  its  efficient  operation. 
Such  a  tower,  however,  costs  considerably 
more  in  regard  to  installation  and  its 
operating  factor  is  much  greater,  since 
expense  of  operating  the  fan  must  be 
added  to  that  of  water  circulation. 

However,  as  an  engineering  unit,  it  is 
considerably  more  reliable  and,  as  has 
been  said,  can  be  made  in  its  operation 
absolutely  independent  of  external  condi- 
tions. It  further  eliminates  another  seri- 
ous difficulty  which  has  arisen  in  the  open 
type :  When  high  winds  exist  during  the 
operation  of  the  latter,  the  water  cannot 
be  restrained  within  the  confines  of  the 
cooling  tower,  and  a  fine  spray  covers  all 
the  surrounding  objects.  This  has  often 
proved  a  considerable  annoyance  from 
lawsuits  in  regard  to  the  nuisance  pro- 
duced by  this  means.  Farther,  the  de- 
teriorating effect  on  the  other  units  in  the 
installation  cannot  be  overlooked. 

These  two  types*  of  tower  represent 
practically  the  sole  developments  in  this 
field.  They  exist  in  a  wide  variety  of  de- 
signs, however.  The  chief  open  types  on 
the  market  consist  practically  of  drip  pans 
installed  at  regular  intervals,  allowing 
free  access  of  the  air  between  them,  and 
possessing  holes  in  these  at  regular  inter- 
vals for  the  equal  distribution  of  the 
water.  Shavings,  boards,  mineral  wool, 
tile  and  even  slate  have  been  used  with 
greater  or  less  success  in  this  type  and  in 
the  closed  type  as  well.  The  question  is 
largely  one  of  expense  of  installation  and 
the  consideration  of  the  deterioration  fac- 
tor. Almost  any  device  for  satisfactory 
distribution  and  separation  of  the  water 
with  adequate  retardation  is  thoroughly 
sufficient  for  the  purpose. 

Where  Each  Type  is  Used 
The  result  in  the  development  of  these 
various  types  of  tower  is  that  there  has 


been  a  distinct  specialization  of  the  vari- 
ous designs.  Thus,  in  installations  where 
reliability  is  a  matter  of  prime  import- 
ance and  cost  of  installation  a  matter  of 
minor  significance,  the  closed  type  is  in- 
variably installed.  The  majority  of  large 
power  plants  use  the  closed  type.  In 
some  developments  these  towers  are  used 
as  an  integral  part  of  some  other  device, 
such  as  a  condenser,  and  are  operated 
along  with  it. 

On  the  other  hand,  in  plants  where  the 
cost  was  a  matter  of  the  greatest  import- 
ance, and  the  possible  isolation  of  the 
tower  a  simple  problem,  the  open  type  has 
been  developed.  In  the  majority  of  small 
refrigerating  and  ice-manufacturing  plants 
where  the  question  of  cost  is  a  matter  of 
prime  consideration,  the  open  type  is 
almost  invariably  installed.  Similar  con- 
ditions hold  in  regard  to  the  small  steam 
unit  and  this  subdivision  of  the  two  types 
and  their  developments  as  dependent  on 
related  conditions  is  a  general  one. 

A  wide  variety  of  different  types  from 
a  constructive  point  of  view  have  been  in 
existence,  but  a  more  and  more  complete 
standard  of  constructive  details  is  steadily 
developing.  Much  more  is  known  today 
in  regard  to  capacity  and  efficiency  of 
such  towers.  Cooling  towers  under  aver- 
age conditions  are  more  thoroughly  known, 
and  the  size  and  cost  of  the  installation 
depends  primarily  upon  the  locality  and 
amount  of  water  to  be  cooled  and  the 
range  of  temperature  required.  Very  sel- 
dom in  summer  can  the  water  be  cooled 
much  below  75  degrees  Fahrenheit.  The 
higher  the  temperature  of  the  initial 
water,  however,  the  more  efficient  is  the 
tower  in  its  operation. 

Condenser  water  from  steam  conden-^ 
sers  is  furnished  at  a  temperature  rang- 
ing from  no  to  165  degrees  Fahrenheit 
down  to  80  degrees  Fahrenheit,  and  their 
operation  under  these  circumstances  is 
very  efficient.  Refrigerating  plants  have 
a  range  of  temperature  depending  simply 
upon  the  pressure  maintained  in  the 
condenser  and  seldom  rises  above  120 
degrees  Fahrenheit  for  initial  tempera- 
ture in  the  cooling  tower.  The  evapo- 
ration of  the  water  in  the  cooling  tower 
must,  of  course,  be  re-supplied,  and 
this  represents  a  certain  loss.  In  steam- 
condenser  work,  if  the  condenser  is  of  the 
jet  type,  the  water  is  more  than  re- 
supplied  from  the  condensed  steam  and 
a  constant  overflow  must  exist.  In  re- 
frigerating plants  the  loss  of  the  water  is 
from  5  to  15  per  cent,  for  each  circulation, 
and  this  loss  must  be  re-supplied. 

The  efficiency  of  a  cooling  tower,  of 
course,  depends  primarily  upon  the  cost 
and  availability  and  character  of  the  wa- 
ter supply.  It  must  not  be  pumped  too 
great  a  distance,  or  too  great  a  hight. 
Practically  every  individual  plant  presents 
special  conditions  for  consideration  in  re- 
gard to  its  availability,  and  the  efficiency 
of  the  type  is  practically  dependent  upon 
these  special  conditions. 


February  9,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  EN 


Some    Useful    Lessons    of    Limewater 


Hard   Water   and   Boiler   .Vale;    lUs    lo   Mai.-    (  a-  - 
Water;  the  Action  of  Limewater  Upon  Lilmu»   Paj^rr.  A 


BY 


CHARLES 


S. 


V.JUUiiCt 


PALMER 


in  the  first  shift,  Mr.  Furnaceman,  you 
,>  jt  the  idea  that  lime  will  dissolve  some- 
what in  water;  that  the  lime  can  l)« 
thrown  out  of  solution  as  plain  cart>on- 
•te  (which  is  not  soluble  in  water)  by  the 
carbonic  acid  of  the  breath,  and  by  the 
same  thing  from  the  burning  of  com 
mon  coal;  it  was  also  noted  that  by  add 
ing  more  of  this  cartx>nic  acid  from  the 
treath,  or  from  the  gases  of  the  burn- 
mg  coal,  to  the  water  with  the  insoluble 
plain  carlx>nate  of  lime,  you  got  the  fairly 
toluble  extra  or  bicarbonate  of  lime.  You 
saw  that  this  solution  of  somewhat  soluble 
extra  or  bicarbonate  of  lime,  after  filter 
ing,  is  the  same  thing  as  artificial  tem- 
porary-hardness water;  for.  on  filtering  it 
to  get  it  clear,  and  then  on  heating  it. 
the  extra  carlwnic-acid  gas  goes  off,  and 
<i<'wn  comes  again  the  insoluble  plain  car- 

tiate.      You    saw    quite   a    little   of   thi* 
■  ii>oluble  plain  carbonate,  l>oth  as  a  scdi 
nient  in  the  txiitom  of  the  glass,  and  also 
as  a  scum  or  thin  flaky  crust  f^oatitu- 
the   surface  of   the   water.      If  you    -:   >>, 
this  and  let   it   settle,  you  will  ^ct   rnoui^h 
to  show  that  this  plain  carlKinatr  of  Iimh- 
could  make  trouble  if  it  were  in  any  great 
quantity      This  plain   insoluble  carbonate 
of  lime   is   what  nukes  the  soft   scale  of 
temporary-hardness  water;  in  contrast  to 
the    hard    sulphate-of-lime    scale,    which 
makes    the    scale    of    pormanent-harflnrss 
water,  which  will  be  <itii(iicd  later       Ilirre 
are   al**)   compounds   of   the    metal,    mag 
nesium,    in   many    hard    waters,   and   they 
will  be  taken   up  later  on,  also,  after  the 
Itme  compounds  are  disposed  of. 

N'ow.  the  thing  to  get  clearly  in  mind  is 
>•)!#;  That  even  a  lillU  scale  is  a  bad 
thing  to  have  on  the  tmiler  tubes  It 
may  not  lake  a  layer  as  thick  as  your 
hand  t«>  make  lx>th  danger  an<l  rxfr.t  ■•.»! 
ir  firing  the  Iwnler.  And  it  i^ 
only  for  the  management  that  |).i 

it.  hut  also  for  you,  the  man  who  mu*t 

iidle  It  all. 

'  >f   course,    we    may    shrug   our    shoul 

r»  when  the  l>ooks  try  to  lell   u*    

w  much  heat  is  lost  by  scale  of 
'        h    thickness;    for    if    one     m     h   ■ 
:    the    fire,    and    if    there    1*    hk  r« 
than  rniMigh  hraling         • 
and  liihc^   In  ab^orh  * 
nice,  the  scale,  r 
thick.  m.iy  not  <|.. 

ir    l>r)iler   ha«   none   too   much    hratiiu- 

rfare.   and   if   you   are    forrintf   «lir    ■  r. 

■«t  may  be  an  entirely  «hfTrr<-ti' 
you  may  know  from  actual  r%\trtirtnr 
we    will    not    tic    our*e|ve«    ilown    to 


any  special  figures  on  the  heat  Iom  from 
scale  of  any  particular  tht 
must  all  agree  that  any  • 
cause  both  waste  of  c  1  the 

fireman's  own  good  s'r  men- 

tion some  danger  That  is  wh)  we  are 
trying  to  get  together  on  this  eternal  rid- 
dle of  hard  water. 

To  go  back  to  the  first  solutioo  of 
filtered  limewater.  the  stuff  that  tastes 
slightly  bitter-sweet,  that  throws  down 
plain  insoluble  carlwnate  of  )im<'.  both 
from  the  breath  and  from  •  from 

the    burning    coal :     This  was 

fairly  s<^>liible  in  extra  carlxtnic  aad,  mak 
ing  the  double  or  bicarbonate,  which  i» 
somewhat  soluble,  and  this  is  thrown 
down  by  heating,  just  as  the  irmporary- 
hardness  water  is  cleared  up  by  your 
heater:  that  is,  if  it  works  all  right     Rnl 


roR  MARLvr.  rAnoinc-AcuM;A»  »Ana 

It  takes  lime  to  throw  out  the 

thr  h:ird  water  in  the  heater,  »■■ 

•\n:-    ■  .r  It  to  settle,  and  that  « 

to   thinking   of   some    . 

heater,  so  that  it  will 

10  ■    the   water,    ai    tt    ma)    ni.'{ 

al. 

Mou  AiovT  G^aaoNK  a<  n- 
Wc  have  found  out.  in  the 


4ic  of   itmt    itowTi 
You   can   %*<    t 

!     gas     thouM 


tte 


carbnoMv  tram  iW  ted  ai^  carry  ■ 

C>»  ui  aad  M,  of  eomnm.  ikm 

gcu  uMo  all  namral  water,  man  m  km 

If  yxHi  tKiMt   Msae  of  tht 
tmn  01  o«  iM 

'    '-a  f*» 

'  Jtm  o««r  iIh 
*ul  lora  a  ttaa 


of 


Mtr  of  «  hat 


as  a  gL.. 

will  see  a  t) 

tion      T' 

over   t> 

lhi»  .- 

car 

III 

fr 

you  iook  at  foar  boi 

water,   you   mV.   ntur 

deanrng.  th- 

are   sm*"" 

carbofu- 

Rot  into  ■'.<-   U'fiie  of 

<~»pectal>v  if  voa  have  allowed  tkr  walav 

to  '  bocile  so  that  tlwre  as 

qi-  la  the  bonk  akevr  ikr 

fUtrieU    kMluttuA.      Thsa    awaai    that    ««■ 

will    have    to   6ller    tW    laarwaser    ^am 

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304 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  9,  1909. 


coal.  In  this  way,  you  would  make  the 
temporary-hardness  water;  and,  after  fil- 
tering it,  because  the  bicarbonate  of  lime 
is  not  quite  soluble  enough  in  water  to 
dissolve  entirely,  you  would  have  a  clear 
solution,  which  would  throw  down  the 
plain  carbonate,  as  before,  by  heating. 

How   TO   Make  Carboxic-acid-i.as 
Water 

It  may  not  be  handy  to  get  a  siphon 
bottle  of  carbonic-acid-gas  water,  but  all 
the  same  you  want  some  of  it.  So  you 
will  make  it  yourself.  Just  rig  up  an  ap- 
paratus consisting  of  a  bottle,  a  tumbler 
and  tubes,  as  shown  in  the  accompanying- 
sketch.  Take  a  wide-mouthed  bottle,  say 
a  common  horse-radish  bottle,  and  a  com- 
mon tumbler.  The  bottle  is  closed  with  a 
flat  cork,  pierced  by  one  hole  for  the 
tube  to  carry  the  carbonic-acid  gas  to  the 
tumbler.  The  tube  is  made  of  two  pieces 
of  glass  tubing,  joined  with  a  bit  of  rub- 
ber tubing  (which  you  can  get  with  the 
outfit  mentioned  in  the  first  lesson).  In 
the  bottle  are  placed  some  lumps  of  com- 
mon white  marble,  which  is  nothing  more 
than  plain  carbonate  of  lime  (or  cal- 
cium). Pour  over  the  marble  about  two 
or  three  inches  of  water,  and  then  about 
one-fifth  as  much  hydrochloric  (muriatic) 
acid.  If  you  do  not  have  the  acid,  you 
may  use  vinegar ;  but  in  that  case,  do  not 
add  any  water,  and  have  the  vinegar 
warm.  Hydrochloric  acid  is  more  active 
than  vinegar  and  cuts  the  marble  quicker 
than  the  vinegar  does.  You  will  see  quite 
a  foaming;  clap  on  the  flat  cork  and  lead 
the  carbonic-acid  gas  which  comes  ofif 
through  the  tube,  passing  through  the  flat 
cork,  into  the  tumbler,  which  contains 
some  of  the  original  filtered  limewater. 
As  the  carbonic-acid  gas  comes  over  and 
passes  through  the  limewater.  yo\i  will 
i^et  the  same  white  insoluble  plain  car- 
bonate of  lime  (or  calcium),  and  if  you 
keep  the  current  of  gas  going,  pretty  soon 
you  will  see  the  sarne  change  in  the  pre- 
cipitated limewater  which  you  got  from 
blowing  your  breath  through  limewater, 
and  from  sucking  the  gas  from  glowing 
coal  through  limewater.  Thus  you  see 
that  you  can  get  this  carbonic-acid  gas 
from  the  breath,  or  from  burning  coal,  or 
from  limestone.  The  carbonic-acid  gas  is 
locked  up,  "fixed"  the  old  chemists  used 
to  say,  in  the  limestone,  which  is  carbon- 
ate of  lime ;  and  when  you  add  some 
strong  acid  to  limestone,  this  acid  dis- 
places the  carbonic  acid,  forces  it  out  and, 
J.S  carbonic  acid  happens  to  be  a  gas,  you 
can  grasp  the  explanation  of  the  action  of 
this  apparatus. 

If  you  use  vinegar,  take  about  a  cupful, 
for  vinegar  is  only  a  diluted,  or  thin,  solu- 
tion of  acetic  acid  in  water.  You  might 
use  nitric  acid,  also,  but  that  usually  costs 
more  than  muriatic  (or  hydrochloric) 
acid;  but  you  will  not  use  sulphuric  acid, 
because  this  acid  in  acting  on  lim;stone 
makes  sulphate  of  lime  (or  calcium),  and 
this  is  so  insoluble  that  it  coats  over  each 


lump  of  limestone  and  shuts  off  the  action. 
But  to  go  back  to  the  experiment : 

You  were  driving  the  carbonic-acid  gas 
over  into  the  limewater ;  you  had  got  the 
same  plain  insoluble  white  carbonate-of- 
lime  precipitate  (a  "precipitate"  is  any- 
thing thrown  out  of  solution  when  two 
clear  liquids  are  mixed,  and  one  liquid  is 
said  to  "precipitate"  the  other;  also,  the 
thing  thrown  out  of  solution  is  said  to  be 
"precipitated")  as  with  the  breath  and 
limewater,  or  with  the  gas  from  glowing 
coal  and  limewater.  And,  as  in  those 
cases,  with  more  carbonic-acid  g^s  led 
into  the  precipitated  insoluble  lime  car- 
bonate, you  get  the  same  extra,  or  double, 
or  bicarbonate  of  lime.  Keep  the  liquid 
in  the  tumbler  shaken  up,  as  the  gas  bub- 
bles through,  so  the  carbonic-acid  gas 
can  act  on  the  insoluble  carbonate  of  lime 
in  changing  it  into  the  extra  carbonate  of 
lime.  When  it  shows  the  change  of  be- 
ginning to  be  more  soluble,  as  though  you 
could  almost  see  through  it,  take  the  tum- 
bler and  filter  the  contents,  and  you  will 
have  the  same  solution  of  extra,  or  dou- 
ble, or  bicarbonate  of  lime  (or  calcium) 
that  you  had  before;  in  fact,  some  of  the 
temporary-hardness  water. 

If  this  is  warmed,  down  comes  the  same 
insoluble  plain  carbonate  which  makes  the 
scale.  If  you  don't  happen  to  have  any 
pieces  of  marble,  you  may  take  instead  a 
handful  of  common  cooking  soda  from 
the  kitchen  at  home ;  only  in  this  case,  you 
will  have  to  add  it  a  little  at  a  time,  be- 
cause the  acid  will  act  on  it  almost  as 
soon  as  it  is  thrown  into  the  wide-mouthed 
bottle,  which  has  strong  acid  in  the  water. 
If  you  keep  right  at  these  homemade  ex- 
periments you  will  begin  to  see  how  easy 
it  is  to  follow  one  thing  up  after  another, 
and  these  tests  that  you  are  making  are 
just  the  sort  of  thing  that  the  thinking 
man  has  to  use  and  study  everywhere. 

The  Action   of  Limewater  on   Litmus 
Paper 

But  there  is  one  fact  about  limewater 
that  you  ought  to  know  by  this  time. 
That  is  its  action  on  litmus.  You  have  a 
sheet  of  this  litmus  paper  or  a  little  pack- 
age of  it  cut  into  strips,  with  your  outfit. 
Il  it  came  in  one  sheet,  cut  some  of  it 
into  little  strips  about  a  %  of  an  inch 
wide  and  2  or  3  inches  long,  and  put  them 
in  any  clean,  wide-mouthed  bottle,  which 
you  will  keep  corked  and  handy  for  use. 

This  litmus  paper,  so  say  the  books, 
and  they  are  useful  occasionally,  is  turned 
red  by  acids  and  blue  by  alkalies.  As 
Long  Jack  said  to  Harvey  Cheyne  (in 
Mr.  Kipling's  "Captains  Courageous") 
about  shiptackle,  this  is  one  of  the  things 
that  "ivry  man  must  know,  blind,  dhrunk. 
or  asleep."  This  must  be  learned  once 
and  for  all.  Litmus,  acids  red,  alkalies 
blue. 

All  right,  but  what  about  limewater? 
Just  try  it.  If  you  have  red  litmus  to 
start  with,  it  turns  blue  in  the  limewater, 
and  if  you  have  blue  litmus  paper,  it  stays 


blue  in  the  limewater.  So,  then,  our  lime- 
water  is  an  alkali.  This  is  a  big  piece  of 
chemistry,  and  it  is  a  leading  fact  by 
which  to  find  out  thousands  of  other 
facts  which  are  worth  dollars  to  the  man 
who  will  have  the  sense  to  use  them. 
Liinczvater  is  an  alkali! 

Acids  and  Alkalies 

Let  us  take  a  little  excursion  among  the 
common  things  over  on  the  boiler-room 
shelf,  or  in  that  interesting  old  pantry, 
and  you  will  find  it  just  bursting  with  in- 
formation which  it  is  a  thousand  times 
better  for  you  to  find  out  in  this  practical 
way  than  merely  to  read  about  in  the 
books.  There  arc  salt,  pepper,  spices, 
sugar,  soap,  soda,  vinegar,  ammonia 
water,  and  perhaps  a  lemon,  a  sour  or- 
ange, or  an  apple.  Now  some  of  these 
are  active  chemicals,  and  some  of  them, 
wliile  having  plenty  of  taste,  are  indif- 
ferent to  litmus  or  useless  for  our  pur- 
pose. But  you  will  soon  find  that  the 
soap,  the  soda,  and  the  ammonia  will  each 
turn  the  litmus  paper  blue  like  the  lime- 
water,  so  they  are  all  alkalies,  or  have 
some  alkali  in  them,  while  the  vinegar,  the 
sour  lemon  and  orange,  and  even  the 
apple,  will  all  turn  the  litmus  red,  and 
hence  contain  acids. 

This  division  between  acids  and  alkalies 
is  as  old  as  Mother  Nature,  though  chem- 
ists did  not  begin  to  get  onto  this  im- 
portant fact  until  two  or  three  centuries 
agp ;  but  it  is  just  as  Long  Jack  said 
about  his  shiptackle,  it  must  be  riveted 
into  the  mind  of  attention  and  into  tlie 
finger  of  testing.  You  cannot  afford  ever 
to  forget  it,  or  to  think  that  it  does  not 
matter  particularly  whether  or  not  you 
make  the  test,  even  if  you  think  you  know- 
about  what  it  is  without  testing.  Make 
the  test;  do  it;  and  then  you  can  explain 
why  it  was  that  something  happened  that 
you  were  not  expecting,  as  it  always  does 
in  the  long  run.  That  waste  water  over 
there  in  the  corner  may  be  chewing  out 
your  pipes ;  litmus  may  tell  something ; 
but  that  story  comes  later. 

But  you  must  stop  awhile  with  ©the 
soap,  the  soda,  the  ammonia,  and  the 
limewater  on  the  one  hand,  and  with  the 
vinegar,  the  sour  fruits  and  the  like,  on 
the  other.  As  you  go  on  you  will  find 
that  there  are  several  other  acids:  sul- 
phuric, nitric  and  hydrochloric  (or  muri- 
atic, as  it  is  still  popularly  called).  You 
will  also  find  several  other  bases  or 
alkalies,  such  as  caustic  soda  or  sodium 
I'.ydroxide  (or  hydrate),  caustic  potash  or 
potassium  hydroxide  (or  hydrate,  chemists 
nre  generous  with  names),  sodium  car- 
bonate, and  so  forth. 

Suppose  we  experiment  awhile  with  our 
litmus,  and  the  acids  and  bases ;  it  is  well 
worth  the  while.  You  note  that  any 
strong  acid  will  turn  the  litmus  red,  and 
any  strong  alkali  will  turn  the  litmus 
blue ;  though  it  may  take  rnore  of  it  and 
more  time  in  some  cases  than  in  others. 
Then  you  take  a  little  of  some  acid,  vine- 


February  9,  1909. 

gar    for    instance,    in   a   tumbler.     Slip  a 
strip  of  litmus  down  the  side,  and  pour  in 
limewater.     Soon  the  one  will  "kill"  the 
other,    and    you    can   get    both    dead    (or 
•neutralized"    as   the    wise    folk    say)    by 
xinff  just  enough  of  acid  and  alkali  to 
iitr;   thouRh   at   first  you  may   fxnir   11: 
Ujo   much    limewater    to    the    vinegar,   or 
not   enough,   and   you   will   have   to  coax 
I    tease   the   solutions   back   and    forth. 
il  you  get  them  so  that  perhaps  a  drop 
two  will  «lo  the  trick,  and  the  litmus  is 
•licr   red  nor  blue,  but  a   s<irt  of  pur- 
That   is  the  neulral  point.      Now   if 
taste  these  neutrali/cil 
:1   get  neither   the   sharp 
:    the  flat  but  peculiar  tasit-  oi  alkalies ; 
a   rule,  you  will  get  a  taste  something 
•    common  salt,  as  tastes   run;  in  fact, 
things   made    by    mixing    acids    and 
tikalies    (or   b.-ises,    for   alkalies  are  only 
•'"•  more  Noluble  and  stronger  bases)  are 
Its."  and  common  -.alt  is  only  the  com 
monest  salt 

This  common  salt  can  he  made  by  mix- 
ing some  soda  with  hydriK-hloric  acid, 
until  the  exact  point  of  iK-utrality  is  ob 
tained ;  and,  of  course,  it  is  a  simpK- 
fhing  to  evaporate  some  of  the  mixet! 
and  neutralized  acid  and  alkali  down  to 
dryness,  and  thus  collect  some  of  it.  Now 
there  arc  millions  of  possible  salts,  and 
•on)r  ili..i!-.inils  of  these  are  known,  and 
sonir  hiMi.lrrds  of  thousands  remani  t" 
be  t'oiiM.!  iikI  jo  be  used;  but  we  will  not 
boilirr  .ilM.iit  more  than  a  few  of  them 
We  have  t«j«j  much  to  do  with  that  bat! 
boiler  water  to  fool  time  away  in  what 
docs  not  concern  us.     What  wc  want  to 


PCnVER  AND  THE  I 


Kk. 


And  out  that  there  arc  two  or  threw  prm- 


cii 
fu- 
nv 


f«Jl»e  estrtH  bjr  iu  Mtaral  Mrctdi  or  ikr 
-'OKMfibfnc    cuadttaoM.    .j«^ 


Ingenious    Automatic   Cutoff    (or 
Kojx-  Drive 


0^  tkai  wm 


The    Vi     V     it    '   ' 
of  Rockford.  Ill 


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■    ^tntrr 

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lad      To 

nccwM    o4 
-  ;h  thctf  dMMM  mmi 

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drirr 


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e  iprodKt  «brd  O  and  us  ■teK 
•old  aDu*  ihr  vntbt  K.  tl»t  t% 
;o  the  cham.  to  drop  to  tkt  bai 
•he  aprorkn  vhrri  T  WKm  1^ 
weight  K  dr- 


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cntine  to  Mop 


micht  br  othfr« 

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icvtrr    Corti    m    a     SOOO-iuKmratt 

Central  Sutioo 


Urn 


i        .''I— ,^f»H 


>•■■    i-T   r  Tt  Vi     .  .t  r     -III 


.1      »xii    r«kis 


ffct  at  i«  that  hardnet*.  and  to 
whether   it   i«  of  the   t.     ; 
ol  the  permanent  kin«l 

'""    '    '  "   get    n.| 

>!    \\.i«        i 


3o6 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  9,  1909. 


120  pounds  per  square  inch.  The  engine 
equipment  was  as  follows:  One  Harris, 
22  and  22  b}'  48-inch,  78  revolutions  per 
minute,  750  horsepower;  one  Harris,  18 
and  30  by  42-inch,  84  revolutions  per 
minute,  500  horsepower;  one  Harris,  18 
and  30  by  36-inch,  96  revolutions  per 
minute,  450  horsepower ;  one  International 
Power  Compan}-,  19  and  44  by  48-inch, 
100  revolutions  per  minute,  750  horse- 
power ;  three  Brown,  22  and  40  by  48-inch, 
100  revolutions  per  minute,  750  horse- 
power. The  electric-generating  equipment 
of  the  plant  consisted  of  10  generators 
ranging  in  size  from  135  to  675  kilowatts. 
The  total  energy  generated  in  the  plant 
during  1905  was  5,354,000  kilowatt-hours. 
The  company  sold  1,409,000  kilowatt- 
hours  for  power  purposes,  which  was  an 
important  factor  in  economical  generation 
through  its  effect  on  the  station-load  factor 
as  a  whole.  The  company  burned  7857  tons 
of  New  river  coal,  costing  on  the  aver- 
age $4.28,  the  fuel  consumption  per  kilo- 
watt-hour being  3.29  pounds.  The  oper- 
ating force  of  the  station  consisted  of 
three  engineers,  four  oilers  and  cleaners, 
three  firemen,  two  coal  passers,  three 
dynamo  and  switchboard  men,  two  repair- 
men and  one  station  clerk.  The  operating 
cost  was  as  follows,  omitting  cents  in  total 
tigures : 

Coal  or  other  fuel $33,622 

Rental.s,  station  real  estate 120 

Oil  and  waste 561 

Water 1,0.56 

Wages  at  station 17.020 

Station  repairs 5,594 

Steam-plant  repairs 9,655 

Electric-jjlant  repairs 621 

Station  tools  and  appliances 1,562 

Total $69,814 

Per    kilowatt-hour    the    principal    costs 

are  fuel,  0.63  cent,  and  wages  at  station, 

o..-^i8  cent. 

The  equipment  of  the  station   was   the 

iame  during  the  next  year  as  in  1905.    The 


of  about  0.2  pound  of  coal  per  kilowatt- 
hour.  The  total  fuel  cost  was  $36,820,  or 
0.61  cent  per  kilowatt-hour.  The  wages 
cost  was  $17,296,  or  0.286  cent  per  kilo- 
watt-hour, and  the  total  cost  of  manufac- 
ture was  $71,021,  or  1. 18  cents  per  kilowatt- 
hour.  There  was  a  saving  of  about 
$5000  in  station  repairs  compared  with 
the  previous  year. 

In  1907  the  equipment  of  the  plant  was 
practically  the  same  as  in  the  preceding 
two  years.  The  output  increased  to 
2,196,000  kilowatt-hours.  The  station  was 
operated  by  seventeen  men  and  the  cost 
of  coal  rose  to  $4.55  per  ton.  The  total 
fuel  consumption  was  9869  tons.  The 
total  fuel  bill  came  to  about  $45,000,  or 
0.635  cent  per  kilowatt-hour.  The  labor 
cost  was  about  $17,450,  or  0.247  cent  per 
kilowatt-hour,  and  the  total  cost  of  manu- 
facture was  $69,000,  or  0.975  cent  per 
unit  produced.  There  was  a  reduction 
this  year  of  about  $9000  in  steam-plant  re- 
pairs. Other  items  showed  less  variation. 
The  total  repairs  of  station,  steam  and 
electric  plants  came  to  about  $3400. 

For  the  last  year  of  the  station  record, 
1908,  the  cost  of  fuel  per  ton  increased  to 
$4.75.  In  this  year  the  initial  installation 
of  the  new  plant  was  opened  for  service, 
and  this  consisted  of  a  200D-kilowatt  Cur- 
tis steam  turbine,  with  three  Stirling  boil- 
ers having  each  three  hundred  and  ten 
3^-inch  tubes,  operated  at  180  pounds 
and  rated  at  526  horsepower.  The  total 
boiler  capacity  was  thus  increased  to 
.^229  horsepower,  and  the  total  engine  and 
turbine   horsepower    to    7200.      The    coal 


generated  by  the  station  was  9,426,000 
kilowatt-hours.  The  other  items  of  pro- 
duction cost  were  not  altered  to  any  con- 
siderable extent  compared  with  those  of 
the  previous  year. 

Summing  up  the  history  of  the  station 
during  the  period  considered,  there  has 
been  a  progressive  increase  in  the  cost  of 
coal,  which  is  a  serious  obstacle  to  the 
economical  production  of  power  with  a 
fairly  stationary  equipment.  This  has 
been  offset  to  a  considerable  degree  ir» 
the  plant  by  careful  operation,  and  par- 
ticularly by  the  increasing  of  the  power 
load  each  year.  At  the  end  of  the  four 
years  this  had  increased  to  3,760,000  kilo- 
watt-hours, or  2.7  times  the  power  sales- 
of  1905.  The  steadying  effect  of  such  aiT 
output  is  inevitably  a  great  help  toward 
the  operation  of  station  apparatus  at 
points  nearer  their  most  efficient  output. 
That  the  cost  per  kilowatt-hour  should 
have  been  reduced  from  1.3  cents  tO' 
about  I  cent  in  this  period  indicates  that 
the  plant  has  been  operated  with  skill,. 
in  the  face  of  high  fuel  costs  and  not  the 
most  modern  equipment. 


Two  Loose  Nuts 


By  W.  H.  Wakeman 


The  engineer  of  a  certain  plant  reported 
that  his  engine  pounded  badly  for  a  por- 
tion of  the  time,  then  would  run  quietly 
until  for  some  reason  the  pound  returned. 


LOOSE   CHECKNUT   AND   PISTON    PARTLY  UNSCREWED  FROM  THE  CROSSHEAD 


cost  of  coal  per  ton  increased  to  $4.42, 
and  the  plant  consumed  8328  tons.  The 
output  was  6,038,000  kilowatt-hours,  and 
the  power  sales  1,772,000  kilowatt-hours. 
The  company's  efforts  to  increase  its 
power  business  enabled  the  machinery  to 
be  run  at  better  loads  during  the  daylight 
hours,  when  the  demand  upon  the  plant 
for  lighting  current  was  the  least.  The 
station  force  was  practically  the  same, 
with  the  addition  of  one  man,  as  in  1905. 
There  was  a  saving  in   fuel  consumption 


consumption  was  14,101  tons,  and  the  sta- 
tion force  was  five  engineers,  four  fire- 
men, six  station  electricians,  ten  boiler- 
room  men  and  two  repairmen.  The  fuel 
cost  in  toto  was  $67,000,  and  the  advance 
in  price  per  ton  tended  to  increase  the 
cost  per  kilowatt-hour  to  0.71  cent.  Sta- 
tion wages  came  to  $24,700,  or  0.262  cent, 
per  kilowatt-hour,  and  the  total  manufac- 
turing cost  per  kilowatt-hour  was  1.06 
cents,  the  amount  expended  for  power 
production    being   $100,000.      The    energy 


and  this  disagreeable  condition  of  affairs 
annoyed  him  for  several  days.  If  the 
pound  had  been  continuous  the  cause 
would  undoubtedly  have  been  found  with 
little  delay  and  trouble,  but  the  intermit- 
tent action  constituted  a  puzzle  that 
baffled  his  efforts.  Another  engineer  was 
called  in  for  advice,  and  he  proceeded  to 
give  the  machine  a  thorough  examination. 
He  found  the  piston  rod  screwed  into  the 
crosshead  in  the  usual  way,  but  the  check 
nut  was  loose,  and  this  allowed  the  rod  to 


February  g,  190Q. 

turn  in  the  crosshead.  It  would  unscrew 
until  the  piston  struck  the  cylinder  hi-a<l  at 
every  revolution.  causinK  a  hea\y  ix.mid, 
but  for  some  unaccountable  reason  noth- 
ing was  bent  or  bioken. 

The   rod    would    then    screw    into    the 

•sshcad  until  the  usual  clearance  on  the 
id  end  was  restored,  consequently  the 

■ind  disappeared.     As  the  nut  was  fre- 

-  ntly  in  contact  with  the  cros<khead 
\\hen  the  engine  was  shut  down,  the  de- 
fect was  not  discovered  by  the  regular 
engineer. 

In  another  case  the  same  defect  caused 
trouble,  but  in  this  instance  much  heavier 
blows  were  struck  on  the  cylinder  head 
when  the  crank  was  about  to  pass  the  in- 
side center,  as  shown  in  the  illustration. 
The  engine  was  promptly  shut  down,  the 
defect  discovered,  and  both  ro<l  and  nut 
were  returned  to  their  proper  place*,  with 
but  little  delay  in  the  operation  of  the  ma- 
chinery. 

"^hims  had  been  placed  between  the  end 
..i  the  connecting  ro<l  and  the  correspond- 
ing half  of  the  wristpin  box.  and  these 
were  forced  together  until  a  more  perfect 
fit  was  secured  for  the  surfaces  in  con- 
tact, by  the  great  stress  brought  to  l>ear 
on  them  by  the  toggle-joint  action  of  the 
crank  while  in  the  position  illustrated,  in 
connection  with  the  leverage  of  the  fly- 
wheel. When  the  engine  was  started 
again  there  was  a  slight  pound  at  the 
wristpin,  although  this  lx)x  gave  no  evi- 
dence of  lost  motion  liefore  the  acciclcnt. 
It  was  necessary  to  readjust  the  wedge  at 
this  p<iint  in  order  to  restore  normal  con- 
ditions. 

:  he  j«»int  made  by  joining  the  frame  to 
..  i  cylinder  began  to  leak  steam  soon 
afterward,  and  when  at  attempt  was  made 
to  tighten  the  nuts  at  this  point,  three 
atuds  were  found  broken  in  two.  or  pulled 
apart  by  the  great  strain  that  had  Im-cii 
brought  to  bear  on  them.  Fortunately 
the  remainder  proved  'ufficient  to  tarry 
Jihe  loa«l.  thus  preventing  more  serious 
trouble,  but  it  was  a  very  narrow  escape. 
This  method  of  fastening  a  piston  rod 

I 'referred   by   many   engineers   liecautc 

It    admits    of    easy    and    .iccurate    adill^l- 

ment   .Tt   all   timrs.  and  all  )ws   the   {)l^t■•n 

'd    from    the    cylinder    \sit!i 

Do  not   use  a  pipe   wrriuli 

on   the    piston    rcMl    to    turn    it    out    of   the 

crosshead.  as  a  certain  engineer  did.  but 

tarn  the  check  nut  back  at  far  as  it  will 

fo  on   the  threads,   tht-n   apply   the    -   '•  • 

wrench  which  is  supplied  by  the  n 

•'   ••■  ,se. 

taken  to  f<i«t«>n  ih* 
nut  -finl)    Hlirii  the  r«M|  I  to 

it*  |)ro|>rr  plate.     It  is  not  s  put 

a  wrench  on  it.  then  allow  the  iir.tn.in  to 
•h  on  its  short  handle,  but  sr\rril  onart 
blows  with  a  hammer  of  stnt.iM.  .s'. 
ought  to  he  sfriirk  near  the  en«l  n\  it.  1^ 
the  shock  s«i  pr-xlured  is  equal  to.  or  bet- 
ter than,  ilir  '..  r  ,'i..n  of  a  long  lever 
under  steads    w'^l!    'T  pressure 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

ProducUoQ   of   EJcclncity   by  Peal 

By   E.  Horrurisrr* 

Peat     exi»t»     in     large 
Europe  and    Amcrira       I- 
of  the   Unit' 
instance,  th 

w<j.><!s.  shrubbery  or  swamp,  and  are 
v.metimes  40  feet  in  depth,  rarely  more. 
Wet  peat  contains  from  Ho  to  90  per  cent, 
of  water  and  is  dark  brown,  nearly  black. 

In  order  to  prepare  peat  for  fuel  it  hat 
to  be  dug,  forme  •     -• 
or  blocks,  of  cr^ 
of  a  tile,  and  dried  it. 
operations  may  be  w 
or  partly  by  machiner).     In  ilu 
the   peat    is   dug   by   hand,   car- 
conveyer  to  the  press  or  mixing  marhuK-. 
where    its   fibrous   structure    is    »ejwr.'..i 
and  expelled  in  the  form  of  ttrips 
5x5x15  inches  in  si/e.    These  are  pil- 
the  ground  for  tome  weeks  to  dry. 
are  laid  crosswise  in  a  pile  »\>- 
high,   which   permits   the   air  t 
around  d    in    this    way    :!.i>    be- 

come  t:  .    dried,   when    they    are 

ready   for  u>€. 

Dry  peat  is  dense  and  hard,  like  tile, 
is  very  inflammable  and  produces  little 
smoke  and  ash.  Its  thermal  value  it 
about  from  6joo  to  7200  B.t.ii.  (if  contain- 
ing from  IS  to  ao  per  cent,  moisture),  or 
practically  one-half  the  thermal  value  of 
high-grade  Cf«l.  The  material  when  free 
of  water  is  compo«rd  nf  fto  per  cent.  C.  5 
per  cent    H  and    ■  ■  •    O 

The  use  of  pc.i  I  in  the  man- 

ner  outlirted    has    two   mar.  ! van- 

tages :      (I)    The    drying    i  de- 

pcnilent    upon    the   weather.      In    Europe, 
for  instance,  the  production  peri'-'  •••••««iv 
only  extends  over   100  days   a 
the  capacity  of  the  plan'         — 
fact.    10.000  tons   a   yr 
very    high    output.      ( .*  1 
costs  arc  in  prr«^rl»«>n  fo  • 

Ihr 
IWI 

for  the 
peat   is         ^ 
coat 

C«ircf(il   {f»v»««i»-«»«-' 

•■■ll    \\ritr     .  '     to 

hr. 

to 

portatii^.'i 

■•«<•   wf   ^>' 


PvnpfrtKo  Ctarratrtrr  wmnm  Plat 


ini: 
Us. 


sihle  to  ate 


•yrtttivK-rr     ttfl 


UMsally   the   w^i-nt,.  ,-.<    ..,» 

''^-    "■*■■'*■' 

«►-'  ••■      r.aijT      :,j      i  alt<rf    n 

^'  «-r«M0y I.  Bou  M  &!•«». 

hcini  .,•,-:   Fv    rnrij  n  i ' 

mal  taiuc  ui  the  ga*  . 

Wrt    p«|    i,     ft^g^     in     ,     y,^^ 

»  mure  <tb  to  95  pn  cm  »  » 

'^  ''»d    tOperbri'rd    xr^i    ,rrY,X,^,A 

in  driving  a  steam  cuk 

reMd  :c    „    .?,,    ,,..      .  ^,»,,„ 

■"^  'I'j  {»jT  II  u»cd  M  amkf 
-rt    nar-ogfelli    At    mtmth    — 
ir.o,j,jn  ,jrj  peat  were  ntcd 
wet-pcal  pbm  of  «»  Im- 

''stfurtioa  to  *t*ti^ 
»"»»•  of  Kmrfm 
''  'fy  a*h€t  pk»et%  w«feai  • 

TW  cf^MT  mi 
<d  Ihr  MiirlihiM 

— berg. 

>  bese   two  melhodt  arc  owt: 
•  -^«      TV  diftrr'- 
pmduce  a  gat  fr 

not  be  difBcuh  ortiinifU;  ■it*x  d:j  peat 
(of  JO  per  crM  MMMasirv).  km  m  ihf 
ease  under  di»cD>- 
pensne  and  the  p* 

titjr.      The    objeclmaaMc    JMlan    ol    iW 
tecood  mclbod  it  tke 


PlAT  PfeDMXM  m  TWt   f'*r*«.  <*.<Tt 

Uader  preveM  m«Hfi'  .^4 

Stales  Ibe  peal  prn^lra  »«  emA  »««y  ■». 
portant.  Coal  t«  dicaprr  tmd  w^n 
When  the  I'ntird  S«ate« 
dcnsr!»  t"'t»<''i''-'I  'he  ft-'Ufm  atlJ  W  npa 
for 

ha»      :      .. 
country,  at  « 


Mn.i  !»:••'.  tr*-!  prtUa 


•« 


p«rKnc*st  pfiwlf  rn 

trn^II   tnirt'mrnla. 


In  Ibc  imi 
Coanecimg  h 
|«r  JO  mmbrr    page    iMa   f«naalfe    ID 

itxA    fSr     !><•     (     •—^•■1*        •tf'i     in    t^     M.mtm9t 

Tf 


>«««*\ 


-\ 


:^mtt%   aM^t    la 


3o8 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  9.   1909. 


Municipal  Ownership 


DEVOTED  TO    THE   GENERATION   AND 
TRANSMISSION   OF  POWER 

Issued  Weekly  by  the 

Hill  Publishing  Company 

Jobs  A.  Hill,  Prea.  and  Tre«8.         Kobebt  McKban,  8ec'y. 

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6  Bouverie  Street,  London,  E.  C. 


Correspondence  suitable  for  the  columns  of 
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dress of  correspondents  must  be  given — not  nec- 
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of  Congress  of  March  3,  1879. 


Cable  address,  "Powpub,"  N.  Y. 
Business  Telegraph  Code. 


CIRCULATIOX    ST  ATE  il  EXT 

During  1908  we  printed  and  circulated 
1,836,000  copies  of  Powkr. 

Our  circulation  for  Junitury,  1909,  teas 
(ioeekly   and   monthly)    160,000. 

February     2 40.000 

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yone  sent  free  regularly,  no  returns  from 
neurs  companies,  no  back  numbers.  Figures 
are   live,    net  circulation. 


Contents  i 

A    Low-Head    Hydroelectric    Development 

Miscellaneous     Improvements 

Modern  British  High-Speed  Steam  En- 
gines      

Causes    of    Engine    Failure 

A    New    Departure    in    Flexible    Staybolts 

The  Installation  of  Direct  Current 
Motors     

Lubricants    for    Cylinders 

Practical    Letters    From    Practical    Men : 

Connecting      Rod      Design Chute 

for  Handling  Wood.  ..  .Boiler  Set- 
ting.... An  Emergency  Packing 
Ring  ....  Crosshead  Repair  .... 
Throwing  Lamps  in  Parallel,  etc. 
....Effect  of  Scale  in  Boilers.... 
Commutator  Trouble.  ...Compression 
....Do    Crank    Pins    Always    Wear 

Flat? Trouble      Caused       By      a 

Ground....  A  Blowoff  Arrangement 
. .  .  .  Reco^izing  fhp  Staff....  Some 
Vertical  Centrifugnl  Pump  Troubles 
. .  .  .  Neatsfoot  Oil  on  Belts....  New 
Method  of  Equalizing  Cutoff.  . .  . 
Municipal  Ownership  ....  Reduced 
the  Back  Pressure.  ..  .Electric  Dis- 
charges. ..  .Natural  Gns  for  Fuel 
. . .  .Steam  Piping  ....  Combustion 
Formulas.  .^  .A  .".00-  or  2."0-Volt 
System  for  Motoi-s.  .  .  .The  Modern 
Surface  rondfnspr.  .  .  .Wrenches.  .  .  . 
Turning  a   Worn   Turbine  Shaft.. 287 

Development  of  the  Surface  Condenser.  . 

Cooling    Towers 

Some   Useful    Lessons   of   Limewater.  .  .  . 

Ingenious    Automatic    Cutoff    for    Rope.  . 

Power  Costs  in  a  .5000-Kilowatt  Central 
Station     

Two   Loose    Nuts 

Production  of  Electricity  by  Peat 

Editorials 308 


269 


275 

279 
280 

282 
285 


296 
297 
301 
303 
305 

305 
306 
.307 
309 


We  give  place  to  a  letter  on  "Municipal 
Ownership,"  by  Arthur  Williams,  in  our 
correspondence  columns,  despite  the  fact 
that  we  are  not  interested  in  the  ques- 
tion, which  is  a  sociological  rather  than 
an  engineering  one.  Power's  subject  is 
engineering  and  not   political   economy. 

The  clipping  from  the  Wisconsin  paper, 
to  which  the  editorial  which  called  out 
Mr.  Williams'  letter  refers,  says  that  "a 
city  cannot  run  a  lighting  plant  as  cheaply 
as  private  companies  can  supply  the  light." 
The  subscriber  who  sent  it  asked  for  our 
opinion  upon  this  question,  which,  di- 
vested of  politics,  is  an  engineering  one ; 
and  after  a  careful  consideration  of  Mr. 
Williams'  contention  wa  should  still  an- 
swer it  as  we  did  before.  The  boilers, 
engines  and  generators  do  not  know  nor 
care  who  owns  them.  Put  them  into  the 
hands  of  an  equally  good  man,  give  him 
a  free  swing  and  hold  him  responsible 
for  results  and  they  will  produce  current 
for  the  people  as  cheaply  as  for  a  cor- 
poration. The  additional  dividends  which 
it  is  necessary  to  pay  upon  watered  stock, 
franchise  valuation,  corruption  funds,  etc., 
may  be  put  against  the  increased  costs  due 
to  political  graft,  etc.,  of  which  Mr.  Wil- 
liams protests — but  this  is  getting  out  of 
the  engineering  side  of  the  case. 

The  business  of  producing  electricity  is 
getting  systematized.  The  cost  of  plant 
per  kilowatt,  the  cost  of  putting  current 
upon  the  switchboard,  the  cost  of  distri- 
bution are  becoming  known  and  a  free 
exchange  of  data  among  such  plants  and 
the  publication  of  uniform  reports,  as  is 
done  by  water-works  engineers,  would 
make  a  particularly  extravagant  station 
stick  out  like  a  sore  tliumb,  whether  it 
belonged  to  the  public  or  to  an  individual. 

Please  remember  that  a  continuation  of 
this  discussion  must  be  along  engineering 
and  not  socialistic  nor  political-economical 
lines. 


The  Gas  Engine  Engineer 


Repeatedly  tlie  assertion  has  been  made 
that  the  average  stationary  engineer  does 
not  develop  into  as  efficient  a  gas  engi- 
neer as  the  ordinary  machinist,  although 
why  such  a  view  of  the  matter  should  be 
taken  is  not  always  definitely  stated.  The 
average  machinist  has  the  advantage  of 
knowing  how  to  repair  or  even  make  a 
part  of  a  machine  in  case  of  breakdown. 
He  has  a  better  knowledge  of  the  use  of 
tools,  if  he  is  a  man  of  experience,  but 
it  is  difficult  to  see  how  these  accomplish- 
ments are  such  strong  points  in  his  favor 
as  to  put  the  steam  engineer  out  of  the 
race.  The  machinist's  one  real  advantage 
over  the  steam  engineer  is  that  he  does 
not  know  how  to  run  a  steam  engine ;  this 
can  be  considered  advantageous  because, 
not  knowing  anything  about  the  operation 


of  any  type  of  engine,  he  is  more  likely 
to  feel  receptive  toward  advice  and  in- 
struction. 

The  steam  engineer  is  familiar  with  the 
operation  of  both  steam  and  gas  engines, 
as  far  as  the  reciprocating  parts  are  con- 
cerned, but  in  the  matter  of  the  action  of 
the  power  medium  he  is  familiar  only 
with  steam.  Of  the  action  of  gas  in  an 
engine  cylinder  he  has  much  to  learn — 
as  much  as,  if  not  more  than,  the  machin- 
ist, because  there  is  liability  of  his  con- 
fusing the  manner  of  regulating  the  effect 
of  exploding  gases  with  that  of  steam  ex- 
pansion. In  the  matter  of  adjustments  the 
engineer  should  be  at  home ;  in  the  care 
of  bearings,  the  same  vigilance  is  required 
as  with  steatn  engines,  and  no  more. 

With  all  the  good  things  that  may  be 
said  in  favor  of  the  steam  engineer  as  a 
candidate  for  gas-engine  honors,  however, 
he  is  handicapped  in  one  particular.  He 
is  familiar,  with  steam-engine  operation 
and  expects  to  obtain  the  same  results 
from  a  gas  engine.  This  is  something 
that  cannot  be  done.  It  is  no  uncoinmon 
thing  to  see  a  steam  engineer  fret  and 
worry  because  his  engine  has  developed  a 
pound  or  some  little  thing  out  of  the 
ordinary;  such  an  engineer  will  not  rest 
contented  until  that  fault  is  found  and 
remedied.  His  greatest  ambition  is  so  to 
adjust  his  engine  that  it  will  operate  prac- 
tically without  noise,  and  in  some  cases 
this  is  carried  so  far  as  to  become  almost 
a  mania.  There  is  a  good  deal  of  satis- 
faction in  having  a  smooth-running  en- 
gine, and  the  engineer  is  excusable  if  he 
is  a  trifle  "finicky"  on  this  subject.  When 
it  comes  to  running  a  gas  engine,  noise- 
less operation  is  a  snare  and  a  delusion 
to  an  operator  who  has  fond  dreams  that 
its  operation  is  to  be  a  round  of  pleasure. 
He  expects  almost  noiseless  operation, 
and  gets  rattling  and  sometimes  clanging. 
He  listens  for  a  modest  click  by  the  valve 
gear  and  hears  the  whacking  of  the  cams 
and  the  muffled  thuinp  of  the  valves  as 
they  seat.  The  smooth-running  engine 
which  was  expected  is  not  in  evidence, 
and  then  the  steam  engineer  tnakes  his 
mistake;  he  attempts,  bj'  adjustments  here 
and  there,  to  make  the  gas  engine  operate 
as  quietly  as  a  steam  engine.  As  the  func- 
tions of  the  different  devices  on  the  gas 
engine  are  not  at  first  fully  understood, 
it  does  not  take  long  for  him  to  get  the 
adjustments  so  out  of  place  that  the  en- 
gine refuses  to  work  properly,  and  serious 
trouble  ensues. 

Here,  then,  is  the  chief  difference  be- 
tween the  two  candidates.  The  inachin- 
ist,  not  expecting  any  particular  sound* 
from  the  engine,  accepts  the  noises  of 
operation  as  he  finds  them,  and  conse- 
quently docs  not  meddle  with  the  adjust- 
ments until  he  has  so  familiarized  himself 
with  the  working  of  the  engine  that  he 
knows  what  he  is  about.  Ha  steam  engi- 
neer will  not  demand  of  the  gas  engine 
that  which  it  cannot  give,  and  will  leave 
all    adjustments    alone    until    he    under- 


February  9,  igoQ. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


stands  what  the  effects  of  making  them 
will  be,  he  will  be  able  to  hold  his  own 
against  all  corner-^. 


compression 


Some  months  ago  there  were  received 
from  a  small  town  in  Oklahoma  two  sets 
of  indicator  diagrams.  One  set  was  of 
the  conventional  type  of  Corliss-engine 
diagram,  with  the  compression  curve  ris- 
ing to  alxjut  two-thirds  the  initial  pres- 
sure and  with  plumb  line  induction,  show- 
ing ample  lead  of  steam  valves  and  full 
pressure  on  the  piston  while  the  crank 
was  still  on  the  center.  The  other  set 
from  ih^  same  engine  showed  only  a  little 
rounded  heel  of  a  compression  curve  and 
the  admission  line  inclined  toward  the 
middle  of  the  diagram,  showing  plainly 
that  the  piston  had  actually  move«l  a 
measurable  distance  before  full  steam 
pressure  was  realized  in  the  cylinder. 

These  second  diagrams  were  not  good- 
looking,  as  handsome  diagrams  are  usu- 
ally considered,  and  computation  showed 
that  the  indicated  horsepower  was  con- 
siderably less  in  the  case  of  late  steam- 
valve  opening  and  lack  of  compression 
than  it  was  where  ample  steam  lead  had 
obtained  and  all  of  the  lost  motion  in 
pills  ami  journal  was  taken  up  by  plenty 
of  compression.  Hut  the  wigineer  sai«l 
that  the  actual  load,  that  is,  the  useful 
work  that  the  engine  was  doing,  was  the 
»anie  in  both  cases,  and  aske<l  why  less 
steam  was  used  to  do  the  work  with  the 
one  style  of  valve  setting  than  with  the 
other.  The  answer  that  was  given  hini 
said  in  substance  that  the  reduction  nf 
pressure  on  pins  and  main  jonrn.il  re 
ducr<i  the  friction  of  the  engine  an«i  thus 
decreased  the  lo;id  to  be  carried  and 
consequently  reduced  the  quantity  of 
Steam  used  per  brake  horsepower  per 
hour. 

Attempts  were  maile  to  get  one  or  two 
nechanicalengineering    professor*    inter- 

'!  in  the  matter,  to  the  extent  of  ex- 

iHMtinp  MH  an  engine  with  a  fixed  load 

w  i  •   valve  settings,  witli   r.iiher 

results.      It     was     sai<l     the 

m  in  expanding  gives  up  to  the  piston 

of  the  energy  expended  in  the  com 
pression  and  it  makes  little  or  n<>  >lifTer- 
'•••■■'■   as    far    a*    economy     is    concerned 

ther   an   engine   is   operated   with   or 
wuhoiif  riiDipr.  ^>i<in. 
Tbrsr    i\.  I'l.iira    statements    have    A 

■Irncv     l"«    .  ri  .itr     .1     frrlititr    ■•■ 

in  the  nun. I  .t   tl,.     ,  . 

lueer    «<>w.ir<l    .ill    • 
'1       Some   rimuirrr*.    • 

ence  that  there  i«  a  slight  loss  if  i-.tii|.'<  • 
sion  i*  carried  above  the  lermin.il  i'-.^ 
sore,  while  others  feel  that  there  t%  r.  .1!. 

a  gain   m.rt.    ♦  •,       1' '    ■•  .•   •' 
line  I..    ,!.      • 
boiler  pressure. 
Most     of     the     mechankal-enKinerritii: 


all 


bboratories    of    the    antversiii«ft  af   the 

country  are  e^i 
decide   this    <| 
gat  ion.     It  ci 
gine  with  a  > 

could    be   J'eadily    measured.    %>oul«l    usr 
more    or    less    sieam    with    one    form    of 
valve     adjustment     than     with     amjlhcr. 
Pounds   uf   »team     per    indicated    horse- 
power-hutir.  pounds  of  steam   per    brake 
horsepower-hour  and  the  iu' 
power    necessary     under    «1: 
setting  to  carry  a    certain 
pfmer  are  questt«^ns  that   n- 
terest   to  the 
ofK-rating  eng' 

tories  of  the  technical  colleges  of  the 
country  is  the  apparatus  suitable  for  mak- 
ing an  exhaustive  test  to  be  found.  Can 
the  men  at  the  heads  of  thc-se  experiment 
stations  determine  these  things? 

Some  years  ago  some  ex|M  •  !..ng 

this     linr     wrrr    madr     in  tnd 

altl  .    to 

the  ;  nd 

itself    readily    to  '«»• 

elusion  reached  «..  ,  ;  :i  of 

exhaust  steam  in  the  clearance  space  re- 
sulted in  a  direct  loss. 

M  many  of  the  universities  arc  etifines 
which  will  readily  lend  themselves  to  com- 
pression. Can  one  or  more  of  these  en- 
gines be  prr>  '-  of  set- 
tlinv  f'T  f'^f  -.rho  hat 
no  rri- 
met  •  ;  Ten- 
sion leads  toward  economy  or  away 
from  it  * 


I  lie   Engineer   and  the  Central 
F'<»wcr  Station 


Successful  steam  engine  i>i 

a   great    deal    l>e> '    •'■•- 

steam  plant  at  its 

.lloiK-     should     the     nii^mrrr 

his   plant   in  the  best   of  rn - 
lioi 

iUK 

<<r  ■ 

!■ 

J>     V 

la!- 
alt' 

that   ••> 
better  j' 

att< 

can 

,  Unl  Hull  hi 


cy.     Not 


"Y**«  havr  an  rnginr  fnmuhtne  pnwcr 

be 


«is!>    rr  . 

KftftdciL        I  i>M     tprrt]     trM^-.^Hl    lir     t 

to  one   hundred   rrvololsaa*.  ^! 
be    liith 
««i    an 


itb  n»mm    tram    tht    ctmnt 

*4 


nl 


-•r- 

ffii*rr4 


cha 

say    t.. 
thinera 

retir  • 
to    ; 
cents.' 

"Soon  T  «ni  Kjtr  A  fnll  t  ^,«   i.  *  t^ 
engine  »  '<if 

eatr-  ar 

you  .41 


a  bif   r^c   uf  uucrcu   oo  the 
tmOf 


r  ciul  ImIL  brk 


ka««   MMlh 


.ill- 
br< 


4  tha 
ipMM^  he  mM- 

'lin*       »  •  sj       •»♦« 


310 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  9,  1909. 


The  Welghton  Air  Gage 


In  steam-engine  practice  the  losses  re- 
sulting from  air  leakage  in  the  condenser 
system  have  been  guessed  rather  than 
calculated.  In  order  that  the  engineer 
maj-  determine  at  a  glance  the  amount  of 
air  being  discharged  an  air  pump  may  be 


:^       ij — -Non-Retorn 
Valve 


FIG.    I 


fitted  with  a  Weighton  air  gage.  It  is  a 
glass  cylinder,  closed  at  the  bottom  and 
containing  a  stationary  bell,  the  interior 
of  which  is  in  communication  with  the 
air-discharge  pipe  of  the  air  pump.  See 
Fig.  I.  Around  the  surface  of  the  bell 
are   several   rows  of  holes,   as   shown   in 


FIG.    3 

Fig.  2.  The  outer  cylinder  is  filled  with 
water  to  a  point  where  it  will  just  cover 
the  highest  row  of  holes.  When  air  is 
admitted,  even  under  very  slight  pressure, 
the  water  level  is  depressed  below  the  top 
row  of  holes  and  air  escapes  through 
them.  As  more  air  is  admitted  to  the 
bell    the    water     is     correspondingly     de- 


pressed and  additional  holes  are  exposed. 
As  original  calibrations  have  been  made, 
the  number  of  cubic  feet  of  air  being  dis- 
charged under  any  given  condition  is 
easily  ascertained,  while  the  relative 
amount  of  air  being  handled  by  the  air 
pump  is  shown  by  the  condition  of  the 
air  gage  (Figs.  3  and  4).  The  device  is 
the  invention  of  R.  L.  Weighton,  profes- 
sor of  electrical  engineering  at  Durham 
College  of  Science,  Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 
England.  It  will  be  introduced  in  this 
country  by  the  Elvvold  Company,  North 
American  building,  Philadelphia,  Penn., 
which  also  represents  the  Contraflo  Con- 
denser Company,  Ltd.,  of  London. 


Museum    of   Safety  and  Sanitation 


Announcement  has  just  been  made  of 
the  acceptance  of  the  treasurership  of  the 
Museum  of  Safety  and  Sanitation  by 
Frank  A.  Vanderlip.  An  executive  oflfice 
for  the  administrative  and  promotive 
work  of  the  museum  has  been  opened  at 
the  United  Engineering  Societies'  build- 
ing, 29  West  Thirty-ninth  street.  New 
York  City. 

A  committee  on  plan  and  scope  includes 
Prof.  F.  R.  Hutton,  chairman ;  Dr. 
Thomas  Darlington,  commissioner  of  the 
health  department  of  the  City  of  New 
York;  P.  T.  Dodge,  president  of  the  En- 
gineers' Club;  William  J.  Moran,  at- 
torney-at-law  and  Henry  D.  Whitfield, 
architect. 

Plans  are  being  pushed  forward  along 
practicable  lines  to  prevent  the  enormous 
loss  of  life  and  limb  to  American  life  and 
labor,  through  the  Museum  of  Safety  and 
Sanit'ation,  where  safety  devices  for  dan- 
gerous machines  and  preventable  methods 
of  combating  dread  diseases  may  be  dem- 
onstrated. Charles  Kirchhoff,  editor  of 
The  Iron  Age,  is  the  chairman  of  the 
committees  of  direction  ;  T.  C.  Martin,  edi- 
tor of  The  Electrical  World,  vice-chair- 
man, and  Dr.  William  H.  Tolman,  di- 
rector. 


Street    and    Electric   Railway- 
Power  Plants 


FIG.   4 


In  a  preliminary  report  on  street  and 
electrio  railways  in  the  United  Slates,  ex- 
clusive of  Alaska,  Hawaii,  Philippine 
islands  and  Porto  Rico,  the  Department 
of  Commerce  and  Labor  shows  that  for 
the  year  ending  December  31,  1907,  there 
were  827  power  houses,  2,384,518  horse- 
power of  steam  and  gas  engines,  including 
turbines,  or  2552  units  in  all,  and  228 
water  wheels,  aggregating  91.961  horse- 
power, employed  in  the  street-railway 
business.  These  figures  represent  2.7,  83.4, 
8.5  and  42.5  per  cent,  of  increase,  respec- 
tively, over  the  year  ending  June  30,  1902. 


February  9,  1909. 


HJU  KR  AND  THE  K.\(JINh:i:k. 


CBOtPOF  OmcXRS  AT  NATIONAL  MARINE  ENCINtERS'    BCNCTICtAL    A5S0CIAT10K    OHrVUmOM  AT  WMHlMnoH.  ft  C.  JAmVMM^ 


OCLICATIS    AT    NATION  M     vitaivr    >  Vt  t  vr  !■%'  ■VNtrii  t  4L    AttflTt  tTm^  mim^t' 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  9,  1909. 


NEW  YORK   DELEGATIOX  TO   NATIOXAL    MARINE   ENGINEERS     BENEFICIAL   ASSOCIATION   CON- 
VENTION   AT    WASHINGTON,    D.    C,    JANUARY,    I909 


Bulletin  No.  26,  '"High  Steam  Pres- 
sures in  Locomotive  Service,"  has  just 
been  issued  bj'  the  University  of  Illinois 
Engineering  Experiment  Station.  It  sum- 
marizes the  results  of  one  hundred  loco- 
motive tests  conducted  by  Dr.  W.  F.  M. 


Goss  under  the  patronage  of  the  Car- 
negie Institution  in  cooperation  with  the 
authorities  of  Purdue  University.  The 
general  question  is  discussed  as  to  whether 
a  possible  increase  in  the  weight  of  a 
boiler   should   be    utilized   by   making   the 


boiler  stronger  that  it  may  carry  a  heavier 
pressure,  or  by  making  it  bigger  that  it 
may  have  more  heating  surface.  The  con- 
clusion is  to  the  effect  that  single-expan- 
sion locomotives  using  saturated  steam 
are  most  efficient  when  operated  under  a 
boilef-  pressure  of  180  pounds ;  that  when 
this  limit  of  pressure  has  been  reached, 
any  farther  increase  in  weight  which  may 
be  possible  should  be  utilized  in  securing 
increased  boiler  capacitj'  rather  than 
higher  boiler  pressures.  Copies  of  this 
bulletin  may  be  obtained  gratis  upon  ap- 
plication to  the  director  of  the  Engineer- 
ing Experiment  Station,  Urbana,  111. 


The  American  Anti-Accident  Associa- 
tion, with  headquarters  at  Sharpsville, 
Penn.,  will  hold  open  meetings,  afternoon 
and  evening  of  Thursday,  February  11,  in 
the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  hall,  215  West  Twenty- 
third  street,  New  York  City,  for  the  4<^- 
livery  of  addresses  and  considering  of 
ways  and  means  to  prevent  accidents.  In 
order  that  all  classes  may  have  a  hearing 
the  society  extends  a  general  invitation 
to  Government  and  municipal  officials, 
professional  men  and  women,  commercial 
travelers,  manufacturers,  managers  and 
superintendents,  merchants,  labor  leaders, 
mechanics,  etc.,  factor}'  inspectors,  fire 
and  life  insurance  officers,  teachers  and 
all  other  citizens  who  may  be  interested 
in  this  work,  to  attend  both  sessions  of 
these  public  meetings. 


NATIONAL  MARINE  ENGINEERS   SUPPLYMEN's    ASSOCIATION    AT    THE    CONVENTION    AT    WASHINGTON,   n.   C.   JANUARY,    I909 


February  9,  igog. 


Inqui 


ries 


(Juralion*  are  not  anntrrrol  unlram   thry  are 

i,f    i/intrnl    inttriit    itml    nn     in-fimpntMril    hi/ 


t  sing  a  Molar  as  a  Dynamo 

Can  1  use  a  500-voIt  direct-currcni 
motor  as  a  I lo-volt  dynamo?  If  so,  what 
changes  are  necessary? 

R.    M. 

No;  not  without  completely  rewinding 
tl<e  fu-ld  magnet  and  armature.     You  can 

-0  the  machine  as  a  500-volt  dynamo  by 
til-carding  the  starting  box.  putting  a 
riico;tat  in  the  held- winding  circuit  and 
'  -^ivnie.  the  armature  at  a  spee<l  ab«)Ut  10 
,  r  cent,  higher  than  that  at  which  it  runs 
An  a  motor. 

Reversing    a    Compound-xvound    Dynamo 
What  changes  are  necessary  in  order  to 
permit  driving  a  compfMind-wouncI  direct- 
current    dynamo   in   the    reverse   direction 
!   rotation  ? 

G.    W    McF. 

Transpose  the  cables  leading   from  the 

iish  holders  to  the  terminal  IjUkIc,  mak- 

K  the  change  at  the  brush  holder  ends 

order  to   avoid   accidental   disturlunce 

•   some  other  connccti«in.     Then   reverse 

the   brush    holders    so    that     they    extend 

from   the   >>lud^   in   the  opposite   direction 

from   the   original   one.     That    is.  if  Ihey 

now   "trail"   with   respect   to  the  travel  of 

the    commutator,    they    should    be    turned 

■"■nund  so  that  they  will  "trail"  when  the 

lation     is     reversed.      Carefully     avoid 

making  any  changes  in  the  connections  of 

the   t'leld-magnet   windings. 

'  'Wer  I'alue  of  Different  Gases 
What   is   the  efTect   of  the  kind  of  gas 
■•d  in  an  engine  uinm  the  p<iwer  of  the 
engine?     That  is,  will  rich  gas  give  more 
power  than   poor  gas? 

J.  T.   M. 
The  maximum  ability  of  an  engine  of 
Itiven    piston    displacement     is    s< inuwli.it 
higher  with  rich  ga»  than  with  i><M»r,  Inn 
not  in  proportion  to  the  heat  value      It  i« 
the  heat  value  of  the  mixture  that   really 
determines     the     performance,    and     rich 
gSMs  require  so  much  more  air  than  poor 
ga»es    lh.it    the    mixture    is    not    as    much 
tichrr  .IS  ymi  wmild  think      .\   r 
tlirr  (•(  n.itural  gas  and  air  li.i^ 
3P  r«*r  cent,  more  heat  value  tli.m  .i  »<■    •' 
mixture  of  priMliicer  gas  and  air,  .-ilth<'iii:h 
natural    gas.   has    almul    seven    or    eight 
times  the  heat  value  of  producer  «;«« 

Ratio  of  HxpansioH 

Will   you   please   tell   me   what    is   ratio 

■    r\(i.iii.ii.ii     iii.l    li.i\i     iv    it    found* 

M     D 

K.»i t    .  ^l..lIl■.l..I.    i>    the    proportion 

r   total   volume    of    the    tleam    in    ilir 

cylimler  at  «hr  end  of  th« 

the  volume   .It   ctitofT      1 

of  exp.in»i.>u   divide   the    strt>kt     i:. 

hv    thr    nttmhrr    nf    inrhrs     of     thr     •••  •'>■•' 


K)\VER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

sion    the   clenrancr    mtitt    be   kTV<wn    irvl 


'.'■•   I  inch  in  length  to  the  v<.: 
■<-T  at   each  end,  then  tla. 
to  the  Mroke  of  the  pislmi  and  ■ 
iin   'iiNiaiKe  the  piston  m 
off.     Sui>|Ktse  the  stroke 
1)C   jt. 
after 

nomiiull>    ihv    «.uluil     «■  s 

stroke  and  the  ratio  of  t  .  I 

be  5.  but  actually  the  cut<jii  Mutiltt  be 
7/ii  of  the  stroke  and  the  rati..  .1  rx- 
pansion  woald  be  4.4J& 

Effect    om    Cutoff,    etc.,   of   Shifting    tJu 
Eccentric  tenter 
What  is  the  effect,  on  the  . 
pression  and  lead,  of  shifting  ti.i 
center  toward  the  shaft  center  when  the 
point    of    suspension    of    the    eccentric    it 
located  on  the  center  line  of  the  crank  and 
the  shaft  on  the  same  side  of  the  shaft  as 
the  crank  pin? 

Lead  being  understood  as  1: 
which    the    valve   has    openc*!     when     the 
crank    reaches   the   dead   center,    it    %n>uld 
be  affected  by  shifting  the  eccentric  cen- 
ter  toward   the   shaft   center   :••    1 -ii  -» • 
First,  with  the  eccentric  pin  pr 
crank  in  the  direction  of  r  •  ■ 
would  lie  increased  if  the  ' 
eccentric    rocl    was     reverse  1 
roiker  arm.  as  is  the  r-i»«>  we 
gines.    and    had 
that  is.  a  valve  w 
inner  edge.     Second, 
ditions  the  lead  won  I  . 
if   the   motion   of   the   er.  was 

transmitted  direct  to  the  \  ''^ 

onlinary  carrier  arm.  and 
was   used ;   that   is.  one   t 
the    outer    edge    like    an 
valve.      Third,    1' 
the  rrnrW  in  th«- 


rocker  arm  and  an 
was  used.     Fourth,  h 
lowing  the  crank  the 

.!.  '    if    the    ecs...i... 

t;  direct  through  a 


KJ 


\U 


~Maid  ol  •iMer  ai 


:=  TcnipeffBtare  of 

tef  intrnm  the 
:  Trm|krraiare    d    vairr 

thr  o  ndctncr 

1         »Kr        im^.rif 


TK, 


Qntmiity  »f  aMirr  z. 

becanw  the  0001  ■  aaka 

bjr  each  pwiiwi  oi  ■  j^rr  •ui  kc 
b)r  T  — r  aftd  the  nanhrr  ol 
t-'-  id  ol  flM» 

f. 

W  is 


of  iieam  mt  ikt 
Ike  heat  im 
peratmre   1/ 

th 


fixfd  ^>  fi. 
mted  by  ik. 
dfusmg  aw.' 


i  hamc»mg  {itmtrt»»f  i 


<  tbr  »^ 

•*.f     .   4[>i^ 

4  \h*  solUCe  ol  IW 

*     rv -«    tV.r     -\A^MBa 


TW   f 


r  each  AoU  ^1  ui 
It. 


wtU  fximw 

place      •' 
I" 

Amount  of  Imfeeiiom  Wnter  Re^td  !•     ^, 

'  '■  rrr?   » 

ml*  or  formula  that 


CM 


*4  pit  .cttS.   ol 

fn    ardre    •• 

'«d  lab* 

r^   tern 


■team  from  an  n 

TW 


//  =  ! 


U  «d>e  H 


314 


Business  Items 


POWER  AA^D  THE  ENGINEER. 
New \  Equipment 


February  g,  1909. 


George  T.  Ladd  has  established  ofRces  at 
1620  Fanners'  Bank  building.  Pittsburg,  Penn., 
as  representative  of  the  Bass  Foundry  and 
Machine  Company,  of  Fort  Wayne,  Ind. 

The  York  Manufacturing  Company.  York, 
Penn.,  manufacturer  of  ice-making  and  refri- 
gerating machinery,  lias  received  26  recent 
orders  aggregating  992  tons  of  refrigeration. 
One  of  these  plants  is  for  Yokahoma,  Japan, 
Japan,  and  oue  for  Smyrna.  Turkey. 

J.  G.  Aldrich,  who  was  formerly  with  the 
Power  and  Mining  Machinery  Company,  of 
Cudahy.  Wis.,  lias  accepted  the  position  of 
chief  engineer  of  the  Industrial  Gas  Power 
Company,  of  Milwaukee.  Mr.  Aldrich  will 
continue  to  make  a  specialty  of  gas-engine  and 
producer  work,  in  which  branch  of  endeavor 
he  has  been  active  for  the  past  eight  years. 

The  Larson  Lumber  Company,  of  Bellingham, 
Wash.,  has  ordered  from  the  Minneapolis  Steel 
and  Machinery  Company,  a  22x42  Twin-City 
Corliss  engine.  This  engine  will  develop  about 
500-horsepower.  It  will  liave  a  flywheel  14 
feet  in  diameter,  grooved  for  twenty-four  H-inch 
ropes.  The  machinery  for  the  main  drive 
has  also  been  ordered  from  the  same  company. 

The  Rockwell  Furnace  Company  has  been 
awarded  the  contract  covering  the  complete 
furnace  equipment  for  the  new  locomotive 
shops  of  the  Delaware,  Lackawana  &  Western 
Railroad  at  Scranton,  Penn.  The  furnace  equip- 
ment consists  of  3.5  of  the  latest-type  furnaces 
operated  with  300-B.t.u.  water  gas,  which  is 
made  in  Loomis-Pettibone  producers.  These 
shops  will  be  capable  of  turning  out  complete 
locomotives,  and  are  to  be  in  operation  in  three 
months. 

In  order  to  take  care  of  the  increased  business 
the  L.  J.  Wing  Manufacturing  Company  has 
increased  its  capital  from  $2.5,000  to  8100,000 
and  has  secured  offices  at  its  present  address, 
the  West  street  building,  90  West  street, New 
York,  twice  the  size  of  those  at  present  occupied 
by  them,  and  into  which  they  expect  to  be 
removed  by  the  1.5th  of  February.  While  the 
ventilating  business  of  the  company  has  greatly 
increased,  the  principal  increase  is  in  the  sales 
of  the  Wing  "Typhoon"  turbine  blower  made 
by  this  company. 

The  Buckeye  Boiler  Skimmer  Company,  South 
End.  Toledo,  Ohio,  maker  of  the  Buckeye 
boiler  skimmer,  has  received  a  letter  from  the 
Harris  Toy  Company,  Toledo,  Ohio,  in  which 
they  say:  "We  have  had  in  use  for  about  a 
year  one  of  your  boiler  skimmers,  attached  to 
our  McNull  water-tube  boiler,  and  have  found 
it  a  very  profitable  investment.  Before  putting 
on  this  device,  we  were  obliged  to  clean  out 
our  water  tubes  every  two  or  three  weeks  in 
order  to  keep  up  a  satisfactory  amount  of  steam. 
After  installing  your  Buckeye  boiler  skimmer, 
we  found  it  only  necessary  to  clean  our  boiler 
once  in  three  months  and  in  opening  up  the 
tubes  we  find  but  very  little  mud  and  scale." 

An  attractive  brochure  is  printed  by  the 
Key.stone  Lubricating  Company,  Philadelphia, 
bearing  the  title,  "Grease  versus  Oil,"  and  con- 
taining instructive  comparisons  of  the  efficiency 
of  the  two  great  types  of  lubricant  that  are  u.sed 
to  grease  the  wheels  of  industry.  Some  of  the 
inner  reasons  for  the  exten.sive  use  of  the  liquid 
lubricant,  oil,  at  the  present  day,  to  do  the 
work  that  should  properiy  be  done  by  grease, 
are  interestingly  explained.  A  feature  of  the 
argument  for  Key.stone  grease  as  an  ideal  lubri- 
cant, at  minimum  first  cost  and  operating  cost, 
is  an  account  of  exhaustive  tests  made  by  the 
head  chemist  of  William  Cftimp  &  Sons,  the 
Philadelphia  ship-builders,  on  the  chemical 
constitution  and  mechanical  and  anti-friction 
qualities  of  the  product.  This  b(K)klet,  of  which 
many  thousands  have  been  printed  and  dis- 
tributed, may  be  obtained  gratis  on  application 
to  the  home  office  of  the  company,  Philadelphia, 
or  to  any  of  its  agencies. 


\Ei 


New    Catalogs 


has 


The    Rogersville    (Telnn.)    Ice    Company 
been  incorporated.     Capitaal,  $10,000. 

The  Empire  Electric  PowKr  and  Supply  Com- 
pany. Carthage,  Mo.,  will  enlar&^e  plant. 

The  Spreckles  Sugar  Refining  CoNjipany,  Phila- 
delphia, Penn.,  will  erect  a  power  ho'bjse. 

The  question  of  a  municipal  electf»;ic  light 
plant  at  Union,  Ore.,  is  under  consideration^ 

The  ConcuUy  (Wash.)  Copper  Mining  Coisqa- 
pany  is  planning  to  install  an  electric  plant. 

The  Holton  Power  Company  is  erecting  a 
new  power  plant  near  the  present  one  in  Holt- 
ville,  Cal. 

The  Alton  (111.)  Water  Company  is*  said  to 
have  decided  to  expend  about  $70,000  in  im- 
provements. 

The  City  Council,  Dodgeville,  Wis.,  has  under 
consideration  the  question  of  installing  a  muni- 
cipal electric-light  plant. 

The  Valley  Power  Company,  Cashmere,  Wash., 
proposes  to  increase  its  output.  It  is  said  about 
8125,000  will  be  expended. 

Fred.  C.  Schaub.  Cody,  Wyo.,  has  been  granted 
a  franchise  to  construct  an  electric-light  and 
power  plant  in  Meeteese,  Wyo. 

The  Oelwein  (Iowa)  Light,  Heat  and  Power 
Company  is  planning  improvements  to  plant 
which  will  cost  about  $25,000. 

C.  D,  McCarthy  has  been  granted  franchise 
by  the  City  Council,  Stevensville,  Mont.,  to 
construct  an  electric-light  plant. 

The  city  of  Bellevue,  Iowa,  proposes  to  rebuild 
the  municipal  electric  light  plant  at  a  cost  of 
about  $7000      W.  J.  Fay,  city  clerk. 

The  Marengo  Electric  Light  and  Power  Com- 
pany, Marengo,  Iowa,  is  in  the  market  for  a 
fire  tube  boiler  125  to  140  pounds  pressure. 

The  citizens  of  Samson,  Ala.,  voted  to  issue 
$25,000  bonds  for  construction  of  electric-light 
plant  and  water-works.  W.  J.  Gresham.  mayor. 
The  municipal  electric-light  plant  at  Ocono- 
mowoc.  Wis.,  is  to  be  enlarged,  for  which  pur- 
pose an  appropriation  of  $11,000  has  been  made. 
The  Crystal  Coal  &  Coke  Company,  Godfrey, 
W.  Va.,is  in  the  market  tor  a  second-hand  power 
plant.  About  400  k.w.  in  two  units  will  be 
needed. 

The  Washington  Power  Company,  Spokane, 
Wash.,  will  soon  begin  the  construction  of  a  new 
$7.50,000  power  plant  at  Little  Palls  on  the 
Spokane  River. 

It  is  reported  that  the  Laclede  Gas  Light  Com- 
pany, St.  Louis,  Mo.,  contemplates  making 
extensive  improvements  at  an  expenditure  of 
about  810,000,000. 

The  City  Council,  Piano,  Tex.,  is  making 
arrangements  to  establish  a  municipal  elec- 
tric-light plant.  J.  C.  Skinner  can  give 
further    information. 

The  Ashevllle  (N.  C.)  Electric  Company 
has  under  consideration  plans  for  improve- 
ments and  extensions  including  construction 
of  new  power  plant. 

The  Yukon  (Okla.)  Mill  and  Grain  Com- 
pany will  receive  bids  until  Febuiary  15  for 
water-tube  boilers,  pumps,  Corliss  engine,  etc., 
as  per  specifications. 

The  Citizens'  Electric  Light  and  Power 
Company,  Kast  St.  Louis,  111.,  has  been 
granted  a  franchise  to  construct  and  operate 
an   electric-light   plant. 

The  North  Yakima  &  East  Selah  Irriga- 
tion Company,  North  Yakima,  Wash.,  contem- 
plates the  installation  of  a  pumping  plant  of 
about   3000   horsepower. 

R.  B.  Flesch  &  Co.,  is  said  to  have  been 
granted  a  franchise  by  the  town  council  of 
Fowler,  Kan.,  for  an  electric-light  plant, 
water  works  and  ice  plant. 


The  Deming  Company,  Salem,  Ohio.  Cata- 
log. Spray  pumps  and  appliances.  Illus- 
trated, 32  pages,  5x8  ^^    inches. 

The  Burt  Mfg.  Company,  Akron,  Ohio.  Cat- 
alog. Oil  filters,  exhaust  heads,  ventilators. 
Illustrated,  96  pages,   0x9   inches. 

National  Meter  Company,  84  Chambers 
street,  New  York.  Catalog.  Nash  gas  en- 
gines.     Illustrated,   36   pages,   6x9   inches. 

Leavitt  Machine  Company,  Orange.  Mass. 
Catalog  No.  15.  Dexter  valve  reseating  ma- 
chiJne.      Illustrated,    22    pages,    7x8  V^    inches. 

Indtjistrial  Instrument  Company,  Foxboro, 
Mass.  \Bulletin  No.  11.  Self-winding  clock 
systems.      Illustrated,    40   pages,    8x11    inches. 

National  ^Steam  Pump  Company,  Upper 
Sandusky,  Ohito.  Catalog  No.  29.  Pumping 
machinery   and   air   compressors.      Illustrated. 

The  Casey-Hedge„s  Company,  Chattanooga, 
Tenn.  .  Catalog.  Vvater-tube  marine  and 
standard  boilers.  IHu^strated,  80  pages,  7x10 
inches. 

H.  W.  Johns-Manville '  Company,  100  Wil- 
liam street,  New  York.  ,  Catalog  No.  100. 
Pipe  and  boiler  insulation..  Illustrated,  70 
pages,    4%x7    inches. 

Westinghouse  Electric  and  Manufacturing 
Company,  Pittsburg,  Penn.  Circ  ular  No.  1157. 
Type  S  distributing  transfori^jers.  Illus- 
trated, 16  pages,  7x10  inches. 

The  Bristol  Company,  Waterlbury,  Conn. 
Bulletin  No.  100.  Combination  ind;icating  and 
recording  unit  of  Bristol  electric  p.yrometers. 
Illustrated,   8  pages,  8x10%   inches. 

The  Yale  &  Towne  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, 9  Murray  street,  New  York.  'Catalog. 
Chain  blocks,  electric  hoists,  trollejyg  and 
cranes.      Illustrated,   70   pages,   6x9   inc^hes. 

Oil  Well  Supply  Company,  Boiler  Works 
Department,  Oswego,  N.  Y.  Catalog.  Water 
tube  boilers.  Illustrated,  30  pages,!  6x9 
inches.  Circular.  Horizontal  tubular  boilers. 
Illustrated,  12  pages,  8x11  inches.  Cirj-ular. 
Locomotive  type  portable  boilers.  Illustrated, 
8  pages,  8x11  inches.  \ 


Help  Wanted 


I 


Advertisements  under  this  head  are  ... 
serted  for  25  cents-  per  line.  Aboui  aix  wora 
make  a  line. 

AN  ENGINEER  in  each  town  to  sell  thl 
best  rocking  grate  for  steam  boilers.  WritL 
Martin   Grate   Co.,    281   Dearborn  St.,   Chicagcf,. 

WANTED— Thoroughly  competent  stearl 
specialtv  .salesman;  one  that  can  sell  highl 
grade   goods.     Address   "M.    M.    Co.,"    Powep' 

WANTED— A  good  live  agent  in  everi 
shop  or  factory  in  the  U.  S.  to  sell  one  of  tha 
best  known  preparations  for  removing  grease 
and  grime  from  the  hands  without  injury  to', 
the  .skin.  Absolutely  guaranteed.  An  agent 
can  make  from  $5.00  to  $25.00  over  and  above 
his  regular  salary.  This  is  no  fake.  Write 
for  free  sample  and  agents'  terms.  The  Klen- 
zola  Co.,  Erie,  Pa. 

Situations  Wanted 

Advertisements  under  this  head  are  in-\ 
serted  for  25  cents  ptr  line.  About  six  words  \ 
make  a  line. 

POSITION  WANTED  by  a  thoroughly  coni- 
petent  and  practical  engineer.  Long  experi- 
ence in  erecting,  installing  and  o[)erating 
steam  water  and  electric  power  plants;  cap- 
able of  taking  full  charge  of  any  plant.  Am 
now  holding  good  position  under  first  class 
Massachasetts  license,  but  desire  to  change. 
Best    of    references    on    application.     Box    77, 

POWEU. 

WANTED — A  position  as  master  mechanic 
with  coal  and  iron  company.  Fifteen  years 
experience  with  coal  mine  machinery,  bom 
steam  and  electric  haulages;  understand  hana- 


February  i6,  1909. 


pr)\vRR  wn  TiiF  FvnrvrrR 


3«$ 


A    New    Lighting    Station    for    Brockton 

A    Modern   Allcrnaling-currcnl    Turbine     Planl    Supplying    2200.voli 
A.  C.   Service  and   Direct-current  Lighting  through  RoUrv  Coovertrft 


B      Y 

lo  take  care  of  increaMiig  busjiu-^^  ami 
obtain  a  location  where  coal  and  water 
supply  would  Ik-  more  convenient,  the  Edi- 
son Klectric  inuininatini;  Company,  of 
Brockton,  built  a  new  power  station  in 
Kast  Bridgewatcr  to  supplement  an  old 
plant  in  the  heart  of  the  city  of  Brockton 
It  was  necessary  in  the  old  plant  to  run 
«n((ines  noncondensing.  Coal  and  ashes 
had  to  be  carted  and  city  water  used  in  ih. 
boilers.  In  the  new  plant  the  Matin  l-i 
river  supplies  water  for  condcnsiuR  ;in«l 
boiler  feed,  and  coal  is  landed  in  the  yard 
from  a  spur  track  from  the  New  V'ork, 
N'fw   Haven  &   Hartford   Railroad. 

Ihc  new  plant  was  put  in  operation 
.•■^>ut  a  year  ago.  The  building  is  of 
brick  and  concrete  construction.  The 
stack  is  self^iipj>ortinK  an<l  made  of  steel 


T. 


REED 


h< 

IS 

nude 

pr. 
vision 

wi'»«    - 

for 

two 

rows 

oi    CMcr    tW 

rutr  ^k^>« 


•1     •►<     »-J 


r!«.     J     rxrtTTBt 


It    i< 
hiir'' 


BOUCR'ROOM    EguirMKN 
\i  prc»rnt  the  boiler  room  i«  cquiv>t>"' 


3i6 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  i6,  1909. 


FIG.     3.     PLAN   OF   POWER   PLANT    AT    EAST    BRIDGEWATER 


8-inch  branch,  while  the  third  boiler  is 
connected  to  a  lo-inch  branch  which  is 
intended  to  care  for  four  boilers.  The 
superheated-steam  main  is  10  inches  in 
diameter  and  is  situated  underneath  ihe 
turbine-room  floor.  The  saturated-steam 
main  is  also  in  the  basement,  and  it  is  con- 
nected in  the  same  way  to  the  drums  of 
the  boilers.  There  is  a  connection  be- 
tween the  superheated-  and  saturated- 
steam  mains  whereby  superheated  steam 
can  be  used  on    auxiliaries    if    necessary. 


The  exciter  turbines  use  superheated 
steam,  but  can  be  run  on  saturated  steam 
if  desired.  All  superheated-steam  piping 
is  of  cast  steel  with  w'elded  flanges  and  is 
covered  3  inches  thick  with  H.  W.  Johns- 
Manville  85  per  cent,  magnesia. 

Two  Blake  duplex  compound  outside- 
packed  plunger  pumps,  with  cylinders 
9xi4x8xi2-inch,  take  w^ater  from  a  Coch- 
rane open  feed-water  heater  and  supply 
the  boilers  through  two  5-inch  brass 
mains,  two  ^^-inch  branches  extending  to 


each  boiler.  The  feed  pumps  can  draw 
water  from  either  the  cold  or  hot  wells- 
in  case  the  heater  is  cut  out,  and  are 
equipped  with  regulators  which  keep  the 
pressure  on  the  feed  mains  the  same  at 
all  times. 

All  auxiliaries  exhaust  through  a  12- 
inch  main  to  the  heater  which  raises  the- 
temperature  of  the  water  to  210  degrees 
Fahrenheit.  The  feed-control  valves  on 
the  boilers  have  valve  stems  extending  to- 
within  easy  reach  of  the  floor,  and  there 


I 


FIG.      4.      SECTIONAL    ELEVATION    THROUGH    PLANT 


February  i6,  1909. 


POWRR  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


FIG     5.     5WITCHBOAIID  IS    fOWM  STATIOJ* 


is  a    Stop    valve    and    check    between    tnc 
regulating  valve  and  the  boiler 

A  5^ix4>4X5  inch  duplex  Blake  service 
pump  and  tank  furnish  water  from  the 
cold  well  for  all  purposes  about  the  plant, 
except  the  wash  basins  and  shower  baths 
in  the  toilet  room.  A  4-inch  city  wn'r- 
mam  is  connrctrd  to  all  water  conm-.  ti 
an*l  l^  UM<!  in  cases  ol  cincrgenry  i  (t< 
hot  .iikI  .  '•!  wrll%  r»in  par.illrj  wuh  thr 
tori 
Ihr 

abcul  them      A  4-horsepowrr  li 
motor,    direct  connected    to    a    W 
ton  volute  pump,  elevates  the  water  ! 
the  hot   well  to  the    feed-water   hcat< . 
low-water  alarm  Kiving  notice   when  th- 
wa''  to  the  healer  faiU 

1  -rr*      are      insLilU-d     in     the 

»ui 
tut 

di»cli.irKe    pipes    ot    ihr 
the    frr«l    water   at   the   ; 
boilers       Kr.KlitiKs    are   taken   r 
hours       A    Vciituri    meter    nir-i 
amount  of  water  fed  to  the  lM>ilrrv  ji 
fcy  means  of  a  weir  at  the  rr  '     ■  •'  «•  <li» 
duirge    pipe    from    the    >  ■  ■  t^*" 

•mount  of  water    escaping    cm     •""    'w 


measured.     Elbson  gage«  show   the  •Irafi 
pressure    at    the    boilers       \     " 
cording;    »lrtim    gage    it    ciw- 

«tr.>- 
of  • 
steam    lemperaturrs   at    the    toibinc*       A 


•'•fk-^reaaiwr  dnpa  atv  r». 

iurnrq    to   tnc   botlm     hf  «     HoSy     tttWB 

loo^ 

Tug  TvHuitt 

'■rttaca  mmaMtd  tmi 
Eitttnc   ifeo-kilomma 


latiooa    per    w."^.*'       t^,.    ,^ 

equipped  wrth  atrckam.  .a4 

.-,<-».    ."..  -•^•i«M»  lliri>v«n  1    c,t.-xn  cm- 

J    cBiraacr    to    •    HaHler 

b«rofTirTrK  ojodcaacr.    Eac^  caaAnMcv  m 

supplied  wilii  drenUtmm  •*•«  ^  a  M 

:>«aip    drnta    hf    mm 

■«lkoaa«  coflipoMid  •■• 

rw  fciwiniikiM>Mc  gua  aft  r»- 

rd   frooi  the  coadsMMs  by  Hcaln 

•xij  rack    iingir  -  stay    dry  -  vacaaa 

Tbc  arcolatmc  poapa  ar«  cmi- 

•  a  rc«iilaior  ■  tW  Maaai  pipt, 

* ••.<rcauc«  iJk  speed  o4  te  p«Hp* 

if  the  vacann  faOs     At  tW  nvcr  dM  m- 

take  IS  protev'  .  i-Mck  tcntm  mt4 

at  the  rntran  mtck  aad  Yimck 

All    aas>lu<>    pompt    Mid    c»- 

rqtupped  with  Rickatrdw  aifki- 


•»ed  \r  the 


rntr  od  tkrt  aad  i«« 


inftitft  rsuf  •ul 


pliuiger  pum; 

fi;ent   to   furinxi    ^n     ti   i>iTm.m«i 
pctuKla.  which  m  redted 
to  400  poonds  ai  ibc 
■ittlalor  with  a   lo-iadi 

;>  IS  comMcted  willl  Um 
"1^  will  mawwam  iW 
la 


As 


U* 


TVr 


eaif 

tT>4,- 

t.ngs 


TW     aecuwli' 


r4]  pipiat  it  ol 

iMiavy  btaM 

i%'.   •tr<t     it- 


Luni^la:*^ 


•n  tHH»    If  ikt 

Oijtttd   ttsri  to 


ric    6    »' 


fa 


3i8 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  i6,  1909. 


electric  alarm  notifies  the  operator,  and 
this  alarm  is  tested  every  day  when  the 
pumps  are  changed. 

There  are  two  e.xciter  turbines  rated  at 
75  and  35  kilowatts,  respectivelj-,  and 
these  run  noncondensing,  the  former  at 
2400  revolutions  per  minute  and  the  latter 
at  3600  revolutions.  A  9i/2X9J/2Xio-inch 
Westinghouse  air  pump  supplies  com- 
pressed air  for  blowing  out  the  electrical 
machinery,  and  to  handle  the  large  ap- 
paratus it  contains,  the  station  is  equipped 
with  a  20-ton  Whitnev  electric  crane. 


communicate  with  the  two  generators 
tlirough  disconnecting  switches  and  with 
three  feeder  oil  switches  which  are  me- 
chanically controlled  from  the  board. 
Each  pole  of  the  oil  switches  is  in  a 
separate  compartment,  and  all  potential 
and  current  transformers  arc  also  sepa- 
rated. 

The  switchboard  consists  of  ten  slate 
panels.  One  Tirrell  regulator,  two  ex- 
citer, three  feeder,  one  station  and  one 
local  panel.  Two  of  the  feeder  panels 
control  two   13,200-volt,  three-phase   lines 


FIG.    7.    .SUI!Sr.\Tl().\   SWITCHBOARD 


Electrical   Equipment 

The  generators  are  General  Electric, 
three-phase,  revolving-field,  60-cycle,  alter- 
nating-current machines  with  star  connec- 
tions and  grounded  neutral.  The  voltage 
is  13,200.  The  exciters  are  compound  with 
interpole  windings,  and  the  voltage  is  125 
at  all  loads.  The  generator  leads  are  run 
through  brass  conduits  to  the  floor  and 
then  through  fiber  conduits  to  the  oil 
switches  installed  in  a  high-tension  brick 
structure  over  the  switchboard.  The  bus- 
bars are  2xi4-inch  flat  copper,  each  bar 
being  in   a   separate  compartment.     They 


to  a  substation  in  Krockton,  and  the  third 
feeder  panel  supplies  current  at  13,200 
volts  to  transformers  for  the  station  and 
East  Bridgewater. 

Two  20-kilowatt  1 3,200-200- no-volt  sta- 
tion transformers  are  connected  to  the 
auxiliary  feeder  through  an  oil  switch  and 
supply  current  for  lighting  the  station  and 
also  to  motors  for  the  pumps  and  the  coal 
hoist.  East  Bridgewater  is  supplied  with 
current  at  2200  volts,  three-phase,  by  two 
75-kilowatt  13,200-2200  transformers  con- 
nected through  disconnecting  switches  to 
the  auxiliary  feeder,  and  a  30-kilowatt  tub 


transformer  furnishes  street  lights  for 
East  Bridgewater. 

On  the  regulator  panel  is  mounted  the 
Tirrell  regulator  with  switches  for  use 
on  either  exciter,  each  exciter  having  two 
relays.  Swung  from  this  panel  is  a  small 
panel  carrying  the  synchronizer  and  two 
kilovolt  meters ;  one  is  connected  to  the 
busbars  and  the  other  can  be  connected 
to  any  phase  on  either  machine  by  means 
of  plugs.  The  potential  transformer  for 
the  Tirrell  regulator  is  connected  to  the 
busbars  without  fuses. 

Each  exciter  panel  has  an  ammeter  and 
\  oltmeter.  One  voltmeter  is  connected  to 
the  buses,  and  the  other  can  be  used  on 
either  machine.  Exciter  rheostats  are 
mounted  on  the  back  of  the  panels  and 
field   rheostats   are   underneath  the   floor. 

The  generator  panels  have  three  amme- 
ters, one  indicating  wattmeter,  a  power- 
factor  indicator,  a  field  ammeter  and  on 
each  panel  there  is  a  switch  for  operating 
the  synchronizing  motor  on  the  turbine 
governor.  A  polyphase-recording  watt- 
meter is  mounted  on  the  back  of  each 
generator  panel. 

The  feeder  panels  have  one  ammeter 
?nd, cafe-.be  connected  with  any  phase  by  a 
jack  switch.  The  station  panel  has  one 
voltmeter  and  one  ammeter.  The  voltage 
is  114,  and  the  three-wire  system  is  in  use. 
Lighting  for  the  plant  is  distributed 
through  three  panel  boxes  of  eight  cir- 
cuits each.  One  is  placed  in  the  boiler 
room,  one  in  the  turbine  room  and  one 
in  the  basement.  There  is  one  circuit 
for  arc  lamps  in  the  yard  and  one  for 
flaming-arc  lamps  on  the  ceiling.  There 
is  a  double-throw,  three-pole  switch  on 
this  panel,  whereby  lighting  can  be  thrown 
on  the  exciter  in  case  of  failure  of  the 
transformers.  Another  three-pole  switch 
furnishes  220  volts,  three-phase,  for  aux- 
iliary motors. 

The  2200-volt  panel  ^or  East  Bridge- 
water  has  two  circuits,  one  2200-volt 
three-phase,  and  the  other  for  street 
lights.  All  feeders  have  automatic  oil 
switches  with  time-limit  relays  which  are 
tripped  with  current  from  the  exciter  bus- 
bars. All  switchboard  apparatus  was  fur- 
nished by  the  General  Electric  Company. 

At  the  end  of  the  switchboard  on  simi- 
lar panels  are  the  gages  and  speed  indica- 
tors for  the  turbines.  Each  machine  has 
a  speed  indicator,  steam  gage  on  the  first 
stage,  also  vacuum  and  step  pressure 
gages.  A  Holman  &  Maurer  mercury 
vacuum  gage  is  mounted  on  these  panels 
and  can  be  used  on  either  turbine. 

Brockton   Substation 

This  is  located  in  the  business  center 
of  the  city  and  is  connected  with  the  main 
station  at  East  Bridgewater  by  two^  88-  ^ 
ampere,  13,200-volt  transmission  lines. 
The  lines  are  seven  miles  in  length  and 
are  made  up  of  No.  2  copper  wire  carried 
on  Locke  insulators.  The  lines  run  over- 
head from  the  East  Bridgewater  station 
to   a   lightning-arrester    house,    which    is 


February  i6,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGIN! 


situated  about  one-half  mile  from  the  <nh 
station,  and  irtnn  here  arc  brui;. 
ground  to  the  basement  of  thi 
and  connected  to  oil  switches  located  in 
masonry    cells    remote    from    the    «>wilch- 
board  panels. 

At    present    the    substation    ef|iiipmi-nt 
inprises  nine  75-kilowatt.  l3,JOt>^vi>It.  '»■► 
cycle.   oil-c<j«iled   transformers,   with    <>nc 
third  and  two-thirds  voltage  starting  taps 
for  rotary  converters;  three  375-kil.>\\;iit, 
13,200   to   2200-volt,   60-cycle.   thrccpha>c. 
two-phase,    oil-cooled    transformers,    sup- 
plying   the    2200-volt,    two-phase    service ; 
three    220-kilowatt,    250-20(>-volt,    direct- 
current,  60-cycle,  six-phase,   shunt-wnund 
converters,   supplying    the    three-wire,    di- 
t-current    system;   a  44.000-volt   ttsting 
.nsfornuT   and    a    12-ccll    \Vc«.tim,'!>"i'»c 
bioragc  battery  and  motor  geni-r 
ing   set    furnishes  current    t<>   ■; 
trip  coils  on  the  high-tension  oil  swnchc* 
Located  in  the  basement  is  a  2-horseiM(wcr 
air  compressor  connected  by  pipe  line  : 
the  main  floor,  where  the  air  is  used  foj 
cleaning  purposes. 

The    switchbf>ard   is  constructed  ■  f   the 
best  quality  of  Monson  slate  and  i-<'|im^!« 
01  the  following  paiuls:    Two  thre»   pli.i"-*-. 
bigh-lcnMoii    tran>fi>rmer    panel-*,    mic    ..f 
which  is  spare ;  two  threc-pliast-  iiu  ■ 
line     panels,     three     alternating  -    • 
tary-cnnverter  panels,  three   direct-cur- 
til   rotary-converter  panels  and  five  di- 
rt-current  feeder  panels.     Opposite  each 
nverter   is   located   a  six-phase   starting 
(ucl   and  a   Type    I,   right-hand,  j6-kiIo 
•■•   regulator. 

i»    are   niade     with    a     H-inch 
•  vel.  an«i  the  front  and  edges  ar«-  (ri.t.! 
iih  a  coating  of  lacquer,  giving  a  Mii.-.ii 
ill  black  marine  finish.     .Ml  instruments, 
ip  nuts  and  handles  arc  finished  with  a 
ill  black  f»xide.     .Ml  high-tension  fee<lcr 
ineis  are  supplied  with   imlicator  lamps, 
<1  and  green      The  red  lamps  burn  when 
re  normal,  and  green  win  11  i!i< 
.<ned  by  overload  on  slff      ' 
cuit,  attention  being  imme«liately  >.tll.''.  ■ 
.the  open  rircuit  by  the  ringing  "'l  .1  K"ii|k' 
In   the   basement   of   the   subst.iiion  are 
located   oil    switches     for    controlling    all 
high  lensiffH  line*,  and  these  are  motintol 
in  masonry  cells  bcl«»w  the  main  switih 
hoard.     The   entire   installation,   with  tlir 
exception    of    the    >' 
tnen?.  was  furnished 
r.y. 

Mtion  conlrnls  the  nirrrnt  '••• 
ply   for    Hrocktoii,   Whitman   .r 
'on.      S|oughti>it,   at    present.    ' 
.'joo-voll   line  to  a  transformer  hou»e  at 
'      •  Ilo,  a  suburb  of  Brockton,  where  fb» 
••    i»    »lrppe«l    up    to    ftfioo.    .»H'l     1' 
Nirppeil  d' 
In   ibr 


-t.iti.  II,    !!ic   hi;;h-len*ion   line    ..:  •! 
■  !»    now 

.    .... v»..,„...  . 

lines  will  lap  th 
arrester   house.      1  n' 
to  the  feeder*  by  oil 
f  r 


•*•»»»♦      l'^     Tm  i 


Im 


rt     is     the    n'ff      ; 


pbnt,  whKh  IS  held 
of  emeri/rtuv  I'.irr 
in  the 

fromi'i. ^   

statim   i«  also  located   the  str- 


I 

fcTHJC.' 


-ing     a     nr 
-'I    and    r 


•  ••*    |*<w«iv 
-rr.     *-r 


Pelrolcum    Indusln-    cA   ihc  United    ' 
States 


\i..i  ..^f.^ 


iiparent  in  the  acrompanjring  table 

'  '  n  the 

\  large      t! 

!iur...M    .Atr    :!;u:   >.i    u/j;.  Bean**-     uf     li^tct     br'->^iKM     4!      <'rr!* 

ntoiM  «Tio.\  o»  .  iMi.r  rrTii..i.rfii  ix     '**^'»«'l<' 

THK  I  '  *»< 

r  .-MM 

pj>i:  f*'s 

I,, .,»-,  iHi.      r   ••    "■ 


Kk«-I<l 


;if..ri, 


^!'■^  'irstTW       f       • 


•-    I. 


J  l«V<   .»I7   W3II     I**    .  *«.» 

I  •Ttmatprt  a*  iiw  wm*  •»  In  1907 
•klshum* 


I'ahfitrnia     i»     now     pnitlucins     aUwii     ,. 

(•ring   the    • 

I .  /  •;     •  i  I . 


1*  \'t~^  »lit"t 


iK^^wttoa* 


It  was 

K.rfrl 


Rnckland.  Abington  and  ) 
•■'  »"■  supplied  from  the  I 


320 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  i6,  1909. 


Gate    Valves     in     Steam-Pipe     Lines 

Practical    Suggestions  for  Locating  and  Using  Them  in  These    Days 
of  Saturated  Steam  at  High  Pressure  and  Superheated  Steam 


BY        W  . 


H 


W   A  K  E  M  A  N 


The  use  of  saturated  steam  at  high  pres- 
sure, and  superheated  steam  at  any  pres- 
sure, has  rendered  obsolete  some  of  the 
globe  valves  that  formerly  did  good  ser- 
vice in  our  main  steam  lines,  therefore 
others  must  be  substituted.  However,  the 
fact  that  certain  hard-rubber,  or  composi- 
tion, disks  are  quickly  destroyed  by  steam 


cause  a  gate  valve  is  always  more  diffi- 
cult to  operate  and  more  expensive  to  re- 
pair than  a  globe  valve.  There  are  gate 
valves  that  contain  composition  disks,  so 
may  easily  be  replaced  when  worn  out, 
making  the  valve  as  good  as  new,  pro- 
vided the  seat  is  not  injured;  but  if  the 
seat  requires  repairs  it  is  a  hard  and  ex- 


consequently  the  space  occupied  by  the 
valve  is  a  fixed  quantity  at  all  times.  This 
must  also  be  a  left-hand  thread.  It  is 
concealed  in  the  bonnet  and  the  gate,  and 
cannot  be  lubricated  properly,  which  causes 
it  to  wear  much  more  rapidly  than  if  it 
were  exposed  and  well  oiled.  The  col- 
lar shown  on  the  stem  soon  wears  enough 


at  high  temperature  does  not  necessarily 
condemn  all  kinds  of  globe  valve,  even  for 
severe  conditions,  while  for  ordinary 
plants  the  composition  disk  is  as  good 
now  as  it  was  twenty  years  ago.  In  view 
of  these  facts  the  use  of  gate  valves  in 
steam-pipe  lines  is  uncalled  for,  and  fur- 
thermore it  is  not  an  intelligent  applica- 
tion   of    knowledge    along    this    line,    be- 


pensive  job  to  scrape  the  surface  until  it 
becomes  perfectly  true. 

There  is  more  than  one  way  to  locate 
and  use  a  gate  valve,  and  as  they  are  not 
all  made  alike,  suggestions  along  this  line 
should  prove  valuable. 

If  a  valve  of  this  kind  is  located  with 
the  stem  in  a  vertical  position,  as  shown 
in  Fig.  I,  friction  is  reduced  to  a  mini- 
mum, because  the  heavy  gate  is  sus- 
pended on  the  stem,  the  surfaces  in  con- 
tact being  small  in  consequence.  The  only 
objection  to  this  arrangement,  as  far  as 
the  valve  itself  is  concerned,  is  that  a 
pocket  which  is  formed  at  the  bottom  be- 
tween the  two  inclined  seats  is  located 
just  right  to  catch  sediment  and  scale,  and 
thus  prevent  the  gate  from  going  down  to 
its  proper  place,  but  fortunately  there  is 
little  danger  of  an  excessive  amount  of 
sediment  collecting  in   a   steam-pipe  line. 

This  valve  is  fitted  with  what  is  tech- 
nically known  as  a  rising  stem,  because 
the  wheel  stays  in  the  same  place  (except 
that  it  revolves)  when  the  valve  is  oper- 
ated, while  the  stem  travels  with  the  gate. 
This  point  must  be  taken  into  considera- 
tion when  locating  a  large  valve  in  close 
quarters.  A  left-hand  thread  must  be 
cut  on  the  stem  in  order  to  cause  the 
wheel  to  operate  in  the  correct  way,  which 
is  to  turn  with  the  hands  of  a  watch  to 
close  the  valve,  and  in  the  opposite  direc- 
tion to  open  it. 

Fig.   2  is  fitted  with   a   nonrising  stem. 


"^ 


to  give   objectionable    lost    motion,    as    it 
cannot  be  oiled. 

A  valve  of  this  kind  is  located  in  an  8- 
inch  horizontal  branch  steam  line  in  my 
plant,  and  the  stem  is  in  a  horizontal  posi- 
tion.    The  consequence  is  that  when  this 


FIG.    3 

valve  is  opened  and  closed,  the  gate  must 
slide  on  its  edge,  traveling  on  a  rough 
guide,  and  the  resulting  friction  causes 
grunts  and  groans  that  are  very  disa- 
greeable because  they  denote  inferior  de- 
sign and  imperfect  workmanship,  although 
the  name  of  one  of  the  best  known  con- 
struction companies  in  New  England  is 
cast  on  the  bonnet. 


February   i6,   1901). 


POW  RR  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


This  branch   line   was  designed  to  sup- 
ply  steam    for   two  engines,   only   one  of 
which  is  in  use  at  present  during  a  part 
of  the  time;  and  after  that  engine  is  shut 
'   wn   it   seems   proper   to  close   the   gate 
ve  mentioned,  as  it  is  located  near  the 
I'ler,  which  extends  acn.^s   u\<-  h.  ,il.'- 
!   much   heat    would   otluT\M>t    !>.    1     : 

•  ordinary  plan  for  doing  this  is  to 
•e  the  throttle  valve  and,  after  the  en- 

•  has  stcppc«l.  to  shut  the  gate  valve, 
-1  allow  steam  in  the  pipe  tu  condense. 
I  good  trap  removes  all  water  result- 

.    from  the  cooling  process.     If  this  plan 

followed    here    the     gate     valve    leaks 

Nnilly  and  heat  is  wa^ed  the  same  as  if  it 

wa*   left   open.      This   is   due   to   the    fact 

'  when  the  gate  chatters  over  the  rough 


a  horizontal  line  comirii;  <Ii:r  tU   toward 
the  reader.    It  i^  tcm. 

or  outside  thre^iO  ^..■.  .  ..■  .  .  .ahrc 
below  it  it  quite  differently  located,  (or 
although  its  stem  is  in  a  hon/ontal  fMHi- 
tion.  the  body  is  in  a  vertical  pipe.  In 
%ts  on  the  wat, 
nJHR  and  dot- 
ing, diid  m  •  it.  Both 
sides  of  the  K  be  steam- 
tight 

One  advantage  of  a  gate  valv  in  ttnt 
service  is  that  if  the  wheel  it  if 
ordinary  speed,  which  is  alwa>*   m<'i>    m 
good    practice   when   the   valve   it   to   be 
rpencd.  the 
steam  will  )- 
increase  slowly,  thus  uuiuu  *.;::;<  itjt  prc»- 


••def^lc  force  to  «wt  tW  pgtt  (m 

»M  BO  bypM*  pro«i4ad>.  tiMsi  m  m^^muM 

oei'i'    •-■■    "«  -^-ataoM  oi   iJm   wkMl   *m 

Of"  <My. 

dnciiif    tAitc    Dc(afl   to 

moved  cMiljr  ticiwa   ! 

balanced;  bqt   it  took 

tioot  otorc  to  Mcvrc  a  <«■  opaMg.   Wifk 

ibc  globe  valve  ia  mc.  iW  MttMM  tet  ite 

wDCcI   It   OMyvcd 

throogh.  and  after    ik* 

^jnrin*  !<■  cij«crol  tW 

<  bat  a  few 

; .   .ixm  — -ivtiaM  ol  ite 

vbecl  opet  the  ^ 

When  sicafli  it  to   m-   wioi 

pcacticaHy  H>  fncuos  10  W 

caaar  tiw  4Uk  it  ia  raaiftrMB  wmM  it 


^-^^ 


— ,♦ 


3 


ir 


V 


m  I    m 


sure  to  rise  gradually,  and  avoiding  the 
shocks   and   jars   cau*«-'    ••-    •'•'••••'.'    »■-• 
much    steam    into    a 
pipe      It  is  '!  •'      '•    ' 
secure  the  s.i 


them. 

ft   fiill,iiii«   i«  a  n:>ttirjt  rori«mtirii.  r  \\- x\ 
it  • 

a  !{•"•'   ^Ji**^.   «»ni«n   1 
ure  when  haste  is  no' 
til- 
ni' 

lie 

\r     fnrnft'>fir«|     if      '\%     in     equihhriHm.      ^  / 

'    held    :iv 
'rm   i*  .1    • 
n  the  gale;  therefore,  when 
,r, ,.{  as  far  as  it  will  go.  w 
>rely  on  the  seal,  and  i(  ' 
iM  .iction  is  proved  by  the   ■ 
dl       If  the  gale  valve  is  el 


L 


n=^ 


no.  5 


TW  caairasi  b*«t 


WW**.**    ot 


i    when    the    >alvr   i*    cl> 

'U    'it'lif         \ftrr   tllr   rm.-i 


'■      "I't"  >•.••• K      \    '  •••  ■ 

'•  a  section  of  piping    in    m 

m)   is  reprr*rnlrd  a«  being  li>cj»«-. 


■  ••K   >  AiT»  ;»■ 


•Mf    iMft    te 


322 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  i6,  1909, 


limit  of  its  travel.  If  it  was  practicable 
to  lower  the  pressure  on  one  side  of  it, 
the  result  would  be  more  satisfactor)-,  as 
explained  in  connection  with  Fig.  2.  If 
the  stem  of  this  valve  was  located  in  a 
vertical  position,  as  represented  by  the 
dotted  lines,  it  would  undoubtedly  give 
better  results.  However,  there  is  not  head 
room  enough  for  this  purpose,  especially 
for  a  rising  stem.  A  globe  valve  with  a 
pin,  projecting  from  the  lower  side  of  the 
disk,  that  travels  in  a  guide  provided  for 
this  purpose  would  be  much  better. 

Fig.  6  is  a  gate  valve  fitted  with  a  by- 
pass, the  operation  of  which  is  apparently 
not  as  well  understood  by  firemen  and  en- 
gine runners  as  it  ought  to  be.  Steam 
enters  as  indicated  by  the  arrow  and,  act- 
"ng  on  one  side  of  the  closed  gate, 
presses  it  to  its  seat  with  great  force ; 
therefore,  it  is  necessary  to  overcome  ex- 
cessive friction  before  the  valve  can  be 
opened,  especially  with  steam  at  very  high 
pressure.  To  overcome  this  objection  the 
bypass  is  provided.  By  opening  the  small 
globe  valve  which  is  cast  with  the  body 
of  the  large  valve,  steam  is  admitted  from 
the  right-hand  side  of  the  gate  around  it 
to  the  left-hand  side,  as  shown  by  the 
arrows.  This  fills  the  space  at  this  point 
and  raises  the  pressure  until  the  gate  is 
balanced  and  nearly  all  friction  removed ; 
consequently,  the  valve  can  easilj-  be 
opened,  after  which  the  bypass  is  shut. 
When  a  man  closes  the  bypass  before  he 
opens  the  main  valve,  thus  reducing  the 
pressure  on  the  outlet  side,  it  is  good  evi- 
dence that  he  does  not  understand  the 
value  of  a  bypass.  If  this  device  is 
wanted  in  a  case  where  it  was  not  in- 
cluded in  the  original  valve,  it  can  be  pro- 
vided by  tapping  a  small  pipe  into  the 
main  line  on  each  side  of  the  large  \alve 
and  putting  a  small  valve  in  it. 

As  a  general  rule  a  gate  valve  is  de- 
signed so  that  it  is  not  convenient  to  get 
bolts  into  the  flange  on  the  bonnet,  as  the 
space  allowed  for  this  purpose  is  too 
small,  making  it  necessary  to  drop  some 
of  the  nuts  down  behind  the  flange  and 
screw  the  bolts  into  them.  Bolts  that  are 
carried  in  stock  by  supply  houses  have 
heads  that  are  supposed  to  be  artistic  in 
design,  but  when  a  wrench  is  applied  to 
them  it  is  sure  to  slip  off,  to  the  disgust 
of  the  workman  who  wishes  to  do  a  good 
job.  To  overcome  this  objection  I  have 
found  it  a  good  plan  to  take  round 
norway  iron  and  cut  it  into  suitable 
lengths  to  go  through  the  flanges  and  two 
nuts,  then  by  cutting  a  thread  on  each 
end  and  tapping  nuts  to  match,  it  is  pos- 
sible to  make  studs  to  be  used  as  bolts 
that  can  be  applied  to  good  advantage,  and 
a  proper  wrench  will  not  slip  ofif,  especi- 
ally if  square  nuts  are  adopted.  There 
are  a  few  places  in  a  steam  plant  where 
square  nuts  cannot  be  turned,  but  they  are 
much  fewer  than  is  generally  admitted, 
judging  by  the  large  proportion  of  hexa- 
gon nuts  used,  which  soon  become  almost 
round  if  a  wrench  is  applied  to  them  a 


few  times ;  consequently,  they  are  not 
screwed  down  tight  enough  to  prevent 
packing  from  blowing  out  under  pressure. 
This  applies  to  the  quality  of  nuts  usually 
found  on  the  bonnets  of  gate  valves  and 
ordinary  flange  joints. 


The  James  Watt  Memorial 
Building 


By  W.  H.  Booth 


Greenock  is  a  small  town  down  the 
Clyde  a  few  miles  below  the  city  of  Glas- 
gow. Its  occupation  is  chiefly  shipbuild- 
ing, and  its  title  to  fame  historically  rests 
on  the  fact  that  James  Watt  was  born 
there  in  the  year  1736  on  the  nineteenth 
day  of  January.  James  Watt,  by  his  in- 
\ention  of  the  air  pump  and  separate  con- 
denser, laid  the  foundation  of  modern 
practice  in  steam  engineering.  It  was  the 
first  stage  in  the  compound  working  of 
the   steam  engine   and   marked   the   aboli- 


FIG.     I.     JAMES   WATT    MEMORIAL   BUILDING 

tion  of  the  practice  of  doing  two  opera- 
tions in  one  vessel,  for  in  the  Newcomen 
engine  the  cylinder  was  alternately  a  jet 
condenser  and  a  working  steam  cylinder. 
We  deplore  today  the  initial  condensation 
which  takes  place  in  a  cylinder  that  has 
been  merely  momentarily  exposed  to  the 
condenser  pressure  and  temperature,  but 
what  must  it  have  been  when  the  cylinder 
was  drenched  with  cold  water? 

The  story  goes  that  Watt,  who  was 
mathematical-instrument  maker  to  tlie 
Glasgow  university,  had  intrusted  to  him 
a  model  of  a  Newcomen  engine  to  repair. 
Being  a  man  of  scientific  bent  of  mind 
and  specially  trained  in  a  trade  that 
would  cultivate  his  tliinking  faculties,  he 
naturally  would  begin  to  think  about  the 
steam  engine.  He  came  of  a  family  of 
some  local  standing  in  Greenock,  for  his 
father  was  a  maker  of  ship  blocks  and 
was  a  member  of  the  local  council  and  1 
magistrate;  his  grandfather  was  a  teacher 
of    surveying    and     navigation,     and     his 


uncle  was  a  surveyor  and  civil  engineer  at 
Ayr.  The  story  of  his  youth  about  the 
tea  kettle  appears  to  have  been  invented 
as  a  bit  of  telling  biography.  If  he  had 
really  thought  so  early  about  the  steam 
engine,  he  would  have  done  something 
with  it  earlier  than  he  did. 

Watt  was  delicate  in  health  and  had 
little  scholastic  training.  At  the  age  of 
eighteen  he  was  sent  to  London  to  learn 
the  trade  of  instrument  maker.  There  he 
stayed  only  a  year  on  account  of  bad 
health.  Returning  to  Greenock  he  set  up- 
in  business  in  Glasgow  as  a  mathematical- 
instrument  maker,  and  the  university 
authorities,  perhaps  through  influence, 
gave  him  a  helping  hand  and  appointed 
him  instrument  maker  to  the  university, 
with  rooms  in  the  building.  He  did  not 
make  very  much  at  his  trade  and  eked  out 
his  small  income  by  mending  and  even  . 
making  fiddles. 

This  would  bring  us  to  about  the  year 
1756.  Watt  apparently  spent  some  ten. 
years  at  the  university,  and  in  1767  was- 
employed  to  make  a  survey  and  estimate 
for  a  canal  to  unite  the  Clyde  with  the 
estuary  of  the  Forth.  After  this  he  ob- 
tained more  civil  engineering  work  and 
was  engaged  in  work  in  connection  with 
the  deepening  of  the  Clyde  and  other 
rivers,  with  harbor  work  and  canals. 

It  was  in  1759,  however,  that  Watt  be- 
gan to  study  steam,  and  for  some  years 
he  made  experiments  on  that  critical  and 
elusive  fluid.  He  would  then  be  about 
23  years  of  age.  It  was  about  1763-4 
that  the  Newcomen  model  fell  into  his 
hands  for  repair,  and  in  1769,  when  33 
years  of  age,  he  took  out  his  patent  in- 
which  he  sayf : 

"My  method  of  lessening  the  consump- 
tion of  steam,  and  consequently  fuel,  in 
fire  engines,  consists  of  the  following 
principles  : 

"First — That  vessel  on  which  the 
powers  of  steam  are  to  be  employed  to- 
work  the  engine,  which  is  called  the  cylin- 
der in  common  fire  engines,  and  which  I 
call  the  steam  vessel,  must,  during  the- 
whole  time  the  engine  is  at  work,  be  kept 
as  hot  as  the  steam  that  enters  it;  first, 
by  inclosing  it  in  a  case  of  wood ;  sec- 
ondly, by  surrounding  it  with  steam  or 
other  heated  bodies  and,  thirdly,  by  suf- 
fering neither  water  nor  any  other  sub- 
stance colder  than  the  steam  to  enter  or 
touch  it  during  that  time. 

"Secondly — In  engines  that  are  to  be 
worked  wholly  or  partially  by  condensa- 
tion of  steam,  the  steam  is  to  be  con- 
densed in  vessels  distinct  from  the  steam 
vessels  or  cylinders,  although  occasionally 
communicatin'?  with  them ;  these  vessels 
I  call  condensers ;  and  while  the  engines 
are  working,  these  condensers  ought  at 
least  to  be  kept  as  cold  as  the  air  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  engines,  by  applica- 
tion of  water  or  other  cold  bodies. 

"Thirdly— Whatever  air  or  other  elastic 
vapor  is  not  condensed  by  the  cold  of  the 
condenser,  and  may  impede  the  working 


February  1 6,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


of  the  engine,  is  to  be  drawn  out  of  the 
steam  vessels  or  condensers  by  means  of 
pumps,  wrought  by  the  engines  themselves 
or  otherwise. 

"Fourthly — I  intend  in  many  cases  to 
employ  the  expansive  force  of  steam  to 
press  on  the  pistons,  or  whatever  may 
be  used  instead  of  them,  in  the  same  man- 
ner in  which  the  pressure  of  the  atmos- 
phere is  now  employed  in  common  fire 
engines.  In  cases  wheie  cold  water  can- 
not be  had  in  plenty,  the  engines  may  be 
wrought  by  th'S  force  cf  steam  only,  by 
discharging  the  steam  into  the  air  after 
it  has  done  its  office. 

"Lastly — Inctead  of  using  water  to  ren- 
der the  pistons  and  other  parts  of  the  en- 
gines air-  and  steam-tight.  I  employ  oil^. 


ramparts  of  Ouebec.  bearing  on  their 
trunnion  ends  the  word*  Girroa  4Uid  the 
dates  1905.   1906^  1907. 

Presumably   Dr.   Roebuck   tired  o<  the 
expense  or   did  not  appreciate  the  value 
of  the  mventicn    or  perhaps  he  fowvi  the 
cost  greater  than  * 
next  rind   Watt  be     . 
Matthew    Bouhon.   a     birmmgham  -man 
To    Boulton,   of    Birmingham,    the    world 
owes  it   that   Watt's  great  mventKMi  was 
put  into  successful  operation.     Watt's  pat- 
ent   was    ranch    contested,    btit    Boulton 
found  the  necessary  ftghtmg  fund*  which 
enabled   Watt  to  establish  the   \.i!i.lit>     .: 
his    patents.      Watt    invented    a    cinufl    m 
176Q  and   described   it   w  a   letter   t«.   I)r 
Small       He  used  the  cutoff   m    1776.  but 


NavicatlM 


Plan     of     Upper     Floor 


•"" ■■■^-  uTTti  ULe  Wm's 

r    the   mrcr  Qf4i  M  ■  ■»•  m 

'«    !nr   •urrct   trsoh  of  iW  gfii   vMWia 

which  are  b«di  oa  Ma  hMria  ami  6h%nm  hf 

/rtie*.  TW  Watt 

'Tc.  thorn 

ml  iiMii  uilM  Dr. 

'    Isooo    vaa    tiinmBf 

'rrw  Caracfie 

...  .^     .-«fAi rr\^n4 k   as4  Imct  a 

tton.  hn\  -ciH^  raiMd  • 

son    of    •'-fTtrrning     WtVMB     flSDD 

Sjooo  andrr  tht  oarc  of  aa 

R^nkm     •>{    Greewxk      TW 

arrir.J    ,  •;?.    >»    by 

M  <>riKin.>ii>  tmtmitd,  curiag  ID  tW 

rrtpun*^  that  ihc  pablk 

It  look  ibe  fora  of  a  mmB  udMkal  ia 

Stltuti<>n    cmtiag    MMMtbiag    OVCT   fiyf^ 

Ibe  of  ibc  food,  ahoai  %mpao 

Ttooaiaeai   aad   for   far* 

■'  i-  ;  A  more  ibaa  ti&^aao  has 

twrn   really  arailaUc  b/   way  of  mtiamh' 


I  WiDiMB  aad  Piilijaipli 
•■m  the  site  of  tbe  boa««  m  wbkb  WM 
was  bom  It  n  only  two  •tone*  bigk  »td 
4i   the  corner  abooi     to    fe«l    fraa    dw 


on  which  suada  a  pedestal 


Plan    of    Ground    Floor 


IxMitfaa.  aatf  a 
*\rrmif  al  LM4a    TW 
ol  tbe  hoose  is  roagb  facH 

i.iwKt   .  f  il.  <:•   -   feci,  ahovi 

toae    Wiftfaaara 
•   <»f  tW 

►'(^rf-.j  :r.r%r   «tii   tT   f"^j«*d  •*   "" 
■ftrrr*   dMitoas   of   paMiMg   t^ 

poet     TW  roo«  t. 
•Wtr   wWoce  to 
•oiar  oWw ■«»»••■  •• 

fKr    »on    It    MMacttrr 


inttllutHM.    ar 


ria  a.    rijooi  n.Airi  or  r 


'•.     resin 

fat     of    anini^ 

:  ksilver 

etali  in  their  ti 

sute" 

Ihr 

Here   is 

in  of   steam   engi 

link 

ncering  a 

ne  might  say,  half 

%cr 

font  •■ 

to  read   some  of 

toil 

the 

.1   known   cfTrvt   of 

eni- 

ig    the     *ir.im.    or 

•  Ull 

V   them,   otic    might 

It 

^r^paratc  condenser 

ratik    t'*'!'  ir 

, 

nan    bad    pat 

l>r    , 

>*as  the   i\f^'   '      •  » 

'rnd    fit 

Watt       He   »*.iK   tt. 

.  m.il 

of   the    Carron    Iron 

,.'!' 

...*fk*. 

nadrs  were  first  cast. 

1 

and  tm 

oductions  of  the  Car 

wi«' 

-  - 

be  se«n  today  on  the 

bui  *■■  • 

♦,Tj»*      t* 


324 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  i6,  1909. 


street  and  is  made  of  teak.  Above  the 
door  is  the  Greenock  coat  of  arms  with 
the  inscription  : 

Sigillum  Btirgi  de  Greenock. 
The  electric-light    fittings  are  of  hand- 
wrought  iron  with  armorplate  finish,  and 
there  is  provision  for  special  lighting  for 
demonstration  purposes.  The  supply  comes 


The  architects  prepared,  we  are  given 
to  understand,  several  designs  for  a 
memorial,  and  of  tl>ese  one  at  least  was 
purely  memorial,  but  Dr.  Carnegie  ex- 
pressed a  desire  that  there  should  be  some 
building  that  should  serve  a  useful  pur- 
pose as  well  as  being  an  ornament,  and 
therefore  the  final  choice  fell  on  the  de- 


In  accordance  with  the  object  of  the 
building,  the  finishing  of  the  rooms  is  per- 
haps more  elaborate  than  usual  with  class 
rooms,  the  walls  being  paneled  in  timber 
and  the  mantelpieces  being  of  carved 
stone,  but  the  wall  paneling  is  so  designed 
as  to  serve  for  blackboard  purposes  and 
the  exhibition  of  diagrams.  The  upper 
floor  ceiling  is  vaulted  and  decorated  with 
Cymric  ornaments,  while  the  small  rooms 
of  the  staircase  tower  will  serve  for 
museum  purposes.  The  stone  carving  re- 
cords ancient  and  modern  engineering  and 
shipbuilding.  The  statue  itself  is  in  the 
dress  of  loo  years  ago,  and  Watt  appears 
to  be  reading  a  steam  gage.  The  pedestal 
is  supported  by  flying  buttresses  of  an- 
tique design  carved  with  some  elaboration 
with  emblems  of  engineering  tools. 

Seeing  that  the  site  was  so  small,  the 
house  appears  to  have  been  designed  to 
fill  a  useful  purpose  about  as  well  as 
could  be,  and  the  purpose  it  will  fill  is 
closely  connected  with  the  trade  and  in- 
dustry of  the  town.  It  might  be  pointed 
out  that  the  Clyde,  down  which  have  been 
launched  some  of  the  largest  ships  ever 
built,  was  once  a  mere  shallow  creek,  and 
but  for  the  steam  engine  and  all  that  the 
steam  engine  has  rendered  possible,  it 
would  have  remained  so.  Watt's  inven- 
tion set  the  steam  engine  along  the  road 
of  improvement  and  started  the  struggle 


FIG.     3.    ENGINEERING  CL.^SS   ROOM 


from   the   corporation   mains,   the   switch- 
board being  in  the  entrance  hall. 

The  architect  to  whom  the  work  was 
intrusted  was  David  Barclay,  of  245  St. 
Vincent  street,  Glasgow,  and  to  him  we 
are  indebted  for  the  plans  of  the  building. 
Since  the  building  was  to  represent  a 
house  that  formerly  s^ood  on  the  site, 
though  not  intended  to  be  a  copy  of  the 
old  house,  it  was  decided  that  to  some 
extent  it  should  represent  a  style  of 
Scottish  architecture. 

The  primary  object  of  the  building  was 
to  mark  the  site  of  the  house  in  which 
James  Watt  was  born,  and  the  memorial 
house  is  itself  small  since  it  is  confined 
to  the  site  of  the  original  house  which  it 
memorializes.  The  locality  is  near  to  the 
harbor,  for  one  old  tenement  house  alone 
intervenes.  This  it  is  generally  desired 
should  some  day  be  removed  should  there 
be  funds  available  for  the  purpose.  If 
so,  the  view  of  the  memorial  house  would 
be  opened  up  to  the  river.  As  in  all  in- 
dustrial and  growing  towns  some  locali- 
ties become  reduced  in  character,  so  has 
this.  It  has  suffered  very  considerable 
decadence  since  the  Watts  lived  on  the 
site  and  a  general  demolition  of  some  of 
the  neighboring  properties  would  be  a 
worthy  public  improvement  if  the  finances 
of  the  town  would  permit  or  the  public 
generally  would  interest  themselves  in  the' 
matter  and  step  in  to  finish  the  work 
inaugurated  by  Dr.  Carnegie. 


FIG.     4.      NAVIGATION    CLASS    ROOM 


sign  as  carried  out.  Since  the  building 
was  to  be  so  small,  too  much  was  not 
attempted,  and  the  teaching  to  be.  given 
within  it  was  narrowed  down  to  the  sub- 
jects named,  marine  engineering  and 
navigation,  each  of  which  is  allotted  one 
of  the  large  rooms. 


for  coal  economy  which  has  today  cul- 
minated at  or  near  the  long-sought  one 
pound  per  horsepower  per  hour.  But  to- 
day, though  we  possess  the  turbine  and 
the  surface  condenser  and  accurate  ma- 
chine tools,  we  are  still  striving  after 
Watt's   axiom,   the   keeping  of   the   cylin- 


Fel»ruary   i6.   1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  Ev..ivrrp 


J*S 


Modern    British    High-Speed    Steam    Engines 

Design  of  the  Typ>c  of  Governor    in    Most   General    Ute;   Syttem   ol 
Forced     Lubrication;     Some     Makes     of     Hiv{h-*(>ec<l     F.nfc;inc» 


B  Y 


JOHN 


DAVIDSON 


♦  jOVfcKNUK.S 

\s  previously  stated,  in  all  cases  the  en- 
Kincs  are  governed  by  means  of  a  centrif- 
ugal governor  attached  to  the  crankshaft, 
which  controls  the  speed  of  the  engine  by 
acting  directly  upon  a  throttle  valve  of  a 
balanced  type.  Where  the  load  of  the  en- 
gine is  nearly  uniform  this  system  of  gov- 
erning leaves  nothing  to  be  desired,  either 


::h 


iMMON  Tvrr  or  tr.KTiiirr«;M 

<HAFT    CmtSNOIl 


I  l;r      tlirolllc  \j1\c      ^plrl<ilc 
Steam-light  where  it  leaves  the   . 
by    <.irn|>ly   being   parsed     through     ..     .    . „ 
bu!>lnii>^',   in<iHr   '>f   which    af   •■irv  !    ••  -. 
cral  w;i' 
ing  the 

<>ati$factor>-  than  httmg  stulting  tmxe^  of 
the  ordinary  type,  as  it  is  most  eMcntial 
to  guard  against   friction  in  any  part  of 


iff^t 


...  >pce«l  regulation  or  economy.  The  t>i>' 
of  governor  used  by  almost  all  firm^  i^ 
practically  the  same,  and  the  general  dc 
«ign  i«  illu<«trated  in  Fig.  10. 

In  ronnrrtion  with  this  governor   it    i 
gener.il  l"  '•npply  a  speeder  gc.ir  h\    " 
it   i*    |x^>«.sil>le    to    vary    the    spm!    "i    •: 
rngin.    .It  lra*t  5  per  cent    alx>N'-     •   '  •  '     ' 
while  the  engine  \s  rm 
■.illy  effected  by  meau^ 
pring  attached  to  the  *i>cr«lrr  ro<t 
'"  >\  crank    lever   of   the   goverti'.r     m 
:<h  a  way  that  it  may  art  with  thr  • 
-.    so    that    if    the    tm 
varird   tlir   speed   • 
AxW  W  \.  ly. 

•itly    llir     .  hs*    b^'- 

It    iindrr    foriT.I    lul 
ir'    '  f   ''-.r    rnK"""    f ''  . 

I  ted  from  the  mam  «>il  ;• 

consist*  of  a   »inirl<    .! 
h    valve   dr^ignril 
.i>    -vy   It   ts  not  aflfected  by   iioi-.-" 
■    temperature.     In    Fig    tl    it   »hown 
•ction  of  this   valve 


i.u;  rnpiy  icff  lag  ay  tW 

Dannf  the  lut  two  or  tliffvc  ycanw  tP* 

(mint;  \>\   n><-an»  <A  \xt^^r<t  'Kr  ritkint*  -1 

onl>  — ■  ^ "••-.  - •  ""<  .— ^.• 

inf.    Gml  trooblr  vas  ptt  %  iotly  capM^ 


•ro 


T — rrr^ 


r. 


U^ 


r 


ri 


.J 


\\  i  b^ 


I  1 1 

-^ 
9 


rm.   It.   DOi'Bii 


Hiftii  rM» 


lt»    »p»r 


<iir 


J 


^v^Mnn    rm     »&Btl\l<     t.T'T( 


326 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  i6,  1909. 


at  A,  and  the  ports  in  the  liner  are  made 
in  triangular  shape,  as  shown  at  B. 

In  the  drawing  at  the  right  is  shown 
to  a  large  scale  one  of  the  ports  and  the 
edge  of  the  valve,  and  the  corresponding 
edge  of  the  valve  when  at  the  earliest  cut- 
off position.  The  lead  of  the  valve  in 
this  position  is  represented  by  C.  If,  how- 
ever, the  valve  is  rotated  through  a  small 


economy  at  all  loads  between  these  two 
positions  than  if  the  engine  was  controlled 
entirely  at  the  throttle  valve. 

For  electrical  purposes  standard  prac- 
tice is  to  make  all  engines  capable  of  de- 
veloping 25  per  cent,  overload,  condensing, 
and  capable  of  developing  full  load  noncon- 
densing  when  required.  If  an  engine  is  con- 
trolled entirely  by  throttle  governing,  it  is 


throttle  valve  throughout  its  range,  the 
steam  consumption  per  brake  horsepower 
at  full  load  is  16.4  pounds,  whereas  if  the 
engine  is  fitted  with  an  expansion  gear 
and  arranged  so  that  the  throttle  governor 
only  controls  the  engine  between  no  load 
and  75  per  cent,  of  full  load,  there  is  a 
saving  of  0.8  pound  per  brake  horsepower 
per  hour,  or  5  per  cent.     The  steam  con- 


FIG.       r4.       SYSTEM     OT      FORCED     LUBRICATION 


FIG.     15.     OIL    PUMP   DETAILS 


'amount,  as  shown  by  the  dotted  lines,  it 
will  be  noted  that  the  lead  has  increased 
to  the  amount  shown  by  D,  and  conse- 
quently the  cutoff  made  later.  By  this 
means  it  is  possible  to  obtain  a  range  of 
cutoff  sufficient  to  carry  a  load  varying 
between  75  per  cent,  of  full  load  and  25 
per  cent,  overload  at  the  expense  of  the 
lead,  and  at  the  same  time  obtain  better 


necessary  that  full  boiler  pressure  should 
only  be  used  at  the  maximum  overload,  or 
when  running  noncondensing,  and  when 
running  under  what  should  be  the  most 
economical  load,  viz.,  full  load,  the  en- 
gine is  using  steam  very  considerably 
throttled.  The  diagram  in  Fig.  13  shows 
this  point  clearly,  and  it  will  be  seen  that 
when  the  engine  is  only  controlled  by  the 


sumption  is  also  slightly  better  at  75  per 
cent,  load,  and  if  the  average  load  on  the 
engine  ranges  between  75  per  cent,  load 
and  25  per  cent,  overload,  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  saving  in  coal  per  annum  is  no 
small  item. 

For  instance,  suppose  an  engine  of  500 
brake  horsepower  is  working  12  hours  per 
day  and  6  days  per  week  at  an  average 
load  of  between  75  per  cent,  load  and  25 
per  cent,  overload,  the  amount  of  coal  re- 
quired per  annum  will  be  2000  tons,  and 
taking  coal  at  $2.50  per  ton  and  an  aver- 
age saving  of  5  per  cent,  as  above,  the 
amount    saved    will    be   $250   per   annum. 

Forced  Lubrication 
The  system  of  lubrication  may  at  first 
sight  appear  to  be  elaborate,  but  when 
considered  in  detail  it  will  be  found  to 
be  a  simple  arrangement.  In  Fig.  14  is 
illustrated  the  arrangement  of  forced 
lubrication  as  fitted  to  a  three-crank  triple- 
expansion  engine.  In  the  lowest  part  of 
the  base  are  fitted  two  troughs  A  A  into 
which  are  fitted  strainers  B  B,  which  con- 
sist of  perforated  tubes  around  which  is 
wrapped  fine  copper  gauze.  The  object  of 
the  troughs  is  to  prevent  any  dirt  or  sedi- 
ment of  any  kind,  which  may  be  collected 
by  the  oil  or  get  into  the  crank  case,  being 
drawn  into  the  pump  and  so  delivered  into 
the  main  oil  pipes.  A  certain  amount  of 
water  also  drips  from  the  glands  of  the 
cylinders,  and  although  additional  glands 
are  fitted  at  the  top  of  the  frame  where 
the  piston  and  valve  rods  pass  through, 
leakage  cannot  entirely  be  prevented.  If 
this  water,  however,  does  collect  at  the 
bottom  of  the  base,  it  cannot  be  drawn 
into  the  pumps  unless  it  is  allowed  to  col- 
lect to  such  an  extent  that  the  level 
reaches  to  the  top  of  the  troughs.  It  is 
not  likely  therefore  to  cause  any  damage 
unless  the  engine  attendant  is  careless, 
because  the  oil  floating  at  the  top  of  the 


February  i6,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


V9 


-^^  "^^^^^Mfe 


rif.     If.       Iiri-I  los  tUCK.  KiJU  &l.\t«ATl!««.  MI 


'1o«  t  into  tlic 


In 


*mal  10  li  two 


i»ui4  tW  riltt%  gmt  ami  m« 


"xp«- 


iHc  p  <*»  Ptf  DD.m  f^ 

to    llw    rum    .«|    pip«    £.    Mt4    1,^^    ,^^ 
mam  bfanrlw*  ar*  Uk««,  u  tWw^  !•  «mA 

'    >•••  ^   ■■■■I   ol  *•  ^^    > 


tiM 


S*   fT4 


f  olffcM 


.-      I». 


nC      17      SMALL    TWO  CIANK    HLLIIB    rOMrv>l-|fO    t»UlHt 


328 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  i6,  1909. 


groove  by  means  of  a  pipe  attached  to  the 
side  of  the  connecting  rod  up  to  the  cross- 
head  pin.  In  the  case  of  small  engines 
an  additional  groove  is  cut  in  the  cross- 
head  brasses  and  oil  is  conducted  from 
this  to  the  slides,  but  for  large  engines 
it  is  advisable  to  use  a  separate  supply 
pipe  direct  from  the  main,  as  shown  at  G 
in  Fig.  14.  The  eccentric  and  eccentric- 
rod  crosshead  pins,  together  with  the 
crosshead  slides,  receive  their  supply  of 
oil  in  a  similar  way,  so  that  all  of  the 
working  parts  of  the  engine  are  auto- 
matically lubricated  by  means  of  the  two 
pumps  C  C.  The  oil  leaking  from  the 
various  parts  drips  down  into  the  crank 
case,  but  before  being  drawn  into  the 
pump  again,  it  has  to  pass  through  the 
strainers  already  referred  to.  Where  two 
pumps  are  fitted,  a  valve  is  generally  at- 
tached to  one  end  of  the  trough,  so  that 
when  the  strainer  is  withdrawn  it  auto- 
matically shuts  off  the  supply  of  oil  to  that 
pump,  and  thus  prevents  the  possibility  of 
any  grit  being  drawn  in.  It  is  thus  pos- 
sible to  remove  and  clean  a  strainer  while 
the  engine  is  running. 

Standard  Makes  of  High-speed  Engine 

Belliss  &  Morcom.  The  largest  firm  of 
high-speed  engine  builders  in  England  is 
Messrs.  Belliss  &  Morcom,  Ltd.,  of  Bir- 
mingham. This  firm  alone  has  manufac- 
tured over  3000  engines.  The  largest  en- 
gines built  are  suitable  for  driving  genera- 


cent,  overload  for  short  periods  of  time. 
They  run  at  166J/2  revolutions  per  minute 
and  are  supplied  with  steam  at  a  pressure 
of  180  pounds  per  square  inch.  The  nor- 
mal output  in  brake  horsepower  is  2140, 
the  maximum  being  2680. 

Of  each   set  the  high-pressure   cylinder 
is  25  inches  in  diameter,  the  intermediate 


position  of  the  valve  being  determined  by 
a  special  relay  cylinder  which  is  operated 
from  the  governor  controlling  the  throttle 
valve.  With  this  arrangement  the  engine 
is  governed  by  automatic  expansion  at  the 
high  loads  and  by  the  throttle  at  light 
loads. 

In   Fig.    17   is   illustrated   a   small   two- 


FIG.    19.'   E.XTERIOR  OF   BROWETT-LIXDLEY    ENGINE 


FIG.      18.     TRIPLE-EXPANSION    ijROWETT- i.INULEY    2400-l|J0RSEP0WER    ENGINE 


tors  of  1500  kilowatts  capacity,  and  in 
Fig.  16  is  shown  a  photograph  of  one  of 
the  Belliss-Dick,  Kerr  sets  installed  in  the 
new  Summer  Lane  electricity-supply  sta- 
tion of  the  Birmingham  Corporation. 

Eight  of  these  sets  are  installed  and 
each  is  capable  of  developing  as  a  con- 
tinuous output  1500  kilowatts  and  25  per 


363^2  inches,  and  the  low-pressure  55 
inches,  the  stroke  being  2>2>  inches.  Pis- 
ton valves  arc  fitted  to  all  cylinders,  these 
being  driven  direct  from  the  crankshaft 
by  a  single  eccentric.  Messrs.  Belliss'  pat- 
ent automatic-expansion  gear,  which  is 
very  similar  to  that  previously  described, 
is  fitted  to  the  high-pressure  cylinder,  the 


crank  compound  engine  built  by  Messrs. 
Belliss  &  Morcom  for  the  Peninsular  and 
Oriental  steamship  "Mooltan.  This  engine 
is  shown  coupled  to  a  Siemens  dynamo 
capable  of  developing  40  kilowatts,  the 
engine  being  capable  of  developing  58 
brake  horsepower  when  running  at 
speed  of  450  revolutions  per  minute. 


a 

The 


February  i6,  1909. 

sets,  of  which  there  are  five  installed,  sup- 
ply current  for  1400  incandescent  lamps 
ol-  16  candlepower  each,  four  hundred 
12-inch  electric  fans,  six  forced-draft  fans, 
four  large  ventilating  fans,  a  searchlight 
of  8000  candlepower,  six  coaling  lamps 
of  20,000  candlepower,  electric  headlight 
and  sidelights  and  two  Brockie-Bell  lamps 
of  40,000  candlepower  each. 

Browell,  I.indley.  Another  large  firm 
which  manufactures  engines  of  all  power; 
from  20  to  jooo  horsepower  are  Messrs. 
Browctt,  Lindley  &  Co.,  Ltd.,  of  Patri- 
croft,  Manchester.  This  firm  manufac- 
tures engines  in  the  usual  varieties,  viz.. 
single  crank  simple  and  compound  en- 
gines, two-  and  three-crank  compound 
engines  and  three-crank  triple-expansion 
engines.  Their  standard  design  of  two- 
crank  compound  engine  has  already  been 
illustrated  in  Fig.  3,  and  this  drawing 
shows  generally  the  arrangement  6f 
cylinders  and  motion  work  of  the  engine. 
Engines  of  the  type  illustrated  in  Fig 
J  arc  manufactured  in  powers  ranging 
from  300  to  1000  horsepower.  The  pro- 
ductions of  this  firm  arc  undoubtedly  of 
substantial  design  and  material  is  not  in 
any  way  stinted  throughout  the  engine. 
All  parts  are  accessible  and  at  the  same 
time  the  frame  work  uf  the  engine  is 
anusually  rigid. 

In  Fig.   18  is  slii.*wn  m  full  section  one 
of  thr  lart?rst-«i/rd  engines  manufactured 
ible  of  developing  2400 
A  or    as    a    normal    load 
.)ooo  as  a   maximum    fur   periods  of 
t   two  hours.     It  is  of  the  triple  ex 
ion  type  and  has  cylinders  25x39x60 
•  •.'  Mts  in  diameter  and  a  27-inch  stroke. 
It   will   develop  the   power    stated    when 
running  at  a  speed  of  200  revolutions  per 
minute  if  supplied  with  steam  at  a  pres- 
of   150  pounds   per   square   inch  and 
aisting      into      a      con<lcnser.      Piston 
%alvc%  are  used  throughout,  and  the  cut 
off    of    the    high-pressure    valve    is    under 
control  of  the   governor,     su    that     when 
•"■•^king  at  the  higher  loads  the  engine  is 
Micd     by     variable     expansion.      At 
•  r  loads  throttling  takes  place  in  com- 
lon  with  the  alteration  In  the  cutoff. 
The  crankshaft  for  this  engine  is  for.' 
In    one     picrc,     and    the     flywhel     \>^\ 
to   a   large   coupling    formrd    at   one   en«l 
The   bolls    in     this     coupling     pass     right 
through     the     crankshaft,     flywheel     and 
djmamo  coupling',   so   that   no  energy  ha» 
to  b*"  ir.insiiutinl   'hftigh  the  v.raMlk*li.iti 
due  tn  any  shocks  winch  may  In"  rccmr.l 
(rnm  the  generator  end.     Thr  cc"ti'tn\  .  t 
the     liiuh  speed     mgitic     iump.irf  • 
fav-.r.,l,|^     with    the    Ik-sI    rtiwot"- 
KCt.  and   this   size   of   rt  . 
liR   to    124    pounds      : 
brake    horsepower    when     siipphrii 

•team  at  a  pressure  of  leo  '■ •  '. 

healed  100  degrees  Fain 

tng  condensing  at   26  ituixi   '  > 

Thr    figures   quoted   are    not    rr 

tainrd    from   onr 

represent    what    i^ 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

practice  from  a  large  number  of  engines. 
An  exterior  view  of  the  engiiie  illustrated 
is  given  in  Fig.  19. 


Th< 


Problem    o(    Funucc  Design 
for   Water-tube  Boilers 


By   Hakolo  v.  G*^ 


:llg 

'ts. 
in 

!S 


1  nc  Hater  tube  boiler,  \s  r 
many  advantages    for   largr 
has 
the 

tion    III    the     lumacc    as    n' 
Until   very   recently   and   evr 

a  few  exceptions,  it  has  been  the  practice 
to  place  the  rebtively  cold  heating  surface 
in  direct  contact  with  the  flame>.  'hus  dc 
fying  at  the  very  outset  one  of  the  laws 
s?overning  complete  and  perfect  com- 
bustion 

Messrs    Booth   and    Kershaw,   m   their 
work    entitled    "Smoke     Pr-  .nd 

Fuel   Economy,"  lay  down   •  sing 

requisites  for  perfect  c 

I.     A  draft  velocity,  o: ^  tKan  jo 

feet  per  second,  over  the  fire  to  draw  in 
air  atwve  the  fire  l>ed.  for  combination 
with  the  gases  distilled  from  the  freshly 
charged  fuel. 

2  A  thorough  mixing  of  »hi«  air  with 
the 

»>y 

t{(-ther  over  the  length  ol  the  lumacc 
1  he  air  roust  l>e  admitted  in  numerous 
fine  jets,  a«  throagh  a  perforated  plate  in 
the  door. 

J.    A    lufRciem   temperature   to   insure 
igni'  '    '      '      *.  '     '  •'      '    --    - 

4 

Cott 

«  'iler  s?v1 


the 

I  : 

used,   the  air 
circuits  n'-' 
It   is  trt' 


live.     C- 


\^fRc'. 


tubes   ti 


39 

««  violaic  the  fovrth  cmcmmI  d  good 
rombttfttoo.  as  ose  of  tlic  omm  um^ntm 
consideratioM  in  Hm  da%B  ol  a  farMcv 
!♦  the 


CMASAcna  or  Fvn.  nu  Post  Immc  m 


The  first  dttng  to  be  rnaiidind  b  ikt 
cnrtiMliun  rhtmlir  i»  iftt 
e  fad  to  he  harai4.  TW 
igrt<jni)g  ol  this  fact  is  rnpiiMaii  lor  ■ 
treat  naar  faflwcs  to  attaia  pcrlset  tarn- 
bostkm  Trying  to  bom  h%h  volault 
hitnniiDOtts  coals  oader  «  *atcr-t«ht 
boiler   with  an  aMhrac  caMas 

stm    more    failores    ar..     ^iartaaa. 

greater   the    volattk   ccMeni   of   the 

-.  the  more  diftcvh  bccooiet  the  frd^ 

lem      In    bamtag    the    tne    grades    ol 

'Hat  frofli  the  aiiars  ol 

a.    the    hraliag    sar- 

-c:   rdativdjr  doae  to  die 

arr  practxaJly  ao  volatflr 

'ed    froai    sack   roah^ 

tgth  is  proyottiuaal  to 

the  roianle  maner  in  the  fact 

Til    s-.irh    cases  the   *-y^*    nr\T    tk« 

be  only 


is  baraed 

>  It  M  at 

boiler 

jt     ob^cctioaabl* 

"gri  V'^  furivaca 

■St 

*\, 

and  If  the  tabes  or  hiattag  sarlaces  ar* 

-a.  the 


;»  itit   brl  >•    Mtr   c-»rntnit!»ri«i   M 

This  caases  the  carbea  le  be  pro- 

either  ia  the   lorai  ol  seal  or 

•    at   TTT-sIrr    'o  pa«s  o€  Op  the 

~  provaets  ol  oosa- 

>   deadl  which  Is 

'^ttCt    of    pOOf    MSl    IflftMtff'WCW 

.  r«  place  la  aoat 


-V  Mid  tfHi  li 

•dsealia*.   «h« 


<«•  ol 


330 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  i6,  1909. 


this  volatile  matter.  The  short-circuiting 
of  the  air  and  gases  and  the  prevention 
of  the  flames  from  reaching  the  heating 
surfaces  can  be  accomplished  simultane- 
ously by  the  use  of  firebrick  arches,  tile 
roofs  or  dutch  ovens ;  although  the  dutch 
oven  is  seldom  used  except  with  some 
form  of  automatic  stoker. 

One  of  the  most  effective  ways  of  in- 
creasing the  volume  of  the  combustion 
chamber  and  of  keeping  the  volatile  gases 
from  contact  with  the  tubes  in  a  water- 
tube  boiler,  is  to  build  a  tile  roof  across 
the  furnace,  covering  up  the  lower  por- 
tion of  the  first  and  second  passes  and 
reversing  the  circulation  of  the  gases,  the 
products  of  combustion  now  passing  first 
over  the  bridgewall,  up  through  the  third 
pass,  down  to  the  second  and  up  the  first 
pass  to  the  flue.  This  constitutes  a  dutch 
oven  to  all  intents  and  purposes  in  the 
boiler  itself. 

The  length  of  this  tile  roof  or  flat  arch 
depends  upon  the  flame  length,  for  the 
flames  should  be  extinguished  or  burnt  out 
before  going  up  the  pass.  And  as  stated 
before,  the  flame  length  depends  upon  the 
volatile  content.  The  longer  this  arch  is 
made  the  longer  is  the  travel  of  the 
hydrocarbons  in  contact  with  it,  and 
consequently  the  longer  is  the  time  in- 
terval for  perfect  combustion  to  take 
place.  With  the  lower  volatile  Eastern 
coals,  this  arch  need  not  be  over  4  feet 
in  length  in  order  to  obtain  complete  com- 
bustion. As  the  percentage  of  volatile 
matter  increases  the  length  of  the  arch 
or  roof  increases  in  almost  direct  ratio. 
It  is  also  affected  by  the  rate  of  combus- 
tion, so  that  with  a  knowledge  of  these 
two  elements  a  furnace  setting  can  be  de- 
signed which  will  be  absolutely  smokeless 
under  all  operating  conditions. 

One  type  of  arch  which  has  given  satis- 
faction, especially  when  used  with  fine 
anthracite,  is  that  used  in  the  Webster 
furnace.  This  consists  of  several  arches 
strung  across  the  grate  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  prevent  the  cooling  of  the  fire  when 
the  charging  doors  are  open.  These 
arches  are  particularly  eflfective  when  in- 
duced draft  is  used,  as  the  difference  in 
static  pressure  may  in  this  case  amount 
to  several  tenths  of  an  inch  of  water, 
causing  an  inrush  of  cold  air  as  soon  as 
the  doors  are  open  and  the  consequent 
chilling  of  the  tubes  and  lowering  of  the 
furnace  temperature,  unless  the  foregoing 
means  are  used  to  prevent  it. 

HiGHT  OF  Boiler  Tubes  Important 

A  very  important  consideration  irre- 
spective of  the  type  of  furnace  is  the  hight 
of  the  boiler  tubes  above  the  floor,  or, 
■what  amounts  to  the  same  thing,  above  the 
grate.  This  again,  of  course,  depends 
upon  whether  a  tile  roof  is  used  or  not. 
Formerly  it  was  customary  to  install  the 
Babcock  &  Wilcox  boiler  with  the  bottom 
of  its  header  from  7  to  71^  feet  above 
the  floor  line.     This  distance  has  gradu- 


ally been  increased  for  burning  high  vola- 
tile bituminous  coals  to  9  feet,  and  in 
some  recent  installations  has  been  placed 
10  feet  above  the  floor  line.  And  even 
this  figure  will  probably  be  increased  un- 
der some  new  gravity  underfeed  stokers. 

The  tile  roof,  furthermore,  has  a  rever- 
beratory  action  which  keeps  the  furnace 
temperature  at  maximum,  thus  insuring 
the  ignition  temperature  of  the  hydrocar- 
bons and  a  heating  of  the  air  passing  over 
the  fire,  with  a  thorough  mixing  of  these 
two  elements  and  the  resulting  good  com- 
bustion. If  the  air  for  combustion  can 
be  preheated  by  any  of  the  advantageous 
methods  at  disposal,  the  better  will  be  the 
combustion. 

The  use  of  steam  jets  and  that  type  of 
apparatus  should  not  be  tolerated,  for  they 
do  little  if  any  good,  and  that  at  the  ex- 
pense of  good  combustion.  Operating 
engineers  believe  that  they  prevent  clink- 
ers. The  only  reason  that  a  steam  jet 
stops  clinkers  is  because  it  lowers  the 
furnace  temperature  below  the  fusing 
point  of  the  clinker,  which  is  a  good  rea- 
son for  not  using  it,  since  any  agent  that 
tends  to  lower  the  temperature  of  com- 
bustion is  a  poor  one. 

There  is  a  method,  however,  for  small 
installations  which  merits  consideration, 
and  that  is  a  combination  turbine-driven 
disk  fan,  which  uses  a  very  small  percent- 
age of  exhaust  steam,  but  which  materi- 
ally aids  in  distributing  the  air  for  com- 
bustion. Of  course  for  large  installations 
some  one  of  the  mechanical-draft  installa- 
tions would  be  used.  But  then,  again, 
large  installations  generally  have  an  engi- 
neering staff  capable  of  properly  design- 
ing and  specifying  the  kind  of  furnace  to 
be  used. 

Amount  of  Coal  Burned_ 

The  amount  of  coal  that  can  be  burned 
per  square  foot  of  grate  surface  per  hour 
varies  over  a  wide  range  for  various  in- 
stallations and  various  conditions.  The 
problem  depends  upon  the  load  to  be  car- 
ried, kind  and  amount  of  draft,  type  of 
boiler  and  the  character  of  the  fuel.  In 
some  of  the  large  central  stations  using 
the  finer  grades  of  anthracite  this  amounts 
to  from  25  to  30  pounds.  During  the  peak 
load,  by  increasing  the  draft,  this  figure 
may  be  increased  to  50  pounds  per  square 
foot. 

With  soft  coal,  except  where  stoker- 
fired,  it  is  not  generally  good  practice  to 
burn  more  than  about  20  pounds  per 
square  foot  on  a  flat  grate,  on  account  of 
the  difficulty  of  good  air  distribution. 
When  soft  coal  is  fired  with  an  automatic 
stoker,  as  is  done  in  large  stations,  from 
65  to  70  pounds  of  coal  per  square  foot 
of  grate  per  hour  may  be  burned.  This 
has  recently  been  done  by  a  new  type  of 
gravity  underfeed  stoker. 

The  type  of  grate  to  be  used  is  a  mat- 
ter of  choice,  there  being  many  good  types 
on  the  market.    Whether  a  dumping  or  a 


shaking  grate  will  be  used  depends  upon 
the  amount  of  ash  and  clinker  in  the  fuel. 
If  this  is  rather  small  the  shaking  grate 
will  give  good  results ;  if  high,  then  the 
former  should  be  used. 

The  one  thing  to  bear  in  mind  is  the 
fact  that  the  burning  of  coal  is  governed 
by  just  as  accurate  physical  laws  as  is  the 
generation  of  steam.  Just  as  much  care, 
thought  and  time  should  be  spent  upon 
the  design  and  selection  of  a  furnace  as 
upon  any  other  part  of  the  boiler.  For  after 
all,  this  is  the  heart  of  the  boiler,  and 
any  saving  that  is  made  in  the  furnace  is 
a  direct  saving,  for  no  processes  of  manu- 
facture have  taken  place  until  the  coal  is 
fired ;  consequently,  the  saving  in  raw  ma- 
terial represents  hard  cash. 


The  Function  of  Compression 


By  R.  T  Strohm 


Judging  by  what  one  reads  and  hears, 
the  question  of  compression  or  no  com- 
pression seems  to  be  causing  no  little 
mental  agitation.  There  are  those  who 
have  come  out  broadly  for  the  elimina- 
tion of  the  compression  heel  from  the  in- 
dicator diagram,  on  the  ground  that  com- 
pression in  steam  engines  is  not  neces- 
sary, and  that  most  engines  would  run 
better,  both  mechanically  and  economi- 
cally, if  it  should  be  dispensed  with. 

Such  statements,  to  say  the  least,  are 
combatable.  To  begin  with,  it  is  rather 
absurd  to  think  that  steam  engineers  have 
been  making  the  egregious  blunder,  for 
many  decades,  of  clinging  to  compression 
and  thereby  wasting  steam.  It  is  scarcely 
believable  that  if  eliminating  compres- 
sion increases  economy,  the  fact  would 
not  ere  this  have  been  discovered  and  put 
to  practical  use.  Engine  builders  who 
have  guaranteed  certain  definite  results  as 
to  economical  performance  have  designed 
and  manufactured  engines  in  which  com- 
pression figures  largely.  Is  it  possible 
that  they  have  thus  long  been  ignorant  of 
the  suggested  means  of  lowering  steam 
consumption? 

Argument  of  this  character,  alone,  does 
not  nullify  the  statement  that  compression 
is  unnecessary.  That  much  is  admitted. 
But  there  are  other  ways  of  attacking  the 
problem.  Compression  in  steam  engines 
is  not  only  desirable,  to  a  greater  or  less 
extent,  but  is  a  necessity.  There  are  two 
good  reasons  for  this  condition.  One  is 
that  silent  and  smooth  running  is  thereby 
secured.  The  other,  and  just  as  impor- 
tant reason,  is  that  the  economy  of  the  en- 
gine is  improved  thereby.  It  will  be  ob- 
served that  these  statements  are  diametri- 
cally opposed  to  those  referred  to  in  the 
opening  paragraph.  It  now  remains  to 
adduce  something  in  the  way  of  support 
and  proof. 

The  reciprocating  parts  of  an  engine  do 


February  i6,  1909. 

not  move  with  a  uniform  velocity.  In- 
stead, the  velocity  increases  from  zero  at 
the  beginning  of  the  stroke  to  a  maximum 
at  the  middle  of  the  stroke,  and  then  de- 
creases to  zero  at  the  end  of  the  stroke. 
During  the  period  of  acceleration,  the 
pressure  of  the  expanding  steam  is  the 
force  causing  the  acceleration.  But  dur- 
ing the  period  of  retardation,  the  retard- 
ing force  may  be  either  a  cushion  of 
steam,  a  reaction  from  the  crank  pin,  or 
a  combination  of  the  two.  If  compres- 
sion is  used,  the  increasing  pressure  of 
the  steam  trapped  in  the  compression 
space  will  furnish  the  resistance  neces- 
sary to  overcome  the  inertia  of  the  recip- 
rocating parts,  and  it  is  evident  that,  by 
adjusting  the  amount  of  compression,  the 
reciprocating  parts  may  be  brought  to  rest 
without  subjecting  the  crank  pin  or  wrist 
pin  to  any  great  pressure. 

In  Fig.  1  is  shown  a  curve  of  mertia 
pressures  in  a  reciprocating  steam  engine, 
a  b  representing  the  stroke,  and  vertical 
distances  from  ab  to  d  e  representing  in- 
ertia pressures     It  will  be  seen  that  at  the 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

fashion;  and   furtlicrni' re    thii   Tr%\,.t:^r^.r 
is   introduced 

for^l^     .     '-.ryr- 

tlic 

appli.,1  1   !i   .  t    tfic 

the  most  direct  an  : 

no 

of  I 

the  crank  pin  wilh  rtcr  mcr 
ity 
Now.   IS   it    not 
bring  the  rcciproc.i 
cushion  of  steam  t' 
the  crank  pin?     b>    i>.c^..n^ 
cushion,    the   pressure    is    tr. 

recft  

is   ..• 
the 
of    • 


other  hand,  if  the  reaction  at  the  crank  pin 
IS  relied  upon  10  .-»-.-<.. i.t.i.ii.  »'-  .•-..r-.i 
end.  the  pressure  iv 

vening  links  in  the  c<<!  ■   ^nicn 

some  play  exist*,  and  '  r  is  to 


«ld  W 


•y  the  «M» 

rtMoa  It  el 

m    Bcf nlif—g    tkt    cvl 


tioa      li 

4mert* 

»o.t     '\  r 

'-Mtamn  M 

41  M  bmt- 

ir  r      ».JO    ^ 

-r.   f«M 

•    be    B>Cr 

iM  a 

\t\*  Mm 

««  W- 

pnlaa  ar 

■  -^1  ^ 

«  Olds  o' 

«.  1^ 

•carance  i< 

r    IMMB 

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p<>un<i«.  4r>v>iuie.  there  beMg  so  flra nf 
and  no  mmptfiutt  I'wirr  Otnt  €m4t 
urm%.  the  ratio  of  espWHioa  M  7  TW 
mori.  •2urinc  capaiMtba  o«  coaipetaaseB  ar- 
oordmf  to  ihr  law  /*  I'  =:  a  tammmm  h 
toon<}  tn   fh<  formaLt 


*'. 


initial      a 

M 
>l 


eafHMioa  otf 

••I  cloaili  the 

bola.  Pf   =   a  cat 

.t,..U      .ill     t^     ,-.u^^     ,r.. 


,K.     -.w% 


ric    3 


beginning  of  the  stroke,  the  inertia  pres- 
sure is  nr(;.itivr,  .iiiil  <>f  a  valuc  ad.     As 
the  parti   l>cii.m<-   .1. .« Icrated,   the  inertia 
pressure  grows  smaller,  until,  at  the  point 
of  iiuximum   velocity  c  the   inertia  pres- 
sure is  zero,  since  at  that  point  the  crank 
pin   and  crosshead   are  moving  with   the 
same   linear   velocity.      From   r  to  fr  the 
^hcad    motion    decreases    in    velocity, 
it  ^  the  inertia  pressure  b  f   f-   .igain 
{losilive  II'  The 

of   the  ing 

u    of    iIk     -troke 
:r  to  the  f^ifudl 
tore  of  a  portion  of  the  energy  of  iJir  ""^ 
ftaiiiiing  steam.     The  decrease  of  vcl'>^it> 
I  r  to  6  is  due  to  the  fact  .that  the 
;>rocaiinK     parts    are    giving    up    the 
iy    received    during    the    earlier    p<>r 
i-on  of  t! 
If   the  ing   part*  are  broufht 

.tits     of     A 

the     f 


produce  poanding      The  balanctnc  of  «■ 


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ticall) 

(hrrr    . 


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rf »l   irtlcrs  !!•«'« 
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r«^eMtii«d  hj  the  iMglM  •»      Flni.  •»• 
taoie  Mslbrr  cfaaraMt  mm 

.(>.<    '<»    tf.r     ttt  xtn    «*b*aJ    to    iW 


by  r 

regjro  j« 

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'4.M' 


2>22 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  i6,  1909. 


done  by  i  cubic  foot  of  steam  with  no 
clearance  nor  compression. 

Now,  add  0.5  cubic  foot  for  clearance, 
as  indicated  by  0  I.  Then,  in  reducing  to 
15  pounds  pressure,  as  before,  the  piston 
will  sweep  through  10  cubic  feet,  and  the 
final  volume  of  the  steam  will  be  10.5 
cubic  feet.  As  the  initial  volume  was  1.5 
cubic  feet,  as  represented  by  /  /,  the  ratio 
of  expansion  remains  unchanged.    Then, 

cdef  =  2.3026  X  105  X  144  X  i-S  iog  7  = 
44,133  foot-pounds. 

b  c  /  0  =  105  X  144  X  I  =  15,120 
foot-pounds. 

obcde  =  44,133  +  ^5,120  =  59,253 
foot-pounds. 

/i  rf  f  0  =  IS  X  144  X  10  =  21,600 
foot-pounds. 

Therefore,  b  cdh  =  59,253  —  21,600  = 
37,653  foot-pounds.  This  amount  of  work 
was  accomplished  by  1.5  cubic  feet  of 
steam,  so  that  the  work  per  cubic  foot  was 
37,653  -^  1-5  =  25,102  foot-pounds,  as 
compared  with  29,422  foot-pounds  without 
clearance.  This  shows  the  manner  in 
which  adding  clearance  decreases  the 
work  done  per  unit  of  steam  used. 

Now  assume  compression  to  commence 
at  a,  so  that  when  the  piston  reaches  the 
end  of  its  stroke  there  will  be  0.5  cubic 
foot  of  steam  at  105  pounds  absolute  pres- 
sure in  the  clearance  space.  Under  these 
conditions  the  clearance  space  is  filled  with 
steam  at  the  initial  pressure,  so  that  the 
amount  admitted  up  to  cutoff  is  merely 
that  represented  by  b  c,  or  i  cubic  foot. 
The  work  of  compression  is  represented 
by  the  area  e  b  a  g,  and  as  before  it  is 
found  that 

obag  =  2.3026  X  105  X  144  X  o.s  log  7  — 

14,711    foot-pounds. 
Also, 

gade=  15  X  144X7  =  15,120 
foot-pounds. 
The    area   abed    representing   the    net 
work  performed  is  equal  to 

ob  c  de  —  obag  —  gad  e  = 

59,253  —  14,711  —  15,120  = 

29,422   foot-pounds. 

The  total  work  done  with  a  clearance  of 
0.5  cubic  foot  and  no  compression  was 
44,133  foot-pounds,  and  the  total  work 
with  neither  clearance  nor  compression 
was  29,422  foot-pounds.  The  difference 
between  these  is  14,711  foot-pounds,  which 
must  be  represented  by  the  area  c  d  m. 
But,  the  area  obag  also  represents  14,711 
foot-pounds.  In  other  words,  the  gain 
due  to  increased  expansion  after  adding 
clearance  is  exactly  offset  by  carrying 
compression  up  to  the  initial  pressure,  and 
the  net  work,  represented  by  the  area 
abed,  accomplished  by  i  cubic  foot  of 
steam  is  equal  to  the  work  obtained  from 
the  same  amount  of  steam  expanded  with- 
out clearance  or  compression,  since  in 
each  case  the  work  amounts  to  29,422 
foot-pounds. 


This  proves  conclusively  that  when 
compression  is  carried  up  to  the  initial 
pressure,  so  that  the  clearance  space  at  the 
beginning  of  the  stroke  is  filled  with 
steam  at  the  admission  pressure,  the 
wasteful  effect  of  clearance  is  nullified, 
and  the  steam  economy  is  the  same  as 
though  there  was  no  clearance  nor  com- 
pression. 

It  is  possible  that  someone  may  argue 
that  in  ordinary  cases  the  compression  is 
not  carried  up  to  the  initial  pressure,  and 
that  during  compression  there  is  a  definite 
loss  due  to  radiation  and  condensation  of 
the  entrapped  steam.  These  facts  are 
freely  admitted.  But  such  an  admission 
does  not  destroy  the  truth  of  the  state- 
ment that  compression  is  economical.  It 
has  been  shown  that  the  evil  effect  of 
clearance  is  wholly  offset  by  compressing 
to  the  initial  pressure.  If  the  compres- 
sion is  less  than  this,  the  saving  is  corre- 


many  such  engines  it  is'possible  to  reduce 
the  compression  to  such  a  degree  that  the 
heel  of  the  diagram  is  almost  square, 
without  affecting  the  smoothness  of  opera- 
tion or  steam  economy  of  the  engine.  But 
though  this  may  be  done  in  the  case  of 
slow-speed  engines  having  small  clearance 
volumes,  and  has  been  successfully  demon- 
strated in  such  cases,  it  ought  not  to  be 
formulated  into  a  general  statement  and 
heralded  as  being  applicable  to  all  types 
and  classes  of  engine.  For  most  assuredly 
it  is  not. 


Central  Electric  Light  and  Power 
Stations  in  the  U.  S. 


In  the  accompanying  table  are  shown 
the  data  of  a  preliminary  report,  by  the 
Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor,  on 


PRELIMINARY  REPORT  ON  CENTRAL  ELECTRIC  LIGHT  AND  POWER  STATIONS. 


Number  of  establishments 

Commercial 

Municipal 

Total  cost  of  plants 

Total  income  (1) 

Lighting  service 

All  other  electrical  service .  . 

All  other  sources 

Total  expenses 

Salaried  employees: 

Number 

Salaries 

Wage-earners: 

Average  number 

Wages 

Supplies,  materials  and  fuel 

All  other  expenses  (including  interest  on  bonds) . 
Steam  and  gas  engines  (including  turbines): 

Number 

Horsepower 

Water  wheels: 

Number 

Horsepower 

Total  kilowatt  capacity  of  dynamos 

Output  of  stations,  total  kilowatt-hours 

Estimated  number  of  lamps  wired  for  service: 

.\rc  lamps 

Incandescent  lamps 

Stationary  motors  served: 

Total  horsepower  capacity 


1907. 


$996 
$175 
$125 
$  43 
$  6 
$134 


$  11 


$  23 
$  44 
$  54 


1 
2 

5,858 

(2) 
(2)  41 


4,714 
3,462 
1,252 
,613,622 
,642,338 
,755,114 
,859,577 
,027,647 
,196,911 

12,990 

,733,787 

34,642 
,686,537 
,458,568 
,318,019 

7,674 
,684,228 

2,474 
,347,487 
642,403 
121,860 

555,921 
807,944 

1,649,026 


1902. 


3,620 
2,805 
815 
$504,740,352 
$  85,700,605 
$  70,138,147 
$  14,048,458 
$  1,514,000 
$  68,081,375 

6,996 
$  5,663,580 

23,330 
$  14,983,112 
$  22,915,932 
%  24,518,751 

6,095 
1,392,122 

1,390 

438,472 

1,218,735 

2,507,051,115 

385,698 
18,194,044 

438,005 


Per  Cent, 
of    Increase. 

30.2 

23.4 

53.6 

97.5 
104.9 

79.3 
212.2 
298.1 

97.  1 

85.7 
107.2 

48.5 

58.1 

94.0 

121.5 

25.9 
92.8 

78.0 
207.3 
116.8 
133.7 

44.1 
129.8 

276  5 


(1)  Exclusive  of  income  for  current  used  for  light  and  power  that  was  furnished  by  railway  com- 
panies, and  which  is  included  in  the  report  for  street  and  electric  railways. 

(2)  Exclusive  of  lamps  used  by  the  establishments  reporting  to  light  their  own  properties. 

The  final  report  will  contain  an  analysis  of  the  above  totals  and  present  detail  statistics  by  States 
and  for  other  phases  of  the  industry. 


spondingly  decreased,  but  in  any  case  it 
is  better  than  dispensing  with  compression 
altogether,  and  filling  the  clearance  space 
with  live  steam  at  the  beginning  of  each 
stroke.  For  this  steam  does  no  work  on 
the  piston  until  after  the  valve  closes,  and 
then,  by  its  expansion,  it  adds  somewhat 
to  the  diagram,  as  indicated  by  the  area 
c  m  d,  Fig.  2. 

Finally,  the  necessity  of  having  com- 
pression grows  less  as  the  speed  of  the 
reciprocating  parts  or  the  percentage  of 
clearance  decrease.  In  high-speed  auto- 
matic engines  the  clearance  is  usually 
large,  and  it  will  be  found  that,  almost 
without  exception,  diagrams  from  this 
class  of  engine  show  compression  curves 
running  from  two-thirds  to  three-fourths 
the  hight  of  the  diagrams.  In  Corliss  en- 
gines the  percentage  of  clearance  is  much 
less  and  the  piston  speed  is  lower,  and  in 


central  light  and  power  stations  in  the 
United  States,  exclusive  of  Alaska, 
Hawaii,  Philippine  islands  and  Porto 
Rico. 

The  statistics  relate  to  the  years  ending 
December  31,  1907,  and  June  30,  1902. 
The  totals  include  central  stations  only. 
They  do  not  include  isolated  plants,  or 
plants  that  were  idle  or  in  course  of  con- 
struction, and  in  but  few  instances  plants 
operated  by  electric-railway  companies. 


It  is  Interesting  to  note  that  in  con- 
nection with  the  conservation  of  water 
power  a  recent  advance  in  transmission 
voltage,  by  the  placing  in  service  of  a 
iio,ooo-volt  line  in  Michigan,  is  a  clear 
indication  of  the  rapid  elimination  of 
distance  as  an  obstacle  to  electric-current 
service. 


February  i6,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER 


lU 


Practical     Letters    from     Practical     M 

Don't   Liother   Alxjut    the    Style,    but    Write    Ju^l    \Muit    ^  .  u    I  :,:riJt. 
Know   or  Want   to   Know    Alxjul   ^  our   \\  ork.   an«]   Hrlp   l^  jj   <  nhcr 

WE     P  A  f     FOR     USF,  FLL     IDEAS 


en 


Independent    Stearn     Cadiji 
Movements 


Solution  on  Indicator  Cards 


Cuni(M«jf>d  vvmii  Simple 


I  was  much  surprised  to  sec  a  dcscrip- 
ion  of  a  steam-gage  movement  which  is 
nountcu  upon  the  base  of  the  spring,  so 
IS  to  be  independent  of  the  case,  appear 
n  a  recent  issue  of  Power  as  a  new  thiuK 
[  am  sure  that  it  has  been  upon  the  mar 
tet  for  seven  or  eight  years,  and  it  is  not 
It  all  original  with  the  company  to  whom 
it  is  credited  in  the  description.  The  de 
wrription  mentions  among  the  advantages 
construction  that  "jar  and  vibr.itinn 
•  aflfect  its  accuracy  nor  sensitivcni%s  " 
I  think  that  experience  has  shown  that  jar 

jricl    '.  ilii  .It  Kill    li.i\r    riinrc    rffi-rt    .iii     i    .iil'i- 


Can  any  r«i«ler  inform  me  what  »ol  '■^^~■ 

lion  is  uv                  ;iarcd  indicator  card*  ^o  *   tc^ctu  niiibrr    wxtt   pablMkfd   • 

and  liow  t                     |^  Irttrr  xM  mdtcaiar  di^n—,  bjr  Gtong* 

I>    O.  BAtaflTT  «-     TW    liiunw 

F->r«i».  rl,    III  :'fu»e  tini   a  rottr».>an  I 

A    Sawdust   Stoker  ,.     .. 

>UMd  vitli  Mr.  HMt^mm* 


In    a    large    »awmill    boiler    r<M>m    «rrr  iutcrjn  %   «.->>«    thai  tW  rt«ti»«r 

II  boilers,  two  of  which  wrre  fiiird  with  <••>•  from  1$  10  10  ptmm&K  gacr.  aad  tW 

!      The  '  acuuro  • .  10  ax  S  mHm^     Now. 

d  into  «f  fhi*  ha*!  "^  >miiw  M 

i    (Wo   It^ii'f  'ttn  CAihUMtWl*  -^   U 

There    .s  ..own   ioMrad  •*}  ;* 

wall  between  the  boilers  of  each  battery,  it*«e  prr^Mtrr 

flir     tMiilfr%     firing       hung       frmii       I   lirjrtM  -vAs       th.  w       '.Y 

tkr    li«li 


\'-+'V.' 


at« 


/ 


\ 


I 


] 


® 


Mr  .hy 

CUfOpcwtixirM   II    rv4    '<>   ije-wrlof 

■J     bf  a«aia  ntiac  tbc  uraw  fkM  ha*  4 
'    in  tnt  nigw-pmasrv  cyfHMV 
itr  not    nmpommdK4    to    d' 
<-r.    b«t    to    m*9    fwl      It 
b«ild  a  jOD-bonr^owvff  •«■ 
<■  than  a  tf^-hmtrpomrr 
Tt  aotiM  *erm  tkat  tW 

Lrt   m 

(•nund  (tii, 
rnffinr       I 


h 


rt^iM      TW   lawks 

->    pnwad> 


'r**  -tf^  *»» 


LOMr«CS)iEI>-AU  OK  STCAM  ftAWIH;ST  DiSTmiSVT' 


tree 

It 

«P«c 

ise,   altlioiiKl)    there   it    not 
:cnce.  and  what  is  true  of  0 
of  the  other. 

ha%   nrvrr  been  provrd  that 

r  at  tlir  ImcIc  of  the  ca»e  wa*  1 

■   r  to  the  f 

!Ht   r>f  hr    ■ 

a   gr 

iir    i> 

!.   • 

K-lir;. 

•  r    1- 

rat 

AS 

l.ll 

.^cll 

tf-r 

1  due  to  cxpai 
ivh  an  extent  ih^i  - 

tte 

thr 

■  1,1 

1*  H«elr*«.  «ny«i-ay 

H     1 
Mhurf.  Pmn 

i  ■ 

> 

334 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  i6,  1909. 


in  the  compound  engine  than  in  the  sim- 
ple engine ;   therefore,   there   is  a   greater 
economy  in  favor  of  the  compound  engine. 
C.  E.  Bascom. 
West    Halifax,    Vt. 


Finding  Engine  Clearance   from 
Indicator    Diagrams 

In  a  recent  number  a  writer  presented 
t\to  methods  for  finding  engine  clearance 
from  the  indicator  diagram,  which  were 
incorrect  in  one  important  and  essential 
point,  as  he  used  the  atmosphere  line  as  a 
base  line,  while  as  a  matter  of  fact  the 
atmosphere  line  has  nothing  to  do  with 
the  determination  of  clearance. 

The  correct  method  of  obtaining  the 
clearance  from  the  diagrams  is  as  fol- 
lows :  Select  the  best  diagrams  that  can 
be  obtained  from  the  engine,  having 
smooth  expansion  and  compression  curves. 
Lay  oflF  the  absolute  zero-pressure  line 
parallel  to  the  atmosphere  line  and  at  a 
distance  below  it  to  represent  14.5  pounds 
on  the  scale  of  spring  used  for  the  dia- 
gram. Draw  the  line  ABCD,  Fig.  i, 
cutting  the  smoothest  portion  of  the  ex- 
pansion or  compression  curve  at  the 
points  B  and  C.  Then  locate  the  point  D 
so  that  the  distance  C  D  equals  A  B ;  the 
perpendicular  line  DE  will  then  repre- 
sent the  point  of  zero  volume,  and  the 
per  cent,  of  clearance  may  be  obtained  by 
dividing  the  length  E  F,  in  inches,  by  the 
length  of  the  diagrams  F  G,  in  inches,  and 
multiplying  by  100. 

The  explanation  for  this  construction 
is  that  the  expansion  curve  and  compres- 
sion curve  for  saturated  steam,  and  for 
air  when  the  compressor  is  running  very 
slowly,  are  nearly  enough  in  form  to  an 
equilateral  hyperbola,  whose  axes  are  the 
zero-volume  line  (clearance  line)  and  the 
absolute  zero-pressure  line,  that  they  may 
be  assumed  to  be  so.  On  such  a  curve, 
if  a  line  such  as  A  B  C  D  he  drawn  inter- 
secting the  curve  in  two  points  and  touch- 
ing the  two  axes,  then  it  is  true  that  the 
two  portions  ABCD  are  equal. 

If  the  second  method  should  be  used 
the  line  which  is  an  extension  of  the 
diagonal  of  the  constructed  rectangle 
should  be  continued  to  the  absolute  zero- 
pressure  line.  This  method  should  not 
be  recommended,  as  there  are  too  many 
chances  for  error  in  construction,  and  it 
is  more  difficult  to  get  right. 

If  the  engine  is  an  old  high-speed  ma- 
chine, there  is  a  chance  that  leaks  in  the 
valve  or  error  in  the  indicator  will  show 
on  the  expansion  line,  and  iii  this  case  it 
is  better  to  use  the  compression  curve. 
Fig.  I. 

On  many  Corliss  engines,  and  others 
of  slow  speed,  the  compression  may  be  so 
short  as  to  give  a  very  small  curve,  and 
then  the  construction  must  be  on  the  ex- 
pansion line.  Fig.  2.  In  any  determina- 
tion of  this  kind  the  greatest  care  must 
be  exercised  to  obtain  accurate  results ;  a 


fine-pointed  hard  pencil  must  be  used  and 
the  distances  AB  and  CD  should  be 
measured  with  dividers. 

W.  T.  Heck. 
Lafayette,  Ind. 


A  Peculiar  Lighting  Condition 

Concerning  the  answer  to  my  letter, 
■'A  Peculiar  Lighting  Condition,"  by  Wal- 
ter G.  Mullen,  page  70,  January  5  num- 
ber, I  will  say  that  he  gave  the  correct 
cause  of  the  trouble,  but  his  reason  for 
the  opening  of  the  circuit-breaker  is  not 
exactly  right. 

He  says :  "If  now  the  switch  A  is 
opened  all  of  the  circuit  C  must  pass 
through  the  circuit-breaker;  this  momen- 
tary rush  of  current  may  be  sufficient  to 
trip  the  same  in  the  manner  spoken  of." 
Now,  it  takes  much  more  than  the  cur- 
rent of  circuit  C  to  trip  the  breaker,  as 
it  was  installed  to  carry  this  current  con- 
tinuously. What  really  happened  is  this : 
Consider  the  two  circuits,  B  and  C,  to  be 


A.C. 


D.C. 


nrm 


0 
0 
0- 

0 

0 
•0 

c 

Ch 
0 
0 

p         t 

0 

0 

a 

5    c 

0 

0 
0 

0- 

diagram  of  wiring  for  lighting  system 
(reproduced) 

each  grounded  on  the  negative  side,  the 
whole  considered  as  a  direct-current  sys- 
tem. This  gives  two  negative  paths  for 
the  current  of  all  the  circuits  on  switch 
A,  and  not  alone  that  of  circuit  B. 

One  path  is  the  normal  one  through  the 
negative  pole  of  switch  A  to  the  negative 
bus  of  the  exciter,  and  the  other  is 
through  the  ground  on  B  to  the  negative 
side  of  C,  through  the  circuit-breaker  to 
the  negative  bus. 

At  the  instant  switch  A  is  opened,  a 
resistance  is  introduced  into  the  circuit  at 
the  negative  break,  which  as  the  length 
of  the  break  increases  becomes  high 
enough  to  shunt  all  of  the  return  current 
of  all  of  the  circuits  on  switch  A,  through 
the  grounded  path,  through  the  circuit- 
breaker,  causing  it  to  open.  Since  there 
are  a  hundred  or  more  lamps  on  switch 
A  the  resultant  overload  on  the  circuit- 
breaker  is  at  once  apparent. 

Of  course,  this  rush  of  current  was  of 
short  duration,  lasting  only  while  the  posi- 
tive pole  of  switch  A  was  breaking  the 
circuit,  yet  it  was  sufficient  to  trip  the  cir- 
cuit-breaker. 


Mr.  Mullen's  explanation  of  why  the 
lamps  of  circuit  C  would  burn  with  the 
circuit-breaker  open  was  entirely  correct. 
C.  L.  Greer. 

Handley,  Tex. 


A  Motor  Trouble 


In  reply  to  Mr.  Sheehan's  puzzle,  I 
would  say  that  if  the  generators  were 
bought  as  generators  and  one  used  as  a 
motor,  it  would  operate  as  a  diflferential 
motor,  which  was  the  reason  it  stalled ; 
and  the  man  had  to  shift  his  clutch  in 
order  to  allow  the  motor  to  produce 
torque. 

The  reason,  of  course,  for  the  motor 
reversing  was  the  series  field  overcoming 
the  shunt  field  and  reversing  the  polarity, 
causing  the  armature  to  reverse  its  direc- 
tion of  rotation.  The  weak  field  at  the 
instant  of  reversal  and  the  heavy  arma- 
ture current  would  cause  the  violent 
sparking;  as  would  the  lead  of  the 
brushes.  If  the  shunt  field  had  become 
open  for  some  reason  the  motor  would 
have  acted  in  the  way  stated. 

L.  E.  Brown. 

Ensley,  Ala. 


Probable  Cause  of  Air  Compressor 
Explosions 


In  the  issue  of  January  12,  I  note  a 
letter  from  F.  W.  Holman,  with  the 
above  title,  in  which  he  suggests  leaky 
discharge  valves  as  the  "most  plausible" 
explanation  of  the  cause  of  certain  de- 
structive compressed-air  pipe  explosions. 
As  far  as  my  knowledge  extends,  the  let- 
ter does  not  suggest  even  a  possible  cause 
of  such  explosions. 

The  letter  says :  "Air  which  had  been 
compressed  evidently  leaked  back  into  the 
cylinder,  where  it  became  recompressed. 
This  recompression  will  make  it  hotter 
and  hotter  until  it  either  reaches  a  point 
where  radiation  will  take  the  heat  faster 
than  the  temperature  can  rise,  or  the  tem- 
perature will  rise  until  the  oil  catches 
fire." 

In  the  case  under  consideration  the  air 
was  compressed  to  17  pounds  gage  and, 
with  an  initial  temperature  of  60  degrees 
Fahrenheit,  the  temperature  after  com- 
pression would  be  190  degrees.  If  the  air 
at  this  temperature  could  be  recom- 
pressed, the  final  temperature  would  then 
be  much  higher,  and  if  this  operation 
could  be  repeated  many  times,  the  theo- 
retical temperature  attained  might  go  as 
high  as  the  most  unbridled  imagination 
could  carry  it ;  but  no  such  result  could 
come  from  leaky  discharge  valves. 

The  discharge  valves  would  have  to  be 
in  very  bad  condition  to  leak  back  S  PC'" 
cent,  of  the  air  compressed  per  stroke, 
and  this  return  leakage  into  the  compres- 


February  i6,  1909. 


KJWER  AND  THE  ENGIN 


US 


?or  cylinder  would  occur  during  the  in- 
take stroke,  continuing  perhaps,  if  the 
leakage  was  very  bad,  during  a  small  por- 
tion of  the  compression  stroke;  not  far. 
because  with  adiabatic  compression,  full 
pressure  would  be  reached  when  the  pis- 
ton reached  the  middle.  When  the  pis- 
ton starts  for  the  intake  stroke  the  air 
in  the  clearance  space,  heated  by  com- 
pression, must  first  re-expand  down  to 
atmospheric  pressure  and,  coincidcntly 
with  its  re-expansion,  its  temperature  will 
fall  entirely  back  to  what  it  was  before 
the  compression  began.  The  air  leak- 
ing back  through  the  discharge  valves 
also  re-expands  and  its  temperature  falls 
correspondingly  and,  mingling  with  the 
incoming  air  at  atmospheric  pressure  and 
temperature,  the  temperature  of  the  whole 
cannot  be  raised  appreciably  by  the  leak- 
age. This  air  which  has  leaked  back  be- 
comes an  inseparable  part  of  the  cylinder- 
ful  and  when  the  mass  is  compressed  and 
discharged  it  is  carried  along  together 
and  no  portion  of  it  can  be  isolated  and 
worked  back  and  forth,  as  assumed,  to 
have  its  temperature  cumulatively  aug 
mented. 

These  attempts  to  solve  the   mysteries 
which    still    seem    to   be   connected    with 
some  of  the  explosions  that  occur  in  con- 
nection with  compressed  air  are  certainly 
not    to   be    discouraged.      It    would    seem 
the    oil    rather    than    the   air   is   the 
to   be   studied.     It   is   a   noticeable 
that   the  initial  explosions   seem   to 
more  frequently   in  the  pipes  after 
ir  has  left  the  compressor  rather  than 
III    tne   compressor  cylinder   head,   where 
the  temperature  may  be  assumed  to  be  the 
highest. 

f' impressed   air   alone,   no  matter    how 

t    may   be,   cannot   possibly   explode 

explosion  is,  of  course,   due  to  the 

I'ln  of  a  mixture  of  air  and  a  volatile 

•ituent   of  the   lubricating   oil      This 

•lie   ingredient  being  present   in  suffi- 

quantity,    there    must    still    be    pro 

!   time    -inH  opportunity    fnr   the   mix 

-■■•«$ 

be 

tor  the  catastrophe  very  ciose  to  the 

jiressor.     With  the  mixture  ready  for 

the   explosion,   ignition   may   occur   spon- 
taneously if  the  temperature  is  sufficient 
Of  a  spark  may  be  produced  by   friction 
i-au*e  the  explosion  at  a  lower  tern- 
:ure. 
I      Ihl  nften  burns  IxKlily  in  tlie  li-mirr^ 
v)r    cylinder    head*    and    in    the    rerrnr- 
)Ut  any  explosion,  receivers  and  con 
us    piping    sometime*    becoming    red 
This   might   be   going   on   in   some 
!   provide  !'  '   *'-  *' " 

■  mixliirr 
far:  ry. 

1  1  is  that  we  th-'tti'! 

ate  oiU  from  which  the  mor- 
•ilr   .  ..ii>itiiirnt«  have   been    •' 

I  use  as  little  as  pf»<*ililr  ■ 
••^'f  oil  and  that,  wherever  thnr 


pc^sibilin-  of  the  used  oil  accumulating,     tl  -     'hrt  }  xtA.  h%   ti^cin»  tW 
made,  and  availed  of,  '  ci 

:  .        ■- iJg. 

FaANK    RiCHAIM 
^^'^   York  City.  .D^iiTi*  r.    lor    tnc    rxpAnMoo   icruq^   tW 

heat  gate. 

The    Barms  Universal  Calorimeter        Phibdrlplna. 

In  the   December  jg  number  there  ap-  "~ 

peared   an    article   entitl-  i»   Uni- 

versal Calorimeter,"  by  *  •    Croas. 

parts  of  which  I  beg  to  take  exception  to 
Mr.  Cross  says  the  steam  passes  from  the 
sampling  pipe  directly  to  the  heat  gage. 
and  thence  through  the  separator  10  the 
atmosphere.  The  correct  arrangement  of 
this  the    reverse,   the 

stea:  :gh  the  separator, 

where  the  majur  portion  of  the  moisture 
is  removed,  and  then  through  the  heai 
gage  to  the  atmosphere 


Trouble   00  Aic  Caiaal 

TVv,   "afufonncr  m  Ibe 

evidently    bad  lU 
«!n.]inb-  caaoectcd  acroM  a  hbi 

when    opefating    ob    jooo  vaka.     TW 

change  of  line   voltage    to  tlja»   vote 

necessitated    the    dMagiaf  to    tm    MMe 
trintformer.   wtlh   tlK 
I  he  dtagram.  the 

nrcted   m  paraDH  aad  tW  pri— rki    m 


BMta  •(  InmtUtmmt 
I  !•  t 


c 


r-i- 


._rL_i 


I 

X 
t 
( 
I 
I 
I 


^»  1 


L 


L 


1 


tmtm^^^m  ■  ■  ■  ai  ^  ■  .< 


nc  t   TaAxafoaMia  an  cmc^ 


i.ir   ttindamcntal  prif  •■•''     •   '*"  »"^' 
gage  lies  in  the  fact  « 


^»    t>Ki»' 


•I  tb* 


Wfanv    19m  ««lls   MHe*    < 


UjM>.'«i  to  t^  •fiiiaf  < 


32(> 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  i6,  1909. 


ning  arrester  to  ground,  also  that  the 
aerial  line  of  40  lamps  would  burn  all 
right  and  the  ammeter  show  7  amperes, 
but  that  upon  sending  the  circuit  under- 
ground trouble  started,  the  rest  of  the 
circuit  being  fed  from  underground  cable 
having  only  4  amperes  flowing  through  it. 
The  regulator  acted  as  if  the  line  was 
short-circuited. 

The  trouble  should  have  suggested  it- 
self at  once.  If  there  was  a  discharge 
through  the  lightning  arrester  and  also 
trouble  was  found  where  the  circuit  en- 
tered the  ground,  evidently  the  trouble 
had  to  be  between  the  arrester  and  the 
underground  circuit,  showing  that  the 
cable  had  been  punctured  by  the  high 
voltage.  The  ground  wire  of  the  arrester 
and  the  other  side  of  the  arrester  itself 
had  this  high  potential  across  it  also,  caus- 
ing it  to  discharge  across  the  gap.  There 
might  also  have  been  a  possibility  of  the 


FIG.     2.     SECONDARIES   IN    PARALLEL   BETWEEN 
PRIMARIES 

cable  being  broken  down  all  along  in  the 
underground  conduit. 

The  fact  of  making  an  insulation  test 
using  from  10  to  100  volts  and  finding  one 
megohm  resistance  would  not  guarantee 
the  cable  from  breaking  down  when 
11,500  volts  were  sent  through  it.  Find- 
ing 500  megohms  resistance  by  such  a 
test  would  not  insure  safety  from  break- 
down with  this  high  potential.  The  cor- 
rect way  would  be  to  test  a  sample  piece 
of  cable  directly  on  11,500  volts  from  the 
conductor  to  the  lead  sheath. 

The  lightning  arrester  evidently  was 
not  built  for  a  circuit  of  11,500  volts,  the 
discharge  gap  being  too  small  to  prevent 
this  high-pressure  current  discharging  to 
ground.  In  dry  air,  11,500  volts  will  jump 
an  air  gap  nearly  0.6  inch  long  and  10,000 
volts  will  readily  jump  across  a  ^-inch 
gap 

The  reason  for  4  amperes  flowing 
through  the  rest  of  the  circuit  and  7 
amperes  being  indicated  by  the  ammeter 


was  that  3  amperes  were  escaping  to 
ground,  showing  again  that  the  under- 
ground cable  had  been  punctured.  The 
lamps  fed  from  underground  evidently 
would  flicker  on  account  of  receiving  only 
about  one-half  their  normal  current,  which 
was  too  small  to  give  enough  excitation  to 
the  series  coils  in  the  lamps  that  attract 
the  armature  holding  the  upper  carbon  in 
suspension.  This  condition  in  the  lamps 
would  cause  them  to  pick  up  and  drop 
at   short  intervals. 

The  earth  return  circuit  from  the  un- 
derground cable  through  the  lightning  ar- 
rester would  cause  the  regulator  to  act 
as  if  the  line  were  short-circuited,  as  it 
was  only  regulating  40  lamps,  the  other 
70  lamps  having  no  regulation  at  all.  The 
trouble  would  probably  disappear  if  the 
lightning  arrester  were  removed,  thus  de- 
stroying the  return  circuit  through  the 
earth  to  the  ground  wire.  When  operat- 
ing on  11,500  volts  or  even  8000  to  9000 
volts,  the  best  and  only  sure  way  is  to 
get  an  equipment  of  electrical  apparatus 
designed  for  high  voltage,  for  example  a 
transformer  whose  primary  will  stand 
12,000  volts  across  the  phase. 

In  Fig.  2  is  given  a  method  by  which 
the  insulation  strain  will  be  reduced  about 
1200  volts.  In  this  diagram  the  sec- 
ondaries are  connected  in  parallel  between 
the  primaries. 

Edward   J     McGann. 

Chicago,  111. 


Necessity  of  Good  Pipe  Work 

The  editorial  on  the  necessity  of  good 
work  in  suction  piping  is  very  much  to 
the  point.  If  one  end  of  a  pipe  is  under 
water  and  the  other  end  attached  to  a 
pump  in  which  there  are  no  leaks,  and 
the  pump  continually  loses  its  water,  it 
is  cnly  reasonable  to  suppose  that  air 
leaks  in,  as  the  following  case  will  show : 

There  had  been  a  12-inch  bell-and-spigot 
joint  pipe  line,  1400  feet  ,long,  laid  down 
a  river  to  a  pump  located  at  an  elevation 
of  16  feet  above  the  average  level  of  the 
water.  The  pipe  joints  were  supposed  to 
have  been  properly  made,  but  the  pump 
worked  miserably  and  often  had  to  be 
stopped  and  primed  after  losing  its  water. 
The  contractor  finally  agreed  to  dig  up 
the  pipe  and  ascertain  where  the  trouble 
was.  It  became  my  duty  to  test  every 
joint  as  exposed.  There  was  a  foot  valve 
at  the  rims  and  I  adopted  the  method  of 
stopping  the  pump  and  opening  a  bypass 
from  the  delivery  to  the  suction  pipe,  let- 
ting about  30  pounds  onto  the  latter.  We 
left  this  pressure  on  for  ten  minutes, 
keeping  a  pan  under  the  joint  so  as  to 
catch  and  determine  the  amount  of  water 
that  leaked  out.  In  this  way  we  dis- 
covered 21  leaks  of  from  i  to  14  ounces 
in  the  ten-minute  test,  the  total  of  all 
being  7]4  pounds,  or  314  pounds  per  min- 
ute. When  they  were  all  made  tight  the 
pump  worked  all   right. 


Most  of  the  leaks  were  at  the  bottom  of 
the  joint  where  the  lead  meets,  and  was 
partially  cooled,  after  flowing  down  the 
sides  of  the  joint,  and  possibly  due  to  the 
fact  that  the  joint  does  not  always  get 
as  good  calking  there  as  on  the  more 
accessible  top  and  sides. 

The  difference  between  gpod  and  poor 
work  is  shown  in  the  fact  that  we  have 
in  daily  use  a  6-inch  galvanized  wrought- 
iron  pipe,  700  feet  long,  with  a  lift  of  24 
feet,  which  is  perfectly  tight  and  has 
been  for  thirty-one  years. 

Peter  H.    Bullock. 

Concord  Junction,  Mass. 


Firing  Stationary  Boilers 


The  remarks  on  firing  stationary  boilers, 
by  J.  F.  Bradley,  in  the  January  5  number, 
in  which  he  quotes  Mr.  Wadleigh  as  say- 
ing :  "The  fireman  should  know  that  the 
place  to  shut  off  or  regulate  draft  is  at 
the  stack  damper  and  not  by  the  ashpit 
doors,  the  latter  being  for  the  purpose 
of  regulating  the  air  supply,"  arouses  my 
curiosity  as  to  how  Mr.  Wadleigh  differ- 
entiates between  regulating  the  draft  and 
regulating  the  air  supply. 

Mr.  Bradley's  theory  that  smoky  coal 
will  clog  the  tubes  quicker  with  the  dam- 
per partly  closed  than  with  the  ashpit 
doors  partly  closed  is  true.  The  fact  that 
it  took  him  a  long  time  to  figure  out  the 
why  and  wherefore  thereof  is  no  indica- 
tion that  he  is  slow  at  "figuring,"  but  that 
the  question  of  properly  operating  a 
steam  boiler  is  one  that  bothers  a  whole 
lot  of  people. 

Regulating  draft  is  primarily  a  ques- 
tion of  fuel  economy;  secondarily,  a  ques- 
tion of  load  variation.  I  assume  that  we 
are  dealing  with  hand-fired  boilers,  in 
which  case  the  fuel  is  fed  intermittently, 
which  fact  necessitates  the  intermittent 
admission  of  air  to  the  fire. 

In  my  judgment,  the  ashpit  doors 
should  be  left  wide  open  while  the  boiler 
is  in  service,  and  after  each  fresh  firing, 
the  stack  damper  should  be  opened  wide 
until  the  gases  have  been  consumed,  when 
the  damper  should  be  partially  closed  the 
correct  amount  to  take  care  of  whatever 
load  happens  to  be  or^  the  boiler. 

After  the  volatile  gases  in  the  coal  have 
been  consumed,  the  passage  of  excessive 
air  through  the  furnace  results  in  loss 
of  heat  by  carrying  it  up  the  chimney. 
The  ideal  draft  regulation  provides  for 
full  draft  after  every  fresh  charge  of  fuel, 
a  gradual  diminution,  according  to  the 
load  on  the  boiler,  and  finally  cutting 
down  the  draft  to  the  last  degree  per- 
missible. Such  regulation  will  not  in- 
crease the  deposit  of  soot  in  the  tubes  for 
the  reason  that  combustion  will  be  more 
complete  and  less  soot  will  be  made. 

E.  G.  Tilden. 
Downers  Grove,   111. 


Februar>'  i6,  1909. 


Filtering  Oil 


When   I   had  charge  of  a  producer-gas 

and  gas  engines   it  at   first   seemed 

^ible  to  get  rid  of  the  carbon  in  the 

)ii    that    drained    from    the   engine   bear- 

ngs.     However,  I  finally  took  three  cast- 

)ff  filters  of  different  sizes,  took  out  the 

Sltering  arrangements  and  connected  them 

is  shown  in  the  sketch.     I  put  a     h  inch 

)rass  coil   in  can  .4   and  connected   it  to 

he    exhaust    pipe    of     the     water     pump. 

rhis  gave  me  just  about  steam  enough  to 

teep  the  oil   warm.      I   also  connt-ctcd   a 

ive  steam  pipe  to  it,  so  I   could  shut  off 

he   exhaust   steam   and   turn   on   the   live 

(team,  raising  the  temperature  of  the  oil 

'    •  'o  degrees.     I  did  this  to  determine  the 

'  temperature  and  get  the  best  re- 

ui'-      Can  B  was  made  as  shown  by  put 

inK    a    i)erforated    plate    in    the    top.    the 

'i.imeter,  which  rested  on  lugs  made 

thr  sides  of  the  can.     The  Ix.ttom 

:-   plate  was  covered   with  two 

of  cheesecloth.    Lower  are  two 

»erf<  rated  plates,  the  space  between  them 

leing  filled  with  excelsior,  and  still  lower 

I  a  similar  section,  the  space  being  filled 

rith  pine  chips. 

The  can  F  was  partly  filled  with  water 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEKR. 

Ml  can  be  blown  off.  The  pu»e  chip* 
^T'  renewed  once  a  we«-V-  -  '  •'  •  ra 
hose  played  on  them  to  ^  •<:. 

Cambridge,  MsM. 


Hygromdry 

On   page  63  of  th««    lamiarv    «   r-r—Ker 
W  V  Trr. 
ment   mail" 

on    "Hygramctry.  ■  rared    m 

recent   issue.     It   w.  -    'fm   M; 

Treeby  has  an  entirely  •••.  at  to 

the    meaning   of   the    wo...    ^aiui,ited   as 
applied   to   steam.     If  he  will  brush  the 


J\ 


■^ 


J?fl.- 


V- 


OU  TanW 


HOMEMAOC  OIL  scrAaAToa 


eforc  putting  oil   in  h.     I   found   I   got 
W  best  results  by  passing  the  oil  through 
ic  pipe   O   and   up  through   all   itir   <lii 
of  the  filler 
■  tion  of  the  filler  in  nn  follow* 
''    from    •' 
'     pipe,    p 
H  inches  of  the  bottom  ot   t:ir   .  .»n 
ig  up  around  the  healed  cutl  tu  the 
ihI  of  the  pipe  //,  and  llowing  down  to 

M  base  of  can  B,  up  thr      .'    •'  -  

inc  chips,  excelsior  and 
ut   ihmiiKh    the    o\rrflow    • 
I  then   |ij«4es  down  ihr<iinjli 
I  /  and   IS  piif 
•nk      Tt-t.  -It-! 


cpbwebt  off  of   his  phytio  and 

"-     V    on   ttcam.   he   1 

A  4irr  vapor  or 


lur   It 
thr    »•■ 


cmsult 
rUl   tod 


irftrr 


saturated.     Wkm   ikcrv 
water    susycadcd  m  or 
^nfor.  the  Meaa  ia  aid  lo  hr 
In  utA  caan  ilw  mcm 
i  ^ht  mtrtvre  mmI  itmH  h*  is  iW 


'iiy||    a    IMItwr*    of 
saioraicd  v«lcr  vapor  aad  h^wd  ».' 

•"■»"    *•«••   •• 
Brooklyii.  N 


Boiler  ScOii^ 

Miag  iDBs«rat«d  ea 
>  Boabrr  has  to 
iiUtot  aay  good  OMc« 
ibte  to  s««.  thai  I 
Bn*ch  )f  coaditso—  mowii 

rant  r 
If  socb  a  seltwg  coold  he 

good     f*'l^r        »k>.-K      •.      .>.>>.n^^y* 

«r  ar  ii  ttm  iaci 

the    »■>■)';    :M<>«rr    ij- •  r    it    twl»W    ||m 

and  the  hosier,  aad  cold  a»  woisld 
through  tb<- 

tv  liM  boskf 
ni  thtt,  tW  tool 
a  mam  of  air  hdk^v  ia  tW  hrkkwmk 

jn«!  rrmo^es  a   w^'tinn  of  f»fvfc 


poinT    ori'tir   pj*«ing    inTi>   inr   tul 

10  this  thr  loM  dor  to  ndttri— 
the  thin  cast-iron  sool  door,  m^' 
easy  to  accowm  for  thr  Idm  of  . 
sprctahir  pan  of  thr    ImI   m   ikt* 


Turning  to  thr  dtvsdlng  wal 
fhr  botkr.   m  pranic*  tt  wcnid  hr 

( w  '  •  ■  ■ . ,  v^  Mi4  1^ 

nMrnd  ol  iW 

foii'>«ir^  Trx-  pAi"^   inal  thr  drvsgne 

pcctvd.   taam   wonid   '•hertomN* 

the  top  f>f  ih4>  wall  dwaclly  le  dM 

n«-t     wtftv^**    *«»»«%g 

U 

i  this  mnmm  to 

absence   ol   a 

fitr   ^m!    thr   }>  tiff 

«i  <«ti    wti    ham 


I) 

frp«n   !rv»    n-p<T     Dsn    ■« 

thrBugh  a  aMS*  ol 

Ih'  -     'hr 


VJ'7'^J  vsih  a 

ihr  hoAn   wsl 


^     lk«     li«  V    k       '    •  •*k*<l 


3*  m 


.  m  thr  hot-     »< 
>in  oi  each  can,  and  all  thr  dirt   that     tare  and  voian< 


338 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  i6,  1909. 


tubes  before  reaching  it,  which  necessarilj- 
lowers  the  temperature  to  such  an  extent 
that  any  unburnt  portion  of  the  gases 
must  be  lost. 

E.    G.    TiLDEN. 

Downers  Grove,  III. 


St€ 


earn  Condensing 


Plant 


Faulty  Indicator  Reducing  Motion 

When  I  was  the  master  mechanic  of  a 
certain  company  in  a  small  town,  the 
manager  and  chief  engineer  Oi"  the  town 
lighting  plant  brought  several  indicator 
cards  to  my  office  and  asked  me  if  I  could 
see  anything  wrong  with  them.  After 
studying  them,  I  told  him  that  they  were 
very  good,  and,  in  fact,  I  would  consider 
the  valve  adjustment  all  right.  The  cards 
were  taken  from  a  small  Corliss  engine 
that  they  had  just  installed  to  drive  an 
alternator.  The  engine  was  second-hand, 
but  seemed  all  right  except  that  the  belt 
flopped  badly.  The  next  day  I  went  to 
the  plant  and  immediately  discovered  the 


^:%%^^e;%^?:%:%^:^;^^:??^^ 


REDUCING- MOTION   RIG 

engineer's  error.  He  had  made  a  reduc- 
ing motion  out  of  a  piece  of  ix4-inch 
pine  stick,  pivoted  to  a  block  fastened  to 
the  ceiling,  the  other  end  linked  to  a  pin 
screwed  into  the  crosshead. 

The  pendulum  hung  vertically  when  the 
crosshead  was  in  the  center  of  its  travel. 
The  link  was  so  connected  to  the  pin  in 
the  lower  end  of  the  pendulum  that  it 
swung  an  equal  distance  above  and  below 
the  center  line  of  travel  of  the  pin  in  the 
crosshead.  In  locating  his  carrying  pul- 
ley he  had  placed  it  as  high  as  he  could 
reach  by  standing  on  the  cylinder,  which 
brought  it  to  about  the  position  as  shown 
at  A,  in  the  illustration,  which  caused  a 
very  misleading  diagram  to  be  produced. 

We  raised  the  carrying  pulley  to  the 
position  shown  at  B,  so  that  the  cord  (see 
dotted  line)  would  lead  from  the  pendu- 
lum at  a  right  angle  when  the  pendulum 
was  in  the  center  of  its  travel.  When 
the  valves  had  been  readjusted  the  belt  ran 
without  flopping. 

V.  R.   Hughes. 

Denver,  Colo. 


G.  A.  Orrok,  in  his  letter  in  the  De- 
cember 22  number,  on  surface  condensers, 
mentions  that  careful  experimenters  are 
reported  to  have  obtained  rates  of  con- 
densation in  steam  surface  condensers  as 
high  as  40  or  50  pounds  per  square  foot. 
It  may  be  interesting  to  readers  to  know 
that  in  the  experimenti^at  the  Hartlepool 
engine  works  on  a  small  contraflo  con- 
denser, designed  for  use  as  a  winch  con- 
denser on  board  ship,  I  obtained  rates  of 
condensation  up  to  80  pounds  per  square 
foot,  and  have  no  reason  to  believe  that  I 
reached  the  limiting  rate  of  condensa- 
tion. This  condenser  had  100  square  feet 
of  cooling  surface,  and  the  steam  was 
condensed  at  atmospheric  pressure,  the  air 
blowing  off  through  a  relief  valve  and  no 
air  pump  employed.  In  the  tests  in  which 
80  pounds  of  steam  were  condensed  per 
square  foot  of  surface,  the  circulating  wa- 
ter entered  at  39  degrees  Fahrenheit  and 
made  its  exit  at  195  degrees  Fahrenheit. 
The  tubes  were  %  inch  external  diameter 
and  the  velocity  of  the  water  through 
them  was  4.6  feet  per  second. 

I  believe  that  with  a  higher  velocity  of 
water  a  greater  rate  of  steam  condensa- 
tion could  have  been  obtained.  It  should 
be  noted,  however,  that  the  steam  was  at 
atmospheric  pressure.  Steam  under  a 
high  vacuum  is  much  less  dense  and, 
therefore,  in  a  much  less  favorable  condi- 
tion for   a   high  condensation  rate. 

With  reference  to  the  statement  that 
the  heat  transmission  in  surface  conden- 
sers is  proportional  to  die  cube  root  of 
the  velocity  of  the  circulating  water 
through  the  tubes,  I  believe  that  the  heat 
transmission  varies  sometimes  as  the  cube 
root,  sometimes  as  the  square  root,  and 
sometimes  almost  directly  as  the  velocity 
of  the  water.  In  fact,  the  law  connecting 
the  transmission  of  heat  with  the  velocity 
of  the  water  is  of  a  somewhat  complicated 
nature,  but  the  subject  is  too  big  to  enter 
upon  on  the  present  occasion. 

In  Charles  L.  Hubbard's  article  on  con- 
densers, in  the  same  number,  he  refers 
to  the  relative  quantities  of  condensing 
water  required  by  a  parallel-flow  jet  con- 
denser, such  as  that  illustrated  in  his  Fig. 
5  (reproduced  here)  and  by  a  surface  con- 
denser, and  states  that  the  water  required 
by  the  former  is  less  than  that  required 
by  the  latter.  I  think  that  this  statement 
is  somewhat  misleading. 

Assume  that  the  vacuum  is  27  inches  of 
mercury  (with  barometer  at  30  inches) 
and  that  the  condensing  water  is  received 
at  65  degrees  Fahrenheit.  The  temperature 
of  saturated  steam  at  27  inches  vacuum 
is  115  degrees  Fahrenheit,  but  as  air  is 
always  (under  practical  working  condi- 
tions) present  in  the  steam  the  discharge 
temperature  of  condensing  water  and  wa- 
ter of  condensation  in  a  condenser  such  as 
that   shown    in    his   Fig.    5   must   be   con- 


siderably below  115  degrees — say  105  de- 
grees. The  latent  heat  of  steam  at  27 
inches  of  vacuum  is  1034  B.t.u.,  so  that 
the  heat  withdrawn  from  the  steam  is 
1044  B.t.u. 

Let 

PF=  Pounds  of  steam  per  hour, 
Q  =  Pounds  of  condensing  water  per 
hour, 
t  =  Temperature     of     discharge     of 
condensed   steam   and   condens- 
ing water. 

Then,  as  the  heat  gained  by  the  water 
must  equal  the  heat  lost  by  the  steam, 

Q  X   (105  —  65)  =  104-1  W 

and  therefore 

1044  W 


Q  = 


=  26 


105  —  65 

pounds  of  condensing  water. 

Surface  condensers  are  variously  con- 
structed and  worked,  and  the  results  ob- 
tained with  them  vary  accordingly.  The 
best    results    as    regards    consumption    of 


7"  1^     steam 


no.    5.   a  common  form  of  jet  condenser 
(reproduced) 

condensing  water  are  obtained  with  sur- 
face condensers  of  the  countercurrent 
type,  that  is,  in  condensers  in.  which  the 
general  direction  of  flow  of  the  circulating 
water  is  opposite  to  that  of  the  steam. 
The  exit  temperature  of  the  circulating 
water  in  such  condensers  may  be  anything 
between  its  inlet  temperature  and  the  inlet 
temperature  of  the  steam,  depending  on 
the  design  of  the  condenser  and  the 
quantity  of  water  employed. 

Professor  Weighton  in  tests  on  an  ex- 
perimental contraflo  condenser  at  Arm- 
strong College,  Newcastle-on-Tyne,  Eng- 
land, obtained  exit-circulating  water  tem- 
peratures practically  the  same  as  the  inlet 
temperatures  of  the  steam  and,  in  fact 
slightly  in  excess  of  the  temperature.' 
corresponding  to  the  vacuum  maintained 
It  is  all  a  question  of  design  and  pro  ! 
portions.  ' 

Hence  with  a  27-inch  vacuum  and  circu 
lating  water  at  65  degrees  Fahrenheit  i  | 
would  be  quite  possible  (although  it  migh  '■ 


February   i6,  1909. 

not  pay  in  practice)  to  have  an  exit-circu- 
lating water  temperature  of  112  degrees 
Fahrenheit. 

The  heat  A-ithdrawn  from  the  steam 
would  then  be  1037,  and  we  would  have 
_j037j_r  ^ 
iia  —  65 
pounds  of  condensing  water,  considerably 
less  water  therefore  being  required  than 
in  the  case  of  the  jet  condenser. 

As  aforesaid,  a  design  of  surface  con- 
denser to  give  this  result  might  «iot  pay; 
but.  in   steam-turbine  installations,  where 
the  temperature  of  the  circulating  water 
is   in    the   neighborhood   of  80  to  85  de- 
grees   Fahrenheit,   as    is    common     when 
cwjiing    towers   are   employed,    it    usually 
pays    to   arrange   the    surface   condensers 
to  use  less  water  than  would  be  possible 
with  a  jet  condenser  of  the  nature  of  that 
shown  in  Fig.  5  of  Mr.  Hubbard's  article 
Mr.    Hubbard   referred  to  cooling  tow- 
ers  and    mcnticncd    that     with     the     best 
forms  it  was  claimed  that  the  water  could 
be   reduced   in   temperature  40  or  50  de- 
grerv       With    the    wooden    natural-draft 
t,,«,r^.   which   may  be  said   to   represent 
>rd    practice   in    turbine   power    sta- 
ti   II-   in  Great   Britain,  the  water  is  usu- 
lllv  cooled   to    about    80    to    85    degrees 
nheit.   the   inlet   temperature  of  the 
to  the  tower  affecting  its  exit  tem- 
Ittraiure  to  a  comparatively  small  degree 
R.  M.  N'eii.sok 
Glasgow.  Scotland. 


hat 


\'alve  Problem 


I  hv  uns.wtr>  to  the  val\e   pruMcm.  on 
p»gr    59   of   the   January    5    numl»er,   are 
-ting  but   very  contlicting.     For  in- 
G.  .A.  (iliclc  and  B    A.  Snow  both 
that    358   pounds    per    square    inch 
be    necessary    to    raise    the    valve 
'    100   pounds    pressure   per    square 
>n  top,  whereas  J.  C.  Hawkins  says 
100.9    pounds     pressure     |>er     square 
sill  l)e  sufficient.     I  agree  with  him. 
Icr   practical   working   conditions    it 
•ry   to    consider    the    area 
■  crs  the  openings,  and  not 
he  tntal  area  •>{  the  valve  disk. 
I  know  of  large  pumping  engines  having 
alvcs  similar  to  the  one  I   illustrated  on 
•ge  970  of  the  December  8,   190R,  num- 
•T.  only  much  larger,  and  I  should  judge 
hat   the   actual   valve   passages   were   not 
nore  than  half  the  area  <>f  the  valve  disk, 
im  certain  that  the  pressures  in  the 
were     never     more     than     a     few 
I     above   that    in   the   lines,    wlirr..is 
ing   to    Mr     Snow    and    Mr     <.li.  k 
ight  to  he  about  double 
!rr  practical  conditions  I  •'"  •>  •  ' 
*ve  that  any   valve  seals   ««■ 
ctoally   to   touch    surface   to    vutirr    jl! 
*er.  which  it  would  have  i<>  :n  '>r<ler  to 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

ever     may    be    tuc<i— so    thtn    that     t:.r 
cohesion    and    surface    friction    is   en- 
to  resist  the  actual  flow,  but  at  the  .... 
ference   in  pressure  on  each   side  of  the 
*alve  becomes  less  and  less,  •' 
of  the  material  where  the  sur: 
touch  is  compressed,  thu  ^» 

ing  the  thickness  of  tl.  «. 

"ig     ■  ire  of  the  IiquiU,  of  k^*'.  t.. 

^'  '  '  over  a  greater  area  until, 

as  the  pre^iiures  become  equal,  and  the 
under  side  of  the  valve  is  receiving  the 
full  pressure,  z.  slight  increase  will  lift 
the  valve.  I  believe  it  is  potsible  to  sur- 
face a  valve  and  its  seat  so  accurately  that 
the  pressures  will  have  to  be  ; 
to  the  top  and  bottom  area 
valve  will  start. 

GeOBCE    P     pEAtiLE. 

Exeter.  N.  H. 


A  Homemade  Condenser 


In  the  December  ag  number,  .M    D.  Cas 
par   asks    for   advice   for    making  .a   con 
denser  for  the  returns   from  an  exhai; 
steam  heating  system. 

The  only  device  that  he  needs,  as  far  as 
I    can    see.    is    an    ordiii.irv    Ihm  rir.-%..<ri- 




M  O  (»  ,, 


'o  ICC  wWrr  thtt 

wi.r  ^cAf  ■  .utd  aahc  Ike  44kv- 
efKe  noted     The  only  arfraMa**  I  w«  m 
■  •tm-mm*  cmoM  »  tkt  »•  n- 

Jftdcn  overtoada.    I<  the  .m 

ruumng  at  thnr  mnm  rmni—  il  le^d. 
which  they  mutt  br  d<«ac  10  aak*  a 
k.il  <wan-bo«r  n  ^mmtutf  <4  eotL 

Mnvle  ev,  ,^ir   would   OH   otf 


mifffct   show    wtMld   W   «   *• 
K  niprrttwa    ctirves.     aad     ikcy 
probably  be  the  aaar     I  am 

<«   «  tW   coal   CO*- 

r«C«d     badt     to     MSM 

•^bcr  fe*iufc  uf  the  plant. 

•  EawAa*  H    La»l 

Kamas  Oty.  Mo 


Revcnal  ol  PoUhly 

In    the    Drccmber    xi    n«Bbrr  W     S 

Y-^mg    asks    for    inf-frmfii    a«  t      iW 

for  reversal  f 

.11  fiinr*      1  n  ., 


"t1'">K     inr     niAciiinrs.     || 


MCTNoo  or  ajGNTiMc  A  aa^uMu*  uA«.uiMao«  a  ti 


1  iW  teal  cAt- 


me  of 


)■ 

the  pump  IS  placed  at  a  t 
tlie  »>•'■ '"    >•    •»'"  •»•'•  » 
it   by 

Windber.  Peim. 


4w«U. 
p  vUl 

.idrd 


•««i  al  Ike 


f   k   iKrrv  «ir< 


\  mi  !««.■ 


Coal 


ifpmtrft    iti    t}\r    Mtlttlf 


II  •  "14    •tt.j  . 


coal 
Y 


'  tM  Wotfcti    If"^ 

rri#>w.«    — i  -.4 


'  a  few  places,  the  renirfiii<l<  1 
^ted   by   a   film   of   liquid   or    i; 


340 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  i6,  1909. 


shown,  and  brings  the  voltage  up  on 
the  other  machine.  Then  shut  down  and 
remove  the  "jumper"  connection  and  the 
temporarj-  field  connection,  leaving  it 
connected  to  the  neutral  winding  in  the 
usual  way,  as  shown  by  the  dotted  lines 
at  P.  Then  put  down  the  brushes  and 
the  polarity  will  be  correct.  Eithi.r  ma- 
chine can  be  righted  in  the  same  way,  but 
always  be  careful  to  have  the  brushes 
raised,  and  to  remove  the  jumper  before 
starting  up  the  machine  which  has  been 
reversed. 

S.     KiRLIN. 

Dallas,  Tex. 


Testing  Watt-hour  Meters 


In  the  issue  of  January  5  I  note  an 
article  by  O.  F.  Dubruiel  on  "Testing  and 
Adjusting  Watt-hour  Meters."  A  power 
station  not  already  equipped  with  stop 
watches,  voltmeters  and  indicating  watt- 
meters would  do  much  better  to  buy  a 
portable  standard  integrating  watt-hour 
meter,    otherwise    known    as    a    rotating 


An    Air-cooled    Condensing    Plant      I 


In  the  twelve  years  that  I  have  read 
Power  there  have  been  many  valuable 
articles  in  its  columns,  treating  on  con- 
densing plants,  their  installation,  cost  of 
operation,  maintenance,  etc.,  but  I  have 
failed  to  read  of  any  that  cost  practically 
nothing  to  install  and  nothing  to  operate. 

Some  years  ago  in  the  oilfields  of  west- 
ern Pennsylvania  all  wells  were  pumped 
by  steam  power,  gas  engines  not  being  in 
general  use  at  that  time.  In  one  particu- 
lar locality  the  only  water-pumping  sta- 
tion was  abandoned  about  this  time  as  a 
nonpaying  investment.  As  well  water 
was  unfit  for  boiler  use,  the  use  of  the 
surface  condenser  and  rainwater  were  the 
only  means  of  obtaining  the  necessary 
water  for  operation. 

The  condenser  was  made  of  old  6-inch 
pipe  that  had  outlived  its  usefulness  in  the 
oil  wells.  It  was  laid  out  on  the  ground 
in  such  a  way  that  the  water  of  condensa- 
tion would  drain  back  to  a  barrel  sunk  in 
the  ground  under  the  pump  which  was 
attached  to  the  crosshead  of  the  engine. 
The  amount  of  pipe  required  depended  on 
the  size  of  engine  and  the  load  it  was 
carrying.  Usually  600  to  800  feet  were 
sufficient  for  each  20-horsepower  engine. 

The  exhaust  steam  of  the  engines  was 
expelled  into  this  pipe,  where  it  would  be 
condensed  and  returned  to  the  pump;  in 
some  instances  the  loss  was  so  small  that 
from  six  to  ten  barrels  of  makeup  water 
was  sufficient  for  40  horsepower  of  en- 
gines each  twenty-four  hours.  The  makeup 
water  was  supplied  from  storage  tanks  in 
which  was  caught  rainwater  from  the 
roofs. 

It  might  be  said  that  plants  were  oper- 
ated twenty-four  hours  a  day,  except 
Sundays,  by  one  man  who  worked  on  the 
lease  in  daytime  and  went  to  his  home  at 
night.  The  boiler  was  equipped  with  a 
gas-  and  steam-pressure  regulator,  com- 
bined with  a  low-water  alarm  which  blew 
a  large  whistle,  calling  the  pumper  from 
his  slumbers  in  case  the  water  got  low  in 
the  boiler.  There  were  several  plants 
operated  in  this  manner  for  a  number  of 
years  without  any  serious  accidents  and 
no  one  looked  upon  it  as  remarkable. 

J.  A.  Mawhinney. 

Franklin,  Penn. 


standard,  for  from  $60  to  $65.  These  are 
now  made  by  all  the  large  companies  and 
are  very  much  simpler  and  easier  to  use. 
No  voltmeter  or  stop  watch  is  required,  as 
any  variation  of  voltage  or  load  affecting 
one  meter  affects  the  other  in  the  same 
way. 

The  meter  has  the  appearance  shown  in 
Fig.  I,  and  can  be  changed  from  no  to 
220  volts  by  simply  changing  the  small 
leads  shown  at  the  lower  left-hand  cor- 
ner of  the  faceplate.  The  meter  is  stopped 
and  started  by  means  of  a  push  switch  at 
the  end  of  the  cord  and  the  dial  registers 
the  number  of  revolutions  of  the  stand- 
ard meter;  by  counting  the  number  of 
revolutions  of  the  meter  under  test,  clos- 


ing the  switch  on  starting  and  opening  it 
on  stopping,  a  direct  comparison  is  ob- 
tained and  the  percentage  of  error  may  be 
easily  calculated.  One  man  can  easily 
test  several  meters  a  day.  Better  still,  it 
is  quite  practical  with  this  instrument  to 
test  a  meter  on  the  customer's  premises. 
The  connections  are  very  simple,  as 
shown  by  Fig.  2,  and  a  table  accompanies 
each  meter  giving  percentages  from  6 
per  cent,  slow  to  6  per  cent,  fast  for  all 


standard  makes  of  watt-hour  meter.  The 
instrument  is  adjusted  for  different  cur- 
rent capacities  by  means  of  the  plugs  at 
the  top  of  the  face  plate. 

Joseph   B.   Crane. 
Broadalbin,  N.  Y. 


Engine  Foundations 


There  can  be  no  hard-and-fast  rule  for 
building  foundations  of  any  character, 
especially  for  engine  work.  In  best  prac- 
tice it  is  found  that  foundations  for  this 
class  of  work  should  be  governed  by  the 
weight  of  the  machinery  placed  on  them. 
A  safe  construction  for  a  foundation  is  to 
know  the  weight  of  the  machinery,  and 
build  the  foundation  one-half  heavier 
than  the  engine,  i.e.,  if  the  engine  weighs 
150,000  pounds  the  foundation  should 
weigh  225,000  pounds.  This  applies  to 
small  installations,  as  well  as  to  large  and 
heavy  work. 

Every  heavy  foundation  should  have  a 
base  which  separates  it  from  the  foun- 
dation proper.  It  is  better  to  have  a 
foundation  which  will  have  some  "give 
and  come"  to  the  action  of  the  engine. 
The  slight  movement  if  taken  up  on  an 
earth  or  sand  bottom,  would  in  time  wear 
it  away,  especially  where  water  soaks  in 
alongside,  and  the  settling  is  liable  to 
make  the  engine  work  out  of  line. 

Where  concrete  floors  are  used  in  en- 
gine rooms  there  should  be  a  space  of 
about  y^  inch  between  the  floor  and  foun- 
dation to  permit  the  vibration  of  the  foun- 
dation and  not  to  impart  the  jar  to  the 
floor. 

The  writer  recalls  where  the  floor  for 
an  engine  was  waterproofed  at  great  ex- 
pense, the  earth  being  of  salt-marsh  for- 
mation, where  test  piles  with  a  1500-pound 
hammer  "keep  going"  after  85  feet  of 
driving.  Thirty-foot  piles  were  driven 
under  the  engine  and  the  waterproofing 
placed  on  the  top.  When  the  erecting 
engineer  came  to  install  his  work  he 
found  only  18  inches  between  the  floor 
line  and  top  of  the  waterproofing.  The{ 
drawings  called  for  a  foundation  3  feet  i  I 
inches  in  hight,  or  extending  24  inches 
above  the  floor  line.  The  "young  man' 
followed  his  instructions  and  the  top  0: 
the  engine  bed  was  placed  2>^  inches  abovt 
the  floor  level. 

This  engine  has  been  in  use  about  I: 
years    and   is   satisfactory  in   every   waj 
except  the  hight  of  the  engine  bed  abov 
the  floor.    Since  then  there  have  been  tw  I 
engines   of   fully  as  large  capacity  place  j 
in  the  same  room,  with  the   foundatior 
spreading  14  inches  outside  of  the  engir  | 
bed  in  every  direction,  and  only  12  inch<    { 
above  the  floor  line.     These  engines  ha\ ' 
also  proved  satisfactory. 

Francis  H.  Boyer. 

Somerville,  Mass.  , 


L 


February   i6,  1909. 


POWFR  AVn  THE  ENGINEER. 


Ml 


Some    Useful    Lessons    in    Limewater 

A  Simple  Method  of  Kemembcring  What  Has  Been  Told  in  Prcvioui 
Lessons;  Softening  Tcmjxjran  -hardness  Water;  Njrnc  Chemical  Shofthaod 


BY 


CHARLES 


PALM  K  K 


The    only     si-ii^iblc    way    for    common 
workaday    folk   to    learn   the    value    of   a 
thint;  is  to  use  it ;  and  so  we  will  try  to 
put  this  limewater  to  work  at  once.     We 
have    found   out   that  the   plain  lime  car- 
bonate   is    insoluble,    and    that    is    what 
makes  most  of  the  soft  scale  from  tem- 
porary-hardness   water.     Then    what    we 
want  to  aim  at  is  to  get   this  plain   lime 
natc  out  of  the  water  before  it  goes 
he  boiler.     Now  you  have  found  out 
ou.  can  go  to  the  plain  carbonate  of 
in  two  ways:   One  is  by  starting  with 
imu-water,  and  adding  carbonic  acid  (from 
tl  •   l>reath,  from  the  gases  of  burning  coal, 
bottled    "fizz,"    or    from    acid    and 
!c   or    soda)  ;    the   other    way    is   by 
.;   out   the  extra   carbonic  acid   from 
III'     I  xtra,   or   double,   or   bicarbonate   of 
Iini«-      (temporar>- -  hardness     water)     by 
•ig   it,  when  the  extra  carbfjnic  acid 
off,  and  down  comes  the  plain  car- 
bonate of  lime. 

You  must   get  these  two  ways  fixed  in 

mind :  and  one  good  thing  to  do  is   for 

•    •■  ro  stop  right  here  and  set  down  this 

•     formula.      Don't   be   satisfied   with 

Iv  looking  at   this  once^  but   write  it 

oursclf    several     times,     until     it     is 

•rd   into   your   memory    so   that   you 

'•e   it   in   your   mind's   eye  any   time 

Here  it  is 


(I  Htam  Ltttu 
^ ^  j    C'lJ  rtxjfiatr 
I    ln*olubU 


•<-> 


Ultra 
CcrbemaU 
at  Lima. 

SolubU 


The    double-headed    arrows    mean    that 

jrou   can   go   from   one  substance   to  an- 

■••''■•';  and  if  you  stop  to  think  of  what 

have  done,  you  will   see  that  this  is 

J    kind   of   shorthand   reminder   of  it   all 

You  did  Rn  from  limewater  to  plain  car- 

'linK    some    carbonic    acid; 

'I    from    this    to   the   extra 

of   lime,   by   adding   more   car- 

I ;  then  you  came  back  from  the 

carlmnate  of  lime  to  the  pbin  car- 

'e  by  taking  out  this  extra  carbonic 

And  this  last   step    is    what    that 

'T  it  for     5so  you  see  how  handy  this 

•'  iriMiila  is 

The    double    arrows     tell.     rvrn.     much 
fTK^f  than  '•nn  Se  told  here     Thus,  briefly, 
of  lime,  or  lifiir^*   •■ 
■>   lime   by   hiirmnk'     '■ 
and    you    ran    imitate    that    bv 
„      'me  marble  in  the  front  part  ..f 
furnace      About  all  the  oMirr     •■ 
'•'...^.aled  by  the  arrows  have  l>rrn  «!•   * 
in  the  v.irious  tests  that  yon  hav   n  1  '' 
>'r  making 


^'ow  >  limenul 

chemical  :  ai  pUin 

carl>onate  ot  lime  and  extra  cartwnate  of 
lime,  are  made  up  of  acids  and  base*  In 
this  case,  the  lime  is  a  base.  There  are 
strong  adds  and  there  are  weak  acids. 
and.  also,  there  are  strong  bases  and 
there  are  weak  bases.  When  a  base  is 
soluble  in  water,  it  will  turn  litmus  Mur 
.ind  such  wat' 
alkalies ;  and 

IS   an   alk  !  ■  ice 

iron  rust,  ..:•   ^  -•:  -4J. 

i/c  acids,  forming  "salts;'  but  iroa  nut 
IS  not  vcr>-  soluble  in  water,  and  so  it  is 
m  t  alkaline,  like  the  soap,  the  ammonu 
water  and  the  soda.  (This  "soda,"  by  the 
way,  is  realty  a  "saJt"  made  up  of  car 
l)onic  acid  and  the  '  hut  the 

sodium  is  so  much  3  Kase 

than  the  cartionic  acid  1-  id 

that   the   soda,   as  a   wl  an 

alkali      But  we  will  study  that  nx>re  care 
tuily  later.)     Now  you  t>rgin  to  get  this 
fundamental  notion  of  the  base  part  and 
the  acid  pan  of  every  "salt."     You  brgm 
to  see  that  you  can  get.  by  mixing  the  base 
and  the  acid  in  various    , 
which  nuy  t>e  even  in  t 
plain   salts,   or  "salts"   with 
1  i'!,  .IS  in  the  case  of  the  «"«• 
'in  other 
,\  :•■  re  of  the  ■ 

them.  But  this  is  the  point  that  we  are 
.liminK  at  You  have  one  way  to  soften 
t<-(inH>r.»r)  hardness  water  l>y  drivinic  off 
the  extra  carlwnic  add  with  heal.  The 
formula  reminds  you  of  that  step;  bat 
why  n<it    •••      '     " 


Iwmair'  <T  wajr  to   pwftcw 

tcmjxjrar)  t. 

It  has  perhaps  occurred  t 


tk  %1rT     11 


». 


as  the  HoKwater  has  soom 

the    bsearbonj'r  i    Imw    v 
)oa  oogh- 

rT\«-nf     .1.1^  .  „  ,.     . 


•cMl 


<!     aPial 


of  solotioii.  bt 

Mirprisinv' 

I,"    »     I?     '.•!■ 

'itklal  ior     ii  r<i«  gi*e  il 

the  iime  sediment  <  }. 

ness  water   ...»   ^,  .^,.„^    4 

would,    br  ckMH*   ite 

extra  or  U  .n^-  lijir  01   itn>r  10  die  ■»•• 

Ira  I  or   iiMoluble  carbnuie      B«l   m  ikt 

"■>»  have  mcd  rom  wtwlnd  wnk 

'^  sam*  tf>Mt<|i   nr  Ikavum  ik* 

-V   Mid   bi. 


lun  prartxe    wiij    raa   al    dM 

»3>  a  little  cart n Mil  ol-imm 

«  onscb  as  a^wal  ««!• 

' "  -'H  extra-car^ 

booate   %■  '..-trnm      Y«« 

want    to    *i>>|>    inn    iimi^    rni    MVCM^— %V 

the  way,  the  boolu  call  this  QMlt's  pf»- 
tbM  k 

•  C    of 


•>l  haw      ladvvd.  yos  OM 

iinplr  chrmK-al  ««|a«tk«  hm 
the  (olknrtog  loaDu'.> 


( 


.     .'  /    - 


tun^ 

t-rff^   t"   tH»-* 

tb««g 

tlhM  fm  »M^ 

TW. 

vMdaalf^ 

tn  4r> 

»fnbim  4i«« 

lajiMi  <^ 

•S»     MfM 

e  y 

"art  ti 

1..., 

mm  ml 

^mteMf 


342 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February-  i6,  1909. 


skyrocket  up  into  the  air,  follow  it  in  its 
glorious  explosion,  and  follow  each  of  the 
glittering  sparks  as  they  float  down 
through  the  air.  So  no  one  has  any 
monopoly  on  chemical  action,  nor  on 
brains,  either.   " 

But  to  get  back  to  Clark's  process  of 
softening  temporary-hardness  water.  You 
can  see  that  it  would  be  no  end  of  bother 
to  make  even  a  barrel  of  filtered  lime- 
water  ;  and  a  useless  bother,  if  we  could 
put  quite  a  large  quantity  of  lime  in  a 
small  bulk  of  water  and  make  it  do  its 
work  with  the  large  volumes  of  water 
which  have  to  go  into  the  boiler.  If  you 
go  back  to  the  lime  from  that  barrel,  you 
will  remember  that  it  takes  several  hun- 
dred parts  of  water  to  dissolve  one  part 
of  lime  as  you  filtered  it  clear.  But  you 
will  note  that  when  you  put  several  lumps 
of  lime  into  water,  it  crumbles  and  can  be 
stirred  up  to  a  milk,  a  thin,  porridge-like 
liquid.  This  is  called  "milk  of  lime,"  and 
it  is  a  mixture  or  "emulsion"  of  lime  in 
limewater.  You  can  see  that  very  little 
of  this  milk  of  lime  will  do  the  work  of 
a  whole  -lot  of  filtered  limewater,  in  the 
neutralizing  of  the  extra  carbonate  of 
lime,  and  bringing  it  back  to  the  insoluble 
plain  carbonate  of  lime.  Thus,  you  see 
that  you  could  use  this  way  to  soften  tem- 
porary-hardness water. 

But  it  is  best  to  know  how  much  of 
the  milk  of  lime  to  use  with  any  special 
water,  and  with  the  same  water  at  dif- 
ferent times  of  the  year,  and  you  can 
learn  all  of  this  by  keeping  along  with 
these  lessons.  You  will  find  that  the  man 
who  learns  to  figure  the  problems  that  he 
runs  up  against  as  a  rule  comes  out  ahead 
in  the  great  game  of  life;  while  the  man 
who  dodges  figures,  whether  in  the  office 
or  in  the  boiler  room,  is  simply  letting 
somebody  else  do  his  rightful  work  and 
get  his  rightful  pay.  So  we  will  gradu- 
ally get  at  some  of  these  figures,  and  the 
ways  of  calculating  the  milk  of  lime 
needed  to  soften  any  grade  of  water. 

Some  Chemical  Shorthand 
And,  now,  toward  the  end  of  this  shift, 
just  a  word  about  some  chemical  short- 
hand that  you  will  find  very  handy,  if 
you  don't  try  to  choke  yourself  with  too 
big  a  mouthful  at  the  start.  Just  take  it 
by  bits.  You  know  how  to  read  and 
write ;  and  you  would  be  ashamed  not  to ; 
and  in  the  same  way,  you  want  to  know 
how  to  read  and  write  chemistry ;  not  all 
that  can  be  written — and  much  of  that 
does  not  concern  you  at  all — only  the 
common  elements.  Now  what  is  your 
name?  Smith?  Well,  S  is  your  initial, 
isn't  it,  and  don't  you  use  it  for  short? 
Good,  then  S  stands  for  Smith,  the  unit 
man  who  walks  under  your  hat.  So  in 
the  same  way,  C  stands  for  carbon,  the 
unit  chemical  that  is  in  coal ;  O  stands  for 
oxygen,  the  unit  thing  in  the  air  that 
helps  your  coal  to  burn ;  Ca  stands  for 
the  metal  calcium  that  is  at  the  bottom  of 
your    friend,    lime ;    and    H    stands    for 


h}-drogen,  which  is  found  in  water,  in 
wood,  in  soft  coal,  and  many  other  things. 
Thus  far  we  have  studied  limewater,  with 
a  glance  at  carbonic  acid;  but  there  is  the 
burning  of  the  coal  that  must  come  as 
soon  as  we  have  got  well  along  with  this 
question  of  water  supply,  and  you  will 
find  it  very  handy  to  use  some  few  of 
these  initials  of  the  chemical  units  or  ele- 
ments. For  you  will  not  only  want  to  use 
this  chemical  shorthand  in  a  simple  way 
in  these  boiler-room  studies,  but  you  will, 
outgrow  this  simple  material  one  of  these 
days ;  you  will  get  gloriously  mad  with 
yourself,  and  go  to  reading  better  and 
bigger  books,  and  you  will  find  that  all 
of  them  use  this  chemical  shorthand,  so 
we  may  just  as  well  begin  to  get  ac- 
quainted with  it  right  here  and  now. 

Then  C  stands  for  carbon ;  Ca  for  cal- 
cium, the  metal  at  the  back  of  what  you 
call  lime  in  general,  with  all  of  its  com- 
pounds; O  stands  for  oxygen,  the  thing 
in  the  air  that  helps  burning;  and  H 
stands  for  hydrogen,  a  metallic  gas — that 
is  straight — a  metallic  gas,  and  yet  cousin 
to  carbon  and  coal  in  the  way  it  burns. 
There  is  a  lot  of  hydrogen  burning  under 
your  boiler,  and  there  is  hydrogen  in  all 
water,  and,  of  course,  in  all  water  com- 
pounds. We  will  not  hurry,  for  it  takes 
time  to  get  things  in  the  head  so  they 
will  be  right  and  stay  there.  But,  if  you 
are  patient  with  yourself,  you  will  learn 
these  and  many  more,  so  you  can  handle 
them  easily  and  surely.  But  the  only  way 
really  to  learn  about  a  thing  is  to  use  it, 
from  the  start.  Let  us  use  these  short- 
liand  symbols  for  the  elements  that  we 
have  run  across  in  this  limewater  lesson. 

Now,  lime  is  the  rust  or  oxide  of  a 
metal,  and  we  tell  that  long  story  in  this 
short  formula,  CaO.  That  is  lime,  the 
stuff  in  the  barrel  that  you  are  sitting  on. 
The  formula  says  that  lime  is  made  up 
of  calcium  and  oxygen,  and  every  time 
that  you  see  or  use  this  formula,  you  are 
reminded  that  lime,  common  quicklime,  is 
made  up  of  calcium  and  oxygen.  You 
don't  have  to  remember  it ;  it  remembers 
itself,  and  reminds  you  all  about  its  own 
makeup.  So,  then,  lime  is  an  oxide  of 
the  metal  calcium;  and  yet  we  never  lose 
any  flesh  worrying  over  calcium  itself. 
Not  that  calcium  may  not  have  a  whole 
lot  of  most  interesting  information  of  its 
own.  Thus,  if  you  should  get  some  of 
the  metal  (and  it  is  a  trick  to  get  it), 
you  would  see  a  white  metal — very  light 
weight  for  a  metal,  about  twice  as  heavy 
as  water,  while  common  iron  is  nearly 
eight  times  as  heaw  as  water,  copper 
nearly  nine,  and  lead  more  than  eleven 
times  as  heavy  as  water. 

This  metal,  calcium,  cannot  be  kept 
lying  around  in  any  old  way,  as  the  com- 
mon rrietals  can  ;  for,  if  left  in  the  air,  it 
rusts  itself  away  and  changes  to  lime,  and 
you  know  that  lime  cannot  be  kept  long, 
for  it  takes  on  water  and  other  things 
from  the  air  and  gets  "air-slacked."  This 
metal  calcium  melts  at  a  higher  tempera- 


ture than  lead,  but  it  can  be  cut,  drawn 
and  rolled ;  in  short,  it  has  the  "metallic" 
action  in  general.  But  this  metal  never 
shows  its  head  in  the  metallic  form,  un- 
less one  gets  after  it  with  spei.-ial  plans 
and  methods ;  and  all  that  does  not  bother 
us  a  bit,  because  it  is  not  the  metal  as 
metal  that  we  are  concerned  with,  but 
some  few  of  its  compounds  that  have  had 
the  nerve  to  make  your  water  hard  in 
several  facetious  ways.  It  is  the  com- 
pounds of  this  metal,  calcium,  which  we 
are  studying:  Lime,  the  oxide,  CaO;  the 
simple  carbonate,  CaCOs;  the  bicarbonate, 
Ca(HC03)2;  and  the  like,  that  we  want 
to  get  at,  for  we  have  only  begun  to  open 
up  the  mystery  of  that  barrel  of  lime. 

But  to  sum  up  what  we  have  touched 
on  thus  far,  there  are  two  ways  of  soft- 
ening temporary-hardness  water :  One  is 
by  driving  off  the  extra  carbonic  acid  by 
warming,  as  in  your  heater,  and  the  other 
by  driving  down  the  extra  carbonic  acid 
by  an  extra  base  as  lime ;  and  in  both 
cases  we  get  the  plain  carbonate  of  lime 
thrown  down.  Of  course,  we  must  have 
the  right  tank  for  the  water  to  settle  out 
clear,  in  either  case;  but  we  have  laid 
the  fundamentals,  and  now  it  is  up  to  you 
to  study  what  kind  of  heater  or  settling 
tanks  you  are  using,  and  whether  they  are 
suited  to  your  work  in  design,  in  material, 
in  size,  in  the  piping  and  connections,  and 
the  like.  But  you  should  try  this  second 
way  of  softening  temporary-hardness  wa- 
ter, by  adding  a  few  drops  of  the  lime- 
water  emulsion,  milk  of  lime,  to  some  of 
the  temporary-hardness  water,  say  a  tea- 
spoonful  of  the  milk  of  lime  to  a  pint  of 
the  hard  water,  with  quick  stirring,  and 
then  allow  time  to  settle.  Each  part  of 
this  simple  experiment  will  tell  you  some- 
thing 4hat  will  relate  to  the  action  of  the 
water  softener  that  you  may  have  in  the 
boiler  room.  Thus  it  may  take  sortie  time 
for  the  plain  carbonate  to  settle  out,  and 
that  may  suggest  why  your  settler  may 
not  always  work  as  it  should. 

Some    Simple    Tests  ^ 

There  is  one  other  thing  that  you  will 
want  to  do  before  you  close  this  shift; 
that  is  the  way  to  tell,  by  a  simple  test  or 
two,  whether  you  may  have  temporary- 
hardness  or  permanent-hardness  water. 
When. you  add  some  of  the  milk  of  lime 
to  the  water,  with  good  stirring,  and  then 
add  a  teaspoonful  of  nitric  acid,  if  the 
whole  solution  clears  up,  you  have  only 
temporary-hardness  water.  But  if  you 
take  some  of  the  solution  of  barium 
chloride  (or  nitrate),  and  add  a  few  drops 
to  a  sample  of  water,  you  may  get  a  white 
cloudiness ;  now  add  a  teaspoonful  of 
hydrochloric  acid  or  of  nitric  acid  to  this, 
with  shaking  or  stirring,  and  if  it  clears 
up,  the  water  is  of  the  temporary-hard- 
ness, or  carbonate  kind ;  but  if  the  cloudi- 
ness of  the  water  persists  after  adding  the 
nitric  acid  or  the  hydrochloric  acid,  yen 
have  some  permanent-hardness  water,  of 
the  sulphate  kind,  and  that  is  harder  to 


February  i6,   igog. 

leal  with.  But  even  in  that  case,  it  will 
pay  you  to  know  what  the  trouble  is.  for 
sometimes  you  can  conquer  it,  and  at 
reasonable  cost. 

The  idea  that  you  want   to  carry   with 
you  is  this       Temporary-hardness  waters 
have    to    do    mainly    with    carbonates    of 
lime,     while    permanent-hardness     waters 
!)ave  to  do  with  sulphate  of  lime.  Sulphate 
I  lime  is  a  compound  of  lime  with  sul- 
luric  acid,  the  heavy  oil  of  vitriol  that 
II    have    seen    about    shops    for   cutting 
the   scale  off  of   lorRirtt?*;.     There   is  one 
thing,    too,    that    you    want    to   remember 
abijut  this  sulphuric  acid  :    It  has  a  great 
liking    for    water;    therefore,    when    you 
dilute  the  acid,  always  pour  the  acid  into 
>hr  water  (never  tlu  water  into  the  acid). 
He  solution  of  sulphuric  acid  that  came 
with  your  outfit  is  probably  already  diluted 
with   water;   that   is  part  of  the  chemical 
story   of    water,    which    run^    right   along 
with  the  story  of  lime. 


Screens  for   Pump  Suctions 


I'v    Ai.o.\zo  G.    Coii.iN'i 


In  (IcsiKiiiMK  the  arraiiKtiiKnts  lur  a 
•upply  of  condensing  water  for  the  steam 
engines  of  an  electric  light  station  some 
years  ago.  it  was  considered  advisable  to 
place  the  tine  screen  for  intercepting  the 
smaller  trash  in  the  water,  near  the  sta- 
tion, where  it  would  be  more  convenient 
for  cleaning,  and  a  coarse  rack  ever  the 
rnd  of  the  suction  pipe  in  the  river  to 
intercept    the   larger  debris 

In  addition  to  such  things  as  logs,  cord- 
word  and  branches  of  trees,  this  river 
water  carried  a  large  amount  of  semi 
fibrous  material,  such  as  grass  and  small 
thread  like  r«K>ts.  for  which  a  rather  fine 
.Mrrecn  was  ref|uired,  and  the  screen  must 
»'•  :irranged  m.  as  t.i  be  readily  cleaned 
'he    accumulation     without     iiittrrii|if 

nii<   the   V.  ply. 

"""  i.iished  by  duplicating  a 

short    SI*.  I  loll    oi    the    suet  Kin    pipe,    just 
before   ;t    entered    the    building,    with     a 
cylindrical  screen  chamber  in  each  branch 
and  a  gate  valve  each  side  of  the  screen 
chamber,    the   two   branches     being     con- 
nected to  the  Mngle  pipe  at  each  end,  as 
shown  in    Fig     i       I-.g.    j    i»    ,    section 
through  one  >cri  rn  chamber  and  an  eleva 
tion    ..f    ihr    ..tl„r       The     onrr".     of     jhr 
fcrem  <  li.imli<  rs   were   • 
bollv   wIm   !      Muld   swiiu 
'*•*■   '  I'l  with   monkrv  t.iiled  nuts 

•**  •'  I  the  u*e  of  wrenches. 

The  wa*tr  water  pipe  from  the  crnden 
•*r«   was   laid   in   the    same    trench,    but 
■brive  the  suction  pipe,  a*  Oiown  in  Fig   i. 
•n<J  a   J-inch   pi|>e   Ird 
of   the  waste    pipe    to    . 
oer.   ff)r  filling  the  »crr. 
the    nreriu    had     been 
placed. 

In    rrfular   oprraiion   both    »alve«    wrrr 


POW  ER  AND  THE  ENGINEER 

•  >P<'n  in  one  branch  and  cloMd  in  thr 
-ther  When  the  screen  in  use  nrrded 
cleaning,  which  was  about  every  six 
liurs.  the  two  valves  on  that  tide  were 
closed   and   th.  .     other    brandi 

opened,  thus  d>  water  thrrtigh 

a   clean    screen       Tht  ...vcr      • 
screen    was    then     removed.     •  ., 

frame,  which  set  in  grooves  m  the  side 
"t  the  chamber,  wa»  hoisted  out.  cleaned 
:»'id  replaced,  the  cover  bolted  on.  the 
chainl.er  filled  with  water  through  the 
2- inch  pipe  from  the  waste  pipe,  an  air 
cock  in  the  cover  allow if«  the  air  to 
escape. 
This    device    worked    so   nicely    that    it 


"^^«C  up  a  icsi«ih  of  p^c  CMS  IW  tey 

***>*  a  4»-dcgrer  dbov  l»ni,«^  , 

oo  tbc  lo««r  cad.  and  Irtti^  m 

wi»*  dowv  thr  buk  wiui  .  uj^j,  ^  ^^ 

*«H    It   getting   away      ||    « 

firmly    by    hUng   tbr   trearil 

pipe   with  coocmr.  tkr    -rrgBhiwiu   of 

ibr     riprap    makmg    a     aoM    cacdhw 

*«^on^     Ob  tht  ^p«r  cad  <rf  Uh  p^ 

*«<>«^  45  <>nrr«c  dbow  bra^H  il  m  bar 

(or  ibc  pipe  lo  iW  )iiii|iliM4 

A  nnriiLi  of  old  j»'ioa(  raakvad  r^b 
were  promrH  snd  bid  oa  a 
fabeworik  •  -iiaad 

•og  oat  o%r  'rt,  wiib  tbe 

J  iBCkaaMrt  fa  d 


n'.    I     PiriKc  cDNNccnoM  10  rntAijvtts 

was   innKissible  to  tell  by  observation  of 
the   pumps    when   the   change   of   vrrccns 
was  being  made.    The  vacuum  gage  would 
show  it.  as  the  clogged  screen  »» 
an   increase  in   the   vacuum   nr 
raise   the   water,   which    in.  • 
allowr<l    to  rxrrr<|    .?  or    x 


nc    J    SIB *i «•  •  < 


\ 


li# 


■•KI.H  Mwui  At  Moirra 


An     iHNi  slHNni  hf  tkc  *atta4  tm- 

t  TYtf   rcA^tfi    t.f    lU*.  .^^   ik^   * 


mal 


344 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  i6,   1909. 


built  around  about  5  feet  of  the  shore 
end  of  the  rails.  When  the  concrete  had 
hardened,  a  pair  of  shear  legs  was  set 
straddling  the  nest  of  rails,  with  a  tackle 
hitched  to  the  outer  end  by  a  sling  long 
enough  so  that  the  lower  block  of  the 
tackle  would  be  above  water.  Having 
taken  the  weight  of  the  rails  on  the  tackle, 
the  falsework  was  removed  and  a  wood 
fire  built  around  the  rails  just  where  they 
projected  from  the  concrete,  first  placing 
a  layer  of  sand  between  the  fire  and  the 
concrete  to  prevent  injury. 

As  soon  as  the  rails  were  red  hot,  the 
4ackle  was  lowered  and  the  rails  bent  to 
a  neat  curve,  making  as  neat  looking  and 
-as  serviceable  a  rack  as  anyone  could 
wish  for. 

The  waste-water  pipe  was  diverted 
from  its  position  over  the  suction  pipe  be- 
'^ore  the  rack  was  reached,  and  delivered 
the  waste  water  downstream  from  the 
^suction  inlet,  the  velocity  of  the  river 
giving  ample  assurance  that  there  was 
no  danger  of  the  suction  getting  any  of 
the  warm  waste  water. 

Burlap  bags  filled  with  concrete  were 
then  worked  under  the  submerged  por- 
tion of  the  suction  pipe,  and  the  trian- 
gular openings  each  side  of  the  rails  were 
closed  up  in  the  same  way.  The  bags  of 
concrete  projected  a  little  above  the  water 
line,  and  wooden  forms  were  set  up  and 
filled  with  concrete  to  make  a  neatly  fin- 
ished job.  Fig.  3  is  a  section  of  the 
rough  screen  in  the  river. 


Catechism  of  Electricity 


927.  IVhy  is  the  word  "abnormal"  used 
in  connection  with  the  heating  of  direct- 
cnrrent  motors^ 

Because  all  motors  in  operation  develop 
a  certain  amount  of  heat  which  cannot  be 
prevented  and  which  is  not  therefore  con- 
sidered a  defect. 

928.  Explain  why  a  motor  in  perfect 
running  order  develops  heat  while  in 
operation. 

Considering  the  motor  electrically,  heat 
is  developed  at  the  commutator  and 
brushes  and  in  the  field  and  armature 
coils  because  it  is  impossible  to  force  a 
current  of  electricity  through  a  conductor 
without  heating  it. 

Considering  the  motor  mechanically, 
heat  is  developed  in  the  bearings,  commu- 
tator and  brushes  by  reason  of  friction 
between  moving  parts. 

Considering  the  motor  magnetically, 
heat  is  developed  in  the  iron  portions, 
•such  as  the  frame  and  magnet  cores,  on 
account  of  the  passage  of  magnetic  lines 
of  force  through  them. 

929.  Is  it  an  easy  or  difficult  matter 
io  locate-  the  cause  of  abnormal  heating 
in  a  direct-current  motor? 

It  is  often  difficult  because  both  the  de- 


fective and  perfect  parts  become  of  practi- 
cally the  same  temperature  owing  to  the 
ease  with  which  heat  is  conducted  through 
and  between  them. 

930.  How  should  such  a  case  be  treated/ 
Stop  the  motor  until  it  becomes  per- 
fectly cool.  Then  start  it  up  and  operate 
it  under  full  load  foi-  about  five  minutes. 
Stop  it  again  and  carefully  but  quickly 
test  each  part  for  abnormal  temperature 
by  the  sense  of  feeling. 

931.  Give  some  rules  to  guide  one  in 
testing  for  temperatures  by  means  of  the 
hand. 

The  ability  to  determine  accurately  in 
this  manner  the  amount  of  heat  developed 
can  be  acquired  only  by  experience.  If 
the  hand  can  comfortably  be  held  on  the 
iron  portion  of  a  machine  for  several  sec- 
onds, its  temperature  may  be  considered 
as  being  within  the  safe  limits. 

In  connection  with  this  test  the  condi- 
tion of  the  hand  must  be  taken  into  con- 
sideration as  well  as  the  conductivity  for 
heat  of  the  surface  touched.  Inasmuch  as 
the  back  of  the  hand  is  far  more  sensitive 
than  the  palm,  more  reliable  results  will 
be  obtained  by  testing  with  the  back  of 
the  hand.  If  the  surface  of  the  iron  is 
rough  there  will  be  more  radiation  than 
if  it  is  smooth  and,  in  consequence,  its 
internal  temperature  may  be  higher  than 
the  sense  of  touch  would  lead  one  to  sup- 
pose. Then,  too,  any  paint  on  the  surface 
of  the  iron  also  affects  to  a  considerable 
extent  the  conductivity  of  the  internal 
heat. 

932.  How  can  more  accurate  results  be 
secured  than  by  the  sense  of  feeling? 

By  using  thermometers. 

933.  Give  some  rules  for  testing  motor 
temperatures  by  means  of  thermometers. 

The  bulb  of  the  thermometer  should  be 
placed  against  the  surface  of  the  part 
whose  temperature  is  desired  and  it 
should  be  protected  from  outside  influ- 
ences by  a  covering  of  cotton  waste,  the 
whole  being  held  in  position  either  by 
hand  or  tied  by  means  of  a  string. 

In  connection  with  this  test  it  is  well  to 
note  the  temperature  of  the  surrounding 
air  at  the  time  the  other  reading  or  read- 
ings are  taken,  for  the  atmospheric  tem- 
perature has,  of  course,  a  direct  bearing 
upon  the  temperatures  of  the  various 
parts  of  the  machine. 

934.  What  temperatures  of  the  differ- 
ent parts  of  a  direct-current  motor  would 
be  considered  abnormal? 

For  the  field  or  armature,  over  50  de- 
grees Centigrade  above  the  surrounding 
air  temperature;  for  the  commutator  or 
brushes,  over  55  degrees  Centigi"ade  above 
the  surrounding  air  temperature ;  for 
bearings  or  other  parts  of  the  machine, 
over  40  degrees  Centigrade  above  the  sur- 
rounding air  temperature. 

935.  Is  there  any  other  method  of  ob- 


taining   temperatures    of    the    parts    of    a 
motor  F 

Yes,  there  is  an  electrical  method  par- 
ticularly well  adapted  for  securing  the 
temperatures  of  the  field  and  armature 
coils.  The  inaccessibility  of  these  parts 
renders  the  hand  and  thermometer  meth- 
ods rather  inadequate  for  the  purpose.  The 
electrical  method  is  often  used  as  a  check 
on  the  temperatures  obtained  on  the  field 
atid  armature  coils  by  means  of  ther- 
mometers. 

936.  Explain  how  to  obtain  the  tem- 
peratures of  the  field  and  armature  coils 
by  the  electrical  method. 

After  the  motor  has  been  run  under 
full-load  conditions  sufficiently  long  to  in- 
sure the  maximum  temperatures  being 
reached,  the  machine  is  shut  down  and  a 
moderate  direct-current  voltage  applied 
first  between  any  two  opposite  commu- 
tator bars  and  then  between  the  terminals 
of  the  field  coils.  In  each  case  the  am- 
peres of  current  are  carefully  noted  on  an 
ammeter,  and  at  the  same  time  the  drop 
or  pressures  between  the  points  of  appli- 
cation are  also  read  on  a  voltmeter.  Hav- 
ing, then,  the  current  through  the  'arma- 
ture coils  and  through  the  field  coils,  and 
the  respective  pressures  across  them,  their 
respective  resistances  hot  may  readily  be 
calculated  by  dividing  the  latter  values  by 
the  former  ones. 

In  performing  this  test  care  must  be 
observed  that  the  testing  voltage  does  not 
exceed  the  normal  voltage  for  which  the 
armature  winding  or  the  field  winding  is 
designed,  in  order  that  the  testing  cur- 
rent does  not  injure  or  unduly  increase 
the  temperatures  of  these  parts ;  it  is  also 
necessary  to  note  by  aid  of  a  thermometer 
the  temperature  of  the  surrounding  air  in 
degrees  Centigrade  at  the  time  these 
measurements  are  being  taken. 

Having,  then,  at  an  atmospheric  tem- 
perature of  T°,  the  resistance  in  ohms' 
which  we  will  designate  Rt",  the  next 
step  is  to  calculate  what  this  resistance 
would  be  at  zero  degree  Centigrade. 
Designating  this  unknown  quantity  by 
Ro^,  the  formula  used  is 


Rno  = 


Rt« 


I  -|-  0.004  T^ 


By  substituting  for  the  terms  on  the 
right-hand  side  of  this  equation  their 
proper  values,  and  dividing  the  numerator 
by  the  denominator,  the  value  of  Ro^> 
will  be  obtained.  This  value,  togeth«r 
with  that  of  Rt",  when  substituted  in  the 
equation 

Rt  — Roo 


T  = 


Ro"  X  0.004 


will  give  the  temperature  in  degrees 
Centigrade,  at  the  time  the  measurements 
were  taken,  of  the  armature  coils  or  of 
the  field  coils,  depending  upon  whether 
Rto  is  the  resistance  hot  of  the  one  or 
the  other. 


Fcbruar)'  j6,  1909. 


Pr)\VER  AND  THE  ENGINRKR 


MS 


Development    of    the   Surface    Condenser 

CombinaUon    Condenser    and    Feed-water    Healer ;     Coodoucn    for 

Lse  with  Steam  Turbines;   Counlcrcurrcnl.   Contraflo  And  Ohcr    I\tjr« 

B"V        warren        O^        ROGERS 


•^^-^ 


ric.  15 


-  I         '|7       in  •  beat' 


«■  Htenor  ol 

rrH  to  the  WoOrr  ai  « 
modi  lower  icnpcrMvrr  tlu0  n 


^r 


and  dlnMrated  m  Fig   i} 
Thtt  canbiaauoa  cnodiiii    Mad  (m4 
_  wiler  l»r»f»r  Mrf>«  ri"iw  ni4«  f  tM«  ftr^-.^  ifttrr 

an«l 
tha- 

ffrr  pan  of  tkr  ik** 

feed   water   (^  f^ 

hicalcr  aad 

Tr«!J**     chambm.  whidi  are  trparaird  I9  a  par 

ilHir   rrffslMr  ty^  «i 


_  I  i*       iIm7  arr  cayoMd  10  tW  kottm  wa^nt 

.1  J  »«!  « 

Pmcon   SccHB   Prnp  Cospaay      It   to 
made  vtdi  a  r«cta«g«Ur  nMI  aa4  aa  «■ 
haoti  inlrt  vbidi  t*  tt^antMf  4mifpm4  !• 
I       nrr-  'f  tbt  «■•■■  car 

*       \m*<  >«ctHaMl  m«  oi 

rm  o4  ihli  ly^ 
ol  itmdnmtr  iiw  nriw«  !«««  Mpparttai 
pAatr*  H>  t>'ryrnf  \i>^f»:*.^  TW  air  aad 
noocoad'  -lOtH    by    • 


itn 


a  tyva«4 


»r*d  crtW 
r  oa  a  fatt  akt' 

tr  T<  ock     tK<r     tat* 


-;f 


^ 


346 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  i6,  1909. 


FIG.  17 


densing  lubes  and  is  circulated  through 
them  from  the  top  to  the  bottom.  The  top 
row  of  tubes  in  each  set  of  coils  contains 
steam;  the  next,  partly  condensed  steam, 
the  amount  of  steam  decreasing,  and  the 
amount  of  water  increasing  as  the  lower 
lines  of  tubes  are  reached.  The  water  of 
condensation  and  air  are  drawn  from  the 
tubes  by  an  air  pump  located  in  the  pump 
room,  the  suction  being  attached  to  a  re- 
turn header  to  which  the  lower  tube  of 
each  coil  is  connected.  The  circulating 
water  is  delivered  to  a  header  located  over 
the  center  of  the  condenser,  with  branch 
distributing  pipes  for  each  condensing 
coil.  This  type  of  condenser  is  manufac- 
tured by  the  Minneapolis  Steel  and  Ma- 
chinery Company. 

In  Fig.  19  is  shown  a  countercurrent 
type  of  condenser,  in  which  the  vapor 
flows  between  the  tubes,  the  steam  line 
being  parallel  with  the  flow  of  the  con- 
densing water.  The  baffle  platfes.  cause 
the  entering  steam  to  flow  in  a  direction 
parallel  with  the  upper  condensing  tubes ; 
when  striking  the  end  of  the  condenser 
body,  the  direction  of  flow  is  reversed; 
this  operation  being  repeated  as  often  as 
there  are  baffle  plates. 

Another  type  of  countercurrent  surface 
condenser  is  illustrated  in  Fig.  20.  In 
this  condenser,  which  is  manufactured  by 
the  Alberger  Condenser  Company,  the  ex- 
haust steam  enters  the  shell  of  the  con- 
denser at  the  bottom,  while  the  circulat- 
ing water  enters  a  watei-  pipe  at  the  top 
at  one  end  and,  after  passing  back  and 
forth  several  times  through  the  nest  of 
tubes,  becomes  heated  by  the  steam  and 
leaves  the  condenser  at  the  other  end,  at 
the  bottom.  As  the  exhaust  steam  enters 
the  body  of  the  chamber  it  rises  and  meets 


the  tubes  containing  the  hottest  water 
first,  and  becomes  partially  condensed.  It 
then  passes  up  through,  and  around,  the 
remaining  tubes,  which  are  cooler,  and 
the  steam  is  completely  condensed.  The 
air  and  the  vapor  which  has  not  condensed 
collect  at  the  top  of  the  condenser  shell, 
where  they  are  dried  and  cooled  by  the 
cold  water  flowing  through  the  upper  nest 


of  tubes  before  being  removed  by  the  air 
pump. 

The  water  of  condensation  falls  to  the 
bottom  of  the  shell  and  toward  the  enter- 
ing steam.  If  its  temperature  is  lower 
than  the  entering  steam  it  acquires  heat 
from  it  and,,  as  a  consequence,  the  water 
of  condensation  leaves  the  bottom  of  the 
condenser  at  a  temperature  equal  to  that 
of  the  entering  steam.  It  will  be  seen 
that  the  distinctive  features  of  this  con- 
denser are  that  the  water  not  only  circu- 
lates in  a  complete  countercurrent,  but  the 
condensed  steam  and  the  incoming  ex- 
haust steam  flow  counter  to  each  other. 
Owing  to  this  arrangement  of  counter 
water  and  steam  flow  it  is  possible  to  re- 
duce the  amount  of  tube  surface  and 
circulating  water,  because  the  water  of 
condensation  carries  off  heat  that  under 
ordinary  condenser  conditions  would  have 
to  be  transmitted  through  the  tubes  to 
the  condensing  water.  The  air  is  re- 
moved from  the  condenser  body  from  a 
point  farthest  from  the  water  of  con- 
densation. 

In  contraflo  condensers  the  steam  flows 
at  right  angles  to  the  condensing  tubes.  . 
The  latest  design  of  this  type  of  con- 
denser is  shown  in  Fig.  21  and  following 
illustrations.  It  is  manufactured  by  the 
Contraflo  Condenser  Company,  Limited, 
London,  and  is  represented  in  the  United 
States  and  Canada  by  the  Elwold  Com- 
pany, North  American  building,  Philadel- 
phia, Penn.  The  advantages  claimed  for 
this  type  of  condenser  are  minimum  cool- 
ing surface  and  circulating  water,  a  high 
vacuum  and  high  thermal   efiiciencv. 


February   i6,   1909. 


K)\VER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


r«cb  tab^ 


M7 

''i  the  tnbrt  u  ako  aKTrAtcd  kacMMr 
strain    in    /yt/acinK    <!  on       %rf    tkr 


-4IH1,  t^ttin^  'fif'-u^f    •  >  r   r    fUixUal  cool- 
IOC  lubrt.   rnmcft  Mt  dwjctioa  ol  io« 


FK,.    18 


'1  ibr  odttt  cad  olikt 

'    It  aC'*<ri    rr«rfM4  Ifld 

wh  the  IK  <  ea«l- 


In  Fig.  22  is  shown  an  end  elevatiun  ut 
a    contraflo    condenser    connected     to    a 
triple-expansion  enKinc.     The  condensing 
tub<-s   arc  arranged    in   compartments,   as 
•  n.     The  steam  coming  from  the  en- 
.-ylindcr  follows  the  path  indicated  by 
the    arrows    through    the    upper    nest    of 
tubes   in   an  even    flow    over    the    entire 
length  of  each  tube,  and  at   right  angles 
to  them.     As  the  steam  reaches  the  upper 
tubeless  chamber  it  reverses  its  direction 
of  flow,  because  of  the  upper  baffle  plate, 
«nd  passes  over  the  second  bank  of  tubes. 
'  "ing   again    in   the   next    loweC   tulx-- 
ihamber   and  passing  over  the  third 
aiid   lowest  nest  of  condensing  »ubes.     As 
the    tubeless    chambers    have    ample    area, 
the  change  in  the  direction  of  the  (low  of 
tteam    is    not    sudden.      From    the    lowest 
nest  of  tubes  the   water  of  condensation 
-       •  s  to  the  air  pump,  changing  its  direc- 
>f  flow  for  the  last  time  in  the  tube- 
pace  in  the  bottom  of  the  condenser 
By   this    successive   passing   of   the 
1  over  all  the  tubes   in  one  cnrnpart- 
-,  and  again  being  uniformly  distribu 
ted  in  the  tubeless  chambers  already  re- 


.i^^T!: 


Water 


y.^.     Vr^ 


5! 


J 


■uidStdMa 


X 


I 


J il: 


na  19 


eskasM 
UmMt   r«2*t' 


im    H    fm 


>^,   „     « 


nc  34 


34S 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  i6,  1909. 


passes  through  division  Y,  and  finally  re- 
turns through  Z  to  the  outlet.  By  this 
arrangement  of  regulating  the  water  of 
condensation  and  cooling  water,  the  high- 
est temperature  of  feed  water  under  any 
given  condition,  and  the  ability  to  main- 
tain the  most  economical  vacuum  at  all 
seasons  of  the  year,  may  be  attained ;  at 
the  same  time,  the  power  efficiency  of  the 
engine  may  also  be  raised  to  a  maximum 
when  desired,  by  raising  the  degree  of 
vacuum  considerably  above  the  normal. 


Dinner  of  Alumni  of   Stevens 
Institute 


The  Alumni  of  the  Stevens  Institute  of 
Technology  will  give  their  annual  dinner 
on  Friday,  February  19,  at  the  Hotel 
Astor,  New  York.  A  large  attendance  is 
expected,  and  among  the  speakers  will  be 
Alex.  C.  Humphreys,  president  of  Stevens 
Institute ;  Alfred  Noble,  past  president  of 
the  American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers 
and  a  former  member  of  the  Panama 
Canal  Commission,  whose  topic  will  be 
the  Panama  Canal ;  Col.  H.  G.  Prout, 
vice-president  of  the  Union  Switch  and 
Signal  Company;  Dr.  John  A.  Bensel, 
commissioner  of  the  Board  of  Water 
Supply  of  New  York  City,  and  Col. 
George  Harvey,  editor  of  Harper's 
Weekly. 


vapor  with  which  the  air  is  mixed.  In 
this  instance  a  cooling  chamber  has  been 
incorporated  in  t\<t  design  of  the  con- 
denser, which  is  placed  in  the  bottom,  as 
shown  at  F,  Figs.  22  and  23.  The  seal- 
ing water,  after  passing  through  the  air 
pump,  is  returned  to  the  cooler,  so  that 
the  same  water  is  used  over  and  over 
again.  In  case  it  is  desired  to  obtain  the 
highest  vacuum,  the  entire  feed  water  can 
be  cooled  down  before  passing  into  the 
air  pump.  On  the  other  hand,  when  it  is 
desired  to  maintain  a  fairly  high  thermal 
efficiency,  the  amount  of  water  admitted 
to  the  cooler  can  be  regulated  so  as  to  re- 
duce the  amount  of  water  admitted  to  the 
cooler  and  lower  the  temperature  of  the 
air-pump  discharge  sufficiently  to  obtain 
just  the  vacuum  desired.  The  cooler  is, 
therefore,  a  ready  means  of  increasing  the 
effective  capacity  of  the  air  pump.  In  Fig. 
24  is  shown  a  sectional  view  of  the  con- 
denser and  cooling  chamber.  In  G  is 
shown  a  sectional  view  of  the  condenser 
through  F.  In  Fig.  23  is  shown  the  out- 
let to  the  air  pump  for  the  condensed 
water  after  passing  through  the  cooler. 
The  sectional  view  H,  Fig.  24,  shows  a 
section  on  CD,  Fig.  23,  and  the  arrange- 
ment for  passing  the  condensed  water 
direct  to  the  air  pump  or  through  the 
cooler.  This  is  made  possible  by  the 
regulating  valve  V,  Fig.  24.  In  H,  the 
cooler  is  in  three  divisions ;  the  condens- 
ing water  first  passes  through  the  di- 
vision X,  entering  the  end  on  which  is 
located    the     regulating    valve ;     it     then 


FIG.  23 


Februar>'.  i6,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER 


MP 


Monthly  Meeting  A.   S.  M.   E.  Wisconsin  Society  oi  Elngineer« 


i  nc  next  monthly  mcctinK  of  tlic 
American  Society  of  Mechanical  Engi- 
neers will  be  held  on  February  23,  the 
fourth  Tuesday  of  the  month,  instead  of 
the  second  Tuesday,  as  usual.  The  sub- 
ject of  the  evening's  discussion  will  be 
"Safety  Valves,"  introduced  by  a  brief 
pai>er  by  Frederic  M    Whyte,  general  me- 


lt  1,   ^ 
neert  r.f 
sent! 
ing 

State    society    along    the    Mmr    Ime^    a 
those    which   are    now     in    existrV  .- 
Illinois,  Indiana  and  other  State* 

The  purposes  of  this  todety  are  to  g* 


Kirrhoffrr  H 

1    iiOClliA 

Aaocutioo  Rattfyirt 

of   N 

m 

bondrrd  mrmbrrt  uti  tncade 


mm; 
the  r 


.r.   fvmt 

4 


lie    !4,^»l- 


VitKrnt 

\  t    I.- , .  . 


>ooaJ  caaid*no«. 

iff   jn!     VftKjf 


Ai 

tnctl  tW  wmm 
^i»  kmi  tlM  ar* 


Prfinnal 


'<  "f  i1t«  G*» 


irmot    of    ctrd 

;^.^uwtt%      ImO* 

i«or< 


-^ 


If 

;li1i}iqC  rvmHly   ivmbr^v 
■lain*  yower  of  tft* 


lilt    ««»-«*I'l 
tnc  <lfvartaw«i 


chanical  engmerr  of  the  New  York  Cen- 
tral Imes. 

Mr.  Whytr  will  ditcuss  the  pnnciplrt 
of  the  application  of  safety  valvct  U>  «trjiii 
boilers  with  special  reference  to  locomo 
live   practice,   including  questions  of  de- 

and   construction,    and    the    rc<|i:itr 

and     luiniaiitins     of     %jKr\       li' 
will  Iw 
«n    cover. 
ice   ami 
'»n  with  1.    • 


the    mg' 


fh*    S*»t' 


<IS4«<HC<iC    i~ 


ftlftd  fr»  t*» 


350 

POWER 

JL^The  Engineer 

DEVOTED  TO    THE   GENERATION    AND 
TRANSMISSION   OF   POWER 

Issued  Weekly  by  the 

Hill  Publishing  Company 

John  a.  Hill.  Pres.  and  Treas.         Robert  JIcKean,  Sec'y. 

50.5  Pearl  Street.  New  York. 

35.5  Dearborn  Street,  Chicago. 

6  Boiiverie  Street,  London,  E.  C. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 
"Available"  Heat 


Correspondence  .suitable  for  the  columns  of 
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dress of  correspondents  must  be  given — not  nec- 
essarily for  publication. 

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Entered  as  second  class  matter,  April  2,  1908,  at 
the  post  office  at  New  York,  N.  Y.,  under  the  Act 
of  Congress  of  March  3,  1879. 


Cable  address,  "  Powpub,"  N.  Y. 
Business  Telegraph  Code. 


CIRCULATION    STATEMENT 

During    1908    we    printed     and     circulated. 
1.836,000  copies  of  Power. 

Our  circulation  for  January,  1909,  was 
(weekly  and  monthly)  160,000. 

February    2 40,000 

February   9 37,000 

February    16 37,000, 

None  sent  free  regularly,  no  returns  from 
news  companies,  no  back  numbers.  Figures 
are  live,'  net  circulation. 


Contents  page 

A  New  Lighting  Station  for  Brockton 315 

Petroleum  Industry  of  the  United  States.  .  .   319 

Gate  Valves  in  Steam  Pipes 320 

The  James  Watt  Memorial  Building 322 

Modern  British  High-speed  Steam  Engines.   325 
The  Problem  of  Furnace  Design  for  Water- 
tube  Boilers 329 

The  Function  of  Compression 3,30 

Practical  Letters  from  Practical  Men: 

Independent  Steam  Gage  Movements 
.  .  .Solution  on  Indicator  Cards.  .  .  .A 
Sawdu.st  Stoker.  .,  .Compound  ver.sus 
Simple  Engines  ...  Finding  Engine 
Clearance  from  Indicator  Diagrams.  .  . . 

A     Peculiar    Lighting    Condition A 

Motor    Trouble Probable    Cause    of 

Air  Compre.s.sor  Explosions.  .  .  .  The  Bar- 
rus    Universal    Calorimeter.  ..   Trouble 

on    Arc    Circuit Necessity   of   Good 

Pipe  Work         Firing  Stationary  Boilers 

Filtering     Oil H.vgrometry 

Boiler  Setting Faulty  Indicator  Re- 
ducing    Motion Steam     Condensing 

Plant.    .   Valve    Problem      .  .  ,A    Home- 
made  Condenser.  ..  .Coal   Con.sumption 
Reversal    of    Polarity.  ...  An    Air- 
cooled     Conden.sing     Plant ...   Testing 

Watt-hour   Meters Engine    Founda- 

'"O"-^ 333-340 

Some  Useful  Lessons  in  Limewater 341 

Screens  for  Pump  Sections 343 

Catechism  of  Electricity 344 

Development  of  the  Surface  Condenser 345 

Editorials 350-351 


In  considering  any  engineering  problem 
involving  the  transfer  of  heat  one  needs 
to  keep  constantly  in  mind  the  distinction 
between    the    heat    units    contained   by    a 
liquid  or  a  vapor  or  a  gas  and  the  heat 
units  in'  that  liquid,  vapor  or  gas  that  are 
available  for  the  purpose  under  considera- 
tion.     For     example,     exhaust     steam    at 
atmospheric   pressure    contains    1146   heat 
units,   reckoning  from   the   freezing  point 
of  water,  but  it  does  not  necessarily  fol- 
low that  1 146  B.t.u.  are  available  for  heat- 
ing   purposes.      If    the     substance    being 
heated  escapes  :;t   148   degrees,   then   1030 
of  the   1146  heat    units    can    be    utilized, 
theoretically.    But   if   the   substance  being 
heated   escapes    at    a   temperature   of    198 
degrees,   only  980  heat   units   can  be   ex- 
tracted by  it  from  each  pound  of  the  steam 
and     condensate.        (With     "counterflow" 
heating   the    range    would   be    increased.) 
With     gases     and     liquids     the     case     is 
even    worse    because    there    is    no    latent 
heat     of     evaporation     as     with      steam. 
Gases     at     one     thousand     degrees     ther- 
mometer   temperature    are    1460    degrees 
above  absolute  zero,  and  if  they  are  ap- 
plied to  a  substance  which  must  be  raised 
to    270    degrees     (730    degrees    absolute) 
then  only  one-half  of  the  heat  contained 
by  the  gases  will    be    available,    because 
when    that    one-half    has   been    extracted, 
the   temperature   will    have    fallen   to   730 
degrees  absolute  and  a  condition  of  heat 
equilibrium    between    the    gases    and    the 
receiving  substance  will  be  established.    It 
is  this  phenomenon,  coupled  with  the  high 
latent  heat  in  steam,  which  militates  against 
utilizing  exhaust  gases  from  an  engine  for 
raising  .steam  for  power  purposes,  and  it 
was    the    ignoring    of    these    facts    which 
led  Mr.  A.  T.  Kasley  into  error  when  he 
undertook  to  correct  our  figures  on  the 
quantity  of  steam  that  can  be  made  with 
gas-engine  exhaust  heat.     On  page  61,  in 
the  January  5  number,  he  assumes  that  be- 
cause the  exhaust  gases  of  an  engine  con- 
tain   about   4000   B.t.u.    per   brake   horse- 
power of  engine  output,  this  entire  quan- 
tity  is   available   for   making   steam,   sub- 
ject to   the  efficiency  of  the  boiler.     The 
facts  in  the  case  are  that  the  absolute  tem- 
perature   of   steam    at    150   pounds    gage 
pressure    is   810   degrees,    so   that   if   the 
temperature  of  the  gases  were   1620  de- 
grees absolute,  only  one-half  of  the  heat, 
or  2000   B.t.u.,    would  be   available;    and 
that  if  all  of  the  heat  could  be  extracted 
from  the  gases,  as  Mr.  Kasley's  computa- 
tion makes  it  necessary  to  assume,  then 
their  pressure  and  temperature,  and  conse- 
quently their  volume,  would  be  reduced  to 
absolute  zero ! 

Without  intending  the  least  discourtesy 
toward  our  correspondent,  we  are  moved 
by  the  incident  to  caution  students  and  be- 
ginners in  work  involving  heat  phenomena 
to  keep  constantly  in  mind  the  significance 
of  absolute  temperature  and  the  fact  that 
heat,  like  water,  cannot  flow  from  a  lower 


February  16,  1909. 

to  a  higher  level  (temperature).  The  pro- 
portion of  the  total  heat  that  is  "available" 
is  determined  by  the  difference  between 
the  temperature  of  the  source  and  that  of 
the  receiving  substance. 


Replacing  Old  Equipment 

It  is  the  disposition  of  most  steam  engi- 
neers and  managers  to  retain  old  equip- 
ment as  long  as  it  will  do  the  work,  re- 
gardless of  its  efficiency.  It  is  a  great 
mistake,  however,  to  keep  in  operation  a 
machine  that  can  be  replaced  by  one  that 
will  do  more  work  at  the  same  cost  or 
equal  work  at  a  lower  cost.  That  this 
assertion  is  true  can  be  proved  by  a  visit 
to  any  large,  progressive  steel  mill,  where 
in  the  "scrap  yard"  will  be  found  thou- 
sands of  dollars  worth  of  machines  with 
which  nothing  is  the  matter  except  that 
they  are  out  of  date — they  have  been  dis- 
carded because  there  are  newer  types  of 
machines  that  will  do  the  work  better, 
faster  and  cheaper.  The  same  principle 
applies  to  the  steam  plant. 

Much  of  the  objection  raised  is  due  to 
the  expense  of  replacing  old  units.  It  makes 
the  man  of  money  wince  to  see  good  hard 
cash  put  out  for  a  machine  to  replace  one  that 
has  been  doing  the  work  for  years  and  is 
still  able  to  do  it.  What  the  cost  has  been 
through  lost  time  for  repairs,  low  pro- 
duction in  the  factory  due  to  unsteady 
speed,  and  waste  of  steam  and  fuel  be- 
cause of  obsolete  design,  is  not  taken 
into  serious  consideration,  mainly  because 
the  loss  is  not  known,  and  "anyway  it 
occurred  a  little  at  a  time,  so  what  is  the 
odds?"  The  little  losses  do  not  hit  so 
hard  a  blow,  apparently,  as  the  sum  in- 
vested to  prevent  them;  therefore  they 
are  allowed  to  continue.  Some  day  the 
manager  will  wake  up  to  tjie  real  signifi- 
cance of  operating  second-rate  machinery, 
or  a  new  manager  will  take  matters  in 
hand  who  knows  that  inefficient  apparatus 
will  not  permit  him  to  compete  with  the 
up-to-date  establishment,  and  will  bring 
about  changes.  The  weeding-out  process, 
although  it  costs  money,  pays. 

Every  steam  plant  contains  drones  that 
produce  nothing.  They  should  be  re- 
moved and  the  space  devoted  to  something 
that  will  produce  results.  In  one  instance 
an  electric-light  plant  was  operated  day 
and  night.  The  day  load  was  small ;  so 
was  the  night  load  after  midnight.  The 
units  consisted  of  one  large  engine  belted 
to  a  line  shaft  from  which  were  belt- 
driven  three  generators.  Owing  to  the 
friction  load  of  the  shafting,  belts,  etc.,  it 
was  necessary  to  fire  two  boilers  during 
the  light-load  periods,  although  the  use 
of  a  small  engine  and  generator  capable 
of  handling  the  light  load  during  the  day 
and  the  greater  part  of  the  night  would 
have  allowed  one  boiler  to  be  cut  out,  the 
wear  and  tear  on  the  large  engine  and 
belting  to  be  eliminated,  and  a  considera- 
ble saving  in  steam  and  coal  consumption 


February   i6,   ujog. 

to  be  effected.  Such  a  unit  was  finaily 
installed  and  the  saving  has  shown  that 
its  purchase  was  ju^titiable. 

There  are  many  steam  plants  in  which 
may  be  found  an  old  wornout  engine  care- 
fully held  for  a  reserve  unit.  Its  days  of 
continuous  service  have  long  since  passed 
ami  the  chances  that  it  will  ever  be  used 
arc  most  remote,  but  it  will  run  if 
led,  and  its  efficiency  during  the 
short  and  infrequent  periocis  of  its  proh- 
abk-  use  i"  a  matter  of  small  moment.  In 
this  case  the  advantage  of  a  standby  or 
reserve  unit  is  obtained  at  the  expense  of 
the  interest  upon  what  the  old  unit  would 
be  >old  for  practically  as  junk.  In  the 
same  plant,  perhaps,  the  feed-water  pump 
"limps  along  on  one  leg." 

r\try   engineer  an<l  manager  can   IfMjk 
■    his   steam     plant     and     see     where 

'w ^cs  can  be  instituted  that  will  l>e  a 

means  of  increasing  the  economy  of  opera- 
tion     "Improvements"  can  very  easily  be 
carried    to    excess,    however,    and    a    de- 
I    must    be    tempered    with    comnion- 
An  old   slide-valve  engine  is  ju.st 
!:iptable    for   a    sawmill    as   a    Corliss 
U-,  providfil  it  will  givt-  steady  "peed. 
a  factor  which  is  usually  lacknig  liecausc 
of  overloads.     It  is  just  as  adaptable  )k 
ausc  in  most  cases  (he  fuel  not  only  is  of 
"  ilue.  as   it   consists  of   sawdust,   but 
be  got  rid  of,  and  burning  it  in  the 
furnace  is  the  easiest  way   to  dis- 

of    It 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER 


Homemade    Appliances 


•m  time   to  time  corres|)«»ndence  de- 
MR    various    "homemade"    devices    is 
■  ed,  and   we   usually   give   it   a   place 
ise   engineers   who   might    never  ap- 
ifi'ii.ite   the  possibilities  of   such   devices, 
or  who  might  never  be  able  to  induce  their 
!  pyers   to  purchase   them,   may  he   in- 
I  to  make  them  an«l  l>e  le«l  into  their 
.\a  a  general  thing,  however,  appli 
of  such  advantage  as  to  l>e  in  gen- 
eral demand  are  to  l>e  had  from  the  deal- 
cfv    in    so   much   more   efficient    and   pre 
Ml     forms    and    at    such    reason.ililr 
'  that  it  hardly  pays  the  user.  e«|H 
if  his    time   is   worth    anytbiiii;.    t" 
rMiti>l  ih.-m  on  his  own  account      It  m.mi'!- 
to    ri.is.in     thni     .1     m.imif.irf  tirrr      iiliI.' 


The    Surf 


ace 


Cond' 


ondrrvsr'r 


tbr 


T 
turb;  .„ 

accessories  to  assomc  an  importance  ei». 
tirely   disproportionate    to   th  • 
to  it  twt  a  few  years  aco  b> 

11  sir',    of 


an  increase  of  vacuum  (rum  24  iiKhes  to 
28  inches  should  increase  the  puwer  de- 
veloped from  I  pound  of  steam  by  tome 
18  per  cent. ;  and  with  *   -  ■  of  tur- 

bine it  is  cbimed  that   -  gain  is 

very    nearly    equal    to    ■ 
due.    More  commonly,  h 
saving  is  slightly  less  than  ti 
a  rise  of   vacuum   from    :i 
inches    reducing    the    »»• 
by  nearly  17  per  cent, 
ing  is  less  than  that  t).  it 

is,  nevertheless,  sufficieir....  -  •..,....  ..nd 

fully  accounts  for  the  importance  attached 

to  a  '  mm  by  all  those  engaged  in 

the  :rp    nr     supply    of    itirbinr- 

drixin  ii 

will)  a   r> 

|>ortion  of  the  work  tine  ti^ 

crease    in    vacttum    would    n< 

rnipl"  >nirnt     of     low-pressure     cylinders 

rivaling    in    dimeti»i""»    f>u..r     i|    iVrf    n; 

diameter,  adopted  I 

his  I  ■    •      - 

tice  ■ 

k  .1.  imiii  ••!  .1  : 

111.  lies    to    3^    ' 

itnl  ,    s< . 

Mhu-h    Ii 

•.•.(rd*  .1  I  e. 

..nd    Hc    L.  ««c 

liners    worked    regularly    with   a    vacuum 

in  tf"        •  '- >f  but  Jl  inche-  ■  '  •  • 

Spe>  for    Iramp    - 

often  <U< 
in.iv    Im- 


natt  <     u.    »^.i  !•-,    '^fe« 
4 

—  •  '  •  ^.,..  .  to 

ibe  tbe    s^M 

seen  -' i  .    t?»^     fi 

nuA'  >    tbe    a44H 

•-dnesday  at  tkat  '   la 

•     f;.i,     V     »fi!rd    ?Ki! 


-ttoMed   by   m»A- 

••  era 

Great  ifnoraDCe  m  rniafd  so  tk' 
dples  gotermi  . 

be    fnun<l   <  ••  ■■  --f 

>«>i  tM*«  u<  tumi 


;>t  ucani  f  rbMMi  brcamm. 
■th:    !>>■««   tbe   STA.    >!    It 
"larsbarg 


TJtnrM    iri.fn    rrr  tj>r.  •  iTing  <nf  irx    t<j-  <:rrs 

than   from   Inrbiae  ankers   lor  plaals  to 

'1   low   raciia.     At  a  —tirr   ol 

■lormal    lo«r    baraneter    makt» 

matolCBaarr   ol   a   km    abao- 

Tf  in  The  rondraser.  as  pari  of 

;Nraip  H  UtttmJ   4(Mr 


abf 


<Mi  a  lov  ahio- 
•hr    wuf  I    of    tfkr 

m    r««u<4c«i    by    ar 

iruy  mean   ibanit 

-acb  rbaafc  ia  tb* 


Ti  41  ai  ibr  Ii 

>ifiM    for    tbe 

.   tbr   •■b- 
e    Ml    i*w    c«w»r»A"    r««dr- 


I 


MAksnt 


I.,  mij      .ih«.>liitrK 


lire    an<l    protitmg    by    the    wide    r»- 

Mcc  of  the  users  of  his  wares,  can 
turn  out  a  more  satisfactory  'article  than 
the  man  who  with  pipe  fittings  arwl  *«»ft 
solder  works  out  a  single  one      N'rvrrtlx- 

the  man  who  m.ikrs  .in    , 

•\it  oil  ru|i,  or  .1  iilti  r. 


lb 


,^    ««!•    .4b««    Utm*    •! 


iMVr  Irarnril,  ami   Ix-   m 
to  take  care  of   the    rr^  • 
article  which  he  will  donbtlr*.  r^eniualty 

art^tlirr 


352 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  i6,  1909. 


Power  Plant  Machinery  and    Appliances 

Original         Descriptions        of        Power       Devices 
No     Manufacturers'     Cuts     or      Write-ups      Used 

MUST     BE     NEW     OR     INTERESTING 


Copper  and  Brass  Pump  Lining 

The  copper  and  brass  lining  shown 
herewith  is  manufactured  by  the  Hamil- 
ton Copper  and  Brass  Works,  Hamilton, 
Ohio.  These  linings  are  used  to  line 
cj-linders  of  large  diameter,  where  seam- 
less tubing  above  a  certain  diameter,  say 
about  8  inches,  becomes  too  expensive, 
when  a  lining  made  of  composition  sheet 
brass  and  sheet  copper  is  substituted. 


which  should  extend  out  about  34  inch 
from  the  ends  of  the  cylinder,  are  turned 
over  the   ends  of  the  cj'linder,  making  a 

water-tight   fit. 


A  Variable  Speed  Clutch 

The  principles  involved  in  this  clutch 
and  the  method  of  speed  control  may  be 
readily  understood  by  reference  to  the 
diagram,  where  A  represents  a  shaft  sup- 


NEW  PUMP  LINING 


il.  One  end  of  this  cylinder  is  open  and 
from  this  end  projects  the  sliding  piston 
/  engaging  the  arms  G  G.  An  opening 
through  the  shaft  communicates  with  the 
interior  of  the  cylinder.  When  air  or  any 
fluid  under  pressure  is  admitted  through 
the  opening  into  the  cylinder,  the  piston 
is  forced  against  the  clutch  arms  G  G, 
thus  forcing  the  weights  E  E  inward  and 
the  clutch  shoes  D  D  outward  toward  and 
against  the  inner  face  of  the  drum  C, 
causing  the  drum  to  impart  its  motion  to 
the  shoes.  Acting  against  this  tendency  to 
impart  motion,  is  the  centrifugal  force  of 
the  weights  E  E,  which  tends  to  separate 
the  shoes  from  the  drum  and  overcome 
the  tendency  of  the  drum  to  impart  mo- 
tion. It  is  the  balance  between  these  two 
forces  that  determines  the  speed  trans- 
mitted. 

In  practice,  the  pressure  on  the  piston, 
acting  on   the  shoes  and  against  the  cen- 


The  cylinders  are  bored  out  the  size  of 
the  outside  diameter  of  the  lining  and  left 
in  a  somewhat  rough  cut.  Tht  linings 
are  then  pushed  into  the  rough-bored 
cylinder.  After  this  is  done  a  burnisher  or 
round-faced  tool  is  placed  in  the  boring 
bar  and  rubbed  or  burnished  slowly,  with 
a  uniform  pressure,  against  the  lining 
from  one  end  to  the  other.  This  brings 
the  lining  tight  against  the  cylinder  and 
also  makes  a  smooth  and  polished  sur- 
face. Plenty  of  oil  is  used  when  the  lin- 
ing is  being  rubbed  against  the  cylinder. 
When  this  is  done  the  ends  of  the  lining, 


SECTI0N.\L   VIEW   OF  V.M<I.\BLE    SPEED   CLUTCH 

ported  by  hangers  S  S,  B  a  pulley  driven 
by  a  belt  from  the  line  shaft,  and  rigidly 
mounted  on  the  long  hub  P  of  the  drum 
C.  The  pulley,  hub  and  drum  revolve  to- 
gether loosely  on  shaft  A.  At  D  D  are 
clutch  shoes,  fulcrumed  on  the  pivot  bolts 
U  U  in  the  ends  of  the  spider  F.  Integral 
with  these  shoes  are  the  weights  E  E  and 
the  inwardly  extending  arms  G  G.  The 
spider  F  is  rigidly  keyed  to  the  shaft  A. 
At  7  is  a  pulley  fastened  to  the  shaft. 
From  this  pulley,  a  belt  passes  to  the  ma- 
chine to  be  driven.  The  cylinder  H  is 
secured  to  the   shaft  A,  and  rotates  with 


trifugal  force  of  the  weights,  imparts  tol 
tlie  shoes  a  series  of  minute  impulses  that 
are  apparently  uniform,  conveying  steady 
rotary  motion  from  the  driving  member 
to  the  driven  member,  the  speed  under  no 
circumstances  exceeding  that  which  the 
regulating  valve  is  set  for.  When  pres- 
sure is  released  from  the  piston  /,  caus- 
ing the  clutch  shoes  to  break  contact  with 
the  drum,  the  drum  acts  as  a  loose  pulley 
on  the  shaft.  The  controlling  force  is 
admitted  to  the  cylinder  from  the  supply 
pipe  K  through  the  stuffing  box  O  and 
inlet   L,   regulation   being  effected   by   the 


February  i6,  1909. 

prc>>>ure-rcgulating  valve  M.  the  pressure 
bciiiK  indicated  by  a  Kage  N,  ihc  \alvi-  id 
being  readily  set  to  give  any  desired  yrcv 
sure.  The  cock  T  is  used  to  turn  on  ur 
off  the  supply  of  air,  to  start  or  stop  rota- 
tion. At  (J  is  a  grease  cup  from  which 
lubricant  is  fed  through  the  pipe  K  and 
the  central  hole  in  the  shaft  and  a  small 
radial  hole  to  the  bearing  surfaces  of  the 
sleeve  P. 

This  clutch  is  manufactured  by  the 
Vari.tbic  SjK-ed  Clutch  Company,  Mil- 
waukee, Wis. 


KJWER  AND  THE  EMjINKIk 

avnlLiU-    unit*  <.f  I  n- 

uhi'-'.    !■.   'l'«   their    (,:  ,. 

leg  the  evaporation  ••!   M^trt 


A  New  Line    ol  Bell  Dnvcn 
Altcmalors 


M 


ason  rumace 


The  accompanying  illustration  shows 
one  style  of  preheatcd-air  oil  furnace 
cnr!  tructed  by  the  Mason  Smokeless 
istion  Company,  201  Kerchhoff 
:ng,  Los  Angeles,  Cal.  The  method 
used  in  burning  oil  is  the  introduction  of 
biglily  preheated  air  at  the  point  of  com- 
bustion. 


A    new    line    of    polyphase    beit-drhrcn 
alternator*   ha*   bc«  •   out  by   the 

(ieneral     Klectric     t  for    u»e    in 

small    generating    pUnt»    and    in    i><ilatr<t 
lighting   and   power  plants  where   rapidl> 
iiKreasing     inductive     loads    and     con««- 
quently    low-power     factors    '.' 
lered.     The  machines  are  de^  . 
|>cr 

nf    0 

power   iuctufs. 

I'"ig.  I  is  a  general  view  nf  nnr  of  these 
generators.      Although     '  >r    belt 

drive,  they  are  readily  .I'l   ,  •  direct- 

connection  to  prime  movers  of  suitable 
speed  by  omitting  the  driving  pulley  and 
subbase    and    adding    a    coupling.     Each 


MASON    iniriirATCt>-AIR   OIL   fit!* Art 


A*  will  Ikt  seen,  the  furii.uc  !^  nj  :!ii;m.! 

ilh  a  brick  arch  over  tlie  k'^-'*''.   >•"  '  "!' 

•at  the  air  in  i).isMn;{  up  iliriugh 

i'.    heated    l>c(<ire    entrrmic    the 

r.   due   to   its   ccntact   with 


T 
n>r« 
frcr 


It  nf  east  froa  vtib 
alhm 

,..1.  .  f 


It  is  claimed  that  by  this  method  the  the 
•Ir  used  at  the  burner  is  greatly  ex  *  ■ 
pamled.   heated   by   the   heat    pnxluced   in 


maxr- 


JU 

The    *poclt   hm^   bcM   ia 
Urged  puU  iip»      la  9ka 

xd   •• 


:;>«-   Air     <i   .iii  infrr    tnu»      two 
.than  brushr*  arr  pttMtttd  iar 


I  bHorr.  f 


M«    f»vr«rrt^    «•. 'ts^*: 


bir  ia 


«ut> 


(he  oil. 
Thr  rnmbu«tion  is  said  to  take  pla;^  in 
■»f  a   *hrrt    tlanie.   •' 
lit    flux    showing    <- 
•n  of  the  Ra*e«  and  a  n 
..-:ty  of  heat  which  is  rapi' 
to  the  boiler  body. 

Greatly  inl•r^.l^^d  fuf 
'ofTther  with  411  rvni  1. 
btat  is  said  to  Ik-  the  rcsuil.  aih)  all  the 


t{e.XtU    IbfO'JgTl    ■riKIi    jrr    mj 


354 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGIXEER. 


I'\'liruary  i6,  1909. 


exciters  have  a  normal  voltage  of  125 
volts,  but  are  capable  of  delivering  150 
volts  continuously.  This  margin  of  power 
enables  them  easily  to  overcome  the  de- 
magnetizing effect  of  the  armature  cur- 
rent on  circuits. 

When  intended  for  operation  as  syn- 
chronous motors,  these  generators  are 
equipped  with  squirrel-cage  windings  set 
in  the  field-magnet  pole  faces.  These 
windings  are  said  to  give  ample  starting 
torque  with  a  moderate  starting  current 
and  they  do  not  in  the  least  affect  the 
operation  of  the  machines  as  generators. 
The  generators  are  at  present  available 
with  either  two-  or  three-phase  windings 
and  for  240,  480,  600,   1150  or  2300  volts. 


Atlantic  City  A.  O.  S.  E.  Dinner 

The  twelfth  annual  dinner  of  Atlantic 
City  Council  No.  4,  of  the  American 
Order  of  Steam  Engineers,  was  held  at 
the  Hotel  Jackson,  Atlantic  City,  N.  J.,, 
on  Saturday  evening.  February  6.  An 
excellent  collation  was  served  to  over 
150  members,  friends  and  guests,  among 
them  being  several  prominent  citizens  of 
the  cit}-,  and  also  many  familiar  faces  of 
the  .  engineering  fraternitj'.  Short  ad- 
,  dresses  were  made  by  Mayor  F.  B.  Stoy, 
Harry  Wooten,  Fred  Marcoe,  supreme 
president  of  the  A.  O.  S.  E.,  and  Commo- 
dore Louis  Klunnel.  An  enjoyable  enter- 
tainment was  given  by  Charles  E.  Car- 
penter and  "Jack"  Armour.  T.  D.  Just 
was  the  affable  toastmaster.  The  com- 
mittee in  charge  of  the  successful  oc- 
casion were  W.  S.  Price,  A.  H.  Francks, 
J.  W.  Frampton,  C.  F.  Noble,  E.  N. 
Meloney. 


Business  Items 


J.  Everton  &  Son.  of  Deer  River,  Minn.,  has 
plafed  an  order  with  the  Minneapolis  Steel 
and  Machinery  Company  for  an  80-hor.sepovver 
Muenzel  producer  gas  engine  and  gas  producer 
plant,  and  a  .53-kilo\vatt  double-cylinder  gen- 
erator, which  will  be  direct-connected  to  the 
engine.  This  machinery  will  be  installed  in 
the  electric  light  plant  at  Deer  River. 

The  Southern  Engineering  and  Supply  Com- 
pany has  opened  offices  at  220  Avenue  D,  Henry 
Terrell  building,  San  Antonio,  Tex.  They 
propose  to  make  a  specialty  of  pumping  and 
irrigating  machinery,  also  isolated  and  small 
light  and  refrigerating  plants.  Manufacturers 
interested  in  .southwestern  territory  not  having 
representatives  are  invited  to  send  catalogs 
and  descriptive  literature. 

The  Burnite  Machinery  Company,  with 
Thomas  B.  Burnite  as  manager,  has  succeeded 
the  Burnite-I^eonard  Engineering  Company, 
of  Denver,  Colo.  The  company  has  moved 
into  a  commodious  office  and  storeroom  at 
Seventeenth  and  Glenarm  streets  and  repre- 
sents the  Hardsocg  Wonder  Drill  Company, 
the  Erie  City  Iron  Works,  the  Bury  Compressor 
Company,  the  Krogh  Centrifugal  Pump  Com- 
pany, and  various  other  lines,  making  equipment 
for  mine,  mill  or  power  plants  of  all  descriptions. 

The    Fountain-Shaw    Engineering    Company, 


which  began  business  the  first  of  this  year  as 
civil,  sanitary,  electrical  and  mechiiiical  engi- 
neers, with  oirices  in  the  Bin/;  building.  Houston, 
Tex.,  is  composed  of  Thomas  L.  Fountain  and 
Joseph  D.  Shaw,  with  P.  S.  Tilson  as  collab- 
orator. Until  recently  Mr.  Fountain  was 
assistant  to  Alexander  Potter,  civil  and  sanitary 
engineer,  of  New  York  City,  and  Mr.  Shaw 
was  assistant  to  the  chief  engineer  of  the  Pitts- 
burg Railways  Company  and  the  Allegheny 
Company. 

The  Crocker- Wheeler  Company,  of  Ampere, 
N.  J.,  has  ju.st  closed  a  contract  to  equip  with 
motor  drive  the  new  woodworking  factory  of 
the  John  Hofman  Company,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 
The  order  includes  40  induction  motors  rangin? 
from  1  to  30  horsepower,  with  a  total  capacity 
of  about  200  horsepower.  These  motors  will 
be  used  for  individual  drive,  each  machine  being 
equipped  with  its  own  motor.  The  motors, 
with  the  exception,  of  one,  are  of  the  squirrel- 
cage  type.  The  generator  for  this  plant  and 
three  lighting  transformers  are  also  included 
in  the  order  placed  with  the  Crocker- Wheeler 
Company. 

The  Buckeye  Boiler  Skimmer  Company, 
South  End,  Toledo,  O.,  has  received  a  letter 
dated  January  2S,  1909,  from  Gilmore  Brothers, 
contractors,  Toledo,  in  which  they  say:  "We 
have  used  your  skimmer  on  our  two  dredges  the 
past  three  years  and  find  that  they  do  all  that 
you  claim  for  them.  We  have  worked  along- 
side of  other  dredges,  equipped  with  the  same 
style  of  boiler,  and  whereas  the  others  have 
had  to  clean  their  boilers  every  two  weeks,  we 
ran  eight  weeks  before  cleaning  and  then  found 
no  mud  or  scale.  We  open  up  our  boilers  every 
eight  weeks,  more  to  inspect  them  than  in  the 
expectation  of  linding  mud  or  scale.  We  figure 
we  save  double  the  price  of  the  skimmer  each 
season,  in  fuel  and  time." 

The  Nelson  Valve  Company,  Philadelphia, 
Penn.,  which  was  originally  incorporated  in 
the  State  of  New  Jersey,  has  surrendered  its 
charter  and  has  been  incorporated  in  the  State 
of  Pennsylvania.  This  company  began  in  1893 
to  manufacture  valves  of  all  kinds  under  the 
Nelson  patents  and  made  such  a  success  of  the 
business  that  it  now  employs  from  200  to  2.50 
men.  It  is  now  proposed  largely  to  increase 
the  facilities  so  as  to  meet  the  growing  demand 
for  the  company's  product.  The  new  charter 
will  empower  the  company  to  manufacture 
and  sell  pipe,  valves,  machinery,  fittings  and 
steam  specialties,  and  will  have  an  authorized 
capital  of  one  million  dollars.  The  president 
of  the  new  company,  who  was  also  president 
of  the  old  one,  is  Samuel  F.  Houston,  who  is 
vice-president  of  the  Real  Estate  Trust  Com- 
pany, and  vice-president  of  the  Winifrede  Coal 
Company  and  of  the  Winifrede  Railroad  Com- 
pany. Carlisle  Mason  is  the  vice-president 
and,  as  heretofore,  general  manager,  and  Russell 
Bonnell,  the  secretary-treasurer.  Henry  H. 
Bonnell  is  also  one  of  the  incorporators. 


New    Catalogs 


New  Equipment 

City  of  Elgin,  Texas,  has  voted  $30,000  bonds 
for  construction  of  water  works. 

The  Deer  Lodge  (.Mont.)  Electric  Company 
contemplates  installing  engine,  alternator,  etc. 

The  Gilmer  (Tex.)  Ice,  Light  and  Power  Com- 
pany has  been  incorporated  with  $40,000  capital 
by  T.  E.  Barnwell,  Lewis  Monroe  and  J.  E. 
Barwell. 

The  city  council.  Hartshorne,  Okla.,  is  said 
to  have  decided  to  construct  water-works  at 
a  cost  of  SSO.OOO. 

The  citizens  of  Ashburn,  Ga.,  voted  to  issue 
$55,000  bonds  for  construction  of  electric-light 
plant,  water  works,  etc. 

It  is  reported  the  Le  Roy  (111.)  Electric  Light. 
Power  and  Heating  Company  contemplates 
the  installation  of  a  new  heating  and  ice  plant. 


Lehigh  Stoker  Company,  Fullerton,  Penn. 
Catalog.  Mechanical  stoker.  Illustrated,  12 
pages,  6x9^  inches. 

W^eber  Steel-Concrete  Chimney  Company, 
Chicago,  111.  Catalog.  Chimneys.  Illustrated, 
48  pages,  4x9  inches. 

The  Corbett  Supply  Company,  Trenton,  N.  J. 
Catalog.  General  mill  supplies.  Illustrated, 
520  pages,  6x9  inches. 

Joseph  Dixon  Crucible  Company,  Jersey  City, 
N.  J.  Pamphlet.  Lubricating  the  Motor.  Il- 
lustrated, 24  pages,  5ix84  inches. 

Dean  Bros.  Steam  Pump  Works,  Indianapolis, 
Ind.  Catalog  No.  74.  Condensing  machinery. 
Illustrated,  56  pages,  6x7^  inches. 

The  Caskey  Valve  Company,  422  Arcade 
building,  Philadelphia,  Penn.  Catalog.  Valves. 
Illustrated,  19  pages,  3^x6^  inches. 

The  Jeffrey  Manufacturing  Company,  Colum- 
bus, Ohio.  Catalog  67  D.  Rubber-belt  con- 
veyers.    Illustrated,  48  pages,  6x9  inches. 

Eck  Dynamo  and  Motor  Company,  Belleville, 
N.  J.  Sectional  catalog  and  data  book.  Motors 
and  dynamos.     Illustrated,  5^x8^  inches. 

C.  O.  Bartlett  &  Snow  Company.  Cleveland, 
Ohio.  Catalog  No.  28.  Coal  and  ash  handling  ma-« 
chinery.     Illustrated,  48  pages,  6x9  inches. 

Jacobson  Machine  Manufacturing  Company, 
Warren,  Penn.  Bulletin  L.  Gasolene  power 
sprayers.     Illustrated,  30  pages,  6x9  inches. 

The  Climax  Smoke  Preventer  Company.  Equit- 
able building,  Boston,  Mass.  Catalog.  Climax 
smoke  preventer.  Illustrated,  16  pages,  6x9 
inches. 

Bush  Terminal  Company,  100  Broad  street. 
New  York.  Catalog.  Model  loft  buildings  for 
shipper  and  manufacturer.  Illustrated,  12  pages, 
9ixl2  inches. 


Help   Wanted 

Advertisements  under  this  head  are  in- 
serted for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  woras 
make  a  line.  • 

AN  ENGINEER  in  each  town  to  sell  the 
best  rocking  grate  for  steam  boilers.  Write 
Martin  Grate  Co.,  281  Dearborn  St.,  Chicago. 
WANTED— Thoroughly  competent  steam 
specialty  salesman;  one  that  can  sell  high- 
grade  goods.  Address  "M.  M.  Co.,"  Po\ver_ 
ENGINEER  WANTED  for  small  power 
plant  in  Pennsylvania.  Must  be  sober,  indus- 
trious. Address,  with  particulars.  Box  1,  Povvek. 
ASSOCIATE  MEMBER  of  the  A.  S.  M.  E., 
aged  30,  who  has  specialized  on  fuel  economy 
and  is  carrying  on  a  consulting  practice  with 
headquarters  in  New  York  City,  desires  to 
become  associated  with  other  con.sulting  engi- 
neer or  firm  of  consulting  engineers,  either 
electrical  or  mechanical,  with  offices  in  New 
York  City.     Box  100,  Power. 

WANTED — By  an  engineering  company  in 
New  York  City,  a  wide-awake  man  with  practi- 
cal knowledge  of  plant  operation  in  office  build- 
ings,  to  act  as  inspector.  One  with  a  genera) 
experience,  but  with  full  knowledge  of  elevaton 
and  meter  testing  preferred.  A  future  for  the 
right  man.  Address,  stating  age,  experience 
and  salary  expected.     Box  99,  Powek. 

WANTED— A  good  live  agent  in  everj 
shop  or  factory  in  the  U.  S.  to  sell  one  of  th< 
best  known  preparations  for  removing  grea.si 
and  grime  from  the  hands  without  injury  U 
the  skin..  Absolutely  guaranteed.  An  agen 
can  make  from  $5.00  to  $25.00  over  and  abovi 
liis  regular  .salary.  This  is  no  fake.  Writi 
for  free  sample  and  agents'  terms.  The  Klen 
zola  Co.,  Erie,   Pa. 

Miscellaneous 

Advertisements  under  this  head  are  in 
serted  for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  vxnd 
make  a  line. 

MACHINERY  built  to  order;  up-to-dat 
plant.  Write  Brunswick  Refrigerating  Co. 
New   Brunswick.   N.  J. 

PATENTS  secured  promptly  in  the  Unite 
States     and     foreign     countries.     Pamphlet     c 


February  23,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


\\% 


Recent    Refinements     in    Boiler    Testing 

Descriptions   of    Apparatus    and    Mcthotls    Elmploycd    in    Conciuctii^ 
Tests   Along   Uptodalc   Lines;   Special    Devices   Uied  by    the    Author 


B  Y 


ALBERT 


A. 


GARY 


During  many  years  of  boiler-testing  ex- 
perience the  writer  has  constantly  en- 
deavored to  improve  his  testing  equip- 
ment, so  as  to  reduce  the  possibility  of 
error  to  a  minimum,  to  diminish  the  num- 
ber of  expert  assistants  required  during  a 
test  and  to  make  it  possible  personally  to 
take  all  of  the  required  observations  with 
sufficient  frequency  to  obtain  ample  data 
showing  every  important  varying  condition 
occurring  during  the  test. 

Probably  one  of  the  most  troublesome 


a  reserve  supply  to  be  delivc  >  u> 

the    iced    pump.      This    arr .  re- 

quires the  construction  of   a  ;.:ai- 

form  of  sufficient  hight  to  alluw  ::.•;  ;  jwer 
tank  to  be  placed  beneath  it  and  it  must 
be  strong  enough  to  carry  both  the  scale 
and  the  upper  weighing  tank  with 
( usually )  two  men  who  weigh  the  water 
and  check  each  other's  results 

If  it  is  desireil  to  keep  track  of  the 
amount  of  water  actually  evaporated  over 
each    small   interval   of  time   duriitg   the 


or  diMrraaged 

expense  tuoally  niicMd 

of  the  plaM  tor  a  pcoy»ity 

Water     niea*tirtag    M 
used  m  pUcr  of  wentuag  afpftralof^ 
adnuts  oi  the  uk  of  a 
rquipmciM    bat    vMll 
accuracy.     1   hat« 
mounlifig  mkIi  spparanM  m  plaoc, 
>    MBl    to   tW 
'uctioos  lor  cfcctwiL  TaM 
utcut  rcquim  tht  kmtt  taav  tM 


10  iW 


UPPfR 
COnPARTM[NT 


y-    -  1-^ 


2or 


n 


»  INK. 


\\ 


01*lf«  PIPI 


A. 


m.jM'-r  .  ..iiiiir(tr<i  wmi   iti' 

boiler  lesniik'.  where  the  cm;: 

to  CfMnln.  t    1     ;••  .  \A  lest,  IS  f 

appAr.it  11^         !     i    :\r     lisr'!     ' 

which    1        ■ 

form    ail': 

weighed    t>efore    it    is    dumiM-<l 

lowrr    fjiik    wlii,-li     3rliii(r    .1  <    .1    n" 


,»,,    t.ivlii   of  lK»   waff    '"   '^'   ' 


356 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  23,  1909. 


heads  having  been  removed)  a  hole  is 
bored  through  each  bottom  head  and  a 
2-  or  2j4-inch  pipe  flange  is  bohed  to  this 
bottom  with  a  rubber  gasket  between  the 
wood  and  the  tiange. 

In  the  bottom  flange  of  each  of  the 
upper  (or  measuring)  tanks  is  screwed  a 
nipple  with  a  valve  holding  another  lower 
nipple  from  which  the  water  is  discharged 
into  the  lower  sump  tanks  placed  below 
the  level  of  the  elevated  platform.  A  hole 
is  bored  into  the  side  of  each  of  the  upper, 
or  measuring  barrels,  near  the  top  of  one 
of  the  staves,  and  into  this  is  screwed  a 
short  length  of  pipe  projecting  into  and 
outside  of  the  barrel.  Error  is  introduced 
in  this  form  of  apparatus  in  filling  the 
barrel  (from  the  lower  closed  valve  to  a 
level  where  the  overflow  pipe  ceases  to 
deliver  water),  due  to  the  speed  of 
manipulation  sometimes  found  necessary, 
and  to  carelessness  (often  due  to  fatigue) 
on  the  part  of  those  in  charge. 

Many  special  arrangements  have  been 
introduced  by  users  of  such  apparatus  to 
diminish  this  error.  The  opening  and 
closing  of  the  supply  valves  delivering 
water  to  these  measuring  tanks  and  the 
proper  opening  and  closing  of  the  dis- 
charge valves  under  these  barrels  involve 
considerable  activity  on  the  part  of  the  man 
or  men  manipulating  the  apparatus,  especi- 
ally when  it  is  worked  anywhere  near  its 
capacity,  to  which  work  is  generally  added 
the  clerical  duty  of  keeping  the  water  log, 
on  which  should  be  noted  the  exact  time 
of  each  dump.  Errors  are  sometimes  in- 
troduced by  opening  the  discharge  valve 
before  the  overflow  pipe  has  ceased  to 
drip,    by    imperfectly    closing    the    lower 


manipulation  despite  the  careful  watch- 
ing of  the  man  conducting  the  test. 

The  lower  barrels  are  connected  by  bot- 
tom piping  so  as  to  form  practically  one 
sump  tank,  from  which  lower  connection 
water  is  piped  to  the  feed  pump. 

In  carefully  conducted  tests  the  common 


FIG.    3 


ration  in  the  boiler,  or  by  neglect  in  keep- 
ing the  water  in  the  boiler  up  to  the  level 
selected  for  the  trial ;  or  neglect  in  keep- 
ing the  sump  tanks  full  of  water. 

Automatic  Liquid  Weigher 
There  have  been  many  more  or  less 
automatic  weighing  or  measuring  tanks 
presented,  to  reduce  the  labor  required  in 
keeping  account  of  the  feed  water  used 
during  a  boiler  trial,  but  nearly  all  of 
these  have  proved  undesirable  as  portable 
apparatus,  due  to  their  considerable  bulk 
or  weight,  or  due  to  their  delicate  or  com- 
plicated parts,  to  say  nothing  of  their  con- 
siderable cost  in  some  cases ;  but  finally,, 
after  investigating  a  number  of  these  de- 
vices, the  writer  found  what  he  has  been 
looking  for  in  a  comparatively  recent  ap- 
paratus known  as  the  Wilcox  automatic 
liquid  weigher.  This  weigher  was  de- 
scribed in  a  paper  presented  before  the 
American  Society  of  Mechanical  Engi- 
neers at  the  May,  1906,  meeting  and  it 
was  also  described  in  Power  in  the  issue 
of  June,  1906. 

It  is  piped  directly  to  the  water  sys- 
tem supplying  the  boiler,  and  after  re- 
ceiving a  charge  of  water  in  its  upper 
compartment,  which  charge  is  carefully 
weighed  by  balancing  it  against  a  column 
of  water  of  a  predetermined  hight,  the  water 
supply  is  cut  off  within  the  tank  automati- 
cally and  the  weighed  charge  is  dumped ; 
and  then  follows  one  weighed  charge  after 
the  other,  each  successively  dumped  intO' 
the  sump  from  which  the  water  is  de- 
livered to  the  boiler-feed  pump.  A  sec- 
tion of  the  apparatus  is  shown  in  Fig.  i. 
If  the  supply  of  water  to  the  weigher 


Ball  Float 
Lever  Sbuft 


FIG.     4 

valves  and  occasionally  owing  to  forget- 
fulness  or  to  a  rush  when  a  sudden  de- 
mand for  more  water  occurs,  due  to  fail- 
ure in  closing  the  discharge  valve  before 
the  water-supply  valve  is  opened  to  fill  the 
barrel. 

Where  intention  to  deceive  exists,  this 
form    of   apparatus    lends   itself  to    easy 


level  of  the  water  in  the  lower  tanks 
should  be  noted  in  the  log  at  the  time  of 
each  dump  from  the  measuring  tanks,  to- 
gether with  the  level  of  the  water  in 
boiler-gage  glass.  With  such  information 
it  is  possible  to  determine  whether  a  num- 
ber of  rapidly  dumped  barrels  has  been 
necessitated  by  a  momentary  large  evapo- 


FIG.    5 

was  not  restricted,  the  continuous  work- 
ing of  the  apparatus  would  be  apt  to  over- 
flow the  sump  tank,  but  by  placing  a  float 
in  the  sump  tank  and  by  connecting  it  to- 
a  balanced  valve  placed  in  the  inlet  piping 
to  the  tank  (the  tank  being  mounted  upon 
an  elevated  platform)  this  valve  automat- 
ically cuts  off  the  supply  of  entering  water 


February  23,  1909. 

when  the  level  of  the  water  in  the  sunip 
tank  rises  above  a  predetermined  level. 

Each  time  this  weighing  apparatus  fills 
and  dumps,  the  rising  and  falling  water 
level  lifts  and  lowers  a  ball  float  withm 
the  lower  compartment.  This  causes  a 
small  shaft,  passing  through  the  ^iile  ut 
the  apparatus,  to  make  a  partial  revolu- 
tion, first  in  one  direction  and  then  in  the 
opposite  direction,  being  actuated  by  the 
float  to  which  the  shaft  is  attached  by  a 
lever. 

By  referring  to  Figs.  3  and  4,  it  will  be 
seen  that  the  outer  end  of  this  shaft  car- 
ries a  lever,  projecting  upward,  and  hav- 
ing a  slot  at  its  upper  extremity.  This 
slot  engages  a  pin  placed  at  the  bottom 
of  the  lever  of  a  counter  mechanism  an<l 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

less  very  (requem  rcadingt  were  ukm. 
The  labor  required  in  climbing  up  to  the 
counter,  located   some    10  (cet  above  the 


i"ijiiil  ;. 

was  completed,  so  means  wr;  ',y 

the  writer  to  overcome  lhi»  Ir 

feature. 
To   illustrate,   rotighljr.   wli«i    .^    ......... 

by  the  necc»»ity  for  frequent  reading ».  let 
us  suppose  that  thr  '     ' 
poumU   of   water   r 

at  the 

end   ol    ttic     -•  r.      It     w«nild     be 

found  that   iH.. -■  .^  had  been  evapo- 


ric  6 

as  the  top  of  the  float  lever  moves  b«ck  rated  unrr  thf  bs«  rtadmc 

ward  and    forward   the   counter   is   made  by 

to  add  one  to  the  figure  previously  regis  rat! 

tered.     Thu*  each  dump  is  automatically  conclusnm  w 


registered  .-11  ilir  .••uiitcr. 

The    forrkj-MiikC   'I'-'  ription   presents  the 

aUlotll.itir        M'ullrr        AS        It 

writrr.   '-(!•    itirr   testinK   1' 

It    couhl    I"-    T  ■ 

r    with    an    rrt    ■ 
of  not  ovrr  ■11'-  <|uarter  of  one  per  crm  . 
and  after  ttt)ixri|ucnlly  u«inif  ••  <"   >  l-ilr- 
tftt    it  was  found  that  th< 
•bowing   the    number   ««f    '!• 
give  ^ulBrinit    infornuli<>ii    ■ 
'\Xf.  in     evji' 

diK  ur*e  of  t 


idea  of  what  _.:  — 

this  part  of  tb«  MM. 


JS7 

average  load  for  iIh  4ajr  waa  mtf  mj 

botkr    borscpowcr.   hm    4wmg    mm  Uif 

bow  in  tbc  aftcfBooa  ibc  itcaa  rv^awe- 

mrou  ran  op  to  «S7  bodcr  bo*n>o»M 

!n  onlcf  to  obuta  tbc  Ml  rtnif«4  4Ma 

tbtt  apparataa.  I  <«vtaa4  lb* 

'  \   shows   n    ?*iK     \   Aivl 

greater  dcarar  ^ 

ti>  l\\m    %\\irr%    rfr'  .    ^ttj^^t 


coon- 


.po- 


\^,\ 


uacd  bf  U 
tbc  vertsi. 
by  a  bnb  * 


Jbi«  ha  loai  m  tbc 

rirnoial  IrvcT  Mm  at  tbM 

:.trik    J  w.    tmI  Uak  It  Mcare^  dvappiag 

^r  ol  a  BnMoi  IHM  re- 

'  'jawwt   accw  tfdy   re- 

'     .r*  the  fcvutdiHg-fapev  cbari  by  dacb- 

By  tbia  arraiiganut,  wbca  tbc  bal  ioai 

in  thr  t.ank  riw*  aith  tK«-  infloenag  aawr. 
the  <  ^Ttnwd  away 

<plaec4  oB 
>r4  m  vmtt 

<'irriiniirrrTi<.  r         i  rrjr   t-    rrTr»*MM  aWBi  IWC 

damp  ocmrsu  when  the  lalbag  water  lr««l 
rjut-^  >»  to  awe  bacb  laward  tbc 

irrtt  hart. 

TbcM  iii  agpruabaairij  riihtl  ban 
arc  traced  00  Ibe  paper  cban  w«b  ab. 
wben  tbc  Myfoa  boMi  tab.  hm  I  ba«e 
frHind  a  fMper  cbaft  baviag  its  (acv  «*f«^ 
wi'^    tm  4r     nacb   asore    catMlac 


U'.r 

an  otkUtcratKA  -i  itt 


dutiiig«t«lM<    and 

.m.  krx\    fxr     « ttfi    MS    C 


I 

r«*»'*'i  • 

mcvbaaii 

cb«' 


.■>fiin*'l    nur 


tbft* 


<b 

•fee 

I  i««i«e 

as  aaiAt 

mm 


358 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  23,  1909. 


the  bell  crank  toward  the  float  shaft. 
Weights  are  suspended  from  this  rod  to 
counterbalance  the  weight  which  has  been 
imposed  upon  the  lever  operating  the 
counter  by  adding  the  attachments  to  the 
clock  mechanism.  Having  this  convenient 
projecting  rod,  the  writer  was  tempted 
to  add  another  refinement  to  this  weigh- 
ing-tank mechanism  which  has  proved  a 
great  convenience.  I  refer  to  an  electric 
counter. 

The  inconvenience  of  using  the  regular 
mechanically  actuated  counter  provided 
with  the  machine,  and  located  some  10 
feet  above  the  floor,  has  already  been  re- 
ferred to.  To  actuate  the  Mandi  electric 
counter  a  circuit  from  a  battery  (of  three 
dry  cells)  must  be  closed  and  then  opened. 
The  closed  circuit  from  the  battery  must 
not  be  maintained  long,  otherwise  the 
battery  will  soon  be  exhausted.  In  order 
to  accomplish  this  result,  I  borrowed  (by 
permission)  part  of  the  patented  mechan- 
ism used  in  the  Desper  elevated-travel 
recorder.  This  is  plainly  shown  in  Fig. 
4,  where  will  be  seen  the  outer  end  of 
the  counterbalance  rod  projecting  from 
the  hub  of  the  bell  crank,  placed  directly 
over  an  angle-shaped  brass  wiper.  This 
wiper  is  secured  to  the  blocking  holding 
the  bell  crank  by  an  easy-fitting  pin  pass- 
ing through  the  hub  of  the  wiper  near  the 
apex  of  the  angle. 

To  hold  the  wiper  in  the  position  shown 
with  the  least  interference  to  its  move- 
ment around  its  supporting  pin,  a  short 
rod  is  secured  in  its  hub,  projecting  at 
right  angles  to  the  pivotal  pin  and  stand- 
ing midway  between  the  two  arms  of  the 
angular  wiper.  To  the  outer  end  of  this 
rod  one  end  of  a  spring  is  attached,  the 
other  end  being  fastened  to  an  electric 
binding  post  secured  to  the  supporting 
blocking,  and  with  this  extension  spring 
in  tension  the  angular  wiper  must  be  held 
with  its  upper  face  horizontal  but  a  very 
slight  pressure  applied  near  the  end  of 
this  horizontal  face  will  cause  it  to  deflect 
and  turn  around  the  pivotal  pin,  and  it 
will  recover  its  normal  position  the  in- 
stant this  pressure  is  removed. 

The  upper  or  horizontal  face  of  this 
wiper  is  covered  with  an  insulating  ma- 
terial which  projects  over  its  outer  edge, 
but  the  under  horizontal  face  presents  a 
bare  metal  surface. 

Electrical  connections  are  made  with 
the  batteries  and  the  Mandi  electrical 
counter  by  connecting  one  wire  to  a  bind- 
ing post  secured  to  the  counterweight  rod 
near  the  hub  of  the  bell  crank,  while  the 
other  wire  is  connected  to  the  binding  post 
at  the  outer  end  of  the  wiper  spring,  the 
current  being  conducted  through  the 
spring  and  rod  to  the  angle  piece,  as 
shown. 

With  this  equipment,  it  will  be  seen 
that  as  the  tank  fills  with  water,  the  outer 
end  of  the  counterbalance  rod  is  made 
to  descend  and,  striking  the  top  insulated 
surface  of  the  wiper,  no  current  will  pass 
through   the   system.     As  the   water   con- 


tinues to  fill  the  tank,  the  end  of  the 
counterbalance  rod  continues  to  descend 
and  finally  it  slips  over  the  edge  of  the 
insulated  face,  when  the  wiper  springs 
back  to  its  normal  position,  leaving  the 
end  of  the  counterbalance  rod  beneath  the 
horizontal  face,  and  out  of  contact  with  it. 

The  discharging  operation  of  the  auto- 
matic weigher  requires  a  very  short  space 
of  time,  and  as  the  water  level  falls  the 
end  of  the  counterbalance  rod  rises, 
striking  the  lower  horizontal  metal  face  of 
the  angle  and  wiping  over  it  as  it  rises 
thus  closes  the  circuit  and  causes  the  elec- 
tric current  to  flow  through  the  magnets 
which  operate  the  counter.  As  the  end  of 
the  counterbalance  rod  continues  its  up- 
ward motion,  it  soon  slips  over  the  edge 
of  the  wiper,  thus  breaking  the  circuit, 
and  this  rod  soon  reassumes  the  position 
shown  in  Fig.  4. 

With  this  device,  it  is  possible  to  place 
the  electric  counter  in  any  convenient  posi- 
tion about  the  boiler  room,  where  the 
readings  can  be  taken  with  the  least 
effort.  With  an  autographic  record,  show- 
ing not  only  the  number  of  dumps  but 
also  the  exact  time  of  each  dump,  the  use 
of  this  electric  counter  may  be  questioned. 
I  have  found  it  most  useful  during  the 
course  of  the  test,  showing  as  it  does, 
almost  immediately,  the  general  evapora- 
tive result  accomplished  up  to  the  time 
of  the  reading.  With  the  many  lines 
found  on  the  recording  chart,  it  is  difficult 
to  find  time,  during  the  test,  to  count 
them.  By  pasting  a  piece  of  paper  on  the 
front  of  the  electric  recorder  just  below 
the  line  of  moving  figures  on  its  face,  and 
by  writing  thereon  the  figure  recorded  im- 
mediately befoi-e  the  start  of  the  test,  it 
is  a  very  simple  matter  to  subtract  this 
written  figure  from  the  recorded  figure 
above,  and  then  one  has,  almost  at  a 
glance,  the  number  of  dumps  which  have 
occurred  during  the  test,  up  to  the  time 
of  taking  the  reading. 

Just  below  the  initial  figure  on  the 
pasted  slip  I  write  the  exact  number  of 
pounds  of  water  discharged  at  each  dump, 
as  determined  by  a  previous  calibration  of 
the  automatic  weigher.  With  all  of  this 
information  in  plain  view,  anyone  inter- 
ested, in  the  test  may,  by  multiplying  the 
number  of  dumps  by  the  weight  of  each 
dump,  which  I  do  very  rapidly  on  a  slide 
rule,  obtain  the  number  of  pounds  of 
water  fed  to  the  boiler  up  to  that  time. 

The  average  temperature  of  the  feed 
water  and  the  steam  pressure  are  soon 
found,  and  we  can  then  easily  determine 
the  number  of  pounds  of  water  evapo- 
rated under  these  conditions ;  required  to 
show  a  heat  absorption  of  33,305  B.t.u., 
which  constitutes  a  boiler  horsepower. 
This  is  found  to  be  30  pounds  with  feed 
water  at  100  degrees  Fahrenheit  and  with 
a  steam  pressure  of  70  pounds,  and  34.488 
pounds  with  feed  water  at  212  degrees 
Fahrenheit  and  with  steam  at  standard 
atmospheric  pressure. 

We  have  merely  to  multiply  this  "horse- 


power conversion  figure"  by  the  time 
elapsed  since  the  test  began  (in  hours) 
and  divide  this  product  into  the  pounds  of 
water  fed  to  the  boiler,  to  obtain  with 
close  approximation  the  average  boiler 
horsepower  that  has  been  developed.  This 
is  done  quickly  on  the  slide  rule,  and  with 
equal  rapidity,  by  the  use  of  another  ap- 
paratus described  hereinafter,  there  can 
be  known  at  any  instant  the  average 
evaporation  of  water  per  pound  of  coal 
stoked  to  the  boiler.  Such  information  is 
not  ordinarily  obtainable  until  after  the 
conclusion  of  the  test,  and  then  it  is  often 
too  late  to  straighten  out  mistakes  or 
irregularities  that  may  have  occurred. 

Advantages  Gained  by  the  Use  of  This 
Apparatus 

The  advantages  gained  by  use  of  an 
automatic  water  apparatus  of  this  kind 
must  be  quite  apparent.  In  the  first  place, 
the  stand  required  to  mount  this  weigher, 
as  shown  in  Fig.  2,  costs  but  about  $5^ 
and  by  using  two  whiskey  barrels  for  a 
sump  there  is  added  but  $2.50  to  this 
amount.  No  extra  observers  are  required 
to  note  the  quantity  of  water  delivered  to 
the  boiler  and  check  each  other's  results. 

With  the  float  operating  in  one  of  the 
sump  barrels,  the  one  which  does  not  re- 
ceive the  discharge  from  the  weigher,  and 
with  this  float  connected  by  a  small  "jack 
chain"  to  the  lever  of  the  balanced  valve 
which  regulates,  the  flow  of  supply  water 
to  the  automatic  weigher,  the  necessity  of 
constantly  noting  the  hight  of  the  water 
level  in  the  sump  tanks  is  done  away 
with,  as  I  have  found  the  level  of  the 
water  in  the  sump  constantly  falling  and 
rising  between  two  fixed  levels  which  do 
not  vary  %  inch.  We  therefore  have 
only  to  note  the  level  of  the  water  in  the 
boiler's  gage  glass  to  make  corrections 
for  periodic  water  readings,  and  as  long 
as  the  water  level  in  the  boiler  is  kept  at 
a  constant  hight  the  necessity  for  all  such 
water-level   readings  is  done  away  with. 

The  regularity  with  which  the  water  is 
supplied  to  the  boiler  may  thus  be  noted  by 
a  mere  glance  at  the  lines  shown  on  the 
chart  of  the  autographic  recorder.  If  the 
demand  for  steam  from  the  tested  boiler 
is  constant,  these  lines  should  be  very 
regular  in  their  spacing;  otherwise,  the 
trouble  may  be  traced  to  a  careless  water 
tender,  who  may  allow  the  water  to  drop 
or  rise  to  an  inexcusable  distance  below  or 
above  the  string  tied  around  the  water-gage 
glass.  The  best  results  in  a  boiler  test 
are  generally  obtained  by  keeping  the  wa- 
ter at  a  constant  level,  rather  than  allow- 
ing this  level  to  fall  far  below  the  selected" 
hight  and  then  periodically  rapidly  forc- 
ing in  large  quantities  of  cold  water. 

If  the  fluctuating  load  of  a  plant  is  car- 
ried by  the  boiler  tested,  and  the  water 
level  in  the  boiler  is  kept  constant,  the 
recording  chart  will  show  the  exact 
fluctuation  of  the  load  by  the  unequal 
spacing  of  its  lines.  This  fact  proved  very 
useful  in   a  plant  I  tested  where  an  elec- 


1  ebruary  23,  1909. 

trical  equipment  was  to  b€  substituted  for 
the  steam-operated  plant.  The  whole 
characteristics  of  the  load  were  thus  ex- 
hibited, showing  the  variations  in  load  to 
be  cared  for  by  the  electric  generator. 

In  testing  steam  engines  or  turbines  for 
their  steam  consumption,  when  they  are 
operated  under  a  varying  load,  the  indi- 
cator card  or  brake  load  at  any  instant  is 
compared  with  the  chart  of  the 
iiatic  weigher  by  noting  the  amount 
oi  water  evaporated  at  that  same  time. 
In  competitive  boiler  or  furnace  trials, 
the  regularity  with  which  each  boiler  is 
operated  is  easily  compared  by  reference 
to  the  autographic  chart,  and  there  are 
numerous  other  advantages  to  be  gained 
by  use  of  this  water-recording  apparatus, 
which  I  will  not  attempt  to  recite. 

Coal  Recording 
Having  thus  developed  the  water-ac- 
counting apparatus,  I  turned  my  attention 
to  coal  recording,  which  is  hardly  capable 
of  equal  refinement  without  considerable 
complication. 

Where   a   good     iron     wheelbarrow     is 
fotitid,  as  is  the  case  in  most  boiler  rooms, 
a  runway   from  the  floor  is  usually  con- 
structed    upon     which     the     wheelbarrow 
can    be    wheeled    on   and    off    a    platform 
scale.     The   tare     weight    of    the    empty 
wheelbarrow  is  then  noted  and  a  200-  or 
joo-pound   weight  is   added   to   this   tare 
weight  on  the  scale  beam    (according  to 
the    size    of    the    wheelbarrow)    and    the 
"row  is  filled  with  coal  to  balance 
Jit. 
1    u>ujlly   have  about   half  a   shovel  of 
mnl    in    addition    in     each    barrow     load, 
1>    is   thrown    into   a    convenient    dry 
ash  can,  to  obtain  an  average  »am- 
>f   coal   used   during   the   test.     This 
;>le  is  carefully  crushed  and  quartered 
11  at  the  end  of  the  test,  and  the  last 
ter   is   filled   into  a    Mason    fruit    jar 
'  .vo   quarts   capacity   and   hermetically 
•'..!cd. 

'm  order  to  keep  track  of  the  quantity 

•t    >oal    used    over    definite    intervals    .t 

tunc  during  the  test,   1  have  the  i\r<'<T   m 

fr.nt  of  the  tested  boiler  carefully  cleaned, 

"'  that  there  will  be  considerable  distance 

l-rr served  between  the  coal   used  for  the 

•  and  any  other  coal  in  the  boiler  room. 

icn    have    dumped    a    sinjile    barrow 

i   of  coal   at   a   time   in    t)ii%    cleared 

«•-       If    the    im.illrr     w^rrlii.irrow    is 

I   it  IS  known   •      •  l>   repre- 

'<  exactly  aoo  ;  and  no 

■r  coal  is  delivered  to  the  tireman  until 

last   barrow    load   has   been   entirely 

■rd  to  the  furnace. 

>  order  tn  obtain  a  useful  record  of 
coal,   and    have    my    attention    poti- 
lied   to   each   delivery   >>f   «■•>!    • 
tn.  I  invmled  a  *imj>Ir  a;';.' 

'    by    the    tirrman,    cotii 
electric    *wi'   h    with    i 
'•  Inrk  fr«>m  which  i«  oj»r 
Sell  which  can  l»e  hr.irl    • 
boiler  room,  and  an  electric  otintf 


POWLK  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

the  same  as  is  used  with  the  autocnatic 
water   weigher. 

When  the  last  weighed  charge  of  coal 
is   completely    stoked   to  the    furn-icr.   the 
fireman  throws  in  the  switch,  whuti  rinK% 
the   bell   and    registers   ■ 
electric  counter      To  a\ 
of  mistake  by  ..Umg  by 

someone   else.  tistmcled 

so  as  to  be  securely  locked  (by  the  Yale 
lock)  the  instant  th^  electric  cf»ntact  it 
made.  Thus  it  is  impossible  to  p'lll  thr 
knife  of  the  switch  out  of  the  dip  contact 
until  I  open  the  lock  with  my  key 

The  moment  the  bell  rings  1  note  the 
time  on  my  lojj  and,  goinir  to  thr  %<-alc. 
I  see  that  the  proper  ^'  m 

the    wheelbarrow.      I    ..;  ,t|f 

that  the  last  of  the  previuus  charge  of 
coal  is  in  the  furnace,  and  then  I  see 
the  next  charge  of  coal  dumped  In  the 
meantime  1  insert  my  key  in  the  lock  and 
thus  release  the  switch  which  slops  the 
ringing  of  the  bell  and  throws  the  switch 
handle  back  in  position  to  be  operated 
again  by  the  fireman. 

The  electric  c«al  r«^nrdrr  fhu*  add*  op 
the  numltrr  ot 
to  the  b<»ilcr 

ber  noted  on  -he 
face  of  the  rr  ber 
found  on  the  counter  immediately  before 
the  commencement  of  the  te«t.  from  the 
last  number  automatically  recorded,  any- 
one i- —     •    '  ---11       -•'^- number 

of  the  test 

was  ^'.irtr'i       !'.>    v 

the    wriRht    of    r  I 

noted  on  the  • 

determine  th< 

that  time. 

As   I   place  both  the  electrK  «-rval  mnA 
water   recorders   next   to  each   ■ 
some  conveni<— •  ' — ••'>n.  it  is  ea*.   :     •.> 
termine    apt>r  the     numtirr     of 

|x>unds  of  wai«T  r  ;-<>un<l  f>i 

■  •a\    up    tn    the    lit  ^rvalron 


imaccoiiiited    tor 

where  the  results     ;   ;-    .   - 

until  after  the  lest  has  been  cod 

Some     '      —  "    mutt,    ••< 
used  in  a  lhe«*   • 

the 

COf 

will 
up 


Of 

ban 
fire 


of  a  test  are  ioM4  M  kt  ia 
of  thcortfMHry. 

The  onrawMi  of  ■  tM(  ikovU  ks 

tinned  until  a   ligtiiai   rtmhu    of  e^ca 

and  rcgubr  rcttrftt  are  nhtaiid  to  skow 

-tomol  clMractcriMkt  of  tW  fsrmae* 

-jUer  imder   trul    An.i  »'.«•   ....r-    .it 

scribed   for   f'  5^ 

coarse  of  the  :   ..   _ ^^   ...^    ^.i^ 

engineer -m-duric  to  kaow  bdotv  he  (^ 
ishes  wbcther  be  has  •cc«rt4  m»  d»- 
'■red  iofonaatsoa.  It  b  a  very  ^H^fe 
matter  to  obuia  aa  ■■ingiaphii  record  ol 
the  coal  cooMiniptioo  doriiv  fV  tr«t  hr 

'■r>«  a  second  mrrhaokil  r«-  ^r- 

j;<->l  by  an  electric  tolmotd  '.er 

las  worked  oot  the  d>«aAs  of  toe*  aa  ap- 
paratus and  mav  ado^  it  in  f^rnr*  f^si 
work. 

YAix-ioauac  Sarnca 

.■\slhe  '-    •      ' 'he  lockiag  fVMca  BMO 

may  he  <  'he  foOowing  incti^ 

lion  is  gisrn     By  rrfrrriag  to  Fi«.  $  m 

win  be  seen  that  the  Yale  c^lsader  loch 

used  is  inclosed  within  a  brasa  case     A 

rnmlar  two-pole  electnc  kaif*  switch  » 

-  •  one  lid*  of  this  brass  cat*  and 

■he  two  knives  of  the  swwd^  aatf 

in   Itne  with   the  central  bandk.   a   torh 

bracket     ••     .--.    'ir.«      i^._ —     ,1^    |^^ 


•Ting 

'^  kch  case. 

'>•>'  'od  «hKh  caga^M  tht 

*pt:  ,  of  the  lock     WWa 

•«4l.  thss  boll  IS  drawn  aao 

r  bKk  and  the  swsich  kKh 

1  that  when  the  baadk  of 

moved  o«i  It*  Vnivto  agf 

be  wstbdrawa  froM  lit  caslMl 

latest  drsiga  ol 

'  i>rnini[   the  twitch  la  prn  ■rmpn]   PT   thr 

ictwn  of  a  lorMoo  s^rhig,  ihr  swstck  ban- 

.-  ooi  automat  Katty  as  soon  as  the 

<*   U*^   *•   tmnmd      TW  swttrk 

s«  4rr- 

chargr 

of  cnal  w  enti-  'araaca 

\»    1  or    t»*ir  « '»Ch    afO 

WO.  and  a*  oa 

r.tfvr.r    'rA    to    th* 


■/wtwrrva  Ttvrs 


■"S»     «•«••'«« 


36o 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  23,  1909. 


the  throttling  steam  calorimeter.  In  most 
cases  I  place  the  perforated  collecting  nip- 
ple of  the  calorimeter  in  the  vertical  run 
of  pipe  leaving  the  steam  outlet  from  the 
boiler.  With  the  calorimeter  placed  at 
this  position,  an  observation  means  a  climb 
to  the  top  of  the  boiler,  a  walk  across  the 
hot  and  dirty  roof  of  the  boiler  setting, 
frequently  with  several  steam  pipes  to 
climb  over  or  dodge,  and  then  the  trou- 
blesome thermometer  reading  in  an  atmos- 
phere of  steam  (which  steam  is  neces- 
sarily emitted  from  the  calorimeter),  and 
this  trouble  is  greatly  aggravated  if  one 
wears  glasses,  which  become  clouded  with 
vapor.  To  overcome  this  trouble,  I  use 
the  telescope  borrowed  from  my  sur- 
veyor's level. 

Frequently,  the  telescope  can  be  placed 
in  a  convenient  position  on  the  boiler- 
coom  floor,  and  as  it  magnifies  the  ther- 
mometer scale  and  mercury  the  readings 
are  taken  with  the  greatest  ease,  a  gas  or 
•electric  light  being  placed  in  front  of  the 
thermometers  to  illuminate  the  scales. 
When  the  calorimeter  is  placed  in  a  posi- 
tion where  the  thermometers  cannot  be 
■seen  from  the  boiler-room  floor,  I  am 
-sometimes  able  to  place  my  telescope  near 
the  top  of  a  ladder,  on  the  outside  wall  of 
a  battery  of  boilers,  which  merely  neces- 
sitates a  climb  to  the  top  of  the  ladder, 
•without  the  hot  objectionable  trip  over 
the  top  of  the  boilers,  when  a  reading  is 
to  be  taken. 

I  have  also  used  another  means  for  ob- 
taining the  readings  from  these  inacces- 
sible thermometers  by  placing  concave 
mirrors  (similar  to  those  used  as  shaving 
mirrors)  back  of  the  calorimeter  and 
after  thus  magnifying  the  thermometer 
scale  I  obtain  a  reflection  of  these  images 
from  the  concave  mirrors  upon  a  plane 
mirror,  placed  in  a  position  where  it  can 
be  seen  from  the  boiler-room  floor.  I 
then  take  my  reading  from  below  the 
-plane  mirror  through  the  telescope. 

To  prevent  these  mirrors  from  cloud- 
ing with  the  steam  I  rub  their  faces  with 
pure  castile  soap,  cleaning  them  after- 
ward with  a  soft  rag  until  they  are 
bright.  The  same  method  can  be  em- 
ployed in  coating  the  lenses  of  eye 
•glasses,  to  prevent  their  clouding  in  an 
atmosphere  filled  with   escaping  steam. 

The  foregoing  means  for  making  obser- 
vations during  a  boiler  trial  reduce  the 
amount  of  fatiguing  work  necessary  in 
•  conducting  such  tests  very  materially,  and 
with  the  least  amount  of  energy  expended 
the  engineer-in-charge  will  find  himself  in 
"better  condition  to  follow  all  the  details 
of  the  test  very  closely  from  start. to  fin- 
ish. 

There  are  other  minor  details  used  by 
me  which  also  contribute  to  this  end.  For 
example,  in  reading  the  steam  gage,  draft 
gages,  the  nitrogen-filled  thermometer  for 
temperature  of  escaping  gases,  the  feed- 
water  thermometer,  etc.,  I  frequently 
use  opera  glasses  to  excellent  advan- 
•tage.    Sometimes,  for  taking  temperatures 


through  the  boiler  setting,  between  the 
furnace  and  the  chimney,  I  use  thermo- 
electric couples,  protected  in  quartz  tubes 
which  are  connected  to  a  multipole  switch. 
By  throwing  the  switch  to  its  several 
pairs  of  poles,  the  readings  are  taken  one 
after  the  other  in  rapid  succession  on  a 
single  millivoltmeter.  I  have  under  con- 
sideration, with  Mr.  Bristol,  the  construc- 
tion of  a  pair  of  sensitive  thermoelectric 
couples  for  use  witji  the  throttling  steam 
calorimeter,  which  will  be  quite  unique 
in  principle  of  operation. 

The  testing  engineer  finds  it  very  neces- 
sary to  keep  close  track  of  the  time  dur- 
ing the  course  of  the  test  and  in  order  to 
do  this  with  the  least  effort  I  use  a  leather 
wrist  bracelet  which  holds  a  watch.  When 
holding  the  board  carrying  the  log  sheets, 
the  face  of  this  watch  is  in  plain  view, 
and  the  exact  time  of  the  observation  is 
thus  easily  read  and  entered  on  the  log 
sheet. 

With  this  equipment  I  have  been  able 
to  take,  personally,  with  comparative  ease, 
every  reading  of  instruments  used  dur- 
ing a  commercial  boiler  test,  with  inter- 
vals between  all  readings  of  not  over  15 
minutes,  and  have  a  good  check  on  the 
coal  and  water  observations  in  the  record- 
ing and  autographic  apparatus. 

In  such  tests  I  have  also  been  able  to 
find  time  to  make  numerous  gas  analyses, 
by  the  use  of  a  special  gas-collecting  and 
analyzing  apparatus  which  allows  me  to 
obtain  the  percentage  of  CO2,  O,  CO  and 
N  (by  difference)  contained  in  the  fur- 
nace gases  in  five  minutes'  time. 

The  only  assistance  I  have  needed  in 
these  tests  is  a  fireman  and  a  man  to  load, 
wheel  and  dump  the  coal.  Further,  the 
use  of  these  means  has  enabled  me  to  re- 
main the  greater  part  of  the  time  in  front 
of  the  boiler,  where  I  can  personally  ob- 
serve all  that  occurs  there  during  the  time 
of  the  test. 


Wave  Motors   and  Windmills 


By  F.  L.  Johnson 


The  Tuileries  hydroelectric  works,  the 
largest  of  the  kind  in  France,  now  near  ■ 
ing  completion,  is  10  miles  from  Bergerac 
(Dordogne).  It  is  designed  to  develop 
23,000  horsepower.  It  is  built  on  the 
Dordogne  river,  which  has  been  dammed. 
The  water  drives  nine  2700-horsepower 
turbines.  The  hydraulic  works  is  supple- 
mented by  a  steam  works  with  Curtis  tur- 
bines and  6000  kilowatts  of  Thomson- 
Houston  alternators.  The  current  is  sup- 
plied at  55,000  volts,  and  conveyed  62 
miles  to  Bordeaux,  28  miles  to  Periguex 
and  74  miles  to  Aledin  Angouleme. 


A  movement  has  been  set  on  foot  by  the 
English  Ceramic  Society  for  a  conference 
of  representatives  of  the  various  technical 
institutes  and  societies,  to  consider  ways 
and  means  of  arranging  for  the  "grading" 
and  standardizing,  as  far  as  possible,  of 
the  refractory  materials,  such  as  fireclay, 
magnesite,  etc.,  used  in  the  construction 
of  furnaces,  kilns  and  ovens. 


One  of  the  office  boys  asked  me  if  I 
was  too  busy  to  see  Mr.  Sawyer  this 
morning.  Of  course  I  am  never  too  busy 
to  listen  to  anything  my  young  friend  has 
to  offer  and  he  was  admitted.  Seating 
himself  on  the  edge  of  the  chair  as  a  sort 
of  an  intimation  that  his  visit  was  to  be 
a  short  one,  and  refusing  for  the  first 
time  within  my  memory  the  cigar  I 
offered,  he  said : 

"I  did  not  intend  to  come  in  at  all  this 
trip,  as  my  time  is  limited,  but  I  saw 
something  on  Broadway,  near  Thirtieth 
street,  that  carried  me  back  to  my  child- 
hood days.  In  a  brilliantly  lighted  win- 
dow I  saw  what  was  called  a  new  wave 
motor ;  in  general  appearance  it  looked 
like  one  rather  tall  turbine  wheel  set  in- 
side another.  The  outer  wheel  was  com- 
posed of  carved  slats  intended  to  deflect 
the  current  of  water  which  passed  be- 
tween them  at  a  proper  angle  against  the 
slats  or  blades  of  the  inner  wheel  which 
revolved  on  an  axis,  as  the  old  school 
books  used  to  say. 

"The  sight  carried  me  farther  back  to 
childhood  memories  than  could  even 
Wrigley's  spearmint  gum.  It  was  a  breath 
from  the  Illinois  prairies  where  I  was 
born.  I  went  inside  and  talked  with  the 
man  at  the  desk,  who  explained  the  con- 
struction and  operation  of  the  motor.  He 
went  into  a  whole  lot  of  demonstration  of 
the  power  that  could  be  developed  from 
a  thirty-mile-per-hour  wave  or  current, 
just  as  though  the  Coney  Island  surf 
rolled  in  all  the  time  at  an  average  rate 
of  thirty  miles  an  hour  or  more.  And 
then  he  told  me  that  the  power  of  the 
wave  varied  as  the  cube  of  the  speed,  and 
said  that  with  a  sixty-mile  wave  eight 
times  as  much  power  could  be  developed 
as  with  a  thirty-mile  wave. 

"He  showed  me  photographs  of  a  four- 
thousand-horsepower  installation  now  un- 
der construction,  with  a  windmill  appen- 
dix intended  to  operate  the  machinery  at 
a  slightly  reduced  capacity  in  case  there 
should  come  a  few  hours  when  there  were 
no  waves  but  plenty  of  wind.  I  intended 
to  ask  him  whether  storage  batteries  had 
been  provided  to  keep  up  production  in 
the  event  of  a  dead  calm  on  both  land  and 
sea,  but  forgot  it.  I  had  not  much  time, 
so  did  not  stay  long,  but  came  away  with 
a  pocketful  of  literature  and  blank  appli- 
cations for  blocks  of  stock. 

"While  the  man  was  telling  me  the 
usual  promoters'  stories  of  the  wonderful 
progress  of  the  last  few  years  I  almost 
had  to  ask  him  how  he  knew  that  forty 
years  ago  there  were  no  looms  or  sew- 
ing machines ;  no  typewriter  and  no  Pull- ! 
man  cars.  For  I  had  seen  a  sewing  ma- ' 
chine  that  was  built  in  1840,  a  typewrit- 
ing machine  that  was  used  in  1863,  anc 
the  body   of   the    martyred    Lincoln   wa;  i 


February  23,   1909. 

transported    10    the    West    in    a    Pullman 
car. 

"He  showed  me  a  copy  of  a  letter  from 
a  man  who  said  that  President  Roose- 
velt and  Speaker  Cannon  were  '  '  '  ' 
with  it  and  pronounced  it,  if  - 
the  greatest  fuel- saver  of  the  age.  I  rt 
membered  of  reading  somewhere  about  a 
machinist  who  made  a  maclitnc  to  do  a 
certain  kind  of  work,  and  whin  the  ma- 
chine was  done  he  showed  it  to  all  of  the 
lawyers,  doctors,  preachers  and  school 
teachers  that  he  could*  get  to  look  at  it, 
and  they  all  pronounced  it  the  work  of  a 
mechanical  genius.  But  he  never  showed 
'  <  a  mechanic  because  he  knew  what 
hanics  would  think  and  say.  I  won- 
titrcd  a  little  if  the  same  reason  actuated 
the  selection  of  politicians  for  trumpeters 
of  the  new  motive  pr»wer. 

"But  I  am  forgetting  about  my  boyhood 
days.  These  were  passed  near  a  town  in 
Illinois  named  Urbana.  and  the  prairie 
around  the  village  was  dotted  with  wind- 
mills built,  as  nearly  as  I  can  remember, 
just  like  this  new  wave  motor.  From  a 
distance  one  of  these  mills  looked  like  a 
turret  from  the  deck  of  one  of  Kricsson's 
monitors  set  up  in  the  air  on  posts.  The 
mill  or  rotor  proper,  as  I  recall  it,  was 
about  20  feet  in  diameter  and  6  feet  high, 
and  as  it  revolved  it  operated  a  pump 
which  supplied  water  for  stock. 

"One  of  my  boyhood  tasks  was  to  take 

the  place  of  the  mill  and  operate  the  pump 

when  the  wind  was  not  brisk  enough  for 

th*"  work,  and  a  part  of  my  mischief  was 

cutting    of    short     sticks     from     the 

r  or  the  willow  hedges,  which  I  u»ed 

sort  of  'trig*  to  place  in  a  neighbor's 

to   keep   it   from   starting   when   the 

!  came.     A  little  slick  no  bigger  than 

mger  and  a  foot  or  so  long,  braced 

'■en  a  stationary  and  a  moving  vane, 

'I   hold  the  rotor   from   turning  in  a 

'  «»iflF  breeze,  and  my  fun  came  from 

the    irate    farm-hand    hunt    for 

■    of  the   stoppage   of   the   motive 

I  power. 

"The    starting   power    of   the    mill    was 
;nall    that    I    do   not    think    it    would 
anything  much  stronger  than  a  cot- 
thread  to  hold  it   from  turning  in  a 
!    stiff     breei-e.      But     these     Western 
although  they  looked,  at  I  remem 
ju«t    like    thr    new    wave    and 
•or,   may   l>e   different.      After    I 
tjiM   I   saw  a  great  many  tide  miiU 
k'    the    Atlantic    coast,    but    one    after 
'ler   they   luve  dropped  out   of   sight 
out  of  the  field  nf  economical  power 
!ticers.      One    mill,    I    rmirmljer    di» 
'     '     I    pomi    of    about    Jf^    jrrr* 
iid  com  for  the  hor»r«  that 
the  i.j:\  from  our   ■ 
•sr*  .If  n->»  'Irriwri 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEFR 

nfould  be  gb'!  •        ^     •   •  ghi  tft<j  p.,,,, 
made  and  tr  riter   methodt 

than  are  now  t;sc.j.  but  1  hardl)  think  the 
•.hortcit    road   to   this   end   lead*    throti^h 

deat  on  the  fmarc 

*^'  !t  time  M  t../  thort 

*o**  nem.  io  1  will  leave 

them   for  a  chat  the  nest  time  I  am  in 


Toling  of  a  Three  PhaMr 
Induction  Motor 

Bv  F.  H.  Stacxy 


Nowadays,  when  the  induction  motor  u 
used  for  such  a  wide  range  of  »«r\icc  con- 
ditions it  must  frequently  happen  that  the 
operation  of  such  a  motor  becomes  tm- 
satisfactory  for  tome  reason  or  other 
There  arc  many  causes  for  trouble  whKh 
take    some    little    i  .^^ 

but   thr  4-hirf  tro-:  ,t||^ 

an<!  ^  liie  in- 

sula .    of  thr 

motor  to  carry  its  •  se*- 

tion  must  then  be  •-. .-  the 

motor  is  capable  of  carrying  its  rated  load. 
If  not,  and  it  it  a  new  mach--  -  irtr 

it  is  up  to  the  maker  to  i  .At- 

antee,  but   if  it   is  overloa<l'  the 

load  must  br  redurrd,  r>r  a  tor 

put  in ;  '  '  .   bt 

perman* !  :<}tts 

overload. 

To  decide  this  question  of  overload  the 
rotor  should  firtt  l>e  examined  to  icc 
whether  the  iMirs  are  all  lightly  tcrrwcd 
to  the  short -circuiting  nngt,  and  alto 
whether  the  intulation  separating  the 
bars  from  the  iron  it  in  good  condi- 
tion. Thit  1:  " 
burned  by  a  • 

require  •  f  tttc  n*^ivt   ; 

right       '.'  -     bars    arc     j  ■ 

\h<  ■  :   to  the   iron   •  it- 

rent     .,  !  iti  tljr  f.  (.  r    '  •■ » 

sivr  and  the 

to    drive    the    ...^v .,     .....    ,.,     ....k   •• 

watted  in  healing  the  rotor.  Hf  th^t  tK< 

rtljr  part 


m.! 


me.i 
put     ■ 
fjiiirrtl 


3^1 


improTMc  A  unall  puttMhU  twilckkaaf^ 
which  may  be  M«d  for  a»y  moioe  ay  to 
too  horicpimci.  At  tW  imtormj  o^ 
iBotort  ap  to  tkat  rapiraj  arr  oprraicd 
on  5SO  votts.  thtt  is  aii—ij  to  be  tW 
«oltace  in  tf.*-  orrtct^t  (Akf  tWi«^  by 
*!»»■•»«>►  4  raav 

^tagct  may  be  tetmd  m 
'  »*n.,  ti;«  Mrnc  maaacr  Ammff  iftit 
twrtchrt  OQ  a  boar4  at  tbo«i  m  tb«  ac- 
coopuiying  tkddi.  aai  vara  ap  ike 
mrtrrt  a*  iixliratrd. 

Soppi-  -qpk.  tbM  IW  motor  to 

be  totr..  ..t  jD  boTHpUBti      Tbc 

mrtert  moat  be  aU*  to  carry  40  aaapcrm» 
or  if  tbcy  arc  of  — Hir  capaoty.  a  cwr 
rent  traatformrr  oratt  br  mtcrtod  m  Ike 
Imc  and  •♦^  f«^''».  .-  ^.^-,^  fg^  ^^  t, 
former    •  s 

rule  for  nn<iinK  trw   ji^iprosi 
that  a  thru  pbaw  moto 
at  550  vohs  m  to  labr  tW  borarpawrr  rat- 
ing  and   ■iiamt    that    at    iW 
per  lev. 

Or  it  may  be  mrtr\r*i  r^  iInm  : 


MtnAiX 


E&aMVia 


A  jo-hortrpoarcr  awtor  wtik  a  pawtr 
factor  of  a9L  and  aa  ttknmrt  ot  aM^ 


V    -'  74* 


•:f  XaJll 


—  l* 


cr  k«      Tbr 

iM.trniiAl  liaca  to  tbc  waitmrtor 

'.   at   tbowa   m  tW   dictcb   «M 

<-f<     ■><     t     ft     t     r  >l«^    ikc    VVll* 


the  imtrammlt.  miy  br  mcd 
I  rantformrra. 
WHfi  ibc  htmt4  k  •ir«4  aik 


•prrd.  in  ankr  to  avoid  bavmg  tbc 
ttjiriing  frna<  pam  ifcroagh  tW 
fi    tbr    motor    bar    anaMtd 

I ;  t  T  '  '  ■      1  ■  M .  ; 

small  iwitcb  1 

>irk  cmtttm  tt  brto 


twwctir*  ir**t  So  tbr  olbcr  «i4r  lad  1 

•T»»J«rv*»   M*><v  ba^^g  cawvm  to  pM 

.  tW  hM 


^t     \nw    .■•f'»- 


Id  tnlr  null  lias  gone  fo  1  .in  1' 
li  in  'hr  r..li<.  ••••n  >.<  't.i; 
lien  utcd 
I    guess   I    won't   '.lop   t..   tti..t.oi 


362 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  23,  1909. 


sumed  efficiency,  will  give  very  nearly  the 
power  that  the  motor  is  delivering.  An 
efficiency  of  85  per  cent,  is  assumed  be- 
cause this  is  a  fair  average  for  motors  of 
this  size,  and  the  process  of  ascertaining 
the  actual  efficiency  is  hardly  practicable 
outside  a  testing  room  or  laboratory. 

The  next  step  is  to  multiply  the  average 
amperes  by  the  average  volts;  multiply 
again  by  the  transformer  ratios,  if  any, 
and  by  |/~~3  ;  divide  the  watts  by  the 
final  result  and  the  power  factor  is  ob- 
tained. If  this  is  0.85  or  greater  and  the 
motor  is  fully  loaded,  it  may  be  consid- 
ered  fairly   satisfactory    in    this    respect, 


to  reach  65  degrees  and  yet  be  within  the 
guarantee.  This  is  quite  hot,  too  hot  for 
the  hand  to  be  held  long  on  the  iron,  but 
many  motors  run  well  up  to  70  degrees 
Centigrade  without  injury  to  the  insula- 
tion ;  inferior  insulating  material,  how- 
ever, would  doubtless  be  injured  in  time 
by  this  degree  of  heat.  If  the  temperature 
exceeds  this  and  the  motor  is  not  over- 
loaded the  trouble  may  be  caused  by  the 
machine  being  located  where  there  is  no 
circulation  of  air  which,  if  remedied  by 
ventilation,  may  remove  the  heating  diffi- 
culty. To  sum  up,  then,  if  the  rotor  in- 
sulation is  good  and  the  bars  tight,  and 


Blowing    Soot    Out  of  the  Boilers 


C.  J.  Larson,  chief  engineer  of  the 
Union  Electric  Company,  of  Dubuque,  la., 
has  rigged  up  a  simple  device  to  blow  soot 
out  of  the  combustion  chambers  of  the 
boilers  without  cooling  the  boilers  down. 
A  iJ/^,-inch  pipe  leads  from  the  main  steam 
riser  between  the  boiler  and  the  main 
steam  header,  down  the  side  of  the  boiler 
and  enters  the  combustion  chamber.  The 
boilers  are  Babcock  &  Wilcox  type  and 
the  soot  rapidly  collects  back  of  the 
furnace,  the  trouble  probably  being  aug- 


Line 


--^Sismsi^^sisisisisisij- 


nwm 


wwn 


m 


HH 


"^ 


rS 


^ 


m 


t:a 


■M^ 


aj 


Av      C\        |B 
To  Motor 

WIRING  OF   SWITCHES   AND   METERS   FOR  TESTING  THREE-PHASE   INDUCTION    MOTORS 


though  many  motors  of  this  size  show  as 
high  as  92  or  93  per  cent,  power  factor 
at  full  load. 

The  temperature  of  the  iron  of  the 
stator  should  be  taken  by  placing  a 
thermometer  in  contact  with  the  laminated 
core  and  covering  the  bulb  with  putty  or 
a  small  wad  of  waste  to  screen  it  from 
the  cooler  air. 

Take  also  the  temperature  of  the  air 
about  2  feet  from  the  motor.  The  dif- 
ference is  the  temperature  rise,  usually 
guaranteed  by  makers  not  to  exceed  45 
degrees  Centigrade  at  full  load.  If  the 
air  temperature  is  20  degrees  Centigrade 
this  would  allow   the  motor  temperature 


the  temperature  of  the  stator  higher  than 
65  or  70  degrees  Centigrade,  the  machine 
is  either  below  standard  in  construction 
or  is  overlo'aded. 

If  the  test  shows  the  input  to  be  more 
than  1.2  times  the  rating  of  motor,  the 
machine  must  be  of  poor  design,  in  bad 
condition,  or  else  overloaded;  if  the  lat- 
ter, it  should  be  replaced  by  a  larger 
motor  as  soon  as  possible,  or  the  load  re- 
duced to  suit  the  motor. 


In  these  days  of  high-speed  machinery 
there  may  be  a  difference  of  as  much  as  5 
per  cent,  in  the  efficiency  of  an  engine  by 
using  an  inferior  grade  of  oil. 


mented  because  of  the  fine  grade  of  coal 
burned  at  this  station.  The  end  of  the 
pipe  within  the  combustion  chamber  is 
fitted  with  a  spray  nozzle.  By  opening  a 
check  valve,  the  steam  enters  the  pipe  at 
about  190  pounds  pressure  and  125  degrees 
of  superheat,  entering  the  chamber  in  a 
strong  blast  which  effectively  loosens  the 
soot  from  the  floor  and  side  walls  and 
blows  it  up  the  stack.  By  using  the  steam 
blast  for  five  minutes  every  week  or  two, 
the  combustion  chamber  is  kept  entirely 
free  from  soot.  Without  the  blast  it 
would  be  necessary  to  shut  the  boilers 
down  at  frequent  intervals  for  cleaning. 
— Electric  Traction  Weekly. 


February  23,   1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


High     Pressure    Steam     Piping    Systems 

Some  Notes  on  Recent  Design,  Including  a  DijcuMOO  ol  ELxj^ 
Vibration.    Pijjc    and    Pipe    Fittings,    JoinU.    Sq^rators    and    \alves 

B"Y       WILLIAM       F.       FISCHER 


In   laying  out   a  piping  system   the  de- 
should   aim    to   do   away    with   all 
ssary    piping,    and    carry    his    lines 
^  direct  as  possible,  making  proper  allow- 
ncr  for  expansion  and  contraction.     The 
should  be  dripped  wherever  neces- 
and   all    water   of   condensation   re- 
amed to  the  boilers.     Where  the  piping 
■  carried  through  a  wall  or  floor,  what 
I  known   as    pipe    sleeves    or    thimbles 
M  be  built  in  around  it.     The  inside 
tcr    of    these    thimbles    should    t>e 
r  than  the  outside  diameter  of  the 
'angcs  to  allow   for  the  removal  of 
;>e   when  necessar>'.     A    steam   pipe 
I  never  under  any  circumstances  be 
milt  rigidly  into  the  walls  of  a  building, 
LS  the  expansion   strains  or  vibration   in 
he  line  are  almost  sure  to  loosen  the  wall 
•     .e.     A   piece  of  pipe  of  the  proper 
•er   and    length    with    a   plain- faced, 
led  flange  at  each  end  is  a  gfod  sub 
for  a  cast  pipe  thimble,  althuiiKd  >> 
iber   of   the   same   size    are    to    be 
;he  casting  will  be  found  to  be  the 
r  of  the  two. 

'letlnite   rule  can   l)c   given    for  the 

-ement  of  steam  lines,  for  the  condi- 

met  with  in  different  stations  vary 

r<.i!ly.     As   a  general   rule,  however,   in 

"'!    of    the    modern    power    houses    of 

'■'!'N,  no  main  steam  header  is  being  used 

than  14  inches  inside  diatueter,  or, 

y    arc    designated,    15    inches    out- 

ilr  -ter.     The  station  is  subdivided 

•  .;jlete  and  independent   units,  the 

■    t>eing  so  arranged  that  the  boilers 

••.  the  main  steam  header  uniformly,  or 

•-.irly  so,  throughout  its  length,  and  pro- 

•1  is  made  to  feed  the  engines  or  tur- 

m  a  similar  manner.      In   this   way 

imit    is   taken   care   of  by   a   rrrtain 

r   of   hnilrr*.    the   header    \>rmn    di- 

■IS  by  the  ti^r  of  gate 

it  any   section  of  the 

r  may  be  cut  out  of  service  for  re- 

if  necessary   without   interfering   in 

*ay  with  the  siic>T\»ful  operation    •! 

"ation.  or,  in  other  woril*.  •>>  cltr»»i»v 

^    in    the    main    steam    header,   each 

I*  made  entirrK    in  '    of  the 

In    !»ome    •.!•'•■  pUrrd 

iin   steam 

•1  to  or  ff' 

•    auxiliarie«  i«  taken  dirert   tr.  m  • 

<lram    header,   or    from   a    sep-iri'-- 
Hry  header      Where  it  is  doired  i'^ 
iiperheated  «team   for   the  main  en 
ami  ««tur«te«l  steam  for  the  auxili 
a    M>parate    header    Jind    •eparatjr 


lx>iler  connections  are  required  (or  cadi 
case. 

The    elalwraie    tyftem    of    duplicattiig 
steam  mains  an  *  ^  not  neces- 

sary to  a  gcKMi  ^gh  on  rare 

occasions  the  designer  may  find  it  an  ad- 
vantage. Some  few  years  ago,  in  order 
to  overcome  deiiciencies  in  valves,  ftttmgs 
and  workmanship,  and  also  to  insure 
greater  reliability,  the  duplicate  sysietn 
was  introduced  and  became  a  (ad  for 
awhile,  but  seeing  the  steam  gages  in  the 
larger    sta'  '    joo  to  2y> 

|,.  •tn'ls  .T  tendency  to 

r.  the  m  <  s  did  a  lit- 

...  and  as  a  ;■  are  today, 

and  have  been  for  the  past  few  years, 
meeting  the  demand  with  all  necessary 
materials  for  a  first-class  single  piping 
system.     .\  -  —   -    .v       '  iphcate 

system  is  »f  the 

iM-t       Rrli.r  :;;■;,    ;>    !-■••■-•    ;■  •••• 

glide 

-      •  .\>    The 

judicious  -    cutout    and    bjrpass 

valv^^    t'  .iilirig   for  expanston 

and  -'    separators  and 

drip  i»««  ».«-■•  "  '  "^"'^■"4' 

all  water  of  cor 

rrs  as  fast  at  ii  lorms,  mui  rrwui  in  » 
system  far  superior  to  the  elatxKale  and 
expensive  duplication  of  the  past 

Vauns 
Two  vtlves  should  be  placed  in  a  ttpc 
connecting  a  battery  of  l»oilcrs  with   the 
header.     One  of  these  vaKes  should  pre 
feratily  be  ah  automatic   stop  and  check 
'     '   the  outlet  of   the  boder, 
gate  valve  placed  ttest  m 
the  '    header      There    should 

also  '  ■  in  each  connection   ffooi 

the  header. 

.\»   uti.tie   valves  Introdtire   rmrttdrra^ 
.1    form    " 


aa  a  nUc.  lyecifad; 
yoke  villi  statiowary 
iac  stem.    With  ifcis  t|^  iW  rsMnf  •(•<■ 
shows  at  a  glaace  the  apyrosjoute 
tioo  of  the  gate  or  dssk.    TVrt^  -nh ' 
famished   »iih   iadacatof 
show  the  exact  tipnm%   .     - 
so  speohed  whea  ordersng     The  tkraa^ad 
stem  heme  ootstdc  f^'   •'  ■^'^  hoa,  4m* 
not  come  m  coMact  (Ml  sMaflk 

and  11  therefore  ei»:.  1  *«e4.     If  4t- 

sif"!  :■'  <\xri'r  ••<•  >i'.ir  (roai  the  wooi 
hoe  or  other  accessiblr  poaiiaoa.  te  sia- 
ttonary  handwhcd  bmt  h*  npUcad  hy  a 
sY^'rm  of  gsafing  *  "  trm  ckMss- 

M  >n   stem  and  hand-  xd  to  the 

desired  positiacL 


EaravsMMi 


The   aref*-' 


•  r  tf.     y  r  t.ti^  r 


<r     m"Sr     I  •.!!     el     J^'»ITHTi     J»»r- 

Irrijth  -  (  the  liiie.    This  w  d** 

pansKwi  and  cootradioti  strair 

other   hrsfwKr*    "f   th*    •rtttr 

to  vil  'houU  U  t.-=J| 

anch.  St  ;»»»Mh4e  IhM 

shift  mi;  ot  ■■  the 


Hp  of   friKse  ir.«-  njMrn^wj   ii».r  .  •> 

MCtioa.  10  prevent  the   t»nimtm$  a4 
ioiM*     '  '    atawK    (wrt    to    a 

leaksi.  >t<*  rmf*»t*  M  the  wi 


•iMald  be  HMiaUad  m  tkm  km 

ttt^mrm       the        t>  inlK       S*       M 

«dl  rtsM  the  tare* 
fKr,    Jtd   «V«    *irMn 


placed 

lef* 
shoidd 

iWxU 
hrndi 
not  le**  (> 

•as.  to 
qualii 
4    the 

f*,«     1   '* 

-      !••*      » 


of    I 


lrt«    V 


Ml  fair  »■!• 


364 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  23,  1909. 


and  as  any  distortion  of  a  bend  beyond  a 
certain  stage  leads  to  high  strains  on  the 
joints,  this  stiffness  should  be  taken  into 
account  when  designing.  A  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  effects  of  expansion  on 
the  piping  system  is  essential  to  every 
engineer,  and  the  writer  feels  he  can  do 
no  better  than  to  refer  the  reader  to  the 
June  2  and  October  20,  1908,  numbers  of 
Power  and  The  Engineer,  where  the 
subject  is  covered  to  some  length. 

Vibration 

Steam  flowing  at  a  velocity  of  from 
5000  to  6000  feet  per  minute  in  the  sup- 
ply pipe  of  a  modern  high-speed  engine, 
is  alternately  stopped  and  raised  again  to 
this  velocity  several  hundred  times  a  min- 
ute, due  to  the  quick  opening  and  closing 
of  the  steam  valves.  This  intermittent 
motion  of  the  steam  in  many  cases  causes 
vibration  and  hammering  in  the  supply 
pipe,  which  in  turn  is  transmitted  to  other 
branches  of  the  piping  system.  Vibra- 
tion is  also  caused  by  suddenly  changing 
the  direction  of  the  steam  flow  through 
short-turn  elbows  or  tees,  and  also  to  qn 
unequal  velocity  of  the  steam  flowing 
through  different  branches  of  the  system. 
Where  possible  to  do  so,  the  pipes  should 
be  so  proportioned  that  the  velocity  will 
be  as  near  uniform  as  possible  in  all 
branches  to  and  from  the  main  header. 

In  one  case  of  the  writer's  knowledge, 
a  vibrating  pipe  line  was  anchored  at  a 
certain  point.  This  decreased  the  vibra- 
tion to  a  large  extent,  but  no  provision 
was  made  to  take  up  the  expansion  in  that 
section  of  the  piping  between  the  anchor 
and  the  boiler  nozzles.  The  plant  was 
shut  down  each  night,  and  started  up 
again  early  each  morning.  In  about  a 
week's  time  the  joints  in  the  piping 
farthest  away  from  the  anchor  were  found 
to  leak  badly.  They  were  repacked  with 
new  gaskets  and  made  up  steam-tight,  but 
about  a  week  later  were  leaking  almost  as 
badly  as  before.  The  engineer-in-charge, 
being  a  practical  mechanic,  at  once  de- 
cided- that  the  anchor  was  causing  the 
trouble,  as  these  leaks  had  not  occurred 
before  the  anchor  was  placed  in  position, 
so  in  place  of  wasting  more  time  and  ma- 
terial in  repacking  the  flanges,  he  decided 
to  investigate,  and  soon  found  the  cause 
of  the  trouble.  It  appears  that  the  anchor, 
which  was  very  rigid,  was  installed  while 
the  line  was  hot  and  the  piping  clamped 
firmly  in  position.  The  expansion  in  this 
line  was  found  to  be  nearly  1%  inches; 
consequently  at  night  when  the  plant  was 
shut  down,  the  line  shortened,  throwing 
a  heavy  strain  on  the  pipe  and  bolts  at 
each  joint  and  causing  the  leakage. 

The  engineer  removed  a  section  of  the 
piping  and  installed  an  expansion  loop  of 
long  radius.  He  decided  it  would  be  bet- 
ter to  throw  part  of  the  strain  on,  the 
piping  while  cold,  so  the  bend  was  sprung 
into  position.  The  next  morning  steam 
was  turned  on  as  usual,  and  there  was  no 
more  trouble   from   leakage  or  vibration. 


Separators 

A  large  "slug"  of  water  is  not  a  very 
healthful  "dose"  for  a  steam-engine  cylin- 
der, especially  in  high-speed  engines 
where  the  clearance  space  between  the 
cylinder  head  and  piston  is  reduced  to  a 
minimum.  In  all  modern  work  each  en- 
gine supply  pipe  is  usually  equipped  with 
a  separator  of  large  volume,  placed  as 
near  the  engine  throttle  as  possible,  and 
all  main  steam  headers  are  equipped  with 
drip  pockets. 

Besides  intercepting  the  moisture  in 
the  steam  the  separator  performs  another 
function  of  great  value,  in  that  it  pro- 
vides a  reservoir  where  the  steam  is 
stored  after  the  steam  valves  close  at  each 
stroke  of  the  engine  piston.  This  insures 
a  more  uniform  pressure  in  the  engine 
cylinder  up  to  the  point  of  cutoff  and 
also  provides  a  cushion  of  steam  near  the 
engine  cylinder  to  take  the  reaction 
caused  by  the  quick  cutoff  in  the  steam 
chest,  thus  preventing  vibration  from  be- 
ing transmitted  to  the  piping  system. 

Separators  also  tend  toward  a  continu- 
ous and  steady  flow  of  steam  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  engine  instead  of  the  other- 
wise necessary  stopping  and  starting  of 
the  flow  with  every  movement  of  the  en- 
gine valve,  in  this  way  preventing  to  a 
large  extent  the  usual  drop  in  pressure 
between  the  boilers  and  the  steam  chest, 
also  reducing  the  tendency  of  the  boilers 
to  prime  during  a  momentary  excessive 
demand. 

Separators  having  a  capacity  of  from 
three  to  four  times  that  of  the  high-pres- 
sure cylinder  are  making  it  possible  in 
many  cases  to  reduce  the  size  of  the  en- 
gine supply  pipe,  up  to  the  inlet  side  of 
the  separator,  from  5  to  15  per  cent,  over 
that  called  for  by  the  engine  builders,  the 
piping  between  the  separator  and  the  en- 
gine remaining  the  same  size  as  called  for. 

This  last  rule  does  not  seem  to  apply 
to  separators  where  used  in  connection 
with  steam  turbines,  as  the  velocity  is 
much  higher  and  more  uniform  through- 
out. The  piping  should  therefore  be  of 
full  size  throughout  its  length,  from  the 
main  steam  header  to  the  throttle  inlet. 
Separators  of  the  receiver  type  are  pre- 
ferred. 

Mechanics  are  sometimes  careless  in 
erecting  new  work,  leaving  bolts,  nuts, 
wrenches,  cold  chisels,  oil  cans,  etc.,  in- 
side the  piping.  The  operating  engineer 
comes  across  this  junk  some  few  week 
later  in  a  place  where  only  an  engineer 
would  ever  expect  to  find  such  things. 
Small  junk,  unless  stopped  by  a  separator, 
eventually  locates  in  the  engine  cylinders, 
scoring  and  cutting  them  so  badly  that  in 
many  cases  they  have  to  be  rebored.  A 
small  bolt  or  nut  going  over  with  the  flow 
of  steam  would  rip  the  blades  from  a 
steam-turbine  rotor,  owing  to  the  small 
clearances  between  the  blades  and  casing. 
For  this  reason  the  turbine  supply  pipe  is 
nearly  always  equipped  with  a  net  or 
strainer    to     stop     such     junk    before     it 


reaches   the   turbine   inlet.     These   strain- 
ers are  furnished  with  the  turbines. 

Loose  junk  remaining  in  the  piping 
system  after  erection  also  has  a  tendency 
to  come  to  rest  directly  under  the  seats 
of  stop  valves,  making  it  impossible  to 
close  them.  A  good  separator  will  remove 
nearly,  if  not  all  of  this  small  junk  before 
it  could  reach  the  engine  cylinder,  and 
prevent  injury  to  the  interior  parts,  or 
even  engine  wrecks. 

Pipe 

Wrought-steel  pipe,  especially  in  the 
larger  sizes,  is  preferable  to  wrought-iron 
pipe  for  general  use.  As  ordinary  com- 
mercial pipe  may  vary  in  thickness  from 
the  standard,  as  listed  in  catalogs,  "full- 
weight  pipe"  should  be  specified-  As  a 
rule  full-weight  pipe  will  be  found  to  run 
full  card  weight,  but  should  never  vary 
more  than  5  per  cent,  either  way. . 

Full-weight  pipe  of  steel  or  wrought 
iron  is  suitable  for  working  pressures  up 
to  250  pounds  per  square  inch,  if  not  re- 
duced in  thickness  by  threading  outside 
the  hub  of  the  flanges.  For  bending  pur- 
poses lap-welded  steel  pipe  is  better  than 
butt-welded,  as  the  seam  is  less  liable  to 
open  up  under  the  stress  of  bending  to  a 
short  radius.  For  threaded  joints,  if 
sharp  dies  are  used,  steel  pipe  has  been 
found  to  cut  and  thread  as  readily  as 
wrought-iron  pipe,  but  blunt  dies  have  a 
tendency  to  tear  or  break  the  threads. 

Where  used  in  connection  with  Van 
Stone  joints  or  joints  where  the  pipe  is 
turned  over  the  face  of  the  flange, 
wrought-iron  pipe  has  been  found  to  split 
badly,  both  at  the  weld  and  all  around  the 
outer  circumference  when  rolling  or 
flanging  over.  Steel  pipe  is  better  in  all 
cases,  and  open-hearth  steel  pipe  is  pre- 
ferred to  bessemer  steel,  both  for  Van 
Stoning  and  welding  purposes,,  as  the 
quality  of  the  metal  is  more  uniform  and 
low  in  carbon. 

The  following  tests,  taken  from  a  Crane 
catalog,  will  serve  to  demonstrate  the 
strength  of  steel  pipe  as  compared  with 
wrought-iron  pipe.  The  pipe  was  pickec 
from  stock  at  random : 

Ten-inch  standard  wrought-iron  pipf 
burst  at  1900  pounds ;  lo-inch  extra-strong 
wrought-iron  pipe  burst  at  2700  pounds 
lo-inch  standard  wrought-steel  pipe  burs 
at  3000  pounds. 

None  of  this  pipe  burst  at  the  weld,  bu 
some  distance  from  it,  showing  the  wel' 
to  be  in  this  case  at  least  as  strong  as  th 
pipe  itself.  Extra-strong  and  double 
extra-strong  pipe  is  used  more  in  hydrau 
lie  work,  for  turbine  step-bearing  oilin 
systems  or  boiler-feed  lines,  than  fc 
steam. 

Pipe  Joints 

Many  of  the  earlier  stations   are  usiti  | 
screwed  or  threaded  joints  in  their  steai 
mains  successfully  where  the  pressure    j 
150   pounds    or    even    greater.      In    mat ! 


February  23,  1909. 

ases,  extra-heavy  pipe  is  used  in  connec- 
ion  with  the  screwed  and  pctned  joint, 
vhere  the  end  of  the  pipe  is  pcened  or 

■  into  a   recess  at   the    face    of    the 
to    prevent     leakage     through     the 

hrcads,  and  to  prevent  the  loosening  of 
he  flange  at  the  threads.  This  is  a  good 
oint  if  properly  made  and  is  still  used 
[uitc  extensively  in  new  work.  For  pres- 
lures  above  150  pounds  and  for  super- 
leated- steam  work  the  general  tendency  is 
o  specify  either  the  Van  Stone  or  welded 
ype  of  joint  in  sizes  5  inches  in  diameter 
md   larger,  the   screwed  or  screwed  and 

1    joints    being    used    only    in    the 

•  r  sizes. 
1  here  seems  to  be  one  objection  to  the 
)ld  type  of  Van  Stone  joint,  in  that  the 
umed  over  or  flanged  portion  of  the  pipe 
s  thinned  down  considerably  in  rolling 
md  finishing  the  face  of  the  joint,  mak- 
nc  this  the  weakest  point,  as  shown  in 
Fiw's.  I  and  2.     In  the  first  illustration  the 

I   lines  C  show   the  position  of  the 

'lefore    rolling.     Line    A  A,    slightly 
rated  for  clearness,  shows  the  bevel 

■  face  of  the  joint  after  rolling,  due 
(gradual  thinning  down  of  the  metal 

edge  B,  which  \'^  din-  to  tlir   ktrrtrh- 


POWER  AND  THE  E.\r.i\EER- 

joint  U  greater  after  finuhi^g  than  the 
original  thicknc**  T. 

both  of  these  ioinu  are  hetnn  n*r4  ex- 


it  IS  ncccftury  to  change  1 

positi :  hole*  in  the  field 

Another  joint  coming  into  tue  (or  high 
pressures  is  the  w^' '-  '  -r.  nude  bjr 
welding  a  wrouxhi  ^-c  airect  to 

the  end  of  the  j  "       n 

known    as    thr  t. 


tace  01 
ited  and  n 


over,  hlling  the  recess  H  at  the  face  of 

the  flange.     The  flange  is  then  faced  off 

true  in  the  lathe  and  drilled      Thu  u  4 

Ko<  d  joint  if  properly  made,        '  ' 

si:{M-rior   to   the   ordinary    vc- 

which  is  too  well  known  to  require  any 

■Icscriplion. 


¥LMtr,r^ 


Cast-iron    and 

M  iiiif-tittir  V     ii«r«l 


flanges     are 

•1     with     the 


itm  amd  ilio«id  nu*  be  o««f- 
kwlud  Fir*i  «  m  MMiiary  to  stac  otf 
prcMure  uQ  thai  fmit  ol  iJm  Imc,  opm 
the  jotm.  scrape  aad  dcM  tW  taee  oi  l^ 
ftaage*.  lasen  tke  arv  gBifcct  am 
tip    the    fooM    acaia    "ram  tuht      t>'i 


tij  third*    t.,    tKf«-r   I, 


.1     f  K»     ^< 


•  >      I     r       1 A  ~. 


«  a§  prtt— f«   from  aajr 

»«^!i<>«i  aiii  probably 

00c  or  nsorc  nwia.  boikr*  or 

the  casr  may  be. 

There   are  many    dUlcraM    vr>^ 
niuneroos   to   nmtum   bcf«. 
the  face  of  fliagri  to  prrveat 
fron  blowing  o«L     Wiib  fliMgii  el 


Ui.gxif    xntl    rr<a.ii 


r   male  aad 
tpnag  ibe 


jK^!  ijjcvibrr  wi(b 
•Ic  lo  tbr  worb.  vil 
no 


'to:   a   r^iitrf     tK.if 


«-g<£T-  -  -  -  - 


■  ,  I.  Vaa  Monr  joinl 
rt  tmi  Aftcf  RoUtB(. 


.B        B 


riC.  S.Via  MoBc  JelBl 


iog  of  the  metal  on  the  outer  circiiinfrr 
riKr  of  the  Manged  portion.     Fig.  2  shows 
inc  joint  after  the  face  has  been  tin 
off  true  in  the  lathe.     Note  the  thm- 
lown  of  the  metal  at  D  as  compared 
/ ,  the  original  thickness  of  the  pipe 
overcome  this  defect   joints  known 
|^      lie    "Cranelap"    and    "improved    Van 
Stiiir"    were    put    on    the    market    some 
rarH  ago,  and  are  now   used   in   pre f er- 
ne-   10    the    old    type.      The    metluKl    of 
"iisiructing  the  Cranelap  joint   is   sh'-wti 
n   I  ig    y     .\\  I:   the  face  of  the  llanijr  11 
l»i.\Mi  Ix-vrled  inward  to  compensate  for 
!)e  difference  in  the  thickness  of  the  pip^ 
K«»ren  the   inside  and   outside   p«.rii"ti> 
't   the   lap.     This   brings   the   face  of   the 
•  int  almost  iriir  after  rolling,  a  light  cut 

■IK. 
<   m«dr 


circumlrrence  as   shown   m    Ik'     i 

-t"'ws  the  same  joint  after   t-  lln  i; 

The  flange  is  bored  out  to  a 

'.ij-rr,  as  shown  at  (i     The  thick- 

of   the    pipe    /'    at    the    fare   of  the 


in  aU 
!«  be 


IS  grmiiaij  w>  gai  to  • 


of  rolled  steel  and  is  fu 
metal   may  not  run   •""• 
The  writer  has  seen 
flanges    in    the    " 
IM-rfcct    in   all 


steel 


ImA.  md 

^  r 

as  the 

i 

ii'.i  -.ii 

>ta«w  aa  «■■ 

■*    xB   ^•-••.rv* 

^icbly   4r«trr<                   J   m  €amr 

in 

Wnaa»  Stiam  hLama* 

V    bM 

Thr  'i»r^*  7^«r«w^   aMoag  •■f^ 

n    l^tt 

-TiMigv     m     lb*     a^ia 

and  iAiWf»  9*m 
w    mtUid   hfUn.    ssbrev 

fr«1    c«    aa^'v    ••   loigVb   m 

•w«Im  «« 

«b^       k.«.<-A<* 

^     'mm- 

mm  <v- 

cr«t  ^««  IMS  ttam  •» 
mm^  •■  *»  veld  IrvB 

366 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  23,  1909. 


to  insure  the  joint  being  stronger  than 
the  pipe  itself.  With  the  welded  header, 
rolled-steel  or  cast-steel  flanges  may  be 
used  in  connection  with  Van  Stone  or 
similar  joints,  or  if  preferred,  the  welded 
joint,  having  all  flanges  welded  to  the 
pipe. 

Some  advantages  of  the  welded  header 
are :  The  lightening  of  the  entire  work, 
better  quality  of  material  used,  decreased 
number  of  joints  liable  to  leak  and  the 
saving  of  time,  labor  and  expense  in 
erecting.  There  seems  to  be  one  objec- 
tion to  the  welded  header,  however,  in 
that  it  is  difficult  to  make  a  new  connec- 
tion to  the  header  if  required  to  do  so 
after  the  piping  is  installed.  This  diffi- 
cult}' can  be  overcome  by  allowing  one  or 
two  extra  nozzles  when  making  up  and 
blanking  them  with  a  blind  flange  until 
needed. 

Fittings   and   Valves   for   Superheated 
Steam 
Cast  iron  does  not  seem  to  stand  up  to 
Its  record  under  the  action  of  superheated 


service  in  a  superheated-steam  line, 
showed  a  loss  of  strength  of  49  per  cent, 
in  the  material  in  the  body  of  the  valve, 
and  ssYs  per  cent,  in  the  material  in  the 
flanges.  The  steam  pressure  in  this  case 
was  200  pounds  per  square  inch  and  steam 
temperature  590  degrees  Fahrenheit.  The 
valve  was  found  to  be  5/16  inch  longer 
than  when  installed. 

As  a  general  rule  for  all  superheated- 
steam  work  and  for  high  temperatures,  fit- 
tings and  valves  are  specified  to  be  of 
cast  steel. 


Making  Ice  Cream  in  a  Large 
Ice  Plant 


By  John  N.  Swartzell 


On  August  4,  last,  the  Chapin-Sacks 
Manufacturing  Company,  of  Washington, 
D.  C,  held  a  formal  opening  of  one  of 
the  most  uptodate  and  sanitary  ice-cream 


77771 irv^/^^,,u-    I I.  I 


•  "''^^JJ'      II  


=M}^=* 


Engine  Room 


Ice    Tank 


Ice    Tank 


jj.'^—jj^j-.     I      I     I    Vt/f/77rWi/////iiii/ 


l///!!/!;///i/>i//,i///iii///iii//i/i/i/!/:/ 


FIG.     I.     PLAN  VIEW  OF  ICE  PLANT 


steam  as  well  as  it  has  been  doing  with 
saturated  steam,  as  several  tests  made 
after  a  few  years'  service  show  quite  a 
reduction  in  strength.  The  following  case 
is  copied  from  Power  and  The  Engineer, 
November  24  number :  A  20-inch  tee  re- 
cently removed  from  a  superheated-steam 
line,  after  three  years'  service  under  a 
pressure  of  160  pounds  per  square  inch, 
with  125  degrees  of  superheat,  making  the 
ultimate  temperature  less  than  500  degrees 
Fahrenheit,  showed  cracks  open  as  much 
as  Yi,  inch  on  the  outside,  through  which 
steam  leaked.  The  casting  was  nearly  f^ 
inch  longer  and  i  inch  greater  in  diame- 
ter than  when  installed.  The  inside  sur- 
face was  found  covered  with  a  hard,  red- 
dish  oxide,  with  no  cracks  visible. 

The  Crane  Company  recently  cited  a 
case  showing  where  a  14-inch  cast-iron 
high-pressure  gate  valve,  after  four  years' 


factories  in  the  country.  For  many  years 
this  company  has  operated  a  large  ice- 
manufacturing  establishment  and  only 
comparatively  recently  has  been  making 
plans  and  preparations  for  the  erection  of 
the  ice-cream  factory  which  is  now  run 
so  successfully  in  connection  with  the  ice- 
making  business.  The  company's  build- 
ings, which  occupy  the  entire  eastern  end 
of  the  block  between  North  Capitol,  First, 
Patterson  and  M  streets,  northeast,  are 
two  in  number  and  are  located  conveni- 
ently with  respect  to  the  Union  station 
and    the     tracks     over    which    the    milk 


Methods  of  Handling  Milk 

Milk  used  at  the  plant  is  delivered  in 
refrigerator  cans  and  cars  from  Jeffer- 
son county.  New  York,  and  is  chemically 


tested  before  being  used.  Upon  arriving 
at  the  factory  it  is  carried  to  the  second 
floor  of  the  building  and  placed  in  a  cold- 
storage  vault  until  ready  for  pasteuriza- 
tion and  mixing  prior  to  being  made  intc 
ice  cream.  Next  to  the  storage  room  and 
communicating  with  it  is  the  mixing 
room.  This  room  contains  the  pasteurize: 
and  the  mixers.  The  pasteurizer  heati 
the  milk  to  a  temperature  of  175  degrees 
Fahrenheit,  then  cools  it  down  by  watei 
to  75  degrees  Fahrenheit  and  finally  re- 
duces its  temperature  to  38  degrees 
Fahrenheit  by  cool  brine. 

There  are  four  machines  for  mixing  the 
ingredients  of  the  ice  cream.  These  ar* 
huge  galvanized-iron  tanks,  each  having 
a  capacity  of  150  gallons.  In  the  centei 
of  each  tank  there  is  a  vertical  shaft  fittec 
with  two  dashers,  these  being  arrangec 
to  revolve  in  opposite  directions,  and  th( 
shaft  supporting  them  is  driven  by  a  beve 
gear  and  shaft  from  a  Crocker-Wheelei 
110- volt  direct-current  motor.  The  mix- 
ers are  set  in  two  groups,  one  motoi 
sufficing  to  operate  each  group.  The  driv- 
ing shaft  is  divided  and  furnished  with  « 
clutch  so  that  the  mixers  can  be  rur 
singly    when    desired. 

Located  on  the  first  floor  of  the  building 
directly  under  the  mixing  room  is  th( 
freezing  room.  There  are  six  horizonta 
and  one  vertical  freezer,  each  having  : 
capacity  of  12  gallons.  The  freezers  arc 
cooled  by  brine  circulated  by  a  smal 
centrifugal  pump,  which  is  located  in  th( 
mixing  room,  and  is  direct-connected  tc 
y  3-horsepower  direct-current  motor  hav 
ing  a  speed  of  1650  revolutions  per  min 
ute.  The  cream  to  be  frozen  flows  bj 
gravity  from  the  mixing  tanks  to  th< 
freezers  through  pipes  put  up  in  shor 
sections,  so  arranged  that  they  may  b( 
taken  down  each  day  and  thoroughl} 
washed.  The  horizontal  freezers  art 
equipped  with  individual  i^-horsepowei 
Crocker- Wheeler  direct -current  motors 
while  the  vertical  machine,  used  only  foi 
freezing  fancy  creams,  is  driven  by  a  Lin 
coin  2-horsepower  variable-speed  motor 
Each  motor  is  connected  to  its  respectiv" 
freezer  by  a  noiseless  chain-and-sprocke 
drive. 

The  freezers  are  elevated  a  sufficien 
distance  from  the  floor  to  permit  ih 
frozen  cream  to  be  drawn  of?  by  mere! 
opening  a  valve,  placed  convenieiitly  i' 
one  end.  Cream  upon  being  drawn  fror 
the  freezer  is  placed  in  the  hardenin 
room,  where  it  may  become  firm,  an 
allowed  to  remain  there  until  ready  fo 
shipment.  For  the  purpose  of  crushin 
the  ice  used  in  packing  the  frozen  creat 
for  delivery,  two  motor-driven  ice  crwsJ 
ers  are  installed,  one  emptying  direct! 
irtto  the  shipping  department,  the  oth< 
discharging  into  a  chute  through  the  ou 
side  wall  of  the  building  for  filling  the  d( 
livery  wagons.  Ice  to  be  crushed  is  ca' 
ried  to  the  second  floor  of  the  buildir 
from  the  ice-storage  room  on  the  fir 
floor  bv  an  ice  hoist  driven  by  a  Genet' 


1 


February  23,  1909. 

Electric  115-volt  direct-current  motor. 
Here  it  is  dumped  into  a  chute  and  de- 
livered to  the  crushers. 

Adjoining  the  freezer  room  is  the  wash- 
ing and  sterilizing  room.  The  cans  upon 
being  returned  by  customers  are  brought 


POWER  A\D  THE  F  R. 

off  the  4tr  im  and  vapor.     lo  •  few  aM>> 

mems.  m'-'    »v-  heat  of  the  jadut  hat 

^*^  *"  •>   to  dry  anr  moitfarc 

remainir  .  ■  ^  ,jj^, 

"«y  »*  '  enti  of 

the  basket  removed. 


r^^ 


from  ilw  uafc,  g  ^ 

iravduif  crat^  4 

ar«  r«9air«d  Um   mm  *mtn  U 
oart  lor  handla^  iW  li^« 
arc  operated  by  a  ky^rtmkc 
fVt  l«'undt. 


^m*  of  two 
I  he   liucti  of  iet.  of 
•boot  70  to  carfc  imk,  af« 
block*  by  nwam  of  aa  iroa  f 
'^  ^rraoL    A*  tW  blockt  ar« 
1   a  a  dnrt«  and   dad 


vbkk  ik«n  art 


rot   tW-i    *rr 
IBtO 


n- 


A-,      X"  :    If.    mimrt    it    \tnr^ 

•  nd  70  toa*  per  day 


Ufpmm  io 


«a*  oatr  a  tMM 
be  naMfactwvd  froa 
4n  dmiflcd  water.  kM  ihit  drfk^ty  tet 

1  I.lfrr  «rArt  htfY-n  t.xrtr.  ,•-•- r    k..    '-"^IhI^m 

tadka 

»•    :rw   j>rricr«»   oj    ifrrrin^        i  he  <#• 

r  MiMihued  at  iMa  plaM  vat  Wil 
,.  n   .  ipceaaof  CoMp— y.  »| 

i  :-r     !v-  located    m    a    «^rf| 

■    the  oUer  pan  ol  Ikt  baMi*B, 

»^-  '   jtocootafaM  tfctboOv  twdtr^  ika 

yrx'rx    and    aa    rlirtrir  iiiniaiti    ^Mt 

'^ -^f  a   Bwdreyt   ttapAt 

'<d    wfiM    Md    a 


FIG.     2.     niECZn  ROOM 


to   tlu-    i..,r    .,t    tiic   builiJiiiK   ami    received 
through   a    small   doorway    for   that   pur 
'1  in   the  tubs,   where  thc> 
washed.     .-Xfter  the  proccs> 

■  sbiiiK  Is  hiiished  the  cans  are  placed 
•vire  batket  moving  upon  a  track  and 
•I  into  a  steam  sterilizer.    The  sterili 
A  as  built  and   installed  by   the   Ken 

n  Kngine  Works,  of  Philadclphin. 
.  and  resembles  in  appearance  a 
horizontal  boiler,  being  alxMit  K  fed 
by  4  f"t  in  diameter.  The  method 
T.Ttinj?  i«  ,1*  followi: 

!"»  pressure  is  adtinfted 
■  Ive    and    the    prrs-ure 
•■d  to  10  pfjunds     ,At  this  pr^^^lI^^  n 
•inittcd  to  enter  the  jacket  surrumul 
le  internal  chamber.     When  this  ha* 
^■■.  accomplished  the   chamber   is   read> 
to  receive   the  material   to   be   stenli/cd 
* '"      '■      '        Tature  of  the  > " 
biy    thr    air    < 
1    uD'.iI   the   \.i 

■  of  vacuum.      . 

'>er     i«     then    opened     *iiKhtly,    and 

the  pressure  has  ri*rn  the  valve  i» 

'  anri  the  air  exhauster  again  started. 

the     vacuum    gage     in"---"-     15 

the   steam    valve   is   at  --d 

the  thermometer  read*   -•  n   ■:   .        ' 

nheit.      The    s-.eam    is    then    jll     s 


T) 


Ica  PLtat 


ric    \    annn 


fittMl  «ilti 


'K*    r» 


^  %  mm 


iinv  \sam 


m  b»- 


the  r\tuu<.irr  i>|>cnc«l  i>ik:«  mure  lu  draw      uitf 


iWj     ititdt  pat%*» 


«.«'.•>.« J    W>    II 


•*»»  r^^T" 


368 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  23,  1909. 


sizes  7>4x5x6-inch  and  7^x5xio-inch,  re- 
spectively. These,  as  well  as  the  com- 
pressor and  generator  engines,  exliaust 
into  a  Cochrane  open  heater  which  raises 
the  temperature  of  feed  water  to  210  de- 
grees Fahrenheit  before  delivering  it  to 
the  pumps. 

Located  next  to  this  room  and  com- 
municating by  means  of  a  low  arched 
doorway  is  the  boiler  room,  which  is  48 
feet  long  by  41  feet  wide  and  is  divided 
into  two  parts  by  a  brick  partition,  one 
room  being  41x23  feet  and  the  other 
41x25  feet.  The  larger  room  contains  two 
250-horsepower  boilers  fitted  with  Hawley 
down-draft  furnaces.  In  the  other  room 
are  located  two  of  228  horsepower  each. 
The  entire  boiler  equipment  was  furnished 


building  is  the  engine  room  containing 
four  Corliss-driven  ice  machines.  These 
were  built  by  the  Vilter  Manufacturing 
Company,  of  Milwaukee,  Wis.  There  is 
one  125-ton  machine,  consisting  of  two 
i8x36-inch  double-acting  ammonia  com- 
pressors driven  by  a  400-horsepower 
cross-compound  condensing  engine ;  two 
machines  of  55  tons  capacity,  each  con- 
sisting of  one  I7x34-inch  ammonia  com- 
pressor operated  by  a  tandem  compound- 
condensing  engine,  and  one  machine  of  10 
tons  capacity  operated  by  a  simple  non- 
condensing  engine.  On  the  cross-com- 
pound an  automatic  oiling  system  keeps 
the  bearings  flooded,  oil  being  pumped 
from  reservoirs  under  the  base  of  the  en- 
gine by  a  small  pump  operated  from  the 


ammonia  back  pressure,  18  pounds^ 
The  ammonia  condensers  are  of  the 
countercurrent  type  and  are  located  in  a 
covered  area  upon  the  roof  of  the  old 
building.  These  are  two  in  number  and 
are  composed  of  24  coils  of  2-inch  pipe,. 
24  pipes  to  the  coil  and  22  feet  long.  For 
the  raising  of  condensing  water  over  the 
cooling  towers,  a  Goulds  triplex  power 
pump  is  employed  and  is  driven  by  a  belt 
from  a  line  shaft  in  the  engine  room, 
which  also  drives  the  fans  of  the  cool- 
ing towers.  The  two  '  cooling  towers, 
located  above  the  condensers,  are  built  of 
wood  and  are  each  equipped  with  two  60- 
inch  fans.  The  steam  condensers  in  con- 
nection with  all  three  of  the  ice  machines- 
are  of  the  counter-barometric  type  and  are 


FIG.    4.    ENGINE  ROOM 


by  the  E.  Keeler  Company,  of  Williams- 
port,  Penn.,  and  was  built  to  carry  a 
working  pressure  of  160  pounds.  The 
boilers  have  one  steam  and  water  drum 
20  feet  5  inches  in  length  by  48  inches  in 
diameter,  contain  one  hundred  and  thir- 
teen 18-foot  tubes  4  inches  in  diameter, 
and  are  fitted  with  horizontal  baffles.*  In 
addition  to  the  feed  pumps  located  in  the 
generator  room  there  is  another  battery 
in  the  larger  section  of  the  boiler  room, 
comprising  two  Snow  duplex  pumps,  size 
5/4^3^x5  inches.  These  are  held  in  re- 
serve. The  waste  gases  are  conducted  to 
the  atmosphere  by  a  rectangular  uptake 
and  two  steel  stacks. 

West  of  the  boiler   room   in   the   same 


rocker  arm  of  the  low-pressure  eccentric. 
The  bearings  of  the  other  engines  are 
arranged  for  oil-cup  lubrication,  while 
the  cylinders  are  furnished  with  Phoenix 
force-feed  oil  pumps  driven  from  the 
wristplates.  All  the  engines  have  heavy- 
duty  frames,  and  with  the  exception  of 
the  simple  engine  are  belted  to  a  line 
shaft.  The  400-horscpower  unit  drives 
an  overhead  line  shaft  which  in  turn  is 
belted  to  a  Westinghouse  30-kilowatt  125- 
volt  direct-current  generator.  On  the 
wall  of  the  engine  room  there  are  gage 
panels  indicating  steam,  receiver,  ammonia 
head  and  back  pressures  as  follows : 
Steam,  135  pounds;  receiver,  15  pounds; 
ammonia     head     pressure,     210     pounds; 


supplied  with  water  which  has  previously 
been  used  for  condensing  purposes  ir> 
the  ammonia  condensers.  They  are 
located  on  the  roof  of  the  building  con- 
taining the  engine  room. 

There  are  three  vacuum  pumps  on  the 
condensing  system.  Two  of  these  are 
located  in  the  engine  room  and  the  other 
in  the  basement.  The  two  in  the  engine 
room  are  small  horizontal  flywheel  pumps, 
for  wet-vacuum  service,  while  the  third  is 
a  dry-vacuum  pump. 

For  the  information  contained  in  this 
article  the  writer  is  indebted  to  A.  A. 
Chapin,  president  of  the  company,  who 
cordially  invites  public  inspection  of  the 
plant. 


February  23,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINKER. 


Modern    British    High-Speed    Steam    Eikm 


Dcscriplion  of  What    Is   IVI.cved  la  Be  Piaclic.lly  the  Only  ino^. 
Acting  ComiK,un<l  Fjii;in<-  Buill  in  .\umlx.rj  in  Fjn-lanrl;  Other    Maka 


ines 


B  Y 


JOHN 


DAVIDSON 


Mllen.      Another    firm    which    makes    a 

Ity  of  high-speed  engines  is  that  of 

!     Allen.   Son  &   Co..   Ltd..   of   Bed- 

Kngiand.     The  company's  design  of 

rank  compound  engine  is  illustrated 

ill  Fig.  20.     This  engine  differs  somewhat 

'•■'■•"    those    already     described,     as     flat 

>    of    marine    type    are    provided    in 

[>ia..    of  bored  ones.     These  are   formed 

in  the  back  of  the  frame  and  not  as  an 

-ion   of  the   distance   piece   carrying 

lindcrs.     Again,   the  distance  piece 

rting    the   cylinder    from    the    main 

of  the  engine  is  cast   in  one   with 

the  cylinders.     This  does  away  with  the 


are  arranged  for  dnving  as  shown,  and 
b>    lilting    these   ends,   the    valve   can   be 

ina-le  of  uniform  shape  and  thicknr ' 

distortion  due  10  alterations  of  t^ 
ture  entirely  prevented. 

An  exterior  view  of  a  standard  thrtt- 
crank  tri[.' 
watts    ci; 

One  very  (lotKcabk  iVdturc  i>  the  %itr 
of  the  dfjor*  which  arc  provided  to  givr 
access  to  the  working  parts. 

Rfavell  Practically  the  only  single-actini; 
engine  which  is  manufactured  in  any  num- 
ber is  the  Reavell  engine  which  i*  mad*- 
by    Reavell   ft    Co..    Limited,    of    Ipswich 


f.r..t  ^.i.».u. 


,  :i\jirn:    \      \hr   hi^h  jfi' 
nd  the  tccotHf  rf\m4»t 

Tht*    latter 


in«    tKj- 


tW 


Wm 


Th. 


•1    in    'Tvr    I  till 

!  be  made  clear  bf 


rd  at   If  MNO 


r 


nc.  aa  w.  u.  allcm  two-oukk  oomioom* 


"-■•wy  of  a  joint  underneath  the  i>im 
It  somewhat  complicates  the  cylin- 
The  two  cylinders  are  aUo 
by  side  and  the  valves  on  the 
By   this   means   the   cranks    are 
t    closer   together   and    prol>ably    a 
>   better  balance  i«  obtained 
design   of   triple-expansion   engine 
ntnufactured   by   this   firm    is   shown    in 
'"    -M.     Details  of  consirtictinn   of  the 
are    timilar    in    most    re«{>ects    to 
•    of  the  two-crank  compound  muiix 
(ir    pMlon    valve*     are     forme*!     m     '^•■^'■ 
Ml  the  form  of  a  tuJ- 
being  titted.     The 


The  construction  of  •'•■- 
in  Fig   ij.     in  a  o  " 


.1 „  .l..w<..        », 


>*k.i«f  AtJtf     .'itfAr^^i 


rx|i.iltM 

,,-'.IU 


the 
The 
by    f 


't\     rtiKine 

..1.1  iirir.l 


Ihr 
bv     Ir 


to    a     alfvadr  blkd  witb  Mmb  at  b«let  k«« 
<  Wr«  luipniii  t  darwt 
I  t^  I  n  iiii^  Mrdbe     * 
'  actaal  patm 
.*  to  »•«  t*w 
i«nms    ot    kv4      TW    loU' 
.T.TM'cr     •rbtrb  iwl«de«   - 

V   ffM*  a«  tb*  W. 


370 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  23,  1909. 


and  the  bottom  of  the  cylinder,  which  re- 
mains open  to  Z,  transferring  a  portion 
of  the  steam  to  the  under  side  where  its 
second  stage  of  expansion  takes  place, 
until  the  termination  of  the  up  stroke,  just 
in  the  same  way  as  it  would  do  if  trans- 
ferred or  exhausted  to  a  separate  cylinder. 
The   steam   which    remained   above    the 


considerable  size  between  the  working 
barrel  and  the  outside  of  the  cylinder,  and 
between  the  inner  and  outer  cover.  The 
valves  of  the  engine  reciprocate  in  a  cen- 
tral valve  liner  secured  in  the  bottom  of 
the  cylinder  as  shown,  and  the  piston 
reciprocates  in  the  annular  space  between 
this    liner    and    the    cylinder    walls.      The 


ton  being  already  filled  with  steam  up  to 
initial  pressure,  as  before  stated,  and  the 
cutoff  being  effected  by  the  valve  D  driven 
by  a  slide  rod. 

After  an  early  cutoff,  the  precise  point 
of  which  is  controlled  directly  by  the 
governor,  the  steam  expands  during  the 
remainder  of  the  down  stroke,  and  while 


FIG.     21.     W.    H.    ALLEN   TRIPLE-EXPANSION     ENGINE 


Mi 

\ 

,       iiill^  >^  ^  iiii^MBi^lMlll  1 

■!WR'--i   ifc  ■*Wi..  ;»•             T 

L  -  Cj       m  '^ — ' 

FIG.     22.     EXTERIOR  OF   W.    H.    ALLEN    TRIPLE-EXPANSION     ENGINE 


piston  at  the  point  Z,  when  the  communi- 
cation from  the  top  to  the  bottom  of  the 
cylinder  was  closed,  is  compressed  up  to 
initial  pressure  W. 

•Referring  to  the  sectional  illustrations, 
Fig.  23,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  steam- 
inlet  flange  is  on  the  body  of  the  cylin- 
der itself,  there  being  a  steam  jacket  of 


steam,  entering  through  the  stop  valve, 
passes  up  between  the  inner  and  outer 
cylinder  walls  and  covers,  and  is  admitted 
into  the  valve  liner  through  ports  A  near 
the  top.  From  the  inside  of  the  liner  the 
steam  passes  into  the  cylinder  through 
spiral  ports  C  up  to  the  point  of  cutoff, 
the  clearance  space  shown  above  the  pis- 


the  crank  is  turning  the  bottom  center 
the  ports  E  in  the  center  of  the  liner  ar 
opened  by  the  valve  F ,  called  the  transfe ' 
and  exhaust  valve.  This  valve  F  at  th  i 
same  time  opens  the  ports  G  at  the  hot, 
lom  of  the  cylinder,  so  that  while  the  pis ! 
ton  is  making  its  up  stroke  a  communica. 
tion  is  made  between  the  top  and  botton 
of  the  cylinder,  transferring  steam  Z\ 
equal  pressure  and  temperature  from  th : 
top    to    the    bottom   of   the   piston.      Thi| 


FIG.   24.  TREORETICAL  DIAGRAM   FROM    SINGU 
ACTING   COMPOUND  ENGINE 

transfer  continues  for  about  half  th 
stroke.  In  other  words,  about  one-ha 
of  the  steam  which  was  above  the  piste 
ic  transferred  to  the  other  side.  Tl 
transfer  is  closed  first  by  the  piston  ove 
running  the  ports  E  in  its  upward  strok 
and  immediately  afterward  by  the  vah 
/•"  closing  the  ports  E  and  G.     The  stea 


I 


February  23,   1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  EN^ilNEER. 


J7i 


nc.  23.   UATEix  siNcix-AcnMC  cDMrounD  Dram 


transferred  to  the  under  side  then  com-  stroke,  and  the  clearance    space    in    the  by  iht  ratrrmg  iIbmb  art  alfW^F 

pletes  its  second  stage  of  expansion,  and  cylinder  is  so  proportioned  that  this  steam  up  to  inttial  trt»pcr»tart  ami  lk«i 

at  the  end  of  the  upward  stroke  the  ex-  shall  be  comprised    to    initial    pressure,  drr  -•  .~i-^..'..>'^  ..  »-«.^  — 4 

baust  valve  opens  and  allows  this  steam  to  when    the    termination    of   the    stroke   is         ^                                          ''viMf  ^i  ikt 

escape    to    the    atmosphere    or    the    con-  reached,  and  the  valve  D  opens  for  the  ipe««  r.i  inr  rn«inc  n  <To»ann^  bf  a 

denser.  next  admission  of  steam.     Bv  this  meaaa  thafi   go^enwf    vkkii  acta 

In  the  meantime,  the  steam  which  re-  the  recii                  -.irts  are  f.-  levrrt  and  gowrvor  WMIfi  B 

mained  in  the  cylinder  above  the  piston,  and  the                     fnkfn  •••  th*  pnmt  ol  coloff  of  tkt 

when   the  transfer  closed,   is  compressed  the  wor.                                                                              •'  girrme 

durinc    till-     latter    half    nf    the    upward  time  th'                                                                                  •  rd  lo  rt.  whicb  pa» 


iliilFHii 


I  rr^r^       T>  ,' 


t 


nAf»  BUIbk  ur  nOTHU 


3/2 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  23,  1909. 


in  the  admission  valve  D.  The  valve  D, 
though  reciprocated  by  the  slide  rod  and 
having  a  constant  stroke,  is  free  to  be 
rotated  by  the  guide  studs  on  the  bridge 
B  and  the  ports  in  the  admission  valve 
are  so  arranged  in  connection  with  the 
ports  in  the  valve  liner  itself  that  a  slight 
axial  movement  will  cause  an  alteration 
in  the  point  of  cutoff. 

The  valves  are  driven  by  a  radial  form 
of  valve  gear  operating  from  a  point  on 
the  connecting  rod,  and  the  positions  of 
the  valve-gear  centers  are  so  chosen  as  to 
enable  a  considerable  variation  in  the  point 
of  cutoff  to  be  obtained,  with  an  exceed- 
ingly slight  change  in  the  amount  of  lead. 

Lubrication  is  effected  by  the  splash 
system.  An  oil  and  water  bath  is  formed 
in  the  bottom  of  the  crank  chamber  into 
which  the  bottom  end  of  the  connecting 
rod  dips  at  every  revolution,  throwing  a 
constant  stream  of  oil  over  the  working 
surfaces. 

These  engines  are  built  only  on  the 
compound  principle,  but  they  are  very 
economical,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  re- 
sults given  in  Tables  i  and  2.  This  is  no 
doubt  due  to  the  small  port  clearances 
and  the  efficient  jacketing  made  possible 
with  this  type  of  engine.  Also  cylinder 
condensation  is  greatly  reduced  by  reason 
of  the  high  compression  which  heats  up 
the  surface  above  the  piston  to  the  initial 
temperature  of  the  steam  before  the  valve 
opens  to  lead. 

Brotherhood.  The  firm  of  Peter  Brother- 


( 

i 

i 

FIG.     26.    BROTHERHOOD  ENGINE  COUPLED  TO   CROMPTON    DYNAMO 


hood,  Ltd.,  whose  productions  are  illus- 
trated in  Figs.  25  and  26,  was  really  the 
first  high-speed  engine  builder  in  this 
country.  In  1883  the  late  Peter  Brother- 
hood  patented    his    three-cylinder    engine. 


The  cylinders  in  this  engine  were  placed 
radially  at  equal  distances  round  the 
crankshaft,  and  the  three  connecting  rods 
were  coupled  to  one  crank  pin.  Further 
improvements  were  patented  in  1885.     A 


-V>I^M>,    J  '       ' 


FIG.      2T.      SISSIN    TWO-CYLINDER    COMPOUND 


February  23,  1909. 

large  number  of  these  engines  were  built 
and  it  will  be  remembered  that  it  was 
only  in  the  year  1885  that  the  late  Mr. 
Willans  patented  his  renowned  central- 
valve  engine,  so  Peter  Brotherhood  was 
the  first  to  recognize  in  a  practical  way 
the  need  of  a  high-speed  engine.  Thi> 
firm  has  manufactured  a  large  number  of 
inclosed  forced-lubrication  steam  engines, 
and  quite  recently  has  put  down  a  new 
works  of  much  larger  capacity  at  Peter- 
trough.  These  works  are  fully  equipped 
with  modem  machiner>-  and  are  suitable 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

cylinder,  and  the  arrangement  is  dearly 
shown  in  the  KCtional  elevation.  Thi» 
firm  makei  a  practice  of  fiitini;  «^'«-ntr»c 
straps  .  rgeU 

steel.  ^^4 

steel,  shdpcti  tu  I 
water,  and  are  car 

obtain  a  perfect  balance  of  the  mortog 
parts  of  the  engine. 

Special  attention   is  also  given  to  the 
lubricatv  -  Two  pumps  of 

the  va!'.  except  m  the 

ca- 


J73 

t»  IDS 


iirmtn 


IM* 

/    • 

/ 

1 

i  iM 

I 

\ 

< 

r 

•  a.|1 

V, 

L 
1 

JL 

/ 

€F — — 

r-"»-fcit*«^      1 

■i*    \ 

r  1 

../ 

/ 

«• 

/ 

/ 

i 

«ULr. 

L9SJ 


>% 


m 


28.      WATXB   CONSUMPTION    OF    SIS- 
SIN    ENGINE 


V«r 

-•■ 

Prw 
Lb    Per 

.... 

i-  M. 

Aapi. 

Vrt'. 

"^- 

4<i  in 

\: 

'  •,.  ■ 

vl  t«« 

149 

SM 

< . 

1  ., 

-i'l  t«il.     . 

140 

3&t 

4  4*. 

t  ^  ' 

«. 

l.|..a 

••■«» 

149 

Z&t 

«4M 

M« 

10 

i   1.^. 

•  .-.1 

Ul 

" 

4U 

100 

^A 

TABLE  X 

TEST  OF  1M>IUL< 

1 

Staam 
1  Prsn. 

t 
In^'h'e.     uT3     *»•*   ^-»' 

1 

Ov»r-t<m*1  ip«t           1  .1                        jj.>» 
Kiill  l.».|  iMt             IV)                          M« 

s 

«tcrior  apyiartw  of  dM 

■1  in  Fig    j6c  whkli  is  a 

a  Brother  hood 
niptoo  9a»4tdovati 

.\n  rnxinr  ci>>t»rt«in«  both 


«nh«ff  t! 
xA^  lulhcici   roosB   for  a 


nc    39.    STKAM  CONSUMrriON  AND  UTICUMCV   Of   ■UTUM    ■MUl'MaD  B«I<U»KS 


w 

x-^  {-f»«ssd 

ui>  pMimi  rod 

.     .                                                                                           .            ..            L       _j   .k^     dowti  ibtwiali    *    k.««g    fw«  •*•!  !■•• 

deahoK   with   engines   of   the  largest     ncnU   are    madt    W   that    either  of   the       _   _^^  Nt  ihi  iliaa  fciilil  iiHiw  it 

be  removrtl    .'•-'—         ^  **                  -^^  ^^ 
t.     The  othrt 


sue.  str^ 

Th^  ^l.iml.ird  «l*'it(fn  nf  twf>-er«nk  e«m-      »» 


sues  varying  irom  jo  to  7nri  t.r.. 
power,  and  to  run  at  «per«U  >a 
h)  the  case  of  the  tmallr^t  w 
revolutions  per  minute  in  the  br, 
The  engines  arc  ^tifRy  built.  aii<l 
ing  surfaces  arc  of  Krnrr><u 
Separate  piston   valve*   arr 


fhe 


374 

are  fitted  with  separate  liners  of  special 
nickel-iron  alloy. 

The  framing  is  of  ample  strength.  The 
lower  part  forms  an  oil  trough  and  is  fit- 
ted with  an  inspection  door  and  drawoff 
cork.  Large  openings  are  arranged  in  the 
ends  of  the  frame  above  the  shaft,  which 
are  closed  by  flanges  attached  to  the  main 
bearing  caps,  and  when  these  are  removed 
the  crank  shaft  can  be  readily  withdrawn 
through  the  opening  at  either  end,  for  the 
flj-^vheel  can  be  disconnected  from  the 
shaft  and  again  fixed  without  any  diffi- 
culty, as  it  is  spigoted  onto  a  solid-flange 
coupling. 

The  speed  of  the  engine  is  controlled 
by  altering  the  cutoff^,  although  at  light 
loads  the  governor  has  a  throttling  action 
on  the  steam.  These  engines  are  economi- 
cal for  their  size,  as  will  be  noted  from  the 
two  curves  given  in  Fig.  28,  which  were 
plotted  from  data  on  a  ioHx6-inch  en- 
gine. Initial  pressure  150  pounds  and 
atmospheric  exhaust. 

To  illustrate  the  best  results  obtainable 
as  regards  steam  consumption  and  effici- 
ency with  British  high-speed  engines, 
when  working  under  ordinary  conditions, 
the  curves  in  Fig.  29  are  given,  which 
clearly  show  the  steam  consumption  and 
efficiency  of  a  modern  triple-expansion  en- 
gine at  all  loads  from  no  load  up  to  25 
per  cent,  overload,  when  working  with 
steam  at  a  pressure  of  175  pounds  per 
square  inch,  superheated  100  degrees 
Fahrenheit  and  exhausting  into  a  con- 
denser with  a  vacuum  of  26  inches. 


American  Society  of  Hungarian 
Ejigineers  and  Architects 


A  number  of  Hungarian  engineers  and 
architects  pursuing  their  professions  in 
this  country  have  organized  the  American 
Society  of  Hungarian  Engineers  and 
Architects.  The  society  has  two  objects: 
First,  to  bring  in  closer  touch  engineers 
and  architects  of  Hungarian  extraction, 
living  in  this  country,  and  to  give  moral 
support  and  information  to  newcomers; 
second,  to  encourage  the  exchange  of  engi- 
neering, technical  and  industrial  infor- 
mation between  the  technical  men  of 
Hungary  and  of  the  United  States  and  to 
foster  technical  societies,  sciences  and  in- 
dustries. 

The  society  will  hold  monthly  meetings 
where  papers  will  be  read  and  discussed. 
The  membership  consists  of  mechanical, 
electrical  and  civil  engineers,  chemists, 
architects  and  craftsmen.  Following  are 
the  officers  of  the  new  society :  President, 
A.  Henry  Pikler,  M.  E.,  member  of 
the  American  Institute  of  Electrical 
Engineers,  engineer  -  in  -  charge  of  the 
transformer  department,  Crocker-Wheeler 
Company,  Ampere,  N.  J.;  vice-president, 
Karoly  Z.  Horvay,  architect,  chief  drafts- 
man, building  bureau  of  the  Board  of 
Education,    Brooklyn,    N.    Y. ;    secretary, 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

Zoltan  de  Nemeth,  M.  E.,  New  York  Edi- 
son Company;  treasurer,  Sandor  Oester- 
reicher,  E.  E.,  associate  member  of  the 
American  Institute  of  Electrical  Engineers 
and  of  the  American  Society  of  Mechani- 
cal Engineers,  New  York  Edison  Com- 
pany; assistant  secretary,  Ernest  L.  Man- 
del,  B.  S.  C.  E.,  Bureau  of  Commissioner 
of  Public  Works,  New  York  City.  The 
society's  business  address  is  P.  O.  box  No. 
103 1,  New  York  City. 


Graphite  as  a    Lubricant   for   Gas 
Engine  Cyhnders 


By  Walter  N.  Durant 


Becoming  interested  in  the  above  sub- 
ject and  having  access  to  a  new  6-horse- 
power  horizontal  engine,  using  city  gas 
for  fuel,  I  determined  to  make  some  ex- 
periments. Finding  it  impossible  to  mix 
graphite  and  oil  and  feed  it  through  the 
ordinary  lubricator,  the  experiments  were 
confined  to  feeding  the  graphite  dry 
through  the  air  intake  and  continuing  the 
use  of  cylinder  oil  through  the  lubricator. 
At  first  about  an  ounce  of  graphite  was 
fed  through  the  air  intake  at  short  inter- 
vals, but  after  each  charge  the  engine 
would  show  increased  internal  friction ; 
however,  it  would  quickly  pick  up  and 
then  appear  to  run  smoother  than  before. 
The  quantity  of  graphite  was  reduced  and 
it  was  soon  found  that  the  best  results 
were  obtained  when  the  engine  was  not 
given  more  graphite  than  could  be  con- 
sumed in  the  cylinder,  or  about  1/12  to  % 
ounce  per  horsepower  in  a  lo-hour  run. 
This  amount  should  not  be  fed  all  at  once, 
but  distributed  as  evenly  as  possible 
throughout  the  10  hours. 

The  experimenting  extended  over  a 
period  of  four  months,  and  during  that 
time  the  engine  was  given  some  severe 
tests.  The  spark  plug  was  always  in  good 
condition  and  never  missed  fire,  or  be- 
came carbonized  or  short-circuited.  The 
cylinder  and  valves  were  frequently  exam- 
ined-; the  latter  were  in  fine  condition  and 
the  cylinder  did  not  show  a  sign  of  a 
scratch,  but  had  that  smooth,  dull  appear- 
ance which  indicates  the  absence  of  fric- 
tion. Unfortunately  it  was  impossible  to 
determine  the  amount  of  fuel  saved  by  the 
use  of  graphite,  as  the  engine  was  under 
a  constantly  varying  load. 

Desiring  to  know  what  others  thought 
of  graphite  as  a  cylinder  lubricant,  I 
wrote  to  45  prominent  gas-engine  manu- 
facturers, asking  if  they  recommended  its 
use  in  their  engine  cylinders.  The  ma- 
jority of  replies  stated  that  the  writers 
had  none,  or  very  little  personal  experi- 
ence, and  declined  to  express  an  opinion. 
The  answers  containing  advice  were  inter- 
esting, but  rather  conflicting,  and  no  in- 
formation could  be  gained  from  a  reply 
like  this: 

"It   is   not   customary   with    us    to    use 


February  23,  1909. 

graphite  in  the  engine  cylinders,  although 
we  sometimes  use  a  little." 
The  following  is  a  little  more  explicit: 
"The  great  trouble  with  graphite  is  to 
apply  it  properly,  so  as  not  to  plug  the 
rings  and  make  them  stick.  If  properly 
applied,  however,  graphite  is  indeed  an 
ideal  method  of  lubrication,  but,  of  course, 
must  be  used  with  oil." 

A  prominent  firm  making  high-grade 
auto  engines  writes : 

"We  would  recommend  the  use  of 
graphite  once  in  a  while  in  your  crank 
case.  Same  will  do  no  harm.  It  has  a 
tendency  to  close  the  pores  of  your  cyl- 
inder and  polish  same  up  so  as  to  increase 
the  compression.     It  is  a  good  thing." 

A  large  marine  gasolene  motor  manu- 
facturer also  says : 

"Smear  the  cylinder  walls  with  it.  Once 
a  month  is  often  enough  to  do  this.  Of 
course,  in  addition  the  regular  amount  of 
oil  should  be  fed  through  the  multiple 
oiler.  Graphite  will  help  to  retain  good 
compression." 

Another  well  known  gas-engine  com- 
pany writes : 

"We  use  more  or  less  graphite  in  con- 
nection with  lubrication,  and  where  prop- 
erly used  much  better  results  can  be 
secured  than  with  lubricating  oil  alone. 
If  the  cylinder  has  been  allowed  to  cut 
slightly  because  of  lack  of  oil  there  is 
nothing  that  will  put  it  in  shape  so  quickly 
as  the  use  of  graphite.  Where  good  flake 
graphite  can  be  mixed  with  oil  and  fed' 
to  the  cylinder  good  lubrication  is  cer- 
tain." 

The  manager  of  a  large  company  mak- 
ing gasolene  marine  engines  writes : 

"We  consider  graphite  the  best  lubri- 
cant in  the  world  for  gas-engine  cylinders. 
The  trouble  in  using  it  is  in  getting  it  into- 
the  cylinder.  So  far  no  satisfactory  means 
have  been  devised.  We  think  so  much  of 
the  lubricating  qualities  of  graphite  in  cyl- 
inders that  we  make  it  a  rule  thoroughl3r 
to  coat  the  inside  of  every  cylinder  with 
it  before  sending  our  engines  out  from 
the  factory.  If  one  of  our  customers 
should  ask  us  the  question  we  would  tell 
him  to  use  it  by  all  means  if  he  could 
get  it  into  the  cylinder." 

A  New  York  City  builder  says : 
"We  think  graphite  lubrication  is  very 
good  provided  j'ou  have  the  proper  means 
for  furnishing  the  graphite  in  the  required 
and  constant  quantity  so  that  it  will  reach 
the  parts  to  be  lubricated." 

The  objections  to  its  use  were:  "Forms- 
lumpy  spots  on  valve  seats.  Has  a  tend- 
ency to  carbonize  spark  plugs.  The  ex- 
pense in  using  it  would  overcome  the  ad- 
vantages." 

Nearly  all  of  the  firms  which  did  not 
recommend  Jhe  use  of  graphite,  pointed 
out  the  impossibility  of  mixing  graphite 
and  oil  and  the  certainty  of  clogging  the 
lubricator  if  fed  in  that  way.  Aside  from 
this,  the  only  objection  I  can  see  is  in 
using  too  much  at  one  time  in  small  cylin- 
ders. 


{ 


i'Vbruary  23,   1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


J7S 


Practical     Letters     from     Practical     M 

Don't  Bother  About    the    Style,    but    Write   Just    \lhat    ^  ou  Think, 
Know  or  Want  lo  Know   About  ^■ou^  Woik.  and  Hclj,  Each  Other 

WE     P  A  \-     FOR     USEFUL     IDEAS 


en 


A  Boiler  as  a   Water  Supply 
Tank 


The  mistakes  and  absurdities  that  in- 
evitably blaze  the  path  of  the  inexperi- 
enced technical  graduate  who  launches  out 
on  his  own  hook  in  an  advisory  or  super- 
visory capacity  are  exemplified  in  the  de- 
vice described  herein  in  connection  with 
the  water  supply  in  a  hotel  building. 

The  house  pumps  in  this  hotel  arc  two 

electrically    driven     centrifugals,     one     of 

which   is  always    held    in    reserve.     The 

briilpr  plant  consists  of  two  72-inch  by  18 

horizontal     return-tubular     boilers, 

connected    by     a     steam     drum     as 

II  in   Fig.    I,    and    used    alternately. 

I  m  Kenius  who  performs  the  function  of 

consulting  engineer  to  the  owners  of  the 

i-rty  in  question,  thought  it  would  be 

■>i»al    id'»a   to   utilize   these   boilers   as 

on  the  house  water-supply 

-■  their  periods  of  temporary 

:viiy  as  steam  generators,  instead  of 

r--  :ng   a    tank    for    this    purpose    in    the 

tttic. 

\-cordingly,  acting  on  the  inspiration. 


mtending  to  connect  the  blowuii  pipe* 
from  the  boilers  to  the  house  water  ty%- 
tem,  as  shown  in  Fig.  2. 

The    purpose    contempbted    in    the    in- 
stallation of  this  cofMrivance  was  to  pump 


cic   prt\%utt   »<,nti(]    <irop   tu  Co  pMisads, 

the  hooM  ftump  httnn  e«i  oat  ia  the  aMKB* 

-•  (tch  m  the  HHtor 

as 

wbicrh  wookl  mtfam  uperaie  to 


■  ioWINC   Al« 


■v---»^OI»» 


motor  cimni  M  te 


!hc     vjrt>r     rrclr    pj    r«mlS 


peain)     TSr  ohiottt*  ohfeci  oi  iht  mkeka 

thin,. 

pmti  *<■(  t^  eiatrilvgil 

ihtt 

Morcc 

The  )o6  «••  bcc«a  Mi 
bat  •!  the  turn  ot  thM  wntim  *  ^M 
progrr«M<d  ao  farther  Ikts  Ikt  db 
cooDtctioa*  to  the  vattr- 
Whether  the  drvtoer  ol  the 

'•{*  tram  the  hoArr 
f4   o&    (rtMa    MOM 
dropped  it  of  hte  ova  arceri.  or  to 
h  ttinc   it  in   »htymttr,  to  he 


riG    2.    SHOWING  noroMD  ■• 

"I  a  discarded  8-inch  \Vr*tinK'l."Use      an  *>  {►••<in4l 
.limp,  oi  the  locomotive  type,   rigged      •'      '     '" 

•  whown  at  A.  with  the  discharge  pip<" 
■led    to   the    water  <-'  '  Mon 

■  r  «lram  «parr  in  r.  -er 


.  ti   T  triWft 


<.f    (<«ii*tSrf *•»'«>    »*v*    f**" 


<IM  |K-.  e>«a<«   TV   ' 


in 


376 


Babbitting  a  Pinion 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 
A  Homemade  Condenser 


February  ?3,  1909. 

Kerosene  in  Steam  Boilers 


Some  time  ago  a  loose  pinion,  18  inches 
long,  required  babbitting.  As  I  was  un- 
able to  babbitt  it  on  the  shaft,  it  was  re- 
moved and  a  wooden  roller  dressed  down, 
supposedly  the  same  diameter  as  the  shaft. 
When  I  tried  to  replace  the  pinion  on  the 
shaft,  I  found  that  I  had  dressed  the  rol- 
ler down  too  much,  making  the  babbitted 
hole  too  small  for  the  shaft. 

I  had  another  old  shaft  of  the  same 
diameter  with  a  long  kej'seat  at  one  end, 
the  edge  of  which  was  a  trifle  higher  than 
the  rest  of  the  shaft.  The  end  of  the  old 
shaft  was  put  in  the  babbitted  hole  of  the 
pinion,  and  taking  a  half  hitch  with  a 
chain .  around  the  shaft,  with  the  aid  of 
two  men  to  turn  the  shaft,  the  weight 
caused  the  shaft  to  work  down  through 
the  babbitt  as  it  revolved,  the  high  side 
of  the  keyway  acting  as  a  cutting  tool, 
making  a  nice  fit  in  the  pinion  to  the 
shaft. 

P.     C.     FORG.\RD. 

St.   Paul.   Minn. 


Friction  Clutch  Trouble  Remedied 


For  the  benefit  of  those  who  are  hav- 
ing trouble  with  friction  clutches,  I  will 
cite  an  experience  that  ended  my  clutch 
troubles.  One  clutch  in  particular  gave 
considerable  trouble.  Four  arms  holding 
the  shoes  broke  one  evening,  and  were  re- 
placed. After  a  few  weeks  one  of  the 
arms  on  the  spider  cracked,  necessitating 
a  new  spider.  In  a  few  weeks  more  an- 
other arm  on  the  spider  broke.  We  re- 
placed the  old  spider  with  the  new,  and 
proceeded  to  line  it  up.  After  lining  up 
we  threw  the  clutch  in  and  tightened  the 
shoes.  That  was  as  far  as  I  had  ever 
seen  any  lining  done  by  anyone,  and  leav- 
ing oflf  at  this  point  was  where  we  had 
been  making  our  error.  After  tightening 
the  shoes  the  clutch  was  released  and 
thrown  in  again,  and  as  I  was  watching 
it  closely  I  saw  the  spider  move  a  little 
to  one  side.  This  was  where  the  trouble 
was.  In  tightening  the  shoes  we  had  not 
get  an  even  strain  on  all  of  them  and  on 
closing  the  clutch  the  tightest  shoe  would 
crowd  everything  out  of  line,  there  being 
a  small  amount  of  lost  motion  in  the 
journal.  We  equalized  the  strain  on  all 
the  shoes  until  we  could  throw  the  clutch 
in  at  any  position  and  have  it  remain 
true. 

In  lining  clutches  on  quills,  the  opposite 
end  of  the  quill  should  be  carefully  lined. 
If  one  side  is  pushed  out  it  shows  that 
the  opposite  shoe  is  too  tight.  Either  re- 
lease it,  or  tighten  the  side  that  is  out. 
A  good  fit  is  all  that  is  necessary  to  do 
the  work. 

Rem  OH  Lenoie. 

Keene,  N.  H. 


In  the  December  29  number  M.  D.  Cas- 
per asks  for  a  description  of  a  homemade 
condenser  for  exhaust-steam  heating. 
There  are  steam  plants  run  on  the  vacuum 
system  giving  perfect  satisfaction,  where 
no  condenser  is  used ;  simply  a  receiver 
tank  which  collects  the  air  and  water  in 
the  system ;  these  in  turn  are  pumped  out 
by  a  vacuum  pump  which  maintains  a  con- 
stant vacuum  of  any  desired  degree  in  the 
returns.  In  the  sketch  K  is  a  square  or 
cylindrical  vessel,  M  is  the  receiver  main 
and  P  P,  etc.,  are  the  returns.  The  re- 
ceiver main  is  connected  to  K  by  the  pipe 


I  have  noticed  for  years  first  one  let- 
ter and  then  another  dealing  with  the  use 
of  kerosene  for  removing  scale  in  steam 
boilers,  also  the  devices  for  feeding  it. 
While  the  arrangements  for  using  kero- 
sene show  much  thought  and  no  small 
amount  of  ingenuity,  the  same  amount  of 
thought  on  the  natural  philosophy  of  the 
thing  would  convince  anyone  that  using 
kerosene  in  a  steam  boiler  with  steim 
over  212  degrees  Fahrenheit  is  time 
wasted. 

I  have  tried  kerosene  in  boilers  under 
pressure   and   used   it   in  boilers   with   no 


HOMEMADE    CONDENSER    SUGGESTED    BY    MR.    NOBLE 


A.  Valve  C  is  for  the  injection  water. 
At  5  is  a  perforated  rose  which  scatters 
the  water  over  the  entering  steam.  At  H 
is  an  auxiliary  water  pipe  connected  to 
a  pump  or  city  main.  It  is  to  be  used 
should  the  condenser  get  too  hot  through 
shortage  of  injection  water,  etc.  The  pipe 
E  is  to  be  connected  to  the  air  pump ;  a 
check  valve  is  shown  on  the  end  of  it. 

The  form  of  a  common  jet  condenser 
is  immaterial,  but  care  should  be  taken 
that  the  mains  cannot  be  flooded  to  such 
extent  that  the  water  will  reach  the  en- 
gine. A  suitable  relief  valve  attached  to 
the  condenser  tank  would  be  advisable. 
J.   S.   Noble. 

Toronto,  Can. 


pressure,  and  the  only  time  I  have  found 
it  of  any  use  as  a  scale  remover  is  when 
a  boiler  may  stand  idle  and  empty  and 
the  kerosene  put  in,  then  slowly  feed  water 
to  the  boiler  until  full.  Then,  after  about 
one  hour,  let  the  water  out,  so  as  to  allow 
the  oil  to  cover  the  tubes,  heads  and 
shell  and  allow  the  boiler  to  stand  as 
long  as  possible.  A  good  dose  of  rain- 
water in  a  steam  boiler  is  the  best  scale 
remover  I  have  found  yet. 

Regarding  kefosene  in  boilers  under 
steam  pressure,  I  have  noticed  that  a  long 
time  before  I  could  hook  the  boiler  to 
the  others,  the  engine  and  boiler  room 
were  full  of  kerosene  fumes.  As  I  only 
have  about  20  pounds  steam  pressure,  how 


February  23,  1909. 

much   kerosene   will   be  left   when   I  con- 
nect  it  to  the  other   boilers? 

The  boiling  point  of  fresh  water  is  212 
degrees  Fahrenheit,  at  sea  level.  I  have 
often  noticed  on  a  barrel  of  the  best  illu- 
minating oil  the  figures  150  degrees,  and 
have  assumed  this  was  the  point  it  would 
vaporize  at.  Now  there  is  some  differ- 
ence between  150  degrees  and  the  tem- 
perature of  steam  at  100  pounds  pressure, 
and  I  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  kerosene  in  a  boiler  has  passed  off 
in  the  form  of  vapor  long  before  any 
tteam   is   used   from  it. 

I  am  afraid  a  good  many  engineers  are 
under  the  impression  that  kerosene  can 
be  pumped  in  a  boiler  under  steam  pres- 
sure and  help  remove  scale,  but  it  will  not 
do  the  work. 

James  C.  Mellen. 

Brooklyn,   N.   Y. 


Globe  Valves 


Many  practical  hints  were  given  in  Mr. 
Wakeman's  article  on   globe  valves,  pub- 
!   in  the  Januar)-  5  number.      In   rc- 
to  valve  disks,  the  flat  spots  referred 
to  certainly  form  an  effective  locking  de- 
vice, as  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten  it  is  use- 
IcM    to   try    to    remove    the    nut    with    a 
monkey  wrench  after  the  disk  has  been  in 
aat  some  time.     If  the  disk   is  first   split 
•"  or  three  places,  and  a  piece  taken 
he    rest    will    generally    turn    easily 
h  without  doing  any  damage  to  the 

deration    is    more    simple    than 
!   AH  the  flat  sides,  as  recommended 


■OW   TO  TAKE   THE   BONNET  Of   A 
VALVE  OfF 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

vent  marnng  the  hexagon  turface.  Tbcn 
screw  a  piece  of  pipe  in  one  of  the  open- 
ings, or  in  both  if  the  bonnet  is  very 
tight,  and  it  is  bound  to  come  kxxe  with 
the  least  possible  chance  of  tprmginf  or 
twisting  the  body  of  the  valve  out  of 
shape 

R.  CnmBtoM 

Gary,   Ind 


Badly  Worn  DashpoU 

A  short  time  ago  a  young  engineer  wkt 
called  upon  to  set  up  a  brgc  •  ~" 

engine   in  question   was  an 


KErAiaiNC   A   BAALY    WuEN    DAjkUtVI 

Corliss,  and  the  worn  dashpots  gave  con- 
siderable trouble.  A»  he  could  not  induce 
the  firm  to  put  in  new  ones,  he  had  to 
devise  some  method  of  repair. 

The  dashpots  were  of  the  old-fathioned 
t>pc,   with   a   solid   ['  'le- 

iUK  ijoscd   by  a  df.i  h- 

pot  pluHKcr,  when  ne«.  ma*  turiK<l  up 
to  an  ca*>  tit  in  the  daihj"  '.  ■''•  'hr  bot- 
tom of  which  was  a  lr->  ■  valve 
to  control  the  air  The  ■! .  ,  ■  jod  on 
a  cast-iron  base  plate  having  a  hole 
drilled  in  it  from  the  side  and  connect- 
ing with  a  vertical  hole  in  the  center  of 
the  dashpot  un  '  ■  •■  ■  -  check 
valve.  When  '  .«»hpr.i 
was  raised  it  c^ratr^l  a  vatiuum.  cju«ini{ 
the  leather  check  valve  to  be  raiM>d. 
thrrrhv  .vltiiitdfig  air  to  the  dathpot*. 
When  ilir  \.i|\r  was  relrated  and  the 
plunger  fell,  thu*  doting  the  valve,  this 
leather  check  valve  cloMtl,  rr»^itKn..  • 
portion    of   the   air    in   the    <'  ' 

creating    n  ' .»..-».    ..  ,    ^j^ 

plunirrr  fr  Nt  tht 


y  Mr.   W.nlrman.  and  as  the  nut  is  apt 
1   Work    liM.sr,    due    to    vibration    in    thf 
earn  pipes.  I  think  the  locking  arrange 
imt  preferable 

II  is  fc  good  idea  to  take  off  the  bonnet     use     what' 
•  valve  before  it  is  put  to  use.  but  these     cloaed. 

'»  are  often  screwed  up  *o  lightly  A«  tber«  wa- 
■'^>rr  leaving  ihr  *hr>p  thai  a  monkrv 
fench  will  not  Ii>o<rn  ihem  without  slip 
'If  and   ro'iruling  the  corner*.  ^ 

The    ufr«i    way     under     any     arcum-      ' 
<nce«  i«  to  put   ihr   valve  in  a  vi«e.   as 
wn    in    the    sketch    herewith,    with    a     r 

'if  thi  bent  over  the  jaw*  to  pr»-     ihan  the  witidr  of  tk«  daahpo' 


sn 

ing  thcsB  10  be  il«lHly 
vhca  in  place.     Whea  iW 
the  daahpou  adjMtcd  j^aia  be  Irymi  ite 
ked  aioriy  and  be  bM  »,-4  M 

cwble. 

PtAVB   L 

Adams.  Mas* 


Down  Oait  Furaaco 


The 


<Ljmn  A§M4t'       <«>*n> 


pair 

'4D^. 

^i^kaii    «n<j    AinutCQ    tttttttl 

1  boUer  eaparMMMi.    TW 

»  City  and 

<■  A(i^u»cd  bjr  IcadHig 
rcaaom ;  Fin*,  ikt  h 
tifc  »As  ufMkr  the  tbioncsi  Mid  matt  hM 
body  of  water  bi  the  badcr;  ttnmi,  ika 
priming.  Ibamiag  aad  •qmrti^g  d«e  to  tka 
op-draft  lunmr*-  -•■'•■  not  mmt^  aa  bad 
with  the  dowt  ace 

The  plant  wnr  •unrtrvt  ffoai  oan^  aa 

the  6rc  was  ooder  ibc  boOcr  at  oae  <*d 

and  the  coolest  gates  oodrr  ibt  odwr  aa< 

wherebv  if  ihrrc  were  utf  aBafaal  ts* 

«-lof(d  aboirt  ibr  tpac*  af 

ling    tb«    two    berteairi 

baaAm.  aad  lb*  Midi  la 

thr  .   fooad  o««r  Aai  waB  at 

the  S  ••   ■       -the  boOrr. 

In  •'  .  -<■  ►-..»#  tbt  faraai*  ■»» 

invK)'-  '••Arr.  aad  ibrr* 

was  •  irrinai  (xair  ■(  irr<    tWtf    f 


-itirefy      row.  ir.«ii 
lalbc    oa    ibe     |o«wd  tb# 


'»•!  *i-r»e  tbt  br«» 
'UHctao 
tmlrr  Uwfl    Ai 

'    p»t»r»«    ^r4-^    lb*    br« 

••  a 


ii>xs  •«<   #««t 


the  fcbcJc  cad  -i  ib»  ysii*. 


378 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  23,  1909. 


did  no  good,  because  heat  will  not  move 
downward,  unless  it  is  forced,  and  there 
was  not  heat  enough  at  that  point  to  raise 
any  perceptible  heat  above  that  due  to 
the  steam  already  there. 

There  was  another  boiler  with  down 
draft,  built  for  a  Mr.  Baxter,  a  sketch  of 
which  is  shown  herewith.  It  is  the  true 
Dukdonald  boiler,  but  the  engine  in  the 
top  was  the  invention  and  patent  of  Wil- 
liam Murdock,  a  Scotchman,  in  the  year 
1770.  So  it  may  be  seen  that  Solomon 
was  not  such  a  fool  when  he  said :  "The 
thing  that  hath  been  is  the  thing  that 
shall  be;"  and  "there  is  no  new  thing 
under  the  sun."  Though  I  quote  him,  I 
demur  thereto ;  for  if  there  had  not  been 
an  original  somewhere,  there  could  not 
be  copiers. 

Peter  Van  Brock. 

Jefferson,  la. 


rations  for  the  immediate  installation  of 
the  new  equipment  were  at  once  made 
and  the  existing  apparatus  was  crowded 
to  the  rear  of  the  building.  Part  of  the 
front  wall  was  removed,  one  stack  taken 
down  and  two  tubular  boilers  skidded  to 
the  exterior  so  that  foundations  for  the 
producer  equipment  could  be  constructed. 
For  a  period  of  some  seven  months  the 
Corliss  engine  struggled  along  under  the 
heavy  load  imposed  upon  it,  occasionally 
developing  as  high  as  120  horsepower.  The 
main-bearing  pillow  block  was  reenforced 
and  a  support  placed  under  the  guides, 
hoping    to    delay    the    inevitable,    which 


A  Remodeled  Steam  iPlant 


the  equipment.  A  30-horsepower  2000- 
volt  motor  was  purchased  and  direct- 
coupled  to  one  of  the  old  500-volt  ma- 
chines, which  had  hitherto  been  belt- 
driven.  Owing  to  the  fact  that  this  ma- 
chine was  only  of  56  kilowatt  capacity  and 
that  it  had  150  horsepower  in  small 
motors  already  on  its  mains,  no  more 
direct-current  power  was  solicited,  but 
three-phase  440-volt  power  was  pushed 
and  at  the  end  of  six  months  85  horse- 
power in  this  type  of  motors  were  con- 
nected and  at  the  end  of  another  six 
months  135  horsepower. 
An  uptown  office  was  established  and 


During  the  fall  of  1907,  when  the 
writer  came  on  the  scene,  the  plant  be- 
longing to  the  Hoopeston  Gas  and  Elec- 
tric Company  consisted  of  a  150-horse- 
power  Stirling  boiler,  two  lOO-horsepower 
tubular  boilers,  one  I4xr4-inch  Ideal  and 
one  iix24-inch  Corliss  engines,  three  iioo- 
volt  single-phase  125-cycle  alternators  and 
two  500-volt  direct-current  generators. 
The  electrical  machines  were  belted  to 
the  engines  in  such  a  way  that  one  en- 
gine could  carry  the  day  load,  which  was 
comparatively  light,  and  the  other  the 
heavy  evening  load  until  midnight.  The 
day  load  consisted  of  a  few  soo-volt 
motors  scattered  around  and  a  number  of 
flatirons.  The  night  peak  load  was  oc- 
casionally as  high  as  80  kilowatts,  and  the 
street  lighting  consisted  of  five  arcs  and 
128  thirty-two-candlepower  incandescent 
lamps  on  a  midnight  moonlight  schedule. 

The  equipment  was  of  ample  capacity 
for  the  existing  load,  but  any  considerable 
increase  could  not  be  handled  without  fur- 
ther additions  to  both  prime  movers  and 
the  present  single-phase  system,  or  a  com- 
plete remodeling.  Steam  leaks  were  mani- 
fold and  multiform.  Secondary  wires 
were  of  small  cross-section  and  of  great 
length.  All  lines  were  in  bad  shape,  and 
it  was  no  uncommon  occurrence,  on  wet, 
windy  nights,  for  the  circuit-breaker  to 
show  signs  of  great  activity. 

With  the  advent  of  a  new  enterprise  an 
aggressive  power  campaign  was  decided 
upon,  and  a  85-kilowatt  generator  was 
purchased  and  belted  to  the  Corliss  en- 
gine. Shortly  after,  the  question  arose 
as  to  new  prime  movers  and  a  twin 
cylinder,  single-acting,  280-horsepower  gas 
engine  was  decided  upon.  Anthracite  suc- 
tion-gas producers  were  also  purchased, 
and  a  200-kilowatt  generator  was  bought 
and  belt-connected  to  the  engine.     Prepa- 


v:^/////yyyy///yyy^^  t^^^x^^:^^^ 


FIG.     I.    THE  OLD  LAYOUT 


finally  came  at  4  a.m.  one  morning,  in  the 
shape  of  a  broken  pillow  block  and  cap, 
which  allowed  the  shaft  to  drop  down  and 
forward,  twisting  the  valve  rods,  break- 
ing one  steam  arm  and  throwing  one  ex- 
haust valve  under.  No  one  knew  how  it 
happened,  but  it  was  generally  ascribed  to 
old  age  and  heavy  overloads.  The  genera- 
tor was  shifted  over  to  the  piston-valve 
engine  and  for  two  months  this  engine 
ran  continuously  with  only  an  occasional 
stop  for  packing  purposes. 

The  old  wooden  switchboard  was  dis- 
mantled and  a  new  five-panel  marble 
board  installed,  carrying  oil  switches  and 
like  apparatus  in  keeping  with  the  rest  of 


the  supplies  were  taken  care  of  from  thi 
point.  Our  only  competitor,  who  ran 
plumbing  shop  in  connection  with  tli 
electric-supply  business,  was  bought  01 
and  the  light  company  thereafter  did  a 
wiring  and  furnished  all  supplies.  A 
advertisement  was  run  in  each  of  the  loc: 
daily  papers  and  changed  weekly. 

Owing  to  the  fact  that  the  primary  vol 
age  was  doubled  and  inasmuch  as  tl 
lines  were  sadly  in  need  of  repair,  coi 
sidcrable  time  was  spent  placing  these  i 
first-class  shape,  some  20  transformei 
were  thrown  out  and  all  meters  were  n 
adjusted  for  the  new  frequency.  A  nun 
ber  of  fan  motors  were  changed  and 


February  23.  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


ew   small   single-phase  motors  were  got 
id  of. 

As  is  shown  in   Fig.  2,  one  boiler,  en- 

[ine  and  generator  were  left  in  complete 

■epair  so  that    this    apparatus    could    be 

itarted  up  at  once  should  the  gas  equip- 

nent    be    disabled.     It    has    been    found 

ary   to   resort   to   this   arrangement 

r  three  times  for  a  day  or  so  at  a 

n   order    that     minor     adjustments 

■  be  made  on  the  gas  engine. 

Seeing  the   need   of  means  of  hoisting 

:he  coal  to  the  tops  of  the  producers,  a 

notor-driven  chain  hoist  was  added  to  the 

ttation    equipment,    and     a    power    head 


the  engine,  owing  to  governor  troubles 
and  improper  mixtares.  All  this  was  cor- 
rected as  soon  as  we  secured  a  practical 
gas  man  to  take  charge  of  the  equipmrm. 
The  engine  is  called  upon  to  deliver  abo0l 
12$  horscp«jW(cr  during  the  day  and  up- 
ward of  250  horsepower  at  night  until  11 
p.m.,  when  the  load  drops  to  25  hor»e 
power. 

.-\  marked  difference  WM  at  once  ap- 
parent in  the  coal  cofitomprioo.  notwith- 
^tanding  the  unfavorable  conditions  the 
plant  operates  under,  running  for  one- 
third  of  the  time  at  practically  one-tenth 
load.     The  company  is  now  figuring  with 


'//• 


j^ 


■TrrfTy'/TJTny,  —  ■  rTzrr-rrr'  ttzi 


Scrubbers 


lOu  HI-.  V-j"  Ii  I'. 


-wiUhlxMUtl 


La 


Dram  MotMo  Duloftioa 


in    inc    arttcK    uo   dmoi' 
iton.  pobltshcd  la  the  mmm  oI  J 
I  s'r  that  I  niMk  soeral  s«ainM«u 
tr.j>    lead   to  erraneoos 

thrf:    T    W  .r.K    .\    «fi.    ! 

ing    at    4(i(iltl..fU>l    tu   tikkl    AftKiC 

As    has    bcca   prcvsowJy 


ihi 


-■"     •(! 


ll»C      I1H.C 


tMA.    Tkm 


during  a  cycle  ol  the  Atmm  m 

force  i»  the  rrwlmn  ol  tkt 

»ioo  and  the  force  of  accafatMsuo  ol 

drum,  which  act  m  tW 

giantag  at  the  hcad-carf 

spring  tcnsioo    m 

force  of  accdrfatMai  m 

mom  (ondrr  the  isaimWHM  of 

nv.iinn ) .  that  1%,  the  dram  acts  as  a  drag 

the  force  m  the  stnng  is  th>  ■• 

••«  of  thnc  two  foreea.     At  the 

'.ead  center,  h^.'wever.  tht  force 

4t»i>n    t% 

inertu  of  the 

and  therefore  the  acnve  force 

rd  M  the 

between  the  aocelcranig 

center.  If  these  forces  in  the 
equal  at  the  ends  of  the  stroke  (as  tfvy 
may  be),  and  if  the  force  of  acceleraiian 
I  the  same  way  as  thr  t#rmg 
there  wonid  be  no  drfommtson  m 
the  diagram.  The  latter 
ever,  cannot  ordinarily  he 
the  spring  trnrion  mcreaaa 
thronghout  the  •trofce  of  iIm 
the  force  of  acctir  ration 
cording  to  anolnrr  law.  exnpl 
,  cofMition  of  harmonic  motion  vMcn  w 
only  approshnalflly  MtMad. 
Tne  foOowing  nnmerical  mmpir  mig 

make  dear  an  km  1  ruing  char? -  H 

drum -11101  km  forces  ■     5oppo»''  ' ' 

of  the  dram  is  inch  aa  to  gt««  a^  imtioI 
accelrrating  forte  of  —  I  pe«4  «i<.  m 
the  end   of  the   sirake.  a   force  el   4-  I 

pound     If  the  i. sf  wiBng 

sions  are  -f  «  poonds  mi  -^  * 

hi  the  cord  wfll  he  «  -f   i         J 


nC.     2.     THE   irVW    ABKANCtMtirT 


riven  by  a  5  horsepower  motor   for   the 
well   pump   was  put  in.     Thi^  l.itter 
a  great  saving,  as  the 
Chy  water  for  the  gas  eng:: 
[  purposes  and  for  the  wet  scrubt>rr  in 
I  producer  room  wa<  no  inconsiderable 
B.    All  wires  were  taken  from  the  ceil- 
( and  placed  in  conduits  under  the  floor 
fid  the  ceiling  taken   down.     This  addi- 
A  head  room  afTor.jrd  better  light  .iti.! 
litinn  and  prr«cntcd  a  more  pIcaMtih: 
pearancr. 

In  due  time  the  new  equipment  arrived 

id  wa*  placed  in  position.     Ftr  tlir  first 

w  months  we  were  troubled   snmrwhal 

ie  slowing  down  and  speeding  up  of 


thr    cngii>e    buiUlrri    lor    ■> 
.»(  ihr   vame  l*pe,  but  of   ^ 
■ittalled    41 
Irad   per  I 
biKepower  f  ■ 


The   d. 

I»roKjhle    ; 

v»hi.h      <»ili 


•se 

'■• 

h«-     belted     the    (Hkil^slt 

'•  '         ■»■•-     Sji^ie  It  rrml*-  the 

mg  br>tlrr  «i't  ht 

>«>ii   niakr   ronni   i-r    i4ie 

of   the   same   f*p*<^>t*    as 

ihwse  now  uulalird 

C    F    Msi*." 
Hoopceton.  Ill 


•pri<«  of  gHen  strmgrh  »W#» 
.pM^al  vhirtiftore  ts 


38o 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  23,  1909. 


distortion  of  a  diagram  of  a  given  length. 
At  other  speeds  the  best  tension  is  ob- 
tained as  previously  described. 

J.   C.    Smallwood. 
Philadelphia,  Penn. 


Verifying  Motor  Connections 
by  a  Diagram 


brushholder  cables.  I  found  later  that  the 
wiremen  had  connected  the  motor  up  to 
try  it  and  it  had  then  been  disconnected 
and  moved  away  from  its  position.  When 
put  back"  it  was  turned  around  and  the 
outside  leads  were  connected  up  back- 
ward, as  described. 

R.    E.    OSBORN. 

Toledo,  O. 


I  had  just  finished  reading  the  "Cate- 
chism of  Electricity"  in  the  January  5  num- 
ber, when  the  chief  came  in  and  asked 
me  to  reverse  the  rotation  of  a  motor. 
We  have  about  twenty  motors  and  they 
are  apparently  all  shunt-wound.  But 
having  the  "Catechism"  in  mind,  I  looked 
into  the  motor  and  found  it  to  be  a  com- 
pound-wound machine.     I   could  not   re- 


Puzzling  Transformer   Action 


I  submit  herewith  an  electrical  problem, 
hoping  that  some  reader  of  Power  may 
be  able  to  solve  it.  The  accompanying 
diagram  shows  the  wiring  of  one  section 
of  our  switchboard  which  supplies  cur- 
rent to  a  3.S-ampere  series   incandescent 


/25  Feet  of  Conduit 


lowering  the  voltage,  boosts  it  10  or  15 
volts.  The  question  is,  why  doesn't  it 
buck? 

I  would  esteem  it  a  favor  if  some  other 
reader  would  give  mc  a  correct  ex- 
planation. 

E.   L.    Mason. 

Garnett,  Kan. 


Lifting  Limitations  of  a  Pump 


DIAGRAM  FOR  VERIFYING  MOTOR  CONNECTIONS 


In  the  reply  to  an  inquiry  in  an  issue 
of  several  months  ago,  it  was  stated  that 
a  pump  will  not  raise  water  to  the  theo- 
retical limit  of  34  feet  because  of  the 
"slippage"  and  the  friction  of  the  water 
against  the  pipe  walls.  This  is  correct 
and  in  the  case  of  a  pump  designed  as  an 
ordinary  single-action  hand  pump  in 
which  the  bucket  can  be  adjusted  to  work 
clear  down  to  the  valve,  thus  eliminating 
the  clearance,  your  explanation  is  prac- 
tically complete  if  the  water  is  cool  and 
the  suction  pipe  air-tight. 

In  a  pump  made  as  a  steam  pump  is 
ordinarily  constructed  there  is  another 
and  greater  reason  for  its  failure  to  raise 
water  to  the  theoretical  hight,  and  that  is 
its  inability  to  create  a  perfect  vacuum. 

Take,  for  instance,  a  pump  of  such  di- 
mensions that  the  piston  displacement  is  I 
cubic  foot,  and  the  cubic  contents  of  the 
clearance  between  the  piston  and  cylinder 
head  and  the  space  between  the  valve 
disks  is  0.25  foot.  Then  when  the  piston 
is  at  one  end  of  the  cylinder  and  moves 


verse  the  shunt  winding  alone  because 
that  would  make  the  motor  differential, 
and  the  only  way  I  could  see  was  to  re- 
verse the  current  in  the  armature  by  ex- 
changing the  leads  to  the  brushholders. 

I  started  the  motor  up  to  find  out  which 
way  it  had  been  running  and  the  starting 
lever  touched  the  first  contact  on  the 
faceplate  of  the  starting  box,  and  the 
motor  started  off, at  a  furious  rate;  it 
seemed  to  me  it  turned  up  about  2000 
revolutions  per  minute,  when  it  should 
have  run  450.  I  immediately  pulled  the 
switch  and  began  looking  for  a  break  in 
the  shunt-field  circuit.  Being  unable  to 
find  any  defect  whatever  in  the  circuit,  I 
made  a  diagram  of  all  of  the  connections 
of  the  motor,  which  is  shown  herewith. 
Owing  to  the  conduit  being  so  long,  I  had 
to  use  a  test  lamp  to  "prove"  the  dia- 
gram and  in  doing  this  I  found  that  the 
main  leads  had  been  transposed  at  the 
-motor.  This  showed  me  how  the  motor 
lost  its  shunt  field.  The  shunt  circuit 
from  the  starter  to  the  field  winding  was 
all  right,  but  the  only  return  path  was 
through  the  armature  lead  instead  of  the 
line  lead ;  consequently  the  shunt  winding 
was  connected  merely  to  the  terminals  of 
the 'Starting  resistance,  and  got  practically 
;no  current. 

Changing  the  main  leads  back  again 
'Straightened  out  the  trouble  and  I  then 
Tcversed    the    motor    by    transposing    the 


[d       \a 

WIRING   DIAGRAM    OF    ONE   SECTION    OF    SWITCHBOARD 


lamp  circuit  for  street  lighting.  The  con- 
stant-current transformer  A  has  two  sec- 
ondary windings,  one  of  which  supplies 
this  circuit,  and  the  other,  through  an  in- 
ductance regulator,  supplies  a  6.6-ampere 
circuit  not  shown;  B  is  the  circuit  switch; 
C  is  a  20  to  I  constant-potential  trans- 
former which  may  be  connected  so  as  to 
raise  or  lower  the  voltage  impressed  on 
the  line,  a  double-throw  switch  D  being 
provided  to  control  the  primary  current 
in  the  transformer  or  to  cut  it  out  alto- 
gether, as  required.  The  idea  was  to  pro- 
duce closer  regulation  than  that  given  by 
the  steps  of  the  transformer  A,  which  are 
too  far  apart. 

When  the  switch  D  is  closed  upward 
the  voltage  is  boosted,  but  when  closed 
downward,  the  transformer  C,  instead  of 


to  the  other  the  0.25  cubic  foot  of  air  in 
the    suction    end   would   be    expanded  tf 
1.25    cubic   feet   at   3   pounds   pressure  i( 
there  were  no  suction  pipe  on  the  pumi 
and  the  opening  for  it  closed.     Of  coursi 
this  would  not  be  the  condition  in  pump 
ing,  and  air  would  be  taken  from  the  sue 
tion  pipe  as  that  in  the  cylinder  is  rarefied  i 
but  under  no  circumstances  could  the  an 
in   the   cylinder,   and   consequently  in  thu 
suction  pipe,  become  less  than  3  pounds  | 
therefore,   the  effective    air    pressure    t(j 
raise  the  water  would  be  but  15  —  3  =  'm 
pounds,  enough  to  balance  a  head  of  abou  | 
27    feet,    and    the    pump    could   not   rais'i 
water  by  suction  to  exceed  this  distanc 
even  if  all  other  conditions  were  as  nearl; 
perfect   as   it    is   possible   to   make  their  1 
We  know  15  pounds  is  not  exactly  cor 


February  23,   1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


rect  for  the  air  pressure,  but  this  does  not 
affect  the  principle. 

In  many  pumps  the  clearance  is  greater 
in  proportion  to  the  piston  displacement 
than  I  .4 — the  ratio  we  have  considered 
here — with  a  consequent  lowering  of  the 
pump's  efficiency  in  raising  water  by  suc- 
tion. 

Frank  L.  Waixis. 

Des  Moines,  Iowa. 

[Mr.  Wallis'  argument  would  apply  to  a 
pump  starting  up  with  no  water  in  the 
suction  end  of  the  system,  but  the  condi- 
tion on  which  it  is  based  disappears  when 
Ih'-  pump  is  "primed,"  which  is  easily  and 
;nonly  done. — Editors.] 


The  Surface    Condenser 


I  noticed  in  your  issue  of  February  16, 
351,  an  .-ibstract  of  an  article  relating 
indensing  apparatus,  which  was  pub- 
lished in  the  December  25,  1908,  number 
of  London  Engineering.  I  submit  here- 
with a  copy  of  a  letter  which  I  have  for- 
warded to  the  editor  of  Engineering,  com- 
menting upon  the  article  in  question,  as 
ioilows : 

"I   was  much  astonished  at  the  article 
which  api)rarcd  in  the  issue  of  December 
*5,  K/*^.  of  London  linniucering,  in  which 
the  statements  were  made  that  the  econ- 
omy  to   be   gained    by    the     increase    of 
vacuum  from  24  inches  to  28  inches  was 
approximately   17  per  cent,  on  steam  tur- 
bines, and   with   the   reciprocating  engine 
*ame   increase  of  vacuum   would   re- 
in a  saving  of  only  2  per  cent. ;  and 
,    in    order   to     utilize    such     a    high 
:um,  the  low-pressure  cylmdcr   would 
-  to  be  built  rivaling  Captain  Kricsson's 
•01    hot-air   engine   cylinder,   and   the 
II  economy  gained  by  the  increase  in 
lum   is   given   as   an   excuse'  why   the 
age     marine     engineer     regards     low 
:um  as  justifiable.     It   apixrars  to  the 
er    that    the    statements    made    in    this 
le  are  not    in    accordance    with    the 
^   and   that   the   use   of   low   vacua   as 
tioned  in  marine  practice  is  an  oxcep- 
and,   instead    of    being    justiU^d    by 
lomy,  is  only  an  excuse  for  badly  de- 
ed   condensing    apparatus    or    a    Uxy 
mrering  department 

•ing  prac- 
r  irrv.    I 
iiic  iiivcktigaiioiii  .< 
liners,   and     the     1. 

I  rrcipriK-atinK    enk'inc*    are    carr)iHK 

II  2b  to  v8  and  more  inches  of  vacuum 
ore    the    results   are   looked    into,    the 

meers  are  required  to  keep  the  v.ic 

'rm   tight    and    carry    all    the    \.i' 

tn'-y   can   get,   and    while   it    i*    ' 
trreatrr  henrfii«  cm  be  derivc<l   • 

'   turbine   thati    1:: 
-.    it    i«    al«'>    tr-*-    •'  ■' 
where  pntji  are   iv 

higher  the  \  rried  the   l: 


the  justifiable  economy  which  can  be  <* 
tained    from    the   plant.     The    \: 
mcrs  Company,  of  ^filwaukee,    v. 
built    more    pumping    engines    than    any 
other  firm  in   the   United  Stales  and  has 
earned   large  sums   for  produang   results 
better    than    tho9e    guaranteed,    and    the 
higher    vacua   have   played   an    imp<jrtant 
part  in  those  re>ul:s. 

"While   the   writer   was  chief  nft^miini; 
tnni 
sit  ( 

the  niutur -driven  air  pump  anU  jet  con- 
denser for  a  barometric  type  of  con- 
denser and  increased  the  vacuum  on  each 
of  the  8000-horsepower  Allis  Chalmers 
horizontal  vertical  engines  at  the  Seventy- 
fourth  street  station  from  26  inches  to  j8 
inches,  thereby  increasing  the  p<jMer  on 
each  of  the  eight  i:  275 

horsepower,  and  t:  -\%- 

tion  was  increased  ^er> 
ratio.  This  change  wa'- 
years  ago  and  the  plant  is  stiii  operating 
with  28  inches  of  vacuum,  the  vacuum  be- 
ing measured  with  mercury  columns  con- 
nected to  the  exhaust  pipe  at  a  point  just 
below  the  exhaust  nozzle  of  the  low- 
pressure  cylinders. 

"A  careful  test  made  on  the  Fifty  ninth 
street  station  of  the  Interborough  com 
pany  showed  a  decrease  in  steam  con- 
sumption of  8  per  cent,  when  the  vacuum 
was  raised  from  25  to  28  inches  These 
engines  drive  sooo-kilowatt  generalcrs 
and  the  test  was  very  carefully  conducted. 
In  view  of  the  results  obtained  by  the  lest 
just   mentioned,  the  writer  the 

statements  made  that  an  \\v  1  24 

to  .-  1  result*  lu  U»c  sav- 

inn 

"I  he  in 

South  «  ,  •■  '>•'* 

on  which  1*  carried  J8  inches  of  vacv 
and  has  been  for  the  past  three  year*.  ..- 
wc  could  give  many  other  instances  where 

high  vacua  are  being  ■ ' 

eating    engines    with     ■ 

sufficient  to  !t!»t.iliaii"n  ..|  \'.<- 

high-vacuum 

"It  is  true  «l!4t  etet  -re- 

quired  to  keep  air   le..-  ^T* 

tern,  but  the  writer 
cheaper  to  k*-*-"  'he  »\ 
to  pump  lark^ 

is  '-  ' •■•  ^    ..      . 

.  acua  it  due  to  oqc 
of  ' 


ta;;- 
tkMt 


.„    ll><-     •rti<-lr     rrlltiric    I- 


mate  check  on   •joctAUnj   <^tmimiom.     la 
the  larger  si^  eokmmmt  af« 

attached  to  c^...  w.„.  »    .U4i   a   correct 
obarrvatioo  can  be  aude  at  aay  time* 
R.  D.  ToHuvaoai. 
Mdwadtae.  Wis. 


A»  lo  Increase  ol  SaUiy 


An  engineer  asked  mt  man  lai«  ^o  U 
!  ihooght  it  proper  (or  him  >..  ^  y* 
nnploycrs  (or  an  incrr.k  .  kc 

question  kMked  sio^k  ^.^-^.  -.i.  bo- 
fore  givmg  him  my  amwcr  1  adkcd  km 
why  he  tboogbt  be  was  worth  ancr  He 
replied  that  the  aan  they  had  belorc  hiai 
received  taoo  per  year  OKirr  tkn  they 
w«Tr  psyinff  him.  and  the  *V>Mr  took  do- 
^'  of  paying  hu  old  ogiaaif 
altbovgh  he  was  nvi«g  hiai 
$50  per  week  over  tbr  nianiag 

of  the   fomrr  enirinrr-r 

He  said  hr  «de  it  a 

to  ask  (or  »t,  .       V-r*  ifways  tsit4 

lo  show  his  er  ;  '  ,    « o«k  tkat 

he  was  w-f  *.  V.    -hrj  ctjaid  aflord  to  poy. 

I   sboti; :  to  have  tlse  irfrttiwii  ol 

rowm  rr.,  ir- .    ■    regard  lo  this  qiwsCaM. 

It  It  (.:  i-^:  I  ■  ^KK  for  aa  iacrtase  ol  pay> 

CaAitn  W.  Mncmu. 

Sharon,  Pcnai 


The  C4iminrT  Eafiac 


The    very    rrmpcrhtaam    artkloa 

-*Settii«  the  Valves  ol  the  Cmmm 

tint."  in  the  Drrrniber.  190^  aad  ), 

rnbers.  by  Mcmts.   Al«k 

'  et^,  I  M>Mft^  ipwy  Mtfofoatmg. 
«at  plawd  oa 
nu-  f^gw  wtlli  bi 

matcnal,   bank   aad  cagakilay   ol   m 
*tAntIin«  Kird  »rf  «Ke  vitti  the  mm* 
vesatior  dp 

....    ..,«  "      '•"    '  ...    iUM 

nocb  p'  baw 

<o<T   rvatea  I 


1  U«<i 
f..r  r.ii 


..id  u><d  M  ka  iMvtag 


•vl   im»tx 


382 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  23,  1909. 


Refrigerating    Plant  in  Steel    Works 

Largest  Plant  in  Existence  for  Drying  Air  Supply  to  Blowing  Engines; 
Saves  $1  a  Ton  in  Making  Pig  Iron  and  Produces  More  Uniform  Output 

B~Y        O  S   B  O  R  N        M  O  N  N   E  T  T 


It  is  but  recently  that  the  subject  of 
water  vapor  held  in  the  atmosphere  has 
had  any  attention  with  reference  to  its 
effect  on  the  operation  of  blast  furnaces. 
While  it  has  long  been  realized  that  all 
air  in  its  natural  state  contains  water 
vapor  in  varying  quantities,  depending  on 
the  temperature  and  the  opportunity  which 
the  air  has  had  for  acquiring  moisture,  it 
was  for  a  long  time  considered  that  this 
was  one  of  the  insurmountable  difficulties 


this  line  from  the  beginning,  brought  out 
many  interesting  facts  based  on  experi- 
ence with  refrigerating  outfits  in  several 
different  plants.  It  appears  that  there  are 
required  approximately  two  tons  of  ore, 
one-half  ton  of  limestone  and  one  and 
one-half  tons  of  coke,  to  make  a  ton  of 
iron.  In  addition  to  this,  five  tons  of 
atmospheric  air  is  required  to  furnish 
the  necessary  oxygen.  In  this  enormous 
quantity  of  air  it  can  be  readily  seen  that 


coke  and  interferes  with  the  regularity  of 
the  output. 

In  1897  the  Carnegie  Steel  Company  be- 
gan experimenting  under  the  supervision 
of  James  Gayley,  who  is  the  inventor  of 
the  Gayley  dry-blast  process,  with  a  view 
to  determining  the  approximate  cost  of 
removing  the  moisture  by  means  of  re- 
frigeration. 

Subsequently  at  the  Isabella  plant  of  the 
United   States   Steel  Corporation,   located 


FIG.     I.    GENERAL  VIEW   OF  COMPRESSOR  ROOM 


and  drawbacks  in  furnace  operation, 
although  all  the  other  elements  which  go 
toward  the  making  of  steel  have  had  care- 
ful consideration  for  many  years. 

Advantages  of  Using  Dry  Air 

At   the   late   meeting  of  the   American 

Society  of  Refrigerating  Engineers,  held 

in  New   York    City,   Bruce   Walter,   who 

has  been  connected  with  developments  in 


the  moisture  will  be  a  great  disturbing 
factor.  Irregularity  in  moisture  content 
of  the  atmosphere  under  different  condi- 
tions not  only  changes  the  quantity  of 
oxygen  delivered  from  time  to  time  ac- 
cording to  the  humidity,  but  each  pound 
of  the  moisture  requires  something  like 
13,000  B.t.u.  to  decompose  it  into  oxygen 
and  hydrogen.  This,  of  course,  reduces 
the  efficiency  of  the  furnace,  requires  more 


at  Etna,  Penn.,  a  large  outfit  for  remov- 
ing moisture  from  the  air  was  installed 
and  the  results  have  been  highly  satis- 
factory to  steel  men.  The  coke  saving  has 
been  shown  to  be  about  350  pounds  per 
ton  of  iron,  the  daily  output  increased 
about  10  per  cent.,  the  iron  produced  is 
more  regular  in  quality,  and  less  air  is 
required,  due  to  the  decreased  tempera- 
ture and  consequent  smaller  volume.    An 


February  23,   1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


interesting  point  in  this  connection  is  that 
the  saving  in  steam  used  by  the  blowing 
engines  has  been  found  to  exceed  the 
amount  of  steam  taken  by  the  refrigerat- 
ing equipment.  Incidentally  there  is  also  a 
decrease  in  the  quantity  of  limestone  rc- 
<|uired  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  reduc- 
tif  n  of  the  amount  of  coke  reduces  the 
ash,  and  less  lime  is  required  to  take 
care  of  it. 

Experience  at  the  Isabella  plant  and 
«Isewhere,  both  in  this  country  and 
Europe,  has  determined  that  there  is  an 
average  decrease  of  cost  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  pig  iron  of  approximately  $1  per 
ton,  due  to   the  application    of    dry    air. 


age  amount  of  steam  required  it  much 
less  than  that  called  for  by  the  full  ..apa- 
city  rating  of  the  machines  Hi,  ex- 
plaim  why  the  saving  in  stcatn  rr^jjired 
by  the  bluwmg  engines,  whi  ^  ;  <-raT 
continuously  with  cold  air  ■ 
ing  small  volume,  is  more  f 
to  operate  the  ammonia  compressors 

laoo-ToM  REnticEaiATiMc  Puint 
Recently  there  has  been  put  in  operation 
at  the  South  Works  of  the  Illinois  Steel 
Company,  at  South  Chicago,  the  large  re- 
frigerating plant  shown  in  ihr  accom- 
panyini;    illustrations  u.    which 

ih  capable  of  drymg   u.      •  c  feet  of 


of    Ite 
10 


W 


brackets  and  roUrr  bcsni^s  to 

of  expansMML     Frvioi    the    top 

header  a  steam 

of   the   units   fhrnwali 

The  c..n!:,rrt»or>.  io«cthcr  wiik  iIk  am- 

bnne  coolefs  aad  ac- 

Air^  and  JMtaWgd  ky 

the   Vilier  r^    Coo^Mqr.    ol 

Milw^kuker.  \\  n      1  :>c  ucssB  end*  ol  tkt 

machines   cocuist   of  the   Vihcr   mamiaM 

Corliss  engme  dcsscn,  aiili  a  swclc  teetm- 

the  actuating  a  wnstpbir  froa  wktck  dm 

valve  motion  is  d<-  '^  covcraon^ 

whrrh    are  of  the        ■  •ball   ^atttnic 

toff  oa  both  the  bath-  ami 

stdca.     Tbejr    are    yrost4«d 

with  an  aotomatic  atop  aad  are  oprrMsd 

by  a  goirenior  policy  bdud  frc«i  the  mmim 

•haft 

Ab  will  be  sees  ia  llw  OhutrtthMi.  tkr 
frames  are  of  the  hcavy-^aly  type,  aad 
the  cocnprcaaors  fet  their  acimi  froai  the 
main  cruNC  pina.  Forcca  hibrscatiaa  ia 
used  on  the  piatoa  roda  of  the 
sors,  and  for  the  variova  bamnnti  a 
plete   Nugent  odiag 

The  steam  cyiiDdcra  ar*  w^  indM*  In 
diameter  and  have  a  strolcc  ol  j6  inchai^ 
while  the  cooprcaaor  cylinders  are  if 
inches  in  diameter  with  a  jS-inch 


i  M 


Fia  X  KLKfAxmt  iHwovcn  nntcMMAivic  riAVT 


Although  this  is  a  great  advantage,  a  still 
greater  one  is  the  fact  that  the  quality  of 
<)  r*  output  can  t>e  depended  upon  to  be 
f  nearly  uniform  than  when  using 
iMiiiral  air.  The  quantity  of  water  re- 
moved from  the  air  supplied  in  a  blast 
farnacr  makini;  450  tons  of  iron  per  day 
ia  said  to  )>r  5i«in  or  6000  gallons  in  24 
hours,  when  the  humiditv  i*  grritr^t 

As  the  amount  of  moisture  iti  itie  air 
varies  from  05  grain  per  cubic  foot  'ti  a 
cold  day  in  winter  to  9S  grains  per  cubi 
foot  in  mid-summer,  it  can  be  seen  that 
the  k>ad  nn  the  refrigerating  equipment 
will   vary  considerably,  so  that   the  aver- 


tons 

ca; 

/on' 

1  . 

Cf" 

an' 

air  per  minute,  and  h  The  largrtt  that  has 
so  far  lv 
sists  of  ' 
torn 

/on' 

an  ' 
po-. 
cylinders 

IHg    t   «howt  a  gTT^fal 


•I" 

16^ 

the    boiMing 


Tht  latter  a'- 


r^ 


•  If 


.<!    iW 


Ir^r  AtM  I 


nsrvatwrt.  that 
of   large    ««lv« 


at 


.^*  hr 


384 

tween    the    cylinder    jacket    and    cylinder 
proper  forming  the  water  jacket. 

Double-pipe  Condensing  and  Brine- 
cooling  Systems 

Discharging  from  the  compressors,  the 
gases  pass  through  oil  traps,  of  which  one 
is  provided  for  each  machine,  and  enter 
the  condensers,  which  are  located  on  the 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

Novel  Method  of  Introducing  Refriger- 
ant TO  Cooling  Coils 
One  of  the  features  of  this  part  of  the 
installation  is  that  relating  to  the  method 
by  which  the  liquid  refrigerant  is  intro- 
duced to  the  double-pipe  cooling  coils. 
In  usual  practice  this  is  accomplished  by 
needle  valves  or  expansion  cocks  attached 
to  the  supply  side  of  each  double-pipe 
system,  and  the  expansion  is  regulated  as 


FIG.     3.     AMMONIA   CONDENSER   ROOM 


February  23,  1909. 

a  liquid  state,  thus  materially  decreasing 
the  capacity. 

In  this  installation  there  is  an  elevated 
receptacle  called  an  accumulator  for  each 
battery  of  cooling  coils.  As  shown  in  the 
drawing,  Fig.  2,  these  accumulators  are 
placed  at  such  hight  that  liquid  ammonia 
will  flow  through  the  cooling  coils  entirely 
by  gravity.  In  the  upper  part  of  each 
accumulator  is  a  coil  through  which  circu- 
lates the  liquid  ammonia  from  the  con- 
densers. The  cold  expanded  gas  passes 
out  through  this  part  of  the  accumulator 
on  its  way  to  the  compressors  and  cools 
ihe  incoming  ammonia. 

After  being  cooled,  the  ammonia  is 
liberated  through  a  valve  and  allowed  to 
run  into  the  bottom  part  of  the  accumu- 
lator where  it  is  subjected  to  suction  pres- 
sure only.  The  success  of  the  procedure 
depends  upon  relieving  the  liquid  am- 
monia of  its  excess  of  sensible  heat  before 
it  is  allowed  to  pass  to  the  accumulator. 
Therefore,  there  is  no  evaporation  when 
the  ammonia  passes  from  the  condensing 
pressure  to  that  due  to  the  suction  pres- 
sure 00  the  system. 

After  passing  into  the  bottom  of  the 
accumulator  the  liquid  ammonia  flows  by 
gravity  to  the  double-pipe  brine  coolers, 
flooding  them  with  liquid.  The  exchange 
of  heat  is  then  obtained  by  a  boiling  pro- 
cess rather  than  by  instantaneous  expan- 


second  floor  of  the  building,  as  shown  in 
the  elevation.  Fig.  2.  These  condensers 
are  of  the  double-pipe  type,  consisting  of 
2-inch  pipes  18  feet  long  with  i^-inch 
pipes  passing  through  them  for  circulation 
of  the  cooling  water.  Twenty-five  stands 
of  such  double-pipe  condensers  grouped 
12  pipes  high  are  provided  for  each  ma- 
chine, making  in  all  100  stands.  Fig.  3 
is  a  photograph  of  this  part  of  the  in- 
stallation. Although  each  condenser  ordi- 
narily operates  with  its  individual  com- 
pressor, connections  are  so  arranged  as 
to  permit  the  operation  of  two  or  more  of 
them  in  combination  on  all  or  part  of  the 
condenser  system. 

Four  receivers  collect  the  liquefied  gas 
and  carry  it  through  individual  pipes  to 
the  cooling  apparatus  in  which  the  liquid 
ammonia  is  expanded,  thereby  extracting 
the  heat  from  the  brine. 

The  double-pipe  system  is  also  used  in 
cooling  the  brine  and  consists  of  four 
batteries  of  20  stands  each.  Each  stand 
has  twelve  3-inch  pipes  with  2-inch  pipes 
passing  through  them.  This  apparatus  is 
installed  in  a  building  adjoining  the  com- 
pressor room  and  shown  in  Fig.  4,  which 
is  68  feet  4  inches  long  by  58  feet  8  inches 
wide  and  25  feet  high.  The  floor,  walls 
and  ceiling  are  insulated  with  a  double 
layer  of  2-inch  cork  board.  A  saturated 
solution  of  calcium  chloride  is  used  as 
the  cooling  medium.  This  is  forced 
through  the  inner  pipes  and  transmits  its 
heat  to  the  liquid  ammonia  in  the  annular 
space  on  the  interior  of  the  3-inch  pipes. 


fig.    4.    double-pipe  brine  coolers 


nearly  as  possible,  so  that  each  set  of 
cooling  stands  receives  its  requisite 
amount  of  ammonia  according  to  the  de- 
mands on  the  system.  Unless  this  regula- 
tion is  very  accurate,  there  will  be  some 
of  the  surface  left  ineffective  for  lack  of 
liquid  ammonia  to  which  heat  can  be 
transmitted,  or  more  or  less  of  the  am- 
m.onia  will  pass  through  the  apparatus  in 


sion  as  with  other  systems.  As  the  liquid 
in  the  coils  absorbs  the  heat  from  the 
warmer  brine,  it  boils,  the  same  as  water 
would  boil  in  a  steam  boiler,  and  the  gase- 
ous ammonia  thereby  formed  makes  its 
way  to  the  outlet  of  the  coil  which,  as 
shown  in  Fig.  2,  connects  with  the  accu- 
mulator at  a  point  just  above  the  level 
of    the    liquid.      In    case    any    liquid    am- 


February  2^,   igog. 


POWER  AND  THE  E.NUINLL.IC 


monia  should  pass  through,  it  immetliatcly 
drops  into  the  Ixjttom  of  the  accumulator 
and  is  circulated  again  until  it  has  ab- 
sorbed its  quota  of  heat  and  is  expanded 
into  gas.  The  gas  then  ascends  into  a 
large  pipe  header  which  terminates  in  a 
separator  before  returning  to  the  com- 
press<^)r  cjlindcrs. 

Cooling  the  Air 

An  important  part  of  the  work  of  this 
installation  is  circulating  the  cold  brine 
through  the  coils  where  the  air  is  cooled 
licfore  going  to  the  blowing  engines.  For 
this  work  there  are  three  Prescott  Corliss 
cross  -  compound,  flywheel  -  type  pumping 
engines  installed.  Each  has  a  ca|iacity 
of  1.300  gallons  per  minute  when  operating 


i6  degree-,  Fahrenheit  and  returns  to  the 
I)ii!n|)>  ;it  32  degrees. 

A  separate  structure  is  provided  in 
which  to  cool  the  air.  This  is  a  buiMuiK 
47  feet  ID  inches  by  66  feet  10  inches  m 
ground  plan  and  is  divided  by  brick  w^lU 
into  seven  compartmrnis.  In  each  coot- 
partment  are  : 
40  feet  I)  mi;  : 

are  th«.-   ^u 

int>.  .    ^t:rface 

and  arc  with  brii  on 

the  top  ;.  rn.     Brine  (he 

top  and  Hows  downward  in  the  opposite 
direction  to  that  of  the  air.  Duds  on  each 
side  of  the  building  in  the  batrment  dis- 
tribute the  air  to  the  compartments,  which 
are  controlled  by  inlet  gates.  The  air  it 
blown    into    these    ducts    by    two   motor- 


Siii(|»>vciMtt  Four-valvc  Fngina 

Altfv>ffrh    .-nam-    roadrtion*   nay   oMcr 
r  mrntt  u(  kuiglr-  aatf 

ihc 


The 
of   • 

to  r 


I 


MJC 


is  t!;-:  : 
built  to  f 
valve  enk- 
The   rrsi 


■111 


>ni  roodoMoa  readM4 


m    tW 


Akacr  Mr. 
Dean  assert*  that  n  t«  doubt fol  if  dw 
four-val**"  '"--  "  •"^•♦•'  '^'"  -»r-,  f^pw, 
and  that  if 

tigh?    •'  vhkIi 

^  e   BMHt 

■  V.  'Hilt J    vt   ibr  CB- 


m=M^ 


/^ 


OI*ck«/«>  -  _ 


ric.  5.  moss-coM POUND  rvur  ro»  ascvi^ATiNC  ■uim 

h    120   pounds    of   <i|rnm       The    puinp»     driven   fan*,   forced  up  ihrouifh  the  c- 
e   steam    cylindrrt    ij'jxX|    inches    in     ing  loiK  and  out  of  the  lop 

er  and  plunger*  8'4  inches,  all  with     partment  at  a  1.  tm-T  .tur.- 
common    stroke    of   24   inches.      These     where  it  is  c 
ps    were   esprcially    de<tiKned    to   take      leaiJ"  -    •     •» 
of  brine  at   the   l«iw  imijMTature  re-  V  •  «^'   fro«i 

"•<\   in   this  plant.   .1'   '  lar   care     air 

fnkrn    to    avoid  in    »h«*      f" 

con*i«Icr;il>lr    more    mrt.il    !■ 
!ii  the  pump  •kcction*  than  i^  < 
!>'  the  case. 

ich   suction   and   discharge  dcvL   

M   seven  4-inch   valves    with    s    total     par* 
I  of  ^  v|uarr   inche*.   which  give*  a  ' 

•«ity   of    i.8    fret    per    *econ'l    ihrongli 

*eals.     A  suction  prr»»urc  of  j$     ■  ' 
;.    carried   on    the    «y«tem.      The      «f 
'C  enters  the  air-cooling  coils  at  about     into  scrvkc 


liss 
the 


rpmnrd  to  ^mM  • 

'.j«inc  foar  Car> 

■tr<l  ia 

H  ha 


ttttf  pfvc«*s  stHMtlj  Its  *  :tfi!tuatag 


f4  a^ 


V. 
Uwff 


m 

of 


386 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  23,  1909. 


Some    Useful    Lessons    of  Limewater 

Practical  Test  for  Hardness    in   Water;    How    to    Soften    Permanent- 
Hardness   Water;    Explanation    of    the    Reaction    in   Water    Softening 


BY 


CHARLES 


S. 


PALMER 


In  last  week's  instalment  we  noted  one 
test  with  barium  solution  for  telling  the 
difference  between  temporarj'  -  hardness 
water  and  permanent  -  hardness  water. 
That  is  what  would  be  called  a  chemical 
test,  and  it  means  a  great  deal,  for  it  uses 
the  insoluble  white  barium  sulphate  for 
finding  sulphuric  acid  (or  soluble  salts  of 
the  acid,  called  sulphates).  All  that  is 
good;  but  it  is  only  an  explanation  of 
what  you  know  already  about  the  practical 
testing  of  hard  water. 

Practical  Test  for  Hardness 
You  take  a  piece  of  soap  to  test  for 
"hardness"  in  water.  If  the  soap  will  not 
make  a  quick  lather  and,  worse  still,  if  the 
soap  causes  that  greasy  scum  to  form  in 
and  on  the  water,  which  you  know  is 
called  "lime  soap,"  then  you  know  that 
the  water  is  hard.  That  is  the  first  step 
in  testing  hard  water  practically.  The 
next  step  is  to  find  out  whether  the  water 
will  become  soft  by  simple  heating  and 
settling;  if  it  will  become  soft  by  heating 
(and  now  j'ou  know  that  this  is  only 
changing  the  extra  or  bicarbonate  of  lime 
or  calcium,  which  is  soluble,  to  the  in- 
soluble plain  carbonate),  if  the  water  does 
this  on  simple  heating,  then  you  know  that 
the  hardness  is  only  temporary ;  it  can  be 
got  rid  of  in  ways  that  are  comparatively 
easy.  But,  if  the  hardness  of  the  water  is 
not  improved  by  heating  and  settling,  if 
the  soap  still  refuses  to  lather  quickly, 
and  if  that  greasy  lime  soap  still  comes  in 
the  water  after  the  heating  and  settling, 
then  you  can  be  sure  that  you  have  "per- 
manent" hardness. 

This  permanent  hardness  is  harder  to 
remove  than  the  temporary  hardness,  and 
for  several  reasons.  The  chemical  test 
that  you  gave  the  water  at  the  end  of  the 
article  in  February  16  showed  yo*u  that 
the  permanent  hardness  is  due  to  calcium 
sulphate,  CaS04.  Now  the  sulphates  are 
all  "salts"  of  sulphuric  acid,  oil  of  vitriol; 
and  one  quality  of  this  sulphuric  acid  is 
that  it  is  not  easily  volatile,  as  carbonic 
acid  is ;  and  another  quality  is  that  it  is  a 
strong  and  stable  acid.  In  the  case  of  the 
lime  carbonate,  we  added  extra  carbonic 
acid  from  the  breath  ;  and  we  drove  it  off 
again  by  simple  heating.  But  in  the  case 
of  sulphuric  acid  you  are  dealing  with  a 
stronger,  a  more  stable  and  a  less  volatile 
acid  than  carbonic  acid ;  and  that  tells 
some  of  the  reasons  why  temporary  hard- 
ness, or  "carbonate  hardness,"  as  it  may 
be  palled,  is  so  much  easier  to  get  rid  of 
than    permanent    hardness,    or    "sulphate 


hardness.""  In  both  cases,  you  will  have 
to  do  mainly  with  lime-like  compounds  for 
the  basic  part  of  the  "hard"  salts,  although 
there  are  also  salts  of  sodium,  of  magne- 
sium and  so  on,  in  hard  water;  but  the 
big  difference  between  the  temporary  or 
carbonate  hardness  and  the  permanent  or 
sulphate  hardness  will  be  found  to  lie  in 
the  difference  between  the  instability  of 
the  carbonates  and  the  stability  of  the 
sulphates.  Let  us  get  some  experiments 
with  this  other  kind  of  lime-like  salts,  the 
sulphates,  which  are  found  in  permanent- 
hardness  water. 

The  first  thing  to  do  is  to  make  some 
of  this  permanent-hardness  water.  You 
can  do  this  in  several  ways.  One  way 
is  to  shake  up  a  little  common  plaster  of 
paris  in  a  tumbler  of  water,  and  after 
some  minutes  filter  off  the  clear  solution. 
Plaster  of  paris  is  nothing  more  than 
calcium  sulphate  (sulphate  of  lime),  and 
it  is  thirsty  for  water.  That  is  the  rea- 
son why  it  is  used  for  making  all  sorts 
of  things  where  a  quick-drying  paste  is 
wanted ;  and  that  is  also  why  plaster  of 
paris  is  called  "anhydrous,"  which  means 
"without  water"  but  willing  to  unite  with 
it.  You  will  filter  the  solution  of  this  plas- 
ter of  paris  to  get  a  sample  of  artificial 
permanent-hardness  water,  or  you  can 
make  it  in  another  way. 

Go  back  to  that  solution  of  plain  lime- 
water.  Slip  a  strip  of  your  litmus  paper 
down  the  side  of  a  tumbler  and  fill  it  half 
or  two-thirds  full  of  filtered  limewater. 
You  note  that  the  litmus  paper  is  blue ; 
and  that  reminds  you  that  the  limewater 
is  alkaline  or  strongly  basic.  Now  take 
the  bottle  of  sulphuric  acid  and  carefully 
drop  in  a  drop  or  two  of  sulphuric  acid, 
not  too  much,  stirring  with  a  piece  of  the 
glass  rod  which  came  with  your  outfit. 
Bring  the  sulphuric  acid  and  limewater  to 
neutrality,  so  that  it  makes  the  litmus 
paper  neither  red  by  acid  nor  blue  by  the 
alkaline  limewater,  but  neutral  purple. 
You  can  get  this  point  by  several  trials ; 
and  it  is  worth  your  while  to  get  it  and 
get  it  right.  You  may  find  that  the 
sulphuric  acid  is  too  strong  for  the  lime- 
water,  and  that  a  few  drops  of  the  acid 
will  more  than  neutralize  a  half  tumbler 
of  the  limewater;  in  that  case,  your  wits 
will  tell  you  to  pour  out  a  few  drops  of 
the  acid  into  another  tumbler  of  water, 
and  then  to  '.ise  this  second  tumbler  of 
diluted  acid  to  neutralize  the  limewater. 
But,  when  you  do  get  the  limewater  and 
the  sulphuric  acid  together,  neutralized 
and  filtered,  you  will  have  the  same  thing 


as  the  filtered  solution  of  plaster  of  paris, 
and  both  will  be  nothing  more  than  arti- 
ficial permanent-hardness  water.  And  if 
you  don"t  believe  that  this  kind  of  water 
is  permanently  hard,  just  try  to  get  rid 
of  that  lime-like  part  quickly,  easily  and 
cheaply.  It  can  be  done,  in  some  cases, 
and  perhaps  in  all  cases ;  but  it  is  part  of 
the  object  of  these  lessons  to  see  what  the 
difficulties  are,  or  rather  what  the  possi- 
bilities of  help  are.  You  know  what  the 
troubles  are. 

Softening  Permanent-hardness  Water 
Well,  here  is  your  solution  of  per- 
manent-hardness water,  or  sulphate  water. 
Tease  it  with  every  test  that  you  used 
with  limewater  and  lime-carbonate  water. 
Yon  will  probably  get  no  precipitate  with 
carbonic  acid,  whether  taken  from  the 
breath,  from  the  glowing  coal,  from  the 
bottle  of  "fizz,"  or  from  the  apparatus 
shown  in  the  February  9  number,  wliere 
you  made  carbonic  acid  from  marble  or 
soda  and  hydrochloric  acid.  The  calcium 
sulphate  which  makes  the  scale,  the  hard 
scale,  in  permanent-hardness  water  is 
more  soluble  than  the  theoretically  pos- 
sible lime  carbonate  which  might  come 
down  by  blowing  through  some  carbonic- 
?cid  gas;  but  the  hard  water  does  not 
give  down  its  lime  sulphate  as  easily  as 
that.  The  reason  why  the  carbonic-acid 
gas  from  the  breath,  or  from  any  of  the 
other  sources  that  you  used,  does  not 
throw  down  the  lime  as  calcium  sulphate 
seems  to  be  that  as  the  carbonic  acid 
would  take  hold  of  the  lime,  the  sulphuric 
acid  would  have  to  step  out ;  but  this  same 
sulphuric  acid  would  not  remain  free  in 
any  quantity  but  turn  round  and  attack 
the  lime  carbonate  formed  somewhat ;  and 
so  the  possible  reaction  would  work  back- 
ward ;  at  any  rate  it  does  not  work  to 
soften  the  water. 

But  this  has  given  you  an  idea ;  if  plain 
carbonic-acid  gas  will  not  throw  down 
the  lime  from  lime  sulphate,  why  not  put 
in  something  with  the  carbonic  acid,  some- 
tliing  like  a  base,  to  take  care  of  the  sul- 
phuric acid  that  will  be  set  free?  Why 
not  try  something  like  soda  carbonate, 
soda  ash,  or  the  like?  You  will  find  that 
this  will  make  an  interesting  experiment; 
and  it  will  block  out  the  way  for  some 
good  thinking. 

Make  a  pint  or  so  of  this  filtered  solu- 
tion of  plaster  of  paris,  then  add  a  pinch 
of  soda  ash ;  shake  the  water  well,  and 
let  it  settle.  Do  not  filter  this,  but  let  it 
take  its  time  to  settle  by  itself.    While  the 


Feljriiar>-  23.   i'X>9- 


PCJWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


stuff  is  settling,  you  can  study  the  follow- 
ing equation  of  the  reaction : 

ExpiANATinN  OF  Reaction  in  Softening 
Water 

You  will  notice  that  the  "salt"  lime  (or 
■calcium)  sulphate  has  two  parts,  a  ba^ic 
part  and  an  acid  part,  and  a  similar  thing 
is  true  of  the  "salt"  sodium  carbonate, 
that  you  add  t  j  the  hard  water  to  soften 
it.  You  can  straighten  it  out  and  rc- 
memlH-r  it  at  the  same  time,  in  this  way: 
Write  out  the  names  of  the  substances, 
underlining  the  base  parts,  and  overlin- 
ing  the  acid  parts,  thus: 


Calcium    Suipi.alt 
.Suluble 


^  Sotlium   C'lrtMmiUc 
{  SuluhU 


Caleium  CarhunnU  \  \  Simlium      .Sui p/niit 

ItuUuble  \  I  SfMubit 

You  see  that  the  exchange  between  the 
•alts    is    much    like    dancing    couples    ex- 
changing   partners.      I£ach    "salt"    has    its 
'  '  [Kirt  and  its  basic  part,  and  the  parts 
iy  exchange  places,  with  the  selective 
..i:  :  ity  necessary  to  make  one  of  the  salts 
in-    hible;    that     is,    the    lime    carbonate, 
you    have    driven    the    lime   out    of 
•ion,   and   whdc  you   have   done   this, 
><'i:  have  also  left  another  soluble  salt  in 
the  water,  that  is  Mxlium  sulphate.     It  is 
like  driving  out  a  plug  by  another  plug ; 
but   still  one  plug  stays  in  the  log.     But 
in   the    case   of     the     temporary-hardness 
water,  in  chank'icg  the  extra  carU^nate  to 
thr    f»I.Ttn    cirl..  iiate    you    drove    out    iKith 
:ue  time.     Here,  in  the  case 
lit  hardness,  the  plug  which 
in    the    log    is    the    soluble    sodium 
ate. 

(,  you  ask,  what  is  the  harm  of  leav- 

'•me  of  this   <«(jdium   sulpliate  in   the 

r  water?     Well,  what  is  the  harm  of 

ig   such   n   soluble   thing   as   sulphate 

>la,  which  yc.u  know  already  as  dlau- 

salt,  in  the  l>oiler  water  ^     Because, 

•u   well   know,   such   ^alt«   may   cause 

ing.  not  to  mention  the  po«sibility  of 

helping  in  the  corrosion  of  the  metal 

r  boiler  and  it*  connecting  pipes.     So 

■  ■•'  VI  are;  .••nd  yni  l»egin  to  see  what 

"■  of  the  annoying  problems  con- 

•  I  with  this  general  subject  of  water 

Iter* 

w  this  lime  (or  calcium)  sulphair  1* 

'le   in  waier.  one   fwrt   t«>   some    (•■ur 

^e  hundred  parts  of  water,  if  the  »olii- 

is  haded  to  the  limit.    S<Mla,  which  is 

im  carbonate,  is  very  soluble;  and  if 

'  '  ?his  water  softener  in  the  com- 

cheap   form   «if   Mxla   ash.  you 

■-    for  the  lime 

r       .Mso.    the 

• 'iliiiii    Mrflrr    Mill    li.i\r    lo   lie   blown   off 

frqur'"lv,  tn  «ay  nothing  of  looking  out 

"f  •  i  and  priming  that  wait  on 

he  (>  r   man   t<>   i?<vr   liim   lii«    full 

raft  of  trouble. 


CAtzrvLxess  m  ExmiMENts 
There  is  on^  •  should  \tr  men- 

tionrd     here  the      r.rti.jn     of 

•<n  each  •  lat  any 

.        1  of  the  J  ■  . ,         .;  IS  and 

can  be  only  approximate  lo  what  does 
actually  happen.  If  you  alter  any  of  the 
conditions,  as  the  quantity  of  the  water 
or  other  solvent  used,  or  if  you  charge  the 
temperature,  or  the  quantit)  or  purity 
of  the  chemicals  used,  naturally  the  re- 
sults will  vary  slightly.  Thi*  dor^  tv>t 
mean  that  nothing  definite  wi!' 
it  does  mean  that  little  thm. 
the  general  results,  and  each  experin>enter 
will  have  to  keep  his  own  cyt\  r>pen  to 
see  just  what  does  actually  happen  in  the 
case  of  the  chemicals  he  is  u^ing  in  his 
lalK>ratory.  Do  not  misunderstand  roe. 
There  is  no  uncertainty  as  to  conditi<Mis 
or  results;  but  there  may  be  the  greatest 
variety  in  the  conditions  arxl  result*,  and 
things  that  one  may  call  little  or  o(  slight 
importance  may  make  things  appear  lo 
change  greatly.  But,  remember  this : 
When  you  and  I  may  differ  as  tn  what 
does  happen,  nnlhing  is  easier  than  f<>r 
each  of  us  to  try  it  for  himself;  then  we 
will  find  out  without  depending  on  the 
bo4jks  to  see  for  us. 

ExPLANATio.v  or  Slackikc  QuiCKUMr 

We   have    found    out    some    interesting 
things  about  this  si;*    '  !ime;  and  yrt. 

there  is  so  much  t  anil  to  dis- 

cuss that  we  have  had  'ny 

things  that  are  lioth  int-  ''•- 

tical.  One  of  these  is  the 
"quicklime."  You  luve  often 
getting  their  mortar  ready,  and  you  have 
seen  the  white,  muddy  mass  fairly  bf^il 
with  heat  as  the  lime  is  mixed  with  water 
Indeed,  this  heat  of  slacking  lime  is  so 
strong  that,  as  you  well  know,  fires  may 
be  easily  cause*!  by  leaving  barrels  of 
quicklimr  in  ripos^l  ptarr*  in  or  near 
WrX"'  "es 


up 


of 


lime*     What    ts    the    difference    between 
quicklime  and  slacked  lime* 

Practically,  the  difference  it  doe  to  the 

action  of  water     W   '  ?  ■     • 

gen.  tw"i  parts,  aiw! 
we    • 

cnri 
which    IS 

is     .',.r. 

aimI     <  ' 


Ihr    j<'ii<in    of 
way  : 


or  jrvM  CSS  write  the 
symbols  m  thi*  way: 


As  yr'o  kw4  at  ikoB.  iJberc  does  aoC 
•mn  to  be  HMcii  dUhrtma  httmwtm 
qiiiklimr  and  sUduvl  Inar.  bal   as   y%i« 

rrnu-mbrr   thai    the   dlfTrrrtv,  r    >>    rr.  .  «■*     <o 

■rt  a  hoose  vt  -^ 

ri  (fi  \iiir  r  irti# 


-a  I. 


la 


.1 


•  ^jfrn    irwl    fori 
(at 


llll      Af 


flerencr. 


proper,  c  W.  and  yxm  •tM 

find    this    uni«-    itinrrrrve    bctWCS    tCM>^t< 

of  rtther  bases  and  ibctr  ■■ti|iliiiiii      Bal 
•  'vm  thai  ibis 


draie).  and  t^ 
water;  so  that 
to  have  a  tnit 
CaO:  bat  foo 
of  the  real  ba 


.  Th<-r  ^ind  ihcanh«' 

■ler,  nmkmm  tte  re*!  and    TMa 


MiIrAi-ri.-    *.'■!_    ■  f   niffw    ».-ii?     ■•! 


way  as  qoiriilinie  k  a  ba*«  aakydridt  !■ 
its  wa>  I  and.  rspceiaOy.  lAnc  arid 

The   stfwy  nf  tilMr  acM  «iart»   !?«■ 
eommaa  sand,  wbtrb  is  ibe  mid  aaikydHd* 

.  f    m!i.Sc    ».  I.I       Y   ■:    ••  ul.!  KAr^n*    cvrsa 

4 


r<j    •  tn     m     n»,-%t 


Hmti 


388 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  23,  1909. 


sand,  and  pretty  soon  you  will  see  the  fire 
fuse  the  two  together,  making  a  clean 
melt  in  the  liquid  molten  slag,  which  is  a 
Jime  or  calcium  silicate. 

You  see  this  tendency  toward  the  mak- 
ing of  slag  in  every  shovelful  of  your 
cinder;  and  now  you  begin  to  see  that 
there  are  several  fields  of  chemical  action : 
there  is  the  water  field,  sometimes  called 
the  field  of  "wet"  chemistry;  and  there  is 
the  field  of  hot  molten  fusion,  sometimes 
called  the  field  of  "dry"  chemistry.  Most 
elements  have  special  relations  with  both 
fields,  and  this  is  particularly  true  of  the 
substance  lime.  In  the  first  place,  it  is 
made  by  burning  limestone,  driving  off  the 
volatile  carbonic  acid  and  leaving  the  base 
anhydride,  quicklime.  Then  you  dissolved 
this  quicklime  in  water  forming  the  true 
base.  Slacked  lime,  in  limewater,  or  cal- 
cium hydroxide  (the  word  "hydroxide" 
means  that  it  has  some  of  both  hydrogen 
and  oxygen).  Then  by  blowing  in  car- 
bonic-acid gas,  you  drove  this  calcium  hy- 
droxide, or  limewater,  to  the  plain  in- 
soluble carbonate,  the  same  thing  as  lime- 
stone. Then  by  more  carbonic-acid  gas 
you  forced  this  plain  insoluble  calcium 
carbonate  over  to  the  soluble  extra  or  bi- 
carbonate of  calcium.  Then  you  drove 
it  back  to  the  insoluble  plain  carbonate,  by 
heating  and  settling.  You  also  brought 
back  the  soluble  bicarbonate  of  calcium  to 
the  insoluble  plain  carbonate,  by  mixing 
it  with  some  of  the  base  limewater  emul- 
sion, the  two  averaging  up  as  the  plain 
carbonate  of  calcium,  the  result  of  water 
softening  by  Clark's  process. 

You  also  begin  to  get  a  glimpse  of  the 
permanent  hardness  of  sulphate  of  calcium 
■vvaters;  and  you  found  out  that  you  can 
throw  down  the  lime  by  the  alkaline  salt, 
common  washing  soda,  or  soda  ash.  By 
the  way,  you  will  be  interested  to  learn 
that  common  cooking  soda  is  the  extra  or 
bicarbonate  saU  of  soda;  and  that  can  be 
changed  to  the  plain  carbonate  (soda  ash 
or  washing  soda)  by  heating  dry  for  an 
hour  or  two  at  a  heat  considerably  higher 
than  boiling  water,  roughly  about  that  of 
molten  solder.  You  can  do  this  in  a 
saucer  on  your  kitchen  stove  at  home,  or 
in  the  front  part  of  your  furnace.  It  is 
interesting  to  know  that  the  extra  or 
bicarbonate  of  sodium  can  be  changed  to 
the  plain  carbonate  only  by  heating  it  in 
the  dry  way,  while  the  similar  lime  bicar- 
bonate salt  can  be  changed  to  the  plain 
carbonate  by  heating  in  the  wet  way,  an- 
other curious  illustration  of  the  relations 
and  differences  pertaining  to  the  fields  of 
•"dry"  and  "wet"  chemistry. 

Thus  far  we  have  had  to  do  mainly 
-with  lime  or  calcium  compounds  in  our 
study  of  hard  water,  although  we  have 
frequently  referred  to  the  fact  that  there 
are  other  substances  which  come  in  to 
complicate  things.  One  of  the  other 
things  which  is  important  in  hard  water 
is  the  salts  of  magnesium,  for  this  ele- 
ment is  almost  a  chemical  cousin  of 
calcium. 


There  is  also  one  other  thing  to  which 
you  may  want  to  give  some  attention,  and 
that  is  the  collecting  of  samples  of  actual 
boiler  scale  from  various  boilers  and  from 
various  waters.  You  will  find  that  the 
scales  from  some  of  the  waters  can  be  en- 
tirely cut  or  dissolved  in  the  hydrochloric 
(muriatic)  acid;  these  are -mostly  the 
temporary-hardness  waters ;  while  some  of 
the  scale  will  not  easily  or  completely  dis- 
solve in  any  of  the  acids  which  you  have, 
these  are  mostly  the  scales  of  permanent- 
hardness  waters;  and  this  kind  of  testing 
is  closely  related  to  the  test  given  at  the 
close  of  the  third  paper  of  these  lessons, 
in  the  February  16  number.  And  so  we 
are  gradually  accumulating  the  familiarity 
with  limewater  that  will  carry  us  on  to 
the  clearer  understanding  of  what  hard 
water  is  and  how  it  may  be  treated. 


Catechism   of  Electricity 


937-  U  the  thermometer  readings  in 
936  were  taken  on  Fahrenheit  thermome- 
ters instead  of  on  Centigrade  thermome- 
ters, would  the  results  be  aifected? 

They  would.  If,  however,  the  Fahren- 
heit readings  be  converted  into  Centi- 
grade by  substitution  in  the  formula 
C°  =  5  -^  9  (F"  —  32°),  in  which  C° 
represents  degrees  Centigrade  and  F°  de- 
notes degrees  Fahrenheit,  and  these  new 
figures  in  the  calculations,  the  results  will 
be  the  same  as  before. 

938.  How  long  does  it  require  a  motor 
working  under  full-load  conditions  to 
attain  maximum  temperatures  in  its  vari- 
ous partsf 

Small  motors  attain  their  maximum 
temperatures  sooner  than  larger  motors. 
Ordinarily,  about  four  hours  is  sufficient 
for  small  motors  and  from  six  to  eight 
hours  for  large  ones. 

939.  Is  it  possible  to  detect  abnormal 
heating  in  a  motor  by  any  method  not  yet 
mentioned? 

Yes,  by  the  sense  of  smell.  When  the 
heating  has  reached  this  stage  of  de- 
velopment, the  limit  of  safety  has  been 
far  exceeded.  Trouble  asserting  itself  in 
this  manner  may  usually  be  located  in  the 
field  or  armature  coils  as  the  insulation 
on  these  windings  when  subjected  to  un- 
due heat  gives  forth  a  very  pungent  odor 
not  easily  mistaken.  If  the  machine  is 
not  shut  down  at  once,  the  trouble  is 
liable  to  increase  until  smoke  is  visible 
and  the   damage   irreparable. 

940.  What  are  the  general  causes  of 
abnormal  heating  at  the  commutator^ 

Those  defects  which  have  previously 
been  mentioned  as  causing  sparking  at  the 
commutator  will  also  raise  its  tempera- 
ture. They  constitute  the  general  causes 
of  abnormal  heating  at  the  commutator. 


941.  How  should  these  general  causes 
of  abnormal  heating  be  removed? 

By  removing  the  source  of  the  spark- 
ing as  previously   explained. 

942.  Docs  not  the  appearance  of  the 
commutator  serve  as  a  guide  to  the  direct 
cause  of  the  heating? 

It  does  if  the  trouble  is  with  the  com- 
mutator. For  example,  if  there  are  burnt 
spots  on  the  surface  of  the  commutator, 
there  is  probably  dirt  or  foreign  matter 
on  it  which  should  be  removed.  If,  when 
the  current  is  applied,  small  sparks  can  be 
detected  in  the  insulation  between  the 
commutator  bars,  there  is  either  foreign 
matter  between  the  bars  or  the  insulation 
itself  has  become  defective.  In  the  for- 
mer case  the  troublesome  particles  should 
be  removed  and  in  the  latter  case  a  new 
commutator  will  probably  be  necessary. 

943.  Is  a  hot  commutator  sometimes 
caused  by  trouble  in  other  parts  of  tin 
motor? 

Yes. 

944.  What  usually  causes  the  brushe. 
to  become  abnormally  heated? 

Loose  connections  in  the  brush  holder 
or  between  the  brush  holders  and  th 
brush-holder  cables,  decomposition  of  thi 
brushes  at  their  contact  surfaces,  or  car 
bon  brushes  of  too  high  resistance. 

945.  What  should  be  done  in  case  th 
brushes  are  of  too  high  resistance? 

Some  improvement  may  be  noticed  i 
the  brush  holders  are  set  lower  so  as  t 
make  that  portion  of  the  carbon  throug 
which  the  current  passes  as  short  as  pos 
sible.  Other  methods  of  correcting  thi 
trouble  consist  in  providing  brushes  c 
larger  cross-section,  in  using  a  greate 
number  of  brushes  and  brush  holders  o 
each  stud,  and  in  increasing  the  conduc 
tivity  of  the  carbon  brushes  by  using  cof 
per  in  one  form  or  another  in  connectio 
with  them. 

In  case  one  of  the  carbon  brushes  i 
found  to  heat  more  than  the  others, 
comparison  between  its  resistance  an 
that  of  one  of  the  others  will  show  J 
once  if  the  difficulty  lies  in  its  condu( 
tivity.  If  its  relative  resistance  is  foun 
to  be  high,  advantage  may  be  taken  c 
any  of  the  remedies  just  given  for  d( 
creasing  its  resistance. 

946.  To  ivhat  cause  can  abnormal  hea 
ing   of   the  Held   coils  usually   be   traced 

To    the   passage    through     them     of 
larger  current   than  they  are  designed  1 
carry. 

947.  What  would  be  the  heating  effe^ 
if  one  of  the  Held  coils  was  shor 
circuited? 

The  short-circuited  coil  would  be  cooli 
than  the  others,  and  its  pole  piece  woul 
be  weaker  magnetically. 

948.  Is  there  a  more  accurate  methc 


February  23,   1909. 

cf  locating  a  short-circuited  field  coil  than 
that  mentioned  in  947/ 

Yes.  To  make  absolutely  sure  whether 
a  field  coil  is  short-circuited,  measure  the 
resistance  of  each  one  by  the  drop 
method.  This  consists  in  passing  a  direct 
current,  maintained  constant  by  means  of 
a  rheostat  an<l  ammeter,  through  the  tield 
coils  connected  in  scries  and  measuring 
by  aid  of  a  voltmeter  the  drop  in  pressure 
across  the  terminals  of  the  individual 
coils.  If  there  is  a  variation  of  more 
than  5  or  10  per  cent,  between  the  volt- 
meter readings,  there  need  be  no  doubt 
but  that  the  coil  showing  the  low  reading 
is  short-circuited. 

949.  Hoxi-  may  a  short-circnited  coil 
be  remedied.^ 

If  the  trouble  lies  at  the  terminals  of 
the  coil  it  is  usually  easy  to  bend  or  in- 
sulate them  without  removing  the  coil 
from  the  pole  piece;  otherwise,  it  should 
be  taken  off  and   rewound. 

950.  What  are  the  causes  for  high  tem- 
I'-'-iture  in   the  pole  pieces f 

nhcr  heat  conveyed  to  them  from 
otlit-r  {Kirts  of  '.iie  machine  which  have 
rcachetl  a  high  temperature  or  eddy  cur- 
rents in  the  pf>lc  pieces. 

951.  Describe  hcnv  eddy  currents  are 
developed. 

Ganges  in  the  magnetic  condition  of 
Un:  pole  pieces  due  t«j  a  variation  in  the 
field  current  through  the  niaKtut  coil  arc 
re*i>"nM!ilc  fir  the  development  of  eddy 
mm  111 N       The    e«ldy    currents    travel    at 

»  angles  to  the  lines  of  force  of  the 
They  penetrate  into  the  interior  of 
the  pole  pieces,  although  not  to  a  great 
depth,  and  heat  the  iron  cores. 

<i^2.     What   harm   is  done    if    I  he    pole 
J  reach  a  high   temperature  ' 

They  raise  the  temperature  of  the  held 
crtl^  and  mi  increase   their  resistance. 

:  \.     Hoxf  is  it  possible  to  tell  whether 
field  cotls   are   caused   by   eddy   cur- 
I  in  the  pole  pieces  or  by  tuo  t.i'ne  a 
ttid  current' 

If  eddy  riirr«nl<.  are  caiising  tli<-  iri>u 
bic,    »hr    frn«|H'r.itiire    of    the    polr    j.i.-.  .-» 
■   than  that  of  the-  r  ■ 
of   the   respective    • 
pieces   .nnd   field   cmU    • 

lie     ••l.l.iiiu  .1     l.\      ill. 

■i.  if  «liie  for 

•  •i-  lence  in  t..t..i.i.  ii,  li,   1^  ;,, . .  :,  the 
of  the  former  and  the  insiil.iti<>M  •■'. 
'        r      A   more  accurate   i-<" 

ralure«  can.  of  cour»r. 
nuns  of   thermometcrt   pri»pcrl)    ai» 
1 

(.  What  can  be  done  lo  eliminale 
eddy  currents  from  the  pole  piecei  * 

The  reconstruction  of  the  pole  piece  <-  . 
Ibc  only  practical   remedy.     Thcjr  tbould 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

be  laminaird  hv  boildific  them  op  of  pbtr« 
"^  !    from    toft    »hcet    iroq, 

'"  '  >K'  each  core  of  ooe  solid 

ma»»  ..i  iron.  The  plates  are  enamrled 
or  painted  on  both  sidrs.  and  when  dry 
are  belted  tightly  together  aod  cart  in 
with  the  frame,  lite  enamel  on  the  pbtet 
actf  as  a  resistance  lo  lh<  eddy  current  t 
and  checks  their  fonnatiaa.  It  dors  n«jt. 
however,  impede  the  flow  of  the  line*  u{ 
magnetic    force    throogh    th.  ■  -c», 

Ucaiise   these  lines  pass  Irn.      ^  .I<ing 

the  pbnc  of  the  plates. 

955-  •'^ft  eddy  currents  ever  retpom- 
sible  for  unduly  rautng  the  temperature 
of  the  armature  F 

Yes,  especially  when  they  form  in  the 
armature  core.  In  this  case  there  it  no 
noticeable  sparking;  but  there  is  a  higher 
temperature  in  the  core  than  in  the  »ur 
rounding  coils.  The  machine  also  re 
quires  more  than  the  usual  amount  of 
current  to  run  it  at  no  loatL  A*  in  the 
similar  case  with  the  pok  pieces  relief 
can  be  obtained  onl)  by  laminating  the 
iron  core. 

If  the  motor  ii  of  large  capacity,  carry- 
ing heavy  ar;  •<,t%.  eddy  cur- 
rents may  ;i  them  Th'« 
trouble  may  U-  tlt<.tiiiKut->hrd  fr 
just  men'i  nr.J  hy  a  higlirr  tri; 
in  the  '  than  in  the  core.  It 
will  be  :  \:  to  subdivide  the  con- 
ductors into  strands  or  strips  twist  ihrm 
abo"«  '  •  '•  "her.  and  sink  them  into  slot* 
in  ;  ■  r  core  in  order  to  overcome 
the  <iiri)<  uir\ 


More  Walcf  Needed  al  CoUierv 
ville 


By  Thomas  Wiliok 

That  a  water-power  plant  should  be 
designed,  erected  and  he  in  actual  opera- 
liun  for  Mime  lime  l^^''  '•  >■  was  dis- 
covered that  there  was  ■  mI  water 

tn    run    it    the   year    r«niiiii  ■' 

i.i|M«ti>    of   the    smallest     > 


!         !■     «f..:. 

a    year 
near 
S     Y 

'i   tx'wer 

nd  Mo- 

..-■     ,-arr    and 

It    towns   ani!    «il 

V  alMi  ha*  a 

Y.  abinit    iK 


the 


y*i 


IW    4ry     -      II     I 
•oath*  be  dtpendrd  apui  tmu^j 

Tfce  cqaipaeat  m  dtrtdrd  mio  tau  ants 
of  iOOO-ktlowall  WeMMglfeaMe  grarfAic«» 
<lircct-«oancctrd  to  Haly(A|  honaMHal 
tiirbsiM s  of   tttn  twrwyowsi   tmck.      Tbr 

N^  -  .  xd   tile   p^  Mi'  m 

i^nt.  i,0M\  ciwmiiliuM  WW  btcaa  by 
the  destctieft  *viin«  ai  <^iri^«r*.t.  ,«•  ^^ 
a  percrT  ^ 

progresAt,    ..,,    „    .^.^^    r.«*««g 

that  the  com  woisld  oterrtM  iW  rn— isi 
A  Dew  contract  was  cosMc^acaiiy  f  mii^ 
by  the  same  parties  aad  tk*  irm  ol  Wil- 
lum    Kx-  '  ^^^M«^  k> 

Iheowr^'  id  M«c»lr^ 

as  engit  -lalrtam 

<»f    the    »  ,^   ,m. 


**     TlifHrf      f  •  ^ 

f   by 

tsiiEum     iLirrlgy 


H 

elc\i. ..  ii     J.  w.  ,j., 

Parsottt. 

From  an  i-  '  ««atsna  n 

appear  thai  t  ■  f  if 

the   sobdiviswa   Mto  «• 

ti;r  jvrr.iirr   niinimtim  r 


ports  of  the 

i4i*ers  al><  •«» 
«  liK'h  r  »trli<I 


Aog^MT    jrvi 
flow    dmppr<! 
c»ios*qu'' 


the 


♦I 
4 

Mm 

a 
«■ 
t 


Irast   a   lew 
•k 


roe  It 


mtisi    be    raDrd 


I   aU 

r  strani  iJ»nt 

9^ 


390 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


February  23,  1909. 


POWER 

M-"'The  Engineer 

DEVOTED  TO    THE   GENERATION   AND 
TRANSMISSION  OF  POWER 

Issued  Weekly  by  the 

Hill  Publishing  Company 

Jo'hs  a.  H:ll,  Pres.  and  Treas.         Kobebt  McKkak,  Sec'y. 

505  Pearl  Street,  New  York. 

355  Dearborn  Street,  Chicago. 

6  Bouverie  Street,  London,  E.  C. 


Is  Water  Power  Cheaper  than 
Steam  ? 


Correspondence  suitable  for  the  columns  of 
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dress of  correspondents  must  be  given — not  nec- 
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Cable  address,  "Powpub,"  N.  Y. 
Business  Telegraph  Code. 


CIKCULATTOX    STATEMENT 

Duritifi  1008  we  printed  and  circulated 
l.S.SG.OOO   copies   of   Power. 

Gur  circulation  for  January,  1909,  was 
(weekly    and    monthly)    160,000. 

February    2 40,000 

February     9 37,000 

February    16 37,000 

February    23 37,000 

"None  sent  free  regularly,  no  returns  from 
news  companies,  no  back  numbers.  Figures 
are  live,  net  circulation. 


Contents 


PAGE 


Recent  Refinements  in  Boiler  Testing 355 

Wave  Motors  and  Windmills 360 

Testing  of  a  Three- Phase  Induction  Motor.  .    361 

High  Pres.sure  Steam  Piping  Systems 363 

Making  Ice  Cream  in  a  Large  Ice  Plant 366 

Modem 'British  High-Speed  Steam  Engines.    369 
Graphite  as  a  Lubricant  for  Gas  Engine  Cyl- 
inders     374 

Practical  Letters  from  Practical  Men: 

A  Boiler  as  a  Water  Supply  Tank .... 
Babiiitting  a  Pinion.  .  .  .Friction  Clutch 
Trouble  Remedied ....  A  Homemade 
Conden.ser.  .  .  .Kerosene  in  Steam  Boil- 
ers.... Globe  Valves.  ..  Badly  Worn 
Dashpots.  .  .  .  Down  Draft  Furnaces.  .  .  . 
A  Remodeled  Steam  Plant ....  Drum 
Motion  Distortion.  ..  .Verifying  Motor 
Connections  by  a  Diagram ....  Puzzling 
Transformer  Action.  .  Lifting  Limita- 
tions of  a  Pump ....  The  Surface  Con- 
denser. .  .  .  As  to  Increa.se  of  Salary.  .  ,  . 

The  Cummer  Engine 375-381 

Refrigerating  Plant  in  Steel  Works 382 

Some  Useful  lessons  of  Limewater 386 

Catechism  of  Electricity 388 

More  Water  Needed  at  Colliersville 389 

Editorials 390-391 


The  answer  to  such  a  question  depends 
largely  upon  the  size  of  the  plant  in  rela- 
tion to  the  minimum  flow,  its  flexibility, 
or  the  power  to  utilize  efficiently  all 
available  flow,  and  the  nature  of  the  load 
to  be  carried.  In  many  instances  the 
capacity  of  a  plant  is  based  upon  the  nor- 
mal June  flov/,  which  is  considered  a  fair 
average,  although  it  is  known  that  the 
amount  of  water  available  during  the 
three  dry  months  following  will  be  away 
below  this  tigure,  and  sometimes,  if-  the 
flow  is  based  on  erroneous  figures,  or  if 
there  is  an  unusual  drought  similar  to  that 
experienced  last  summer,  the  supply  of 
water  will  dwindle  to  such  an  extent  that 
it  may  be  necessary  to  shut  the  plant 
down  entirely.  This  condition  was  real- 
ized at  the  Colliersville,  N.  Y.,  plant,  as 
told  elsewhere  in  this  number,  there  being 
no  small  units  to  take  advantage  of  the 
small  supply  actually  available — nothing 
but  two  looo-kilowatt  machines  to  utilize 
a  flow  hardly  sufficient  to  develop  250 
horsepower.  Fortunately,  a  steam  plant 
was  available  to  carry  the  load,  and  from 
all  appearances  it  should  have  been 
allowed  to  carry  it  the  year  round.  Of 
course,  the  extraordinarily  low  water  of 
the  last  dry  season  was  altogether  un- 
usual, and  many  other  water-power  instal- 
lations had  their  troubles,  but  with  a 
plant  so  unwieldy  as  that  at  Colliersville, 
a  repetition  of  last  summer's  difficulties  is 
almost  sure  to  occur  during  the  dry  sea- 
sons of  succeeding  years.  ■  Imagine  the 
economy  of  maintaining  two  plants  to  sup- 
ply a  given  power :  one  a  water  plant 
operating  ten  months  in  the  year,  and  then 
not  always  at  full  capacity ;  the  other  a 
steam  plant  kept  in  constant  repair  and 
readiness  to  supply  any  deficiency  in  cur- 
rent from  the  water  power.  The  fixed 
charges  on  such  an  arrangement  would 
be  very  considerable,  and  the  aggregate 
cost  per  unit  of  output  from  the  com- 
bination would  in  all  probability  be  more 
than  that  from  an  average  steam  plant 
designed  for  the  load. 

Basing  the  capacity  of  a  water  plant  on 
the  minimum  flow  also  has  its  objections, 
for  during  nine  months  in  the  year  a 
large  amount  of  water  would  be  over- 
flowing the  dam,  and  there  would  be 
enough  water  available  to  develop  power 
far  in  excess  of  the  rating  of  the  plant. 
Much  depends  on  the  nature  of  the  load. 
A  lighting  load  adjusts  itself  to.  some  ex- 
tent with  the  seasons,  that  is,  it  is  lighter 
during  the  three  dry  months  and  heavier 
during  the  remainder  of  the  year,  when 
there  is  usually  plenty  of  water.  A  motor 
load  requires  a  constant  supply  of  cur- 
rent with  but  little  variation  from  month 
to  month,  and  in  such  a  case  it  is  either 
necessary  to  rate  the  plant  on  the  mini- 
mum flow  and  provide  a  reservoir  for 
storage,  or  depend  upon  costly  steam  re- 


serves to  supply  the  deficit  of  power.  In 
either  case  it  is  important  to  know  ac- 
curately the  real  minimum  as  well  as  the 
average  minimum  flow,  and  no  chances 
should  be  taken  or  guesses  made  as  to  the 
actual  quantity  of  water  that  will  be 
available   after  the   plant  is   installed. 


.The   Flywheel  as    an    Element 
of  Danger 


Seven  years  of  experience  of  the 
Fidelity  and  Casualty  Company  has  shown 
that  the  loss  ratio  in  flywheel  insurance 
is  twice  as  great  as  in  boiler  insurance; 
that  is  to  say,  the  proportion  of  the  money 
received  as  premiums  to  that  paid  out 
for  losses  is  twice  as  great  in  the  case  of 
flywheels  as  in  the  case  of  boilers.  For 
the  year  just  passed  it  has  been  three  times 
as  great.  Another  statement  warranted 
by  the  experience  of  the  same  company  is 
that  about  thirty  per  cent,  more  of  the 
flywheels  in  use  explode  than  of  the  boil- 
ers in  use. 

In  the  regulation  of  speed  fluctuation, 
the  capacity  of  a  flywheel  depends  upon 
its  weight  and  the  speed  at  which  it  is 
run.  In  a  wheel  of  any  diameter,  if  the 
speed  of  rotation  be  doubled,  only  one- 
half  the  weight  is  required,  and  as  the 
cost  of  flywheels  depends  directly  upon 
their  weight,  it  is  customary,  in  order  to 
save  cost,  to  make  them  as  light  as  pos- 
sible and  to  run  them  at  the  highest  pos- 
sible speed  consistent  with  safety. 

The  forces  tending  to  rupture  a  flywheel 
are  in  many  respects  similar  to  those 
which  tend  to  bring  about  boiler  ex- 
plosions. In  the  boiler  the  steam  pressure 
exerts  a  radial  force  on  the  shell  tending 
to  tear  the  sheet  along  longitudinal  lines, 
and  when  this  force  exceeds  the  strength 
of  the  material  of  which  the  shell  is  made 
an  explosion  takes  place.  In  the  flywheel, 
also,  the  force  tending  to  tear  it  apart  is 
radial  and  dependent  upon  the  speed.  In 
the  boiler  the  force  increases  directly  with 
the  pressure,  while  in  the  flywheel  the 
force  to  be  reckoned  with  increases  as  the 
square  of  the  speed.  Doubling  the  boiler 
pressure  simply  doubles  the  stress  on  the 
scam,  while  doubling  the  speed  of  the 
•wheel  quadruples  the  force  acting  on 
the  rim. 

In  the  boiler  the  strength  may  be  in- 
creased by  thicker  sheets.  If  the  thick- 
ness of  the  sheets  be  doubled,  the  boiler 
is  twice  as  strong  as  before,  but  doubling 
the  thickness  of  the  rim  of  the  flywheel, 
although  it  doubles  its  strength,  also  dou- 
bles its  weight  and  the  force  tending  to 
rupture  it,  for  as  the  weight  is  increased 
so  is  the  centrifugal  force,  and  the  rim 
is  no  stronger  than  before,  however  much 
it  may  appear  to  be  so. 

The  point  that  is  desired  to  be  brought 
out  is  this  :  The  flywheel  is  certainly  an 
element  of  danger  in  power-plant  opera- 
tion, if  placed  in  the  hands  of  ignorant 


February  23,   1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


or  incompetent  men,  and  it  is  just  as  im- 
portant that  the  engineer  should  be  ;is 
familiar  with  formulas  relating  to  centrif- 
ugal force  as  with  those  bearing  upon  the 
efficiency    of    riveted    joints. 


Draft  and  Boiler  Capacity 

Not  many  years  ago  an  evaporation  of 
two  pounds  of  water  per  square  foot  of 
heating  surface  was  considered  good  prac- 
tice. This  has  been  increased  to  two  and 
one-half  pounds  for  horizontal  tubular, 
and  in  the  case  of  the  water-tube  lx»ikr 
to  three  pounds  for  the  normal  rating. 
Modern  tendencies  arc  to  greatly  increa^: 
this  evaporation  by  burning  more  coal  per 
square  foot  of  grate  area  and  neces- 
sarily increasing  the  supply  of  air.  which 
in  some  cases  has  practically  doubled  the 
capacity  of  the  boiler  with  but  a  slight 
drop  in  the  efficiency.  It  is  now  proposed 
by  the  'lechiK-logic  Branch  of  the  L'nited 
States  Geological  Survey  to  double  or 
treble  the  capacity  of  a  boiler  by  passing 
two  or  three  titnes  the  usual  quantity  of 
air  through  the  fuel  bed  and  boiU-r. 
Numerous  experiments  along  this  line 
have  been  made  by  passing  measured 
weights  of  air  through  two  beds  of  lead 
shot,  one  always  remaining  the  same  to 
represent  the  Iwiler,  while  the  other  is 
variol  as  to  size  of  shot  and  depth  to 
!it  the  fuel  bed.  From  the  data 
i  with  the  shot  numer<ius  charts 
have  iK-en  plotted  and  a  number  of  laws 
deduced  bearing  on  the  relative  amounts 
of  power  required  to  force  air  through 
fuel  beds  of  various  thicknesses,  coin- 
posed  of  various  sizes  of  coal,  »nd  through 
boilers  of  various  lengths  and  areas  of 
iras  passages. 

As  a  result  of  these  experiments  it  may 
P'l'^siblc  to  increase  the  rate  of  work- 
boiler-heating  surface  to  three  or 
>     ffuir    times     the     present     value. 
Such  an  increase  would  undoubtedly  mean 
"••w  designs  of  grate,  stoker,  furnace  an<l 

iler.  especially  tilled  for  high  rales  of 
v^'>rking. 

.N'o  attempt  should  \>c  made  to  force 
more  air  through  existing  boilers  by  run- 
ning  the  fans  .it  a  much  f.ister  rale,  a«  the 
power  consumed  for  this  puri)osc  woidd 
increase  out  oi  all  proportion.     New   f.un 

i|   ruKincs   must     usually    \tc    insi.illrd. 

hich  will  supply  the  greater  volume  >>( 
•■r  at  as  high  or  even  greater  elficieiKy. 
'  ila   are   now   Ix-ing  obtained   as   in   the 

wer  ret|uirer|  !»>  pressure  and  cxii. mat- 
ing fans  to  produce  the  desired  pressure 
and  Volume  of  air. 

Ofir    way    of   reducing     the     work     re- 

trrrl  ff'irn  a  fan  working  umlrr  thr  new 
ts    ?o   increase   tlir    . 
ling     a     high     prr« 

rough  the   furl  and  insuring  l»<-t(rr  ct»n»- 

islion  of  the  line  particle*  of  io.d      The 

-rssure   drop   ihroiigh   the  boiler    wnM 
increated   materially,   creating   a    high 

locity  where   it   i«  desired. 


Further  experimentation  along  this  line 
i»   to  be  desired,  and  especiall>    wiili   iuA 
fuel  beds  awl  boilers  in  actual  <if>cra!i.  n 
It  is  the  intention  of  the  <  , 
vey  to  perform    such   exjx 
near  future,  and  the  results  oi  ihcir 
to  be  published  in  a  bulletin  on  "I>; 
should  be  of  exceptional  interest 


bunpwirk    and    how    iharoimU< 

>h.ill    t^    .1. 


Competent  Elnginecrs   arc   .Not 
Merc  Machines 

When  an  engineer  is  intrusted  wnh  the 
care  and  operation  of  a  stesM 
Would  seem  tlial  if  he  really  *•> 
his  judgment  should,  to  some  extent,  be 
relied  upon  in  matters  involving  the 
spending  of  money  for  supplies  and  re- 
pairs. 

This  thought  was  brought  to  mind  by 
the  experience  of  an  engineer  who  has  a 
particularly  alert  mind  and  a  fertility  in 
roource  rarely  etjualed. 

( )ne  of  the  side  walls  of  a  boiler  furnace 
needed  renewal.  On  being  informed  of 
the  nee<l.  the  proprietor  said 

"(iel  a  mavin  and  the  necessary  material 
and  do  the  work,  but  do  not  allow  the  ex 
pense  to  run  above  ten  dollarv" 

Mason  and  material  were  secured  an<l 
the  work  started.  After  the  wall  had  breti 
stripped  and  the  new  brickwork  started, 
the  engineer   said  to  the  mavin : 

"You  know  just  how  much  firebrick 
and  clay  arc  worth  and  you  know.  too. 
just  what  you  charge  an  hour  for  your 
time.  .Now  keep  track  of  the  time,  lire- 
clay  and  brick  and  when  these  items  to- 
gether amount  to  ten  di>lbrs,  stop  work 
and  come  out  of  the  furnace.** 

With  about  iwenly-hvr  more  brick  to 
lay.  the  mas4in  came  out  and  was  sent 
home.  Then  the  engineer  notihrd  the 
owner  that  the  appropriation  h-..l  hr<-n 
exhausted  and  the  work  wa^ 
plete.  There  was  nothing  to  1~ 
cept  to  seiul  for  I  he  mason  to  return  and 
finish  the  work. 

"Why  did  you  let  him  go  away  Iwforr 
the  work  was  done?"  asketl  the  cmp|o)cr. 

"When    I    came    here,"    said   the    engi- 
neer,  "you   told   tne   «'    •  t.  '    • 
know   where  every  <l 
on  this  plant  went.  .' 
prtJT    on    1    Rrrnt    n' 

t' 

not  al 

he  kiK 

hit    k 

.n  ' 

I 

III.'  1^    »iir\  ;>»u,   1    am  fi'  • 


\f      rrpftif 
rare 


•   MMnrwnai  sorprtted  at 


ew.     I   have 

■  ginrer   as    a    » 


t 


<  i»r«d  of 

■htr   labor       I 
V»M    tkr  <wgi- 


w(  u  Usal  be 
•Hted  dm  W 
be  given  an  oppnrtunttv  to  prorr  Ms 
M<  rth.  and  when  given  H  he  '■ttdr  good." 


Polytechnic    IniCitule    Sludcal 
Section  o<  the  A.  S  M  E. 


This  orgsfttratf^n  ^s«  •nti 

WpaftBMtrt    ofl 

■he   P.-hlfstinW 

m  charg 


nr 
Institute  <■ 

tr 

thr 

StU-!-   • 


ahmm  and  o<her  proaM- 
'  nraoklyn.  ■My  of 
)  the  u—tnii  OS 
t  their  wmmr*  for 
m  ahnM  6}  are  e*> 
.-weled  ihM  hrflr  « 
tiMidforUw  NW«- 


fjKt't*     jrvj     ir««     ttt'Uttf^     »IW1     •»»• 

of  mimhtr*    |Mpef% 

-dl  he   hrU  oa  the 
ih 


iJ^M^Ui  ■    sad 


•  1 1       ><«  nollt 


and  where    I    shall 


f' 


392 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGIN*:ER. 


February  23,  ipogt 


Power  Plant  Machinery  and  Appliances 

Original     Descriptions     of     Power     Devices 
No     Manufacturers'     Cuts     or     Write-ups     Used 

MUST    BE     NEW     OR     INTERESTING 


Dallett  Air  Compressor 


The  air  compressor  shown  in  sectional 
view  herewith  is  built  by  the  Thomas  H. 
Dallett  Company,  York  and  Twenty-third 
streets,  Philadelphia,  Penn.  This  com- 
pressor incorporates  the  essential  features 
of  having  all  parts  requiring  adjustment 
or  renewals  readily  accessible,  and  em- 
ploying a  liberal  amount  of  metal,  so 
placed  as  to  insure  rigidity  in  operation. 


bases,   thus   making    the    entire    machine 
self-contained. 

The  steam  cylinder  and  valve  gear  of 
the  steam-driven  machines  are  designed  to 
give  high  efficiency.  All  steam  ports  are 
short  and  direct,  and  the  clearance  has 
been  reduced  to  a  minimum.  A  plain 
D  balanced  slide  valve  is  used  on  the 
small  and  medium-sized  machines  and  the 
Meyer  balanced  adjustable  cutoff  valve  on 
the  larger  machines.  To  provide  efficient 
heat    insulation,    all    steam    cylinders    are 


fact  that  the  high-pressure  side  takes 
steam  from  the  line.  This  trouble  has 
been  overcome  by  using  a  reducing  valve 
which  reduces  the  live-steam  pressure  for 
use  in  the  low-pressure  cylinder.  The  air 
and  steam  cylinders  are  tied  together  and 
held  in  position  by  means  of  an  internally 
flanged   tie  or   distance  piece. 

Mechanically  operated  inlet  valves  are 
supplied  on  any  size  of  compressor  if  de- 
sired. These  valves  are  ground  to  gage 
and  the  valve  holes  lapped  to  size. 


SECTIO.NAL  VIEW  OF  THE  D.\LLETT    STEAM-DRIVEN    AIR    COMPRESSOR 


The  frame  is  of  the  open-fork  center- 
crank  type,  designed  to  obtain  on  each 
size  of  compressor  a  greater  range  of 
capacity  by  substituting,  when  desired,  a 
cylinder  of  the  next  larger  size  than 
the  standard  to  operate  at  100  pounds 
pressure. 

The  main  bearings  arc  lined  with  bab- 
bitt metal,  which  is  thoroughly  peened  in 
to  obviate  shrinkage,  and  then  bored  and 
scraped  to  fit  the  crankshaft.  The  duplex- 
belt,  duplex-steam  and  single-steam  ma- 
chines are  supported  on  deep,  rigid  sub- 


lagged   with   mineral    wool   and    jacketed 
with  sheet  steel. 

The  governor  of  the  steam-driven  ma- 
chine is  equipped  with  a  safety-stop  de- 
vice. The  governor  pulley  is  situated  on 
the  end  of  the  shaft  outside  of  the  fly- 
wheel on  the  single-steam  machine,  thus 
bringing  the  flywheel  as  close  to  the  bear- 
ing as  possible.  Formerly,  in  the  case  of 
duplex  compressors  with  compound  steam 
cylinders,  if  the  machine  stopped  with  the 
high-pressure  side  on  the  dead  center,  it 
would  not  start  automatically,  due  to  the 


The  air-intake  and  discharge  valves  are 
special  features  of  these  compressors.  The 
intake  valve  is  of  the  automatic  poppet 
type,  contained  in  a  malleable-iron  cage. 
The  cage  is  one  piece,  and  combines  both 
seat  for  the  valve  and  guide  for  the  valve 
stem.  The  cage  is  threaded  and  screws 
into  the  wall  of  the  air-intake  chamber 
only,  and  is  simply  seated  in  a  recess  on 
the  main  cylinder  wall,  using  thin  corru- 
gated-copper gaskets  to  secure  a  tight 
joint.  A  hexagonal  recess  has  been  cast 
in   all  cages   to    accommodate    a    special 


P'ebruary  23.   1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


JM 


cast-steel  wrench  for  us«  in  removing  and 
replacing  valve  cages. 

The  valvc-cagc  cap  acts  as  a  locknut 
for  holding  the  cage  in  place  after  it  has 
been  screwed  down  on  its  seat  in  the 
cylinder.  It  is  provided  with  a  hexag- 
onal projection,  and  the  same  wrench 
can  be  used  here  as  on  the  valve  cage. 
In  the  case  of  compound  machines  corru- 
gated-copper gaskets  are  placed  under  the 
valve-cage  caps  on  the  high-pressure 
cylinder  to  insure  against  leakage,  as  the 
discharge  pressure  from  the  low-pressure 
cylinder  is  constantly  at  these  joints. 

The  valve  proper  is  of  a  special-alloy 
hardened  steel,  with  seat  and  stem  ground 
to  gage.  The  valve  spring  is  of  phosphor 
bronze  and  of  the  right  pro|>ortion  to  give 
the  valve  an  easy  opening  and  a  quick 
closure. 

The  spring  holder  on  the  valve  com 
prises  a  split  taper  ring  set  in  a  recess  on 
the  valve  stem  and  held  tight  to  the  stem 
by  means  of  a  s(jlid  ta|>er  ring  slipping 
down  over  it.  The  hammering  of  the 
valve  on  its  seat  tends  to  tighten  the 
spring  holder  on  the  stem  instead  of  driv- 
ing it  off,  due  to  the  action  of  the  taper. 
The  discharge  valve  is  of  the  automatic 
poppet  type  containr*!  in  a  valve  cage  of 
malli  ;iMc  iron.  The  meth»)«l  of  seating  in 
the  c>liii<ler  and  locking  in  its  seat  i*  iden- 
tical with  that  if  the  intake  valve.  A  pro- 
jection or  lx>ss  has  been  provided  on  the 
Talve  cap  which  acts  as  a  positive  stop 
for  the  valve  when  it  has  reached  a  lift 
giving  a  full-o|>ening  area  and  does  away 
with  fluttering.  This  same  projection  on 
the  cap  alvj  acts  as  a  spring  guide  for  the 
▼alve  spring. 

Roth  inlet  and  discharge  valves  are  sim- 
m«l  compact,  and  each  valve  retjuires 
over  a  minute's  time  for  complete  rc- 
Oioval. 

The  intercooler  ii.i-.  .1  large  cooling 
area,  employing  the  return-tlow  type  of 
water  circulation,  and  using  baffle  plates 
to  c|(  tirct  the  How  of  air  and  aid  in  its 
effrctii.d  contact  with  the  ciHiling  tubes, 
which  may  Ik-  ren>ove«l  intact  from  the 
interciMiIrr  Im)X  without  disttirliing  any  of 
the  piping,  as  unions  are  supplied  to  obvi- 
ate this  feature.  The  intercooler  i»  sup- 
plied with  a  |Kip  safety  valve,  a  pressure 
gage  and  a  drain  valve. 

Each    licit  driven    machine    U    provided 

with  an  nnl<i.iding  «lcvirc.  which  .■uit..mati- 

cally    \tu\>   uIh    the   air   cylinder       W  hrn  a 

crrtatii  <!<  trrtninrti  pressure  is  rr.i.  Iir«|  in 

ibc  air  rr>  river,  one  or  more  inlet   ^.ll^^^ 

at  twith  cikIs  of  the  air  cylinder  .ir«-  li<  l-l 

II  and  the   bmd   is  taken  off  the  com- 

"•r    allowing  it  t«)  run  light  until  the 

drops  in  the  receiver,  upon  wli"<  H 

»  ii»rs  are   released  and  air  coinprr^ 

'1  is  rmumed. 

'  til     thr     »f 
'■•I  and  p'' 


when  unloaded,  and  bringing  a  duplex  or 
comprjund  machine  to  a  dead  stop.  By 
this  means  a  great  saving  in  steam  is 
effected  and  the  wear  and  tear  00  the 
working  parts,  as  in  the  case  of  continu- 
ous running  machines.  Is  re<Juced. 

These  compressors  are  built  from  H- 
inch  stroke  up  to  and  including  16-inch 
strike  and  with  a  capacity  range  >>i  fr.»m 
79  cubic  feel  of  free  air  per  minute  lo 
1200  cubic   feet. 


Inquiries 

(Jurttinm*  arr    ifl  nntwrrril 
of    ijrnrral    imtrrrtt    aa<l    arr    -i 

Ihr      „.-.'-'■     -ir  '     -:/frrtt     nf     th. 


RefngeralioH  Troubles 

I  wish  to  make  a  few  changes  in  the 
lo-ton  ice  plant  (can  system)  I  run  and 
would  like  to  have  your  advice  about  iL 
The  engine  is  an  old-style  compound  with 
I2X  16-inch  cylinders  running  at  from  90  10 
100  revolutions  per  minute  and  exhaust- 
ing into  a  condenser  with  a  relief  valve 
set  at  15  |iounds.  When  we  are  running 
more  than  half  the  exhaust  blows  out  at 
the  relief.  The  circulating  water  for  the 
cornlenscr  is  the  overrtt)w  from  the  am- 
monia condenser  flowing  thrciugh  by 
gravity.  Now  what  I  wish  to  do  is  lo 
take  the  old  piston  out  of  the  engme  and 
get  a  new  one,  throw  the  ■  '  '  ■■  '^n%cr 
away  and  put  in  a  surface  '  -ind 

put    an   oil   filler   between    the    s;"ii«lcn»cr 
and  the  reb«iilrr. 

I  think  we  can  cut  f' 
to    |iay    for    making    ti 
season      I  he  Unler  is  a  hon 
Wj  inches  in  iliameter  by  iH  1 
48    four-inch    tube*,   carrying   95    pounds 
pressure.     We  bum  from  100  to  i^s  *"*** 
of  coal   a   m«inth.     I    think   we   btim   too 
nui  '         •  i        > 
ai'.' 

doMii    the    jiiu.'unt    !-:l 
uses        And    im-fhrf    f' 
nil 
th. 
ing    lh«-  '    «Hit        i 

•team  p!i vahr  jr» 

to  the  highrtt  p«>tnt  on  th- 
engine  lifts  the  water  -  ■ 
how  much  you  have  in 


Frfiii  \<>iir  <!r *«■  rintfofl  ■•(  fbi 


shouM  rrftatnlv  no<  rrqaire  over  7S  Mas 
tdc  aad  MM  o««r 

■Cawajr  tliriwn.ll 

rr'.t::.I<     inifi. 


I'tctni  t 


in  speed  m 
vided  by  »»" 
ute    will 

ihr  II  gmeratrd  whteb  m 

lost    th'   ugh   the  back  - 

Thrrr  w»nl«l  he  f*^ 
an  •  tH- 

str..  >■« 

with  waier,  and  we  tto  i»n«  thtnk  ihal  « 

would    pay     tn     rtm     1      lo  f.«i     nljnt      .yr\ 

dm  sine.     If. 

the    '•' .-,    .  , 

apt  -dl  Mi^ 

n-^n   fW  rr- 
>»leT 

W«r 


nni»l     t»r 

Iirniw  n 

am 


4r   mwh 


ni    tirafi    a* 


>e  tune  it  cimtrols  the  speed. 
iK'le  «rr.Trn    marJiinr    to    turn 


394 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGINEER. 


February  23,  1909. 


Hoboken  N.  A.  S.  E.  Entertainment 


The  seventh  annual  entertainment  and 
reception  of  Hoboken  Association  No.  5. 
X.  A.  S.  E.,  Hoboken,  N.  J.,  took  place 
at  Odd  Fellows'  hall  on  Tuesday  evening, 
February  9.  The  attendance  was  larger 
than  ever  before.  A  top-notch  entertain- 
ment was  given,  after  which  the  floor  was 
cleared  for  dancing,  and  in  spite  of  the 
crowded  condition  of  the  hall,  an  enjoya- 
ble time  was  had.  The  committee  of  ar- 
rangements comprised  W.  J.  Reynolds, 
James  J.  Dustin,  Adolph  Comens,  John 
Piatt   and   Henry  Downes. 


Newark  Association    Entertainment 


The  twenty-fourth  annual  entertainment 
and  reception  of  Newark  Association  No. 
3,  X.  A.  S.  E.,  Newark,  N.  J.,  was  held 
on  Friday  evening.  February  12,  at  the 
New  Auditorium.  The  occasion  attracted 
a  large  attendance,  there  being  more  than 
1200  persons  present,  including  many 
prominent  supplymen  and  engineers.  An 
entertainment  of  unusual  excellence  was 
followed  by  dancing.  The  address  of  wel- 
come was  made  by  A.  B.  Penny.  Great 
credit  is  due  the  hustling  committee. 


On  Saturday  evening,  February  6,  at 
the  Waverly  hotel,  Lowell,  Mass.,  the 
Southwick  Textile  Club  of  the  Lowell 
Textile  School  held  its  eighth  annual 
meeting,  at  which  Charles  B.  Burleigh 
gave  an  address  on  the  equipment  of  tex- 
tile mills  with  electric  drives  and  the  use 
of  the  steam  turbine  in  connection  there- 
with. The  address  was  one  of  the  best 
ever  -delivered  before  the  club  and  Mr. 
Burleigh  was  given  a  vote  of  thanks. 


B 


usiness  Items 


It< 


Orders  received  during  January  for  "  Swart - 
■wout "  .steam  .specialtie.s  made  by  the  Ohio 
Blower  Company,  Cleveland,  Ohio,  include  9  steam 
separators,  2  oil  separators  and  10  cast-iron 
exhaust  heads. 

The  Rus.sell  Engine  Company,  of  Massillon, 
Ohio,  is  installing  a  4.50-hor.sepower  four-valve 
semi-Corliss  engine  for  vSamuel  Bacon's  Sons 
Company,  Laurel,  Del.  Also  a  300-horsepower 
tandem  compound  four-valve  semi-Corliss  engine 
for  the  Laurel  Electric  Light  and  Power  Com- 
pany, Laurel,  Del. 

A  free  .sample  of  Ames  alloy  high-pressure 
sheet  packing  is  bfeing  sent  to  engineers  who 
apply  for  it  by  the  U.  S.  Indestructible  Gasket 
Corapany.  16  South  William  street.  New  York. 
This  packing  is  made  of  a  special  composition 
and  has  been  tested  up  to  6000  pounds,  making 
it  suitable  for  the  highest  pressure  and  for  hydrau- 
ic  work. 

The  Hoopeston  Gas  and  Electric  Company. 
Hoope.ston,  III.,  has  placed  an  order  with  the 
Minneapolis  Steel  and  .Machinery  Company  for 
a  lOO-horsepower  Muenzel  producer-gas  engine. 
They  already  have  a  280-horsep()wer  Muenzel 
producer  plant  and  the  small  engine  will  be 
run  on  the  light  loads.  In  this  way  they  will 
be  able  to  run  the  entire  plant  more  economically. 


B.  M.  Knobel,  who  recently  severed  his  con- 
nection with  the  Crandall  Packing  Company, 
has  organized  the  Triumph  Engineering  and 
Supply  Company,  with  headquarters  at  253 
La  Salle  street,  Chicago.  Here  will  be  carried 
a  complete  line  of  rubber  goods,  packings,  mats, 
etc.  Also  the  "Cassco"  bar  metallic  packing. 
Mr  Knobel  has  been  prominent  in  steam-engi- 
neering circles  in  Chicago  and  throughout  the 
middle  West. 

The  G.  M.  Davis  Regulator  Company  reports  a 
recent  shipment  to  the  General  Fire  Extinguisher 
Company,  of  Providence,  R.  I.,  of  a  30-inch 
pressure  reducing  valve  to  reduce  pressure  of 
75  pounds  down  to  30  pounds.  This  valve  is 
designed  to  pass  twenty  million  gallons  of  water 
per  day.  The  shipment  weighed  three  tons 
and  it  is  considered  to  be  the  largest  pressure- 
reducing  valve  ever  constructed  in  this  country. 
The  company  also  reports  the  receipt  of  an 
order  for  a  30-inch  combination  atmospheric 
relief  and  back-pressure  valve  to  be  used  on  a 
5000-kilowatt  Curtis  turbine  being  installed  in 
the  59th  street  station  of  the  Interborough  Rapid 
Transit  Company,  New  York  City.  This  com- 
pany has  nineteen  30-inch  Davis  relief  valves 
installed  in  this  plant. 


The  Great  Western  Power  Company  has  taken 
out  a  permit  for  the  construction  of  a  $50,000 
building  at  Oakland,  Cal.,  to  be  used  as  an 
auxiliary  electric  generating  plant. 

The  Electric  Generating  Company,  Fredericks- 
burg, Va.,  has  been  incorporated  with  $100,000 
capital.  Will  erect  plant.  R.  M.  Vandom, 
Exchange  hotel,  Fredericksburg,  is  engineer  in 
charge. 


New  Equipment 

The  city  of  .Anadarko,  Okla.,  has  voted  $14,000 
bonds  for  improvements  to  electric  plant. 

H.  J.  Kunkle,  Wataga,  III.,  has  been  granted 
franchise  to  construct  an  electric-light  plant. 

The  Roosevelt  (L.  I.)  Water,  Light  and  Power 
Company  has  bought  site  for  a  pumping  station. 

.\n  addition  will  be  built  to  the  power  house 
of  the  municipal  electric-light  plant  at  Nash- 
ville, Tenn. 

A  municipal  heating  and  lighting  plant  is 
to  be  erected  in  Albion,  Neb.  R.  T.  Flotres 
is  city  clerk. 

The  Gloucester  (Mass.)  Cold  Storage  and  Ware- 
house Company  will  erect  an  additional  cold 
storage  warehouse. 

The  town  council,  Faundsale,  Ala.,  con- 
templates installing  water-works  and  electric 
lights.     S.  Stollenwerck,  town  clerk. 

It  is  reported  that  about  $35,000  will  be 
spent  in  improvements  at  the  water-works  and 
electric-light  plant  at  Opelousas,  La. 

The  Carthage  (Tex.)  Ice  and  Electric  Com- 
pany has  been  incorporated  with  $20,000  capital 
by  J.  C.  Whitney,  M.  E.  Pittman  and  J.  G.  Wool- 
worth. 

The  Syracuse  (N.  Y.)  Cold  Storage  Company 
will  erect  a  seven-story  warehouse,  an  ice  factory 
and  five  refrigerating  stores  at  a  cost  of  about 
$275,000. 

The  Peoples  Ice  Company,  Wichita  Falls, 
Tex.,  recently  incorporated,  will  establish  ice 
plant  of  45  tons  daily  capacity.  P.  Marcus, 
president. 

The  Toronto  (Ont.)  asylum  will  install  four 
new  hot-water  boilers,  feed-water  heaters,  pipe, 
etc.  W.  D.  Medcalf,  inspector  of  boilers,  should 
be  addressed. 

The  Metropolitan  Electric  Company,  Reading, 
Penn.,  will  erect  a  new  power  house  and  trans- 
mission and  distribution  system  at  a  cost  of 
about  $1,500,000. 

It  is  stated  that  improvements  will  be  made 
at  the  water  works  at  Alton,  III.,  including  the 
installation  of  a  new  pump  with  a  daily  capacity 
of  6,000,000  gallons. 

The  Ft.  Wayne  &  Wabash  Valley  Traction 
Company  will  remodel  its  power  house  at 
Lafayette,  Ind.  It  is  said  between  $100,000  and 
$200,000  will  be  expended. 

The  Board  of  Public  Service,  Cincinnati,  Ohio, 
has  been  requested  to  have  plans  prepared  for 
a  new  electric-light  plant  and  a  refrigerating 
plant  for  the  city  infirmary. 


New  Qatalogs 

Locke  Regulator  Company,  Salem,  Mass. 
Catalog  R.  Locke  engine-stop  and  speed  limit 
system.     Illustrated,  46  pages,  6x9  inches. 

Philadelphia  Lubricator  and  Manufacturing 
Company,  The  Bourse,  Philadelphia,  Penn. 
Pamphlet.  The  Lubrication  of  Machinery  Bear- 
ings.    16  pages,  5ix8  inches. 

Alberger  Condenser  Company,  95  Liberty 
street,  New  York.  Catalog  No.  11.  Wain- 
wright  expansion  joints,  anchors  and  guides, 
heaters.      Illustrated,   12  pages,  6x9  inches. 

D'Olier  Engineering  Company,  119  South 
Eleventh  street,  Philadelphia,  Penn.  Leaflet 
No.  10.  Steam  turbines.  Illustrated,  4  pages, 
6x9  Inches.  Bulletin,  Series  T.  No.  9.  Hori- 
zontal centrifugal  pumps.  Illustrated,  8 
pages,    6V2XIO    inches. 


Help   Wanted 

Advertisements  under  this  head  are  in- 
serted for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  words 
make  a  line. 

AN  ENGINEER  in  each  town  to  sell  the 
best  rocking  grate  for  steam  boilers.  Write 
Martin   Grate   Co.,    281    Dearborn   St.,    Chicago. 

WANTED — Thoroughly  competent  steam 
specialty  salesman;  one  that  can  sell  high- 
grade    goods.      Address    "M.    M.    Co.,"    Power. 

WANTED— A  good  live  agent  in  every 
shop  or  factory  in  the  U.  S.  to  sell  one  of  the 
best  known  preparations  for  removing  grease 
and  grime  from  the  hands  without  injury  to 
the  skin.  Absolutely  guaranteed.  An  agent 
can  make  from  $5.00  to  $25.00  over  and  above 
his  regular  salary.  This  is  no  fake.  Write 
for  free  sample  and  agents'  terms.  The  Klen- 
zola  Co.,   Erie,   Pa. 

Situations  Wanted 

Advertisements  under  this  head  are  in- 
serted for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  words 
make  a  line. 

YOUNG  MAN  wishes  position  in  engine 
room.  (Understands  steam  and  electricity  thor- 
oughly. Wages  no  object  where  there  is  advance- 
ment.'    Box  5,  Power. 

M.^NAGER,  sales  manager  or  traveling  by 
commercial  engineer;  20  years'  experience, 
electrical  and  mechanical  lines.  M.  T.  Har- 
wood,  20  Howard  Place,  Jersey  City,  N.  J. 

YOUNG  MAN,  age  23,  four  years'  experi- 
ence in  the  operation  of  generators,  engines, 
arc  lamps,  wiring  and  repair  work,  wishes  posi- 
tion. Good  references,  reasonable  wages.  Box 
2,   Power. 

SITUATION  WANTED  as  oiler  or  engi- 
neer's helper  in  steam  or  electric  power  house, 
preferably  in  Pennsylvania  or  Ohio.  Have 
practicalexperience  and  am  an  I.  C.  S.  student. 
Box  4,  Power. 

SITUATION  WANTED  by  gas  engineer, 
12  years'  experience;  can  set  engines,  fit  thetn 
complete  for  operation;  also  line  .shafting  and 
other  machinery.  Am  31  years  of  age  and 
married.     Box  295,  Carey,  Ohio. 

POSITION  WANTED— Anything  in  elec- 
tric plant  having  water  tube  boilers,  condensing 
engines,  up-to-date  equipment,  by  young  man 
desiring  experience.  Worked  five  years  In 
steam  plants;  Chicago  licen.se;  Chicago  preferred. 
S.  H    Viall,  11820  Union  Ave.,  Chicago. 

Miscellaneous 

Advertisements  under  this  head  are  it^ 
serted  for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  words 
make  a  line. 

MACHINERY  built  to  order;  up-to-date 
plant.  Write  Brunswick  Refrigerating  Co., 
New  Brunswick,   N.  J. 

PATENTS   secured    promptly   in    the    United 


March  2,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


The    Snee    Wave    Motor  and  Its  Possibilities 

A  New  and  Apparently  Overestimated  Turbine  <         .  ilioo  Designed 
to  Utilize  the  Elnerg>  of  Ocean  Waves  and  Currents  to  Develop  Power 

BY        FRANKLIN        VAN  WINKLE 


Windmills  and  water  wheels  were   un-  havoc   wrought   by  their   iiKessant  actioa  exdasivdy  er,r*fT4  to  a 

doubtcdly  the  first  forms  of  prime  mover  in   time  of  storm    give   rise   to  distorted  falling  of  the   cmrraj 

devised  for  the  development  of  inanimate  impressions    of    their    motions   and    local  objects,  ur:                     by  actsao  of 

power,  and  it  is  not   surprising  that  the  development    of  energy.     When   the   eye  «•?•    -••"—•                      -*    op    gad    -^--w- 

restlessness  of  the  seas  should  have  sug-  follows  the  crest  of  a  wave  as  it  moves  1                                             taoK  »  • 


no.    I.   sNcx  WA\n  Moroa  wtxnc  \H%ixixMSt  at  atla.^ 

* 

.   «le<l   to   amhitiout    invrntnrt   the   po♦^• 
bilitir^    of 
errrv'v    fr^  • 


.1    tnuii   otciuatMHi 
.:•].  whkJi  ocean  as  tkt  • 
:>   passing. 

The  actioa  of  torf  to  briafcif  ovi 
beadi    leads   nmijr   observers   to   b* 

•KV     m:^\fx    r   .niNt    of    SB    aCtVal    %Crm 

\  vbca  ia  fact  tlM 

i{  atiu   i>ir.tKiiig  of  sorf  are 
e  foal  faUing  down  of  the 


bf 
i«d 


filled  ovee 
•■!m  of 
'   have  W 
it  on  the  bcadk 
Very  few  of  iK-  '""•'-^«  lor 
!  wave  power  "«ed 

heyood  the  e«penrn<-nia4    iHgt. 

Ka«    soon    bccDON 

'%  that,  in  order  to 
-rshV      smooaC     of 


accessary,  to  my 

tKc   urv-rflslntTOf 


tkedsof 


of    ibc 
■...ixtsm  of  wave  power 
.     ^Jraalage  of  caeiD 
>iid  tal  of  the  wa 
r.jw..     ,.,  appear  to  be  ^ 
.4hcr«   have  been   paofosad   ( 
the  uwrgy  of  stray  carreot^ 
and  vertical  winiBMats  of  • 
Accordiag  tu   faadfal 
»uiiird  10  be  wseparafele 
K<utnpaMflHflts  of  wavv 
.r.    .f  t»vr  psu^octors  of  waw 
.(i^ear   froaa  ihew 
.  ttf^i    iK«    f*<t    *■* 


.*4.f 


otto.  tV    •»«''    » 
g»e  ««i   •!  the   « 


waves,  and  t) 


396 

that  company.  It  is  claimed  for  this  motor 
that  it  will  utilize  the  energy  of  ocean 
waves  or  currents,  as  well  as  that  of  chan- 
nel' and  river  currents,  and  "will  revolu- 
tionize the  power  development  of  the 
world." 

Atlantic  City  Plant 
Two  wave  motors  of  the  company  are 
being  installed  at  Young's  new  million- 
dollar  pier,  Atlantic  City,  N.  J.,  for  the 
alleged  purpose  of  generating  electric  cur- 
rent for  supplying  light,  heat  and  power. 
As  shown  in  Fig.  i,  the  plant  is  being 
located  adjacent  to  the  pier  and  about 
1 150  feet  seaward  from  the  boardwalk. 
One  of  the  motors  is  shown  in  Fig.  2.  It 
is  14  feet  high,  11  feet  in  diameter  over 
all  and  weighs  61  tons,  the  inside  revolv- 
ing section  weighing  16H  tons. 

From  its  general  appearance  the  motor 
might  be  taken  for  an  elongated  turbine. 
The  main  working  parts  of  each  motor 
consist  of  a  vertical-shaft  water  wheel  or 
runner  revolving  within  a  circular  frame- 
work or  cage,  the  latter  formed  of  ver- 
tical parallel  guide  blades,  a  feature  com- 
mon to  all  types  of  inward-flow  pressure 
turbine. 

Fig.  3,  which  is  a  photograph  taken  of 
a  small  model  exhibited  at  the  Snee  com- 
pany's office,  1278  Broadway,  New  York 
Cit}-,  shows  the  runner  or  wheel  proper, 
partly  removed  from  the  cage  or  casing 
of  guide  blades.  In  Fig.  2  it  will  be  no- 
ticed that  the  wheels  under  construction 
at  Atlantic  City  have  their  exterior  cas- 
ings supported  by  two  24-inch  I-beams,  to 
which  are  bolted  six  steel  heads,  each  2^ 
inches  in  thickness  and  weighing  4700 
pounds.  Between  these  the  outside  guide 
blades  or  deflectors,  made  of  9/16-inch 
steel  plate,  are  riveted  in  tiers,  the  hight 
of  blade  being  30  inches  in  each  tier.  The 
interior  revolving  part  or  wheel  is  to  be 
mounted  on  a  hollow  steel  shaft  and  hung 
from  roller  bearings,  with  the  bottom  of 
the  shaft  retained  by  a  compartment  filled 
with  oil  which  is  expected  to  rise  in  the 
hollow  shaft  to  a  hight  sufficient  to  coun- 
terbalance the  head  of  water  on  the  out- 
side. It  is  proposed  to  cover  the  two  up- 
right I-beam  supports  with  concrete,  and 
to  secure  the  motors  to  a  foundation  rest- 
ing on  nine  concrete  piles,  each  contain- 
ing 1050  barrels  of  cement  and  reinforced 
with  steel  rails.  In  addition  to  this  piling, 
three  steel  reinforced  concrete  floors, 
weighing  more  than  100  tons  each  are 
introduced,  making  the  structure  a  rigid 
mass  of  concrete  and  steel  weighing  over 
500  tons.  Constructed  in  this  manner,  it 
is  expected  that  the  action  of  salt  water 
will  not  affect  the  supports  of  the  motors. 
Fig.  4,  a  top  view  of  the  motor,  shows 
a  brake  wheel,  by  means  of  which  it  is 
expected  to  shut  down  on  the  motor 
when  occasion  demands.  It  is  proposed 
to  gear  electric  generators  directly  to  the 
shafts  of  each  wheel  and  operate  a  stor- 
age battery  in  conjunction  with  the  gener- 
ating plant,  the  battery  to  carry  the  load 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

between  the  periods  of  power  supply  by 
the  wave  motors.  It  is  reported  that  the 
exact  arrangement  and  connection  of  the 
generators  have  not  been  definitely  de- 
termined. 

It  is  also  proposed  to  install  on  the  top 
of  the  foundation  wind-driven  wheels  of 
the  same  design  as  the  water  wheels  and 
measuring  28  feet  in  diameter  by  50  feet 
high.  This,  of  course,  will  increase  the 
cost  of  the  plant,  but  it  is  expected  that 
by  placing  reliance  on  both  wind  and 
wave  both  motors  will  not  be  idle  together 
for  any  considerable  length  of  time. 


March  2,  1909. 

fraction  of  the  rating  claimed,  and  would 
undoubtedly  raise  the  cost  of  installation 
per  horsepower  to  such  an  enormous  fig- 
ure as  to  limit  the  use  of  the  motors  to 
their  exhibition  as  novel  attractions  rather 
than  as  efficient  and  practical  machines. 

Operation  of  Motor  Analyzed 
That  a  motor  of  this  design,  if  acted 
upon  by  swift  currents  of  air  or  water, 
may  be  capable  of  developing  some  power 
is  not  to  be  doubted,  for  models  made  of 
galvanized  sheet  iron  exhibited  by  the 
company    demonstrate  that  fact.     But  the 


FIG.     2.     SUPPORTING   STRUCTURE   AND    ARRANGEMENT    OF    GUIDE    VANES 


No  very  definite  data  are  available  on  the 
rating  of  these  motors,  only  that  with  a 
current  of  30  miles  an  hour,  or  44  feet  per 
second,  each  motor  is  expected  to  develop 
2000  horsepower.  The  cost  of  the  motors 
and  foundation  is  placed  at  $100,000,  or 
when  figured  ,it  the  rating  given,  $25  per 
horsepower.  An  average  velocity  of  ocean 
waves  at  Atlantic  City  of  30  miles  an  ^our 
is,  of  course  far  above  normal,  and  even 
assuming  that  the  whole  body  of  water 
partakes  of  the  same  velocity  as  the  move- 
ment of  crests  of  the  waves,  the  power 
for  usual  conditions  could  be  only  a  small 


effective  energy  which  motors  of  a  given 
size  and  cost  may  be  capable  of  develop- 
ing will  control  their  practical  usefulness 
and  commercial  value.  The  installation 
proposed  for  Atlantic  City  has  been  exten- 
sively advertised  by  the  projectors  and  the 
public  is  invited  to  purchase  stock  of  the 
company  upon  claims  of  such  extraordi- 
nary merit  as  to  elicit  an  analysis  of  this 
wonderful   invention. 

Fig.  5  illustrates  the  general  arrange- 
ment of  the  guide  blades  and  the  runner, 
shown  in  horizontal  cross-section.  In 
this  diagram.  A-.,  A2  Az  At  represent  the 


March  2,  1909. 

guide  blades,  B  the  curved  buckets  of  the 
runner  and  R  the  radial  vanes  of  the  run- 
ner. The  radial  vanes  and  curved  buckets 
of  the  runner  are  of  the  same  general 
form  as  the  flat,  radial  vanes  and  curved 
buckets  of  the  ordinary  hi>ri;ontal-shaft 
water  wheels,  with  the  difference,  how- 
ever,  that    both   kinds   of   float    are   used 


ric.    y 


ARRANGEMENT    OF    BLADING    SHOW* 
IN    SMALL    MODEL 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

A   striking   feature  in  operation  of  the 

models  of  this  motor  is  t!. 
the  direction  of  rotation,  ■ 
'•  i'   flow   of   the    , 

•  14  ihcrrff-rr  jr  , 

motor   Mill  be  r  ^  d«- 

ri\mg   power   fr  ;   cu^. 

rents  as  well  as  from  nver  currents  which 
are  constant  in  direction  of  flow. 

It  it  to  be  observcxl  that  in  operation 
the  Snee  motor  differs  from  •'  '    'r 

inward-flow  turbine  in  one  imj 
ticular,  vi/..  that 
tiirbmes   are   c  • 
the    prot>cllmK 
•Hr   rtin'?"-.   uh  ' 


rough 


-    current 
t.ci  in  one  .... 
"tor.   rngage   the   buckets   a>   it    ; 
rcss  the  guide  case  and  be  dt^  '•  .  ^- 
rough  other   submerged   gui<|r    ;.i.    ,^.  . 
Ti  the  dnu'  .  . 

F'laced  in 
c  motor.  It    u 
the    -^rrow-h- 

I 
as  ctfective  in  delivering  water  to  the 
blades  of  the  runner,  because  entrance 
through  any  more  of  the  guide  passages 
wouM  only  result  in   -'    '  ff  free  ad- 

mission  l»)   those  pa>  1  are  most 

effect  r. 
nrr      !• 


't;e  like.-f  will  be  \tt 
.1...  ••   -Mfcr  of  its  t...  .K.    ..  I...    .....,, 

which  have  arrived  at  D,  be- 
ne rr   i«  no  «nitlct   f«»r  discharge  of 
d    water    except    ti\    ciitttittr    arrou 


rifect   Ih 


irrent    wl 

'.    In   %ty    I 

g  up  of 


with  a  wefl  fttihlHlwd  pffiiifii  ol  tw- 

wheel    practsor.    tu.,    tkat    a 

Altte  the  bat  eWeei.  ciiWr  by 

unpmgeincm  or  prcMurt  oa  a  vaar.  ikcre 

mutt  br   1   flspd   fAtio  betww  tW  «tle- 

•1  that  of  tb*  VMM. 

A....; ...  >.>-'^u<  under  pnaoflM  ti 

turbine  water-wbecl  pracuer  wmML  iWrr- 


nc  s  imntantkmmnt  nam  w 
avn  MOTOB 

fore,  appear  to  be  entirdj  o«t  ol  place 
Aaaantng  the  coarse  of  the  cwrrtM 
acroat  the  wheel  to  be  contuat  m  4w«c- 
tion  and  veloatj.  the  effrcltve  ewergr 
tranttntaaMc   to   the   vaaes   and   bo<krM 

.   f    'hr     runner      r^n^,..      »-      cOAMrwrd       »• 

•k  frow  difr  • 

uvwi;       .1     xnr    mjiii    -urTT-nt.    btCaSM  tWrv 

is   counter   aclkm   of  ddkcted   cfftta 
""He  efKckncy   «  •' 
n  ttnvntef  f  uptr  . 

eatabluJacU  by    bmcauai   mm! 

■lamiera,   aad   More   parttcw- 

isriy  by  I'uocekt  in  le«l«t  the 

of  ordinary  ciunut  wWrk 

In  orarljr  all  cooatrwa,  aad 


■  HJVI        OM  *  T 


tlie   ia.4. 


iftd  luiitwi.  tbcy  bftw  bnw 


<>^^. 

^ 


J-fcV" 


lAKE  Wlicri.  n\ 


for   the   runner  of  th- 
radial    vanr«   and    sm 
in  pair*,  an  nlmwn  in  the  ■ 
the  full  depth  of  the  runn^ 
edge*    drvnid    of     forward     <•' 
mrvaturr.      The   motor   is   in    t 
•)t     wheel     intended     to     «»|> 
><:%sfully     with     the     vanes 
during   complete    rolaticn    of 


lith     fix'. 


398 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  2,  1909. 


length,  which  is  usually  about  one-fourth 
the  greatest  radius  of  the  wheel. 

It  has  been  demonstrated  that  for  the 
best  effect  from  these  wheels,  only  so 
much  bi  the  wheel  should  be  lowered 
down  into  the  water  as  to  insure  complete 
submergence  of  each  float  as  it  passes 
under  the  axis  of  rotation  of  the  wheel. 
The  vanes  dip  into  the  unconfined  cur- 
rent and  receive  motion  from  the  passing 
water,  accompanied  by  a  heading-up  of 
the  impeded  current.  Much  of  the  main 
body  of  the  current  passes  to  either  side 
of  the  wheel,  and  in  order  to  receive  any 
energy  from  that  portion  of  the  current 
which  does  present  itself  to  the  floats,  the 
floats  must  have  less  velocity  than  the 
current.  These  wheels  cannot,  therefore, 
be  made  to  utilize  more  than  a  small  pro- 
portion of  the  total  energy  of  a  current, 
and  Poncelet  found  that  they  could  de- 
velop only  40  per  cent,  of  the  energy  of 
that  portion  of  the  current  which  had 
cross-sectional  area  equal  to  the  projected 
area  of  one  vane. 

The  maximum  energy  that  can  be  im- 
parted by  a  jet  to  a  flat  vane,  normal  to 
an  unimpeded  jet  or  stream  of  water 
which  is  free  to  glide  from  the  vane,  is 
one-half  of  the  energy  of  the  jet.  But  in 
operation  of  current  wheels,  such  portion 
of  volume  of  the  jet  or  stream  acting  on 
the  vanes  as  may  be  in  excess  of  the 
quantity  which  can  follow  the  vane  in 
its  path  is  impeded  in  its  escape  by  a  sur- 
rounding body  of  water  which  offers  more 
resistance  than  if  the  excess  discharged 
itself  into  the  atmosphere. 

Where  any  considerable  amount  of 
power  is  required,  the  employment  of 
water  wheels  of  this  kind  is  usually  pro- 
hibitive on  account  of  the  extensiveness 
of  installation  necessary  for  a  given  capa- 
city, and  also  their  great  cost  as  compared 
with  installation  of  other  forms  of  prime 
mover. 

The  old  horizontal  float  wheels  possess 
the  advantage  over  the  Snee  motor  of  re- 
taining the  dead  water  between  the  floats 
undisturbed  by  discharge  from  the  surface 
of  the  vanes,  and  it  would  therefore  seem 
physically  impossible  for  the  Snee  motor 
to  realize  equal  benefit  from  a  given 
amount  of  energy  of  current  from  the  time 
of  its  induction  upon  the  runner  to  the 
time  of  its  exit  from  the  guide  case,  even 
though  the  directions  of  discharge  chanced 
in  all  instances  to  be  favorable  to  forward 
propulsion  of  the  runner. 

In  the  Snee  motor  retarding  resistance 
will  be  offered  by  sweeping  water  between 
the  vanes  around  the  side  C,  Fig.  5, 
whether  the  water  is  thus  carried  as  dead 
water  or  is  made  up  of  water  deflected 
from  vanes,  and  the  proportion  of  back- 
water effect  thus  introduced  will  be  con- 
siderably in  excess  of  the  proportion  of 
total  energy  wasted  in  back-water  effect 
by  the  old  horizontal  wheels  with  flat 
radial  floats,  as  back-water  resistance  in  the 
latter  is  only  such  as  may  be  due  to  lifting 
the   vanes   gradually   out    of  dead   water 


moving  with  nearly  the  same  direction  and 
velocity. 

The  backward  curvature  of  the  curved 
buckets  and  'ventilation"  afforded  by  the 
arrangement  of  curved  buckets,-  as  com- 
bined in  pairs  with  radial  vanes,  have  the 
effect  of  attracting  outflow  to  the  side  C. 
Though  the  direction  of  such  outflow  may 


FIG.     7.     PL.aiN  OF  CRUDE   CURRENT  WHEEL 

chance  to  be  favorable  to  the  direction  of 
rotation  of  the  runner,  there  must  be  a 
sweeping  around  of  dead  water  immedi- 
ately in  advance  of  the  vanes  on  the  side 
C  with  the  final  presentation  .of  a  solid 
body  of  water  to  all  guide  passages  at 
which  admission  occurs.  Neglecting  any 
centrifugal  tendency,  and  assuming  that 
the  dead  water  describes  a  circular  path 
with  half  the  velocity  of  current  striving 
for  entrance  from  tangential  guide  pas- 
sages, the  current  cannot  enter  the  space 
occupied  by  the  runner  without  being 
checked  in  its  velocity  by  the  presence  of 
dead  water  accompanied  by  a  heading  up 
of  current  which  will  fall  to  waste  in 
passing  to  both  sides  of  the  motor.  Any 
water  which  may  enter  and  pass  across 
the  inner  compartment  has  its  velocity 
further  reduced  by  the  presence  of  dead 


y^^ 

y\~~- 

—-^^ — ' 

1 — ^^ 

^ 

1             ^!vv 

iS 

1                ^ 

' 

FIG.     8.     RADIAL-VANE   CURRENT   WHEEL    SUB- 
MERGED  FULL   DEPTH 

water  and  is  constantly  hindered  in  trans- 
fer of  energy  to  the  vanes  or  buckets  of 
the  runner  by  interception  of  dead  water 
in  its  course  and  is  halted  in  its  velocity 
by  the  increasing  presence  of  dead  water. 
Whether  or  not  it  is  so  intercepted  by  all 
the  dead  water,  a  considerable  amount  of 
the  energy  so  developed  under  such  con- 


ditions is  absorbed  in  sweeping  dead 
water  around  the  interior  of  the  guide 
case. 

It  would  therefore  appear  that  the 
motor  would  operate  more  efficiently  if 
turned  on  its  side,  with  the  axis  of  rota- 
tion horizontal,  and  were  to  be  charged 
only  with  energy  of  current  having  a 
cross-sectional  area  equal  to  the  projected 
area  of  a  vane. 

The  tangential  arrangement  of  guide 
blades  can  be  considered  of  advantage 
only  in  better  directing  the  current  on  the 
vanes  of  the  runner.  Their  employment 
results,  if  anything,  in  a  waste  of  initial 
energy  of  current  by  changing  its  direc- 
tion. The  greatest  advantage  that  can  be 
claimed  for  them  is  that  the  gradual  re- 
duction of  the  guide  passages  results  in 
the  reduction  of  waste  of  head  incidental 
to  changing  the  direction  of  current  tan- 
gential to  the  path  described  by  the  vanes. 
However,  no  more  energy  is  recoverable 
than  the  tangential  deflection  is  responsi* 
ble  for,  and  it  is  extremely  doubtful 
whether  the  presence  of  rivet  heads  and 
other  sources  of  roughness  of  the  surface 
of  the  guide  blades  can  be  compensated  for 
in  this  manner,  either  when  the  passages 
are  considered  as  only  mouthpieces  for 
admission  of  water  to  the  runner  or  as 
gradually  enlarged  ajutages  for  final  dis- 
charge of  water  from  the  space  occupied 
by  the  runner. 

Probable  Efficiency 

Whether  or  not  the  disadvantages 
pointed  out  do  attend  induction  of  initial 
current  upon  the  blades  of  the  runner,  the 
total  energy  and  effectiveness  must  be  ma- 
terially less  than  though  the  wheel  were 
composed  only  of  straight  radial  vanes 
extending  from  the  center  to  the  periphery 
as  though  the  impingement  of  current 
were  directed  upon  one-half  of  the  wheel, 
employed  as  a  horizontal-current  wheel, 
as  shown  in  Fig.  8.  In  such  a  case,  the 
energy  of  current  chargeable  to  the  motor 
would  be  that  portion  of  the  current 
whose  sectional  area  would  be  equal  to 
the  radius  of  the  wheel,  multiplied  by  its 
length,  and  the  center  of  effective  pres- 
sure would  be  at  the  center  of  the  area 
of  the  vane.  As,  for  best  results,  the  velo- 
city of  the  center  of  the  vane  should  be 
one-half  the  velocity  of  the  current,  the 
velocity  of  the  periphery  of  the  runner 
would  have  to  be  equal  to  the  velocity  of 
the  current,  receiving  no  energy  from  the 
water.  The  total  effective  energy  would 
be  only  one-half  as  great  as  though  di- 
rected on  the  periphery  with  appropriate 
velocity  of  periphery. 

The  arrangement  of  guide  passages  of 
the  Snee  motor  can  hardly  be  construed 
as  effecting  direct  delivery  of  current  on 
more  than  one-half  the  full  radial  size  of 
the  runner  wheel,  and  an  estimate  of  capa- 
city and  efficiency  based  upon  that  of  a 
current  wheel  receiving  an  area  of  cur- 
rent equal  to  one-fourth  the  projected  area 
of  the  runner  wheel  and  acting  on  radial 


March  2,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


vanes  of  the  same  area  and  in  the  same 
manner  as  in  crude  float  wheels  would 
accord  to  this  motor  as  high  power  and 
efiiciency  as  it  is  capable  of  developing,  if 
not  higher. 

Speed  of  current,  diameter,  length  and 
weight  of  runner,  depth  of  submergence, 
velocity  of  runner  and  form  and  rough- 
ness of  guide  passages,  buckets  and  vanes 
will  all  have  material  influence  on  the 
effectiveness  of  the  wheel,  but  the  assump- 
tion of  maximum  capacity  and  efficiency  as 
given  are  based  on  all  of  these  conditions 
being  in  most   favorable  combination. 

Possible  Poweh  Devxlopment 

The  motors  proposed  for  installation  at 
Atlantic  City  have  runners  about   14  feet 
long    and    the    diameter    of    the    runners 
would  appear  from  Fig.  4  to  be  something 
nnder  5  feet.     Assuming  these  dimensions 
fot   the  runners  and  the  effective  current 
area  chargeable  to  the  motors  to  be  one 
fourth    the    projected    area    of  the    space 
:i)icd    by    fhe    runner,    then    the    sec- 
.1  area  of  initial  water  current  operat- 
•n  one  of  these  motors  would  be  one- 
rth  of  70,  or  17.5  square  feet. 
Calling   /  the  gross   energy   capable   of 
being  exerted  by  a  current  of  water  ex- 
pressed in  foot-pounds  per  lecond.  then 


f  =  AvXiVX—, 


(•) 


ir  whicli 

/  =  Cross- sectional  area  of  current  in 

square  feet, 
:  =  Velocity    of    current    in    feet    per 

second, 
lV  =  6ayi  pounds,  being  the  weight  of 

I  cubic  foot  of  water,  and 
g  —  33.3.  the  acceleration  of  gravity. 

Substituting  these  values  equation  (l)  may 
written : 


f  =  0.97  A  I'*. 


(a) 


rem  equation  (2)  it  is  to  be  observed 

the    foot-pounds    per    second    vary 

-tly   as   the   cube   of   the   velocity   of 

rent.    Substituting  for  A,  equation  (a). 

'itity    17.5  square  feet,  the  croM- 

:    area   of    effective    current    a»- 

cd  tor  one  of  the  Snce  motors    gives 

^  =  0.97  X  175  X  *•  =  16.975  ^ 

t  pounds  per  second.  The  gross  hor»e- 
ver  of  current  acting  on  the  motor 
lid  be 

"•975  <  "•    ^  0.0J0H6  X  t" 
550 

wer  in  the  water. 
■\%   which   have   hern   pointed 
oat.   it   would   appear   miix^MM--    '    ' 
«stirr    inntnr    to   rrali/r    a*    Iuk'i    I"' 

■-ncy  at  Poncelet   foun<l   (.r   .  r 
riirrriit  whcrU  which.  a*  italcd.  *»4»  1 
by  him  to  be  40  per  cent      The  inir 
ence   and    cr 
the  water  in 


uf  Ae  Snce  motor  ouuiot  but  detract  from 

the  transfer  of  its  ener.  of 

tiic  runner,  and  the  re  i»f 

Uf  ■  nat 

ot  mg 

with  the  vciucity  <  : 
and  the  speed  <  f   • 

But  fur  ori- 
son  oft:...     .t..;.. ,k  of 

gcncratmg  power,  if  the  same  percentage 
of  efficiency  is  accorded  to  these  motors 
as  ordinary  current  wheels,  viz.^  40  per 
cent.,  th<  •  horsepower  of  one  of 

these  m  .\  be  : 

0-40  X  ao3o86  X  t^  =  001234  X  ^^ 

One  of  the  principal  claims  for  these 
motors  is  that  they  have  usefulneta  in  de- 
veloping power  from  ocean  waves.  This 
must    be    on    ''  *'.4t    wave 

motion  is  aci  tal  flow, 

i.e..  current  tor. 

Should  a  wa.  ver 

the  motor  it  cuuld  only  t- 
modic  bursts  of  energy,  on 
m  effect  an<l  so  weak  as  to  be  wonhlest  oi 
storage  from  the  time  of  one  wave  lo 
another.  The  horizontal  velocity  of  cur- 
rent incident  to  wave  motion  is  practically 
nothing,  except  in  the  case  of  surf  waves, 
an<l    then    there    is    vel  *.    by   the 

wave    fallint;    down    ;i'  'ing    oat. 

it 

i.i    • 

down  at  ail  stages  of  the  tides,  then  the 
current  or  spilling-over  action  of  «ur< 
waves  might  be  availed  of.  When  it  it 
considered  that  two  surf  wave*  r^frU 
break  in  the  same  spot,  the  in 
hility   of     '  '  the   a,ii'>fi   <'* 

surf  wa  "d. 

It   is 
rents  c\ 

augmrnlrd    i  *>f 

w-avrs  in  the  srr 

few,   if   any.   ocean   currents    » 
attain  a  vl  -  *••■   •  (  t  MliI^^  i-rr 
tidal  cur 
empty   iti*" 
velocity      A 


If 

fcr 

thr 

40  per  cent  cflntcncy  would  br 


OOI2< 


a*: 
cl 

rl.' 

IK 
hr 

rh 


Tbc  rcaaitt  lo  ke  anaMiJ  by 

tbcM  Be  «    btadi    Uw    tbai    a« 

Atlantic  .ord  10  coa|cct«rc  bai 

tbc  power  U4j>Mbl«  can  tcaroaly  be  a^ 

ftsmed  aa  o^mI  lo  ikat  i4iH«Mbli  ai  ibc 

•:   cbaaad  of    Hdl    Gmc,    Mid    Uu* 

an*   ccrtanlf   woold   aot    mAf.xiA    ^ 

vtry  scrKms  inintimw 

yu  „^  M,   1  >.!..,  _^ 

pc>«  «iwr  per 

bor>e|«j«rr    it    a  >jrTr:^    ol   capnAUntSOB  OB 

a  basts  of  s  per  cent,  aadi  bOfMpOBit 
migbt  be  regarded  as  woftby  ol  aa  m- 
vestmcnt  of  fBoo  Taking  lor  graaiad  dMi 
the  cost  of  jnttallatioa  per  OHaoc 
be  only  |2SAA  Lc-.  only  baJf  a* 
quoted  for  the  inefiJlMki  ot  tkosc  at 
Atlantic  Qty,  it  can  be  tm  ibac  io  order 
to  make  a  paying  innafeiit  on  lb*  a* 
somed  basts  of  borsepowcr  vahw^  tbe 
%JSJ0OO  motor  plant  woald  baw  to  be 
capable  of  dcveloptng  jiH  boewpowr  at 
$800  per  horsepower.  In  order  to  de- 
I  horsepower,  the  aioaor  voala 
<  employed  in  a  cnrrtnt  ot  mA- 
ooit  kcioctty  to  fvlfil  tbe  cqnattoo 

oottM  X  ^  ~   •"     ^"^tff^mrv. 

I.e..  t^  most  cqnal  .  ontng  tkal  a 

velocity  of  initial  cwrrent  oi  1^6  fcet  per 
•econd  would  be   required.     Tbas 
be  in  a  ntrreat  baring  a  ipied  ol 
9  to  10  mile*  V"  ^  "' 

Even  thou.  .n    ocee 

were  to  be  louxi  inc  uiAcnkies  of  iMtal- 
UiioQ    would    onlonbiedly    increnM    tbe 


frw    itolaled 
^:rcsts  attate  tiK 


.biy    make    swcb 


.pJifthcd  snythmg  worthy  of 
f  est   in   tbe   Snec 


S^i\ 


u  Scnrke  FiammatioM 


xervkn  Cant 


ifMYhantral    and     • 


r.M  X    <*0- 


400 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  2,  1909. 


Central  Heating  Plant  for  Lebanon, 
Ind. 


By  Byron  T.  Gifford 


The  Central  Station  Engineering  Com- 
pany, of  Chicago,  111.,  has  just  completed 
a  central-station  hot-water  heating  system 
for  the  Lebanon  Heating  Company,  of 
Lebanon,    Ind.      The    system    covers    the 


an 
nana 


gnnnL   ^ 
pann    t 

nnnn 

□  DDUi 

nnDDDLj 
nnnncDL 


iiff_ 


GDcaDnngD 


iTjJL    ■ 


FIG.      2.      INITI.'\L     INSTALLATION     OF     STREET 
MAINS 

best  residence  district,  as  well  as  the  busi- 
ness district  of  the  city.  Nearly  all  the 
mains  are  located  in  alleys,  which  are 
used  wherever  practical.  In  the  initial  in- 
stallation, that  is,  the  mains  which  were 
laid  last  year,  there  are  approximately 
three  miles  of  pipe  lines,  ranging  in  size 
from  12  to  3  inches.  The  sizes  of  these 
mains    and    laterals    were    determined    bv 


FIG.     3.     CROSS-SECTION    OF    CONDUIT    FOR 
WATER    LINE 

making  a  careful  survey  of  the  territory 
to  be  served,  and  ample  capacity  has  been 
reserved  for  future  extensions  from  the 
original  installation. 

The  pipe  line  leaving  the  station  is  12 
inches  in  diameter,  and  continues  that  size 
up  to  the  first  alley  south  of  the  public 
square ;  there  the  line  branches  two  ways 
with  8-inch  pipe  which  circles  the  square 
in  the  alleys  and  ties  together  on  the  north 
side,  forming  a  belt  which  acts  as  a  cen- 


ter of  distribution  and  equalizes  the  pres- 
sure on  the  lateral  lines.  Gate  valves  are 
placed  on  all  laterals,  and  also  on  both 
sides  of  the  branches  in  the  belt  line,  in 
order  that  any  part  of  the  distributing 
system  may  be  closed  off  at  any  time  with- 
out interfering  with  the  service  on  the 
balance  of  the  system. 

The  system  is  arranged  on  the  two-pipe 
pressure-differential  plan,  and  the  pipe 
sizes  are  based  upon  a  maximum  velocity 
of  5  feet  per  second.  The  amount  of 
water  to  be  handled  is  determined  by  the 
number  of  square  feet  of  radiation  to  be 
served,  nme  poundi  per  square  foot  of 
radiation  per  lionr  being  the  maximum 
amount  used  during  the  coldest  weather. 
The  insulation  used  around  the  mains  is 
Wyckoff  patent  steam  -  pipe  covering, 
which  was  put  in  place  after  the  pipes  had 
been  tested  and  made  tight  under  80 
pounds  cold-water  pressure.  After  the 
covering  was  in  place  and  the  joints 
thoroughly  waterproofed  with  asphaltum, 
the  entire  covering  was  surrounded  with 
from  2  to  3  inches  of  concrete  of  1-2-5 
mixture.  This  was  applied  comparatively 
wet  and  was  thoroughly  tamped  so  as  to 
fill     completely     all     spaces     around     the 


FIG.      I.      STATION    OF    LEBANON    HEATING 

COMPANY 

covering.  The  concrete  envelop  acts  as  a 
physical  protection  to  the  covering,  as 
well  as  a  foundation  for  the  pipe  line,  and 
is  not  considered  an  insulator. 

The  air  line,  which  is  used  as  a  con- 
ductor of  compressed  air  for  the  operation 
of  .the  temperature-controlling  devices 
placed  on  each  job,  is  also  embedded  in 
the  concrete,  as  shown  in  Fig.  3.  The 
expansion  joint.s,  shown  in  Fig.  4,  are  of 
the  slip-joint  type  with  a  brass  sleeve  slid- 
ing into  a  cast-iron  body.  These  joints 
have  extra-large  packing  boxes  and  are  of 
the  removable-gland  pattern  to  insure 
easy  access  to  the  joint  for  the  purpose  of 
repacking. 

The  pipe  rests  en  rollers  which  travel  in 
metal  guide  plates,  placed  approximately 
6  feet  apart.  The  anchors,  used  to 
hold  the  pipe  in  place  securely  and  con- 
trol their  expansion  and  contraction,  are 
of  the  beaver-tail  type,  as  shown  in  Fig. 
5.  These  anchors  arc  placed  around  the 
pipe  at  a  coupling  in  the  line,  and  are 
embedded  there  in  an  enlargement  of  the 
concrete  envelop.  Large  roomy  double- 
lidded  manholes  are  built  around  each  set 
of  expansion  joints  and  valves,  the  extra 
lid  serving  as  a  dirt  catcher.     The  entire 


line  is  buried  at  least  3  feet  under  the 
surface  of  the  ground.  Detail  of  the  en- 
tire line,  showing  all  possible  conditions 
between  two  anchor  points,  is  shown  in 
Fig.  6.  Water  leaving  the  heating  station 
at  200  degrees  Fahrenheit  will  reach  a 
consumer  %  of  a  mile  away  from  the 
station  at  197  degrees  Fahrenheit. 

Boiler  Installation 
The  station  is  located  at  a  junction  of 


'  ?  iij. 


'Packing 


"Ctn=i 


FIG.     4.     type    of   expansion    JOINT   IN    USE 

the  Big  Four  railroad  and  the  Central 
Indiana  railroad,  the  latter  being  the 
direct  road  from  the  Indiana  coalfields. 
Coal  is  unloa'Hed  directly  in  front  of  the 
boilers  from  a  side  track  connecting  both 
of  the  above-mentioned  railroads.  The 
coal  goes  into  a  large  bin,  which  is  made 
as  nearly  dustproof  as  possible,  being 
lined  with  paper  and  built  of  matched 
lumber.  The  boilers  in  the  initial  instal- 
lation are  four  in  number,  viz.,  two  80- 
horsepower  return-tubular  boilers,  and 
two  347-horsepower  circulating  boilers. 
The  steam  boilers  are  used  to  generate 
steam  for  the  circulating  pumps  and  other 


FIG.    5.       beaver-tail    ANCHOR 

steam-driven  apparatus  in  the  station 
The  circulating  boilers,  built  by  the  Rust 
Boiler  Company,  of  Pittsburg,  Penn.,  are 
composed  of  three  banks  of  tubes  con- 
nected to  six  drums,  three  at  the  top  and 
three  at  the  bottom.  The  circulating  water 
enters  the  top  drum  at  the  rear  of  the 
boiler,  passing  down  a  bank  of  tubes  to 
the  lower  rear  drum,  then  over  to  the 
lower  middle  drum  through  a  row  of 
tubes,    rising   to   the  middle   drum   at  the 


March  2,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


top  and  passing  over  to  the  front  drum 
at  the  top,  then  down  to  the  lower  drum 
at  the  front  and  from  there  into  the  flow 
main  and  out  into  the  pipe  line.  The 
gases  in  these  boilers  pass  from  the 
lower  front  drum  to  the  upper  front, 
down  the  middle  bank  of  tubes  and  up  the 
rear   bank.      With    this   arrangement   the 


and  other  steam  ap(»arala«  in  %h^  «tstt<m 
the  condenser  being  so  •! 
at  least  a  i-inch  vac:'.:- 
tions.      After   the  n 

denser   it   goes   to   •  ^         ,rr», 

and  there  absorbs  the  amount  of  heat 
necessary  to  raise  the  temperature  to  the 
schedule  then  prevailing,  before  it  i*  agatn 


■At  thf  prrseai  time  dM  load 

^nvyuni  Aboat  Muno 
leet  con< 

was   inv..  •*• 

before  tl  bwk.     TW 

batancr,  ur  yii^Bj  M]l^•rr  irn.  is  c^aippcd 
for  cmtralMatkm  hcatim.  wiili  so  pipta 


nc.  6.  CDMptjrrc  section  or  nrt  uxi  ktwecn  akcmqk  roiirTft 


-t    gases    come    in    contact    with   the 

^t  water,  and  the  coldest  gases  with 

the   coldest   water.     All    four   boilers   are 

-" i>cd  with  Green  chain-grate  stokers. 

mical  draft   is  used  because  of  the 

•  rature  of  the  gases   under  the 

boilers,     which     would     have 

'1  a  very  high  «tack  had  natural 

>   used. 


« — 1 

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INC  WAm  riM  tMiurtii. 
rvarott'^ 


m    ikt 


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It  a 

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jM   !•• 

u.k  ol  ikt 

4m(- 

)=— • 


PUMM   AND    PiriNC 

The  return  water  enters  thr  -■ 
t  its  minmtimi  trmperaturr  p.i 


fNi   a    nnux  Wiiw  cmkboium 


.f..imi!    tVir    hrjlinn    miifo        \T|  ttir      rtmr   »•   •»    *• 


:u»t 


402 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  2,  1909. 


Flanged  Pipe  Joints    for    High    Pressure 

Types  of  Screwed  Joint,   Peened,  Shrunk   and  Riveted;  Variations  in 
the  Van  Stone  or  Lap  Joint,  and  the  Autogenous  Welding  of  Flanges 


BY 


WILLIAM 


F.         FISCHER 


One  of  the  problems  confronting  the 
engineer  in  the  installation  of  a  system  of 
high-pressure  steam  piping  for  the  modern 
power  station  is  the  selection  of  a  flanged 
pipe  joint  suitable  to  the  work,  pressure 
carried  on  the  boilers  and  temperature  of 
the  steam  if  superheated.  The  failure  of 
a  flanged  pipe  joint,  if  properly  made,  is 
seldom  attributed  to  the  steam  pressure 
alone,  but  can  nearly  always  be  traced  to 
other  causes  such  as  careless  erection,  im- 
proper support  of  the  piping,  valves,  fit- 
tings, separators,  etc.,  or  to  the  combined 
stresses  caused  by  expansion,  contraction, 
vibration  and  water  hammer. 

Screwed  Joints 

Although  the  old-fashioned  screwed 
joint  has  proved  entirely  satisfactory  in 
the  majority  of  cases,  when  used  in  con- 
nection with  saturated  steam  for  pres- 
sures up  to  160  pounds  and  in  many 
cases  even  greater  with  a  moderate  degree 
of  superheat,  it  is  generally  acknowl- 
edged, however,  that  the  screwed,  shrunk, 
shrunk  and  peened,  or  riveted  joints  are 
not  altogether  suitable  for  steam  mains 
carrying  the  high  steam  pressures  of  to- 
day, or  for  highly  superheated  steam,  due 
to  the  fact  that  these  joints,  when  strained 
to  any  extent,  have  a  tendency  to  develop 
a  leak  through  the  threads  or  between  the 
pipe  and  the  flange. 

In  many  cases  leakage  or  failure  of  a 
screwed  joint  when  under  pressure  is  due 
as  much  to  imperfect  and  careless  work- 
manship in  the  cutting  of  the  threads  and 
the  fitting  of  the  flanges,  as  to  careless 
erection  or  poor  design  of  the  piping 
system.  It  is  important  that  the  threads 
be  perfectly  cut  to  standard  sizes  with 
tools  of  the  best  quality  and  in  good  con- 
dition. The  pipe  should  be  screwed  com- 
pletely through  the  flange  to  guard  against 
leakage,  and  also  to  make  the  threads 
metal-tight  against  the  oxidizing  action  of 
leaking  steam  and  water.  All  grit,  dirt, 
iron  chips,  etc.,  should  be  thoroughly  re- 
moved from  the  pipe  and  flange  threads 
before  screwing  on  the  flange,  otherwise 
the  friction  of  the  parts  may  be  so  great 
as  to  prevent  the  joint  being  made  up 
steam-tight.  Occasionally  in  the  larger 
sizes  the  pipe  to  be  threaded  is  not  per- 
fectly round,  having  been  flattened  in 
handling  or  during  transportation,  "and 
the  threads  cut  deeper  on  one  side  than 
on  the  other.  In  a  case  of  this  kind  the 
steam  is  apt  to  leak  through  the  threads, 
no  matter  how  tight  the  flange. 


Several  methods  have  been  devised  for 
making  screwed  joints  to  guard  against 
leakage  through  the  threads.  One  method 
in  use  is  to  cut  a  calking  recess  in  the  hub 
of  the  flange,  as  shown  at  A  in  Fig.  i. 
The  pipe  is  screwed  into  the  flange  steam- 
tight,  and  the  recess  A  is  filled  with  soft 
copper  which  is  calked  in  firmly.  All 
flanges  fitted  with  this  recess  should  be 
y'2  inch  higher  on  the  hub  than  the  regu- 
lar flanges  to  give  sufficient  bearing  for 
the  threads.  The  dimensions  of  the  re- 
cess, as  given  in  the  figure,  were  furnished 
by  the  Crane  Company. 

Screwed   and    Peened   Joints 
Another  method  is  to  peen  or  roll  the 
end  of  the  pipe  into  a  peening  recess  at 
the  face  of  the  flange,  after  making  the 


m^^ 


not  be  easily  threaded,  the  flanges  ar 
riveted,  shrunk,  shrunk  and  peene( 
riveted  and  peened,  or  both  shrunk  an 
riveted  on  and  then  peened,  all  accordin 
to  the  judgment  of  the  engineer.  Thi 
also  applies  to  smaller  pipe. 

Shrunk  Joints — In  making  the  shrun 
joint  the  flange  is  accurately  bored  out  t 
a  diameter  slightly  less  than  the  finishe 
outside  diameter  of  the  pipe.  Whe 
heated  to  the  proper  temperature,  th 
flange  expands  and  is  forced  over  the  en 
of  the  pipe.  In  cooling,  the  flange  coi 
tracts  and  hugs  the  pipe  all  around  i 
outer  circumference  with  tremendoi 
force.  This,  however,  does  not  alwa^ 
insure  a  tight  joint,  and  in  most  cases  tl 
outside  of  the  pipe  is  turned  true  befoi 
shrinking  on  the  flange. 


■ — y,T  K — 

I       ! 
FIG.     I.    SCREWED    FL.\NGES 

WITH   CALKING 

RECESS 


FIG.      2.      SCREWED    AND 
PEENED  JOINT 


FIG.      3.      SHRUNK    ANi 
PEENED  JOINT 


flange  up  tight  on  the  pipe.  Such  a  joint 
is  shown  in  Fig.  2.  The  pipe  and  flange 
are  carefully  threaded,  and  the  pipe  is 
screwed  completely  through  the  flange, 
leaving  the  end  projecting  slightly  beyond 
its  face.  The  pipe  is  then  pounded  down 
around  its  inner  circumference  with  a 
peening  hammer,  or  is  sometimes  rolled 
by  special  machinery,  until  the  end  com- 
pletely fills  the  recess  A,  making  a  steam- 
tight  joint  between  the  pipe  and  the 
flange.  The  pipe  is  then  put  into  a  lathe 
and  the  joint  faced  off  true  to  insure  the 
face  of  the  flange  being  perpendicular  to 
the  axis  of  the  pipe. 

Shrunk,  Peened  and  Riveted  Joints 
As  pipe  over  18  inches  in  diameter  can- 


Shrunk    and   Peened   Joints — An   ore 
nary  joint  of  this  type  is  shown  in  Fig. 
The  flange  is  shrunk  on  the  pipe,  as  pre\ 
ously  described,  leaving  a  short  length 
pipe    projecting   beyond    the    face    of  tl 
flange.     The    end    of    the    pipe    is    th 
peened  or  rolled  into  the  recess  A   in 
manner  similar  to  the  screwed  and  peem 
joint.    If  so  desired,  the  joint  can  also 
made  with  a  calking  recess  in  the  hub 
the  flange,  as  shown  at  B.     Then  shou 
a  leak  develop  between  the  flange  and  t 
pipe,  the  recess  B  can  be  calked  with  sc 
copper,  as  described  for  Fig.  i. 

Riveted  Joints — It  is  difficult  to  ma 
a  plain  riveted  joint  that  will  remain  tig 
for  any  length  of  time  after  it  is  und 
pressure,  especially  where  cast-iron  flang 


March  2,  lyog. 

c  used.  For  work  of  thi-,  kiti'l  the 
nges  should  preferably  be  of  rolled  steel 
pressed  steel.  Riveted  joints  are  more 
ten  used  for  exhaust  steam  mains  in  the 
■ger  sizes  than  for  high-pressure  work 
It  was  a  custom  among  several  of  the 
ominent  manufacturers,  before  welding 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER 


Thcr 
in  .\v.\- 
rt 

II-  ■ 


he  above,  for  which 


both 

luny 


rif.       4.      OHIGIN.M.     VAN     STONK     JOINT 


Van  Stdni  ob  LAr  Jmmts 

Since   the   introduction  of  toperhealed 
steam   more   attention    ha«   been    devoted 
to  the  drtaiU   of  piping   <y^irfT?«       v^^^i 
have  c! 
valves 

placed  by  tho»e  made  ot  cast  »teel.  and  in 
a   like   manner   the   joints   previously   dc 
scribed  are  being  repbced    bjr    the    Van 
Stone  or  lap  joint. 

Fig.  4  shows  the  Van  Stone  joint,  of 
which  the   I  \    Van   St 

pany,  of  Bo-  wa*  ihe 

With  joints  oi  i; 
bility  of  a  leak  o< 
and  the  flange.     In  n 
Hange  is  bored  out  \>- 
pipe.     The  end  of  the  pipe  is  then  heated 
to  the  proper  temperature  and  rolled  or 
lapped   over    the    face   of   the   flange,    as 
shown  at  B,  the  ottter  edge  of  the  In;' 
portion    coming   just    inside    of    the 
holes.    The  faces  of  the  laps  at  < " 
turned  off  true  in   a   lathe  p*-"^- 
to  the  axis  of  the  pipe,  a- 
either  made  up  metal  to  i' 
ing  both  faces  of  the  lap,  thus  nukinc  a 
ground   joint,  or  both   faces   are   finished 
and  a  suitable  gasket  placed  between  • 
Any   good   metallic   or   vulcaniied   k--—: 


tmtsbcd  bp  n  conMdrraUjr  le««  than  flu 

of  the  pitir   t'kcli'      ThM  H  iSiMtral*d  i 


Fif^   $. 

br/..r. 

tJ 

e»j.  . 

th>  . 


Van  Sioar  ioiai 


TW   dra 
TW 
the  pine  it  ifcewn  a«  T. 


±1 


\ 


na  s  VAN 


km>  •  kj  i«< 


u'jlaATtl 


A. 

A  of 


li  <km«  o<  tkt 
the  ooicr  «4t« 

ron«!runifiv    thr    lotntt 


r 


r 


1 


\ 


'^   ^^  J 


/ 


i 


y 


J 


nc 


III    u>its<ilti    I    4I-     tlllMT 


ante   , 
ttle^  to 

pipe,   in.(kii>ti    Mii-it    >^    k '•  : 

fled    header        I  lir^r     tl'>/.•!^^ 

are  now  welded  on,  tnakitih;  -i 
dent  joint   in   .ill    rr»t»<*ct*     ("f 
Mure  work. 


-^ 


"1 


T 


//•u^ 


.fSrVf  •        -^ 


;iic   :i;Kkt<-fit    ' 


404 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  2,  1909. 


joint  almost  true  after  rolling,  only  a  light 
cut  over  the  face  being  necessary  in 
finishing. 

Fig.  6  shows  the  improved  recessed 
joint  made  by  W.  K.  Mitchell  &  Co.,  of 
Philadelphia,  Penn.  The  pipe  is  turned 
over  on  the  face  of  the  flange  to  within 
J4   inch  of  the  bolt  holes.     The  flange   is 


FIG.     9.     THE    WHITLOCK    JOINT 


rolling  the  joint  flat  and  square  at  the  in- 
side edge,  as  shown  at  B,  giving  a  much 
wider  bearing  for  the  gasket.  These 
joints  are  made  by  the  Crane  Company,  of 
Chicago.    ' 

Fig.  9  shows  the  Whitlock  joint,  made 
by  the  Whitlock  Coil  Pipe  Company,  of 
Hartford,  Conn.  This  might  be  called  a 
double-lap  joint.  In  making  it  the  end 
of  the  pipe  is  heated  and  doubled  back 
on  itself,  as  ii  were,  when  rolling  or  lap- 
ping the  pipe  over  the  face  of  the  flange. 
This  is  shown  by  the  dotted  line  C.  The 
pipe  is  upset  slightly  at  the  inner  edge  B 
and  outer  edge  E  to  square  up  the  face 
of  the  joint  before  finishing.  The  joint 
is  then  faced  off  true  in  a  lathe  perpen- 
dicular to  the  axis  of  the  pipe.  The  thick- 
ness A  of  the  metal  after  facing  is  equal 
to,  or  greater  than,  the  original  thickness 
of  the  pipe  T.  This  method  also  gives  a 
wide  bearing  for  the  gasket,  as  shown  at 
B,  and  the  pipe  is  strengthened  at  the 
corner  F,  where  the  lap  joins  the  main 
body  of  the  pipe. 

In  Fig.  10  is  shown  the  improved  Van 
Stone  joint  made  by  the  M.  W.  Kellogg 
.Company,  Jersey  City,  N.  J.  After  fac- 
ing, the  flange  is  bored  to  a  taper  of  1/16 
inch.  In  the  drawing,  D  represents  the 
outside  diameter  of  the  pipe,  T  the  origi- 
nal thickness  of  the  pipe,  and  W  the  night 
of  the  flange  from  the  face  to  the  end  of 
the  hub.  The  flange  fits  loosely  over  the 
end  of  the  pipe.  In  making  the  joint,  the 
pipe  is  first  reinforced  by  securely  weld- 
ing a  wedge-shaped  band  on  the  end  of 
the  pipe  all  around   the  outer  circumfer- 


mately  i^^  T  or  great<=;r.  The  thicknes 
of  the  lap  is  equal  to  or  greater  than  '. 
in  all  cases  after  finishing. 

Fig.  II  shows  a  Van  Stone  hydrauli 
joint,  also  made  by  the  Kellogg  compan; 
The  upper  flange  is  recessed  at  A,  thu 
covering  the  edge  of  the  joint  to  pr< 
vent  the  gasket  from  blowing  out  at  th 


FIG.      12.     VAN    STONE    JOINT    WITH    BEVELi 
FLANGES 


FIG.      10.     IMPROVED   VAN    STONE 
JOINT 

recessed  on  its  face  to  receive  the  lapped- 
over  portion  of  the  pipe,  but  the  lap  is 
allowed  to  extend  about  1/32  inch  above 
the  face  of  the  flange  to  give  a  good 
bearing  for  the  gasket. 

Fig.  7  i.s..  the  Cranelap  joint,  and  F"ig. 
8  an  improved  type  of  this  joint.  The 
improvement    consists    in    upsetting    and 


FIG.    II.      VAN    STONE    HYDRAULIC 
JOINT 

ence,  doubling  the  thickness  of  the  pipe 
at  the  extreme  end.  The  dotted  line  C 
shows  the  position  of  the  band  after  lap- 
ping or  rolling  the  end  of  the  pipe  over 
the  face  of  the  flange,  and  finishing  the 
joint  on  the  front  and  back.  The  thick- 
ness- of  the  pipe  at  B.  where  the  lap  joins 
the   main    body    of   the   pipe,    is   approxi- 


higher  pressures.     This  recessed  flange 
also    used    in    connection    with    the    in 
proved  Van  Stone  joint  shown  in  Fig.  i 
the  joint  being  the   same  in  all  other  r 
spects. 

Fig.  12  shows  a  Van  Stone  or  lapp( 
joint  sometimes  used  in  connection  wii 
a  flange  having  the  face  beveled  at  j. 
making  the  gasket  more  accessible  for  r 
moving  or  renewing. 

The  flanges  on  the  Van  Stone  join 
just  described  are  loose  and  swivel,  a  fa 
appreciated  by  erecting  engineers,  as 
becomes  necessary  at  times  to  change  tl 
position  of  the  flanges  to  bring  the  be 
holes  into  line  when  erecting.  The  flanj 
can  be  revolved  to  the  desired  positio 
These  flanges  may  be  of  cast  iron,  ca 
steel  or  rolled  steel.  The  rolled-ste 
flange  is  to  be  preferred  where  the  exti 
cost  is  not  prohibitive. 

Joints  of  the  Van  Stone  type  should  ! 
faced  off  on  the  back  of  the  lap,  as  we 
as  on  the  front,  in  Arder  to  insure  a  tigl 
joint,  as  scale  is  formed  on  the  back  wh( 
the  pipe  is  put  through  the  process  ( 
heating  and  flanging.  This  scale,  unle 
removed,  falls  off  in  spots,  leaving  a  r 
cess  between  the  pipe  and  the  flange  ar 
allowing  the  flange  to  settle  uneven 
against  the  turned-over  portion  of  tl 
pipe.      Although    the   joint    may   be   tigl 


March  2,  1909. 

irhen  first  erected  in  the  line,  in  time  the 
calc  is  likely  to  crumble  and  fall  away, 
illowing  the  flange  to  settle  closer  against 
he  back  of  the  lap,  which  will  lessen  the 
ension  of  the  bolts  and  cause  the  joint 

0  leak. 

Another  method  has  been  tried  for  re- 
nforcing  the  metal  at  the  face  of  the 
ap.  It  consists  in  upsetting  the  end  of 
he  pipe  before  flanging.  This  does  not 
;tve  the  increased  thickness  and  strength 
It  the  place  where  most  required ;  namely, 
it  the  corner  where  the  lap  joins  the  main 
tody  of  the  pipe.  It  is  also  known  that 
excessive  upsetting  has  a  tendency  to 
lize  and  consequently  weaken  the 
■f  the  material. 

Viii   Stone  or   lapped   joints   are   made 

1  *ires   from  4   inches   up.     For   smaller 

as    a    gencr;il     rule,    the     screwed 
•s   used,   and   where   properly   made 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

terial ;  that  it,  the  pan*  to  be  wckSed  are 
joined  together  by  the  fution  of  their  o«o 
substances  without  mechanical  aid  By 
this  method  pipes  are  welded  together, 
makmg  any  required  length  m  one  i>ict:e, 
and  even  separators  and  other  »icam  ap. 
plianccs  are  welded 
ner,  forniinp  i  hotr- 
form 

A  :>t    It    thown  ntn 

Fig  ij.  As  will  be  noted,  the  flanges  do 
not  swivel  on  the  pipe.  For  this  rcaton 
the  Van  Stone  joint  is  often  preferred  for 
erection  purposes.  Fig.  14  illustrates  a 
t>'pe  of  welded  joint  much  used  on  the 
Continent  and  ' 
The  flange  H  1 

th»-  pipe  and  beveled  o»  at  4^  .i 

shown  at   A.  to  match   the   »•  -le 

1' o«.r  ring     rl.inge     C     dirr  •'.,      .i'H)ve     it. 
With  this  arraPKement  tlir  )<■  !•       .Irs  can 


DcclrolyMs  and  bopcrimi 


Br  T«oiiA«  Savtu 


^***  •««■  a  great  deal  ia  dM 

^  abooi  tkc 

•^s  boi   I  IMV* 

AS  I  ca 

.  rrostoa  oe  cltcuolywB 


cylinders.      I    was 

long  inne  in  a  r*— 

ing   away   of   ^ 

looltcd   to   mt  Ukr    nrt'tnyut  4 

acikm  was  a  aancr  for  tmom 
■<idfnscr»  wnh 


V  Ike 


io  wtucb  Mk  water  was  asrd  satftraA  la 
cor  cylmdrr  it  woold  be  iW  back  kaad.  is 
another  it  woold  be  the  fraat  iMadL  Mad  ia 
»till  another  it  would  t»  the  val««  4tdk 
>r  some  part  •  >drf  at  or  aaar 

the  end  of  the  i..*.^  ....{.drr  teav- 
The  engmeer  always  clatmrd  that  thcrt 


was   frooi 


to  Ih'    ^ 

pumi 
ran   akjt% 
ijfoahd**" 


•o«rce  an  electric 

ihrnth  the  piMp 
«  Ml  ikt 
«*  ol  *• 

ric    wa 
-  plaat  aad 
at  rawld  be 


ktxfx,*^       Sail     tk*a 


*n     T<       i  r»r     pr*fT».r      r-i 

pomp  pans  m  slock,  isadl  tv 


m»ta- 

necet ■  •  of 

aO  source*  aiMi  trtcti  tmieat  ol  the 

•nggrtt*^ 


eaaisd  If 
water  and  that  arsd  aMBie  have 


riC.     IJ.     n^NCE   WCLilCD  TO  PIPE 


na  14    wcxj«o  aa  ursrr  knm  wmk 
Looct  TAfaatn  ••«■'    »« *^<  • 


ives  excellent  result*  Or.  if  so  desired. 
)«  flanges  can  be  welded  directly  to  the 
ipC  both  in  the  small  and  large  sixes. 


Wklocd  Fumicks 


I'C 


'I     .Many  firms  in  America  are 

...^  this  work,  to  meet  the  ever  in- 

ig    demand     for    a     meial-to-metal 

•f  the   welded   type      The  ordinary 

•I  of  welding  by  mechanical  means 

ring  or  rolling,  is  not  med 

..    in    thr    (tasf.    ilnr    fo    ihe 

m 


. k.^    .  .*.- 


tion  •! 

most    ,      - 
ISC  at  the  present  lime  if  pn 

In  a    mmiber  ol    tests    re« .,,       't,.%»,-n   «>•   ..«wt.-»«  .• 

10     <klermine     the     strength     of     wrhtrd     ,Vvk    and  «  a  frw  nHalks  the 

woaU  b«v<HBt  htoM  awd  drap  nc*      i-  •*• 

4frtt%r^  »A  (Hit  M  a  braas  ijhsiet  m  piaiv 

\tt*t  »«J  ••.  <•  brtag  argwad  Mt 

•.(new    asii  .  M  nee   am  br»M.   a^d  If 

it  IS  good  practtre  if>     •■  •  lo*  the  tarisai  ia 

.•«  thn  Di>tn|  to  mswrr  »  paap  •■»  »b»  wMar 

nc  any  daaaage      TW  hit  af 

.tir^Wf    K».!  *•♦*    »f   •»•    •    »»sf 


TTt^    fVnnsylvania 


•he  im»> 


IS  raised  to  a  lemperanif<- 
'.,  ,-'.••. ^  .t  t..  I....  .•.    .» .. 


.s*«« 


4o6 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  2,  1909. 


and  stem  that  it  would  not  leave  for  the 
water  without  taking  along  quite  a  bit  of 
the  material  with  which  it  had  been  asso- 
ciating. Here  is  a  photograph  (Fig.  i) 
of  a  valve  stem  and  also  a  valve  seat, 
which  will  give  you  some  idea  of  how  the 
wasting  of  the  material  is  going  on.     It 


greater  part  of  the  wasting  away  takes 
place  entirely  in  this  single  pump  cylinder. 
The  usual  brass  valve  guards  on  the 
upper  end  of  the  valve  stems  are  being 
replaced  with  cast-iron  ones,  in  the  hope 
that  in  the  escape  of  the  current  from  the 
pump  to  the  water  it  will  take  iron  along 


FIG.     I.    VALVE  STEM   AND   SEAT,  SHOWING   THE  DEGREE  OF  WASTING  AWA\' 


It   may   come    from   the   electric-car   lir 
half  a  mile  away,  or  it  may  come  fro^ 
some  cause  in  the  plant  itself.     Anywaj 
the  problem  is  an  interesting  one  and 
shall    watch    developments    with    interest 

At  this  same  plant  a  change  was  made 
from  horizontal  return-tubular  boilers  td 
water-tube  boilers  with  superheaters,  ani 
no  end  of  annoyance  has  followed  th« 
change.  I  know  editors  say  that  there  i} 
or  ne^  be  no  trouble  in  using  superheat© 
steam  if  the  pipe  and  fittings  used  are  0 
the  right  kind.  That  may  be  true  as  re 
gards  pipe  and  fittings,  but  we  did  no 
learn  it  soon  enough.  These  boilers  wer 
installed  under  a  guarantee  to  give  10 
degrees  superheat  to  the  steam  wh© 
working  at  their  rated  horsepower,  whicl 
guarantee  I  think  was  met,  for  I  foun( 
120  degrees  superheat  at  a  turbine  throt 
tie  120  feet  from  the  boiler. 

An  amusing  incident  occurred  one  daj 
when  I  started  to  take  the  temperatur^j 
of  the  steam.  We  were  using  a  steani 
pressure  of  115  pounds  and  as  I  took  th 
cover  from  the  thermometer  well,  I  look© 
around  for  something  to  clean  out  wha 
dirt  might  have  got  in  before  the  covei 
was  put  on.  I  saw  what  looked  like  1 
short  piece  of  wire  lying  on  a  tool  bo] 
nearby.  I  took  the  wire  and,  winding  a 
little  wad  of  waste  around  it  to  catch  tW 
dirt,  pushed  it  down  into  the  well.  Foi 
an  instant  I  thought  the  well  had  no  boP 
tom,  for  the  wire  went  right  along  downi 
When  I  pulled  it  out  I  had  only  about  2 
inches  left  of  what  proved  to  be  a  piecfl 
of  30-ampere  fuse  wire.  The  well  was 
nearly  full  of  melted  metal  in  which  th^ 


would  seem  that  the  outside  of  the  valve 
stem  is  softened  by  the  passage  of  the 
current,  and  in  its  soft  state  is  rapidly 
worn  away  by  the  friction  of  the  rub- 
ber valve.  At  one  end  there  is  quite  a 
pit,  about  J4  inch  deep,  and  the  pit  has  a 
copper-colored  appearance,  as  though  the 
zinc  had  been  eaten  out  of  the  composi- 
tion of  which  the  stem  is  made,  leaving 
the  copper  to  be  washed  away  by  the 
water;  from  the  photograph  of  the  valve 
seat  it  can  easily  be  seen  how  the  wast- 
ing process  has  attacked  both  the  face 
of  the  seat  ring  and  the  radial  ribs.  These 
radial  ribs  were  originally  about  J4  inch 
thick.  Some  of  them  are  wasted  away 
to  a  knife  edge  and  considerably  below 
the  face  of  the  valve  seat.  On  the  op- 
posite side  of  the  valve  seat  the  face  of 
the  valve  is  depressed  nearly  %  inch 
where  the  rubber  valve  has  worn  the  top 
surface  material  away. 

This  matter  is  particularly  interesting 
to  me  because  in  no  other  plant  that  I 
have  visited  have  I  seen  the  destruction 
of  pump  cylinders,  valve  decks,  valve 
stems,  valve  seats,  etc.,  carried  on  to  such 
an  extent,  and  I  am  at  a  loss  to  account 
for  it.  At  certain  portions  of  the  day 
some  sewage  which  possibly  might  contain 
nitrates  is  carried  through  the  different 
pumps  in  the  condensing  system,  but  the 


FIG.    2.    WHAT  WAS  LEFT  OF   THE    BRONZE   VALVE    SEAT 


instead  of  brass.  These  small  guards  are 
cheap  and  if  the  action  can  be  confined  to 
them  it  will  in  a  measure  solve  one  engi- 
neer's problem.  Of  course,  everyone 
knows  that  the  proper  way  to  cure  any 
ill  is  to  remove  the  cause,  but  in  this  case 
it  seems  that  the  cause  is  undiscoverable. 


thermometer  was  inserted  when  the  teni 
perature    readings    were    wanted. 

But  I  started  to  say  something  abou 
superheat.  The  boilers  and  the  new  pip< 
line  had  all  been  equipped  with'  specia 
superheat  valves  which  were  all  right  unti 
it  was  desired  to  close  them.     The  firs 


March  2,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINKRR, 


set  was  of  the  automatic  nonreturn  type. 
In  less  than  six  months  they  had  all 
failed  and  were  replaced  by  ordinary 
heavyweight  valves.  These  answered  a 
little  better,  but  one  day  there  came  a 
glib-tongued  salesman,  with  confidence  in 
his  goods  written  all  over  his  face  and 
showing  in  evcr>'  word  and  action.  He 
had  the  real  superheat-proof  valve.  It 
had  been  discovered,  he  said,  that  all  the 
trouble  with  valves  in  the  use  of  super- 
heated steam  came  from  the  difference  of 
expansion  between  the  cast-iron  body  and 
the  bronze  seats.  So  the  company  chem- 
ist had  set  himself  the  task  of  creating  a 
bronze  for  valves  and  seats  which  should 
have  the  same  coefficient  of  expansion  as 
the  cast  iron  from  which  the  body  of  the 
Talve  was  made,  and  he  had  succeeded. 

And  here  was  a  guaranteed  valve  ready 
for  use  in  which  the  bronze  parts  would 
always  retain  their  proper  relation  to  the 
iron  bmly  because  the  bronze  parts  would 
always  expand  and  contract  with  the  iron 
and  to  the  same  extent  with  the  same  tem 
perature. 

No  argument  nor  "jollying"  seemed  to 
shake  the  confidence  of  this  salesman  in 
the  quality  of  his  wares  and  a  set  of  stop 
▼alves  for  the  boilers  was  ordered. 

One  day  not  long  ago  one  of  the  valves 
was  closed,  but  the  closing  of  the  valve 
did  not  shut  the  boiler  oflF  and  other  valve*, 
were  shut  one  after  another  until  the 
faulty  valve,  the  valve  with  a  guarantee 
of  a  live  salesman  and  a  responsible  com 
pany  behind  it,  the  valve  with  a  new  cocfTi 
dent  of  expansion,  could  be  examined 
It  was  found  to  be  seatless.  Here  is  a 
photograph  (Fig.  2)  of  that  part  of  the 
seat  which  could  be  found.  The  missing 
segment  from  the  ring  must  have  evapo- 
rated in  the  intense  heat  of  the  super 
•rd  steam,  for  no  trace  of  it  has  been 
•vered.  It  will  be  noticed  from  the 
p:  >tograph  that  the  seat  must  have  be 
(■■nie  quite  loose  in  the  body  of  the  val\< 
j:  I  that  it  had  danced  about  considerabl> 
«■  iring  away  the  threads  which  at  fir*t 
'  '  I<l  it  in  position. 


Annual   Dinner  of  the  A.   I.  E.  E. 


The  annual  dinner  of  the  American  Iii 
•titutc  of  Electrical  Engineer*  will  \n 
'*"    March    1 1    at   the    Hotel   Astor,    N 

;k  City,  and  will  celebrate  the  ciMnt>ti 
■    II  of  the  first  quarter  of  a  cr'  • 
tl:r    institute's    existence.      The 
--  gathering   in 
■■tn    hv     ^hr 


Steam  and  EJectrical  Equipment  oi  *     fiifii»c«  Mch.  om  kodrr  hnrng 

the  Ambro^  Channel  Light  '""^  ■**"»•  •*« 

signal  tiK                                    ^ii 

By  Wakbcn  O.  Rogess  t>l«j«mK  the  iiiicr  la«  wlMUlr  m  tlMck  «b4 

When  an  engineer  passes  a  civil- »cr\icr  -^ 

examination    he    it    eligible    *■•'    <■  " — «  .uw^xni  i<>  mm  iksb  towr 
engineering  positions  in  the  - 

ments  of  the  fnited  States  <  c  ■.  r'nvirrr  in  rij{   j  1%  shows  a  ««ft*cal 


AmotiK  than  b  that 

<  itl  on  boa  ;  ' 

!n    or 


>«JUKM 


Mi    tdra 


Martin,  chairman;   (J.    H.  Guy.   sccrr 

^  ;  T.  Beran.  M.  Coster.  M.  M.  Davis. 

A.  Foster.    Ct.    A.    Hamilton.    R.    T. 

..../icr.   W    MrClellan.    F.    A.    Muschtn- 

heim.  H    W.    Pope.   C  W.   Price.  F.   A. 

"  r.   E.   A.   Spcrry,   A.   Spies  ant    ^ 


liK 

h4 


408 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  2,  1909. 


is  used  for  all  purposes.  The  ship  is 
equipped  with  an  evaporating  and  distilling 
plant  with  a  capacity  of  2500  gallons  per 
twenty-four  hours. 

In  Fig.  3  are  shown  the  two  generating 
sets  used  for  illuminating  the  ship 
throughout  and  also  the  masthead  signal 


engines  may  be  used  at  once  on  any  or 
all  circuits.  The  engines  operate  either 
condensing  or  noncondensing. 

The  masthead  signal  lights  consist  of 
three  250-candIepower  loo-volt  tungsten 
lamps  suspended  55  feet  above  the  water 
level.     They  can  be  seen  in  clear  weather 


i 

^£  JL     ,    ''^'SUC^B  ^^KW 

1 

W^\' 

f\ 

njm  1 

Hn^  ''-^flsffi 

■ 

L%i.M, 

>nBI 

> 

1  LzTWlE 

>B^| 

n 

^^B  iH^^H      ^^^^^^M     t^''^»    vH 

Hl  «-(-3*%^^  Jk 

U 

HP'^^^BIi^^^HHLfll^  .^hHI 

fiMiiui 

FIG.     2.     VERTICAL   COMPOUND     ENGINE     ON     LIGHTSHIP 


vice  for  flashing  the  masthead  lights,  by 
which  arrangement  the  lights  are  flashed 
for  a  certain  interval  and  then  remain 
dark  for  a  certain  interval,  the  current 
being  automatically  cut  in  and  out.  This 
timing  device  can  be  changed  so  that  the 
period  of  lighting  and  the  period  of  lamp 
extinction  can  be  varied  to  suit  any  de- 
sired timing. 

In  Fig.  4  is  shown  a  section  of  the 
upper-deck  engine  room  which  is  directly 
over  the  grating  of  the  main  engine.  In 
the  corner  shown  will  be  seen  a  boiler- 
feed  pump  and  also  a  small  vertical  en- 
gine used  when  operating  the  large  fog 
whistle.  This  whistle  obtains  steam  from 
a  4xi2-foot  wrought-iron  steam  drum 
which  is  connected  to  the  boilers  by  short 
pipe  connections.  The  steam  drum  was 
found  to  be  necessary  in  order  to  get  dry 
steam,  as  without  it  water  would  be  drawn 
from  the  boilers.  The  whistle  is  so  ar- 
ranged that  it  blows  for  a  definite  period 
and  then  is  silent  for  a  definite  period. 
The  whistle  blast  is  timed  by  means  of 
blocks,  the  blast  of  the  whistle  represent- 
ing the  time  it  requires  for  the  whistle 
lever  to  pass  over  a  block  and  drop  to  its 
lowest  position,  when  the  whistle  remains 
silent.  When  the  whistle  lever  is  agam 
lifted  by  a  block,  its  motion  opens  the  valve 
in  the  whistle  pipe  and  the  whistle  blows 
until  the  lever  reaches  the  end  of  the  block 
and  drops  to  its  lowest  position  again. 
These  blocks  are  placed  in  a  revolving 
plate  and  can  be  spaced  as  desired. 


lights.  The  generating  units  are  in  dupli- 
cate, direct-connected  to  a  marine-type 
vertical  engine  and  have  a  capacity  of  7 
kilowatts.  They  are  of  the  multipolar 
type  with  a  working  range  in  electro- 
motive force  of  from  no  volts  no  load 
to  IIS  volts  full  load.  The  armatures  are 
of  the  iron-clad,  bar-wound  ventilated 
type,  the  cores  being  built  up  of  thin, 
double  sheet-steel  laminations,  in  the  slots 
of  which  are  carried  interchangeable  coils 
separately  insulated.  The  brushes  are  de- 
signed with  a  means  of  independent  or 
collective  adjustment.  The  circuit  switches 
feed  their  respective  circuits  directly,  and 
connections  are  made  so  as  to  operate  all 
lights  from  either  generator  set,  or  both. 

The  vessel  is  wired  with  a  two-wire 
feed  system  to  which  are  connected  fifty- 
five  i6-candlepower  no-volt  incandescent 
lamps.  Each  circuit  is  placed  in  an  iron- 
pipe  conduit  with  a  socket  so  designed  as 
to  make  it  absolutely  steam-  and  water- 
tight. 

The  switchboard  shown  between  the 
two  generator  sets  controls  the  entire 
electric-lighting  system  of  the  ship.  It 
will  be  seen  that  double-throw  switches 
are  arranged  so  that  in  case  of  accident  to 
one  generating  set,  the  other  can  be  put 
into  service.  The  distributing  switches 
are  also  of  the  double-throw  type  and  so 
arranged  that  different  circuits  can  be 
carried  by  one  engine,  or  any  combination 
can  be  made  so  that  one  engine  or  both 


FIG.     3.     GENERATING    SETS    ON    LIGHTSHIP 


for  13  miles.  These  lamps,  which  are 
carried  on  the  fore  and  main  masts,  are 
also  arranged  so  that  each  can  be  switched 
onto  either  generator,  which  prevents  any 
discontinuance  of  the  light  in  case  of  acci- 
dent to  either  one  of  the  generating  units. 
In  the  rear  of  the  switchboard  is  the  de- 


On  the  other  side  of  this  upper-deck 
engine  room  is  arranged  a  small  vertical 
engine  direct-connected  to  an  air  com- 
pressor. This  air  compressor  furnishes 
air  to  the  deep-sea  bell  of  the  same  type 
which  figured  as  an  important  factor  in 
the    recent    collision    of     the     steamships 


March  2,  1909. 

"Republic"  and  "Florida,"  the  bell  being 
the  means  of  guiding  the  rescuing  steam- 
ship to  the  disabled  steamer. 

The  operation  of  this  bell  is  as  follows : 
The  bell,  connected  to  a  water-tight  casing 
at  the  top,  in  which  is  a  diaphragm,  is  sus- 
pended over  the  side  of  the  ship  and  sub- 
merged in  the  water.  To  the  top  of  the 
bell  containing  the  diaphragmare  connected 
two  rubber  pipes,  which  are  in  turn  at- 
tached to  the  receiver  of  the  air  compres- 
sor. This  bell  is  arranged  to  operate 
automatically  by  a  timing  device  striking 
number  of  the  ship,  which  in  this  case 
As  the  air  is  admitted  to  the 
iiragm  and  released  it  operates  the 
.^.i  clapper,  which,  striking  the  bell,  sends 
its  tone  through  the  water  for  about  10 
miles  in  all  directions  from  the  ship.    The 


row  ER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

Proposed    Mammoth    Twting 
Machine  for  the  Govern- 
ment 

On   Januar>    rf,    Setuior   Teller   intro- 
duced into  the  United  State*  Senate  a  bill 
for  the  purchase  of  an  Emery  totinic  ma 
chine  of  large  proporti 
to  be  de«iKTi«"'l  by   A 
of   the    r 
Watert.  . 

acceptance    m    1879       i  he    proposed    ma- 
chmc    IS    to    be    able    to   give    ati<I    «ri.>: 
loads  of  tension  up  to  ii,aoo^^ic» 
and  loads  of  .-■  ■"...'-•'•.»n  up  to  ...  .-...., 
pounds,  on  ip  to   100  feet  or 

more  in  len^t'i       1  nr   rruin  loading  plat- 


10  nm  OS  arc  pro- 
aad    ttK    of    Ike 


and  Uw  vajt  for 

,_...«   I. .  .1.-  _. 


{.an>;.>  ^:s.i  ib?ir  elecUK  ■our*  ior  iW 
'  pcratKM  t%i  ilie  prrMca. 

The  rice    ior    dK 

complete 

place,  toeetbrf  witli  Rs  aeecMoric^  M  to  U 
Si.75aa»  aad   the  bdl   provide*   lor  a* 
addmoaal  wm  of  f  ■^v'tr  lor  a  bvMiiv 
-  which  to  place  the  ic«ng  vmhL     As 
i.v^  the  maw  pux  oi  ikt  wmdtmm  is 
'.'-ui    I5J  feet  lone,  wide  tkc  tosiniM 
fcondatioa  is  abovi  aoo  ieei  bat,  jd  iaai 
!  IS  i««t  dcep^  aad  ikr  MCal  wor% 
fnwtdatsoM  ia    akoai    i«i    feet 
l^->  !th   of  tke  aadMse  10  be 

abi^  The  wesgkl  of  tke 

work,  indodwig   thM   ni 
cranes,  aiv!  the  m<-!*l  «orli  of  ikeir  wajK 
will    be  jjoo    Ml    toaic 

' ''^  U/l«  part  ol  tW 

»f  MM— Ij  jOOd 


aod  more  accurate  than  hM 
•-  machHK  of  aa 
be  hopid  that  the  Mi 


wm.  \m 


\.»;. 


':    Gas    aixJ    Ctoicnc 


^ene  Eaf<'  ^ 

I  ill!  Of  i—  l^4ri.  y,t.*ixfs>.  «■ 
•  uary  ^  Ah«  mMMe  ba«- 
•iramg  v-  -^  a 

tjoa  of  I)  •ad 

Akxif  wbkii  lo««r«  «d«rt 


4Miw  el  lb*  KW 
.claad.    O.   ikM 

..^\  X  »cfj   in?t?r»un<  paper  oi 
hrtnrwif  oai  aew  poiaia  of 
■vary. 


Oflkns    Mt    .,    Miip    within    th.it    »one,    if     lortr-   .'»-»..- J.n.t^r 

•quipped   with  a   receiving  app.iratus.  arc     her 

enabled  l<>  r^timair  the  di^t  . 

be  from  the  liKht^hip    Thrrr 

receiver*  on   ^hips  nituppnl  MiiU  ti-s 

vice,  and  m  orclrr  to  ilnrrminr  ihr  <  • 

position  of  the  warning  sikiuI.  iIx    <  ^■^ 

applied  fir»t  to  one  and  then  the  •■• 

one  giving  out  the  loudest  l»nr  ; 

Opon  which  tide  of  the  ship  tlir   •>». 

is  located.     In   this  way.  the  <<flkrr«   .tf 

cnablrd  •      ■ 

Thr     \ 


built    to   with«t4iiil   ihr   hra>ir«t 
writer   i«     indrbtrd    to     A      !• 
I   superintm<lent   of   the    ligh' 
tnent,  Tompkin«vilte.  SI.* 
pertaining  10  ihi«  liRlit«hir  '•"  •*  ** 


Hi  11  rncfii 


fi««ed  a 


of  Cm 

«d 

•-   Vm 

fWim 

^  ••»« 

■•*  IW  lUdk 

t*A 

*   9*9** 

r    ea 

•mWI 

Hoa    of 

Om 

•        «r>fTutt«< 


4   •( 


•I 
«d 


W    1 


410 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  2,  1909. 


Impurities   Causing  Scale   and  Corrosion 

General  Characteristics  of  Salts,  Gases  and  Acids  Which  Cause  Scale 
or    Corrosion    in    Boilers.       Density    of    Water    and    Its    Purification 

BY       T       C":       WILLIAM       GRETH 


The  chemist  has  shown  the  way  in 
which  to  prevent  scale  and  corrosion  in 
boilers  and  also  how  to  prevent  losses  in 
the  industrial  arts.  His  method  is  to  re- 
move from  the  water  the  objectionable 
salts  which  it  contains  by  changing  the 
soluble  salts  into  insoluble  precipitates, 
which  can  then  be  removed  by  sedimenta- 
tion and  filtration  before  the  water  is 
used.  This  process  is  rational  in  applica- 
tion, the  results  certain,  and  the  cost  in 
every  case  is  but  a  small  fraction  of  the 
advantage  gained. 

Natural  water  supplies  furnish  the 
water  converted  into  steam;  the^e  sup- 
plies are  rarely,  if  ever,  pure,  for  water 
in  its  descent  to  the  earth  as  rain  absorbs 
carbonic  acid,  some  air  and  other  im- 
purities. The  carbonic  acid  absorbed  en- 
ables it  to  dissolve  certain  salts  of  lime 
and  magnesia.  Other  substances  will  be 
dissolved,  depending  upon  the  nature  of 
the  rocks,  soil,  vegetation,  sewage  and 
industrial  waste  with  which  it  may  come 
into  contact. 

Steam  generation  is  a  continuous  pro- 
cess, fresh  feed  water  being  supplied  to 
the  boiler  as  the  water  evaporated  into 
steam  leaves  it;  this  results  in  a  continual 
concentration  in  the  boiler  of  the  impuri- 
ties introduced  with  the  feed  water,  since 
rone  but  volatile  impurities  pass  out  with 
the  steam.  The  nonvolatile  impurities 
collecting  in  the  boiler  manifest  them- 
selves as  suspended  matter,  scale,  corro- 
sion, or  by  an  increased  density  of  the 
boiler  water. 

The  suspended  matter  may  be  carried 
in  with  the  feed,  or  may  be  due  to  sub- 
stances forced  out  of  solution  as  a  re- 
sult of  either  heat  or  concentration,  or 
both.  Scale  formation  in  the  boiler  is  due 
to  the  action  of  heat,  pressure,  and  con- 
centration on  the  impurities  in  solution 
and  suspension  in  the  feed  water.  Cor- 
rosion of  the  boiler  is  due  to  the  intro- 
duction of  gases  and  acids,  or  their  for- 
mation from  some  of  the  impurities  in 
solution  in  the  feed  water,  by  the  reac- 
tions resulting  from  heat,  pressure  and 
concentration.  The  increased  density  of 
the  boiler  water  is  due  to  the  concentra- 
tion of  the  sodium  salts  and  of  the  scale- 
forming  salts,  to  the  limit  of  solubility. 
Scale  is  the  great  bugbear  which  steam 
users,  as  a  rule,  fear,  and  make  more  or 
less  of  an  effort  to  combat,  and  with  good 
reason.  Scale  is  one  of  the  crucial  items 
entering  into  boiler-operating  costs.    Scale 


•Abstract  of  paoer  read  before  the  Ameri- 
can Institute  of  Chemical  Engineers. 


can  nearly  always  be  attributed  to  the 
lime  and  magnesia  salts  in  solution  in  the 
water.  The  character  of  the  scale  de- 
pends on  the  acids  combined  with  the 
lime  and  magnesia ;  on  the  type  of  boiler 
in  use,  and  on  the  rate,  temperature  and 
pressure  at  which  the  boiler  is  operated. 
For  instance,  the  carbonates  of  lime  and 
magnesia,  when  present  alone,  usually 
form  a  soft  scale.  The  presence  of  cal- 
cium sulphate  sometimes  increases  its 
hardness.  A  calcium-sulphate  scale  is 
generally  quite  hard. 

The  following  are  a  few  of  the  items 
which,  from  an  economic  standpoint,  make 
it  almost  imperative  to  prevent  scale  for- 
mation, or  at  least  to  remove  it  periodi- 
cally : 

First.  Reduced  evaporation  due  to  the 
insulating  effect  of  the  scale  on  the  heat- 
ing surfaces  of  the  boiler. 

Second.  Cost  of  labor  required  for 
cleaning  the  boilers  and  auxiliaries. 

Third.  Cost  of  repairs  to  boilers,  neces- 
sitated by  their  being  subjected  to  over- 
heating on  account  of  the  heating  surfaces 
being  scaled. 

Fourth.  Loss  of  efficiency  and  earning 
power  of  improved  furnaces  and  stokers 
installed  to  increase  evaporation,  which 
correspondingly  increases  the  concentra- 
tion of  impurities,  thus  forming  a  greater 
deposit  of  scale,  and  hence  a  greater  re- 
duction in  the  efficiency  and  life  of  the 
boilers. 

.  Fifth.  Cost  of  tube-cleaning  machines, 
repairs  to  them,  interest  and  depreciation 
on  money  invested,  and  labor  and  power 
required  for  operating  them. 

Sixth.  Cost  of  boiler  compounds,  or 
any  substances  introduced  into  the  boiler 
to  prevent  the  adherence  of  the  scale- 
forming  matter  to   the  shells   and  tubes. 

Seventh.  Loss  due  to  the  investment 
in  spare  boilers  to  be  put  into  commis- 
sion when  it  is  necessary  to  take  boilers 
out  of  service  for  cleaning  or  repairs. 

Eighth.  Waste  of  fuel  du6  to  heat  lost 
in  cooling  a  boiler  for  cleaning  or  repairs, 
and  that  required  to  bring  it  to  steam 
again. 

Ninth.  Loss  due  to  reduced  efficiency 
of  boiler  auxiliaries,  especially  in  the  feed- 
water  heaters  and  economizers,  resulting 
in  lower  temperatures  of  feed  water,  thus 
materially  increasing  fuel  consumption. 

Salts  Which   Enter  Into  Scale 
Formation 
Calcium  Carbonate— This  salt  is  in  solu- 
tion in  natural  waters  as  the  bicarbonate. 


On  heating  the  water,  carbonic  acid  is 
driven  off  and  the  normal  carbonate  is 
precipitated  to  the  limit  of  its  solubility, 
which  in  distilled  water  is  about  two 
grains  per  U.  S.  gallon,  but  in  waters  con- 
taining other  salts  at  boiler  temperatures 
and  pressures  it  varies  from  about  one  to 
five  grains  per  U.  S.  gallon.  This 
limit  of  solubility  remains  almost  con- 
stant for  a  particular  water  under  boiler- 
operating  conditions.  The  precipitation 
of  calcium  carbonate  by  heat  is  practically 
complete  at  about  300  degrees  Fahrenheit. 
The  precipitation,  however,  starts  as  soon 
as  the  temperature  of  the  water  is  raised 
and  continues  until  the  limit  is  reached. 
The  precipitation  therefore  occurs,  not  in- 
stantaneously, but  gradually,  and  with  a 
diminution  of  precipitate  as  the  limit  of 
solubility  is  approached.  This  is  true 
of  all  scale-forming  salts  that  are  pre- 
cipitated by  heat  alone. 

The  amount  of  calcium  carbonate  left 
in  solution  in  the  water  depends  upon  the 
other  salts  in  solution.  Heat  alone  will 
effect  the  removal  of  both  the  free  and 
the  half-bound  carbonic  acid;  therefore 
calcium  carbonate  will  be  precipitated,  and 
the  precipitate  may  eventually  deposit  as 
scale.  The  formation  of  scale  from  pre- 
cipitated calcium  carbonate  depends  upon 
the  other  substances  in  solution  and  the 
conditions  under  which  the  boiler  is  oper- 
ated. For  instance,  if  the  water  contains 
sodium  carbonate,  the  chances  are  that 
the  calcium  carbonate  will  be  precipitated 
as  sludge.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
water  contains  calcium  sulphate,  the 
cementing  action  of  the  calcium  sulphate 
will  tend  to  form  a  hard  scale,  the  hard- 
ness of  which  will  depend  upon  the 
amount  of  calcium  sulphate  in  solution  in 
the  water,  and  the  rate,  temperature  and 
pressure  under  which  the  boiler  operates. 

Magnesium  Carbonate — This  substance 
has  the  same  general  characteristics  as 
calcium  carbonate,  being  held  in  solution 
as  the  bicarbonate.  The  normal  mag- 
nesium carbonate,  however,  is  more 
soluble  than  the  normal  calcium  carbonate. 
Further,  magnesium  carbonate  is  quite 
easily  dissociated  as  a  result  of  heat, 
liberating  carbonic  acid  and  precipitating 
magnesium  hydrate,  which,  at  all  tempera- 
tures, is  very  insoluble,  rarely  over  one- 
half  grain  per  U.  S.  gallon.  The  analysis 
of  boiler  blowoff  waters  will  usually  show 
both  magnesium  carbonate  and  magnesium 
hydrate  in  solution,  while  the  scale  will 
generally  show  magnesium   hydrate. 

Calcium  Sulphate — This  sulphate  is  solu- 


March  2,  1909 

ble  in  natural  waters  to  over  luo  ^5r;lltl^ 
per  U.  S.  gallon,  and  under  Injili-r  ttni- 
pcraturcs  and  pressures  to  approxiniatri;. 
25  grains  per  U.  S.  gallon,  depeii<liiiK 
upon  the  other  salts  in  solution.  It  is 
quite  generally  stated  that  calcium  sul- 
phate is  insoluble  at  300  degrees  Fahren- 
heit ;  this  may  be  the  case  in  a  solution 
;  calcium  sulphate  in  distilled  water,  but 
It  is  not  the  case  with  natural  water  sup- 
plies or  those  containing  other  salts  in 
solution.  The  analyses  of  hundreds  <>i 
samples  of  blowoflF  waters  show  calcium 
ite  present  to  the  extent  of  25  graiii>. 
■  temperatures  far  above  300  de 
grees  Fahrenheit  are  maintained.  The 
amount  held  in  solution  at  boiler  tempera- 
:rcs  depends  upon  the  amount  of  other 
substances  in  solution,  and  also  upon  the 
rate  of  concentration  of  those  impurities. 
Calcium  sulphate  generally  gives  a  hard 
scale,  deposited  in  layers.  This  is  proba- 
bly explained   as   follows : 

In  the  boiler  the  calcium  sulphate  con- 
centrates until   it   forms  a   supersaturated 
solution,    from    which,     on    agitation     of 
-ome  sort,  it  quickly  deposits  a  mass  of 
■Icnsely  interlacing  hard  crystals  of  gyp- 
um,   until  its  concentration  drops  to  the 
point   of  saturation.      Further,   c<jncentra- 
tion   in  the  b<^iler  again  forms  the  super- 
ion,   from   which  later  an- 
/ation    occurs.      These    re- 
peated  periodic   crystallizations    of   white 
vypsum.   separated  by  the  slow,  constant 
ind    regular    deposition    of    other    scale, 
would  give  the  laminated  appearance  gen 
•  rally  seen  in  a  calcium  sulphate  scale 

Magnrsium     Sulphalt     This     substance 
it  Ixiiler  temperatures  is  quite  soluble,  aii'l 
wlnn  present  alone  is  not  likely  to  form 
Niiilr.  but  in  the  presence  of  calcium  car 
l>.n.ite   will    react    with    it,   fonnuiK    m.in 
nesium   carbonate   and    calcium    sulphate 
Magnesium  sulphate  is  also  objectionable 
because    it    reacts    with    sodium   chloride, 
forming  the  very  soluble  so<Iium  sulphate 
and  magnesium  chloride     Tlii 
the    result    of   heat    and    cmi 
the   lK)iler. 

CaUium  Chloride— Thyt  lime  salt  is  ttry 
soluble  at  all  temperatures,  its  solubility 
increasing  with  the  teruperature  It  is. 
however,  a  fact  that  with  the  increase  ..f 
calcium  chloride  as  a  result  of  rotK-entra 
tion.  a  point  it  reached  where  the  calcium 
chl'>ri<le  l>rKins  to  be  di  '    '    (orming 

•  alciurn    hydrate    and    I  "C    acid 

The  calcium  hydrate  i. 
Ixjiler    temperatures         \ 
aivl    sludge    frcm   Iwnlers    i- 
.oniaining    much    caicitun 
calcium    hydrate,    and    ^ 
rosion,  no  douH  due  to  !.. 
are  usually   found.     The  ca' 
formed  a«   a   result   of  lhi»   c  >    >        •■-• 
combine  with  carbonic  acid,  eithrr   mtro 
ducrd   with   the    feed   w  at rr  Vf 

ated  a<  a  re«ult  of  heat,  an!  '«»«» 

carbonate. 

Statnenum  CMoridt-lh\%  chloride  »u« 
the  »ame  general  characteristic*  M  aJeium 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


J  tbc 

1    the 
corrosion, 
ated.      In    . 
b»jnate.  th« 

llUy      be      nCu'.aiw...      wj       m,.:      ^j:     :    ..,.      (.j» 

bonate,  forming  the  calaum  chl<  ride  mad 
liberating  carbonic  acid 

Ld/tiMiN     amd     Ma^nrtium     SUrmUi  — 

neral  char* 

TTiagTIC  llUfll 


not  much  consideration  is  gnren  to  tbctn. 
However,  there  arc  tome  water  supplies 
in  which  these  salts  arc  present  to  soch 
an  extent  as  to  cause  both  scale  and  cor- 
rosion. 

.Vi/iVo— T"  --r 

usually    d  ' 

grains  per 
not   form 

the  scale  when  r. 

Silica  under  b'    .  ;  ,      . 

act     with     sodium    chloride, 
sodium  silicate  and  liberating  i....'  ^. ..■-.. ^ 
acid. 

Oxidfs    of    Iron    and    Atmmtma — These 

are  n"f  usually  present   to  any  great   ex- 

tration  enter  into  tbc 


Organic     .W  :  substance* 

eluded  iinder   ■  i?    trrni    r''»i' 

important  part  in  the  f' 
and  in  many  cases  when  ;.. 
lorniatKn   of  a   hard    scale    v. 
'  t  be  qtiile  soft.     T': 
A  ith  some  forms  of 


in- 
an 


tcr. 

msv 


A- 

n 
n- 


}iodmm    3fl/ii— These    arr 
nearly  all  wairf    simtlies  an 
lassrd  as  tea' 


nt    to   a 
.  this  is  • 


gerous  of  the 

i,,.t    .. 


in  the 


y  ui  MMiK  ui  tiic  Itine 


of  • 

of    I  lie    asm 


iWptwdtng 


tf 


FliTtl 


4>l 


<^    IcM   OMYMm   dtsMlvad   tram   tW   air 
Tbc   oayccn  ol  tlHt  air 
tbn  tbc  ottrogc*.  aad  m  f>< 

cause   '/f  mtiitxM   and  gr 

tbc  bosirr  wbcrr  tkt  urn- 
-♦  •^'   -tst 

'he 
■'I  \n<nr  i;pr»  ol    tMHi€t    in   vbkb  tbc  Wmd 

dram  n  bm  ia  tbc  Af«ct  fMb  o4  ore* 
Utia&  Tbe  oorroMoa  by  oanm  ts  ibc 
dirrrt  fiifiiMikm  o4  tbc  *»r>-rM  irT*4rs  of 
>•  r,€%t  to 

t  A  con 

..    .ty  oi  rt»o»i^  tkc  4inoHiil 

ta  tbe  water.     Tbr  eof nxaoik 

of  a  auld  forai  aad  dors  ml 

cMmtt  mmck  ti 

bk  fr 

u  rtjx-ricTxr  I  can  ibBPil  afva^s  b* 
cbargcd  10  iba  dc«pi  of  tbc  boriw.  for  tf 
tbe  cimUaboo  ts  as  rapid  aa  ■  ikovU  b« 
«mf  aO  of  tbe  bodcr  water  ■iiih^  ikr 
'1  win  go  o€  wiib  tbt  aiaaat,  po»- 
aating  soac  corrosioa  M  or  abow 
the  water  tme.  bol   not  gOMraVir  ID  «i 

..t<firr  -•.aV!<     r  »"rr  f 

^    acid.    wWcb    is 
tbc  cxtmt  of 
OJ04  of  I  (-  pcTWM  m  an 

water  soppiie*      1!    IS    abaerbad   by 
water,  in  wbkb  it  is 
tbe  atr.     Tbc   cntioaicB  caosed   bf  car 
booic  acid  u  iiiaaBy  brfifaiod  by  pint 
and  groormg.  and  it  is  sitow*  not  oaly  m 
the    water    tpaxr   of  tbc   boiler,  bal   alM 
above  tbc  water  bae  aad  m  tlaaai  baca 

III   rLffifSur    a.  *>.  «    ii    -r.-ji:    ttrx^ri    «  S^'n 


matter,  althoogb 

„.r!.       ill 


impot 
f . 

IS  the  tao^  «*»« 
•obles  dtu 


•V.  eaated  b« 


if  ever  preaeai  ia  aatar^  hai  to 

forax-  '  oil  of  tbr  <3<v  <-  j.  mmm  of 

some  Utridn,  aad  iiactioai  be 

twcen     ujch     lubstsacci     as    aMgaraaaB 


tV».:\: 


Itbrrfttrd   ( 


A  *  naiar 


Osyifm    Near!)  aH  wi-ef  1  fo».T., 


412 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  2,  1909^ 


action  on  the  iron  of  the  boiler  is  similar 
to  that  of  hydrochloric  acid,  except  that 
it  forms  the  iron  sulphate,  which  in  turn 
is  dissociated  into  sulphuric  acid  and  the 
iron  oxide  or  hydrate.  This  iron  oxide 
usually  forms  a  part  of  the  scale,  or  is 
present  in  the  water  as  suspended  mat- 
ter, giving  to  the  water  the  characteristic 
red  color  of  iron  rust.  A  feed  water  con- 
taining only  a  small  amount  of  sulphuric 
acid  will  produce  active  corrosion,  result- 
ing in  the  destruction  of  the  boiler,  on 
account  of  the  continual  formation  of  iron 
sulphate  and  its  dissociation  into  sul- 
phuric acid  and  iron  oxide  or  hydrate. 
Many  water  supplies,  especially  those  con- 
taminated with  the  waste  from  galvanizing 
plants,  contain  iron  sulphate,  which,  un- 
der boiler  temperatures,  is  immediately 
dissociated. 

Organic  Acids — Under  this  head  are  in- 
cluded acids  such  as  tannic  and  acetic. 
They  are  usually  the  result  of  contamina- 
tion from  vegetable  or  organic  matter. 
The  corrosion  from  organic  acids  is  com- 
paratively mild,  but  occurs  to  a  greater  or 
less  extent,  and  is  very  similar  to  that 
from  the  other  acids.  However,  the 
amount  of  such  acids  present  in  most 
waters  is  usually  so  small  that  little  atten- 
tion need  be  paid  to  it. 

Density  of  Water  in  Boilers 

The  increase  in  density  of  the  water 
in  the  boiler  cannot  be  prevented,  for  the 
evaporation  of  water  into  steam  leaves 
the  sodium  salts  in  solution;  and  there  is 
no  means  by  which  these  salts  can  be  re- 
moved from  the  water,  either  before  or 
after  it  enters  the  boiler.  By  frequent 
blowing  off  the  concentration  of  the 
sodium  salts  in  the  water  in  the  boiler  can 
be  reduced,  but  not  entirely  prevented. 

That  portion  of  the  scale-forming  salts 
soluble  at  boiler  temperatures  and  pres- 
sures also  increases  the  density  of  the 
water,  but  these  salts  are  constantly  con- 
centrating and  precipitating,  so  that  after 
a  certain  point  is  reached  for  uniform 
pressure  and  rate  of  operation,  the 
analysis  of  boiler  water  will  remain  prac- 
tically the  same,  with  the  exception  of  a 
variation  in  the  calcium  sulphate  and  an 
increase  in  the  sodium  salts. 

Scale  and  corrosion  are  closely  related, 
because  of  the  number  of  salts  which,  as 
a  result  of  heat  and  concentration,  either 
decompose  or  react,  forming  salts  and 
liberating  acids;  the  precipitated  salts 
forming  scale  and  the  acids  causing  cor- 
rosion. 

The  analysis  of  the  water  is  of  un- 
doubted value  in  determining  the  sub- 
stances in  solution.  There  is,  however, 
among  chemists  a  wide  difference  of  opin- 
ion as  to  the  proper  method  of  making 
combinations  from  the  determinations  of 
the  various  substances  in  solution.  Ex- 
perience enables  a  chemist  to  formulate 
certain  rules,  and  by  careful  observation 
during  the  course  of  the  analysis,  to  note 
the    salts    present   in   a    particular    water. 


But  in  reporting  the  nature  of  the  pos- 
sible scale  formed  by  a  certain  water,  or 
the  corrosion  which  might  result  from  its 
use,  not  only  the  analysis  of  the  water 
must  be  taken  into  consideration,  but  the 
reactions  between  the  various  salts  in 
solution ;  these  reactions,  however,  do  not 
take  place  to  the  same  extent  in  all  waters. 
The  amount  of  scale-forming  impurity  in 
the  feed  water  rarely  if  ever  bears  a  direct 
relation  to  the  substances  in  solution  in 
the  water  after  concentration  in  the  boiler, 
but  it  does  to  the  amount  of  scale  or 
sludge  formed.  However,  there  is  a  close 
relation  between  the  amount  of  sodium 
salts  introduced  with  the  feed  water  and 
the  amount  found  in  the  boiler  water  after 
concentration ;  this  ratio  indicating  ap- 
proximately the  number  of  concentrations. 
It  cannot  be  definitely  foretold  that  in  a 
certain  water  containing  both  magnesium 
sulphate  and  sodium  chloride  there  will  be 
a  reaction  between  these  salts,  yet  hun- 
dreds of  blowoff  analyses  show  the  re- 
sults of  these  reactions,  and  the  boilers 
show  corrosion  resulting  from  the  liber- 
ated  hydrochloric  acid. 

It  therefore  means  a  careful  study  of  the 
water  and  the  conditions  under  which 
the  boiler  operates,  to  determine  whether 
scale  or  corrosion  would  result  from  the 
use  of  a  certain  water.  It  is  almost  im- 
possible to  predetermine  the  nature  of 
scale  from  the  analysis  of  the  water.  The 
only  safe  way  is  to  feed  water  into  the 
boilers,  free  from  those  substances  which 
scale  and  corrode.  Such  general  state- 
ments that  waters  containing  only  the  car- 
bonates of  lime  and  magnesia  will  form  a 
comparatively  soft  scale,  and  that  the 
calcium  sulphate  will  form  a  hard  scale, 
and  further,  that  it  will  increase  the  hard- 
ness of  the  carbonate  scale,  should  be 
made  with  caution,  for  there  arc  hundreds 
of  instances  where  a  hard  scale  is  formed 
from  waters  containing  only  the  carbon- 
ates of  lime  and  magnesia,  and  also  where 
the  scale  is  quite  soft  in  the  presence 
of  considerable  calcium   sulphate. 

The  nature  and  amount  of  scale  formed 
in  a  boiler  depend  largely  on  the  rate 
ajt  which  the  boiler  operates.  For  in- 
stance, in  some  boiler  plants  operating 
considerably  below  their  rating,  and  fed 
with  water  containing  as  high  as  30 
grains  of  both  carbonate  and  sulphate 
scale-forming  salts,  in  a  given  time  com- 
paratively little  scale  is  formed,  and  that 
quite  soft ;  while  in  others,  where  the 
water  contains  only  about  10  grains  of 
these  same  salts,  and  the  boilers  are 
worked  above  rating  for  the  same  time, 
a  considerable  deposit  of  hard,  tenacious 
scale  is  formed.  The  type  of  boiler  also 
has  a  bearing  on  the  hardness  of  the  scale. 
The  scale  in  the  water-tube  boiler  is 
generally  harder  from  the  same  water 
than  that  formed  in  the  return-tubular 
boiler,  or  in  the  old  two-flue  boiler. 

Softening  and  Purifying  Water 
To  soften  and  purify  a  water  properly 


means,  primarily,  a  properly  designed  ap- 
paratus in  which  are  met  the  require- 
ments for  complete  chemical  reaction. 
These  may  be  summed  up  as  follows : 

1.  An  accurate  chemical  treatment,  ac- 
complished by  the  introduction  of  the 
proper  reagents  in  exact  quantities  ta 
react  with  the  impurities  in  a  definite 
quantity  of  water. 

2.  Thorough  mixture  of  the  reagents 
with  the  water  to  insure  complete  chemi- 
cal reaction. 

3.  An  accelerated  chemical  reaction^ 
brought  about  by  a  thorough  mixture  of 
reagents  and  water,  and  by  mixing  the 
sludge  of  previous  softening  with  the  new 
finely  divided  precipitate.  Heat  will  has- 
ten the  reactions,  but  is  not  essential. 

4.  A  complete  chemical  reaction,  brought 
about  by  a  thorough  mixture  of  the  re- 
agents with  the  water  and  by  having  the 
apparatus  large  enough  to  allow  sufficient 
time  for  all  the  reactions  to  take  place, 
and  the  apparatus  so  designed  that  every 
part  of  it  is  effective. 

5.  A  rapid  sedimentation,  by  having 
the  new  finely  divided  precipitate  weighted 
by  the  sludge  of  previous  precipitation,  to 
cause  it  to  settle  more  rapidly  and  per- 
fectly. 

6.  A  perfect  clarification,  by  allowing 
time  for  sedimentation  and  final  clarifica- 
tion by  perfect  filtration. 

The  proper  softening  and  purification  of 
water  is,  in  a  sense,  a  delicate  operation, 
notwithstanding  the  large  quantity  of 
water  usually  handled.  It  is  not  merely 
a  matter  of  lime  and  soda  ash,  but  the  in- 
telligent use  of  the  proper  reagents  to 
bring  about  softening  and  purification  for 
a  particular  water  supply,  with  neither  aii 
insufficiency  of  reagents  nor  too  great  an 
excess.  A  water  containing  30  grains  per 
U.  S.  gallon  of  scale-forming  matter  is 
harder  than  the  average,  yet  in  percent- 
age this  means  only  0.05  of  i  per  cent,  of 
scale-forming  impurity.  Such  a  water 
completely  softened  should  not  contain 
more  than  three  grains  of  scale-forming 
matter,  or  in  percentage  only  0.005  of  i 
per  cent.  When  these  facts  are  consid-  _ 
ered,  some  idea  is  obtained  of  the  accuracy 
of  the  treatment  required  for  completely 
softening  water.  Of  course,  any  reduc- 
tion of  the  scale-forming  salts  is  an  ad- 
vantage, but  the  maximum  reduction  can 
usually  be  obtained  for  very  little  extra 
expense  with  a  properly  designed  appara- 
tus, when  such  apparatus  is  given  the 
necessary  attention. 

If  a  water  supply  contains  less  than  four 
grains  of  lime  and  magnesia  salts,  but 
contains  suspended  matter,  it  should  be 
clarified  by  sedimentation  and  filtration. 
If  the  water  contains  more  than  four 
grains  of  scale-forming  salts,  it  should  be 
softened  and  purified,  that  is,  the  reduc- 
tion of  the  soluble  impurities  (not  includ- 
ing the  sodium  salts,  which  cannot  be  re- 
moved) to  a  point  where  an  analysis  will 
show  quantities  about  as  follows :  Vola- 
tile and  organic  matter,  one  grain;  silica, 


March  2.  1909. 

one-half  grain ;  oxides  of  iron  and  alu- 
mina, trace ;  calcium  carbonate,  two  grains ; 
magnesium  hydrate,  one-half  grain;  but 
no  other  compounds  of  lime  and  mag- 
nesia. Suspended  matter  should  never  be 
more  than  a  trace.  Such  a  water  will  not 
form  scale  nor  cause  corrosion.  It  will  not 
form  scale  because  the  amount  of  scale- 
forming  salts  left  in  solution  is  too  small, 
even  with  concentration,  to  form  anythintc 
but  a  light  sludge.  This  sludge  can  be 
kept  at  a  minimum  by  proper  blowing  off, 
and  the  boiler,  no  matter  how  long  it  is 
in  operation,  will  on  being  opened  have 
the  appearance  of  having  been  white 
washed;  the  iron  of  the  b«JIcr  can  be  ex 
posed  anywhere  by  rubbing  with  the  fin- 
ger or  washing  out  with  a  good  jiressure. 
Corrosion  cannot  take  place  l.v  aue  the 
water  is  slightly  alkaline  and  does  not 
contain  either  corrosive  acids  or  salts 
which,  by  dissociation  or  reaction,  will 
form  corrosive  acids. 


POWER  AND  THE  EN 


r<. 


Catechism  of  Dectricity 

956.  lyhal  other  caujts  are  sometimes 
resfonsible  for  excessive  heating  of  the 
armature^ 

Heat  may  be  developed  in  some  other 
part  of  the  machine  and  be  transmitted 
to  the  armature  by  conduction.  Then. 
too.  the  motor  may  be  overlciclcd  and 
carry  too  much  current  in  the  .irnnture 

If  there  are  one  or  more  re-.  U 

on  one  ^idc  of  the  armature  wi;  1 

<liticn<)  will  be  favorable  for  the  develop- 
ment of  heat,  because  probably  there  will 
then  be  a  local  current  in  addition  to  the 
operating  current  flowing  through  the  re- 
versed coils. 

957  How  may  a  r,-:,-r.(.,/  armaturt- 
coil  causing  a  high  Ifmftraturt  m  the 
armature  be  located  and  remedied^ 

Stop  the  motor  and  pa*s  a    " 
rent  through  each  of  the  arnn; 
succession.      Connect    thr 
testing  current  with  a«lj;ii  • 
bar*   .iml    notice   the   (Iellr(  tfn 
pass    nre«lle    placed    over    tlir 
Coing   te«t.      When   the    re\cr*ed   coil   or 
coils   are    reached,   the   deflection    wilt    Kr 
opposite  to  that  obtained   f'r.TM   \\  <■      •!  •  ■ 
coils.     In  order  properly  t- 
the    connections    of     the 
mu»t  be  reversed. 

95^}  What  effect  has  dampness  m^on 
raising  Jhe  temperature  of  armature  ci/j  ' 

If  the  arm    • 
insulation   i 
lure  will  not  be  iiKre.t«<<! 

950^     flott'  should  damf-  .irm.riN' . 
be  dried  r 

Ihr    ...il,    1.  - 
time,   or    l)\ 
oven      In  rf 
should   be   cnniiniied 
r«*«i«tance  of  the  win>li^  , 
J    megohm 


4IJ 


to  ffv^airt  rcacwa 
m  ray  cmac  tkt  ttmitm  of  dw  Wit 
be  k««cMd  mWr    bjr    im^Iiiji    brw 
P«iB«]r*  m4  •  liglNtff  Ml  or  br 

the    lokd    OM    tW 


the 

am  J  :Ju  jftmmiu' 
oi  ome  foMf  ef 
other,  mkot  is  ^r*#« 
Tbc  arantBrc  sitti;  .. 


'«J» 


— ;rfy 


«67     What  u   Ike  remedy  fm  «  kom 

in- 


to 

a  new  oBv  pro^ffly  iotdc^ 

96a  Are  there  omy  other  . 
bles  Um  wmj  feo4mee  hot  home-^.. 

Yo»,  (ho  ttmtt  mmr  aoi  kooo 
rod  pby  or  ii  mmr  W  cot  or 

g«o     U'ki  :,  f4   pttf  H   fl^    »hoh 


Care  must  be  taken    in    applvinc    tbis 

■n  wiU 

be  charred  ^-r  burned. 

96a  //  the  bearmgs  become  n,y  uurM 
what  may  be  the  cause  of  the  IrombUr 

^>'  -i  cJofcly  arottDd 

•*«  ^'  new  motor  tbcy 

may  U:  oui  «i  ^  may  be  forcicn 

nutter  in  the  t 

961.  How  may  trouble  im  the  bearmgs 
be  tested  f 

By  ^fowly  tuminf  the  amutare  around 
'  see  if  it  sticks,  or  when  shot- 

'  c  power  noticing  if  fh«-  amu- 

tare comes  freely  to  rest 

9&2      lyhal  ore  the  remudtet  /or  trow 

blei'^tnf  *'earingsf 

which  tit   loo  tightly'  must  be 

^ :  or  scraped,  or  the  armatarc 

shaft  placed  in  a  lathe  and  turned  down 
■  r  tiled. 

If  the  bearimis  arc  o«t  of  line  witb  cacb 
other  ■  sboold  b*-  on  and 

thr    I.  ,^  the  hr  pbcc 

4ringa 
»•  ther 

have  done  so,  and  the  ct'  -1 

the  armature  and  pole  pic.    . 
on   all    sides,   the   necessary    ^  « 

must  be  made   for  maint.n 

iMi,'N  in  this  [w>>ilioa  If  t'; 
\idcd  with  self -alining  br.. 
their     name     implir«      arr 


no  trouble  nrrd  be  anticipated   from  thu     (>  | 

cause. 

Dirt  or  other  foreign  nutter 
in.'v  I.  ti.sir  to  reiult  from  ir 

'"  ^t  when  the  room  ;^ 

'"^'^    •  '    lirt       A  change  Iht  pwul*^  ^i  xi» 

*"""»'  ;  will  »h  hr  al«tg  the  tbtH  tt»  •««*» 


»  ibe 
•  and     '- 

TU  >ii*i\  »h.  aid  b*  (lUitU  ta  a  Ulte 
and  6M  or  tsrw4  111  f  iiiti  Coffv  mmm  be 
takc«.  bo«e««r.  aol  to  rrmmi  OHrc  mmtk 
iban  M  ibiiiatili  oocoMary.  eiw  ibe  b«r> 
ii««  wiO  not  ii  aad  ib*y  wil  bow  lo  b» 
I  in  thr  Srar4nft  h  tbr      ,.^^_,.,      t„  ^„,   ,^^  n  ,,  Mrv^Mft    lo 


^._    _..    .._ 

If  tbere  be  no  cud  play,  or  Irot 
ment  bocfc   aod  '  tbe 

sbaft  in  tbe  bra  r  iW  motor  te 

in  oprratioiv  the  ■  Pir,  tbeoMer.  or  pal- 
ley  oo  tbc  sbafl  is  apt  to  prcaa  coottaaaOy 
against  tbc  beoriogsaod  rami  Aam  lo  be- 
come bcotcd 

V  4mme  ta  emrttet 


Q9a    What 

v  irauhler 

.•au  prcMteg  a  tikli 


PCN  may  ^^aww  ^^ 


or  oal- 


'H   of  all  causes  for  obmorw 


U* 


Ike 


;klimj    I  nan    i«    ^t^w^t    m   pBHiV 

<yrr     /«  a  homimt  iMMr  ••  ^ 
•  «/  boof  ^'- 
^otaef 
«  bcartogoo  tmt 

fr 


>  ^  itr    II    '.  «     far   fi*^  COOP  bo 
.!      Ui'bMi  H  to 


M*    »*4r   ft   ••• 


414 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  2,  1909. 


Practical    Letters    from     Practical    M 

Don't  Bother  About    the    Style,    but   Write   Just    What    You  Think, 
Know  or  Want  to  Know   About  Your  Work,  and  Help  Each  Other 

WE     PAY     FOR     USEFUL     IDEAS 


en 


Ejctraneous    Supervision    of    Power 
Plants 


I  have  noticed  with  interest  the  matter 
appearing  in  recent  issues  under  the  above 
caption.  I  observe  that  the  only  difference 
between  the  article  appearing  over  the 
name  of  P.  R.  Moses,  in  the  issue  of 
January  19,  and  the  circular,  a  copy  of 
which  was  printed  two  weeks  previously, 
is  that  the  former  is  addressed  to  the 
engineers,  while  the  last  was  addressed 
to  the  employer.  In  effect  the  matter 
stands  just  this  way:  Mr.  Moses  cannot 
deny  but  that  the  circular  in  question  had 
for  its  obvious  object  the  undermining  of 
the  engineer's  position  in  the  esteem  and 
confidence  of  the  employer.  If  it  is  ac- 
cepted seriously  at  all  by  those  to  whom 


where  they  will  get  credit  for  what  they 
do,  rather  than  where  they  will  see  it  go 
to  others.  It  is  a  virtual  admission  that 
all  the  advantage  that  the  supervision 
company  can  offer  over  the  engineer  is 
that  it  can  by  concentration  of  purchases 
secure  lower  prices  on  supplies.  What  he 
can  save  in  a  plant  of  moderate  capacity 
in  this  manner  would  not  pay  for  the  time 
the  employer  would  have  to  spend  in  con- 
sultation with  the  representatives  of  the 
company. 

Besides  that,  let  us  consider  this  matter 
of  graft.  This  is  the  excuse  put  forward 
more  strongly  than  any  other  for  the 
existence  of  this  company.  This  is  a 
rather  ugly  compliment,  but  Mr.  Moses 
began  it  and  if,  like  the  boomerang,  it 
recoils  and  strikes  him,  he  can  blame  only 
himself.  He  can  also  gain  wisdom  from 
the    experience    and   hereafter    use   better 


HOW      BILL     AND     JIM      GET   THE  ENGINE  OFF   CENTER 


it  is  addressed,  it  could  possibly  have  no 
other  meaning,  and  if  given  full  credit,  it 
could  not  fail  in  that  effect. 

In  order  to  retain  the  good  will  of  the 
engineers,  Mr.  Moses  has  endeavored  to 
do  that  which  is  very  difficult  of  accom- 
plishment when  dealing  with  men  of  in- 
telligence. He  first  undertook  to  rob  the 
engineer  of  his  standing  with  the  em- 
ployer, assuming,  it  would  seem,  that  this 
was  the  surest  way  of  securing  it  for 
himself  and  his  company.  In  order  to  get 
business  for  his  concern  he  has  assailed 
the  engineer  as  the  one  most  in  his  way, 
and  since  he  has  been  caught  in  the  act, 
and  realizes  that  he  has  "stirred  up  a 
hornets'  nest,"  he  adopts  the  idea  of  pat- 
ting the  engineer  on  the  back  with  a  wink, 
and  in  effect  saying  aside,  "I  didn't 
mean  it." 

In  his  letter  he  virtually  admits  that 
neither  he  nor  his  company  can  do  any- 
thing except  through  the  engineer.  That 
is  so,  but  it  is  also  a  fact  that  the  best 
engineers  prefer  to  work  under  conditions 


judgment  in  distributing  his  circulars,  so 
that  they  may  not  fall  in  places  where  they 
may  cause  him  the  embarrassment  inci- 
dent to  an  endeavor  to  defend  the  inde- 
fensible. 

Who  would  have  the  greater  temptation 
to  graft,  the  man  who  has  the  selection 
of  supplies  for  one  concern,  or  one  who 
has  the  same  privilege  with  many?  Is 
Mr.  Moses  so  simon  pure  that  he  can 
withstand  unspotted  and  unsullied  tenfold, 
nay  a  hundredfold  greater  temptations 
than  can  we  poor  engineers?  After  all, 
we  poor  weak  ones,  who  are  incapable  of 
dealing  rightly  with  a  case  of  itching  palm, 
should  rejoice  that  one  has  come  forth 
and  announced  himself  as  willing  to  take 
from  us  this  awful  burden  of  temptation. 
If  I  were  a  grafter,  I  would  endeavor  to 
start  an  engineering  supervision  company 
of  my  own.  I  can  see  no  shorter  cut  to 
successful  and  remunerative  grafting. 
What  is  the  use  of  fooling  along  with  a 
few  paltry  quarters  and  fifty-cent  pieces 
in   one  plant,  when    we    can    get    in    the 


supervising  business  so  easily  and  have  a 
neat  income  right  along?     Pshaw! 

Grafting  arises  from  certain  causes,  op- 
portunity and  a  desire  to  get  money  fas- 
ter than  it  can  be  secured  in  a  legitimate 
way.  The  result  of  these  causes  will  de- 
pend upon  two  things,  the  character  of  the 
man  and  the  greatness  of  the  opportunity 
to  graft.  When  one  man  accuses  a  great 
nuraber  of  a  thing  like  this  he  is,  to 
say  the  least,  straining  a  point.  Can  any 
one  man  assume  that  he  is  so  much  better 
than  so  many  others,  that  he  is  beyond 
temptation?  And  yet,  business  will  come 
to  this  concern,  as  "a  sucker  is  born  every 
minute." 

The  capable  engineer  will  get  the  re- 
sults, but  without  him  the  engineering 
suvervision  company  cannot.  The  engi- 
neers who  belong  to  the  result-getting 
class  will  not  work  under  conditions 
where  they  are  obliterated.  Hence  the 
men  who  can  get  results  will  get  out  about 
as  fast  as  the  engineering  supervision 
company  gets  in. 

William    Westerfield. 

Lincoln,  Neb. 


Improving  Firemen's  Conditions 

I  read  with  iisterest  the  letter  by  W. 
Auld,  on  page  168  of  the  January  19  num- 
ber, referring  to  the  conditions  under 
which  firemen  have  to  work.  Firemen 
can  improve  their  condition  themselves  if 
they  would  go  at  it  in  the  right  manner, 
but  the  engineers  would  do  well  to  assist 
them.  No  one  can  do  more  for  the  engi- 
neer than  the  firemen,  and  for  this  reason 
the  engineer  should  not  be  afraid  to  stand 
by  his  firemen.  Large-minded  men,  and 
the  majority  of  employers  are  large 
minded,  like  to  see  character  in  their  engi- 
neers, and  instead  of  weakening  his  posi- 
tion by  standing  by  his  firemen  an  engi- 
neer will  strengthen  it. 

The  firemen  are  not  alone,  however,  in 
failing  to  have  all  that  they  should  have 
in  the  way  of  conveniences  in  the  power 
plant.  I  have  known  many  good-sized 
plants  where  the  chief  engineers  had  no 
conveniences.  Conditions  will  become  bet- 
ter only  as  the  importance  of  the  operat- 
ing force  becomes  better  known  and 
recognized  by  the  owners.  This  will  come 
through  the  efforts  of  the  men  themselves 
by  bringing  their  work  and  efforts  to  the 
attention  of  their  employers. 

William  Westerfield. 

Lincoln,  Neb. 


March  2,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


An    Improved    Boiler    Setting 


The  accompanying  sketch  shows  what, 
in  my  opinion,  would  be  an  improvement 
on  Mr.  Kirlin's  boiler  setting,  illustrated 
in  a  comparatively  recent  issue. 

Instead  of  placing  the  fire  doors  on  the 
tide  of  the  boiler,  I  would  put  them  in 
front,  where  they  belong,  and  construct  a 


.^j  .i":p«re»  and  the  regoUtor* 
•■'■■''■  >u;,;^,!;r.j  w,th  two  extn  wcicbu  ia 
order  to  keep  the  current   in   the   tenet 

circoit  at  thr    ' '  •    '        55  amperet. 

when  the  car  rnp«  vere  in 

use.     These  acru   a   (ew   »i    a 

time    (from   •  --n  •  day)   by  (be 

'u"^  ammeter 

rcKi  ,  change 

was  madr.    When  about  90  per  cent  <4  the 


(be  tccaDdary 

tnmiormtr  ((bit  inmlorwmt  k 

vith  us  Mcoodary  Ica4s  aatf 

ran  be  rnxk  to  give  amf  ci  Ibc 

voltage* :  4500^  4aaac  jpoiV 

1700,  MBO,  lAoac  iJook  te^  jao).  TW 

nectioM   w< 

vok  *■"— »i«Ti(trw  to 

«M  foaod  (o  he  too  lov  10  ghn  (be  4»- 

■ired  curreB(  o(  s-S  aav***^  m  (be  aiod- 

voh  cooDcctKMi  «M  (h«4  md  wnb  two 

ex(ra  wcigbis  cu  (be  r«g«lMer»  ii  *•§ 

foosd  to  be  jMl  rigbt    Aftar  ibM  Chaage 

wms  made  (be  aec  iHifa  baiBid  ••  wdi 

as  (hey  ercr  dM,  giviag  a  akt  dear  hgfei. 

and  (be  prauafy 

(rocB  8  (o  10 

Caa  aayoac  ciphia  wby  (be  area 
to    njruenooaly    wboi    (be 
«rat  connected  (o  gm  tbe  W^er  eakaat^ 
The  candle    power    of    tbe 
lanpa  waa  aoC  eiaMy  a€«cwd 
&  W. 

^oviagioaL  Va. 


:) 


BOItn  SETTING  PtOPOSCO  BY   UK  GAVTMAXIf 


Knock  m  die 


I   an  opermtiag  a  plaa 
i8x4l-iach    liaiple   Corttta 
Dtag  at  9^  rcvoMtioac  per 


arch,    as    shown,   to    produce    irnper 
iiustion    and    a    practically    htuMkcless 
furnace. 

heboygan.  Wis 


Series    Circuit  Supplied  from 
Constant   Potential  Circuit 


ill    iiiic    oi    yiJiir    recent    luiii.' 
puhll^>1r(l   my   wiring   <liagratn   a: 

-tion,   "Would    there    Ik    uuy    dc 
I  the  current  takrn  hy  the  regtila- 
and      step  lip     tr  ."     after 

...^ten   lamps  had  rr;  cart>on- 

filament  lamps? 

Of  the  several  who  have  made  replies 

to  the  article,  none  hat  given  the  fact«  )u«t 

taken  place  since  the  ty«tenj 

from     the    larlxni     to    the 

H.     As  till 


IMVoHIMt 


b=0 — [Tg 

EviteaM 


•'•   the    factt   at   they   have   happened 

-  the  change  was  ttarted. 

*    stated    in  the    former   letter,   there 

»».tr  to  inclnted  arct  and  H~       -'     -  •' 
metii   l.iitui\   in   »erict  and   • 


r     Willi    ' 
•Itv      Tl 
wrrr  nuile  .\%  thown  in  ihr 
«krtch.     The   ammeter   cuTir 
nary    line    to    trantformer 


4i6 

Gas  Ejigine  Valve  and  Ignition 
Timing 

My  experience  with  gas  engines  has 
led  me  to  different  conclusions  from  those 
expressed  by  Mr.  Hollman,  on  page  167 
of  the  January  19  issue.  He  says,  near 
the  close  of  his  letter:  "Thus  the  inlet 
valve  should  close  when  the  piston  has 
started  back  a  certain  distance,  and  the 
exhaust  should  open  when  the  piston  is  at  a 
certain  distance  from  the  end  of  its  stroke." 
From  the  language  used,  the  four- 
stroke-cycle  engine  is  being  considered, 
m  which  case  the  theory  advanced  seems 
to  be  erroneous.  In  order  to  grasp  the 
operating  sequence  of  this  type  of  engine 
it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  we  are 
dealing  with  a  gas  pump  -during  the  ex- 
haust and  suction  strokes,  and  as  any  ad- 
justment that  advances  or  retards  the 
time  of  opening  a  valve  must  produce  the 
same  change  in  the  time  of  closing,  is  it 
not  obvious  that  something  less  than  a 
cylinderful  of  mixture  will  be  trapped 
whenever  the  valves  are  closed  at  any 
other  time  than  when  the  crank  is  exactly 
on  the  center? 

The  fact  that  the  gas  mixture  is  burned 
in  the  cylinder  has  nothing  whatever  to 
do  with  the  question  of  proper  valve  set- 
tmg,  in  which  case  is  it  not  apparent  that 
in  order  to  get  the  best  results  from  our 
"gas  pump"  we  must  open  and  close  the 
valves  on  the  centers  just  as  all  other 
pumps  do,  or  should? 

The  efficiency  of  a  gas  engine  depends 
on  its  getting  a  cylinderful  of  a  proper 
mixture  of  gas  and  air,  compressing  it  to 
the  best  point  and  then  firing  at  the  proper 
time  relative  to  the  crank  or  piston  posi- 
1-on.  All  of  these  questions  except  the 
f\\  st  one  are  best  determined  by  local  con- 
ditions, but  the  importance  of  starting  out 
with  a  cylinderful  of  mixture  is  hardly 
open  to  discussion,  and  the  only  way  to 
secure  that  result  is  to  open  and  close  the 
valves  exactly  on  the  dead-center  points. 
If  the  gas-engine  operator  will  vary  the 
quality  of  the  mixture  and  the  compres- 
sion and  the  time  of  igniting,  it  will  be 
found  that  the  efficiency  of  the  engine 
varies  with  these  changes  and  that  a  com- 
promise or  happy  medium  may  be  arrived 
at  where,  for  instance,  the  spark  may  be 
advanced  to  a  point  giving  the  highest 
initial  pressure,  the  best  burning  condi- 
tions, etc.,  without  going  so  far  that  the 
initial  pressure  or  compression  is  high 
enough  not  only  to  overcome  the  inertia 
of  the  moving  parts,  but  actually  to  exert 
pressure  on  the  wrong  side  of  the  crank 
pin.  In  one  case  an  engine  using  natural 
gas,  compressing  to  75  pounds  absolute 
and  running  at  250  revolutions  per  min- 
ute, did  its  best  work  when  the  spark  was 
set  22  degrees  ahead  of  the  dead  point; 
that  is,  the  crank  lacked  22  degrees  of 
having  reached  the  dead  center  when  the 
charge  was  igrnited. 

E.    G.   TiLDEN. 

Downers  Grove,  111. 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGIXEER. 

Keeping  Motor  Records   on  Index 
Cards 


In  large  establishments  where  there  are 
many  motors  in  use,  some  system  of 
keeping  records  is  desirable  to  enable 
the  man  in  charge  to  ascertain  quickly 
any  desired  data  about  the  equipment 
under     his     charge.     The     best     method 

MOTOR   No. 
A  LTER  N  ATI  N  G 


March  2,  1909. 

When  a  new  motor  is  purchased  a  card 
is  filled  out  with  all  the  information  ex- 
cept the  rewinding  data,  and  placed  in  the 
index,  where  it  remains  until  the  motor  is 
brought  to  the  shop  for  repairs.  The  card 
is  then  taken  from  the  index  file  and  the 
necessary  winding  data  entered  on  it,  an 
account  of  the  repairs  being  also  entered, 
but  on  the  back,  and  the  card  returned  to 
the  file. 


387 
CURRENT 


I 


M>^^^V^ 


xaldiotfJiu 


!£. 


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H^o 


4-40 


c>o 


AMPS.  PER  P 


b.    J 


ERIAL   NO     y    O     Olg    O 


P.AM.          C^LU<t/Yv, 
POLES J3J 


STATOH  SLOTS 


IZ 


ROTOR   SLOTS 


f7 


VJO     OF  COILS 


IS. 


h± 


SIZE  OF  WIRE 


1± 


TURNS  PER  LAYER 


LAYERS  PEI 


I  COIL  ^ 


HAND    olo     R     d'O    L. 


COILS   PER  GROUP 


^'Ju,  ■<¥ 


IW 


3EARJNGS 


ii£. 


ROTATION    eJl^;.^.  WY 
DN    PULLEY   END^lJLr 


JaaoQ 


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CanVB>8llL   A><yC 


CONTROLLE 


"  TlgntL- 


starterCv^X  tmxnauaA 


3k1\,a\(!.^« 


^^SLS         30 


JN      FUSES 


io. 


H     P     LIGHT  /.    4- 


ADEp       (O.     3 


P      LOAD ED        y^ » 

ATE  'Vxy/os 


LOCATION  Cnmjuu>j 


FIG.     I.     FRONT   SIDE  OF   A   MOTOR-DATA    INDEX    CARD 


available,  within  the  writer's  knowledge, 
is  the  card  index.  The  accompanying  en- 
gravings are  reproductions  oi  the  two 
sides  of  a  card  taken  from  the  file  of  the 
plant  in  the  writer's  charge.  In  the  sys- 
tem used  here,  alternating-current  motors 
are  numbered  below  1000  and  direct-cur- 
rent   motors    above    1000;    the   cards    for 


Where  temporary  repairs  are  necessary 
they  are  noted  on  the  back  of  the  card, 
and  the  card  is  taken  from  its  regular 
place  in  the  index  file  and  placed  back 
of  an  index  card  marked  "Hospital,"  so 
that  the  temporary  nature  of  the  repairs 
will  be  kept  in  mind  and  permanent  re- 
pairs made  as  soon  as  possible. 


nAmyiiikAw. 


-£UUl 


Jl 


^k^oWtV  GijL.  JUrwti    fiAodhJU 


JAN  13 1909 


JUrwEL  fiAKc 


FIG.     2.    REAR  SIDE  OF  A    MOTOR-DATA  INDEX  CARD 


alternating-current  motors  are  salmon- 
colored  and  the  others  light  blue.  A 
group  of  numbers  is  reserved  for  each 
size  of  motor  (for  instance,  200  to  250 
for  3-horsepower  motors)  and  a  guide 
card  bearing  this  size  on  an  extended  tab 
is  inserted  between  the  groups  of  cards 
to  facilitate  the  location  of  any  card  de- 
sired. 


This  card  system  has  proved  a  great 
convenience  to  the  writer;  it  makes  a 
complete  record  of  every  motor  in  the 
plant  instantly  available.  This  letter  is 
written  with  the  hope  that  the  system 
may  prove  of  value  to  others  similarly 
situated. 

R.  H.  Fenkhausen. 

San  Francisco,  Cal. 


March  2,  1909. 


What  Caused  the  Valve  to  Break  > 


Following  is  an  account  of  an  accident 
that  has  twice  happened  since  installing  a 
drip-return  pump  and  new  feed  line.  The 
first  accident  was  the  cracking  of  a  flange 
at  the  end  of  the  feed  line  and  the  break- 
ing of  the  body  of  a  6-inch  valve.  The 
second  time  a  joint  blew  out  at  a  flanged 
ell  and  the  bonnet  of  the  stop  valve 
cracked. 

The    discharge     from    the    drip    pump 

enters   the   feed   line  at   about   its  center. 

The   feed  line  is  of  6-inch  pipe,   150  feet 

'■'".'  and  feeds  water  to  twenty  318-horse- 

r    water-tube   boilers.      Four   duplex 

:•>,   ID  and  6  by   12-inch,   take   water 

two  open  heaters  at  a  temperature  of 

•  Krees  Fahrenheit.    This  feed  line  is 

''•<!   with  a  4-inch   release  valve,   set 

:nds.     It  is  well  braced  and  has 

ion  bend  in  it. 

1  he  drip  pump  takes  its  water  from  six 

^•"•'^ators,    large   and   small,   situated  on 

Main  steam  lines  leading  to  the  en- 

The  steam  pressure  is  115  pounds. 

he  pump  is  located  25  feet  brl.)W  the 

ine.     At  the  time  when  the  accidents 

i»*'!    there    were    twelve    Ixulcrs    in 

and  the  head   fireman   reported 

/  as  usual.     All  fittings  an*!  pipe 

are  extra-heavy. 

Frank  4.  AtDuto. 
M  Aberdeen,  C.  B. 


Homemade  Condenser 

The  accompanying  sketch  represents  a 
condenser  such  as  may  help  Mr.  Casper 
out.     The   return   pipes   are   fitted   to  the 


r^ 


n 


I    I 


MR.   COKDOM  S    HOMKMAOt  aiNOKNI 

header,  with  a  connection  for  the  exhaasi 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

merged  in  a  tank,  the  water  niiiiiii«  in 
and  out  all  the  time,  so  as  to  furnish  cool 
water  fcr  the  condenser. 

Thomas  Goaaoa. 
Chemawa,  Ore. 


Connecting  Steam  Boilers 


Referrs  i.   .     •• 

man  and 

number.  I  aouIU  wy  ih  a  Unit  Jc-        - 
ver)-     faulty    method    of    connect r.;      :;. 
steam  boilers,  which  is  more  or  Icsa  in 
vogue. 

It  seems  to  be  the  idea  of  tame  engi- 
neers that  the  valves  must  be  placed  as 
close  as  possible  to  the  boiler  This  prac- 
tice is  wrong,  as  it  leaves  more  or  leas 


j> -^-  ~ 


i>o^ 


c--;^ 


\ 


M>ouMl  trctjtnmcoa  pi^am^  Htfm  *;  c. 
Fif.  I,  herew«li.  m  tf  ^eth  ttq^  ««|«««  »mi 
noBrctara  val*-  >ko^d  pAaar 

tne   ffwretsm  ..gd  tW   Slav 

etilirr  A  or  b.  tm  m  m 

in  rHt  ..a^  iW 

oonreturi; -  ^^   ^    ;„  *4  «{  f^ 

F«.  a,  iKrewidi.  aad  tW  map  raH«  ai  A. 


kr*d- 


na  a 
Retarding  the  manrr 

r:  \_    it    it    r. .  r    a    r-  •  •'.    •-  ' 


;  lrUl7  art  oat  H  oar  n^vt 
•  nij       1  r.it   letacas  the  n 

ing  stcan  ooio  a  mma  » 
side  the  boiler  for 
A  focd.  r^bM*  t« 
bcad^ 

hcadr  t 

sicaas  10  rvn  itoe  bedrr^laad 

the   tinttrim   i  i  'K^    Virm^irt 


Los    Al»fCl<«.    LaI 


Cwlinw   4   Pfoov   Biake  WW! 


■■  ika  BMclMfMeal  wwMas^' 
ta»  iciiool  1^-'  '«di  *U.^ 

enffinr.  otrd  !■  k»  hrtk* 


•     r   a  loi«  MM   I   kad  t 
itoo  of  tbt  brake  oa  tl" 


na  I 


pipe  in  which  there  ts  no  cite 


be  «i'jiit  in  the  header 

une  -  >•   ?-  itff »  tin  J 

A 
raise 
both   wa% 


UXilnl 

oaaMy 


ir«t»r« 

.  xktnf 

■  m 


II 


f 


pom  oa 


atafi   ««'4 


It  may   !  '   '.,     i 

return   i' ;  ^>' 

,    depending  on    the    tire    "i 

rr...iir^.i  y\^f  condenser    i< 


•    F.I' 


4i8 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  2,  1909. 


of  the  wheel,  as  shgwn  at  A  in  the  sketch. 
Water  is  kept  in  the  trough  thus  formed, 
and  when  the  wheel  is  revolved  all  parts 
of  the  inside  face  of  the  wheel  are  bathed, 
thus  keeping  the  temperature  from  get- 
ting too  high  for  some  time.  At  B  is 
shown  the  brake  as  it  is  used  on  the 
pulley  wheel  of  an  engine. 

E.  S.  Rodney. 
Baton  Rouge,  La. 


Determination  of  the  Calorific 

Value    of    Low-grade 

Fuel 


In  reading  F.  H.  Neely's  very  interest- 
ing and  valuable  article  in  a  recent  num- 
ber of  Power,  I  was  reminded  of  a  modi- 
fication (if  it  may  be  called  such)  of  the 
well-known  Dulong  formula  for  calculat- 
ing the  heat  value  of  a  coal,  adapting  it  to 
lignite  and  peat.  The  Dulong  formula 
given  by  the  American  Society  of  Me- 
chanical Engineers  in  its  "Rules  for  Con- 
ducting Boiler  Trials"  is  as  follows : 

14.600  C  -f-  62,000  I  H —  I  +  4000  6", 

in  which  C,  H,  O  and  5"  are  the  percent- 
ages of  carbon,  hydrogen,  oxygen  and  sul- 
phur in  the  coal,  by  the  true  analysis.  The 
number  14,600  represents  the  number  of 
B.t.u.  in  one  pound  of  carbon  ;  62,000  that 
for  hydrogen  and  4000  for  sulphur.     The 

ratio  —^  takes    into    account    the    oxygen 

which  would  combine  with  the  hydrogen 
to  form  moisture  and  is,  therefore,  sub- 
tracted from  the  total  hydrogen. 

For  those  unfamiliar  with  this  formula, 
the  following  analysis  will  clearly  show 
its  use :  Carbon,  7479  per  cent. ;  hydro- 
gen, 4.98  per  cent. ;  oxygen,  6.42  per  cent. ; 
nitrogen,  1.20  per  cent. ;  sulphur,  3.24  per 
cent.;  moisture,  1.55  per  cent.;  ash,  7.82 
per  cent. 

Substituting,   we  get : 

14,600  X  0.7479  +  62.000 

(           _         0.0642 
j  0.0498 ^ 

+  4000  X  0.0324  =  13,650  B.t.u. 

A  calorimeter  test  showed  13,480  B.t.u. 
for  this  coal. 

To  apply  the  Dulong  formula  to  lignite 
or  peat,  instead  of  taking  the  true  analysis, 
use  the  analysis  corrected  for  moisture, 
and  to  this  result  add  the  heat  carried 
away  by  the  moisture  in  the  fuel. 

As  an  illustration,  take  the  North 
Dakota  lignite  given  in  a  bulletin  of  the 
United  States  Geological  S>irvey:  Hydro- 
gen, 5.22  per  cent. ;  carbon,  52.66  per  cent. ; 
nitrogen,  0.71  per  cent.;  oxygen,  27.15  per 
cent. ;  sulphur,  2.02  per  cent. ;  ash,  12.24 
per  cent.  The  moisture  equals  15.42  per 
cent. 


Substituting  in  the  Dulong  formula,  the 
following  is  obtained  : 

14,600  X  0.5266  -j-  62,000 


Surface  Condensation  for  Steam 
Turbines 


0.0522 


0.2715 


-j-  4000  X  0.0071  =  8862.9  B.t.u., 

the  heat  carried  away  by  the  moisture. 

Assuming  the  lignite  to  be  at  62  degrees 
Fahrenheit  when  fired  and  the  gases  to 
be  at  420  degrees  Fahrenheit  on  entering 
the  breeching,  we  have  150  B.t.u.  to  head 
one  pound  of  water  from  62  to  212  degrees 
Fahrenheit ;  966  B.t.u.  to  evaporate  one 
pound  of  water  from  212  degrees  Fahren- 
heit to  steam  at  212  degrees  Fahrenheit; 
210  B.t.u.  to  raise  the  steam  to  420  de- 
grees Fahrenheit;  and  1324  B.t.u.  total 
heat  carried  ^way  by  one  pound  of  water. 

1324  B.t.u.  X  0.1542  =  204  B.t.u. 


1600 


1400 


S     1200 


?e    1000 


I  note  with  pleasure  that  you  have  pub- 
lished an  abstract  of  Professor  Josse'a 
paper  on  surface  condensers,  referred  to' 
by  Mr.  Mueller  in  his  criticism  of  my 
article  on  the  same  subject.  Professor 
Josse's  paper  is  of  great  value,  supple- 
menting as  it  does  the  work  of  Weighton 
and  Morison.  The  curves  given  in  Fig.  2, 
page  234  of  the  February  2  number,  are 
particularly  interesting  and  T  have  plot- 
ted them  on  the  set  of  curves  you  repro- 
duced before.  The  curves  representing 
the  value  of  U  when  "baffle  strips"  were 
used  in  the  tubes  are  not  applicable  to 
ordinary  condenser  conditions,  as  the  in- 
crease of  head  and  power  for  the  circu- 
lating pumps  must  have  been  quite 
marked.     The  other  curves  are  even  bet- 


200 


yi 

/ 

5 

^.9,..— -— ^ 

^ 

10 

,  A 
/,  J 

^ 

^ 

• 

2 

/  /{  y^'^^ y 

<^  ^ 

,^13 

;^^^^5 

tr==fi5 

S 

• 

'^T'ZI^ ' — ^^^ 

r^ 

T-  JoEse  ■  Toil  of  CondtDser.                             10  -    ^  ^  ., 
2  -  Joase  -  Top  of  Condenaer  (  with  Baffles).   U  -  Hauge 

VVj  V.l'2'J  +  V„ 

^      ^^^.^ 

3  -  Riohter  • 

4  -  Hepburn 
0  -  JoBBe. 

6 • Hepburn 
T  -  Ser. 
8  -  WeiBhton 
<J  -  JoBse. 

Corr.  Copper   Tubes  (  Horiz )      12  -    U  -  1 
-  Corr.  Copper   Tubes  (  Uoriz)     la  -  Nicol 

VV3  -5/..i2:i  +  V„ 
Horizontal  Tubes. 

.  Plain  Cojipc 
-  I'laiu  Tubes 

Tubes  (  Uoriz).  la  .  Btanto 
10  -  Allen 
17  -  Joule. 
IS  ■  Niool 

n  Water  Flowi 
Horizontal  T 

Vertical  Tub 

s  Up- 

be. 

800 


600 /- 


3  4  5  6 

Water  Velocity  -  Feet  per  Second 
HEAT  TR.\NSFERENCE  THROUGH   TUBES 


Adding  the  two  values  gives 

8862.9  -|-  204  =  9066.9  B.t.u. 
per  pound  of  lignite.     The   fuel   actually 
gave  in  the  calorimeter  9061   B.t.u. 

The  assumption  as  to  fuel  and  breech- 
ing temperatures  is  very  close  to  average 


I 


ter  than  Weighton's  and  more  nearl; 
agree  with  the  theoretical  formula, 
although  with  a  slightly  dififerent  con' 
stant.  It  is  not  strange  that  Josse  shouU 
have  fallen  into  the  error  of  consider' 
ing  that   U  varied  with   the  square   rod 


practice  and  can  vary  several  degrees  and     of    the    velocity    of     the     cooling     water 


not  make  an  appreciable  difference  in  the 
results. 

1  discovered  this  relation  while  prepar- 
ing a  course  of  lectures  on  "Fuel  Tech- 
nology,"   which    was   given   at     the    Uni- 


when  it  is  understood  that  he  used  the 
metric  system  and  all  his  velocities  are 
near  one  meter  per  second;  the  differences 
between  the  square  root  and  the  cube  root 
at  that  point  would  not  probably  be  larger 


versity   of   Wisconsin    in    1906,   and   have  than  the  error  in  the  value  of   V .    With 

applied  this  modification  to  a  large  num-  the  English  system,  however,  the  numeri- 

ber    of    lignites    and     peats     and     find     it  cal  values  of  the  velocity  are  higher  and 

always  gives   very  close   results.     I   have  the    differences    much    more   marked.     It 

never  applied  it  to  wood,  l?ut  believe   it  will  be  seen  that  the  values  given  by  Ser 

would  work  equally  well.  conform  more  nearly    to    the    cube-root 

W.  A.  Richards.  curve  than  to  the  square-root  curve. 

Chicago,  111.  It  is  also  interesting  to  learn  that  Pro- 


March  2,  1909. 

fessor  Josse   has  developed   the   formula 
for  surface 

has  Ijcen  in  use  in  this  country  for 

time,  and  found  it  better  to  repre- 

lent   actual   conditions    than    Weiss'    old 

formulas     so    often     quoted     in     foreign 

irorks.     Hermann   Wilda  in   his  "Marine 

cering"    (Hanover,     1906).    ga\c    a 

la  similar  in  form,  but  the   further 

le  simplification  was  apparently  not 

experiments  showing  the  transmis- 

■  t  heat  to  air  arc  interesting  and  of 

Josse's  air  pump  is  known  in  this 

ry    as    the    Baillcy    pump,    and    ha» 

installed  in  a  number  of  naval  ves- 

The   only    new    thing    in    it   is    the 

■nal  air  inlet  above  the  piston,  mak- 

c  pump  Mjmcwhat  similar  in  action 

new    Bo<lmer   pump   f>f  the    Allis- 

icrs  Company. 

fessor  Josse's  remarks  on  the  con 
A  principle  are  ver)-  well  taken  and 
<-nt  American  practice  fairly  well. 
'  that  we  find  it  usually  advisable  to 
le  contraflow  principle.  The  fact 
-very  condenser  tube  must  neces- 
I  with  water  at  all  times 
in   is   sufficient   reason   for 

iU    dUuptiUil. 

GEOitGe  H.  Orrok. 
V   York  Citv. 


Babbitting  a   Main   Bearing 


I  mam 
I  had 


>ne  Kcasion  when  1 
kj  of  a  medium-si.- 
'■  with  seams  in  tli 
rst  it  was  thought  <  '  would 

•i»  Ik"  taken  out  and  repoured      The 
iiiv   i'lr  I   was  carried  out,  however, 
was  well  worth  the  •mall 
.  ".   ..-.ible  it  caused : 
'-re    the    seam    showed,    the    metal 
■1  to  have  run  «m«K)thly  enough,  but 
to   the   edge  of   the   box    the   outer 
.K   7/16-inch   drill   was 
siring  of  holct  down  the 
itch  a  portion  of  the-  ^•  li! 
•  il      The   holes    were    <|»iit. 
'ogcthcr    so    there    were    very    thm 
»  between.     After  melting  thr  hah 
much  ai  it  would  sianil.  a  h<>(  ir>  n 
*ed  on  the  tiring  •  '  '    ' 
the    bridges   and    - 

Whilr  this  W.1    ':■■-  \-.^    1 
wi<    po'trcd    ifi,    {•'iu:\-  .' 
•"ce 

'  0  using  the  it'  - 

o  warm   (he    mrlal.    In    put    in    a    liltir 

Miwlrred  rosin      These  «r-lIll^    Haws  and 

so    annoying     in  i,     are 

-'    hy   not    h.«»i'iK     n>    «haf» 

ver  is  usefl  to  cast  ar'-nTfl 
I  hen.   loo,    it    1 
crel  the  m^tJil  in  thr 

'    -  '  !».      .\ 

metal 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

from  leaking  while  pouring   is  conpoMd 
of   fluur   and  mixed 

«'"'  ''  •S-^"".^^  n  flay 

es 


FniitI  ifid.  Wash 


joccpH  W.  Lrmx 


Prevents    the    Governor    Droppi 


ng 


is    of    an 

IJfd   00   the 
!iss  en- 
^  ■    -^    -   ■---     ,  .  -  .    „---    _:jr.    For 

some  lime  we  had  t>ecn  troubled  with  the 
governor  dropping  to  its  lowest  position 
when  the  engine  was  carrying  full  load  or 


S  overloackd  and  (he  ftcam  was 


419 

bole  in  tbc  Mgle  iroB     A  b«arr«y  Ml  £ 
was  placed  oa  the  o^fer  cad  o<  tW  bait 

IncrcAsang    the   icMioa   of   Um 
pmreni*   the    gosrtrwof     froa 
quickly     uiMirr    vamh:*-    ucAm    t^n 

'isMB  tua-  -b  4H' 

Tbts  (^iwic    "rj-mt-t^r,  viB 
-  gorrraor's  droffing  utA 

.  ..r:iri|(  trv   ^irxm  oM  Ml  CMt  tW  gomwimoi 

bell   shoold  Weak    or    iy    o«    for    wy 

rcj».  ti 

D    U. 

Cu«  incton.  Va 


The  Seme  of  Proportion 

Mom  niTCBton  ncftc  thM  wmv  of  pv^ 
portion  which  hdpa  a  hmo  le  ha«f  hi»> 
self  from  looking  the  ass  so  mamy  of  oa 
really  are.  The  taiBr  unrenlMoa  at*  ca»- 
stanlly  coming  op  to  the  topt.  bol  Ikcrv  i» 
a  new  inventor  and  a  new  set  of  pro- 
moters, a  new  man  with  a  htf  ceoL  I 
.wouldn't  give  a  red  cent  ior  any  instis- 


ifi   iiril<-*«  J?  lrj»l  i.f>r  rrvin    in  ihr 


«  of 


1^  >.  ..^4     •  t^ 


•hf    prprr>j«cr       >' 
mnaa 


■im   hoftiti 
^••nm  «r  hM  tmle   te-har«r 

.•fti     ^frJ.^^    ind   higlM.    a^   m 
«    tllM    fMl 


Mnsi    of 


,r         jrwT     - 

TV 

■4      ^  * 


'^uod  law 


ivrrlfs    M    a    •; 
frwM    wk- 


i   UiX   •■  ■•*    fsi**' 


420 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  2,  1909. 


think  of  hiring  myself  out  to  some  hon- 
orable promoter  as  a  writer  of  prospectus 
catch  sentences.  Why  should  such  a  gift 
of  language  lie  fallow?  I  think  it  a  beau- 
tiful sentence.  As  a  rule  if  one  succumbs 
to  the  temptation  to  go  and  see  the  won- 
derful invention  at  work  there  is  much 
to  be  learned. 

This  is  a  great  city.  I  have  been  in  it 
for  twenty  years  and  before  we  had  so 
many  tubes  it  was  often  better  to  walk 
when  one  was  in  a  hurry,  better  even 
than  a  cab,  for  a  cab  always  runs  its  head 
into  a  block  and  one  is  held  ten  minutes 
for  the  block  to  melt  away.  Of  course,  if 
you  are  a  promoter  you  take  a  cab  any- 
how. Well,  as  I  was  saying,  I  have  done 
much  walking  to  save  time,  and  as  I  car- 
ried the  map  in  my  head  and  a  compass 
in  my  pocket,  I  could  usually  steer  a  direct 
course  from  point  to  point.  Needless  to 
say  I  thereby  became  acquainted  with 
strange  labyrinths.  But  for  out-of-the- 
way  concealed  curiosities  there  is  nothing 
so  weird  as  the  dens  into  which  one  pene- 
trates in  finding  the  home  of  the  inven- 
tion which  is  to  revolutionize  all  our  exist- 
ing ideas  and  wreck  so  many  prosperous 
manufacturers  who  have  but  little  longer 
to  palm  their  obsolete  productions  on  a 
too  confiding  public. 

It  reminds  me  of  when  I  was  a  child 
and  had  a  toy  consisting  of  a  house  and  a 
sort  of  turntable  with  animals  on  it.  The 
table  revolved  and  a  constant  stream  of 
animals  went  into  what  I  suppose  must 
have  been  a  "model  ark.  One  hid  from 
one's  understanding  the  fact  that  the  same 
animals  recurred  like  a  decimal ;  and  so 
now  when  childhood  No.  i  has  gone  away 
into  the  dawn  of  nothing  the  old  turn- 
table turns  again,  but  in  place  of  animals 
it  carries  rotary  engines,  and  boilers  and 
new  types  of  all  manner  of  furnaces  and 
smoke  devices,  which  are  usually  perfect 
but  for  the  one  essential  without  which 
none  can  be.  There  are  water  circulators 
and  occasionally  a  perpetual-motion  de- 
vice cleverly  cloaking  its  features  behind 
some  such  beautiful  veil  of  words  as  I 
have  outlined. 

A  story  is  told  of  an  absent-minded  but 
learned  man  who  bumped  into  a  cow  and 
raised  his  hat  in  apology.  The  true  facts 
gradually  sank  into  his  mind  and  in  a 
bit  he  ran  down  a  lady.  But  now  he  was 
fully  aware  of  ihe  enormity  of  his  previous 
folly  and  rapped  out :  "Is  that  you  again, 
you  brute?"  And  so  with  the  stream  of 
epoch-making  inventions.  You  don't  quite 
know  whether  to  raise  the  hat  to  them  or 
treat  them  as  brutes,  and  the  worst  is  that 
when  the  real  lady  invention  trips  along 
she  receives  the  welcome  of  a  brute,  and 
unless  the  idealist  inventor  is  of  tougher 
material  than  most  of  his  kind  he  usually 
gets  no  better  treatment  by  the  world 
than  the  inventor  of  the  perpetual-motion 
crankiness. 

W.  H.  Booth. 

London,  Eng. 


Leak    in    Belt   Driven    Air 
Compressor 

In  the  plant  where  I  am  employed  we 
have  a  small  belt-driven  air  compressor, 
supplying  air  at  80  pounds  pressure  to 
molding  machines.  The  capacity  of  the 
compressor  is  about  35  cubic  feet  per 
minute.  It  has  an  automatic  governing 
device  which  holds  the  pressure  at  any  pre- 
determined point  within  its  capacity. 

While  on  my  vacation  this  machine  re- 
fused to  deliver  the  quantity  of  air 
needed  and  no  amount  of  coaxing  on  the 
part  of  my  assistant,  who  was  in  charge, 


out  my  knowledge,  or  I  should  have 
known  that  it  was  the  cause  of  the  many 
hard  names  I  had  to  stand  for  from  the 
foundry  foreman.  The  moral  I  have 
learned  is,  in  case  of  failure  of  supply 
from  no  visible  cause  look  for  leaks.  Also 
look  for  the  inventive  chap  with  a  club. 
O.  M.  Dow. 
Lowell,  Mass. 


Drilling  a  Tank 


In  W.   H.   Wakeman's   article  on  page 
1085,    Volume    29,    he    describes    how   he 


would  get  it  to  do  so.  A  machinist  was 
called  in,  who  stripped  the  machine  and  on 
using  his  caliper  found  the  cylinder  to 
be  out  of  round  about  0.005  or  0.006  of 
an  inch.  This  he  claimed  was  the  cause 
of  the  trouble,  and  wanted  the  cylinder' 
bored  and  a   new  piston   fitted. 

Upon  my  return  a  few  days  later  I 
overhauled  the  machine,  but  could  find  no 
reason  for  the  failure  to  do  the  work,  as 
the  cylinder,  piston  and  rings  were  in  good 
condition.     I  concluded  that  air  was  being 


drilled  the  tank  for  his  oil  gage,  using  a 
board  cut  out  as  at  A,  Fig.  i. 

This  method  is  all  right,  but  it  is  usu- 
ally easier  to  take  two  pieces  of  2x4  or 
4x4  stock  and  fasten  them  together  by 
nailing  two  strips  or  boards  across  the 
bottoms,  as  at  B.  In  this  way  any  size 
of  cylinder  can  be  fitted  in  a  minute,  and 
a  handsaw  is  not  always  available  to 
circle  out  with. 

If  the  cylinder  or  pipe  has  flanges  on 
each   end,  the  side  pieces   should  be   cut 


wasted  somewhere  about  the  plant,  and 
looked  for  leaks  for  several  days.  At 
times  the  pressure  would  go  to  65  or  70 
pounds  and  at  others  down  to  25  pounds. 
Finally  a  search  resulted  in  locating  the 
trouble.  It  was  in  a  beautifully  arranged 
ventilating  system  using  a  sort  of  spray 
jet,  having  a  head  with  nine  i7i6-inch 
holes  and  was  supplied  by  a  ^-inch  pipe 
with  a  valve  to  regulate  the  amount  of 
draft.  This  device  was  not  used  all  the 
time,  which  accounts  for  the  fact  that  at 
times  we  could  get  our  air  pressure  about 
up  to  normal. 

The  ventilating  scheme  was  put  in  with- 


so  as  to  go  between  them.  Sometimes 
where  the  cylinder  is  long  and  the  drill- 
press  platen  small,  it  is  better  to  nail  sev- 
eral pieces  on  the  bottom. 

An  adjustable  rig  used  in  the  repair 
department  of  a  railroad  shop  is  shown 
at  C,  Fig.  2.  The  4X4-inch  side  pieces  are 
conected  by  long  bolts  D,  which  have  a 
rather  loose-fitting  "crank  nut"  F.  These 
adjustable  supports  are  not  only  handy 
for  holding  various  sizes,  but  anything 
placed  on  them  can  be  quickly  leveled  by 
working  only  one  of  the  "crank  nuts." 
Ethan  Viall. 

Decatur,  111. 


March  2,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


Edwin  Reynolds   Dies    After    a    Long    111 

Contemporary  of  Corliss  and  Superintendent  of  the  Corim  and  AlU*- 
Chalmers    Shops   Passes   Away   at    Milwaukee;   Sketch   of   \{n  Career 


ness 


Edwin  Reynolds  died  at  his  home  in 
Wilwaukec  on  Friday,  February  19,  after 
a  three-years'  illness. 


Iwin    Reynolds    was   born    March   23, 
,  at  Mansfield,  a  little  town  in  north- 


and  had  on  his  place  a  fulling  mill  run 
\>y  water  power,  but  this  had  not  been  in 
operation  within  the  boy*  recollectioo. 
Edwin  worked  on  the  farna  and  went  to 
the  district  school,  his  last  schooling 
being  in  his  sixteenth  year,  and  then  a 
change  came  in  his  life.     He  had   up  to 


' >t  if  1m  WM  OM  ol  tW  RijnoMt 
bojrs.  and  then  whether  he  «o«U  Uk«  to 
learn  ibc  nuchtiuM  trade.  It  v»»  «  mtw 
idea  to  him.  and  he  had  to  think  over  it 
for  a  little  whdc  hHora  ht  and  Itel  hn 
would,  bat  he  hHMdiMaljr  addad  dMi  it 
would  not  be  pnwiblt  to  begia  |w«  tha^, 
u  he  was  cagafcd  to  ttm  faravr  lor  its 
mooths.  The  fartocr  «aa  a 
man.  On  beiog  ooMaltod  ht  hM 
'Would  jroo   lite  to   kara  the   if 

Edr 

"I  think  I  wool^-  Mid  Mr. 

"WcO.  a  trade  is  a 

to  fan  back  00.    IH  teO  yoa  what  n  da. 

:  come  and  help  aw  for  a  anaA  m 

.   and  II!  lei  70a  off  ao«.* 

S  an'  appreoticcahtp  was  ba- 

gun  ft  P.  Kinaey.  or  Keaacjr, 

who  bad  a  general  aadMac  tka^  with  a 

specialty  of 

eral  cards,  or  cai      _ 

■re  built   during  Mr    Reynotdf* 

Nhip     A  country  shop  ai  1S47.  we 
*■■']    undentaad.    was    a 

re  was  in  the  &rtl  plan 
::-  •     '.     •  .Se 
'    --.:■'  'jthe, 

■„    ■    ■    w   call   K.  a  pamraaMiirs 
-  •-   >  I  vr  and  a  circalar  mw 
■table  aadHaa 

i     \ff     B.    „_ 

aoi  the  trade 
It,    bat    -^-    •      -to 


any 


.bk  orr. 


Mr. 


wM»    »- 


Um  iuher 


'<orv>4<ii  worhad  aa  a 
.  year  with  SaMi, 
.t  South  Whidkaat.  Ce 
machhtrry.  a«d  ihaa  ha  wai 
rymaa    to   the    Woa4nt§   ft 
'.Vori,   ai  Tf »nflM<  oaa  ol  the  lw«v 


THK  U^Tt  nWIN  BCYItaLDS 

Item  Connectirtit      He  was  dMcraded     this   time  tittle  or  iw  knowledge 


I  4t    rrokulciKc,  k    I      Hit  ijtiirf»  At 

was   Christopher   Rcyiiol.U  ami   his  <'Ui 

r's  maiden  name  had  bem   CLrista  a    t" 

'ington.     There   wa*   a   large    family.  "   ■' 
six   boys  and   six   girls,  and   F.dwin   wat 

Moxt  to  the  youngest.    His  father,  though         - 

[then  a  farmer,  had  htrn  a  cloth  dre«scr  i»ir    (<-ii.r   and 


422 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  2,  1909. 


that  line  of  work  in  the  shop  and  in  the 
erection  of  the  machines  after  they  were 
sent  out.  This  connection  continued  for 
six  or  seven  years,  or  until  about  1857, 
when  Mr.  Stedman,  of  Stedman  &  Co., 
Aurora,  Ind.,  who  had  been  a  classmate 
of  Woodruff,  came  East  looking  for  a 
superintendent,  and  Mr.  Woodruff  —  as 
some  other  employers  have  nobly  done, 
but  as  some  would  not  have  done — 
recommended  his  subordinate  as  precisely 
the  man  for  the  position,  and  so  Mr.  Rey- 
nolds went  to  Aurora  as  general  superin- 
tendent. The  silent  partner  of  Stedman 
&  Co.  was  a  resident  of  Aurora- — J.  W. 
Gaff,  a  wealthy  distiller  and  steamboat 
owner — and,  with  Grey  and  Gordon,  the 
owner  also  of  the  Niles  Tool  Works. 
Stedman  &  Co.  had  a  general  machine- 
shop  business,  building  also  plain  slide- 
valve  engines,  sawmills,  farm  machinery 
and  pumps  for  Southern  plantations.  The 
designing  of  large  pumps  for  drainage 
and  irrigation  was  a  promising  field  which 
Mr.  Rejmolds  proceeded  to  develop. 
Patents  of  the  old  Andrews  pump  and 
others  were  offered  the  firm,  but  none 
showed  or  promised  satisfactory  effici- 
ency, so  Mr.  Reynolds  decided  to  design 
a  pump,  and  in  connection  with  this 
scheme  he  made  some  crude  experiments, 
the  results  of  which  have  been  of  value 
to  him  in  connection  with  his  largest  and 
most  daring  work  of  later  years. 

The  breaking  out  of  the  war  between 
the  States  interfered  so  seriously  with  the 
business  at  Aurora  that  Mr.  Reynolds 
found  himself  out  of  employment  and 
came  East,  making  Boston,  New  York 
and  other  places  his  quarters  for  the 
next  few  years.  These  were  no  more 
years  of  idleness  than  the  others  had 
been.  He  took  charge  of  a  shop  in  Bos- 
ton for  George  T.  McLaughlin,  and  be- 
sides that  he  was  interested  in  the  de- 
velopment of  a  number  of  special  ma- 
chines, either  as  designer  or  consulting 
engineer. 

In  1867,  Mr.  Reynolds,  who  had  become 
known  as  a  manager  combining  technical 
Lnowledge  with  executive  ability  —  then, 
as  now,  a  rarity — was  offered  a  commer- 
cial and  engineering  position  with  the 
Corliss  Steam  Engine  Company,  whose 
shops  at  Providence,  R.  I.,  were  the 
largest  and  most  important  in  the  coun- 
try, if  not  in  the  world,  for  the  manufac- 
ture of  steam  engines.  The  Corliss  plan 
of  operations  had  from  the  first  and 
always  called  for  salesmen  who  distinctly 
were  competent  engineers.  After  fqur 
and  a  half  years  in  this  position,  Mr.  Rey- 
nolds was  made  general  superintendent  of 
the  works,  which  position  he  held  until 
1877.  He  had  not  held  the  position  so 
long  without  suggestions  and  invitations 
to  change.  His  old  friend,  Mr.  Gaff,  and 
also  Mr.  Gordon,  of  the  Niles  Tool 
Works,  tried  hard  to  get  him  to  take  hold 
of  that  institution,  offering  an  interest  in 
the  works  on  terms  exceedingly  favorable. 
Having  declined  this  offer,  the  acceptance 


of  a  connection  with  the  Reliance  Works 
of  E.  P.  Allis  &  Co.,  Milwaukee,  Wis., 
may  have  a  rather  unaccountable  aspect. 
The  position  held  by  Mr.  Reynolds  at 
Providence  was  then  perhaps  the  highest 
in  the  engineering  business  in  the  United 
States.  He  went  to  the  remotest  corner 
of  the  manufacturing  field,  and  connected 
himself  with  a  firm  practically  unknown 
and  in  embarrassed  circumstances.  The 
firm  had  failed  the  year  before;  they  had 
a  ramshackle  shop ;  the  foundry,  which 
had  been  fitted  up  for  pipework,  was  of  a 
piece  with  the  rest ;  and,  all  told,  only 
about  150  men  were  employed.  It  is 
scarcely  probable  that  Mr.  Reynolds  fore- 
saw what  the  business  would  so  soon 
grow  to,  but  he  must  have  seen  in  it  more 
or  less  clearly  the  opportunity  of  his  life. 
Mr.  Corliss  had  grown  rich  and  dicta- 
torial, seemed  to  believe  that  his  word 
was  law 'in  steam  engineering,  and  took 
the  position,  more  01;  less  pronounced, 
that  any  man  who  wanted  the  best  engine 
must  buy  it  of  Corliss  and  must  pay  the 
Corliss  price  for  it  without  question.  In 
the  meantime,  Mr.  Reynolds,  as  events 
would  seem  to  indicate,  had  ideas  of  his 
own  about  Corliss  engines  and  other 
things.  He  evidently  believed  that  the 
original  Corliss  engines  could  be  greatly 
simplified  and  improved,  that  he  knew  the 
way,  and  that  the  improvements,  com- 
bined with  correct  business  methods,  must 
result  in  the  building  up  of  a  great  busi- 
ness. There  may  have  been  more  than  a 
little  of  sympathetic  benevolence  in  it, 
also.  Here  was  a  concern  in  a  bad  way. 
Neither  Mr.  Allis  nor  his  sons  had  engi- 
neering knowledge  or"  ability.  He  could 
help  them,  assume  an  independent  posi- 
tion for  himself  and  find  full  employment 
for  his  teeming  engineering  ideas,  and  so 
he  became  the  engineering  brains  of  the 
Allis  works. 

It  has  been  erroneously  stated,  on  many 
occasions,  that  the  attention  of  Mr.  Allis 
was  particularly  attracted  to  Edwin  Rey- 
nolds by  the  "Reynolds-Corliss  compound 
engine"  exhibited  at  the  Centennial  in 
1876.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  this 
unit  consisted  of  two  simple  Corliss  en- 
gines compounded,  and  they  were  of  the 
regular  type  built  at  the  Providence 
shops.  Further  than  for  his  being  gen- 
eral superintendent  of  the  works  at  the 
time,  there  is  no  reason  particularly  to 
identify  Mr.  Reynolds'  name  with  that  of 
the  Centennial  engine. 

After  entering  upon  his  duties  for  Mr. 
Allis,  the  first  and  most  essential  thin.<; 
was  to  place  the  business  on  a  paying 
basis.  This  was  done  almost  at  once 
through  the  development  of  the  "Rey- 
nolds-Corliss" engine,  which  has  become  a 
synonym  for  simplicity,  economy  and  re- 
liability, collectively  expressed.  The  first 
engine  was  a  I4x36-inch  girder-frame 
Corliss  stationary  engine.  It  was  sketched 
on  the  back  of  an  envelop  during  a  ride 
from  Milwaukee  to  Chicago,  after  his  first 
visit  to  the  scene  of  what  were  to  be  his 


life's  greatest  successes.  This  design  was  " 
not  his  best  on  general  principles,  but  the 
best  to  build  with  the  shop  equipment  at 
the  time.  This,  it  will  be  understood,  was 
not  only  miserable,  but  there  were  no 
means  at  hand  for  the  purchase  of  better. 
The  first  tool  put  into  the  shop  after  Mr.  i' 
Reynolds  took  charge  was  an  8-foot  bor-  |' 
ing  mill,  furnished  by  Mr.  Reynolds'  old 
friend,  Mr.  Gaff  of  the  Niles  Tool  Works. 
yiv.  Reynolds  had  to  and  did  design  the 
thing  which  it  was  possib'e  to  build  in  . 
the  shops  as  they  stood,  without  spend-  '■ 
ing  a  cent  at  first  for  equipment.  It  was 
necessary  to  compromise,  not  only  with 
the  machine  shop,  but  more  especially 
with  the  foundry,  which  was  worse,  and- 
even  the  facilities,  worst  of  all,  for  trans- 
porting the  castings  from  the  foundry  to 
the  machine  shop  had  to  be  yielded  to. 
The  frame,  then,  was  made  in  two  parts, 
so  it  could  be  handled,  so  either  right  or 
left  could  be  made  from  the  same  pat- 
tern, and  so,  in  deference  to  the  lack  of 
skill  in  the  foundry,  the  core  work  was 
reduced  to  a  single  simple  core  in  the  jaw. 
At  a  later  time,  when  the  demands  of  the 
business  were  growing  faster  than  the 
facilities,  the  wrought-iron-frame  engine 
was  designed  as  a  means  of  relief.  The 
Reynolds  engine  of  1890  may  probably  be 
said  to  be  the  first  design  in  which  serious 
concessions  have  not  been  made  to  the 
facilities  of  construction  or  other  im- 
perative conditions.  Mr.  Reynolds'  method 
of  work  has  seemed  to  be  first  to  make 
a  careful  study  of  all  the  conditions  of 
the  individual  case,  and  first  of  all  with 
reference  to  the  underlying  engineering 
principles.  On  these  for  a  foundation  he 
would  work  out  the  simplest  machine  pos- 
sible, remembering  always  the  possibilities 
of  the  shop  as  well  as  the  idealities  of  the 
drafting  room.  This  has  usually  practi- 
cally ended  the  matter.  Once  the  design 
has  been  decided  upon,  he  has  been  pre- 
pared to  fight  for  it,  and  usually  success- 
fully, and  a  very  large  part  of  the  Allis 
business  has  been  obtained,  not  so  much 
by  .underbidding  in  price  as  by  embody- 
ing the  best  engineering  features. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  ove'rstate  the 
character  and  importance  of  the  work  that 
Mr.  Reynolds  accomplished  during  his  un- 
ostentatious life.  In  brief,  he  was  tlie 
foremost '  practical  man,  the  responsible 
technical  manager,  in  an  engine-building 
establishment  which,  under  his  guidance, 
grew  to  occupy  a  position  in  the  very 
front  rank  of  reputation,  and  in  point  of 
magnitude  to  surpass  all  others  in  the 
United  States.  The  machinery  built  by 
it  has  been  of  varied  nature;  it  has  in- 
cluded many  large  Corliss-engine  units 
for  pumping  service,  mining,  air  com- 
pressing, furnace  blast,  street-railway 
work  and  other  purposes.  In  the  name 
of  the  "Reynolds-Corliss"  type  of  engine, 
this  engineer  received  one  of  the  deserved 
marks  of  recognition  which  raised  him 
out  of  anonymity  in  his  business  relations 
with   the  public. 


March  2,  1909. 


I'UWLk  AND  THE  KNiilNtKk. 


us 


To  him  especially  is  attributed  the  use 
of  compound  and  triple-expansion  engines 
in  manufacturing  plants,  one  of  the  tirst 
large  ones  employed  for  that  purpose 
being  installed  by  him  in  the  Ragle  Mills, 
at  Milwaukee,  in  1878.  He  was  the 
first  to  huild  the  low-speed  direct-con- 
nected type  of  engine  for  driving  a 
generator. 

Among   achievements   of   his    life,    long 
before  the  close,  was  the  construction,  in 
1888,  of  the  first   triple-expansion  pump- 
•""   engine  built    for   waterworks   service, 
li  he  installed  at   Milwaukee,  to  run 
iiti'ier   a   pressure   limited    to   80   pounds. 
The  steam  consumption  proved  as  low  as 
I    pounds    per    indicated    h^rxciMiwer 
!)our.     Some  time  later,  two  ninines 
lied  in  the  West  Harrison  street  sta- 
,  Chicago.  showe«l  a   stcatn  consump- 
tion ot   12.67  pounds,  which  was  believed 
to  break  the  existing  economy  record.    An 
engine  built  for  Omaha,  with  40-,  70-  and 
104- inch   diameter   steam   cylinders  had  a 
capacity  of  18.000,000  gallons  in  24  hours. 
:>  feet.    A  jo,ooo,ooo-gallon  triple- 
1   pumping  engine   was  built   for 
the    I'K.ston    waterworks,     its    in'^tallation 
bring    completecl    in    December,    18(3(8.      It 
made  the  world's  record  for  efficiency  and 
ec<inomy    of   operation,    its   average   con 
sumption     of    dry     steam     per     indicated 
horsepower  per  hour  being  10. .^35  pounds, 
«nd  its  duty  per  looo  pounds  of  dry  steam, 
178,407,000     I  !v     A     i5,ooo,oo(>- 

gallon    triple  pumping    engine 

for  the  St.  I.oui'.  w.wks  aho  Imilt  by  the 
Mils  company,  proved  a  oj.ise  second, 
••in;;  an  average  dry-steam  consump- 
:  1  of  10.676  pounds  and  duty  of  179,- 
454.25s  foot  pounds. 

When  constructing  an  engine  for  flush- 

tnu  the  Milwaukee  river  with  Lake  .Michi- 

water,  Mr.  Reynolds  designed  a  pro- 

r  «%[»«•  pump,  whirh  was  built  against 

•lie  performance  of 

•  d     his     judk'U'cnt. 

Th«    emcicncy  ot  the  wheel  was  ^f  >  7.S  P*'' 

cent.     The    large    centrifugal     unlt^     for 

•ewage   plants,    each    driven    by    vertical 

ihaft    from   a  horizontal    triple  expansion 

engine,     urith     piston     rods     ijo    degrees 

■part,  originated  in  his  fertile  brain.     The 

centrifuifnls    were    originally    designed   to 

hati  A  age. 

A  of  his  skill  is  the  Rey- 

noblN  -re  stamp,  m  which  he  Mlb^?l»lHr.l 
a  «olid  cast-iron  foundation  t'-r  '^■ 
w«»o«|rn  spring  b<»ttom  that  formerly 
been  deemed  necessary.  The  result  •• 
nearly  50  per  cent,  increase  of  output 
This  invention  added  much  to  the  viluc 
of  the  great  copper  properties. 

Whrti    lir    bMill    hn    bl..wiTiL'    .-tu-!!i.     '    ' 
the    Mr,l    w.fl       ■•    '■'"••     '"       • 
Op     the     rxi 
marked  a  r.Tl 

•  s,    its    valuable    ieainrrv    «•• 
•d   at  once   and   receivnl   tlw 
Irew  Carnegie  ordered  one  like  H  be 
it   had  been   running  ■  month,  this 
ig  the  beginning  of  work  for  the  same 


com|iany     that     many     years     ago     had 
aniwuniid  to  l5,ooo,ooa 

Among  other   works  of   Mr.    kc)n..|«l» 
wa*  the  combined  horizontal  and  \ernt-il 
reversing   engine  built   for  the   .\nierKJn 
Steel  and   Wire  C 
The    cvlinders    of 


Adopted.  MchidiBg  the 
'  the  horutm- 


was 

.  :nes 

of 


secured    be       by  the  r 


been  an  objectionable  feature 

An   instance   of  the   marveIou->;< 
inventive   genius  of   Mr.     Reynolds 

afforded       •         •        ■ 

inr   the 

New  York. 

ting  a  maxir- 

limited 

on  the  \r 

simply  solved,  and  the  weight  ol  the  riy 

wheel  was  rediKe<l  •■'"•  1'  ''•      Tl-.i«  .twin, 

may  be  taken  as  ti 

ing    up    of    the    Alii-'    kiimu.  -n     i.>      ..1.       rvr> 

nolds.     The'  contract     was 

cause   a> 

design 

others    ■ 

price  w.i 

a   sample  ot   the 

nobis'     judgment 

worth  of  this  type  of  engine  Here  ordered 

in  a  lump  before  one  of  them  had  f>cm 

built  and  erected.     Regarding  the  cinum 

Stat  •      ting  the  design  I'f  the  Man 

haf  N  the  following  anecdote  is 

related . 

The    Allis-Chalmers    r.mip.nnv     h.iving 
buih  eleven  ,t500-kil«m 
comp<Jund,    vertical,    dr 
gines  for  the  Metropolitan  i 

pany.  was  called   upon   for    

the  type  of  engine*  to  be  used  in  the  im 

mense     new  -     •  ■'  -      ' 

planned  by  t 

pan 

let  • 

of 

of 

(>ound,  vertical  ni 

furnished    for    t!  • 

Company,  an 

between  Mr 

of   the   Man! 

the  *".^      ^" 

.»  ,  rw   York 


urr   tt/r*  *ad  approc«MMr 
all    odMe    prwseiyl    fans. 

.nd 

to 

Uj«(«1.  titcTv  «a»  «evy 

'n  hn  onginal  f»^urr* 

>nie.   Mr    Rcyssolds.  m 

'  iiKiiM-rrinir    a<.rl<i    if    L 


•iirT.irn-    mt\   !rrn   T*-ji'  ■  iri^ 
somnhwg  of  m  poMabsb 
.^rr   held 
f  j»»Tff»e 


knowa 


grumu 
•1  hr  Mr 


pxrf     r«>air«w».4 


•■Vf 

he 


•  •ne    of 


as 
tbe   AUss   estate. 


•Jl 


tnmt  part,  btig  a 


Ulj'lll1£     •••ffc»     mt 


>ti«r    aaothrf.    wmIhmI 
:<f      •c9«ence      lMlea4.   M     ••     hail 

i.t-..    .•    .  '1    •'  r     ifiit    ttttrm      tW  itHK- 


^11  brj 


ih' 


letter   t*'- 


424 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  2,  1909. 


The  University  of  Wisconsin  conferred 
upon  him  the  degree  of  LL.D.,  and  later 
placed  his  name  upon  the  frieze  of  the 
new  engineering  building.  He  has  re- 
ceived honors  from  institutions  of  learn- 
ing throughout  the  civilized  world.  His 
"election  to  the  presidency  of  the  Ameri- 
can Society  of  Mechanical  Engineers  for 
1901-1902  was  a  recognition  of  his  emi- 
nence in  the  profession,  which  the  society 
honored  itself  by  conferring.  He  was  re- 
ceived into  active  or  honorary  member- 
ship of  the  leading  engineering  societies 
at  home  and  abroad,  and  he  became  the 
first  president  of  the  National  Metal 
Trades  Association. 

The  influence  of  Edwin  Reynolds  re- 
nains  expressed  not  only  in  mechanical 
types,  but  in  human  personalities.     To  be 


That  Harwood  Boiler 


the  inside  sheet  as  to  be  impossible  of 
detection  by  any  inspection  short  of  un- 
making the  joint. 


In  our  issue  of  December  15,  under  the 
title  "The  Lap  Seam  Boiler  Again,"  we 
described  the  finding  of  a  cracked  sheet 
in  a  boiler  belonging  to  the  Charles  E. 
Harwood  Counter  Company,  of  Lynn, 
Mass.  The  engineer  noticed  steam  com- 
ing through  the  brickwork,  put  the  boiler 
out  of  commission,  and  inspection  showed 
that  the  middle  sheet  had  cracked.  Our 
original  article  said :  "Removal  of  the 
brickwork  over  the  leak  revealed  a  crack 
18  inches  long  in  the  outer  sheet  along 
the  row  of  rivets,"  and  the  article  assumed 
that  it  was  one  of  the  hidden  cracks  the 
recurrence  of  which   has  caused   so  manv 


Saving  Life  and  Property 


The  American  Anti-Accident  Associa- 
tion held  open  meetings  Thursday  after- 
noon and  evening,  February  11,  in  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  hall,  215  West  Twenty-third 
street,  New  York  City,  for  the  purpose 
of  presenting  and  receiving  ideas  as  to  the 
true  underlying  causes  of  accidents,  the 
best  way  to  prevent  them,  and  incidentally 
to   augment   the   number  of  its   members. 

It  is  the  intention  of  the  organization  to 
establish  boards  in  our  tow'ns  and  cities 
that   would   be    under   the   control   of   the 


SHOWING  CRACK   IN   SHEET    OF  THE   HARWOOD  BOILER 


a  brilliant  designing  engineer,  particularly 
in  the  field  of  power  generation  and  ap- 
plication, is  a  matter  of  self-gratulation 
to  anyone  so  gifted,  and  is  a  benefit  to 
many  affected  by  his  work ;  but  to  lead 
the  way  so  plainly  that  others  may  fol- 
low with  no  uncertain  step,  to  train  a 
large  number  of  young  assistants  so  that 
lhey  become  efficient,  original  co-workers 
^•nd  themselves  the  chief  officers  of  engi- 
neering works,  and  to  found,  develop  and 
leave  in  sound  condition  a  great  manu- 
facturing establishment — such  is  the  prov- 
ince of  a  master  mind,  one  of  the  few 
•which  a  century  produces. 


A  good  paint  for  boiler  fronts  can  be 
made  from  asphaltum  let  down  with  tur- 
pentine or  coal  tar  mixed  with  graphite 
and  tliinned  with  turpentine. 


failures  of  lap-seam  horizontal  tubular 
boilers. 

In  our  issue  of  December  22,  Arthur 
M.  Clawson  presented  a  more  detailed  ac- 
count of  the  accident  in  which  he  said : 
"The  crack  was  not  located  under  the  lap 
as  has  generally  been  found  to  be  the  case, 
but  ran  parallel  to  the  edge  of  the  over- 
lapping plate." 

We  have  recently  had  the  opportunity 
to  inspect  the  plate  in  question,  which  is 
in  the  office  of  the  chief  boiler  inspector 
at  the  State  House  in  Boston,  and  have 
obtained  the  photograph  reproduced  here- 
with. The  crack  is  shown  in  the  upper 
left-hand  portion  of  the  sheet  just  under 
the  lower  row  of  rivets  and  is  very  plainly 
one  of  the  hidden  internal  cracks  occur- 
ring, as  is  usually  the  case,  just  under  the 
edge  of  the  rivet  heads  and  so  hidden  by 


State,  with  a  national  head,  and  similar  in 
a  great  many  ways  to  our  present  boards 
of  health.  Its  purpose  is  the  education  of 
carefulness  in  homes,  schools  and  voca- 
tions, to  develop  a  greater  realization  of 
the  suffering  and  afflictions  caused  by 
accidents,  and  to  create  a  public  sentiment 
which  in  time  will  cause  anything  per- 
taining to  the  prevention  of  accidents  to 
command  the  highest  humanitarian  con- 
sideration. Thomas  D.  West,  president, 
discussed  the  fundamental  features  in- 
volving work  for  the  association,  and 
other  speakers,  such  as  Edward  Bunnell 
Phelps,  editor  of  The  American  Under- 
writer; W.  H.  Tolman,  director  of  the 
American  Museum  of  Safety,  and  L.  P. 
Alford,  of  the  American  Machinist,  took 
up  the  subject  of  accidents  and  their  pre- 
vention in  its  different  phases. 


March  2,  1909 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


*n 


Some    Useful    L 


essons 


of   L 


1  m  e  w  a  t  e  r 


Intereiting    Experiments    in    bohaung     Tcmpofary-     and     Pmnancnt- 
Hardne&s   Waters;   the   Importance    oi   Chemistry-;    Its    Chief    FJemenb 


BY        CHARLES 


PALMER 


There  is  one  suggestion  that  may  well 
be  made  at  this  point ;  that  is,  that  you 
will  save  time  and  effort  in  getting  things 
cleared  up  and  in  remembering  things  if 
you  just  lalk  these  lessons  over  with  some 
friend  who  is  interested  with  you.  The 
rcaion  for  the  gain  is  that  you  will  talk 
your  notions  out,  and  you  will  hear  the 
notions  of  your  friend ;  you  will  find  your 
eye,  ear  and  hand  working  together  to 
help  your  mind  in  grasping  the  facts,  in 
rcmeml)ering   them    and,   most    important 


per.  Vou  may  not  g«t  nuny  surpnttng 
results  from  the  litmus  paper,  bat  you 
will  have  the  satisbction  of  knowing  that 
you  have  kept  your  eyes  open  in  that 
direction,  and  litmus  paper  will  alw4)« 
tell  >•«(!  »ofTir»hing  If  the  V4jlmiof.  ..; 
car'  water    is    strong    with 

car:  ;  may  almost  get  the  lit- 

mus paper  red;  but  you  should  remember 
that  litmus  paper  turned  red  by  carbuiuc 
acid  will  turn  blue  of  itself  usually,  if 
taken  out  of  tbe  solution,  as  it  dnes  tn 


na   I 


•  II,  in  using  them.     But  to  get  back  to     the  air 


hard  water ; 

SonrsiNf.    IIaeo    SVAt»» 
'  .rt    twn    liriT    bottles    of    r\^nr    fla**^ 
•ties  will    ' 
to  hold 
much   the    hrUtr.      Pour    into    rnr    .t 
••    "ntil  thrre-quartrr*   full    a   «   1   •; 
•rary  hardnr*^  or 
iirs>   water,  throwing  in  wnii  o     " 
of   litmus   paper,   one    red   and   onr 
Pour    into   the   other   J>ot»lc.    ni' 
quarter*    full,    a    •*.|itii.»n    of    •,  ■ 
hardne«<  or 
pultinK  in  tw 


and  is 
acid  in 

to     *' 


arbonic  acid 


.es  one  n 
rutic  pans  «>l     >'' 

•nfn  the  hnttle  i  (  Irr 


k  o(  Ittnr 


tihcrcd  I 

extra  or  bscarboaalc  o: 

tion.  there  will  be  a  sltgbt  miikin<>s 

>ou  keep  on  Mldiag  tbe  mBk  of  Imm 


.afid 


10  ibc  daf  bard  «»• 
tcf      AnoUKT    wt9   to   icO 
hate  added  rnninh  ouBt  of  !■■ 
vui;<.r,tr>  V.ArdBCM   vatCT   ia  lO 
litmus  paper,  as  s^^^  ^>  *<i 
just  a  bit  too  mu  -ndb  of  hoK. 

the  water  wdl  cban^r  ux  inaoa  lo  bloc 
brcau*r  the  null  of  Imb«  m  itself  a  torbsd 
To  tb«  book  of 


m*Ut  >iMi  wUi  *tU  a  Miloli 

t-r   wvjiom    arW^-iTr   or 

^ts  case,  as  is  tbe 
otbcr.  •  V 

ash    '  "  .••<  (kor.assdi 

a  fr  poond  ooi  wso  a  laoi 

bkr,  with  wjme  oi  ib«  »•  ' 
wbctber  tbrre  u  nsorv  r 
tHi«  up  until  yoo  gti  ou  Uxtber  pfcu^ 
i-ic.    also   watch   tbt    hf    paper.    « 
may  tell  yo«  sowetbiw 

Now  kt  both  h-<iU*  of  bard  va«r  an 
ilr.  ooiini  t\  ,jsr«d  lo  att  datr 


!riit 
It 


'  riini 

p  tb* 


sod  n  tomtt  tocat'- 

•  rti'itt        }Krt      aII     ! 


rrally  t^ 

tbe    ^mami>iy    ■  i     »    nrr^^T     n      ««    i>-^ 

iK«i  «<Mi  ^v«  bccoo  lo  Ma4v     Y««  oIh 


tbt 


». >fi<ftft>* I  -.jkf  an 


iKir     «>    -«      lk»« 


»Ti«    tr« 


426 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  2,  1909. 


stream?  Or  will  you  throw  in  a  bucket 
or  barrel  of  it  at  a  time?  The  special 
form  of  apparatus  must  attend  to  all  these 
matters  and  must  do  it  right. 

Then  there  are  some  of  the  other  things 
which  get  into  "hard"  water ;  for,  as  we 
have  noted  already,  it  is  not  alone  lime 
and  its  compounds  that  make  water  hard, 
but  often  the  compounds  of  magnesium, 
and  perhaps  one  or  tv.o  other  metals. 
Also,  while  much  temporarj'-hardness  wa- 
ter has  to  do  with  carbonates  and  much 
permanent-hardness  water  has  to  do  with 
sulphates,  yet  there  are  some  other  com- 
plications, such  as  the  chlorides  of  mag- 
nesium, which  are  not  only  difficult  to 
throw  out  of  the  water  but  which  also  cor- 
rode the  boiler  iron.  As  you  examine 
the  samples  of  scale  which  you  will  col- 
lect you  will  find  some  iron  in  all  of  them, 
and  this  iron  stain  is  or  may  be  partly 
from  the  water,  and  partly  from  the  iron 
tubes  or  plates  themselves ;  so  you  see 
that  all  scale  is  not  only  in  the  way,  but 
it  is  also  a  corrosive,  eating  thing.  All 
this  suggests  that  there  is  much  to  be 
learned  about  the  scale-forming  sub- 
stances, and  this  means  that  we  must  use 
this  study  of  lime  as  a  broad  basis  for 
getting  hold  of  enough  chemistry  to  un- 
derstand the  action  of  both  scale  forma- 
tion and  burning.  And,  in  the  study  of 
burning  or  combustion,  or  "oxidation"  in 
its  broadest  way,  we  shall  have  to  dip  into 
net  chemistry,  and  dry  chemistry,  for 
there  is  a  dry  combustion  and  there  is  a 
wet  or  moist  combustion.  All  of  this,  or 
some  of  it,  will  come  along  in  due  time. 

But  just  now  turn  your  eye  to  the  ex- 
periment shown  in  Fig.  i  and  note  the 
amount  of  sediment  which  has  formed  of 
gathered  in  each  bottle.  You  will  see 
that  in  both  bottles  there  is  the  same 
insoluble  sediment,  plain  carbonate;  and 
you  must  step  and  think  how  it  is  that 
you  get  the  lime-like  part  of  the  hardness 
thrown  out  of  solution  from  either  tem- 
porary- or  permanent-hardness  water,  as 
this  same  old  plain  carbonate.  You  will 
remember  that  this  plain  carbonate  of 
lime  came  from  the  extra  carbonate,  by 
heating  or  by  addition  of  limewater  or 
milk  of  lime ;  and  you  will  see  that  you 
get  this  same  plain  carbonate  from 
sulphate  water  and  soda  ash.  But  in  the 
case  of  the  temporary-hardness  water  you 
left  the  water  nearly  pure,  while  in  the 
case  of  the  permanent-hardness  water  you 
had  to  leave  the  water  as  a  dilute  solution 
of  sodium  sulphate. 

Testinv;  the  Sedi.\ie.n'tation 

It  will  be  a  good  thing  if  you  collect  the 
sediments  from  both  the  bottles  shown  in 
Fig.  I  and  test  them.  First,  just  note  the 
relative  quantity.  You  will  usually  find 
that  there  is  more  sediment  from  sul- 
phate-hardness water  than  from  tem- 
porary-hardness water,  although  both  are 
the  same  chemical  compound,  plain  lime 
or  calcium  carbonate.  .-■Xgain,  you  will 
want  to  test  both   of  the   sediments   with 


hydrochloric  and  nitric  acids,  when  they 
will  entirely  dissolve  with  effervescence  ; 
that  is,  bubbling  of  some  gas  which  you 
will  rightly  guess  is  carbonic-acid  gas. 
Now  if  you  test  the  clear  solution  left  in 
the  bottle  that  had  the  temporary-hard- 
ness water  you  will  find  that  it  is  nearly 
pure  water,  with  a  little  lime  from  the 
slight  excess  of  milk  of  lime ;  but  when 
you  test  the  bottle  of  purified  permanent- 
hardness  water  you  will  find  that  it  has 
considerable  sulphate  of  soda  (Glauber's 
salt)  in  it.  The  sulphuric  part  you  can 
test  for  by  the  same  way  used  in  the  test 
given  near  the  last  part  of  the  third  les- 
son in  the  February  16  number. 

You  pour  a  few  teaspoonfuls  of  the 
water  left  in  the  permanent-hardness  wa- 
ter of  Fig.  I  into  a  tumbler  or  test  tube, 
and  then  add  a  few  drops  of  your  solu- 
tion of  barium  nitrate.  Down  comes  a 
quick  cloudiness,  which  soon  settles  as  a 
heavy  sediment.  Now  try  this  with  either 
hydrochloric  or  nitric  acid,  or  both ;  its 
persistent  insolubility  shows  that  it  is 
barium  sulphate,  the  common  test  for 
sulphuric  acid  or  the  sulphates.  But 
there   is     still     the    sodium    part    of    the 


Glauber's  salt,  left  from  the  softening  of 
the  permanent-hardness  water,  to  test  for. 
It  is  not  easy  to  throw  the  sodium  out  of 
solution ;  but  if  you  take  a  clean  bit  of 
iion  wire  and  moisten  it  with  some  of 
the  solution  of  sodium  sulphate  left  from 
the  bottle  of  permanent-hardness  water 
and  then  hold  it  in  the  flame  of  an  alco- 
hol lamp  (Fig.  2),  or  of  a  common  gaso- 
lene or  gas  stove,  you  cannot  help  noticing 
the  strong  yellow  flame  produced,  and 
that  is  due  to  the  sodium.  You  can  always 
get  this  yellow  flame  from  any  of  the 
sodium  compounds,  but  you  cannot  easily 
throw  sodium  down  from  solution.  In- 
deed, it  is  one  strange  peculiarity  of 
sodium  that  of  all  of  its  hundreds  of  salts 
about  all  of  them  are  soluble  in  water, 
and  you  will  find  when  you  get  on  farther 
into  analyzing  things  that  there  is  no 
good,  easy  way  of  throwing  sodium  com- 
pletely out  of  solution  in  the  insoluble 
form,  as  you  can  easily  do  with  lime  in  a 
score  of  ways. 

Chemical  "Elements" 
You  will  have  a  good  deal  to  do  with 
analysis  as  you  go  on  with  these  lessons. 


and  with  other  studies  in  chemistry  later; 
for  live  as  long  as  you  will  you  will  never 
get  beyond  the  study  of  chemistry,  which 
is  the  separating  of  things  into  their  in- 
gredients, putting  back  those  ingredients  • 
so  that  you  can  get  the  original  substance, 
the  letting  of  this  substance  act  on  that 
and  the  reaction  of  that  on  this.  From 
the  air  and  water  to  the  earth  everything 
is  made  up  of  chemicals,  and  the  curious 
ways  in  which  things  act  on  each  other 
make  up  the  study  of  chemistry.  As  you 
begin  to  separate  things  into  their  ingredi- 
ents 3'ou  get  simpler  things,  and  these 
can  be  separated  into  still  simpler  things, 
and  so  on.  But  before  long,  you  come  to 
a  set  of  things  that  can't  be  separated  into 
anything  simpler,  and  those  things  are 
called  "elements." 

There  are  between  seventy-five  and  a 
hundred  of  these  elements,  but  only  about 
twenty  or  twenty-five  are  of  common  im- 
portance ;  and  you  will  have  to  do  with 
only  about  a  dozen  at  the  start.  You 
have  had  something  to  do  with  the  ele- 
ment carbon,  which  makes  up  the  bulk 
of  coal,  and  which  also  is  in  carbonic- 
acid  gas.  You  know  sulphur,  or  brim- 
stone, which  is  the  thing  at  the  bottom  of 
sulphuric  acid  or  oil  of  vitriol — sulphur  is 
another  element.  The  air  is  mostly  made 
up  of  two  gaseous  elements :  Nitrogen, 
which  for  the  most  part  in  the  air  is  only 
a  "filler,"  as  far  as  burning  goes,  and 
o.xygen,  the  element  that  helps  burninr. 
The  common  metals,  iron,  lead,  zinc,  cop- 
per and  tin,  the  less  common  mercurj', 
silver  and  gold,  the  new  metal,  aluminum, 
these  are  all  elements ;  they  cannot  be 
separated  into  anything  but  themselves ; 
at  least,  not  up  to  date,  for  in  these  piping 
times  of  new  and  strange  discovery  it  is 
not  well  to  say  that  anything  is  impossible 
to  the  thousands  of  chemists  who  are  hard 
at  work  after  the  secrets  of  nature.  But 
if  the  elements  are  made  up  of  anything 
simpler  they  have  forgot  to  say  anything 
about  it.  except  possibly  in  the  curious 
cases  of  uranium  and  radium;  all  of  which 
lias  apparently  little  to  do  directly  with 
hard  water,  but  a  great  deal  indirectly, 
because  you  want  to  learn  analysis,  so 
you  can  find  cut  for  yourself  what  are  the 
ingredients,  and  what  are  their  relative 
c|uantities,  in  the  substances  you  handle 
every  day. 

You  perhaps  have  never  seen  or  han- 
dled the  metal  sodium,  also  an  element; 
but  you  may  like  to  be  reminded  that  it  is 
probably  the  stuff  which  the  street  fakir 
nn  the  corner  uses  to  light  his  pipe  when 
he  seems  to  light  it  with  a  bit  of  ice.  He 
j)acks  his  pipe  with  common  dry  tobacco 
v.m]  tucks  down  on  top  of  this  a  piece  of 
the  metal  sodium  (or  perhaps  of  potas- 
'-ium,  which  is  much  like  sodium,  only 
stronger)  ;  then  he  touches  the  "quick" 
metal  with  ice,  which  is  only  so  much 
solid  water,  and  the  heat  resulting  easily 
makes  fire  enough  to  light  the  tobacco. 
Theory  says  that  when  metals  like  sodium 
and     calcium     unite     with     oxygen     they 


^ 


March  2,  1909. 

should  first  fcrni  the  oxides;  mmX  i.il  i;::; 
docs  form  its  oxide.  CaO,  quicklime.  Init 
sodiums  oxide  is  so  thirsty  for  water  that 
it  does  not  stop  at  the  oxide,  as  calcium 
does,   but   at   once   goes   right   on   to   the 
water  compound,  NaOH.  sodium  hydrox- 
ide or  hydrate,  or  caustic  soda.    That  the 
lime  metal,  calcium,  does   form  l>oth   the 
plain   oxide    (quicklime.    CaO)     and    the 
ked  lime,  Ca(OH)..  is  intorcstinR  (as 
AH  in  the  February  j^  nuinlK-rj.     It  is 
interesting  to  know   that   there   is  a 
!»•   test    for   this    lime    metal,   calcium, 
just  as  there  is  a  flame  test   for  the  salt 
metal,  sodium.     Take  a  little  of  the  milk 
of    lime    and    add    just    enough    hydro 
■ '  !   ric   acid  to   it   to  dissolve   it   all   and 
it  barely  acid,  or  nearly  neutral.    Of 
'>e,  you   now   have  a   solution  of  cal- 
■1    chloride.      Now    make     a     loop     of 
I  iron  wire,  as  shown  in  l-u'   2,  dip  it 
c  lime  solution,  and   In  Id   it   in  any 
•less  flame,  as  the  flame  of  an  alci>hol 

■  (you  can  make  an  alcohol  lamp  out 
n  ink  bottle),  or  of  a  gas  stove,  and 

the  bright   orange-red   flame.     That 

X  calcium  flame.     There  is  a  special 

I  iMrautifiil  scheme  of  stuit>in(;  flames 

ti    an    instrument    called    a    >.p«ctro- 

■);    the    science    is    called    spectrum 

"ii*;   but    these   tests   of  sodium   and 

•  Icium    are    two   of   the    fumlamental 

You  can  carry  this  testing  of  metals 

,iiite  a  way  by  yourself,  if  you  file  any 

I.  iron,  copper,  zinc,  lead,  tin  or  sil- 

CJathering   a   pinch   or  two  of   the 

!  dust  on  a  sheet  of  paper,  sprinkle 

one  at  a  time,  in  any  hot  .id. I  f.iirly 

You  will  Ik-  stir|>ri-<  <I  to 

int     and    licautiftil    "p.irlor 

uiie  can  get  by  simpl)  burning 

>  of  any  common  mrtil  in  a  hot 

;  the  dust  will  burn  like  powder,  and 

:i  different -co|(re<l  light  in  each  case. 

is  all  goes  to  sh'iw  how  great  is  the 

ct  of  chemistry;   but   it   will  help  us 

'    stop  and  ask  ourselves;    Wlut  .irr 

great  and  im[x>rt.ii 

We  will  not  l«t 
by  any  .tliMirdl) 
•ut  we  will  stK-k  !•> 

■  lis.     The  great  subjects  in  chemistry 

First,  art  and  water;  «.<-.. .ml    .1.1./. 
ilkahft ;  and  of  the  ao 
IS  easily  king,  as  the  s<^mI.i  .    mi 

■  the  queen    set   of  alkalies       lUit    1:1 

I  of  all  of  this  y«»u  •'.  nr  grwMl 

I I  lime  play*  an  ini;  rt.    The 
»tt'ry  of  lime  has  only  Ikcii  Uiiun 


On   page  ^14  of  the   January  5  nunibrr. 
'  '-'hn  B.  Sperry"*  letter  on  "Pump  Stir 
Limit."   the   second   half   >>i   (..rmilt 


»  n 


lOUtK  AND  THE  EXr.iNRER. 

Central  Station  versus  Isolated 
Plant 

At  bearing  upnn  the  »*xH  fjrK^rr 
the 

ceil- 
ing 
Ser 
V<  :  val  R.  M 

■'•      ;..     The  qiu^i... 

crimination,    as    between    the    I 
small  consuni'  ' 
side  rat  ion.     ."^ 

-iKatiun*  v>tt  (hu  »ub>cs.t  h«« 

1.    1 


i-  To  make   the  1] 

ti.r.l   between ,, ., 

tners     equal,     at     hthvffm 

"Do  you  mean  to  Mop  here  and  Icarc     turr 

the 
't 
users  .jj 
csts  are 
plea  for  a    square 


4J9 

a  mnm^ih  «n«*M  br  ifcr 

.ted 
>.  tte  laua&rauoa 


utncrs  .* 


WUMt      I'^ii.-. 


mati-iritT    cf 


•h   with  JBDO 

■    io- 


r,  bm  Mr.  iMMlli. 


tn   iiunuf^» 
.  ►^ti-r   fr-  'Sr 

for  from  . 

the  rate*  10  tauJI  rraii— 

Tii«h    arvl   •>>»>     i*^. 'i.!    »^ 


ed.    Let 

irt 

m 
If.* 


the    selling   price 
upon  the  cost  of  1 
button   plus  even   .•   .•  • 
the  present  system  Ik  ^! 
on  the  liasis  of  '.il*     " 

"I'nder  prcAcnt   • 
nmall    qi' 
three  "r 
lh< 


while  the  large  user  has.  in  the  shape  of 

the  i»  ■!  ■'■  -i  "lint. 

"*  '^f  lofti  in  brge  buildings 

wh.  ...  .  .        . 


>t  of  IW  total 


Burning  Aik 

The    cflfrtifi  »i    ftjt      .^!    .»>  .^n    I. 


'I    lo  cents  to  o  cvnl*   tor 

r»       iif       titi.ill        <f.irr<        afr 


cnf«        \ 


-'.       <K. 


imc   a* 


.^,        Folol  sufliou  timil 


ft 


-k-  u 


It  should  »•1^-•   ' 


// 


.^- 


428 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  2,  1909. 


Edwin  Reynolds 


DEVOTED  TO    THE   GENERATION  AND 
TRANSMISSION   OF  POWER 

Issued  Weekly  by  the 

Hill  Publishing  Company 

Jobs  a.  H:ll,  Pres,  and  Treas.         Kobkbt  McKkan,  Sec'y. 

505  Pearl  Street,  New  York. 

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6  Bouverie  Street,  London,  E.  C. 


Correspondence  suitable  for  the  columns  of 
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dress of  correspondents  must  be  given — not  nec- 
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Cable  address,  "Powpub,"  N.  Y. 
Business  Telegraph  Code. 


CIRCULATIONS    STATEMENT 

During  1908  we  printed  and  circulated 
1,836,000   copies   of  Power. 

Our  circulation  for  February,  1909,  was 
(weekly  and   monthly)   151,000. 

March  2 42,000 

yone  sent  free  reyularly,  no  returns  from 
news  companies,  no  hack  numbers.  Figures 
are  lice,   net  circulation. 


Contents 


PAGE 


The  death  of  Edwin  Reynolds,  an- 
nounced in  another  column,  has  not  come 
unexpectedly.  For  several  years  after  he 
had  passed  the  allotted  span  he  continued 
in  active  charge  of  the  great  Milwaukee 
works  in  the  creation  of  which  he  was  so 
large  a  factor.  But,  three  or  four  years 
ago  he  began  to  fail,  and  his  friends  have 
long  known   that  the  end  was   imminent. 

The  story  of  his  life,  as  told  elsewhere 
in  this  paper,  is  that  of  another  rug- 
ged genius  who,  without  exceptional  ad- 
vantages of  birth  or  education,  threw  him- 
self into  his  work  as  he  found  it,  did  it 
not  merely  for  so  much  per  hour  but  be- 
cause his  interest  was  there — because  he 
loved  to  do  a  good  job  and  to  see  it  go 
— and  he  naturally  became  a  power  in  a 
field  where  there  was  a  great  development 
and  developed  with  it.  It  was  largely  he 
who  molded  the  slower-speed  and  larger- 
sized  engine  into  the  forms  demanded  of 
it  through  the  stKcessive  changes  of  the 
development  of  large  central-station  work, 
and  who  stood  ready  to  adapt  the  materi- 
als of  nature  to  the  varying  demands  of 
man.  The  great  works  which  he  planned 
for  this  purpose,  as  well  as  the  many 
notable  products  of  this  and  other  works 
with  which  he  has  been  connected,  will  be 
living  monuments  to  his  genius  and  in- 
dustry. 


The     Snee     Wave    Motor    and     Its    Pos- 
sibilities         395 

Central  Heating  Plant  for  Lebanon,  Ind.  400 
Flanged    Pipe    Joints    for    High    Pressure  402 

Electrolysis    and    Superheat 405 

Steam    and    Electrical    Equipment   of    the 

Ambrose  Channel   Lightship 407 

Proposed  Mammoth  Testing  Machine  for 

the    Government 409 

Impurities  Causing  Scale  and  Corrosion.    410 

Catechism    of   Electricity 413 

Practical  Letters  from  Practical  Men  : 
Extraneous  Supervision  of  Power 
Plants.  .  .  .Improving  Firemen's  Con- 
ditions. ..  .An  Improved  Boiler  Set- 
ting. ..  .Series  Circuit  Supplied 
from  Constant  Potential  Circuit.  .  .  . 
Knock  in  the  Engine.  .  .  .Gas  Engine 
Valve  and  Ignition  Timing.  ..  .Keep- 
ing Motor  Records  on  Index  Cards 
....  What  Caused  the  Valve  to 
Break.  .  .  .Homemade  Condenser.  .  .  . 
Connecting  Steam  Boilers.  ..  .Re- 
moving Commutators.  ..  .Determina- 
tion of  the  Calorific  Value  of  Low- 
Grade  Fuel ....  Surface  Condensation 
for  Steam  Turbines.  ..  .Babbitting  a 
Main  Bearing.  ..  .Prevents  the  Gov- 
ernor Dropping.  ..  .The  Sense  of 
Proportion.  ..  .Ivcak  in  Belt  Driven 
Air        Compressor  ....  Drilling        a 

Tank    414-420 

Edwin    Reynolds    Dies     After     a      Long 

Illness    421 

That   Harwood   Boiler 424 

Some  Useful  Lessons  of  Limewater 425 

Central   Station  versus  Isolated  Plant.  .  .    427 

Editorials     428-429 

Some   Useful    Homemade   Appliances. .  . .   434 
Potblyn,    P.    D 437 


Foundation  Vibration 


trouble  in  steam-turbine  operation.  At 
St.  Pancras,  England,  the  borough  coun- 
cil has  recently  put  in  operation  a  2000- 
kilowatt  steam  turbine  mounted  on  a 
special  rubber  foundation  as  a  precaution 
against  vibration,  such  as  has  given  trou- 
ble from  reciprocating  engines. 

An  ordinary  concrete  foundation  has 
been  built,  upon  which  rests  the  turbine 
with  its  rubber  foundation.  The  turbine 
is  bolted  to  a  slab  of  concrete  about  two 
feet  thick,  which  is  reinforced  by  steel 
bars,  and  between  this  concrete  slab  and 
the  foundation  proper  are  placed  a  num- 
ber of  4x3-inch  circular  rubber  pieces.  No 
part  of  the  turbine  or  concrete  slab  above 
the  rubber  pieces  is  allowed  to  come  in 
contact  with  the  floor,  thus  preventing 
any  possibility  of  vibration  being  trans- 
m.itted  to  the  building. 

From  what  is  known  of  steam-turbine 
operation  this  precaution  would  seem  un- 
necessary if  the  machine  is  in  proper  bal- 
ance, and  there  is  no  reason  why  it  should 
be  put  into  operation  until  it  is.  In  jus- 
tice to  the  contractors  of  this  installa- 
tion it  can  be  said  that  they  were  willing 
to  guarantee  that  the  turbine  would  run 
without  vibration. 


Vibration  from  generating  units  causes 
more  or  less  annoyance  in  office  build- 
ings, and  is  due  to  the  condition  of  the 
soil  upon  which  the  foundation  is  built, 
the  unbalanced  condition  of  the  engine 
and,  possibly,  unequal  distribution  of  load 
in  the  cylinder. 

Many  unique  methods  of  preventing 
vibration  transmission  have  been  devised 
with  more  or  less  success.  In  one  in- 
stance the  ingenious  engineer  carried  out 
the  scheme  of  building  a  scow  upon  which 
were  placed  a  small  engine  and  generator 
that  had  given  trouble  from  vibration. 
The  scow  was  placed  in  a  tank  of  water, 
and  although  the  idea  cost  money  it  pre- 
vented all  vibration  from  being  trans- 
mitted to  the  building. 

In  another  instance  the  engine  was  to 
be  placed  in  the  basement  of  a  building 
built  on  a  ledge.  In  order  to  overcome 
the  transmission  of  vibration  from  the 
engine  a  portion  of  the  ledge  where  the 
engine  was  to  be  set  was  cut  away  and  a 
layer  of  asbestos  felt  placed  under  and 
around  the  engine  foundation,  which  was 
then  built  in  the  usual  manner. 

These  methods  of  preventing  transmis- 
sion of  vibration  have  been  confined  to 
reciprocating  engines,  but  from  recent  ad- 
vices it  seems  that  it  has  been  deemed  ad- 
visable   to    take    precaution    against    this 


Cultivate  the  Habit  of  Observation 


To  see  without  noticing  is  one  of  the 
commonest  habits  of  inankind,  and  this 
fact  has  been  taken  advantage  of  by  a 
class  of  men  who  call  themselves  "Busi- 
ness Doctors."  They  have  cultivated  and 
improved  the  faculty  of  noticing  what 
they  see.  They  go  into  business  houses 
and  industrial  establishments  and,  without 
previous  experience  in  any  particular  line, 
except  that  of  observation,  put  their  fin- 
gers on  sources  of  loss.  Under  their  di- 
rection, methods  of  business  are  reorgan- 
ized and  industrial  establishments  are  re- 
modeled. Wastes  are  stopped,  losses  re- 
duced and  production  increased.  Members 
of  this  same  class  of  men  have  turned  their 
attention  toward  the  power  house,  and 
lubricating  engineers,  combustion  engi- 
neers, supervising  engineers  and  what  not 
are  looking  for  revenue  from  the  mistakes 
of  carelessness  and  ignorance  on  the  jiart 
of  the  operating  engineer. 

Claiming  to  have  saved  in  some  in- 
stances as  much  as  ten  per  cent,  of  the 
total  fuel  used  in  large  industries,  by  in- 
telligent use  of  the  right  kind  of  lubricat- 
ing and  cylinder  oils,  the  lubricating  engi- 
neer is  able  to  interest  the  man  who  pays 
the  coal  bills  and  he  often  makes  good,  be- 
cause the  engineer  has  not  noted  the 
things  which  he  has  seen  while  attending 
to  matters  of  lubrication.  Altogether  too 
often  with  the  engineer  oil  is  oil,  and  as 
long  as  bearings  do  not  unduly  heat  one 
oil  is  just  like  any  other  oil.  Observation 
is  the  long  suit  of  the  lubrication  expert 
and    he   notices    every   spot   where   oil   is 


March  2,  1909. 

used  and  how  it  is  applied,  and  he  gets 
from  an  apparently  simple  glance  at  things 
in  general  an  amount  of  information  that 
the  engineer  would  not  acquire  in  a  life- 
time, because  he  naturally  notices  only 
that  which  is  out  of  the  ordinary,  while 
the  habit  of  observation  cultivated  by  the 
expert  teaches  him  to  see  all  that  is  not 
ordinary  in  ordinary  things. 

Sometimes  the  engineer  uses  new  oil 
on  a  part  of  his  plant  and  filtered  oil  on 
the  rest  of  it.  Sometimes  all  of  the  new 
oil  used  in  a  plant  is  added  to  the  oil 
already  in  the  filter  as  makeup  oil  and 
only  oil  from  the  filter  is  used  for  lubri 
cation.  But  hew  often  does  the  engineer 
know  or  even  think  whether  the  machin- 
ery under  his  care  runs  with  less  friction 
in  one  case  than  in  the  other?  In  an  in- 
•nllation  of  five  hundred  or  more  horse- 
wer,  a  saving  in  the  amount  of  fric- 
tion of  even  one  per  cent,  is  an  item 
which  is  well  worth  looking  after,  and 
the  iijnorancc  of  the  man  who  directs  the 
oiling  of  this  plant  is  the  opportunity  of 
the  lubricating  engineer. 

In  the  boiler  room  it  is  the  same.     Im- 
■  per  and   unintelligent   methods  of  fir- 
^'  may  obtain,  cold  air  may  seep  through 
•  known  or  unknown  cracks  and  open- 
.'«    in    the    boiler    setting.    lowering    the 
rn.irr  trmprrnturr  .irnl  the   trniix-rature 
ion  bcfof 
^   of  the  1. 
i;  the  efficiency  ot  the  plant, 
ngh  various  channels,  the  outsider 
invading  the  field  that  belongs  especi- 
!)■  to  the  engineer  and  with  more  or  less 
iccess  as  the  engineer  is  alert  or  inert. 
<  >bvi'»usly,   the   moral   p<^)intc<l   to   is   that 
thr  inan  who  is  in   the  power  plant  and 
Tr  for  its  operation  •.!  v 

ni  every  detail   of   it>  1 

than   any  outsider,   however   well    tr.nne 
he    may    be.      Special    knowIe<li.'<-    ,    mk^ 
ily   as   the   result   of   special 

<l  the  engineer  has  better  f 

rci.-il  study  of  his  own  plant  than  any 
•!ier  man  in  the  world  and  \hould  take 
!vantage  of  them. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

-tallation  and  inspection  of  tleani  hotter*. 
^nd    for   ascertaining    the 
pressures  to  be  carried  or 
!  •  ".ts.  if  thr  i»«xe»««ry, 

'he     q  fiulerials 

c-i'l    in    th- 

iiTimilatc    :  ^  ^  ..:.„. 

tion  and  siies  of  ufety  valves  for  boiler* 
of  different  sixes  and  pressures:  the  con- 
struction, use  and  location  of  fusible 
safety  plugs,  apr"  -.^  the 

pressure  of  sle^r  water 

in  the  boiler,  an  ' 
the  b<iar<l  may 
ir: 

. .  ved  by  the  gov- 
ernor, have  the  force  of  law  and  several 
sets  have  been  promulgated  and  repro- 
duced in  part  in  our  columns. 

It   is    now    contended    b-  -^ - 

boiler  manufacturers  that 
rules  transcend  the  a     "  •  the  L-^arLl 

in   that   they   are  not  m  ^fetv 

.ir.d  effort  •> 
ri-pc.ilci! 
■•pori.illy   urge<i  are: 

Rule  II,  sections  d  ari'I  r    m- rif>ii)i.'  -Sat 
fusible  plugs  shall  be 

less  than  one-third  !>•«.  ..  ..k.i.  ■.  ...^  ,<.^< 
above  the  lower  sheet. 

Section  4.   "This  b-      '   '  '  -rcooi* 

mend   the  use  of  ex-  >oikrt 

%    of 

I  '1    iMndliole    and    prc*crilMn» 

t  n. 

the     requiring    of    hori/onial     r^ 

tubular     Ji'.il.fs     i,\rr     \i-.cty'.\    .•     !t 

in  di.1- 

lUgS     bv      tiir       t'lii^Hic    Mi'i^ini' 

setting. 
The  r 

the   c' 


I      t'r 


\"  thrr  prAp-itrd  amendment  is  for  the 


coafusing  swocp  dccrtM  ikai  iht 
shall  make  ivdi  rvlci  oaljr  m  arc  mten 
t^ry  for  poblac  safety  and  frttkn  •■  rtib^» 
heretofore  iii— d  wx  to  owimj.   . 

cut    Wiiir.ir  wbo  tkall  dcodc 

had  a  rtent  npgnn—i »   u{ 

-turn  of  MaadardttatKM^ 

cord  ma«g«raicd  by  iW 

Uatt^r  utcttt  oepartflMtM.     It  h  poMiblr 

thai  in  some   tn^rct*  it  dor*  trmmnmA 

the  boom*  prearribrd  by   »   aMipIr  pro- 

visfon  for  the  public  safety     A  boiler  BMjr 

•ale  wiib  a  MMibolc  raryi^g 

rn  tbat  wbkb  tlw  b>ar  !  h^% 

a  landard  and  tbe  •»- 


to  nac  an  iixis  or  im6  maaink  il  br 
me  other  %ut.  At  tbe 
Ic   rarutioa   froai  tbc*e 

•  *«!Kable  IB  one  dwctioi^  <■* 

3  -afteqaacy  for  a  ana  ol  ord»- 

".  tbe  olber  for  mlr  tmd 

•trnx-ni    ol    as    abaor* 

helL  Tbe  rale* 


mally  '■ 

aOow 

forcgr>: 

from  t 

to  co% 

the  advaritAcr     i  »u 

haire  to  be  rwi»Ui»»r»' 

had  to  horr* 

rrplarr  a  ^- 


Ka»« 

f   ID 


lalre.   bat    la 
-«•  «n  cor- 


or  obstntclion  of  tbis  pipe  iaaidt  ti  aar 


txtarca     ;i-* 


the  exemption  of  at' 


!■<•    in<!<v  rtl    to    IMif    1^' 


pot^bt' 


State  Supervision  of  Boilers 


i".ven  those  who  most  loudly  decry 
ternalism  on  the  part  of  the  State,  and 
vernmental  interference  with  the  pre- 
<atives  of  the  individual,  will  n"t  denv 
•  right  of  the  Stale  tr  insist  lh.if  <tr.im 

tM>ilrr<    «hall    he    used    under 

diliotts     a*     not     to     menace 

safety 
The  Ma4«achu«ellt  law  contain^   i  r" 

vision   for  a  Hoard  of  It.iiler  1 

•isling  of  the  chief  of  the  >x  <l 

department,    one    represet. 

the  boiler  n  '-       '     • 

bniler-in«iir 

engineer.       1  his     b-ar-l     i 

formulate   rules    for   the   > 


•itig  up     .^ 


«^or1i 


•1    rn  ■.«4<    •  .    f^     •-I*    •    ' 


14  ui!* 


430 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  2,  1909. 


Power  Plant  Machinery  and   Appliances 

Original     Descriptions     of     Power     Devices 
No     Manufacturers'      Cuts      or     Write-ups     Used 

MUST     BE     NEW     OR     INTERESTING 


International  Harvester  Gas  Engine 


The  engravings  presented  herewith 
illustrate  the  details  of  the  latest  two- 
cylinder  vertical  gas  engine  manufactured 
by  the  International  Harvester  Company 
cf  America,  Chicago.  As  apparent  from 
Fig.  I,  the  design  conforms  in  many  re- 
spects to  standard  construction  for  verti- 


valves  are  made  as  large  in  diameter  as 
consistent  with  the  size  of  the  cylinder. 
The  inlet  valves  are  integral  with  their 
stems,  but  the  exhaust-valve  heads  are 
screwed  on  their  stems  to  permit  renewal 
of  a  disk  alone  if  it  should  become 
necessary. 

Regulation  is  effected  by  throttling  the 
mixture  of  gas  and  air  accCirding  to  the 
load  requirements.  The  governor  is  gear- 
driven  from  the  cam  shaft  and  is  equipped 
with  a  spring  mechanism  designed  to  take 
up  the  shock  and  jar  caused  by  the  cam 
action.  The  vertical  governor  spindle, 
which  extends  up  through  the  crank  case, 
as  shown  in  Fig.  5,  carries  three  lugs, 
which  correspond  to  three  similar  ones  on 
the  governor  yoke.  Between  these  two 
sets  of  lugs  are  interposed  coil  springs,  so 
that  the  governor-valve  stem  is  not 
affected  by  momentary  changes  of  speed 
due  to  shock  or  jar,  backlash  of  the  gears, 
or   other   similar   causes. 

Fig.    2   shows   in   section    the    combined 


Gov.  Rod 


Ffc.    2.      PRODUCER-GAS    THROTTLIXG    .\XD 
VALVE    MIXER 

cal  single-acting  four-stroke-cycle  engines, 
having  an  inclosed  crank  case  and  splash 
lubrication,  valves  in  the  cylinder  heads 
'■)perated  by  push  rods  and  rockers,  and  a 
flyball  governor  controlling  the  admission 
ot  mixture  to  the  intake  manifold.  In 
working  out  the  details,  however,  absolute 
intcrchangeability  of  parts  has  been  the 
t^uiding  principle,  and  there  are  no  "rights 
.md  lefts"  in  its  construction.  Any  piece 
used  for  any  given  purpose  on  one  cylin- 
<ier  may  be  used  equally  well  on  the  other, 
and  the  positions  of  the  cylinders  them- 
selves may  be  transposed  at  will. 

As  shown  in  Fig.  5,  both  the  inlet  and 
the  exhaust  valves  are  in  the  cylinder 
b.eads,  and  both  are  mechanically  oper- 
ated from  a  half-time  cam  shaft  located 
in  the  crank  case.  One  size  of  valve  cage 
is  used  for  both  inlet  and  exhaust  valves, 
and  the  cages  are  held  in  place  by  two 
large  studs  instead  of  several  small  ones. 
To  reduce  the  velocity  of  the  entering  and 
outgoing    gases    in    the    valve    ports,    the 


FIG.      I.     INTERNATIONAL    HARVESTER    COMPANY  S    GAS    ENGINE 


March  2,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


--f;i%?-^ 


*J« 


in^    rrvuljf    r>r>L^>.. 


r**-*  •  ir  T 


jnd  the  oM«r  cdfr  of  iW 
«  nMwiniMl  at* 
1  by  the  4eard 


riG.    .V      '.vsiiUtNE   VALVSaAXD    MIXn 


:<>(tlin(r  and  inixiiiK  valve  for  the  pro- 

duccr-Ka«  engine.     Beth  the  air  and  the 

«'<*  val\c4  arc  of  the  balanced  |)opp«-t  type 

■I  arc  rai%cd  or  lowered  by  the  ic^emor 

ch  umI.     It  will  be  noiit.  ' 

aas  and  air  valves  In  n 


pas»es    through    the    opening    />. 
auxiliary  air  valve  E.  the  »lcTn  i>f 
i»  attached  f^  •'-    '  -'ipo«  F.     A"  • 
then  come*  •   with  ilv 

vapor  and  pr  rich  mixture, 


«:-.;<i»     each,     rrwik:'^     !!^. 

more.     Makr-ao<l  **-ik    >,. 

md    the    morab!- 

xtc^ 

with    in   •~!itM(lr 

•    (br 

''                    ;t(ndle  ai>- 

<  hakOgtj 

«'                              Nrjf     t 

■  'if     cr  tnk 

c- 

IK 

II  . 

trc    tnmrtl    » 

arlT 

'.                     inher      » 

tW 

U                        :ic  u  m»^' 

'.«IM- 

and  left  tuad  tlirtad*  ««  itw 

r«d» 

Surting    it    a                    ! 

vilk    ea»- 

(■rrt^r^I    air    b» 


■  rf       fK«       .  >1.. 


t~he  rotating  par 


pUir        »h< 


nut*  t  .     When  I  Ik 
position    shown.    l>«)lh     valves    will     have 
equal  lift,  but  when  it  i«  »»i>m..i  .vt  »., 
the  right  the  lift  of  the  g.i 
than  that  of  the  air  v.il 
By  means  of  thi«  mc< 


in 

Tl. 
lenr, 


ixturc  may  be  ubtjiiicd,  »iUi 
limit* 


'    lower   . 
mixing  .!•:  - 
in  '••B    3-     The  liquid   furl 
Into  the  mixing  r«- •■•■'-• 
thaped  no/fle   wl 
spray.     Air  i«  admif-i   n 

lion      to      the      oprnini;      ..I 

throttle  valve  t'    • 
Is  due  to  the   .111 
the    rnginr    «r.  'i    r 
hori/onfal  stnn  j>mIU  • 
dosed  position  after  each 
Ai  light  load*,  and  nn  *ur' 


fe 


n 


!] 


-y 


r 


V' 


432 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  2,  1909. 


valve,  the  air  is  turned  on  by  means  of 
an  ordinary  plug  cock  L  in  the  supply 
pipe,  the  lever  of  which  is  connected  by 
an  arm  with  a  collar  on  a  beveled  seat 
connecting  with  the  pin  K.  The  action  of 
turning  on  the  air  withdraws  the  pin 
K,  allowing  the  air  pressure  to  seat  the 
valve  tightly,  and  it  then  operates  as  an 
admission  and  exhaust  valve  until  the 
air  supply  is  shut  off,  which  allows  the 
pin  to  force  the  valve  from  its  seat  again. 


an  oil  pan,  draining  to  the  pin,  and  the 
lower  end  of  the  rod  contains  oil  pockets 
on    each    side   which   collect  the   oil   and 

carry  it  to  the  crank  pin. 


Eureka  "  Belting 


The  Eureka  Fire  Hose  Manufacturing 
Company,  13  Barclay  street,  New  York 
City,  has  been  at  work  for  a  number  of 


form  itself  into  a  coil,  adhere  to  the  pul- 
ley and  make  a  powerful  drive.  The  tex- 
ture of  the  belt  allows  of  the  escape  of 
air  between  the  pulley  and  the  belt.  It 
is  made  treated  and  untreated.  Treated 
belt  will  stand  moisture  and  climatic 
changes,  and  both  styles  are  so  solidly 
put  together  that  what  stretch  is  neces- 
sarily left  in  the  belting  is  minimized, 
avoiding  the  necessity  of  tighteners  and 
annoying  delays  in  taking  up. 


Removal  of  Oil  and  Grease    from 
Boiler    Feed  Water 


FIG.    5.       SECTIONAL   VIEW    OF    INTERNATIONAL   HARVESTER  (X)MPANY's  GAS  ENGINE 


The  shaft  runs  in  three  babbitted  bear- 
ings set  into  the  base  and  resting  on  flat 
surfaces,  so  that  they  can  be  easily 
shimmed  up  when  necessary.  Ribbed 
projections  are  cast  in  the  crank  case  so 
that  the  dripping  oil  from  the  top  will  run 
into  the  main  bearings  and  insure  ample 
lubrication.  The  upper  or  wristpin  box 
of  the  connecting  rod  is  slotted  out  of  the 
solid  forging  and  has  brasses  with  wedge 
adjustment.     The  top  of  the  rod   carries 


years  perfecting  its  "Eureka"  solid-woven 
cotton  belting,  which  was  recently  placed 
on  the  market.  This  belting  is  intended 
for  both  transmission  and  conveying.  It 
is  manufactured  on  special  machinery, 
owned  by  the  company,  the  invention  of 
the  president,  B.  L.  Stowe. 

"Eureka"  belting  is  woven  under  an  im- 
mense tension  in  one  solid  body  and, 
therefore,  has  no  plies  to  separate.  A 
natural  tendency  of  the  belt  in  work  is  to 


By  Arthur  E.  Krause 


Among  the  many  problems  with  which 
steam  users,  managers  of  power  plants, 
ice  manufacturers  and  others  have  to  con- 
tend, and  have  always  been  attempting  to 
solve,  that  of  completely'  removing  the  oil 
or  grease  from  condensation  water  has 
probably  been  the  mon  baffling  and  diffi- 
cult, particularly  that  portion  of  it  which 
is  in  the  finely  emulsified  state  indicated 
fay  the  cloudy  or  milky  appearance  of  the 
water. 

This  emulsion  is  caused  by  the  churning 
of  the  mixture  of  condensed  steam  and 
lubricating  oil  in  the  steam-engine  or 
steam-pump  cylinder.  It  passes  out  with 
the  exhaust  and  is  found  in  the  hotwell 
water  resulting  from  the  condensation  of 
the  steam.  Attempts  to  remove  the  oil 
sufficiently  to  make  a  safe  boiler  water  by 
means  of  separators  in  the  exhaust  line 
have  been  successful  only  at  so  much  ex- 
pense, uncertainty  and  vigilance  that  many 
stations  reject  the  water  from  surface 
condensers  and  purchase  city  water  at 
enormous  costs. 

Coarser  particles  or  drops  of  oil  which 
have  not  been  emulsified  or  gone  into  the 
milky  condition  can  be  readily  removed  by 
either  skimming  tanks  or  coarse  filtration 
through  hay,  excelsior,  turkish  toweling, 
terry  cloth,  etc.  It  will  be  found,  how- 
ever, that  no  matter  how  fine  the  filter- 
ing material  has  been,  the  milky  appear- 
ance of  the  water  caused  by  the  oil  has 
not  appreciably  changed,  showing  that 
considerable  quantities  of  oil  are  still  re- 
tained and  leaving  it  unfit  for  ice  mak- 
ing, boiler  feeding  or  other  purposes 
where  a  clear  and  pure  water  is  the  most 
important  consideration.  As  long  as  this 
cloudy  appearance  remains,  the  water  will 
be  unsafe  for  boiler  feed  and  will  sooner 
or  later  be  sure  to  result  in  serious 
trouble. 

It  may  also  be  mentioned  that  by  the  use 
of  coagulants  and  chemicals  involving  re- 
actions of  various  kinds,  the  oil  and  milky 
appearance  of  such  water  may  be  re- 
moved, but  any  chemical  treatment  which 


March  2,  1909. 

necessarily  leaves  in  solution  many  sub- 
stances deleterious  for  ice  manufactur!:!.' 
or  iKjilcr  purposes  cannot  be  rccoinnun  . 
nor  trusted  by  careful  cnginciTs,  owing 
chiefly  to  the  well  known  harmiiil  ctTc.ts 
of  chemicals  upon  the  valves,  boiler  plates 
and  brass  fittings. 

In  consequence  of  this,  oily  condensa- 
tion water  in  large  quantities  in  puwcr 
plants,  ice  plants  and  other  industrial 
establishments  is  now  run  to  waste, 
which,  if  the  oil  were  completely  rcniu\cd, 
would  Ik-  ideal  water  for  l>oiler  feeding, 
ice  makmg  and  many  other  purposes,  and 
which,  if  saved,  would  result  in  considera- 
ble economy,  particularly  in  cities  where 
water   rates  are   high,  and   on  shipboard, 

'  i-re    special    evaporators    must    be   used 
btain  pure  water. 

In  set-king  some  suitable  substance  that 
would  clear  this  condensation  water  com- 
pletely, and  without  chemical  treatment 
with  its  attendant  evils,  the  writer  has 
discovered  among  the  magnesian  pro<lucts 
'''  terpentine  quarries  a  peculiar  fibrous 
<1  which  is  practically  insoluble  and,  by 
reason  of  its  extraordinary  physical  prop- 
erty of  attracting  and  retaining  the  oily 
matter  in  condensation  water,  is  eminently 
fitted  and  suited  to  remove  the  last  traces 
of  oil  from  the  latter.  Its  strong  physical 
property  of  attracting  greasy  matter  may 
be  judged  by  the  fact  that  the  material 
will  retain  or  absorb  from  50  to  100  per 
cent,  of  its  own  weight  of  emulsified  oil 
'  fii  the  water  after  the  coarser  oil  par- 
■•■>  have  been  removed. 

That  this  method  of  purifying  or  free- 
ing water  from  oil  or  grease  is  a  purely 
physical  and  not  a  chemical  one  is  shoM-n 
by  the  fact  that  by  suitable  solvents  the 
oil  can  be  readily  removed  from  the  spent 
fibrous  magnesian  filtering  material,  and 
the  oil  so  obtained  may  be  used  over  again 
for  lubricating,  etc. 

The  jifiKess,  which  is  patented,  and 
which  is  now  In-ing  intr<Mluced,  require* 
no  more  care  than  an  ordinary  sand  tilter, 
needs  no  expert  attendance  and  is  con- 
tinuous in  operation,  the  only  special  re- 
quirements l>ring  a  pressure  pump  of  the 
requisite  cap.icity. 

An  aiMitioiial  .idvantage  of  this  proccM 
h  that   '  ■  through  the  *eri»rntine 

fiber  or  1  .e  effect*  of  the  free  sul- 

phuric and  other  acids  foiiml  in  rrrt.iin 
•Ireams  and  brtxiks  throughout  the  (-i>.d 
regions  become  neutralized  and  the  water 
rmdercd  entirely  safe  and  serviceable  f<'r 
boiler  use. 

I  have  al»<>  dis< 
tine  wa«tr  or  tibr 
the    property    i>f 
natter  and  peat> 
■Mny    well   and   other    waters    w 
are  filtered  through  or  olherwi*' 

•nitact  with  the  before-mentioned  nui- 

Mil 

I  he  apf>aratii«  for  this  proce««  i«  manti- 
!  by  .Mrxander  Miller  A   Brother, 
ity,  N.  J 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER.  4^ 

A  NW  Pipe  Joint  Cement  ture-Udca  ckmds  tnm  tW  uunhmr^  4b> 

charge  mo*l  of  tbetr  caalrf  -itm 


1  Mr     M       \S       J 

of  New  York,  rev  ■ 

ket    what    is   known   *»     Ho 

cemrTi!      This  crmcnt  t<  p*:r    •;. 

ao    • 

claimed.     To  use  the  cement   it 
mixed  with  water  or  lintcrd  oil 
The     chemical     properties     of 
cement  are   said   to   K(  ' 

pands  after  the  joint  1 
m.i" 
ha 

be  cam) 
ger  of 
poisonous. 


?llirKL,irVii%      (h«-%       Tr\r, 


may  be 

-11  u 

'    ex- 
ebr 


Water   Power   in  Tasmania 


Consul  Henry  13.  Baker,  of  Hobart. 
Australia,  reports  that  there  i*  crrti*i«lcra- 
ble  agitation  at  present  in  T.«'i..f.i,  for 
governmental  aid  for  the  •!  1  of 

the  large  water-power  revur.s  t  that 
island.  The  premier  nf  Tasmania  vaid 
that  th<-  '       is  Id  in<! 

and  coi:  utili/e  tl 

were  dc\cl<>(Kd.     The  cost  rk* 

wtitild     l»c     hundreti*     of  'i 

pounds     (il=$4J46).      The    g' 
only    required    some    guarantee 
power  would  be  iitili/e*!   if  made  availa- 
ble, and  it  would  be  willing  to  go  ahead 
in  the  matter. 

.\t  present  the  only  water-power  de- 
velopment in  Tasmania  i»  at  the  city  of 
I.junce«ton.    where    for  '»    a 

|xirtion    "f   th»*    wsfrf  -    in 

the    .So- 
the   mm 

of  the  city.      I  he   power  »• 
two  miles  from  the  ctt%    a- 
ery   comprise*    four    i'  genera- 
tors and  turbines  of  4y •-  .-^•er  ••»  '- 

In  the  city  there  are  over  thiriv  mil' 

Mr. 
t.li 
el. 
u»< 


No  ftale  In  A»«<r«li*  ha» 
water   power   a* 


flu 
Ta 


-ur    [•rir>.i(Mj 

real  lake  aad  Lake 

pan  ol  ibaa 

«4*4  to  aver- 


age {S4  UIlLc*,  U;.:  *'.  t 
"«It    sV^tjt      ft     tn-He 


par 


*•'■•* .~j.  -rr.  frcMB  Lafce  Ccbo 

horsepower,  and  Imm  Ore*!  lake  tjjKO 
hot  J 

p(>«  4 

to 


*itu%*   wa  kailL 


A*  M  n  t^^itrnkit  tbat  tbe  pow«e  coaM 
uo«  tie   t.r.rtj?.',    utihred  «l  ibe 
pow  b  miglM  be  ttmmi 

in  !  •»-  . '  -  -^rfd  bav* 

to  be  tr  «  ia  r^ 

qotrnL 

la  caac  it  •koold  be  priMbIt  to  mtka 
Itotart  tbe  manulacf  rig  eewier  of  Aa»- 
trjU4     »wtow|f   tnhet   rimms.  am 


at  the  iWermt  power  man 

regmn  wmiM  hr  mlixr-I  \n  akoal  JD  ptt 

cent  (n  the 

cal  enerti.    .  *- 

and  !<•••  on 

liab«n.    inl  . 

current  i*  '  ■    ■ « 

fimtr     whKh     O-mjM     be     <lm( 

Itobart     would    be.    mj.    S7> 

horsepower 

At  present  tvn  Tonr»  K'r%r^mrt  to 
•umrd  bi  H< '  mi  laf 

liL-httnif     K-,:l  (UB 

"wadL'  and  tf  an 


EnUrfiaf  •  Oatnl  Suboa 


mifal  ^ 


nti» 


Ka«    V.kJ    .ifi^ 


434 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  2,  1909. 


Some  Useful  Homemade  Apparatus 


Bv  R.  O.  Richards 


A  few  months  ago  I  received  a  letter 
from  the  manager  of  a  small  plant,  un- 
der whom  I  once  was  emploj'ed,  request- 
ing me  to  devote  my  spare  time  to  aiding 
his  engineer  to  remodel  the  steam  plant. 
Besides  installing  some  fuel-saving  aux- 
iliaries and  simplifyng  the  piping  system, 
which  was  in  such  an  intricate  state  that 
it  could  be  likened  only  to  a  lot  of 
snarled  fishing  lines,  we  introduced  some 
novel  apparatus  and  methods  of  our  own. 

To  distinguish  the  different  steam  pipes 
and  valves  we  had  several  pipe-covering 
bands  painted  various  bright  colors  (a 
suggestion  obtained  from  Power),  and 
these  were  secured  to  the  pipes  at  every 
turn,  in  each  side  of  such  walls  as  the 
pipes  penetrated  and  on  each  side  of 
every  valve.  We  found,  however,  that 
these  were  distinguishable  only  in  the 
dajrtime,  the  night  watchman  discovering 
that  all  colors  looked  alike  to  him.  To 
overcome  this  obstacle,  each  valve  was 
given  a  number,  which  was  painted  on  a 
glass  tag  framed  with  tin.     A  card  was 


tions,  we  feared  no  smoke  inspector,  but 
— well,  I  guess  we  have  all  been  up 
against  these  conditions.  Moreover,  we 
were  troubled  with  lack  of  draft.  A  re- 
quest for  stokers  was  turned  down  at 
the  office,  on  the  ground  that  if  we  could 
sometimes  fire  for  a  whole  day  without 
producing  smoke,  the  management  failed 
to  see  why  we  could  not  always  fire  that 
way  (there  is  a  moral  here  for  firemen). 
They  were,  however,  willing  to  have  a 
fan  installed,  and  this  gave  me  a  chance 
to  try  a  certain  form  of  furnace  that  I 
often  thought  would  at  least  be  handy,  if 
not   economical. 

A  New  Type  of  Furn.\ce 
After  seven  months'  constant  use,  I  am 
beginning  to  feel  proud  of  it,  and  as  I 
have  not  seen  anything  similar  to  it,  a 
short  description  follows.  The  reader 
will   bear    in    mind    that    this    is    a    small 


the  caked  coal.  Sections  through  one  of 
the  castings  forming  the  bar  doors  are 
shown  in  Fig.  2.  With  the  improved 
draft  and  the  greater  grate  surface,  the 
engineer  is  able  to  dispense  with  one 
boiler  and  not  have  to  force  the  one  in 
use  unduly.  The  fireman,  believing  that 
the  method  of  stoking  produced  this  re- 
sult, religiously  adhered  to  instructions. 
Indeed,  he  has  to,  for  I  have  never  yet 
seen  a  furnace  that  will  stand  less  monkey- 
ing  with. 

The  forced  draft  is  at  no  time  objec- 
tionable, having  but  a  slight  tendency  out- 
ward when  the  furnace  doors  are 
opened — just  sufficient  to  prevent  the  in- 
rush of  cold  air  while  coaling.  Control 
of  the  forced  draft  is  obtained  by  con- 
necting the  balanced  throttle  valve  of 
the  fore  engine  to  the  cord  of  the  regu- 
lator, the  fore  engine  being  made,  how- 
ever, to  close  ahead  of  the  damper.  There 


F.D.  Ash  DiK>r 

FIG.    I.    SPECIAL  TYPE  OF  FURNACE 


Forced  Draft  Grates 
FIG.    2.       SHOWING    SECTIONS    THROL-GH   CASTING   FORMING   THE   B.\R  DOOR,   ETC. 


hung    in    the    engine    room,    showing   the 
location,  color  and  number  of  each  valve. 

A  card  system  for  keeping  track  of 
all  work  done  was  also  introduced  (an- 
other suggestion  from  Power).  Thus, 
one  card  would  tell  how  often  the  pump 
valves  were  renewed,  another  would 
show  how  long  the  rod  packing  lasted, 
etc.  Then,  when  the  drummer  came  • 
around,  the  engineer  would  show  him  a 
record  of  his  wares,  and  if  a  disgruntled 
salesman  went  to  the  office  and  hinted 
that  the  engineer  must  be  accepting  graft 
from  a  competitor,  the  "old  man"  knew 
better,  for  the  records  were  always,  ac- 
cessible. 

This  plant  is  situated  near  the  retail 
section  of  the  town,  and  we  were  up 
against  the  smoke  question.  Provided 
the  fireman   stoked   according  to  instruc- 


plant  consisting  of  one  72-inch  and  one 
60-inch  return-tubular  boilers.  The  plan 
was  to  use  forced  and  natural  draft  at 
one  and  the  same  time.  Fig.  i  gives  a 
good  idea  of  it.  It  will  be  noticed  that 
two  one-brick-width  walls  divide  the  ash- 
pit into  three  parts.  The  jog  in  the  side- 
walls  of  the  furnace  is  such  as  to  admit 
of  one  extra  grate  bar  on  each  side.  The 
letters  F  D  stand  for  "forced  draft"  and 
iV  D  for  "natural  draft." 

Green  coal  is  thrown  on  the  grate  sub- 
ject to  the  forced  draft.  After  coking, 
it  is  spread  over  the  natural-draft  grate. 
Barring  and  spreading  is  done  through 
the  small  door  A.  The  opening  is  just 
large  enough  to  admit  the  free  handling 
of  the  bars,  and  is  so  constructed  as  to 
form  a  hump  to  act  as  fulcrum,  thus 
greatly  facilitating  the  throwing  over  of 


are  also  the  usual  hand  dampers  in  the 
ashpit.  Fig.  2  shows  the  manner  of 
clearing  the  forced-draft  grate  The 
bars  are  raised  and  lowered  by  the  chains, 
shown  and  manipulated  by  a  handwheel 
at  the  side  of  the  boiler.  The  necessary 
extras  were  made  and  attached  to  a  com- 
mon "hoo-hoo"  grate  by  ourselves.  The 
chains  are  used  only  while  the  boiler  is 
being  fi.red,  the  regular  cleaning  being- 
done  through  the  large  doors  in  the  usual, 
manner. 

A  phenomenon  of  this  furnace  is  that 
when  the  forced-draft  grate  is  properly 
coaled,  the  natural  draft  exerts  itself  • 
sufficiently  to  keep  steam  up ;  but  when 
the  green  coal  is  caked  the  forced  draft 
seems  to  kill  the  natural  draft.  This 
works  advantageously,  as  the  fireman 
is  compelled  to  fire  just  so,  for,  unless  the 


March  2.  1909. 

natural-draft  grate  is  covered  with  good 
live  smoke-conbuming  coke,  the  steam 
pressure  will  drop  and  any  attempt  to 
put  on  green  coal  (which  would  produce 
smoke)  is  paralyzed  by  the  extra  work 
required  to  keep  the  steam  up.  If,  how- 
ever, the  firing  is  done  according  to  in- 
structions, no  difficulty  is  exjxrrienced. 

Two  tons  of  coal  is  burned  per  ten 
hours.  The  e\'aporation  per  pound  of 
coal  is  &39  pounds,  as  against  8.11 
pounds  previously.  The  ilcsign  of  the 
furnace  could  easily  have  Iktcii  improved, 
but  we  had  to  hear  in  mind  tha:  .should 
it  not  l»e  a  success  we  would  have  to  re- 
store it  in  a  very  short  time  to  prevent 
a  shutdown.     All  that  is  necessary  is  to 


IH)\VER  AND  THE  KNMNEER. 

plate  which  makes  H  ncc««sanr  10  keep 

the    '      ■     '  •  ■ 

dra 

tacl 

the 

ent' 

the 

the  When   tJ, 

ope:.    .....     .,..;cr    it    aUt.'iii,.U>a>i>      -.HI.     .   :; 

from  entering  the  cup.  the  recalatii« 
cock  /.>  is  to  set   -'  1  certaia 

definite  lime  in  et 

\v  ia 

g'X"  '-m, 

the    damper    will    be    c  plajrtnc 

from   open   to   that.   un;_  !joilcr   it 

unduly  forced.  When,  however,  they 
need  attention,  the  damper  will  renwin 
open  and  a  fireman  onto  hit  job  will  get 
bu.sy.  T  '  «  man  will  wait  until 
the  stca::  <>r  10  ponrv!*,  »«  that 
he  can  put   in  a  greater  ar  lal 

when   he   doci   get   up.     T^i-    .  of 

the  cap  and  the  float  is  now  apf>arcitt. 
If  the  damper  remains  open  beyond  a 
definite,  certain  and  reasonable  time,  the 
cup  becomes  r"-  ■ •  ■'-  nut  F.  press- 
ing on  the  ti::  of  the  wire* 


OS 


ecp 

get  loo  high   fw 

rmsiMit  •  hMty.  olios 

h,. 

clandrttn  ' 

the  Uo«««  ««!«« 

»•- 

From    J 

'*l^     by      The     cilgMMlf. 

rtC.     3.     SHOWING    H^HaAtXIC    DA  Mm    RBCCLAtlMI 


break  down  the  diviilinK  waIN  in  ih<   .t-h 
pit    and    cither    natural    or    forced    dr^tlt 
may  be  used  under  the  whole  furnace. 

HvotAUUc  DAMPca  Rkcui^tob 

The  writer  "    ' 
left  to  pr.icti 

room.     A  grcii    v.«riit)   tii 
vices  are  in  u»c  lo  ».»vc  j  ■ 
while    the    firrman    hat    a    free    haii'i    ' 
wa«te    la    15  or  even  JO  per  cent,  of   the 
:oal  pile.     Therefore,  an  engineer  is  jut* 
ified    in     inttalling    anything    that    will 
lomftt  his   fireman  to  do  his   duly  with 
itae    regard    in    economy       ^ 

\J  Ik-  an  intuli  to  .1  k---'  " 
icn    are    rare 
IVickty  climh  up  t 

There  it  prnvideii  a  cast-iron  air 


the  U.iler 

ht •• 

an«l 


Inrii 


^    I 


."« 


91 
i 


2^ 


Mar  taa 


-.•led    plant  I*  in  ktimg  the  water 


436 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  2,  1909. 


is  a  watchman's  pushbutton,  which  con- 
nects with  a  needle  in  the  magneto  clock. 
It  is  evident  that  the  blowoflf  valve  can- 
not be  opened  even  halfway  without  push- 
ing the  button,  thus  the  time  the  boiler 
is  blown  down  is  read  from  the  paper 
dial,  and  the  pressure  at  that  particular 
time  is  obtained  from  the  recording  steam- 
pressure  gage. 

Those  not  possessing  a  pressure-record- 
ing gage  may  easily  fix  a  needle  point 
to  the  finger  of  a  small  gage  in  such  man- 
ner that  the  projection  B  will  cause  the 
needle  to  punch  a  strip  of  paper  placed 
under  it.  The  position  of  the  punch  mark 
will  show  the  pressure  at  the  time  the 
Wowoff  valve  was  opened.  When  the 
blowoflf  valve  is  wide  open  the  extefnsion 
rod  A  will  come  in  contact  with  and  raise 
a  small  casting  D  which  is  free  to  slide 
along  the  spindle  of  the  governor  shown. 
This  will  release  the  stop  pins  E  and  the 
weight  F  connected  to  the  governor  by 
the  cord-and-miter  gears  shown  and  start 
it   revolving. 

It  is  evident  that  without  something  to 
retard  the  downward  moton  of  the  weight 
F  the  mechanism  would  have  to  be  wound 
up  daily.  So,  connecting  the  governor 
balls  and  supporting  them,  with  one  turn 
around  the  stationary  guide,  is  the  stout 
cord  C.  It  was  found  to  work  better  by 
putting  a  light  spring  on  each  side  in 
series  with  the  cord.  A  small  tube  is 
provided  in  the  cover  of  the  box  to  carry 
a  drop  of  Oil  once  in  awhile  to  this  cord. 
By  marking  on  the  long  board  to  the  right 
distances  equal  to  the  daily  travel  of  the 
weight  F,  when,  say,  a  gage  of  water  is 
blown  out,  we  would  very  nearly  deter- 
mine the  actual  quantity  of  water  that  left 
the  boiler  via  the  blowoff  valve.  The 
weight  F  should  be  boxed  in  and  the  cov- 
er locked,  for  if  open  the  operator  is 
liable  to  watch  the  descent  of  the  weight, 
instead  of  watching  the  water  in  the  gage 
column.  These  automatic  affairs  are  li- 
able to  get  out  of  order. 

Apparatus  to  Control  the  Power  Pump 

For  boiler  feeding  we  had  a  duplex 
steam  pump  and  a  belt-driven  power  pump 
of  the  crank  and  crosshead  type.  Of  these 
the  power  pump  was  preferred,  and  to 
control  it  was  built  the  apparatus  shown 
in  Fig.  5,  which  was  installed  in  a  con- 
spicuous but  out  of  the  way  corner  in 
the  boiler  room.  On  the  flanges  of  the 
base  elbows  shown  are  the  diaphragms  A. 
Resting  on  the  right-hand  one  on  a  suita- 
ble lever  are  the  weights  B ;  on  the  other 
rests  the  stem  of  the  2^-inch  valve  C 
on  the  suction  line  of  the  pump.  The 
thread  by  which  this  valve  is  ordinarily 
operated  is  removed  and  the  stem  neatly 
bushed,  so  that  it  opens  and  shuts  with 
a  sliding  motion. 

Between  the  two  diaphragms  is  a  solid 
body  of  water,  so  that  any  movement  of 
one    diaphragm    causes    a    corresponding 


movement  in  the  other.  The  weights  B 
balance  a  certain  hight  of  water  in  the 
apparatus,  as  shown  by  the  gage  glass. 
When  this  hight  is  exceeded,  the  valve 
diaphragm  A  is  depressed  and  valve  C 
will  consequently  open.  It  was  found, 
however,  that  this  was  not  quite  sensi- 
tive enough,  so  the  float  shown  in  the  cut 
(and  taken  from  an  old  steam  trap) 
was  added  to  balance  the  weight  of  the 
valve  stem  and  disk.  On  top  of  the  re- 
ceiver will  be  seen  in  section  a  small  cyl- 
inder, the  pistons  D  of  which  connect 
by  the  levers  shown  to  the  diaphragm 
weight  lever  B,  so  that  any  fluctuations 
in  the  hight  (weight)  of  the  water  in  the 
receiver  will  cause  a  reciprocating  move- 


cylinder  F  is  now  free  to  empty  into- 
the  receiver.  The  quantity  of  feed  water 
is,  as  in  all  other  pump  receivers,  gov- 
erned by  the  cold-water  valve  L. 

Pump  controlling,  however,  is  only  one 
of  the  many  uses  of  this  apparatus.  For 
instance,  it  would  immediately  tell  when 
one  of  the  steam  traps  leaked,  for  then 
no  water  would  show  in  the  glass,  and 
the  weight  lever  B  would  be  up  against 
the  stop  H.  Thus  it  becomes  an  excel- 
lent means  of  "keeping  tabs"  on  the  steam 
traps.  When  a  trap  leaked,  the  vent  was 
opened,  until  that  trap  could  be  bypassed 
and  fixed.  Again,  we  could  tell  exactly 
how  much  steam  any  live-steam  appara- 
tus in  the  plant  was  consuming  by  weigh- 


Fram  Float  Tank 


fmH-fm-"^! 


3l 


rm/-'-iTn-''K- 


3_ 


FIG.     5.     APPARATUS  FOR  CONTROL  OF  THE  POWER  PUMP 


ment  of  the  pistons,  D.  Between  the  two 
pistons  a  certain  water  pressure  is  main- 
tained by  the  small  pipe  shown,  which 
connects  with  a  common  float  tank  sta- 
tioned near  the  roof.  In  the  position 
shown  this  pressure  is  also  maintained  in 
the  pipe  E  which,  as  clearly  shown  in 
small  sketch,  leads  into  another  small 
cylinder  F,  causing  the  piston  contained 
therein  to  shift  the  belt  onto  the  loose 
pulley. 

In  the  same  manner,  when  the  pistons 
D  move  upward,  the  pipe  G  will  then 
be  under  pressure,  and  as  it  connects 
with  the  cylinder  G  the  belt  is  shifted 
to    the    tight    pulley,    while    the    water    in 


ing  the  water  of  condensation  as  drawn 
out  through  the  valve  K ;  we  could  get 
a  fair  idea  of  the  efficiency  of  our  pipe 
covering,  and  the  highest  water  level  that 
could  be  carried  in  the  boilers  and  still 
furnish  dry  steam.  We  even  have  dis- 
connected it  and  used  it  to  condense  the 
exhaust  from  the  fan  engine,  air  pump 
and  tank  pump  to  find  the  actual  amount 
of  steam  consumed  by  these  appurte- 
nances. For  this  purpose  is  the  spray 
plate  shown.  Any  back  pressure  could 
be  maintained  in  the  receiver  by  shifting 
the  weights  B,  piping  a  gage  at  M  and 
careful  manipulation  of  the  cold-water 
valve. 


March  2,  1909. 

Polblyn,  P.  D. 


By  John  Watson 


"Say !     I  bc-lifvc  she  put  him  up  to  it, 

;n't   you?"      I    had   bcrn    so   deep   in    a 

ries  of  calculations  that  I  had  not  heard 

y  office  door  open,  ami  the  above  query 

.sas    the    first    intimation   that   I    had   of 

the   "Doc's"    presence.      I    swung    around 

in  my  chair,  put  down  my  slide  rule  and 

pushed  back  my  papers,  as  an  indication 

that  I  was  a  willing  listener. 

The    "LK>c"    had    just     returned     from 
a  trip   South  and   I   was  anxious  to  hear 
about  the  results  of  his  surgery.     I  knew 
that  he  had  performed  a  successful  o()era- 
tion,  for  the  smile  on  his   face  was  that 
kind  of  a  smile.     He  had  three  kinds  of 
smile    and    I    had    learned    to    recognize 
them.     When  he  was  contented  with  him- 
self, the  world  in  general  and  yesterday's 
baseball    scores,    he   wore   one   knul    of   a 
•mile  and  was  a   very  agreeable   sort   of 
a   chap.      If    things    were    going    sort    of 
crosswise,  he  grumbled  and  swore  a  lot 
in  a   half   ginxl-natured   sort  of   way.     If 
he  thought  that  a  man  had  not  used  him 
right,  and   he  was  "mad"  clear   throu.:h, 
be  also  smiled,  but  it  was  a  still  ditTrrcnt 
sort   of   smile,   and   at   such   times   it    was 
well  to  let  him  alone.    The  gage  indicated 
fair  weather  this  time,  so   I   settled   back 
in    my   chair   to    listen    to   his    tale.     Of 
irse     it    was     some     time     before    we 
'•hetl  the  ptiinl,  for  the  "IXc"  had  ^ir^^ 
discuss   the   news  of   the   day   and   a 
-lit    or    a    murder    case    was    cvt-n 
itercsting  to  him  than  the  basrball 
rr>.     The  recent  murder  in  New  York. 
•   .ere  a  girl    was   held   as   accomplice   of 
the  man  on  trial,  held  the  floor  until  we 
had  clearly  proved   her  to  be  guilty  and 
then  we  could  take  up  the  pump  problem. 
"Well.  'I)oc,'  what  was  the  matter  with 
.inyway?     Was  it  the  suction  pipe  this 
time  ?" 
"I^xr"  grinne<l   at   the   reference  to  his 
'•by,  for  it  was  well  known  that  ju*t   a» 
nc  .M.D.'s  always  diagnosr  any  kind  of 
tomachache   a<  appen<!iciti«.   especially 
ihe  patient  has  money,  so  Potblyn,  P.I).. 
lalty  started  out  on  a  case  with  the  firm 
viclion    that    the    suction    [i\\>r    fe-ikn! 
was    astoni«Mnjj   the    nurn'-r    "f    .->^»•^ 
'tut    he    haci   oper.Tteif   on    • 
tion   pipe   and   effected    |.«- 

"Naw!     It  wasn't  the  stictioti  pij.*-   tin- 
time,  but  the  darned  thing  leaked,  though. 
and  needed  fixing  just  the  same.'' 
Having  got  a  f.tir   start  the     !* 
Cteded  to  tell  his  .tTv  about  .i 

"Say»     Of  all 
Msc«  you  ever  1 
em  all  a  goin'.  ami  h.i<i   itx     i 
a  while,  loo.     You  rememlK-r   ;' 
don't  you?    Old  'Whiskers'  wr  • 
'about    it.      Say?      You    don't    '► 
'Whiskers.'  do  jroti.  except  by  h 
V'"'U  ought  to  see  him^made  oj  <muj«  an.i 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

ends  and  got  the  'Yaller  Kid*  and  'Hap;>y 
Hooligan'  beat  for  lirst  mooey.  (*«e? 
but  I  had  to  laugh  when  I  taw  him. 
Didn't  look  as  if  he  knew  eooogh  to 
pound  sand  into  a  rat  hole.  Well  h- 
took  roe  out  back  into  the  woods  where 
the     pumps     are     located.      They  ve    got 

two    little   compound  duplex    <!: ' 

pumps,    just    alike.      One     ra- 

grease,    you    Cf. 

better.      The   ot 

it  and  just  like  it.  wm»  kimckuig  lu  brat 

the  New  York  Sum. 

"Opportunity  knocks  bat  once,  bat  this 
dam  thing  had  opportunity  left  at  the 
post,  for  it  was  knockin'  seventy  tive  to 
eighty  times  a   i:  I 

*U  hiskers'  was 

doing  a  little  k:  his  uwn  hiM>k. 

First    look  oat    •  -    of   my   eje.    I 

seen  they  had  separate  suction  pipes— and 
I  put  on  my  'Gosh!  this  is  easy"  kind  of 
a  smile;  bat.  say.  that  wouldn't  do  for 
'Quaker  Oat*.'  for  it  off— 

before   I   got   the  bla 

"I    let    'er    ran    awhile    and    I    loafed 
around  the  engine  and  boiler  rooms  rob- 
ber-neckin'    the    place    and    lookin'    wise. 
I  finally  see  the  old  goat  was  gettin'  ner* 
vous   because   I   didn't   do  something,   so 
I    got    into   my   warpaint    and 
imitate  a   man  getting  busy 
down    and    loriked    over    * 
The  valves  were  in  pretty   . 
guess  you   wrote  him  to  make   sure   thai 
they   were   all   right     Then   I   tested  out 
the    suction   pipe;    locky   there   wasn't   as 
much  of   it  buried  as  there  wn       -■   ■'-' 
job  up  in  Massachusetts.     I  foti 
leaks  but  they  were  small  ones  and  diUn  t 
amount  In  moch. 

".Next.    I    tried    Ihe    air    chamber    and 
found  it  solid  full  of  water.     .V"  »   n^rr 
she  pounded.     I   pat   on  an  a 
rig  and  a  glau  gage  and  *' 
had    thing*    all    fixed   and 
W 


i'  ■ 

peared  there   was   still   a 

knock   that    »"■""-!    »■■    »- 

en«L 

■  I     '*  rir  >» 


«i*     1. 

sore  not  tc 


that  cigftr  as  I   was  tm  tbr 
banded  it  CM  to  M  with  the 
iwo-for-a-qMancr  wairc.  itiaad  of 

in'    it    ^l    mr    IiV«.    >    '^*'^   *vt-ttM%. 

4  Ike  rjUmirr 

throagh.     I  ^md  siarir 

■IfririH 
1  kad  got 

*l   ptMU^  Umttmai  oM  |Ml  lllc 

<-t—im§.    banc   every    uralc*. 

gosK  n  was  cnoogb  lo  Make  a  pctfen 

lady  mad     T«        ..,,. ..  t  ....  ....- 

Whiskers' 

h^  -  ,     lt:Ttt     i 


ivvst^gM- 

tiw  tmmt  wImb  I 

A  Umt  tiaM  •OT' 

'    kai  I'm  loo 


1; 

to   war 

ing   f  u  - 

wifold  ' 

rying  over   a  |. 

old    for  that   nr 

card  or  two  op  iW 

i»K>rmn*  when  tbr  f^-ne    .jirrx.i      1  caa^ 

say  moch   for   the  bold  m  Hms  mmdf 

t«  «  •\  niy  rof^  ■•  •rth 

br  M  darwdr  af 

cf  tbry   ihf  4I: 

in  •    4p»    f,^-  ■ 

What  s  the  ate 

•  hn  '        I    ....!,!«  . 

ikrri     was    00    deck    br«(kl 

n     ibc 

cuooiry    b«bsts 

back  on  tbc   !  K.     t  K^ !  caa«l«4id  ikai 

there   was  't    tammwhttf 

r\  •    ■!•■       .-   .tr-  I  ^<r>      I        far^irsi 

op  vhr^s  and  bad  a  look.     Oh* 

Bi  1  b«t  thf 

f  t   any  m 

bfiKifta  jnm  mm  «4  ihmm  pmtk 


jire»>iir 

of  if  fi 


rsHlr  to  ikat  CbM  «M» 


.Oi  f  •! 


•<«- 


ci^ar       :«4y  '    1    wai    a«    i^  ;  y 


I  WJ  tkt 

«d* 


438 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  2,  1909. 


pistons  and  valve*,  one  at  a  time,  to 
see  that  they  were  all  right  and  fitted 
throughout  the  full  stroke.  In  this  way 
I  discovered  that  the  same  old  high-pres- 
sure valve  cocked  up  on  one  end  and  al- 
lowed steam  to  blow  through.  Looking 
for  the  cause  I  found  that  the  valve  rod 
was  bent  between  the  high-  and  low-pres- 
sure chests.  Evidently  somebody  had 
dropped  a  carload  of  freight  on  to  it  but, 
of  course,  they  wouldn't  investigate  to 
see  if  a  little  thing  like  that  had  damaged 
the  pump  in  any  way. 

"Well.  I  took  out  the  valve  rod, 
straightened  it,  made  sure  that  the  valve 
seated  properly  and  then  closed  her  up 
and  started  again.  Knocked  out  in  the 
fourth  round — I  had  got  her  fixed  for 
keeps  this  time  and  she  ran  as  smooth  and 
slick  as  could  be.  I  tell  you  I  felt  some- 
what  relieved,    for,   after   the   way   things 


With  this  parting  advice  the  "Doc"  de- 
parted for  the  shop.  I  had  hardly  turned 
to  my  work  again  when  he  opened  the 
door,  just  enough  to  stick  his  head 
through,   and   remarked. 

"Say !  I  wish  you  could  see  'Whiskers,' 
he's  a  peach." 


Broken  Shaft  Wrecked  Engine 
and  Generator 


The  accompanying  illustration  depicts 
the  wreck  due  to  the  breaking  of  the  main 
shaft  of  a  440-ampere  generator  at  its 
center  bearing.  It  will  be  seen  that  the 
frame  supporting  the  generator  field  is 
broken,  also  that  the  top  of  the  outer  pil- 
lar block  was  wrenched  in  pieces.  The 
real  cause  of  the  accident  is   not  known. 


WRECK   OUE   TO   BREAKING   OF   SHAFT 


had  been  goin'  I  didn't  know  what  might 
show   up   next. 

"Pumps  are  as  bad  as  kids.  When  they 
get  cantankerous  it  is  safe  to  expect 
most  anything  and  some  pumps,  like  some 
kids,  seem  to  ketch  everything  there  is 
goin',  and  no  reason  for  it,  either.  Old 
'Whiskers'  was  pretty  well  pleased  and 
thought  I  was  quite  a  fellar.  I  guess  he 
will  get  along  all  right,  now,  without  any 
more  trouble,  but  say,  you  fellars  ought 
to  put  gage  glasses  on  all  of  your  air 
chambers. 

"What  good  is  an  air  chamber  full  of 
water?  They'll  fill  up  sure  as  preachin' 
and  how  is  a  man  goin'  to  know  how  they 
stand  unless  you  put  a  gage  on?  What's 
the  use  of  being  a  tightwad  ?  Ivoosen 
up  a  little,  give  a  fellar  something  for 
his  money  and  when  you  send  ort  an  air 
chamber  send  a  gage  glass  with  it." 


but  it  is  supposed  to  have  been  due  to  a 
flaw  in  the  shaft.  No  one  was  hurt,  but 
the  engine  was  entirely  wrecked  and 
almost  a  total  loss. 


Boiler  Specifications 


We  design  a  large  number  of  hori- 
zontal tubular  boilers  for  our  assured 
and  patrons,  giving  them  the  benefit  of 
the  wide  experience  of  our  steam-engi- 
neering experts.  These  specifications  are, 
of  course,  unprejudiced,  and  the  boilers 
designed  by  us  can  be  readily  built  by  any 
modern  shop.  We  have  not,  for  several 
years,  designed  a  boiler  using  a  lap-joint, 
double-riveted,  horizontal  seam.  We  have 
been  fully  aware  of  its  inherent  weakness. 
We  have  had  no    difficulty    whatever    in 


convincing  our  patrons  of  the  superiority 
of  the  butt  joint  as  against  the  lap  joint. 
Some  recent  disastrous  explosions  due  to 
the  lap-joint  type  of  boiler  indicate  that 
our  view  is  sound. 

In  the  standard  butt  joint,  the  net  sec- 
tion of  the  plate  between  the  rivet  holes  il 
is  the  weakest  part,  although  this  runs  ,1 
theoretically  from  84  to  94  per  cent,  of  the 
solid  plate.  In  practice,  however,  with 
ordinary  punched  rivet  holes,  due  allow- 
ance should  be  made  for  the  injurious 
effect  of  the  punch  on  the  plate,  and  this 
is  an  unknown  quantity.  All  authorities 
agree  that  the  metal  is  injured,  but  differ 
as  to  the  extent.  Various  experiments 
show,  however,  that  the  injury  increases 
with  the  thickness  of  the  metal. 

If  the  rivet  holes  be  drilled  full  size  in 
flat  plate,  we  would  have  the  usual  bend 
strain  between  the  rivet  holes  when  the 
plate  was  being  rolled  up.  On  the  other 
liand,  if  the  rivet  holes  in  plates  Yi  inch 
and  under  are  punched  J4  inch  below  size, 
we  have  more  metal  to  resist  the  bend 
when  rolling.  Bearing  this  in  mind,  to- 
gether with  the  injury  done  by  punching, 
we  have  adopted  the  rule  of  calling  for 
all  rivet  holes  to  be  punched  J4  inch  below 
size,  then  the  plate  to  be  rolled  up,  assem- 
bled and  the  holes  reamed  out  to  full  size, 
thus  removing  the  evil  effects  of  the 
punching  and  having  the  rivet  holes  in 
perfect  alinement.  The  reaming  of  the 
holes  is  today  done  with  pneumatic  tools, 
and  is  a  simple,  cheap  and  rapid  operation. 
This  change  has  received  the  approval  of 
several  authorities  and  commends  itself 
to  every  thoughtful  engineer  as  far  better 
than  the  common  practice  of  reaming  the 
hole  1/16  or  Yz  inch. 

In  this  connection  it  is  well  to  note  the 
increase  in  sizes  of  horizontal  tubular 
boilers.  A  few  years  ago  a  60-inch  shell 
was  called  a  large  boiler,  while  today  the 
larger  per  cent,  of  the  boilers  being  in- 
stalled are  72  inches  by  16  to  18  feet  in 
length,  practically  doAibling  in  capacity  the 
60-inch  size.  It  is  also  true  that  the 
evaporation  per  square  foot  of  heating 
surface  has  been  increased,  when  soft  coal 
is  used,  by  artificial  drafts,  mechanical 
stokers,  etc.  With  the  heavier  plate  used 
in  the  large  sizes  of  shells,  greater  care 
must  be  observed  in  keeping  the  boiler 
free  from  scale,  grease  and  deposits  of 
sediment,  and  all  appliances  must  be  in 
the  best  of  order. — Fidelity  and  Casualty 
Company's  Bulletin. 


Personal 

Harry  J.  Marks,  formerly  mechanical 
engineer  of  the  Empire  State  Engineering 
Company,  has  become  associated  with  Ed- 
ward P.  Hampson,  170  Broadway,  New 
York  City,  in  a  general  engineering  busi- 
ness, including  the  handling  of  a  line  of 
engines  and  boilers  and  making  a  speci- 
ally of  the  American  Ball  angle-com- 
pounds. 


March  2,  iijog. 


Inqu 


iries 


Qurntioni  •IK  ti-it  iin^.f  ■ 
<jf  yrnrral  iittrtnl  -inil  m 
Ihr    nami-    iinil    ilildrinn    nf 


•hrff  mrr 
■  I'd    h^ 


Jitifi-  .SptU'd  for  Last-iron  ilstc'uws 

I  have  an  engine  runninij  at  _*5o  revo- 
lutions per   minute  and   I    should   like   to 
know  if  it  is  safe  to  increase  the  speed  to 
[       joo    revolutions,    the    flywheel    being    78 
inches  in   diameter? 

\V.  A.  L. 
With  cast-iron  flywheels  a  rim  speed  of 
'I    feet    per    second    should    not    be    ex- 
ceeded.     At    300    revolutions    per    minute 
the  rim  speed  of  a  78-inch  wheel  would 
be    more    than    102    feet    per    second    and 
manifestly     unsafe.     A     cast-iron     wheel 
inning    at    JOO    revolutions    per    minute 
.  hould    not    be    more    than   66   inches    in 
diameter. 

[       JVindings  for  Choke  Coils 

I  Is  there  a  simple  rule   for  determining 

I       the   winding   for   a   "choke"  or   reactance 

oil? 

A    P.  K. 

Two  rules  ire  necessar)',  one  for  the  si/e 
1  wire  and  the  other  for  the  numl>er  of 
turns  in  the  coil.  To  ascertain  the  size  of 
wire,  multiply  the  current  to  be  carried 
by  1500:  the  result  will  be  the  cross- 
■«rction  of  the  wire  in  circular  mils.  To 
-certain  the  number  of  turns  required. 
Muittiply  the  desired  counterelectromotive 
force  by  13,  for  60-cycle  current,  or  by  9 
for  Ii5-cycle  current,  and  divide  the  re- 
sult by  the  cro»s-sectional  area  of  the  core 

■  aourcd  in  square  inches. 

Kx AMPLE  :  A  core  having  1  square  ir»ch 
cross-sectional  area  is  to  be  wound  for  a 
"^'>unterelectromotive  force  of  40  volts,  at 
■ '  cycfes  frequonc>',  and  the  wire  must  be 
I .  ..Ji  to  carry  10  amperes  without 

<■'■• 

Tij  carry  lo  amperes,  the  erf «*s- section 
I  the  wire  must  l>e  not  less  than 

10  X  lyo  =  15/J00 

circtilar  mils.     No    8  is  the  n'-   • 

mrrii.il  size,  its  cross-section  I 
'oular  mils.  To  give  an  rl' 
rce  of  40  volts,  at  60  cycle*,  t 

of  turns  must  be  not  less  than 


13X40 


SJ<x 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

pressure   40  pounds   ami 
per     minute,     j6t      The 
C)Iiti.lcr  •liamrter,  40  fcei 

Iii-;.,r)    rA.   '>'  .    infh--    •• 

IIKlic.       H.iUiru'       !..    .':.  .  .       .'5       f.r? 

long;  flywhr.I,  y,  ;    r,,.  ..,7  •.-ri  in  diamr- 

t  '     face,   ji' 

;  brgrM 

guic  or  power   . 

tan   engine.      T 

are   thoM:   in   the   Commonwralih    kdium 

Company's  station  in  Chicago      TKr^    .f.. 

rated  at    14,000  kilowatts   ma  v 

tinuous  load.    The  Urges!  . 

power  purposes  are  the 

the  Snow  Steam  Pi;- 

California  (tas  and  1 

cylinders  a- 

at   SK   rev. 

c>Iin«lcr   is   44x54   tiuhc-..   Imi 

deliver  as   much   power   as  th- 

RUie.   as   the    revolutions    per    mmute    are 

^y/i  and  the  gas  used  is  of  nm.  »i  l.r«rr 

heat  value. 

It  is  understood  that  there  ■■>  a  kis 
cylinder  52x55.  single-actmg.  developing 
700   brake   hors-  . 

per    minute    wf 
unit    is    in    Gernui>>.      Thc 
gine  known   in  this  country   1  •>- 

horsepower  rolling-mill  engine  4t  S>uih 
Sharon,  Penn..  at  the  C^rnr^■\^  Stcd 
Company's  plant     The  fr  slides 

are    cast    in    one    piece  '  "* 

t<»n«.     The  total  engine   %■ 
This  is  a  horitontal  twin  i.tn-iru,  r    m  .^ 
mill  engine,  with  cylinders  42  and  70  by 
5 :  ■  ite  with    I  'team. 

I  3»  frrtm  I  .'lions 

per  II.  ;>OWCf 

at  thr 


Book  Reviews 

MlcHAMlcAL    \Vc»«.i»    hxi«-r»u  M     I'<«i  Krt 

Book.      P.1.!,J,..|  by   Kmn..  •■    .V    ' 

Ud..    ^  Enf.     ' 

pagn   4*"    iM  ir'.;    il!---*- 

lables.     F'ricr,  H  petu  < 

•n>  tr 
Thr 
I 
r 

wire  I' 

tors.      I  ' 

to  the  verge  of  perfunciory  sra 


The  disposition  of  these  5J0  turns  will 

•li-pend  fill  the  length  of  the  available  i"il 

;..ice   along   the  core:    the    coil     should 

"scupy  the  full  length  nf  thr  space,  leaving 

hs  thickness  to  coinr  as  it  tn.i> 

irgf  F.ncinrt,  Sttam  and  Gat 

Please  tell  me  the  rate<l  h'nsr^ '   ■••1 

dimensions  of  the  (ieorgr   11     ' 
•^1  by  the   Pullman  Cji 
ti.    III.       Alt'!,    what    is    • 
•init    in    •' 
■  r  the   gcii 

The   horsepower   of   the   (Krh 
at  the  Pullman  work,  i*  UfXK  the  .iram     chain  dttvt  b**  Ucti  »AU±     Tb* 


■1  10  !&»  power 
•rx. 

cMfcaATfac-F 


e  srciMid  rdltKM  of  Prufc—ur 


rT\rTr.    rii«T>«i 


tW  I      ilii   of 

J      -  •    "!it»<i        TW  ckl^rf    ■-% 

'.s  has  be«a  Tliofo<|gtitj    •< 
vised,  a   graphical   OMllMd   of  peofcctaua 
ff»*fT«    'Sr    prt-»sflrr  toJiBae    pilar    le   iW 
plattf     loc     prrfrcV 


t 

'r^Ty  rngirtr  rjlffv' 

'  the  infunmttoa  ** 
t  '<  rdilkn  tt  oa>   br 


rw._._,      \- 


iuf  Aitcf  ,  iW  dHCoaMons  are, 

i  •  jrfr»p*wltngtjr 
pieie. 

Ncnis  '^*- 
1 

S<-  n         tu' 

•.XI     \       '   Matter,     1 

■SO  PMr*.  6019  taJKa. 


f 


in    ^ 


find  ni  ihts  boos  oea'  '  ■* 

sirt:.  tt'^%     tsrolr-!    }>.  i'r-% 

%' 

it 

Y  • 

lrainiri|;    dr    rL»fvj    »'"'J    '-tr    tn    Tr*    cw     >* 
drawing  intfmmnM*  lu«e  brm  ri4ocid  to 


4  br  tar  ia»- 
.9  of  *r  Mb- 


•  r-. •.  h  It    1 


.  •■,  «      U*«r« 


b4  *i         I 


Books  Bccci^xd 


440 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGIXEER. 


March  2,  1909. 


Silk    City  Council  Ejitertains 


Silk  City  Council  No.  18,  Universal 
Craftsmen,  Council  of  Engineers,  of 
Paterson,  N.  J.,  held  its  first  annual  enter- 
tainment and  reception  at  Turn  hall, 
Paterson.  on  Friday  evening,  February  12. 
The  engineering  craft  was  largely  repre- 
sented, as  well  as  the  various  Masonic 
lodges,  there  being  many  visitors  from 
nearby  cities.  The  first  part  of  the  even- 
ing was  devoted  to  the  rendition  of  an  en- 
joyable entertainment,  following  which 
Past  Worthy  Chiefs  William  Brameld, 
F.  W.  Johnson  and  Edward  Livingstone 
were  presented  handsome  jewels.  The 
grand  march  then  took  place,  and  danc- 
ing was  enjoyed  until  the  early  morning. 

The  committee  in  charge  of  the  arrange- 
ments comprised  Edmund  Whittaker,  R. 
Templeton,  E.  B.  Lupton,  F.  W.  Johnson, 
Edward  Livingstone.  George  Robinson,  B. 
Chandler.  C.  Van  Gieson,  D.  McHenry,  R. 
McCullough.  C.  McLean,  W.  I^IcDonald, 
J.  McCullough,  A.  Thomas,  F.  W.  John- 
son, William  Patrick,  Andrew  Young,  ^L 
Zocklein  and  Alexander  Young.  Robert  J. 
Hanna  was  stage  director.  It  was  an 
especially  enjoyable  occasion. 

Stevens  Institute  Alumni  Dinner 


The  alumni  of  the  Stevens  Institute  of 
Technology  had  their  annual  dinner  on 
Friday,  February  19,  at  the  Hotel  Astor, 
Broadway  and  Forty-fourth  street,  New 
York.  There  was  an  attendance  of  about 
350,  and  great  enthusiasm  prevailed.  The 
toastmaster  was  Henry  Torrance,  Jr.,  of 
the  class  of  '90,  and  the  speakers  were 
President  Alexander  C.  Humphreys,  of 
Stevens  Institute,  who  spoke  about  the 
institute;  Alfred  Noble,  past-president  of 
the  American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers, 
and  a  former  member  of  the  Panama 
canal  commission,  who  advocated  the  lock 
system  for  that  great  enterprise  and  gave 
an  authoritative  review  of  the  whole  pro- 
ject; Col.  H.  G.  Prout.  vice-president  of 
the  Union  Switch  and  Signal  Company, 
who  spoke  of  the  ethical  and  ideal  aspects 
of  engineering;  John  A.  Bensel,  commis- 
sioner of  the  Board  of  Water  Supply  of 
New  York  City,  whose  subject  was  New 
York's  water  supply;  and  Col.  George 
Harvey,  who  wittily  commented  on  the  re- 
marks of  the  preceding  speakers,  and  in 
more  serious  vein  referred  to  the  engi- 
neering features  of  the  Panama  canal. 


Business  Items 


iK-en  improved  and  Mr.  Hoffman  aims  to 
keep  it  the  best  on  the  market  for  all  classes 
of  bright  work  around  a  power  plant.  A  free 
sample  will  be  galdly  sent  to  any  engineer 
upon  application. 

A  directory  of  engineers  and  power  plants 
of  Greater  New  York  for  1908  and  1909  has 
just  been  issued  by  the  Engineering  Direc- 
tory Company.  100  Nassau  street,  New  York 
City.  An  alphabetical  list  of  plants  is  given, 
together  with  their  capacity  and  names  of 
engineers-in-charge  :  also,  an  alphabetical  list 
of  licensed  engineers  in  Greater  New  York. 
The   price  of   this  directory   is  $10. 

A  new  style  of  hot-blast  heater  coil,  distin- 
guished by  a  positive  flow  of  steam,  water  of 
condensation  and  air  in  the  natural  direction 
due  to  gravity,  and  suitable  for  use  with  live 
and  exhaust  steam  and  also  with  water  for 
heating  or  cooling  purposes,  was  recently 
placed  on  the  market  by  the  Green  Fuel  Econo- 
mizer Company,  of  Matteawan,  N.  Y.  They 
advise  us  that  they  have  made  recent  sales  of 
this  apparatus  to  25  well-known  concerns. 

The  Wm.  B.  Scaife  &  Sons  Company,  of  Pitts- 
burg, Penn.,  manufacturer  of  the  "We-Fu-Go"  and 
Scaife  water-softening,  purifying  and  filtering 
systems,  has  found  it  necessary  to  build  an 
addition  to  the  present  plant  at  Oakmont,  Penn., 
to  accommodate  the  increased  business  in  the 
building  of  systems  for  the  purification  of  water 
for  steam  boilers,  industrial  and  domestic  uses, 
and  is  about  to  begin  the  erection  of  a  shop 
40  feet  wide  by  200  feet  long,  equipped  with 
the  latest  improved  machinery,  which  will  be 
used  in  addition  to  the  present  shops  for  manu- 
facturing the  "We-Fu-Go"  and  Scaife  systems. 
They  have  under  construction  at  the  present 
time  for  steam-boiler  plants  systems  aggregating 
95,000-horsepower,  in  addition  to  plants  for 
softening  and  clarifying  water  to  be  used  in 
manufacturing  processes,  such  as  dyeing  and 
bleaching  in  woolen  and  cotton  mills,  and  for 
washing  in  laundries;  also  a  number  of  mechani- 
cal gravity  filter  systems  for  manufacturing  and 
domestic  use. 

A  shipment  of  unusual  note  was  recently 
mnde  to  the  Isthmian  Canal  Commission. 
Colon,  Isthmus  of  Panama,  consisting  of  seven 
21/2  kilowatt  generator  sets,  built  to  meet  the 
requirements  of  the  I.  C.  C.  Circular  No.  472, 
Class  3,  which  called  for  them  to  be  "built 
for  high  speed,  self-oiling  and  automatically 
governed,  and  to  be  able  to  control,  and  also 
strong  enough  to  withstand  a  change  from 
no  load  to  full  load,  to  be  of  sufficient  ca- 
. pacify  to  drive  the  2 1/2 -kilowatt  dynamo  at 
the  proper  speed  when  under  full  load  and 
with  initial  pressure  of  (iO  pounds  per  square 
inch,"  etc.  The  Fort  ^Vayne  Electric  ^Vorks, 
of  Fort  AVayne,  Ind.,  which  was  awarded  the 
contract  furnished  and  shipped  to  the  Ameri- 
can Blower  Company's  Detroit  plant,  seven 
Type  M.  L.  Frame  D.  llO-volt  generators  for 
mounting  upon  the  extended  subbases  of 
seven  .'{i/iX.'J  ABC  vertical  inclosed  self-oiling 
Type  A  engines.  The  combined  sets  were 
tested  and  inspected  by  a  Government  in- 
spector   and    readily    aijproved. 


New  Equipment 


The  Boston  branch  of  Charles  A.  Schieren 
Company  is  now  located  at  041  and  <'>4'.',  At- 
lantic avenue,  opposite  the  South  station. 
There  they  have  a  floor  space  of  about  .">."00 
square  feet  with  one  of  the  best-appointed 
leather    stores    and    belting   shops    in    Boston. 

George  W.  IToffman,  Indianapolis,  Ind., 
manufacturer  of  the  United  States  metal 
polish,  reports  a  rapidly  increa.sing  business 
since  the  first   of  the  year.     This  polish  has 


City  of   Newton,    Ala.,   voted    to   issue 
bonds  for  water  works. 

T.  H.  Marsden,  Brady.  Tex.,  will  establish  an 
ice  plant  and  cotton  gin. 

The  Torrington  (Conn.)  Electric  Light  Com- 
pany will  enlarge  its  power  hou.se. 

The  Board  of  Trade,  Spencer,  N.  C,  is  con- 
sidering erection  of  electric-light  and  power  plant. 

The  Union  (la.)  Electric  Light  Company 
contemplates  the  construction  of  an  electric  plant. 

Plans  have  been  completed  for  the  construc- 
of  the  municipal  electric-light  plant  at  Bergen, 
N.J. 


W.  A.  Potter,  Mizpah,  Minn.,  has  been  granted 
franchise  to  construct  and  operate  an  electric-light 
plant. 

The  Bluestone  Traction  Company,  Bluefield, 
W.  Va.,  will  install  additional  equipment  in  power 
plant. 

The  city  of  Brewton,  Ala.,  contemplates  the 
installation  of  engine  and  dynamo  in  the  light 
and  water  plant. 

The  city  of  Franklin,  N.  C,  will  vote  on  issu- 
ance of  $30,000  bonds  for  water  works  and 
other  improvements. 

The  output  of  the  municipal  electric-light  plant 
at  Anderson,  Ind.,  is  to  be  increased,  .\bout 
$20,000  will  be  expended. 

The  Tryon  (N.  C.)  Hosiery  Company  con- 
templates enlarging  mill  and  will  need  new 
equipment,  including  boilers,  engines,  etc. 

The  Rockford  (Tenn.)  Cotton  Mills,  whosa 
electric  plant  was  recently  destroyed  by  fire, 
is  making  arrangements  to  rebuild  same, 

The  Hobart  (Okla.)  Water  Power  Company 
recently  incorporated,  is  said  to  be  planning  to 
construct  a  hydroelectric  plant.  C.  T.  Blake 
is  president. 

Plans  for  installing  a  motor  for  pumping  water 
in  the  municipal  electric-light  and  water  plant 
at  Rockport,  Mo.,  are  under  consideration. 
W.  E.  German  is  manager. 

Plans  are  being  prepared  for  a  new  factory  for 
L.  Adler  Bros.  Company,  Rochester,  N.  Y.  Equip- 
ment of  plant  will  include  four  boilers,  automatic 
engines,  generators,  motors,  blowers,  etc. 

The  Alabama  Railway  and  Power  Company 
is  planning  to  start  work  on  the  proposed  elec- 
tric railway  between  Birmingham  and  Chatta- 
nooga. J.  H.  Hill,  Fort  Payne,  Ala.,  is  vice- 
president. 

It  is  reported  that  the  New  York  Edison  Com- 
pany will  soon  commence  the  construction  of  a 
central  power  station  in  the  upper  part  of  the 
city.  Plant  will  have  an  output  of  about  20,000 
horsepower. 

Bids  will  be  received  until  March  1  for  the 
construction  of  a  municipal  electric-power  plant 
in  I,ethridge,  Alb.,  Can.  George  W.  Robinson 
is  secretary  and  treasurer.  Smith,  Kerry  & 
Chace,  Toronto,  consulting  engineers. 

The  Williamson  Cold  Storage  Company,  Wil- 
liamson, N.  Y.,  has  been  incorporated  with 
$75,000  capital  to  conduct  a  cold  storage,  refrig- 
eration and  ice-making  business.  Incorporators, 
W.  B.  Freer,  W.  P.  Rogers,  K.  M.  Davies. 


Help    Wanted 

Advertisements  under  this  head  are  in 
serted  for  25  cents _  per  line.  About  six  words 
make  a  line. 

AN  ENGINEER  in  each  town  to  sell  the 
best  rocking  grate  for  steam  boilers.  Write 
Martin   Grate   Co.,    281    Dearborn    St.,    Chicago. 

WANTED— Thoroughly  competent  steam 
specialty  salesman;  one  that  can  sell  high- 
grade    goods.      Address    "M.    M.    Co.."    Power. 

WANTED— Man  familiar  with  laying  out 
and  selling  power  transmission  machinery. 
State  age,  experience,  reference  and  .salary 
expected.     P.  O.  Box  2062,  New  York  City. 

Situations  Wanted 

Advertisements  under  this  head  arc  in- 
serted for  25  cents  per  line.  About  .six  words 
make  a  line. 

POSITION  WANTED  as  chief  engineer, 
experienced  with  all  kinds  of  engines,  steam 
turbines  a.c.  and  d.c.  generators,  motors  and 
switchboards,  boilers  and  pumps.  I  can  get 
results  and  furni.sh  the  references;  have  been 
seventeen  years  in  the  mechanical  and  en- 
gineering business.     Box  9,  Powek. 

Miscellaneous 

Advertisements  under  this  head  are  in- 
.<iertcd  for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  words 
make  a  line. 


March  9,  1900. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


Plant    in    Public  Service   Building,   Milwaukee 

A  Large  Noncondensing  Turbine  Plant  Operating  agamit  IZ  Pouodi 
Absolute  Back  Pressure  to  Furnish  Exhaust  Steam  for  Dutiict  Hnbng 

B"^i^        O  S  B  O  R  N        M   O  N   N   E  T  T 


It  is  not  often  that  a  noncondensing 
turbo-generator  plant  of  4500  kilowatts 
capacity  is  designed  to  operate  against  a 
back  pressure  of  seven  pounds  gage,  or 
22  pounds  absolute.  There  is  such  a 
plant  in  operation  in  Milwaukee,  and  aside 
from  the  unusual  fact  that  it  is  a  simple 
noncondensing  plant,  there  are  operating 
features  and  conditions  under  which  it 
A  as  installed  which  make  it  of  more  than 
r-dinary  interest.     Whenever  possible,  it 


The  plant  was  insialle<!  by  the  Mil- 
waukee Electric  Railway  and  Light  Com- 
pany and  occupies  the  Uavement  of  th« 
Public  Service  building  in  the  heart  of 
the  business  district  of  the  city  Thb 
building  is  used  as  a  terminal  and  waiting 
rrn/m  for  the  various  ir'T-.trSa:':  »treet 
railway  systems  and  -  oAccs 

of  the  company.     Ai  g  was 

nearly  completed  the  company  undertook 
a  contract    to   fumith   exhaust    steam   to 


mg.     So   ibc   cjdra 
instead  of  beiqg  iiwi&at 
exi»twg  staiMat.  was 
mdcpcBOCM  ptmi,  tac 
of  wlneli  woald  cmm 
*  ^ik  beatun 

r  it  wedd 
I4e  to  uc  «y  MKh  a 
noncowdMMJf 
of  nccetaity  be  idle  for 
the  ycAT, 


y. 

tW 

te  aa 


limriu 


adnta- 


•ad  whkk  codd  W  rvitad  oa  m 


lut  ;;,jlJ!-:m.  t-vM.   hil- 


i«  customary  to  locale  a  plant  whert  the     the  Milwa 

peratinjc  '  '  will  l>e  mo^t  favora-     fnr    it*    A 

'ie;  ncvrr  rngincrr  mint,  when      «\«trrii.    •■ 

L»c  rraily 
peratc   it 
»rr  jiMt  the  rever*e.     In 
c  -ntideration  it  would   li.i 
:)i««ible    to    impose    a    more    formclji'lf 

•  rray  of  adverse  conditions,  a-  !  •*— 

ion  of  the  varintM  pr'>hlri!n  .i- 

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442 

mind   it   can   be   seen   that   the   existence 
of  the  plant  is  justified. 

As  the  building  was  about  completed 
before  commencing  to  install  any  of  the 
equipment,  the  machinen'  had  to  be  low- 
ered into  the  basement  at  the  rear,  liter- 
ally through  "a  hole  in  the  sidewalk," 
conveyed  a  distance  of  some  200  feet  and 
erected  under  limited  head  room  without 
cranes  or  other  conveniences.  The  in- 
stallation is  a  simple,  noncondensing 
steam  plant  consisting  of  boilers,  heaters. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


>/iit>i'/^/^^,y^-:-^'-i>y.^/^'''^     'm'mi'/i^''''-^'''''^y'''i^''/4^'^'^ 


Power,  N.  T. 


FIG.      2.      ARRANGEMENT    OF    BOILER    SETTING 


feed  pumps,  generating  units  and  the 
switchboard.  Absence  of  the  us(ual 
amount  of  auxiliary  machinery  in  a  plant 
of  this  size  is  marked,  what  there  is  of 
this  pertaining  more  to  the  building  as 
an  office  building  than  to  the  generating 
plant. 

Steam   Generating   Equipment 

For  generating  steam  there  are  installed 
ten  Edge  Moor  water-tube  boilers  of  the 
drumless  type,  each  rated  at  400  horse- 
power on  a  basis  of  10  square  feet  of 
heating  surface  per  horsepower  when  ne- 
glecting 1500  square  feet  of  superheating 
surface  in  the  tubes  above  the  water  line. 
They  occupy  the  southern  side  of  the 
basement,  as  shown  in  Fig.  4,  so  that  the 
space  under  the  sidewalk  becomes  con- 
venient for  the  storage  of  coal,  a  capacity 
of  approximately  2000  tons  being  available. 
Youghiogheny  screenings,  which  is  the 
fuel  used,  are  brought  to  the  plant  by 
wagons,  dumped  into  the  storage  bin  and 
fed  to  the  furnaces  by  hand,  and  a  motor- 
driven  ash  hoist  elevates  the  ashes  to 
the  street  level  and  loads  them  into  wag- 
ons. 

The  columns  of  the  building  are  sup- 
ported on  pedestals  which  spread  out 
over  a  considerable  area  below  datum 
and  rest  on  piles,  and  owing  to  the  slope 
of  the  foundations  only  a  limited  amount- 
of  excavating  was  permissible,  this  being 
done  at  the  expense  of  the  floor  space. 
For  this  reason  a  head  room  of  only  11 
feet  10  inches  could  be  obtained  between 
the  boiler-room  floor  and  the  I-beams  of 
the  ceiling.  By  arranging  the  highest 
points    of    the   boilers    to    come    between 


the   I-beams,   as   shown   in  the   elevation, 
the  equipment  was  installed. 

With  the  exception  of  having  no  steam 
drums,  the  boilers  are  of  the  standard 
Edge  Moor  construction.  The  handhole 
plates  are  made  up  with  lead  gaskets  be- 
low the  water  line  and  with  asbestos 
gaskets  above,  as  superheat  of  some  30 
to  50  degrees  is  obtained  in  the  upper 
tubes.  The  mud  drums  slope  forward 
from  the   rear   header   to   conform   with 


the  limited  floor  space  and  are  fitted  on 
each  end  with  two  2-inch  Chapman  gate 
valves  in  series.  Squires  feed-water  reg- 
ulators are  used,  and  there  is  a  feed  valve 
on  each  side  of  the  boiler,  the  feed  en- 
tering  each   end   of   the  mud   drum. 

One  of  the  features  of  the  boiler  set- 
ting is  an  arrangement  whereby  some  of 
the  heat  ordinarily  radiated  from  the  side 
walls  is  saved.  This  arrangement  con- 
sists of  a  water  leg,  extending  downward 


FIG.    3.    view  in  boiler  ROOM 


March  9,  1909. 


KnVER  AND  THE  ENGINi 


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444 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER.- 


March  9,  1909. 


on  each  side  of  the  front  header,  into 
which  tubes  are  expanded  and  terminate 
in  similar  legs  connected  to  the  mud  drum 
to  allow  free  circulation  of  the  water. 
The  construction  is  indicated  in  Fig.  2. 
Steam  is  taken  from  the  top  of  the  rear 
header  on  each  side  and  passes  to  a  10- 
inch  steam  main  immediately  behind  the 
boilers,  through  two  5-inch  short-radius 
bends  and  Chapman  stop  valves.  Hol- 
low staybolts  are  provided  in  the  front 
header  for  blowing  the  tubes.  Fig.  3 
shows  a  front  view  of  the  boilers.  The 
piping  is  arranged  so  that  the  boilers  are 
divided  into  three  groups,  each  connected 
to  its  independent  lo-inch  header.  These 
headers  have  no  bypass  connection  with 
each  other  at  the  boilers,  but  the  feeders 
to  the  turbine  room  are  so  tied  together 
that  any  group  of  boilers  may  furnish 
steam  for  any  turbine  unit.  Four  boilers 
are  connected  to  the  first  header  and  three 
to  each  of  the  two  remaining  headers. 
From  the  center  of  each  header  there 
extends  a  lo-inch  line  to  the  outside  of 


-From    Boiler 


down  from  the  rear  header  to  the  mud 
drum,  thence  through  the  horizontal  cen- 
tral tubes  to  the  lower  manifolds  at  the 
front  and  up  through  the  water-tube 
grates   to   the   front   header. 

Feed  water  comes  from  the  city  mains 
to  either  of  two  1500-horsepower  Hoppes 
open  feed-water  heaters.  It  is  fed  to 
the  boilers  by  two  Worthington  i^xS^^x 
15-inch  outside  center-packed  pot-valve 
pumps  which  are  controlled  by  Mason 
regulating  valves  in  conjunction  with  the 
feed-water  regulating  system.  It  was 
necessary  to  excavate  to  get  sufficient  head 
room  for  the  pumps. 

Two  stacks,  each  9  feet  in  diameter  and 
150  feet  high,  serve  the  boilers,  five  boilers 
to  each  stack,  the  gases  being  collected 
in  rectangular  flues  and  uptakes  built  of 
blast-furnace-slag   cement. 

Turbine  Room 
There  are  three  AUis-Chalmers-Farsons 
type    of    noncondensing    turbo-generators 
installed,  each  of  1500  kilowatts  capacity, 


FIG.    5.    STEAM   HEADER  MANIFOLD    BETWEEN   BOILERS    AND   TURBINES 


the  turbine-room  wall,  where  the  three 
lines  are  connected  to  a  lo-inch  manifold. 
By  this  arrangement  any  one  of  the  steam 
lines  may  be  cut  out  and  steam  supplied 
by  the  remaining  two.  .Fig.  5  shows  a 
plan  and  elevation  of  this  arrangement. 
It  will  be  seen  that  there  is  a  drop  leg 
under  each  steam  line  to  collect  condensa- 
tion, if  any  should  occur,  and  if  desired 
the  manifold  may  be  cut  out  entirely 
and  each  unit  be  run  on  steam  from  its 
own  battery  of  boilers.  On  passing 
through  the  turbine-room  wall,  the  steam 
lines  drop  below  the  floor  and  at  this  level 
connect  to  the  turbine  throttles. 

Owing  to  the  restricted  head  room 
the  boilers  were  necessarily  made  wide 
to  get  the  required  heating  surface,  and 
this  construction  permitted  the  installa- 
tion of  two  Hawley  down-draft  furnaces. 
The  upper  manifold  of  each  furnace  is 
connected  in  three  places  to  the  lower 
tubes  of  the  boiler.     Circulation  is  then 


pump  to  be  used  in  starting  and  in  emer- 
gencies. 

The  principal  point  in  which  the  tur- 
bines differ  from  the  standard  condensing 
turbine  is  in  length  of  rotor,  a  shorter 
machine  being  required  for  noncondens- 
ing service.  The  velocity  of  the  steam  is 
not  enough  to  demand  the  low-pressure 
blades,  which,  if  supplied  in  this  case, 
would  have  had  a  velocity  greater  than 
could  have  been  utilized  by  the  steam 
under  the  excessive  back  pressure  at 
which  it  goes  to  the  exhaust.  The  ma- 
chines were  installed  'under  a  guarantee 
to  develop  a  kilowatt-hour  on  44  pounds 


running  at  1800  revolutions  per  minute 
and  developing  with  star-connected  gen- 
erators 60-cycle  three-phase  current  at 
2300-4000  volts.  To  avoid  vibration  was 
the  primary  reason  for  installing  turbines, 
but  aside  from  that,  it  is  extremely  doubt- 
ful if  the  necessary  engine  capacity  could 
have  been  put  in  place  under  the  condi- 
tions of  head  room  and  floor  space  avail- 
able. Even  under  the  circumstances  some 
ingenuity  had  to  be  exercised  in  making 
the  exhaust  connections,  on  account  of 
the  extended  character  of  the  pillar 
foundations.  These  were  cut  away  suf- 
ficiently to  allow  the  placing  of  a  special 
rectangular  casting  connecting  each  tur- 
bine with  the  exhaust  main. 

Each  unit  has  an  oil-circulating  system 
driven  by  worm  gearing,  by  which  the 
bearings  are  lubricated  and  which  is  also 
used  to  actuate  the  throttle  valve  under 
control  of  the  governor.  There  is  also 
installed  an  independent  motor-driven  oil 


FIG.     6.     DETAIL  OF  EXHAUST  RISER 

of  dry  steam  at  half  load,  40  pounds  at 
full  load  and  41  pounds  at  25  per  cent, 
overload.  It  has  been  the  practice  to  car- 
ry just  sufficient  load  on  the  turbines 
to  furnish  the  demand  for  steam  on  the 
heating  system,  and  up  to  the  present 
time  there  has  not  been  enough  demand 
to  carry  an  economical  load  for  long 
periods. 

The  accompanying  boiler  test,  taken 
under  ordinary  working  conditions,  shows 
that,  with  an  economical  load  on  the  tur- 
bines, a  kilowatt-hour  can  be  delivered 
at  the  switchboard  for  4.23  pounds  of 
coal,  and  this  figure,  it  must  be  remem- 
bered, is  obtained  while  operating  against 
22  pounds  absolute  back  pressure. 

The  turbines  exhaust  into  a  24-inch 
main  which  leads  to  the  tunnel  of  the 
Central  Heating  Company.  On  this  main  is 
a  24-inch  Crane  relief  valve  with  risers  ex- 
tending to  the  roof.  There  was  no  room 
which   would   permit   of   a   24-inch   outlet 


March  9,  1909. 

TEST  OF  ONE  OF  THE  EDGE  MOOR 
BOILERS. 

Duntlon  of  tert.  hour» >» 

Hefttiof  surface.  squAra  feel  (Includ- 

Ins  Hawley  furn*ce) .  3.t»3o 

Buperbeatinx  surface,  square  feel . .  1.&04 

Graie  surface,  square  feet.   

2  Uawley  fumacM  O'xft'xO*  each 

Barometric  prerore    2»  8 

Steam  prewure  absolute 102  9 

Temperature  of  steam,  decrees  Fab- 

renbeii 415  4 

Cblmney  draft  in  IncUcs  of  water.  0  6 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER 

of  the  tution  is  used  on  lighttng  »crv...<. 
either  u  3300-volt  thrcc-pbasc  current  or 

.'.cm. 

art 

.  Aih.  and 

.;i  on  tbc 

direct -current 


on  the  Edison  three-wi:- 
AltrrnatiiiK      and    dire 
connect   with  the  other 
the  plants  operate  in  m 
alternating-current       and 
-idf*,    using     (or    !h»-    !a»' 


U..C...  «i  .bA-iSD  volu.    TW 
kivtcd   Iroai  tbc  dtrcci-avroM 

Each  tct  hu  » 
inf    a    Weai 
^ultmetcr.   doMt  Jktom 

I  ttumton 

ing-ciirrcat     «olttMl0,    • 

rWld    tnfier    aod    po«rcr>fa<ior 

I  '-.Tc    It   a 


•WMck    * 


i^lukmatt  Gtmtni  Ekctrk  laoD-i 
boottcr  (or  durgiBg  tb*  tonf  b»rcry. 
T»  panrli    ar*    provttfad    vidi 

.1,  •  c«toa 

*wiufa  todtt^iori  and 
tns.  Twenty- (oar  tkiwwif  dir«ci<«r> 
rent  (c«l«r  panel*.  Fie  7.  *r«  inattlM. 
with  edif  cwtac  We*toa  aaHMicra  oa  mdb 
wire  of  tbc  tbrte-wuc  iimia.  Tbvc 
arc  00  cirout  brcikcra  buww  tbc  homi 
and  fb«  diract-cvrrcBi  side  of  tbc  ao«or 
r*.  bat  00  tbc  alt  «mitbn -carrel 
.joutK  cimrit  brininn  arc  pro- 
Six  lighting  paocb  vitb  a 
>r:t!^rt  .T"  I  tbc  arcwtt* 
hnmg  a 
t<^>  w  «i  it  wuar  be  tbrow* 
r  direct-  or 
rent  udc  ol  tbe 

Tbc  eloragc  battery 
chloride  cdls  of  tsoo 
pactty.  diTtdcd  oito  two  Mta.  baviag  m 
end  cell*  cack  It  b  charged  darwc  ^ 
day  and  dtedMrgod  en  tbc  poak  ioai 
•Meh  cone*  hcfw  §««  aad  iim  ia  te 


TKlcd. 

»*t  .  I 
bi; 
th: 
or 


.C-jp 


t 

v> 
p.. 
r.. 

IV 

«.. . 

T..' 


i>f  fee<l  watt;.   .  .=: 
of  Mcaptna  CM.  d*^ 


•■<i  aa  firvl 
idry 


^1 
...  .  pounds 
it«f  evapormtad 


s\ 


•upwtMat) 


Factor    o(    v«apui*llon      iinUKllne 

_  , ^:o«i. 

T,,'  evaporated  per 
l^...  .._.  -  .,  f.  and  a.  Jl2 
daoreea.  puoii.U  ■ 

Total  water  actuaUy  evaporated  p«r 
nouiid  contbuatlbic  f.  and  a  .  313 


nc.    7.    SWITCH  15 


l.UTu 
11.07J 
IS   1 
1.44V 

I  lA.e^H 

1    101 

»  44 


och    ordtnarily 


•  M 


8iianii.  pounds 
KalM  boraepower 


Irvrl.itMoi    lilirtI\C    t 


II  &v 
400 
413 

BcreetutMt* 
IS.OU) 
73   1 
Uuialure.   4  1.    voUiilr 
n.   S«7.   a»U.   » «.   •• 


'xioy 


pb;...  .  . 

bctng  installed,  and  it  was  finally 

iry  to  utilize  a  narrow  space  ; 

••levator  shaft*.     As  shown  in  I-i« 
'   casting  was  m    " 
and  haviiiK   f 
1    spiral    pipe    *••-    '"•■ 
-   .  ;  cctions   to   the    t'X'f     '' 
V  the  use  of  more  special  c. 
ipes   were   run   into   'w-    "•  •■ 
'haust  heads. 

EtacnucAt  Ikstau  ^i     • 
Practically   all   of  the   r!^  •• 


t»i»i»  •■»•  "  ■•  *' 


<>watt    A 


Each  mc*' 


cwrreat    >iM  mmA.^  «• 

•  rtra'i   «  .arteM   um& 

«r  in  sV 

•t  «W     ■ 


446 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  g,  1909. 


Minor  Apparatus 

To  cool  drinking  water  in  the  building, 
a  25-ton  Vilter  refrigerating  machine  has 
been  installed  and  is  driven  by  a  variable- 
speed  Crocker-Wheeler  motor,  direct  con- 
nected to  the  shaft.  Waukesha  w^ater  is 
brought  in  tank  cars  to  the  building  and 
turned  into  two  10,000-gallon  cement  tanks 
in  the  basement.  The  expansion  coils  of 
the  refrigerating  machine  are  located  in 
these  tanks,  and  the  exchange  of  heat  is 
direct,  without  the  intermission  of  a  brine 
system.  Two  Yoeman  motor  -  driven 
centrifugal  house  pumps  circulate  the 
water.  The  refrigerating  equipment, 
shown  in  Fig.  8,  is  much  larger  than 
necessary  for  its  present  use,  but  it  is 
the  intention  in  the  future  to  supply  re- 
frigeration to  outside  parties.  Founda- 
tions are  installed  for  a  similar  unit  of 
the  same  size. 

Other  modern  devices  characteristic  of 
a  first-class  office  building  are  a  vacuum 
cleaning  system,  the  vacuum  of  which  is 
obtained  by  a  steam  aspirator ;  and  a 
Lamson  pneumatic  tube  system  for  the 
transfer  of  papers,  etc.,  from  one  depart- 
ment to  another,  this  service  being  main- 


The    Use    of    Wooden  Rings 
in  Water  Mains 


By  William  Kavanagh 


In  laying  large  pipe  intended  for  con- 
veying water  the  employment  of  wooden 
rings,  shaped  to  suit  varying  angles  and 
inequalities  between  elbows,  tees,  etc.,  and 
also  to  act  as  lengthening  pieces  between 
fittings  and  flanges,  will  be  found  to  be 
very  important.  In  general,  large  pipe 
cannot  be  handled  with  the  same  facility 
as  small  pipe,  it  being  practically  impos- 
sible to  force  heavy  pipe  into  line  should 
fittings  be  tapped  angularly  or  out  of  true, 
and  in  some  cases  the  nipples  or  lengths 
of  pipe  will  screw  up  farther  into  the  fit- 
tings than  anticipated,  shortening  the  pipe. 
Sometimes  lengths  of  pipe  or  nipples  will 
be  found  bent,  either  through  handHng  or 


tained  with  two  150-cubic  foot  Christen- 
sen  motor-driven  air  compressors.  A 
Stromberg  auto-telephone  system  com- 
bined with  the  Bell  system  is  installed 
for  intercommunication  and  for  outside 
calls.  The  building  is  heated  with  the 
Paul  system  of  vacuum  return,  and  for 
fire  service  there  is  provided  a  6-inch 
single-stage  Lawrence  centrifugal  pump 
driven  by  a  General  Electric  8s-horse- 
power  motor  running  at  750  revolutions 
per  minute. 

The  plant  as  a  whole  is  satisfactorily 
fulfilling  the  special  purpose  for  which 
it  was  intended.  It  was  designed  and  in- 
stalled under  the  direction  of  C.  J.  David- 
son, chief  engineer  of  power  plants. 


because  of  some  defect  of  construction, 
and  when  large  pipe  is  to  be  i  onnected 
and  erected  at  a  place  remote  from  a  shop 
having  tools  large  enough  to  cut  and 
thread  it,  the  ingenuity  of  the  pipefitter  is 
taxed  to  remedy  such  troubles. 

Not  long  ago  numerous  difficulties  were 
overcome,  in  the  erection  of  a  large  water 
main  intended  for  conveying  water  under 
a  pressure  of  150  pounds  per  square  inch, 
by  the  employment  of  wooden  rings 
shaped  to  suit  requirements.  The  size  of 
the  pipe  was  14-inch,  and  its  installation 
through  various  winding  passageways  and 
crooked,  narrow  places  called  for  the  use 
of  numerous  short  pieces  of  pipe,  together 
with  the  usual  flange  unions,  valves,  tees 
and  elbows.  Whenever  it  was  found  ex- 
pedient, a  wooden  ring  was  used.  The 
ring  was  first  shaped,  then  drilled  and 
fitted  to  suit  the  bend  or  alinement  of  the 
fittings.     After  this,  a  rubber  gasket  was 


fitted  to  each  side  of  the  ring,  or  wedge, 
and    the    whole    inserted    in    the    desired       1 
position  and  bolted  in  place.     Whenever      I 
the  thickness  of  the  wooden  ring  exceeded 
a  certain  amount,  the  length  of  the  bolts 
had  to  be  increased,  and  when  the  angle      | 
of   the  bend   became   acute   the    diameter      i 
of  the  bolts  had  to  be  decreased,  in  order 
to  pass  them  through  the  holes. 

Fig.  I  shows  how  the  nipples  approached 
the  main  stop  valve  and  the  application  of 
the  wedge-shaped  wooden  rirgs  to  fill  out 
deficiency  of  alinement  is  shown  at  W  W. 
Fig.  2  shows  how  a  wooden  ring  W  was 
employed  to  overcome  deficiency  of  length. 
Here  the  nipples  screwed  into  the  fittings 
farther  than  was  expected  and  the  dis- 
tance was  made  up  by  increasing  the 
thickness  of  the  ring,  which  in  this  case 
was  2  inches,  a  rather  large  amount  to 
stretch  a  piece  of  14-inch  pipe.  Fig.  3 
shows  how  two  nipples  approached  each 
other,  having  a  flanged-union  connection. 
It  was  found  impossible  to  spring  the 
nipples  sufficiently  to  enable  the  bolting  up 
of  the  union  and  at  the  same  time  have 
it  face  properly.  The  use  of  the  ring  W 
compensated  for  this  deficiency. 

Fig.  4  shows  how  the  nipples  and 
flanged  union  from  two  45-degree  elbows 


FIG.    5 

appeared  when  connected.  The  elbows 
and  nipples  lay  close  along  a  heavy  stone 
floor,  making  it  impossible  to  manoeuver 
the  elbows  so  as  to  have  the  union  face 
properly.  A  wedged-shaped  wooden  ring, 
similar  to  that  in  Fig.  3,  was  employed, 
and  it  filled  the  requirements  nicely. 
Fig.  5  illustrates  the  use  of  the  wedge- 
shaped  wooden  ring  between  two  90- 
degree  flanged  elbows.  Here  it  was  found 
impossible  to  cant  or  swing  the  nipples 
so  as  to  enable  the  correct  facing  of  the 
elbows  and  permit  of  bolting  them  to- 
gether. The  use  of  the  ring  W  was  all 
that  could  be  desired  and  it  facilitated  the 
connection  of  this  part  of  the  line  more 
rapidly  than  if  the  heavy  stone  wall,  over 
which  the  pipe  had  to  run,  were  cut  away. 


March  9,  1909. 

In  all  cases  the  joints  in  which  the 
wooden  rings  were  used  were  water-tight 
and  satisfactory  in  every  respect. 


A    New    Binding    Agent  for  Coal 
Briquets 

Consul  George  Eugene   Eager,  of  Bar- 
men, Germany,  gives  the  following  details 
irding  the  advantages  of  briquet  malc- 
by  the  use  of  sulphite  pitch  (selpech), 
ii   a   preliminary   statement  concerning 
ir.c  making  of  coal  briquets  with  tar  pitch 
in  general : 

'  'nly   fifty   years   ago   the   dust   of  coal 
considered  to  be  entirely  useless,  but 
c  then  a  great  change  has  taken  place 
i  at  present  in  Rhenish  Westphalia  the 
■AT  coal  district  alone  produces  3,000,000 
>  of  such  briquets  each  year.  The  same 
rcase  is  shown  in  the  other  European 
I   districts,  i.e.,  Silesia,   Belgium,   Eng- 
I,  etc. 
Up   to  the   present,  coal-tar   pitch    (so- 
called    brai)    has   tKen    used    for    making 
coal   briquets,   and   its   production   in    the 
past  ten  years  has  increased  about  100  per 
t.     Most  of  the  coal-tar  pitch  is  pro- 
ed  in  England  and  Germany,  the  lat- 
country   only   being   able   to   produce 
its  own  consumption,  while   England 
plies    the    remaining    consumers,    i.e.. 
America,  Russia  and  Belgium.    As  stated, 
the   coal-tar    pitch   production    is    limited, 
an<l  consequently  in  the  United  States  antl 
Russia    only    comparatively     few    briquet 
Mufactories  are  to  be  found. 
1  he  coal-tar  pitch  is  an  excellent  bind- 
ing agent   for  baking    and    coking    coal, 
especially  bituminous;  it  bums  easily  and 
gives  the  briquets  hardness  for  long-dis- 
tance   tran.<HKjrt.   but    various   qualities    of 
good    l)ri(iurt    material    cannot    \w    hound 
with  II.   thus  making   its  c 
bility  itupossible.     Its  num<-: 
tages   are   as   follows:      It   pro<i 
much  smoke  and  has  a  very  dr -„ 
odor;   it   cannot   stand   high   temperature, 
and  becomes  soft  and  difficult   of   use  in 
hot    or    extreme    weather :    the    dust    and 
fumes   of   coal    tar,    I"     . 
very  injurious  to  thr 
of   the    work- 
cases  of  tho^ 

lure  at   which   it  igniies,  .> 
vantage  when  used   with   > 
coal,  becomes  a  great  ditadvanlaKe  when 
the  attempt  is  made  to  use  materials  tli^t 
burn   less   easily.     The  coal   tar   bco>incs 
•oft   and   burn*   much    m>>r 
the  coal  flowinc;  out  fif  thr 
the  roal   to   ■  •    tt  in  dust   and  tc 

maining  uni 

\«w  Matuial  nmii  Wooo  Cnxuumm 

ior  thi«   reason   it  has  been 
briquet   anthracite,   srmi  ant' 

-.r  gravel   with  coal-tar  pitch,   it   »><••!•,: 
unable  to  resist  the  heat  and  prrtsurr 
the    hla«t    furnace* ;    therefore    a    ^n   ' 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

agent  which  oveixomes  all  of  the  difBcul- 

ti'  the  moM 

br 

I  his  ; 
been   f. 

;:;  i'Ti  il    i,  '<jce»»    of 

!:;.im:i.n.t'.:ri:  .  \r       The 

wood  is  put  through  a  wa^ 
lye  by  which  the  Aber  is 
resinous  ingredients,  it  bet  out 

from  the  wood  pulp.     Thu^  :..[   i..i>  ma- 
terial has  been  entirely  useless     Throoch 


Sl 


tu 

as  a  binding  agent,     it  is  r 

ous  and  possesses  a  high  ' 

In  the  ordinary  briquet  of  )  coal 

from  7  to  10  per  cent,  of  C".i.    .n   •-.  used 

to  give  it  the  proper  hardness,  and  with 

the  use  !e  pilch  the  same  results 

can  be  v  the  use  of  c  per  ccnL 

There 

can  eaM 

2  to  3  per  cent,  ol  the  sui; 

Sulphite  pitch  bums  wif  .^e  or 

odor  and  is  an  ideal  fuel   for  the  house- 
hold  as  well  as  for  industrial  purpose*    !n 
cities  where  the  smoke  nuisance  has  ! 
tofore  I'  '    '  'he  use  of  briquets  tmir 

with  tl  pitch  will  form  a  solu- 

tion of  t;;c  iir.uke  question  Tr 
already  Srn  rrt.Tle  with  cole 
made  u  -ocess  in 

iiaces  .1;  xwis.  s*ii' 

sanguine  results.  I  he  former  tests  not 
only  showed  a  saving  of  jo  per  cent  coat 
but  the  iron  showed  almost  an  entire  free- 
dom from  sulphur.  In  its  trul  00  the 
toriKdo  boats  it  not  only  proved  a  ptt- 
fr.  •  ■ 

pi 

tunc     iji     wur. 
railway  engines 

this  fuel  to  «X  «>ly  rtvu*^ 

mize  in  the  _  i  oecwaary.  but 

would  relieve  the  cities  from  the  ■make 
nuisanc- 

.Avail  APii  II  »    '>r   .»i  ■»  n  ■./«»  » 

v;,,l..»,ifr     i.i-   li     <!..<■»    n<H     »4.ften     iind^r 


dcr  .  It 
ther*" 


been  f 

r  cent. 

,„     ,r,«  TV--' 

pear  with  f 
Amhrsii'' 

-f.  thr*  «rr  itc  ■ 

(Mhrt:<t 


4C 

droM  the  rrmmimAn  at  coke  (kicWno 
ttsclcss)  «iib  ur  pMdi  Imvc  ^ro««i4  fail- 
urrt^   bot    th*    utnaiitm 

iplutc  pmtk  «M  M 
and  tke  rcaaks 
a   bnqnrt   tkat   can   br   ccwMJdtrid  •  per> 

fett  tulMiitatr  f<jr  Cokc.  PrAciKAl  triali 
■^  buck  b!-  ;«olft 

--  •*  ••  •  .-.;.  4o 

n>  -  '  bigkeal 

fthrmkinit     On  accoar  lui- 

tcr  drepli    laij  ilx   cjcltaag 

■  mace,  tkrrcky  tufv'YHv  et«- 

.*iu^  lualenaUy  to  tke  -  ''rcL 

>«  ore,  bog  iroa  ore,  hr^  -  4»- 

gan  ore.  oxide.  fnr«acc  odnM*  i%nm  daM 

from  blast  famBors).  and  odwr  ores  caa 

all  be  nude  into  bnqoett  by  tke  ase  ol 

su«:» ^   ^"'  '"By  oKlMd  m 

thr  CM  iirmli 

viin  crai  lar  {>ii:n  rv4«c  tailcdL  bacaast 
the  ntnotn^  ageni  bvived  away  at  a  kwce 
nf  Ik*  matcHal  ia  daat 
talpkitc  ptick  it  is  pos- 
mUc  Io  brtqitrt  funnce  cadaMa  so  ikat  • 
can  be  raehcd  ki  a  Mast  hifaca.  Tkia 
ak>nc  means  a  graat  Mviaf  lo  tiM  iraa 

mrlqptfT. 

CuwaiiitEirT  Elukitt*— PiDcna  or 
Maumo 

Tn  sencral,  solpkitc  pilck  ce«iitts  ot  tke 

i  saboanccs:    Cok'  per 

4attlc  natter.  f»  U.    1.  ,-      tstL. 

to  ij  per  ceoL ;  traMr.  M  lo  is 

jXT   irnt. 

The  latest  ibiifcal  tests  kav«  prveatf 
that  the  pcrcoNafl*  of  askes  tarn  ke  ■•• 
tenally  rcdored  TWoagk  tke  orif^  el 
sulphite  pitr»  ntaia   talpkar 

i>p  to  JO  per  ^r  mL  ol  lk« 

sulphite  ptek     Ike  isipliir.  ka««v«v.  to 
tird  iiD  to  iroa  and  bac.  vkxk  latter  sil^ 
itr  ahrays  present  in 

•  I,     ...1r,V   ,.     .,rr-4!rt     ttl    tbtf 


and  Ikat  brsqisrtt  made  from  > 

brM|MC« 


the  l«nMC  bnqart.  Urn   mmkm^  *<^  -k^k 
\^x  U^^>f1sr   s  AoorMkmg  isdaitri      Tke 
jct   M  not   kyiiaicwptc.  md 


I,   k^  tw  Mipiiii»r»>  ol  solpkM*  as  a 
'.   lot  Ike  ksrdvr  caak  aad 

n  tfjvt  rM  <-**#  -•*•.  tf^ 


rr^tf*        ••••^l 


rit  tnala  lo  knqon  f.«»  <» 


r\    .»».• 


448 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  9,  iQog. 


Guide   to   Small   Station   Switchboard   Design 

General  Instructions  and  Suggestions  for  Station  Managers  for  Laying 
Out    Switchboards    for    Small    Alternating-  and    Direct-current  Plants 


It  frequently  happens  that  the  switch- 
board equipment  of  a  small  station  must 
be  almost  if  not  entirely  superseded  by  a 
new  switchboard  in  order  to  meet  the  re- 
quirements of  increased  load  and  unex- 
pected changes  in  the  character  of  the 
load.  In  many  such  cases,  the  work  of 
laying  out  the  new  switchboard  devolves 
upon  the  operating  head  of  the  plant  be- 
cause the  owners  consider  it  too  small  to 
justify  the  employment  of  a  consulting 
engineer.  To  meet  such  cases,  the  Gen- 
eral Electric  Company  has  formulated 
general  fundamental  instructions  and  sug- 
gestions which  will,  be  found  most  help- 
ful to  station  managers  confronted  with 
the  conditions  mentioned.  Because  of  the 
highly  useful  character  of  this  material  we 


usually  be  laid  out  with  a  fewer  number 
of  sizes  of  panels. 

The  equipment  recommended  for  ex- 
citer panels  is  as  follows :  One  ammeter, 
one  field  rheostat  handwheel,  one  single- 
pole,  single-throw  .  switch  and  one  two- 
point  potential  receptacle.  Negative  and 
equalizer  switches  should  be  mounted  on 
or  near  the  machines.  A  fuse  on  a  base 
behind  the  ^  panel  may  be  added,  if  de- 
sired. 

The  best  plan,  as  a  rule,  is  to  use  only 
one  voltmeter  for  the  exciters,  and  mount 
this  on  a  bracket  at  the  end  of  the  switch- 
board. If  a  voltmeter  is  used  for  each 
exciter,  it  may  be  mounted  on  the  corre- 
sponding exciter  panel ;  a  potential  recep- 
tacle will  then  be  unnecessary. 


Generator  Panel 

The  standard  equipment  of  a  three- 
phase  generatot  panel  is  as  follows :  Three 
ammeters,  one  polyphase-indicating  watt- 
meter, one  voltmeter,  one  field-circuit  am- 
meter, one  single-pole  single-throw  field- 
circuit  switch  with  discharge  clip,  one 
handwheel  and  chain  mechanism  for  field 
rheostat,  one  four-point  synchronizing  re- 
ceptacle, one  eight-point  potential  recep- 
tacle and  four-point  plug,  one  triple-pole 
single-throw  nonautomatic  oil  switch,  two 
current  transformers  and  two  potential 
transformers. 

A  synchronism  indicator  is  recom- 
mended in  all  cases.  The  best  place  for 
it  is  on  a  swinging  bracket  at  the  end  of 
the  board. 


FIG.     I.     FRONT   VIEW    OF    230O-VOLT  SWITCHBOARD 


reprint  herewith  that  portion  of  it  which 
relates  to  alternating-current  stations  of 
2300  volts  and  direct-current  power  plants 
of  575  and  27s  volts. 

2300-volt    Alternatlngr-cnrrent 
Svrltcliboards 

Exciter  Panels 

The  exciter  panels  should  preferably  be 
arranged  for  the  control  of  only  one  ex- 
citer from  each  panel  for  the  reasons  that 
the  panel  and  the  exciter  can  be  consid- 
ered as  a  unit,  and  can  be  disposed  of 
together  if  any  change  is  made  in  the 
equipment;  a  more  symmetrical  arrange- 
ment can  be  made  of  the  instruments  and 
other    devices,    and    the    switchboard    can 


Induction-motor  Panels 

When  exciters  are  driven  by  induction 
motors,  it  is  necessary  to  provide  a  panel 
for  the  control  of  the  motor.  The  equip- 
ment should  consist  of  one  ammeter,  one 
triple-pole  single-throw  automatic  oil 
switch  with  bell-alarm  switch,  and  one 
inverse  time-limit  overload  relay.  If  a 
Tirrill  regulator  is  installed,  there  will 
usually  be  room  for  it  on  this  panel. 

This  arrangement  is  used  also  because 
the  induction-motor  panel  is  usually  placed 
between  the  exciter  panels  and  the  genera- 
tor panels.  If  for  any  reason  the  induc- 
tion-motor panel  is  not  so  placed,  it  is 
better  to  use  a  separate  panel  for  the 
regulator. 


If  the  generators  are  rated  in  current 
output,  as  is  customary  with  some  build- 
ers, it  is  advisable  to  install  ammeters  on 
these  panels  in  order  that  it  will  be  pos- 
sible to  ascertain  at  any  time  exactly  what 
current  each  machine  is  delivering.  All 
three-phase  systems  are  more  or  less  un- 
balanced ;  therefore,  in  order  to  obtain 
correct  readings,  it  is  necessary  to  install 
an  ammeter  in  each  leg  of  each  generator 
circuit. 

Indicating  wattmeters  are  important,  as 
it  is  not  possible  to  determine  by  any 
other  means  the  division  of  load  between 
two  alternating-current  generators  run- 
ning in  multiple.  The  ammeters  cannot 
differentiate  between   the   idle  component 


March  9,  1909. 

and  the  work  component  of  the  current 
from  a  machine,  and  are  therefore  of  no 
use  in  determining  the  division  of  load. 

Field-circuit  ammeters  are  useful,  but 
not  absolutely  necessary.  They  serve  as 
a  check  on  the  generator  in  case  of  trou- 
ble',   and    are    valuable    when    testing    for 

'tcrs  are,  of  course,  used  to  read 
voltage  of   the   machine   before   it   is 
lected    in    multiple     with    any    other. 
y  are  also  used  to  indicate  the  poten- 
iiai  of  the  busbars.     The  eight-point  re- 
ceptacle on  the  panel  is  provirlcd  to  con- 
nect the  voltmeter  to  any  of  the  phases. 
The  field-circuit  switch  is  equipped  with 
a  discharge  clip,  in  order  that  the  induc- 
tive  discharge    which    occurs     when    the 
twitch  is  opened  can  be  dissipated  through 
3  resistance  without  injury  to  the  machine 
ny  of  the  other  apparatus. 
ne  synchronizing  plug  is  used  to  con- 

•  the   generator   to   the    synchronizing 

■  111?  to  the  synchrr.nism  indi- 

•neral  Electric  Company  has 

mended    synchroni/mi?    be- 

<  s,  and  for  this  rca>on  two 

^    ot    plug    are     furnished    with     its 

•  hboard  equipment,  one  marked  "Ma- 
chine running,"  and  the  other  "Machine 
••-—Mng."     If  a  synchronism   indicator   is 

'    the  proper  connections  will  be  made 

:is    of    these    plugs,    so    that    the 

i/ing  indicator  will  show  whether 

rig  machine  is  operating  too  slow 

.iSt. 

iially  the  rhiv.vt.it  is  too  large  to 
:it  on  the  back  of  the  panel.  The 
!  wheel  can  be  mounted  on  the  panel 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

and  connected  to  the  dial  switch  00  the 
rheostat  by  means  of  a  sprocket  whcd 
and  chain  or  bevel  gears,  etc.  or  in  Maw 
cases  the  dial  swr  '-  rfaco«tat  can 

be  placed  on  xhr  .  connected  to 

'hr  ,.      I  he   latter  ar- 

rai..  able,  on  account  of 

the  great  number  of  leads  and  the  ex- 
pense if  rbeosuts  are  placed  at  any 
considerable    distance    from    the    twitch- 


boardL  it  it  better  to  opcraac 
tncally   and   Okuaat    iMip^    ika 
%wif<h  oa  the  pAaH 


T  the  gu^erwort  d  their 
and  It  thoaid  be  atccrtaacd  m  each  cat* 

whriKrr  tu  h  >  .^f....-  ..  t..  h^  *^rmtAt4i 
an.:  ,kf  itac 

the  yt'.^^w   •wiicn  can  or   rr^^jjivt^  OB  ihv 


»  lliyWMtU    **»ltte« 


No 
incnd«d  for  thfTP 

for  

are  •    iii^r'    r*    ii  - 

tine  <io«n  the  piam  » 

ting  inachir:rt  in  paraJ 

are  not  '  tywchran^ 

are  cool^.....   ,  ,-'^' 

enit  of  overload  ieedrr, 

the  gcaeralor  tvitcr.rt  htr  luwc  10  opea 

at  the  tame  time  at  the  fa<4er 

ttdowa.     Moat 

••••r*    ire   to 


FIC     X     SCCriON    TBaOtWB    SVKCHBOMOUt- 
MOroa   fAMtL 


Srifcvaoau  Pa 

When    nxitor-cefirraior    tect   are 

for    furntthintf    r-«frr     F<iik>'<n    ikrf^ 

dir^ 

or   j-  ~ 

panrit    *h      !■!    V    ■■  ,    ■; 

ammeler,  ooe  tteM  tmrr^rf^  cc»« 

pole   thigle-throw   6rkl   twndl  wMk 

charge  chp.  oae  rheotCai 

chain  mcrJ'anwT?.  *-kt  »T^^-frtr 

throw    .. 

c  n     oor  '4' 

•witch,  ooe  tnple-pole 


' 

1 

■.^.! 

I  I 

:  , 

1: 

».*  !1!  11! 


•Mm4  W»il—M» 


Pi 


■H — . 


MAcaAM  m  commcnont  >* 


450 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


Iviarch  g,  1909. 


FIG.    4 

automatic  oil  switch  for  compensator,  and 
two  current  transformers. 

If  the  synchronous  motor  sets  are 
started  only  from  the  direct-current  side, 
the  main  switch  should  be  single-throw. 
If,  however,  they  are  started  from  the 
alternating-current  side,  the  main  switch 
should  be  made  double-throw,  in  order 
that  the  motor  can  be  connected  to  the 
starting  taps  on  the  compensator  and  then 
thrown  over  to  the  line  by  the  switch- 
board operator. 

When  the  sets  are  started  from  the 
direct-current  side,  it  is  necessary  to 
synchronize  and  to  add  a  voltmeter  and 
potential  transformer  to  the  panel  for 
reading  the  potential  when  synchronizing. 

The  arrangement  of  the  field  rheostats 
on  these  panels  should  be  similar  to  the 
arrangement  of  the  rheostats  on  the 
generator  panels. 

Rotary  Converter  Panels 

Where  rotary  converters  are  used  the 
alternating-current  panel  for  the  converter 
should  have  the  following  equipment,  as- 
suming direct-current  starting:  One  main 
ammeter,  one  voltmeter,  one  synchroniz- 
ing receptacle,  one  triple-pole  single-throw 
automatic  oil  switch,  with  bell-alarm 
switch,  two  current  transformers,  and 
one  potential  transformer. 

When  rotary  converters  are  used  for 
furnishing  Edison  three-wire  service,  it  is 
customary  to  install  a  regulator  on  the 
alternating-current  side  of  the  rotary,  in 
order  to  be  able  to  control  the  potential 
of  the  direct-current  service.  This  regu- 
lator is  usually  motor-controlled,  and  in 
such  cases  a  double-pole  double-throw 
control  switch  should  be  mounted  on  the 
panel.  The  voltmeter  is  not  necessary  if 
no  p'  tential  regulator  is  used. 


front  view  of  direct-current  switchboarps 

Three-phase   Feeder   Panels 

Three-phase  feeders  are  frequently  used 
for  lighting,  but  are  more  generally  used 
for  power  service.  The  equipment  of 
each  three-phase  feeder  panel  should  con- 
sist of  three  ammeters,  one  triple-pole 
single-throw    automatic    oil    switch    with 


Permanent 

/Magnet 
(t    J   '^'o'taieter 


0     Rheostat 
—^  Switch 


FIG.    6 


bell-alarm  switch  and  two  current  trans- 
formers. 

If  three-phase  feeders  are  used  to  sup- 
ply lamps  as  well  as  motors,  the  prefera- 
ble method  for  operating  the  lighting  cir- 
cuits is  to  connect  the  lamps  to  one  phase 
of  the  three-phase  feeder  and  apply  a 
regulator  to  this  phase ;  this  will  afford 
complete  control  of  the  lighting.  The 
usual  equipment  of  a  panel  for  control- 
ling a  circuit  of  this  kind  is  as  follows: 
Three  ammeters,  one  voltmeter,  one  volt- 
meter compensator,  one  handwheel  for 
the  control  of  the  regulator,  one  triple- 
pole  single-throw  automatic  switch,  with 
bell-alarm  switch,  four  current  trans- 
formers   and    one    potential    transformer. 

If  the  regulator  is  located  at  a  con- 
siderable distance  from  the  switchboard, 
it  is  preferable  to  operate  it  electrically, 
and  a  double-pole  double-throw  control 
switch,  instead  of  the  handwheel,  should 
be  mounted  on  the  panel.  If  the  regulator 
can  be  placed  close  to  the  panel,  however, 
it  can  be  connected  to  the  handwheel  on 
the  panel  by  means  of  either  a  sprocket 
wheel  and  chain,  or  by  beveled  gears. 

Single-phase  Feeder  Panels 

If  single-phase  feeders  are  used  for 
lighting,  the  equipment  should  comprise 
one  ammeter,  one  voltmeter  of. the  com- 
pensating type,  one  double-pole  single- 
throw  automatic  oil  switch  with  bell-alarra 
switch,  one  current  transformer  and  one 
potential  transformer. 

In  case  regulators  are  used,  the  same 
arrangement  should  be  made  on  this  panel 
for  the  control  of  them  as  is  outlined  for 
the  three-phase  panels. 

Relays 
The  General  Electric  Company  has  de- 


March  9,  1909. 

veloped  what  is  known  as  the  diaphragm- 
type  relay,  which  operates  on  the  inverse 
time  element  principle ;  that  is,  it  can  be 
adjusted  to  operate  in  a  predetermined 
time  with  certain  currents.  If  so  ad- 
justed, the  time  of  operation  is  inversely 
proportional  to  the  amount  of  current, 
and  approaches  an  instantaneous  value  in 
case  of  a  short-circuit.  The  use  of  this 
relay  is  recommended  on  all  feeder  cir- 
cuits, alternating-current  rotar>-  converter 
panels    and    synchronous-    or    induction- 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

preferable,  at  it  plae^«  th«  tn«trmncnt  be- 
yond the  reach  '  '  jitcndanl 
and  removes  all  .pparatQi 
from  tbc  switchboard  proper 

AuuNccMurr  or  ArrABATvt 

There  are  many  pottiblc  arra"-. •- 

of  the  oil  twitche*.  current  an«l 

trar  '   -  '      '  and    connccnoru 


Th. 

on 

p.. 


10  employ  depeiMb 
1  and  the  pro- 
.board.    Whh 


an  arrangcaoN  iW  paad  •o«U  kf  __. 
ered  by  tbc  00— otumw  to  aad  itvm  tfM 

trafi»f<jfn»«T».    And    tH<rcby 


....AC  Ike 
«•  rabk 

I*  ui  tW  kadi  froM  dM 
*  brnntli  tW  Aoor.  il  iIm 
o^oK  in  iroai  bdov,  or  on  iW  waB  m 
tbcy  come  fraa  abow. 
coaoectcd  to  tbc  facdcf  carcMtt  dtosM  b* 
moimtcd  on  tbc  wall  tf  tbc  faodrr*  go  a«i 
aboTc.  or  bcacatb  tbc  ieor  ii  ibif  f»  cat 
aadrrtfru.iml 

I  'ear  T«rw  of  tbc  •wMcbboaffd 

ml.,     ..    UMwiog   tbc 
tvrrn  the  vmrM 
mg  dnrkca. 

board  aiTWigca   ior  STS*^'^'^  power 

vie*       TSr    runrl    i>wr«n  at  fbc  l»fl  oH 

dr 

will.   ..    .    .<■.    i'>«..<^>ier  or  a 

dnven  by  a  motor  or  mm  cngwic,  conpC' 

ing  that  no  field  twiicb  is  ooi^id  ior  tarn 

rtrxtr    panels     Tbc    c^oipaKM    ol    Mi 

panel  Uwold  be  ooc  circoil 

bell-alarm  twilcb.  oar  aMOMtcr, 

wheel  and  cbaio 

tiat.   <  rit     iingle-poir 

•w '  itcbargv  elip,  one  foflr 


placH  km 


m  k 


tWir  . 

eu' 

I- 


the  rimit  b* 

If   t?ir    err- 

grr  aad  M  to  be 

dir  t     Maitiog.     a 

•u  s  ibooM  be  aoMiad  OB  *b 

panel      It  in*  gwwrtt'"  *-  •«••-'»*  bf  la 
ahrmatiag-emrrvfli  mo*  'trntimf' 

panel  alfvady  ttrutts^^  lAooM  bo 
tbc  camrol  e4  (be  — »iw 


TKr 


Fnan   P»wti« 


ric 


PtAntAM  or  cowintcTtoxi  or  »amct<vtaun  gwncmtoAam 


'or  panrU.  .!■>   n   prcvcn?-   •'•-    -'•■••• 
vn  of  the  circuit  by  a  m 


!>:r      jr  r  .if.k.Ttn«-iit      *h<>flh     Ifl      rig.     J     'bc 

amcwork 

•  ■It'  V<  1 


Hit  >-r  tiKtiUr  trouble. 

r.iioi  «€D  Drr»rroii» 
It    i*    dr«irahlr    to    use    an   electrostatic 
ground  detector  .■.imrrted  to  the  h.i%bar». 
"^♦m   can  be    nmuntcd    on    a     •'  ■'     "■»'* 
irket  at  the  lop  of  the  (witi 
.    '       '•  at  the  V 
.rket    at    • 


•  rrangemml. 


hie 

tf 

b* 


the  ba^ 


.1      «     tW 


I  •   t'l  **  •  •  ►•'.7 


452 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  9,   1909. 


the  same  for  motor-driven  machines  and 
should  have  the  following  equipment : 
Two  circuit-breakers  with  interlock  and 
bell-alarm  switch,  two  ammeters,  two 
handwheels  for  field  rheostats,  two  sin- 
gle-pole single-throw  field  switches  with 
discharge  clips,  two  four-point  potential 
receptacles  for  voltmeter  plugs,  three  sin- 
gle-pole single-throw  lever  switches  and 
one  four-throw  starting  switch  (for 
motor-driven  generators).  If  the  two 
generators  are  engine-driven,  of  course  • 
the  starting  switch  can  be  omitted. 

The  direct-current  rotary  converter 
panel  should  have  the  following  equip- 
ment : 

Two  circuit-breakers  with  interlock, 
shunt  trip  coil  and  bell-alarm  switch ;  two 
ammeters,  one  handwheel  for  the  field 
rheostat,  one  four-point  potential  recep- 
tacle for  the  voltmeter  plug,  three  single- 
pole  single-throw  lever  switches  and  one 
four-point  starting  switch. 

It  is  generally  preferable  to  start  either 
a  rotary  converter  or  a  motor-generator 
set  from  the  direct-current  side,  as  this 
causes  much  less  disturbance  of  the  sys- 
tem, which  of  course  is  important  in 
lighting  work. 

The  panels  described  are  arranged  for 
shunt-wound  generators  and  converters 
as  these  machines  are  usually  employed 
for  lighting.  If,  however,  compound- 
wound  machines  are  used,  equalizer  bus- 
bars should  be  placed  at  a  convenient 
point  and  the  equalizer  switches  located 
either  on  the  machines  or  on  pedestals 
near  the  machines. 

In  the  case  of  the  two  compound-wound 
machines  supplying  the  three-wire  sys- 
tem, it  is  necessary  to  have  the  series-field 
winding  of  the  machine  which  operates 
on  the  positive  side  of  the  system  con- 
nected in  on  the  positive  side  of  the  ma- 
chine. The  machine  operating  on  the 
negative  side  of  the  system  should  have 
its  series-field  winding  connected  in  on 
the  negative  side  of  the  machine ;  the  cir- 
cuit-breakers should  be  connected  in  the 
leads  running  to  the  neutral  busbar.  The 
reason  for  this  is  that  the  neutral  is 
usually  grounded,  and  as  only  one  cir- 
cuit-breaker is  furnished  for  each  ma- 
chine, it  is  advisable  to  have  this  con- 
nected on  the  side  of  the  machine  which 
is  grounded,  in  order  to  properly  protect 
the  machine  against  a  ground  in  the  leads 
from  the  machine  to  the  switchboard,  or 
on  the  machine  itself. 

A  voltmeter  should  be  mounted  on  a 
swinging  bracket,  as  indicated  in  Fig.  5. 

Feeder  Panels 
The  feeder  panels  shown  in  Fig.  5  are 
each  arranged  for  one  three-wire  grounded 
circuit.  These  panels  should  be  equipped 
with  two  circuit-breakers  with  interlock 
and  bell-alarm  switch,  two  ammeters  and 
two  single-pole  lever  switches.  There 
may  be  installed  on  one  of  these  feeder 
panels  a  six-point  receptacle,  in  order 
that   the   potential    can   be    read    between 


each  leg  of  the  system  and  the  neutral 
when  the  rotary  converter  is  running 
alone.  There  may  also  be  installed  a 
four-point  receptacle  for  reading  the  po- 
tential across  the  outside  of  the  three-wire 
service  when  only  the  generators  are  run- 
ning. Figs.  6  and  7  show  the  proper  con- 
nections for  Figs.  4  and  5,  respectively, 
as  viewed  from  behind  the  switchboards. 


Bridgewalls    in    Theory    and 
Practice 


By   W.    H.   Wakeman 


The  chief  engineer  of  a  large  manu- 
facturing plant  believed  that  the  hot  gases 
resulting  from  the  partial  combustion  of 
coal  could  not  be  thoroughly  consumed 
unless  they  were  caused  to  pass  through 
a  narrow  passage  on  their  way  to  the 
chimney;  therefore,  when  he  installed 
two  new  72-inch  boilers  he  had  the  bridge- 
walls   built   in   the    form   of    an   inverted 


cumference    of     the     shell,     its     area    is 

3.5  X  108  =  378 
square  inches,  or  almost  exactly  one-half 
the  area  of  the  tubes;  consequently,  the 
draft  is  less  than  it  would  be  if  this 
space  were  twice  as  large,  although  the 
length  of  this  contracted  passage  is  short, 
which  is  a  point  in.  its  favor.  The  tem- 
perature must  be  very  high  at  this  point, 
but  the  boilers  were  not  damaged  by  h 
as  long  as  they  were  kept  clean. 

There  were  18  other  boilers  in  this 
plant  supplied  with  bridgewalls  that  were 
straight  and  level  on  top,  with  a  space 
above  them  about  12  inches  high  3t  its 
lowest  point.  This  chief  engineer  claimed 
that  when  these  bridgewalls  were  di  an. 
thus  making  the  full  area  of  the  passage 
effective,  the  efficiency  of  the  boilers  was 
reduced,  because  the  hot  gases  were  not 
completly  consumed  on  their  way  to  the 
chimney.  His  remedy  for  this  evil  was 
to  allow  soot  and  ashes  to  collect  at  this 
point,  as  shown  in  Fig.  2,  and  he  would 
not  allow  this  to  be  removed. 

The  real  object  in  building  a  bridgewall 


arch,  corresponding  to  the  form  of  the 
shell,  and  the  space  between  the  top  of 
this  wall  and  the  boiler  shell  was  35^ 
inches.  See  Fig.  i.  Through  this  space 
all  of  the  products  of  combustion  passed 
on  their  way  to  the  chimney  and,  ac- 
cording to  the  idea  of  this  chief  engineer, 
they  became  thoroughly  mixed  and  burned 
during  the  process. 

Fortunately  the  chimney  of  this  plant 
created  a  very  strong  draft,  otherwise 
the  boilers  would  not  have  generated 
steam  enough  to  supply  the  demand  when 
a  full  load  was  on,  as  the  following  cal- 
culation shows :  The  internal  diameter  of 
a  3-inch  tube  is  practically  2.8  inches,  and 
the  area  is  6.157  square  inches;  there- 
fore, the  combined  area  of  120  tubes  is 
738  square  inches,  and  it  is  safe  to  as- 
sume that  the  area  of  the  passage  for 
hot  gases  should  not  be  less  than  this 
at  any  point  between  the  boiler  and  the 
chimney.  If  the  space  above  the  bridge- 
wall  extends  around  one-half  of  the  cir- 


is  to  hold  the  fuel  in  its  proper  place; 
therefore,  it  should  be  high  enough  for 
this  purpose,  and  anything  more  is  a 
waste  of  labor  and  material. 

Bridgewall  Too  Low 
The  fronts  of  a  pair  of  boilers  that  I 
had  charge  of  for  five  years  were  designed 
so  that  the  grates  were  about  20  inches 
below  the  shells.  As  Lehigh  nut  coal  was 
burned  in  these  furnaces  at  this  time, 
a  bridgewall  12  inches  high  above  the 
grates  was  sufficient  to  hold  the  coal, 
even  when  the  fires  were  banked ;  but,- 
later,  bituminous  coal  was  adopted,  and 
when  this  was  shoved  back  to  the  bridge- 
wall  and  the  mass  covered  with  fresh 
fuel  to  keep  it  from  making  steam  dur- 
ing the  night,  the  bridgewall  was  too 
low,  as  it  was  difficult  to  keep  coal  off 
it.  To  remedy  this  difficulty  I  had  it 
raised  4  inches  by  setting  firebrick  on 
edge,  as  illustrated  in  Fig.  3. 
This  reduced  the  space  from  the  bridge- 


March  9,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  I 


wall  to  the  shell  from  8  to  4  inches,  but 
it   did    no   harm.      One    of    these    boilers 
leaked  badly  at  the  girth  seam  near  the 
bridgewall,    and    although    the    seam    was 
chipped    and    calked    several    times    in    a 
workmanlike     manner,     it     soon     leaked 
a^ain.     Thirteen   new   rivets  were  put   in 
!  headed  down  while  hot.  thus  causing 
m  to  hold  more  firmly  when  cold  on 
lunt    of    shrinkage    of    the    iron,    but 
leak  was  in  evidence  again  within  a 
.   days.     This  would  have  proved  con- 
lively  to  some  engineers  that  the  con- 


Bbiocewau.  Too  Hick 


nc 


!.• 

.-«■>     1     r 

but  wh- 

after   • 

found   • 

trated   in    tig.  4.     It   was   rep 

this  was  done  by  order  of  the  u-  1  r: 

specter,  who  objected  to  the  high  bndgc 

wall    because   it    ■ 

tration   of   too   v. 


points    out    in    an    c  ricr    what 

is  a  fact  to  him  bey  :  .  ..  ,  ..:c.  namely, 
that  a  bridgewall  should  never  be  est 
down  in  this  way.  because  nearly  all 
of  the  hot  gases  will  rush  for  thi»  pir; 
of  the  passage  and  the  result  will  }«  1 
ruined  boiler.     If  either  or  bo»»«  of  <).ryr 

'    ■  :^ions  were  correct.  .1  !  m 

1  u-     J    and   4.   it    is   cert  Ahrn 

a  boiler  is  set  as  shown  in  hig.  1.  it  w<>u!<l 
soon  be  rendered  unsafe  for  use.  yet.  thn 
is   not   true   in   everyday   practice,   hrncr 
my  conclusion  that  a  bridgewall    is    de 
signed    to    hold    the    fuel    in     place     and 
should  be  !i' 
part  of  a  h 
ing.  it  :  caukcv 

Fig    :  if  a  cer 

tain    bridgewall    after    wood    had    been 


be  ««U  protebljr  bt  coMMMad  with  d^M*- 
<<iditmM  dtcwkcfc  ta  tke 
dctrisMW   of    lnt-«laM 

if    tiiit    bHdicvall    ihoirfd   be 

:-:.iirtiinc<l    At     iKoan     in     Fi.-       •    aa^    |^ 

"O 

nr«.  il  woold 
•avmg  mucA  luri.  aad  be  ■MTV 
torr  on  athtt  »reo«nta 

-  a  iqaardy  b«iH  bKjgt 
«  for  c«»> 
I  kM  cf  m 


no.  4 


centration  of  heat  at  this  point  was  the 

CMU%r    ..|    tr.-iMc;    but    thu    tli-l    ii'! 
vincc  inr.  l»i.iusc   I  knew   1I1.1I   the   n,- .- 
ftal  surface  <>f  the   thells  was  practicaliy 
clean  at  these  points. 

These    boilers    were    fed    through    the 
blowofT  pipe  with  water  that  wa»  h'T"' 
•early    to   the    boiling   point    by    a 
CxhaiMt-steam   heater,   but     •. ' 
rangriiient    nf    piping    wj\ 
Internal     feed    pipes    installed    '   < 
disappeared    and    never    retunir  ' 
experience    shows    that    it    i« 
decide   on   the   cause   of    tf' •'' 
<\    without    thorough    i^ 


bonied  in  the  furnac*  (or  wrvral  m 


gtront.    tbe  furl  t 


(bcrt  ;  ,rn    i..^i>'- 


454 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  g,  1909. 


Draining  High-Pressure  Steam  Lines 

Why    Water  Should  Collect  in    the  Steam  Piping,  Its  Effect  on  the 
System  and  Methods  of  Draining  it  Back  to  the  Boilers  or  to  Atmosphere 

b'y      WILLIAM       F\       FISCHER 


Probably  the  greatest  source  of  danger 
to  engines  of  the  reciprocating  type  is  the 
liability  of  water  collecting  in  the  steam- 
piping  system,  which  unless  stopped  by 
a  separator  eventually  finds  its  way  into 
the  engine  cylinder  in  "doses"  or  "slugs" 
carried  over  with  the  steam  flow.  This 
is  particularly  dangerous  in  high-speed 
engines,  owing  to  the  small  clearance 
space  at  each  end  of  the  cylinder. 

Water  Hammer 
Pipes  are  usually  proportioned  so  that 
the  steam  travels  at  the  rate  of  about  one 
mile  a  minute,  or  in  some  cases  much 
faster,  hence  if  a  slug  of  water  is  picked 
up  by  the  steam  and  carried  along  with 
it,  an  accident  is  apt  to  occur,  either  by 
the  rupture  of  an  elbow  at  a  change  in 
the  direction  of  the  flow,  or  by  the  water 
entering  the  engine  cylinder.  Although 
in  some  cases  the  quantity  of  water  in 
the  steam  mains  may  not  be  sufficient  to 
cause  serious  damage,  it  may,  however. 
cause  disagreeable  knocking  and  ham- 
mering, which  causes  vibration,  and  in 
time  causes  the  joints  to  leak.  This 
knocking  and  hammering,  so  common  in 
steam-heating  plants,  is  what  is  known  as 
"water  hammer."  Professor  Thurston 
has  experimentally  shown  that  the  pres- 
sure produced  by  water  hammer  may  be 
as  much  as  ten  times,  or  more,  that  which 
the  pipe,  fittings  and  valves  were  origi- 
nally expected  to  sustain  in  their  regular 
work,  and  this  fact  is  borne  out  in  prac- 
tice by  the  number  of  accidents  traced  to 
this  cause  alone. 

Radiation  and  Pipe  Covering 
The  presence  of  water  in  steam  mains 
is  due  to  the  condensation  of  steam  in 
the  pipes,  and  in  some  cases  to  priming 
or  foaming  of  the  boilers,  where  water  at 
times  is  carried  over  with  the  steam  in 
large  quantities.  Heated  surfaces  natur- 
ally lose  heat  when  brought  into  contact 
with  a  cooler  surface  or  element,  thus 
between  two  bodies  near  each  other  and 
at  diflferent  temperatures  there  exists  a 
tendency  toward  temperature  equaliza- 
tion by  radiation,  conduction  and  con- 
vexion.  A  pipe  carrying  steam  at  a  tem- 
perature of  from  212  degrees  and  upward 
coming  in  direct  contact  with  the  sur- 
rounding atmosphere,  the  temperature  of 
which  seldom  exceeds  100  degrees,  is 
naturally  a  cause  for  rapid  radiation  of 
heat  from  the  surface  of  the  pipe  to  the 


atmosphere.  This  rapid  radiation  of  heat 
causes  condensation  in  the  pipes,  and  is 
also  a  direct  loss  of  the  heat  units  de- 
rived from  the  fuel  and  stored  up  in  the 
steam,  and  for  this  reason  should  be  pre- 
vented as  far  as  possible  by  covering  all 
live-steam  lines  with  a  good  nonconduc- 
tive  pipe  covering. 

Condensation  and  Superheat 
Condensation  may  be  divided  into  two 
parts :  "static"  condensation,  which  occurs 
when  steam  fills  the  pipe,  but  is  not  flow- 
ing through  it,  and  "dynamic"  condensa- 
tion, which  takes  place  when  a  valve  is 
opened  permitting  the  steam  to  flow.     It 


To  Engine 


the  surplus  heat  units  or  superheat  must 
first  be  extracted  from  the  steam,  or, 
in  other  words,  the  superheated  steam 
must  first  be  reduced  to  saturated  steam 
at  the  same  pressure,  or  less,  before  any 
condensation  occurs. 

Initial  Condensation 
Water  has  a  large  capacity  for  absorb- 
ing heat,  and  when  allowed  to  accumu- 
late in  the  steam  mains  has  a  tendency 
to  condense  part  of  the  steam  flowing 
therein.  Any  steam  thus  condensed, 
though  perhaps  in  small  amount,  must  be 
replaced  by  the  boiler,  and  the  extra 
steam    generated    for   this   purpose    alone 


FIG.     I.     A   construction   OFTEN   USED 

has  been  found  to  all  practical  purposes 
that  the  amounts  of  condensation  are  al- 
most equal  in  both  cases. 

In  modern  plants  with  the  use  of  su- 
perheated steam  and  the  proper  pipe  cov- 
ering, the  condensation  losses  are  re- 
duced to  a  minimum  as  long  as  there  is 
a  rapid  transference  of  steam  from  the 
boilers  to  the  engines,  but  there  are  nearly 
always  certain  lengths  of  idle  pipe  in  the 
system  in  which  there  is  no  flow;  here 
the  steanl  is  bound  to  condense  while  the 
pipes  are  kept  alive,  and  if  they  are  shut 
off,  there  is  danger  of  water  forming  in 
them  when  they  are  again  opened  to  the 
steam.  Before  any  water  of  condensa- 
tion   can    form    with    superheated    steam, 


FIG.     2.     A   BETTER  ARRANGEMENT 

will  amount  to  considerable  money  in 
fuel  in  a  year's  time.  Initial  condensa- 
tion in  an  engine  cylinder  is  a  good  ex- 
ample of  this. 

Water  lying  in  the  cylinder,  or  swept 
in  by  the  steam,  chills  the  cylinder  walls, 
which  in  turn  condense  part  of  the  steam 
entering  at  the  next  stroke  of  the  piston. 
Consequently  a  greater  amount  of  steam 
must  be  admitted  to  the  cylinder  than 
would  otherwise  be  required  to  do  the 
work.  This  initial  condensation  causes  a 
corresponding  drop  in  pressure  at  the 
engine  throttle,  and  causes  pounding  and 
disagreeable  knocking  in  the  engine  cyl- 
inder, as  the  water  is  slapped  back  and 
forth  at  each  stroke  of  the  piston. 


March  9,  1909. 

TER  IN  Steam  Pipes  avd  Its  Effect 
!  he  presence  of  water  in  the  steam 
:;  ains  also  causes  unequal  straining  in 
the  piping  and  at  the  joints,  as  it  tends 
to  reduce  the  temperature  of  the  lower 
tide  of  the  pipe  as  the  water  is  swept 
along.  Some  boilers,  when  heavily  fired 
or  forced  beyond  their  rated  capacity, 
especially  quick  steamers  and  those  hav- 
ing insufficient  steam  space,  have  an  ag- 
gravating habit  of  throwing  over  large 
quantities  of  water  into  the  steam  header 
This  priming  or  foaming  is  also  caused 
by  impurities  in  the  feed  water,  or  is 
'•times  due  to  the  presence  of  oil  in 
boilers.  Then  again,  a  sudden  re- 
duction of  pressure  in  the  steam  main. 
such  as  is  likely  to  occur  when  an  extra 
:ne  is  quickly  cut  into  service,  or  to  a 
su.iJen  increase  in  the  load,  causes  a 
corresponding  reduction  of  pressure  at 
the  boilers,  liberating  the  heat  stored  in 
the  water.     This  heat  flashes  part  of  the 


To  Baclat 


ric.   3.  uDuaKc  nt 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

Steara  connectioni  from  the  boilcrt 
frequently  enter  the  nuin  header  at  the 
bottom.  This  practice  should  be  avoided 
as  it  leaves  a  pocket  for  the  condensation 
from  the  header  to  drai"  into  wh«i 
f  ■  boilers  ! 

'*  to    run    : 

*^*^-  ■    the  steam  dow.   water 

^*"  y    to    occnr.    onless    the 

pipe  is  exceptionally  large  and  the  ve- 
locity of  the  steam  much  bek>w  the  aver- 
age, as  in  heating  plants,  etc.  The  steam 
lines  connecting   '.'  ■.,   header 

with  the  boilers.  «  header 

at  the  top  or  on  tiic  sitic.  and  shoold 
drain  toward  the  header.  All  steam  lines 
to  the  engines  should  be  taken  from  the 
top  of  the  header  where  possible  to  do  so. 
and  should  drain  toward  the  engine  sepa- 
rator. 

Daif  PocKrrs 
Tapping    a    small  'pipe    connection    in!-. 


chaia  vater  gagt»  epemcd  fraa  ikc  iecr 
•o  the  valves  can  be  qmtkif  doM4  wkh- 
om  danger  of  scaldn^  the  oyeratee  Au^S 
tiM  ft*  glass  br««k.  thmt  mm  ihow 
at  a  gtaocc  the  higfct  of  tW  wmn  ia  ike 
podiet  at  an  timei,  also  iadiasca^  vhtth- 
er  the  trap  or  drip  retwB  a|rrte«  it  op- 
eraimg  property  In  all  cM«a  k  ia  • 
good  plan  to  attach  a  drip  pocfat  at  mek 
md  of  the  oMia  stcasa  header.  10  hHy  w^ 
the  circBbtio*  aad  relieve  th*  h^dw  ol 
RMMlrnaatioa  mhttt  cither  of  iW  eW 
botlrrs  i«  shot  doam  for  tkm^  «r  i«» 
pairs.  The  grcaieai  low  of  smmb  b  Me. 
essarily  toward  the  larfeei  o«tkf  te  iW 
header.  coMoqaunly  the 
dripped  ihrovgh  a  drip 
pomt.  as  vater  wiD  he  tv«ft 
outlet  vtth  the  tfttam  low 
end. 
Long  Uncs  of  pipinc  she«U  ht  dr1ppa# 


ff 


nc   4.   BzcvLAa  tyr  or  atDCcxa 


i 


V-     


-1 


U 


] 


riu    7    n» 


'•.     r(  rENTaiC  K£OUCZK 


I  a:    (1    KirtMrvK'  n^M<.K 


uic 
»tej 

r..   he   . 

(■J>t  .»  N 

liver     «ith     It.       I' 
cubical    capacity    »h 


,T  purputc*.  l»  n  'I 

flowuif 

'    wafrt 


nil.  and  in  doing  so,  causes 

'>n,  .-ind   part   of  the   water 
IS    '  ind    carried   over    with    the 

rapi  K   steam  to  be  depo»Hc<l   ui 

the   iiiuiii    stram    header. 

If  thi%  water  is  drained  off  as  fast  at  it 
forms,  no  danger  can  possibly  result  from     an  opening  or  inlet  cq 

it,  but   if  allowed   to  accumulate   to  any     ■' -    ■ sin    to    »> 

extent,  the  effective  pipe  area  it  gradu-  <-*  up  to  i. 

ally    dfirr.ird    to    such    an    extent     that  a   incn<»    ir.     jh  :; 

when  a  I'.'.i^v  load  i*  ihmwn  nn  ih'  tta-  tat*   in    taetttuttt 


A  it* 


drip 


ht 


:ig  It   with    great 
.    .  „     :  blind  flange,  and 
a   rupture   may    result.      Pockets   or   low 
spott  in  the  piping  where  water  can  co! 
lact    should    be    avoided,   or   if    itppo««ibI«- 
'  >    away     with     them     r: 
'I  be  dripped  to  iniure  k 
free  of  water  at  all  time* 


ait 


«litp    puJlCU    should    f 


:caai  Imt 


•  •• 
n  as  iilili^  *9  KaiC  t^  l**7 


456 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  9,   1909 


up  circulation  and  keep  the  line  free  of 
'water.  If  the  pumps  are  shut  down,  how- 
ever, there  should  be  another  means  of 
removing  the  water  of  condensation  auto- 
matically, either  through  a  trap,  gravity 
return  system,  steam  loop,  pump  and  re- 
ceiver or  other  suitable  means. 

Water  drained  off  through  the  steam 
cylinder  of  a  pump  should  not  be  again 
returned  to  the  boilers  unless  filtered  to 
remove  the  oil  it  contains.  This  holds 
good  for  all  exhaust-steam  drips  after 
passing  through  an  engine  or  pump  cyl- 
inder where  oil  is  present.  A  swinging 
check  valve  should  be  installed  in  each 
drip  connection  between  the  steam  main 
and  drip  header,  to  prevent  steam  or 
water  from  backing  up  in  any  section  of 
the  steam  main  while  out  of  service.  Since 
the  amount  of  condensation  to  be  handled 
by  drip  pipes  is  practically  an  unknown 
factor,  no  general  rule  can  be  given  for 
proportioning  them.  The  designer  must 
use  his  own  judgment  in  this,  as  well  as 
many  other  matters  relating  to  the  de- 
sign of  the  piping  system. 

Draining  Water  Pockets 

Fig.  I  shows  a  construction  very  often 
•used  in  draining  the  end  of  a  steam  line 
where  steam  is  taken  from  the  top  of  the 
header.  The  line  rises  through  a  tee  A 
vertically,  with  one  end  capped  by  a  blind 
flange  B  drilled  for  a  drip  connection  C. 
With  this  arrangement  of  the  piping,  the 
water  of  condensation  is  swept  along  the 
header  at  high  velocity  by  the  steam  flow, 
and  upon  striking  the  back  of  the  tee  is 
suddenly  arrested  and  broken  up  into 
fine  particles  or  drops,  some  of  which  are 
caught  up  again  by  the  steam  and  carried 
up  past  the  elbow  and  into  the  engine 
cylinder    unless    stopped    by    a    separator. 

Fig.  2  shows  an  arrangement  of  piping 

f 


Kxpansion  Bend 
turned  up 


i;wtr,  .V.  y. 
FIG.     9.     DRAINING   AN    EXPANSION    LOOP 

much  preferred  to  that  shown  in  Fig.  i. 
The  tee  A  is  placed  horizontally  in  the 
line,  with  the  outlet  looking  up  and  a 
drip  pocket  E  connected  to  the  extreme 
end  of  the  line  through  the  elbow  D. 
With  this  arrangement  the  water  of  con- 
densation is  swept  along  to  the  end  of 
the  line,  falling  through  the  elbow  into 
the  drip  pocket  E,  where  it  is  drained  off 
through  the  drip  line  C. 

In  Fig.  3  is  shown  a  section  of  a  high- 
pressure  steam  line  provided  with  a  re- 


ducing tee.  If  the  steam  flow  is  in  the 
direction  of  the  arrows,  a  water  pocket  is 
formed  in  the  line  A.  If  the  water  which 
will  collect  here  is  not  drained  off  as  fast 
as  it  forms,  a  heavy  flow  of  steam  will 
sweep  it  over  to  the  engine.  Fig.  4  shows 
a  line  reduced  on  the  run  through  a  con- 
centric reducer  of  the  regular  type.  The 
results  are  the  same  as  in  the  previous 
case.  Figs.  5  and  6  show  how  this  water 
pocket  may  be  avoided  by  the  use  of  an 
eccentric  reducer,  or  an  eccentric  flange, 


To  Engine 

FIG.     8.     WHEN    STEAM    IS    TAKEN    FROM 
BOTTOM    OF    HEADER 

in  place  of  the  fittings  shown  in  Figs.  3 
and  4.  The  eccentric  reducer  is  to  be 
preferred  to  the  flange  in  all  cases,  but 
the  cost  will  be  greater. 

In  cutting  out  a  section  of  piping  for 
repairs,  or  to  renew  gaskets,  etc.,  work- 
men are  sometimes  scalded  when  break- 
ing joints,  due  to  some  pressure  still  re- 
maining in  the  line  after  the  main  valves 
are  closed.  When  the  bolts  are  loosened 
the  water  of  condensation  in  the  dead 
section  gushes  out,  scalding  the  face  or 
hands  of  the  workman.  The  dead  section 
should  be  well  drained  before  opening  the 
joints. 

Fig.  7  shows  a  gate  valve  G  placed  in 
a  steam  main  and  dividing  it  up  into  sec- 
tions A  and  B.  This  valve  is  dripped  at 
each  side  of  the  gate  or  disk,  through 
the  drip  valves  C,  D  and  F,  and  check 
valve  H  into  the  drip  header.  Globe 
valve  E  is  for  an  open  bleeder  connec- 
tion. If  section  B  is  shut  down,  the  drip 
valve  should  be  closed.  The  water  of 
condensation  forming  in  the  live  section 
A  is  drained  off  into  the  header  through 
valves  C,  H  and  F,  or  if  the  steam  were 
flowing  in  the  opposite  direction  and  sec- 
tion A  cut  out  of  service,  drip  valve  C 
should  be  closed  and  section  B  drained 
through  the  valves  D,  H  and  F  into  the 
drip  header. 

With  this  arrangement  of  the  drip  pip- 
ing and  valves,  the  line  may  be  used  as 
a  bypass  around  the  main  valve  G  to 
equalize  the  pressure  in  the  dead  section, 
or  to  warm  it  up  gradually  before  open- 
ing   the     main     valve,     thus     preventing 


knocking  and  pounding  in  the  line  due  to 
water  hammer.  To  use  the  piping  as  a 
bypass,  valve  F  should  be  closed,  and 
valves  C  and  D  opened  to  admit  steam 
from  one  section  to  the  other.  When  the 
main  valve  G  is  open  and  steam  flowing, 
diip  valves  C,  D  and  F  should  remain 
open  to  drain  the  line  at  this  point. 

When  shutting  down  either  section  A 
or  B  for  repairs,  the  dead  section  of  the 
piping  can  be  cleared  of  steam  and  water 
by  opening  the  bleeder  valve  E  and  blow- 
ing out  the  pressure.  For  example,  if  sec- 
tion A  were  shut  down,  valves  D  and  F 
should  be  closed,  and  drip  valve  C  and 
bleeder  valve  E  opened  to  the  atmos- 
phere, or  vice  versa  with  section  B  shut 
down.  The  check  valve  H  is  to  prevent 
the  water  in  the  drip  header  from  back- 
ing up  into  either  section  of  the  steam 
main  when  out  of  service,  should  the  at- 
tendant forget  to  close  the  drip  valves 
C  and  D.  All  the  valves  in  the  main  line 
may  be  dripped  in  this  manner  satisfac- 
torily. 

When  steam  is  taken  from  the  bottom 
of  a  main,  as  shown  in  Fig.  8,  the  water 
of  condensation  collects  at  A  when  valve 
B  is  closed.  The  valve  should  be  tapped 
above  the  seat  for  a  drip  connection  at  C. 
This  drip  line  should  be  connected  to  a 
trap  or  into  the  drip  header. 

When  installing  an  expansion  loop  or 
bend,  it  is  sometimes  impossible,  for  want 
of  sufficient  space,  to  place  it  horizontally 
as  it  should  be,  or,  again,  it  is  sometimes 
necessary  to  carry  a  steam  line  over  an 
obstruction,  as  shown  at  G,  Fig.  9.     With 


Power,  y.  y. 
FIG.     10.     CAST-IRON   EXHAUST   ENTRAINER 

the  bend  turned  up  as  shown,  a  water 
pocket  is  formed  in  the  line  at  each  end 
of  the  bend.  A  drip  line  should  be  placed 
as  shown  and  bent  at  B  to  take  up  the  ex- 
pansion. The  steam  flowing  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  arrows,  travels  up  and  over 
the  expansion  bend  A,  while  the  water 
travels  along  through  the  drip  line  below 
through  valves  D  and  C.  A  bleeder  valve 
is  provided  at  F  and  a  connection  to  the 
main  drip  line  or  to  a  trap  is  made 
through  the  valve  E  in  case  it  is  required 
to  drain  the  water  off  at  this  point.  Valves 


March  9.  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  I 


:r 


D  and  C  should  always  remain  open 
while  the  line  is  in  service,  to  insure  the 
water  of  condensation  being  carried  on 
with  the  steam  flow  past  the  pocket  at  the 
inlet  side  of  the  bend  at  A  in  case  the 
trap  does  not  work  properly  or  in  case 
v.-.Ive  E  is  closed. 

1  he  drainage  from  any  part  of  the 
steam-piping  system  is  valuable  on  ac- 
count of  the  water  and  the  heat  it  con- 
tains, and  should  be  returned  to  the  boil- 
ers again  by  suitable  nifans.  Fuel  is  an 
important  and  expensive  item  of  cost,  and 
any  means  of  saving  fuel  is  a  means  of 
increasing  the  earning  capacity  of  a  plant 
large  or  small.  Sometimes  the  saving 
due  to  returning  high-pressure  drips  to 
the  boilers  in  small  plants  is  not  suffi- 
cient to  warrant  the  expenditure  for  the 
necessary  apparatus  to  do  50.  This  is  a 
point  to  be  determined  by  the  engineer 
familiar  with  the  existing  conditions 

Low-pressure  Drips 

V  ondensation  from  exhaust-steam  lines 
always  contains  more  or  less  oil,  and  for 
this  reason   should  be  filtered  before  re- 
turning to  the  boilers,  as  the  presence  of 
oil  in  the  boilers  causes  burning  of  the 
plates  an<l  'agKing.    As  a  general  rule  this 
<ien!.aticn  is  collected  in  a  drip  line  and 
off   to   the    sewer,    trench,    condenser 
rflow     tunnel     or     other     convenient 
nts,  as  in  most  cases  it  docs   not   pay 
ittcmpt   returning  these  drips  to    the 

ir>utT, 

Fig  10  shows  an  exhau*t  enirainer  for 
removing  the  w.T'  from 

exhaust   pipes  m  It 

consists  simply  of  a  double  elbow  which 
provides  a  pocket  at  the  foot  of  the  riser 
into  which  the  drip  water  from  the  en- 
fii  '  thai 

Ih.  sur 

fa>  .  .ttci  at  A.     I  >>c  41 ' 

exi  >;n   is   to  entrain   or 

mmute  particles  of  water  and  carry  them 
upward    to    the    condenser    whatever    the 
bight  of  the  latter.    The  particles  arc  u 
infinitesimal     tli.it     t!.r     ;  .        .  ' 
nnder    .iny    <>r'li".u  ^         :    'w-.    •■ 
detected         i 
Tided  with  .. 

support   for  the  exhaust   riser.      \\\'-',    ^•,■ 
chiefly  used  in  connection  with  barumct 
ric  condensers  or  condensers  of  ■  ttmilar 
type. 

Exhtu«t-«tr.im  mains  under  Mcuum 
cannot    be     '  rect   to   the    atmo* 

ohere  while  •  nser  is  in  ..('•■.I'l   • 

(he  minute  a  drip  valve  i« 
e  of  the  water  flowing  f)Ut 
and   breaks   the   vacuum       I 


Uet  versus  Dry    Compression 


Ry  JoaiTB  H.  Ha>t 


cs.   bead 
as.    at    a 


i"    ii.c   average   '■ *•-•- 

the    ammonia    c 

ten; 

ly 

cancc.     lie   > 

methods   of 

chines   in   regard   to    * 

and    back   pressures,   i^.,. 

general    thing,    his    own    little   theory    ir. 

regard    to   best   conditions    of    <-.- - 

Me  also  knows,   in   a  general    -' 


to   the    wet 
utilize  the  d: 
in  the  wet-C' 

tion   of  comi*.' --.^..    .-    -^  » •    -.. 

carrying   frost  back  on  the  suction  pipe 
to  the  inlet  \    " 
in    *>rtvnr    ra 

CO' 

th. 

cance  from  a  scicntinc  vie  a 

various    factors    which   go 

the   relative  efficiency  of   the  two  types. 

are  matters  practically  ■•"i'- 

Now.  in  order  to  t: 
meant    by    f 
Ik-  ••ai'l  m  a 


.3< 

ja- 
il* 


:>?    :*ifti.rr.   '.J  \hf   »l/v-Ju"<-    'c^- 


o!     rt'.r.tt     err     I-      '.T)€ 

-n  tko«cll  tW  tffifa- 


i  tiw  ruatiTc 

—  Df  eni  n 


what  is    CXI 

it   can    prr 

ardtnary     4i# 


the 

general     >ir- 
pression   can    --      .-- 
or  wet  compression. 

presence  or  - 
m    the   air   ' 

,.tl 

M  .1  . 

«ion  I* 

CCpt     III 

til. 

•  >tt.,. 

the  ternu  »' 


of  the  ic 
j.11,^  xTsd  of  tea 
-rat«re  dsnag  dfee  pt9- 

In  dry 
the  gas  M 
e  evtdent  n  aa  iarrease  w  teas- 

' :     I  r.  r     J  TVT".  4 .    u  I     c     '    ; . " »  T- 

coiBpresuoa  thai  tW  caai 


•o 
•  «h 


•4 


T-e'.  tiT     !•■.»• 


malcital.    A 


Iter's  Intention  to  discuss  here 


458 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  9,  1909. 


city  of  the  compressor  diminish  greatly 
but  the  heating  effect  continues  and  re- 
sults in  an  increase  in  average  pressure 
throughout  the  stroke  and  a  lower  effi- 
ciency of  compression   as  well. 

The  jacket  of  the  average  ammonia 
compressor  is  hopelessly  inadequate  in  the 
performance  of  its  duty  in  the  cooling  of 
this  unit.  The  heating  effect  of  com- 
pression is  largely  a  skin  phenomenon 
limited  at  high  speeds  to  the  intense  heat- 
ing of  a  thin  layer  on  the  interior  of  the 
cylinder  walls  and  cooled  by  recharging 
before  conduction  to  the  water  jacket  has 
had  time  to  get  in  its  effect.  The  old  De 
Lavergne  type  of  compressor,  utilizing  an 
auxiliary  oil  circulation  through  the  com- 
pressor, was  designed  for  the  purpose  of 
producing  an  internal  water  jacket  in  its 
effect  and  for  the  elimination  of  clearance 
evils  as  well.  That  the  net  result  was  an 
increase  in  complexity  in  the  operation 
of  the  compressor,  with  a  loss  rather  than 
increase  in  efficiency,  is  now  an  accepted 
conclusion. 

Today  compressors  in  which  this  phe- 
nomenon occurs  are  the  common  existing 
type  and  are  the  factors  which  limit  the 
speed  of  operation  and  are  the  greatest 
limitations  on  efficiency  of  the  process. 
The  average  air  compressor  is  essentially 
of  this  type  and  the  evil  effects  due  to 
reheating  and  clearance  are  merely  aug- 
mented by  the  presence  of  water  vapor  as 
existing  in  normal  air.  Thus,  the  remov- 
al of  the  water  vapor  from  air  presents 
a  form  of  dry  compression,  whereas  its 
presence  constitutes  wet  compression,  and 
the  effect  of  water  vapor  in  its  influence 
on  efficiency  is  the  determining  factor  in 
the  two  cases.  Air  and  ammonia  under 
these  circumstances  are  two  typical  gases 
and  dry  compression  is  the  resulting  phe- 
nomenon which  occurs  in  the  operation 
of  the  compressor. 

Now,  in  the  operation  of  the  ammonia 
compressor  it  was  found  possible  by 
injecting  a  little  ammonia  liquid  into  the 
cylinder  on  each  stroke  to  keep  the  ma- 
terial cool  throughout  the  entire  period 
of  compression.  This  does  not  mean  that 
the  heat  is  not  produced.  The  same,  or 
at  least  a  definite,  amount  of  heat  equiva- 
lent to  the  work  done  is  produced  on 
each  stroke  of  the  piston.  This  heat, 
however,  does  not  result  in  an  increase  in 
operating  pressure  as  it  does  in  the  case  of 
gas  compression,  due  to  two  reasons.  One 
is  that  the  resulting  increase  in  pressure 
due  to  heating  effect  would  not  be  as 
great  in  the  case  of  a  vapor  as  in  a 
gas  and  the  other  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the 
heat  as  fast  as  produced  is  absorbed  by 
the  vaporization  of  a  portion  of  the  am- 
monia liquid  present  in  the  cylinder.  Thus 
the  utilization  of  this  device  results  in 
the  elimination  of  two  evils,  with  the 
production    of    two    additional    ones. 

Reheating   Effect    Eliminated 
The   reheating   effect,    with    consequent 


diminution  in  density  of  the  incoming 
charge  and  of  capacity  in  the  cylinder  for 
the  same,  is  totally  eliminated  by  keep- 
ing the  cylinder  walls  cold,  but  the  ca- 
pacity of  the  cylinder  is  reduced  in  turn 
by  the  volume  of  the  ammonia  liquid 
injected  per  stroke,  and  the  work  is  in- 
creased by  the  fact  that  the  piston  oper- 
ates against  the  vapor  which  is  produced 
by  vaporization  trom  the  ammonia  liquid 
present  in  the  cylinder  when  the  latter 
is  heated  by  the  heat  produced  by  com- 
pression. Thus,  the  saving  is  more  im- 
aginary than  real  and  is  a  question  of 
relative  efficiencies  merely.  In  dry  com- 
pression every  ounce  of  ammonia  gas 
which  passed  through  the  cylinder  was 
ultimately  used  for  the  production  of 
available  refrigeration.  On  the  other 
hand,  in  wet  compression  a  portion  of 
the  ammonia  liquid  available  for  the  pro- 
duction of  refrigeration  becomes  no  longer 
available  for  this  purpose,  since  it  is 
evaporated  in  the  cylinder  and  the  heat 
of  vaporization  used  to  produce  cooling 
in  the  compressional  charge  during  com- 
pression rather  than  in  commercial  cool- 
ing where  desired.  Thus,  the  ammonia 
which  passes  through  the  compressor  or 
through  the  condenser  is  no  criterion  or 
measure  in  the  wet  compression  system 
of  the  amount  of  refrigeration  produced. 

While  the  preceding  conditions  repre- 
sent the  ideal  phase  of  the  wet  compres- 
sion it  is  not  accomplished  by  any  means 
in  practice  except  under  abnormal  con- 
ditions and  is  not  believed  to  be  the  most 
efficient  process.  The  significance  of  wet 
compression  is  complicated  by  the  fact 
that  there  is  no  real  dividing  line  between 
the  two  types.  The  exact  point  where 
the  vapor  ceases  to  be  a  vapor  and  be- 
comes a  gas  is  dependent  upon  its  critical 
temperature  but  this  temperature  does 
not  enter  in  many  developments.  Thus, 
in  air  compression  the  critical  tempera- 
ture is  so  low  that  throughout  the  en- 
tire cycle  of  air  changes  the  critical  tem- 
perature is  never  even  approached.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  critical  temperature 
of  ammonia  gas  is  relatively  so  high  that 
almost  throughout  the  entire  stroke  it 
is  never  approached  from  the  other  side. 

Again,  in  ammonia  compression  mat- 
ters are  complicated  by  the  introduction 
of  what  is  known  as  saturated  vapor. 
A  saturated  vapor  is  a  vapor  in  contaa: 
with  its  own  liquid.  Increase  in  pres- 
sure or  temperature  on  such  a  mixture 
results  in  variations  in  the  amount  of 
vapor  present,  since  variations  in  pres- 
sure under  such  conditions  results  often 
in  a  variation  in  density  without  effect 
upon  the  pressure  or  apparent  volume. 
Real  wet  compression  in  ammonia  is  the 
compression  of  a  saturated  vapor  through- 
out the  stroke;  that  is,  ammonia  liquid 
is  present  throughout  the  entire  period 
of  compression.  The  density  of  the  va- 
por increases  greatly   on  account  of  the 


further  production  of  extra  vapor  from 
the  liquid  during  the  process.  If  the  li- 
quid injected  at  the  beginning  of  the 
stroke  is  only  sufficient  to  keep  the  va- 
por saturated  throughout  a  portion  of  the 
stroke,  that  is,  if  the  heat  produced  is 
more  than  enough  to  vaporize  all  the  li- 
quid present,  then  the  stroke  is  no  longer 
absolute  wet  compression.  It  is  a  mix- 
ture of  wet  and  dry  compression,  with 
the  variation  between  the  two  not  occur- 
ring immediately  at  the  complete  evapora- 
tion  of  the  liquid. 

Thus,  some  wet-compression  systems 
exist  in  which  practically  no  liquid  is  in- 
jected. The  vapor  is  practically  at  its  con- 
densation point  and  saturated  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  stroke,  a  fine  mist  of  the  liquid 
only  being  present.  This  explains  the 
reason  why  there  exists  such  a  variation 
in  possible  compressions.  In  actual  prac- 
tice the  conditions  occurring  inside  the 
cylinder  are  largely  evident  from  external 
conditions.  The  property  of  ammonia  gas 
is  largely  a  function  of  the  temperature, 
especially  at  a  given  suction  pressure. 
Hence  the  different  phases  of  dry  and 
wet  compression  can  be  readily  attained 
by  varying  the  temperatures  of  the  charge. 
If  the  frost  is  carried  back  to  the  inlet 
valve  of  the  cylinder  practically  partially 
wet  compression  is  occurring.  If  the 
frost  is  carried  completely  over  the  cy- 
linder so  that  the  water  jacket  has  a  layer 
of  ice  on  its  surface,  it  can  be  assumed 
that  a  portion  of  liquid  ammonia  is  in- 
jected on  each  stroke,  or  that  the  vapor  is 
so  saturated  with  ammonia  mist  that  it  be- 
haves in  this  manner.  However,  it  is  possi- 
ble, with  extremely  cold  condenser  water  to 
have  this  compression  occur  under  these 
conditions  without  normal  wet  compres- 
sion in  the  strictest  sense  of  the  word. 
However,  such  temperatures  of  condenser 
water  would  be  extremely  abnormal. 

The  efficiency  of  a  compressor  is  a 
function  not  only  of  temperatures  but 
also  of  speed.  The  result  is  that  the 
average  operating  engineer  should  at- 
tempt to  get  a  maximum  speed  out  of 
his  compressor  with  minimum  steam  con- 
sumption and  minimum  temperatures  on 
the  ammonia  gages.  Available  refrigera- 
tion is  in  every  case  directly  proportional 
to  the  work  done  and  hence  the  speed,  if 
the  pressures  are  the  same  in  the  two  cases, 
and  it  is  the  generally  accepted  opinion 
today  that  ammonia  compressors  operate 
best  under  normal  condenser-water  tem- 
peratures when  the  frost  is  carried  back  on 
the  suction  pipe  to  within  a  feW  inches  of 
the  inlet  valve  of  the  compressor  and  the 
attempt  made  under  these  circumstances  to 
speed  up  the  compressor  to  the  extent  that 
the  water  jacket  gets  fairly  hot  or  at 
least  is  warm  to  the  touch.  The  frost 
will  invariably  slide  in  one  direction  or  the 
other  without  regular  attention  but  it 
represents  undoubtedly  the  point  of  maxi- 
mum efficiency  in  the  operation  of  the 
plant. 


March  9,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


4W 


Practical     Letters    from     Practical    Men 

Don't  Bother  AUjuI    the    Style,    but    ^rilc    Ju'    W    •.    ^  ou  T 
Know   or   VI  ant   lo   Know    About   ^  our  Uork.   aii.i   i  i«  .{>   Fach   '     uvi 

WE     PA  ^'     FOR      USEFUL     IDEAS 


Hydraulically  Operated   V^alves  for    *'«'•"•  »P"»ir     Th«  r«Ue»  ^rc  *!! 

catet  and  are  opened  in  r 

rn..,.„.r.i  ...,  J  shah,  each 

1  over  that  pr- 


Curtis  Steam  Turbines 


The  speed  of  the  steam  tiiri 
trolled  for  different  loads  lis 
opening  and  closinK   vai\ts,   t' 
ting   into   use  more   noz/lc^   ••. 
tteam  to  the  first  wheel.     1 
of  the  popf)ct  type,  each  I  > 


■■»  arc      iipciM    Iff 
hy  a      amount  of 


rr 
J 


m 


"ij 


no  3 


I  ik«  wA 


;  K  '  »-4»   ;.  o 


i««  aal  ifc<MH 


ria  t 


460 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  9,  1909. 


necessary  that  the  connections  between 
the  valves  and  governor  be  free  from 
friction  and  no  binding  at  any  joints,  and 
the  liquid  must  be  clean  and  free  from  grit 
for  good  service. 

William  Butler. 
Somerville,  Mass. 


Pressure  Required  to  Lift  a  Check 
Valve 


Referring  to  a  letter  appearing  on  page 
201  of  the  January  26  number,  entitled, 
"Pressure  Required  to  Lift  a  Check 
Valve,"  I  do  not  agree  with  Mr.  Helms 
in  the  following  respects : 

For  instance,  Mr.  Helms  describes  a 
conical  poppet  double-seat  valve  so  pro- 
portioned that  the  pressure  on  the  front 
of  the  valve  may  equal  the  pressure  on  the 
back  of  the  valve  at  the  moment  of  open- 
ing, the  pressure  per  square  inch  being  the 
same  in  each  case.  This  valve,  as  illus- 
trated by  Mr.  Helms,  is  shown  in  Fig.  i. 
A  recess  is  cut  or  cast  circumferentially 
around  the  valve  disk  at  a  a,  and  the  fluid 
pressure  is  led  into  this  recess  through 
ports   b  b. 

Mr.  Helms  states:  "It  is  evident  that 
if  the  area  of  this  recess  represented  by 
O/854  {di  —  di)  is  equal  to  the  projected 
area  of  the  seat,  0.7854  (d^  —  63^),  the 
valve  will  open  when  the  pressure  per  unit 
area  on  the  front  is  equal  to  the  pres- 
sure per  unit  area  on  the  back  of  the 
disk,  since  the  areas  exposed  to  the  action 
of  the  fluid  pressure  are  equal  on  both 
sides."  The  weight  of  the  valve  disk 
itself  is,  of  course,  neglected  in  this 
case. 

The  point  I  wish  to  make  clear  is  this : 
By  referring  to  Fig.  i  it  will  be  seen  that 
the  fluid  pressure  acting  vertically  in  the 
recess  a  on  a  circumferential  strip  of 
width  y  acts  up,  and  reacts  down  in  the 
recess,  and  is  thus  balanced  as  shown  by 
the  arrows  and  their  direction.  This  pres- 
sure, being  balanced,  has  no  tendency  to 
lift  the  valve  from  its  seat.  In  this  case 
the  tendency  is  to  rupture  the  valve  disk 
itself.  Probably  this  can  be  better  under- 
stood by  referring  to  Fig.  2.  Here  the 
valve  disk  is  represented  as  a  piston  A 
fitted  into  the  cylinder  B.  The  diameter 
of  the  piston  D*  equals  Dt  in  Fig.  i.  The 
piston  is  recessed  at  a  a.  The  dimensions 
Di,  Y  and  di  are  equal  in  both  cases. 

As  before,  the  fluid  pressure  is  led  into 
ports  b  b.  Here  it  is  quite  evident  that 
any  pressure  admitted  to  recess  a  through 
port  b  has  no  tendency  to  lift  the  piston, 
as  the  forces  are  balanced  vertically.  If 
this  is  true  in  both  cases,  Fig.  i  and  2, 
there  is  only  the  area  of  a  circumferential 
strip  of  width  x,  Fig.  i,  as  the  eflfectivc 
area  of  recess  a. 

The  pressure  acting  up  against  the  strip 
X,  reacts  down  against  the  sides  of  the 
conical  valve  seat,  tending  to  separate  the 


two  bodies.  The  projected  area,  or  area 
of  strip  X,  equals  0.7854  {di  —  Di"). 
This,  it  would  appear,  represents  the  effec- 
tive area  of  the  recess  acted  upon  by  the 
fluid  pressure,  and  not  the  area  0.7854 
{dx   —  di),  as  given  by  Mr.  Helms. 

As  the  sum  of  the  areas,  0.7854 
{di^  —  Z?/)  and  0.7854  rfs^  does  not  equal 
the  area  0.7854  d^  or  in  other  words,  as 
the  area  of  the  front  of  the  disk  plus  the 
area  of  the  circumferential  strip  x  does 
not  equal  the  area  of  the  back  of  the  disk, 
the  pressures  per  square  inch  will  not  be 
equal  on  both  sides  of  the  valve  at  the 
moment  of  opening.     Thus,  with  a  valve 


i— 


-d— 


FIG.    3 


of  this  type  the  pressure  per  square  inch 
on  the  front,  or  under  side,  will  neces- 
sarily have  to  be  somewhat  greater  than 
the  pressure  per  square  inch  on  the  back, 
or  upper  side,  in  order  to  raise  the  valve 
disk  from  its  seat.  This  is,  of  course, 
providing  the  valve  disk  makes  perfect 
contact,  metal  to  metal,  with  the  seat,  and 
is  fiot  separated  by  a  thin  film  of  the  fluid, 
in  which  case,  neglecting  the  weight  of 
the  disk,  the  difference  in  pressure  neces- 
sary to  cause  the  liquid  to  flow  through 
the  opening  should  be  sufficient  to  unseat 
the  valve. 

If  the  weight  of  the  valve  disk  is  taken 
into  consideration,  the  pressure  on  the 
under  side  must  necessarily  be  somewhat 
greater  in  order  to  hold  the  disk  open. 
Ordinarily,  the  kinetic  energy  of  the  flow- 


ing liquid  should  be  sufficient  to  do  this 
if  the  disk  is  not  of  great  weight. 

If  the  valve  was  arranged  as  shown  in 
Fig.  3,  and  the  pressure  per  square  inch 
equal,  front  and  back,  the  total  force  E, 
acting  up,  will  equal  the  total  force  F,  act- 
ing down,  as  the  areas  acted  upon  by  the 
fluid  are  equal,  both  front  and  back,  inas- 
much zs  da  -\-  2  X  ^  d. 

Mr.  Helms  also  makes  the  following 
statement :  For  valves  having  a  circular 
cross-section  the  pressure  will  be  equal 
on  both  sides  at  the  moment  of  opening, 
neglecting  the  weight  of  the  disk,  when 
the  valve  is  proportional  as  expressed  by 
the  following  equation : 

d,  =  dx    +  di  —  d2\ 

This  is  evidently  an  error,  as  the  formula 
should  read 

d^  =^  di  -j-  ds'  —  di' 
or 

d=yj  d,*  +  d,'-d,'   . 

However,  if  the  foregoing  reasoning  is 
correct,  this  formula  will  not  hold  good 
for  the  valve  in  question. 

William  F.  Fischer. 
New  York,  N.  Y. 


Under  the  above  caption,  F.  C.  Helms, 
on  page  201  of  the  January  26  number, 
says :  "It  is  evident  that  if  the  area  of 
this  annular  recess,  represented  by  0.7854 
{dx—  d/),  is  equal  to  the  area  of  the  seat, 
0.7854  (d^  —  d/),  the  valve  will  open  when 
the  pressure  per  unit  area  on  the  front 
is  equal  to  the  pressure  per  unit  area  on 
the  back,  since  the  areas  exposed  to  the 
action  of  the  fluid  pressure  are  equal  on 
both  sides.  For  valves  having  a  circular 
cross-section,  the  pressures  wjU  be  equal 
on  both  sides  at  the  moment  of  opening 
(neglecting  the  weight  of  the  valve), 
when  the  valve  is  proportioned  as 
expressed  by  the  following  equation : 
d,  =  dx^  -\-  d^  —  d,\" 

The  letters  refer  to  the  dimensions 
shown  in  Mr.  Helm's  article.  The  above 
equation  is  evidently  a  misprint,  and  from 
the  previous  discussion  I  judge  it  should 
read  :    d'  =  di'  +  d^  —  d.\ 

What  I  take  exception  to  is  his  state- 
ment regarding  the  annular  recess.  He 
evidently  expects  to  balance  the  poppet 
valve  by  this  recess.  Mr.  Helms  falls  into 
an  error  when  he  says  the  valve  is  bal- 
anced when  dx'  —  d^'  ^  d'  —  ds'. 

To  explain  this,  I  have  enlarged  that 
part  of  his  illustration,  as  shown  in  Fig. 
I.  This  shows  the  recess  when  pressure 
is  admitted  to  the  recess  through  the  port 
B.  The  effective  area  of  the  recess  that 
helps  to  lift  the  valve  is  0.7854  (.dx—d^)- 

To  make  this  clear  I  have  drawn  react- 
ing forces  at  C  that  include  all  forces  in 
the  effective  area  given  above.  At  A  1 
have  drawn  reacting  forces  that  include 
all  that  do  not  fall  in  the  effective  area. 
As  will  be  seen,  the  forces  at  C  will  react 


larch  y,  1909. 


KJWER  AND  THE  K 


and  help  lift  the  valve,  while  those  at  A 
will  neutralize  each  other  and  act  as  so 
much  dead  water. 

It  will  be  seen,  then,  that  to  fully  bal- 
ance the  poppet  vake  by  Mr.  Helms' 
method  would  require  (/i  =  (/  and  d,  =  (U, 
which  is  a  condition  not  to  be  coriMdcrcd. 

Partially  balanced  valves  have  been 
built  on  the  double-beat  principle,  see  Fig. 
2,  which  is  a  modification  of  the  idea  sug- 


*r 


J 


gested  by  Mr.  Helms.  Let  D,  and  D,  be 
the  diameters  of  the  larger  and  smal 
ler  seats  of  a  double-beat  valve,  and 
P  the  effective  pressure  of  the  fluid 
in  pounds  per  square  inch.  Then  the 
force  required  to  open  the  valve  equal* 
0.7854  (/?,•  —  /?,*)  P.  ncglectins  the  wi<lth 
of  the  scats  and  the  weight  of  the  valve 
From  this  it  is  evident  that  by  makmg 
the  difference  between  Di  and  D,  small, 
the  force  required  to  open  the  valve  will 
be  «mall.  and  consequently  the  extra  pre*- 


( Jn  page  joi  of  the  Janttarjr  a6  nambcr 

>>    '  rtical  or  poppet  doul' 

l>-»'  e  which   I  ihmk   \<. 


to 

ir.. 

mit  a  -if. 
Mr   \i 


ic  mcntKJonl 
!s  evident  tfiat 
if  the  area  of  the  annular  rerr**  repre- 
sented by  a78S4  (d*  —  d,*).  1%  equal  to 
the  area  of  the  scat.  a78S4  (^  — rf.*>.  the 
valve    will    i",  ->.■--    .1 

unit  area  on  - 

sure    per    unit    urea    t-ri    t 
the   area«   p^iv****}    Io  the 

'  il  on   ii»j\ 

;  .1  k  ■ 

jr.  ^  : _  , 

represented    by    a78S4     id,'  —  d,'). 

sketch,  which  acts  in  a  dow- '  •' 

tion  opposing  the  pressure  ' 
the   valve.     The   pres* 
liflinif    the    valve    shou' 

J*).  an<I  graph 


for  avluk  tkc  eoav*^  dacrtii  to  haw 
a  new  dak  pat  OIL  I  lud  a  m«  oar  cm* 
4  mrfce*  brgrr  la  rfcsTttr  tbmm  iW  oM 
'  «•  tb<  old  disk  had  a  bob  or  kam 
t<c  nasi  bcartng  1  mdttt  ikack.  ■ 
aiijwed  the   new   duk  %o  bt  CMI   I   iadb 

tbtckrr    '.).xn   '.}  r    c '<!    ur 

dtM 


Ma.  cuvsv  a  aKaicu 


sHowiMi  ru  ca^ 

•o  expanded  it  that  villi 
l-tnch  rods  runBiiw  b^k 
the  drmag  wheel 


«■ 


cally  by  the  open  triangle 
herewith  presented. 

.Mbany.  N    Y. 


in  the  sketch         M^drf,*.  m. 


T.   C«A1Y 


Kcpainni;  a  Crank  \J\sk 
>ur  main  i^xja-inch  Watertown 


Freak  lodiCAlaf  DiAgrMB 

ilrr   diMBtlcr    b    t6H   tat^  •» 

4ia  pr«M«rr  Ss  poaadi 

The  eMiM  is  hriMd  lo  •  Wavy  i«* 


^ 


"(iiirni    111    i>|KH    tiif    \.|H' 


be    MUuW. 


2nd  s  brgr 


▼alve     i«     worked     .1    • 
water.     The  seats  haNi 

'fare,  and  are  made  of  hr  >i' 

.Aurora.  III. 


.*     TW 


J6i(>2 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  9,  1909. 


■30  that  I  could  get  my  diagrams  quickly, 
and  then  throw  the  generator  on  again 
"before  the  motors  had  stopped.  I  got  the 
crank-end  diagram,  but  took  the  head-end 
just  as  he  threw  in  the  main  switch  and 
blew  several  fuses.  I  suppose  there  is 
some  connection  between  the  short-cir- 
cuited generator  and  the  freak  diagram, 
"but  have  been  unable  to  decide  where 
it  lies. 

Earl  R.  Filkins. 
Chicago,  111. 


An    Obscure  Electric   Circuit 
Trouble 


Not  having  seen  any  suggestion  as  to 
the  cause  of  the  arc-circuit  trouble  of 
Mr.  Minton  I  would  like  to  make  a  sug- 
gestion as  to  the  probable  cause  and  also 
explain  some  of  the  conditions  which 
probably  exist.  To  begin  with,  the  ar- 
rangement of  stepping  down  the  voltage 
from  the  high-tension  lines  is  not  to  be 
recommended,  as  the  arc  circuit  is  elec- 
trically connected  with  them,  and  the 
trouble  in  this  case  seems  to  be  on  that 
account.  It  is  more  advisable  to  have  a 
transformer  with  a  11,500-volt  primary 
and  an  8000-volt  secondary.  This  would 
insulate  the  transmission  lines  from  the 
arc  circuits.  The  arrangement  now  is 
an  auto-transformer  with  an  8000-volt 
tap. 

What  I  think  caused  the  trouble  was  a 
ground  on  the  one  leg  of  the  high-tension 
lines  which  the  auto-transformer  is  not 
connected  to,  and  also  the  high-resistance 
ground  in  the  underground  wires  where 
the  lead  cable  is  split  and  the  rubber  in- 
sulation is  deteriorated.  As  noted,  when 
the  stab  switch  on  the  regulator  side  of 
the  arc  circuit  was  inserted,  the  regulator 
moved  to  its  extreme  position;  this  could 
only  be  expected,  as  there  were  but  forty 
lamps  burning.  It  had  to  act  that  way 
to  hold  the  current  down.  On  inserting 
the  stab  switch  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  circuit,  the  meter  reading  there  was 
only  four  amperes,  and  to  account  for 
this,  I  think  that  the  current  divided  at 
the  ground  in  the  underground  wire,  tak- 
ing two  circuits  to  the  generator ;  the  one 
circuit  which  took  four  amperes  went  by 
the  way  of  the  lamps  and  the  2000-volt 
tap  of  the  auto-transformer,  and, the  re- 
mainder of  the  current  went  by  the  way 
of  the  grounded  arc  circuit  to  the 
grounded  high-tension  leg. 

It  was  said  that  the  resistance  to  ground 
on  the  arc  circuit  was  one  megohm,  but 
although  this  ohmic  resistance  is  high,  the 
dielectric  strength  of  the  insulation  may 
"have  been  very  low,  so  that  when  the  arc 
circuit  was  thrown  on  the  current  kept 
arcing  through  the  small  holes  in  the  rub- 
ber to  the  ground,  this  enabling  the 
ground  circuit  to  form.  The  discharge 
of  the  lightning  arrester  at  the  instant  of 


the  closing  of  the  arc  circuit  was  due  to 
the  ground  leg  of  the  high-tension  line 
and  also  the  surge  of  current  through  the 
regulator  and  the  forty  lamps.  This,  of 
course,  happened  before  the  regulator  or 
lamps  had  a  chance  to  act,  thus  practically 
causing  an  instantaneous  short-circuit  on 
the  transmission  line. 

The  reason  the  circuit  acted  the  same 
way  when  transferred  to  the  switches  of 
No.  2  circuit  was  on  account  of  the 
cause  of  the  trouble  not  being  removed. 
But  when  the  transformer  was  changed  to 
a  different  source  of  supply,  the  circuit 
acted  O.  K.  This  proved  that  the  former 
supply  circuit  was  grounded.  An  arc  cir- 
cuit can  be  operated   if  only  one  ground 


across  two  of  the  three  phases.  The  cir- 
cuits formed  were  as  follows :  One  cir- 
cuit flowing  through  the  regulator  and  the 
forty  lamps  to  ground,  the  regulator  hold- 
ing the  current  down  so  that  the  lamps 
would  burn ;  the  other  circuit  was  through 
the  primary  of  the  transformer  and  the 
other  seventy  lamps,  the  voltage  per 
lamp  in  the  latter  circuit  being  greater  than 
normal  by  about  20  volts  at  least.  If  this 
circuit  burned  all  right,  it  is  probable  that 
the  high-tension  voltage  is  less  than  stated 
in  the  sketch.  The  reason  the  regulator 
started  to  burn  after  placing  a  soHd 
ground  on  the  lamps,  was  because  the  re- 
sistance of  the  first  circuit  through  the 
regulator,  forty  lamps,  the  solid  ground 
and  the  grounded  high-tension  leg  was  re- 
duced considerably,  this  overloading  the 
regulator  more  in  this  case  than  before 
the  circuit  was  solidly  grounded. 

James  E.  Kilroy. 
Lincoln  Place,  Penn. 


An    Exhaust   Steam  Water  Heater 


Use  frequently  exists  about  the  power 
plant,  or  the  premises  connected  there- 
with, for  warm  water  in  moderate  quanti- 
ties for  bath,  toilet  and  other  purposes, 
and  I  inclose  an  arrangement  which  I 
have  installed  whereby  a  plentiful  sup- 
ply of  such  water  is  heated  by  the  ex- 
haust of  a  small  pump. 

An  ordinary  kitchen  boiler  having  a 
capacity  of  55  gallons  is  used,  as  shown 
in  the  sketch.  The  circulating  pipe,  which 
is  ordinarily  connected  to  the  water  back 
of  the  range,  is  attached  to  a  loop  of  Yi,- 
inch  galvanized  pipe,  inclosed  in  a  pipe  S 
inches  in  diameter  and  6  feet  long.  The 
exhaust  steam  from  a  small  pump  is  intro- 
duced  into  the  5-inch  pipe  at  the  right- 


steam 

admitted. 


AN    EXHAUST-STEAM    WATER    HEATER 


exists  on  the  circuit,  but  it  is  advisable 
to  get  rid  of  it  as  soon  as  possible. 

It  was  not  necessary  to  put  a  solid 
ground  on  the  circuit  where  the  cable 
was  grounded  to  find  out  if  there  was  a 
ground  between  the  last  lamp  and  the 
transformer,  because  if  there  was  one,  it 
would  soon  burn  itself  free  or  burn  up 
the  primary  of  the  transformer,  for  in  a 
case  such  as  this  the  2000-volt  primary 
would  be  placed  across  a  11,500-volt  cir- 
cuit. But  the  solid  ground  helped  out  in 
such  a  way  that  it  caused  two  good  cir- 
cuits through  the  lamps,  and  instead  of 
the  load  being  on  one  phase  it  was  thrown 


hand  end  and  escapes  from  a  pipe  at  the 
other  end,  as  shown,  a  drip  being  provided 
at  the  lowest  point  to  carry  off  the  water 
of  condensation.  The  loop  is  thus  always 
surrounded  with  exhaust  steam,  which  by 
heating  the  water  inside  produces  a  circu- 
lation, keeping  the  contents  of  the  boiler 
sufficiently  warm.  However  little  may  be 
drawn  from  the  boiler,  its  temperature 
can  never  rise  above  the  boiling  point  at 
atmospheric  pressure,  and  hot  water  and 
not  steam  will  come  when  the  tap  is 
opened. 

J.   A.   LOYER. 

Montreal,  Can. 


March  9,  1909. 

An  Ejigine  Turning  Device 

i  lie  sketch  shows  an  engine-turning  de- 
vice I  used  in  one  of  my  plants.  It  is 
simple  and  works  well.  When  one  lifts 
up  the  lever  the  link  will  slide  down  and 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

present  and  the  nupectton  has  not  re- 
vealed it.  A  few  concrete  cases  may  be 
cited. 

About    four    years    ago    a    botler-tnbc 

cleaner  -n  trial  •  "    rrv 

burg  eir  plant,    I  •  III 


^ — r 


^M  e;i3 


0 


W\m»t 


^^ 


AN  ENCINC-n;>KIItC  DCTICX 


grip  the  rim  for  a  new  pull.     The  illus- 
tration  shows  its  construction. 

E.  A.  YotJNC. 
Isabella,  Tena 


More    frequent   Internal    Inspection 


The  editorial  under  the  caption  "More 
Frequent     Internal     Inspection"    deserves 
more  than  pasMri^  notice.     In  consulcring 
value  of  a  boiler  inspection  two  facts 
lid  always  be  borne  in  mind:     First, 
t)  ere  arc  boiler  inspectors  and  boiler  in- 
^l"->  tors,  and  they  are  not  by  any  means 
jI:   alike.     The  personal  equation  plays  a 
important   part  in   their   work;   see- 
the  boiler   inspector   sees   the   thing 
t-  •"  -rfit  viewpoint.     He  is  inter 

••^•-  the   hoijrr  rwnrr   i«   intrr- 


>e  hrsi  pbcc  took  out  a  policy.     So 
:..     c  you  are. 

The  man  who  places  too  much  reliance 
ia  the   Imiler-inspeCtor's    report    is    »ery 
Ukdy  to  wake  up  tocnc  morning  •  SOfTy 
OMB.     And  thi<  does  n 
IIm   in«t»*r»nr    i|i<)    not 


The  cleaner  was  tried,  ten  wheelbarrow 
loads  of  scale  were  taken  out  "and  the 
boilers  were  considered  by  the  inspectors 
to  be  in  good  shape."  the  president  re- 
ported. 

In  the  May  7.  1908,  issue  of  EUctrie 
Traction  IVtekly  there  w«<  published  a 
paper  by  A.  M    Allen,  -ig  engi 

neer      Following  is  an  <-  ■ 

"As  an  example,  the  writer  knows  of  a 
plant  having  four  150- horsepower  return- 
tubular     boilers,     operating     twenty-four 


r 


ri 


4t>i 

Tkk»    was   pat    ilwovf^   At   tabs*   m 
scale  taken  o«  by  the  liaibil.  tW 
being  that  they  are  now  optrmmm 
plant  on  only  three  of  ibc  boOcra' 

Tahc  anocher  case :    Lam  July.  •  haOtr- 
tube    riwiifT    «M    seM    1 

N     Y,    lor 
Mr   Gmtn. 
tntendcfll  of  ladnscncs  o4  the 
in  his  report    staled:     1 
pooDda  of  scale  fraai  ow  ll«,  1 
and  directly  after  as  iaspaclor'a  rapon  «f 
'clean   boilrr'  I   todi  oat   ido  poaads  fli 
scale  fratn  our  Na  a  botkr." 

Tbcac  eoocrctc  casea  prove  ■otbiag  If 
they  don't  prove  that  it  paya 
gate  boiler  imrfiihMia  yovaelf 
of  what  the  intpactor^s  report  la  Yob 
have  done  a  dirtiaei  service  by  loackim 
on  this  matter 

H.  E.  Cawfwia. 

Buffalo^  N.  y. 


Method    ol 


To  adjust  a  psston  for 
large  eagiae  rcqu 
work  The  foBoniwg  is  •■  idm 
up  some  time  aga  that  mahaa  il 
job: 

Presuming  the  pistea    Is    eat 
cyttaider.  take  a  tsH-iadi  sticb 
kxiger  than  the  cyliadrr  sad. 
inside   agaiasl    the    froal 
mark   at   the  ead  of  the 
5»ay  we  hav«  aa  eagiae 
stroke,  pi  ilea  baud  tt 
head  5  inches  thick  and  the 
/f  to  0  mH  iKlsm.    Uy  «« 


of 

a 

il 

a 

A. 

wi*  a  Vkmtk 


•  « 


:'cr 

are 

i-d    with 

the 

rt       V.    ■ 

r     U 

rly    concerned    whether    you 

.,;. ,^ 

a  wee  hit  nu)re  ro»|  Kr,  jutr 

p«ari>ai    «rr 


t-WlwT 


'le  scale,  and  so  he  «av« 

■  ugh   to   bother    with"      i  ^pir    m 
it.  and  ymi'll  pav  for  it  in  hard 
Mut   il   is   to  Ix-    • 
c   are   plenty  of  ca 


•n<e  in«|- 


464 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  9,  1909. 


Two  Loose  Nuts 


On  page  306  of  the  February  9  number, 
Mr.  Wakeman  has  a  sketch  of  a  Corliss 
engine,  showing  the  exhaust  valves  cover- 
ing the  port  leading  from  the  cylinder  to 
the  valve.  This  is  not  correct,  as  the 
pressure  would  force  the  valve  from  its 
seat,  resulting  in  a  leaky  engine.  The 
valve  should  cover  the  port  leading  to  the 
exhaust  chamber ;  then  the  pressure  would 
have  a  tendency  to  force  the  valve  to 
seat  tight.  Also,  where  will  the  cylinder 
head  go  to  when  the  crank  reaches  the 
dead  center? 

E.  L.  Dean. 

North  Wilbraham.  Mass. 


Movable   Pipe    Vise   Support 


At  A  is  shown  a  front  elevation  of  the 
device  complete;  5  is  a  side  elevation 
and  C  a  detail  of  the  hook  for  holding  the 
support  out  of  the  way  when  not  in  use. 


•> 


K  Bolts 


^Joiat 


^ 


tl 


."Half  Strap    | 


Hinges 


Floor  Llne\     \ 


A   MOVABLE  PIPE-VISE   SUPPORT 

In  A  it  will  be  seen  that  the  pipe  vise 
is  mounted  on  an  ordinary  2xi2-inch 
plank,  8  feet  long,  and  at  a  suitable  hight 
to  be  convenient  to  work  at.  The  plank 
is  hinged  at  the  top  by  means  of  two 
oidinary  half-strap  hinges  to  the  floor 
joist  or  an  overhead  timber.  At  the  bot- 
tom of  the  plank  are  two  6-inch  door 
bolts  which  enter  plates  inserted  in  the 
floor  and  hold  the  device  firmly  in  a 
working  position. 

The  vise  is  bolted  to  two  pieces  of 
2x4-inch  stock,  12  inches  long,  which  are 
in  turn  through-bolted  to  the  upright 
2xi2-inch  plank,  thus  forming  ?i  very  firm 


support    for   the   vise   with   comparatively 
light  material. 

The  hook  shown  at  C  is  a  simple  piece 
of  flat  steel  suitably  bent  or  forged  and 
attached  to  any  suitable  overhead  support. 

When  the  vise  is  not  in  use  the  floor 
bolts  are  raised  and  the  plank  lifted  until 
the  hook  catches  it,  thus  leaving  the  floor 
entirely  clear  for  any  purpose  desired. 
Edwin  Kilburn. 

Spring  Valley,  Minn. 


Lighting  Problem 

In  the  issue  of  February  2,  under  the 
head  of  "Lighting  Problem,"  F.  L.  Rolph 
asks  for  criticism  and  remarks  on  a  wir- 
ing diagram.  The  connections  shown  are 
feasible.  Care,  however,  must  be  taken 
to  make  the  leg  of  the  incandescent  cir- 
cuit, which  is  also  a  part  of  the  arc-light 
circuit,  of  sufficient  capacity  so  that  there 
is  no  material  drop  of  potential,  thereby 
lowering  the  drop  on  the  incandescent 
circuit.  Each  incandescent  lamp  should 
have  a  shunt  box  or  coil,  so  that  the 
burning  out  of  one  lamp  will  not  put  out 
the  others,  nor  increase  the  voltage  across 
the  others ;  or  some  other  device  must 
be  used  so  that  when  the  lamp  burns  out 
the  circuit  will  not  be  interrupted  and 
additional  resistance  will  be  introduced 
in  the  circuit  to  make  up  for  the  loss  of 
this  lamp. 

With  reference  to  commercial  circuits, 
unless  it  is  possible  to  divide  the  load 
fairly  evenly  between  the  circuits,  I  should 
recommend  the  use  of  three  wires  on  each 
side  in  order  to  make  this  division  of  load 
possible,  and  thereby  keep  the  regulation 
fairly  close. 

Henry  D.  Jackson. 

Boston,  Mass. 


study.  I  still  read  Power  and  The 
Engineer,  especially  the  practical  letters, 
and  derive  much  benefit  from  it. 

After  a  few  inexcusable  delays  our 
friend,  whose  head  told  him  everything, 
was  asked  to  resign.  He  then  got  into  a 
little  plant  in  a  town  of  about  600,  but 
after  a  few  months  he  had  that  plant  shut 
down,  and  he  was  looking  for  another 
position.  It  pays  to  read  technical  papers. 
E.   H.   Cavanaugh. 

Altamont,  111. 


Why  Some  Engineers  Do  Not  Read 

When  I  read  a  letter  recently  under  the 
above  heading  it  directed  my  thoughts 
back  to  my  first  experience  in  engineer- 
ing, under  a  chief.  Being  deeply  inter- 
ested along  engineering  lines,  I  procured 
some  books  and  began  to  study  at  home. 
Then  I  enrolled  as  a  student  in  a  corre- 
spondence school.  Finally  I  secured  a  job 
as  fireman  in  a  light  and  power  plant  in 
a  town  of  about  13,000  inhabitants. 

Thinking  that  I  was  now  fairly  on  my 
way  for  advancement,  I  studied  harder 
than  ever  and  began  to  read  technical  pa- 
pers, and  could  see  the  benefit  gained  by 
so  doing.  But  unfortunately  I  was  under 
a  chief  who  condemned  books  and  papers 
and  claimed  that  there  was  nothing  in 
them.  He  said  that  he  "had  a  head  that 
told  him  things,"  etc.,  but  I  went  ahead 
just  the  same,  received  a  promotion  and 
finally  secured  the  management  of  a 
municipal  plant  in  a  neighboring  town,  a 
position  I  never  could  have  held  without 


Using  a  Breast  Drill 

The  accompanying  sketch  shows  how  a 
breast  drill  can  be  used  to  good  advan- 
tage. Having  to  drill  a  great  many  holes, 
I  fitted  up  the  drill  in  the  manner  shown. 


jm. 


# 


using  a  breast  drill  to  advantage 

I  took  a  piece  of  5^x2-inch  cold-rolled 
steel  A,  and  after  sawing  slots  in  both 
ends,  bent  it  as  shown  at  B.  Next  I  took 
a  piece  of  the  same  stock  and  sawed  a 
slot  in  it  and  then  bent  it  at  right  angles, 
as  shown  at  C,  and  bolted  it  to  the  frame 
piece.  A  couple  of  set  screws  were  pro- 
vided to  clamp  it  to  the  work  to  be  drilled. 
I  then  took  two  ^-inch  nuts  and  sawed 
them  out  to  fit  the  slot,  as  shown  at  D  C. 
A  i-inch  shaft  was  then  turned  out 
with  a  head  and  one  end  threaded  to 
fit  the  nuts.  The  other  end  was  turned 
down  to  fit  a  collar,  which  in  turn  fitted 


March  9,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


the  shoulder  of  the* breast  drill.  A  pin 
prevents  the  nuts  from  sliding  out  of  the 
frame. 

G.   A.  Cl-EVELAND. 

New  Haven,  Conn. 


Flue    Gas   Sampler 

Sampling  tubes  for  collecting  the  flue 

-rises   for   analysis   with    the    COj    auto- 

latic    recorder,   or   with   other  analyzing 

instruments,   have  always  given   more  or 

less   worry  to  the   operator.      If   they   do 


While  we  had  better  tuccess  with  i  tin- 
Kle  \l       '  •     ^  acroM  the  stack. 

with  holes  drilled  in 

'.  iu  length,  with 
.'.ii    alway»    the 
a  proper  sample  of 
iken. 
1  he  hne  sketch  herewith  thowt  the  de- 
sign of  sampler  now  in   '>">•-      T),^   »ifn. 
pier  is  made  up  entirely  <• 
ard  fittings,  and  is   so  cuntti ...  ir^  j  j*   to 
collect  gases   from  all  parts  of  the  stack 
and   mix  them  in  a  mixing  chamber  br 
fore  going   to  the  recorder,   thr   wmp'-rr 


m 


>>,-ruiut  tat  Tk€« 


1 1*  00, ■■«■»«■» 


I 


1^ 


•  Im<«  C*«v4la4 


/ 


\ 


uer  A 1 1 


not   become   stopped   up   with   »<>«-)t.   there 
i«  always  the  question  as  to  whether  an 
average  <iamplc  i«  being  obtained. 
After    uMiiK    the    Amrricin    Society  of 


MrLn 


•tj  in  the  sUck  Jmt  V^rw  th* 
damper. 


attacked  isjt  IcgiL  u  tktemm.     TW 
fomiag  tke  Icfs  ka*«  a  slooed 
the  onder  side,  drcrraiiwg  in  widik  toward 
the  miutm  dumber,  making  a  sk<  tke 
width  of  wbkk  at  any  posnc  u  pr^'for- 
liooal  to  its  distance  (ram  tke  ocBlc^ 
This    sampler    ^•-    ...v—    _.._«    .. 
after    mnc   mor 

preacnt  skow*  iv>  »ign»  >ii  <^vj^(ixi(  mna 
sooc  and  aak.  Tke  Umt  on  tke  ckari  ts 
mttch  nyofe  rccvlar  tkaa  tke  kae  akimM4 
from  tke  m^  *>?  t*»*  iwiglf  ta^*  iLSinp)>r. 
ard  rrwfr 
u»e   «.<    the 

Ann.itM'th*,     Md. 


O   i.  kiamt 


Kopr    l>rivc    tot    LmncttmM 


I0  tb«  mwe  of  Jumary  a^  R    Mel 
canuff '  '  ^   gu'err 

tirmr-f  ■  >oas  mun'  > 

t  would  say  tkat  ike  rope  4n«« 

;  •  TvntK'tvr-r!     n^ A     <*iTi      fr«Sacr» 

.1  ..  ,   . 

inijfc'ftjfit 

»hpf».iK'".  '^'•n  »rv>ui'i  irvc  r---- 
oilv  h^rh  rope  as  it  paaan 
«hrj\  held,    fn    I    nu*; 

wr!,:-  . -ftkaped  groove,  ao 

•«  t^apable  of  drirkif  tk^ 
rr  that  tke   liippitr.  rrm 

very   mfavorable  cooditioM    lor    a    beis 

ntcrtK*!* 


U    dor   lo   keatmg   caatcJ    b) 


Me  tkan  t> 


s  »r»*> 

la  tke  IM 


>4ti< 


In 


OtlWHJ,     pttgC     '^J. 

discarded  on   icc 
particles   of   a 
tubes   and   sdIk: 


(or    »uii)c    liis;<,    tt    MJt 
•lint    nf    »o<>f    Aixl   small 

■ig     in     l!i»-     ^^1I.^!I 
SUfll        "l     •   '"'      * 


that  they  could  not  be  remo\ 

tng  through  with  steam.  thu»  ..       ^ 

{lenings;    the   advantage   of   this   «lr«iKn 
being  thereby   ■'     '  '      as    the     «4m;'- 

was  IK)  longer  ."  one. 


4    ItVn    in|>pir    I         wr   ;.   ;. 

i«  comieeted  by  means 
tplinc  tube  rxtctMla  aeros* 
•nt  •   htrtf*'    Uw  lk#  ••• 


f     »n4 

1^ 


Mkiek    pipe,    to    wk 


466 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  9,  1909. 


Automatic  Device  for  Sounding 
Whistle  Alarm 


Piping  Vessels  Without  Threading 
orSoldenng 


The  accompanying  sketch  illustrates  a 
device  which  is  connected  in  series  with  an 
annunciator  on  the  battery  side  of  our  fire- 
alarm  system  for  the  purpose  of  automati- 
cally sounding  the  whistle  in  case  of  fire. 
The  magnets  B  B  are  connected  in  series 
with  the  annunciator,  and  in  case  an 
alarm  is  turned  in  from  any  station  about 
the  works  the  armature  C  is  drawn  down- 
ward, thus  operating  the.  catch  K  and 
releasing  the  rod  G,  which  is  drawn  down 
by  the  weight  H,  the  weight  being  suffi- 
cient to  pull  the  whistle. 

The  descent  of  the  rod  is  regulated  by 
the  dashpot  A,  which  prevents  it  from  de- 
scending with  a  jerk.  When  the  circuit 
is  opened  again  the  armature  is  lifted  by 
the  spring  E,  which  is  just  strong  enough 
to  raise  and  support  the  weight  of  the 
armature.  The  rod  and  weight  are  then 
raised  by  hand  ready  for  the  next  call. 
The  air  gap  between  the  armature  and  the 
magnets  is  regulated  by  the  set  screw  D 
and  hanger  /. 


Pinhole  Here 


/Bracltet 


Following  is  a  kink  in  piping  vessels 
that  cannot  be  tapped  or  soldered :  A 
hole  is  cut  in  the  vessel,  through  which  a 
piece  of  pipe  of  the  size  to  be  used  is 
passed.  A  long  screw  nipple  is  secured 
by  two  locknuts.  One  nut  is  removed 
and  the  other  screwed  down  to  the  shoul- 
der of  the  long  screw,  with  the  counter- 


Powtr,  x  r.    . 

DEVICE    FOR    SOUNDING    WHISTLE    ALARM 

The  parts  F  and  K  are  made  of  hard- 
ened steel,  the  armature  of  soft  iron,  and 
the  rod  and  hook,  at  the  bottom,  are  made 
of  steel ;  the  dashpot,  hangers,  set  screw 
and  brackets  are  made  of  brass.  The 
magnets  were  taken  from  an  old  alarm 
bell.  This  device  works  very  well  and  is 
substantial.  The  system  is  tested  at  regu- 
lar intervals  to  insure  its  being  in  work- 
ing order. 

L.   U.   Hawkins. 

Reading,  Penn. 


the  circuit.  The  eflfect  on  the  regulation, 
therefore,  would  be  dependent  on  the  size 
of  the  wire  used  on  the  phase  on  which 
the  lighting  transformer  was  installed,  and 
the  loss  in  this  wire.  Since  the  lights  are 
used  when  the  motors  are  not,  the  regula- 
tion would  be  entirely  dependent  on  the 
regulation  of  the  transformer  and  the  size 
of  the  wire.  The  motor-circuit  regulation 
would  be  dependent,  also,  on  the  same 
conditions. 

Henry  D.  Jackson. 
Boston.  Mass. 


PIPING  a  pan,  bucket  OR  OTHER  VESSEL 

bored  side  facing  the  long  screw  end  of 
the  nipple.  After  passing  the  long  screw 
end  of  the  nipple  through  the  hole  in  the 
vessel  from  the  outside,  screw  the  other 
locknut  on  with  the  counterbored  side 
toward  the  bottom  of  the  vessel.  Then 
wind  a  piece  of  lampwick  or  other  pack- 
ing around  the  nipple  on  both  sides  of  the 
vessel,  between  it  and  the  locknuts,  and 
screw  them  up  tight. 

Piping  can  be  run  from  the  end  of  the 
nipple  to  any  desired  place.  We  use  this 
joint  in  rdnning  pipes  from  oil  tanks  to 
various  parts  of  machines  and  engines, 
and  find  it  very  satisfactory. 

F.  E.  Fick. 

Govans,  Md. 


Transformer  Connections 


In  the  issue  of  February  2,  under  the 
head  of  "Transformer  Connections,"  R.  S. 
Carroll  asks  if,  having  two  transformers 
connected  in  open  delta  across  phases  i 
and  2,  it  would  be  necessary  to  install  the 
lighting  transformer  across  phase  j;  also 
what  effect  it  would  have  on  the  regu- 
lation. 

Since  without  the  lighting  transformer 
the  circuit  would  be  balanced,  it  would 
make  no  difference  on  which  phase  the 
lighting  transformer  was  installed,  as  this 
would  be  the  only  unbalancing  feature  of 


Substitute  for  Air  Valves 


The  accompanying  illustration  shows  the 
arrangement  of  my  heating  plant  and  my 
method  of  preventing  water  hammering 
in  the  pipes  and  radiators.  All  air  valves 
have  been  removed  and  instead  I  have 
connected  a  small  ^-inch  air  pipe  run- 
ning parallel  with  the  steam  pipe.  This 
air  pipe  extends  from  the  various  radia- 
tors to  the  basement  and  connects  to  an 
air  tank  after  combining  in  one  i-inch 
pipe. 

In  the  morning  I  open  the  valve  on  the 
I -inch  pipe  and  leave  it  open  until  I  get 


Pitutr,  y.  T. 
ARRANGEMENT  OF  HEATING  PLANT 

4  or  5  pounds  of  steam  on  the  boiler, 
when  the  valve  is  closed.  I  keep  up  steam 
until  about  11  a.m.,  by  which  time  there  is 
considerable  condensed  water  in  the  air 
pipe  at  the  lower  end,  and  there  has  also 
formed  a  strong  vacuum  between  this 
water  and  the  radiator.  The  vacuum  in 
the  air  pipes  will  draw  the  vapor  out  of 
the  boiler  and  the  radiators  will  remain 
hot  all  day.  I  can  steam  up  any  time 
during  the  day  and  there  is  absolutely  no 
water  hammering.     I  have  82  radiators  in 


March  9,  1909. 

the  building,  and  in  cold  weather  the  air 
valves  would  generally  freeze,  keeping  me 
running  around  opening  up  air  valves  in- 
stead of  attending  to  the  boiler.  I  put  in 
1736  feet  of  air  pipes,  arranged  as  shown. 
At  the  air  tank  is  a  belt-ccnnected  pump 
driven  by  a  gasolene  engine  for  removing 
the  condensed  water. 

N.   H.  JOKCENSCV 

Sleepy  Eye,  Minn. 


Babbitting  a   Large  Main  Bearing 

In  response  to  a  hurry-up  call,  a  ma- 
chinist was  sent  to  babbitt  a  main  bearing. 
The  engineer  had.  neglected  the  l>earing 
during  the  night  run  and,  from  some 
cause  or  other,  the  babbitt  had  melted,  so 
that  the  shaft  was  wearing  down  into  the 
iron  of  the  bottom  box  before  the  en- 
gine was  stopped. 

A  piece  of  sheet  iron  a  little  longer  than 
the  t>ottom  box  was  bent,  as  shown  at  A, 
Fig.  I,  and  fastened  to  the  box  by  means 
of  clamps,  leaving  an  opening  of  -ki  to  ^ 
inch  for  the  babbitt.  Another  piece  was 
bent  is  shnwn  at   B  and  fastened  to  the 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 
Dashpot  Does  Not  .Seal 


-  jO  of  the 
— ^   :;;at  it  i»  v-  ,; 

the  cause  of  the  tr-  .^ 

)d 


the  old  Hamilton-Corliss,  and  the  later  en- 
gines of  this  same  nuke,  arc  entirely  dts- 
simiUr. 

TV  erCbf. 

•«"  iplojrs  a 

type  having  two  plungers  m  ooc.  the 
smaller  having  a  cup  leather  on  it.  and 
this  has  for  its  office  the  formation  of  the 
vacuum  for  pulling  down  the  plunger  after 
the  knockoff  ram  has  caused  the  release 
of  the  die  from  the  block  The  upper 
plunger  is  much  larger,  and  ha«  n  }r^^htr 
riveted   on   its   under   «ide  'ler 

has   a    <m.ill    flap   valve   wor.  -    a 


467 


i     r«K«Uto     tW 


trooble     If   it    r.>t    >^i-c 
makes     r 


Ike 

•**•■   ff^od  Mid 
'^<i    L'^    iu.:z.i    mi^n    t-  e  oaly 

sure  wajr  to  locate  ibe  10  dl». 

sect  the  daskfxK.  havti«  sanrcd  a 
knowMce  of  ibc  foactiaat  ol  tmch  smm 
a»d  the  ceadiUoM  meh  p*n  ■»- 

ti>   cxrfof ni   ttS   funrt>.>nt   r>f<«wl> 

nol  lead 

••■.      ^fObl^~"  a'<>UMJ     or     to     '.ttr 

•t  op  vii^  '■  the  eagMe.  gtv- 

tng   full  ptnizu.ttt       iIm  hMH   I 
oeen  imiwu  uf  loe  MUMert  ofl 
naay.    Tbey  are  (be  htm  friwii  of  tW 

anibiiKMH  engmcOT 

WOAJAM    Wl 

Iineoln.  Stb 


On  pact  joo  of  the  JafMury  j6  m 
Ebworth  Diirtt  tcU-  «y*  witli  a 

<lailipo«  not  scatsac  ckl  load  en 

the  cngmr      If  be  had  tcaiad  vbai  kiad 
of  dashpnt  it  «4«.  wSethrr  Iraibrr  p*rfcr-l 


1? 


A 


•? 


4|uarter  bi>x.  allowing  room  for  the  bab- 
bitt metal.  The  boxes  were  stood  on  end 
on  an  iron  plate  and  the  bottom  well 
»eal«d  with  clay  to  hold  the  babbitt.  A 
little  tallow  from  a  candle  was  scraped 
mto  the  cavity  to  prevent  an  explosion, 
and  the  boxes  poured.  W|ivn  cool,  the 
>hrrt-iron  forms  were  removed  and  tlie 
'  .'  '>itt  well  hammered  with  a  ball  peen 
hammer. 

The  boxes  were  then  assembled  at 
•^h  wn  in  Fig.  2  (end  view)  and  Fig.  3 
1  m.Ip  view).  The  pieces  C  C  are  of  hard- 
wixkI.  the  bottom  ones  being  of  the  re- 
quired thickness  to  bring  the  center  of  the 
bc\  to  the  same  hight  as  the  center  of  a 
lalhr  The  bolls  /;  D  hold  the  bearing  to 
gethrr  and  alto  cbmp  it  to  the  lathe  car 
fiiLtr  The  pieces  EH  wcrr  inadr  >t 
liiilwood,  and  high  enough  !■•  «-naM«-  'hr 

Cllttrr    ff.    ilr.ir    Mir 

lakrn   li>   li.T.r  Idr   il; 

out^idr  fjcrs  of  the  wrdge*  /•  i'  the  m\ 

of  ihr  opening  in  the  frame     A  boring  I 

wa«  placed  in  the  lathe.     The  boxes  wcrr 

then  set,  bored  out.  oil  groovca  cut.  f' 

the   surface  scraped 

E    G.  Habmx 
Burlington.  la 


^rnall  port  bored  in  the  plunger  The 
object  of  this  plunger  is  to  cuthioa  the 
plunger  on  its  descent  to  prcvnii  it  frooi 
tiamming  or  strtking  the  bottom  of  the 
dathpot.  As  the  plunger  riact,  this  Uttk 
flap  \alve  opens  and  allows  the  air  cham 
her  to  till  with  air,  and  in  the  Air  rlum 
Un  <•(  tl  >-  .ir- 

[tri>|K-rly  set  it  wiii  allow  aii 

rujpe  except  just  enough  tc 

drop  of  the  plunger.     When  the  plunger 

hat  r  '  •'     "     '.         -  '  '  • 

ing  »p 


escape  oniy  thrvogh  the   rr* 
ive. 
s  •»  th«  trooble  nujr  be  caused  bf  ibe 
'    '^er    iMYtag    beeonw    *oni    toe 
hasiag  boeanc  defrctivt   from 


ur   uthcrwiK.    ahal    tu*   fall 
was  and  bow    faal  ibe 
bapa  tmdan  oeold  man  ciaaify 
stand  tbe  aaiurt  of  iht  troabk. 
I  ba*e  bad  tbe  Mae  kaid  of  imtli.  hm 

rol  Ibe  laa«( 

riii     «'-rn    air     «  iismu    f  mm     m    t09   patiavf 

ile«troy  Ibe 


tm 


4  a 
I  here  are  srsefal 
ihts  irtMsbk.  loo  aia 
h«b  speed  wab  lav 
hitffi  rr<ri<rf  ^easan.  ar  laa  iMt 

Spel  la  rtM  lao  blg^     TV* 


at   tar   bf  baad  aa  m   isosei* 

•  t.«a  ii~>,.^ed  ap  a^A  Ibe  eaglae  taaaiaa 

TVtt  wdl  mtkm  a  gffaai  AfNtaar*.  a*  it-< 

mm   aad  baacbaf  rwm*  are  ims   m 

.  iT»^    iMtif  h  «^     ■*.'-     t*  ^fird    H    t%r« 


468 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  9,  1909 


Method  of  Lubricating  Elevator 
Plungers 


While  the  plunger  elevator  is  being  dis- 
cussed in  the  columns  of  Power,  I  submit 
a  sketch  showing  a  method  I  have  used  to 
lubricate  the  plungers  of  elevators,  pumps, 
accumulators,  etc.  I  found  that  oil  keeps 
a  plunger  in  better  condition  than  grease, 
but  is  easily  washed  away  by  leakage  from 
the  stuffing  box.  To  prevent  this,  I  attach 
a  collar  to  the  plunger  and  gland,  which 
retains  the  oil  and  acts  as  a  separator,  per- 
mitting the  water  to  escape  through  the 
drip.  The  plunger  in  moving  up  or  down 
carries  the  oil  on  its  surface,  thus  keep- 
ing the  plunger  free  from  gum  or  cor- 
rosion   and   also   preserving   the   packing. 

Should  any  water  leak  by  the  packing, 


the  design  illustrated  in  the  article,  how- 
ever. 

Although  the  Contraflo  Condenser  Com- 
pany, of  London,  is  the  manufacturer  of 
this  condenser,  the  Elwood  Company  is 
not  the  selling  agent  in  the  United  States, 
but  the  representative  to  authorize  the 
manufacture  of  the  "Contraflo"  condenser, 
under  license,  by  any  reputable  builder  of 
this  class  of  machinery  in  the  United 
States. 

The  Elwold  Company, 
W.  R.  Molinard,  Manager. 

Philadelphia,  Penn. 


Getting  Complete  Combustion 

It   seems   to  be  the  general   opinion  of 
most  all  authorities  on  smoke-consuming 


The  sketch  illustrates  a  method  that 
could  be  applied  with  very  little  change 
or  expense  to  any  ordinary  boiler  setting 
to  get  this  result.  End  and  side  views  of 
the  furnace  are  shown.  The  space  over 
the  original  bridgewall  is  filled  in  to  about 
the  center  line  of  the  boiler  shell,  with 
fire-clay  tile,  the  bridgewall  being  round 
to  conform  v/ith  the  boiler  curvature. 
This  causes  all  gases  to  pass  through  the 
tile,  which  is  at  a  white  heat,  before 
reaching  the  combustion  chamber. 

If  necessary,  in  order  to  get  the  proper 
mixture  of  air  before  the  gases  enter  the 
tile,  air  jets  could  be  placed  in  the  front 
of  the  bridgewall  and  a  steam  jet  used  to 
inject  the  proper  quantity  of  air,  although 
I  think  sufficient  air  could  be  admitted 
through  the  furnace  doors  and  over  the 
fire  to  get  proper  results,  at  the  same  time 
keeping  the  temperature  of  the  door  and 
surrounding  wall  down.  The  space  be- 
tween the  bridgewall  and  boiler  should  be 
made  large  enough  not  to  restrict  the 
draft  by  the  space  taken  up  by  the  tile. 

S.    KiRLIN. 

Fort  Smith,  Ark. 


Fixing  Loose  Crank  Pins 


METHOD  OF  LUBRICATING  ELEVATOR  PLUNGERS 


I    have    read   at    different    times    how 
engineers  have  fixed  loose  crank  pins  by 


it  will  pass  through  the  opening  near  the 
bottom  of  the  ring  and  overflow  to  the 
drip  pipe.  The  sketch  shows  the  ring 
made  in  two  pieces  to  facilitate  its  appli- 
cation. 

W.  H.  O'Connor. 
Newark,  N.  J. 


The  "Contraflo"  Condenser 


In  the  article  on  "Development  of  the 
Surface  Condenser,"  in  the  February  16 
number,  at  the  bottom  of  page  347  the 
statement  is  made:  "In  order  that  the  air 
pump  may  extract  the  greatest  quantity 
of  air  from  the  condenser,  it  is  necessary 
to  remove  the  vapor  with  which  the  air  is 
mixed."  A  clearer  statement  would  be  as 
follows :  In  order  that  an  air  pump  may 
extract  the  greatest  quantity  of  air  from 
a  condenser  its  temperature  must  be  low 
relatively  to  the  temperature  in  the  con- 
denser, for  to  remove  a  given  weight  of 
air  it  is  also  necessary  to  remove  the 
vapor  with  which  it  is  mixed. 

On  page  348,  in  the  first  column,  it  is 
stated  that  "The  sealing  water,  after  pass- 
ing through  the  air  pump,  is  returned  to 
the  cooler,  so  that  the  same  water  is 
used  over  and  over  again."  This  state- 
ment is  true  as  applicable  to  a  dry 
system,  where  the  water  of  condensation 
is  not  dealt  with  by  the  air  pump,  but  by 
a   separate  pump.     It  does   not   apply  to 


END    AND    SIDE    VIEWS    OF    FURNACE    PROPOSED   TO    SECURE   BETTER   COMBUSTION 


devices  that  the  gases  must  be  brought 
into  contact  with  a  white-hot  arch  of  fire- 
brick before  passing  onto  the  shell  and 
tubes,  in  order  to  get  complete  combus- 
tion. 

In  the  ordinary  boiler  setting  the  main 
body  of  the  gases  passes  directly  from  the 
grates  over  the  bridgewall,  along  the  com- 
paratively cool  surface  of  the  shell  and 
into  the  tubes,  without  any  direct  contact 
with  the  furnace  walls,  naturally  resulting 
in  a  rapid  cooling  of  the  gases.  These 
pass  off  in  the  form  of  smoke,  which 
could  be  consumed  if  the  proper  amount 
of  air  was  admitted  to  the  furnace  and 
divided  into  small  streams,  coming  in 
contact  with  a  surface  hot  enough  to 
ignite  the  mixture. 


riveting  the  end  over,  center  punching  the 
pin  around  the  end  near  the  outside,  or 
driving  in  dowel  pins.  One  may  in  this 
town  cut  a  keyseat  in  the  pin  and  drive 
in   a  key. 

Professor  Sweet's  scheme  is,  in  my 
opinion,  the  best,  that  of  drilling  a  hole 
in  the  center  of  the  pin  and  driving  in  a 
taper  tool-steel  pin. 

My  scheme  to  cure  a  loose  crank  pin 
is  to  put  in  a  new  one..  It  is  not  much  of 
a  job  to  make  a  new  pin,  and  if  an  engi- 
neer has  not  the  ability  to  do  it  he  has  no- 
business  with  a  job  of  any  importance. 
If  a  pin  is  loose  in  the  fit,  center  punch- 
ing, etc.,  will  not  make  it  tight. 

John  Dunn. 

Streator,  111. 


March  9,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


Some    Useful    Lessons    of    Limewater 

The  Gases  in  the  Air  mid  Ihc  Part    I  licy  l-'Ly  iri  L-  !  U- 

ing   Experiments   to   Prove    That   When  Coal    Bumi  h  i  oii..*  ui.  A^jd 


BY      CHARLES       S.       PALMER 


All    that   we   have   studied   thus    far   is 

nly  an  introduction  to  what  that  barrel 

<^t   quicklime  has  to  tell.     We  have  seen 

that    lime-like    substances    are    found    in 

'i.ird  water  and  that,  sometimes,  it  is  one 

I  these  same  lime-like  things  which  may 

be    used    to   overcome    this   hardness ;    as 

though  one  should  make  one  hand  wash 

the  other ;  or,  following  the  old  proverb. 

Iiraling   by   "a    hair   of   the   dog    that   bit 

im."     But   this   subject   of   hard   water, 

hilc   very    real   and    practical,    is    not   a 

>  parate  thing  by   itself;  it   is  connected 

Mith     many     other     chemical     facts     and 

theories.     We  will  make  short  excursions 

into  some  of  these  other   fields,   such   as 

that  of  fire  or  water,  or  that  of  acids  or 

Ikalies. 

Fire 

In    making    our    clearing    before    our 

.   nary   cabin   home,    in    the    forest   of 

I  nee  and  prejudice,  one  of  the  first 

which  we  should  V  icthing 

IS  the  air,  or  the  .r  .  ,  as  it 

also  called.     We  know  that  the  air  has 

verything  to  do  with  burning,  for  if  we 

ant  to  make  a  fire  bum  in  a  stove  or 

arnace  all  that  is  necessary  is  to  keep  the 

rate  free  from  ashes,  supply  it  with  fuel. 

n{ht  it  and  give  it  free  draft.     Indeed,  in 

■  >n\e    forms    of    puwer    nuker    one    can 

?    control    the   engine    by    regulating 

><>rs  and   'hmiwr^      So  it   is  almost 

•  idem  till-  in  the  common 

iiig,  i*  drjM  1  the  air  draft. 

Moreover,    when    coal    or     fuel    bums 

'here   is   some  great   change   in   the   fuel. 

Most  of  it  goes  up  the  stack,  except  tome 

;  or   10.  or,  perhaps.   15  or  30  per  cent. 

f  ashes ;   but   usually  from  80  to  90  per 

r  fuel  vanishes  in  the  work  of 

'irit  ^•»\  p/^wer      If  on^  «hoi«Id 


and  four  tons  of  burnt  gas,  to  uy  noth- 
ing of  wasting  heat  on  some  nine  or  ten 
toiu  of  a  gas  (nitrogen)  which  U  in  the 
air  as  neutral  "fiUer." 

If  your  attention  has  ii'  caOcd 

to  these  curinus   facts,  >  1  coed 

right   to   J-  il   as   tu   :l:c   correct- 

ness of  th-  Thry  ari"  <^ly  gen- 

eral, but  thry  .1  rrcct; 

and  you  l>cgin  t  "»  moM 

be  half  blind  to  let  such  vast  quantities 
of  substances  slip  by  us  unnoticed  There 
are  many  ways  of  getting  at  these  inter- 
esting thiiu  '  *  '  *'  --asiest  way» 
is  to  ask  r  Is  the  air 
ab«-)Ut  us  -f 
several  thi  '^ 
life  that  the  »tt 
tw"    K.isr-..    nitr 


y 


nc.  I 


trivance  i'>r  hAfMflaag  gaaca,  a  »«r;t:'> 

great  Put  aa  mek 

cunun^..  -...,   .»u>  tbc  dMk     * 

OHMtthcd    jar,   tay    a   eammmm 

Find  a  wide,  flat  coHt.  wkack 

pass  thro«igh  tbc  SKMik  of  ikr 

out  toothing  the  wtdtK  Mad  fc^ 

on  the  water  ia  tbe  walk  disk 

a  Uttlc  noccr-tlMpcd  duk  to  ritk  «« 

corli  and  to  hold  Ma 

•tuff.  MKh  as  match  mdi. 

pbomt.    Th'  f  rV  mM(  he  tai  Mid 

balanced  *  ^  ol  staff  to 

and  sometittrri   >.    ••U  he 

the  wider  cad  of  the  corh  n  at  tkt 

torn.     Yoa  viO  hod  that  jnm  mmm. 

iht*   ftnint    well   fised.   at   yoa   kavY 

iBoath  dowvard 

i-argo 


l-u! 


roaad  eo««r  of  a 


•pice  hox.  wtQ  do    for    the    fenk 


box   of  water   paiaU      Yoa   waa«  to  gel 

'  .id  wl  halaared.  to 

nMMtfWd  hotf  Ir  drraa 


nd   aotly    p«l    ite   UMtx 
'  Tnto  the  warn  am4  o«v« 

n    tW 


f 


you  have  not  Uken  this  «!itrmrn»  \n  rhe 
forceps  of  your  careful 

have  r '  •»•••   •'  • 

own 


ii-tion;  and  there  was  <•; 

a    scientif)'-     >n»-ii  ;i     tht    : 

!    itself    "i  that    is.   "burn     oxygen. 

.1        1  I    .1.  ..    »...,...t,..       "f    tlir    II 


Hut  It 
I    and    t) 


nil    u    d*i 
-.  .  lition  but    '-   _. 
roved  by   burning    t 
I  fits   and    weighing    <  •■ 
■■^  «»ff  it      In  this  way  it 
Ion    of    liard    r«al    will 
•'.nry,  when  wril  biirnr'!.  ' 


Two  Tatwea  tm  Ta» 


470 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  g,  1909. 


drops  of  kerosene,  you  will  not  get  as 
much  absorption  of  the  burnt  fumes  by 
the  water.  But  in  every  case,  with  the 
burning  of  phosphorus  you  will  get  an 
absorption  of  the  air  in  the  bottle  by  the 
burning  amounting  to  from  one-fifth  to 
one-third.  The  correct  figure  is  about 
one-fifth ;  but  you  may  drive  oft  too  much 
air  at  the  start  from  the  expansion  from 
heatifig,  before  the  real  burning  has  gone 
very  far;  and  this  error  in  the  experiment 
will  show  up  as  an  apparent  absorption 
of  the  original  air  greater  than  the  real 
absorption  and  disappearance  of  the  air 
in  the  bottle. 

There  are  several  sides  to  this  experi- 
ment, and  we  will  mention  them  here, 
so  that  you  can  be  on  the  lookout  for 
them: 

First,  the  strong  burning  of  the  stuff 
in  the  little  saucer,  and  the  placing  of  the 
jar  over  this. 

Second,  as  soon  as  the  fire  has  gone  out 
in  the  saucer  and  the  water  in  the  jar 
has  finished  absorbing  the  fumes  from  the 
burning,  lift  the  jar  quickly  out  of  the 
water,  first  slipping  a  piece  of  cardboard 
over  the  mouth  to  keep  the  water  that  is 
in  it  from  flowing  out.  Shake  violently, 
using  the  cardboard  cover,  and  set  the 
jar  right  side  up  on  the  table.  Note  the 
amount  of  absorption  of  the  original  air 
in  the  jar. 

Third,  light  a  splinter  of  wood  and 
thrust  it  quickly  down  into  the  air  left 
in  the  upper  part  of  the  jar;  the  splinter 
is  put  out,  as  anybody  should  know  it 
would  be,  because  if  the  fire  of  phos- 
phorus went  out,  wood  or  paper  would 
not  burn  well  in  this  same  residual  air. 
All  the  same,  it  is  not  a  foolish  thing  to 
do,  to  test  this  same  residual  air  with 
your  splinter  of  woed.  It  sets  you  to 
thinking  what  it  all  means  and  you  begin 
to  note  that  there  must  be  different  kinds 
of  gas  as  regards  their  ability  to  help 
burning.  The  gas  oxygen  that  has  gone 
off  (it  has  gone  into  the  water)  helped 
the  burning),  and  it  amounted  to  only 
about  one-fifth  by  volume  of  the  whole 
air.  The  part  of  the  air  that  is  left  will 
not  help  common  burning,  although  it 
makes  up  some  four-fifths  by  volume  of 
the  air ;  this  remaining  part  is  nearly  all 
nitrogen.  Just  to  set  your  mind  at  rest, 
you  may  like  to  know  that  there  are  three 
other  things  in  the  air  in  small  quantities. 
These  are  some  water  vapor,  some  of 
your  old  friend  carbonic-acid  gas  and  a 
strange  newcomer,  called  argon,  the  "lazy 
element,"  because  it  does  not  do  anything 
but  exist;  that  is,  it  does  not  make  any 
definite  compound  with  anything,  but 
sometimes  pretends  to  be  like  nitrogen  as 
it  is  found  in  the  air,  about  one  part  in  a 
hundred  by  volume. 

Fourth,  put  some  litmus  into  the  water 
at  the  bottom  of  the  jar  and  note  the 
action.  Of  course,  you  know  enough  by 
this  time  never  to  take  one  piece  of  litmus 
paper,  nor  one  color,  but  two  pieces ;  or, 
at  least,  one  piece  colored  red  at  one  end 


and  blue  at  the  other.  You  can  take 
a  bit  of  red  litmus  and  let  one-half  touch 
a  piece  of  soap  to  blue  one-half.  With 
both  red  and  blue  litmus  you  can  catch 
both  alkalies  and  acids.  You  will  find 
that  the  water  in  the  bottom  of  your  jar 
turns  the  litmus  red ;  that  means  that  the 
burning  has  made  something  which  went 
into  the  water  and  which  has  acid  proper- 
ties. If  you  used  mostly  phosphorus  then 
the  burning  of  the  phosphorus  has  made 
one  kind  of  phosphoric  acid.  If  you  used 
mostly  sulphur  in  burning  in  the  little 
dish  on  the  cork,  then  the  burning  mostly 
made  sulphurous  acid,  with  some  sul- 
phuric acid.  But  in  both  cases,  the  burn- 
ing with  the  oxygen  of  the  air  made 
things  that  are  essentially  acids.  It  was 
the  great  French  chemist,  Lavoisier,  who 
found  this  out  some  hundred  and  forty  or 
fifty  years  ago,  about  the  time  of  the 
Revolutionary  war;  he  showed  that  burn- 
ing was  an  addition,  and  that  the  adding 
of    the    "burn-helping"    gas    (oxygen)    in 


the  air  to  the  things  burnt,  as  a  rule, 
makes  acids  (or  acid  anhydrides,  the  acids 
minus  water  but  willing  to  drink  them- 
selves to  acids  proper)  ;  and  so  Lavoisier 
called  the  gas  that  helps  to  do  all  this 
"the  acid  maker,"  which  meaning  is  safely 
hidden  behind  the  parts  of  the  Greek 
makeup,  "oxy-gen."  You  will  find  out 
later  that  this  claim  of  oxygen  to  make 
all  acids,  is  not  quite  exact,  but  that  there 
are  acids  which  have  no  oxygen  in  them ; 
but  in  every  such  case  the  acids  have 
something  which  plays  proxy  for  oxygen, 
so  that  in  its  broadest  sense  th^  name 
"oxygen,"  "acid  maker,"  is  not  so  bad  for 
the  "burn  helper"  in  the  air. 

Repeat  the  Experiment  Often 
You  must  try  this  fundamental  experi- 
ment of  attacking  the  composition  of  the 
air    over    and    over    again    and    in    every 


shape  and  method  that  your  ingenuity  can 
devise.  Perhaps  you  can  get  some  of  the 
pure  phosphorus  to  use,  the  kind  that 
comes  in  yellow  sticks  and  which  must 
be  kept  under  water  to  save  it  from  burn- 
ing up ;  or  perhaps  you  can  get  a  pinch  of 
the  so-called  "red"  phosphorus,  a  dark 
brownish-red  powder,  which  is  real  phos- 
phorus baked  in  a  close  vessel  until  it 
goes  temporarily  into  this  curious,  sleepy 
form  where  it  does  not  have  to  be  kept 
under  water  to  save  it  from  burning ; 
perhaps  you  can  get  some  of  this,  to  put 
in  your  little  dish ;  but,  whatever  you  do 
use,  make  it  burn  and  make  it  take  out  all 
of  the  active  oxygen  frorn  the  air  that  it 
will,  about  one-fifth  by  volume  at  any 
rate.  Usually  you  will  get  a  larger  ap- 
parent absorption,  due  to  the  aforesaid 
escape  of  some  bubbles  by  heating. 

You  must  keep  your  eye  fixed  on  the 
several  points :  The  good  burning ;  the 
closing-in  of  the  little  saucer  by  the  in- 
verting of  the  jar;  the  absorption  of  part 
of  the  air  in  the  jar  and  the  testing  of 
the  remaining  air;  the  testing  of  the  water 
in  the  bottom  of  the  jar.  It  all  makes  a 
part  of  the  story  of  the  composition  of 
the  air,  but  you  will  wonder  how  our 
friend  limewater  can  help  us  out  here. 
Well,  that  is  an  interesting  question;  and, 
in  this  chapter,  we  can  only  begin  to 
show  how  limewater  may  have  a  great 
deal  to  do  with  the  problems  of  burning. 

Your  thoughts  will  run  somewhat  as 
follows :  It  is  all  right  to  test  such  things 
as  sulphur  and  phosphorus  and  match 
ends ;  but  common  coal  is  the  thing  which 
makes  the  bulk  of  fuel  burnt,  and  we 
want  to  see  what  the  air  does  to  that, 
and  how  it  does  it. 

The  point  which  we  are  going  to  study 
is  this :  that  coal  burns  first  to  carbon 
monoxide,  CO,  and  this  burns  farther  to 
carbon  dioxide,  your  friend  carbonic-acid 
gas,  CO2,  or  carbonic  anhydride,  the 
anhydride  of  true  carbonic  acid  proper. 
H2CO3.  Now  the  acids  of  phosphorus 
and  sulphur  and  those  strong-smelling 
things  made  from  burning  in  the  air,  are 
readily  absorbed  by  water;  and  they 
readily  turn  litmus  red.  But  carbonic- 
acid  gas  is  only  feebly  absorbed  by  water : 
it  has  not  much  taste  and  it  does  not  act 
strongly  on  litmus ;  and  so  we  are  up 
against  the  question  of  trying  to  prove 
that  when  coal,  or  carbon,  burns  in  the 
air,  it  does  make  its  own  form  of  acid, 
or  acid  anhydride,  just  as  sulphur  and 
phosphorus  make  theirs.  You  can  begin  to 
see  how  we  are  going  to  do  this  with  the 
help  of  limewater ;  for  you  have  already 
sucked  the  gases  from  glowing  coal 
through  some  limewater,  and  you  are 
fairly  familiar  with  the  acid  properties  of 
the  gas  from  burning  coal.  But  that 
special  point  will  wait  for  another  lesson: 
we  want  to  get  this  point  clinched,  of  the 
approximate  amount  of  active  "burn 
helper,"  oxygen,  in  the  air. 

There  are  one  or  two  questions  which 
may  come  up  to  your  mind  at  this  time . 


March  9,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  E\(^INEER. 


of  them  is  this :    What  would  happen 

.c  air  were  pure  oxygen?     That  is  an 

resting   question,   and   you    will   make 

c  experiments  later  with  pure  oxygen 

how  what  would  happen.     But  there 

two  forms  to  that  question.    One  form 

what    would    happen    if    the    nitrogen 

-c  taken  out  from  the  air  and  'jnly  the 

i^en  were  left?    That  is  one  thing,  but 

.vould   be   quite   another   affair    if    the 

'ogcn    were    taken    out    from    the   air. 

1  if  its  place  were  taken  by  so  much 

re  oxygen ;  that  would  be  a  condition 

frightful  possibilities,  as  you   will  sec 

n  you  come  to  make  pure  oxygen. 

•nc  more  question  that  I  want  yoa  to 

■:k  over  between  now  and  the  reading 

•Hr  rfxt  lesson  is  this:     Why  do  yrm 

•  a  fire?     Why  doesn't  it  hicht 

r<-  is  the  fuel,  there  is  the  air, 

ich  you  cannot  see,  but  which  you  can 

i,   and   it    is   waiting   to   take  hold   of 

'.r   coal.     But  why  does  it   wait   until 

:  kindle  it,  with  all   sorts  of  coaxing, 

:n  the  match,  through  the  shavings  or 

paper,  through  the  kindling  wood,  to  the 

hard    fuel;    why   all    this   preparation    (>r 

what  seems  all  ready  to  take  place  of  and 

h\    itself?     This  question   is   worth   some 

ntion,  the  right  answer  will  open  your 

■s   to   some   things    which    no   one   can 

•.  but  which  we  must  all  believe  to  be 

true;  it  is  the  story  of  the  chemical  units, 

noted   by    those    initial     letters,    and    the 

•up*    into    which    those    chemical    units 

ite,  groups  which  make  up  all  kinds  of 

tiuterial    things    which   you    see   and    feel 

cstry  day.     You  are  getting  near  the  top 

one    of   the    foothills   of    science,    and 

••  of  these  days  you  will  see  the  main 

me,  and  you  can  sec  all  this  from  the 

••(low  of  your  boiler  rov"»m. 


Credit   for   Low  Pressure   1  urbincs 


cxplamed,    works    in   a    larger     6eld    of 

available  enpr^'^     "   '"iv   "  ■•    -   n.    >—   .« 
ferred   that 
own  ranr- 
thc  ste 


tias  * 
the    ti' 

ta'^ 


earn   irom   existing   rc- 

s         Tf     1%     nr.>ii3hlr     that 

eof 


cip: 
such  ci 

the       StC.i.M    <.::  "liir       ■!<    . 

is  highly  probable  that 
as  the 
soon   >" 


.to     discard     reciprocating     engines     aho- 
get  her. 

The  most  advantageous  conditions  for 
the  combined  use  of  reciprocating*  engines 
and  steam  turbines  will  be  found  in  ex 
isting  »team  plants  where  reciprocating 
engine*  .ir**  ii«^d  to  nj^erMr  electric  gm- 
erators 
plants  1 

installed   and   can   be    arranged    10    takr 
steam  directly  from  the  exhaust   pipe  t  i 
engines     without     valves     or     governing 
mechanisms.     The  turbines  would  be  de 
signed  to  give  a  very  high  efficiency  with 
highly  expanded  steam  and  a  condensing 
plant   should  be  installed  adapletl   to  the 
highr*!     degree     of     vacua.       T 
prcMirc  valv  <trm^  and  r*^  r 
thr   rnRincs 
and  f'thcr  i>' 

the  exclusion  of  air.  The  steam  turbme 
should  operate  a  generator  adapted  to  con- 
nection in  parallel  with  that  driven  bjr  the 
engine 

.\  f.irSine  d<'*»gn^  for  o^ral»o«  «nd*f 

l-' 

would  ad4i  iinlr  or  nf>lhing  to  r 

»tati<<n   "p«-r4tii>n       Jhr:r   ..t 

slali'Xi*  111  wbuh  the 

turbine*  with  pr<»pcr 

would  increase  the  O' 

Theic     u.'t 

operated  wr 

the      in'-     '      •■ 

proper  I  •  .!••'■      •» 

crease 

!-    


ii  the  February  3  numl>er,  paK*"  •'4I.  I- 

;tu   gives   the  credit   of   the   cuKeption 

■I  working  out  of  the  low-pressure  tur- 
..ii:c  to  Professor  Rateau,  mentioning  J 
\V.  Kirkland  in  a  very  complimentar> 
way.  but  entirely  ignoring  W.  L.  R. 
Eniiiiet,  who  at  the  International  Elec 
Irical  Congress,  at  St.  I^uis,  in  Septcm 
her,  1904.  only  a  few  months  aftT  Pr<> 
lessor  Rateau  had  presrntr<l  a' 
^.^\i<>  inrcting  of  the  Anicricaii    - 

H'hanical   l-numeers  the  pai»er  t"  whi  ■. 

'    Battu  refers,  presented  a  paper   c.-n 

rung  the  following,  which  »h«>ws  that  he     ^^ 

I  at  that  time  a  comprehensive  idea  of     ^_ 

advantages  of  the   steam  turbine  for     ^^ 

A  pressure  work : 

l'..rtt>tm   of  Vmprr   Mr«d    In    «t     I  .ml*.    I" 

^rfflr  nilirr,    ll>o|,    ■  f    a    Mrrllna    nf 

thr     IntrrnMllMnal     t'.lrc- 

trIfMl    i  anBr<>aa 

^\nrr,  as  has  h«'«'n  •fair.l   ih#  best  steam     ( 

"■  so  far  ■' 
•IV  about  . 
•am  engines,  and   since  thr   ttui..  .u*J  v^mH  m  the  kn  p' 


r'ljr*;  t*^' 


the  14 

au   l«>c   pi>«cr    mt- 

maximuin  eftcsen 
"     ■'  ocljr  slu 
Id  haadk 
«as  not  wcU  i^^. 
'.  tight  k»4  ». 

'  changic.  ^ 

■\itinr    \itL'  .  proWM) 

be  "^itsoas  h»ni 

an  .,.,   . :.  ,,w  .  ■<%  the  tar^Mr 

to  f  load  duswrd 

Sucn     tow  -  pressure     ff^nwi     ■oajl 
oecnpr  a  UBall  space  and  there  are  ^rote 
'ing  enguK  plaais  m  mtmh 
•jt  be  provided  lor  tknt  in 
'  e  cose  of  itttialing  s«di  t« 
■mplcte  run •!<-!! tine   f^tlttir* 
shovJd  not  exceed  9b  of 

capaoty  added  to  the  x:-.^^ .a  « 

self  is  a  small  expeisditarv  for  an  addi 

tional  r' —    if  we  do  BOt  rnaiidir 

the   fat-  asc  of  tMs  aJAnioil 

plant  doe«  n<>t  caJl  for  amy  munm  m  fari 
I"  >Mtsufii|ittaa  or  in   steam -gcscratnig  a^ 


is  assomed  which  is  jmiiArd  hf  actval  e« 
prriments.  and  wittdi  can  mdtf  W  ok 
tained  in  a  limalt  madriM  ol  (M 


••«««Bi«tM*»tr«e       ■•«a«4     v«a    m*t% 
M^     la    laM«*    at      vmwb      tv>    t** 


»1 

sa 
■  • 

s  s 


ihould  he  r«alkMd  m  mtm 
lad   tkrf   ako  dlfoiiras* 

,x  it  »ho»«  tW  Urge 
.JaMr   m  iWw  low  j 
ring  I  ■  hy  the  na*  of  ti 


47-2 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  9,  1909. 


f 


t    y 


V 


a 


The  Mechanical  Engineers  Devote  an  Evening  to  Their    Discussion; 
Lift  as  a  Factor  of  Valve  Capacity,  and  as  Experimentally  Determined 


The  Februarj-  meeting  of  the  American 
Society  of  Mechanical  Engineers  was  de- 
voted to  the  consideration  of  safety 
valves.  Frederic  M.  VVhyte,  General  Me- 
chanical Engineer  of  the  New  York  Cen- 
tral lines,  introduced  the  subject,  speak- 
ing particularly  of  the  safety  valve  as  re- 
lated to  locomotive  boilers : 

Frederic  M.  Whyte 

The  general  practice  in  locomotive  work 
has  been  to  determine  the  size  and  num- 
ber of  valves  to  be  used  in  an  offhand 
waj-,  and  former  practice  has  guided  these 
determinations  entirely.  The  capacity  is 
indicated  in  an  indifferent  way  expressed 
as  a  "size"  referring  to  the  diameter  of 
something  more  or  less  certain,  while  the 
other  dimension,  the  lift,  which  is  neces- 
sary to  give  an  indication  of  the  capacity, 
is  entirely  ignored. 

It  will  be  comparatively  easy  to  deter- 
mine the  capacities  of  valves,  if  the  elabo- 
rate tests  which  have  been  already  made, 
data  from  which  will  be  presented  in  this 
discussion,  have  not  already  solved  this 
part  of  the  problem.  More  difficulty  will 
be  experienced  in  determining  the  quan- 
tity of  steam  to  be  discharged  and  the 
rate  of  release.  Instead  of  indicating  the 
capacity  of  the  valve  in  a  very  rough  way 
by  the  diameter  of  some  opening,  the 
method  should  be  adopted  of  expressing 
the  capacity  in  pounds  of  steam  which  the 
valve  is  capable  of  delivering  at  certain 
pressures.  The  capacity  of  the  muffler 
need  not  be  questioned  except  in  extreme 
designs,  but  the  indicated  capacity  should 
be  that  of  the  valve  complete,  with  or 
without  muffler  according  to  the  intended 
use  of  the  valve. 

In  any  kind  of  generating  plant  it  ought 
to  be  quite  sufficient  if  those  immediately 
responsible  for  the  quantity  of  steam  pro- 
duced know  what  is  available.  In  sta- 
tionary and  marine  work  this  is  generally 
true  and  steam  gages  can  be  placed  within 
view  of  those  who  should  know  what  the 
pressure  is  at  any  time.  Unfortunately,  in 
locomotive  work  it  has  become  perhaps 
desirable  that  others  than  those  within 
view  of  the  gage  of  the  cab  know  some- 
thing about  the  steam  pressure,  and  inas- 
much as  the  fireman  is  willing  and  some- 
times anxious  that  they  should  know,  he 
takes  the  only  means  at  hand  to  inform 
them  when  he  thinks  that  the  results  of  his 
labors  are  good,  and  fires  "against  the 
pop"  so  that  everybody  within  hearing  or 
sight  of  the  valve  knows  by  the  escaping 
steam  that  the  fireman  is  doing  his  duty. 

Assuming   that    such    an    indication    of 


steaming  conditions  has  grown  to  be  a 
necessity,  how  can  it  be  produced  at  the 
least  expense?  Two  devices  at  least  are 
available,  the  simmering  valve,  which  will 
open  slightly  for  two  or  three  pounds 
about  the  normal  maximum  and  then  open 
full,  just  reversing  this  in  seating,  and 
the  small  pilot  valve,  which  will  open  at 
two  or  three  pounds  pressure  below  the 
working  valve.  For  the  simmering  valve, 
a  seat  must  be  used  which  will  not  cut 
under  the  wiredrawing  action  of  the 
steam. 

In  locomotive  practice  it  is  not  neces- 
sary that  the  valve  capacity  shall  be  equal 
to  the  maximum  steaming  capacity  of  the 
boilers,  because  the  maximum  steaming 
capacity  is  only  at  a  time  when  steam  is 
being  used  through  the  cylinders  or 
blower  to  make  the  draft.  Having  fixed 
upon  the  per  cent,  of  the  generating  capa- 
city to  be  provided  for  in  the  valve,  it 
will  be  necessary  to  determine  the  desira- 
ble unit  capacity  of  the  valves.  Some 
States  require  that  each  locomotive  boiler 
shall  have  at  least  two  valves.  Mainte- 
ifence  considerations  indicate  that  these 
should  be  duplicates  and  therefore  each 
has  a  capacity  equal  to  one-half  the  re- 
quired discharge  capacity.  If  a  number 
of  boilers  of  different  capacities  are  to  be 
considered  then  the  smaller  ones  will 
probably  be  provided  with  the  same  valves 
as  the  larger  ones,  for  the  purpose  of 
duplication.  There  are  some  large  boilers 
for  which  three  valves  may  be  necessary 
because  the  necessary  capacity  in  two  units 
might  make  the  valves  abnormally  large 
for  construction  purposes.  It  is  worth 
while  also  to  consider  whether  undesirable 
results  would  come  about  from  opening 
almost  instantaneously  an  escape  of  steam 
from  the  boiler  to  the  atmosphere.  No 
suggestions  are  offered  on  this,  but  it  is 
hoped  that  something  bearing  on  the  sub- 
ject may  be  developed  in  the  discussion. 

L.    D.    LOVEKIN, 

Chief  Engineer  of  the  New  York  Ship- 
Iniilding  Company,   said  in   part: 

During  1903  I  was  asked  to  look  into 
the  rules  and  regulations  as  prescribed  by 
the  Board  of  Supervising  Inspectors  of 
the  United  States  Steamboat  Inspection 
Service  concerning  safety  valves.  This 
rule  was  established  on  grate  surface 
without  regard  to  the  amount  of  coal 
burned  thereon  in  a  given  time. 

The  rule  as  originally  made  served  its 
purpose  without  trouble,  but  it  must  be 
remembered  that  this  rule  was  made  when 


such  things  as  forced  draft  were  almost 
unknown.  Having  in  view  the  difference 
in  the  amount  of  coal  now  burned  per 
square  foot  of  grate  surface,  I  prepared  a 
new  rule  based  on  the  well-known  for- 
mula of  Napier  for  the  flow  of  steam 
through  an  orifice.  The  derivation  of  the 
formula  is  shown  on  page  473. 

It  will  be  noted  that  in  preparing  this 
work,  the  lift  was  based  on  1/32  of  the 
diameter  of  the  valves,  and  while  I  con- 
sider this  to  be  within  good  practical  lim- 
its, I  have  found  a  number  of  safety-valve 
manufacturers  who  differ  with  me  in  re- 
gard to  the  lift.  There  is  one  thing  cer- 
tain, however,  that  whether  the  valve  is 
restricted  to  1/32  of  its  diameter  or  not, 
the  net  area  of  the  opening  should  in  my 
mind  be  at  least  equal  to  the  tabled  re- 
sult indicated  by  the  formula  referred  to. 

I  am  not  in  favor  of  what  might  be 
termed  an  excessive  lift  of  valve,  such  as 
one-fourth  of  the  diameter,  although  some 
of  our  best  recognized  authorities  in  con- 
nection with  the  inspection  of  steamships 
still  adhere  to  that  list,  the  British  Board 
of  Trade  being  one  of  the  foremost  in 
this  connection. 

Unfortunately,  when  I  presented  the 
formula  and  table  of  safety  valves  to  the 
board  of  supervising  inspectors  of  steam 
vessels,  they  failed  to  state  in  their  rules 
and  regulations  that  the  sizes  of  these 
valves  were  based  upon  the  lift  of  the 
valve  being  equal  to  1/32  of  its  diameter, 
and  consequently  left  out  a  most  im- 
portant element.  Under  the  rules  of  the 
board  as  they  now  exist  in  their  printed 
forms  it  is  quite  possible  to  have  a  valve 
of  the  proper  size  in  inches  by  said  rules 
and  yet  be  far  below  the  actual  require- 
ments. 

Having  settled  upon  the  proper  diame- 
ter of  a  safety  valve  according  to  the  for- 
mula, it  will  be  evident  that  the  clear  area 
between  the  valve  and  its  seat,  due  to  hav- 
ing a  lift  equal  to  1/32  of  its  diameter, 
is  only  about  i/ii  of  the  area  of  the  nomi- 
nal diameter  found  by  the  formula. 
Therefore,  it  would  seem  that  the  inlet 
from  the  boiler  to  the  safety  valve  should 
be  equal  in  area  only  to  the  free  area  be- 
tween the  safety  valve  and  its  seat.  This 
would  reduce  the  opening  in  the  boiler  to 
about  i/ii  of  the  area  used  at  the  present 
time. 

Experiments  in  this  line,  however,  have 
shown  that  a  free  entrance  from  the  boiler 
to  the  safety  valve  is  absolutely  necessary 
to  prevent  chattering.  Just  exactly  what 
relation  this  is  I  have  not  determined;  in 


March  9,  1909. 

fact,   it    would    depend    entirely    on    the 
length  of  the  nozzle  or  pipe  connecting  the 
safety  valve  to  the  boiler.     In  most  cases 
safety  valves  arc  bolted  either  directly  to 
the  boiler  or  to  a  casting  bolted  directly 
to  the  boiler  and  which  forms  a  seat  for 
bcith  the   safety  and   stop  valves,  so  that 
there  would  be  very  little  to  gain  in   re- 
ducing the  inlet  nozzle  to  a  safety  valve. 
While  dealing  with  the  inlet  side  of  a 
^  'tVty  valve,  I  think  it  might  be  proper  to 
ng  out   a    feature   seldom   if  ever  dis- 
ced  in   connection   with    safety   valves. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

pipe.     I  have  known  of  other  cases  where 

wc  have  had  joo  pounds  of  br  :•-- 

sure  in  connection   with  water  ' 

ers  and  hav« 

of   steam  tl. 

cause     a     r< 

pounds  and  ■ 

>upcrhcat.      In    tht>     .  the 

valves  were  applied  to  ;.  .  ami 

not  to  the  dry  pipe. 

Some  rules  insist  on  the  outlet  *:... 
being  equivalent  to  the  full  bore  of  die 
safety   valve      This   appears  bo<h    incon* 


47J 


above  the 
ble  wM  cxpeneaccd  m  a  rcMt 
»uil«lm     ttoppMt*^    tkam    pro«M>« 


he  Micty 


..I  ..       .    , 

Puittr  C 
Mrchaniral  I 
and  Moore.  •tii<«niMr< 


ittlrilMfg    art 


DaajK, 

•  llaMMv.  Maxwd 

I  «  y>f  rf  *m  'SaMy 


DERIVATION  OI    THE  INITMD  STATES  BOARD  OF  SUM 
RIT.E    FOR   AREAS  OF  SAFETv   vm  ' 


INSPECTORS* 


Napier's  Rule   for   llow   <  f    steam    through   cirificr<> 
llou    in    piiundt    per    tecond     - 

Absotule   fnt-Mure   X  orta 

This  corrobonited   Ijv   Pcaliody's  ex|>erinients.) 

P         Absolute   pressure  -=  guge    pre«ure     f    i  *, 
II'  ^  r.)unds  discharge<l    i>cr   hour. 
A   ^  Area  of   vulvc   opening   or  orifice 
Hence 

360  X  /< 
7 


II    =    -L-fl X  (*i  X   <»» 


70 

For   Kifety    valve    practice,   cut    this   anMHml   doi»: 
•S   |»er  cent.,   leaving   75   per  cent. 
Ihus 

n    ^-  07.S  X  -^^  X  A  K  P'^    '*'         . 

7  t 

Restrict    tlie   lift  of    valve   to  ,\  of  its  dHtmeter  »» 
_d_ 

ilwii  .'•' 

~      <    K     ■     </=/l,7    X    .  If.  U"l,'.  f.  Mi.     i" . 


A 


>iilr<tt  itiM  iiiK    'i'i'>    \  liiu-    I    T      1         .i:ti     'i   f»rifirr« 

n  -    -    •        "■ 

In  a  v.ilve    u(    tlmiutir    J    Hu-    atn   » 


To  get    If    in  terms  of   anm  of   valvr. 

iiir  d'   its   \-alur  in  tenna  of  t. 


ir  -  -^  X  P  X  -^  X  -^  -  4«ii  X  P*. 


In    safety    v^Ke    prartkv    tWa    wiB    rr.— «.t  itv 

pounds  of    ileam    that    mnsl    mpr    |vf  -  li 

must     be    c<|Ual     to    the    pnupds    (W     wlai     tWi  Ult 

l.illrf     can     rs  •(•■r.ilp      la-r      tw  air  * 


To  nrdiKY    ...■-         .1    -■-.»...»     ».•.»    i««iAdrr  ikna 
'ixintilies    per  wiuanr   Innt   (if    grate  anrlacv    pet   hmm 


ff  M  Ab«>luie 


w  4  0f  t  X  P  X  «.  •»*  m  ■•  o^jora  X  -yr  ■ 


t-foni     wiiu'ii 
k*H    of    pntr 

diHenrtt! 


<l   that    IS   the   plncing   <>f    safety 
•  n  the  «)Utlet  end  of  dry  pip'*   ' 
V     These  dry  pipe*,  as  is  ^' 
tally  consist  of  a   r  r        ' 
'   up|>er  part  of  a  b<" 
t  into  it  so  a«  to  gi\r  m 
'■   full  »re!»  of  ih*"  pip<"       I'> 


to  be  jno  po' 
thai   of  the  ou" 
14  only  iMn  pound*,  a  drot>  "< 

!  prr«sure  lakutg  place  due  u>  * . 

'kT  the  steam  through  ihr  »!.■»«  in  the  dr 


474 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  9,  1909. 


hence  the   relieving  capacity ;   the  diame- 
ter of  the  inlet  opening  at  the  seat  and 


hights  upon  the   chart   are  carefully  cali- 
brated  so   that   the   record   may   be   accu- 


-^ 


l9bSLB5 


It? 


198  ZOO^  LB.5 


196  199  LB5 


FIG.    I.       TYPICAL    HIGH-    AND    LOW-LIFT    SAFETY-VALVE    DIAGRAMS 


rately  measured  to  thousandths  of  ar 
inch. 

In  testing,  the  motor  driving  the  papei 
drum  is  started  and  the  pressure  in  the 
boiler  raised.  The  valve  being  mountec 
directly  upon  the  boiler,  then  pops,  blows 
down  and  closes  under  the  exact  condi- 
tions of  service,  the  pencil  recording  or 
the  chart  the  history  of  its  action. 

•With  this  apparatus,  investigations  and 
tests  were  started  upon  seven  different 
makes  of  4-inch  stationary  safety  valve 
and  these  tests  were  followed  with  simi- 
lar ones  upon  nine  makes  of  muffler  loco- 
motive valve,  six  of  which  were  3>4-inch 


the  valve  lift.  The  former  is  the  nomi- 
nal valve  size,  the  latter  is  the  amount 
the  valve  disk  lifts  vertically  from  the 
seat  when  in  action.  In  calculating  the 
sizes  of  valves  to  be  placed  on  boilers, 
rules  which  do  not  include  a  term  for 
this  valve  lift,  or  an  equivalent,  such  as  a 
term  for  the  effective  area  of  di$charge, 
assume  in  their  derivation  a  lift  for  each 
size  of  valve.  Nearly  all  existing  rules 
and  formulas  are  of  this  kind  which  rate 
all  valves  of  a  given  nominal  size  as  of 
the  same  capacity. 

To  find  what  lifts  valves  of  standard 
make  actually  have  in  practice,  and  thus 
test  the' truth  or  error  of  this  assumption 
that  they  are  approximately  the  same  for 
valves  of  the  same  size,  an  apparatus  has 
been  devised  and  tests  upon  different 
makes  of  valves  conducted.  With  this 
apparatus  not  only  can  the  valve  lift  be 
read  at  any  moment  to  one-thousandth  of 
an  inch,  but  an  exact  permanent  record 
of  the  lift  during  the  blowing  of  the  valve 
is  obtained  somewhat  similar  to  a  steam- 
engine  indicator  diagram  in  appearance 
and  of  a  quite  similar  use  and  value  in 
analyzing  the  action  of  the  valve.  See 
Fig.  I. 

As  appears  in  Figs.  2  and  3,  the  valve  un- 
der test  is  mounted  upon  the  boiler  in  the 
regular  manner,  and  a  small  rod  is  tapped 
into  the  top  end  of  its  spindle,  which  rod 
connects  the  lifting  parts  of  the  valve  di- 
rectly with  a  circular  micrometer  gage, 
the  reading  hand  of  which  indicates  the 
lift  upon  a  large  circular  scale  or  dial. 
The  rod  through  this  gage  case  is  solid, 
maintaining  a  direct  connection  to  the 
pencil  mqvement  of  the  recording  gage 
above.  This  is  a  modified  Edson  record- 
ing gage  with  a  multiplication  in  the  pen- 
cil movement  of  about  8  to  I  and,  with 
the  chart  drum  driven  by  an  electric 
motor,  giving  a  horizontal  time  element 
to  the  record.  The  steam  pressures  are 
noted  and  read  from  a  large  test  gage 
graduated  in  pounds  per  square  inch,  and 
an  electric-spark  device  makes  it  possible  to 
spot  the  chart  at  any  moment,  which  is  done 
as  the  different  even  pound  pressures  dur- 
ing the  blowing  of  the  valve  are  reached. 
The  actual  lift  equivalents  of  the  pencil 


Paper  Spool 


Couaected  tj  Boiler 
as  iu  Service 


FIG.    2.     OUTLINE    DKAWI.NG    OF    THE    S.'S.FETY-VALVE   TESTING    APPARATUS 


March  9.  '909 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGIM 


^S 


I  of  the  valves  being  designed  for  and 
at    200    pounds.      The    stati<.n;ir> 
csts   were  made   upon   a  94  li>ir>c 
water-tube    boiler    made    by     the 
k  &   Wilcox  Company.     The  loco- 
valve  tests  were  made  upon  loco- 
No.    800   of    the    Illinois    Central 
id,    the    valve    being    mounted    di- 
upon   the   top   of   the   main    steam 
This    locomotive    is   a    consolida- 
oii  type,  having  50  square  feet  of  grate 
rea  and  2953  square  feet  of  heating  sur- 


The  recultf  of  the  4-indi  iron-body  eta 

•:   i:  ir\    valve   tests     -  -<l    are    at 

;i.\\>       Of   'h*   *r\  'h*  sv<^- 

imc  lift  at 
closing  O.O-V; 

with  the  highest  hits,  the  averagrt  were 
0.07-inch  at  opening  and  0037 -inch  at 
closing  The  valve  with  the  lowest  lit- 
had  o.03iinch  at  opening  and  0017  im/i 
at  closing,  while  that  with  the  higlirst 
had  o  :  '      !kd  ooS^inch     ! 

the    <■  '^    a*    percenta^ 


Mtm 


nnMttem — joo  far  eoM — m 


tt.irtli 


mI  ttt  real 


AtM6  dMt 

ihcM  rthrtK  *omt  of  than  witk  kM  ikaa 
'  .rd  the  lift  sad  capacity  of  oiWr« 
ihr  MM/  ramc  ■•^  ***  Imu^  m 
'levmc  iralar 
;4aininc  the  nric  of  iW  koard 
>g  iMpMiar«,  tW  dtmaboa  of 
«  :  -  (plaiaad  is  Hr.  Lovrfda't  re- 

marks. Mr   Darling  «y«] : 

In  the  vahrct  to  wittcli  dib  r«ll  it  W 
plied  the  foUowtnc  lifts  »r*  ataaaMd  to 

'-      live.  ooj.    >-iBcli   Ti»T* 

Tahr«.  oof^iadi.  4 
xrli   rahrc.  at5-vK^  . 


•.  :u  tbc  vahrt  bRS 
ren  tbal  t*»* 
agrtcs  very  cJo«cly  with  '' 

;ri    '.\\t    r'.;!r    xni    if   tk«    »* 


w* 


.^,    .        .     ,•    •»■/•    nilr    raofrttK     ttiOQ 
btcd   rilhcf    thi 

\.»Kr   dsaiDctrf   •*;vi*ii'     -■»- _--- 

.|i!alifTin«  andcff  it  or  thai  aa  i<|aiiakM 

Area  be  obtained  by  ih*  m*  of 

^.  (he  rale  wonM  ipfly  Mlla- 

-  of  eahre.    How«T*r. 

•ctnaBy  haa  bni  M. 

the    next    laiicr   k*a   lha«   H   •■<    *f 

rr^ire   Ufl  of  aB  birt   tha    blftK-BH 

which  rrcrace  b  o«^  inek.  ii  b* 

■   cent    of  the   hit   »MtMi»d   ia  the 

r  thr«r  4ii»ch  eal^« 


vafcty  lalTff  or 


•«rlac«  pee 


■!rf    ►, *' 


,-f  1  nelly  lanad  ralM  to 
of  the  ■*« 


V  •••W 


I   !'.         (  !    I' 


results    oi     the     f»)rc«.  ihk' 
f-d   in  this  pap<"r      TIi.    «    I' 
A    (with  the  ex 
•lary  simmer  w' 
'  )  an  abrupt  •>: 


ki:  *«» 


arc  siKiit!- 


476 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  9,   1909. 


done,  shows  that  this  rule  assumes  a  valve 
lift  of  1/33  of  the  valve  diameter  instead 
of  1/32  of  the  United  States  rule.  This 
changing  of  the  assumed  lift  from  1/32  to 
1/33  of  the  valve  diameter  being  the  only 
difference  between  the  two  rules,  the  in- 
adequacy of  the  United  States  rule  just 
referred  to  applies  to  this  more  recent  rule 
of  the  Massachusetts  Board. 


Philadelphia  Rule: 


A  = 


22-5  G 

P  X  8.62 


where 

A  =  Area    of    safety    valve    in    square 

inches  per  square  foot  of  grate. 
G  =  Grate  area  in  square  feet, 
P  ^  Boiler  pressure   (gage). 

The  Philadelphia  rule  now  in  use  came 
from  France  in  1868,  being  the  official  rule 
there  at  that  time,  and  was  adopted  and 
recommended  to  the  City  of  Philadelphia 
by  a  specially  appointed  committee  of  the 
Franklin  Institute ;  although  this  commit- 
tee frankly  acknowledged  in  its  report  that 
it    "had    not    found    the    reasoning    upon 


which  the  rule  had  been  based."  Tlie 
area  A  of  this  rule  is  the  effective  vah\^ 
opening,  or,  as  stated  in  the  Philadelphi;'. 
ordinance  of  July  13,  1868,  "the  least  sec- 
tional area  for  the  discharge  of  steam." 
Consequently,  if  this  rule  were  to  be  ap- 
plied as  its  derivation  by  the  French  re 
quires,  the  lift  of  the  valve  must  be  known 
and  considered  whenever  it  is  used.  How- 
ever, the  example  of  its  application  given 
in  the  ordinance,  as  well  as  that  given  in 
the  original  report  of  the  Franklin  In- 
stitute committee  which  recommended  it. 
show  the  area  A  f.pplied  to  the  nominal 
valve  opening.  In  the  light  of  its  de- 
rivation this  method  of  using  it  takes  as 
the  effective  discharge  area  the  valve  open- 
ing itself,  the  error  of  which  is  very  great. 
Such  usCj  as  specifically  stated  in  the  re- 
port of  the  committee  referred  to,  as- 
sumes a  valve  lift  at  least  %  of  the  valve 
diameter,  i.e.,  the  practically  impossible 
lift  of  i-inch  in  a  4-inch  valve. 

The  principal  defect  of  these  rules  in 
the  light  of  the  preceding  tests  is  that  they 
assume  that  valves  of  the  same  nominal 
size  have  the  same  capacity  and  they  rate 


them  the  same  without  distinction  in  spite 
of  the  fact  that  in  actual  practice  some 
have  but  one-third  of  the  capacity  of  the 
others.  There  are  other  defects  as  have 
been  shown,  such  as  varying  the  assumed 
lift  as  the  valve  diametei;^,  while  in  reality 
with  a  '  given  design  the  lifts  are  more 
nearly  the  same  in  the  different  sizes,  not 
varying  nearly  as  rapidly  as  the  diameters. 
And  further  than  this,  the  actual  lifts  as- 
sumed for  the  larger  valves  are  nearly 
double  the  actual  average  obtained  in  prac- 
tice. 

The  elements  of  a  better  rule  for  deter- 
mining safety-valve  size  exist  in  Napier's 
formula  for  the  flow  of  steam,  combined 
with  the  actual  discharge  area  of  the  valve 
as  determined  by  its  lift.  In  "Steam 
Boilers,"  by  Peabody  and  Miller,  this 
method  of  determining  the  discharge  of 
a  safety  valve  is  used.  The  uncertainty 
of  the  coefficient  of  flow,  that  is,  of  the  con- 
stant to  be  used  in  Napier's  formula  when 
applied  to  the  irregular  steam  discharge 
passages  of  safety  valves  has  probably 
been  largely  responsible  for  the  fact  that 
this  method  of  obtaining  valve  capacities 


SAFETY  VALVE  CAPACITY  TESTS. 
Run  .\t  the  Stirling   Works   of  the   Babcoc-k   .\nd  Wilcox  Co.,   Bahberton,   Ohio,   Nov.  30,  to  DEC.  23,   1908. 


Discharge 

Test 

Duration. 

Size  and  Type 

Adjustment 

Valve 

Discharge 

Area. 

Number. 

of  Test. 

of  Valve. 

Remarks. 

Lift. 

Pressure. 

Superheat. 

per  Hour. 

Note  No.  1. 

Remarks. 

Hours. 

4"  R.F.  iron 

Regular  Adj., 

Inch. 

Lb.  perSq.In. 

Deg.  F. 

Lb.  of  Steain. 

Sq.In. 

6 

3 

stationarv 
4"  R.F.  iron 

Exh.  piped 
Regular  Adj., 

0.0695 

151.7 

43.6 

5,120 

0.6226 

No  back  pressure. 

7 

3 

stationary 
4"  R.F.  iron 

Exh.  piped 
Regular  .-Kdj., 

0.139 

145.4 

45.1 

8,600 

1 .  255 

Back  pressure  2  lb. 
Back    pres.    3    lb., 

8 

3 

stationary 
4"  R.F.  iron 

Exh.  piped 
Regular  Adj., 

0.180 

135 . 7 

49.2 

11,020' 

1.704 

max.  pres.;  lift  > 
depth  of  seat. 

9 

3 

stationary 
3i"  locomotive. 

Exh.  piped 
Regular  Adj., 

0.104.5 

149.4 

41.9 

7,290 

0.9400 

Back  pressure  1  lb. 

10 

2i 

Form  B 
3 J"  locomotive. 

without  muffler 
Regular  Adj., 

0.140 

146.7 

39.0 

8,685 

1.109 

1  Tests  10-12  inclu- 
!^     sive     with     au 

11 

3 

Form  B 
3J"  locomotive. 

without  muffler 
Regular  Adj., 

0.070 

152.5 

38.0 

4,670 

0 . 5493 

f     open     locomo- 
1      tive  valve. 

12 

3 

Form  B 
3i"  locomotive. 

without  muffler 
Regular  Adj., 

0.  105 

1.50.3 

41.2 

6,780 

0 . 8280 

1 
Muffler     valve     in 

13 

3 

Form  B 
3i"  locomotive. 

with  muffler 
Regular  Adj., 

0.1395 

146.3 

38.1 

8,400 

1.106 

this  following  lo- 
comotive tests. 
Test  at  low   steam 

14 

2 

Form  B 
Same,  except 

with  muffler 
Regular  Adj., 

0.140 

52 .  2 

51.3 

3,620 

1.109 

pressure. 
Different     type    of 

15 

2i 

with  lipped  feather 
4"  R.F.  iron 

with  muffler 
Regular  Adj., 

0.140 

146.4 

39.0 

8,600 

1.109 

valve  disk. 
No   back    pressure, 

16 

3 

stationary 

Exh.  piped 

0.140 

138.5 

42.3 

8,770 

1 .  265 

repetition  of  test 
No.  7. 
Back  pressure  3  lb., 

4"  R.F.  iron 

Adj.  ring  one  turn. 

17 

3 

stationary 

iV'  above  Reg.  Posi. 

0.140 

142.0 

50.1 

8,900 

1 .  265 

adj.  ring  position 
changed. 

1 

H"  locomotive. 

Regular  Adj., 

18 

2 

Form  B 
li"  locomotive. 

with  muffler 
Regular  Adj., 

0.  107 

140.8 

23.0 

2,515 

0.4272 

1  Tests  18-21  inclu- 
1      sive.     Unsatis- 

19 

1 

Form  B 

with  muffler 

0 .  060 

151.2 

None 

1,5,50 

0.2038 

'.      factory  as    the 
'      valve  was    too 

H"  locomotive. 

Regular  Adj., 

20 

2i 

Form  B 
H"  locomotive. 

with  muffler 
Regular  Adj., 

0.075 

146.3 

None 

2,025 

0 . 2560 

small    for    the 
I      boiler  used. 

21 

2i 

Form  B 
3i"  R.F.  iron 

with  muffler 
Regular  Adj., 

0.075 

147.7 

None 

1,975 

0.2560 

J 

22 

li 

.stationary 
3i"  R.F.  iron 

Exh.  piped 
Regular  Adj., 

0.070 

146. S 

42.6 

4,320 

0..5493 

No  back  pressure. 
No  back  pres.,  lift> 

23 

3 

.stationarv 
3i"  R.F.  iron 

Exh.  piped 
Regular  Adj., 

0.  140 

139.9 

43.6 

8,360 

1.136 

depth  of  seat. 

24 

3 

stationarv 
3"  R.F.  iron 

Exh.  piped 
Regular  Adj., 

0.  105 

141.6 

48.7 

6,. 300 

0 , 8280 

Tests  24'27  inclu- 

25 

3 

stationary 

Exh.  piped 

0   1,30 

140.  1 

48.4 

0,370 

0 . 8846 

j-     .sive.     No  back 
pressure. 

3"  R.F.  iron 

Regular  Adj.. 

26 

3 

stationary 

Exh.  piped 

0 .  100 

142.8 

45.6 

5.1G0 

0 . 6770 

3"  R.F.  iron 

Regular  Adj., 

1 

27 

2 

stationary 
3"  locomotive. 

Exh.  piped 
Regular  Adj., 

0.070 

142.4 

29.5 

3,705 

0  4716 

J 

28 

3 

Form  B 
3"  locomotive. 

with  muffler 
Regiilar  Adj., 

0.130 

138.4 

48.7 

7,060 

0 . 8846 

29 

3 

Form  B 

with  muffler 

0.090 

139.3 

43  9    . 

4.9.50 

0 . 6034 

Note  No.  1.— The  valves  all  having  4.5°  bevel  seats,  these  areas  are  obtained  from  formula:  a  =  2 .  22  K  £>  X  /  +  1 . 1 1  v  i^  except  where  as  in  tests  Nos.  8, 
18,  23,  25,  the  valve  lift  is  greater  than  the  depth  of  the  valve  .seat,  where  the  following  formula  is  used:     a-=2.22Xl>Xf/-rlllXd'-l-'rx/>X(/  —  a)- 

o  =  discharge  area  fsq. in.).     Z>  =  valve  dia.  (in.).    /  =  valve  lift  (in.),     f/ =  depth  of  valve  seat  (in.). 

Note  No.  2. — The  four  wings  of  the  valve  feather  or  disk  probably  reduce  the  How  slightly,  but  as  these  are  cut  away  at  the  .seat  a  definite  correction 
of  the  exit  areas  for  them  is  impossible.     Further,  the  formula  constants  are  desired  for  the  valves  as  made. 


March  9,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


C7 


has  not  been  more  generally  used.  To  de- 
termine what  this  constant  or  coefficient  of 
flf-w  is  and  how  it  is  affected  by  variations 
in  valve  design  and  adjustment,  an  ex- 
tended series  of  tests  have  recently  been 
ct>nductcd  at  the  Stirling  department  of 
the  Babcock  &  Wilcox  Company,  at  Bar- 
"btrton,  Ohio. 

A  37.vhorsepower  class  K  No.  ao  Stirl- 
ing boiler,  fired  with  a  Stirling  chain  grate, 
with  a  t  Jtal  grate  area  of  loi  square  feet, 
was  used.    This  boiler  contained  a  U-typc 
•  T  designed  for  a  superheat  of 
ilircnheit. 
1  he    valves    tested    consisted    of    a    .V, 
and   a   4-inch   iron   stationary   valve. 
i    a    I':-,   y   and    3'<-inch    locomotive 
.  e,   the   latter   with   and   without   muf- 
^.    These  six  valves  were  all  previously 
•.d   and   adjusted   on   steam.     Without 
tiging   the   position   of   the   valve   disk 
and  ring  the  springs  of  these  valves  wtr.- 
t^<•n  removed  and  solid  spindh-s.  tlirr.iil«.l 
•th  a  lopitch  thread),  inserted  thr<'iit;ti 
valve  casing  above.     Upon  the  top  cn<l-. 
These  spindles  were  placed  hand  wheels 
iuated    with    100   divisions,    shown    in 
4  as  applied  to  the  locomotive  valves, 
spindle    and    graduated    wheel    being 
liar   to   that    used   with   the   stationary 
\rs.      By   this  means  the   valve   lift   to 
iisandths  of  an  inch  was  definitely  set 
each   test   and   the   necessity    for   con 
nt  valvc-Iift  readings  with   that   source 
.-rror  eliminated.     In  all  JO  tests  were 
1,   fifteen   were  3  hours   long,   four   7]/j 
ir»,  three  2  hours  and  seven  of  shorter 
ration. 

1  ests  numbered  i  to  5  were  preliminary 
IS    of    but    one    hour    or    less    apiece. 
!      the      records     of      them     arc     thu> 
in   the  a< 
c    lifts,    .1 
prcsMirc    an«l    superiieat,    antl    the    ^tr.nn 
«?iMh.-irgc-  in  (Kiunds  per  hour  of  each  of 
other  t^sts     T^e  discharge  areas  have 
n  figured  f<>r  45-«lcgree  scats  from  the 
muLi 


constant  indicate*  the  followiof  ooocln- 
sions: 

( I  >  Iftrrennnif   ftr   nherm^    nh*    iH*»in 
pr. 

does    no!   attect    f 
checking     the     ap;^  ^ 

fonmila  m  that   respect. 

in  Radically    changing    the    -..'^i.^    u.. 
the  valve  disk  outside  of  the  scat  at  the 
huddling  or  •'         '     .   chamber. 
d'jcs  not  aff'  ittant  or 

\n  test  So.  15  ti.i 
projrrtmv*    lip.    r»- 
str 
th< 

in  tests  10  and  14.  where  the  hp  was  cat 
entirely  away,  as  in  Fig.  4.  giving  a  com- 
paratively unobstructed  flow  to  the  dis- 
charging steam. 

(3)  Moving    the    valve- adjusting    ring 


u  obvMMMlv  m 


•eeord  wtik  Ikr  oikcr  fc«r 
M.     ThM  average  cue 

.    11  'he  f->f  !!.iU 


•VwM    be  is 

^rr   .toil  alt.  Mid 


Tcml   45-degrcc 

charge   area    U,    wi^r     i    «itg-iT    ^{.pT 'n 

malion. 

sm*  4$       ^ 

in    w  iiiv  (I    I     r«|ttals   the 

in  inches  and  D  the 

•  titnttng  thu  in  the  lofty  tm 


^  p^roaiaMtMa 
alalltflyiag    the 


1'%'ri'T  1 

f  !i  tkr 
'mi 

".  J  »  r     rw  <• 

'    M  W* 

ft:  < 

mala 

and   th' 

jUkixtai 

•' 

■\}U*:    f- 

ric  4-    vAun  tmcnon 


•t  X  L  +  i.ii  X  L*.  through  much  more  than  its  cotnple* 


hfi    <M«   M 


rre  a  equals  the  effective  area  in  vjuarr 
hes.  d  the  %-alve  diameter  in  inches  and 
'Ue  valve  lift  in  inches. 
In  tests  8  and  23.  where  the  width  of 
Ive  seat  was  oai.simh  and  oiK^  ituh. 
and  the  valve 
«•  thr  firofh  of  fhr 


r.linii     ihr      ratt  • 


/ »  ■■  »«  ■ 


these    results   is    m    hxing    .1    f 
ihr  fidw  of  Napier's  formula  a^ 
'riy    valves.      This    formula 
•  iic  derivation  of  the  board  of  tui"  <  ><->' 
inspectors'  rule)  may  be  stalefl  as 

R  =  C  X  o  X  P. 

in   which   /•    rquals   the   pound*   of 
'•"charged  per  hour  and  T  is  a  con  • 
a  and   /'  being  given   for  the  tr 

Is   flif.-i  •'%      *  '  '  ' 

I  lk;nnrik:  ,g  the  valoM  of  thi 


1      lo      g1*« 


1  fill  ion »  lndlfate<1 


4/8 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER, 


March  9,   1909. 


exists,  place  these  constants  on  the  safe 
side.  The  capacities  of  the  stationary  and 
locomotive  valves,  the  lift-test  results  of 
which  are  summarized  in  the  foregoing, 
have  been  figured  from  this  formula,  tak- 
ing the  valve  lifts  at  opening  and  in 
pounds  of  steam  per  hour,  and  are  as 
follows : 

Of  the  seven  4-inch  iron-body  station- 
ary valves,  the  average  capacity  at  200 
pounds  pressure  is  7370  pounds  per 
hour,  the  smallest  capacity  valve  (fig- 
ured for  a  flat  seat)  has  a  capacity  of 
3960  pounds,  the  largest  12,400  pounds ; 
and  of  the  six  3V2-inch  muffler  locomotive 
valves  at  200  pounds  pressure,  the  average 
capacity  is  6060  pounds  per  hour,  the 
smallest  4020  pounds,  the  largest  11,050 
pounds. 

To  make  the  use  of  the  rule  more 
direct  where  the  evaporation  of  the 
boiler  is  only  indirectly  known  it  may  be 
expressed  in  terms  of  the  boiler-heating 
surface  or  grate  area.  This  modification 
consists  merely  in  substituting  for  the 
term  E  (pounds  of  total  evaporation  per 
hour)  a  term  H  (square  feet  of  total 
heating  surface)  multiplied  by  pounds  of 
water  per  square  foot  of  heating  surface 
per  hour  which  the  boiler  will  evaporate. 
Evidently  the  value  of  these  modified  forms 
of  the  formula  depends  upon  the  proper  se- 
lection of  average  boiler  evaporation  figures 
for  different  types  of  boiler  and  also  upon 
the  possibility  of  so  grouping  these  boiler 
types  that  average  figures  can  be  thus 
selected.  This  modified  form  of  the  for- 
mula  is 


D  =  C  X 


H 


LX  P 


in  which  H  equals  the  total  boiler  heat- 
ing surface  in  square  feet  and  C  is  a 
constant. 

Values  of  the  constant  for  different 
types  of  boiler  and  service  have  been  se- 
lected. These  constants  are  susceptible, 
of  course,  to  endless  discussion  among 
manufacturers  and  it  is  undoubtedly  more 
satisfactory  where  any  question  arises  to 
use  the  form  containing  the  term  E  itself. 
Nevertheless  the  form  containing  the 
term  H  is  more  direct  in  its  application 
and  it  is  believed  that  the  values  given 
in  the  following  for-  the  constant  will 
prove  serviceable.  In  applying  the  form- 
ula in  this  form  rather  than  the  original 
one  containing  the  evaporation  term  E,  it 
should  be  remembered  that  these  con- 
stants are  based  upon  average  propor- 
tions and,  therefore,  should  not  be  used 
for  boilers  in  which  any  abnormal  pro- 
portions or  relations  between  grate  area, 
heating  surface,  etc.,  exist. 

For  cylindrical  multitubular,  vertical 
and  water-tube  stationary  boilers  a  con- 
'^tant  of  0.068  is  suggested.  This  is  based 
upon  an  average  evaporation  of  3J^ 
pounds  of  water  per  square  foot  of  heat- 
ing surface  per  hour,  with  an  overload 
capacity  of  100  per  cent.,  giving  7  pounds 


per   square   foot   of   heating   surface,   the 
figure  used  in  obtaining  the  constant. 

For  water-tube  marine  and  Scotch  ma- 
rine toilers,  the  suggested  constant  is 
0.095.  This  is  based  upon  an  overload  or 
maximum  evaporation  of  10  pounds  of 
water  per  square  foot  of  heating  surface 
per  hour. 

For  locomotive  valves  the  constant  is 
0.055,  determined  experimentally  as  ex- 
plained in  what  follows :  In  locomotive 
practice  there  are  special  conditions  to  be 
considered  which  separate  it  from  regular 
stationary  and  marine  work.  In  the  first 
place  the  maximum  evaporation  of  a  loco- 
motive is  only  possible  with  the  maximum 
draft  obtained  when  the  cylinders  are  ex- 
hausting up  the  stack,  at  which  time  the 
throttle  is  necessarily  open.  The  throttle 
being  open  is  drawing  some  of  the  steam 
and,  therefore,  the  safety  valves  on  a 
locomotive  can  never  receive  the  full 
maximum  evaporation  of  the  boiler.  Just 
what  per  cent,  of  this  maximum  evapora- 
tion the  valve  must  be  able  to  relieve 
under  the  most  severe  conditions  can  only 
be  determined  experimentally.  Evidently 
the  severest  conditions  obtain  when  an 
engineman,  after  a  long,  hard,  uphill  haul, 
with  a  full  glass  of  water  and  full  pres- 
sure, reaches  the  top  of  the  hill  and  sud- 
denly shuts  off  his  throttle  and  injectors. 
The  work  on  the  hill  has  got  the  engine 
steaming  to  its  maximum  and  the  sudden 
closing  of  throttle  and  injectors  forces  all 
the  steam  through  the  safety  valves.  Of 
course,  the  minute  the  throttle  is  closed 
the  steaming  quickly  falls  ofT  and  it  is  at 
just  that  moment  that  the  severest  test 
upon  the  valves  comes. 

A  large  number  of  service  tests  have 
been  conducted  to  determine  this  con- 
stant. The  size  of  the  valves  upon  a  lo- 
comotive has  been  increased  or  decreased 
until  one  valve  would  just  handle  the 
maximum  steam  generation  and,  the  loco- 
motive heating  surface  being  known,  the 
formula  was  figured  back  to  obtain  the 
constant.  Other  special  conditions  were 
considered,  such  as  the  liability  in  loco- 
motive practice  to  a  not  infrequent  occur- 
rence of  the  most  severe  conditions;  the 
exceptionally  severe  service  which  loco- 
motive safety  valves  receive;  and  the  ad- 
visability on  locomotives  to  provide  a 
substantial  excess  valve  capacity. 

As  to  the  method  of  applying  the  pro- 
posed safety-valve  capacity  rule  in  prac- 
tice, manufacturers  could  be  asked  to 
specify  the  capacities  of  their  valves, 
stamping  them  upon  them  as  the  opening 
and  closing  pressures  are  now  done.  This 
would  necessitate  no  extra  work,  only  the 
time  required  in  the  stamping,  because  for 
valves  of  the  same  size  and  design  giving 
practically  the  same  lift  this  would  have 
to  be  determined  but  once,  which  of  itself 
is  but  a  moment's  work  with  the  small 
portable  lift  gage  now  available.  The 
specifying  of  safety  valves  by  a  designing 
engineer  could  then  be  as  definite  a  prob- 


lem as  is  that  of  other  pieces  of  apparatus. 
Whatever  views  are  held,  as  to  the  ad- 
vantages of  high  or  low  lifts,  there  can  be 
no  question,  it  would  seem,  as  to  the  ad- 
vantage of  knowing  what  this  lift  actually 
is,  as  would  be  shown  in  this  specifying  by 
manufacturers  of  the  capacities  of  their 
valves.  Further,  as  to  the  feasibility  of 
adopting  such  a  rule  (which  incorporates 
the  valve  lift)  in  statutes  governing  valve 
sizes,  this  would  involve  the  granting  and 
obtaining  by  manufacturers  of  a  legal  rat- 
ing for  valve  designs  based  upon  their 
demonstrated  lifts. 


Wrought  Pipe 


By  H.  E.  Schuler 


At  one  time  I  worked  in  the  pipe  shop 
of  a  large  manufacturing  concern  and 
became  more  or  less  familiar  with  the 
mistakes  made  by  engineers  and  others 
in  ordering  pipe. 

Standard  pipe  is  always  measured  on 
the  inside  (that  is  2-inch  pipe  measures 
2  inches  inside  diameter,  etc.)  up  to  and 
including  12-inch  pipe.  Above  12-inch, 
pipe  is  always  measured  on  the  outside 
and  is  called  "O.D.,"  or  outside-diameter 
pipe.  Extra-strong  and  double-extra- 
strong  pipe  are  very  nearly  of  the  same 
outside  diameter  as  standard  pipe,  the 
extra  thickness  being  on  the  inside,  there- 
by decreasing  the  inside  diameter  or  area 
of  the  pipe.  For  this  reason  no  special 
die  is  required  to  thread  them. 

In  ordering  pipe  always  remember  that 
standard  pipe  comes  threaded,  with  a 
coupling  on  one  end,  up  to  and  including 
12-inch  pipe,  and  above  this  size,  or  all 
"O.D."  pipe,  the  pipe  comes  with  plain 
ends  and  an  extra  charge  is  made  for 
threads  and  coupling*  The  thickness 
of  "O.D."  pipe  must  be  specified  if  you 
wish  it  threaded,  as  it  is  impractical  to 
thread  this  pipe  when  less  than  s/i6 
inch  in  thickness.  Extra-strong  and 
double-extra-strong  pipe  also  come  with 
plain  ends  and  an  extra  charge  is  made 
for  threads  and  couplings. 

A  great  many  engineers  in  ordering  pipe 
simply  specify  a  certain  .number  of  feet 
of  wrought  pipe  of  certain  size  and  labor 
under  the  delusion  that  they  are  getting 
wrought-iron  pipe  when  they  are  really 
getting  wrought-steel  pipe. 

If  you  wish  wrought-iron  pipe  you  must 
specify:  "This  pipe  must  be  strictly 
wrought-iron."  Wrought-iron  pipe  costs 
a  little  more  than  wrought-steel  pipe  and 
the  bursting  pressure  is  considerably  less. 

A  great  .  many  engineers  claim  that 
wrought-iron  pipe  is  more  durable  than 
and  not  as  susceptible  to  corrosion  as 
wrought-steel  pipe  and  are  willing  to  pay 
a  little  more  for  it.  Of  course,  the  safe 
working  pressure  of  any  pipe  varies  with 
the  inside  diameter  and  the  thickness;  also 


March  9,  1909. 


I'OW  ER'AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


the  weld,  which  is  always  an  uncertain 
factor.  From  %-  to  j-inch  pipe  can  be 
secured  in  the  butt  weld  and  from  i^i- 
inch  up  in  the  lap  weld. 

Pipe  from  'A-  to  3-inch  is  tested  at  from 
600  to  1000  pounds,  and  3-inch  to  15- 
inch  at  from  500  to  1000  |>ounds,  before 
leaving  the  factory.  Several  lenKths 
of  8-  and  lo-inch  standard  pipe  were 
tested  and  burst  at  from  1800  to  3J00 
ds  pressure,  but  of  course  there  arc 
<r5,  such  as  expansion,  joints,  strains 
due  to  improperly  hangint;  threads,  etc.. 
which  should  be  taken  into  consideration 
when  installing  pipe.  Pieces  of  pipe  12 
inches  or  under  in  length  are  called  nip- 
ples and  arc  measured  from  cpd  to  end 
the  same  as  pipe  and  not  Inrtween  the 
thrtads,  as  thought  by  some  people. 

Some  of  the  defects  to  l.x.k  for  in 
wrought  pipe  are  ptnir  threaiis,  brittle- 
ness,  defective  welds,  flat  places  anil  hanl 
spots.  The  most  common  complaint  is 
of  poor  threads,  and  nine  times  in  ten 
this  complaint  would  not  be  registered  if 
a  little  ju«lgment  were  used  by  the  en- 
gineer or  steanititter.  Quite  often  the 
end  of  pipe  is  jammed  against  some- 
thing which  pushes  the  first  thri-.nd  hack 
•gainst  the  second,  making  it  itniKtssible 
to  start  the  fitting  on  the  pipe.  A  few 
minutes'  work  with  the  hammer  and  cold 
chisel  repairs  this  and  the  fitting  goes 
on  all  right.  Sometimes  a  thread  or  two 
iirr  sli(;htly  bn  ken,  but  if  one  or  two 
ids  are  completely  stripped  from  the 
it  will  not  spoil  a  properly  made 
jomt. 

When  the  pipe  breaks  off  in  layers  just 

ahead   of   or   between   the   cutting   points 

of  the  dies  it  is  defective  and  should  be 

returned.      There   are    several    good   dies 

'  t    for    threacling    pip<'.    also 

ones,    and    some    ju<lK'i»ent 

III  ho  used  in  purchasing  a  set.     Per- 

ilty    1    always    buy    an   adjustable   die 

SO  that  in  cutting  pipe   l'4-inch  or  over 

'   -TH   take  two  cuts,  therelty  decreasing 

labor.     .'Xdjustable  dies  arc  also  very 

I  :i  cutting  special  threac^  for  *")' 

pu:, 


^r     Frrderick    W     Taytrr.    pn*t  prrst- 
■  of  the  ,^mc^icall  S-khIv  .>i  M.,ii.iiii 


|J<. 


Square  Plaited  Ropes 


Sijuare  plaited  ropes,  which  are,  we  Ijc- 
lieve,  of  German  origin,  are  much  more 
extensively  used  abroad  than  in  thu  cotm* 
try.     Quite   recently,   however,   Vetthardt 
&  Co..  Limited,  of  j6  and  17  Hu*h  bite. 
Cannon   street.    E.   C.,   ' 
agency    here   and    has 
several   factories  with   this 
From  what  we  can  gather   - 


r»pf%  are  maAf  of  hemp  or  ( ^nam.  md 


•M    that 


no.    I.    ^'V\u}    w   I 


give  excellent  results  and  to  be  very 
durable.  The  accom(»anying  cngravmg 
shows    t.         '  of    this    rope      1 

are    desi.  lally    for    driving 

not    for  cubic    Murk,  as  it   is   rr 
that  they  will  not  turn,  and  arc.  t 
unsuitable  for  the  latter  use.     The  sever- 
est work  to  which  any  form  of  rope  may 
be  submitted  it  probably  Ibc  driving  of 


V.  .... 
•qoare  |' 
that    the 
■i«e    the 


Ho 


<4 
n 


ol 


■  III     rrj>l*<r     Mid 

•  a  ^Mtdl  roviid 
m   to  fo   n  pit 


B«c     tW     «q«ar« 


piarr« 


\  »•      '-■■r'l       ITinf r^rMfr..'       >| 


wb> 


t         I 


vm 


1 


at 


*'-l 


i>lr  rtc  i.  ftoVAa  Mini  \n 

.art 

rolling  mills.     Ytt  many  f 
■ I  .,.....i_ 


M    W 


means  of  arranging  for  the     gr  i-ln  k' 
standardixing.  as   far  a«   |m>i  1' ' 
refractory  materials,  such  a 
nesiie,   etc.   used   in   the   con, i,...  ..■■.. 
Mrnaces.  kilns  and  oven* 


1i 


48o 

POWER 

MP^The,  Engineer 

DEVOTED  TO    THE  GENERATION   AND 
TRANSMISSION   OF  POWER 

Issued  Weekly  by  the 

Hill  Publishing  Company 

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POWER  AND  THE  E^^GINEER. 
Progressiveness  and    Asininity 


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Cable  address,  "  Powpub,"  N.  Y. 
Business  Telegraph  Code. 


CIRCULATIOS    STATEMEXT 
During     1908    we    printed    and    circulated 
1,836,000  copies  of  Power. 

Our  circulation  for  February,  1909,  was 
(weekly  and    monthly)   151,000. 

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Contents  page 

Plant  in  Public  Service  Building,  Milwaukee  441 
The  Use  of  Wooden  Rings  in  Water  Mains. .  446 
A  New  Binding  Agent  for  Coal  Briquets.  .  .  .  447 
Guide  to  Small  Station  Switchboard  Design.   448 

Bridgewalls  in  Theory  and  Practice 452 

Draining  High- Pressure  Steam  Lines 4.54 

Wet  versus  Dry  Compression 457 

Practical  Letters  from  Practical  Men: 

Hydraulically  Operated  Valves  for  Cur- 
tis Steam  Turbines ....  Pressure  Re- 
quired to  Lift  a  Check  Valve.  ..  .Re- 
pairing a  Crank  Disk ....  Freak  Lubri- 
cator Diagram ....  An  Obscure  Electric 
Circuit  Trouble. ...  An  Exhaust  Steam 
Water  Heater....  An  Engine  Turning 
Device ....  More  Frequent  Internal  In- 
spection ....  Method  of  Adjusting  Pis- 
tons. ..  .Two  Loose  Nuts. ..  Movable 
Pipe  Vise  Support ....  Lighting  Problem 
....  Why  Some  Engineers  Do  Not  Read 
....  Using  a  Breast  Drill ....  Flue  Gas 
Sampler ....  Rope  Drive  for  Governor 
....  .\utomatic  Device  for  Sounding 
Whistle  .Marm ....  Piping  Vessels  With- 
out Threading  or  Soldering.  ..  .Trans- 
former Connections.  ..  .Substitute  for 
Air  Valves.  . .  .Babbitting  a  Large  Main 
Bearing.  .  .  .Dashpot  Does  Not  Seat.  .  .  . 
Method  of  Lubricating  Elevator  Plung- 
ers. .  .  .The  "Contraflo"  Condenser.  .  .  . 
Getting  Complete  Combustion ....  Fix- 
ing Loose  Crank  Pins 4.59-468 

Some  Useful  Les.sons  of  Limewater 469 

Credit  for  Low  Pressure  Turbines 471 

Safety  Valves 472 

Wrought  Pipe 478 

Square  Plaited  Ropes 479 

Editorials 480-481 


There  is  really  a  very  narrow  line  of 
separation  between  real,  commendable 
progressiveness  and  a  stupid  belief  in 
one's  ability  to  upset  natural  laws.  The 
same  underlying  spirit  produces  both  the 
brilliant  investigator  and  discoverer  and 
the  pitiable  dupe  of  his  own  ignonmce 
who  firmly  believes  in  perpetual  motion 
and  the  creation  of  energy — that  is,  un- 
willingness to  accept  as  final  the  dicta  of 
other  seekers  after  knowledge.  If  we  all 
were  content  with  the  fruits  of  investiga- 
tions made  by  dead  and  gone  physicists 
and  engineers  there  would  be  no  more 
progress  in  applied  physics  and  engineer- 
ing ;  neither  would  there  be  the  peren- 
nial crop  of  perpetual-motion  and  simi- 
lar misguided  inventors. 

There  is  one  supreme  test,  however, 
which  invariably  differentiates  an  intelli- 
gent investigator  from  a  self-centered 
fool:  the  application  of  established  natu- 
ral laws  to  his  ideas.  The  work  of  the 
former  type  of  man  is  always  in  con- 
formity with  the  fundamental  laws  of  na- 
ture which  have  been  proved  to  be  sound, 
while  that  of  the  false  prophet  is  always 
based  on  a  violent  distortion  or  total  dis- 
regard of  all  physical  laws  applying  to  his 
problem;  the  former  never  tries  to  upset 
the  laws  of  gravity  and  of  the  conserva- 
tion of  energy,  whereas  the  latter  invari- 
ably manifests  a  lofty  contempt  for  theory 
and  a  valiant  determination  to  force 
tribute  from  Nature  without  giving  up  an 
equivalent. 

Safety  Valves 

For  years  the  rule  of  the  Board  of 
Supervising  Inspectors  of  the  Steamboat 
Inspection  Service  of  the  United  States, 
which  was  our  principal  if  not  our  only 
official  expression  upon  the  subject  of 
safety-valve  capacity,  was  one  square 
inch  of  safety-valve  area  for  each  three 
square  feet  of  grate  surface.  Gradually 
it  became  apparent  that  the  grate  surface, 
apart  from  the  rate  of  combustion,  was 
no  measure  of  the  steam-making  capacity 
of  a  boiler,  and  that  a  given  orifice  would 
discharge  more  steam  at  a  higher  than 
at  a  lower  pressure,  in  fact,  that  the 
weight  discharged  per  unit  of  time  was  in 
direct  proportion  to  the  absolute  pres- 
sure. 

Five  years  ago  the  board  adopted  the 
following  formula  devised  by  L.  D.  Love- 
kin,  chief  engineer  of  the  New  York 
Shipbuilding   Company : 

A       _  n  9n7d    ^'^0^^  °f  steam  per  hour 
~    '  Absolute  pressure 

The  derivation  of  this  formula  is  ex- 
plained on  page  473.  It  is  based  upon 
Napier's  approximate  formula  for  the 
flow  of  steam  through  an  orifice : 

A  P 


March  9,  1909. 

where  the  weight,  W,  is  in  pounds  per 
second,  the  area  A  in  square  inches  and 
pressure  P  in   pounds   absolute. 

Mr.  Lovekin's  formula  is  based  upon 
the  assumption  that  the  valve  lifts  one- 
thirty-second  of  its  diameter,  i.e.,  that  a 
one-inch  valve  will  lift  one-thirty-second 
of  an  inch  and  a  si.x-inch  si.x-thirty-sec- 
onds,  or  three-sixtenths ;  and  the  coef- 
ficient 0.2074  comes  by  multiplying  the  70 
of  Napier's  formula  by  32  and  dividing 
by  3600,  to  reduce  the  area  required  to 
release  the  given  weight  in  a  second  to 
that  required  to  release  it  in  an  hour,  by 
0.75  chosen  arbitrarily  "for  safety"  and  by 
4,  which  is  the  4  of  the  common  expres- 
sion   for    area : 


Area  =  d* 


=  d*  0.7854, 


the  IT  canceling  out.  If  the  weight  W  is 
taken  as  per  square  foot  of  grate  sur- 
face the  area  must,  of  course,  be  multi- 
plied by  the  number  of  square  feet  of 
grate  surface  involved,  and  this  may  be 
an  excuse  for  striving  for  accuracy  in 
the  coefficient,  for  any  inacuracy  would 
be  multiplied  in  proportion;  but  it  is  dif- 
ficult to  see  the  necessity  or  sense,  in  a 
formula  based  upon  Napier's  confessed 
approximation,  involving  an  assumed 
lift,  which  the  valve  will  hit  only  by  ac- 
cident, including  an  arbitrarily  chosen 
factor  of  safety,  and  ttsed  to  indicate  the 
next  larger  size  of  valve  commercially 
available,  of  carrying  the  coefficient  out 
to  four  places  of  decimals.  If  the  formula 
had  been  written : 


A  =  0.2, 


W 


it  would  have  been  more  simple  and 
sensible  and  would  have  indicated  the 
same  size  of  valve  in  any  case  except 
where  the  present  rule  falls  just  above 
an    available   size. 

But  the  experiments  made  by  Mr. 
Darling  and  reported  on  pages  473  -t->  ^^ 
well  as  the  discussion  at  the  meeting  at 
which  the  paper  was  presented,  brought 
out  the  fact  that  safety  valves  do  not 
lift  in  proportion  to  their  diameters;  that 
the  lift  is  practically  the  same  for  a  large, 
as  for  a  small  valve,  smaller  for  the 
larger  valve  if  anything,  and  is  around 
three-thirty-seconds  of  an  inch  for  all 
valves  in  normal  condition.  The  recogni- 
tion of  this  fact  makes  a  beautifully 
simple   formula   possible. 

The  area  available  for  the  discharge 
of  steam  with  a  flat-seated  valve  is  thfe 
product  of  the  circumference  and  the  lift, 
or  with  a  beveled  seat,  the  above  pro- 
duct multiplied  by  the  sine  of  the  angle 
which  the  seat  makes  with  the  vertical 
axis.     If  the   Napier  formula, 


W  = 


A  P 
70 


W  = 


70 


be   multiplied   by   3600   to   express    W  in 
pounds    of    steam    to    be    discharged    per 


March  g,  i^oy. 


IHJWER  AND  THE  ENGINKRR. 


h<-.nr   instead   of   per   second,   and    trans- 
'    to    indicate    the    area    required. 
•  i*ad : 

^^   3600  p  • 

\i  .1  be  taken  a*  the  product  of  the 
circunifcrencc  and  the  lift  (dX3.«4'<»X 
/).  and  the  lift  l>c  aN-.unu-d  as  onc-six- 
tcvnth  of  an   inch, 

16  3600  r 


(i  = 


16  X  70  X   H' 


anil 


5.1416  X  3600  P  ' 


almost  exactly. 

UividiiiK  the  weight  of  Meam  to  be  de- 
livered per  hour  by  the  absolute  pressure 
of    that    steam    and    moving    the    decimal 
point    one    place    to   the    left    would   give 
the    diameter   of   valve    required    directly, 
without  any   reference  to  tables  of  areas 
the    available    area    varying    directly 
c  dianu-ter.  the  result  can  lie  prop«jr- 
>1  among  a  numlnrr  of  valves,  if  ttx> 
■    for  one,  by  simple  division.     If  the 
rule  indicated    1.2  inches  of  diameter  two 
6-inch,    or    three    4  inch    valves   could    be 
used. 

l-"or  the  common  45 -degree  beveled  seat 

the  constant  would  Income   1 .4;  but  if  the 

lift    l)e    assumed    to   l>e   0.07 1 4    instead   of 

onr  sixteenth   or  ooiiJS   the   constant    will 

'II    to   0.1.      This    is    less    than    iff. 

Lovekin's    rule    has     l>een     assuming 

that    a    three-inch     valve    lifts  /g  or  /|, 

-■•  '  .nny  maker  will  g\iarantee  a  valve  of 

^i2e  to  lift  three  thirty -seconds,  when 

valve    pops,   and     to     stand     at     that 

'    so   long   as   the   pressure    is   main- 

'1.     Should  the  pressure  increase  the 

is    free    to  o|»en   farther,  and   more 

c  higher  pressure  steam  will  escape 

:gh  the  same  area  due  to  its  greater 

iiy   so -that  there  is  an  ample  mar- 

')f    safety.      Mr.    I^vekin's    rule    has 

'  d  ample  and  the  proposed  rule  gives 

:    ■    results  for  valves  i/14  imhr*  iti 

■111'  re<|uires    lc»s   diainrtrr   of    \.i!\c 

■V    this    and    more    than    his    forin 

for     diameters     greater     than     -     . 

I  tie  puriMtse  f)f  a  rule  for  safety  valve* 
1*    iKil    to    ilrtrrinine    with-  malhcni.ir 
■'     ision  the  e^act  area  rcqui^d  to 
K'e  a  given  anHHint  of  steim  (xr 
'    "  licale  a  «i»e  of 

for    that    srr 


In    estimating    the    fjnamtty    of    «tram 


the  maximum   rate  oi   • 

lew    minutes   is   apt   to    .   . 

ceed  the  average  rate.     The 

of  a  boiler  for  an  hour  is  * 

result  of  varying  conditions 

rale   of   feed.   etc. 

I  r.i!i'>ii     iiiulrr     la\ 

Im:    '  >     niorc    llk^ii    iIm:    itkcra^c 

evap  r    thr   h-^.tr 

The    I  of 

the  fact   •  .  so 

closely  to  the  discharge  from  a  safety 
valve  is  very  gratifying.  It  remains  to 
be  determined  if  any  alktwance  is  re- 
quired for  superheated  steam  within  the 
limits  of  ordinary  practice. 


Tnrr  M  t«»  »kirffs  FaknaMl.  k  is  Ml 
-frnt^  that  m  criiMi 

a    rrvtttrf    of    t*>1    it 


••■tii;«-r.»t 

nuny   < 

iLi^uiriog  the 


The  Cmk  oI 


Srrrral  times  we  ba«T  Iwsrd  ol  e^er- 
ating  engine* IS  wtw  cUob  io  mc   imirj 


Be  Exact 


used  it 
dift.  ' 
tion 


In  all  ;  • 

thought    . 

and  more  especially  do*  v  to  en- 

gineering.    .Mthough  a  ^  ny  engi- 

neers    are.     perhaps,     exact     enough     in 
thought,   there   is   a   general   tendency   to 
be    careless    in    the    expression    of    the 
thought.     To  a  certain  extent  this  is  only 
natural,  for  back  of  the  statement,  in  the 
mind  of  the  writer,   is    • 
meaning  to  him  is  prrr 
the  reader,  who  »r 
the   statement   n  .t 
but    is  of^n   : 

carelessness    1:.  -.^      -      

leave  its  mark,  and  in  lime  the  careless 
writer  becomes  the  careless  thinker;  and 
the  same  characteristic  will  creep  into  the 


c:.t;i:utr. 

M  inv    rrrors    have   Srrn   ca««ef|   }r\    the 


Lust)  niary  use  of  the  word  in  connec- 
tion with  steam  practice  refrr.  ».,  <>rc*« 
sures    per    square    inch    abi  .  rt- 

sure  of  •'        ' '" 

an  onlin 


■   qae»- 
hate   r«favtc<d 


th 


(scr.    t«    Muall.  iW    MMwber    wbo    Ihs« 

brought  tr"uM«>  aim^  thrfT-.««t«rs  is  lar^. 

In  J  ntet  d  aiat 

years    .  r>«-i»f    "»-jt 
once    ser- 

menltoncti  -  ■  ■!.-■«» 

ble    than   that  <M  to 


•He 


strips    »' 

I. ...     <  >• 


-■■» 
<4 


dan 


k«U4  to  K>«wk. 


Tnc  Mofv 


rtiir    i« 
lit.  is  nnf 
fart*,  if.  as  it  a(>t' 

ally   the   same    '■■' 

alve.    and    will,    we   hrli 
•■«    ample    Io    ■'     '    - 
'int  of  steam.  ' 


482 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  9,   1909. 


Power  Plant  Machinery  and   Appliances 

Original     Descriptions     of     Power     Devices 
No     Manufacturers'      Cuts     or      Write-ups      Used 

MUST     BE     NEW     OR     INTERESTING 


"  Schutte "    Electric     Motor 
Operated  Gate  Valve 


The  "Schutte"  precision  electric  motor- 
operated  gate  valve  is  illustrated  in  Figs. 
I  and  2.  The  loose-fitting  handwheel  has 
a  vertical  movement  on  the  upper  end  of 
the  yokenut  to  which  it  is  clutch-con- 
nected only  when  in  its  lowest  or  hand- 
operating  position ;  this  step-clutch  is 
formed  on  the  handwheel  hub,  around 
which  there  is  a  continuous  rim,  the  lat- 
ter engaging  with  the  two  extensions  of  a 
pivoted  or  hinged-gear  clutch  lever,  the 
heavy  end  of  which,  when  lowered,  en- 
gages with  a  narrow  lug  on  the  inside  of 
the  rim  of  the  large  spur  gear  also  loosely 


mounted  on  the  yokenut  below  the  clutch 
collar  that  carries  the  aforesaid  hinged 
lever.  As  this  hinged  clutch  lever  and 
the  lug  on  the  inside  rim  of  the  gear  are 
both  narrow,  the  gear  can  make  about  Yg, 
of  a  revolution  for  impact  and  for  the 
purpose  of  allowing  the  motor  to  acquire 
speed. 

When  the  valve  is  used  for  motor 
operation  the  handwheel  is  prevented  from 
revolving  and  held  in  its  highest  or  out-of- 
gear  position  by  the  two  vertical  lever- 
supported  rods  resting  gainst  the  under 
side  of  the  handwheel  rim.  From  this  it 
will  be  seen  that  the  handwheel  is  en- 
tirely cut  out  when  the  valve  is  being 
operated  by  a  motor  and  can  therefore 
exert  no  jamming  action  at  the  end  of 
travel  due  to  the  stored-up  inertia,  nor 
does  power  have  to  be  exerted  to  set  it  in 
motion   even    frictionally. 

The  handwheel  and  gearing  as  described 
interlock  so  that  both  cannot  be  out  of 
action  at  the  same  time,  nor  can  both  be 
in  action  at  the  same  time.  When  the 
handwheel  is  in  use  the  motor  gearing  is 
disengaged  and  z'icc  versa. 

As  these  valves  are  intended  for  opera- 
tion from  a  distance,  such  as  from  a  dif- 
ferent floor  where  the  operator  at  the  re- 
versing controller  is  unable  to  see  in  what 
position  the  gearing  has  been  left,  an 
instruction  plate  is  provided  on  each  arm 
of  the  yoke,  so  as  to  insure  that  the  gear- 
ing is  left  ready  for  emergency  use.  It  is 
placed  on  the  side  opposite  to  that  shown 
in  the  illustration  and  reads :  "Always 
leave  valve  ready  for  motor  operation 
with  handwheel  in  highest  position ;"  the 
raising  and  lowering  of  the  wheel  being 
accomplished  by  means  of  a  screw  spindle 
attached  to  a  central  lever  on  the  rock- 
shaft  carrying  the  side  levers  that  raise 
and   lower  the  supporting  rods. 

To  cut  the  motor  out  at  the  proper 
time,  two  travel-limit  switches  are  pro- 
vided, one  for  the  upward  and  one  for  the 
downward  stroke ;  these  close  the  circuit 
on  a  shunt  trip  coil  in  the  controller  so 
that  the  latter  will  be  thrown  to  its  off 
position,  thereby  informing  the  operator 
that  the  valve  has  made  its  complete  up- 
ward or  downward  travel,  as  the  case  may 
be.  In  addition  to  this  a  double-pole  cir- 
cuit-breaker is  used  to  guard  against 
burning  out  of  the  motor  or  controller 
from   overload. 

These  valves  find  special  application  as 
an  emergency  shutoff  on  steam  mains  be- 
tween  boiler   and  engine,    or    in    turbine 


rooms.  They  are  fitted  with  motors  for 
cither  direct  or  alternafing  current  of 
any  standard  voltage. 

To  guard  the  threaded  valve  spindle 
from  grit  or  dirt,  and  to  insure  a  clean, 
oiled  surface,  a  protecting  sleeve  is 
screwed  to  the  upper  end  of  the  handwheel 
hub. 

The  motor  is  of  special  construction, 
fully  incased,  provided  with  self-oiling 
bearings,  of  large  overload  capacity  and 
capable  of  standing  the  heat  of  high-tem- 
perature steam  to  which  the  valves  arc 
subjected. 


March  9,  lyoQ. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


As  gravity  is  used  to  engage  and  dis- 
engage the  motor  gearing  and  keep  the 
handwheel  in  its  lowest  position,  the«- 
valves  must  \ic  used  with  the  spindle 
vertical  and  with  mechanism  on  the  top 
as  shown.  They  can,  however,  be  fitte«l 
with  a  spring  so  that  the  spindle  may  ))e 
used  in  a  horizontal  position  and  the 
valve  may  Ik  used  inverted. 

P'ig.  2  is  a  sectional  view  of  the  valve 
proiK-r,  G  C  being  the  gui<les  which  kn-j) 
the  valve  disks  DD  in  place,  the  wliolr 
being  nia<le  tight  hy  nu-.itis  of  On-  I'vir 
age  due  to  the  arrangcimnt  •.h'wii  ;it 
P,  li  and  /.. 

%  This  valve  is  manufactured  by  the 
Schutte  &  Koerting  Company,  Twelfth 
and  Thompson  streets.  Philadelphia,  Penn 


Wcslin^house  Large  Direct 
Current  Motors 


I  he  accompanying  engravings  illustrate 
a  line  of  direct-curr<^nt  nn>t>irv  rtiiiit!;, 
brought  out  by  the  WestniglioiiM-  i.l'-^ 
trie  and  Manufacturing  Company  in  order 
to  meet  a  growing  demand  for  machines 
of  larger  size  than  the  ordinary  direct- 
current  line*  supply.  Tliese  machines, 
known  as  Type  K  .M,  are  built  in  capaci- 
ties ranging  from  90  horsepower  upward 


1.      WtSTI.N».IIOl->» 


■  1.1   r\     Mill. 


P«p«T  mrr^  «r  hfJtkim  mi  mi>< 
*  ^  V^  ^ 


ofibr 

tiMobtcd    cnU     TW    eow 

iii\k>   .irvi  i<i«nfini'  "nOMMcd  OS  a 

thrll  or  flntfii  •.  xl 


It    dw«ufliwg   iW 
Ihr 
FIG.  3.  wcsriNGUot'SE  AaMATWE  AND  COM-     The  amutarr  vindmc  m  •^■ipyed  wiA 

w.».-— ^  p()ualirifii*    1  I  ifirvi  11. 'Tit    K^MiktfMi    m    tlw 

1    M 

-  ^ifH 

;  \f 

mgfj\inu    ill.j«".  -fil    'iciMf 

linn    of    ihr    am 

••Mr  vifHm  ibr 
4ufe.  <i«liiw  it  hcM  li 

the  coir  rfi  we4i«aL 

The   bmUi   holdm  arr  of '  iW   ftmttt 

taiv    '.\ttr    tVwian    III    T~\r     4        T\tr    fif nth   |B 


•«  »••> 


KlU      4.      HJIL-SM     AND    HOUK*    Of    WUTIitC-       |a,: 
HOt'tf    MUTua  of 

,1 

and   for  all   slan"' 
age*.     They   irr 
bed  frame  n- 
Fig.   I.  .  r    . 
direct   ; 

The  :.  „   •'  ."HM't*  of  a  ca»t-irxjo  ^^^"^— ^~^""" 

yoke    ring   with  magnet   pole*  ..F*ulll«i'*   McUUk   PkIdM 

boiled  to  the  rioK       •  ,....-..-...    .•«• 

built  up  of  relatively  '  '~^~ 

I.'. ..III..."     ..w«.U>^     fv».k>n«     i«     ^^m 


««.-r*<iw 


-111    BIMl.    i<0    f 


•f 


MOTOt 


484 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  9,  1909. 


The  rubber  section  of  the  ring  is  of 
especially  prepared  stock,  which  is  said  to 
be  unaffected  by  steam,  oil  or  ammonia. 
The  rubber  does  not  come  in  contact  with 
the  rod,  but  acts  as  a  cushion  to  take  up 
vibration,  there  being  a  continuous  metal 
surface  bevond  the  rod. 


Obituary 


Francis  H.  Boyer,  64  years  old,  died  at 
his  home  in  Somerville,  Mass.,  Sunday, 
February  21.  Mr.  Boyer  was  a  widely 
known  mechanical  engineer  and  architect, 
at  one  time  superintendent  of  the  refrig- 
eration department  of  the  De  La  Vergne 
company  and  later  master  mechanic  for 
the  John  P.  Squire  Company.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  A.  S.  M.  E.,  and  once 
served  on  its  board  of  managers  for  three 
years.  He  also  belonged  to  the  N.  A. 
S.  E.,  and  other  engineering  organiza- 
tions. Latterly  Mr.  Boyer  was  in  busi- 
ness with  'his  son,  Charles  W.  Boyer, 
manufacturing  refrigerating  and  ice-mak- 
ing machinery,  designing  abattoirs,  build- 
ing water-cooling  towers  and  coal-hand- 
ling and  conveying  machinery. 


Business  Items 


Richard  Thompson  has  opened  an  office  at 
123  Liberty  street.  New  Yorli,  for  the  sale 
of   steam   specialties. 

The  York  Manufacturing  Company,  York, 
Penn.,  manufacturer  of  ice  and  refrigerating 
machinery,  reports  28  recent  orders  aggregat- 
ing  13.50   tons  of  refrigeration. 

E.  J.  DuBois,  son  of  William  J.  DuBois, 
in  charge  of  the  engineering  of  the  fleet  of 
the  United  Fruit  Company,  and  prominent 
in  M.  E.  B.  A.  circles  has  accepted  a  posi- 
tion with  the  sales  department  of  the  ^Vil- 
liam  B.  McVicker  Company.  His  especial 
attention    will    be    given    to    marine    business. 

The  "Selden  and  Zena "  packing  has  just 
been  furnished  for  use  on  the  plungers  of 
the  pumping  engines  at  the  waterworks  in 
St.  rctersbiirg,  Kussia.  These  packings  are 
made  by  Randolph  Brandt,  72  Cortlandt 
street.  New  York,  who  also  advises  us  that 
a  number  of  pump  manufacturers  use  these 
packings  for  outside-packed  plungers,  this 
packing  being  specified  by  many  chief  en- 
gineers. 

The  Ilughson  Steam  Specialty  Company, 
?  GO  South  Ilalstead  street,  Chicago,  lil.,  has 
succeeded  the  .John  Davis  Company,  of  Chi- 
cago. In  the  manufactuie  of  the  "Eclipse" 
.steam  specialties.  George  F.  Ilughson,  who 
is  president  of  the  new  company,  was  the 
original  owner  and  inventor  of  these  spec- 
ialties, which  include  regulating,  back-pres- 
sure relief  and  blowoff  valves,  pump  regu- 
lators, steam  traps  and  separators.  All  of  the 
former  agents  of  the  .Tohn  I)avis  Company 
will   continue   to  handle   these  goods. 

G.  J.  Burrer,  proprietor  of  the  Sunbury 
Flour  Mill  and  electric-light  plant  at  Sun- 
bury,  Ohio,  in  a  letter  to  the  Buckeye  Boiler 
Skimmer  Company,  South  End,  Toledo.  Ohio, 
says :  "I  find  the  skimmer  all  right.  My 
boiler  has  not  foamed  since  I  put  the  skim- 
mer   in.      When    I    put    the    device    in    there 


\vas  %  inch  of  scale  on  the  tubes,  and  in 
three  weeks  they  were  as  clean  as  could  be. 
I  opened  the  boiler  again  on  Monday  and 
there  was  not  a  particle  of  dirt  or  mud  in 
the  back  head,  but  I  took  out  two  gallons 
of  scale  from   the  front   head.  • 

•'Aid  to  Shippers"  is  the  title  of  a  72-page 
book  containing  a  quantity  of  information  of 
value  to  all  engaged  in  the  export  or  import 
trade.  The  book  is  issued  by  Oelricbes  «& 
Companj-",  of  New  York,  for  more  than  forty 
years  the  American  representatives  of  the 
North  German  Lloyd  Steamship  Company, 
who,  by  reason  of  long  experience,  are  quali- 
fied to  advise.  The  table  of  foreign  moneys 
with  United  States  equivalents,  together  with 
weights,  measurements,  tariffs,  customs  re- 
quirements, etc..  will  be  found 'of  value.  A 
copy  of  this  book  will  be  sent,  postpaid,  on 
request  to  Oelrichs  &  Company,  Forwarding 
Department,  .5  Greenwich  street.  New  York. 
Among  the  recent  orders  taken  by  the 
Crocker-Wheeler  Company,  of  Ampere.  N.  .T., 
IS  one  for  a  250-kilowatt,  motor-generator 
set  for  the  Tennessee  Coal,  Iron  and  Rail- 
road Company,  at  Ensley.  Ala.  It  will  con- 
sist of  a  2."jO-kilowatt  27.5-volt  direct-current 
generator  driven  by  a  OOOO-volt  3-phase  2.5- 
cycle.  synchronous  motor,  and  will  be  used 
as  an  exciter.  Another  order  is  one  for 
about  .50  horsepower  of  small  elevator  motors 
purchased  by  the  Ilaughton  Elevator  and  Ma- 
chine Company,  Toledo,  Ohio.  Yawman  <& 
Erbe,  of  Rochester,  New  Yoi-k,  have  also 
placed  orders  for  a  number  of  2/5-horsepower 
motors  for  use  on  some  of  their  specialties. 
The  Missouri  Valley  Milling  Company,  Man- 
dan.  North  Dakota,  has  given  contract  to  the 
Minneapolis  Steel  and  Machinery  Company, 
for  furnishing  and  installing  the  complete 
power  plant  for  a  new  mill  being  built  at 
Dickinson,  North  Dakota.  The  contract  in- 
cludes one  12  and  2Gx:{G  heavy-duty  cross- 
compound  Twin  City  Corliss  engine,  with 
evaporative  surface  condenser,  a  300-horse- 
power  feed-water  heater  and  purifier,  a 
boiler-feed'  pump,  pumps  for  fire  service,  a 
50-kilowatt  direct-current  generator,  switch- 
board and  motor,  one  .5000-gallon  wooden 
water  tank,  oil  and  steam  separators,  miscel- 
laneous transmission  machinery  and  all  pip- 
ing,   valves   and   fittings. 

J.  E.  Lonergan  Company  has  been  incor- 
porated in  Pennsylvania,  with  a  paid-in 
capital  of  .$200,000,  to  succeed  to  the  busi- 
ness of  .J.  E.  Lonergan  &  Company,  211  and 
213  Race  street,  Philadelphia,  Penn.  The 
new  company  will  have  the  following  of- 
ficers :  .John  E.  Lonergan,  president ;  M.  A. 
Hudson,  vice-president :  II.  S.  Whitney,  sec- 
retary ;  W.  E.  Crofton,  treasurer ;  directors, 
John  E.  Lonergan,  M.  A.  Hudson,  II.  S. 
Whitney,  W.  E.  Crofton.  .lames  F.  Lonergan. 
II.  S.  Whitney  and  M.  A.  Hudson  were  con- 
nected for  many  years  at  New  York  and  Chi- 
cago with  Manning,  Maxwell  &  Moore.  W.  E. 
Crofton,  for  the  past  2G  years,  has  been 
cashier  and  head  bookkeeper  for  .1.  E.  Loner- 
gan  &   Company. 

The  International  Acheson  Graphite  Com- 
pany, of  Niagara  Falls,  advises  us  that  it  is 
the  only  maker  of  graphite  in  the  world.  It 
operates  the  electric  furnace  process,  and 
thus  the  company  is  in  full  control  of  every 
ounce  of  raw  material  that  enters  its  fur- 
naces, while  it  also  controls  the  application 
of  the  furnaces  during  the  entire  period  of 
their  operation.  Because  of  these  facts  and 
the  thorough  scientific  skill  applied,  this  com- 
pany makes  what  it  calls,  "grade  1340  Ache- 
son-Graphite."  guaranteed  to  be  at  least  09 
per  cent,  pure,  very  fine,  soft,  lusterless  and 
unctuous.  The  company's  claim  is  that  this 
is  the  best  lubricating  agent  now  known,  as 
it  is  not  tough,  and  has  those  spreading 
qualities  sg  necessary  to  ideal  lubrication. 

The  Keystone  Lubiicating  Company,  Phila- 
delphia,   manufacturer    of     Keystone    grease, 


has  recently  been  advised  of  the  efficiency 
and  economy  of  this  product  in  the  lubrica- 
tion of  governor  pins  of  an  installation  of 
Westinghouse  high-speed  engines  at  the 
plant  of  the  Electric  Storage  Battery  Com- 
pany, Philadelphia.  In  this  type  of  fly- 
wheel governor  the  conditions  of  safe  and 
effective  lubrication  are  severe,  as  the  gov- 
ernor pin  carries  a  pair  of  heavy  weights 
and  oscillates  through  a  short  arc  only  for 
its  maximum  travel  between  light  load  and 
full  load  on  the  engine.  The  chief  engineer, 
reporting  on  the  performance  of  Keystone 
grease,  states  that  it  gives  perfect  satisfac- 
tion, with  a  con.sumption  of  four  to  six 
ounces  of  No.  2  density  grease  on  each  en- 
gine per  week   of  thirteen  consecutive   shifts. 


Help  Wanted 

Advertisements  under  this  heading  are  in- 
serted for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  words 
make  a  line. 

AN  ENGINEER  in  each  town  to  sell  the 
best  rocking  grate  for  steam  boilers.  Write 
Martin   Grate   Co.,    281   Dearborn   St.,   Chicago. 

WANTED — Thoroughly  competent  steam 
specialty  salesman;  one  that  can  sell  high- 
grade    goods.     Address    "M.    M.    Co.,"    Power. 

WE  WANT  REPRESENTATIVES  to  handle 
metallic  packing  in  Pittsburg,  Cleveland  and 
Cincinnati.  National  Metallic  Packing  Co., 
Oberlin,  O. 

Situations  Wanted 

Advertisements  under  this  head  are  in- 
serted for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  words 
make  a  line. 

POSITION  as  fireman,  oiler  or  wiper  in 
power  plant  by  I.  C.  S.  student.  No  experi- 
ence, but  not  afraid  of  hard  work.  Box  7, 
Power. 

Miscellaneous 


Advertisements  under  this  head  are  in- 
serted for  2.5  cents  per  line.  About  six  words 
make  a  line. 

PATENTS  secured  promptly  in  the  United 
States  and  foreign  countries.  Pamphlet  of 
instructions  sent  free  upon  request.  C.  L. 
Parker  Ex-examiner,  U.  S.  Patent  Office, 
McGill'Bldg.,   Washington,   D.  C. 

IN  ORDER  TO  SETTLE  an  estate,  an  attrac- 
tive opportunity  is  open  to  a  party  with 
$1.')0,0()().00  competent  to  fill  responsible  po.si- 
tion  either  in  the  scales  or  manufacturing  depart- 
ment, to  purchase  an  interest  in  a  well  and 
favorably  known,  profitable  machinery  manu- 
facturing plant  located  in  Pennsylvania,  with 
an  office  and  established  trade  in  New  York 
City.     Address  "Executors,"  Box  3,   Power. 


For  Sale 


Advertisements  under  this  head  are  in- 
serted for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  words 
make  a  line. 

FOR  SALE — Three  1-in.  Worthington  duplex 
plunger  all  brass,  hot  water  test  meters.  W.  H. 
Odell,  M.E.,  Yonkers,  N.  Y. 

FOR  SALE — The  Helvetia  Leather  Company 
of  Lancaster,  Pa.,  capital  Sl,5,000.00.  Big  chance 
for  live  buyer.  For  full  particulars  address, 
B.   C.   Atlee,   Lancaster,  Pa. 

FOR  SALE — 20x48  Wheelock  engine  and 
two  7'2"xl8'  high  pressure  tubular  boilers  in 
good  condition  cheap.  Address  "Engineer," 
Box  2,  Station  A,  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

-SECOND-HAND  MACHINERY  FOR  SALE 
— Engines,  milling,  linseed  and  cotton  .seed 
oil  mill  machinery.  Write  us  for  description 
and  prices.  Indiana  Machine  and  Supply 
Co.,    203    Ingalls    Building,     Indianapolis,    Ind. 

ONE  14x36  Vilter  Corliss  engine,  with  7* 
tandem  air  compres.sor;  one  14x36  Nagle  Cor- 
liss engine.  Can  be  seen  under  steatn.  Guar- 
anteed in  first-class  condition:  .selling  on  account 
of  change  in  equipment.  Ontario  Silver  Co., 
Muncie,  Ind. 

FOR  SALE— Three  Fraser  &  Chalmeis  horizon- 
tal cro.ss  compound  non-condensing  Corliss  en- 
gines.with  10"  high  pressure  and  14i''  lowpres.sure 
cylinders  of  24"  stroke.  Each  engine  [)rovidea 
with  two  belt  flywheels,  10'  diameter  by  12 
crown  face.  All  in  first-class  condition.  For 
further  particulars  write  New  Prague  Flouring 
Mill  Co.,  New  Prague,  Minn. 


March  i6,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


Typical    Low-Pressure    Steam    Turbine    Plant 

Double-flow  Turbine  Utilizing  the  Eahaust  <A  Two  750-Kilow«ll  Cor- 
liss Ejigines.      No  Governor,  and  Capacity  \  aries   with  Initial  Prc**urc 


B    Y 


J. 


R. 


B    1    B    B    I    N    S 


Probably  the  first  application  of  the  low- 
f>ressurc  type  of  steam  turbine  to  com- 
mercial work  in  connection  with  American 
mining  properties  is  to  be  found  in  the 
power  plant  of  the  U.  S.  Coal  and  Coke 
Company,  Gary,  W.  Va.  Considerable 
progress  has  been  made  in  this  country 
in  the  low-pressure  turbines  in  connection 
with  light  and  power  plants,  and  this  in- 
«tallation  will  serve  as  an  illustration  of 
the   po^<;ibilitic^   of  this  type,   rot    only    in 


liss  en^'  '    unit  wu  add<- 

1905    a  unit,    aggrrga 

kilowatts  m  cngine-typc  units,  cm  ac- 
count of  instalhng  some  new  machincf7. 
a  low-pressure  turbine  was  added  in  1907 
to  utilize  the  exhaust  from  the  Corliss  en- 
gines— also  a  complete  expansion  turbine, 
both  of  standard  Westinghousc  construc- 
tion. Each  of  these  drives  a  looo-kilo- 
watt  generator. 
Thr  property  at  Gary.  W    Vt .  eon«»t« 


mg  ubkt. 


HUlHl    lWltAU.ATIos 


litli     kfi     »VtR>  •*!     I*  ♦«■• 


power  service  are  encountered. 

Pown   Pu^MT 
The   Gary   plant    was   m«tal!'- 
with    an    equipment    of    twi»    -i 

frnrratMf*,   r.i.  h    driven    by     t 
Hi^rrich.iri;     mt-inr*     which     v 


MM  .<^«  ttvam  iW  tw« 


486 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  i6,  1909. 


,,  e=p  i^  Suction     *r— T* 

S' Drain -^__@v^j---_~l 

Vj  Circulating 

I  -^Pump        I      I 

N  12"Exhftust        r'  St%      Tf  !      I 

\  fUT  'Dry  VBCuum*      • 


I     1 


p~  To  Atmosphei 


FIG.    2.    PIPING  PLAN  AND  ELEVATION  OF  TURBINE  EXTENSION  TO  POWER  PLANT 


FIG.    3.     SECTION  THROUGH    LOW-PRESSURE    TURBINE 


March  i6,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


4-- 

'A, 

r 
•» 

i* 

r 

xr   '              I 

•■•^      -8, 

Mj4u  «m  t^ 

itnimM  <ttll  load  wiik  a  power  (ac«or 

lilt?  frr>fTi  «i  10  too  yti  ccaL,  aad  ■ 
an  dfc»fc>  oIm  par 

Of 


FIG.      4.     LOW-PRESSUEE    TURBINE    WITH     IM' 


»ng  ihc  (lay.  This  exhaust  steam  is  all 
tent  to  heaters  in  the  boiler  room  and  a 
valve  in  the  exhaust  header  is  provided  to 
separate  these  engines  from  the  remainder 
•of  the  system,  so  that  the  low-pressure 
iptant  at  Gary  is  only  concerned  with  the 
1500-kilowatt  capacity  in  Corliss  engines. 

TuoiMt  Types 
An    iniercsting   comparison   of   the    two 
Kypcs  of   (urhinr   mill   is   afTitrdrd   by   these 


two  machines  which  arc  ut  > 
It   will  be   noted   from  the 
table  that  the  lowpres-  •-  u  uoc- 

third  shorter  than  the       .  xure  ma 

chine,  but  the  hight  and  width  are  j' 
the  same,  the  exhaust   area  of  the   ! 
being  3.5  lime«  greater      The  gener-t 
both  deliver  three-phase    power    al    '<  -  • 
volts  and  each  revolves  1300  rrvoiuti 
per  minute      The  fields  are  strap  W'>iiri<t 
and  the  armatures  form  wound  wiiM  .oil* 


load  o<  «s  per  crsiL   wooM 

»<<h    loagn 

i\   prvMvrv  of 

Id  be  n>>»aiwH  vttk 

'er  owrfckao. 

Goaia«i»« 


nc     5     CXJVTVtfVOAl  |t 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  i6,  1909. 


erning  has  been  adopted  tor  the  low- 
pressure  unit.  In  fact,  the  turbine  has  no 
governor  at  all,  but  delivers  its  current  to 
the  same  busbars  as  do  the  tv^o  engine 
units  supplying  it  with  exhaust  steam. 
Under  this  condition,  then,  the  low- 
pressure  turbine  is  equivalent  to  the 
third  cylinder  of  a  triple-expansion  steam- 
engine  system,  and  instead  of  the  turbine 
generator  being  directly  driven  by  me- 
chanical means  from  the  engine  shaft,  it 
is  held  in  perfect  step  by  electrical  mean's ; 
i.e.,  by  connecting  with  the  same  bus. 
It  therefore  occurs  that  with  the  turbine 
throttle  valve  open,  the  load  on  the  tur- 
bine and  engines  will  rise  and  fall  to- 
gether, depending  upon  the  variations  in 
external  load,  which  accordingly  varies  the 
amount  of  exhaust  steam  supplied  to  the 
turbine.  By  reason  of  this  arrangement, 
the  pressure  in  the  exhaust  main  varies 
according  to  the  load  on  the  entire  plant, 
just  as  the  receiver  pressure  of  a  com- 
pound engine  varies. 

The  low-pressure  turbine  may  be  con- 
sidered as  an  engine  with  a  fixed  cutoff. 
As  the  blade  proportions  are  constant,  the 
ability  of  the  turbine  to  carry  load  de- 
pends entirely  upon  the  initial  pressure 
available;  and  consequently,  as  the  load 
on  the  engine  increases,  the  volume  of 
steam  passed  per  minute  increases,  the 
exhaust  pressure  rises  and  the  low-pres- 
sure turbine  is  enabled  to  pass  the  extra 
quantity  of  steam  required  to  generate  the 
additional  power.  Thus  it  will  be  seen 
that  this  combination  of  prime  movers 
presents  simplicity  and  flexibility  of  opera- 
tion. Under  other  conditions  of  service, 
where  the  turbine  would  be  able  to  util- 
ize but  a  small  proportion  of  the  exhaust 
steam  available,  it  would  be  necessary  to 
install  a  governor  of  the  standard  type 
which  would  convert  the  turbine  into  a 
constant-pressure  instead  of  a  variable- 
pressure  machine,  as  here  installed. 

Turbine  Construction 
The  construction  of  the  turbine  is 
clearly  shown  in  the  accompanying  photo- 
graphs and  section.  A  low-pressure  ma- 
chine is  characterized  by  the  large  steam 
passages  necessary.  Referring  again  to  the 
accompanying  table,  the  steam-supply  mains 
to  the  high-pressure  and  low-pressure  ma- 
chines were  6  and  22  inches  respectively; 
exhausts,  30  and  48  inches.  It  would  be 
expected  that  this  large  difference  would 
increase  the  bulk  of  the  low-pressure  ma- 
chine beyond  reasonable  proportions,  but 
through  the  adaptation  of  the  Westing- 
house  double-flow  design,  the  machine 
itself  does  not  occupy  even  as  much  space 
as  the  single-flow  complete-expansion  tur- 
bine installed  in  the  same  power  house. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  condenser  serv- 
ing the  low-pressure  turbine  is  twice  as 
large  as  that  serving  the  high-pressure 
machine;  for  the  reason  that  in  expand- 
ing the  steam  from  boiler  pressure,  T50 
pounds  gage,  down  to  atmosphere  in  the 
Corliss  engine,  nearly  half  of  its  internal 


work  has  already  been  expended,  and 
twice  as  much  steam  must,  therefore,  pass 
through  the  low-pressure  machine  to  do 
the  same  work  as  through  the  high-pres- 
sure turbine.  The  low-pressure  turbine 
condenser  at  Gary,  to  be  sure,  serves  2500 
kilowatts  combined  generating  capacity, 
but  owing  to  the  superior  economy  of  the 
combined  plant,  the  work  actually  done 
by  the  condenser  is  much  less  than  if 
serving  a  straight  engine  or  turbine. 

Referring  to  the  sectional  view  of  the 
turbine,  it  will  be  noted  that  the  rotor  is 
of  simple  construction  and  reasonable 
blade  lengths,  no  balancing  pistons,  and  a 
stator  symmetrical  in  proportions.  The 
disadvantage  of  excessively  large  exhaust 
areas  is  overcome  by  dividing  the  flow  in 


would  then  come  to  rest  much  more 
quickly  than  if  it  still  were  revolving  in  a 
high  vacuum. 

The  remaining  parts  of  the  turbine  con- 
form to  Westinghouse  high-pressure  tur- 
bine construction.  One  distinctive  detail, 
however,  is  the  rotary  oil  pump  driven  by 
worm  gear  from  the  turbine  shaft.  The 
wing  pump  is  exceptionally  simple  and 
durable  in  construction,  and  requires  lit- 
tle attention.  It  is  located  below  the  floor 
level  at  the  base  of  the  vertical  housing 
surrounding  the  gear  drive.  This  pump 
simply  suffices  to  keep  the  journals  flushed 
with  oil.  A  complete  system  of  strainer 
and  intercooler  provides  for  continuous- 
return  of  the  oil  to  the  bearings.  This  ap- 
paratus, together  with  the  steam  strainer. 


FIG.     6.     BATTERY   OF  THREE    ALBERGER  COOLING  TOWERS 


its  passage  through  the  machine,  combin- 
ing the  two  halves  in  the  bedplate  into  a 
single  discharge  to  the  condenser.  In  the 
foreground.  Fig.  4,  will  be  observed  the 
automatic,  quick-closing  throttle  which  is 
operated  by  a  centrifugal  safety  stop  at 
the  end  of  the  turbine  spindle.  This  is  an 
important  guarantee  of  the  safety  of  the 
plant,  for  should  the  machine  isolate 
itself  electrically  from  the  busbar  either  by 
short-circuiting  or  by  an  open  circuit  in 
the  cable  leads,  the  machine  would  be  tak- 
ing full  steam  without  load.  This  safety 
stop  operates  at  a  predetermined  over- 
speed,  under  10  per  cent.,  and  closes  the 
automatic  throttle  to  shut  down  the  ma- 
chine. As  a  further  precaution,  a  vacuum 
breaker  may  easily  be  operated  instantly 
to  lower  the  vacuum  by  the  admission 
of  air  when  the  safety  stop  operates. 
Owing  to  the  higher  density,  the  turbine 


is  located  beneath  the  steel  floor  plates  at 
the   side   of  the  machine. 

Piping 
Reverting  to  the  plant  arrangement,  Fig. 
2  shows  in  plan  and  elevation  the  general 
piping  layout.  It  will  be  noted  that  all 
turbine-plant  auxiliaries  exhaust  into  the 
main  low-pressure  line  in  common  with 
the  steam  engines.  They  do  not  appear  to 
be  affected  by  the  variable  back  pressure 
of  the  exhaust  system.  A  22-inch  sepa- 
rator on  the  side  of  the  low-pressure  tur- 
bine intake  serves  to  abstract  most  of  the 
suspended  water  of  condensation,  which, 
if  passed  through  the  turbine,  would 
simply  be  detrimental  in  increasing  the 
fluid  friction.  The  piping  is  arranged  so 
that  feed  water  may  be  drawn  either 
from  the  condenser  hotwell,  or  the  water- 
service  main.    In  any  event  the  feed  would 


March  i6,  1909. 

all  pass  through  a  Cochrane  heater,  where 
the  oil  coming  over  from  the  engines  and 
pumps  would  be  largely  removed.     Since 
the    low-pressure    plant    went    into  •  com- 
mission,   a    3-inch    live-steam    connection 
has    been     made     to    the    exhaust     main 
through  a  reducing  valve    set    at    seven 
iinds.     This  is  intended  for  emergencies 
ily,   to  provide   for  pither   one   or   both 
<rliss  engines  being  inoperative.     It  has 
been   of   service   on   several    occasions   to 
provide  considerable  overload  capacity  on 
the  turbine  during  a  deficiency  of  engine 
steam. 

Condenser   Pijvnt 

Both  condensers  are  of  the  Alber- 
ger  centrifugal  jet  type  provided  with 
individual  turbine-driven  circulating  pumps 
and  engine-driven  dry-vacuum  pumps.  All 
of  the  circulating  water  is  cooled  by  a  bat- 
tery of  Albcrger  cooling  towers  located  a 
short  distance  away,  each  measuring  24 
feel  in  diameter  by  34  feet  high.  These 
are  of  a  recent  type,  but  standard  in  re 
gard  to  the  cooling  surface  employed.  A 
distributor  of  the  "Barker's  Mill"  type  de 
livers  the  hot  water  at  the  top  of  the 
tower.  But  the  draft  fan,  instead  of 
being  located  as  is  ordinarily  the  case,  at 
the  base  of  the  tower,  is  here  installed 
liorizontally  in  the  contracted  stack,  the 
ti  blades  covering  the  entire  area  of  the 
ick,  which  is  11   feet  in  diameter.     This 

.n  is  driven  at  a  speed  of  175  revolution* 
per  minute  by  a  small  Pelton  waterwheel 
which,  in  turn,  is  supplied  by  a  small 
turbo-pump  located  in  the  power  house. 
With  this  arr.inRement  the  tower  operates 
upon  the  induced-draft  priruiple,  and  it 
is  permissible   to  lower   the    shell   some  5 

r  6  feet  below  the  standard  type  of  tower 
Aith  base  fans,  thus  effecting  a  considera 
ble  saving  in  the  hight  to  which  the  water 
must  be  elevated.    Of  the  three  towers  in- 
stalled,  two   were   normally   employed   to 
»erve  the  combined  engine  and  low  pre*- 
stire  turbine  plant,  and  the  third,  the  high 
pressure  turbine.     Thus   far.  goo*!  service 
has  bern  obtained  from  this  pluiit      Con 
sidering  the  combined  plant  only,  with  the 
two  engines   running  and  an  engme  load 
of  1400  kilowatts,  the  low-pressure  turbine 
carried  ijno  kilowatts  with  an  inlet  pres- 
sure of  16  pounds  absolute  and  a  vacuum 
of  258  inches,  due   to  the  hinh   trmprra- 
lure  of  the  injection  w.iirr    K8  drprrrv  at 
the  time      Thr^r  <>h' 
during  hot  wr.ilbrr  , 

vacuum.  28  inches,  as  in  colilrr  xAf.i-  '-• 
the  turbine  would  carry  l<ia<U  up  t"  i^" 
kilowatts. 

R.  OTooIe  i«  general  superi""-"''-"'  '  f 

'le  plant,  and  Howard  N    Fji\ 

T     The  latter  reports  1(1      w>i>>  <■" 
valve  set  at  t6  pounds  a'"<'I««te  and 
engine*   ' 
.m     i«     "' 
I  he   low  I' 
Miig  »\  its  ' 

•  atts      This.  then,   t 

..tl)..ttlli,.M        ,<(  .1 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

without  a  governor  runnmg  on  a  system 
<    !  excc«s  steam. 
^^  no  control  00 

»he   ti  r   ihan  the   throttle;   Le., 

the  tur  DCS  a  steady  load  at  kx^ 

as  there  u  an  exceu  rappiv  of  steam. 


Gat  Elnginet  ajici  Engineer 
By  F.  L  Johnson 


i  had 

'i  -  iw«? 

few  years 

less    gas   c:.„ .       .  ,, ^.,. 

more  or  lets  noise  was  necessary  in  the 
operation  of  a  gas  engine.  Just  as  he 
had  made  it  plain   (to  himself,  if  not  to 

IT  ■'  '  '  ■  , 

r 

more  n>-i>>  111  their  ., 

Rn<    m:;ine    than    wi 

n  a   steam  engine,  my  yootlg 
i>  •  \er  was  shown  mto  the  room. 

Introductions  followed,  and  the  conver- 
sation was  resumed : 

"It  has  been  found."  said  the  designer, 
"that  machinists  and  "handy  men'  make 
much  better  iras-engine  operators  than 
reKular    *»<  '•erS-'* 

Sawyer,  .i    s^tlH   conviction 

that   it   is  a   »icdin  r'  SosmcM  to 

know    more   about    t  an<l   prac- 

tice of  operating  m'  -1 

anyone  else,  at  once  L -;^ 

asked  for  an  expbnalion. 

To  make  his  point  clear,  the 
said: 


"The    ni.i  " 

over  the   «' 
not  know  how  t 
tx-iause    of    his 
engine  or  of  any  l\ 
naturally  be  more  v 
vice  .tnd  instruction 

"S'e.im  •-" —  '•  • 


tiun    do    (lot    aimo)    taut      N 
■ny    partic^tb'    w^nd*      ^e 
noises    at    ' 

c<ittr»e  an-'. 


eomc,  he  4oe«  aoc  !*•  iW 
cl  .14  gtmn, 

in  otiKT  plaeea  tm 
why  tbc7  iM«d  i'-  »" 
As   the  dca«' 


II  lie   iir.»in  rT:^inerf 

-    the  gas  eofsne  tkt   wktA  m 
give,  and  will  It- 
until  h'  •mdrrs-  tW  cffcoa  of 

n-  -n   wiU  br.  be  via  hr  able  to 

'1  agauHt  al  rtMnrr^' 
'•*  and  sopertor  iilrs  tr 

.     t,fr-«,^,     ,K,     .4. ,.^j 

and  n  ^^^ 

as   mUvji    «i    c*ii[>«c    r.ii   rjrnftTnc  ti. 

"I  was  prrwnc  at  a  awcti^  ot 

cal  engiiKTis  where  the  illmd  ___— — 
of   the    steam    cnciDccr    tmettmhdtf   to 
'•CO  prod»eef»  aad  gas 
I     opoa      aad    Hm     . 
and  pro«pectiv«  owwr  gnvdjr  cas 

againsc    employ iag    aa    inwilBm 

prevtooa  coodiliaa  of  lerviindi  ha4  cv«a 


^r  wdl  haw  linl*  or  bo 


ui(T  m  oemaoatraiioi  hia  itoim  for 
woHi  of  npiratmi  ■••   ifM  am4 


duncu 

prodocert  tbooM  any  of  romr 
claat  of  lihdm  ever  socceed  m 
a  machine  of  ocarty ^ 

in4l  ar.  !  mrrKanKal  tiflllpln  to  he  om* 


anlaCC       ''^  "'    ^"^    uirt   pi>«   ana    us 


m*  of  the  I 
sloctrKal 

gmecft  t*^o*kmncsl  the  CoelMa  Mf*- 
imAl  for  driviof  dcctncal  grattato^- : 
came  of  the  impo nihility  of 
speed  rcioktwui  Mom  of 
lived  to  see  most  of  tht  dacinc 


.1       (,   f       rw>..rf 


.1    i>«M 


mand   that   a 
'^   diCeresM   f 
Jasi   how  >«■ 


he  knows  what  to  ad)att  and  why  it  nef<ds     >*h*  *W  oot  say.  h*  |«»o  Imv«  *  to  hi 
adiustment.-  ''""*    **^  ^ 

-In  other   worda."    broke    in    S*wyrf      •"  «>**  mMkmg  of  the 


en    It      " 


.^.,,  %,, 


»«i    An    rnt^nr' 


«««r«4  ihac  Ifre  the 


490 


POWER  AND  T^E  ENGINEER. 


March  i6,  1909. 


Inaccuracies    of    Indicator    Diagrams 

Distortion  of  Pencil  Motion  Due  to  Inertia,  Pressure  Lag  or  Inaccu- 
racies in  Mechanism  and  Spring.     Calibration  of  Indicator  Diagrams 

BY      JULIAN      C.      SMALLWOOD^ 


Drum-motion  distortion  has  been  dis- 
cussed in  a  previous  article, ,  and  it  has 
been  observed  that  the  errors  inherent  to 
the  indicator  emanate  from  the  untruth  of 
its  drum  motion  and  from  the  fauhiness 
of  its  straight-line  mechanism  and  spring. 
The  former  causes  inaccuracy  in  the 
abscissas  and  the  latter  in  the  ordinates 
of  the  diagram.  There  is  still  another 
source  of  error  in  the  abscissas,  namely, 
the  imperfection  of  the  mechanism  reduc- 


a;* 


50 


1|40 


30 
20 

10 

0 


o  c 

CO    <U 

(X)    -I 


1.80 


1.71 

1.39' 

1.44' 

1.03' 

1.09' 

0.70' 

0.76' 

0.37' 

0.41' 

50 


40 


30 


20 


10 


bo 


S  °3 

CO     sIj 

9.  S 
0^0 


ing  the  motion  of  the  engine  crosshead, 
but   this  is   external   to   the  indicator. 

Distortion  of  Pencil  Motion 

Analysis  of  the  pencil  motion  indicates 
that  its  distortion  may  be  due  to  any  or 
all  of  four  causes :  First,  when  applied 
to  high-speed  engines,  the  inertia  of  the 
indicator  piston  and  attached  linkage 
causes  it  to  travel  beyond  its  normal  posi- 
tion. This  results  in  a  peaked  admission 
line  and  a  wavy  expansion  curve.  Sec- 
ond, under  the  same  conditions,  the  pres- 
sure in  the  indicator  cylinder  lags  behind 
that  operating  on  the  piston  of  the  engine 
because  of  the  inability  of  the  steam  im- 
mediately to  traverse  the  passages  to  the 
indicator.  The  error  resulting  is  most  con- 
siderable at  about  mid-stroke  where  the  ve- 
locity of  the  reciprocating  parts  of  the  en- 
gine is  greatest.  The  general  effect  is  to 
increase  the  area  of  the  diagram,  cutoff 
and  compression  being  represented  later 
than  they  actually  occur.  Third,  the 
mechanism  actuating  the  pencil  may  in- 
correctly magnify  the  piston  motion,  and, 

•Instructor  In  mechanical  engineering  at 
the   University  of  Pennsylvania. 


fourth,  the  indicator  spring,  almost  in- 
variably fails  to  exemplify  the  principle 
upon  which  its  truth  depends,  that  the 
contraction  or  extension  of  the  spring  is 
proportional  to  the  force  causing  it. 

Inertia — Of  these  four  possibilities  of 
error  the  first  is  troublesome  only  at  high 
piston  speeds.  It  may  be  obviated  by 
the  use  of  special  indicators  or  by  using 
stiff  springs.  Concerning  the  ordinary 
types.  Professor  Reynolds**  has  pointed 
out  that  the  effect  of  inertia  of  the  indi- 
cator piston  and  the  attached  moving 
parts  can  be  expressed  by  two  equations, 
one  of  which  gives  the  probable  distortion 
in  per  cent,  during  one  cycle  of  the  mech- 
anism, and  the  other  gives  the  number 
of  oscillations  of  the  pencil  arm  during  that 
cycle.  The  same  authority  states  that  the 
former  should  be  kept  within  i  per  cent, 
and  the  latter  within  the  number  30. 
Using  these  figures  the  following  values 
may  be  obtained  from  his  equations: 


and 


_     0.00563  W  R* 


0.0252  W 

^  ~        arR* 


FIG.     I.     CALIBRATION  OF  A   3O-POUND   SPRING       where 


s  =  Spring  scale, 
R  =  Revolutions  per  minute, 
a  =  Area     of     indicator     piston     in 

square  inches, 
r  =  Ratio  of  piston  to  pencil  motion, 
W  =  Sum  of  the  products  of  the 
weights  in  pounds  of  the  separate  moving 
parts  and  the  squares  of  the  ratios  of 
such  parts'  motions  to  that  of  the  indicator 
piston,  respectively. 

These  equations  may  be  reduced  for 
any  particular  indicator  to  the  form, 

s  =  KR^     and      .f  =  -^, 
R*    ' 

in  which  K  and  K'  are  the  constants  com- 
bined. The  greatest  value  of  ^  resulting 
from,  their  solution  will  give  the  lowest 
spring  scale  to  be  used  for  a  given  num- 
ber of  revolutions  per  minute.      \ 

Pressure  Lag — The  second  cause  of 
distortion  of  the  pressure  line,  named 
above,  cannot  well  be  avoided  at  high 
speeds,  nor  can  the  resulting  error  be 
easily  corrected.  The  disturbance  is  ag- 
gravated by  long  or  tortuous  pipe  con- 
nections and  may  be  considerable  on  this 


account  even  at  low  piston  speeds.  A 
comparison  of  diagrams  taken  with  long 
and  short  connections  shows  that  such 
piping  should  always  be  as  short  and 
direct  as  possible.  The  consequent  error 
in  mean  effective  pressure  may  be  as 
high  as  25  per  cent. 

Mechanism  and  Spring — Of  the  re- 
maining sources  of  inaccuracy  in  the  dia- 
gram's ordinates,  that  due  to  faulty  pen- 
cil motion  is  in  good  indicators  so  small 
as  to  be  unmeasurable.  But  the  untruth 
of  the  spring  not  only  may  be  very 
marked  in  a  particular  specimen,  but  may 
change  with  its  use  and  age.  Professor 
Carpenter,  in  a  paperf  discussing  a 
lengthy  series  of  calibration  tests  upon 
indicator  springs,  states  that  their  "errors 
are  of  such  magnitude  that  they  cannot 
in  general  be  neglected."  Because  of  this 
fact  it  is  the  chief  purpose  of  this  article 
to  tell  how  indicator  springs  may  be 
tested  and  calibrated.     It  will  be  noted  in 


Table 
for  Weights 


.ripiog  all 
\  Inch 


Pressure    Cylinder 
e'Pipe,  is'loug.  Capped 


'Cl^^H 


To  Ksbaust 

Power,  X.  r. 

FIG.     2.     TESTING  BY   STEAM    PRESSURE 


the  following  that  the  corrections  pro- 
vide for  error  of  the  pencil  linkage  as 
well  as  of  the  spring. 

Calibration  of  Indicator  Springs 

It  is  first  necessary  to  apply  known 
pressures  to  an  indicator  which  is  fitted 
with  the  spring  to  be  tested.     Horizontal 


** Proceedings,  Institution  of  C.  E.,  Volume 
LXXXIII. 


^Transactions,    A.    S.    M.    E.,    Volume    15, 
page   454. 


March  i6,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


lines  should  then  be  drawn  on  a  card  to 
correspond  to  these  pressures.  The  ver- 
tical distances  between  the  separate  lines 
and  the  bottom  one  may  now  be  used  to 
obtain  a  value  of  the  actual  spring  scale. 
Referring  to  Fig.  i,  five  horizontals  cor- 
responding to  pressures  of  equal  incre- 
ments are  shown  on  the  left,  the  pressure 
increasing.  On  the  right  the  same  is 
shown  with  the  pressure  decreasing.  It 
will  be  noted  that  these  lines  do  not  co- 
incide. The  reason  for  this  is  that  the 
friction  between  the  piston  and  the  cyl- 
inder walls  and  in  the  moving  parts  aids 
the  resistance  of  the  spring  when  the 
pressure  is  rising,  but  acts  against  it 
when  falling,  as  is  represented  by  the  ar- 
rows. The  conclusion  will  therefore  be 
reached  that  to  calibrate  accurately  an  in- 
dicator spring,  steam  pressure  should  be 
used  so  as  to  reproduce  exactly  the  con- 
ditions of  friction,  temperature,  etc.,  met 
with  in  practice.  This,  however,  is  not 
always  convenient  and,  when  it  is  not, 
pressure  may  be  applied  mechanically  to 


^'  to  that  of  A  and  B  may  b« 

liu  A.;cn  balancing.    The  dcuil  of 

the  piece  A  will  be  noted.  It  it  a  piece  ui 
rubber  which  fiu  into  the  lower  wit  >f  li.r 
piston,  and  is  backed  by  a  special  wathcr 
fastened  to  it  Tbc  rod  B  is  made  of  H 
inch  round  iron  rounded  at  ooc  ctid  and 
filed  to  a  knife  c  r  other.     Tbe 

purpose  of  the  c  ii  to  trans- 

mit   the   load    from   a    pr o. .  inn 

uniformly  to  the  piston.     I:.  ::ioa 

shown  in  Fig.  i  a  one-pour  :  .■.  ^  .  •.  on 
the  weight  pan  P  will  c0c<.:  1  1  ad  of 
five  pounds  on  the  piston,  which  is  equiva- 
lent to  a  steam  pressure  of  ten  pounds  to 
the  square  inch,  as  tbe  area  of  the  ordi- 
nary indicator  piston  is  one-half  of 
one  square  inch.  Thus,  wi^h  to  one- 
pound  weights  a  50-pound  v  be 
tested  to  100  pounds.  To  •  ..riter 
spring  the  weight  pan  may  be  placed 
nearer  the  fulcrum  with  a  consequent  re- 
duction of  force  at  the  piston,  tbe  jockey 
weight  J  being  employed  to  compcnaatc 
for  this  change  of  position  of  tbc  pan. 


r«lcra«a 


tkc   dc«r«t 


a  tee  which  in  turn  may  be  held  by  a 


nc    3    Lxvta  TO  Arrt-v   mkchanical  nussfte 

obtain   a    rca>onably   accurate  .calibration.  I  •».  **»*  9*^' 

SUam   /V^jjurr— Fig.   2   shows   an   ap-      ma..  Mr  appa- 

paralut   for  obtaining  steam  pressure  of     may  be  set  on  a  table  wh^ 
desired  amount  up  to  that  of  the  line,     the  indicator  supported  by 
drawing   will   be   readily   understood 
u  it  IS  cxpl.iinc<!  th.it  I'y  ;«li  i 
■  r%  A  and  IJ  the  prcsMirr  i-  •.  .1 

tlic    "table"   is    for    the    purj.-.,c     of 
•curing   It.      An   accurate    k^k'    would 
•erve  the  purpose  as  well,  but  because  of  _^     _, 

the  unreliability  of  gages,   this   device   i»         !  ♦  "i  »»««•  perfocwtd  m*«rt 

preferable..  The  table  is  of  known  wrikch!  ruor  Carprnt* 

•         •       .      .     .  '  ^tiitti     c.f     iri'!, 


(ri 
in 


any  of  tlK  fnAnaiag  ikrw 
be   sclcctc4.   dcfcatfj 
:  aocttracjr  dcaircd. 

MrraoM  or 

Kcfcrnag   hm   to   Plf.    I.   dM 
placed  00  tbt  heriaoMal 
distances  of  mkIi  Haaa  f 
ooc  or  Kra    ObvioMljr.  iW  4irtMM 
twcco    two    lines    cofTwpoading    to 

SaP"        '•ir...,.r        r. 


m     tr:r      {>ytr.t   r.     corrnpoadMg     tO     ikit 

pressare.  It  will  be  scca  tkat  to  iffljr 
these  resohs  correctly  il  woMU  kc 
nr<r%%Mty  to  ahcr  tbc  ordiMtc  ol  mtk 
!bc  diacraa  aad  10  coMtrvei  •■ 
new  oac  TIm^  ko««v«r.  b  ao 
cttmbcrsome  a  procca*  m  to  k«  ool  of  Ik* 
question,  eipcciifly  a*  • 
value  of  tbe  taring  icak 
of  the  asccndim  and 
usually  gives  very  acccpukk 

Estrnmf  l'  -  ~  obobl  • 
approaimatso: 
Ucbcst  ordiBaic  <»l  cadi  Mt  of  Warn, 
Fig.  I.  may  be  divided  faMo  its  corvo- 
spoodiac  prcscsrc  aod  tbc  two 
Thus  in  tbc  example  cit<«L 

\   1.71    ^    i.lo  / 

This  is  a  erode  roall  aai  bos  tbt 

Adv<''><-<-   «^«t  it  b  lapocaMc  to  • 
liir  '  of  aocsrory  o» 

error  i»  jk^h^ivc  or  1 
hat  tbis  merit,  hemt^rt  *  of  tbc 

'a  gag^  <*  KT^'^rn  10  be 
t  aid  tbc  oboe* 
mr  i^  qakbly  ■■■ 


...      T\^ 


pared  w«i  a  kmmm  boiler  pro»- 

cj-»  r»  jr.  !i  And  its  cfTW  4ceer« 
If  no«r  0  itia9*» 

^     .-^kmior    oo»> 
.  be  OMtf  1^ 

.,.;»if»?u.   in    rig.   A     To  4e 

<«tM    oKb    sbooM    ba«c 

.  ^b  of  vbirb 

4    wi^   tbe 

aiirf  ilM  ««bc«  10  ibc 

-  <fsr.k  sf  t^  ^■i'** 
•«  nal 
fbc  cyi- 
imn  ol 


TiiC    ktcdiii    |.rc>-iifc     .>. 
may   be    mea«urri!    Vy 
•tancLird  weiiihl* 

AtfiluHital  f'rfSi 
of   applying   mechanical    pressure   to   the 
ilidicainr  piston,  the  author   ^tjjtff''''*  *l>c 
simple  lever  »hown  in  Fir    .\      '    '     '•  ®' 

V     with  metal   «trip«    V   \^rrw 
ft    arm    of    such    wrijjht    a*    ' 
(ain  equilibrium  in  the  position  »h<>«!-      A 


•P 
o( 

P»« 


.iUl'fit'    "♦«'     *P' 


•  «lu*   Inr   l»«lin*    (i    <■■** 


»tM   tOC   pllMIWI 

lull  <« I.  I 


«m  of 


492 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  i6,  1909. 


A  straight  line  is  passed  through  each 
curve,  so  inclined  as  to  deviate  from  it 
as  little  as  possible.  If,  now,  the  tangents 
of  the  angles  made  by  these  straight  lines 
with  the  vertical  axis  are  separately  mul- 
tiplied by  the  ratio  of  the  scales  of  ab- 
scissas to  ordinates  of  the  curves,  the 
values  resulting  will  be  the  new  ascend- 
ing and  descending  spring  scales.  From 
Fig.  4  these  values  are, 


and 


X  0.589  =  29.45 


X  0.577  =  28.85, 


the  mean  of  which  is  29.15. 

Inspection  of  these  straight  lines  shows 
that  neither  of  them  passes  through  the 
origin  of  coordinates,  and  it  may  be  said 
generally  that  this  is  a  characteristic  of 
such  calibration  curves.  The  cause  of  it 
is  lost  motion  in  the  pencil  linkage,  and 
friction.  If  these  did  not  exist,  a 
straight  line  passing  through  the  origin 
and  parallel  to  the  one  found  would  re- 
sult. 

Least  Squares — The  graphic  method 
depends  upon  estimating  the  "most  prob- 
able" straight  line  represented  by  the 
points  plotted  and  is  necessarily  a  guess. 
But  it  may  be  expressed  algebraically, 
and  from  the  equation  a  value  of  the 
spring  scale  may  be  found  by  the  method 
of  least  squares.  By  this  process  the  best 
obtainable  result  will  ensue.  No  attempt 
will  be  made  here  to  explain  the  theory 
of  the  method ;  only  its  particular  appli- 
cation to  the  subject  under  consideration 
is  given.  The  equation  of  the  calibration 
line  is, 

p  ^  h  s  -\-  c, 
from  which 

ph  =  h''  s  '\-  ch, 
where 

p  =  Pressure  corresponding  to  the  hight 
of  the  ordinate  h, 

s  =  Spring  scale  and 

c  =  Unknown  constant. 

The  observations  shown  in  Fig.  i  are 
substituted  in  these  equations  thus,  to  ob- 
tain the  descending  scale : 

p  ■=  hs  -\-  c 
10  =  0.41s  +  c 
20  =  0.76.?  +  c 
30  =  1.095  +  c 
40  =  1.44s  +  c 
50  =  i.8o.y  +  c 

150  =  5S0S  +  5c 

ph  =  h^s  +  he 
4.1  ^  o.i68i.y  +  0.4IC 
15.2  =  0.5776J  +  0.76c 
32.7  =z  i.i88i.r  +  1.09c 
57.6  =  2.0736.?  +  1.44c 
90.0  =  3.2400J  +  1.80C 


The  last  equation  of  each  series  is  the 
sum  of  the  equations  preceding  it,  and 
dividing  these  resulting  equations  respec- 
tively by  the  coefficients  of  c  contained  in 
them,  the  following  results  are  obtained : 

30  =  i.is  +  c 

•36.29  =  1.3177-5  +  c. 

From  the  solution  of  the  two  equations : 

.y  =  -^^-  =  28.89 
o  2177 

pounds  for  the  descending  scale,  and  simi- 
larly for  the  ascending  scale,  .?  =  29.33 
pounds  per  inch.  The  mean  of  these 
values  is  29.11. 

To  compare  the  results  obtained  by  the 


1.8 


1.6 


1.4 


1.2 


51.0 


20.8 
bo 


//' 

<<5 

f^ — 

/M 

~~i'^l 

/ 

^""ee 

_J 

T_ 

// 

/ 

The  explanation  for  these  disparities  is 
found  on  the  calibration  curves.  If  the 
points  whose  coordinates  have  been  used 
in  the  calculation  lay  on  the  lines,  and  if 
the  ordinates  of  these  points  were  cor- 
rected by  subtracting  from  them  the  in- 
tercepts of  the  lines  with  the  vertical  axis, 
respectively,  the  results  would  be  correct. 
It  is  impracticable  to  determine  these  in- 
tercepts, however,  without  actually  draw- 
ing the  lines.  The  error  caused  by  ne- 
glecting them  obviously  is  less  appreciable 
when  the  values  of  the  ordinates  are  high, 
and  this  is  the  reason  why  the  bights  at 
the  greatest  pressures  are  used  in  the  cal- 
culation. 

In  conclusion,  it  may  be  well  to  lay 
stress  upon  the  fact  that  the  accuracy  of 
calibration  is  primarily  dependent  upon 
the  truth  of  the  pressure-measuring  de- 
vice. If  weights  are  used,  as  suggested, 
their  values  must  be  definitely  known,  as 
any  error  will  be  magnified.  The  condi- 
tions of  practice,  as  to  lubrication,  etc., 
must  be  as  far  as  possible  duplicated.  If 
the  method  of  least  squares  is  used  the 
calculations  must  be  performed  with  pre- 
cision to  the  last  decimal,  as  will  be  ap- 
parent from  the  sample  calculations  in 
this  article.  In  any  case,  the  more  de- 
terminations made  the  closer  will  be  the 
result.  With  reasonable  care  in  making 
observations,  distortion  of  the  pressure 
line  may  be  compensated  for  within  i  per_ 
cent,  of  error. 


0.2 


C  10  20  30  40  50 

Pressures,  Lb.  per  Square  Inch 

FIG.     4.     CALIBRATION    CURVES   FOR   A   30- 

POUND     SPRING 

three  different  methods,  the  following  is 
instructive : 


Method. 

Ascending 
Scale. 

Descend'g 
Scale. 

Mean. 

Extreme  values  . . 

29.25 
29.45 
29.33 

27.8 

28.85 

28.89 

28.5 
29.15 

Least   squares 

29.11 

199.6  =  7-2474?  +  5-50C 


An  examination  of  these  results  shows 
that  there  is  0.13  per  cent,  of  error  in- 
volved in  the  graphic  method,  assuming 
the  value  obtained  by  least  squares  as 
correct.  The  accuracy  of  this  method  is 
dependent  upon  that  of  the  estimation  of 
the  straight  lines  and  the  limitations  com- 
mon to  graphic  measurements.  Referring 
to  the  fi.rst  set  of  values  tabulated,  that 
for  the  ascending  scale  is  fairly  close; 
but,  because  that  for  the  descending  scale 
is  low,  the  mean  is  2  per  cent,  in  error. 


Motive  Power  Equipment  for 
Textile  Establishments 


In  an  informal  talk  before  the  South- 
wick  Textile  Club  at  Lowell,  Mass.,  re- 
cently, Charles  G.  Burleigh  referred  to 
some  of  the  blunders  made  in  the  motive 
equipment  of  textile  mills  and  pointed 
out  the  advantages  of  alternating-current 
motors  and  steam  turbines  for  that  class 
of  work.  To  begin  with,  he  strongly 
urged  leaving  the  engineering  details  of 
the  power  equipment  to  the  manufacturer 
of  the  apparatus,  selecting  a  manufacturer 
who  has  had  creditable  experience  in  this 
particular  class  of  work.  This  advice  was 
based  on  the  hypothesis  that  no  reputable 
manufacturer  can  afford  to  recommend 
anything  else  than  the  most  satisfactory 
types  and  sizes  of  machine. 

Direct-current  generators  and  motors 
are  less  desirable  than  alternating-current 
machines,  he  said,  because  of  the  limited 
voltage,  which  militates  against  a  central 
power  plant  for  a  large  group  of  factory 
buildings,  and  the  commutators  ana 
brushes  of  the  motors,  which  are  unde- 
sirable from  the  insurance  point  of  view 
and  are  much  more  expensive  and  trou- 
blesome to  maintain  than  the  simpler  in- 
duction motor.  The  gradual  increase  in 
the  speed  of  a  direct-current  motor,  due 
to  the  heating  of  the  field-magnet  wind- 
ing and   consequent  decrease   in  field  ex- 


March  i6,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


citation  during  tach  day's   run,   wa«   a!*' 
cited  as  a  i-  ■ 
to  avoid  o\> 

after  the  field  winding  01  the  inut'  r   rx 
comes    warm,    he    explained,    it    inu-t    be 
operated  at  less  than  its  rate  of  maximum 
production    while    the    motor     is     warm- 
ing up. 

Mr.   Burleigh  then  reviewed  1        ' 
advan»ae<*«    '^f    electric     drive 

'    and    bcltinis',    tlcxibiUty 
•he  chief  benefit. 
He  advocated  the  use  of  the  steam  tur- 
i'ine   for   the   prime   mover   in   the   power 
ise  on  the  score  of  reliability,  ecunomy 
first  cost,  operating  expense  and  floor 
ice,  .absence    of    oil    in    the    exhaust 
im    and  the  feasibility  of  takini;   -!'.i:n 
.;   from  the  intermediate  staKc>  i'  r  (1.  • 
ing,  bleaching,  etc.     He  favored  the  Cur- 
tis type  of  turbine  because  it  is  '■'>)rT!';r. 
ble  in  either  the  vertical  or  the 
form,    the    speed    rate,    in    rcv..i 
lower  than   that   of  other   types,  the   dis- 
tance  between   bearings   is   shorter,  there 
is  no  appreciable  end  thrust  in  the  hori- 
zontal  form    and  the  clearances  arc  rela- 
tively large  for  a  given  economy. 


Tlic    Conservation    of    Our    Water 
Powers  * 


Bv  John  F.  Vauchan 


There  are  two  subjects  we  have  heard 
a  great  deal  about  lately:  (l)  The  com- 
bining of  corporate  interests,  and  (2)  The 
1  of  our  natural  resources. 
the  most  important  example 
of  i..jj„.r.it<  <Minliir>.i!i  fi  has  been  in  the 
merKUiK  "i  ••tr.mi  r.iilr  .i'Ih  into  a  few 
Con)prchcn!.ive  *y%lrjjis  ! 
followed    by    a    more    ..r    1  '' 

movement  to  consolidate  lighter  .l«t?ric 
railroads  with  a  tendency  further  t-)  com 
bine  these  with  the  older  steam  r<»ad«. 
And    now    in    the    dcs   '  * 

ten«ion    electrical     tr;i' 
th-  !    means   ni    c.k.'m:. ■.:!.:    •,>.;:    ' 

tc.  ''■r  power*.  aii<!   i"    ''"■    "1  •' 

tioii  ■.!  as  a  di»tr 

a  »tr<'t  ,,  -•  for  the 

interests    of   all    three    of    these    cu>*r« 
Heavy    and    light    railroads    and    w.itrr 
power* 

,\»   a   m.ifter   of   far'   *'  ■  '   •• 

ttram    an<l    rlntrir    ri 
begun,  .iikI 
rnacl  m  th-- 
Con»i'!rr  niK' 
par;       i    it^ 

re  either  acquirniv 
. .   i>mg  water  power  jm 
h  them  with  motive  power     1 


\<\   «ubjcct— that   o< 

•A    p»p*r    r*«i1    h»fof«    tiM    fUw 
'--•    Hallwar    '\»^ 


• -      ' •     -  - r^ 

wherever   water 
traffic  grow? 
increase,   at. 


'attsral  mourcc*— in  its 

the  country  is 

-a<l   men.  and 

of  stream 

'"    than 

At 


'.  be  mure  And 
•wer 

'attoo,   io- 

V  patftng 


<!.iri iitcc   by  flood,  demands  acrioiu  coo- 

sidcration. 

\VATTw-p«»\vrji    RcsocBCSs    AMD    D^T^JO^■ 

MBNT 

•    rr 
been 


t     ut  this    IS 

kt  n  ...   :r  than  ap- 

!e  the  records 

r   t.ii.iy   comprrhrnsive. 

!e  is  known  of  the  po«»i- 


d- 

Ih. 

"n 

•h.- 

w 

hv 

(,. 

bu 

St:' 

■  r'«     f 

Pf 

the  *.. 
has  be' 

Schon.     He   gi\ 
power    already 
horsepower,  and 

P--- ' 

i< 

II    i?t.  Llair  r 
forr   th'   r*<-ro» 

r- 

tr- 

the    *irram«    oi 

»iderablv    hiohrr 

power. 

power  «Ji   -■<  «»•• 

land   indastrira. 


.-rkn«^mifiv»  e«tini«t»  of 


of    water 
the  available  undeveloped 

ill,.     V>alr.      ..(       •tr>r«9r        4* 


the 


He 

temrntJi 

UXOQOUOOO 


the   total 

-.1    iti    iiiir 


!     Ill 

;   the 

ti.c  Mm«- 

tig  output 

eaminB*  — that    is. 

•»      .■.tvr      !?»•»>      Wf 

ifing 


Sow.    mV 


of  dnrtlnpimiit  aatf  pwiljr  dw 

stream  regulatioa.    Wick  tlw  old  tyyc  o4 

water    wKrrI    i.:\'\    .o»tI«    fn«\:KAiUi  .^I    trxrik. 


at  ....  _.....   ... . 

part  of  the  (all 

rate  aad  coady  can^j  ij>'<-nM.    Tha 

rrccM   tnrbmc    aod    yet    Bcver 

wheel.  aliho««h  tthtrng  the  f«B  hmi  «l 

the  (aU.  have  beta  sttO  himpiiid  by  dM 

oeccaaity   (or  aami  the  power   amr  dM 

(all     B«t  aow  with  the  growth  ol  dm* 

markru  be  reached,  bm  poweea  lormcfty 
inacccaa^le  may  be  d«<ekiped  aad  oper- 
ated singly  or  m  groopa.  (or  better  ocow* 
omy  aod  cftcseacy.  Thaa  the  diitrmg 
Via  ^eristic*  of  power  —rbeti  may  be 
'•-,.-''  eqoalited  aad  better  aemce  aad 
larger  retvraa  ohtaiaed  from  the 

of  the 


T  powers  are    m    dm   Calitortria 

sysfenu  where  amata  Kadcroa  laraami  the 

large 
leii>...r,    Aith 
indostrtal    plaala. 


w  km 


water   (or   irhgMioa:   aad 

ample  of  coaibiaBtioa  of 

the  great  systeaM  of  Ni 

power  oeer  haadrvaa  of  amm  of  ■■■§  Iw 

an  hdWie  earitty  of  aaea. 

We  have  good  mmilii  ol  the  am  of 

water  power  V«  fin'..^ii«   m  tS«  piMM  ol 

theChkago  ^<iLwhidb 

b  already  Bta-"<«  <  -   ■— -•  ^..teAepmmi 

of  aoaM  aomwft  horaepower  avmmUe  m 

'  -he  St  |oe  river,  lee  opant- 

^   ckcirkaBy  over  the  Gemi 

;a  the  ek^tiifcaboa  of  dm  Ca»- 

rmel  of  Uw  Graai  Northeea  raA- 

road,  m  dm  toateratoa  of  the  Mil  mil 

hne^  XI    in!  ^4n  Praacimo^  m  the  ««Bir- 

p,   .  Yorb  Cemral  far  opera 

r'Mwer.  aad  ta 


RiQCtauinrra  9m  Bra*  « 

Lrt  m  me  what  the  prw««5^.   -   li** 

mmt*  Uf  iW  flcoaomkal  am  of  ear  w«aw 


certaia 


.«    tacihl 


a1  &.W  «4 


-Mt  -J-»m^     ** ' 


494 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  i6,  1909. 


by  other  power,  or  the  excess  sold  as 
cheaper  secondary  power  subject  to  inter- 
ruption, even  an  average  stream  will  waste 
more  power  than  it  can  use,  and  a  tor- 
rential stream,  which  may  flow  in  flood 
over  one  hundred  times  its  low  flow,  will 
give  up  only  a  few  per  cent,  of  its  total 
energy.  It  is  evident  that  expensive  stor- 
age cannot  be  accomplished  without  the 
cooperation  of  the  power  users  and  an 
equitable  sharing  of  the  expense. 

A  Good  Example  of  Stream  Control 

Perhaps  the  best  example  we  have  of 
stream  control  is  in  the  Merrimac  river, 
where  through  the  cooperation  of  milling 
interests  at  Lowell,  later  joined  by  Law- 
rence mills  which  shared  the  expense, 
the  storage  facilities  at  Winnepesaukee, 
Squam  and  other  lakes  were  developed 
and  a  comprehensive  plan  of  stream  meas- 
urement and  control  established,  and  to- 
day the  use  of  water  at  Lowell,  Lawrence 
and  Manchester  is  so  closely  watched  and 
regulated  that  during  dry  months  practi- 
cally no  water  is  wasted,  and  during  last 
summer's  drought,  although  the  various 
small  tributary  streams  furnished  practi- 
cally no  supply,  the  flow  of  the  river  held 
up  remarkably  well. 

As  far  as  possible  various  plants  should 
be  tied  together  to  feed  into  a  common 
network  of  distributing  lines  so  as  to  util- 
ize the  stream  flow  to  its  best  advantage, 
to  equalize  local  peaks  and  irregularities 
of  load,  to  reduce  surplus  investment  in 
spare  and  breakdown  capacity,  to  cut 
down  distribution  costs,  and  to  improve 
the  regulation  of  the  system.  By  such 
combination  the  number  of  units  in  each 
plant  may  be  reduced,  hydraulic  and  elec- 
tric designs  simplified,  complication  of 
switching  and  control  cut  down,  and  a 
corresponding  saving  made  in  fixed 
charges  and  operating  costs.  In  this  way 
many  communities  may  be  served  which 
otherwise  could  not  support  the  burden 
of  individual  development. 

Arrangement  with  other  power  pro- 
ducers should  be  considered  for  the  inter- 
change of  surplus  power,  especially  where 
the  peak  demands  are  not  simultaneous. 
For  instance,  an  agreement  between  a 
lighting  copipany  and  a  coal  mine  in  Penn- 
S3-lvania  for  the  interchange  of  power  up 
to  2500  kilowatts,  where  the  mine  shuts 
down  before  the  peak  of  the  lighting  load, 
now  enables  each  to  reduce  its  fixed 
charges  on  spare  equipment  and  to  im- 
prove its  load  factor. 

Utilizing  Surplus  Power 
Surplus  power  during  light  demand,  or 
surplus  water,  should  be  utilized  for  in- 
dustrial purposes,  such  as  pumping,  elec- 
trochemical or  metallurgical  processes.  For 
example,  the  electrical  recovery  of  peat 
from  wet  bogs  and  the  manufacturing  of 
fertilizers  and  certain  other  products  of 
modern  chemistry  from  nitrogen  recov- 
ered from  the  atmosphere  are  not  wholly 
visionary,    nor   is    it   necessarily   crazy   to 


use  surplus  flow  to  pump  water  into  reser- 
voirs above  the  natural  water  levels  for 
use  during  dry  periods  or  excessive  loads. 
In  certain  localities  surplus  or  discharged 
water  should  be  utilized  for  water  sup- 
plies or  irrigation.  Groups  of  plants  now 
on  the  old  series  canal  systems,  or  plants 
otherwise  inefiicient  in  the  use  of  water, 
should  be  redeveloped. 

Robert  E.  Horton  recently  pointed  out, 
in  an  address  before  the  Schenectady 
branch  of  the  American  Institute  of  Elec- 
trical Engineers,  a  number  of  opportuni- 
ties of  this  kind  among  our  eastern 
streams ;  as,  for  instance,  at  Holyoke, 
where  there  are  about  fifty  mills  taking 
water  from  a  series  of  canals  at  three  dif- 
ferent elevations;  at  Cohoes,  at  the  junc- 
tion of  the  Mohawk  and  the  Hudson, 
where  about  thirty  mills  draw  on  five 
canal  levels.  There  are  also  many  cases 
where  for  the  same  reasons  the  available 
fall  is  divided  up  by  series  of  low  dams, 
each  with  its  own  wheels  dependent  on  the 
dams  above  for  water  and  liable  to  back- 
water during  flood. 

Obstacles  to  be  Overcome 

There  are,  of  course,  many  obstacles  to 
overcome  before  our  streams  can  be 
properly  controlled  and  their  power  util- 
ized to  best  advantage ;  legal  tangles  to 
straighten  out,  franchise  restrictions  to 
modify,  dams  to  build  and  to  rebuild,  and 
innumerable  physical  and  operating  de- 
tails to  work  out.  But  water  is  a  per- 
manent asset  which  is  neither  burned  up 
like  fuel  nor  carted  off  like  our  mineral 
resources,  but  returns  with  every  fog  and 
rain  storm  to  be  used  again. 

In  the  interdependence  of  the  territories 
embraced  by  the  various  watersheds  our 
interests  in  this  asset  become  national, 
warranting  federal  control,  or  at  least 
State  action  under  federal  supervision, 
and  already  we  have  in  the  hydraulic 
work  of  the  New  York  State  Water  Sup- 
ply Commission,  established  under  the 
Fuller  bill,  a  substantial  advance  made  in 
the  study  of  the  storage  possibilities  and 
in  its  effect  on  present  and  future  water 
powers  of  the  State,  and  in  the  National 
Conservation  Commission,  appointed  by 
the  President,  a  definite  establishment  of 
Government  policy.  Both  of  these  com- 
missions recognize  that  the  conservation 
of  our  water  supply  is  of  sufficient  import- 
ance to  call  for  comprehensive  plans  of 
water  storage  and  stream  control,  and  that 
the  Government  should  eventually  dis- 
tribute the  cost  of  such  improvements 
among  all  interests  in  proportion  to  the 
Ijenefits  received. 

On  this  basis,  then,  the  water-power 
interests  will  be  required  to  carry  only  a 
hurden  in  proportion  to  the  benefits  they 
receive ;  and  such  a  policy  will  not  only 
enable  individual  enterprises  to  develop 
their  resources  to  best  advantage,  but  will 
give  their  properties  a  more  definite  and 
permanent  value. 

In  this  general  movement  toward  stream 


betterment  there  is  a  definite  beginning  of 
a  more  economic  use  of  our  water-power 
resources,  and  in  the  growth  of  electrical 
transmission  a  means  of  reducing  both 
first  cost  and  operating  expense.  And 
from  whatever  point  we  view  the  matter 
we  have  plenty  of  reasons  for  encourag- 
ing the  conservation  work  already  begun 
by  the  Government  and,  in  addition, 
plehty  of  opportunity  for  studying  the  im- 
provement of  our  existing  powers  and  the 
development  of  new. 


Comparative  Tests  of  Coal 


By  Peter  H.  Bullock 


At  present  there  is  a  good  deal  of  uncer- 
tainty about  the  quality  of  coal  delivered 
to  customers  in  the  East,  and  this  applies 
to  all  coals  regardless  of  the  names  they 
may  be  sold  under.  Coal  has  been  sold  and 
delivered  under  a  hyphenated  name  that 
carried  only  a  suggestion  as  to  quality,  and 
that  suggestion  would  only  be  founded  on 
the  fact  that  either  before  or  after  the 
hyphen  there  would  be  a  familiar  name. 
John  Smith-Pocahontas,  or  Georges-Paul 
Creek  might  be  very  good  or  very  poor 
coal.  Some  buyers  have  adopted  the 
B.t.u.  system,  the  price  to  be  a  sliding 
scale  determined  by  the  analyses  of  sam- 
ples of  the  coal.  This  seems  to  be  fair, 
but  it  is  one  thing  to  know  how  many 
B.t.u.  there  are  in  any  coal,  and  quite  an- 
other to  catch  all  the  B.t.u.  in  the  furnace. 

It  would  appear  that  the  only  informa- 
tion needed  by  the  purchaser  is,  how  much 
water  can  be  evaporated  under  regular 
conditions  with  a  dollar's  worth  of  coal? 
The  exactness  of  chemical  analysis  is  not 
to  be  doubted,  but  it  is  also  certain  that  a 
fireman  will  sometimes  do  better  with  coal 
that  does  not  show  up  the  best  when  so 
tested. 

It  will  undoubtedly  be  admitted  that 
better  tests  can  be  made  in  small  plants 
where  all  the  coal  and  water  used  can  be 
weighed  and  the  steam  generated  applied 
to  the  usual  and  regular  service.  In  large 
plants  where  there  are  many  boilers  and 
frequent  changes  of  men,  it  is  practically 
out  of  the  question  to  deal  with  the  whole 
plant  and  get  satisfactory  results.  Of 
course  it  is  possible  to  cut  out  the  feed 
pipe  of  one  boiler  and  weigh  the  coal  and 
water  fed  to  it  in  any  given  time,  but  the 
expense  and  the  uncertainties  that  attend 
such  a  test  make  it  advisable  to  provide  a 
simple  apparatus  for  this  especial  purpose  - 
.Accordingly,  the  writer  has  designed  and 
put  into  operation  a  spiall  plant  for  com- 
parative tests  of  all  coal  purchased.  It 
will  be  noted  that  the  word  comparative 
is  used,  for  the  simple  apparatus  installed 
leaves  out  many  things  that  are  taken  in 
standard  tests.  Not  but  what  these  data 
are  valuable,  but  because  they  are  not 
necessary  in  a  case  where  the  efficiency  of 
apparatus  is  not  a  question,  and  it  is  only 
necessary  to  determine  how  much  water 


March   1 6,    1909. 

one  dollars  worth  of  A,  B  or  Cs  coal  will 
evaporate  in  a  furnace  and  under  preciscl> 
the  same  conditions. 

Testing  Appahatls 
The  testing  apparatus  is  simply  a  plam 
return-tubular  boiler   16  inches  in  diamc 
ter  and  4   feet  long,  with   thirty    I '/4-inch 
tubes   3   feet   long.     It   is   set   in   firebrick 
and   has  a   dumping  grate  of   I'A   square 
feet    area.      It     has     no    fittings    except 
a    Rage    glass,    and    is    fed    through    a 
funnel   from   a   tank  setting   high  enough 
for  the  purpose.     The  outlet  pipe  is  shon, 
open  to  the  air  and  large  enough  to  carry 
off   all    the    steam    the   boiler    can    make. 
The  stack  is  8  inches  in  diameter  and  is 
used  only  to  carry  away   the  smoke,  the 
necessar>'  draft  being  furnished  by  a  fan 
and   engine   run   by   steam    from   another 
source,  so  that  the  intensity  of  the  draft 
can  be  maintained  at  any  desirable  point, 
and  is  measured  by  a  U-tube  at  the  ashpit. 
When  a  test  of  fuel  is  to  be  made,  hshl 
wood   is  burned   until     steam    is    flowing 
freely  from  the  pipe.     The  hight  of  water 
in  the  gage  glass  is    then    noted    and    4 
pounds   of    fine     wood    is   put     into    the 
furnace  to  start  the  coal  fire.     Then   100 
pounds    of    coal    is    burned,    and    all    the 
water  that  possibly  can  be  is  evaporated. 
When  the  coal  is  all  burned  the  hight  of 
water  in  the  gage  is  left  exactly  the  same 
.^  at  the  beginning  of  the  test.     It  is  then 
■lown   how   much  coal   has  been   burned 
nd  how  much  water  evaporated. 
The  tubes,  furnace  and  ashpit  arc  now 
■  aned  and  all  the  refuse   weighed,  giv- 
;:    the    percentage   of   combustible.      To 
t  the  moisture  in  the  coal  6%  pounds, 
'    too  ounces,  is  put  into  a  shallow  bak- 
a  pan  which  is  placed   in  a   flue  where 
there  is   a  current   of  air  at    IJO  degrees 
and  is  left  there  for  five  hours,  when  it  ii 
again  weighed  and  the  loss  noted.     There 
may    Ikt    sotne   objection    to    this    method, 
for  it  may  l)c  claimed  that  in  order  to  get 
all  the  moisture  out  of  the  coal,  the  tern- 
rat  u  re  'should    be    212    degrees.     This 
•atment,  however,  leaves  the  coal  prac- 
.illy  dry.  is  as  fair  for  one  man's  coal 
another's,  and  the  higher  temper. if    » 
'Uld    in    some    case*    carry    off    \.  ! 
gases    that    might   better   be    left,    as    tlic> 
have  a  fuel  value  which  the  teller  is  rn 
tilled   to   have    the   benefit    of.      The   tern 
pcralure  of  the  water  used  i»  taken      The 
price  of  the  coal  is  known,  the  e(|uivalrt)t 
'''tween  any  temperature  and  jij  <|egrer» 
known,  and  it  is  then  a  simple  matter 
to   obtain   the    comparative    amounts    of 
water  that   the    coal    from    A.    R   or    C 
has  evaporated  in  ihr 
under  exactly  the   s.u; 
data    can    be    reiluced    i>> 
units;  cost  tif  rvap«^>ratinK    : 
water,  or  how  much   water  wiK 
lar's  worth  of  coal  evaporate' 
parative  economy  is  the  same  whichever 
unit  is  used. 

A  QtnrsTioK  or  Nfoiarvu 
There   is   a   question   in    retard  to   tbr 


POWER  AND  THE  EN'GIKEER. 

inoisture  m  the  coal  at  the  time  of  tbe 
test  and  the  moisture  in  the  coal  at  the 
••roe  it  was  weighed  for  shitMncm.  The 
■'ills  are  made  out  at  the  •  pocnt 

and  if  the  coal  is  wet   v.  ed  the 

water  m  the  coal  is  paid  c^tm^f 

tested  may  have  become  ;  «o  that 

'he  a  coal  burned  would  be 

'h^'  '  would  be  represented 

in  the  bill  Un  the  other  hand  if  the  cral 
was  dry  when  weighed  and  it  had  been  ex- 
posed to  wet  weather,  the  amount  of  furl 
in  the  test  would  be  less  by  an  amount 
equal  to  the  weight  of  water  added  Re 
cently  a  car   was  rr  .t   had  been 

three  weeks  in  tran  wrt!  o  per 

cent,  of  moisture  in  the   iju  .-. 

hour   test       If   the    facts   as    •  re 

could  be  settled  when  the  coaJ  was 
weighed  and  billed,  it  would  be  easy 
enough  to  make  the  proper  allowance  for 
any  wetting  or  drying  it  got  between  the 
weighing  and  the  testing  points  This 
seems  to  be  practically  out  of  t"  n. 

and,  of  course,  every  dealer   ••.  n 

that  the  coal  was  dry  when  w 

that   he  ought   to  have   the  be 

doubt  in  the  test 

In  a  trial  test  under  standard  coti.Iiii  n* 

the  quality  of  the  steam  as  to 

to  be  taken  into  consideration.  .  ..;  .t* 

apparatus  the  coal  is  burned  to  the  best  of 

our   ability,   clean   water   is    fed   into   the 

l>oiler  and  to  all  appearances  nothing  but 

Roo<I,  honest  steam  1. 

At  any  rate  it  is  the 

at    all    time«,    as   an 

t.itnr.!  :xr<\  nJioM*   .i^ 

Mour  as  in  rrg< 

i.  ^  ■       -r, 

I  he    writer    has    uniformly    found 
greater  per  cent,  of  ash  than  the  seller- 
want  to  admit.     This  may  be  doe  to  the 
fact   that   the  f  ' 
are  brushed  clea 
thing  it  weighed  a 
(torn  the  co*l   and   ■ 
huttible.     I- 
dttinn»     n 

that  proprrijr  brfcmg  m  & 


n  woitld  be  prrfcctljr  aaivMc^  as.  of 
coarse,  the  other  wo«l4  be  whtm  ukaa 
out  for  irtaL  For  ut  cvca  oOMpaffwiw  thM 
method  would  appcv  to  b«  bttarr  ih«i 
to  make  figttrrd  ^  ftr^ciamt  lor  ■»•->>»'» 
cootaioed ;  bcsi  ,.»  thr  Iw  . 

dhiofH  of  fifiac  ...,  «.^  MS  both  t*^. 

In   the  test   record*  the  aait   of 
janton    it    the   cost   of 
I-  urHl*   lA    mtttr  i 
»ure,  and  the  fnrmula  tt 

1000    m    f^m^lM  ^   ,-^ 


TtMTt  or  SAMru  Lot* 
In  samples  No*l  1  Uld  «  in  the  tests  fol 
lowing  the  *^f  same,  only  in  Na  ; 

vatnple  it  i  ^poscd  o«tt  of  drOTi 


-  but  two  sam 

■e     la'Tir      m}\-' 


Samples  No*.  1  Mtf  a 
the    same    car    aad    cw 
pounds  with  7  prr  nmt 
pie  No   I   ^  T«»  aiid  Na  i 

»ix  month  ci^  ca»owd  to 

the  weather  m  an  opai  boa,  to  'htr  at 
the  ume  of  the  test  M  earned  M  per  c««. 
of  moisture  As  the  lots  ol  coal  wWa 
bought  and  wcichcd  were  the  iwbk.  asid 
the  motstarc  at  the  tmie  of  ttatmm  Atfcr- 

tnpuutsotts  w«rc  ■atft  on  4vy 

case,  so  that  iaataad  ol  aai^ 
inn  p.  un<i«  as  wesghcdL  fj  poaatf*  ol  4ry 
coal  was  tubstttuiMl.  »m4  the  amoant  ffl 
water  ascertain^  1  iIk  (u 

added  to  the  ai  .mrald 

sample  eootaiDed  115  per  caM.  d  m^ 
and  the  cost  to  ev^oraie  ia»  dummIi 
of  water  «rat  fovad  lo  b* 


u  per  caat  of 


J  in<  r<>ti  was . 


n. 


blosslart    was 

riinrr  cat*,  aad  ash  1 
per  retH      To  evaporate 


N« 


US 

ol 


■  o.    «     <J      ,1 


artti  ui 


\t 


-••W% 


••Ib^^if 


'kM>k««4  abuvt  lb* 


No   a  *bow«d  a 


aKtstara  aad   faoM  Ikal  my   eaal 
.}.*.  'h  «(kl  carry  ap  lo  ijH  per  cnt. 


nK,      ^LL^      >^~* 


pir  tietnc  left 


wmtWT  tmtr 


tare  wave  the  coal  r^wvr  or  *vi 


ttk«      SS*»*t*'d, 


496 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  i6,  1909. 


The    Plunger    Hydraulic    Elevator 

Practical  Instructions  in  the  Care  and  Management  of  the  "Standard" 
Plunger  Elevator,  Illustrating  the  Essential  Features  to  Look  Out  For 

BY      WILLIAM      BAXTER.      Tr 


Whenever  it  is  desired  to  take  out  the 
main  valve  of  the  Standard  plunger  eleva- 
tor, it  can  be  removed  through  the  back 
end  of  the  valve  cylinder.  Before  it  can 
be  drawn  out,  however,  the  rack  at  the 
end  that  rotates  the  pinion  of  the  pilot 
valve  must  be  thrown  out  of  gear.  To  do 
this  all  that  is  necessary  is  to  remove 
the  hood  in  front  of  the  pilot  valve,  into 
which  the  rack  runs,  and  then  the  shoe 
that  holds  the  rack  and  pinion  in  mesh 
can  also  be  removed  and  the  rack  can  be 
pushed  to  one  side  so  as  to  clear  the  teeth 
of  the  pinion.  When  this  is  done  the 
valve  can  be  drawn  out  of  the  back  end 
of  the  valve  cylinder  without  difficulty. 

To  remove  the  automatic  stop  valves 
the  cylinder  head  must  be  removed,  and 
also  the  bonnet  under  the  center.  The 
cranks  that  operate  the  automatic  stop 
valves  are  fastened  to  the  shafts  on  which 
the  operating  levers  are  mounted  by 
means  of  caps,  and  the  screws  that  hold 
these  caps  can  be  reached  when  the  bon- 
net is  removed.  If  the  cap  is  taken  off 
the  crank  can  be  pushed  upward  and  can 
be  drawn  out,  together  with  the  valve, 
through  the  end  of  the  valve  cylinder ;  all 
of  which  can  be  readily  understood  upon 
■examining  the  valve  drawing,  Fig.  283, 
shown  in  a  previous  article.  The  cranks 
are  keyed  to  the  shafts,  to  prevent  them 
from  turning,  and  in  putting  the  valve 
back  care  must  be  taken  that  the  key  is 
returned  to  position  and  the  screws  tight- 
ened up  as  much  as  they  were  before,  so 
that  there  may  be  no  danger  of  working 
the  parts  loose  thereafter. 

Pilot  Valve  Removal  and  Adjustment 

The  pilot  valve,  body  and  all,  can  be 
removed  by  taking  off  the  end  hood  the 
same  as  for  throwing  the  rack  out  of 
gear,  as  explained  above.  When  this 
hood  is  removed,  the  bolts  that  hold  the 
pilot-valve  body  can  be  reached  and  taken 
•out  and  then  the  valve  can  be  removed, 
together  with  the  shaft  that  carries  the 
pinion  and  the  cams  that  prevent  too 
rapid  reversal  of  the  elevator  motiorL  A 
side  view  of  all  these  parts  is  given  in 
Fig.  307,  which  is  a  vertical  section.  This 
drawing  does  not  show  the  means  by 
which  the  valve^body  is  fastened  to  the 
end  casting  of  the  main  valve  body ;  these 
consist  of  lugs  that  spread  out  on  each 
side  of  the  shaft  L"  at  the  top  and  bot- 
tom, opposite  the  bearings  through  which 
the  shaft  slides.  A  view  of  the  valve 
body  at   right  angles  to  Fig.   307  would 


t=iL^ 

FIG.    307 


show  these  lugs,  on  opposite  sides  of  the 
parts  E  and  F.  To  remove  the  valve 
alone,  all  that  is  necessary  is  to  take  off 
the  connecting  arm  D  and  the  lower  cap 
C;  then  the  valve  can  be  drawn  out 
through  the  lower  end. 

Referring  to  Fig.  307  it  can  be  seen 
that  no  provision  is  made  for  adjusting 
the  position  of  the  pilot-valve  cup  pack- 
ings, nor  for  adjusting  the  cams  a,  b,  a' 
and  b'.  Adjustment  of  the  position  of  the 
cup  packings  would  only  serve  to  vary  the 
lap  of  the  valve,  and  such  adjustment  is 
not  only  not  necessary  but  not  advisable, 
because  the  manufacturers  know  better 
than  anyone  else  what  the  adjustment 
should  be  and  they  make  the  valve  of 
proper  proportions.  Increasing  the  depth 
of  the  cups  will  not  have  any  effect  on  the 
lap  of  the  valve,  because  they  enter  their 
seats  back  end  first  and  make  a  joint  after 
entering  a  certain  distance,  independent 
of  the  depth  of  the  cup.  Under  certain 
conditions,  if  the  edge  of  the  cup  pro- 
jects beyopd  the  end  of  the  cylinder,  water 
may  force  its  way  between  it  and  the 
cylinder  and  thus  leak  through.  This  is 
not  likely  to  occur,  but  as  it  may,  it  is 
wise  to  use  cups  of  the  proper  depth,  and 
no  deeper.  The  cams  require  no  adjust- 
ment, because  all  they  are  intended  for  is 
to  prevent  moving  the  lever  any  farther,  in 
stopping,  than  it  was  moved  in  starting; 
and  if  once  made  of  the  proper  dimensions 
to  accomplish  this  result,  they  will  always 
do  so. 

The  only  adjustment  provided  in  the 
pilot  valve  is  in  the  ports  through  the 
sleeves  A,  A'  at  the  ends  of  the  valve,  and 
the  similar  adjustment  on  the  side  ports, 
which  was  fully  explained  in  the  article 
describing  this  apparatus.  If  in  the  course 
of  time  the  water  flowing  through  these 
port  holes  enlarges  them  so  as  to  cause 
the  main  valve  to  close  too  rapidly  in 
stopping,  the  proper  adjustment  can  be 
obtained  by  running  in  the  adjusting 
plugs  a  trifle.  It  may  be  found  in  mak- 
ing such  changes  that  the  car  speeds  up 
too  fast  in  starting  when  the  valve  is 
partly  opened  in  order  to  run  at  a  slow 
speed.  If  this  should  be  the  case,  the 
acceleration  can  be  reduced  by  screwing 
in  farther  the  plug  opposite  the  port  hole 
in  the  inner  end  of  the  sleeve  A,  and  if 
after  doing  this  the  car  does  not  get  un- 
der headway  fast  enough  when  the  valve 
is  fully  opened,  the  acceleration  can  be  in- 
creased by  drawing  out  one  of  the  other 
adjusting  plugs.     In    making    these    ad- 


March  16,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER- 


justments  it  should  be  remembrrrd  that  a 
very  small  difference  in  the  f  the 

ports   will    make   a   decided  c    in 

the  rapidity  with  which  the  elevator  will 
get  tuider  way ;  hence,  the  position  of  the 
plugs  should  be  changed  only  a  little  at  a 
time.  In  the  type  of  valve  shown  in  Fig. 
383  the  main  valve  is  moved  to  the  right 
to  cause  the  elevator  to  start  upward ;  it 
is  also  moved  to  the  right  tu  stop  the 
elevator  on  downward  trips.  Therefore, 
if  the  flow  of  water  through  the  ports  of 
the  top  sleeve  A  is  decreased,  the  effect 
will  be  to  reduce  the  acceleration  in 
starting  on  up  trips,  and  to  prolong  the 
•topping  on  down  trips.  To  stop  going 
up  and  to  start  going  down  the  main  valve 
must  be  moved  to  the  left;  hence,  if  the 
adjusting  plugs  opposite  the  ports  in  the 
lower  sleeve  A  are  run  in.  the  up  stops 
and  the  downward  starts  will  be  made 
•lower,  and  xnce  versa. 

If  the  elevator  is  arranged  so  that  the 
cylinder  discharges  into  an  open  tank 
located  on  a  level  with  the  main  valve, 
there  will  be  no  back  pressure  to  force 
the  water  into  the  cylinder  through  thr 
b)'pass  connection,  and  the  adjustment  ni 
the  velocity  of  motion  of  the  mam  valve 
must  therefore  be  made  so  as  to  rr'ln.r 
the  velocity  enough  to  prevent  jui 
the  plunger  off  the  water  in  the  cyiniMi-t 
when  the  car  is  brought  from  its  maxi- 
mum speed  to  a  stop.  If.  however,  the 
water  in  the  cylinder  is  discharged  into 
an  elevated  tank,  or  into  a  pressure  tank, 
the  valve  is  adjusted  with  reference  to 
•tarting  on  the  downward  trips,  so  that 
the  car  may  not  move  so  rapidly  as  to 
produce  an  unpleasant  sensation.  There- 
fore, it  will  be  seen  that  the  adjustment 
of  the  plugs  at  the  lower  end  of  the  pilot 
Tslve,  opposite  sleeve  A,  must  be  made 
with  reference  to  the  rapidity  of  stop- 
ping on  the  upward  trips,  with  one 
method  of  piping,  and  with  reference  to 
Marting  on  the  downward  trips  with  the 
"•her  method. 

The  adjustment  of  the  plug*  upiK>Mte 
the  sleeve  A  at  the  top  of  the  pil'  t  valve 
it  made  with  reference  to  the  rapidity  of 
•tarting  on  the  upward  trip^.  and  »top- 
pinu  "H  d'>wnward  trip*  There  w  litilr 
d 

W.i 

the  load,  and   »t  cannot   very  well  Kf«   " 

im.Irr   (ir.ilway  SO  rapidly  a»  to  pr-xlucr 

tit  sensation,  unless  the  lifting 

,.1.  ii>      t   the  plunger   is  exr'^-'v     ■     ■ 

*■  load  in  the  car  is  light      ! 

'd  trips.  howr%<  •     .nc  tx 
1    ran    \tf    »<>    i.it'"!     ••    'O 


•    thr    top    ot    tlir    j)il-.t 

ade    with    rrfcrctn  <-    • 
ifdatmn  of  speed  in 

•"•    and  this  adiutt:...: 

tory  for  the    starting   on    upward     pafky 

■I" 

In  the  valve    «hown    in    Imk      •^■ 
lovement  of  ihe  main  valve  ii  the  rrvr 


of  that  above  explained,  that  is.  the  valve 
moves  to  the  left  to  surt  on  the  upward 
trip,  instead  of  to  the  riv}^'  >irr>  r  the 
top  adjusting  plugs  are   u-  jnel 

what  the  bottom  ones  do  iit  1  i^    .ov 

THI    PACXIIIGi 

AU  the  packings  nsed  in  the  valvrs  of 
the  Standard  plu:  . 

cups,  as  can  be    ■ _, 

various    drawings    we    have 
These  packings  are  repbced  in  d.^   va...c 
manner  as  in  the  elevators  of  other  makes 
previously     >-     '  and     require     00 

further    ex\  ere      The    stitftag 

box  at  ' 
packed 

I>acking.  or  with  a  •prciaily  cui>»tructcd 
double  cup  leather  packing.  The  cross- 
section  of  this  packing  i«  shown  in  Fig 
J0&  The  packing  is  made  in  two  parts.  A 
and  B.  both  of  leather.  These  two  parts 
are  cut  on  one  side  so  that  they  may  be 
slipped  over  the  plunger  from  the  side, 
and  they  are  placed  in  the  sttiifing  box  so 


crret>»  Uick.   .itwI  cjnliniwk  iki«  all 


/ 


V\ 


^J 


'^MH 


P 


no.  J08 

that   the   'oints  are  on  opposite  uan  of 

tt 

,nv  hydraulic  elevatr>r  in  per- 
fect r 

(he   pu »  , 

not.   Ihe   car   will   not    rr 


.«   Must 


ao 

tyt--    •  I     .-yir*: 

explamcd  here 


to 


vfi;     «i     (t     Is 

iare  ws(k  asqr 
'UM'.'t  It  vil  man  W 
In  a  fviare  ansds  ikss 
subfcct  will  be  discwsscd  m  drtad.  by  lh« 
aid  of  dtagrajBs  thai  wtl  ■she  dte  actioa 

^r 
10 
in  good  ccadilioa  N 
ntnnmg  gear  of  the  vaJ«rt  \^  r>  4  xV.,.m*^ 
to  get  o«t  of  ddjostax 
moves  the  ptV  •  — '  -  - 
ate  the  aoiof 

anincd  freqiMiiii;  \->  **x  'riat  \i*rj  trx  m 
good  cnadilinsi  aad  their  (sia— iags  li^H. 
particvl- 
cao»e  • 

*  >W *a>Mt  ty^ 

It:  tj 

and  a  ;  !  theeeii^  il 

nefr%»-  be 

th  '  I 

lU    ,.,..,. ....... 

water  to  foQow  op  the 
valve  IS  closed  saddrtdy  m  aukwig  a 
oa  the  up  trips.     If  the  prsssBri  b 
milted  lo  drop  the  plimgir  may  be 
away  from  the  water  m  the  cyHadtr. 
the  resohs  alrtvdj  expteiard.     Than 
no  danger  of  gettmg  the  ptmsft  too  M| 
as  this  ia  baaiiad  by  tht  Mgb(  ol  ibt  I 
verted  goose  neck  provided  lor  tiM  pi 
pose. .  It  is  not  desirable,  however,  to  pi 
tak  the  pressore  to  rt»-   -^  "  •** 
poial  bccasse  loo    m  wfl 

forced  oot   throvgh   thr   fv^   aocfc. 
this   wtll  have  to  be   iipimd  by 
drawn   from   an    oatiid 
gmrr^ftT    wtfl   he   si     a 
hr  ;t 

tj  a 

1^  •  tl 

be    -. 

sof*  »  *<*  •*•• 

6nwT  -  *   or  disA»'»-i 

it      \\    ' 

building  permnt,  the 

rKsnr"  taah  ts  obtaiBed  by 

>i  this  Is 

it  the 
canwi*  "• 

1'  .«  y. 

slway*  b*  IV 


m  a$ 


«•««! 


Wc?*',  * 


498 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  i6,  1909. 


Municipal  Producer  Gas  Plant  at   Peru,  Ind. 

A    Lighting    and    Power    Installation    Which    Supplanted    a    Steam- 
Engine  Plant  and  Has  Shown  an  Appreciably  Reduced  Consumption 

B"^f        O  S  B  O  R  N        M  O  N  N   E  T  T 


Producer-gas  power  is  being  success- 
fully used  in  the  municipal  plant  at  Peru, 
Ind.,  generating  electricity  for  city  pump- 
ing, street  lighting,  commercial  lighting 
and  power  service.  It  is  supplanting  a 
steam  plant  which  has  been  variously  esti- 
mated as  producing  a  brake  horsepower- 
hour  on  from  5  to  15  pounds  of  coal  and, 
to  date,  with  light  loads  and  uneconomical 
conditions,  has  succeeded  in  reducing  the 


of  one  pound  of  coal  per  horsepower-hour. 
At  present  the  one  unit  installed,  a  view 
of  which  is  given  in  Fig.  3,  carries  all  of 
the  street  lighting,  consisting  of  160  series 
arcs,  all  of  the  pumping  load  and  day 
power  load,  and  half  of  the  incandescent 
lighting.  This  necessitates  running  twen- 
ty-four hours  per  day. 

The  city  pumping  is  done  with  two  2- 
stage     Worthington     centrifugal     pumps, 


series,  maintaining  the  maximum  volume 
capacity  of  one  pump  and  doubling  the 
pressure. 

The  layout  of  the  plant  is  shown  in  Fig. 
2,  and  it  can  be  seen  that  provision  has 
been  made  for  doubling  its  capacity.  At 
present  there  are  two  150-horsepower 
Smith  suction  producers  installed,  using 
semi-anthracite  pea  coal  costing  $4.50  per 
ton.    The  coal  is  delivered  from  the  rail- 


FIG.    I.      PRODUCERS    IN    MUNICIPAL   GAS-POWER    PLANT    AT    PERU,    IND. 


consumption  to  1.6  pounds.  The  steam 
plant  consists  of  high-speed  engines  driv- 
ing 133-cycle  belted  alternators  through  a 
jack  shaft.  During  the  period  of  trans- 
ition from  steam  to  gas  power  it  has  been 
thought  advisable  to  change  to  the  more 
modern  60-cycle  system ;  consequently, 
both  plants  must  be  kept  in  operation  tem- 
porarily and  for  this  reason  it  has  not 
been  possible  to  load  the  gas-power  plant 
sufficiently  to  come  within  its  guarantee 


each  driven  by  a  6o-horsepower  Western 
Electric  induction  motor.  The  pumps  are 
located  in  a  cement-lined  water-tight  pit, 
adjacent  to  the  power  plant,  and  are  be- 
low the  level  of  water  in  the  wells  from 
which  the  supply  is  obtained.  Each  pump 
has  a  capacity  of  1,500,000  gallons  in 
twenty-four  hours,  against  the  city  pres- 
sure of  55  pounds.  Valve  connections  are 
provided  so  that  in  the  event  of  an  alarm 
of   fire  the   pumps   may  be   connected  in 


road  cars  into  a  storage  bin  and  brought 
by  an  underground  screw  conveyer  to  a 
bucket  elevator  which  discharges  into  a 
hopper.  From  here  the  coal  is  spouted 
to  the  charging  platform  of  the  producers. 
Centrifugal  scrubbers  are  used,  belt-driven 
by  an  8-horsepower  induction  motor.  A 
6-horsepower  "Model"  gasolene  engine  is 
installed  to  operate  a  blower  for  starting 
the  fires  and  a  small  air  compressor  for 
use  in  starting  the  engine;  it  also  serves 


March  i6,  1909. 

to  furnish  power  for  the  centrifugal  scrub- 
bers before  current  is  available  for  the 
motor. 

The  heat  of  the  exhaust  is  utilized   • 
generate  the  steam  necessary  for  the  pro 
ducer  generator  and   also  to  preheat   ih.r 
air  used.     In  Fig.   i,  at  the  right,  can  be 
»ecn   the  economizers   in   which   this   c.x 
change  of  heat  takes  place ;  the  exhaust 
gases  from  the  engine  pass  in  at  the  sid- 
and  out  at  the  bottom.     The  economizer- 
also  muffle  the  exhaust  eflFectively,  $n  that 
no  other  arrangement  is  necessary  i'  r  -is 
purpose,  the  exhaust  pipe  merely  pas^m^' 
under  the  floor  to  a  trench  outside  of  the 
producer  house. 

Main  Gekekatinc  Unit 

The  main  generating  unit  consists  of  a 
300  -  horsepower  vertical  four  -  cylinder 
"Model"  gas  engine,  direct-connected  to  a 
200-lcilowatt  Western  Electric  revolving 
field  three-phase  60-cycIe  generator,  with 
exciter  belted  from  the  main  'haft.  Th»- 
engine,  which  was  built  by  the  Model  Ga- 
Engine  Works,  Peru,  Ind.,  operates  on  thr 
four-stroke  cjxle,  with  power  strokes  in 
the  cylinders  in  the  order  of  1-3-4-2.  An 
unusual  feature  is  the  construction  of  the 
cylinders,  which  are  cast  integr-»I  with  thr 
cylinder  heads.  This  is  well  shown  1: 
Fig.  3.  where  the  cylinder  is  seen  to  con 
tist  of  one  unbroken  casting  from  the 
crank  case  up  to  the  top  of  the  head.  This 
construction  has  been  followed  with  satis- 
faction for  years  in  all  the  smaller  engines 
built  by  the  company  and  is  therefore  con- 
tinued in  the  larger  sizes.  It  eliminates 
the  gas  joint  and  the  water  joint,  and 
correspondingly  reduces  the  liability  to 
trouble.  A  partly  sectional  view  of  the 
cylinder  is  shown  in  Fig.  4.  One  im- 
portant advantage  of  this  construction  i» 
that  by  the  elimination  of  the  cylin<Icr 
trad  studs,  an  exceptionally  targe  space 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER- 


no.  3.     c.vGi.vt  KooM  or  uijxicirx..  nt-i^ucix  gju  rowia  ruktn  ai  nav.  ix& 


it  obtained  for  cooling  water  around  the 
cxhaust-\-alve  cage,  which  it  obtrkmaly 
advantageout    in    coolinK    thit    important 


member      The   cage   . 

may  be  ea«ily  rrmovr  ! 

for  in5: 

stem  i's 

valve  when  closmg ,  thii  i« 

5.     wl-i!;     il*  •v!r.,*r»     the     ■. 


pictc 
'Kler 


cocnplctc  with  the  rockcf  an*, 
daahpot     '-       't  6tlM 
ing  tbr  f  will  be 

ticm  It  bvUcti  aad  tW 
pAttct  tJirovgli  •■  iawcr  t«k» 
ralve  bad  aad  op  tiirD«gfc  liw  aw 
ckaaitri  btfwa  tb*  wal  o<  tbt  «alv« 
and  the  oviaidc  of  tbc  tabt.  fMii^ 

!hrou«h  a  Ko«*  c«-«»vrcl».<\ 


of  cool 
Tbt 


•oHm 


r 

!* 


FaUini    Encir 


i  ^- 

,1 

'Wde  of  tbt  cffWMi  CMC 


hawl  It  a  mmU  bawd  Itvyt  vbtcb 
!  .rn*.!   f*i    ibe   wthtt   of    W«^*»c««»'<    •*■» 
Tig  lb*  «mlM«i' 


•^^•^ »  «^ 


tgniiKMi  it  liuiad  br  •  muh^-md  hn*k 

,^*r^      TW  n»itrf  tkafl  bM  iAMig  Ibe 

tbe    tjtafcii.  4rt««w    Iv    br««l 

m  <be  mm  timM.     A  bili^drt««w 

'4  foe 

>'^i   in   » ♦  v»  •  1  ♦ 


na   a.  LATOtTT  or  njkWt 


500 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  i6,  1909. 


lever  it  throws  out  of  commission  the  in- 
let cam  on  the  first  cylinder'  and  one  of 
the  auxiliary  cams  opens  the  exhaust 
valve  at  each  revolution ;  the  other  auxili- 
ary cam  engages  a  poppet  valve  in  an  air- 
supply  line  and  is  properly  tim.ed  to  run 
the  first  cylinder  on  compressed  air  until 
the  others  pick  up  the  charges  of  mixture. 

With  the  solid  construction  of  the 
-cylinders  adopted  on  this  engine,  one  of 
the  first  questions  occurring  to  an  oper- 
ating engineer  would  be  as  to  the  method 
•of  removing  a  piston.  This  is  accom- 
plished by  taking  out  the  exhaust-valve 
cage,  screwing  an  eye-bolt  into  the  piston 
and,  after  disconnecting  the  crank-pin 
brasses,  lowering  the  piston  and  connect- 
ing rod  down  into  the  crank  case ;  they 
are  then  taken  out  through  the  crank- 
case  doors.  The  piston,  as  shown  in  Fig. 
7,  has  three  packing  rings  above  the  wrist- 
pin  and  one  below ;  it  is  also  provided 
with  three  oil  rings. 

The  lower  end  of  the  connecting  rod  is 
of  the  marine  type  and  a  plain  cast-steel 
I30X,  working  on  a  wristpin  sleeved  with 
■bronze  is  used  at  the  upper  end.  One  of 
the  special  features  of  the  engine  is  the 
provision  for  varying  the  compression 
pressure  by  shortening  or  lengthening  the 
connecting  rods.  The  rods  are  hammered- 
steel  forgings,  finished  all  over,  and  screw 
into  the  top  casting  where  they  are  locked 
in  position  with  %-inch  studs  and  nuts, 
as  indicated  in  Fig.  7.  With  this  arrange- 
ment the  compression  can  easily  be 
changed  to  suit  any  kind  of  fuel  or  any 
altitude.  Fig.  8  shows  the  complete  details 
•of  construction. 

The  Main  Bearings 
Five  main  bearings  are  provided,   with 


an  outboard  bearing  outside  of  each  fly- 
wheel. The  bearings  are  set  solidly  into 
the  frame,  each  one  being  braced  with  a 
heavy  reinforcing  rib  which  extends 
downward  to  the  bottom  of  the  frame  and 
is  firmly  grouted  to  the  foundation.  As 
the  thrust  on  the  bearings  is  all  down- 
ward, no  adjustment  is  provided  other 
than  that  necessary  to  follow  up  on  the 
bearing  caps.  In  order  to  prevent  un- 
equal wear  of  the  bearings  by  reason  of 
differences  in  lubrication,  splash  lubrica- 
tion is  not  relied  upon  entirely;  oil  is 
forced  to  each  bearing  by  a  pump  driven 
from  the  cam  shaft.  Oil  from  this  pump 
is  also  forced  to  each  piston  in  two  places. 


FIG.    4.    PART  SECTIONAL  ELEVATION  OF 
ENGINE 


Water  Dischargs 


FIG.      7.      PISTON ,  AND    CONNECTING    ROD 


FIG.     6.     SECTION  OF  WATER-COOLED  EXHAUST 
VALVE 


March  i6,  1909. 


KnVER  AND  THE  I 


one  on  the  thrust  side  and  one  on  the  op- 
•ite  side. 

Gas  and  air  come  to  the  engine  through 
5-inch  supply  pipes,  each  of  which  is  pro- 
vided with  a  lever-actuated  gate  valve  by 
the  manipulation  of  which  the  proper 
mixture  may  be  obtained.  The  mixture 
then  passes  through  a  balance'l  throttling 
valve,  shown  in  section  in  Fig.  4,  which  is 
controlled  by  the  governor.  The  cylinders 
are  connected  in  pairs  by  two  inlet  mani- 
folds, and  they  are  in  turn  united  directly 
under  the  throttle  valve. 

The  flyball  governor  is  gear-driven  and 


/w^  xr 

ric    8    DCTMLa  or  conhectinc  «od8 

•quipped  with  m  dashpot  to  facilitate 
Iteadiness  of  operation.  Ball  and-roller 
bearings  are  used  in  the  governor  mech- 
anism and  linkage. 


According  to  a  press  despatch  a  com- 
pany ha*  Ix-rn  forrucd  .it  \'\  '  N'  J  . 
with  a  capital  of  $i(>>/»«>  •  ;•  the 
wairr  powrr  of  the  "'  :i\cr.  It 
will  be  ktir.wn  a»  t!  '•  River 
Light.  llr.(t  and  Powrr  A 
dam  one  luilf  mile  Iopk  <^*'*** 
icted.  affording  a  head  of  16  feet. 
.reus  Fry,  of  Vincland.  is  secretary. 


The    Combined    Auociationt    of    Fngi 
T%  of   nn-iVUii.  NV   Y.  are  up  to  thr 


r|iwi«Hl  {Mfk.  N.  J.,  !**»  thfir 


Energy  Charts  (or  Steam 
By  R.  M.  Ncjuo.k 


iri\    rn  L'lflr 


In    ttr»t 
ing  the  .oai 

a     RIVCTl     «  ■  ij{;n     ■   I     ^•rar:■., 

^•iMMitiiption  to  produce  a   - 

of    work,    it   is,   of   cu  :  %^ti    uf 

desirable   to  know   the  5f«<r>«^t 

of- 

cha. 

treatises  on  the   ^  .ne  commonly 

give  tables  of  the  ;.     , .3  of  satarA(<-<I 

steam,  which  include  a  column  sc' 
forth  what  is  termed  th^  lolai  krat  ui 
steaoL  These  "total-heat"  values  are 
often  of  great  use;  they  rrprc*eni  the  heat 
required  to  be  put  mio  1  [>.  -.md  of 
water  to  raise  it  from   -  rcn- 

heit   to   the  boihng  p-  r   jt 

into  steam  .1- 
ture.     This   t      _ 

pressure,  as  is  welt  known,  and  conse- 
quently the  "total  heal"  depends  on  the 
pressure;  at  atmospheric  pre*»ure  it  is 
1147  B.tu.;  at  a  pressure  of,  say.  Joo 
above  atmosphere,  it  is  about  isoo  E-Lu. 
A  "total-heat"  table  is.  as  aforesaid,  of 
much  u*^  For  example,  with  Mean*- 
generat  ■ 
ing  the 

perature  and  32  : 
heat  required  to  bt 
in  the  boiler  per  pound  of  feed 

These   total -heat    values   do   not.   how 
ever,  represent  in  any  way  the  work  which 
can  be  got  out  of  the  steam     If  we  are 
told    that    a    steam    engine    cotnumes    IJ 
pounds  of  steam   per   ! 
horsepower,  with  a  it*- 
pounds  and  a  va< 
the  barometer  at  j 
to  know   what   would  be   1 
sumption    of    an     ideal     en« 
under     the     same     conditions,     or-  what 
comes  to  the  same  thing  -how  many  foot 
pound*   of    work    is    obtainable     (rotn    a 
pound     of     »team     ext        *  '  *» 

pound*  *f'  ^   {•re«tore  ■net 

cury      '^^ 
awarr. 

tl-  ^*° 

uhlr 

eal- 


ce::... 
from  e- 

err--  -■ 
nv 

a 
a\ 


not.  the 


,,    ,    ...T.J. 

St   the 


,\.^t    nie<-n»ni'  ' 


r  s*«nds  acauM  a 

l>.>riMoa  nuy  take  flaee  m  a  stcaai- 

cy  hn4rr,  'he  mrfiner  bcH^  the  kttd  oa 

take    plact    m    a 


beim  the  weight  ol  the  sMMs,  the  iihMWi 

of  »hi<:h  la  locrcaacd     Wodi  m  th*  am 

.  joc  n  intit  the  Iaa4  «•  ikt 

» '■•   •ui  m  the  other  caM  m  fiv«i| 

kmctK  etwTfjr  to  the  stcBfls 

The  stcaai  maj  recaive  haM  dariag  the 
eapansion.  as  m  the  case  of  a  sanas-iacfc- 
eted  engine  cybader.  oe  «  nui  hsse  heal 
sintneled  fr*">fn  tf  ^bryoad  that  <»•• 
i  tranaierrad  as 
IS  the  case  ol  an 
un jacketed  acam-engmc  cyhnder     Whan 

the    ttr^rii    nri'Vrr    tret*f% 

as  '■• 

en  <  mumrn^  ot  thss 

:tmif0pu.  ahoai  arhich 

Ke  01  opinioit  wtl  ht 

u»<tL  iiPtropK  s«BiAes  ihlC 

no  beat  :o  or  wsihdrawa  fr«B 

the  fluid  dartng  capMMHM  aad.  there  fare. 

fram    the    b«    of    the    lyiMisiion    of 

energy,  it  follows  that  if  the  eapsMMB  ■ 

itmtropse   the    work     dons.    whtdMr    is 

driving  the  psston   or    in   givtag   ktartk 

ro  the  Hcaa.  ommi  hr  am  csad 

t    of    the    heal    eswn 

jp  ^)  '  he  MeaaL    la  the  case  of 

steam,  the  heat  energy  g*vea  ap  oo»r»- 

•ponds  to  a  defbute  dray  ai  preasare^  la 

that  a  fall  from  aay  »<usaii  lo  aay  other 

prcsaore   by   iseairofk   esfaasaoa 

•poods  to  the  piiinr—wa  of  a 

MBoont  of  awcfcaakal  work.    T^is 


vmi.  »i     i»i»«« 


The  large  chart  •♦  »  .i^m^i-  « 
"tyttt  atid  deal*  wSlh 

xiiplitrs.  the  seals  tar  f 
t  Tiadt 
••  in 


M|««f»<i4 


■i*a»T»'^Tf* 


S»    tk.*    •■IW-*  • 


.,•••  a  rtwyaay 


502 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  i6,  1909. 


steam  consumption  of  this  engine  with 
that  of  an  ideal  one;  with  an  engine  in 
which  all  the  available  energy  in  the  steam 
would  be  shown  on  an  indicator  diagram. 
Referring  to  the  smaller  chart,  it  will 
be  seen  that  the  energy  obtainable  from 
the  expansion  of  i  pound  of  steam  from 
170  pounds  to  IS  pounds  (approximately 
atmospheric  pressure)  is  136,000  foot- 
pounds. Therefore  to  work  at  the  rate 
of  I  horsepower  for  one  hour,  which 
means  doing 

60  X  33.000  =  1,980,000 
foot-pounds  of  work,  would  require 


1,980,000 


=  14.6 


136,000 

pounds  of  steam,  as  against  the  24  pounds 
actually  used. 

To  show  another  and  more  important 
use  of  the  charts,  suppose  that  an  ex- 
haust steam  turbine  takes  33  pounds  of 
steam  per  kilowatt-hour  when  the  steam 
is  supplied  at  atmospheric  pressure  (say 
15  pounds  per  square  inch  absolute)  and 
the  vacuum  is  27  inches,  with  the  ba- 
rometer at  30  inches  (say  ij^  pounds 
absolute  pressure).  It  is  required  to  find 
what  less  vacuum  we  can  afford  to  have 
to  obtain  the  same  steam  consumption,  if 
we  supply  the  steam  to  the  turbine  at  S 
pounds  above  atmosphere,  say  at  20 
pounds  absolute.  The  kinetic  energy  ob- 
tained from  I  pound  of  'steam  expanding 
from  IS  pounds  absolute  to  i^  pounds 
absolute  is  seen,  on  the  large  chart,  to  be 
113,600  foot-pounds.  Drawing  a  hori- 
zontal line  through  this  point  to  cut  the 
curve  denoting  20  pounds  absolute  pres- 
sure, we  find  the  final  pressure  to  be 
about  2.1  pounds  absolute;  say  25.7  inches 
of  vacuum  with  the  barometer  at  30 
inches,  the  5  pounds  additional  steam 
pressure  therefore  only  allowing  of  a  re- 
duction  of  1.3  inches  of  vacuum. 

This  assumes  that  the  effective  effici- 
ency* of  the  turbine  was  equal  in  the  two 
cases,  which  is  generally  approximately 
true  under  the  conditions  considered,  but 
is  not  true  with  high  steam  pressures  or 
very  high  vacua. 

As  a  third  example,  suppose  that  it  is 
desired  to  expand  steam  from,  say,  200 
pounds  per  square  inch  pressure,  abso- 
lute, to  I  pound  absolute,  in  four  steps  .or 
stages  so  that  the  steam  gives  up  the 
same  amount  of  energy  in  each. 

The  energy  obtainable  from  the  com- 
plete expansion  is,  it  will  be  seen  from 
the  large  chart,  260,000  foot-pounds. 
Therefore,  the  total  energy  given  up  "at 
the  end  of  the  first,  second  and  third 
stages  is  65,000  foot-pounds,  130,000  foot- 
pounds and  195,000  foot-pounds,  respec- 
tively; and,  by  noting  where  the  200- 
pound  curve  cuts  the  horizontal  lines 
representing  these  amounts  of  energy,  we 
find  the  final  pressure  at  each  of  these 
stages.    These  final  pressures  will  be  seen 


to  be  70  pounds,  21  pounds  and  5.05 
pounds  per  square  inch,  respectively. 

It  may  be  well  to  point  out  that  it  must 
not  be  thought  that  there  is  an  error  be- 
cause the  chart  gives  the  energy  of  i 
pound  of  steam  in  expanding  from  70 
pounds  to  21  pounds,  or  from  21  pounds 
to  5.05  pounds,  or  from  5.05  pounds  to  i 
pound,  as  other  than  65,000  foot-pounds. 
This  is  because,  in  the  four-stage  ex- 
pansion considered,  for  every  pound  of 
steam  at  the  start,  we  have  not  a  pound 
of  steam  at  the  beginning  of  the  second, 
third  and  fourth  stages,  but  a  pound  of 
fluid  which  is  partly  steam  and  partly 
water,  some  of  the  steam  condensing 
(according  to  "well  known  laws)  during 
the  expansion. 

Other  uses  of  the  charts  will  suggest 
themselves.  In  fact  the  writer  has  found 
that  many  problems  that  would  have  been 
ignored,  or  the  results  simply  guessed,  on 
account  of  the  trouble  of  obtaining  the 
available  energy  in  the  steam  will,  by 
the  use  of  the  charts,  be  scientifically 
solved. 


Value  of  High  Pressure 


The  advantages  of  high-pressure  steam, 
even  when  used  in  the  single-expansion 
cylinder  of  a  locomotive,  are  brought  out 


Tests  were  made  under  the  direction  of 
W.  F.  M.  Goss,  dean  of  the  College  of 
Engineering  at  Illinois,  in  the  laboratory 
of  Purdue  University,  while  he  was  con- 
nected with  that  college,  to  determine  the 
performance  of  a  typical  locomotive  when 
operating  under  a  variety  of  conditions 
with  reference  to  speed,  power  and  steam 
pressure.  The  results  of  one  hundred 
such  tests  have  been  recorded  and  show 
that  the  steam  and  coal  consumption  vary 
with  the  pressure  as  follows: 

Steam  Per 

Pressure  Lb.  Per  Ind.  H.P.-      Coal  Perl.H.P.- 

Sq.In.  H.,  Lb.  H.,  Lb. 

120  29.1  '4.00 

140  27.7                       3.77 

160  26.6                       3.59 

180  26 . 0                       3 . 50 

200  25 . 5                       3 . 43 

220  25.1                       3.37 

240  24.7                       3.31 

The  same  results  are  shown  graphically 
on  the  accompanying  diagram.  They 
show  that  the  higher  the  pressure  the 
smaller  the  possible  gain  resulting  from  a 
given  increment  of  pressure.  An  increase 
of  pressure  from  160  to  200  pounds  results 
in  a  saving  of  i.i  pounds  of  steam  per 
horsepower-hour,  while  a  similar  change 
from  200  to  240  pounds  improves  the  per- 
formance only  to  the  extent  of  0.8  of  a 
pound  per  horsepower-hour. 

An   increase    of   pressure    from    160   to 


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♦The    effective    eflBclency    Is    the    ratio    of 
brake  work  to  available  heat  energy. 


Pressure,  Pounds  per  Square  Inch 

•  Power,  X.  r. 

CURVES  SHOWING  RESULTS  OF  TESTS  TO  DETERMINE   TYPICAL    LOCOMOTIVE    PERFORMANCE 

in  the  "Report  on  High-Pressure  Steam  200  pounds  results  in  a  saving  of  0.16  of 

in    Locomotive    Service,"    issued    by    the  a   pound   of    coal    per    horsepower-hour, 

Carnegie   Institution,    of   Washington,    of  while  a  similar  change   from  200  to  240 

which   a  resume  has  been  issued  by  the  pounds  results  in  a  saving  of  but  0.12  of  a 

University  of  Illinois.  pound. 


March  i6,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


an 


Practical     Letters    from     Practical     M 

Don't   Bother  About    the    Style,    but    U  rite    Ju»i    U  lial    ^  ou  'I 
•  Know   or   Vt'ant   to   Know    Alx>ul   ^'our   Vl'ork.   and   Help  Elach   <  -..-r 


WE     PAY     FOR     USEFUL     IDEAS 


en 


How   to  Make  a    lool   Board 

In  order  to  make  a  tool  board  large 
enough  to  hold  all  the  wrenches,  hammers, 
screwdrivers,  etc.,  one  may  have  use  for, 
and  wishes  to  keep  in  a  handy  place,  hrst 
gather  all  the  tools  together  and  arrange 
them  on  a  table  in  the  position  desired, 
to  as  to  take  up  the  least  space  and  yet 
not  t>e  crowded  when  placing  the  heavy 
part  of  all  tools  upward.     Then  by  meas- 


of  I -inch  stock  to  the  back,  with  the  ttript 
runnni«{  at  rJKht  an^cs.  Then  bore  and 
jigsaw  through  l>oth  boards  spaces  to  con- 
form to  the  shapes  and  sixes  of  the  tooU. 
making   the   fit   snog.     Ma-'  piece. 

I.  2.  3.  etr^  as  you  saw  ■  alio 

iniriiher  the  places  from  whicli  they  were 
t.  !  «■" 

'  each 

«■  cdf*. 

until  It  jtist  balances),  mark  the  spot  on 


of  fht  V»ffd. 


be    f\\x*h    aith    tbc 


«'U   '  Willi  nnipapir      PaaH. 

hrM  with  drop  black,  tbm  a  good  coat  ol 
wood  Uler  on  inm,  hmtk  aad  ssdc.  thcc 
two  coats  of  shellac  aad  two  of  farifre 
vansith  Rob  down  w«k  linrnl  wool 
before  applying  the  laai  coat  of  wmnmk. 
Next  paint  the  bottooi  only  of  cadi  tool 
receptacle  wbitc.  TW  board  wImw  Im- 
ished  will  have  an  appraraact 

at   tKkian   in  ifir   iH-^tlriti  «t 


7)(i^ 


Q  0  V     O  '^^ 


tiring  the  length  and  wi<lth  the  uiiiotiiit  of 
lumhrr  required  is  determined  N"tc  the 
thicknr5«  of  the  thickest  tool  anil  m.Ar 
(hat  the  ihi  '.  !*. 

Call    It.    I  >•«      Then 

get  rnoiigh  ttixik     i    : 

and  the   *.iii  f   of  »ecf>i 

aUo    I     iiicli    thick,    tn    make    (' 
board   dcMred.      Butt-joint   the    ' 
brr   and  glue   the   joint   and   cUmp    w<^l 
When   dry.   place   all   the    tool*     ■■" 
board,  arranged  as  when  on  ihr 
makc  An  outline  drawing  Ar  <nti<!  - 
a  pencil      Then  n.->il  i>n  tbr     .-         '    , 


win  act  as  a  teOtalc 

that    no   tmnmn  of  brtt«mr.g 

wdl  knock  thfai  cm. 

If  the  bKk  and  froM  of 
be  rarniilwd  allH  il  wfi 
ing.     In  haaging  aocii  a 
advise  the  pbdog  of  two  or 
at  the  bock  doac  to  Um  boi« 

|h<'ni   «ii   iii^rk  OOl    ^   inch     w-> 

t)^  And  ftligf 

atxi  <' .lAir  the  pu*..^.... 

faOmg  ovt  by  )ar  or 

Hunnr 
WeUsviOc.  N   Y 


fock  a 


»^   ^aW^i        I 


■rlil    Ikt 


■  »pniii 

wbm 


504 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  i6,  1909. 


Bums    Too    Much  Coal 


In  our  electric-light  plant  we  have  two 
66-inch  by  16-foot  return-tubulai-  boilers, 
set  as  shown  in  the  accompanying  sketch. 
We  burn  slack  soft  coal  and  occasionally 
run-of-mine,  our  regular  working  steam 
pressure  being  100  pounds. 

One  boiler  only  is  operated  at  a  time, 
and  usually  at  a  comparatively  light  load, 
our  runs  being  from  sunset  to  midnight. 


Remedying  a  Traveling  Crane 
Trouble 


A  Lighting  Problem 


A  traveling  crane  was  driven  by  a  dou- 
ble vertical  steam  engine  and  boiler 
located  on  the  crane.  The  engine  and 
boiler  were  replaced  by  a  motor  last  sum- 
mer, and  after  a  few  days  it  was  noticed 
that  the  trucks  on  each  end  of  the  crane 
were  not  running  in  line. 


ONE  OF  THE  BOILERS  IN  MR.  SPRAGUE'S  PLANT 


In  reply  to  Mr.  Rolph's  letter,  as  the 
transformer  voltages  or  the  lamp  voltage 
were  not  given,  I  assume  that  the  voltages 
are  no  volts  between  the  rrfiddle  lead 
and  the  outside  ones  and  220  volts  be- 
tween the  outside  leads  of  the  trans- 
former, and  that  the  lamps  are  for  iia 
volts.  If  the  lamps  are  of  the  assumed 
voltage,  then  series  connections  would 
not  do;  but  if  the  lamps  he  has  in  mind' 
are  designed  for  series  grouping,  and  if 
desired  to  run  that  way,  it  would  be  ad- 
visable to  have  a  choke  coil  across  the 
lamp  terminals,  so  that  in  case  the  lamp 
failed,  the  coil  would  take  its  place  and; 
keep  the  remaining  lamps  burning. 

As  the  town  is  small,  it  would  be  bet- 
ter to  run  the  lamps  in  multiple  and  use 
iio-volt  lamps.  This  would  only  require 
another  length  of  wire  in  addition  to  that 
required  on  the  series  circuit,  and  the 
extra  insulators  and  pins.  This  would' 
do  away  with  the  necessity  of  the  choke 
coil,  and  each  lamp  would  be  independent. 

To  balance  the  transformer  it  would  re- 
quire seven  of  the  lamps  per  circuit,  one 


with  a  short  morning  run  during  the 
winter.  Our  peak  load  amounts  to  about 
75  horsepower  for  two  hours,  gradually 
running  down  to  about  15  horsepower  at 
midnight. 

I  have  never  operated  a  boiler  set  in 
this  manner  for  burning  the  fuel  we  do. 
I  refer  more  especially  to  the  combus- 
tion chamber,  its  construction  making  a 
contracted  passage  for  the  gases.  The 
dotted  line  shows  how  I  found  the  com- 
bustion-chamber ashes  heaped  up  on  my 
first  cleanout,  the  rear  end  being  entirely 
full.  I  have  formerly  been  accustomed  to 
combustion  chambers  that  were  much 
larger,  either  being  entirely  open  behind 
the  bridgewall,  or  sloped  off  to  the  rear 
from  the  top. 

Our  furnace  is  6  feet  wide  by  4H  feet 
long.  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  we  would 
have  better  results  from  our  fuel  if  the 
grates  were  set  farther  from  the  boiler 
shell,  an-d  in  view  of  the  light  load  it  may 
be  advisable  to  brick  off  part  of  the  grate 
bars  in  the  rear.  The  boilers  have  flush 
fronts  and  the  lower  part  is  separate, 
which  would  facilitate  the  construction  of 
a  dutch  oven,  should  such  construction 
seem  advisable.  The  stacks  are  32  inches 
in  diameter  and  60  feet  high,  and  we  have 
an  excellent  draft,  but  no  damper  regu- 
lator. 

In  checking  over  our  output  I  find  we 
are  using  about  18  pounds  of  coal  per  kilo- 
watt, which  I  consider  nearly  double  the 
amount  we  should  require.  Our  engines 
are  all  in  good  condition  and  first-class 
adjustment.  We  run  noncondensing. 
G.  S.  Sprague. 

Geneva,  Neb. 


Bearing 


Split  Collar      J—TTir- 


TrucL  Wheel 
HOW    A   TRAVELING-CRANE    TROUBLE     WAS     REMEDIED 


Upon  examining  the  wheels  on  both 
trucks  I  found  considerable  play  between 
the  two  bearings  and  the  hub  of  the 
wheels,  as  shown  in  the  illustration. 

I  filled  this  space  with  split  collars,  but 
in  order  to  give  the  wheels  a  little  play, 
a  %-mch  space  was  left  between  the  hub 
and  the  two  bearings.  After  the  collars 
were  put  in  place  and  the  crane  started, 
no  further  trouble  developed. 

H.  Jahnke. 

Milwaukee,   Wis. 


circuit  taking  the  middle  and  outside  lead' 
and  feeding  in  one  direction  and  the 
other  circuit  taking  the  middle  and  op- 
posite outside  lead  and  feeding  in  the 
other  direction. 

Another  scheme  would  be  to  feed  the 
circuits  with  220  volts  and  connect  the 
lamps  in  multiple  series.  This  can  be 
best  determined  by  local  conditions.  The 
arc  circuits  are  connected  all  right,  but  it 
is  best  to  run  the  three  wires  both  ways- 
from  the 'transformer  for  the  commercial 


March  l6,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


»Bf 


circuits,  and  care  should  be  taken  10  keej 

the  load  evenly  divided  between  them.  — — 

James  E.   ICilkoy.  i|>i»iii<i«i<i»«r<^  ■  «i(«.i.^m^ 

Lincoln   Place,  Penn.  I  , J 


A  Homemade  Heater 


The  accompanying  sketch  is  of  a  home- 
made heater  made  out  of  an  old  tank. 
It  is  6  feet  in  diameter  and  10  feet  hiKh. 
and    takes    care    of    1000    horsepower    of 


A    UOMCMAOC   HEATU 

:lers.  The  draintilf  must  be  renewed 
about  once  a  year,  according  to  the  con- 
dition j)f  the  feed  water.  It  has  been  in 
use  about  one  and  one-half  years  and  at 
the  present  time  there  is  no  sign  of  any 

1  in  the  boilers 

Inns  S.  Jung. 

Milwaukee,  Wis. 


Difficulty  in  Slartlng'  a   Motor 

One  of  our  customers  using  a  s-li' 
"<-wer   2JO-volt    two-phase   motor    rx'  ■ 

ccd   considerable   difficulty    m    st.i 
liue  to  the  l>elt  slipping  off.     The  ' 
was  not    furnished   with   a   startinK 
p(■^^ato^   and   the  owner   'I 
go  to    the   expense   of   pr 
we    riRKed    up   a    four  potr    •. 
switch,  as  shown  by  dnttnl   !• 
I.    and    at    the    same    ttn)< 
neutrals  of  the  two-pole  ( 
gcthrr 

The    swiirh   was   throw ; 
the  motor  starting  off  wit' 
when  up  to  speed  th> 
to  ihr  Irfi      On  »iar' 

v'    a,  the  II 
■  f\   fn  Im*- 
J,  anil  n 
r  half  of. 

M  a  full  coil  of  the  motor.  «! 

•Its  instead  of  aao,  a*   ihr    ^ 

le   two   phase*   art  90  degree*    ipif 


i.«!»i«   ft4 


iXJ^.__.^^^ 


na  I 


t 

i 


IM.    2 


rn.    J 


» «i»i^i 


l« 

pbase  and  tW 

MitLarp   ?   .  •    if 


Tlie    Mine    ffffv'    .ouM   U      Uxinrd   }n 

woold  i. 
the  irai 
IS  on  i< 


on  tsar  ttet  Um  i»  aot 


Jomn  B  Quam. 


CyUodo  Oa  DiUnbulor 

Th«  oiling  tyUtm  Wrtwidi  &imjibiid 
is  in  opcrattoo  ia  •  Ivft  Mi<d  mM.  Im 
tAC  engine  room  arv  twctw  mshm  ib  a 
row,  aU  the  tssM  titc  aad  spaad  TWrt 
b  no(  a  lobncxtor  ia  iIk  plMN.  TW 
qrlindrr-oil  tank,  wbidi  to  locaf«4  im  • 
ooorenicni  place,  baa  oat  pipt  caaMC^ 
(ioQ  tr>  •'-  — -n  oMia  aad  aaeclMr  •» 
the   tiK  uata.    TW  Mpply   far 

each  mgine  it  rrgalaied  bf  a  ft«d  vaH* 
at  the  bottooi  of  the  t^aaa.  TV  baa 
from  the  tuaa  osaia  to  the  saffly  tmk  ia 
proridMl  with  a  roatfcaatr. 


I 


'I   J    I 


p 

] 


^^ 1. 


U«S«B<«L    H«r»i^ 


M    IM    *  «• 


TW 


5o6 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  i6,  1909. 


The  advantage  of  this  arrangement  is  that 
there  is  no  need  for  an  expensive  outlay 
for  lubricators  and  the  oil  supply  is  not 
cut  off  from  any  engine  or  pump  while 
filling. 

Edward  T.  Binns. 
Philadelphia,  Penn. 


The  Actual  Cost  of  Power 


In  one  of  the  recent  issues,  in  the  edi- 
torial on  '"The  Actual  Cost  of  Power," 
I  read  the  following  statement :  "It  is 
important  for  the  engineer  to  be  able  to 
figure  power  cost,  including  the  fixed 
•charges,  however,  when  occasion  arises, 
^nd  to  appreciate  the  influence  of  the 
annual  interest,  depreciation,  insurance 
and  taxes  on  the  unit  cost  of  power  pro- 
duced." True,  this  is  important,  but  to 
what  end?  To  find  out  if  the  produc- 
tion is  economical,  or  if  the  plant  is 
•efficient? 

The  most  accurate  computation  of  the 
•cost  of  power  can  only  show  that  its  unit 
cost  has  increased  or  decreased;  and  in 
the  editorial  mentioned  we  find  the  state- 
ment that  the  unit  cost  decreases  when 
the  output  increases,  and  vice  versa. 
.Therefore,  it  follows  that  by  knowing  his 
actual  cost  of  power  the  engineer  will 
only  learn  that  the  good  or  poor  work  of 
the  sales  department  has  made  him  pro- 
duce cheaper  or  more  expensive  power. 
What  will  he  gain  through  such  knowl- 
-edge  ? 

He  will  have  sufficient  data  to  "kick" 
against  the  rrfanagement  of  the  concern ; 
he  will  learn — perhaps — what  the  profits 
of  his  employers  are;  he  will  learn  how 
difficult  it  is  to  do  another  man's  work, 
and  he  will  be  kept  in  training  in  the  high 
art  of  arithmetic.  All  this  is  a  considera- 
ble gain  to  him  personally,  but  is  it  all 
so  very  useful  and  necessary? 

He  will  not  have  learned  what  his 
task  really  is.  All  these  computations 
will  not  show  him  what  his  part  is 
in  the  process  of  decreasing  the  cost 
of  production ;  they  will  not  teach  him 
how  to  increase  the  immediate  efficiency 
of  his  power  plant.  He  will  have  to  ask 
"his  employers  to  engage  standard-practice 
specialists,  who  will  determine  standard- 
unit  costs  and  work  out  a  system  of 
record  keeping  which  will  enable  the 
engineer  to  find  out  at  each  given 
moment  what  the  total  efficiency  of  power 
•generation  is,  where  the  leaks  in  the 
numerous  steps  of  the  transformation  of 
energy,  from  the  coal  pile  to  the  switch- 
board are  located,  how  large  the  losses 
.are  in  each  step  of  this  process,  and 
which  of  these  losses  depend  upon  in- 
efficient operation  and  which  upon  outside 
•causes. 

By  the  actual  unit  cost  of  power  gener- 
ated it  is  impossible  to  know  whether  the 
"plant  is  doing  well  and  the  engineer  is 
■•up    to    his    task.      The    data   of    previous 


months  are  of  little  use,  as  it  is  value- 
less to  compare  casual  and  inaccurate 
figures  with  others  which  •  are  also  in- 
definite. That  would  only  be  an  attempt 
to  bluff  oneself  and  others  by  irrelevant 
and  absolutely  misleading  data.  To  make 
any  comparisons  one  must  have  scientifi- 
cally determined  standards,  just  as  one 
must  have  a  zero  point  and  a  boiling 
point  on  a  thermometer  scale. 

It  often  happens  that  with  a  high 
actual  unit  cost  the  efficiency  is  much 
higher  than  with  a  lower  one,  and  then 
the  activity  of  the  engineer  must  be  in 
quite  another  direction  than  the  one 
which  might  be  prompted  by  the   casual 


Increasing  Water  Pressure 

Several  years  ago  about  half  of  a  large 
factory  was  rebuilt,  the  old  buildings  be- 
ing replaced  by  new  and  modern  struc- 
tures two  stories  higher.  Difficulty  was 
at  once  experienced  in  getting  water  to 
the  top  floors  of  the  new  buildings. 

A  water  pressure  of  27  pounds  was 
maintained  by  an  80,000-gallon  reservoir 
and  a  triplex  power  pump.  The  new 
buildings  required  between  35  and  40 
pounds  pressure,  so  it  was  necessary  to 
raise  this  pressure  about  13  pounds,  while 
keeping  the  pressure  on  the  rest  of  the 
system  at  its  normal  value. 


80.000  Gallon 
Reservoir 


To  JTew  Buildings 


To  Old  Buildings 


GENERAL    LAYOUT    OF    WATER    SYSTEM 


figures  of  actual  cost.  The  type  of  calcu- 
lations recommended  in  the  article  quoted 
will  be  also  useless  for  a  comparison  with 
unit  costs  of  neighboring  power  plants. 
These  plants  have  other  prices  and  speci- 
fications of  fuel,  other  fixed  charges,  etc., 
and,  therefore,  there  is  very  little  sense 
in  trying  to  compare  unit  costs  before 
they  can  be  measured  by  a  common  scale 
and  from  a  common  zero  point;  in  other 
words,  before  the  plants  are  standardized 
and  before  special  efficient  engineers  have 
given  into  the  hands  of  the  permanent 
staff  the  scientific  methods  of  determin- 
ing the  plant's  efficiency. 

W.     N.     POLAKOV. 

New  York  City. 


The  sketch  shows  the  general  layout  of 
the  system.  The  full  lines,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  valves,  indicate  the  system 
as  it  was  before  alteration.  The  dotted 
lines  and  valves  show  the  additions  that 
were  made. 

On  the  top  of  a  hill,  half  a  mile  away, 
is  the  80,000-gallon  reservoir.  At  the  fac- 
tory is  a  flowing  artesian  well.  The  reser- 
voir is  connected  through  the  pump  to  the 
cistern  of  the  well,  and  the  factory  mains 
are  tapped  from  a  point  between  the  pump 
and  reservoir,  so  that  the  factory  may 
draw  its  water  from  either  source.  The 
reservoir  is  kept  full  by  the  extra  water 
pumped  when  the  pump  is  running. 

The    required    extra   pressure    was   ob- 


March  i6,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGINFFR 


tained  by  putting  a  relief  valve  set  at  35 
pounds  between  the  pump  and  the  reser- 
voir at  .4.  a  swing  check  valve  on  the 
high-pressure  supply  pipe  at  B,  and  con- 
necting the  high-pressure  main  beyond  the 
check  valve  to  the  pump  through  the  pipe 
X.  This  arrangement  permitted  the  pump 
to  feed  the  new  buildings  at  .15  jh  «.n<\^ 
pressure,  or  more,  while  the 
ings  remained  on  the  lower-prr 
tern.  In  case  the  pump  was  shut  down, 
the  reservoir  would  supply  both  old  and 
new  buildings,  the  former  as  formerly, 
and  the  latter  through  the  swing  check 
valve,  but  at  a  low  pressure. 

During  certain  seasons  of  the  year  the 
flow  of  the  well  declines  and  becomes  in- 
suflficicnt  to  supply  all  the  water  nce<le<l 
In  order  to  keep  enough  water  in  the  well 
cistern  to  supply  the  pump  for  the  higher 
buildings,  at  such  times,  a  supply  pipe  >' 
was  tapped  from  the  main  to  the  cistern 
through  the  float  valve  C.  which  was  set 
•o  as  to  keep  the  water  at  the  required 
level. 

The  desired  results  were  thus  accom- 
plished at  the  expense  of  three  valves, 
about  10  feet  of  piping  at  >',  and  soYne  3 
feet  of  piping  at  Xs  The  plan  has  proved 
entirely  satisfactory,  and  has  been  work- 
ing for  several  years. 

VV.  \V    Pabkm. 

Chicago.  III. 


The  Centrifugal  Pump 


uriorc 
The    dMcussion   on    miinfu«p»l    ftaiaps         Hm  arnycm  ka4  • 
>>'  Mi   1     wftfc  a   raiwua   le«-Mi 

t'  fi«v«     centnfagal  poai^* 


fona  •! 


been    brought    •  C«ibwM 

ver^     rlearly     f\;  j     of     the 

.'er  m  hi«  artirle  tn  the 

r.„L'r       1  _■_•       t,   .•       I      -hif.W 

hi 

ute  form,  and  as  it  was  a 

put' 


Esrtrr.  N    H 


P    PlAKm. 


A  Hmm  ina<lc  Fiho 


Support  for  Flanged  Piping 


In  putting  up  large  steam  pipes  I  luvr 
noticed  that  some  steanilitters  and  engi 
Dcers  allow  long  spans  in  the  steam  lines. 


type  0: 
Mr    f. 

i     Will     . 

HI 

•  now    if   t 

tive    to   cl« 
cent  rift!'.'  ■' 
speed  .' 

sing    the    ' 

•"""••«    win..     « 

->i  equal  acruracy  to  the 
III!    voluf' 

" 

ago    I    w                               jrfr 

ni. 

•h.- 

etu 

pump  ! 
voir,  » ' 

to  run  bar 
and  fina'l. 

il.  the 

-inir 

neer    e< 
that  suii.r 
charge    va 

W.I 

t». 

Ive    by    mistake    and    that    h<- 

it.    With 

r  the  reat 

'-nt   home 

■•N    ■                                                                                                                          "I 

Jii 

t.ipr 

I 


«...  ..K  .•,"    ; 
thought  an> 


I 


ttatemrni    about    the    decrease    in    power     ^^g  ^^^  the  hottoai  oaC  of  the 

a*ed   ihta    lor   tW    mitimtt    m 
r*n     It  N  paattd  ao  t  ha««  ao 
ittt  ttktmtA  of  m 

\liho««h  II  w«Hu  w«a.  I  had  aarfl 
ef  ha««  a  pnpw  iixv  aMit  ly  MIF 
t  firm 

I.  A.  Y« 


How  k>    l*kc  itkdtoatm 


a  coll 

<<•    ««)IM| 


rLANcnhnnc  tirrrorr 

tnd  although  hangers  are  used,  a  crca. 

tin  still  remains  on  the  flanges. 

The   way    I    have   done    i«    t.-    ii«e   two 
damps  on  steam  pipes,  one  on  <■ 
"'  •'  -  ''  -  r--.  and  bolted  lit:'  *  ' 
•ion)      I  then  • 


ugal    pamfH    wl 


o^efaiing 


01  If.  • 
U  a  kr 

Mgging. 
the   fl.ingrs 


Wl 


thus    {ciuuvitig    live    iXtAiii    it^: 


an 


hal  t  ha 


'  ■  Ml 
,mmt4   mi 


>  •  •  "-vki  < 


« I 


n  Mo 


u 


So8 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  i6,  1909. 


Scaled  Boiler  Surfaces 


Referring  to  the  discussion  of  Hilton 
"Williams'  article  by  H.  E.  Gansworth  in 
the  January  5  number,  and  by  Eriths' 
Elngineering  Company,  Ltd.,  in  the  Febru- 
ary 9  issue,  the  tests  quoted  by  Mr.  Gans- 
worth included  an  item  of  considerable 
interest,  but  not  mentioned  in  his  q'uota- 
tion.  Two  boiler  tests  were  made  on  a 
locomotive-type  boiler  working  at  a  high 
rate  of  evaporation.  One  test  was  with 
the  tubes  and  fire  sheets  covered  with  an 
average  of  %  inch  of  carbonate  scale. 
The  other  test  was  made  under  exactly 
similar  conditions,  but  after  the  boiler 
had  been  cleaned  of  all  scale.  The  re- 
sult was  an  average  of  10.5  per  cent,  loss 
<iue  to  this  thickness  of  carbonate  scale. 
At  another  time,  performance  sheets 
expressed  in  terms  of  power  generated, 
all  under  similar  conditions,  were  kept  for 
three  months  previous  to  and  for  three 
months  after  scale  removal.  The  scale 
was  mainly  carbonate,  and  the  result  at 
the  coal  pile  was  10  per  cent,  in  favor  of 
clean  surfaces.  On  the  other  hand,  many 
tests  which  are  on  record,  and  whose 
reliability  is  beyond  dispute,  tend  to  indi- 
cate that  the  effect  of  scale  is  much  less 
than  as  herewith  indicated,  and  others 
show  that  it  is  higher.  I  believe  that 
these  disagreements  may  sometimes, 
though  not  always,  be  reconciled  when 
the  real  governing  conditions  are  taken 
into  account. 

Rankine,  I  think,  found  that  the  heat 
resistance  of  dry  carbonate-of-lime  scale 
is  about  seventeen  times  that  of  iron,  and 
that  of  sulphate  of  lime  forty-eight  times. 
Carbonate  scales  are  soft  and  porous  and 
•sulphates  hard  and  dense.  The  carbon- 
ate coating  may  be  considered  as  a  pipe 
-covering,  only  the  particles  are  somewhat 
-cemented  together  instead  of  being  loose. 
No  engineer  would  expect  much  of  a  pipe 
•covering  that  was  saturated  with  water. 
The  heat  resistance  of  a  porous  scale  in  a 
toiler  should  be  looked  at  in  the  same 
light. 

If  the  rate  of  evaporation  is  low,  and 
especially  if  the  scale  in  question  is  in  a 
part  of  the  boiler,  or  its  auxiliaries,  where 
the  flue  gases  have  lost  some  of  their  heat, 
and  the  feed  water  has  not  reached  its 
maximum  temperature,  the  scale  will  be 
damp  to  some  extent.  If,  however,  the 
rate  of  evaporation  is  high,  the  body  of 
the  scale  will  be  dry,  or  contain  nothing 
but  highly  superheated  steam,  and  in  this 
condition  it  approaches  the  condition  of 
■a.  dry  pipe,  covering,  and  we  have  an  ex- 
cellent heat  insulator  which,  considering 
Its  thickness,  compares  favorably  with 
-what  we  know  of  the  value  of  magnesia 
:pipe  coverings  in  general.  This  may  ac- 
count for  the  fact  that  tests  made  at  high 
rates  of  evaporation  generally  show  de- 
cided loss  on  account  of  scale.  In  any 
case,  especially  at  low  rates  of  evapora- 
ition,  the  composition  of  the  scale  should 


be  taken  into  account  and  this  may  ac- 
count for  the  vastly  different  results  that 
have  been  obtained. 

Even  if  in  some  cases  porous  scale 
causes  only  slight  loss  at  low  rates  of 
evaporation,  the  fact  that  at  high  rates 
the  loss  is  great  makes  the  subject  of 
considerable  importance  in  view  of  the  re- 
sults of  certain  tests  at  the  St.  Louis  Ex- 
position, and  the  resulting  tendency 
greatly  to  increase  the  volume  and,  there- 
fore, the  velocity  of  gases  passing  over 
any  given  heating  surface,  all  with  a  view 
to  greatly  increasing  capacity  at  very 
slight  cost  in  economy. 

E.    W.    FiSKE. 

Urbana,  111. 


Repairing  Commutators 


In  the  plant  vvhere  I  am  employed  there 
are  three  2SO-kilowatt  600-volt  three-phase 
rotary  converters,  all  of  which  are  subject 
to  flashing,  one  being  extremely  so.  This 
trouble  probably  occurs  more  frequently 
in  rotary  converters  than  in  direct-current 
generators,  due  to  the  "bucking"  or 
flashing-over    characteristic    of    some    of 


As  Mr.  Work  says,  every  particle  of 
charred  mica  must  be  removed,  and  if  the 
job  is  undertaken  by  anyone  who  does 
not  fully  realize  the  importance  of  having 
the  cavity  thoroughly  cleaned,  failure  is 
most  sure  to  result.  The  writer  has  used 
both  powdered  glass  and  plaster  of  paris 
as  a  filler  for  the  silicate  soda  (water 
glass)  solution,  and  prefers  the  former 
where  any  length  of  time  may  be  had  for 
the  repair  to  dry  before  starting  up  the 
machine.  With  powdered  glass,  the  mix- 
ture forms  a  doughy  mass  which  is  easy 
to  handle  and  force  into  the  cavity.  If 
plaster  of  paris  is  used  the  mixture  hard- 
ens almost  before  it  can  be  applied,  mak- 
ing it  necessary  to  work  very  rapidly  in 
applying,  or  else  break  it  up  again  after  it 
has  set,  which  is  bad  practice. 

With  either  filler,  if  the  cavity  is  small, 
as  between  two  commutator  bars,  the  mix- 
ture will  harden  in  a  few  minutes  suffi- 
ciently to  allow  the  machine  to  be  started, 
but  if  the  cavity  is  large  some  time  will 
be  required  for  it  to  dry,  the  longer  the 
better.  Where  the  mixture  before  drying 
forms  a  ground,  the  drying  has  been  in 
some  instances  hastened  by  allowing  a 
light  current  to  flow  Arough  the  filling  to 


these  machines.  If  this  burning  occurs 
out  on  the  brush-bearing  portion,  or  outer 
end  of  the  commutator,  it  is  not  so  diffi- 
cult to  handle,  but  when  it  is  on  the  inner 
end,  where  the  armature  leads  connect  to 
the  commutator,  it  is  much  more  serious, 
as  it  is  hard  to  get  at  it. 

In  the  three  converters  mentioned,  burn- 
ing at  this  point  became  so  serious  that  it 
was  necessary  to  cut  off  the  copper  with 
the  lathe,  increasing  the  length  of  the 
brush-bearing  portion  of  the  commutator 
until  the  tool  went  in  behind  the  burned 
places,  leaving  the  hard,  firm  mica  be- 
tween the  bars.  Figs,  i  and  2  will  illus- 
trate the  idea.  Fig.  i  showing  the  original 
shape  of  the  commutator  bar  and  Fig.  2 
how  it  was  cut  away. 

While  the  remedy  suggested  by  Mr. 
Work,  a  solution  of  silicate  soda  and  a 
filler,  in  the  January  5  number,  is  proba- 
bly the  best  we  have,  it  is  by  no  means  a 
panacea.  An  experience  extending  over 
three  years  convinces  me  that  one  should 
not  be  too  hasty  in  congratulating  him- 
self on  the  permanency  of  the  repair, 
especially  if  the  commutator  is  run  where 
oil  is  likely  to  get  on  the'  surface,  or  if 
it  is  on  a  high-voltage  machine.  In  some 
instances  this  filler  seems  to  deteriorate 
under  the  action  of  oil. 


the  ground,  but   care   must  be   exercised 
that  it  does  not  become  too  warm. 

One  of  the  converters  previously  men- 
tioned has  been  running  for  several 
months  with  a  two-  or  three-ounce  plug 
of  the  mixture  (with  plaster  of  paris  as 
a  filler)  packed  into  a  hole  between  the 
commutator  bars  and  the  clamping  ring, 
the  hole  having  been  burned  out  from  a 
ground  against  the  clamping  ring.  In  an- 
other is  a  plug  of  powdered  glass  as  a 
filler  between  the  bars  of  the  commutator 
and  the  clamping  ring  of  the  thickness  of 
the  original  insulation.  When  this  repair 
was  made  the  machine  tested  partially 
grounded,  but  the  slight  leak  through  the 
mixture  soon  dried  it  out  until  the  ma- 
chine tested  clear.  If  a  good  fit  can  be 
secured  it  is  probably  better  to  use  mica 
than  the  mixture  spoken  of,  but  the  fit 
must  be  good  or  the  trouble  will  surely 
appear  again.  If  the  trouble  is  on  the 
outer  corner  of  the  commutator  a  crevice 
may  be  sawed  out  between  the  bars  across 
the  corner,  care  being  taken  to  see  that 
the  bottom  of  the  crevice  is  perfectly 
straight.  A  tight-fitting  piece  of  mica 
with  a  perfectly  straight  edge  should  then 
be  forced  to  the  bottom  of  the  crevice, 
after  which  the  bars  should  be  lightly 
calked  on  each  side  of  the  mica  to  hold 


March  i6,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


it  in  place.  The  mica  can  then  be  trimmed 
of!  and  smoothed  up  to  conform  with  the 
surface  of  the  commutator. 

In  a  job  of  this  kind  it  is  important  that 
more  than  an  approximate  fit  be  obtained 
and  the  angle  at  the  surface  of  the  com- 
mutator formed  by  the  new  piece  of  mica 
should  not  be  less  than  45  degrees.  If 
so,  the  point  of  the  new  piece  at  the  sur- 
face of  the  commutator  will  be  so  thin 
it  will  not  stay  in  place,  furnishing  an  in- 
v.i.ntf  place  for  a  new  beginning  of  the 
'lie.  In  one  or  two  instances  the 
writer  has  sawed  out  the  mica  across  the 
end  of  the  commutator  down  to  the 
clamping  ring,  securing  a  square  corner 
for  the  new  piece  at  the  surface. 

Whether  mica  or  the  filling  mixture  is 

u-'^l    the    work    must    be    most    carefully 

or  permanency  will  be  lacking,  and 

with    the    utmost    care    permanency 

le  in  doubt. 

lere  circumstances  justify,  if  the 
le  has  become  very  serious,  it  is 
bly  better  to  strip  ofT  the  clamping 
loosen  up  the  bars  and  put  in  new 
ition  and  also  commutator  bars,  if 
!■!  ones  are  badiv  damaged. 

C   L.  GREza. 

( i.indicv,    Icxas. 


The  Modem  Surface  Condenser 


In  Mr.  Orrok'«  letter  in  the  December 
aa.  1908,  number,  he  says  that  where 
Kr\f\<l  surface  efficiency  it  possible  and 
-  are  no  serious  air  leaks,  the  air 
,>  of  ordinary  size  is  usually  more 
th.nn  sufficient.  This  is  a  rather  vague 
statement,  and  not  at  all  on  the  scientific 
lines  he  is  anxious  to  pursue.  When  are 
air  leaks  beginning  to  become  serious, 
•nd  what  does  he  consider  the  ordinary 
size  of  an  air  pump? 

Mr.  Orrok  will,  I  believe,  have  noticed 
tbe  great  difference  in  opinions,  and  in 
ually  operating  plants,  as  to  the  size  of 
lir  pumps.  If  he  invites  five  tenders  fur 
ecrtain  conditions  he  will  find  the  air 
pvmps  varying  in  sizes  by  at  least  100  per 
DCnt  What  the  capacity  of  the  air  pump 
.n%  and  how  it  affects  the  surface  effi 
rkncy  of  a  condenser  I  will  show  by  an 
ample 

We  will  assume  a  condenser  of  a  cer- 
ain  cooling  surface,  condensing  a  c«r- 
weight  of  dry-saturated  steam  per 
lOar,  accompanied  by  a  certain  weight  of 
tir  from  leaks  and  other  sources,  the  cool- 
Of  water   of   a   fix'  '  r   hour 

ring  at  2%  and  '  -•!  at  4" 

Mfrees   <  Wc    fiiftl.ir    4«»umr 

this  maintains  an  abtoluie 

ure   ■•<   aij  iiti-      ;•  -     .    and   conse- 
tly    the    steam     tr:  .;.-;  ,tiire     at     the 
lenser  inlet   will  be  50  degrees  Cent!* 
imit.    The  condenser  is  further  assumed 
be  built  strictly  on  the  countrrt.-ttrrri<; 
Inet.   so   that    the    mixture    of    air    jh<1 


vapors  removed  by  the  air  pump  amy 
have  a  temperature  of  jo  decrees  Centi- 
grade. The  mean  difference  of  tempera- 
tures between  the  steam  and  water  spaces 
will  then  be 

degrees  Centigrade.  The  tension  of  the 
vapors   at    the   air-pump   tu- •  -nes 

0.04   atmosphere    absolute.    .  iii^ 

to  the  temperature  of  JO  decrees  Centi- 
grade, consequently,  the  tension  of  the 
air  at  the  place  of  removal  will  be 

aia  —  004  =  ao6 

atmuNphcrc   ab*oliite    (  Dalton's    Lw  ) 

Wc  ni>w   iiii-rn^f  'Vc  effective  dupUcc- 
ment   «t    the  by    too  per  ceat, 

but  utherwiir  rything  unchangcdL 

The  next  consequence  will  be  that  the 
pressure  of  the  air  at  the  air-pump  suc- 
tion drops  to  one-half  of  the  original 
pressure,  or  004  atmosphere  abaoiute. 
Some  trial  calculations  will  then  show 
that  in  order  to  preserve  the  original 
mean  diflFrrrncr  of  temperaturr^  h*»ween 
the  'cr   space  7V4 

degr'  .  which  m  to 

keep    the  r    doing    its    work.    '.: 

initial  tci  , ..-   of  the   exhaust  stcj^;:. 

must  drop  to  45  degrees  Centigrade,  and 
the  temperature  of  the  mixture  of  air 
and  vapors  at  the  other  end  of  tbe  con- 
denser must  rise  to  J5  degrees  Centi- 
grade, whrn  the  total  pressure  will  be 
'■  ite.  leaving  0055 
;  the  vapors  with- 
drawn with  the  air,  this  corresponding  to 
35  degrees  Centigra<!r.  an. I  the  total  pre» 
sure  to  4S  degrees  '■■     By  doub 

ling  the  air-pump  ^-,.->..'  *e  have  tha» 
improved  the  vacuum  by  aOB5  atmosphere, 
or  nearly  H  inch     But  r'         '  'the 

exhaust  tteam  at  the  mi  O- 

denser  will  now  be  jl  yc:  ^cit-  higher, 
and  that  of  the  air  and  vap.>r*  leaving 
100  per  cent    highr  ^t' 

centage   of   steam   i:  be 

hi>{her.  and  this  is  where  tbe  surface 
efBciency  comes  in,  which  will  be  in- 
creased, resulting  in  a  still  better  vAcuom 

and    further   increase  of  vel«v I  a 

htiiit    It   reached  by  the  iocr-  »t- 

afuc   ..f    flow      These    facts    n»\f    atrnm 
,,.  ..I..  i,v  r.fMTtence  to  all  boilders  who 
*iicc    the    cooling    sor- 
eflkicfll  types  uf  con- 
denser. 

I  n..»  turn  to  the  rale  of  c>.iv!nmlio« 
per  nittt 

m^nti 


t'lr     iji>     tutulcnsing    pUnt     in    j-i  •>.  »i 
,  {.r ration.  "fr»f  iwrbtot  aad  cooling  tower 


of  cornkwiioB  of  more  ilwi  » 
ol  Mcaai  per  t^aar*  fool  aad  per  hi 
I  vin  e««ti  go  farther  md  alov  7% 
grers  Fahrriibiil 
this  is 
Qitiic 

Rderriac    to    lUmknm€$ 

"EvaporaiM^    CoodesiiBg    ■■ 

Apparatm."  I.  of  ooanc.  k»o«  tMa.  Hh 

aothor  has  had  great  eapcncaot  is  a^ 

parattts    for    distsUerses,    sogi 

and  others.  b«M  has  prnbably 

a  steam -coodcmtag   piMN  or    a 

tower   I  sho«ld  ttc  Mr  Orrok  le  try  M 

design  such  plaats  froai  this  hook.  tm4  I 

am  sure  he  «rfll  have  so«m  twm  4oaaf  it 

I  can  also  assare  Mr  Orrok  thai  I  kmom 

*-.     .>t  book,  that  ol  Wcsi^wMck 

jioays  qaolffd  whea  ceadcasiai 

matters  are  discotaed.     Thn  book  has  Itt 

'"'"••    *v3t  straagcly  ranagh  har4|y 

'-  qaeMioa  ol  haat  traasfcr* 

rncr    ar.u.    trittrad.  da«fls  Oa  tht 

current  principle  to 
retuh  of  this 

fallarttq^    drdoctioas    nftrrhig    to 
cap^  pmmg».    Prefaaaor  }cmt9 

papc  le  iiiiaiMiaii  baea  pafeHAaA 

In  coadaaiaa.  I  aoald  say  that  iraai  a 
M-irntific   standpoint   there 

informatsoo    at     haatf    to 
'•  •-trers     to     boild 

lants.     The    sarlace 
1  hardly  be  labiarts^  to 
i%  hiag  as  ««  ha««  le 
rttadrical   tahca.     T¥ia  is  aai 
:hc  air 
apn    10 

.  .test  troablt.  hoasstr.  m  tht  ^ 
ibooi  the  asMaal  of  air  le  be 
It  is  the  air  wWch  aahsa  eoa- 
•irtitinc  to  maiplea  a  pmhha^.  aa  ll  ail 
•  nly  affects  the  air  paaipi.  bat  the  tarn- 
drt>»er  alio  The  baildrrs  of  eoa4«Mn 
have  to  gaaraaiaa  their  plaats  far  W^ 
vacaa  oader  aafavaraUr  iiaiginiarM  •! 
the  nrrulatiag  vafar.  aidMal  la  Aa 
Utghieti  way  hcia 
cesaive  air  m  the 

A   f..r>r^  t    And 

a  .r  m  shoald  be  bas«l  «a 

qvaotiij  01  iiraa  to  be 

peratart  ol  Ike  dftafaiiag 

aaaiaai  ol  air  carrM  Mia 

by  the  (tcaa  (oriaihecaaaolaMcM- 

denser,  by  the  aaier  alM)     Wm  m  mm- 

ol  ^  le  b*  haadM  is  aa  ca* 


condHior 
cooling  V 


^y    degrtvi     Fai 
i  aa  average  \ •< 

chts  oa  a    j»-iadl    baroiaeter. 

,   t\yf     Iranin*  times,    iht^wtrg  a 


ilM  paiat  vlwtv  tttmiim  •*r'' 
m  ar««a*»  "T^**""*  pfaala  have 
..     !  4  raa  hHp  ••  this  « 


510 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  i6,  1909. 


How  Improve  the  Diagrams  ? 

Last  fall  I  took  a  week  off,  and  not 
knowing  just  what  to  do,  I  thought  of 
taking  indicator  diagrams.  Among  others 
I  obtained  those  shown  in  Figs,  i  and  2. 
These  diagrams  were  taken  from  a  Rey- 


nolds Corliss  cross-compound  engine.  The 
high-pressure  cylinder  was  20  inches  in 
diameter,  the  low-pressure  42  inches  in 
diameter;  stroke,  48  inches.  The  boiler 
pressure  was  150  pounds  per  square  inch ; 
receiver  pressure,  15  pounds;  the  revolu- 
lutions  per  minute,  107;  scale  of  spring 
for  high-pressure,  80,  and  of  the  low- 
pressure  cylinder,  15. 

I  should  like  to  have  the  readers  give 

their    opinion    of    these    diagrams,    as    to 

what  changes  would  be  necessary  to  make 

the  engine  give  a  better  looking  diagram. 

LiNDON  A.  Cole. 

Blacklick,  Ohio. 


stractor  cannot  be  altered  without  chang- 
ing the  shape  of  the  apparatus.  If  we 
have  a  plain  cylindrical  boiler  without 
tubes  in  it,  and  we  alter  it  by  placing 
tubes  therein  so  that  the  gases  also  pass 
through  them,  we  have  increased  the  effi- 
ciency of  the  boiler  materially,  but  if  in 
one  case  it  should  have  coal  burned  under 
it  and  in  the  other  briquets,  the  efficiency 
of  the  boiler  would  in  nowise  be  aflfected, 
because  in  each  instance  it  would  be  the 
same  plain  cylindrical  boiler. 

In  my  opinion  it  is  well  to  call  attention 
to  these  features,  as  it  tends  to  a  better 
understanding  of  the  matter  of  boiler 
performance. 

.  A.  Bement. 

Chicago,   111. 


Boiler  Efficiency 

In  the  issue  of  February  2,  page  239, 
there  appears  an  article  giving  certain  re- 
sults relative  to  tests  of  run-of-mine  coal 
as  compared  to  briquets  made  therefrom, 
which  is  an  abstract  from  a  recent  bulle- 
tin of  the  United  States  Geological  Sur- 
vey, in  which  it  is  stated :  "In  all  classes 
of  service  involved  by  the  experiments, 
the  use  of  briquets  in  the  place  of  natural 
coal  appears  to  have  increased  the  evapo- 
rative efficiency  of  the  boiler  tested." 

The  publication  concerns  itself  more 
particularly,  of  course,  with  the  matter 
of  briquets,  but  the  statement  in  the 
paragraph  quoted  is  so  far  in  error  that 
it  seems  desirable  that  attention  be  called 
to  it.  The  question  is,  how  can  the 
change  of  fuel  affect  the  efficiency  of  a 
boiler?  A  boiler  is  efficient  due  to  its 
design,  the  material  entering  into  its  con- 
struction, etc.,  and  the  purpose  of  the 
boiler  is  to  abstract  the  heat  from  the 
gases  flowing  over  it.  Its  ability  to  do 
this  is  dependent  upon  certain  features 
of  shape  and  arrangement  of  parts,  and 
the   efficiency   of  a   boiler  as   a  heat   ab- 


Power  Plant  Records 


In  the  February  2  number  was  an  arti- 
cle on  "Power  Plant  Records,"  by  Mr. 
Bogart,  which  interested  me  greatly.  I 
get  all  my  meter  readings  at  7  a.m.  The 
coal  is  conveyed  to  the  boiler  house  on 
a  small  car,  weighed  on  track  scales  and 
totaled  once  a  day.  All  records  are  kept 
on  a  properly  designed  report  sheet.  By 
using  a  recording  wattmeter  and  a  water 
meter  it  is  possible  to  come  very  close  to 
what  the  boilers  are  doing.    As  to  the  live 


Making  Dashpot  Covers 

The  accompanying  illustration  shows 
how  I  made  covers  out  of  heavy  tin  for 
my  dashpots,  to  keep  out  dust  and  dirt. 
The  cover  was  made  large  enough  to  fit 
nicely  over  the  top  of  the  dashpot.  The 
hole  in  the  cover  was  made  large  enough 
to  leave  room  around  the  rod  so  the  air 
can  pass  out  when  the  dashpot  is  on  the 
upward  stroke,  without  lifting  the  cover. 
An  explanation  of  the  method  used  in 
making  the  dashpot  cover  is  as  follows : 

First  draw  the  line  A.  Then  draw  the 
line  B,  equal  to  one-half  of  the  diameter 
of  the  cover,  and  at  right  angles  to  A. 
Lay  off  the  length  or  hight  desired  from 
B  on  A,  and  draw  the  line  C,  at  right 
angles  to  A,  equal  to  one-half  the  diame- 
ter of  the  top.  Then  draw  the  line  D, 
from  B  to  C,  up  to  A,  cutting  it  at  O.  Set 
the  dividers  equal  to  the  line  D  from  0  to 
B,  and  placing  the  stationary  leg  at  O, 
draw  as  much  of  the  circle  E  as  necessary. 
Then  set  the  dividers  equal  to  the  dis- 
tance between  the  lines  D  and  A  in  the 
circle  E,  and  space  off  six  times  this  dis- 
tance on  the  circle  E,  as  shown.  From  the 
point  H  draw  the  line  F  to  the  point  0. 

Next  set  the  dividers  equal  to  the  dis- 
tance between  the  line  C  and  the  point  O 
on  D,  and  draw  the  circle  G  to  the  line  F. 


METHOD  OF  LAYING  OUT  AND  CUTTING  DASHPOT  COVERS 


steam  we  are  using  we  can  only  guess  at 
that.  We  use  recording  pressure  gages,  a 
recording  voltmeter  and  a  recording 
meter  on  the  heating  main.  Meters  on 
the  air  compressors  would  help  some. 
With  the  appliances  I  have,  it  is  interest- 
ing to  see  the  changes  in  the  average 
evaporation,  due  to  one  cause  or  another. 
A.  G.  MacFarland. 
Ilion,  N.  Y. 


If  lap  is  desired  to  fasten  the  ends  to- 
gether, add  this  on  by  drawing  the  line  /,  I 
parallel  to  line  D,  at  a  distance  equal  to 
the  required  lap.  Then  by  cutting  along 
the  lines  F,  E,  H,  D  and  G  the  cover  is 
ready  to  be  put  together.  A  rim  is  then 
soldered  on  as  shown  at  K.  At  L  is 
shown  the  cover  as  applied  to  the  dashpot. 
Charles  H.  Sparser. 
Fertile,  Minn. 


March  i6,  1909. 

A    Harml 


armless 


:are 


That  a  good  engineer  may  make  mis- 
takes is  not  to  be  disputed,  and  often 
these  mistakes  are  amusing,  rather  than 
serious.  A  case  in  point  occurred  re- 
cently where  a  gas  engine  and  producer 
had  been  installed  in  the  basement  of  a 
department  store  in  the  heart  of  the  busi- 
ness district  of  a  Western  city.  One  of 
the  requisites  of  this  installation  was  that 
"'•re  should  be  no  noise  from  the  ex- 
ist  of   the   engine,   and    to   accomplish 

:•>  end,  a  large  tank,  buried  in  the  floor 

the  engine  room,  had  been  used  for  a 

muffler,  and  from  this  tank  a  6-inch  cx- 

liaiist    pipe    extended    up    seven   or    eight 

■  ries  to  the  roof  of  the  building.     The 
^n  worked  nicely,  the  exhaust  was  quiet, 

I  for  months  the  plant  ran  beautifully. 

.   ::c  was  rated  at  75  horsepower 

:tcd  with  compressed  air.   One 

riuiiK   she   engineer   turned   on  the   air 

UMial,   the   engine   began   turning   over 

•  I   drew   a   charge   of  mixture   into   the 

Under.     The  charge  did  not  ignite,  how- 

■  r,  and  the  mixture  was  expelled  non- 
•Kuited  into  the  exhaust  muffler.  This 
was    repeated    several    times.     The    engi- 

'  r  was  at  a  loss  to  understand  why  the 
<ine  did  not  start,  and  kept  turning  it 
compressed  air   until   it   had   made   x 
yo    ri. volutions,    and    the    unexpIod»-<l 
charges    drawn    through    the    engine   and 
pumped  into  the  exhaust  system  had  be- 
come sufficient  in  volume  to  fill  the  ex- 
haust   tank    and    the   entire    pipe   line    to 
the  roof.     In  the  course  of  his  hunt   for 
the   trouble,  the  engineer  discovered  that 
h«-   h.id   iirtflrrtrd   to   turn  on   the   switch 
lagneto  with   the  igniter 
iy     did,    and     the    engine 
■picked   up"   all   right   on   the   next   revo- 
lution 

The  engineer,  being  in  the  engine  room, 
felt  no  disturbance  beyond  a  slight  thud 
when  the  first  charge  of  burnt  gas  was 
ev"  ■   into  the  muffler.    On  the  other 

h..  .n  thr  r>nt«ide  of  the  hniMin,; 

were  trc^li'! 
like     the     )> 

which  *h<>ok  the  entire  section  ot  the 
wholr»ale  district,  calling  out  both  the 
police  and  fire  departmrnti.  Patrol 
wagnn«  rushed  hither  and  thither,  the  po- 
lice dreaming  of  anarchistic  lM>inbt  and 
the  (\Tc  drpartment  hunting  for  a  bursted 
b^iilrr  Willi  it*  alirndanl  horrori  The 
!<•  .(tiiti  of  the  ' 
hi-  V     tn    which    • 

p  'ireinen.    searching    the    ii  nl  ! 

iiK  arrived   in   the   rnginr   r^f' 

where   they    found    the   engineer    pla.  ilU 
going    about    his    business       H'     !■    -'<-l 
that    there   had   been   fu>  expl 
hi«  engine;  he  hail  heard   notln- . 
and  there  wa<  nothing  to  ere. lit     j.  • 
Since    tlien.    however,    he   ha«    ' 
careful  t..  ilir.iw  the  «witch  tv  • 
h)g  hi«  engine,  on  the  ba«i«.  t"  : 
ihe  old  «aw,  that   an  ounce  "f  : 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

is  better  than  a  vuit  from  the  police  and 
tire  departments. 

a  P.  Rai^h 
Chicago,  IlL 


Safety    Valve     Formulas 


In  the  paper  upon  ufety-valv  capseity, 
contained  ir 
briefly   the   : 
of  tests,  one  upuii   ».. 
the  other   upon   the 

discharge  in  safety  valves.  The  omtssioo 
of  a  complete  Ublc  of  the  former  resoJu 
has  led  to  a  scriotu  misconstruction  of 
them  in  the  editoriai  in  the  same  issue, 
in  which  they  are  quoted.  In  an  endeavor 
to  correct  this,  the  result}  are  here  given 
with  a' little  more  deUil : 

The  lifts  at  popping  pomt  of  the  seven 
4-inch   statioiury-l)rpe   valves  of  different 
design  set  at  200  pounds  were  0064  inch, 
o.oji  inch,  aos6  inch,  094  inch.  <i<»m  >•    *'. 
ao&2  inchandaij7inch.  Of  the  ^ 
muffler  locomotive  valves,  set  ^ix'    . 
pounds,    the   lifts  at    the    popping     ; 
were   0.072    inch,   aokio   inch.   0076    incli. 
0.065  inch,  0.051    inch  and  o  140  inch. 

Inspection  of  ^ 
by  f.ir  ?h«-  most  : 

f--  :;■     .       :•.      •: 

(.,:  ■    -    :„•::,«    ...ir-.    . 

must  include  a  specific  term  for  the  vaJve 
lift.  A  necessity  which  arises  from  the 
fact  that  the  great  variation  of  over  joo 
per  cent,  in  the  lifts  of  the  same-sixed 
valves  for  the  same  pressure  nukes  the 
:i-  Ive  for  tl>'- 

I  an  astui!., 

tl.iliit'    1<J    LfgC    Cffuf 

I  here   are  two  hypotheses   in   the   edi 
torial;     First,   "that    the   lift   •   •   •   •   is 
around  3/jP   i'lch    10094)    for  all   valve* 
in   normal  and.   second,   that 

"any  maker  «••.  •••—   •  •  ■'—     '  ^"^ 

size  to  lift  i/yj 

thr  valve  pops.  an<j  r  igni 

X..    I'Mif   as   the   pre»-  f>«d." 


upon  boilers  u  very  great.  » ' 
ftarent  not  only  fro«n  the  test< 
from  the  figures  given  by  ma- 


<acy  of  "Urn"  Ufu  and   ih' 


viuJ  HBporuaoc  to  aad  1 

ered  by  aacr*,    mtnrm, 

i.nrf.  ..I  ,.fe«ai  bodctt. 

tn  a  furanda  as 

:r.e     r.jt:  .ri..j,    ibcfC    CaB    bc    BO 

correapoodHiff  10  the  gr^ 
t>*  >  and  aadcr  tmA  •  ior- 

in  oAji-Mcfc  UH  mmm  w- 

ccikc  iikc  »mttt€  raimg  aad  i^aciAcabaa  m 

valves  with  onr^i     xni  o  ji  ,n:h  htu.     |« 

asMwning  a  .  umg,  aat 

unl\    Ate    i':.'  ...    |g^ 

•••«    ••>    iin^    iMkMuif    ui   ij\rx  prn.»arri^  ksl 

luiiig    it    wttb    vahrct    wtew    tdu    aim 

greater  than  tbai  MMMHd  •  bodcr 

be     over-Mf«^y-va|««d,     mkkk 

the  sir  bodcr  dM  to  iMa 

•f  »oc)  soocai^  io  tW  A.  & 

M    F-  rocctiDg     Aad  tbcM  error*  rvMli- 

ing  from  the  uw  ..f  «  liwla   mmaiMt  to 

that  in  the 

to  be  ncglig.».{.   .^.   mtik  tW 

foJIy   selected  aasooMd  anr^»   kii 

anooM  to  as  omkIi  m  ij»  p« 

way. 

adcqoMe  minkod. 

•-  aMimfactarrrv  to  aiaM  ddk 

wtdy    tW   lift    of    Ihctr    vahrc^    iHf%   it 

';[-'n   thcin  and  tbca  rale   tS<'rTi   wn^. 

r  the  ■••  of  a  o  Tatdm 

toclndca    a    tcrs  hk. 

Adopting  a  rvtt  as  Hmr«-  adl- 

torial  and  leaving  aaaiiui»^v..rrr(  «» 
qualify  nndrr  it  wnb  unknown  bft«.  w^ak 
in  ■<■  bat   oor-tlnrif 

*■■■  <i  mnn  a  dclA- 

j«4.«     •■:    ttx    rridmce     ol     rMv^-litl     #•- 

search    recmtl;    tundnctod  by  a   mmt^btr 
mdrpmdcwf     partita^ 

•bst 


>    I 

...1.-. 


•  rrin     tf  r     (kr     «#«<rtrw«    am    Of 


amkf  dtW* 

'  nor  dt- 

s   of 

wkde  tkM  of  l^ 

•    .mi 

D       - 

1  rr    IMOT 

ftng  U  c 

512 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  i6,  1909. 


Gas  Power  Blowing  Equipment  at  Gary,  Ind. 

Essential  Mechanical  and  Operative    Features    of    the    Indiana    Steel 
Company's    New    Gas    Engine     Installation    for    Blowing    Furnaces 


The  almost  exclusive  adoption  of  gas 
engines  at  Gary  for  blowing  the  furnaces, 
as  well  as  for  electric  service  throughout 
the  mills,  represents  the  first  decisive  step 
in  American  steel  manufacture  toward 
full  recognition  of  the  development  in  gas- 
power  equipment  which  has  been  going 
on  for  the  last  ten  years.  Outside  of 
German  practice,  which  has  been  so  con- 
spicuously successful,  the  only  forerun- 
ners of  this  great  undertaking  in  America 
are  the  gas-power  plant  of  the  Lacka- 
wanna Steel  Company,  at  Buffalo,  and 
the  more  or  less  experimental  application 
by  the  United  States  Steel  Corporation  in 
the  vicinities  of  Pittsburg  and  Chicago.  It 
is  not  to  be  expected  that  so  important  a 
property  as  the  Gary  works  would  permit 
of  the  least  uncertainty  in  the  matter  of 


ganization  of  operatives  are  the  same  as 
contemplated  for  the  other  plants. 

This  No.  3  blowing  house  is  located  at 
the  extreme  northern  end  of  the  power 
property,  next  to  the  lake  front,  and  is 
shown  in  the  general  photograph.  Fig.  I, 
which  embraces  all  those  parts  of  the 
furnaces  and  contiguous  buildings  which 
have  been  put  into  operation.  This  view 
includes,  at  the  extreme  left,  Nos.  11  and 
12  furnaces,  which  are  in  operation,  pre- 
liminary washers  and  the  No.  3  blowing 
house  in  the  foreground.  At  the  ex- 
treme right  is  shown  the  storage-battery 
building  and  the  north  end  of  the  electric- 
power  house,  which  will  next  be  put  into 
commission  and  the  general  features  of 
which  have  been  described  in  previous 
articles.      The    third    group    of    furnaces. 


FIG.    I.     GENERAL    VIEW    NORTH    END   OF   GARY  WORKS,   NOS.    II    AND   12    FUR- 
NACES,   WITH    NO.    3    BLOWING    HOUSE 


gas-power  application  if  such  uncertainty 
existed,  and  it  is,  therefore,  fair  to  as- 
sume that  the  experience  of  the  United 
States  Steel  Corporation  has  been  sig- 
nally successful. 

No.  3  Gas  Blowing  House 
In  a  detailed  study  of  so  large  a  prop- 
erty, the  subdivision  of  the  work  into  the 
most  important  groups  becomes  impera- 
tive, and  following  the  general  order  in 
which  the  Gary  property  has  been  com- 
pleted, the  No.  3  gas  blowing  house  calls 
for  first  consideration.  The  first  of  the 
three  gas-power  houses  to  be  placed  in 
commission  is  typical  of  the  general  con- 
struction employed  in  the  No.  i  and  No.  2 
blowing  houses  which  are  to  follow.  The 
systems  of  blast  control,  air  starting,  igni- 
tion,   water    supply,    lubrication    and    or- 


Nos.  9  to  12,  and  the  first  to  be  put  in 
operation,  served  by  the  No:  3  blowing 
house,  will  be  duplicated  in  the  first,  sec- 
ond and  fourth  groups  now  under  erec- 
tion, Nos.  5  to  8  to  be  served  by  No.  2 
blowing  house  and  Nos.  i  to  4  by  No.  i 
blowing  house,  these  being  provided  for 
at  the  southern  end  of  the  property.  Thus 
there  will  be  virtually  three  independent 
groups  of  furnaces,  of  which  the  north- 
ern is  in  every  sense  typical.  These 
groups  will  only  be  connected  by  means 
of  a  5-foot  gas  main  extending  between 
the  various  blower  houses  and  operating 
somewhat  as  an  emergency  tie  line.  The 
air-blast  lines  for  each  group  are,  how- 
ever, not  interconnected,  as  in  the  case  of 
the  gas  supply.  Practically  every  operat- 
ing function  of  these  groups  is,  therefore, 
independently    complete    with    the    excep- 


tion of  the  low-service  water  supply  and 
the  air-compressing  plant  by  means  of 
which  the  gas  engines  are  started,  this 
being  located  at  a  central  point  in  the 
electric    station,   as    later   noted. 

The  general  assembly  drawing.  Fig.  6, 
shows  in  plan  and  elevation  one  of  the 
eight  gas  blowing  units,  together  with  air 
blast,  water,  gas,  air,  exhaust  and  com- 
pressed-air mains.  Each  of  these  will  be 
referred  to  in  detail  later.  Figs.  3,  4  and 
5  show  general  views  from  both  gas  and 
air  ends  of  the  end  units.  The  building  is 
laid  out  with  26  bays,  23  feet  wide,  aggre- 
gating about  600  feet  in  length  and  104 
feet  in  width.  All  the  units  are  spaced 
46  feet  between  centers,  including  two 
steam  blowers. 

It  is  to  be  expected  that  in  so  large  an 
undertaking  some  steam  reserve  would 
be  installed,  which  is  the  case,  and,  more- 
over, steam  is  a  necessity  for  starting 
the  furnaces.  For  each  group  of  furnaces 
there  is  a  plant  of  16  water-tube  boilers 
which  supplies  steam  to  a  pair  of  steam 
blowing  engines  in  No.  3  blowing  house; 
a  pair  of  2000-kilowatt  steam  turbines  in 
the  electric  house ;  a  steam-turbine-driven 
pump  in  the  pump  house ;  fire  pumps ; 
hydraulic  pumps  and  steam  for  miscel- 
laneous purposes  around  the  plant,  such 
as  steam  coils  for  oil-settling  tanks  and 
for  preventing  the  holder,  preliminary 
washers  and  gas  valves  in  the  various  dis- 
tributing lines  from  freezing  during  cold 
weather.  This  boiler  house  is  fitted  for 
burning  blast-furnace  gas.  This  same 
steam  reserve  will  be  provided  in  each  of 
the  blowing  houses  to  be  built,  as  well  as 
the  electric  houses,  so  that  nothing  short 
of  a  general  disablement  will  cause  the 
ever-dreaded  stoppage  of  blast  at  the 
furnace  tuyeres. 

The  blowing  house  contains  eight  gas 
blowing  units  aggregating  in  capacity 
265,000  cubic  feet  of  free  air  per  minute, 
and  in  addition,  two  45,000-cubic  foot 
steam  units.  The  layout  contemplates  that 
for  each  pair  of  furnaces  three  gas  units 
will  be  required  with  a  spare,  the  steam 
unit  being  held  entirely  in  reserve.  These 
450-ton  furnaces  each  require  44,000  cubic 
feet  of  blast  per  minute.  As  each  blowing 
unit  supplies  33,000  cubic  feet  of  free  air 
per  minute  the  proportion  of  capacity  will 
be  evident.  For  the  returning  gas  a  clean- 
ing plant  capable  of  handling  nearly 
176,000  cubic  feet  per  minute  is  required. 
The  gas  for  the  hot-blast  and  steam-boiler 
plant  is  only  partially  cleaned  in  the  dust 
catchers  and  preliminary  washers,  which 


March  i6,  1909. 

remove   the   greater  part   of   the  heavier 
foreign  matter. 

It  is  estimated  that  about  30  per  cent, 
of  the  blast-furnace  gas  produced  if  re- 
quired in  the  stoves,  leaving  70  per  cent, 
available  for  outside  purposes,  or  deduct- 
ing 10  per  cent,  foi  boilers  and  loss  in 
washing,  somewhat  over  60  per  cent,  for 
gas  power.  Consequently  the  secondary 
cleaning  plant  of  tower  and  Theisen  wash- 
ers needs  to  take  care  of  only  about 
105,000  cubic  feet  per  minute.  This  corre- 
sponds to  the  capacity  of  seven  lower  and 
Theisen  washers,  leaving  one  unit  of  each 
in  reserve.  This  amount  of  purified  gas, 
which  now  averages  about  95  B  t  u  per 
cubic  foot  and  will  approximate  00  B  t  u 
after  the  furnace  burdens  have  assumed 
their  normal  condition,  will  develop  66,000 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER 

plant  as  a  whole     The  general  dupots-     tW  laki  »md 

tion  of  pant  i«     ' 

and  5;  Fig  4  bei 

end  of  the  near  c 

more    cleirlv    'h' 

gear       ! 

the  floi  - 

between  iuj»; 

to  the   exha-  ; 

quite  favorably,  givii^  a 


SIJ 


'    dnvtnc 
•ct  down  to 

\T   frrl   wide 

oat 

■^oor 


between  the  two  tides.  5  trrt   dtkw  tbr 
main  floor,  with  caDeries  runninff 

the  cylinder- 

m    Fie    * 


fc 

CIl 


tl  •  ihr  lioor 

thi:       .  J  floor.  wh:_ 

mn  the  exhaa«t-ptpe  Knes. 


Had 


-<lefi}cath 

rrl  pljtr. 


j±umm 


O^ 


Y  J  J  J  J  ^r^hiJ^^'^-nrn^u^im^mu^t-fw 


11 


^ 


nc     3     GtMOAL  VIt\S    or   J«0«TM   c«- 


inoi.  .itril   |i<>rsr|M .  ,k 

der«  well  tcadrd.  w 

•>t    to  operate   l]»c    !.!■  .v)i.^ 
.!    of    the    electric    li<>u«r        1 

wathert  are  a  modification  of  the  ZKhuck*- 

type. 

TiiK  BuiwiNC  Umit 
A«   fh*"    detail*    of   r«>n*ff?K-tiof»   of    tk« 

fa<        . 

out  aniclet*.  It  It  only  nr 

view    here   certain   of   the    ' 

ores  which  have  the  mo«t  imjx'rtant  bear 

iof   on    the    successful   o^rattor    ■-•    '* ' 


ikal   with   the   bt 


prcv 
irahre  d' 


IIJH., 

*■■♦»■-■  WIW     ^' 

■  ••■ii>^  ' 

iK»>. 

»Tt 

■^"»».    o» 

■'       ' 

*trm 

•»«      I-  '"<; 

f  ■  vn    ■NMVff 

'jlr       TlM  (ta 

MfirwtaMi  9 

la^ 


Mr  Ami 


'•*>*     FW   # 


'nag  tW  WaMi  tftMM  ai  «ft 
<»;   .   iiwdiiabty      TWw  rv*    wv    Mi 

j!f»-.  ;g*     Thr     canWfrrt    -*    ot^»rwa>t 
drAectn 


Itfc— ■  at*  •«  tiv  «^ 


•rnWM    AMD    lit!   JbMIl 
■a4    DM^mhar    R.    \WSk 


foe    Apf 


>ir  teclr  taak    U  wifl 


514 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  i6,  1909. 


FIG.     3.     GENERAL   VIEW  OF   INTERIOR  OF   NO.     3    BLOWING    HOUSE    FROM    SOUTH    END 


inlet  valve  is  reached.  Although  Fig.  8 
shows  solid  cylinder  and  jacket  walls,  they 
are  cut  apart  at  all  openings  and  bushed. 

Cooling  System 
Fully    one-third    of   the   cylinder   jacket 


consists  of  a  removable  band  around  the 
center  of  the  cylinder,  so  that  easy  access 
can  be  had  to  the  remotest  jacket  spaces. 
The  advantage  of  this  feature  has  been 
demonstrated  by  previous  experience  of 
the  builders  with  the  clogging  of  cylinder 


jackets  by  deposits  from  muddy  cooling 
water.  A  mud  ring  is  provided  at  the 
bottom  of  each  cylinder  exhaust  jacket 
which  may  be  quickly  slipped  off  without 
disturbing  the  exhaust-valve  cage,  thus 
opening  the  entire  jacket  space  for  clean- 


FIG.    4.    GENERAL  VIEW  OF  UNITS    FROM    POWER   END 


March  i6,  1909. 

■ing  with  a  hose.  Cooling  water  is  pro- 
vided at  a  pressure  of  about  35  pounds 
for  all  the  parts  from  a  16-inch  main  run- 
'"ng  the  length  of  the  building.  A  single 
V  e  controls  the  supply  to  each  side  of 
tiic  engine  and  plug  valves  in  each  water 
circuit  are  provided  so  that  the  rate  of 
flow,  once  set,  need  not  be  changed. 
TTiese  separate  circuits  serve  all  the  im- 
portant parts,  each  having  a  \isiblc  over- 
flow so  that  the  quantity  and  temperature 
of  the  jacket  water  in  any  circuit  can  be 
determined  at  any  time.  Each  exhaust - 
▼alve  circuit  has  a  separate  overflow. 
Being  insignificant  in  amount,  the  water  is 
wasted,  but  other  circuits  are  arranged  in 
•cries  as  far  as  possible.  Cylinder-jacket 
water  enters  first  through  the  cxhau>t 
cover  chambers,  escaping  into  the  cylinder 
at  the  fxttoni,  just  under  the  exhaust  port 
— the  hottest  part — ascending  around  the 
cylinder  jacket  to  the  top,  where  it  over- 
flows, always  keeping  the  jacket  full.  To 
economize  water  farther,  the  pistons  and 
heads  are  supplied  in  series  on  the  coun- 
tercurrcnt  principle.  After  I>as^in^;  thr 
front  and  rear  heads  of  the  t'orw.ird  cvliii 
<ler  in  series,  the  warm  water  i-n'ers  the 
piston  rod  at  the  middle  crosshcad,  thence 
through  the  piston  and  out  at  the  front 
end.  In  all  cases,  water  enters  at  the  bot 
torn  and  overflows  at  the  top  of  the  cham 
ber  to  be  cooled  so  as  to  keep  the  part> 
full.  This  series  system  provides  a  fairl\ 
rvrT\  t'-mprrature  at  all  four  pikir'. 
glands,  which  would  be  impossil.l.-  ii  !• 
pistons  were  in  series — one  h<>t  mihI  tli. 
other  cold.  Telescopic  supply  pipes  ari 
used  at  the  intake  ends  of  the  piston  rod> 
instead  of  knuckle  joints 

ExiiAt;sT  Pipr.s 

The  four  individual  exhaust  connec 
tions  for  each  cylinder  enter  a  .)o  inch 
.exhaust  manifold  (one  for  each  side) 
which  communicates  with  an  8x10- fool 
brick  tunnel  running  the  full  length  of 
the  building  and  discharging  into  a  too- 
foot  stack  at  each  end.     This  •  "  ' 

aui  arched  brick  rr>of,  but  is  not 
pr'tr  •<-<|   against    the   |H)\Mhihi\       i     .; 
explosions.      All    waste    discharge    w.it- 
from   the  engme   jackets   drains   mio  ihe 
exhaust  tunnel  ( \rc  Fig.  6)  and  serves  lo 
cool    the    exh.-ttisi    gases    and    thereby   to 
reduce  their  volume  and  rontequenily  the 
%ack  pressure  on   the  enuine.     It  will  be 
■Otetl   frrni)   I-'JK    ' 
■re  pri'M'l<-<l  it  < 

fold,  w  ' 

nitr  ilif 

•istaiicr  of  exit.     Meant  lor   «•  , 

of  these  manifolds  while  men  .t; 

(ng  on  the  engines  is  provided  in  the  ■ 

of  a  dip  at   I)  which  may  l>e  •  V    ' 

water   and   thus   operate    a*    .1 

•ral.      A    ilrain    \  .' 

al«n  a  seal  for  ttif- 

ing  cold   weather   ti.« 

run  dry   in  order  to   ■-,■ 

warming  the  building 


I'OWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

Gas  SurrtY 

.\I  jfiwr  rhe  west  wall  of  the  >•'• 
7:  -  '■  gas  main  rests  on 

w,*;.    i,....R^;,  and  con:r-    -      - 
blowing  unit  through  a 
equipped  wit!  .   .  ,    r 

regulatiMK    t  ■•       • 

Figs.  4 
reduce  • 

to  the   engine  exactly  10  aimospherK  lo 
that  air  and  gas  may  be  drawn  it  r,,  tdr 
etigine    at    the    same    pressure 
have  the  same  pr"—  '••  •■ 
by  the  respective 
butterfly   valve   i- 
by  a  small  gason 


Kinc   5i.lc  .1 
butterfly  val'. 

each  inlet  valve  enable  the  ad- 

just the  proportion  of  gas  a....  ...   ..>  any 

desired  value,  to  suit  the  quality  of  the 
gas 


pounds    prtmdad    by    a    »li 

drivta   frooi  cbe  o^pt.-  ..It     Tbr 

cemrifagal   govcrwor  :    o|   al 

■  «p(  oprratjm  a  •suU  |pilai  ««!*« 

■Wf'Js   tbr   wpply  of  (Ml  to  tbt 

irr  of  tbr  sf«tca»     TW  od 

always  W  noted  at  tbr  c»- 

Bioc   cage   board,   aad   iliodd   lb*  p«|p 

fail    ■    trr-in    «rAtii«     i^ ,  tim.ii.t.^    ..>«..>. 

to 


9 

n    i.r>'\iiK'J    at     'lie     f  ^y|mJ 

whicb  inps  tbe  mam    ,  !cb  m  a 

•ie<rnnMicd  iimipttij  ^ad  abflia 


AiB  Int< 
An  especially  neat  ir 


e  metho-! 


CoMnBaH».AJi  Sri 

A*     prrrioosfj     mtmiomtd,    Ibt    eeai- 

pressed  air  for   V.tt    3    ±r^i     1    ki.,..^^ 
booses,    as 

bOttSe.    is    Sa|«f«iK<i     ■;  m     «     ;>&«nT     .1     iiicsi 

pressors  in  tbe  bttrr  buildaiB     Tbcse  arr 

14        '      "  '  -<b  two-sugc 

toHMtic    omit 

;»'''jr'4t  y.fr ii- 


ot  taking  in  the 

tht 
int 
line  o! 

the   ?  - 


of 
dir 
IS 

fire,  ifi: 
Ciarr. 


na   5.  aunua.  rrnrn  wmm  wumi- 

For    grt 

.til  oi  Urn 


I    lima.. 
■Md  aniv 


5i6 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

.-J 


March  i6,  1909. 


March  i6,  1909. 

that  a   short-circuit  of  any  one   will   not 
aflFect  the  others. 

Both  electrodes  are  insulated  from  the 
cylinder  body  so  that  a  double  ground  is 
necessary  to  complete  a  short-circuit  of 
an  igniter.  Grounding,  howc%er.  .isialls 
occurs  from  sweating  insi.ic  r.n-ir 
quently,  vents  to  the  atmosphere  are  pro- 
vided (see  Fig.  12). 

The  make-and -break  system  is  used  ex- 
clusively on  these  engines.  Although  the 
igniter  is  standard  with  either  mechanical 
or  magnetic  trip  gear,  the  Gary  engines 
are   entirely    equipped    with    the    latter    in 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

for  the  field  magnet*  of  mull  bipola/ 
dynamos  and  inocon  of  rccUngular  o«l- 
line.    BemK  m  series  with  the  icnitcr.  the 

m. .  '.    coil 

::'  '  ma  wu^  lootor- 

»<rr,rrjt  r  •-  ^  cAch  of  the  engine 

panel  boards.  ihc  motor-generator  u 
driven  from  trie  jitrrrutinif  .urrmt  bm- 
bars  of  the  n.     It  u. 

of  coar«e.  I.  •^■•'  dis- 

tant toorce  «  be 

cut    off    by    acrmetn  ;>j:i<«n    of 

«uch   an   accident   ror  avc 


wM  oac  ol  liw 

It 

both  tbc  cjboitr 
are  kaadled  bjr 

Med  omij 
parti.  »mck  a* 
pmt,  etc  la  tW  drugs 
irm.  pro««Han  ba*  bc« 
•trkim  rcmtamf  m  o«l 
rebabtc  frtding  For 
coniinuoos-rctsm  cyvtes 


tW 


n&    7 


CTtJ 


\rn        I  he 

•.}\r    ru 


order    to    avoid    \h> 

lions  anting  in  the  {  ■ 

"f     ignitert     mechanicjlh     -U 

iMual   rotary   timer,  driven    f 

gine  lay  shaft.  i»  used      It  • 

protected    li\    .m    if' 

ml      Hv  riiiaiitii.'  '  1  • 


» t  :  -•    the    rtiginr     i»     n 

iiiJiCiietic   trip,   wliuli  li4- 

fected.  is  »hown  in  Fig    ' 

the  igniter  stem     The  r\ 

•Me  {«  of  the  v>-called  Iron-etod  type 


.>V  .  (  (Mb  MM  wd  lb« 

,«4  bf   IMT  r"* 


part*    of    »w    #'«'-      -  — — w*- 


Si8 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  i6,  1909. 


maintain  proper  lubrication  on  these  large 
engines   is   very   small. 

All  the  engine  oil  is  returned  to  a  com- 
mon header  leading  to  the  basement  fil- 
ter plant,  first  reaching  a  group  of  three 
settling  tanks  15x314x4  feet  deep,  where 
it  is  heated  by  steam  coils  and  the  sludge 
allowed  to  separate  out  (this  sludge  is 
caught  and  used  in  other  machinery 
around  the  works).  Next,  a  pair  of  ver- 
tical separating  tanks  removes  the  last 
traces  of  water.  Finally  the  oil  passes  to 
a  pair  of  special  filters,  from  which  it  is 


circuits  leading  to  various  parts  of  each 
engine  cylinder  (including  rod  packings 
and  exhaust-valve  stems)  are  accurately 
time4  so  that  oil  is  delivered  into  the 
cylinder  only  just  before  the  end  of  the 
exhaust  stroke.  This  allows  two  com- 
plete strokes  of  the  piston  before  combus- 
tion takes  place,  during  which  the  oil  is 
effectively  spread  over  the  surface  of  the 
cylinder.  The  result  of  this  system  is  that 
oil  is  injected  only  in  small  quantities  and 
at  the  most  effective  moment.  The  cylin- 
der-oil circuits  run  about   i2i/<  drops  per 


Gas  Cleaning 
This  plant  differs  from  those  in  the 
Pittsburg  district  in  that  the  closed-top 
type  of  furnace  is  employed,  that  is,  with 
no  explosion  door.  All  of  the  large  pip- 
ing is  designed  to  withstand  the  maxi- 
mum pressure  which  has  been  found  to 
be  produced  by  the  explosion  of  a  per- 
fect mixture  of  blast  gas  and  air  uncom- 
pressed. Relief  vents  are,  however,  pro- 
vided at  several  points  in  the  open  water 
seals  of  the  primary,  secondary  and 
Theisen  washers,  so  that  an  explosion  in 


/  £  f  ^ 
/it''' 

'■m 

FIG.     9.     42-INCH    ONE-PIECE   GAS-ENGINE 
PISTON 


I-IG.    8.     DETAIL  CKOSS-SECTION   OF  GAS  ExNGiNE  THROUGH   VALVE  CENTERS 


FIG.      10.     GASOMETER    PRESSURE   REGULATOR 

SHOWING    METHOD  OF   OPERATING 

BUTTERFLY   IN   GAS   INLET 


pumped  through  a  meter  back  to  the  roof 
tank.  The  fresh  make-up  oil  is  drawn 
from  a  25,000-gallon  tank  which  is  large 
enough  to  take  the  entire  contents  of  a 
railroad  tank  car  (run  in  on  the  siding). 
As  a  precaution,  a  second  25,000-gallon 
tank  is  provided  for  overflow  or  storage. 
Cylinder  lubrication  is  taken  care  of  by 
automatic  force-feed  pumps  driven  from 
the  engine  lay  shaft  and  embodying  the 
special    feature   thai    the   eight    individual 


minute  on  the  large  engines,  at  full  speed; 
the  packings  take  somewhat  more  and  the 
exhaust-valve  stems  about  half  that  rate. 
It  is  contemplated  in  the  completed  plant 
to  serve  all  of  these  cylinder-oil  lubrica- 
tors (32  in  number)  from  a  central  point, 
putting  a  small  meter  in  each  feeder  line 
to  determine  the  rate  of  oil  consumption. 
The  oils  used  at  present  are  "Red  Engine" 
oil  and  "Diamond  A"  cylinder  oil,  both 
mineral  oils. 


the  furnace  not  damped  out  in  passing 
through  the  tortuous  passages  of  hot-blast 
stoves  and  piping  would  be  relieved  at  one 
of  the  above-mentioned  vents. 

The  dust  catchers  are  of  standard  con- 
struction, but  the  primary  washers  are  an 
improved  type  of  Mullin  washer,  consist- 
ing of  a  central  conical  distributor  sus- 
pended about  I  inch  above  the  surface 
of  the  water,  which  is  maintained  at  a 
constant  level  by  an  open  overflow.    The 


March  1 6,  1909. 

-^(fes  of  this  cone  arc  utcpiv    runtd,   rc- 
iibling  in  plan  the  shape  of  a   starti&h, 
/  that  a  relati\cly  great   surface  is  pre- 
-<nted  to   ithe    gas,    which    is    forced    to 
'ead  out  in  a  thin  sheet  over  the  surface 
:   the   water.     Here   the  greater   part  of 
the  suspended  dust  is  deposited  and  drawn 
off   below.      In    the     tower     static     wash- 
ers the  gas  is  forced  to  ascend  thr.   :. 
a    latticework    continuously    wetted     .•.  ■ 
Korting  sprays.     It  is  also  passc.l  ilir      . 
•everal  sheets  of  falling  water  <  '  • 
conical    baffles    arranged    in    ^r- 
base    of   the    washer. 
vvln.Tl  h.Tfflc  washers  t 

washer  house,  nnal  cif.i:i    ■  . 
iied,  and  the  gas  delivered  : 
mains  with  only  0.02  of  a  grain  of 
..reign  matter  per  cubic  foot  of  gas.    Thi^ 
b  ample  for  i^ns-enginc  work,  and  actu.-ill> 
exceeds  the  purity  of  the  air  at 
the  engine   intakes   in   the    Pitt 
trict.      .\    similar    olian-itiy    plant    .1: 
Bessemer   works   ha^    ^I-  wn    crt^    n-      ' 
as  0.002  grain   at     times, 
grain,  while  a  slip  in  the  iv 
this  considerably. 

All  cf  the  overflows  from  the  water 
seals  of  the  primary  tower  and  Thei- 
sen  washt-rs  arc  returned  to  setilini; 
basins  20x40  and  12  feet  <leep,  arran;;<<i 
•o  that  the  heavier  material  has  an  opp<  r 
tunity  to  settle  out  and  may  be  rrrl.TtTrf! 
A  central  «iivi>.i<  n  wall  divides  • 
Into  two  comj>:irtmcnt«,  one  of  \s 

;n  use  while  the  other  is  being  cleaned 
.\i  the  Theisen  washers  normally  de- 
liver gas  at  5  to  7  inches  pressure,  it  it 
evident  that  if  a  break  should  occur  in 
the  supply  main  or  its  own  water  seal 
there  would  be  danger  of  air  iK-ing 
pumped  into  the  holder,  resulting  in  an 
explosive  tnixiure.  To  prevent  this,  a 
large  b\Jtterfly  valve  is  installed  between 
Theisen  washer  hnu«e  and  the  holder. 
*.  iiich  may  be  closed  in  such  an  event 
while  the  holder  would  then  receive  ga« 
thrrugh  the  main  from  the  blower  house 
helow 

!ti  case  the  holder  shotiM  Irak  --f  •  tlir- 
-e   l»e    out    of   order,   largr    «i''     •  iK' 
geared  down   for  hand  o[>er..ti«"      ••    ■ 
'tailed    in    both    the   inlet    .irnl    •' 

Tt  with  a  third  valve  in  a 
i»*cen  so  that  the  holder  may  t 
cut  out   of   service,   the   gas    »\ 
relying    on    the    holder    l>elow. 


K3V\  ER  AND  THE  t.NulNthR. 


$•9 


han.].      1 1  : 
a  plaht  winii 


-n  to 


«Mlkl« 


operate   u.   but   such   IS  no«   the  case      In      hSTi*  i«»1vn^ ' 

nornul  operation,  the  No- J  bk>«"-.-  ^ rJr^»«M*,  .rr.;,      ^ 

will  be  in  charge  of  a  chief  etu 


M*i-,  Umuia^. 


Sew    ^  Of  k   Gril   Service 


oilers;  the  oilers  will    handle    the 

valves  •'•"•■'■•   t..r„..,  ..,.,,.1,..,. 
water,  ■ 

iltg    Up.'^IWl     !lr     fi;iiir     <iri.rr     i- 

JufKr    at    the    throttle       Thu    maW< 


Thr     Srm     \*  , . 

jnoownce*  ike  loilowwig  t%- 


al  raycewsKv 

:utuu.     In.  ilc:f:-i*hf  f.     ilcMa^nie. 


o4  n«» 

:      .«      tW 


ched  Its  upper  hmii 

OptRATiKC  Foanr 

Nluch   of   the    nllimaie 
« lary    i* 
fhr      rt» 


l>KI1l(         »> 


•  U4>»l 


han«l« 

matic    «; . 

trlligenre  is  required  in  ^he  few 


520 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  i6,  1909. 


a 


f 


t 


V 


Continuation    of    the    Discussion    of    the     Subject   before    the    Ameri- 
can    Society     of     Mechanical     Engineers     at     Its     February     Meeting 


Albert   C.   Ashton,  upon   determining  the   dimensions   of  the 

of  the  Ashton  Valve  Company,  said  that      spring  that  will  carry  this  load  at  its  point 
in  his  opinion  what  is  most  needed  today     of  greatest  efficiency,  with  due  regard  for 


is  not  necessarily  a  safety  valve  of  greater 
capacity,  but  rather  a  better  understand- 
ing of  the  proper  proportioning  of  safety 
valves   to   boilers,   for  which   there   is   no 
rule  universally   recognized  and   adopted. 
Mr.     Whyte's    paper    touches    upon    this 
point   and   cites    some   recent   tests   made 
to    determine    the   comparative    capacities 
of    pop    safety    valves    on    the    market. 
While  these  tests  show  what  the  so-called 
new    style    high-lift    valves    will    accom- 
plish   under-  certain    favorable   conditions, 
they   do    not   prove    that    high-lift    valves 
so  made  are  a  success  in  all  applications. 
High   lift   is  conducive  to  pounding  upon 
the  seat  and  to  the  lifting  of  water,  and 
Mr.   Ashton   cited    instances    which     had 
come  to  his  knowledge  where  the  use  of 
valves  having  abnormally  high   lifts   had 
been  disastrous. 

If  high-lift  valves  were  for  a  certainty 
an  improvement,  safety-valve  manufac- 
turers generally  would  change  their  de- 
signs, as  can  be  easily  done,  and  make 
nothing  but  high-lift  valves.  There  may 
be  some  virtue  in  making  valves  with  a 
lift  a  little  higher  than,  say,  1/16  of  an 
inch,  but  to  make  them  with  a  lift  of 
]4  of  an  inch,  as  appeared  to  be  the  trend 
of  Mr.  Darling's  paper  and  of  Mr.  Love- 
kin's  remarks,  the  speaker  considered  to 
be  excessive  and  not  advisable  for  gen- 
eral  application. 

Such  being  the  situation,  it  was  of  little 
value,  in  his  mind,  to  discuss  the  ques- 
tion of  the  capacities  of  safety  valves,  for 
whatever  valve  is  desired  the  manufac- 
turers can  produce;  but  the  speaker  did 
hope  that  the  society  would  interest  itself 
in  the  question,  which  is  of  interest  to 
the  engineering  profession,  as  to  what  is 
the  best  and  most  practicable  schedule  or 
formula  that  can  be  safely  adopted  for 
general  use  in  determining  the  capacity  of 
relief  that  safety  valves  should  give  on 
various-sized  boilers  at  various  pressures. 


A.  B.  Carh.art. 
superintendent  of  the  Crosby  Steam  Gage 
and  Valve  Company,  devoted  his  remarks 
largely  to  springs.  A  safety  valve  should 
be  designed  by  calculatincj  the  total  spring 
load  required  to  be  exerted  upon  the  disk 
when  the  valve  is  closed,  then  the  suitable 
amount  of  further  compression  needed  for 
vertical  lift  of  the  disk  when  the  valve 
opens,  with  a  reasonable  allowance  for  a 
reserve  of  further  possible  free  movement 
of  the  spring  in  compression,  and  there- 


fiexibility,  sensitiveness  with  accurate  ad 
justment,  and  durability  in  service. 

Within  the  limits  of  elasticity  the  de- 
formation or  deflection  or  compression  is 
proportional  to  the  force  or  pressure 
which  produces  it,  and  in  a  spring  of  given 
dimensions  equal  increments  of  force  or 
pressure  applied  will  produce  equal 
amounts  of  compression.  For  example,  if 
it  requires  a  total  load  of  2000  pounds  to 
compress  a  given  spring  having  a  total 
possible  compression  of  one  inch  so  that 
its  coils  are  solid,  with  no  farther  de- 
flection possible,  a  load  of  1000  pounds 
would  cause  this  spring  to  shorten  one- 
half  of  that  amount,  or  one-half  inch,  and 
each  100  pounds  of  load  more  or  less 
would  cause  a  shortening  or  lengthening 
of  one-twentieth  or  0.05  of  an  inch. 

The  compression  of  a  spring  at  a  ^iven 
load    is    proportional    to    the    number    of 
coils,  and  the  simplest  way  to  increase  the 
total     compression     or    movement    is     to 
lengthen    the    spring.      This    increase    of 
compression  in  proportion  to  the  increas- 
ing number  of  its  coils  is  independent  of 
the  total  load  which  the  spring  will  carry, 
and  does  not  afifect  that  question.     If  a 
load  of  1000  pounds  will  compress  a  spring 
'of   certain    diameter   dimensions    one-half 
of  its  total  possible  compression,  or  one- 
half  inch,  then  a  spring  of  the  same  diam- 
eter but  twice  as  long  and  having  double 
the  number  of  coils   would  be  compressed 
by    the    same    load   one-half    of   its    total 
movement,  or  one  inch.     A  load  of  1500 
pounds  would  compress  either  spring  three- 
fourths    of    its    total    possible    movement 
and  likewise  either  spring  would  be  com- 
pressed solid  under  a  load  of  2000  pounds. 
But    the    action    of    the    two    springs    in 
safety-valve   service   would   be  very    dif- 
ferent,  for  the  longer  spring  would  have 
its  power  exerted  through  a  greater  dis- 
tance. 

The  total  amount  of  compression  of  a 
spring  for  a  given  load  may  be  increased 
by  increasing  the  number  of  coils  of  the 
same  diameters  and  pitch  and  thus  in- 
creasing the  total  free  length ;  by  reducing 
the  cross-sectional  area  of  the  rod;  or  by 
enlarging  the  overall  diameter;  or  all  or 
any  of  these  dimensions  at  the  same  time. 
If  the  spring  be  excessively  long  in  pro- 
portion to  its  diameter  and  pitch  it  may 
bend  or  buckle  instead  of  compressing  in 
a  straight  thrust,  and  if  the  number  of 
coils  be  too  great  the  reaction  of  the  spring 
sets  up  an  oscillation,  which  not  only  per- 


mits  but   aggravates   the   undesirable   and 
destructive  chattering  of  the  valve.    If  the 
spring  be  too   short,   not   only   is   the   re- 
action too  sudden  but  the  active  free  coils 
form    a    smaller    proportion    of   the    total 
length.      It    is    not    possible    to    distribute 
pressure  at  the  ends  of  the  spring  exactly 
even  upon  the  coils,  and  the  spring  com- 
pression  is  greater   on   one   side  than   on 
the     other,    transmitting    an     undesirable 
side   thrust    to   the    disk    guides.      If   the 
pitch   is    too   steep    the   fiber   stress    upon 
the  steel  is  enormously  increased,  and  the 
rod  is  fractured  or  a  permanent  set  takes 
place.     If  too  many  coils  are  put  into   a 
fixed   length  of  spring  there   will   not  be 
sufficient   free  space  between  the  coils   to 
permit  the  necessary  movement,  and  when 
the  pitch   is  thus  too  flat  the  spring  will 
have  insufficient   reactive  power  or   force 
because  of  the  inadequate  strain  or  fiber 
stress    put    upon    the    steel.      The    spring 
must    have    sufficient    force   to    make    the 
valve   open  and  close  promptly  and  posi- 
tively and  keep  the  seat  tight,  not  only  to 
give    prompt    relief    but    to    prevent    the 
constant    simmering    and    leaking    which 
cuts   and   destroys   the   seats   and   permits 
the  deposits  of  lime  solids  upon  any  ex- 
posed threads.     The  requirements  of  posi- 
tive control  and  extreme  lift  are  thus  to 
a  large  degree  contradictory. 

Under    no    conceivable     conditions     of 
actual    service   can    sufficient   steam   pres- 
sure be  brought  upon  the  disk  of  a  pop 
safety   valve    to    compress   the    spring   so 
that   the   coils   would  be   solid,   if  it  has 
been  in  any  way  reasonably  designed  for 
its  original  fixed  load;  and  the  additional 
spring  compression  due  to  the  lift  of  the 
disk  to  produce  the  valve  opening  to  re- 
lieve the  boiler  is  comparatively  little,  pos- 
sibly  0.08  of   an   inch,   or  commonly   and 
preferably  less,  and  never  under  any  con- 
ditions to  amount  to  0.18  of  an  inch  or, 
say,    3/16    of    an    inch    in    the     extreme. 
If     after     the     fixed-load     pressure     is 
reached    the    spring    has     still     15/32    of 
an   inch  of  unused  possible  compression, 
of  which  less  than  3/32  of  an  inch  will 
be   required   to  accommodate  the  desired 
lift  of  the  valve,  there  will  still  be  12/32 
or  ^  of  an  inch  before  the  spring  will 
go  solid;  therefore,  the  valve  spring  can 
be  properly  designed  to  carry  its  set  load 
at  much  more  than  half  of  its  total  free 
compression  and  more  nearly  to  its  solid 
condition  than  would  be  wise  with  a  car 
spring.     I  believe  it  to  be  proper  to  pro- 
portion the  spring  so  that  the  set  load  is 
carried    somewhere    near    two-thirds    or 
three-fourths    of    its    total    free    compres- 


March  16.  1909- 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


aion,  proportioning  the  length  and  dimen- 
nons  of  the  spring  so  that  the  total  fre« 
movement  will  be  sufficient  to  make  the 
remaining  unused  compression  of  the 
spring  ample  for  the  lift  of  the  disk,  and 
a  safe  margin  beyond. 

As  in  making  boiler  tests  the  head  bolt 
may  be  set  down  until  the  spring  is  solid, 
and  if  the  valve  is  fitted  with  a  lever  the 
spring  may  at  times  be  compressed  solid 
by  that  means,  I  would  not  consider  it 
proper  to  use  in  a  valve  with  a  lever,  any 
spring  that  would  not  safely  take  a  solid 
te«t  without  showing  any  permanent  set 
or  strain. 

As  to  the  fiber  stress,  experience  shows 
that  springs  may  best  be  stressed  from 
60,000  to  75,000  pounds  per  square  inch 
at  the  fixed  load  which  should  compress 
the  spring  to  about  70  per  cent,  of  its 
total  possible  free  movement.  The  re- 
maining movement  should  be  three  or 
four  times  the  lift  of  the  valve  in  open- 
ing S;  -:•  .s'^  wound  of  bronze  are  notori- 
ously 111'  rri.  lent  and  unenduring,  and  their 
depreciation  and  permanent  set  at  com- 
paratively low  fiber  stress  more  than 
counterbalances  any  possible  advantage  of 
slow  corrosion.  The  torsional  elasticity 
and  i»"wcr  depend  not  upon  the  tciisitc 
strrtiK'th  as  much  as  upon  the  temper  and 
reMliincy.  Therefore,  some  of  the  new 
alloy  steels  have  proved  disappointing  for 
till*  service. 

I  he  spring  must  have  sufficient  com- 
l>irssion  to  afTord  the  amount  of  valve 
opening  fixed  upon  as  reasonable  and 
practicable,  yet  be  kept  within  the  least 
amount  of  movement  that  will  satisfy 
these  demands,  for  every  spring  has  con- 
siderable eccentricity,  depending  upon  the 
pitch  and  proportion  of  the  coils ;  and, 
under  the  increasing  compression  or  ex- 
tension as  the  valve  opens  or  closes,  the 
ends  have  a  movement  which  may  be 
likened  in  some  degree  to  the  actions  of 
the  free  end  of  a  fire  hose  under  pre* 
sure.  The  side  thrust  due  to  this  twist- 
ing and  untwisting  r 
mitted    to    the    valve  ^ 

rapidly  with  each  fraction  of  increased 
lift  or   opening  of   the   valvp 

Large  movement  of  the  spring  in  com- 
pression if  undesirable.  It  is  but  a  neces 
sary  means  to  an  end;  an  evil  to  hr  Wrjit 
within    mmiiiiiini    Iri  i'^       '•  '>«•   an 

advant4K'''  it    i      !■•   '     •  .irra 

of  the  valvr 
less    spring 

The  large  lift  of  the  disk  is  not  a  nu 
of   capacity,   but   of   inefficiency,    for    ;..-; 
valve   which   releases  the   stram  tvilh  the 
least  proportional  lift  or  •> 
•ion  is  to  that  degree  the  n 
its   pur(><>se,   and   at   the   s  > 
safe  an<l   rrliaMr      The  gr- 
the    sti  V:tu'    •  f    •' <■    valve,    wii*- 
occur,    \^    ti.t    .    -r  .  i..n   of   thr 
but  the  binding  friction  of  thr    ' 
against  ihe  sides  of  the  well  or   . 
«he  valve.    This  cocking  or  binding  rfT'-  • 


can  be  decreased  bjr  any  modt6catu>a  of 
design  which  wiU  reduce  the  diameter  of 
the  cylindrical  guide,  or  which  will  hru^ 
the  guiding  Ijsc  to  tJie  plane  of 

the  seat,  bo  h  would  redoe*  the 

momrnt  of  i  or  cock 

.•\ny  device  uces  the  . 

ilisk  arxl  the  spring  movement  to  ine  least 
possible  amount  will  also  reduce  the  ec- 
centric spring  action  and  its  effect,  and. 

of  course,  any  valve  df-i*"  "^  ••  '■  

or    contemplates    an 

lift     cr     compression,     uisausaniageousiy 

niais'iiirif s  this  effect. 

In  the  wel' 
the  area  of  • 
pr 
<>ti' 
of  the  disk 

form  of  val „   :..-    „ 

and    seat   circumference.     Therefore,   tbe 

use    of    the    familiar    annubr    •^~* ' 

valve  is  the  logical  way  to   rr 
n:r  "    ■       ■  ^     ilties  of  s; 

!t  ,. .  the    SfWrr 

for  :i;< 
ovcral! 
hu- 
ca'rry only  • 
•ary  in  the  ..,. 
lift  and  spring 
be  only  07  as  mucn. 
will  Rive  one  and  a 
•  li    ■  -a 

"srv  lift  (^  r<^«trH  to  relieve 
the  os<  i.  for  Ihe 

work  or  udden  pop 

lift  it  performed  by  an  auxilury  steam 
discharKe  hvr.n*r<l  through  th*-  .r'"i! 
passagr«      I  (-d  or  aux 

charge  add*  ii^   -.••mutt  lo  the 
charge  capacity  and  leaves  an 


•nng 
.:!h  to 
of  the  load  necrs 


•         VI 

U^     >), 

■"   '■'■''<    "' 

•  •r    t< 

half 

T  r    t  .'1  •• 
times 

as 

UfV 

f.  ■ 

fii 

ring,    i 
not  on  I 
gives  a  di»' 
form  with  f. 
the  further 
to  jam  or  < 
rubbing  on  . 

•        1    fwsfl 


and    untt 
f\nw   ni 


:'  >■  It 

^cape 


but 


v*.Jr 


real- 


sprincv  oar  more  icsAI*  tkm  iW  oikar. 
spiral  ipnacs  of 
■hoac  first  movcnM 
rapid  MMil  tkt  MMAer  aad  «Mhr  cnb  are 
broaglM  iaio  action,  ipriti  MipaadM  is 
an  soru  of  annrtnil  kcari«p„  tmi  evvty 
ncibod  of  c»d  bcari^  aad  fiiiini  haw 
aU  been  tried  aad   ihaadnaid  bjr   thmam 

r*rf»  ,T,»i.,r  .,..1  ^f  safety  valv«a.bai 

*''  .ned  or 

by     »"ifj;c     new      'jrsi^ncr    Of 


broogbt  forward  for 
aad  afaia.     Before  aajr 
are  advocated  a  stady  of  tW  fle  of 
pateats  voald  be 

•»€ 

E  A.  Mat. 

of  the  Aflwrkaa  Radtaior 
Oiieafo,  ifiioMsrd  the  safety  valve 
latrd  to  lo»-pr«aaare.  boase  besttag  boil 

Alietber  a  tafctv  valve 


woakl    appr 

profit aMe    .1 
br 


II  capacity  or 

for  iW  ei 


oppoctaaity     foe 

f    ar.,1    .>,;, 


Sas  a  afity  vatw  oa  a 
'vtUr  beea  calbd  apoa  to 
tbe    Uraw    fi>*wrv<*i4 


r  »*^'»>cr  ri<v.!rn%in«  a  tanpa 


ilwre  i«  tstiea  tkroagb  liw 

Praettcallt  everv  btaiaig  boA' 


V  Miafsey 
>>ritr  «  plaals  arr  tarb  tWi  li 
to  drrve  tbe 


tinrrt   i.f  rdtiirjti    n    inl       "^ 


•    '»    »ai*ri   or    «prtr><«     »«!• 

>i  poaaftle  detail  will  S' 
-ady  old      Ahaost   rrtry 


».#  e 


moeb    expeaae    aad    eaibastaaas    ' 

h^in^     r--»n«WfTined     anil     cl'«-^i^  1'  f 


522 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  i6,  1909. 


It  was  the  speaker's  opinion  that  if  valve 
manufacturers  v^rould  indicate  in  addition 
to  the  size  of  the  valve  the  capacity  at  its 
different  adjustments  for  exhaust  steam  it 
would  help  conditions  materially,,  not  only 
from  the  standpoint  of  the  boiler  manu- 
f£cturer,  but  for  those  whose  duty  it  is 
to  inspect  the  safety  valve  and  it  would 
farther  materially  aid  in  the  matter  of 
legislation. 

It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  valves  can 
be  designed  and  sold  on  their  exhaust  ca- 
pacity without  regard  to  their  specific 
size;  that  is  owing  to  the  variation  in  de- 
sign one  valve  might  have  a  larger  diam- 
eter with  lesser  lift  than  the  other,  while 
their  capacity  for  exhaust  would  be  iden- 
tical. 

If,  however,  the  law  specifies  that  for  a 
certain  evaporative  power,  at  rating,  of 
boiler  a  certain  exhaust  capacity  should  be 
maintained  in  the  valve,  each  manufact- 
urer could  then  determine  for  himself  the 
proper  valve  to   use. 

The  speaker  wished  to  correct  a  pos- 
sible wrong  impression  left  by  a  remark 
of  Mr.  Darling.  The  committee  ap- 
pointed by  the  Franklin  Institute  to  for- 
mulate a  rule  adopted  its  own  unit  and 
prepared  a  formula  for  safety  valves,  the 
results  of  which  were  exactly  similar  to 
the  French  rule,  so  that  while  they  may 
not  have  known  the  factors  on  which  the 
French  rules  were  formulated,  their  own 
rules,  formulated  from  their  own  data, 
brought  it  back  exactly  to  the  same 
result. 

H.  O.  Pond, 
engineer  and  superintendent  of  piping  for 
Westinghouse,  Church,  Kerr  &  Co.,  said, 
in  part,  that  the  engineer  about  to  de- 
sign a  boiler  installation  finds  himself 
confronted  by  an  array  of  rules,  covering 
the  application  of  safety  valves,  no  two 
of  which  will  give  the  same  result,  and 
the  correctness  of  any  of  which  may  be 
questioned.  In  the  past  this  has  not  been 
as  serious  a  menace  to  life  and  property 
as  it  has  become  recently.  For  a  number 
of  years  past  the  tendency  has  been  to 
force  boilers  farther  and  farther  beyond 
the  standard  ratings,  and  to  get  the  maxi- 
mum possible  capacity  out  of  a  boiler  in- 
stallation ;  so  that  valves  which  may  have 
been  of  the  right  size  for  boilers  operat- 
ing at  low  ratings  undoubtedly  would  not 
be  correctly  proportioned  for  boilers 
forced  to  capacities  as  high  as  200  per 
cent,  of  their  rating. 

The  use  of  the  superheater  has  also 
introduced  an  additional  factor  which 
must  be  considered  when  deciding  upon  a 
safety-valve  installation. 

The  absolute  absence  of  reliable  data 
relative  to  safety-valve  operation  and  the 
proportioning  of  valves  for  a  given  ser- 
vice was  brought  very  forcibly  to  his 
attention  something  more  than  a  year  ago 
in  connection  with  the  design  of  some 
special  boilers  of  large  capacity  equipped 
with  superheaters.  When  asked  for  data 
relative  to  capacities  of  their  valves  none 


of  the  manufacturers  was  able  to  furnish 
any  definite  information. 

No  two  manufacturers  use  just  the 
same  lift  for  valves  of  the  same  "catalog" 
size,  nor  are  the  sizes  of  seat,  muffle  ring 
and  ports  the  same.  These  points  must 
necessarily  affect  the  discharge  through 
the  valve  and  they  are  not  properly  con- 
sidered in  the  present  rules  governing 
safety-valve  practice. 

He  agreed  with  Mr.  Ashton  that  the 
lift  of  the  valve  is  not  the  essential  thing; 
the  thing  to  be  determined  is  how  much 
steam  any  given  valve  will  discharge  un- 
der particular  conditions.  "That  particu- 
lar piece  of  information  is  one  that  none 
of  the  manufacturers  up  to  tonight  has 
been  willing  to  give  us,  because  they  have 
not  made  the  tests.  There  are  some  other 
tests  being  conducted  and  some  being 
prepared  at  the  present  time  which  will 
give  us  more  definite  data  on  which  we 
can  base  the  proportioning  of  the  safety 
valve." 

F.  L.  Pryor, 

professor  of  experimental  engineering  at 
Stevens  Institute,  has  submitted  the  fol- 
lowing since  the  meeting: 

The  information  that  the  writer  secured 
in  some  tests  which  he  made  some  time 
ago  in  conjunction  with  Professor  Jaco- 
bus to  obtain  the  blowing-oflf  pressures 
of  safety  valves,  when  tested  with  water 
and  when  tested  with  steam,  may  be  of 
interest. 

A  standard  4-inch  pop  safety  valve  set 
for  125  pounds  was  mounted  on  a  4-inch 
pipe  and  so  connected  that  either  steam 
or  water  under  pressure  could  be  ad- 
mitted to  the  valve. 

In  all  the  tests  the  pressure  required  to 
open  the  valves  was  determined  by  sub- 
jecting it  alternately  to  steam  and  water 
pressure,  the  set  of  the  valve  being  the 
same  for  the  steam  and  for  the  water  in 
each  pair  of  tests.  The  water  was  at  a 
temperature    of    100    degrees    Fahrenheit. 

One  set  of  tests  was  made  over  a  period 
of  fifteen  days,  the  test  of  one  day  being 
with  steam  and  the  following  day  with 
water,  and  so  on  until  the  series  was 
completed.  The  lapse  of  time  between 
tests  was  allowed  to  insure  that  the  valve 
had  obtained  its  normal  condition  of  tem- 
perature, etc.  In  a  second  series  of  tests 
the  valve  was  tested  at  three  different 
settings  on  the  same  day,  viz.,  104,  131 
and  159  pounds,  the  spring  and  valve 
being  in  each  case  cooled  in  cold  water 
before  taking  the  measurement  for  the 
water-pressure  test. 

The  third  series  of  tests  was  made  with 
the  valve  at  a  number  of  different  set- 
tings from  105  to  165  pounds,  one  meas- 
urement being  made  directly  after  the 
other,  no  precaution  being  taken  to  insure 
that  the  valve  had  returned  to  its  normal 
temperature  before  the  next  test,  except 
that  before  operating  with  water  pres- 
sure a  considerable  amount  of  water  was 
flushed  through  the  valve. 


The  results  obtained  in  all  the  test* 
were  in  practical  agreement  and  indicated 
that  the  blowing-oflf  pressure  with  steam. 
and  with  water  did  not  diflfer  to  any  great 
extent,  although  the  pressui-e  to  blow  off 
with  water  was  higher  than  with   steam. 

In  the  case  when  the  valve  was  allowed; 
to  cool  for  twenty-four  hours  the  water 
pressure  required  to  open  it  was  about 
314  pounds  higher  than  the  steam  pres- 
sure. 

In  the  tests  where  the  valve  was  cooled 
thoroughly  with  water  the  pressure  with 
water  was  about  3  pounds  higher  than  the 
steam. 

In  the  rapid-change  test  the  water  pres- 
sure amounted  to  about  2.6  pounds  more 
than  the  steam  pressure. 

In  all  tests  the  steam  and  water  pres- 
sure recorded  was  that  at  which  the  valve 
was  in  full  operation.  In  the  case  of  the 
steam-pressure  test  there  were  two  test- 
ing points  below  full-open  pressure,  which  " 
also  have  been  noted :  When  the  valve 
began  to  leak,  which  occurred  about  2 
pounds  below  the  final  blowing-oflf  pres- 
sure, and  with  the  rate  of  flow  suddenly- 
increased,  which  was  about  i  pound  below 
maximum. 

Prof.    Edward   F.   Miller, 

of  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Tech-' 
nology,  said  that  while  the  weight  of 
steam  to  be  discharged  through  a  locomo- 
tive safety  valve  need  be  only  a  small 
proportion  of  the  steam  generated  by  the 
boiler,  as  Mr.  Whyte  says,  in  the  case  of 
stationary  boilers  the  safety  valves  must 
be  able  to  take  care  of  the  entire  capacity 
of  the  boiler. 

The  sudden  closing  of  the  emergency 
stop  yalve  on  an  engine  or  a  turbine,  by 
instantly  stopping  the  demand  for  steam, 
compels  the  safety  valves  to  discharge, 
for  a  time  at  least,  as  much  steam  as  the 
boilers  were  generating  at  the  instant  that 
the  valve  closed.  He  had  seen  plants 
where,  on  account  of  insuflficient  safety- 
valve  discharge,  the  pressure  went  up  15 
pounds  above  the  blowing  pressure  of  the 
safety  valves.  He  believed  that  the  cor- 
rect way  to  figure  a  safety  valve  was  to 
make  the  discharge  area  of  the  valve  or 
valves  sufificient  to  handle  all  of  the  steam 
that  the  boiler  can  make  at  its  maximum 
rate  of  coal  consumption.  This  amounts 
to  making  the  size  of  the  safety  valve  de- 
pend upon  the  grate  area,  the  weight  of 
coal  burned  per  square  foot  of  grate  per 
hour  and  the  evaporation  per  pound  of 
coal  burned. 

The  weight  of  steam  flowing  through 
an  orifice  with  a  slightly  rounded  en- 
trance may  be  figured  quite  accurately  by 
Napier's  formula  (sometimes  called  Ran- 
kine's  formula),  the  accuracy  of  which 
for  commercially  dry  steam  has  been 
shown  by  tests  made  under  pressure  vary- 
ing from  30  to  150  pounds. 

The  discharge  per  second  through  an 
orifice  with  a  sharp  edge  at  the  entrance. 


March  i6.  1909. 

lach  as  would  be  the  case  in  a  safety 
yalve,  has  been  found  from  actual  testi 
on  valves  to  be  0.95  of  the  amount  fig- 
ured  by  the   Napier   formula. 

The  opening   needed   in  a   safety  valve 
may  be  figured  as  follows : 

G  =  Grate  area, 

R  =  Rate  of  coal  consumption  per  square 

foot  of  grate  per  hour, 
9  =  Probable  evaporation  per  pound  of 

coal   under  actual   conditions, 


G  X  Jf  Y  9 
3600 
per  second. 


Weight  of  steam  made 


Equate  this  to  Napier's  formula  and  solve 
for  A 


(7X  A'X  9 


=  0.95 


j4X  P 


3600  '"         70 

C  X  i?  X  9  X  70 


A  = 


3600  X  /*  X  0.95 


The  area  of  the  opening  through  a 
safety  valve  is  equal  to  the  inner  circum- 
ference of  the  seat  times  the  effective  lift. 
For  a  valve  with  a  seat  at  an  angle  the 
effective  lift  is  equal  to  the  lift  multiplied 
hv  the  cosine  of  the  angle  which  the  seat 

.Ices  with  a  horizontal. 

!'or  a  45-degree  angle  the  effective  lift 
0.707    X    lift.      Calling    D    the    inner 

>meter  of  the  valve,  the  opening  is 

'  X  D  X  lift  X  0.707 
Substituting  this  for  A : 

If  the  lift  of  the  valve  is  |^  of    an    inch, 


/?. 


C  X  /e  X  9  X  70 


3600  X  P  X  0.95  X  «  X  0.707  X  0.1 

C  R 
PX  1.206'  ■ 

the  lift  is  005  in«ieA'i  of  o  in,  the  valve 
diameter  D  ' 
sure  will   tn 

tame  lift  taking  care  01  double  the  weight 
of  steam.  Illustration: 

Grate  area  .   ■■  asi 

Coal  constiroptica  ^  18  pounds  p'r  square 

fool -hour. 
Pressure  «  120    pounds    m\m>- 

lute. 


18 
306 


—  J  « 


!'r. 


C.r  .• 


150    pounds    »\jm> 
lute. 


^{iMre 


foot  •hour. 


POWER  AND  THE  EN- 
F.  J.  Cole. 

consulting    engineer    for    the    American 

'-"  ted  a  inpcr 

^  :rom  a  let- 

^'  b>    d    pruuiuiciK    locomotive 

*'  >ad    to   the   effect    that    when 

the  K^flubottooi  duplex  safety  valves 
were  introduced  into  the  London  k  North 
Wcitcm  railway,  in  1858,  they  were  made 
.1  inches  in  diameter  at  the  seat  each,  and 
that  si/e  has  been  perpetuated  notwith- 
standing the  fact  that  boilers  have  nearly 
doubled  in  capacity  and  the  pressarca 
have  in  other 

hand.  of  a 

capacit>  o:  *hKh 

the  two  3-Hi  ri  two 

seats  of  duplex  valves  ot  4^  inches 
diameter. 

While  it  is  desirable  that  definite  rules 
should  govern  this  matter,  it  is  quite  evi- 
dent   that    peculiar    conditions   governing 
the  draft  on  locomotives,  f' 
sity  doe*  not  exist   for  w 


■i'  ire  in  a  large  meai- 

11  •  of  steam 

IxKomotive  boilers  are  car<-' 
^tructed  with  a  factor  of  safes..  .a.iK.i.|( 
from  4  to  5.  they  have  an  ample  mar- 
gin of  strength  and  there  i«  no  cause 
for  alarm  even  if  the  pretture  does  go 
»•  ■  -ounds  above  the  normal 

t. 


heit ;   at   320  potisds   the 

about       J9S*  •       «!«-t'rrr. 

higher      If ' 

aO     pounds     Ji»'ii-      mc      iu'Imui,  :.   >  .»ui 

that   the  entire  mast  of  water   hat   been 

heated   8Vi     "  

and    it    i« 


■  of  a  iboroogh 
of     the     tubiert.     looking 

a 

\  ■ 

tii  •  •-   \u  he   cuniidercil   in  \.hr:\t   jiT^ar* 


ig  poonds  (><  atevni  ^r 

•    t>rr%«urr« 


be  laken  mo  rnmiAumm.  or  wIm 
•wild  be  simpler,  tomt  sfprnsMslw  o4 
average  valae  of  IkmS^  mtUa.  cm 
rectcd  to  aecooM  for  differeore  ■  kn«tk 
and  ira-i'fw  ••  »^.  (J|f  firctes  iMari^ 
be  roaisdsiod  as  a 


Dl  Csi 


of  Gilaaibsa  Vtmnnkf.  kA<i  um  WW«  to 
offer  which  he  tlMM«kl  » . 

grru!    »^!.-.       I.    K.,«    — — -..^    ..     «„.    ^ 
<^  rh.    M    Ol    Ike 

t'  r^ii}  ui  (be  safety- salve 


»i 
h- 


•kidi.  wMe  H  mmf 
e.  nuglw  ID  be  coa- 
He 


A«     A     fr 


t,it«    .1    tK«^ 


III   {.rc»4urr  T<.     <c::r  «ad  go  far  htj uad 
what   any   saMv    **!««  May   be    sal    for. 


*■  it  aM> 
becanae   thi*  .*   oaly 

and  roeasored  m  irmctiom  of 
u  of  no  roMsn—nis.  bal  it 
him  that,  by  reason  of  its 

utiet]   oy   uv   tiAfne  ir 
well  as  a  ttea4y  lead. 


br  r«^ 


win 


It  mjf.  and  roiMsdrranaa  of  ito  —>im 


• — ^ »     »'»  ;    •  I.. 
WneSser  iMa 


nisy  br 


•Swlted  eayriiwitaiU 


I'Msnvsrr  |aa« 


n^6j9  iachca 


A  valve  as  largr  ns  this  wnnl.l  h«- 
by   two    of    . 

v.«lves  of  3.4_S  ; 

same  discharge  with  tl" 


524 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March   i6,  1909. 


Garland  P.  Robinson, 

State  inspector  of  locomotives  for  the 
Public  Service  Commission  of  New  Y.ork, 
said  the  problem  in  locomotive  work  ap- 
pears to  be  what  proportion  of  the  max- 
imum evaporative  capacity  of  the  boiler 
must  be  provided  for.  Present  practice 
seems  to  show  that  it  is  necessary  to  pro- 
vide for  about  50  per  cent,  of  the  maxi- 
mum evaporation. 

The  commission  with  which  he  is  con- 
nected has  collected  reliable  data  on  about 
7500  locomotive  boilers.  During  the  past 
week  he  had  calculated  the  valve  capac- 
ity of  1000  of  these  boilers  for  the 
purpose  of  finding  the  average  practice  of 
safety-valve  equipment.  The  greatest  va- 
riations have  been  noted;  for  instance, 
boilers  using  180  pounds  pressure  with 
valves  of  i/16-inch  lift  have  two  3-inch 
valves  to  take  care  of  an  evaporation 
from  1750  to  3350  square  feet  of  heating 
surface.  Again  he  found  two  2^-inch 
valves  used  to  take  care  of  from  900  to 
1900  square  feet  of  heating  surface.  These 
cases  represent  whole  classes  and  not  in- 
dividual boilers.  Therefore,  it  would  ap- 
pear that  no  rule  has  been  followed  to  de- 
termine the  size  of  valve  required. 

In  his  opinion  a  formula  based  on  the 
heating  surface  and  providing  for  50  per 
cent,  of  the  maximum  evaporation  of  the 
boiler  will  give  satisfactory  results  for 
locomotives  in  '  freight  and  passenger 
service. 

If  the  angle  of  the  valve  seat  is  45  de- 
grees we  have 

A  =  TT  D  X  I  X  0.707, 
where 

A  =  Effective   area   opening  of  the 

valve, 
D  =  Diameter  of  valve, 
;  =  Lift  of  the  valve, 
0.707  =  Cosine  of  45  degrees. 

Combining  this  with  Napier's  formula, 


A  = 


P  X  3600 


W  X  70     ' 

the  flow  of  steam  per  hour  = 

116  X  /  X  ^  X  i'. 
Also, 

Heat  surface    X    evaporation   per  square 

foot  of  heating  surface  per  hour  = 

evaporation  of  boiler. 

Combining  we  have : 

Heating  surface  X  E  =  116  X  I  X  D  X  P, 

or 

H  S 


D  =  0.05 


iX  P  ' 


where  E^7  pounds,  or  50  per  cent,  of 
the  maximum  evaporation  per  square  foot 
of  heating  surface  per  hour. 
He  had  checked  1000  boilers  and  found 


the  constant  to  be  0.0441  for  present  prac- 
tice. Included  in  the  1000  boilers,  however, 
are  a  number  which  are  evidently  under 
safety-valved,  as  the  constant  in  their  case 
is  only  0.024.  Eliminating  this  class  of 
boiler,  the  constant  for  average  practice 
is  about  0.05,  as  given  in  the  formula.  He 
believes  valves  calculated  by  this  formula 
will  be  of  satisfactory  capacity  for  road 
engines ;  also,  if  valves  for  freight  engines 
are  calculated  by  the  formula  with  the 
constant  0.035  instead  of  0.05,  they  will  be 
of  sufficient  capacity. 

William  Boehm, 

of  the  Fidelity  and  Casualty  Company, 
was  particularly  interested  in  the  state- 
ment of  Dr.  Lucke  regarding  the  element 
of  time.  He  did  not  know  of  any  case  of 
boiler  explosion  due  to  insufficient  safety- 
valve  area.  The  trouble  about  a  boiler 
explosion  is  that  after  it  occurs  it  is 
almost  impossible  to  determine  the  cause ; 
there  is  not  enough  of  the  boiler  left.  If 
a  safety  valve  is  too  large  it  may,  of 
course,  relieve  suddenly  too  great  an 
amount  of  steam  and  in  so  doing  cause  a 
water  hammer,  and  that  water  hammer 
may  cause  a  violent  explosion  of  the 
boiler.  He  believed  that  the  correct 
method  of  proportioning  safety  valves 
was  to  determine  the  quantity  of  steam 
to  be  handled,  rather  than  to  take  the 
heating  surface  as  a  basis. 

President  Smith 

said  that  the  possibility  of  the  valve  being 
too  large  has  entered  into  the  question 
in  France.  He  did  not  know  what  the 
law  is  now,  but  several  years  ago  the 
maximum  size  of  the  valve  was  limited 
as  well  as  the  minimum  size. 

H.  C.  McCarty 

Reference  has  been  made  to  the  diffi- 
culties developing  out  of  too  large  a 
safety  valve,  and  too  large  a  safety  valve 
must  be  construed,  he  believed  from  ex- 
perience, as  one  with  too  great  a  lift.  Sev- 
eral of  the  speakers  had  referred  to  ham- 
mer blows.  Hammer  blows  are  the  result 
of  extraordinary  lift,  resulting  not  only 
in  the  destruction  of  the  valve,  but  in 
damage  to  the  boiler. 

No  suggestion  iias  come  to  the  notice 
of  his  company  (the  Coale  Muffler  and 
Safety  Valve  Company)  in  the  years  of 
their  experience  in  producing  the  valves 
which  they  do,  that  any  advantage  would 
be  gained  in  locomotive  service  by  in- 
creasing the  lift  above  that  usually  fol- 
lowed by  the  majority  of  the  manufac- 
turers; in  fact,  they  had  found  the  con- 
trary to  be  the  case.  It  is  true  that  the 
lifting  of  water  and  the  destruction  of  the 
valve  have  been  clearly  demonstrated  in 
practice.  Beyond  this  he  believed  that 
there  is  a  more  vital  and  more  serious 
element  of  difficulty.  Any  disturbance  of 
the  water  level,  especially  in  the  modern 


locomotive  boiler,  is  a  serious  problem 
confronting  every  man  who  is  responsible 
for  locomotive  maintenance.  We  aim  to 
work  the  driest  steam  possible  through 
the  chests  and  cylinders  and  through  the 
throttle,  which  is  located  at  the  highest 
point  possible.  His  observation  had  been 
that  any  agitation  of  the  water  will  lift 
water  through  the  valve  or  cause  it  to 
pass  through  the  throttle,  if  the  throttle 
is  open  at  the  time. 

The  location  of  valves  seems  to  l)e 
overlooked  in  many  instances  by  design- 
ers. One  speaker  has  referred  to  tlie 
placing  of  the  safety  valve  on  the  dry 
pipe.  Their  experience  indicates  that  the 
connection  between  the  valve  and  tlie 
boiler  should  be  at  a  point  as  high  as  tlie 
clearance  will  permit,  and  with  the  short- 
est possible  intermediate  connection. 

M.  W.   Sewall, 

of  the  Babcock  &  Wilcox  Company,  sug- 
gested as  the  two  items  that  need  to  be 
considered :  How  much  steam  can  liie 
boiler  make?  How  much  steam  will 
your  safety  valve  deliver?  If  these  two 
items  are  considered,  the  diameter  and 
the  lift,  the  approach  to  the  safety  valve 
and  the  discharge  from  the  safety  valve 
can  all  be  readily  taken  care  of,  and 
when  they  are  settled  one  maker  can  make 
a  big-diameter  barrel  and  small  lift  and 
another  a  small-diameter  barrel  and  I)ig 
lift,  just  to  suit  their  own  conditions  or 
their  own  tastes,  and  when  they  come 
to  place  them  on  the  market  the  one  that 
comes  out  ahead  will  be  the  best  for  its 
own  manufacturer. 

George  I.  Rockwood 

thought  that  it  was  obligatory  upon  Dr. 
Lucke,  now  that  he  had  "thrown  that 
scare  into  us,"  to  state  what  his  experi- 
ments were  that  lead  him  to  believe  the 
sudden  generation  of  pressure  in  boilers 
possible.  Mr.  Darling's  demonstration 
that  the  lifts  of  valves  vary  up  to  300  per 
cent.,  making  an  enormous  difference  in  • 
the  steam  discharged,  ought  to  interest 
the  boiler-insurance  companies,  and  lie 
did  not  see  why  these  companies  had  not 
conspired  together  in  some  such  way  as 
do  the  ordinary  fire  underwriters — have  a 
laboratory  of  their  own  and  find  out  the 
conditions  which  affect  the  design  of 
safety  valves  and  devices  in  general  that 
are  used  about  the  boiler  plant,  and  then 
lay  the  law  down  to  the  several  manufnc- 
turers  and  deliberately  "Approve"  tlicir 
devices  (and  spell  the  approve  with  n 
capital  A),  and  not  write  insurance 
where  those  devices  are  not  used.  That 
is  the  club  that  is  most  successful  in  pro- 
ducing splendid  apparatus  for  fire  pro- 
tection, and  he  thought  it  would  be 
equally  effective  as  applied  to  steam-boiler 
protection.  If  Mr.  Boehm,  of  the  Fidelity 
and  Casualty  Company,  never  knew  of  an 
explosion  of  a  boiler  being  due  to  an  in- 


March  i6,  if  jot j 

efficient  safety  valve,  then  the  speaker 
did  not  know  what  the  agitation  of  the 
evening  was  about,  but  doubtless  that  is 
a   view   which   is   subject   to  modihcation. 

A.  A.  Cabv 

agreed  with  Mr.  Carhart  that  the  small- 
lift  motion  spring  is  certainly  the  safest. 
He  called  attention  to  his  discussion  in 
the  December,  1901,  meeting  of  the  soci- 
ety, of  the  subject  of  springs,  and  said 
that  the  diameter  of  the  spring  should  be 
to  the  diameter  of  the  wire  ab-iut  as  7 
to  I,  and  may  possibly  be  reduced  as  5  to 
I,  but  that  is  not  good  practice  for  pop 
safety-valve  springs.  He  saw  no  good 
reasons  for  using  wire  of  square  section 
and  thought  the  round  section  safer.  An 
extension  spring  would  be  safer  than  a 
compression  spring. 

Care  should  be  used  in  safety  valves  for 
use  with  superheated  steam  to  see  that 
they  are  not  subjected  to  temperatures 
above  450  degrees.  In  the  Carv'  proem, 
invented  by  his  father,  the  6pring  was 
subjected  to  a  temperature  just  above  that 
point  (the  point  of  recalescence),  and  it 
would  hold  the  shape  to  which  it  was 
bent.  All  of  the  "set"  must  aho  be  taken 
out  of  the  spring  before  it  is  put  into  use 

A.    D.    RiSTEEN, 

of  the  Hartford  Steam  Boiler  Inspection 
and     Insiirnnir    rcimpany,    indorsed    Mr. 
Rockwood's   suggestion  of  an  cxperimen- 
ul    laboratory    for    the    underwriters    of 
»->iler  risks,  and  pledged  his  influence  to 
at   end;  but   when   Mr.   Rockwood  sug 
.    sted  that  they  try  to  lay  down  the  law 
the  manufacturers  and  owners  of  boil- 
's, he  thought   he  had   >• 
rom     which     the     insur  . 
light   shrink 

F.  L.  DuBosot'k. 


f    the     P« •  v, 

.ongratiil.it'  ' 

that  if  they  had  not  lean 

that    evening    ihey    had    !■ 
»n  for  the  adoption  in  the  United  State* 
iws  of  a  formula  that  has  caused  marine 
tigineers  more  trouble  than  anything  else 

•  >r    ihr   last    few    year*       From   the    fan 
hat   one   of   the   speakers   of   the   evenuiK 

liad   laid   so   much    -'  n   this    for 

inula,  and   from  the  'Hit  it  w«» 

exhibited    among     the     t 

upon  the   screen,   it   ma\ 

with  confidence      He  hoped  no  one  would 

be   deceived   by   It;    it    w*»     »»"-    n.^>tr*i 

formula  ever  established 
He  had  had  a  little  r- 

a  short  time  ago.     The  t 

poratrd  in  the   I'niir  ' 

in  the  hands  of  thr 

a*  to  how  miirh     "-li   - 

•quarr  foot  of  vratr      I 

tixe    of   the   safr«\    \al\.     ^' 

•ctual  experience  that  a  (u" 

could  not  bum  more  than   !<>  p-> "I 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINI  !  !' 
coal  per  square  fool  of  grate  area  \i 
II  Thejr  > 

fo:  w  .^:  'I     '  ,     -       ^j.|,j       ji^       ,_^| 

'  Y<j;:   ar«-   %^  r  wiU  burn  ••« 

jK.und*   of   cu-il   irct    u\\iAf 

area    and    it    reqtiirr^    a 

valve,  and  the  v- 

valve    fully    50   ; 

actually  required  to  be  used  oa  the  bodcr." 

L.  D.  LonuuM. 

the   author   of  the    formula,   a- 

DuBoso  :••  'fi 't   he  had  had  q: 

to  do  .  '  >  in  the  design  of  t- 

for    diii-.^ii.    -.icMinships    in    the    I;...-  . 

States  service  and  had  interviewed  hun- 

dr-  rs,  all  of  whom,  with  the 

r>  DuBoM|ue.  had  compli- 


on    i    iiquarr   inch   uf    valve    i<.>r    J   tquarc 
feet    of   grade    for   a   Scotch   boiler   and 
I    square    iiKh     of     safety     valve     for    6 
square    feet   of   grate   area    for   a   water 
tube  boiler  is  both  ridiculous  and  absurd 
Whenever   he    had    said   a   boiler    would 
evaporate  so  much   water   and   submitted 
the  design,  he  had  never  had  an  insprctor 
return    the    b<jilcr    for    xddiiuinal    vjIht 
valves.     The  United  " 
ties,    with    all    their 
with  several  prominent  author: 
have  agree<I   itpon    a   lift    of 
diameter  of  the  valve. 

In   the   j>'--'"»    ''iMrtission   there 
to  be  a  mi  n  as  to  what  < 

lutes  '  "r  did  n«t  think   turtr 

was    ,  Ive    manufacturer    in    the 

room  »hw  wjicd  to  see  a  've  lift 

T    tnrh.    n"   Tr:iMrr    how    !  Hi« 


on  Vft  of  an  inch  for  a  4 

Iheref""-    •'"■  i-'v'*-*!   ^..' 

naval 

an  extri<i>r 


S19 


1  ccarf  aOv  U 


r  smaller 
Irum    the    pr*i.tx«< 
proai^  and  qoict  Action,  0 
valve  and  safety  of  the  bodtr 

!rr      k>I\r>     hate     lot      •ri<V.' 


ne      The  Av  atny  W 

uiiidcnt  foe  every  frrsjuft  at  "  *  '' 

depeodeni  apoa  the  c*'»  'sfcei 
tatntac    the     1— fcwtr 
sprinca.    It  woald  br  . 
amooBt  arrivtd  al  bjr  a  Uwrnmlm  w^k* 

salesm 

cofTtrii  *    >"  ■  '         'k^  -  I  •*  - 
This    wi.viU!   mifn4«ce  hoi-  *'"' 

m  .-!«!  sues  and  lea»e  the  mmnwm  mt  i*« 
HKTcy  of  the  npe**tmM%mm  ot  mkntpf*- 
•esutiom  of  selling  aigaMiaii^  The 
•tandard  «ir<^.  HrrrAm*  m  pnrtxv  to  aO 
rt^ipr.  r    SIM    Ol    the 

inlft  t  '   ■•••  *•  »*• 

-  botler      il  itMtrrm 

•  mM    CM    W 

rr      The   actt 
f  valve*  ihowk"  '^ 
r4  opoa  after  lar* 


tjMitcd    by 


of   trwviaic 

•  Wff«  «ach 

•o  ««•% 

■Sift 


t    fK4    havr 

iiii  uiKif.   >•...>   ...fmuia 

DiL  Luau. 

In   r»t«>. 
ytm  nse  the 
oe  th»  Uf«« 

had  never  seen  the  p" 

'rf>iler  in  ihr  •  . 
artd   liid   rv>t 

trr.»ll    -JU' 


cm  the 


)te    had    M«fi    •( 


Ml.  Guduvr 


iKotiu'ht   (hat   ihCTV   it    fnf    <■«< 

.et    sImmi!  ' 


ifw-*- 


Mr   Ma?  «M  *M  *•  f"^.*^ 

••^r-'  r«W  h*  a  m0<h>' 

ot  tX   Ftratl 
tite«!  tW  -TiV      T*iS«  ••  ' 


ilM     Ml     wmj 


•at  mie  it*»'*»«'»* 


526 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  i6,  1909. 


Nathan  Payne 
pointed  out  that  the  only  profound  issue 
in  this  discussion  is  that  there  has  been 
no  standard  measurement  of  an}'  safety 
valves  probably  to  date,  and  whether  we 
take  a  high-lift  valve  or  a  low-lift  valve 
what  we  should  do  is  to  get  some  formula 
therefor  measuring  what  one  is  offering 
when  he  offers  a  "4-'mch"  valve,  what  it 
will  do  and  whether  it  is  good  for  a  100- 
horsepower  boiler  or  a  200-horsepower 
boiler. 


The  Shunted  Ammeter 


By  Cecil  P.  Poole 


The  simple  series-connected  ammeter, 
the  winding  of  which  is  merely  inserted 
in  one  leg  of  a  circuit  and  takes  the  full 
current,  is  readily  understood  by  the  aver- 
age engineer.  The  current  flows  through 
the  winding  just  as  steam  or  water  flows 
through  a  valve  or  other  device  inserted 
in  a  pipe.  The  shunted  ammeter,  how- 
ever, is  not  so  readily  understood  by  be- 
ginners in  electrical  work,  as  indicated  by 
numerous  letters  of  inquiry  received  by 
the  editorial   department  of  this  journal. 

Fig.  I  is  an  elementary  diagram  of  the 
connections  of  a  shunted  ammeter  and  its 
shunt.  The  latter  consists  of  a  conduc- 
tor 5"  of  accurately  known  resistance, 
usually  fastened  to  two  relatively  massive 
terminal  blocks ;  the  circuit  wire  in  which 
the  current  is  to  be  measured  is  cut  and  the 
two  ends  attached  to  the  terminal  blocks  of 
the  shunt;  consequently  the  shunt  forms  a 
part  of  the  circuit  carrying  the  current 
to  be  measured.  Also  attached  to  the 
terminal  blocks  are  two  small  flexible 
conductors,  the  other  ends  of  which  are 
connected  to  the  terminals  of  the  instru- 
ment ;  these  conductors  are  twisted  to- 
gether, forming  the  flexible  cord  used 
with  portable  incandescent  lamps,  volt- 
meters, etc.,  although  the  diagram  shows 
widely  separated  leads  from  the  shunt  to 
the  instrument. 

The  instrument,  though  called  an  am- 
meter, is  really  a  voltmeter  of  small  range, 
usually  around  50  millivolts;  that  is  to 
say,  an  electromotive  of  50  millivolts  or 
fifty  one-thousandths  (one-twentieth)  of 
a  volt  applied  to  its  terminals  will  carry 
the  needle  to  the  extreme  limit  of  the 
scale.  The  scale  of  the  instrument,  how- 
ever, is  marked  in  amperes  instead  of 
volts,  the  shunt  being  proportioned  to  suit 
the  desired  range. 

Suppose,  for  example,  that  the  instru- 
ment and  shunt  are  designed  for  a  "full 
scale"  reading  of  50  amperes.  This  means 
that  when  50  amperes  flow  in  the  main 
circuit,  the  voltage  at  the  terminals  of  the 
instrument  must  be  50  millivolts,  in  order 
that  the  needle  may  be  deflected  to  the 
end  of  its  scale.  Ignoring  the  resistance 
of  the  "ammeter,"  which  is  relatively  high 
in  most  cases,  the  resistance  of  the  shunt 
conductor  i"  must  be  one-thousandth  of  an 


ohm  in  order  to  show  a  difference  of  po- 
tential of  50  millivolts  at  its  terminals 
when  50  amperes  pass  through  it,  because 

Foils  -h  Ohms  =  Amperes, 
and  consequently 

Amperes  X  Ohms  =  Volts. 

In  the  case  mentioned,  therefore,  when 
50  amperes  pass  through  the  circuit,  there 
will  be  50  millivolts  at  the  instrument  ter- 
minals and  the  needle  will  be  carried  to 
the  end  .of  the  scale ;  this  point  is  marked 
50  amperes,  instead  of  the  50  millivolts 
which  the  instrument  is  really  measuring. 
When  25  amperes  flow  through  the  shunt, 
the  voltage  at  its  terminals  will  be 

25  X  o.ooi  =  0.025 
volt  or  25  millivolts,  and  the  needle  will 
point  to  "25"  on  the  scale,  and  so  on.  In 
this  case  the  scale  would  be  marked 
exactly  as  it  would  be  to  indicate  milli- 
volts, because  the  number  of  amperes  in 
the  main  circuit  would  always  be  exactly 


0=^=61 


Ammeter  Coil 
FIG.     I 


0.00')U5U3  Ohm 
'.i.'J  Amperes 


Amperes 


Vi  Obrti;  0.1  Amp. 

Power,  N.r. 
FIG.    2 

the  same  as  the  number  of  millivolts  at  the 
terminals  of  the  instrument. 

No  matter  what  the  range  of  the  instru- 
ment in  amperes  may  be,  however,  the 
voltage  at  its  terminals  will  be  50  milli- 
volts when  the  full  current  is  passing. 
The  same  instrument  may  be  used,  there- 
fore, for  any  current  range  by  changing 
the  shunt  and  the  scale  on  the  instru- 
ment. For  example,  suppose  the  maxi- 
mum current  "capacity"  were  1000  am- 
peres. Then  the  resistance  of  the  shunt 
would  have  to  be  0.00005  ohm  in  order 
that  Amperes  X  Ohms  should  equal  0.050 
volt  at  "full  scale"  current  in  the  main 
circuit.  With  1000  amperes  flowing,  there- 
fore, the  potential  at  the  terminals  would 
be  1000  X  0.00005  =  0.050  volt  or  50  milli- 
volts, and  the  needle  would  be  deflected  to 
the  end  of  the  scale,  which  would  be 
marked  "1000,"  instead  of  50  as  in  the 
first  case ;  with  500  amperes,  the  potential 
would  be  500  X  0.00005  =  0.025  volt  or 
25  millivolts,  and  the  needle  would  stand 
at  the   point  which   was   marked  "25"  in 


the  previous  case,  this  point  being  marked 
"500"  on  the  scale  now  used.  So  on, 
through  the  whole  list  of  "ammeter" 
capacities.  The  relation  between  the  cur- 
rent in  the  main  circuit  and  the  deflection 
of  the  needle  is  determined  entirely  by  the 
resistance  of  the  shunt  conductor. 

The  resistance  of  a  millivoltmeter  re- 
quiring 50  millivolts  for  full  scale  deflec- 
tion is  from  >4  to  i  ohm,  according  to  the 
design  of  the  instrument.  When  used  to 
indicate  currents  of  100  amperes  or  over, 
the  resistance  of  the  instrument  is  so 
high  with  relation  to  the  shunt  that  it  is 
ignored.  For  smaller  ranges,  however, 
the  resistance  of  the  instrument  is  con- 
sidered by  the  more  careful  manufac- 
turers. For  example,  if  the  full  scale 
reading  is  10  amperes  and  the  instru- 
ment requires  50  millivolts  for  full  scale 
deflection  and  is  of  J/2,  ohm  resistance,  the 
resistance  of  the  shunt  conductor  should 
be  0.0050505  ohm;  the  joint  resistance  of 
the  shunt  and  the  instrument  winding 
would  then  be  0.005  ohm,  and  with  10  am- 
peres flowifig  in  the  main  circuit  the  volt- 
age at  the  terminals  of  the  shunt  and  the 
instrument  would  be  0.050  volt,  or  50 
millivolts,  as  required.  Of  the  total  cur- 
rent, 9.9  amperes  would  flow  through  the 
shunt  and  o.i  ampere  through  the  instru- 
ment. This  set  of  conditions  is  repre- 
sented diagrammatically  in  Fig.  2.  If  the 
resistance  of  the  instrument  were  ig- 
nored in  this  case  and  the  shunt  were 
made  of  0.005  ohm  resistance,  the  joint 
resistance  of  the  two  would  be  0.00495 
ohm  and  in  order  to  get  a  full  scale  de- 
flection the  current  in  the  main  circuit 
would  have  to  be  10.  i  amperes  instead  of 
10.  This  is  an  error  of  only  i  per  cent., 
and  would  not  be  very  serious.  It  is  too 
large,  however,  to  satisfy  a  maker  who 
strives  for  as  high  a  degree  of  accuracy 
as  is  commercially  practical,  and  such  a 
maker  would  probably  make  the  shunt  of 
0.00505  ohm  resistance.  Then  the  joint  re- 
sistance of  the  instrument  and  the  shunt 
would  be  0.0049995  ohm  (assuming  per- 
fect connections  and  other  conditions)  in- 
stead of  0.005,  and  the  error  would  be  in- 
significant. 

The  resistance  of  the  flexible  cords 
leading  from  the  shunt  to  the  instrument 
is  so  low  that  the  error  caused  by  it  can- 
not be  measured  by  ordinary  instruments. 
In  many  shunted  ammeters  of  low  range 
the  shunt  is  mounted  in  the  case  which 
contains  the  meter  mechanism  and  wind- 
ing; separate  connections  are  therefore 
unnecessary.  When  the  shunt  is  separate, 
however,  as  indicated  by  the  simple  dia- 
grams herewith,  it  is  necessary  that  the 
flexible  cord  connecting  the  instrument  to 
the  shunt  should  be  very  firmly  secured  at 
both  ertds ;  any  looseness  of  connections 
will  cause  the  instrument  to  indicate 
falsely  by  reason  of  the  increased  resist- 
ance of  the  branch  circuit  passing  through 
the  instrument,  the  error  being  of  the 
nature  of  indicating  a  smaller  current  than 
is  really  flowing  in  the  main  circuit. 


.'.larch  i6,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGI 


vc 


Some    Useful    L 


essons 


of  L 


How  Coal  Burning  Makes  Carbonic -acid  Cat:  Why  Fire  Mint  Be  Lighted 
Wore  It  Will  Bum:  What  Caujt.  Fire  Heat;  Expamioo  andCooUactMi 


1  m  e  w  a  t  e  r 


BY 


CHARLES 


PALMER 


Coal  Buuninc  Makes  Carbonic-acio 
Gas 

Here    15    a    clean,    common    fruit    jar. 
Pour  into  it  some  filtered  limewater  and 
shake  it  up.     There  is  no  especial  change, 
for  the  air  in  the  inside  of  the  jar  is  much 
the  same  as  that   on  the  outside  of  the 
jar;    although    if   you    let    the    limewater 
stand  in  the  jar  for  a  few  minutes,  you 
will  see  that  its  surface  becomes  covered 
with  that  thin  white  skin,  or  "pellicle,"  of 
plain  insoluble  carbonate  of  calcium.     You 
can  observe   this   better   if  you   pour  out 
several    tablespoon fuls    of    the    limewater 
into  a   common  glass  tumbler  and   let   it 
-land  on  some  dark  surface,  say  a  piece 
I  black  paper.     Soon  the  thin  white  skin 
I    plain  carbonate  of  calcium   will    form 
er  the  surface,  and  this  will  remind  you 
at  the  air  about  us  carries  some  of  thia 
>rbonic-acid  gas.  about  one  part  by  vol- 
ume in  three  or  four  thousand  of  the  air. 
When  considerable  of  the  plain  carb«jnate 
•    calcium    has    formed   by   exposing   the 
Irered  limewater  to  the  air,  just  clear  »t 
1    up   with    a    drop   of   hydrochloric   or 
trie  acid;  if  you  look  carefully,  you  may 
r  a  little  bubbling,  as  though  you  were 
'ating    some    bits    cf    marble    with    the 
ong  acid. 

.Vow,  rinse  out  the  jar,  and 
'o  it  a  burning  common  wu'   . 
a    few    moments    remove   the    burnmg 
.  Imtcr  and  pour  into  the  jar  a  few  table 
spoonfuls  of  filtered  limewater.  Gap  over 
the  mouth  of  the  jar  a  piece  of  cummon 
cardboard  for  a  cover,  and  shake  it  well 
You  will  note  the  same  white,  milky  pre- 
cipitate of   plain   carbonate,  and   you   will 
be   ready  to  study  it   with  new  question* 
and  answers. 

N'.w   repeat   the  experiment  of  the  last 
lesson,   where   you    tried   to   find   out   the 
parts  of  the  air,  and  where  you  used  sul- 
phur or  phosphorus ;  only  in  this  case  use 
•havings,   paper   and   the   like.      You    will 
find  that  the  experiment  will  W'    '     ' 
will  he  slower  than  in  the  rik\c 
used   the  phosphorus,   or   t' 
the   match  ends.     The  pr-'i 
ing  the  shavings  or  the  p.i(>rr  %v 
aorb  nearly  a«  readily  as  the  hu- 
ucts  from  the  phr>«phorus  or  the  lultihcr 
'"'leed,   although   there   It   the   sanK   I"** 
luibbles  of  air,  at  the  fir«t.   fr< m   td- 


jar.  .in  ' 
•m'liint 
yet  tlir 


V  heating  thr  .ur   : 
there  is  atx^o'  th<- 
■1   burnt 
bv  the  M  ■ 


not  nearly  as  great  au  in  the  case  of  the 
sulphur  or  •» ^  ruiw  But  if  you  re- 
place the  rr  in  the  wash  dish 
with  .1       ■ 

you    •.'. 

^  ;iit  v<4*c  of  bii  .f 

I  '   over   plain   w  .-  .,. 

son  IS.  of  course,  that  the  acid-like  stuff 

from  the   burning  of    sulphur    or    "'"■>• 

phorus   is   easily    soluble   in   plain 

and    the   stuff   from   the   burning   ot    u^r 

shavings  or  paper,  while  not   soluble   in 

plain  water,  is  nevertbelcM  easily  toloblc 


water    u    aa    altatoa    ba*c  •    Yo« 
found  that  the   walcr   tolaitaa  tnm 
hunmg  ol  the  vdftmr  or  the 

'  natch  cndic  tww  HuMa  red 
*  alao  an  righi.   httmmt   tke 
ittacM  fonwd  are  aod-lte. 

Bai.  in  the  a»<   r>f  iW  cw%bmi 
(roa  the  bamit .  ffftf  or 

btno*  very  fcohljr).  W9 
irasun  hack  to  pTovc  that  the 
cat   t«  aa   acsd.     We 

I  'i>^ 


coal 

m 


aad  ia  thcrriore 


^ 


v^ 


linxMAUf,    I    imqaillj,  «    h 
carVmi-  irid  gu.     Bat  there  n  ake 
;o  that   prooi     Thai   H 
a  Jiapftacc  aoda  aad  hoM* 

displace  baM»     We  faid  tiM  thia  | 
ctple   vorin  weO.   lor  ««  caa  dri«« 
the  carhoRk-acid  fat  which  has  hMi 
•orhcd  hy  the  Iwiioater.  hr  «*f  « 
add.  Mtch  aa  hydrachlork  aod  or 
acid     It  win  be  srefl  for  yoo  to 
quite  a  qoantity  of  ihia  aaaw  pla^ 
honate.  tqr  UoihaK   foor  hrHth   ( 
b  the  horm  carhaak-«cid  laa  ttmm 
hody    (nrnacc)    iMo 


mO 


from    ii.r     »«-<i!-  €-^T  J  r>«-n    lAAr    -nji    ted^- 

mcnt  and  treat  M  with  a  few  dropa  ol 
hydrochJonc  arid,  the  dOonae  ol  the 
hydroehhirk  acid  wfl  dfa^laco  the  C-acww 
(COi).  carhooic  ihidiidi.  or  caiteHc 
acid  ga*.  fron  the  fimm  cafheaMt  ol 
ril^ia^^  —irim  caJci—  chbttde  (CaCU). 
C  a  CMwtx  So  hy  riinam  K»  k.^- ! 
and  forwardL  w«  caa  ^rv've  tk.^ 
«.»_  ^.    ^,.  .......   _...    ...... 


ria  I 


ar 
chkin. 


m  limewater      Try  aU  thia  aod  you  wtU     *••■•<**  «'*«*' 


get  the  facts.     Nov  for  the  espUnatioo: 

Tm  UMMMt  or  TatiiGa  Umuki 
We  }.  that   in   leneral   um»^ 

(hine«  each  other     Thos  aod* 

avcs    and    tM>' 


Mat   W«  MM 


•»»>**• 


•an*  Ga*  Hmm 


•—  .^k>.  k.  wji^'^ 


HtN 


ca#- 


'N*    w^h   IW   hate   1m 

I'!    i%*      vV., ,     a  n't 


in   the  case  uf   the   paper  or   thit^it  k 


^U   ti^l. 


528 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  i6,  1909. 


the  jar  (one  candle  can  be  cut  into  sev- 
eral, pieces).  Now  pour  in  some  strong 
acid,  like  hydrochloric  acid.  You  will  see 
the-  lively  foaming,  or  "effervescence,"  as 
the  books  call  it.  That  is  the  giving  off 
of  the  invisible  carbonic-acid  gas.  Now 
this  is  a  heavy  gas ;  that  is,  heavy  as  com- 
pared with  the  air,  which,  of  course,  is 
and  must  be  the  standard  gas,  because  the 
air  always  surrounds  us,  and  we  are 
much  like  human  fish  walking  about  in 
this  invisibJe  ocean  of  atmosphere.  As 
the  carbonic-acid  gas  comes  off  in  the 
jar,  being  a  full-fledged  gas  it  displaces 
some  of  the  air  from  the  jar.  But  being 
a  heavy  gas,  it  displaces  it  from  the  bot- 
tom first;  and  so,  if  you  are  successful 
with  your  experiment,  you  will  see  the 
lowest  candle  go  out,  because  it  cannot 
burn  in  this  carbonic-acid  gas.  Then  the 
next  higher  candle  will  go  out,  and  so  on 
to  the  top.  If  you  have  enough  marble 
dust,  or  soda,  and  acid,  you  can  literally 
flood  the  candles  in  order  from  the  bot- 
tom to  the  top. 

But  this  is  only  the  beginning  of  what 
you  can  do  with  this  heavy  gas.  You 
treat  it  as  though  the  jar  were  full  of  a 
light  invisible  liquid.  Thus  you  can  take 
out  the  candles  strung  on  the  wire,  light 
them  again,  and  set  them  in  another  clean 
and  empty  jar.  Now  take  up  the  first 
jar,  which  is  full  of  the  invisible  car- 
bonic-acid gas,  and  pour  it  slowly  (Fig. 
2),  for  it  will  not  pour  quickly  like 
water,  into  the  second  jar  with  the  re- 
lighted candles.  You  will  see  them  flicker 
and  tremble  as  their  flames  are  choked 
or  drowned  by  the  inpouring  heavy  gas. 
If  you  have  ordinary  luck,  you  will  ex 
tinguish  some  of  the  lower  candles,  and 
you  will  clearly  prove  to  yourself  that 
this  gas  is  a  heavy  gas  which  follows  the 
laws  of  heavy  liquids  insofar  that  it  dis- 
places the  lighter  air.  Later,  when  we  get 
to  the  study  of  the  very  light  gas,  hydro- 
gen, you  will  try  that  the  other  way,  and 
you  can  pour  it  upward  in  the  air,  from 
one  jar  to  another;  and  in  that  case  you 
will  test  it  by  the  flame,  for  hydrogen 
burns  in  the  air. 

Now  there  is  one  more  test  that  you 
■want  to  try  again,  if  you  have  not  done 
•so  already;  for  you  will  devise  many  ex- 
Tperiments  for  yourself,  and  try  your  own 
ideas  all  the  time.  The  test  is  to  see  what 
litmus,  red  and  blue,  will  do  in  some 
-strong  water  solution  of  carbonic-acid 
-gas,  like  the  "fizz"  water  or  common 
"'soda  water."  You  will  find  that  the 
litmus  will  probably  turn  red ;  but  if  you 
take  the  litmus  paper  out  of  the  water 
and  let  it  dry  in  the  air,  the  volatile  car- 
bonic-acid gas  will  be  driven  off  from 
»the  litmus  by  the  nonvolatile  red  acid  of 
tthe  litmus,  and  the  litmus  will  probably 
go  back  to  blue.  But  it  is  possible  that 
only  one  of  the  slips  of  litmus  paper  will 
go  back  to  blue;  because,  if  one  of  the 
slips    was    already   red   when   you    put   it 

into    the    solution    of    carbonic-acid   gas. 


and  if  it  was  colored  red  by  some  strong 
acid,  such  as  sulphuric  or  nitric,  or  hydro- 
chloric, then  such  a  slip  of  red  litmus 
paper  may  remain  red  in  the  strong  solu- 
tion of  carbonic-acid  gas,  and  may  still 
remain  red  when  taken  out  of  the  water; 
while  the  other  slip  of  litmus  paper,  which 
was  blue  to  start  with,  but  which  was 
turned  red  by  the  carbonic-acid  gas  solu- 
tion, will  probably  turn  blue  again  on 
standing  in  the  air.  This  is  only  to  show 
that  no  fixed  rule  can  be  given  to  the 
exclusion  of  the  free  use  of  one's  brains. 
We  must  think  in  all  things,  and  while 
the  principles  given  may  be  accurate  and 
correct,  yet  their  use  and  application  may 
require   some   thinking. 


But  we  have  learned  that  the  gas  from 
the  burning  of  coal,  wood,  or  paper  is 
mostly  carbonic-acid  gas ;  and  that  it 
comes  from  the  union  of  the  carbon  of 
the  coal,  wood  or  paper,  with  the  oxygen 
of  the  air. 

Why  a  Fire  Must  Be  Lighted  Before 
It  Will  Burn 
The  fact  that  you  may  have  the. grate 
of  a  stove  or  furnace  well  cleaned  out, 
that  you  may  have  the  fire  materials  laid 
in  order,  from  the  shavings  and  kind- 
lings and  the  wood  to  the  coal,  that  you 
can  have  all  this  with  the  draft  open  and 
the  free-flowing  air  all  about  ready  to 
seize  on  the  fuel,  and  yet  there  is  nothing 
doing  in  the  way  of  real  fire,  is  a  matter 


of  everyday  experience.  In  fact  it  is  so 
common  that  its  meaning  and  significance 
may  easily  escape  the  attention  which 
they  deserve.  Why  does  fire  material 
have  to  be  kindled  before  it  will  burn? 
That  is  the  question.  It  must  be  con- 
nected with  the  heat  given  off,  because 
when  the  fire  is  once  hot,  we  can  kindle 
any  amount  of  fuel  from  it. 

The  explanation  of  this  curious  neces- 
sity for  kindling  any  combustible,  from 
the  match  that  we  light  by  the  slight  fric- 
tion heat  of  a  quick  stroke  to  the  gas  that 
burns  with  a  hot  flame,  or  to  the  still 
harder  coal,  is  that  all  matter  is  made  up 
of  groups  of  chemical  units.  The  group 
is  called  a  "molecule ;"  and  the  chemical 
unit  is  called  an  "atom."  Thus,  the  mole- 
cule of  hydrogen  is  written  H2,  and  is 
called  H-two;  that  is,  there  are  two 
chemical  units  or  atoms  of  hydrogen  in 
the  molecule  group  H-two.  Similarly,  the 
gas  that  comes  from  heating  coal,  and 
which  burns  with  a  blue  flame,  is  called 
carbon  monoxide  (carbon  one  oxide), 
CO,  and  read  C-0;  that  is,  there  are  in. 
the  molecule  group  one  atom  of  carbon 
and  one  atom  or  chemical  unit  of  oxygen. 
Similarly,  in  the  air  the  oxygen  is  found 
as  molecule  groups  of  O2,  called  0-two, 
and  the  nitrogen  as  N2,  called  N-two. 
Some  molecule  groups  of  chemical  units 
or  atoms  contain  two,  some  three  and 
some  four,  five,  six,  or  many  more  of  the 
atoms  or  chemical  units. 

What  Causes  the  Heat  of  Fire 
Now,  the  heat  from  a  fire  is  caused  by 
the  atoms  of  the  various  molecule  groups 
falling  together  to  make  new  molecule 
groups ;  and  yet,  before  the  chemical 
units,  or  atoms,  can  fall  together  in  the 
new  combinations,  they  must  be  free  to 
come  together.  It  is  a  case  of  "off  with 
the  old  love,  before  on  with  the  new." 
So  it  takes  quite  a  degree  of  heat  to 
shake  the  atoms  loose  from  the  old  mole- 
cule groups  before  these  same  atoms  can 
be  free  to  fall  together  into  the  new 
molecule   groups. 

If  you  should  ask  how  it  is  that  we 
know  that  matter  is  made  up  of  these 
molecular  groups  and  that  these  mole- 
cules are  themselves  made  up  of  still 
smaller  atoms  or  chemical  units,  it  would 
take  some  time  to  give  all  the  proof.  But 
you  can  begin  to  convince  yourself  right 
here  that  all  matter  has  a  "grained"  struc- 
ture. Thus,  think  what  it  means  that 
common  salt,  for  example,  can  be  dis- 
solved in  water,  can  be  passed  through 
the  pores  of  the  finest  filter  paper,  and 
can  be  evaporated  down  to  dryness  and 
recovered — all  this  shows  that  the  lump  of 
salt  is  made  up  of  very  small  pieces  which 
separate  from  each  other  in  the  solution 
in  water,  and  which  pass  in  droves 
through  the  pores  of  the  paper  and  come 
together  again ;  and  yet  in  all  this  we 
have  not  got  into  the  inside  of  the  mol- 
ecular groups  of  common  salt,  each  of 
which  is  made  up  of  NaCl,  read  N-a-C-1; 


March  i6,  1909. 

that    is,    each    molecule    of    common    salt 
I     consists  of  one  atom  or  chemical  unit  of 
sodium    (the   metal   back   of  all   the   soda 
compounds)    and   one    atom    of    chlorine. 
But  the  molecule,  salt,  is  a  thing  by  itself, 
and   it   consists   of   atoms ;   and    similarly 
every   kind   of   matter   consists   of  atoms 
united  into  molecules.    The  study  of  these 
unions   of  the  atoms  of  each   element   as 
they  make   up  the  molecules  of  this  and 
that    substance    is    analysis.      Analysis    is 
called    "qualitative"    if    it    tells    us    zvhal 
the   kind   of   atom    is    in    each    substance , 
^  analysis  is  called  "quantitative"  if  it  tells 
us  how  much  there  is  of  each  substance. 
You  see  that  one  is  led  to  the  study  of 
the  molecule  and  the  atom  from  this  fun- 
damental   fact    that    fuel    ready    to    burn 
will  not  burn  until  the  atoms  of  the  mol- 
lar  groups  are  torn  asunder  from  the 
.   molecules  and   made   "free"   to   unite 
li    the   oxygen   atoms,   which    n>ust    be 
>  torn  asunder  from  each  other  to  burn 
fuel,  in  making  new  molecules.    Thus, 
i>.<    very  fact  of  kindling  a  fire  implies  a 
difference  between   molecules  and   atoms. 

B  Expansion   and  Contkaction 

^    It    will    be    some    time    before    we    can 
•-ke  up  very  much  of  the  proof  for  the 
Iccular   theory   of   matter   and,   beyond 
I,   of   the  atomic   theory  of   the   mole- 
's of  matter ;  but  you  can   be   getting 
•r   mind    in    shape   to   handle    some   of 
>e  curious  notions  by  asking 'yourself 
such    simple    questions    as    these :     What 
li.ippens    when    liodics   expand    with    heat 
I  contract  with  cold  or  pressure?  What 
;'I)ens  when  any  substance  expands  and 
tracts?     All    matter,    in    general,    ex- 
:<U  with  heat  and  contracts  with  cold 
iirr««ure :    what    happens   when   matter 
hap|>ens    when    matter 
iier  it  is  a  solid,  a  liquid. 
.«   gas,   the   question    is    the    same    in 
1;   hut   you   can  think  more  clearly  if 
■  make  this  simple  definite  experiment  - 
Ke  a  hall  of  some  metal,  iron  or  brass 
I  do,  and  then  make  a  ring  of  metal  of 
h   si/e   that   the  ball   at   cnnution   trtn 
iliire    will    just    pass   through    tlir    nru' 
'.    F'K-   .V      It   would   l>e   l>ctter    it 
i'l  afford  to  have  some  metal  like 
i.    platinum    or    nickel    which    will    not 
f  nor  oxidi/e  on  heating;  but  the  ifm 
1    show   the   principle.      Now   heat   the 
1  so  that  it  will  not  pass  through  the 
'al    ring.     What   has  happene<J  to  the 
■  I?     If  you  c<  •  '  ' 

■  I    hf»».    yoM    u 

Ihrr.    J 

slight  t 

with    hails   ot    gold    and    f 

1!"  not  rust  nor  oxidi/e  li>   ;  '  .      . 

and  it  hat  been   fr>und  that  therr    i. 
IP'    fliffrrrnce    In     weight,     hot     or 
Then  tlirrr  i«  no  more  matter  In  tli- 

Whrl'irr   It   M   .  '-ti!  <.r   '     • 
neiflirr     kIiI*    III    t;     r    •  .■ 

or  '■  a  bo<ly 

iTi'  «    the    »aii  ■ 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

there  is  no  more  matter  when  it  has  ex- 
panded, what  is  '  sion? 

Clearly,  the  exj  the  separation 

of  small  parts  that  are  too  small  to  be 
seen  or  felt ;  but  there  must  be  those 
small  parts  just  the  same,  and  it  mu»t  be 
the  separation  of  those  small  parts  which 
shows  on  the  outside  as  expansion  of  the 
whole  ball.  Similarly,  it  is  the  approach- 
ing of  these  small  parts  that  makes  the 
ball  contract.  Then  the  ball,  thoi^ 
solid,  is  made  up  of  small  parts,  that  most 
be  separated  from  one  another  by  some  de 
gree  of  space;  these  approaching  and  re 
ceding  parts  are  the  molecules,  and  these 
molecules  are  made  up  of  still  smaller 
parts,  the  chemical  units  or  atoms.  It 
will  take  you  some  time  to  get  used  t.. 
this  kind  of  thinking ;  but  it  will  pay  you. 
tor  it  leads  not  only  to  clearer  ideas  re 
garding  the  nature  and  structure  of  the 
kinds  of  matter  about  us.  but  it  also  lead) 
us  to  some  practical  ways  of  attacking 
and  analyzing  the  water  that  goe«  into 
your  boiler,  the  fuel  that  you  bum  under 
the  boiler,  the  ashes  that  you  shovel  away, 
the  iron  that  makes  up  the  boiler  and  con- 


nc  3 

nections,  and  so  on  to  anything  yoa  want 
to  know  more  about  fur  yuur«elf. 

The  molecule  of  lime  is  written  CaO. 
and  it  is  made  up  of  one  atom  or  chetni 

cal   unit  of  the  metal,  cal*- ' 

atom  or  chemical  unit  of  t 
Wkcrn      Water  is  made  up  ■<'. 
;■■      which  »rr  rotnp(>«c<l  <  f  ■ 


.1    of 

^oes 


.Ml   this  exactness  of  dicmicai  con 

tlOn     W"*      ^"-      '""      '>iin»»       in.l      " 

that  at 


tor  oxrgm  40  for  your  fncad  riki— .  14 

^  '  hioriae.  ^  lor  sal. 

^'  '    ""nfle  tuteaMM 

o'  **>♦'  Us  •  mart  el 

its  own.  „^-  ,.^^    ,,^,^  ifQ^  di^  gy 

friend,  the  qut  kiniw  mhtfk  Nm  0BI  j^m 
on  the  nn  and  whKli  will  Ml  let  |«» 
•top  omil  yoa  tarn  a  link  of  iW  ificiil 
•tory  of  eaknam  and  of  iW  kff«v  aovtl 
of  chemical  snshrtfi  Tlw  «ory  mmm  W 
worth  learn;  >  dp«  ie  onkt  'gny 

matter."  aiv:  .  :<  ro«  on  foar  latt 

a  little  stroager  aad  ouka  fcm  mton  r«4y 
to  hold  foar  ova  n  iW  proaMtsaa  tiut 
starts  froei  jroar  barrel  of  Kbm 


CoQtervaboa  ol  NaturmJ  Rcmircc»— 
EAgiMcnng  Socicbet' Meelii^ 


of  ikt 


Mardi  J4  uiKlcr  the  a 

luiKrfuJ    rnginreruig 

Society  of  Civil 

ttiiute   of    Mwiag    rngiiMnii.    Aawtkai 

Institute  of  Elect rical  EacMMcrs.  A»«n 

can  Society  of  licckaakal 

the  gm^-ra!  subject  of  *TT» 

of  Rcaoaroca.*     TW 


pr'  .  I  be  prrirntrtJ  in   rrarr«#rtt« 

tive*  of  the  four 

The     Conacre..... 
John  R.  FrccoMa.  A.  &  C  E 

The    Consrrratioa    of    Sa-i. 
•oorccs  by  Lcgtslatioa.*  hy   l\  K   <    ■ '  ^ 
W    Raymond.  A    I    M    E 

"The  Waste  of  Our  Naiaral  Raaaarca* 
by  Fire."  bjr  Ckarks  W1iiia«  Baktr.  A.  S 
M    F 

'iserratsea   ol 
F-  -n  \  I  E  F 


Spnng  NleetbigU  the  A.  S.  M.  E. 


The   •pn»f    wi><tw>t 


S-- 


bolel,    room*    ir.    m%    S 


T\r 


oinrr  y 

brrs  a 


530 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  i6,  1909. 


Coal  Weights 


DEVOTED  TO    THE   GENERATION   AND 
TRANSMISSION   OF  POWER 

Issued  Weekly  by  the 

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Cable  address,  "  Powpub,"  N.  Y. 
Business  Telegraph  Code. 


CIRCVLATION    STATEMENT 
During    1908    we    printed    and    circulated 
1,836,000  copies   of   Powbb. 

Our  circulation  for  February,  1909,  t<J08 
(iceekly  and  monthly)  151,000. 

March    2 42,000 

March    9 37,000 

March    16 37.000 

yone  sent  free  regularly,  no  returns  from 
news  companies,  no  back  numbers.  Figures 
are  live,   net  circulation. 


A  manufacturing  concern  recently  adopt- 
ed a  method  of  checking  its  coal  weights 
and  found  that  it  was  receiving  con- 
siderably less  coal  than  it  was  charged 
for,  one  barge  load  being  some  sixty  tons 
short.  The  management  refused  to  pay 
for  more  than  was  received,  and  the  coal 
company  brought  suit  to  recover  the  full 
amount  of  its  bills.  Testimony  was 
•  offered  to  the  effect  that  it  was  the  gen- 
eral custom  to  accept  "railroad  weights" 
in  billing  and  settling  for  coal  delivered, 
after  which  the  attorney  for  the  coal  com- 
pany announced:  "Your  Honor,  the 
plaintiff  rests  his  case;"  whereupon  the 
court  immediately  responded:  "The  plain- 
tiff has  no  case." 

Not  a  word  of  testimony  had  been 
offered  to  show  that  the  amount  deliv- 
ered agreed  with  that  for  which  bills  had 
been  presented,  and  if  the  current  prac- 
tice is  anything  like  that  which  the  attor- 
ney for  the  coal  company  tried  to  estab- 
lish, it  will  be  well  for  others  to  put  some 
kind  of  a  check  upon  their  coal  receipts. 


Contents  page 

Typical  Low  Pressure  Steam  Turbine....   485 

Gas  Engines  and  Engineers 489 

Inaccuracies  of  Indicator  Diagrams 490 

The   Conservation   of  Our   Water   Powers  493 

Comparative  Tests   of   Coal 494 

The  Plunger  Hydraulic  Elevator 496 

Municipal    Producer    Gas   Plant   at    Peru, 

Ind 498 

Energy  Charts  for  Steam 501 

Value   of   High   Pressure 502 

Practical    Letters    From    Practical    Men : 

How    to    Make    a     Tool     Board 

Sparkless  Commutators  ....  Burns 

Too     Much     Coal Remedying     a 

Traveling  Crane  Trouble.  .  .  .A  Light- 
ing Problem. . . .  A  Homemade  Heater 

Difficulty    In    Starting   a     Motor 

Cylinder  Oil   Distributor The 

Actual  Cost  of  Power. ..  .Increasing 
Water       Pressure  ....  Support       for 

Flanged    Piping The    Centrifugal 

Pump.  .  .  .  A  Homemade  Filter.  .  . . 
How  to  Take  Indicator  Diagrams 
....Scaled  Boiler  Surfaces.  ..  .Re- 
pairing Commutators...  .The  Modern 
Surface  Condenser.  ...  How  Improve 
the  Diagrams?. ..  .Boiler  Efficiency 
....Power  Plant  Records. ..  .Mak- 
ing Dasbpot  Covers.... A  Harmless 
Scare.  ...Safety  Valve  Formulas.  .503-511 
Gas  Power  Blowing  Equipment  at  Gary, 

Ind 512 

Safety  Valves 520 

The   Shunted   Ammeter 526 

Some  Useful  Lessons  of  Limewater 527 

Editorial's    5.30  531 


kin,  the  author  of  the  formula  now  in 
use.  His  formula  is  rational,  and  would 
be  correct  if  the  assumption  upon  which 
it  is  based,  that  the  lift  varies  in  the 
chosen  proportion  to  the  diameter,  were  ., 
true.  The  papers  and  discussion  at  the  I 
meeting  of  the  mechanical  engineers 
seemed  to  show  that  the  assumption  was 
unwarranted.  It  was  a  common  assump- 
tion in  the  engineering  bodies  which  had 
given  the  subject  the  most  attention,  even 
greater  proportionate  lifts  being  assumed 
by  responsible  official  boards,  and  Mr. 
Lovekin  is  entitled  to  the  credit  of  hav- 
ing substituted  a  rational  formula  for  the 
archaic  and  inadequate  one  based  only 
upon  grate  surface  in  use  at  the  time. 


Safety    Valve    Formulas 

Attention  is  called  to  the  communica- 
tion from  Philip  G.  Darling  on  page  511 
of  this  issue.  The  formula  which  he 
criticizes  appeared  in  our  issue  of  March 
9,  and  assumed  that  safety  valves  in  gen- 
eral, whatever  their  diarneter,  are  de- 
signed to  lift  between  one-sixteenth  and 
three-thirty-seconds  of  an  inch. 

The  formula  was  suggested  as  an  im- 
provement upon  that  now  used  by  the 
United  Slates  Board  of  Supervising  In- 
spectors of  Steam  Vessels,  which  is  based 
upon  the  assumption  that  valves  lift  one- 
thirty-second  of  their  diameter,  and  which 
gives  the  result  in  area  instead  of  directly 
in  the  number  of  inches  of  diameter  re- 
quired. The  bringing  out  of  the  fact 
that  large  valves  lift  no  more  than  small 
ones  eliminates  the  necessity  of  using  the 
diameter  twice,  and  makes  possible  the 
simple  expression  proposed,  in  which  the 
result  is  obtained  in  inches  of  diameter 
without  the  use  of  roots  or  powers  or 
the  conversion  of  areas  into  linear  dimen- 
sions. 

Mr.  Darling's  formula  also  expresses 
the  results  in  terms  of  the  diameter,  is 
practically  as  simple  and  avoids  any  as- 
sumption in  regard  to  the  lift  by  making 
the  lift  itself  a  factor  of  the  formula. 
This  is  safer  unless  the  assumption  that 
any  valve  will  lift  at  least  five-sixty- 
fourths  of  an  inch  without  dangerous  in- 
crease of  pressure  is  warranted.  Many 
of  the  valves  which  Mr.  Darling  has 
tested  have  not  lifted  this  amount  at  the 
popping  pressure. 

It  was  not  intended,  in  the  editorial 
proposing  the  simplified  formula,  to  de- 
tract  from   the  credit   due  to   Mr.  Love- 


Receiver  Drop 


It  has  been  aptly  said  that  the  facts 
evolved  by  practice  would  fulfil  the  pre- 
dictions of  theory — if  the  theory  were 
right — and  the  facts  correctly  stated. 

The  theory  must,  however,  be  complete 
as  well  as  right.  One  does  not  condemn 
as  a  scientific  lie  the  academical  demon- 
stration of  Carnot  that  the  most  efficient 
"diagram  for  a  heat  engine  to  make  is  one 
in  which  expansion  is  carried  to  the  back 
pressure,  and  compression  to  the  initial, 
although  few  engineers  would  try  to 
carry  out  the  cycle  so  suggested  in  the 
real  cast-iron  cylinder,  with  its  heat-ab- 
sorbing properties,  with  compression  pro- 
cesses which  are  of  considerably  less  than 
one  hundred  per  cent,  efficiency,  and  with 
an  investment  which  must  be  made  to 
yield  the  utmost  per  unit  of  interest  and 
overall  charge. 

It  is  also  quite  true,  from  a  thermo- 
dynamic standpoint,  that  the  greatest 
amount  of  work  will  be  got  out  of  a 
pound  of  steam  when  there  is  no  free  ex- 
pansion, as  in  the  receiver  of  a  com- 
pound engine,  i.e.,  when  the  diagram  from 
the  high-pressure  cylinder  ends  in  a  point. 
That  this  is  found  to  be  not  the  fact  when 
it  is  tried  should  not  upset  one's  confi- 
dence in  the  academical  demonstration, 
which  is  plain  and  incontrovertible,  so  far 
as  it  goes,  but  should  set  one  to  looking 
for  the  disturbing  cause.  One  does  not 
deny  the  universality  of  the  law  of  gravi- 
tation because  a  penny  falls  faster  than  a 
feather,  but  mentally  clears  the  situation 
of  all  disturbing  influences,  such  as  air  re- 
sistance, before  he  applies  the  law. 

What  the  causes  and  conditions  are 
which  produce  results  at  variance  with 
the  abstract  truth  that  free  expansion  re- 
sults in  loss  we  do  not  know.  Here  are 
a  couple  of  facts : 

Some  years  ago  an  engineer  operating 
a  pumping  engine  with  fixed  cutoff  dis- 
covered that  when  the  receiver  pressure 
was  changed  there  was  also  a  change  in 
the  speed  of  the  engine.  Reducing  the 
receiver  pressure  increased  the  speed  and 
increasing  the  pressure  reduced  the  speed. 


March  i6,  1909. 

In  another  instance,  with  a  horizontal 
cross-compound  condensing  engine  with 
fixed  aitofF  on  the  high-pressure-  cyhndcr, 
a  reduction  of  pressure  in  the  receiver 
from  fifteen  |K)unds  to  three  pounds  wa> 
accompanied  by  an  increase  of  ab<jut 
eight  per  cent,  in  the  amount  of  work 
done  by  the  engine. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


Cast  Steel    Flanges 

A  correspondent  asks  if  there  is  any 
standard  for  cast-steel  tlangcs.  We  do 
not  know  of  any.  The  diameters  and 
drilling  are  usually  in  conformity  with 
the  standard  for  cast-iron  Hanges  de- 
scribed on  page  796  of  our  issue  of  May 
19,  1908.  Those  who  use  cast  steel  to 
save  weight  and  material  will  make  them 
lighter ;  those  who  use  it  for  greater 
strength  will  usually  use  the  same  pat- 
terns that  they  do  for  cast  iron. 


Buying  Coal  on  the  B.t  u.  Basis 


How  do  you  buy  your  coal?  Do  you 
i>uy  it  on  its  pa.>>t  reputation,  or  upon  the 
advice  of  some  other  user?  I)o  you  ac- 
cept as  absolute  truth  the  assurances  of 
the  selling  agent  as  to  the  number  of 
I'.t.u.  contained  per  pound  and  the  per- 
centages of  ash  and  volatile  matter?  Do 
>ou  have  a  "proximate"  or  perhaps  a 
(quantitative  analysis  made?  l)o  you  buy 
it  on  the  basis  of  the  highest  numl>er  of 
heat  units  per  dollar,  or  do  you  make 
< '.  ;  '  --.w  tests  and  select  a  coal  giving 
th<    iiiK*  ' --t  evaporation  per  dollar? 

Of  these  various  ways*  of  determining 
what  coal  to  buy,  the  two  last  enumerated 
>nay  be  considered  as  the  really  practical 
methods.  What  is  wanted  is  a  cnal  which 
will  evaporate  the  largest  possible  number 
of  pounds  of  water  |>er  d<i]l.ir'*  worth  and 
leave  the  least  possible  amount  of  ash  to 
l>c  carried  away.  Kvajmrative  tests  should 
give  this  information  and  the  results  <>!>- 
tained  should,  with  careful  work,  be  ap 
proximately  accurate,  more  especially  as 
the  sample  coal  is  bume<I  under  the 
boiler  and  on  the  grates  on  which  the 
purchased  coal  i*  to  be  fired.  In  this  re- 
K.»r<I.  however,  much  de|»ends  mi  tlir  'r- 
mm    and    a    grrai    dr.il    n(win    ■ii.imr..irr'  j 


the  draft  an«l   ' 

ncss  nf   the   h-         .^ 

rrgular.  and  a  vari.ition  in  any  one  of  the 

three,  or  in  the  ihicknes-    ■'  •'-  'Mel  bed. 

might  easily  make   a  c-  differ- 

rncr  in  the  rr«ult«  of  thr  i>»t 

lluying    coal    nn    thr    it  1  u     per   pound 
K.iM»  wr.iit.l  .ifi|K>ar  to  l»c  a  step  in  a<I\  hi- •-. 

ill  111    'll'-    1 
air*    ,ill   til' 

l»"ilrr  test.     He«ide«.  taking    . 

pir    111    riial    .iiul    li'iriiitiir     it     •■ 


phere  of  oxygen  w  "* 
niuch  simpler  and  • 
a   test    re-, 
of  coal  ai 


U^bJe 
d 
I 

a.   per 


■  ■•K>    ul    lite    I. 
pound  of  cuai  .    .i^n- 

puted,  and  the  rrftull  is  in  pr  ti. 

givmg  in  a   nutthdl  the  ex^vi  =.<ht- 

tion  wanted  by  the  busy  man.  For  m- 
stance.  the  enK  .    an  en- 

gine   test    to    t'  I    ipvr 

him   •■  cr   ut   'i. 

of  sf  'rrr  '>f  rr-. 

ute    and  r,     and 

leave  it  t-.  .  thcr  or 

not    the   engine    is    overloaded.      He   may 
give    him    these   data,    but    the    indicated 
horsepower  is  by  all  mean*  incorporated 
in  the  results,  and  this  one  figure 
actly    what    is    wanted,    as    it    i«    ■ 

1    of    all  .4 

re  to  the  r 

a»  wclL     Much  thr 
the  British  thermal 

;  '■  ^  the  commercial  value  of  a  fuel  The 
ti:  y  manager  or  engineer  has  not  the 
time  to  delve  into  the  hydrogen,  nilrugm 
and  carbon  contents  of  the  fuel  or.  per- 
haps, the  percentage  of  ash  and  moisture, 
and  i  '     ■    ■  to 

read  « 

The   ll.t.u.  put  (he   mIioIc  •>r    . 
of    thr   fnrts   in   concrete    for 

tangible  by   which   to  . 
;>  coals. 
It   cannot   be   claimed   that    the    B' 
mcthfxl    is    perfect,    for   like    most    Olhrr 
nirtlKHls    it    has    it*    fault*       TTir    sample 
•    fairly    rr; 
1  p»->orls   • 


tion  which  might  br  raited  1*  lh<- 

price     usually     demanded     when     

iMiught  on  ihi*  basis.     The  mine  owner 
not    sure   that    '-  '    will   have  a  um 

form    value    t'  the    «rar.    rrea 


the  price 


.    and   if  the 
4ke  the  risk  U't 
I  the  buyer? 


t  a  |»ef  i^ 


SJt 


kit     the     Bt«L 


-.•Vild 

cottli: 

different  k 

coals,  and  ,...  .,^„ 

nughf  be  ctani  ;  t^m- 

lar  quality.     U  ni.    r^r.j 

cvmpmhatm  ihtmU  be 

■  •Irofen  concr* 
e   lotaf   frw.i. 

tbe  hcs'  «  m4 

hydrogen. 

It      WOokl      thm      >t^»it      lk«>      >>^     r^%,l 

trouble  » 

tain  a  rrpi«»»i>ijii»r  v^m^aK-  x-^tt  •• 
no  good  rcuon  nby  the  ••■iple  skoaM 
'•oc  (airly  rcprmnt  the  coal  to  kt  4r- 
'irercd.  and  )«l  as  •oon  as  ikr  «aiplaw 
It  put  on  thi*  ba*tt  and  tbe  mine  ovncvv 
mn  Ke  mArKf^.  tr^  adofC  tba*  atflkad  0# 
^  the  prirr  aMtaffi* 
•  acriu—  M  to  mm- 
pttcity  and  mecwngf.  ia  MMr  t»  kr  wtmt- 


New  York's  Opfioitunity 


-K.  ol  Ibr  k 

■^  aildrm  >t 

-n  and  Ctinriatwn  o«  Water 

i.i\    iK'T     {nllowwg    to    %At     Ala-ot 


mi*«»on  pcocredt  to  tlsow  tkal  wa!k  n 
uUlualsan  <A  al    noraai 
an   rrentual   dnrelopoHW   ol 
{,M*»cr   could   be   attained   twnt^lm^   iW 

P^T^ent  d*  trlupmrni  by  too  pee  cam,  anu 
•  itbant  talung  into  (unn^nhnn  iW 


It  1  MibnHt  tiwt  •«  M 

t        %i«ftlrd    4r%-I    *».i     r  ?    !<.     •& -•     *  -- » 


53^ 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGIXEER. 


March  i6,  iQog. 


Power  Plant  Machinery  and    Appliances 

Original         Descriptions        of        Power       Devices 
No      Manufacturers'     Cuts     or      Write-ups      Used 


MUST     BE     NEW     OR     INTERESTING 


The  "U.  S."  Tube  Blower 


This  is  a  device  for  blowing  soot  out  of 
boiler  tubes  iLith  the  draft.  A  casing 
passes  through  the  rear  wall  of  the  boiler 
setting,  and  a  T-shaped  cast  chamber  out- 
side the  wall  receives  a  ij^-inch  supply 
pipe.  Directly  under  this  pipe  in  the 
chamber  is  a  drain  cock  to  dispose  of  the 
condensation,  and  on  the  end  of  the  cham- 


ber is  a  stuffing  box,  through  which  the 
handle  rod  passes  to  an  inner  tube  which 
just  fills  the  casing. 

On  the  end  of  this  tube  is  a  hollow  cast- 
iron  arm,  one-half  the  diameter  of  the 
boiler  in  length,  having  a  i/i6-inch  slot 
its  entire  length  on  the  side  toward  the 
boiler.  By  pushing  the  rod  endwise  this 
arm  is  pushed  close  to  the  rear  end  of 
the  tubes  into  which  the  steam  is  deliv- 
ered in  a  thin  sheet.     By  means  of  a  han- 


dle secured  to  a  rod  the  arm  may  be  re- 
volved so  it  reaches  all  of  the  tubes. 

The  blower  can  be  used  while  running, 
and  when  not  in  use  the  arm  is  pulled 
back  and  placed  in  a  horizontal  position 
on  a  shelf,  where  it  is  not  exposed  to  the 
heat. 

This  tube  blower  is  manufactured  by 
the  U.  S.  Specialty  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany,  People's  building,   Pittsburg,    Penn. 


'Anti-Rust" 


A  preparation  which  has  been  success- 
fully used  for  preventing  rust  is  known 
commercially  as  "Anti-Rust,"  prepared  for 
the  market  by  F.  L.  Melville,  192  Front 
street,  New  York  City.  This  product  is 
semiliquid  in  form,  easily  applied  and  not 
affected  by  changes  of  temperature,  it  is 
said.  It  is  readily  removed  from  the 
surface  treated  without  resorting  to  the 
use  of  benzine  or  other  cutting  agents. 
"Anti-Rust"  is  said  to  have  given  good 
results  under  all  manner  of  severe  tests, 
notably  in  the  protection  of  iron  from 
the  corroding  influence  of  salt  water  and 
in  long  continued  open-air  tests. 


Little  Giant  Tube  Cleaner 


POSITION  OF  U.    S.   TUBE  BLOWER  WHEN   IN  USE 


The  "Little  Giant"  tube  cleaner,  which 
is  made  by  the  Poole  Manufacturing 
Company,  310  Broadway,  Albany,  N.  Y., 
is  shown  herewith.  It  is  a  mechanical 
cleaner,  the  head  of  which  is  driven  for- 


FIG.     I.    TYPE  OF  CLEANER    USED  IN  FIRE-TUBE  BOILERS 


March  i6,  ujOO- 


P(>\\  KR  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


SJJ 


The  Zenith  Rear  Ej\d    Flue 
Blower 


ward  b>-  a  spline  shaft  set  in  the  hollow 
shaft  of  a  rotary  enjcinr. 

Fig.    I   shows  the  type  of  cleaner  used 

•'    fire-tube  boilers.     The  spiral  portion 

inp^)se«l   of   *mall    cutters    which   cut  Herewith     i 

iht  scale,  while  the  brush  at -the  inner  end     blower  to  be  atu».hcd  tu  the  cumbuj!; 


1     ^      ^4.      .         .>l«lh 

;br     *hrr' 


'■tlljf    •• 
•  n  ffoai 


nC.    2.    CLE.SNER  USED  FOR    WATU'TVU   BU1LU5 


Hiuidrvil  and  bcrtaurmk  unci.  Cln« 


fMi'hcj   the    loosened   deposit    out    of   the 

.  :^.  2  shows  the  cleaner  for  water-tube 
boilers.     This   cleaner   is   composed   of  a 

^»er  of  cutting  wheels,  and  a  cutting 

The  rutting  wheels,  as  they  arc 
ved  in  the  iuIk-,  remove  the  scale  or 
lUilntion  by  coming  into  direct  con- 
witli  it.  It  is  claimed  that  this 
-r  does  its  work  in  a  remarkably 
'    time    and    i>    very    effectual    m    tts 

.tlMll. 


Ames  Alloy  Sheet   Packing 


ni «     kmd     kI     liigli-pri^Mirr     «hert 

iig   has   l>een   placed   on   the   market. 

■  II    mn    the    Ames   alloy    high-pressure 

packing,      manufactured      by      the 

<l  States  Indestructible  (<asket  Com- 

|6  S>uth  William  street.  New  York 

-king,    as    its    name    im|»lie».    is 

made    m    sheet    form   in   thick 

-  'A   \'U\.   i/.w.   !/!'»  and   x' ^2  inch 

p  '••  ^  in-.-hrs  wide,  but  '"tber  thick- 

f  be  had.     It  i*  suit.il>lr  for  use 

^' >,   valves,   steam   chests,  etc,   -'r 

where   the   ordinary   type  of  sheet   p.i 
ing  is  ii«rd 

It  is  claimed  that  this  packing  doet  not 
melt  under  about   ^or»  drKnr*   I'.i!ir«  tiJieit. 


4nd    th.ni    i«    b.i«    »«.•»!    tr.i..|    n;. 

'««» 

pnun'l^    pff      'r, 

it 

SOltablr    f..r    thr    1;. 

I't 

lie  work       It   i«   il.iHiu-.t   that   it 

slick  to  flanges  in  p.itihes  when  ■ 

IS  brnlcen.  and  that  it  will  not  dr' 

dry  nut   riMf  rT:\rV    •'   ■••' — '   •  •  ■• 

«eiir«     (     •  .ti.liiii,' 

is  .-.t          • 

in  t 

I.      -tiul      1.        • 

l!       1- 

it    <tnlv    ♦iriti;' 

'«>  mil" 

i    I    > 


I     BTfAiu  09  comtrwxmn  or  asvirn  mi  k^^wu 


fed  shape 


<<•«  •!  «*fc^  caJi.  ttuwuK^ 


534 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  i6,  1909. 


Ladies'  Night    in    Brooklyn 

Brooklyn  Association  No.  8,  National 
Association  of  Stationary  Engineers,  held 
a  social  session  on  Saturday  evening, 
March  6,  to  which  the  ladies  were  invited, 
in  the  rooms  of  the  association :  and  as 
many  more  of  the  fair  sex  came  than 
were  expected  the  rooms  were  over- 
crowded. The  next  ladies'  night  should 
be  held  in  a  larger  hall.  Frank  Martin 
acted  as  master  of  ceremonies  and  intro- 
duced the  following  entertainers :  "Bert" 
Self.  Frank  Corbett,  "Joe"  McKenna, 
"Billy"  Murray,  "Jack"  Armour,  "Dan" 
Quinn,  Harry  Elder,  "Joe"  Matier, 
Charles  Kronland,  "Jack"  Tracy,  N.  H. 
Kenney  and  G.  J.  Sullivan.  Refreshments 
were  served. 

James  O.  WestVerg  was  chairman  of  the 
-committee  of  arrangements. 


Business  Items 

The  Ohio  Blower  Company,  of  Cleveland,  Ohio, 
includes  among  its  recent  sales  three  oil  separa- 
tors, eight  steam  separators  and  six  cast-iron 
exhaust  heads. 

The  American  Fire  Brick  Company,  Spokane, 
Wash.,  has  given  an  order  to  the  Minneapolis 
Steel  and  Machinery  Company  for  a  20x42 
heav>'-duty  Twin  City  Corliss  engine,  to  be  in 
stalled  in  its  new  plant  at  Mica,  Wash. 

Recent  large  orders  taken  by  the  Crocker- 
Wheeler  Company,  of  .\mpere,  N.  J.,  include 
eight  generators  of  various  types,  with  capacities 
ranging  frm  50  to  800  kilowatts;  eight  motors 
for  printing  presses,  three  for  elevators  and 
a  40-horsepower  induction  motor. 

"High-grade  Petroleum  Grease  Lubrication' 
is  the  title  of  a  4-page  (with  stiff  paper 
covers)  pamphlet  just  issued  by  the  Key- 
stone Lubricating  Company,  of  Philadelphia. 
It  is  devoted  to  contrasting  some  of  the  ad- 
vantages, or  disadvantages,  in  the  use  of  oil 
for    lubrication    with    those   of   grease. 

The  engineer  of  the  Schauss  Manufacturing 
Company,  Toledo,  Ohio,  W.  F.  Brubaker,  writes 
to  the  Buckeye  Boiler  Skimmer  Company, 
South  End,  Toledo,  Ohio,  and  says:  "The 
floating  skimmers  you  placed  in  our  McNaull 
boilers  are  certainly  all  right.  1  ran  .six  weeks 
■without  cleaning,  and  on  opening  the  boilers 
I  was  surprised  to  find  clear  water  in  the  bottom 
of  the  front  water  leg.  which  I  expected  to  find 
half  full  of  mud.  The  boilers  were  absolutely 
clean  all  through." 

The  DuBoIo  Iron  Works,  manufacturer  of 
DuBois  gas  engines  and  steam  and  power 
pumps,  has  been  awarded  the  contract  for 
the  complete  equipment  and  installation  of 
the  pumping  station  for  the  Clarion  water 
works.  Clarion.  Penn.,  the  machinery  pur- 
chased   consisting   of   one    1.50-horsepower    Du 


Bois  tandem  natural-gas  engine  geared  to  a 
million-gallon  pump,  one  oO-horsepower  unit 
for  driving  the  air  compressor  and  one  cen- 
trifugal pump,  together  with  the  necessary 
fittings,  etc.  The  plant  is  an  auxiliary  to 
the  present  steam-pumping  equipment,  which 
will  eventually  be  replaced  by  a  duplicate  of 
the  new  gas-engine-driven  unit.  The  engines 
and  pumps  will  work  against  u  head  of  685 
feet,  pumping  through  4000  fdet  of  10-incb 
main  to  the  standpipe.  A  complete  new 
power  station  is  being  erected.  The  DuBois 
works  has  also  been  awarded  the  contract  for 
a  160-horsepower  Twin  tandem  gas  engine, 
direct-connected  to  100-kilowatt  generator, 
for  the  lighting  plant  of  the  seventy-fourth 
regiment  armory  at  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 

The  sales  organization  of  the  Northern 
Electrical  Manufacturing  Company  has,  for 
the  purpose  of  economy,  been  consolidated 
with  that  of  the  Fort  Wayne  Electric  Works, 
Fort  Wayne.  Ind.  The  Northern  company 
has  in  the  past  confined  itself  to  the  manu- 
facture and  sale  of  direct-current  apparatus, 
while  the  business  of  the  Fort  Wayne  com- 
pany has  consisted  very  largely  of  alternat- 
ing-current apparatus.  In  putting  these  two 
lines  of  product  into  the  hands  of  one  com- 
bined sales  organization  they  are  adding 
greatly  to  the  efficiency  and  capability  of 
each  salesman,  and  are  also  making  it  more 
convenient  for  the  public.  They  wish  to 
make  it  particularly  clear  that  the  manu- 
facture of  present  designs  will  be  continued 
and  that  particular  attention  will  be  given, 
as  in  the  past,  to  manufacturing  and  carry- 
ing at  Madison  a  large  stock  of  repair  parts 
as  well  as  completed  machines.  They  confi- 
dently expect  the  result  of  this  arrangement 
will  be  greater  satisfaction  to  their  joint  cus- 
tomers and  a  steady  increase  in  the  volume  of 
business  of   the   respective  plants. 


New  Equipment 


A.  H.  Deiters  and  B.  Davis,  owners  of  the 
electric-light  plant  at  Dickinson,  N.  D.,  are  con- 
sidering plans  for  erecting  an  addition  and  the 
installation  of  two  more  boilers. 

The  Terre  Haute,  Indianapolis  &  Eastern 
Traction  Company,  Terre  Haute,  Ind.,  is 
planning  to  increase  the  output  of  plant.  New 
steam   turbine  boilers,    etc.,    will   be   installed. 

The  Albert  Lea  (Minn.)  Light  and  Power 
Company  has  planned  extensive  improve- 
ments at  its  plant  which  will  include  installa- 
tion of  new  generator,  transformers,  boilers, 
etc. 


Help  Wanted 

Advertisements  under  this  heading  are  in- 
serted for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  words 
make  a  line. 

AN  ENGINEER  in  each  town  to  sell  the 
best  rocking  grate  for  steam  boilers.  Write 
Martin   Grate   Co.,    281    Dearborn   St.,   Chicago. 


WANTED — Thoroughly  competent  steam 
specialty  salesman;  one  that  can  sell  high- 
grade   goods.     Address    "  M.    M.    Co.,"    Power. 

WE  WANT  REPRESENTATIVES  to  handle 
metallic  packing  in  Pittsburg,  Cleveland  and 
Cincinnati.  National  Metallic  Packing  Co., 
Oberiin,  O. 

WANTED — For  the  engineering  depart- 
ment of  a  manufacturing  establishment  build- 
ing hydraulic  machinery,  a  young  man,  col- 
lege graduate  with  one  or  two  years"  shop 
and  drawing  room  experience ;  one  that  will 
develop  into  an  engineering  salesman.  State 
age,  experience,  education,  wages  to  start, 
and  send  samples  of  drawings.     Box  9,  Power. 

Situations  Wanted 

Advertisements  under  this  head  are  in- 
serted for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  word) 
make  a  line. 

MANAGER,  sales  manager  or  traveling 
commercial  engineer ;  20  years'  experience 
electrical  and  mechanical  lines.  .M.  F.  Har 
W'Ood,  20  Howard  Place,  Jersey  City,  N.  J. 

POSITION  WANTED  anywhere  by  engineei 
with  Massachusetts  license  ;  experienced  bote 
and  power  station  work ,  a.c.  and  d.e.  gen 
erators,  absorption  and  compression  ic« 
machines.     Box  10,  Power. 

YOUNG  MAN,  four  years'  technical  collegf 
training  in  department  of  mechanical  engi 
neering,  wishes  to  hear  from  consulting  en 
gineers'  establishment  desirous  of  such  a  mat 
to  enter  their  services.     Box  8,   Power. 


Miscellaneous 


Advertisements  under  this  head  are  in 
serted  for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  word 
make  a  line. 

WANTED — Second-hand,  60-cycle,  single 
phase  motors,  V^  to  5  H.P.,  110  or  220  volts 
The  Edgerton  Electric  Lighting  System,  Ed 
gerton,   Ohio. 

PATENTS  secured  promptly  in  the  Unitec 
States  and  foreign  countries.  Pamphlet  o 
instructions  sent  free  upon  request.  C  L 
Parker,  Ex-examiner,  U.  S.  Patent  Office 
McGill  Bldg.,   Washington,   D.  C. 

IN  ORDER  TO  SETTLE  an  estate,  an  attrac 
tive  opportunity  is  open  to  a  party  witl 
$150,000.00  competent  to  fill  responsible  posi 
tion  either  in  the  scales  or  manufacturing  depart 
ment,  to  purchase  an  interest  in  a  well  am 
favorably  known,  profitable  machinery  manu 
facturing  plant  located  in  Pennsylvania,  witl 
an  office  and  established  trade  in  New  Yorl 
City.     Address  "Executors,"  Box  3,  Power. 


For  Sale 


Advertisements  under  this  head  are  in 
serted  for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  word 
make  a  line. 

150  HORSEPOWER  tandem  compound  Cor 
liss  engine  in  good  order ;  16'  wheel  ;  24-iE 
face.    F.  W.  Iredell,  11  Broadway,  New  York 

FOR  SALE — One  9x12  Armington  &  Sim 
automatic  high-speed  piston  slide  valve  er 
gine.  Can  be  seen  in  operation  until  April  1 
Studer  Bros.,   Apple  Creek,   Ohio. 

FOR  SALE— 20x48  Wheelock  engine  am 
two  72"xl8'  high  pressure  tubular  boilers  ii 
good  condition  cheap.  Address  "Engineer,' 
Box  2,  Station  A,   Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

SECOND-HAND  MACHINERY  FOR  SAL! 
— Engines,  milling,  linseed  and  cotton  seei 
oil  mill  machinery.  Write  us  for  descriptio 
and  prices.  Indiana  Machine  and  Suppl 
Co.,    203    Ingalls    Building,     Indianapolis,    Ind 

ONE  14x36  Vilter  Corliss  engine,  with  7 
tandem  air  compressor;  one  14x36  Nagle  Coi 
liss  engine.  Can  be  .seen  under  steam.  Guar 
anteed  in  first-class  condition:  selling  on  accoun 
of  change  in  equipment.  Ontario  Silver  Co 
Muucie,   Ind. 


Alphabetical  Index  to  Advertisers 


Tage 

Alberger  Co.,  A.  H 118 

Alberger  Conden.ser  Co !  .  112 

Allan  &  Son,  A 118 

Allis-Chalmers  Co 1 

American  Blower  Co 103 

American  Boiler  Economy  Co.  .  .113 
American  District  Steam  Co ... .   97 

American  Engine  Ca> 120 

American      Goetze-Gasket      and 

Packing  (3o 78 

American  Mfg.  CJo 98 

American  Radiator  Co 102 

.Ameriran  School  of  Correspond- 
ence  101 


J'AOE 

American      Steam      Gauge     and 

Valve  Mfg.  Co 65 

Anchor  Packing  Co 71 

Anderson  Co.,  V.  D 103 

Andrews  Mfg.  Co.,  Thomas 97 

Armstrong  Mfg.  Co 87 

Ashton  Valve  Co 80 

Babcock  &  Wilcox  Co 113 

Ball-Cooley  Engineering  Co 118 

Ball  &  Wood  Co 117 

Ball  Engine  Co 117 

Baragwanath  &  Son,  Wm 105 

Barnes  Co.,  W,  F.  &  John 98 


I'Af.i; 

Bassett,  C.  P 95 

Bates  Machine  Co 109,   119 

Beggs  &  Co.,  Jas 101 

Berry  Engineering  Co 113 

Bignall  &  Keeler  Mfg.  Co 85 

Bird-Archer  Co 91 

Bovvers  Rubber  Works 78 

Bristol  Co 124 

Buckeve  Boiler  Skimmer  Co  ... .   89 
Burt  Mfg.  Co 12 

Cancos  Mfg.  Co 79 

Carpenter  &  Co.,  Walter  D 89 

Casey-Hedges  Co 77 


TAG 

Chesterton  Co.,  A.  ,W 1- 

Clark  Bros.  Co 1 1 

Climax  Smoke  Preventer  Co.  .  . .   9 

Cling-Surface  Co 7 

Consolidated  Safety  Valve  Co. . .   8 

Cook's  Sons,  Adam 8 

Cooper  Co.,  C.  &  G 12 

Coralline  DrUg  &  Chemical  Co. . .    1 

C-O-Two  Furnace  Co 9 

Crocker- Wheeler  Co H 

Cro.sby  Steam  Gage  &  Valve  Co.   7 
Cunningham      Boiler     Specialty 

Mfg.  Co , T 

Curtis  &  Curtis  Co 8 


March  23,  1909. 


lOWER  AND  THE 


US 


Characteristics    of     the    Turbine    Pump 

A  Study  of  the  Dcwgn  and  OpetaUon  ok  CcnUilugal  Pump*  by  Mow 
of   Curves  Characteristic   of  the  Head.   Power.   Kfhciency  and  Speed 


B    Y 


FREDERICK        RAY 


The  modern  centrifugal  pump  has  tak- 
•1   a   position   of   ever-increasing   impor- 
•iij  the  various  types  of  pump- 
cry  of  the   world,   and   in   the 
i.itt  tew  years  its  field  of  usefulness  has 
increased     from    one    of    limited    extent 
and    small    importance    to    one    that    rm 
traces    almost     every    pumping    service. 
A'hile     as     already     stated,     the     recent 
v-hicvcments    of    the    centrifugal    pump 
;  ave  hcen  great,  there  is  every  reason  to 


CUAaj^CTDltTIC    CLtTtS 

It  it  the  pcirpoM  of  this  trtidc  to 
oDt    and    di«rti««    varv<«4    points    ia   the 

''j(ai  puippt 
■d  In  ortirr 
properly  to  select  the  most  ttiitable  type 
of  pump  for  any  particular  tervicc  and 
to  operate  it  most  eAcientljr  when  in 
service.  The  operation  of  almoct  any 
type  of   machine  can   be   moM  easily  n> 


one  between  ca^Acity  and  pomtr.  mi  om 
between  capacNy  Mid  CBKitBcy 

FV   I  shews  Mch  a  Mt  of  carwt  de- 
rived freai  the  icM  of  •  to-imA  mt^'t 
•face  tnfhaw  fmm^  optnbam  •>  (hr 
Maoi  speed  of  ti>5  runhaiii  per  =-. 
otc.   a   photocrsph   of   which   Is 
in     Fic     4.      la    this    cat*    the 
marhcd     '^ca<r     thows     the 
of  total  head,  which  Is  the  •«■  of  the 
beads  oa  the  MKtiaa  aad  dbchane  of 


Ulicve    thai    the    future    hold*    m    »:u.r?     ln»tf*ff.!    »nd    urwlerslooil    ( 
ttill  greater  ones  than  hive  yet  been  re-  *«"«  thr 

,      ,  .       r     'r  T 

"■ll, 

ce  the  modern  centrifugal  pump 
%«h   of   a   very    (cw   v  ■ 

t  :r     :lt     of     trirn'i'--      '!<•- 

;  <i  »  few  r- 

r-  ,'  -irf riiii;     u-; 

f    :  .   -  •    deal   of 

tlic   rcui    iii«-tit«,    cap -' • 
tions  of  this   typf 


■4   11 


536 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  23,  1909. 


Head  Curz'e — From  this  curve  can  be 
obtained  the  total  head  against  which  the 
pump  is  capable  of  delivering  any  given 
quantity  of  water  when  operated  at  a 
speed  of  1125  revolutions  per  minute,  and 
conversely,  if  the  pump  was  operated  at 
this  speed  and  gages  on  the  suction  and 
discharge  were  read,  it  would  then  be 
possible  to  determine  the  amount  of  wa- 
ter being  pumped.  In  addition  to  this, 
directly  below  the  point  on  the  curve 
representing  the  head  would  be  found  a 
point  on  the  curve  of  brake  horsepower 
giving  the  power  being  consumed ;  and 
in  the  same  vertical  line  a  point  on  the 
efficiency  curve  would  show  the  efficiency 
with  which  this  power  was  being  utilized. 
It  is  tlius  plain  that  if  a  pump  can  be 
tested  in  the  shop  or  elsewhere,  where 
suitable  apparatus  is  available,  and  a 
similar  set  of  curves  plotted  from  the  re- 
sults, a  complete  guide  is  obtained  for  the 
efficient  and  satisfactory  operation  of 
the  pump  in  actual  service. 

Examining  the  head  curve,  it  is  seen 
that  with  the  discharge  closed,  when  the 
water  in  the  pump  is  simply  being  re- 
volved around,  the  head  generated 
amounted  to  109  feet.  As  the  discharge 
valve  was  gradually  opened,  this  head 
increased  until  at  a  capacity  of  500  gal- 
lons per  minute  the  head  amounted  to 
118  feet,  and  from  there  on  it  gradually 
decreased  until  at  930  gallons  per  minute 
it  again  amounted  to  109  feet.  Thus  for 
every  point  on  the  head  curve  between 
these  limits,  there  are  two  different  ca- 
pacities at  which  the  pump  can  operate. 

From  the  foregoing  it  might  appear  that 
there  would  be  some  unstableness  about 
the  operation  of  the  pump  within  these 
limits,  and  so  there  would  be  if  it  was  not 
for  the  balancing  action  of  pipe  friction, 
which  usually  amounts  to  a  considerable 
part  of  the  total  head.  It  is  readily  seen 
that  if  the  pump  was  discharging  direct- 
ly into  a  large  standpipe,  so  that  the  pipe 
friction  was  negligible,  and  the  top  of 
this  standpipe  was  gradually  raised* until 
the  total  head  became  slightly  over  118 
feet,  the  discharge  would  immediately 
cease,  and  it  would  be  impossible  again  to 
start  it  until  the  head  was  reduced  below 
109  feet.  If,  however,  the  static  head 
was  less  than  109  feet,  then  by  introduc- 
ing friction  into  the  discharge,  by  thrott- 
ling, until  the  head  became  118  feet,  there 
would  be  no  such  sudden  decrease  in  the 
capacity,  as  this  friction  head  being  a 
function  of  the  capacity,  automatical- 
ly maintains  a  running  balance,  and 
by  adjusting  the  throttle  it  is  pos- 
sible to  operate  the  pump  at  any 
point  on  the  curve  with  absolute  stability. 
As  the  proper  head  to  operate  this  pump 
against  is  about  100  feet,  where  the  maxi- 
mum efficiency  is  obtained,  there  would 
consequently  be  under  such  conditions 
none  of  the  above  difficulties. 

On  following  this  curve  still  farther, 
it    is    seen   that   the   head   drops    to   zero 


when  a  capacity  of  1730  gallons  per  min- 
ute is  reached,  at  which  point  the  whole 
of  the  head  generated  by  the  pump  is 
consumed  within  the  pump  itself  and 
none  is  available  for  useful  work. 

Power  Curve — This  is  also  of  great 
importance  as  the  efficiency  of  the  pump 
and  the  cost  of  operation  depend  di- 
rectly upon  the  power  consumed.  In 
addition  to  this  the  power  curve  fur- 
nishes the  data  from  which  a  proper 
selection  of  the  driving  motor  can  be 
made,  and  shows  the  load  that  the  motor 
will  have  to  carry  under  any  condition. 

In  Fig.  I  the  power  curve  shows  that  it 
required  18  brake  horsepower  to  drive 
the  pump  at  a  speed  of  1125  revolutions 
per  minute  with  the  discharge  entirely 
closed,    and    from    this    point    the    power 


the  pump  discharge  as  much  as  pos- 
sible, but  as  this  point  is  rather  beyond 
the  proper  operating  conditions  and  the 
gain  or  loss  in  power  is  slight,  this  point 
would  not  be  of  much  importance  in  this 
case. 

There  are,  however,  some  designs  in 
which  the  power  curve  would  reach  a 
maximum  at  a  point  corresponding  to 
the  normal  working  capacity,  oreven  less, 
and  under  these  conditions  a  power  curve 
might  be  of  considerable  importance  as  a 
guide   to   economical    operation. 

Efficiency  Curxe — The  efficiency  is  gener- 
ally the  one  point  about  a  centrifugal 
pump  which  receives  the  particular  at- 
tention of  the  purchaser,  with  the  result 
that  most  manufacturers  are  using  every 
effort    to    produce    pumps    of    the    very 


a 

30  -  180 




^ 

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Gallons  per  .Minute 


FIG.     2.     CURVES  FROM   S-INCH   THREE-STAGE    PUMP 


Pimer,  S,  Y. 
WITH    SPEED    OF    I788    R.P.M. 


gradually  increased,  as  the  capacity  was 
increased,  in  nearly  a  straight  line  until 
it  reached  a  maximum  of  44.5  brake 
horsepower  at  a  capacity  of  1550  gallons 
per  minute.  It  then  decreased  slightly 
to  43.5  brake  horsepower  -at  the  full 
capacity  of  the  pump.  From  this  it  may 
be  seen  that  it  would  be  impossible  to 
overload  a  motor  of  40  or  50  horsepowej- 
to  any  great  extent,  by  either  a  stoppage 
or  breakage  of  the  discharge  pipe.  Since 
at  all  points  below  1550  gallons  per 
minute  the  power  decreases  with  a  de- 
crease in  capacity,  power  may  be  saved 
by  throttling  the  discharge  so  as  to 
allow  no  more  water  to  flow  through 
the  pump  than  actually  required.  Be- 
_  yond  the  point  of  maximum  power 
it     would    be     more     economical     to     let 


highest  efficiencies.  High  efficiency  is 
naturally  a  desirable  feature,  but 
the  other  characteristics  are  often  of 
nearly  equal   importance. 

In  Fig.  I  the  efficiency  curve  sta'-S 
from  zero,  at  zero  capacity,  which  must 
always  be  the  starting  point,  as  the  pump 
d'oes  no  useful  work  until  it  discharges 
water,  although  it  consumes  power  which 
is  entirely  wasted  in  friction.  As  the 
capacity  increases,  the  efficiency  gradually 
increases  until  it  reaches  a  maximum  of 
71  per  cent,  at  a  capacity  of  iroo  gallons 
per  minute  and  then  decreases  to  zero 
again  at  the  full  capacity  of  the  pump, 
where  again  there  is  no  useful  work  per- 
formed, as  the  head  against  which  the 
water  is  pumped  is  zero.  This  particu- 
lar curve  shows  many  desirable  features 


March  23,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER 


li; 


in  its  general  forin  inasmuch  as  it  has 
a  steep  inclination  at  its  beginning  with  a 
flat  top  and  a  steep  ending,  and  incloses 
a  large  area.  Steepness  at  the  beginning 
shows  that  the  efficiency'  comes  up  quickly 
as  the  capacity  increases,  while  a  flat  top 
and  a  steep  ending  show  that  the  effi- 
ciency is  maintained  high  over  a  wide 
range.  *  Since  the  average  efficiency  is  ob- 
,  tained  by  dividing  the  area  below  the 
curve  by  the  length  of  the  base,  it  fol- 
lows that  the  greater  the  area  for  any 
given  length,  the  greater  is  the  average 
efficiency.  The  average  eflficiency  in  this 
case  is  50.6  per  cent,  which  is  considered 
by  the  writer  to  be  considerably  above 
the    ordinary    for    these   conditions. 


each  at  a  preMure  of  nearly  no  fomt&i: 
and  it  would  even  be  po»u)> 
very   g'iod   streams   at   a   (j 

Such  a  range  as  tfau  lisooid 
T'.ar.y  be  snActcnt  to  meet  the  condi- 
tions that  would  |>e  apt  to  occur  at  mv 
fire,  and  is  much  superior  to  what  coold 
y>e  obtained  with  a  positive  displacement 
pump  of  the  -mal  capacity.  e«pc- 

cially  if  dri\-  ristant-«pecd  motor 

In  the  power  curve  show 

tha  uld  only  be  overloadr.I 

7  per  cent.  11  all  the  ho«e  line*  ^hoold 
burst,  and  the  head  curve  thow^  th^i  if 
all  the  nozxies  were  shut  off  no  injurioa* 
pressure  could  result.  The  eftcicncy  of 
6S.5   per  cent,  obtained    with   this  pvmp. 


'r^prr  ccoL  wMe  tW 

•uo  a  <Vi>rabk  form. 
.  :  ibovt  th»  ckwacttfkika  el  iW 
»uatfard  S-mck  fn  mtm  t'n4crwni«r 
pofli^  whKh  has  a  nomiaJ  1  ipai  iij  of 
1000  gallons  per  aMMte  ^aaaM  •  yr«*- 
sore  of  100  gonads  U  thaa  tim  of  pvay 
the  eftocacT  i*  over  69  per  c«nu  Wi  otkcr- 
wise  tbr  >how  tW  »«■ 

form.    I  . ;  mngnpli  of 

<]tre<l-cobo«<tc«l    to    a 
rect-cvrrcnt  motor,  am 
fonibbcd   with  the 
by  the  Underwriter 

Tliaac  citnres,  which  have 
from  actnal  laata. 
centrifogal  pnmp  it  vdl  mttai  im 


m      Jm 

-       — .       . ■       ■       '^'       ' 

^ 

^^^^^^^""^                                          ^^-^ 

r 

HH                                    ^- 

^^ 

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lb        UP 

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100 


na  3.  cwm  raoM  a  6-iifai  Two-tTAOB  rvaanra  roitr 


CanTairucAL  Pumw  fo«  Fi»r  Snr^nrr 

'•».  i  »huw»  the  characteristics  of  a  s 
inch    three-stage    turbine    pump    de^iK'""'' 
tn  deliver  400  gallons  per  minute  aK>" 
a  total  head  of   ypo  feet,  for  fire  p- 
tion  f)f  one  of  the  larKr   (.- 
ChuaK"      T*^*"    pMmp    m    ■' 
tn      \      •  ■ 
motor. 

of  l8on  rrvolution*  p«-r  minute.     Ihr 
curve  of   thi<  pump  «how«  that   il    » 
deliver    one    fire    stream    of    250    (.> 
per  minute  at  a  pressure     '     '^ 
two  «irram«  of  about  joo  ► 

Utr     rji  \i      it     .(     J.- 
Iw<>    ttrra  ■,.,    ..t 


whit"  nnt  as  Mgh  as  wooM  be  shown  hj 
P  under  lest,  wonid  be  mam 


tigurc. 

...    •>>. 


ih.if  il  trriiii 


538 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  23,  1909. 


sign  and  installation  of  pumps  for  this 
service,  with  the  result  that  centrifugal 
pumps  whose  design  and  manufacture  have 
been  passed  on  and  approved  by  the  Un 
derwriters  are  accepted  by  them  for  fire 
protection  on  an  equal  basis  with  any 
other  type  of  pump.  This  has  led  to  a 
considerable  demand  for  such  pumps,  and 
from  present  indications  it  will  not  be 
many  years  before  the  centrifugal  will 
be  the  leading  type  of  Underwriter 
pump. 

With  the  exception  of  Fig.  i  all  the 
curves  shown  are  taken  from  pumps  that 
were  designed  for  fire  service,  but  thev 
are  equally  applicable  to  the  usual  design 
of  pump  for  similar  conditions.  They  are 
all  very  similar  in  their  general  form 
and  represent  a  design  of  impeller  that 
is  well  adapted  to  give  high  efficiency  un- 
der the  usual  conditions  that  have  to  be 
met  by  such  pumps.  It  is  often  necessary, 
however,  to  meet  special  conditions  where 
sometimes  the  maximum  head  must  be 
kept  to  within  a  few  per  cent,  of  the 
normal  working  head  and  at  other  times 
just  the  reverse  is  wanted,  and  by  suita- 
ble design  either  of  these  conditions  can 


be  readily  fulfilled.  A  pump  designed  to 
meet  the  first  of  these  conditions  would 
in  general  have  a  greater  maximum  ca- 
pacity   and    a    power    curve    of    greater 


steepness  and  range  than  those  illustra- 
ted. The  point  of  maximum  efficiency 
would  also  be  apt  to  occur  at  a  greater 
capacity.      For   the    second   condition    the 


FIG.     4.     ALBERGER    lO-INCH    SINGLE-STAGE    TURBINE    PUMP 


iro 


100 


50 


40  Zi 

B 


_ 

■^ 



^^ 

330 

^ 

Tot 

il  H 

!ad 

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300 

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240 

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s. 

/ 

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^ 

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050 

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50 

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120 

/ 

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40 

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60 

/ 

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'0 

/ 

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30 

/ 

r 

\ 

10 

/ 

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/ 

! 

100 


200 


300 


400 


500 


700  800 

Gallons  per  Minute 


900 


1000 


1200 


1300 


1400 


FIG.    5.    CURVES  FROM  8-INCH  TWO-STAGE  PUMP   WITH    SPEED  OF   I4OO  R.P.M. 


March  23,  igog. 


IHJWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


im 


maximum    capacity    would    be    less,    the  at    maximum    capacity,    while    the    potM 

power  curve   would   become   more  nearly  of    maximum    eft  <cur    at 

horizontal,    showing    a    greater   consump-  lest  capacity.     Fr  ^ttn   th-»i 

tion  of  power  at  zero  capacity  and  less  a   horizontal   head   curve  meant  a    strep 


« 

5^1/^ 

1 

% 

^ 

power  carve,  whfle  • 
rsoht  IB  a  horinoul 


RaBctAfiM  or  Caracirr  am*  Hmab 
Another  potei  of  great  MMoriMee  to 


the  regvlatioa  of  tW  ri>iriij  M^  bmi 
"f  a  ccntrifogal  pmmf.  TWre  arc  fhna 
Mirfh^xl*   of   ♦fotf'f   t^M     ^    iaf|ii^   ikr 

.-r.i    '»  ..  :•  J  ..,,    i.^htrrt  mi  ^ 

-'     «'   '•  '  bcr   01   Mag««L      Varyiag 

r    •  :rT><:  «tagw  m  a   tiBtk   self- 


M»er.  and   it  practtcaliy   wmi 

■nnr.-fyja    wtfli    auar-aiahiii 

iicd  — drr  wtdcly  vary- 

1  nit  tnetlKtd  ia  very  aiitfar- 


Ml..     0.     IWU-MACK   tt-l.NCil    U'NMLXMrKtTXa    HU.    MMf 


2l..t 

factory  ma 
only     in     <- 
pumpa  « 
ing  hradt 

lory    where   <hc    addsikwal    «age«    art 

-'e    pVMV   iM^tMB* 

•Ic:  a*h  aaad  for  cky 

«a(er-»  creM«dprv»- 

♦ure  is  r  , -••iee.     Wkert 

the  extra  atacea  arc  contawiod  witMm  ika 
—  it    ia   ahMMC    iaipoadUt   •• 

MfB  ao  thai  iIh  idk  im- 
(■flkts  «ii:  not  be  ntMMig  m  valv. 
and  without  accaif  iiilwn  Iha^  IkH 
method  of  rrgulalioa  ia  mM  «i  mmdi 
vaJoe. 

Tkroitlmg    thf    Dutkmt*  —  The    r»- 
•uha  to  be  okaiard    hf    thi  uiiWt    at* 


n.t.u. 


y 

/ 

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1    1    1    i    1    1    i 

1  -^r^^ 

■ 

— ^s  t     '    J                   1 

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540 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  23,  1909. 


shown  by  the  curves  already  given. 
Thus  for  any  given  speed  the  power 
used  depends  only  on  the  quantity  of 
water  flowing  through  the  pump,  since 
the  head  that  the  pump  generates  depends 
only  on  the  quantity  being  punjped.  This 
head  can  be  utilized  or  wasted  in  the 
throttle  valve  as  may  be  necessary,  but 
whichever  way  the  head  is  utilized  the 
action  of  the  pump  is  the  same.  If  all 
the  head  is  utilized  the  efficiency  with 
which  the  water  is  being  pumped  is  giv- 
en by  the  corresponding  point  on  the 
efficiency   curve,  but   if   any   of   the  head 


0.65  X 


"3 


=  57-5  per  cent. 


This  same  result  can  be  obtained  by  cal- 
culating the  water  horsepower  of  800 
gallons  per  minute  against  100  feet  and 
dividing  by  the  corresponding  brake  horse- 
power from  the  curve.  By  making  simi- 
lar calculations  on  the  several  curves 
that  are  illustrated  it  can  be  readily  seen 
that  the  objection  to  this  method  of  reg- 
ulation is  the  considerable  loss  in  the  effi- 
ciency of  pumjiing  that  results  there- 
from. 


mark  instead  of  the  curve  shown  in  Fig. 
I.  There  has  also  been  introduced  a 
new  curve  marked  "R.P.M."  which  gives 
the  revolutions  per  minute  required  for 
any  given  capacity  against  the  constant 
head  of  loo  feet.  The  power  and  effi- 
ciency curves  are  also  changed,  as  is  ap- 
parent by  a  comparison  with  the  original 
curves    reproduced    in    dotted    lines. 

On  looking  at  the  speed  curve,  it  is 
evident  that  to  generate  a  head  of  roc 
feet  without  delivering  any  water  requires 
a  speed  of  about  1080  revolutions  per 
minute.     As  the  capacity  is  increased  the 


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30  M 


300  1000 

Gallons  per  Minute 


1800 
Power,  Xr. 


FIG.   8.    SINGLE-STAGE    lO-INCH    PUMP   OPERATING   AGAINST   A   COMBINED   STATIC  AND   FRICTION   HEAD 


1 


is  being  wasted  in  the  throttle  valve  the 
above  efficiency  must  be  multiplied  by 
another  factor  whose  value  is  the  ratio 
of  the  total  head  utilized  to  the  total 
head  generated.  To  illustrate  this  point 
with  an  example,  take  Fig.  i  and  assume 
that  this  pump  is  operating  against  a 
steady  head  of  100  feet  and  that  it  is 
required  to  find  the  efficiency  with  which 
it  is  possible  to  pump  800  gallons  per 
minute.  From  the  curves  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  efficiency  of  the  pump  itself  is 
65  per  cent,  and  the  total  head  generated 
is  113  feet.  Consequently  the  efficiency  of 
pumping   is 


Speed  Variation — Undoubtedly  the  best 
method  of  regulating  the  capacity  of  a 
centrifugal  pump  is  by  means  of  speed 
variation,  and  as  the  proper  selection  of 
the  method  of  control  is  of  great  im- 
portance, it  seems  well  worth  while  to 
discuss  the  matter  thoroughly. 

Fig.  7  shows  the  characteristics  for  the 
same  pump  as  those  in  Fig.  i,  derived 
from  the  results  there  illustrated  on 
the  assumption  that  the  total  head  re- 
mains constant  at  100  feet  while  the  ca- 
pacity is  varied  by  varying  the  speed.  On 
this  assumption  the  head  curve  becomes 
the  horizontal  straight  line  at  the  loo-foot 


speed  required  gradually  decreases  until 
it  reaches  a  minimum  of  1050  revolutions 
per  minute  at  a  capacity  of  450  gallons 
per  minute,  which  also  corresponds  with 
tlic  point  of  maximum  head  under  con- 
slant-speed  operation.  From  this  point 
on,  the  speed  gradually  increases  until  atj 
a  capacity  of  1130  gallons  per  minute  it| 
has  reached  a  value  of  1125  revolutions 
per  minute,  at  which  point  the  original 
head  curve  crosses  the  loo-foot  mark, 
as  would  be  expected.  As  the  capacity 
is  still  further  increased,  the  required 
speed  increases  at  a  more  rapid  rate 
until    at   a    capacity  of    1400  gallons   per 


March  23,  1909. 

minute   it    becomes    ijoo   revolutions   per 
minute  and  would  continue  to  increase  in 
the   same   curve    until    the    maximum   ca- 
pacity   of   the    pump    is    reached,    beyond 
which   it   would  Ik;  useless  to  go   farther 
1-.  it  would  be  impossible  to  pump  more 
•.  atcr  at  any  speed  whatsoever. 
The    power     curve     is    seen     to    have 
hanged    its    form    materially,    becoming 
.luch   steeper,   so  that    the   power   at  ca- 
acities  less  than  1130  gallons  per  minute 
considerably     less     than    at     constant 
;>eed.    while   at    greater   capacities   it    in- 
reases    rapidly.      Below    the    intersection 
•  ith  the   former  power  curve  the  power 
squired  is  less,  due  mostly  to  the   fact 
at    less    work    is    being    done    by    the 
imp.  but  also  due  to  the  better  efficiency 
'.  ith  which  the  work  is  done,  as  is  shown 
.•  the  efficiency  curve.     Beyond  this  in- 
rsection   the   increase   in    power    is   en- 
:rely  due  to  the  increased  output  of  the 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

conditions  that  practically  never  occur 
m  actual  practice  inAUBoch  as  there  miut 
always  be  tome  frictional  rcMstance  to 
every  pumping  tyftctn  making  nae  of 
pipes  to  convey  the  water.  In  fact  in 
the  usual  installation  the  pipe  friction 
generally  amounts  to  at  lead  10  to  ao 
l>«r  cent,  of  the  static  hf  id  at  normal  ca- 
I>acity.   and    for   ma;  s   the  total 

head    is    composed    r-  ■  :     frictiOBal 

resistance. 

As  an  illustration  the  ^u..^^  tn  Fig 
8  have  been  drawn  from  the  dau  of 
Fig.  I.  based  on  the  asiumplion  that  the 
total  head  is  too  feet  at  a  capacity  of 
1 1  JO  gallons  per  minute  and  that  this 
head  is  composed  of  80  feel  static  bead 
and  20  feet  friction  head.  Since  the 
frictional  resistance  varies  as  the  square 
of  the  capacity,  the  bead  ctirve  can  be 
drawn  at  once  as  shown.  Having  the 
head  curve  the  speed  curve  can  be  drawn. 


S«< 


alwj 


ru     AtiA     tk« 


no   Q    Biu.T  Ttun-Ts  rt'Mp 


:mp,  since  trotii  tiir  rni  I'luy  tm^r  .jnu  n  7iia»  "  -...11  .iui  1  i  capactttes 
may  be  seen  that  the  ctTuicncy  under  lets  than  normal  the  tpeedt  are  lo«*r 
CSC    conditions     is    considerably     hrtirr      • 


;.in    at    constant    tpeed.      It    m    '♦•'•n    '■ 
inparing   the    new    with    thr 
rve  that  it  would  take  as  i:> 
r  cent,  more  power  at  »ome  points  to 
ivc    the    pump    at    conttant    tpeed    and 
.  rease   the  capacity  by   throttling  than 
.iry   lo   sr 

itlt     of     *| 
The    nitcicDcy     curve     w     tl.i'  .•. 

high   f>r    higher    elTuirjuy    .it    •.. 
and    > xnscnurnlly    incji.sr^    j    1 

fliii.    Living   a   greater   avcrajjc    

out  the  range  of  capacity  of  the 

I  (  <-        luliiiont    illustrated    in     >   ■ 
which  were  based  on  the  a- 
constant  total  head,  are  xh- 
to    show    a    saving    in    powci    Uy 
of    speed    regulation,    and    thry    af     > 


.ditiont   in   ftk' 
than     nurn  i 
The  j>  " 


«    point  a- 

■    ■,  r,n-a'     ,1 


1  al«>  b« 
.'  -"•  u«.««Ma  ilitwilj  aa  iW 
1  iJm  hmd  gmmmU  kf  iW 
pomp  and  rcqairad  to  «v««aflM  (ka  the 
tioo  vartrt  aa  Uw  t^wn  of  ika  ivaad 
Tbc  cftcMBcy  viU  k«  lommd  10  bt  aavty 
mnttat  m  all  hiihiIl  Mid  ceaMa^wathr 
the  cftriaaqr  canr«  womki  h»  Mwlf  a 
boriMoial  ttraigki  liac  TWrvior^  M  the 
frietiooal  mimwmn  it  kaowa  at  mj  ca 
paniy.  the  head  c«rv«  caa  bt  4raw«  ai 
oner  The  iprad  carra  loOoaa  ■aaadt* 
aiely.  aad  ii  aa 
^en  detrrauaed  at  anjr 
tbc  riiriracy  cvnrc  loc  ihtaa 
caa  be  coaatractad.  The 
caa  be  darivad  ffoai  ihaaa 
it  will  be  foaad  thai  dw 
the  cube  of  the  tpeed.  Saiee  the 
varies  at  the  tqaarc  of  the  ipaad  aad 
the  capacity  aa  the  hrtt  poaar  d  the 
tpeed.  the  oatpai  of  the  paaip  ia  warh 
varies  aa  the  cabe  o4  the  tpnrd  aad  tt 
directly  proportaoaal  la  the 
r  roai  the  previoaa 

crecteai  BMthod  of  capacnjr  ragalBBda  at 

va.'uk;taa.  E*«a  ai  the  case  where  tW 
number  of  ttagcs  ia  vahe^  thr  vana 
lioa  in  bead  or 
from  caa  cmfy  oocar  ia  Ji 
aad  tpeed  variariea  to 
laia  rcgalatioa  luaua  Umm  iMpa,  Par 
cooditiaea  iiadar  la  Ihaaa  Wkmnm4  Ir 
He  K.  whkh  are  iitiiiiamfci  of  iW 
•y  of  cAtcs.  a  tpeed  eartelMi  af  m 
.^nL  above  and  below  aorami  w9 
be  foaad  lo  be  aaiple  to  give  all  thr 
rctalaboa  that  it  fnaind.  Thto 
of  variatioa  caa  aanBjr  be  ehMaoi  v 
very  tUgbi 


mr^ryr.     flifam-larhiae     or 
and  the  power  mvvd 
;^  for  the  iliirira 
very  few  auatht  of  eperariea 

There    are   ake   ether 
make  it   iiaiwbh  lo  have 
oi   the  tpead  iiiMiiiili.    the 
rvatoa  baiog  the  difc^  of 

«  the   frkttea  laaa  la  My  gfeaa 
•*•««      There  are  m  mu^  vart 


I's-    luaiv 


,^^-m  TT  «■■ 


542 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  23,  1909. 


pump  was  designed.  If  the  speed  can- 
not be  increased,  the  only  way  out  of  ;he 
difficulty  is  to  design  a  new^  impeller  for 
the  pump,  and  in  some  cases  where  the 
first  impeller  was  as  larffe  as  could  be 
used  in  the  pump,  it  might  be  necessary 
to  purchase  an  entirely  new  pump. 

The  second  method  tends  toward  a 
pump  designed  for  a  head  greater  than 
actually  exists,  with  the  result  that  on  in- 
stallation the  pump  discharges  too  much 
water,  the  motor  consumes  too  much 
power  and  the  efficiency  is  low.  The 
pump  designer  generally  aims  to  be  safe 
on  capacity  so  that  usually  the  pump  is 
a  little  over  capacity  at  the  required 
head.  In  designing  a  centrifugal  pump 
it  is  difficult  to  obtain  results  within  a 
few  per  cent,  of  the  calculated,  and  in 
fact  two  pumps  made  from  the  same  de- 
sign seldom  operate  the  same,  owing  to 
differences  in  castings  and  machine  work. 
Generally  the  error  from  this  source,  in 
a  standard  pump  with  which  the  designer 
is  perfectly  familiar,  would  not  be  serious, 
and  an  error  of  5  per  cent,  or  less  either 
way  in  the  capacity  at  the  stipulated  head 
should  be  considered  satisfactory  for  corr- 
mercial  work.  These  errors  are  entirely 
eliminated  by  a  small  variation  in  speed 
either  way  from  normal,  and  on  this  ac- 
count alone,  provision  for  speed  regula- 
tion is  well  worth  the  expense  of  procur- 
ing. 

Mechanical  Features 

While  it  is  of  great  importance  tha*- 
the  characteristics  of  any  given  centrif- 
ugal pump  should  be  suitable  for  the 
work  it  is  to  do,  it  is  of  equal  importance 
to  have  the  mechanical  des'gn  properly 
carried  out.  The  most  important  me- 
chanical features  of  a  centrifugal  pump 
are  probably  the  shaft  and  bearings.  The 
shaft  must  first  be  of  sufficient  size  t' 
transmit  the  necessary  power  from  ili' 
coupling  to  the  impeller.  As  it  is  il 
required  to  support  the  impeller  or  ini 
pellers  in  practically  a  central  position 
at  all  speeds,  it  must  have  the  necessary 
stiffness,  so  that  neither  the  weight  of  the 
impellers  nor  the  centrifugal  forces  due 
to  their  slightly  unbalanced  masses  will 
deflect  it  to  any  appreciable  extent.  It 
must  also  be  properly  supported  in  bear- 
ings of  such  design  and  size  that  perfect 
rotation  of  the  shaft  will  be  maintained 
for  a  long  period  of  use.  Such  bearings 
must  be  entirely  separated  from  the 
water  passages  of  the  pump,  as  otherwise 
it  is  impossible  to  maintain  lubrication 
and  prevent  the  grit  and  sand  carried  by 
the  water  from  entering  the  bearings. 

A  thrust  bearing  should  also  be  pro- 
vided on  every  centrifugal  pump,  as  no 
matter  how  perfectly  the  thrust  is  bal- 
anced in  the  design,  it  will  be  found  in 
practice  that  there  will  always  occur  a 
slight  thrust  one  way  or  the  other,  and 
as  wear  on  the  impeller  occurs  this  thrust 
is  apt  to  increase.     A  properly  designed 


marine  type  of  thrust  bearing  will  easily 
take  care  of  any  such  thrust.  In  fact 
out  of  several  hundred  pumps  designed 
by  the  writer  during  the  last  three  years, 
'  all  of  which  were  similar  to  the  illustra- 
tions and  provided  with  the  marine  type 
of  thrust  bearing,  there  has  yet  to  occur 
a  single  case  of  thrust  difficulty. 

Another  part  requiring  particular  at- 
tention is  the  stuffing  box.  This  should 
be  of  ample  depth  and  diameter,  so  that 
at  least  six  to  eight  rings  of  good-sized 
packing  can  be  accommodated.  The 
stuffing  box  on  the  suction  side  should 
always  be  water-sealed,  as  otherwise  it 
is  impossible  to  prevent  the  entrance  of 
air  if  the  pump  has  much  suction  lift. 

The  impellers  and  diffusion  rings  in 
pumps  operating  under  high  heads  should 
always  be  of  bronze,  as  the  action  of  even 
the  purest  water  on  these  parts  when 
made  of  cast  iron  soon  corrodes  them 
away.  This  action  seems  to  be  a  chemi- 
cal one,  as  it  generally  occurs  at  points 
where  no  erosion  whatever  is  shown,  and 
furthermore  the  water  has  practically  no 
effect  on  bronze,  which  would  not  be  the 
case    for   ordinary   wear. 

Flexible  couplings  should  be  used  be- 
tween the  driving  motor  or  engine  and  the 
pump,  as  otherwise  a  slight  lack  of  aline- 
ment  between  the  two  will  cramp  the 
shaft  so  that  the  bearings  will  heat  and 


symmetrical  as  possible  without  sacrificing 
any  point  of  utility. 


New     Power     Plant    of    the 

L.  S.  Starrett  Co.,  Athol, 

Mass. 


The  recently  completed  power  plant  de- 
signed by  Charles  T.  Main,  mill  engi- 
neer and  architect,  Boston,  Mass.,  for  the 
Starrett  company  comprises  a  boiler  room 


FIG.     I.       THE    NEW    STARRETT    POWER    HOUSE 


FIG.      2.      COAL    POCKET 


cut  out,  or  they  may  even  bind  the  shaft 
tight.  Even  with  flexible  couplings  the 
shafts  should  be  in  absolutely  perfect 
alinement,  as  otherwise  in  time  more  or 
less  needless  wear  will  be  caused  on  the 
bearings.  Flexible  couplings  also  allow 
the  motor  armature  to  take  its  proper 
position  in  the  magnetic  field,  while  any 
thrust  on  the  pump  is  taken  care  of  by 
itself.  In  addition  to  these  various  con- 
structive details,  the  general  design  of 
the    pump    should    be    as    pleasing    and 


and  coal  pocket  in  one  building  and 
engine,  generating,  condensing  and  feed- 
water  heating  equipment  in  another.  Be- 
tween these  buildings  is  a  small  pond,  the 
water  level  maintained  by  a  concrete  dam 
which  practically  connects  the  two  por- 
tions of  the  power  plant.  Through  the 
dam  is  a  tunnel,  170  feet  in  length,  which 
serves  as  a  duct  for  carrying  both  steam 
and  water  piping,  the  steam  being  car- 
ried 400  feet  from  the  boilers  to  the  en- 
gines. 


March  23,  1909. 


PCJWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER 


SO 


The  boiler  room  and  coal  pocket  oc- 
\iy  a  building  triangular  in  shape  and 
asuring  approximately  220x150x115 
t.  The  boiler  room  extends  across 
•  end  and  is  about  47  feet  in  width 
•h  a  clear  hight  of  about  35  feet.  The 
il  pocket  occupies  the  rest  of  the  build - 
J.  with  the  exception  of  the  space  re 
ircil  for  the  feed  and  fire  pumps,  feed- 
iter  well  and  chimney. 
The  boiler  etjuipment  consists  of  four 
hrock    fc    Wik-'X    500  »i(.rs.-,...wfT    b<^Ml- 


hurscpowrr  primary  healer,  and  back 
the   boilers.      These     pump*    draw 
water  from  a  well  which  t-  '-'  •' 
pond  through  a  24-inch  pi; 

sluice  Rate     '   from   t.ic 

floor.     The  *  are  al- 

ffMfn  thi»  well  \N  \ 
iiiiy  ?-•  driwn  from  ! 
I" 


m    eqtiipmmt    rftmpn«'« 


.1    Hrnwn   -■ 
comjx  I'.ml 


rr»   in  halieric*  of    two.    with    »«flruiriit 

r.jom  for  an  extra  battery.    The  rt 

n   of  the   Cuslodi*   type,   of  8   fen 
■  '   imrtcT,  with  an  air 
.   i..;,i.  tcr    of    \f\    Irrt 

M   i>    175    ■ 
rtiHif      Tw 

pump« 
I!     .   ,     .  .    ..     iiarije  pipe    ! 
feed  water  through  the  ttmnrl  t 
gine    rooms   an«l   thence  through 


IJ.I 

il     >lr.>m 

(r.rm    »Kr    \>,m    r.fr»»     »r        i!   n 

.*.»ii»  tfx:|»    t»tn     >rfTic*i 

ibHi    ia)«ctMi    aa4    14- 

'v  ptx»TtntQ  HI  eon- 

:>afny    aad    cxm 

(ir 

la    friMM    tW 

'. 

I»urr>{i    n    i^w-. 

:rr   %tram  pipMg  m  4ft 

»ii;n«-'j     :    • 

<    ptmmA*   bailer   pttmmrt. 

Jl 

abote  4 

tnchrt  m  diasMtrf  Wag  ol 
'    4«*      SmBct 

mmm   M  of 

■  ^    l'^*i  I  Mr        '*•  - 

or  mav  br  rew>o%e4 

...•r^        T>^    La 

rf         r  igf-t   i-^v  ^1     l"V»'-     -'  - 

;ch  et>d.  cowwet  each  bjdr* 

nch   ootiidc  ilJainrr    ««ca« 

whtHi    thf    «ew««»    piMir* 

-  -'                      «k«« 

(Tltr^      ar^      »H|P^»-                           — - 

are  filtrd  •"'                      both 

i>ipei 

the 

header 

and    rr                   ^      TW 

1-    11 

are  in  a  I                ''^  «*   •• 
for  expaa«Kin 

m«hcd  W  tW 

1  t,r  r   ■      1  water,  prer  a 

f««t    (UL    H    %rrr    wmiotm 

.Srrl. 

uwall  mmamw 

kf 

tlie«e  coodi^i' 

<■    pOiii^"«    -      ■  • 

,-»'■■''» 

^•-4  1^ 

'TM  ca»ii 

«   |f»«»»--^ 

.      WMk 

544 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  23,  1909. 


The     Plunger     Hydraulic      Elevator 

Hand=rope  Control    for    Freight    Elevators;    Pumps    and    Connections 
Used    with    "Safe    Lifters;"  Locking    Device    for    Plunger    Elevators 

BY      WILLIAM     BAXTER,     JR. 


Hand-rope  Control 
Regarding  plunger  elevators  controlled 
by  a  simple  hand  rope  and  valve  there  is 
little   information   to   give   except   in   the 
matter    of    manipulating    the    rope.     The 
valve    proper    is    made    substantially    the 
same  as  this  type  of  valve  for  other  forms 
of  hydraulic    elevator,    but    the    distance 
through  which  the  hand  rope  is  pulled  to 
make  a   start  or  stop  is   slightly  greater 
for  the   high-speed   cars   than   it   is   with 
cable  elevators.    The  reason  why  the  hand 
rope  has  to  be  moved  through  so  great  a 
distance  is  not,  as  may  be  supposed,  that 
the   eflfort  necessary  to   move   it   may  be 
reduced,   but  that  the  valve  may  not  be 
closed   too   rapidly   by   the   movement   of 
the  elevator  car  as  it  approaches  the  upper 
or  lower  landing.     In  slow-running  eleva- 
tors  the   stretch   of  the   hand    rope   upon 
which  the  stop  balls  are  fastened  passes 
through  the  car  and  by  manipulating  this 
rope  the  elevator  is  controlled.     In  high- 
speed cars  both  stretches  of  the  hand  rope 
pass  through  the  car  and  both  are  han- 
dled to  control  the  movement.     The  ad- 
vantage of  this  latter  arrangement  will  be 
made  clear  by  reference  to  Fig.  309,  which 
is  a   vertical   elevation   of  a   fast-running 
plunger  freight  elevator.     The  stretch  B 
of   the   hand    rope   is   the   one   ordinarily 
used  to  operate  the  car,  and  this  is  pulled 
down    to    cause    the    car    to    ascend,    and 
pulled  up  to  cause  the  car  to  descend.     It 
will  be  obvious,  however,  that  if  the  rope 
has    to   be   pulled   down,   say,    15    feet   to 
make  the  car  run  upward  at  full  speed,  the 
operator  would  have  a  hard  time  doing  it 
unless    he    were    extremely   quick    in    his 
movements;    the    first    pull    of    the    rope 
might  not  draw  it  down  more  than  3  or  4 
feet,  which  would  be  sufficient  to  set  the 
car  in  motion  at  a  fair  rate  of  speed,  but 
not   at   the  maximum,   and    the    operator 
would  have  great  difficulty  in  pulling  the 
rope  down  farther  because  the  car  would 
be  running  upward.     By  starting  the  car 
by  the  aid  of  the  stretch  C  of  the  hand 
rope  the  case  will  be  very  different,  be- 
cause this  side  must  be  pulled  upward  to 
make  the  car  run  upward ;  therefore,  all 
that  is  necessary  is  to  give  the  stretch  C 
a   slight   upward   pull,   and  then   hold   on 
to  it  until  the  car  attains  full  speed.     To 
prevent  moving  the  rope  too  far  a  stop  is 
fastened  on  the  stretch  C,  and  this  runs 
between   two   stationary   stops   set  at   the 
proper   points;    hence,    if   in    starting   the 
operator  desires  to  run  up  at  full   speed 
all  he  has  to  do  is  to  pull  the  stretch  C 


FIG.  309 

up  far  enough  to  open  the  valve  and  then 
hold  it  until  the  stop  on  the  rope  strikes 
the  stationary  stop.  To  make  a  stop  at 
any  floor  going  upward  the  operator 
grasps  the  stretch  B  and  holds  it  until 
the  car  stops.  On  a  down  trip  the  opera- 
tion is  reversed,  that  is,  in  starting,  the 
stretch  C  is  pulled  down  slightly  and  held 
until  the  desired  speed  is  obtained,  and 
to  make  a  stop  the  stretch  B  is  grasped 
and  held,  just  as  in  stopping  on  the  up- 
ward trip.    The  stationary  stops  that  limit 


the  movement  of  the  rope  when  the 
stretch  C  is  held  are  set  apart  a  distance 
equal  to  the  combined  distances  through 
which  the  stop  balls  on  the  rope  B  move 
at  the  top  and  bottom  of  the  well  to  stop 
the  car.  Thus  if  the  top  ball  moves  15 
feet  and  the  bottom  ball  10  feet,  the  sta- 
tionary stops  that  limit  the  movement  of 
the  stretch  C  will  be  set  25  feet  apart,  and 
the  stop  ball  on  C  will  be  15  feet  below 
the  upper  stationary  stop  when  the  car  is 
standing  at  any  floor. 

"Safe  Lifters" 
In  all  large  buildings  one  of  the  eleva- 
tors has  to  be  designed  to  lift  extra  heavy 
loads,  ranging  from  about  6000  to  10,000 
cr  12,000  pounds,  according  to  the  size  of 
the  building  or  the  character  of  the  busi- 
ness done  by.  the  occupants.     This  eleva- 
tor is  generally  called  a  safe  lifter,  as  the 
heaviest  loads  it  carries  are  usually  safes. 
If  it  were  intended  to  carry  such  loads  all 
the  time  it  would  be  arranged  precisely 
the   same   as   the   other   elevators   in   the 
building  except  that  the  cylinder  and  the 
main  valve  would  be  made  as  much  lar- 
ger  as   might  be    necessary    to    lift    the 
heavier   load.      But   this   elevator   is   only 
called  upon  occasionally  to  lift  extra-heavy 
loads  and  it  is  therefore  made  of  the  same 
normal  lifting  capacity  as  the  other  eleva- 
tors,   but    with    parts    sufficiently    larger 
than  normal  to  give  it  the  proper  strength 
to    carry    the    extra    load ;    the    increased 
lifting  power  is  obtained  by  increasing  the 
pressure    of   the    water   that   operates    it, 
when  used  to  lift  heavy  loads.    The  com- 
mon practice  with  all  types  of  hydraulic 
elevator  used  for  safe  lifters  is  to  provide 
a  small  high-pressure  pump  that  is  capa- 
ble   of   developing   the    pressure    required 
to  lift  the  load,  and  this  is  connected  di- 
rectly  with   the    lifting   cylinder,    so    that 
when  a  heavy  load  is  handled,  all  the  parts 
of  the  elevator  excepting  the  lifting  cylin- 
der and  the  pipes  directly  connecting  with 
it  are  cut  out  of  service,  and  are  not  sub- 
jected to  the  high  pressure.     The  way  in 
which  the  Standard  plunger  elevators  are 
arranged  when  used  as  safe  lifters  is  illus- 
trated in  Fig.  310,  which  shows  an  eleva- 
tion and  a  plan  view.    In  the  elevation  the 
high-pressure  pump,  used  to  lift  the  heavy 
load,  is  moved  some  distance  to  the  right, 
so  as  to  bring  it  out  from  behind  the  main 
valve  and  the  automatic  stop  valves.    The 
true  position  of  the  pump  and  the  pipe 
connections    between    it    and    the    lifting 
cylinder  is  shown  in  the  plan  view.     The 


March  23,  1909. 

high-pressure  suction  pipe  taps  into  the 
main  discharge  at  the  bend  D.  and  the  de- 
livery pipe  from  the  high-pressure  pump 
connects  with  the  pipe  A  at  the  upper  end. 
At  the  places  marked  y\  V*,  l^  and 
y*  are  located  hand  valves  for  the  pur- 
pose of  disconnecting  the  main  valves 
from  the  cylinder  and  from  the  tanks. 
I  he  valves  ^^,  V*.  V  and  V*  are  located 
in  the  piping  of  the  high-pressure  pump, 
and  are  for  the  purpose  of  operating 
the  elevator  when  used  to  lift  extra- 
heavy  loads.  When  such  a  load  is  to  be 
lifted  the  valves  J",  V*  and  V*  are 
closed    to    prevent     high-pressure     water 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

place  is  reached,  the  pump  is  ttoppcd  As 
the  ,r  it  coatroUcd  ca- 

tirr  .  rhe  pomp  and  the 

ma-  ''  y*,  y*   y^ 

>"'•  'oc  tort  mott 

be  established  between  the  car  operator 
and  the  man  at  the  pomp  This  it  gener- 
ally done  by  means  of  electric  belU  or  a 
telephone.  With  this  method  of  operatise 
the  car,  accurate  stops  at  the  floort  ol  the 
building  cannot  be  made  at  •  -ul, 

V)  that  the  general  practice  ,    ihc 

car  a  short  distance  above  the  tlu<^t,  and 
then  to  lower  it  slowly  to  the  proper  pon- 
lion  by  opening  the  ralvc  y  in  the  pipe 


S<S 


troafalc.  if  BM  le  do  aoaal 

to  tJw  fact  it  H 

ekvaior  «cd  as  a 

locking  device  kt  cack  iooc  thai  mM 

the  r^r    .„,«,.   v.».U    ,fci|,„^ 

Thv  «  D  mo  actMMi  ahcf 

car  n*»  urrn  run  itp  a  ikofl 


tb«  Aoor.  aod  Umb  by  o 

y*.  as  already  lapteMsit 

mined  10  settle  tmlnallj 

devKc     Wkca  the  kiod  1 

first  tkmg  to  do  h  to  rmt  tlM  cv  9 

caoocb  to  free  iW  lodnai  devtot.  i 

lUs  is  drawn  ool  of  the  way  ^aA  tW 

is  surtcd  lor  its  dastimtiaB 


ikr 
far 


nc.  JIG 

from  reaching  the  main  operating  valves. 

The   high-pressure  pump  i*   st.irted  when 

the   load   is  to  be   raided.   au>\   the   valve* 

y*    and    \^    are    opened;    »! 

drawn     into     the     htRh  -  p" 

flu   ,in{h     Xhr     '■ 

th"     itj.iin    <li 

!iu:li     pressure     dctivrry     pip**     r 

tlimtigh  the  valve  J"*,  and  Ihrn.  r 

pipe  H  through  the  pipe  A   ' 

cylinder,  forcing  the  plungrr 

ward 

As  long  a*  the  pump  it  ' 
elevator  will  rite,  and    a 


lace  opoti  \t>r 


546 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  23,  1909. 


lever  C  which  is  pivoted  at  H  and  moves 
the  lock  bar  B'  through  the  stud  connec- 
tion H'.  If  the  shaft  F  is  turned  counter 
clockwise,  the  lock  bars  B,  B'  will  be 
moved  outward  over  the  stationary  sup- 
ports A,  A'.  In  Fig.  311  the  lock  bars  B, 
B'  are  shown  very  close  to  the  supporting 
pieces  A,  A',  but  when  they  are  in  their 
normal  position  they  are  drawn  in  far 
enough  to  prevent  accidental  striking  of 
the  stationary  supports.  The  position  of 
the  levers  C,  C  is  such  that  the  shaft  F 
can  be  rotated  clockwise  as  well  as  in  the 
opposite  direction,  and  then  the  bars  B, 
W  will  be  drawn  in  toward  the  center  of 
the  car. 

When  a  plunger  elevator  is  used  to  lift 
safes  the  compression  stress  on  the  plun- 
ger is  greatly  increased,  as  no  additional 
counterbalance  is  provided  to  offset  the 
weight.  This  extra  stress  is  not  serious 
in  elevators  of  moderate   rise,  but  when 


FIG.  313 

the  rise  is  fairly  great,  say  between  200 
and  300  feet,  it  is  necessary  to  provide  a 
stiffener  to  reinforce  the  plunger  and  avoid 
liability  of  buckling  it.  The  stiffener  used 
with  the  Standard  plunger  elevators 'is 
shown  in  Fig.  313,  which  gives  a  side  ele- 
vation and  a  plan  view.  It  consists  of  a 
frame  B  carrying  at  the  center  a  guide 
through  which  the  plunger  P  slides  and 
at  its  ends  guide  wheels  B' ,  B'  that  run 
on  the  elevator  guides  T,  T.  The  frame 
also  carries  two  sheaves  D,  D'  under 
which  pass  two  ropes  E,  E',  fastened  at 
one  end  to  the  under  side  of  the  car  and 
at  the  other  end  to  the  beams  at  the  top 
of  the  elevator  well.  As  the  elevator  runs 
upward,  the  rope  ends  attached  to  it  are 
drawn  upward,  of  course,  and  pulling  the 
frame  B  upward  just  one-half  as  fast  as 
the  car  moves,  so  that  at  all  times  the 
frame  will  be  at  a  point  midway  between 
the  bottom  of  the  well  and  the  car,  and 
will  brace  the  plunger  at  the  central  point 
of  its  exposed  length. 
The    plungers    of    these    elevators    are 


made  as  nearly  water-tight  as  practicable, 
but  they  are  liable  to  be  leaky  sometimes. 
If  a  plunger  leaks,  the  effect  will  be  that 
the  load  to  be  raised  will  be  increased  by 
whatever  the  water  in  the  plunger  may 
weigh.  In  extreme  cases,  in  very  high 
buildings,  the  accumulation  of  water  in 
the  plunger  may  be  sufficient  to  prevent 
the  elevator  from  lifting  its  maximum 
load.  If  the  plunger  leaks,  it  is  not  an 
easy  matter  to  make  it  tight,  but  it  is  a 
very  simple  thing  to  remove  the  water, 
and  this  should  be  done.  The  best  way  to 
do  it  is  to  drill  a  hole  about  ^  inch  in 
diameter  in  the  lower  section  of  pipe,  just 
above  the  end  casting,  say  2  feet  above 
the  lower  end  of  the  pipe,  and  draining 
the  water  out.  After  the  water  is  out  the 
hole  must  be  plugged  up.  This  is  easily 
done  by  tapping  the  hole  and  screwing  in 
a  brass  plug,  which  should  be  filed  off 
flush  with  the  plunger  surface  and  smooth. 

Operating  Direct  Current  Gen- 
erators and  Rotary  Converters 

By  Norman  G.  Meade 


When  a  generator  or  rotary  converter 
is  put  into  operation,  the  attendant  should 
always  be  sure  that  the  connections  are 
tight,  the  brushes  in  the  proper  position 
and  the  oil  wells  properly  filled.  When 
first  starting,  rub  the  commutator  of  a 
direct-current  generator  or  a  rotary  con- 
verter with  a  cloth  having  a  few  drops 
of  oil  on  it,  until  the  commutator  obtains 
a  dark  gloss.  If  sparking  occurs,  the 
brushes  should  be  shifted  backward  and 
forward  until  a  point  is  found  where 
there  is  no  sparking  under  normal  load. 
When  a  machine  is  first  started  it  is  ad- 
visable to  change  the  oil  in  the  bearings 
two  or  three  times  in  the  first  few  days; 
after  that  the  oil  may  be  left  in  about 
three  months,  adding  enough  occasionally 
to  make  up  for  loss.  The  machine  should 
1)e  watched  closely  at  first,  say  for  two  or 
three  days,  to  see  that  the  brushes  do  not 
grind  and  that  the  oil  rings  revolve 
freely. 

Any  machine  should  be  kept  clean  and 
dry,  and  no  bolts,  nuts,  screws,  etc., 
should  be  left  around,  as  these  may  be 
drawn  into  the  revolving  part  when  the 
field  magnet  is  excited  and  the  machine 
running. 

The  armature  of  a  belted  machine 
should  oscillate  endwise  in  its  bearings 
while  running  under  load,  as  this  will 
lengthen  the  life  of  the  commutator  and 
the  bearings.  Precautions  should  be 
taken  never  to  break  a  field  circuit  sud- 
denly, as  the  voltage  of  the  inductive  dis- 
charge is  always  many  times  higher  than 
the  operating  voltage,  and  may  puncture 
the  field  insulation ;  care  should  also  be 
exercised  not  to  open  a  switch  in  a  cir- 
cuit carrying  a  large  current ;  trip  the 
circuit-breaker  first,  then  open  the  switch. 
The  operator  should  make  sure  that  all 
switches,    circuit-breakers,    etc.,    are   open 


when  the  machine  is  not  in  operation,  and' 
always  close  the  circuit-breaker  first,  then 
close  the  main  switch. 

The  ends  of  brushes  should  be  fitted 
to  the  commutator  so  that  their  whole  end 
surfaces  make  contact;  this  can  be  done 
by  putting  each  brush  in  jts  holder  and 
grinding  it  with  a  piece  of  sandpaper 
slipped   between    the   brush    and   commu- 


FIG.    I 

lator  until  it  fits  the  curvature  of  the 
commutator  surface.  If  the  brushes  are 
copper  -  plated  their  edges  should  be 
slightly  beveled,  so  that  the  copper  does 
not  come  in  contact  with  the  commutator. 

Care  of  the  Commutator 
To  keep  a  commutator  clean  will  ordi- 
narily require  only  a  daily  wiping  off  with 
a  piece  of  canvas ;  if  this  is  done  regu- 
larly so  as  to  keep  the  commutator  sur- 
face and  end  free  from  dirt  and  oil,  in 
the  majority  of  cases  the  commutator  will 
require  no  other  attention.  In  service  the 
ideal  appearance  of  a  commutator  is  a 
polished,  dark-brown  surface.  Sandpaper 
or   other   abrasive   should   never   be   used 


on  a  commutator  which  is  taking  on  a 
polish  and  shows  no  signs  of  roughness. 
Commutators  which  do  not  take  on  a 
polish,  but  show  signs  of  roughness,  should 
be  smoothed  off  with  a  piece  of  sand- 
paper, and  if  quite  rough  a  piece  of  sand- 
stone may  be  used.  Flat  spots  on  commu- 
tators are  usually  caused  by  excessive 
wear,    or   a    soft   bar,    or   too    much   end 


\farch  23.  IQOQ 

play,  by  a  loose  commutator,  a  bad  belt 
splice,  or  a  tiash  produced  by  a  short- 
circuit  on  the  line.  When  a  commutator 
becomes  out  of  true  from  uneven  wear 
it  should  be  turned  down.  If  the  machine 
is  of  small  size  it  is  better  to  put  the 
armature  in  a  lathe,  but  if  of  large  sue 
a  turning  gear  should  be  attached  directly 
to   the   machine.      Special    care     must    be 

r 


l.Q.aQ-Q.OQQO^Qj 


POWER  AND  THE  E> 

mutator  i«  fotind  to  ba\c  a  high  b«r  the 
fault  shr-uld  be  correctfl 

Too  nuich  tension  on 
wiU 

the 


'-   the  hook   un<ler  the 
,       ..    :  1  resting  f»»i  »lir  l.r -vh 
;  tid  pull  en  the  tcale  until   ■ 
just  raised  from  the  brush,  the  ■■  ai^    • 
ing  will  indicate  the  tphng  tension 

If  on   starting  a    .  '.<> 

generate,  all  conne< '  n- 

i:red  carefully.     It  ^•  wl 

that   .1   poor  joint  ^e 

trouble. 

SrARKIMO 

Sparking  will  occur  if  the  bruihes  arc 
not  set  in  the  proper  position.  Each  time 
a    bru^h    touches    two    commutator    tev- 


.-j    rcpfCMrnt>   ' 

brush  and  C  th' 

ticular   instant   m   the    -  of   the 

armature  the  coil  a  is  sh  .:  -icd    To 

maintain  sparklcM  commutation  the  short- 


M7 


no.  3 

taken  that  the  cutting  tool  does  not  gouge 
into  the  commutator,  as  when  an  engine 
is  running  very  slowly,  which  is  neces- 
sary when  turning  off  a  commutator,  its 
speed  is  liable  to  vary  considerably  dur- 
ing each  revolution. 

A  sn>all  .nmoimt  of  lubricant  may  be 
applied  to  a  conimutator  while  in  service. 
A  lump  of  paraffin  ruhhed  .i.r'>''»  tJir  sur- 
face once  a  day  is  sufficient  I.uhncant 
^houId  always  be  applied  sparingly  and 
never  in  sufficient  quantities  to  collnt  on 
the   surface   and   about    the   brushes   and 


mm 


\j)immmm 


F10.   4 

leave  iheni  in  a  ^timmv  ronditioo     |?«r« 

\.  r      Til  'I*.'"      '• 

q'fntly    S<-    :<-• 

a   small   amount   ol    hilirirant. 

A  commutator  bar  whi-  ii  tir.iirits  iU' 
•Ik-  "thrrs  may  be  detr 
tnohon  of   the   bru«h  h 
pencil  point  held  on  tl-.'^ 
fare  ami 
•  lllltriif 


4    U*    l4c 

1  Will  otoflM*  hack- 

:    D-tft    u 


l>urin<|  I) 


d  podM  •  n«Utor  k>  tlnh. 

with  rcsutom  fcpafim^ 


Thro*    rrMsuacc  m  tW  fcrtd  rtoMUl 


drcuii-br'  «    m  dw  ■mm 

o«  «  is  iaptr* 

<to^  a  iigfr  mmctmt,  im 

'  brvMMTV    IMW    QpM    laf 

:. ^-•1    in.-rr.ii#    |W    mntMKV 

in  the  •lMaM-6'  "t  mumm  ol  iW 


\smmm) 


•k»a4   tMil  C.4. 

no  5 


•I  r 


ihia  result  a  lUgfat  for 
bnaabct  ia  fenr     " 
incrcMM.  her. 


0  when 


;   firlil    ex 


jA^iqt      l#m 


^    reprrtenls 


.U   W 


548 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  23,  1909. 


Supernatural    Visitation    of   James    Watt 

The    "Shade"    of  the  Old-time  Inventor  Attempts  to   Throw  Light 
upon  Several   Matters  which   Have  Interested  a   Great  Many   of    Us 


BY 


WARREN 


O. 


ROGERS 


Since  relating  my  experience  concern- 
ing a  supernatural  visitation  of  James 
Watt,  a  few  weeks  ago,  grave  misgivings 
at  first  beset  me  as  to  the  wisdom  of 
continuing  the  narration  of  similar  mani- 
festations. Naturally,  there  have  been 
those  who  have  not  hesitated  to  deny  that 
such  happenings  could  have  occurred; 
others  have  declared  that  it  must  have 
been  the  production  of  a  fanciful  brain, 
whatever  that  is,  while  still  others  at- 
tribute it  to  an  attack  of  acute  indiges- 
tion. I  might  have  concluded  that  the 
visitation  in  question  was  purely  visionary 
had  it  not  been  for  the  two  empty  glasses 
and  numerous  cigar  stubs  found  on  the 
table  the  next  morning  by  the  maid  who 
cleaned  up  the  room.  Not  only  this,  but 
a  number  of  similar  experiences  of  more 
recent  date  have  left  no  doubt  in  my  mind 
as  to  their  genuineness.  In  fact,  I  am 
so  firmly  convinced  of  their  reality  that 
I  have  decided  to  publish  an  account  of 
the  various  visitations  I  have  received 
from  my  distinguished  friend,  and  others, 
be  the  consequences  what  they  may. 

I  did  not  feel  in  the  mood  for  a  second 
visitation  for  some  days,  preferring,  as 
may  be  easily  understood,  to  dwell  on 
what  I  had  already  seen  and  heard.  In 
fact,  it  was  more  than  a  week  before  I 
experienced  a  desire  to  engage  in  another 
chat  with  Watt,  and  should  not  have 
cared  to  then  had  it  not  been  for  a  pecu- 
liar influence  which  I  could  hardly  with- 
stand; for,  to  tell  the  truth,  wonderful 
though  the  first  experience  was,  it  was 
almost  too  uncanny  for  mortal  enjoyment. 

The  second  visitation  of  Watt  was 
almost  identical  with  his  first,  as  far  as 
the  manner  of  accomplishment  is  con- 
cerned, except  that  I  did  not  experience 
any  uncomfortable  sensations.  I  sat  be- 
fore the  fireplace,  idly  musing  and  watch- 
ing the  flames  as  they  shot  upward 
trying  to  see  which  could  reach  the  highest. 
The  evenings  were  cold,  and  the  warmth 
and  soft,  mellow  light  of  the  blazing 
wood  gave  one  a  sense  of  comfort  and 
contentment.  Thus,  in  the  semidarkness 
I  experienced  a  desire  for  another  visit 
from   my   former   midnight   companion. 

Concentrating  all  my  energy  to  accom- 
plish that  end,  I  awaited  his  coming. 
The  first  indication  was  a  faint  body 
shadow,  which  rapidly  developed  into  the 
form  of  James  Watt.  We  shook  hands 
and,  passing  the  cigars,  I  invited  him  to 
be  seated  and  make  himself  comfortable. 

"Well,  James,"  said  I,  as  he  accepted  a 


chair,  and  extended  his  transparent  hands 
toward  the  blazing  fire,  stating  at  the  same 
time  that  he  was  cold,  a  fact  I  had  noticed 
as  we  shook  hands,  "how  have  things 
been  going  with  you  since  your  last 
visit?" 

"Oh,  in  a  circle;  you  know  that  is  all 
we  have  to  do,  just  prance  around  in  a 
particular  circle  until  we  obtain  perfec- 
tion for  the  requirements  of  that  circle, 
when  we  are  promoted  to  another,  but 
easier  one,  which  gives  us  more  liberties. 
As  soon  as  I  get  to  the  next  circle,  I  can 
come  to  you  whenever  I  like,  day  or 
night,  rain  or  shine,  and  then  we  will  hit 
the  'pike',"  and  James  gave  me  a  poke  in 
the  ribs,  after  a  manner  that  indicated 
that  he  would  not  be  at  all  "slow"  when 
it  came  to  seeing  the  town. 

When  James  had  warmed  his  hands 
and  feet,  he  lit  his  cigar,  and  settled  back 
in  solid  contentment.  After  permitting 
him  to  enjoy  the  "perfecto"  for  a  rea- 
sonable time,  I  said : 

"James,  tell  me  how  you  happened  to 
stumble  onto  the  idea  of  your  condensing 
engine." 

"Well,"  replied  James,  as  he  closed  his 
eyes  in  ghostly  fashion  and  wrinkled  his 
snow-white  forehead  as  if  to  recollect 
memories  of  the  dim  past  were  a  difficult 
operation,  "while  I  was  monkeying  around 
the  college,  I  got  interested  in  old  New- 
comen's  engine,  and  I  will  give  him  the 
credit  of  having  the  best  and  most  ad- 
vanced type  of  engine  on  the  market  at 
that  time,  but  I  decided  that  it  could  be 
made  considerably  more  efficient. 

"It  was  an  awful  steam  eater,  and  was 
only  used  for  pumping  out  mines.  I'll 
never  forget  the  first  one  I  saw.  New- 
comen  was  a  blacksmith  by  trade,  you 
know,  so  what  could  you  expect?  I  have 
always  maintained  that  he  did  a  better  job 
than  most  blacksmiths  could  under  the 
circumstances. 

"You  see  he  didn't  have  the  machine 
shops  to  do  the  work  that  the  present 
generation  have,  and,  when  an  engine 
cylinder  was  put  in  a  lathe  no  one  knew 
what  the  exact  shape  would  be  after  it 
was  bored  out.  He  not  only  had  poor 
machines  to  work  with,  but  the  workmen 
were  not  skilled,  seeing  none  of  them  had 
ever  made  a  decent  engine  before.  In 
fact,  they  were  hostile  to  the  notion,  de- 
claring that  they  had  something  better 
to  do  than  to  throw  away  their  time  on 
an  idiotic  idea." 

"But  tell  me,  James — you  have  been  in 


the  spirit  world  and  have  had  a  chance 
to  find  out — was  Newcomen  the  inventor 
of  his  engine  or  did  he  steal  it,  as  so 
many  ideas  have  been  stolen  since?" 

"No,"  replied  James,  as  he  leisurely 
pufifed  at  his  cigar,  "Newcomen  did  not 
steal  the  idea.  The  engine  that  bore  his 
name  was  the  result  of  his  own  effort.  I 
know  that  Savery  got  out  his  patents  in 
1705,  or  two  years  before  Newcomen,  but 
that  was  because  he  had  a  pull  with  the 
government;  and  by  the  way,  his  was  the 
first  patent  issued  by  the  government.  I 
met  Savery  the  other  day,  and  when  I 
put  the  question  to  him  point  blank,  he 
admitted  that  Newcomen  had  his  idea 
first.  Savery  still  is  in  the  outer  circle, 
and  from  the  way  he  cuts  up  I  don't  be- 
lieve he  will  ever  get  into  another." 
James  gave  a  little  grunt  of  satisfaction 
as  he  said  this,  which  indicated  that, 
although  he  was  a  spirit,  and  a  progres- 
sive one,  he  still  had  one  characteristic 
of  mortals.  James  seemed  to  think  he 
had  been  a  little  indiscreet  in  giving  way 
to  his  spiritual  animosities,  and  hastened 
to  change  the  subject  by  adding,  "I  meet 
plenty  who  are  worse  than  he  is,  though." 

"How  about  Savery's  and  Newcomen's 
difficulties,  did  they  have  a  lawsuit  or 
was  it  settled  out  of  court?" 

"Oh,  it  was  settled  out  of  court,"  re- 
plied James,  with  greatly  increased  huski- 
ness  in  his  tones,  I  thought.  Wishing  to 
prevent  any  interruption  of  his  interest- 
ing conversation,  I  rang  for  a  little 
"Scotch"  and  soda  to  act  as  a  lubricant, 
the  which,  by  the  way,  was  a  decided  suc- 
cess, as  the  huskiness  immediately  disap- 
peared, and  when  James  left  me  at  day- 
light he  rounded  out  two  or  three  verses 
of  "Auld  Lang  Syne"  in  a  rather  hilarious 
manner. 

"Newcomen's  mvention  was  altogether 
different  from  Savery's,"  went  on  James, 
after  he  had  creakingly  crooked  his  elbow, 
and  smacked  his  transparent  lips.  "Savery, 
you  know,  thought  he  had  tumbled  onto 
something  new  when  he  found  out  that 
the  sudden  condensation  of  steam  made 
a  vacuum,  and  he  used  the  idea  to  draw 
up  water ;  but  this  pump  was  never  any 
good.  It  was  so  crude  he  had  to  place  it 
in  a  mine  out  of  sight.  You  see," 
said  James,  as  he  gave  a  hacking  cough, 
"old  'Newk's'  (Newcomen's  too  long  to 
bother  with  in  this  age  of  progress) 
engine  had  a  cylinder  that  stood  on 
end  in  a  vertical  position  under  one 
end  of  a  beam,  but  was  open  at  the  top. 


March  23,  1909. 


I^VVER  AND  THE  ENGINI 


The  steam  pressure  in  his  time  was  only  a 
little  higher  than  the  atmosphere,  and  it 
was  admitted  to  the  cylinder  at  the  bot- 
tom." 
"Well,   I  don't  sec  how  even  a  black- 
.ith   could   expect   to  get   work   out    of 
such  a  contrivance  as  that,"  I   remarked, 
just   to   draw   James'   attention    from   the 
'  -anter  which  seemed  to  have  a  fascina- 
u  for  him. 

Well,  it  wasn't  so  bad  for  an  old  cod- 
..•  r  like  'Newk.'  In  fact,  the  other  night 
I  took  a  little  trip  around  New  York 
••!<t   as  the   rivT   t»»--."irr.    M—rc   putting 


fresh  one.  "Tlie  idea  i»  tlic  ..a.-nr  .  r  1> 
there  has  been  . 

the    general   coni; ■„..- 

which,  by  the  way,  is  the  outgrowth  of 
my  idea. 

'In  'Kewk's'  engine,    when    the    Mean 
was  ad:  '  the  cylin- 

der, it  ^lled  op 

by  jh  yf  at 

the  oti  '  ^ttinp 

plunder  was  attached  to  the  weighted  end 
of  the  beam,  and  as  the  beam  worked  op 
and  down  the  pamp  was  operated  The 
pow  ^.i  •».e  tteam  in  the  cylinder  was 


'.rA       L-:?      tiuin't     iintrm 


•*iV™ 


idea  of  coadrnuag  tW  «<•■' 
rupted 

-Why.  fltwV  md  Pafte'tcytederMd 
ptftoo  and  SarrrT't  priacipfc  of  cridHii 
ine  the   rtrtfr      !   -nrt    Pafta  tW  ctUtr 
day  and  he  >  -«««  afcevi  lfcw%' 

ouag  hit  id--  «  V    -r.xi  he  wot.!! 

have  gnathcd  hti  ten 

fallen  o«i  long  ^<x     — .    .- .-^   •-- 

moch  about  the  matter  tkal  kt  b 
bat  a  waUnag  dwlrtoa 


HMD     \M'    »  » 


out  and  I  noticed  that  thr)  arc  Uill 
usmg  the  same  idea  of  tran*(errmg  thr 
power  in  the   steam  to  the  »haft  of  the 

engine  " 

'Oh.  you  will  be  the  death  of  mc."   I 
•aid.  a»  Jail        ■      ■     ■      .       -   .  -   -"  I-   " 
I    was    re.  f- 
'Newk'    never    liad    • 
■«   t'l   »hr   powrr    .in  ' 
r.  ■.   Ml  -■• 

it  your  thrnttir 
lerruptrd  Jan>c«.  a«  lir  thrrvs    ■ 
his    cigar     in»'>     i'"-     I'lrri.li   ■ 


.       ItTiflt      I    I      I' 

traBAfrfrrd  t 


,0%   a 


1>f   '  r*    ' »< 


v«  Imi  iImi  «w 


•ii>     guru     1     •  •     ■ 

how    the    •t'o.Jf' 


t  u 


PO\\"ER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  23,  1909. 


the  steam  and  then  condensing  it,  and  so 
transferred  the  heat  into  mechanical 
motion. 

■'  'Newk'  finally  rigged  up  .  a  cylinder 
having  what  you  today  term  a  water 
jacket,"  resumed  James  after  wetting  his 
whistle,  "'and  I  supposed  he  always  would 
have  used  it  if  he  had  not  found  out  by 
accident  that  there  was  a  better  way. 
One  day  the  engine  started  up  two  or 
three  revolutions  faster  than  usual  and 
'Xewk,'  getting  scared,  shut  it  down  and 
didn't  know  whether  it  was  best  to  run 
it  again  or  not.  After  fussing  round 
awhile  he  got  some  'lumpers'  to  take  off 
the  cylinder  head,  when  he  found  that  a 


my  ideas  from  'Newk'  and  other  old  fos- 
sils, and  all  that.  I  did  get  an  old  model 
of  'Newk's'  engine  to  monkey  with,  but 
I  can  tell  you  it  was  a  total  failure.  It 
had  a  sort  of  valve  gear  for  operating 
the  valves.  It  is  said  that  a  boy  by  the 
name  of  Humphrey  Potter  got  up  this 
idea,  and  from  what  I  know  of  'Newk'  I 
would  as  soon  think  'Hump'  worked  out 
the  idea  as  that  'Newk'  did." 

"Well,  how  about  your  condenser?"  I 
asked.  "We  started  to  discuss  that  ques- 
tion at  the  start  and  I  don't  know  any 
more  about  it  now  than  I  did  before." 

"Well,"  replied  James,  as  he  arose  and 
rattled  his  bones  in  his  attempt  to  stand 


shake  goodby,  and  as  I  extended  my 
own  the  morning  sunlight  streamed  in 
through  the  window  and  in  the  twinkling 
of  an  eye  the  phantom  vanished. 


Power  Plant  of  Miller  &  Lux 


By  Nelson  Dean 


Some  years  ago  I  chanced  to  be  in 
southeastern  Oregon,  when  I  made  up  my 
mind  to  take  a  trip  to  Texas  on  the  hur- 
ricane deck  of  a  bronco.  One  of  my 
friends  suggested  that  I  make  the  trip  by 


INTERIOR    OF    POWER    PLANT    OF    MILLER    AND    LUX 


small  hole  had  appeared  in  the  cylinder 
from  the  water  jacket,  allowing  a  stream 
of  water  to  run  in  on  top  of  the  piston. 
This  condensed  some  of  the  steam  and 
also  made  the  piston  steam-tight.  After 
that  he  abolished  the  water  jacket  and  in- 
jected the  water  for  condensing  purposes 
through  a  pipe  in  the  bottom  of  the 
cylinder." 

"Very  interesting,"  I  remarked,  as 
James  ceased  speaking  and  relit  his  cigar. 

"Interesting  nothing,"  replied  James,  in 
a  disgruntled  voice;  "that  is  the  kind  of 
an  engine  they  make  so  much  noise  about 
and  say  I  got  hold  of,  and  that  I  got  all 


steadily,  for  truth  demands  the  confession 
that  he  had  begun  to  show  signs  of  a 
state  not  altogether  supernatural,  and  at 
times  sang  softly  a  few  verses  of  the 
latest  catchy  songs,  although  where  he 
got  them  I  don't  know.  "Well,"  re- 
peated James  in  a  thickening  voice 
(I  determined  then  and  there  to  have 
the  mixture  weaker  for  his  next  visit), 
"I  take  it  that  we  had  better  let  mat- 
ters stand  for  a  time.  It  is  about  sun-up  and 
this  staying  up  all  night  ain't  what  it  is 
cracked  up  to  be.  I  will  tell  you  about 
my  condensers  next  time.  So  long." 
He  reached  out  his  cold,  bony  hand  to 


way  of  the  Miller  ranches.  I  secured  a 
map  and,  with  his  aid,  marked  out  a 
route  that  was  to  take  me  to  the  heart  of 
the  cattle  plains  of  Texas.  During  a  trip 
of  six  months  I  traveled  over  several 
thousand  miles  and  only  once  slept  on 
anyone  else's  property. 

At  one  of  the  ranches  I  met  and  made 
a  friend  of  an  engineer.  Mack  Lyon, 
whom  I  chanced  to  meet  a  short  time  ago 
on  Market  street,  in  San  Francisco.  He 
invited  me  to  visit  the  plant  at  "Butcher 
Town,"  which  is  located  south  of  the  city 
by  San  Francisco  bay.  I  found  the  place 
so  interesting  that  I  went  to  the  trouble 


March  23,  1909. 

securing  the  accomiKtnying  photo  show- 

^'  the  plan  of  the  main  ;;      ' 

1  he  engine  room  cumpn  *juare 

t.     The   view   taken  show:>   lo  the  left 

ij5-kiIowatt    two-phase    60-cycIc    Fort 

lync  generator,  operated  at  a  spce<l  of 

;    revohitions    per    minute,    and    direct - 

•.nected  to  a  14X  14-inch  "Ideal"  engine. 

aurally,    the    chief    electrician    tried    to 

Ic  the  engine  by  getting  in  front  of  it 

xt  to  the  right  is  the  central  point  ot 

•  rest   in   the    form   of  a    Larsen- Baker 

machine  of  too  tons  capacity,  wn' 

\j6-inch    steam   cylinder   and   a    15    . 

Ii  ammonia  cylinder,  driven  at  60  r 

ions    per   minute    and    direct-conru    • 

i  Fiates-Corliss  engine. 

N'ext   may  be  seen   the  30-ton  ice  ma- 

me,   with   a    I2x32-inch    steam   cylinder 

'       •    -    o  inch  ammonia  cylinder.     The 

are  packed  with  (Jarl<Kk  am- 

niciiia  packmgs.     Next  come  two  7' ^  am! 

8  by  f>-inch  duplex  air  pumps  tilted   witi. 

special  ri-^ulating  governors.  The  work  of 

thr<ie  pumps  is  to  bring  water  from  tliree 

.  mch   wells,   150  feet  deep,  located  half 

..   mile   from  the  plant.     To  the  extreme 

right    are    two    electrical    exciters.     The 

'— trer   is   a  25-kilowatt   200-ampere    125- 

't     geiterator     direct -connected     to    an 

.American   blower   engine,   witli    a   6x6' i- 

inch  cylinder,  running  at  370  re\olutions 

per  mimite.     The  small  exciter  is  a  7.5- 

kilowatt      52-ampere      145-volt      machine. 

direct-connected      to     Another      .Xnuricn, 

Mower    engine,    with     a     5x5-inch     steam 

tnder,  driven  at    375    revolutions    per 

tuite. 

It    will   be   noticed   that   all   the    steam 
mams  head  toward  the  ri^ht  hand  si«le  of 
the    print,    showmg    the     l<KMtion     ni     the 
which   haN  J*i7"     ■ 
Hrrr   :,rr   t!;-'-'- 


pounds  superheated  Ntr.mt  ;.r< 
•••!^  room  there  arc  also  two  7' 
loinrh  boiler-feed  pumps, 
P'-rsepower  Cf>chranr  heater  ati 
and  i-ne  12  and  7V4  l>>  iS-incli 
fire  pump,  conneclefl  wr 
^prittklrr  sv*t*'m      T^'-    f-  ' 


x'.ir  I- 

In 

-  aiK 

I  4'. 

one 

4iii> 

BJWER  AND  THE  ENGINI  . 

near  future.     The  foul  emi  of  Hi«  t«rk-     ■*  wovM  ttlw 

it'.  ^  . 

tt 

die  tlie  „'  mutsnc* 

of      its  .  „!4t  Tlti) 

on    the 
States  in«p< 


0^  P^r  ^wf  tncc^  InftQ 


!«id 

.  u  .J  K 

-   "T 

•  > 

:r»*-     r-yr.>- 

An  Instructive  Ejcp>erience  with  the 
Tirrill   Re^lator 


By  W.  Niljok 


tae  Umi»  Mid  tuM  inw 

rxoMats  m  ttmt  aanBal 

«ad    «iiIm«i   tkr   «a> 


•f  jn/xn  kilo      \,fjf^, 

^  '■  *f^  'wo   IJOt>-      ,1^    ,„  

tut    COmmu:. 

ampere    1 25- volt  exciter    unit*,    the    ex-     i^^sfcc*  of  V 

back  and  those  . 
posMble  The  lev 
divided,  hot  the  •: 

I 


*tkm^     Tkm 


The       nor  ntl*ft   <   <r'»rf 

'■■><  TimM  TTg 


r««l«lae    At   •   tttU 


ILrurKTAaY  MACBAM  or  KXriTTai    sv 
NOABY  OOlTTAm  OT  » 

•ineiimes  operaicd  in  |u' 


engmeer      He  is  imperitirtuhir 

X<'    O'Brien.  »u|.  ..  •   "f  'l>«    "<  ^ 

:  house. 

The  pit  in  the  forrKfMni  . 
brge    water   pump*     usr<l     iti 

with    llx-     or 

♦fjiiipIM-'!  \\  r 

ex;  'i(tc    .itxl 

ni<  There    • 

•team  pipe  and  f**)  ir«t  "i 

tiinr,    tKetl    for     healing     ;      . 

•  .I   feet   of   water   pipe   used 

Kiiilding*      Oil   t»     '      »s     ("*  •. 

stored    in    two    1  n    lank* 

barrel.  >> 

T>ir  .\rr  plant  stands  »' 

a»v 

O*' 


552 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  23,  1909. 


Proper  Treatment  of  Boiler  Feed  Water 

Data  from  Plant  Which  Reduced  Maintenance  Charges  $  1 60  per  Month 
by    Analyzing   Feed  Water  and  Treating  with  Soda  Ash  and  Lime 


BY        A. 


J- 


BOARDMAN 


Owing  to  the  widespread  interest  that 
is  being  sho\vn  as  to  the  proper  treat- 
ment of  boiler  feed  water  it  might  be  of 
interest  to  relate  the  experiences  of  a 
plant  that  has  managed  to  place  its  treat- 
ment on  a  substantial,  scientific  basis. 
Previous  to  January,  1907,  this  plant  had 
a  great  deal  of  trouble  from  boiler  scale 
owing  to  the  large  quantity  of  scale-form- 
ing matter  in  the  river  water.  The  plant 
is  located  at  Indianapolis,  on  White  river, 
which  flows  through  a  limestone  country. 
The  analysis  shows  a  total  of  25.30  grains^ 


FIG.     I.    TESTING  OUTFIT 


of    scale-forming    and    suspended    matter 
per  U.  S.  gallon. 

TABLE  I. 

Grains 

U  .S.  Gallon. 

Calcium  carbonate 4.30 

Magnesium  carbonate 1.01 

Magnesium  sulphate 0.96 

Sodium  sulphate 0.71 

Sodium  chloride 0 .  88 

Iron  and  alumina 0. 19 

Carbonic  acid 0.78 

Silica ; 1.21 

Alkalinity 5.85 

Su.spended  matter 8.02 

Incrusting  solids 15.69 

Nonincrusting  solids 1 .  59 

25.30 
Pounds  of  incrusting  solids  in  1000  gallons,  2.24 

Before  the  first  of  the  year  several  dif- 
ferent boiler  compounds  had  been  used 
with  very  little  decrease  in  the  amount  of 
scale.     Boiler  tubes  were  still  being  pur- 


chased by  the  hundred,  and  the  cost  of 
boiler  compound  averaged  $270  a  month, 
or  3.21  cents  per  1000  boiler  horsepower 
monthly. 

It  was  then  decided  to  treat  the  water 
by  using  soda  ash  and  lime  to  throw  down 
the  scale-forming  matter,  and  to  follow 
up  and  check  this  treatment  with  feed- 
water  analysis.  The  basis  of  the  treat- 
ment was  to  analyze  the  river  water  for 
permanent  and  temporary  hardness  and 
treat  it  accordingly.  The  feed  -  water 
analysis  is  the  more  accurate  of  the  two, 
and  by  using  it  to  check  up  the  treatment 
very  satisfactory  results  were  obtained. 
At  the  same  time  the  boiler-room  records, 
which  are  of  a  permanent  value  in  any 
plant,  were  started. 

Testing  Outfit 

The  expenditure  for  a  testing  outfit  was 
not  over  $10,  and  the  operations  required 
for  the  complete  analysis  are  extremely 
simple.  In  fact  there  are  automatic  feed- 
water  analyzers  on  the  market  today.  The 
apparatus  consisted  of  two  50-cubic  cen- 
timeter burettes,  one  square  pint  bottle 
with  rubber  cork,  one  pint  standard  N/so 
HCl  solution,  one  pint  standard  soap  solu- 
tion, three  500-cubic  centimeter  beakers, 
one  funnel,  100  filter  papers  No.  2,  one 
lOO-cubic  centimeter  phenol-thalein  indi- 
cator, one  loo-cubic  centimeter  methyl 
orange  indicator,  one  loo-cubic  centimeter 
graduated  test  tube,  10  ounces  barium 
chloride,  stirring  rod,  burette  support, 
stand,  etc.  It  is  necessary  to  have  HCl 
exactly  correct.  Normal  HCl  is  98.7 
parts  hydrochloric  acid,  and  can  be  ob- 
tained from  any  chemist.  Phenol-thalein 
and  methyl  orange  are  chosen  owing  to 
the  distinct  color  effects  when  the  reac- 
tions take  place. 

The  burettes  mentioned  above  are 
graduated  test  tubes  with  a  glass  stop 
cock  in  the  bottom.  The  soap  or  hydro- 
chloric-acid solution  is  poured  in  and  the 
hight  of  the  liquid  is  read  on  the  glass. 
Suppose  the  initial  reading  to  be  18.5 
cubic  centimeters.  Then  after  the  opera- 
tion is  completed,  shut  the  stop  cock  and 
make  the  last  reading,  say  25.7  cubic 
centimeters.  The  difference  between  25.7 
and  18.5,  or  7.2  cubic  centimeters,  is  the 
amount  which   has  been   used. 

RiVER-WATER     ANALYSIS 

The  directions  for  river-water  analysis 
for   permanent    and    temporary    hardness 


are  as  follows :  Hard  water  may  be  de- 
fined as  water  containing  in  solution  min- 
eral compounds  that  curdle  or  precipitate 
soap;  generally  the  salts  of  lime,  mag- 
nesia, iron,  etc.  In  the  United  States 
hardness  is  generally  stated  as  parts  of 
calcium  carbonate  per  million,  i.e.,  the 
number  of  parts  by  weight  of  calcium  car- 
bonate that  would  have  to  be  added  to  a 
million  parts  by  weight  of  water  to  pro- 
duce the  specified  degree  of  hardness.   To 


Power,  y,  T, 
FIG.    2.      TYPE   OF   BURETTE    USED 

convert  grains  per  gallon  to  parts  per 
million  multiply  by  17.18.  The  standard 
soap  solution  is  obtained  by  dissolving 
pure  castile  soap  in  alcohol.  It  can 
also  be  obtained  from  any  analytical 
chemist. 

Total  Hardness — In  testing  for  total 
hardness  in  river  water,  25  cubic  cen- 
timeters of  the  water  to  be  tested  is 
diluted  with  75  cubic  centimeters  of  dis- 
tilled water.  This  is  to  be  titrated  with 
the  standard  soap  solution  in  a  square 
pint  bottle  provided  with  a  rubber  stop- 
per. One  cubic  centimeter  of  soap  solu- 
tion is  added  at  a  time  until  there  is  some 
evidence  of  a  permanent  lather.  Then 
add  one-half  cubic  centimeter  and  de- 
crease to  one-fourth  at  a  time  until  the 
lather  is  permanent,  when  the  bottle  can 


r 


March  23,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


SLl 


be  laid  on  its  side  for  three  minutes  with  centimeters  of  soap  solotioa  used  will  be 

lecrease  in    the    lather.     The    bottle  1'    :nd  the  degree  of  hardness  in  pans  per 

•   be   well   shaken  after  each  addition  i;iil!:'>f^ 

of    soap    solution.      In    Gark's    Table   of  /'                  //artfn^ii— This  is  obtained 

".rrlness*  opposite  the  number  of  cubic  t»y                     *   the   degree   of   trniixjrar. 

har<lncM,  that  due  to  the  bic.t 
•i.lll'i  "Engine  Room  Cbemlatry."  page  IOC.      lessened   by  boiling,   from   the    i.-,. 

Kainfall  In  lnch«B 


s^  llll  null -1155  nf!  31525^555555  5*55 155:!5 


""♦^     Tl»e  mah  is  expressed  a> 
cartMMm*  pcf 


•/(I— EacH 


(«d    at    MfewtL 

'  -flMtCTS     Of      ffBW 

4  tnt  drt)f»  ol  aMkH 

:<Sed.  wiMdi  wM  tan 

with  twm*^    Nov  mU 

■m   nntil   the  oolar  ol  the 

frooi  a  ftUomitk  to  a  tose 

oold  be  uk«a  to  oM  liw 

....^ « —  »-    •<"-      WWa  dM 

color  tur  cad  o4  tW 

rraction.  -'•<'i  tr<-  rmi.T  o>«n  aBB  ■■!* 
■>;.lv  bv  4-  The  prodaci  mU  ha  tfM  M»- 
pofj-  <  ;>rcaaed  aa 

bofUt'. 


Aocvat 
nC.    3.    WATER  FROM    WHITK  KIVCll   AT   INDIANArOUS,  INa 


wi:lathkr   _rL^  '  ^ 


24IIRS.  KNDINC 


r 


/C^^3 UD  5 


EQUIPMENT  IM  SERVICE. 


BUII.ERS. 


I    2    3    4    6   6    7    *■    'J   ici  II  '.J  i;i  14  1;.  ic  1:  1-  l»  Ju  ji  :s  23  J4 


P 


•  II- 


'1 


*  <       > 


:  I    T'  ■' 


t 


<^o>?, 


Amaivsu  or  SuriiJii*  Waio 

Measure  oat   too  cabic  mti—tsrs  of 

the  parif'  '  pof  it  iaio  a 

atul  add  »ials  of  hanaai 

iidtiicu  uf  foar  draft  of 

■ffieaff^r    wiO    toni    Ike    iBJliBa 

:4et«7  of  Maw  preaevt 

acid  soMrtioB  dfOf  wf 

•lrr>p  to  obcam  a  clear  solotioa.     TiMt  Is 

.:»»!.     <   .r     'ir!-«-         TT  «•     rjrrbrf    .-f     CoMC 

k- 


•1  •^<•  jTA<j'.u»»"«  <>«  IB 

,af  aiMicS^f  iQDcuhsc  tiiH—UlS 

■  ■«?  drof*  ol 


'     CaStlwreMll 

in  thr  hf»t  o|irr»t»oo  f  ••d  the  re*^  « 


per   looo  gatkMM .  B   MAiyi  W* 

cqoals  the  msnber  of  poo"*"   ■  «    ■--     f** 
looo  c*""*** 

\  idard  pvrWkratteo  ot7  ol  • 

pout  '    *od  odM   '-^   •    I*  ""d  «4 


soda 

aUi 

np" 

lOOO 

•    T 

'\m 

daf^  «•» 

•itn 

•       . 

<  »«■ '  r  T 

'  r  • 

^ 

the  h 

CTTTV 

-a 

(«i»«i*i* 

"" 

at    ^^ 

•« 

^d  h>   « 

^f .    . 

no.  4.    DAILY  aoiio-aooM  utvor 


554 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  23,  1909. 


Calcium   Bicarbonate) 
CaHo  (CO3),  } 


(Sodium  Carbonate) 
(  Xa,C03  ) 


Sodium    Bicarbonate  \  _  ( Calcium  Carbonate 
2NaHC03  (       \  CaCOj 


When    injected    into    boihng    water    the 
above  gives : 

Sodium     Bicarbonate  |  _  ( Sodium  Carbonate  1    , 


i  =  l 


Water 
H,0 


Carbon  Dioxide 
CO, 


The   effect   of    sodium   carbonate   on    sul- 


of  the  bicarbonates  is  not  complete,  as 
with  atmospheric  pressure  the  highest 
attainable  temperature  in  a  heater  of  this 
sort  would  be  212  degrees.  The  tem- 
peratures actually  reached  are  from  igo 
to  200  degrees  Fahrenheit,  and  the  result 
is  that  there  is  precipitation  in  the  feed- 
water  pipe  line.  In  order  completely  to 
precipitate  the  bicarbonates  in  a  closed 
heater,  a  temperature  of  290  degrees  is 
necessary,  which  corresponds  to  a  pres- 
sure of  about  45  pounds  gage.     The  lime 


TABLE  2. 


BOILER  NO.      2.  Z 


JO    /3 


190   S_ 


REMARKS  ABOUT  TUBES. 


unnnnnnannnnnnnn 


000000000000000Q12 

OOOOOOOOOOOOOQPO" 
OOOOOOOOOQPOOOOO  " 

OOOOOOOOOOOOOQPO » 
OOOOOOOOOOOOQPOQ  « 

0000300000000000  -' 

0000000000000000  « 

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOQP  = 
CX)(X)06pOOQpOQQpO  * 

•  0000000000000000^^ 

OOOOOQpOQQQQQQQa  - 
00000®00®0000000 1 

1      2     .'(     4      3      6      7     8      0    lU    U    \i    13  U    15    16 
(hO  Kew  Tubes  fo^KeroU  Frontf®j)Keroll  Eear 


Fa  I  R 


I  Boil&r  M Q,ke.r 


3  Ho u rs 


C  le.CLr>e.  cL   a^-U 'Cu.be.s 


Note  any  work  done  on  the  following: 


BLOWOFF  VALVES. 


'V'cu  a  kecL 


FEED  VALVES, 


VcucikecL 

n 

CHECK  VALVES, 


(lle.cLns.d.    o-rLcL 

"1 

'Po^cH&cL 

WATER  COLUMNS  &  VALVES, 


CL-le^CL-ne-cL  curicL 

~1 

~^ 

'Pcjuc.  He.  cL 

Keep  accurate  account  of  Material  and  Time  on  the  following: 


C!\   OQcL    .      . 

BRIDGE  WALLS 
ARCHES 
SIDE  WALLS 

Ct  o  ooL 
CENTER  WALLS  <v  I 


STOKEK  FCKL  PLATES 

BOILER  OUT 
BOILER  IN 

C 


ilaterial 

Amount 

Cost 

Hours        Cost 

1 

Brick 

Fire  Clay 

Lime  Sl  Baud 

Miscellaneous 

Bo//ern,'/r^ 

3 

1  5-0 

Brick 

Fire  Clay 

Lime  &  Band 

Aliscellaneoue 

Z  T'ut&S, 

®   jS".  V- & 

/O.QO 

Brick 

Fire  Clay 

1  Lime  &  Saiid 

jUiscellaneoua 

Brick 

'  Fire  Clay 

\  Lime  &.  Saud 

Miscellaueous 

1    /O-  l-XS' 

2>.La 



_^ 



190 
190 


8I<;NED 


X^X^-^^-yny^jiyi^ 


TDTAI.^/JS-.yo 


Approved. 


GJL<X/<i  N-rrc^cCtQ— 


Cbiel  Engineer. 


FIG.    5.      REPAIRS    ON    BOILERS  AND  BOILER-ROOM   EQUIPMENT 


phates  is  shown  by  the  following  reaction  : 


Calcium  Sulphate    | 
CaSO«  } 


( Sodium  Carbonate  I 
j  Na,C03  )  - 


Calcium  Carbonate    |    ,    (  Sodium  Sulphate 
CaCOj  }  +  (  NajSO^ 

The  precipitation  of  the  above  carbonates 
has  a  tendency  to  clarify  the  water  if  it 
is  very  turbid,  carrying  mud  or  clay.  In 
extreme  cases  a  small  quantity  of  iron 
sulphate  can  be  used. 

With    the    open    feed-water    heaters    in 
use  at  the  present  time  the  precipitation 


is  held  in  suspension  by  the  presence  of 
the  carbon-dioxide  gas,  and  no  matter 
how  alluring  are  the  promises  of  the  feed- 
water-healer  salesman,  no  precipitation 
will  take  place  until  this  carbon  dioxide 
is  removed.  The  best  way  to  do  this  is 
to  put  the  steam  connection  for  one  of 
the  auxiliary  pumps  into  the  heater  above 
the  water  level  and  draw  the  gas  off  with 
the  steam.  Table  2  shows  the  percent- 
ages of  lime  thrown  down  at  various 
temperatures. 


°F. 

217 

219 

221 

227 

232 

236 

240 73.0 


Per  Cent. 

Lime 

Thrown 

Down. 

,      .50 . 0 

52.3 

56.8 

.      60.5 

64.5 

69.0 


Percent. 
Lime 

Thrown 
°F.  Down. 

245 77.4 

250 81.7 

255 86 . 0 

261 90.3  1 

266 94.0 

271 97.7  1 

290 100.0 


Sample   Analysis   of   River    Water 

Soap  Test. 

28.2  CO.   Final  reading. 

18.8  c.c.  Initial  reading. 

9.4  C.C.  Difference. 
0.5 

8.9  X  4  =  35.6  Total  hardness. 
Acid. 
39.6  C.c.  Final. 
32.8  C.C.  Initial. 

6.8  c.c.  Difference. 
4 

27.2  =  Temporary  hardness. 
Permanent  hardness  =  35.6  —  27. 2  =  8. 4 

Soda  Ash — For  each  degree  of  per- 
manent hardness,  0.091  pound  of  soda  ash 
should  be  used  for  each  1000  gallons  of 
raw  water, 

0.091  X  8.4  =  0.7644 
of  a  pound  per  1000  gallons. 

Lime — For  each  degree  of  temporary 
hardness,  0.048  pound  of  lime  should  be 
used  per  1000  gallons  of  raw  water, 

0.048  X  27.2  =  1.3 

pounds  of  lime  per  1000  gallons. 

The  accompanying  curves,  Fig.  3,  show 
the  varying  degrees  of  hardness,  both 
temporary  and  permanent,  for  the  month 
of  July.  It  is  evident  that  the  permanent 
hardness  will  vary  with  the  rainfall,  and 
that  the  amount  of  lime  and  soda  ash 
should  also  be  varied. 


Sample    Analysis    of    Softened    Water 


I 


I 


Soda  Ash  (Result  A). 
29.4  c.c. 
25.2  c.c. 

4.2  c.c. 


Lime  (Result  B). 
25.2  c.c. 
24.0  c.c. 

1.2  c.c. 


Result  A  —  Result  5  =  4.2  —  1.2  = 
3.0  cubic  centimeters. 

Then,  3   X   0.091   --  0.27  pound  of   soda 
ash  per  1000  gallons. 

By  means  of  Table  3,  which  was  calcu- 
lated for  the  70,000-gallon  tanks  that  were 
used,  it  was  possible  to  tell  at  a  glance 
how  to  vary  the  treatment. 


TABLE  3. 


(Result  A)  Soda  Ash. 
c.c.  Lb. 

0.0 +    5.95 


(Result  B)  Lime, 
c.c.  Lb. 

0.0 +  11.90 


0.4 +   3.92     0.6 +  9.89 

0.8 +    0.91     1.0 +  8.54 

1.0 -   0.35     2.0 +  5.17 

-  .+  l.|2 

.-I-  0.48 

.-  0.19 

-  1.54 

.-  4.88 

.-  8.26 

From  the  result  of  the  above  analysis 
of  softened  water,  result  A  =  4.2  cubic 
centimeters.     By  looking  at  the  table  for 


2.0 

—   0 . 65 

3.0 

3.0 

—  12.95 

3.4 

4.0 

-19.25 

3.6 
4.0 
5.0 
6.0 

March  23,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGIXEER. 


M« 


Result  A  at  4.2  cubic  centimeters,  it  means 
to  cut  the  treatment  down  by  about  30 
pounds.     Therefore, 

53  5  —  20  =  33  5 

■pounds  of  soda  ash,  which  is  correct.  The 
other  result,  1.2  cubic  centimeters  for  B,  by 
the  tabic  indicates  that  eight  pounds  more 
'•■■•'•  are  necessary  for  the  completion  of 
treatment.     Therefore, 

91  -f  8  =  99 
uis    <i     lime.     New     trcatinrnr,     v?  ? 
:)ds  of  soda  ash,   100  poun<ls  01   liiiic 
'     analysis   the   next   day   checked   this 
ind  it  was  found  to  be  correct. 

Cost  of  Treatment 

1  or  September,   1908,  this   was  $103.80 

*         for  boiler   compound.     The 

::icnt  for  1000  gallons  at  the 

•  III    market    prices    for    high    calciinn 

and   58-tcst    sfKia  ash   is  665   cents 

limr  used  should  be  high  in  calcium 

le,    of    appro.ximatcly    the     following 

lysis :     Calcium  oxide,  9&5  per  cent. , 

K'nesium,    i    per   cent.;    iron,    alumina, 

a,  0.5  per  cent. 

'■hen  properly  hydrated  it  should  con- 
15    to   25    degrees    moisture,   as    this 
is  liable  to  air  slack  during  the  sum- 
:   months  unless  the  hydration  is  com- 
plete.    The  ordinary   iJolomite  lime  con- 
t.iiiis  from  20  to  30  per  cent,  magnesium, 
h  is  useless  as  far  as  the  treatment  is 
rrned  and   it   is  best   to  buy  on  test 
still  farther  check  up  the  lime  by  an 
sional  analysis. 

RtUfCING    BolLEK     kcPAIKS 


etc,  and  the  remainder.  $;>V».  f..r   »toi,er 
fuel  platet.     Wit! 

cords  shown  in  i  .„.    ,  

Mblr   to    follow  cloicly   the   per 
*!cprccution  and   repairs    to    aiij     c^.ncr 
and  also  keep  a  cloic  check  on  the  re 
newalt  of  tubes  ai  '  ' 

The      boiler      < 
eighteen    40r> 
hor«»'^v>wr 
1     ■  rr. 

itiif   thr   carl\ 
1!:   ti'i;-    oi    the    year 
'liKtit  improvement  in  :... 
boilers  and  the  number  of  ■ 
This  was  due  to  the  fact,  tn-ir 
importance   of   the   treatment    w 
ni/' 
cr. 

from  <1^>   to  Ua>  or  ai 
treatment    twice   a   wc< 
interruption*       The    bst    oi    June,    how 
ever,   the   writer   took    charge,    and    the 
above  would   indicate  that   some  sort  of 
system  is  necetaary  for  the  best   retulti. 

Ry  Table  4  the  average  cott  of  mam- 
lenance  for  material  w       *        '  the 

first  six  months;  the  ..  the 

last   four  mi>nths  was  ^^7,  a  ^vtnc  o' 
$160  a  month  for  the  phnf 

The  writer  i' 
Ho^le,  chief  eng: 
tion,  for  courtesies  extended. 


PolvtrrhnK  Meduaicftl  bocjcty 
Mectioff 


Hydroclrcinc  Development    al 
Grand  FalU.  N.  B. 


rW 


The  contr.i  1 

It    should   be   borne   in   mind   that   this  involved  in  t:  «•:  • 

lysis  is  not  absolutely  correct  and  that  of  the  Grand   Falls   I' 

r    factors    will   enter    into   the   treat-  the  St.  John  nver  al  • 

t.     The  river-water  analysis  will  gen-  has  been  awarded  to  ' 

ly  give  an  overdose  of  lime  and  soda  hreth   organization   of    .>«•>•     i-.m        i-<- 

This  will  cause  liming  and  foaming  i.'^"'  '»  '"  develop  100,000  horsepower  in 
lie  boilers,  so  it  is  necessary  to  keep 


ritmmm,    MarHi   A 


tke  Gm  -i»(m  oI 

Amrrtcan     Socsccy    of     Utthmmc*! 


n^  *[•-••  •■•> 


•ni 

ftobstdiary.  the  Naiioai 
It  does  n '♦  K  •«-•#■♦ 
sen. 

F'>i!~»      »  '  rrroK  I    AUirrti     wrvn 

«at    ::•-,   rr-:,      ritcfru^«d   by    qm$Utm» 

■dcnnnc   the   kces 

"W**  ^'^  'l^ipiait. 

i'K^rawSkUk.  <  -at- 

' ''fRpany,  (a* '  i  •  aoa 

"i  tyknc  hlowpip>   tor  wtMHS 

an  I  ■<<?*!%        P«     r.nxirt      in-*r»i 


■I    K  •♦■I' 
'nadr  tr-v 
ifn,  and  altf^  ■' 
'1  utd  sled  In  '^^t** 
Mitiooal  t>y 
by  the  iji 
'f  about   7   mclic* 


IT 

1 

1    iilh. 

Main- 

n  II 

M 

1- 

>•« 

try 

tmry 

sia  W 

l»i  IS 

0«n*i 

JJ 

4«n  iM 

lu 

I'l  -■ 

-    -■••n 
it 

M 

IS 

'4 
It 

•4 
IS 
IS 

u 

1 

■ 

They  are  on  thr 


■  rvrr   sral' 


Mitf  • 


inrai  ttm******- 


.,    In^mrnmtitmti  ۥ 


AMM 


'■d   on    the   conditions 
the   river,  etc.,  for 
if'l'-   I  shows  the  rev...: 
The  numl>cr   < 

-r.,  ha*  f— -    -     '         ' 
the  exp*"' 


-f    I' 


556 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  23,  1909. 


Practical    Letters    from     Practical    Men 


Don't  Bother  About    the    Style,    but   Write    Just    What    You  Think, 
Know  or  Want  to  Know   About  Your  Work,  and  Help  Each  Other 


WE     PAY 

Renewing  a  Valve  Seat 


Some  time  ago  the  valve-chest  face  of 
a  high-pressure  cylinder  became  so  badly 
worn  and  scored  that  a  new  valve  and 
valve  face  were  necessary.  The  new  valve 
was  finished  complete  from  measurements 
taken  from  the  old  valve  and  the  valve 
chest.  The  new  seat  was  machined  the 
exact  width,  and  approximately  the 
proper  thickness,  allowance  being  made 
for  some  fitting;  the  ports  were  also  fin- 
ished to  size.  This  meant  that  after  the 
old  valve  seat  was  removed  it  would  only 
be  necessary  to  make  a  templet  from  the 
old  holes,  drill  and  counterbore  the  new 
seat  and  bed  it  in  position ;  then  the 
screws  being  put  in,  the  job  would  be 
completed.  It  sounds  quite  simple  and 
easy. 

For  various  reasons  it  was  considered 
expedient  to  carry  the  job  through  on  a 
Friday  night,  and  have  the  engine  ready 
for  work  at  6  a.m.  the  following  morn- 
ing. Accordingly,  when  steam  was  shut 
off  at  5  :30,  operations  were  begun.  The 
casing  door  was  removed  and  the  valve 
spindle  and  valve  taken  out.  After  some 
preliminary  cleaning  out  of  the  slots  in 
the  holding-on  screws,  the  serious  part  of 
the  work  was  begun.  The  holding-on 
screws  were  of  brass,  H  inch  in  diameter, 
with  slotted  heads.  After  removing  the 
screws  holding  the  valve  seat  in  place  an 
attempt  was  made  to  remove  it  with  steel 
wedges,  but  without  success ;  it  seemed  to 
be  rusted  on  solid.  It  was  then  decided 
to  split  it  off  in  pieces.  A  line  of  holes 
was  drilled  down  the  center  of  the  valve 
face  and  nearly  through ;  the  remaining 
metal  was  then  cut  out  with  a  cape  chisel. 
Wedges  were  inserted  in  this  space  and 
the  face  wedged  off  in  pieces. 

After  tapping  out  the  holes  for  the  pins, 
stout  drawing  paper  was  procured  and  a 
templet  made  from  the  valve  chest,  ports 
and  holes.  The  holes  were  then  marked 
and  drilled  on  the  new  valve  seat,  which 
was  then  bedded  into  position.  The  rust 
had  left  the  chest  face  somewhat  uneven, 
but  with  a  judicious  use  of  the  chisel  and 
file  it  was  soon  pronounced  "good 
enough."'  A  thin  coating  of  red  lead  was 
placed  between  the  face  and  the  chest  and 
the  screws  put  in  tightly.  The  new  valve 
and  spindle  were  then  placed  in  position, 
the  door  put  on  and  the  engine  was  ready 
for  steam. 

W.  Burns. 

Glasgow,  Scotland. 


FOR     USEFUL     IDEAS 

A  Gasket  Difficulty 


I 


A  troublesome  gasket  in  a  'vertical  sur- 
face condenser  recently  came  under  my 
observation.  It  was  located  between  the 
vapor    dome    and    the   barrel.      The    con- 


CAUSE   OF    A    GASKET    DIFFICULTY 

denser  is  used  to  condense  the  hot  vapors 
from  a  drying  oven.  Numerous  failures 
of  the  gasket  necessitated  the  frequent  re- 
moval of  the  dome. 

It  was  noted  that  when  the  circulating 
water  had  been  run  through  under  higher 
pressure  than  usual  for  several  weeks,  the 
gasket  lasted  much  longer.    This  led  us  to 


the  solution.  The  outlet  pipe  at  the  top 
of  the  barrel  turned  downward,  as  shown 
by  the  dotted  lines  in  the  accompanying 
sketch,  and  prevented  the  maintenance  of 
a  head  of  water  sufficient  to  come  into 
contact  with  the  tube  plate.  The  loop  in 
the  pipe  keeps  the  troublesome  surface 
flushed  with  water,  and  obviates  a  great 
deal  of  bothersome  work. 

J.  J.  O'Brien. 
Buffalo,  N.  Y. 


Technical  Education 


Through  the  engineering  journals,  at 
frequent  intervals,  we  see  the  young  tech- 
nical graduate  heated  up  in  the  furnace 
of  public  inspection  and  then  placed  un- 
der the  steam  hammer  to  be  knocked  and 
pounded  into  shape,  or  ridiculed  by  a  few 
prejudiced  unbelievers. 

Notwithstanding  all  that  has  been  said 
to  the  contrary,  there  is  no  person  in  the 
world  who  realizes  how  little  he  knows 
as  does  the  graduate  during  his  first 
year  out  of  college.  He  begins  to  see  that 
he  has  just  got  a  few  principles  or  foun- 
dations by  which  he  may  use  his  brains 
for  useful  thinking.  For  this  reason,  con- 
trary to  Mr.  Johnston's  assumption 
that  the  "ordinary  grad"  considers  him- 
self 100  per  cent,  efficiency,  he  joins  the 
ranks  of  the  toilers,  and  is  willing  and 
anxious  to  pick  up  the  tricks  and  kinks 
as  they  present  themselves;  and  the  man 
who  takes  the  pains  to  help  the  poor 
"tech"  on  his  way  finds  a  warm  place  in 
the  heart  of  the  latter. 

It  is  admitted  that  a  great  many  boys 
have  the  conceited  and  bloated  feeling, 
but  that  does  not  come  after  graduation, 
it  is  in  the  fellow  when  he  comes  to  col- 
lege, and  in  the  most  of  our  schools  it  is 
the  purpose  to  kill  this  evil  by  means  of 
that  essenti-al  to  all  condensing  apparatus, 
cold  water. 

A  large  percentage  of  the  fellows  who 
come    from    our    State    universities    and 
other     institutions     worked     their     way 
through     by     sacrificing     a    good     many 
things,  and  they  appreciate  the  value  ofl 
technical     education.      Do    not    condemni 
the  college  graduate  because  he  is  not  ex- 
pert   in    some    particular    thing;    he    has' 
got  only  the  fundamentals,  while  you  may 
have  worked   on   this   very   job   for  five, 
ten  or  twenty  years. 

Caleb  H.  Johnson. 

Orono,  Me. 


March  2^,  1909. 
Do  Crank  Pins  Always  Wear  RatV 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 
Scaled  Pipe  Coooectioo 


\W.  O.  Piatt,  in  his  article  on :  "Do 
Crank  Pins  Always  Wear  Flat?"  in  the 
February  g  number,  brings  up  that  ques- 
tion in  a  direct  manner.  He  has  had  per- 
sonal experience  with  bearings  on  crank 
pins  where  the  pin  did  not  wear  flat 
Some  pins  wear  flat  and  others  do  not. 


1-itf.    I   IS  a   ik-^ 
nected  with  the  i< 

!:ratrr  in  the  Criminal  Court  buiMing, 
Chicago,  IIL  The  pump*  refuted  to  nm 
at  their  rated  speed,  although  thry  did  to 
when  insuUed,  their  speed  gradually  re- 
ducing  until   it    was   evident    that   some- 


l|_^|-  — ""•    'i 


U  mttm,ttmm-i 


S«P».,   tm 


II    -11    ■    fl-h 


lUk»«ti  Ira*  faio^ 


ttlvam  Lib*  to  I'uin^ 


I>rip  irum  Uoi 


nu  T*i*« 

l.«*k«4 


a: 


H««  WaMf  Mlir 


«•  iwp— ,      UP 


>^ 


va 


tile  psiwip  p^fino^f  ^ 
tcr 
let. 
compoMiioii  ««s 

the  nvain  riK^-itr 
»tr 


ckeaoM 


Atikis 

eskamMcd  toward 

ptmm  tkM  if  aay  r»- 

f  cr«d  ID  Ma  fm- 

uriweca  tW  two  4| 


degree  efls;  oooacqwaiJjr.  1  ordcrvd  Iki 
exlaoM  main  takm  ap«n  Wtwcoi  ikcar 
jointt. 

No  flaaic  tmioM  bdi«  scar.  »e  Mcd  a 
larfc  4-iadi  pipe  oner,  pi i rig  M  M  iW 
point  D  and  cut  oai  •  pMcc  aboat  8  iacW* 
long.  The  cooditsoM  of  iht  iatcnor  of 
the  pipe  u  shown  in  Fig  l;  iht  iewBlim 
of  the  different  byvrs  of  scab  i»  shnna 
by  the  nmncroos  cirdr*.  It  wm  fosnd 
that  this  teak;  whidi  was  as  hard  M  a 
piece  of  limetloac.  rtchid  the  eaiire  4b> 
lance.  6  feet,  bcfwn  the  two 
elU 

J    W 

Oikaigo.  UL 


nC.     I.    CONNECTIONS  OP  rCCO  PUMPS  AND  HOT-WATC*  MCATCa 


ExUaocou*   Supcrriaon   ol   P 
PUato 


''■pending  on  several  conditions.  The 
'  and  most  important  of  these  is  the 
lilting  of  the  bearing  around  the  pin.  If 
the  bearing  fits  snugly  the  pin  cannot  wear 
flat,  while  if  it  docs  not  the  pin  will  surely 
wear  flat,  especially  in  a  single-acting  en- 
gine. I'his  may  be  illustrated  in  the  fol- 
lowing manner : 

Take   a   flat    surface   bearing   on   a   pin 

-•lotig  a  single  element  of  its  surface  and, 

')i  the  impulse  all  in  one  direction,  the 

r   of  the   pin   toward   the   impulse   will 

says   wear   flat,   the   flatness   (Icpnic!::..- 

.  tiitude  of   the    impulse.      llnv 

to  be   the  rfn'liti'>n   wh^n    ,» 


However,   in  a  well-hticd  bearing  11   i> 
i'ii|>ossible  for  the  pin  to  wear  very  flat. 

'  to  make  it  wear  flat  the  box  must  bear 
luirder  at  one  place  than  at  another.  A^ 
the  box  fits  the  pin  it  must  bear  har<l 
•und  one  whole  half  instead  *<{  mrtrh 
a  line  Further,  the  iminilsr  nv;.!. 
I.<»ts  for  almost  a  half  rr\ 
pin,    ^n   thnt    thr   portion   •■: 

;  is  forced  by 
all    the    way    .  • 
pin.     The  very  slight  flatness   **lm-h  iti  in 
he  induced  by  the  resiliencie*  «>f  thr  m.i 
tcrial  in  the  box  and  pin.  and  by  the  «ti).ill 
clear  All -e    which    the    box    must    hx'.< 
order  to  run  freely,  are  taken  off  I.. 
genrr.il     f  ririi..|i.i|      ,|.-i|.,(i      rr' 
high    (1.1  rt^     f-T--.'       I"  !       '         ' 
exerted  on   ' 
pin  by  thr   r 

ing    back    to   its   original    ; 
last  force  it  alio  i.<p<"rnfr 
gine  by  the  comv 


thing  must  be  done  to  provide  sufBcicnl 
water  for  the  boilers,  tanks,  etc.  The 
steam  for  the  pumps  was  taken  from  an 
auxiliary  steam  main.  The  exhaust  from 
each  p' 
haust  t. 
exhaust  an<l 

It      will      I' 

house- supply   tank    it    provided    with 
valve  A.  to  heal  by  exhaust   tteam.  aixl 
a  valve  B.  to  heat  by  live  steam. 


PIC    z    sc« 


I  shoold  like  to  aA  Ike 
ttoos    of    the    riigiiitiMg 
Company,  of  New  York  OI7: 

To  whom  do  tkey  forwtsk 
proof  of  their  ability  to  dccrtAse  Ike  coa 
of  power  and  mamtain  or  acreftae  ikr 
efficiency  of  the  plant  wiihovl  as^  for- 
ther  outlay  or  espewditore  oa  Ike  pMt  of 

■hey  afford  to  hire  a  w«ll-<rBiHd 


acnaapissfa  * 

|*cf»rrv«-il  ir  • 


or  da  iktv  mmm 


Md  « 


•■•♦♦f     »       » 


WU    »«4 


r  » 


I.OS  .Nngelev  Cal 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  23,  1909. 


book  is  to  be  taken  as  documentary  evi- 
dence that  all  inside  the  covers  may  be 
taken  literally  by  the  man  who  foots  the 
bills? 

Horace  L.   Br.\dbury. 
West  Everett,   Mass. 


Removing  Broken  Studs  or  Set 
Screws 


There  are  two  methods  in  general  use 
for  extracting  a  broken  stud  or  a  set 
screw.  One  is  to  drill  it  out  with  a  drill 
of  about  the  same  diameter  as  the  bottom 
of  the  threads,  and  remove  the  remaining 
small  pieces  from  the  hole  with  a  chisel 
or  other  suitable  tool ;  the  other  method  is 
to  take  a  round-nose  or  diamond-point 
chisel  and  drive  the  stud  around,  thus 
screwing  it  out,  sometimes. 

The  first  method  has  many  drawbacks, 
as  the  threads  in  the  hole  are  often  dam- 
aged, either  by  the  drill  running  to  one 
side  or  during  the  subsequent  operation 
of  extracting  the  threads ;  it  is  also  next 
to  impossible  to  drill  out  the  commercial 
set  screws  that  are  case-hardened  all  over. 

The  second  method  is  not  always  suc- 
cessful and  very  often  does  more  harm 
than  good,  but  sometimes  very  stubborn 
pieces  may  be  started  by  employing  two 
chisels,  one  on  each  side,  and  having  each 
man  strike  in  unison. 

Fig.  I  illustrates  a  job  I  had  to  do 
some  time  ago.  The  casting  weighed  sev- 
eral tons,  and  the  only  shop  within  miles 
was  a  blacksmith  shop,  where  I  borrowed 


a  breast  drill  with  a  ^-inch  drill  and 
forged  a  punch  similar  to  Fig.  2.  I  then 
drilled  a  hole  Yi  inch  deep  in  the  end  of 
the  broken  stud,  drove  in  the  punch,  ap- 
plied a  wrench  to  the  projecting  end  of  the 
tool  and  screwed  out  the  troublesome 
piece. 

This  method  has  since  proved  ex- 
tremely useful  on  many  occasions,  especi- 
ally when  extracting  small  set  screws,  as 
the    center    of    these    is    generally    soft 


enough  to  enable  a  small  hole  to  be  drilled 
with  comparative  ease.  I  have  also  re- 
moved taps  by  the  same  method,  after 
softening  with  a  torch. 

A.  J.  Taylor. 
Nanaimo,  B.  C. 


Pressure  Vibration  in  a  Steam 
Main 


The  accompanying  indicator  diagrams 
were  taken  at  one  of  the  power  plants  of 
which  I  had  supervision.  They  are  a  good 
illustration  of  the  influence  which  can  be 


Atmospheric  Liae 


Atmospheric  Line 


.^tnaosphenc  Line 


FIG.    3 

exerted  upon  one  engine  by  another  fed 
from  the  same  steam  main  and  standing 
nearer  the  boilers. 

A  6-inch  steam  main  from  a  battery  of 
Heine  boilers  feeds,  by  means  of  a  branch 
pipe,  a  30  and  52  by  48-inch  cross-com- 
pound noncondensing  direct-connected  en- 
gine. The  pipe  then  diminishes  in  cross 
section  and  supplies  an  Ingersoll-Sergeant 
16  and  32  by  36-inch  cross-compound  non- 
condensing  air-compressor  engine  with 
Corliss  valves. 

When  the  dynamo  engine  is  running,  the 
intake  line  of  the  second  engine  shows 
considerable  vibration;  when  the  dynamo 
engine  is  not  running,  the  intake  line  of 
the   compressor  engine  becomes   straight. 

In  Fig.  I  is  shown  a  diagram  of  the 
high-pressure  cylinder  taken  from  the 
compressor  engine  when  the  dynamo  en- 
gine was  running  under  usual  conditions. 
Fig.  2  shows  a  diagram  taken  under  the 
same  conditions,  but  with  a  100  per  cent, 
cutoff  to  show  distinctly  the  characteristic 
vibration  of  the  intake  line  on  the  com- 
pressor.    Fig.  3  shows  a  normal  diagram 


of  the  same  cylinder,  the  compressor 
working  under  the  same  load,  all  the  con- 
ditions being  the  same  as  in  the  first  case, 
except  that  the  dynamo  engine  is  not 
running. 

During  these  trials  the  dynamo  engine 
made  103.5  revolutions  per  minute,  de- 
veloping 156  horsepower.  The  compressor 
engine  made  2^^  revolutions  per  minute, 
compressing  750  cubic  feet  of  free  air  per 
minute  to  an  average  pressure  of  87 
pounds. 

The  second  diagram  shows  nine  vibra- 
tions. Multiplied  by  23,  the  number  pf 
revolutions  per  minute,  gives  207  double 
vibrations  per  minute,  which  exactly  cor- 
responds to  the  number  of  strokes  of  the 
direct-coupled   dynamo   engine. 

A  comparison  of  the  energies  used  in 
the  compressor  in  the  cases  of  Figs,  i 
and  3  gives  the  following  difference  in 
favor  of  Fig.  3 :  Fig.  i,  high-pressure 
cylinder,  86.193  horsepower;  low-pressure 
cylinder,  75.33  horsepower.  Fig.  3,  high- 
pressure  cylinder,  80.154  horsepower  ;  low- 
pressure  cylinder,  74.25  horsepower. 

The  vibration  of  the  steam  pressure  in 
the  main  in  this  case  causes  a  loss  of  about 
4.4  per  cent,  in  the  efficiency  of  the  com- 
pressor engine. 

W.    N.    POLAKOV. 

New   York   City. 


Faulty  Pump  Connections 


->  The  arrangement  of  a  new  boiler-feed 

pump  that  caused  trouble  is  shown  in  the 


Power,  A*  i'. 

FAULTY  PUMP  CONNECTIONS 

sketch.  The  pump  had  a  lift  of  20  feet 
and  was  placed  quite  close  to  the  feed- 
water  heater.  When  the  pump  was  first 
started  no,  trouble  was  experienced,  but 
after  stopping  and  then  restarting  the 
pump  the  failure  occurred. 

The  trouble  was  caused  by  the  pump 
being  placed  too  close  to  the  feed-water 
heater,  as  the  heat  from  the  heater  coils 
prevented  the  pump  from  producing  a 
vacuum,    consequently    the    water    would 


March  23,  1909. 

fail  to  rise  to  the  plungers.  A  check 
valve  C  was  placed  in  the  discharge  line 
from  the  pump  to  the  healer  and  no  fur- 
ther trouble  was  experienced  This  little 
failure  called  an  outside  engineer  from  a 
distance  of  over  100  miles. 

In  erecting  the  pump  carelessness  had 
been  displayed  in  placing  the  suction  line, 
loot  valve  and  strainer  as  shown,  conse- 
'liiently  the  foot  valve  failed  to  work.  It 
was  tested  by  trying  to  prime  the  auction 
pipe,  but  it  could  not  be  filled,  imlicatiiiK 
that  the  foot  valve  was  nut  tinhi.  An 
examination  of  the  valve  discIo-.ed  its 
faulty  |>osition. 

C  R.  McGahev. 

Lynchburg,   V'a. 


Ejiginecrs'   Knock   Detector 


The  instrument  shown  in  the  acconi- 
•nying  cut  is  an  ennineers'  homemade 
■  r,  invaluable  for  determining  the 
11  of  knocks,  p<junds,  drips  and 
aks.  A  great  many  of  these  detectors 
c  used  by  municipal  water  inspectors  in 
irir  "waste  and  leak"  inspections. 
The  principle  of  operation  and  mode  of 
nstruction  are   similar   to   those   of  an 


■^  r 


KNOCK    !'l!l<  TO« 


hragm,   which  prt>dticr«  the   i 
;..:..ry  effect  on  the  ear     Th'  "■■ 
r   construction  arr   Mitnr    *,  ; 
Idering  tool«  and  6  iti>  br^  <•! 
'■out   1/16  inch  in  dijtnrtrr 
.'•  wire  the  hrtler. 
Thr  .(tt  show*  the  eon^frMrti'ut 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINKKR. 

in  dianw^rr      Oo^  the  m'!  with   3   liiV 


<      Make 

"el  3  or  4  ... 
•  J  mch  h*>le  in  the  cover  : 
the  diaphragm  2  inches   in   >. 
let  it  fit  lor>M-ly  under  the  riv 
the  rod. 
To  use  fh«  instrument.  fJarr  the  rM  rrt^i 


located.      lo  locate  leaks   in    ; 
off  all  valves  and  then  listen  t.,. 
water  in  the  pipes. 

J.  J    OBuEX 
Buffalo.  N.  Y 


<VJ 


Ad  Eagioe  RnrolabQO  Ga^c 


An  Elnginecr  Who  Is  also  a  Doctor 

<  >iic  oi  • 
t'.n   &    All. 

.1-.  .ifi.T  hi*  tbily  run  the  engineer  be 
como  a  doctor.  He  is  a  graduate  of 
Brown  University  and  has  a  medical 
diploma.  His  name  i»  H.  F.  Brackett. 
and  he  drives  a  locomotive  because  he 
loves  the  "iron   steed."      '.  » 

dnrinir  ih*-  d.iy  he  w»-n'l»  1 


in   hand.     His   calls   upon    |m- 

over,  his  silk  hat  is  placed  in  1' 

off   comes   his   white   necktie,    fancy    vest 

and   other   stylish   clothing,   and   an    *- 

later   Dr.    Bradcett    is   speeding   <j\r 


.^^ 


'..J 


J» 

I 


3 


\ 


•  •rk  expr 

I..  ),... 


Bucm-uvoLtnv  « 

iMcd   10   ka«r 
arovnd"    villi    tha    gonnwn    aad    titm 


■■■•     'iTr\\ 
hrrti  in  a    ■• 


•tfHt. 


W«  nm  *i 


56o 


Boiler  Settings 


When  called  upon  to  design  a  new 
boiler  setting  the  engineer  usually  recalls 
the  defects  in  his  present  settings  and 
endeavors  to  eliminate  them  in  the  new. 

Probably  the  weakest  point  in  the  brick- 
work of  a  return-tubular  boiler  setting  is 
the  back  connection,  which  is  sometimes 
so  small  that  the  tubes  can  only  be 
reached  with  difficulty,  and  often  the  top 
row  of  tubes  is  so  close  to  the  arch  that 
they  will  not  admit  ,an  expander.  There 
is  no  reason  why  this  part  of  the  combus- 
tion chamber  should  not  be  roomy. 

Back  arches  made  up  of  firebrick  will  be 
found  to  be  unsatisfactory  and  expensive, 
considering  the  frequency  with  which  they 
must  be  renewed.  A  slight  shrinkage  in 
each  of  the  numerous  joints  will  soon 
cause  the  brick  to  loosen  and  a  bursting 
tube  or  an  accidental  blow  when  clean- 
ing will  bring  it  down.  There  are  several 
forms  of  arches  composed  of  molded 
blocks  of  refractory  material,  which  will 
hold  their  place  and  are  independent  of 
iron  bars  or  forms  for  support. 

A  space  of  }i  inch  should  be  left  be- 
tween the  head  and  the  back  arch  to  allow 
free  movement  of  the  shell,  otherwise  the 
back  wall  will  bulge  out  and  crack.  This 
space  should  be  packed  with  asbestos  after 
the  boiler  has  been  fired  up.  Usually  some 
of  the  rivets  of  the  braces  will  come  into 
this  space  and  if  the  heads  are  formed  up 
as  they  should  be  will  interfere  with  the 
free  movement  of  the  boiler.  This  can 
be  overcome  by  chipping  out  a  recess  in 
the  arch  opposite  each  rivet  head. 

The  combustion  chamber  should  be 
paved  with  firebrick,  starting  at  a  point 
near  the  top  of  the  bridgewall,  sloping 
until  directly  under  the  end  of  the  boiler 
and  then  continue  level  to  the  back  wall. 
The  clean-out  door  in  the  back  wall 
should  be  set  so  as  to  be  on  a  level  with 
the  paved  floor,  which  will  render  it  easy 
to  remove  the  soot.  The  clean-out  door 
should  be  of  a  heavy  pattern  and  fit  the 
frame  closely.  The  frame  should  be 
firmly  anchored  and  made  tight.  More 
air  will  usually  leak  in  between  the  frame 
and  the  brickwork  or  around  a  warped 
clean-out  door  than  anywhere  else  in  a 
setting. 

The  blowoflF  pipe  should  be  protected 
by  a  firebrick  shield,  open  on  the  back  for 
inspection.  A  pier  of  red  brick  should  be 
built  from  the  foundation  up  to  near  the 
floor  of  the  combustion  chamber  to  form 
a  firm  ind  independent  support  for  the 
blowoff  shield.  The  blowoflf  pipe  should 
be  extra  heavy  and  extend  from  the 
boiler  to  an  elbow  under  the  paving  of 
the  combustion  chamber,  and  then  through 
the  back  wall.  A  thimble  of  4-inch  pipe 
should  be  built  in  the  back  wall  for  the 
pipe  to  pass  through  so  that  it  can  be 
easily  renewed.  The  opening  between 
the  pipe  and  thimble  can  be  filled  with 
asbestos  fiber. 

Care   must  be   taken   to    see    that    the 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

brackets  have  an  even  bearing  on  the  wall 
plates.  If  this  is  not  the  case  it  will  cause 
a  serious  strain  upon  the  shell.  It  is  cus- 
tomary to  specify  that  the  bottom  of  the 
brackets  be  machine  finished,  and  it  is  just 
as  important  that  the  wall  plates  be  fin- 
ished on  their  top  surface.  Care  should 
also  be  taken  that  the  rear  brackets  are 
properly  placed  on  their  rollers  and  that 
a  space  is  left  around  them  when  brick- 
ing in,  so  as  to  allow  free  movement. 

It  is  customary  to  carry  the  outside 
walls  considerably  above  the  top  of  the 
boiler  and  to  finish  with  a  stone  or  con- 
crete coping.  There  should  be  a  space  left 
in  the  center  of  the  back  wall  about  2  feet 
wide,  with  the  bottom  on  a  level  with  the 
top  of  the  arch  so  that  soot  on  the  top 
of  the  setting  can  be  swept  out  and  col- 
lected here.  Usually  the  top  of  the  arch 
is  the  bottom  of  a  deep  pit  which  is  hard 
to  keep  clean.  Such  an  opening  will 
facilitate  repairs  to  the  arch. 

It  will  be  found  very  convenient  when 


March  23,  1909. 

tween    the    arch    and    shell    packed    with 
plastic  asbestos. 

Many  of  these  small  details  which  the 
operating  engineer  sees  do  not  come  to 
the  notice  of  the  designet-,  as  he  does  not 
have  the  opportunity  to  see  the  weak 
points  in  his  plans ;  however,  it  is  usually 
these  very  things  which  cause  the  annoy- 
ance and  extra  labor  in  operating  and 
maintaining  the  plant. 

Lewis  C.  Reynolds. 

Willard,  N.  Y. 


A  Useful  Leveling  Instrument 


The  accompanying  sketch  shows  how  a 
leveling  instrument  I  have  used  for  some 
time  is  made.  The  two  gage-glass  stand- 
ards are  made  of  ordinary  pipe  and  fit- 
tings, except  that  at  C  C  the  pipes  are 
filled  with  lead  and  calked.  A  ^-inch 
hose  nipple  is  used  at  D  D  to  connect  to 
an  ordinary  50-foot  garden  hose,  although 


Plug  for  Filling 


A  USEFUL  LEVELING   INSTRUMENT 


making  tests  to  have  an  opening  into  the 
combustion  chamber  back  of  the  bridge- 
wall,  also  in  the  back  wall  opposite  the 
tubes,  to  insert  a  pyrometer  or  to  connect 
a  draft  gage  or  gas  sampler.  This  can  be 
accomplished  by  inserting  a  iJ4-inch  pipe 
in  the  wall  flush  with  each  side  and 
screwing  a  cap  on  the  outside.  The  inner 
end  can  be  packed  with  asbestos  fiber.  A 
^-inch  hole  drilled  in  the  delivery  pipe 
between  the  valve  and  the  nozzle  will  save 
drilling  one  by  hand  when  it  is  desired  to 
insert  a   calorimeter. 

The  ashpit  should  be  deep  and  have  a 
waterproof  cement  bottom.  It  should 
slope  back  from  the  ashpit  door  to  a  point 
under  the  back  edge  of  the  dead  plate  and 
the  cement  should  be  carried  up  the  sides 
and  bridgewall  at  least  6  inches,  to  pre- 
vent wetting  the  brick  when  water  is  car- 
ried in  the  ashpit.  It  will  also  eliminate 
the  corners  which  cannot  be  kept  clean. 
Care  should  be  taken  that  the  fire-door 
arches  extend  back  far  enough  to  protect 
the  front  row  of  rivets  and  the  space  be- 


a  small  rubber  gas  tube  would  do  as  well. 

In  filling,  place  the  standards  side  by 
side  on  the  bench  and  allow  the  hose  to 
trail  out  on  the  floor;  then  fill  with  water 
to  the  top  of  the  coupling  and  screw  the 
plug  in  tight.  See  that  there  are  no  air 
pockets  in  the  hose,  as  the  air  might  cause 
an  inaccuracy  in  the  level  by  bubbling  up 
through  the  water. 

One  person  must  tend  each  gage,  and  at 
a  signal  each  must  mark  the  hight  of  the 
water  level  on  the  wall ;  then  after  closing 
the  valves  A  transports  his  gage  and  holds 
the  water  level  at  the  mark  made  by  B 
while  B  makes  a  new  mark;  thus  relays 
may  be  established  for  any  practical  dis- 
tance. 

This  device  will  be  found  very  conven- 
ient where  it  would  be  inconvenient  to  use 
a  transit,  even  if  one  were  at  hand,  be- 
cause of  darkness  and  intervening  walls. 
It  will  also  be  found  useful  in  grading 
long  lines  of  steam  pipe,  etc. 

Philip  Parker. 

Woburn,  Mass. 


March  23,  1909 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINi 


Throwing  Coal  Away  by  the  Ton 


I  was  recently  in  an  engine  room  that 
iiiowed  how  coal  could  be  thrown  away 
by  the  ton.  There  were  two  iooo-hor»«- 
power  vertical  engines  of  the  highspeed, 
cross-compound  type  running  condensing 
There  was  also  another  small' 
similar  type  to  carry  the  h. 
nights.  The  real  trouble  was  m  iiit»  »iit^U 
engine  and  in  one  of  the  larger  units. 
Their  exhaust  connections  are  arranged 
as  in  the  accompanying  sketch,  and  to 
make  matters  worse,  the  pistons  are  of 
the  oval  type  with  dished  heads,  so  that 
the  bottom  one  is  like  a  cup  in  which  con- 
densation nuy  collect. 

The  exhaust  connections  shown  in  the 
sketch  may  work  all  right  if  the  engine  is 
loaded  all  the  time,  and  there  is  sufficient 
.  olume  of  steam  to  keep   it   swept  clear 

f  water.  When  the  engine  is  not  fully 
'  aded  the  steam  will  cut  across  corners 
.'id  allow  nil  the  condensation  to  run  back 
•ito  the  cylinder,  as  it  is  a  difficult  matter 
.ny  way  to  carry  the  water  around  the 
'  urve  A,  up  th«^  vertical  portion  and  turn 
a  right  angle  into  the  exhaust  pipe. 


credited  to  the  boilers  giving  w«t  steam. 

tMt'htUn  !int(  tboosuuls  of  botlert  of 
;;.r  saruc  r-  ■  -  -  ^"-  -"v'"^'  '-ad  scrvK*. 
and  show  : 

To  remcu'.  mc  ir-iuTur  ::.■-.  Hmt€  ttkcfl 
the  trap  off  every  drain  p:p«  and 


TImd 

^   arc    run   wt<le 

h  roal  can  blow 

xo  waste  ti  Alto  tJM 

chance  the  .    -  dry  steam 

with  such  a  drain  and  the  fires  ran  so 

v.,,,t  .».  ,t  i^e  breeching  10  the  chiw'"''  •• 

red 

nave   decided   to   get   mok    nrw 

also  some  new  ensincs  of  tome 

'1  right. 

^joilcrs 

if  liiey  tjRly  itad  a  ciuiiKC. 

W    E.  QtAMr 
Rroadatbin.  N.  Y. 


I  riry 
boilers. 


Tranilonner  CoppcctioM 


When  reading  Mr.  Carroll's  letter,  I 
noticed  that  he  does  not  quite  understand 
that  hit  two  transformers  being  connected 


liact.  and  tlM-ti  nrtJ*  dm4t 
\\.r    %r<tj€ui  Thm    a 


(.  ■ 


aajr  troakle 


JAM»  L 


Kste,  I't 


Picaore  Required  to  Rmmbc 


^<^rTM^   teats  em  tknt  jM^imtk 
cyuBocf  (craMi  Miwvm  cjfiaMcfa) 
acttag  oil 

ttrdy  ind>pfdsB<  ct  mtk  odMr.  ««k 
•mnectiona.     TW 

s  the  rcMriu 

.  the  bon^i  sffara  ol 
1/jj    nch    and    tht    1 
pounds     The  cywMef 
necessary  to  raise  the  valr*  is  t9J 
With    the    ralvc    hiTMig    a 
shown  at  B.  Fig   t.  the  laak 
iBb  pounos  aad  the  cyMMVf 


bon^g  wttftfct  Of  wlw  ^  m 


KXHAUST   COKKtCTIONS   Of   lOVt-mttVWM. 

cxuNiitn. 

Ml  the  water  from  the  top  of  the  cylin- 
der is  also  blown  down  to  the  bottom 
When  It  accumulates  in  large  quanitie*  ^ 
portion  of  It  will  be  blown  out.  but  there 

will  .^U.■>\^  I  ■        •   «•  left  in  t' 
tlir      \lr..'-  •        .  will    i«-al> 


y  . 


na  I 


y 


in  <  ip^ii 


K«m»  >Mk ; 


d^lt*  t«b<>  mrr*ftt  froan  iht  three     pmitds.     Tht 

•He  Mflw  aaat.  ti 

connected   b^ 

jii.!     llir     «.«|i 

'.   ibrvc. 


«»• 


W4m»  md  alM*  the 


frequently   f!;<t.k''- 
It   not   tuftii  irii{    u  .r 
but  there  it  mniiKh  for  the  1 
light  blow  I  and  dittress  the 
which,  after  a  time,  will  give 
It  it  whollv  inri 


liKK 

.   wreck 


;>hase  tmfi^tr^i  to  ibr 
motor  cm 
rt  Ita4s   re 


rr*-^ 


fir- 

Jt^  inch    drain    pip<. 

^ntt^r^   ''net,  and   led   'hi^  ,  . 

•  l<-nt*r 

\'   tiiM  engine   room  the  ♦'' 


11  ;■!«•    u'  •  . 
.mid    be    sd. 


S62 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  23,  1909. 


Wear  of  Bearings  on  High  Speed 
Engines 


Many  engineers  say  they  do  not  like 
high-speed  engines,  because  of  their  wear- 
ing so  fast.  I  have  a  iso-horsepower 
high-speed  engine  and  I  find  its  perform- 
ance remarkable  in  this  respect. 

The  engine  has  been  in  service  over 
five  years  and  the  tool  marks  are  quite 
visible  on  every  wearing  journal.  I  have 
taken  up  on  the  two  main  bearings  once 
since  the  engine  was  erected,  and  by  dis- 
connecting the  eccentric  rod  at  the  bail 
joint  and  working  the  valve  by  hand, 
after  steam  is  turned  on,  no  shaft  lunge 
can  be  noticed,  and  it  will  probably  be 
another  year  before  the  bearing  caps  will 
have  to  be  removed.  The  crank-pin 
brasses  ran  for  thirteen  months  without 
adjustment,  and  all  I  took  up  then  was 
the  thickness  of  a  piece  of  very  thin 
paper.  Not  the  slightest  wear  on  the 
crosshead  pin  can  be  detected  with  a 
pair-  of  calipers,  although  the  engine  has 
done  a  twelve-hour  "stunt"  every  day 
since  it  was  first  started.  The  valve  has 
a  large  wearing  surface  and  seems  to  be 
as  tight  as  at  first.  I  use  metallic  pack- 
ing on  the  piston  rod. 

I  also  have  a  20X42-inch  Corliss  engine 
that  has  been  in  service  over  five  years. 
I  have  never  had  to  take  down  a  single 
rod  or  bearing.  I  had  one  of  the  dash- 
pots  out  once,  and  also  centered  the  pis- 
ton rod  in  the  cylinder.  We  also  do  the 
ordinary'  adjusting  all  around  every  so 
often. 

Oaks  Kyger. 

Danville,  111. 


Pump  Valves 


The  writer  was  recently  called  to  a 
plant  to  locate  the  trouble  with  a  boiler- 
feed  pump.  The  engineer  said  he  had  just 
taken  out  the  brass  valves  and  replaced 
them  with  hard-rubber  valves. 

I  found  that  he  had  placed  the  rubber 
valve  on  a  seat  which  did  not  have  any 
bearing  next  to  the  stud,  the  stud  being 
cast  solid  on  the  seat  and  required  a 
valve  with  a  hollow  stem  which  works 
over  the  stud. 

It  was  evident  the  water  would  be 
forced  up  through  the  hole  in  the  valve, 
around  the  stud  and  then  forced  back 
again  by  the  pressure  from  the  boiler,  the 
water  churning  back  and  forth  through 
the  valves.  I  had  him  get  a  new  set  of 
valve  seats,  having  a  screw  stud  and  a 
bearing  around  the  same. 

I  have  found  that  a  good  rubber  valve 
is  the  best  for  a  boiler-feed  pump,  no  mat- 
ter how  hot  the  water  is,  but  I  think  it 
a  good  idea  always  to  place  the  old  brass 
disk  on  top  of  the  rubber,  as  it  dis- 
tributes the  pressure  all  over  the  valve 
and  keeps  it  from  cutting  down  or  sink- 
ing through  the  seat. 


Some  engineers  argue  that  they  must 
have  springs  on  top  of  the  valve  on  a 
boiler-feed  pump.  I  cannot  see  why  this 
should  be,  because  the  pressure  from  the 
boiler  always  holds  them  down,  and  again 
the  area  of  the  top  is  a  great  deal  more 
than  the  bottom,  the  spring  only  making 
it  harder  to  lift. 

H.  T.  Fryant. 

Jackson,   Miss. 


An  Engine  Accident 


Not  long  ago  I  was  running  a  16  and 
30  by  42-inch  cross-compound  Corliss  en- 
gine. It  had  only  been  installed  about 
three  months  when  the  high-pressure  pis- 
ton rod  broke  off  in  one  of  the  three 
threads  remaining  outside  of  the  jam  nut 
of  the  crosshead,  with  the  result  that  the 
cylinder  head  was  pushed  off,  pulling  the 
stud  bolts  out,  breaking  out  the  holes  and 
cracking  the  walls  for  a  distance  of  from 
I  to  6  inches. 

We  had  to  get  a   new   rod,   piston  and 


I  stated  that  the  engine  was  balanced  as 
well  as  it  could  be  without  taking  dia- 
grams every  time  the  load  changed;  but 
the  agent  pointed  out  that  I  was  only 
carrying  5  pounds  receiver  pressure,  and 
that  the  gage  was  tested  and  found  to  be 
all  right.  My  argument  did  not  "go,"  for 
I  could  not  talk  as  well  as  the  agent 

I  told  him  that  the  specifications  called 
for  a  square  thread  on  the  rod,  not  a 
V-shaped  thread,  neither  did  they  call  for 
a  cracked  rod. 

The  accompanying  diagrams  were  taken 
under  the  same  conditions  as  when  the 
rod  broke,  and  I  should  like  some  of  the 
readers  to  point  out  the  defects  of  each 
and  figure  the  horsepower. 

Thomas  Sheehan. 

Pittsfield,  Mass. 


Use  of  Coal  Oil  on  Commutators 


I   can   recommend  the   use   of  coal   oil 
on  commutators  for  low-voltage  machines. 


diagrams  from   a   16  AND  30  BY  42-INCH   CROSS-COMPOUND  CORLISS  ENGINE 


cylinder,  and  as  the  engine  was  guaran- 
teed for  a  year  the  company  naturally  ex- 
pected the  builders  to  pay  the  damage. 
The  agent  was  in  town  and  had  been  in 
looking  the  plant  over  the  day  before  and, 
as  he  said,  had  noticed  that  we  were 
carrying  5  pounds  receiver  pressure  with 
an  average  load  of  about  300  horsepower. 
The  agent  took  the  short  piece  of  broken 
rod  which  showed  about  one-third  of  its 
area  as  a  new  break.  The  other  two- 
thirds  had  been  pounded  smooth,  show- 
ing that  the  crack  had  been  opening  and 
closing  a  great  number  of  times,  perhaps, 
since  the  rod  was  put  in. 

In  a  week  he  came  back  with  data  from 
experts  showing  that  there  was  enough 
good  metal  in  the  rod  to  pull  the  load, 
provided  the  load  were  balanced.  I  was 
called  to  the  office  to  explain  why  I  did 
not  run  the  engine  as  it  should  be  run. 


After  shutting  the  machine  down  I  take  a 
little  coal  oil  on  a  rag  and  wash  the  com- 
mutator with  it.  This  removes  the  for- 
eign matter  and  will  generally  keep  it  in 
good-  condition,  providing  the  machine  is 
free    from    grounds,    short-circuits,    etc. 

For  machines  much  above  no  volts  I 
have  found  it  unsatisfactory.  I  first  tried 
it  on  a  550-volt  rotary  converter.  It 
sparked  so  badly  that  I  had  to  take  it  off 
the  line  and  give  it  a  good  cleaning,  using 
paraffin  for  my  brushes.  I  have  used  coal 
oil  on  other  machines  of  about  that  volt- 
age with  the  same  result. 

I  obtain  good  results  with  paraffin  on 
the  higher  voltages.  It  not  only  lubricates 
the  commutator,  but  stops  all  chattering. 
I  heat  the  paraffin  quite  hot  and  dip  the 
brushes  into  it. 

J.  J.  McIntosh. 

Phoenix,  Ariz. 


March  23,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGIN 


M 


A  Cause  of  Engine  Wreck 


The  following  conversation  took  place 
between  a  license  examiner  and  an  engi- 
neer : 

■- — What    would    be    the    result 
ling  the  long  rod  and  shorten- 
ig   tiic  »hort   rod  on   the  governor  of  a 
'  orliss  engine? 

Engineer — It  would  make  the  cutoff 
longer. 

Examiner — But  would  it ' 

[  „         ,  r — Certainly  it  would. 

.1  ;.       ■  r — If  the  load  and  steam  pres- 
ure  remained  the  same,  would  it? 

Engineer — The  governor  would  assume 
1  higher  plane. 

Examiner — That's  it,  the  governor  as- 
iimrs  a  higher  plane. 

If    the    engineer    had    been    allowed    to 

intinue    he    would    have   said:     "And   to 

>sume  this  higher  plane  the  engine  must 
:  im  faster,  and  to  run  faster  the  cutoff 
iiust  be  longer."  There  is  another  ques- 
lon  that  comes  in  here  and  that  is;  Will 
:'  bring  the  governor  to  a  point  where, 
A  ith  no  load,  the  cutoff  is  too  long  and 
•i.c  engine  will  run  away? 

'Hjerc  have  been  many  flywheel  wrecks 
frnm  this  cause.  When  the  engine  is 
■  rccted  these  rods  are  left  so  that  the 
.:->vernor  at  its  highest  point  will  not 
.How  the  valves  to  open  to  admit  any 
— '1  and  care  should  be  taken  that  the 
nor  is  always  in  that  condition. 

i'uppct  valves  are  usually  <>pcnr<l  by 
•  <ne  cam  sliding  around  on  the  Miiail  skIc 
of  anothtr.  To  set  the  valves  the  gov- 
ernor is  laised  to  its  highest  iMunt,  and  in 
that  position  the  governor  i»  turned  to 
'""V'  the  highest  point  of  the  cam  op- 
'     one    of    the    valves.    The    valve 

M'xild  be  set   so  that   the  cam  will  pas* 
.Mid    just    touch,    but    not    open    it.      The 
•jthcr    valve    is    then    set    the    same    way 
I  lie     governor     is     then     lowrrrd     and 
brMught    up   to  one  of  the   \  ^ 
the  cam  will  open  it  the  ani' 
that   i*  ncr^^ary.     The  engme  should 
on  the  »amc  center. 

Poppet  valves  are  driven  by  ftears.    The 
gear  should  now  be  put  on  the  stud  and 
put  in  mc*h  with  the  gear  on  the  rm:>tir 
shaft      If  it  will  luit  me«h  iip<>n  the  hr»t 
tml.   f»rn   it   around   until    n    ''•'••      The 
now  set  to  give  t' 
and    the    engine    v. 
away,  as  it  cannot  get  %team  to  run  .«>•■•*  r 
a   certain    speed.      There  are   no   J>elt>    ' 
break   and   nothing   can    happen     (•'    <' -^ 
grivemor. 
The  same  thing  should  be  looked  after 


aboMt  any  kmd  of  an  ensine.  but  in  how 
s   it    receive   a   thooglil? 
r   lK'tt^   there    is    alwajrs 
danger  and  a  ^  is  necessary.    If 

({ears  and  a  pt-> ...e  cotikl  be  sub- 
stituted  it   would  redtice  the  danger. 

Broadalbin.  N.  Y. 


Some  Condenser  Troubles 


A  certain  steam  plant  was  equipped 
with  a  barometric  condenser  which  dis- 
charged into  a  hotw"     -"  ,w  of  wbKh 

led    to   the   riyer     ^  «rKe     away 

'  rn 

ii 
ten    ! 
18  or  . 

leaks   could   be    found   a; 
water  was  ample.     An  iv- 
hotw  ell  showed  an  over: 
tie    brger    than    the   cmu^^...'..  ■..,-..^.^. 
pipe,   and   about  a^   feet   below   the   top 
01  the  well,  which  was  f"    '        '    an  air- 
tight cover      When  the  above 


atid   rai«cil  the 

that    of    the    a;- 

the    effective    weight    ol    th«- 

water  in  the  discharge  pipe  a- 

the  velocity  of  the  discharge. 

causing  a  loss  of  vacuum      A 

(low  pipe  was  put  in  and  thr 

.ijipcared      .\  \  i 

to      [irrvrtit      |l  • 

WUUl'' 

A 

in  another  plant  d>  •   hiuII 

sewer      As  time   w  '"'^ec 

lions   were  made  to  the  sew                  ^e 

I began  In  ■—■-  "                     ' 

under  a 

'    '  «■.!        I'         • 

pump 


denser  • 


tare  of  air  and  vaitr  lo  dbc  boikrs    TW 
air  cainc  over  vilh  the  maw  lo  the  oi- 

->e     laiMiit  «■!  « 


psunp  iTlion  vaa  the  car 
One  plaM   typaiitly   ha<]   r»j  <im»  vir j 
!  the  coflidciMrr  hsc.     The  gasr  oa  ik* 

U>ard   showed   jo  mk1m%  aai  the   CKg^ 

rtrrr   claimed   that   M   was  corraci,  as  « 

l<a-!  been  tested     A  !*««  1 

rr.tl;    opoa    the    eshaail 

about  j6  mrhct.    The 

»V;rri    -lir    L>l.inl    m  x%    ftfit    kt^rtr'd    tKf'    *A«T 

had  *up(»>  r  coadfB- 

rofmng    nw>f«"    rn>c»r«i    with    ■»*       l  ;. « 
tooseninff  the  mhom  wm  WMBlh  tht 
■   drnpud  lach    to    a6 
■•emaiwed    whoi   Ike    •«* 

<  engine  operated  part  of  llw 
<tiag  to  Ihc 

enrty    «■«   it 

V,    .  T-  ,  „ , ^  the  ewe  ihiiaid 

the  vacuiMi.  pins  the  weighl  ol  the  wader 
in  the  pipe.  LooMwiat  the  nnl  on  the 
anion  had  allowed  Ihe  water  lo  tow  hath 
lo  the  eshansi  pipe. 

W   n    farsitiV 

Pateraor 


im 


proper  Boikt  Bkmoi  Cos- 

fjer"tKW 


.mrlrr  and  nat  si 
Uck  head  ahnat  3  mkW 
Inoi  of  Ihe  sheO.  to  ^ 
uble  to  blow  om  the  naU  »m4  s*^ 

»}i».?:    I'     time    »c\    i'nuUtC'f    iR    t^^ 


il  trw  wMii   »(*<*'! 


a<«tired  lo  change  the  ir 
r-"U  on  the  governor  witi 
R.«ting  this  point  is  lo  invite  ' 
i»    one    of    the    most    import 


S64 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  23,  1909. 


a 


f 


t     y 


V 


A  Posthumous  Contribution  to  the  Recent  A.  S.  M.  E.  Discussion;  How 
Safety  Valves  Should  Be  Rated;  An  Argument  against  "High  Lift" 


B    Y 


A. 


B. 


C    A    R    H    A    R    T 


Certainly  there  is  one  way  in  which 
safety  valves  should  not  be  rated,  and 
that  is  by  the  area  of  the  disk  or  of  the 
inlet  connection ;  for  in  every  case  the 
outlet-discharge  capacity  is  proportional 
to  the  circumference  of  the  valve  seat  and 
the  circumference  will,  of  course,  increase 
in  proportion  to  the  diameter,  while  the 
inlet  and  disk  areas  will  increase  in  pro- 
portion to  the  square  of  the  radius.  If 
the  lift  of  the  disk  is  the  same  for  all 
the  ordinary  sizes  of  valve,  the  discharge 
areas  and  capacities  of  the  valves  are  di- 
rectly proportional  to  the  diameters,  and 
the  inlet  diameter  becomes  a  direct  meas- 
ure of  the  relative  size  or  capacity  of  the 
valve.  There  seems  to  be  no  good  rea- 
son to  depart  from  this  method  of  de- 
noting valve  sizes,  which  has  been  the 
unifcrm  custom  in  the  past,  and  it  will  be 
found  to  be  more  accurate  and  satis- 
factory than  any  other  method.  The  lift 
may  properly  be  assumed  to  be  uniform  in 
all  the  sizes  of  valve  such  as  we  are  con- 
sidering, for  this  is  the  actual  perform- 
ance in  practice.  If  there  is  any  meas- 
urable difference  in  special  cases,  it  will 
generally  be  found  that  the  larger  valves 
lift  less  vertically  than  the  smaller  ones. 
This  is  as  it  should  be  in  proper  design- 
ing, from  the  practical  point  of  view  of 
prompt  apd  quiet  action,  durability  of  the 
valve  and  safety  to  the  boiler.  The  smal- 
ler valves  have  less  weight  of  moving 
parts,  less  momentum,  less  load,  springs 
of  more  tractable  proportions  and  may 
safely  lift  higher. 

Valves  should  not  be  rated  in  discharge 
area  alone.  The  discharge  rating  of  a 
valve  would  be  different  for  every  pres- 
sure and  would  be  dependent  upon  the 
care  in  maintaining  the  uniformity  of 
commercial  springs ;  and  it  would  be  in 
any  case  a  theoretical  amount  arrived  at 
by  a  formula  which  might  be  amended 
by  any  designer  or  salesman  to  suit  the 
exigencies  of  every  contract  price  or 
specification  of  capacity.  This  would  in- 
troduce in  the  first  place  a  hopeless  con- 
fusion in  odd  sizes,  and  leave  the  engi- 
neer wholly  at  the  mercy  of  the  repre- 
sentations or  the  misrepresentations  of 
selling  arguments.  The  standard  sizes, 
familiar  in  practice  to  all  engineers,  now 
denote  the  size  of  the  inlet-pipe  connec- 
tion which  must  be  provided  in  the  boiler; 
if  different  designs   of  valve  have   differ- 


•Dlscusslon  submitted  since  the  A.  S.  M.  E. 
February  meeting,  which  was  devoted  to 
"Safety  Valves"  and  was  reported  In  our 
Issues  of  March  9  and   16,   1909. 


ent  apparent  or  claimed  efficiencies,  al- 
lowance can  be  made  for  this  in  the 
judgment  of  the  engineer.  We  do  not 
rate  iron  pipe  in  discharge  capacity  or 
area,  but  by  commercial-diameter  sizes ; 
and  this  universal  custom  has  never  been 
overturned  at  anyone's  suggestion  merely 
because  the  inside  diameter  of  hydraulic 
or  extra-heavy  or  brass  pipe  differs  from 
that  of  ordinary  pipe,  or  because  bends 
and  elbows  may  reduce  the  flow ;  engi- 
neers exercise  their  judgment  in  specifi- 
cation. The  actual  lifts  or  discharge  areas 
of  valves  should  be  determined  and  re- 
ported upon  after  impartial  tests  con- 
ducted by  competent  and  disinterested 
engineers,  under  conditions  of  scientific 
accuracy  and  fair  precautions,  where  each 
valve  is  intelligently  regulated  to  work 
under  its  intended  normal  limits,  and 
not  from  any  reports  of  tests  conducted 
by  any  one  manufacturer  without  the 
knowledge  of  the  other  makers  whose 
valves  were  thus  treated,  and  where  the 
one  measurement  noted  was  in  many 
cases  purposely  limited. 

My  judgment  is  that  the  valves  should 
be  so  designed  and  proportioned  to  the 
boiler  capacity  that  the  valve  disk  should 
not  be  required  to  lift  too  far  from  its 
seat.  The  eft'ects  of  hammering  the  seat 
and  unduly  distorting  the  loaded  helical 
spring  are  to  cause  leaky  valves,  which 
require  frequent  regrinding,  and  the  stick- 
ing of  the  valves  in  opening  and- closing. 
All  such  trouble  or  danger  can  be  avoided 
by  limiting  the  rise  of  the  disk  in  valves 
for  stationary  boilers  so  as  to  give  an 
effective  free  opening  through  the  valve 
seat  equal  to  0.05  inch  vertical  measure- 
ment as  the  maximum ;  and  I  believe 
there  is  no  argument,  except  unreasoning 
demand  for  cheapness  of  boiler  equip- 
ment, that  would  increase  this  limit ;  in 
most  cases  the  considerations  of  sta- 
bility and  safety  would  suggest  to  conser- 
vative engineers  reducing  the  amount  of 
lift  instead  of  increasing  it.  The  in- 
creased discharge  capacity  of  the  larger 
valves  is  measured  by  the  enlarging  cir- 
cumference of  the  valve  seat,  the  dis- 
charge area  increasing  in  -direct  propor- 
tion to  the  diameter  size  rating  without 
increasing  the  lift. 

At  200  pounds  pressure  the  total  spring 
load  upon  a  4-inch  disk  is  over  2500 
pounds,  and  as  the  valve  lifts  the  farther 
compression  may  increase  this  1000  pounds 
more ;  and  this  force  acting  upon  a  large 
disk,   through    any    considerable    distance. 


develops  a  tremendous  energy,  which  is 
redoubled  as  the  time  or  suddenness  of 
movement  is  lessened,  and  rapidly  multi- 
plies in  proportion  to  the  square  of  the 
distance  for  every  increment  of  higher 
lift.  The  destructive  effect  of  such  aug- 
mented force  in  actual  experience  is  be- 
yond anything  that  the  mere  figures  of  a 
formula  for  acceleration  and  energy 
would  convey  to  the  mind.  The  loads 
and  reaction  and  the  unwieldy  propor- 
tions of  such  large  springs  will,  of  course, 
be  reduced  to  about  three-fourths  as  much 
in  the  flat-seated  valve.  I  do  not  refer 
now  to  the  mere  pounding  of  the  seat, 
causing  leaks  and  chatterings,  and  re- 
quiring frequent  repair  and  regrinding, 
but  the  destructive  and  dangerous  effects 
upon  the  boiler.  The  circumstances  of 
opening  up  the  seams  in  testing  boilers 
when  models  were  tried  out,  the  con- 
demning of  boilers  on  account  of  leaks 
developing  soon  after  being  fitted  with 
new  valves  of  the  so-called  improved  de- 
sign, are  well  known,  not  to  one  manu- 
facturer, but  to  everyone  who  has  under- 
taken any  original  work  in  this  field,  and 
not  this  year  only,  but  a  dozen  and  twenty 
years  ago,  within  the  knowledge  of  those 
who  were  leaders  in  the  business  at  the 
time.  For,  after  all,  this  is  a  practical 
question,  about  which  the  best  manufac- 
turers know  more  from  the  records  of 
past  experience  than  all  the  discussions 
of  a  year  could  suggest  for  possible  trial. 
Tests  of  lifts  and  capacities  o^f  safety 
valves  are  reported  in  textbo6ks,  such 
as  Peabody  and  Miller's  "Steam  Boilers," 
printed  a  dozen  years  ago. 

For  locomotive  valves,  where  the  steam- 
ing capacity  of  the  boiler  is  relatively 
large,  and  the  steam  is  freely  discharged 
into  the  open  air  in  all  directions,  and  the 
valves  are  subjected  to  thorough  monthly 
inspection  and  repair,  sometimes  by  re- 
quirement of  law  and  always  by  skilled 
and  experienced  repairmen,  the  lift  of  the 
disk  has  been  commonly  equal  to  about 
0.075  or  0.08  inch  of  effective  vertical 
measurement,  but  it  should  not  be  more. 
In  valves  of  the  4S-degree  bevel-seated 
type,  the  effective  opening  is  only  about 
0.7  of  the  actual  vertical  lift,  less  also 
any  overlap  of  the  regulating  lip  or  ring 
which  controls  or  throttles  the  steam 
after  it  passes  the  valve  seat,  so  the  act- 
ual spring  compression  should  be  about 
j^A  times  the  measurements  given.  Free- 
dom and  directness  of  flow  of  the  escap- 
ing  steam  are   essential    points    to    con- 


March  23,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINI 


sider ;  and  measurements  of  dimensions 
and  time  of  discharge  are  subordinate  to 
and  lo  be  interpreted  in  the  light  of  act- 
ual performance  in  long-continued  ser- 
vice. 

In  this  matter  of  proper  opening  for  a 
valve,  "it  is  a  condition  which  confronts 
as  and  not  a  theory."  The  present  prac- 
tice of  some  manufacturers  is  deliberately 
what  it  is,  because,  in  their  judgment,  it 
the  wise  and  the  proper  one.  Cus- 
riiers  have  not  in  recent  years  inquired 
«o  much  about  the  lift  and  dimensions  of 
safety  valves,  but  manufacturers  thcm- 
•elves  have  studied  and  considered  them 
from  all  sides. 

A  high  lift  is  not  in  itself  a  desirable 
tning   nor  a   direct    measure  of  the   dis- 
charge.    It   would   be   ideal   if,   when   the 
critical  pressure  were   reached,   some  by- 
pass v.Tlve  or  outside  linkage  would  oper- 
■'•  the  lever  and  lift  the  disk,  freely  to 
_    rmit  the  steam  to  escape  directly  to  the 
open  air  over  a   rounded   edge.     But  the 
too  common  practice  is  exactly  contrary 
to  this,  and  the  steam  which  theoretically 
has  been  released  at  the  seat  of  the  valve 
finds  itself  imprisoned  in  an  outer  cham- 
ber  where   it   must   be   delayed   ami   har 
nesscd,  in  a  sort  of  low-prcssurr  (->lmilcr, 
•!til  by  its  impact  in  a  tortuous  passage 
!'l   its   expansion   against   the  enormous 
■  ring  load,  it   forces  the  disk  up  in  the 
><>p"  lift.    Not  an  ounce  nor  breath  of  all 

•  steam    (supposedly    necessary    to    be 
leased  at  a  critical  moment  of  danger, 

•:>1  freed  only  to  relieve  the  boiler)  can 

escape    !o    atmospheric    pressure    until    it 

has  thus  given  up  its  measure  of  work  to 

lift  the  disk,  and  the  lar^rr  fhr  -lisk  area 

and  corresponding   sprim;  l".ac|,  tin- greater 

ill  this  work  be;  and  the  higher  the  lift 

•  %ired.   the   longer  and   more  completely 

ill  the  steam  be  confined  and  throttled 

extract  the  utmost  of  work   from  the 

•  aping    flow.      The    expansion   chamber 

'S   cunningly   constriuted   with 
.'    ring    (^patcrttol    hv    Kichard 


rious   b<Mir«fi   and  approved  under  tlic 
I    cannot    help   looldf« 

na  rmi'u.frTinu  :<f  I'^cinlc 


of  the  lift,  and  Mnuigle  the 
charge,  for  the  »ole  purpose  •  :  ►:<•"«"£ 
extra  work  out  of  the  steam.  m%tead  o( 
discharging  it  freely  and  m»me<lia!ely ; 
the  %team  mnr  appear  f*  pr»  ■^••»  '^•^-r  'Se 
valve  • 

not  yet  >■ 

boiler  reliet.  ii  the  steam  can  be  made 
to  get  away  freely  in  proper  qoaotily. 
without  any  deby,  restramt  or  expanstoo 
chamber,  why  should  it  be  that  hindered 
simply  to  produce  a  spectacular  lift  of 
the  disk? 

The  lifting  of  the  valve  disk  affaintt  the 
ir^  -ure     of     the     shorteninc 

s;  prfnrrrrd  hv  an  auxili- 

ary stream,  »rp.  main  dia- 

charge.     If  we  r  toAcknl 

steam  with  even  less  lift,  any  valve  would 
be  the  more  efficient  and  r'"" '»'•■  vv.-k 
large  lift  the  strain  and  tf 

tion  f'f   ■'  "  'rii>    ^Tru, 

with  r  !<■  thrust  on 

the  k:>:i'--    •'■ '' ^  ;■--.:;■  '  -   1 

krv".*"    '-■■    ■'■■«     "!    • 


when  Mich  a  valve  <■ 

water  is  drawn  <•  1? 

steam  when  the  «  too  great  and 

sudden.     The  tl.i  ..> ;    -"    *- 

likened  to  the  mule  that  s* 
the  wK  '* 
is  not 
and    I 
We  .! 
hight 

will   a  .  1 

sudden   jump*  and  k  the 

harness  but  do  not  rc_...  loaded 

wagon  are  nol   useful   work      In   Africa 
,»  ,  •  '  '  muskets  b^-  •' —  *■•'*'■ 

consider  •- 


•pectfy  valves  larier  iIm  s  mehn  m  a 
(air  indkatMM  tkat  mk^  practke  m  r«»> 

«.  r..>.u  fad  wttkm  good 
■,j«B*oa,  based  apoa 

rrprjCtS     Of    tW     pIlflWMIH     ot     ■■■7 

tboocaads  o<  raKe*  m  mat,  ei  ike  aav* 

eral  style*  ol  ditercM  mmmmimttmnn^  k 

tHat  pop  taiefy    valv««    for 

•hoold  Bo<  be    larger    iImb    jH 

dtamcter  at  tbe  teat     At 

•ore  the  total  load  apoa  iIm  vahe  dwfc  ai 

the  bevel-Mated  type    of    valve    m    t^H 

poonda.    incrrAMd    perhaps 

more  to  iwainmn  the  bit 

opens,  or  more  thaa  «fao 

max  imam.     For   the 

valve  thta  taMial  load  it  ISTS 

err  iboal   lioo 

V.  bat  the 

under  *U 

vahre:  and  the  tfective 
the  jV4*iBch  ttie  ■■aati  lo  a 
than  I  tq«are  inch  at  oaly  o«l 
■'  •^'   *"^   or  iMiinbiag  9*tT  J 

'  Mcoad.  mteordmt  to  a 
rron  i'>rrT^uia.  The  J  JMCh  valve  of  Iht 
flat-seated  deaigi^  al  lill  of  oo^  ol  tm 
inch,  hat  an  effective  area  of  a  hnlt  over 
nft  f*1  a  tqoare  inch.  efatvalnM  to  *H 
'  of  Mcam  per  Mcono  at 


capacity  it  iacr«ated  to  4 

.:  ^m  per  aecood  ia  a  4imttt  vaHe  «M 

008  of  an  inch  lift,  hm  aH  pam  of  the 

«d 

,;  up  1  •>  ~  i  I  > '  f '  ->'"Je  ia  the 

tqvare  ii»chr«  « tectue 

ith  a  vaKv  etrram'  '    t»H 

imjiiirn,   •  «^*»#   .  aae 

thina  'ii*iait   (he  4 

inch    .  '    thai    caa    W 

-  — —..-.A— .J        I  w^ 
fecomMewira        i  ^ 

rwif.rtrV      ill     <MK»f       c^»i 


prevent  ail  tr 
'.  rr  until  the  <!i 
r  amount  of  the  overlap,  to  the  tirst  !>.• 
mdredlhs   of  an   inch   of  lift   are   pra 
ally    ineffective   and   the   remainder   of     ^ 
e  lift   gives   the   equivalent    of   mlv   o- 
f    the    actual   vertical    m>>\rnirti'       H\  ' 
1     Ihr     r^irt'.n.*! 
in   th>i»    liiiiiiink' 
r    .ml  let    ll'-w  t 

•iie    valve   with    a    sv- 
ground    joint    for   the   e» 
T-t   against;   the   said   sur: 

•unded   by   a    projecting   or 
iip,  rim  or  flanch,  leaving  a  nai.  •-   ., - 
for    the    escape    of   the    steam    when    the 
!    hut    wli  '        '  '         '       ' 
r    than    1' 
!.c  said  |.i; 
for  the   • 
••  prr>«liK-ed  .It   the  val\r    -.r  ,■ 
Alf^oiitrd    Ir.i.li'i.fi  ill  . 


'«-ri     «hiih   *re  atca      «• 

iiKhet     and  ad«a«iaav   vart ' 


i*^|««  ^Mal* 


«&f    1^    rW     ■W*-k** 


566 


ness,  as  endless  experiments  in  mechanics 
are  designed  to  demonstrate.  Much  bet- 
ter practice  is  that  recommended  and 
more  commonly  followed  for  locomotives, 
using  three  valves  of  comparatively  smal- 
ler size,  set  to  open  2  pounds  or  4  pounds 
apart,  one  or  more  of  the  valves  being 
called  into  operation  in  succession  as  the 
steaming  conditions  may  require;  the 
successive  sudden  shocks  not  being  dan- 
gerous or  destructive.  This  prevents  any 
serious  rise  in  boiler  pressure  before  re- 
lief is  afforded. 

We  know  that  in  actual  service  two  3^- 
inch  valves   or   three  3-inch  valves   have 
been   ample   to   take   care   of   the   largest 
locomotive  boilers  under  the  most  severe 
requirements     of     heavy     steaming     and 
freight  service  on  mountain  railroads,  and 
that   under  such   circumstances   the  third 
one  of  a  series  of  three  3-inch  valves  has 
never  been  known  to  blow ;  while  records 
made  of  locomotives  under  special  obser- 
vation on  this  point  prove  that  on  many 
locomotives    not    more    than    one    of    the 
3-inch  valves  has  been  known  to  blow  and 
the  pressure  has    never    increased    suffi- 
ciently to  reach  the  second  one  set  at  2 
pounds  or  4  pounds  above  the  first.    The 
eflFective  discharge  area  of  a  3-inch  flat- 
seated  valve  with  a  lift  of  0.075  inch  is  a 
little  more   than   0.8  of    a    square    inch, 
actually  discharging  2.5  pounds  of  steam 
per  second,  so  that  the  combined  capacity 
of  the  three  3-inch  valves  would  be  7.5 
pounds  of  steam  per  second.     This  con- 
firms my  opinion  that  Mr.  Whyte  is  cor- 
rect in  saying  that  safety  valves  need  not 
have   a    discharge    capacity    equal    to    the 
steam-generating  capacity  of  the  'locomo- 
tive boiler  under  forced  draft.     I  believe 
that   experience     has    been     sufficient    to 
demonstrate    that    a   total    valve    capacity 
tlieoretically  equal  to  2  square  inches  of 
discharge  area   for  ordinary  locomotives, 
and  3  square  inches  for  the  largest  ones, 
has  been  safe  and  efficient,  and  has  never 
been  called  upon  for  more  than  two-thirds 
of     even     this     provision.      To     provide 
greater     capacity     than     required     means 
either  a  multiplication  of  valves  unneces- 
sarily or  a  provision  of  larger  valve  capa- 
city in  each  unit,  not  only  needlessly,  but 
recklessly   regardless   of   other   conditions   ' 
of  certainty    of    operation    and    freedom 
from  repairs  in  the  more  vital  daily  opera- 
tion of  a  locomotive.     What  purpose  will 
it  serve  for  a  designer  to  point  with  pride 
to  a  locomotive  and  boast  that  its  valve 
capacity  is  a  certain  large  and  heretofore 
i-nrequired  amount,  if  those  valves  are  of 
short    life,    cause   dangerous    strains    and 
costly  deterioration  in  the  boiler  and  con- 
stantly   leak    so    that    ordinary    working 
pressure    cannot    be    maintained     in     the 
daily  runs?    The  last  state  into  which  we 
are    led    by    theoretical     discussion     may 
easily  be  much  worse  than  anything  that 
conceivably  could  happen  to  us,  but  has 
never  yet  happened,  when  empirical  rules 
of  the  past  have  been   sensibly  and   rea- 
sonably applied. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

Our  own  honored  past  president,  F.  R. 
Hutton,  wrote  not  long  ago  upon  the  sub- 
ject of  steam  boilers:  "There  are  sup- 
posed to  be,  in  some  circumstances,  sud- 
den evolutions  of  steam  in  such  quantities 
that  no  relief  is  possible  through  safety 
valves.  In  regard  to  such  cases  it  can 
easily  be  shown  that  by  reason  of  the 
high  specific  heat  of  water,  as  compared 
with  iron,  it  is  very  difficult  for  any  large 
quantity  of  steam  to  be  made  even  from 
overheated  plates,  so  that  disasters  per- 
haps rightly  attributed  to.  low  water  are 
the  result  not  of  excessive  internal  pres- 
sure but  of  strain  from  contraction  when 
such  overheated  plates  are  suddenly  cooled 
by  contact  with  water." 

I   believe   that   the   most    sensible   solu- 
tion of  this  whole  question  will  be  found 
in     equipping    a     locomotive    with    three 
valves  each  of  3-inch  or  3.5-inch  diameter 
size,  as  may  be  indicated  in  proportion  to 
the  capacity  of  the  boiler.     The  first  one 
of  such  valves  would  be  a  muffled  valve 
set  at  200  pounds,  to  permit  only  2  pounds 
drop  in  steam  pressure  when  it  opens,  to 
be   a   working  valve  to   take   care   of  all 
ordinary   running   conditions,   leaving   the 
locomotive   with   proper  pressure   to   con- 
tinue  its   work   after   the   blowing   of  the 
valve.      The    second   would   be   a    reserve 
valve  of  the  same  type,  set  at  202  pounds 
or   204  pounds,   to   take   care   of   unusual 
conditions    under   which    the   steam   pres- 
sure   might   possibly   continue   to    rise    in 
spite  of  the  first  valve,  and  set  to  permit 
a  drop  of  5  pounds  or  6  pounds  and  yet 
not   let  the  pressure  go   much   below  the 
normal  200  pounds.     The  third  valve  of 
the  series  would  be  an  emergency  valve, 
of  the   same   general   type   as   the   others, 
but  of  different  proportion  of  disk  and  an 
extremely    resilient    spring,    with    an    ad- 
justment set  to  insure  an  exaggerated  lift 
and  large  discharge,  which  should  cause 
the  boiler  pressure  to  drop  15  pounds  or 
20    pounds,    thus    practically    putting    the 
locomotive  out  of  service  temporarily  un- 
til  this   drop   in   pressure    could    be    re- 
gained ;  and  this  would  be  its  true  func- 
tion,  for  the  blowing  of  such  a  valve  on 
rare  occasions  would  indicate  an  extreme 
condition    which    would    need    immediate 
remedying    and    would    compel    attention 
not  only  from  the  engineer  and  fireman, 
but   from   the   conductor   of   the   train   as 
well.     Sucli    a   valve  would   not   be   prac- 
tical   as    an    economical    or    satisfactory 
working  valve  for  the  ordinary  purposes 
in    running  a   locomotive  such   as   is   de- 
sirable in  the  first  and  second  valves  of 
the  series  recommended,  to  be  true  safety 
valves     of     economical     range,     designed 
simply  to  limit  the  working  pressure   to 
200  pounds  and  to  blow  and   relieve  the 
boilers  under  ordinary  conditions,  but  not 
to  stall  the  train,  and  not  intended  as  the 
only  or  ultimate  protection  against  boiler 
explosion,  which  function  the  third  valve 
would    undertake.      To    distinguish    these 
valves  in  service,  some  sort  of  difference 
in   design  or    marking    might    be    estab- 


March  23,  1909. 

lished  by  the  manufacturer;  or  the  work- 
ing valves  might  be  muffled  and  the  emer- 
gency valves  be  of  the  ordinary  open  type 
or  fitted  with  a  lever. 

Large  discharge  capacity  and  high  lift 
are  not  necessarily  synonymous,  but  a 
valve  of  small  capacity  can  have  its  dis- 
charge increased  by  making  the  disk  lift 
higher.  Any  manufacturer  can  make  any 
disk  lift  higher,  and  every  manufacturer 
can  make  a  valve  of  high  lift  if  desired, 
for  there  is  no  secret  or  invention  in- 
volved ;  but  this  is  not  the  same  as  say- 
ing that  every  manufacturer  can  and  will 
supply  what  may  be  possible  in  this  di- 
rection. Some  manufacturers  have  been 
through  the  experience  of  experimenting 
with  freak  valves,  going  to  extremes  in 
size  dimensions  and  lift,  and  have  dis- 
covered the  rational  objections  to  their 
use;  and  if  called  upon  to  furnish  valves 
of  such  specifications  would  advise  cus- 
tomers why  their  use  could  not  be 
recommended.  It  is  conceivable  that 
some  manufacturers  might,  for  their  own 
reputation,  refuse  to  put  out  under  their 
trade  mark  or  guarantee  valves  to  meet 
peculiar  specifications  which  they  could 
not  approve  and  which  they  knew  would 
cause  dissatisfaction  to  the  user  and  dam- 
age to  the  maker. 

The  ordinary  practice  in  making  valves 
for   locomotives   has   been   to   design   and 
regulate    the   valves   so    that   they   would 
cause  the  steam  pressure  to  drop  5  pounds 
before    closing,    and    the    regulating    ring 
or  device  would  be  set  at  the  time  of  test- 
ing to  accomplish  this.    The  greatest  diffi- 
culty valve  makers  meet  today  is  not  in 
the   simple  problem  of  mechanical  design 
lo    build    safety   valves    with     large     dis- 
charges or  lifts,  but  in  educating  and  per- 
suading   operating    engineers    actually    to 
utilize  the  valves  to  their  intended  normal 
capacity  instead  of  resetting  the  regulat- 
ing adjustment  so  as  to  throttle  the  valve 
beyond  reasonable  limits,  to  prevent  what 
they  regard  as  waste  of  steam  when  the 
valve    does    open    in    performance    of    its 
proper  function.     It  is  not   reasonable  to' 
expect  a  valve  designed  and  regulated  to 
lose   5   pounds  in   boiler  pressure   to  per- 
form equally  well  when  the  regulating  de- 
vice is  readjusted  so  that  the  pressure  is 
allowed  to  drop  only  i  or  2  pounds,  as  is 
the  actual  condition  on  many  railroads  to- 
day.    Engineers   should  not  complain   of 
lack  of  valve  capacity  as  much  as  of  their 
own  blindness  in  throttling  the  valves  they 
already    have.      That    locomotive    valves 
designed    for   5    pounds   loss    do   actually 
work   so  well   and   give   such   satisfaction 
without  chattering  or  singing,  when  regu- 
lated to  lose  only  i  or  2  pounds  pressure, 
without   change  of  spring  or   dimensions, 
is     remarkable.     But     locomotive     valves 
would    operate    much    more    satisfactorily 
and    give   much    more    effective    relief   in 
volume  with  only  2  pounds  drop  of  steam 
pressure  if  they  were  originally  designed 
and  regulated  to  accomplish  this,   instead 
of  the  5  pounds  drop  nominally  specified 


March  23,  1909. 

I'l  de-iircd ;  and  therefore  the  propo«ed 
iicy  valve,  to  lose  15  jx minis  or  20 
with    extremely   lar>»f    \'>!'!mc   of 
-dmr^i,    should     have  ^     of 

Ive  di^k  and  .springs  diti'  ni  the 

<>ely  regulated  working  valves  intended 
lose  only  2  pounds.     Anything  of  this 
rt  can  be  provided  by  any  manufacturer 
;!0  understands  the  principles  of  design, 
t  complaint   should    not    be    made    bc- 
isc    the    manufacturer    has    .!• 
;iig  which  serves  it*  purpose 
uhen  projK-rly  use<l  acc<»r'' 
tions,  but  may  tlevclop  ui 

IIS    when    wt-rkiiiK    conditions    arc    lic- 

cratcly   and    unreasonably   altered. 

However,    the    number    and    diameter 

;  es  of   safety   valves  have   always   been 

ccitied  by  the  locomotive  builders  with- 

t    consulting  the   valve   makers   in   any 

iv;  and  their  practice  has  become  arbi- 

l«nt  that  they  were  well  within 

The  locomotive  bi)i!<!<Ts  alM> 

lit   the  uvcr-all   liiKht  .r  ■  r   of 

'•  valvos,  s«^»  that  valve  ni  e  had 

little  choice  or  responsibility  in  the  whole 

matter.     Apparently  the  safety   valve  has 

always  been  regarded  as  a  minor  detail  of 

"' '•    eijuipment.   whether     for    the    boiler 

nt   or   Icxomotive,    and    hardly    worth 

Ion;  they  must  go  on  as 

.    wherever    they    can    be 

.    ill    the    limited    space    in    the 

of  the  loconu»tive  as  already 

I   out.  and    to  clear   all   •verhe.id   ob 

Mictions :  or  in  the  cramped  room  that 

<y  \jc  left  by  chance  above   stationary 

;ler»  when  set  in  place. 

If  a  valve  of  given  size  doe*  not  di»- 

cl     .  "iiient    steam,   in   the 

r>t  .    «•»    rrlirvp    the    I 

a  LiiKir   v..ivr 

■  >r  more  \ .il\« •^ 

should    t»e    used    instead   of   one.      Um    il 

tow  initia!  cost  is  to  be  attainnl  '-v       :   i; 

ly  ciir  valve  or  valves  of  j. 
«iiich  involve  much  atteiition  <>i    ,- 
tng  or   renewal   to  keep   them   in   \ 
Krviceable 
♦r«  to   \tc   > 
ti-  ■ 

r 


I»<nVKR  AND  THE  E\<;iM 

of   :,    if^h^tfp.   morr   rrf    vwrH    tf 


eriy    sri ;   except     where 
has  lireti   .•'i,ii)i.'««I  III  Tct\\ 
drop  . 
The  tl-i  .... 
thcrmore  k 


1^ 


^irr%    rr\   Kif» 


different    disk    i  ■ 

adju*tment   had   

s|>ccified. 

The  inlet  or  throat 
valves  is  many  times 
ciT 


diameter    of    alt 
greater    than    ttte 


the   tifink    i> 


or  pi|. 
is  not 
eruptive  destrticlive  hammer  tn  the  boiler 

will   retult.     Th*-   ••■-■ '   '-»'."♦••'•.•-.» 

of  any  proper  m 


•n  Ihr  kr 


ucxasHM   rr 


Dry  Niagara 

Rv    TaMKS  J.  JlKKIXS 


tU    tw:i*h.: 
the    t"M— 


inr    r«prtMjn»rr 


.«,»rl. 


tioil. 


term  "simmering"  v.iv.-  ...Lfii 
'•ly  convey  to  some 


\\ 

t  > 

tl^ 

hrl  !    1 

all-.w 

n', 

str.iMi 

1  ..1.1 

•!r      %•     :      •! 

•tail I    V 

tt'.ll   !•, 

I.    r    '       •'  . 

at  rriti 

.'   'nil.- 

,    :,f.!       •••       •■ 

-r    ,  f 

vvli.i* 

iivatinn     ' 

w.itrr  • 

thr    V  . 

568 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  23,  1909. 


ness  prevailed,  but  careful  comparison  of 
photographs  taken  in  1903,  1905  and  this 
3-ear  indicates  that  there  was  little  differ- 
ence in  the  conditions  of  the  American 
channel  in  1903  and  1909.  This  year  the 
ice  was  heavier ;  there  was  seemingly 
more  of  it.  Snowfalls  assisted  to  cover 
up  the  rocky  bed  of  the  stream,  leaving 
more  of  a  plain-like  whiteness,  bleak  in 
its  appearance  and  impressions. 

Crossings  were  made  from  Prospect 
park  to  Luna  island  a  short  distance  back 
from  the  brink  of  the  American  fall,  and 
others  crossed  the  channel  above  Goat- 
island  bridge.  Still  other  bold  adven- 
turers made  their  way  from  the  head  of 
Goat  island  over  the  ice  to  Port  Day, 
where  the  Niagara  Falls  Hvdraulic  Power 


in  the  forebay.  This  result  made  clear 
the  advisability  of  placing  the  mouthpiece 
of  penstocks  well  down  toward  the  bot- 
tom if  they  are  not  to  draw  air  at  such 
times.  The  new  forebay  over  station  No. 
3  was  designed  by  Chief  Engineer  John 
L.  Harper  with  this  possibility  in  view, 
and  its  penstocks  were  well  supplied  with 
water.  The  Cliff  paper  mill  and  the  Petti- 
bone  paper  mill,  both  on  the  canal  basin, 
had  a  day  or  two  of  idleness. 

All  of  the  power  companies  on  the 
Canadian  side  experienced  more  or  less 
difficulty,  and  yet  it  is  reported  that  one 
day  during  the  second  week  in  February 
the  water  on  that  side  was  lower  than 
during  the  period  of  greatest  trouble  on 
the  New  York  side.     After  the  American 


The  severity  of  the  experience  has  been 
very  instructive  to  engineers,  and  it  may 
be  of  benefit  to  the  Niagara  as  well  as 
other  power  installations.  Above  all, 
however,  credit  must  be  given  for  the 
manner  in  which  the  great  power  com- 
panies met  the  conditions  that  practically 
settled  down  on  them  in  a  night.  It  will 
be  recognized  as  a  stupendous  task  to 
continue  the  development  of  power  in 
such  quantities  as  at  Niagara,  when  so 
much  of  the  available  water  as  that  repre- 
sented by  the  normal  flow  of  the  Ameri- 
can  channel   is   diverted   to   other   routes. 


For    busbars    and    back    connections    in 
switchboards,  aluminum  is  frequently  ad- 


*^*. 


J  •■mri 


DRY   NIAG-\R.\,      IN   FEBRUARY,    I909 


and  Manufacturing  Company  receives  its 
water  supply.  These  were  most  unusual 
trips,  and  their  possibility  should  indicate 
the  remarkable  conditions  that  existed  in 
the  Niagara  river  in  front  of  the  intakes 
of  all  the  power  companies  on  both  sides 
of  the  river,  for  the  effects  were  felt 
by  all. 

Under  normal  conditions  the  inlet  canal 
of  the  Niagara  Falls  Power  Company 
carried  12  feet  of  water,  but  during  the 
"low  period"  this  was  reduced  from  4J/2 
to  5  feet,  it  is  understood.  The  full  load 
of  current  was  not  kept  up,  and  some  of 
the  plants  en  the  power  company's  land 
were  shut  down  for  a  brief  period.  The 
water  in  the  surface  canal  of  the  Niagara 
Falls  Hydraulic  Power  and  Manufactur- 
ing  Company   was   lowered  about  8   feet 


channel  was  closed  as  an  outlet  for  the 
water  of  the  upper  river,  the  flow  of 
the  stream  was  diverted  to  the  Canadian 
channel,  but  this  did  not  give  the  Cana- 
dian companies  all  the  water  wanted. 
Dynamite  was  used  on  both  sides,  and 
after  the  river  started  to  resume  busi- 
ness route  channels  were  opened  to  as- 
sure a   full   flow   of  water. 

During  the  night  of  Tuesday,  February 
16,  the  wind  changed  and  early  on  Wed- 
nesday morning  it  was  evident  that  Lake 
Erie  had  resumed  its  effort  to  provide  a 
suitable  overflow  to  redeem  the  reputa- 
tion of  the  Niagara  cataracts.  Through- 
out Wednesday,  Thursday  and  Friday  the 
recuperative  effort  continued,  but  normal 
conditions  had  not  been  attained  as  the 
week  closed. 


vantageous,  the  saving  in  weight  allowing 
of  lighter  supports  and  framework.  For 
the  front  of  switchboards  aluminum  is 
also '  suitable  for  bolts,  lampholders,  in- 
strument cases,  etc.  There  are  several 
methods  of  jointing  aluminum  con- 
ductors. For  small-diameter  wires,  as 
used  for  making  into  cable,  the  usual 
butt-welded  joint  is  made  either  in  the 
flame  of  a  blowlamp  or  by  means  of  the 
electric  welders  as  used  for  copper.  For 
bare  stranded  cables  the  two  ends  are 
welded  together  by  pouring  molten  alumi- 
num into  a  cigar-shaped  mold  previoui?ly 
clamped  round  the  joint,  but  where  high 
tensile  strength  is  required  a  mechanical 
joint  may  be  used,  so  designed  as  to  give 
a  wedging  action  when  pulling  tight  in 
order  to  insure  good  electrical  contact. 


March  23.  'QOQ- 


IK>\VER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


Some    Useful    Lessons    of    Limewater 

What  Would  Happen  if  Nitrogen  Were  Kemoved  from  ihe  Air;  How  to 
Prepare  Pure  Oxygen;  Thin^*  lo  Rcmem^x-r;  Makin>;  Iron  Wire  Bum 


BY      CHARLES       S.      PALMER 


\V>  have  5««i  that  there  are  two  prin 
cipal  thiiiKs  in  the  air.  as  far  as  bitrn- 
ing  IN  conccrnrtl ;  One.  oxygen,  which 
helps  ordinary  burning — and  which  makes 
op  about  one-fifth  by  volume  of  the  air — 
and  the  other,  nitrogen,  which  docs  not 
help  common  burning,  although  it  makct 
up  nearly  all  of  the  other  four-tifths  of 
the  air  and,  as  far  as  combustion  is  con- 
crrned.  is  only  "so  many  chips  in  the 
porridge." 

Ihe  two  sided  question  has  bt-en  pri>- 
,  •Ne<l :  What  would  happen  if  the  nitr«»- 
gen  were  to  be  taken  out  of  the  air.  leav- 
ing only  the  oxygen,  or  what  would  hap- 
pen if  the  nitrogen  were  to  be  taken  out 
f  the  air  and  its  place  supplied  by 
vvgen?  In  the  first  case,  whore  the 
nitrogm  is  simply  taken  out.  th«r«-  wotild 
be  no  «lifFrr»Mcc.  as  far  as  common  Inirn 
ing  is  conccrne<l.  but  there  would  be  a 
great  difference  in  the  atmospheric  pres- 
•are.  C)ne  would  see  burning  «'•  on  alxuit 
the   same  as   it   docs   at   present.   Ijeeaiinr 


l>r<^  ';rc  oi  ihc  air  a«  a  whuie.  And  as 
thai  Jir  would  practically  br  nude  up  of 
oxygen,  the  supporting  of  bunung  by  the 
only  thing  in  the  air  that  help*  burning, 
oxygen,  would  be  changed  very  little  if 
at  all.  We  caimul  catdy  contiruct  soch 
conditions,    because    it     would     rrt|uire    ■ 


Mirr  ,    lull    « 
tloljs     i.i     til' 

namely,  the  case  where  the  nit' 
moved  and  its  place  taken  I 
and  you  will  find  that  jroa  » 

air  whi  '  ■    -^ "- 

at  the 

1. 

\'. 

[KriUKDi    *c   wii 

niaWdig    a    few 

ox\i;r|l,   and   a*  wr   w 

wliiJi    \\    closed    iind' 


graaptQg  the  |ar  al  tW  «4t  or 

it  apu4r  «lov«— «11  iW  I 

cantboftrd  cover  om  tlglMi|r  ■•  ilMl  ■•  air 

hobble*  can  ■««  iato  ikc  jw    tmi  fkmcm 

the  lar.  muoih  dowavaf^  m  tkt   wmk 


to    IPI     11      lUHtT*ll    -IK  tt  r.^!     I 

to  hn  Ihe  lar  with  watef.  ai««v  N  wlii 
the  pasieboard  aad  mm\  M  a  dw  wmk 
di*h,    mnwth    tkwwward. 


'   or  two  inlt 
air  get  lo  the  iar  «Mr  lai 


1  »:' 

do 

nan 

:#  atr  iH  iM» 

(kr 

'*' 

n^  1.    tJl  ikn 

U:c 

mtf'  gcTi 

J 

}MT    T%    WHI   •<■■■■■'   inv    a«y0HI 

air 

1 

This    ex- 

1! 

.ke  a  tab*  ol  giMa 

4   U..*    ihro^b  k,  pAaciag 

--^  o«  the  lab*  M  Uw  w«M* 

aim!  andrr  iW  aoai*  ol 

:T  fv«r  ikii  «i  iIh  atr 

•r.  wbiA 

!_•  :!     1' 


tri* 
•efiars* 


•  4atmit  a 
..  b,  Ik* 


the  qi 


wia.   I 

although  the  air  prcsiare  would  be  only     ance  of  the  air 

about   ..ne  fifth  of  what   it  is  now  all  of     have  t»"     •  ...ii« 

that     |ir.x>ure     wouhl     be     in     terms     of 

oxygen,   winch   w<-iild  then  nuke  it  pruc- 

lically  all  of  the  .iir.  so  that  a  tlainc  w-.iild 

get    the    siime   i|uanlily    I'f   <>x>Kfn    tli  .f    it 

does   now       Hut    a   man    wonlil    In    iin.:.  r 

much  less  air  pressure  than  he  i»  now  .m.l 

Would  Ik-,   physically,   in   the   same   oixli 

lion  that  he  wtniUI  experience  if  he  wire 

to  ascend  many   thousands  of   feet   al»>ve 

Ihe    sea    level.      He     would     suffer     from 

hleediiig  •<'  'hr  i)>in«-. 

his    lung's    «■  >'l.l    I- 

quantits    m| 

woiiM  Jk-  t- 

oxygen:    but    the    loss    oi    thf 

pressure    now    supplied    l>^     ''  • 

Mould   make   a   gre.it    plu 

You   want   tn   think   thi> 
yifO  will  see  that  each  ga«  exc 
pressure   ini'  '       "        ' 

and  if  the  I 


I  HI     KnUMIIiABT     W< 


>.  ...    iWu 


**%    wrfT 


4  H 


570 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGIXEER. 


March  23,  igog. 


wa3'  30U  will  soon  get  hold  of  some  of  the 
possibilities  of  this  pneumatic  trough  in 
its  power  to.  receive,  to  hold  and  to  iso- 
late or  separate  a  quantity  of  any  de- 
sired gas,  as  tjie  air  from  the  lungs  or 
the  oxAgen  which  you  will  new  get  readj' 
to  make.  Be  sure  to  try  this  filling  and 
inverting  of  the  full  jar  in  the  wash  dish, 
and  the  blowing  of  air  into  it,  until  you 
become  perfectly  familiar  with  the  princi- 
ples and  purposes  of  this  simple  but  use- 
ful apparatus:  for  we  shall  find  that  much 
of  the  foundation  of  chemistry  has  to  do 
with  gases,  and  it  is  a  trick  not  to  be  de- 
spised to  know  how  to  take  a  portion  of 
a  slippery  thing  like  air,  or  any  gas,  and 
handle  it  as  though  it  were  a  solid  which 
can  be  taken  hold  of  and  locked  up  tem- 
porarily. But  this  pneumatic  trough  is 
only  the  receptacle  or  storehouse  of  the 
gas,  pure  oxjgen,  which  we  want  to  get ; 
and  the  next  thing  to  attempt  is  the  plan- 
ning of  a  simple  piece  of  apparatus  for 
preparing  some  of  this  oxygen. 

Preparing  the   Oxygen 

The  first  thing  to  do  now  is  to  take 
one  of  the  4-ounce  flasks  which  came 
with  your  outfit  and  fit  it  with  a  perfor- 
ated cork,  with  a  glass-tube  outlet,  or 
leader,  a  rubber  conducting  tube  and  a 
glass  delivery  tube,  as  shown  in  Fig.  3. 
Get  a  good  cork  which  fits  the  flask 
snugly,  roll  it  under  your  foot  on  a  clean 
floor  until  the  cork  is  soft  and  spring}', 
and  try  it  again  in  the  neck  of  the  4-ounce 
flask.  Next,  bore  a  hole  through  the  cork, 
lengthwise,  a  little  smaller  than  the  glass 
tube  which  came  with  your  outfit.  You 
can  cut  this  hole  in  the  cork  with  the 
small  blade  of  your  jackknife,  which 
leaves  the  hole  rough ;  then  carefully  trim 
out  the  hole  with  the  round  or  "rat-tail" 
file.  With  a  little  care  you  can  trim  this 
hole  through  the  cork  so  that  it  will  ex- 
actly take  in  the  glass  tube,  the  edges  of 
which  should  be  rounded  in  a  hot  flame, 
or  it  may  be  filed  off.  Be  sure  and  do 
this,  for  if  you  do  not  get  a  smooth  and 
tight  fit  for  the  glass  tube  through  the 
cork  your  apparatus  will  leak,  and  you 
won't  think  that  chemistry  is  worth  your 
-while,  a  disappointment  which  can  be 
avoided  by  exercising  a  little  care. 

The  piece  of  glass  tubing,  or  leader, 
which  passes  through  the  cork  must  reach 
only  just  through  the  cork,  extending  not 
very  far  into  the  inside  of  the  body  of  the 
flask,  and  this  tube  should  be  bent  at  right 
angles,  with  the  two  arms  each  2  or  3 
inches  long  from  the  bend.  In  case  you 
have  to  bend  the  glass  tube  yourself,  don't 
try  to  bend  it  in  a  round  gas  flame,  but 
in  a  wide,  flat  gas  flame,  as  shown  in 
Fig.  4;  then  the  tube  will  bend  with  a 
■good  even  curve,  without  buckling.  The 
old-fashioned  "fish-tail"  burner  will  be 
just  the  thing  for  your  purpose.  Also, 
as  you  heat  the  glass  tubing  preparatory 
to  bending,  turn  the  tube  around  in  the 
flame,  giving  it  time  to  get  well  heated 
before  trying  to  bend   it.     As  soon  as  it 


is  hot  enough,  a  gentle  pressure  will  bend 
it  at  the  heated  portion  so  that  j-ou  can 
easily  get  the  two  arms  turned  at  right 
angles  to  each  other  as  shown  in  the  cut. 
Before  cooling,  let  the  heated  part  become 
covered  with  soot  in  the  flame,  to  anneal 
it  by  slow  cooling.  The  tube  can  be 
cleaned  v.-hen  cool. 

The  delivery  tube  also  has  to  be  bent, 
not  at  right  angles,  but  at  an  angle 
of  about  120  degrees  ("finger  bend"),  as 
shown  in  Fig.  3.  The  short  arm  needs 
to  be  onlj'  some  2  or  3  inches  long,  leav- 
ing most  of  the  tube  as  a  "poking"'  tube, 
to  be  thrust  down  into  the  water.  You 
will,  of  course,  connect  the  leader  tube 
and  the  delivery  tube  with  a  bit  of  rub- 
ber tubing. 

You  have  just  tried  the  trick  of  filling 
the  inverted  jar  in  the  pneumatic  trough 
with  air  from  the  lungs,  and  before  you 
make  oxygen  drive  some  air  from  the 
flask  over  into  the  jar,  by  heating  the  dry, 
clean,  empty  flask  over  the  flame  of  an 
alcohol   or   gas   lamp.     As   you   heat   the 


flask  and  crack  and  break  it.  Remember, 
then,  not  to  allow  any  water  to  be  sucked 
back  into  3-our  dry  flask,  by  cooling  it, 
unless  jou  have  first  taken  the  delivery 
tube  out  of  the  water  before  you  cool  otY 
the  dry  and  partly  empty  flask. 

AH  this  will  set  you  to  thinking  about 
some  of  the  laws  of  heat  which  you  know 
perfectly  well,  but  which  you  may  never 
have  had  put  up  to  you  before  in  just 
this  waj'.  You  will  see  that  heat  ex- 
pands all  substances,  and  gases  more  than 
liquids  or  solids.  If  you  get  a  considera- 
ble expansion  of  the  air  in  the  o.xygen- 
making  flask  when  it  is  empty,  naturally 
you  will  get  this  same  expansion  when 
the  flask  contains  some  of  the  "oxygen 
mixture"  wh'ich  you  will  put  into  it  in 
this  lesson  or  the  next.  You  can  see 
that  all  this  preliminarj'  explanation  is 
to  show  you  how  to  throw  away  the  first 
air  that  will  come  over,  before  the  real 
oxygen  comes;  for  the  air  is  much  more 
sensitive  to  heat  than  is  the  "oxygen 
mixture,"  and  you   do  not  need   to   save 


empty  flask,  considerable 
through  the  leader  tube, 
nector  and  the  delivery  tube,  down  under 
the  water  and  up  into  the  jar  in  the  pneu- 
matic trough ;  and  in  this  way  you  can 
see  how  the  oxygen,  which  you  will  soon 
make  in  the  flask,  will  pass  over  to  the 
water-filled  jar  in  the  pneumatic  trough. 
But  you  cannot  get  very  much  air  over 
in  this  way,  only  enough  to  show  that 
heated  air  expands,  and  that  this  air  can 
be  put  into  the  jar  in  the  pneumatic 
trough  by  displacing  the  water  from  the 
water-filled  jar;  for  just  the  same  volume 
of  water  will  escape  from  the  jar  for  each 
bubble  of  air  driven  over  from  the  dry 
and  heated  flask. 

Some  Things  to  Remember 

Remember  this :  You  must  always  re- 
move the  delivery  tube  from  the  water 
before  you  take  the  heat  azvay  from 
the  flask,  or  before  you  take  the  flask 
ati'oy  from  the  lamf.  The  reason  is 
that  the  closed  and  heated  flask  is 
really  a  very  sensitive  air  thermometer, 
and  as  soon  as  the  heated  air  in  the  in- 
side of  the  dry  flask  has  been  cooled  the 
water  in  the  trough  will  rush  up  back 
through    the    delivery    tube    into    the    hot 


FIG.    3 

the  first  bubbles  which  come  over  when 
you  make  oxygen,  because  that  is  only 
common  air  from  expansion  and  will  only 
dilute  your  oxygen  just  so  much. 

Now,  if  you  will  look  over  the  outfit 
wdiich  you  procured,  as  recommended  in 
the  first  lesson,  you  will  note  the  potas- 
sium chlorate  and  the  black  oxide  of 
manganese.  The  white  salt,  potassium 
chlorate,  is  the  stuff  which  is  going  to 
give  you  pure  oxygen  ;  and  yet  it  is  best 
to  mi.x  it  with  some  of  the  black  oxide  of 
manganese,  because  if  you  heat  the  white 
potassium  chlorate  alone  the  oxygen  will 
come  off  rather  too  rapidly  for  perfect 
safety;  while  if  mixed  with  some  of  the 
black  oxide  of  manganese,  the  oxygen 
will  come  off  quickly  enough,  and  much 
more  evenly  and  quietly.  The  reason  for 
all  this  is  not  entirely  understood,  and  the 
explanation  therefor  would  take  us  too 
far  away  from  the  point ;  but  the  fact  is 
that  a  mixture  of  one  part  of  black  oxide 
of  manganese  with  three  or  four  parts  of 
potassium  chlorate  will  give  up  oxygen  in 


March  23,  1909. 

a  clean  and  satisfactor>-  manner.  By  the 
way,  the  black  uxide  ui  inangancsc  will 
it!>e!f  give  off  some  uxygcn,  if  heated  to 
a  red  heat ;  but  you  will  not  get  that 
probably  in  this  experiment ;  and  so  that 
side  of  it  does  not  imme«liatcly  concrrn 
us,  because  you  will  n<Jt  heat  your  tla^k 
nearly  as  hot  as  to  a  bright  rod  luai. 

There  is  another   matter   t<.   which   you 
want   to   give  a   moment's   attention,   and 
••vit  is  the  advisability  of  testing  the  mix- 
re  of  the  potassium  chlorate  and  black 
side  of  manganese — with  all  due  ap«jIo- 
<  s  to  the   excellent    and   reliable   agents 
im   whcm   you   may   have   iMiuKht   your 
pplies.     The  point   is   this:     Thrre  arc 
■  ny  black  things  in  the  world,  and  even 
there   is    no   <lesire   to   ;i<l(iltcrate   your 
'►ds,  "accidents  will  happen  in  the  best 
•   families."     So  just  take  a  "knifepoint- 
l'.'  or  two  of  the  white  potassium  chlo- 
:e    and   another     knifepointful     of     the 
ick     oxide     of     manganese,     both     well 
wdcred  and  well  mixc<l.  and  heat  thrin 
t    in    .1    common    irr)n    sjMion.    waichmu 
irefully   to   see   what  happens.      If  there 


I*()\\  ER  AND  THE 

or  four  limei.  jroo  can  be  tare  Umu  your 


u^::   ti.c 

■••Mr    {« 


It  pay*,  m  t% 


Makikc  Ibok  Win  Bnur  m  Oxvcsx 

Another    matter ;     Yoa    arc    loinK    to 
make  - 
trate  u 

of    the    air 
were  taken 

if  one-fifth  ui  the  atr.  at 
sure   of   the    barometer, 
burning,   this   new   kind  of  atr,   which   is 
also  at  JO  inches  pressure,  of  the  barom- 
eter, will  do  somrthinft    in    the    way    of 
burning   which   will   be   worth    walehing;     to  do  n,   in   iv<<    m 
ami  you  know  that  the  oxygen  to  hr  c>A-     of    maktnff    nmr«nL 
Ir  'ril    in    the    jar     is     at     ,10     •  f     trin  p«'' 

l...ri.tjntrtc   iircsnure    (instead   ■  :  msrvp' 

of  this)   because   it   is  balanced,   through     r 


ji'»     ■   mrr     Mm  rig 

them  rradv  for  j 


nrw    i.'ra«    into  » 
•ir 


!4iSy.  >^MS 


mm  fm 


pan)    of    that    old    kkfrd    o|    hat 
down  is  f\' 


C«lrcKiam  ol  EWtrwiiv 


''-93 

1 1    .-#/▼*- 


With 

tW'v 

'■     with     iio     I'dUith  <irjul> 

n  yc  u  have  the  real  thing,  .> 

re;  but   if  there  should  be  any  imjur.*- 

'1  >«hing  up  of  flame  as  you  hrai   the 

I    of   mixture,    throw    the     hl.ick 

mganese  away  and  get  a  new 

r    dealer   will  cheerfully  make 


*«itUkt 


v^ 


sooi,  coal   dust   ami   ti 
.:     II,  and  once  or  iwic    I  ' 

it  no  lime  was  wasted  - 
be  sure  that  one  has  u   -. 

ilefore  vou  put  the  mixture  in  ilir 


■III)     in    a     w  I 

11  \..ii.  t..  tt'f 
.:  drops  «  • 
■  .1  -rt  the  nctii.  ■.  . 
Ir  and  warm  place,  jixl 
IS  dry  ,in«l  hot,  1' 
into   the   \^^%V   .in 


572 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  23,  1909. 


very    noticeable   vibrations,   zvhcrc    is    the 
trouble  likely  to  bef 

If  the  vibrations  are  generallj^  dis- 
tributed over  the  entire  machine  and  in- 
crease in  intensity  with  the  speed  of  the 
armature,  the  noise  is  likely  to  be  caused 
by  a  poorly  balanced  pulley  or  armature. 

976.  How  should  a  pulley  or  armature 
be  tested  and  remedied  for  an  unbalanced 
condition? 

Remove  the  pulley  and  armature  from 
the  machine  and  test  them  separately. 
The  armature  can  best  be  tested  by  plac- 
ing it  so  that  its  shaft  is  supported  at  the 
ends  upon  two  knife  edges  a  and  c,  Fig. 
284,  placed  flat  and  parallel  to  each  other. 
Then,  if  the  armature  is  poorly  balanced, 
the  heavy  side  will  cause  rotation  except 
when  this  side  happens  to  be  downward. 
By  setting  the  armature  at  rest  on  the 
knife  edges  with  different  points  around 
its  periphery  placed  upward  the  weighty 
side  may  be  easily  ascertained.  The  trou- 
ble may  be  remedied  either  by  firmly  fast- 
ening some  lead  on  the  lighter  side,  or  by 
filing  or  boring  holes  in   the   heavy   side. 

A  shaft  should  then  be  provided  tem- 
porarily for  the  pulley  in  order  that  it, 
too,  may  be  tested ;  if  necessary,  it  may 
be  balanced  in  the  same  r.  anner  as  de- 
scribed for  the  armature. 

977.  State  how  noise  produced  by  the 
pulley,  belt  or  shaft  collar  striking  against 
the  bearings  of  the  machine  can  be  easily 
detected. 

By  pushing  the  shaft  or  belt  away  from 
the  one  or  other  of  the  bearings  while  the 
motor  is  running  and  noting  if  the  noise 
ceases. 

978.  How  may  noise  produced  as  men- 
tioned in  g77  be  stopped? 

The  trouble  may  usually  be  overcome 
by  changing  slightly  the  direction  of 
travel  of  the  belt.  However,  if  this 
change  does  not  improve  matters,  shifting 
the  pulley  on  the  shaft  or  turning  off  the 
shoulder  of  the  bearing,  as  the  case  may 
be,  will  probably  effect  the  desired  result. 

979.  What  kind  of  noise  is  made  by 
the  pounding  of  the  jointed  portion  of  a 
belt  against  the  pulley? 

The  loud  thump  which  occurs  but  once 
during  each   revolution  of  the   armature. 

980.  Does  not  the  armature  when 
striking  against  the  pole  faces  make  a 
similar  noise? 

Yes,  but  it  is  less  of  a  thump  and  more 
of  a  scraping  character. 

g6i.  How  should  a  trouble  of  the 
nature  mentioned  in  980  be  investigated? 

Usually,  an  examination  of  the  arma- 
ture surface  will  determine  if  it  has  been 
striking  the  pole  faces.  Great  care  should 
be  taken  to  make  this  examination  thor- 
ough, for  the  danger  of  damage  to  the 
armature  when  it  comes  in  contact  with 
the  pole  faces  is  very  great.  Another,  and 
perhaps  a  better,  test  consists  in  remov- 
ing  the   belt   or   power  connection    from 


the  armature  shaft,  and  while  slowly 
turning  the  armature  by  hand,  observing 
whether  or  not  it  sticks  at  any  point. 

982.  Hgzv  should  a  trouble  of  the 
nature  mentioned  in  980  be  roncdicd? 

If  the  trouble  is  caused  by  one  side 
of  the  armature  winding  projecting  ab- 
normally, it  may  be  remedied  by  binding 
down  the  bulging  part  with  a  wrapping 
of  iron  wire  which  should  extend  around 
the  armature  body  but  be  well  insulated 
from  it  at  all  points.  If  the  armature  is 
out  of  center,  it  may  be  possible  to  ad- 
just the  bearings  so  there  is  a  uniform 
clearance  between  the  armature  surface 
and  each  of  the  pole  faces.  Sometimes 
the  trouble  lies  in  one  or  more  of  the 
pole  faces  projecting  abnormally;  in  this 
case  it  will  be  necessary  to  file  out  the 
projecting  portions. 

983.  What  is  indicated  by  a  hissing 
sound  produced  at  the  brushes? 

Either  a  dry  or  sticky  commutator,  or 
rough  contact  surfaces  on  the  carbon 
brushes.  By  listening  near  the  commu- 
tator, it  is  easy  to  ascertain  if  there  is 
trouble  from  these  sources  or  if  the  defect 


EUtimating  the  Horsepower  of  a 
Gas  Ejigine 


By  Cecil  P.  Poole 


4 


Pjwer.  y.  r. 
FIG.   284.     METHOD  OF  TESTING  AN  ARMATURE 
FOR  AN    UNBALANCED  CONDITION 

lies    in   the   brushes    instead   of  the   com- 
mutator. 

984.  If  the  brushes  arc  making  the 
noise,  how  may  the  noisy  ones  be  de- 
tected? 

By  raising  one  brush  at  a  time  while 
the  machine  is  in  operation,  and  noting 
if  the  noise  ceases.  This  test,  however, 
can  be  applied  only  to  motors  having 
more  than  one  brush  on  a  stud,  as  other- 
wise the.  motor  circuit  would  be  opened 
by  the  raising  of  a  brush  and  an  arc 
would  be  formed  that  might  endanger  the 
experimenter   and   burn   the   commutator. 

985.  How  can  brushes  usually  be  made 
to  operate  noiselessly? 

Sandpapering  their  contact  surfaces  or 
applying  oil  to  them  at  this  "part  will 
generally  reduce  the  noise.  Sometimes 
it  is  merely  necessary  to  raise  or  lower 
the  noisy  brush  a  trifle  in  its  brush  holder 
to  stop  the  hissing  sound. 

986.  How  should  a  noisy  commutator 
be  silenced? 

Recourse  may  be  had  to  filing  or  sand- 
papering if  the  commutator  is  rough,  or 
to  the  application  of  a  minute  amount 
of  oil  or  vaseline  if  it  is  dry.  In  the  case 
of  a  new  machine  having  a  noisy  commu- 
tator, it  is  advisable  to  run  it  awhile  un- 
loaded until  both  the  brushes  and  the 
commutator  become  adjusted  to  each 
other  and  smooth. 


Knowing  the  kind  of  gas  to  be  used, 
the  bore  and  stroke  of  the  engine  and  the 
number  of  revolutions  per  minute,  it  is  a 
simple  matter  to  estimate  the  probable 
horsepower  at  maximum  load  by  assum- 
ing a  mean  effective  pressure  appropriate 
to  the  gas  quality  and  applying  the  old 
steam-engine  formula,  P  L  A  N  ^  33,ooo. 
But  a  less  tedious  method  is  to  base  the 
estimate  on  the  piston  displacement,  the 
quality  of  the  mixture  and  an  assumed 
heat  economy  for  the  engine.  This 
latter  assumption  is  not  likely  to  be 
as  far  wrong  as  the  assumption  of  mean 
effective  pressure  in  the  first  method. 
Natural-gas  engines  will  readily  yield  a 
brake  horsepower  on  10,700  B.t.u.,  pro- 
ducer-gas engines  on  11,500  B.t.u.  and 
illuminating-gas  engines  on  12,000  B.t.u. 
per  hour.  Natural-gas  mixtures  will 
average  about  50  B.t.u.  per  cubic  foot  at 
the  temperature  existing  when  the  inlet 
valve  closes ;  producer-gas  mixtures  will 
average  about  46  B.t.u.,  and  illuminating- 
gas  mixtures  about  60  B.t.u.  per  cubic 
foot.  Since  1781^  B.t.u.  per  minute 
(10,700  per  hour  -^  60)  will  yield  one 
brake  horsepower  with  natural  gas  and 
each  cubic  foot  of  mixture  contains  50 
B.t.u.,  a  natural-gas  engine  should  yield 
50  -^  178^  ^=  0.28  brake  horsepower  per 
cubic  foot  of  effective  piston  displacement 
per  minute  (by  "effective"  displacement 
is  meant  the  displacement  during  power 
strokes  only).  Similar  reasoning  will 
produce  the  numbers  0.24  for  producer 
gas  and  0.3  for  illuminating  gas. 

The  effective  displacement  per  minute 
by  a  single-acting  piston  is  equal  to  the 
displacement  per  stroke  multiplied  by  one- 
half  the  number  of  revolutions  per  min- 
ute, working  on  the  four-stroke  cycle. 
For  a  double-acting  engine  the  effective 
displacement  per  minute  in  each  cylinder 
is  equal  to  the  displacement  per  stroke  X 
revolutions  per  minute.  These  statements 
apply  to  hit-and-miss  engines  as  well  as 
the  throttling  type  because  at  maximum 
load, the  governor  does  not  cut  out  any 
explosions. 

Computing  piston  displacement  in  cubic 
feet,  however,  is  tedious,  and  as  the  dis- 
placement is  proportional  to  the  stroke 
multiplied  by  the  square  of  the  diameter 
in  inches,  it  is  simpler  to  change  the  con- 
stants 0.28,  0.24  and  0.3  to  others  which 
will  cover  the  translation  of  piston  dis- 
placement in  cubic  feet  per  minute  to 
d'^  X  s  X  r.p.ni.  This  gives  the  constants 
in  Table  i.  The  proper  constant  multi- 
plied by  the  square  of  the  piston  diameter, 
the  stroke  (both  in  inches)  and  the  num- 
ber of  revolutions  per  minute  will  give  a 
fair  estimate  of  the  maximum  probable 
brake  horsepower  per  cylinder. 


March  23,  1909. 


H)\VER  AND  THE  ENGINI  i  K 


TABLE    1. 


Klna  of  0««. 

8ln|(le- 
AcUnc 

Double- 
AoUac. 

Xatural 

0.000066 
0.00006A 

o.oooovo 

o.ooou 

0  000113 

UloinlnatUic 

o.ocm4 

In  double-acting  cngipes  the  piston  and 
tail  rixl-s  considerably  reduce  the  iX|>..m<I 
l.i^ton  area.    The  space  neutralized  by  the 

is  ranges  from  6  per  cent,  of  the  gro«s 

,.i>lon  area  in  relatively  small  engines  to 

about     10    per    cent,     in     large     rngiiici. 

'  tic   accompanying   Table   2   gives   values 

the     prrxluct     of     the     constants     in 


EXAMrLCS 

i—.\    na-  .-    having    three 

Miigle-actiiiK    .• --•       ^'  ">■'"•  >-  " 

and  JD  inchc«  stroke  dcv- 
S50    brake    horMpowcr    ^t     iy>     rrt.,i: 
lions  per  minute.     The  eMtmated  (Viwrr 
would  be 

brake  h<vfpomtr,  or  a  trifle  under  the 

■  r. 

>ral-gas  engine  with  three  tin* 
gir  .icnng  cylinders  lj'--ixi6  inches  de- 
\<I.:-«1  iw  brake  horsepower  at  *»s 
r  per    minute.     The   etitnuted 

J- ^    Jd  be 

00118  X  16  X  aa5  X  3  =  ia74 


rrtoliitMM   per   ■ 
brake  horscfower 


rrsoltj' 
OMpvt   *'. 


Thr 


i  =  us 


1     Al 

nii  Kim  jtn  >    at  ^ 

TW 


TABLE  2      APPROXIMATE  HORSEPOWER  COXSTAJfTS 
'ruton/  X  .9rofcr  X  ffer.  prr  ilim.  -  Ftobatdt  BmJkr  Harmfawrr  prr  CplntdtT 


brake  horv, 

6— A    sifliBle-o 

ini'^j'iriir  it*«  '♦-. 

|»  ... 

e  >tr«| 

16 
brake  horv-i»»«- 


16a* 


V     .Mriljr    ffMfifi*       f    10    irv*»r»   l»<«e 


SUHJUt-ACTUKl   EMOMaB. 


(villi. 

Naiurmi 

DUtn. 

<JM. 

ft 

0  00IS3 

& 

0  0017B 

S 

0  00IU7 

.', 

0  00.' 1'. 

e 

0  oo.';m 

e 

0.0()J.M 

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0  oo/r.-i 

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0  WMl 

7 

0  ()03IU 

7 

0  0034-' 

7 

0  UUSftft 

7 

0  003tfO 

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0  UOIIfl 

H 

0  ncHia 

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0  0(VI70 

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0  ao4Wi 

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0  UU7HA 

lift 

0  OOHftO 

12 

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0  0101 

13 

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15 

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18 

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ID 

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30 

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on: 

33 

0  i> 

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0  1' 

Producer 
Um. 

0  OOHO 

O  (M)l.>4 

O  «M)10'.« 

o  imiv. 

O  1II).1>J 

0  1 10 .MM 

It  <iii.':i7 

O  (HIJ.'.'i 

0  loi-'Tl 

II  ii«).-»4 

II  IMI.ll  '. 

O  IMI.'l.til 

u  im.i'.s 

O  im.isi 

II  IIOIII'i 

II  HOI.") 

II  mtiM 

II  iMr^i'i 

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11  iKMii: 

u  KioTs 

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o  nifij 

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0  1)1  is 

(I  IIIJA 

0  111  13 

O  IMA.' 

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0  U.tl.' 

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It  ".'«: 


Ilium's 


.lAH 


3V 

so 


tbie     I     and    the 
'Ii.imeler     f««r     ^> 
to    JO    inches    bore;    for    <l 

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574 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 
Exhaust  Steam 


DEVOTED  TO    THE   GENERATION 
TRANSMISSION   OF  POWER 

Issued  Weekly  by  the 

Hill  Publishing  Company 

JOHK  A.  H:ll,  Pres.  and  Treas.         Kobert  McKkan,  8ec*y. 

505  Pearl  Street,  New  York. 

355  Dearborn  Street,  Chicago. 

6  Bouverie  Street,  London,  E.  C. 


Correspondence  suitable  for  the  columns  of 
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dress of  correspondents  must  be  given — not  nec- 
essarily for  publication. 

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of  Congress  of  March  3,  1879. 


Cable  address,  "Powpub,"  N.  Y. 
Business  Telegraph  Code. 


CIRCULATION    STATElIEyT 
During     1908     ire    printed    and    circulated 
1,836,000  coiJies  of  Powek. 

Our  circulation  for  February,  1909,  icas 
(iceekly  and  monthly)  1.j1,000. 

March   2 42,000 

March   9 37,000 

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\one  sent  free  rcr/tilarly,  no  returns  from 
news  companies,  no  hac.R  numbers.  Figures 
are  live,  net  circulation. 


Contents  page 

Characteristics  of  the  Turbine  Pump 535 

New  Power  Plant  of  the  L.  S.  Starrett  Co., 

Athol.  Mass 542 

The  Plunger  Hydraulic  Elevator 544 

Operating    Direct    Current    Generators   and 

Rotary  Converters 546 

Supernatural  Visitation  of  James  Watt 548 

Power  Plant  of  Miller  &  Lux 550 

An  Instructive  Experience  with  the  Tirrill 

Regulator 551 

Proper  Treatment  of  Boiler  Feed  Water 552 

Practical  Letters  from  Practical  Men: 

Renewing   a   Valve    Seat A    Ga.sket 

Difficulty Technical    Education 

Do  Crank  Pins  .\lways  Wear  Flat? 

Scaled  Pipe  Connection.  ..  .Extraneous 
Supervi-sion  of  Power  Plants.  ..  .Re- 
moving Broken  Studs  or  Set  Screws. .  . . 
Pressure  Vibration  in  a  Steam  Main.  . . . 
Faulty  Pump  Connections.  ..  .Engi- 
neer's Knock  Detector.  .  .Engineer  Who 
Is  Also  a  Doctor An  Engine  Revo- 
lution    Gage Boiler     Settings A 

Useful  Leveling  Instrument Throw- 
ing Coal  Away  by  the  Ton Trans- 
former Connections ....  Pressure  Re- 
quired  to    Raise   a   Valve ....  Wear   of 

Bearings   in    High    Speed    Engines 

Pump  Valves.... An  Engine  Accident 
....  Use  of   Coal   Oil  on   Commutators 

A  Cause  of  Engine  Wreck Some 

Condenser  Troubles Improper  Blow- 
off  Connection 556-563 

Safety  Valves 564 

Dry  Niagara 567 

Some  Useful  Lessons  of  Limewater 569 

Catechism  of  Electricity 57 1 

Estimating  the  Horsepower  of  a  Gas  Engine  572 
Editorials 573-574 


Ask  ten  engineers  which  is  the  more 
economical,  a  condensing  or  a  noncon- 
densing  engine,  and  nine  of  them  will  tell 
you :  "A  condensing  engine,  of  course ;" 
and  patronize  or  pity  you  for  having  to 
ask. 

And  yet  in  many  cases,  most  cases  we 
had  almost  said,  the  condensing  engine  is 
the  more  expensive  to  use,  and  tnoney 
would  be  saved  by  replacing  the  con- 
denser with  a  back-pressure  valve.  This 
is  true  wherever  there  is  use  for  the  heat 
rejected.  It  costs  less  than  four  per  cent, 
more  in  heat  units  to  make  a  pound  of 
steam  at  150  pounds  than  to  make  it  at 
atmospheric  pressure.  If  there  is  use  for 
heat  at  or  about  212  degrees  it  is  much 
cheaper  to  make  the  steam  at  the  higher 
pressure  and  expand  it  in  an  engine  down 
to  that  temperature.  Of  the  1191.2  heat 
units  required  to  make  a  pound  of  steam 
at  150  pounds,  an  engine  using  30  pounds 
of  steam  per  hour  per  horsepower  will 
take  out  only  about  85,  and  the  rest,  with 
the  exception  of  the  trifling  amount  lost 
by  radiation,  passes  out  with  the  ex- 
haust. If  any  smaller  number  of  heat 
units  were  voided  with  the  steam  they 
would  accumulate  in  the  cylinder  and 
melt  it  down;  if  the  exhaust  took  out 
more  than  the  steam  brought  in  (besides 
radiation  and  that  converted  into  work), 
it  would  make  a  refrigerator  out  of  the 
cylinder.  Each  pound  of  exhaust  from 
such  an  engine,  therefore,  contains  some 
I  ICO  heat  units  which  are  available  for 
heating  and  manufacturing  processes  re- 
quiring heat  around  212  degrees.  It  would 
cost  just  about  as  much  to  make  low- 
pressure  steam  especially  for  this  purpose 
as  it  did  to  make  the  high-pressure  steam, 
and  the  power  has  been  had  practically 
for  nothing. 

There  is  no  more  efficient  power-gener- 
ating proposition  than  a  steam  engine 
used  as  a  reducing  valve  between  a  high- 
and  a  low-pressure  system. 

This  truth  escaped  general  attention  for 
a  long  while  on  account  of  the  attempt  to 
use  exhaust  steam  just  as  dry  high-pres- 
sure steam  is  used.  It  was  characterized 
as  "cold"  and  "sluggish"  simply  because 
the  water  was  not  taken  out  of  it  and 
sufficient  cross-sectional  area  given  to  the 
conducting  pipes  to  conduct  the  required 
weight  at  the  large  volume  due  to  the  low 
pressure.  Willi  the  separators  now  availa- 
ble exhaust  steam  can  be  easily  purged  of 
all  moisture  in  excess  of  the  percentage 
allowable  in  "commercially  dry"  steam. 

Of  course  the  amount  of  exhaust  made 
must  be  in  accord  with  the  demand.  It 
would  not  do  to  run  a  thousand-horse- 
power engine  noncondcnsing  for  the  sake 
of  using  up  one-tenth  of  its  exhau.st  and 
letting  the  rest  go  to  waste.  In  the  New 
England  textile  mills,  where  exhaust 
steam  is  used,  even  in  the  summer  time, 
for  manufacturing  processes,  engines  are 


March  23,  1909. 

often  run  one-half  condensing,  the  ex- 
haust chest  being  divided  so  that  one  end  ] 
can  be  exhausted  to  the  condenser  and  ] 
the  other  to  the  back-pressure  system.  It 
is  a  common  practice  to  take  steam  for 
such  purposes  from  the  receiver  of  a  com- 
pound engine,  and  we  know  of  one  in- 
stance where  the  course  of  the  steam 
through  a  compound  engine  was  reversed, 
the  larger  cylinder  being  made  the  high- 
pressure  ;  so  much  steam  being  taken  out 
of  the  receiver  that  there  was  only  enough, 
even  in  its  expanded  condition,  to  run 
the  smaller  cylinder.  Successive  heatings 
from  the  different  stages  of  a  steam  tur- 
bine would  bring  the  temperature  of  the 
feed  nearly  to  that  of  the  steam,  fulfilling 
the  compression  condition  of  Carnot's 
cycle. 

But  whether  the  demand  for  exhaust 
steam  warrants  the  running  of  the  main 
engines  noncondensing  or  not  there  is 
usually  occasion  for  the  use  of  all  the  ex- 
haust which  the  auxiliaries  can  make  in 
heating  feed  water.  Where  this  is  the 
case  it  is  wasteful  and  extravagant  to 
run  the  auxiliaries  froin  the  main  engine, 
electrically  or  otherwise,  for  the  main  en- 
gine, notwithstanding  the  smaller  number 
of  pounds  of  steam  it  uses  per  horse- 
power-hour, cannot  compare  in  efficiency 
with  the  most  extravagant  steam  pump 
credited  with  all  of  its  exhaust.  When 
the  exhaust  is  used  for  heating  feed  wa- 
ter the  water  of  condensation  which  it 
contains  makes  no  difference,  but  can  be 
mingled  with  the  water  being  heated,  as 
■  can  also  the  rest  of  the  exhaust  condensed 
by  such  mingling.  This  not  only  saves  the 
water  which  by  its  previous  use  has  been 
freed  from  scaling  materials,  but  the  heat 
which  would  otherwise  be  carried  away 
by  that  water. 


Centralized  Auxiliary  Control 


In  the  design  of  power  plants  of  im- 
portance the  modern  tendency  is  toward 
the  use  of  a  system  of  auxiliary  control 
from  the  switchboard.  In  addition  to  the 
remote  control  of  oil  switches  in  the  main 
circuits,  which  has  long  been  practised, 
it  is  now  quite  feasible  to  start  and  stop 
motors  for  all  purposes  from  a  central 
point..  The  old  idea  that  a  controlling 
switch  must  be  located  within  a  few  feet 
of  its  motor  has  been  inodified  by  the  pro- 
duction of  remote-control  motor  starters, 
the  master  switches  of  which  are  grouped 
at  a  "central  point.  It  is  only  a  question 
of  a  little  more  wire  and  a  little  more 
elaborate  controller,  the  extra  cost  of 
which  in  most  cases  will  be  a  small  price 
to  pay  for  the  greater  convenience  of 
operating  the  various  motors  for  pump 
service,  valve  operation,  coal  and  ash 
handling,  fan  driving,  air  compression  and 
the  like,  many  of  which  may  be  located  in 
places  inconvenient  of  access. 
Additional  switches  on  the  switchboard 


March  23,  1909. 

for  the  control  of  lighting  circuit*  in  •!  ■ 
engine    and    Ixiilcr    rix)ms,    coal    |KKk<  • 
oil-storage  room,  pipe  tunnels  an<l  ni  ihe 
motor  circuits  for  the  traveling  crane  con- 
stitute an  added  improvement  which  tltvs 
not   interfere   in   the  least   with   the   pro- 
visions of  parallel  switches  or  controlling 
apparatus  located  near  the  equipment  thr> 
control,  and  in  the  light  of  the  ncccs^irv 
for  continuity  of  service  this    ' 
of   control    in   many    instances 
well  worth  while. 


Condenser  Speed  and  Vacuum 


In  operating  a  ccmiprjimd  < 
engine  the  condenser  should  r- 
same  intelligent  attention  that  is  given  to 
the  engine.  Condensers  are  installed 
usually  for  the  purpose  of  making  the  en- 
gine a  more  efficient  means  of  converting 
the  heat  in  the  steam  into  useful  work, 
and  logically  to  fulfil  their  mission  they 
should  not  nnly  l»e  efficient  machines,  hut 
should  also  be  efficiently  operated.  I'ipc 
joints  between  the  condenser  and  the  en- 
gine cylin«Ier  should  be  absolutely  air- 
tiifht  and  the  condenser  should  l>e  run  at 

lowest  possible  speed  which  will  main- 
•1  the  desired  vacuum. 
A'hile  it  is  generally  true  that  the 
tiigher  the  vacuum  the  better,  it  is  not 
always  «<».  If  the  engine  is  lightly  loa<!ed 
it  is  sointlinies  b<tter  to  reduce  the  vac- 
oum  by  retliiiiiig  the  speed  of  the  con- 
denser, if  inde|»cn<lently  oprr.ited,  or,  if 
•firectly   connected   to   the    enKine,   by    re- 

ing  the  injecti«>n,  allowing  a  little  lon- 
-   cutoff   in   the   cylinder   and   a   higher 

:|)erature   of    the    exhaust    to   give   up 
i.rat  to  the   feeil  water. 
But   under   most   conditiona  the  degree 
•    vacuum    should    l»c    rek'  the 

!»t    of    the    governor,    fl  b<- 

carried  which  will 

rev«j|ve   in   the   liiw 

ler    certain    ci  tulitions    of    load    and 

im    pressure     the     governor     will     Ik- 

tid  to  revolve  in  a  higher  plane  with  .1 

■mm  «»f  twenty-six  incli'  ' 

iter    vacuum.      It    will 


Ji'UtK  AND  THE  ENGINKI.k 

Ga»  ELquipment  for  a  Bntuh         '  ^-    ''  «»«*«fc^  fcf  ■ 
Baltlcahip? 


11  prudo. 


.According    to    4    lirirf   f.m*    raMi-r^r*' 


-J* 


to     be 

get  at  whatever  i 
to  the  f!        •  '   ' 
results, 
grams 
one  «r 

Sri-h    1 

r'Hiipinent  than  that  letted  recently  <  n  the  *'■' 
■'Rattler'*  nuy  form  the  basis  of  the  «•* 
cabled  report.    Certainly  it  does  not  »e«n     «!«»">«  »f*^  k»«»f  of 

probable  that  a  c  •    

tivc  as  that  of  (> 
»|. 


i  ^kif 


■  fx  -4  ! 

He  plaot 


Med 
tW 

L. 


,vr.l 


h.  •     ,  •  wocfc  lor 

When  it   is  considered  that   the   maxi-     "*"*•  *"*  •trmgih  and  ■NaligiMi 
mum  gas-engine  output  per  cylinder  thus     *«»f*^*"^»tlMc     ..n.1    m    ^h<    .^r,' 
far    secured    on    land,    under    the    most     *'* 

f;..        •■  * 

tl 

CI 

wi- 
at 

the  street  gamin  char 
dreams.  There  is  no  ' 
gas  power  in  large  v 
to  ' 

e\' 


power  '■ 
th-   •■ 


lie  other  and  oi  l>oth  to  tb< 
t    il,.   \^%\  vacuum  ami  •''< 
ire    ffir    each 
i'«    found. 
ing  Ihe  receiver  pisessure  trill  alter 

tlir     'll-IrilMIt! 
e%lM)i|rr%        r. 


Ilic  Art  ol  EiconomKal  Sicam 
Productioo 


th' 

Ion.    . 

that  with  n  I  <iig  ( uiot) 

■^  'tnder  the  highr-*  •■ 

cnior  will  be  • 

|Nis«iblc  vacuum   in   ',iu    1    r.>i<  m 


576 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  23,  1909. 


Power  Plant  Machinery  and    Appliances 

Original        Descriptions       of       Power       Devices 
No     Manufacturers'     Cuts     or      Write-ups     Used 

MUST     BE     NEW     OR     INTERESTING 


Combination  Indicating  and  Record- 
ing Units 

The  ilhistration  herewith  presented 
shows  the  complete  combination  indicat- 
ing and  recording  units  of  the  Bristol 
electric  pyrometer,  manufactured  by  the 
Bristol  Companj^  Waterbury,  Conn.,  as 
wired  up  in  actual  operation. 

The  recording  instruments  with  the 
necessary  switches  and  checking  system 
can  be  mounted  in  protected  cases,  eitlier 


being  made  to  the  fire  end  by  flexible 
leads.  It  makes  continuous  records  auto- 
matically of  the  same  temperature  shown 
by  the  indicating  instrument.  The  record 
charts  are  intended  to  give  the  superin- 
tendent full  information  and  serve  as  a 
check  on  the  men. 


"American"  Semi-plug  Piston  Valvi; 


This  valve  is  called  "semi-plug"  because 
wdiile  it  is  without  steam  it  is  a  snap-ring 


CO.MBJN.\'riOX    INDICATING    AKU    RECORDING    UNITS 


valve ;  the  packing  rings  being  expansible 
fit  themselves  to  the  valve  chamber,  but 
when  the  throttle  is  opened  the  steam  is 
admitted  to  the  chest  and  enters  the  space 
below  the  rings.  The  action  of  this  pres- 
sure is  to  lock  the  snap  rings  in  a  fixed 
diameter,  making  practically  a  plug  of  it 
during  the  time  the  pressure  is  on.  The 
valve  has  been  designed  on  the  principle 
of  leverage  by  wedges,  the  pressure  act- 
ing upon  the  wedges.  In  the  valve  the 
wedges  take  the  form  of  cones,  or  circu- 
lar wedges,  as  shown  in  the  illustration. 

The  outside  walls  of  the  snap  rings  I 
are  straight  and  fit  against  the  straight 
wall  of  the  follower  and  spool.  The 
inner  walls  of  these  snap  rings  are  bev- 
eled, forming  a  cone.  Next  to  the  snap 
rings  are  wall  rings  2,  the  sides  of  which 
are  beveled  to  fit  the  cones  of  the  snap 
rings.  These  wall  rings  are  uncut,  non-1 
expansible  steel  rings.  Between  them,  in 
tl:c  center,  is  placed  a  double-coned  ex- 
pansible wedge  ring  4,  which,  with  the 
wide  ring  j,  interlocked  into  each  snap 
ring,   forms  the  complete  packing. 

The  wide  ring  performs  two  important 
functions ;  it  carries  the  snap  rings  across 
ports  while  drifting,  and  also  keeps  the 
snap  rings  parallel  with  each  other. 

The  wedge  ring  is  put  in  under  ten- 
sion and  its  tendency  is  to  crowd  the  two 
solid  wall  rings  laterally  against  the  cone 
sides  of  the  snap  rings  /.  This  prevents 
lateral  wear  of  all  rings.     The  degree  of 


separately  or  as  shown  in  the  illustration. 
Each  combination  unit  can  be  made  to 
suit  the  particular  application  for  which 
the  pyrometer  outfit  is  to  be  used.  By 
this  arrangement  the  recording  instru- 
ment can  be  installed  in  the  superin- 
tendent's office,  or  any  convenient  place. 
Their  purpose  is  for  all  commercial 
ranges  of  high  temperature,  and  they  are 
especially  recommended  for  annealing  and 
case-hardening  furnaces,  water-gas  ma- 
•chines,  blast  furnaces,  galvanizing  plants, 
gas   producers   and   open-hearth   furnaces. 

The  indicating  instrument  of  this  com- 
bination unit  is  for  the  use  of  the  opera- 
tor while  at  his  post  of  duty.  The  in- 
strument is  in  a  case  so  it  can  be  located 
at  the  most  convenient  point  for  the  at- 
tendant. The  open  scale  makes  it  easy 
for  the  fireman  or  operator  to  read  the 
iurnace  temperature  at  a  glance. 

The  recording  instrument  of  the  unit 
is  for  the  benefit  of  the  superintendent  or 
manager  in  his  office.  This  instrument 
mav  be  located  at  a  distance,  connection 


SECTION   OF      AMERICAN      SEMIPORTED  PLUG  PISTON  VALVE 


March  23,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


S77 


angle  on  the  cones  is  much  greater  mi 
the  double-tapered  wedge  ring  than  on 
the  snap  rings.  These  angles  arc  so  calcu- 
lated that,  while  the  pressure  is  under- 
neath all  the  rings,  the  leverage  of 
the  double-tapered  Wfd«e  ring,  crowding 
the  solid  wall  rinK^  anaiiist  the  corui  <if 
the  snap  rings,  is  just  sufficient  to  pre 
vent  the  snap  rings  from  farther  expan 
«ion.  but  not  sufficient  to  reduce  the  mu|> 
rincs  in  diameter. 

When  steam  is  admitted  to  the  stcnm 
<hest  it  passes  through  the  small  ll••!e^ 
around  the  spool,  and  tinds  an  outUt. 
first,  under  the  first  snap  ring,  and  si-  ■iil 
under  the  central  wcilj^e  ring,  thus  ^.i  •> 
ing  the  rings  to  fit  t!>e  valve  chatnUr,  ainl 
the  wedge  ring  to  lock  up  the  rings. 

The  packing  consists  of  the  combina- 
tion of  rings,  which  are  free  to  move  up 
and  down  on  the  spool,  that  the  rings  may 
fit  the  cage  perfectly  correctly,  regardle^^ 
•of  any  variation  in  the  position  of  th« 
spool,  which  is  carried  on  the  valve  rod 

This  vnlvc  is  manufactured  by  tin 
American  Balance  Valve  Company.  Jer 
sey   Shore,   I'enn. 


Eric  City   Feed  Water  Healer 


Stickle  Bucket  Trap 


The  Stickle  bucket  trap  is  shown  in 
<ross-section  in  the  accompanying  illus 
tration.  It  is  designed  to  be  conni'Ol 
to  separators  used  on  large  steam  n 
where  boilers  prime  and  there  is  a  iiTk" 
amount  of  magnesia  brought  over  in  th- 
steam.  The  separating  ring  arotind  ihe 
lop  is  designed  to  stop  the  Rre.iii  r  p.irl 
of  sediment  while  the  trap  is  liliii);;  \^ 
soon  as  it  opens,  it  is  wide  t  pen  I  h. 
rapid  discharge  through  the  ring  is  iit- 
tendc<l  to  clear  it  from  sediment,  and  it 
I  discharged  through  the  valve  when  it 
»s  wide  open.  The  buckets  arc  very  heavy. 
It  is  claimed  that  it  never  slicks,  as  the 
•equalizing  coupling  lets  the  valve  go 
Strai;;)it    to   the   scat. 

This  trap  is  mantit  '  '  •  ■ 

-Coil    Heater    and    I'm  !: 

4lianapolis.   Ind. 


Fig.   I   is  an  exterior  view  <  ■ 

City   feed-water   healer,    the    ix   .:    

trays  and  deflecting  plates  of  which  wer 


Wl  ihw  ««««« 


STICKUt   •VCKtT   T«Ar 


•  HOWtlH. 


POA\ER  AND  THE  EXGIXEER. 


Mart^h  23.  1909. 


Book  Reviews 


The  Modern   Power  Gas  Prodl'cer.     By 
Horace  Allen.     Published  by  D.  Van 
Nostrand  Company,  New  York,  1908. 
Cloth;    ;^32    pages,    5x7    inches;     136 
illustrations;  numerous  tables.     Price, 
$2.50. 
This  is  not  a  college  textbook.     It  is  a 
resume   of  modern   European   practice   in 
the    construction    and    application    of   gas 
producers   for   power  purposes,   to   which 
is  added  an  explanation  of  the  principles 
involved.     The   material   is   valuable   and 
the   author's    style   of   exposition    is   clear 
and   interesting;    it   is    greatly   to   be    re- 
gretted that  engravings  of  e.xtraordinarily 
poor  execution   have   been   used   to   illus- 
trate   such    worthy    text.      The    diagrams 
and   sectional   drawings   are   so  badly   re- 
produced  and    so   excessive!}'   reduced   in 
size  as   to   be   useless   in   most   instances. 
The   arrangement   of  the   material   is   not 
altogether    praiseworthy.      Much     of    the 
technical    information    which    should    be 
given  in  the  chapters  devoted  to  principles 
is   scattered  through  those  which  present 
descriptions     of     commercial     equipment. 
But   the   information   and   data   contained 
in  the  book  are  highly  useful  when  once 
sorted  out. 

Social  Engineering.  By  William  H. 
Tolman.  ]\lcGraw  Publishing  Com- 
pany, New  York.  Cloth  ;  394  pages, 
6x9  inches ;   illustrated.     Price,  $2. 

If  it  is  the  function  of  the  engineer  to 
adapt  and  apply  the  materials  and  forces 
of  nature  to  the  use  of  man,  the  specifica- 
tion is  broad  enough  to  include  the 
"Social  Engineer,"  as  Dr.  Tolman  calls 
himself.  Industrial  betterment  is  some- 
thing more  than  a  philanthropy.  'The 
betterment  of  the  labor  element  is  a  cold 
business  proposition,"  as  Dr.  Tolman  says 
in  his  preface,  "and  is  undertaken  com- 
monly to  get  the  best  results  out  of 
labor." 

The  damages  which  a  manufacturer 
pays  for  less  of  life  and  limb  are  a  part 
of  the  operating  cost  of  his  business,  and 
included  in  the  selling  price  of  his  prod- 
uct, so  that  it  is  the  consumer  who  pays 
them  in  the  last  anaU'sis,  and  it  is  the 
consumer  who  will  profit  by  the  better- 
ment of  conditions  which  will  not  only 
avoid  such  loss  of  life  and  limb,  but  in- 
crease the  efficiency  of  the  producer. 

The  first  chapter  of  the  book  treats  of 
the  promotion  of  efficiency  through  vari- 
ous educational  and  other  methods.  Suc- 
ceeding chapters  treat  of  The  Social 
Secretary;  Hygiene;  Safety  and  Security; 
Mutuality;  Thrift;  Profit  Sharing;  Hous- 
ing; Education;  Recreation;  Communal 
or  Social   Betterment;  Does  it   Pay? 

The  work  will  well  repay  perusal  by 
everybody  who  is  interested  in  social 
progress,  and  especially  by  those  w-ho  are 
engaged  in  industrial  pursuits,  either  in 
the  office  or  in  the  «hop. 


Gener.\l  Lectures  ox  Electrical  Engi- 
neering. By  Charles  P.  Steinmetz. 
Published  by  Robson  &  Adee,  Schen- 
ectady, N.  Y.,  1908.  Cloth;  280 
pages,  6.X9  inches ;  48  illustrations. 
Price,  $2. 
The  contents  of  this  book  comprise 
seventeen  lectures  and  two  appendices,  the 
latter  being  reprints  of  papers  read  before 
engineering  societies.  The  lectures  are 
extremely  simple  in  treatment,  practically 
no  mathematics  being  employed.  The 
author's  manuscript  was  "edited"  by  J. 
LeRoy  Hayden,  and  there  are  many  spots 
where  more  careful  work  by  Mr.  Hay- 
den would  have  increased  the  clarity  and 
smoothness  of  diction  very  greatly.  The 
lectures  are  "popular"  in  character  and 
their  scope  embraces  the  whole  field  of 
electric  light  and  power  engineering ;  con- 
sequently, many  of  them  are  conspicuously 
inadequate,  even  for  the  avowed  purpose 
of  the  book.  There  are  several  obscure 
statements  in  the  book,  and  one  or  two 
which  seem  to  be  erroneous,  if  the  reviewer 
reads  aright  the  author's  meaning.  On 
page  104,  for  example,  varying  the  num- 
ber of  poles  on  an  induction  motor  is  said 
to  be  analogous  to  varying  the  number  of 
expansions  in  a  steam  turbine,  and  on 
page  105  the  author  says  that  the  mean 
[effective?]  pressure  in  a  gas-engine  cylin- 
der "is  low"  !  The  reviewer  confesses  in- 
ability to  trace  the  analogy  or  to  imagine 
what  kind  of  a  modern  gas  engine  de- 
velops a  "low"  mean  pressure. 

The  Economy  Factor  in  Steam  Plants. 
By  George  W.  Hawkins.  Hill  Pub- 
lishing Company,  New  York.  Cloth; 
133  pages,  6.X9  inches ;  illustrated. 
Price,  $3. 
This  book  is  intended  for  the  designer 
of  steam-power  plants  or  the  student  of 
the  subject  of  steam-plant  design.  The 
author  has  had  access,  as  a  member  of 
the  engineering  staff  of  C.  C.  Moore  & 
Co.,  to  a  mass  of  data  upon  the  several 
efficiencies  of  the  various  factors  which 
go  to  make  up  such  a  plant,  has  analyzed 
the  effect  of  varying  conditions  upon  such 
apparatus  and  devised  formula  charts  or 
"graphs"  and  tables  which  will  assist  the 
designer  in  determining  the  constituents 
of  the  most  efficient  plant  for  a  given  set 
of  conditions,  or  the  probable  efficiency  of 
a_  proposed  plant.  The  author  deals  with 
engineering  efficiencies  simply  and  does 
not  consider  the  over-all  efficiency,  includ- 
ing standing  charges  based  upon  invest- 
ment, furnishing  rather  the  means  for 
enablinr^  the  engineer  to  estimate  the  ex- 
pense of  maintenance  which  may  then  be 
corelatcd  with  cost.  The  work  is  divided 
into  four  parts.  Part  I  treats  of  Indi- 
vidual Apparatus,  and  considers  in  sepa- 
rate chapters  Boilers ;  Engines ;  Electrical 
Generators;  Condensing  Apparatus;  Feed 
Pumps;  Oil  Pumps;  Oil  Burners;  Radia- 
tion Leakage;  Feed  Water' Heaters  ;  and 
Fuel  Economizers.  It  Vv'as  the  original 
intention  to  make   the  analysis  applicable 


only  to  oil-burning  plants,  but  inasmuch 
as  the  same  method  might  obviously  be 
made  to  apply  to  any  fuel  whatsoever  it 
was  decided  to  add  such  conversion  charts 
as  would  af¥ord  a  ready  means  of  apply- 
ing tlie  results  to  coal  and  wood  or  other 
fuels. 

Part  H  deals  with  the  Factor  of 
Evaporation.  .\11  of  the  quantities  which 
go  to  make  up  this  factor  are  readily  ob- 
tainable except  the  temperature  of  the  ■ 
feed  water  and  this  chapter  contains 
"graphs"  showing  the  temperature  to  be 
obtained  from  open  and  closed  heaters 
for  various  temperatures  of  air-pump 
discharge  and  percentages  of  exhaust 
steam  available,  and  the  effect  of  fuel 
economizers ;  and  tables  showing  the  per- 
centages of  steam  used  by  auxiliaries. 
Parts  III  and  IV  treat  of  Complete 
Plant  Economy,  the  first  under  full  and 
the  latter  under  variable  load. 

The  charts  or  "graphs"  are  a  prominent 
feature  of  the  book  and  present  in  a  con- 
densed yet  comprehensive  form  the  in- 
formation which  the  author  has  gathered 
from  exceptional  opportunity,  and  the  de- 
ductions  therefrom. 

Practical  engineers  are  prone  to  hoard 
the  results  of  their  experience  as  capital 
in  the  competitive  struggle  for  advance- 
ment. Mr.  Hawkins  has  in  this  work 
made  available  to  the  engineering  profes- 
sion information  which  to  determine  ex- 
perimentally would  entail  thousands  of 
dollars  worth  of  experiment  or  years  of 
varied   experience. 


Books  Received 


"Modern  Cement  Sidewalk  Construc- 
tion." By  Charles  Palliser.  Industrial 
Publication  Company,  New  York.  Cloth  ; 
64  pages,  sx/J/l  inches ;  illustrated ;  in- 
dexed.    Price,  50  cents. 

"Alternating  Current  Machines."  Sev- 
enth edition.  By  Samuel  Sheldon,  Hobart 
]\Iason  and  Erich  Hausmann.  D.  Van 
Nostrand  Company,  New  York.  Cloth ; 
353  pages,  5x7^  inches;  237  illustrations; 
indexed.      Price,   $2.50. 

"Law  and  Business  of  Engineering  and 
Contracting."  By  Charles  Evan  Fowler. 
McGraw  Publishing  Company,  New  York. 
Cloth;  162  pages,  5^/2x9  inches;  illus- 
trated;  indexed.     Price,  $2.50. 

"Transmission  Calculation  of  Trans- 
mission Lines.''  By  L.  W.  Rosenthal. 
McGraw  Publishing  Company,  New  York. 
Cloth  ;  93  pages,  6x934  inches ;  42  tables ; 
indexed.     Price,  $2. 

■'Heat  Energy  and  Fuels."  By  Hanns 
V.  Juptner,  translated  by  Oskar  Nagel. 
McGraw  Publishing  Company,  New  York. 
Cloth;  306  pages,  6x9^  inches;  118  illus- 
trations; tables;  indexed.     Price,  $3. 


March  23.  190Q. 


Anniversary  of    American    Institute    •'»•  n^w  f^ 
of  EJeclrical  Ejigineers  ' 

'I  hi.-   ii:'-':i,'Hr-      IV..      \:'  ,  ■  • 
<>f    Klcctrical     l.l.;>'i:.n  :  -    ..:.-.     •,....:      .,  .  . 
in   all    three   hun<lrccl   p«:r»oii»,   celcbraiiil     ;- 
ihe    twemy-rifth    anniversary    of   the    or- 
j;ani/ation  of  the  institute  Thursday  even- 
ing, March  12.  with  a  dinner  at  the  Hotrl 
A>tor,  New  Ywrk  City. 

Louis   A.   Ferguson,  of  Chic-r-     — 
dent   of    the    institute,    was    t 
The   speakers  were    President    Ji'>c    .M. 
Smith,  of  the   A.   S.    M.    K.,   Past    Presi 
dents     Elihu    Thiimpson    and     Frank    J. 
SpraKue.  of  the  A.  I.  F.  E.,  and  President 
Ali-xander  C.   Humphreys,  of  the  Steven* 
Institute  of  Tcchnol"»gy,  who  delivered  an 
address  on  "Electrical   En^necring  as  a 
Profession." 

Those  occupying  the  rostrum   in  addi- 
tion to  the  speakers  were  Thetxlore  lieran. 
John   H'ts'trt.  C.  C.  Chesney.  C.  A.  Drrc 
mus,  Willinm  C.  L.   I'Klin.  \V.  \V    I'rtc 
man,  B.  CJhcranli,   RoIkti    .Mather.   I"    I'.. 
Olcf)tt,  Ralph  W.  Pope  and  (i    G.  Ward. 

In  his  op<'ninK  speech  President  Fer- 
guson called  attention  to  the  fact  that 
-ilthouRh   the  yq^jngest   the  American   In- 

'ulc   of   Electrical    Engineers  now   was 
'  '?est  of  the  four  great  engineering 
-  of  America. 

lent     Smith,     of    the    Mechanical 
rs.    told    v*hat    wr»n«lers    th«-   *•!•■<• 

had     :.ccompIishcc|. 
in    was    prci-ted     with     ■. 
plause.     He  joked  alxiut   the  tcnu-rity  i»l 
t^f   men   who  took   up*»n   themselves   the 

•  <•   of   "electrical  engineers"   twenty-f'ivc 
rs  ago,  but  praised  the  rfptimism  which 

•Tni)ted  them  in  that  self  assurance. 


FHJW  ER  AND  THE 

nd  ArcUMU's   licmvr 


s^» 


birthday,    i-ebriury    it,    IQia 

i'     <  :  •!     -1      »'  I.      .,rv.  .ri...  .f..,.,      1 


:::t  11; i*-r  »;  iji 


Ejigincers'  Blue    Room   Gub 
Outing 


I  •■  ■ 

Mass..  paid  a  m 

tive  visit  to  the  \. .-".    ,,.,..,.,    .. 

latest  addition  to  the  American  \N 

r  ;.bnt  in  Lawrence,  Mass.,  Mm 

«1  r. 


and  H.I 

by    the 

the    .American    mills. 

which,    under    the 

gui«bnce     of     sprrial 

coaunittees,    were 

thoroughly  inspected. 

The    power   plant. 

./       .L- 

principal  p«'inl  of  intr 

V 

K' 

latex: 

Brookl>-n  Enomren'  Club  SodJ  awI 


" 

«.' .' 

r 

■•mn 

event    c<«n|'- 

P 

Civii  Sen  ice 

EjumiiMlmi 

Ai 

the  i"'»i:i.  n 

itm*  m  the 

llHUUff    ttMtlunn 

try   and   algrt.f^ 
from  sketc)' 

-ak 
Mg  and  iratnm. 

An    ' 
of 

g,..    . 

of  the  mill,  whet' 
vided    a    m-'^' 
being  done 


Personal 


Mrr  |un« 


*:    Frnnklin    !.     Pnpr.   rhr   ^r 


•'I    Martin,    Elihu   Thomson.    Irmk    j 
rague.  Francis   B.  CriK-ker.  «  '    •'       ' 
tt.  Hion  J.  Arnold,  John  W 
'       '"    "'■  •  -Icr  and  ' ' 
t  at  tlir 


Ihe    s 


..nd. 

tl 

Of 

a* 

ncr- 

K 

mUciU    C*cw«^     1L 


!•       M        .-<mitii.      I  r"it.      I   iiiiii       I 

I  I'llmer  A.  Swny. 


Plans  of  Comhitirtl  Assoc  iatiuns  of 
Brooklyn 

I'hr    f|r!rffnfrt    nf   the   Pnm^f 


lary 


ire   li>  crlcbr.iir   »■ 
the  association.     T!.i- 
ms,  is  the  source  of  the 


58o 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  23,  1909. 


B 


usiness  items 


It< 


The  Kennedy  Valve  Manufacturing  Company 
announces  that  William  Martin,  who  is  well 
and  favorably  known  in  engineering  circles, 
has  joined  the  forces  of  that  company  as  manager 
of  the  New  York  City  sales  department,  with 
offices  at  57  Beekman  street. 

The  Parker  Boiler  Company,  Philadelphia, 
Penn.,  installed  last  fall  a  258-horsepower 
boiler  for  the  Convent  of  the  Good  Shepherd, 
Wheeling,  W.  Va.,  and  has  just  received  an  order 
to  duplicate  the  installation;  also,  an  order 
for  three  300-horsepower  boilers  for  the  Gardner 
Harvey  Paper  Company,  Battle  Creek,  Mich., 
and  two  234-horsepower  boilers  for  the  Mount 
de  Chantal  Academy,  Wheeling,  W.  Va. 

.\  Eugene  Jlichel,  who  has  for  the  past  three 
years  beon  Manager  of  the  George  H.  Gibson 
Company,  has  opened  new  offices  at  1572  Hudson 
Terminal  buildings.  New  York.  Mr.  Michel  will 
in  future  confine  his  efforts  as  an  advertising 
engineer  to  the  promotion  of  steam  specialties 
and  apparatus,  power  transmission  appliances 
and  machine  tools,  and  v.ill  limit  his  clientele  to 
the  number  of  firms  to  whose  work  he  can 
give  personal  attention.  Mr.  Michel  is  a  gradu- 
ate engineer,  associate  member  of  the  A.S.M.E., 
and  with  eleven  years'  advertising  and  engineer- 
ing training,  which  includes  practical  e.xperience 
in  machine  design,  testing,  etc.,  is  well  prepared 
to  conduct  the  advertising  of  mechanical  products. 

The  space-saving  qualities  of  the  angle- 
compound  engine,  recently  introduced  by  the 
American  Engine  Company.  Bound  Brook,  N.  J,, 
is  illustrated  by  the  fact  that  one  of  these  engines 
of  a  capacity  of  .500  horsepower  was  recently 
selected  to  drive  a  centrifugal  circulating  pump 
in  connection  with  the  condenser  outfit  of  the 
Interborough  Rapid  Transit  Company,  at  the 
Fifty-ninth  street  and  North  river  power  house, 
New  York  City.  The  .\merican  Engine  Com- 
pany also  reports  a  sale  of  an  angle-compound 
engine  to  the  United  States  Government  for 
the  Coa.st  .\rtillery  School  at  Fort  .Monroe,  to 
be  installed  along  with  two  .\merican-Ball 
duplex  compound  engines. 

The  importance  of  forest  preservation  is 
appreciated  by  no  one  more  than  by  tho.se  who 
are  vitally  interested  in  hydroelectric  develop- 
ment throughout  the  country.  Many  individuals 
are  exerting  themselves  in  this  cause,  and  the 
Appalachian  .National  Forest  Association  con- 
tinues to  enlarge  its  membership.  .\n  example 
of  a  manufacturing  company  interested  in  this 
preservation  is  the  Crocker- Wheeler  Company, 
of  Ampere,  N.  J.,  builder  of  electric-power 
machinery  used  in  hydroelectric  development, 
which  has  recently  become  a  sustainin  member 
of  this  association,  whose  object  is  the  "perpet- 
uition,  through  wise  use,  of  the  remaining 
forests  of  our  country,  national  and  State." 


New  Equipment 


City  of  Camden,  .\rk.,  will  construct  water- 
works. 

The  Midland  Electric  Co.,  Lexington,  Ky., 
will  erect  a  new  power  house. 

The  Granger  (Texas)  Oil  Mill  Company  will 
install  an  ice  plant  and  water-works  sy.stem. 

City  of  Panama  City,  Fla.,  contemplates 
erection  of  electric-light   plant   and  water  works. 

It  is  reported  that  the  Sapulfja  (Okla.)  Inter- 
urban  Railway  Company  will  construct  power 
house. 

H.  E.  Johnson,  Car.son,  Iowa,  has  purchased 
electric-light  plant  and  will  make  improvements 
to  same. 

It  is  reported  that  the  Clark  Memorial  College' 
Newton,  Mis.s.,  contemplates  installing  an  electric- 
light  plant. 

The  city   of   Mart,   Texas,   has   voted   $.50,000 


bonds  for  construction  of  water-works.  R.  W. 
Bass,  mayor. 

The  Farley  &  Loetscher  Mfg.  Company,  Du- 
buque, Iowa,  has  completed  plans  for  a  new 
power  house. 

The  Union  (Iowa)  Electric  Light  Company, 
recently  granted  franchise,  contemplates  con- 
structing electric  plant. 

The  citizens  of  Marion,  Kans.,  voted  to  issue 
$60,000  bonds  for  construction  of  electric-light 
plant  and  water  works. 

The  citizens  of  Camden,  Ala.,  have  under 
consideration  the  question  of  establishing  a 
municipal  electric-lighting  plant. 

The  Providence  Hospital,  Washington,  D.  C, 
is  in  the  market  for  a  100  kilowatt  direct-con- 
nected unit,  also  passenger  elevator. 

The  plant  of  the  Rockford  Electric  Light  Com- 
pany, Marysville,  Mo.,  recently  destroyed  by 
fire,  will  be  rebuilt  at  once,  it  is  said. 

Plans  are  being  prepared  for  a  three-story 
cold  storage  building  for  Conron  Bros.  Co., 
Brook  avenue  and  153d  street.  New  York. 

W.  H.  Bourke  and  others,  of  Spokane,  Wash., 
have  been  granted  franchise  to  construct  and 
operate  an  electric-light  plant  in  Lewiston,  Idaho. 

The  Italy  Water  Company,  Italy,  Texas, 
contemplates  the  erection  of  a  standpipe  or 
steel  tank  and  tower  and  would  like  to  hear  from 
builders. 

The  Musketaquid  Worsted  Mills,  Lowell,  Mass., 
has  awarded  contract  for  erection  of  an  addition. 
A  new  power  plant  and  water  wheel  will  be 
installed. 

The  Craig  Water  Power  Company,  Roanoke, 
Va.,  has  been  organized  with  $200,000  capital. 
Two  plants  will  be  erected.  A.  L.  Sibert, 
president. 

The  Northern  Illinois  State  Normal  School, 
De  Kalb,  111.,  contemplates  installing  new 
engine,  generator  and  switchboard.  Jas.  .\. 
Clark,  engineer. 

Muralt  &  Co.,  New  York,  have  been  awarded 
contract  for  remodeling  and  enlarging  water- 
power  plant  at  Tower  Mills,  L.  I.  New  turbines 
will  be  installed. 


Help  Wanted 

Advertisements  under  this  heading  are  in- 
serted for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  words 
make  a  line. 

AN  ENGINEER  in  each  town  to  sell  the 
best  rocking  grate  for  steam  boilers.  Write 
Martin   Grate   Co.,    281    Dearborn   St.,   Chicago. 

WANTED — Thoroughly  competent  steam 
specialty  salesman;  one  that  'can  sell  higli- 
grade    goods.     Address    "M.    M.    Co.,"    Power. 

WE  WANT  REPRESENTATIVES  to  handle 
metallic  packing  in  Pittsburg,  Cleveland  and 
Cincinnati.  National  Metallic  Packing  Co., 
Oberlin,  O. 

WANTED— Salesman  for  Maryland  and  south- 
east coast  states  to  sell  high  pressure  steam 
specialties.  Give  age,  reference  and  salary 
desired.     Box  15,  Powkk. 

WANTED — Engineers  to  use  a  polish  that 
polishes:  for  valve  bonnets,  head  bonnets, 
brass  and  copper.  It  makes  them  bright. 
Very  inexpensive  to  make.  Formula  $1.00. 
L.  Earle  Brown,  2304  Ave.  D.,  Ensley,  Ala. 

Situations  Wanted 

Advertisements  under  this  head  are  in^ 
serted  for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  words 
make  a  line. 

GEORGE  N.  COMLY,  con.sulting  engineer, 
1816  West  Genesee  St.,  Syracu.se,  N.  Y.  Can 
pive  best  of  references  if  desired.  Correspond- 
ence solicited. 

WANTED — Position  as  engineer.  Experi- 
enced with  steam  turbines,  condensing  engines, 
water  tube  boilers;  can  give  the  best  of  refer- 
ences.      Box   14,   POWEK. 

POSITION  WANTED  by  a  single  young 
man  as  engineer  in  a  medium-sized  plant.  Seven 
years'  experience  as  engineer,  active  and  alive; 
use  no  tobacco  nor  alcoholic  drink  ;  Dakotas  or 
Minnesota  preferred.     Box  11,   Power. 

POSITION  as  engineer  or  oiler  in  large  or 
small  plant.  Eighteen  years'  experience  with 
engines,    generators,    dynamos,    motors.     Have 


first-class  Ohio  license.  Will  go  any  place  in 
Ohio  at  any  time.     Box  483,  Marion,  Ohio 

MECH.\NIC.\L  and  structural  draftsmaa 
33  years  old,  ten  years'  experience,  university 
graduate,  desires  responsible  position.  Design- 
ing and  supervising  of  power-plants,  gas-plants,, 
etc.     Chicago  or  neighborhood.     Box  17,  Power. 

POSITION  as  electrician  with  a  company- 
having  good  chances  for  advancement.  An 
I.  C.  S.  student  with  five  years'  experience  in 
electric  service.  .\t  present  employed  and 
require  ten  days'  notice.  Prefer  Chicago. 
Box  12,  Power. 

WANTED — Position  as  engineer  or  super- 
intendent of  lijht  and  water  plant  by  a  first- 
class  engineer.  Seventeen  .Tears'  engineering 
experience;  also  practical  experience  in  machine 
shop.  Can  give  best  of  references.  Address- 
"L.  A.  R.,"  Box  16,  Power. 

YOUNG  MAN,  25  years  of  age,  six  years' 
experience  in  traction  plants.  Can  handle 
Corliss  or  automatic,  simple  or  compound  engines, 
shell  or  water  tube  boilers,  both  a.c.  and  d.c. 
generators,  booster,  batteries,  etc.  Wants  engi- 
neer's position.  South  preferred;  good  refer- 
ence.    Box  25,  West  Alexandria,  Ohio. 

Miscellaneous 

Advertisements  under  this  head  are  in- 
serted for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  words 
make  a  line. 

P.^TENTS  secured  promptly  in  the  United 
States  and  foreign  countries.  Pamphlet  of 
instructions  sent  free  upon  request.  C.  L. 
Parker,  Ex-examiner,  U.  S.  Patent  Office, 
McGill  Bldg.,   Washington,   D.  C. 

IN  ORDER  TO  SETTLE  an  estate,  an  attrac- 
tive opportunity  is  open  to  a  party  with 
$150,000.00  competent  to  fill  responsible  posi- 
tion either  in  the  scales  or  manufacturing  depart- 
ment, to  purchase  an  interest  in  a  well  and 
favorably  known,  profitable  machinery  manu- 
facturing plant  located  in  Pennsylvania,  with 
an  office  and  established  trade  in  New  York 
City.     Address   "Executors,'*  Box  3,   Power. 

WANTED — A  second-hand  cross-compound 
or  tairdem-compound  Corliss  condensing  engine 
to  develop  about  500  h.p.  at  100  lbs.  steam 
pressure.  Some  concern  inay  be  contemplating 
an  enlargement  of  their  plant,  or  a  changein 
their  power  equipment,  and  have  such  an  engine 
to  dispose  of  in  the  course  of  the  next  few  months. 
They  might  like  to  take  the  matter  up  with  the 
advertiser.  Kindly  state  where  the  engine 
can  be  seen  and  its  price.  Address  "New 
York,"  Box  6,  Power. 

For  Sale 

Advertisements  under  this  head  are  in- 
serted for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  words 
make  a  line. 

ARC  LAMPS— 100  General  Electric  No.  5 
lamps,  5i  amperes,  110  volts,  for  sale.  Apply 
to  Engineer,  The  14th  Street  Store,  6tli 
Ave.,  New  York. 

FOR  SALE — One  0x12  Armington  &  Sims 
automatic  high-speed  piston  slide  valve  en- 
gine. Can  be  soen  in  operation  until  April  1. 
Studer  Bros.,   Apple  Creek,   Ohio. 

FOR  SALE— 20x48  Wheelock  engine  and 
two  72"xl.s'  high  pressure  tubular  boilers  in 
good  condition  cheap.  Address  "Engineer," 
Box  2,  Station  A,  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

SECOND-HAND  MACHINERY  FOR  SALE 
— Engines,  milling,  linseed  and  cotton  seed 
oil  mill  machinery.  Write  us  for  description 
and  prices.  Indiana  Machine  and  Supply 
Co.,    203    Ingalls    Building,     Indianapolis,    Ind. 

ELECTRICAL  ENGINEERING  course  for 
sale;  don't  pay  $135.00  for  a  course  when  I  can 
give  you  as  complete  a  one  as  can  be  printed 
for  only  $22.00.  Write  today  for  particulars. 
Louis  Schaeffer,  495  Garson  Ave.,  Rochester, 
N.  Y. 

FOR  SALE— 1  Pr.  of  Harris  Corliss  engine, 
26-inch  cylinder,  48-inch  stroke;  flywheel  18 
feet  diameter,  72-inch  face,  60  r.p.m.,  built  in 
1893;  2  each  34-inch  belts  about  105  feet 
long;  1  jack  shaft  24  feet  long,  8-inch  diameter, 
with  two  pulleys  9  feet  diameter,  28-inch  face; 
2  pulleys  on  jack  shaft,  belted  to  main  lines 
of  shafting  (one  6  feet  diameter,  45i-inch  face, 
and  one  6  feet  diameter,  36i-inch  face;  1  34-inch 
belt  about  80  feet  long,  1  41-inch  belt  about 
60  feet  long;  400  to  500  feet  shafting  with  hangers, 
from  4-inch  to  2,'B-incli  diameter;  1  1500-horse- 
power  Webster  Star  vacuum  feed  water  heater, 
installed  in  1901;  1  Dean  boiler  feed  pump, 
12x7x12;  1  Snow  duplex  pump,  5ix3ix5;  1 
7-inch  Cochrane  oil  separator;  1  14-inch  Stewart 
oil  .separator;  2  Heine  boilers,  erected  in  1892, 
250-horsepower  each,  at  7i  square  feet  of  heating 
surface,  pressure  allowed  95  pounds  ;  2  Peck 
internally  fired  boilers,  one  installed  in  1896 
and  one  installed  in  1899;  these  are  250-horse- 
power each,  at  12  square  feet  of  heating  surface, 
Pressure  allowed  95  pounds.  1  35-kilowatt  De 
aval  steam  turbine,  installed  in  1904.  The 
equipment  is  at  present  in  operation  and  entire 
outfit  is  in  good  condition.  Bausch  &  Lomb 
Optical  Co.,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 


larch  30,  1909. 


POVV  ER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


Bennings  Power  House  of  Potomac  Eleclric  Co, 

Essential    (Jjx:raling  Icalurcs  (A  an  Important  Central  NaUon.  in  ihc 
District    of  Columbia,    which    Ejnbodic*    a    Number    oi    New    IcItai 


B    Y 


F. 


L 


JOHNSON 


Situated  on  the  eastern  branch  of  the 
Potomac  river,  about  three  miles  from 
the  Capitol,  is  the  Bennings  power  house 
of  the  Potomac  Electric  Power  Companv, 
which  furnishes  current  for  nearly  all  the 
electric  lights  used  in  the  District  of 
Columbia  and  power  to  more  than  aoo 
mile*  f<i  electric  railway. 


into   dircti    luirnit    of    575    Vi>n> 

tion  work.     Compactness  of  arr 

and    facility    of    >;    -    ' 

been  uppermost  i:. 

neer  who  designed  tiic  pUiil. 

Hollow  concrete  blocks,  I2itaxj6 
inches,  were  used  in  building  the  walls 
and  the  two  main  partitions  whKh  divide 
the  building  into  three  sections,  the  largest 
of  which  is  the  t>oiler  room .  through  the 
middle  of  this  section  rise  three  chimneys 
"f  •  rete,  12  fr- 

.:  Steel  I 

^!r<lcr<.,   ihc   ' 
■  I  •  ■  !::k'   crane    * 
•jrLi:;r     room),     • 

floors  and  the  lighter  partitions  whKh  di 
vide  the  building  into  rooms,  galleries  and 
alcoves 


>Tt    ptt%tUttQ    Wf     VCSMS     Of 


Ronet 
coal   IS  fed   HI 
nKMithrd   bnl!> 


rkwrd    cbnUt* 


t\k%WU»C 

w«li 


MOirrH  or  intake  tunnel 


TVAKMQUtiaa    l^ 


•T. 


One    hundrtd    and    eifl - 
If  t  -  "   :ildttig.  whh-n  11    i'.j 

I,.  V  tli«  hoUtT  room.  • 


as- 


HIC    UXDMOriTB    AM 

CUAL   CM 


This  power  hou»e  w 
the  work  of  three  «>\ 
falf-engine  pUinis  r>f 
acler  liK-ated  in  wulrl 
in  the  rjtv     Current  > 


582 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  30,    1909. 


veyer  for  distribution  to  the  overhead 
storage  bins  as  desired.  These  bins  are  of 
rather  small  capacity,  holding  only  about 
four  days'  supply.  For  the  storage  of  a 
large  quantity  of  reserve  coal  to  tide  over 
any  failure  on  the  part  of  the  transporta- 
tion   company     to     deliver    the     required 


Water  is  used  freely  to  wet  the  ashes  in 
the  hoppers  under  the  boilers  and  ren- 
der the  handling  of  them  free  from  the 
annoyance  due  to  dust  which  usually  at- 
tends most  ash-handling  operations. 

All  of  the  boilers  are  fitted  with  "Vul- 
can"   flue    blowers    by    which    all    of    the 


MAIN    FLOOR   IN   TRANSFORMER    STATION 


tubes  of  all  the  boilers  in  the  plant  may  be 
thoroughly  cleaned  in  less  than  one  hour. 
Each  flue  is  provided  with  a  damper  con- 
trolled by  a  Locke  damper  regulator,  and 
also  with  a  recording  pyrometer.  The  va- 
riations in  temperature  indicated  by  the 
wavy  line  on  the  chart  show  clearly  the  ac- 
tion of  the  damper  regulator,  the  low-tem- 
perature line  on  the  chart  from  i  130  to 
5  :05  a.m.  indicating  that  the  damper  had 
checked  the  draft  while  still  keeping  steam 
pressure  within  its  usual  limits,  as  shown 
also  by  the  chart  from  the  pressure  gage. 

Feed  Water 

Feed  water  is  delivered  to  the  boilers 
through  extra-heavy  brass  pipe  from  any 
or  all  of  three  i6xioxi6-inch  outside- 
packed  plunger  pumps  which  take  water 
from  two  Webster  open  heaters  located  on 
the  boiler-room  floor,  one  on  each  side  of 
No.  I  chimney.  Exhaust  steam  from  the 
power  ends  of  the  circulating  and  dry- 
vacuum  pumps,  after  passing  through 
separators  to  remove  the  cylinder  oil,  is 
led  to  the  heaters,  where  it  mingles  with 
and  heats  the  condensation  from  the  tur- 
bines, which  is  delivered  from  the  con- 
densers by  electrically  driven  two-stage 
centrifugal  hotwell  pumps. 

What  makeup  water  is  needed  is  auto- 
matically supplied  to  the  heaters  by  water 
from  two  makeup  tanks,  each  of  3000  gal- 
lons capacity,  located  in  the  boiler  room 
and  kept  full  all  the  time  by  the  so-called 
house  pumps,   which  are   controlled  by   a 


amount  on  time  a  dumping  pit  is  pro- 
vided about  1000  feet  north  of  the  build- 
ing. Into  this  all  coal  delivered  in  ex- 
cess of  the  regular  demand  is  dumped, 
to  be  picked  up  later  by  an  electrically 
driven  traveling  coal  hoist  and  distributed 
in  long  piles  on  both  sides  of  the  track. 

Under  the  boiler-room  floor,  which  is 
14  feet  above  the  main  floor  of  the  build- 
ing, are  ash  hoppers  to  catch  all  ash  and 
clinker.  These  hoppers  are  equipped  witli 
easily  operated  valves  by  means  of  which 
their  contents  may  be  emptied  into  small 
dump  cars  which,  when  filled,  are  pushed 
over  and  dumped  into  a  hopper  which 
delivers  to  the  same  elevator  that  handles 
the  coal.  By  the  change  of  one  dumping 
block  on  the  side  of  the  elevator  frame 
the  ashes  are  made  to  spill  into  a  large 
hopper  of  reinforced  concrete,  located 
above  the  boiler-room  door,  from  which 
they  may  be  run  into  cars  on  the  outside 
of  the  building  through  a  chute  which 
also  serves  to  control  the  flow  of  ashes 
from  the  hopper  to  the  car.  An  empty 
coal  car  is  left  at  night  over  the  crusher 
hopper  and  under  the  ash  chute,  which 
comes  through  the  wall  about  12  feet 
above  the  track.  In  the  morning  the  ashes 
which  have  been  collected  the  day  before 
and  elevated  to  the  hopper  are  allowed  to 
run  into  the  empty  coal  car,  which  is 
pushed  by  the  electric  locomotive  onto 
the  side  track  of  the  steam  railroad,  to  be 
hauled  away. 


VULCAN   FLUE   CLEANERS   ATTACHED  TO  BOILER 


March  30,   1909 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


Ill 


Ford  pump  governor.     There  is  a  float  in 

«ach  tank  which,  as  the  water  rises,  clo-.c^ .  _. 

a  valve  in  the  delivery  pipe  of  the  pump  ir   M-rn   of     feed-water     » 

and  as  the  pressure  in  this  pipe  increases  it-cli  into  tk--  —  ■■  -      ' 

it   checks  the  steam  supply  to  the  pump,  of  makeup    ' 

reducing  its    speed  to*  that   necessary   to  \%r' 

keep  the  tanks  just   full.  oi 


ma<lc  m         \'%rjm^  dniMWili   am  tW  hutittt  fff«a 


ubed  by      each  diy      Tim  of  iwftWy 
b  ptcnty     ecofxKn>  -in^  10  *afl 


1 

TT 

£ 

j 

^HkJ 

•is 

I 

1 
1 

1 

Vt 

c: 

f     ;  M  f.    Ill  I   h  1 


sAii,  iii-.AHi'  r..MXRiiv   IN    •■'•writ    iii>«M 


-.-.r   nrt  tf  ~t »'«'i--»w»» 


MIIXR  raoKTt  AMD  frOKX» 


S84 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  30,  1909. 


VIEW   IN   TURBINE  ROOM  FROM    NORTH   END 


OIL  SWITCHES  UNDER  MAIN  SWITCHBOARD  IN  POWER  HOUSE 


LAIDLAW-DUNN-GORDON   SINGLE  STAGE   DRY-VACUUM    PUMP 


March  30,   1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


is  being  made  under  two  of  the  boilers  to 
ascertain  if,  for  a  short  run,  it  is  not  more 
rconomical  to  use  the  more  expensive  oil 
fuel  than  to  incur  the  loss  ''  ably 

occurs  from  the  slow  and  in  >m- 

bustion  that  goes  on  with  baiiKci  itres.  It 
is  also  proposed  to  install  otic  set  of  oil 
burners  above  the  grates  in  one  l>'«ilcr  and 
burn  the  oil  above  a  coal  hre  m  order  to 
make  an  attempt  to  bum  the  oil  in  addi- 
tion to  all  the  coal  that  can  possibly  be 
burned  on  the  grates  and  thus  produce  a 
higher  furnace  temperature  than  is  pos- 
sible with  coal  alone.  If  it  should  be 
found  possible  with  coal  and  oil  together 


night,  when  it  a«atn  dropt  off.  rcaduoc 
the  lowest  point  at  aboat  I  o'clock  in  the 
morning. 


SnAM  PuMn 

On  the  nu 
which  1^   14 
floor,  ar 

it  and  .%      _     .  . 
the  steam  pumps 
three     16x10x16 
pumps  for  boiler 
pin- 
ot 
ste|>  l>curi:ii(k  of  the  larger  tu.binf  i 


and  between 

r<iurM--!   all  of 

arc 


the 
three 


wkKh      «4trf 


N 
En* 

whKh   all   «<    tlw 
poai^  are  piped ;  Inm  dtt  dur^irgc 
of  the  nwirr  a  kmdaty  taaii  paapc 

niat><    ''it     ,      r«f.   I'.ni      'kk.-.     *!1     >  .frf 

tnc 


! .  n  -■  •     '.    •    i  r »    .rnglJi  • 
one  readniff  4i««4«4  k« 


>iL^«att  h  jQf , 


to  K't  s  .  jirf  cent,  more  evaporation  from 

a  boiler  than  with  coal  alone,  the  ncrr^ 

•ity    for   )>ankrd   firet   will   di«.M 

no    more    ImjiIcts     will    be    ur> 

carrying  the  peak  than  with  the  aNCfJK' 

load 

At  this  I ' 
i«  about  .lOi  • 

Q  a.m    it  gradually     lncr^.^^r^^     ; 
kilowatts,   after    which    it    dri.i>»    '       •• 
where  it  remains  until  about  4  p '" 
■t»  increases   until  a  peak  'f 
•f»   i«   reached   at    «um>Ii  wi 


io»i»i(i  iiliinKfr  {Mttrm  p.imp'    ma- 


•fip 


.lT..i 


•  »r» 
Wa' 


SS6 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  30,  1909. 


xf 


Oil  Drain 
Tank  No.  2 


Boiler  FceJ 
Pump  Vo.  2 


a , 
-Of 

Oil  Drain 
Tank  N'g.  1 


Boiler  Feed 
Pump  No.  1 


h= 


Repair  Room 


Hot  Well   -__Alr  Pump 
'  Pump       llll/  Hoi  Well 

'Pump 


DRY-VACUUM    PUMP  DRAINING   SCHEME 


Cir.  W.ter 
Pump  No.  2 


Cir.  Water 
Pump  No.  3 


77/r-i^^^T.,r— ,...     ,,T.-- X.    ,,,^..x .^i^mi 


GROUND-FLOOR    PLAN    BELOW   LEVEL   OF   BOILER   ROOM 


Steam-driven,  it  being  desired  to  heat  the 
feed  w^ater  as  hot  as  possible  and  yet  use 
no  more  steam  in  the  auxiliaries  than 
would  be  condensed  in  the  feed-water 
heaters.  That  the  balance  was  very  closely 
calculated  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the 
average  temperature  of  the  feed  water  for 
one  year  was  i86  degrees. 

The  Steam   Turbines 

On  the  main  floor  of  the  turbine  rooms 
are  five  vertical  Curtis  turbines  mounted 
on  Worthington  condenser  bases.  One 
turbine  generator  is  of  9000  kilowatts 
capacity,  two  are  of  5000  kilowatts  each 
and  two  of  2000  kilowatts  each.  As  the 
2000-kiIowatt  units  are  too  small  to  carry 
the  entire  load  at  any  time  of  the  day  or 
night  it  is  intended  in  the  very  near  future 
to  replace  these  two  units  with  one  of 
14,000  kilowatts  capacity 

Steam  for  the  turbines  is  taken  from 
the  side  of  the  main  pipe  line  through 
pipes  with  long  bends,  while  steam  for 
the  auxiliaries  is  taken  from  the  top  of 
the  same  main  by  risers  with  return  bends 
of  2-foot  3-inch  radius,  the  long  ends  of 
which  descend  below  the  boiler-room 
floor,  thence  through  long  ells  and  bends 
to  the  machines  where  the  steam  is  to  be 
used. 


% 


SCHEME  FOR  TESTING  STAGE  PRESSURES 


■"''-'\\V\\V^\^<SVXNV<\\VVV-k\\\\^ 


Powtr,  .Y.  fl 


ELEVATION  OF  AUXILIARY  PIPING 


:.:arch  JO,    1909. 


KJW  RR  AND  THE  ENGIN 


In  orfltr  to  obtain  conil<  ii>ing  water 
economically  a  channel  alx.tit  200  feet 
long  was  dredged  out  from  the  mouth  of 
the  intake  tunnel  to  the  river.  From  lhi« 
channel  the  water  is  taken  to  the  turbine 
'oom  under  the  floor  in  a  concrct.     ' 

feet  wide  and  sH  feet  deep  Thr 
out  the  length  of  the  turbine  rnom  iJu 
overflow  pipe,  also  of  concrete,  lie*  on 
top  of  the  intake,  side  pits  t>einK  prii\iilcd 
for  the  suction  pipes  of  the  pump^  v>  that 
they  do  not  pass  through  the  overflow 
As  both  the  intake  and  overflow  are  lie 
low  the  river  level,  the  discharge  pipes 
from  the  condensers  are  sealed  at  all 
times  and  the  work  done  by  the  circulating 
pumps  is  simply  that  of  overcoming  the 
fricti«;n  ncce«-sary  to  move  the  writir 
■rough   the   condensers   and   conm •• 

ich  condenser  is  served  by  a  ccnti 

^^rulating    pimip,    direct -connecte*!     to 
1  leming  mgine,  a  steam-driven   LaidlaM 
Dunn  -  Gordon  single  -  stage  «lry  -  vacuun 
—tmp  and  a  motor-driven  two-stage  cen- 

it'ugal    hotwell    pump. 

When   the   plant    was   first   started   con 

■  lerablo  annoyance   resulted    from    wat< 
which  collected  in  the  suction  pipe  of  th 
<lry  vacuum   pumps,  necessitating  a    shtf 
down  once   in  alxiut    four  hours   to  drain 
the  water  from  the  pipe.     The  chief  engi 

rr  hit  upon  the  scheme  of  tapping  the 


m 


.LL...tj      _^>,^_     _ia_.9  IF 


KUXAXtOH  or  CDKHKftlKG-W  ATta  0VSTCM.  tMOWIKC  IVTAU  *B»  ( 


MKlKin  t*p*  at  I 
Unn  and  th<- 
^       im  hrth  pii- 


m 


limcr  W«t«<4    m    Ikr 

tanic  •*  thr««  iMar* 

t  If » I  (rA^aig  to  tW  laaA 

tW  iMmk  cvnM«4  lo  iW 

wiMvi    tW    wttn    fVM    vMi 


r  T 


i»-j.     t  ■»  nr-> 


- 

^:^ 

- 

^^. 

1 

0 

w^    . 

1  -^^ 


I ■  f       I   ill 


<^    H 


n.\N  '•»  rawM  »•• 


588 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  30,  190^. 


Catechism  of  Electricity 


thought  that  their   durability   will   be   in-  ing  a   full    load    of    9000    kilowatts    and 

creased.  maintaining  a  vacuum  of  29  inches  with  . 

Steam   is   furnished   to  the   turbines  at  a  condenser  having  only  20,000  square  feet  987.     What  causes  other  than  mechani- 

180   pounds    pressure    with     138    degrees  of  cooling  surface,  which   is  an   overload  cal    ones   are   responsible   for   noise   in   a 

superheat  at  the  throttle.  on  the  condenser  of  80  per  cent.     With  •  motor? 


PLAN  OF   MAIN   STEAM   PIPE  OVER  BOILERS 


STEAM-PRESSURE    AND    FLUE-TEMPERATURE    CHARTS 


No.  I  turbine,  of  9000  kilowatts  capa- 
city, was  the  last  installed  and  differs 
from  those  of  5000  kilowatts  capacity  only 
in  the  generator.  It  is,  in  fact,  a  9000- 
kilowatt  generator  mounted  on  a  turbine 
and  condenser  intended  for  5000  kilowatts. 
No  trouble  has  been  experienced  in  carry- 


an  average  barometer  hight  of  29.5,   the 
average  vacuum  for   1908  was  28.6. 


The  total  production  of  combustible 
minerals  in  France  in  1907  was  36,930,000 
tons,  of  which  36,160,000  tons  were  bitu- 
minous and  anthracite  coals. 


If  a  belted  motor  is  carrying  more  than' 
its  normal  load,  the  belt  is  likely  to  slip' 
over  the  pulley  and  cause  an  irregular 
squeaking  sound.  In  a  motor  having  a 
toothed-core  armature,  there  is  sometimes 
noticeable  a  humming  noise  when  the  ma- 
chine is  in   operation.     This  results  from 


larch  30,   1909 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


the  passage  of  the  teeth  of  the  core  past 
the  field-magnet  poles. 

988.  Cannot  objectionable  noue  earned 
by  overload  on  a  motor  be  reduced  ttnth- 
'lut  decreasing  the  load? 

lightening  the  belt  or  applying  pow- 
Ocred  rosin  to  that  part  of  its  surface 
which  comes  in  contact  with  the  pulleys 
may  be  found  to  answer  the  purpose.  If, 
however,  these  remedies  fail,  a  pulley  of 
larger  diameter  or  a  belt  having  a  wider 
dimension  must  be  employed. 

>89.  Can  the  humming  noise  due  to  a 
ihed  armature  core  be  remedied f 
;•  can  be  remedied,  but  only  in  the  re- 
construction of  the  machine,  either  by  re- 
ducing the  number  of  ampere-turns  in  the 
field  winding  or  by  altering  the  shape  of 
the  pole  pieces  or  that  of  the  teeth  in  the 
armature  core  so  that  the  teeth  do  not 
all  pass  the  edges  of  the  pole  pieces  at 
the  same  time. 

Motor  Speed  Too  Low 
/<X)      lyhat   are    the   usual   causes   that 
■\d  to  slow  down  the  speed  of  a  dtrect- 
•  rrent  motor F 

I  >verload ;  friction  between  the  arma- 
-e  and  the  pole  pieces;  friction  between 
the  armature  shaft  and  the  bearings;  a 
ihort  circuited  coil  or  gr<.und  in  the 
mature;  low  voltage  in  the  supply  cir- 
■It. 

<y>i.  H'hat  indications  accompany  an 
ided  motor  running  slowf 
re  is  usually  l»ad  sparking  at  the 
tnmutator,  the  armature  is  very  warm 
id  in  the  case  of  a  belted  machine  the 
It  i*  very  tight  on  the  tension  side  and 
.ly   <ilip  excessively. 

>ff2  Is  there  any  remedy  for  the  case 
■'nrioned  in  991  except  reducing  the 
td' 

«)9.V  What  symptoms  tndicale  that 
friction  between  the  armature  and  the 
pole  faces  is  keeping  doxvn  the  speed? 

> 
.l..u!y  around  b>  I...1.'!.  i  •'  -  :^p»ng 
ri<.ivr  when  the  arnuturr  m   f«atr<I. 

994.    How  should   frietum   trouble   of 

•;'in    iin.l    ft-    f  ,tn,-i{\edf 

\'.\    tii'.liiik'    '1   ^^ll   the   protruding   por- 
tion   of    the     armature  if     ^ 
properly   centering   the  >o    "' 
bearings  or   by  filmg   out   the   pok   !«• 
where  the  friction  occurs 

905      //    there    it    tt/^S'iVnf    fwietiam    be- 
t^'een   the  arm 
imgs  to  cause  d- 
been  me  very  worm  ' 

ill.   and    thr      -  -"    •- 

turn  by  hand 

996.     What   remedy   should    be    jf'^- 
in  such  a  case? 

Thr     bearing*,    if    out     o; 


should  be  readjusted     If  the  shaft  sor- 
fa  hey  Uioald  be  wioochrd. 

cl. 

997  How  may  a  short-circu%ted  eoO 
or  J  ground  in  the  anmatmre  be  foumdf 

A   thort -circuited  coil  in  the  aimalnre 
will   cause  the  motor  to  draw  esccsetve 
current.      A     grotm*!     ot-f  uffinf     •»     two 
points   in   the  ar-- 
same    effect    as 

ground  at  only  one  pomt  will  not  be 
noticeable.  Continuity  tests  with  a  mag- 
neto bell,  made  by  connecting  the  ler 
miruls  of  the  magneto  to  the  armature 
core  and  to  the  wire  of  the  coil  and  turn 
ing  the  generator  crank,  will  show  op  a 
ground  if  there  is  one.  If  the  magneto 
bell  rings,  there  is  a  groood;  if  it  does 
not  ring,  there  t^  pmbaMy  not  any 
ground 

99R  How  i/i'niJ  J  inert  c\'iy»\.rd  COO 
be  remedied? 

If  the  trouble  is  due  to  a  piece  of  sol- 
der or  other  metal  getting  between  the 
commutator  bars  or  their  co<wectk>os 
with  the  armature  winding,  the  remedy 
consists  simply  in  removing  the  solder  or 
the  metal.  If  the  short-circuit  is  in  the 
coil  itself,  the  coil  will  have  to  be  re- 
placed by  a  new  one. 

999  What  should  be  dome  to  remerce 
a  ground  tn  on  anmatmre  coiif 

If  the  ground  is  at  a  point  where  it 
can   hf  rf■^'•h''A.   it  can  otwallv  be  rrme- 


A  wcnk  ndd 
tBooad  aMMor  to  run 
lo*de<l      If  (h*  tmrmr.- 


b«e4r 


nsaaBy  ernm*  tkam     la  case  Ae 

6cid  drcuit  m  amwkaUy  brdken  while  itm 
motor  is  rurrir^  V^aifly  laaJfdl  «  mmf 
even  re  m  oi 

'"fi  bacA-..  . 


beeom*   ia*  i<f * 
lomd  »ei^  ii«     ' 

It  k  in  ikt   cat*  ol  a 

bat    not    ao  ia    a 


..-.f  to 


Otherwise,  the  coil  must  be  icwound. 

1000  What  produces  a  groumd  t«  a 
motor  P 

Sometimes  a  ground  is  caused  by  a 
spark  of  static  electricity,  generated  by 
friction  between  the  belt  and  pulley. 
puncturing  the  insulation  of  a  cost 

looi.  Is  there  amy  u^y  to  prevent  irov- 
ble  from  the  slotie  eUetneily  pro4mee4  by 
the  belt? 

If  the  frame  «f  the  motor  be  grottisded. 
,he   ^'  W  dirertlv   to 

grout   .  r   hMtm      A*   It 

1%  not  generally  denrabk  lo  groond  the 
motor  frame,  a  inuistMwd  ihftad.  a 
heavy  pencil  mark  on  a  piece  of  unglated 
porceUin.  or  a-  "'»"  ^'*^  "•'•"  ' 
lonnecting  the  ■ 
carry  off  a  sUlK  <  r  Jf^'  "'"" 
\.,^,h    {witf^iai    and    very    minute    m«4r"' 


p<»»* 

y  al     lilCN 

ik*  «  ^mvet-rmertm' 

•-Id  magTH 

'1  voHage  *n  uc  • 

f 


fore  generally  geared  or  dircel 
to  the  load  instead  of  being  belMd  ta  k 
bccaase  if  the  bell  skaaM  break  ** 
BKitor  woald  incrcnae  in  sfrrvd  Mtfl  ik* 

amatare  destroyed  nsclf. 

to  pr event  the  iomd  be^-t  't^^'^fd* 

If  the  load  ia  aoi  dtf ret  xoiMKted  10 
the  motor  an  aaiantttk  goveeni 
be  oacd  in  connection  wnk  tke 
rednre  tke  evrrvwt  if  the  speed 
too  high. 

loa6k    I*'*:  <•    "be^  »'    '"*  *' 

wketker  a  hti^^  -.        c  m  the 
Ntf  is  ewuamg  tke  m*toe  to  if*^  •r 

Measaring  tke  vakage  •trtm  tW  e^ 
ply  virca  arkk  a  vekHMtar 

1007  Where  sh^mtd  IfonHe  ^  ~^*•#< 
f0r  1/  •  dtreel-emrrrmt  motto  t^it  •• 
«lartf 

.^-.  ^  M  tke  aHtar  «r  m  ka 


rent   m 

"■r      .     Il 

arctkms 

.    rntr*t 

moving 

^f 

lotf 

il«  an' 

rfrm 


*7    • 


ir'»o  ■ 
aet  ^ 

I- 


»«  wft 


590 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  30.   1909. 


Expensive   versus    Inexpensive    Back    Pressure 

Several  Interesting  Examples  That  Were  Taken  from  Actual  Practice 
which  Afford  Reliable  Information  upon  a  Very    Important    Subject 


B   Y 


W. 


H. 


W    A    K   E    M    A    N 


This  title  may  be  considered  a  mis- 
nomer by  readers  who  firmly  believe  that 
back  pressure  on  the  piston  of  an  engine 
is  always  expensive,  but  this  is  not  true, 
either  in  theory  or  practice,  as  it  depends 
upon  what  use  is  made  of  the  exhaust 
steam ;  for  if  all  of  it  is  utilized  and  live 
steam  saved  by  the  process,  it  matters  not 
whether  the  back  pressure  is  i  or  10 
pounds.  There  are  cases,  however,  where 
back  pressure  is  expensive  and  Fig.  i 
illustrates  one  of  them. 

In  this  mill  the  exhaust  pipe  is  8  inches 
in  diameter,  and  after  the  steam  has 
passed  through  a  suitable  feed-water 
heater  it  is  discharged  Mito  a  vertical  pipe 


of  50  square  inches,  but  when  the  diame- 
ter is  reduced  to  3  inches  with  a  cross- 
section  of  only  7  square  inches,  making  a 
difference  of  86  per  cent.,  a  very  radical 
change  has  been  made  which  is  not  war- 
ranted by  the  conditions  of  service.  But 
even  this  great  reduction  of  capacity  is 
not  prohibitive,  provided  good  judgment 
is  used  in  operating  the  device,  for  if  a 
light  weight  is  put  on  the  back-pressure 
valve  lever,  limiting  the  pressure  to  2 
or  3  pounds  a  certain  portion  of  the 
steam  would  go  into  the  vats,  and  the 
remainder  would  be  discharged  into  the 
air  through  the  main  pipe.  This  light 
pressure    under    stated    conditions,    how- 


heater  and  the  vats  were  condensing 
steam  at  a  high  rate,  a  partial  vacuum 
was  formed  in  the  exhaust  pipe.  Atmos- 
pheric pressure  acting  on  the  surface  of 
material  in  the  vats  forced  a  thick,  pulpy 
mass   up   into  the   pipes  and  heater. 

Before  starting  the  engine  again,  the 
engineer  opened  the  back-pressure  valve, 
but  even  then  the  piston  moved  slowly  as 
if  carrying  an  extra  load,  until  there  was 
a  commotion  in  the  heater,  followed  by 
a  series  of  thumps  on  the  roof,  after 
which  the  flywheel  speed  was  rapidly  in- 
creased until  the  governor  controlled  the 
cutoff  and  the  machines  were  running  at 
normal  speed.     Investigation   showed  that 


fitted  with  a  back-pressure  valve  as 
shown.  Just  below  this  valve  there  is 
an  8-inch  tee  that  was  installed  for  the 
purpose  of  securing  exhaust  steam  for 
use  in  three  vats.  An  8-inch  nipple  was 
screwed  into  this  tee,  followed  by  an  8x6- 
inch  reducing  coupling.  This  carries  a 
6-inch  nipple,  followed  by  a  6x3-inch  re- 
ducing coupling,  after  which  3-inch  pipe 
was  used  and  provided  with  three  114- 
inch  outlets,  one  for  each   vat. 

As  the  cylinder  of  this  engine  is  20 
inches  in  diameter,  and  a  heavy  load  is 
the  rule  rather  than  the  exception,  the 
exhaust  pipe  is  none  too  large  where  it  is 
8  inches  in  diameter,  with  a  cross-section 


ever,  would  not  sui)ply  the  vats  with  suffi- 
cient steam  to  fulfil  tlic  requirements; 
consequently,  tlic  superintendent  (who 
knew  nothing  about  successful  steam 
engineering)  ordered  the  engineer  to 
fasten  the  back-pressure  valve  lever 
down  by  means  of  a  strong  wire  attached 
to  a  hook  screwed  into  the  floor,  as 
shown.  This  created  a  heavy  back  pres- 
sure which  caused  more  steam  to  be  dis- 
charged from  .the  cylinder,  raising  tJie 
back  pressure  still  higher,  until  the  engine 
speed  was  reduced  enough  to  cause  the 
safety-stop  motion  to  operate  and  shut 
steam  off"  from  the  cylinder.  As  feed 
water    was    passing    rapidly    through    the 


a  large  (juantity  of  partially  manufac- 
tured material  had  been  thrown  out  on 
the  roof,  and  laborers  were  sent  to  re- 
claim it. 

Back  pressure  in  this  case  was  very 
expensive,  although  there  was  no  neces- 
sity for  it,  as  it  was  nearly  all  due  to  an 
inefficient  system  of  piping.  If  live  steam 
was  to  be  used  in  these  vats,  the  pipes 
would  probably  not  be  made  smaller  than 
i^-inch;  and  they  were  not  increased  for 
exhaust  steam.  If  the  outlet  from  this 
8-inch  Ice  had  been  continued  full  size 
as  far  as  the  third  vat  shown  in  the  cut, 
and  then  reduced  to  6  inches  to  convey 
steam  to  other  parts  of  the  mill,  it  would 


March  30,   1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


have  proved  much  more  suitisfactury. 
'  he   oiitlcl    to   each   vat   ought   to  be   i'/j 

1  hes  in  diameter,  supplying  tour  timc» 
much  Meam  aii  the  arrangement  shown, 

cause  a  large  quantity  at   low  prc&turc 

ould  du  the  work  well. 

The  adoption  of  thi>  plan  wouM  make 
it  possible  to  use  all  of  the  exhaust  steam, 

■-ovided  it   is  needed  in  the  vats,  and  if 

•ily  a  part  of  it  is  wanted  here  and  v\>v- 

here   in    the  mill,   the    rini.ninltr    \v..iil.! 

•  to  the   atmosphere    tlirough    thr    L.ick 
ressurc    valve,    causing    it    to   open    at    3 

,    unds  pressure. 

\  properly  designed  system  of  exhaust - 

i-am    piping   costs   more   than   pipes   in- 

•  1  lied  without  system  by  a  man  who  dors 

the  work  in  an  ignorant  manner,  Inxausc 

he  d«)es  not    understand  the   requirements 

■id  makes  no  intelligent  effort  to  I'ind  out 

hat   is  wanted;  hut   the   results  in  prac 

e    will    l>e    much    more    protitahle    and 

itisfactory,    because     an     abundance     of 

<-am  will  l>e  available  (provided  a  sufii- 

•  nt  quantity  is  exhausted   from  the  en- 
•lie),  there  will  be  no  useless  l>ack  pres 

re   and    the   engine    will     not     l>e    over- 
.ided  on  this  account,  as  it  always  was 
ill   the  case   mentioned. 

Oltuet  Pipk.s  Too  Small 

Kig.  J  illustrates  a  iM)rtifm  of  the  H-irKh 
vhaust-steam  piping  which  conveys  siram 
ir-tm   another  engine,   with   a   cylimler   jo 
inches   in  diameter,  through  a   fee<l-water 
■.iter    of   peculiar   design    and    thence    t" 
'    atmosphere,  or  to  Ik-  partially  used  v. 
tting  the  mill,  as  desired.     Just  I" 
<•    heater   ami    below    the    Jiackprr 
valve,  a  6-inch  outlet  is  provided  for  ci>n- 
veying    exhaust    steam    into    a    dry    kiln, 
wliere  much  of  it  is  condensed. 

.\nother   6inch    pipe    supplies   heat    for 
the   mill,  and   out   of  this    pipe   numerous 
•inches    take    steam    for    heating    differ- 
t    riMtms       This   ap|>ears   to   lie   a   giMwl 
III   and   It    is,   when   the   details   are  ar 
.iiged   to  correspond,   but   it   is   not   |)er- 
fict   in  this  case,  because  the  pipes  which 
'■r.mch   from  these  6-inch  outlets  arr  i>»> 
Mall   to  convey  all  of  the  steam  «•  •  •' 
"•refore,  it  is  necesviry  to  carry  a  »■••.» 
.rativelv  high  back  pressure  in  onler  to 
1   \n  all  iwrts  of  til- 
(-  lack  of  a  St  ram  k 
'h.iUsi    |.n*e    when    thr   pl.int 

•  i|.  If  w.i*  not  (Kissdiff  ♦•     !•  ■ 

ire      It  c 
of   it   c««.i; 
ioini   and  came  out    with 

Ml.   MIS,   that   cannot    hr    1    *" 

■  am    at    low    pressure 
'•light    to    be    ctmneitrd    ' 
pipe   nf  es'erv    rnKUir    (lirl..«     ih- 
prrssiirr  \  .1 
Itr   pl.iiiil.    II 
I*  not  .III  rx|M-ii»i\r 
In  prove  a  pa>ing  m 
br  a  low  pressure  gage  n 
pointer   may    move     a     »■ 
lAfKe  for  each  pound,  fier 
cations  to  be  read  easily 


The  term  "high  prcMurr' 
(his    anicic   to  exhaust 
l<"iif»ds    Of    more    abf^-    • 
ami    "low    pressure" 
pounds.       My     r 
tion  are  that  a 


i.!i<-ii 


1    ini»    ct/-.»-_'»» 

f4  m6rt  iW 


no.  J 


Inveftligatinn  tl 


the   biarl 


i»i.t»>iti-« 


My  attention  was  called  to  this  pbnt 
by   the   cload   of  r%\  >'>*uiiv 

from  the  pipe  above  -  1  roof 

on  a  cool  day. 
srrm*  fo  Iw  of  . 


the    air   causes    lew    rapid    condensation 


>     '^**r     r«^|ind     1^ 
■<m  am  iW  slnB  to  carry 

■•<<«U  ^evrat  f> 


r      4«» » -« 


■  <«gM  !■•  br  ■»  'f 


of  ••,»  J 

>>  (liMcd.    r«rrpi 

whrn     thr     prrsHiTT     ot     rskMHt     ••raai 

fj|»<'1     If         ^   trx     ■•(    ikrw-     iff     iTIuitr****! 
1(1    lilt      i    . 

»•■    V 


5    pounds    shown    a    FV^     4 

rl 

V 

e&iMu*4     •Ir^Mi     |i>«     «     nxlat 

found    ^'»      li -hifJiir-^     '^_r     K  »w, 
const.* 

fi»f  m* 


small 

I   :|-<'>S 


<^i«<i 


t!S«»«       1  ■■— tf  »  MSt 


592 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  30,  1909. 


heating  system  for  this  mill  that  would 
use  all  of  the  exhaust  steam  in  cold 
weather  with  one-half  of  the  back  pres- 
sure now  carried,  thus  reducing  the  cost 
per  1000  pounds  of  steam  used  to  one- 
quarter  of  the  expense  under  present 
conditions. 

The  heater  shown  in  Fig.  2  consists  of 
tubes  expanded  into  the  middle  head, 
with  caps  on  their  upper  ends.  Steam  is 
discharged  into  these  tubes  and  as  they 
are  surrounded  by  the  cool  feed  water 
it  is  condensed  and  the  resulting  water 
falls  downward,  thus  giving  place  to 
more  steam.  It  heats  the  water  to  200 
degrees  Fahrenheit.  The  angle  valve 
shown  is  for  the  purpose  of  admitting 
live  steam  to  the  system  when  the  engine 
is  shut  down.  The  connecting  pipe,  which 
is  1 54  inches  in  diameter,  carries  a  ij4- 
inch  bushing,  to  the  inner  end  of  which 
is  fastened  a  brass  nipple,  whose  inner 
end  is  securely  closed  by  a  plug.  A  hole 
was  bored  in  this  nipple  and  turned  up- 
ward when  it  was  put  in,  thus  sending 
live  steam  in  the  proper  direction  to  pre- 
vent any  portion  of  it  from  going  toward 
the  engine,  and  almost  the  full  boiler 
pressure  is  expended  in  sending  steam 
through  the  pipe.  If  there  is  a  chance  to 
use  a  bushing  about  three  sizes  larger 
than  the  live-steam  pipe,  a  long  thread 
may  be  cut  on  the  pipe  and  a  cast-iron 
ell  screwed  onto  the  end,  as  the  hole  in 
the  exhaust  pipe  will  be  large  enough  to 
admit  the  ell.  It  is  possible  to  make  one 
as  illustrated  in  Fig.  2  without  a  bushing. 

When  the  engine  is  started,  live  steam 
flowing  through  this  fixture  draws  air, 
water  asd  steam  from  the  cylinder,  thus 
assisting  in  heating  the  pipes  quickly, 
without  increasing  the  back  pressure. 

Care  should  be  taken  to  know  that  the 
outlet  of  such  a  device  is  turned  in  the 
right  direction,  as  otherwise  it  will  do 
more  harm  than  good.  It  ought  always 
to  discharge  into  the  heater,  as  shown,  in 
order  to  heat  the  feed  water  in  case  it  is 
necessary  to  run  the  steam  pump  when 
the  engine  is  shut  down ;  and  the  pump 
should  exhaust  into  the  heater  for  the 
same  reason. 

Economical    Exhaust- steam    Heating 

Fig.  5  illustrates  part  of  the  piping  for 
exhaust-steam  heating  in  a  shop  the  ma- 
chinery of  which  is  driven  by  another  en- 
gine with  a  cylinder  20  inches  in  diame- 
ter. A^ter  the  exhaust  steam  is  dis- 
charged from  the  cylinder  it  passes 
through  a  horizontal  feed-water  heater 
under  the  floor.  It  is  then  turned  up- 
ward by  an  ell  and,  coming  thraugh  the 
floor  in  the  vertical  8-inch  pipe  shown, 
enters  a  cross.  As  the  valve  above  this 
cross  is  now  closed,  the  steam  is  divided 
and,  passing  out  through  two  6-inch  pipes, 
goes  into  various  departments  in  the 
shop.  There  is  a  valve  in  each  of  these 
branches  by  means  of  which  the  steam  is 
shut  off  in  warm  weather.  The  weight 
which  hangs  near  the  floor,  as  all   such 


FIG.    4 


FIG.    6 


FIG.    7 


weights  should,  is  then  removed  and  the 
valve  is  fastened  open  to  allow  free 
passage   for  the  steam. 

Fig.  6  shows  a  pair  of  indicator  dia- 
grams taken  from  this  engine  when  the 
exhaust  steam  was  used  for  heating  pur- 
poses. They  indicate  not  more  than  i 
pound  back  pressure.  The  horsepower 
constant  of  this  engine  is  5.994,  therefore 
it  requires 

5-994  X  I  =  5-994, 

or  say  6,  horsepower  to  force  all  of  this 
steam  through  the  heating  system.  Even 
this  power  is  not  wasted,  because  all  of 
the  steam  required  to  develop  it  is  sent 
into  the  shop  and  utilized  for  heating  the 
several  departments.  There  can  be  no 
question  about  the  economy  of  exhaust- 
steam  heating  in  such  a  case,  as  there  is 
no  loss  to  charge  against  it. 

Fig.  7  shows  diagrams  from  a  16-inch 
engine,  the  horsepower  constant  of  which 
is  2.12.  The  counter-pressure  line  is  so 
near  the  atmospheric  line  that  they  barely 
form  two  separate  lines.  Measuring  from 
center  to  center  of  these  lines  shows  that 
the  back  pressure  does  not  exceed  i' 
pound.  This  does  not  represent  even  a 
slight  loss ;  neither  would  it  if  there  was 
5  pounds,  because  all  of  the  exhaust  steam 
is  used  for  heating  purposes.  The  heat- 
ing system  of  this  plant  is  unique,  be- 
cause all  of  the  pipes  are  6  inches  in 
diameter,  consequently  there  can  be  no 
contraction  of  area  in  the  discharge 
lines. 

The  back-pressure  valve  and  branch 
Hnes  are  illustrated  in  Fig.  8.  A  6-inch 
pipe  is  large  enough  to  allow  all  steam 
from  a  16-inch  cylinder  to  escape  freely, 
but  this  soon  branches  into  two  6-inch 
lines,  giving  the  steam  a  still  better 
chance  to  escape,  especially  when  a  por- 
tion of  it  is  condensed  in  the  heating 
process.  This  system  was  not  efficient 
in  practice  because  the  steam  expanded 
to  a  very  low  pressure  and  was  all  con- 
densed before  it  filled  the  pipes.  If 
there  had  been  a  greater  load  on  the 
engine  due  to  more  machinery,  or  even  a 
greater  back  pressure,  the  shop  would 
have  been  heated  much  better,  but  the  en- 
tire waste  from  this  engine  is  used  with- 
out cost. 

Fig.  9  is  a  single  diagram  from  another 
16-inch  engine.  The  horsepower  con- 
stant is  2.923.  About  one-quarter  of  the 
steam  from  this  engine  is  used  for  heat- 
ing purposes  and  the  remainder  goes 
through  the  back-pressure  valve.  The 
heating  pipes  are  small  for  the  service  re- 
quired and  a  trap  prevents  the  free  es- 
cape of  steam  at  the  outlet,  which  in  this 
case  would  be  an  advantage,  and  nothing 
would  be  wasted  by  such  an  arrangement. 

Effects  of  Incompetency 

The  diagram  shows  about  2  pounds 
back  pressure,  therefore 

2.923  X  2  =  5.84 


March  30,   1909. 


POWER  ANDTHE  ENGINEER. 


horsepower  is  required  to  force  the  steam 
through  the  system,  proving  very  waste- 
ful  in   practice.     Coils  of  pipe  were   in 
stalled   in  one  room   for  the  use  of  liv' 
steam,  but  no  trap  was  used  in  this 
and   the   men    who    occupied    this     r 
always  opened  the  drip  valve  as  wide  d> 
possible,  thus  wasting  more  steam.     Thr 
combination  found  in  this  mill  showed  the 
effects  of  incompetency  in  designing  and 
operating  a  heating  system. 

Fig.  ID  is  a  diagram  from  the  same  en 
gine   after   an    incompetent   engineer    had 
been  in  charge  of  it  for  several  m'  :    " 
Employees  in  the  mill  were  cold  b*- 
there  was  not  sufficient   radian- 
to  heat  the  rooms  properly;  c: 
they  put   more  weight   on   the   back-pres 
sure   valve  lever,   until   the  engine  could 
not  maintain  its   rated   speed.     Investiga- 
tion  showed   that  about   one-third  of  the 
average    pressure    above    the    atmosphere 
was    required    to   carry   the    useless    I    >  ! 
<ven    when    the    mean    effective    pr* 
was  100  per  cent,  higher  than  in  Fig   9. 

The  back  pressure  in  Fig.  10  is  19 
pounds,  therefore  it  requires 

2.923  X   19  =  55  5 

r«cpowcr    to    dispose    of    the    ex* 

-am,  which  is  much  more  than  it 
10  be.  If  this  was  the  only  loss  dur  i  • 
bad  conditions,  it  would  be  cik  ugh  to 
warrant  invctiKation  :^ii<l  improvemeni, 
but  the  rc«liicii«>n  of  cii^'iiic  speed  reduced 
the  output  of  the  niill.  although  the  ex 
i>rn$e  of  operation   was  the   •>anic   as  be 

re,  and  this  is  more  serious  than  thr 
^.j»t  of  fuel  to  produce  lost  power.  The 
back  pressure  was  reduced  to  normal 
when  the  extra  weights  were  removed. 

The    term    "average    pressure"    is    used 
advisedly   in   this  case  and   it    should   not 
be  mistaken  for  the  "mean  effective  pres- 
sure,"   because    thry    are    not    the    same, 
although    the    difference     is    not    alway> 
recogni/ed ;   therefore,  s(>ecial  attention  l^ 
called  to  this  point.     The  "average  pre* 
•ore"  as  used  in  this  connection  is  repre 
•cnted  by  the  average  hight  of  the  ^'r^  — 
ind    expansion     tine*    above    the    av 
pheric    line,    while     the     "mean     effective 
pressure"    is    the     remainder     after     »ub- 
tractifiK   the   average   hiKht   of   the   cotin- 
ter  pressure     line      from     the      foregoing 
result 

Where  the  counter -pressure  Imr  i« 
oearly  straight,  a*  shown  in  Fig<  -i.  <> 
and  7.  the  back  pressure  can  be  deter- 
mined by  measuring  at  the  center,  with 
tke    proprr    scale,    the    <Ii  '  1    .     -  ., 

the  two  line*;  but  whni  r  « 

in   Fig     10,  the  birk  ' 

determined   by   the    > .  ' 

adapted    for    finding    the    mean    riie^ti^'^ 
prr*»iirr 

Fig     II    i!lu*(rales   a   pair   • 
from   a    lb- inch   engine    in   a 
with    a    No.   60   spring    in    tt" 
The  hnrtrpower  con  *     ' 
back    j>rr<Mire   i«  <»  ; 
requires 


M,       _l   J i 


6 


"1    horsepower   to  dtspoM-      J    **^    eal 
-*     steam.    Erery  poood  ,  h 

in  making  p*'-'    -  ^^,  „^a*u 

this  badk  pr  - 
Fig   li  w««  Tj»r-,  iram  am  ci^a* 

vttli  a  crknder  14  mcWt  im  ^amttm 

^  'M  ol  mkkk  H  14     Ai 

pocnd*  UaJk  pfvsMire.  t>«rilm«.  «  i^bm 

honep")mtr  to  foecc    MMB    oal    al    A* 
^  ^    *orfc    is    daw.     TW 

«"  .  rmmrt  ol 

is  6  poond*.  M  tkc 


riMf  U«* 


TM« 


nd  8 


14  X  6  s  ft4 

horsepower  in  drmng 
donoostraies  that  the  land  dot 
V^ttart  above  the  iimnifhii 
cent  grcaicr  ihaa  the  power 
operate  thr  msrhinirj.  It  do«  not  matm- 
•arilj  folhm.  how«««r.  thai  ihm  o^Im 
it  na  aader  waalrfal  ooaAooas.  aid 
when  ihnc  eoodiliaas  are  andcniaad  li 
is  apparent  that  nmhmg  is 


Daring  all  the  tiaK  that  thii  bach  pri»- 
sarc  b  in  rvidm.  •>  •>>«  ..k,.^  immm 
goes  into  a  bra  -  ■  <r*  m  m 

lO  condensed  aiwi  ir>c   rr»anmg  te4  waMV 

is  rctamcd  lo  the  boArra     Daring  pwt 
of  the  time  tins  is  saAcsotf  lo  do  the  r« 


ncw  9 


TT 


FMI   to 


tcnperatar*    m    down    lo 
poini.  even.  aMKb  bre  rtaaa 
to  heal  the 
matt   lire   s«« 
OMd    for    thH 

110  the  bMtmg 

•ystcni     miiraq     ri     an     i  i|— I    ^aOfltttp    ti 

live  Mram 
All  '  «d«Md  hi  *t 

eahaa«t   ^^    t»  <itnat^   aMa   '  •"■ 

Stram   tt    rrptsndrd  to  atmoig^ 

■t.  wbtch  b  a   L     laim 
'..fr»rM    raXMiis    otta- 

the    paM    mi 

»•  anaine  to  sa 


Mid    a    l»T    ^ 
V«|    aa   hrn^    m 


594 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  30,  1909. 


secure  best  results ;  but  they  close  slowly 
here  and  no  loss  results  from  it.  A  more 
sharply  defined  point  of  cutoff  would  give 
a  lower  terminal  pressure,  the  effect  of 
which  is  explained  in  the  preceding  para- 
graph. 

Pressure  W.^sted  in   Carrying  a 
Useless   Lo.a.d 

The  single  diagram  shown  in  Fig.  13 
was  taken  from  an  engine  with  a  cylin- 
der 12  inches  in  diameter,  the  horsepower 
constant  of  which  is  1.6265.  The  back 
pressure  is  5  pounds ;  therefore, 

1.6265  X  5  =  8 

horsepower  is  required  to  overcome  re- 
sistance to  the  passage  of  exhaust  steam. 


FIG.  13 


FIG.    14 


FIG.     15 


and  this  is  an  unqualified  loss  because  the 
steam  is  not  utilized.  This  engine  ex- 
hausts into  a  feed-water  heater  and  the 
steam  which  is  not  condensed  in  heating 
water  passes  through  a  short  pipe  into  the 
outer  air ;  consequently,  the  back  pres- 
sure is  undoubtedly  Caused  by  contracted 
exhaust  ports  and  passages  in  the  engine. 
The  mean  effective  pressure  is  26 
pounds,  therefore  the  average  pressure 
above  the  atmosphere  is 

26  -f  5  =  31 

pounds.  This  demonstrates  that  about  17 
per  cent,  of  the  average  pressure  as  be- 
fore determined  is  wasted  in  carrying  a 
perfectly  useless  load.  If  this  were 
eliminated,  the  point  of  cutoff  would  be 
shorter  but  the  terminal  pressure  would 
not  be  low  enough  to  form  a  loop  in  the 
diagram.  Steam  users  should  investigate 
this  point  when  contemplating  the  pur- 
chase of   an   engine,  as  the   defect   illus- 


trated in  this  diagram  is  a  constant 
source  of  expense  for  which  no  benefit  is 
secured.  When  more  machinery  is  added 
to  this  plant,  and  there  is  no  power  to 
spare,  this  back  pressure  will  become  a 
greater  detriment  than  at  present,  and  a 
remedy  is  not  easily  secured  in  such  cases, 
as  a  rule. 

Fig.  14  is  a  diagram  from  another  en- 
gine with  a  cylinder  12  inches  in  diameter. 
The  speed  is  regulated  by  a  throttling 
governor.  A  peculiar  feature  of  this  en- 
gine which  is  in  contrast  with  the  pre- 
ceding case  is  the  efficient  way  provided 
for  allowing  the  exhaust  steam  to  escape, 
for  although  the  terminal  pressure  is 
nearly  as  high  as  the  initial  pressure,  the 
line  falls  instantly  at  the  completion  of 
the  stroke,  and  the  average  back  pres- 
sure is  only  4  pounds.  The  horsepower 
constant   is    1.0988;   therefore,   it   requires 

1.0988  X  4  =  4-4 

horsepower  to  dispose  of  the  exhaust 
steam.  While  this  result  is  as  good  as 
could  be  expected  with  such  a  high 
terminal  pressure,  the  power  thus  used 
is  a  total  loss  because  the  steam  is  dis- 
charged into  the  atmosphere  after  a  por- 
tion of  it  is  used  to  heat  the  feed  water. 
The  puffs  of  exhaust  steam  are  sharply 
defined  with  clear  spaces  between  them, 
which  proves  that  the  appearance  of  the 
exhaust  steam  from  an  engine  is  not  an 
indication  of  its  economy  in  the  use  of 
steam. 

A  peculiar  feature  of  the  diagram 
shown  in  Fig.  15  is  that  the  load  on  the 
piston  caused  by  resistance  to  the  escape 
of  exhaust  steam  is  almost  exactly  equal 
to  the  load  due  to  machinery  in  the  shop, 
for  this  diagram  was  not  taken  from  a 
direct-acting  steam  pump,  as  its  appear- 
ance indicates,  but  from  a  throttling  en- 
gine in  a  machine  shop.  It  is  not  neces- 
sary to  know  the  horsepower  constant  of 
this  engine,  nor  the  back  pressure  in 
pounds,  in  order  to  determine  the  com- 
parative loads,  for  these  are  shown  at  a 
glance  by  the  areas  of  the  spaces  which 
indicate  these  separate  loads. 

However,  these  are  given  as  a  matter 
of  interest  in  this  connection  as  follows  : 
The  cylinder  of  this  engine  is  10  inches 
in  diameter.  The  horsepower  constant  is 
0.6925  and  the  back  pressure  is  20  pounds; 
therefore,  the  load  due  to  back  pres- 
sure is 

0.6925  X  20  =  13.85 

horsepower.  The  indicated  horsepower  is 
])ractically  equal  to  this  load.  If  the  mean 
effective  pressure  is  20  pounds  and  the 
back  pressure  is  the  same,  what  causes  the 
piston  to  move  forward?  This  question 
will  be  asked  by  many  readers,  and  in 
reply  I  would  say  that  the  mean  effective 
pressure  does  not  represent  the  force  act- 
ing on  each  square  inch  of  the  piston  area 
to  move  it  forward.  If  it  did,  this  engine 
would  stand  still ;  but  the  average  pres- 
sure above  the  atmosphere  is  40  pounds, 


and  the  back  pressure  is  20  pounds,  conse- 
quently there  is  no  mystery  about  the  re- 
sulting motion. 


Some  Recent  Developments  in 
Marine  Safety  Valves* 


The  phenomenally  rapid  rate  of  evapo- 
ration attained  by  water-tube  boilers  fired 
with  liquid  fuel  has  made  the  safety- 
valve  accumulation  tests  of  such  boilers 
an  exceedingly  onerous  business.  As  is 
well  known,  the  accumulation  test  con- 
sists of  gagging  every  outlet  from  the 
boiler,  except  the  safety  valves,  which 
must  then  be  capable  of  carrying  off  all 
the  steam  generated  when  burning  the 
maximum  amount  of  fuel. 


The  test  generally  lasts  about  30  min- 
utes after  everything  has  settled  down, 
and  during  this  time  the  boiler  pressure 
nuist  not  rise  above  a  certain  predeter- 
mined amount.  Otherwise  the  safety 
valves  ,ire  deemed  to  be  inadequate  for 
(heir  duty,  and  either  larger  valves  must 
be  substituted,  or  certain  other  modifica- 
tions made  to  the  valve  lips,  the  capacity 
of  valve  boxes,  or  the  arrangement,  size, 
and  number  of  the  waste-steam  pipes. 

An  interesting  series  of  experiments 
was  recently  carried  out  by  Cammell* 
Laird  &  Co.,  Limited,  at  its  Birkenhead 
shipbuilding  works,  and  we  are  enabled 
to  give  the  results,  which  in  many  re- 
spects arc  remarkable,  and  indicate  a 
striking    advance    in    safety-valve    design. 

The  boiler  was  a  large  unit,  of  the 
firm's  well  known  "Fxprcss"  type,  capa- 
ble of  evaporating  61,000  pounds  of  water 
per  hour  when  fired  by  liquid  fuel. 

The    safety   valve     was     quadruple,     as 


*.T.    Hamilton   Gibson  in  Engineering. 


March  30,   1909. 


K)\VER  AND  THF  FVf.lvrrR 


Mnmn  in  Fig.  I,  and,  as  will  Ix-  ^ecn,  was 
of  the  UMial  admiralty  type,  with  cx- 
poM-d   springs. 

A  preliminary  test  showed  that  the 
safety  valves  were  incapahli-  >•(  nrrying 
off  the  steam  without  undue  ;i(  utiiula 
tion,  even  when  burning  fuel  i<>rr<sj><.ini 
ing  to  <jnly  half  p«»wer.  Calculation> 
proved  that  the  circtunferencc  and  area  of 
the  valves  were  ample,  hut  vjmcthing 
evidently  prevented  them  lifting  to  the  re- 
quired amount. 

That  something  turned  out  to  !»e  the 
pressure  in  the  valve  liox  above  the 
valves,  which,  though  n\Kn  to  the  atmos- 
phere through  the  waste-steam  pipe,  rose 
to  60  to  70  poun<ls.  and,  acting  un  the  top 
area  of  the  valves,  tendecl  to  keep  them 
closed,  thus  forcing  up  the  Ix^iler  pres- 
iure.  There  was  the  usual  characteristic 
chatter  of  the  valves  on  their  seats, 
caused  by  the  violent  fluctuations  of  pres- 
sure in  the  lx»x  as  the  valve  lips  became 
exposed  to  the  dynamic  action  of  the  es- 
caping steam  By  slightly  rasing  the 
valves  with  the  han<l  gear,  and  thus  in- 
creasing their  lift,  the  accumulation  was 
kept  within  reasonable  limits.  This  sug- 
gested the  expedient  of  attaching  to  the 
easing  gear  a  small  piston,  working  in  a 
fixed  cylinder,  an<l  moved  automatically 
by    the    steam   pressure   alx»ve   the    valves. 


lirely     s.t-^- 
made.  r< 


••1. 


New       v'.rrs       %»rrr       'jiiirij 

■n  ihrtr  mswlc  a  shorl     ihinnK  < 


the  load  on  top  of  the  ralvr.  *o  that  the 
valves  were  quite  indcpeiMlml  of  any 
tlucttiationt  of  pressure  above  tlirm.  aitd 
lifte«l  to  the  full  amount  permitted  bjr  the 
sprinff. 

The   t. 
the  v:il-. 
rc- 
\nn 

otit  any  apprecuble  drop  Inciflentallr. 
we  may  remark  that  this  improtemrnt  1* 
of  r<|ual  importance  to  the  increased  lift 

altaineil.  as  the  hr- v  of  the  valves 

on  their  seats  is  ',  and  there  is 


,]:■   U 


.Mr  ad 


I 

;  T'l 

•^.  ' 

^ 

\ 

J 


nu  5 
•afirty  ralrt-*  if*d  tl«H 
to  S 

tnm 

normal    ; 
»'•'  ri^h:  -- 


fT.TWtnf     tn     xV 


KcMfing  Anmrtm  uaA  Vokncicn 


j4  mi 


ih' 


r»a  4 


110   ItM* 

..fT    r 


iH    «<4ln»rSry    <«« 


f      ItW       »t» 


15  of   JO  pounda,  onlcM  H   •«  pM     tK 


nd 


under  noiic 


a«  shown  HI  lig    .t 
ce»sfnl.  hut  was  not  « 
fitting.    liriiiK    exlraiieotis 
valvr    it»rM        It    was    rik''"'^ 
thai    any   such  device   sh<" 
1.111...1    and  form  part  of  • 

-  I I.     .1 I.,. 


1  ivcrsidgv.    wa*    ,i<|o{i»«;<i.    ni'i    [•' 


596 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER.. 


March  30,  1909. 


Engineering    in    the    Eighteenth    Century 

Interesting  Facts  about  Steam  Engineering  Practice  One  Hundred  and 
Fifty    Years    Ago,    with    Illustrations    of     the     Quaint    Engines    Used 

b"^^       EDWARD       P~.       BUFFET 


i 


The  best  cure  for  pessimism  is  to  take 
a  look  back  one  or  two  centuries  into  the 
days  of  rack  and  thumbscrew.  The  best 
answer  to  the  man  who  claims  that  this 
is  not  an  enlightened  age,  mechanically,  is 
to  tell  him  something  about  the  century 
before  last.  Just  why  steam  engineer- 
ing so  long  remained  crude  and  unde- 
veloped may  be  open  to  differences  of 
opinion,  though  the  prevailing  view  seems 
to  be  that  it  was  because  mankind  were 
awaiting  the  appearance  of  Power. 

Records  of  eighteenth-century  engi- 
neering are  scarce,  chiefly  for  the  reason 
that  there  was  then  so  little  to  record, 
but  also  because  comparatively  little  of 
what  then  was  done  became  embalmed 
in  print.  Specialized  practical  mechanical 
journals  were,  of  course,  unheard  of. 
When  an  inventor  was  smitten  with  an 
uncontrollable  attack  of  "itch  for  scrib- 
bling" he  relieved  himself  either  by  writ- 
ing a  letter  to  the  newspapers  or  else  by 
seeking  the  patronage  of  some  noble  and 
"easy"  lord  for  the  wherewithal  to  con- 
fide his  lucubrations  to  the  public  in 
pamphlet  form. 

For  this  reason  it  is  a  happy  discovery 
when  we  unearth  the  files  of  any  old 
periodical  treating  even  occasionally  upon 
engineering  subjects.  Probably  not  many 
readers  of  Power  have  ever  perused  The 
Universal  Magazine  of  Knowledge  and 
Pleasure,  a  sixpenny  monthly  which  was 
published  in  London,  by  J.  Hinton,  and 
lasted  from  1747  to  1803,  or  longer.  Many 
of  its  numbers  contain  descriptions,  with 
copper-plate  illustrations,  of  machinery 
used  in  its  day,  and  these  articles, 
although  intended  for  popular  reading, 
are  presented  technically  enough  to  be 
instructive  for  the  engineer.  A  set  of 
the  magazine  constitutes,  therefore,  a 
most  informing  history  of  engineering 
progress  in  the  eighteenth  century.  It  is 
from  skimniing  such  a  file  that  I  pro- 
pose here  to  serve  up  the  crsam. 

The  Newcomen  Engine 
In  the  very  first  volume  of  the  maga- 
zine we  find  an  elaborate  description  of 
"The  Engine  to  raise  Water  by  Fire" — 
in  short,  a  Newcomen  steam  engine 
(Plate  i).  Its  writer  may  tell  the  tale 
in  his  own  language : 

"To  the  Authors  of  The  Universal 
Magazine,  Gentlemen : 

"I  have  observed  in  the  Circle  of  my 
Conversation  that  it  appears  very  mys- 
terious to  those  who  are  not  learned  in 


Hydraulics,  how  a  Town  or  a  House  can 
be  supplied  with  Water  from  a  River,  or 
Spring,  that  is  in  a  Situation  much  below 
the  Place  into  which  it  runs ;  when  it 
is  very  certain  that  Water  is  of  that  heavy 
Nature  as  always  to  descend,  when  left 
to  its  own  Course.  Therefore  I  have  sent 
you  inclosed  a  Draught  and  Description 
of  an  Engine  invented  for  this  Purpose. 
And,  though  there  are  many  other  Sorts, 
I  have  rather  selected  this  particular 
Engine  because  it  is  the  most  admirable, 
curious  and  compounded  Machine  amongst 
all  those  Inventions  which  have  been 
owing  to  modern  Philosophy,  and  affords 
the  greatest  Advantages  to  Mankind ;  as 
could  be  exemplified  from  the  Water 
works  near  Chelsea,  on  the  West  of  this 
great  City,  and  again  by  those  lately 
erected  near  Stratford  in  Essex,  on  the 
East  of  London,  which  are  able  to  sup- 
ply the  adjacent  Country,  several  Miles 
in  circumference,  with  the  necessary  Pro- 
vision of  good  and  wholesome  Water,  at 
a  moderate  Charge,  which  before  was 
wanting,  both  for  household  Service  and 
in  the  Danger  and  Loss  by  Fires.  To  this 
I  could  add  the  Impossibility  of  working 
several  Collieries  without  its  Assistance, 
as  the  Proprietors  of  Elsick,  Heaton, 
Biker  &c.  near  Newcastle  upon  Tyne,  can 
bear  me  witness.  This  Engine  also  is 
improveable  for  many  other  great  and 
valuable  Uses,  as  the  Reader  will  be 
able  to  judge,  when  he  has  well  consid- 
ered what  follows. 

"About  the  year  1663  the  Marquis  of 
Worcester,  having  proposed,  in  print,  the 
raising  of  great  quantities  of  water  by  the 
force  of  fire,  or  by  turning  water  into 
steam,  mentioned  an  engine  ol  that  kind, 
at  that  very  time  in  being,  which  could 
raise  a  continual  stream,  like  a  fountain, 
40  feet  high,  by  the  means  of  two  cocks, 
which  alternately  and  successively  were 
turned  by  a  man  to  empty  the  hot,  and  to 
force  and  refil  the  vassel  or  cylinder  with 
cold  water,  the  fire  being  continually  kept 
up;  I  must  adjudge  this  invention  to 
that  noble  Lord,  tho'  it  must  with  justice 
be  confessed  that  it  has  received  many 
improvements  since  his  time. 

"This  invention,  great  as  it  was,  lay 
dormant,  till  Capt.  Savery,  treasurer  to 
the  sick  and  wounded  office,  having  read 
the  Marquis's  book,  took  the  hint,  and 
pretended  to  find  out  the  secret  of  nature 
by  such  a  chance  as  upon  experiment  is 
found  could  not  give  him  any  such  idea ; 
and  to  secure  the  credit  thereof  to  him- 


self, he  bought  up,  and  burnt  all  the 
Marquis's  books  he  could  find.  Thus 
Capt.  Savery  claimed  the  credit  of  this 
machine  to  himself,  and  obtained  a  pat- 
ent for  the  sole  erecting  thereof,  as  I 
have  been  told." 

Our  writer  informs  us  that  the  captain 
made  a  good  many  experiments  to  bring 
this  machine  to  perfection  and  that  he 
erected  several  with  good  success  on 
gentlemen's  estates,  but  "he  could  never 
bring  it  to  bear  for  working  of  coal  pits 
or  mines,  or  to  supply  towns  with  water, 
where  the  water  was  to  be  raised  high 
and  in  great  quantities ;  because  such  a 
work  required  a  steam  too  dangerously 
strong  to  be  attempted  in  his  way. 

"These  discouragements  had  certainly 
sunk  this  necessary  machine  into  oblivion 
had  not  Mr.  Newcomen,  an  ironmonger, 
and  John  Crowley,,  a  glazier,  at  Dart 
mouth,  about  35  years  ago  removed  the 
objections,  by  improving  it  to  its  present 
state,  or  rather  by  inventing  a  new  ma- 
chine, which  is  the  same  you  perpgive 
herewith.  ;  1 

"This  improvement  differs  much  both  | 
in  point  of  method,  and  in  regard  to  the 
force  of  the  engine  first  erected ;  but  yet 
it  is  wrought  by  the  same  power,  which 
is  the  expansion  of  water  into  steam, 
raised  by  fire. 

"Now  to  describe  this  engine:  5  is  a 
large  boiler,  whose  water  is  converted 
into  steam.  C  C  is  the  cylinder.  D  d  B. 
pipe,  about  4  inches  diameter,  joins  them 
together ;  on  the  lower  orifice  of  which, 
within  the  boiler,  moves  a  broad  plate  E, 
by  means  of  the  steam-cock  or  regulator 
10,  which  keeps  in  or  lets  out  the  steam 
occasionally. 

"The  steam  of  the  boiler  ought  always 
to  be  a  little  stronger  than  the  air,  that,  1 
when  let  into  the  barrel  CC,  it  may  be  a  ■ 
little  more  than  a  balance  to  the  pressure 
of  the  external  air,  which  keeps  down 
the  piston  at  d  n.  The  piston  being  by 
this  means  at  liberty,  the  pump-rod  will 
by  its  great  weight,  of  at  least  9  or  10 
hundred  of  iron,  descend  at  the  opposite 
end  to  fetch  a  stroke ;  but,  as  the  piston 
and  weights  at  the  other  end  do  not  ex- 
ceed half  that  weight,  the  end  of  the  lever 
at  the  pump  will  always  preponderate, 
and  descend  when  the  piston  is  at 
liberty. 

"When  the  piston,  by  pulling  back  the 
liandle  10  is  got  up  to  the  C,  or  a  little 
higher,  the  plate  of  the  regulator  stops 
all    communication    of    steam    with    the 


March  30,   1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


cylinder.  Then  the  lever,  commonly 
called  the  F,  under  the  said  handle,  must 
be  lifted  up,  so  as  by  its  teeth  to  turn 
the  key  of  the  injection-cock  at  S,  and 
that  will  permit  the  water  brought  from 
the  cistern  g,  by  the  pipe  g  M  S,  to  enter 
the  bottom  of  the  barrel  at  n,  which  jet 
of  cold  water  being  driven  all  over  the 
Olinder,  condenseih  the  steam  into  water 
again  by  its  coldness ;  and,  as  by  this 
means  its  bulk  is  become  14,000  times  less 
than  it  had  when  steam,  it  makes  a 
Vacuum  sufficient  for  the  pressure  of  the 
atmosphere  to  act  again  unbalanced,  and 


chance  to  be  too  full  will  nm  down  the 
pipe  y  to  the  waste  well  at  Y. 

"F  f  it  i  pipe  about  3  feet  long,  goiaff 
a  foot  within  the  water  m  the  boiler,  to 
supply    the    water    which    :  !    in 

gencraimg  tteam ;  F  ii  »  •  rof» 

of  this  pipe,  and  it  • 
water  from  the  cup  / 
cylinder.  G  repre^^■  •     ;  .  'Jif- 

ferent  lengths,  to  prcriit  ■  <r  of 

the  water  from  being  too  low  or  too  high ; 
which  is  known  thus.  If  the  ttop-cocfc 
of  the  shorter  pipe,  being  opened,  givet 
only  steam,  and  that  of  the  longer,  only 


thaa  the  Mr.  wmf  bam  iW  Mkr. 
method  of  tryivg  ihM  Mrcaglh  M  10 
piece  of  lead  fartt«»d  to  the  wtrc 
the  ralrc.  and  if  the  mmum  ihaM 
more  than  is  |ound«  wvagfcc  oi 
tn  inch  tqiiare  (whidi  m  t 
oearfy.  as  rrtrj  mtk  ( 
wn  to  he  wronger  thai  il 
tbo'  the  sicaoi  m  ol  a  wiafcle 
b  never  i/io  ttrongrr 
coBimow  air.  it  harmg 
eaperience.  that  an 
with  one  potind  weight  < 
inch   of   the    ral««   k      A 


by* 


/A/-  r  ji,/t/t.-  /{»    ffn.tf    // il/e  f    f'ff 


rr^rW.: 


PtATE      I      Tlir.    NrwriiMrJi    n 

Kc  raise  the  other  end  of  thr  Ik-.itti  with 
it*    pump    to    discharge    thf    v^.i't    .it    t 
And  this  whole  operation  "f 
•hutting    the    steam  rrgulji'r 
tion-cock.  being  performril  m 
ihan  .1  seconds,  il   will  easily  pi. -.»...    . 
strokrt  in  I  minute 

"The  cistern  c  is  "     ' 

from  a  well  f^r  pit  «'■ 
mran<    "f    • 
fa*truri|    t. 

leatJirr*  of   the  pistnti   i 
air  tight  and  supple,  it  \y 
•mall  «trram  of  wAtrr  h\   ' 
the   pipe   .U.     The   /   at    :■ 
•cylinder  is  a  cup  or  hollow   f 
"Water  that  lies  on  the  piston,  wi  . 


;  II  i>  r. 
kc*   is   i(> 


y^m 


>\\9    bo«H>' 


598 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  30,   1909. 


"Thus  you  see  a  chain  fixed  to  the  arch 
7.,  at  a  proper  distance  from  the  arch  P, 
to  which  chain  is  hung  a  working-beam 
Q.  This  beam  goes  quite  down  into  a 
hole  in  the  ground,  which  it  exactly  fits. 
This  piece  has  a  long  slit  in  it,  and  sev- 
eral pin-holes  and  pins,  for  the  move- 
ment of  several  small  levers,  by  which 
the  said  cocks  are  opened  and  shut,  as 
the  service  requires.  It  is  called  the 
\Vork\ng-p\ug\  which  being  once  set  a 
going  according  to  art,  this  engine  is  most 
harmless    and    manageable    of   all    others. 

"This  machine  thus  prepared,  and  set 
a  going.*  may  work  about  five  hours  upon 
a  stretch.  It  will  of  itself  give  notice 
when  to  stop  working;  for,  if  you  per- 
ceive the  Gages,  as  mentioned  before  give 
steam,  you  must  replenish  the  boiler,  or 
it  will  be  in  danger  of  bursting,  for  want 
of  a  due  supply  of  water. 

"I  will  therefore  conclude  this  theory 
of  the  Engine  to  raise  water  by  Fire,  with 


practice ;  for  with  large  boilers,  the  pis- 
ton will  make  20  or  25  strokes  per  min- 
ute:  and  a  pump  of  nine  inches  bore  will 


PLATE    3. 


WORKING     MINE    WITH 
COMEN    ENGINE 


discharge    more    than   320   hogsheads   per 
hour :    So  every  other  size  in  proportion." 


\  CALCULATION  OF  THE  POWER  OF  FIRE-ENGINES. 


In. 


=  >- 


:?      ^ 


Gal. 


Gal. 


12 

14,4 

11 

12,13 

0 

10,02 

9 

8,12 

8+ 

7.26 

8 

6,41 

n 

.5,66 

7 

4,91 

«H 

4,23 

6 

3,6ll 

5+ 

3,13i 

5 

2,. 51 

4+ 

2,02 

4 

1,6 

28,8 

24 

20,04 

16.2 

14. .5 

12.8 

11,3 

9,8 

8,4 

7,2 

6,2 

.5,0 

2,4 

3,2 


I  < 


^O 


» 


H  *  E- 


63  Gal- 
lon's TO  A 

*  5  -  Hogshead' 


In  Oxe 
Hour. 


Lb. 
Aver.  Gal. 


Hog.  Gal.   Hog.  Gal. 


146      462 
123,5   338 
102  I  320 
82,7  2.59,8, 
73,9  232,3 
6.5,3  205,2 
.57,6  181,11 
.50.0  1.57,1 
43,0  135,3 


36,7 
31,8 
25,5 
20,5 
16,2 


11.5,.^ 
99,2 
80,3 
64,6 
51,2; 


21 
20 


43 

16 

5.5 

31 

9 

.52 

36 

7 

1 

51 


440 

369 

304 

247 

211 

195 

172 

149 

128 

110 

94 

66 

60 

48 


The  Depth.s  in  Y.\rds. 


15  :20    25    30    35    40    45  ioO    60    70 


18i2H 
17    191 
loi  18 
14    161 
13i  1.51 
12il4i 
11    13  J 
101  13 
10    12 
9i  11 
10 


24    28i30i 
22    24|26i 
20    22    231 
18    20    21i 
17i  19    20i 
16il8il9 
15    16i  18 
14    15^161 
13    14  ll.5i 
12    13    14 
11    12    13 


80  90 


10 


11  111 
10  11 


32i34i 
28  ,29? 
25127 
23  24i 
21f23 
20i!21i 
19  '20 
18119 
16il8 
loi  16 
14  lis 
13  131 
11J,12 
10  11 


37140 
3H'34i 

28I3U 
25    28 
24    26i 
23    25 
21i23i 
20i22 
19    20 
17    19 
15117 
14    1.5i 
13i  14 
Hi  12 


39i 

36 

33 

31 

29 

97 

25i 
23 
22 
20 

18i 

16 

14 

I        I 


40 

36i 

3.5i 

32i 

30i 

28i 

26i 

24i 

22i 

201 

18i 

16 


An  Example  fob  the  Use  of  the  T.\ble.  ^ 

Suppose  you  rerjuire  150  hogshead.s  per  hour,  at  90  yards  deep;  in  the  7th  column  I  find  the 
nearest  number  149;  and  again.st  it,  in  the  first  column,  I  find  a  7-inch  bore  for  the  pump;  then  under 
the  depth  90,  on  the  right  hand,  in  the  same  line,  I  find  27  inches  for  the  diameter  of  the  cylinder, 
fit  to  raise  150  hogsheads  per  hour.     .\nd  thus  any  other  number  in  this  table  may  be  found. 


Mr.  Henry  Beighton's  most  curious  and 
useful  table  to  calculate  the  power  of 
fire-engines,  according  to  the  various 
diameters  of  th"e  cylinder,  and  bore  of 
the  pump,  that  are  capable  of  raising 
water  from  48  to  440  hogsheads  per 
hour,  at  any  depth  from  15  to  100  yards. 

"He  founds  his  calculation  upon  this 
principle,  That  the  ale  gallon  of  282  cube 
inches  of  water  weighs  10  pounds  3 
ounces  a7'oirdupois,  and  a  superficial 
square  inch  is  pressed  with  the  weight 
of  14  pounds  13  ounces  of  air,  when 
of  a  mean  gravity.  But,  allowing  for 
several  frictions,  and  to  give  a  con- 
siderable velocity  to  the  engine,  it  is 
found  by  experience,  that  no  more  than 
8  pounds  of  pressure  must  be  allowed 
to  an  inch  square  on  the  piston  in  the 
cylinder,  that  it  may  make  about  16 
strokes,  about  six  feet  reach,  in  a  minute. 

"But  it  must  be  also  observed  that 
these    calculations   are   only   for   common 


The   Savery   Engine 

Twenty-seven  years  after  its  account  of 
the  Newcomen  engine,  the  Universal 
Magazine,  February,  1774,  contained  a  de- 
scription of  the  older  type  of  engine  ex- 
ploited liy  Capt.  Savery.  This  later  arti- 
cle cites  the  former  one  as  if  only  a  short 
interval  had  intervened  since  its  publica- 
tion, and  the  incident  thus  furnishes 
striking  evidence  of  the  lack  of  progress 
in  steam  engineering  at  that  period — 
aside,  of  course,  from  Watt's  researches, 
which  are  another  story.  Referring  to 
Plate  2,  I  quote : 

"The  method  of  constructing  a  fire-en- 
gine according  to  the  original  institution 
of  the  Marquis  of  Worcester  and  Captain 
Savery,  wherein  the  water  was  to  be 
raised  solely  by  the  pressure  of  elastic 
vapor  or  steam,  is  very  useful  and  very 
cheap  in  respect  to  the  other  sort,  and, 
when  the  height  to  which  the  water  is  to 


be  raised  does  not  exceed  one  hundred 
or  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  then  this 
engine  is  applicable  with  great  advantage, 
it  requiring  but  a  small  fire,  not  bigger 
than  what  is  generally  used  in  a  parlour- 
chimney  ;  is  of  a  very  simple  and  easy 
structure,  and  admirably  adapted  for  sup- 
plying a  Gentleman's  house  with  water, 
and  for  playing  of  fountains  to  a  very 
great  height. 

''A  is  a  boiler ;  it  has  a  copper  cover 
screwed  on,  which  contains  the  steam  pipe 
6'  G,  and  two  gage-pipes  C ;  on  the  cover 
at  C  is  a  valve,  over  which  lies  a  steel- 
\ard  with  its  weight  to  keep  it  down,  the 
strength  of  the  vapour  being  this  way 
most  exactly  estimated. 

"The  steam  is  carried  from  the  boiler 
to  a  copper  vessel  H  by  means  of  the  pipe 
G  G,  and  is  let  into  the  same  by  turning 
the  handle  L. 

"The  receiver,//  communicates  at  bot- 
tom to  the  sucking  pipe  IB  going  down 
to  the  water  in  the  well  R,  and  above 
with  the  forcing  pipe  O  O  :  Between  these 
two  pipes  are  two  valves,  N  P,  both  open- 
ing upwards.  The  steam,  being  let  in 
upon  the  water  of  the  receiver  H,  forces 
it  up  through  the  valve  O  and  the  pipe 
O  O  to  the  reservoir  5".  The  steam  in  the 
receiver  is  condensed  by  a  jet  of  cold 
water  coming  from  the  forcing  pipe  by 
the  small  tube  X  Y  Z ;  the  handle  turned 
from  Y  admits  a  passage  to  the  steam 
into  the  copper  receiver  H:  This  steam  in 
the  receiver  is  condensed  by  a  jet  of  cold 
water  being  let  in  and  shut  off  by  a  cock 
at  Y.  The  steam,  being  condensed  by 
this  jet,  will  be  reduced  within  a  very 
small  space,  and  so  make  a  vacuum,  upon 
which  the  water  in  the  well  will  rush  up 
the  forcing  pipe  to  restore  the  equili- 
brium, and  thus  again  fill  the  receiver  H, 
the  little  air  being  compressed  within  a 
small  compass  at  the  top  of  the  re- 
ceiver H. 

"F  F  are  registers  for  regulating  the 
fire  in  the  furnace :  5  is  a  cock  inserted 
into  the  boiler :  D  is  the  hearth,  and  E 
the  ash-hole. 

"T  V  is  a  pipe  for  carrying  back  the 
water  in  the  reservoir  S,  when  this  in- 
strument is  used  only  for  making  experi- 
ments :  Q  S,  is  the  frame  of  the  instru- 
ment." 

Improved   Method  of  Applying  the 

Power  of  a   Newcomen   Engine 

IN    Mining 

In  February,  1782,  we  find  shown  "A 
new  Machine,  or  Fire  Engine,  invented , 
by  Mr.  Hunt,  of  London,  for  draining 
Mines  and  Coal  Works,  and  at  the  same 
Time  raising  the  Ore  or  Coal  from  the 
Bottom  of  the  Mine  to  Surface,  without 
the    assistance    of    any    additional    Fuel." 

This  improved  mechanism  dispensed 
with  the  use  of  a  number  of  horses  re- 
quired under  the  older,  and  less  economi- 
cal system.  To  Plate  3  are  given  the  fol- 
lowing references : 

"{A.)     The    cominon    steam,    or    fire- 


March  jo.   1909. 


K)\VER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


9f» 


engine,  for  draining  mine^  and  coal 
works. 

"(B.)  The  force-pump,  which  receive* 
the  water  that  is  raised  from  the  mine 
by  the  main  pump  (C.)  and  force*  it  up 
into  the  large  back  or  cistern  (D.) 

"(/:.)  The  water-wheel.  The  wheel  it 
of  a  peculiar  construction;  having  two 
tiers  or  rows  of  buckets,  the  one  formed 
with    their    mouths     upwards,     the     other 


JoHW  Cones'*  ROTASV  SllAM   E«Ci' 
■chine    i»    f«Hir 
r»i  .  ; .,  ..:ii^.    17961      I 

It   III    I'oMM.  .ApriU   1904.  but  It 
rcpeiiikufi.     Referring  t     «•'  •- 
of  the  engine   is  a  c' 
vi.l.  ■        ■•  ■  •  • 

ra.: 
frr 
•  ><. 


f  •  fhr  tl«h  or  mA-um  ol  iW  «•- 

'  «K  and  J4  mckr%  ihiirtrT 

in  a^i%mhrt(  •Srri.  JB  Irel 


•am  cai- 


iih  their  moulh»  downward* :  by  which 
means  the  wheel   i*  made  to  move  alter - 
naldy  by  the  right  ami  left     C)n  the  »«me 
axis    that    carries    this    water  wheel,    an 
other   wheel   is   lixe<l.    (but   <•<    Mn.iller  di 
mensions »  by  which  the  rojK-  1 
wound    rotind.    at    the   end    of    . 
»u»peiide<l   the   buckets   that   bring    «n>   tlir 
ore  or  coiil      The*e  buckett.  by  the  alier 
nate    motion    of    the    water    wheel,    co.^ 

'.inlly   avcend   and    descend 

■</•>  A  strong  wo<M|eii  I.  %••  which 
Ix-inif  |ir<*»ed  hanl  aK.llIl^»  •'  •  Ige  of 
the    w.ii.f     wbrri     !iv     111.. 111.  I    man 

pulliHK    .1   r 
tion.     .owl     ► 
attend^    lo    iinh.M.W    i 
"((,  (,  »      The    tw" 
the    duice-gate*.    which    »• 
pulleil  up,  let  out  the  w.f' 
wheel   or   water-wheel 

"(/•')     A   strong   w.-xirn    1 
two   fert   l)elow    the   «urfjir      • 
to   receive   the   water    that    «» 
from  the  mine  or  pit  by  the  ; 
Into    ihi«    ri«iern    the   low«r   end   "(     1 
force   |)utni»  i«  tinrtl ' 


rr*rfsm«    ••«*»»^    »Ki.« 


«hKh     •'»'.' 


6oo 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  30,  1909. 


half;  b}'  which  time  the  collar  G  will  have 
carried  its  trigger  2  up  to  the  bar  ii, 
w^hich  will  unlock  its  trigger;  and  the 
trigger  ,?,  in  the  collar  F,  will  be  brought 
backward  down  to  Y,  and  there  lock  the 
collar  F:  Then,  the  motion  continuing, 
K  will  be  depressed  four  feet  and  a  half, 
and  the  chain  //,  over  the  pulley  R,  will 
raise  L  four  feet  and  a  half.  And  thus 
the  two  forcers  and  collars  continuing  ris- 


"  i 

5 

I 

dfabMSfcr  '    ~ 

1 

■  H  M  >,  .  .-^. 

1 
i 

PLATE     7.     HEATING   A   GREENHOUSE 

ing  and  falling,  moving  forwards  and 
backwards,  locking  and  unlocking  alter- 
nately. 

"And  in  like  manner,  the  other  two  col- 
lars, D  &  E,  move  with  their  forcers, 
H  and  /. 

"But  to  prevent  one  collar's  moving 
the  backward  way,  faster  than  the  other 
moves  forwards,  there  is  a  gauge-chain  4, 
fixed  to  the  collar  G,  passing  over  an- 
other pulley  T,  to  the  collar  F  at  5,  which 
regulates  their  motions.  These  chains  are 
lengthened  or  shorttned  by  screws,  as 
occasion  requires. 

"M,  N,  O,  P,  are  four  brass  cylinders, 
or  pumps,  seven  feet  long;  the  bores  of 
M  and  N  are  six  inches  diameter,  and 
those  of  O  and  P  seven  inches  and  one- 
quarter;  having,  at  I,  I,  I,  I,  each  a  valve 
below,  which  are  for  taking  in  the  water ; 
and  at  m,  m,  m,  m,  valves  in  the  hori- 
zontal  parts. 

"The  branches  mn,  mn,  mn,  inn,  com- 
municate the  water  of  their  two  forcers 
by  mn,  vm,  and  so  with  two  pipes,  0,  n. 
These  two  pipes  0,  n,  join  together,  at  a 
small  distance  beyond  what  is  represented 
on  the  plate,  so  that  the  whole  water  is 
forced  along  one  pipe;  which  makes  a  jet 
d'eau  of  seventy  feet,  and  raises  the  water 
to  the  house  about  seventy  feet  perpen- 
dicular. 

"Ninety-five  hogsheads  are  ■  forced  up, 
per  hour,  to  the  jet  d'cau,  and  forty-seven 
to  the  garden. 

"g,  h,  are  two  cisterns,  supplied  by  a 
pipe  p,  to  keep  the  forcers  or  pistons 
always  wet. 

"ah  c  d  e  f  is  a  frame  of  wood  to  carry 


the  pullies  Q,  R,  S,  T,  and  the  bars  i  i, 
and  ,K,  K. 

"The  water-wheel  goes  about  five  times 
per  minute  to  force  the  water  to  the 
house;  and  three,  when  the  water  is 
raised  eighty  feet  to  the  gardens." 

I  would  respectfully  call  Mr.  Holland's 
attention  to  a  book  of  machines  published 
by  Agostino  Ramelli  in  1588,  which 
shows  a  pump  of  startling  similarity  in 
appearance. 

"Machine  To  Travel  without  Horses" 
The  foot-power  cycle,  even  with  some 
of  its  more  complicated  modern  features, 
was  known  long  ago.  Several  such  vehi- 
cles are  described  in  the  Universal  Maga- 
zine. One  of  them,  illustrated  in  1774, 
was  the  invention  of  Mr.  Ovenden.  It 
comprised  a  four-wheeled  carriage  in 
which  one  or  two  gentlemen  could  ride 
at  pleasure  while  a  footman,  seated  be- 
hind, trod  upon  levers  actuating  the  rear 
axle  by  ratchet  clutches  after  the  manner 
of  the  old  "Star"  and  "Springfield  Road- 
ster" bicycles  of  our  boyhood  days.  "The 
above  machine,"  says  the  writer,  "is 
doubtless  the  best  that  has  hitherto  been 
invented,  since  it  is  capable  of  travelling 
with  ease,  six  miles  an  hour;  and,  by  a 
particular  exertion  of  the  footman,  might 
travel  nine  or  ten  miles  an  hour  on  a 
good  road,  and  even  would  go  up  a  con- 
siderable hill  where  there  is  a  sound  bot- 
tom. But  this  carriage  is  in  general  only 
calculated  for  the  exercise  of  Gentlemen 
in  parks  or  gardens,  for  which  it  answers 
extremely  well." 


built  into  their  walls,  and  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  flues.     See  Plates  7  and  8. 

Nor  were  there  lacking  power-driven 
blowers  for  ventilating  purposes.  Such 
a  system  was  installed  for  changing  the 
air  of  Newgate  prison,  which  had  become 
a  stench  in  the  noses  of  citizens  dwelling 
in  its  vicinage  and,  worse  yet,  found  its 
way  into  the  courthouse,  jeopardizing  the 
health  of  honorable  judges  and  counselors 
learned  in  the  law.  To  these  circum- 
stances may  be  attributed  the  philan- 
thropy which  prompted  the  installation, 
for  it  would  have  been  more  consistent 
with  the  penal  discipline  of  that  period 
to  pump  foul  air  into  the  jail  than  to  re- 
move it. 

The  ventilating  blowers,  as  described  in 
the  magazine  for  June,  1752,  and  April, 
1764,  comprised  rectangular  boxes  with 
hinged  diaphragms  inside  and  crude 
valves.  On  the  prison  building,  adorned 
with  statues  of  Justice,  Mercy,  Truth  and 
Liberty,  was  mounted  a  windmill  to  drive 
the  blowers  when  the  wind  blew.  The 
system  did  not  prove  a  wild  and  delirious 
success. 

I  fear  that  the  editor  will  not  allow  me 
space  to  describe  any  more  of  the  antique 
mechanical  contrivances  that  are  found 
in  the  volumes  of  the  old  magazine^ 
Among  the  subjects  described  and  illus- 
trated are  a  windmill  in  a  smokestack  j 
a  testing  outfit  for  "examining  the  good- 
ness and  strength  of  ropes ;"  a  rolling  and 
slitting  mill ;  a  paper  mill ;  the  working 
of  iron  mines ;  clock  and  watch  manufac- 
ture    and     electrical     experiments ;     also 


■f .%'/'.■•  t'«j/n>i/, ///,//„, i///,y  //1//J  (i-  an,/// 


PLATE   8.     ANOTHER  GREENHOUSE    HEATING    SYSTEM 


One  might  have  supposed  that  it  was 
the   footman   who  got  the   exercise. 

Furnace  Construction,  Ventilators, 

ETC. 

Long  before  the  days  of  steam  heating 
the  art  of  warming  greenhouses  was 
known.  From  the  magazine  for  March 
and  May,  1751,  are  taken  two  illustra- 
tions   showing    hothouses    with    furnaces 


many  improved  agricultural  machines. 
To  the  eighteenth  century  must  be 
allowed  credit  for  making  the  steam  en- 
gine an  accomplished  fact,  and  that  is  no 
small  praise.  Yet  otherwise  we  are  im- 
pressed with  the  stagnancy  of  mechanical 
arts  in  that  period.  From  the  eighteenth 
to  the  nineteenth  centuries  engineering 
progress  was  vastly  greater  than  for 
several  hundred  years  previous. 


March  30,   1909 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


Purge    Device    for   Ammonia 
Condensers 


By  F.  E.  Matthews 


Given  two  batteries  o£  ammonwi  con- 
densers, one  of  eight  and  the  other  of 
two  stands,  with  J4-inch  purge  vahts  ijn 
the  discharge  Unes  leading  to  each  sepa- 
rate stand  of  condensers:  If  the  }^-inch 
valves  be  connected  to  a  header  leading 
to  a  vertical  cylindrical  tank  10  inches  in 
diameter  by  6  feet  high,  over  which  cool- 
ing water  is  run,  would  it  be  possible  to 
blow  off  the  air  without  shutting  down 
the  plant?  Will  the  tank  fill  up  with 
gasci.ns  ammonia?  Will  the  cooling  water 
be  necessary?  Can  the  valve  at  the  bot- 
tom of  the  tank  be  left  open  all  the  time? 
In  answer  to  these  questions  it  may  be 
said  that  the  object  of  purge  valves  on 
an  ammonia  condenser  is  to  enable  the 
engineer  to  blow  off  the  permanent  gases 
that  accumulate  in  the  sy<.tcfTi  Thcr 
gases  may  be  of  two  <li»T»r- •"  ..ni'T - 
They  may  be  due  to  the  <!' 
ammonia,  in  which  case  • 
a  mechanical  mixture  of  hydrogen  and 
nitrogen,  or  they  may  be  little  more  than 
air  which  has  got  into  the  system  acci- 
dentally when  some  part  has  been  opened 
up  for  repairs,  or  through  leaks  around 
the  ammonia  rods  when  a  vacuum  has 
been  pumped  on  the  system. 

Now,  it  is  a  conrnmn  fallacy  that  air  is 
lighter  than  ammonia  and  that  it  will  nc- 
dingly  flow  to  the  highest  point  in  the 
tem,  or  more  accurately  speaking,  that 
will  be  freed  to  the  top  because  of  the 
tendency   of   the   heavier   gases   to   gravi- 
tate  to   the   lower   parts    of    the    system 
'"is  fallacy  is  particularly  in  evidence  in 
•  w    of    the    fact    that    almost    everytne 
implies    a    knowledge   to   the  contrary    by 
looking  for  more  pure  air  near  the  tUM)r 
when    necessity   requires   that    they   work 
m  an  atmotphere  heavily  Mtur.nr.l  with 
ammonia. 

r   •   ;         '  '      lir  the  »p<-    ■ 
an  .    which  11. • 

thr  ;;il,    the    .. 

air  .  mixture  . 

top  and  the  air  to  the  hott'im 
taiiiin;;     vessel.      Air     does,     tv 

in  the  condenser  whr'!i<-t   1;  '  •    • 
,..,,...    ;  point  in  the  system  '>r  •    ' 
reason  for  this  it  that  it  is  car 
witti  the  ammonia  ga*.  anrl  *' 
ing   liqiirtird   in   the   i.ni.lrri  ■-■ 
proper     ri.fi«litif>n«     of     {>■ 
pressdrr    l«-i>.<-     thr  nir  •►- 
tend  I 
the    h. 

from   iloing   ihu   by   the   \ 
liftiiifl     -T!  monia,    which. 
ly  lighi   for   .1 
lir-  111.    Ktitvily  of  06  as 
for  water),  it  still  ma*; 
than    air.      Furttv 
denser*  arc  usu.i; 


lets  are  liquid-tealcd,  makinK  the  ttcapt 
01  a  gas  in  that  direction  iropoatiblc. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  pennancnt 
ga  UB. 
m  hy. 
dr.  K  the 
de.  The 
h><!:  ■  :;  •ruem  Will  rt»c  to  the  top 
of  •)•:  ..  ti.Jeiucr  because  of  it»  lightneu 
compared  to  nitrogen  or  even  to  the  am- 
monia      As       — "d    to    air    taken    at 

unity,  the  sp  ity  of  hydrogen  is 

O''  ■  rn  tt  a97i  and  that 

<.i 

r^war  that 
th<  )  parting 

off    thr  ot     the     con 

denser,  ind  air   would 

be  somewhat  nnore  difficult  to  dispose  of. 
It  would  also  appear  that  such  would  alto 
be  the  case  if  the  purge  line  of  the  con- 
densers was  equipped  with  the  dencc 
previously  described.  Even  the  hydratcn 
which  < 
monis 


purge  line  at  it  is  passing  it  on  its  w.i. 
the  condenser,  and  it  certainly  wii-l 
never  find  its  way  hack  against  the  tide 
of  incoming  gat  while  the  system  i«  m 
operation.  The  other  gaaet  would  un 
doubledly  tend  to  enter  the  condenser 
and  to  settle  gradually  to  the  botton 
pipes. 

Whnt    n-A'jM    teem   to  he  the  rational 
n'  t;   rid  of    all    the    fixed 

g.i  ;.    not    only    the    hydroften. 

but  also  the  air  and  nitrogen,  would  be 
to  shut  off  one  of  the  twelve  ttir,.!,     ,f 
ammonia  at  a  time.     This  wou^ 
I..    ..nly    al>oiit    8  per    cent     of    t^- 
. .  .ti.lrtiMng    surface    and    would    prohiSlv 
i',..t    result    in   a   •  <-ly   high   head 

pressure  if  the  f  Te  allotred  t« 

I  |>er.itr    at    r  "  .    .     .    ,  , 

Mirr    .!;■!    )i^  '  •  ' 

si- 
re:.. 
be  left  oodentcf 

ttand  uti<:i  ..  .^  ,..■.!.»..;  ;•  •" " 

■at   it   well   liquefied     T? 
en   be   opened 
In   etcspe.    p' 


V   tome  of 

•  Vr     U.ttiiin 


the  water   with   a   au^ 
and  no  babMti   wM 

In  more  tpcdAc  raply  to  the 
It  may  he  taid  th«  lODe  of  the  hydiugan 
gat  retoking  froai  tkrnwpmninn  ol  Ike 

kllim'«ii.k    ...••ti4    irr..l<v<i,jM4'«   1^    Mow  oC 

fr  n 

tlon.  L»ui   1!  IS  'i' ■^iiAiMi  II  niTf'^fr^ 

or  even  aO  of  ike     , 

itt  way  back  fraaa  the  condntaer 

the  *fr«^fn  M  twfismUin  h«<  gat  ftad  rlae 

VS.  •  'ater    ipicifct 

gr-  of  thr  hjrdro- 

grn)  and  ertnfatttty  coikci  m  tlw 


n  >iji<j  t»r  n'^  i-oiriTJOfi  to  leaving  t-«"   »i;»r 

at  the  bottom  brtweea  the  tank  and  the 
purge  header  open  all  the  tisK  la  fact, 
the  Kgrfra^y^  '^f  'he  pervaaflM  gaac* 
would  '  ?  the  taak   vo«ld 

not  be  saXntk  left  open  10 

the  fjrttMfi  ioe  mh 


Washing  and  Coking  ol  Rodtjr 
Mountain  QoJk 


■  SI     Tfw     iwri 

!   Staiea  G«»- 

iogKal  l>ea«er.  Colo, 

the  fm^  -  A  mio  the  Baifchig 

cokif«  of  the  roah  of  the  Rocky  mt 


>f  J7  malt  tet«fd  frets 

the  ktjikt  oMtaUm  rcgton.  all  b«M  theM 

prnifoeed  good  eak^  widrt  pev^tv  traat- 

:tho««h  a   ■■■til  9i  dHB  h^ 

-naler  an 


■'slT**"^*  u  mn^M 


Ufl&krn    } 


iM  a*i* 


6o2 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  30,  1909. 


Tlie  coking  tests  were  made  to  determine 
the  possibility  of  utiHzing  the  various 
coals  in  this  way,  or  to  devise  improve- 
ments in  coking  practice.  The  washing 
tests  have  already  demonstrated  the  fact 
that  many  coals  which  are  too  high  in 
ash  and  sulphur  for  economical  use  un- 
der the  steam  boiler  or  for  coking  may  be 
rendered  of  commercial  value  by  proper 
treatment  in  the  washery.  The  coking 
tests  have  demonstrated  that  many  coals 
which  were  not  supposed  to  be  of  eco- 
nomical value  for  coking  purposes  may  be 
rendered  so  by  proper  treatment  in  the 
washery  and  coke  oven.  Of  more  than 
100  coals  from  the  Mississippi  valley  and 
the  Eastern  States,  some  of  them  re- 
garded as  noncoking,  which  had  been 
tested  at  St.  Louis  in  1906,  all  except  six 
had  been  found,  when  carefully  manipu- 
lated, to  make  fairly  good  coke  for  foun- 
dry and  other  metallurgical  purposes,  and 
similar  results  with  Western  coals  have 
been   now  obtained  at   Denver. 

"The  tests  detailed  in  this  bulletin  are 
a  continuation  of  the  work  started  several 
years  ago  in  St.  Louis  at  the  Govern- 
ment fuel-testing  plant  there.  On  the 
completion  of  the  work  at  St.  Louis  the 
writer  made  a  trip  through  the  Rocky 
mountain  region  for  the  purpose  of 
selecting  a  site  for  washing  and  coking 
tests  on  coals  of  the  western  half  of  the 
United  States,  with  the  hope  of  getting 
into  closer  touch  with  the  fields  from 
which  little  or  no  coal  had  been  received 
at  the   testing   plant  in    St.   Louis. 

"The  different  points  available  were 
visited,  and  after  investigation  Denver 
was  selected  as  the  most  suitable  on  ac- 
count of  its  central  location  and  railroad 
facilities." 


The  Truth  About  the    Small 
Reciprocating  Engine 


By   William    E.    Snow 


Ever  since  the  days  of  Newcomen  and 
Watt  'the  minds  of  the  ablest  engineers 
have  turned  to  the  problem  of  the  efficient 
t-ansformation  of  heat  energy  into  work. 
The  efforts  of  such  men  as  Corliss,  Por- 
ter and  Reynolds  have  made  the  recipro- 
cating engine  of  today  a  perfect  product. 
Question  any  present-day  engine  builder 
and  he  can  tell  you  to  a  nicety  just  how 
many  pounds  of  steam  per  horsepower  his 
engine  requires,  and  the  advantages  of 
superheat,  vacuum,  etc.,  and  he  can  prd- 
duce  copies  of  tests  galore  to  prove  the 
correctness  of  his   figures. 

All  this  information  is  very  interesting 
and  is,  in  the  case  of  medium-  and  large- 
sized  engines,  a  fair  indication  of  their 
performance  under  actual  working  con- 
ditions. In  the  case  of  the  small  engine, 
however,  these  figures  are  of  little  value 
to  the  prospective  purchaser.  In  fact,  in 
many  cases   they   are   extremely   mislead- 


ing, based  as  they  are  upon  engines  cut- 
ting off  at  y^  or  1/3  stroke,  a  condition 
under  which  small  engines  are  seldom 
installed  to  operate.  Keenness  of  compe- 
tition has  forced  the  manufacturer  to  in-* 
stall  his  small  engines  to  operate  on 
J/4,  H  and  in  some  cases  even  ^  cutoff. 
By  this  means  a  smaller  engine  can  be 
used  to  deliver  a  given  horsepower  than 
when  operating  on  the  more  economical 
cutoff  of  y^  or  y^  stroke,  and  the  engine 
can  be  sold  at  a  correspondingly  lower 
price. 

The  purchaser  may  be  perfectly  aware 
that  his  engine  will  use  more  steam  on 
the  longer  cutoff,  but  does  not  know  how 
much  more,  and  therefore  frequently  tries 
to  delude  himself  with  the  idea  that  the 
saving  in  initial  cost  effected  with  the 
smaller  engine  fully  offsets  the  increase 
in  steam  consumption  due  to  the  later 
cutoff.  Frequently  not  even  the  sales- 
man knows  the  exact  per  cent,  of  in- 
crease  in   the   steam   consumption   due   to 


has  a  steam  consumption,  as  indicated  by 
the  line  c,  of  47  pounds  per  brake  horse- 
power per  hour.  In  other  words,  it  re- 
quires 21  per  cent,  more  steam  to  pro- 
duce 50  horsepower  with  a  small  engine 
operating  on  Y^  cutoff  than  is  required 
for  a  larger  engine  on  y^  cutoff. 

Assuming  the  engine  to  be  operated  300 
days  a  year,  10  hours  per  day,  and  re- 
quiring at  y^  cutoff  4  pounds  of  coal  per 
horsepower-hour,  the  total  yearly  coal 
would  be  300  X  10  X  4  X  50  =  600,000 
pounds.  If  the  price  of  coal  was  $4  per 
ton  the  total -yearly  cost  of  coal  would  be 
$1071.  The  smaller  engine,  operating  on 
54  cutoff,  would  use  726,000  pounds  of 
coal  for  the  same  service  at  a  total  yearly 
cost  of  $1296.  From  this  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  saving  effected  each  year  by  the 
use  of  the  larger  engine  at  the  more  eco- 
nomical cutoff  would  be  $225. 

The  average  price  of  a  simple,  noncon- 
densing  8x10  throttling  engine,  which  is 
the  size  required  to  deliver  50  horsepower 


u 

1 

■*" 

■"■ 

~~ 

115 

iin 

' 

c 

\ 

b 

\ 

V> 

\ 

\ 

Sy 

- 

-a 

\, 

Sy 

s. 

\, 

S 

'* 

s^ 

80 
75 
70 
65 
60 
55 

V 

\ 

s 

^ 

\ 

\ 

N 

s 

\ 

\ 

\ 

s 

s 

s 

k 

\. 

\ 

V 

S 

s 

s 

"v 

V 

.^ 

s 

N, 

S. 

«s 

^ 

.^ 

^ 

^ 

■ 

^vj 

^ 

L^ 

■"■ 

— . 

^ 

45 

k^ 

-.^ 

■ 

■~-J 

■— . 

— 

1 

....^ 

' 

' — 



■~ 

__ 

— 



35 

■ — 1 

__ 

- 

— - 

I— 



' — 

^ 

~ 

'— 

d 

c 
b 

— 

' — 

_ 

' — 

— . 



25 

« 

" 

^~~ 

— 

a 

10 

_ 

,, 

5         10        15        20       25        30        35        40        45         50        55        60        05        7(1        75        80        85        90         05      100 

Load  B.H.P.  „  „^ 

SHOWING   RELATIVE    INCREASE    IN    STEAM   CONSUMPTION     DUE     TO     LATER  CUTOFFS 


the  later  cutoff,  his  knowledge  being  ob- 
tained mainly  from  the  standard-per- 
formance tables  of  the  manufacturer, 
which  are  invariably  based  upon  engines 
cutting  off  at  y  or  ys  stroke  and  give  no 
figures  for  the  later  cutoffs. 

The  relative  increase  in  steam  consump- 
tion due  to  these  later  cutoffs  will  be  seen 
in  the  accompanying  chart.  The  line  a 
shows  the  steam  consumption  of  simple, 
noncondensing  engines  ranging  in  size 
from  5  to  lOO  horsepower,  wlicn  operating 
on  a  steam  pressure  of  125  pounds  gage 
at  ys  cutoff.  The  lines  b,  c  and  d  show 
respectively  the  steam  consumptions  at 
y-z,  y^  and  Yi  cutoff. 

What  It  Means  to  the  Purchaser 
To  see  what  this  means  to  the  pur- 
chaser in  actual  dollars  and  cents,  take 
the  case  of  a  50-horsepower  engine.  The 
steam  consumption  of  an  engine  of  this 
capacity  operating  on  y^  cutoff,  as  indi- 
cated by  the  line  a,  is  y]  pounds  per 
brake  horsepower  per  hour.  An  engine 
of    this    capacity    operating    on    Y^    cutoff 


at  Yz  -cutoff  on  a  steam  pressure  of  125 
pounds,  is  $510.  This  same  power  can 
be  obtained  from  an  8x8  engine  operat- 
ing on  Y^  cutoff  and  this  latter  engine  sells 
for  $375. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  above  that 
while  the  purchaser  can  save  $135  on  the 
initial  cost  by  installing  the  smaller  en- 
gine, he  will  in  reality  lose  $90  the  first 
year  on  account  of  the  increased  yearly 
cost  of  coal.  Each  succeeding  year  there- 
after he  will  lose  $225.  In  three  years 
the  amount  he  would  lose  would  pay  for 
the  larger  engine  complete. 

Until  the  engine  builder  sees  fit  to  pub- 
lish reliable  tables  showing  the  steam  con- 
sumption of  his  smaller  engines  under  the 
usual  conditions  of  operation,  namely, 
>2,  Y?,  and  Ya  cutoff,  the  prospective  pur- 
chaser will  do  well  carefully  to  investi- 
gate this  subject  on  his  own  account  be- 
fore deciding  upon  the  particular  .size  of 
engine  best  suited  to  his  requirements.  A 
dollar  saved  in  initial  cost  at  the  expense 
of  three  in  running  expenses  is  a  nega- 
tive kind   of   economy   at  best. 


March  30,  1909 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


Practical     Letters    from     Practical     M 

Don'l  Bother  About    the   S«yle.    but   Write   Ju»l    Wh*t    'I'ou  TTiink. 
Know  or  Want   lo  Know    Alxxjt  \init  Work,  and   Help  K*<h  Other 

WE     PAY     FOR     USEFUL     IDEAS 


en 


A  Water  Motor 


Bridgewalls 


The  illustration  shows  something  new 
in  a  water  motor.  It  is  designed  to  be 
placed  perpendicularly  in  any  running 
stream.  The  upright  shaft  in  the  cen'er 
is  stationary,  with  one  sprocket  wheel 
keyed  onto  it  and  connected  to  two  blades 
by  an  endless  chain  running  on  a  sprocket 
wheel  placed  on  the  top  of  each  blade. 
When  the  small  sprocket  wheel  l>ctwecn 
the  blades  acts  as  a  tightener,  blade  A  is 
across  the  stream  and  gets  the  full  force 
of  the  water.  Blade  B  is  partly  turned 
and  might  create  some  back  pressure. 
Blade    C   is    turned    to    cut    through    the 


W.  H.  Wakenun,  on  page  452  of  the 
March  9  number,  has  an  article  oo  the 
above  subject,  written  from  •  very  prac- 
tical standpomt.  and  although  in  the  nutn 
;•  is  perfectly  correct,  the  writer  desires 
to  lake  exception  to  one  or  two  potnta. 
Having  had  cofuiderabk  practical  cxperi- 
cfKe  regarding  the  effects  produced  hj 
varying  the  hight,  position  or  shape  of  the 
hridgewall.  especially  with  respect  to  trou- 
bles from  leaky  seams,  the  wnter  believes 
that  some  of  Mr.  Wakeman's  flalMMBU 
are  likely  lo  mislead  the  inexperkoced 
engineer 


MOOL  or  A   WATn    MOTOa 


of  the  Mtac  Hfc,  tat  m  one  tjbt 

16  feet  loii  vMt  m  ilw  alter  A^  «t 

JO  led  loai.  dK  krger  ho^u  «■  tevt 

practically  19  ptr  chh.   gtwmtt 

Una  iIm  ilHrtar  t 

ikepMi^olfM 

idcaikalljr  iIm  mm.    To  mi^m  iW  a^A 

tiooal  koOtr  ruitiij  availaUt  ikrrc  bm 

be  »s  P*'  ccat  iitihiinMil  tmtmm 

onder  tbr  larger  boskr.  wktck  1 

there  will  be  aboot  is  9^  «■*- 

votmnc  of  tmrwmu  (Mas  to  W 

qotriag  as  ptr  91 

Um  Mac  vclocily.    Aa  ikt 

oacof  iMcawM 

area  of  nkm  im  a  gtvaa  taa*  ikt 

will  be  airwrt 

in  draft  tlM<o«gk  ikc 

would  rtfirt  tkat  ikc 

of  gresler  ntcsMj  M  Ike 

ger   tubes   to  prodte 

the  furnace      It  as  be  srai  itefi 

caac  dud  (aad  ikc  ear^abot  m 

ghrta  are  aoi  ai  al  mmmmI).  tf 


kt  m 


tvkt  arcaa.  tkr  larger 


It  IS  aol  immmmI  tai  dM  vettkal 
fire  tube  boAar  le  karc  dM  Ml 
areas  where  tkt  taps  f  kin  vwy  1 
as  too  per  ccsM.  TW  farvare 
aoiovni  of  coal  lo  kr  barwd  ta 
HMmU  ci  tmm  m  tkt  cnrrvci 
vkkk  ID  f«w*  Ik*  arM  of  fas 
maifid.  Mid  tf  dito  ta 


water  on  the  return  revolution,  and  blade 
if  is  just  coming  across  the  ttrr.im 

The  lever  on  top  of  thr   upru'h!    »h«ft 
fal  the  center  is  to  r*-.  ^ 

by    turning    the    lever 

^ced  al  any  angle  to  get  irir  lor.r  .;  r  r 
water,  and  if  turned  far  enough  thr  m  <•  r 
will  stop.  It  can  readily  be  seen  that  a 
tovemor  can  be  put  on  lo  rcgulau  the 
ipced 

The      illustration      shows     a      w< 
•del      It  will  develop  a  limited 
of  power,  and  I  thought  it  might  inlrre«« 
fellow  readers. 

J.    CMAMaULAlV. 

Chicago.  Ill 


First.  Mr.  Wakeman  (as  a  great 
other  engineefs  do)  aaca  the  toul  area  of 
the   tubes   at   a   gaidc    to    determine 

pr..pcr   area   of  Oikcr    paaaages    foe     —     ^^  ^^         ^^^ 
.,r.-f.^f,  of  Kwwkwttow  t*»  pas«  froM  ikt     •"•■"  '""'    ,        -■ 


b* 

capacity  of 


•wo  bi.Hlrrs  ni  iri*  ti-v  ^iv—^ 
r«  tkt  mmt  mmmkrt  ot  t^r 


6o4 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  30,  1909. 


that  had  Mr.  Wakeman  changed  the  hight, 
position  or  shape  of  his  bridgewall,  the 
trouble  would  have  disappeared  as  effect- 
ually as  it  did  by  changing  the  feed. 

It  is  very  likely  that  the  combination  of 
bridgewall  and  bottom  feed  was  the  cause 
of  the  leak  and  both  should  have  been 
changed  to  have  the  boiler  operate  under 
the  best  conditions.  The  kind  of  bridge- 
wall  illustrated  in  Mr.  Wakeman's  Fig.  6, 
if  located  with  respect  to  the  girth  seam 
as  shown,  is  very  likely  to  cause  trouble. 
Of  course,  a  well  built  boiler  that  is  kept 
perfectly  clean  internally  can  be  run  with 
such  a  bridgewall  without  showing  evi- 
dences of  distress,  but  that  is  no  excuse 
for  subjecting  it  to  such  treatment.  The 
best  methods  of  boiler  setting  cannot  be 
determined  very  readily  by  single  in- 
stances but  by  a  wide  experience  with 
many  different  forms,  with  careful  an- 
alysis from  cause  to  effect  in  noting  the 
results  obtained  in  each  case. 

J.  E.  Terman. 

New  Haven,  Conn. 


415  —  322  =  93 
horsepower,  or  29  per  cent. ;  and  in  the 
other  case 

415  —  344  =  71 
horsepower,  or  20Y2  per  cent. 

In  the  January  19  number  George  W. 
Harding  expresses  the  opinion  that  nearly 
all  the  power  developed  in  the  low-pres- 


M.E.P. 
74.25 


has     done     work     in    the     high-pressure 
cylinder?" 

The  main  reason  is  to  lower  the  steam 
consumption  for  a  given  load  carried,  by 
reducing  the  temperature  range,  and  the 
consequent  condensation,  in  the  two  or 
more  cylinders  as  compared  with  what 
this  loss  amounts  to  when  the  complete 


Scale  60 

Constant  3.7 

270  Horsepower 


Power  Increase  Due  to  Com- 
pounding 


M.E.P. 
11.25 


When  considering  the  discussion  on  the 
above  subject,  opened  up  some  time  ago 
by  Mr.  Wakeman,  the  accompanying  in- 
dicator diagrams  are  worth  inspecting. 
Those  shown  in  Figs,  r  and  2  were  taken 
from  an  18  and  34  by  36-inch  cross-com- 
pound Corliss  engine,  coupled  in  tandem 
to  a  four-stage  air  compressor  before  the 
valve  gear  was  overhauled  for  repairs. 

The  constant  for  the  high-pressure 
cylinder  is  2-7  and  for  the  low-pressure 
cylinder  13.2,  which,  ander  the  conditions 
shown,  give  270  and  145  horsepower,  re- 
spectively, or  a  total  of  415  for  both  sides. 
This  with  a  cutoff  of  from  §^  to  ^ 
stroke. 

Fig.  3  shows  the  original  high-pressure 
card  with  additional  dotted  lines  plotted 
for  the  maximum  point  of  cutoff,  and  the 
counterpressure  lino,  if  this  side  were  run 
as  a  simple  engine*  against  a  5-pound 
back  pressure.  In  plotting  these  lines,  the 
compression  curves  are  omitted  for  the 
sake  of  clearness,  but  I  think  the  con- 
tained area  at  either  of  the  points  of  cut- 
off, A  or  X,  indicates  that  the  engine 
•would  be  developing  all  the  power  that 
could  reasonably  be  expected.  Under 
the  given  conditions,  and  without  going 
into  the  calculation  from  a  laboratory 
standpoint,  the  power  developed  at  5^ 
cutoff  would  be 

87  X  i.7  =  322 
horsepower ;  and  at  %  cutoff 

93  X  3-7  =  344 
horsepower. 

The  increased  power  of  the  engine  run- 
ning compound  over  that  when  the  high- 
pressure  side  is  run  simple,  would  be  in 
the  one  case, 


M.E.P. 

10.75 


Scale  60 


Scale  10 

Constant  13.2 

145  Horsepower 


Constant  3.7 
A 


H.P.  Cyl. 
Running  Simple. 


at  %  Cutoff  =87  (about) 
at  %  Cutoff  =93  (about) 


^w)r,  y.  r. 


FIG.    3 


sure  cylinder  of  an  engine  is  clear  gain, 
and  submits  two  sets  of  diagrams  to  bear 
out  his  contention.  These  diagrams,  how- 
ever, prove  nothing  more  than  that  the 
load  is  fairly  well  divided  between  the 
two  cylinders.  Mr.  Harding  makes  the 
mistake  of  overlooking  the  fact  of  the 
high-pressure  cylinder  exhausting  against 
receiver  pressure,  and  asks,  "Why  are 
engines  compounded  if  not  to  develop 
more  work  by  using  the  steam  again  that 


expansion   takes   place   in   one   cylinder. 

From  either  a  mechanical  or  an  eco- 
nomic standpoint  it  would  seem  to  be 
the  better  way  to  get  the  increase  of 
power  required  by  compounding  if  pos- 
sible, rather  than  by  replacing  the  cylin- 
der with  a  larger  one,  but  this  would  be 
governed  largely  by  local  conditions. 

J.   A.   Carruthers. 

Bankhead,  Can. 


March  30,  1909. 


It   Should    be    PI 


us 


In  reading  the  March  9  number,  I  note 
on  page  476,  under  the  subject  of  "Safety 
Valves,"  the  following  formula : 

22.5  G 


P  X  8.62 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGIN 

lufiK.  and  drill  two  q/t6-mrh  hole*  abo. 

-m  together 

'  ndics  loot. 

■  the  dittaocc  may  be  be- 
't  of  the  holet  in  th«  com 

miiiator  ipidcr,  if  less  than  14  tncfaes  th 

jne  bar  will  answer.    The  bolts  at  the  f. 

can  be  adjusted  for  a  slip  fit  upon  wh- 


^:^ 


""1 


0 


MF.lllUO  or  U MOVING  A   CDMMUTATOt 


to  be  u-tcij  in  Philadelphia,  given  by 
Philip  G.   Darlington. 

According  to  my  understanding,  the 
plus  mark  should  be  used  instead  of  the 
multiplication  sign,  i.e.,  the  pressure 
«hould   have  8.62  added   to    it    and    not 

ittipfied  by  8.62.     The  correct   formula 

ould  rr.i"! 


P-f-8.6a  ■ 

John  J    MAtriN 


Philadelphia,   Penn. 


Removing  Commutators 


•  vcr  sue  of  stud  is  used. 

I"    »tart    a    tight    ommutatof,   pj!    'he 
■  a  fair  tr- 
li  iic  studs  • 

blowtorch  and  tighten  the  nuts      It-. 

ing,   the   commutator   starts,   l>emg   : 

rrm<*\rd   liy   tifhiening   the   nuts   oa   the 
studs. 

L   A    Waukk.  Ja. 

Schenectady,  N.  Y. 


Remedying  a  Packing  Trouble 

Recentlsr  it  Iwramc  nr.  nttjry  lo  aac  a 
small  boiler 
on  a  job  *» 


Uidcirttt   brsndi  o«   p^ekta^  oar  «ttb  a 

Wire-mc«h        -mtoii';   *'     *•   ♦    r»    k.    «iil,.«    14 

Md. 


g  agaia  fotad  tkat  tW  ••    . 

' .'-  t\jn:  Kt«n  r«mu|i»d. 
Wkh  the  p«ddac  s^-wd  4ow«  bno 
It   becaaae  MorMary   far   iW 
ttrd  to  be  sWar«<d  of  brfatv 
i>«  padnng  ceold  aovr 

F'  f    %'  r.r    Urrtr.    rv>w,    I   ka««  WcS  IM- 

i    Mc^m    for    tkt 
atssfactfaa  mi 

.-•turii    »rjr    jr    TT-.    ring!    ctH 

befttar     I   pmrOmtt  ikc 

\tU.    madr  '   f4jr 

rubbrr.  an  '  :h  flM  wfll  ON 

iiomK-j  iw  ri«BS  wHk  am 

juttal-  *erted  n  a  brae*. 

It    rr<|uirc    more   or    less   tkaa   a 

number  d  wboir  rttv*  ?     •'17  'hr 

space,  one  of  t^ 

rated  10  tbc  do*.-.^.  .......... 

Braatford.  Oat 


*€p»- 


Regriodiag  VaKca 

la  the  jaaaary  5  niabir.  past  11.  Mf. 

>Hows  a   :  ."ofce   «aH« 

which  (  liAcall  la 

:ciiiu^     la  rcaliijr  -•  aa^  la 

rrcr!~d  «♦  snr  rehrr  •  ->  Mk  Av« 

and  yw«  ■■  the  raraas 

■lall  com.      thea  riytoca  the 

rrm   la  the  csHaf  which  i-^k. 

■  <-  «tem     Thea  reflac 

*ih1  booart  aid  futiad  h>  ^'  <  • 

aad  forth  throagh  ahoai  mm  rT«T>laMai^ 

the  boaact  aa  a  lead     That  M^  a* 


-«atvr     the  weai  Is  faraad  ia  eae 


Aa  a  reply  lu  question  No.  9^.  "Cate 
chism  of  Electricity,"  regarding  the  t>est 
Tirthod  of  removing  commutators,  I  have 

cd  and  found  the  following  method  suc- 

'  commutators  of  small  «i/c     say  on 
!    less   than    loo  ho; 
!    with    h<»|r*    of    *ii 
gr 

tai. 

spider  M    (see  »ketch).     If  thiN 
iiwd  In  draw  the  coinnnitat<jr,  1 
rain  off  of  the  clamping  nut   b      Coin 
itaiors  Kenerally  start  hard,  <!••'  '■    '■" 
rcrd  on  at  the  factory  t»y  m- 
hs  ■       ■ 
i>> 

!.  (hc>    . 
it   nnv 


VtH* 


o 


o 


^ 


•««f«  thaa   M   had 


rhe  pulluiK  l>ar  shown  ' 
be  very  h^ndy.     To  muk 
-■ces   of    '-'ixj-inch   bar   iron. 


6o6 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


Marcb  30,  1909. 


A  Lighting  Problem 


In  reply  to  Mr.  Rolph's  article  in  the 
February  2  number,  I  will  say  that  his 
plan  for  street  lighting  would  not  be  one 
which  would  give  him  satisfactory  results. 
If  the  system  is  installed  according  to  the 
accompanying  diagram,  very  good  results 
will  be  obtained.  The  street  lighting  is 
done  entirely  from  the  220-volt  wires,  the 
incandescent  system  being  so  connected  as 
to  insure  a  very  even  drop  of  potential. 
No.  10  weatherproof  wire  will  be  suitable 
for  the  incandescent  system,  but  if  the 
poles  are  set  very  far  apart  it  would  be 
very  desirable  to  use  a  No.  8  wire,  as  a 
No.  10  wire  is  not  of  sufficient  strength 
to  prevent  it  from  stretching  or  breaking 
during  winter  storms.  If  desired,  a  time 
switch  can  be  very  easily  installed,  as 
shown. 

The  writer  does  not  favor  street  light- 
ing by  the  low-potential  series  system, 
owing  to  the  fact  that  it  is  very  hard  to 
locate  trouble;  also,  if  one  of  the  lights 
is  cut  out  for  any  reason  there  is  usually 
no  way  provided  to  keep  the  remaining 
lights  from  receiving  an  excess  of 
current. 


Commerc 

«-22 

00-Volts^. 

1                            1 

^\ 

\ 

I 

J  V 

110  -  220  VoUb 
Transformer 

al 

Comrnercial 

110  V. 

■^■ 

110  V. 

Time 
Switch 

220  V. 

— 

' 

0 
-0- 
0 

^ 

Public 
Square 

' 

0 
-0- 

^ 

0 

— 

0 

■0 



rO- 

^ 

^ 

<> 

fbiMr, 

.V.  r. 

MR.    BYLES     WIRING   DIAGRAM 

[f  the  street  lights  are  to  be  on  the 
same  poles  with  the  wires  used  for  house 
lighting,  one  of  the  house-light  wires  can 
tie  used  to  supply  current  to  one  side  of 
'he  street  lights,  thereby  dispensing  with 
one  of  the  street-light  wires  in  the  com- 
•Tion  multiple  system.  This  scheme  is 
-inly  suitable  for  small  installations  and 
<hort  lines. 

If  the  commercial  system  in  the  fore- 
M<oing  plan  is  to  be  of  any  magnitude  the 
three-wire  system  should  be  used,  at  least 


on  the  main  lines  and  the  larger  of  the 
branch   lines. 

Frank  A.  Byles. 
Bennington,  N.  H. 


Composition  Disks  for  Globe 
Valves 


Gravity    Feed  Oiling  System 


In  the  illustration  is  shown  a  lOO-gallon 
sheet-tin  tank  placed  near  the  ceiling.  It 
is  fitted  with  a  sight  glass.     In  the  base- 


01 


GRAVITY-FEED   OILING   SYSTEM 

ment,  under  the  engine  room,  is  located 
the  filter  B.  The  small  pump  C  is  so 
connected  that  it  can  be  run  with  either 
steam  or  compressed  air,  and  pumps  oil 
from  the  filter  to  the  tank  A.  An  over- 
flow pipe  is  connected  at  the  top  of  the 
tank  A  and  extends  down  to  the  filter. 

A  main  pipe  runs  from  the  bottom  of 
the  tank  A  to  the  basement  and  along 
under  the  floor,  where  connections  are 
made  to  each  engine  and  auxiliary.  Each 
engine  and  auxiliary  has  a  separate  valve 
just  above  the  floor  so  that  the  oil  can  be 
shut  off  from  any  engine  without  disturb- 
ing the  flow  of  the  oil  to  any  other  en- 
gine or  auxiliary.  Pipes  are  run  to  each 
air-tight  cup  on  the  engine.  They  have 
the  regular  needle-point  screws  to  regu- 
late by.  Each  oil  cup  has  a  valve  and 
can  be  cut  out  without  affecting  any  other 
cup.  We  have  cups  placed  on  all  parts  of 
the  valve  gears  where  possible,  and  have 
very  little  use  for  the  oil  can. 

We  also  have  a  return  system.  Each 
crankpit,  foundation  plate  and  eccentric 
pit  has  a  pipe  connection  to  one  large  pipe 
which  leads  to  the  filter.  We  run  oil  from 
a  barrel  in  the  storeroom  into  a  can  below 
and  the  oil  flows  to  the  filter  and  thus 
enters  the  system.  In  the  can  under  the 
floor  of  the  storeroom  are  coils  of  pipe 
through  which  steam  circulates  in  cold 
weather.  We  do  not,  however,  permit  the 
oil  to  get  hot  enough  to  injure  it. 

This  system  is  somewhat  expensive  in 
first  cost,  but  there  is  hardly  any  operat- 
ing cost  and  the  great  saving  of  oil  in  a 
short  time  will  pay  for  the  system. 

I.  Y.  White. 

Handley,  Tex. 


In  the  February  16  number,  Mr.  Wake- 
man  says  that  composition  disks  for  globe 
valves  are  as  good  as  they  were  20  years 
ago,  and  suggests  the  superiority  of  globe 
over  gate  valves  for  big  work,  and  then 
goes  on  to  intimate  that  if  gate  valves 
are  used  composition  disks  can  be  made. 

Things  have  changed  in  20  years,  and 
gate  valves  have  the  preference,  and  not 
only  composition  disks  btit  bronze  disks 
and  seats  have  been  changed  for  steel 
where  superheat  is  used. 

W.  E.  Crane. 

Broadalbin,  N.  Y. 


Repairing  a  Center  Crank 

I  repaired  a  center-crank  engine  two 
years  ago  and  it  has  run  nicely  ever  since. 
The  pin  of  the  center  crank  was  broken, 
as  shown  in  the  sketch,  and  it  had  been 
bolted  together  and  run  in  that  way  for 
about  five  years.  The  bolt  was  not  fitted 
properly  and  the  hole  and  pin  were  badly 
worn.  I  sent  the  shaft  to  a  machine  shop 
and  had  the  shaft  trued  and  the  pin  cut 
off.  The  crank-pin  holes  were  bored  out, 
also.  Then  we  fitted  both  halves  of  a 
new  pin  to  the  holes  and,  after  forcing 
one  in,  found  that  the  bore  was  not  in 
line.  With  both  ends  turned  to  size  and 
no  .steel  to  make  a  new  pin  with,  we  had 
two  steel  thimbles  forged  and,  after  bor- 


w 


t, 


H 


^ 

::;:-~-|; 

r         ' 

¥ 

-H  Dult  fits  tight  here  at 
both  £di1b,  >^jy  CtcaraQce 
In  Midille. 


REPAIRING  A  CENTER  CRANK 

ing  them  out,  shrank  them  on  the  pins. 
The  crank  shaft  belongs  to  an  ammonia 
compressor  and  runs  twenty-four  hours 
per  day. 

My  theory  for  so  many  of  these  break- 
downs is  that  the  engine  being  horizontal 
and  the  compressors  vertical  the  center 
bearings  do  not  wear  down  as  fast  as  the 
side  bearings,  the  machine  running  only  a 
short  time  until  there  is  a  springing  action 
on  the  shaft,  and  it  is  only  a  matter  of 
time  until  it  breaks.     I  think  my  patched 


March  30,   1909 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


crank  pin,  considering  this  feature,  is  bet- 
ter than  a  new  pin. 

Dennis  Hanlon. 
Vincerncs,  Ind. 


Condensers  for    Ructuating    Water 
Level 


A  jet  condenser  must  always  lift  its 
own  water,  never  take  it  under  a  head. 
Such  has  been  the  general  rule  in  regard 
to  the  installation  of  these  machines,  the 
reason  being  that  if  the  water  came  to  the 
condenser  under  a  head  and  for  any  rea- 
son the  vacuum  pump  should  stop  or  fail 
to  remove  it,  there  would  be  no  means  of 
preventing  the  water  from  overflowing 
into  the  exhaust  pipe  and  back  to  the 
engine. 


UrukM  Tah* 


rivers  have  such  a  varifUoa  that  •  coo- 
denser  set  bigb  enough  to  be  out  of  das- 
gcr  at  times  of  high  water  wooJd  be  ool 
of  suction  reach  of  the  water  at  oomal 
stagw 

' forefo- 

:•  -:  --me  has 

been  devised  by  the  wnter:  1  he  sketch 
and  description  refer  to  a  fluctuating  wa- 
ter level  and  some  of  the  conncctiooa 
could  be  omitted  in  case  of  a  conttanl 
water  level  higher  than  the  conden»er 

The  vacuum  pump  and  condenser  are 
so  located  that  the  injection  faUct  b  in 
the  neighborhood  of  18  or  x>  feet  above 
the  low-water  level.  The  injection  pipe 
is  arranged  as  shown,  and  is  carried  up 
so  that  the  "vacuum-breaker  valve"  is 
about  to  or  la  feet  above  the  high  water 
level  So  long  as  the  water  level  remaiaa 
below  the  injection  opening,  the  valve  A 


CDNDCNtn  rO«  fLUCTUATlWC  WATl«  ixm 


Where  the  water-supply   level  i»  hel<>w 
the  top  of  the  condenser  any  ditiK''"f  ''   ■■' 
water  can  be  guarded  ag.llll^t  )>'■ 
a   suitable    vacuum   breaker,    wh: 
natically  destroys  the  suction,   when  the 
water  in  the  condensing  chamlx-r  ri»r«  to 
a  predetermined  hight.     Where  the   lr\rl 
of  the   water   supply   is  above  the   top  o( 
Ibe   condenser   it    hat   been   nece»Mry.   in 
order  to  insure   safely,  to  run   • 
fato  8  well  below  the  condenser 
kave  the  condenser  draft  in  *"; 
Ac  well      An  automatic  float  %  1 
overflow   serves  to  keep  the  well  at 
T  level. 

Another  condition  that  frequen'h 
ctjrs  i«  that  of  a  water  supply  rti  i' 
between     widely     varying     level* 


thr 


IS  open  and  the  con«lcii»<i  «akc«  »aTrr 
fhr  rrfrtiUr  way  through  the  pipe*  i    /'  /' 

c     It 

and  ibr  >«i«li  iU  k>o» 

h  p      \i\  '  STpHon  f r'"'ni 

becoming    an 

connected  b<-' 

loop    and    Ih'  ^* 

pipe    serv^a   !■>   «••■■    "—    ■   ■     - 

would  otherwise  cotbci  at  the  u-v  ' 

loop. 

.At  C  *f  loeatad  a  c*MMnb«r  co» 

r     n   the 
KwnUf    MnttI 
Aoai   a<t«ate«    > 
itrnllinc  tke  ptp*  K 


iflC  of  tlw  ioai  open*  iIm  *al««  Mtf 

pipe  K.    TW  vara—  is 

the  lop   of   a 

opens  wide  tke 

ihoa  allovs  tke  iow  ti  ak  iMonpi  a 

opening  into  iW  lop  ol  iIm  loop.     Tina 

i::«-.intl]r  breaks  thr  siplMMi 

further  flow  of  water  into  I 

By  meaos  of  a  imtabfa  naniker  ol 
over  pipes,  wiib  valvea.  bcfwoan  dM  pipi 
E  aod  F.  tbe  aiiai^smsni  can  be  srili 

level 

H.  H  CBAaa. 
Holyokc. 


Heat  Id  Sibud 

On  page  211  of  llw  Jannary  a6  mmmkm 
Joaepb  H.  Hart,  in' bis  arttdc.  tieni  in 
Steam."  oukca  llw  lolloning  AatanMi: 
"After  water  is  cbongvd  to  fHa^  At 
•team  then  poaaeaaes  practacaly  noiMng 
h-n  ipertftc  beat.  or.  radwr.  incf«aa«  In 
re  meana  an  aMidon  mh  ^  (^ 
■lergy  of  iW  nwlsgwir  Tbia  ia 
actoaUy  the  case  hi  wbot  ia 
soperhealcd  •t'^m  ■"  wWcb 
ttcaa  behave*  'ct  gas 

Boyle's  aod  Cl^«>xi    »»s 

The  laal  siaienMsH  of  Mr   Hart  ia  !•• 
accnratc.  aa 

far  rcototed  from  Ike  polni  ol 
follows  very  neatly  ibe  lawt  ol  perlici 
gases,     fa  ibe  case  ol 
in 

gatioos    by    Zcnotr. 
and  others  have  provad  llMI  Ibe 
tion  of  iK'  <*«•  of  Boyle  and  Cbarlss  4a 
not  bold  s«radonftbe 

of     ibe     Vvn-.jrrf<-      Mtmt 

peralore  b  nol  a 

tioos  have  beoi  proposod  to 

rebti 

wwpr  rat  art  of  MprrWotod  «apnr%     TW 

one  beet  known  b  by  Zewner.  wWcfc  In  *e 

Ei^Hsli  eyftoni  b  mrawii  bp  *•  M- 

towintf  fnfinata ' 


rr.mm 


by  T.» 


6o8 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  30,  190Q. 


This  last  equation  has  an  error  of  about 
I  per  cent.,  as  compared  with  that  of 
Knoblauch. 

A.  A.  Potter. 
Manhattan,  Kan. 


Keying  Flywheels 


In  an  ice  plant  having  a  22x26-inch  up- 
right Corliss  engine,  connected  to  a  16x22- 
inch  compressor,  running  at  58  revolu- 
'tions  per  minute,  the  bolts  of  a  marine- 
type  connecting  rod  gave  wa^^  and  one  of 
the  boxes  fell  into  the  crankpit  and 
stopped  the  crank,  but  the  engine  being 
under  full  steam  pressure,  and  aided  by 
the  momentum  of  the  flywheel,  the  shaft 
was  twisted  about  15  degrees  before  it 
came  to  a  stop.  The  broken  bolts  of  the 
connecting  rod  were  ij^  inches  in  diame- 
ter, but  the  holes  in  the  boxes  were  about 
ifi  inches,  and  it  was  thought  judicious 
to  make  stronger  bolts.  The  butt  and 
strap  were  reamed  out,  and  the  new  bolts 
turned  to  fit  the  boxes  snugly.  The  chief 
felt  safe  about  them,  but  to  his  surprise 
they  broke  about  two  weeks  later.  A  few 
weeks  previous  to  their  failure  the  piston 
rod  had  loosened  and  worked  down  into 
the  crosshead  until  the  piston  struck  the 
lower  cylinder  head.  The  pounding  had 
been  allowed  to  go  on  for  some  time,  as 
the  chief  did  not  believe  in  stopping  for 
such  a  trifle.  I  think  this  started  a  crack 
in  one  of  the  bolts  and  caused  the  break- 
down. The  new  bolts  had  comparatively 
smooth  running.  The  condenser  pressure 
ran  at  times  up  to  200  pounds  with  about 
25  pounds  suction.  The  strain  on  the 
bolts  was  35,850  pounds  less  the  weight  of 
the  piston,  crosshead  and  connecting  rod, 
or  about  14,500  pounds  per  square  inch 
on  the  old  and  about  10,000  pounds  on  the 
new  bolts.  The  new  bolts  showed  dents 
on  the  butt  and  strap  ends,  indicating 
bending  stresses;  the  old  ones  had  clear- 
ance enough  to  avoid  them.  Faulty  aline- 
ment  is  harder  on  connecting-rod  bolts 
than  the  working  strain. 

Another  cause  of  failure  is  the  habit  of 
cutting  the  threads  too  sharp  at  the  bot- 
tom and  allowing  the  tool  to  dig  in  at  the 
end  of  the  thread.  A  smaller  pitch  would 
be  better  practice  than  standard  bolts. 
Bolts  that  have  been  in  an  accident  and 
subjected  to  abnormal  strains  should  be 
looked  over  very  carefully  beiore  being 
used,  but  I  would  scrap  them. 

To  insure  a  satisfactory  job  in  secur- 
ing a  wheel  to  a  shaft  with  a  sunk  key 
it  is  necessary  that  the  bore  of  the  wheel 
should  fit  the  shaft  reasonably  tight,  and 
that  the  keyway  in  the  wheel  should  be 
of  the  same  size,  parallel  to  the  keyseat 
of  the  shaft  and  not  taper  more  than  ^ 
inch  to  the  foot.  If  the  wheel  bore  is 
larger  than  the  shaft  by  more  than  0.004 
inch  it  should  not  be  used  on  that  shaft. 
If  the  keyway  is  not  parallel  to  the  key- 


FIG.    2 


FIG.    3 


seat,  it  can  be  corrected  in  the  foUowinjf 
manner : 

Suppose  a  wheel  with  7-inch  bore  is  to 
be  fitted  to  a  shaft  with  a  sunk  key  i^ 
inches  wide.  The  keyway  of  the  wheel, 
when  placed  edge  to  edge  on  the  keyseat 
of  the  shaft,  is  found  to  run  to  the  left 
1/16  inch  at  the  other  side.  The  wheel 
should  then  be  turned  1/32  inch  to  the 
right,  in  order  to  divide  up  that  diver- 
gence. The  protruding  edges,  viz.,  right 
front  and  left  back  of  the  shaft  and  left 
front  and  right  back  of  the  wheel,  should 
be  carefully  marked,  as  they  must  be  filed 
or  machined.  A  key  i||  inches  wide 
will  now  be  necessary,  and  it  can  be  fitted 
on  all  sides,  as  there  are  straight  and  even 
surfaces  to  deal  with. 

It  is  troublesome  to  make  special  keys 
in  factories  where  keys  of  standard  sizes 
are  kept  in  stock  and,  besides,  the  work 
has  to  go  out  on  regulation  time,  so  it 
happens  that  the  wheel,  shaft  and  key  are 
left  as  they  are.  It  also  happens  that  if 
the  bore  of  the  wheel  is  i/ioo  inch  or 
more  larger  than  the  shaft,  it  is  used 
anyway. 

The  keyfitter  or  erecter  in  trying  to 
make  up  for  all  these  defects  drives  the 
key  home  as  hard  as  he  dares,  thus  setting 
up  an  undue  strain  in  the  hub.  The  key 
will  bend  the  shaft  and  the  wheel  on  the 
protruding  edges  only  and  the  combina- 
tion will  look  like  Fig.  i.  Such  a  wheel 
will  soon  begin  to  work,  rubbing  the  shaft 
at  P  and  battering  it  at  A  and  B.  It  does 
not  take  long  before  it  will  cut  at  P,  cre- 
ating an  additional  strain  in  the  hub,  and 
if  the  speed  is  high  and  the  reversals  of 
force  sudden  something  will  happen.  If 
the  fitter  has  been  careless  or  ignorant 
enough  not  to  file  the  edges  of  the  key 
before  trying  to  fit  it,  matters  will  be 
worse,  but  the  wheel  after  wearing  away 
the  edges  will  begin  to  pound  and  give 
notice  of  its  bad  condition. 

Another  bad  practice  is  the  attempt  to 
remedy  a  wobbling  wheel  with  the  key. 
If  a  wheel  has  been  sprung  when  clamped 
to  the  boring-mill  table,  during  the  opera- 
tion of  boring  and  facing,  it  will  wobble 
when  running  on  the  shaft.  If  this  wobble 
is  in  or  near  the  radial  direction  of  the 
key,  as  at  5"  and  T,  Fig.  2,  an  attempt 
is  sometimes  made  to  throw  the  wheel 
in  line  by  filing  the  key  down  in 
B,  in  order  to  make  the  wheel 
bear  hard  at  D  and  B  and  loosen 
up  a  little  at  A  and  C.  I  have 
never  seen  it  done  successfully,  but  it  is 
resorted  to  quite  frequently.  The  draw- 
back to  the  wheel  is  apparent.  I  would 
rather  have  a  wheel  wobble  a  little  than 
have  it  "fixed  up"  in  such  a  way.  I  do 
not  know  that  "broad  keys  fitted  upon 
flats"  hold  a  wheel  or  even  a  pulley  in 
place  successfully,  but  I  have  experienced 
many  cases  where  such  keys  had  to  be 
replaced  by  broader  ones  and  finally  by 
sunk   keys  before   they   gave   satisfaction. 

To  use  two  keys,  as  shown  in  Fig.  3,  is 


March  30,   iQOQi 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


>  improvement  over  the  single  sunk 
key,  as  either  one  or  the  otlfrr  key  has 
to  stand  the  strain,  according  to  whether 
the  wheel  is  receiving  or  Riving  up  mo- 
mentum. Such  keys  are,  therefore,  liable 
to  work  loose.  I  have  seen  set  screws 
osed  to  prevent  it. 

Set-screw  holes  drilled  into  the  key- 
ways  are  not  desirable,  as  they  weaken 
tfie  hub  through  its  least  cross -section.  I 
remember  of  two  such  wheels  being 
cracked  through  the  keyways  This 
fliethod  of  keying  is  of  advantage  on 
governor  wheels,  where  it  is  sometimes 
desirable  to  shift  the  wheel  to  suit  the 
accurate  position  of  the  eccentric.  This 
can  easily  be  done  to  a  certain  limit  by 
Increasing  the  thickness  of  one  key  and 
reducing  the  other.  To  use  a  split  wheel 
and  clamp  it  down  without  a  key  can 
hardly  be  considered,  as  it  would  have  to 
be  titjht«-ncd  too  often  and  the  shaft  would 
certainly  suffer  in  a  short  time.  A  ^ingk 
iunk  kry  in  connection  with  a  split  wheel 
or  hub  is,  in  my  judgment,  the  most  con- 
venient and  efficient  method  of  holding 
wheels. 

H.    WiECANO 

Indianapolis.    In'! 


Cause  of  a  Runaway  Engine 


•le   day    my    Slatrr   engine    started   to 

iway,  but  I  managed  to  stop  it  before 

ai  .    damage   was   done.     The  cause   wa« 

due  to  one  of  two  screws  which  held  the 

itrr!    '.M.k  Mj,   ].\.  .,g  unscrewrd 

ffTn  thr  I.iN-h,  .ill  ■    valve  to  tak** 

n  full  stroke  on  both  ends,  as  it  had 


Cl>IIN<.  TRI  CAUtS  or  A  RUNAWAY  KMCIlft 

pat    the    governor    "out    of   commission  ** 
The  way   I  fixed  the  engine  so  thai  1 
lUcr  occurrence  could  not  happen  wa*  lo 
drill   a    hole   clear    through    the   hook-op 
bich.    lapping    and   putting   on    a     Ivnti^f 
•crew    on    which    I    phrr.l    a    mtt    to    •  f 
tent  the  screw  from  f 
Gioact  [-. 
ist  Bridgrwater.  Mass 


A  Return  Steam  Trap 

The  accompanying  sectio 
a  return  iteam  trap  that  h. 
faction  an<l  one  that  can  be 
at  a  very  moderate  cost  1 
invention  of  W.  J.  St«-  :stiio«nli. 

Va.     The  body  is  cast  ,  arts  and 

bolted  together.     Located  ou  the  tide  of 
the  upper  portion  is  a  brass  -■ '  •  ■'"  •  - 
nected  by  flanges.     The  cor.  ' 
enters  from  the  top  and  is  div 
the    bottom.      The    copper    float 
with   a   y4-inch   pi- 
entire  length,  the 

brazed  to  the  float   *••  47  move 

loosely   on    the    stem    ;r  <   water- 

tight. The  stem  on  which  the  float  works 
is  connected  to  a  bell  crank,  which  in  turn 
connects  to  the  valve  stem  operating  the 
piston  valve.  The  valve  has  a  4 -inch 
hole  passing  through  its  entire  length  so 
there  will  not  he  a   vacuum   formed  be- 


aBCTioNAL  trisw  or  a  Bnmit-araAit  tvat 

hind  the  vahre  when  it  nsovcs.     All  the 
fittinffs  are  made  of  braas  and  iIm  hodf  h 
f  east  irao. 

H.    C    WOUAMIOM 

-'  •»-    Va 


Will    the   Load  00   tbe   Boks 


Allow    ow    to    aabmit     1    nr.-l>trm    Vm 
publieafiott     The     ilh' 

•nd    >,   T' —  • 

md  of  1 

^l\  '    l>*tW<W  tlMl&      ■■( 

'  •    .ni  hMd  havtai 

»    ;^adrts«       TW 

•■  tjD  sqvarv  mckM. 

nirt    ^n\   It    K«U 

on  br  tP  «•«•  ••if  •••  « 


the  ti  Mad*  is  tcrrwcd  ap  10  mek  a 
thai  the  Mada  ar«  Mtfcr  m 
of  ifSMj  pomadtk. 

-n  or  other  prctaw* 
'   srca  oi  Che 
rlindrr  is 

ipninnt  {>rr»»urc  f* 


ow  iha  i». 

to    MD 


UHLlii,^ 


k_ 


nc  I 


nc  a 


preeemc  oa  the  boltti  hi  c«her  cm*,  m- 
crease,  dccrcaar  or  resMiii  the  hwm^  la 
each  caae  what  m  the  lo*<!  in  !»«»]•  pgi 
bohP 

MadiwMi.  Wm 


bclluig  oi  SImih  zjocatncM 


ibc  tteam  cccciMric  of  a  Cor 81 

60  degrtrs  ahead  of  the  craak.    Om  ihiag 

tH^v  bn(n  afipearcd  to  a^ree  aaoat.  eaa 

■St  wtntr  b  aa  ammttmr  !■ 

perattoe  of  the  CocltM  cw- 

<   ihrwi   owavd   ap   thai   he 

V  11  «wgi«w  hj  ^--f-i  whh 

the    Qr>  '  •t«|t    "b'  ■*» 

thought   u   ^  done  '^ 

were  lo  attrmp*  in  thr  ptt  ■ 
nrn'  '      -«  ai>  cagr- 

pal  •  br^ 

iitm.  ke  mtfTA  fTt  tMafy<^^ 
^•mt  be 
.  I 

to  tare  a  hfl*.  ^'^nf 
pank»^ 


m     t   o* 


6io 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  30,  1909. 


the  single  wristplate.  In  those  days  engi- 
neers laid  out  and  built  the  engines  and 
they  were  built  convenient  to  handle.  The 
starting  bar  came  out  straight  and  was 
convenient  to  one  hand,  and  the  throttle 
to  the  other.  The  two  new  wristplates 
were  thinner  than  the  single  one  and  were 
placed  side  by  side,  with  slots  in  each,  and 
a  thin  starting  bar  for  each  slot.  One 
bar  had  an  offset  so  that  both  bars  were 
brought  out  parallel  and  the  two  together 
taken  in  one  hand  and  operated  as  a  sin- 
gle bar  (the  only  sensible  way),  and  I 
had  a  pair  of  wristplates  operated  by 
hand  the  same  as  the  old  single  plate. 
Why  should  anyone  do  differently?  At 
present  most  engines  are  laid  out  by 
draftsmen  and  starting  bars  stick  out  at 
all  angles,  sure  to  be  the  most  incon- 
venient. 

The  change  in  the  engine  by  giving  the 
exhaust  a  clear  release  resulted  in  a 
marked  saving  in  fuel.  The  lengthening 
in  the  range  of  cutting  off  made  the  speed 
steadier  and  also  allowed  more  load  to 
be  put  on  the  engine,  which,  after  a  time, 
was  done.  There  was  rolling-mill  work 
done  by  this  engine,  with  all  kinds  of 
load,  and  occasionally  a  card  would  be 
taken  that  showed  the  steam  following 
three-fourths  stroke,  the  steam  eccentric 
set  at  90  degrees. 

When  a  piston  is  at  the  middle  of  the 
stroke  its  speed  is  so  high  that  if  the 
valve  is  tripped  at  that  time  the  piston 
will  have  gone  some  distance  before  the 
valve  is  closed. 

We  had  a  30x60  George  Corliss  engine 
and  we  asked  a  price  from  the  builders 
for  making  the  parts  to  fit  it  up  the  same 
way.  They  refused  to  make  them,  say- 
ing :  "We  don't  want  our  engines  run 
that  way."  So  we  got  the  parts  from  the 
Harris  people.  Of  course,  this  was  fitted 
up  the  same  as  the  28x60,  and  the  two 
wristplates  worked  by  hand  as  easily  and 
nicely  as  the  single  one.  There  were  no 
more  valves  to  handle. 

This  engine  was  in  a  rolling  mill  and 
there  was  occasionally  a  card  showing  a 
three-fourths  cutoff,  so  there  was  no 
question  about  getting  a  range  of  cutting 
off  up  to  three-fourths  stroke.  This  was 
before  the  days  of  compounds,  although 
there  had  been  a  few  built.  One  large 
mill  corporation  in  Massachusetts  had  one 
mill  separate  from  the  rest  and  it  was  so 
fitted  up  that  an  accurate  test  could  be 
made  of  any  change  made  on  the  engines, 
which  in  this  mill  was  a  pair  of  cylin- 
ders on  one  shaft. 

Mr.  Babbitt,  superintendent  at  the  Har- 
ris shops,  proposed  fitting  up  this  pair 
with  the  extra  eccentrics  and  a  contract 
was  finally  made  that  if  the  change  made 
a  saving  of  10  per  cent,  the  corporation 
was  to  pay  a  certain  price.  If  there  was 
not  a  saving  of  10  per  cent.,  nothing 
should  be  paid.  The  change  was  made 
and  on  the  last  day  of  the  trial  a  check 
-was  mailed  to  pay  for  new  parts.     The 


blowing  through  on  starting  up  did  not 
appear  to  make  much  loss.  In  order  to 
do  away  with  it,  have  a  little  block  and 
raise  the  governor  sufficient  to  cut  off 
and  block  it  up.  This  is  a  good  idea  with  a 
single  as  well,  as  much  less  steam  is  used 
when  getting  up  to  speed  than  at  full  stroke. 
In  1892  our  people  were  having  a  new 
engine  built  and  among  others  that 
wanted  the  jdb  was  the  Corliss  company, 
which  was  ready  to  put  on  two  eccentrics. 
They  got  the  order  for  a  28  and  52  by  72- 
inch  engine,  to  run  at  60  revolutions,  and 
it  was  to  be  built  just  as  I  directed.  After 
this  engine  was  put  in  and  before  any 
large  loads  were  put  on  I  got  through 
with  this  firm,  so  that  I  did  not  see  any 
cards  with  heavy  loads,  but  understand 
it  has  gone  way  beyond  2000  horsepower 
with   125  pounds  steam  pressure. 

Along  about  1895,  Hewes  &  Phillips 
built  a  16  and  30  by  42-inch  engine  and 
erected  it  in  the  lighting  station  at  Eliza- 
beth, N.  J.  It  so  happened  that  the  load 
of  the  station  was  so  adjusted  that  a  peak 
load  came  on  this  engine  for  about  two 
hours  every  evening,  calling  for  a  cutoff 
of  about  three-fourths  stroke,  and  the  lit- 
tle engine  was  right  on  the  job  every  time. 
The  first  that  I  heard  that  there  was 
any  trouble  with  that  manner  of  setting 
the  valves  was  about  twenty  years  after  I 
put  on  the  first  one.  It  seems  that  some 
street  railway  had  put  in  too  small  an  en- 
gine and  the  load  would  pull  the  gov- 
ernor right  down  on  the  pin,  so  they  did 
away  with  their  safety  stop,  put  the  eccen- 
trip  back  and  put  in  effect  the  60-degree 
hitch-up. 

This  throws  the  stop  motion  out  of  use 
and  the  only  excuse  is  a  man  made  a 
mistake. 

After  about  1894,  builders  turned  their 
attention  more  to  putting  on  two  eccen- 
trics and  some  of  them  could  not  believe 
that  the  piston  at  its  highest  speed  in  the 
cylinder  could  advance  after  the  valve  had 
been  tripped,  and  they  studied  out  the  60- 
degree  arrangement  and  called  it  their 
long  range  of  cutting  off,  but  years  be- 
fore men  had  been  getting  the  long  range 
of  three-fourths  stroke  with  the  eccen- 
tric at  90  degrees. 

If  three-fourths  stroke  can  be  obtained 
without  crippling  the  engine  in  any  way 
and  allow  it  to  be  handled  by  the  starting 
bar  so  as  to  do  anything  one  wishes,  what 
excuse  is  there  for  crippling  it  so  that 
bars  with  a  lot  of  men  or  tackle  blocks 
have  to  be  used? 

When  the  steam  eccentric  is  set  at  60 
degrees,  if  the  valve  is  not  tripped,  the 
eccentric  will  not  close  it  until  the  crank 
is  30  degrees  beyond  the  center  and  the 
piston  is  one-fourth  of  its  way  on  the 
return  stroke.  For  this  reason,  with 
eccentrics  set  in  this  manner  the  valves 
must  always  trip  before  the  eccentric  has 
completed  its  full  throw. 

When  the  wristplate  is  at  one-half 
travel,  or  vertical,  the  steam  valve  is  wide 


open.  But  one  steam  valve  can  be 
hooked  on  ^  the  same  time  and  the  wrist- 
plate cannot  be  held  in  its  central  posi- 
tion, but  must  be  thrown  over  to  nearly 
its  full  throw,  so  that  the  valve  may  be 
closed,  as  there  is  very  little  lap. 

To  start  the  engine  is  a  simple  matter, 
but  to  manipulate  it  and  bring  it  to  a  stop 
at  any  point  nicely  is  different.  Let  us 
suppose  that  less  than  one-half  stroke  is 
all  that  is  required.  The  engine  is  brought 
to  nearly  the  point,  and  how  are  you  going 
to  stop  or  throw  steam  into  the  opposite 
end  of  the  cylinder?  You  have  not  got 
hold  of  the  valve  at  the  opposite  end,  and 
if  you  had  it  would  have  been  wide  open 
all  the  time  and  you  would  not  have 
moved  at  all.  To  get  hold  of  this  valve 
you  must  throw  the  wristplate  over  and 
pick  it  up. 

You  cannot  hold  onto  the  starting  bar 
strongly  enough  to  move  it  and  unhook 
the  steam  valve;  besides,  it  would  take 
time.  The  only  way  to  do  is  to  throw 
the  wristplate  over,  but  this  also  opens 
that  valve  wide  during  the  operation. 

Suppose  that  opening  this  steam  valve 
wide  for  an  instant  has  not  carried  the 
engine  too  far,  which  is  highly  improba- 
ble, and  that  you  get  hold  of  the  other 
valve.  Then  you  have  to  reach  over 
somewhere  and  get  hold  of  your  ex- 
haust valves  and  change  them,  and  by  this 
time  the  engine  has  either  stopped  or  gone 
too  far.  If  you  have  to  make  more  than 
one  revolution  you  are  in  a  nice  mess. 

I  once  knew  an  erecting  man  who  went 
home  and  told  his  people  that  he  had 
started  and  stopped  an  engine  of  this 
character  at  any  point.  He  had  been 
very  careful  not  to  have  anyone  around 
when  he  did  it. 

W.  E.  Crane. 

Broadalbin.    N.    Y. 


Method  of  Cutting  Nipples 


In  a  recent  number,  F.  E.  Fick  gives 
his  method  of  cutting  nipples  which  is  all 
right,  but  I  cut  the  long  thread  and  screw 
the  coupling  on  it,  and  then  screw  the 
nipple  into  that.  Then  instead  of  re- 
versing the  dies,  I  select  a  bushing  large 
enough  to  take  in  the  coupling.  If  the 
bushing  is  of  the  adjustable  type  this  is 
very  simple,  but  in  case  the  bushing  is  of 
the  ordinary  type  it  may  be  necessary  to 
wrap  the  coupling  with  paper.  If  a  very 
short  nipple  is  wanted  the  bushing  may 
sometimes  be  put  on  the  longer  piece  of 
pipe  and  the  coupling  will  come  between 
the  bushing  and  the  dies. 

C.  E.  Rowland. 

Washington  Court  House,  O. 


The  "Imperial  International  Exhibi- 
tion," which  is  to  be  held  in  London,  Eng- 
land, the  coming  summer,  will  be  held 
under  patronage  similar  to  the  recent 
Franco-British  exhibition. 


March  50,   1909. 


lH)Wtk  AMi  THE  liNtilNEtk. 


Some    Useful    Lessons   of    Lime  water 

A  Series  of  Inlcrcstinx    Practical    txpcrimmli   wilh   Oxygen;  ^  hat  an 
Atmosphere  of  F^ure  Oxygen    Would    Mean    to    the    Animal    Kil^dcan 


B^' 


CHARLES 


S. 


PALMER 


In  the  last  chapter  we  laid  out  the 
ground  for  making  oxygen,  iilaiiiiinK  the 
app^iratus  as  shown  in  the  vari<>n>  ii>{urc», 
and  antici(iating  a<>  far  as  possible  stnne 
of  the  most  important  test*  which  you 
will  make  with  this  gas.  You  will  want 
at  least  two  jars  of  the  gas — ordinary 
4)uart  fruit  jars — and  if  you  can  collect 
three  or  four  jars  of  gas  so  much  the 
■better.  Here  you  will  want  to  note  that 
oxygen  is  a  trifle  heavier  than  the  air,  and 
the  jars  of  oxygen  can  l»e  kept  for  some 
few  moments  by  cnvering  them  with  the 
square  pieces  of  cardlxjarcl  used  to  remove 
them  from  the  water,  and  which  should 
^■-  put  over  the  mouth  of  the  jar  while  it 
>till  under  water.  This  is  done  by 
ijrasping  the  jar  firmly  with  one  hand, 
and  with  the  other  slipping  the  cardUard 

wn   into  the  water  over  the  mouth  of 


in  the  unM*  w%*h  «!i*h  prrpamtory  »«>  Wl 
ing    thr' 

water 
o\ 

d'^  .. 

does  not  matter  a«  long  at  yvni  keep  )our     \" 

rye  on  getting  the  oxygm   into  the   j»r» 


Af   ♦*♦  tr- 


•  t* 

•P" 
t<  w 


and  keeping  iheni  from  tipping  over 

ExmiMBirr*  wrra  the  Oxtcsk 

The 
l>e  the  ! 
jars  with  ■•n- 
wood,  H  or  K' 

got  ready.     Light  the  splinter  ai 
ini;  ilir  ,  .'if).-  .rd  cover  fr<><«i 
ox  irost  the   . 

ter  <i'>»M  mi.,  xiic  jar.     You   »■ 
increased   brilliancy   of   its   tnir- 
you  can  instantly  ranovt  it.  rrpUmig  the     pi:<irK  aciU.  tJK 


.rn,  «M«g  mmmi  of  a 
-^  nulHi  end*  fa«t«aa4 
'e  kandU  >  o«  10  tmekrt 

tbc   liyiiM^  • 

*iHm«.  My  »  - 

unrfi.  jtm  vill  «-tf 

.f     tSr     rJ-.   ,rJ  Sti 

U4 


r 


< 


^ 


the   Jnr.  then   raising   thr   whole,   turning     pasteboard  cover  00  tfec  i 

siile  Up  ;i'  M  down  mouth      o-  ■ 

with    tl.'  mI    left     (or    a 


. ... ..   i>  ..iie  other  |M>inl  t><  •> 

notice,  and  that  is  that  li 
your  wash-dish  prKumaiic  ■ 
of  water,  the   w;aer   troin   1 

ii.t. 

or  two 
a    little 

of  wdter  and  will  tend  <<• 
over  unless  you  hold  it  0 
h.     The  gas  in  the  jar   %M)k»  \ 
'vel  than  that  of  the  ojn-n   ^ 
'\\\  dish,  as  shown  in  Fig-  ■ 


s!.,.-il.! 


iuU  o(  Witter,  inverted  mouth  '-\'^ 


6l2 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  30,  1909. 


it  should  happen  that  the  iron  wire  which 
binds  the  match  ends  together,  as  shown 
in  Fig.  2,  should  itself  take  fire,'  thereby 
anticipating  the  next  test,  do  not  worry, 
for  all  sorts  of  possibilities  may  happen ; 
but  it  is  well  to  anticipate  what  may  hap- 
pen so  that  you  can  understand  it. 

The  next  test  refers  to  the  burning  of 
the  iron  picture  cord,  prepared  accord- 
ing to  the  directions  given  in  the  last  les- 
son :  heating  it.  dipping  it  into  flour  of 
sulphur,  and  wrapping  a  bit  of  cotton 
wool  or  cotton  waste  around  the  sulphur 
while  hot.  In  this  experiment,  as  shown 
in  Fig.  3,  you  will  have  two  pasteboard 
covers,  one  already  on  the  jar  and  another 
perforated  with  a  small  hole  through 
which  the  prepared  picture  wire  extends. 
This  cardboard  and  wire  are  grasped  in 
the  right  hand,  holding  the  cardboard  be- 
tween the  thumb  and  the  first  finger  or 
fingers,  and  folding  the  third  and  fourth 
fingers  under  the  cardboard  to  hold  the 
wire  so  that  it  will  extend  down  straight 
into  the  jar  as  you  swap  covers.  The 
picture  wire  should  extend  some  4  or  5 
inches  below  the  cardboard  when  the 
latter  is  placed  on  the  mouth  of  the  jar ; 
and,  if  the  experiment  succeeds  well,  you 
will  see  the  cotton  which  you  lit  before 
thrusting  the  wire  into  the  jar  burn 
brightly,  which  will  light  the  sulphur,  and 
this  in  turn  will  ignite  the  iron  picture 
cord. 

The  picture  wire  will  burn  with  bright 
sparks  or  scintillations  thrown  oflf  in 
every  direction  from  the  burning  tip. 
Moreover,  as  the  picture  wire  burns  up, 
you  will  push  the  part  above  down 
through,  feeding  it  to  the  flame  in  the 
oxygen.  Also,  you  will  notice  that  as  the 
iron  burns  there  will  be  an  accumulation 
of  molten  globules  at  the  end  of  the  wire. 
Some  of  these  molten  globules  will  almost 
certainly  be  jarred  oflf  the  wire  by  the 
trembling  of  your  hand,  or  by  the  violence 
of  the  burning,  and  will  fall  to  the  bottom 
of  the  glass  jar,  cracking  the  glass  un- 
less you  had  the  forethought  to  protect 
the  bottom  of  the  jar  with  something  like 
a  layer  of  sand. 

Therefore,  remember  that  before  you 
start  this  third  experiment  with  oxygen, 
you  will  want  to  sprinkle  into  the  jar 
enough  clean  sand  to  cover  the  bottom  of 
the  jar  evenly,  about  H  or  Yz  inch  deep. 

AIagnetic  Oxide  of  Iron 
You  will  note,  in  addition  to  the  black 
globules,  some  brownish  particles  and,  of 
course,  you  will  understand  without  being 
told  that  bcth  the  red  particles  and  the 
black  globules  are  the  rust  or  oxides  of 
iron  produced  by  its  burning  in  the  oxygen. 
This  black  t^lobule,  by  the  way,  is  the 
magnetic  oxide  of  iron,  Fe304  (F-e-3-0-4). 
This  magnetic  oxide  of  iron  is  naturally 
magnetic  without  being  put  near  a  mag- 
net; just  as  water  is  naturally  wet,  gold 
yellow  and  coal  black. 

Incidentally,  you  will  find  it  interesting 
to   gather  some   of   these   particles   after- 


ward and  test  them  with  a  magnet,  the 
handiest  magnet  being  the  large  blade  of 
your  jackknife  which,  of  course,  you  can 
easily  magnetize  at  any  direct-current 
generator  in  any  power  house.  You  will 
find  this  magnetized  jackknife  very  con- 
venient in  making  many  tests  which  other- 
wise you  might  have  to  neglect. 

There  are  many  other  experiments 
which  you  can  try  with  oxygen,  but  per- 
haps those  that  I  have  given  here  will  be 
all  that  you  can  handle  just  at  present; 
but,  you  do  want  to  be  sure  to  make  a 
spark  on  a  wooden  splinter  burst  into  a 
flame,  on  the  one  hand,  and  on  the  other 
hand  you  want  to  be  sure  to  get  the  iron 
to  burn.  In  a  few  moments  we  will  go 
back  to  examine  the  contents  of  each  of 
the  used  jars  of  oxygen;  but  just  at 
present  you  want  to  notice  that  you  your- 
self have  answered  the  question,  proposed 
and  discussed  in  the  last  lessons,  as  to 
what  would  happen  if  the  nitrogen  of  the 
air  were  removed  and  its  place  were  taken 
by  oxygen. 

The  conditions  and  the  results  of  the 
burning  of  the  splinter,  the  matches  and 
the  picture  wire  in  the  jars  of  oxygen 
show  that  an  atmosphere  of  pure  oxygen 
would  be  the  basis  for  a  very  dangerous 
and  destructive  conflagration.  If  we  could 
live  safely  in  an  atmosphere  of  oxygen, 
and  if  you  should  build  a  fire  in  your  cast- 
iron  stove  in  an  atmosphere  of  pure 
oxygen,  you  would  see  the  stove  itself 
take  fire  and  burn  like  butter.  As  to  the 
ability  of  a  man  to  live  in  an  atmosphere 
of  oxygen,  there  would  be  nothing  poison- 
ous about  it,  but  the  body  would  be  con- 
sumed as  by  a  fever,  probably  faster  than 
he  could  eat  food  and  digest  it  to  sup- 
ply material  for  the  good  red  blood. 
There  used  to  be  an  experiment  in  this 
line,  illustrated  by  catching  a  mouse  in  a 
trap  which  does  not  injure  the  little  ani- 
mal and  letting  him  loose  in  a  jar  of 
oxygen.  If  you  should  try  this,  you  would 
undoubtedly  see  the  mouse  jumping  about 
in  a  state  of  great  nervous  excitement, 
where  he  probably  is  not  really  suffering 
pain,  but  is  simply,  literally,  "burning  his 
candle  at  both  ends."  An  animal  in  such 
a  condition  would  probably  not  live  many 
hours,  but  would  quickly  exhaust  the  food 
supply  in  the  blood  and  tissues  by  the 
over-combustion  and  excessive  burning 
due  to  the  extra  supply  of  oxygen. 

In  this  connection,  you  will  probably  be- 
gin to  get  interested  in  the  atmosphere,  as 
you  will  read  about  the  remarkable  way 
in  which  animals  exhaust  the  oxygen  of 
the  atmosphere,  and  the  equally  remarka- 
ble way  in  which  green  plants  replenish 
the  oxygen  of  the  atmosphere  by  absorb- 
ing the  carbonic-acid  gas  of  the  air,  re- 
taining the  carbon  and  giving  back  a  part, 
at  least,  of  the  oxygen  to  the  air. 

The  Atmosphere  O.n'ce  Held  Much  Less 
Oxygen  than  Now 

There  probably  was  a  time  in  the  his- 
tory  of   our   globe   when   the   atmosphere 


contained  very  much  less  oxygen  than  at 
present,  and  the  fairly  good  supply  that 
we  now  have  has  been  accumulated 
through  long  ages  by  the  continuous  ac- 
tion of  the  bright  sun  shining  on  green 
(chlorophyll-bearing)  plants.  The  present 
condition  of  the  oxygen  in  the  atmos-' 
phere,  making  about  one-fifth  by  volume 
of  the  air,  is  well  suited  for  the  support 
of  both  plants  and  animals,  and  also  for 
the  safe  burning  of  the  coal  under  your 
boiler.  If  there  were  very  much  less 
oxygen  in  the  atmosphere,  the  burning 
would  be  much  more  sluggish ;  and  if 
there  were  much  more  oxygen  in  the 
atmosphere,  the  burning,  as  shown  by  the 
experiments  you  have  made  with  your 
jars  of  oxygen,  would  be  much  more 
violent,  dangerous  and  difficult  of  control. 

Before  we  close  this  lesson  let  us  go 
back  and  examine  the  first  jar  of  oxygen 
in  which  you  burnt  the  wood  splinter. 
Pour  in  a  few  teaspoonfuls  of  limewater, 
and  you  will  get  the  same  milky  precipi- 
tate of  plain  carbonate  of  calcium  that 
you  got  in  your  earlier  experiments,  and 
with  which  you  are  now  getting  pretty 
well  acquainted.  Of  course,  you  can  treat 
this  plain  carbonate  of  calcium  in  the  same 
way  that  you  did  before,  namely,  by  blow- 
ing in  air  from  the  lungs,  and  changing 
it  to  the  soluble  extra  or  bicarbonate  of 
calcium,  although  there  may  be  carbonic- 
acid  gas  enough  in  the  jar  from  the  burn- 
ing of  the  wood  splinter  to  do  this  with-, 
out  any  blowing. 

The  next  jar  to  test  is  that  in  which 
you  burned  the  match  ends.  In  this  you 
will  pour  a  little  water,  or  if  you  poured 
water  in  at  first  to  protect  the  bottom,  that 
will  do.  Throw  in  two  pieces  of  litmus 
paper,  both  the  red  and  blue,  and  you  will 
probably  see  that  the  burning  of  the  sul- 
phur or  the  phosphorus  in  the  oxygen 
produced  the  same  acid-like  substances 
that  you  previously  got  by  burning  sul- 
phur or  phosphorus  in  the  air.  If  you 
pour  in  a  little  limewater  you  may  get  a 
white  milky  precipitate,  or  indeed  a  mix- 
ture of  two  or  three  precipitates.  These 
Vv'hite  precipitates  are  largely  the  sulphites, 
the  sulphates  and  the  phosphates  of  cal- 
cium ;  although  the  wood  of  the  match 
ends  in  burning  will  also  have  produced 
some  carbonic-acid  gas,  which  again  will 
give  you  your  friend,  plain  carbonate  of 
calcium. 

The  test  with  the  jar  in  which  you 
burned  the  iron  wire  will  probably  not 
give  you  very  much  to  note,  either  with 
limewater  or  with  litmus,  because  the 
sand  at  the  bottom  of  the  jar  will  inter- 
fere with  the  tests  ;  but  at  all  events  you 
want  to  collect  some  of  the  fused  globules 
of  magnetic  oxide,  which  you  will  notice 
are  really  bubbles,  not  solid  shot;  and 
you  will  also  want  to  preserve  the  burnt 
end  of  the  picture  wire  with  its  globule  of 
UK  Itcn   magnetite. 

Tlis  set  of  experiments  will  start  you 
still    farll.er    on    the    right    road    for   the 


March  30,   1909. 

cjcamination  of  the  atmosphere,  and  will 
give  you  many  thinKi  to  thmk  of.  If  there 
arc  any  qucbtioiis  which  you  want  ex- 
plained, just  write  them  in  a  simple  in- 
quiry to  PouEK.  and  I  will  answer  them 
to  the  best  of  my  ability. 

We  have  now  studied  something  about 
the  atmosphere  and  alxnit  oxygen,  and 
this  is  a  very  good  start  in  laying  the 
broad  foundations  of  chemistry,  for 
oxygen  is  found  in  many  substances,  and 
yet  it  represents  only  one  side  of  chemi- 
cal action,  namely,  that  of  oxidizers.  The 
other  side,  contrasted  with  that  of  oxi- 
dizers, is  that  of  reducers,  which  are  well 
represented  by  hydrfgen,  which  we  will 
study  next.  Hydrogen  is  found  in  water, 
in  all  acids,  and  in  many  other  substances; 
and  in  the  next  two  le<-sons  we  will  con- 
sider the  subject  of  hydrogen ;  first  the 
making,  and  then  the  testing  of  it.  .Ml 
of  this  you  can  easily  do  in  the  homemade 
laboratory  of  your  boiler  room. 


Illinois  Fuel  Conference 

Th«  first   Illinois  Fuel  Conference  took 
pbce  at  the  I'nivcrsity  of  Illinois,  Cham- 


IHJW  ER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

itself  with  the  training  of  mine  Iimm^  aM 

oth. 

»cr 

as   l;ti  .. 

ana,    .Mi 

and  .Misx.uri.  who  may  de»r 

thrrcir.mi.      The   formal   op^ ,    , 

station  cofiitiiuted  part  of  ibe  procetdii^s 
of  the  conference. 


Top  of    Cylinder   Blown  Off 


A  very  peculiar  accident  recently  oc- 
curred to  an  iS  and  jfi  h\  4H-inch  crms- 
compttund  Whitehill-Corlitt  eitgine  at  the 
Poughkeeptie     Heat.     I   .'•  !     Power 

Company"*     plant.     Pon.  S.     Y. 

The  entire  ti>p  of  the  |..»  ^rc  ure  cyhn- 
der  between  the  valve  chambers  was 
blown  out,  pan  of  the  casting  going 
through  the  roof. 

The  engine  was  started  at  7  JO  a.m  in 
the  usual  way  and  had  been  nttming  until 
to  o'clock,  when  the  rupture  occurred 
No  valves  had  been  touched.  n<>r  onnec- 
tions  interfercfl  with,  and  all  rr.-nver 
valves  and  line  valves  were  sealed  <>tM-fi 


^  'Se    mr.    wfiirh    atflr    k    A*^^,]. 


al    IJD 


ensinrer    Kkd    cmImI    t 


c>liuJcr        lbs 


"«  to  tke  rilwilir 

■.<   A   i.„^i   „^^, 

the    same    maaner 

cylinder      The   cauwr    m**    tfift 

water   haaamn.   mt  the    rt^mi    ted    •■• 

t  sery  lihH}  ifcM  mkIi 


it.r.Htle  ««i«e  pan  of  the  ba4f  o4  the 
valve  wai  fooad  to  Imv«  b«««  tMtrmd 
away      This,    ahhovgli    the    vahrr    va* 

ckMcd.  had  pr — «  -r^m  to  W^  mo 

the  engine  an.  proUhle  ihM  m 

ttaning  up  the  iirxr  r.«i,  of  wmtt  vhicll 
had  acnnmlaied  was  not  taken  hrtn  ca»- 
sideratton. 

As  in    the    caat   «f   ikt   lam- 
cyhnder,   no 


1 ~1Q 

0 

0 

1 


:(       ')1 


■  iiowiwt.  BMZAK  IN  LuM  i-«t.s>i-u  tvuNHDi  uT  Knutri  AT  iw«iiMar*ia 


v..i\itn.  March   It,   12  and  13.      The  confer- 

brought  together  a  varied   represen- 

u.."!!  of  those  interested  in  coal  mining. 

not    only    as    miners    and    operators,    but 

<  ngineers    anci    geoltigi^ts.      The 

■f    the    confrrciuT    v*.i>    to    find 

■    iKr    rrdtiring   the   d.iiigrf^    111.  iilnit 

\\  niiniiiv;  aii<l  to  conserve  t!  r  n  ,'■■■   ! 

rcrs  if  the  Slate  by   imi 

f  milling,  and  to  iiiili/r  ' 

vaniar^e  the  coal  after  iK-iti;*  iiiine<l     Many 

of  the  ablest   men    ass^KUied    with    this 

question,    both    from    the    practical    and 


The  engine   was   riinni«»u 
pressure    from    a    ' 
tubular  boilers,  ami  f^  m. 
u«ujlly  .1  s  pounds,  with  a  X» 
shtm  '     <rd 

It  It     Ihr   r 


Wt  and  the 


rratoC 


to 


body  al  a 


'  IplWt     pr 


cu.*  .miii, 

Thr    I'nttrf!    Stntr^    Of-I^irirsl    Surrrr. 


•leering.     I  niversily     ol      IIIiium*.     .1 
explosion    arvl    re»ei»r    »»->ii.  ti        I 
•«c  of  the  station  i«  t.. 
'tors  and   in«peiti>r«   m    ■ 
of     such     mfxterti      ■; 
' .  and  rr« 
.   to   the    i: 
of   tiiinrik      1  he   station  will  .tl- 


6i4 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  30,  1909. 


The    Lee    Smokeless    Furnace 
Under  a   Modified   Con- 
tinental   Boiler 


Something  new  in  furnace,  or  rather 
stoker,  construction  has  been  invented  by 
Thomas  F.  F.  Lee,  a  lawyer  of  some  note 
in  Brooklyn.  The  stoker  consists  of  two 
side  grates,  arranged  on  the  arc  of  a  cir- 
cle and  conforming  nearly  to  the  outline 
of  the  boiler  shell,  and  also  a  flat  grate 
immediately  beneath  the  boiler.  The  ele- 
ment of  which  the  side  grates  are  com- 
posed is  a  bar  14  inches  in  length  and  of 
the  cross-section  shown  in  Fig.  I,  that  is, 
four  fingers  with  spaces  between  for  the 
admission  of  air.  The  grate  bars  are 
mounted  in  series,  usually  four,  on  a 
square  bearing  bar  running  the  length  of 
the  furnace  and  projecting  through  the 
boiler  front,  so  that  by  means  of  a  special 
Avrench,  or  automatically,  as  indicated  at 
the  left  of  Fig.  i,  the  bars  may  be  given 
a  slight  movement  and  gradually  push  the 
coal  toward  the  bottom  grate.  The  fuel 
is  introduced  at  the  side  of  the  boiler, 
and  as  it  gradually  finds  its  way  toward 


the  bottom  of  the  furnace,  disappears  as 
gas  through  the  uptake  and  in  the  form 
of  a  very  fine  ash  through  the  bottom 
grate.  There  are  no  clinkers,  but  fine 
particles  of  carbon  drop  through  the  small 
openings  in  the  grate.  It  is  the  intention 
at  some  future  date  to  arrange  a  fine  sieve 
below  the  bottom  grate  and  by  means  of 
a  conveyer  of  special  design  return  the 
coke  to  the  fu'^nace,  leaving  nothing  but 
the  fine  white  ashes,  which  are  so  light 
that  a  small  proportion  of  them  are  car- 
ried by  the  draft  through  the  furnace  flue 
to  a  pit  arranged  at  the  rear  of  the  boiler. 
There  is  provision  for  admittance  of 
air  at  two  points  on  the  sides  of  the 
furnace  and  also  through  the  fuel  at  the 
top.  The  greater  portion  of  the  air  passes 
through  the  admission  at  the  floor  line 
and  a  part  of  the  air  enters  downwardly 
through  the  fuel  and  at  the  tops  of  the 
side  grates.  This  latter  admission  is 
necessary  to  draw  the  fire  up  through  the 
columns  of  fuel.  A  damper  is  provided, 
as  shown,  to  regulate  the  amount  of  air 
passing  through  the  side  grates.  With 
this  arrangement  the  coal  is  coked  in  the 
upper   part    of   the    side    grates,    and    the 


l\>wtr,ll.T. 


FIG.     I.     THE   LEE    SMOKELESS    FURNACE    AND    BOILER 


FIG.     4.    THE  OLD  AND  THE   NEW   STACK 

volatile  gases  driven  off  are  carried 
through  and  over  a  bed  of  incandescent 
fuel  before  they  can  enter  the  boiler.  By 
the  time  the  coal  reaches  the  active  por- 
tion of  the  grate,  it  is  completely  dried, 
so  that  there  is  no  opportunity  for  the 
production  of  smoke,  and  almost  perfect 
combustion  is  obtained.  From  the  top  of 
the  stack,  which  is  only  25  feet  above  the 
boiler,  there  is  positively  no  trace  of 
smoke. 

The  bciler  itself,  which  is  shown  in 
longitudinal  cross-section  in  Fig.  2,  is 
simply  a  modification  of  the  Continental 
boiler,  containing  a  large  corrugated  flue 
to  carry  the  gases  to  the  rear,  and  a  few 
more  tubes  than  is  usual  in  this  type  of 
boiler.  The  gases  enter  the  furnace  flue 
through  a  narrow  neck  at  the  bottom,  of 
the  same  length  as  the  grate  and  about  9 
inches  wide,  wind  around  the  large  flue 
to  the  rear  of  the  boiler  and  pass  out 
through  the  tubes  to  the  stack.  The 
boiler  is  set  on  the  floor  line,  with  a  pit 
in  front  about  3  feet  deep  to  accommo- 
date the  boiler  front,  giVing  room  for  the 
ashpit  and  space  for  the  boiler  tender  or 
fireman  to  give  the  side  grates  the  slight 
upward  movement  regulating  the  feed  of 
tlie  coal,  also  to  remove  the  ashes  from 
the  bottom  doors  visible  in  Fig.  2. 

An  installation  of  this  type  of  boiler 
and  furnace,  Fig.  3,  was  made  at  the 
Dover  Boiler  Works,  Dover,  N.  J.,  April 
T,  1907,  and  from  September  i,  1907,  has 
been  in  continual  operation,  displacing  two 
48-inch  by  16- foot  boilers  of  the  locomo- 
tive type,  rated  at  50  and  60  horsepower, 
respectively.  The  works  contains  a  Clay- 
ton air  compressor,  ioxi6xi6xioxlO 
inches,    a    second    air    compressor,    8x12 


March  yo,  lyoy. 


POWER  AND  THE  EN"<;iN'F.rR 


inches,  a  50- horsepower  Corliss  belted  en-      Uiler  in  qorttkxi  hat  handled  "•  •—     ' 

gine   and  a   25- horsepower   engine  belted     »incc    its    inttallatiaa    with    no 
to  a  dynamo.     Frequently  this  machinery     whatever.  ,„ 

is  all  running  at  the  same  time,  and  the         The  boiler  it  6  feet  in  diameter  and  II     T» 

feet  6        •        ■      . 
.^-inrh  t 

'     '  rnttom  III 

> '  ncW*  mm' 

56  inche*  long  bjr  9  mdm  wide,  and  tlw     cm  ndiacd  g- 


*  ff. 


%««lMrtMiaM 


nCb       2.      U  •."••.  I  Hli|>  ,M.     Mll|li>      fllKOl'Ctt 


AKP  f 


lUlki    J!    A 


>t  ii'stJi  »'it u  wi«fta 


6i6 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  30,  1909. 


coal  per  square  foot  of  grate,  or  nearly 
0.2  pound  of  coal  per  square  foot  of  heat- 
ing surface. 

Shortly  after  the  plaut  was  installed  at 
Dover  a  lo-hour  test  was  made  by  J.  IM. 
Whitham.  of  Philadelphia,  with  the  fol- 
lowing results :  Evaporation  from  and  at 
212  degrees   Fahrenheit,    11.67  per  pound 


ditions  were  made  by  Charles  W.  Scrib- 
ner,  of  New  York  City,  and  the  average 
result  was  an  evaporation  from  and  at 
212  degrees  Fahrenheit  of  12.8  pounds  of 
water  per  pound  of  dry  combustible. 
These  figures  are  extremely  high,  in  fact 
almost  bordering  on  the  theoretical. 

It    is    claimed,    however,    that    they   are 


supply  of  air  under  the  side  grates,  or  in 
reality  varying  the  active  portion  of  the 
side  grates,  the  boiler  will  run  just  as 
economically  at  40  or  50  horsepower  as 
at  its  normal  rating.  The  short  stack  is 
a  feature  worthy  of  note,  and  is  probably 
allowable  on  account  of  the  thin  fuel  bed 
and  the  low  rate  of  combustion,  although 
the  inventor  has  some  remarkable  theories 
in  this  regard. 

More  recent  installations  of  this  type 
of  boiler  have  been  made  at  the  plant  of 
the  Singleton  Silk  Mill  Manufacturing 
Company,  Luxemburg,  N.  J.,  which  has 
installed  a  125-horsepower  boiler;  at  the 
plant  of  the  Buffalo  Dredging  Company, 
foot  of  Porter  avenue,  Buffalo.  N.  Y.,  con- 
taining  a    lOO-horsepower   boiler,    and   at 


V^A>:: 


k^\^^K\^\\SX>Cv^V-^VV<^^^^ 


FIG.     5.     TRIPLET   DESIGN    OF   THE    LEE   BOILER 


of  dry  combustible ;  horsepower  de- 
veloped, 98.5 ;  moisture  in  coal,  8.25  per 
cent. ;  dry  ash  and  refuse,  19.38  per  cent. ; 
ash  by  analysis,  13.4  per  cent. ;  draft  at 
damper  in  stack,  0.038  inch  of  water ; 
draft  in  furnace,  0.0651  inch. 

Subsequently  two  tests  of  10  hours  each 
with  the  same  coal  and  under  similar  con- 


substantially  maintained  in  ordinary, 
everyday  operation.  The  appearance  of 
the  stack  would  indicate  almost  perfect 
combustion,  and  the  evaporative  figure  an 
unusually  high  efficiency.  The  absence  of 
smoke  and  the  simplicity  of  the  grate  are 
also  points  in  favor  of  this  construction. 
It  is  also  claimed  that  by  regulating  the 


the  Murray  Electric  Light  and  Power 
Company's  plant,  Monticello,  N.  Y.,  which 
has  installed  a  i7S-horsepower  boiler.  In 
all  of  these  plants  the  side  grates  are  regu- 
lated by  hand,  but  it  is  the  intention  in 
future  designs  to  provide  the  shaft  indi- 
cated in  Fig.  I  and  operate  the  grates  by 
cam  movement.     It  is  also  planned  to  in- 


March  jo,   upot) 


I'OWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


stall  the  sieve  under  the  flat-bottom  grate 
and  the  small  conveyer  previously  men- 
tioned. Another  innovation  is  to  arrange 
the  boilers  in  twin  or  triplet  design,  a 
view  of  the  latter  arrangement  being 
shown  in  Fig.  5.  For  the  twin  dc^ign  the 
two  lower  boilers  are  brcninht  .•l.>srr  n>- 
gcthcr  and  the  space  occiipie<l  b>  \h'-  'h\Ti\ 
boiler  in  the  triplet  design  is  ar 
with  tircbrick.  Boilers  of  the  u^ 
are  to  be  used  and  the  arrangement  of 
the  gas  passage  is  indicated  in  the  draw- 
ing. The  Smokeless  Furnace  and  Boiler 
Company.  44  Court  street,  Brooklyn,  N. 
Y.,  is  t(i  control  the  manufacture  of  these 
boilers  and  stokers  every  feature  of  which 
is  covered  by  a(>i>lication  fur  patent. 


Ejcpcncncc    with    Gas    Power   in  a 
Grist  Mill 


Bv   II.   B.   Messencck 


F'ollowing  is  a  presentation  of  actual  re- 
sults obtained  in  six  months'  operation  of 
an  85- horsepower  Jacobson  producer-gas 

engine  ami  a  suction-gas  pr<jducer 

in  a  flour  mill,  operated  entirely  by  men  who 
have  never  had  the  slightest  prexious  ex- 
perience with  gas  engines  or  pr<H|ucers 
of  any  sort.  This  engine  look  the  place 
of  a  go<Kl  automatic  steam  engine,  rated 
at  too  horseiKiwer,  maximum,  and  easily 
capable  of  delivering  90  horscfxjwcr  con- 
•••njou<.ly.  It  was  supplied  with  steam  by 
I  horizontal  return-tubular  boilers,  one 
fjo  inches  and  the  other  66  inches  in 
diameter,  and  lx>th  16  feet  long  and  rate<l 
respectively  at  Ho  and  100  h'  ' 
These  l)oilers  were  kept  thiiroii. 
inside  and  the  tul»e*  were  scr.ii»«<l  ilail). 
The  feed  water  entered  the  iH.ilt-rs  at 
nearly  the  Ixtiling  point  and  too  |»..iiniU 
boiler  pressure  was  carried.  The  ni.iin 
steam  pipe  to  the  engine  was  short,  of 
ample  capacity  and  well  jacketed. 

.•\t  times  it  took  very  g'xnl  firing  to 
keep  the  engine   supplied  with   ^'  '■ 

U'th   lM>ilrrs   rtiniiiiii;,   and   it    w 
sibic  ti>  run  all  tlir  m.i  luin  r\ 
to  its   full  capani)  .  tin-  nik'HK 
drive   it   at   full   sjK-ed      The   n- 
ron«umplion,    using    the    bc*t     ► 
CimrkTs  creek  soft  coal,  wa*  in  ' 
borhiMNl  of  two  tons  per  day,  \ 
Course,   with   the   amount   of   ss 
done,    the    «  •  f    the    Uh   • 

The   gas   ent  'le<I    I"    <liM'' '   '     '' 

steam   engine    is    (.i!.>l   by    the   •■ 
fr«»m   75   to  85  hMfsrjMiwer       li 
dein    engine,    with    cslindrr*   of    14    ' 
bore    and    iH    inches    stfke.      ft    i^ 
heavy    throughi>ul,    the    enginr 
wheeN,  mounted,  weitr'""*'   ■" 
brtrhood  of  14  ton*.     I 
plosion  >>f  rharurs   is  <»  «  1 
Scqurtur.  .111'!  tlie  engine   r 
fly  and  snu—tlilv      The  speed  i»  H"  rr\ 
lution«  per  minute. 

The   engine    wa«    «'    ■ 
on  its   regular   work. 


upon  a   new  au1o«d  of  pea   ^-'^-    ••- 
Since  then  it  has  mn  steadd)    ^ 
few    interruptions,   and   ha* 
capable   of   driving   the   eni: 

c.ir 

bar 

line  t.itk 
r'"-  nr  • 

-ing   the   engine   or 
,     ■■'   any  way      It   1%  i 
necessary  or  even  advisable  to  m.iify  the 
operator  when   this   heavy   kud   is  to  be 
adiied,  the  producer  and  the  engine  both 
taking  nre  of  the  added  lou  ' 
attention.     The  speed  regul 
best,  it  bsing  imp 
is  fairly  at   work 

';-ii  .1!  !:iiK  '  <t  uitii*.  ttilb- 

.t    ^:^ml{   .•» 

The  producer  used  with  this  plant  was 
built  by  the  Smith  Gas  Power  CcKnpany, 
Lexington.  O.     It   is   10  feet   high  and  5 
feet  in  dbmeter  on  the  outside,  lined  with 
firebrick  abr>ul  8  inches  in  thickness,  nuk- 
ing  the    inside    diameter    about    4'^    fret. 
The  ashpit   is  about  a  foot   in  depth,  and 
the   gas  collecting    ring    in    the    '■ 
pies    very    little    space       It    t<    "•  ' 
sary  to  charge  this  pr 
on  the  fire  once  each 
if  the  engine  is  running  heavily  kwdetl  it 
is   sometimes  advisable  to  settle  the  ctial 
down  compactly  about  the  middle  of  the 
day.     From  500  to  1000  po  •  '       '  -  x\  is 
put  in  once  per  day,  thi«  '  tent 

for  an   11  hour  run.  aivl  t.>  Wr.-;i  Tir  fire 
over    night       Vrrv    lii»l»-    b«*Ji    •»    thrown 
out ;   the  top  of  1  '• 
to  the  haml.  but  < 

ill  proper  onler  I  he  water  in  the  icsl 
at  the  top  wdl  last  all  tUy  witht-ut  re- 
newal.    While  the  producer  will  run  all 

day   without     "    it   has  br-—    «...in.t 

that  a  little  •  the  hrr 

nil  ■   ■       '    ■ 

as 

al 

ittK 

time  wiU  save  work  and  time  in  sUftiutf 

III    >\\r    (1^1  .f  iiiritf 


a  A  bH 


lary  %.  when  lisr  t*ack  was  kaai  ■■»» 

'1      Tb«"  r' ■fi»jfnt»?>*i  Ka*  ?«<t>  a1»  oi  Ri 

lorn  \m 

tons  per 

per  <Ij> 

Firr  Ki»  }» 
nigitt   x<v\   '  . 


coal  per  day  tlMS  tkt  00^  ia 
other  cars. 

Tbr   glMTMIlM    ol    iM 

per  horsepower -iMMir  hu  Wea 
cover    a    wide    aargta    ol    aiafcty. 
besides  ■'  .-  in  coal.  iW  lahne 

attrntK'i  '    —ich   k**  ihaa 

required  Utt  the  aeMB  pomtt  Oae 
d'<««  the  m>t\i.  a«  fx  did  wsill  the  « 
pbm.  but  he  lo  a 

outside  work  _-   .  ti«^ 

has  been  known  ' 


to 
to 

tf 


nun   ncirr    ugs.    j 

chuhf^iL  etc    1' 
les« 


lol 


<>«-•    teffr     •SM% 


IW 


xi..til    mttall 

o4    p*m« 
.  of^ose  • 

Lecture 

00  Wairr  Ti^ 

6i8 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGIXEER. 


March  30,  1909. 


The  Boiler  Inspector 


DEVOTED  TO    THE   GENERATION   AND 
TRANSMISSION"   OF  POWER 

Issued  Weekly  by  the 

Hill  Publishing  Company 

Jobs  a.  H:ll,  Pres.  and  Treaa.         Kobebt  JIcKean,  Sec'y. 

505  Pearl  Street,  New  York. 

355  Dearborn  Street.  Chicago. 

6  Bouverie  Street,  London,  E.  C. 


Correspondence  suitable  for  the  columns  of 
Power  solicited  and  paid  for.  Name  and  ad- 
dress of  correspondents  must  be  given — not  nec- 
essarily for  publicatioa. 

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Entered  as  second  class  matter,  April  2, 1908,  at 
the  post  office  at  New  York,  N.  Y.,  under  the  Act 
of  Congress  of  March  3,  1879. 


Cable  address,  "Powpub,"  N.  Y. 
Business  Telegraph  Code. 


CIRCULATION    STATEAIEXT 
During    1908    we    printed     and     circulated 

1,836,000  copies  of  Power. 

Our    circulation    for    February,    1909,     was 

(weekly  and  monthly)  151,000. 

March  2 , 42.000 

March  9 .^T.OOO 

March  10 37.000 

March  23 37.000 

March  .30 37  000 

Xone  sent  free  reijularUj,  no  returns  from 
news  companies,  no  had;  numhera.  Figures 
are    live,    net    cirrulutioii. 

Contents  page 

Bennings  Power  House  of  Potomac  Electric 

Co 581 

Catechism  of  Electricity 588 

Expensive  versus  Inexpensive  Back    Pres- 
sure     590 

Some  Recent  Developments  in  Marine  Safety 

Valves 594 

Engineering  in  the  Eighteenth  Century 593 

Purge  Device  for  Ammonia  Conden.sers 6C1 

Washing   and    Coking   of   Rocky    Mountain 

Coals 601 

The  Truth   About  the  Small  Reciprocating 

Engine 602 

Practical  Letters  from  Practical  Men: 

.\    Water    Motor.  ..   Bridgewalls 

Power  Increase  Due  to  Compounding 
....It  Should  be  Plus.  ..  .Removing 
Commutators   .  .    Remedying  a  Packing 

Trouble. .  .  .Regrinding    Valves A 

Lighting  Problem.  .  .  .Gravity  Feed  Oil- 
ing Sy.stem.  ..  .Composition  Di.sks  for 
Globe  Valves.  ..  Repairing  a  Center 
Crank ....  Condensers  for  Fluctuating 
Water  Level ....  Heat  in  Steam Key- 
ing Flywheels.  .  .  Cause  of  a  Runaway 
Engine.  ...  A  Return  Steam  Trap.  . . . 
Will  the  Load  on  the  Bolts  Change? .... 
Setting  of  Steam  Eccentrics.  .  .  .Method 

of  Cutting  Nipples 603-610 

Some  Useful  Lessons  of  Limewater 611 

Top  of  Cylinder  Blown  Off 613 

The  Lee  Smokeless  Furnace  Under  a  Modi- 
fied Continental  Boiler ; .   614 

Experience  with  Gas  Power  in  a  Grist  Mill.  .   617 
Editorials.  .  618-619 


Sometimes  an  inspector's  report  makes 
absurd  demands  or  recommendations,  but 
this  is  no  more  reason  why  the  engineer 
should  condemn  the  principle  of  inspec- 
tion than  that  he  should  refuse  to  con- 
sult a  pliysician  when  some  member  of 
his  family  is  sick,  simply  because  some 
"dub  of  a  doctor"  had  cut  open  a  friend 
to  remove  his  appendix  and  found  the 
trouble  to  be  caused  by  his  kidneys. 

With  men  who  are  equal  as  regards  the 
gift  of  observation  and  the  ability  to  rea- 
son from  cause  to  effect,  the  boiler  in- 
spector has  opportunities  "to  perfect  him- 
self in  diagnosing  boiler  troubles  so  far 
superior  to  those  of  the  operating  engi- 
neer that  comparison  seems  absurd.  A 
boiler  inspector  sees  thousands  of  boilers 
where  the  engineer  sees  one. 

Instead  of  looking  forward  to  the  in- 
spector's visit  as  an  unpleasant  duty,  to 
be  got  through  with  as  soon  as  possible, 
and  with  the  least  trouble,  look  upon  it 
as  an  opportunity  to  add  to  your  store  of 
knowledge,  and  the  possibility  of  your 
finding  some  contemplated  change  in  your 
equipment  which  will  be  worth  while. 

No  one  has  a  corner  on  ideas,  and  it  is 
very  likely  that  John  Smith,  who  has  a 
plant  almost  the  same  as  yours,  is  a  pro- 
gressive engineer  like  yourself,  and  is 
always  scheming  to  add  to  the  economy 
of  his  plant.  Possibly  some  of  the  saine 
changes  have  occurred  to  him  as  being 
beneficial  that  you  now  have  under  con- 
sideration, and  it  may  be  that  he  has  tried 
some  of  them  with  success,  while  others 
proved  failures.  You  cannot  avail  your- 
self directly  of  ]Mr.  Smith's  experience, 
because  you  do  not  know  him,  and  are 
not  likely  to  meet  him,  his  plant  being 
located  in  another  State. 

Now,  the  inspector  who  goes  to  Sinith's 
plant  also  comes  to  yours,  and  Smith  has 
told  him,  with  pride,  of  the  different  im- 
provements he  has  made,  and  if  he  is  a 
real  broad-gaged  engineer  he  has  also 
told  him  of  his  failures;  and  if  you  will 
only  make  a  friend  and  confidant  of  the 
inspector  you  will  have  much  of  Smith's 
experience  at  your  command,  as  well  as 
that  of  a  great  many  other  engineers. 
You  can  never  gain  the  inspector's  good 
will  by  making  his  duties  hard.  Boiler 
inspecting  at  best  is  a  tiresome  and  dirty 
job  and  you  do  not  gain  the  inspectoij's 
respect  or  good  will  by  making  him  crawl 
through  three  feet  of  ashes  or  drag  himself 
through  a  lot  of  mud  in  the  bottom  of 
your  boilers  to  make  his  inspection. 

Make  his  labors  as  easy  as  possible,  and 
what  adds  as  much  to  his  comfort  as 
properly  preparing  your  boilers  for  inspec- 
tion is  to  show  him  by  your  manner  that 
you  are  glad  to  have  him  visit  your  plant, 
and  appreciate  the  points  he  can  give  you 
regarding  the  kinks  your  brother  engi- 
neers are  using.  No  matter  how  you  re- 
gard the  inspector's  opinion,  never  try  to 


deceive  him  regarding  the  condition  of 
your  plant,  and  do  not  leave  him  to  find  a 
defect  which  you  know  to  exist,  but  tell 
him  of  it.  By  such  tactics  you  at  once 
gain  the  confidence  of  the  inspector  and 
at  the  same  tiine  disarm  him  in  his  posi- 
tion to  give  you  information,  regarding- 
your  plant,  which  you  as  the  responsible 
head  should  be  aware  of  yourself.  The 
inspector  has  nothing  to  gain  by  making 
you  his  enemy,  and  the  chances  are,  by 
long  odds,  that  if  he  turns  in  a  report  re- 
garding your  plant  which  you  do  not  con- 
sider good,  he  thoroughly  believes  he  is. 
right  and  is  merely  doing  his  duty  to  his 
company  and  your  employer  as  he  sees  it. 
Never  take  exception  to  an  inspector's, 
report  unless  you  are  prepared  to  show 
conclusively  that  you  are  right,  for  if  the 
inspector  is  right  (and  in  the  great  ma- 
jority of  cases  he  is  right),  and  he  can 
prove  it,  your  objections  merely  strengthen 
his  position  with  your  employer,  and 
will  greatly  injure  yours  in  any  future  con- 
troversv. 


Boiler  Room  Supervision 


If  you  were  conducting  a  chemical 
works  in  which  some  fifty  dollars  worth  of 
chemicals  were  converted  per  hour  by  a 
process  which,  with  reasonable  care, 
would  yield  eighty  per  cent.,  but  which 
might  easily,  through  the  personal  factor, 
be  dropped  to  fifty,  would  you  go  out  tO' 
the  dump  and  hire  the  cheapest  laborer 
who  could  handle  a  shovel  and  put  him 
in  charge  of  the  departinent?  The  burn- 
ing of  coal  is  a  complicated  chemical  pro- 
cess. The  transfering  of  the  heat  which 
is  generated  by  that  combustion  into  water 
and  the  production  thereby  of  steam  is  a 
process  which  affords  opportunities  for 
economy  or  waste.  The  apparatus  in 
which  these  processes  are  conducted  is 
usually  under  high  pressure,  a  source  of 
danger  if  carelessly  or  ignorantly  handled, 
however  safe  and  adequate  it  may  be  in 
competent  hands,  subject  to  rapid  dete- 
rioration and  costly  repairs  largely  avoida- 
ble by  skilled  and  intelligent  manipula- 
tion. 

We  do  not  advocate  the  placing  of  the 
1)oiler  rooin  in  charge  of  a  professional 
chemist,  but  there  are  men  who  are 
specialists  in  this  line  who  can  save  a 
very  considerable  proportion  of  the  coal 
which  is  fired  in  the  average  plant,  men 
wlio  know  how  much  coal  a  fireinan  can 
rind  ought  to  handle  per  shift,  and  how 
lie  ought  to  fire  it ;  men  who  are  capable 
of  detennining  tlie  value  of  the  coal  which 
\()U  get,  and  of  the  composition  of  the 
fine  gases;  capable  of  getting  the  largest 
amount  of  steain  per  dollar's  worth  of 
coal,  of  keeping  down  leaks  and  repairs 
and  of  forestalling  accidents  and  shut- 
downs. 'But  this  class  of  man  does  not 
work  for  a  dollar  and  a  half  a  day  and 
would  not  be  content  to  hang  his  clothes 
on  a  buckstave  bolt  and  wash  in  a  pail. 


March  jo,   i^og. 

Firing  is  dirty  work,  but  there  is  enough 
clean  money  to  be  !>avcd  by  doing  it  rigliT 
to  make  it  worth  while  to  pay  a  hi){h-clas% 
man,  and  the  physical  r.  oan  be 

improved  to  sucli  an  cxt>  ,ey  will 

not  repel  men  of  that  character. 


i*c)\vi:k  and  the  exgi 


f>t9 


Coal  Consumption   and  Power 
f^lant  Economy 

One  of  tlic  iir>t  (|iie!>tions  a  vi<>iting 
engineer  naturally  a>k<i  is:  "What  i>  yi.ur 
coal  consumption  per  kilowatt-  or  per 
horscp<jwcr-hour?"  He  wishes  to  tind 
this  out  so  he  can  compare  the  work  of 
his  plant  with  that  of  others. 

It  is  well  to  remember  that  the 
coal  consumption  per  unit  of  output  is 
at  best,  only  a  partial  indication  of  the 
efficiency  of  a  power  station,  although  it 
depends  greatly  ufxin  the  way  in  which 
the  Ixjilcrs,  auxiliaries  and  engines  are 
handled,  with  respect  to  the  load  varia- 
tions, h  is  far  more  important  to  ap- 
proxinutc,  if  possible,  the  total  cost  of 
power  pro<liiction  per  unit,  including  the 
principal  items  of  fuel,  lalxir.  water,  oil, 
waste,  re{»airs  and,  in  some  case>,  sundry 
j'rms    fif    piirrly    operatf  ■  nt    or 

kjIs.     Of  CKiirse,  the  ti>t  not  Ijc 

known  until  the  fixed  charK^^  atr  iisMir<<!. 

The  total  c«>al  couMiniption  per  kilo- 
watt-hour may  be  higher  one  year  than 
>nolher,  and  yet  the  total  power  cost  ex- 

hisive  of  fixed  charges  may  be  less.  In 
one  case,  the  c<»al  consumption  was  j-45 
pounds  per  kilowatt  Initir  one  year,  and 
,\.J<i  |H.niids  the  next.  The  cost  of  power 
nianul'actured  in  the  first  year,  however. 
vas  1.2J  cents  per  kilowatt-hour  and  the 
'  cond    year    l.i4    cent*.      Thus,    quite    a 

■ticeahle    difference    in    the    amount    of 

•al  used  per  unit  of  output  really  pro- 
liiced  little  effect  on  the  plant  ctfst  of 
ii(>eration  as  a  whole.  This  does  n«>C 
mean  that  the  coal  consumption  was  un- 
imp«>rtant  at  any  lime,  however,  for  it  i« 
"Illy  by  pruning  tlown  all  exce*«  quanti- 
'  's   in  plant   o|KTation  that   tl- 

ins  low  eiiouKh  to  make  a  w 
:ig.  The  chief  reasons  why  the  com  wj* 
I  little  greater  in  this  plant  in  the  >rar 
when  the  coal  consumption  per  kilowatt 
hour  was  the  least  were  an  increase  of 
i.t  cents  |»er  Ion  in  the  coal  co»i  at  ihe 
plant,    an    imrrase    in    ihe    w.i'  * 

Scnn     .-III    iiiirr.i«r    of    $7(»>    iti 


which  was  frr^nMy  nn  imtvmsm   hn^r     tm  r^nt  .  f  »fci»  r  ^r.l  :,    ..-,,   -♦.^w 
i!i    ihc    .|. 
v"al    per    ■ 
Has   10  c< 
>car.      \N  I 

t.oing  oscr  the   records  of    •  Mhmml    mamt   o4 

'•^'•il    we   find   that    the    imj.  •  1  r    iiHwinail 

Mufacturc  was  $7000  less  in  the  hmhcr  ^  -i,^  ^^  ^^^ 

.    so   that     ' 

'^"*"  •"  '  ^  IW  facta  to  !l  > 

'-'  <J«m»-      c«,c  thai  thm  «;  *  auuvi- 

'^'   '  -ints   it     ri   •    i    fa'.f  ■  .w« 

■    It  far  from 

<-ry    al     the 

capactnes    for    which     il     was     designed. 

There  is  scarcely  any  for"^  .»  •■ "tx      ,, 


known  to  powerpbnt  r 

will    operate    efliicienlly    ai     1   »     .    •;   i;«, 

compared  with  the   results  which  can   I* 


•i  'it   rrun-ji.*.  T  ,i'r     .f    nvtrinrr 


^     ing  op  the  scams  to 


lot    1^ 


e      tivuiufactarer  at   the    ii—    4t 

I 
1 

taken   inl<  .ind   thi« 

way    of   act;......     itng   out    Wh..;    ..    ,..-..  .,      j„      r^'.^^rfr'  Jj-Wr 

turbine   installation   will  do,  it   will   sr<«i      siderable   data  iIms   fo 

be    seen    that    opcri'  Ml     botirr    (ailort    u       oc     *f«iaii«    ol    tbc 

load  as  possible  is  r  rtmmry 


less  will  he  the  tlacion  labor  and  rrpair     i 
cost  |irr  unii. 

It    Material  or  Method   KrapunsitJc 
for  Lap  Joint  Cracks  } 

Th. 

chief       .» : 

I'sers*   Association,   iot     W7.     refers    to      "^ 

numer '--      '    >    .1--    .1..-    _•.  1 

were  • 


f     •«r1 


•Vsl   Vr 


(strrat  g 


II-  ••i»e  set 


■he  caaac  of  Um  •■ 


a   plani 


iy     a     ilttlr      Ir 
<  the  year  whni  • 
•riHluction  was  higher. 
During  annihrr   y*"^' 
'>n  the  coal  used   1 
me   as   in    thr 
hut    the    lot    • 


on!   iS  I ■• 
r    vear   %» 


620 


POWER  AXD  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  30,  1909. 


Power  Plant  Machinery  and  Appliances 


Original     Descriptions 
No     Manufacturers'      Cut? 


o  r 


Power     Devices 
Write-ups      Used 


MUST    BE     NEW     OR    INTERESTING 


Lagonda   Feeding  Device 


We  illustrate  herewith  a  new  device 
that  permits  the  operator  to  sit  in  a  com- 
fortable position  on  a  platform  or  scaf- 
fold outside  the  boiler  and  with  very  lit- 
tle physical  effort  feed  the  turbine  tube 
cleaner  into  one  tube  after  another.  In- 
stead of  supporting  a  heavy  weight  of 
hose  and  cleaner,  the  hose  responds  to  his 
will  by  his  merely  turning  the  crank. 
.After  a  tube  is  finished,  the  operator 
draws  the  turbine  into  the  funnel  shown 
at  the  end,  and  by  a  new  setting  of  the 
feeding  device  the  funnel  is  centered  over 
the  next  tube  to  be  cleaned.  The  adjust- 
ment requires  only  a  moment  and  the 
water  need  not  be  turned  off  until  all  the 


Section   A-.\ 


FIG.     I.     HOW   THE    M  GIEHAN    DEVICE    IS    INSTALLED 


that    when    one    is    turned    by   the    crank 
the  other  turns. 

The  Lagonda  feeding  device  may  be 
used  with  any  make  of  turbine  cleaner, 
and  is  manufactured  by  the  Lagonda 
Manufacturing  Company,  of  Springfield, 
Ohio. 


The  McGiehan    "Smoke    Eliminat- 
ing"  Furnace 


LAGO.VDA    FEEDING    DEVICE 


.Another  device  designed  to  eliminate 
smoke  when  burning  bituminous  coal,  and 
to  increase  the  efficiency  of  steam  boilers, 
is  illustrated  herewith.  It  is  known  as 
the   "McGiehan   patent    smoke-eliminating 


tubes  are   cleaned,   thus   effecting  a   great 
saving  of  time. 

The  mechanism  of  this  device  consists 
of  a  funnel  through  which  the  cleaner  is 
guided  into  the  tube,  a  stand  and  shaft- 
ing to  support  the  funnel  and  hose,  and 
to  provide  adjustment  over  the  different 
tubes.  The  shafting  is  jointed  and 
snapped  together  with  triggers,  so  that 
the  sections  can  easily  be  handled  and 
used  in  the  limited  space  between  the 
boilers.  On  each  section  of  shaft  are  a 
spool  and  rack  on  which  the  hose  is 
rolled.  The  shafting  is  held  in  the  cen- 
ter of  the  manhole  by  a  tripod  rigidly 
braced  from  the  edge  of  the  manhole. 
Extending  from  this  tripod  is  the  feed- 
ing device  proper  for  feeding  the  hose 
into  the  tube.  There  are  two  capstan- 
shaped  rolls  which  inclose  and  grip  the 
hose,   and  which   are  geared  together  so 


-Ceaiii  Presi. 


FIG.     2.     SHOWING  THE   STEAM    NOZZLE 


March  30,  1909. 


K3VVRR  AND  THF  EN« 


6«t 


ftimacc."   designed   by    P.    H.    McGiehan, 

-amcrville,  N.  Y.,  and  handled  by  \V.  H. 

.{oward,  90  West  street,  New  York  Cit). 

1  he  device  can  be  installed  with  any  lyj>c 

f  boiler. 

Under   the  boiler,  between   the   bridge 
all  and  the  rear  wall  of  the  netting,  is  a 
iccker    wall,   as    shown    in    1-ik     I-      Ex- 
tending  from  the  rear  end  of  the  iK^iler. 
through     the     combustion    chamber     an«l 
lieckcr   wall   is   a  pipe,    on    the    end    • 
Ahich   is   a   tec,   turned   down   as   shown, 
for    the    purpose    of   admittmg    air    in    a 
heated  state,  between  the  bridgewall  and 
the  checker  wall,  in  passing  through  the 

•  ombusiion  chamber.  The  pipe  is  covered 
vith  t'lrebrick. 

To  assist  in  the  combustion  of  the  fuel 
a  steam  noz/le  is  intrnduccd  on  the  si<le 

•  if  the  furnace,  constructed  a*  shown  in 
!  ig.    2.      It    is    shaped    something   like    a 

•  .uble-ended  telephone  receivtr.  the  oater 
ud  Jjcing  the  larger— alK;ut  6  inches  in 
iiamctir— the   inner  end  l»eing  oblong.  4 

inches  wide  and  7  .,  inches  long. 

This  device  can  \>c  sci-n  in  opt-ration  un- 
Icr  sixteen  7X1H  fi  <it  rcturn-tiibtilar  b>il- 
.  rs   at   the    Rockland    Print    \VMrl^s   (iar 
nerville,  N.   Y.     From  obscrxatmus  made 
by  the  writer  it   is   workiiii;   satist'actonly, 


■r  it   V'^I  »f««i  to  W  a 


immnliilr  tc*«k 


yi    the 


renonal 

jrMae   Krot  \.i-     '    * 

.    cdttor    ot    iKt     .     • 

AVtuttr.     Cfc»«iMMi.      Okmx.     to     Wna»« 

'--irctftnc  cdMor  ci  Imdmttrmi  BMimttr- 

•'■tbrntt,  iVm.  a  mtw  nf  rr  4ii— ■^ 

hMMcal-««cto««nnB   latitrti.      M« 

hM*    brm     villi    tlir    lr*m     T*%4f 

;.  Mocr  i«D^  aad  fnm  io  (K>t  tim^ 

nc    3.    USfLT*  WTTM   AKO  WTTHOtT  tXMlW      ••»     •••«*'■••     •*•«     ^     ^ 

THK  u'onHAn  Dcvmi  Rtt4fm. 


the  mr-'-  --      '  engineer  al  the  pbnt  uat- 
injj   •  1    a*   170  pcf  crnl.   of  the 

U>ilcr  r..!;   g  ha*  l»rr«  olMaincd  and  he  has 
licftt   aM.-   to    r»aporate     frnm     11     to     I J 

•n  and  al 
I  .1  of  coml 


T>,* 


rT)0tnrrt     ifv 


f     jrkrfl 


•1     iijrm     14         I  r»r     '-••»*» 


«>  y*mr%  old 


iATvmoAV.  MAWii  &,  on  UnriTATI-.H  .  r 
AMOCIATH'W  rsin   s  \ 

OrMATloX 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


March  30,  1909. 


Anniversary  and  Presentation 

The  twelfth  anniversary  of  the  Engi- 
neers" Bkie  Ckib  of  Jersey  City,  N.  J., 
was  celebrated  by  an  entertainment  and 
ball  at  Columbia  hall  on  Wednesday 
evening,  March  17.  An  exceptionally 
good  vaudeville  program  was  followed  by 
dancing.  During  the  evening  William 
Cronley  called  to  the  stage  John  J.,  Calla- 
han and  presented  him  a  very  handsome 
badge. 


Business  Items 


The  Dakota  Gas,  Electric  Light  and  Power 
Company,  Wagner,  S.  D.,  has  purchased  from 
the  MinneapoUs  Steel  and  Machinery  Company 
an  SO-horsepower  Muenzel  producer-gas  engine 
and  suction  gas-producer  plant.  This  outfit  will 
be  installed  in  the  electric-light  plant  at  Wagner, 
where  there  is  already  one  Muenzel  unit  in 
operation. 

Tripp  metallic  packing,  manufactured  by 
William  B.  Merrill  &  Co.,  Boston,  Mass.,  has 
recently  been  applied  to  the  48-inch  plungers 
at  the  Dorchester  pumping  station.  City  of 
Boston.  Two  more  sets  of  the  same  diameter 
are  now  in  process  of  construction  for  the  same 
station.  The  large  diameters  of  these  plungers 
demonstrates  what  this  type  of  packing  will 
do  on  ttiis  class  of  work. 

The  first  fountain-pen  plant  in  Canada  has 
just  been  placed  in  operation  by  the  L.  E. 
Waterman  Company,  at  St.  Lambert,  Que. 
The  plant  is  entirely  electrically  driven,  the 
current  being  generated  on  the  premises.  The 
generator  is  a  Crocker-Wheeler  belt-type  three- 
phase  60-kilovolt-ainpere  600-volt  60-cycle 
machine,  running  at  1200  revolutions  per  minute, 
furnished  by  the  Canadian  Crocker-Wheeler 
Company,  Ltd.,  of  .Montreal.  It  is  driven  by 
a  Bellis  &  Morcan  English  vertical  engine.  This 
machine  was  installed  for  immediate  Use,  and 
Ihe  plant  will  be  doubled  before  it  is  completed. 
The  exhaust  steam  is  used  for  heating  the 
buildings. 

Recently  the  Crocker- Wheeler  Company  has 
had  a  large  call  for  direct-current  motors.  One 
of  the  largest  orders  of  the'year  in  this  line  is 
that  received  from  the  Sprague-Warner  Com- 
pany, Chicago,  for  31  small  motors  ranging 
from  1  to  20  horsepower,  and  aggregating  about 
150  horsepower.  An  order  for  21  motors  for 
1-5  to  10  horsepower  to  drive  printing  machinery 
has  been  placwl  by  Clark  &  Courts,  Galveston, 
Tex.  The  Pittsburg  Steel  Company,  Monessen, 
Penn.,  has  placed  an  order  for  two  75-horsepower 
500-volt  motors  to  drive  draw  benches.  The 
American  Auto  Course  Company,  Chicago,  has 
orde/ed  15  small  motors  of  i  horsepower  each, 
and  the  Newton  Machine  Tool  Company  has 
ordered  a  22-horsepower  adjustable-speed  motor, 
with  1:2  speed  ratio.  An  order  for  nine  crane 
motors  has  been  received  from  the  King  Bridge 
Ojmpany,  of  Cleveland.  A  large  number  of 
orders  for  single  motors  have  also  been  booked. 

The  new  1909  catalog  of  the  Nelson  Valve 
Company,  of  Philadelphia,  has  been  issued 
and  contains  220  pages  bound  in  cloth.  The 
catalog  shows  gate,  globe,  angle  and  check 
valves  made  in  large  variety  of  metals.  Among 
the  new  features  are  included  the  newly  patented 
bronze,  swing,  check  valves  and  hydraulically 
and  elect rically  operated  gate  valves.  The 
listing  of  steel  gate  and  globe  valves  for  high 
pressures  and  superheated  steam  marks  a  new 
era  ih  high-class  valve  construction.  Another 
new  departure  of  note  is  the  listing  of  open- 
hearth  steel  fittings.  The  use  of  engravings 
showing  both  inside  and  outside  views  is  gen- 
erous; the  descriptive  articles  and  dimensioned 
lists  immediately  opposite  the  engravings  facili- 


tate easy  and  critical  study  of  each  valve.  Test 
pressures  as  well  as  the  working  pressures  are 
given  in  each  case,  so  that  the  valve  user  has 
a  definite  basis  for  selection  of  the  valve  he 
wants.  While  this  catalog  is  extensively  pub- 
lished, it  is  offered  free  on  lequest  of  any  reader. 
The  Morehead  Manufacturing  Company,  of 
Detroit,-  Mich.,  has  sold  some  of  its  Morehead 
vacuum  traps  for  use  in  connection  with  steam- 
turbine  service  to  J.  G.  White  &  Co.,  Inc.,  engi- 
neers and  contractors,  of  New  York,  who  employ 
this  trap  for  draining  the  exhaust  line  between 
the  turbine  engines  and  the  condenser  at  the 
new  power  plant  of  the  Delaware  &  Hudson 
Company,  Mechanicsville,  N.  Y.  Two  No.  4  More- 
head  vacuum  traps  are  used  at  this  plant,  the 
two  installations  being  in  duplicate.  These 
traps  are  used  in  conjunction  with  a  2000-kilowatt 
vertical  turbine  of  the  Curtis  type.  The  inside 
dimension  of  the  exhaust  pipe  is  7  feet  9  inches 
wide  and  2  feet  deep.  The  vertical  distance 
from  center  of  outlet  to  center  of  outlet  is  25 
feet  75  inches.  The  horizontal  distance  from 
face  to  face  of  the  flanges  of  the  exhaust  duct 
is  9  feet  6  inches.  The  condenser  is  of  the 
Worthington  barometric-tube  type.  The  approx- 
imate vertical  fall  from  the  receiver  on  the 
exhaust  duct  to  the  water  line  in  the  trap  is 
about  8  feet.  The  tray  discharges  directly 
into  the  discharge  conduit  from  condensers. 
The  water  of  condensation  discharged  from 
the  trap  is  thrown  away.  J.  G.  White  &  Co. 
have  just  completed  a  series  of  exhaustive 
tests  in  the  working  of  these  Morehead  vacuum 
traps  and  report  satisfactory  operation  in  every 
respect. 


New  Equipment 


The  Philadelphia  (Penn.)  Warehousing  and 
Cold  Storage  Company  will  build  an  eight-story 
cold  storage  and  freezing  plant  as  addition  to 
the  present  plant. 

The  Toms  River  (N.  J.)  Ice  Company  has 
been  incorporated  by  J.  P.  Haines,  Chas.  B. 
Mathis  and  Caleb  Falkenbaugh  to  manufacture 
ice.     Capital,  $20,000. 

The  People's  Electric  Light  and  Power  Com- 
pany, Silver  Creek,  N.  Y.,  is  in  the  market  for 
two  gas  engines,  60-  and  80-horsepower.  Henry 
H.  Brand,  chief  engineer. 

The  Charleston  Light  and  Power  Company, 
Charleston,  Miss.,  has  been  incorporated  by  J.  H. 
Caldwell,  W.  B.  Burke,  E.  D.  Dinkins  and 
others.     Capital,  $10,000. 

The  council  of  the  city  of  Columbus  has  author- 
ized the  issuing  of  $45,000  bonds  to  install 
a  2000  kilowatt  turbo-generator.  G.  H.  Gamper 
is  superintendent,  department  of  lighting. 

The  Berkeley  Ice  and  Storage  Company, 
Martinsburg,  W.  Va.,  has  been  organized  by 
George  Showers,  H.  P.  Thorn  and  others,  to 
establish  ice  and  cold-storage  plant.  Capital, 
$50,000 

The  Elizabeth  &  Perth  Amboy  Traction  Co. 
is  being  formed  to  construct  an  electric  railway 
from  Elizabeth  to  Perth  Amboy,  N.  J.  Chas. 
A.  Trimble,  Elizabeth,  N.  J.,  is  one  of  the  incor- 
porators. 

The  City  Council,  Tacoma,  Wash.,  has 
authorized  the  Commission  of  Public  Works 
to  advertise  for  bids  for  furnishing  two  com- 
pressors, one  air  receiver  and  two  electric 
motors  for  Station  ('. 


Help  Wanted 

A'lrrriisrmriits  under  thix  head  are  in- 
»( rtvd  for  'IT,  cents  prr  line.  About  six  words 
viake   a    line. 

EXPERIENCED  engine  salesman,  Chicago 
territory.      State    age,    experience    and    salary. 

Box    21,     I'OWEK. 

AN  ENGINEER  in  each  town  to  sell  the 
I»est  rocking  grate  for  steam  boilprs.  Write 
Martin  Grate  Co.,  281   Dearborn   St.,  Chicago. 


WANTED — Thoroughly  competent  steami 
specialty  salesman  ;  one  that  can  sell  high- 
grade  goods.    Address  "M.  M.  Co.,"  Power. 

WE  WANT  REPRESENTATIVES  to  handle- 
metallic  packing  in  Pittsburg,  Cleveland  and 
Cincinnati.  National  Metallic  Packing  Co.,. 
Oberlin,   O. 

ELECTRICIAN  for  North  Carolina  smolr- 
ing  plant.  Must  fully  understand  powei- 
plant  electrical  work.  Address,  wath  par 
ticulars  about  experience,  salary,  etc.,   "H.  T. 

C,"     Box    18,     POWEK. 

WANTED — Man  with  .$5000  to  invest. 
Must  have  executive  ability  and  unquestion- 
able honor.  To  take  charge  of  power  plant 
department  of  engineering  company.  Give 
references   and    experience.      Box    19,    Power. 

ENGINEER  for  North  Carolina  smelting 
plant  :  must  be  sober,  intelligent  and  fully 
able  to  take  charge  of  power  plant  of  1500 
horsepower.  Address  with  full  particulars, 
about  experience,  salary,  etc.,  "C.  T.  II.," 
Box  18,  Power. 

Situations  Wanted 


Advertisements  under  this  head  are  in- 
serted for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  icordii- 
make   a   line. 

GEORGE  N.  COMLY,  consulting  engineer. 
1816  West  Genesee  St.,  Syracuse,  N.  Y.  Can 
give  best  of  references  if  desired.  Correspond- 
ence   solicited. 

AS  ENGINE  TENDER  to  work  under 
chief  engineer.  One  year's  experience  with 
small  engine  ;  strictly  sober,  can  furnish  ref- 
erence.    Box  20,  Power. 

MANAGER,  sales  manager  or  traveling: 
commercial  engineer ;  20  years'  experience, 
electrical  and  mechanical  lines.  M.  F.  Har- 
wood,    20   Howard    Place,    Jersey    City,    N.    J. 

SITUATION  wanted  by  practical,  licensed 
engineer ;  10  years'  experience  in  power  and 
refrigerating  plants ;  desire  position  as  as- 
sistant engineer  in  Chicago  or  vicinity  :  not 
afraid  to  work.  Address  James  Carmichael, 
99   Crossing    St.,    Chicago,    111. 

POSITION  as  electrician  with  a  company 
having  good  chances  for  advancement.  An 
I.  C.  S.  student  with  five  years'  experience  in 
electric  service.  At  present  employed  and. 
reouire  ten  days'  notice.  Prefer  Chicago. 
Box    12,    Power. 


Miscellaneous 


Advertisements  under  this  head  are  in- 
serted for  25  cents  per  line.  AVout  six  tcords- 
make   a   line. 

P.\TENTS  secured  promptly  in  the  United 
States  and  foreign  countries.  Pamphlet  of 
instructions  sent  free  upon  request.  C.  L. 
Parker,  Ex-examiner.  U.  S.  Patent  Office, 
McGill   Bldg.,    Washington,   D.   C. 

IN  ORDER  TO  SETTLE  an  estate,  an  at- 
tractive opportunity  is  open  to  a  party  with 
$150,000  competent  to  fill  responsible  posi- 
tion either  in  the  scales  or  manufacturing  de- 
partment, to  purchase  an  interest  in  a  well 
and  favorably  known,  profitable  machinery 
manufacturing  plant  located  in  Pennsylvania,, 
with  an  office  and  established  trade  in  New 
York    City.      Address     "Executors,"     Box    3, 

I'OWER. 

WANTED — A  secondhand  cross-compound 
or  tandem-compound  Corliss  condensing  en- 
gine to  develop  about  ■'i'>f*  h.p.  at  100  lbs. 
steam  pressure.  Some  concern  may  be  con- 
templating an  enlargement  of  their  plant, 
or  a  change  in  their  power  etiuipment.  and 
have  such  an  engine  to  dispose  of  in  the  course 
of  the  next  few  months.  They  might  like 
to  take  the  matter  up  with  the  advertiser. 
Kindly  state  where  the  engine  can  be  Keen 
and  its  price.  Address  "New  York,"  Box  6, 
Power. 

For  Sale 

Advertisements  under  this  head  are  in- 
serted for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  words 
make    a    line. 

LARGE  LOT  second-hand  Bundy  traps;  re- 
built with  mv  improvement  ;  better  than 
new.     W.   II.   Odell,   M.    E.,   Yonkers,    N.   Y. 

150  HORSEPOWER  tandem  compound  Cor- 
liss engine  in  good  order;  1  <V  wheel:  24  in. 
face.    F.   W.   Iredell,   11   Broadway,  New   York. 

FOR  SALE — One  0x12  Armington  &  Sims 
automatic  high-speed  piston  slide  valve  en- 
gine. Can  be  seen  in  operation  until  April  1. 
Studer    Bros.,    Api)le    Creek,    Ohio. 

FOR  SALE — 20x48  Wheelock  engine  and 
two  72"x18'  high  pi-essuro  tubular  boilers  in 
good  condition  cheap.  Address  "Engineer," 
B(,x    2,    Station    A,    Cincinnati,    Ohio. 


April  6,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGINF.F.R. 


Analysis  of  Steam  and  Inertia  Forces 


KJd 


Inertia  F  orce*  of  a  1  ancicm-Compound  Lnginc  and  That  Combuul 
with    the  Steam   Forces  in     ELach     Cylinder    Exprcated     Graphically 


B  Y 


F. 


W. 


H  O  L  L  M  A  N  N 


In  engines  operating  with  a  high  piston 
speed,  it  is  desirable  to  know  how  much 
the  inertia  of  the  moving  parts  affects 
the  driving  effort  and  the  crank-  and 
wrist-pin  pressures.  If  an  engine  knocks 
on  the  centers,  it  is  easily  explained,  but 
when  a  knock  occurs  in  a  later  period  of 
the  stroke,  it  might  cause  some  guessing. 
In  starting  and  stopping  the  piston,  with 
its  rod  and  crosshead,  energy  is  consumed 
and  given  up.  The  amount  consumed  is 
theoretically  equal  to  the  amount  given 
up,  and  therefore  should  not  affect  the 
power  of  the  engine,  but  in  some  cases 
the  forces  caused  by  the  starting  and 
stopping  of  masses  rfioving  at  high  speeds 
exceed  the  useful  steam  forces  and  cause 
parts  to  be  subjected  to  great  stresses. 
The  accompanying  diagrams  show  such 
a  case  which,  although  not  very  common. 
ii  of  interest  because  the  heaviest  strcMCS 
exist  when  the  lightest  would  b«  ex- 
pected. A  few  words  miKht  be  said  in 
regard  to  the  way  in  which  diagrams  of 
this  sort  are  plotted. 

If  the  mass  of  reciprocatmg  weight 
were  concentrated  at  the  crank  pin  and 
oonsiderrd   to   revolve    with    it.    it    would 


v.'v^.i.  .1  centrifugal  (or«.c   mui.h  ik<.>ui<J  tx 
eqtui  to 

/A-    ' 
where 
If      W  ( ik;i)t  in  pounds. 

ty  of  crank  pin  in  fc«t  per 
■.K  ■■ltd, 
t  =  J2  J.  and 
R  =  Radius  in  fccL 


Again,    M    TiK    nut  'itc«j    lo    dM 

crank  pin  by  as  >  ^  cosBact- 

ing  rod,  tke  masa  wtU  U  Accelerated  froai 
the  inner  center  ap  10  ike  g»4egn<  posi- 
tion, at  wkiek  k  wiB  kave  ms  m^uammm 
vefaxtty.  and  tkeo  ii  wdl  be  rnardrd  nndl 
the  lft>  decree  poMUoo  n  rf>cke4  At 
the  jero  and  iftv^cgree  pomis  ike  tottm 
exerted  by  tke  pouit««  a*d  nagative 
accrleralioot  wil  be  e^nnl  lo  Ike  rnart|» 
ugal  force  wkkk  w««M  rssati  il  tke  nHta 
revolved  in  tke  paik  ol  ike  rranfc  pSL  At 
any  irrtermedistr  posit  tea  Ike  valoe  ol  Ike 
force   •'  W  rr^nired  lo  ftw  ii 

titf   nr,  r  'fiti.tfi    Bill  }w    racr*l  |0 

tkii  fke 

angie   wnKH  irx   crins   mmar*   aim  \m»  !■■• 

tkroogk  Ike  inner  ai 
T  'if  Ikt 

of  these  lacrtaa  fcwcm^ 
senting  tkcae  vahM*  caa  ke 
tke  aid  of  cakuhM^  wkick  wil  gtvt 
Tke  JBfli  n 


nc    I. 


Mirnoo  or  oarAiMtwc  iwrnnA 

tALVtM 


tf-.t). 


rm^*r>t  jitf  *• 


r;.     S     •' 


#  BWTI"' 


624 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  6,  1909. 


to  the  value 


to  the  same  scale  as  the 


If  a  radius  C  A,  Fig.  I,  were  taken  equal 

A 

indicator  diagram,  and  a  circle  described, 
then  solving  equation  (i),  first  dividing 
both  sides  by  the  area  of  the  piston,  for 
various  angles  of  6  and  plotting  these 
values  from  the  ends  of  the  radii  on  lines 
horizontally  as  G  K,  a  parabolic  curve 
BOD  would  result.  This  will  be  nearly 
an  arc  of  a  circle,  except  for  very  short 
connecting  rods.  Having  described  the 
circle  with  radius  C  A,  lay  off 


CO  =  DE  =  BF  = 


R 


CA, 


100 
r.p.m. 


and  through  these  points  draw  an  arc  of 
a  circle  DOB.  Then  for  any  crank  angle 
G  C I  the  inertia  value  G  K  is  obtained^ 
and  for  H  C  A  the  inertia  value  K  H. 
The  force  G  K  multiplied  by  the  area  of 
the  piston  would  be  required  to  accelerate 
fhe  reciprocating  mass,  and  H  K  multi- 
plied by  the  area  of  the  piston  would  be 
required  to  retard  the  mass  at  its  re- 
spective velocity,  assuming  the  crank  pirv 
to  revolve  at  a  uniform  rate. 

To  get  the  corresponding  piston  posi- 
tion for  the  angle  6,  describe  another 
circle  with  a  radius  equal  to  half  the 
length  of  the  indicator  card,  and  from  the 
point  where  the  radius  C  G  or  C  H  inter- 


where 
W  p> 


g  R 


fig;     2.     INERTIA    DIAGRAMS    OF    HIGH-PRESSURE  RECIPROCATING  WEIGHT 


Centrifugal  force  mentioned, 


Angle  which  the  crank  makes 
with  the  center  line. 


R 
L 


Ratio    of   crank    to    connect- 
ing rod. 

The  sign  -|-  is  used  for  the  forward 
stroke  and  —  for  the  return  stroke. 

Another  formula  which  gives  the  corre- 
sponding piston  position  for  the  angle    6  is 

S=R  [(I— coi6)  ±  i^  nw^ej, 

where  6"  is  the  distance  from  dead  cen- 
ter, +  is  used  when  measuring  from  the 
inner  center  and  —  when  measuring  from 
the  outer  center. 

Substituting  in  formula  (1)0  and  180 
degrees  for    S  gives 

W  z/' 


Let 


F  = 

gR 


gR 

W  v' 

gR 


(-4)- 


=  F,^    and   in   order   to   ex- 


press the  inertia  forces  in  terms  of  pres- 
sures per  square  inch  of  piston  area,  di- 
vide the  values  by  the  area  of  the  piston. 
Then 


F 
A 


F, 


(■  +  ^)- 


FIG.     3.     INERTIA  DIAGRAMS   OF  LOW-PRESSURE   RECIPROCATING    WEIGHT 


April  6,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  I 


J  ^1  10 

•-in»    .. 


dkr 
Cff  in* 


^   tht  imt 


htch 


r4 


c>ir  ikr  ralsM  for  ia>  rri-«j 
nuaotr.     TW  ««lar»  M  tk«  br- 
icmning  arr  ukcn  M  iMS»tn«  «a4  iMtf  r4 
brlow  thf  lii»r.  bcca«M  Uwm  lorrra  «rr 
•art   tbc  pMoa   vkih 
r«q«ir<d  to  ttep  iW 
an*:  ar«  tamiAtrtA  a 


tht 


f.x 


rc» 


for 


5*      (ul 


^  opf  ri«tr  «i4  ••»*  *- 
tW  Ngti  y»*»Mf« 


car 

front  Tr>r   »if  am   r 

tin   •obtrartH. 


•^   »crc» 
CI  M« 


rt&   4.   iNMCATua 


626 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  6,  1909. 


tiplying  it  by  the  piston  area  in  each 
case  and  adding  the  resulting  values  to- 
gether. 

Fig.  6  gives  the  results  of  the  three 
cases.  The  table  on  page  625  gives  the 
maximum  crank-  and  wrist-pin  pressures 
in  the  different  cases.  The  wrist-pin  pres- 
sures are  a  trifle  larger  than  they  should 
be,  because  half  the  connecting-rod  weight 
was  taken  as  the  reciprocating  weight. 
The  crank-pin  pressures  are  a  trifle  low, 
because  the  centrifugal  force  due  to  the 
revolving  weight  of  the  rod  was  neglected. 

Fig.  7  gives  diagrams  of  the  points  of 
maximum  crank-pin  pressures  and  points 
at  which  pressure  reversals  take  place. 


Case  1 


Case  2 


Case  3 


FIG.    7.    PRESSURE  REVERSALS   AND  MAXIMUM  PRESSURES  ON  CRANK  PIN 


Case    3 


FIG.    6.    COMBINED   HIGH-  AND    LOW-PRESSURE    FORCES 


\pril  6,  IQOQ 


POWER  AND  THE  I 


KtL 


Standpipes  on  a  Water  Power 
Supply 

Bv  W.  E.  Ckane 

-cveral  years  ago  the  writer  wa»  ralleH 
upon  to  s.ilvc  a  problem  in 
a  water  {)4>wcr  plant,  which  : 
interest  to  warrant  a  description. 

There  were  two  pipes,  each  7'/,  feet  in 
diameter  and  jooo  feet  long,  the  total 
head  being  102  feet.    Attached  to  one  pipe 


br 

CI). 

it. 


wnter  took  then 


runabU 

.i>^X   fh*! 


•    'hi* 

•o 

■tt  or  two  car* 
wuaU  ao(  gntnmt*  to  COtfci 
inff  «bc«4t.  to  tk*  kaclH 
pcooiiwd  oa  10  f«<«l  »b 


ll 


coutd  be  expected  woold  be  *  \ 
the  pipes  of  4  feet  per  sccoad.  t 
not  over  a  feet  per  tecoad  »a« 
There  was  none  too  nradi  water 


llr«« 


uurma     bowrrrr.  n  <<-\/i  weailwr.  vkm  ic* 


nc 


nc      I       :\n    :\\'i   ~    ■   >i»i7    i-ii»     1  1  "> » 


Wrrr     twi       ■(■•I  n"r>rjM.»rr     wmii'     .m-i    « 

45  horicpower  rxfitrr   wheel:  and  lo  the     !•■ 
other,     a     I"' 
wheel*  for  ll. 

pi>Hrr     .uxl     .III'   •  I.' 

W>irr|«  wrrr    17   t<  «  ' 

•   ihey  wrrr  H 

.1 .(!.    mil  the   1-  :..:  

tiibet. 
,  M.    .,,,..;«  were  all  »*"-'•'•"—•'•••••''  • 
■rneralnri    and    the     ' 


tAYm*T  or  rtriwc  rtoM  dam  to  ftAwr 

_  r'l.ii  iif  ih*    »raf 


•  IlltnrTf-  ■ 
how    ■!< 


•M  li 


iM-f 


628 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  6,  1909. 


vents,  and  these  were  installed,  although 
the  writer  advised  pipes  at  least  5  feet  in 
diameter,  as  the  temperature  in  that 
locality  was  liable  to  be  bo  degrees  below 
zero  for  a  month  at  a  time. 

One  night  it  was  proposed  to  shut  off 
one  of  the  pipes,  and  a  man-  going  that 
way  volunteered  to  close  the  gate  at  the 
dam.  The  chief  electrician  took  it  upon 
himself  to  open  all  the  gates  on  that  pipe 
to  draw  off  the  water  as  quickly  as  pos- 
sible. It  so  happened  that  both  vents 
were  frozen  up,  and  about  300  feet  of  the 
pipe  near  the  dam,  which  was  ^  inch 
thick,  collapsed  into  the  form  shown  in 
Fig.  3 


condition  of  the  plant.     Fig.  2  shows  the 
torn  condition  of  a  section  of  shell. 

It  was  arranged  to  inspect  the  tanks  a 
week  before  the  accident,  but  for  some 
unknown  reason  the  tanks  could  not  be 
given  to  the  inspector.  This  risk  had  just 
been   assumed   by  the   Casualty   Company 


)ome 


Notes 


on 


'  iring 


Boil 


ers 


By  Victor  White 


The  working  of  boiler  fires,  while  much 
more  a  matter  of  practical  experience  than 
theory,  is  governed  by  certain  rules.    The 


Explosion  of  a  Rendering  Tank 


Herewith  are  the  particulars  of  an  ex- 
plosion of  a  rendering  tank  at  the  plant 
of  the  St.  Louis  Hide  and  Tallow  Com- 
pany, St.  Louis,  Mo. 

The  explosion  occurred  at  about  4 
o'clock  in  the  morning.  There  were  ten 
tanks,  fed  from  a  boiler,  the  safety  valve 
of  which  was  set  at  45  pounds,  the  tanks 
being  operated  at  a  pressure  of  about  40 
pounds.  It  was  No.  i  tank  which  ex- 
ploded, and  an  examination  showed  that 
the  tank  apparently  failed  at  the  vertical 
seam,  as  it  was  found  that  the  metal  along 
this  seam  was  so  reduced  by  corrosion  as 


FIG.     I.     THE  WRECKED  PLANT 


:>!,(, ;Hj.\    01     SJItLL  01    THE  EXPLODED  TANK 


to  be  only  about  1/16  inch  thick.  The 
plate  was  torn  down  the  seam  in  ques- 
tion, outside  of  the  calking  edge,  nearly 
the  full  length,  from  about  3  feet  from 
the  top  to  and  around  the  bottom  head, 
wiiich  was  blown  some  distance  away. 
The  original  thickness  of  the  plate  was 
^i  inch.  The  damage  will  amount  to  at 
least  $20,000.     Fig.   i  shows  the  wrecked 


of  America,  and  had  heretofore  been  car- 
ried by  another  inspection  and  insurance 
company.  It  is  stated  that  the  reports 
on  file  at  the  plant  showed  that  no  in- 
ternal inspection  had  been  made  of  this 
particular  tank  since  June,  1908,  'and  it 
was  reported  at  that  time  that  the  shell 
platfes  and  rivet  heads  in  the  tank  which 
exploded  were  deteriorated. 


furnace  fire  acts  at  the  same  time  as  a  gas 
producer,  a  gas  igniter,  an  air  filter  and  a 
refuse  holder.  It  is  by  bearing  this  in 
mind  that  the  rules  for  firing  are  evolved. 
Other  things  being  equal,  gas  is  much 
more  readily  liberated  from  coal  the  smal- 
ler the  size  of  the  lump.  For  this  rea- 
son dust  firing,  i.e.,  blowing  powdered 
coal  with  an  air  blast  into  an  incandescent 
chamber,  has  been  recommended.  Washed 
slack,  however,  forms  a  good  fuel  for 
furnace  fires.  Large  coal,  by  inclosing  the 
gas  until  the  lump  breaks  open,  acts  as  a 
gas  retort,  and  unless  the  coal  cleaves  or 
opens  out  very  evenly,  irregular  admix- 
ture of  gas  with  air  and  possible  smoke 
is  produced.  This  particularly  applies  to 
coking  coal.  Lump  coal  is  more  unwieldy 
to  handle  than  slack,  and  extra  labor  has 
sometimes  to  be  employed  in  breaking  it* 
up  into  sizes  small  enough  for  convenient 
firing.  On  the  other  hand,  the  interstices 
lietween  slack  coal  are  smaller  than  in 
lump ;  the  air  has  more  difficulty  in  pass 
ing  through ;  the  use  of  small  coal  necessi- 
tates the  reduction  of  the  spaces  between 
the  firebars  to  keep  the  coal  from  falling 
into  the  ashpit;  too  strong  a  draft  is  not 
permissible  for  fear  of  carrying  the  smal- 
ler particles  into  the  flues;  hence  a  very 
thin  "filter  bed"  of  coal  to  obstruct  the 
air  must  be  maintained. 

Thin  Fire  Essential  with  Small  Coal 
Since  the  fires  must  be  kept  thin  with 
slack  coal,  more  skilful  firing  is  required 
than  with  thick  fires  of  lump  coal;  any 
irregularity  of  firing  produces  weak  places 


April  6,  1909. 

an  the  fire,  which  later  develop  into  hole« 
under  the  action  of  the  draft,  letting 
colder  air  (which  will  obviously  pass  in 
greater  quantity  through  the  w  ' 
•sistance)  pass  the  tire  without  ; 
the  incandt-sccnt  material.  A  thin,  even 
fire  is  o^cntial  in  using  small  coal  The 
thicknt<s  varies  with  the  intensity  :  Ir.-i!'. 
and  quality  and  size  of  coal  used  (  n  ••  wii'n 
load  on  the  boiler),  but  after  Ik-h-.k  ex- 
perimentally determined  should  be  >.trictly 
adhered  to.  With  a  draft  of  ^  inch  and 
good  anthracite  slack,  a  depth  of  about  4 
inches  of  fire  is  necessary.  Increasing  the 
<lepth  by  injudiciously  heavy  firi- 
the  fire  and  is  a  sure  method  »  : 
the  pressure.  In  hand  firing  tht-  ^-rrcvt 
method  of  stoking  small  coal  is  to  dis- 
tribute it  in  light  sprinkles,  by  slightly 
IwistinK  the  wrist  of  the  hand  holding 
the  shovel  handle  at  the  moment  of  fir- 
ing, over  the  grate  in  an  even  shower 
Eight  or  ten  shovelfuls  are  sufficient  at 
«ach  firing  over  a  grate  area  of  y>  ..r  ifi 
square  feet,  the  firinus  succccdini/  « .irh 
other  at  interval- 
and  tht-rcforr  \ar 

men  must  be  caretully  watciinl  '.n  thiv 
Xtoint :  tluir  tendency,  particul.irly  whm 
from  the  navy,  is  to  fire  heavily  and  then 
lake  a  quarter  of  an  hour's  spell,  produc- 
ing in  this  way  much  smoke  and  waste. 

Cuisr  GRit»s  OS  Firing  Dooas 

AiMJthcr  practice  in  frequent 
leads  to  mcfficiency  is  that  of  «■; 
grids  on   the 'firing  floors  of  th«-   Hifiijic 
front,  allowing  cold  air  to  draw   in  o\cr 
the   fire,   with   the   object   of   mixing   this 
air  with  unburnt  gas  and  avoiding  smoke. 
The  dimiiuiticm  of  smoke,  where  effected, 
i«  gainrii  at  the  sacrifice  of  furnace  tem- 
perature unless  the  grate  area  is  too  small 
to  allow  a  sufficient  quantity  of  air  to  pass 
through,     the     projx-r     way     to    produce 
»mokrlr*s  combustion  is  to  keep  the  cor 
reel    thinness    of    fire    all   over   the   grate, 
and  to  rire  lightly  and  often.     Where  the 
^■riucc   IS  divided  into  two  grates,  alter 

'riy  firing  one  grate  and  then  the  other 
Kivc»  the  best   results,  one  tire  bring  in 
ondcvrnt  when  the  other  i»  emitting  un 
<onsum«-f|    w  ■      .uising    1' 

and   watc  in  the   ' 

appears  to  U    iiii|>r.*ved.     Thr 
of    air     during     hand     firing 
•v<iidr«|.  It  i»   »r«ii  that  quick  handlittg  ui 
-shovels  tends  to  economy 

Avr.11>  Fiiu.irNT  Chamcks  in  Va»tttt  nr 
Coal 

,  I  iir    rK-ii..M..r    i»f   the    Ci>..: 

I     «hould   he    v-arrfultv    studiril        I 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER- 
'S ould  send  unburm  fuel  through  the  fir»> 
bars.  Coking  coal  is 
with  the  poker. 


from   < 

thin  an 

heat  is 

from  the  nrc,  U" 

and  if  p<js»ible  it 


■htm 
arc 


i     m    Au^:tica:ui4i    ihc     Be 


of  air  i* 


through  the  fire  by  ni 
crs.  It  must  be  borne  ; 
vantage  of  increased 
|f>     -■- 

of    \r.r. 
If     is     w 


II  •    do   not.    tor 

w  „         r,    as    ihry    re.j 

treatment 

Frequently      i- ■"....,-   from   *>*«-•    v»r..-f. 

of  coal  to  ai  Id  be  av< 

always    found    inat    a   particular   f^i    »m 

bum    best    in   a    certain    tvpr   of   furnace 

Iloiler.  the 

gr.itr  r*r' 

f.  ■ 

h. 

while  boiler*    having    ample    r<>mbu«tion 

'>|iace    g<»    best    wufi    1.  ni?    j'jrT  i- l-    i-uls 

Change  of  coal  | 

of  the  f  ■    ...   ...,  ...  ,  .        •>-    . 

pitch  <■;  »rs,  and  in  the  writer'* 

opinion  the  ^man 

to  alter  hi*  •*»*" 

cl 

*» .. 

it.     It     often     umkrevtimatcsl     by     boikf 

nianavrr* 

CutAlitlK. 

1  hr    .l.ifiii»cr»    and    the    atr    ■'■ 

.1   .   .  V  iiir      111     rffv-irtif     rnfi' 


tW  graic.  lM*i«g  ite  ditktt  o«  each  Mf 
Baco*«r»d  Tkts  dtafcar  m  tkoi  p^M 
o«l  ihro««h  the  inm  doers  o4  ihc  fw- 
nare  hy  mum  of  the  rake,  atea  it  m 
qacnched  vak  aatcr.  la  ite  paila*« 
hack  aMthod  the  dmktr  M4rr  ^  t  'I 
B»u«i  be  dislo4g«d  aa4  4naa4  oai  «* 
well  as  poiiiblt  by  the  shee  aad  r^» 

Before  dcariwg    a    (•*'    *'     ••^^■^4    be 
bomed  ik>«n  as  OHarh  .  <«& 

of  the  f'"-  »-•-•'     .  „  „,    -  ..  Mil 
ers^     Ir  -A^V  **4  bonHB 

air  door*   tno.:, :   ur   taoi  ahJi  the  bars 
are  laid  bare,     li  h  okeseas  Iha*  ^aidi* 

f  iral 
If  <r  two 

•««Mc  feet  of  gran  aras 
raey  6rc«  haWag  basa 
ThM  lacladsd  fraan 
:    f >iag    Ikr    bars- 
No  atirnpt  was  made  to  traa  rtM 

off  "'  • -  »-'Khs.  aad  the  caal 

»w  la 

stKk«   !'   ir-.r    ■  rrtksrs  and  bescfcs  of  the 

fnmare,  the  sbce  hmbsi  be 

•-  aiast  be  takca  ao(  le  brtag 
the  brkhworh.  abkh  »»« 

aad  coairaettos^  m  thM  operaiK*' 
aheac  waal*  —t trial  h» 
«iTT    rv4    raaiiin     m-.vf     'ftit' 


in 


-li 


tng  arr 
pcaoca* 


fr- 


cuiAi  ateg  aaa  w 
der  As  *e  liar 
.  the  iiiwia   w<l 


R»«Ki«c  Fiti 


Wheaab. 

f-rrs  are   -li   > 


«! 

ihra  rf«>»«^ 
wantevt 


t* 


lev 

«i«i  the 

.    •      tt.r 


i~-r^    aisa    »■•    •-••'!■ 


•A 


«e  M« 


a  •»•  «*•  *• 


«•    ♦•r««. 


the    other    hand,     j'' 


Aas^f   «?f  ^^  !••  ••?" 


630 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  6,  1909. 


acute  when  the  damper  doors  are  per- 
fectly air-tight — a  condition  unfortunately 
not  often  realized  owing  to  the  warping 
action  of  the  heat  on  sheet  metal.  Should 
such  danger  be  apprehended,  however,  a 
small  hole  may  be  drilled  in  the  damper, 
and  the  air  holes  in  the  firing  doors  be 
left  a  little  open,  to  sweep  away  all  gases 
generated. 

]\IECHANICAL   SXOKERS 

These  are  divided  into  two  classes  ac- 
cording to  their  method  of  working, 
"sprinkling"  and  "coking"  stokers.  The 
former  attempt  to  imitate  the  light 
sprinkle  of  coal  given  equally  to  all  parts 
of  a  fire  by  a  skilled  fireman.  The  gen- 
eral method  of  regulation  is  the  same  as 
for  hand  firing,  the  only  difference  being 
the  substitution  of  machine  for  hand 
labor.  The  second  type  of  stoker  adopts 
the  more  scientific  method  of  dividing  the 
gas  production  from  the  gas  ignition. 
The  coal  is  fed  steadily  into  the  furnace 
from  the  front  of  the  firebars,  being  de- 
posited on  a  dead  plate,  and  is  then 
gradually  carried  backward  by  a  move- 
ment of  the  bars,  until  the  unconsumed 
remainder  falls  over  the  back  end  of  the 
bars  into  the  pit. 

On  first  entering  the  red-hot  furnace 
the  coal  is  heated  and  its  volatile  gases 
given  off,  the  fixed  carbon  and  incom- 
bustibles  remaining.  These  gases  sweep 
backward  along  the  fire  and  upward  to 
the  heating  surfaces,  and  the  portion  of 
the  coal  which  has  been  for  some  time  in 
the  furnace,  and  which  is  now  coked  and 
incandescent,  ignites  the  gases,  the  sheet 
of  flame  spreading  up  against  the  heat- 
ing surfaces.  By  this  gradual  and  sys- 
tematic ignition  the  full  heat  value  of  the 
coal  is  realized.  The  main  duty  of  the 
attendant  on  a  coking  stoker,  when  it  is 
in  good  order,  is  to  proportion  the  rate  of 
feed  of  coal  onto  the  bar  and  the  rate  of 
travel  of  fuel  to  the  ashpit  to  the  load 
carried  by  the  boiler;  to  see  that  no  un- 
consumed fuel  is  carried  over  to  the  ash- 
pit by  too  quick  a  travel,  and  to  make 
sure  that  the  coal  on  falling  onto  the  dead 
plate  really  does  ignite.  For  this  latter 
purpose  inspection  doors  are  provided  in 
the  front  or  side  walls  of  the  furnace. 

The  saving  of  labor  may  be  roughly 
gaged  by  the  fact  that  whereas  a  skilled 
fireman  could  not  well  dispose  of  more 
than  two  tons  of  slack  coal  per  hour  on  a 
peak  load,  doing  nothing  else  but  firing, 
and  would  be  exhausted  if  worked  at  this 
rate  for  eight  hours,  a  man  working  with 
mechanical  stokers  in  good  order  can 
continuously  dispose  of  seven  to  eight  tons 
per  hour,  his  duties  including  the  disposal 
of  ash  and  clinker  (if  the  ash  heap  is  not 
far  distant)  and  the  regulation  of  feed 
water. 

The  method  of  starting  fires  in  a  me- 
chanically stoked  boiler  is  the  same  as  for 
a  hand-fired  plant.  With  dampers  a  quar- 
ter   open    several    shovelfuls    of    brightly 


burning  coal  are  fed  equally  over  the  bars, 
or  kindlings  of  wood,  oily  waste  and 
paraffin  may  be  used,  and  the  furnace 
lightly  hand  fired,  the  dampers  being 
opened  a  little  as  the  fire  increases.  The 
automatic  gear  is  then  put  into  operation. 
Mechanical  stokers,  though  not  so  flexible 
as  hand  firing,  can  with  proper  supervision 
be  made  to  follow  sharply  varying  loads, 
such  as  are  rnet  in  electric-light  and  power 
stations,  with  entire  satisfaction. 


Catechism   of  Electricity 


loio.  What  is  the  test  for  voltage  in 
the  supply  wires  F 

Connect  a  voltmeter  across  them  and 
see  if  there  is  a  deflection  of  the  pointer. 
If  a  voltmeter  is  not  at  hand  and  the  cur- 
rent is  normally  supplied  at  220  volts, 
connect  two  ordinary  incandescent  lamps 
in  series  and  then  connect  them  tempo- 
rarily across  the  supply  wires.  If  they 
light,  the  current  supply  is  all  right ;  if 
they  do  not  light  and  their  filaments  are 


■-9 


Power,  .V.  r. 

FIG.     285.    DIAGRAM    SHOWING   HOW   A   MOTOR 

MAY   OPERATE   UNDER   MISLEADING 

CONDITIONS  ON  A  THREE-WIRE 

SYSTEM 

not' broken,  there  is  no  current  in  the  sup- 
ply wires  or  the  voltage  is  much  too  low. 
On  a  500-volt  circuit  five  lamps  must  be 
used  in  series  instead  of  two. 

loii.  What  is  the  method  of  pro- 
cedure in  case  the  motor  is  improperly 
connected  f 

If  the  motor  fails  to  start  by  reason  of 
being  improperly  connected,  its  armature 
can  be  freely  turned  by  hand ;  the  con- 
nections, however,  may  all  be  secure  and 
there  may  be  current  in  the  supply  wires. 
If  the  field  circuit  of  a  shunt-wound 
motor  is  properly  connected,  the  pole 
pieces  should  be  strongly  magnetic  when 
the  main  switch  is  closed.  Farther  than 
this  no  definite  rules  can  be  given  that 
will  apply  in  every  case.  Unless  the  at- 
tendant is  perfectly  familiar  with  the  wir- 
ing of  the  particular  motor  giving  trou- 
ble he  should  consult  the  diagram  of  con- 
nections accompanying  the  machine  and 
from  it  learn  if  the  connections  are  as 
they  should  be. 

1012.  On  a  thr^e-wire  system  is  it  not 
possible  for  lamps  to  burn  properly   but 


the  conditions  of  the  circuit  to  be  such  as 
to  prevent  the  running  of  a  motor f 

Yes.  If  one  of  the  two  generators  sup- 
plying the  system  becomes  reversed,  both] 
the  outside  wires  of  the  supply  circuit] 
will  be  of  the  same  polarity.  Although  I 
lamps  connected  between  either  outside 
wire  and  the  center  wire  of  the  system 
will  light,  a  motor  connected  to  the  out- 
side wires  of  the  system  will  not  run. 

1013.  Are  there  any  other  misleading 
conditions  of  a  similar  nature  on  a  three- 
zvire  system? 

Yes.  One  of  the  outside  wires  of  a 
three-wire  system.  Fig.  285,  may  be  open 
at  X  and  yet  a  motor  c  connected  beyond 
the  break  may  get  current  at  no  volts 
through  the  lamps  I  connected  between 
the  outside  wire  on  the  same  side  as  the 
break  and  the  center  wire.  A  220-volt 
motor  operating  in  this  way  will  not  be 
able  to  run  anywhere  near  full  speed  ow- 
ing to  the  supply  voltage  being  no  in- 
stead of  220,  and  the  resistance  of  the 
lamps  /  being  in  series  with  it. 

The  center  wire  d  of  a  three-wire  sys- 
tem may  be  open  and  yet  riot  affect  the 
operation  of  a  motor  at  c  because  the 
motor  is  connected  to  the  outside  wires 
only. 

1014.  //  it  is  suspected  that  friction 
trouble  is  preventing  the  motor  from 
starting,  what  should  be  done? 

The  cause  of  the  friction  should  be 
ascertained  and  removed  as  previously  in- 
structed, before  an  attempt  is  made  to 
run  the  motor.  In  starting  up  a  motor 
after  a  trouble  of  this  kind,  it  is  advisa- 
ble to  switch  on  the  current  just  long 
enough  to  see  if  the  trouble  has  been  en- 
tirely removed  before  leaving  it  on  per- 
manently. 

1015.  What  are  the  indications  that 
the  motor  will  not  start  on  account  of  too- 
heavy  a  load? 

The  fuses  melt  or  the  circuit-breaker 
operates ;  an  ammeter  connected  in  cir- 
cuit with  the  motor  indicates  a  larger 
current  than  that  required  by  the  motor 
at  full  load ;  the  insulation  on  the  arma- 
ture begins  to  smoke.  An  overload  on  a 
series-wound  motor  does  no  harm,  as  the 
motor  will  start  up  as  soon  as  the  load 
is  reduced.  On  a  shunt-wound  motor,, 
however,  an  overload  is  a  more  serious 
matter  because  the  armature  is  liable  to- 
burn  out. 

1016.  What  should  be  done  when  it  is 
found  that  the  motor  will  not  start  by 
reason  of  too  much  load? 

The  main  switch  should  be  opened  at 
once  and  the  load  reduced.  If  the  fuses 
have  melted  they  must  be  replaced  with 
new  ones,  or  if  the  circuit-breaker  has 
opened  it  must  be  closed,  before  closing 
the  main  switch  preparatory  to  starting 
up  under  a  smaller  load. 


pril  6,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER 


^1 


Tube    Tiles    Used    to    Form    Furnace    Roof 


Encircling   the   Lower   Row  ol  Tube*    m    a    V^alcr-t. 
Refractory    Firchrirk   Tiles   to   ItKrease   EHicicncv   ami 


H  >rtil 


B      Y 


A. 


B 


M 


N       I 


When  the  Are  is  located  directly  under 
the  exposed  tubes  of  a  watcr-tuhr  IhiIUt, 
the  volatile  gases  arise  immediately  .iin.Jii;^ 
the  tubes,  with  the  result  that  the  tem- 
perature of  the  gases  is  so  quickly  reduced 
that  no  further  combustion  takes  place. 
In  this  w^y  a  large  amount  of  smoke  is 
produced,  especially  if  high  volatile  coal 
is  used,  and  at  the  same  time  a  considera- 
ble heat  loss  results  from  the  failure  to 
burn  all  of  the  gas.  This  fact  is  one 
that  has  been  recognized  for  many  years, 
but  it  is  only  within  the  last  five  or  six 
that  a  systematic  attempt  has  been  made 


cover  onc-haH  of  a  tube;  tlnu  two  ult% 
are  required  to  inclo«c  the  - 
foot   of    iM    Imtnh    .inH.    j- 
back    t<<  ii)c 

t)oiler,  w  •■  re- 

quisite length  to  the  root,  a  space  bring 
left  at  the  back  end  of  the  rf«>f  «•  'Kj? 
the  gasrs,  after  having  passed  u: 
may  enter  among  the  tubes  of  ii.'  l^  un 
at  its  rear.  This  scheme  of  employing 
tiles  applied  in  this  manner,  originated 
in  Chicago  some  mx  or  •*vm  yean  ago 
with   W    L  ing  engi- 

neer of  the  '  '<>a  Com- 


per   ccat,  wkOc   al    iW    mmc   tarn 
capacity  was  incmMd  abo«i  j  per 
over  wkat  lud  bcca 
ga*  baflr 

The  origJDal  dtiif  for  tiln  w 
bjr  Fig.  J.  The  locces*  aOmdMl  ■! 
tbc  cnployvMBt  m  Ibcm  nks^  ■ol  OHy 
affecting  t 

V4«fM-M.  b«t  protgiion  aSbrdv^  tkr 
■iilcr.  caMcd  tb*  aHlgrr  ol 
design,  adopt  aad  inttitl  a 
shown  bjr  Fig.  <  wbkk  hat  bvoi 
tcfi*>vr'«  r-Tiploy«d  and  caOtd  a  C 
T)i'  nooBt  oi  •tock  nacd  m 

lowf    v^.i   .-csohcdL  ^ — •"     •"    * 
tion  io  thin  at  to  cac 
(ail  bjr  break-.  ''   t-mrxs  oy   i  •( 

Tliit  M  tbr  Mfcc  tikr 

shown  bjr  Figt.  6  ^nd  7-  dingaaiii  m 
encircling  tile,  wbicli  kas  coar  %o 
evtcnsivdj 


tilt 

tdt. 


T 


•1 


Kiu   I.  owoiWAL  AfpucATioju  or  Til*  ruMAC*  aoor   to  Mam-TVM  BMuaa 


to  correct  the  condition  by  h*"ttrr  fnrnafe     p.inv    T1m«  initial  tpplir«i»n«  w««  »«»  H* 
Ci-  A  scheme  n 

etii; r  this  purp<i»c 

circling    the   lower   row    of    tiilw*    ■■ 
boiler  with  refractory  '•■^^-■^  ••'■ 
priMlnce*  a  ftiriuce  r< 

praCth'Al     pllrJK>^e^     »i 

arrh.  <in«|rr  whn  h  i '■;: 

tat  'hen  titr    ; 

rr.i  -rn   rn'<-     • 

i«  rntit 

full  rr. 

is  no  prcMltictmn  f>(  ^' 

The   tiles  employed   -:i 
in    length    and    of   a    width    • 


6.?i 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  6,  1909. 


8.  9,  10,  II  and  12.  It  is  semicircular 
in  shape,  in  order  that  it  may  be  put  in 
place  of  a  single  pair  of  encircling  tiles. 
Thus  if  the  roof  fails  at  one  point,  the 
damaged  encircling  tiles  may  be  removed 
■with  no  other  disturbance,  and  the  round 
repair  tile  substituted.  The  first  opera- 
tion   after   the    encircling    tile     has    been 


repair  as  it  would  appear  in  the  roof  in 
series  with  the  encircling  tile. 

Many  other  designs  of  roof  tile  have 
been  made  by  various  people  for  applica- 
tion to  different  boilers.  Fig.  12  illustrates 
one  reported  to  have  been  used  on  boil- 
ers, it  consisting  of  blocks  supported  by 
an  iron  stem  molded  therein  and  held  in 


7.  The  Babcock  &  Wilcox  and  the  Heine 
boilers,  having  a  tube  spacing  of  7-inch 
centers,  with  tubes  of  3.5-  and  4-inch 
diameter,  allows  the  use  of  the  designs 
of  tile  previously  mentioned.  There  are 
boilers,  however,  where  the  tubes  are 
spaced  more  closely  together,  for  which 
some    different    form   of   tile   ib    required. 


FIG.     4.     C  TILE  USED  IN  FORMATION   OF  FUR- 
NACE  ROOF 


FIG.     7.     DESIGN    OF    ENCIRCLING    TILE 


FIG.     10.     SHOWING  ADDITION  OF  SECOND  POR- 
TION  OF   REPAIR   TILE 


FIG.       5.      CU.M.MOX     FORM     OF     BREAKAGE     OC- 
CUR R  I. VG    WITH    C   TILE 

broken  out  and  removed  is  shown  by 
Fig.  8,  one  of  the  tiles  being  set  in  place 
below  the  tube.  .It  is  then  turned  around 
until  it  rests  on  the  top  of  the  tube  as 
shown  in  Fig.  9,  after  which  the  lower 
part  is  added  as  shown  by  Fig.  10,  then 
both  tiles  are  revolved  into  the  position 
shown  by   Fig.    11,  which  also  shows  the 


FIG.      II.     ENCIRCLING   TILE   ASSEMKLICO    IN    POSITION    IN    FURNACE    ROOF 


place  by  a  rod,  passing  through  a  hole 
in  the  stem  and  hanging  across  from  one 
tube  to  another.  To  the  writer's  knowl- 
edge, however,  this  scheme  has  never  been 
permanently  employed.  The  tile  which 
the  Babcock  &  Wilcox  Company  has  re- 
cently adopted  for  use  on  its  boilers  is 
the  writer's  design,  shown  by  Figs.  6  and 


and  Fig.  13  illustrates  the  form  employed 
by  the  Lyons  Boiler  Works,  consisting 
of  a  tile  of  the  cross-section  shown  and 
about  I  foot  long,  having  a  thin  section 
extending  up  between  the  tubes,  held  in 
place  by  an  iron  rod  which  is  passed 
through  a  hole  in  the  upper  part  of  the 
tile  and  resting  across  the  tubes. 


April  6.  1909. 


KJWER  AND  THE  EN'filNEER. 


<IU 


oooooc ■ 


'  he  form  used  by  the  S.  Freeman  & 
^  :is  Manufacturing  Company,  i.i  Ra- 
cine, Wis.,  is  illustrated  by  Fijj.  14.  which 
shows  a  design  refjuiring  only  one  tile 
for  completely  covering  the  tuU-  Fig. 
15  is  a  de-ign  made  l>y  fie« tk'"  I  hi>-. 
rich,  of  the  Chicago  Retort  anri  f  !•■  !  ■ 
Company,    wluch    nhows   a  tile  1 

by    a    hook-»li.i|H<l    upper    sccti 
hang!)  from  the  tube.    In  the  formation  of 
furnace   ro<^>fs   with    these   t:les,   they   are 
first    applierl    in:Iividually   to   the   tube   in     in   handling   betwem   Ihe   t 
'^-    '   •'•"   n>«ved   forward  into     kiln,  as   in  this  way  good   trie 


Bcactnc  Docnc  Hr«ds 


r.\     I  «  14  t  <    .'^  M I  r  H 


n.,     u 
vent  the 


'I  the  tilct  ) 


H',     ij    ymu  or  tilx  »*■ 


ric  tl«  knn> 

to  *^ 

/ 


rir.    15     st-NiTvnrtJ  am 


i'litcr      r.xjMti'U'i    11.1%   in-'wn 
nude   from   KrMxl   material   <>(   t 
•hapc   I' 
«•#  i»  .• 

r.   lo  .A-- 
that     II     I 
•p--  :>.-h  i«  «»f  I 

Tl    •  It     l«     ' 

t  care  be  taken  by  the  mak' 


inr.l        Will;    tK 


634 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  6,  1909. 


attached  to  this  portion  of  the  shell,  they 
should  be  considered  valueless.  The 
writer  believes  that  the  above  views  on 
this  form  of  bracing  have  been  the  result 
of  following  the  lead  of  someone  who  was 
considered  an  authority  on  the  subject, 
without  any  attempt  at  anal3'sis  of  the 
stresses  that  are  actually  present  in  this 
form  of  construction.  It  is  also  believed 
that  head  braces  attached  to  the  neutral 
surface,  as  in  Fig.  8,  are  actually  an  im- 
provement over  the  customary  method  of 
attaching  them  to  the  shell  of  the  dome. 
In  the  first  place,  domes  are  relatively 
short    compared   to   their   diameter,    mak- 


FIG.    4 

ing  the  use  of  short  braces  necessary.  The 
feet  of  the  braces  are  required  to  be 
located  well  in  toward  the  center  of  the 
head  to  get  proper  distribution,  and  the 
resulting  angularity  of  the  braces  detracts 
considerably  from  their  holding  power. 
Again,  there  is  a  decided  tendency  to  leak 
at  the  joint  where  the  dome  is  attached  to 
the  shell,  due  to  distortion  of  the  shell  at 
this  point,  and  after  a  leak  has  once 
started    it    is    extremely    difficult    to    stop 


FIG.    5 

owing  to  the  continual  working  of  the 
surfaces.  One  of  the  principal  causes  for 
distortion  at  this  seam  is  the  lack  of  sup- 
port of  the  neutral  surface  to  keep  it  of 
true  cylindrical  form,  the  stresses  in  the 
shell  at  the  sides  of  the  dome,  as  may 
be  seen  from  Fig.  2,  tending  to  pull  the 
neutral  surface  out  flat  as  indicated  by  the 
dotted  lines.  This  causes  a  bending  action 
along  the  flange  of  the  dome  where  it  is 
riveted  to  the  shell.  That  flexure  at  this 
point  is  the  cause  of  leaking  is  also  indi- 
cated by  the  great  superiority  of  a  double- 
riveted  seam  over  a  single-riveted  seam 
for   tightness,    the    double    row    of   rivets 


adding  to  the  stiffness  of  the  construction 
considerably. 

If  the  neutral  surface  could  be  sup- 
ported so  that  it  would  retain  its  cylin- 
drical form,  as  effectually  as  the  pressure 
supports  the  other  portions  of  the  shell, 
there  would  be  no  tendency  for  the  con- 
necting seam  to  be  distorted  and  the  only 
weakening  effect  introduced  would  be  the 
removal  of  the  metal  for  the  rivet  holes, 
or  the  conditions  would  be  identical  with 
those  which  would  exist  if  a  circular  patch 
the  same  size  as  the  dome  had  been 
riveted  on  at  this  point. 

To  illustrate  how  head  braces  attached 
to  the  neutral  surface  may  approximate 
this  condition,  assume  a  shell,  as  illus- 
trated in  Fig.  3,  with  a  cylinder  similar 
to  a  dome  riveted  to  the  top  of  the  shell 
but  with  no  communication  from  the  shell 
of  the  boiler  to  the  dome  space.  If  the 
inside  of  this  cylinder  was  bored  out,  it 
could  be  fitted  with  a  piston  free  to  move 
up  and  down.  Assume  that  each  square 
inch  of  piston  area  is  connected  with  each 
square  inch  of  the  projected  area  of  the 
neutral  surface  by  a  rod  screwed  through 


FIG.    6 

the  shell  and  into  the  piston.  If  it  is  now 
assumed  that  the  boiler  is  under  too 
pounds  pressure,  but  with  no  pressure  in 
the  dome  space,  the  portion  of  the  shell 
under  the  dome  would  be  pushed  out- 
wardly with  a  pressure  of  100  pounds  on 
each  square  inch  of  area,  as  indicated  by 
the  arrows,  the  same  as  the  other  por- 
tions of  the  shell,  and  there  would  be  no 
tendency  to  deform  if  the  shell  was  a  true 
cylinder  at  the  start. 

Suppose  now  that  the  valve  on  the  pipe 
communicating  with  the  dome  space  were 
opened  and  pressure  admitted.  The  con- 
ditions as  regards  the  portion  of  the  shell 
beneath  the  dome  will  remain  unchanged, 
as  long  as  the  stay  rods  care  for  the  pres- 
sure admitted  to  this  space,  for  no  matter 
whether  the  pressure  is  in  excess  of,  or 
less  than  the  pressure  in  the  boiler,  it  will 
place  only  a  tensile  strain  on  the  rods, 
and  the  neutral  surface  will  be  in  equilib- 
rium as  regards  the  pressure  in  the  dome, 
and  there  will  be  no  tendency  for  it  to 
assume  any  other  shape  than  its  original 
form. 

If  it  is  now  considered  that  instead  of 


the  pressure  in  the  dome  coming  fronr 
some  external  source,  it  is  connected  with* 
the  boiler  shell  as  shown  in  Fig.  4,  condi- 
tions would  be  obtained  similar  to  boiler 
practice,  except  that  the  opening  instead; 
of  being  through  a  pipe  connection  is  cut 
in  the  shell  directly  into  the  dome.  It  i& 
seen  that  the  surface  of  the  shell  inclosed 
by  the  dome,  instead  of  being  neutral,  is 
actually  forced  out  with  the  same  pres- 
sure that  any  other  portion  of  the  shell  of 
similar  size  is,  and  the  tendency  to  de- 
form is  therefore  eliminated.  Of-  course 
the  head  of  a  dome  does  not  offer  the 
same   flexibility  as   the  piston  head   con- 


FIG.   7 


FIG.    8 

sidered,  and  the  dome  shell  must  trans- 
mit a  large  portion  of  the  pull  due  to  pres- 
sure on  the  dome  head  to  the  shell  of  the 
boiler.  However,  the  writer  believes  that 
if  the  braces  required  on  the  head  were 
attached  directly  to  the  so-called  neutral 
surface  of  the  shell,  the  tendency  for  the 
shell  to  deform  and  produce  leaking  at 
the  dome  flange  would  be  greatly  lessened. 
A  form  of  bracing  that  would  accomplish 
the  same  result  as  regards  the  neutral 
surface,  where  it  is  desired  to  use  a 
bumped  dome  head  which  is  not  braced,  is 
shown  in  Fig.  5. 
The  method   of  bracing  shown   in   Fig. 


April  6,  1909. 

'6  i«  often  met  with  in  high-prrv.  .-,  \  ,f\. 
«rs  which  arc  equipped  with  donn■^  i  r:..->c 
braces  accomplish  in  a  vcr>'  hmitcd  way 
what  the  braces  shown  in  Fig.  5  are  in- 
tended to  do,  but  it  is  evident  that  they 
are  not  used  with  this  purpose  in  view. 

Another  way  of  looking  at  the  problem 
of  the  stresses  involved  in  this  construc- 
tion is  illustrated  in  Fig.  7.  Here  .,4  is  a 
liole  drilled  through  the  shell  and  com- 
municating with  the  dome  space,  and 
ahhough  the  pressure  on  each  side  of  the 
iieutral  surface  is  equal,  there  is  a  pull 
■on  the  rods  of  100  pounds  per  square 
•inch  of  piston  surface  (assuming  the 
pressure  in  the  shell  to  be  100  pounds), 
«hich  produces  the  same  effect  in  retain- 
ing the  cylindrical  form  of  the  neutral 
surface  as  a  like  amount  of  prt-ssurc  be- 
neath the  surface  would.  The  pressure 
■on  the  piston  is  balanced  by  the  pressure 
■on  a  similar  area  on  the  other  side  of  the 
••hell,  as  indicnted  by  the  lower  arrows. 


A  ncM  cuKinccrs'  organization  was 
formed  on  January  25  last  at  Balti- 
<norc,  Md..  known  as  the  I'lngincers' 
Exchange,  its  home  being  at  41  j  Fay 
<tte  street.  The  present  membership 
is  150,  with  applications  constantly  com- 
ing in.  The  aim  of  the  lixchange  is  to 
taring  engineers  of  all  of  the  associations 
into  closer  relations.  The  first  floor  of 
the  building  has  been  fitted  up  as  a  read 
tng  room,  in  which  spaces  arc  rented  to 
'^rarious  manufacturers  and  supply  houses 
ss  a  permanent  exhibit. 

( >n  the  evening  of  March  23  the  Ex- 
change was  formally  opened,  with  an  ap- 
<propriate  social  session.  The  officers  arc 
Oorge  L.  Sleight,  president;  James  Gard- 
ner, first  vice-president;  l>.  J.  Murray, 
-•econd  vice-president;  H  .\.  Phillips,  sec- 
Tetary  ;   H.   A.   Kries,  treasurer. 


i'OU  1:K  and  the  ENGINtER. 
TKc  Ellcktra  Slaun  Turbine 


♦s 


Bv  Fkakk  C.  Puuuii» 


TW 


lus  rec' 

inir 

cr.i 

f..' 

pa 

ing,   hig    1,   shows  a 

turbine    of   this   type. 


t'^rn.  C 


Tkii  tvrhutt   v»i 
iMlMtrw       tW    teMktn 


¥m 


■  niir  lor  anttn^  arrriu'ixi  tbr 


nc  J     crr«iL%  or 


ur'i\ 


no    I    UNOUI-CAMIM  n'«n<(K 


636 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  6,  1909. 


may  be  directly  coupled  and  operate  suc- 
cessfully at  the  high  speeds  required. 

The  two  turbines  shown  in  Fig.  4  are 
of  the  compound  type,  each  having  a  capa- 
city of  100  horsepower.  These  turbines 
are  directly  coupled  to  three-phase  alter- 
nators driven  at  a  speed  of  3000  revolu- 
tions per  minute.  Similar  turbines  have 
been  built  of  300  horsepower  capacity, 
directly   coupled    to    Drehstrom    dynamos 


Test  of  a  Vertical  Gas  Engine 


The  accompanying  chart,  Fig.  i,  pre- 
sents the  principal  items  of  a  test,  made  a 
few  months  ago,  of  a  Rathbun  two-cylin- 
der vertical  gas  engine.  The  test  was  not 
run  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  complete 
data  for  the  heat-balance  sheet,  but  merely 
to  determine  the  regulation  and  fuel  rate. 


FIG.     4.    COMPOUND  TURBfXES  WITH  CAPACITY  OF   lOO  HORSEPOWER  E.\CH 


The  engine  was  the  standard  single-act- 
ing type  built  by  the  Rathbun-Jones  Engi- 
neering Company,  of  Toledo,  Ohio,  with 
cylinders  of  12^  inches  bore  and  13  inches 
stroke,  rated  at  100  horsepower  on  natural 
gas  and  designed  to  run  at  290  revolutions- 
per  minute.  The  governor  controlled  the 
speed  by  throttling  the  mi.xture  and  also 
adjusted  the  timing  of  the  ignition,  ad- 
vancing the  firing  point  when  it  reduced 
the  quantity  of  mixture  admitted  and  vice 
versa.  It  is  largely  due  to  this  feature 
that  the  engine  shows  ability  to  carry 
overloads  without  being  underrated  at 
normal  full  load ;  another  potent  factor 
which  contributes  to  this  result  is  the  rel- 
atively high  compression  used — about  145 
pounds  absolute  at  full  rated  load.  For 
the  engine  under  consideration  this  is  the 
most  efificient  compression  pressure ;  con- 
.sequentl}-,  any  increase  in  compression 
tends  to  decrease  the  efficiency. 

It  will  be  noted  by  reference  to  the 
cliart  that  the  gas  consumption  at  full 
load  was  7.85  ctibic  feet  per  brake  horse- 
power-hour and  7.95  cubic  feet  at  10  per 
cent,  overload.  The  speed  was  a  trifle 
liigh  at  rated  load,  coming  down  to  the 
designed  rate  onl\-  at  the  maximum  over- 
load; or,  to  express  it  more  fairly,  the  en- 
gine yielded  10  per  cent,  more  than  its 
rated  power  at  its  rated  speed.  The  regu- 
lation was  obviously  about  4>4  per  cent, 
between  35  horsepower  and  rated  load; 
the  test  was  not  carried  below  35  horse- 
power. 

The  gas  averaged  about  iioo  B.t.u.  per 
cubic  foot  at  the  temperature  at  which  it 


rated  at  200  kilowatts  and  supplying  a 
three-phase  current  of  2000  volts  pressure. 
These  units  occupy  a  floor  space  of 
3.3x8.6  feet,  the  total  hight  measuring 
4.16  feet. 

For  operating  boats,  these  turbines  are 
said  to  have  given  excellent  satisfaction, 
a  special  design  having  been  provided  for 
reversing.  One  of  these  units  of  35  horse- 
power capacity  operating  at  a  steam  pres- 
sure of  nine  atmospheres  and  at  a  speed 
of  3000  revolutions  per  minute,  with  re- 
ducing gear  for  lowering  the  speed  to 
500  revolutions  per  minute  required  for 
the  propeller,  occupies  a  floor  space  of 
2.67x4.83  feet,  with  a  total  hight  of  3.67 
feet.  The  Elektra  turbine  is  handled  in 
America  by  the  Alberger  Condenser 
Company. 


The  Canadian  Government  has  appro- 
priated £3000  for  the  erection  in  Ottawa  of 
a  fuel-testing  plant.  It  will  deal  chiefly 
with  peat,  with  the  object  of  solving  the 
problem  of  utilizing  the  peat  bogs  by  con- 
verting peat  into  producer  gas  from  which 
electricity  can  in  turn  be  generated.  A 
peat  bog  will  also  be  secured  and  a  plant 
laid  down  to  demonstrate  the  best  methods 
of  converting  the  raw  material  into  fuel. 
Peat  occurs  in  immense  qunntitics  in  On- 
tario and  Quebec. 


•gs 


a   o    -'" , , 


O   9 


300 

■ill 

~^ — 1  i ,  1  1  , '  III, , 

'  ^***** 

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Brake  Horsepower 
FIG.   T.  PKINCIP.\L  RESULTS  OF  A  TEST  OF  A  R.\THBUN  TWO-CVLINDER  VERTICAL 


.10 
A,iB«-,  .V.  r. 

ENGINE 


April  6,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGIN'KKR. 


pimcd  the  meter,  so  that  the  tlur:!.!  cffi-      A* 

dency  of  actual  output  was  pra.  ti.  .illy  30     c>l: 

per  c<^t  »*   taken   through  the 


The  cooling  of  this  engine  it  unusually     ha< 
effective     and     well     distributed,      which      a 
makes  for  overload  ability  by  facilit^linx 
the   extra    compression    thereby    entailed 


observer 


>nMnKltonal  feat  a  r 


■^    H   •   ^ 


<h« 


<  ti 


apt' 


rvTjmg  tqacak 

Tond^  'f  pnn««  ioWhra«k>*> 

tn  b«  c:  :am  cngMwi      CaBi4 

■•cam  to(U).  Um  <u«ld  aol  p»y  awh  tnf- 

•T^  tn   hrm    tf   <-nciw  Ko    j  lo4  10  hv 
'fr  tqarAk 

Icr. 

I    h. 


Sc  |« 
T>ui     real 


i«*    nw^t    *««ii*>n* 


■  f  ••rii      ►  fM'.r-:        I  •  -> 


Walk  Bc«»  on  liie  GmhI  FA 
Dnrdopmeal 


BMMfX   tMHH  VVK, 


TMfKr-tl>Mt«a  TCanCAL  OAt  ' 


»m4  mmk  •< 


ThU  and  the  autnnutic  adjuttni' 

hmiti..n  liminii   .  ■  •  '         " 
prr*Mirr   bv    Iim>    • 


■♦,    I  t«     J.   Ai>'\    1 
irrel    arc    ^rpAratrlj. 
btler  drawing  the  mcikmi  »<ri'^ 


•^mct  •• 


638 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  6,  1909. 


Hot    Bearings;    Some  Causes  and    Remedies 

An  Old-time  Topic  in  a  New  Dress,  Giving  the  Reader  the  Full  Bene- 
fit of  Knowledge  Gained  by  a  Veteran  of  Many  Years'  Experience 


B    Y 


H. 


S. 


BROWN 


There  are  few  troubles  in  the  engine 
room  that  give  the  engineer  more  anxiety 
than  hot  bearings,  and  particularly  the 
■crank  pin,  as  it  is  difficult  of  examination 
while  the  engine  is  running.  An  engine 
may  run  for  years  with  no  sign  of  heating, 
when  suddenly  without  any  apparent  cause 
the  sense  of  smell  detects  hot  oil,  and  the 
man  in  charge  is  on  the  anxious  seat  at 
once.  A  case  of  shutdown  stares  him  in 
the  face,  the  thing  of  all  others  he  strives 
to  avoid.  Where  is  the  engineer  who 
does  not  take  the  greatest  pride  in  a  year's 
run  without  a  shutdown  during  working 
hours?  A  shutdown  once  from  hot  bear- 
ings is  likely  to  be  repeated,  and  perhaps 
•many  times.  This  is  particularly  the  case 
with  large  powers,  as  in  railway  power 
houses,  steamships,  etc. 

From  many  years'  practical  experience 
in  the  drawing  room,  in  the  shop  and  as 
■erector  of  steam  machinery,  I  am  free  to 
say  that  there  are  numerous  cases  of  hot 
bearings  for  which  the  engineer  is  not 
responsible,  even  though  he  may  be  held 
liable.  Conditions  beyond  his  control  or 
foresight  will  arise  when  least  expected. 
On  the  other  hand,  there  are  more  cases, 
-even,  when  he  is  not  guiltless.  The  man 
who  is  continually  tinkering  with  his 
bearings  may  expect  trouble  at  any 
•  moment. 

The  cases  are  legion  in  which  engines 
have  run  for  months  without  a  wrench  or 
hammer  being  put  near  the  keys  or 
wedges.  This  is  well  illustrated  in  the 
Jong  runs  of  marine  engines.  Twelve  to 
twenty  days  has  in  the  past  been  no 
uncommon  experience. 

With  proper  lead  and  compression  on 
the  valves  the  extremes  of  light  and 
heavy  pressures  on  the  bearings  will  be  so 
much  relieved  that  the  wear  will  be  re- 
-duced  accordingly.  My  opinion  is  that 
due  credit  is  not  given  to  the  proper 
amount  of  compression  for  the  even  and 
minimum  wear  on  both  pin  and  main  bear- 
ing. If  we  plot  a  diagram  with  one  line 
showing  the  pressure  on  these  bearings 
-with  a  good  liberal  compression  and  an- 
other with  no  compression,  we  shall  see 
one  cause  for  the  heating  of  bearings  in 
-the  no-compression  treatment.  If  we  take 
a.  cold  rod  of  horseshoe-nail  iron  and  draw 
it  to  a  point,  under  a  rapid-running  trip 
hammer,  the  metal  will  be  red  with  heat 
.at  the  finish.  Or,  if  we  heat  a  steel  billet, 
say  6  inches  square,  to  a  red  color,  and 
draw  it  under  the  blows  of  a  steam  ham- 
mer, the  color  of  the  billet  will  brighten 


under  the  rapid  and  severe  shocks  de- 
livered. This  shows  how  much  heat  is 
generated  from  severe  shock  applied  sud- 
denly to  metals. 

Poor  Oil  a   Cause  of   Heating 

Poor  oil  is  another  cause  of  heating.  A 
new  brand  of  oil  should  never  be  intro- 
duced until  its  quality  has  been  estab- 
lished. With  an  oil  of  good  quality,  with 
body,  the  shaft  practically  rides  on  it ;  a 
thin  film  covers  the  surface  of  the  bear- 
ing; but  it  should  be  fed  regularly,  and 
just  enough.  Not  a  flood  at  one  time, 
and  then  the  bearing  allowed  to  run  dry. 
With  a  poor  lubricant,  the  surface  of  the 
shaft  or  pin  comes  in  close  contact  with 


FIG.    I 

the  surface  of  the  boxes,  and  friction, 
with  heat,  is  the  result. 

Clean  oil  is  also  a  very  important  ele- 
ment. If  an  engineer  will  carefully  filter 
his  oil  before  using  he  will  be  surprised 
at  the  amount  of  grit  extracted.  After 
filtering,  the  oil  should  be  kept  in  a  closed 
can  until  used.  A  very  small  amount  of 
grit  will  sometimes  start  a  rough  surface 
on  a  pin  or  bearing  and  cause  heating. 

Keying  up  is  an  exceedingly  delicate 
operation  at  times,  as  what  would  be  a 
good  running  condition  of  the  boxes  on 
one  engine  would  start  another  to  warm 
up.  And  if  the  adjustment  of  the  boxes 
is  close  a  slight  raise  in  temperature  will 
expand  the  metal  and  a  rapid  increase  of 
heat  will    follow. 

I  have  known  cases  where  the  rod  had 
been  keyed  up  at  noon  and,  after  starting 


up,  there  was  no  sign  of  heat  for  a 
time ;  but  suddenly  the  smell  of  hot  oil 
was  noticed,  and  a  shutdown  followed.  In 
such  cases  the  bearings  should  be  run  as 
loosely  as  permissible  without  knocking. 

Another  important  feature  is  a  regular 
inspection  of  the  bearings,  at  stated  in- 
tervals, depending  on  the  amount-  of  wear 
in  the  boxes.  To  illustrate,  in  my  early 
days  I  was  employed  in  the  roundhouse 
of  a  railroad  company  where  we  met 
with  all  sorts  of  conditions  of  heating. 
We  found  many  cases  in  which  the  boxes 
had  worn  until  the  bearing  had  extended 
over  the  entire  surface,  always  resulting 
in  heat  so  intense  at  times  that  boxes 
would  turn  blue.    As  a  never-failing  cure, 


we  would  take  a  half-round  coarse  file 
and  remove  the  bearing  surface,  as  shown 
in  Figs.  I  and  2,  leaving  the  bearing  in 
the  crown  of  the  box.  By  this  means 
the  oil  was  carried  around  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  pin  to  the  section  of  bearing 
where  it  was  required,  and  the  open  space 
that  had  been  formed  by  filing  would 
form    a    storage    for   oil. 

When  the  bearing  is  extended  over  the 
entire  box,  the  oil  is  not  evenly  distri- 
buted, and  the  sections  not  supplied  will 
cause  slight  friction,  with  resultant  heat. 
The  oil  becomes  thin  and  passes  off  very 
rapidly.  A  good  result  will  follow  the 
use  of  a  heavy  grease,  with  just  enough 
oil  to  keep  the  grease  spread  over  the 
entire  bearing. 

Another  evil  effect  from  excessive  bear- 
ing   surfaces    with    most    boxes    of   hard 


April  6,  1909. 

«.omposition  or  bronze  is  that  there  is  3 
tendency  toward  a  closing- in  of  the 
boxes,  as  shown  at  a  a,  Fig.  3.  and  even 
with  a  slight  raise  in  temperature.  Then 
as  the  box  bt«ins  to  pinch  on  the  pins 
beat  is  generated  very  fast. 

In  fitting  up  new  boxes  for  the  con- 
necting rod,  it  is  a  good  plan  to  cut  away 
the  bearing  surface,  as  shown  at  a  a.  Figs. 
4  and  5,  to  the  depth  of  from  i  16  to 
li  inch,  according  to  the  size  of  the  box. 
The  narrow  sections  b  b.  Fig.  5,  should  be 
filed  away  so  as  to  clear  the  pin  and  leave 
the  bearing  from  r  to  </  in  the  crown  of 
the  box. 

The  tendency  to  close  in  as  shewn  in 
Fig.  3  is  more  likely  in  the  round  type  of 
box,  and  to  prevent  this  liners  should  be 
fitted,  as  shown  at  a  a,  Fig.  6,  with  free- 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

f-xiy  of  metal  to  carry  it  off  Al»o,  at 
the  h^rr^  arf  .i  looM  fit  in  Uic  itraft.  that 
''  the  coodoctioa  of  beat, 

*  larger  portion  of  it  tmo 

the  pm     It  II  also  a  mistake  to  cut  a«ar 
the  metal  from  the  comer  of  t»-  » 
shown  at  bed.  Fig.  j.     It  brea. 
lath  for  heat  travel,  with  very  iif  -  »ar 
ing  in  the  cost  of  metal. 
While   the    designer    wit!   cut    oat    the 


ol« 


buars  10 
a 

On 
pia  hat 

cA»rt  *n  rntif* 
Mirfacr  am  the  beanie  10 
trooblcMMc  hcati^^  I  rvcal  a 
which  I  have  bwa  on  waK^  lor 
bewdr  ha<  bttrivgK  tpplii^  e^rry 


V  :--~        I       iiLJiri     .1    II    III       ,,i„n 


~f> 


•f 


J 


u 


FIG.    3 


nc  4 


na  s 


H-j 


\i 


ing  iIm  hant  •  dMafv  ol 
nnly  rinwdi     In  atm  <am  the 
mix  .KiMri!    iftrr  aaalyrMig  1 


ric   6 


cnouKh  in  the  bearing  to  set  up  light 


00   (he    .. 
boxe«   t. 
practicr  ti, ,; 
all  crjnk  \>iu  L 

The  linrr* 
Eight    from    1 


This   holds    the 

le   rod  and  cap,  a 

>k  kiiuuld  be  followed  on 


cut      i%      folli.w* 

,  »hcel     ^r.l^^      I  .ur 

from   l/ja-inch,  two  from 
one  from  ^i-inch.    This  all.- ^     .  -.,.•; 
mcni  of  the  boxes  for  a  long  time  with- 
out filing 


cotl,  be  win  oort  chamber*  in  the  body 
of  naia  bMr<  '   cimtUle  wairr  to 

carry  o#  hej  .«nwMl  <«••      The 

ha* 
on 
ginr*.  and  bttrrij  on  hanvf  rta- 
'>wine«. 

in  vhtrh  a  biarwig 


Chaai 


oto 
oag» 

••Ji 

0  fti 


paih  m 


iHrti  T>  IN  «  » A \ k  11  \    I 

One    of    the    defect*    in    . 
daaign  i«  in  having  too  liitlr  •ur- 
tdgrsA',   Fig.   4     The   mrt  .1    . 
that   they   will   not   hold   llir 
•oon  b«Yomr  loo«e   in   the 
M  the  first  increase  of  tniM 
will  develop  very  rapidly,  a»  ' 


640 


PO\\'ER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  6,  1909. 


Piston  Racks 
0.43  per  cent,  carbon, 
0.1 1         "         silicon, 
0.036       "  sulphur, 

0.039        "         phosphorus, 
0.52         "         manganese. 

V.\LVE  Stems 
0.33  per  cent,  carbon, 
o.io         "  silicon, 

0.047        "  sulphur, 

0.049        "  phosphorus 

1.03         "  manganese. 

Cuiitpositiou  or  Brouze 


Care   in    Selection    of   Materials 
Requisite 

Too  much  care  cannot  be  taken  in  the 
selection  of  material  for  pins  and  shafts. 
The  analysis  should  always  be  specified  in 
ordering  and  tested  after  receiving.  With 
poor  material  in  the  pin  and  shaft,  after 
long  service  the  metal  will  wear  away  and 
uncover  the  open  grain  and  streaks  of 
gritty  matter,  which  will  often  start  heat- 
ing, the  cause  of  which  seems  a  mystery. 
In    cases    where    the    bearing    of   the    pin 


sensitive  level,  the  same  level  as  the  shaft 
but  not  the  main  bearing  on  the  shaft,  as 
that  may  have  worn  taper.  Place  the 
level  at  a,  Fig.  10,  but  caliper  the  shaft  at 
that  point  to  be  sure  it  is  parallel. 

After  the  flat  place  is  filed  at  J,  turn  the 
pin  to  position  2  and  file  another  section. 
Repeat  the  operation  until  all  of  the  flats 
have  been  filed  as  shown,  around  to  8.  But 
after  the  position  2  is  reached,  caliper  the 
pin  (at  one  point  only,  preferably  in  the 
center  as  at  X  Fig.  10),  to  be  sure  that 
when  8  is  reached  it  will  be  round.    After 


-UrauKpiu  Box 


r 


u 


"U 


FIG.    8 


FIG.    9 


This  gives  a  hard  surface  and  will  wear 
well  in  the  stuffing  box. 

All  of  these  are  taken  from  practice  and 
have  proved  very  successful. 

A  case  of  crank-pin  wear  and  cutting 
away  is  shown  in  Fig.  7.  The  engine  had 
run  about  four  weeks  and  was  pounding 
on    the   pin    so   that   it   could   be    run    no 


Level 


longer.  The  wear  on  the  boxes  (composi- 
tion) was  about  1/16  inch,  while  on  the 
pin  it  was  J^  inch,  on  one  side  only.  The 
steel  in  the  pin  was  of  poor  quality,  and 
there  were  streaks  of  dark  grit  on  the  sur- 
face. This  came  from  the  amount  of 
metal  removed,  as  the  pin  was  made  from 
a  bar.  Crank  pins  should  be  forged  in 
dies  under  a  hammer,  if  the  collar  is  to 
be  solid  with  the  pin.  This  densifies  the 
surface  metal,  closing  all  openness  of 
grain.  Not  over  y%  inch  should  be  turned 
oflf  the  bearing  in  finishing,  as  the  deeper 
the  cut  in  the  bar  the  more  open  it  shows. 


heats,  and  the  boxes  are  of  hard  com- 
position, or  bronze,  with  a  soft-steel  pin, 
babbitt  of  a  good  quality  will  prove  effec- 
tive. But  great  care  should  be  taken  in 
putting  the  babbitt  in.  Bore  about  J4 
to  y^  inch  out  of  the  box,  leaving  a  rough 
surface  from  the  cutting  of  the  tool,  then 
heat  the  boxes,  and  thoroughly  tin  them 
on  this  rough  surface.  Put  in  the  babbitt, 
leaving  about  3/16  inch  to  bore  out. 
Take  a  rough  cut,  leaving  1/16  inch  for 
finish.  Then  with  a  small  roller  in  a  bar, 
as  shown  in  Fig.  8,  roll  the  babbitt  out 
against  the  composition,  run  the  roller 
back  and  forth  a  number  of  times  in  the 
lathe,  and  then  with  the  boring  tool  take 
the  finish  cut  to  size,  which  should  be 
about  1/64  inch  larger  than  the  pin. 
Never  hammer  babbitt  in  the  boxes;  roll- 
ing is  far  better. 

The  following  mixture  of  babbitt  has 
proved  very  satisfactory  for  crank  pins  : 
Tin,  88 ;  copper,  5 ;  lead,  10.  For  heavy 
main  bearings:  Tin,  85;  copper,  4;  anti- 
mony, 9.5,  For  light,  slow-running  main 
bearings:    Tin,  5;  lead,  80;  antimony,  15. 

The  different  metals  should  be  melted 
separately  and  mixed  while  in  the  fluid 
state.  This  is  very  important  and  should 
be   strictly  adhered  to. 

Crank  pins  that  are  out  of  line  with  the 
shaft,  or  when  worn  out  of  round,  are 
often  very  troublesome  in  heating,  and  to 
true  them  up  is  a  very  delicate  job.  The 
writer  has  found  the  following  very  suc- 
cessful :  Place  the  pin  in  position  /,  Fig. 
9,   and  file   a   flat    section   true   to   a  very 


all  of  the  flats  have  been  filed,  take  a 
cast-iron  box,  Fig.  11,  and  bore  it  to  the 
small  diameter  of  the  flats  as  at  position 
8.  The  casting  should  be  thick  enough 
so  as  not  to  spring  out  of  true.  Then  with 
lampblack  or  red  lead  in  the  bore  of  this, 
box  to  mark  the  high  spots  on  the  pin, 
finish  filing.  The  last  of  the  filing  should 
be  with  a  dead  smooth  file,  with  the  cor- 
ners ground  off  so  as  not  to  mark  the 
pin.  If  care  is  used  in  this  operation  the 
pin  will  be  perfectly  true  and  round. 

It  is  often  stated  that  a  crank  pin  out 
of  line  with  the  cylinder  will  heat,  but 
such  is  not  always  the  case.     In  overhaul- 


ing a  large  horizontal  engine  some  years 
ago,  it  was  found  that  a  line  through  the 
cylinder  was  nearly  %  inch  one  side  of 
the  center  of  the  pin;  still,  that  engine 
liad  run  for  years  with  no  sign  of  heating. 


It  is  slated  that  the  oil  used  on  railways 
in  the  United  States  as  fuel  amounted  in 
1907  to  18,855,691  barrels.  It  is  estimated 
that  13,593  miles  of  railway  were  operated 
by  oil-fired  locomotives  making  some  74>" 
000,000  cnginc-miles  in  the  year. 


April  (>,  lyog 


I'nwhK  .\.\U  Hit  K\(;i.\KKR. 


«4I 


Belting  Compared  with  Chain 
Transmission* 


"For  power  transmissions,  as  in- 1  .Mth 
in  ordinary  shop  practice,  no  means  has 
as  yet  been  devised  which  can  i miarc 
in  economy  of  first  cost  and  ease  .ii  liand- 
linK  with  belting,  especially  with  rcKard 
to  unskilled  labor." — "Power  Transmis- 
sion by  Chain,"  Cajsifr's  Magasime,  May, 
190a 

The  writer  of  the  article.  Edward  T. 
Rax,  is  a  recognized  authority  on  chain 
transmissions  and  was  supplied  with  full- 
est information  by  leading  European  chain 
manufacturers. 

Chain  transmission  is  not  thouKht  of 
for  general  shop  use.  although  ior  ad- 
vertising purposes  a  shop  ha^  in  one  in- 
stance been  so  equipped.  There  are,  how- 
ever, installations  where  chains  are  best, 
in  spite  of  their  many  drawbacks.  Chains 
are.  mechanically,  merely  .1  t'orm  of  gear- 
ing, and  as  such  are  suitable  for  positive 
transmissions  of  very  lieavy  |K»wers  at 
slow  speed.  They  are  widely  and  properly 
ased  for  conveying  ashes,  sand,  chemicals 
and  liquids  which  would  corrotle  or  de- 
stroy belting.  Chains  of  this  kind  arc 
generally  made  of  malleable  iron.  Even 
for  conveyers  for  clean  substances,  flonr, 
wheat  and  otljcr  grains,  belts  are  prefera- 
ble, and  ill  the  U-sl  m-t.illati'.n-  1<  ..I'n-r  is 
preferred  i"  c<>it.<n  <  r  riiLlK  r.  t«  iul;  more 
durable  Transmissmn  chains  have  to  be 
carefully  made.  If  the  chain  is  to  run 
WKMithly.  noiselessly,  and  without  con- 
siderable friction,  both  the  linko  and  the 
sprockets  must  be  mathemaiit  .tlly  correct. 
This  (Hrfcciion  of  design  is  found  fnily  in 
the  litKliest  and  Itesi  makes  of  steel  citain 

'iHr  ()«iii.\MJV  Chain 
!  lie  makers  of  the  best  chains  are  those 
know   mo%t  about   the  trouble*  with 
(i.iin*      The    American    manufacturer   of 
the  Reiiold  silent  chain  thus  describes  the 
chain;      "As    soon    as    the   chain 
i  up,  it  stretches  and  inmi««li.«ielv 
•!ir -.ir-iin  falls  on  one  tooth       ' 
i-n  get>  worse  as  the   strain   1 
.^s  the  wheel   turns,    the    working     f 
•»"«•»  out   of   mesh,   then   the   wheel    ■'■; 
i^  until  the  next  tooth  comes  into  con 
with   the    next     link    in    the    chain 
.  lously   this   jar    brings    an    abnormal 
iin  on  the  chain  an«l   N|ir<>«kels.     Con- 
■  r    how    many    time%    a    mmntr    this   jar 
•rs  at  even  nvxlrralr    v|k€"U       Ii    >« 
icr    that     all     ordin.if)     .li.oii»        :'• 
rapidly  " 
ThM  deterioration  starts  in  with  th«"  ♦"><' 
Ming   of    service.      Even    in    ^ 
'.   flexible  duty  as  bicyclr   "  ■■ 
ham    is    subjected     to     m 
'     '>   eilhrf   «lfr»«  li    • 
•ring  surfj*  «■»      I  ' 
u  fatal  «ii  sinoolh  frictionlr%«  funniiiu 


A%   from 
—  ;.   swiden 

varutions     in     strain     l«ecome     hammer 
blows,     sledge-hammer    blows,    an<l 
chain  must  either  break  or  the  parts  > 
To    .-ivrid    the    evils 
•irctvliing     of     the     c\\ 
f'.rni>    >,i    tr. 
which  tht  k« 
of  the  best. 

DiSToanox 

The  adjustroem  of  the  teeth  to  we.tr. 
Iiowever,  does   not  obviate  the  •'    - 
on  the  Inaring   and  meshing  sir 
tcj   blowv     The  chain    being    a 
ir.insmilter  thrr^  is  no  slip  or  k> 
a  sudden  incr-  -  whrii  a 

>ticks   in  a  c  .  1    if   the   • 

breaks,  the  chain  has  1   severe 

;>nd   hammerlike    blow  •vm   of 

the   best   make   are   often    I:  lis- 

torted  in  as  little  as  three  hk  >•<<.>  time. 
To  palliate  this  evil,  spring  spntcket 
wheels  are   n  .    " 

ohafi*.  hut  a 

rim  ■    of 

b|).u  ing. 

This  added  has 

pri>ved  a  ver.  ,        -ng- 

ing  the  useful  life  of  the  chain,  but  wear 
and  jar  •""  •  '■-•  ^"■'  •'-  ■'••-  ■■'  ""-wal 
is  merel.  ime 

when  ch.iiti  .itxi  spr"*  hrt  wncn  rmiM  both 
be  replaced. 

T 
claii 
because : 

( 1 )  It  camml  slip. 

(2)  U  can  be  used  in  •  hot  or  <bntp 
place. 

(j)  It  can  be  run  on  shorter  cet  - 
than  belting. 

In   all  the  above  rr«pf^*  (he  chac 


4<hkI.    r%|>rcially     where 

Ihr 

rrgi»lcr    riactlv     as    in    1 

IJm- 

presses.     It   > 

ers.   or    f«r 

where  il 

-at. 

The    s! 

iM-rhaps   not 

quite  so  sound      I 

t  a  plan 

"  ' not   i" 

..  1 . .  f  «• 

yet  the 

(•riling   wiU   tvn  tbr^e  m^chM*** 

fullt 


.t . 


.1.   _      I 

most  pra 

1  a  motor  u  »(!i  . 
•  •)  to  4000 

a  as> 
in! 

•"K 


I  hrrr 
loo   sh* 

-g.  thm,  casllca^  aA«l  rass 


at  kigSt 


als. 
for 
) 
pn.. 


i.Si   WhrTT  a  i»_»s!li»f  »t«?r"i  f*' 
•ired 

du<: 
property 

(t't    Wl-rrr  a  m**imu»n  i- 
of   ^ 


*l*Rp«>r  prrwnird   l»   l»>«lti.T    |1. 
HetUr^f      Amnrlalinn      I'rl.rio 


I  be    tr- 


642 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  6,  1909. 


Selection    of    Coal    for    Boiler    Furnaces 

General     Consideration     of    Types    of     Furnace    and    the    Selection    of 
CocJs,     with     Recommendations     as    to    Most    Desirable    Specifications 


B    Y 


D.        T 


RANDALL 


It  is  well  known  that  certain  coals  are 
especially  suited  for  locomotive  use,  others 
for  metallurgical  use,  for  illuminating  gas, 
or  for  the  manufacture  of  coke,  etc.,  but 
all  coals  are  considered  as  possible  fuel 
for  boiler  plants.  This  being  so,  it  is  im- 
portant to  know  about  the  design  of  fur- 
naces and  the  influence  of  certain  char- 
acteristics of  coal  in  order  that  the  best 
results  may  be  obtained. 

Furnaces 

An  ideal  furnace  would,  of  course,  be 
one  in  which  all  coals,  no  matter  what  the 
character  of  their  composition,  could  be 
burned  with  equal  efficiency.  Furnaces 
may  be  generally  classified  as  follows : 

(i)  The  hand-fired  grate  set  in  a  cham- 
ber inclosed  by  the  iron  surfaces  of  the 
boiler,  as  in  the  internally  fired  boilers  of 
marine  type,  in  the  locomotive  type  used 
for  stationary  purposes,  house  boilers  and 
small  vertical  boilers.  These  boilers  cool 
the  gases  from  the  coal  and  are  not  suited 
for  use  with  coals  containing  more  than  a 
small  percentage  of  volatile  matter.  Where 
bituminous  coal  is  burned  in  such  boilers 
there  is  a  considerable  loss  of  unburned 
gases  as  is  evidenced  by  the  smoke 
given  off. 

(2)  Hand-fired  grates  set  in  a  chamber 
partially  inclosed  by  brick  and  with  the 
boiler  surfaces  just  above  or  near  the 
surface  of  the  fire.  This  includes  the 
usual  setting  for  horizontal  return-tubular 
and  water-tube  boilers.  These  are  not 
suited  for  burning  bituminous  coal. 

(3)  Hand-fired  grates  set  in  a  brick 
chamber  with  a  considerable  space  for 
combustion  to  take  place  before  the  gases 
reach  the  surfaces  of  the  boiler.  This 
may  be  accomplished  by  brick  arches,  tiles, 
etc.,  and,  in  addition,  piers,  baffle  walls 
and  other  devices  are  used  to  assist  in 
mixing  the  gases  and  air  while  within  the 
combustion  space.  With  these  may  be 
included  down-draft  furnaces  and  coking 
furnaces  fired  by  hand. 

Many  of  the  foregoing,  when  carefully 
fired,  give  good  results  and  with  certain 
sizes  and  kinds  of  coal  they  may  be  oper- 
ated without  dense  black  smoke,  but  usu- 
ally not  without  some  smoke.  Often  a 
special  coal  is  required  to  secure  good  re- 
sults. This  creates  a  demand  for  coals 
low  in  ash  and  of  large  size.     Screenings 


•Engineer  In  charge  of  tests  at  the  United 
States  Geological  Survey  Experimental  Sta- 
tion, Pittsburg,  Penn.  Paper  read  at  Illinois 
Coal  Conference,  March  10,  11  and  12. 


are  seldom  burned  in  such  furnaces  with 
good  results. 

(4)  Automatic  stokers  partially  inclosed 
in  brick,  with  a  small  combustion  cham- 
ber and  a  short  distance  from  the  grates 
to  the  boiler  furnace.  Such  settings  usu- 
ally give  good  results  except  at  high  capa- 
cities, or  when  the  load  is  changed  sud- 
denly. They  give  off  more  or  less  smoke, 
depending  on  the  size  and  character  of 
coal  used.  Coals  high  in  fixed  carbon 
may  be  used  with  good  results. 

(5)  Automatic  stokers  inclosed  in  brick 
settings,  with  a  large  combustion  cham- 
ber and  a  considerable  distance  from  the 
grates  to  the  boiler  surfaces.  Such  set- 
tings will  burn  almost  any  size  or  kind 
of  coal  with  economy  and  without  smoke 
within  reasonable  ranges  of  load. 

Time  is  required  for  the  air  and  gases 
to  burn  and  any  means  that  will  facilitate 
the  ultimate  mixture  of  the  air  and  gases 
will  reduce  the  size  of  the  combustion 
chamber  necessary  for  good  results.  In 
general,  then,  for  most  coals,  and  especi- 
ally fer  those  which  have  high  percent- 
age of  volatile  matter,  it  has  been  found 
more  satisfactory  to  install  some  kind  of 
device  which  will  feed  the  coal  regularly 
in  small  quantities,  allowing  it  to  become 
heated  gradually,  driving  off  a  practically 
uniform  amount  of  gas  to  which  a  proper 
amount  of  air  can  be  admitted  and  burned 
in  a  combustion  chamber  which  is  suffi- 
ciently large  to  allow  of  complete  com- 
bustion in  the  furnace. 

Draft 

In  considering  any  type  of  furnace,  one 
should  keep  in  mind  the  necessity  of  hav- 
ing a  strong  draft  available.  This  may 
be  provided  by  a  stack  or  a  fan.  A  stack 
may  be  supplemented  by  a  forced-draft 
fan,  or  an  induced-draft  fan  may  be  used 
alone  or  in  connection  with  a  forced-draft 
fan.  Most  plants  do  not  have  sufficient 
draft  at  times  when  boilers  are  over- 
loaded. 

The  amount  of  draft  required  depends 
upon  the  kind  of  coal  used,  the  size  of 
the  coal  and  on  the  load  to  be  carried. 
Stacks  should  seldom  be  less  than  120  feet 
high.  In  many  cases  they  must  be  higher, 
or  a  fan  used  with  them.  For  most  bitu- 
minous coals  a  draft  or  difference  of  pres- 
sure of  y^  inch  of  water  between  the  top 
and  the  bottom  of  the  fuel  bed  will  be 
sufficient.  For  small  sizes  of  bituminous 
coals  and  for  the  various  small  sizes  of 
anthracite,  the   draft   required  is  greater. 


For  buckwheat  sizes  of  anthracite,  a  draft 
of  I  inch  of  water  is  frequently  necessary. 

Choice  of  Coals 

Because  a  coal  is  sold  at  a  low  price 
per  ton  does  not  of  necessity  make  it  the 
cheapest  coal  to  buy.  In  choosing  a  coal 
when  the  furnace  equipment  and  other 
conditions  are  favorable,  the  one  giving 
one  million  heat  units  for  the  lowest  cost 
will  prove  to  be  the  most  economical  to 
purchase.  As  a  rule,  coals  mined  near 
the  point  of  consumption  and  bearing  only 
a  small  freight  charge  will  be  the  cheapest 
coals  to  purchase  and,  in  most  cases,  it 
will  pay  to  install  a  suitable  furnace  to 
burn  them.  An  engineer  having  full  in- 
formation before  him  may  then  decide 
whether  his  furnaces  are  suitable  for 
burning  the  cheapest  coal,  or  whether  it 
will  be  profitable  to  change  the  furnaces. 

It  often  happens  that,  for  some  good 
reason,  it  is  impossible  to  change  the 
equipment  and  in  this  case  it  is,  of  course, 
necessary  to  choose  a  grade  of  coal  which 
will  make  it  possible  to  generate  the  steam 
required,  even  though  it  be  more  expen- 
sive. These  conditions  arise  especially  in 
plants  belonging  to  Government  or  State 
institutions  and  in  plants  which  are 
rented. 

In  considering  coals  for  boiler  plants, 
one  must  be  familiar  with  the  kinds  and 
grades  of  coal  available,  their  chemical 
characteristics  and  the  prices,  together 
with  the  furnace  equipment  to  be  used. 

Certain  characteristics  of  coal  determine 
the  method  of  firing  or  the  design  of  fur- 
nace required  to  burn  them  most  effici- 
ently. Among  these  are  the  tendency  to 
clinker  and  to  cake  in  burning.  The 
amount  and  character  of  the  volatile  mat- 
ter, ash  and  moisture  are  also  important. 

How  TO  Select  Coal 

In  choosing  coal  for  a  boiler  plant,  it 
is  probable  that  the  chemical  comparison 
is  the  more  reliable,  if  based  upon  a  repre- 
sentative sample  of  the  coal,  than  a  boiler 
test.  The  possibility  of  doing  accurate 
work  in  a  laboratory  is  greater  than  in  a 
boiler  room,  where  the  fireman  may  unin- 
tentionally influence  results  by  his  method 
of  handling  a  fire.  Usually  it  requires  a 
few  days  for  a  fireman  to  become  accus- 
tomed to  a  new  coal,  and  even  an  expert 
fireman  has  difficulty  to  burn  the  same 
coal  two  days  in  succession  and  supply 
the  same  amount  of  air  per  pound  of  coal 
each  time.     A  boiler  test  is  only  a  rough 


April  6,  1909. 

determination,  and  two  tests,  one  on  each 
of  two  coals,  are  seldom  sufficient  for 
comparison.  If  several  tests  can  be  run 
and  the  averages  of  the  results  of  these 
taken,  they  will  compare  pretty  closely 
with  the  chemical  valuation  of  the  coal, 
provided  the  coals  arc  of  the  same  general 
character.  Coals  high  in  fixed  carbon 
and  low  in  moisture  give  better  results 
than  those  high  in  volatile  matter  and 
moisture.  This  is  true  in  nearly  all  fur- 
naces and  especially  true  of  those  not 
provided  with  firebrick  furnaces. 

Size 

In  the  perfect   furnace  which  has  been 

■lentioned,   the  value  of   the  coal   should 

deoend  entirely  upon  the  heal  units  which 

ivailabU  in  the  coal.     This  being  so, 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

show  that  with  the  equipment  osed  coals 
from    Illinois,    Indiana,    Kef  '   wm, 

Missouri   and   Kansas  may   .  i«<J 

•  en 
-.joo 
to  ii,uiA>  L.t.u.  per  puuiid  tA  cual.  the  Afth 
varies  from  8  to  25  per  cent ,  the  motftorc 
N.iric  from  j  to  JO  per  cent,  and  the  vola- 
tile nutter  varies  from  jo  »•>  '"..r.-  th»n 
40  per  cent  in  these  coals. 

Influcncb  or  Hcatinc  Valub 

The  results  of  t!  -Juit 

for  coals  of  the   -  ter 

the   •  s'of 

the  -  in 

the  c<m1  ,  that  moisture,  \ 
sulphur  and  ash  have  more 
ence  on  the  capacity  and  cAcicncy.    It  it 


6<| 


TABLE  1. 
PaoxiMATB  AMALTsaM  OT  CoAUi  Tttou  HimmMKt  Pabtb  or  fva  UmiBD  9rATas. 
(See  Prof.  P»per  4«.  I'.  S.  Oeolodcal  Snrvay.) 


PaoauMATa  Ama 

Coel. 

nxed 
CartKjn 

VoUtllr 

MAttr. 

M..i.t',r.- 

,«, 

B  I  u 

Virginia.  .  8 

'11.    .            1 
iri                  ^ 
,l>*k..ra        J 

i&  40 

11 

Ah     ■ 
2«   |H 
38   U 

IH   M 
»  M 

10  « 

•.•74 

Mai 
If  a 


per  onM.  ol 

bostibk"  in  iW  c-  -  11.  t 

be  tccn  that  an  •(  /  «  j  per 

of  aoMtorc  ia  tW  cwl  ku  bai  iolr 

on  the  cftcicsio    of  \}.r  br^Wr       \\.m 

when  aaoHtar- 

•t«.  as  H  .'.'  ,„  ,..„    ,„„,, 

*mous   :  thr  heat 

~: -irate  im  rrv^marr  fraai  tW 

•-  rcdoclioa  in  tcmpcratarv  ol 
>ia<e  gasca.  Tibs  loaa  m 
for  in  chemical  rrporia  oa  Bxa.  i 
and  an  allowance  shoald  W  aad 
ooaJ  is  Intli  m  moisiarc.  TMa 
carrtiposid  to  the  stxailad  low 
\i\iic  .  f  iru  and  liqoid  fads  aard 
ribofltioa  cngiacs  (sat  I* 
<<  •>.    laUe  a). 

In  order  10  make  dear  the  rdabaa 
t  a  ceil   the  dufercnt   loraH  01 
ooal  aaalyaes  and  to  skow  ikc 
of  moMiure  in  eoal  when  both 
and  ash  arc  present  in  varying 

^cconpaaywig  tables  haw 

I 


lnTLcaxcs  or  Asa 

It  is  diftcuh  to    dctcrnupe    )as( 
a...  .1.. ,^j^^  ^  ^^  g^^  ii^^^^  g^  ii^ 

-e  boiler.     Appar tally  it  b 


Bxa. 

in  \m- 
I  cal- 


•  ••c   ot    coal.      Lnt<^rtanatcl>,    a» 
t»een  mentioned,  the  size  of  the 
even  though  it  is  otherwise  equally 
in  U  t.u ,  is  an  important  element  in 
ing  the  coal  on  most  kinds  of  equip- 
Usually  the  smaller  sizes  are  more 
lit   to  t>urn  on  account  of  the  diffi- 
of  drawinK  air  through  the  fuel  bed 
m    many    kinds    <<f    coal    the    vmaller 
contain  a  greater  percentage  <»f  ash 
do  the  larger  sizes. 
tJwing  to  the  difficulty  of  burning  the 
.niilirr    sizes    of    coal,    they    are    usually 
1  cheaper  than  the  larger  coal*.     Im- 
d  furnaces  with  strong  drafts  have 
provided  in  so  many  plants  that  very 
coal    IS   l>eing    wasted   today   on   ac- 
'  of  its  size.     The  culm  b.inks  of  the 
region   are   tteing    put    through 
and   the  gixxl  portion    m>I<I   for 
fuel      Many  coals  break  up  badly  in  hand- 
ling     This   is  especially  true  of  w»me  of 
the   high  grade    Eastern   coals      Some   of 
•'--"1  are  delivered  with  20  per  cent    fine 
which  will  pass  through  a  screen  with 

If  the 
serious 


TABLL  i. 
Tms  tirrLuaxcB  or  Moarnrsa  amd  Ami  i^  rent  rrv  rm  fl  t  q  Yttr-^  t«c  ns  twa  IIbat  Ti 

AVAlLAaLa  TO  Tl"      ' 


ODwr*w-                                                                                 V 

•        •  1 

..-. 

.1 

*1 

l 

< 

North  tiekot*       1 

•.•74 

!■     . 

•  » 

f«}«*<»» 


in   I 

charaiier  may  be 
the  (>a«i«  of  the 
dflwfred   without 


<J«*  wkkU    (r***tA> 

I  «i  the    fuel   bed 

serious    error       It    is  edW-wtn*    and  capsnty 

il,<i    il,r    k,.->(ing    valae  •''«         '        Ui'-ir-c     fm 

^  ol  the 


*m%  tt 


tne  cases,  earn***  a 
'f  the  very  fine  fuel      .       -  . 
It  is  burned,  and  in  case  it  does  no» 
'     ible  loss  due 


'  •irMiCAL  CMAaA'-rT»t*Ti.  * 
The  result*  of  more     ' 
'•••••   conducted   at    the    :  . 

■ht  I'nited  States   Geological    S«>' 


.  ...  \(. 


•>al  t  i^< 


644 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  6,  1909. 


In  addition  to  the  foregoing,  it  must  be 
remembered  that  the  volatile  matter  is 
net  all  combustible  material  and  the  varia- 
tion in  this  respect  is  very  great  when  all 
the  coals  in  the  country  are  compared. 
Coals  having  a  high  percentage  of  vola- 
tile matter  which  is  nearly  all  combustible 
are  found  to  be  the  most  difficult  to  burn 
properly.  The  results  obtained  from  tests 
en  an  iron  inclosed  furnace  show  a  drop  in 
efficiency  as  great  as  10  or  12  per  cent,  in 
burning  coals  ranging  from  18  down  to 
45  per  cent,  of  volatile  matter  in  the 
'"combustible."  A  well-designed  furnace 
reduced  this  loss  in  efficiency  when  burn- 
ing such  coals  to  about  5  per  cent.  A  per- 
fect furnace  would,  of  course,  obtain  the 
same  efficiency  from  all  coals. 

Influence  of    Sulphur 

Sulphur  is  considered  an  undesirable 
element  in  coal.  It  usually  gives  trouble 
from  clinker  and  is  sometimes  destructive 
to  the  grate  bars.  Its  eflfect  depends  upon 
the  form  in  which  it  occurs  in  the  coal ; 
on  the  percentage  of  ash  in  the  coal. 
Coals  having  sulphur  varying  from  H  to 
6  per  cent,  or  more  are  successfully 
burned  under  boilers  and,  in  many  cases, 
no  difficulty  is  experienced. 

Purchase  of  Co.al  for  the  Government 

The  United  States  Government  is  a 
large  user  of  coal.  Its  fuel  bill  amounts 
to  nearly  ten  million  dollars  annually. 
Much  of  the  coal  purchased  is  tested  and 
analyzed.  One  single  contract  for  this 
year  was  for  400,000  tons  of  coal  to  con- 
tain 14,600  B.t.u.  per  pound. 

In  order  to  compare  the  cost  of  coals 
used  by  the  Government  in  the  larger 
cities  of  the  country,  it  has  been  cus- 
tomary to  calculate  the  cost  on  the  basis 
of  the  number  of  cents  per  1,000,000 
B.t.u.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  for 
last  year's  contracts  the  cheapest  coal  was 
delivered  in  Louisville,  costing  only  7.1 
cents  per  million  B.t.u.  The  cost  in  Bos- 
ton for  similar  coal  was  16.3  cents  and  i^ 
St.  Paul  the  price  was  17. i  cents.  Anthra- 
cite was  delivered  in  Eastern  cities  at 
prices  ranging  from  85^2  cents  per  million 
B.t.u.  for  buckwheat  coal  to  14  cents  for 
pea  coal,  and  as  much  as  20  cents  in  some 
cases  for  egg  and  broken  coal. 

Specifications 

Having  decided  upon  a  kind  of  coal  to 
be  used  for  a  plant,  the  purchaser  natur- 
ally desires  to  have  some  assurance  that 
he  may  be  able  to  secure  the  coal  in  ques- 
tion, or  one  of  practically  the  same  com- 
position, for  a  given  period.  This  has  led 
to  the  use  of  specifications  for  the  pur- 
chase of  coal.  If  the  size  of  the  contract 
and  other  conditions  warrant  the  use  of 
a  specification,  then  the  proposal  for  coal 
to  be  of  value  should  contain  at  least  two 
general  statements  regarding  the  kind  and 
character  of  coal : 


Proposals  for  Coal 
The  bidder  should  state  in  his  proposal 
(i)  the  commercial  name  and  size  of  the 
coal  to  be  furnished,  the  size  to  be  speci- 
fied within  certain  limits  in  order  to  avoid 
disputes  when  coal  is  delivered,  and  (2) 
the  character  of  the  coal  to  be  furnished, 
in  the  following  form : 

PROXIMATE  ANALYSIS. 


As 
Received. 

Dry  Coal. 

Free  from 
Moisture 
and  Ash. 

Moisture 

Volatile  mat- 
ter        .    . 

Fixed  carbon 

Asli 

Sulphur  separately  deter- 
mined  


B.t.u.  in  coal  as  received  (not  dry) .  .  . 

The  price  per  ton  should  be  stated  for 
coal  of  the  specified  quality.  The  price  to 
be  paid  on  coal  delivered  should  vary  di- 
rectly with  the  B.t.u.  in  the  coal  "as  de- 
livered ;"  this  value  to  be  modified  fur- 
ther,  if  advisable,  by  corrections  : 

(i)  For  more  or  less  ash  in  the  dry 
coal; 

(2)  For  more  or  less  volatile  matter 
in  the  "combustible,"  allowing  in  all  cases 
2  or  3  per  cent,  variation  without  premium 
or  penalty.  A  limiting  value  may  be 
placed  on  the  percentage  of  sulphur  in  the 
coal  which  will  be  accepted.  Corrections 
for  ash  and  volatile  matter  are  best  ex- 
pressed in  the  form  of  a  table.  In  mak- 
ing corrections  for  variations  in  the 
quality  of  the  coal  delivered,  it  may  in 
some  cases  be  more  convenient  to  make 
all  changes  in  the  price  on  the  basis  of 
change  of  the  B.t.u. 

The  reasons  for  basing  the  contract  on 
the  items  mentioned  are  as  follows: 

(i)  "B.t.u.  in  coal  as  received"  corrects 
for  changes  in  heating  value  due  to 
changes  in  both  ash  and  moisture. 

The  B.t.u.  in  the  coal  as  delivered  being 
the  most  direct  measure  of  its  value  to 
the  consumer,  it .  is  reasonable  that  the 
contract  should  be  based  principally  upon 
this  value.  This  value  may  be  determined 
and  reported  directly  by  the  chemist.  This 
results  in  a  premium  for  better  coal  and  a 
penalty  for  coal  not  up  to  the  standard. 

As  has  been  shown,  as  far  as  is  now 
known  the  presence  of  small  amounts  of 
moisture  in  the  coal  has  but  little  effect  on 
the  efficiency  of  the  boiler,  and  as  coals 
from  the  same  mine  or  group  of  mines  do 
not  usually  vary  more  than  3  or  4  per 
cent,  in  moisture,  it  hardly  seems  worth 
while  to  correct  for  the  small  amount  of 
heat  lost  in  evaporating  it.  By  basing  the 
value  of  coal  on  the  B.t.u.  as  received 
(moist),  the  variations  in  heating  value 
as  otherwise  affected  Jjy  the  moisture  are 
provided  for.  t 

(2)  "Ash  in  the  dry  coal"  is  indepen- 
dent of  changes  in  moisture  in  the  coal, 
this  figure  always  being  the  same  no  mat- 


ter what  the  moisture  content  may  be. 
Coal  delivered  from  the  same  mines  may 
vary  considerably  in  the  percentage  of 
ash.  A  reasonable  allowance,  such  as  i 
or  2  per  cent,  from  the  average,  would 
seem  to  be  desirable,  as  such  a  variation 
is  almost  unavoidable  in  commercial 
products.  Inasmuch  as  the  heating  value 
ib  taken  care  of  by  the  B.t.u.  determina- 
tions, the  only  remaining  correction  to  be 
made  for  the  ash  is  the  extra  trouble  in 
handling  the  coal  and  ashes  and  the  pos- 
sible reduction  of  the  capacity  of  the 
equipment.  When  the  ash  greatly  exceeds 
the  amount  for  which  the  furnace  was  de- 
signed the  reduction  in  capacity  may  be- 
come a  serious  matter  and  would  justify 
a  rapidly  increasing  penalty.  For  the  first 
3  or  4  per  cent,  increase  or  decrease  in 
the  ash  it  is  only  necessary  to  provide  for  ' 
the  difference  in  the  cost  of  the  handling, 
which  is  between  l4  cent  to  i  cent  per  ton 
for  each  i  per  cent,  of  ash  in  the  coal.  If 
corrections  other  than  for  B.t.u.  are  to  be 
made,  and  the  ash  is  a  factor,  the  speci- 
fications should  be  based  upon  the  percent- 
age of  ash  in  the  dry  coal  for  reasons 
which  are  explained  elsewhere. 

(3)  If  volatile  matter  is  to  be  corrected 
for,  then  "volatile  matter  in  'combusti- 
ble' "  is  preferable  to  "volatile  matter  in 
coal."'  It  should  be  the  same,  or  nearly 
the  same,  regardless  of  variations  injnois- 
ture  and  ash  in  the  coal,  and  it  is  more 
properly  a  measure  of  the  difficulty  to  be 
experienced  in  burning  coal,  as  it  is  the 
direct  ratio  of  the  volatile  matter  to  that 
part  of  the  coal  which  is  actually  burned. 
It  is  reasonable  to  have  a  penalty  for 
great  variations  in  the  volatile  matter 
from  the  standard  specified,  for  the  rea- 
son that  furnaces  are  not  all  equally  well 
designed  to  burn  coals  high  in  volatile 
matter.  This  should  not  in  any  way  affect 
the  dealer  or  operator,  provided  the  coal 
is  furnished  from  the  same  mine,  as  the 
volatile  matter  should  remain  practically 
constant  and  a  reasonable  limit  should  be 
established  within  which  no  change  in  the 
price  would  be  made.  This  variation 
could  well  be  3  per  cent,  either  way  from 
the  standard  established.  The  value  for 
volatile  matter  should  be  based  on  volatile 
matter  in  the  "combustible"  (coal  free 
from  moisture  and  ash),  as  this  value  re 
mains  nearly  constant  in  the  same  coal. 
Premiums  or  penalties  for  lower  or  higher 
volatile  matter  may  properly  vary  accord- 
ing to  local  conditions. 

(4)  Sulphur.  Sufficient  information  ig 
not  available  on  which  to  base  a  reasona^ 
ble  rate  for  correction  for  this  element 


A  forest  products'  laboratory  is  to  be 
established  at  the  University  of  Wiscon- 
sin, at  Madison,  by  the  United  States  For- 
est Service,  where  ail  lines  of  the  experi- 
mental investigations  of  the  Government 
looking  to  closer  and  better  utilization  of 
timber  and  the  checking  of  wood  waste 
will  I)c  concentrated  in  the  near  future. 


April  6,  1909. 


iOULK  AND  THE  hNGiNtbK. 


6«S 


Practical     Letters    from     Practical     M 

Don't  Bother  About    the    Style,    but    Write    Just    What    You  Think. 
Know  or  Want  to  Know    About  \'our  Work,  and   Help  Each  Oher 

WE     PAY     FOR     USEFUL     IDEAS 


en 


Air  Receivers 


1  he    uses    of   compro^c*!     air     are     so 
varied  that  no  definite   rules  can  Ix  laid 
■  ;i  to  cover  all  requirements  of  the  re- 
r.    That  a  receiver  is  desirable  seems 
to  be  K*-'"*^ rally  conceded,  but  the  reasons 
ff.r  its  use  seem  to  be  rather  confused. 
iie  most  important   functions  of  a  re- 
•  r  can  be  divided  under   four  heads: 
ict  as  a  temporary  reservoir;  to  col- 
let ihr  w.ttcr  and  grease  and  insure  dry 
air;    t<<    ri.iucc    the   loss   caused   by    fric- 
in   the    pipes,   and    to    equalize    the 
itions  and   steady  the   flow   of  air  to 
the  place  of  use. 


J    •I"''' 


^ 


^ 


Ptntm^ 


3  i.iM 


r.«.r. 


)  ti.    t     vmTii  Ai.  Mil  r.ivca 


minute  at  a  working  prcMure  of  no 
pounds.  It  would  require  a  rtctirtr  $ 
feet  in  diameter  and  60  feet  long  to  keep 
up  the  work  of  \\i-  min- 

ute   after    it    had  not 

allow  the  pressure  lu  Urup  luurc  than  15 
pounds.     While  if  the  compressor  was  at 
work  and  the  demand  for  air  was  2$  per  ■ 
cent,   greater   than    the    capacity    of    the 
compressor    in     four    minutes    it    would 
lower  the  pressure   15  pound«      The  real 
value  of  the  receiver  is  when  the  demand 
for  air   is  very  irregular,   ?' 
beinc  due  to  the  fart  that  li 
stores  energy  in  ti  .tii> 

great    change    in    1  de- 

mand for  air  is  less.     1  >m- 

pressor  from  the  hani  ''y  a 

%'ar>'ing  change  in  the  load,  and  avoid* 
the  Imt  caused  by  free  cxpantion.  which 
would  result  if  no  receiver  were  u»rd 
When  the  variation  in  the  quantity  of  air 
used  is  very  great,  and  a  uniform  pres- 
sure it  required,  an  unloader  is  often 
used. 


5r_i 


J 


The    iirst    function   of   a    receiver  that 
occur*  to  most  people  is  that  it  will  act     valve  a-'    •'^"> 
as  a  reservoir  of  power.     This  is  true,  to     are  dr^ 
a  certain  extent,  if  the  receiver   i«  mad** 
fcirgr    rnr.Mifh.     but     in     most     ca*e»     ihi* 
T   a    receiver    mi   brgr    .i»    to 
')•       For   Ihin   rea«on  ihr    (>!<" 
iiting  the    receiver  as  a  rewrrvoir    .v  " 
i.er    tic     satisfactory,     and     the     r^■ 
money   «p<nt   for  the   reservoir  wmil' 

better  used   if  expended   in  thr   

of  a  compressor  of   sufhrient   > 
'■%t   demand   i>»i' 

•      *i*t    of    rrcriv  rr     r 


riu.  2.   HuaiXbMTAL  auTivxa 

1  he  receiver  when  properly 
%rr\es  as  a  means  for  removing  t>  -  ».n.. 
and    irrease    from    the   air.      The    inlet    to 
th- 

thr 

both  ilie  vcttKal  .titd  it- 
See     lifs      I     and    J      T. 

•houM  be  fitted  a  p' 
The 
the  tir  by   j 

!..  pau»r   M    ,, .   il.iw.  •-■--'    •• 

•  )  .-  vkjfrr  and  grease 

»i»e  Ik 

atf       I- 


wicb  caps  screwed  o^ixt  tht  mtik.  TW 
bottom  cap  is  dnikd  aad  lapfad  for  ih* 
drain,  and  the  lop  cap  for  tW  Wn  ami 
oollei  pipes  TbM  Mparalor  sko«U  W 
placed  at  the  eftd  of  Ike  air  Use.  aai  al 
the  lowest  pomi  m  the  pip* 

The  air   rta>    i\u>  be  dried  Vf 
a  seeof><!  it  the  cad  of  tW  atr 

line.      Tl..      _.-       .       iw-fn!   in    rr«ffaHag   the 

loM  by  fricliod  of  ipe  sys- 

tem.    When   air    n    i|ukkii     witbdraww 
from  the  pipe  the  pre«s«rc  will  mamtm- 
'    '        the  average.     If  a  rr 
Txar  ibc  acciw  ol  actson 
^  puAstbic  thu  kMs  of  prrssorv  aad  mtt^ 


no.  J. 


unitorm  pr« 


ik    •mA    a4    IW    *W 


ikaf    !<.»*»»    »<<  ■ 


•■  tbe  << 


r%%nr,    running    at    H5    revoJuiH- 


aiH^< 


litig    In    tfif 


646 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  6,  190^. 


comes  from  the  compressor  into  the  pipe, 
the  pressure  will  run  up  momentarily 
far  in  excess  of  the  average  pressure 
lised,  unless  there  is  sufficient  space  for 
its  immediate  accommodation.  This  will 
throw  unnecessary  strain  on  the  compres- 
sor, and  also  consume  power.  By  placing 
a  receiver  in  the  air  line  this  difficulty  is 
relieved  and  a  steady  flow  of  air  is  sent 
into  the  pipe  leading  to  the  work. 

The  size  of  receiver  required  depends 
upon  the  rapidity  at  which  the  air  is 
drawn  from  it,  and  the  drop  in  pressure 
permissible.  The  size  also  depends  upon 
the  working  pressure,  and  in  general  it 
can  be  said  that  the  greater  the  working 
pressure,  the  smaller  the  size  of  receiver 
that  can  be  used  for  a  given  number  of 
cubic  feet  of  free  air  per  minute.  Fig.  4 
is  a  diagram   showing  the  general  prac- 


5000i-j-pj 1 1 

-r 

--                   / 

-^ 

3 

' 

1. 

0     , 

:  _        -      -J 

:                  4 

f 

a 

A 

*■/ 

*■                     1 

i^/ 

??/ 1 

9 

M.  V    ! 

"       j5L"f" 

^/i      1              J 

^J    '               V 

/                 ■•*/ ' 

—                                                         ■     :       i- 

ffj          -?/                   r*y 

■3            -      "        1     ■?   ■ 

;>■    •^/         c^ y     , 

0                          L .?  ■    . 

0          '              ;'^     ^; 

■^Z                           ^v/               '      1 

/                      0*/      ■     1     1    ! 

2       "           ~^i°"   C* 

/                        /                       ' 

S    -win                                 .5         ■? 

/  ■                  -.*/                      1    i 

.2000--         -         /      -^^ 

/                   ^     /                              ' 

2                 -            i?     .o' 

/                  "^  I 

s,       -  -      --■'-.' 

/       "^y 

S                             ?114-    "-U 

\/        ■  '  '  1  i 

I       "     ~  Alt:  _z 

/                1 

/                 1  1 

0             lif  jC    r 

r 

*                   ,    Tt    / ' 

/                                               '     1     1 

i?            ""  /    /  '       ' 

r                                           '         '     '     1 

/ 

-    1000   --        f-     f\     y       y 

1 

%           i  1   /  / 

0         -^-j^  /  / 

'    ,     ' 

~i  1  /  j^ 

r'i'/'x 

//'/^ 

w  /  X.^^ 

f/y^^ 

, 

m^'                          i    t 

:  :  i  :  i  1    1  1  .  ,  M  M  1  1 

A  Problem  in  Power  Transmission 


The  accompanying  sketch  represents  an 
end  view  of  two  countershafts  connected, 
as  shown,  bj'  means  of  two  crank  disks 
and  a  rod  C.  The  countershaft  A  is  belt- 
driven  from  the  main  shaft  and  runs  at 
from   40   to    50    revolutions    per    minute, 


"0  lew  200  'MO 

Cubic  Keet  o(  Space  in  Keceiyer 

FIG.    4.      CAPACITY  OF   AIR   RECEIVERS 


tice  in  selecting  the  size  of  receiver  un- 
der ordinary  conditions.  For  example,  to 
find  the  size  of  receiver  necessary  for  an 
1 100  cubic-foot  macliine  at  no  pounds 
working  pressure,  project  across  to  the 
no-pound  curve,  and  then  down  to  the 
lower  margin,  where  the  size  is  found  to 
be  140  cubic  feet.  From  this  the  dimen- 
sions of  the  receiver  can  be  computed. 

Receivers  should  be  made  of  the  best 
60,000-tensile-strength  steel.  The  side 
seams  fhculd  be  double-riveted,  and 
strongly  m.sde  with  dished  heads,  and 
tested  at  a  pressure  50  per  cent,  greater 
than  the  maximum  pressure  used.  The 
larger  sizes  should  be  provided  with  man- 
holes. To  prevent  too  great  an  accumula- 
tion of  water  and  grease,  the  drains  of 
the  receiver  should  be  opened  irequently. 
John  B.  Sperry. 

Aurora,  111. 


gasolene  engines  were  tried  without  avail, 
and  it  was  finally  decided  that  the  engine 
needed  more  compression,  which  was 
given  it  by  inserting  an  iron  block,  i  inch 
thick,  at  each  end  of  the  connecting  rod, 
between  the  end  of  the  rod  and  the  brass 
box  (see  sketch),  thus  lengthening  the 
connecting  rod  2  inches,  which  gave  about 
TiiVz    per    cent,    more    compression,    with 


CRANK    CIRCLE,    12    INCHES  IN   DIAMETER;   R.P.M.,  40  TO  50 


while  B  is  supposed  to  drive  a  belt  con- 
veyer. 

The  problem  is  to  drive  B  by  means  of 
the  rod  C,  without  the  use  of  gears,  belt, 
friction,  flywheel  or  counterbalance.  Or, 
to  state  it  another  way,  the  transmission 
of  power  must  be  made  through  the  two 
crank  pins. 

J.  A.  Carruthers. 

Bankhead,  Alberta. 


the  result  that  no  more  trouble  was  ex- 
perienced in  getting  the  engine  to  carry 
its  full  load  with  ease.  The  i-inch  blocks 
were  only  put  in  as  a  temporary  make- 
shift until  a  new  piston  could  be  made. 
J.  A.  Smith. 
Monterev,   Mex. 


Transformer  Connections 


Curing  a  Balky    Gasolene    Engine 


A  short  time  ago  the  writer  received  a 
commission  from  a  mining  company  to 
move  a  gasolene  engine  from  an  old 
working  to  a  new  shaft,  and  erect  and 
belt  it  to  an  air  compressor  for  supply- 
ing compressed  air  to  rock  drills.  A 
machinist  was  sent  to  do  the  job,  with  in- 
structions to  get  everything  in  first-class 
order  and  see  that  the  engine  and  com- 
pressor had  at  least  five  days'  work  un- 
der full-load  conditions  before  leaving 
them. 

Within  a  few  days  a  communication 
was  received  from  the  machinist  saying 
that  the  gasolene  engine  would  not  pull 

1  Iron  Block 


Concerning  the  transformer  problem 
presented  by  R.  S.  Carroll,  it  makes  no 
difiference  which  way  the  connections  are 
made.  Since  the  motors  are  not  in  use 
when  the  lights  are  on,  and  vice  versa,  the 
unbalancing  of  the  system,  due  to  the  load 
on  the  lighting  transformer,  will  not 
affect  the  motors.  Even  if  both  were  in 
use  at  the  same  time  it  would  make  no 
difference,  assuming  the  motor  load  to 
balance  as  the  lighting  load  unbalanced 
the  system,  regardless  of  the  phase  it 
might  be  on. 

Such  an  arrangement  for  lights  is  bad, 
especially  if  many  lights  are  to  be  sup- 
plied, as  the  unbalanced  condition  will 
cause  uneven  voltages  across  the  phases. 

A    two-phase    system    is    much    better 


where    BLOCKS    WERE    INSERTED    IN    CONNECTING  ROD 


the  load,  and  he  could  not  get  more  than 
30  pounds  pressure  in  the  air  receiver  be- 
fore the  engine  began  to  slow  down  and 
finally  stop,  when  the  pressure  reached 
40  pounds;  it  would  work  all  right  when 
running  light,  but  could  not  be  made  to 
carry  the  load,  and  it  was  impossible  to 
get  an  explosion  oftener  than  once  in 
every    four   revolutions. 

All   of   the   usual     remedies    for    balky 


where  both  lights  and  power  arc  to  be 
supplied,  as  a  reasonable  unbalancing  of 
the  two  phases  does  not  make  so  much 
difference  as  in  the  three-phase  system. 

Where  lights  are  supplied  from  a  three- 
phase  system,  part  of  the  light  load  should 
be  on  each  phase,  keeping  the  system  as 
nearly  balanced  as  possible. 

C.  L.  Greer. 

Handley,  Tex. 


April  6,  1909. 


Cutting  Close  Nipples 


The  accompanying  illustration  shows 
the  way  I  make  close  nipples.  By  leav- 
ing out  the  thimble  C  the  die  stock  A  will 
fit  over  the  coupling  B,  thus  threading  a 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

undisputed  excellence.  Apparently  very 
adequate  means  of  preventing  water  in 
the  cylinder  have  been  employed,  bat  in 
several  instances  water  has  patted  all  of 
these  safeguards  in  soch  quantitiet  that 
th'  vas  stalled 

thf  b,     un<i 


HOW   TO  cur  CLOSE   Nimxs 


dose  nipple,  the  nipple  being  screwed  into 
the  coupling  to  meet  the  pipe  li  at  D. 

T.  A.  Knowltun. 
Conway,   N.   H. 


Drainage  of  Steam  Piping 

From  time  to  time  there  have  appeared 
communications  relating  to  the  erection 
and  drainage  of  high-pressure  steam  pip- 
ing. I  have,  however,  never  seen  this 
subject  fully  and  adequately  treated, 
although  I  have  long  looked  for  such  an 
•rticle.  What  brings  this  to  my  atten 
now  is  the  letter  by  T.  J.  Bloss  in  the 
'-  of  I-'ebruary  g. 

Mr.  Bloss  is  undoubtedly  correct  in 
stating  that  steam  piping  should  drain  in 
the  direction  of  the  flow  of  steam,  and 
that  the  steam  should  enter  the  engine 
through  a  steam  separator  of  ample  pro 
portions  from  which  the  watrr  of  con 
(Jcn»,i»r"»i  i«  led  away  throvvli  ,»  trap  A 
go.  •    r  is   a   \    '  ., , 

the  r  under  tli-  !•   ' 

like  every  other  piece  of  apparatus,  it  has 
its  limitations 

I  have   in   mind  a  75-hor*epr»wer   Cor 
Uss    engine    belted    from    the    flywheel    t" 
•n    electric    generator      The    flywherl    1 
far  too  light    for  the   ^^ 
pected    of    the    enRinr 
the    rri'-iliiv  Ti    I  ■ 
line  M  -•■»!  i.  •  •   1      . 
plannr.l    in<l    rr. nrd    with    ; 
drip  iiijx-*  t.^ijinl  in  at  intr' 
water     thus     removed     from     the 
header  is  taken  off  through  a  ir^r, 
above  the  ihmitle  is  a  large  «r|. 


»av  !  on 

the-  --en- 

ous  than  forang  the  engine  oot  of  altne- 
ment  was  apparent 

I  have  often  wondered  whether  small 
pipes  tapped  into  the  bottom  of  a  main 
steam   line,  as   expbined,   were   really   of 


nm 


4n.n 


J 


<inp  pipe  amr 

perfect  oosocm 

•idcrabk  water  foe  tlw  iny'io  rtma^ 

and  niBldQg  iIk  m^mmi  is 

that  hn  dmiaagi   wrmtm  was 

•  ock.  wWa.  m  fad.  bnk  m 

•  «icr  ame  Irom  tW 
Merer,  in  kts 

soggcau  iIm  dw  scaHB  omm  W  am^v 
brge  caovik  tor  tW  velociiy  ol  MMa 
flow  to  be  lew.  to  pirawt  iIms  fmam  ci 
drainegc  to  be  wttd.  hm  iW  irsi  eoel 
would  have  bcca  too  bagk  m  die  pnmm 
case,  to  the  quKki  maaiMw  *!«<  is  Ike 
best  and  sorest  way  to  get  iW  water  oai 
of  tkis  nda? 

ca 

Syraewse.  N   Y. 


A  Pialan  Made  d  Jtak 

The  stcan  pnton  bead  of  oat  of  omt 
snaO  pOBps  became  brofcco  io  two;  ibe 
rod  was  badly  beat  Wc  bed  oo  castH« 
for  the  ptfton  and.  therefore,  set  abel  to 

derise  s*-—-  •- ■  '  -uktng  ai 

repair.  oad  00 

pile,    howevrr,    \rr      1    ihioiwg 

from   whKh  the    pisian    was 

Two  disks,  each  ls6M  inckcs^  aod  a  pserr 

of  an  old  cast  iron  boihiwg  iHa6M  iackn. 

First  the  bushmg  was  chocked  and  boevd 

for  a  4-inch  pipe  t^r<>3'1    nest  tbr  disks 

were  Inmcd  dowr  ^elck.  kowv 

a  flange,  and  both  ^ :  wi 

Then    the    whole    was    ckucki 

taper  hole  bored  to  lake  ikc 

The  rod  wsk  then  torved  aad  fbted  to  Ike 


tkal.  osdrr 


648 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  6,  1909. 


Armature  Clearance 


In  all  plants,  large  or  small,  measuring 
the  armature  clearance  of  the  dynamos 
and  motors  once  every  month  will  pre- 
vent a  great  deal  of  future  trouble.  A 
very  convenient  method  is  to  turn  out  on 
a  lathe  a  set  of  steel  rods  of  %  inch  to 
}i  inch  diameter  and  make  smaller  sizes 
of  drawn  wire  from  1/64  inch  up  to  ^ 
inch;  a  little  brass  tag  should  be  secured 
to  the  end  of  each,  and  the  diameter  of 
the  rod  stamped  on  the  tag.  These  steel 
rods  are  to  be  used  in  watching  the  clear- 
ance, by  passing  them  between  the  armature 
and  face  of  each  field-magnet  pole,  keep- 
ing a  record  of  the  largest  size  that  passes 
freely  each  time.  It  will  be  found  ad- 
visable to  test  the  clearance  also  after  a 
machine  has  run  on  a  hot  bearing  for 
any  length  of  time. 

Motors  are  operated  with  smaller 
clearances  than  generators,  as  a  rule,  be- 
cause of  the  difference  in  size,  the  small- 
est generator  used  in  any  ordinary  plant 
being  considerably  larger  than  the  largest 
motor  in  the  plant. 

Malcolm  C.  Saeger. 

New  York  Citv. 


Device  for  Removing  Well  Pipe 

Sometimes  when  taking  out  or  putting 
in  pipe  for  an  artesian  or  other  small-bore 
well  the  pipe  slips  and  falls  to  the  bot- 
tom of  the  bore.  This  occasions  great 
delay  and  a  new  well  may  have  to  be  dug. 
By  using  the  device  herewith  described, 
pipe  can  easily  be  pulled  out.  Take  a 
piece  of  pipe  the  size  of  the  piece  in  the 
well,  and  cut  off  a  piece  about  twice  as 
long  as  its  diameter.  That  is,  for  a 
6-inch  pipe  use  a  piece  12  inches  long.  Cut 
this  piece  into  halves  lengthvtise  and  then 
halve  one  of  the  halves  lengthwise,  mak- 
ing two  quarters,  as  shown  in  the  sketch 
at  A.  Turn  in  the  lower  ends,  as  at  B. 
Take  two  pieces  of  angle  iron,  of  suitable 
size,  about  two-thirds  the  length  of  the 
pieces  of  pipe  and  rivet  one  piece  to  the 
inside  of  each  quarter,  in  the  positions 
shown  at  C  C.  Drill  two  holes  in  the 
upright  of  each  angle  iron  for  bolts  to 
go  through  to  hold  the  links.  Drill  the 
holes  in  the  piece  D,  making  the  upper  one 
one-fifth  the  length  of  the  piece  from  its 
upper  end  and  the  lower  hole  three-fifths 
the  length  of  the  piece  from  the  upper  end. 

In  the  angle  iron  E  make  the  upper  hole 
two-fifths  the  length  of  the  piece  from  its 
upper  end  and  the  lower  hole  four-fifths 
the  length  of  the  piece  from  its  upper  end. 
Then  make  the  two  links  of  such  length  that 
when  they  are  held  straight  across  at  right 
.'ingles  from  the  angle  iron  D  to  the  angle 
iron  E  they  will  hold  the  two  pieces  of 
pipe  apart  to  the  original  diameter. 
Forge  the  ends    of    these    pieces    to    the 


shape  shown  and  drill  a  hole  in  each  end 
the  same  size  as  those  drilled  in  up- 
rights of  the  angle  irons,  and  at  such  a 
distance  from  the  ends  that  when  the 
bolts  are  passed  through  them  and 
through  the  holes  in  the  angle  irons  the 
pieces  will  not  be  prevented  from  coming 
to  position. 

After  these  holes  are  drilled  the  links 
can  be  bolted  to  the  angle  irons  with  ma- 
chine bolts,  the  bolts  being  loose  enough 
to  allow  the  pieces  to  swing  upward 
easily.  A  piece  of  square  iron  F,  of 
suitable  size,  is  then  obtained  and  one  end 
flattened  and  riveted  to  the  upper  end  of 
the  quarter  G.  Then  it  is  bent  in  and  up 
as  shown.  To  the  upper  end  a  rod  or 
rope   can   be    fastened.      If   these    instruc- 


Receiver  Pressure 


VB     B     ^ 


Section  Showing 
Construction 


Device  Inside  Pipe 


tions  have  been  followed  the  device  will 
look  like  the  sectional  view.  When  it  is 
held  up  by  F,  gripping  a  pipe,  the  outside 
will  look  like  H. 

Secure  a  rod  or  rope  to  the  upper  end 
of  F.  and  lower  the  device  into  the  well 
in  which  the  pipe  is.  When  it  touches  the 
pipe  the  piece  /  will  swing  in  toward  E, 
and  allow  the  device  to  slip  into  the  pipe. 
When  an  attempt  is  made  to  pull  the  de- 
vice out  of  the  pipe  it  will  cause  the  side 
E  to  slide  up  in  the  pipe,  while  the  side  / 
remains  stationary,  thus  causing  the  links 
to  approach  a  position  at  right  angles  to 
the  angle  irons,  consequently  spreading 
the  two  sides  of  the  device  and  gripping 
the  side  of  the  pipe  to  be  raised.  By 
continuing  to  pull  up  on  the  rope  or  rod 
the  pipe  can  soon  be  raised  to  the  surface. 
F.   E.  FicK. 

Govans,  Md. 


The  relation  between  cylinder  ratio  and 
point  of  cutoff,  in  the  low-pressure  cylin- 
der, and  consequently  the  receiver  pres- 
sure, are  not  well  understood  by  many 
engineers.  It  is  self-evident  that  if  the 
cutoff  in  the  low-pressure  cylinder  corre- 
sponds to  the  cylinder  ratio,  the  receiver 
pressure  at  all  times  will  be  at  the  point  of 
efficiency;  that  is,  the  receiver  pressure 
will  follow  the  high-pressure  terminal, 
giving  as  nearly  perfect  expansion  as  it  is 
possible  to  secure  in  a  reciprocating  en- 
gine, the  low-pressure  cylinder  taking 
steam  at  approximate  pressure  and  tem- 
perature corresponding  to  the  high-pres- 
sure terminal. 

To  make  this  clear,  we  will  assume  a 
case  with  a  cylinder  ratio  of  i  to  4.  It  is 
perfectly  clear  that  one  cylinderful  of 
steam  from  the  high-pressure  cylinder 
will  fill  the  low-pressure  cylinder  one- 
quarter  full,  neglecting  the  influence  of 
the  clearance  at  the  same  pressure,  and 
the  loss  due  to  condensation  and  without 
reheat  in  the  receiver. 

With  engines  where  the  low-pressure 
cutoff  is  controlled  by  the  governor,  it  is 
not  possible  to  secure  a  cutoff  that  will 
correspond  to  the  cylinder  ratios  for  all 
loads.  In  such,  the  low-pressure  cutoff 
should  be  so  adjusted  as  to  give  a  cutoff 
corresponding  to  the  cylinder  ratio  for 
the  average  load. 

.If  the  cutoff  in  the  low-pressure  cylin- 
der of  a  compound  engine  with  a  ratio  of 
I  to  4  takes  place  before  one-quarter 
stroke,  it  will  cause  a  negative  load  on 
the  high-pressure  diagram,  the  size  of  the 
load  being  in  proportion  to  the  shortness 
of  the  low-pressure  cutoff ;  thai  is,  the 
shorter  the  cutoff  the  larger  the  load. 
Also,  if  cutoff  takes  place  later  than  one- 
quarter  stroke,  it  will  cause  a  drop  in 
pressure  between  the  high-pressure  ter- 
minal and  the  receiver,  the  amount  of  the 
drop  being  proportioned  to  the  length  of 
the  cutoff,  i.e.,  the  longer  the  cutoff  the 
greater  the  drop. 

This  drop  represents  a  loss  due  to  free 
expansion,  all  of  which  goes  to  show,  I 
believe,  that  there  is  just  one  proper  jcant 
of  cutoff  in  the  low-pressure  cylinder  for 
maximum  efficiency,  as  explained  above. 
A  further  conclusion  would  be  that  the 
cutoff  on  the  low-pressure  cylinder  should 
be  hand-controlled  for  the  best  results. 

It  is  understood  that  with  a  low-pres- 
sure cutoff  set  corresponding  to  the  cylin- 
der ratios  the  greater  the  load  the  larger 
proportion  of  load  carried  by  the  low- 
pressure  cylinder  and,  in  event  of  an  over- 
looked engine,  it  might  be  necessary  to 
lengthen  the  cutoff  on  the  low-pressure 
cylinder  in  order  to  distribute  the  load 
between  the  cylinders,  and  also  to  prevent 
injury  to  the  low-pressure  cylinder'  by 
reason  of  excess  pressure. 

The  point  at  which  it  would  be  neces- 
sary to  lengthen  cutoff  would  be  when  the 


April  6,  igog. 

receiver     pressure     reached     the     highest 
allowable  point  consistent  with  safety. 

It  is  not  possible  to  say  what  should  be 
the    highest    allowable    receiver    pressure, 
n''  that  would  be  owing  to  the  design  of 
cylinder  and  receiver  and  engine  as  a 
Ac;   but    as   a   general    thing,  builders 
;  i  ice    relief    valves   on    receivers    set    for 
.      it,  I  suppose,  they  calculate  is  the  safe 
Kimuni  pressure'  and  engineers,  by  ad- 
ting  the  cutoflF  so  as  to  keep  just  under 
pressure   for  which   the   relief   valves  arc 
set,  may  fci-I  perfectly  safe. 

F.  J.  De  Wjtt 
Auburn,  N    Y 


Packing  Chart 


The  accompanying  style  sheet  for  pack- 
ing   may    be    modified    to    suit    different 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

can  be  profiubly  u»ed   for  a  umpic  en- 
gine, and  while  ir; 
sure  will  give  gr 

gain  in  economy  by  raising  the  >icaiii 
pressure  beyond  a  very  moderate  hnut, 
unless  the  expansion  can  also  be  iocreatcd 
at  the  same  time. 

This  leads  at  once  to  the  compouad 
and  multiple-expansion  engines,  as  they 
have  proved  to  be  the  best  means  for  in- 
trta>ing  the  expansion  of  slcani  and  at 
the  s;ime  time  avoiding  excessive  cyliii 
dcr  condensation.  It  should  \*c  borne  m 
mind,  however,  that  compounding  it  not 
always  advisable,  and  it  is  necessary  to 
determine  the  conditions  under  which  it 
should  be  resorted  to  ami  the  gain  in 
txoncmy  to  be  expected.  In  the  first 
place  it  is  obviously  unfair  to  compare  a 
simple   engine   and   a    compound    engine 


.STVLE   SHRtIT   FOR   PACKING 


M  B  UtmiDCMr  ol  UsJ 

h  ■■   Ut«io«Mt  ol  Zui 

c  -^   Hii«  ol  Parklaa 

d  "   l>«ptb  ol  Boa 


7 


Air  eompr«>^*>r  ratve  item. 
^  "  'oo  roda. 


1   iiiiiiiii 
<1    valvr  steiiiH 
<l    wairr  (iliiiiKcr 


I 


(jiants  or  department^ 
any  explanation. 

(•Ei>Rr;E  T 
Waxahachic.  Tex. 


1(111 


It  liarill) 

M  UN  DAY. 


ComFmund  Engines 

I  Living    noticed    a    great    ditTemice    ot 
■  Miion    in    regard    to    the    economy    and 
amount     of    power     obtainable     from 
iipound     engines,     as     compared     with 
il>le   engines,    the    following   discussion 
IV   be  of   some   interest. 
It  is  a  fact,  determined  by  tests  and  ex 
•imrnts.   that    the   best   economy    in   an 
bime  is  obtained  by  a  moderately  short 
rint  ff.  so  re*trictei|  that  it  shall  not  cotue 
earlier    than    one-third    *lroke       Tins    m 
due   to   the    fact    that   the   coiid.  •- 
•team    and    the   amount   of   he;i( 
by   the   walls  of   the  cylinder   diinnK'    I'l 
mission,   increase  as  the  cutoff   i*   |riiK''(' 
•'d.  and   as   this   water  of  conden»ati.>ti 
i-    rrvapori/rd    during    the    exhaust,    the 
heat  is  remf>ved  from  the  walls  and  mutt 
be  again   •.upidied  by  the  incf>niing   ^•^^'•• 
at  the  next  admission      This  ,i.  fi.  n 
luuler    walls    is    thus    «.r.  • 
lit    on    the    number   of    «  x. 


for  the  primary  object  of  • 

to  use   !      ■  sure*  ami    .i    LifK*"    ""'" 

l»er   ot  V      The    f-nlv    true    rom 

parivin    wouM    kcem    to    ( 

rneitj^s   rnrh   "f  which  i»    ■ 

IS  of  operation. 

ins   |i>  indicate  that   for 
oimple     condensing     engines     8o     pounds 
steam    pressure    is    about    the    "••••••<••■•> 

l>oint  for  best  economy,  while 

ei'.  ■'   'Iv    employ    ir..in    i  ^• 

t-  ii   a   steady    full   |oj<1 

the    L' 

.to  V*'^ 


fMiund   engine   will   general 

I ....       .,4       ,-.-.ll>.,IMt         fl,.!!  1 


&«9 
and   krtt»ff   wthjrrtrd   to  the   gt«lcr  tcm- 

I  ixlrr  nu&imum  load  Mid  witli  the 
cutufi  at  flic  pcMot  denimiwd  by  tkt 
ratio  of  the  cylinders,  a 
gine  will  show  3 

over  a  simple  et  .   ^„^g  p9m*r, 

»"  *e*  of  a 

k  oa  the 
crank  shaft  and  smalW  arr»*r«  om  the 
pins. 

However,  the  acloal   power  dotluywl 

*•>■»  ^ '"  ■  .,  that 

of  a  ♦! 

the   lai: 
der  of  • 

it 

at  the  tame  pmsore 


of 
and 


Hyde   Park.   Mats 


II     L.    UtAJi 


Cleaning  Waler  Tube  Boilcn 


I   am  pleased  to  note  that  inrn»t  ft«« 


'  been 

en? 

K-.      Jlt» 

'M:. 

ilijr  -  i>.r 

•«d  them 

-ii€ 

.    the 

MrsJ 

m  ihcot 

rmf     A     tr^ 


days  at  a  tune 

I       |..v^       .1..,.. 


Ill      mr 

dav    lo 

•u^ 

<*« 

mm  a»  • 

the  load 

■  ■€nef  tme^    it 

•MK    be 

f.r...,..njt.         .1 

■"•■•  **• 

lu.  rarrsmc    tr^^r^^ 

per   mBn 

■>.     Mid     1 

fownem  daft'  rmt- 

\t 

Jt 


f    <m    the     1 


««•  aJhiwfd  If 


650 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  6,  1909. 


the  manhead  in  the  steam  drum  is  taken 
out.  At  about  4  a.m.  the  night  engineer 
has  a  hose  placed  with  its  nozzle  just  in- 
side the  manhole,  and  starts  feeding  cold 
water  into  the  steam  drum,  and  at  the 
same  time  opens  the  blowoff  cock  slightly 
so  that  the  water  will  flow  from  the  boiler 
at  the  same  rate  at  which  it  is  entering. 
This  plan  gradually  cools  the  water  in  the 
boiler,  rapidly  draws  the  heat  from  the 
brickwork  and  safely  hurries  cooling. 
When  the  boiler  is  drained  it  is  ready  for 
internal  inspection  and  cleaning,  the  fur- 
nace, ashpit  and  combustion  chamber  be- 
ing cleaned  while  the  boiler   is   draining. 

Before  starting  internal  cleaning  I  send 
a  man  into  the  mud  drum  with  an  incan- 
descent lamp  on  an  extension  cord.  He 
holds  this  light  at  every  tube  and  I,  from 
inside  the  steam  drum,  examine  the 
conditign  of  every  tube  and  direct  the 
passing  of  the  turbine  through  them,  if 
need  be. 

Scraping  and  washing  complete,  I  again 
inspect  the  tubes  and  if  satisfactory,  the 
two  manheads  are  put  in,  and  the  blowoff 
cock  is  taken  apart  and  examined  for 
signs  of  leaks  or  cutting.  If  in  order,  it 
is  put  back,  packed  and  adjusted  with  the 
set  screw  until  freely  working  and  then 
locked  with  a  jam"nut.  If  it  is  leaking  it 
is  ground  and  made  tight,  after  which  it  is 
put  back  and  adjusted  as  described. 

The  total  time  required  in  following  out 
my  plan  of  cleaning  this  boiler  is,  using 
two  men,  7  hours  and  15  minutes.  There- 
fore, starting  to  clean  at  7  a.m.,  the  boiler 
is  being  filled  with  water  again  at  3:15 
p.m.  The  filling  of  the  boiler  requires 
approximately  ^  hour,  and  as  soon  as 
water  appears  in  the  glass  a  fire  is  kin- 
dled and  fired  slowly  for  1%  hours,  and 
the  pressure  brought  up  to  the  working 
pressure.  The  boiler  is  then  cut  into  the 
header  at  5  p.m.,  just  in  time  to  help  with 
the  peak  load.  At  8  p.m.  the  next  boiler 
in  turn  is  cut  out  and  cleaned,  so  that  all 
four  boilers  can  be  cleaned  in  four  days' 
time,  if  necessary. 

F.  P.  Ohmer. 

South   Bend,   Ind. 


Valve  Stem    Broke 


Results  of  a  Pump  Test 


As  there  has  been  considerable  con- 
troversy about  the  power  required  to 
operate  a  centrifugal  pump  with  the  dis- 
charge valve  closed  or  partly  so,  I  sub- 
mit the  following  data  of  a  test  made 
with  a  No.  6  centrifugal  pump,  driven  by 
a  .SS-horsepowor  induction  motor : 

Condition.'-.  Power  Required.'  , 

Valve  closed 12. R  kilowatts  per  hour. 

Valve  quarter  open  ...  ].'j.O  kilowatt.s  per  hour. 

Valve  half  open 16.4  kilowatts  per  hour. 

Valve  wide  open 16.6  kilowatts  per  hour. 

All  Other  conditions  were  the  same 
throughout  the  test. 

W.   N.   GULICK. 

Tustin.  Cal. 


The  man  in  charge  of  a  large  cross- 
compound  engine  noticed  that  the  high- 
pressure  cylinder  was  not  developing  its 
share  of  power.  He  removed  the  valve 
and  found  the  stem  broken  close  to  the 
valve.  The  engine  ran  as  it  did  because 
there  was  a  piece  broken  out  of  the  valve 
and  steam  was  blowing  through  the  hole, 
thus  supplying  some  steam  for  that  end 
of  the  cylinder. 

J.  M.  Sewell. 

Hyde  Park,  Mass. 


Reducing    Fuel  Expenses 

Some  time  ago  an  engineer  took  charge 
of  a  certain  plant  which  was  in  bad  shape. 
It  had  been  permitted  to  run  down  to 
such  a  degree  that  the  fuel  expenses  were 
exorbitant.  In  an  attempt  to  reduce  the 
amount  of  coal  used,  the  first  things  the 
engineer  tackled  were  the  valves  located 
on  top  of  the  boilers.  These  valves  had 
been  allowed  to  run  so  long  without 
packing  that  the  stems  were  badly  grooved 
and  it  was  almost  impossible  to  make 
them  tight  with  new  packing.  As  new 
valve  stems  could  not  be  readily  obtained, 
it  was  decided  to  pack  the  old  stuffing 
boxes,  as  the  valves  were  seldom  used.  In 
doing  the  work  the  valves  were  left  wide 
open  and  some  heavy  lead  washers  were 
driven  into  the  stuffing  boxes  and  were 
calked  around  the  fluted  stems.  The  re- 
mainder of  the  box  was  filled  with  a  good 
fibrous  packing. 

As  the  safety  valves  leaked  badly,  they 
were  ground  in  and  properly  adjusted. 
It   was   then   decided   to   clean   the   tubes, 


FIG.      I.     REPACKING   VALVE 

and  at  the  first  opportunity  it  was  found 
that  it  was  impossible  to  force  a  flue 
brush  through  any  of  the  tubes.  A  length 
of  steam  pipe  having  the  largest  possible 
outside  diameter  that  would  enter  the 
boiler  tubes  was  secured  and  forced 
through  each  tube  by  means  of  a  sledge 
hammer.  The  flue  brush  was  then  used, 
and  after  steam  was  raised,  it  no  longer 


required  the  forced-draft  fan  to  hold  the 
steam   at  the   required  pressure. 

Upon  investigation,  the  feed  -  water 
heater  appeared  as  though  it  had  never 
been  blown  or  opened  up  for  cleaning 
since  it  was  erected.  The  amount  of  scale 
taken  from  the  heater  filled  more  than 
three  ash  cans.  During  the  cleaning  of 
the  heater  the  fire  linings  of  the  furnaces 


Power,  y.  r. 
FIG.      2.      INSTALLING    BLOWOFF    VALVE 

were  put  in  good  shape,  and  next  day 
when  the  plant  was  running  the  fireman 
was  jubilant,  and  naturally  so,  as  his  work 
had  been  greatly  reduced. 

Next  in  order  to  receive  attention  was 
the  blowoflf  valve.  The  asbestos-packed 
cock  at  C,  Fig.  2,  received  a  new  lining, 
and  an  auxiliary  blowofif  valve  was  con- 
nected in  the  line  at  V,  the  improvement 
being  that  valve  V  could  always  be  re- 
paired without  shutting  down  or  interfer- 
ing with  the  regular  operation  of  the 
plant. 

The  engineer  noticed  that  the  fireman 
had  to  run  the  boiler-feed  pump  very  fast 
in  order  to  keepi  the  water  at  the  proper 
level.  The  pump  was  opened  for  inspec- 
tion and  found  to  need  some  packing 
around  the  water  plungers  and  a  few  dis- 
charge valves.  The  packing  and  valves 
were  promptly  inserted,  and  when  the 
pump  was  started,  it  was  found  that  about 
one-quarter  of  the  original  speed  was 
sirfficient.  .A.11  leaking  flanges  received^ 
new  gaskets,  and  the  pipe  covering  was 
either  repaired  or  renewed  wherever  it 
was  found  necessary. 

The  next  thing  to  receive  attention  was 
the  engine.  It  being  found  that  stearn 
blew  past  the  packing  rings  rather  freely,, 
it  was  decided  to  expand  them  and  insure 
a  steam-tight  piston.  When  the  rings 
were  adjusted  with  the  piston  at  the  end 
of  the  cylinder,  great  difficulty  wag  ex- 
perienced in  trying  to  get  the  piston  to 
pass  the  center  of  the  cylinder.  Hence, 
the  engineer  lessened  the  labor  by  ex- 
panding the  packing  rings  to  fit  the  small-  ' 
est  part  of  the  cylinder.  After  the  rings 
were  adjusted  and  the  piston  tested  for 
tightness,  the  cylinder  was  closed  and  the 
engine  started  doing  its  regular  work. 
The  application  of  the  indicator  showed 
the  valves  needed  adjustment,  which  was 
promptly  made. 

An  account  was  kept  of  the  amount  of 
coal  burned  after  these  repairs  were  made, 
and    when    compared    with    the    amount 


April  6,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


6SI 


of  coal  burned  previous  to  the  repairs 
and  the  horsepower  developed  in  both 
cases,  the  amount  of  coal  saved  was  nearly 
JO  per  cent. 

William    Kavanach. 
New   York  City. 


Interesting  Indicator    Diagrams 

The    two     sets    of    diagrams    herewith 

re  taken   from  the  same  engine   under 

the  same  conditions  of  working,  but  with 

<liffcreni   valve   setting.     The   engine   was 


n&  3 


nc.  4 

a    2SO-hortepower,   and    was   sup|H»ed   to 
ti  condenaing 

The   first    »et    wa»   taken   from   the   cn- 
tie  at  it    had    hern    running    for    two 

jcart.     The  tettinK  had  b*--       '   "      ' 

4>f    the   graduate*    of    a    « 

tcchnir,     and     rrprr»rntri|     thrcr     «• 

work   for   a   man   who  bad   don*-    w«-ll    11 

bU  term.     On  taking  over  tbr 

writer     wan    mnvinrrd    that 

was  not  running  rvrnly.  aixl 

beat  was  being  developed  and   • 

«hr  oil  bill 


-:own 
h_.         .  were 

several  men  interested  in. the  running  of 
the  engine,  and  in  spite  of  the  dugranu 
they  were  as  convinced  as  ever  that  the 
result  was  all  that  could  be  desired.  The 
condenser  was  not  in  use,  and  the  weight 
of  opinion  was  that  it  was  not  worth 
while,  although  there  wa«  a  lake  of  tome 
miles  in  area  at  the  cr  i  door.     It 

was    thought    that    tl  ^'    of    the 

water  would  more  tha:  gain, 

so   the   engine    ran    ri'M  .    tjo   » 

condensing  valve  setting. 

The  condenser  was  dug  cut  and  in 
three  weeks  was  ready  for  a  trial  run,  and 
the  result  of  this  is  shown  in  Figs.  3 
and  4.  The  pressure  at  the  boiler  house 
was  140  pounds  steam  superheated  to  250 
degrees  F'ahrenheit 

F.  L.  Bnsy. 

Shefhcld,  England. 


Wants  Hydraulic    Information 

We  have  a  stream  of  water  deliv^rinR 
j6o  inches  under  a  i2-in> 
going  500  feet  from  the  ■ 
tion  of  the  plant  a  fall  of  140  feet  can  br 
obtained.  What  size  and  grade  of  pipe, 
and  what  class  and  size  of  wheel  would  be 
most  applicable,  and  how  many  l6-can- 
diepower  lamp*  can  ht  carried? 

William  E.  P "  x 

Stine.  Nev 


Foot  Valves  and  Suction    Pii>e 
Repairs 

My  fir»t   experience   wa»  wm'  ►: 

out   ditches   for   laying   sewer   ;  . 
ditches    were    narrow    and    the    ttr 
gave    considerable    trouble,    as    splc.^v;.. 
etc.,  would  close  up  the  holes  and   slop 
the    flow    of    water.     To   remedy   thi*.    I 
made  a  drum  of  Vi6-inch  iron.  at>oui   1 
inchc*  in  di 
cirilird   the 
li..lc*      The    boi 
<I rilled      This  ».. 

the  old  foot  valve,  as  shown  in   1-ig     1. 
and   was   a   sticcess   as   a    »trjitirr     i»    it 
would  re*t  on  the  bottom 
sink  no  deeper,  and  the  Miru   *.rv,.,.    ,.  -: 
get  through  the  Imttom. 

th   •    Mlt- 

for  floth- 

on  • 


but.  il 


ih' 


made  *- 
rass,  bri  ' 
m   dimmr 


pulled  apart  and  was  rcpairvd  as  ihown 
in  Fig.  3.  Two  half  nat»  mtrt  cm  om 
of  i-ioA  boards*  abooi  10  nsdtrs  ovtside 
diameter,  ih*  ir-»«.!<-  K.Jr  »^<n^  t,ti  to  ig 
the  pipr     (  '  ^ikd. 

making  •  tiiiii  ijiiiKjn  *v-^i  >->  hk'Ihi 
long.  Then  an  open  bos  wstbooi  a  bo(- 
tom  or  top  was  mafde  to  fit  oa  top  ol  iW 
cylinder.  A  piece  of  ilua  tia  was  wrapped 
around  tbc  pipe  and  wired  in  place.  TW 
half  cylinder  was  wocbed  ider  ikc  pipr 
and  all  tbc  nnd  denned  cm.  Tbt  boa 
was  put  on  top  and  tbc  whole  Med  wiib 
ponland-ccmcnt    aortar.    Tbis 


no. 


no.  a 


the  sand  from  getting  in  and  as  tbcrr  u 
no  pressure  on  tbc  pipe  it  gives  talss- 
factory  results  I  tbink.  bowr*«r.  ii 
would  ^  -  better  to  bave  wrapped 

the  p«[-^  ?h  firtl.  inslcnd  at  tbs 

.      pipe  on  our  Mll-w«Mr 

Irak.     To  oM  one  tbe 

V  a  ratchet  Mocfc  and 

tat  in  a  -    'roold  ba»e  been  the 

proper  way  to  da  but  tbe  pipe  was  badb" 

corroded  and  too  tbin  to  cm  tbrcnds    We 


m  J 


thrrrf^^rr     s^flfited    ibe 
\*  Se  p«pe  is^  w«b  a 

ibe  le^     Tb«n  a 
taioi  10  incWs  kmt 


•ht    street.    »•    •-" 


leak  >■ 


i^'^mhA  i^MuA 


.!a^ 


652 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGIXEER. 


April  6,  1909. 


Vandergrift  Low-Pressure  Turbine  Plant 

A  Rateau  Regenerator,  and  a  Rateau-Smoot  600-Kilowatt  Direct-cur- 
rent 2  30- Volt  Turbo-generator  Set  Said  to  be  the  First  of  Its  Type  Here 


.The  Ball  &  Wood  Company,  of  Eliza- 
bethport,  N.  J.,  recently  built  a  low-pres- 
sure turbo-generator  outfit  which  is  in 
successful  operation  at  the  Vandergrift 
plant  of  the  American  Sheet  and  Tin 
Plate  Company,  Vandergrift,  Penn.  The 
outfit  consists  of  a  Rateau  steam  re- 
generator, a  Rateau-Smoot  low-pressure 
turbine  and  a  Smoot  generator.  It  utilizes 
the  exhaust  steam  from  reversible  bloom- 
ing-mill engines,  which  work  intermit- 
tently and  at  widely  varying  loads,  thus 
having  a  supply  constantly  differing  in 
volume.     In  order  to  overcome  this  varia- 


passcd  through  it  in  pipes  arranged  for 
the  purpose.  Two  results  are  obtained 
from  this  circulation,  a  practically  uni- 
form tem.perature  throughout  the  water 
and  as  thorough  an  exchange  of  heat  as 
possible  between  the  steam  and  the  water. 
The  temperature  of  the  water  is  thus  made 
to  correspond  to  the  pressure  of  the  steam 
in  the  pipes,  so  that  when  the  steam  pres- 
sure falls,  owing  to  the  closing  down  of 
the  engines,  the  water  liberates  part  of 
its  heat  in  the  form  of  steam,  and  when 
there  is  an  excess  of  steam  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  water  is  raised  accordingly. 


periods  longer  than  two  minutes,  or  if  the 
exhaust  steam  is  insufficient  for  the  tur- 
bine, a  connection  between  the  regenera- 
tor and  the  boilers  is  automatically  opened, 
admitting  live  steam  for  the  continued 
operation  of  the  turbine.  The  action  of 
the  live  steam,  which  enters  the  regenera- 
tor through  a  pressure-controlled  reduc- 
ing valve,  is  exactly  similar  to  that  of  the 
exhaust  steam,  an  equilibrium  between  the 
pressure  of  the  steam  and  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  water  being  maintained  which 
gives  a  very  exact  control  over  the 
amount  of  steam  admitted  and  absolutely 


FIG.    I.     SIDE  VIEW  OF  LOW-PRESSURE  TURBO-GENERATOR    INSTALLATION    AT   VANDERGRIFT,  PENN. 


tion  and  to  supply  the  turbine  with  a 
steady  flow  of  steam  the  regenerator  was 
installed.  The  Rateau  Steam  Regenerator 
Company,  of  New  York  City,  received  the 
contract  for  this  plant,  and  the  turbine 
was  built  in  the  Ball  &  Wood  Company's 
shops. 

The  Regenerator 

The  regenerator  in  this  instance  is  a 
cylinder  40  feet  long  by  8  feet  in  diameter 
and  contains  about  45  tons  of  water.  This 
water  is  kept  in  constant  circulation  by 
the  steam  from  the  mill  engine,  which  is 


The  Vandergrift  regenerator  is  of  such 
size  that  the  mill  engines  may  be  com- 
pletely shut  down  for  periods  of  two  min- 
utes and  during  this  time  the  regenerator 
will  supply  steam  to  the  turbine  at  the 
rate  of  25,000  pounds  per  hour.  A  24- 
inch  relief  valve  is  set  for  3  pounds  above 
atmospheric  pressure,  so  that  the  pres- 
sure of  the  steam  in  the  regenerator  is 
constantly  maintained  between  14.7  pounds 
and  17.7  pounds,  absolute,  and  the  back 
pressure  of  the  engine  never  exceeds  3 
pounds. 

If  the  mill   engines   are  shut   down   for 


prevents  lite  steam  escaping  to  the  atmos- 
phere. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  foregoing  that 
just  as  the  flywheel  of  an  engine  is  for  the 
storage  of  energy  so  the  water  in  the  re- 
generator may  be  termed  a  flywheel  for 
the  storage  of  heat,  taking  this  heat  from 
the  steam  when  the  latter  is  in  excess,, 
and  giving  it  up  when  the  steam  supply 
diminishes  or  ceases. 

The  Low-pressure  Turbine 

The  Vandergrift  low-pressure  turbine  is 
of   600  kilowatts    capacity,    operating    at 


April  6,  190Q. 


POWER  AND  THE  EVGIVFFR 


Hi 


END  \tCW  or  U>W-mSSVtt  TV«M>-CXJ«aUiT(ai  llftTALLAnOII  AT  VAVI 


o  revolutions  per  minute.     It  is  of  the  uum  obtained  from  a  condcnter.  the  en*    -ckar»iKc«  mi  lln>  tarbtskr   Arc  eiiii— Ij 

pul»e     type     originated     by     Professor  tire  expansion  of  (he  •team  lAktng  place  in     large,  rwmmg  op  '  aaa«M 

•cau.  but  the  installation  under  discu*-  the  fixed  dt.T-' pm^-»'-   "   -♦— *• 

I  was  redesiRnrd  by  C.  II.  Smooi,  of         hiir  to  tli  ■  there  it  no  cxpan*     th<^ 

K.iteau  Steam  KeKcncrator  Company,  sion  of    '  '  ig  ar^-  r  •«•  i-nrrunrj   ir  «>  m^fm 

riHTt    the     rcc|uircijici)ts     of     standard  the  fur  ,• 

III  shop  practice-       I 
iic  stram  from  the  p  . 

ke^  use  of  it  l>etwccn  the  limit*  ot  the  H' 

•  NMirr   of  the   .ilmos|ihrrc   and   the   vac  t! 


/TN 


81 

\ 

\ 

\ 

\ 

u 

( 

^«T|    \T\r   r«"»»in    MWJ 


:U<  lUAO)  vbaft  vtlli  lU  tlw«t« 


r  lUli 


•S#   ^T^«#»a» 


no    3    TBrnc*t 


654 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  6,  1909. 


FIG.      4.      SECTION    THROUGH     THE    GOVERNOR 


FIG.     5.     SECTION   THROUGH    THE  THROTTLE   VALVE 


shows  the  general  construction,  while 
Fig.  5  shows  a  section  through  the  throt- 
tle valve. 

The  turbine  is  connected  to  the  genera- 
tor by  a  coupling  which  consists  of  two 
hubs  mounted  one  on  each  shaft.  The 
torsional  movement  is  transmitted  by 
means  of  pins  so  used  as  to  permit  smooth 
operation  even  though  the  shafts  should 
"become  materially  out  of  line. 

The  Generator 

The  generator  is  a  6oo-kilowatt  machine 
running  at  1500  revolutions  per  minute, 
and  delivers  continuous  current  at  250 
volts.  It  is  of  the  open-frame  type  with 
no  forced-air  circulation,  but  the  design 
is  such  that  the  temperature  rise  above 
the  surrounding  atmosphere  is  extremely 
low.  The  machine  has  four  poles  and 
four  intermediary  poles.  The  commu- 
tator is  in  two  sections,  held  together 
against  centrifugal  force  by  nickel-steel 
retaining  rings  shrunk  in  place.  No 
sparking  whatever  occurs  at  the  brushes, 
and  these  do  not  have  to  be  shifted  for 
any  load  up  to  full  load.  The  commuta- 
tion is  first  class  and  the  fact  that  the 
commutator  does  not  have  to  be  lubricated 
removes  a  serious  objection  to  the  use  of 
direct-current  dynamos  in  plants  such  as 
at  Vandergrift,  where  the  metallic  dust 
in  the  air  might  settle  on  the  oily  surface 
and  cause  short-circuits  which  would 
seriously  injure  the  machine. 

This  generator  is  believed  to  be  the 
first  of  its  size  that  runs  at  that  speed  to 
"be  built  in  this  country,  and  great  credit 
is  due  to  Mr.  Smoot  for  the  successful 
design.  In  1906  two  250-kilowatt  2So-volt 
direct-current  generators  were  installed  in 
the  plant  of  the  International  Harvester 
Company,  at  South  Chicago,*  both  direct- 


vmm;m7/m//mmmmmmmMm/m///m/mm;mm/m 


AUTOMATIC 
REDUCING  VALVE 


mMmw»mw;ww/m//m//mffffmm/m//ffm/ff/fw/'/'wmmw^^ 


'^mmmff^mfi 


J 


•See  Tower  for  -Tune,  1907. 


FIG.     6.     PLAN    AND   ELEVATION   OF   LOW-PRESSURE  TURBINE  INSTALLATION 


April  6,  1909. 


POWE3^  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


te 


connected  to  a  500-kilowatt  low  prcsiurc 
turbine  operating  at  1500  revolutions  per 
minute.  This  was  the  first  low-pressure 
turbine  plant  of  the  Rateau  type  installed 
ti  the  United  States  and  it  has  been  in 
-I'.ccessful  operation  ever  since.  All  three 
of  these  generators  are  from  Mr.  Smoot's 
design. 

Opekatinc  Conditions 

The  mill  engine  at  Vandergrift,  when 
working  under  normal  conditions,  uses 
about  70,000  pounds  of  steam  per  hour, 
and  the  turbine  when  operating  at  500 
kilowatts  uses  less  than  40  pounds  of 
steam  per  kilowatt-hour,  or  less  than 
20,000  pounds  of  steam  per  hour.  There 
is  thus  some  50,000  pounds  of  steam  per 
hour  still  available  for  future  low-pres- 
sure turbine  installations,  and  this  with 
practically  no  increase  of  operating  ex- 
penses. 

The  Rateau-Smoot  turbo-generator  unit 
is  an  extremely  simple  one  to  operate,  and 
ordinarily  the  regular  engine-room  force 
required  to  run  the  reciprocating  engines 
is  fully  able  to  take  care  of  the  turbine. 
When  it  is  desired  to  place  the  unit  in 
service,  it  is  merely  necessary  for  the 
'•ngineer  to  start  up  the  condensing  ap- 
..iratus,  then  open  the  throttle  valve 
.  radually,  bringing  the  turbine  slowly  up 
■  speed.  Me  should,  of  course,  first  make 
lire  that  there  is  plrnty  of  nil  for  the 
'liflfcrent  wearing  surfaces. 


Power    Station    Eiconomics    at 
Baltimore 


At   the   i''ranklin   Institute,   in    I'hiladel- 
I'liia,  Thursday  evening,  March  25,  Hor«- 
:•)  A.  P'oster,  well  known  to  the  public  a» 
tie  author  of   Foster's  "Electrical    Fjigi 
ncers'    I'ockelbook,"   delivered    a    lecture, 
illustrated  with  lantern  slides,  on  the  sub- 
ject   of    "F'ower    Station     Kc<>ni  mies    at 
Baltimore."      Mr.   Foster   skctihnl   rapidh 
t>ir     M      •mm  of  the  United  Railway*  Corn 
j.iii>,    it  ii.iltimore,  at  the  time  of  the  tire, 
n    ign5,  which  nearly  destroyed  its  main 
.rneraling   station   at   Pratt   street.     This 
tation  contained  about  half  of  the  grner- 
ting   capacity    of   the    ftytlem,   the   other 
'  tlf  heinK  scattered  about  the  city  in  eight 
•  r    plants    which     were    mainly     run 
iiden^ing       Mr    fold   ^f   *he    »»ii<1ir» 
*Iw  h    led    to    t' 
thfr  of  the*e  m 
ff   •  rvr,  the  hiiilding  of  i: 
«u!"!aiionii,  the  reinforrr.l 
«tatinn  built  near  the  am'  rk,  not 

^^r  from  the  hay  <hore,  14  ii..,. .    .-  .m  the 
"ty.  and  the  rrhahiiilation  of  the  pjrnjJK 
'iirneH    Pratt    street    ttation 
hr     Pratt     •lre#f     nation 


In  1905  the  Pratt  street  station  carrted 
50  per  cent,  of  the  load  :  tn  !'/a«  k  c^tntd 
'v5  P«r  cent.     In  th--  -  the  yearly 

output    had   grown    :  •     •;xvooo  kilo- 

watt hours  to  more  than  lotvooogooo  kilo- 
watt-hours, and  the  coal  consamption  per 
kilowatt-hour  had  dropped  froai  4.2$ 
pounds  in  1905  to  j.2j  pounds  m  igcA 

The  lantern  slides  showed  in  a  very 
marked  way  the  difficulties  to  be  sur- 
mounted in  the  reconstruction  of  rvtn 
^uch  a  modem  power  house  id 

included  the  work  on  the  fuu:   .  to 

prevent  vibration,  which  was  rather  severe 
III  the  old  engine  room,  the  cable  ducts, 
manholes  and  switchl>oard.  and  numerotu 
changes  in  location  of  the  smaller  en- 
gines. The  new  construction  of  dock 
wall  was  described  l>ut  not  showa  The 
rcinforced-concrete  work  of  the  Bay 
Shore  power  plant   was  shown   in  detail 

The  entire  work  was  done,  for  the 
United  Railways  Company,  under  the 
clirection  of  Stillwell  &  Van  V'leck,  con- 
sulting engineers,  with  the  author.  Mr 
Foster,  in  charge  of  the  work  at  Bah- 
till  ire 


rooms  wiM  kt 


for  tkrtr 


To  Honor   Charles  T.    Porter 


1  here  will  be  a  special   meeting  of  the 

i<iur  national  engineering  societies,  at  the 

Kngineering   Societies   building.   29   West 

Thirty  ninth    street.    New    York,   at   8:J0 

pm,  Tuesday,  April   ij.  for  the  purpose 

■'■    ■'•'■  'he    John    Friti    medal    for 

p'>  y   T    Porter    for  hit   work 

•  *team  engi- 

rn    mjfine 


of  all  braiKhes  of  the  profession,  and  par 
ticularly  of  those  represented  in  the  four 
national   organixalions   of   engineers   p«r- 
(ici|ating   in  the  creation    of    the    medal 
fund       Itesidet    the   simple   ritual    of    the 


'ht  profeMioa 


The  Debt  of  Modern  Indu«irial  t  i»ili. 
falinn  to  the  Steam  Engine  as  a  Source 
..f  Power."  Dean  W  F.  M  Gow.  of  ckc 
t  .of  IlUoois. 

tit  of  the  Modem  Si«mb 


Miitit   of  Cktcaga 

T'  r    TVht    of  ihr    Fri   of   FJrrtrut 


BimuaglMBi  WoB  Fint  Toi 


-^'on.  R  I.  Mardij^iW 
cruitcr    'Birmuig(\aiB*  won  fcrsi 
the    looamile    rmdmnmn   aad 
sumption  test  at  10  kaois 
sister     sUps.     ikc 
-Salcm^" 
The  "Bi 


ctprocattnc 

rial  data  the  coal 

boor  wa«  »wly  jo  tosM. 

The  'Chester."  fktcd  with  Parsons  far- 
titnes.  ior<k  second  place,  tke  ammmmptmm 
beinf  40  tons,  wkile  tke  "Sakm."  wM 
Cortis  turkuMS,  asad  40  toaa 


Ma  27'ft  HouKWAiawig 

7  ^ri  Encsson  AsMxialiea  No  27,  N.  A. 
of  Brocklyn.  heM  a  smoker  aisd 

^warminc'    Frsday    e»raiwa.   Uarek 

36,    to    celekralc    its    removal    to    moee 
spacious  qoarters  in  tke  Mnomc  Tcmplt 

n  Manhattan  ate— e.    A  iBf|v  amjtifiiy 
of    the    members   and    omay    friead*   at- 
tended     Pres»dent    W    T    Mcmfer    M*d 
John  M    l.ockwood.  rhiir—  ol  •' 
range nwni  commiltca*  maw  AM  ad<i 
of    welcome      .\    pleasklf    tafttttmmmmmtt 
was    given    bv    Frank    CockcO.    WSiam 
Murra>.  Mrt  r>   EhSef.  Joka  Rkter^  *a4 
John    Arm-iur      Frank    Martin    o^-    "^^ 
as  master  of  ceremonies.     There  «< 
frcskmenis  of  all  kkida     TV  coMnni^i-T 
is  to  be  coofratalalid 


ProgrcMvr    Conal.    l^   ^ 
Rccrfitifln 

Prn«raMhre  Ctjfv  I'msvrMl 

rum.  Cnancil  ol  kivmrrrx  of  N''« 
T     K<-I.!  itt  «amml  iicsptaw  uti 
1 1  taa^   Marck   l» 

an    a  ' 

anmkrf  lI  qii'it><uiM^»c  r^rt;*  mtrr  f»'» 
eM.  Walter  Prme  was  p«iials4  a  part- 
cMef  iewel  a*'  *  •  ka» 

J  *  rt^irmsa  a< 

the   oKRn- 


Uit* 


.-     ...        i.'jf!    «<.i«tn,^     *m<y       f  "W    \K 


kilowatts  of  rated  capacity 


•rmSed    to 
Wlutc  «v«cuac    4r«a«   la 


6s6 

POWER 

Jt~TiiE  Engineer 

DEVOTED   TO   THE  GENERATION  AND 
TRANSMISSION  OF  POWER 

Issued  Weekly  by  the 

Hill  Publishing  Company 

John    a.  Hill,  Pi«».  «n<l  Tre«».         Bobbet  McKban,  Bec'y. 

505  Pearl  Street.  New  York. 
•     355  Dearborn  Street,  Chicago. 
6  Bouverie  Street,  London,  E.  C. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 
The  Manufacturer's  Responsibility 


Correspondence  suitable  for  the  columns  of 
Power  solicited  and  paid  for.  Name  and  ad- 
dress of  correspondents  must  be  given — not  nec- 
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Cable  address,  "  Powpub,"  N.  Y. 
Business  Telegraph  Code. 


CIRCULATIOX    SITATEMENT 

Durinp  1908  vr  printed  and  circulated 
1.836,000    copies    of    Power. 

Our  circulation  for  March.  1909.  wus 
'iirekly  and  monthly)   190.000. 

April    6 42.000 

A'oHf  Stent  free  regularly,  no  returns  from 
neicK  companies,  no  back  numbers.  Figures 
<ire   lire,    net    rirculntion. 


Contents  page 

Analysis  of  Steam  and   Inertia   Forces.  .  .    623 
Standpipes  on  a  Water  Power  Supply...-   627 

Explr>sion  of  a  Rendering  Tank 628 

Some  Notes  on  Firing  nr)ilei-s 628 

Catechism  of  Electricity 630 

Tube  Tiles  Used  to  Form   Furnace   Roofs  631 

Bracing    Dome    Heads 633 

The    Elektra    Steam    Turbine 635 

Test  of  a    Vertical   Gas   Engine 636 

Hot  Bearings  :   Some  Causes  and  Remedies  638 
Belting     Compared     with     Chain     Trans 

mission     641 

Selection  of  Coal  for  Boiler  ?^urnaces.  .  .  642 
Practical  Letters  From  Practical  Men  : 
Air  Receivers.  ..  .A  Problem  in 
Power  Transmission.  ..  .Curing  a 
Balky  Gasolene  Engine.  ..  .Trans- 
former Connections.  ...Cutting  Close 
Nipples.  ..  .Drainage  of  Steam  Pip- 
ing. .  .  .A  I'iston  Made  from  Junk 
....  Another  Clearance ....  Device  for 
Removing  Well  Pipe ....  Receiver 
Pressure ....  Packing  Chart ....  Com- 
pound Engines.  .  .  .Cleaning  Water 
Tube  Boilers.  ..  .Results  of  a  Pump 
Test ....  Valve  Stem  Broke ....  Re- 
ducing Fuel  Expenses.  ..  .Interest 
Ing  Indicator  iJiagrams.  ..  .Wants 
Hydraulic  Information  ....  Foot 
Valves  and  Suction  Pipe  Repairs.  .645-651 
Vandergrift    Ix)w-Pressure    Turbine   Plant  652 

Editorials     656-657 

Some  Useful   Lessons  of  T>imewater 658 


When  a  man  buys  an  automobile  the 
seHing  agent  turns  it  over  to  him  and  is 
through.  If  the  purchaser  wants  to  get 
his  money's  worth  out  of  it  in  transporta- 
tion and  pleasure  he  must  learn  to  run  it 
or  hire  a  man  who  knows  how;  and  if 
ht  punctures  tires,  strips  transmission 
gears,  cracks  his  water  jacket,  etc.,  he  ex- 
pects to  pay  for  replacements  and  repairs. 
Only  when  obvious  imperfections  in  work- 
manship or  material  are  responsible  for 
the  trouble  can  he  expect  the  builder  to 
see  him  out  of  his  difficulty.  But  when  a 
man  buj's  an  engine  or  a  boiler,  or  a 
stoker,  or  a  condenser,  or  a  water-heating 
or  purifying  outfit,  or  even  a  little  appli- 
ance like  an  injector  or  an  indicator,  he 
often  appears  to  think  that  he  has  paid 
for  all  the  benefits  and  advantages  which 
it  promised  when  he  settles  the  bill,  and 
that  all  he  has  to  do  is  to  turn  on  the 
steam  and  gather  in  the  profits.  One 
cannot  become  a  mechanical  engineer 
simply  by  buying  an  indicator.  He  must 
have  the  intelligence  and  the  patience,  and 
the  skill  to  apply  it  so  as  to  get  correct 
and  intelligible  diagrams,  and  he  must 
have  the  ingenuity  and  intelligence  and 
knowledge  of  the  subject  necessary  to 
interpret  his  diagrams  after  he  has  taken 
ihem. 

A  man  buys  an  engine  and  puts  it  so  far 
away  from  the  boiler  that  the  steam  is 
full  of  water  and  has  lost  twenty-five  per 
cent,  of  its  pressure ;  he  exhausts  it 
through  a  back-pressure  valve  and  be- 
cause it  does  not  come  up  to  his  require- 
ments, because  the  water  washes  the  lubri- 
cant off  and  lets  the  cylinder  cut,  because 
a  slug  of  water  makes  a  wreck  of  it,  he 
writes  indignant  letters  and  condemiis 
the  engine  and  its  builder.  A  man  buys 
a  condenser  and  connects  it  up  with  a 
job  of  cheap  pipe  fitting,  or  runs  a  lot  of 
Itaky  engines  and  pumps  into  it,  and 
telegraphs  the  maker  to  "send  man  at 
once,"  because  he  gets  twenty  inches  of- 
vacuum  instead  of  twenty-six  or  twenty- 
eight.  A  man  buys  a  grease-extracting 
and  water-softening  system,  and  because 
he  fails  to  take  away  the  grease  after  it 
has  been  extracted,  or  because  he  uses  too 
much  or  too  little  lime  or  soda,  and  gets 
priming  or  scale,  he  either  condemns  the 
system  out  of  hand  or  expects  the  manu- 
facturer to  keep  an  expensive  man  on  the 
job  for  several  weeks  to  demonstrate  that 
the  plant  will  do  its  work. 

There  is  a  growing  tendency  on  the  part 
of  manufacturers  of  steam  machinery  and 
apparatus  to  resent  these  impositions;  to 
take  the  ground  that  they  will  furnish  ap- 
paratus adapted  to  the  conditions  as  they 
are  represented  and  guarantee  that  ap- 
paratus to  be  free  from  defects  of  ma- 
terial and  workmanship ;  that  they  will 
set  it  up  and  operate  it  for  a  time  if  de- 
sired, the  price  to  include  the  expense 
thereof;  that  they  will  bring  to  bear  upon 


April  6,  1909. 

the  execution  of  the  order  the  results  of 
their  experience  and  special  knowledge  of 
the  subject;  but  when  they  have  provided 
the  means  the  purchaser  must  work  out 
his  own  salvation,  and  pay  for  the  benefits 
which  he  receives  in  ordinary  vigilance 
and  intelligent  use,  as  well  as  by  his  signa- 
ture on  a  check. 


Look  for  the  Cause 


Oil  salesmen  are  generally  supposed  to 
be  slick  artists  in  every  sense  of  the  word, 
and  they  usually  live  up  to  their  reputa- 
tion. Rare  instances  crop  out  here  and 
there,  however,  to  indicate  that,  after  all, 
they  are  human  and  not  infallible  in  escap- 
ing every  trap  that  may  be  set  for  them. 
The  following  is  a  true  instance  of  how 
one  was  snared,  and  the  pleasing  feature 
was  that  it  left  no  bad  feeling  on  the  part 
of  engineer  or  salesman  : 

The  salesman  in  question  was  endeavor- 
ing to  make  a  sale  in  a  plant  which  was 
purchasing  its  lubricant  from  a  rival.  He 
was  a  good  salesman  and  thoroughly  un- 
derstood the  art  of  how  to  present  the 
merits  of  his  own  goods  without  de- 
nouncing those  of  his  competitor,  and  for 
this  reason  his  frequent  visits  were  toler- 
ated with  good  grace.  Finally  he  sug- 
gested, as  a  clincher  to  his  statements  re- 
garding the  merits  of  his  goods,  that  if 
there  were  a  bearing  around  the  plant 
that  ran  warm  or  hot,  he  would  furnish 
a  five-gallon  sample,  so  the  quality  of  his 
oil  could  be  put  to  practical  test.  The 
engineer  thought  awhile,  and  then  said 
that  he  had  an  excellent  place  for  such  a 
test,  and  took  the  salesman  to  the  engine 
room,  where  he  was  requested  to  feel  the 
bearing  on  a  belt-driven  dynamo.  This 
bearing  was  always  so  warm  that  it 
could  barely  be  touched.  The  engineer 
stated  that  this  was  a  chronic  case  and  he 
would  certainly  welcome  any  relief. 

The  salesman  extracted  a  thermometer 
from  his  grip  and  proceeded  to  take  the 
temperature  of  the  oil  in  the  bearing,  at 
the  open  end  next  to  the  commutator,  and 
made  a  note  of  it  in  his  little  red  book, 
for  comparison  with  the  temperature-to-be 
of  a  real  lubricant.  The  next  day,  while 
the  dynamo  was  idle,  he  came  with  his 
sample  of  oil,  and  to  gain  the  respect  of 
the  engineer  he  insisted  that  he  should 
prepare  the  bearing  for  his  sample.  He 
thoroughly  cleaned  out  the  old  oil  and 
went  about  the  job  as  if  he  had  obtained 
his  diploma  from  "Professor  Time"  in 
the  "School  of  Experience."  After  finish- 
ing the  job,  he  inquired  the  starting  time 
and  said  he  would  return  about  two  hours 
later,  so  as  to  give  the  bearing  time  to 
warm  up.  When  he  returned  at  the  ap- 
pointed t'me,  the  teinperature  of  the  bear- 
ing was  found  not  to  vary  more  than  a 
degree  from  the  previous  reading  he  had 
obtained  with  the  old  lubricant.  The 
salesman    was    somewhat   crestfallen,    but 


April  6,  15X)9. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


ftsr 


vjame,  and  requested  that  he  be  allowed 
•<>  test  another  sample.  The  engineer  told 
lijm  to  go  as  far  as  he  liked,  »<>  the  i>cr- 
tormance  was  repeated  the  following  <la>, 
with  the  same  result. 

Now.  this  <jil  man  was  no  "quitter;"  he 
felt  he  was  duty-lxjund  to  cool  that  bear- 
ing if  it  iHTcame  necessary  to  tr>-  every 
is'ra<le  of  lubricant  his  company  made ;  so 
he  brought  a  fresh  sample  every  day.  first 
using  the  best  grades  and  finally,  in  des- 
pcratifjn.  trying  the  chcai>er  unes.  but  with 
practically  unvarying  results  When  sam- 
ple cans  iK-gan  to  get  so  thick  in  the  en- 
>;ine  rocmi  that  walking  was  difficult,  the 
engineer  had  a  fatherly  talk  with  the  oil 
man.     He  said : 

"Young  man,  you  evidently  have  great 
faith  in  your  goods,  and  1  am  beginning 
to  have  faith  in  them  on  that  account,  but 
this  trial  has  been  going  on  long  enough. 
I  don't  want  you  to  waste  any  more  time 
•  >T  oil  on  that  iK-aring.  You  could  put 
<lifffrcnt  oils  in  that  l>earing  from  now 
until  d'Hjmsday  and  never  lower  the  tem- 
|K-rature  but  very  slightly.  The  lubrica- 
tion of  the  bearing  with  the  oil  you  first 
found  in  it  had  practically  nothing  to  do 
with  its  temperature.  The  heat  in  this 
bearing  is  transmitted  to  it  from  the 
armature  through  the  shaft,  and  the  only 
thing  that  protluces  a  perceptible  change 
in  it  is  a  variation  in  the  l<iad." 

The  salesman  KMikcd  at  the  situation 
like  a  man.  and  insisted  that  all  of  the 
samples  be  accepte<l  gratis,  as  "the  experi- 
cncr  W.I*  worth  the  money" 


carried  on 

•  tn    of    \  .1 


What    Is  Trouble  > 


IMfferenI  persons  have  diflferent  ideas 
as  to  what  con»tilutes  trouble  To  some 
ii  means  an  aKgrrgation  f»f  petty  annoy- 
.,tf.»,  to  others.  It  means  the  diftii  tiities 
<  Ii  ..iinterr<l  when  apj>ir:itn«.  f.til*  •■■  "J'«t 
.ite,  or  when  an  ar> 
still  others,  whf>»e  > 

everything  as  it  ctimes  and  make  the  best 
of  it,  there  is  no  such  thing  as  trouble 

What  is  trouble  to  one  is  merely  an  m 
dent   to  another      For   instance,   an   r-u  : 
tirrr.  after  putting  in  a  s.>mc\»li.>i   I<"k:''  • 
■.•r,  had  i"ii 
.:    into   tli< 
rause  it  to  I-im-  h     «  .  ■  i       i  b»» 
iible  galore     for  hi"i     'mt  when 
another   engineer  assumed   ili.irtjc   of  the 
plant,  he  had  a  steam  siphon,  ■  •■■'  •»''*•  ^ 
theck  valve,  tapped  lo  the  ««  i 
«ii  fion  pipe,  which  allowed  ' 
!  ition    to   br   drawn   out    '>i 


•'. 


and  not  looked  upon  a«  trouble 

Irate:      A  certain  eiw  m« .  r     a:-- 

he  had  any  trouble  m 

with  reference  lo  v..i»r-  .i  ,  ir 

plied   that   he   had   fK>t.  at   the 

same  time  hi»  riirr  t>  >|o  some 

work   on  a   le,.  n«i    thr    lurhinr 


bine   on   a    vacuum    in   ■>■  'ar    the 

pipe    of    steam     which  .  .»t     the 

valves.  The  leakage  past  the  valves  was 
due  to  distortion  of  the  seals  by  super- 
heated steam,  but  the  engineer  did  not 
think  such  a  little  thing  as  that  of  moment. 
or  that  work  necessary  to  clear  the  pipe 
w>  the  men  could  work  «ra»  a  matter 
trtnible. 

What  i«  trouble,  anywajr? 


Robbing  Prtcf 


"Kcjbbing  I'eter  to  pay   Paul"  is  an  r  . 
pression  that  admirably  tits  a  great  many 
conditions   that  arise   when   so-called   im 
provements  are  made  in  a  power  plant  on 
the  w<rd  of  the  <ealotis       '  "        ' 

t  hiefly  concerned   in   h.« 

oil    tl.. 

Ti 

Mr 
representatives  Salesmen  are  not  alway* 
posted  on  the  •  Iuulm  m  effect  that  nu) 
result  in  the  i*^  of  their  appara 

tus   from   the    *.«i>  ...•.....-    ,„^    ,„ 

each  installation,  w  !  '-nlirely 


It    the 

.  .1    br 


to 
'■f 


i*    f !  ' 

ft 


1    ^    lor    aa    <»»«v> 
-cU  ur.ABi  yLM.  look  ikoa  a^^  ito 

•Hinn    rr-Tirr    r-f    htfli   ccBauaMrs    ms4 
•(;»  vcr  Ikr  pnk  o# 


.rftimxi      BAi     fwf 


^  md  ^> 


was  . 


>  ifh  iraf  I 


.(»il  ihrrr    ««•   Mm   t^ 


"«     Innfcm*      'irV 

!   on  the   ri«lM   c«m1  »<  (W  p<o<<»t< 
'  igjr,  said: 

"I    umtrraaMl   ilui   %omt     mttk    U>     hi 

'ir  piBM  was  iW 

.<Mi  k*««  mmSr  . 

(i«  ilw 

'Mt     by 

Ihr  * 

lam  ih.4i  t»«-f»iM'-ir  •»•  "»'  »"«''»'^»"' 
runnH«  ^ck  tbrnvgli  tbr  ifWel  9€r%%% 
and   I  i«Bif«vslwv.  teiBr  ■*** 

»M(  •*»  fsm  wtfrmm  ^ 
^»rit<   «f>ai  I  Im««  MiA    Y«av  fiiac 
ted    draft 


^f     •l*«»4f 


t  ranee  as  lo  what  *^ 
i«lirve  or  coMnlerart  en' 

It  often  hapfM-n*  tli  • 
sMch   that    the    rrgnlir    v*^ 


.rk 


658 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  6,  1909. 


Some    Useful    Lessons    of    Limewater 

An    Excursion   into    the   Realm   of    Hydrogen,    Made    Exceptionally 
Interesting    and  Instructive    by   Means  of    Several    Simple    Experiments 

BY      CHARLES       S~      PALMER 


In  the  last  two  parts  we  studied  the 
making  of  oxygen,  because  oxygen  is  the 
active  part  of  the  air  insofar  as  burning 
is  concerned.  But,  more  than  that,  oxygen 
is  one  of  the  great  "oxidizers,"  and  as 
such  it  is  contrasted  with  the  opposite  sort 
of  chemical  agents  called  "reducers."  The 
relation  between  the  oxidizers  and  the  re- 
ducers is  a  very  broad  and  fundamental 
matter  in  chemical  study.  The  oxidizers 
include  not  only  oxygen  and  a  great  many 
of  its  compounds  which  give  off  oxygen 
under  certain  conditions,  but  also  such 
things  as  chlorine,  bromine  and  iodine. 
Later  we  will  give  a  list  of  some  of  the 
more  important  oxidizers,  and  I  will  also 
show  how  there  may  be  such  a  thing  as 
"moist  combustion;"  that  is,  burning  in 
solution  without  any  flame,  but  with  all 
the  results  of  real  burning  or  combustion. 

The  reducers  include  such  things  as 
hydrogen,  and  many  other  compounds 
which  act  like  hydrogen,  in  being  opposed 
to  oxygen  and  the  oxidizers  in  their  action 
and  results.  That  is  why  it  is  necessary 
about  this  time  to  study  hydrogen, 
although  it  is  not  found  "free"  in  the  air 
as  oxygen  is.  You  will  want  to  read  these 
first  paragraphs  over  several  times  to  em- 
phasize in  your  mind  the  fact  of  the 
natural  distinction  between  the  "oxidizers" 
as  a  class  and  the  "reducers"  as  a  class; 
for  theoretically  any  of  the  oxidizers  can 
play  proxy  for  each  other  in  their  opposi- 
tion to  the  reducers ;  and  similarly  any 
of  the  reducers  can  play  proxy  to  each 
other  in  the  similarity  of  their  action  and 
in  their  opposition  to  the  oxidizers. 

An  illustration  of  all  this  might  be 
found  in  business  accounting;  thus,  one 
might  have  all  sorts  of  debts  or  debit  ac- 
counts which  would  resemble  each  other 
insofar  as  they  represent  a  balance  of 
loss;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  one  might 
have  all  sorts  of  credit  accounts,  repre- 
sented by  coin,  paper  money,  bank  checks, 
credit  on  real  or  personal  property,  etc. 
Thus  we  might  liken  the  oxidizers  to  the 
debit  or  debt  account,  all  the  debts  of 
whatever  character  or  amount  being  en- 
tered in  the  same  column  and  being  op- 
posed to  the  credit  items  of  whatever 
character  or  amount,  represented  by  the 
reducers. 

This  metaphor  (of  likening  the  contrast 
between  the  oxidizers  and  the  reducers, 
to  the  contrast  between  debit  and  credit) 
is  no  mere  childish  fancy,  but  refers  to  a 
very  real  condition  in  all  chemical  reac- 
tions; and  Mother  Nature  never  neglects 


to  keep  a  perfect  account  of  the  exact  bal- 
ance between  the  oxidizers  and  the  re- 
ducers. Indeed,  this  balancing  of  accounts 
in  nature  concerns  not  only  the  kind  and 
weight  of  the  material  substances  which 
act  on  each  other,  but  it  also  concerns  the 
balance  account  of  the  amounts  of 
energy.  This  also  you  will  want  to  read 
over  several  times;  and  you  will  want  to 
impress  on  your  attention  the  fact  that 
when  the  various  chemical  reactions  go 
on,  nature  is  at  the  same  time  using  these 
reactions  with  a  severity  and  rigor,  in  ac- 
counting for  every  particle  of  matter  and 
every  unit  of  energy,  and  to  a  degree  of 
perfection  which  are  simply  astonishing. 
All  this  means  that  we  must  lose  no  time 
in  getting  acquainted  with  a  typical  re- 
ducer, hydrogen. 


that  side  of  hydrogen  later.  Just  now 
you  want  to  make  some  hydrogen  and 
study  it,  just  as  you  made  carbonic-acid 
gas  and  oxygen,  because  if  you  have  made 
a  thing  and  handled  it  you  have  some- 
thing that  books  alone  can  never  give 
you. 

Making  Hydrogen 
The  first  thing  to  do  is  to  make  a  sim- 
ple apparatus  like  that  shown  in  Fig.  i. 
This  has  the  same  wash-dish  pneumatic 
trough,  with  the  same  fruit  jar  filled  with 
water  and  inverted  in  the  trough,  as  you 
used  in  preparing  oxygen.  You  have  the 
same  glass  delivery  tube  and  the  same 
glass  leader  or  conducting  tube  connected 
with  a  perforated  cork;  only,  instead  of 
having  a  glass  flask  containing  a  dry  mix- 


FIG.    I 


Hydrogen 
Hydrogen  is  a  light  gas,  invisible,  color- 
less, tasteless,  odorless,  but  very  inflam- 
mable. Hydrogen  is  a  metallic  gas ;  that 
is,  in  its  physical  properties  it  is  like  any 
common  gas,  such  as  nitrogen,  oxygen, 
carbonic-acid  gas  or  the  like,  but  in  its 
chemical  properties  hydrogen  is  just  as 
m.etallic  as  iron,  copper,  lead,  zinc,  sodium, 
potassium,  calcium  or  the  like.  By  this 
we  mean  that  chemically  hydrogen  plays 
proxy  with  the  metals,  and  the  metals 
with  hydrogen,  in  that  they  are  all  re- 
ducers. Also,  hydrogen  and  the  metals 
can  replace  each  other  in  hundreds  and 
thousands  of  salts.  And,  further,  as  when 
the  electric  current  acts  on  soluble  salts 
all  of  the  metals  proper  go  with  the  posi- 
tive current,  from  the  anode  to  the  cath- 
ode, hydrogen  does  the  same  thing.  Thus 
hydrogen,  in  an  electrolytic  cell,  appears 
at  the  same  pole  where  copper  comes 
down ;  and  this  is  practically  a  perfect 
demonstration  of  the  fact  that  hydrogen 
is  a  chemical  metal ;  but  we  will  take  up 


ture,  you  will  have  a  small  bottle  like  an 
ordinary  horseradish  bottle  or  small 
pickle  jar,  and  in  this  jar  you  will  have 
some  metallic  zinc  covered  with  some 
dilute  acid,  like  sulphuric  or  hydrochloric 
(muriatic)  acid.  Get  a  strip  of  sheet  zinc 
(not  galvanized  iron)  and,  with  ordinary 
metal-cutting  shears,  cut  off  a  dozen  strips 
or  so,  4  to  8  inches  long  and  ^  or  54 
inch  wide.  Roll  each  of  these  strips  up 
as  though  it  were  a  ribbon,  making  a 
circular  roll  like  that  shown  in  Fig.  2. 
Then  drop  a  handful  of  these  zinc  rolls 
into  the  bottle. 

You  will  see  that  the  object  is  to  get  a 
supply  of  the  metal  in  compact  form, 
which  will  yet  have  a  large  amount  of  ex- 
posed surface.  The  inside  and  the  out- 
side surfaces  of  the  various  coils  will 
amount  to  several  square  inches.  You 
will  see  that  the  acid  will  have  a  chance 
to  act  on  the  zinc  much  better  than  as 
if  you  should  cut  it  into  flat  strips  and 
throw  them  into  the  bottle  where  they 
might   lie   so  closely  together    that    they 


April  6,  1909. 

rould  choke   each   other   and   hinder   the 

iction  of  the  acid.     The  next  thing  is  to 

:ovcr  the  handful  of  rolls  of  zinc  in  the 

>ottlc  with  an  inch  or  two  of  water,  and 

to   pour   in   carefully   two   or    three 

;>oonfuls  of  sulphuric  acid.     If  your 

luiphuric  acid  is  already  diluted,  you  will 

ia\'    to  add  more  of  it;  if  of  the  heavy 

titrated     "oil-of-vitriol"     variety,     of 

c  you  will  add  less  of  it;  and  in  this 

ase  and  always  whtn  working  with  con- 
■entrated  sulphuric  acid  remember  to 
^our    it   carefully    into    the   water — never 


he   water  into  the  acid.     The   reasun   is 

1  great  deal    of    heat    is    developed 

.•.^..  sulphuric  acid  is  mixed  with  water, 

.nd  if  you  make  one  or  two  little  breaks 

n  mixing  it  with  water  never  mind.     But 

nok  out  for  any  spattering,  and  look  out 

vir  eyes.     In  case  you  are  using  the 

.   sulphuric  acid,  as  you  pour  it  into 

he  water  and  zinc,  it  being  a  heavy  liquid 

-aI:iiost    twice    as    heavy    as    water— the 

:iay  settle  to  the  bottom  in  a  slug- 

^.,..   layer,  but  you   can  mix   it   with   the 

iratrr  by  shaking  the  bottle  a  little :  pretty 


nc.   3 

the  diluted  acid  ("diluted"  mean* 
1  with  water)  will  begin  to  act  on 
inc.  and  then  the  current  of  hydro 

iibbles    will   keep     the     liquids     well 


l>ioK  Out  fo«  ExrtnsioN* 
*  there  it  one  thing  that  yon  «li<itild 
tiber      Hydrogen  makes  an  explosive 
:re    with     the    oxygen    of    the    air 
•■fore,  do  not  bring  a  flame  near  ihr 
'gen    apparatus    for    some    minuir« 
the  action  of  the  acid  and  thr  trif!*! 
'•«Tlun      Yoti  will  *er,  at  von  «!"•>   • 
•    of  it,  that  the  air  in  \h 
<•    the  dilttfr    n^-tf!    .in<l    t\- 
I  with  \\\r  .  and  it  will  ■   '•  • 

few     nil-  •    •     the    cnrrmt 

gen  In  the  bottle  to  fluih  out  the  air 

the    bottle    to     that      >*      wH      r.^n^^t' 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER 

mamly     of     hydrogea     If     you     thould 
neglect  this  caution,  you  will  get  a  short, 
sharp  explosion;   the  cork  will  be  blown 
out   of  your   bottle,   and  the   boftlr   i<-'\i 
might    be    broken.     Contequr' 
always  safer  to  wrap  an  old  ( 
about  the  hydrogrn-makmg  jar,  >•»  ttut  m 
case  of  an  explosion  there  will  be  no  flx 
mg  glass. 

The  correct  thing  to  do  is  to  f)l\  a  tuni 
bier  with  water,  cover  it  with  a  card- 
board, invert  it  in  the  trough  and,  after 
a  few  moments,  collect  a  tumblerful  of 
hydrogen  Then  covering  the  mouth  of 
the  tumbler  under  water  with  a  csrd 
'>    "•!,  remove  the  tumbler  an  '  '.| 

;'■«•  "fier  from  the  trough  and  -n 

the  table  with  the  tumbler  mouth  down- 
ward, becaus«  the  hydrogen  is  a  light  gas. 
much  liKhter  than  the  air,  and  a  jar  full 
of  hydrogen  can  be  preserved  in  the  air 
for  some  minutes  if  the  mouth  of  the  jar 
is  kept  downward.  Now  take  a  splinter 
of  wood,  light  it  and.  holding  thr  jar 
mouth  downward,  raise  it  frf  ••    •  1 

lK-«ard  cover  and  thrust  the  li.  :i 

ler  up  into  the  jar.  If  the  hydrogen  bums 
quietly,  it  is  a  sign  that  3rou  have  driven 
off  all  the  air  from  the  space  in  the 
hydrogen  apparatus  above  the  liquid,  and 
you  can  go  on  and  collect  it  by  filling  the 
jar  in  the  trough ;  but  if  there  is  a  sharp 
exploMon,  indeed  if  there  it  any  noticeable 
rxplosion,  you  must  let  the  hydrogen  ap 
paratus  run  a  few  moments  longer,  when 
you  will  collect  another  tumbler  of  hydro- 
gen, testing  it  in  the  same  way  until  jrou 
get  a  sample  that  burnt  quietly. 

When  you  have  got  to  this  stage,  then 
^ou  may  get  ready  to  go  on  and  collect 
several  jars  of  hydrogen.  You  will  want 
at  least  four  jart.  perhaps  five ;  one  to 
ir%t  it*  burning,  two  or  three  to  test  itt 
liKhtnr'*  in«1  one  to  tett  what  it  called 
thr  of    hydrogen,    or     what 

the   .  ;  ited  to  call   the  "otmote" 

of  hyilrogen.  We  will  now  ditrtit*. 
in  anticipation,  each  of  these  tests,  to 
■hat    you    can    be    ready    to    make    the 

— •-    ^1lickly.    and    so    that    you 

'  well  in  advance  something 

,■  I"  1  jfi'*''       '•  •n*y  ••o* 

r.t  all  of  the 

HI   can 

■id     f09 

>  «i«  WAiling  f 


Tun  NO  mt  Htfft  •-! 

The  «r^   f«f     W»  trttl 


699 

but  lite  end  os 
u  «adf  csti»- 
irogoi  hmam  M 

The  onani  of 


'itrr    »«»    m 


rij<ir<^rr.   nime 


The  set  of  fxpfrimtau 
Itghtnett  of  the  hydrogen,  aad  the  poar- 
ing  tt  upward  in  the  aif  frooi  <mm  J«r  M 


rti 


J 


nc    { 


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f 


ft 


>f    wmUm^    eankrawwv.   ibaal    • 

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he  Bk    «-         •♦  I 


66o 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  6,  1909. 


for    a    tightly    titting    glass    tube,    several 
inches  long. 

If  you  use  the  tobacco  pipe,  cover  the 
stem  but  not  the  bowl  with  glue  to  give 
it  an  air-tight  layer.  The  mouth  of  the 
pipe  bowl  must  also  be  closed  with  a  tight, 
flat  cork.  The  lower  end  of  the  glass 
tube  leading  up  into  the  tiny  jar,  or  the 
lower  end  of  the  stem  of  the  tobacco  pipe, 
should  be  connected  with  a  bit  of  rubber 
tubing  to  a  straight  delivery  tube  of  glass, 
ID  or  15  inches  long.  In  the  case  of  the 
tobacco  pipe  you  can  lengthen  the  stem 
by  connecting  it  with  bits  of  rubber  tub- 
ing to  several  pieces  of  stem  broken  of? 
from  other  clay  pipes  and  varnished.  The 
point  is  to  have  a  closed  porous  jar,  with 
a  straight  air-tight  tube,  10  or  15  inches 
long,  leading  to  its  interior.  If  you  use  a 
baby  flowerpot,  you  will  have  to  be  care- 
ful to  plug  up  the  small  hole  usually  found 
in  the  bottom  of  such  pots  with  a  tight 
cork ;  and  also  be  careful  to  get  a  wide, 
flat  cork  thick  enough  to  close  the  mouth 
air-tight. 

Another  point:  If  you  use  a  tobacco 
pipe  in  this  "osmose"  experiment  your 
fruit  jars  will  serve  very  well;  but  if 
you  use  a  baby  flowerpot,  you  will  have 
to  find  a  larger-mouthed  jar,  something 
like  a  wide-mouthed  candy  jar.  The 
point  is  (as  shown  in  Fig.  5  in  triplicate 
to  suit  various  conditions  of  our  readers), 
you  are  going  to  place  a  jar  of  hydrogen, 
the  mouth  of  which  is  open  to  the  air, 
down  over  the  pipe  bowl,  or  the  porous 
jar,  or  the  tiny  flowerpot,  each  of  which 
is  connected,  by  a  well  fitting  cork  and 
air-tight  tube,  with  a  tumbler  of  water 
some  10  or  15  inches  below,  as  shown. 
If  you  are  successful,  you  will  see  this 
simple  but  very  remarkable  result :  some 
bubbles  of  air  will  be  forced  down 
through  the  long  straight  tube  and  will 
bubble  up  through  the  tumbler  of  water. 
This  is  all  the  more  remarkable  because 
the  jar  of  hydrogen,  which  is  open  to  the 
air,  acts  on  the  closed  pipe  bowl,  or  por- 
ous jar,  or  tiny  flowerpot,  as  though  it 
were  blowing  in  gas  through  the  un- 
glazed  and  porous  walls  of  the  pipe  bowl, 
or  porous  cup,  or  tiny  flowerpot,  down 
through  the  long  tube  into  the  water. 

The  "Kinetic  Theory  of  Gase.s" 
When  you  get  this  apparatus  ready,  you 
can  test  it  in  anticipation  by  lowering, 
mouth  downward,  a  jar  of  common  air 
over  the  pipe  bowl,  or  porous  cup,  or  tiny 
flowerpot ;  and  with  no  bubbles,  because 
air  will  not  act  on  air,  while  a  jar  of 
hydrogen  will  act  on  air.  I  will  not  stop 
now  to  explain  just  what  happens,  but  you 
will  note  that  it  is  quite  remarkable  to 
have  an  open  jar  of  hydrogen  act  on  the 
air  within  the  pipe  bowl,  or  porous  cup, 
or  tiny  flowerpot,  as  though  the  hydrogen 
could  blow  through  into  it  and  down  the 
air-tight  tube  with  considerable  pressure. 
It  will  be  worth  your  while  to  try  to  get 
this  experiment  and  to  make  it  work, 
because   it   will   prove   to   you    something 


which  the  books  call  the  "kinetic  theory  of 
gases." 

The  explanation  of  this  experiment, 
which  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  in 
all  chemical  physics,  is  that  the  nitrogen, 
oxygen  and  hydrogen  of  the  air  are  made 
up  of  little  parts  called  "molecules."  Now 
these  molecules  are  jostling  each  other 
about  in  a  very  rapid  and  rude  way,  and 
the  walls  of  the  porous  jar  mark  the 
"rush  line"  in  this  hand-to-hand  battle 
of  the  molecules.  But  the  hydrogen  fel- 
lows, although  much  lighter,  are  much 
more  active,  and  they  easily  get  away 
with  the  heavier  and  more  sluggish  mole- 
cules of  the  nitrogen  and  oxygen  of  com- 
mon air  in  the  fine  passageways  of  the 
walls  of  the  porous  jar.  Therefore,  the 
hydrogen  fellows  force  back  the  nitrogen- 
and-oxygen  team,  "rush"  them  down  the 
long  tube,  and  force  them  out  bodily  as 
bubbles  through  the  water  in  the  tum- 
bler, as  shown  in  Fig.  5. 

Scientists  have  figured  that  the  mole- 
cules of  the  nitrogen  and  oxygen  of  the 
air  are  moving  around,  swinging  and 
bombarding  each  other,  at  a  rate  of  some 
2000  or  3000  feet  a  second,  and  the  hydro- 
gen molecules  are  swinging  about  at  a 
rate  of  about  8000  feet  a  second  at  ordi- 
nary temperatures.  This  does  not  mean 
that  either  is  moving  at  this  rate  as  a 
mass,  but  that  the  small  .physical  units  or 
parts  of  the  gases  are  moving  at  this  rate. 
It  is  almost  inconceivable,  almost  in- 
credible, that  such  should  be  the  case ;  but 
after  yon  have  performed  the  experiment, 
and  especially  after  you  have  studied  care- 
fully the  conditions  of  the  experiment, 
you  will  see  that  you  have  got  something 
so  remarkable  in  fact  that  the  explana- 
tion is  not  incredible  but  is  in  keeping 
with  the  fact. 

Acids  Are  Salts  of  Hydrogen 

There  is  one  other  point  which  I  want 
you  to  notice,  and  that  is  that  it  is  not 
alone  the  acid  that  attacks  the  zinc, 
but  the  zinc  attacks  the  acid,  forming 
sulphate  of  zinc,  or  "white  vitriol,"  in 
driving  off^  the  hydrogen.  You  will  note 
tliat  if  the  zinc  can  drive  off  hydrogen 
from  dilute  sulphuric  acid,  then  the  zinc 
has  taken  the  place  of  the  hydrogen ;  that 
is,  the  hydrogen  is  a  metal.  Further,  if 
the  zinc  acting  on  the  sulphuric  acid 
makes  zinc  sulphate,  then  the  acid  itself 
is  a  sulphate  of  hydrogen,  and  this  will 
introduce  you  to  a  new  way  of  looking  at 
acids;  namely,  that  all  acids  are  "salts  of 
hydrogen." 

Thus,  sulphuric  acid  is  hydrogen  sul- 
phate, nitric  acid  is  hydrogen  nitrate, 
hydrochloric  or  muriatic  acid  is  hydrogen 
chloride,  phosphoric  acid  is  hydrogen 
phosphate,  tartaric  acid  is  hydrogen  tar- 
trate, acetic  acid  (acid  of  vinegar)  is 
hydrogen  acetate,  citric  acid  (acid  of 
lemons)  is  hydrogen  citrate,  and  so  on 
through  the  long  li.st.    From  each  of  these 


acids,  theoretically,  any  metal  will  drive 
off  the  hydrogen,  but  practically  some 
metals  act  better  than  others  and  some 
acids  act  better  than  others.  The  metal 
commonly  used  is  zinc,  although  you  can 
use  clean  iron  turnings  or  filings ;  the 
acid  commonly  used  is  sulphuric  acid,^ 
although  you  can  use  hydrochloric  acid; 
but  you  cannot  use  nitric  acid  if  you  want 
to  collect  the  hydrogen,  because  nitric  acid 
is  itself  an  "oxidizer"  and  eats  up  the 
hydrogen  as  fast  as  it  is  formed. 


New  Joint  for  Copper  Pipes 


A  simple  and  efl^ective  form  of  joint  for 
copper  and  brass  tubing  is  being  intro- 
duced by  J.  M.  Leigh  &  Son,  67  Deansgate, 
Manchester.  It  is  illustrated  in  the  accom- 
panying engraving,  is  known  as  the  "com- 
pression" joint,  and  is  made  between  the 
ends  of  the  two  tubes  themselves,  one  end 
being  forced  into  the  opposite  expanded 
end  of  the  other  tube,  the  coupling  being 
merely  intended  to  keep  the  tubes  to- 
gether.     Two    small    liand    machines    are 


,  JOINT  FOR  copper   PIPES 

used  in  the  making  of  these  joints.  The 
screwed  portion  of  the  joint  or  union  is 
slipped  on  the  end  of  the  tube,  which  is 
then  put  on  the  expanding  machine  and 
the  end  of  the  tube  expanded  until 
it  fits  tightly  into  the  union  piece  and 
forms  a  lining  for  it.  The  union  nut  and 
ring  are  next  slipped  on  the  other  tube, 
which  is  then  beaded  as  shown.  The 
tubes  are  afterward  placed  together,  the 
beaded  end  inside  the  large  end,  and  the 
joint  is  tightened  up  with  a  spanner,  no 
jointing  material  being  required.  It  will 
be  seen  that  the  connection  is  complete 
with  only  one  joint.  The  amount  of  force 
required  on  the  union  is  small ;  in  fact,  a 
tight  joint  under  pressure  can  almost  be 
made  without  the  use  of  a  spanner.  We 
are  informed  that  a  test  of  an  arrangement 
of  various  sorts  of  fittings  attached  to  a 
154-inch  diameter  seamless-copper  tube,  20 
wire  gage,  proved  perfectly  tight  at  a  pres- 
sure of  700  pounds  per  square  inch,  a  ten- 
sile stress  of  8^4  tons  being  necessary  to 
sever  the  joint. — The  Engineer. 


April  6.  1909 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


tfi 


Helander  Barometric  Condenser 

\n  FJK'  I  i>  shown  the  manner  in  which 
Helander  type  A  l»aromctric  conden- 
is  installed.  This  type  of  condenser 
i-d  with  either  a  hascment  or  an  ovcr- 

1    exhnii^t    ni.iii'.     '••'     i>     particularly 


inK    w.itrr       It    alto   thorn*    (Hal   a   Urge 
'>»^'  ct    for    water   and    tteam    i« 

;iff'  <.rnc«   ..f   waterfall*. 

I  -d  with  a  nci«  l)pr 

'»t    '  •      _ii   doe«  not    in   an> 

way   depend   upon    a    mechanically     tiichi 
joint  to  «eal  the  vacuum  when  operating 
the   condenser.      Thi»    valve    u   placed  at 
fjii     f'-.f    of    the    hari>melric    ('•iltimn    and 
.iii!':ii.iiiially  come*  uit«»  aoiK'tt  wliriirvrr 
the    vacuum    u    lo«t    anci    tt 
column  of  water  fall*  »<>  'hr 
The    -kteam    then    : 
flow   pipe%  an«l  o«r 
any  convenient  point. 

<^.iiii.-  of  the  ail  vantages  claimed  for  thi« 

•ndrn^r  i>  the  Mmplicity  uf  co« 

^iiimmoii  and  erection,  and  a«  it   u  biult 


m  le*^  ne^ 

req 

ma: 

('••nipttnjr. 


tna  tntenancc 


A  Turbinr  Caanlmr 


I  hi*  nig««ie   I*   »   fM   ur   l^drocaf^aa 
f    I  «  ha*  •■  m- 

•  m  a  pafr  "f  rf%m- 
rbne  ml'  '• 

der  in  a  let 

third  ryi;:--:.;   ..  ..<npm<«m  ... 

the   point   where   the  mwiyccnin 

•tMance  i«  at   the   higHe«t      The  nr-^uM 


i.i.  .1  !••  III.   i.iucr.    Fig  J  i»  .I"  '  ■  ■ 
w,  an  mamination  «»f  which  wdl  Itw.^ 

to  nolur  ll>r   l.ifKr   niimlMf    ..i    v»  .'■ 
hetwcn  tin     .Ir.im  mlrf   .unl  •    . 
ve»»el.  %»hrr«    ih- 
Vrrp   down    the    t> 


662 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  6,  1909. 


B 


usiness  items 


It( 


The  Quaker  City  Rubber  Company,  of 
Philadelphia,  has  opened  a  branch  office,  in 
charge  of  Charles  W.  Thomson,  at  50  Church 
street.    New    York    City. 

The  Crocker-Wheeler  Company,  of  .\mpere, 
N.  J.,  recently  received  an  order  through  its 
Denver  ofiBce  for  a  number  of  small  motors 
for  the  Cox-Clark  Engraving  Company,  Barclay 
building,  Denver.  The  motors  will  be  used 
for  individual  drive  on  engraving  and  electro- 
tj-ping  machinery.  They  are  all  230-volt, 
direct-current  motors  of  the  form  L  type,  which 
is  built  in  sizes  from  1-20  to  7 J  horsepower. 

Owing  to  the  growing  demand  for  "Komo" 
steam  traps,  it  has  been  necessary  to  increase 
the  manufacturing  and  sales  facilities.  There- 
fore, the  business  formerly  carried  on  by  P.  A. 
Moulton,  as  sales  agent  of  the  "Komo"  steam 
trap,  at  92  Liberty  street.  New  York,  will  here- 
after be  transacted  by  the  Linton  Machine 
Company,  of  26  Cortland  street,  N.  Y.,  which 
is  in  a  position  to  furnish  these  traps  in  any 
desired  quantity.  The  standard  of  material 
and  workmanship  will  be  maintained,  and  P.  A. 
Moulton  will  be  associated  with  this  company 
as  manager  of  the  steam-trap  department. 

The  Mesta  Machine  Company  held  an  "at 
home"  Saturday  afternoon,  March  27,  at  its 
works  at  West  Homestead,  Penn.  Thither 
wended  a  large  number  of  persons  interested 
in  works  of  that  character,  including  many 
engineers  and  the  Engineers'  Society  of  Western 
Pennsylvania.  It  was  an  afternoon  of  inspec- 
tion, followed  by  a  lunch.  The  fireproof  office 
building,  the  roll  and  steel  foundry  departments, 
the  new  foundry  and  the  new  pattern  shop 
were  duly  viewed  and  appreciated,  .\mong 
the  chief  objects  of  interest  were  a  36x72-inch 
Corliss  engine,  with  100-ton  flywheel,  which 
was  built  in  30  days  from  receipt  of  order; 
a  blast-furnace  blowing  engine,  with  steam 
and  air  cylinders  each  84  inches  in  diameter 
and  with  60-inch  stroke;  and  machinery  for 
a  600-ton  metal  mixer,  which  will  be  double 
the  size  of  the  largest  now^  in  use. 

One  of  the  largest  orders  booked  by  the 
Crocker-Wheeler  Company  during  a  recent 
week  was  for  14  three-phase,  60-cycle,  squirrel- 
cage  induction  motors,  aggregating  220-horse- 
power,  for  Johnson  &  Johnson,  New  Brunswick, 
N.  J.  Other  induction  motor  sales  of  the  week 
were  160-horsepower  of  the  wound-rotor  type 
for  the  Buffalo  Copper  and  Brass  Company,  of 
Buffalo,  and  a  20-horsgpower  for  the  Frick 
Company,  Waynesboro,  Penn.  The  demand 
for  direct-current  apparatus  still  continues. 
The  Eastwood  Wire  Manufacturing  Company, 
Belleville,  N.  J.,  has  ordered  a  2.50-kilowatt, 
engine-type  generator,  and  the  Atlantic  hotel, 
Bridgeport,  Conn.,  has  purchased  a  3.5-kilowatt 
machine.  A  large  rolling  mill  near  Pittsburg 
has  placed  an  order  for  244  horsepower  of  direct- 
current  motors  of  the  rolling-mill  type.  Other 
direct-current  .sales  are  those  of  20  motors  for 
the  Lanston  Monotype  Machine  Company, 
Philadelphia;  a  7.5-horsepower  motor  for  the 
W.  W.  Herron  Lumber  Company,  Mobile,  and 
six  motors  for  the  F.  P.  Little  Electric  Company, 
Buffalo.  There  were  a  large  number  of  smaller 
orders. 

The  former  American  Boiler  Economy  Com- 
pany, of  Philadelphia,  manufacturer  of  the 
Copes  boiler-feed  regulator  and  the  Coi>es  pump 
governor,  has  been  consolidated  with  the  North- 
ern Equipment  Company,  Old  Colony  building, 
Chicago,  which  will  a.ssume  all  obligations  of 
the  former  company,  including  guarantees 
to  replace  free  of  cost  any  part  of  any  Copes 
regulator  that  may  develop  a  defect  within 
five  years  from  the  date  of  purchase.  The 
branch  offices  of  the  .\merican  Boiler  Economy 
Company,  viz..  Tribune  building.  New  York 
City;  Oliver  building.  Boston;  226  East  Pleasant 
street,  Baltimore,  and  the  Frick  building  annex, 
Pittsburg,  will  be  continued  under  the  style  of 


the  Northern  Equipment  Company,  whUe  the 
sale  of  Copes  regulators  will  be  handled  in 
Philadelphia  by  the  Adjustable  Grate  Bar 
Company,  North  American  building.  The  North- 
ern Equipment  Company  announces  that  it 
wUl  continue  to  install  the  Copes  regulators 
on  60  days'  free  trial.  The  following  recent 
sales  to  prominent  concerns  are  mentioned: 
Nichols  Copper  Company,  the  Delaware  & 
Hudson  Railroad  Company,  the  Clark  Thread 
Company,  the  Consolidated  Gas  Company,  of 
New  York,  and  the  Boston  Elevated  Railway 
Company. 

Keystone  grease,  made  by  the  Keystone 
Lubricating  Company,  of  Philadelphia,  is  claimed 
to  be  especially  adapted  to  shafting  lubrication, 
for  the  reason  that  it  cannot  drip,  but  remains 
in  the  bearing  where  it  belongs.  In  the  silk- 
ribbon  manufactory  of  Smith  &  Kaufmann, 
New  Y'ork  City,  and  in  the  silk  mills  of  Pelgran 
&  'Meyer,  the  Harmony  Silk  Company  and 
Cramer  &  King  Co.,  of  Paterson,  N.  J.,  this 
product  is  stated  to  give  perfect  satisfaction. 
Other  instances  of  the  successful  use  of  Keystone 
grease  are  the  Botany  Worsted  Mill,  Passaic, 
N.  J.;  C.  M.  Hedden  Company,  Newark,  N.  J., 
manufacturer  of  fine  soft  hats;  C.  B.  Rutan, 
West  Orange,  N.  J.,  and  the  No-Name  Hat 
Manufacturing  Company,   Orange  Valley,   N.  J. 

The  owners  of  the  "New  Belnord"  apartment 
house,  at  Eighty-sixth  street  and  Broadway, 
New  York  City,  which  is  to  be  one  of  the  largest 
apartment  houses  yet  built,  recently  placed 
an  order  with  the  American  Engine  Company,  of 
Bound  Brook,  N.  J.,  for  three  angle-compound 
engines,  one  of  500-horsepower,  one  of  400-horse- 
power  and  one  of  160-horsepower.  This  type 
of  engine  is  adaptable  to  isolated-plant  work 
because  of  its  relatively  small  space  require- 
ments and  the  absence  of  vibration.  It  gives 
the  advantages  of  compounding  while  requiring 
less  floor  space  than  a  horizontal  simple  engine 
of  the  same  output. 


New  Equipment 


Bids  will  be  received  by  C.  W.  Jackson,  city 
clerk,  Plymouth,  Wis.,  some  time  in  May  for 
laying  about  16,000  feet  of  6,  8,  10  and  12  inch 
vitrified  sewer  pipe.  W.  G.  Kirchoffer,  Madi- 
son, Wis.,  engineer. 

The  Waukegan,  Rockford  &  Elgin  Traction 
Company  has  been  incorporated  with  $1,500,000 
capital  to  construct  an  electric  railway.  Prin- 
cipal office  at  Waukegan.  Incorporators,  R.  D. 
Wynn,  C.  C.  Edwards,  Fred  Bairstow,  etc. 

The  Pennamaquan  Power  Company,  whose 
head  office  is  at  Providence,  R.  I.,  has  taken 
over  the  property  and  holdings  of  the  Pem- 
broke Power  Company,  at  Pembroke,  Me.,  and 
will  rebuild  plant  which  was  burned  some  time 
ago. 

The  Sioux  Falls  &  Sioux  City  Electric  Railway 
Co.  will  commence  construction  of  proposed  rail- 
way soon.  There  will  be  two  power  stations, 
one  at  Sioux  Falls,  S.  D.,  and  one  at  Sioux 
City,  la.  G.  W.  Burnside,  Sioux  Falls,  is  general 
manager. 

L.  .\dler  Bros.  Company,  Roche.ster,  N.  Y.,  has 
awarded  contract  for  the  construction  of  a  new 
factory  building.  Equipment  will  include  boil- 
ers, engines,  generators,  motors,  blowers,  etc. 
Chas.  A.  Alexander,  Rochester,  is  consulting 
engineer. 

Sealed  bids  will  be  received  by  P.  D.  Hender- 
shot,  city  clerk,  Platteville,  Wis.,  until  7:30 
p.m.,  April  2,  for  furnishing  and  installing  a 
pumping  system.  Plans  and  specifications  can 
be  had  of  W.  G.  Kirchoffer,  consulting  engineer, 
Madison,  Wis. 

The  Central  City  Refrigerating  Company, 
Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  is  erecting  a  cold  storage  and 
electric  plant.  Gas  producers,  engines,  genera- 
tors, refrigerating  machines,  etc.,  will  be  needed. 


R.  S.  M.  Mitchell,  Kirk  building,  Syracuse,  is  con- 
sulting engineer. 

The  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College  of 
Texas,  College  Station,  Tex.,  is  contemplating 
installing  new  equipment  in  the  rhachine  shops 
and  engineering  laboratory,  including  centri- 
fugal pump,  air  compressor  and  internal  com- 
bustion motors.  I 

The  Water  Power  Light  Company,  Ozark,  1 
Mo.,  contemplates  installing  additional  equip- 
ment, including  50-kilowatt  alternating-current 
generator,  water  turbine,  engine.  It  is  said  the 
company  also  contemplates  installing  an  ice 
and  cold-storage  plant. 

The  finance  committee  of  the  Council,  Pitts- 
burg, Penn.,  has  approved  ordinance  providing 
for  bond  issue  of  $1,975,000  to  purchase  plant 
of  the  Monongahela  Water  Company  and  $700,000 
bonds  to  purchase  machinery  for  same.  N.  S. 
Sprague,  city  engineer. 

The  Paris  and  Mount  Pleasant  Railroad 
Company  has  been  incorporated  with  $75,000 
capital  to  build  an  electric  railway  from  Paris 
Texas,  to  Mount  Pleasant.  Headquarters  at 
Paris.  Incoporators,  R.  F.  Scott,  T.  J.  Record, 
J.  J.  Culbertson  and  others. 

The  Walsenburg  (Colo.)  Light,  Power  and 
Ice  Company  is  contemplating  increasing  the 
capacity  of  its  ice-making  plant  by  the  instal- 
lation of  a  12-ton  ammonia  compressor  and  the 
necessary  cans,  tank,  condensers,  etc.  S.  B. 
Richey  is  manager  and  P.  A. 

W.  F.  Cooper  has  purchased  the  plant  of 
the  Winnfield  (La.)  Light  and  Power  Company 
and  will  rebuild  same  with  new  and  modem 
machinery,  such  as  dynamo  and  engine,  switch- 
board and  line  material.  H.  W.  Wright,  Winn- 
field, is  engineer  in  charge. 

Bids  will  be  received  by  R.  Sutton,  city  clerk, 
Richland  Centre,  Wis.,  for  furnishing  and  laying 
about  5000  feet  of  8  and  10  inch  cast-iron 
pipe.  Special  castings,  valves  and  hydrants 
will  also  be  purchased.  W.  G.  Kirchoffer, 
Madison,  Wis.,  is  consulting  engineer. 

The  Portland  (Ore.)  Water  Power  and  Electria 
Transmission  Company  has  been  incorporated 
with  $1,000,000  capital  and  will  erect  a  power 
plant.  W.  H.  Hurlburt,  formerly  president 
of  the  Oregon  Water  Power  and  Railway  Com- 
pany, is  at  the  head  of  the  new  company. 


Help  Wanted 

Advertisements  under  this  head  are  inserted' 
for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  words  make 
a  line. 

WANTED — Salesman  for  steam  specialties; 
thorough  knowledge  of  steam  traps  and  higb 
pressure  goods.     "A.,"  Box  27,  Power. 

WAN'TED — Thoroughly  competent  steam 
specialty  salesman;  one  that  can  sell  high- 
grade  goods.     Address  "M.  M.  Co.,"  Power. 

AN  ENGINEER  in  each  town  to  sell  the 
best  rocking  grate  for  steam  boilers.  Write 
Martin   Grate   Co.,    281    Dearborn   St.,   Chicago. 

THOROUGHLY  COMPETENT  steam  spe- 
cialty salesman  for  strong  side  line.  Greater 
New  York.  Liberal  commission.  Box  29, 
Power. 

WANTED — Man  familiar  with  repairing  and 
erecting  of  steam  engines  and  boilers.  Must 
be  capable  and  quick.  A  fine  position  in  New 
York  City  open  to  the  right  party.  Address  "  H. 
W.,"  Box  22,  Power. 

ENGINEER  for  electric  light  plant  must 
be  sober,  industrious,  capable  and  willing  to 
help  chief  engineer  on  repairs.  Twenty  miles 
from  New  York.  Give  reference,  salary  ex- 
pected, etc.     Box  25,  Power. 

WANTED— Man  with  $5000  to  invest. 
lAust  have  executive  ability  and  unquestion- 
able honor.  To  take  charge  of  power  plant 
department  of  engineering  company.  Give 
references  and  experience.     Box  19,  Power. 

PROFESSORS  OF  CIVIL,  MECHANICAL 
AND  ELECTRICAL  ENGINEERING— The 
government  of  Nova  Scotia  will  receive  appli- 
cations for  the  al)ove  three  chairs  in  its  technical 
college.  Applicants  must  have  college  degree 
and  practical  experience.  Appointments  made 
in  June  or  July.  New  college.  High  standards 
for  degrees.  Address  F,  H.  Sexton,  Department 
of  Education,   Halifax,   N.  S. 


April  13,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


M} 


Power  System  of  Louisville  Lighting  Co. 

Single-phase    Elngine  Installation    1  ;<  led    into    Two-phase    Tu. 

Plant.      Nosci   Features  Are  the  Water  Supply  and    Removal    ol    Aih 

^'        O  S  B   O   R   N         M   O   N   N    L  T  T 


For  some  time  alterations  have  been  in  Coal-hanounc  pAauTits 

progress  at  the  Fourteenth  street  station         The  property  is  adjacent  to     ' 

of  the  Louisville  Lighting  Company,  dur-  line  of  the  Pennsylvania  railro.. 

ing  which  a  great  deal  has  been  accom-  Krlhcr     with     the    co.i! 

plished  in  changing  the  character  of  the  ..cupjc*   one   entire   c: 

station  to  one  of  the  most  modem  kind,  track  from  the  railroad  cuter*  the  co*i- 


■pw  tnck  iiMlf  CM  ImU  m 

nukinc  a   louJ 
4500  lon«.  ncclrct 
of  the  cod  bonlirrt  thcmtciic* 
•tatioci.  whidi  will  hold  laoo  toM 
Each  car  of  cod  it  wmh<4  oa  • 


nu   i 


.ftifcMtiU  *iU>b. 


The  old  engine  room  i>  no; 
one  »idc  by  a  ri>w  nf  )> 

Othrr     ii«|r     ^VAllnhlr       t 

boil' 
tUfl 

sic). 


664 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  13,  1909. 


Fourteenth 


Street 


Coal  Storage  Yard 
54'9"x  218'o' 
Coal  Chute 


1 


s 


\.  Center  Line  of  CoDveye; 


FIG.    2.    GENERAL  PLAN  OF  YARDS  AND  PLANT 


to  a  motor-driven  crusher,  discharging 
onto  a  bucket  elevator  which  raises  the 
coal  above  the  bunkers  and  it  is  then  dis- 
tributed automatically  on  another  Robins 
belt  conveyer  as  shown  in  Fig.  6.  This 
conveyer  is  provided  with  an  automatic 
traveling  tripper  which  distributes  the  coal 
uniformly  the  entire  length  of  the  bunk- 


ers^ reversing  itself  automatically  at  the 
end  by  means  of  a  lever  engaging  the  trip 
on  the  rail.  This  tripper  may  also  be 
spotted  over  any  boiler  along  the  line  of 
the  coal  bunkers.  The  bunkers  are  of  re- 
inforced-concrete  construction  and  deliver 
the  coal  to  spouts  in  which  Hunt  valves 
are   arranged,   making    it    convenient    to 


check  the  coal  consumption,  as  the  spouts 
hold  one-half  ton  each. 

Boiler  Installation 
Eight  boilers,  the  fronts  of  which  are 
shown  in  Fig.  7,  are  installed  in  the  new 
boiler  room.  They  are  each  of  600  horse- 
power rated  capacity  and  of  the  Aultman 
&  Taylor  type,  fitted  with  improved  Roney 
stokers  and  Babcock  &  Wilcox  super- 
heaters. The  boilers  have  vertical  head- 
ers and  are  installed  with  a  clearance 
of  only  18  inches  between  the  rear  header 
and  wall,  the  gases  passing  upward  be- 
tween the  drums  to  the  uptake,  as  shown 
in  the  elevation,  Fig.  4.  This  drawing 
also  shows  the  relative  location  of  the 
old  boilers  which  have  been  retained  as 
reserve.  Of  these  there  are  1800  horse- 
power of  Babcock  &  Wilcox  make,  with 


FIG.    3.     HIGH-PKESSURE  STEAM  PIPING 


April  13,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEF.k 


«f 


abcock  &  Wilcox  chain-grate  stokers. 
The  manner  in  which  the  former  coal- 
handling  arrangement  is  utilized  as  an 
auxiliary  is  indicated  in  Fig.  2.  The 
bucket  conveyer  has  been  retained  and  a 
Robins  belt  conveyer  is  installed  to  shift 
the  coal  into  the  main  hoppers  when 
necessary. 

Exceptionally  complete  facilities  are 
provided  for  determining  conditions  in  the 
boiler  room.  located  at  a  central  point 
on  the  firing  floor  is  an  Ellison  difTcren- 
tial-draft  gage,  and  each  boiler  setting  is 
tapped  at  the  furnace  and  in  the  rear  gas 
pass  with  ^-inch  pipe  leadmg  to  a  mani- 
fold, which  may  be  connected  at  will  with 
the  gage.    In  this  way  the  draft  at  all  im- 


CLCVArtoN  raaovcH  plakt 

portant  points  may  be  quickly  determined 
A  line  extends  also  to  the  stack  at  a  pomt 
50  feet  above  the  ground  where  the  mam 
uptake  enters;  the  draft  at  this  point 
shows  t.4  inches  of  water.  The  stack  is 
of  brick,  208  feet  high,  octagonal  in  shape, 
with  a   tj-foot  circular  floe. 

In  addition,  a  board  located  in  the  oficc 
of  the  operating  engineer  is  fully  equipped 
with  recording  and  indicating  gages,  en- 
abling the  engineer  to  determine  the 
steam  pressure,  vacuum  obtained  or  draft 
on  any  unit  at  any  time.  An  indicator  on 
the  switchboard  gallery  also  »h(Tw«  in 
large  numbers  the  total  amount  of  load 
that  is  being  carried  at  all  limes. 

Referring  to  the  sectional  clctratkia  of 


/' 


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x««  u  r%r» 


r  —  L.,. 
!  .tbi.a 


ft  -  <aiB.  an  w  dnct  »d  k* 

ti  laidy  ondcff  the  botlcr- 

i  tbc  Mokan.  This  Ims 
brrii  (>',:!  in  i%  in  extra  pncaMMiL  to  tllM 
the  furnaces  may  be  ran  with  closed  aah 
pits  under  forced  draft.  i( 
should  ever  rcqnarc  it  T«o 
engine  driven  laas  arc  imttlcd  for  ikts 
purpose 

Asa  RuovAt 

jisdiwn  arrange  WW  Hi   is  ■■■ 

Fxtrndrng  aloog   m   front 

xn  ft-indi 


fur 


to  the   Diafby   tystcia 

r        I    .,««l.        *f1eA        •Itk 


ru    5.   mAII  AH* 


rtTt9^- 


6o6 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  13,  1909. 


FIG.    6.    AUTOMATIC  ROBINS  DISTRIBUTER  OVER  COAL  BUNKERS 


cast-iron  plugs,  but  the  farther  end  of  the 
pipe  is  open.  The  pipe  extends  out 
through  the  basement  wall  and  upward 
into  a  large  elevated  steel  tank  of  50  tons 
capacity.  At  the  entrance  to  the  tank,  the 
ashes,  which  are  frequentlj-  red  hot,  are 
sprinkled  with  water  as  they  drop  into  the 
receptacle  from  which  they  are  loaded 
into  cars.  At  the  top  of  the  tank  there 
is  an  18-inch  connection  which  is  carried 
down  into  the  adjacent  crusher  house  and 
is  connected  to  a  Connersville  high-pres- 
sure blower  with  a  capacity  of  200  cubic 
feet  per  minute  and  driven  by  a  30-horse- 
power  induction  motor.  This  installation 
maintains  the  vacuum  upon  which  the 
operation  of  the  system  depends.  Fig.  8 
shows  an  elevation  of  the  system  as  in- 
stalled, and  the  tank  itself  may  be  seen 
in  Fig.  I. 

In  operation  a  plug  is  removed  from 
one  of  the  tees,  a  funnel  is  inserted  and 
the  ashes  are  raked  into  the  pipe,  being 
taken  away  as  fast  as  introduced.  As  the 
suction  is  always  inward,  there  is  no  dust 
nor  dirt  in  the  ash  tunnel.  At  the  point  X, 
Fig.  8,  a  special  elbow  with  extra  thick- 
ness of  cast  iron  is  used  for  the  reason 
that  the  particles  of  ash  in  changing  their 
direction  from  the  horizontal  to  the  verti- 
cal impinge  on  the  metal  at  a  speed  of 
several  thousand  feet  per  minute.  This 
is  really  the  only  part  of  the  system  sub- 
ject to  severe  conditions,  but  as  the  elbow 
can  be  easily  replaced  there  need  be  no 
trouble  at  this  point. 

Boiler-room    Piping 

The    high-pressure    piping   is    designed 

for  100  degrees  of  superheat.     An  8-inch 

riser    leads    from    each    superheater    into 

the  end  of  a  lo-inch  horizontal  bend  with 


a  radius  of  6  feet  6  inches  and  terminating 
in  a  i2-inch  main  header  from  which  10- 
inch  leads  pass  to  the  turbines.  The  only 
separators  in  the  system  are  those  at  the 


turbine  throttles,  one  being  a  Cochrane 
receiver  and  one  a  Swartwout  receiver- 
separator. 

Kellogg  valves  and  fittings  are  used  and 
the  gate  valves  all  have  their  stems  look- 
ing downward,  the  main  boiler  stop  valves 
being  operated  from  the  boiler-room  floor. 
A  4-inch  auxiliary  header  is  also  provided 
to  furnish  superheated  steam  to  the 
pumps,  etc.  All  high-pressure  flanged 
joints  are  packed  with  Goetze  asbestos- 
copper  corrugated  gaskets.  The  feed  pip- 
ing is  located  overhead  in  front  of  the 
boilers,  as  shown  in  Fig.  7,  and  the  main 
lines  are  in  duplicate,  with  a  3^-inch 
branch  to  each  battery  of  boilers.  One 
Lambert  hot-water  meter  is  located  in 
the  main  feed  line,  and  a  Worthington 
meter  is  used  when  making  individual 
tests  on  boilers.  Williams  feed-water 
regulators  are  installed  on  the  system. 
Feed  water  is  supplied  by  two  Blake,  ver- 
tical simplex,  outside,  center-packed  plun- 
ger pumps,  with  cylinders  14x20x12^x18 
inches  in  size  and  capable  of  delivering 
300  gallons  of  water  per  minute  against  a 
boiler  pressure  of  250  pounds.  These 
pumps  take  water  at  an  average  tempera- 
ture of  200  degrees  under  a  minimum 
head  of  5  feet  2  inches  from  a  6000-horse- 
power  Cochrane  open  feed-water  heater 
and  purifier.  The  heater  receives  the  ex- 
haust   from   the    feed   pumps,    stoker    en- 


FIG.    7.    BOILER  ROOM 


Apnl  13.  igoy. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


\i\    olXitMAiiS 


KiiK  ■>,  comJciiMT  and  dry-vacuum  pllnlp^ . 
all  the  othrr  aiixili.irirs  arc  opcratdl  l>\ 
elect  ricify. 

GeNUATINC.    I'nITS    ANt>   KxtlTMS 

Two    .looo-kiluwatt    Wc«tinKhou»el'ar- 

Kini  turbines  arc  inslalird      Thr<^c  are  of  turbine   and   cooden*er   t%  «»! 

the   Mandard    VVe*tinKhou*c   dcsiKn.   with  s    hMrM-i».»wer,    no- volt     ■' 

complctrlv    inrlowd    ventilated   generator*  tiii.t..r    K<'*)rrd    lo   the    \ 


xhumt    mm 


u!  t}:<    ffxff  by  •  i«alt«l*' 


rii<]   ot       rfKrO    I'-    mairn*infT\^ 

mitw9ti     at  all  iHnr*, 


>CB*iMt    water   rrmrtmmg  tan  higfc  •   imtt 

•■al««   «■»■ 


m  •  mUt  1    I  


-T1 


..k>i  f<n  ba«k  a  lr»«l.  ■  raMM 


>  .•  r 


668 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  13,  1909. 


Injection  water  is  obtained  from  a 
iiorizontal  concrete  reservoir  12  feet  in 
■diameter  and  140  feet  long,  located  in 
-the  basement.  The  reservoir  has  a  capa- 
city of  400,000  gallons,  and  as  indicated 
in  Fig.  4,  the  injection  pipes  terminate  in 


other  smaller  500-iio-volt  set  rated  at  25 
kilowatts  is  provided  for  starting.  It  is 
furnished  with  current  from  the  500-volt 
generator  in  the  station  or  from  the 
Tenth  street  plant.  A  third  steam-driven 
set   rated   at  75   kilowatts   is  held   in   re- 


lighting of  the  building  is    at    no 
from  the  exciter  circuits. 


volts 


FIG.     10.     JET   CONDENSERS    AND  CENTRIFUGAL  VACUUM  PUMP 


Water  Supply 

One  of  the  most  interesting  features  of 
the  plant  is  the  system  of  water  supply. 
The  station  is  situated  at  Fourteenth  and 
Magazine  streets  at  a  considerable  dis- 
tance from  the  Ohio  river  and  does  not 
depend  upon  this  source  of  water  supply, 
either  for  condensing  or  for  boiler  feed- 
ing. As  is  generally  known,  the  Ohio 
river  is  subject  to  violent  fluctuations,  the 
water  level  varying  from  3  to  50  feet, 
which  makes  it  exceedingly  difficult  at 
times  to  be  certain  of  an  uninterrupted 
supply,  either  because  of  low  water  or  on 
account  of  the  water  being  so  high  as  to 
be  unmanageable.  The  river  water  always 
contains  a  certain  amount  of  debris  which 
has  to  be  removed  before  using  in  the  con- 
densers. Besides,  a  large  amount  of  mud 
makes  the  water  undesirable  for  water- 
tube  boilers.  When  it  was  found  that  the 
City  of  Louisville  was  situated  over  a 
natural  reservoir  containing  an  almost  un- 
limited supply  of  clear  water  not  more 
than  50  feet  below  the  surface,  it  was  de- 
cided to  take  advantage  of  this  and  elimi- 
nate the  many  troubles  due  to  a  location 
on  the  river  bank.  All  the  above  con- 
siderations were  gone  into  years  ago  when 
the  plant  was  first  built  on  its  present 
location,  and  up  to  the  present  time  the 
management  has  seen  no  reason  for  mak- 
ing any  change.  The  water  is  exception- 
ally fine  for  condensing  purposes,  being 
delivered  at  a  temperature  of  55  degrees 
Fahrenheit  the  year  around.     It  is,  how- 


an  18-inch  foot  valve  at  the  bottom.  A 
28-inch  Crane  relief  valve  is  provided  on 
■each  machine.  The  exhaust  is  carried 
away  by  a  spiral-pipe  line  which  termi- 
nates in  a  riser  common  to  both  machines 
and  capped  by  a  Swartwout  exhaust  head. 

To  the  main  turbine  units  the  old 
single-phase  equipment  of  the  station  is 
held  as  a  reserve.  It  will  be  remembered 
that  at  its  installation  in  1893  this  was 
rated  as  the  largest  single-phase  generat- 
ing plant  in  the  world.  This  notable  in- 
stallation, a  view  of  which  is  given  in 
Fig.  II,  consists  of  four  500-kilowatt, 
2200  -  volt,  single  -  phase  Westinghouse 
generators,  driven  by  cross  -  compound 
Allis-Corliss  engines.  It  has  been  doing 
duty  ever  since  installed  and  works  ad- 
mirably on  the  two-phase  circuits  when 
they  are  isolated  and  used  in  single  phase. 
Two  500-kilowatt,  500-volt  direct-current 
outfits  have  also  been  retained.  In  con- 
nection with  the  generating  units  there  is 
a  complete  White  Star  filtering  system 
installed,  with  an  oil-storage  capacity  of 
3000  gallons. 

For  regular  excitation  purposes  there  is 
installed  a  2200  -  1 10  -  volt,  75  -  kilowatt 
motor-generator  set  taking  current  from 
the  busbars,  or  it  may  take  current  from 
the  company's  Tenth  street  station.     An- 


serve.  The  exciters  are  all  of  Westing- 
house  make,  and  the  engine  is  a  12x12- 
inch  machine  of  Chuse  design.  A  no- 
volt  switchboard  is  located  on  the  main 
floor  adjacent  to    the    exciter    sets.     All 


ever,  quite  hard,  and  for  boiler  feeding  it  I 

is   treated   in   a   Scaife   We-Fu-Go   waterj 

softener    having    four    setting    tanks    of  I 

3S,ooo  gallons  capacity  each. 

The    principal    scale-forming    materials 


April  13,  1909 

are  calcium  carbonate  and  magnesium  sul- 
phate, as  shown  by  the  following  analysis : 

Grain* 

INT 

G«ll..u. 

o.» 

, M.tt 

-' 1U 

M>',<.1 l.M 

«»ci, t.r, 

Incrusttng  •■>II(1« IT.TS 

KoDliioruitllni;x>il4M  3. 77 

ToUU  tM.Udu 30. SS 

There  are  at  present  two  deep-well  pits 
in  use,  the  first  of  which  is  500  feet  deep, 
elliptical  in  shape,  with  34  and  4S-foot 
axes,  sunk  with  a  steel  casing  lined  with 
an  18-inch  brick  wall.  At  the  bottom  of 
the  pit  around  the  periphery  arc  8-inch 
driven  wells,  25  feet  deep,  with  lo-foot 
well  points.  Each  well  is  connected  by 
gate  and  check  valves  to  a  20-inch  mani- 
fold from  which  the  water  is  delivered 
into  the  large  reservoirs  in  the  basement 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

continuotKly  at  full  capacity.  Saftcicnt 
ror  -  -1  additional  pump- 

ing 
For   farther    water    supply    th>- 

ment  it  being  made  of  sinkin.*  :  

S-inch  wells,  fitted  wit;  ;i«l 

ler  pumps,  driven  by  ^viw..u>  ■^.'^u^uon 
motors.  If  this  proves  tiKcessful  it  will 
obviate   the   ii'  '        '      -    the  ex- 

pensive well  the  fur 

ther    adv  iv  .^ 
from  a  lar ^-i  r  .ir-  1  at 
creased  liability  to  failure  vi  »uppiy. 

ElECTUCAL  ^  CONTMN.     AKD     DiSTftULTtOK 

.Ml  alternating  current  from  th^ 
is  delivered  at  60  cvcles  and  is  ■ 
by 
ah. 

Fig.    i4   i.i>ntaii»    ihc    ^ 
synchronizing   panel,    i.' 
cuit  panels,  and    panels    for    the    motor 


66» 


thr  «««i9ni  Mde  ol  *hf 


Ufopi  for  tbe  cny      t- 

of  thi*  !.  iff  jrr    .V    1 
144 

Ua;. ^..   . 

E«di   pair   of   paaeb   o^ 


acli  ooalf 
n|  a  local  ot 

od  rear 

Pif    11     li  ia 
Ufint 


rtCw  ij.  101.1  fci ail.  yu*x  tA:«r  »i_l  ni 

junction  with  a  General  ElectrK  coartiM- 

currrti!  •rantfurmer  of  too  hghts  cafsckjr 

?ly  behind  the  board     Th* 

.    be  *<««  cm 

tnr    »:i':^:    ":    w-r    i»v4r«i    in    i- if     15-        IBia 

blast  it  maintained  by  two  lets  m  dapB- 
rjte    of    motor-driven    StnrKraM    tarn 

!  -  atH  'm   the  fl«»rtc  "f  tb*  mais 
•       ■  ^<T 

of  a  tvbe  vm  if 


•   room  by   tw> 
\  ptimp^.  nnr 
lax 
a    V, 

tixe.  voltmeter,     i 

The  other  well  is  located  ao)  feet  north-     the    M^ifiK    ; 
west   of  the  first  one  and   consists  of  a     iht 
drc;  '  '       ','-••- 

as  ' 


:inil.ir   m.iiuirr    |.  >   lii'  ■  • 
arc   .liirrn.itrly    15    .ml 
I   10- foot  well  poinl«,  ll  ' 
Iraw   from  a  greater    vi: 
he  water  bed.     In  this  pit  .»  j<»> 

l»'>wer     VVrsT     .  '  ..  1     .     .. 

drives    a    vn 

ton    irntrifiiijal    jiuiiiiJ    h.ui'ifc      ' 

of  5111)  »;.illi>iu  per   mintitr       I 
!    pump  arc    connected    ' 
tt    jf,    feet    lt>ng      TliM   " 


«  a 


laritrhifihir.I   ru  lip 


6/0 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  13,  1909. 


FIG.     15.     FRONT   AND   REAR  VIEWS    OF   LARGC   RFXTIFIER    SWITCHBOARD 


•  the  substation  and  consist  of  500-volt 
direct-current  power  circuits  and  iio-volt 
three-wire  alternating-current  circuits  for 
incandescent  lighting.  All  circuits  are 
underground. 

The  substation  contains  a  1200-kilowatt 
Westinghouse  synchronous  motor-gen- 
erator set  supplied  with  current  at  2200 
volts  through  a  300,000-circular  mil  four- 
conductor  cable.  For  the  alternating- 
current  service  there  are  four  sets  of  two- 
phase  alternating  -  current  static  trans- 
formers stepping  the  2200-volt  current 
down  to  240  volts,  and  at  this  voltage  it 
is  distributed  through  eighteen  single- 
phase  underground  circuits  to  various 
centers  of  distribution  in  manholes.  *Each 
circuit  has  its  own  regulator  on  the  low- 
tension  side  and  balance  coils  in  the  man- 
holes on  the  three-wire,  iio-220-volt  cir- 
cuits. Fig.  16  is  a»  view  of  the  interior 
of  the  substation,  which  is  fitted  with  a 
traveling  crane  and  all  necessary  facili- 
ties. 

In  addition  to  the  synchronous  motor- 
generator  set  at  the  substation,  there  is  an- 
other of  225  kilowatts  capacity  at  the 
Fourteenth  street  station  tying  the  alter- 
nating-current and  direct-current  systems 
together.  These  sets  have  ^a  beneficial 
effect  on  the  power  factor,  maintaining  it 
at  approximately  95  per  cent. 

The  wiring  diagram,  Fig.  17,  indicates 
how  the  load  may  be  handled  by  the  dif- 
ferent generators.  Ordinarily  the  ma- 
chines at  Tenth  and  Fourteenth  streets 
operate  in  parallel  on  the  turbine  busbars. 


handling  the   load   in   general.     However,  single-phase      city-lighting     circuits,      the 

any  desired  combination  may  be  arranged  magnetite  arcs  or  Highland  park,  direct. 

according    to    circumstances.     Thus    the  Similarly  the  old   single-phase  equipment 

Tenth  street  station  may  carry  any  of  the  may  serve  the  magnetite  arcs,  and  any  of 


r]G.     16.       INTERIOR    OF    SUBSTATION 


April  13,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


*rT 


the  city-lighting  circuits,  including  Foun- 
tain ferry,  but  cannot  connect  with  High- 
land park  or  the  motor-generator  at  the 
substation,  both  of  these  circuits  demand- 
ing   strictly    two-phase    current. 

Tenth  Stkeet  Station 
This  station,  which  has  also  recently 
been  remodeled,  is  a  brick  building,  the 
walls,  engine  and  boiler  foundations  being 
built  upon  a  24-inch  concrete  slab,  which 
is  supported  by  12- inch  oak  piles  35  feet 
in  length.  In  addition  to  the  750-kilowatt 
and  400-ktlowatt  two-phase  generators 
indicated  in  Fig.  17,  the  Tenth  street  sta- 
tion contains  one  75a-kilowatt  and  one 
500-kilowatt    direct-current    500-volt    gen- 


thc  precautiofM  taken  to  riuint,tin  a  water 

supply  furnish  the  roost  ir« 

of  the  plant    About  hal:.^.-  •- 

river  bank  is  located  a  water 

ing    station.     It    c- 

caisson  about  18  fr- 

steel     b*r.' 

shaped  r 

entrance    ^t    ihc    «vj»       ' 

side  the   structure  is  pr 

Crete  wall. 

Inside,  the  pumpinic  rotiii.fiirni  coQMfts 
of  two  Worthingtoo  sr  ccntrif- 

'  ^ps.  each  with  .  of  jooo 

'  r  minute.     E.i  <>  driven 

t.y      .if.'  '  ■      TK 

motor   tav     .  -It 


♦ewer. 


»n- 


tK>. 


WBtck    tafTV    W 

ia|rlor  type  nm4 

<lircct  MiprrviMaa  of  G  Wiftar  HflUry. 
topcnalcndcnt  and  mcinrrf.  Lowanfillt 
Lichtiag  Compaay 


*«■.«.  «)«■ 


fijQ  P\^q 


Engineering  Sodeba  DiKiai  Co»- 
•crvaUon  ol  Natural  Raaafoo 

WettoTMby  ocauiK.  Marck  M.  •  i^cul 

mri-'tr;:    WAS    hrid    m    tkc    Eflgwccn^f 

botklii«  on  Woi  Tkiilj  mimk 

•     V<  rk.     ;::  .!rr    tk*    aifWt   «i 

the  ernng    ftnoctia^ 

Am<. ''  Huucal    E«|i> 

nerr«.    Amrri  I    Ekctncal 

Amrncaa  lartiMc  of  llte> 

IDC  CIMMffVattOS  ov  ■Bfea* 

w«»    the    tnpic 


\r \  n«.  iwli»«  r<f«~«i'!rt} 


n 

^m 

froiii   I  i 

r»- 

ccivcd    * 

•     TW 

Prc«idcr 

jiiT>r<]  Til  kSOV  Of 

the  cooj- 

c— iartr*  im  ikc 

movetw 

«elMMral 

<>l  ikf   lov 

i<lvtM«l   a«  to   ikt 

^xk  comrrvarioak.  k*  •«»• 

vert? 

rvrrlUtrt  ■Hfko^  kf 

^4i   k*   ear 

\V.«Ti   Rtt  «t:\i    »*>  Var  A^ 


Fic;.     17     wim.^u  I'l  ^'^ 


>r.     The   two 


tion  Willi 


|X'»-r»iii*>''  W'x- 


r  units  arc  \r 


unit      l»r«n«       III 


■*•    ^rf*^^    1^  ^  c 


lips. 


l.w  ..tr,l     .    t. 


672 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  13,  1909. 


energy  in  the  coal.  The  efficiency  of  the 
Diesel  engine  is  reported  as  s^  per  cent. 
Improvements  along  this  line  should  be 
the  aim  of  the  engineer.  But  the  con- 
servation is  not  being  restricted  to  coal 
alone.  The  amount  of  steel  used  in  build- 
ings and  bridges  is  being  cut  down,  and 
cheaper  materials  are  being  substituted 
for  the  rarer  ones.  All  engineers  are 
working  with  the  same  end  in  view,  and 
instead  of  feeling  repentant  over  the  re- 
sources that  have  been  wasted,  they 
should  rather  feel  jubilant  that  there  is 
yet  much  that  they  can  do  toward  con- 
serving these  resources. 

Conservation  of  Water 
The  first  paper  of  the  evening  was  pre- 
sented by  John  R.  Freeman,  consulting 
engineer  for  the  Department  of  Addi- 
tional Water  Supply  for  the  City  of  New 
York.  His  topic  was  "The  Conserva- 
tion of  Water,"  and  he  prefaced  his  re- 
marks, to  the  surprise  of  some  of  the 
engineers  present,  by  saying  that  he  did 
not  believe  the  cutting  off  of  the  forests 
in  the  Eastern  mountains  had  affected  the 
flow  in  flood  or  drought  of  any  important 
rivers.  Land  covered  with  an  under- 
growth was  quite  as  effective  as  timber, 
and  the  error  had  been  in  the  failure  to 
differentiate  between  kinds  of  soil.  It 
was  his  opinion  that  if  half  the  stations  of 
the  United  States  Geological  Survey  were 
abandoned  and  the  total  appropriation  de- 
voted to  the  remaining  half,  more  precise 
information  on  stream  flow  would  be 
available. 

In  conclusion,  it  was  his  recommenda- 
tion that  each  State  should  collect  the 
facts  regarding  each  of  the  notable  oppor- 
tunities for  power  development  within  its 
borders.  Select  the  important  ones  for 
survey  in  detail  after  reconnoissance,  pre- 
pare an  outline  plan  for  each,  with  all  the 
detail  that  would  be  required  in  the  pre- 
liminary studies  for  actual  developments, 
with  the  full  estimates  of  cost  of  plant  and 
of  the  amount  of  power  available  in  differ- 
ent seasons  of  the  year,  and  make  these 
matters  of  permanent  public  record, 
printed  and  widely  distributed.  In  these 
surveys  the  conservation  idea  should  have 
full  sway,  measuring  up  the  full  engineer- 
ing opportunity,  with  dams  planned  at  the 
highest  levels  and  tailraces  at  the  very 
lowest  levels  that  the  topography  will  rea- 
sonably permit,  and  with  the  storage 
reservoirs  of  the  greatest  hight  and  area 
for  which  nature  has  provided  a  reasona- 
ble location,  up  to  the  full  measure  of 
reasonable  flood  control.  Every  note- 
worthy opportunity  for  development  that 
will  ever  exist  within  the  State  can  thus 
be  soon  placed  on  the  map,  and  there  will 
never  be  a  more  advantageous  time  than 
the  present  to  take  account  of  stock,  so 
that  the  public  and  the  promoter  can  see 
just  what  degree  of  promise  there  is  in 
each  opportunity.  The  State  can  perhaps 
wisely  go  farther  than  heretofore,  and  at 
some  of  the  great  sites  itself  construct  the 


main  works,  much  as  the  United  States 
Reclamation  Service  has  built  reservoirs 
and  canals,  or  it  can  invite  private  capi- 
tal, through  the  removal  of  the  restrictive 
laws  like  those  now  forbidding  storage 
reservoirs  in  the  Adirondacks,  or  by  laws 
helpful  in  bringing  the  full  natural  oppor- 
tunity of  one  proper  site  under  one  con- 
trol, like  the  mill  and  the  flowage  acts  of 
some  of  the  States. 

By  far  the  most  beneficent  policy  of 
conservation  of  its  water  power  that  the 
State  or  Nation  can  adopt  is  one  which 
will  tend  toward  its  being  devoted  to  the 
founding  of  industrial  communities,  and 
that  kind  of  industry  is  best  which  will 
bring  the  greatest  population  per  horse- 
power and  the  most  highly  skilled  class 
of  operatives.  The  first  step  in  such  a 
policy  of  conservation  is  an  accurate  in- 
ventory and  publication  regarding  each 
undeveloped  or  scantily  developed  oppor- 
tunity. 

Conservation  by  Legislation  Doubtful 
"Conservation  of  Natural  Resources  by 
Legislation,"  the  second  paper  of  the  even- 
ing, was  delivered  by  Dr.  Rossiter  W. 
Raymond,  secretary  of  the  American  In- 
stitute of  Mining  Engineers.  As  ex- 
pressed by  the  speaker,  true  conservation 
lies  in  the  diminution,  not  of  use  but  of 
waste.  The  error  of  our  pioneer  miners 
and  metallurgists  was  not  that  they 
worked  prematurely  and  imperfectly,  but 
that  they  too  often  left  their  low-grade 
ores,  slags  and  tailings  in  such  positions 
as  to  be  unavailable  for  retreatment  by 
their  successors ;  but  no  legislation,  even 
if  the  legislators  had  been  wiser  than  the 
engineers,  could  have  remedied  this  evil 
half  as  quickly  or  thoroughly  as  it  has 
been  remedied  without  any  legislation  at 
all,  for  the  trouble  was  simply  lack  of 
knowledge.  The  moment  the  mine  opera- 
tor realized  that  his  tailings  were  a  part 
of  his  assets  to  be  turned  into  money  at 
once,  either  by  himself  or  by  lessee,  or  by 
sale  to  a  speculative  purchaser  with  an  eye 
on  approaching  improved  conditions,  that 
moment  he  began  to  preserve  and  pro- 
tect them.  Much  the  same  ruling  applies 
to  our  timber  lands. 

The  Government  had  failed  to  deal  com- 
petently with  the  mineral  resources  of  the 
country,  and  why  should  it  be  trusted  to 
legislate  concerning  other  resources?  The 
progressive  education  of  the  people  and 
the  steady  pressure  of  economic  condi- 
tions would  do  more  to  prevent  waste 
than  any  amount  of  legislation.  Of  all 
the  extra  Governmental  functions,  the 
education  of  the  people  by  the  spread  of 
information  is  the  most  beneficial,  the 
most  potent  and  the  least  objectionable. 
The  information  presented  by  the  Govern- 
ment should  be  collected  with  care  and 
not  in  a  hurry,  should  be  stated  without 
bias  or  argument  in  favor  of  this  or  that 
measure  or  policy ;  and  made  accessible 
to  all  who  desire  it,  not  by  the  wasteful 
and  inadequate  system  of  giving  to  mem- 


bers of  the  Congress  so  many  copies  per 
capita,  but  by  printing  in  successive  edi- 
tions, if  need  be,  as  many  copies  as  in- 
dividual citizens  are  ready  to  buy  at  cost. 
Engineers  may  render  most  useful  ser- 
vice by  freely  scrutinizing  and  criticizing 
the  figures  upon  which  all  propositions  of 
reform,  private  or  public,  are  professedly 
based.  Others  will  always  furnish  the 
motive  power  of  eloquence  and  enthusi- 
asm. It  should  be  the  business  of  engi- 
neers to  test  the  machinery  and  hold  the 
rudder. 

Fireproof  Buildings  to  Reduce  Fire  Loss 
Charles  Whiting  Baker,  editor  of  Engi- 
neering News,  talked  on  "The  Waste  of 
Our  Natural  Resources  by  Fire."  The 
loss  by  fire  in  1907  amounted  to  $215,- 
000,000,  and  if  all  the  buildings  visited  by 
fire  during  that  year  were  lined  up  along 
a  single  street,  it  would  reach  from  New 
York  to  Chicago,  approximately  1000 
miles.  In  this  long  line  of  buildings  much 
of  our  wood  and  mineral  resources  are 
annually  destroyed.  An  even  division  .of 
this  loss  by  fire  would  mean  a  tax  of  $2.50 
for  every  inhabitant  of  the  United  States, 
or  for  every  family  of  six  a  tax  of  $15. 
Similar  figures  in  Europe  are  much  lower 
and  in  fact  do  not  even  approach  one-half 
this  value.  A  more  careful  selection 
of  building  materials,  insuring  a  fireproof 
structure,  would  lessen  the  annual  de- 
struction and  to  no  small  extent  con- 
serve our  natural  resources. 

Install  Water  Power  to  Save  Coal 
The  fourth  and  last  paper  of  the  even- 
ing, on  "Electricity  and  Conservation  of 
Energy,"  was  presented  by  Lewis  B.  Still- 
well.  The  speaker  expressed  himself  in 
favor  of  a  much  more  extended  develop- 
ment of  water  power  to  develop  electrical 
energy.  Excluding  locomotives,  there  are 
25,000,000  horsepower  of  steam  engines  in 
the  country,  5,000,000  horsepower  of  water 
motors  and  800,000  horsepower  of  gas  en- 
gines. Our  water  resources  are  such  that 
37,000,000  hydraulic  horsepower  could 
readily  be  developed  and  utilized  at  a  less 
cost  than  steam.  Every  hydraulic  horse- 
power saves  from  7H  to  10  pounds  of 
coal,  and  with  the  above  number  of  hy- 
draulic horsepower  actually  installed  an 
enormous  saving  in  our  coal  resources 
would  result.  Centralizing  our  steam- 
generating  stations  into  larger  plants 
would  also  reduce  the  demand  for  coal. 
With  this  end  in  view  the  State  should 
hasten  instead  of  retard  our  water-powei 
developments. 


New  York  N.  A.  S.  E.  Convention 


New  York  State  Association  No.  34, 
N.  A.  S.  E.,  will  hold  its  annual  conven- 
tion this  year  at  Syracuse,  June  11  and  12, 
in  the  assembly  hall  of  the  new  court 
house.  The  exhibit  room  will  be  in  the 
same  building. 


April   13.   1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


«93 


Analysis     of     the     Subject    of    Coal    Anal> 


^sis 


A  Government    Elxpcrt    Ducu«cs    the  Chief   TKii^  Coal    U«n  Uji. 
to    Know;       Values    oi    the    Various     Method*    Vted    In    Analyzn^ 


B     Y 


N 


W 


LORD 


Within  the  last  few  years  the  subject 
of  coal  analysis  has  become  of  very  great 
importance  to  many  lines  of  industry. 
The  demand  for  the  analysis  of  coal  has 
come  from  a  great  variety  of  sources  and 
largely  from  those  having  little  acquaint- 
ance with  chemical  methods  and  the  inter- 
pretation of  chemical  results.  The  chem- 
ists, on  the  other  hand,  have  been  com- 
pelled to  take  such  methods  as  were  found 
at  hand,  and  the  result  of  those  conditions 
has  been  not  altogether  satisfactory  in 
many  ways. 

What  So-called  Coal  Analysis  Means 

If  we  consider  somewhat  in  detail  the 
i'jus  determinations  made  in  the  labora- 
II  ry  in  connection  with  coal  testing,  it  will 
be  easy  to  show  how  much  is  commercial 
and  how  little  what  might  l>c  called  scien- 
tific. The  so  called  analysis  of  a  coal  is 
usually  a  practical  test  of  purity  of  the 
material  on  a  small  scale,  but  it  also  in- 
volves determinations  which  are  supposed 
in  some  way  to  indicate  the  nature  of  the 
coal  itself. 

To  illustrate,  suppose    we    consider    an 
'inary    sample   of   bituminous   coal.     It 
muy  \>r  .isMirncd  to  consist,  first,  of  an  or- 
ganic   v-oiistituent   composed    of    vegetable 
resi<liir«  more  or  less  altered  but   retain- 
ing traces  of  its  original  wo<«ly  structure 
and   comix. ^itc   character,   and   containing 
a»  in  integral  part  certain  inorganic  com 
-nt*.     Like  its  source,  woody  fiber,  it 
'-         '  ic  in  its  nature,  holding  me 
iriable   amounts  of   inoi^turr. 
!ing    upon 
--    air ;    in 
I    uiii<  I    v\'  I'l^,   like   a  picve   ut    M' 
%i't)>\  iiMiNtiire  in  damp  weather 

p  in  dry  weather.    The  ultimate  >  hntu 
composition    of    this    material    \.irir» 
'1  the  extent  of  the  alteration,  at  shown 
III  the  peats,  lignites  and  bituminous  and 
I   anthracite  coals,  and  al»o,    as    has    been 
■  *ity  with  the  nature 
which  it   ha»  lw<-n 
I  l)u     vAlrcinely     c-<>n)(.Ir-x      .1;   ! 
r   material   may    l>e    v-jll'-.l  < 

r,"   for   want    of    a    Ix^' 
•   ly  mixed  with  thi*   .tt-^ 
«lance*,    probably    mei  1 
ed  with  the  original   vr^     ■ 
else    precipitated    by    *cc<'U<l»;\ 
•)»  from  circulating  water*      I  ' 
in  the  nature  of  clays  or  fin*- 

'   rhvmUt.    iix-hnnl'Hric   braBrk  of   t*'^ 
■<t«|»«  «}*olo(lr«l    Hurray       rmp«r   !•••*• 
Uo  llllnni*  ro*l  Coafvrvtie*.  Marek  11.  1' 
1    1^ 


also  intimately  mixed  iron  pyrites  1 
have  examined  samples  of  coal  urxler  the 
microscope  in  which  microscopic  crystals 
of  pyrites  were  scattered  through  the 
mass  in  sufficient  amount  to  give  high  per- 
centage of  sulphur  in  the  total,  yet  in 
which  a  superficial  examination  of  the 
coal  itself  practically  showed  no  pyrites 
to  the  unaided  eye.  Other  minerals  may 
be  present  in  the  same  way.  even  such 
unusual  constituents  as  zinc  '  1.  as 

Doctor   Hillebrand  ha*   Ah...-.  rra 

ble  percentages  of  van.i 
extremely  complex  rut 
constituents    themselves    may    be    inierred 
from   the    variable    but     sometimes    very 
large    amounts   of    sulphur    they    contain. 

well  shown   in  the  case  of  cer^ -"" 

Now  in  addition  to  this  liasc.  c- 
the  principal  part  of  the  *am['I<"  r.;'tr<l 

to  the  chemists  for  anaI>Ms  >'.  I.-i*,  sec- 
ondly, more  or  Ic**  roar*'-  »•  of 
slate,  clays  and  other  r  —  •  Tial 
occurring  in  connection  wr  ■'\ 
of  coal  and  not  properly  »rj  •  'n 
ing,  bone  coal  and  also  streaks  of  cannel 
and  other  associated  material  ■.'■  I'Wr  in 
character,  but  differing  not..  the 
organic  material  they  cot  the 
coal  itself  Add  to  this  '■  n  of 
the  constituents  of  r.  the 
fact  that  many  of  th  ,  00 
standing  or  exposure  i.  'by 
absorption  of  oxygm,  r\.i,  rtc, 
and  it  would  appear  that  the  probica  is 
*till  farther  complicated. 

Things  Coal  Uuas  Wiia  to  Kmm 

N-w  some  ol  lb«  lhin«»  that  ih*  otrrs 

wish  to  know  tbT 

the  chemical  '  )wf* 

of   receitring  information  are   the   j..ll<iw 

ing:    The  heating  power  .  (  ••  '       ^'    the 

amount  of  ash  or  inor>  it  on 

burning  the  coal;  the  .  -  .«•• 

bustKNi    of   the     coal.     »hef(er     taoung. 
»mt>kT.  rapid  or  alow  prodwcing 

<].ij|itr  of  tbc  codl  t-  'mM  and 

the  natw*  of  «'  >«  nature 

■  »*h  yM6t6  bf  :  h#<«ilont 

•     "  '       al  and  ih- 
.tnd  the  po«< 
.    lit  ^valtty  bjr  ctMi  mwthmm 
liii.m  In  t\%*%r   are   fn.»»u    q«e«tM*t 


I"  wer    actoaUy    available    lor 
operatiooa 


AHALmcAL  MrrnoM  EMnxrm 

What  arc  the  aaslyttcal  acthods  al 
present  oscd  in  the  bboraiory  10  mam 
this  tencs  of  qnrtttoM  ami  lo  kmtSt  dM 
rniwpUa  aMtrial?  lloM  ol  dw 
<>  fli  tt  doat  npon  a  «aplr 
f«<  or  ii  iMcBdad  to  ttpn- 
of  dbc  ■»• 


Ut* 

Wh: 

sent    th' 

tenal  ai  n  a 

separate  romwiKUU  ol  the  very 

mineral  aggra|[ale  of  which  it 

be  an   averagr.     The   wrthnii 

give  results  only  apprnii— lrt|  rtiafd  lo 

the  coal  sobrtancr  uid  difknll  of  gaatral 

applicattoa 

We  have,  as  of  gcncralj  rocagnuod  Im- 
portance, the  uhimatc  ■— Ijiss  a*  ordi- 
narily made,  giving  the  4ttttmmmtiam  of 
the  hydrogen,  the  carbon,  iht  nitfogM  aad 
the  sulpbar  and  lb«  |iiiiiwgi  ol  mk  hk 
after  boratng.  This  analyw  ako  indndas 
an  rvtiaaie  of  the  oxygtB  hy  dtffcrenca. 
which  IS,  of  coorse,  only 
has  berr   ' -ly 

sKJO  on      -  •    Thia 

It  capable  ui  a  bigb  dcfrac  ol  accoracy  for 
certain  iliimmi.  which  t  Ihink  conM  bt 
tafriy  *■  m  005  per  cawL  m  Ikt 

hydrogr  cent   on  cafboi^  O^ 

per  COM.  on  the  wtrogen  and  ons  9**  <■■*- 
on  th*  lolphor  I  do  not  aMon 
reenhs  are  not  nlttiablt.  hi 
work  in  the  laboratory  by 
chcnnsis  wonld.  I  tkuk,  ran  with« 
Uaaita  The  ruiwf  of  the 
in  an  iffchotcaJ  apphcaiiana  ol  the  cam 
ctMMJtri  of  iugtnng  a  r«aoaiMy  accarai* 
bads  lor  dM  calnilaitan  ol  praiarti  of 
and  ol  nimirtini  wtih  iha 
pow^  ol  the  coal  «^*rw««e  dr 
The  BMbiM  poiM  tn  the  db 
■ate  anahs**  ••  (^  oncanalniy  W  «•  cnn 
Btctioo  wtfh  the  actaal  caanoanton  ol 
org*'''    "•''•'sal  aa 


are    prr»»n; 

watrt  ant 
r\j  m  the  slaMt  an«  o»rr  m^  ^••-•«  »' 
.i«r*«  aM4  th*  «ai«naa*  analiw 

•a  Wrw**n  ••» ' 
■«  coal 


and  the 


the  t*A*i  hcauag  ^< 


674 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  13,  1900. 


Proximate  Analysis 
In  addition  to  the  ultimate  analysis,  we 
have  the  more  commonly  made  "proxi- 
mate analysis,"  consisting  of  the  determi- 
nation of  the  moisture,  ash,  fixed  carbon 
and  volatile  combustible  matter  in  the 
coal.  Much  has  been  written  in  regard  to 
these  determinations. 

On  the  same  sample  of  coal  closely 
agreeing  results  can  be  obtained  on  the 
ash  and  f.iirly  close  on  the  moisture.  The 
variation  in  the  volatile  combustible  is 
much  larger  and  can  only  be  kept  within 
reasonable  limits  by  very  careful  adher- 
ence to  a  definite  method  of  procedure. 
The  term  moisture  simply  means  the  loss 
in  weight  under  fixed  conditions  of  treat- 
ment. It  is  intended  and  does  bring  the 
material  to  a  condition  which  can  be  dupli- 
cated closely  and  represents  a  fixed  basis 
for  comparison,  but  in  nowise  stands  for 
all  the  water  in  the  coal.  The  volatile 
combustible,  as  has  been  carefully  investi- 
.-gated  by  Professor  Parr,  is  by  no  means 
properly  named.  Only  a  fraction,  and  a 
^•ariable  fraction  at  that,  depending  largely 
■on  the  kind  of  coal,  is  combustible,  and  a 
considerable  fraction,  consisting  of  water 
vapor,  carbon  dioxide,  nitrogen  and  other 
dilutants  is  inert  or  noncombustible.  It  is 
well  to  recollect  that  the  proximate 
analysis  of  coal  was  devised  many  years 
ago,  and  primarily  as  a  means  of  testing 
the  amount  of  coke  left  by  coal.  The 
volatile  combustible  has  since  been  the 
subject  of  much  discussion  and  many 
attempts  have  been  made  to  correlate  it 
with  heating  value,  geological  changes  and 
the  various  questions  arising  in  coal 
utilization.  Some  undoubted  connections 
have  been  shown,  but  I  feel  that  possibly 
too  little  recognition  has  been  given  to 
the  empirical  and  more  or  less  uncertain 
nature  of  the  determination. 

"Float-and-sink"  Tests 

Of  growing  importance,  particularly  in 
connection  with  coal  washing,  and  as  a 
tool  for  the  study  of  coal  samples  is  the 
application  of  the  separation  by  gravity 
or  the  so-called  "float-and-sink"  tests,  in 
which  the  coal  crushed  to  a  moderate  de- 
gree of  fineness  is  separated  on  solutions 
of  high  specific  gravity,  chloride  of  cal- 
cium for  specific  gravities  up  to  1.35  and 
chloride  or  sulphate  of  zinc  for  higher 
•gravities.  Chloride  of  zinc  solution  can 
"be  made  of  a  specific  gravity  as  high  as 
two  and  by  dilution  any  of  the  intermedi- 
ate gravities  obtained.  I  have  used  this 
method  in  my  laboratory  for  years  to 
separate  heavy  mineral  materials  like  slate 
and  pyrites,  as  preliminary  to  the  study  of 
the  composition  of  coal.  The  method  is 
•excellently  adapted  to  tracing  out  the 
variations  in  composition  as  the  inter- 
mixed mineral  substances  are  eliminated. 
It  will  enable  the  experimenter  to  dis- 
tinguish with  considerable  accuracy  be- 
tween the  inherent  intimately  mixed  ash 
and  the  sulphur  compounds  and  the 
vcoarser  and  mechanical  contaminations. 


In  recent  years  the  leading  factor  in  the 
commercial  valuation  of  coals  has  become 
the  calorific  value  or  heating  power  of  the 
coal  and  today  the  most  important  de- 
mand on  the  laboratory  is  the  determina- 
tion of  this.  The  widely  extending  use 
of  the  bomb  calorimeter  is  leading  to  new 
problems  for  the  investigation  of  the 
chemists.  Here  again  the  heating  value 
of  the  sample  is  modified  more  than  by 
mere  dilution  by  the  nature  of  the  mineral 
aggregate.  As  Mr.  Turner  and  others 
have  shown,  the  heating  value  is  not  en- 
tirely proportional  in  a  given  kind  of  coal 
to  the  residue  left  after  deducting  the  ash 
and  the  moisture,  but  that  there  are  fac- 
tors depending  on  the  influence  of  the  in- 
organic material.  Work  of  this  kind  is  of 
great  importance  in  order  that  the  effect 
of  ash,  moisture  and  pyrites  on  the  com- 
mercial value  of  .coals  may  be  more  ac- 
curately shown. 

Calorimetry  Requires  Skill 

Calorimetry  is,  unfortunately,  work  de- 
manding considerable  training  and  experi- 
mental skill  and  the  recently  adopted  pol- 
icy of  the  Bureau  of  Standards  of  fur- 
nishing materials  of  known  heating  value 
so.  that  the  constants  and  correction  of 
the  calorimeter  can  be  determined  is 
greatly  to  be  commended.  The  possibility 
of  error  in  calorimetric  determinations 
due  to  alteration  of  samples  should  be 
borne  in  mind.  A  very  finely  pulverized 
coal  sample  will  oxidize  in  many  cases 
very  rapidly  and  comparative  results  by 
different  chemists  on  such  a  sample  are 
liable  to  vary  unsatisfactorily  unless  all 
made  approximately  the  same  time  on 
samples  that  have  been  sealed  in  air-tight 
receptacles.  Experiments  made  by  the 
fuel-testing  plant  afford  ample  evidence 
of  the  extent  to  which  this -alteration  may 
take  place. 

The  determination  of  the  water  equiva- 
lent of  the  calorimeter  experimentally 
gives  rise  to  many  difficulties  and  hence 
except  for  those  having  had  a  great  deal 
of  experience  in  fundamental  measure- 
ments it  is  far  better  to  use  the  calorimeter 
as  a  comparative  instrument  and  depend 
for  its  constants  upon  burning  substances 
of  known  calorific  value  such  as  are  fur- 
nished by  the  Bureau  of  Standards.  Com- 
mercial chemicals  are  quite  variable  and 
different  samples  of  napthalene,  benzoic 
acid,  etc.,  from  different  dealers  will  differ 
notably  in  their  heating  value.  Recently 
the  writer  has  obtained  very  successful  re- 
sults by  the  method  of  mixtures,  adding 
hot  water  to  the  calorimeter  from  the 
Dewar  flask  or  thermos  bottle  in  which  it 
is  possible  to  read  with  great  accuracy 
the  temperature  of  the  added  water  and 
to  add  the  water  to  the  calorimeter  with 
a  very  small  correction  for  radiation  loss 
during  the  addition.  The  method  has 
proved  successful  in  the  hands  of  students 
who  have  made  a  number  of  water 
equivalent  determinations  agreeing  within 
a  very  small  limit  of  error  with  the  cali- 


bration of  the  calorimeter  obtained  in 
other  ways.  Of  course,  this  method  haS' 
the  advantage  of  being  absolute  and  not 
relative. 

Weakest  Point  in  the  Results 

The  foregoing  outline  has  dealt  with 
the  laboratory  side  of  the  question.  All 
the  analytical  work,  calorimetric  work  and 
everything  else  in  connection  with  the 
testing  depends  for  its  economic  value  on 
the  fundamentally  representative  nature  of 
the  sample  of  coal  tested  in  the  laboratory. 
Here  is  the  weakest  point  in  the  commer- 
cial application  of  the  results.  Coal 
sampling  is  a  matter  now  prominent  be- 
fore the  technical  world.  Now  that  the 
extending  recognition  of  the  value  of 
laboratory  work  is  leading  to  the  pur- 
chase of  coal  on  chemical  specifications 
the  whole  question  is  under  review.  The 
ingredients  most  affected  by  sampling  are 
obviously  moisture,  ash,  sulphur,  and 
calorific  value.  In  a  recent  paper  of  great 
interest,  E.  G.  Bailey  has  presented  a  large 
number  of  results  in  which  he  criticizes 
existing  methods  and  lays  down  certain 
general  deductions  from  carefully  con- 
ducted experiments  as  to  the  general  prin- 
ciples involved  in  the  securing  of  correct 
samples.  Mr.  Bailey  has,  in  my  opinion, 
done  a  very  valuable  piece  of  work,  both 
in  calling  attention  to  the  importance  of 
the  subject  and  in  the  experiment  he  has 
brought  forward.  As  having  been  con- 
nected with  the  Government  work  in  St. 
Louis,  I  feel  called  upon  to  correct  cer- 
tain misapprehensions  in  regard  to  that 
work  which  I  think  unintentionally  on  his 
part  led  him  to  place  it  in  a  somewhat 
false  light  as  to  the  accuracy  with  which 
the  sampling  was  done.  As  I  followed 
this  paper  he  makes  a  fundamental  as- 
sumption that  the  variations  in  the  por- 
tions of  coal  taken  at  the  plant  from  the 
same  car  shipment  and  sent  to  the 
boiler-gas  producer,  briquet  and  washing 
plants  were  identical  in  composition  with 
the  carload  sample,  and  that  the  variations 
shown  in  these  different  portions  were 
due  to  variations  in  sampling  of  the  por- 
tions at  the  various  plants.  Whereas,  the 
facts  of  the  case  are  that  the  different  por- 
tions taken  from  the  car  were  not  sup- 
posed to  be  sampled  from  the  car,  but 
simply  portions  unloaded  at  different 
points  and  the  reason  why  analyses  were 
made  of  the  separate  portions  was  because 
it  was  recognized  that  the  carload  was 
not  uniform  as  far  as  contents  of  ash. 
sulphur,  etc.,  were  concerned,  and  that  the 
carload  analysis  could  not  be  taken  for 
the  different  portions  without  a  prelimi- 
nary thorough  mixing  of  the  whole  car- 
load which  was  not  practical.  This  is 
clearly  stated  on  page  284  of  professional 
paper  248,  part  i,  from  which  I  quote: 

"It  was  intended  that  the  car  sample 
should  represent  the  average  of  the.  whole 
car  while  the  other  samples  stood  for  dif- 
ferent portions  of  it.  These  would  aver- 
age   about    5   tons   each.     In    some   cases 


April  13,  1909- 

the  car  sample  was  taken  on  only  pan  of 
the  car.  The  large  variation  in  the  dif- 
ferent samples  in  a  few  cases  shows  the 
irrcKularity  in  the  coal   in  the  car." 

Experiments  were  made  at  St.  Louis 
and  published  in  this  same  work  giving 
the  analysis  of  duplicate  samples,  and 
while  the  results  were  not  very  satis- 
factory and  some  errors  were  found,  they 
were  not  of  the  magnitude  as  given  by 
Mr  Bailey  from  his  comparison  of  the 
other  samples  based  on  the  assutiiptiun 
which  I  have  shown  was  net  warranted 
and  which  was  contrary  to  the  fact^  a»  we 
stated  them  at  the  time.  Mr.  Burrows 
has  discussed  the  question  of  mine  sam- 
ples, but  the  comparison  of  these  with 
coal  shipped  from  the  mines  makes 
no  allowance  for  the  e.xtent  of  clcan- 
ififlr  that  the  coal  underwent  in  ship- 
and  in  taking  the  mine  sam- 
As  stated,  several  duplicate  samples 
on  the  rarl'.ids  were  run  to  check  the  St. 
Louis  sauijiling,  and  the  worst  result 
obtained  I  think  was  the  one  given  on 
pnge  287.  in  which  an  extreme  variation 
in  ash  on  a  coal  averaging  about  15  per 
'  ash,  was  a  little  over  2  per  cent.  This 
was  selected  as  the  worst  obtainable 
;  the  Stat  .  and  the 

.lion  fi  ;  <  St  sam- 

from  the  avcraKc  oi   .ill   the  experi- 
'al  samples  on  this  coal  was  only  a  lit- 
tle over  I  per  cent.     Notwithstanding  the 
criticism  that  I  felt  compelled  to  make  of 
Mr.    Bailey's    representation    of    the    St. 


%  work.  I  feel  that  his  w 

■     '  po- 

1  to   regard    to    the    u 

of 

1  sampling  is  w 

•IS   as   to   thr 

in  order  to  - 

>rc«>«ntd- 

l-le  arc  of  gr.    • 

!Iow 

.  1  do  not  feel  that  the 

.ire 

as  great  as  his  .xi..  r 

!l.l 

one  to  ccncliide 

TiiiNCi  Impo«tant  to  Consimu 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER- 

third    sample   of   coal    j 
<»v«T   :t    ' .  tnrh  strccfi 

-crcen.  1  be  atb  in  the 
i  II ;  in  the  tccood  um- 
plc  15  10.  In  two  of  these  samples  the 
percentage  of  ash  in  the  finer  portKn  was 
considerably  greater  than  the  percentage 
01  ash  in  the  -  -  -  -  -.  ,. 
Of  course.  •  -e  too  few   ::. 


coarser  lumps  in  the  sample. 

.\    furtliT   t>.»irif   in   r.i.i!    ^  iiiiti'if.i/    whw'h 

has  to  l» 

sizes  thcrt  >>  a  ■■.•iui.n  ■•<:  nu 

terial  of  the  sble  and  '  't  4inch 

lump  coal  do<- 

4-inch  lumps 


sample  of  a  coal  in  which  he  has  a  large 

percentage  of  lumps  of  slate  as  large  as 

the   lumps   of   coal,   while   the   occasional 

of   e\en   a   lar.      '  of   slate 

r  but  little  ur  the  ash 


•n 


I'-- 


the 


•»»♦*•    ihe 


sample  and  the  weight  of  >  -try 

to  take  in  order  that  the  sa;.., _>  be 

certainly    representative    within  an  error 
of  I  per        '      '      ' 
NoW  I 


m  of  MHiplmg  Mw  o<  eamwt.  o«i 

iuraMM  wtth  Umi^  coals  where 

crusheij  maicnaJ  woaU  he  to  a  ecrtaai 

tnit  im«lerrd  oi  tm^Vi  t*i>u-     Tk« 

"<   taiBplMC  Mlap<r 

>    1      .—      ui      eStMtu:^^       -J      IOC      Rl« 

4ic  and  pfmn, 
:  portion  f>f  the 
'ithcuhy   of   tbaumaua^  the 
iwni  in  «knig  soch 
r^+^-ms  whsdi  the 

'.  have  to  culcad 


-.tl'WI      tAIT! 


mat 


•3 1.  J   fcr 

r     Mr 
■  M  a 


be, 
sampte 


6»i 


<i«'i  «"  iiii 


SAviiKf  bv  Punhina  W*ltf 


!cr: 


presence     of 
slate 
( )livtouftlv,  thereiorc. 


-^ 


\>t< 


irrfol 


more  than  one  h.ili  01  the  > 
.ind  therefore  rrsiilts  on  t1  > 
of  the  maximum   sue 
'gerate  the  ilifftcnltir*      I 
samples   of    scrmu-.l         .I      .•    ' 
:t    through    a    jaw    crusher    and 


«ti>|.r  t' 


Cavr     I 


.(1  I  r" 

It.   ash   av 


1450:  in  the  second  sample.  14  1 


taraplint 


676 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  13,  1909. 


The  Status  of  the  Wave  Motor 


By  James  T.  Barkelew 


Now  that  there  is  a  comparative  lull  in 
the  production  of  new  designs  and  ideas  for 
wave  motors,  it  is  well,  perhaps,  to  make 
a  resume  of  the  different  forms  and  their 
relative  effectiveness  before  taking  further 
steps  in  the  actual  reduction  to  practice 
of  the  theories  already  advanced,  and  to 
lay  out  the  probable  conditions  under 
which  it  is  possible  that  the  wave  motor 
may  become  a  commercial  success. 

In  general,  inventors  have  approached 
the  problem  with  the  single  notion  that 
there  is  unlimited  power  in  the  waves 
awaiting  utilization,  and  the  result  has 
been  a  motley  array  of  devices  which  take 
up  the  motion  of  the  waves  and  transform 
it,  in  some  method  or  another,  into  a 
power  of  practical  utilitj',  generally  elec- 
trical. All  this  has  been  done  without 
any  thought  of  efficiency,  but  with  the 
sole  idea  that,  as  there  is  unlimited  power, 
a  device  of  any  character  would  take  up  a 
sufficient  amount  to  raise  the  designer  to 
opulence.  After  numerous-  trials  of  vari- 
ous machines  it  has  been  found  that  the 
results  do  not  come  up  to  expectations, 
in  the  majority  of  cases  the  market  price 
of  the  power  produced  not  equaling  the 
interest  on  the  capital  invested,  and  being 
more  than  offset  by  the  maintenance  cost. 
It  is  true  that  some  devices  have  excelled 
others  in  efficiency  and  are  also  less  sus- 
ceptible of  destruction  by  storms,  but  even 
with  these  better  machines  the  returns 
have  not  seemed  to  be  large  enough  for 
the  investment  demanded. 

Maximum  Average  Energy  in  Wave 
Motion 

It  is  the  purpose  of  this  article  to  in- 
vestigate the  basis  on  which  the  profit- 
paying  chances  of  the  present  motor  rest, 
and  to  point  out,  if  possible,  the  line  of 
advancement  to  the  future  successful  ma- 
chine. The  first  step  will  be  to  ascertain 
the  maximum  average  energy  in  wave 
motion  at  accessible  and  practical  locali- 
ties, where  the  power  produced  may  be 
marketed  without  excessive  costs  over 
that  of  initial  production.  For  this  pur- 
pose a  simple  and  easily  understood  for- 
mula will  be  deduced  and  then  maximum 
average  values  applied. 

Referring  to  Fig.  I,  which  represents  a 
greatly  exaggerated  contour  of  a  wave 
from  crest  to  crest,  we  will  be  able  to 
deduce  a  simple  formula  for  the  total 
power,  sufficiently  accurate  for  the  pur- 
pose of  this  paper.  Deductions  which 
take  into  account  the  theoretically  exact 
trochoidal  form  of  the  wave  give  a  re- 
sulting equation  different  in  form  from 
the  following,  but  the  numerical  calcula- 
tions of  the  different  formulas  will  check 
fairly  closely.  The  superiority  of  the 
simpler  formula  is  that  its  derivation  can 


be  easily  reasoned  out  and  the  logic  of  its 
being  perceived  without  the  aid  of  higher 
mathematics. 

Let  L  represent  the  length  of  the  wave 
from  crest  to  crest,  D  the  depth  from 
crest  to  trough,  and  C  a  constant  de- 
pending upon  the  configuration  of  the 
wave.  Then  the  weight  of  water  in  a  sin- 
gle wave,  the  shaded  portion  in  Fig.  2,  a 
foot  wide,  is, 


W  = 


62.35^^ 
C 


(I) 


FIG.  I.    exaggerated  CONTOUR  OF  WAVE  FROM 
CREST  TO  CREST 

In  long  waves  the  contour  approaches  the 
dotted  lines  in  Fig.  i  and  the  value  of  C 
approaches  2,  the  area  of  the  shaded  por- 
tion on  the  diagram  being  nearly  that  of 
a  triangle  whose  base  is  L  and  altitude  D, 
so  that  the  formula  may  be  written  : 


W  =  31.18  D  L. 


(2) 


It  will  readily  be  observed  that  every 
particle  of  water  on  the  contour  of  the 
wave  must  at  one  phase  of  its  motion  be 
at  the  top  of  the  crest,  and  in  the  opposite 
phase  be  at  the  bottom  ©f  the  trough. 
This  is  true  of  the  surface  water,  but  the 
vertical  movement  of  the  particles  below 
is  not  so  great,  diminishing  to  zero  at  a 
plane  just  under  the  surface.  The  aver- 
age motion  may  be  taken  at 


D 


and 

the  total  energy  for  a  single  wave  a  foot 
wide  may  be  expressed, 


E  = 


31.18  D^L 


foot-pounds.       (3) 


Then,  if  N  be  the  number  of  waves  per 
minute,  the  total  power  of  regularly  suc- 
ceeding waves  will  be : 


FIG.     2.     THE    SHORT   FLOAT 


H.P.= 


31.18  D*  LN 
2  X  33»ooo 


(4) 


al)  the  dimensions  being  in  feet. 

To  strike  a  high  average  the  number  of 
waves  will  be  taken  at  four  per  minute, 
the  distance  between  them,  300  feet,  and 
the  depth  as  6  feet.  These  are  figures 
well  over  the  average  for  fair  weather. 
In  reality,  waves  of  this  size  do  not  suc- 
ceed regularly,  there  usually  being  a  short 


succession  of  large  waves  followed  by  a 
longer  succession  of  smaller  ones.  It  is 
not  just  to  take  into  account  the  storm 
figures,  as  it  is  impossible  to  use  the 
energy  of  the  waves  at  that  time  to  any 
advantage.  With  these  figures  the  actual 
horsepower  per  foot  breast  of  waves  be- 
comes : 

H.P.  =    3'-i8X  36X300X4    _  (  ^ 

33,000  X  2 

or  approximately  20  horsepower  per  foot 
of  width.  In  favored  localities  conditions 
may  be  found  which  will  average  at  the 
above  power,  but  on  the  larger  part  of 
our  coast  line  this  amount  of  power  is 
not  available.  As  this  amount  is  possible, 
however,  it  will  be  taken  as  the  basis  of 
the  following: 

Wave  Motors  Depending  on  Horizontal 
Motion 

Having  determined  to  fair  accuracy  the 
amount  of  available  power,  the  next  step 
is  to  ascertain,  if  possible,  the  proportion 
which  may  be  absorbed  by  the  different 
classes  of  wave  motor.  These  may  be 
divided  broadly  into  those  utilizing  the 
vertical  movement  of  the  water  and  those 
depending  for  their  motion  on  the  hori- 
zontal motion  of  the  surface  water  or  of 
tlie  breakers  on  the  beach.  In  regard  to 
the  latter  class  it  may  be  noted  that  the 
energy  of  the  horizontal  motion  is  always 
a  small  fraction  of  the  total  energy.  Irv 
the  case  of  the  movement  of  the  surface 
water,  the  layer  in  which  slow  movement 
takes  place  is  very  thin  and  the  propor- 
tionate amount  of  energy  is  consequently 
very  small.  This  fact  reduces  the  availa- 
ble amount  of  power  to  an  extremely 
small  per  cent.,  so  that  a  motor  built  to 
utilize  this  form  of  energy  is  necessarily 
inefficient.  And  there  is  usually  a  farther 
limitation  in  the  motor  itself,  in  that  some 
portion  of  the  power  receiving  member  is 
always  submerged  in  water  which  does 
not  partake  of  the  horizontal  movement, 
the  free  motion  of  the  member  being  thus 
greatly  impeded  and  its  transmitted  power 
cut  down. 

This  action  alone  probably  reduces  the 
power  available  from  a  horizontal-move- 
ment motor  to  the  extent  of  50  per 
cent.,  and  it  is  consequently  doubt- 
ful whether  the  output  is  equal  to  5 
cent,  of  the  total  energj'  of  the  waves. 
The  other  form  of  horizontal-move- 
ment motor  probably  gives  better  results 
from  an  efficiency  standpoint,  but  the  im- 
pulses from  the  breakers  are  more  spas- 
modic and  the  energy  therefore  more  difB- 
cult  to  handle.  Moreover  the  total  energy 
available  from  a  breaker  is  only  a  part  of 
the  energy  of  the  wave  forming  the 
breaker,  as  a  large  part  of  the  movement 
is  taken  up  by  the  cause  of  the  breaking, 
the  contact  with  the  sloping  shore.  Also 
the  falling  of  the  water  from  the  crest  of 
the  breaker  effectually  removes  a  large 
amount  of  energy.    For  these  reasons  the 


April   13.   1909 

final  efficiency  of  the  horizontal-movement 
motor  is  singularly  small,  being  much 
lower  than  that  possible  with  the  vertical- 
movement  machine. 

Motor  Utiuzing  Vertical  Movement  or 
Water 

Coming  now  to  the  vertical-movement 
type,  it  may  be  taken  that  about  75  per 
cent,  of  the  total  energy  is  available  in 
the  vertical  movement  of  the  water.  The 
proportion  available  in  this  direction  is 
(ar  above  that  on  any  other  direction,  and 
consequently  motors  built  to  utilize  this 
movement  have  more  chances  of  success 
than  others.  However,  there  are  limiting 
circumstances  which  prevent  the  present 
devices  from  utilizing  but  a  diminutive 
fraction  of  the  energy,  these  circumstances 
residing  mainly  in  the  inherent  principles 
and  construction  of  the  motors.  With  a 
device  showing  a  respectable  efficiency,  it 
is  possible  to  finally  utilize  about  50  per 
cent,  of  the  available  power,  about  37  per 
cent,  of  the  total,  or  about  yVt  horsepower 
per  foot  of  breadth  on  the  basis  of  the 
previous  calculations.  Even  this  possible 
fiiKure  i«  high,  as  .there  are  several  dis- 
tinct losses  in  transforming  the  cncrg) 
into  a  practical  form  suitable  for  tr.tt!-, 
mission.  In  the  usual  case  electrical 
energy  is  the  final  product  and  its  pro- 
duction involves  three  transformation^ 
The  first  is  mechanical,  being  the  o  11 
version  of  the  irregular  motion  of  the 
waves  into  a  reciprocating  or  a  rotary 
motion.  Striking  an  average,  this  means 
the  loss  of  approximately  25  per  cent., 
assuming  that  all  of  the  energy  of  the 
waves  is  taken  up  by  the  floats  rtr  ntlirr 
members.  The  next  operation  is  i.r;r  .,• 
ttoring  the  mcrgy  in  such  a  manner  that 
h  may  he  »sr«l  regularly.  In  the  typical 
instance  the  operation  consists  in  pump- 
ing water  ^ito  a  reservoir  under  pressure, 
a  loss  of  another  15  per  cent,  under  the 
*^^t  conditions  obtainable.'   The  final  step 

that  of  converting  the  water  pressure 
into  electrical  energy.  On  the  water 
motor  side  of  this  step  the  average  los* 
will  be  at  least  15  per  cent  and  on  the 
electrical  side  about  10  per  cent.  T\\t 
total  lots  in  such  a  system  would  then 
figure  approximately  51  per  cent.,  or.  say 
SO  per  cent. 

T1>e  previous  figure  of  7'-^   horsepower 
per  foot  breast  of  wave  is  ha^r.!  of!    ,  •'      • 
or   other   device    which    will    .it 
the    wavp«    their    full    rnrrvv 
what    f 
this  is  r 

ing    at     Ir;is(     |r»    \>rx     rrnt      on     .1 
mechanical    limi».ifiM(is       If   all 
were  absorbed  it  is  evident  that 
would   be   perfectly   leveled   ont 
the  last  part  of  the  power  wnl  !  •' 
on    an     infinilesimall> 
Practically,    this    is     t 

avr  -  of    »uJ'. 

be  --enf     "r  • 

power  III  'I' 
be  675      ,Af  • 


POWER  AND  THE  EN- 

be  profiubic  to  produce  and  sell  t*>  mtt  >t 
the  prevailing  rates,  but  this  n- 
pendi  to  a  great  extent  on  the  v-j^.,i*i  re 
quired  for  installing  the  plant. 

EFFiaiKCY  or  the  FLqat 

The  next  -  that  con- 

cerning thr  „,  or  the 

device  for  takmg  up  the  energy  of  the 
waves.  In  all  of  the  devices  so  far  pro- 
duced, these  parts  have  been  remarkably 
inefficient,  being  merely  more  or  leas 
buoyant  objects  moved  by  the  waves  and 
absorbing  in  most  cases  an  inappreciable 
portion  of  their  fv>srer  In  sofT»e  instance*. 
however,  at-  rnade 

to  increase  t  -'lecial 

devices  to  the  Hoat,  and  it  is  with  this 
class  the   following  will  deal: 

Referring  to  Fig.  a.  where  an  exagger 
ated  crest  of  a  wave  form  is  shown,  the 
following    will    deal    with    possible    and 
average    float    efficiencies       In    Fig     2    a 
•omparatively    short    float    is    repre»ente<* 


«77 


nc  %.  IjOkg  rLOAT 

floating  on  the  crest,  while  in  Fig.  j  a 
longer  float  is  illustrated  In  Fig.  2  the 
stroke  of  the   float   is   approximately   the 

divT.i;.  r    V.    .ukI    ilie  *  !    de- 

;  '•     :         !:rr    -I,      ,   •:     .i  .     ,,^ 


str 

same  amount  of  water 

in   the   water   as   the    ..........     ....        .,. 

length    b   therefore   useless,    unless   it   it 

»K-'      '  \^^ 

!r  Bo, 

t' '  4Acd  and 

,t!  1  profof 

ti'  4 se  of  the 

sir  Me  froaa 

the  rtoat  increases  dlffctly 

ditninishes. 

•is  were  the  o«ly  co' 


of  the 


,  •- 


r  inigth 
cotnpMle 


I. 


r  \Ar       t  k>     mMt 


•eCtSftj    ten^B   01    tAc 

to  ayproKMHad 

•1   me   «Ase  Icagtk      OdMT 

of  a  pareljr  awirKamol  aatwv , 

doer  the  stac  i^n^tti  to  a  fracooa  ol 
qtiartcr  kagth.  a  Aom  of  viy 
sue  beitig  estrcmcfy 
espectaOy  wlwa    ia    •.,fVi'>* 
vtib  loatr  fixed  s(nt 

Taldog  the  qtancr  ..i.  ...  .^  ik» 
pose  of  calcalatma,  «  ia  aaoi  iImc 
one-qoaner  of  tlv  waw  caeriy  ia 
•ible  of  absorpttao.  as  tW  AoM  oirfy  a 
into  contact  wiOi  and  ia  npiiMsil  by. 
qnarter  of  ilir  water  in  a  a^le  wave 
th  he   final   po««r    — i^tl 

^  6p  horsepower  per  fool  >r 

A  ds«kt  of.  say.  ao  feet  brtnai  anrfd 
afford  wffi  h<  rscpower.  a  Aoni  ol 
i*tt  be  'Tptcal  and  aavly  I 

ditioniL 

Coar  or  InsTAu-anon  an  Urm 

The  coat  of  msullatian  Mid  aphaai 
such  a  device  and  the  ilrnijat  mmt 
xum  for  traasfbrmmg  tW  power  ia  «i 
ble  with  the  style  and  cxtoM  of  tkt 
chtnery  nsed.  Cakniating,  Iwwssm. 
the   f'lmioty  oalli 

:aa  be  otnined  wlbcli 

n  ibe  ftfsl  inslantt  tW 

of  the  teat  and  anchorage  w  tW  an 


M  iii- 


•vcraft  a  minimHn  of 

figvre   prcswning   llie   c.v.iTrxtnna  ol   % 

large  nomber  of  anks  le  aomgMr  ifenal 

iQ^ooo  horsn>  ~  'd«rii«  tUs  to  CMI 

per  harwiio.  ;by  ts  tjaja     TW 

tv  'liAt  ol  runntnc  gear  for 

n^  hf  floidpwi^ 

Thii  r  >erd  as  low  as  fio  par 

horsepr  v.  fine  uro-tfi  tSe  4raagn  af 

the  %femx  ar  e    p^n^ 


:*!?>     d 


678 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  13,  1909. 


factors,  together  with  a  possible  return  of  Heat  Transmission  Through  Pipes 
$35    per    horsepower-year,    the    following  J    T      1, 

,  .  1  Ui  ■    J  and    1  anks 

totals  are  obtained : 


Interest  on  $210.50  at  6% $12.63 

Caretaklng,  etc lu.OO 

Deterioration 21.05 

Power  sale $35  00 

Totals *43.G8    $35.00 

This  leaves  a  balance  of  $9,  in  round 
figures,  per  horsepower-year  on  the  wrong 
side  of  the  account.  Allowances  have 
been  made  in  favor  of  the  motor  at  every 
step  of  its  construction  and  operation,  so 
that,  although  the  above  figures  probably 
do  not  represent  a  possible  installation, 
they  give  a  fair  idea  of  what  the  average 
motor  lacks  in  the  direction  of  making 
financial  returns. 

Reverting  again  to  the  consideration  of 
a  float  or  other  device  which  will  absorb 
a  large  proportion  of  the  wave  energy,  it 
will  be  assumed  as  before  that  a  total  of 
6.75  horsepower  per  foot  breast  may  be 
finally  produced  in  electrical  energy'.  This 
increase  in  efficiency  over  the  above-tabu- 
lated figures  would  lead  to  the  following 
possible   results : 

Anchorage  cost  per  H.P $  5 

Connection  to  pump  per  H.P 5 

Pumps  per  H.P 75 

Beservolr  per  H.P 10 

Electric  installation  per  H.P 50 


!v  F.  E.  Matthews 


Total . 


$145 


These  figures  are  again  minimum,  as  every 
previous  figure  is  cut  with  the  exception 
of  the  electric  installation.  This  would 
not  be  reduced,  as  it  was  supposed  for 
the  first  figures  that  there  would  be  a  sin- 
gle electric  plant  for  a  large  number  of 
motor  units.  Again  tabulating  the  ex- 
pense and  income,  a  small  balance  is  ob- 
tained on  the  profit  side  of  the  account: 

Interest  on  $145  at  6% $  8.70 

Caretaking,  etc.   .". 8.00 

Deterioration 14.50 

Power  sale $35.00 

Totals $31.20    $35.00 

This  gives  a  profit  of  $3.80  over 
all  expenses.  Thus,  even  with  everything 
in  its  favor,  it  is  doubtful  whether  the 
motor  in  its  most  highly  efficient  form 
would    be   a    dividend-paying   investment. 

At  any  rate,  until  there  appears  a  float 
or  barge  device  which  will  absorb  a  fairly 
large  per  cent,  of  the  energy  of  the  waves, 
it  is  evidently  impossible  to  deliver  enough 
power  to  place  the  motor  on  a  paying 
basis.  Until  this  device  appears  it  seems 
that  the  wave  motor  must  remain  unde- 
veloped. If  such  a  device  is  produced,  it 
will  probably  be  devised  by  someone  who 
has  made  a  scientific  investigation  of  the 
facts  in  the  case  and  has  experimented 
with  and  tested  the  actual  efficiency  ol 
models  of  machines  growing  out  of  his 
investigations. 


Given  two  rooms  of  the  same  dimen- 
sions and  insulation,  one  cooled  by  a 
brine  pan  of  a  given  cubical  capacity  and 
the  other  by  coils  of  2-inch  pipe  of  the 
same  capacity.  The  brine  is  circulated 
through  the  pan  and  pipes  at  a  tempera- 
ture of  10  degrees  Fahrenheit  during  the 
day,  but  the  brine  pump  is  shut  down  at 
night  and  the  rooms  are  refrigerated  only 
by  the  rise  in  temperature  of  the  brine 
(about  200  cubic  feet)  in  the  pan  or 
coils,   respectively. 

Will  the  cooling  devices  be  equally 
efficient?  Will  they  both  perform  the 
same  amount  of  work  in  a  given  time? 
Will  the  brine  temperature  in  each  be  the 
same  in  the  morning? 

Heat  transmission  per  square  foot  of 
surface  from  still  air  through  a  given 
thickness  of  iron  to  still  brine  should 
be  the  same  in  all  cases  where  the  tem- 
peratures of  the  air  and  brine  are 
the  same,  or  where  the  difference  in 
temperature  between  the  air  and  the 
brine  is  the  same.  Whether  the  heat 
transmission  in  a  given  time  and  subse- 
quently the  rise  in  temperature  of  the 
brine  in  the  case  in  question  will  be  the 
same,  will  depend  directly  on  whether  or 
not  the  two  heat-absorbing  devices  pre- 
sent the  same  amount  of  heat-absorbing 
surface  to  the  air  to  be  cooled.  This  is 
en  the  assumption  that  all  other  condi- 
tions such  as  'difference  in  temperature, 
direction  and  velocity  of  the  air  travel- 
ing over  the  heat-absorbing  surfaces,  and 
the  resistance  to  the  passage  of  heat 
offered  by  the  heat-absorbing  surface 
(which  depends  on  material,  thickness 
and  structure)   be  the  same. 

In  the  case  in  question  the  kind  of 
material,  iron,  of  which  the  devices  arc 
constructed,  is  the  same;  the  thickness 
of  the  material  is  slightly  different,  but 
this  difference  probably  need  not  be  con- 
sidered provided  the  surfaces  are  no1» 
coated  with  ice,  or  are  coated  with  ice 
of  the  same  thickness  and  density'.  The 
velocity  of  the  travel  of  the  air  over 
the  heat-absorbing  surfaces  may  be  as- 
sumed to  be  about  the  same  if  the 
pipe  coils  occupy  about  the  same  space 
and  same  relative  position  in  the  room  as 
the  pan.  The  direction  of  travel  of  the 
air  as  regards  the  heat-absorbing  surfaces 
will  probably  be  a  little  more  favorable 
in  the  case  of  the  pipe  coils,  but  this  fac- 
tor may  also  be  ignored  without  any 
great  error. 

On  the  assumption,  then,  that  all  of  the 
conditions  are  practically  the  same  ex- 
cept the  area  of  the  surface  exposed,  it 
may  be  stated  that  the  heat  absorption 
and  rise  in  temperature  of  the  brine  in 
the  two  containing  vessels  of  the  same 
volume    will    be    directly    proportional    to 


the  areas  exposed.  Except  in  the  case  of 
surfaces  of  the  same  shape  there  is  no 
fixed  geometrical  relation  between  the 
area  of  the  superficial  surface  and  the 
volume.  Of  the  more  common  forms 
the  sphere  contains  the  greatest  vol- 
ume within  the  least  surface.  Xext 
to  the  sphere  comes  the  cylinder,  of  which 
a  pipe  is  the  best  practical  example.  It 
is  farther  evident  that  the  ratio  of  vol- 
ume to  superficial  area  of  the  pipe  may 
be  varied  by  varying  the  shape  of  the 
cross-section.  The  surface  of  a  square 
pipe  would  be  greater  than  that  of  a 
cylindrical  one  containing  the  same  vol- 
ume, and  that  of  a  very  deep,  thin  tank 
greater  than  that  of  a  square  pipe. 

It  is  reasonable  to  assume  in  general 
a  form  of  brine  tank  that  would  be  com- 
mercially practical  to  construct,  will  have 
less  heat-absorbing  area  per  unit  of  vol- 
ume than  a  coil  of  pipe  of  the  same  vol- 
ume, and  in  the  present  case  that  the 
heat  absorbed,  the  rise  in  temperature  of 
the  brine  and  subsequently  the  refrigerat- 
ing capacity  of  the  devices  in  question 
will  be  directly  proportional  to  the  super- 
ficial surface  exposed.  A  single  example 
will  suffice. 

A  form  of  tank  more  or  less  commonly 
used  in  refrigerating  systems  in  connec- 
tion with  brine  circulation,  and  known  as 
a  congealing  tank,  is  usually  10  feet  long,  3 
feet  deep  and  3  inches  thick.  Such  a  tank 
would  have  66J/2  square  feet  of  surface, 
including  the  open  top,  and  a  volume  of 
7.5  cubic  feet. 

A  cube  having  the  same  volume  would 
measure  1.957  feet  on  a  side  and  would 
have  23  square  feet  of  surface,  or  only  34.5 
per  cent,  as  much  as  the  congealing  tank. 
To  contain  7.5  cubic  feet  of  brine  a  2- 
inch  pipe  would  have  to  be  322  feet  in 
length  and  would  have  201  square  feet  of 
surface.  * 

The  rate  of  heat  absorption  by  the 
cubical  tank  of  7.5  cubic  feet  capacity,  a 
flat  congealing  tank  of  the  same  cubical 
capacity,  and  a  coil  of  2-inch  pipe  of 
sufficient  length  to  contain  7.5  cubic  feet 
will  be  directly  proportional  to  the  23 
square  feet,  66.5  square  feet  and  the  201 
square  feet,  respectively,  of  heat-absorb- 
ing surface  exposed.  This  rate  of 
absorption  would  continue  so  long  as  the 
conditions  above  defined  are  kept  con- 
stant. It  is  obvious,  however,  that  when 
the  brine  pump  is  shut  down  the  cooling 
device  having  the  greater  area  will  absorb 
heat  so  much  more  rapidly  that  the  brine 
contained  will  soon  become  much  warmer 
than  that  in  the  other  vessels,  and  as 
there  is  a  lesser  difference  in  temperature 
between  the  brine  and  the  outside  air,  the 
heat  absorption  per  square  foot  will  be 
reduced,  which  would  tend,  but  never 
allow,  the  brine  temperatures  in  the  other 
receptacles  to  become  quite  the  same  ex- 
cept in  the  limiting  case  in  which  the 
brine  finally  becomes  as  warm  as  the 
room  and  heat  absorption  accordingly 
ceases. 


April   13,   1909- 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


ftw 


Reversing    Direct-Current    Macl 


ac  nines 


The    Effect    of    Reversing  ihe  Residual  Magnetism  of  a  Generator,  and 
the   Change   of   Connection    Necessary    When   Running  as    a    Motor 

BY        F        P~.        M'DERMOTT.     jT 


In  solving  problems  concerning  the  re- 
-versal  of  polarity,  or  of  rotation,  of  direct - 
current  machines,  certain  principles  can  (>e 
used  to  advantage.  It  is  the  purpose  of 
this  article  to  show  the  application  of 
some  rules  for  studying  these 
including  the  problem  of  the  b 
the  same  machine  as  a  motor  aud  a>  .i 
generator. 

Rule    I — If  the   current   through   all  of 


gj--^:g 


by  the  armature  if  the  direction  of  rou- 
tion  is  unchanged. 

Kulc  J— Rcverul  of  the  directioa  of 
rotation  rever»c*  the  clectromouvc  force 
i<cnirated  by  the  armature  if  the  direc- 
tion of  the  field  magnelisni  remamt  the 
same. 


Revcssinc  kcsiot'AL  Magkctism 


lem  lu 

The  rlr 

w  i.  and  to  the  scrio- 

%»■  2. 

For  a  certam  direction  of  rotation  /.. 
let   P  be   the  direction  of   the   ^-.t.. '  ■•^.1 
electromotive   force  when  the 
nctism  cnrrr  -     -  '     •  ,  current   m  im    .u 
nction  ./  -•  to  rule  a.  rcver»*l 


AAA/WWW: 


ric.    I.    9UU!<rrVouND  ccxnAToa  v 

tWId    Mindin|t«   of    a    machine    is   re-     l! 


\^  ■  i-'i  inc 

U    to    A. 


lite    f 


even  mtth  the  correct 


■Mu  tkcrc 


•  r Ai    i.tr    *^rat 


n<  bcl«ccB  tW 

anu  the  urui.>K«  fur  cttkcr  dirrctmi  ol 
residual  nutnt**«»  h«l  thai  •till  rriiiiail 
o '  ■  -  -  gn»tnu4  divtro- 

n-  ;  wirh  the  rrt»lual 


ated  by  the 

Now     let     tt  r      ijiir.TiiTi       'I      r    ^j;»ti      %ft 

chanced  to  i/  and  the  midaal  msgnrti— 


tioa 
{,>.  iiutc^d  of  /'.  *oi>M>liat  tu  rok  5. 
With  the  CDwafrtiom  FF  tf*  ^-Jfrsl 
tttpplird    bjr    the    armaivr  tkt 

residnal  ouicnnitm.  bvt  •  '<a*c- 

tio«  CG  it  Stellar  r«a< 


or?os 


> 


r-, 


.\  oiinU  <>t 

!iH     the 


h  this  one    windtiiK 
.KMtiism,  but   in  a   ma<-t'<' 
;.in   one   field   winding. 
I'         '  '    ■  tnerator. 

n  on  the  > 

the  tic  1(1  vv 
in  nnr  f>f  (' 


rsr»    the 

:!'l:     itmrr 


.•'#**  t^^ 


nj»  there  i»  gc; 
•iv!n    prcfcnt. 
uch   mak 
■  111    Kf    ti  irrrcd   t<»  t"   >■■■■■ 
lal  direction  of  field  current  ■>' 

rixliu-f    it. 

Rule  »— Reverwil  of  the  field  nut 
•■verw*  the  Hectromotivr  forrr  w"-' 


t^ 


68o 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  13,  1909. 


wires  connected  to  the  brush  holders.  The 
actual  angle  through  which  -the  brushes 
should  be  shifted,  if  it  is  desired  to  change 
the  direction  of  rotation  without  discon- 
necting the  wires  connected  to  the  brush 
holders,  is  in  most  cases  slightly  greater 
or  less  than  the  angular  distance  between 
adjacent  poles,  so  as  to  give  the  brushes 
the  proper  lead  for  the  reversed  direction 
of  rotation.' 

These  principles  also  apply  to  a  com- 
pound-wound machine,  Fig.  3,  but  here 
there  are  two  branches  through  which  the 
generated  current  flows.  The  direction  of 
magnetism  which  the  generated  current 
tends  to  produce  should  be  the  same  for 
each  of  these  branches.  If  this  is  the  case 
with  the  connections  F  F,  it  is  also  the 
case  with  C  G,  since  reversal  of  the  con- 
nections at  this  point  reverses  the  cur- 
rent in   both  windings.     If,  however,  the 


Fig.  4  represents  the  same  machine  as 
Fig.  I,  with  the  fields  connected  accord- 
ing to  F  F.  Supply  current  to  the  ma- 
chine from  a  source  of  power,  as  shown. 
This  sends  current  through  the  field 
winding  in  the  direction  A,  and  through 
the  armature  in  the  direction  Q.  The 
counter  electromotive  force  must  oppose 
the    electromotive    force    applied    to    the 


generate,   supposing  that  the  connections 
remain  unchanged. 

Fig.  5  shows  the  same  machine  aa  Fig. 
2,  connected  according  to  F  F.  Pass 
current  through  the  machine  from  a 
source  of  power  in  the  direction  A.  The 
motor  must  run  so  that  its  generated  elec- 
tromotive force  opposes  the  electromotive 
force  of  the  source  of  power,  that  is,  the 
counter-electromotive  force  must  have  the 
direction  Q.  To  produce  a  counter  elec- 
tromotive force  in  the  direction  Q  when 
the  field  current  is  in  the  direction  A  re- 
quires that  the  armature  rotate  in  the  di- 
rection M,  which  is  opposite  to  the  direc- 
tion L  in  which  the  machine  must  be 
driven  in  order  to  generate.  A  series  ma- 
chine, therefore,  operates  as  a  motor  with 
the  direction  of  rotation  opposite  to  that 
in  which  it  must  be  driven  in  order  to 
generate. 


Power,  X  r. 

FIG.    3.     COMPOUND-WOUND  GENERATOR 

fields  be  disconnected  either  at  the  points 
C  C  or  D  D  and  transposed,  their  mag- 
netizing tendencies  oppose  one  another 
when  the  generated  current  passes  through 
them.  Even  though  the  two  field  wind- 
ings both  tend  to  magnetize  the  fields  in 
the  same  direction,  that  direction  may  be 
such  as  to  destroy  the  residual  magnetism, 
just  as  was  seen  to  be  the  case  with  a  ma- 
chine having  a  single  field  winding. 

Generator  as  Motor 
In  studying  the  behavior  of  a  machine 
as  generator  and  as  motor  a  fourth  rule 
must  be  added  to  the  three  preceding. 

Rule  4 — When  a  machine  acts  as  a 
motor,  it  generates  an  electromotive  force, 
known  as  the  counter  electromotive  force, 
which  opposes,  hut  is  less  than,  the  electro- 
motive force  applied  to  the  brushes. 


FIG.     5.      SERIES    machine    AS    MOTOR 

brushes,  and  hence  have  the  direction  P. 
But,  as  generator,  with  field  current  in 
the  direction  A,  and  connections  as  shown, 
the  armature  rotates  in  the  direction  L 
when  producing  this  electromotive  force. 
This  is  the  same  direction  of  rotation  that 
the  machine  must  have  in  order  to  gener- 
ate. A  shunt  machine,  therefore,  acting 
as  a  motor,  has  that  direction  of  rotation 
with  which  it  must  be  driven  in  order  to 


COMPOUND-WOUND  DYNAMO  AS 
MOTOR 

If  the  compound-wound  generator.  Fig. 
3,  be  connected  according  to  F  F  and  sup- 
plied with  current,  the  state  of  affairs 
shown  in  Fig.  6  exists.  The  two  field 
windings  oppose  each  other,  giving  a 
differentially  wound  motor,  which  is  now 
seldom  used.  In  a  compound-wound 
motor  the  two  fields  act  together,  produc- 
ing a  stronger  field  as  the  load  increases. 
To  convert  a  compound-wound  generator 
into  a  compound-wound  motor,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  reverse  the  connections  to  one  of 
the  fields ;  that  is,  disconnect  and  trans- 
pose at  either  C  C  or  D  D.  A  compound- 
wound  generator  has  the  field  windings 
belonging  to  a  series  machine  and  also 
those  belonging  to  a  shunt-wound  genera- 
tor. As  a  series  machine  it  would  be  ex- 
pected to  run  as  a  motor  and  as  a  genera- 
tor in  opposite  directions,  but  as  a  shunt 


April   13,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


fill 


machine  it  would  be  expected  to  run  in 
the  same  direction  in  either  case.  Sup- 
pose that  it  is  desired  to  run  it  as  a  motor 
in  the  same  direction  that  it  runs  as  a 
generator.  The  shunt  winding  tends  to 
cause  this,  but  the  series  winding  tends 
to  cause  the  opposite,  and  the  scries  i^ 
accordingly  the  winding  to  be  reversed 
When  it  is  desired  to  have  the  m.ichine 
run  as  a  motor  in  the  opposite  direction 
to  that  in  which  it  runs  as  a  generator, 
the  shunt  winding  must  be  reversed. 

To  test  the  connections  of  a  compound- 
wound  machine,  run  it  as  a  motor  with 
the  shunt  fiel<l  open,  keeping  sufficient  re- 
•istance  in   the  circuit   to  prevent   exces- 


light  The  thunt  6M  of  the  gcorralor 
was  opened,  after  which  the  motor  was 
disconnected.  The  shunt  field  of  the  gen- 
erator was  again  doted,  and  the  genera- 
tor built  np  with  reverted  polarity  Why? 
Fig.  7  show*  the  conneciiont.  Sop- 
!•<  '•e  \hr  arrents 

;:i  •h.'-  '.  tidicated 

by    •  .      A.     Iht   mutur    produce* 

a   c  -      rromotive    force    in   the   di- 

rection b.  almost  equal  to  the  electromo- 
tive force  of  the  generator  WTjen  the 
shunt  field  of  the  generator  is  opened,  its 
electromotive  force  falls,  owing  to  the 
decrease  of  field  magnetism.  The  momen- 
tum of  the  motor  armature  causes  it  to 
continue  rotating,  and  its  electromotive 
force  B  excites  the  motor  field  in  the 
»ame  direction  as  originally,  and  also 
backs  current  through  the  armature  an«l 
the  series  fields  of  the  generator  in  the 
direction  C.  The  generator  thereby  ha* 
its  magnetism  reversed,  and  when  the 
shunt  field  it  again  closed  this  reversal  of 
fieM  n  causes  it  to  build  op  with 

rev.  -ity. 


7.    00 MrOL'NI>- WOUND  CENnATOa   DWV- 
INC  SHUNT  MOTOa 

ind  note  the  direc 
run   it   »%  4    ilmnt 


>!  wound    motor   the   dr 

IS  the  tame  in  each   .  , 

>«  connected  at  a  con 
uriierator.  the  two  trials  pr 
In  oti(x>4ite  directions     It  ») 

r  in  the   »amr  >lirrrM.n   mai 
<hunt   niHifir 

.\    Rrvm^At    Of   PoLABiT^ 
\    «p«-rMl  of   the    ("f^ic    ^  ► 

•••'-*    i*   .....,,■...■-.!    in   •>"•    < 

A  compound  w 
4«  Its  only  load  a  shunt  m  >' 


Drops  o(  Ink  to  Make  You  Think 


By  TBI  Ink  Mamuc 

Yesterday  has  gooc,  today  is  thort,  to- 
morrow may  never  come;  so  if  there  is 
any  money  to  save,  get  buty  quick! 

The  EMctirca  Bkomcs  Cbatty  akv 

CoNnOCNTtAL 

Say!  Have  you  read  that  book  of  An- 
drew Carnegie's  yet  ?  Well,  it's  called  the 
"Empire  of  Businett."  and  it's  all  rigtMt 
All    the    way    through    he    shows    you've 

got  lo  SJ^     " '   I  guess  "Andy"  knows 

what  he  »>out  when  he  tay*.  "Be 

thrifty"      Wh),     ut   there   at   Gary,   Ind. 

in  the  new  tteel  plant,  the  ira«   iff*n\  the 

bla«t  furnaces — ga 

they     used     to     n 

famous     atmosphere    with  —  •»     «»"i*     *i* 

saved,    every    bit    of    it.    and    all    the   b«g 

machinery  and  electric  lights  are  nm  from 

•.}•.\^    i{a«       They    get    v,^  nr-,    »-  .rM-twrwef 

'  v'  '   jl'ng.   and  the*    ■ 

1  ,    >     N    .   ■ul    U>r    p<iwer       u  '    v 

],Vr    ..r-'irnir    »omrlhing   fof   isoti 

pat  m  a  <iuii 
•-«,  Ml  tW  gas 


T«a   BT-fWWCTs  or  ?•» 

'<.,\^  old  MMi  ArsKMtr  dMl 


4    ttK       t 

I  la*  »o*' 


ikrj  Wy  tWy  sHI  • 

ton  and  -  iOiMsg  the     'i|»inj.i' 

And  I  (:«■»«  junn  D   is  prvtty  wwc  lo 

ihu  saving  game,  all  ngltt.    TWy  ascd  to 

pvtBp  P*^'  fug  f/ktnttmt  aad 

cnal   oil  tkrow    tkt    ml 

I  •  ii*r  old  tlw—ils 

"  Old  laooratonc^ 

i  a  new  "raniif"  osi 

•n  f!ji<!  inT  "  •  f  a 


tlir— lis  dig 


tbei 

mar* 

grease 

>n.4     r... 


kstlM^ki 


cuntain    an>-r'i;  g   new    at   aU 

'^  -~  <  -KTtam  or  "Br- 
U  read  abooi  a  tktmm  Id 

lo»  ipert  bMdier.  or  iW  stod 

met  money,  tkry  always  «se  tW 

term    \-  product.'  Now.  tkal  m«b4s  bad 
o'   «wrll  and  dirni'V*!  ^-jt   T  rueM  it's  al 

riK'ht    when  "By^ 

reallv  —  >-•  -     t>H| 

like  he 

waitret*   r.<»iwr»         r>>'*''-<r*  •<^  ir* 
why     yoo    get     then    for 
'^-product'  when  yo«  kod  ii 
meant  tHst  y*»n  c*^ 


t»;r 


Tm  Emastin't 
Now.  I've  bren  iotereoled  in  Ikb  Uad 
of  businfss  lately  Yo«  kiK>w  yoararif 
that  I've  been  an  engineer  oa  laad  aad 
sea  for  twenty  ytars.  aad  I  can  kacf  •• 
ei«ine  room  sbck  and  ckni^  wiikaat  • 
poosd  anywhere:  and  Vm  prttty  wssr  to 
iodkators  aad  things,  aad  t»»*  tUttHtat 
game,  too     Well,  last  sfriac  ">* 

that    hurt   my   freltags  loc  »  -    J«- 

You  know,  wfcca  yiM  )«« 
and  thinr*  '"  •f**-'<^-    »»^'J  '*"'  V>«a 
you  a  »«-,  'OO 

of    f-  ' 
«i' 

lii!le   t..jd!> 
•  ■.nnf        Bui 


A    i 
to    rr-  •     ^ 
an* 


4s 

4 

aad 

'23 

tW 

SI— i  kt 

'.   • 


682 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  13,  1909. 


fornia  ham  and,  say,  I'll  bet  he  never 
wasted  any  of  his  time,  any  more  than  I 
have,  sitting  around  with  the  manicure 
maids  holding  on  to  his  hand. 

I  knew  right  off  that  he  was  a.  practical 
man,  but  I  didn't  believe  him  when  he 
said  the  tall  fellow  was  practical,  too ;  at 
least,  not  at  first.  Well,  this  is  what 
these  fellows  did :  One  day  they  came 
in,  after  I  had  got  pretty  well  acquainted 
with  them,  and  we  made  some  changes  in 
the  firebox.  The  next  day  our  regular 
coal  truck  didn't  come  but,  instead,  a  new 
dealer  dumped  in  a  lot  of  dirt,  at  least 
that's  what  it  looked  like.  They  told  me 
it  was  a  dollar  and  three-quarters  a  ton 
cheaper  than  what  we  had  been  burning. 
I  had  always  believed  in  buying  the  best 
coal  on  the  principle  that  the  best  is  none 
too  good,  and  I  didn't  believe  that  that 
stuff  would  burn  at  all.  But  one  of  the 
men  stayed  with  me  for  a  couple  of  hours 
and  showed  me  how  it  ought  to  be  fired, 
and  she  held  the  pressure  all  right,  and 
carried  the  load  right  through  the  even- 
ing peak  without  a  bit  of  trouble. 

Where  the  Saving  Came  in 

Then  I  began  to  get  interested,  and 
wondered  how  many  tons  would  be 
needed.  I  had  always  supposed  that  when 
you  used  cheap  stuff  you  had  to  use  so 
much  more  of  it  that  it  would  make  up 
for  the  low  price.  So  it  certainly  was  an 
eye-opener  to  me  when  we  found  that  it 
didn't  take  a  bit  more  of  this  new  stuff 
every  day  than  we  used  to  use.  And 
then  I  was  pleased  to  find  that  although 
it  looked  like  dirt,  it  really  made  less  ashes 
by  a  third  than  I  used  to  be  getting  with 
regular  coal.  When  I  got  to  figuring  on 
this,  I  could  easy  see  why  the  boss  got 
interested,  because  we  burn  about  ten  tons 
a  day  most  of  the  year,  and  $17.50  a  day 
saved  amounts  to  over  $5000  a  year ! 

And  then  something  happened  that  I 
was  mighty  glad  about.  I  had  often  told 
the  boss  that  he  could  save  a  good  deal 
of  money  on  the  water  bill  if  he  would 
save  the  condenser  water  from  the  re- 
frigerating plant.  But  the  boss  was  kind 
of  "Icary"  about  spending  three  or  four 
hundred  dollars  on  my  sayso.  These  fel- 
lows were  able  to  show  him  figures  from 
other  buildings,  I  suppose,  and  the  boss 
said :  "Go  ahead  and  fix  it  up."  Well, 
sir,  it  turned  out  even  better  than  I 
thought  it  would,  because  the  water  bill 
is  really  $200  less  a  month  than  it  used 
to  be  during  the  same  season  of  the  year, 
and  that's  about  $2400  a  year. 

These  fellows  also  seem  to  have  a 
pretty  good  stand-in  with  some  of  the 
supply  people,  because  they  got  us  oil 
and  ammonia  and  things  like  that  at  lower 
prices  than  I  could  ever  get  'em  for,  even 
though  the  same  label  was  on  the  can. 

I'm  real  proud  of  my  plant,  now,  and 
I'm  glad  I  worked  with  these  fellows  in- 
stead of  bucking  them,  because  I  get  part 
of  the  credit  for  this  $8000  a  year  that  is 
saved.     Some  of  the  things  that  have  been 


done  are  just  what  I  have  been  yelling 
for  during  the  last  four  or  five  years.  So 
I  don't  think  the  consulting  engineer  is 
such  a  bad  fellow,  after  all — that  is,  when 
he's  got  some  good  practical  men  with 
him  that  really  know  what  I'm  up  against 
down  here  and  who  help  me  to  make 
good.  And  the  boss  is  so  well  pleased 
with  everything  that  he  gave  me  a  raise 
the  first  of  the  year,  and  now  "the  goose 
hangs  high." 


The    Garden    Variety    of  Gas 
Engines 


Bv  H.  W.  Jones 


As  a  rule,  the  expression  "gas  engines" 
conveys  nothing  to  the  mind.  The  writer 
or  speaker  may  mean  engines  driven  by 
gasolene  or  alcohol  or  distillate  or  pro- 
ducer gas  or  kerosene.  This  brief  article, 
however,  relates  to  gas  engines  burning 
gas — the  kind  that  you  get  a  bill  for  each 
month,  the  kind  of  bill  that  causes  a  man 
to  increase  his  vocabulary,  the  kind  con- 
cerning which  each  of  us  has  tried  in 
vain  properly  to  express  his  inmost 
thoughts,  finding  that  his  mind  refuses  to 
act  and  all  he  can  do  is  to  get  red  in  the 
face  and  pollute  the  air  with  his  emotions. 

The  primary  cause  of  large  power-gas 
bills  is,  in  truth,  ignorance,  in  many  cases 
equally  divided  between  the  user  of  the 
engine  and  the  maker  of  the  engine.  The 
situation  reminds  me  somewhat  of  the 
statement  that  "Some  Americans  are 
democrats  and  some  Americans  are  re- 
publicans, but  the  Irish  stick  together  and 
get  all  the  offices."  No  matter  what  the 
kind  of  _  engine,  the  gas  company  gets  all 
the  money  called  for  by  the  meters. 

The  makers  of  gas  engines  are  to  blame 
in  a  great  measure  for  exorbitant  gas 
bills  because  they  permit  people  who  do 
not  and  cannot  niake  gas  engines  to  sell 
machines  claiming  that  they  are  engines, 
and  gas  companies  are  also  blamable  for 
allowing  imitation  gas  engines  to  continue 
to  drive  away  their  business.  The  buyer 
is  generally  the  innocent  bystander  who 
gets  the  full  force  of  the  brick  and  has 
only  refuge  in  "language."  And  if  you 
really  want  to  hear  language  "as  she  is 
spoke,"  drop  into  the  office  of  the  man 
who  has  purchased  one  of  these  so-called 
gas  engines  at  the  time  he  gets  his  first 
gas  bill.  It  is  really  quite  interesting,  as 
well  as  exciting.  I  have  had  this  pleas- 
ure and  I  have  wondered  how  it  was  pos- 
sible for  a  man  to  have  so  much  vitriol 
in  his  system  and  still  live.  This  is 
especially  true  when  it  is  that  kind  of  a 
gas  engine  that  "does  not  need  an  engi- 
neer to  operate  it ;  all  you  have  to  do  is 
to  pour  oil  on  her  and  start  her  up." 
Words  are  inadequate  with  me.  Not  so 
with  him.  I  am  sure  he  used  all  the  words 
there  are  and  he  invented  several  new 
phrases,  one  of  which   I  am  very  proud 


to  possess.  How  is  this  one:  "An  in- 
fernal damn  piece  of  misrepresented  me- 
chanical iniquity?" 

I  struck  another  one  of  these  cases  re- 
cently. On  a  cold  morning  at  about  9< 
o'clock  I  called  at  the  factory  of  a  maa 
who  had  (or,  rather,  thought  he  had) 
bought  a  gas  engine.  An  ominous  calmc 
of  the  kind  that  precedes  a  violent  storm, 
settled  down  upon  me  as  I  entered  the 
office.  The  young  lady  there,  knowing 
me,  said :  "Oh !  Mr.  Jones,  go  dowry 
stairs  quick,  the  engine,  the  engine 
won't  go,  and  Mr.  Blank  (the  proprietor) 
is  going  on  something  awful!"  Hurrying: 
down,  I  saw  Mr.  Blank  at  the  wheel  mak- 
ing a  noise  like  the  blowing  off  of  the 
pop  safety  valve  of  a  locomotive.  He  was- 
surrounded  by  twelve  men — every  man  on. 
the  place — and  all  of  them  seemed  to  be 
affected  with  a  very  tired  feeling. 

When  Mr.  Blank  saw  me  (he  had  beei* 
pulling  on  the  flywheel  until  he  was- 
warmed  up)  he  was  silent  for  a  few  sec- 
onds and  I  have  always  wondered  whether 
he  was  thinking  what  to  say,  or  if  he  Was- 
waiting  to  get  breath  enough  in  his  per-, 
son  in  order  to  say  it.  What  he  said  wherv 
he  got  started  was  much  like  the  noise- 
of  a  giant  skyrocket  just  after  it  is  fully 
ignited.  His  statements  were  too  explo- 
sive to  follow  verbatim,  but  I  gathered 
that  the  entire  force  had  been  working 
over  the  engine  since  early  in  the  morn- 
ing and  that  on  the  previous  morning 
three  men  quit  at  10  o'clock  because  of 
that  "infernal  damn  piece  of  misrepre- 
sented mechanical  iniquity." 

Before  his  vocabulary  was  anywhere- 
near  exhaustion,  Mr.  Blank  was  called' 
into  the  office  and  I  looked  over  the  en- 
gine and  found  the  automatic  inlet  valve- 
stuck.  It  was  not  five  minutes  after  we 
got  the  engine  started  when  he  came  down- 
stairs again  and  in  his  hand  was  the  gas- 
bill  ;  this  was  the  climax.  He  was  a  heavy 
man  and  had  a  heavy  voice.  His  face  was- 
red.  His  voice  was  raised  to  a  high  pitch. 
His  oratory  was  magnificent,  and  his  ges- 
tures sublime,  but  his  language  was,  as 
the  young  lady  had  said,  "something 
awful."  His  gas  bill  was  $85  for  an  18- 
horsepower  engine  pulling  about  12  horse- 
power continuously,  eight  hours  a  day. 
After  he  had  cooled  down  some  he  told" 
me  about  it.  The  salesman  had  guaran- 
teed that  his  gas  bill  would  not  be  over 
$45  per  month. 

I  persuaded  this  man  to  trade  off  that 
engine  in  part  payment  for  a  25-horse- 
power  real  gas  engine.  He  added  5-horse- 
power  load  on  the  big  engine  and  his  bilf 
has  exceeded  $65  only  once  since  it  was 
installed. 

The  first  engine  had  45  pounds  com- 
pression ;  the  second  had  85  pounds. 

The  first  engine  intake-valve  spring  was 
too  weak  and  the  intake  valve  opened 
partly  on  every  stroke  that  the  governor 
tried  to  cut  out  (hit-and-miss  regulation), 
with  consequent  fuel  waste. 

The  first  engine's  igniter  could  not  be 


April  13,  1909 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


Si 


i^et  far  cnougli   in   advance   to  ignite  the 

•ure    properly    with    so    low    a    com- 

^ion. 

he  second  engine,  well,  it   was  a  gat 

tne. 

The  moral   is   to  find  out   what   a  gas 

engine  ought  to  be,  but  don't  pay  too  much 

attention   to  what   interested   persons  tell 

I'll  just  suggest  this  much:     Liberal 

pression  and  the  mechanical  construe- 
in  accordance  with   this  comprrssion 

ic  of  the  jjreatest  factors  in  ec<momi- 
cal  and  successful  gas-engine  operation 
How  much  compression  ?  O,  too  pounds, 
and  the  indicator  card  should  show  a 
nuximum  of  about  350  poimds;  don't  let 
anybody  talk  you  out  of  it.  But  the 
makers  must  build  their  engine  to  stand 
the  strain. 

Rcmrinl>er  that  gas  engines  are  not 
like  politicians:  we  can't  love  them  for 
the  enemies  they  have  made. 


Test   of   a   Six-Ton   Jack 


Hv  G.  A.  Glu  k 


c  object  of  this  lest  was  to  obtain 

tn-    efficiency  of  a  six-ton  jack,  which  in 
this  case  would  be  the  actual  load  lifted 
!«h1  by  the  theoretical  load  that  should 
V-n   lifted,   nt"J   the  (iLioticnt  mulli- 
ve  the  expression 
no  means  of  di- 
rectly   loading    the    jack    and    measuring 
flir  I.... I  v»,r,.  available  in  ihe  laboralorv. 


A  jack  lever  i  fcot  lonu  nas  o^c!  »iih 
the  jack,  and  the  .. 

raise  or  lower  the    ..;; _ 

ured.  From  these  pulls  the  theuretical 
loads  were  cakulated,  and  by  means  of 
these  two  loads  the  efficiency  of  the  lack 
at   that   I  '      The  c:»: 

of   the   t:  :   was  as    : 

P  =  Pull  in  pounds  at  end  of  lerer. 
r  =  Theoretical   load  that   jack   might 

lift  were  t: 
h  =  Lead  t  f  thr. 
r  —  Length  of  lever  arm  in  inches. 

When  P,  the  pull,  travels  aroand  the  jade 


r— 


r  m    I 


m   wP 


«d  for  tkM  IMI  A 


T 


% 


na  I.  Msrao*  oriAaauM  |Ac  a 


t\tj>>y  i,i:»  oni  M.'st.i)   IIIUM 


1 

,.. 

\\ 

•2 
1 

8 

i 

Is 

lis 

-• 

< 

2 

"V 

*> 
n 

aw 

.V4 

M 
I.K 

41'' 

Lm4  of  jack  thnad  •  o.nr     UiwibariBc^ 


/    -     ••  "    /-• 


Ar   <*l   t' 


1  >«    : 


Its  arm,  0   fed.   Ihr    1 

IhiIIi     lllri«Mrr-.i     fr.ifli        \ 


684 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  13,  1909. 


Practical    Letters    from     Practical    Men 

Don't  Bother  About    the    Style,    but   Write   Just    What    You  Think, 
Know  or  Want  to  Know   About  Your  Work,  and  Help  Each  Other 

WE     PAY     FOR     USEFUL     IDEAS 


That  Harwood  Boiler 


In  the  March  22  number,  under  the 
above  caption,  I  notice  a  contradiction,  in 
part,  of  the  article  on  this  subject  that 
appeared  over  my  name  in  the  December 
22  issue,  wherein  I  stated  that  "the  crack 
was  not  located  under  the  lap,  but  ran 
parallel  to  the  edge  of  the  overlapping 
plate." 

The  article  of  March  22  states  that  after 
viewing  the  plate  at  the  office  of  the  State 
inspector  the  deduction  was  formulated 
that  the  "craclf  is  plainly  one  of  those  in- 
ternal cracks  occurring,  as  is  usually  the 
case,  just  under  the  edge  of  the  rivet 
heads  and  ^o  hidden  by  the  inside  sheet 
as  to  be  impossible  of  detection  by  any  in- 
spection short  of  unmaking  the  joint." 

Now,  as  to  the  crack  being  hidden,  I 
think  the  engineer's  statement  "that  he 
removed  some  of  the  bricks  and  found 
that  the  steam  was  coming  from  a  crack 
18  inches  long  at  the  longitudinal  seam" 
should  be  credited,  especially  when  it  is 
corroborated  by  everyone  who  saw  the 
boiler  before  it  was  cut  up,  and  by  the 
State  inspectors  who  examined  the  crack 
before  the  boiler  was  taken  from  its  set- 
ting. 

It  may  be  that  the  writer  of  "That 
Harwood  Boiler"  drew  his  conclusions 
from  the  inside  or  convex  side  of  the  boiler 
sheet  and  in  that  case  the  crack  may 
have  been  partially  hidden  by  the  lap,  but 
he  should  remember  that  there  are  two 
sides  to  every  boiler,  the  inside  and  the 
outside,  and  it  is  not  necessary  to  take  the 
joint  apart,  as  he  expresses  it,  to  view  the 
outside  of  the  overlapping  plate,  the  re- 
moval of  a  few  bricks  being  all  that  is 
necessary. 

I  know  that  this  procedure  is  not  fol- 
lowed by  inspectors  when  making  inspec- 
tions, but  if  there  is  any  possibility  of  a 
lap-joint  defect  being  discovered  by  the 
removal  of  a  few  bricks  and  as  close  an 
inspection  of  the  outside  of  the  lap  as  is 
given  the  inside  lap,  I  think  it  would  be 
an  admirable  innovation. 

An  instance  of  what  can  occur  on  the 
outside  of  a  joint  and  not  show  on  the  in- 
side was  illustrated  to  me  when  the  side 
wall  of  the  setting  of  a  boiler  some  thirty 
years  old,  that  had  been  carrying  60 
pounds  of  steam  and  was  used  for  heat- 
ing purposes,  was  removed.  It  disclosed 
the  fact  that  the  rivet  heads  on  the  longi- 


tudinal joint  of  the  middle  sheet  had  been 
burned  and  corroded  so  badly  as  to  be 
practically  destroyed,  leaving  the  boiler 
in  a  very  dangerous  condition,  which 
would  probably  have  been  discovered 
years  before  had  the  brickwork  down  to 
the  joint  been  removed  when  making  the 
annual   inspections. 

Arthur  F.   Clawson. 
Lynn,  Mass. 


Pump  Piping 


The  accompanying  illustration  shows 
the  arrangement  of  suction  and  discharge 
piping  in   connection   with  a  single-acting 


starting  against  zero  pressure,  thereby 
giving  the  motor  an  opportunity  to  attain 
full  speed  before  beginning  work  against 
the  minimum  tank  pressure  of  100  pounds 
per  square  inch,  a  pump  governor  is 
rigged  up  to  control  a  bypass  through  a 
2-inch  pipe  connecting  the  discharge  line^ 
to  the  suction  pipe,  as  shown. 

The  philosophy  of  the  device  is  this: 
The  instant  the  compression-tank  pressure 
attains  the  maximum  of  no  pounds,  and 
the  pump  is  stopped  through  the  medium 
of  the  automatic  switch  in  the  motor  cir- 
cuit, the  pressure  between  the  pump-de- 
livery valves  and  the  check  valve  in  the 
discharge  line  immediately  begins  to  sub- 
side by  leakage  through  a  very  small  aper- 


.Js  Pipe  to  Switchboard 


H  Pipe, 


SHOWING  AN  ARRANGEMENT  OF   SUCTION  AND  DISCHARGE  PIPING 


triplex  power  pump  operating  the  com- 
pression-tank elevator  system  in  any  hotel 
building.  The  pump  is  belt-driven  by  an 
induction  motor  controlled  by  an  auto- 
matic switch  operated  by  pressure  trans- 
mitted through  the  J^-inch  pipe  shown  in 
the  sketch,  and  adjusted  to  a  minimum 
and  maximum  compression-tank  pressure 
of,  respectively,  100  and  no  pounds  per 
square  inch. 

In    order    to    secure   the   advantage    of 


ture  in  the  governor  valve,  and  in  one  or 
two  minutes  is  reduced  sufficiently  to  per- 
mit free  action  to  the  governor  spring  in 
raising  the  valve  and  opening  wide  a  pas- 
sage to  the  large  tank  by  way  of  the  2-inch 
pipe.  This  action  of  the  governor  permits 
a  direct  discharge  into  the  suction  pipe 
during  the  first  few  strokes  of  the  plun- 
gers when  the  pump  is  again  put  in 
motion ;  but  as  the  speed  of  the  pump 
accelerates,  a  pressure  is  created  beneath 


April  ij.  IQOQ. 

the  check  valve,  and  this  pressure,  being 
transmitted  through  the  l^i-inch  connec- 
tion to  the  governor,  depresses  the  valve, 
closes  the  bypass,  and  the  water  continues 
to  pass  on  through  the  check  until  the 
pump  stops,  when  the  c>'cle  of  operations 
is  repeated. 

The  most  objectionable  feature  of  the 
apparatus,  aside  from  those  objections 
which  might  Imt  raised  on  general  princi- 
ples, involving  such  defects  as  continual 
trouble  in  keeping  the  switches  in  order, 
as  well  as  the  infernal  noise  of  the  gear- 
ing reverlMrrating  throughout  the  hou»e, 
lies  in  the  wear  and  tear  and  constant 
breaking  of  the  pump-discharge  valves 
and  stems  by  reason  of  the  tremendous 
impact   of  the   valves  against   their   sl•at^. 

The  machine  grinds  away  at  a  rather 
high  rate  c>f  speed  when  in  action,  and 
this  circumstance,  combined  with  the  fact 
that  the  area  of  discharge  oriiice  for  each 
plunger  is  covered  by  a  single  valve,  might 
occasion  an  excessively  high  lift  of  the 
ralve  in  order  to  give  the  necessary  an- 
nular o|>cning  for  discharge,  as  well  as  to 


Pr>\VER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

a  thermal  as  well  as  from  a  mccfaaaical 
p«'iiit  of  view. 

A.  J.  Diiov. 

Chicago.  Ill 


Repairing  Worn   Guides 


The  guide*  f>n  a  Iuk'!'  M"^*"!  center- 
crank  engme  had  beconic  v,.  «um,  and 
the  piston  rod  vibrated  so,  it  was  tin- 
possible  to  ke«p  packing  in  the  stuftnc 
box  and  there  was  a  constant  blowinc 
of  steam,  whi  *  <tblc 

for  se\cral  I  wicr 

hea<L      The     li.'wtr     k  become 

worn   in   thr  r^ntrr    <  .  .*n   some- 

what   r^  the    top 

Kuide    I  >,    at    the 

ends    the    crosshead     was    comparatively 
light :  so  the  only  real  cure  was  to  dress 
the    lower    guides   trtie.      As    these    were 
vilid   with   the   engine   frame   the   under 
taking   wa«  made   more  difficult. 

The  first  step  nece*»ary  wa«  to  deter- 
■mine  how  much  was  to  come  off  the 
ends,   therefore,  the  lowest   point   in   the 


wniiwn.i/ni!wr;nw..! 


Mi- 


"T^^ 


J!S^ 


j^ 


Ur AIRING    A    WOBM    GI'IOB 


tririijKiis.ui-  lor  inorditiatr  water  friction. 
At  any  rate,  the  valxes  ci>mr  d"Mii  .ii{.iiu«t 
thrir  seats  with  the  force  of  a  trip  ham- 
mT  at  times. 

'le  builders  of  the  punip 
11   in  its  design   for  thr 

ulirr,  evidently  not  intending  or  an- 
:.  .lating  its  employment  in  the  service 
described,  and  the  amount  of  head  room, 
•s  well  as  the  leeway  laterally,  will  |M>rmit 
of  running  up  from  the  riser  out  of  the 

hargc   ili.iriilicr    with    a    < 
4x  lo    in.  Ii.-*       Thr   qi'. 

1  ;iiTrnp    ts 

;>lied    wiih   current     fri>m    an 
rce.    while    there    are    two    !► 
ample  sixc  generating  %ie.ini  .it  -i  ;•" 
of  75   pound*   per   «(|u.-irr    uu  li    «"'  ■ 
fret  of  the  apparatus       1  hrw  t.  .,i  - 
pl>      '  '   '    laun<lr\ 

po-  illv,    the 


from 


hue  low 
li.wer  K 
alike. 
an<l 
do» 


Then  we  rrmosed  i' 

.,<..■!.       .I......,.!      .1., 


from  the  e«a««r  of  «h*  cat  to  iW 
edge  of  the  straigtil  i^ 
Uacc   the  hakkm   Ih4  to  kt 

IW   rr.  k.Kr.^.! 

V  head  WW 

P*»  '"•■■«.  after 

der  rrd  IcmI.  and.  hf 

bocii  anq  i.-nh.  ai»y  b^  or 
mold  be  located  on  tbe 
wbirh.  by  the  INC  of  a  kaad  Krifee.  wvtv 
lowered,  and  we  som  had  a  prrUtt  it. 
Then  we  replaced  the  gMdrt  Mid  m««d 
the  cro*«head  bodt  aad  fcwih  lo  sc«  iImI 
it  had  proper  play  Wbra  thr  r^tMr  *•• 
surtrd  op  the  blowmg  o4  tccaai  tnm  the 
•tufluiK  box  was  cwrcd.  aisd  m  f«thv 
trouble  was  espcrieacad. 

C   R.    UcQAUKf. 

Lynchburg.   Va 


In  «i 


Daihpol  Troubles 


rv-'lKt     that    Cfcurgt     V\. 

- 'hates    thm    to   loo   laa*    a 

e  engine  b  of  the  Cnrim 

ttng  on  a  ««ry  hght  lamA.  1 

do  not  see  how  it  ronid  be  thai. 

I   am  oprralinv   i   small  Qwlm 

with  dashprMt 

leal  her- pachc 

ble.     On  a  s  -isd 

dasbpol   planyrr    am    r>  .7    M-.!!.    oiT    rvjqgs 

up   until   the  hook  drives  it  doww      Co 

^sM   out  fcwrth   hm   It 

.       Thb     dail^nt     IMS 

■'.  that 


•id  it  to  the  lart  thai 

»I    »    srf 


«■  top  ol 


Sard  «•<  as 

■^Mi^t    h.^    Uftrd    sach    a 
*^  «aro—  m  the 


T^W/ 


..«4 


■ f     «br    » I 
'»!    pump    .' 
thr    elevator    system    far    nx»fr 

lll.ill    llir    i.rr.rill    Ix-ll    .trivrfl    r  I  l- 


686 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  13,  1909. 


pressure  was  high  or  the  cutoff  was  long, 
the  excessive  friction  was  too  much  for 
the  dashpot  to  overcome. 

To  get  rid  of  this  1  drilled  holes  in  the 
bonnet  behind  the  washer  on  the  valve 
stem,  and  made  a  groove  to  them  so  that 
the  steam  would  have  a  tendency  to  equal- 
ize the  pressure.  Afterward  I  had  two 
collars  made,  with  two  set  screws  spaced 
90  degrees  apart,  and  placed  one  on  each 
valve  stem,  so  they  would  come  up  against 
the  shoulder  on  the  bonnet  outside  and 
hold  the  end  next  to  the  valve  away  from 
the  bonnet  next  to  the  valve. 

G.  Clinton  Smith. 

Carmi,   111. 


What  is  the  Trouble 
Engine  ? 


wi 


th  the 


Wrought  Iron  Pipe 

On  page  478  of  the  March  9  number 
H.  E.  Schuler  tells  us  how  wrought-iron 
pipe  is  made  and  states  that  to  get 
wrought  iron  it  must  be  specified  as 
strictly  wrought  iron.  My  way  of  writing 
specifications  and  contracts  has  been : 
'"All  dimensions  given  for  all  sizes  are 
inside  diameter;  all  pipe  shall  be  wrought 
iron  and  full  standard  weight ;  all  steel 
pipe,  and  all  pipe  not  full  standard  weight 
and  perfect  threads  will  be  returned  at  the 
expense  of  the  contractor." 

It  would  seem  that  this  was  sufficiently 
stated  so  there  could  be  no  mistake,  1)ut 
I  have  returned  steel  pipe,  pipe  that  was 
of  "merchantable"  weight  only,  and  pipe 
that  had  no  protection  on  the  threads  and 
consequently  the  threads  were  all  battered. 

It  is  surprising  how  many  contractors 
will  furnish  light-weight  merchantable 
pipe  and  steel  pipe  when  it  is  expressly 
stated  that  it  will  be  returned. 

W.  E.  Crane. 

Broadalbin,  N.  Y. 


The  accompanying  diagrams  were  taken 
from  an  old  style  Fitchburg  engine.  What 
clianae   should  be  made  to   get  good   dia- 


diagram,  Fig.  2,  the  terminal  pressure 
is  higher  than  it  should  be.  What  is  the 
cause  of  this  ? 

C.  K.  Desai. 
Punjab,  India. 


Curing  Rubber 

Will  some  reader  tell  me  what  will  be 
the  number  of  square  feet  of  i^-inch  and 
4-inch  pipe  surface  required  to  raise  a 
charge  of  rubber  to  be  cured,  using  the 
4-inch  pipe  as  a  manifold,  making  four 
coils?  The  total  amount  of  rubber  is 
about  400  pounds,  distributed  in  160  gal- 
vanized-iron  pans  weighing  770  pounds, 
soapstone  weighing  2400  pounds  and  an 
iron  grating  weighing  1000  pounds,  placed 
over  the  pipe.  The  tanks  are  .  placed 
in  the  heater  on  wooden  slats,  the 
temperature  being  60  degrees  Fahrenheit 
with  a  gradual  rise  in  six  hours  to  270 
degrees  Fahrenheit.  The  size  of  the 
heater  is  20x12x10  feet.  It  is  made  of 
matched  boards  inside  and  outside,  and 
lined  with  asbestos  paper,  and  there  is  a 
3-inch  air  space  between  the  walls.  It  is 
ICO  feet  from  the  boiler  room.  The  boiler 
pressure  is  80  pounds.  The  steam  main  is 
a  2j^-inch  pipe  covered  with  magnesia 
pipe  covering. 

H.  C.  Stevens. 
Naugatuck,  Conn. 


Power,  x.r: 


grams  at  light  loads?  The  steam  lines 
often  meet  at  times  when  conditions  or 
load  are  right. 

E.  O.  Brown. 
Boston.   Mass. 


Wants  Diagrams  Explained 


The  accompanying  diagrams  were  taken 
from  a  16  and  32  by  42-inch  compound 
condensing  engine  driving  a  flour  mill  in 
India.     I  should  like  to  know  why,  when 


Dia.  16 
Stroke  42" 
R.P.M,  78 


Water  Power 


J  the  cutoff  in  the  high-pressure  cylinder 
(Fig.  i)  appears  to  take  place  at  about 
one-seventh  of  the  stroke,  the  terminal 
pressure  is  so  high  ?     In  the  low-pressure 


I  was  very  much  interested  in  the  article 
by  Thomas  W-ilson  on  "More  Water 
Needed  at  Colliersville ;"  also  the  editorial, 
"Is  Water  Power  Cheaper  than  Steam?" 
It  seems  to  me  that  there  is  a  lamenta- 
ble lack  of  care  in  the  working  out  of 
many  hydraulic  propositions.  In  the  Feb- 
ruary 9  number  is  a  very  interesting  de- 
scription of  the  plant  at  Milford,  Me.,  by 
S.  Rice.  One  would  gather  from  this  de- 
scription that  this  plant  was  very  suc- 
cessful in  its  operation.  I  am  led  to  be- 
lic\e,  however,  that  this  is  another  of  the 
plants  which  has  not  come  up  to  expecta- 
tions. It  would  be  interesting  to  know 
something  about  its  operation,  with  refer- 
ence to  its  success  as  a  commercial  propo- 
sition, and  as  to  whether  it  is  true  that 
so  far  it  has  been  unable  to  develop  any- 
thing like  its  capacity  during  the  greater 
part  of  the  season. 

I  am  not  able  to  state  my  authority, 
but  I  understand  that  this  plant  has  been 
unable  to  develop  the  power  which  it  was 
designed  to  deliver  to  one  or  more  of  the 
mills  whose  water  rights  it  took  in  order 
to  complete  the  development,  and  that  it 
is  not  commercially  successful. 

I  believe  this  is  the  case  in  many  plants 
developed  during  the  last  eight  or  ten 
years,  mainly  because  the  records  of  flow 
on  the  rivers  were  not  carefully  and 
tlioroughly  investigated  and  the  minimum 
flow  was  greatly  overestimated.  There 
has  also  been  considerable  difficulty  from 
the  fact  that  the  maximum  flow  was 
equally  underestimated,  and  a  number  of 
plants  have  had  the  misfortune  to  back  up 
the  water  so  far  as  seriously  to  inconveni- 
ence towns  and  manufacturing  establish- 
ments along  the  river,  so  that  the  damages 
resulting  from  the  backing  up  were  so 
great  as  to  cause  much  inconvenience  to 
the  owners  o'f  the  water  power. 

This  came  principally  because  the  spill- 
way was  not  sufficiently  large  to  allow  the 
enormous  volume  of  water  due  to  freshets 
to  flow  over  them  without  raising  it  to 
such  a  hight  as  to  make  trouble  farther  up 
the  stream.  It  woidd  seem  advisable  in 
any  water-power  development  not  only  to 
take  the  Government  records,  but  also  to 
spend  considerable  time  in  the  investiga- 
lirjii  of  such  records  as  may  be  found 
tliroughout  the  region  where  the  develop- 
ment is  to  be  situated.  One  cannot  go  too 
far  back  in  looking  up  such  records,  and 
one  cannot  be  too  careful  in  examining 
for  both  maximum  and  minimum  flow  of 
the   river. 

Henry  D.  Jackson. 
Boston,  Mass. 


April   I  J,   Ujoij. 

Prony  Brake  Horsepower  Curves 

These  curves  give  the  horsepower  of  a 
proiiy  brake  having  an  effective  arm 
length  of  s  feet  j  inches,  between  the 
limits  of  from  5  to  100  horsepower  and 
between  75  and  500  revolutions  per  min- 
ute. The  jurves  were  obtained  as  follows : 
Let 

H  —  Horsepower, 
L  =  Net  length  of  brake  arm, 
•V  =:  Revolutions  per  minute, 
F  =  Net  load  on  the  scales. 

Then,  the  work  of  resistance,  XWXX)  horse- 
power, is  evidently  equal  to  the  pnxluct 
of  the  load  P  into  the  distance  through 
which  it  would  travel  if  Uft  free  to  rotate: 
that  is, 

2    T     .V     /.     /' 

3J,ooo  H  =  2r  .V  /.  P 


I*^)\\  F.R  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 
SuUdtute  For  Air  Valves 

Mr.  Jorgcmcn  recently  dr«cribnl  a  way 
to  overcome  mo«i  of  hi*  trouble*  with  »ii* 
sleam-^- -.•     ■   •-— 

•  -'W  :'<n»  all  of  the  radia- 

tor    vai\r«     whllv     !;;       " 
steam,  but    if  hr   d«- 
r;>diator  w  ■  • 
on  alter  h« 

the    air    line    and    there    1- 
thcrcm  to  check  the  exit 

I    say   back   fressmrt.   v 
cause  the  steam  will  circu...;.    ... 
line  as  k>ng  as  there  is  pressure  ftrhutd 
it.     If  anyone  sh     '  '     '      ^e  to  turn  off  a 
radiator,     what  >     the     \-acuum 

I'  "        •  uri     :}:.it 

'i  from  ?•' 

kii(»i)K  ilic  r.itlialor  ' 
spite  of  the  fellow  *  ■ 
If  this  process    contmues    long    enoagh. 


thr  radiaMrt  wkkosi  iW  tMrr^titT    f  .I.U 
chargmg  it  into  ibr  roam. 


1(111     ^•*>in*->tui 


■  f|frTn-  .f 


rtatnarat  that 


■t  and  ai«o  a 


rvr.J     l<r»i 


Ml  Ihal  IW  pr< 
atmotykrrT. 
tam   iK«f    m    die 


PKUNV-miAKE    C  l-HVrs.    SHOWIN' 

iir\irt.fTioj«s  itn  Mi>> 


// 


2  n  \  I.  r 


33.000 

In  ortUr  to  f.ici|italr  tlif^ 
test  the  formula  may  ' 
Mows:      Trans(in<inK.    wc    ha\r 

f         J3.000  //  31         jorx>  // 


Mould  noi  cofMlmwiiinn  fill  thr  radki< 
ii|i  Milh   water*     Wli- 
iiir  tM-«i  momuig.  wr 

.\tll  br  Mifnclhiiiii  tloii^g  »i:ii  »a:> 


1000  // 


5.35  (iKurly)  X 


lierefore.  if  the  net  length  of  thr  urm  i» 
feet  .1  inches,  we  have 


H  mm 


r  S 


bi  the  •>»uiu. 
T,„ia..-a.    M.   Y. 


It  was  from  this  last  formida  th 
curve*  werr  p|oiir<l  and  it  m«i«t 

rniriil     tliii     il.^v     I.. .1.1     f^,      .... 


.\is\     IV«r. 


I'- 

») 

aum   t 

•tram   :..     ,   . 
pipe  would  at 

New 


ibr  ainiriipliifT,  t<  « 

.  Ti.lrT»i  ^     f.  r    i    \  i 


once  (Irsiroy  « 


U«c  of  Woods  Wedge  Rii^ 


tri 


pipe   It 
vtrwt   ... 
litw  or  wat< 
quite  an  ttt" 
one.  an> : 


■  Jrr    ftr.ji 


at    « r  .1    At    it    V  <  II  It 

prrauncm  hmuA*- 


•ott  tr 

1     •■>^:I<I     !*«..*>>«•     'rakf      *»»! 


4aic4  ikM  a  »««»• 


.  f  va«*     tlw     «r  I 


•»1»».  Ilk  ■» 

I 


.  Wn    (J-.'^     •!•     ••-»«•'    ew     »    ■  ' 


Chattanooga.  Tent 


%t 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  13,  1909. 


pounds,  the  water  of  condensation  found 
its  way  out  of  the  pores  of  the  plug  the 
entire  length. 

As  the  rings  of  the  14-inch  main  would 
be  of  approximately  4  to  6  inches  face, 
and  a  pressure  of  150  pounds  to  the  square 
inch  carried,  it  would  appear  to  me  that 
there  would  be  something  doing.  In  my 
opinion  a  much  better  method  would  have 
been  to  make  a  mold  around  the  joint  and 
a  babbitting,  after  which  the  holes  could 
be  drilled  as  required  and,  with  the  addi- 
tion of  good  gaskets,  a  good  permanent 
job  assured.  While  wood  rings  may 
answer  in  a  temporary  job,  I  believe  that 
anj-thing  that  is  worth  doing  is  worth 
doing  well,  especially  in  the  case  of  a  main 
pipe  as  large  as  14  inches. 

Charles   H.  Taylor. 

Bridgeport,  Conn. 


Actual  Cost  of  Power 


in  steam  engineering  ordinarily  that  one 
man  can  master  and  another  cannot.  The 
fact  is,  the  "expert,"  having  a  glib  tongue, 
manages  to  influence  the  owner  or  mana- 
ger more  readily  than  the  less  polished 
engineer  and,  the  chances  being  that  the 
owner  does  not  know  any  too  much  about 
the  practical  side  of  engineering,  he  tells 
the  "expert"  to  go  ahead. 

Then  what  happens?  The  specialist 
takes  stock  of  the  tittings  and  packing,  in- 
ventories the  coal  in  hand  and  proceeds 
to  cut  wages.  Of  course,  he  shows  a  tem- 
porary saving — after  which  the  owner 
begins  to  wake  up,  as  a  rule.  I  challenge 
any  expert  to  make  a  saving  in  my  plant. 

Engineers,  wake  up  and  get  what  be- 
longs to  you.  Educate  yourselves  in  the 
business  and  put  the  experts  out  of  busi- 
ness, so  far  as  your  plants  are  concerned. 
H.  E.  Samuels. 

Brooklyn,  N.   Y. 


Writing  upon  this  subject  in  the  March 
16  number,  W.  N.  Polakov  says  :  "There- 
fore, it  follows  that  by  knowing  his  actual 
cost  of  power  the  engineer  will  only  learn 
that  the  good  or  poor  work  of  the  sales 
department  has  made  him  produce  cheaper 
or  more  expensive  power.  What  will  he 
gain   through    such  knowledge?" 

An  engineer  who  can  figure  power  cost, 
including  fixed  charges,  depreciation  and 
taxes,  and  the  unit  cost  of  power  pro- 
duced, will  be  able  to  keep  out  the  "slick 
article"  that  comes  around  to  the  back 
door  and  says :  "How  do  you  do  ?  I  see 
you  have  quite  a  plant  here — ah,  pretty 
big  boilers,  nice  engines;  how  big  are 
your  boilers?"  And  if  the  engineer  is 
"easy,"  he  proceeds  to  give  the  dimensions 
of  his  boilers  and  engines,  the  "slick 
article"  all  the  while  "jollying"  the  honest 
fellow  and  taking  in  the  whole  plant,  to 
enable  him  to  do  some  figuring  when  he 
gets  outside. 

Now,  if  the  engineer  can  figure  the  cost 
of  power,  etc.,  he  can  go  to  his  employer 
and  demonstrate  that,  he  can  produce  a 
kilowatt-hour  as  cheaply  as  Edison.  Also, 
if  he  can  demonstrate  intelligently  that 
there  are  14,500  heat  units  in  one  pound 
of  coal  and  the  boiler  absorbs  about  9000 
heat  units  per  pound,  the  rest  going  up  the 
stack,  etc.,  and  that  the  so-called  steam 
specialists  cannot  get  any  more  heat  units 
out  of  a  pound  of  coal  than  the  engineer 
can,  isn't  that  worth  knowing?  It  should 
satisfy  him  and  his  employer  that  about 
the  best  anybody  can  do  is  to  have  the 
correct  proportions  of  heating  and  grate 
surfaces,  provide  the  proper  amount  of 
air  for  combustion  purposes,  stop  leaks 
through  the  brickwork,  keep  the  fire  level 
and  bright,  feed  regularly,  maintain  a  con- 
stant steam  pressure,  prevent  the  safety 
valve   from  blowing  unnecessarily,   etc. 

With  all  these  things  in  mind,  why  can't 
the  engineer  do  the  figuring  as  well  as  the 
"expert"?      There    is    nothing   mysterious 


Cause  of  Higli  Back  Pressure 

One  of  our  duplex  boiler-feed  pumps 
got  to  acting  sluggishly  and  at  times 
would  not  run  fast  enough  to  supply  the 
boilers,  even  with  the  throttle  wide  open. 


and  put  in  a  gate  valve,  and  have  had  no 
more   trouble. 

As  the  globe  valve  was  of  generous 
proportions,  and  had  about  the  same  area 
of  opening  as  the  gate  valve,  I  think  the 
high  back  pressure  was  caused  by  the 
sharp  turns  in  the  path  of  the  steam, 
caused  by  the  globe  valve  and  the  ell  A. 
R.   L.   Rayburn. 

Decatur,  111. 


Exhaust 
from  Pump 


Pnoer,  X  Y. 
CAUSE    OF    HIGH    BACK    PRESSURE 

On  account  of  extended  radiation  it  had 
become  necessary  to  raise  the  back  pres- 
sure on  the  pump  to  about  12  pounds.  I 
noticed  that  it  was  when  this  high  back 
pressure  was  being  carried  that  the  pump 
ran  so  slowly.  I  removed  the  plug  at  C, 
between  the  pump  and  exhaust  valve  B, 
and  put  on  a  pressure  gage. 

When  I  started  the  pump  with  10 
pounds  back  pressure  on  the  heating  sys- 
tem the  gage  at  C  showed  25  pounds  back 
pressure.     I   removed   the   globe   valve   B 


Setting  Gas  Ejigine  Valves 


After  reading  the  articles  of  Mr.  Holl- 
man,  page  167,  January  19,  and  Mr.  Til- 
den,  page  416,  March  2,  I  wish  to  offer 
the   following  addition  to  the  discussion: 

Nearly  all  engines  of  100  horsepower 
or  less  are  single-acting  and,  therefore, 
have  no  crosshead  nor  guide  by  which  the 
position  of  the  piston  can  be  marked.  If 
the  clearance  between  the  valve  stem  and 
valve-operating  mechanism  is  too  great, 
the  valve  will  not  be  held  open  long 
enough ;  if  too  small  the  valve  may  not 
seat,  owing  to  particles  of  dirt  being 
caught  between  parts  of  the  mechanism. 
The  valve  stem  will  also  elongate,  owing 
to  the  heat  of  the  exhaust  gases.  If  a 
piece  of  thin  paper  is  held  between  the 
valve  stem  and  rod  the  time  of  opening 
and  closing  can  be  told  by  the  gripping 
and  freeing  of  the  paper. 

Mr.  Tilden  evidently  has  never  timed 
the  valves  on  a  gas  engine  or  he  would 
fi.nd  that  he  is  mistaken  about  the  set- 
ting. The  gases  after  explosion  will  drop 
in  pressure,  and  if  the  exhaust  valve  did 
not  open  until  the  end  of  the  stroke,  there 
woidd  be  a  pressure  of  from  30  to  50 
pounds.  The  piston  during  the  first  part 
of  the  exhaust  stroke  will  have  to  work 
against  excessive  back  pressure,  as  the 
valves  and  passages  are  not  large  enough 
so  that  the  pressure  will  fall  instantly  to 
atmospheric. 

The  writer  has  taken  indicator  diagrams 
which  show  that  the  pressure  does  not  fall 
to  nearly  atmospheric  until  almost  half  the 
stroke  has  been  made.  The  exhaust  valve, 
therefore,  is  opened  about  30  or  40  de- 
grees before  the  end  of  the  stroke,  so  that 
the  pressure  will  drop  to  about  2  or  3 
pounds  during  the  exhaust  stroke. 

The  exhaust  valve  closes  on  the  dead 
center.  If  the  inlet  valve  opens  before  the 
exhaust  valve  closes  there  is  danger  of 
a  back-fire  and  consequent  loss  of  the 
fresh  mixture.  For  this  reason  it  is  cus- 
tomary to  open  the  inlet  valve  after  the 
crank  has  moved  through  an  angle  of 
2  or  3  degrees. 

During  the  suction  stroke  a  column  of 
gas  and  air  has  been  set  in  motion  and 
the  inertia  of  this  mixture  will  cause  it 
to  flow,  even  while  the  piston  is  reversing. 
This  insures  a  larger  amount  of  mix- 
ture. For  stationary  engines  the  inlet 
valve  will  be  held  open  for  from  4  to  10 
degrees  on  the  compression  stroke. 


April   ij,  1909 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


As  the  valves  are  operated  by  cams, 
they  can  be  opened  and  closed  any  time 
durmg  a  revolution,  depending  on  the  de- 
sign of  the  cam. 

It  takes  certam  appreciable  time  for  the 
flame  to  pass  entirely  through  the  mix- 
ture. The  maximum  explosion  pressure 
is  obtained  when  the  volume  of  the  mix- 
ture is  the  smallest,  or  in  other  words  the 
compression  pressure  is  the  highest  at  the 
:ut  the  entire  mass  is  ignited.  There- 
.  the  tlame  must  be  given  time  to 
propagate  itself  through  the  mixture  by 
the  time  the  piston  starts  un  the  power 
stroke. 

L.    J.    Blscmma.s. 

Qeveland.  O. 


In  a  Iittir  c»n  page  410  "i  tm-  M.ircn  j 

number,  K.  (i.    I  ilden  gives  his  opinion  on 

"Gas  Engine  Valve  and  Ignition  Timing." 

I  cannot  agree   with   hini    when   he    says: 

"The  fact  that  the  gas  mixture  is  burned 

in   the  cylinder   has   nothing    whatever  to 

do  with  the  proper  vnlxc  setting."  for  it  is 

iii-t  this  one  fact    which  is  the  reason  for 

ing   the   exhaust   valve  ahead   of  the 

w.i>l  center. 

At  the  end  of  the  expansion,  licfore  the 

lUst  valve  is  opened,  the  Imriit   g^ses 

ic  cylinder  arc  still  under  a  pris»Ore 

•  r  than  atmospheric,  say  2f,  or  JO 
'Is.  and  have  a  considerably  higher 
'(■raturc    than    would    be    the    case    if 

had   expanded   to  atmosplteric   pres- 
sure. 

The  idea  in  opening  the  exhaust  valve 

about  40  degrees  (on  the  crank)  ahead  of 

'      !  center  is  to  allow  the  gases  to  come 

•1  to  almo!tpheric  pre%sure  by  the  time 

I  reaches  the  ilead  irtitrr.     Thi« 

1  two  advantages       I  litre  is  lest 

pressure  on  the  |ii-l<*n,  when  it  ex- 

ihe  burnt  gases,  and  tlu-sc  gases  have 

a     lower    lemiK-rature     antl     consr 

!ly  do  not  heat  the  cylinder  walls  so 

I.  which,  again,  allows  a  more  com- 

new  charge. 

e    exhaust    valve    ought    to    be    kept 
1    until    alxxit    10   .!■  '•<-r   dca«l 

•  r,    iIhi«    ;iIl..wiiHr  t    pre* 

•  \c  pre* 

nf    t»ir 

.;  cniumn  of  ga«  n 

num.  whereupon  at 
^   the  inlet  valve  is  opened  and  kept 
1    until    from   Jo  t  >   35   degrees    nftT 
'   center.     At  this  point   the   prr»«iir«- 
'    hy    the    piston    sX,' 

■■m    stroke    will    )»• 


in   ca«*  Af  an   orerlnad  b«d(-firtn(  com- 
mer  rjy      Qrimng  ..ut 

the    .••  iwenng   the    c.i 

pression  did  not  sc«fn  to  have  any  et? 

at  all.     Finally  a  change  in  th-  - 

decided  on,  and  the  herein-dt- 

setting  was  tried,  first  or 

result  was  striking,  the 

to  c  ID  per  c> 

out  ^      With  • 

in  the   >^iwc   way.  ih<-   -  •!  engine  pr<> 

duced  the  same  rr^  :'• 

Of  course,  1  ,♦• 

much  as  it  is  :    .  ^;_-  n 

any   engine,   the  csm*   of   which  are  de- 
signed  for  valves  to  open  and  dose  on 
dead  centers,  by  simply  advancing  or  re- 
tarding t!      '  ' 
must  l>e  r 
for 
the 

l>o«  Angeles,  Cal. 


The    Bamis    Universal  Calonmetet 


In  reply  to  the 
CcK>ke,  Jr.,  in  a  rr< ' 

that   what   is  there   slated   is  all   right    m 
theory,  but  i;  not  the  actual  case 

If  Mr.  Cooke  will  carefuHv  examine  a 
"Barrus  univrr  '  '  -  nicter"  h«-  will  lind 
it  exactly  as  •!  1  the  arlicle  which 

appeared  in  the  lA.ctnljcr  -•'  m- 

Jwr      Or     if   h*-   will   I'w4f  rt 

of 
XI 
of  the  / 

ety  of   M        „. 

pendix  XVIi  he  will  also  learn  that  his 

"exception"   it  a  mistake.     T'-   -- 

port,  under  appendix  XV.  si. 


•    •    • 

rtcr    "I 


fafc  if  I  Mjr  thai  h  (tW  prmc>:J<  .   4»- 

^ods   opua  the   loUuwa^  p^  •». 

■riakc  a  coarrclr   runniii       .  .^    .aA 

■n  one  pu«ad  of  dry  aad  salaralarf 

.    —rtum*  of    MO  fomt^  per 

*«lalc  M  very  acaffijr  lilt 

•ul    beat    M     MMiMfbiik 

«  ocarfy  11,^  &!«.     Thaa. 

<^  inmm  too  pammkk  lo  l^J 

aiteblr  10 
1  or  to 
the  Mcwa  or  t'  ^  tl 

the  calorimctr-  m  tkr  •r^*'--* 

hood  of   jia  alsriBhiM 

very     go**'     ••  i„«|     the     Mram      i» 

still  wrt  «  <  the  calonaMcr  beat 

It    2iw,    in-xicale«   tkat  «V  tW   .^ 

hate   brm    nttlurd   n   rta^oralim 

.ind  ibe  brat  bslaare  4ars  bald 

•S*  t»s«  •'f  »hr  okoMtare  eva^»- 

conceracQ      By 

•nosslare  tb«s  o^ 

■rt  rciM    ioond  by  ibr  scf*- 

r  ,    per   <•»■'■•     t«    f'Kjrvi 

Oitr   assurance   t  ry 

-.»,,..   u.. I..     


'tber    caloeiMrSefw    ol 

rji-y  and  by  <lH«k«  bk^t 

artanged  arrorvMg  10  the 

nsoltbc  A.S  M.  E.ca»- 


Ca 


Palo  Aho^  CaL 


Knock  in  an  Engine 

TVr    1rT».%+    *«    f     W     Rnrwi's 


«fytf 
I  ihtnb  he  wtU  MMd  ibr  caai* 


X-  f    a    ?»Ti--«  »  »•  1 


rw 

klinrrrwr 


,|       f^irtinn  Ptpr»  and  I  \.*^M   I  *«•• 


This  way  of  valve  setting 

rrv     .  .ti.f  .,-!., ry    with    two    •' 

engine*     mmuuif 
'  i«T  miniifr      Ifi  •' 
were  (le^ignrd  »•• 
■  nfcrs      A«  a  r- 
-   to  keep  ihr 


690 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  13,  1909. 


Boiler   Accident  Fatal  to  Engineer 

On  March  14,  a  boiler  located  at  Green- 
field, N.  H.,  met  with  a  rather  peculiar 
accident.  It  is  a  portable  boiler,  locomo- 
tive type,  with  the  engine  on  top,  the  hre- 
bo.x  end  resting  on  wheels  and  the  rear 
end  supported  on  blocking.  It  was  fed 
b}^  a  well  known  lifting  injector,  the 
water  entering  the  water  leg  about  i  foot 
below  the  crown  sheet  and  4  inches  from 
the  port,  the  supply  being  taken  from  a 
barrel  nearby.  The  width  of  the  water 
leg  was  3  inches,  the  shells  being  about 
5/32  inch  thick  and  supported  by  forty 
^-inch  staybolts,  6.5  inches  center  to  cen- 
ter ;  the  firebox  is  2  feet  wide,  3  feet  high 
-and  4  feet  long,  and  there  are  thirty  3-inch 
tubes  12  feet  long. 

The  engineer  started  up  at  7  a.m.,  as 
usual,  carrying  about  6o  pounds  of  steam, 
and,  according  to  one  of  the  workmen, 
was  sitting  beside  the  boiler,  a  few  inches 
from  the  water  leg,  eating  a  lunch  when 
the  boiler  blew  up.  An  examination  made 
by  the  writer  revealed  the  fact  that  the 
staybolts  of  the  water  leg  had  been  torn 
from  their  holes  in  the  outer  shell,  allow- 
ing both  the -outer  and  inner  shells  to 
bulge,  and  also  allowing  the  contents  of 
the  boiler  to  rush  out  through  the  holes 
left  by  the  staybolts  and  severely  scald 
the  engineer,  who  died  about  four  hours 
afterward. 

The  fusible  plug,  on  being  removed,  ap- 
peared to  have  been  badly  corroded  on 
the  outer  end,  but  had  started  to  melt : 
in  fact,  about  two-thirds  of  the  metal  had 
melted  out  before  the  fire  was  extin- 
guished by  the  escaping  steam  and  water, 
the  inner  end  of  the  plug  being  intact. 
An  iron  plug  was  found  screwed  into  the 
bottom  of  the  water  column  in  place  of 
the  usual  nipple  and  valve. 

The  man  in  charge  informed  the  writer 
that  he  had  been  in  the  boiler  room  about 
a  half  hour  before  the  accident  occurred 
and  saw  aboiit  6  inches  of  water  in  the 
gage  glass,  the  steam  gage  recording  about 
60  pounds  (the  safety  valve  was  set  to 
blow  at  80  pounds).  He  was  positive  that 
there  must  have  been  water  in  the  boiler 
at  the  time  of  the  accident,  but  everything 
points  to  an  absence  of  water ;  in  fact,  the 
position  in  which  the  engineer  was  found, 
and  a  statement  made  by  an  employee  who 
had  left  the  boiler  room  not  over  five  sec- 
onds before  the  accident  occurred,  go  to 
prove  that  there  was  little,  if  any,  water 
in   the  boiler  at  the  time. 

This  employee  .stated  that  as  he  as- 
cended from  the  boiler  room  to  the 
"glory  hole"  above  the  boiler  room,  he 
noticed  the  engineer  take  hold  of  the 
valve  on  the  inspirator  as  though  to 
start  it,  and  immediately  afterward  there 
•was  a  noise  as  of  something  being  ripped 
asunder,  then  the  rush  of  escaping  steam. 
Although  the  engineer  was  severely 
scalded,  there  was  no  sign  of  his  having 
been  struck  with  boiling  water  at  60 
pounds  pressure,  nor  was  there  any   sign 


on  a  'wooden  partition,  located  about  5 
feet  from  the  boiler,  that  it  had  been 
struck  with  water,  and  as  there  was  no 
escape  for  it  except  through  the  holes 
left  by  the  staybolts,  it  is  reasonable  to 
expect  that  the  drop  in  pressure  was  grad- 
ual and  not  immediate,  as  would  be  the 
case  had  the  shell  burst,  or  a  head  blown 
out,  and  while  the  writer  would  not  go 
on  record  as  saying  that  the  accident  was 
caused  by  low  water,  everything  points  to 
that    conclusion. 

R.    P.   G-UY. 
Bennington,  X.   H. 


Pitting  in  Condenser 

The  steel  plates  of  a  countercurrent 
barometric  jet  condenser  show  signs  of 
serious  pitting,  due  to  the  circulating 
water  containing  some  sulphuric  acid. 
The  cast-iron  casing  of  the  circulating 
pump  is  also  affected.  Will  any  reader 
who  has  experienced  and  overcome  simi- 
lar trouble  give  a  suggestion? 


George  Hughes. 


Horwich,  England. 


Criticism 


The  surface  condenser  has  been  much 
criticized  in  its  time,  and  seems  to  be 
passing  through  another  spell.  Some 
engineers  say  that,  having  bought  a 
"bunch"  of  tubes  in  a  cast-iron  box,  they 
have  removed  several  of  the  tubes,  thus 
decreasing  the  cooling  surface,  and  at  the 
same  time  giving  the  e.xhaust  steam  more 
space,  and  that  the  vacuum  has  been 
greatly  increased. 

A  strange  part  of  it  is  that  the  amount 
of  condensing  water  used  remains  the 
same  in  each  case,  or  even  less,  after  re- 
moving the  tubes. 

This  would  seem  to  indicate  an  over- 
crowded condition  of  the  tubes  in  cer- 
tain types  of  surface  condenser,  de- 
creases the  velocity  of  the  exhaust  steam, 
also  the  rate  of  heat  transfer  through  the 
tubes  to  the  cooling  water  flowing  therein. 

It  is  practically  impossible  to  design  a 
large  piece  of  apparatus  that  will  give 
entire  satisfaction  in  all  respects,  the 
"first  crack  out  of  the  box."  After  one 
or  more  are  built  and  operated  many 
criticisms  can  be  offered  and  numerous 
changes  suggested  before  the  apparatus 
can  be  called  a  complete  success. 

Frequently  a  change  in  design  means 
a  change  in  patterns,  and  even  a  change 
in  machines  required  to  do  the  finished 
v;ork  in  turning  out  the  apparatus.  This 
is  necessarily  expensive,  and  for  this 
reason  many  manufacturers  are  not  fond 
of  making  changes. 

A  designer,  no  matter  how  well  c  .peri- 
enced,  is  quite  incapable  of  at  first  de- 
signing anj^hing  in  the  line  of  machin- 
ery that  cannot  be  criticized.  The  lay- 
out   of   the   steam     piping    in    a    modern 


power  plant  is  probably  criticized  as  much 
as,  if  not  more  than,  any  other  part  of 
the  equipment.  The  piping  system  is  one 
of  the  most  difficult  parts  of  the  design, 
that  is,  from  the  designer's  standpoint,  in 
arranging  and  placing  the  apparatus, 
valves,  piping,  etc.,  in  a  large  station,  to 
insure  continuity  of  operation,  minimum 
friction  and  condensation  losses,  etc.  For 
instance,  valves  may  be  placed  in  the 
most  inaccessible  positions  conceivable, 
unless  the  designer  imagines  himself  the 
operating  engineer  for  the  time  being 
when  designing  his  system.  Then  again 
the  piping  system  is  usually  the  last  thing 
installed,  and  the  designer  is  held  down 
to  certain  fi.xed  conditions  and  has  littlt 
or  no  choice  at .  all  in  arranging  the 
system. 

It  is  an  easy  matter  to  criticize,  but  the 
man  who  does  so  honestly  and  intelli- 
gently, and  can  offer  a  solution  to  the 
difficulty,  is  a  man  worth  while,  a  man 
worth  knowing. 

William  F.  Fischer. 

Xcw   York   City. 


Dynamo  Failed  to  Generate 


In  starting  up  for  the  first  time  the 
dynamo  in  a  local  mill  refused  to  gener- 
ate. It  was  a  lo-horsepower  iio-volt 
compound-wound  motor.  We  found  the 
dynamo  running  at  about  the  speed 
marked  on  the  name  plate,  and  a  test 
showed  that  there  were  no  open  circuits 
in  the  field  or  elsewhere.  The  brushes 
were  also  carefully  adjusted.  We  de- 
cided that  it  would  require  only  a  little 
outside  excitation  of  the  fields  to  make 
it  "pick  up."  We  procured  a  few  bat- 
teries, and  applying  this  current  to  the 
fields  of  the  machine,  the  voltage  came 
up  to  about  15  volts,  but  immediately 
died  down  when  the  battery  current  was 
taken  away.  We  then  decided  it  was 
necessary  to  increase  the  speed.  A  smal- 
ler pulley  was  provided  and  the  speed 
increased   about  one-third. 

Even  after  this  the  dynamo  would  nol 
build  up  without  applying  the  batteries, 
and  could  not  be  made  to  build  up  from 
residual  magnetism.  After  the  voltage 
was  once  raised  it  operated  satisfactorilj 
until  shut  down,  when  it  was  necessary 
to  go  through  the  same  process  on  start- 
ing again. 

The  design  for  a  compound  motor  re- 
quired a  shunt  field  of  higher  resistance 
and  less  current  than  a  plain  shunt  motor 
as  the  series-field  winding  assisted  in  pro- 
ducing the  necessary  torque.  Owing  tc 
this  resistance,  enough  current  could  nol 
be  got  through  the  fields  at  starting  tc 
produce  the  reaction  on  the  armature.  To 
have  got  satisfactory  results  it  would  have 
been  necessary  to  put  on  a  set  of  coils 
of  lower  resistance.  This  was  not  done, 
as  another  machine  was  substituted. 

John  A.  Walker. 

.San  .Angelo,  Tex. 


April  1.^  igot;- 


K)\\  RR  AND  THE  ENGINEER 


^t 


Some    Useful    Lessons   of    Lime  water 

Showini^     How     to    ConitnKt    a    Simple    Primary    EJectric     Battery; 
Some  Interesting  Ex[>crimcnls  ii»    This    \'cry  Usrlul  Branch  ol  Study 


BY 


C  H  A  I<  L  E  S 


PALMER 


In  the  Inst   IrsM^.n   ut^  pLmncti  the  ap- 
]»ratus  tor  makiiiK  hyilrugcn.  fur  collect- 
inK  it  in  several  quart  fruit  jars  ami  for 
•     ■  :)({  it  in  various  ways.     By  this  time 
will    have    got    yourself    sufficiently 
liar  with  the  main  points  so  that  you 
;.rocce«J   dirt-ctly   to  making  and  col- 
li several  jars  of  hydrogen.     But  rc- 
ilier  t<i  test  a  tumbler  or  two  of  the 
gas.  as  told  in  the  last  lesson,  to  lie  sure 
that  you   have  driven  the  air  otit  of  the 
generating   flask  before    you    collect    an> 
hydrogen ;  Inrcause  hydrogen  and  air  make 
M  very  lively  explosive  mixture.     We  will 
"»sc   that    you    have    collected   one    or 
i.ir<  r>f  li\<lrogen  and  are  waitmg  for 
jars  to  fill.     Of  course,  if  your 
;   generator  gets  "tired."  you  can 
replenish    it     by    o|K-ning    the    cork    and 
niii'kly   droppHg    in    half   a    dozen   more 
s  of  the  coiled  zinc;  and  if  this  does 
II' -i   wake  it  up.  you  can  also  atld  a  little 
more  of  the  diluted  sulphuric  acid.     Rc- 
nber  that  every  time  that  you  open  the 
rating  flask  you  must  tiirow  away  the 
•    gas  that  comes  off.  keeping  a  tlame 
V  from  it.  afterward  colUciing  a  tum- 
to   see  if   it   burns   quietly   enough  to 
kr   it   silfe  t<i  collect   more   jars  of  the 
bydrogeii. 

The  Fiest  Test 
The  first  test,  keeping  your  jar*  covered 
with  carclboard  and  mouth  downward,  i^ 
to  study  the  burning  of  hydrogen  by 
Hghting  a  long  splinter  and  thrusting  it 
np  into  the  jar.  The  wa)  to  <!■•  this  is  t'> 
lift  the  jar  from  the  cardUiard  cover, 
bold  the  jar  mouth  downward  and  thrust 
the  lighted  splinter  up  into  the  jar.  gradu- 
ally turning  the  jar  to  that  it  will  be  hori- 
lontal.  You  will  notice  that  the  hydro- 
gen bums  with  a  soft  flame,  which  may 
be  pinkish  or  yellowish,  and  that  the 
•plinlrr  is  rxlifivniohed  in  the  Imlriufcn, 
the  t  buriiiiiK  in  i* 

flit!  U   the  lower   |« 

iplinler.   for  the   hydn^gen    ilainr   i»    \.-v 
bot.     You  will  also  note  that  .i«  tlie  h)<tr'> 
sen  is  consumed,  the  flame  rrirratt  up  into 
the  jar.  Ix-ing.  of  course,  f<i||iiwed  up  by 
tbc  ailv.iniiitK  suppiv  of  air  frum  the  out- 


the  original  water  from  the  pneumatic 
trough.  This  dew  or  sweat  •■"  '*"■  •'>♦>•l•• 
walls  of  the  jar  comes  from  ' 
tion  of  the  water  which  is  tDrrmj  i.j  uie 
burning  of  the  hydrogen  with  the  oxygen 
of  the  air.     In  its  nature  it  is  exactly  the 


\ 


1=^ 


rtcL  I 


g  o<  tb«  fajrdrogni  pan  o<  tW 
m  this  ca^nuwl  tbe  4tw  «r 
e*  frooi  tW  bsrwM  ol  the 


In  ca»c  itMt  roDovc  tbc  iplMicr  iroai  ibr 

hydroncti 
it  lighir. 


jar 

omn,  ami  tnt  m 


and    the 
Id   appear 
:    the  bammg 
wood  splmlrr. 


JIM 

ol 


••'jfn  or 
tas 

•{tvanirty    woaM    br 
tbr  carboa  ia  ibr 


.M- 


thi»  1     • 

the 

mou:.' 

J5  or  4n 

a  lighted  ♦pumrr  up  ini'  !ni«  fir  •»< 

gen   which   has  brrn  hrM   aHMlh 

ward     The  hydrogen  wiB  VMc  ««b  a 


I  ■ 

Im; 

«ari 


tn  ibc 

Ih-     %uri>fi»<t)    tf    srvrral    bnlv 


•^r^.     »-»'5_     ^1 


«m|  tW 
thrasi  r"«»  bg**«^  **^*  ^  '*• 


jth     "{>■  «ri|      »r»3 


|jf     lK*<i.mr     r.i\rrr.|     u    ■ 

r  of  sweat  or  dew.  You  • 
inguish  this  from  any  of  thr 
■  r  which  may  cling  to  the  in 
•hr   jar,  these   drops  being.   •• 


692 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  13,  1909. 


Fig.  2,  where  you  take  a  plain  empty  jar, 
empty  except  for  common  air,  and  pour  a 
freshly  prepared  jar  of  hydrogen  upward 
into  it.  as  shown.  You  can  easily  do  this 
by  holding  the  jar  of  hydrogen  in  the 
right  hand  and  the  jar  of  air  in  the  left 
hand,  when  the  invisible  hydrogen  will  flow 
upward,  as  shown  by  the  direction  of  the 
arrows  in  Fig.  2. 

The  Diffusion  Experiment 
Next,  wc  will  carry  out  the  "osmose" 
or  diffusion  experiment,  described  and  fig- 
ured in  last  week's  lesson.  Such  a  full 
description  was  given  then  that  it  is  not 
necessary  to  repeat  this,  except  to  remind 
you  that  if  you  prepare  the  apparatus  you 
have  a  closed  pipe  bowl  or  porous  jar 
connected  with  a  closed  tube  15  or  20 
inches  long,  the  lower  end  of  which  dips 


below  some  water  in  a  tumbler.  It  will 
pay  you  to  make  an  attempt  to  get  the 
little  porous  jar  from  some  dealer  (the 
porous  cups  used  in  the  "Grove"  primary 
battery  serve  admirably  for  this  purpose). 
But  your  tobacco  pipe  may  work  ;  although 
I  may  have  forgot  to  mention  that  the 
opening  of  the  bowl  must  be  closed  with 
a  well-paraffined  cork,  and  the  stem  of  the 
bowl — not  the  bowl  itself — should  also  be 
covered  with  paraffin.  This  paraffin  can 
be  easily  painted  on,  after  it  has  been 
melted.  The  whole  point  of  this  experi- 
ment is  to  place  an  open  jar  of  hydrogen 
mouth  downward  over  the  bowl  of  the 
pipe,  or  over  the  porous  cup,  and  to  get 
a  few  bubbles  of  air  or  gas  forced  out  at 
the  bottom  of  the  open  tube  below  the 
water,  as  shown  in  Fig.  3.  If  you  get 
even  a  bubble  or  two  to  come  up  through 
the  water  in  the  tumbler,  you  will  be  able 
to  prove  that  the  jar  of  hydrogen  acts  on 
the  porous  cup  as  though  the  hydrogen 


were  full  of  an  internal  pressure,  and  the 
explanation  for  this  was  given  in  the  last 
lesson.  This  is  one  of  the  most  remarka- 
ble experiments  that  you  will  ever  per- 
form ;  and  it  will  pay  you  to  make  good 
on  this,  for  it  is  a  case  of  an  intimate 
connection  between  physics  and  chemistry, 
a  connection  that  you  will  have  forced 
upon  you  at  every  step. 

The  Explosiveness  of  Hydrogen 
The  next  experiment  will  illustrate  the 
explosiveness  of  hydrogen  and,  although 
it  was  not  described  in  the  last  lesson,  yet 
you  can  easily  prepare  it  on  the  spot.  Get 
a  tin  can,  as  shown  in  Fig.  4,  holding 
about  a  pint  and  having  a  small  opening, 
say  ^  or  ^  inch  wide.  Clean,  wash  and 
dry  the  can,  and  bore  a  small  hole  in  the 
bottom,  say  about  1/20  inch  wide.  Close 
up  this  hole  with  a  little  wooden  plug, 
such  as  a  pointed  match,  then  fill  the  jar 
with  water,  place  your  finger  over  the 
mouth,  invert  it  in  the  pneumatic  trough 
and  fill  it  with  hydrogen.  As  soon  as  it  is 
full  of  hydrogen  remove  the  tin  can  from 
the  water,  holding  it  mouth  downward, 
and  set  it  over  a  couple  of  bricks,  as 
shown  in  Fig.  4.  Then  pull  out  the 
pointed  match  from  the  little  hole  at  the 
top  of  the  can  and  light  the  jet  of  escap- 
ing hydrogen  at  that  point  with  a  match 
or  burning  splinter. 

The  hydrogen  will  burn  at  the  little 
opening  with  an  almost  invisible  flame ; 
but  you  can  prove  that  it  is  burning  by 
holding  there  an  unlighted  splinter,  which 
will  ignite  from  the  hot  hydrogen  flame. 
Probably  in  a  few  seconds,  almost  cer- 
tainly in  a  few  moments,  this  hydrogen 
flame  will  begin  to  sing,  at  first  in  a  very 
high  key,  and  gradually  sinking  to  a  lower 
tone.  Now  stand  3  or  4  feet  away  from 
the  can  and  await  developments,  which 
will  end  in  an  explosion.  Of  course,  you 
can  see  that  as  the  hydrogen  is  burning 
off  at  the  top,  the  air  is  passing  in  at  the 
narrow  mouth  at  the  bottom  to  take  its 
place ;  and  pretty*  soon  the  inside  of  the 
can  will  be  filled  with  an  explosive  mix- 
ture of  hydrogen  and  air.  As  this  ex- 
plosive mixture  increases  in  quantity  in 
the  inside  of  the  tin  can,  and  as  the  ex- 
plosion gets  ready  to  take  place,  usually 
being  advertised  by  sudden  lowering  of 
the  tone  of  the  singing  flame  at  the  top 
of  the  can,  there  follows  a  sharp  report 
and  the  can  may  be  blown  several  feet 
into  the  air,  owing  to  the  backlash  from 
the  open  mouth   pointed  downward. 

This  will  well  illustrate  the  explosive 
nature  of  the  mixture  of  hydrogen  and 
air.  You  can  see  that  as  the  air  con- 
tains only  one-fifth  of  its  volume  of 
oxygen,  a  mixture  of  the  air  with  hydro- 
gen does  not  make  as  explosive  a  com- 
bination as  would  result  if  you  could  mix 
pure  hydrogen  with  pure  oxygen.  Such  a 
mixture,  composed  of  two  volumes  of  hy- 
drogen with  one  volume  of  oxygen,  is 
frightfully  explosive,  and  is  dangerous  in 


large  quantities.  A  mixture  of  two  vol- 
umes of  hydrogen  with  one  volume  of 
oxygen  is  called  by  the  Germans  "knall 
gas;"  that  is,  freely  translated,  "bang 
gas ;"  and  although  it  may  be  taking  some 
liberties  with  language,  yet  it  might  not 
be  a  bad  thing  if  we  had  a  good  name  in 
English   for  this   explosive  mixture. 

There  are  many  other  experiments 
which  j^ou  could  perform  with  hydrogen 
and  also  with  oxygen,  if  you  could  get  a 
couple  of  small  rijbber  gas  bags ;  but  you 
can  read  about  these  in  the  books.  One 
of  these  experiments  consists  in  filling  a 
gas  bag  with  hydrogen  directly  from  your 
generator,  not  by  displacement  of  water, 
but  by  leading  the  gas  directly  to  the  bag 
from  the  hydrogen  generator.  Then  the 
rubber  gas  bag  is  connected  with  a  rubber 
tube,  having  on  the  end  a  common  clay  pipe. 
This  pipe  is  dipped  into  a  bowl  of  good 
soap  suds  and,  by  gentle  pressure,  bub- 
bles may  be  blown  which  can  be  tossed 
off  into  the  air,  when  they  rapidly  ascend, 
just  as  do  the  common  rubber  toy  balloons 
which,  you  know,  are  filled  with  hydro- 
gen. If  you  should  have  the  good  luck  to 
get  hold  of  a  gas  bag,  so  that  you  could 
perform  this  experiment,  you  will  find 
it  quite  fascinating  to  make  the  soap  bub- 
bles of  hydrogen  and  toss  them  off  into 
the  air,  lighting  them  with  a  long,  burn- 
ing splinter,  when  they  burn  with  a  soft 
flame  and  a  slight  yellow  puff  or  flash. 
This  yellow  color  comes  from  the  sodium 
in  the  soap,  soap  being  merely  a  "salt"  of 
sodium,  with  the  fatty  acids,  stearic, 
palmitic,  or  oleic. 


FIG.    4 

If  you  should  carry  this  experiment  of 
the  gas  bag  farther  you  could  mix  one 
volume  of  hydrogen  with  two  volumes  of 
oxygen  and  could  blow  bubbles  of  the  ex- 
plosive "kjiall  gas;"  but  in  that  case  you 
would  have  to  use  the  greatest  care  to 
keep  the  flame  away  from  the  pipe  or  the 
opening  of  the  gas  bag ;  and  if  you  should 
cover  the  surface  of  a  dish  of  soapsuds 
with  a  good  layer  of  bubbles  of  this 
"knall  gas"  (two  volumes  ,of  hydrogen 
with  one  volume  of  oxygen),  your  ear 
drums  would  testify  to  the  violence  of  the 
report  produced  by  lighting  these  bubbles, 


April  13.  190Q. 

and  also  to  the  possible  danger  of  treat- 
ing this  mixture  of  oxygen  and  hydrogen 
carelessly. 

"Lead  Burning" 

There  are  one  or  two  points  which 
could  Ih:  further  noted  in  this  lesson ;  not 
that  you  will  fje  able  to  try  the  experi- 
ment >  immediately,  but  you  cannot  help 
.runniuK  across  their  application  now  and 
then,  and  you  should  know  about  them. 
I  refer  to  the  use  of  the  plain  hydrogen 
flame  in  "lead  burning,"  and  the  use  of  the 
pure  oxyhydrogen  flame  in  the  so-called 
calcium  or  limelight,  and  also  the  use 
of  the  new  gas,  "acetylene,"  made  from 
calcium  carbide  and  water.  Acetylene 
and  calcium  carbide  can  wait  a  few 
weeks ;  but  there  can  l)c  no  harm  in  your 
knowing  now  that  lea<l  burning  simply 
consi>ts  in  the  quick  and  dexterous  ma- 
nipubtion  of  a  plain  hydrogen  flame  on 
sheet  lead.  The  description  and  study  of 
the  lead-burning  apparatus,  while  by  no 
means  difficult  or  complicated.  wouM  take 
us  a  little  too  far  away  from  our  prc>ciil 

xyhydrogen  blowpipe,  on  the  other 
haiul,  consists  of  a   metallic   jet   carrying 
the   oxygen.    surrounde<l   by   a   jacket    de- 
livering   the   hydr«>gen,   and    so   arranged 
'•'It   the  hydrf>gen  and  oxygen  can  burn 
•he  same  (K)int  in  the  proportion  of  two 
'  imes   of   hydrogen   to   one   volume  of 
gen.      Instead  of  hydrogen,  of  course, 
•    can  u*e  common  owl  gas  or  riry  i-a-, 
••ven  .-lir  •..Tttirrited  with  ga>o|rijr.  c  t!  .  r. 
r  combustible  and  <  .    !. 
iv      In     all     these     i.i->., 
<ther  the   burning  gas   is   hy«lri>Ken   or 
gas,  an  intense   heat   is  prcnluceil  by 
assistance  of  the  pure  oxygen,  aided, 
course,  by  the  oxygen  of  the  oul«ide 
The  heat  of  such  flames  is  sufficient 
melt   steel,  to  melt  even  platinum,  one 
rhc  most  infusible  of  metals,  aiu\  w»(«-n 
^  jet  of  burning  oxygm  aii'! 
turned    onto    a    stick    of    qiii 
makes  it  so  hot  that  it  glows  with  a  bril 
liant   white  light   second  only   to  sunlight 
and  the  electric  arc. 

There  are  many  other  experiments 
ich  may  be  tried  with  hydr<>t{rii.  and 
lie  of  them  you  will  try  from  iiiiic  10 
le;  but  one  of  them  you  can  try  rxnUt 
.V  You  will  remrnil>rr  it  was  tnm- 
•led  in  the  last   lesson   that   wc  <l'   '    t 

nitric  acid  with  rinc  in  making  !< 
■\,  although  you  can  use  either  li> 
.ric  acid  (muriatic  acid),  or  lulphuric 
■  I      Take   a   strip   of   «inc   and   po'ir    1 
•le   nitric   acid  over   it      You   will   n  •'«• 
heavy,      corrosive      cboWinK      '"    ^  ' 
••If'*       Tbr'sr    fumes    arr    >U>- 
they  are  1 
tt  ihr  mtr 
idi/ing  aclinn  of  the  ntt- 
'Irogen:  and  this  is  an  illi. 
'-at    chemical    hattir     wbuh     ' 
!ind    alwa\«.    m 
I'crs   such   as   ti" 


KJW  ER  AND  THE  EXGINEER. 

reducers  such  a«  hjrdrocm  and  the  oihrr 
cl  ■ 

must  note  here  in  hand- 
ling nitric  aad.  and  that  u  that  you  khould 
perfunn  experiments  with  it  in  a  guod 
draft,  «ay  just  before  your  furnace  duur 
or  in  front  uf  an  open  window.  Ne\rr 
breathe  ihne  brown  fumes  from  nitric 
ac:  ' 

p' 

ai 

1  hrse    ex; 
fairly  well  t-  ^ 

hydrogen,  chemically  metallic:  hut  there 
is  another  chapter  which  we  must  study 
to  illustrate  what  is  meant  when  we  speak 
of  hydrogen  as  a  metallic  ga».  In  one  of 
the  last  lessons  I  used  the  terms  "anode 
and  cathode"  in 
lytic  cell  Thrr- 
ex;  ■ 

Wl    : 

some  iun<lameni.' 

the  chemistr>-  of  !  ,        „     . 

electric  batteries  and  the  simple  Laws  n* 

the  electric  current.     About  all  you  need 

for  our  present  purpose  is  to  get  a  few 

feet  of 

coarse 

say    I   null   li>    4 

copper,  .ind  n  sm 

will  be  tu  »cf  li< 

istry  >'  -    t   out  of  I 

the  help  of  your  old  friend,  limewatcr. 


«U 


l^cr  i[>ri«  atirii^  l.ri;^in»«^  .'*>ho\s'  Best  in 
.Stotifl     I  (-^t    (if   .S  i»ut  C  ruiscrs 


"Salrm      at>' 

coinitciitive 

March  jl.  n 

gtnes  of  ill. 



the   re. 

type 

The  «.-    «. 

i»   A   run  of 

kii'>t%'    spcetl 

According 

gi- 

• 

of  coal  and  ixM  tons  of  « 


l»r   held  al 

H,..|.rti.     ^pr 


ltl« 


«  jrc   I'l    si»fnii« 


Some  Ga>  EflgiacCilrMiitioni  BmkA 

on  the  Vokmethc  Aml3rKi  ol 

Fuel  axkI  LxhftiM  Gua 


he  hcatiOK  ralae  per  cwhsr  iool  ol  m 


•■iMi   xi'.iuncj   mnm  irM 

!or  «fc*uK|.     If.  kam- 


tl"^  «A*  aad  tW  htm 

«^r  ^iiaast.   soMM  otkcr 

method   must    be   employed,     \almmtinc 

jiij!>s<'t    ■>{   tSr    Kjvri.    if   ijrrfidly   aad 

,  ,.  . ....  .......ii*. 

'Hobastible   coaslMacnls 
carWia    OKMioatdr 
OMlkaar  or  im^nk 
gas  (C»' 

lit-  knowing   tli*  h««l 

val  per  cdbic  toOL  iW 

heat  va  rraddy  iWunnfcii4 

).\  rr.:!'  >  «vaI  pnrl  ol  tmA 


I- 


TABUt   I      W- 


nr^T  vau* 


The  ealuMft  g^  »    •amm    ■ 

CC>i  froro  the  caasb«*t*nw  ai  h|ikinsn  a 


>!s*wti  paacs  tram  • 


r  • 

It  • 

t  » 

•  « 

:    t 


694 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGIXEER. 


April  13.  1909. 


The  heat  vahie  >  t  the  gas  is  computed 
as  follows : 

CO,     0.27x320.6 S6.0 

H,       0.12  X  324.7 38.9 

CH4,  0 .  025x  990 .  7 24 . 8 

CoH^.0. 004x1579. 4 6.3 

Total  heat  value,  B.t.u.  per  cubic  foot.    156.5 

In  the  combustion  of  the  producer  gas, 
oxygen  is  required  in  the  following  pro- 
portions : 

(1).  One  ("ubic  foot  of  CO  +  K  cubic  foot  of  O 
makes  one  cubic  foot  of  CO,. 

<2).  One  cubic  foot  of  H  +  >^  cubic  loot  of  O 
makes  one  cubic  foot  of  H,0. 

(3).  One  cubic  foot  of  CH^  —  2  cubic  feet  of  O 
makes  one  cubic  foot  of  CO^  +  two  cubic  feet  of 
H,0. 

(4).  One  cubic  foot  of  C^H^  +  3  cubic  feet  of  O 
makes  two  cubic  feet  of  CO  -|-  two  cubic  feet  of 
H,0. 

The  CO2  contained  in  the  exhaust  gases 
comes  from  items  (i),  (3)  and  (4),  to- 
gether with  the  CO2  contained  in  the  pro- 
ducer gas.  Furthermore,  in  case  of  items 
(i)  and  (3),  the  volumes  of  CO-  pro- 
duced by  combustion  are  the  same  as  the 
volumes  of  CO2  and  CH4,  while  in  case  of 
item  (4)  the  volume  is  double.  To  de- 
termine the  volume  of  CO:  resulting  from 
the  combustion  of  one  cubic  foot  of  the 
gas,  therefore,  it  is  necessary  only  to  add 
the  proportions  of  CO,  CH4,  and  CO2,  and 
double  the  C.-H*.  In  the  case  assumed, 
0.27  +  0.025  -f  0.025  +  2  X  0.004  =  0.328 
cubic  foot.  From  the  analysis  of  dry  gas 
in  the  exhaust,  there  is  0.139  cubic  foot 
of  CO2  per  cubic  foot  of  exhaust.  Divid- 
ing 0.328  by  0.139  gives  2.36  as  the  num- 
ber of  cubic  feet  of  dry  exhaust  gas  per 
cubic  foot  of  producer  gas  burned. 

The  air  supplied  per  cubic  foot  of  gas 
may  be  computed  from  the  nitrogen  in  the 
exhaust  gases.  The  proportion  of  nitro- 
gen in  the  present  case  is  81.5  per  cent.; 
0.815  X  2.36  =  1.92  cubic  feet  of  nitrogen 
per   cubic   foot  of  gas  burned. 

The  gas  carries  55.3  per  cent,  of  nitro- 
gen, and  the  quantity  of  nitrogen  in  air 
supplied  per  cubic  foot  of  gas  is,  there- 
fore, 1.92  —  0.553  =  1.367  cubic  feet. 
Since  air  is  composed  of  79  parts  nitro- 
gen and  21  parts  oxygen,  the  quantity  of 
air  supplied  per  cubic  foot  of  gas  was 
1.367  -^  0.79  =  1.73  cubic  feet.  The  air 
required   for  combustion  was  as   follows:' 

- ^-w  =  »- 

B    ^Xl^=»« 

CH4 0.025  X  2  X  -3^  =-  0.238 

C,H4 0.004  X  3X  -Q^  =  0.057 

Total 1.224 

The  excess  air,  therefore,  is  1.73  — 
1.224  ==  0.506  cubic  foot  per  cubic  foot  of 
gas  taken  in  by  the  engine. 

Heat  Rejected  in  Exhaust 

From  Table  2  the  specific  heat  of  the 
dry  exhaust  gas  may  be  computed.     The 

^ —  X  100  =  22.4  per  cent. 

156.5 


TABLE  2.     SPECIFIC  REATS  OF  EXHAUST 
GAS  CONSTITUENTS  AT  62°  F. 


Gas. 


Oxygen . . . . 
Nitrogen .  .  . 
Carbon      di- 
oxide .  .  . . 


Sym- 
bol. 


CO, 


Specific 

Heat, 

B.t.u. 

Per 

Pound. 


0.2175 
0.2438 


0.2170 


Weight 

Per 
Cubic 
Foot. 


0 . 0840 
0.0737 


0.1156 


Specific 
Heat, 
B.t.u. 
Per 
Cubic 
Foot. 


Should  Sine  or  Cosine  be  Used  in 

Computing  the  Discharge  Area 

of  Bevel-seated    Valves? 


0.0183 
0.0180 


0.0251 


By  F.  R.  Low 


There  was  some  disagreement  in  the 
discussion  upon  safety  valves  by  the 
mechanical  engineers  a  short  time  ago 
as   to   whether   the   lift   should   be   multi- 


foregoing  computations  gave  1.92  cubic 
feet  of  N,  0.328  cubic  foot  of  CO2  and 
0.046  X  2.36  =  0.108  cubic  foot  of  O  per 
cubic  foot  of  gas  consumed.  The  heat  re- 
quired to  raise  the  temperature  of  one 
cubic  foot  of  the  dry  exhaust  gas  one 
degree,  therefore,  is  as   follows : 

N,        1 .  92  xO  .0180 0 .  0345     B.t  .u. 

O,        0.108x0.0183 0.00197   B.t.u. 

CO,,  0.328x0.0251 0.0082     B.t.u. 

Total 0 .  04467  B.t.u. 

The  heat  carried  off  by  steam  is  de- 
termined from  the  following  considera- 
tions :  One  pound  of  hydrogen  plus  eight 
pounds  of  oxygen  produce  nine  pounds  of 
water  vapor  or  steam.  Also,  in  methane 
one-fourth  of  the  entire  weight  is  hydro- 
gen ;  that  is,  one  pound  of  hydrogen  unites 
with  three  pounds  of  carbon  to  make  four 
pounds  of  marsh  gas.  Similarlj',  one- 
seventh  of  the  weight  of  ethylene  gas  is 
due  to  hydrogen. 

Referring  to  Table  i  for  the  weights 
per  cubic  foot,  and  to  the  assumed  analysis 
of  producer  gas  for  the  proportions  of 
these  constituents,  the  steam  produced  per 
cubic  foot  of  producer  gas  is  computed 
thus  : 

From  Found. 

Hydrogen 0.  12  x  9  X  0.00527  X  9  =  0.00569 

Methane 0.025  x  J-  X  0.042C5  x  -|  =  0.C0236 

Ethylene 0.004  X  I  X  0.07356  =  0.00038 

Total  weight  of  steam   0.00843 

The  pressure  of  the  exhaust  being  as- 
sumed as  that  of  the  atmosphere,  the  heat 
contained  in  the  steam  at  the  temperature 
of  saturation,  above  62  degrees,  is: 

Heat  of  vaporization  966x0 .  00843 8.14 

Heat  of  liquid  (212— 62)x0. 00843 1.26 

Total  heat,  B.t.u 9.40 

The  heat  per  degree  of  superheat  above 
212  degrees  is  0.00843  X  0.48  :=  0.00405 
B.t.u.,  0.48  being  taken  as  the  specific  heat 
of  superheated  steam. 

Suppose  the  temperature  of  the  exhaust 
is  600  degrees.  The  heat  rejected  per 
cubic  foot  of  gas  is : 

B.t.u. 

In  dry  gases,  0 .  04467  X  (600—62) 24 .  03 

In  steam,  heat  of  liquid  -I-  vaporization  at 

212° 9.40 

In  steam,  superheat,  0 .  0405  (600—212) .  .      1 .  57 

Total  heat  in  the  exhaust  per  cubic  foot .    35 .  00 

The  percentage  of  the  heat  supplied  in 
the  producer  gas  that  is  rejected  in  the 
exhaust,  therefore,  is 


FIG.   3 

plied  by  the  sine  or  by  the  cosine  of  the 
angle  of  the  seat  in  order  to  get  the  area 
of  the  opening  available  for  the  discharge 
of  steam. 

There  could,  of  course,  be  no  such- 
confusion  about  so  simple  a  matter  if 
everybody  understood  the  problem  alike 
and  meant  the  same  thing  when  speaking 
of  it. 

It  all  depends  upon  whether  the  angle 
taken  is  that  which  the  bevel  of  the  seat 
makes  with  the  vertical  or  with  the  hori- 
zontal ;  with  the  axis  through  the  spindle 
or  with  a  line  at  right  angles  thereto. 

In    Fig.    I    the   valve    is    shown    lifted 


.pril   1.^   1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


vertically  from  Us  seat  the  distance  a  c. 
but  the  width  of  the  pa>>aKc  opened  for 
the  escape  of  steam  i>  only  b  c.  Now, 
be  '\s  the  sine  of  the  angle  at  a  and  the 
cosine  of  the  angle  at  c.  In  Fig.  2  this 
triangle  is  reproduced  upon  a  larger 
scale  and  the  dotted  portion  added.  The 
little  triangle  ab  d  \s  similar  to  the  larger 
triangle  ab  c,  and  in  it  the  angle  at  a  is 
the  same  as  that  at  c  in  the  largrr  tri- 
angle. But  this  is  the  angle  which  the 
teat  makes  with  the  horizontal  and  b  c 
is  the  cosine  of  this  angle. 

When  the  rule  says  "multiply  by  the 
tine,"  the  angle  made  by  the  lines  a  b  and 
a  f  meeting  at  a  is  meant,  i.e.,  the  acute 


no.   5 


FIC,    6 


] 


sp 

it  T  > 

a  scat  were  beveled  as  tn  Fig.  5. 

be  called  a  jo-degrec  scat  and  :.-. 

degree,   the  60-drgrec   angle   being   with 

the  horizontaL 

The  smallest  area  for    the    egrc**    of 
steam  is  the  surface  of  a  ir 
made  by  carrying  the  line 
circle,  a*  shown  in  Fig  6. 
iK»t  be    found  exactly   by   n 
found   as   just   described,  by   the  arcom- 
ference   of    the    inner   edge   of   the    seal, 
which  would  give  the  surface  of  a  cylin- 
der of   that  diameter   and   of  the   length 
b(.  Fig.  7.     To  be  accurate,  half  the  side 
h  t     '  ■      ■    •!  by  the  sum  of  the 

cir  .1  at  e     TJ**  iliffcr- 

encc  i»  !<H>  tiiMll.  tioMcver.  * 
in  so  nnprecise  a  problem  a 
of  a  safety  valve. 


~rtiilMng  tks* 


na  7 

;1e  between  the  line  of  the  seal'  or  the 
of  the  valve  and  a  vertical  drawn 
s  it. 

hen   the    rule   says   "multiply   by   tb' 
the   angle   made   by    the   lines   u  . 
be.  Fig   i.  meeting  at  i  i«  niraiii.  i.e., 
acute   aiiulr   tuarlr   by   the    line  of  the 
It  with  Ibr   hori/otiial  or  bv  a  line  ^  <* 
right  angles  «" 
With    \hf 
s  noi  ■ 
angle « 
>ine  are  the   same.     S>ee   l"ig.  J. 

Pr.,l..    .lly       ihr     Onlv      ..itirr       illirlr      'I    . 

'I  seat  is     ■ 
iii.nlr    with    the    seat    '■■ 
rtical.  as   in    I-'ig.   4.   ai 

^f    is   t'l-  'm;.!  .  ■: 

ine  of  fin 


Preparation  of  Boilers  for  Inspection 

Bv    J.     E.    TUMAN 

Engineer*  arc  vitally  interested  in  the 
safety  of  the  boilrrs  under  their  charge, 
for  in  the  avrragr  plant  thr  rt>iiinr  roctfii 


almoM   as  great   as  that  ot 
tcndant,   and   if   no  either    ■-■ 
this  should  nuke  him  cautious. 
One  of  the  most  imp'"  ""  ""•' 
conducive  to  a  Mfe  I 
few   vrr 
that  III 
tr- 
C:<1 

from  «i»r.  I 
insprction  a' 
less  of  who  • 

V 

•I' 

c> 

ti«'n»  • 
year 

.1' 


-f»  ixia>  be  prcpjrnl  I*  f 


Cnm  fsro   Dmrsr    s    Hon«i 


.je>siouaoD  Bl&,  aad  tW  ■■Mcral 
ot  whirii  the  butler  *%  camnrmntd  514/BaB 


Bt  II      J.   %t     -\r 

jr.-  -jti!    .<«:!.auxsl   At    iar» 

dew 

ni 

S<-tliT  »•      :         . 

•  1     l»r 

heal    that    i> 

:>ar   oi^ 

est   C<M» 

..ir  ayml 

Mtu]      ISttiKMiS 

b)    mt^a*  oi  Ikr 

stack  :  Tha?  1 

Ml  large  i«i—iiii  1 

'tt  tW  s^riaw  lo 

To   ■iiii^iiiil 

I'  ■ 

^  •ntiog  aad 

.1  ;.   . 

=   .w.«        .>^        .'.f^ 

.1.. 


\\>.ik  iM*   iiiwi    Mw    • 


?-u«in«-    iKat    tSr    iT9^rt 


%}" 


•-titng  walK  t^ 
•stating 


.     aftal    ttar 
.A   I.     -.. 


f'  «•    t 


696 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGINEER. 


April  13,  igoy. 


ting  walls  and  it  is  dangerous  for  the 
inspector. 

Many  a  serious  burn  has  been  received 
by  crawling  into  a  combustion  chamber 
which  has  been  treated  in  this  manner 
and  sinking  through  a  cold  crust  of  6  or 
more  inches  into  red-hot  ashes.  Inspec- 
tors soon  become  wary  of  these  condi- 
tions. It  is  really  surprising  how  long 
heat  may  be  retained  beneath  ashes  in  a 
combustion  chamber.  The  writer  has  seen 
sawmill  boilers,  where  wood  was  burned, 
which  had  been  idle  a  week,  and  although 
everything  was  apparently  stone  cold,  red- 
hot  ashes  could  be  found  a  foot  below  the 
surface  in  the  chamber  back  of  the  bridge- 
wall. 

For  proper  inspection  the  grates  of  a 
l)oiler  should  be  raked  clean  of  ash  and 
•clinker,  for  it  is  extremely  unpleasant, 
-and  painful,  to  crawl  through  a  bed  of 
clinkers,  as  anyone  who  has  tried  it  can 
testify. 

In  the  vertical  or  locomotive  type  of 
boiler  the  grate  bars  should  be  removed 
•entirely,  for  corrosion  is  extremely  liable 
to  occur  on  the  furnace  sheets  at  the 
grate  level,  and  a  proper  inspection  can 
rarely  be  made  with  the  grate  bars  in 
place. 

Cleaning  the  External  Surfaces 

The  external  surfaces  of  water-tube 
boilers  cannot  be  too  well  cleaned  to  aid 
inspection,  unless  it  is  at  the  tube  ends, 
where  accumulations  caused  by  leaks  may 
be  present.  These  should  be  left  to  be 
cleaned  by  the  person  making  the  inspec- 
tion. Such  accumulations  attract  atten- 
tion to  the  leaks,  and  the  amount  and 
nature  of  the  accumulations  assist  the  in- 
spector in  forming  a  correct  opinion  of  the 
importance  of  the  leaks.  The  foregoing 
reasoning  applies  to  evidences  of  leaks  at 
any  point  along  the  seams,  shell  or  tube 
ends  of  all  types  of  boiler.  The  blowoff 
pipes  should  be  exposed  for  examination, 
as  rapid  corrosion  frequently  occurs  on 
the  piping  to  this  attachment,  and  if  it  is 
not  arranged  so  that  it  can  be  easily  in- 
spected, the  equipment  is  defective,  and 
proper  changes  should  be  made.  The 
same  reasoning  applies  to  mud  drums, 
where  such  devices  are  used,  and  while  it 
is  advisable  to  protect  them  from  the  heat 
and  ashes,  the  protection  should  be  readil-y 
removed  to  permit  proper  inspection. 

Cleaning  Internal  Surfaces 

If  the  inspection  is  for  the  purpose  of 
'  determining  the  cause  of  a  bag,  or  a  leak 
at  a  seam,  or  tube  end,  or  any  similar  de- 
fect, the  interior  surfaces  should  not  be 
disturbed  until  after  the  inspection  has 
been  made,  for  convincing  evidence  of 
the  cause  of  such  defects  may  be  removed 
in  cleaning.  However,  the  boiler  should 
be  opened,  to  permit  drying  out.  If  no 
defects  as  mentioned  are  known  to  exist, 
the  boiler  should  be  scaled  and  thoroughly 
washed  out.    This  applies  especially  to  the 


bottom  of  the  return-tubular  type,  where 
accumulations  of  scale  make  it  difficult  to 
detect  grooving  at  the  seams,  and  other 
types  of  corrosion. 

A  necessary  condition  to  permit  com- 
fortable and  thorough  internal  inspection, 
where  other  boilers  are  being  operated  at 
the  time  of  the  examination,  is  that  the 
valves  connecting  the  boiler  with  the 
steam  main  and  feed  line  be  tight.  An  ex- 
cellent precaution  is  to  have  all  the  valves 
to  these  connections  locked  shut  during 
the   cleaning   and   inspection    of   a   boiler. 

With  the  agitation  for  enactment  of 
laws  to  prevent  loss  of  life  by  boiler  acci- 
dents, it  would  not  seem  amiss  that  such 
a  requirement  as  locking  the  valves  on  a 
boiler  during  inspection  and  cleaning  be 
added.  This  precaution  also  applies  to 
the  blowoff  valve,  where  several  boilers 
are  connected  to  a  single  blowoff  line,  for 
doubtless  the  greater  number  of  accidents 
due  to  scalding  have  been  caused  from 
this  connection,  owing  to  its  apparent 
harmless  nature,  being  on  an  open  line. 
The  experienced  inspector  soon  learns  to 
make  it  a  fast  rule,  in  plants  where  other 
boilers  are  in  operation,  to  see  that  the 
blowoff  valve  on  a  boiler  he  is  about  to 
enter  is  closed,  and  he  never  takes  any- 
one's word  for  it. 

Attachments 

Where  safety  valves  are  equipped  with 
discharge  pipes,  they  should  be  arranged 
so  that  a  section  next  to  the  valve  can  be 
easily  removed,  to  permit  examination  of 
the  springs  and  moving  parts.  The  steam 
gage  should  be  removed  from  the  boiler, 
so  it  may  be  compared  with  a  test  gage, 
and  any  necessary  connections  made. 

Except  in  rare  instances,  there  is  no 
justification  for  placing  in  a  boiler  any 
apparatus  which  will  interfere  with  easy 
access  through  the  manholes,  or  proper  in- 
spection of  the  interior  surfaces ;  if  such 
conditions  do  exist,  the  attachment  should 
be  arranged  so  that  it  can  be  removed 
when  an  inspection  is  to  be  made. 

The  points  here  given  are  only  some  of 
the  main  features  for  the  average  plant; 
numerous  other  details  for  each  specific 
case  will  suggest  themselves  to  the  pro- 
gressive engineer,  who  is  endeavoring  to 
obtain  the  maximum  benefit  from  such 
examinations. 


Catechism    of    Electricity 


The  United  States  Civil  Service  Com- 
mission announces  an  examination  on 
May  5  to  secure  eligibles  from  which  to 
fill  a  vacancy  in  the  position  of  mechanical 
assistant,  at  a  salary  of  from  $900  to 
$1200  per  annum,  in  field  investigations. 
Bureau  of  Plant  Industry,  Department  of 
Agriculture.  Applicants  should  have  a 
knowledge  of  refrigerating  machinery,  and 
it  will  be  necessary  that  the  appointee  be 
of  slender  physique  on  account  of  the 
limited  space  available  in  which  some  of 
the  work  must  be  done.  Application  form 
1093  should  be  secured.  Apply  to  the 
commission,  at  Washington,   D.   C. 


Installation   of   Induction   Motors 

1017.  JVhaf  consideration  should  gov- 
ern  the  location   of  an  induction  motor/ 

It  should  be  placed  where  it  is  easily 
accessible  for  inspection,  oiling  or  clean- 
ing, and  repairs.  It  must  not  be  exposed 
to  moisture,  leaky  steam  pipes  or  dirt  and 
coal  dust.  It  should  receive  proper  ven- 
tilation and  should  be  mounted  so  that 
tliere  is  sufficient  distance  between  its  pul- 
ley and  the  pulley  on  the  machine  driven 
liy  it  to  permit  the  belt  to  drive  efficiently 
and   without  excessive  tension. 

T018.  U^hat  kind  of  foundation  is  most 
desirable/ 

A  heavy  timber  or  a  concrete  founda- 
tion as  shown  in  Fig.  286  is  best.  It 
should  be  sufficiently  heavy  and  so 
well  bonded  that  there  will  not  be 
any  vibration.  The  foundation  of  the 
motor  and  of  the  driven  machine  should 
set  with  respect  to  each  other  so  that  the 
two  shafts  are  parallel,  in  order  that  the 
rotor  or  rotating  parts  of  the  induction 
motor  may  "float"  in  its  bearings. 

1019.  In  lining  up  a  belted  induction 
motor  iviih  the  driven  pulley  what  special 
precautions  should  be  observed? 

The  position  of  the  motor  with  respect 
to  the  driven  machine  should  be  such 
that  the  belt  will  be  tight  enough  to  run 
without  slipping,  but  not  so  tight  that  the 
bearings  become  unduly  heated.  The 
crowns  of  the  two  pulleys  should  be  as 
nearly  as  possible  alike  to  prevent  the 
belt  from  wabbling ;  the  greatest  diame- 
ter should  be  at  the  center  of  the  pulleys 
so  that  the  belt  will  travel  true  and  allow' 
the  rotor  shaft  to  float.  The  belt  must 
be  free  from  grease  and  dirt,  else  it  is 
likely  to  slip  and  flap,  and  the  edges  of 
the  belt  must  stretch  equally  or  there  will 
be  an  objectionable  sidewise  movement  of 
the  belt  on  the  pulleys. 

1020.  /;;  alining  a  direct-connected  in- 
ductidu  motor,  'u'liat  special  precautions 
should  be  observed/ 

The  shafts  of  the  machines  to  be 
coupled  must  be  in  perfect  alinement  with 
each  other,  and  this  alinement  must  be 
maintained  by  building  the  foundations 
so  that  they  will  not  settle  or  vibrate 


1021.  //  the  motor  is  to  be  geared  t<f 
its  load,  zvhat  points  should  be  considered f 

The  sliafts  must  be  carefully  adjusted 
to  parallelism  and  set  the  specified  dis- 
tance apart.  The  pinion  should  fit  securely 
on  the  motor  shaft,  but  not  so  tightly  that 
it  cannot  be  forced  on  or  off  with  moder- 
ate pressure.  If  the  pinion  is  driven  on 
by  heavy  blows  with  a  ram  or  sledge  the 
rotor  conductors  are  liable  to  be  jarred 
out  of  place  and  damaged. 


\ 


\pril   I.},  1909. 

1022.  //  1/  is  desired  to  use  the  motor 
in  other  than  an  upright  position,  what 
changes  are  necessary.' 

Ordinarily  induction  motors  are  made 
so  that  the  un\y  change  necessary  for 
operating  them  in  other  than  an  up- 
right position  is  the  shifting  of  the 
bearing  brackets  either  90  degrees-  or 
180  degrees,  as  the  case  may  be,  in  order 
that  tlie  oil  wells  shall  remain  in  their 
proper  position. 

1023.  Are  there  any  special  precautions 
lu  be  observed  ichen  shifting  the  bearing 
brackets/ 

Care  must  be  taken  to  replace  them  so 
that  the  rotor  is  prf)perly  ciiitircd.  The 
air  gap  between  the  rotor  and  the  p«}lc 
faces  must  be  the  same  at  all  points. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

10061    H'hat  sktmU  br  th*  eafeity  of 

the  conductors  and  fmsrs  m  the  motor 
circuit  u-ith  retffcl  to  ikf  fmU-lotd  motor 
current f 

I 

full-load    current.     Where    ele\ 

hoists   are   operated   by    the    ns 

where%-er  heavy  starting  doty  i«  required 
f»f  them,  the 
l>c  i'  J  times 


l(W7. 
be  neces-.. 
dmcliom  motor, 

ord- 


*  should 

c  of  conductor  veould 
..  iriug  up  a  tu-o-pkast  im- 
requiring  ^  ampertt.  for 


1 
ing 


■  the  condoctor,  accord- 
to    answer    No.    1016^    should    be 
X  4J  amperes  =  64.5  amperes.     Re- 


full 

•H<-  ta  •ivttng 

•  phase  a«d  three 

vtan  wilk  a  hi^cr 

A  \omrt  curmM  thMi  4o  Magl*- 

large  stjnin^   ,u"tmi' 
ft  i«  highly  tndacihre  Hid  has  virjr  had 
n  the  riMliiiiia  ol  iki 


motor  how  amj  tkt  startmt  fwrteml  W 

kept  doK-uf 

y  '  in  the  rotor  cir- 

n»^  iqe  Of  by  Hiftim 

the  motor  on  a  roltac*  lover 


Washington    Meeting    ol    the 

A.  s.  M.  e: 

Tb«  annoonceU  pracrafli  lor  ibe  Waih 
•n  meeting  of  the   Amrnrar. 
Icchanical  Kncuxm  i>  x%  fui: 

Ti  i%uA>    ^  .  t  u 

Informal  rrceptw  «  Ifer  New  Wdlw4 


h,.(rl 


<    >! 


uxpn  aba«l  the 


.1    M    \:MN    »"|i     V.N     IMHiIJiiN     U< 


wires,  V 


w  11  r  rent. 


'X4.  In  assembling  an  induction  motor  fernnn  lothr 
i->i  raeived  from  the  factory,  xvhal  points  ing  the  ■■" 
should  be  obsert-ed* 

iiid    oil    \\   " 

thr 

I    in    the   t>earinK«   and    ' 

I  to  «uch  a  hight  that  t 
the  oil  come*  nlmve  the  lowr%t  r«li(r«  of 
ihe  oil  ring^.     The  oil  ring*  nni*'  '■     •'*•• 
freely  and  curry  sufTicirnl  oil  t<> 
bearing*. 

1025      In  wiring  up  an  induction  motor 
hotv  IS  one  to  know  what  tig*  condu 

'"  usrf 

he    «!fe    of    rondnrtnr    to    f>- 
*t»iir»e.  •Irtrritiitinl  li\   idi 
rent    the   motor    rrfjmrr*        1 
ctirrrnf   for  an  iniltirtion  moi'>r  ; 
Mamprd   on   the   namrplale       W 
I>ot.     Ihe    btiilder     <ihotild     he 


lA.i 


furm 


Orr»*Tt*w    «r    f«rf» 


pm. 

in... •..•..! 


pm 


ilMfHV    l^        <»»••••'• 


698 


DOWER 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 
Handling  the  Peak  Load 


^BL^^°  1  HJBy  X-/NGINEEI^  If  a  flexible  expanding  and  contracting 

DEVOTED    TO   THE  GENERATION  AND  grate    could    be    designed,    by    means    of 

TRANSMISSION  OF  POWER  which   the   correct    relation   of  grate   area 

to  generator  output  could  be  maintained, 

Issued  Weekly  by  the  ^   measurable   reduction   in  the   coal   cost 

Hill  Publishing  Company  p^  ^"°^,""-^°"^  "^""J^  '^'f-  i"  p^^-- 

'^                 ^         *'  plants   where   the   peak   load    for   a   short 

Jobs  a.  Hill,  Pres.  and  Treas.         Robert  McKkan,  Sec'y.  .•                               .        ,        ,1                        r               •                . 

tune  amounts  to  three  or  four  times  the 

505  Pearl  Street,  New  York.  i       i    ,.1                      •     i   i        .i-           r 

355  Dearborn  Street,  Chicago.  ^^^^''^S^  1°^^'   ^^^  economical  handling  of 

6  Bou%-erie  Street,  London,  E.  C.  this  peak   becomes  a   serious   problem. 

Generating  units  which  may  be  operated 

Correspondence  suitable   for  the  columns   of  without  a  marked  loss  in  efficiency  over  a 

Power  solicited  and  paid  for.     Name  and  ad-  r        ,      ,    r             i          r         ,       i       , 

dress  of  correspondents  must  be  given— not  nee-  range   of   output    from    three-fourths    load 

essarily  for  publication.  to  an  overload  of  fifty  per  cent,  are  com- 

Subscription  price  S2  per  year,  in  advance,  to  ,       ,                   .                   .          , 

any  post  office  in  the  United  States  or  the  pos.ses-  mon,   and  when   not   in   operation   do  not 

sions  of  the  United  States  and  Mexico.  S3  to  Can-  „„(■  intn  tht^  r-rvol  mMe 

ada.     S4  to  any  other  foreign  country.  eat  into  the  coal  pile. 

Pav  no  monev  to  solicitors  or  agents  unless  they  When   the   average,   the   maximum   and 

can  show  letters  of  authorization  from  this  office,  ^he  minimum  demands  and  their  probable 

Subscribers  in  Great  Britain,  Europe  and  the  ,         •                ,                               •             . 

British  Colonies  in  the  Eastern  Hemisphere  may  duration  are  known,  generating  units  may 

Ftice  le^ShimSs"^^*"''^  ^°  ^"^  ■^°"'^°''  ^^''^'  ^^  selected  of  such  capacity  that  the  en- 
Entered  as  second  class  matter,  April  2,  1908,  at  l-'re  range  may  be  covered  by  two  or  three, 
the  post  office  at  New  York,  N.  Y.,  under  the  Act  ^,,,4   *},„   ctparn  rnst  ner  kilnwntt-hniir  varv 
of  Congress  of  March  3.  1879.  ^""  ^."^  steam  cost  per  Kiiowatt-nour  vary 

but  little  from  the  average,  whether  oper- 

Cable  address,  "Powpub,"  N.  Y.  ating  on  the  peak  or  on  the  lightest  run. 

Business  Telegraph  Code.  Bu^    it    is    somewhat    different    in    the 

'  boiler  plant.     Here  an  area  of  grate  sur- 

CIRCULATIOX   STATEMENT  face  sufficient  for  the  utmost  needs  of  the 

During    1908    wc   piinlnj     and     circulated  service  must  be  kept  in  readiness  for  use 

1,836,000   copies    of   Powek.  n      <•  ...i       ^-             n      1     j   r 

Our    cireulation     for    March.,     mco.     vas  ^^^  ^^  the  time.     Banked  fires  cost  money 

(I'cekly  and  monthly)   190,000.  in  tnore  ways  than  one,  and  not  the  least 

^P>'>1  6 42.000  ^,Qgt  is  in  the  investment  involved  in  boil- 

April  1", 37.000  ,           ,,.           ^u     ,  •      r  i,           ,           ,   • 

-.              .    ,               ,    ,               ,           ,  „  ers  where  this  method  is  followed;  and  in 

yone   xent   free   regitlarhj.   no   returns    from  ...                  .                                    . 

titles  companiex,  no   hack   numbers.     Figures  various   directions   designers   are   working 

are  live,  net  circulation.  ,      ■                  .,            ^      i.      r  i_    -i             -^i       i. 

to  increase  the  output  of  boilers  without 

appreciably  reducing  the  efficiency. 

Contents                        pao«  Experiments  with  this  end  in  view  have 
been  numerous.    In  one  instance  the  grate 

Power   System  of  Louisville   Lighting  Co.  (563  ^^^^   ^^^^^   ^   ^^jj^^.    ^.^^    doubled   by  the 

I'.ngineering    Societies    Discuss    Conserva-  .         ,,     .           .             ,  ,.  .        ,         ,                , 

tion  of  Natural  Resources 671  installation  of  an  additional  stoker  at  the 

Analysis  of  the  Subject  of  Coal  Analysis  673  rear  end   of   the  boiler,   on   the   grates   of 

The  Status  of  the  Wave  Motor 676  which    the    fire    was    banked    during    part 

"^^Ta'^kT"""''"'"'    ^'li'«"sh    Pipes    and  ^^_^  ^f  ^h^   ^j^^      Whatever   this   combination 

Reversing'  Direct  current' 'Machines;  .'.■■ .'   679  ^^^^^  ^^  realizing  the  highest  efficiency  in 

Drops  of  Ink  to  Make  You  Think 681  Operation   and   the   loss  that  obtains   in   a 

The  Garden  Variety  of  Gas  Engines 6H2  banked  fire  at  one  end  of  the  boiler  dur- 

Test  of  a  Six-ton  .Tack 683  j^g  a  part   of  the  time,   it   probably   costs 

Practical    Letters   From    Practical    .Men  ;  i          •      •          .         .          i    •                 .■  "     ,i 

That      Ilarwood      Boile,  ....  Pump  '^^^   in  investment  and   in  operation  than 

Piping Rppairinsr     Worn     (Juides  two     boilers,     each     equipped     with     one 

....  Dashpot       Troubles.  .  .  .  Wrought  stoker. 

Iron     Pipe  ....  Curing     Rubber....  [„  another  attempt  along  the  same  line 

What    is    the    Trouble    with    the    En-  •,  ,                              •      »   n     i         i 

„.     4     T»i                I.     1  •     .,  "il  burners  were  installed  under  a  portion 

gine. .  .  .^^ants    Diagrams    E-xplained  ' 

....Water     Power. ..  .Pronv     Brake  ""'^    ^^e    boilers,    to   be    used    on    the    peak 

Horsepower    Curves. ...  Substitute  for  load.     Oil   is  a  more  expensive  fuel  than 

Air  Valves.... T-se  of  Wooden  Wedge  ^oal    in   most  localities,   but   the   fire   does 

Rings.  ..  .Actual   Cost   of   Power....  .            i  i       i  ■            i              4.  •                      1   v 

_             .,„,,,.■„  not  need  banking  when  not  in  use,  and  it 

Caus?    of    High    Back    Pressure.  ...  ,        ,          ,                    r        • 

Setting    Gas    Engine    Valves The  ^^^   thought   that   the  cost   of  using  some 

Barrns     Universal     Calorimeter oil  fuel  part  of  the  time  would  be  less  ex- 
Knock     in     nn      Engine Suction  pensive  than  using    coal    for    all    of    the 

Pipes    and    Exhaust    Pans.  ..  .Boiler  /^ 

Accident    Fatal    to    Engineer.  ..  .Pit-  t          mi             i                        •,    . 

ting    in    Condenser.... Criticism....  ^"    ^^iH    another   case    oil    burners   were 

Dynamo  I'ailed  to  Generate 684-690  installed  above  the  coal  fires,  with  the  in- 

Sfme  Useful   Lessons  of   Limewater. .  .  .  .    691  tcntion  of  burning  all   of  the  coal  possible 

Some  Gas  Engine  Calculations  Based  on  ^^  ^^e  grate,  and  with  the  oil  burners  so 

the     \oliiniptric    Analvses     of      Fuel  ,     .          1     ,           ,                                •      r        ,1     • 

and   Exhaust  Gases 693  f'esigned   that  the  necessary  air  for  their 

Should   Sine  or  Cosine  Be  T'sed  In  Com-  operation  would   enter    the     furnace    with 

puting  the  Discharge  Area  of  Bevel-  the  oil,  thus  increasing  the  volume  of  hot 

seated   Valves? 694  ^a^es,  if  not  also  the  temperature  of  the 

Preparation  of  Boilers  for  Inspection....    69.5  , 

Catechism    of   Electricity 696  '"rnace. 

Editorials     698  699  Tn  the  first  and  last  of  these  three  ex- 


April  13,  1909. 

periments  to  make  an  efficient  and  elas- 
tic boiler-room  equipment  the  investment 
in  boilers  is  reduced  to  the  lowest  prac- 
ticable amount,  while  in  the  second, 
although  the  boiler  investment  is  not  re- 
duced, the  waste  attending  the  slow,  in- 
efficient burning  of  coal  in  banked  fires 
is  avoided. 


The  Progress  in  Marine  Engineering 


From  September  25  to  October  9  of  this 
year  the  State  of  New  York  will  com- 
memorate the  three  hundredth  anniversary 
of  the  discovery  of  the  Hudson  river  and 
the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  suc- 
cessful introduction  thereon  of  steam 
navigation.  For  nearly  twenty  centuries 
the  river  flowed  on  undisturbed  by  man, 
save  when  the  savage  propelled  himself 
from  shore  to  shore  on  a  floating  log,  or 
when  later  he  burned  a  hollow  in  a  log,  in 
semblance  of  a  boat,  or,  as  his  irfental  ca- 
pacity broadened,  built  his  canoe  of  the 
bark  of  trees  and  propelled  it  by  crude 
paddles.  Thus  as  recently  as  a  hundred 
years  ago  the  motive  power  for  boat  pro- 
pulsion was  human  muscle. 

It  is  difficult  to  realize  this  now.  The 
gigantic  steamships  of  today  are  so  com- 
mon that  they  attract  slight  attention ; 
yet  they  had  a  beginning.  Fulton  did  not 
construct  a  modern  seamship,  but  he  ap- 
plied the  power  of  steam  to  the  paddle- 
wheel  of  a  boat  and  revolutionized  the 
then  existing  method  of  ship  propulsion. 
The  history  of  invention  contains  almost 
countless  instances  of  great  discoveries 
which  were  the  outgrowth  of  small  begin- 
nings. There  were  steam  engines  in  crude 
forms  long  before  Robert  Fulton  was 
born ;  and  men  had  attempted  the  propul- 
sion of  ships  by  steam,  but  they  had  net 
grasped  the  requirements  necessary  for 
commercial  success. 

Today,  when  it  is  announced  that  a 
valuable  discovery  has  been  made,  or  a 
new  invention  has  been  perfected,  the  in- 
ventor finds  scores  of  capitalists  ready  to 
back  him  with  their  money,  provided  it 
is  worth  wliile.  Not  so  with  Fulton, 
however,  for  while  he  was  at  work  upon 
the  "Clermont,"  which  the  disbelieving 
public  called  "Fulton's  Folly,"  tokens  of 
encouragement  were  few  and  far  be- 
tween. It  was  only  after  the  run  from 
New  York  to  Albany,  one  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  in  thirty-two  hours,  the  entire 
run  having  been  performed  by  the  power 
of  steam,  that  the  significance  of  his 
achievements  was  realized.  The  old  Hud- 
son river  had  not  witnessed  a  sight  even 
approaching  this  since  the  "Half  Moon" 
sailed  over  the  same  course  nearly  two 
hundred  years  before. 

The  advancement  in  steam  navigation 
during  one  hundred  years  has  been  mar- 
velous. Today  the  Hudson  river  is  the 
pathway  of  thousands  of  steamships.  The 
run  to  Albany  is  made  day  and  night  by 


April   13,  1909. 


WJWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER 


steamers  of  t)rpes  unequaled  throughout 
the  world;  the  waters  of  the  river  arc 
cleaved  by  the  prows  of  the  "Lusitania" 
and  "Mauretania,"  the  largest  and  fiiicNt 
steamship!>  in  the  world  —  maKniticcnt 
monuments  to  the  growth  of  marine  engi- 
neering in  one  hundred  years. 

While  it  is  true  that  Fulton  did  not 
build  the  first  b^iat  propelled  by  steam,  he 
inaugurated  the  great  movement  of  steam 
navigation,  and  he  has  justly  been  called 
"the  father  of  American  stcamlK>ating  " 


Safety  for  Boiler  Attendants 

An  article  on  another  page  of  this  issue 
suggests  that  the  valves  leading  to  the 
steam  main  and  other  lines  on  a  boiler 
which  is  being  cleaned,  inspected,  or  rc- 
paire<l,  Ik-  locked  shut,  to  prevent  acci- 
dental <»i>cning  of  them  while  sonieone 
is  inside  the  Ixiiler.  Such  a  re({iiircineiit 
added  to  municipal  or  Stale  boiler  laws 
would  apparently  be  a  step  in  the  right 
direction. 

As  has  been  previously  stated  in  these 
lumns,   the   only  excuse   for   the   exist- 
oe  of  laws  licensing  engineers  and  fire- 
•  n,  and  supervising  boiler  construction, 
the  avowed   pur|M>se  of  thniMing   safe- 
.  lards    around    human   life.      Should    not 
the    lives    of   the   Ixiiler    atteixlant    or    in- 
spector, or  the  l)oiler  repairman,  be  safe- 
guarded  with   as   much   zeal   as  those   of 
'••her  employees,  or  the  casual  passer-by 
'  lounger  around  the  plant? 
We    frequently    read   of  some    frightful 
cident  in  a  plant,  where  a  lioilcr  attend 
ii   has  breii   imprisoned   in  a   Uiiler  and 
ihling    steam    or    water    turned    on,    the 
genrral    cause    tieing    an    ignorant    fellow 
oiKTative,    who   has     opened     some     valve 
ithoiit  knowing  the  fearful  coiixoiumces 
It    would    result  ;    and    the    atiident    it 
-m  forgotten,  the  general  opinion  l>eing 
It   until   more   intelligent   operatives  are 
tnanded,  such  accidents  will  occur  with 
■  re   or   less    fre(|Uency       Sii<  b    r«.o"iiing 
without  foundatii  n.  (or  "kU    ■   '<  i»    •   <" 
a  plant    should   have  »< 
•id  cl«>se  vaixes.  an<l  to  jr 
ir    In   their    forgetfulness     or     from     tl; 

■  il  of  the  in>\  meddler,  a  lock  would  •►• 

■  ry  effective. 

Il  i«,  without  doubt,  desirable  in  pr«>- 
vent  making  any  rules  govrrtiin>:  l^il-' 
operation    .ir  loiotriuti.'n    that    are    not 

absoliitrU       r..rii(|.i|      t-       >.lfrtv.        FoT      fT- 

g.i'  complct' 

m  I  V    not    c..' 

ari«r.  and  in  «iirh  case*,  mi' 

rules   the    )Uflgmenl   of  lb. 

sperlor  can  he  relied  upon  to 

delaiU  to  suit   each  c»*r      N-  • 

ing   this    recognifed   need   of   I 

think  such  a  rule  as  here  advr»r.i''  1  •' 

be  a  vrrv  proprr  addition,  and.  if  rn*-'   •  f 

it    would    lie    a*    frrt.»ii»    ->f 

the  purp^jsr  (or  whiib  n    -v 

any    of    the     rule*     with     wbkU     wc    axc 

familiar 


CKaracterabcs  ol  the  Turbine  Pump 

The  article  putilished  under  the  abuve 
title  by  Frederick  Ray  in  our  issue  of 
March  3J  has  attracted  a  9"-^*  <i'-al  of 
attention    from    practical  and 

p<<ssible  users  of  pumps  oi   tiii>  i^uss.  as 
well  as  from  pump  designers.     In  fact,  it 
was    at    the    user    of    the    • 
articlr  was  directed,  the  . 
j>-  and    per* 

I  .>  r    varyiiik 

than  the  effect  of  varying  factors  in  the 
pump  Itself. 

It  was  only  a  few  years  since  the  cenlrif- 
ligal  pump  was  restricted  to  a  comparji 
tively  narrow  field  and  serve<l  «>nl>  a  (r» 
p  ^    where    '     .  ; 

II  ■  .  he  lift. 
For  i; 

line    ■  ■ 

!• 

tages,  and  it  has  tiecome  so  a- 

the  public  mind  with  this  cla^        .    ..    ^ 

that  it  hat  been  difficult  to  secure  an  ap- 

precution  upon  the  part  of  pan --       ' 

the  progress  which  has  been  v 

<!•  ■  t  of  this  type  of  pumii  .m.i  th.- 

(  i   the    fteld    to    whKh    il     i« 

appli«.<tblc. 

T«Mlay    there    is    hardly    a    senrtre    fm 
which  the  centrifugal  or  turbine  i\ 
pump  is   not   ready   to  compete   »i" 
piston    variety.      In    several   of   the   Urge 
power  plants  of  the  country  lb'-'    ^--r  .  •. 
cessfully   used  to  handle   the 
;i.  '   jh  boiler  pressures,      ^ir     n  i>  » 

.  ^  in  a  simple  and  easily  under- 


in  thr 

little  ii-- 

neer  or  power  <■ 

blest  and  best   : 

to  what   it  avaii 

compli»hmenl  in  nn*  iin«- 


Turbine    venu*    Rccipcocjtinn 
Enguics 


\\r 


thf 


'  M14    rot: 


These  rrsoks  are  WMAcsal  ami  iMcrm- 
ing  onl)    f«ic  <tMnpmntan.     At  the  to-kmM 

c> 

b< 
( 


At  MMdi  as  Ike 

>!rf         It     a 


icrt  kavr  bm  Iwa  •err*  » 


•V   i'lf  t* 


\   natrrMtm\0 


«lj{T)ril     !'iin     fF»r 

imfirovrd  skowir 


;  k«o«  i^rrd  1* 

■4  ih€  cn«i—i yti  in 


A  LiceOK  and   I: 


twftirr  iW  WaiilatfM  ol  dw 


ibry'  ski 


g     pTTMC 


f     11^ 


tte 


'U  br 


7O0 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  13,  1909. 


Power  Plant  Machinery  and  Appliances 

Original     Descriptions     of     Power     Devices 
No     Manufacturers'     Cuts     or     Write-ups     Used 


MUST    BE     NEW     OR     INTERESTING 


Telescope  Ash  Elevator 


For  steam  plants  such  as  are  usually 
located  in  a  basement  or  subbasement,  and 
not  a  few  of  which  are  without  access 
even  to  an  alley,  the  problem  of  ash  dis- 
posal becomes  a  matter  of  considerable 
moment.  In  the  photographs  reproduced 
herewith  is  shown  a  device  well  adapted 
to  this  purpose. 

This  elevator,  which  is  of  the  "tele- 
scopic" type,  has  been  especially  designed 
by  the  Chain  Belt  Company,  Milwaukee, 
Wis.,  for  elevating  ashes  from  a  basement 
and  discharging  them  directly  into  a 
wagon  drawn  up  at  the  curb.     See  Figs,  i 


FIG.    I.   TELESCOPIC    ASH    ELEVATOR   EXTENDED 
THROUGH    SIDEWALK   READY   TO   DIS- 
CHARGE IX TO  WAGON 

and  2.  When  not  in  use,  it  can  be  let 
down  again  through  the  opening  in  the 
sidewalk  and  left  standing  in  its  corner, 
where  but  little  space  is  occupied.  vSec 
Fig.  3- 

The  elevator  frame,  head  and  boot  are 
of  all-steel  construction,  well  braced  and 
stiflFened.  The  buckets  are  of  malleable 
iron,  carried  on  an  interlocking-chain 
belt  particularly  adapted  to  service  of  this 
character  and  placed  at  such  intervals  as 
to  give  satisfactory  capacity  at  a  minimum 
of  power  for  operation,  it  is  said. 

By  means  of  the  special  links,  the  eleva- 
tor is  locked  at  every  point,  thereby 
eliminating  the  possibility  of  an   accident 


IIG.     2.     TELESCOPIC   SIDEWALK   ASH   ELEVATOR 
EXTENDED 


and     telescoping     the     apparatus,     which 
would  cause  considerable  damage. 

The  mechanism  for  raising  and  lower- 
ing the  elevator  consists  of  racks  and 
pinions  operated  by  a  worm-gear  drive 
which  takes  its  motion  from  the  same 
countershaft  that  operates  the  elevator 
belt.  Where  convenient,  a  small  electric 
motor  may  be  used  to  transmit  power  to 
the  apparatus,  but  the  intermittent  char- 
acter of  the  service  will,  in  most  cases, 
make  connection  to  sha^ftinrg  more  eco- 
nomical. 


Erie  Foundry  Company's  Stoker 


TELESCOPIC    SIDEWALK   ASH   ELE- 
VATOR   LOWERED 


The  Erie  stoker  is  of  the  overfeed 
plunger  or  shovel  type.  It  consists  essen- 
tially of  a  coal  hopper,  with  an  opening 
in  the  bottom  at  the  end  nearest  the 
boiler ;  a  conveyer  for  agitating  or  carry- 
ing the  coal  from  the  rear  of  the  hopper 
to  an  opening  at  the  front,  where  it  falls 
by  gravity  in  front  of  the  plunger ;  a  main 
cylinder  and  trough  in  which  reciprocates 
a  plunger  piston  which,  with  variable 
stroke,  throws  the  coal  to  the  different 
parts  of  the  firebox.  The  variable  stroke 
is  given  to  the  plunger  by  means  of  a 
rotary  valve,  from  which  three  separate 
steam  ports  lead  to  the  rear  end  of  the 
cylinder,  and  three  choke  plugs,  one  for 
each  of  the  steam  ports.  The  office  of  the 
choke  plugs  is  to  vary  the  amount  of 
steam  reaching  the  rear  end  of  the  cylin- 
der through  the  various  ports.  As  the 
valve  operates,  the  ports  stop  full  open  in 
front  of  their  corresponding  steam  pas- 
sages in  regular  succession.  By  choking 
down  tlic  steam  with  the  choke  plug  near- 
est the  rear  of  the  stoker  until  that  port 
is  almost  closed,  there  is  obtained  a  very 
light  stroke  of  the  plunger,  thereby  dis- 
tributing the  coal  over  the  grate  near  the 
fire  door.  The  other  two  choke  plugs 
operate  in  turn  in  the  same  manner,  only 
they  are  so  adjusted  that  more  steam  is 
admitted  on  the  second  stroke  than  on  the 
first,  thus  distributing  coal  over  the  mid- 
dle portion  of  the  grate,  and  more  on 
tlie  third  stroke  than  on  the  second, 
thereby  scattering  the  coal  over  the  rear 
end  of  the  grate.  By  adjustment  of  the 
choke  plugs  any  desired  arrangement  of 
distribution  may  be  obtained. 

The  conveyer  is  controlled  by  a  small 
reciprocating  steam  motor,  which  also 
operates  the  valve  that  controls  the  speed 
of    the    plunger    to    provide    a     uniform 


April   13,  1909. 


POWFR  AN'D  THE  EN'GINEER 


Tttt 


!»' 


r 

^^^^^^^^^^H 

(     ^^^^^/t 

■HHiitfitibtattittMiiSttirii 

1  ^^^B^W^^^^^s*.  _ 

THE   EtIE    POl'XtNlY   COUtMtx't    fTOKOI 


■n 


ncii/-! 


rwtWT    A»r   MM   lUVATin**    -iv 


-02 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  13.  1909. 


amount  of  coal  for  each  stroke.  A  de- 
flector attached  to  the  front  of  the  trough 
is  designed  to  spread  the  coal  to  the  sides 
of  the  furnace  as  it  is  delivered  by  the 
plunger.  This  deflector  is  the  only  part 
of  the  stoker  exposed  to  the  fire,  and  it 
depends  for  protection  upon  exhaust 
steam  from  the  stoker,  which  passes 
through  it.  By  having  the  stoker  located 
outside  of  the  lirebox,  if  anything  goes 
wrong  it  can  be  repaired  without  incon- 
venience ;  and  being  between  the  two  fire 
doors,  if  there  is  a  breakdown  it  is  a  sim- 
ple matter  to  hand-fire  until  repairs  are 
made.  It  is  also  to  be  noted  that  prac- 
tically no  change  is  necessary  in  the  con- 
struction  of  the   firebox. 

The  stoker  may  be  used  with  either 
natural  ot  forced  draft,  no  change  to  the 
grate  bars  being  necessary,  and  any  oper- 
ating engineer  can  install  it  without  the 
services  of  an  expert.  It  is  built  by  the 
Erie   Foundry   Company,   Erie,   Penn. 


inches  long;  and  in  the  6>^-inch  gage,  the 
first  i}/2-inch  equivalent  head  is  multi- 
plied ten  times,  having  a  scale  15  inches 
long.  In  the  7-inch  gage,  the  first  2  inches- 
of   equivalent   water   head   are   multiplied 


Engine  Turning  Device 


An  engine-turning  device  that  will  ap- 
peal to  engineers  and  others  interested  in 


Ellison  Differential-Direct  Draft 
Gage 


In  this  draft  gage  a  combination  of  a 
differential  and  direct  draft  gages  in  one 
simple  instrument  has  been  made.  It  is 
intended  for  measuring  high  fluctuations 
in  pressures  and  drafts  with  accuracy,  and 


for  serving  both  as  a  high-  and  low-pres- 
sure gage.  The  liquid  is  multiplied  in  the 
inclined  tube  over  the  differential  scale, 
graduated  in  o.oi  inch,  covering  the  range 
of  low  intensities  of  drafts  and  pressures, 
beyond  which  the  percentage  of  error  be- 
comes too  small  to  be  of  importance  to  be 
multiplied  and  the  liquid  turns  downward 
into  the  vertical  tube  over  the  direct  scale, 
of  5-inch  equivalent  water  head,  gradu- 
ated equivalent  to  o.i  inch  and  easily  sub- 
divided into  small  fractions  by  reason 'of 
the  small  diameter  of  the  bore  of  the  indi- 
cating tube  and  the  wider  spacing  of  the 
graduations    for    oil    to    represent    water. 

The  liquid  used  is  39-degree  Baume 
oil,  having  a  constant  capillary  attraction 
for  which  the  gages  are  corrected,  the 
rise  of  the  liquid  in  the  chamber  and  the 
specific  gravity  are  compensated  for  in 
the  design  and  arrangement  of  the  scales, 
so  that  the  indications  represent  the 
equivalent  of  distilled  water  directly  on 
the  single  reading  scales  without  any  cor- 
rections or  calculations  whatsoever. 

The  gage  is  made  in  four  capacities, 
comprising  a  6-inch,  a  6>4-inch,  a  7-inch 
and  an  8-inch.  In  the  6-inch  gage,  the 
first  inch  of  equivalent  water  head  is 
multiplied    ten    times,    having   a    scale    10 


RIDGWAY     ENGINE-TURNING     KEVICE 


Ric^gvvay  engines  is  shown  herewith.  The 
device  is  bolted  to  the  frame  of  the  engine 
and  consists  of  a  ratchet  attachment  which 
engages  in  teeth  on  the  rim  of  the  fly- 
w^heel.  By  this  means  the  largest  engine 
made  by  the  Ridgway  Dynamo  and  En- 
gine Company,  Ridgway,  Penn.,  which 
also  makes  the  device,  can  be  moved  from 
its  center.  When  not  in  operation  the 
handle  bar  is  removed  and  the  ratchet  part 
thrown  back  out  of  engagement. 


A.  I.  E.  E.   Annual  Meeting 


Piiwer,  y.  r. 
ELLISON    DIFFERENTIAL-DIRECT    DRAFT    GAGE 

five  times,  having  a  scale  10  inches  long ; 
and  in  the  8-inch  gage,  the  first  3  inches 
of  equivalent  head  are  multiplied  five 
times,  having  a  scale  15  inches  long. 

The  frames  are  of  aluminum,  polished 
and  buffed  on  the  outside ;  and  the  scales 
are  of  a  special,  noncorrosive  german  sil- 
ver. This  instrument  is  manufactured  by 
Lewis  M.  Ellison,  6238  Princeton  avenue, 
Chicago,  111.  , 


The  annual  convention  of  the  Ameri- 
can Institute  of  Electrical  Engineers  will 
be  held  at  the  Hotel  Frontenac,  Thousand 
Islands.  Frontenac,  N.  Y.,  beginning  Mon- 
day, June  28,  next.  A  tentative  list  of 
papers  to  be  presented  includes  the  fol- 
lowing : 

"Split-Pole  Converters  and  Storage- 
Battery  Regulation  at  Gary,  Ind."  By 
J.   L.   Woodbridge. 

"The  Reduction  in  Capacity  of  Induc- 
tion Motors  Due  to  Unbalancing  in  Volt- 
age." By  S.  B.  Chartres  and  W.  A. 
Hillebrand. 

"The  Heating  of  Induction  Motors." 
By  Alexander  M.  Gray. 

"Generators  for  100,000  Cycles."  By 
E.  F.  Alexanderson. 

There  will  also  be  three  power  papers, 
by  D.  B.  Rushmore,  and  two  educational 
papers,  by  H.  H.  Norris. 


April   13,  1909. 

Inquiries 


QurMtioHn  on  mil  nnMirrrnl  un/'  •<  thry  are 
of  gtnrrat  inltriml  nml  tm  'i<<-->»i,<inUtt  hg 
the  naiHt   iiml  ntl>lrr»ii  of  titr  iii'/ui'<i 


Steam  Superheats  nhcn   LxCiindm^  m  a 
Receiver 

In  a  pamphlet  on  "Compoiind  Kiixino" 
I  read  the  following:  "It  i>  >ai<l  that 
drop  cannot  Jh-  detrimental  to  economy 
because  steam  expandmg  freely  in  this 
way  ( in  a  receiver )  loses  no  heat  but 
becomes  superheated,  and  at  the  lower 
pressure  contains  every  unit  of  heat  it 
contained  at  the  hinh." 

To  prove  that  this  is  a  fact  I  tried  the 
followmg  experiment:  With  the  ap- 
paratus shown  in  the  accompanying 
sketch  1  throttled  the  steam  down  to 
various  pressure-,  kecpiuK  the  drain  open 
a  little,  and  I  fi  und  that  the  temperature 
r.lways  corresponded  with  the  pressure. 

By    drawing    the    thermometer    up    into 
•  he  H-inch  pipe  and  loosening  the  pack- 
it  nut.  so  the  steam  escapi-d  around  the 
vrmonuler  Indb,  the  result   was  no  dif- 
rent.      The    thermometer   is    V^    inch   in 
Mmeter  an«l   the  hole   ii  inch. 
I  reason  that  there  are  fewer  heat  unit* 
r   unit   of   volume    in    the   tec,   but    why 
•es   not    the   temperature   rise   when   the 
•  am     passes     through     the     contracted 
;»cning? 

J    D. 

I'ailurc  to  und  suprrhcatmK  in  the  steam 

due    to    the    fact    that     you    prolwbly 

irted   with   wet    steam,   and   the    volume 

'   «tram   in   your  fitting  was   so   small   at 

red    with    the    amount    of    radiating 

I    that  condensation  t«M(k  place  f;»»- 


H  rt9» 


tLf. 


\ppMi\r|s    rsrii  in    tii»    »rroirr   to  rtMisr. 
TH\f   -.TKAM   St  itmu.  \ro   wilts 

KXPAKIUNti    IN    A    R&LEIVU 

f   than  Mtperhealing,  and  the  heat  gritcr- 

rl    ),<.    •  i({unsion    was    absorbed    in   the 

of  the   nwiisiurr  at  the   tctn- 

.liiiii    iiiir  In  the  pressure  rather  than 

'  elevating  the  teni|>rr,<ttirc  of  the  nia»» 

orilcr    tf    iiuke    tin-    f  x 
1  «*.   v«in    4hi>Mld   havr   i>i. 


i«  liry   when   11   rrarhe*  the  4|>i 

drmon*tralion  of  the  fart  ' 
l>erheal«  when  expanded  !•• 
rriimsiances  i«  fnuml  in  lh> 
lorimeter.  which  i»  very  mui ' 

line  of  th<    apparatus  that   >" 

vi»ril 


mWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

Lumps  of  Scalr  im  Boilrr  Tuhrs 

When  we  run  the  Hue  kcraper  ihruucfa 

the    boiler    lube*    we    somett -  Vc 

lump*  of  hard  kcale.     What  .  r 

lumps  ^ 

Nunc    ..I    the    tubr«   ar^^ 
back  end  and  thr  watrr  : 
tube  and  t' 
all   of   ih( 
sticks  to  the   lube   in   the   fonn  of  tea i 

Cause  of  Pound  in  Cheek  I'ahe 

Kvery    time    a    certain    plunger     .: 
duplex    feed    pump   sends   water    into   the 
Ijoiler    the   clieck    valve    in    the    fe.  :    ' 
pounds.      What   i»   the   probable    c. 

The  motion  of  the  plungers  mav  h^  -m 
even,   allowing   the   water   m    •  •  » 

come    to    rest.       Every    time    •  < 

water  stop*,  the  rheck  valve  w  h 

nH»re    or    less    noise       Or    ih. 
valves  in  the  pump  may  be  in 
that   ihey  «lo  not   close  prnmp(i<    .■..■. 
water   flows  hack  into  the  pump  cylinder 
until  the  closing  of  the  check  valve  in  ih.- 
feed   line   slops  it. 

AmgU  of  DeMfcliem.  He.  of  Cramk  Shafts 

I   ^"  to  know    a    few    things 

altoui  Its: 

(  I  )    \V  1m(  ts  meant  by  ihe  angle  of  de 
tirciion'     I   have  read  llut   for  a  d<><il>lr 
throw    %halt  of  a  compouiKl  steam  ' 
it  i«  iK-twrrn  oooarTQ  and  ootxxiu  « 

(jt    II..M    can   I   determine  the  c. 
Irnt    twisting    nvmient.   or    the    angk      ii 
Iwi^t.  on.  for  instance,  one  of  the  double 
r<>in{MMind    rtiKines    in    the     Id-  1 

M.iii..i>    ..I     Nrw     Y"He*      Th.- 

!■ 

5  feet,  the  revoluiKWis  per  minuir  75.  the 


steam   pressure 
inch,  the  crank  - 
al  the  bearings,  i.  ■    . 
feet  J^   inches,  and 

lor  Wr  .  ' 
I  t) 


I.K        t.r. 


nf  thai   tlMlft. 


prwluced   hf   the 

H 


(n  '^' 

urrd    >■ 


%um 


Mm 


wherr 


dtons  IradiMi  a  — ^  -  'fcg'n  ') 


i«lin«    n^tfttrf 


r     <;»«.:.  f 


•cciv 


7^1 

til     irirrTtj    •.!    \v»t     OMlt 

"     for  Mliddbaft 


twill    N 
■Wr  ^■raeioa  ( 1 ) 


'.\ix  bearMiB*  hr  ikr  Marf 


nwwmMs  «ii  W 


tL.    .._,. 


If 


.iMlin§  ifi"- 


tfiWA. 


liable    i<>«muia  i*  L*(as 


^1 


inertia 


t' 

1 


«f 


704 


PO\\'ER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  13,  igog. 


Book  Reviews 


The  Gas  Engine.  By  Forrest  R.  Jones. 
Published  by  John  Wiley  &  Sons, 
New  York,  1909.  Cloth ;  455  pages 
6x9  inches  ;  142  illustrations.  Price,  $4. 
This  book  has  the  merit  of  presenting  a 
treatment  of  the  subject  which  differs 
from  the  usual  testbook  routine,  as  well 
as  some  material  not  ordinarily  found  in 
such  books.  The  author  devotes  a  rather 
disproportionate  amount  of  space  to  auto- 
mobile practice  and  a  correspondingly 
meager  quantity  to  stationary  engines. 
The  discussions  of  ignition  systems,  the 
physical  properties  of  gases,  combustion, 
fuels  and  gas  producers  are  especially 
clear  and  satisfying  and  the  tables  com- 
piled from  the  Geological  Sur\^ey  coal- 
test  report  will  be  found  of  immense  con- 
venience bj'  anj'^one  practically  interested 
in  gas  producers. 

Notes  on  Hydroelectric  Development. 
By  Preston  Player.  McGraw  Publish- 
ing Company,  New  York.  Cloth  ;  68 
pages,  4^x7  inches.  Price,  $1. 
This  little  work  is  intended  to  indicate 
general  lines  along  which  investigation 
should  be  made  to  afford  a  basis  for  form- 
ing a  correct  opinion  of  the  merits  of  any 
proposed  undertaking  in  the  line  of  hydro- 
electric power-plant  development  from  the 
investor's  viewpoint.  Generating  electric 
energy  has  reached  such  a  degree  of  per- 
fection that  what  competition  means  must 
be  thoroughly  understood  before  hydro- 
electric enterprises  are  taken  up.  The 
author  has  divided  the  work  into  two 
basic  inquiries :  "What  will  be  the  cost 
of  making  any  development?"  and  "What 
receipts  may  be  expected  from  the  under- 
taking?" and  he  has  presented  an  intelli- 
gent method  of  seeking  correct  answers  to 
the  inquiries. 

Heat  Energy  and  Fuels.    By  Hanns  von 
Jiiptner.     Translated  into   English  by 
Oskar    Nagel.     McGraw     Publishing 
Company,    New   York,    1908.      Cloth ; 
310   pages,   6x9   inches;    118   illustra- 
tions;  137  tables.     Price,  $3. 
Barring     Chapter     II,     on     Forms     of 
Energy,   Professor   von   Jiiptner  has   pro- 
duced a  remarkably  clear-cut  and  useful 
textbook.     The   title   is   somewhat  a  mis- 
nomer and  the  confused  and  abstruse  dis- 
cussion  in    the    chapter   mentioned    could 
have    been    omitted    with    distinct    advan- 
tage.     The   author's    attempt    to    explain 
work  in   terms   of   distance,   surface   and 
volume  is  not  clear  and  might  easily  be 
misleading  to  a  student. 

The  remainder  of  the  book  deals  with 
fuels,  their  analysis,  their  utilization  by 
combustion  and  partial  combustion,  and 
the  measurement  of  high  temperatures. 
This  part,  constituting  the  bulk  of  the 
work,  is  excellent.  The  tables  giving  the 
composition  of  various  grades  of  the  dif- 
ferent fuels  could  have  been  made  more 
convenient     for     general      reference     by 


grouping  them  together  in  an  appendix, 
but  as  the  book  was  written  for  college 
use,  the  location  of  each  table  in  the  text 
referring  to  it  is  but  logical. 

The  discussions  of  peat  and  lignite, 
which  usually  receive  scanty  attention  in 
a  book  of  general  character,  are  most 
satisfying  and  the  chapters  on  producer 
gas  and  water  gas  and  the  means  of  mak- 
ing them  are  particularly  complete  and 
clear. 

Alternating    Current    Machines.      By 
Samuel   Sheldon,   Hobart   Mason  and 
Erich    Hausmann.      Published   by    D. 
Van   Nostrand   Company,   New  York, 
1908.     Cloth;  360  pages,  5^x8  inches; 
236  illustrations.    Price,  $2.50. 
This  is  the  seventh  edition  of  Dr.  Shel- 
don's excellent  textbook,  and  it  shows  the 
effects  of  extensive  revision.    The  original 
edition  of  the  book  impressed  the  reviewer 
as  l)eing  a  conspicuously  fine  example  of 
college   textbook,   and   an   honest   opinion 
of  the  present  edition  might  be  regarded 
as  fulsome  eulogy,  so  the  reviewer  will  re- 
frain.     It   may   be   well   to    inform    those 
who   are   unfamiliar   with   the   work   that 
it  is  intended  for  use  in  technical  colleges 
and  not  for  unassisted  study  by  beginners. 
It  is  remarkably  clear  in  exposition,  but  a 
knowledge  of  mathematics  as  far  as  ele- 
mentary   calculus     is     necessary     for    the 
student   to    derive    the   proper    degree    of 
learning  from  its  contents. 

Washing  and  Coking  Tests  of  Coal. 
By  A.  W.  Belden,  G.  R.  Delamater 
and  J.  W.  Groves.  Issued  by  the 
United  States  Geological  Survey,  be- 
ing Bulletin  368.  Paper ;  54  pages, 
6x9  inches ;  illustrated.  Gratis  upon 
application. 

The  investigations  described  in  this  re- 
port were  undertaken  by  the  Government 
for  the  general  purpose  of  increasing 
efficiency  in  the  utilization  of  the  fuel  sup- 
ply of  the  United  States  by  devising  im- 
provements in  washing  and  coking  coals. 
The  washing  tests  of  coal  were  made  to 
determine  the  possibility  of  so  improving 
the  quality  of  the  coal  as  to  render  it 
available  for  the  production  of  coke.  The 
coking  tests  were  made  to  determine  the 
possibility  of  utilizing  the  various  coals  in 
this  way  or  to  devise  improvements  in 
coking  practice.  The  washing  tests  have 
demonstrated  the  fact  that  many  coals 
which  are  too  high  in  ash  and  sulphur  for 
economical  use  under  the  steam  boiler,  or 
for  coking,  may  be  rendered  of  commer- 
cial value  by  proper  treatment  in  the 
washery.  The  coking  tests  have  demon- 
strated that  many  coals  which  were  not 
supposed  to  be  of  economical  value  for 
coking  purposes  may  be  so  rendered  by 
proper  treatment  in  the  washery  and  coke 
oven.  The  bulletin  describes  the  washery 
plant  established  by  the  Survey  at  Den- 
ver, Colo.,  and  gives  the  analyses  of  and 
the  results  obtained  with  numerous  coal 
samples. 


Books  Received 


"The  Internal  Combustion  Engine."" 
By  H.  E.  Wimperis.  D.  Van  Nostrand 
Company,  New  York.  Cloth ;  326  pages,. 
5/4 x8H  inches;  114  illustrations;  tables. 
Price,  $3. 

"Heavy  Electrical  Engineering."  By 
H.  M.  Hobart.  D.  Van  Nostrand  Com- 
pany, New  York.  Cloth ;  338  pages, 
5^/4x9  inches;  188  illustrations;  19  plates; 
tables  ;  indexed.     Price,  $4.50. 

"The  Theory  of  Electric  Cables  and 
Networks."  By  Alexander  Russell.  D. 
Van  Nostrand  Company,  New  York. 
Cloth;  269  pages,  S^^xSH  inches;  71 
illustrations  ;   indexed.     Price,  $3. 

"The  Mechanical  Appliances  of  the 
Chemical  and  ^Metallurgical  Industries." 
By  Dr.  Oscar  Nagel.  Published  by  the 
author.  Cloth  ;  307  pages,  5^x9^  inches  ; 
292   illustrations ;    indexed.      Price,   $2. 

"Steam  Pipes,  Their  Design  and  Con- 
struction." By  William  H.  Booth.  The 
Norman  W.  Henley  Publishing  Company,, 
New  York.  Cloth;  183  pages,  5^x85^ 
inches;  62  illustrations;  tables;  indexed. 


Obituary 


Jasper  R.  Rand,  vice-president  and  di- 
rector of  the  Ingersoll-Rand  Company,, 
died  of  pneumonia  in  Salt  Lake  City  on 
March  30.  Mr.  Rand  was  the  son  of 
Jasper  Raymond  Rand,  one  of  the  foun- 
ders of  the  Rand  Drill  Company,  and  was 
born  in  Montclair,  N.  J.,  September  3,. 
1874.  He  was  graduated  from  Cornell 
University  in  1898  with  the  degree  of 
mechanical  engineer,  and  served  in  Porto 
Rico  in  the  Spanish-American  war  as  a 
member  of  the  first  New  York  Volunteer 
Engineers.  During  1899-1900  he  was 
president  of  the  Imperial  Engine  Com- 
pany, at  Painted  Post,  N.  Y.„  leaving  that 
position  to  take  the  presidency  of  the 
Rand  Drill  Company,  which  he  held  until 
1905.  In  that  year  he  was  elected  vice- 
president  and  director  of  the  Ingersoll- 
Rand  Company,  which  was  his  chief  in- 
terest until  the  last.  Mr.  Rand  was  a 
member  of  Alpha  Delta  Phi  fraternity,  of 
the  Spanish  War  Veterans,  of  the  Ameri- 
can Institute  of  IVIining  Engineers,  of  the 
American  Society  of  Mechanical  Engi- 
neers, of  the  Engineers'  Club,  of  the  Cor- 
nell Club  and  of  the  Alpha  Delta  Phi 
Club  of  New  York. 


ersonal 


E.  Whitaker,  formerly  chief  engineer  of 
the  Weil  &  Mayer  buildings.  New  York 
City,  has  become  an  inspector  for  the 
Engineering  Supervision  Company,  also  of 
New  York. 


April  JO.  1909- 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


Harnessing  Power  in  Greater  New  York 


The    Work    of    the    Boiler    Inftpcction     Bureau;     Hov,     I 
Firenicn  Arc   l^icenscd,   and   How   Lite   an<i   Property   Arc   .^ 


B    Y 


A. 


C 


R    O    W    S    E    Y 


Dccp-rootcd  in  the  mind  of  the  axt-rajjc 
New  Yorker  was  a  thought  that  filled  his 
soul  with  peace  as  he  read  of  the  devasta- 
tion  of   San    Francisco  and   Messina.     It 
was  the  thought  that  his  city,  his  "Great 
Vew  York,"  is  not  likely  to  be  visited  by 
;ch  upheavals;  his  is  ^  city  upon  a  rock, 
against   which   the  might  of  the  elements 
would  unavail.     But  he  was  unaware,  and 
he  does   not   today   realize,  that   mightier 
than  the  force  of  any  earthquake,  the  heat 
and-power    channels    of    his    city^  honey- 
comb its  rock   foundation  and  the  city  is 
■ally  resting  upon  a  many-mouthed  vol- 
mo    roaring    with    millions    of    units   of 
<wrr   capable   of    causing    a     cataclysm 


men.   the   ttaff  of   the    !'  -rction 
Rurcau    of    the    police    <'.- ^              •     hold 
with  a  tight  grip  the  reuu  <ti  a  Iivipk  )  .1 
ness  made  up  of  the  intcrwo\en  rr*-- 
lidities  of   1400  firemen.   12,716  enw 
.tnd  7000  patrolmen.     A  flaw  m  a   f-tr- 
may  not  release  the  giant,  bat  if  traceable 
to  (he  neglect  of  any  man  in  the  harness 
it   means   the  ending  of  that   man's  coo- 
•h  the  organization,  be  he  cngi- 
an  or  patrolman. 
No  city  in  the  Union  is  without  its  sub- 
terranean   monster    of   heat    and    power , 
hut  New  York  is  peculiar  in  that  the  con- 
trol  of   it   it   so   nearly  perfect.     In   le«« 
than  twenty- four  hours  it  can  be  strangled 
'  tth    and    •-                            and 
-•cd    at    f                             --f* 
A    curs<  •  ^1 
rts   of    1  ii 
of  his  predecessors,  gives  but 
ca  of  the  importaiKe  and  varied 
s  of  the  work  and  the  system 
^     I    -      .     unjjff 

tison't  dtrr 
c»  1:  >Jcl 
of     re^; 


!ccnse  Law."    For  • 
I     — ^•^ining    en*. 
•-   are   frr 
•  >rm  a  closer  a>.<jii4iMtji 


model  ti 
bureau 

4»  not  been  more  t«»*»^«l  ••  •'«♦'  '" 
.1  .....  ..i  ...^ ,.      \    •    , 


iram  the  inroiil 
ercry  boiler  in  the  giMWf  aty 
impccttoa    a    (re    ol    St    ptt 
charged,  if  a  bodcr  is  <o— <  ia 
ditkxL     If     the     bodcr     is 
ordered  repaired  or  sImI 
caose.  ito  Itceosc  to  oprrsle  ia 


HaU  ^\  \ttva  fwiMsd  «s  0iMd  voriam  «««d» 


dow  lor  90if 


Nrw 


ii.ui    ti\;. 


A    VtMIK 


tii<-..fnr      w  rni«-    i'»    i'-     "■  ■ 

m#    mntribatina    to    the 


ilmxst  greater  than  the  min<l  of  man  >  .itt 
onceiv 
i.-..M^r,.i  m„i  guarded  by  »l«-«-i«l'-»    . 
force   throbs   an«l 

"  ility    nndrt 

up«»n  whiili  tlir  N*-* 


>n  wHh  A 


4     ID      »- 


in  contented  ignoranir.  t; 
ttasrment  is  struggling  (r  r 
ter  the  house  and  rend  its  ten. 

Ihree   times    in    forty-six    vet; - 

brnken    some    of    its    manacles,      h    vmj 
break  another  any  day     But  twenty  etff»- • 


VpWIKitTBATSOW      SH-    V 


I    Of 

Th«  income  ■!   "•  • 


It  sts 

3 


7o6 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  20,  1909. 


Portable,  for  scows 119 

Portable,  for  barges 255 

Portable,  for  schooners 5 

Portable,  for  elevators 5 

Portable,  for  steam  carriages.  .  .  7 

Portable,  for  floating  baths  ....  1 

Inspectors  and  Ixspectiox  Districts 

To  facilitate  the  inspection  of  these 
boilers  the  city  is  divided  into  nine  in- 
spection districts,  and  one  inspector  de- 
tailed to  each  district.  Seven  of  the  in- 
spectors are  patrolmen,  who  were  formerly 
boilermakers,     engineers     or     machinists ; 


JOHN  LYNCH,   EXAMINING  ENGINEER   N.    Y. 
BOILER    SQUAD 

two  are  Civil  Service  appointees.  Each 
is  provided  a  horse  and  wagon,  a  driver 
and  a  hydrostatic  pump.  The  inspectors 
are  assigned  as  follows :  One  to  Staten 
island,  borough  of  Richmond ;  one  to  the 
borough  of  Queens  and  precincts  160  and 
161 ;  two  to  the  borough  of  Brooklyn  and 
Coney  island ;  one  to  the  borough  of  the 
Bronx ;  four  to  the  borough  of  Manhat- 
tan   (four  districts). 

Upon  the  inspectors'  reports  licenses 
are  made  out  in  duplicate.  One  copy  is 
sent  to  the  owner  of  the  plant  and  the 
other  is  given  to  the  engineer.  The  law 
declares  that  the  license  must  be  paid  for 
within  twenty-four  hours.  City  depart- 
ments, however,  have  a  habit  of  holding 
up  payments  for  their  licenses  two  or 
three  months,  and  while  bad  debts  against 
private  boiler  owners  may  be  turned  over 
to  the  corporation  counsel  for  collection, 
it  is  impossible  to  sue  city  departments. 

As  soon  as  a  license  is  made  out  Lieut. 
Henry  Breen,  who  is  in  command  of  the 
bureau,  becomes  personally  responsible  to 
the  police  department  for  the  fee  or  the 
license;  he  must  have  either  one  or  the 
other.  Recently,  in  clearing  up  the  books, 
he  discovered  a  debt,  against  a  boiler  in 
Brooklyn,  incurred  thirteen  years  ago,  be- 


fore the  consolidation.  The  corporation 
counsel  collected  the  fee  for  him. 

Incidentally,  owing  to  the  more  inten- 
sive service  demanded  of  boilers,  the 
vigilance  of  the  inspectors  has  been  in- 
creased, it  having  been  found  that  the 
modern  boiler  deteriorates  more  rapidly 
than  the  old-style,  and  that  the  standard 
of  life — twenty  years — of  a  boiler  is  fast 
being  lowered. 

The  fee  of  $2  a  year  paid  by  the  owner 
entitles  him  to  three  distinct  guarantees 
upon  his  plant:  (i)  That  his  boiler  is 
safe;  (2,)_the  privilege  of  ascertaining  the 
ability  of  his  engineer  to  take  care  of  his 
plant;  (3)  the  privilege  of  ascertaining  the 
qualifications  of  the  firemen  to  do  their 
work.  Thus,  for  $2  paid  for  the  annual 
inspection  of  a  boiler,  the  boiler-inspec- 
tion bureau  undertakes,  when  it  issues  a 
license,  all  the  responsibility  of  the  boiler 
room  where  the  licenses  will  hang.  This 
brings  us  to  the  supervision  of  the  boiler- 
room  crews  of  the  city : 

Supervision  of  Boiler-room    Crews 

A  coal  passer,  oiler  or  general  assistant 
to  an  engineer,  who  is  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States  either  by  birth  or  adoption, 
and  has  served  his  two  years,  may  be  pro- 
moted to  fireman,  if  the  owner  of  a  plant 
in  a  communication  to  the  bureau  signi- 
fies his  desire  to  have  the  employee  exam- 
ined as  to  his  qualification  for  such  a 
position,  the  chief  engineer  under  whom 
the  man  works  at  the  same  time  certify- 
ing the  time  of  employment  in  his  room 
and  that  he  is  a  person  of  good  character, 
both  of  which  statements  must  be 
sworn  to. 

According  to  the  law  the  apprenticeship 
"on  a  building  or  buildings  in  the  city  of 
New  York  or  on  any  steamboat,  steam- 
ship or  locomotive"  must  be  "for  a  period 
of  not  less  than  two  years ;"  but  unless 
the  owner  states  in  the  letter  with  the 
application  that  he  wishes  to  employ  the 
man  at  a  certain  plant,  the  applicant  will 
be  refused  the  examination  for  a  license. 
The  formalities  being  O.  K.,  however,  the 
board  of  examiners  of  the  bureau  will 
give  the  applicant  a  practical  test  in  the 
care  of  a  boiler,  and  if  he  is  found  com- 
petent he  will  be  granted  a  license,  within 
six  days,  good  for  one  year,  but  at  any 
lime  revokable  by  the  police  commissioner 
or  the  board  of  examiners  appointed  by 
him,  upon  proof  of  deficiency  in  a  trial 
before  the  bureau's  examiners  who  issued 
the  license.  Should  an  owner  or  lessee 
employ  a  man  as  a  fireman  or  engineer 
who  is  not  licensed  for  the  particular  plant 
at  which  he  is  at  work  a  week's  notice  to 
quit  is  given.  If  the  man  is  not  sup- 
planted, the  owner  or  lessee  may  be  ar- 
rested for  "endangering  life  and  property." 

Requisites  for  Third-grade  Applicants 
Should  a  fireman,  oiler  or  general 
assistant  to  a  licensed  engineer  of  New 
York  City  wish  to  take  an  examination 
for  the  position  of  third-grade  engineer. 


the  first  requisite  is  a  letter  from  an 
owner  asking  that  the  man  be  examined 
as  to  his  capacity  to  handle  the  plant 
(stating  the  full  equipment  of  the  plant) 
as  a  third-grade  engineer.  The  second 
requisite  provides  for  verified  statements 
from  three  licensed  engineers  in  good 
standing  in  New  York  City,  who  must 
state  where  and  when  the  applicant  put  in 
a  total  of  five  years'  working  time  in 
boiler  rooms.  One  of  these  statements 
must  be  rendered  by  the  chief  engineer 
under  whom  he  put  in  the  last  part  of  his 
time,  and  all  the  statements  must  be  veri- 
fied before  notaries. 

An  application  blank  is  then  given  the 
applicant.  In  this  he  must  state  that  he  is 
at  least' twenty-one  years  of  age,  a  citizen 
by  birth  or  naturalization,  and  if  the  lat- 
ter the  date  and  place  of  his  naturaliza- 
tion, his  weight,  hight,  the  color  of  his 
hair  and  eyes,  and  the  dates,  addresses 
and  numbers  of  the  boilers  upon  which  he 
has  put-  in  his  time.  He  is  required  to 
swear  to  the  accuracy  of  these  statements, 
which  must  be  in  his  own  hand-writing. 
The  bureau  then  gives  him  three  vouch- 
ers, to  be  filled  out  by  the  engineers  who 
have  already  certified  for  him,  these 
vouchers  being  in  affidavit  fOrm  and  de- 


MICHAEL    FITZPATRICK,    EXAMINING    ENGI- 
NEER STEAM  BOILER  BUREAU,  N.  Y. 

daring  that  the  statements  made  by  the 
candidate  in  the  application  are  true  to 
the  endorsers'  own  knowledge.  The 
vouchers  must  be  sworn  to,  also.  When 
he  hands  in  the  signed  vouchers  the  appli- 
cant is  slated  to  take  the  examination  for 
third-grade  engineer. 

The  Bureau  Busy  in  the  Meantime 
While  the  candidate  has  been  busy  get- 
ting his   vouchers  signed  a  searching  in- 
quiry  has  been  going  on  in   the  bureau. 


April  20,  l^. 

Every  boiler  that  has  ever  been  in  New 
York  is  represented  by  a  card  in  an 
elaborate  card-index  system.  A  boiler  can  be 
located  by  its  means  in  two  minutes,  either 
by  knowing  the  name  of  its  owner,  or  it* 
license  or  serial  number.  In  ■ 
or  present),  or  by  the  name-  >  : 
neer  or  fireman  who  has  e\cr  wurkcd 
upon  it. 

In  like  manner,  every  licensed  engmcer 
and  fireman  can  be  located  in  an  equally 
short  time ;  every  room  they  ever  worked 
in  and  the  number  of  the  boiler  in  each 
place  can  be  ascertained.  A  glance  at  a 
few  cards  gives  an  accurate  dt  • 
the  personal  appearance  of  ci 
and  fireman  and  a  detailed  it> :!.:.  liioii  of 
plants  they  have  handled.  Tlun-  is  no 
guesswork :  the  information  is  compiled 
every  day. 

More  than  this,  the  signature  of  every 
'-ngineer  or  licensed  fireman  can  be 
und  by  looking  at  the  date  of  his  last 
visit  to  the  bureau,  which  is  recorded  on 
his  card,  and  glancing  under  that  date 
down  tl;  •  .ilph.ihrficnlK   .!'•  <( 

the   '  .^igii.iturc    lUmW     \s  ■  .  .1- 

neer  and  licensed  fireman  signs  when  he 
calls  for  the  renewal  of  his  license,  or  for 
a  transfer  to  another  plant 

Thus,  when  the  applicant   f>  r  c.xaiiiina 
lion  for  third-grade  engineer  "appears  and 
'  ••  is  a  licensed  fireman,  and  shows  a 
issued  to  "John  I>oe."  fireman  on 
boikr  No.     .   ,  the  card  for  Fireman  John 
Doe  is  taken  out.     If  it    says   th.it   John 
!  )oe   has   red   hair   and   the  randnfate   for 
•  ngineer's    license    has    black    hiiir,    he   Jl 
known  to  be  a  "ringer"  sent  by  the  red- 
haired   one   to   take   an    examination    for 
him      Trouble  gathers  for  him   wHh  the 
red  hair,  while  he  with  the  black  hair  is 
irrcsted  and  the  vouchers  are  summoned 
to  the  bureau  to  explain 

Again,   the   chief  engineer  who  4wear« 
•hat  John  Doe  worked  for  htr 
n   boiler   No     .'      may  l>e  di 
•he  index  cards  to  have  licen  less  th.iti  nvr 
sears  in  charge  of  that  boiler.     Hi*  card 
MUiy  show  that  he  has  been  either  out  of 
■  .  out  of  town,  or  working  .nt  :tn'-?h«T 
[>art  of  the  time     Tri>v!l.!'-    '     •     '>    ■ 
nil.    for   he   has  perjur.  " 
•nre  in  'he   voucher   \r:. 

and    once    in    In*    prcUnwujf) 
II 
1  hen.  too.  the  car' 
ing    engineers    may 

u..rk    on   the   boiler*    for   the   time   the> 
•   •-.!.  and  as  stated  by  ?   '-  '^  '   ♦""  ''  ■■ 
itures  to  their  state 
uay  bear  1  ••"  "« 

rr»    in    ihr  john 

'  1    hut    wulcr 

It    wtM   \tc    - 

fraud  b«(o(r 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINi 

Lynch,    both    licensed    engineers.      The: 
examination  is  wholly  oral.     !*    ' 
pretend  to  follow  the  model  •  : 
Service.    T! 
that  the  ca 

vjpen>    »:  cii^rgc    uf    4 

To    thi-  examine    him 

upun    the    f ■  1 :     s     .; 
lion    of    boiler  V  .         r-.:.r   •; 
care  of   boilers .   construction   of   pumps . 
r>peration  of  pumps;  constructioa  of  en 
i{:ncs,  operation  of  engines. 

There  is  a  large  slate  on  the  table  before 
the   candidate       He    may    figure    and   rab 

'.  under  the 
i'.e  subjects 
are  covered,  a  rating  is  given  on  the  back 
of  the  application.  There  is  no  point  sys- 
tem; the  terms  used  are  "Excellent." 
"Good,"  "Fair,"  "Poor."  If  he  gets 
"Poor"  on  the  first  five  subjects  he  u 
btjund  to  be  "Poor"  on  the  balance  and 
will  be  rejected.  "Good"  on  the  first  fire 
will    counterbalance  "Poor"  on    the    last 

two. 

.\ssuming  that  the  applicant  passes  (or 
tlir  i.'r..,!r    he  is  then  put  •':.:    !:.'S  a    rc- 
ation,  this  tin.'  hand- 

l;u^    •i   wi.    equipment  to  «iin.ii  ..c  ts  go- 
in,;.      If   the   plan*    consists   of  a   tububr 
tx>ilcr   and   a    pump    80   \ 
allcwed.    and   he    vho-** 
handle  it,  he  is  . 
read    that    he    : 
licensed    to   o|h 
No.      .,  and  i  i      . 
sure."  at  that  one  plant  onl« 

A  card  is  prepar- '   '  ■ 
and  the  number  of 


ful  re- 

.•-•■:  <««7 

ti!)i  '■   that   the  bureau   re 

'.int  an> 
he    IS 


custody    ill    rtttUutfciMA   Ul« 
rty. 
<t  on  stri^  'gmmng  the 


7or 


■«i   the 


rrxxt 


■f  in*   p*mc«ter   pImm 

<j-jiorrs. 

M<'%TM1  >    fa*....- . 


qurstsoos  orasi  be  amve; 

they  cover  the  entire  pUac.     ii  « 

It    nni«Hi]    an    trnprrior    Iron    1%^ 

I'ptm  km 
■f  10  coaifel  r<r*»> 
-'wn  plants. 

•  M   ,l<f.,u.i    .» ^.  _ 

thirteen  mciml  m- 
t(>c  1  ;it  ^  xt^r  4!  the  cost  ol  mif  %a  per 
l>  der  Incidemally.  m^mg  tHe 
an  inspector  by  siriue  of  ) 
the  ttatiofiing  ui  an  atta<; 
in  e^ery  botler  rooai  ■  thr 
In  addition  to  this  tm^- 
at  the   service  of  the  bu 

far    r    i>l    ^rs)    r^itr.Jxf^n   ^.    ., 
''  r«|«lataor 

*•■'  '"•^  it»»c»-v  vTifinecev  and  nr 

imtsi  upoa  Ttpun,  so  prevcM  tke  open 

tMM  of  coodcnaed  piMtt  or 

to  prevent  tke  fiiifliijwii  of 

<-re»« 

I^    a   compLaiM    recewed   tkai   wi   «i- 

'«t  cnginerr   is  oyrruntg  a  WMler* 

•■pkofx-  ''■'■  r-  mptiMH  t»  traniwitn< 

to  the  nnar  tataon.    A  mmm  Itvm 

the  rtatrtt  »—    •-     tW   koder 

rootn  and  dem.  enfiaeer's 

"  He  lui  ruMir    r^  '.*m9%  tke  vns^ 

'o  the  Mattcai  komm,  Mfcihtr 

owner  or  Itmw.  if  k*  caa  fM 

The  bureau  prepnfr*  the  prowcn- 


L    to 


rhere^     Agsii^  the  flaliiMi 
;•!  tfir   nvin  on  um w 
to  arfcM  dM 


the   bnrran    has    no   mfomaeaaa   «4 

.  II 


rrM*  tJw  wmtanwamtw.  tW  pla*  • 

(l  at    )'.!  *  rr^-ft  :•  f-^MAr  So  tW 


1  r 
s    IS. 


i  to      1    \-MltJ»ATTrtS(« 
When   the  papers   .irr    • 
rect    the    randidate    i»    t  >'^ 
Patrolmen   Michael    I  it /■pit  • 


«i«Ai  tiiil  I 


7o8 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


Apjil  20,  1909. 


No.  IC3-08  (B)    ;,uOJ 


Boiler    No.  Serial  No. 


Owuer's     Name 


Locatiou    of    Plaut 


4399         I  1     to     3 


WILLIAM  L.  SMITH  &  CO. 


1262  BROADWAY 


style    of    Boilers 


Site    of    Boilers,     "When    and     Where    Built 


Location    of    Boilers 


HOR.  TUB 


16'6"L.  X  5'6"D.  3/8  SH.  D.R.  56.000 


1908. 


BASEMENT 


Date    of    Test 


Amount 
of  Test 


MAR.       15       1909 


150 


Pressure     Pressure 
Allowed       Carried 


100 


100 


No.  of 

Gage 

_CocltB_ 


No.  of 
Steam 
Gages 


No.  of 
Safety 
Valves 


Inspected     by 


LANAGAN 


#1-2-3. 


BOILER-TEST  CARD 


but   one    responsibility,    that    of    making 
prompt  repairs  when  notified. 

Neglect  on  the  part  of  the  owner  re- 
sults in  the  bureau  reaching  out  with  that . 
long  arm,  the  uniformed  force,  and  tak- 
ing actual  control  of  the  plant,  even,  as 
the  law  states,  "in  cases  deemed  neces- 
sary, the  appliances,  apparatus  or  attach- 
ment for  the  limitation  of  pressure  may 
be  taken  under  its  control." 

Others  Eligible  for  Third-grade 
Licenses 
The  fireman,  oiler  or  general  assistant 
for  five  years  to  a  licensed  engineer  of 
New  York  City,  heretofore  referred  to, 
are  not  the  only  persons  eligible  for 
examination  for  a  third-grade  engineer's 
license.  Those  equally  eligible  are  a  fire- 
man, oiler  or  general  assistant  to  the 
engineer  on  any  steamship  or  steamboat, 
or  any  locomotive  engineer,  for  five  years, 
who  shall  have  been  employed  for  two 
years  under  a  licensed  engineer  in  a  build- 
ing in  New  York  City ;  a  fireman,  oiler 
or  general  assistant  to  the  engineer  on 
any  steamship  or  steamboat,  for  the  period 
of  five  years,  who  shall  have  been  em- 
ployed for  two  years  under  a  licensed 
engineer  in  a  building  in  New  York  City; 
or  a  fireman,  oiler  or  general  assistant 
who  has  served  as  a  marine  or  locomotive 
engineer  or  fireman  to  a  locomotive  engi- 
neer for  a  period  of  five  years  and  has 
been  a  resident  of  the  State  of  New  York 
for  a  period  of  two  years;  or  a  person 
who  has  learned  the  trade  of  machinist  or 


boilermaker  or  steamfitter  and  has  worked 
at  such  trade  for  three  years,  exclusive 
of  time  served  as  apprentice,  or  while 
learning  such  trade;  and  also  any  per- 
son who  has  graduated  as  a  mechanical 
engineer  from  a  duly  established  school  of 
technology,  after  such  person  has  had 
two  years'  experience  in  the  engineering 
department  of  any  building  or  buildings 
in  charge  of  a  licensed  engineer  of  New 
York  City. 

Unless  the  stranger  in  New  York  can 
show  a  certificate  as  engineer  issued  to 
him  by  a  duly  qualified  board  of  examin- 
ing engineers  existing  in  pursuance  to  law 
in  a  State  or  Territory  of  the  United 
States,  and  can  prove  that  he  is  the 
identical  person  to  whom  the  certificate 
was  issued,  he  will  not  be  permitted  to 
take  an  examination  for  an  engineer's 
license. 

In  some  States  and  Territories  there  are 
no  legal  boards  of  examiners  of  engi- 
neers ;  men  from  those  States,  although 
they  may  be  experts  and  may  have  served 
twenty  years  in  boiler  rooms,  are  abso- 
lutely debarred  from  the  supervision  of 
boilers  in  this  city.  Their  local  union 
cards  are  not  received  as  credentials. 

After  the  license  is  granted  it  lies  with 
the  examiners  whether  the  engineer  shall 
do  the  work  he  wants  to  do  or  not. 
Although  the  owner  of  a  portable  hoisting 
engine  requests  the  examination  of  a  man 
who  has  come  out  of  an  office  building 
and  is  willing  that  he  shall  run  his  en- 
gine, the  board  may  and  does  decline  to 


permit  him  to  undertake  the  place,  on  the 
ground  that  an  office-building  man,  never 
having  worked  on  hoisting  machinery,  is 
liable  to  kill  someone.  So  they  exercise 
discretion  in  permitting  men  to  work  on 
different  classes  of  work. 

Three  Grades  of  Engineer 
The  bureau  recognizes  three  grades  of 
engineer,  third,  second  and  first.  The 
third  grade  alone  is  compulsory  for  the 
care  of  a  plant.  The  second  grade  may 
be  obtained  after  two  years  in  the  third 
grade.  The  examination  takes  in  the 
operation  and  care  of  dynamos.  The  first- 
grade  examination  may  be  had  at  the  re- 
quest of  an  owner,  as  in  every  other  case, 
after  one  year  in  the  second  grade.  The 
subjects  are  operation  and  care  of  ice  ma- 
chines, use  of  the  steam  engine  and 
indicator. 

The  owner  of  a  building,  whose  candi- 
date for  fireman  or  any  grade  of  engineer 
fails  to  pass  his  examination,  has  the  right 
to  send  two  licensed  engineers  to  the 
bureau  to  examine  the  candidate  upon  the 
subjects  given.  The  bureau  reserves  the 
right  to  instruct  its  examiners  to  interro- 
gate the  candidate  on  the  same  subjects 
where  they  find  the  visitors  were  not 
sufficiently  painstaking. 

In  Boston  and  a  few  other  large  cities, 
the  horsepower  and  steam  pressure  regu- 
late the  grade  of  an  engineer.  In  New 
York,  however,  a  third-grade  engineer 
may  be  found  operating  a  huge  plant. 
There  is  no  legal  provision  against  this. 


So.  1.-/J 

Boiler  No. 

1 

Owner's    Name 

Office 

Boiler     Where     Located                                              1 

13220 

GENERAL  CONTRACTING  CO. 

43  JOHN  ST. 

PILE  DRIVER  #  117 

Engineer 

Date  of  Exam. 

Renewal 

Eenewal 

Renewal 

Renewal 

Remarks 

EDWARD  J.  DUNN           MAR.  15/09 

PowT.  y.  r. 

PORTABLE  ENGINEERS    PLANT  CARD 


April  20,  1909.    - 

been  pointed  out  as  a  weakness  in 

lit    -ystem.      But   it   is   only    fair   to   say 

Ihat  altiiouKh  men  in  charge  of  some  of 

*.    plants   in   the  city   have   only 

licenses,    they    are    invariably 

:   superior  ability,  an<I  • 

nd  post   graduates  of  t' 

ics,     who     could     pass     with     ease 

'  anv  kind  of  an  c\aniin:ition  in  rnr- 


Restuctions  of  Licenses 

Aiihough  the  engineer's  license  is  gixxl 

for  one  year,  it   is  only   theoretically   so. 

•I'-ally.    the   license    is   go<xl    for   one 

jirovided   the    engineer    remains    in 

•    of    the    particular    plant    it    covers 

year.   A  system  of  transfer  examina- 

prevents    him    from    "free-lancing" 

.ir.  ,;   the  city   on   his   one  year's  license 

ind  brings  him  to  headquarters  as  soon 

i%  he  leaves  his  job,  for  examination,  at 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

"uttit      If  he  cannot  utitfy  the  cxamtom 
that  he  will  not  kill  anyune.  !  r 
a   transfer   tu  the   nrw   i<ib 


m  ibc 

.  it  l.% 
the  bureau. 

'^  •  through  each  of  the  ditt>.  ..-  ...  ».. 
ing.     If  experience    is    shown,    the 

•".>ier   is  granted. 

It  can  easily  be  seen  that  thii  lyttetn  of 
liiTiising.    ft)r   J' 
tion  on  the  pi., 
lions    for   transfer   dind    ; 
l>rn»i<in  of  the  license  <1 
idleness,  all  recorded  on  the  card  mdex. 
give   the   bureau  an  absolute  measure  of 
the  ability  of  every  fireman  and  engineer 
in  the  city,  their  moxcmcnts  and  past  per- 
formaiKes  day  by  day  and  their   where- 
abouts at  all  times.    They  can  never  get 


709 

fer»    bKk    to    the    book*    lor   ^tcy    r^ 
e«.  but   ibe   ftyvo^M*  oa  th*  ca/ 4* 
tmd  gcneraBy  to  be  MftcacnL 
rhal  time  the    hisilf  run,   ol    the 

I   were   l.atnl   ill    MarK^Miu   ai-I   m 
branch  «- 

"••  and  ,^.   «.., 

rt.      Sho;  aff«k   were 

'  the  6rpui«  ■  I  ninxi**»amtr  ttotm^ 

>n  braach  and  oaHralu«4  tbe 

•hatua  bareaa     Tlaa 

xytnMmm  of  aU  tke 

•«K  if<ficral  iadra  co«enag  al 

The  rrnsolidtioa  created  ■• 

'  jbor.  bai  the  namk  m 


I    r     I.,  iiff*  .-sTjTixur;     fv^jcr*,         lUM 

lu.ilcrt.-    "Boiler    Tests."    "Eag—efK*' 
"Corubte   Eocmcr*."  "Stmiomrf 


.„.   s^m.      SMITH.  JOHN  T 

u»i»  •!  rum  ■■■■I— ii««     MARCH  15tb.  190Q 


MAR  lA/00 


s*. 


4899 


OaH  al  iM 


Vmmtt 


■r^_ 


irtcismtr  cAMt 


0»— 1'>    Si 


» 


WILLIAM  L.  SMITH  4i  00. 


1302 


JOHN  T.  SMITH 


sTAnoMAaY  ufaNiiM  rtAMT  cxao 


BROADWAY 


—  'f 


Ike   request  of  the   next   prospective   em-      away  from  the  supervisioo  of  the  bureau 
"'-  •  -r.  ii|»on  his  ability  to  handle  his  new     once  they  arc  liccmcd. 


pursuing  its  actuating  principle,  the 

irdiuK    of    lifr     and     proi)erty,     the 

riecring   into  five 


.\  s  : 
double    drum 


Steam  shovel 

Engineer    in   charge   of   shafting 

Kngineer  in  charge  of  office  build- 


ing 


If  a  man  leaves  an  office  building  and  i< 
»•  owner  ■  • 
;   for  cxat; 
;■>  f«in  hi*  plant,  lie  will  Ik    i-  k   n  ! 

hi*   index  canl  show*   ih.i*   '      ' 
iperiencein  runnini;  a  I" 
US    to    his    last    pljcc    11 
(ig      If  he  insists   that   he   ln»  '  < 

■'•   not   on   the   card,   hr   t-.    t" 

'iltinn    on    riiMiiinu    .1 


I\T*Mi_i»iiMurr  or  the  CAai<-i^£<\ 

Stmu 
rrr\i<i(M  to  the  appoinime-  « 

(  iimmi%*ioner  Haasoo.  about  r* 

•e 
d 


1   .r 


The  to| 

HJ<|H(ad    bcr»«nrv.     tlliatirair     tr»     K-mmrwnm 

I  the  cards.    TWy  arv  ba(%  <bwWd  kf 
.  «im1  ♦l*rtjr     A  Mcood  **nt%  ua^rt  the 


>.    M* 


710 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  20,  1909. 


records.  All  the  cards  are  7x9^  inches 
in  size,  ruled  front  and  back,  and  each 
is  of  a  color  different  from  the  others. 

The  boiler  cards  are  reviewed  every 
day  and  those  due  for  the  annual  inspec- 
tion are  listed.  Ten  days  before  the  day 
the  inspection  is  due,  a  notice  is  sent  to 
the  engineer.  He  is  required  to  be  ready 
for  the  hydrostatic-pressure  test.  So  as 
to  delay  and  inconvenience  the  owner  or 
lessee  as  little  as  possible,  the  day  and 
hour  of  the  inspector's  call  are  given. 

Inspectors'  Reports 

The  bureau  then  routes  its  inspectors 
overnight  and  knows  just  where  they  are 
working.  Pressure  one-third  more  than 
that  allowed  is  the  standard  test.  On 
their  return  every  day  to  the  bureau,  the 
inspectors'  reports  are  compiled,  and  where 
licenses  are  issued  entries  are  made  in  full 
in  the  boiler  accountbook.  The  license  is 
made  out  and  the  following  day  it  is  on  its 
way  to  the  plant  by  messenger,  a  patrol- 
man. He  is  charged  with  so  many  specified, 
numbered  licenses  and  must  bring  back 
the  license  or  the  fee.  City  departments 
alone  receive  credit.  Others  must  pay  on 
delivery. 

Payment  for  Licenses 

"Upon  receipt  of  a  couple  of  hundred 
dollars,  entries  of  which  are  made  in  a 
bojIer"cashb6ok  and  checked  off  with  a 
date  stamp  on  the  boiler  accountbook,  the 
moriey  is  sent  to  the  bookkeeping  depart- 
ment of  the  police  department,  where  the 
custodian  of  the  pension  fund,  under 
bond,  certifies  to  receiving  payment  for 
licenses  whose  numbers  are  given,  to- 
gether with  the  serial  numbers  of  the 
boilers.  He  has  a  full  set  of  the  serial 
numbers  so  that  at  a  glance  he  can 
see  whether  all  the  listed  boilers  have 
been  licensed.  If  they  have  been  licensed 
and  there  is  no  fee,  it  is  up  to  the  bureau 
to  explain.  If  there  is  no  license  issued 
to  a  boiler  it  shows  plainly  in  the  blank 
space  opposite  the  unchangeable  number 
of  the  boiler. 

Boilers  condemned  retain  their  num- 
bers, but  are  assorted  as  "Idle  Boilers," 
until  new  boilers  are  installed.  The  num- 
bers are  then  given  to  the  new  boilers. 
Where  plants  go  out  of  business  after  the 
condemnation  of  a  boiler  and  take  power 
from  some  other  source,  the  fact  is  no- 
ticed on  the  boiler  card. 

The  Guiding  Principle  of  the  Bureau 

In  all  its  operation  the  bureau  is  guided 
by  the  one  principle,  the  saving  of  life 
and  property,  to  which  it  owes  its  crea- 
tion. In  1862  the  number  of  boiler  ex- 
plosions in  New  York  became  alarming. 
It  was  rumored  that  there  was  a  plot  to 
blow  up  the  city.  A  committee  of  citizens 
was  appointed  to  investigate.  Unable  to 
perform  the  task,  they  called  in  the  police. 
Patrolmen  were  placed  on  guard  in  the 
boiler  rooms  of  the  city. 


Gradually  the  work  drifted  into  the 
hands  of  the  police,  and  the  bureau,  the 
first  of  its  kind  in  the  world,  was  organ- 
ized as  part  of  the  police  department's 
supervision  of  life  and  property. 

There  have  been  several  unsuccessful 
attempts  to  remove  the  bureau  from 
police-department  supervision. 


Municipal  Plant  at  Marshfield, 
Wisconsin 


By  Louis  B.  Carl 


In  1904  the  city  of  Marshfield,  Wis., 
purchased  the  local  electric-light  plant  and 
water  works  for  $150,000.  The  power 
house  was  i^  stories,  the  engine  room, 
36x84  feet,  containing  two  I2xi5-inch 
high-speed  McEwen  engines  operating  at 
270  revolutions  per  minute,  belted  to  two 
50-kilowatt  iioo-volt  133-cycle  Westing- 
house  and  Fort  Wayne  alternators ;  a  No. 
8  Wood  arc  machine ;  a  20  and  12  by  15- 
inch  Worthington  and  a  16  and  8  by  15- 


The  uptakes  were  connected  to  a  brick 
chimney  88  feet  high,  with  an  internal 
diameter  of  4  feet  and  an  external  diame- 
ter of  8  feet  at  the  base  and  6  feet  at  the 
top.  There  were  also  a  70-kilowatt  Wood 
alternator  and  a  No.  8  arc  machine 
located  in  a  factory  and  used  to  carry  the 
load  part  of  the  time. 

The  outside  work  consisted  of  about 
5  miles  of  transmission  lines,  with  38  arc 
lamps,  and  about  73^  miles  of  12-,  10-, 
8-,  6-  and  4-inch  cast-iron  water  pipe. 
One  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  second- 
growth  timber,  on  which  the  plant  was 
situated,  went  with  the  purchase.  In  1907 
the  people  voted  $35,000  of  improvement 
bonds  for  the  purpose  of  rebuilding  the 
plant  and  obtaining  a  reliable  water 
supply. 

The  Remodeled  Plant 

In  the  engine  room,  as  remodeled,  are 
two  generating  sets,  one  consisting  of  a 
I4x30-inch  Corliss  engine  running  at  120 
revolutions  per  minute,  and  driving  with 
a   is-inch  double  leather  belt  a   loo-kilo- 


Uiscbarge 
Old  We 


PLAN  OF  grounds,  MARSHFIELD     (wiS.)    PLANT 


inch  Smedley  duplex  steam  pumps,  used 
to  pump  water  into  a  standpipe  15  feet  in 
diameter  by  120  feet  high,  located  about 
two  miles  from  the  plant.  The  Smedley 
pump  was  so  connected  as  to  be  able  to 
pump  from  thirty-two  2-inch  driven  wells 
into  the  standpipe  or  into  the  reservoir,  or 
from  the  reservoir  into  the  standpipe. 
The  Worthington  could  pump  only  from 
the  reservoir  into  the  standpipe.  With  the 
exception  of  a  small  spring  in  the  reser- 
voir, the  thirty-two  wells  constituted  the 
entire  water  supply  for  a  city  of  about 
7000  people.  The  wells  were  driven 
about  22  feet  and  when  working  at  their 
best  did  not  give  over  75  gallons  per  min- 
ute. The  switchboard  was  of  wood,  and 
was  equipped  with  the  necessary  meters, 
switches,  etc. 

The  boiler  room  adjoins  the  engine 
room  on  the  east,  being  a  35x40-foot  lyi- 
story  brick  building  containing  two  60- 
inch  by  18-foot  return-tubular  boilers,  an 
"Excelsior"  feed-water  heater,  a  6  and  4 
by  6-inch  Fairbanks-Morse  duplex  boiler- 
feed  pump  and  a  "Metropolitan"  injector. 


watt  2300-volt  6o-cycle  alternator  run- 
ning at  900  revolutions  per  minute,  and 
the  other  unit  comprising  an  i8x42-inch 
Corliss  engine  running  at  100  revolutions 
per  minute,  and  driving  with  a  30-inch 
double  leather  belt  a  225-kilowatt  2300- 
volt  60-cycle  alternator  running  at  600 
revolutions  per  minute.  The  exciters  are 
direct-mounted   on    the   generator    shafts. 

The  generators  and  engines  are  of  the 
Allis-Chalmers  standard  make.  The  en- 
gine cylinders  are  lubricated  by  Manzel 
automatic  force-feed  lubricators  and  the 
bearings  are  supplied  from  a  gravity-oil- 
ing system,  consisting  of  a  lOO-gallon  tank 
located  near  the  roof  and  connected  to  the 
different  bearings  by  brass  pipe.  The 
eccentrics  are  lubricated  with  Albany 
grease.  All  the  drains  lead  to  a  three- 
section  Turner  oil  filter,  having  a  capa- 
city of  75  gallons  per  twenty-four  hours, 
located  in  a  basement  between  the  engine 
cylinders.  The  oil  is  elevated  to  the  tank 
by  a  small  rotary  hand  pump. 

The  switchboard  consists  of  four  30x90- 
inch     Vermont     blue-marble     panels,     of 


:,T't\  20.  1909 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


7i« 


which  two  arc  generator  panels  contain- 
ing three  ammeters,  one  voltmeter,  one 
3-polc  3000-voIt  automatic  oil  switch,  one 
field  switch  and  a  ground  detector  lamp, 
with  the  necessary  plugs.  There  is  a 
swinging  bracket  located  on  the  loo-kilo- 
watt  generator  board  containing  a  sjm- 
chroscope  and  exciter  voltmeter.  There 
U  one   feeder  panel  containing  three  am- 


lamps.     All  leads  from 
the   switchboard   are   l 
laid  in  conduit     The  i  ^ 
are   mounted    oatside    of 
There  is  also    located    in 
motor-starting     panel     of 
inch  *  -.   - 

20;. 
one  three  p*UiC   Wattmeter 


thr  p''rr*ra«''»r<  »*> 


the  iMiildMif. 
this  room  a 
slate.     24x60 


in  the  back 


feed-water  appftrataa  eoMitta  of  a 
Sorsepowtr  Cbdiraac  aptm  haaicr. 
hrau  the  water  to  aaS  dcgrtw  Fakrtakak, 
a  6  aod  4  bf  6-ladi  Gardner  JHflra  ttt4 
pump  and  an  8  anJ  <  ^^  icviBcfc  Ifank 
pump.    The  feed  t  "^  P**ip*  ** 

'-  front  of  the  bo..-^^.    >  .  .adi  Waa^  •• 
1  each  boiler  is  cowected  by  a  l)i> 
incfi  brass  pipe  having  two  |pi*  mmi  oat 


TWO  Vlr.w^  IM  THE  aNGIME  «OOM  Of  Tilt  UVWKXTAL  »tA»T  AT  MAMUmia.   »l» 


A**  CWSI 


crt  ;ind  three  oil  swilcbca.  al»o 
.»e  wattmeter. 


'   <  K'ivi  are  mmmtrd 


MO-bor«r-    cbedi  rthmk    TW  U 
.lumeter  ami  («■•■ 


SWIt.  .  .     :.:!rc     itab     *\*i". J.' 

two     ir  uita   and  one    M''"'' 
At  tl  •■  u^hA  o{  the  iw  • 
ihr    .irr  htchtmg   appat    ' 
.   Fort   W.iynr  JS-liRht    ' 
'%)»h    regulators     tupjil. 


an  iWt' 

ib«lar    ^ 


fi<»«  (■■p  <«al  »  -•*<-  M*^  a 
.•Iw  of  iktm  n^m  %i:  wd 


,r,    ifv  r»f «    in     .a  —  ^ 

t  the  tt»«^     TV 


-It  M  a  caf  MMMf  •••  P**"^     '^ 
.f.    lapwilf  to  J»»  ti^ 
ls«4 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  20,  ic 


iron  pipe  with  extra-heavy  cast-iron 
flanges  and  fittings ;  all  bends  are  made 
with  long-sweep  elbows.  Crane  valves 
are  used  throughout  the  plant.  The  leads 
from  the  boilers,  which  are  6-inch  and 
contain  two  valves,  are  connected  to  the 
top  of  an  8-inch  header  which  is  60  feet 
long  and  has  a  drop  leg  at  each  end 
drained  by  traps  discharging  into  the 
heater.  The  connections  for  the  engines 
and  the  water-works  pumps  are  all  taken 
from  the  top  of  the  header.  Separators 
above  the  engine  throttles  are  drained  by 
traps  located  in  the  basement  and  dis- 
charging into  the  heater.  A  5-inch  header 
at  right  angles  to  and  connected  with  the 
8-inch  header  supplies  steam  for  the  feed 
pumps  and  whistle.  All  steam  pipes  are 
covered  with  air-cell  asbestos  covering. 

New  Wells  for  the  Water  Works 
After   a   thorough    test    covering    con- 
siderable territory  it  was  decided  to  locate 
sixteen  new  wells  about  600  feet  south  of 
the   power   house,   spaced    45    feet    apart. 


Water-works  Substation 
At  about  the  center  of  the  line  of  wells 
a  substation  was  built  of  brick,  laid  in 
cement  and  made  water-tight.  The  sub- 
station is  18  feet  below  the  surface  and 
10  feet  above,  having  an  inside  diameter 
of  12  feet.  In  this  station  is  located  a 
vertical  3-stage  DeLaval  centrifugal  pump 
running  at  1120  revolutions  per  minute, 
with  a  capacity  of  600  gallons  per  minute 
under  a  head  of  120  pounds.  A  Westing- 
house  7S-horsepower  3-phase  2300-volt  in- 
duction motor  is  located  14  feet  above  and 
direct-connected  to  the  pump.  This  set 
is  started  by  an  auto-starting  switch 
located  in  the  engine  room.  As  soon  as 
the  pump  is  started  the  pressure  in  the 
pump  casing  acts  on  a  diaphragm  and 
opens  a  valve,  allowing  oil  to  run  into  a 
gang  feed,  whence  it  is  carried  to  the  dif- 
ferent bearings  by  brass  pipe. 

As  the  average  pressure  carried  on  this 
pump  is  70  pounds,  it  was  tested  at  that 
pressure  and  delivered  750  gallons  of 
water  per  minute.    To  keep  the  wells  sup- 


the  average  pressure  carried  is  70  pounds^ 
in  case  of  a  large  fire  the  standpipe  can 
be  shut  off,  when  no  pounds  can  be 
maintained  at  the  hydrants  by  direct 
pressure. 

The  plant  operates  twenty-four  hours 
per  day  with  four  men,  two  on  each  shift 
of  12  hours.  The  day  load  consists  of 
about  75  horsepower  in  motors,  besides 
the  pumping. 

Operating  Expense 

Although  no  exact  records  are  availa- 
ble, the  following  will  give  a  general  idea 
of  the  operating  expenses  for  November 
and  December,  1908.  As  the  steam  pump 
uses  about  650  pounds  of  coal  per  hour, 
that  amount  will  be  deducted.  The  pump 
operated  208  hours,  therefore  it  used 
208  X  650  =  135,200  pounds,  which,  de- 
ducted from  the  626,000  pounds  used  dur- 
ing November  and  December,  leaves  490,- 
800  pounds  to  be  credited  to  the  rest  of 
the  plant;  and  490,800  pounds  at  $3.50 
per  ton  equals  $860.30.     Supplies  and  re- 


r 
4 

m 

*  sB 

SWITCHBO.'KRD    IX    .MARSHFIELD    PLANT 


VIEW    OF    MARSHFIELD    PLANT 


They  were  drilled  with  a  12-inch  drill 
which  was  followed  up  with  a  12-inch 
steel  casing  until  rock  was  reached,  when 
a  4-inch  point  from  16  to  26  feet  long 
was  connected  to  a  4-inch  pipe  and 
lowered  in  the  casing.  The  space  be- 
tween the  point  and  casing  was  then  filled 
with  screened  gravel  to  within  14  feet  of 
the  surface,  where  a  tee  was  located  in 
the  well  pipe  which  was  connected  to  the 
suction  pipe  through  a  gate  valve.  The 
suction  pipe  varied  from  6-inch  at  the 
extreme  end  to  lo-inch  at  the  pump. 
These  are  all  flowing  wells  at  the  depth 
of  the  suction  pipe  which  keeps  the  pump 
primed. 

After  the  gravel  was  placed  in  the  cas- 
ing the  casing  was  withdrawn.  For  pull- 
ing this  casing,  a  heavy  cast-iron  collar, 
with  an  internal  diameter  of  15  inches, 
was  slipped  over  the  casing.  Wedges 
having  teeth  on  one  side  similar  to  a 
pipe  wrench  were  then  driven  between 
the  casing  and  collar.  With  the  aid  of 
two  30-ton  hydraulic  jacks  the  casing  was 
pulled  about  12  feet  per  hour. 


plied  it  was  decided  to  build  an  impound- 
ing reservoir  covering  eight  acres  and 
holding  approximately  25,000,000  gallons. 
.\  dam  was  constructed  across  a  valley 
through  which  a  ditch  ran.  This  ditch 
drains  about  1200  acres  of  land.  After 
finding  the  direction  of  the  underground 
flow,  which  is  about  8  inches  in  twenty- 
four  hours,  two  intake  wells,  12  inches  in 
diameter,  were  drilled  to  bedrock  and 
filled  with  gravel,  through  which  the 
water  filters  to  feed  the  other  wells. 

In  General 

When  the  city  purchased  the  plant  there 
were  about  4500  lights,  whereas  now  there 
are  9500.  The  water  connections  have 
also  been  increased  from  180  to  315. 
Nearly  all  the  services  were  on  a  flat  rate, 
but  have  now  been  changed  to  meter 
rates,   for  both  light  and  water. 

The  city  has  also  replaced  all  4-inch 
mains  with  6-inch  pipe,  besides  having 
laid  about  5000  feet  of  new  6-inch  mains. 
There  have  also  been  installed  12  new 
hydrants   and   four   arc   lights.     Although 


pairs  cost  $73.96,  and  labor  cost  $530, 
making  a  total  of  $1464.26.  As  there  were 
74,800  kilowatts  generated, 

$1464.26  -h  74,800  =  $0,019 
per    kilowatt    at    the    switchboard. 

O.  L.  Dorschel  is  superintendent  of  the 
plant  and  had  charge  of  rebuilding  the 
svsteni.  J 


Proposed  License  Law  for  Phil- 
adelphia 

There  is  an  act  before  the  legislature  of 
Pennsylvania  providing  for  the  better  pro- 
tection of  life  and  property  by  the  com- 
petent operation  of  steam  boilers  and  en-^ 
gines,  and  for  the  examination  and  licenS' 
ing  of  engineers  in  charge  thereof.  It  ap' 
points  a  chief  engineer  and  twelve  assist- 
ants, one  for  each  of  the  twelve  districts 
into  which  the  State  is  divided.  Engineers 
holding  licenses  of  cities  of  the  first,  sec- 
ond or  third  class,  which  are  already  pro- 
vided for,  shall  be  granted  a  license  with- 
out examination.  The  fee  is  $3  when  the 
license  is  granted  and  $1  for  each  renewal. 


pril  20,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


71J 


Danger  from  Water  Hammer  in  Steam  Pipes 

Cases  in  which   Water  Hammer   Damaged  Piping  and   Valve*;    wilh 
Hints    as    to    How    These     Conditions     Might     Have    Been    Avoided 


BY        HOWARD 


KNOWLTON 


The  importance  of  preventing  water 
hammer  in  steam  pipes  is  not  always 
fully  appreciated  by  operating  engineers. 
The  study  of  steam-plant  accidents  shows 
that  every  year  lives  are  lost  and  property 
damaged  through  the  fracture  of  pipes  or 
valves  by  water  hammer.  A  number  of 
cases  occurring  recently  are  presented  in 
the  following  paragraphs  in  the  hope  that 
engineers  working  with  steam  mains, 
valves  and  drains  'will  t>e  able  to  avoid 
•••rilar  troubles: 

ise  I— The  initial  conditions  were 
pipes  250  feet  long,  newly  erected  and 
uncovered.  The  drain  to  the  trap.  Fig.  i. 
was  blocked  by  cement  jointing  material 
and  rust.     The  stop  valve  .-4,  cutting  off 


steam  trap.  The  test  cock  or  float  would 
have  enabled  the  engineer  to  ascertain  if 
the  water  were  t>elow  the  horizontal 
length  of  pipe  before  he  opened  the  dram 
cock  or  the  valve  B.  Test  cocks  used  m 
such  cases  should  ht  very  small,  and 
opened  for  a  short  time  only;  otherwise 
the  discharge  from  them  may  be  suffi- 
cient to  Mistiirb  the  surface  of  the  water 
in  the  honrontal  length  of  pipe,  and  thus 
start  the  water  hammer  they  are  intended 
to  prevent. 

Case    2 — This    was    the    fracture   of    a 
cast-iron  elbow  and  a        "  well  pipe 

at  the  lower  end  of  a  w  steam 

main  connected  with  i<>::r  1.  ^crv  oprrat- 
ing   at    a    steam    prc*siire    of    i<^r»   p-mnds 


abattiiig  tbc  bodcr  «op  vahre  A  «•■ 
pipe  fitted  with  a  Haall  tc«c  cock  or  » 
float  telhak  woold  kavc  «MU«d  tk» 
operating  cagiMir  to  ■««  tf  tlw  pipe  were 
clear. 

Case  1— Uris  was  tbc  fractarc  oi  • 
valve  casing  of  tW  boikr  vahrv  hf  vMcv 
hammer  The  braack  pipe  coMMdiag  iW 
boiler  \»\\r  to  tbc  MCMB  ■Hit  FIf-  X 
which  «at  sunilartjr  ooaaactatf  to  l«th»« 
other  boUers.  was  carried  horitoialy 
from  tbc  valve  casing  to  aa  elbow,  aad 
thence  vertically  to  )o«a  tbc  auia.  Tbc 
horitootal  kagtb  was  pturidcd  wkb  a 
drain  cock.  wUck  was  aMsDy  tell  aigbllr 
open  when  tbc  boiler  valve  wa*  clowd.  aa 
it  had  been  for  two  days  brfora  Ike  aect- 
dent  while  tbc  boiler  was  being  clwaidL 
in  order  to  keep  the  valw  fr««  froai  wa- 
ter. On  this  occaaioa  tbc  cock  hod  either 
not  been  opened  or  had  b«e«^'  -lr>.*.i  H* 
dirt,  for  a  considerable  qm> 
collected  in  ibc  braack  pipr  1 1>  ~w^* 
tKr  latter  the  cock  was  Ofcacd  wide  wM»- 
•'ii«  down  ibe  ianetioa  valvM  oa 
r  boilers,  the  rertKol  pan  of  tbe 
pipe  was  emptied  and  a  eomidrraye  sar- 
face  in  tbe  borisontal  Metion  evpe«rd  «« 
the  steam,  when  water  booHaer  of  mA> 

rirrtt    i,.r    r    f,.    '.♦fiV    'Kr    ral«r    fa«rr»    oe» 


^     a«u«f     ^L 


!•  Wnmm  T'M 


00000 


Steam     from     a    boiler    other    than     tint 

shown,  and   the   Iwiirr    shutofi    val\r     fl 

were  cl«»sed  in  order  to  enable  the 

at   /•   to  be  repaired.     The  valve   c 

left  open.    Water  accumulated  in  the  pn>r 

before    the    stoppage    of    the    valves    and 

cooled  during  the  time  of  closure.    When 

the   valve   B   was  opened   a   fracture  oc- 

nirred   at   the   point   shown.     The   steam 

pipe  wa*  of 

ter,  ami  the  \ 

per   M|ii.(rc   iiu  li 

turr   w.i^   the  ojm-j  :    . 

B.  the  mistake  lieing  to  rely  on  a   %tr4tTi      x- 

trap   for  draining  a  new  pipe.     A   l.>u^ 

drain  cock,  without  a  waste  pipe,  tl 

have   t»«"en   fitted  close  to  the  pi;' 

arranw  mrnt    of   the   pipe    was 

and    It  11: 

drain    i  »*»<     '^ 

cock,  or  .»  il 

rock    to    lie 


per    tqoare    inch.     The    1 
drained  t>y  a  steam  trap  an 

t>p«^ 


■MM  Mate 

WIth'XM     -.1 

,. 

^^ 

*** 

of  an  tbe 

b 

\'. 

.a    M     .4 

thr 

aa  ai  n. 

in 

co< 

tbouM  - 

by   bm*  >"»*«   •rfk*«rf 

COfl. 

\xm  aaa  aa  arsakMr 

W 

wuh  a  maaiftina 

*w   .« 

p; 

pipr     was 

at 

oek 

' 

left 

ra- 

lant 

botler.  cau 

wA   by 

f  :                    Wd  wi* 

->•  pieced  to  Ngb 

■\wt    p*fHfW 

:4ac«  «eetl  tW  pipe 

714 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  20.  1909. 


tained  water,  and  possibly  also  the  7-inch 
pipe  up  to  the  level  of  the  drain.  The 
water  hammer  was  produced  when  the 
stop  valve  A  was  opened  to  give  steam 
to  the  engine,  the  fault  being  in  opening 
the  valve  A   before  closing  the  valve  C. 


cast-iron  steam  pipe  by  water  hammer. 
Steam  had  been  left  to  condense  in  90 
feet  of  new  uncovered  pipe  varying  from 
9  to  6  inches  in  diameter.  The  engine 
valve  A,  Fig.  7,  was  shut,  and  the  drain 
was  shut.    Water  hammer  occurred  when 


To  EQgi 


FIG.  5 


tion  during  the  dinner  hour  on  the  day 
of  the  accident  must  have  been  sufficient 
to  fill  the  well  pipe  and  partially  fill  the 
36-foot  length  of  nearly  horizontal  pipe 
leading  to  it.  The  fault  was  in  opening 
the  engine  stop  valve  before  closing  the 
boiler-junction  valves  and  opening  the 
drain.  With  the  well  pipe  overflowing 
into  the  steam  main,  it  would  have  been 
dangerous  to  open  the  drain  without  first 
shutting  the  boiler-junction  valves.  A 
try  cock  or  a  telltale  float  would  have 
shown  the  conditions.  The  drain  should 
have  been  opened  when  the  engine  was 
stopped,  and  left  open  until  the  engine 
was  started  again,  or  if  left  shut  the 
junction  valves  on  the  boilers  should  have 
been   closed   before   reopening  it. 

Case  7 — This  accident  was  the  fracture 
of  the  cast-iron  casing  of  the  junction 
valve  on  a  boiler  line.  The  boiler.  Fig.  8, 
was  one  of  a  group  of  nine,  and  the  steam 
was  conveyed  from  the  junction  valve  to 
the  steam  main  by  a  7-inch  branch  pipe 
about  16  feet  long,  which  was  joined  by 
a  bend  to  the  under  side  of  the  steam 
main,  so  that  when  the  junction  valve 
was  shut,  not  only  the  steam  condensed 
in  the  branch,  but  also  water  from  the 
main  would  accumulate  in  this  pipe.  To 
prevent  the  accumulation  of  water  a 
^-inch  drain  pipe  and  valve  were  fitted 
to  the  lowest  part  of  the  branch  near  the 
junction  valve.  The  pipe  had  originally 
been  connected  to  a  ^-inch  pipe  leading 
to  a  drain  in  front  of  the  boilers,  but  this 
was   later  disconnected  and  shortened  to 


The  engineer  should  have  known  that 
unless  the  valves  B  and  C  were  abso- 
lutely tight  there  would  probably  be  water 
in  the  superheater.  He  should  have  shut 
off  the  valve  C  before  opening  valve  A, 
and  left  it  closed,  with  the  water  in  the 
superheater,  until  the  fire  was  lighted  in 
No.  9  boiler  10  evaporate  it.  The  drain  d 
should  have  been  located  at  the  lowest 
point  of  the  pipe. 

Case  5 — This  accident  was  the  fracture 
of  a  cast-iron  reducing  valve  by  water 
hammer.  The  valve  was  placed  at  one 
end  of  the  main  steam  pipe  crossing  a 
group  of  four  boilers,  Fig.  6,  and  could 
be  shut  off  from  the  pipe  by  a  wedge- 
shaped  valve  near  to  it.  The  steam  main 
had  a  fall  of  about  3  inches  toward  the 
wedge-shaped  valve,  and  at  the  time  of 
the  explosion  the  stop  valve  on  the  boiler 
next  the  wedge  valve  was  shut,  and  the 
stop  valves  on  the  other  three  boilers 
open.  The  explosion  occurred  early  in 
the  morning  and  was  caused  by  the  night 
watchman's  opening  the  wedge  valve  to 
admit  steam  to  the  reducing  valve,  and 
through  it  to  the  heating  system  in  the 
mill.  The  steam  main  being  partly  filled 
with  water,  a  violent  water  hammer  was 
at  once  set  up.  If  the  drain  had  been 
cross-connected  to  the  other  boilers  the 
steam  main  might  have  been  kept  free 
from  water. 

Case    6 — This    was    the    fracture    of    a 


To  Boiler  No.  3 


Eeducing  Valve 


FIG.   6 


&^ 


the  engine  stop  valve  was  opened.  The 
pipes  were  new  and  well  designed,  having 
been  in  use  but  a  week.  The  boiler-junc- 
tion valves  were  shut  at  the  nightly  clos- 
ure of  the  plant,  but  were  left  open  dur- 
ing the  stops  for  meals,  and  the  condensa- 


about  i8  inches,  so  that  when  the  valve| 
on  it  was  open  it  discharged  upon  the  top 
of  the  side  flue  of  the  boiler.  On  a  cer- 
tain day  the  junction  valve  was  shut 
down,  and  on  the  next  day  the  water 
was  run  out  and  four  men  sent  into  the 


April  20,  1909. 

boiler  to  scale  it,  and  four  others  into  the 
external  flues  to  sweep  them  preparatory 
to  the  annual  examination.  It  was  cus- 
tomary at  this  plant,  when  a  boiler  was 
laid  off  for  cleaning,  to  insert  a  blank 
flange  at  the  joint  of  the  7-inch  branch 
pipe  with  the  steam  main,  to  prevent  the 
men  in  the  boiler  being  annoyed  by  the 
leakage  of  steam  and  hot  water  past  the 
junction  valv<;.  On  this  fKTcasi.  n  the  pre- 
caution was  omitted,  but  the  ^j-inch  drain 
above  referred  to  was  opened  to  keep  the 
branch  clear  of  water.  The  discharge 
from  this  drain,  running  upon  the  brick- 
work, percolated  through  into  the  flue 
and  annoyed  the  men  sweeping  it.  The 
evidence  was  that  someone  shut  the  drain 
and  later  obtained  an  iron  plate  to  lay 
upon  the  boiler  top  to  lead  the  water 
away  from  the  brickwork,  had  then  opened 
the  ^-inch  drain  and  thus  disturbed  the 
surface  of  the  water  which  had  in  the 
meantime  accumulated  in  the  branch  pipe, 
and  so  caused  the  water  hammer  which 
I'Toke  the  casing.  The  pressure  in  the 
was  95  pounds  per  square  inch. 
\t  the  investigation  of  the  accident  it 
decided  that  the  chief  engineer  and 
tlr  foreman  of  the  company  were  to 
blame  for  the  explosion.  They  should 
have  been  aware  that  the  '/'i-inch  drain 
pipe  had  been  shortene<l  and  was  dis- 
rging  water  upon  the  brickwork,  and 
into  one  of  the  flues,  and  that  the  flue 
ners  were  adopting  the  clumsy  ex- 
(.•<lient  of  using  sheets  of  iron  to  divert 
the  water,  and  also  that  it  was  highly 
probable  that  laborers  of  this  class  might 
tempor-irily  close  the  valve  of  a  drain 
pipe  which  was  causing  them 
through    dripping       The    drain 

ained   in   «lefectivc  (-on»liti<>ti    i.r   n\rr 
•  ;ir       ll    w.isr!r:irK    fl.itii."  r .  •■•  •    I'   .ill'iw 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

steam  at  low  temperature.  The  water 
liammer  was  caused  by  opening  the  dram 
two  turns,  giving  an  opening  of  about 
%  sqture  inch  for  two  mmutes,  or  11  thi» 
did  not  lower  the  water  level  in  the  j  inch 
pipe  to  A  A.  opening  the  ttop  valve  B 
after  the  drain  had  been  open  two  min- 
ute*. Whichever  of  the»e  acts  lowered 
the  water  level  in  the  j-ini'  A  A 

caused  the  water  hammer  was 


na  0 


tore  of  gs  pnmdi  per  g^nrc  Mck 
XxMaSkf  dkc  Mop  ^vc  C  v**  kb«.  Md 
D  wM  opm  Tbe  ei«Mc  Mop  %at*«  A 
was  open  and  ibc  drajo  •hot  fnniliMMl 
Mean  had  accannlatcd  a»d  rooltd  te 
pipe  £  £.  Wucr  tin— 111  *m  caMcd  \f 
.io«mg  valve  D.  opcnti^  dw  dfaa  aid 
'alve  C.  Tbe  (anh  was  ia  apaM«  dM 
valve  C  More  douog  tJie  jwictioa  vshw 
on  the  lop  bo(ler«  To  avoid  Um  mo*- 
»ity  of  doatag  thr«c  valiva  beiorc  opaM« 
valve  C.  the  pipe  £f  Uwold  have  bMB 
fitted  vttb  a  Ur(r  drAin  teadaag  !•  • 
•team  trap.  «h»cb  wooid  kav«  kept  tm 
pipe  dear  a*  long  a*  tbe  trap  acted.  A 
MiU  better  plan  wo«ld  bav«  htm  10  bmv 
iaMaOcd  a  well  or  mk  pi^  close  10  C. 
draiMd  \fi  a  trap  aad  fnad  vitb  a  loai 
icOtalc  or  MiaO  mt  rodt  to  cmUr  tiv 
engiarer  in  rhargr  to  mc  that  tW  pipe 
was  free  from  water  before  opeaiag  ike 
vahre  C.  and  to  warn  ban  that  the  jVBr- 
tioa  valve*  on  ihr  kr»lm  dtoald  be 
•bat 


Monnm  ol  Sftfr«>   EJccHoo 


Anoooacement  bat  )aM  be««  MMdt  af 
tbe  elcctioa  of  tbe   fniloai^g   ofceri  af 
tbe   Maaean  of   ^fr<«    xnA   ^^rit*>^rMi 
Actnig  pmidcat. 

prtsidcata.  ChaH«-  .ax 

tin.   Prof    F    R  ter. 

treasarer,    Robrr' 
•cope  coTHBiUtce. 
lian  j.   Moran.   I>: 
H.  D    Whitfield.   P     : 
Willtafli  H    Toinua 
member*    are    C     H 
Gary,  Richard  WatwM  Uildtr.  Ur  ibeaM« 

IT' 

R    .,  . 

Moras.  R    SkM- 

lodi  and  rr  -uit  *- 

The  Maar  'rtv  aa 

baaiuottc* 

ao  Nt 

Yorb  (  •  tt^MM 

are  to  <- 

of  aafvtv  and  aMaMtoaa  ai 


mm  inside   the  boiler   under  the  drrnm 
ticr«.   for   the   mam    steam   |> 
-e  been  disconnected  and  a  )> 
'    on.     The    drain    «h<niM 

11      -   — ' — trd    to    at    lea«t 


rtr.    10 


tn  '»;*rr»tnir  th*  4r»4*»  *»r  »*»*  ♦•I 


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f    .W    '  ./    .•». 


ttamoier  an«)«- 


7i6 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  20,  1909. 


Three-phase  Transformer  Con- 
nections   and     Resulting 
Voltages 


By  a.  D.  Williams,  Jr. 


The    accompanying    Table    i    gives    the 
voltage  between  the  line  and  the  neutral, 


% 


\, 


r^^ 
.5^ 
^ 


FIG. 


I.     THREf-PHASE  DELT.\-COXNECTED 
GENERATOR' 


TABLE   1. 


VOLTAGE  OF  THREE-PHASE 
CIRCUITS. 


J)! 

Voltage 
Between 
Phases. 

oltage  Be- 
veen  Line 
d  Neutral. 

Voltage 
Between 
Phases. 

Voltage 
Between 
Line  and 
Neutrnl. 

>-fe 

>-5 

1 

0.6 

100 

57.8 

10,000 

5.773.5 

2 

1.2 

200 

115.5 

20,000 

11,547.0 

3 

1.7 

300 

173.2 

30,000 

17,320.5 

4 

2.3 

400 

230.9 

40,000 

23,094.0 

6 

2.9 

500 

288.7 

.50,000 

28,867.5 

6 

3.5 

600 

346.4 

60,000 

34,641.0 

7 

4.0 

700 

404.1 

70,000 

40.414.5 

8 

4.6 

800 

461.9 

80,000 

46,188.0 

9 

5.2 

900 

519.6 

90,000 

51,961.5 

10 

5.8 

1000 

577.4 

100,000 

57,735.0 

20 

11.6 

2000 

11.54.7 

30 

17.3 

3000 

1732.0 

40 

23.0 

4000 

2309.4 

50 

28.9 

5000 

2886.8 

60 

34.6 

6000 

3464 . 1 

70 

40.4 

7000 

4041.4 

80 

46.2 

8000 

4618.8 

90 

52.0 

9000 

5196.2 

or  ground,  on  a  three-phase  star-connected 
circuit,  and  by  simple  addition  will  give 
the  voltage  to  the  neutral  or  ground  for 
any  potential  not  included  in  the  table. 

Example — To  find  the  potential  between 
the  ground  and  any  phase  of  an  ri.ooo- 
volt  circuit : 

5773-5  +  577-4  =  6350.9  volts. 
The    diagram    of    a    three-phase,    star- 
€onnected  generator  is  shown  in  Fig.  2. 


The  neutral  wire  inakes  this  a  three-phase, 
four-wire  system.  The  usual  method  con- 
nects the  neutral  to  the  ground,  and  this 
is  the  three-phase,  three-wire  system  used 
for  most  transmission  lines.  The  neutral 
point  of  the  star-connected  circuit  is  not 
necessarily  grounded,  but  where  it  is  de- 
sired to  operate  without  a  ground  connec- 
tion or  to  ground  one  phase,  a  condition 
that  occurs  in  three-phase  railway  work, 
the  delta  connection  shown  in  Fig.  i  is 
more  often  used. 

The  method  of  connecting  the  trans- 
formers for  delta,  or  triangle,  circuits  is 
shown  in  Fig.  3,  and  for  star  connection 
in  Fig.  4 ;  in  the  latter  the  neutral  is 
shown  dotted.  These  two  methods  are 
the  usual  three-phase  connections  and  re- 
quire three  transformers  or  a  three-phase 
transformer.  This  latter  differs  only 
from  three  single-phase  transformers  in 
having  a  magnetic  circuit,  certain  portions 
of  which  are  in  common.  Figs.  5  and  6 
illustrate  two  forms  of  three-phase  con- 
nection for  transformers  which  are  rarely 

TABLE  2.         TRANSFORMATION  RATIOS; 
PRIMARY  AS  IN  FIG.  7.  SECOND- 
ARY AS  IN  FIG.  9. 


Primary 
Voltage. 

Propor- 
tion of 
Primary 
Coil  in 

RatioTofTTransforma- 

TioN.  Secondary 

C01L.S  In 

Use,  Per 
Cent. 

Multi- 

Series- 

ple. 

Mult. 

Series. 

f 

100 

40 

20 

10 

Normal..  .  .■{ 

95 
90 

38 
36 

19 
18 

9.5 
9 

L 

85 

34 

17 

8.5 

r 

100 

42 

21 

10.5 

95  per  cent. J 
of  normal  1 

95 

40 

20 

10 

90 

38 

19 

9.5 

I 

85 

36 

18 

9 

r 

100 

44.5 

22.25 

11.13 

90  per  cent.  1 

95 

42 

21 

10.5 

of  normal  { 

90 

40 

20 

10 

I 

85 

38 

19 

9.5 

r 

100 

47 

23.5 

11.75 

85  per  cent.) 

95 

45 

22.5 

11.25 

of  normal  l 

90 

42.5 

21.25 

10.63 

1 

85 

40 

20 

10 

50  per  cent.  ( 
of  normal  | 

100  per 

Cent.  Coils 

in  Mult. 

1   20 

10 

5 

used,  but  which  may  be  found  of  service 
in  emergencies. 

The  three-phase  V-connection,  Fig.  5,  is 
sometimes  called  an  open-delta  connection. 
This  connection  would  result  if  one  of  the 
transformers  shown  in  Fig.  3  were  re- 
moved for  some  cause  or  other.  This 
property  of  the  three-phase  delta  circuit 
is  of  advantage  in  permitting  continuous 
operation  under  practically  any  emergency 
that  may  arise,  and  is  one  of  the  reasons* 
why  the  delta-connected  circuit  has  been 
used  in  some  transmission  lines.  In  the 
three-phase  V-connection,  if  the  amount 
of  current  per  phase  be  represented  by  i, 
the  current  flowing  through  each  trans- 
former winding  will  be  y  3  =  1.73, 
from  which  it  can  be  seen  that  the  cop- 
per loss  of  the  transformers  will  be  in- 
creased. The  objection  to  this  connec- 
tion arises  from  the  tendency  of  the  trans- 
former impedance  to  produce  an  unbal- 
anced secondary  voltage,  which  also  pro- 
duces unbalancing  in  the  primary  circuit. 


The  T-connection,  Fig.  6,  overcomes  the 
disadvantage  of  the  V-connection.  The 
unbalancing  is  not  as  serious.  The  ratios 
given  between  the  transformer  taps  on  this 
diagram  are  the  theoretical  values.  In 
practice  the  transformer  marked  with  the 
ratio  0.867  rnay  have  the  ratio  0.85  or  0.90 
and  will  then  operate  satisfactorily. 

Nearly  all  transformers  made  have  taps 
taken  out  from  the  primary  winding  so 

TABLE  3.         TRANSFORMATION  RATIOS; 
PRIMARY  AS  IN  FIG.  8.  SECOND- 
ARY  AS  IN  FIG.  7. 


Propor- 
tion of 
Primary 

Ratio 

OF  Transforma- 

Primary 

TiON,  Secondary 
Coils  In 

Voltage. 

Use,  Per 

Multi- 

Series- 

Cent. 

ple. 

Mult. 

Series.  1 

( 

100 

40 

20 

10 

Normal..  .  .  { 

95 

38 

19 

9.5 

/ 

90 

36 

18 

9 

95  per  cent.  ( 
of  normal  | 

100 
95 
90 

42 
40 
38 

21 
20 
19 

10.5 
10 
9.5 

i   ( 

100 

44.5 

22.25 

11.13 

90  per  cent.  \ 
of  normal  ) 

95 
90 

42 
40 

21 
20 

10.5 
10 

r 

Coils  in 

50  per  cent.  1 
of  normal! 

Multiple 

100 

20 

10 

5 

L 

90 

18 

9 

4.5 

45  per  cent.  ( 

100 

22 

11 

5.5 

of  normal  \ 

90 

20 

10 

5 

S>^MJ)S)MS)± 


FIG.     2.     THREE-PHASE  STAR  OR  Y-CONNECTED 
GENERATOR 

that  they  may  be  operated  with  100,  95,  90 
or  85  per  cent,  of  the  primary  coils  in  ser- 
vice ;  and  a  top  is  usually  connected  to  the 
middle  of  the  primary  winding.  Occasion- 
ally they  are  arranged  to  operate  with 
only  100,  95  or  90  per  cent,  of  the  primary 
in  service.  The  schematic  arrangements 
of  these  two  cases  are  shown  in  Figs.  7 
and  8,  respectively.  The  percentage  values 
given  are  the    ratios    between    the    total 


April  20,  1909. 


POWER  AN'D  THE  EMJINEER. 


tiumber  of  turns  in  the  primary  coils  and  the 
number  of  turns  between  the  various  tap*. 
If  the  ratio  across  the  entire  primary 
winding  be  taken  to  represent  the  poten- 
tial in  volts  for  which  the  primary  wind- 
ing is  normally  designed,  the  ratios  given 
represent  the  various*  primary  potentials 
upon  which  this  winding  can  be  cuinccted 
to  deliver  the  full  secondary  voltage. 
Thus  the  winding  shown  in  Fii?.  7  will  de- 
liver the  normal  secondary  voltage  when 
the  primary  voltage  is  100,  95,  90,  85  or  50 
per  cent,  of  the  normal  or,  with  normal 
primary    voltage,    secondary    voltages    of 


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p 

— 

^  A  A  A> 

p 

^  A  A  A  i 

AAA      AAAA      AAAA 


--    -         M 


riC.    3     TURKE-PHASE  DELTA  CONNECTION  OF 
TKANSrORMEXS 


four   coil^   can    be    connected    in    terict,     brou.-T ! 
"1   '  •»  or  multiple,  giving  >ccon       «r 

da:.,   r- •  .*l4  of  loa  y>  or  25  per  •"  ' 

of  the  normal,  or  they  can  be  uk 

operate  two-,  three-  or  ■ 

As    any    of    these    con 

made  in  pn 

marv    •  i!    a 


secondary    voltages. 

normal    ratio    of    the      . 

primary  to  secondary  is   10  to  I.  a  com 
mon   ratio  in    distributing    transformers. 

I  t 


rt  %ancty  of 

mbinatMm*  of  coimtiu—  cm  kt 

nude. 

In  »hr  perfect  tramfoTMcr.  ilwi  k,  oat 

no  loMcs  occur r«d.  tkr  pinaiij 

mohiplkd  by  the  nuirVr     f  titnM 

in  the  primary  coil  would  \--  tW 


t!^i 


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tr«J«n     Tr^     iiztc     «<'>U*c3 


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scMtMATic  Au«iicamvT  or 

MAIT   WiaMMGS 


ric  5.  TuiiK-rHAac  v-ooNMCCTioy 


\aaA^^^^         VNAAA/Vv 


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AAAAAAAf       na  ft   A»onin 

MAAT 


ric.    tx    iMHiB-rHA«  T<Diiiramoii 


nC      4.      TIIBEr.-l'HASE    lil  AH    « '1NKICT10N. 

NEUTRAt.  DOT  I  to 

100,  105,   III  or  If7  per  cent,  of  normal     tlir  followinff  transformation  rstio«  can  be     tb« 

voltage   can    be  The    wi: 

shown   in   I'ig    H  •  <-r   thr   n 

secondary  v<>lt.iKr  when  the  prr 
i     >vf    IS    100.  y5.   00,    5«  "<■    «s   "■ 

rmal  or,  with  the  1 

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•>.  105  or  III  per  ceiu    >>i  U'  ■ 


$tu    9.    •«.■* 


7i{ 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  20,  1909. 


The  Use   of   Indicators  in  Refrigeration 

Limitations  of  the  Diagram  in  Work  of  This  Character;  Its  Meaning  in 
Compression;    Analogy  to   and  Comparison  with  the  Steam  Diagram* 

BY        SAMUEL        K,        P  ATTESON 


The  indicator  in  steam-engine  design 
and  operation  is  in  common  use  today  in 
valve  setting  and  in  the  determination  of 
the  efficiency  of  steam  engines,  and  its 
value  in  this  connection  is  well  known. 
Its  application  to  the  steam  engine  and 
the  details  of  its  use  are  familiar  facts, 
but  its  application  to  the  compressor  in 
refrigerating  plants  is  not  so  common. 
In  fact,  ammonia-refrigerating  machine 
manufacturers  themselves  advocate  the 
use  of  a  thermometer  with  their  installa- 
tions. Most  engineers,  however,  who  are 
thoroughly  familiar  with  the  workings 
of  the  indicator  recognize  its  applicability 
to  both  cases. 

Limitations  of  the  Indicator  Diagram 

That  the  indicator  diagram  is  just  as 
useful  in  refrigeration  as  in  steam-engine 
work  is  beyond  doubt.  In  the  steam  en- 
gine it  merely  records  the  pressure  in  the 
cylinder  depending  on  the  cylinder  stroke, 
and  it  acts  in  the  same  way  in  the  am- 
monia compressor.  Its  limitations  here 
are  the  same  as  in  steam  work.  In  steam 
work  nothing  can  be  learned  from  it  about 
the  degree  of  superheat  in  the  steam,  the 
amount  of  moisture  in  it,  or  the  quantity 
of  steam  which  passes  through  the  cylin- 
der at  each  stroke  of  the  piston.  In  fact, 
it  takes  no  account  of  the  temperature  of 
the  steam.  This  can  only  be  deduced  from 
the  pressure  and  the  volume  as  shown  on 
the  diagram.  These  limitations  hold  in 
refrigeration  work  as.  well,  and  no  record 
can  be  obtained  by  its  use  of  the  degree 
of  superheat  in  the  ammonia  gas  or  its 
temperature,  or  the  amount  of  liquid  or 
vapor  carried  over  in  the  gas  or  evapo- 
rated in  the  compressor  itself.  As  to 
these  points  many  of  them  can  be  obtained 
from  the  thermometer  in  both  of  these 
.  installations.  The  fact  that  these  latter 
points  have  more  influence  in  refrigera- 
tion work  than  in  steam  work  is  responsi- 
ble for  the  opinion  that  the  indicator  is 
not  applicable  to  this  development.  Steam 
should  never  enter  the  cylinder  partially 
condensed  and  effort  is  made  to  avoid 
this  condition.  However,  in  refrigeration 
work,  especially  in  wet  compression,  it 
is  desirable  that  a  part  of  the  liquid 
should  enter  the  cylinder  in  order  to  per- 
mit its  further  evaporation  in  the  cylin- 
der. These  variations  are  due  to  the  fact 
that  in  steam  work  the  heat  is  desirable 
in  the  cylinder,  while  in  refrigeration  it 
must  be  gotten  out  as  completely  and  as 


rapidly  as  possible.  These  conditions,  of 
course,  give  an  entirely  different  concep- 
tion of  the  indicator  work  and  its  rela- 
tive importance  in  the  two  developments. 
Thus  work  is  the  end  sought  after  with 
steam  and  the  presence  of  heat  is  not  of 
such  importance.  In  the  case  of  the  re- 
frigerating machine,  heat,  or  rather  the 
removal  of  it,  is  the  object  in  view.  The 
indicator  performs  the  same  duty  in  the 
one  case  as  in  the  other.  It  is  invaluable 
in  both  steam-engine  practice  and  am- 
monia compression  and  it  would  be  diffi- 
cult to  obtain  adequate  data  in  regard  to 
these  machines  without  it.  Adequate  data 
in  regard  to  pressure  and  total  work  done 
in  expansion  and  compression  can  be  got- 
ten in  no  other  way.  Of  course,  if  no 
account  is  taken  of  the  quantity  of  work 
done  by  the  compressor  in  refrigeration, 
or  of  the  amount  of  steam  used,  the  indi- 
cator is  not  particularly  useful  in  this  de- 
velopment, and  the  thermometer  answers 
very  well,  if  the  refrigeration  alone  is 
considered.  The  same  may  be  said,  how- 
ever, of  steam  work.  In  the  refrigeration 
machine  the  same  information  can  be  ob- 
tained by  the  use  of  the  thermometer  and 
metering  the  ammonia  as  can  be  gotten 
in  steam  work  by  the  use  of  the  ther- 
mometer and  measuring  the  water  con- 
sumed. The  metering  of  the  ammonia  is 
done  practically  by  measuring  the  refrig- 
eration produced  in  the  cooling  coils.  The 
refrigerating-machine  manufacturers,  as  a 
general  thing,  have  not  considered  the 
compressor  as  an  efficient  machine  from  a 
work  point  of  view,  and  hence  the  low 
estimate  placed  upon  the  usefulness  of  the 
indicator  in  this  field.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  a  wider  use  of  the  indicator 
would  result  in  showing  where  improve- 
ments are  desirable  and  practicable. 

Analogy  of  the  Steam   Diagram 

A  study  of  the  steam  diagram  in  its 
analogy  and  contrasts  with  the  indicator 
diagram  as  used  in  refrigeration  work, 
will  aid  in  making  more  clear  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  latter.  The  general  shapes  of 
the  diagrams  are  the  same.  In  both  they 
should  consist  of  horizontal  lines,  one 
above  the  other,  the  lower  always  being 
longer  than  the  upper  and  the  two  con- 
nected on  one  side  by  a  vertical  line  and 
on  the  other  by  a  line  curving  toward  the 
lower  straight  line.  In  steam  work  the 
object  in  view  is  to  get  the  greatest 
amount  of  work  with  the  least  steam  con- 


sumption. In  compression  the  object  is 
to  get  the  greatest  amount  of  compres- 
sion with  the  least  work.  The  upper 
straight  line  in  the  steam  diagram  repre- 
sents the  portion  of  the  stroke  during 
which  steam  enters  the  cylinder,  and  its 
distance  from  the  lower  line  represents 
its  pressure  above  that  of  the  exhaust. 
Hence,  the  distance  between  the  two  lines 
must  be  as  great  as  possible,  or  the  pres- 
sure of  the  steam  as  it  enters  must  be  as 
high  as  possible,  in  order  to  get  the  maxi- 
mum amount  of  work  obtainable.  Then, 
too,  the  line  must  be  as  short  as  possible, 
as  its  length  is  always  proportional  to  the 
amount  of  steam  that  enters  the  cylinder 
per  stroke  of  the  piston.  The  area  of  the 
diagram  being  equal  to  the  pressure  times 
the  change  in  volume  represents  work, 
and  by  making  the  upper  line  longer  a 
larger  area  is  secured  and  therefore  more 
work  done  per  stroke  of  the  piston,  but 
more  steam  is  used,  and  the  object  here 
is  to  get  the  greatest  possible  proportion- 
ate amount  of  work  from  a  given  quan- 
tity of  steam.  In  overloads,  of  course,  the 
time  of  cutoff  is  extended  and  we  have 
varying  lengths  of  cutoff,  in  many  cases 
automatically  regulated  by  the  governor. 
Ill  these  cases  the  engine  does  more  work, 
but  it  uses  a  larger  proportion  of  steam, 
and  its  efficiency  is  lowered. 

In  the  best  engines  the  cutoff  is  made 
to  operate  under  normal  circumstances,  so 
that  the  greatest  proportionate  amount  of 
work  is  accomplished  at  the  best  effici- 
ency from  a  steam-consumption  view- 
point. This  is  equivalent  to  stating  that 
the  rest  of  the  curves  in  the  diagram 
are  so  proportionate  and  have  such  rela- 
tions that  with  this  particular  length  of 
upper  line,  or  steam  consumption,  the 
greatest  area,  or  work  done  relatiyely,  is 
obtained.  After  the  cutoff  is  made,  that 
portion  of  the  expansion  remaining  should 
be  adiabatic  for  most  efficient  work,  or, 
in  other  words,  the  remainder  of  the 
upper  line  in  the  indicator  diagram  should 
be  part  of  an  adiabatic  curve.  An  adia- 
batic curve  is  steeper  than  an  isothermal 
one,  and  hence  the  latter  would  give  a 
larger  area  to  the  diagram  and,  therefore, 
more  work,  but  in  this  case  heat  would 
have  to  be  added  while  the  change  was 
taking  place,  and  this  extra  heat  would 
not  be  made  use  of  at  its  highest  effici- 
ency. On  account  of  cylinder  condensa- 
tion and  the  accompanying  loss  of  heat, 
this  curve,  in  practice,  is  even  steeper  than 
an   adiabatic.     To  eliminate  the   cylinder 


April  20,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER, 


7I» 


condensation,  recourse  is  had  to  steam- 
jacketing  the  cylinder  and  this  tends  to 
make  the  curve  isothermal  as  well. 

Tbe  Standako  Diagram  and  Its  Mean- 
ing IN  Compression 

In  compression  the  upper  half  of  the 
diagram  represents  the  compression  part 
of  the  stroke.  The  ammonia  gas  or  air  is 
compressed  adiabatically.  This  compres- 
aton  continues  until  the  valve  opens  and 
during  the  remainder  of  the  stroke,  while 
the  gas  is  leaving  the  compressor  and 
entering  the  condenser,  the  line  should  be 
horizontal.  Now,  the  amount  of  refrig- 
eration produced  is  proportional  to  the 
quantity  of  ammonia  gas  leaving  the  com- 
pressor. The  amount  of  work  done  on 
the  gas  by  the  compressor  is,  of  course, 
represented  by  the  area  of  the  diagram, 
and  hence  the  object  here  is  to  get  the 
upper  line  as  long  as  possible.  The  area 
of  the  diagram,  or  the  work  done,  be- 
comes less  the  nearer  the  suction  pres- 
sure is  to  the  condensing  pressure.  The 
colder  the  condensing  water  and  the  lar- 
ger the  condenser  the  less  will  be  this 
pressure ;  hence  follows  the  great  effect 
which  the  temperature  has  on  the  effici- 
ency of  a  given  plant  and  the  amount  of 
work  required.  If  the  condenser  is  too 
small  to  take  the  extra  charge  from  the 
compressor  without  extra  work,  the  upper 
straight  line  will  not  be  horizontal,  but 
will  continue  to  rise  with  further  com- 
pression ;  and  this  represents  a  loss  in 
efficiency  also,  since  the  pressure  at  which 
the  valve  opens  is  the  pressure  at  which 
the  condenser  can  work  if  its  capacity  is 
not  overcrowded.  All  this  work  done  on 
the  gas  up  to  this  time  appears  as  heat, 
and  the  compression,  therefore,  is  adia- 
balic. 

As  the  adiabatic  curve  is  steeper  than 
the  isothermal,  the  compression  should  be 
isothermal  and  the  temperature  of  the 
ammonia  gas  should  be  kept  down  during 
the  compression,  in  order  that  the  area  in 
the  diagram,  which  represents  the  work 
done,  shall  be  as  little  as  possible  Water 
jacketing  is  r<  ^  re- 

sult.   ■\n<\   •»  -  <-   is 

re.T'  ■!  from  liie  mtvr    .11  thr  in<!' 

cat'  1      This  line  is  ..1*"  artrctr.! 

by  the  speed  of  the  compressor  The  heat 
cannot  escape  from  the  gas  to  the  water- 
jacket  fast  enough  if  the  compressor  it 
operated  too  rapidly,  and  the  curve  be- 
comes adiabatic  and  more  work  is  done 
Again,     under     these  the 

entering  col<|  gas  on   •  •  re- 

absorbs   this    >ir;if     -.rr.  the 

cylinder  w.ills  afi>l  rxp  the 

cooling  roils  before  the  closing  of  the 
valves  I  his  reduces  thr  ..n.i  itv  "f  »h*- 
condrn«er   with   a   consequn 

frigeralion  produced.    An  an^i  k - 

tion  exists  in  the  steam  engine,  whirli  ♦•« 
plains  the   fact   that   an   increase  «n   »p*-«-  '• 
results    in    an    increased    efficiennr    in    (' <■ 
steam  engine,  while  in  ?!"•    ■  ■*» 

pressor   the   reverse  efTr*  t    1  '■nee. 


Thus,  the  indicator  diagram  becomes  in* 
valuable  in  showing  tbe  tpecd  at  which 
the  bes?  results  can  be  obtained  from  tbe 
c  :■ 

1:    .  -,  however,  an  ammonia  com- 

pressor  is  run  at  its  maximum  operating 
speed.  This  is  often  done  without  regard 
to  the  efficiency  of  tbe  operation,  but  in 
order  to  secure  the  highest  possible  re- 
turns on  the  first  cost  investment.  Tbe 
excess    r    '  .cr,    is    some- 

times pr  .en  when  tbe 

first  cost  iiicior  is  given  full  considera- 
tion, and  the  point  at  which  the  loss  be- 
gins should  be  positively  known  by  tbe 
operator,  and  this  point  can  only  be  ob- 
tained by  intelligent  use  of  the  indicator 
diagram. 

Day  rcasus  Wkt  CoMraxssiox 
The  conditions  coiuidered  so  far  have 
been  those  which  in  refrigeration  are  simi- 
lar to  steam  work,  assumirtg  a  dry  gas  «* 
the  working 
sable  one  or 

enters  the  cylinder  with  the  gai  A  cuo- 
sideration  of  these  factors  materially 
alters  the  conditions  to  be  considered  and 
also  alters  the  indicator  diagram.  What 
has  been  considered  thus  far  has  dealt 
with  dr;.  >ioa     In  what  is  known 

as  wet  n  an  amount  of  water, 

varying     with     different  is 

sucked   into    the    cylinder  'ese 

conditions  the  cylinder   vo! 
for  gas  to  be  compressed  hj 
ished  by  the  presence  of  the  water  in  the 
cylinder.      The    upper    horiionlal    line    m 
the  indicator  diagram,  understood  as  be- 

ink' 'nal    to   the   quantity   of   gas 

co:  i  the  cylinder  per  stroke,  can 

no  lo!ii{rr  be  so  considered,  if  this  gas  is 
mras'ifd  in  volwm'^  a«  in  the  case  of 
tlir  -    existence   Of 

co:  <• 

In  dr>  jrding  ef!- 

in  tlir   .  .  !<■   4    •'■r 

eflcvv, ,......; 

jected  into  the  compressor 

tion,  however,  is  not  accottijii:M.r.i  u-. 

i«  prr^fni  in  both  cases.  pri)b4bly  escti  •  ■ 

,    i-  ■iprc%»M'" 

may  cut  the  ■  tl>«  <iuu^ttmot  JO 

j^r     .,  •  IS  prcteni   ia  tbe 

cyi  ;  a  ris«  in  taai^m- 

tut<    .       A  niantkiD  is  daaaitjr 

at   constant   ;  ^nd  caaaM  be  dr- 

irctc!    on    tJrr    .,,...  -;or    r»'-«       <  ►"    '>»' 
.)(her   hand,  in    wet    com( 
li,j  '  yliodrr  ■  {Him-  "  «- 

,t  jyoraled    and    tbe    ga* 

w>  tend*    to    diniateb    aoli 

vapadty  of   tbe  tyVmitr  toi 
^B  _.iiilrg  frooi    tbe    cooUag   coOs 
^r*tr.  tbia  coaipraaaioa  tak*«  plaee  •' 
temperatare    and    tuaiM"' 
.r     irxmMd   amoiinf   <  f   »»i 
•      .'nr  ff?    letKT   nf  th  •   H 

a  maeb-moottd  4«mM»-  '  •« 

wbicb  tbe  twa  opfoair.  «• 


lerbakacc  cacb  ocbce  m 

dry    rniiiinMuii    ibc 

soaMtsaMs  bcccwnc 

speeds  if  tb-  .  4wi  doca  aol  act 

^ry  eft' .^.-.^.mmm  «s  daly  el 

removir.  iroai  tbe  cyteder.   Tlaa 

factor  u  r.<.t  prcvcat  m  wet  eoaipfeaateit 

aad  if  tbe  pcopcr  ■■dmm  oi  li«atd  for 

cooliag  is  iaiaciad  viib  cack  Mrohe  ol  tbe 

piaion.  macb  Jrighcr   igiidi  caa  be  ob- 

tataed.  at  kaai  thaueetkaBy.     TW  cam- 

prraaioa  canrc  craa  ia  ibc  v« 

noe  ia  appsnaiaa 

being  belov    tbe 

•boald  be  done  per  uroke  by  tisia 

and  tbe  oaky  qoeatjoa  u  tbe  raiawta  Acs- 

ency  of  tbia  work  ia  tbe  two  ram 

Tat  StKTwa  Paar  or  no.  Orcu 

Tbia  bringB  aa  to  tbe  loarcr  Hmb  of  tbe 

cyck.  or  in  ocber  wordi^  tbe  lower  hae 

of  tbe  diagfaat     la  refrigeraisoa  «  eoa- 

•i4t«  of  tbe  taction  pan  of  tbe  cycle  aad 

t   of  dcaraace  oe  tbe  lowcriag 

praaaurc  ia   tbe  cybader  to  thai 

m  tlie  cooliag  eoib.    Ia  tbe  Meaai  varli  it 

corrcapoodt  to  tbe  ewhaaat  ttrobe  aad  fW 

retom  to  tbe  boiler  prtaturr     la  ticaai 

the  lower  line  shoold  be  as  far  as  poaaMt 

from  the  upper,  in  order  tbat  tbe  area  ia- 

ck>sed  in  tbe  diagram  any  be  as  brgt  aa 

poatftle.     Tbit   aMrtly    ataaas    tbat    tbe 

preatore  at  tbe  eabaaai  sboald  be  aa  low 

as  pnssible  aad  tbe  lower  bar  iboald  be 

'al  ia  order  ibal  ibere  iBty  be  ae 

.trca.  or  a  dsariaaboa  ia  ibe  araila- 

bte  work,   retoltiag   from  a   nse  ia  ttda 

line.     Tbit   nse   auy  be  tlk*   rffrc*   of  a 

number  of  diflereai  caaae*  m- 

sttflKicat  coadeaaer  capacity.   -•  >> '   •Aice 

may  iKit  be  cold  eaoagk  to  cnaannct  tbe 

lenoracf  10  mcrcaava  preaaarw  irviB  i^ 

advaat  of  additioaal  tiaaai,  or  a  varMy 

of  oibcr  defccta  toibe  atae  ol  ibe  eiliiii 

pnrts  rr  T^ftt.   ne  tbe   oparatioa  of  tbe 

defecta  caa  be  reoog 

..    by  tbe  form  of  tbia 

relaisoa  to  dM  raMdader  of  tbe 

TKr  \,nt  AaJU  be  eeetkal  for 

^agtb.  aad  ibeaM 

tbe  pressure 

means  a  loaa  in  fAciaacy  4m  m 
«  %*tt€ty  of  caaaea.  mtk  aa  awvara  la  tfce 
proper  tiie  of  partly  Wa^t^ -•  *■•»••■» 
ihtim  ot  tbe  eabaaw  ^^  *■• 

raaca  caa  be  ataAy  d 
and  miiilliiilia  ol 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  20,  1909. 


when  the  suction  pressure  is  high.  This 
pressure,  however,  depends  on  the  tem- 
perature of  the  boiling  ammonia  in  the 
cooling  coils  and  hence  it  may  be  seen 
why  the  temperature  required  in  the  re- 
frigerator affects  so  greatly  the  efficiency, 
and  also  why  the  lower  the  temperature 
required  the  less  efficient  will  be  its  pro- 
duction. The  lower  line  should  be  hori- 
zontal. Any  lowering  of  this  line  means 
increased  work  on  account  of  stiff  valves, 
too  small  ports  or  pipes,  or  a  leak  of  suffi- 
cient extent  in  the  cooling  coils  to  produce 
this  effect.  A  vertical  clearance  denotes 
the  complete  absence  of  ammonia  remain- 
ing in  the  cylinder  from  the  compression 
stroke,  and  this,  of  course,  is  desirable. 
Leakv   valves    or    abnormal    clearance    on 


trie  produces  variations  in  the  times  of 
operation  of  the  valves  which  very  materi- 
ally affect  the  efficiency.  By  means  of  the 
diagram  a  complete  study  of  the  valve 
mechanism  is  possible,  and  in  addition  it 
is  the  principal,  as  well  as  the  best,  method 
for  getting  the  best  efficiency  and  proper 
operation  in  this  department. 


An  Interesting  Low  Pressure  Pump- 
ing  Installation 


By  Albert  E.  Guy 


There   has   lately  been   completed   by   a 
large  steel  company  a  pump  installation  of 


header,  the  capacity  of  the  header  being 
deemed  sufficient  for  the  needs  of  the 
turbine.  Neither  was  there  any  heat 
accumulator  installed,  as  on  failure  of  the 
low-pressure  steam  supply  the  machine  is 
arranged  to  operate  on  steam  at  boiler 
pressure. 

In  view  of  obtaining  continuous  opera- 
tion it  was  necessary  to  devise  a  machine 
that  would  operate  under  a  number  of 
conditions.  The  turbine  was  to  be  located 
near  and  in  connection  with  a  large  cen- 
tral condensing  plant  in  use  for  numerous 
engines,  a  number  of  which  were  re- 
versing rolling-mill  engines,  so  that  the 
vacuum  was  very  irregular,  varying  from 
18  to  27  inches  and  averaging  about  22 
inches.      The    vacuum    was    also    lost    at 


FIG.     I.     COMBINATION    HIGH-    AND  LOW-PRESSURE   TURBINE   DRIVING  TWO  16-INCH  PUMPS  IN   SERIES 


the  pressure  side  causes  this  line  to  curve 
over.  This  results  in  less  work  being 
done  in  a  cycle,  since  the  area  inclosed  is 
smaller.  However,  some  of  the  work 
done  in  this  case  is  repeated  work,  and  the 
efficiency  is  thus  diminished.  Clearance  in 
the  cylinder  has  the  same  effect  that  a 
spring  would  have  if  inserted  between  the 
piston  and  piston  head.  Work  is  lost 
here,  resulting  in  extra  heat  in  both  cases. 
The  usefulness  of  the  indicator  extends 
over  a  wide  range,  and  a  large  amount  of 
knowledge  thus  becomes  available  in  re- 
gard to  the  internal  behavior  of  thp  am- 
monia compressor  and  of  the  conditions 
governing  its  efficiency.  The  chief  value 
of  the  indicator  is  in  valve  setting,  as  a 
slight  change  in  the  position  of  the  eccen- 


considerable  interest,  particularly  so  as  it 
is  the  first  of  its  kind  in  this  country.  It 
consists  of  a  combination  high-  and  low- 
pressure  steam  turbine  of  150  horsepower 
capacity  driving  two  16-inch  single-stage 
pumps  connected  in  series.  Fig.  i.  This 
installation  is  quite  noticeable  in  view 
of  the  extremely  difficult  conditions  that 
the  turbine  was  required  to  meet,  as  it  was 
necessary  that  this  machine  operate  con- 
tinuously without  attention,  on  the  failure 
of  the  low-pressure  steam  supply. 

The  steam  for  the  turbine  is  collected 
from  a  number  of  hydraulic  pumps,  air 
pumps  and  other  auxiliary  machines,  all 
of  which  exhaust  into  a  common  header 
from  which  the  turbine  draws  its  supply. 
No    large    receiver    was    installed    in    the 


times  due  to  trouble  on  the  engines  or 
air  leaks,  making  it  necessary  to  operate 
the  turbine  noncondensing  as  an  emer- 
gency. The  turbine  was  accordingly  pur- 
chased to  meet  the  following  conditions: 
To  carry  full  load  when  using  steam  at 
atmospheric  pressure,  exhausting  into  a 
vacuum  of  22  inches ;  also  to  carry  full 
load  when  operating  with  steam  at  120 
pounds,  exhausting  into  a  vacuum  of  22 
inches;  also  to  operate  condensing  with 
steam  at  90  pounds  pressure,  exhausting 
into  a  vacuum  of  22  inches.  In  case  of 
emergency  it  must  operate  noncondensing 
with  steam  at  90  pounds  pressure;  all  of 
these  variations  to  be  handled  automati- 
cally, with  the  exception  of  the  emergency 
noncondensing  condition. 


April  20,  1909. 

The  machine  is  used  for  pumping  water 
from  the  hotwcll  of  a  central  condensing 
plant   to   the   purifying   tanks   of   a   large 
water-purification     system,     supplying    all 
the  boilers  of  the  steel  plant  with  purified 
water.     The  conditions  for  this  work  are 
to  deliver  5000  gallons  of  water  per  min- 
ute against  a  total  head  of  65  feet.    How- 
ever, as  the   water-purification   plant   re- 
quires but  one  hour  of  work  out  of  three, 
'     -ed   for  this    ser\'ice    only,    a    pump 
>i  have  been  in  operation  only  one- 
I  of  the  time.     In  order  to  keep  the 
■n**  jp  T>n»in<ious  operation  to  obtain 
from  the  investment, 
in     obtaining    lower 
on    the    main    water-supply    system, 
...15  determined  to  use  this  pump,  for 
the  two-thirds  of  the  time  that  it  was  not 
supplying   the   purifying    system,    on    the 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

v%as  lest  than  the  ttandpipe  bead,  when 

one  of  the  tanks,  the 
m*ii  rhr  valvr  and  the 
>.\..;>-r    ifoui    • 

live  of  the  Mand- 

-?e,  but   on   clo«inc 

'he  I  valve  the  pre**urc  m 

the  i, ,.  ..■.L..U  at  once  increase  and  as 

soon   as   it   exceeded   QS    feet    the   water 
would  flow  into  thr  "      -  through  the 

check    valve.      In  the     fMimp 

would    \\ 

Of 

05    feet,   m  one   case   delivering   5000  and 
in  the  other  case  4000  g^H   '•>  f-^r  ......»,. 

The  machine  was  mf 
by   representatives  of  the   Mrn 


i                                1 

'^— ~^ 

"~"  -~  .^ 

^^  ■^*> 

""^^^^....^^^ 

"^-v^ 

■  !  i    i  i  i               ^""^ 

I   •   '   t      t  t  ;                               v^^^ 

' 

^^^. 

I 

^^ 

^\ 

j-l 


'    ■    ■    ■    i    ■    *    ^ 


■    ■    '    ' 


■'*■■*'■'■''''    ^    ^   -^ 


*.  ill  the  coci 
^cooomjr 


rrsc4  viik  |D 


^   lor 


•  "pj.iirM  »i'b  two  giy%rriX!t 
go^emort .  cmm  fa 
'rjm   afid   the    ot^  - 


.     nt  kttft  tkr 
tare     fontroot     valve     afMy 

■  He    k/«    Cirrtlurr    »■  ■\rr-n,.r     •.    f^ 

for  nomul  %\  f 

hint   hy    •"-■•  ,-    ,  .,   ..,,.,,    ^.^ 

«-f-   '   ^-  e  failure  of  the  low 

'fan-.    «-Jpf4y   !*  ' 

)lntio(»«  m  ff" 
mb  prrs*  4o4  ad 

Iff  tieam  nio  cbr 

ne.     The  stcBn  ooeiin  m  the  i«r- 

fr>r    f^<    h'leh      in.!    !    ■    r^rxtjtr    ^o«. 


a*  to 

aii<>«iing  ni  gi^wi  r^./nnaqr  with 
ibie  cooditkHis.     TW 
cunditkia  being  for  cmtrgtty  a^ 
not  made  •aiomatir.  and  to  oyrrM* 
-^'XKondcmsing  it  was 


>tvi»«  »itre 


-<icxlrs.     TW  ratio 

"ocHe    Willi    si«Mn 

Aiii»><ii><^f n    p(r<«ttr«   rahoa 

raruon  of  j6  indMs   ts  pmctfcoly 

murint  tW  nonk  at 

-e  and  rahaaMing  at  att 

*  giving  very  good 

conotion.     Tne  sycwd 

nan   otocamcd  when   riuflgaag   I 

ilrarn    titpply   to  lb*    -ihrt    m  %%   I 


ric   2.  cHAaACTcajsTtc  ctnnns  or  i6-imc  h  rvaaiwa  ourrvtmoAi.  runr 

■•■    ^^«tcm.      The  total    water 

I  the  phni  i«  v>  large  that 

•  I  m  the 

t'lrhin*- 


pump  was  nt  no  w  . 

The  machine  wa*  „_-    ^:,  .    

to  the   main   water-work*    *yttcm   in  the 

f,.!l, .»».„,,  tnanner:    The  tr«ial  hr.id  for  •'•- 
tank*  it  6s  feet,  a*  «t.itr'l    il 

..:•      t    .-.i     |.,r.,,I    ,,f     .• 
OS     frrl  I  ].r     ,,.,: 


4ai  pump  dr       r«»«Tlva«*« 


4'«f 


f'-*^   •    A^sat  ^ni-s* 


and  a  gate  \. 

plant    tn    r*^^(^^      u 

aitendui'        \«    the    pi 


TABLE  FOR  CONVERTING  HORSEPOWER  INTO  WATTS. 

TABLE 

FOR  CONVERTING  KILOWATTS  INTO  HORSEPOWER. 

1   Horsepower  =  7-45.65  Watts. 

1   Kilowatt  =  1,3411118  Horsepower. 

P^ 

Additional  Tenths  of  One  Horsepower. 

1 

Additional  Tenths  of  One  Kilowatt. 

Ed 

0      1    0.1 

0.2    1    0.3    ,    0.4 

0.5 

0.6    .    0.7 

0,8 

0.9 

0 

0_1    1    0.2 

0.3 

0.4 

0.5 

0.6 

0.7 

0.8 

0.9 

1 

746        820 

8O5'       969     1,044 

1,118 

1,193     1,268 

1,342 

1,417 

1,34 

1.48      1.61 

1.74 

1.88 

2.01 

2.15 

2.28 

2.41 

2.55 

2 

1.491 

1,.566 

1,640     1,715     1.790 

1,864 

1.939     2,013 

2,088 

2,162 

2 

2.68 

2.82      2.95 

3.08 

3.22 

3.35 

3.49 

3.62 

3.76 

3  89 

3 

2.237 

2.312 

2.386     2,461     2,535 

2,610 

2,681     2,759 

2,833 

2,908 

3 

4.02 

4.161     4.29 

4.43 

4.56 

4.69 

4.83 

4.96 

5.10 

5  23 

4 

2.9S3 

3.057 

3,132     3.206     3,281 

3,355 

3,430     3,505 

3,579 

3,654 

4 

5.36 

5 . 50      5.63 

5.77 

5.90 

6.04 

6.17 

6.30 

6.44 

6.57 

5 

3.72S 

3,803 

3,877^    3,952     4,027 

4,101 

4,176     4,250 

4,325 

4,399 

5 

6,71 

6.84 

6.97 

7.11 

7.24 

7.38 

7.51 

7.64 

7.78 

7.91 

6 

4.474 

4.548 

4,623     4,698     4,772 

4,847 

4,921     4,996 

5,070 

5,145 

6 

8.05 

8.18 

8.31 

8.45 

8.58 

8.72 

8.85 

8.99 

9.12 

9.25 

7 

5.220 

5.294 

5,369     5,443     5.518 

5,592 

5,667     5,742 

5,816 

5.891 

7 

9.39 

9 .  52;     9 .  66 

9.79 

9.92 

10.06 

10.19 

10.33 

10.46 

10 .  ,59 

8 

5,965 

6.040 

6.114     6,189     6.263 

6,338 

6,413     6,487 

6,. 562 

6,636 

8 

10.73 

10.86    11.00 

11.13 

11.27 

11.40 

11. 53 

11.67 

11.80 

11.94 

9 

6,711 

6,785 

6,860     6,935     7.009 

7,084 

7,158,    7,233 

7,307 

7,382 

9 

12.07 

12.20,    12.34 

12.47 

12.61 

12.74 

12.87 

13.01 

13.14 

13.28 

10 

7,456 

7,531 

7,606     7,680.    7,755 

7,829 

7,904     7,978 

8,053 

8,128 

10 

13.41 

13.55 

13.68 

13.81 

13.95 

14.08 

14.22 

14.35 

14.48 

14.62 

11 

8.202 

8.277 

8,351'    8,426'    8,500 

8,575 

8,650     8,724 

8,799 

8,873 

11 

14.75 

14.89 

15.02 

15.15 

15.29 

15.42 

15.56 

15.69 

15.83 

15.96 

12 

8,948 

9,022 

9.097     9,171     9.246 

9,321 

9,395     9,470 

9.544 

9,619 

12 

16.09 

16.23 

16.36 

16.50 

16.63 

16.76 

16.90 

17.03 

17.17 

17.30 

13 

9,693 

9,768 

9.843     9,9171    9.992 

10,066 

10,141  10,215 

10.290 

10,365 

13 

17.43 

17.. 57 

17.70 

17.84 

17.97 

18.  11 

18.24 

18.37 

18.51 

18.64 

14 

10,439 

10.514 

10..588  10.663  10.737 

10,812 

10,886  10,961 

11.036 

11,110 

14 

18.78 

18.91 

19.04 

19.18 

19.31 

19.45 

19.58 

19.71 

19.85 

19.98 

15 

11,185 

11,259 

11,334,  11,408  11,483 

11,558 

11,6321  11,707 

11,781 

11,856 

15 

20.12 

20.25 

20.38 

20.52 

20.65 

20.79 

20.92 

21.06 

21.19 

21.32 

16 

11.930 

12,005 

12.080  12.1.54  12,229 

12.303 

12,378;  12,452 

12,527 

12,601 

16 

21.46 

21.. 59!   21.73 

21.86 

21.99 

22.13 

22.26 

22.40 

22.53 

22.66 

17 

12,676 

12,751 

12.825  12,900  12,974 

13.049 

13,123  13,198 

13,273 

13,347 

17 

22.80 

22.93:   23.07 

23.20 

23.34 

23.47 

23 .  60 

23.74 

23.87 

24.01 

18 

13,422 

13.496 

13, .571   13,645  13,720 

13.795 

13.869  13,944 

14,018 

14,093 

18 

24.14 

24.27    24.41 

24.54 

24.68 

24.81 

24.94 

25.08 

25.21 

25 .  35 

19 

14,167 

14.242 

14.316  14,391  14.466 

14,. 540 

14.615  14,689 

14,764 

14,838 

19 

25.48 

25.62   25.75 

25.88 

26.02 

26.15 

26.29 

26.42 

26 .  55 

26.69 

20 

14,913 

14,988 

15,062  15,137,15,211 

1 

15,286 

15,360j  15,435 

15,510 

15,584 

20 

26.82 

26.96,  27.09 

27.22 

27.36 

27.49 

27.63 

27.76 

27.90 

28.03 

21 

15,659 

15,733 

15.808  15.882  15,957 

16,031 

16,106  16,181 

16,255 

16,330 

21 

28.16 

28.  30!   28.43 

28.57 

28.70 

28.83 

28.97 

29,10 

29.24 

29.37 

22 

16,404 

16,479 

16.553  16.628  16.703 

16,777 

16,852  16,926 

17,001 

17,075 

22 

29 .  50 

29.64    29.77 

29.91 

30.04 

30.18 

30.31 

30.44 

30 .  58 

30.71 

23 

17,150 

17,225 

17,299  17.374  17,448 

17,523 

17,597  17,672 

17,746 

17,821 

23 

30 .  85 

30.98    31.11 

31.25 

31.38 

31.52 

31.65 

31.78 

31.92 

32.05 

24 

17,896 

17.970 

18,045  18.119  18,194 

18,268 

18,343  18,418 

18,492 

18, .567 

24 

32.19 

32.32    32.45 

32.59 

32.72 

32.86 

32.99 

33.13 

33 .  26 

33.39 

25 

18,641 

18,716 

18,790  18,865,  18,940 

19,014 

19,089.  19,163 

19,238 

19,312 

25 

33.53 

33.66,  33.80 

33.93 

34.06 

34.20 

34.33 

34.47 

34.60 

34.73 

26 

19,387 

19,461 

19,536  19,61  r  19.685 

19,760 

19,634  19,909 

19,983 

20,058 

26 

34.87 

35.00    35.14 

35.27 

35.41 

35.54 

35.67 

35.81 

35.94 

36.08 

27 

20,133 

20,207 

20,282  20,356  20,431 

20,505 

20,580  20,655 

20,729 

20,804 

27 

36.21 

36.34    36.48 

36.61 

36.75 

36.88 

37.01 

37.15 

37.28 

37.42 

28 

20,878 

20,953 

21,027  21,102  21,170 

21,251 

21,326  21,400 

21,475 

21,549 

28 

37  .  55 

37.69    37.82 

37 .  95 

38.09 

38   22 

38.36 

38.49 

38.62 

38.76 

29 

21,624 

21,698 

21,773  21,848  21,922 

21,997 

22,071  22,146 

22  220 

22,295 

29 

38.89 

39.03    39.16 

39.29 

39.43 

39 .  .56 

39.70 

39.83 

39.97 

40.10 

30 

22,369 

22,444 

22,519  22,593  22,668 

22,742 

22,817  22,891 

22;966 

23,041 

30 

40.23 

40.37    40.50 

40.64 

40.77 

40.90 

41.04 

41.17 

41.31 

41.44 

31 

23,115 

23,190 

23,264  23,339  23,413 

23,488 

23,563  23,637 

23,712 

23,786 

31 

41.57 

41.71'  41.84 

41.98 

42.11 

42.25 

42.38 

42.51 

42.65 

42.78 

32 

23.861 

23,935 

24.010  24.084  24,1.59 

24,234 

24,308  24,383 

24,4.57 

24,532 

32 

42.92 

43.0.5.  43.18 

43.32 

43.45 

43 .  .59 

43.72 

43.85 

43.99 

44.12 

33 

24.606 

24,681 

24.7.56  24,830  24,905 

24.979 

25,054  25,128 

25,203 

25,278 

33 

44.26 

44.39    44.52 

44.66 

44.79 

44   93 

45.06 

45.20 

45 .  33 

45 .  46 

34 

25,352 

25,427 

25,501  25,.576  25,650 

25,725 

25,799  25,874 

25,949 

26,023 

34 

45 .  60 

45.73    45.87 

46.00 

46.13 

46.27 

46.40 

46.54 

46.67 

46.80 

35 

26,098 

26,172 

26,247  26,321,26,396 

26,471 

26,545i  26,620 

26,694 

26,769 

35 

46.94 

47.07|  47.21 

47.34 

47.48 

47.61 

47.74 

47.88 

48.01 

48.15 

36 

26,843 

26,918 

26,993  27,067' 27,142 

27,216 

27,291  27,365 

27,440 

27,514 

36 

48.28 

48.41:  48.55 

48.68 

48.82 

48.95 

49.08 

49.22 

49.35 

49.49 

37 

27,589 

27,664 

27,738  27,813  27,887 

27,962 

28,036  28,111 

28,186 

28,260 

37 

49.62 

49.76   49.89 

50.02 

50.16    50.29 

50.43 

50.56 

50.69 

50.83 

38 

28,335 

28,409 

28,484  28.5.58  28,633 

28,708  28,782  28,857 

28,931 

29,006 

38 

.50 .  96 

51.10    51.23 

51.36 

51.50 

51.63 

51.77 

51.90 

52.04 

52.17 

39 

29,080 

29.155 

29,229  29,304  29,379 

29,453 

29,528  29,602 

29,677 

29,751 

39 

52 .  30 

52.44    52.57 

52.71 

52.84 

52.97 

53.11 

53.24 

53.38 

53.51 

40 

29,826 

29,901 

29,975  30,050  30,124 

30,199 

30,273  30,348 

30,423 

30,497 

40 

53.64 

53.78    53.91 

54.05 

54.18 

54.32 

54.45 

54.58 

54.72 

54.85 

41 

30.572 

30,646 

30,721  30,795' 30,870 

30,944 

31,019  31,094 

31.168 

31,243 

41 

54.99 

55.12    55.25 

55.39 

55.52 

55.66 

55.79 

55.92 

56.06 

56.19 

42  31,317 

31,392 

31,466  31, .541  31  616 

31,690  31.765  31,839 

31,914 

31,988 

42 

56.33 

.56.46    56., 59 

■56.73 

56 .  86 

57.00 

57.13 

57.27 

57.40 

57.53 

43  32.063 

32,138 

32.212  32,287  32.361 

32,436  32,510  32, .585 

32,659 

32,734 

43 

57 .  67 

57.80    .57.94 

.58 .  07 

58.20 

58.34 

.58 .  47 

58.61 

58.74 

.58.87 

44 

32,809 

32.883 

32,9.58  33.032  33,107 

33,181  33,2.56  33,331 

33,405 

33,480 

44 

59.01 

59  .  14    .59 .  28 

59.41 

59 .  55 

59.68 

.59.81 

59 .  95 

60.08 

60.22 

45 

33,. 554 

33,629 

33,703  33,778  33,853 

33,927  34,002  34,076 

34,151 

34,225 

45 

60.35 

60.48    60.62 

60.75 

60.89 

61.02 

61.15 

61.29 

61.42 

61.56 

46 

34.300 

34,374 

34,449  34.524' 34,.598 

34,673  34,747  34,822 

34,896 

34,971 

46 

61.69 

61.83    61.96 

62.09 

62.23 

62.36 

62.50 

62.63 

62.76 

62.90 

47 

35.046 

35,120 

35,195  35.269  35,344 

35,418  35,493  35..568 

35,642 

35,717 

47 

63.03 

63.17    63.30 

63.43 

63 .  .57 

63.70 

63.84 

63.97 

64.11 

64.24 

48 

35,791 

35,866 

35,940  36,015  36,089 

36,104  30,239  36,313 

36.388 

36,462 

48 

64   37 

64.51    64.64 

64.78 

64,91 

65 .  04 

65.  18 

65.31 

65 .  45 

65, 58 

49 

36.537 

36,611 

36,686  36.761  36,835 

36,910 

36,984  37,0.59 

37,133 

37.208 

49 

65.71 

65.85    65.98 

66.12 

66.25 

66 .  39 

66 .  52 

66 .  65 

66.79 

66.92 

50 

37,282 

37,357 

37,432  37,506  37,581 

37,655 

37,730  37,804 

37,879 

37,954 

50 

67.06 

67.19    67.32 

67.46 

67.59 

67.73 

67.86 

67.99 

68.13 

68.26 

51 

38,028 

38,103 

38,177  38,252' 38,326 

38,401 

38,476  38,550 

38.625 

38,699 

51 

68.40 

68.53    68.66 

68.80 

68.93 

,69.07 

69.20 

69.34 

69.47 

69,60 

52 

38.774 

38,848 

38,923  38,997  39,072 

33,147 

39,221  .39,296 

39,370 

39,44  ') 

52 

69.74 

69.87    70.01 

70.14 

70.27 

70.41 

70 .  .54 

70.68 

70.81 

70,94 

53  .30,519 

.30,. 504 

30,660  30,743  30,8 l.S 

33,892 

33,907  40.041  40,116  40,191 

53 

71.08 

71.21    71.35 

71.48 

71.62 

71.75 

71.88 

72.02 

72.15 

72.29 

54  40.265 

40.340  40.414  40.480  40, .563 

40,038 

40,712  40.787  40.862 

40,936 

54 

72.42 

72.55    72.69 

72.82 

72.96 

73.09 

73.22 

73.36 

73.49 

73.63 

65  41,011 

41,085 

41,160  41,234  41,309 

41,384 

41,4.58  41,.533 

41,607 

41,682 

55 

73.76 

73.90    74.03 

74.16 

74.30 

74.43 

74.  57 

74,70 

74.83 

74.97 

56 

41,7.56 

41,831 

41,906  4 l,98o' 42,055 

42,129 

42,204  42,278 

42,353 

42,427 

56 

75.10 

75.24    75.37 

75.50 

75.64 

75.77 

75.91 

76.04 

76.18 

76.31 

57 

4  2,. 502 

42,.577 

42.651  42.726  42,800 

42,875 

42,949  43,024  43,099 

43,173 

57 

76.44 

76.. 58    76.71 

76 .  85 

76.98 

77.11 

77 .  25 

77,38 

77 .  52 

77.65 

58 

43,24S 

43.322 

43,397  43,471  43,.546 

43,621 

43.0:)5  43.770 

43,844 

43.919 

58 

77.78 

77.92    78.05 

78.19 

78,32 

78.46 

78.59 

78.72 

78.86 

78.99 

59 

43.003 

44.00S 

4  1,142  4  1,217  44,292 

44,366 

44,441  44,515 

44, .590 

44.664 

59 

79.13 

79.26    79.39 

79 .  53 

79.66 

79.80 

79.93 

80.06 

80.20 

80.33 

60 

44,739 

44,814 

U,HHH  44,963  45,037 

45,112 

45,186  45,261 

45,336 

45,410 

60 

80.47 

80.60    80.73 

80.87 

81.00 

81.14 

81.27 

81.41 

81.54 

81.67 

61 

45,485 

45,5.59 

45,634  45,708  45,783 

45,8.57 

45,932  46,007 

46,081 

46.1.56 

61 

81.81 

81.94    82.08 

82.21 

82.34 

82,48 

82.61 

82.75 

82.88 

83.01 

62 

46,230 

46,305 

46,379  46,4.54  48,529 

46,603 

46,678  46.752  46.827 

46,901 

62 

83.15 

83.28    83.42 

83 .  55 

83.69 

83 .  82 

83 .  95 

84.09 

84 .  22 

84.36 

63 

46.076 

47,051 

47.125  47,200  47,274 

47,349 

47.423  47,40S  47, .572 

47  647 

63 

84 .  49 

84.62    84.76 

84 .  89 

85.03 

85.16 

85 .  29 

85.43 

85 .  .56 

85.70 

64 

47,722 

47,706 

47,871  47.945  48,020 

48,094 

48,169  48.244  4S,31S 

4S.303 

61 

85 .  83 

85.97    86.10 

86.23 

86.37 

86 .  .50 

86 .  64 

86.77 

86.90 

87.04 

65 

48,467 

48,-542 

48,616  48,691  48,766 

1              1 

48,840 

48,915  48,989 

49,064 

40.138 

65 

87.17 

87.31    87.44 

87.57 

87.71 

87.84 

87.98 

88.11 

88.25 

88.38 

66 

49,213 

49,287 

49,362  49,437  49,511 

49,.586 

49,660  49,735 

49,809 

49,884 

66 

88.51 

88.65'  88.78 

88.92 

89.05 

89,18 

89.32 

89.45 

89.59 

89.72 

67 

49.9.59 

.50.033 

.50,108  .50,182  .50,2.57 

.50,331 

.50,406  .50,481 

.50,555 

.50,630 

67 

89 .  85 

89.99    90.12 

90.26 

90 .  39 

90 .  53 

90.66 

90.79 

90.93 

91.06 

68  .50,704 

50.779 

.50,8.53  .50. 02s  51,002 

51,077 

51,152  51,226 

51,301 

51,375 

68 

91.20 

91.33    91.46 

91.60 

91.73 

91.87 

92.00 

92.13 

92.27 

92.40 

69  51.4.^0 

51.. 5  24 

51,500  51,674  51,748 

51,823 

51,897  51,972 

52.046 

52,121 

69 

92 .  .54 

92.67    92.80 

92 .  94 

93.07 

93.21 

93.34 

93 .  48 

93.61 

93.74 

70  52,195 

52,270 

52,345  52,410  52,404 

52,.568 

52,643  52,717 

52,792 

52,867 

70 

93.88 

94.01    94.15 

94.28 

94.41 

94.55 

94 .  68 

94.82 

94.95 

95.08 

71 

.52.941 

.53,016 

53,090  53,165' 53,239 

.53,314 

.53,389  53,463 

.53,. 538 

.53,612 

71 

95.22 

95.35  95.49 

95 .  62 

95.76 

95.89 

96.02 

96.16 

96.29 

96.43 

72 

.53.687 

53,761 

53,836  53,910  53,985 

.54,060 

.54,134  .54,209 

.54,283 

.54,358 

7'' 

96 .  .56 

96.69    96.83 

96 .  96 

97 .  10 

97.23 

97.36 

97 .  50 

97 .  63 

97.77 

73 

.54,432 

.54.507 

54,.5H2  .54,6.56  .54.731 

.54.805 

54,880  .54,9.54 

55,029 

.55,104 

73 

97  .  90 

98.04:   98,17 

98.30 

98.44 

98 .  .57 

98.71 

98 .  84 

98.97 

99.11 

74 

.55,178 

55.253 

55,327  55,402  55,476 

55,551 

.55,625  55.700  55,775 

55,849 

74 

90 .  24 

99.38  99.51 

99 .  64 

99.78 

99.91 

100 . 0.'-; 

100.18 

100 . 32 

100.45 

75 

.55,924 

55,908 

.56,073  .56,147  .56,222 

.56,297 

56,371  .56,446 

.50,520 

.56.595 

75 

100 .  .58 

100.72100.85 

100 . 99 

101.12 

101.25 

101.39 

101.52 

101. 6*5 

101.79 

76 

56,669 

56,744 

56,819  .56,893  .56,968 

57,042 

.57,117  .57,191 

.57,266 

.57,340 

76 

101.02 

102.06102.19 

102.33 

102.46 

102.60 

102.73 

102,86 

103.00 

103.13 

77 

57,415 

57,490 

.57, .564  57,639  .57,713 

.57,788 

.57,862  .57,937 

.58,012 

.58,086 

77 

103.27 

103.40  103.. 53 

103.67 

103 . 80 

103  94 

104.07 

104.20 

104 . 34 

104.47 

78 

.58.161 

58,235 

.58,310  .58,384  .58,4.59 

.58,. 534 

.58,608  58,683 

.58,7.57 

.58,832 

78 

104.61 

104.74  104.87 

105.01 

105.14 

105.28 

105.41 

105 .  5  ■ 

105  68 

105.81 

79 

.58,006 

.58.981 

.59,0.55  .59,130  .50.205 

.59.270  .59,354  .50,42S 

.59,. 503 

.50,577 

70 

105.05 

106.08  106.22 

106   35 

106.-18 

106.62 

106.7.' 

106.89 

107.02 

107.15 

80 

59,652 

.59,727 

.59,801  .59,876  .59,9.50 

60,025  60,099  60,174 

60,249 

60,323 

80 

107 . 20 

107.42  107.. 50 

107.69 

107.83 

107 . 96 

108.09 

108.23 

108.36 

108,50 

81 

60,398 

60,472 

60,.547  60,621  60,696 

60,770  60,845  60,920 

60,994 

61,060 

81 

108.63 

108.76108.90 

109.03 

109.17 

109 . 30 

109 . 43 

109 .  .57 

109.71 

109.84 

82 

61,143 

61,218 

61,292  61,367  61,442 

61,516  61,.591  61,665 

61,740 

61,814 

82 

109 . 97 

110.lljll0.24 

110.37 

110.51 

110.64 

110.78 

110.91 

111.0-1 

111.18 

83 

61,889 

61.961  62.0.38  62,113  62,187 

62.262  62,336  62,411 

62,485 

62,560 

83 

11131 

111. 45111. 5>- 

111.71 

1 1 1 . 85 

111. 98 

112.  12 

112.25 

112.  3f. 

112.52 

84 

62.635 

62,700  62,784  62.8.58  62,9.33 

63,007  63,082  63,157 

63,231 

63,306 

84 

112.65 

112.79112.9:. 

113.06 

113.19 

113.31; 

113  46 

113.59 

113.73 

113.86 

85  63,380 

63,455 

63,527  63,604  63,679 

63,753  63,828  63,902 

63,977 

64,051 

85 

113.00 

114.13114.26 

114.40 

114.53 

114.67 

114.80 

114.93 

115.07 

115.20 

86  64,126 

64.200 

64,275  64,3.50  64,424 

64,499  64, .573  64,648 

64,722 

64,797 

86 

115.34 

115.47  115.60 

115.74 

115.87 

116.01 

116.14 

116.27 

116.41 

116.54 

87  64,872 

64,046 

65,021  65,095  65.170 

65,244  65,319  65,.394 

65,468 

65,.543 

87 

116.68 

116.81 116.94 

117.08 

117.21 

117.35 

117.48 

117.62 

117.75 

117.88 

88  65,617 

65,602  65,766  65.841  65.915 

65,990  66,065  66,1.39 

66,214 

66,288 

88 

118.02 

118.1.5118.29 

118.42 

118.55 

118.69 

118.82 

118.96 

119.09 

119.22 

89  66,363 

66,437  66,512  66,587  66,661 

66,7.36  66,810  66,885 

66,959 

67,034 

80 

110.36 

119.49  119.63 

119.76 

119.90 

120.03 

120.  16 

120.30 

120.43 

120.57 

90  67,108 

67,183 

67,2.58  67,332  67,407 

67,481 

67,5.56  67,630 

67,705 

67,780 

00 

120.70 

120.83120.97 

121.10 

121.24 

121.37 

121.50 

121.64 

121.77 

121.91 

91  67,8.54 

67,929 

68.003  68,078  68.152 

68,227 

68,302  68,376 

68,451 

68,525 

01 

122.04 

122.  18 122. 31 

122.44 

122.. 58 

122.71 

122.85 

122.98 

123.11 

123. 25 

92  68,600 

93  69.345 

68.674 

68,740  68.823  68,898 

68,973 

69,047  69.122  69.196 

69,271 

92 

123.38 

123.52123.65 

123.78 

123.92 

124.05 

124.  19 

124.32 

124.46 

124.59 

69,420 

69.405  60,. 560  60,644 

69,718 

69,793  69,867  69,942 

70,017 

93 

124.72 

124.86  124.99 

125. 13 

125.26 

125.39 

125. 53 

125.66 

125.80 

125.93 

94  70,091 

70,166 

70,240  70,315  70,389 

70,464 

70,.5.38  70,613 

70,688  70,762 

94 

126.06 

126.20  126.33 

126.47 

126.60 

126.74 

126.87 

127.00 

127.14 

127.27 

95  70,837 

70,911 

70,986  71,060  71,135 

71,210 

71,284  71,3.59 

71,433  71,508 

95 

127.41 

127.54  127.67 

127.81 

127.94 

128.08 

128.21 

128.34 

128.48 

128.61 

96  71, .582 

71,6.57 

71,732  71,806' 71,881 

71,9.55 

72,030  72,104 

72,179 

72,253 

96 

128.75 

128.88  129.01 

129.15 

129,28 

120.42 

129.55 

129.69 

129.82 

129.95 

97  72,328 

72,403 

72,477  72,552  72,626 

72,701 

72,775  72,8.50 

72,925 

72,999 

97 

130.09 

130.22:130.36 

130.49 

1.30  62 

1.30.76 

130.89 

131.03 

131.16 

131   29 

98  73.074 

73,148 

73,223  73,297  73,372 

73,447 

73,521  73, .596 

73,670 

73,745 

98 

131.43 

131.. 56  131. 70 

131.83 

131.97 

132.10 

132.23 

132.37 

132.. 50 

132.64 

99 

73,810 

73,894 

73,968  74.043  74,118 

74,192 

74,267  74,341 

1 

74,416 

74,490 

99 

132,77 

132.90 

133.04 

133.17 

133.31 

133.44 

133.57 

133.71 

133.84 

133. 98 

April  20,  1909. 


Horsepower  and  Kilowatb 


One  of  the  most  frequent  computations 
made  in  connection  with  electrical  power- 
plant  work  is  the  conversion  of  kilowatts 
into  horsepower,  or  the   reverse      While 
l.'ttion  is  a  very  sim;  on- 

i  the  division  cr  nuil  1  of 

.en   number  by  746,   it   is   suti:  icntly 
>iis   to   cause   the   average   worker   to 
use  750  watts  as  the  horsepower  equiva- 
lent in  order  to  reduce  the  irksomcness 
of  computation.     In  view  of  these   well- 
'       sn  facts,  the  preparation  of  the  labor- 
ig  tables  on  the  opposite  page  api)carc«l 
worth   while,  and  tht-y  arc  accord- 
.   presented  to  our  readers. 
The  exact   equivalent   of  a  horsepower 
i»  74565  watts,  and   this  value  has  been 
used  in  computing  the  tables.     While  the 
equivalents   in   both   tables  are   expressed 
in  numbers  of  four  and  five  figures,  it  is 
seldom   advantageous   to    use    more    than 
three  in  ordinary  practice. 

By  shifniiK  th<-  ilcvimal  point,  the  tables 
•r*   .n>|>lic.ihlt .    Ill    ...ir-r.    to   numbers   of 
itudc,  an<l  tlit-  1  tenths" 

•I   inchicled   to    •  -uch  ap- 

and   to   insure  the  accuracy  of 
!is  thus  made.     For  example,  the 
lior^epower  equivalent    of    500    kilowatts 
could  b«*  easily  determined  by  taking  the 
equivalent   of   50  kilowatts    (67.06  horse- 
'  r>  nnd  moving  the  decimal  point  one 
••    to   the    right,    giving   670.6   horse- 
•  r.      But   without   the  additional   nine 
■Tins  it  would  be  mTjr';   more  trouble- 
to  get  at  the  of  5770  kilo- 
^.  the  proceduf'                   ns  : 
OOO  kll'waiu-lOiX  W  T'B.P. -WT4         h.p 

70kti«w»tu—  n.n  b  p 


nro  kllnwatta  — 


TOCT  n  b  p 


With  the  additional  columns,  however. 
the  de-iired  equivalent  can  l>e  taken  di- 
rectly from  the  table  withoul  any  arith- 
metical work  whatever.  Thus,  $27  kilo- 
watts =  70.6B  horsepower:  hence,  5270 
kilowatt  X    —   7068  1  r. 

^onictimes  it  wi'.  id  more  con- 

•  nt  to  use  one  of  t!ic  tables  "back- 
I"  than  the  other  one  "forward" 
Thus,  if  Iii5  horsrjHiwer  i»  to  be  con- 
verted into  kilowatts,  the  use  of  the  horse- 
power-watts table  would  require  two  coo- 
v-'-ion«  and  an  addition,  thus: 
Itao  bnrM«pi>««r  »  mtjKo  w»iu 

IS  hormtpnwt  m,     ll.im   walla 
Ills  bnr*«po««>r  •>  SM.SM   «*ll* 

or  on6  kilowatts.  By  finding  ui  ^  m  the 
body  of  the  other  table,  the  kilowatt 
equivalent  is  read  directly.  Thus.  1^1.50 
is  in  line  go,  column  06:  its  equi\alefi». 
therefore,  is  00.6  kilowatts,  and.  roiMc 
quentiN 
Tl-  ' 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

from  the  supply  circuit?    From  the  horse- 

power-w, 

watts.  M : 

per  cent,  cthcicncy.     At  90  per  ccoL,  titc 

intake  would  be 

11,185  -^  a9=  12,427.8 

watts,  or  13^  kilowatts. 

.\gain  a  motor  delivering  18  brake 
horsepower  lakes  15,200  watts  from  the 
line;  what  is  its  efficiency?  Referring  to 
the  horsepower-watts  table,  18  horse- 
power —  1.1423  watts.  The  intake  being 
15.200  watts,  the  efliciency  is 


1 3. 4*2 

15.300 


=  0883. 


or  88.,?  per  cent. 

\ 
and 

and  it:>  • 
be  the  m 

From    the    kilowatt  r     table. 

900   kilowatts    =    1207  ,    .ver.    and 

1207  -f-  0.84  =  I4I2-JJ  indicated  horse- 
power. 

.\gain.    a    motor    delivering    18    brake 
gen-  rsepower 

wl.  ^S  kilo- 

watts.  Miiat   i>  tji' 
the  outfit  at  that  1 

power  -  watts  table.  957  horsepower  = 
713,590  watts  or  7IJ.50  kilowatts  The 
efficiency,  therefore,  u 

—555 —  -  OL8t98. 
713-59 

or  practically  82  per  cent.  In  such  a  c-  . 
the  division  would  be  less  tedious  if 
the  kilowatts  were  reduced  t  '  —  wer. 
because  the  divisor  in  the  <■■  'ac- 

tion will  be  957  instead  of  7IJ^5'/     il^^ 


585  kUowotU  =  784-6  korttfawfr. 


ind 


'tSl 


RiqR. 


or  8j  per  cent. 


A   7foot   f 

ifti*     t*  rnt     til 


Lul  U"  iKT^onai  •' 


....unf 
tlanucr. 


Conccti 


on 


In    \hr   afti  ie   on   "5nir.e   Usvfid   I 
tgrapli  of 

•he     \:.i 


CAtechisin  oi  EJecthcitv 


siartmg 


sngk-pbisr 

••m   rr- 


ijII  potyph- 


'tpij    doMog    tlM 


..  be 

ti- 
nt 


pefmH  tJkC  a««  0I  «  MaHMig  re 


■    .'Jty   r^i/■i■^l  ja.  z    Krfiia 


.1- 
u 


These  t>pes  of  motor  br>.iir  \ttt  m>.-|j 
alike.     If  the    field    an 

shunt-wr — ' ..%M  ix-.viw^j  <.«• 

the  sttpf'  r.  the  k.rmmtwnm 

on  accosiiu  -I   tt»  \._<j,;  low  rt- 

,.i*fanr^    fakes  a   rrbtik  ttartaag 

-«  nafnctK  re«ctMM  ■<■■»< 
t-  wn  the  suruag  loc^wr. 
llir  ntrrvnt  ii^  of  oosns^ 

lone: .fiiLK    It    infrraM*<l    at 

soon  as  the   - 

u  is  cnstooiar  ■  -  '•  r  •«  H.^.i^v.  . . 

the  armature  'He  tinr  of  tun 

much  mon 
-s<«    of   an 

•e4  ia  the  roaor  or 


the  motor  to 


r.  v If    . 

the  ratr 


HUCMtumf  c«r 

«.i   Si«"s   •  ■•tnae 


IOJ4 


speesis  t: 


uiaK* 


iW    ilsHt 


.k«r^     |k«      >—■!> 


raior  ami  the  iinli.  jtr.i 
l>    \rr  required  to  dri\e  it      i 
a  15  b-r.epower  motor  is  of  go  per 
cfRcicnc)  .    how   mn*"    •'>'••    «ill    •? 


■24 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  20,  1909. 


switch  is  usually  marked  "Starting"  and 
"Running"  to  designate  the  two  operating 
positions.  The  switch  should  not  be 
thrown  from  the  "starting"  to  the  "run- 
ning" position  until  the  armature  has 
reached  normal  speed. 

There  is  also  an  "oil-immersed"  type  of 
starting  device  which  comprises  a  hand- 


'Pomer,  .V.  F. 

FIG.     287.     ARRANGEMENT   FOR    STARTING    A 

TWO-PHASE   INDUCTION    MOTOR   AT 

LOW  VOLTAGE 

wheel  or  lever  controlling  a  revolving  type 
of  switch  which  makes  the  required  con- 
nections in  proper  sequence.  The  various 
positions  of  the  switch  are  shown  by  an 
index  plate  which  indicates  the  "starting," 
"running"  and  "stop"  positions.  The 
handwheel  or  lever  of  the  switch  should 
be  moved  slowly  from  the  "starting"  to 
the  "running"  position  to  allow  the  arma- 
ture gradually  to  reach  normal  speed 
without  an  excessive  rush  of  current 
through  the  machine.  The  switch  should 
always  be  left  either  on  the  "running"  or 
the  "stop"  position. 

1036.  Is  any  special  arrangement  neces- 
sary for  starting  an  induction  motor  on  a 
lower  voltage   than   the   normal  voltage? 

Step-down  transformers  are  used  for 
this  purpose.  For  a  two-phase  motor  they 
are  connected  as  shown  in  Fig.  287.  In 
starting,  the  four-pole  switch  d  is  closed 
to  the  right-hand  contacts,  which  intro- 
duces the  two  step-down  transformers  at 
m  in  circuit.  When  the  motor  c  is  up  to 
speed,  the  switch  d  is  closed  to  the  left- 
hand   contacts.     This  cuts   out   the   step- 


down    transformers    and   applies   the   line 
voltage  directly  to  the  motor. 

1037.  How  should  the  step-down  trans- 
formers be  connected  for  starting  a  three- 
phase  motor? 

It  is  advisable  to  use  three  transformers 
connected  in  "delta"  through  a  three-pole 
switch,  as  represented  in  Fig.  288.  As  in 
the  previous  case  d  represents  the  switch, 
m  the  transformers  and  c  the  motor.  If 
one  transformer  breaks  down,  it  may  be 
cut  entirely  out  of  circuit  and  the  motor 
may  be  operated  at  a  reduced  load  on  the 
remaining  two  while  the  injured  one  is 
being  repaired.  In  this  case,  the  voltage 
of  each  transformer  should  be  the  same  as 
the  voltage  from  wire  to  wire  of  the  line. 

It  is  possible  to  install  only  two  trans- 
formers to  carry  the  full  load  of  the 
motor,  but  in  this  case  the  capacity  of 
each  transformer  must  be  173  per  cent,  of 
the  capacity  of  each  of  the  three  trans- 
formers when  three  are  used ;  hence  no 
great  saving,  if  any,  in  first  cost,  and  the 
certainty  of  a  complete  shutdown  if  one 
transformer  breaks  down. 

1038.  What  should  be  the  capacity  of 
the  step-down  transformers  with  respect 
to  that  of  the  induction  motor? 

The  total  capacity  of  the  transformers, 
in  kilowatts,  should  equal  the  horsepower 
capacity  of  the  motor. 

Three-Phase 


FIG.     288.     ARRANGEMENT   FOR   STARTING   A 

THREE-PHASE  INDUCTION    MOTOR  AT 

LOW  VOLTAGE 

1039.  When  is  the  resistance  method 
of  starting  induction  motors  preferred  to 
the  low-voltage  method? 

For  work  where  a  very  large  starting 
torque  is  required,  as  in  elevator  or  hoist- 
ing work,  the  resistance  method  is  always 
used.    In  factories  where  the  motor  starts 


only  the  shafting  and  the  load  comes  on 
subsequently,  the  low-voltage  method  is- 
satisfactory. 

1040.  Is  there  any  other  method  of 
starting  an  induction  motor  zvith  a  good 
torque? 

Yes,  by  lowering  the  frequency  of  the 
applied  current ;  because  with  a  reduced 
frequency  there  is  not  as  great  a  slip  at 
low  speeds.  This  method  is  not  as  com- 
mon as  the  other  two  because  it  is  not 
possible  to  reduce  the  frequency  received 
from  the  line.  It  can  be  employed,  how- 
ever, when  two  induction  motors  are  used. 


Polytechnic    Institute    Student    Sec- 
tion of  the  A.  S.  M.  E. 


The  Polytechnic  Institute  student  sec- 
tion of  the  American  Association  of 
Mechanical  Engineers  held  a  regular 
monthly  meeting  in  the  Institute  chapel 
Saturday  evening,  April  3.  After  the 
transaction  of  regular  business,  Prof.  Wil- 
liam D.  Ennis,  head  of  the  mechanical- 
engineering  department,  introduced  the 
speaker  of  the  evening,  Harrington  Emer- 
son, who  talked  on  "Efficiency."  He  ex- 
plained the  wage  systems  in  use  in  differ- 
ent shops  and  the  results  obtained.  The 
main  thing  in  an  engineer's  work,  he  said, 
is  the  ability  to  size  up  a  new  problem  and 
apply  old  methods  to  its  solution.  Then 
he  went  on  to  say  that  efficiency  is  a 
moral,  rather  than  an  engineering  ques- 
tion ;  its  basis  is  that  of  the  square  deal ; 
unless  that  principle  prevails  it  is  impos- 
sible to  obtain  high  efficiency  in  any  di- 
rection. Mr.  Emerson  gave  as  apropos 
a  quotation  from  Ruskin :  "Every  man 
his  chance,  every  man  his  certainty;  cer- 
tainty that  if  he  does  well  he  will  be  hon- 
ored and  advanced,  and  equal  certainty 
that  if  he  does  ill,  he  will  be  judged  and 
corrected,  for  the  only  thing  of  conse- 
quence is  what  we  do."  He  ended  by 
illustrating  on  the  blackboard  the  rela- 
tions between  cost  and  profit  as  varied  by 
efficiency. 

Mr.  Emerson  was  asked :  "What  is  the 
practical  result,  in  amount  of  wages  re- 
ceived, of  working  under  the  ordinary 
piece-worjc  system  and  under  the  bonus 
or  efficiency  system?"  He  replied  that 
"it  is  always  difficult  to  turn  from  piece 
work  to  bonus.  In  one  plant  I  know  of 
they  put  in  the  bonus  system  and  paid  for  ^ 
a  certain  piece  of  work  $6.  In  another 
plant,  using  the  piece-work  system,  a  man 
did  the  same  work  at  a  cost  of  $12  to  the 
company.  In  the  latter  shop  they  found 
by  a  time  test  that  the  man  in  question 
was  earning  $4.25  per  day.  They  decided 
to  abolish  the  piece-work  system,  gi^e  him 
$4.25  per  day  and  a  chance  to  make  a 
bonus.  The  result  was  that  he  made  a 
20  per  cent,  bonus  and  cost  his  employers 
less  than  the  $6  man  mentioned." 


April  JO,  1909. 


POWER  ANU  HIE  LNCilNEER, 


Practical     Letters     from     Practical     M 

Don't   Bother  About    the    Style,    but    Write    Just    U'hat    ^'ou  Tliink. 
Know   or  Want   to   Know    About   ^'our   Work,   and   Help   ILach   <  X\\ct 

WE     PAY     FOR     USEFUL     IDEAS 


en 


A^  Peculiar    SyrKhroruzing   Trouble 


1  he  accompanying  sketch  shows  the 
connections  of  a  rotarj'-converter  installa- 
tion which,  under  certain  conditions,  de- 
velops a  peculiar  state  of  affairs.  In  the 
actual  installation  there  are  three  con- 
rs,  but  only  two  are  shown  in  the 
1.    The  alternating-current  voltage  is 


time  the  voltmeter  will  register  zero,  due 
to  the  impulses  in  the  tw<>  coils  of  the 
voltmeter  Ijeing  equal  and  opp<J4ite.  It  1* 
iimlrrstood  that  both  machines  are  in 
operation  when  the  two  plugs  are  in- 
serted. 

If  a  single- fused  plug  is  placed  in  the 
proper  position  at  C.  the  busbar  voltage 
will  be  read.  If  the  plug  at  C  is  reversed 
and  a  plug  inserted  at  A  or  B  the  terminal 


O 


tide  vin  Mtnlc  bondag  ntrmMljr  b«%ftt 
when  they  conic  a^  If  pfaig  ^  it  r»> 
nft\  ed  therv  will  be  00  tftiekttmiiia^  clr> 
cuit  until  the  $4t9m4  plof  •wildi  M 
cluvrd,  after  which  the  Lainp*  will  b(ka«« 
in  the  usual  manorr  brcaoM  thrjr  w4l  b* 
operaimg   under  normal  coodilioM 

With  plug  A  n  place  aad  wiili  •■#  m 
t  oik  plug  switcbcs  doMd.  the 
blink  at  iboogh  iwdicating  •) 
but  win  bum  with  diiilit 
when  at  thrir  bngbteat.  tlwiag  ikt 
hnip*  to  be  banting  abort  tlmr  aenMl 
voltage. 

In   tynchfonixtng  it   it  the  practice  to 


.1...    i  \^i 


lONVKCIU   lN»IAU.AriOll 

40n  antl  the  reactance  coils   (not  thown)     vrftagr  will  be  regHter*<f 
■ctween  the  converters  and  the  alter- 
H  current  supply  circuit 
rre  are  voltmeter  rr.  r(>tjclei  for  con 
•ig    the   difTrrential    \-.lttnrter    across 
lirect-current    bu%bar^   .  r    .icrost   the 


rm    tb*    vrale 


'    III   the    ifDtcr.      If    it 
is  inserted  at  C  th<"  ' 
lie  read,  the  indica' 
„   t  hand  scale.     If  a  u 
is  inserted  at  A,  or  B  and  C  at  the  same     Ump  arcvit  w 


iiuir^d,     and     *bcn    tbe     OMcidae    wm 

display  •'• 

'     Viwg  -'■•e 

t  4  tp^*  %A  It 

ptadc    aad    ■«• 

burned  at  tbe 


■HI       »•"••       ■-' 

'liok*  ■»• 

Ml  piag  ,■♦  barn  mr^rn 

noencd  to  the  aher- 
Handley.  Te«a» 


WK.I    Will    hU|n'«    •*    ^^    ^' 

Brrall) 


<htr  pi 


!ircxi  .•nrv<^ctr4     t 

jf  «at««   c«g 


»rt 

a- 


t'    ■*       .JM»»« 


ikw  lU  tlw  Um^< 


726 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  20,  1909. 


Blowoff  Valves 


I  have  had  splendid  success  with  wedge 
gate  valves,  as  the  wedges  can  be  taken 
out  and  ground  true  with  a  piece  of  oiled 
sandpaper  placed  on  a  perfectly  flat  sur- 
face. 

My  rule  is  to  have  two  valves  and 
always  to  open  the  outside  valve  first  and 
close  it  last,  using  the  inside  valves  to 
cut  off  the  pressure.  In  this  way  the 
outside  valve  is  blown  free  from  scale 
and  can  seat  firmly. 

Lewis  L.  Scheiderer. 

Marysville,  O. 


Probable  Cause  of  Air  Compressor 
Explosions 


I  can  hardly  agree  with  Frank  Rich- 
ards in  his  criticism  of  F.  W.  Holman's 
letter  on  "Probable  Cause  of  Air  Com- 
pressor Explosions."  I  think  Mr.  Hol- 
man  is  nearly  right  in  assigning  leaky  dis- 
charge valves  as  a  possible  cause.  Every- 
body knows  that  when  a  Volume  of  air 
is  forced  through  a  passage  it  generates 
heat,  and  there  is  no  other  place  about  an 
air-compressor  plant  that  generates  more 
heat  than  where  the  air  passes  through 
the  discharge  valves. 

Leaky  discharge  valves  and  lack  of  suffi- 
cient radiation  will  undoubtedly  cause  the 
air  to  reach  an  abnormally  high  tempera- 
ture in  a  very  short  time. 

I  think  Mr.  Richards  is  wrong  when  he 
says:  "This  air  which  has  leaked  back 
becomes  an  inseparable  part  of  the  cylin- 
derful,  and  when  the  mass  is  compressed 
and  discharged  it  is  carried  along  to- 
gether, and  no  portion  of  it  can  be  iso- 
lated, and  worked  back  and  forth,  as  as- 
sumed, to  have  its  temperature  cumula- 
tively augmented." 

As  Mr.  Richards  does  not  state  whether 
the  compressor  has  mechanically  driven 
intake  valves.  I  assume  it  has  not.  No  air 
will  pass  into  the  cylinder  until  the  pres- 
sure has  equalized  and  fallen  below 
atmospheric  pressure.  If  on  account  of 
leaky  discharge  valves  the  intake,  or  suc- 
tion, valve  on  that  end  does  not  lift,  is  it 
not  an  evident  fact  that  as  the  piston 
moves  back  and  forth  there  is  a  continual 
displacement,  or  churning  of  air  going  on? 
One  way  a  leaky  discharge  valve  can  be 
detected  is  by  the  abnormally  high  tem- 
perature on  the  leaky  end. 

If  the  compressor  has  a  Corliss,  or  any 
kind  of  driven  intake  valve,  it  would  be 
impossible  to  maintain,  or  even  raise,  any 
pressure  in  the  system,  for  while  the  in- 
take valve  would  be  open  to  receive  air, 
the  discharge  valve  remaining  open  at 
the  same  time,  the  air  would  have  a  free 
passage  to  the  atmosphere. 

Mr.  Richards  is  undoubtedly  right  in 
stating   that   oil   will   burn   bodily   in   the 


pipes  and  system,  and  that  this  combus- 
tion is  frequently  going  on  without  our 
knowledge. 

One  main  fault  which  should  be  over- 
come is  the  tendency  of  operators  hav- 
ing charge  of  air  compressors  to  place  too 
much  oil  in  the  air  cylinder.  An  air 
cylinder  needs  some  lubrication,  but  if 
only  enough  oil  were  admitted  properly 
to  lubricate  it,  I  am  sure  we  would  never 
hear  of  explosions.  It  is  surprising  what 
a  small  amount  of  oil  is  actually  required 
in  an  air  cylinder  and  what  a  large 
amount  is  frequently  used.  Oil  entering 
an  air  cylinder  does  not  become  atomized 
and  held  in  suspension,  neither  is  it 
washed  away  by  cylinder  condensation; 
but  it  remains  on  the  cylinder  walls  until 


A  Gasket  Repair  Job 


I  was  once  employed  in  a  plant  where 
it  was  necessary  to  replace  the  ell  at  A 
(see  illustration)  in  a  16-inch  header, 
with  a  tee  to  receive  the  exhaust  from 
a  new  engine.  The  plant  had  to  run 
night  and  day  and  could  not  be  shut 
down  while  we  made  the  change. 

The  valve  /  leading  to  the  heating 
system  was  closed  and  the  exhaust  from 
the  engines  turned  to  the  atmosphere 
through  the  atmospheric  valve  H.  We 
procured  a  piece  of  i/16-inch  sheet  iron 
and  cut  a  disk  F  of  the  same  diameter 
as  the  flange  at  the  joint  /. 

Holes  %  inch  in  diameter  were  drilled 


worn  away.  It  acts  as  a  lubricant  the 
same  as  engine  oil  on  the  guides  of  an 
engine;  but  only  a  good  quality  of  pure 
mineral  oil  of  a  high  fire  test,  say  600 
degrees  Fahrenheit,  should  be  used.  This 
warning  is,  of  course,  needless  to  nearly 
everyone  who  has  charge  of  compressors. 

Graphite  has  of  late  thoroughly  proved 
itself  an  ideal  lubricant  for  air  cylin- 
ders. I  gave  one  of  the  compressors  in 
the  plant  I  have  charge  of  a  thorough  test 
with  graphite,  using  only  a  very  small 
amount  of  oil,  merely  to  hold  the  graphite 
together  until  it  reached  the  cylinder. 
This  machine  is  used  to  furnish  air  to  lift 
water  out  of  driven  wells,  and  during  a 
recent  dry  spell  it  was  run  from  the  mid- 
dle of  April  until  the  first  of  October, 
twenty-four  hours  per  day,  and  was  never 
stopped,  except  to  adjust  wearing  parts, 
repack,  etc.  The  cylinder  head  was  taken 
off  several  times  and  its  condition  noted, 
and  at  the  end  of  the  season  the  cylinder 
walls  had  attained  a  deep,  black  polish, 
with  a  coating  that  absolutely  resists  any 
wear.  But  graphite,  as  oil,  must  be  used 
sparingly,  and  the  longer  it  is  used  the 
less  must  be  used,  as  very  little  of  it  passes 
beyond  the  cylinder,  but  remains  and 
forms  an  almost  nonwearing  coating. 
W.  E.  Turner. 

Wilmington,   Ohio. 


in  the  disk  to  coincide  with  the  holes 
in  the  flange,  and  a  rubber  gasket  was 
glued  to  one  side  of  it.  The  other  side 
of  the  gasket  was  painted  with  oil  and 
graphite  to  keep  it  from  sticking  to  the 
flange  /. 

The  joint  A  was  broken  and  sprung 
apart  a  little.  The  gasket,  being  of  cop- 
per, dropped  out  and  the  disk  F  was  put 
in  with  the  gasket  next  to  the  flange  /. 
The  disk  was  then  bolted  to  the  flange 
with  small  bolts,  the  heads  of  which  were 
small  enough  to  pass  through  the  holes 
in  the  flange  of  the  ell  A,  and  washers 
.were  used  under  the  nuts  on  the  other 
end.  The  joint  K  was  broken  and  the 
ell  taken  out.  The  tee  B  was  put  in 
place  and  the  joints  K  and  L  made  up 
tight.  The  small  bolts  holding  the  disk 
were  then  removed  and  the  disk  and 
gasket  pushed  out.  The  tee,  having  had 
a  gasket    glued    to    its    flange    M    was 


April  20,  1909 

sprung  against  the  flange  /,  the  bolts  put 
in  and  drawn  up  and  the  job  was 
complete. 

Ray   L    Ravbl'in. 
Decatur,  111. 


Keeping   Plant   Records 

Having  noticed,  from  time  to  time,  the 
methods  used  by  different  engineers  in 
keeping  plant  records,  I  submit  our  sys- 
tem. Hourly  readings  are  taken  of  the 
load  in  amperes  and  marked  in  the  space 
for  the  generator  or  generators  that  are 
running ;  also,  the  boiler  pressures  in  the 
same  way,  checked  up  with  a  recording 
steam  gage.  The  time  of  starting  and 
stopping  and  length  of  run  of  each  en- 
gine are  recorded,  and  the  time  boilers  are 
cut  in  or  out  and  the  fires  are  cleaned. 
The  temperature  of  the  feed  water  before 
and  after  passing  through  the  rubbish 
furnace  is  also  recorded. 

This  furnace  is  used  for  burning  waste 
paper,  straw  and  wood  collected  dur- 
ing the  day.  The  feed  water,  as  it  goes  to 
the  boiler,  is  pumped  through  two  coils, 
onr  used  as  a  grate  and  the  other  over  the 
fire  By  this  arrangement  the  feed  water 
is  brought  up  to  260  degrees  or  over.  Ex- 
haust steam  is  used  on  the  heating  sys- 
tem, and  space  is  provided  for  recording 
the  back  pressure  on  this   system. 

We  have  no  way  of  weighing  our  coal 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

which  is  read  at  the  befinntng  and  cad 
of  a  run.  With  the  meter  reading*,  the 
temperature  of  the  feed  water  and  the 
weight  of  the  coal  by  measure,  and  the 
amount  of  water  evaporated  per  pound  of 
coal  can  be  figured,  thus  giving  an  ap- 
proximate test  on  the  boilers  every  day. 

Another  meter  is  provided  for  any  new 
water  that  is  used  for  boiler  feed,  which 
in  the  winter  months  amounts  to  very  lit- 
tle, as  the  returns  from  the  beating  systcB 
are   used  over.     On  the  opposite   side  of 


TV 


to 

heavier  or 

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received.  dM  aaoaai  m 
The  aoMMMl    ci 


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as  ptr 

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BHMoeT  of  Bosra 
ibcoMber  of 
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cMarvif  tkr 
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jHovinw   to  drcrm  tor  I  pn 

■fTttUfa  of  coal  mvtd 
i.,  .......  "•  '  '•'  ».-;i.,-*-*  bf 

the  COM  •< 

waste,  pacxtn^    rrp«tr«,   nr  .    i>   wskb   •#• 


tW  isod  fkmtma, 
Agwrrd  tW  com  prr 
and  wrtlwoi  Aaod  dMfiaa  lar  tf 

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the  kratiai  tjium  waa  oa  mai  tfta 
^c  ptaMoffv  art  raeat^ad  A  wtaM 
'..rf     i  ffx   vr^tWr  It    awartud    I 


KCvtBM  uoB  or  DAILY  axroaT 


•t  present,  but  coal  is  mr3<ittrH  tn  .•»  hnx 
'ig  30  cubic    feet, 
m.  is  placed  on  thr  ' 
and  tillrd  even  with  the  top.      Ibcn  it  is 
lifted,   leaving   the  coal   in    front    of    the 
boiler.     The  number  of  boxe«  u«r«l  <liir 
ing  a   run   is   recorded,  al»o   •'      ■       '-• 
used  between  runs.    Coal  it  « 
a  Week  in  a  box  holding  )u»t  I    :• 
to  check    up   the    weight    of   the     ': 
tots  of  coal. 
.Ml   feed  water  pa«*e«  through   a  ■• 


(h#  card  are  roeordad  tlw  coat  aa 

"ncicrs  art  raad  at  tbc 

■  >«l  of  supply  aad  labor 

*f  ar«  kapc  aad  ftstd  clMria^ 

<l«prcciaiioit   iaaaraace.  r«aa  of 

hf  plaal.   mlrrrtl   on   ia- 

'♦.     ar«  addad     W.'    'U  .«rt- 

with    and    •  '  *4 


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p '.  J  r  *    ? ' '  <wi  aHaia  la  ■aafla 
y«ar.     aad     aavrrml 
cbiatri  ba««  baca  1 


!»f*fh«r    rtporv 
This  haa 


K     pitiro       n 


of  o^rratioa  aa 
maaidrrabK 

Jft»r»    '  ■•     .' 

TKr  t, ..  wis^at»at  racaed  m  a  aafp  94 
ifi%  aad  I  M  la  a 
._  ._,   _„      -.,  4^     I  «>  aai  » 
part  li  la  bi  as  arraraia  aa  tl  t  feii  •»• 


728 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  20,  1909. 


cording  instruments,  but  it  is  accurate 
enough  for  me,  and  it  is  very  little  trou- 
ble for  one  of  the  men  to  fill  in  the  re- 
ports every  hour.  Each  day  I  strike  an 
average  and  put  the  results  in  a  book, 
and  at  the  end  of  the  month  I  do  the  same 
again ;  thus  I  can  look  back  to  any  month 
and  know  just  what  was  done,  and  can 
tell  very  closely  the  number  of  kilowatts 
generated  and  the  number  of  hours  each 
machine   has   run,    how   much   ice   it  has 


tremes,  is  very  nearly  correct.  Consider- 
ing the  elements  of  design  of  the  various 
parts,  closeness  of  adjustment,  smooth 
popping  and  closing  action  and  rate  of  dis- 
charge, a  properly  constructed  valve  will . 
work  better  at  a  certain  lift  than  at  any 
other.  High-lift  valves  are  certainly  no 
improvement  nor  are  they  necessary  for 
general  purposes.  If  they  were,  the 
standard  designs  could  be  very  easily 
altered  with  but  little  expense  and  manu- 


safety  appliance  as  extensively  used  as  a 
pop  safety  valve  would  have  been  most 
minutely  tested  by  both  the  United  States 
Government  and  insurance  interests  be- 
fore approving  for  general  use. 

As  the  writer  understands  it,  the 
primary  function  of  any  safety  valve  is  to 
open  at  a  predetermined  pressure  and  to 
have  a  relieving  capacity  sufficient  to  han- 
dle the  maximum  amount  of  steam  that 
the    boiler    to    which    it    is    attached    can 


ROYAL  PALACE  HOTEL 

CHIEF  ENGINEER'S  REPORT 

JANUARY  1, 

L909. 

A. 

M. 

P.  M. 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

1 

85 
110 
111 
off 
on 

60 
165 
18 
10 
200 
210 
200 

2 

80 
110 
110 

60 
155 
17 
10 
208 
200 
196 

3 

75 
210 
110 

60 
160 
15 
10 
210 
200 
196 

4 

80 
200 
110 

60 
155 
15 
10 
208 
210 
200 

5 

6 

85 
550 
112 

on 

off 

50 

145 

15 

10 

200 

210 

200 

7 

85 
620 
110 

12 
200 
208 
190 

8 

85 
560 
110 

15 
206 
206 
196 

9 

80 
500 
110 

17 
200 
206 
200 

10 

80 
450 
111 

18 
200 
208 
200 

11 

80 
450 
110 

19 
200 
200 
190 

12 

85 
530 
110 

on 

50 

170 

18 

16 

200 

210 

190 

85 
500 
112 

50 
170 
18 
15 
200 
210 
192 

80 
300 
110 

ofif 

50 
170 
18 
14 
200 
210 
194 

85 
200 
112 

50 
170 
18 
13 
200 
208 
190 

85 
180 
112 

50 
150 
16 
12 
200 
206 
180 

85 
200 
112 

50 
170 
16 
11 
200 
208 
186 

80 
250 
110 

50 
165 
17 
11 
200 
200 
200 

80 
300 
110 

50 
175 
15 
11 
200 
200 
200 

85 
200 
110 

60 
160 

18 

8 

190 

200 

200 

85 
200 
110 

60 
160 

18 

8 

195 

210 

208 

80 
200 
110 

60 
155 
18 
10 
200 
208 
200 

80 
175 
110 

60 
170 
17 
10 
180 
210 
200 

80 
475 
112 

50 
155 
15 
10 
206 
210 
190 

85 

360 

Volts 

110 

No.  2  dvnatno 

Off 

Ice  machine 

R.p.m . 

Head  pressure 

Back  pressure 

on 

60 

180 

21 

^0 

9m 

Fresh  water  temp      .  . 

200 

190 

Ice  pulled,  30  100-pound  cakes. 

] 

Sngin 

e  oil. 

Cvlinder  oil 

Ammonia  oil.  Jt  eallon. 

Rem.\rks: 


made,  also  the  supplies  used.  I  weigh 
all  coal  as  it  is  brought  to  the  boiler 
room,  and  also  keep  an  expense  sheet 
showing  the  cost  and  time  of  purchase  of 
all  supplies,  and  where  used. 

William  A.  Hardin. 
Atlantic  City,  N.  J. 


Safety  Valves 


Regarding  the  recent  discussion  of  this 
subject  before  the  American  Society  of 
Mechanical  Engineers,  in  my  opinion  the 
proposed  rule  for  areas  of  safety  valves 
should  include  a  term  for  a  fixed  lift 
rather  than  a  variable  one,  for  the  rea- 
son that  with  the  latter  would  result  a 
hopeless  confusion  of  safety-valve  open- 
ings in  boilers  of  the  same  size.  Thus, 
under  Mr.  Darling's  rule  a  boiler  of  a  cer- 
tain size  might  be  provided  with  a  safety- 
valve  connection  varying  from  2j4  to  4 
inches  in  diameter,  depending  upon  the 
make  of  valve  specified.  It  would  be  far 
more  convenient  and  satisfactory  to 
standardize  the  safety-valve  connections 
so  that  any  valve,  having  the  capacity  re- 
quired, could  be  used.  To  do  this  it  would 
be  necessary  that  the  valves  themselves  be 
standardized  within  certain  set  limits  and 
this  could  be  done  only  by  a  body  of  dis- 
interested and  capable  engineers,  properly 
authorized  to  investigate  the  subject  from 
a  universal  standpoint. 

What  is  the  proper  lift  is  a  more  or 
less  debatable  question,  but  it  is  reasonable 
to  suppose  that  the  average  practice  of  the 
leading,  reliable  manufacturers,  disre- 
garding the  minimum  and  maximum  ex- 


facturers  would  not  be  slow  in  making 
the  necessary  changes. 

If  the  lift  is  too  high  the  seats  and 
spring  bearings  are  subject  to  a  severe 
pounding  action ;  there  is  more  danger  of 
chattering;  close  adjustment  is  not  pos- 
sible; there  is  danger  of  lifting  of  water 
and  the  boiler  seams  are  sometimes 
strained  to  the  opening  point. 

On  the  other  hand,  with  a  correctly  de- 
signed valve  having  a  reasonable  lift  the 
wearing  effects  and  the  dangers  are  re- 
duced to  a  minimum ;  it  is  capable  of  very 
close  and  accurate  adjustment  and  its 
action  is  smooth  and  reliable. 

Having  determined  what  is  the  proper 
lift,  it  becomes  a  very  simple  matter  to 
formulate  the  rule  governing  safety-valve 
discharge  areas  or  seat-opening  diameters. 
The  only  thing  remaining  would  then  be 
to  determine  what  variation  there  should 
be  in  valve  sizes  to  suit  various  pressures. 
Jerome  J.  Aull. 

Cincinnati,   O. 


In  connection  with  some  special  work, 
it  was  desirable  to  have  reasonably  ac- 
curate data  on  the  relieving  capacities  of 
pop  safety  valves  of  various  sizes.  Kent's 
"Pocketbook"  was  naturally  turned  to, 
but  the  1900  edition  had  few  accurate 
data.  Next,  publications  emanating  from 
well  known  insurance  companies  were 
examined,  and  again  the  data  were  incom- 
plete. Finally,  the  rules  and  regulations 
of  the  United  States  Board  of  Supervis- 
ing Inspectors  were  searched,  and  as 
usual  nothing  was  found  but  generalities 
and  a  long  list  of  approved  makes  of  pop 
safety  valve.  This  was  discouraging,  as 
it    would    naturally    be    assumed    that    a 


generate.  The  promptness  with  which 
these  functions  are  performed  is  a  meas- 
ure of  its  value  as  a  safety  appliance.  The 
durability  of  the  valve  in  service  is  a 
matter  of  proper  mechanical  design  and 
the  use  of  the  best  materials  and  work- 
manship. 

That  the  pop  safety  valve  has  not  long 
since  been  thoroughly  investigated  is  sur- 
prising, especially  when  the  large  amounts 
of  time  and  money  expended  in  researches 
having  no  other  possibilities  than  small 
gains  in  operating  economy  are  consid- 
ered. Economy  merits  much  attention, 
but  should  not  safety  receive  equal  con- 
sideration? Upon  what  proper  data  do 
the  United  States  Board  of  Supervising 
Inspectors  and  the  boiler-insurance  com- 
panies approve  of  such  a  long  list  of  pop 
safety  valves?  A  careful  examination  of 
the  construction  of  the  various  types 
shows  that  there  must  be  wide  differences 
in  their  relieving  capacities,  size  for  size, 
and  yet  the  most  diligent  search  of  the 
United  States  rules  did  not  show  any 
suggestion  that  the  officially  approved 
valves  were  widely  different  in  this  re- 
spect. 

In  an  official  publication  like  the  United 
States  rules,  the  reader  naturally  assumex 
that  approval,  without  qualification  or 
specific  classification,  indicates  that  the 
approved  fittings  are  of  equal  reliability 
and  of  substantially  similar  merit.  That 
such  is  not  the  case  will  be  evident  to 
any  experienced  engineer  examining  the 
various  constructions. 

It  would  therefore  seem  that  it  is  in- 
cumbent on  the  Government  and  the  in- 
surance companies  (since  approval  by 
these    authorities    is    almost    mandatory) 


April  20,  1909. 

icr  to  make  or  to  have  made  by  compe- 
tctit    engineers    complete    qualitative    and 
I    quantitative    tests   on    all     approved     pop 
fcty   valves,  and   to  insist   that  all   new 
igns    shall    be    similarly    tested    before 
■  i-proval.      Quantitative    tests    shcnild    be 
lii.idc    at    specified    standard    prtssurcs    to 
i    show  the  relieving  capacity  in  pounds  of 
steam  per  hour  which  a  particular  valve 
will  have  at  the  specified  pressures.     The 
♦■"■^ts   must   be   sufficiently   comprehensive 
letermine  the  relation  between  the  re- 
nt \inK    capacity    and    pressure    for    each 
standard  size  of  the  approved  types,  and 
the  experimental  results  could  be  set  out 
in    empirical    formulas    applying    to    each 
make  of  valve. 

For  such   formulas  the  basis  is  clearly 
indicated  in  Kent's  "Pocketbook"  and  in- 
volves the  circumference  of  the  opening, 
I    the  form  of  the  discharge  passages,  reac- 
,    tion,  and  other  constants  peculiar  to  each 
I    design.     The  diagram  of  relieving  capaci- 
ties  at    various    pressures    should    consist 
practically    of    a    series   of   straight    lines 
having  their  origin  at  the  zero  of  absolute 
pres^iirr      The    main   experimental    work 
would  consist  of  actual  determinations  of 
the  relieving  capacities  at  100,  150  and  200 
pounds,  and  interpolating  for  intermediate 
pressures. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

United  States  Govenuncnt  and  the  ituur- 
ance  companicft. 

Williamtport.  Penn. 


Knock  in  an  Elnginc 

In  reply  to  J.  W.  Bryant  regarding  the 
knock  in  his  engine,  I  had  the  same  eji- 
perience  and  found  that  the  trouble  was 
in  the  ball  ring,  which  had  abi.ut  1  u 
inch  play.  I  turned  off  the  follower  head 
to  a  better  fit  and  the  knock  was  gone. 
G   W  Gttaom. 

Marietta,  Ga. 


A  Steam  Saver 


In  one  of  the  plants  in  which  I  was 
engineer,  several  beating  coils  were  con- 
nected to  the  high-pressure  steam  Ime  aod 
located  in  such  position  that  it  was  impos- 
sible to  connect  them  to  the  return  line 
They  were,  therefore,  allowed  to  drip 
outside. 

It  was  decided  to  make  several  "steam 
savers,"  in  the  following  manner,  the  ex- 
pansion and  contraction  of  our  iron  pipe 
being  the  principle  involved  in  the  opera- 
tion: 


A      STCAIf    SAVD      FOa    HKATtNO  OOIU 


in  order  that  the  users  of  pop  »aiety 
valves,  as  well  as  the  insurers  and  m 
•pectors,  shall  profit  by  these  researches, 
it  could  be  nude  obligatory  on  the  part 
of  every  matiulacturcr  of  pop  safety 
valves  permanoitly  to  stamp  on  every 
valve  the  relieving  capacity  at  some 
standard  pressure  or  at  the  pressure  for 
which  it  is  set.  This  would  place  the 
user  in  position  to  specify  the  relieving 
capacity  at  a  particular  pressure  and  select 
his  val\rs  on  a  basis  of  mechanical  de 
sign   and  construction. 

A"  ■  irently  the  pra-  ti>  <■ 

of  1  ?o  make  f»Tf!i  ■■■•" 

travik  lot   •..•: 
lacturer    of 
the  ijrnrr.i'i'v  of  manufacturers.  ; 

thai     striitly     commercial     cons:. 

determine  the  make  of  valve  to  be  far- 
aishrd  on  the  boiler  contractt.  anr*  ■•-»—- 
the  purrh.'i«er  very  carefully  *tH- 
vig«>r<>iuK    i()«i%i5    on    the    J    .' 
of   v.il\r<,   at)    .ijiproved   val. 
grade  i»  supplie<l 

In    "i-t^rv    r>f    t'r    ri"»TnmrrHnltTn    w'*"*' 
brv 
op 
arbiters  of  •afety  appliancet,  namely,  the 


I  he   two  castings   /f   and    i>    V  vrr    ^m.rXil\  I 

are  held  at  a  fixed  duunce  apart  by  lb« 
two  I4  inch  rod*  CC.  which   are  about   5 
feet  long  and  about  8  inrhe*  apart.     Be 
twren   these    roiU    it    j  ■   '•"TfTfT* 

irun  pipe  D,   threaded  wtd  tiglU 

into  the  casting  A.  i  be  other  end  is 
turned  smooth  and  b  a  loose  fit  n  ibc 
block  B,  the  end  bcjiig  scaled  at  an  angle 
.>f  45  degrees. 

The  block  B  is  dfilled  and  threaded  to 
receive  the  brass  ,'   .  '-tpped  for  the 

valve  stem   F.  ml  «  the  valve  K 

«ood  fit 


/  and  IS  set  vitii 
mrt  tKan  the  otbcf 


luU  -I 


7m 

Ibc  vaJ««  Msd  SMI  eM  k«  oaviMd 
vttlKMH  itinnrbing  iW  adiiiiwi  n  by  tak 
tng  oat  the  ping  £.  and  vkan  okc  Mt  iW 
valve  wiU  aol  ncnd  any  antnoan  lor  a 
long  ttnvr 

i-  C  Havuaa 


Boilcx  u  a  WaI0  S^iply  luk 


Under  ilie  above 
j.   Dixon  describM  a   water 
Mgned  for  a  iMMd  plant  bf  an 
enced  lechnKal  gradaalc    Tkal  be 
eapeneored  can  cnMljr  be 
be  is  wofnily  sby  on 
is  ako  manifcat 

A  nmcb  nwr 
be  to  pbcc  an  open  tank  in  dte 
poMible.    to    be    soppbcd    br    Ike 
pnmps.    Tbe  water  level  in  tbe  iMfc 
be  kept  nearly  eonstant  by  a 
ing  a  cuioot  twitch  at  tbe 
By  thb  plan  a  nnxb  nwrv  nnifoeni 
sore  would  be  mainta  Iwd  on  tW 
service,  and   onlets  tbe 
high  one  the  head  wonU  bt 
than  to  ponoda.    II  ibe 
the  posBpa  were  sbnt  off  for 
tbe  fbe  tank  wonid 


raecnily.  A. 


•op,  rr 

done  with  a  prtsenre 

Nanatan  Cahi 
Detroit.  Mick 


nM  be 


\  i4WH>0MDti 


In  a   racent  contHbntaon  C    E. 
com     Mji     I    prodnord 
grams  to  prove  ilHM  a 
develops  twice  the  borMpover  Ikal  % 
pie  rngme  does.     I  a«y  kave  a 
idea   of 


Mr.  Bawoni  s«y«  iknt  tke  dMa  t  kw 
nisbcd  only  ika>w<d  iImI  I  Ittd  tke 
nearly   rquaHy  disidad  bitwasn  tke  b| 
and  low  presMire  r|bndiri.     1^^*<  ■•  •« 
bnt  snppon  tkose  Aagrs—s 
koffsepower  m  tke  bagk'prwi 
and  too  korsepower,  or  naar^  ss^  ■  tke 
km  iyttndrr.   we    kave    a    ■» 

hor  «MH.  da  we  not* 

we    :(... 
•  r    tlUl 

It  b  cettanUy  <kasper  m  bnffd  a  M»- 

can  be  nwdt  to  dn  twire  Ik*  work  o4  a 


*«  «p  It 


win  expand  and  ekerk  the  Aow 


730 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  20,  1909. 


^Follower  Plate  and  Bolts  Broke 


When  our  20X36-inch  Corliss  compound 
engine  was  started  one  morning  there  was 
an  unusual  click  in  the  high-pressure 
cylinder.  We  did  not  shut  down,  how- 
ever, but  on  the  morning  of  the  third  day 
the  click  was  more  noticeable  than  ever. 
About  10  o'clock  it  knocked  so  hard  that 
we  shut  down  and  taking  the  cylinder 
head  off,  found  that  the  follower  bolt  had 
broken  off  and  dropped  down  into  the  ex- 
haust-valve port.  The  valve  bracket  was 
broken  and  the  valve  stem  twisted  about 
half  a  turn.  The  bracket  was  patched 
and  the  valve  stem  turned  up  and  re- 
placed. 

The  engine  ran  well  for  a  week,  when 
one  day,  as  the  chief  was  shutting  down, 
.another  bolt  broke.  Taking  off  the  cover 
-we  found  that  the  follower  plate  and  one 
iolt  were  broken,  the  piston  rod  bent  and 
the  cylinder  out  of  true. 

Repairs  were  made,  but  we  never  found 
out  what  broke  the  bolts  and  follower 
plate. 

F.  L.  Ferguson. 

Adams,  Mass. 


Puzzling  Transformer  Action 


In  reply  to  E.  L.  Mason's  "Puzzling 
Transformer  Action"  in  a  recent  num- 
ber, I  think  the  iron  in  the  trans- 
former must  be  working  at  a  low  value, 
and  when  the  switch  is  in  the  down  or 
bucking  position  the  transformer  works 
in  a  reverse  condition;  that  is,  the  secon- 
dary or  series  winding  produces  enough 
flux  to  induce  a  higher  voltage  in  the 
primary  winding  of  transformer  C  than  is 
upon  the  terminals  of  the  constant-current 
transformer  A,  thereby  raising  the  line 
voltage  as  stated. 

By  having  the  primary  connected  on  the 
load  side  of  the  line  as  shown  in  the  dia- 
gram, I  should  think  there  was  enough 
phase  displacement  between  primary  and 
secondary  to  disturb  the  operating  of  the 
line.  I  advise  Mr.  Mason  to  try  the  pri- 
mary connected  to  the  power  or  left-hand 
side  shown  in  his  diagram  of  connections. 
L.  Earle  Brown. 

Ensley,  Ala. 


T  think  Mr.  Mason  has  not  considered 
fhe  choking  action  of  the  secondary  wind- 
ing of  his  potential  transformer  when  the 
switch  at  D  is  open. 

I  believe  his  transformer  "bucks"  all 
right,  but  it  "bucks"  more  when  one  wind- 
ing is  open.  If  he  provides  a  switch  for 
cutting  out  the  other  winding  of  the  trans- 
former C  when  the  switch  at  D  is  open, 
Jie  will  get  the  results  he  is  after. 

F.  W.  Cerney. 

Mesa,  Ariz. 


the  boosting  transformer  is  connected  to 
the  boosted  side  of  the  line. 

This  should  not  be,  as  the  voltage  sup- 
plied to  the  primary  has  no  stability  only 
under  certain  conditions.  I  would  advise 
that  the  primary  of  the  booster  trans- 
former be  connected  to  the  line  between 
the  load  transformer  and  the  coil  which 
is  in  series  with  the  line.  Then  the  volt- 
age supplied  to  the  primary  will  be  prac- 
tically constant  and  will  not  be  affected 
by  the  lowering  or  raising  of  the  voltage. 
Under  this  condition  the  results  desired 
can  be  obtained. 

James  E.  Kilroy. 

Lincoln   Place,   Penn. 


Boiler  and  Furnace  Construction 


Safety  Cams 


The  writer  has  seen  a  number  of  en- 
gines on  which  the  steel  toe  B  (see 
sketch)  had  become  worn  down  as  shown. 
In  one  instance  the  engineer  shortened 
the  regulator  rod  to  get  the  desired  trip 
by  bringing  down  the  steel  C  nearer  to  B, 
but  throwing  the  safety  trip  D  out  of  its 


1  should  say  that  the  only  thing  wrong 
with  the  connection  is  that  the  primary  of 


Pawtr,  N.  r. 

ILLUSTRATING    SAFETY-CAM    WEAR 

reach.  In  case  the  regulator  stop  is  out 
and  the  belt  should  break  under  such  con- 
ditions, away  goes  the  engine  at  full 
stroke. 

This  was  once  the  case  in  my  present 
plant.  To  demonstrate  the  fact,  I  left  the 
stop  out  when  shutting  down  one  day, 
with  neither  steam  valve  unhooked. 

There  is  also  another  way  of  throwing 
the  back  trip  D  out  of  place.  In  the 
erecting  shop  the  engine  valves  are  set, 
and  wristplate  marked,  showing  the  throw 
of  the  eccentric.  Then  the  wristplate  is 
set  on  its  center  mark  and,  according  to 
the  diameter  of  the  cylinder,  is  given  the 
desired  lap,  which  places  the  eccentric 
about  13s  degrees  ahead  of  the  crank 
when  on  its  dead  center.  This  setting  will 
give  a  square  corner  at  the  closure,  and  a 
very  late  opening  for  the  exhaust. 

The  engineer  will  want  compression, 
and  the  more  he  rolls  the  eccentric  ahead 
the  more  lap  he  gives  the  steam  valves 
and  the  more  he  throws  the  safety  trip  D 
back,  making  it  impossible  to  unhook 
should  the  belt  break. 

John  Tryom. 
Lynchburg,  Va. 


Those  who  have  made  boiler  making  a 
separate  branch  of  manufacture  have 
given  too  much  attention  to  mere  relative 
proportions.  One  maker  places  reliance 
on  enlarged  grate  surface,  another  on 
large  heating  surface,  while  another  de- 
mands boiler  room  enough  without,  how- 
ever, explaining  what  that  means. 

Among  modern  treatises  on  boiler  con- 
struction this  principle  of  room  enough 
seems  to  have  absorbed  all  other  con- 
siderations and  the  requisites  in  general 
terms  are  summed  up  as  sufificient  amount 
of  heating  surface,  sufficient  steam  room, 
sufficient  air  space  between  grate  bars, 
sufficient  area  in  tubes  and  flues  and  suffi- 
cient large  grate  surface;  or,  in  simple 
terms,  this  amounts  to  saying:  "Give 
sufficient  size  to  all  parts  and  you  will 
not  be  deficient  in  any."  With  reference 
to  the  several  parts  of  a  furnace,  there  are 
two  points  requiring  attention,  namely, 
the  superficial  area  of  the  grate  for  re- 
taining the  fuel,  and  the  sectional  area 
of  the  chamber  above  the  fuel  for  receiv- 
ing the  gaseous  portion  of  the  coal. 

As  to  the  area  of  grate  bars,  seeing 
that  a  solid  is  laid  on  them  requiring  no 
more  space  than  it  actually  covers  at  a 
given  depth,  it  is  important  that  the  area 
be  not  too  large.  As  to  the  area  of  the 
chamber  above  the  coal,  seeing  it  is  occu- 
pied by  a  gaseous  body  requiring  room 
for  its  rapidly  enlarging  volume,  it  is  im- 
portant that  it  is  not  too  small. 

As  to  the  area  of  grate  bars,  seeing 
grate,  this  will  be  easy  to  adjust,  as  a 
little  observation  will  soon  enable  the 
engineer  to  determine  the  extent  to  which 
he  may  increase  or  diminish  the  length 
or  width  of  the  furnace.  In  this  respect 
the  great  object  consists  in  confining  the 
length  within  such  limits  that  at  all  times 
it  will  be  uniformly  covered.  This  is  the 
absolute  and  only  way  to  get  economy 
and  efficiency,  yet  it  is  the  very  condi- 
tion which  in  practice  is  most  neglected. 
Indeed,  the  failure  and  uncertainty  which 
has  attended  most  anxiously  conducted 
experiments  has  most  frequently  arisen 
from  neglect  of  this  one  condition.  If 
the  grate  bars  are  not  properly  covered 
the  air  will  enter  in-  irregular  currents 
through  the  uncovered  parts.  Such  a  state 
at  once  bids  defiance  to  all  regulation  or 
control. 

Now,  on  the  control  of  the  supply  of  a.r 
depends  all  that  human  skill  can  do  in 
effecting  perfect  combustion  and  econ- 
omy, and  until  the  supply  of  fuel  and  the 
quantity  on  the  grates  are  regulated  it 
will  be  impossible  to  control  the  admis- 
sion of  air.  In  most  boilers  the  furnace 
area  is  invariably  made  too  shallow.  The 
proportions  allowed  are  indeed  so  limited 
as  to  give  it  rather  the  character  of  a 
large  flue  or  tube,  whose  only  function  is 
to  allow  the  combustible    gases    to    pass 


April  20,  1909. 

ibrough  it,  rathrr  than  that  of  a  chamber 
in  which  a  series  of  consecutive  chemical 
processes  are  to  be  conducted.  Such  fur- 
naces, by  their  diminished  areas  also  have 
the  injurious  tendency  that  they  increase 
the  already  too  great  rapidity  of  the  cur- 
rent through  them. 
Constructing    the    furnace    chamber    so 

°!  >w  and  with  such  small  capacity 
iTS  to  have  arisen  from  the  idea 
iltat  the  nearer  the  body  to  be  heated  was 
brought  to  the  firebed  the  greater  quan 
tity  of  heat  would  be  imparted.  This  is, 
no  doubt,  true  when  we  present  a  body  to 
be  heated  in  front  of  a  fire.  When,  how- 
ever, the  approach  of  the  colder  body  will 
have  the  direct  effect  of  interfering  with 
the  process  of  nature,  as  in  gaseous  com- 
bustion, absolute  contact  with  flame  should 
be  avoi<led  where  the  object  is  to  obtain 
all  the  heat  which  would  be  produced  by 
the  combustion  of  the  entire  constituents 
of  the  fuel.  So  much,  however,  has  the 
supposed  value  of  the  near  approach  and 
even  impact  prevailed  that  the  space  be- 
hind the  bridgewall  is  frequently  made 
but  a  few  inches  deep  and  called  the  flame 
bed  Hroader  views  have  shown  that  it 
«hould  Ik-  made  capacious  and  the  impact 
of  the  flame  avoided  In  general,  it  may 
be  statrd  that  the  depth  between  the  top 
of  the  grate  bars  and  the  shell  of  the 
boiler  should  not  be  less  than  30  inches 
where  the  grates  are  4  feet  long,  and  in- 
creased in  the  same  ratio  where  the 
length  is  greater. 

John  Cook 

-pringfield.   Ill 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

salary  is  not  good  for  one's  purse.  It  is 
well,  also,  to  be  prepared  to  tell  the  "boss* 
he  can  get  another  man  for  the  place  if 
he  decs  not  come  up  with  the  cash.  Have 
>our  eye  on  another  job  before  yoo  bring 
the  matter  to  a  test,  however. 

F   W.  CnKV 
Mesa.  Aril. 


daring  the  tm 


Incrcax  oi  Salary 

A»  to  the  engineer  bcuig  juttilied  m 
askmg  for  an  increase  in  salar>,  de|icnd» 
on  more  than  one  thing  If  his  "lx>)»"  ts 
the  manager  or  superintendent,  and  re- 
sponsible to  men  higher  up,  unc  reason 
fnay  be  that  he  wants  all  the  credit  for 
the  savmg  due  to  the  paying  of  a  ftinaller 
salary,  and  the  saving  made  by  the  engi- 
neer. In  such  case  the  man  above  the 
engineer  is  getting  the  credit,  which  will 
make  him  that  much  more  solid  with  hu 
*T)os»,"  when  it  should  go  !• 
«ho  will  never  get  an  in  : 
Asks  for  it. 

Pertups  another  reason  whv  hr  rlnrt 
not  get  a  raise  is  that  the 
that  he  is  saving  him  $50  ; 
bit  former  engineer,  but  in  doing  so  he 
is  letting  his  plant  run  down  so  that  when 
the  crash  does  come  the  cost  of  repair « 
will  r(|ual  or  more  than  equal  that  which 
is  being  saved  at  present 

NOSMAM    S.    CAMfHUa. 

Detroit.  Mich. 

If  an  engineer  saves  his  employer  I?" 
per  week  .Tn«l  »>ip  ntiil 
to  ra»*e  ^M  «,»I.»f\,   If 
hr     •  -t    talk    alumt    tin-    iii-  ' 

1  mn<le<ty    in    this    mjti'f 


Peculiar  Indicator  Diagnura 


The  writer   was  called   upon  to   test   a 
power  plant  .i  d  some  indicator 

diagrams  deci  of  the  ordinary 

.Mthough  these  diagrams  were  taken  dur- 
ing a  regular  and  uninterrupted  run  of 
the  plant,  the  conditions  were  somewhat 
unusual  and  might  make  it  difficult  to  in- 
terpret them  correctly  if  unknowa  Two 
engines  of  the  Corliss  type,  a  i6xjo  and 
an  18x4^,  operated  on  the  sarrre  I-nr  *haft 
and  furnished  power  for  a  l.r  ■  ic 

turing  plant.     The  boiler  prr  SU. 

pounds  gage  and  a  40- pound  spnng  was 

i!v»..|      in      iJir     indicators         The     gnvrrm.f* 


IXTmAOUNNAaV  tMACRAMs 

<*rr<-   tnind  to  be  so  a<t  jrly 

tlic  \*|..ile  of  the  load   ..  the 

larger  engine,  which  ga^c  i^ 
granik,   cutting   off    under    ■ 
tions  at  abtjut  Ol4  stroke.    1 
ing  diagrams  from  the  snul 
similar  to  and  only  a  trifle  smaller  than 
the     right-hand     or    crank  end     diagram 
shown  in  the  illustration.     It  was  only  an 
der   ■  "v  heavy  loads.   .^  '■•rge 

en^  g   steam   for   ;  full 

stroke,    shut    the    small   engine    began   to 
p:-k  'tp  tt'   l'-»3d 


ever)thifig    was    r 
the  wnter  w?*  ■ 
fine   room, 
he 
lal 
<m  ■  ■ 
il! 
of 
th^ 
\ 


7J« 


dritea   bjr  tW  brscr 

It  wflbt 

'  'he  bead  *mi 

<ioat  bjr  tbt 

^/.T(..!i    iiyjn    irc    neani    m»iea4   ot   votk 

done  by  the  stcMi  npaa  the  pialo«,  md 

that    this   negative   area   is   cfnnl   lo  or 

sliffhilv  rrcatrr  than  the  posit*t«  area  ol 

end.    \^'bcn  o«w  aoscs  tfw  prm- 

>c  cylinder  dnnag 

It  u  not   surprising  tkat  an 

was    irer.er4n>    run    dovB    sbonl^    tO    tbt 

t><^<  '(press  iu  rcaaaCBHai 

of  * 

i'  most  peenliar   fcansre  ol 

the  <iiJK^->'^!t  It  the  fact  tJttt  tJK 
sion  line  is  above  the  adMsatoa 
pansion  lines  for  the  cadre  loigtk  A 
very  scrifw*  an*»Qnt  of  IcakafT  by  tbt 
admissioT'  -ns  to  be  the  osrfy  vay 

of  accout  -Mi 

f   If  Paours. 

Pittshttrg,    I'r;  „ 


Architccb  and  Healnif  SyileaM 


White  modem  practice  cals  for  At 
mccnattical  CQaipoMM  01  terge  oflJBi 
wiifciings  aad  botcl^  cspocialy  where  bs* 
dependent  ngMiag  plaMs  are  iBcio4o^  to 
be  designed  aad  lupsrsistd  by  a  ina  ol 
consulting  engineers,  or  arcbiiscis  baviag 
engineers  in  tnctr  caiploy, 
instaUatkais.  principally  bsatlag 

are  lonke*!    jfter    *•>    ?Se    irrl 

scl%^ 

M  ..-VI 

aia>  "t  brro 

tied,   wnno'.M  irrHiD4tng  to 
parficvlar  pitta  rsqairsd 
mji-  <    staadard      Far 

««»*  •«  fW  w»«»M»  afatsrr 
—siti 
al  of  a 


P»» 

for     1    crt^am    tbkb—sa    ol 


fartor  af  ) 


t^usre  mrti 

ft     It     rv*     rrv  ■«*••     «       il 


I   S 


732 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  20,  1909. 


Of  course  there  are  cases  where,  owing 
to  conditions  beyond  the  architect's  con- 
trol, a  standard  pump,  boiler  or  whatever 
machinery  is  wanted  cannot  be  installed; 
but  then,  and  only  then,  should  the  archi- 
tect depart  from  standard  lines  and 
specify  special  machinery. 

N.  H.  Ballow. 

Toronto,  Ont. 


Burning  Slack  Coal 


The  follownig  iacia  were  brought  out 
in  recent  tests  of  water-tube  boilers  with 
Arkansas  slack,  which  has  a  calorific  value 
in  the  neighborhood  of  12,000  B.t.u.,  and 
for  the  most  part  contains  no  lumps, 
although  occasionally  about  5  per  cent,  of 
a  carload  will  consist  of  lumps  the  size 
of  nut  coal. 

The  grates  used  in  the  boilers  under 
test  are  of  the  shaking  type.  The  teeth 
grip  the  clinkers  formed  on  the  bottom  of 
the  fire  bed,  tearing  them  off  piece  by 
piece  and  working  them  through  the 
grates.  The  air  space  amounts  to  about 
40  per  cent.,  which  may  seem  excessive 
for  slack,  yet  was  not. 

Before  starting  the  tests  it  had  been 
suggested  that  firing  by  coking  be  tried. 
It  was  found,  however,  that  the  coal  would 
not  coke,  but  would  burn  into  a  condition 
somewhat  like  a  "quick-lunch"  Hamburger 
steak,  well  done  outside  but  raw  in  the 
center. 

On  the  first  test  the  damper  was  left 
wide  open  and  a  fire  from  12  to  14  inches 
thick  was  carried.  Every  30  minutes  the 
grates  were  shaken,  thus  keeping  the  fire 
at  the  same  hight  without  cleaning.  The 
slice  bar  was  used  to  lift  the  fire  off  the 
grates,  being  careful  not  to  bar  the  clink- 
ers up  into  the  live  coals.  Every  15  min- 
utes the  rake  was  run  over  the  top  of  the 
fire  to  break  up  the  caked  coal. 

After  a  twelve-hour  run  the  fire  was 
cleaned  and  a  number  of  large  clinkers 
were  found.  They  were  quite  porous, 
however,  and  had  not  cut  down  the  draft 
to  an  appreciable  extent.  The  results 
justify  the  conclusion  that  with  the  same 
load,  320  horsepower  on  a  rating  of  300 
horsepower,  more  frequent  shaking,  or 
cleaning  every  six  hours,  would  prevent 
the  formation  of  such  large  clinkers.  An- 
other way  to  prevent  large  clinkers  was 
tried  later  and  proved  even  more 
effective. 

A  subsequent  test  on  light  load,  about 
170  horsepower,  showed  that  a  fire  8 
inches  thick  with  the  damper  half  closed 
would  give  the  best  results.  It  had  been 
the  habit  of  the  fireman  to  leave  the  dam- 
per wide  open,  carry  a  heavy  fire  and 
regulate  the  draft  with  the  ashpit  doors. 
This  latter  practice  is  all  two  common,  as 
it  is  much  easier  to  kick  an  ashpit  door 
shut  than  to  close  the  damper.  The  sav- 
ing in  fuel  by  operating  with  a  half-closed 


damper  and  a  lighter  fire  was  shown  by 
the  fact  that  in  twenty-four  hours  from 
2j^  to  ;'j  tons  less  coal  was  burned  than 
with  the  damper  open  wide  with  a  heavy 
fire. 

Another  point  brought  out  in  the  tests 
was  the  value  of  a  steam  jet  in  preventing 
the  formation  of  clinker.  At  one  time 
the  clinkers  formed  in  the  fire  seemed  to 
lack  their  usual  porous  quality  and  the 
draft  dropped.  With  the  introduction  of 
a  steam  jet  through  one  of  the  ashpit 
doors,  however,  the  draft  was  bettered  in 
a  short  time,  and  the  test  was  continued 
for  several  hours  without  cleaning  the  fire. 

In  slicing  the  fire,  it  had  been  the  prac- 
tice of  the  fireman  to  break  up  the  fire, 
thus  mixing  the  clinkers  with  the  live 
coal.  Better  results  were  obtained,  how- 
ever, by  lifting  the  slice  bar  only  enough 
to  separate  the  clinkers  from  the  grate, 
making  a  freer  path  for  the  air  without 
spoiling  the  fire. 

George  W.  Martin. 

Pine  Bluff,  Ark. 


Reversing  Polarity  of  Machine  ,:  ^j 


I  am  runnmg  a  300-kilowatt  direct- 
current  machine  in  parallel  with  a  500- 
kilowatt  direct-current  machine,  both  gen- 
erating current  for  electric-railway  work, 
at  600  volts.  Once  in  awhile  one  of  the 
machines  reverses. 

One  man  gave  as  his  idea  that  a  heavy 
load  coming  on  one  machine  will  slow  it 
down  and  so  reduce  the  voltage  below  600. 

Does  it  not  pull  the  other  machine 
down  in  the  same  way?  If  it  does  not, 
will  someone  state  why? 

B.  F.  West. 

Scammon,  Kan. 


Central  Valve  Engines 


Mr.  Barnett  has  criticized  my  letter  on 
"Central  Valve  Engines."  My  object  in 
sending  that  letter  was  to  give  a  previous 
correspondent  the  information  which  he 
could  not  get. 

My  sketch  was  intended  to  show,  not  so 
much  the  correct  relative  position  of  the 
valve  to  the  pistons  as  the  distribu- 
tion of  the  steam  through  the  various 
ports,  etc.  In  trying  to  show  this  clearly 
I  committed  the  mistake  as  pointed  out 
by  Mr.  Barnett.  With  the  pistons  as 
shown  the  valve  in  these  particular  en- 
gines should  have  been  open  to  the  low- 
pressure  cylinder  at  the  top  3/64  inch, 
which  is  the  lead  for  that  end,  and  the 
bottom  high-pressure  port  should  be  open 
7/32  inch,  the  lead  for  that  end.  The 
small  sketch  which  I  made,  to  have  shown 
to  scale,  would  have  shown  the  valve  prac- 
tically closed,  and  it  would  have  been  diffi- 
cult to  see  how  the  steam  was  distributed. 


With  reference  to  Mr.  Barnett's  re- 
mark "that  I  am  not  conversant  with  the 
most  elementary  principles  of  valve  set- 
ting as  covering  the  simplest  slide-valve 
engine,"  I  have  up  to  the  present  been  able 
to  set  the  valves  of  not  only  this  particular 
type  of  engine,  but  of  various  other  types, 
including  simple  slide-valve,  riding-cutoff, 
Corliss  and  that  interesting  central-valve, 
single-acting  engine  referred  to  by  Mr. 
Barnett,  having  had  nearly  twenty  years' 
practical  experience  in  running,  overhaul- 
ing and  general  repair  work. 

J.  J.  Stafford. 

Birkenhead,  England. 


Do  Crank  Pins  Wear  Flat? 

The  assertion  is  often  made  that  the 
crank  pins  of  steam  engines  wear  flat,  but 
I  find  that  they  do  not,  but  they  do  wear 
out  of  center  with  the  bell.  Only  a  few 
weeks  ago,  at  the  plant  where  I  am  em- 
ployed, the  shaft  and  crank  of  an  old 
18x36  Corliss  engine  was  replaced  by  a 
new  one  and  on  calipering  the  old  pin  I 
found  it  to  be  badly  worn.  I  was  told 
that  the  crank  had  been  in  use  more  than 
sixteen  years. 

W.   H.   Stivason. 

Wilson,  Penn. 


A  Machine  Shop  Blunder 

A  friend  wlio  owns  and  runs  a  wood- 
working shop  sent  for  me  to  come  to 
his  place  and  see  if  I  could  find  out  what 
was  the  matter  with  his  I2xi6-inch 
throttling  slide-valve  engine.  He  had 
always  had  trouble  in  keeping  up  steam 
with  a  6o-horsepower  boiler. 

When  the  throttle  was  opened  and  be- 
fore the  engine  started,  steam  could  be 
heard  blowing  through  and  it  did  not 
seem  to  make  any  difference  on  which 
stroke  we  tried  it.  The  valve  and  piston 
were  removed,  but  everything  seemed  all 
right.  While  engaged  in  measuring  the 
lap  and  the  spacing  of  the  ports,  I  chanced 
to  look  above  the  valve  seat  and  saw  a 
>^-inch  hole  leading  from  the  steam 
chest  to  the  exhaust  port. 

In  drilling  the  holes  for  the  cap  screws 
holding  the  governor  to  the  top  of  the 
steam  chest,  one  of  the  holes  came  di- 
rectly over  the  exhaust  port,  and  the 
drill  had  been  run  through  into  the  port. 
The  valve  seat  being  raised  from  the 
cylinder  side  of  the  chest,  a  ^-inch  drill 
came  through  just  back  of  the  seat  and 
one  side  had  cut  through  into  the  chest 
about  ^^  inch.  A  short  cap  screw  had 
been  used  which  did  not  reach  down  far 
enough  to  stop  the  hole. 

I  took  the  old  cap  screw  out  and  after 
tapping  out  the  hole  made  a  new  screw 
that  would  reach  down  into  the  port,  thus 
stopping  this  leak. 

C.   E.  Bascom. 

Readsboro,  Vt. 


April  20,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENT.INTFR 


ru 


Some    Useful    Lessons    of    Limewater 

Interesting    Simple    Expcrin>cnU    Showing    the    HcUUao    ot    EJectncity 
and     Chemistry:     A     \'aluable     Lesson     on    the    C«iboD    Compomk 

BY      CHARLES       S~       PALMER 


There  are  so  many  sides  to  the   st'j<ly 

of  chemistry  that  it  is  sometimes  ilitTicult 

KO  select  the  t>est  order  of  attack ;  but  one 

iubicct  which   naturally  comes  in  at  this 

is  the  study  of  the  simple   primary 

ic  battery.     The  main  points  of  this 

iry    luttery   can    t>e   easily    mastered 

by      nyone,  and   with  the  simplest  of  ap- 

par  itus.     We  will  first  construct  the  sira- 

ittcry,  and  in  another  lesson  we  will 

.  some  of  the  most  important  proper- 

bJM  of  the  electric  current,  both  from  the 

Pqnical  and  the  chemical  standpoint.     It 

is  true  that  we  do  not  know  much  alwut 

♦V"-   nature  of  the   force   which   is   called 

:<.ical   affinity;"    but,    whatever    it    is, 

ertainly  very  closely  connected  with 

ical  action ;  and  you  can  easily  study 

some  of  the  main  points  of  this  marvelous 


•is 

.be 

wiii  >o  a  coarse  wire 

will  ;ty.    Yoa  want  to 

clean  and  scrape  the   insulated  wire   for 

an  inch  or  two  at  each  end  so  as  to  free 

the  wire  from  all  fabric,  tar.  rubber,  wax, 

or  whatever  material  is  used  for  a  cover. 

If  you  have  worked  any  with  electricity 

•>  will  seem  gratuitous  and 

:<iit   in  any  event  you  mttst 

that  good  results  can  always  be 

but  only  at  a  little  expense  of 

careful  attention  in  having  the  connections 

clean   so  that   the   metallic   surfaces   will 

come    directly    together    without    tuTing 

any  dirt,   grease  or   foreign   substance   in 

l)etween      You   will   connect    one   end   of 

the  well-cleaned  copper  wire  to  the  sine 


Tbc  Em  tluaig  to  do  u  to  diy  tW 
strip  »loac  is  ooe  side  of  tW  t 
dflolc  acid,  sad  jov   wtO   aotr  a 
eflcrreserocr  <  f  b^jUtln   vhick.  of 
)oa  know 


■'a  joar  ex* 


r  the  actioa  of  dih—  hI> 
pnuric  JL  '.'•■  .-.poti  tine;  or,  lo  pat  il  Ml* 
other  way.  bf  tbc  actk>«  of  nac  i^aa 
horic  add.  Now  thrr «  is 
remarkable  in  this,  boi  «  is 
i>tri>Afiiu€y  Step  to  the  arxi 
which  conplctcs  the  milnag  of 
(Ir  rirctrK  battery.    As  loag  m 

■■■  >n  the  dflaic  flpharic  acid,  ha^ 

•irogea  tamte  off  froas  (he  mt- 

U'r  ^M  HM  dnc  Fif.  J.  hot. 

tine  in  the  tumblrr  aa 

per  mo  the  other  eMr  (the  eaAs  of 


r 


na  J 


.     the  electric  current,  both  as  to  the  »trip.  tn   t.  nuk'   4  >>■<''■   1?  r 

in  which  it  is  started,  and  also  as  to  ho*>k 

-.  .:   it  can  do  chemically.     It  is  all  the  or  I 

aatier  to  do  this,  now  that  we  have  studied  wir*- 


the 


wire),  yoa  w 
s.^iked     hjrdrogva  ceaM*  to  «aw  o 

te,     plate,   asid    eoaiw    off   fraai   ih* 


•  he     the  wire  i«  attached  exartb  the  urm-  «st 


!o  CoNsnitxT  A  Smrta  BArmY 


dOat 


,f^     mWtr^  ««  ««tl  try  I0  pfwat  Uttf  OA 

1  hr   .>p(,ir,4i»n   which   you   will   t\ff\   i« 
about    .i«    f'llows:      A    tumbler    •><    <lil<itr 

sulphuric  acid;  a  strip  of  rinc  and  another  he  a   sImwi   p*er« 

of  copper,  alKnit   1   inch  wide  and   1  f»r  4  «•    »-  «t fTi      (   <hr 

inches  long;  and  a  short  pierr  •>(  rcmrti  -n 

IMuI'  iCh       sp^M         I  nr    4f '^JMCTiTn-i' 

li  di  it.     of  n>oiter  aad  rfat  ariit 

coarse     '    ;;'^f     »ifr        1  i.r  »how«  m  r .£    -      -^    • 

wing  r...,'-r    nfhrr  thnr   •-  ^   -  -•<*   th*a»-^wsrtrt.    t^ 

the  law.  'tmomr  *-• 

fbrotiHli  w  'I 


<h 


.«<rt»J    V«    tW    *m 


734 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  20,  1909. 


dipped  into  dilute  acid,  to  study  the  main 
evolution  of  hydrogen  gas  which  comes 
off  of  the  copper  plate. 

"Action  at  a  Distance" 
Evidently  something  very  remarkable 
is  happening  here  because,  as  shown  in 
Figs.  3  and  4,  the  hydrogen,  which  would 
come  off  from  the  zinc  alone,  seems  to  be 
thrown  off  at  the  copper  plate.  This  is  not 
the  same  hydrogen  as  that  which  would 
come  off  at  the  zinc  plate  alone,  but  it  is 
the  same  kind  of  hydrogen  in  quality  and 
quantity;  and  its  appearance  on  the  cop- 
per plate  an  inch  or  two  away  from  the 
zinc  plate  in  the  tumbler  is  what  is  called 
"action  at  a  distance,"  and  this  action  at 
a  distance  is  characteristic  of  the  electric 
battery.  This  action  of  copper  in  throw- 
ing off  hydrogen,  when  the  zinc-copper 
couple  are  connected  by  a  wire  and  dipped 
into  dilute  acid,  this  action  of  the  giving 
off  of  hydrogen  from  the  copper  plate,  is 
all  the  more  remarkable  because  copper 
alone  does  not  give  off  hydrogen  in  such 


As  stated,  something  remarkable  is 
happening  here,  and  you  can  see  that  it 
is  the  action  of  the  so-called  electric  cur- 
rent between  the  metals,  through  the 
dilute  acid  and  through  the  conducting 
wire,  which  seems  to  transfer  the  evolu- 
tion of  the  hydrogen  from  the  zinc  plate 
to  the  copper  plate.  It  is  just  this  action 
of  the  electric  current  which  you  want  to 
note.  There  are  a  great  many  sides  to 
this  experiment,  some  of  which  we  can 
take  up  now,  and  some  of  which  will  come 
up  from  time  to  time  later  on.  This  zinc- 
copper  couple  in  dilute  sulphuric  acid,  the 
zinc  and  copper  being  connected  by  the 
insulated  wire,  forms  the  typical  simple 
galvanic  or  voltaic  electric  cell.  There  is 
an  electric  current  flowing  around,  from 
metal  to  metal,  through  the  liquid  and 
through  the  connecting  wire  ;  indeed,  there 
are  probably  two  currents  flowing  around, 
one  the  so-called  positive  current,  flowing 
in  the  liquid  from  the  zinc  to  the  copper 
and  carrying  hydrogen  from  the  zinc  to 
the  copper  in  the  tumbler  (and  then  going 


balance  each  other  so  evenly  and  quickly 
that  one  does  not  realize  this  until  he 
separates  them  very  much  in  the  same 
way  that  you  are  doing  in  your  simple 
primary  battery  made  of  the  zinc-copper 
couple.  Indeed,  this  simple  primary  bat- 
tery is  nothing  more  than  a  simple  but 
elegant  and  marvelously  ingenious  scheme 
for  separating  the  results  of  the  two  cur- 
rents so  that  one  can  take  them  apart,  as 
it  were,  and  study  each  one  separately. 

Defects  in  the  Zinc-Copper  Battery 
There  are  several  defects  in  this  sim- 
ple zinc-copper  battery,  which  you  will 
note  if  you  let  it  work  for  a  few  mo- 
ments. One  of  these  defects  is  that  the 
hydrogen  bubbles  will  soon  begin  to  stick 
to  the  copper  plate,  and  your  battery  will 
soon  become  tired  and  "polarized,"  as  the 
expression  is ;  therefore,  later  on  you  will 
try  to  get  some  way  to  overcome  this 
difficulty  of  the  accumulation  of  the  hy- 
drogen at  the  copper  plate.  This  is  done 
by  surrounding  the  copper  plate  (or  what 


Bed  End  with 
Blue  Spot. 


LitmaB 


Blue  End  with 
Red  Spot. 


FIG.    4 


FIG.    5 


f'g.  6 


quantity  and  with  such  readiness  in  dilute 
sulphuric  acid.  You  want  to  prove  this 
point,  namely,  the  action  of  dilute  sul- 
phuric acid  and  copper  on  each  other 
alone,  because  it  is  the  whole  point  of  ex- 
periment. Indeed  if  you  stop  here  and 
take  both  the  zinc  and  copper  out  of  the 
dilute  acid  and  then  dip  the  copper  only 
into  the  acid  you  will  note  almost  no  ac- 
tion, because  dilute  sulphuric  acid  has 
hardly  any  effect  on  copper,  at  least  for  a 
few  moments.  The  following  points,  then, 
you  have  established : 

First,  that  the  zinc  alone  in  the  dilute 
sulphuric  acid  gives  off  a  rapid  bubbling 
of  hydrogen. 

Second,  that  the  copper  plate  alone 
when  dipped  into  dilute  sulphuric  acid 
does  not  give  off  any  hydrogen  to  speak  of. 

Third,  that  when  the  zinc  and  copper 
(connected  by  the  insulated  wire)  are 
both  dipped  into  the  dilute  sulphuric  acid 
at  the  same  time  there  is  a  rapid  evolu- 
tion of  hydrogen  gas,  but  from  the  cop- 
per plate. 


on  around  through  the  wire  back  through 
the  zinc  again),  and  the  so-called  negative 
current,  which  carries  oxygen  from  the 
copper  to  the  zinc  in  the  tumbler,  and 
which  goes  on  around  the  wire  back  to 
the  copper.  These  two  currents,  the  posi- 
tive flowing  in  one  direction  carrying  hy- 
drogen and  the  negative  current  flowing 
in  the  opposite  direction  and  carrying 
oxygen,  are  always  equal  in  quantity  and 
in  intensity,  and  exactly  balance  each 
other.  Indeed,  we  cannot  have  a  positive 
current  without  having  exactly  the  same 
amount  of  the  opposite  kind,  namely,  the 
negative ;  and,  similarly,  we  cannot  have 
the  negative  current  without  having  ex- 
actly the  same  amount  of  the  positive  cur- 
rent. 

While  we  cannot  go  very  far  into  the 
explanation  of  this  at  present,  yet  it 
should  be  said  here  that  we  probably  have 
and  use  what  are  essentially  the  same 
thing  as  these  positive  and  negative  cur- 
rents in  every  chemical  action ;  but  they 
are  so  mixed  up  with  each  other  and  they 


may  take  the  place  of  the  copper  plate) 
by  some  "de-polarizing"  or  oxidizing  sub- 
stance. Another  defect  of  this  battery  is 
that  the  zinc  is  altogether  too  active  in 
the  dilute  sulphuric  acid  and  is  quickly 
corroded  and  eaten  up ;  whereas  it  may  be 
preserved  against  needless  waste  by  rub- 
bing the  zinc  plates  with  a  few  drops  of 
metallic  mercury  carefully  applied  with  an 
old  rag.  This  amalgamating  of  zinc 
plates  in  primary  batteries  used  to  be  a 
very  important  point  in  the  old  days  be- 
fore the  modern  power  generator  or 
dynamo  was  used  to  develop  electricity, 
and  when  they  had  to  depend  on  such 
primary  batteries  as  a  source  of  electricity. ' 
There  is  another  side  of  this,  also,, 
which  we  may  study  right  here.  While 
there  are  always  both  the  positive,  the 
hydrogen-carrying  or  the  metal-carrying, 
current  and  the  negative,  or  the  oxygen- 
carrying,  current  in  every  battery,  yet  for 
convenience  and  simplicity  we  purposely 
neglect  the  negative  current  and  speak  in 
terms  of  the  positive  current,  as  though 


April  20,  igoQ. 

that  were  the  only  kind  of  current.  One 
reason  fur  this  is  that  the  carrying  of  the 
metals,  as  hydrogen,  is  usually  nn^rc  ca-iiy 
noted  and  measured  than  the  carrying 
of  the  nonmetals,  as  oxygen,  by  the  elec- 
tric current.  Another  reason  is  that  when 
the  double  electric  current  gives  off  hy- 
drogen at  one  plate  or  "pole"  and  oxygen 
at  the  other  plate  or  "pole,"  there  are  two 
volumes  of  hydrogen  to  one  of  oxygi-n, 
these  being  the  proportions  in  which 
oxygen  and  hydrogen  unite  to  form 
water  (H,0). 

The  "Anode"  and 'the  "Cathode" 
In    studying    this    positive   electric    cur- 
rent  in  this  simple  primary  battery   it   is 
plain  that  the  action  scvms  to  start  at  the 
surface    of   the    7inc    plate    in    the    dilute 
acid.     VV'e  will  therefore  think  and  speak 
of    this    zinc    plate   as    being    the    starting 
point  for  the  positive  electric  current.    We 
will  alsrj  call  the  zinc  plate  or  "pole"  the 
**anode"     (the     "road     up"    or     the     "up 
road" )  :  and  we  will  call  the  copper  plate 
'"  the  battery  the  "catliodc"   (that  is,  the 
■  wn  road"  or  the  "road  down").   Thus, 
we    will    speak    of   the    zinc    plate    or    the 
metal-exciting  plate  in  the  battery  as  the 
ano<|e,  and  the  copper  plate  or  the  metal- 
rrceiving    plate    or    "(Hjle"    »n    the    battery, 
the   cathcMle.      That    is,   I'w    the   battery 
current    goes    "up"    into  and   through 
I    the   zinc   plate,  across  through   the   dilute 
ai  ill,  "down  ami  out"  through  the  catho<le 
<ipper  plate,  and  so  on  through  the  in- 
ited  conducting  wire  to  the  zinc  plate 
in.     We  have  taken  the  greatest  ^iber- 
with  Ixith  fact  and  language  in  talk- 
.lUiiif  ihi*  4'|prtrir  current  in  its  pas- 
'•  and  cailKwIr ;  but 
it    is    ju>tilial)ie,    if 
Tenieml»er  that  wc  arc  still   in  the  in- 
y  of  our  ignorance  reganling  the  na- 
of  chemical  affinity  and  the  electric 
I    »  ..rent. 

It  will  do  you  no  harm  to  think  atx>ut 
this  positive  electric  current  as  though  it 
were  an  invisible  current  of  fluid  force  or 
rgy ;  but  we  must  always  Ik-  careful  to 
le    the    facts    in    the    rixht    or.li-r    and 
iirast.     This  is   the  ni<>rr   nr..^>irv  lie- 
INC  if  we  cut  the  comirctmg  wu.    in  the 
I    tni<l<llr.  as  we  are  going  to  do  in  a  ni" 
•'•••««t.   the  end   of  the   wire  leading    from 
callHMie   will   itself  become  an   an<Kle 
i.t    "road  up."   and  the  other  cut   end  of 
the  wire,  leading  up  to  the  fine  amMle  in 
the  Iwttery,   will   itself  l>cf   • 
or  "roa«l  down  or  out,"  c 
■    cut  end*  of  the  wire. 
1  here    is   aN"   anothrr   war  "f  1'soWif>lf 
•his  flow  of  the  jM. 
nit.  from  ano«lr  !<• 
%  and  from  anode  to  cath'xlr 
Is  of  the  conducting   wire   uu:  — 
•lery.  and  that   is  l»y  the    use    of    tht 

tif  -♦   (plu«>  and  —  (minus)      ' •*- 

nk  of  the  temperattire  as   f.il 
s  (  A  )  aU>ve  zero,  . 
minus   ( — )   below 
I    degree*   above   zero  to    lo  lUwrrc*   Jwl'm 


POWER  AND  THE  ENCilNttK. 

zero>,  so  we  can  '■ 

rent,  thit   is.  the  1 

■'  :fig  m  the  direction  in   » >  :.  h 

"     '  :.    plus    (-H)    to    mini!,     r 

You   will   notice   that   we   have 

these  signs  carefully  and  exactl 

5  and  jrou  will  want  to  study  i 

and    memorize    the    relative    posit i>ru    ■.( 

these  signs ;   for  they  stand  fur  the  gov- 

♦■r'  I  the  flow  of  the  po»i- 

tr.  r,t 

N.,w. 
alxjut  r< 

dream,  lake  the  two  ends  ot  the  cut  wire 
as  shown  in  Fig.  5  and  put  rjne  on  the 
upper  and  the  other  on  the  under  side  of 
your  tongue,  when  you  can  easily  lojlr 
the  electric  current.  Indeed,  if  you  take 
a  strip  of  plain  clean  zinc  abtjul  1  inch 
square  ami  lay  it  on  the  undrr  side  of 
sour  m 
copper 

tongue  and  let  th'  •    •- 

zinc  and  copper  I'  ««iil 

have  a  little  electric  battery  and  you  can 
taste  the  electric  current  every  lime  that 
you  make  the  zinc  touch  the  copper  cent. 
Of  course,  in  this   simple  battery   in  the 
mouth,  the  saliva    represents    the    dilute 
acid,  ami  what  yor, 
mixture    of    the 
positive 
tive  or  i 

not   fail  to  note  the   strong  metallic  taste 
of  this  simple  tongue  battery. 

To  find  out  just  what  it  is  that  )rou  are 
tasting  in  the  tongue  battery,  and  just 
what  it  is  that  jrou  have  proriiiced  in  the 
zinc-ci  pper  couple  in  tf  '■  r  battery. 

try    the    experiment    ii  >    Fig.   6. 

Take  a  piece  of 
and  dip  it  into  a  ! 
u>  '  df   will   ' 

thr  It    red       ' 

pa{>er  should  be  .i" 
inches  long.  'Thc:. 
phuric  acid,  say  a  teaspoonful  of  dilute 

acid,  with  a  few  drop*  of  •  • -' • 

until  it  is  exactly  neutral, 
leave  red  liln 
pnftrr    blue 
e« 


•kulphale  priMluced  is 
Then  dip  the  strii. 
this  neutralized    • 


copper 


7JS 
tu  paper  aroond  the  end  ol  iW  wirr 

n   the  aae  polr    miT\   i   ^n«-    m.   M>m-    s,.m 

lht»  exprrvnert' 
thmg   that   y-n  nc*...   .■.   ..:  -or 

fundamentals  of  ihc  cheat  ol 

'    -fK  cnrrenL    Yo«  »w  k<  trv»i  ifce 

>  flowmg.  ikat  t^  tW  pMMtw  rar- 
rri>i.  in   the    :  t  ikr  ll«> 

as  maHinl  u  .  m  wtU  u 

<    vuifcta    froM  tW  \mA**«y 

Imnns  paper,  ibr  cad  o4  iW 

m  the  copper    bemg    aa    amdr 

r  nwA'tiimt  <>t  Mwl  .kci>  <>  .1  the 

tiegaiiST  ,as 

red.    w!  — y 

to  the    . 


the  - 

III! 

»ul: 


-    lAttti    A^ivin   Axwi  Turn%   inc 

hlor.  The  actoal  ttmctiam 
appentag  (to  the  sodMHH 
■  io<t  in  thr  l*f«i*(»«  papr> )  mV 


•    -rut  tiie  eketnr  t.MHt 

'!i  'x  '-'  '^'  -  ;'  anywhere  in  the  Ofrail 
into  Its  two  parts,  the  oae  pan  at  the 
p<4e  where  •»"■  ff'»  -  ^.  .t-  .i-..» 
showing  an 

the       "'  -" rn-    K  ■-•      -Jt 

aU  <hKing  e€ect. 

•cnt  wMh 
read   aO'. 

hai  >4ju  ^aa 

s  m  rt»e 


exi- 

penmeni  is  worth  many  hour*  of 

and  study     One  wants  to  f'^-f  *"-!  undy 

just   enoagh    In   see    how   t  the 

experintenl .    then    the    eaf.r.. ....-.:    .itell 

becomes  ihe  learher.  take«  charge  ol  al 
and  teadw  as  ham  lo 


thr 


Two  yatv  nHvra  yd  ■  Son» 

ol 
'unarv    eirnrtf    bsnery  .   ha* 

t:\ji"     r»  ^ti' »     '    •     '*  *■       f 


tuuif'lrf    JotTrrt     .jt».i    ' 
in  whtrh  ihe  cut  end* 


<w 

llttO 

or 

Hll- 

hrr 

■  wr 

iL 

^  Ufcltf« 


ml  *     »*  • 


f»»"t    trr  i»>*    **m0  niwi 


-iral   hanefy.   •»  h»    •   m^ 


•'mi**^  •» 


a  »i!i>    ffU  St"*'.  *"■*  •"   ''*   "^  "" 


736 


enormously  powerful  dk-ect  currents, 
such  as  those  produced  at  Niagara  falls 
and  used  in  the  nianufacture«of  aluminum, 
the  clay  metal,  and  many  other  equady 
interesting  substances,  all  this  shows  a 
little  of  just  what  you  have  begun  to  block 
out  in  this  lesson. 

There  is  another  word  of  explanation 
which  should  be  offered  here.  I  refer  to 
the  difference  between  the  so-called 
"primary"  and  "secondary"  batteries. 
There  is  really  very  little  difference  in 
theory  between  the  primary  and  secondary 
battery;  both  have  their  anodes  and 
cathodes,  and  in  both  the  positive  cur- 
rent flows  in  the  way  indicated  in  noting 
the  course  of  the  current  in  our  simple 
tumbler  battery.  But.  practically,  there  is 
a  great  difference  between  the  primary 
and  secondary  battery;  for  the  electris 
current  represents  a  form  of  power  or 
energy,  and  the  electric  current  can  be 
produced  either  by  the  mechanical  dynamo 
or  generator,  or  by  the  primary  battery 
(though  at  present  the  primary  battery 
is  not  used  as  an  economical  source  of 
large  currents).  Now  in  the  saving  up 
or  storing  of  the  energy  of  electric  cur- 
rents use  is  made  of  the  secondary  bat- 
tery, which  is  frequently  made  of  two 
lead  plates  (one  in  the  form  of  metallic 
lead,  the  other  in  the  form  of  the  brown 
oxide  of  lead,  PbO:)  ;  these  "secondary" 
or  "storage"  batteries  make  a  large  sub- 
ject, and  they  represent  a  problem  which 
is  only  half  worked  out  at  present.  This 
word  of  explanation  is  simply  given  to 
show  the  meaning  of  the  word  primary  as 
we  have  used  it  for  our  tumbler  battery  in 
a  simple  form  for  originating  an  electric 
current. 

In  the  next  lesson  we  will  consider  some 
of  the  other  chemical  and  physical  aspects 
of  the  electric  current ;  and  incidentally 
it  will  be  a  good  thing  for  you  to  get  an- 
other piece  of  insulated  copper  wire,  4  or 
5  feet  long,  and  also  a  small  pocket  com- 
pass, even  one  as  small  as  the  common 
watch-charm  compass;  for  anything  of 
this  sort  will  come  in  very  handy.  You 
will  also  want  to  get  a  short  piece  of  good 
steel.  4  or  5  inches  long,  and  magnetize 
it  by  holding  it  close  to  a  certain  part  of 
any  direct-current  generator;  any  friendly 
operator  will  help  you  to  magnetize  it. 
But  do  not  forget  to  go  over  and  over 
the  material  presented  in  this  lesson,  and 
to  clinch  it  by  experiment,  so  that  you  will 
learn  it  as  though  you  were  going  to  re- 
member it   forever :   it   is  worth  knowing. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


The  Inception  of  the 
Joint 


'Van  Stone' 


The  principal  producing  countries  of 
lignite  arc  Germany,  .Austria  and  Hun- 
gary, which  in  1906  produced  55.513.000 
tons,  2.3,770,000  tons  and  6,26.1,000  tons, 
respectively,  while  the  provisional  figures 
available  for  Germany  in  1907  show  a 
production  of  61,542,000  tons,  and  in  Aus- 
tria 25,840.000  tons.  In  the  United  King- 
dom the  production  has  for  some  years 
been  nil. 


In  a  groMp  at  the  Engineers"  Club  the 
other  evening,  the  conversation  turned 
upon  loose-flange  joints,  suggested  by  W. 
F.  Fischer's  article  upon  the  subject 
which  had  just  appeared  in  Power,  and 
George  I.  Rockwood,  who  was  of  the 
number,  related  the  story  of  the  inception 
of  this  type  of  joint  by  himself,  as  fol- 
l(iws : 

"In  TQ03  I  had  occasion  to  put  some 
S-inch  high-pressure  steam  pipes  into  the 


plant  of  the  Samuel  Winslow  Skate 
^Manufacturing  Company,  Worcester.  Cast- 
ing about  for  the  best  form  of  pipe  joint, 
I  investigated  the  work  which  had  been 
put  up  in  Providence,  about  that  time,  in 
the  Narragansett  Electric  Light  Com- 
pany's station,  where  the  ends  of  the  pipe 
were  flared  out  and  riveted  directly  to- 
gether in  much  the  same  way  that  the 
flanges  on  the  ends  of  the  abutting  sec- 
tions of  Lancashire-boiler  furnaces  are 
riveted   together    (P'ig.    i). 

"I  was  informed  that  considerable  trou- 
ble had  been  experienced  with  this  form 
of  joint  and  that  most  of  the  piping  had 
to  be  replaced  after  a  short  time,  owing 
to  the  impossibility  of  contending  suc- 
cessfully with  the  strains  produced  by 
the  expansion  and  contraction  of  the  line. 
It  then  occurred  to  me  to  make  use  of  the 
heavy  cast-iron  flange  (Fig.  2).  The 
flange  was  bored  a  rather  close  fit  to  the 
pipe,  its  face  was  turned  to  the  section 
shown,  and  the  flange  was  then  slipped 
over  the  pipe  and  temporarily  left  some 
distance  on  it  from  the  end.  The  black- 
smith then  heated  and  flanged  over  the 
end  of  the  pipe,  after  which  he  moved  the 
cast  flange  up  to  the  heated  end,  secured 
it  there  and  molded  the  two  flanges  to- 
gether. 

"The  fundamental  object  I  had  in  view 
was  to  secure  together  the  alnitting 
flanged  ends  of  two  pieces  of  pipe  in  such 
manner  that  the  cxi)ansion  str.iins  of  the 
line  could  not  affect  the  relative  posi- 
tions of  the  contacting  faces.  By  making 
the  flanges  with  deep  skirts  and  by  flar- 
ing the  outer  faces  of  the  flanges  to  admit 
a  calking  tool,  I  was  able  to  correct  any 
tendency  of  the  pipe  to  leak  when  first 
put  up,  by  simply  calking  the  steel  up 
against  the  heavy  anvil-like  faces  of  the 
flanges. 

"A  year  or  two  later,  after  I  had 
watched   the   behavior   of   the   pipe   joints 


April  20,  1909. 

in  this  factory,  I  contracted  with  the  Wal- 
worth   Manufacturing    Company,   in    Bos- 
ton, for  a  long  line  of  pipe  varying  from 
16  to  6  inches  in  diameter,  and  provided 
with  this  same  style  of  pipe  joint.     Before 
letting     the     contract     to     the     Walwortli 
Manufacturing   Company,   I   attempted   to    , 
get   figures   from  several  other  pipe  con-  | 
tractors,  but   entirely  without  success,   as     ' 
no  one  else  wished  to  attempt  the  flang- 
ing-over  process  for  fear  of  lack  of  suc- 
cess due  to   splitting  of  the  ends   of   the 
pipe  when  subjected  to  such  a  treatment. 
The    Walworth    Manufacturing    Company 
evidently  did  not  realize  the  difficulty   of 
the    job,    for   after   it    had   had    the   con- 
tract  for   some   days,   its   salesman   called 
at  my  office  and  asked  to  be  allowed  to 
provide  screwed  flanges,  as  they  found  it 
almost  impossible  to  prevent  the  splitting 
of  the  pipe  when  they  attempted  to  flange 
it.     However,  after  some  persuasion  and 
furthef  experimenting  on  the  part  of  their 
superintendent,   Mr.   Van   Stone,  with   an 
oil  furnace,  and  after  some  practice  on  the 
part  of  their  men  in  hammering  over  the 
edge  of  the  heated  pipe  with  long-handled 
wooden  mallets,  they  were  able  to  finish 
the  job  and  erect  it  in  position. 

"It  was  an  entire  success,  and  during^ 
the  following  summer,  after  a  long  ab- 
sence from  home,  I  called  at  the  office  of 


the  Walworth  Manufacturing  Company 
and  asked  them  what  they  thought  of  the 
joint.  Their  answer  was  that  they  thought 
it  an  excellent  joint  in  principle,  but  too 
expensive  to  build  for  the  market.  I, 
however,  had  my  suspicions  aroused  and 
went  over  to  see  what  they  were  doing 
with  it  in  their  factory,  where  I  found 
their  shop  literally  full  of  orders  for  pip- 
ing with  this  style  of  pipe  joint.  I  also 
found  they  were  advertising  it  as  the 
'Van  Stone  Pipe  Joint'.  Meantime,  I  had 
had  a  patent  issued  to  me — No.  580,058, 
April  6,  1897.  This  patent  was  for  a  pipe 
joint  (Fig.  3)  in  which  the  flanges  have 
divergent  opposite  sides  to  admit  a  calk- 
ing  tool.     The   Walworth   Manufacturing 


April  20,  lyoy 

Company  has  continued  to  make  its 
so-called  "Walmancf/  pipe  joint  (the 
name  which  ihey  switched  over  to  after 
Mr.  Van  Strnc  left  their  cmpluy  and 
formed  the  company  of  Lum>«lrn  &  Van 
Stone,  Boston),  wliich  is  practically  a 
Chinese  copy  of  my  p.itent. 

"I  talked  with  the  Walworth  Mannfa< 

turinK  Company   for  a  good  while  alxait 

their  hnyin^  this  patent :  bnt.  owing  to  a 

defect   in  the    way    the    claim    had    In  en 

drawn,  I  found  it  was  necessary  t.>  v<>  irr 

■  c   that   pipe  jrints   whirli    lia-l   !.■  •  n 

1    an«l   suhjectefl    to    strain    i»r»^-Mrc 

:id  had  leaked,  owing  to  defective  work- 


PDWER  AND  THE  EN 

mntUTn   prtiette«>   <Mfted   fjtfjrVfr   ttvrr  tn     »h»n  haw  Unt  rrrml  ,r,i  1, 


tisre  pipe  line«. 


itcnsc 


iw  tor 


\  bdl 

|t-vi^l-ll•.l^.• 


hat  been 

r..i..f 


TV 


i    ilAt*r«kar» 


■    -rktfwfi 


into    the 

f- 

■  3  111*-*    mh 

ihr*f  tiAer. 

:>  fire 

i  he    tnaril   appoim* 

,^>      r^      t%^      .  .    m. 


-irvT^, 


.-yrsBii,  7^. 


riu.   3.   ■ocKwoon  v\vT  couin.iNc 

manship.   had  actually  been  tightened  by 
the   Use  of  a   c;i! 
twrrn  the  tliver. 

flangrs.  Owinn  to  tlic  dillicultv  oi  >t-vur- 
ing  tins  trsimxiny,  and  l<»  a  certain  re- 
lurtanre  to  engage  in  a  legal  struggle  with 
the  Walworth  Manufacturing  Company,  I 
never  did  anything  further  to  enforce  my 
rights. 

"In  the  original  (lipe  joints  made  by  me. 
I  thought  it  safe,  after  diftcusting  the  mat- 
ter with  my  friend,  Capt.  Charles  H. 
Manning,  and  in  view  also  of  an  experi- 
ence with  a  pii»e  line  of  somewhat  %imil.»r 
constructicm  in  Naiick,  R.  I.  where  an 
engmeer  wa^  killed  while  calking  a  line, 
due  to  the  pulling  of  the  pipe  out  of  the 
ffange.  to  intriKluce  a  few  rivets  into  the 
skirt  of  the  flange  to  lake  the  strain*  «  ff 
<if  the  lorner  where  »' 
The    ri\^■l^    had    ihi- 

,.r 

M 

OVrt     .iKilli>(     It.        IWlt.     Hi  ' 

were   jtrM\ided   or    n'»t   w.i 

the  main  fimdamental  advantagct  of  tht 

type  of  flange. 

"I  have  had  it  allegeil  l«>  me  th.«i   I  »;   ' 

the  idea  of  making  this  t>i'-      ' ' 

previous   pra.tire   in    cop|. 
where  the  aliuiting  riKl« 
are    »pun   over   ami    arr    \ 
tw   Iii;ht   tliDw-'-v       V 
seen   thr   ilr.iMitik;   ••! 
be  likrlv   !>•   Ii.i\e  matir  .1 
In  the  way  *l»<'wn  in  ww   ; 
irr«tii.n  of  the  advan' 
as   anvils   against    h>< 

light   i«   *1tKgr»lr.|   l.\    • 

more,  the  fart  th,»l  tht      .. 
with  me  is  shown  by  the  t 
it    wa«    not    iiDiil    after    I 
used  this  *o  called  'Van  S' 


1. 
engineers. 

"It   shall   be   the  duly  of  th 
examining  engineers   to  meet 
to  time  und  at  least  as  <  *' 
four  weeks  in  the  city  of 


of  applicants  fur  licciuc  to  wiKr^ic  Ucaiu     ' 
power."  " 

The  fee 
fails  and  tri 
the   license   must   be   renrwr<l 

fr^     f,  ,r     «i    l.-t>     l»     «.  Tj.r     .    .    . 

(  I  illMHli;!  <l     l"-«lir»     III 

tif>n.     Any   rejected 
fi»r  a    ■ 
his  ow 

)•  • 


cents  per  mile  i 

r!..l     ...     llr     ,.r. 

I 

VI. Tr,     .„....(     ..1 

city  are  exempt. 

Tbrr 
tiir«*« 


shire 

il,r  ... 


made    lor    <iptf 


A  Nc%%"  N.  A.  5.  E. 


<>n    Wet!' 


TW     f   V.^mmm 


«Tit^g     •*vrr«i- 


Il)c  Lugol  Sham  Torfjioc 


-*«-!    rW 


I  jcmtr  Act  for  C«ltf<>frua 


T^f   -Ti 


•s^we    ^tsf 


r    InritLitiirr    nf       V' 


pia^  U   iW   I 


W    attr 

by  lh»  m- 


tmJk   ««ifc   trM». 


that      litting   of   three 


738 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  20,  1909. 


POWER 

Mr" The  Engineer 

DEVOTED    TO    THE  GENERATION   AND 
TRANSMISSION  OF  POWER 

Issued  Weekly  by  the 

Hill  Publishing  Company 

Joas  A.  Hill,  Pre*,  mnd  Tre«B.         Bobkbt  McKkan,  8ec'y. 

505  Pearl  Street,  New  York. 

355  Dearborn  Street,  Chicago. 

6  Bouverie  Street,  London,  E.  C. 


Producer  Gas  Power  in  Small 

Units 


Correspondence  suitable  for  the  columns  of 
Power  solicited  and  paid  for.  Name  and  ad- 
dress of  correspondents  must  be  given — not  nec- 
essarily for  publication. 

Subscription  price  S2  per  year,  in  advance,  to 
anv  post  office  in  the  United  States  or  the  posses- 
sions of  the  United  States  and  Mexico.  S3  to  Can- 
ada.    $4  to  any  other  foreign  count  ry. 

Pay  no  money  to  solicitors  or  agents  unless  they 
can  show  letters  of  authorization  from  this  office. 

Subscribers  in  Great  Britain,  Europe  and  the 
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send  their  subscriptions  to  the  London  Office. 
Price  16  ShiUings. 

Entered  as  second  class  matter,  April  2,  1908,  at 
the  post  office  at  New  York,  N.  Y.,  under  the  Act 
of  Congress  of  March  3,  1879. 


Cable  address,  "Powpcb,"  N.  Y. 
Business  Telegraph  Code. 


CIRCULATIOS    STATEMEST 

During  1908  tee  printed  and  circulated 
1.836,000   copic<<   of   Power. 

Our     circulation     for     March,     1909,     iras 
Jiceekly  and  monthly)   190,000. 

April   6 42.000 

April    13 37,000 

ApHl   20 87,000 

Isone  ftent  free  regularly,  no  returns  from 
neics  companies,  no  hack  numbers.  Figures 
are    live,    net    circulation. 


Contents 


PAOH 


Harnessing  Power  in  Greater  New  York  ....  705 
Municipal  Plant  at  Marshfield,  Wisconsin.  .  .  710 
Danfjer  from  Water  Hammer  in  Steam  Pipes  713 
Three-pha.se    Transformer   Connections   and 

Resulting  Voltages 716 

The  U.se  of  Indicators  in  Refrigeration 718 

.\n  Interesting  Low  Pressure  Pumping  In- 
stallation     720 

Horsepower  and  Kilowatts 723 

Catechism  of  Electricity '. . . .   723 

Practical  Letters  from  Practical  Men: 

A  Peculiar  Synchronizing  Trouble.... 
What  Will  Hapiwn  if  the  Belt  Breaks? 
Blowoff  Valves.  .  .  .Probable  Cau.se  of 
Air  Compressoi  Explosions  ....  A  Ga.s- 
ket  Repair  Job ....  Keeping  Plant  Rec- 
ords. . .  .Safety  Valves. .  .  .Kno(!k  in  an 
Engine ....  A  Steam  Saver ....  Boiler  as 
^  a  Water  Supply  Tank ....  Compound 
Engines ....  Follower  Plate  and  Bolts 
Broke ..'..  Puzzling  TrarLsformer  Action 
.  .  .  .Safety  Cams. .  .  .Boiler  and  Furnace 
Construction.  .  .  .Increa.se  of  .Salary. . . . 
Peculiar  Indicator  Diagrams.  ...  Archi- 
tects and  Heating  Systems. .  .  .Burning 
Slack    Coal ....  Reversing    Polarity    of 

Machine.  . .  .Central  Valve  Engines 

Do  Crank  Pin.s  Wear  Flat? A  Ma- 
chine Shop  Blunder 72.5-732 

Some  Useful  Le-ssona  of  Limewater 733 

The  Inception  of  the  "  Van  Stone  "  Joint. . . .  736 

Editorials 738-739 

Charles  T.  Porter  Awarde<l  the  Fritz  Medal .   740 


When  one  stops  to  think  of  the  possi- 
bilities of  small  gas  producers  and  en- 
gines, it  seems  strange  that  the  use  of 
that  class  of  apparatus  is  not  vastly  more 
widespread  than  it  is.  A  suction  anthra- 
cite producer  of  any  size  up  to  25  horse- 
power is  no  larger  and  no  more  trouble- 
some to  operate  than  the  hard-coal  stove 
commonly  found  in  country  stores,  and 
not  nearly  as  intractable  as  the  average 
kitchen  range.  We  are  vigorously  op- 
posed to  underestimating  the  degree  of 
care  required  by  machinery  of  any  kind, 
and  we  do  not  ignore  the  fact  that  a 
small  producer  and  engine  plant  do  re- 
quire intelligent  attention ;  nevertheless, 
it  is  undeniably  true  that  the  amount  of 
such  attention  needed  by  the  type  of  plant 
under  consideration  is  astonishingly  small. 

There  is  an  enormous  field  for  such 
small  plants  throughout  the  country,  and 
the  btiilder  who  has  the  foresight  to  de- 
velop it  and  get  in  first  ought  to  reap  a 
prodigal  harvest.  A  good  deal  of  mis- 
sionary work  along  Missourian  lines  will 
be  necessary,  however,  in  order  to  con- 
vince the  prospective  customer  that  the 
monstrosities  which  were  sent  out  by  some 
builders  in  previous  years  have  had  their 
day  and  that  "real"  producer-gas  engines 
and  anthracite  producers  are  as  easily  ob- 
tained now  as  abortions  were  five  years 
ago. 


The  Presentation  of  Engineering 
Papers 


Most  engineers  enjoy  a  good  lecture,  or 
a  paper  on  some  uptodate  subject.  That 
is  one  reason  why  engineering  societies 
have  adopted  the  practice  of  having  pa- 
pers presented  by  men  of  distinction  in 
their  lines.  If  the  members  who  attend 
organizations  did  not  feel  an  interest  in 
such  matters  they  would  not  be  there. 
Without  attendance,  an  engineering  soci- 
ety must  fail ;  therefore,  it  devolves  upon 
any  such  body  so  to  conduct  its  meetings 
that  they  will  attract,  not  repel.  Getting 
men  into  a  lecture  room  and  boring  them 
to  death  is  not  conducive  to  success. 

Most  engineering  societies  publish  in 
advance  the  papers  that  are  to  be  read  at 
any  particular  meeting,  in  order  that  the 
members  may  have  an  opportunity  of  dis- 
cussing them  intelligently  at  the  meeting. 
This  is  a  good  idea,  but  what  is  the  use 
of  wasting  the  time  of  several  hundred 
men  by  forcing  or  allowing  the  author  to 
read  in  full  a  paper  which  every  interested 
member  has  previously  read  for  himself? 
If  an  author  is  thoroughly  conversant 
with  his  subject  (and  he  is  foolish  to 
attempt  a  paper  if  he  is  not),  he  should 
find  no  trouble  in  giving  conci.se  expres- 


sion of  the  ideas  presented  in  his  paper 
without  reading  it,  or  even  lengthy  parts 
of  it,  and  the  audience  would  undoubtedly 
find  more  interest  in  listening  to  the 
speaker  than  to  the  reader. 

The  time  usually  taken  up  in  reading 
papers  which  have  been  previously  dis- 
tributed in  printed  form  could  much  more 
profitably  be  spent  in  discussion,  and  if 
the  members  once  understand  that  papers 
will  not  be  read  in  full,  they  will  form  the 
habit  of  reading  them  carefully  before- 
hand and,  consequently,  be  much  better 
prepared  for  discussion  at  the  meeting. 


The  Three  Phase  Circuit 

The  three-phase  alternating-current  cir- 
cuit is  still  a  good  deal  of  a  puzzle  to 
the  operating  engineer  whose  early  train- 
ing was  obtained  in  connection  with  the 
simple  two-wire  direct-current  cfrcuit. 
The  attempt  at  simplification  by  advising 
that  one  wire  be  considered  as  a  common 
return  for  the  other  two  does  not  usually 
help  matters  and  vector  diagrams  merely 
emphasize  the  confusion.  The  easiest  way 
for  beginners  to  approach  the  subject  is 
to  consider  the  three-phase  circuit  as  a 
consolidation  of  three  simple  two-wire 
circuits,  as  outlined  in  a  recent  article* 
on  the  subject.  On  this  basis  each  wire 
of  the  three-phase  circuit  is  the  combina- 
tion of  two  wires  of  two  of  the  imaginary 
two-wire  circuits,  one  wire  of  each  cir- 
cuit being  combined  with  one  wire  of  one 
other  circuit  to  form  the  single  resultant 
wire  of  the  three-phase  circuit.  Each  wire 
of  the  three  two-wire  circuits  must  be 
assumed  to  have  a  cross-sectionel  area 
equal  to  o  577  of  the  cross  section  of  each 
wire  in  the  actual  three-phase  circuit,  if 
the  questions  of  "drop"  and  energj'  loss 
are  to  be  considered. 

When  one  is  concerned  only  with  the 
loss  in  the  line,  however,  the  simplest  me- 
thod is  to  assume  that  the  requisite  power 
is  to  be  transmitted  by  a  four-wire  two- 
phase  circuit.  The  size  of  wire  required 
to  transmit  a  given  power  at  a  given  loss 
is  exactly  the  same  in  a  three-phase  cir- 
cuit as  in  a  four-wire  two-phase  circuit, 
and  by  working  (on  paper)  with  two 
phases  instead  of  three,  all  of  the  con- 
fusion as  to  interlinking  of  phases  is 
avoided.  For  example,  if  a  twenty-horse- 
power three-phase  motor  is  to  be  con- 
nected up  for  two  per  cent,  loss  in  the 
line  at  full  load,  assume  that  it  is  a  two- 
phase  motor  of  the  same  horsepower, 
efficiency  and  power  factor,  and  figure  the 
line  as  a  two-phase  line ;  then  throw  out 
one  wire  of  the  four  and  the  remaining 
three  will  be  correct  for  the  three-phase 
motor  actually  to  be  installed. 

It  must  be  remembered,  however,  in 
checking  the  size  of  wire  by  the  insurance 
requirements,   that   the   current   per  wire 

*Pagp  108.  Power  and  The  Engineer  for 
December    22,    1908. 


1 


April  20,  1909. 

is  greater  for  a  three-phase  than  for  a 
two-phase  motor  of  the  same  size  and 
characteristics;  what  has  been  said  above 
refers  only  to  voltage  drop  and  energy 
loss  in  the  line.  For  example,  if  the 
twenty-horsepower  motor  \>e  of  ninety 
per  cent,  efficiency  and  eighty-eight  per 
cent,  power  factor,  an«l  the  circuit  volt- 
age be  220,  the  current  per  wire  would  be 
fifty  amperes  for  the  three-pha>e  motor 
anfl  forty-three  for  an  equivalent  tw«>- 
phase  machine.  The  drop  and  energy  los* 
in  the  circuit  would  be  the  same  for  both 
kinds,  with  a  given  size  of  wire,  but  the 
underwriters  would  not  allow  smaller  than 
No.  4  rubber-covered  wire  for  the  three 
phase  circuit,  while  No.  5  would  be  per- 
mitted   for   the   other. 


To   Improve    the    Load  Conditions 
of  a  Power  Station 


When  the  load  on  an  electric-power 
station  is  such  that  another  generating 
unit  must  be  put  in  parallel  with  those 
alrc.tily  running,  it  is  common  practice  to 
riMiljiist  the  division  of  loa<l  amongst  the 
machines  so  that  the  one  just  "cut  in" 
will  take  its  share.  There  is  no  alterna- 
tive to  this  practice  where  direct -current 
generators  are  operated,  but  if  the  ma- 
chines are  alternators  and  the  load  is  in- 
ductive, it  will  frequently  l)e  f  vnd  prefer- 
able to  operate  the  incoming  machine 
as  a  synchronous  motor  in  order  to  im- 
prove the  power  factor  of  the  system  and 
rnal>le  the  other  generators  to  load  their 
prime  movers  fully.  The  condition  un- 
der which  this  method  is  advantageous 
is  the  combination  of  a  low  power  fac- 
tr.r  and  either  eqiwlity  of  capacity  be- 
':  generator  and  its  primr  mover 
■iiderance  in  favor  <>f  the  prime 
•uover. 

For  example,  suppose  that  each  prime 
mover  is  just  able,  at  maximum  ec<>r)>>i!iy, 
to  drive  its  generator  at  full  rated  load 
when  the  power  factor  is  ninety  per  cent. 
If  the  p4<wer  factor  should  hap|K-n  to  !>e 
rventy-two  per  cent,  the  n«irn>al  heat- 
ing limit  of  the  generators  would  be 
reached  when  the  prime  movers  were  do- 
ing only  eighty  per  cent,  of  their  maxi* 

•  -utput.     I'ndrr   •' 

in   another   jl' 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

full   load   vithoot  overheating   their   gen- 
erators. 

This    raiwa    an    iatcrestinc    qnentoa: 
For   power   stations   ear- 
ductive  loads  would  it  n. 


u)iKl»   it«   prime   mover 

nected    from    it    u'lrn    •' 

needed  as  a  »^  motor  for  rai 

iji,'    the    fM>wer    : 


79 


/inothcr  "  Smoke  Consunicr  "    Has 
Made  Its  Appearance 


In  the  Daston    rOhto»    Poily   */nrf  of 


Aiun,  mixed  with  coai  to  the  extent  of 
;\v'tity  cents'  worth  of  rompound  per  too 
of  coal,  will  coi .  jmc  all  of  the  gasea 
which  cause  soot  and  smoke,  and  in  addi- 
tion wdl  clear  the  flues  of  the  boiler,  the 
inside  of  '"        '  td  add 

"forty  per 

It    is    said     hut     a     va: 
strati'-n  w.k  mridr  in  tli. 

o  renwrked:    "Tbesc 
I 

it  has  long  lieen  known  that  with  a 
properly  designed  furnace,  operated  by 
intelligent  attendants.  smrJceless  combus- 
.'.ua  of  the  most  %m  '  -  '\  of  bitumi- 
nous coal  can  tie  ar  and  it  has 
r  been  »u»;'c<  !cd  itial  human 
I    mt*rr    infltirtv*-    in    pf"«t«Ktn)f 


acid,  water,  etc. 

A  manufacturing  chemist  who  was 
burning  with  his  coal  a  lot  of  damaged 
salt  said :  There  it  nothing  in  salt, 
oxalic  acid  or  water  that  ran  add  any- 
thing to  the  hr.  '  '  '  •' 
furnace.  Init  w ' 

!  :i 

1 

n 
:  ?:  .  't 

rhrumalism.'' 

It  may  »-  •• -••♦'  •»'    -"•  •* 

the  new  « 


Tbe  Joko  Fikz  Medal  Pi 


^m    «ngnn«f.    aSfihrr 


ol 

^   >«/lr»  Talkac 
«  of  la«i 
.1-    tiir    .  n^\txrTum    ><«-trlirs 
New  York      Tbr  ttcMi  «^Mr  tes  tei  a 
rrttkag  >  nil  Air  tJK 
'•♦♦'^    w    «^!w1i    we 


1 


tl»e  ian  tttm  m» 

<    and    trjn»:>-rl4 
any    ronsvSerablr    v  l«rdly    a 

.writ, If.      ..„^.     .1,  '-frlaitom 

<m   of 


nru    ijc^ekprncnt     f   tJx    Isctory 

thr    •«r«ff»)tn«t    Mttd    ihr    locaaMttre.    ami 

*  'ufton  of  tkr  mfiafim   of 

rk  opiKi  the  sugii  as  kv 

ihr  middle  of  tlw  Iwi  cntary. 

a  new  liglN  apaa  iW  rrfaoea* 

•m  engmrrring  to  the  worfd  for  tW 


been  fnalty      The  HMtiltkwi  ol 

the   simple    tiyt    tmptr  -tgl,   «o 

much  in  kcrpmg  wit!  4  tW 

man  whose  tmpnm  th«  aacdsl  bcarv  kt  to 
be  crxmnrTKfrd  and  it  is  hoyed  ikM  ik* 
anmi..'  'ton  of  this  medal  wfi  hr- 

'hr    notable    twmoimm   !■ 


an  mginrr-rmn   tr^tr^j 


'";     IT-* 
lid    » 


{•' 


Obituary 


T'-hn    \f<-K»i       M«f  ftwtr>r*f    ttaS   xrmrf 


but  put  it 


mover    v 

il    point    ' 
he  power   factor  of  the   nyslrni 
'•nirary.  if  the  additional  atlr" 
vnchronitrd.  cut   in  and  then 


*^ti    *    Unm       Tt^ 


!■.    Iirl"!    r> 

I*  to  impr 

iMe   the   other   prime    movers    t< 


carry 


liserv  of  wweihlM*  »oMfw»*. 


740 


rUWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  20,  1909. 


Charles  T.  Porter  Awarded  Fritz  Medal 

Mr.    Porter's    Pioneer    Work    on    the  High  Speed   Steam  Engine  Fit- 
tingly   Recognized.     The    Benefits    to    Modern    Industries  Pointed  Out 


With  simple  but  impressive  ceremonies 
the  John  Fritz  medal  was  awarded,  on 
Tuesday  evening,  April  13,  to  Charles  Tal- 
bot Porter,  tlie  father  of  the  high-speed 
engine.  The  audience  arose  as  Mr.  Porter 
was  escorted  to  the  front  of  the  stage  by 
Jesse  M.  Smith,  president  of  the  American 
Society  of  Mechanical  Engineers,  who  ad- 
dressed the  chairman,   Henry  R.  Towne: 

President  Smith's  Introduction 
The  John  Fritz  medal  was  established 
in  1902  by  the  profession  of  engineering  as 
a  meed  of  recognition  for  notable  scien- 
tific or  industrial  achievement.  By  direc- 
tion of  the  Board  of  Award  I  present  to 
you  and  to  this  company  the  chosen  recip- 
imt  of  the  medal  for  1908- 1909,  to  whom 


effort  the  knowledge  which  it  cost  Mr. 
Porter  many  years  of  painstaking  study 
and  experiment  to  establish ;  many,  per- 
haps, use  this  heritage  without  a  thought 
of  or  recognition  to  the  pioneer  who  won 
it  for  them. 

That  he  may  now  receive  the  John  Fritz 
medal,  I  have  the  honor  to  present  Charles 
Talbot  Porter. 

Presentation  and  Acceptance 
E.    Gybbon   Spilsbury,   chairman   of   the 
Board  of  Award,  in  presenting  the  medal, 
said : 

Charles  Talbot  Porter,  veteran  engineer, 
assiduous  student  of  science  and  of  the 
mechanical  arts  of  construction,  skilled 
c-xpcrt  in  design  of  engine  details  and  the 


of  appreciation  of  my  work,  which  is  all 
the  more  grateful  to  me  that  it  expresses 
the  approval  of  time. 

"The    Debt   of   Modern   Civilization   to 

the  Steam  Engine" 
was  the  title  of  Prof.  W.  F.  M.  Goss'  ad- 
dress, which  was  as  follows  : 

The  progress  of  the  human  race  has 
been  marked  by  the  implements  it  has 
employed.  The  creatioii  of  each  new 
utensil,  tool  or  machine  has  given  man- 
kind greater  freedom  of  choice,  and  has 
augmented  his  power.  With  the  employ- 
ment of  mechanical  means  for  driving  ma- 
chinery came  great  influence  in  manufac- 
tured products ;  when  better  means  of 
communication    followed,    the     range     of 


it  has  been  awarded  for  his  work  in  ad- 
vancing the  knowledge  of  steam  engineer- 
ing and  in  improvements  in  engine  con- 
struction. We  thus  honor  him  because  he 
was  the  first  to  see  the  possibilities  of  the 
high-speed  steam  engine;  for  his  mechani- 
cal genius  in  the  design  of  parts  and  de- 
tails to  embody  these  principles,  and  for 
his  insight  in  recognizing  the  necessity  of 
the  very  best  mechanical  construction  in 
realizing  these  ideals.  He  introduced  into 
the  development  of  the  power  plant  an 
idea  and  an  influence  which  was  so  revolu- 
tionary as  to  mark  an  epoch  in  the  history 
of  the  art  of  engine  building,  and  which 
ha=  been  as  world-wide  in  its  effects  as 
has  been  the  use  of  the  reciprocating  steam 
engine  as  a  prime  mover.  Many  of  the 
present  generation  have  inherited  without 


application  of  physical  laws  to  the  solu- 
tion of  prol)lcms  in  the  field  of  prime 
movers  which  you  made  peculiarly  your 
own,  in  the  name  of  the  profession  of  engi- 
neering, and  on  behalf  of  the  John  Fritz 
Medal  Board,  I  do  now  present  you  this 
medal,  together  with  an  engraved  certifi- 
cate of  the  award,  in  the  presence  of  this 
distinguished  company,  and  confer  upon 
you  all  tiie  rights,  honors  and  distinctions 
which  attach  to  this  em1)lem.  May  you 
live  long  and  happily  to  enjoy  the  appre- 
ciation which  is  your  due  at  the  hands  of 
those  whom  you  have  so  benefited  by 
your  work. 

Mr.  Porter,  in  accepting  the  medal,  said: 

Mr.    Chairman    and    Gentlemen    of   the 

Board  of  .'Xward  of  the  John  P'ritz  Medal: 

I  thank  you  most  sincerely  for  this  token 


man's  activities  was  extended,  and  when 
labor-saving  processes  were  introduced 
they  brought  opportunities  for  intellectual 
exercise  and  development.  Thus  from  the 
beginning,  invention  and  the  development 
of  the  useful  arts  have  given  new  life  to 
the  activities  of  man,  have  created  new 
procedures,  have  led  to  the  establishment 
of  new  .standards  of  living,  have  stimu- 
lated speculation  and  have  even  directed 
the  tendencies  of  thought. 

Among  the  factors  which  have  played 
their  part  in  these  civilizing  processes 
none  is  more  important  than  steam,  a 
statement  which  becomes  the  more  signifi- 
cant when  we  reflect  that  at  the  time  its 
use  as  a  source  of  power  began,  the 
world  was  already  old  and  very  many 
potent  forces  were  having  their  effect  upon 


April  20,  iga>. 

xicty.  The  mass  of  the  great  common 
i>coplc  were  iiuiking  ihem^ielves  fell  and 
heard.  They  were  readiiiK  books  and 
were  showing  an  interest  in  scimcc,  and 
they  were  not  afraid  to  uii<l< n -kr  licw 
•uterprises.      Dreams    of    the  « 

•  I    steam   Ixrlong   to  the  day   ■  -i, 

"teel.  Swift  and  l>e  Foe,  when  the  pub- 
lic was  instructed  and  amused  by  the 
"Spectator,"  the  "de  Covcrlcy  Papers"  and 
'he  stories  of  those   famous  adventurers, 

•  .ulliver  and  Robinson  Crusoe.  The  day 
•'I  triumphs  in  Hnxlish  arch:'  '.id 
reached  its  meridian,  for  Sir  '  .-r 
Wren  had  alre;uly  directed  the  r<.;<:;;iiiiHg 

i  London  after  its  great  lire,  and  \^.l^  I'm- 

-hing  its  masterpiece  by  the  completion 
■  f  St.  Paul's  catliedral.    It  was  a  day  when 

lie  .Xmerican  colonies,  occupying  a  fringe 
"f  territory  along  the  Atlantic  seaboard, 
were  exercising  themselves  as  became  a 
'tirring    people    in    a    new    latul,    fiRhiing 

Itcir  wars  and  gathering  their  sirenxth 
I'cr  a  greater  war  which  was  to  come. 

Such  a  p<.-ri<>d  was  worthy  to  usher  in 
°!ie  era  of  steam,  was  in  fact  waiting  for 
w.  tor  though  it  bo.-istefI  of  brilliant  men 
"f  letters  and  of  great  statesmen,  there 
.as  work  waiting  which  it  lia<l  no  means 

f  doing.  Tliere  were  no  large  factories 
Ml  Fngland,  l>ecausc  there  was  no  way  by 
which    their  machinery    could   be   driven. 

'  English  mines  had  been  abandoned 

^e    they    were    flot^led     with     water 

ui.i.li    I"  tild    not    l>e    remoxed       |i>r    l.ick 

of    ihe;»|>er    and     more     effe(ti\e     nu.ins, 

woDun  ami  girls  were  employed  in  many 

•  "al  ujines  to  convey  coal  to  the  Miriacc. 
'.Vhere  galleries  resulted  from  the  work- 
ing of  thin  veins  and  head  room  was 
lackinx,  women  nearly  naked  crawletl  on 
their  hands  and  feet  and  pulled  loads  of 
coal  in  cars  t>ehind  them.     .Xi^aiii.  at  the 

'afts,  women  and  girU.  carl.  d 

A    the    severity    an«l    nioiL.t  ir 

toiled  up  inclines  ^r  tliiui>'-l  a  *uc- 

II    of    ladders,    each    r.irt.'         to    the 

-'irfacc  a  burden  of  a  hundr<  -r 

lore  of  coal.     Suffering  and    .  ^ :.  n 

.^as  the  common  lot  of  the  women  in  the 

nines,   and     fatalities    through    accident* 

A  ere   fre(|uenl.     The   traveler   de«iring   to 

'V   fnmi   I   '     '        '  '  is 

•  1  to  intf  1- 


traveierv   ■■   prolectKHi 


In  .'Nmrnr.i.  many  ye»r» 
l>erio<l  «»f  which  I  now  •f-  ■'■ 
ihe  memory  of  «ome  wh 
pioneer  settler,  finding  it 
a  bill  or  c'ini-,-t  an  aiiv 
I'hi.i  ..r  llallimore,  not  n 
ii.-M  ,1  tlofhrr  "n  f»M»t  f' 
! 


after    the 
^'  "  within 

>y.  the 


KnVER  AND  THK  KM.INKKk. 

quiremetMi    to    lhoM>    thint*    wh«e»i    fSer 


and     piea»ur< 
.i>d   evrti   «ir»r. 
ties.      Ira.  was  even 

ardotu  tha:.  .  ,.  .  and  wa» 

far    greater    misery.      A    tra 
Kn^land   to    Atiieriea   in    •"  :!ij.. 

record  i-i  the   following  tt  hi* 

trip: 
On  jantury  1,  the  vesael  drifted 


74» 


wm  mre    thfy   hftd 

\    pranaealfjr 


ln«  thai  tWv 


the    Tlwunca.     On    the    third    the    was     Bomcml  Ihe  larger  liap  waa 


C«Aau»  Tauof 

airroiiri't    and  afirr   w>mr  ■I.iriviffr  fca.f  J«rrt»       9'^  nj > i irpr' I  jr-t  «  < 


j.roKrc«s.      i  he 

b>    Ian  I   was   eij  ; .;;.       . 

rr«ult   there  could  tie  li«'' 

trade    iK-tween    the    pcf^.i.     "i 

cnmmunilie*.      Men    restricted    their 


m| 


742 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  20,  1909. 


taken  by  one  which  was  known  to  be  very 
slow.  By  way  of  experiment,  the  captain 
collected  his  passengers  and  crew  at  the 
stern,  with  the  result  that  the  speed  at 
once  quickened.  A  subsequent  change  in 
the  location  of  a  few  water  casks  served 
permanently  to  make  the  vessel  the  fastest 
of  the  fleet. 

Into  the  midst  of  such  conditions  came 
the  steam  engine.  It  first  freed  the  mines 
of  England  from  water,  thus  reviving  in- 
dustries long  dormant,  giving  employment 
to  the  idle,  and  increasing  the  fuel  re- 
sources of  a  nation.  It  soon  began  to  hoist 
the  output  of  mines,  to  the  relief  of  thou- 
sands of  toiling  women  who  had  suffered 
without  redress  for  generations.  It  turned 
the  wheels  of  factories  with  a  power  un- 
precedented, making  possible  the  introduc- 
tion of  new  systems  in  manufacture  by 
which  raw  materials  might  be  converted 
into  products  serviceable  to  mankind,  and 
by  so  doing  became  the  foundation  upon 
which  has  been  reared  the  industrial  pros- 
perity of  nations.  It  supplied  pure  water 
and  effective  means  of  sanitation  to  cities, 
and,  supplemented  by  electric  transmission, 
it  furnished  light,  power  and  heat  to  oflfices 
and  homes. 

The  steam  engine  is  no  longer  merely 
a  center  of  motion  for  factories,  but  is  a 
necessary  adjunct  to  the  modern  home. 
It  usurped  the  place  of  the  wind  in  the 
propulsion  of  ships,  and  they  now  proceed 
steadily  through  any  sea.  Steam  also 
serves  in  the  orderly  administration  of 
ships,  in  hoisting  and  handling  the  cargo, 
working  capstans,  weighing  anchors,  sup- 
plying water  for  sanitation  and  for  fire 
protection,  generating  electricity  for  light, 
and  transforming  the  slightest  movement 
of  the  quartermaster's  hand  into  the 
strong,  steadily  applied  force  needed  to 
work  the  helm ;  it  has,  in  fact,  by  the 
performance  of  numerous  functions  trans- 
formed a  slow,  uncertain  and  most  un- 
comfortable process  of  navigation  into 
one  of  the  speediest,  most  certain  and 
most  delightful  means  of  travel.  It  has 
supplied  means  for  the  safe  and  speedy 
transportation  of  people  and  merchandise 
by  land,  correlating  the  activities  of  cities 
and  uniting  different  communities  into  a 
single  people. 

Steam,  through  the  agency  of  the  loco- 
motive, has  carried  order  and  civilization 
into  .Africa,  and  has  made  possible  the  ex- 
ecution of  great  schemes  for  internal  im- 
provement on  that  continent ;  it  has  car- 
ried bread  to  the  hungry  in  India,  and  has 
served  in  our  country  almost  as  a  creature 
of  fancy  in  pointing  out  to  multitudes  of 
settlers  the  way  to  new  lands  and  new 
homes.  It  has  given  shape  to  the  frontier, 
It  has  carried  forward  the  settlers,  and  it 
has  made  it  possible  gradually  to  convert 
unsettled  territory  into  populous  country 
and  untilled  lands  into  productive  gardens 
and  farms  of  a  continent'-  breadth. 

All  these  achievements  wrought  through 
the  agency  of  steam  are  direct  contribu- 
tions   to   the    upbuiUlint'    r,{   our    modern 


civilization,  the  keynote  of  which  is  ser- 
vice. The  service  of  the  steam  engine  has 
not  only  enlarged  the  resources  of  all 
countries  and  increased  the  power  of  man, 
but  by  creating  facility  in  communication 
is  a  tremendous  force  in  modifying  social 
life.  The  ease  of  present-day  travel  is  a 
characteristic  of  our  modern  civilization. 
People  of  all  nations  may  freely  inter- 
mingle. Through  opportunities  thus  af- 
forded State  lines  are  of  less  significance, 
and  the  prejudices  and  limitations  of 
communities  are  lost  and  forgotten.  Busi- 
ness and  social  interests  which  are  made 
possible  between  nations  are  weaving  a 
bond  of  common  friendship  which  is 
world-wide  in  extent,  and  which  .grows 
stronger  with  every  passing  year.  The 
power  of  navies  and  artillery,  which  has 
so  long  served  to  emphasize  boundaries 
and  separate  nations,  is  gradually  being 
supplanted  by  the  power  of  the  steam 
engine  which  promotes  communication, 
makes  possible  introductions,  and  stimu- 
lates acquaintanceships,  the  effect  of  which 
is  to  draw  people  together  and  to  encour- 
age them  in  an  acknowledgment  of  their 
mutual  dependence.  Through  intercom- 
munication the  dwellers  on  the  earth  are 
beginning  to  see  that  if  one  nation  suffers 
severely  all  nations  are  likely  to  suffer  in 
some  degree,  and  they  are  learning  re- 
spect and  sympathy  for  their  fellow-men, 
and  this  is  a  long  step  toward  world-wide 
international  peace. 

"The  Debt  of  the  Modern  Steam  Engine 
TO  Charles  T.  Porter" 

was  the  title  of  Prof.  F.  R.  Hutton's  ad- 
dress, which  was  as  follows : 

We  have  just  heard  that  the  John 
Fritz  Medal  for  the  current  year  has  been 
awarded  to  Charles  T.  Porter  for  scien- 
tific or  industrial  achievement  under  the 
terms  of  the  deed  of  gift,  and  that  his 
achievement  has  been  to  advance  the 
knowledge  of  steam  engineering  and  effect 
improvements  in  engine  construction. 

I  am  to  speak  in  detail  of  the  character 
of  these  achievements  and  improvements ; 
and  of  the  debt  that  the  reciprocating  type 
of  steam  engine  at  the  beginning  of  the 
twentieth  century  owes  to  the  pioneer 
work  of  Mr.  Porter  in  the  latter  middle 
of  the  nineteenth. 

This  debt  may  be  grouped  under  fdur 
heads : 

First,  we  owe  to  him  the  first  vision  of 
the  advantages  to  spring  from  the  plan 
of  making  the  crank  shaft  of  a  steam  en- 
gine turn  at  a  high  number  of  revolu- 
tions; or  to  have  the  piston  make  a  large 
number  of  traverses  per  minute  in  the 
bore  of  the  cylinder. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  in  i860, 
when  this  inspiration  came  to  Mr.  Porter, 
the  United  States  was  scarcely  as  yet  an 
industrial  community  in  the  sense  in 
which  it  became  one  after  the  Civil  War, 
and  after  the  engineering  schools  began 
their  service  following  the  Morrill  Land 
Grant   Act   of    1862.     Great   personalities 


had  arisen,  such  as  Plaswell  and  Cope- 
land,  Horatio  Allen  and  Ericsson,  Stevens 
and  Latrobe,  Baldwin  and  Winans ;  and 
their  successes  were  in  evidence.  But  the 
great  mills  of  New  England  were  run  by 
water  power,  as  was  the  armory  at 
Springfield ;  the  great  producing  plants, 
which  grew  up  subsequent  to  the  war  of 
'61 -'65  were  unthought  of.  The  boy  in 
kilts,  who  like  myself  had  a  hankering  to 
see  the  railway  locomotive,  was  escorted 
by  a  patient  maid  to  the  extreme  limit  of 
the  city  among  the  market  gardens  and 
ruralities  of  the  northern  end  of  the 
Fourth  avenue  tunnel  at  Forty-second 
street,  and  a  successful  blast  furnace  was 
in  full  operation  at  One  hundred  and 
Thirtieth  street  and  the  Hudson  river, 
where  the  Edgewater  ferry  houses  now 
stand.  Sickels,  Worthington  and  Corliss 
were  in  the  first  or  second  decades  of 
their  productive  activity,  but  had  made 
little  widespread  impress  on  the  manu- 
facturing centers.  The  locomotive  and 
the  marine  type  of  engine  had  felt  the  in- 
fluence of  master  creative  minds,  but  the 
stationary  power  plant  of  small  size  was 
still  under  the  headway  of  Watt  and  the 
standards  received  from  England.  Eng- 
lish practice  grew  from  the  early  re- 
quirement of  the  pumping  engine  for  its 
mines  and  water  works,  and  the  slow 
rotation  favorable  to  pumping,  to  paddle 
propulsion  and  to  the  beam  type  of  trans- 
mission was  the  heritage  of  all  designers. 

The  electrical  age  had  not  yet  been 
born,  for  the  Faraday  discovery  of  the  me- 
chanical generation  of  electric  current 
was  still  only  embodied  in  a  piece  of 
laboratory  apparatus  exhibited  with  re- 
spectful awe  to  students  of  the  natural 
sciences,  because  as  yet  there  was  no 
commercial  solution  to  the  problem  of  the 
electric  arc  and  lamp,  no  filament  for  the 
incandescent  globe  and  no  practicable 
motor  for  the  reconversion  of  electric 
into  mechanical  energy.  No  engine  de- 
signer of  stationary  engines  for-  mill  or 
factory  work  cared  to  speed  up  the  line 
shafting,  for  the  millwright  of  the  day 
was  perforce  using  partly  balanced  pulleys 
and  cast  gears  with  hand-profiled  teeth. 
The  factory  power  unit  was  comparatively 
small  because  the  mill  was,  also.  The 
piston  speed  was  standardized  between 
200  to  300  feet  per  minute,  or  an  engine 
with  2-foot  stroke  turned  from  50  to  75 
revolutions  per  minute. 

It  should  not  be  necessary  in  this  pres- 
ence to  do  more  than  to  refer  to  the  con- 
ditions in  the  reciprocating-piston  pres- 
sure motor  that  the  work  per  minute  is 
the  pressure  P  in  pounds  per  square  inch 
over  an  area  A  in  square  inches,  as  the 
force;  and  that  this  force  moves  over  a 
space  in  feet  which  is  the  length  L  of  the 
piston  traverse  in  one  stroke  multiplied  by 
the  number  A''  of  such  traverses.  Nor  to 
the  fact  that  the  factors  which  give  weight 
and  bulk  to^  the  motor  are  the  length  L 
and  the  area  A.  To  increase  N  adds  lit- 
tle to  the  weight  and  inappreciably  to  the 


April  20,  1909. 

bulk ;  and  to  increas*  P  necessitates  in- 
creased strength  of  parts,  but  in\>U  noth- 
ing to  cylinder  diamcicr  >>t  I<fm,th.  hut 
may  enable  both  to  be  reduced.  liy  his 
recognition  and  advocacy  of  the  <x.i.ti<.iial 
boiler  with  tubes  inclined  from  the  verti- 
cal as  made  by  his  associate,  John  F. 
Allen,  Mr.  Porter  helped  to  raise  initul 
steam  pressures ;  by  increasing  the  rota- 
tive speed  from  50  or  75  turns  per  min- 
ute to  150  per  minute,  he  initiated  the  era 
of  the  high-speed  steam  engine. 

P'rom  this  seed  thought  <>f  ndiic-ing  the 
weight  of  the  motor  per  h<.rM power  have 
grown  many  stately  plants  of  nxxlrrn  d;iy, 
in  the  sight  of  whose  blossoms  we  some- 
times   forget    the    hidtlen    roots.     Or.    to 
change  the  figure,  there  are  many  struc- 
tures which   rest   upon   this  idea  as  their 
foundation,   whose   appeal  to   our  instant 
recognitions    makes    us    forget    that    they 
are    upheld    by    this    early    vision    of   our 
honored     guest.      The      direct  -  connected 
10  to  be  later  referred  to;  the  high- 
*tfnm   launclv    the    motor    vehicle, 
ne.  all  rest  upon  the  concept  of 
weight    per   horsepower   capa- 
city.     Someone    may    say    that    this    is   so 
'■bvious  that  engineers  could  not  help  »ee- 
■ig   the   principle.     Granted.     But   it  was 
given  to  Mr.  Porter  to  see  it  /Srj/.  as  far 
back  as   i860,  and  to  make  the  hard  tight 
necessary   to   secure   its   recognitif>n.      .Ml 
hf>nor  to  the  man  who  sees  a  truth  for  the 
first  time,  and  before  it  has  been  revealed 
to  all! 

The   secon«l   debt    we   owe  Charles   Tal- 
bot Porter  is  for  recognition  of  the  truth 
that  the  problem  of  mass-accelerati<Mi9  for 
'he    reciprocating  parts   was  a   vital   one, 
>iid   success   was   bound  up  in   solving   it 
'ight.      When    the    pumping -engine    pi«- 
■n  or  that  of  the  pad«llr  wheel  boat  mak- 
«  revolutions  a  minute,   with  H  foot 
.  starts  from  rest,  the  moving  ma*»r* 
i\c  the  time  of  one-half  stroke  to  reach 
le    velocity    of    the    uniformly    rcvoUuig 
rank.      This    is    approximately    onr  half 
■  cond.      The    force    necessary    t<«    impart 
is  stored  energy  is  the  prrnluct  of  the 
..iss  accelerated  into  the  half  square  of 
le  velocity  per   second.      When  the  time 
f    one    revolution    is    changn!     \r<>u\    t^'- 
I>eed  of  yo  per  mifMi?r  \"   i5i>  ]»  r  rMiti    'r. 
'■'■r    time    for    .1 
"h  of  what  it    • 

'I     in     one-tenth     •><•»- •ml.     and     »J»r 
to    store    this     grejlrr     nnritv      in 
'rases  as  the  squares  of  the 

le  masses  are  the  same      Urn 

rst    observe*!    and    worked    out    by    Mr 
•   f.  that  the  pu*h  of  the  »te.ini  in  •'- 
r  only  reaches  the  cr.iiiW  pni    if 
the    work       ■' 

plHrtl        1  t 

,.! 

Il  . 

graphical    mrtho<|    ot    «<>l 

tx'^iiitf  the  stram  effort   / 

■ton    resistance    diagram 

now  in  use.     Hut  he  u<><! 

lid  wc  owe  him  this  debt. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

The  third  deh«   whiefi  sre  mre  to  Mr. 

Porter  it  >  t  that 

the  high   r  r.jbleoi 

«'f   mass   ..  1   ,   ^t^n^. 

ard    of    V.  „    |„,    ,1^ 

was  far  ahead  of  the 

- ■•  •  ..  -vitce  of  ^ -      Thu 

is   perhaps   the  greatest  bliga- 

tion  of  all.     It  would  not  -rank 

pin  to  be  oval,  or  with  ed  to 

the    pbnc    of  -i,       |t 

w«iuld  not  do  •  r  nnly 

uiH.n  a  RT'  r 


tive   I  and  c«>nsi%tent   with   i<>ng 

life  an.  .      .  .  ..::ning.   The  cro'*-' -    '  ••     rt 

not  bump  along  in  contact  onl  1 

places   upon   thr    .       *         •'  t 

not  be  warped  « 


at)«l   projected 
errK>r    rrtnf    Sr 


'!«     in     llt«     |f*>V- 

pim!VJ  planes 
I 


and  commonpLacrs  of  engine  construc- 
tion, do  I  hear  anyone  say?  Inde««l,  yes. 
f f  r  the  twentieth  century,  but  they  are  so 
because  Mr  Porter  first  made  them 
ilnious  These  were  not  recnvnired  in 
I  -•  ■        ■ '  "  f 

I 

aixt  :!ic  i<>iM:«.t(  of  the  k- 
date  .All  honor  to  Mr.  i 
ing  these  risible  to  us  for  th< 

In   this   tame  chst  are  hi*    -       ^         m 
of  the  advantages  of  the  double  crank  un- 
used  before    for   ua*- ••'■"-    ■■' ■  ••■'     -"d 
now   so  usual   in   t).' 
crank  mgitK ;  b' 
of  .lulomatic  111 


<tr<if<.|     .iIkI     |k< 

crrrptng  whrre  !• 
are    uni\rr«al    now  . 
creation  by   Mr.   Por*' 
sign  of  bed  plate  with  a 
fnmi  the  plane  oi  tK*-  ■.• 
the   plane  of  the  pa* 

,  ;  .  "•,rt\     M  ■         "  '  ij     i»y 

):-■•■:-•  v^  •  ■  ..  and 

•••  thr 


741 

'*fl.  *Cti«g  M  •  vatrt  n»t.«i  I.,  ff^^t,  >«.« 
"ttratam  a  vara—  a' 
aners  or    f-..—    ...  .    .„    ,„ 

dciH«rwa.  ^cWlM 


■  Atrr   woidd  br  Anmm  <<«*   <rH 
the   f.. 
in    iK- 


m  dw  \omTt  pan 
thr    hotwrii   tbm*^    ihr    i^m' 

last.     iKr     jir     ir-.m..-     'r.*      i..^. 

pan 

•mrA       Mr     |>avtvr 
lhi«     pump     otir     oi     hH     mntk 
trmmphs  of  that  day  :  »M  **  m  a 
pUrr  of  thr  |iaiiniiiu  f  toifay 

.And.  *imMv    «r  r^.  J*on»»  thr 

*»"««'^  -rn  iaim  oi 

of  hi*  eartir«t  klras 

conical   twn.f'.jJi'm    i- 
an    er . 


down  :.,. 
should  be 
Opi>«    f*-. 
and   t- 

k 

-<  tliat  4w>  ID  grarcyr 
■  Inrh  had 

»- 

t 

:  a  gswftwm  Wy 

f^vtrvd  le  gn« 

xn    sack    mmm    wma 

.  Kails.     ThM  timm 

arnl   both 

sprr.' 

N    y  n  11  illi    10 

Sign :  we  • 

'  <j|Tit«(  hmn*  mwan!  ■ . 

Uu>Ir:)k>   they  r-  f«J|pw  tW  IMk- 

rr^f   and  lly  0^  Shilr    Am    4r 

'   for  a  Hsaiiiw  s— ■»«   g^mrwor.  lo 

rx-TxIenl  of  pnuttr*  of  tK»   .twr-T*. 

*\  idea  a**^  Utrr  I 


Rile*  and  •k^<' 
mol<lrd 


tH*    Art' 


the  q< 


744 


POWER  AXD  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  20,  1909. 


ingenious  mechanic,  skilled  designer  and 
c;riginator  of  the  Richards  form  of  the 
steam-engine  indicator,  present  with  us 
tonight  as  an  honored  guest.  He  created 
this  at  the  urgence  of  Mr.  Porter,  to  meet 
the  deinand  for  a  steam-engine  indicator 
capable  of  giving  a  reliable  record  of 
pressures  in  the  cylinder  of  a  high-speed 
-team  engine.  His  concept  of  a  multiply- 
ing parallel  motion  whereby  a  stiff  spring 
md  small  piston  motion  with  light  masses 
should  be  used  has  underlain  the  deriva- 
tives which  have  replaced  his  early  de- 
sign. 1  am  reminded  by  Mr.  Porter  that 
Mr.  Richards  also  designed  the  first  Allen 
engine  bed.  and  the  engines  of  the  Colt 
armory,  now  running  after  more  than  40 
years,  a  most  bold  and  successful  achieve- 
ment. May  he  live  long  to  enjoy  the 
esteem  of  his  associates  and  fellow 
workers. 

The  other  reference  is  to  John  F.  Allen, 
who  has  gone  to  his  reward,  so  that  the 
tribute  of  this  gathering  must  be  only  as 
a  wreath  upon  his  tomb.  I  do  this  the 
more  gladly  since  it  has  been  requested 
of  me  by   Mr.   Porter  himself. 

To  Mr.  Allen  we  owe  the  elegant  in- 
vention of  the  single-eccentric  link  and 
four-opening  valve,  with  pressure  plates, 
to  secure  elimination  of  friction  pressure. 
He  gave  to  the  slotted  eccentric  strap  an 
adjustment  which  equalized  the  pressure 
diagrams  taken  from  the  opposite  ends  of 
the  cylinder,  at  every  point  of  cutoff,  and 
retained,  with  a  simpler  and  positive 
mechanism  the  features  of  constant  re- 
lease and  compression  with  variable 
point  of  cutoff,  which  up  to  then  were 
the  exclusive  prerogatives  of  the  liber- 
ating system.  These  are  today  features 
of  every  high-speed  engine  gear.  He 
gave  to  the  locomotive  the  double- 
port  opening  property  by  the  use  of 
the  hollow  channel  over  the  back  of 
the  shell ;  he  designed  a  sectional  water- 
tube  boiler,  in  which  how  tumultuous 
soever  might  be  the  circulation  of  water 
and  steam  gas,  the  tube  could  never  go 
empty.  He  invented  a  riveting  machine 
using  either  pressure  or  percussion  to  up- 
set the  metal,  and  a  high-speed  air  com- 
pressor to  be  its  adjunct.  I  am  glad  to 
connect  up  to  Mr.  Allen  these  factors 
of  his  ability,  which  meant  so  much  when 
the  engine  of  the  seventies  and  eighties 
became  known  as  the  Porter-Allen  engine. 

The  Debt  of  the  Era  of  Steel  to  the 

High-speed  Steam    Engine" 
was    the   title   of   Robert    VV.    Hunt's   ad- 
dress: 

Naturally,  I  feel  honored  by  having 
this  opportunity  to  represent  the  Ameri- 
can Society  of  Civil  Engineers  and  the 
American  Institute  of  Mining  Engineers, 
in  this  first  ceremonial  presentation  of  the 
John  Fritz  medal.  Aside  from  any  per- 
sonal equation,  I  am  glad  that  such  a 
manner  for  the  bestowal  of  the  medal  has 
been  inaugurated,  and  I  sincerely  hope 
the    custom    will    be    maintained    for    all 


future  presentations.  I  regard  the  re- 
ceipt of  that  medal  as  one  of  the  highest 
honors  which  can  be  paid  an  engineer, 
and  it  is  fitting  that  its  presentation  should 
be  attended  with  an  impressive  but  sim- 
ple dignit}',  typical  of  the  men  in  whose 
honor  the  medal  was  established.  As 
you  will  recall,  this  was  done,  and  the 
necessary  fund  secured,  as  one  of  the 
surprises  given  Mr.  Fritz  by  his  un- 
countable friends  upon  the  celebration  of 
his  eightieth  birthday.  All  who  know  him 
appreciate  that  his  modesty  would  have 
prevented  his  having  taken  such  action 
of  his  own  volition.  That  he  may  live 
to  participate  in  the  bestowal  of  the  medal 
for  many  years  to  come,  is  our  earnest 
prayer. 

I  suppose  if  a  man  will  only  live  long 
enough,  his  life  will  certainly  cover  some 
more  or  less  eventful  periods.  It  seems 
to  me  that  my  life  must  have  been  a  very 
long  one,  or  else  the  world  has  been  more 
than  busy  during  its  continuance.  It  has 
been  my  fate  to  have  been  in  touch  with 
the  happening  of  a  lot  of  things,  and 
some  of  them  have  been  connected  with 
the  solutions  of  iron  and  steel  problems. 
I  have  witnessed  the  development  of 
bessemer  steel  from  its  struggling  birth 
through  its  tremendous,  almost  unbelieva- 
ble, growth  up  to  its  now  suggested  de- 
cadence. Practically  all  of  those  accom- 
plishments were  made  possible  by  a  more 
rapid  application   of  power. 

Perhaps  because  the  smelting  of  iron 
and  its  subsequent  manipulations  were 
titanic  in  character,  and  because  man  was 
habituated  to  slow  movements,  it  was  im- 
perative that  the  early  processes  should 
have  been  deliberate ;  at  all  events,  the 
original  ones  were  so.  The  first  power 
applied  in  the  industry  beyond  that  of 
man,  came  from  the  slow-turning  water 
wheel ;  later,  from  the  slow-speed  steam 
engine.  As  developments  required  faster 
movements,  it  was  obtained  through 
accelerating  gears  and  belts. 

Among  the  first,  if  not  the  first,  engi- 
neers to  make  direct  attachment  of  a 
rolling-mill  engine  to  its  train  of  rolls, 
were  Jo!m  and  George  Fritz.  They  thus 
avoided  the  expensive  and  frequently 
breaking  intermediate  gears ;  but  the  prac- 
tical speed  of  their  comparatively  short- 
stroke  engines  was  limited,  and,  so  far 
as  I  know,  Charles  Talbot  Porter  was  the 
first  one  to  give  the  rolling-mill  engineer 
a  controllable,  direct-connected,  economi- 
cal high-speed  engine. 

In  1876,  I  was  general  superintendent 
of  the  Albany  &  Rensselaer  Iron  and 
Steel  Company,  of  Troy,  N.  Y.,  to  which 
organization  Alexander  L.  Holley  was 
consulting  engineer.  One  of  the  com- 
pany's buildings  had  been  used  as  a  pud- 
dle and  top-and-bottom  mill,  with  its 
necessary  puddle  and  heating  furnaces, 
rolls,  etc.  The  substitution  of  the  manu- 
facture of  steel  in  place  of  iron  rails 
threw  this  plan  out  of  commission,  and  it 
was    determined    to    convert     it    into    a 


bessemer  merchant-steel  mill.  The  pud- 
dle and  top-and-bottom  mill  had  been 
driven  by  a  walking-beam  low-pressure 
engine  which  had  been  removed  years  be- 
fore from  the  steamboat  "Swallow,"  fol- 
lowing its  historic  wreck  on  the  Hudson 
river.  The  engine  stood  between  the  two 
trains  and  ran  at  from  35  to  40  revolu- 
tions per  minute,  the  speed  of  the  rolls 
being  increased  through  heavy  gears. 

The  possibilities  of  the  adaptability  of 
bessemer  steel  for  uses  other  than  rails 
had  been  so  fully  demonstrated  by  the 
European  exhibits,  notably  those  from 
Sweden,  at  the  Philadelphia  Centennial 
exposition,  that  our  company  decided,  as 
has  been  stated,  to  take  up  its  manufac- 
ture, and,  acting  under  Mr.  Holley's  ad- 
vice, put  in  two  three-high  mills,  driven 
by  Porter-Allen  engines ;  a  22x36-inch 
one  for  the  16-inch  train,  and  an  18x30- 
inch  one  for  the  g-inch  train  of  rolls.  I 
believe  those  were  the  first  of  Mr.  Porter's 
engines  applied  to  the  driving  of  iron  or 
steel  rolling-mill  rolls.  These  new  mills 
were  located  in  the  south  end  of  the  old 
puddle-mill  building;  the  old  "Swallow" 
engine  and  trains  were  in  its  north  end, 
and  we  subsequently  remodeled  the  trains 
and  used  them  for  rolling  steel.  To  see 
the  "Swallow"  engine  performing  its 
duties  with  so  great  seeming  deliberation 
at  one  end  of  the  building,  while  in  the 
other  end  Mr.  Porter's  two  little  engines 
were  humming  away  and  accomplishing 
much  greater  results,  was  an  educational 
sight. 

We  frequently  rolled  light-section  steel 
rails  on  the  16-inch  train,  and  were  so 
doing  when  Mr.  Porter  made  us  the  visit 
mentioned  in  his  "Engineering  Reminis- 
cences." Pie  relates  that  our  president, 
Erastus  Corning,  while  standing  with  him 
watching  the  operation,  asked  a  boy,  prob- 
ably a  "water  boy,"  "why  they  were  not 
feeding  the  billets  to  the  rolls  faster." 
The  boy  replied :  "Because  the  gentlemen 
at  the  hooks  could  not  catch  them,  sir." 
The  fact  that  the  "gentlemen"  of  not  only 
that  mill,  but  also  at  our  regular  steel-rail 
mill  rolls,  could  not  work  faster  led  me 
to  put  in  the  power-driven  tables,  which 
have  since  in  their  development  done  so 
much  to  make  possible  the  tremendous 
output  of  American  rail  mills. 

This  first  use  of  Porter-Allen  engines 
was  followed  rapidly  by  other  parties, 
until  direct-acting  high-speed  engines  be- 
came the  typical  American  rolling-mill 
type,  and  I  take  this  occasion  to  put  on 
record  the  great  debt  which  iron  and  steel 
engineering  owes  to  Charles  T.  Porter. 
It  has  been  my  good  fortune  to  claim  him 
as  a  friend  for  many  years,  and  from 
the  first  I  have  known  him  and  esteemed 
him  as  I  do  now,  as  a  high-  and  simple- 
minded,  clean-living  man,  and  a  profound 
student.  The  heavy  hand  of  time  has  per- 
haps taken  from  him  a  former  additional 
appellation,  which  was  truly  his,  that  of  a 
hard  worker,  but  if  ever  a  man  earned  the 
right  to  rest,  it  is  he ! 


April  20,  1900. 
■"The  Debt  of  the  F.r.\  of  Rlecthicity  to 

THE    HlGH-SrEEU    StEAM     K.NMNE" 

was  the  title  of  l-'rank  J.  Sprai^ic's  ad- 
dress : 

Mr.  Chairman,  guests  of  the  evening, 
ladies  and  gentlemen:  It  is  a  trite  savini;. 
but  often  true,  that  expectation  i->  lj<.tt<r 
than  realization,  and  hence  due  conMdcra- 
lion  for  the  comfort  an<l  pleasure  of  an 
audience  sometimes,  and  in  this  iiist.nicc 
surely,  warrants  a  late  speaker  in  (l^^t  ae- 
knowledging  the  truth  of  the  ohli^ation 
declared  in  the  subject  set  for  his  remarks, 
and  then  as  promptly  as  permissible  dis- 
missing consideration  of  it.  This  b  a 
Iil)erty  accorded  at  a  time  of  general  re- 
joicing, when  pessimism  may  \h  tlirown  to 
the  winds,  and  dry  statistics  r  >nsi«netl  to 
temj)<)rary  oblivion. 

It  has  been  said  that  every  stable  gov- 
ernment should  have,  and  is  benefited  by 
a  sizable  national  debt ;  and  with  that 
hpppy  disregard  of  the  fact  that  like  busi- 
ness fundamentals  should  govern  private 
and  public  liusiness.  our  political  sponv)rs, 

;>resentatives    and    executors    cheerfully 

:<■  obligation  on  obligation  for  the  sta- 
bility .nml  happiness  of  posterity. 

So    toniglit,    in    interested    humility,    wc 

have  listened  to  many   tales  of  the  <lebt» 

of  our  industrial  development  to  the  high- 

;>red    engine,    until    they    have    piled    tip^ 

'    high    as    to    awaken    the    envy    of    a 

tional  treasurer  complacently  facing  a 
:>  1 00.000,000  deficit.  I  am  sure  that  our 
esteemed  confrere,  the  honored  guest  of 
the  evening,  must  at  times  have  felt  a« 
did  our  patron   Crrrsus  when  he  first   sc- 

:rely  establishe<l  his  prior  lien  *»n  a  gr>-at 

'iustry.  and  perhaps,  in  an  ecstatic  im- 
pulse of  generosity  he  would  l»e  inclined, 
•'  only  trtese  debts  coubl  Ik-  cashed  in,  to 

lalilish    a    Porter    Foumlation    for    the 
'    of    Indigent    and    Superanntuled 
<rs. 

ih.    . 
ter.  itb 

has  nut  licrii  direvtly  a  wide  one.  It  i« 
nearly  fifty  years  since  he.  an  American 
engineer,  sought  for  his  hunting  grituul. 
"•■t   .Mombasa,  or  the  country  of  th-    '■'   • 

le,  but  the  home  of  Watt,  in  tb- 
•■      ■*»  of  insular  prejudice  and  kih 
engineering    autli<>rit\        Ili»    ex- 

'  I' lice    in    coMib.ttiiii;    f"r    >i» 

•i»    prrer,ifu-ri\i«|     ii.itionv      c 
ti    most    . 
1  the  fact   • 
l*rench    exhibition,    he    111 

nish  aid  two  iVirter-AIlm  . 

!r  biRh-«pce<l  machines.  I   I" 
•  sliibiled,  to  drive  generators    ' 
ing     current      for     Uahthouse 
While    these    engine*    were    n-'i  > 

coupled,  it  is  a  ruriou*  fart  thai  tb<   i>i«t    n 
»per«U  and   rrv.l 
mon      tiHJ.iv      it. 
plants        \t    tli.it    *i»mv    r- 
revotiiiiiin   rni(:nr   wa«   al^ 
this  was  sometime*  •ijK-raf«>l  » 
at   over   three   lime*   this    spec  I 
dncm  years  •ucemling  hit  rrtum  i"  »' 


IHJWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

United  State*.  Mr.  Porter  built  many  en- 
Ktne*  for  various  purpose*,  m'    •  •! 

having    certain     cimimon     cb.. 


1. 


1 


>r  mginei  for  this  purp»«r 


•AJu.ut   this  time   appeared  a   "wizard" 

It    was   once   said   that   enginrr- 

luted  "the  best  educated  set  of 

in   the   world."   and   I  am-.m-    ijs 

we  must  include  that  ^rn  ftprcifi- 

cally   as  inventors.     ,Nu^%    there  is  a  very 

n;irrow    margin   between    thr    wt •■<?<!    smi 

failure,  on  one  hand,  ard  ■ 

on    the   other.      Happily,    i- 

"  was    Thomas   .\.    hdis*  n.    (or 

V  ;t    i»<o.  .Mr    Porter  installed  a 

high-si>red   engine    in    the    laboratory    at 

Menlo  park.   Shortly  after,  whr-     ' .» 

the  installation  of  the  Kdison  t 

district,  at    Pearl   street.   .\ew    i    rk.    .Mr. 
Kdis4)n  decided  uf»on  an  equipmmi  of  to- 
called     ste.r 
known  ns 

cntly    •  4    difrvl 

Asa  1  r,  .Mr.  P.  - 

tf»  construct  the  first  of  these  engines, 
and  it  is  a  cu^i..^l^  •-••tmnrntary  that  in 
this  particubr  •  1  he,  in  a  gen- 

eral   way.    rrvers, .,    ,,,.     lalio   of  weights 
for  engines  and  dytiamos,  the  proprtrtion 
bs-ing  alxiut  7  to  1  in  favor  of  *' 
It    is   needless   to  dwell    np<>n    ■ 
tu«les    of    that     first  r.,    .>r     i'nt 

clunges    whirh   wrrr  Sfitb    :\^ 

paratii 
tory. 
high  engine  re\' 

lion  of  high  pi^:- ..    ., — 

cylinder,  and  that  in  some  of 
est    in  •   "  ■  •'    •      '    ■' 

street 


on  a  fa** 

.,.',     nrw    w 
HMtdem  lurbinr.  the  • 
.  Curtis  ani 


will    rrii^n 


7«S 

luflnr  of  Kobe,  oa  iW  MMiWni  ctmm  of 
jafaa.  and  forgc«tH«  for  a  nwwiii  iW 
i^tctrr  of  war  so  asttdn-^sK  rolitTaac^  hy 

*"  '•!«    and    *  ilMiwia 

*"  red   by   t  m»tatwr* 

m  the  pr 


4a.    (amoos   aJikr   la   bisiory  ami 

111    iM 

ll  is  many  ytmrt  since,  oa  a  M^MKT^s 


the  sat 

t»«-  ..- 
f.r 

inx  ••■ 

sor  in 

hi*  wit 
who     r 


nurkjtilr  p- 


iwmt4  tmU  wnj  99 
■iw  far  brt<>«  m<  a 
-ftendrd 


thr 

\rrK-f»ian«,  a 
•llcgr  of  Tokao  and 
■r  womu.  I  bH*.' 


'hrm  by  a 


of    her 


lucm   vt   l! 

fV3  rTWftf*M»  * 


tb  ocvicuiar)   U-t  a 


*  -1 


•^s    fs 


•  I    lrtt««Wr,    Miltng    tmo    t^ 


746 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  20,  1909. 


there  shall  be  no  complaining?  And  in 
all  our  clientele  is  there  any  more  per- 
fect example  of  an  industrial  marriage 
than  the  modern  high-speed  direct-con- 
nected electric  generator,  any  more  beauti- 
ful, enduring  and  graceful  monument  of 
engineering  skill? 

Let  the  busy  cynic  come  away  from 
bank  and  mart,  from  press  and  ticker, 
from  club  and  sport;  and  woman,  too, 
from  household  cares  and  the  social  whirl, 
from  matinee  and  bridge,  from  astrology 
and  the  suffragette :  and  learn  a  lesson 
from  our  humble  friends  in  a  great  cen- 
tral station,  at  the  starting  of  their  career 
in  housekeeping.  The  courtship  has  been 
a  long  one.  and  the  marriage  ceremony 
perhaps  a  little  tedious.  The  groom,  for- 
saking the  early  tenets  of  his  slow-moving 
ancestors,  and  impelled  by  an  innate 
consciousness  of  virility  vital  to  meet  his 
coming  burdens,  has  awakened  to  the 
necessity  of  a  quickened  life,  while  the 
bride,  in  early  life  a  little  flighty  and  ner- 
vous, has  sobered  down  to  a  realizing 
sense  of  her  new  responsibilities.  Like 
the  ostriches,  they  are  mated  for  life; 
there  may  be  grief  and  disaster,  but  there 
will  be  no  divorce. 

How  is  it  these  two  machines  have  come 
together,  economizing  space,  increasing 
economy,  augmenting  capacity,  reducing 
investment  and  increasing  dividends?  Is 
this  final  result  the  work  of  any  one  man  ? 
Would  the  electric  art  have  stood  still 
were  there  no  high-speed  engines?  To 
both  questions  we  must  answer,  No.  The 
truth  is  that  here  were  two  machines  des- 
tined to  be  joined  in  some  fashion.  One 
was,  in  its  early  development,  when  used 
for  stationary  purposes,  normally  a  slow- 
speed  machine,  the  other  a  high-speed  one ; 
and  so  constructed  that  the  only  connection 
was  through  countershafts,  gearing  and 
belts.  Every  practical  consideration,  espe- 
cially when  considering  central-station 
operation,  pointed  to  the  necessity  of  elim- 
inating all  extraneous  devices  between  the 
two,  and  hence  augmenting  the  speed  of 
one  and  reducing  the  speed  of  the  other 
until  they  could  be  physically  united.  And 
in  this  development  every  advantage  had 
to  be  taken  of  the  possibilities  of  each, 
and  likewise  due  heed  paid  to  their  indi- 
vidual limitations.  Primarily  and  largely 
due  to  Porter,  the  high-speed  possibilities 
of  the  former  were  commercially  demon- 
strated before  the  necessity  arose  for  re- 
ducing dynamo  speeds  to  coincide  with 
engine  requirements,  although  in  the  great 
commercial  and  mechanical  development 
each  machine  has  been  indebted  to  the 
other,  but  all  honor  must  be  paid  and 
credit  given  to  the  men  who  first  blazed 
the  way  for  the  present  possibilities. 

In  every  industrial  development  there 
appears  at  some  time  an  engineer  with 
imagination,  courage  and  foresight,  who 
defies  chance,  courts  failure,  and  embraces 
opportunity.  He  may  not  clearly  see  the 
goal  to  which  he  is  aiming,  he  may  be 
unconscious  of  the  full  measure  of  the  in- 


flence  of  his  work,  but  somehow  he  is  im- 
pelled by  certain  prmial  convictions  which 
in  the  face  of  every  discouragement  lead 
him  onward.  It  is  to  the  man  and  the 
men,  then,  not  to  the  machine,  that  the 
modern  industrial  development  is  indebted. 
It  may  be  true  in  this  case  that  the  ma- 
chines which  bore  the  brunt  of  early  de- 
velopment, and  the  men  who  staked  their 
all  upon  it,  may  have  disappeared  as  prac- 
tical factors  in  the  present  status  of  the 
art.  Newer  makes  of  machines,  improved 
and  widely  different  governing  apparatus, 
entire  abolition  of  the  reciprocating  en- 
gine for  great  central-station  units,  may  be 
the  verdict  of  history.  The  spirit,  how- 
ever, which  blazed  the  way  never  dies,  and 
the  names  of  Porter  and  Allen,  Arming- 
ton  and  Sims.  Sweet,  and  a  host  of  others, 
will  be  linked  in  industrial  history  with 
those  of  Parsons  and  Curtis.  . 

It  is  precisely  such  occasions  as  this, 
and  such  honorary  tribute  as  mark  to- 
night's gathering,  which  happily  commem- 
orate the  early  sacrifices  and  influence  of 
the  pioneer.  And  so  on  behalf  of  the 
electrical  profession,  I  extend  hearty  con- 
gratulation to  Charles  Talbot  Porter  for 
the  honor  which  has,  by  the  verdict  of  his 
brother  engineers,  so  deservedly  come  to 
him. 

Distinguished  Guests  Present 
Seated  upon  the  platform  were  Henry 
R.  Towne,  who  presided ;  E.  Gybbon 
Spilsbury,  chairman  of  the  Board  of 
Award ;  Prof.  Charles  B.  Richards,  who 
was  associated  with  Mr.  Porter  in  his 
earlier  work,  and  who  invented  the  Rich- 
ards indicator  to  make  it  possible  to  indi- 
cate his  high-speed  engine;  Jesse  M. 
Smith,  president  of  the  American  Society 
of  Mechanical  Engineers ;  Sir  Charles 
Algernon  Parsons,  inventor  of  the  steam 
turbine ;  John  E.  Sweet,  Rear  Admiral 
George  W.  Melville,  James  C.  Brooks, 
president  of  the  Southwark  Foundry  and 
Machine  Company,  present  builder  of 
the  Porter-Allen  engine ;  Rear  Admiral 
George  W.  Noble,  Former  Chief  Engineer 
Wallace,  of  the  Panama  canal ;  James 
Douglass,  past  president  of  the  Mining 
Engineers ;  George  G.  Ward,  representing 
the  Institution  of  Electrical  Engineers  of 
Great  Britain ;  Charles  L.  Clarke,  of  the 
Mining  Institute;  George  H.  Pegram,  of 
the  Interborough,  who  installed  the  first 
dynamos  in  this  country  having  connected 
engines ;  M.  Pickler,  a  Hungarian  engi- 
neer and  old  friend  of  Mr.  Porter;  Charles 
Warren  Hunt,  secretary  of  the  American 
Society  of  Civil  Engineers ;  Schuyler 
Skaats  Wheeler,  ex-president  of  the 
American  Institute  of  Electrical  Engi- 
neers; and  Prof.  F.  R.  Hutton,  Prof.  W. 
F.  M.  Goss,  Robert  W.  Hunt  and  F.  J. 
Sprague,  the  orators  of  the  evening. 

Telegrams  from  John  Fritz  and  E.  D. 
Leavitt,  letters  from  William  H.  Maw, 
editor  of  Engineering,  from  "All  Hoyle," 
and  a  former  apprentice  at  the  Southwark 
Foundry  and  Machine  Works  during  Mr. 


Porter's  time,  together  with  cablegrams 
from  the  Iron  and  Steel  Institute,  Institute 
of  Mechanical  Engineers,  and  the  Institute 
of  Civil  Engineers  were  read. 


Help  Wanted 


Advertisements  under  this  head  are  inserted 
or  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  words  make 
a  line. 

WANTED — Thoroughly  competent  steam 
specialty  salesman;  one  that  can  sell  high- 
grade  goods.     Address  "M.  M.  Co.,"  Power. 

AN  ENGINEER  in  each  town  to  sell  the 
best  rocking  grate  for  steam  boilers.  Write 
Martin   Grate   Co.,    281   Dearborn   St.,   Chicago. 

WANTED — Man  familiar  with  repairing  and 
erecting  of  steam  engines  and  boilers.  Must 
be  capable  and  quick.  A  fine  position  in  New 
York  City  open  to  the  right  party.  Address  "  H. 
W.,"  Box  22,  Power. 

WANTED— Man     with      $5000      to     invest. 
Must    have    executive    ability    and    unquestion- 
able   honor.     To    take    charge    of    power    plant  ■ 
department      of     engineering     company.     Give 
references  and  experience.     Box  19,  Power. 

WANTED — By  manufacturer,  thoroughly  ex- 
perienced man  to  sell  hangers,  shafting  and 
transmission  machinery  in  New  York  City 
and  vicinity.  Must  be  capable,  energetic. 
We  want  the  best  man  in  this  line  of  business. 
"J.  C.  D.,"  Box  36,  Power. 

WANTED — One  or  two  experienced  sales- 
men in  line  of  engines,  boilers,  tanks,  pumps 
etc.,  thoroughly  acquainted  with  market  in 
and  arviund  New  York  City.  Only  experi- 
enced men  wanted.  Good  positions  open  for 
right  men.     Box  37,  Power. 

WANTED — First-class  salesman,  must  have 
established  trade  among  steam  users  in  engi- 
neers' and  factory  supplies  in  Greater  New 
York  and  vicinity.  Fine  position  for  right 
man.     Box  35,  Power. 


Situations  Wanted 


Advertisements  under  this  head  are  inserted 
for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  words  make 
a  line. 

WANTED — Position  as  engineer.  Experi'- 
enced  with  condensing  engines,  steaip  turbines, 
water  tube  boilers,  d.c.  and  a.c.  up  to  33,000 
volts.     Box  34,  Power. 


Miscellaneous 


Advertisements  under  this  head  are  inserted 
for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  words  make 
a  line. 

PATENTS  secured  promptly  in  the  United 
States  and  foreign  countries.  Pamphlet  of 
instructions  sent  free  upon  request.  C.  L. 
Parker,  Ex-examiner,  U.  S.  Patent  Office, 
McGill  Bldg.,  Washington,  D.  C. 


For  Sale 


Advertiscinenls  under  this  head  are  inserted 
for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  words  make 
a  line. 

LARGE  LOT  second-hand  Bundy  traps,  re- 
built with  mv  improvement;  belter  ttian 
new.       W.  H.  Odell,  M.  E.,  Yonker.s,  N.  Y. 

GET  THE  MEAN  PRESSURE  of  diagrams 
by  "Bill,"  the  .best  planimeter;  $1..50  to  P. 
Eyermann,   Consulting   Engineer,    Du   Bois,   Pa. 

FOR  SALE— 20x48  Wheelock  engine  and 
two  72"xl8'  high  pressure  tubular  boilers  ia 
good  condition  cheap.  Address  "Engineer," 
Box  2,  Station  A,  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

FOR  SALE— One  Lane  &  Bodley  Corliss  engine, 
loo  horsepower,  14-inch  cylinder,  36-inch  stroke, 
85  revolutions  per  minute,  80  to  100  pounds 
pressure;  flywheel:  19-inch  face,  10  feet  diameter. 
This  engine  lias  been  thoroughly  overliauled 
and  cylinder  re-bored.  One  50-kilowatt,  2200- 
volt  133-cycie,  1400  revolutions  per  minute, 
single -phase.  Fort  Wayne  generator,  with  ex- 
citer and  rheostat.  One  marble  switchboard. 
Twelve  feet  Sfs-incli  shafting,  belts,  etc.  Ches- 
tertown  Light  <k  Power  Co.,  Chestertown,  Kent 
county,  Maryland. 


April 


ii/» 


1*<)\VKR  AND  THE  L.\«-.i.M:.i.K. 


747 


Power  Plant  of  West  Point  Military  Aca 

A  Gill-cdge  l^ighling  and   Healing  Plant.       I  est  Kccorti  bhowi 
Remarkable    Thermal    Efficiencies  for   NoncoD<lcn»ing    Flnginet 


demy 


Since  March,  iiSo2,  West  Foim  has  been  bachelor    officcrt'    quarters,    cavalry    and  v*   » > ••   »> 

seal  of   the   U.   S.   Military   Academy,  artillery    »ublet    and     barrack*,     quarter-      i 

...iich  is  located  on  the  west  bank  of  the  nia»tcr's    »torehou»e.    riding    hall.    {K.wer     a;,    m   tuc 

Hudson  river  about  50  miles  above  New  house  and  other  buildings  of  less  import*     at  the  eatr- 

■^    'fk.     The  reservation  extends  for  about  anct.  V. 

CO  miles   in  a  north   and   soutli   dircc-  i.xtcnding  to  the  north  and  toath  fro«n     < 

i;un   w<th   the   principal   buildiiiis's   l<K-ati-<l  il,.    i>.ir.i>lr 

in   the    immediate    vicinity    of   the    |>.ir.i<lc  llu.lll^      f    : 

iind,    which    is    located    upon   a    l(r<>.td  v.  l-iU-   at    t 

tcau   about    150   feet    abo\e     the     ri\cr  |i.>*t  are  gr^     . 

d.     During   the   past   few  years  Con-  for  cavalry  and  artillery  companie*  tUM-     reached  betng  the  cavalry  aad  utMrrj 


.1  fk,  ..... 


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748 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  27,   1909. 


nish  electricity  for  lighting  and  for  power 
purposes  for  the  entire  post,  the  plant  to 
be  of  sufficient  size  to  permit  of  future 
installations  should  the  corps  of  cadets 
increase  to  1200.  Provision  must  also  be 
made  for  the  storage  of  4500  tons  of 
anthracite  coal  in  the  plant. 

A  study  of  the  plans  for  the  various 
buildings  seemed  to  indicate  that  about 
3000  horsepower  would  be  required  for 
warming  and  ventilating  the  buildings  and 
supplying  hot  water  for  bathing  purposes, 
with  a  possible  increase  of  600  horsepower 
required  by  the  increase  in  the  corps  men- 
tioned. The  estimated  electrical  load  ap- 
peared to  be  about  1200  kilowatts  for  the 
buildings  immediately  contemplated,  and 
about  200  kilowatts  additional  for  the  in- 
crease. 

Several  locations  for  the  power  plant 
were  considered,  but  the  logical  site  from 
an  engineering  standpoint  seemed  to  be 
on  the  low-lying  land  between  the  rail- 
road and  the  river.  Here  the  underlying 
rock  sloped  oflF  so  quickly  that  proper 
foundations  could  not  be  secured,  but  it 
was  finally  decided  to  blast  out  a  pocket 
in  the  rock  over  the  southern  entrance  to 
the  railroad  tunnel  and,  there  locate  the 
power  house.  Under  the  circumstances, 
this  was  undoubtedly  the  best  thing  to  do, 
although  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  cost 
of  such  construction  would  undoubtedly 
be  prohibitive  for  an  ordinary  power 
plant.  The  unusual  arrangement  of  the 
building  will  be  noted  in  Figs,  i,  2  and  3. 
It  will  be  seen  in  Fig.  4  that  the  chimney 
is  to  be  concealed  in  the  tower  of  the  rid- 
ing hall  which  is  soon  to  be  built,  and  in 
Fig.  2  that  a  tunnel  has  been  provided  for 
the  mechanical  handling  of  coal  eitlier 
from  rr.il  or  water  delivery,  and  for  the 
disposal  of  ashes  in  the  tower  noted  at  the 
entrance.  The  elevation  of  the  railway 
track  at  this  point  is  about  -|-  10  and  that 


corner  of  the  boiler  room  contains  the 
elevator  for  raising  coal,  and  this  tower 
is  connected  to  the  ash  tower  by  the  tun- 
nel previously  referred  to ;  the  tunnel  in- 
closes the  belt  conveying  the  coal  from 
the  cars  up  a  steep  incline  to  the  base  of 
the  elevator.  Beneath  the  engine  room 
is  also  a  basement,  and  a  tower  at  the  cor- 
ner of  the  room  provides  the  principal 
means  of  access  between  the  engine  and 


tioned  to  give  87  square  feet  of  surface 
under  each  boiler  and  a  ratio  of  heating 
to  grate  surface  of  50  to  i — an  unusual 
ratio  for  small-size  anthracite  coal,  but 
permissible  in  this  case  as  mechanical 
draft  is  available  when  needed. 

The  boilers  are  suspended  by  straps 
around  the  drum  from  horizontal  chan- 
nels carried  by  the  building  columns,  and 
the  spacing  of  the   columns   is  such  that 


FIG.    2.     VIEW   OF   POWER    PLANT   FROM    THE   ROAD 


FIG.  3.     POWER   PLANT  ON'   RIVER   SIDE,   SHOWING    EI.EVATION.S    OK    COAT,    TUNNEL 

AND   BUILDING 


of  the  road  leading  from  the  railway 
depot  up  to  the  parade  ground  about  -(-  95 
opposite  the  plant. 

The  boiler  house  extends  north  and 
south  and  contains  a  boiler  room  on  the 
main  floor  with  a  basement  extending  un- 
der the  front  of  the  boiler  room  only.  The 
coal  bunker  above  is  a  large  flat-bottomed 
structure  148  feet  long,  57  feet  wide  be- 
tween column  centers  and  about  21  feet  6 
inches  deep  on  the  clear.     A  tower  at  one 


boiler  rooms,  also  space  for  the  chief 
engineer's  office  and  toilet,  and  lockers  and 
bathrooms  for  the  operating  force. 

Boiler  Installation 
At  the  present  writing  four  Rabcock  & 

Wilcox  boilers  are  installed  in  the  plant,  of  the  riding  hall.     The  inner  core  of  the 

each  containing  about  4400  feet  of  heating  chimney  has  an  inside  diameter  at  the  top 

surface   and   210   tubes  arranged   21    wide  of    10   feet,   and   the    stack   rises    145   feet 

and    10   high.      The   boilers   are   equipped  above  the  grate.     A  ladder  on  the  interior 

with   Trcadkill   grates   which   are   propor-  has  been  provided  and  also  lightning  rods 


two  are  located  between  each  battery  of 
two  boilers,  requiring  that  the  boilers  be 
spaced  a  little  farther  apart  than  usual  to 
prevent  the  heat  of  the  furnace  from 
affecting  the  steel.  To  save  space  the 
usual  17-inch  sidewall  was  reduced  to  13 
inches  opposite  the  column  and  vertical 
cast-iron  channels  were  bolted  to  the  walls 
to  secure  an  air  space.  In  front  of  the 
columns  the  spaces  between  the  settings 
were  closed  by  iron  plates  secured  to  the 
flanges  of  the  channel,  and  bull-nosed 
brick  were  laid  to  finish  against  the  plate. 
A  Custodis  radial-brick  chimney  has 
been  erected,  and  this,  as  previously  men- 
tioned, is  to  be  later  inclosed  by  the  tower 


April  27,   igoQ. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


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7S0 


POWER  AND  THE  Ex\GINEER. 


April  27,    1909. 


connected  by  a  copper  cable  with  an  ex- 
tension run  down  to  the  river  and  there 
soldered  to  a  submerged  copper  plate. 
Within  its  internal  area  the  chimney  also 
contains  a  16-inch  cast-iron  flanged  pipe 
which  was  provided  to  discharge  the  free 
exhaust  from  the  engines  at  the  top  of 
the  stack,  as  the  escape  of  this  exhaust 
above  the  engine-room  roof  would  be 
objectionable.  For  architectural  con- 
siderations the  chimney  was  limited  in 
higln.  so  that  in  order  to  obtain  sufficient 
draft  to  burn  the  low-grade  coal  and  run 
the  boilers  at  their  rating,  a  mechanical- 
draft  plant  was  installed  to  help  out  the 
chimney  in  emergency.  This  plant  con- 
sists of  two  Sturtcvant  fans  8  feet  in 
diameter  and  4  feet  wide,  with  engines  of 
sufficient  size  to  drive  the  fans  at  250 
revolutions  a  minute,  at  which  speed  each 
fan  is  supposed  to  furnish  55,000  cubic 
feet  of  air  per  minute  at  a  pressure  of 
2f/j  inches  of  water.  The  installation  is 
located  on  a  mezzanine  floor,  and  each 
blower  discharges  downward  through  an 
iron  duct  into  a  masonry  duct  running 
below  the  boiler-room  floor  level  and  ex- 
tending across  the  boilers  at  the  rear  of 
the  bridgewall,  as  shown  in  Fig.  7.  En- 
trance to  the  ashpit  is  made  through  a 
cast-iron  blast  box  and  is  controlled  by 
the  usual  dampers  operated  by  levers  ex- 
tending through  the  frgnts  of  the  boilers. 
The  fans  are  controlled  by  a  Foster  regu- 
lator actuated  by  the  boiler  pressure. 
From  each  boiler  the  smoke  connection 


FIG.      6,      THE    BOILERS     AND    COAL     CHUTES    FROM    THE    BUNKER 


to  the  flue  is  also  shown  in  Fig.  7.  The 
flue  has  a  concrete  floor,  brick  sidewalls 
and  double  rowlock  brick  arches  sprung 
between  transverse  I-beams  for  a  top.  The 
flue  is  provided  with  a  pair  of  dampers 
close  to  the  chimney.     Tlicse  dampers  are 


illustrated  in  Fig.  8  and  are  made  of 
cast  iron,  heavily  ribbed  and  suspended 
from  the  steel  floor  beams  of  the  coal 
bunker  by  a  chain  of  several  links  with  a 
lurnbuckle  for  vertical  adjustment.  A 
Locke  damper  regulator  controls  the  posi- 


fbwtr,  y  T. 


FK..     7.     SECTION    THROUGH    BOILER    ROOM 


April  27,  1909. 

tion  of  the  damper,  but  this  is  not  u$«d 
when  the   fans  are  in  operation. 

Coal  and  Ash   Handlimc 
Figs.  9  to  12  give  a  fair  idea  of  the  coal- 
and  ash-handhng  equipment.    At  the  pres- 
ent,   means    are    provided    only    for    the 
medKiiiical  handling  uf  coal  delivered  by 
rail.  Init   the   system   is  designed  with  the 
idea  of  taking  care  of  coal  by   water  at 
any  time   that   it   might   be  desired  to  so 
receive  it.     As  the  facilities  for  switching 
cars  at   West    Point   were  somewhat   lim 
ited.  it  was  decided  to  arrange  for  the  un 
loading  of  four  50-ton  hopper-bottom  cars 
without  shifting.     To  meet  these  require 
ments  two  tracks  were  arranged  so  that 
two  cars  could  be  run  in  on  each  side  of 
a  belt  conveyer  and   slightly  above  it.  so 
that  a  gravity  discharge  couM  be  obtained 
thrcugh  chutes  onto  the  belt. 

From  beneath  the  unloading  platform 
tHe  belt  runs  upward  at  an  angle  of  about 
degrees  to  the  base  of  the  boiler-room 
i<)wer  and  there  discharges  into  the  boot 
of  an  elevator  which  raises  the  coal  to  a 
point  above  the  top  of  the  bunker.  From 
here  the  coal  is  spouted  onto  a  transverse 
belt  conveyer  extending  across  the  south 
end  of  the  boiler  house,  and  this  dis- 
charges into  the  bunker  or  onto  either  one 
of  two    longitudinal   belts    which    deliver 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGI.\ 


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motion  of  this  chute  is  controlled  by  a 
wheel  on  a  shaft  extending  up  through  the 
platform  on  which  the  cars  are  located. 
The  Robins  Conveying  Belt  Company  sup- 
plied the  entire  conveying  system. 

From  the  bunker  coal  is  discharged  to 
the  boiler-room  floor  through  a  number 
of  chutes  located  at  the  corners  of  the 
settings,  as  indicated  in  Fig.  6.  As  the 
bcttom  of  the  bunker  is  flat,  similar 
chutes  are  provided  at  the  rear  of  the 
boilers    and   are    arranged    to    dump    into 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

of   the   power   house   by   means   of   wheel- 
barrows. 

Engines 
In  this  department  it  was  decided  to 
install  two  400-kilo\vatt  and  one  200-kilo- 
watt  direct-current  generators,  each  of 
the  larger  machines  being  driven  by  a 
tandem-compound  Corliss  engine  and  the 
latter  by  a  simple  Corliss  engine.  These 
machines,  Fig.  13,  develop  direct  current 
at  240  volts  for  both  light  and  power,  and 


FIG.     10.       COAL-CONVEYING   SYSTEM     ABOVE    BUNKER 


Hunt  standard  charging  cars,  so  that  the 
coal  may  be  carried  on  tracks  to  the  front 
of  the  boilers.  The  valves  at  the  bottom 
of  each  chute  will  be  noted,  and  just 
below  the  bunker-floor  level  there  is  also 
provided  a  sliding  gate. 

Ashes  drop  from  the  grate  into  a  deep 


motor  generators  arc  used  to  obtain  alter- 
nating current  at  2200  volts  for  the  ex- 
treme north  and  south  ends  of  the  post. 
Due  to  the  large  amount  of  steam  re- 
quired for  heating  during  the  winter 
months,  and  also  to  the  fact  that  the  river 
was  60  feet  below  the  engine-room  level. 


April  27,    1909. 

to  100  revolutions  per  minute  and  the  en- 
gines were  to  be  capable  of  running  at 
50  per  cent,  overload  for  short  intervals. 
The  tandem  compounds  were  24x36x36 
inches,  and  the  simple  Corliss  had  a  cyhn- 
der  22x30  inches.  Each  compound  engine 
was  provided  with  a  large  reheating  re- 
ceiver containing  0.6  square  foot  of  reheat- 
ing surface  in  brass  pipes  per  rated  horse- 
power of  the  engine.  The  simple  engine  has 
a  cylinder  steam  jacketed  in  both  heads 
only,  and  the  compound  engines  have 
both  cylinders  jacketed  in  a  similar  man- 
ner. As  apparent  in  Fig.  13,  the  engine 
piping  is  below  the  engine-room  floor  and 
the  main  throttle  valves  and  the  valves  in 
the  exhaust  pipes  are  operated  by  floor 
stands. 

Trial   Tests   of   Engines 

When  the  time  for  the  trial  tests  of  the 
engines  arrived  George  H.  Barrus  was  re- 
tained to  conduct  the  tests.  The  guaran- 
tees were  expressed  in  the  following 
terms : 

"The  steam  consumption  of  each  com- 
pound engine  will  not  exceed  19  pounds 
of  steam  per  indicated  horsepower  with  a 
steam  pressure  of  not  less  than  130  pounds 
at  the  throttle  and  one  pound  back  pres- 
sure in  the  exhaust  pipe. 

"The  friction  load  of  each  compound 
engine  will  not  exceed  4^  per  cent,  of  the 
rated  load  which  is  to  be  taken  at  6oo 
horsepower. 

"The  steam   consumption  of  the  simple 


FIG.      II.     PROVISION    FOR    REMOVAL   OF    ASH 


FIG.      12.     FROM    ELEVATOR    TO    BELT    CONVEYER 


hf  ppcr  provided  with  the  chutes  shown  in 
Fig.  II,  from  which  the  ashes  may  be 
drawn  out  into  industrial  cars  and  run 
through  the  boiler-room  basement  and 
onto  the  roof  of  the  conveyer  incline  to 
an  ash  hopper  which  will  be  constructed 
in  the  near  future  in  the  upper  part  of  the 
tower.  From  this  location  the  ashes  may 
be  discharged  into  railroad  cars  for  re- 
moval, but  at  present  they  are  used  for 
filling  in  and  are  being  discharged  through 
a  temporary  opening  through  the  side  wall 


it    was   decided   to   run   the   engines    non- 
condensing. 

A  careful  selection  of  the  bids  of  vari- 
ous builders  resulted  in  the  selection  of 
Rice  &  Sargent  engines  made  by  the 
Providence  Engineering  Works.  Tlicse 
units  were  to  operate  on  a  normal  work- 
ing pressure  of  130  pounds  at  the  throt- 
tle, which  might  be  increased  to  150 
pounds  when  considerable  back  pressure 
was  placed  upon  the  engines  during  the 
heating   season.     The   speed   was    limited 


engines  will  not  exceed  23  pounds  per 
indicated  horsepower  per  hour  when  the 
engine  is  developing  from  275  to  325 
horsepower  with  a  steam  pressure  not 
less  than  130  pounds  at  the  throttle  valve 
and  one  pound  back  pressure  at  the  ex- 
haust valve. 

"The  friction  load  of  the  simple  engine 
will  not  exceed  4>^  per  cent,  of  the  rated 
load  which  shall  be  taken  at  300  horse- 
power. 

"The  friction  load  is  to  be  obtained  by 


April  27,  1909. 

ining  the  engine  at  its  rated  speed  with 
a  steam  pressure  of  not  less  than  no 
pounds,  with  the  brushes  of  the  genera- 
tors not  in  contact  with  the  commutator 
and  the  field   unexcited. 

"A  separator  will  be  placed  in  the  steam 
pipe  to  each  engine  and  unless  there  is  evi- 
dence to  the  contrary  the  steam  will  be 
---umed  to  be  dry." 

The  simple  engine  was  designated  asen- 
gme  No.  I  and  the  two  tandem  com- 
pounds as  engines  Nos.  2  and  3.  It  wa* 
deci<Jed  that  a  test  of  one  of  the  cit; 
pound  engines  would  suffice  and  No.  2  was 
selected.  This  engine  had  been  in  opera- 
tion under  a  load  less  than  three  days 
when  the  tests  were  made,  and  the  sim- 


FOWER  AND  THE  ENGlNhi 


7SJ 


the  }vnr.  a!!  cf  whicli  discharge  ioto  lb«     .c^t^^    Lruif    caMrc4W.4    1..     , 

'*Ucd  in  the  plam.    Th'  iiwfimii  siMad  ^ 


compc 
feet  of  ..... 
of  the  var: 
into  the  H'>ii> 
are   provided,  ea 


f%    alto    ditchargtd  o«  Ur  gta€  tmi  Ko*. 

joipt  2  aad  J  tt.akx»  uc  thx:  cl  tiM 

two  engine*     THe  taaac  Iced  pmiof 

"'  OQ  bo('  i  tlM  water  m^  4nmm 

^  from  .rjr     m  1  mWn 

I  «1>    dr««  toe   the   porpow.     TW 

^'  '  rr-orr..    ■■  ••;«   wparatOT  aad  d»££.    t.  -  k.«» 

1  water  re-  the  ticaai  man  co«M(i»t:  4 

^*      The  Ji;   ,...    -^  firw-    it«-t»f    t,..    -,..    ,  ..  j 

is  22XJ0  mchcs,  hat  a    piston    rod    375  ||  •« 

inches  in  diameter  and  a  clearance  of  6^1  putar*  ^-i-^  i.j  jr^  irr.j  rrx 

per  cent.    The  compound  engine,  24x36x36  urcd     Each  ol  dMc  drips  ■»« 


Ifi 

'   '-■rh  pressure   r '*     • 

of   low  t 

•ink    rr,-:      4    . 

;  rrssure    c^lm 
<•  of  lowpres 

r  r    -r   ■    f 

thftMigli 
fr«Mii    tl 

no.   15.  rai  ixumb  bc»m 

pie  engine  had  been  running  under  vary-     inches,    has    the    (ollowini    dimensioM:     •• 
ing  loads   every    night    for   about   twelve 
weeks.    The  main  steam  line,  both  in  the 
boiler  room  aii<l  in  the  riu'!- 
ment  i«  »o  arr-inu'"'!  wt'h  \ 
ncrtions  to  the   1  •    No.    1    ciikmk 

could   be   run    in'i'  y    from    N"     t 

boiler,    while    the   other   enninr*    .m  ' 
auxiliary  apparAttu  and  other  v^' ■■■''- 
pbni   are   Mi|>|>lird     from    the 
*-^tler»      LikrwMe   Nos.   2  and 
•1  be  run  indcprndenlly  from 

'     ••,  while   No    l   boijrr   i 

.:   the   simple  enguic    j:   I     '  ' 
K  work   of  ihr  plant, 
f  the   iteam  line*    i«   eff«»'«»"' 
•.   one    for    rach    m. 
lied  at  varioii*  l<>w  ; 


coll 


MtfUM 


i«    Bimunatiaai 


754 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  27,   1909. 


gages  and  revolutions  per  minute.  Every 
half  hour  records  were  made  of  the  hight 
of  water  in  the  gage  glasses  of  the  boilers 
and  the  quantity  of  water  fed  from  the 
weighing  apparatus.  At  equal  intervals 
put  of  the  generator  were  observed.  The 
the  instruments  showing  the  electrical  out- 
accuracy  of  the  indicator  springs,  gages, 
weighing  scales  and  electrical  meters 
were  all  verified. 

Immediately  after  the  economy  runs  the 
friction  tests  were  made,  the  engines  being 
first  shut  down  in  order  to  raise  the 
brushes  from  the  commutator.  In  the 
simple-engine  test  the  pressure  in  the 
steam  pipe  was  97  pounds  and  in  the 
compound-engine  test,  76  pounds,  these 
being  the  highest  pressures  which  could 
be  carried  without  undue  slamming  of 
the  valves,  and  without  introducing  con- 
ditions unduly  affecting  the  reliability  of 
the  indicator  diagrams.  For  these  reasons 
the  guarantee  requirement  of  130  pounds 
steam  pressure  for  friction  tests  was 
waived.  The  data  and  results  of  the 
economy  tests  are  given  in  Table  i  and 
those  of  the  friction  tests  in  Table  2. 

In  conclusion,  Mr.  Barrus  states  that 
the  steam  consumption  of  the  compound 
engines  was  18.33  pounds  per  indicated 
horsepower  per  hour,  which  is  3.5  per 
cent,  better  than  the  guaranteed  perform- 
ance of  19  pounds.  The  simple  engine 
consumed  20.98  pounds  of  steam  per  indi- 
cated horsepower  per  hour,  which  is  8.8 
per  cent,  better  than  the  guaranteed  per- 
formance of  23  pounds.  The  percentage 
of  friction  of  the  compound  engine  was 
3.8  per  cent,  and  that  of  the  simple  en- 
gfines  3.6  per  cent,  both  of  which  are 
within     the     4^^     per     cent,     guarantee. 

Computing  the  efficiency  ratios  from  the 
above  data  gives  some  remarkable  results 
— an  efficiency  of  69.6  for  the  simple  en- 
gine .ind   79.2   for  the  compound  engines. 

These  efficiencies  are  much  better  than 
what  is  usually  obtained  in  engines  of  this 
character,  even  of  much  larger  capacities, 
and  exceed  considerably  the  efficiency 
ratios  of  steam  turbines.  It  will  be  of  in- 
terest to  note  how  near  these  efficiencies 
will  be  maintained  in  everyday  operation. 

Tunnel  Sv.stem    and   Piping 

In  the  larger  buildings  near  the  power 
house  pipes  are  distributed  through  a  sys- 
tem of  underground  tunnels  shown  in  out- 
line in  Fig.  14.  The  gymnasium  is  the 
most  distant  building  supplied  with  steam 
and  this  is  at  a  distance  of  2160  feet  from 
the  power  house.  The  work  on  the  tun- 
nels has  not  yet  been  completed,  as  some 
of  the  buildings  have  not  been  built.  To 
the  gymnasium  the  main  tunnel  varies  in 
size,  depending  upon  the  number  of  pipes 
that  it  contains.  It  is  of  rectangular 
cross-section  and  from  the  power  house 
to  the  point  K  is  7  feet  high  and  6  feet 
wide,  the  side  walls  being  12  inches  and 
the  roof  10  inches  thick.  From  points  K 
to  M  the  tunnel  is  6  feet  6  inches  high. 


5  feet  wide,  with  side  walls  and  roof  10 
inches  thick.  From  point  M  on  the  tun- 
nel is  6  feet  3  inches  high  and  4  feet  wide, 
with  walls  and  roof  10  inches  thick.  The 
floor  is  8  inches  thick  throughout.  The 
roof,  floor  and  walls  of  the  tunnel  are  of 


Fig.  4  shows  the  general  arrangement 
of  the  steam  and  exhaust  piping  in  the 
engine  and  boiler  rooms.  As  will  be 
noted,  the  boilers  are  connected  to  a  14- 
inch  main  steam  header  with  two  valves 
in   each   boiler    connection,    that    at    the 


Supi-1) 

H.l'. 
SUKm 

"•"""■ 

A.n 

10" 

10" 

0" 

B-F 

10" 

5  " 

C" 

f-J 

14" 

8" 

0" 

J-K 

12" 

8  " 

0" 

K-L 

s" 

7  " 

4" 

I,M 

4" 

M-S 

0" 

4" 

N-0 

5" 

4" 

B-P 

0" 

7" 

F-D 

|Hotel    I 


FIG.      14.      STEAM-DISTRIBUTING    SYSTEM 


TABLE   1.     DATA  AND  RESULTS  OF  ECONOMY  TESTS. 


Total  quantities: 

Duration,  hr 

Water  fed  to  boilers,  lb 

Hourly  quantities: 

Water  fed  to  boilers,  lb 

Loss  of  steam  and  water  per  hour  due  to  leakage  of  boilers 

mains,  etc.,  lb 

Net  steam  consumed  per  hour  by  engines,  lb 

Pressures  (corrected): 

Steam  pipe  pressure  near  throttle,  lb 

Receiver  pressure,  lb 


Indicator  diagrams: 
Mean  effective  pressure,  lb  . 


Sample  diagrams: 

Initial  pressure  above  atmosphere,  lb 

Corresponding  steam  pipe  pressure,  lb 

Back  pressure  at  mid  stroke,  lb 

Pressures  above  zero  at  selected  point  near 

(a)  Cutoff,  lb 

(b)  Release,  lb 

(c)  Beginning  of  compression,  lb 


Percentage  of  stroke  at  selected'point  near 

(a)  Cutoff,  per  cent 

(b)  Release,  per  cent 

(c)  Beginning  of  compression,  per  cent 

Aggregate  m.e.p.  referred  to  each  cylinder,  lb 

Steam  accounted  for  in  lb.  per  I.H.P.  per  hour,  near 

(a)  Cutoff,  lb 

(b)  Release,  lb 

Speed: 
Revolutions  per  minute 

Power: 

H.P.  developed  by  HP.  cylinder 

I.H.P.  developed  by  L.P.  cylinder 

I.H.P.  developed  by  whole  end .- 


Results: 

Steam  consumed  per  I.H.P.-hr.,  lb 

Percentage  accounted  for  by  indicator  diagrams,  near 

(a)  Cutoff,  per  cent 

(b)  Kelea.se,  per  cent 


Compound  Engine 
No.  2. 


5.0 
57,073.0 


11,415.0 


264.0 
11,151.0 


150.4 
21.0 


H.P.  Cyl. 
47.79 


140.7 
149.0 

21.8 

134.5 
38.5 
43.5 


24.7 

93.9 

7.2 

75.7 

14.13 
14.46 


L.P.  Cyl. 
12.36 


20.4 

21.0 

1.1 

28.8 
17.8 
17.4 


60.5 

94.3 

5.2 

33.6 

17.36 
16.59 


99.2 


384.5 
223.8 
608.3 


18  33 


77.1 
78.9 


94.7 
91.1 


Simple  Engine 
No.  1. 


5.0 
32,126.0 


6,425.0 

0.0 
6,425.0 


148.5 


54.72 


141.9 

148.0 

0.7 

133.8 
38.0 
16.9 


20.1 
83.7 
29.5 
54.6 

16.04 
17.07 


98.5 


306  2 


20.98 


76.5 
81.4 


concrete  construction  except  at  curves, 
where  rubble  walls  were  used  to  save  the 
cost  of  forms  for  concrete.  A  considera- 
ble portion  of  the  excavation  was  through 
rock,  and  in  the  construction  special  pro- 
vision was  made  to  keep  water  from 
entering  the  tunnel. 


boiler  being  a  Foster  automatic  stop 
valve.  An  8-inch  ring  main  supplies  the 
engines,  and  this  is  fed  from  either  end 
of  the  14-inch  header  in  the  boiler  room. 
A  valve  in  this  header  subdivides  it  into 
sections,  so  that  either  side  may  be  used 
as    desired.      Connections    from    the    ring 


April  27,  1909 


POW  ER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


FlC.     15.     MlFFlXIt   TANK    AND   FEEI»-WATT«    HEATU 


ria    lb    ; 


AT   tUnAMtM   10   TV»V>L 


10  the  engines  consist  of  long -radius 

which  enter  Stratton  separators  of 

'Ceiver  type,  these  being  supplied  to 

dry  steam  and  also  to  provide  a 

.  cr  of  moderate  steam  volume  close 

engine  throttle.     A  3-inch  connec- 

I'rom    the    end  .  of    the    boiler-room 

I  •.     .<r  supplies  the  boiler-feed  pumps  and 

!.i:     'tigine,   and   in   addition    there    is    a 

><-Ii;r.itc   2^^-inch   line   run   from   the  end 

I   ■    c  Holly  main  which  may  be  used  to 

■[)■  r.ite  the  feed  pumps. 

fiaust- steam  pipes   from  the  engines 
■nnected  into  a  16-inch  exhaust  line 
discharges  into  a  Utility  combined 
r    tank    and    grease    separator    pro- 
wilh   the    usual    b>'pass,    and    from 
the   exhaust   escapes   to   the   atmos- 
phere through  a  free-exhaust  pipe  of  the 
lamc    diameter    running   upward   through 
Lhe    interior   of    the    stack.      During    the 
^--•••ig  season  the  exhaust   steam  passes 
^h  a  16-inch  line  to  the  tunnels,  and 
: :     .   from  the  basement  of  the  en- 
..'1!  to  the  entrance  of  the  tunnel. 


I 


connection  is  made  with  the  high  pressure 
line  which  supplies  steam  direct  from  the 
boilers  through  a  Foster  reducing  valve 
when  the  exhaust  is  insufficient  to  heat  the 
buildings.  In  the  tunnels  the  rxha.i^t 
steam  is  carried  as  far  m  the  academy 


TABLBX     DAI 

r8  OP  FRIC- 

Coa»- 

W2 

No    1 

. 

f'T 

i  ! 

I.  r 

vtMlr 

li  i' 

7»  <» 

-M     1 
J   9 

til  ral«l  11  1' 

a  « 

building  On  the  direct  lines  from  the 
biiilrrs  to  the  buildings  there  i%  alio  pro- 
vi<kiun  to  reduce  the  usual  pressure  of  IJS 
(xiuitds  to  from  80  to  100  pounds  (or  the 
tunnel  system. 


r=^  -* 


l^'^ifl  ' 


.  .Ml  dnp  posBts  on  iMgh-yfcssTt  hmt» 

are  coonecicd  to  tbc   Holljr  tjrtian.  aad 

the   condeosatiott   in    iW    varsot   hmtA- 

inc^    connected    to   the   ccflttal    piMM    h 

r<-';.:nied  to  the  power  Ihmm  bjr 

pompmg  traps  throfh  a  line  tkai 

;ilU  tncT9^%**  m  wr  op  lo  6  inclMa  a*  it 

-'wse     la  tlM  kaiiar 

<  cosMcta  Id  bm  top 

of  ■  retam  uak.  wiudi  is  p>e<idid  wttk 

a  vapor   Ilrr   to  the  ifoiphnr.  so  tlHM 

It  it  an  open  tank.    OrdMsrily 

poaps  draw  thctr  sapptF 

n  tank.  b«i  alto  have  r«i> 


« fliM  ai  Icaai  oa*  of 

bt    in    ■iwtwg 


'-r  MM 
•  il  not 
jtfrct   the  hall  cocka 
Two    i4«7*  j«io-MKk   WortkMgMa  pas 

t.»n   piimj>%    irni   the 


i 


«A1 


nnwc  r» 


756 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  27,   1909. 


charge  is  so  arranged  that  the  pumps  may 
feed  into  either  end  of  the  ring  main 
which  passes  through  the  feed-water 
heater.  From  the  main  there  is  a  double 
connection  to  the  individual  feed  lines  of 
each  boiler  and  each  of  these  connections 
is  provided  with  a  stop  and  check  valve 
having  an  extension  stem  within  easy 
reach  of  the  boiler-room  floor.  The 
heater  is  of  the  Wainwright  even-flow 
type  and  has  a  rated  capacity  of  1500 
horsepower,  which  was  considered  large 
enough  as  the  plant  is  run  only  to  its  full 
capacity  during  the  heating  season,  when 
a  large  part  of  the  water  will  consist  of 
the  hot  returns  from  the  buildings. 

All  greasy  drips  from  engine  and  pump 


flanged  fittings  and  with  extra-heavy 
flanges  for  connecting  the  piping.  In  all 
piping  5  inches  in  diameter  and  over  the 
Van  Stone  type  of  joint  with  rolled-steel 
flanges  is  used.  All  of  this  work  and  the 
pipe  bends  were  manufactured  by  the  M. 
W.  Kellogg  Company  for  the  Thompson- 
Starrett  Company,  which  firm  had  the 
contract  for  all  piping  in  the  plant  and 
tunnels. 

All  low-pressure  piping  in  the  power 
house,  excepting  the  blowoff  piping,  is 
provided  with  standard-weight  fittings 
and  flanges  except  in  certain  locations  in 
the  exhaust  lines  where  it  was  thought 
necessary  to  install  extra-heavy  fittings  on 
account  of  the  expansion  and  contraction 


Electrical  Equipment 
While  the  greater  portion  of  the  load 
consists  of  lamps,  a  number  of  elevators 
are  to  be  used  in  the  central  group  of  I 
buildings,  and  also  a  considerable  number 
of  small  motors  for  various  purposes. 
For  instance,  the  cadet  mess  hall,  con- 
taining' one  of  the  most  elaborately 
equipped  kitchens  and  bake  shops  any- 
where in  the  world,  uses  a  number  of 
motors  for  dishwashing,  breadmaking, 
food  preparing  and  other  purposes.  The 
buildings  requiring  most  of  the  power, 
however,  are  within  2700  feet  of  the  power 
house.  The  buildings  at  the  south  end 
of  the  grounds,  about  8000  feet  distant 
from  the  power  house  and  consisting  of 


FIG.     18.    PIPING  TUNNEL 

cylinders,  grease  separator  and  various 
points  of  the  exhaust  line  are  trapped 
into  a  low-pressure  drip  line  connecting 
with  the  boiler  blowoff  main,  to  which 
are  also  attached  the  three  blowoff  con- 
nections on  each  boiler.  Each  blowoff 
pipe  is  provided  with  a  straight-way  valve 
fitted  to  a  Homestead  blowoflf  cock. 
Boiler  pressure,  the  reduced  pressure 
to  buildings  and  the  pressure  in  the 
exhaust  system  are  all  indicated  on 
three  special  gages  located  on  a  marble 
board  placed  upon  the  side  wall  of  the 
engine  room. 

In  the  entire  piping  system  all  high- 
pressure  steam  pipes  2  inches  in  diameter 
and  over  are  provided  with  extra-heavy 


FIG.     19.    RETURN   TANK   AND   BOILER  FEED  PUMPS 


that  might  readily  occur.  In  the  tunnel 
the  construction  was  such  that  it  was  pos- 
sible to  take  care  of  the  expansion  by 
means  of  numerous  right-angle  bends  in 
the  line,  and  at  curves  the  pipe  was  fur- 
nished with  hangers  which  would  permit 
lateral  as  well  as  longitudinal  expansion 
to  occur.  The  high-pressure  and  the  re- 
turn mains  in  the  tunnel  were  suspended 
from  the  roof  beams,  but  the  exhaust 
main  was  supported  by  brick  piers  with  a 
bluestone  cap  on  which  a  roller  resting  in 
a  chair  was  placed,  the  piers  being  con- 
structed in  every  case  so  that  the  upper 
surface  of  the  bluestone  cap  would  be 
parallel  with  the  axis  of  the  pipe,  even  on 
a  steep  incline. 


the  cavalry  and  artillery  barracks,  had  an 
estimated  wired  load  of  75  kilowatts  in 
incandescent  lamps,  and  the  soldiers'  hos- 
pital and  a  number  of  other  buildings 
located  at  the  extreme  north  end  of  the 
reservation  require  current  for  lights 
only.  ' 

The  desire  to  use  direct  current  as  far 
as  it  could  be  used  economically  led  to 
the  adoption  of  a  2SO-volt  two-wire  system 
for  light  and  power,  and  it  was  found 
that  this  system  could  supply  about  75 
per  cent,  of  the  total  load  without  great  ' 
expense.  The  remainder  of  the  load  and 
the  street  lighting  required  alternating 
current,  and  it  was  decided  to  use  motor 
generators  delivering  6o-cycle  single-phase 


April  2-],  19CXJ. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER 


7S7 


current  at  2200  volts,  the  current  being 
ied  to  the  street-lighting  system 
'  ut{h  tub  transformers.  On  the  direct- 
current  system,  the  maximum  lighting  load 
for  the  buildings  amounted  to  925  kilo- 
watts and  an  additional  100  kilowatts  for 

: r.    The  maximum  alternating-current 

ng  load  approximated  250  kilowatts 

ai   1  the  street  lighting  about  90  kilowatts 

To  handle   this   load,   two   400  kilowatt 

■mc  200-kilowatt  generators  were  in 

d.     The  normal  full-load  voltage  01 

all   the  generators  is  250,  but   means   are 

provided   for   varying  the   shunt  t'lcids  so 

that   the  voltage  may  be  adjusted  within 

reasonable  limits.    To  compensate  for  the 

drop  in  the  feeder  system,  each  generator 

was  designed   to  overcompound    10  volts 

from  no  load  to  full  load,  but  this  over- 

ccmpounding  may  be  reduced  to  various 

lesser  amounts   by  means    of    a     special 

ieries-field  shunt. 

To  furnish  alternating  current  three 
motor-generator  sets  have  been  installed, 
the  generators  having  capacity  to  carry  a 
normal  load  of  125  kilowatts  when  supply- 
ing single-phase  current  at  2400  volts  and 
rtmning  at  a  speed  of  600  revolutions  per 
minute.  The  three  sets  are  arranged  to 
operate  in  parallel.  All  electrical  appara- 
tus in  the  power  house  was  supplied  by 
the  General  Electric  Company. 

Distribution  of  the  current  is  eflFected 
entirely  in  an  underground  subway  sys- 
tem consisting  mainly  of  about  85,000  feet 
of  single  clay  ducts  and  83  manholes,  with 
branches  from  the  manholes  to  the  build- 
int.'".  and  from  the  manholes  to  the  street- 
laini»  posts  when  the  latter  arc  near 
Miough  to  make  this  metho<l  advisable. 
Where  the  lamp  posts  are  remotr  from 
the  subway  sy>.tem.  one  dtict  in  the  upper 
layer  of  ducts  opens  into  a  pull  b«»t  and 
a  branch  connection  of  fiber  is  run  to  the 
base  of  the  lamp  post.  A  total  of  142 
pnll  boxes  have  been  installed.  The  clay 
ducts  are  of  the  3  inch  standard  type  laid 
in  cement  mortar  with  a  concrete  envelop 
en  the  top,  bottom  and  sides,  the  top  being 
not  less  than  2  feet  6  inches  f>rl..w  the 
•lirface.  The  fiber  ducts  for  the  ^^rrct 
lighting  are  a^^-inch  American  conduit 
laid  on  a  bed  of  concrete  and  aftcrw.ir.| 
inclosed  on  the  top  and  sides  with  a  con- 
crete envelop  not  less  than  2  inches  thick. 
Direct -current  distribution  consists  of 
tn  extensive  system  of  feeders  in  which 
the  outer  terminals  of  the  feeders  are 
looped  together  by  mains.  From  the  junc- 
tion point  pressure  wires  ;i' 
the  pnwrr  house  .ind   n   •'• 

rr.iflit'k;  •  ■ '-  \ •  !•  ij.:'-  i'  ■ 

i«  a  double  set   of  positive  dir- 

buses  and  one  negative  bus     T 

leg  of  each  feeder  circuit  i»  «•  • 

the  tni'tltr  point  of  a  sint:' 

throw    -Ai"  !i.  so  that  the 

thrown  in  <•  ' 

With  thM  .. 

generator    main 

tnav  hr  run  at  •' 


F«.r  instance,  one  generator  may  be  con- 
nected to  the  high  bus  and  the  other  to 
the  low  bus,  and  each  feeder  may  be 
thrown  on  the  high  or  low  but  as  desired, 
in  order  to  maintain  "••••'■•-  ••  '•  .-  • 
the  mains  and  to 

drops  in  different   iccucr')       1  nc    »\%i:c.-. 
board  is  of  blue  Vermont  marble  and  con- 
M-t%  of  21  panels,  ' 

.1.  ..•»     ^,7       frrt 


cuit-breakers,  etc. 

In  the  underground  system,  all  cables 
are  rubber- insulated  and  lead-ccvered. 
The  direct-current  cables  are  single-con- 
ductor lead-covered,  and  all  alternating- 
current  ' '  •  ept  transformer  leads 
are  of  t:  '  type  in  a  single  lead 
sheath.  At  the  present  time,  11  direct- 
current  feeders  have  been  instaPr-l.  and 
each  leg  terminates  in  a  w.  - 
tion  box  in  a  manhole,  whr- 
is  made  to  the  corresponding  leg  oi  the 
main  and  to  such  buildings  as  may  be 
$er\'ed  from  the  manhole.  The  positi\e 
and  negative  sizes  are  separate  through- 
out, there  being  separate  positive  and 
negative  '       ^ 

For  1,  "He  alternating-cur- 

rent   systrijl 
ondttctnrs  c 

cutouts  to  tr  in  a   lew 

instances  in  •  'St  cases 

in  vaults   forming  a  part  ot  the  building 
supplied.     The    greater    portion    of    the 
srtMMdary  alternating  current  is  diftriba- 
ted  on  the  1 20- 240- volt  three-wire  system 
In  the  case  of  the  officers'  quarters,  which 
are    small     f 
serves  a  nuj- 
wire  service 
ing  to  a  thf- 
wirc  distribution  ' 
is  ccnnected  alter    .     , 
sides  of  the  three-wire  circuit  so  at  to  ob- 
tain a  proper  balance. 

In  wiring  the  buildings   supplied   witft 
direct   current,  arrangements   w^-     — - '- 
for    changing    over    to    the     1.' 
fhrrr  wire      system        ^ 

uti'Uls   were   in»t4lle<! 
IS  ever  made,  a    neuir4l 
pulled  into  the  conduit  »> 
neutral   leads  from  the  var: 
may  be  connected     Tl  i»  \- ■ 
made  so  that  T  'be 

installed  at  a  btri  ■•  > 
i'rxm.  fHX»dhue  ft  I  f  BoMon. 

'frtir* 
lok- 


been    the    »uDrrintrTi>!<-nt'>    n 
in  the  n 


>•■•••  7"^    i«i    -.ne-    cos- 

'nc<»iioB  of  the  wortL 


'tttton  of  steam  uA  ^retneny  to 
tU  »^U  ol  the  vftfiow  baildH««. 


"Nobce  lo  V  laian 


Ml   Old    Ei«i 
ol  a  Tr«- 


A  cormpoBdcBi 

-N..-        •      V 

ne»- 

«  'oo  enter  the 

spit  oo  the  Aoor.     We  have  water,  lye. 
soap,  mope  and  bmahea,  aad  ««  vfll  < 
up  as  soon  as  jkm  leave. 

2.  Rub  yoor  hand  on  all . 
It  will  gise  someooe  work  and  ne  the 
surplus  polish. 

3.  Pot  jrtwr  hands  on  iW  e^finr's 
bright  work.  Yoa  ariO  then  know  if  ii 
IS  smooth,  hot  or  cold.  TcU  other*  to 
do  the  same. 

4     S'^>    n  thr  engine  room  aa  hamm  at 


:i.;_...    .;tttOra. 

5.  Be  rare  to  tell  the  cngiaetf  if  hb 
engine  is  poonding  or  niwng  rifkl,  at 
he  will  not  know  it  onlew  yvu  da  H« 
will  step  and  make  repair*  wkBt  jpon 
wail. 

6l    D-  >neer  who  jron  arr 

He  is  a  4ad  alwajra  know* 

you      i.  r  m  the 

and  yo»:  -  h-.v 

7.    A' 


a«    •  in   n  ■'■ur 

>  btttj  nuking  re 
iry  TOO  heard  Ike 
Je.  gtt  in  his  WBT 
;<U  al  yon  kww.    "It 

in4  rrpeat  at  -*'     ' 

The    newly    esuUnhed    dtpanwl    of 

ing  rattnemng  at  Ike  L^niverally  of 

«oontin  hat  )s«t  poUMwd  a  knSrtin 

announcing    tksriem    i^eciM    confM*    In 

mfMintf    rnrt!->fmr.0    iof   nndwgvnAMit^ 

k^  f  kadMloe  of  wi 

and  sn  advanced 


'«»»r    I'f^     » 


f>J    -   - 


4r 


758 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  27,   1909. 


The  Coming  Hudson-Fulton  Celebration 


Description  of  the  "Half  Moon"  and  "Clermont,"  Replicas  of  Which 
Are    Now    Being    Built    to    Participate    in    the    Great  Naval  Parade 


BY        WARREN 


O. 


ROGERS 


I 


The  celebration  which  will  take  place 
September  25  to  October  9,  inclusive,  un- 
der the  management  of  the  Hudson-Ful- 
ton Celebration  Commission,  will  com- 
memorate the  three-hundredth  anniver- 
sary of  the  discovery  of  the  Hudson  river 
by  Henry  Hudson  and  the  one-hundredth 
anniversary  of  the  first  successful  steam 
navigation  of  that  river  by  Robert  Ful- 
ton. These  men  occupy  prominent  niches 
in  the  world's  history.     One  brought  to 


The  next  day  the  "Half  Moon"  moved  up  Hudson's   fourth   voyage   proved  to  be 

the  bay   and   anchored   on   the   inside   of  his    last    in   making   the    attempt   to    dis- 

what    is    now    known    as    Sandy    Hook,  cover  a  northwest  passage.     This  voyage 

where  several  days  were  spent  in  explor-  took   him   through   what  is  named   Hud- 


FIG.    I.     HENRY  HUDSON 
(Ideal   Photograph) 

knowledge  the  Hudson  river ;  the  other 
gave  to  the  navigable  waters  of  the  earth 
an  inestimable  commercial  value. 

Henry  Hudson 
On  April  4,  1609,  Henry  Hudson  (see 
Fig.  I)  set  sail  from  Amsterdam,  with  a 
crew  of  18  Dutch  and  English  sailors, 
to  find  a  northern  passage  to  China,  but 
after  rounding  the  North  cape  he  was 
driven  back  by  contrary  winds,  where- 
upon his  crew  mutinied  and  refused  to 
continue  the  voyage.  Hudson  then  pro- 
posed that  a  search  be  made  to  find  a 
northwest  passage.  The  crew  agreed  to 
this  proposition  and  they  set  sail.  The 
ship  reached  the  American  coast  on  July 
12,  and  on  September  2  arrived  off  what 
is  now  known  as  the  Navesink  High- 
lands on  the  south  side  of  New  York  bay, 
and  this  date  is  recognized  as  that  of 
Hudson's    first   view   of    the    great   river. 


I 


Pijwer,  X  K 

FIG.     2.     SHOWING  GENERAL  DIRECTION   OF   HUDSON'S   FOUR   RECORDED   VOYAGES 


ing  the  nearby  waters,  and  on  September 
12  the  "Half  Moon"  passed  in  through 
the  "Narrows"  and  entered  the  mouth  of 
the  river. 

The  voyage  up  the  Hudson  was  made 
during  the  daylight  hours,  as  wind  and 
tide  served,  the  ship  being  brought  to 
anchor  as  soon  as  darkness  set  in.  In 
this  manner,  the  site  of  the  city  of  Albany 
was  reached  on  September  19,  the  farth- 
est point  north  to  which  the  "Half  Moon" 
was  sailed,  though  small  boats  were  sent 
out  to  investigate  the  upper  river  in  hopes 
that  deep  water  would  be  found.  When 
Hudson  was  convinced  that  this  was  not 
the  passage  to  the  Pacific,  he  weighed 
anchor  on  September  23  and  returned  to 
the  harbor,  passing  out  to  sea  October  4. 
The  discovery  of  the  Hudson  river  was  on 
the  third  voyage  of  the  four  made  by 
Hudson,  the  routes  of  which  are  shown  in 
Fig.  2. 


FIG.    3.      LAST    DAYS   OF    HENRY    HUDSON 


April  27,  1909. 

son's  strait  into  the  bay  also  ' 
name.  The  voyage  was  disastr 
crew,  in  mutiny,  put  Hudson,  his  son  and 
seven  companions  into  a  shallop  and  set 
them  adrift  in  a  sea  of  ice  and  snow.  No 
tidings  of  Hudson  nor  his  companions  were 
ever  received,  and  Hudson's  bay,  without 
doubt,  became  his  grave.  Fig.  3  is  a  re- 
production of  a  painting  which  represents 
Hudson    and    his   companions   abandoned 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGI.NtLR. 

:dson't  thip,  the 

ciluctu  of  Hol> 

land  arc  i;  and  it   will  be 

delivered  tc  _.. .^n  in  ample  tune 

to  participate  in  the  various  events.  Ai 
there  are  no  known  drawings  or  paiwtit^ 
of  the  original  "Half  Moon,"  paintings 
and  plans  of  similar  ships  were  used  in 
preparing  the  specifications,  so  that  the 
1909  "Half  Moon"  will  appear  as  nearly 


79 


ftad  take  kti 


P**ce  ;: ^  of  iaicrBatsa»i* 

sds  and  mrrckaat  skipa.  whc  - 

to  lew  riT  nr  wll.  ii 

A  wonoeriuJ  npfonwmkf  far 
■on   viO   be   afforded    vkca   tW    "Half 
Mcoo'    rcacbrt   New    York 
nodem  aicaaMkips  paM  krr 
ward  or  ootward  koaad  roy^in.    P^  $ 


nc.  6 


yvuos 


nc.  4.  upucA  or  thi  "halt  moox* 


illostratn  ki  a  sinkaag  mwifr  ikt 
tic  itridrt  that  have  brca  MMdc  ki 
since  tke  Ha^a 

:*d 

Roanr  Puivmi 
In  taking  op  r««iMs  pertaimag  lo  tke 
''      iilr  of  Robert  Falloa,  loo  awck  caaBai  ke 
mh)   as  to  tke   great  keaeili  they  coa 


•  lirAtlSON  or  TMI     N«ir   M'>'n 


on  June  iJ.  161 1.    Si- 

ing    is    known    of    i' 

plorer's  life  prior  to  April  10.  i'- 

in  four  short  years,  ihi^  man  .» 

that    for    which    tliou^^nd^    w 

honor  during  the  forthcoming  rrifi>raM<>.i 

Tiic   "Half   Meow" 
One  of  the  mo<kt  interesting  and  notable 
features  of  the   celebration    will    be    tke 


tr*i 


ber  ij,  when  the  will  be  ffx»i»r«i  rj 


76o 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGIXEER. 


April  27,   1909. 


Fulton  will  be  honored  in  a  fitting  manner 
during  the  daj's  of  the  celebration.  A  re- 
production of  a  portrait  of  Robert  Ful- 
ton is  shown  in  Fig.  6. 

The  "Clermont" 

A   replica  of  the  "Clermont"  will  also 

play  a  prominent  part  in  the  celebration. 

It  will  be  an  exact  duplicate  of  the  boat 

in  which  Fulton  made  his  famous  run  to 


The  sides  were  almost  parallel,  being  a 
trifle  wider  on  deck  than  on  the  bottom, 
which  was  flat  and  without  a  keel. 

Referring  to  Fig.  8,  it  will  be  seen  that 
the  "Clermont"  had  two  masts,  one  stack 
and  two  cabins,  one  fore  and  the  other  aft. 
The  engine,  which  was  made  in  England  by 
Watt  &  Bolton,  was  placed  just  aft  of  the 
foremast.  The  engine  was  without  hous- 
ing  and   the   boiler    was    constructed    of 


FIG.    7.       THE    ORIGIXAL      CLERMONT 


it  is  not  necessary  to  go  into  it  here. 
While  some  of  the  incidents  of  the  voyage 
from  New  York  to  Albany,  200  years 
after  Hudson  sailed  up  the  river,  were 
humorous,  it  can  well  be  assumed  that  to 
the  inventor  the  run  was  one  of  great 
anxiety.  Several  days  before  the  begin- 
ning of  this  great  run  to  Albany,  the 
"Clermont"  was  taken  around  from  the 
East  river  to  the  North  river  and  anchored 
off  what  is  now  known  as  West  Tenth 
street,  or  opposite  the  Delaware,  Lacka- 
wanna &  Western  ferry  slip,  on  the  New 
York  side  of  the  river.  It  is  conceivable, 
however,  that  the  river  did  not  appear 
then  as  now.  The  changes  that  have  been 
made  in  the  map  of  New  York  City  are 
clearly  illustrated  in  Fig.  10,  the  area  out- 
side of  the  heavy  black  line  showing  the 
made  ground  since  Fulton's  time.  There 
were  no  great  steamship  docks  on  the 
river  front  such  as  are  seen  today,  and  the 
spectators  had  no  difficulty  in  finding  loca- 
tions on  the  river  bank  from  which  they 
could  hurl  taunts  and  jeers  toward  the 
confident,  expectant  inventor.  With  the 
newspapers  skeptical,  it  is  no  wonder  that 
the  public  pinned  little  faith  on  the  suc- 


FIG.    8.     PLAN   VIEW   AND  SIDE  ELEVATION   OF  THE  "cLERMONt' 


Albany  and  return,  with  the  exceptions 
that  the  boiler  will  be  equipped  with  a 
safety  valve  and  life  preservers  will  be 
placed  on  board,  to  comply  with  the 
United  States  marine  laws. 

The  original  "Clermont"  is  illustrated 
in  Fig.  7.  She  was  150  feet  long  and  13 
feet  wide,  had  a  depth  of  hold  of  7  feet 
and  drew  2  feet  of  water.  The  hull  below 
the  deck  had  a  wedge-shaped  bow  and 
stem,  cut  sharp  to  an  angle  of  60  degrees. 


copper.  The  paddlewheels  were  15  feet 
in  diameter  and  were  originally  un- 
covered, although  later  they  were  incased 
in  wooden  guards.  The  flywheels  of  the 
engine  were  placed  outside  of  the  hull 
forward  of  the  paddlewheels.  Fig.  9 
shows  a  comparison  of  the  "Lusitania" 
and  the  "Clermont." 

Up  the  Hudson 
The  life  of  Fulton  is  so  well  known  that 


cess  of  Fulton's  steamboat. 

The  start  was  made  at  i  o'clock  and, 
with  the  throttle  wide  open  and  the  pad- 
dlewheels slowly  revolving,  the  "Clermont" 
began  the  momentous  voyage,  while  the 
spectators  looked  on  with  astonishment. 
The  run  from  New  York  to  Albany  was 
accomplished  at  practically  an  average 
hourly  speed  of  five  miles,  the  return  trip 
being  made  at  the  rate  of  just  five  miles 
per  hour. 


April  27,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


7«l 


nc.    9.    coupAHiiOs 


_.ii:.'.MA. 


The  fame  won  by  Fulton  was  won  by 
a  narrow  margin,  for  a  few  days  later 
Robert  L.  Stevens'  steamboat  "Phornix" 
made  a  trial  run  on  the  Hudson.  Owing 
to  the  monopoly  secured  in  1808  by  Fulton 
and  Livingston  from  the  legislature,  the 
"Phamix"  was  put  in  service  on  the  Dela- 
ware river. 

Naval   Parade 

On  Friday,  October  i,  the  great  naval 
parade  of  the  celebration  will  take  place. 
As  many  naval  vessels,  merchant  marines, 
excursion  boats  and  pleasure  crafts  as 
can  po<*ihlv  go  from  New  York  to  New- 
borgh    will    escort    the    repro<luced    "Half 


Moon"  and  "Oennont"  to  the  Utter  city. 
Thence  the  two  ships  of  honor  will  be 


'       ;  m  of 
I'rom 

u  that  cit>. 
f<^?«re    will    fw   a 


escorted  to    *,"" 
the  particip:.' 
New   Ycrk 

Another    ■ 
rrmarkable 
The  .\>:t'  }  ■ 

of  $10,000  for  the  aeronaut   who  with  a 
mechanically  propelled  airship  sails  over 
the  course  traversed  by   Fulton't  "Cler 
mont"  in  1807. 

Without    doubt    this    impressive   naval 
parade  and  airship  flight,  whi  '- 
two  r.f  many  feature  nf  the  u 
hralion,  will  be  • 
ures-     Other  attt 


_^,    „  .11    V  -    .  .    .  1 

T'    •  '<■'•*  rr--      rr  «  ,       i    *,-,,,, _.^ 

ano  \rrncAn  war  * 
and  \ailin«  race*.  TV.'- 
alone  will  tpatd    Ijooooo    oa    tht   c*it- 

•lebcH  to  the  HwAmm-F^um 

ComtnUtinn    frr    tkr    il|««tr«. 

tJOBt  in  tkis  «ftt 


lK)Utcd  Plant  VI.  Cental  Stoboo 

Shall  the  pahiK  ISbnrj  of  Nor  Yock 

■  -  it '  •  ■  f  -ectric  cvrmM  fmai 
the  mains  of  tht  Edjjoa  cam^maff  Tku 
qttrtfv-rt  hst  bem  oom^yiaf  tW 

ot  ?*.jiiaMic  an 

n-  ->«-.  an<!  in  rrvard  ID  Ik* 


I  —doBlli  ilj  W  ol 
be  ol  MMrrtM  to 
has  4tei6i4  cm  am 


i»<4«(c«l  |«l*n( 


Lmn  IX  Past 

I    k>tr    Jir«->      rr-iuri''-}    fit     ?K*    iBti 


J«" 


k  pakite  lArary  lor 

•oklKlArary 

'   rr-.jttfttaai  MO  of  car* 
Soars    a    yoar. 


I      ll    ■ 


no   la    MAf  or  town  ntw  vtrnx  iii«>\ 


nc  tttArr 


762 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April 


1909. 


for  this  price,  in  addition,  of  course,  to 
the  cost  of  heating  the  building. 

"On  the  basis  of  the  estimate  made  by 
your  consulting  engineer,  the  difference 
between  i^  cents  and  three  cents  per 
kilowatt-hour  would  make  a  difference  of 
$22,000  a  year  to  the  library  committee. 
It  is  proper  atso  to  call  your  attention  to 
the  fact  that  by  making  a  contract  with 
the  New  York  Edison  Company  or  any 
other  member  of  the  combined  companies, 
at  three  cents  per  kilowatt-hour,  you  are 
sanctioning  a  discrimination  in  rate 
against  the  small  consumer,  which  is  en- 
tirely unjustified  and  which  cannot  con- 
tinue to  exist.  There  is  no  possible  justi- 
fication for  a  discrimination  in  rate  based 
on  quantity  use  alone.  It  is  only  because 
the  combined  electric  companies  are 
allowed  to  charge  small  consumers  10 
cents  per  kilowatt-hour,  giving  them  an 
exorbitant  profit,  that  they  are  able  to  sell 
to  the  large  consumer  at  three  cents  per 
kilowatt-hour,  which  is  less  than  the  aver- 
age cost  of  production  and  distribution. 
The  gas  companies  do  not  practice  any 
such  discrimination  and  the  city,  in  its 
sale  of  water,  sells  to  all  alike.  Why, 
then,  should  the  city  encourage  the  elec- 
tric companies  to  discriminate  against  the 
small  user  by  making  a  contract  at  less 
than  a  fair  rate  with  the  large  user,  be- 
cause of  their  large  use,  knowing  that 
every  such  contract  made  makes  it  harder 
to  reduce  the  price  to  the  small  consumer. 

"Finally,  on  behalf  of  the  operating 
engineers,  I  ask  that  if  your  board  is  not 
satisfied  that  a  private  plant  can  be  oper- 
ated more  cheaply  than  service  can  be 
purchased  from  the  Edison  company, 
they  advertise  for  bids  from  responsible 
engineering  concerns,  asking  such  con- 
cerns to  state  the  price  at  which  they 
would  sell  current  to  the  city  from  a  pri- 
vate plant  located  in  the  building,  such 
contract,  of  course,  to  be  subject  to  the 
clause  about  paying  the  prevailing  rate  of 
wages,  and  to  contain  any  necessary  stipu- 
lation as  to  maintenance  of  the  equipment 
in  first-class  condition.  I  am  satisfied 
that  if  such  bids  are  asked  for  many 
offers  will  be  made,  backed  up  by  bonds 
and  guarantees  offering  to  sell  current 
from  the  private  plant  at  from  i^  to  1V3 
cents  per  kilowatt-hour,  in  addition  to  the 
cost  of  heating  the  building. 

"Summarizing:  I  base  my  plea  for  the 
installation  of  a  private  plant  on  the  fol- 
lowing grounds : 

"i — The  cost  of  current  from  the  pri- 
vate plant  would  be  less  than  Edison  ser- 
vice by  $22,000  a  year,  if  your  consulting 
engineer's  figures   are  correct. 

"2 — You  are  entering  into  a  contract 
for  an  illegal  discrimination  in  rate  against 
the  small  user,  and  by  so  doing  you  are 
preventing  the  small  user  from  obtaining 
a  lower  price  for  current. 

"3 — You  are  placing  your  equipment  in 
the  control  of  a  single  lighting  combine, 
which  may  or  may  not  be  always  run  in  a 
fair  manner,  and  you  are  subjecting  your- 


selves to  a  far  greater  possibility  of  break- 
down than  would  be  the  case  if  you  had 
your  own  plant." 

Brief  Accompanying  Letter 

"Discrimination  in  rates  in  favor  of  a 
consumer  of  a  large  quantity  of  electricity 
and  against  the  consumer  of  a  small  quan- 
tity of  electricity,  is  ivrong: 

"In  order  to  prevent  the  installation  of 
isolated  plants  in  buildings,  the  Edison 
company  and  its  allies  have  adopted  a 
system  of  giving  low  rates ;  that  is,  rates 
below  the-  average  cost  of  production,  to 
large  consumers,  balancing  this  by  charg- 
ing excessively  high  rates  to  small  con- 
sumers. 

"That  this  proposition  is  radically 
wrong  and  unjust,  is  evident  from  the 
propositions  made  to  the  public  library 
board  and  to  other  similar  large  consum- 
ers to  sell  them  833,000  kilowatt-hours  per 
year  at  a  rate  of  three  cents  per  kilowatt- 
hour,  or  a  total  of  $25,000  a  year.  For 
the  same  quantitative  use  of  current,  but 
divided  between  100  stores,  the  charge 
would  be  $83,000,  or  over  three  times  as 
much. 

"The  discrimination  is  based  on  the 
same  principle  as  the  freight-rate  dis- 
crimination which  has  been  universally 
condemned,  and  has  been  pronounced 
illegal.  That  is,  the  rate  is  fixed  not  upon 
the  cost  of  production  and  distribution, 
but  upon  the  amount  the  traffic  will  bear. 
This  is  evident  from  a  consideration  of 
the  conditions  : 

"In  the  public-library  plant  there  are 
17,691  incandescent  lights  and  443  horse- 
power of  motors.  The  total  connected 
capacity  figures  up  to  approximately  1200 
kilowatts.  If  the  maximum  demand  is 
figured  at  two-thirds  this  amount,  or  800 
kilowatts,  this  would  probably  be  approxi- 
mately correct. 

"In  the  long  discussion  before  the  Pub- 
lic Service  Commission  on  the  subject  of 
breakdown  or  auxiliary  service,  it  was 
shown  conclusively  by  the  New  York  Edi- 
son and  its  allied  companies  that  it  cost 
the  Edison  company  at  least  $30  per  year 
per  kilowatt  of  maximum  demand,  $30  for 
fixed  charges  alone.  This  is  exclusive  of 
any  cost  of  manufacturing  the  current ;  it 
merely  covers  the  fixed  charges  on  the 
installation  of  plant,  buildings,  mains, 
meters  and  connections. 

"In  the  case  of  the  public-library  propo- 
sition, the  offer  to  sell  current  at  three 
cents  per  kilowatt-hour  barely  covers  the 
fixed  charcjes,  making  it  necessary  to  make 
all  the  profit  made  by  the  Edison  and  its 
allied  companies  in  some  other  direction. 
This  profit  can  only  be  obtained  from  the 
small  consumer,  and  the  small  consumer  is 
forced  to  pay  the  profit  not  only  on  his 
own  use  of  current,  but  on  the  use  of  cur- 
rent by  the  large  consumer. 

"The  city  has  recognized  the  justice  of 
equal  charge  to  large  and  small  consum- 
ers in  the  sale  of  water,  the  charge  being 
alike   to   large    and    small    consumer,    no 


matter  what  quantity  they  use.  The  gas 
companies  do  not  attempt  to  discriminate 
against  the  small  consumer,  and  every- 
body has  the  right  to  buy  gas  at  80  cents 
per  thousand  cubic  feet.  The  telephone 
company,  it  is  true,  does  discriminate  be- 
tween the  large  user  and  the  small  user, 
but  nothing  like  the  extent  proposed  by 
the  electric  companies,  and  the  question  of 
the  right  of  the  telephone  company  to  so 
discriminate  has  been  seriously  ques- 
tioned. 

"The  objection  to  discrimination  in 
favor  of  the  user  of  a  large  quantity 
against  the  user  of  a  small  quantity  does 
not  necessarily  mean  that  the  Edison  and 
its  allied  companies  should  be  discouraged 
from  encouraging  a  long-hours  use  of  the 
equipment.  This  is  quite  a  different  mat- 
ter. The  electric  companies  claim,  and 
with  justice,  that  the  consumer  who  uses 
his  equipment  10  hours  a  day  should 
obtain  a  better  rate  than  the  consumer 
who  uses  his  equipment  one  hour  a  day; 
for  the  reason  that  the  consumer  who 
uses  his  equipment  10  hours  a  day  re- 
quires no  greater  plant  investment  than 
the  consumer  who  uses  his  equipment  one 
liour  a  day.  This  statement  is  perfectly 
correct.  A  proper  basis  of  charge  would 
be  one  based  on  the  maximum  demand  of 
the  equipment,  or  on  the  constant  capa- 
city, to  which  should  be  added  a  charge 
for  the  amount  of  electricity  actually  used. 
But  this  rate  should  be  open  to  all  con- 
sumers alike,  no  matter  whether  they  use 
10  kilowatt-hours  a  year  or  100,000  or 
1,000,000.  Such  a  rate  has  been  proposed 
by  the  New  York  Edison  and  its  allied 
companies  in  a  number  of  cases  recently 
and  is  as  follows: 

"The  company  makes  a  fixed  charge  of 
$30  per  kilowatt  of  maximum  demand, 
and  in  addition  to  this  charge  receives  i^ 
cents  per  kilowatt-hour  for  all  electricity 
used.  This  is  a  perfectly  fair  form  of 
contract,  but  it  must  be  open  to  all  con- 
sumers alike,  and  not  only  to  such  con- 
sumers who  have  isolated  plants  installed, 
or  who  intend  to  install  such  plants. 

"If  such  a  contract  were  proposed  for 
the  public  library,  the  cost  would  be  some- 
what as  follows: 

800  kilowatts  maximum  demand  ©$30  $24,000 
1,000,000  kilowatt-hours  (a)  l^c-  per  kilo- 
watt-hour      15,000 

Total  cost  per  year $39,000 

This  is  the  least  cost  at  which  the  New 
York  Edison  and  its  allied  companies  can 
afford  to  sell  current  and  make  a  profit. 
If  they  sell  at  anything  less  than  this  cost, 
they  must  obtain  their  profit  from  the 
small  consumer. 

"The  cost  of  manufacturing  current 
from  a  private  plant  in  the  public  library 
will  be  less  than  purchasing  current  even 
at  the  three-cent  rate: 

"From  the  figures  given  me  on  the 
amount  of  heating  surface  and  the  size  of 
the  public  library,  it  is  evident  that  during 
the  winter  months,  that  is,  during  at  least 
one-half  of  the  vear,  the  amount  of  steam 


April  27,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGIXEER. 


7^ 


used  for  operating  the  electric  plant,  with 
a  properly  designed  plant,  will  be  less  than 
the  amount  of  steam  required  to  heat  the 
building.  Hence,  it  may  be  safely  stated, 
that  the  operation  of  the  electric  plant  will 
not  increase  the  amount  of  coal  required 
during  six  months  of  the  year,  certainly 
not  more  than  10  per  cent.  I  have  a  num- 
ber of  figures  from  buildings  in  New 
York  City  which  show  this  to  be  the  fact. 

"During  the  summer  months  when  the 
lighting  load  is  least,  the  coal  used  for 
operating  the  electric  plant  will,  of  course, 
bt   a  direct  charge  on  the  electricity. 

"Insofar  as  the  labor  is  concerned,  a 
brief  consideration  of  the  conditions  will 
show  that  the  amount  of  labor  required 
for  the  actual  operation  of  the  electric 
plant  is  very  small.  If  the  electric  plant 
is  omitted,  there  would  still  be  460  horse- 
power of  motors  to  be  taken  care  of,  and 
there  would  still  be  the  boilers  to  be  fired 
for  heating:  there  would  still  be  the  eleva- 
tors to  be  looked  after ;  the  ventilating 
fans  to  be  cared  for ;  and  the  only  things 
that  would  not  be  in  operation  during 
seven  months  of  the  year  would  be  one 
turbine  during  the  daytime  and,  perhaps, 
two  at  night.  These  turbines  from  their 
very  nature  cannot  be  interfered  with. 
The  usual  instructions  are  to  let  the  tur- 
bines alone,  merely  seeing  that  the  oil  is 
flowing.  They  are  absolutely  automatic 
in  operation  and  it  would  not  be  possible 
to  use  more  than  one  man  on  a  watch  to 
see  that  they  were  operating  correctly. 
With  a  storage  battery  as  an  auxiliary,  de- 
signed to  supply  the  night  lighting  after 
the  plant  was  shut  down,  this  means  that 
there  would  be  two  men  required;  one 
from  eight  to  four,  the  other  from  four 
to  twelve,  in  addition  to  the  crew  required 
for  heating  alone.  Besides  this,  in  the 
summer  there  would  be  two  additional 
firemen. 

'The  other  items  making  up  the  cost  of 
electricity  are  the  plant  supplies,  plant  re- 
pairs, ash  removal,  water  for  boilers,  oil, 
etc  A  careful  estimate  of  these  addi- 
tional item*,  gives  a  total  of  less  than 
$13,000  a  year;  or,  I. a  cents  per  kilowatt- 
hour.  If  high-eflficiencv  lighting  is  u»«<l 
throughout   the  h-  -•   cost   of  the 

plant   could   be    11 1.  reduced   ma- 

terially   from    the    present    c^timaff 
even  on  the  basi*  of  the  present  r^tlI• 
and  allowing   10    per    cent,    for    interest, 
depreciation.    Insurance,    etc..    the    fixe<i 
charges  figure  up  to  one  cent  per  kilowatt- 
hour;  which  added  to  the  operating       •• 
of  I  3  cents  makes  the  total  co*t  p«-r  . 
••v  I*-  •   rents,  on   the   haM«  "f        ' 

iff-hotir*   »    \rar       Thrrr    jr^ 

rlrrtric  plants,  and   11   • 

in  the  board's  mind,  a*  ' 

com   of  operation  of  central   «ervt<-«- 

of    isolated -plant    «ervj<-'-     '    •••.•ir.' 

bids  be  Invited  from  r^  '"'»•. 

subject  to  a  bond,  for  oprr  .  'ant 

proposed    for  the   librarv,   t'  "   *•» 


contain  the  asuaJ  ttipulationt  as  to  pay- 
ing  the  ;  -    rate  of  w    .  "re- 

quiring   :  e  of   'h*-  ac- 

cordancf  ac- 

tion.    I  .:  ire 

invited,    many    will    be    re<  • 
to    furnish   current   as    lo»  ,      -ti-. 

per  kilowatt-hour,  in  addition  to  the  cost 
of  heating  and  nuintaining  the  re«'  '  *  •^- 
equipment 

"The  matter  of  reliability  i>f  sc.vr  u 
also  of  moment.     In  one  case  the 
will  have  its 
with  its  ver?- 

ble  at  all  time!*,  »o  tttat  n<r 
an  earthquake  would  be  at 
service.  On  the  other  hand,  it  the  ser- 
vice Is  purchased  from  the  Edison  com- 
pany or  any  of  its  allied  companie*.  even 


will  be  more  rtitaMe  dun  it  wnrfil 
nbly  be  from  aa  oouide  mrre" 


librarv 


tan 
the 


Emergency  Caaoecbaak  fof 
Electnc   Molon 

B»  C  V.  Hiai. 

Every  man  vbo  Itts  to  4o  mitk 
mstaOatioat  d  aoy  ton  realiars  ilMt  1m 
do  tiMiti  m  cukn  ikta 
the 

which  arc 

unasaal  wtllKMla.  It  is  not  a  good  fhm 
to  rva  a  tfcam  cagiBc  winhom  a  go*tr»o* ; 
yet  I  know  an  old  stcaai-traciiaa 


with  many  coonecuoos,  the  service  k  Mib-     always  lkr«w  ibt  ■piwbm  Wl  oJ 

.rdly  two     he  was  m  a  iMtrry  to  Ml  afi  o»  to 
«   com-      another   pUet      He   gol 

not  ad<iMMs  lef  a 
•d  maa  to  do  iMi  Mai  ti 
turbine  alter  another,  with  the  f 

'Ur       rr^t,r     lud     I.      !-■     >!i-     ■tr..<  «A»ieM 

r  It  was  tka  mtMk  W«t  ka« 

^ ,  .^ii.   re-  "  u»sraito>.  nmtimt  tf^m  H-  to 

joM   the  *■     #»lto»s«>uwM.    Sene*^.  tkmt-  tm*  ttm 

_.     t  .1^     .-^..^t  ...«m4  t.M«  are  ■«< 

is    ptvUiiied 

« v*"*!    tfs    woff4w^^%ito( 

nag  mMK  radal  dnlk  sad 
.*cU    1_:  nd    tkt 

.    abnotf  <  varwd  aad 

Miperhttman  tflorts.  •'^  ss^ntm  aa  kaad  ke  « 

-My  third  pka.  thereloc*.  lor  iW  •»        ^"Jrr  nft»r*»  wkttk  — »  to 
laied  plant  in  the  pablic  Hkrsr*.  an-l  i  *•  mamm 


764 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  27,   1909. 


Three-wire  220-volt  distribution  is  used, 
but  the  dynamos  are  no- volt  compound- 
wound  machines  of  different  makes  and 
sizes,  which  makes  the  use  of  an  equalizer 
impracticable  for  parallel  operation.  To 
overcome  this  difficulty,  a  switch  is  ar- 
ranged to  short-circuit  the  series  windings 
of  the  machines  when  operated  in  parallel. 
This  has  been  satisfactory  for  power  pur- 
poses and  furnishes  fair  lighting  service, 
although  the  voltage  is  apt  to  vary  per- 
ceptibly if  the  load  varies  much. 

Several  boring  mills,  requiring  con- 
siderable speed  variation,  are  direct- 
driven.  It  was  not  feasible  to  use  cone 
pulleys,  because  there  is  not  sufficient 
room  for  them ;  so  it  was  decided  to  use 


series  to  the  other  wire  of  the  220-volt 
main.  It  is  evjdent  from  the  diagram 
that  the  starting  lever  will  be  held  in  the 
running  position,  whether  the  switch  is 
thrown  to  the  no-volt  or  the  220-volt 
side,  and  that  the  field  winding  has  always 
220  volts  at  its  terminals,  regardless  of  the 
position  of  the  switch  or  the  starting  box. 
The  two  lamps  burn  as  soon  as  the 
switch  is  thrown  in  on  either  side,  and 
serve  as  pilot  lights  to  indicate  the  posi- 
tion of  the  switch.  If  connected  to  the 
"line"  terminal,  the  lights  would  not  burn 
brightly  until  the  lever  of  the  starting 
box  made  the  first  contact,  although  they 
would  burn  dimly  on  no  volts  through 
the  armature.     Moreover,  there  would  be 


-o 


Maguet 


220-volt  motors  and  run  them  on  either 
1 10  or  220  volts,  as  speed  demanded,  with 
field  adjustment  for  finer  gradation.  The 
wiring  diagram  for  this  arrangement  is 
shown  in  Fig.  i.  It  will  be  seen  that  the 
shunt-field  winding  is  connected  directly 
across  the  220-volt  mains.  This,  of  course, 
is  open  to  the  objection  that  there  is 
always  current  in  the  field  winding,  but  it 
was  unavoidable  because  at  no  volts  the 
field  winding  would  not  give  good  results, 
nor  would  the  retaining  magnet  on  the 
starting  box  hold  the  lever  in  the  running 
position.  It  will  be  seen  also  that  the  lead 
to  the  armature  terminal  of  the  starting 
box  is  from  one  of  the  wires  of  the  220- 
volt  main,  whether  the  voltage  switch  is 
to  the  right  or  left,  and  the  lead  from 
the  shunt  terminal  on  the  starting  box 
goes   through  two   incandescent  lamps  in 


FIG.  3 


current  on  the  armature  from  the  arma- 
ture lead  connected  to  the  armature  ter- 
minal of  the  starting  box,  which  might 
make  it  unpleasant  to  handle  the  commu- 
tator or  brushes.  Therefore,  the  arma- 
ture is  entirely  cut  out,  by  putting  the 
switch  lead  on  the  armature  terminal  of 
the  starting  box  (which  is  contrary  to 
rule)  as  soon  as  the  lever  falls  down. 

To  provide  for  farther  speed  control  a 
rheostat  is  put  in  the  shunt-field  circuit 
and  is  of  such  capacity  as  to  make  it  im- 
possible to  weaken  the  field  enough  to 
cause  sparking.  It  is  evident  that  this 
rheostat  control  demands  an  excess  of 
motor  power;  that  is,  a  5-horsepower  load  ^ 
requires  an  8-  or  9-horsepower  motor. 
But  the  company  had  the  motors  and  it 
was  better  to  use  them  than  to  buy  new 
variable-speed  motors.  There  is  the 
added  advantage  that  the  no-volt  load 
can  be  put  on  either  the  positive  or  nega- 
tive side  of  the  neutral  wire  of  the  main 
circuit. 

There  are  three  dynamos  running  dur- 
ing the  day  and  until  8  p.m.,  after  which 


two  carry  the  load.  So  it  was  decided  to 
put  the  unbalanced  load  on  the  negative 
side  of  the  system,  running  two  of  the 
three  machines  in  parallel  on  that  side. 
One  of  the  larger  no-volt  motors,  driv- 
ing a  line  shaft,  is  fed  from  the  power- 
house switchboard  through  an  individual 
feeder  and  switch.  When  three  machines 
are  running  this  motor  is  connected  to  the 
negative  side  and  when  only  two  machines 
are  running  the  motor  is  fed  from  either 
the  positive  or  the  negative  side,  accord- 
ing to  the  requirements  as  to  balancing 
the  load.  A  single-pole  double-throw 
switch  was  put  in  the  lighting  circuit  of 
the  machine  shop,  as  shown  in  Fig.  2. 
When  closed  to  the  right  it  makes  a  two- 
wire  lighting  system  with  the  load  on  the 
two  dynamos  running  in  parallel  on  the 
negative  side  of  the  system  when  three 
machines  are  running.  When  thrown  to 
the  left  the  lighting  circuit  is  a  three-wire 
system  for  use  when  two  machines  are 
running,  after  8  p.m.  It  will  be  seen  that 
the  neutral  wire  becomes  negative  and  the 
negative  wire  becomes  positive  when  the 
machine-shop  circuit  is  on  the  two-wire 
plan.  Consequently,  all  arc  lamps  are  con- 
nected between  the  positive  and  the  neu- 
tral wires  of  the  three-wire  system  and 
the  polarity  of  their  supply  is  not  dis- 
turbed. 

Fig.  3  shows  an  emergency  wireup  for 
a  set  of  reversing  rolls  used  in  making 
wheel  rims.  A  reversing  starting  box  had 
been  ordered,  but  failed  to  arrive  in  time, 
and  an  order  was  sent  out  that  something 
be  "rigged  up."  The  shunt-field  winding 
was  connected  directly  to  the  line  and  a 
reversing  switch  was  wired  in  the  usual 
manner.  At  first  the  type  of  starting  bo.x 
shown  in  Fig.  i  was  installed,  but  there 
was  some  question  as  to  how  to  hold  the 
lever  of  the  starting  box  in  the  running 
position.  It  was  not  thought  best  to  con- 
nect the  holding  magnet  across  the  main 
line  nor  was  there  any  room  to  put  lamps 
in  as  in  Fig.  i.  A  few  days  before  the 
starting  box  shown  in  Fig.  3  had  been 
removed  from  a  grinder  stand  and  re- 
paired. This  box  had  a  special  resistance 
R^  in  series  with  the  the  starting-lever 
magnet  coil  and  was  provided  with  four 
terminals,  "line  positive,"  "line  negative," 
"field"  and  "armature."  The  box  was 
connected  as  shown  and  the  trouble  was 
over.  The  resistance  R"  was  intended  for 
weakening  the  field  excitation  and  was 
not  needed  for  the  rolls  motor.  The 
slarting-box  lever  was  a  two-part  one 
and  when  contact  was  made  at  2  by  the 
outer  part  of  the  lever  it  was  broken  at 
3  and  the  shoe  on  the  inner  part  of  the 
lever  passed  to  the  dead  button  /. 

This  is  but  to  show  that  one  can  use 
what  lie  has  if  he  must.  Neither  this 
motor  nor  those  operated  on  the  two  volt- 
ages give  any  trouble  from  sparking. 
This  is  to  some  extent  due  to  the  fact 
that  all  are  of  ample  power ;  no  doubt  the 
iio-220-volt  motors  would  give  trouble 
if  used  with  too  large  a  rheostat. 


April  27,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


M 


Domestic     Steam -Turbine     Development 

The  General  EJcclric  Company  in  the  Hori/ontil-turbinc  Fidel;  Reccnl 
Progress    in    Construction    and    Operation    oi    WesbnghotMc    Turbinct 

BY     C.     B.     BURLEIGH     AND    J.    R.    BIBBINS 


Following  are  abstracts  of  two  interest- 
ing papers  on  steam-turbine  development 
read  at  the  recent  meeting,  at  Boston,  of 
the  Association  of  EJectric  Lighting  Engi- 
neers of  New  England : 

Charixs  B.  Burleigh's  Paper 

The  paper  read  by  Charles  B.  Burleigi;. 
of    the    General    Electric    Company,    was 
largely    an    explanation    of    the    appear 
ance    of    the    General    EJectric    Cotnp.ir.v 
in   the   horizontal-turbine   field   to   an   ex- 
tent   which    has    not    been    fully    appre- 
ciated.    The  use  of  the  Curtis  turbine  in 
large  sizes  and  of  the   vertical  tjpe  has 
led  to  a  popular  impression  that,  except 
in  unimportant  sizes  and  for  special  uses, 
the  Curtis  type  of  turbine  was  committed 
to  the  vertical    position,    and    Mr.    Bur- 
leigh's claim  that  there  are  in  commercial 
service  a  large  number  of  horizontal  Cur- 
tis  turbines    in    this    country,    ranging    in 
sire  from  20  to  1500  kilowatts,  than  there 
are  of  the  horizontal   type  of  any  other 
maker,  came  as  a  surprise  to  the  audience. 
Between  February  I,  1909,  and  the  date 
<  i  the  meeting.   March    18,  they  had   sold 
.78    horizontal-shaft    turbines,    of    which 
.;o.ooo  kilowatts   capacity    were    of    sizes 
I'rom  500  to  3500  kilowatts  each.     As  an 
"ffset  to  the  possible  impression  that  the 
\rrtical  turbine  had  been  found  a  failure 
.ind  that  its  builders  were  changing  to  the 
horizontal  type.   Mr.   Burleigh  announced 
that    the   General    Electric    r..riii>any   had 
•old  over  230.000  kiK-w.t"-     .;..iiify  in  ver- 
tical   machines   di  and   that    it 
has  no  idea  of  a!                ;   the  vertical- 
shaft  type,  although  in  the  early  days  of 
Curtis-turbine    development,    the    desira- 
bility of  its  use  was  somewhat  more  ap- 
parent   in    certain    sizes    than    js   perhaps 
today  the  case. 

The  leading  advantatje  w  •  the 

Curtis  turbine  came  mtu  t  *  • 

lower    rotative    speed,   and    tlic   ■ 
.if  a  turbine    of    such    shell    »• 
dimensions    at   best    met    existiiu- 
tion*  resulted  in  a  diameter  in  pr;^  :•.;>.;: 
to  length  which  readily  adaptr<l   it  to  the 
Kyro*ci«j(i.-    .Tctii'fi     c.f     • 
With  tlir   \rrtu  .il    1" 

was  economized,  ! 

were    reduced    !.■ 

nirnt    of   foundatn  n* 

importance ;  the  cost 

reduced,    a    smaller    n<iml*rr    of   branny 

were  required  and  surh  be-ir-" 

necessary  were  of  «maller  •! 


The  Okly  SAOuncx  Lxc-wxp 
The  only  sacrifice  incurred  -r- 

iiig  of  these  benefits  was  the  rig 

of   a    pressure   on   one   bearing   approxi- 

niately  equal  to  the  sum  of  the  pressures 

:.ccessary  to  be  Riainiained  on  the  several 

•  >f  a  horizontaJ  machine  of  equal 

K,  X  some 

ten  yoa  as 

i>cr  oi  a  steam 
jooo  horsepower 
would  have  said  to  the  manufacturer  who 
offered  to  furnish  you  at  that  time  with 
a  unit  that  was  designed  to  operate  al  laoo 
revolutions  per  minute  1  doubt  if  yoa 
would  have  agreed  to  install  and  operate 
It  if  he  had  o:~  /ive  it  to  you. 

Five  years  'nee  have  detnon- 

vtrate<l  the  fact  tli*t  in  the  majority  of 
lascs  the  reliability  and  ccon<  my  have 
been  pushed  t>ack  to  make  room  at  the 
head  for  low  first  cost.  How  can  this 
be  attained?  We  cannot  impair  the  two 
other  ncceMary  characteristics,  relubtltjr 
and  economy;  we  cannot  reduce  capacity. 
hut   we   >  '*<  this  arr  '      -^n 

nrr«>*»ar:!  ••ed  aiKl  t  '  •'" 

'.     miallc: 
ul    thr^f     •  -     •■    .    '     •-• 

•    ;    'T\:-n    r.: 
Jaf     "■■   f     '■ 

com[.<--  ■  .;   ::  .r.    ijcturer*. 

j„  •■•■r  xk.irk  f  f  (lie  aiovinc 

p,f.  4t   which 

;<itiiai>i.<   •■^-.a'eu  in  a 
The    diameter    hat 

,1      I  ..  _  I. 

bCf 


certain  sue*  in  a  ' 
change    in    speed    • 
senerators  and  here  again 
turr-     ' h««i  able  »e> 

peri' 


rNAVAmatanca    ABamm   T«t   Cw«u 
.  totrtAL  Poamo* 


Cv 


farther  rcdooca  Um  tmHatm  iptwd  ol  te 
shaft  m  lU  bcanaf.  TIh  ifiMiuM  ol 
metal  Imag  in  dtr«ct  pfofoftioa  le  aa 
voiomc  and  the  ttm^tntmt  ckaasca  lo 

it  wllrr.  the  cspaia- 

null    tiuuuin    arr    tcdSCVQ  lO   a   ■■MMI^ 

The  lack  of  end  thntsi  tttj  motk  «•• 
plt6n  the  proUna  of  Imiwwal  ofcra- 
tioo. 

Inasmock  at  tkataat*  dlWr  m  aa  ajul 
or  radial  dtrrctioa  Int  talk  or  no  t§t€t 
on  the  dbamcf  ol  liw  ■ir^iai.  tW  — »» 
sity  for  ttrkt  aUaoMBC  Mid  the  dMifW 
of  ditaairottt  cootact  bjr  dcrangMMM  •! 
the  bemn"?*  *"  »"»  aMch  miaimimA, 
And  as  *  :  r«M«r«  a^  MM* 

peraturc    m    txjX    aumiiird    tO   the 

of  the  narhinc.  tal  racket  th* 

jijrti  on.'.  pffCM 

tvifr  hav  !aead  kf  ayaaiiaB  to 

the  notalc*.  »»  **  poariUt  aa  wd 
tirabic  to  trnpth  *  wil^  ■•  Mgk 
and  at  liigMy  tt^tthmmi  immb  at  local 
conditkMW  will  warraM  «Mm«  o^  dnri- 
mental  rxpoasioa  iraOblii 

NtTOWawo-cu—  wt  Gcxma 

'  •  ing  to  the  rodcaiflo  of 

h  rle«h  Mid  ihoi  dtt  GMMfal  Ekc^ 

iiii^in]  wot  pitporid  ID  Unitk  a 

of    a!trraattos  •  ottTtM    floaotaaoff 

-n  d«Mgn«d  lor  OM  to  co»- 

r  r  ir*ti  t-jr^Mfic.  boik  hoti- 

,  *..^,  •  —  •«y  ortpoi  at 
«l  Id  per  cmt  fomtt  lac- 


:au6 


diim  rattd  at  ion  par 


■         10  oprraw  ro«iw»i*oah'  al  fcdi  toad  •«■ 
Ike     a  itmfiiiiar'  »*^  "^     '""*■■  *  •** 


%  .    ym  rrr 


tn«etbrr      11m 
.  <    A   «hafi  of 

fiVMI 


(    'hr     I'fvlft    it 


ed   nrtr 
,10  p«iB**i*  **f  'he  o«a 

»f     trt    MP- 


■"  Wung 


r«p*bl»  ol  a  fdi  ifM  k 
«»  ftt  «nt  poww  •»- 
M*<«rtot  li^  h«orrf 


1^' 


766 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  27,   1909. 


1875  kilowatts.  It  is  capable  of  delivering 
this  output  continuously  with  a  tempera- 
ture rise  not  exceeding  50  degrees  Centi- 
grade. The  1500-kiIowatt  old-rating  gen- 
erator (which  is  rated  at  100  per  cent, 
power  factor,  but  capable  at  this  power 
factor  of  delivering  25  per  cent,  over- 
load or  1875  kilowatts  continuously  with 
a  temperature  rise  not  exceeding  55  de- 
grees Centigrade  above  the  surrounding 
air)  is  capable  of  operating  two  hours 
with  25  per  cent,  further  overload.  But 
when  you  think  of  it,  is  it  any  more  capa- 
ble of  doing  this  than  is  the  other?  It  is 
already  5  degrees  warmer. 

Direct-current  Curtis  Turbines 

The  General  Electric  Company  has  also 
a  comprehensive  line  of  direct-current 
Curtis  turbines,  all  of  the  horizontal- 
shaft  type,  for  which  reason  the  commu- 
tators and  brushes  are  accessible  from  the 
floor.  The  300-  and  500-kilowatt  units  are 
designed  to  deliver  current  at  600  volts 
and  are  particularly  adapted  for  railway 
work.  The  smaller  sizes,  ranging  from  20 
to  300  kilowatts,  are  designed  to  deliver 
current  at  125  or  250  volts  and  are  adapted 
for  use  as  exciters,  or  for  the  operation 
of  lights  or  motors  in  industrial  estab- 
lishments. 

The  low-pressure  turbine  is  designed 
efficiently  to  utilize  the  steam  energy  from 
16  pounds  absolute  to  the  best  vacuum 
which  local  conditions  make  it  possible 
to  attain,  and  finds  its  most  available  field 
where  additions  are  found  desirable  in 
power  plants  operated  either  mechanically 
or  electrically  from  either  simple  or  com- 
pound condensing  or  noncondensing  en- 
gines. 

The    Low-pressure    Turbine    Combined 
WITH  Single  and  Compound  Engines 

The  installation  of  a  low-pressure  tur- 
bine in  conjunction  with  a  single-cylinder 
engine  practically  converts  it  into  a  com- 
pound unit,  and  when  installed  with  a 
compound  engine  converts  it  into  a  triple- 
expansion  unit,  with  the  turbine  acting 
as  a  low-pressure  cylinder.  Due  to  the 
fact  that  the  area  presented  by  the  turbine 
corresponds  more  nearly  to  the  added  vol- 
ume of  the  steam  when  completely  ex- 
panded than  an  engine  cylinder  could  un- 
der any  conditions,  without  entailing  the 
use  of  moving  parts  of  such  size  and 
weight  as  would  make  their  use  absolutely 
prohibitive,  the  turbine  will  as  efficiently 
utilize  the  steam  energy  below  the  atmos- 
pheric line  as  the  engine  cylinders  will 
above  it.  There  being  as  many  foot- 
pounds of  energy  in  a  pound  of  steam  ex- 
panded from  atmospheric  pressure  into  a 
28j/2-inch  vacuum  as  there  is  in  the  same 
pound  of  steam  expanded  from  150  pounds 
gage  pressure  to  atmospheric  pressure,  the 
low-pressure  turbine  enables  us  to  double 
the  output  of  a  noncondensing  engine  and 
add  some  30  per  cent,  or  more  to  the  out- 
put of  a  condensing  engine  without  any 


increase  of  fuel  consumption,  and  conse- 
quently with  no  increase  in  boiler  plant. 
If,  however,  the  load  on  the  engine  is 
intermittent  or  extremely  variable,  steam- 
regenyating  devices  are  desirable  for  use 
with  low-pressure  turbines,  which  adds  to 
the  expense  of  installation  and  upkeep. 
Again,  if  the  desired  increase  is  more 
than  can  be  obtained  by  the  addition  repre- 
sented by  the  capacity  of  a  strictly  low- 
pressure  turbine  with  such  exhaust  steam 
as  is  available  from  the  engine,  additional 
apparatus  must  be  installed  to  supply  the 
deficiency.  The  mixed-flow  turbine,  how- 
ever, overcomes  both  of  these  difficulties 
and  the  impulse  or  nozzle-expanding  type 
of  turbine  is  the  only  type  of  turbine  the 
characteristics  of  which  will  permit  of  its 
use  under  these  conditions  and  obviates 
the  necessity  of  using  regenerating  ap- 
paratus. 

Why  the   Curtis   Mixed-flow  Turbine 
Is  OF  THE  Horizontal  Type 

The  Curtis  mixed-flow  turbine  is  of  the 
horizontal  type  for  the  reason  that  its  in- 
stallation is  most  always  made  in  con- 
junction with  engines  already  installed  in 
equipping  engine  rooms  where  head  room, 
in  many  cases,  would  not  be  available  for 
the  installation  of  the  vertical  type.  The 
steam  unit  is  fitted  with  two  separate  and 
distinct  chests,  each  equipped  with  valves 
controlled  by  the  governor.  The  low- 
pressure  steam  chest  is  connected  with 
the  engine  exhaust  and  the  high-pressure 
steam  chest  piped  to  the  boiler.  The  low- 
pressure  steam  chest  is  fitted  with  nozzles 
designed  to  expand  steam  from  15  pounds 
absolute  to  the  first-stage  pressure  and  the 
high-pressure  steam  chest  is  fitted  with 
nozzles  designed  to  expand  steam  from 
gage  pressure  to  the  same  first-stage  pres- 
sure. The  steam  admitted  from  each  chest 
to  the  interior  of  the  turbine  and  brought 
into  contact  with  the  buckets  is  of  equal 
pressure. 

The  output  of  the  turbine,  therefore,  is, 
to  a  certain  extent,  independent  of  the 
engine,  for  which  reason  a  mixed-pres- 
sure turbine  can  be  installed  of  such  capa- 
city as  will  furnish  the  desired  addition 
to  the  power  plant  without  reference  to 
the  size  of  the  existing  engine  and  utilize 
the  engine  exhaust  to  its  fullest  extent 
and  use  only  such  steam  direct  from  the 
boilers  as  is  necessary  to  supply  the  de- 
ficiency. The  governing  being  perfectly 
automatic,  should  the  engine  for  any  rea- 
son stop,  it  will  in  no  way  interfere  with 
the  operation  of  the  turbine,  for  the  gov- 
ernor will  then  operate  a  sufficient  number 
of  high-pressure  valves  to  admit  steam 
from  the  boiler  in  a  sufficient  quantity  to 
operate  its  load. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  sufficient  steam  is 
available  from  the  engine  to  operate  the 
load  on  the  turbine,  all  valves  in  the  high- 
pressure  steam  chest  are  closed  by  the 
governor  and  the  turbine  is  operated 
wholly  by  the  exhaust  steam. 


J.  R.  Bibbins'  Paper 
This  paper  dwelt  in  some  detail  on  the 
progress  which  has  been  made  within  the 
last  two  or  three  years  in  the  construc- 
tion and  operation  of  Westinghouse  tur- 
bines. Particular  reference  was  made  to 
the  development  of  the  double-flow  and 
low-pressure  types,  which  have  been 
brought  about  by  the  necessity  of  very 
large  units  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  in- 
crease in  economy  of  existing  engine- 
driven  stations  on  the  other.  Details  of 
construction  were  also  illustrated  of  the 
various  improvements  made  from  time  to 
time  in  the  single-flow  turbine,  which  is 
now  manufactured  in  sizes  from  300  to 
3000  kilowatts,  while  the  double-flow  de- 
sign covers  a  range  of  sizes  from  5000 
kilowatts  upward.  In  the  single-flow  type 
details  of  the  cylinder  construction  were 
illustrated,  showing  the  design  employed 
entirely  free  from  longitudinal  ribs  or 
ports  cast  in,  and  otherwise  unencun-. 
bered;  the  whole  being  supported  at  the 
two  ends  in  the  form  of  a  perfectly  sym- 
metrical envelop,  anchored  at  one  end  and 
free  to  expand  and  contract. 

A  new  parallel-motion  governor  was 
discussed,  also  other  details  such  as  water 
glands,  oil  pump,  copper-clad  blading,  etc. 
Special  mention  was  made  of  very  com- 
plete bearing  experiments  which  were  car- 
ried out  at  the  builder's  works  at  E^st 
Pittsburg.  These  were  made  with  a 
70,000-pound  dummy  rotor,  with  full-sized 
bearings.  To  obtain  greater  unit  pres- 
sures, the  length  of  the  bearing  was  re- 
duced. In  these  experiments  the  bearing 
duty  was  increased  to  as  high  as  300 
pounds  per  square  inch  of  projected  area 
and  80  feet  per  second  velocity,  without 
failure,  which  represents  four  to  five  times 
the  bearing  duty  actually  employed  in  the 
bearings  of  Westinghouse  turbines.  These 
bearing  experiments  were  conducted  with 
a  view  to  determine  the  feasibility  of 
solid-babbitted  bearings  for  the  double- 
flow  type  of  turbine,  which  is  essentially 
a  high-speed  machine.  Units  of  5000  to 
6000  kilowatts  operate  at  a  speed  of  1500 
revolutions  per  minute,  whereas  the  origi- 
nal single-flow  units  in  this  size  operated 
at  half  this  speed. 

Development  of  Double-flow  Turbine 
The  development  of  the  double-flow 
turbine  and  the  remarkable  reduction  in 
size  was  shown  by  a  detail  sectional  draw- 
ing of  the  machine,  as  compared  with  a 
similar  section  of  a  single-flow  type  tur- 
bine ;  the  center-to-center  line  of  shaft 
being  from  one-third  to  one-half  less, 
owing  to  the  replacement  of  the  high- 
pressure  stage  of  the  single-flow  by  means 
of  a  velocity  element.  Typical  installa- 
tions of  the  double-flow  were  exhibited; 
among  them  the  Pittsburg  Railways  station 
and  the  large  Kent  avenue  station  of  the 
Brooklyn  Rapid  Transit  Company,  where 
five  10,000-kilowatt  double-flow  turbines 
will  ultimately  be  installed,  in  addition 
to  the  five  5500-kilowatt  machines  now  in 


April  27,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


7*7 


operation.  Two  of  the  former  arc  already 
in  operation.  These  lo.ooo-kilowatt  units 
are  frequently  called  upon  to  sustain  loads 
as  high  as  18,000  kilowatts,  and  one  of 
them  recently  tested  sustained  the  equiva- 
lent of  15,000  kilowatts  continuously,  with 
a  temperature  rise  considerably  below  the 
normal  for  its  actual  rating  of  10,000  kilo- 


blades  of  Ample  proportion  to  obtain  cA- 
cient    working.     The    secret    o: 
economy  of  'he  low  pr<*i<'!r' 
in  the  ? 
ally  ec: 

pansion,  while  the  reciprocating  engine  it 
at  best  in  the  high-pressure  ranges,  the 
combination  plant  giving  a  multant  ecoo- 


io«4 


tncthod  of  drurwiJBf  dM 
c»  HI  wiinprioH  of  tkc 
lefti  of  the  ta^at 
outlined  in  tbe  form  of  carrct  ft 
the  rcUthrc  Mriac  ia  flicafli  sad  the  rd»> 
live  increase  ia  oipactty  coold  be  rcaiiir 
teen.  For  a  aooo-ldlowstt  ooaibMMd  plaM. 
an  incrcatc  in  upaclri  of  froai  jo  ID  40 
per  ccaL  wu  ahowa  to  be  pocHkIc  for  » 
coadennag  cagiac.  villi  •  eorrcafeadtag 
increuc  ia  ceaaonjr;  vtalr  for  a  aea- 
coadeatiac  pfaal  aa  iacfCMcd  capMiy  of 
f roei  80  to  90  pc  caat  ooald  be  inHMil 
mith  the  Mmc  iacreMe  ia 


CDKDinON   OP  IXIW -PRESSURE   BLADES,   HARTPOW)   TURBINE;   UPPtt   ROW.  OUNOC* 


Mkthoo  or  GemMMOO 

The  two  metbodt   of 

rxumned :     6r>t,     the 

.^'rn.  ftuch  u  woald  prcTsO  ia  a  fkam 

-:.  ng  the  exbaoft  trom  a  tarfc  aaM* 

f-^r        'neine«,  aad,  accood.  the  vanaMe- 

-ta.  in  whkh  tbe  lom-ftummrn 

tu!„.... f.n/.-»r.|  directly  to  tbe  ea- 

gine  throog'  -rkal  «ad     In  the 

:ir  governor  woald  be 

e    Mcood.    tbe    ti 

Mithoot    a    gutetaoe, 

cally  in  ttep  wiUi  tbe 

g  at  tbe  third  cyteder  of  a 

\ion  ifMcoL     In  CMC*  vlHre 

honacc  of  eibaint-aicaai  lafply  m  « 


watts.  Under  these  conditions,  if  sup- 
plied with  200  pounds  pressure,  when 
operating  at  28  inches  of  vacuum,  this  tur- 
bine would  be  able  to  sustain  maximum 
loads  of  from  20,000  to  22,000  kilowatts; 
consequently,  it  is  one  of  the  largest  ma- 
chines in  existence. 

Mr.  Bibbins  claimed  that  in  the  smaller 
sizes,  which  do  not  entail  extreme  dimen- 
sioru  for  rotor  and  stator,  the  Parsons 
type  offered  particular  advantages,  and 
has  never  been  excelled  in  point  of  econ- 
omy. On  the  other  hand,  the  double-flow 
machine,  by  reason  of  the  more  favorable 
design  possible  with  the  hiKlicr  speed,  is 
able  to  attain  economics  equal  to.  it  n<>r 
better  than,  those  of  the  straight  I'.irN..!i, 
system,  and  the  double  -  flow  ilrMjpi 
promises  well  for  the  future 

The   Low-pressurk  Turbine 
The    low-pressure    turbine    was    dwelt 
upon  at  some  length  as  a  recen*    '-•-'   - 
ment  which  occupies  a  unique  ; 
power  plant    design,    an<l    lir     :».;   • 
by  the  flesire  for  the  iitrii" 
operation,  especially   <(  "Id   r-  . 
stations.      The    low  prr\Mirr    t 
shown    to    be     dimply    the     |i' ■ 
stages  of  a  standard  double  flow 
in   which   the  highpre«*ure    vrlocitv  ele- 
ment was  removed,  requiring  n     • — ''• 
valves,     balance     pistons     nor 
This  form  is  of  the  v 
sign  in  turbine  work 
cient,  for  the  rea*f>n   • 
permits  a  design   of    . 


iw«    BAM     tismtfvmt    ■ ■       * 

'  1   U    jbUined 

l^ 

nr    r»p«f>4itir 

r 

throiiKh  the 

•  *■  .<   ^iiJi   J 

768 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  27,    1909. 


light  plant,  having  reciprocating  engines 
in  which  the  economy  could  be  improved 
by  the  use  of  low-pressure  turbines,  it 
was  shown  that  the  turbine  plant  was  re- 
duced to  its  simplest  dimensions,  with 
practically  no  auxiliary  apparatus  except 
the  condensing  plant. 

In  the  matter  of  central-station  design 
a  comparatively  new  type  of  station  was 
discussed,  the  double-deck  station,  with 
turbines  on  the  second  floor  and  boilers 
beneath;  the  special  advantages  being  ex- 
treme compactness,  short  and  direct  steam 
mains,  direct-connection  to  the  turbine 
nozzle  by  means  of  barometric  condensers 
and  extremely  low  installation  cost. 
Plants  referred  to  of  this  design  were  the 
Fort  Wayne  &  Wabash  Valley  Traction 
Company  at  Fort  Wayne,  Ind.,  the  West 
Point  station  of  the  Youngstown  &  Ohio 
River  railroad  at  West  Point,  Ohio,  and 
the  Hamilton  station  of  the  Cincinnati  & 
Northern  Traction  Company.  Hamilton, 
Ohio,  all  of  which  have  been  in  operation 
for  more  than  a  year,  sufficient  to  prove 
the  merits  of  the.  double-deck  design. 

First  L..\rge  Turbine  Ixstall.\tiox 
In  conclusion,  the  first  large  turbine  in- 
stallation was  shown,  that  of  the  Hartford 
Electric  Light  Company,  a  1500-kilowatt 
turbine  of  the  horizontal  Parsons  type. 
This  machine,  the  eighth  turbine  built  at 
the  East  Pittsburg  shops,  has  been  in  ser- 
vice until  quite  recently,  when  it  was  re- 
moved to  make  way  for  a  more  modern 


put  in  eight  years  ago  were  found  to  be 
quite  intact.  These  blades  were  of  Delta 
metal,  as  used  in  the  early  construction, 
and  these  results  should  naturally  be 
duplicated  with  the  copper-clad  blading  of 
the  present  time.  As  an  evidence  of  the 
rate  of  deterioration  in  turbine  machin- 
ery, this  Hartford  turbine  is  of  considera- 
ble interest.  After  six  years  of  daily  ser- 
vice, and  two  years  as  a  reserve  unit,  it 
is  practically  in  as  good  condition  today  as 


Smoke  Not  Always  Wasteful 


CLOSE   VIEW   OF  ORIGINAL   BLADING    IN    INTER- 
MEDIATE   AND    LOW-PRESSURE    DRUMS 


A  "smoke-abatement  exhibition"  was 
held  at  Sheffield,  England,  recently,  at 
which  the  opening  address  was  made  by 
Sir  Oliver  Lodge.  Among  other  things 
he  said  that  it  was  customary  to  regard 
smoke  as  wasteful  and  as  indicative  of 
imperfect  combustion.  If  this  were  en- 
tirely true,  then  in  self-interest  manufac- 
turers would  do  their  utmost  to  stop  it. 
L'nfortunately,  smoke  in  practice  was  not 
wholly  wasteful.  Under  certain  circum- 
stances it  might  be  economical.  He  re- 
gretted to  say  this,  but  it  was  a  fact. 
It  was  economical  when  fires  had  to  be 
banked ;  it  was  also  economical  when  they 
had  to  heat  cold  surfaces  by  means  of 
flame,  for  in  such  an  operation  a  smoky 
flame  was  more  efficient  than  a  nonsmoky 
flame.  A  luminous  smoky  flame  was  bet- 
ter than  a  nonluminous  one  for  that  pur- 
pose under  present  boiler  conditions.  It 
was  impossible  to  bring  a  flame  into  con- 
tact with  a  cold  surface  and  to  have  per- 
fect combustion.  The  heat  had  to  pass 
through  a  film  of  unburnt  gas  by  radia- 
tion. That  was  the  real  difficulty,  but 
things  might  be  improved.  It  was  pos- 
sible, for  example,  to  have  studs  or  pro- 
jections on  the  boiler  plates  which  would 
get  red  hot  in  the  flame  and  carry  the  heat 
in  by  conduction.  It  was  important,  how- 
ever,   that   they   should    realize   that   they 


HARTFORD    SPINDLE    COMPLETE,    HIGH-PRESSURE  DRUM;  LATER  BLADED  WITH  COMMA  LASHING 


and  larger  machine.  The  machine  was 
thoroughly  examined  as  regards  blading, 
bearings,  glands,  valves,  governor  parts, 
etc.  The  average  wear  on  the  journals 
was  about  0.002  inch  in  diameter,  with  no 
greater  wear  vertically  than  horizontally. 
The  blading  in  the  two  low-pressure  bar- 
rels was  particularly  examined  for  evi- 
dences of  erosion  due  to  entrained  mois- 
ture in  the  steam,  but  the  original  blades 


when  first  installed,  which  indicates  that 
the  rate  of  physical  depreciation  is  actually 
much  smaller  than  is  often  supposed. 

Referring  to  the  view,  on  page  767,  of 
the  low-pressure  blading,  it  should  be  ex- 
plained that  the  few  small  nicks  shown 
were  made  in  removing  the  blading.  The 
rough  appearance  of  the  blade  surface  is 
due  to  deposits  of  foreign  matter  carried 
over  from  the  boiler-feed  water. 


had  to  deal  with  radiation  and  should 
strive  to  obtain  the  best  possible  radia- 
tion. 


Ten  years  ago  gas  and  petroleum  en- 
gines were  not  used  in  Japan,  but  within 
that  period  they  have  become  so  popular 
that  they  now  represent  nearly  15  per 
cent,  of  the  total  motors  adopted  by 
manufacturers. 


April  2^,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  E.\H;1NI:KR 


Practical     Letters     from     Practical     M 

Don't  Bother  About    the    Style,    but    Write   Juit    What    >'ou  Think. 
Know  or  Want   to  Know    Alxxit   "lour  Uork.  and   Help  Each  OiKef 

wT^FaV^For    useful    ideas 


en 


Power  Plant  Accident 


A  few  week*  ago  a  vcr>'  peculiar  ac- 
cident hapi>ened'  in  the  power  plant  of 
the  Motel  Racine.  The  general  arrange- 
ment of  the  plant  is  illustrated  in  Fig. 
I.  There  are  two  return-tuhubr  boilers 
56  indies  by  14  fcrt.  a  10x14  Ideal  engine 
running  at  247  revolutions  per  minute 
and  belted  to  a  bipolar  generator,  of 
200  amperes  capacity  at  125  volts,  running 
at   \yyo  revolutions  per  minute. 

Tliis  plant  has  been  in  oper.ntinn  about 


from  the  engine  i  •         '  .i-   :  ;    •  *  .» 

de»k  in  it*  pUc**. 

()n  W 
gincrr 

sir  off    the  of 

hl^  \el,  and  n   1  .  _      „        „     into 

the  work  room  to  the  liench  (away  fm«n 
the  engine)  he  laid  the  cual  pick  on  the 
floor  in  front  of  tmiler  No.  I  at  atxnit  th« 
same  spot  marked  "A',  .1     '  '    '  with 

the   trimming   by   mra:  jtwt 

cbi%el.  \v.\\  with  h' 
leading  to  the  eti. 
a  position  that  as  the  piece*  were  acrerrd 


ca.Hta.KL  AUAXCKMCVT  at  MOTtl.    RATIVI    rtAITT 

fourteen  year*,  during  the  first  twelve  of     thrr  w«tiM  in  all  • 
whidi    a    workl«€^ch    wn^    l<K.iird    in    the      f'r> 
...rncr    now    ocaipied    by    it'      !. -V.    and  I' 

iin  almut  4  feet  of  the  .  r  of      peti«   ami  In 

ill.    generator.     Yet  in  all  il.-.i   .....'.  with      ••  • •"■    •> 

the  large  amount  of  work  that  has  Item 
•  licnch,  lh<  ■ 
by   any 
•  •r  i>iii(rM>»e.  coming  in  4:uiiU4.t  wtth  tlir 

ernrrnfnr. 

two  years  ag«»  thr 
_;   to  have  a  Ix-Urr  I  • 
krotwn.  removed  the  hrtirh  • 
room  on  the  other  --'-  ■■'  • 


•1     play 


'  'W  main  twMcli  o«ef  oato  iW  city  car* 

'    snd  coatiounl  wa  pcM  tW  WmtC  m 

'■  bjr  cIm  arrovt.  Mid  dowd  ite 

t  pan  maUnf  a  rlo««f  r%ammmKm  h» 

ffMtn.l    tKj«    Ih,.    t.i.L."   ,^    _.>>    ol    iIk 

tur  tW 

tatof    riKi.   ari'j    TTK-  ..I) 

cut     A  tyarr  arr 

t%  kept  on  hand.  I  ^r   j-U  ».xh 

eir«     Taktf*«  tlvp  t«>U.{4inBr  froai  tW  4r*k. 


■nm  the  iMtti  tmk 
opm  bn  arrtvmc  the  old  anaatwrr  ««• 
maovetf.  mil  \\r  wx^ir  .«>«  in»ene4  mtk 
the  nu  itioa  ^aia  is 

jutt  an  ;;.-  ■   .-.  «  ..... 

Now.  while  ibr  oM  one  b  aadrfvaing 
reT>^  rwrt  in  hy  al 

ha  4    i«i«t   wWl 


a  (kiofway  ami  grt  nrt 
Racine.  M'k. 


Safety  of  Pipe  Fn 


nn  )ai«  and  mi— twl 


■It    \t  x\fi\    */«0    I    <«al 

Ki  «   «  nev  eooM  %• 
' ««.    I  haw  an^t 

"mr     and     li     hM 
b'4<tin^  '  <r>ri  mm 


thr 


T«r*t  hjt»      ■• 


ft 


V.' 


'•«  H  ■• 


H.  ihe 

.hlatard    and    r 


7/0 


POWER  A\D  THE  EXGIXEER. 


April  27,  1909. 


A  Niiil  Driver 


The  accompanying  sketch  shows  a  little 
device  for  use  in  corners  not  easily 
reached  with  a  hammer.  The  rod  should 
be  almost  the  same  size  as  the  inside 
diameter  of  the  pipe.  The  method  of 
operation  is  to  put  the  pipe  over  the  place 
where  the  nail  is  to  be  driven  ;  then  drop 
the  nail  into  the  pipe  and  place  the  rod 
in  the  pipe  on  top  of  the  nail.     Then  pull 


A  XAIL  DRn^R 

the  rod  up  and  down    until    the    nail    is 
driven  home. 

WiLLARD  G.    PURDY. 

Elgin.   111. 


Electrolysis  and  Superheat 


Mr.  Sawyer's  article  in  the  March  2 
number,  in  regard  to  pump  corrosion,  is 
in  some  respects  interesting  and  at  the 
same  time  very  amusing.  Pumps  do  not 
-•^how  the  conditions  of  which  he  speaks, 
except  in  rare  cases. 

There  is  no  good  reason  for  the  "one 
pump"  in  question  to  be  eaten  away  any 
more  than  any  of  the  other  pumps,  and 
if  the  contents  of  this  "one  pump"  was 
circulated  through  some  one  of  the  other 
pumps,  I  think  that  the  same  condition 
would  exist  in  it,  regardless  of  its  loca- 
tion ;  and  the  only  way  to  determine  the 
result  would  be  to  try  it.  As  it  is  not 
stated  that  all  the  pumps  handle  the  same 
solution,  it  cannot  be  known  why  the 
electrolyte  in  this  "one  pump"  should  be 
any  more  active  than  in  any  of  the  other 
pumps,  and  the  only  way  to  determine  this 


would  be  to  make  a  very  thorough  test, 
which  must  be  carried  out  as  follows : 
Tap  the  discharge  line  from  each  of  the 
pumps  with  a  small  pipe,  and  allow  them 
to  flow  into  a  containing  vessel,  say  for 
twenty-four  hours,  as  it  is  stated  that  "at 
certain  portions  of  the  day  some  sewage 
which  possibly  might  contain  nitrates  is 
carried  through  the  different  pumps  in  the 
condensing  system."  A  portion  of  each 
of  these  solutions  should  then  be  given  a 
test  to  determine  what  per  cent,  of  alkali 
or  acids  they  contain,  and  if  this  "one 
pump"  had  an  electrolyte  of  a  different 
character,  it  could  then  be  noted.  If  they 
all  show  the  same  percentage  of  elements 
present,  it  would  seem  quite  natural  that 
each  pump  would  be  affected  in  the  same 
manner. 

To  determine,  then,  if  the  iron  and 
brass  in  this  "one  pump"  was  of  a  higher 
electromotive  force,  in  comparison  with 
the  other  pumps,  take  some  of  the  decks 
or  valves  and  a  portion  of  the  brass  lin- 
ing as  positive  and  negative  elements  to 
make  a  cell,  using  a  glass  container  and 
some  of  the  solution  as  the  electrolyte, 
having  it  as  hot  as  when  circulating 
through  the  pump.  The  connections  to 
the  piece  of  brass  and  iron  should  be  very 
secure  in  order  to  reduce  the  resistance 
of  the  connections.  With  the  cell  thus 
made,  as  a  voltaic  cell,  use  a  millivolt- 
meter  or  a  galvanometer  to  determine 
what  the  electromotive  force  is,  if  any. 
This  would  tell  if  there  was  any  local 
action  taking  place  within  the  "one  pump." 
The  other  pump  parts  and  electrolyte 
should  be  likewise  tested,  to  determine  if 
there  was  a  difference.  It  is  possible  there 
might  be  some  marked  difference  in  the 
composition  of  the  pump  parts,  although 
hardly  probable. 

As  to  electrolysis  taking  place  due  to 
the  wiring  system  of  the  plant  being 
grounded,  such  a  condition  would  be  al- 
most impossible  to  exist  where  there  is 
a  network  of  piping  for  water  and  steam. 
For  electrolysis  to  take  place,  there  must 
be  a  difference  of  potential,  and  in  the 
case  of  the  "one  pump,"  there  is  no  con- 
dition which  would  cause  a  difference  of 
potential  between  the  pump  parts  and  the 
water  or  solution  handled. 

If,  for  any  reason,  the  piping  to  and 
from  the  "one  pump"  was  carrying  any 
stray  current,  due  to  the  wiring  of  the 
plant  being  grounded,  there  is  no  reason 
at  all  that  the  current  should  disobey  the 
laws  governing  electrical  energy,  and  take 
the  course  via  the  water  route.  As  for 
the  "electric-car  line  half  a  mile  away" 
affecting  the  "one  pump,"  it  need  not  be 
considered  at  all. 

The  electrolysis  due  to  electric-railway 
service  is  well  known  and  thoroughly  un- 
derstood. Its  effects  are  confined  to  gas 
and  water  trunk  mains,  and  is  carried  on 
upon  a  grand  scale  when  not  properly 
guarded  against. 

I  would  feel  perfectly  safe  in  saying 
that  the  "one  pump"  trouble  was  due  to 


the   water   or    solution    handled,    and    not 
to  any  electrical  effects. 

L.   Earle  Brown. 
Enslev,  Ala. 


Loose  Valve  Seat 


One  day  tiie  oil  pump  on  our  turbine, 
after  three  years  of  faithful  service,  sud- 
denly refused  to  work,  and  no  amount  of 
persuasion  would  start  it.  This  pump 
circulated  the  oil  through  the  cooling  coils 
and  up  into  the  governor  case,  and  then 
flowed  by  gravity  to  the  bearings.  As  a 
temporary  remedy  we  drew  the  oil  in  a 
pail  from  the  base  of  the  machine  and 
poured  it  into  the  reservoir  and  in  that 
way  managed  to  keep  going  until  noon, 
when  we  shut  down  to  investigate. 

After  drawing  all  the  oil  from  the  sys- 
tem and  removing  the  valve  plate,  the  only 
thing  that  could  be  discovered  was  that  a 
piece  of  gasket  was  gone  from  the  par- 
tition between  the  suction  and  discharge 


LOOSE   VALVE    SEAT 

chambers,  as  at  A  in  the  illustration.  The 
valves  and  seats  seemed  to  be  in  perfect 
condition,  with  the  exception  of  con- 
considerable  wear  on  the  button  on  the 
valve  at  B,  caused  by  the  valve  contin- 
ually striking  the  stop  bar  at  C.  But  as 
everyone  was  of  the  opinion  that  the  trou- 
ble was  caused  by  the  ga.sket,  we  renewed 
it  and  started  up. 

Our  oil  level  held  up  finely  for  two  or 
three  days,  when  it  commenced  to  fluctu- 
ate.    It  would  be  first  up  and  then  down. 


» 


April  27,    u/CfCj 

keeping  a  man  busy  with  a  pail  mo«t  of 

the  time. 
A    final    examination    showed    that    the 

suction-valve  seat  was  louse.  Thu  scat 
.is  fastened  with  a  set  screw,  but  had 
■  irn  the  metal  away  from  the  point  of 
<•  set  screw  so  that  the  valve  and  seat 
iild  lift  together  and  check  or  shut  off 
jMost  entirely  the  amount  of  oil  that 
>i:ld  pass  throuKh. 

The  remarkable  part  of  it  was  that 
hen  the  seat  was  down  in  position  it 
ted  so  tightly  that  it  would  not  In-  no- 
(*d  as  being  loose,  and  could  only  be 
ised  by  the  use  of  some  sharp-pointed 
-trument,  and  now  the  oil  pump  runs 
of  old. 

C.  E.  Rush. 
ICast  Hampton.  M.,-h 


Pipe  Sizes  Without  Figures 

Fhc  alnive  is  the  title  of  an  article  in  a 

r<  cent  number  by  J.  E.  Bates.     .Mr    Bates 

i-es    his    method    on    the    fact    that    the 

tare  of  the  diameter  of  a  circle  equal  in 

imeter  to  two  other  circles  is  equal  to 

•-  sum  of  the  squares  of  their  diameters. 

I'or  many  purposes  this  method  would 

sufhcimlly  accurate,  but  there  arc  con- 

'ions    under    which    pipes    su   calculated 

II  not  have  equal  iai).uitie>k.     It  i!>  true 

it  if  the  velocities  in  the  pipes  are  e<|ual 

'    capacities   will  Ik-  equal,  but  take  the 

-c    of    an    elevated    tank    from    which 

ter  is  conveyed  by  a  2-inch  pi|>e  to  the 

ii-e  of  use.  joo  feet  away.     Sup(M><^  this 

iich  pipe  is  replaced  by  it*  equivalent  in 

inch  pipes.     By  Mr.    Bates'  metho*]  ibis 

iild   require    four    i-inch   pipes.      I'jMin 

il  the  flow  from  four   l-inch  pipes  will 

■  be  foun<l  e<|ual  to  one  2-inch  pipe,  due 

the    increased    friction    of    the    smaller 

;<•.     Torrertly  to  prrtportion  the  sizes  of 

the  pipes  for  erjual  capacities  the   friction 

head   should   always   l>e  considered.     Let 

q  =  Volume   of   water   delivered  by   t 

pipe. 
d  --  Diameter  of  pipe, 
'h  —  Initial  pressure  head. 
X'    -  tlravitv  constant  —  .^J  16, 
'       Iri  tion    factor    usu.iIU     taken  ■= 
oo.»   for  new   iron   pipe*, 
/.  -=  length  of  pipe  line  in  feet. 
/'   —  .Mean   vel<i<'H\    nf  fluw    in   frri   ix-r 
second. 

•"".  in  riibi.    f. .  !    .  •' 
pil>c   Is   ei|ti.il    \'<   t 
It*    *ertional   area   in   4quare   iert   mto 
mejn   \e|ocity. 


-si 


i<e  we  have  for  full  pipe* 
<i  ~  078J4  ^ 


0.7854 


\      I    S    f 

t.id    ♦ 


/   \ 


i) 


HJWRR  AND  THE  KN 

«ee  that  the  r 

I         „     .,    .      -.;.    of    ; • 

the  Mjuare  roots  of  l\  ■ 

,1, ... 

«l 
•I 
r 

signed    to 

tioning    of 

inspection.  ; 

ferent-sixed   pipes   and    their 


77« 
Se  4dhr 


U 


,^'       rif, 


<  af  f  »  irtK 


«'    '        ' 

'^7 


■i^H 

^^K 

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1 

1 

>Mfl 

'*^'* 

1 

^H 

H 

■• 

H 

1 

^^H 

m 

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Mi 

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111. 

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^^^^^I^^M 

MAOUM  foi  rat  n 


can  he  fntmtf      TVie  n«efnlnrM  of  tlw- 

Itt- 

ol 


b. 


,,•?. 


lew    the    tur\t    and    '.m-i    tlit    1 -it 


r»    fs***!    •><    !■     ■"*••!«•*«« 


772 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  27,  igog. 


as  a  rule  it  would  be  better  to  use  an 
8-inch   pipe. 

Problem  4— This  is  Mr.  Bates'  problem. 
Find  the  size  of  pipe  equal  in  capacity 
to  one  3'/^-inch,  one  5-inch,  one  2-inch, 
one  2' »-  inch  and  one  6-inch. 

Solution:  The  smallest  pipe  is  2-inch. 
From  the  diagram  we  have : 

One  2   -inch  pipe  =  one         2-inch  pipe. 
;         One  2i2-inch  pipe  =  two  2-inch  pipes. 

;  One  3>j-lnch  pipe  =  four        2-inch  pipes. 

■•  One  5    -Inch  pii)e  =  ten  2-inch  pipes. 

One  6    -inch  pipe  =  sixteen  2-inch  pipes. 

Carrying  capacity  =  thirty-three  2-in.  pipes. 

From  the  diagram,  the  diameter  is 
found  to  be  8.1  inches,  or  an  8-inch  pipe. 

Mr.  Bates,  by  his  method  found  9 
inches  to  be  the  diameter. 

Problem  5 — This  problem  is  the  one 
given  at  the  first  of  this  letter.  Find  the 
number  of  i-inch  pipes  equal  in  carrying 
•capacity  to  one  2-inch  pipe. 

Solution:  From  the  diagram  this  is 
found  to  be  5.7,  or  six  i-inch  pipes. 

John  B.  Sperry. 

Aurora,  111. 


Criticism  of  a  Criticism  of  Turbine 
Installation 


In  Power  for  October  13,  1908,  there 
was  a  description  of  a  mammoth  turbine 
for  Buenos  Aires.  In  a  somewhat  later 
number,  E.  H.  Lane  calls  attention  to  the 
amount  of  water  the  circulating  pumps 
are  capable  of  delivering  per  hour.  In 
the  Buenos  Aires  plant  there  are  two 
circulating  pumps  designed  to  operate  in 
parallel,  each  having  a  capacity  of  112 
gallons  per  second.  Normally,  it  is  the 
intention  to  operate  the  pumps  in  this 
manner  at  peak  loads,  giving  a  circulation 
of  224  gallons  of  water  per  second.  Ac- 
cording to  Mr.  Lane  this  amounts  to 
6,693,120  pounds  of  water  per  hour,  he 
making  the  assumption  that  a  gallon 
weighs  8.3  pounds  "(critics,  excuse  the 
figure)".  Now,  there  is  only  one  coun- 
try in  the  world  where  a  gallon  means 
8.3  pounds  of  water,  the  United  States. 
In  every  other  part  of  the  globe  a  gal- 
lon is  10  pounds  of  water  or  4.543  kilo- 
grams or  liters,  and  very,  very  few  know 
of  the  gallon  Mr.  Lane  uses.  Right  here 
there  is  an  error  of  over  20  per  cent,  in 
the  weight  of  water,  which  should  be 
8,064,000  pounds  per  hour,  nearly  64  tons 
more  than  Mr.  Lane's  figure.  So  that  Mr. 
Lane's  figure  of  47  for  ratio  between  the 
weight  of  the  circulating  water  and  the 
weight  of  the  steam  should  be  changed  to 
nearly  55  pounds. 

Another  discrepancy  in  Mr.  Lane's  fig- 
ures arises  from  his  comparing  the  nor- 
mal rating  of  the  circulating  pump  with 
the  two-hour  overload  of  the  generating 
unit.  The  normal  rating  of  the  circulat- 
ing-pump units  is  90  horsepower  each, 
and  they  are  undoubtedly  able  to  carry 
some  overload.     The  normal  rating  of  the 


steam  turbine  is  9000  kilowatts,  which  is 
equivalent  to  a  steam  consumption  per 
hour  of  124,800  pounds.  Therefore,  the 
normal  ratio  between  the  weight  of  the 
circulating  water  and  the  weight  of  the 
steam  is  nearly  65  instead  of  47. 

From  the  foregoing  it  is  very  easy  to 
see  that  the  deficiency  in  circulating-pump 
capacity  cited  by  Mr.  Lane  is  due  entirely 
to  his  misconception  of  the  weight  of  a 
gallon.  It  is  true  Signor  Tosi  did  not 
state  which  gallon  he  meant  in  his  article, 
but  it  is  in  the  highest  degree  unlikely 
that  he  would  think  of  the  United  States 
gallon  of  8.3  pounds,  which  is  given  only 
the  most  casual  sort  of  mention  in  for- 
eign engineering  handbooks,  and  is  omit- 
ted entirely  in  many. 

A.  D.  WiLLi.^MS,  Jr. 

Pittsburg,   Penn. 


shown    at    B.      Since    doing    this    I    have 
had  no  fouble. 

R.    L.    Ravburn. 
Decatur,   III. 


Method  of  Draining  Steam  Pipe 


I    have    had    considerable    trouble    with 
water   in   the    cylinders    of     my     engines. 

A 


Pcmer,  V.  T. 
METHOD  OF  DRAINING   STEAM   PIPE 

When  a  sudden  load  was  thrown  on  con- 
siderable water  would  sometimes  be 
drawn  over  and  cause  a  click  in  the 
cylinders  for  quite  a  while. 

The  steam  was  supplied  by  four  72-inch 
by  16-foot  horizontal  return-tubular 
boilers,  the  steam  passing  through  a 
12-inch  header  to  the  engines.  The 
boilers  were  not  fitted  with  steam  domes 
or  dry  pipes,  but  the  header  was  fitted 
with  a  2-inch  diameter  pipe  which  con- 
nected to  the  boilers  through  the  blowoff 
pipe. 

The  nipple  which  was  made  into  the 
header  was  screwed  in  so  far  that  it  ex- 
tended up  into  the  header  about  %  inch, 
as  at  A,  so  it  was  necessary  for  the  water 
to  stand  high  enough  in  the  header  to  run 
over  the  end  of  the  nipple  before  the 
bleeder  would  carry  it  off;  consequently 
when  a  sudden  demand  for  steam  came, 
part  of  the  water  in  the  header  was  car- 
ried over  with  the  steam. 

I  took  the  nipple  out  and  attached  it 
to   the   header   by   a   "service   clamp,''    as 


Dashpot  Troubles 


In  reading  the  comments  by  Messrs. 
Westerfield  and  Harding,  as  to  the  cause 
for  Mr.  Davis'  dashpot  troubles,  I  do  not 
think  that  they  have  given  all  the  causes 
for  the  failure  of  the  dashpot's  seating. 
As  far  as  they  have  gone,  well  and  good, 
but  any  engineer  will  naturally  look  at 
the  dashpot  leathers  when  they  begin  be- 
having badly,  and  if  they  are  in  bad  con- 
dition, it  will  be  seen  at  once  and  reme- 
died. 

There  are  other  causes  which,  I  think, 
deserve  attention,  in  addition  to  the 
causes  already  given.  A  good  working 
dashpot  has  a  certain  strength,  and  if 
it  is  loaded  beyond  that  strength  it  will 
not  seat ;  any  air  leak  in  the  vacuum  pot 
will  weaken  it,  also. 

I\Iany  of  tiie  qld-type  dashpots  have  a 
gasket  at  the  point  where  the  air  valve 
is  located,  which  is  very  narrow,  and  air 
leaks  in  at  this  point,  destroying  the 
vacuum.  The  pot  will  not  close,  but  will 
have  to  be  pushed  down  by  the  hook. 

The  dashpot  and  rod  may  not  be  in 
perfect  alinemenl,  causing  too  much  fric- 
tion, but  I  do  not  think  this  is  the  cause 
of  the  trouble  under  discussion. 

I  think  there  is  an  excessive  friction  at 
some  point  in  the  mechanism.  If  the  bon- 
net is  removed,  I  think  it  will  be  found 
that  the  head  of  the  stem  is  rubbing  on 
the  bonnet,  causing  an  excessive  load 
on  the  dashpot.  When  the  engine  is  run- 
ning the  tendency  of  the  steam  would  be 
to  force  the  head  of  the  stem  against  the 
bonnet  and  cause  binding.  The  distance 
between  the  head  of  the  stem  and  bonnet 
should  be  at  least  as  great  as  the 
thickness  of  heavy  brown  paper,  and  this 
distance  is  adjusted  by  the  collar  on  the 
stem.  I  have  had  this  kind  of  trouble 
with  all  types  of  dashpot.  And  from  the 
fact  that  Mr.  Davis'  valves  seat  when  the 
gear  is  worked  by  hand  and  no  steam  is 
acting  on  the  head  of  the  stem  leads  me 
to  believe  that  friction  is  the  cause  of  the 
trouble. 

The  packing  on  the  stem  frequently 
causes  excessive  friction  and  gives  a  simi- 
lar trouble.  A  little  water  should  at  all 
times  leak  around  the  stem  so  that  the 
packing  may  get  lubrication  from  the 
steam.  In  addition  to  the  above  causes, 
the  air  valve,  or  flap  button,  which  closes 
the  air  port  when  the  plunger  rises,  may 
be  leaking  air,  in  which  case  the  plunger 
will  act  badly  and  not  seat. 

John  Jones. 

Hamilton,   Ohio. 


In  a  recent  number  Elsworth  Davis 
gives  an  account  of  trouble  with  non- 
seating   dashpots.      I   had    the   same   kind 


April  27,   1909. 

of  trouble  two  years  ago.  I  took  the 
dashpots  apart  and  relcathertd  them,  giv- 
ing them  a  thorough  clcaiiiii^,  but  still 
had  the  same  trouble. 

An  additional  amount  of  cylinder  oil 
helped  a  little  and  gave  mr  an  jMi  .1  tint 
the    steam    valves    were    binding    in    tlicir 

its,    but    this,    on    invc<iti;»ati<»n.    proved 

:licrwisc.      I    found,    h«>wcvcr,    that    the 

trouble  was  in  the  valve  stem*.     The  oil- 

•vriys  on  the  flange  of  the  valve  stem  that 

ts  against  the  lionnet  of  the  bell  were 

worn  smooth  and  ground  intf)  the  Imnntf 

If  Mr.  IXivis  rtmls  his  trouble  ht-rr.  he 
can  have  tcmfK>rar>'  relief  by  taking  a 
small  diamond-{H>inted  chisel  and  cut  oil- 
ways  in  the  flange  on  the  valve  <irm. 

J.  R    Boyd. 

Rogers,  .^^k. 


rX)\VER  AND  THE  ENGIN 


looeaie  oi  SaUi) 


Faulty  Piping 


I    have    oftrn    seen    faulty    piping    dia- 
grams  and   poor   connections   of   various 


In       the       M.rrh        .1       „„r.,i^r 

Charles  W 
who  i*  - 
neer  I 
\^ 

\> 

ir 

should    hr    rrfmm    tr  k'.    berautc 

he    prefers    lo  have    1  come    on- 

s-luitcd  and  as  a  rrcitgnition  of  merit?" 
1    Ulievc    that    the    «"■  ■»■'■    •-■••*    ■■<    f^" 
readers  will  agree  tl' 
lighted  in  tr"      -  ~» 
man  less  1I-. 

will    not    offer    tr;.     -l.  .-r.   I    ••■   r.  .,.r    .jntil 
n<.ked,  and  nnf  ihrn  unir**  Kr  hj»  in 

The 
that  a 

he    m.i  the    p«»w 

cale  tl'  lilt  is  n<i  ' 

mill  or  country  lighting  <>'  '  tag- 

gests   that   the    boss    is    \4..    ,  .     „!4jf    a 
man  of  at  kast  a  little  experience  in  hir- 


li    ll 


T 


' ^1? 


X 


>  At  i.T\    ripiN<; 


Kiiius  diustraied  in   I'ow  m    imt   Munr  jn,. 
uig    I    saw    the  other   day   puts   everything 
'  <e  ill  ihr  shaile. 

Keferring     to     the     sketch,     it     will     he 
fcccn    that    the    steam    pi|>e    to    • 
leads  from  the  vilei>    vil\r 
ing  seen  such  an  arr 
how  it  worked  witho   •. 
the  engine  was  running  and  was  told  (hat 
there  was  a  partition  inside  the  v.ilve     If 
this  is  so  it  would  lie  well  for  vnnetn.    - 
explain  this  type  of  valve,  for  it  mu«t  I- 
an  old  style. 

The    small    S-inch    pijw 
the    engine    •fr;in»    pif*".    ! 

ill  to  the 
a  sink,  .r 
ll  can  he  readily  seen  wli 
the   steam  gage   must   be    v 
leading  to  the  sink  or  pail 
I 

Saco.   Me. 


I  K      -en      If   so,  he  |»rotebly  ' 
eiiitugh  lo  know  abuut  where  : 
aniither    rnipnrer     withtNtI     muv 
slK>ukl  It  become  ncrrssary.     Or, 


II        IKIJI, 

.  he  amy 


77J 


be?     DWTS  the  f^o 


tat  in  J   fei^Qife 


li  than  i»  to  be  turnt^  m  Um 


n  .J    lij.fcrij    iij.    I, J    J    i-'!cr    .nrf    «isri 

Will  be  (asorabis  aetcsl  m^tm.  «m1  rm 
f  rsend  so  Ui  ^ 

it  he  per^w- 
(kie«  D'  - 

irtfrtrrr 

Ke  NHne  otber- 


e< 

he     im     rni     |'U»<  r     i'   r     i-ic     ViSirtr     it*  «w  •     nw 

<loes   he  thinli   or  kmam   ibM   be  CMit** 


'«   M*v    ••    m*n    ^jMrn    bM 


- » 

I'rbMi.  tn 

In   aitswenm 

•h<»:K!     v^«      ««■. 

Mr 

bat 
the 

MiieMrs 

ibc   nm\->r^ 

<  •• 

1 

M 
1 

fxr 

aM 

rt- 

an  lea 


Is 


I    ht«   e«lirr   eaa4- 
to  rsH  mm  fmf*  M 


soald  br 
t..  ai  1^ 


Ymi  I  t  •-Itf  Ik      At 


*]   I    ^y*n     rrkAsr 


rirw      Yoar 

man  «  tsr«  ••  avA. 


I  )«a»c  Ixond  M  br 
employ*^  *^  s  1 1 1'^ir"- 
(aels  ••' 


.#»    •       m    •'^     %mA 


Ibmk    tkunm 

own     rvrriit 


|.   fm<f   p(A<r    •l»il  Ito4 


ibM     II 


i\.Ut.     ^^A 


m^,4 


ittrr      rWr^'srt 


I        ■ 


774 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  27,  1909. 


had  very  little  practical  experience  in 
drafting.  For  this  reason,  he  accepted 
a  lower  salary  than  was  paid  to  a  new 
draftsman.  Being  a  smart  young  fellow 
he  soon  grasped  the  work  and  was  doing 
as  good  work  and  as  complex  drawings 
as  men  who  were  receiving  50  per  cent. 
more  salary.  When  he  entered  the  draw- 
ing room  he  had  made  a  resolution  that 
he  would  never  ask  for  a  raise.  He 
thought  iJiat  if  he  did  his  best  work  his 
employer  would  reward  him.  After  he 
had  been  working  in  the  same  drawing 
room  for  two  years,  although  the  chief 
draftsman  recognized  his  ability,  he  was 
still  working  for  the  amount  he  re- 
ceived when  he  entered  the  employ  of  the 
company. 

One  day,  when  he  spoke  to  the  chief 
draftsman  about  his  salary,  that  dignitary 
was  painfully  surprised.  He  was  thinking 
by  this  time  that  our  young  friend  was 
prettj-  easy.  He  agreed  with  the  young 
man  that  he  thoroughly  deserved  an  in- 
crease and  gave  it  to  him. 

Of  course,  many  an  employer  would 
have  recognized  his  ability  and  rewarded 
him,  but  there  are  quite  a  few  employers 
who  still  wait  until  an  increase  is  asked 
for  before  considering  it.  This  is  especi- 
ally true  in  the  case  of  large  companies. 
Paul  H.   Kerr. 

r'^IcKeesport,  Penn. 


Criticism  of  Indicator  Diagrams 


In  regard  to  Lindon  A.  Cole's  cross- 
compound  engine  indicator  diagrams,  I 
should  say  that,  on  the  high-pressure  side, 
the  head  end  shows  a  higher  mean  effec- 
tive pressure,  and  is  consequently  doing 
more  work  than  the  crank  end.  He  can 
remedy  this  by  changing  the  length  of  the 
governor  reach  rods.  If  changed  very 
much  the  position  of  the  safeties  should 
be  noted  when  the  governor  is  in  its  low- 
est position,  to  see  that  the  valves  do  not 
pick  up.  Changing  the  governor  rods  will 
change  the  position  of  the  safety. 

The  crank-end  diagrams  show  late  re- 
lease, which  can  be  made  earlier  by  chang- 
ing the  right  and  left  exhaust  rods.  By 
doing  this,  the  compression  will  start  a 
trifle  later  on  the  crank  end,  which  is  not 
a  bad  condition  to  have. 

The  high-pressure  diagrams  show  .slight 
wiredrawing  on  the  steam  line,  which  is 
due  either  to  insufficient  steam  pipe  or 
port  area.  As  to  the  low-pressure,  I 
should  first  equalize  the  cutoff,  with  the 
precautions  already  mentioned,  after 
which  advance  the  eccentric  to  give  a  per- 
pendicular admission  line,  and  horizontal 
steam  line  to  the  point  of  cutoff.  If  the 
engine  is  single-eccentric,  the  compression 
will  have  been  increased  greatly  by  this 
act,  which  can  be  decreased  by  changing 
exhaust  valves  to  suit. 

Unless  Mr.  Cole  has  some  particular 
reason  for  carrying  a  high  receiver  pres- 
sure of  15  pounds,  I  should  advise  him  to 


cut  it  down  by  lengthening  the  low-pres- 
sure cutoff,  or  it  may  be  that  he  is  ad- 
mitting live  steam  to  the  receiver,  to  get 
more  work  out  of  the  low-pressure  cylin- 
der. If  he  will  note  the  position  of  the 
governor  on  the  high-pressure  cylinder 
before  and  after  lengthening  the  low- 
pressure  cutoff,  he  will  find  it  riding  a 
trifle  higher  on  an  average,  of  course  cut- 
ting off  later  in  the  low-pressure  cylinder. 
Reducing  the  receiver  pressure  will  de- 
crease the  amount  of  work  done  by  the 
low-pressure  cylinder  and  cause  the  high- 
pressure  cylinder  to  do  more,  but  the  de- 
creased resistance  due  to  high  receiver 
pressure,  which  is  back  pressure  on  the 
"high-pressure  cylinder  the  entire  length  of 
the  stroke,"  has  a  more  favorable  effect 
from  an  economical  standpoint  than  does 
the  high  receiver  pressure,  from  the  fact 
that  the  low-pressure  cylinder  only  gets 
the  benefit  of  it  a  fraction  of  the  stroke, 
while  the  high-pressure  piston  is  pushing 
it  out  of  the  way  all  the  time. 

By  referring  to  the  diagrams  A  and  B 
this  is  explained.     The  full  lines  on  both 


MR.    WALDRON  S    DIAGRAMS 

the  high-  and  low-pressure  diagrams 
represent  running  with  high  receiver  pres- 
sure ;  the  dotted  lines  represent  the  dia- 
grams after  the  receiver  pressure  has 
been  lowered.  On  B,  the  part  that  is 
cross-hatched  represents  the  decrease  in 
the  receiver  pressure  due  to  lengthening 
the  low-pressure  cutoff.  It  will  be  noticed 
that  this  loss  of  pressure  is  only  on  a 
portion  of  the  stroke,  say  one-fourth, 
whereas  the  effect  of  decreased  resistance 
on  the  high-pressure  cylinder,  as  shown  by 
the  cross-hatching  in  A,  is  for  the  entire 
length  of  the  stroke.  It  is  not  absolutely 
necessary  for  each  cylinder  to  do  an  equal 
amount  of  work,  as  experience  has  shown 
that  a  compound  engine  will  work  satis- 
factorily, and  the  water  consumption  will 
be  reduced  per  horsepower  with  low  re- 
ceiver pressure  unless  extreme  conditions 
of  load  require  the  low-pressure  cylinder 
to  do  an  extra  share  of  work. 

A.  C.  Waldron. 
Lynn,  Mass. 


changes  may  be  made  with  satisfactory 
results :  The  cutoff  requires  equalizing 
in  the  high-pressure  cylinder  by  either 
shortening  the  cutoff  at  the  head  end,  or 
lengthening  it  at  the  crank  end.  Both 
head-  and  crank-end  exhaust  valves 
should  open  a  little  earlier.  The  other 
features  of  the  high-pressure  diagrams 
are  good,  sufficiently  so  as  to  require  no 
change. 

For  the  low-pressure  cylinder  diagrams 
the  following  changes  are  necessary:  The 
cutoff  requires  equalizing  as  in  the  case  of 
the  high-pressure  diagrams.  Both  crank- 
and  head-end  steam  valves  require  more 
lead,  as  shown  by  the  rounding  corners 
of  the  diagrams  at  the  intersection  of  the 
admission  and  steam  lines ;  the  compres- 
sion may  also  be  changed  to  give  less 
than  that  shown  at  present  on  both  the 
crank  and  head  ends. 

I  am  of  opinion  that  the  receiver  pres- 
sure may  also  be  increased,  which  would 
tend  to  correct  the  sloping  steam  lines  in 
the  diagrams.  If  this  is  done,  less  lead 
will  be  required  to  reduce  or  do  away  en- 
tirely with  the  rounding  corners  referred 
to.  It  seems  to  me  that  the  receiver 
pressure  may  be  increased  to  20  pounds 
with  good  results  all  round,  in  the  case 
referred  to. 

I  am  simply  judging  from  a  number  of 
cases  I  have  in  mind,  and  from  my  own 
experience  with  compound  engines  cover- 
ing a  period  of  fifteen  years.  Of  course, 
surrounding  conditions  largely  govern 
the  things  to  which  I  have  alluded,  and 
judgment  must  be  brought  into  play  when 
contemplating  any  change  at  all.  But 
speaking  in  general  about  receiver  pres- 
sures, I  think  that  in  many  cases  a  too 
low  rather  than  a  too  high  pressure  is 
carried. 

Charles  J.   Mason. 

Scranton,    Penn. 


I  should  say  that  an  improvement  can 
be  made  with  very  little  trouble.  As  far 
as  steam  distribution  and  valve  adjust- 
ment are  concerned,  I  think  the  following 


Use  of  Wooden  Wedge  Rings 

The  writer  is  amazed  that  any  man 
claiming  to  be  an  engineer,  either  me- 
chanical, steam  or  civil,  would  resort  to 
such  an  expedient  as  inserting  wooden 
wedges  in  a  pipe  line  simply  in  order  to 
get  the  pipe  to  "line  up."  How  long  does 
he  expect  these  wooden  wedges  to  last  in 
the  line?  Could  they  possibly  last  one- 
fourth  or  one-third  the  life  of  the  main 
iron  pipe?  How  will  he  repair  the  line, 
in  a  few  years,  when  these  numerous 
wedges  begin  to  rot  and  leaks  appear  at 
every  joint?  Probably  by  cutting  out  the 
service  on  the  water  main  and  again  re- 
sorting to  his  famous  "wooden-wedge 
idea." 

Mr.  Kavanagh  evidently  had  no  regard 
for  his  employers'  interest,  or  for  the 
permanency  of  his  work,  but  simply  got 
the  line  together  so  it  would  hold  water 
until  he  could  get  away  from  it. 

Robert    L.    Ruddell. 

Glcnvillc,  W.  Va. 


April  rj.   \'jo>j 


POW  ER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


775 


Some    Useful    Lessons    of    Limewater 

How    the  Direction    of    EJectrical    Cuncnl    Can    Be   Caught    %ndioiil 
Chemical   Meam;   Introduction    to    the    Mudv    of    Carboo    Compoandi 


BY      CHARLES 


PALMER 


In  the  last  lesson  we  studied  the  sim- 
ple electric  current,  not  with  the  purpose 
of  going  into  electricity,  but  simpl)  to 
show  that  chemical  action  is  essentially 
electrical,  and  also  that  electrical  action 
may  be  chemical.  The  two  sets  of  fact* 
which  will  be  worth  while  to  remember 
are  that  in  the  primary  battery  the  cur- 
rent goes  from  the  zinc  to  the  copper  in 
the  battery,  the  hydrogen  appearing  at 
the  copper  pole  or  cathmle,  as  the  metals 
do  generally,  and  when  the  connecting 
wire  is  cut  an>-where  in  the  circuit,  the 
wire,  or  the  end  of  the  wire,  leading  from 
the  cathode  becomes  itself  an  anode,  and 
the  end  of  the  wire  leading  back  to  the 
anode  becomes  itself  a  cath<xle.  You  can 
easily  clinch  this  last  group  of  facts  by  re- 
membering that  acid  and  oxidizing  proper- 
ties are  shown  at  the  ano<le,  and  basic, 
metallic  and  reducing  pr<»pcrties  are 
shown  at  the  cathode.  It  must  be  recol- 
U-ctcd  that  we  are  also  speaking  of  the 
p<isilive  current,  mamly ;  and  to  show 
how  the  direction  of  the  current  can  be 
caught  without  chemical  means,  it  will  be 
well  for  you  to  try  the  simple  experiment 
shown  in  Figs.  I  and  2. 

The  DitECTJoN  ofthk  Ct  kk>nt 
Take  the  simple  zinc -copper  couple,  con- 
nected  by   the   coiled   insulated   win-,   .md 
bend  the  middle  part  into  several  {larjilel 


turns,  making  a  coil.     Fix  this  coil  to  that 
HI  lotikmg  at  it  (rom  one  tide  the  pi>»itive 
irretJt   from  the  ci>pper  plat*-  ••—  -   '"    '' 
■!ie  upper  left  aitd  out  at  the 
m  the  direction  of  the  h 
a«  *lK)wn  h)    the  armw* 
he    large   enough    i"  -I'ld 

arotmil   any    »nn|>lr  I  *♦ 

tlir   rompa««    lie    *»  ii 
north  an<l   «outh       I  ' 


that   it  lies  north  and  south  and  l-vAing 
from    the    we^t,    with    the    current    guing 
^c.     We  will  »ttppo*e  that 
r  en  made  and  the  coapaM 

needle  and  coil  adjusted  before  the  tine 
and  copper  are  dipped  mto  the  dilute  aod. 
The  moment  the  zinc-copper  couple  be- 
gins to  act  as  the  simple  primary  battery, 
the  compass  needle  will  iwing  around  to 
the  east  (Fig.  3).  so  that  the  small  elec- 


na  a 


trie  currents  which  arc  alwajrv  routine  in 
■I  the  compass  will  lra^^  ■'■- 
i  its  currmts  parallel  m: 


■II 
..t 
'  the  compass  ncnUr  train 
.the  dirrcitoa  of  thr  .null 
currents    in    the    cosapaM    i« 
Thi*  i«  thown  in  Fi«   3      *"  • 
here    nvainl)    to    »how    i' 

rlcctrKal.   and   tnji   m   •i"'«^     ■• 

«a*    hvdrnffen  is  dMmsrally  a 

■»ef.  or 


n«alitMs 


In  this  Mady  it 

«r      m.  ,rf\r      •irTMllc 


stvral  ca»- 


tratt  fomttbed  bjr  the  h|<iiBH»«  *b^  (^ 
uxjgcn  ooinpoantfi  <^f  thr  ■oaaKtal  hi 
qvmioa.     The-  •-  stadjrmf  s«dl 

boo.  or  solphor,  or  mtfugto.  « 

group  and  iciim'">-^>  m^r,.  k. 

by  nuking  a   «  r 

map^  of  carboB,  <>r  tmpnur,  (m  _     , 

and  in  each  case,  by   setting  dowa  llw 

compoonds  in  order  (ron  the  hjdiap« 

«>r  reduced  compoawds  to  thr  osygia  or 

^  conpooDds.  Yoa  woald  aol  tharfi 

-     tig  off  to  travel  or  tcoat  ia  aa  aa- 

knoam  country  vNhout  a  good  gUMe.  oc 

at   Ira^t   a   e.-vl  aup  to  rely   oa.  Mid  MW 

•  .  th*s  mappmg  or  tahlav 

sswo  and  impnrnat  ceas- 

ekuMUl   n  order  is   tke 

>i  the  nghl  road  to  aa 

e  wtth  baadreos  ofl 

a;j4   . 

Tlu.  ^tr«  bee 

moch  time  m  «e<tuig  thr  chcaMtry  ol 
oxygm  and  bydrogen  cirarrd  op.  they 
arc  i»o(  only  inportaal  ■  tbiaintiti>  bat 

iKrv     arc     il».  >      irr.t-'riani      a 


■f     •..  "• 

anil     %tij.:»     •:f■n^     at     in*-*      »re 

K  by   wrcb.  bm  do  aot  lar«N 

tliat   llic   tables  thrir'  ^   act 

i»iry      The  tabftrs  nx  10 


i 


.\ 


^\\ 


C-) 


r».    J 


^     jvo  gn   SI  n|   i*^'   '« 


We  vdi  brgia  iMs 
el  saw  al  the 


^  •<  IW 
v..«       .ir 


r76 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGIXEER. 


April  27.  1909. 


coal  in  the  bowl  of  that  tobacco  pipe,  when 
you  sucked  it  through  some  filtered  lime- 
water,  and  threw  down  the  plain  calcium 
carbonate.  You  also  made  some  of  this 
same  carbonic-acid  gas  by  decomposing 
some  carbonate,  like  soda,  or  limestone 
(lime  or  calcium  carbonate)  by  some  acid 
such  as  hydrochloric  acid.  You  also  noted 
that  carbon  has  another  common  oxide  be- 
sides carbonic-acid  gas,  and  that  is  called 
carbon  monoxide  (or  one-oxide,  CO)  ; 
but  you  did  not  make  any  of  this  carbon 
one-oxide. 

Yet  this  lower  oxide  of  carbon  is  very 
common  in  some  compounds  right  about 
you,  as  in  the  common  city  gas,  of  which 
it  makes  up  from  30  to  40  per  cent.  This 
lower  carbon  mon-oxide  (CO)  is  also 
always  found  burning  in  certain  flames 
where  you  note  the  peculiar  blue  or  blu- 
ish-green color ;  as  in  the  furnace  when 
you  throw  on  fresh  hard  coal,  or  in  the 
lower  part  of  a  common  candle  or  kero- 
sene-lamp flame,  or  in  the  flame  of  a  com- 
mon gas  stove,  or  in  the  lower  part  of  the 
common  gas  flame.  This  gas  is  found 
almost  everywhere  where  there  is  any 
common  burning;  and  \'et  it  is  not  easy 
to  make  in  the  pure  form,  nor  is  it  so 
easy  to  test  as  some  of  the  other  gases : 
but  we  will  try  to  get  at  it  in  some  prac- 
tical way.  Of  course,  you  are  familiar 
with  plain  carbon  itself;  you  know  that 
coal,  charcoal,  soot,  lampblack,  coke,  etc., 
are  all  only  so  many  kinds  of  carbon. 
Further,  you  have  read  that  the  so-called 
"lead"  or  graphite,  "black  lead,"  of  "lead 
pencils"  is  carbon ;  and,  of  more  remarka- 
ble interest,  that  the  diamond  itself  is 
only  very  pure  and  hard  -  crystallized 
carbon. 

Now  it  is  easy  to  take  such  facts,  and 
they  arc  facts,  it  is  easy  to  take  such 
facts  without  testing  them ;  but  if  one 
wants  to  keep  his  mind  clear,  he  will  ask 
such  questions  a^  these  :  How  would  any- 
one prove  that  such  things  as  graphite  or 
lead-pencil  stuff  and  diamond  are  forms 
of  carbon?  Someone  must  have  tried  the 
proof.  How  did  he  do  it?  And  what 
did  he  do?  The  answer  comes  back  clear 
and  satisfying.  Someone  burned  these  in- 
fusible and  refractory  things,  graphite  and 
diamond,  and  all  that  he  got  was  so  much 
of  our  old  friend,  carbonic-acid  gas. 
Then  carbonic-acid  gas  is  only  the  oxi- 
dized form  of  graphite  and  diamond,  just 
as  carbonic-acid  gas  is  only  the  oxidized 
form  of  coal.  Then  coal,  graphite  and 
diamond  are  all  only  so  many  different 
forms  of  the  same  one  thing,  carbon. 

But  more  than  this,  if  one  had  pure 
forms  of  coal,  graphite  and  diamond,  then 
the  same  weight  of  each  would  give 
exactly  the  same  quantity  of  the  oxidized 
form,  carbonic-acid  gas.  Thus  one  ounce 
of  pure  coal,  graphite  or  diamond  would 
each  give  the  same  quantity  of  carbonic- 
acid  gas,  or  carbon  dioxide  (or  two- 
oxide).  That  is.  in  burning,  one  ounce 
of  either  pure  coal,  graphite  or  diamond 
would    unite    with     just     2^     ounces     of 


oxygen,  making  in  all  S'A  ounces  of  car- 
bon dioxide  from  one  ounce  of  pure  coal 
or  graphite  or  diamond.  Just  how  the 
apparatus  would  be  constructed,  how  one 
would  weigh  his  different  forms  of  car- 
bon to  be  burned  and,  harder  still,  just  how 
one  would  weigh  the  gas  from  the  burn- 
ing of  the  different  forms  of  carbon,  all 
this  suggests  much  interesting  material 
for  cross-questioning ;  but  it  may  be  said 
that  the  carbonic-acid  gas  is  absorbed  in 
little  tubes  part  full  of  caustic  soda, 
which  are  weighed  before  and  after  the 
test,  also  the  burning  is  done  in  pure 
o.xygen  which,  you  have  already'  seen,  is 
able  to  burn  such  hard  things  as  iron. 

But  there  are  other  forms  of  carbon 
compounds,  such  as  the  various  kinds  of 
"hj-drocarbon,"  that  is,  compounds  of  hy- 
drogen and  carbon.  There  is  "marsh  gas"  or 
methane,  which  has  one  atom  of  carbon  and 
four  of  hydrogen  in  the  molecule,  thus, 
CH4:  there  is  its  brother,  ethane,  C2H6; 
there  is  its  cousin,  ethylene,  C:H4,  not  very 
common  in  large  supply ;  and  there  is  an- 
other cousin,  acetylene,  C^Hs,  now  very 
common  in  the  acetylene  lamps  of  auto- 
mobiles, where  it  is  made  from  the  action 
of    water    on     calcium     carbide,     another 


table  of  these  compounds  arranged  in 
regular  order  from  the  hydrogen  or  re- 
duced end  to  the  oxjgen  or  oxidized  end. 
Now  you  see  the  advantage  of  getting 
hold  of  oxygen  and  hydrogen  as  a  basis 
for  rounding  up  hundreds  of  other  com- 
pounds of  other  elements. 

But  here  is  the  table.  Let  us  look  at  it 
for  a  few  moments.  It  is  one  of  the  most 
wonderful  condensations  of  information 
in  a  nutshell  ever  made ;  and  if  you  mas- 
ter it,  you  have  simply  clinched  the  chem- 
istrj^  of  carbon.  First,  at  the  left,  come 
methane,  ethane,  the  gasolenes,  benzines 
and  kerosenes ;  then  come  the  ethylenes, 
represented  by  common  ethylene  (C2H4)  ; 
then  the  acetylenes,  represented  by  com- 
mon acetylene  (C2H2)  ;  then  such  things 
as  the  "aromatic"  hydrocarbons,  repre- 
sented by  benzene  or  benzol  (CeHo),  and 
so  on,  for  we  have  merely  put  down  here 
some  of  the  more  common  and  important 
of  the  hundreds  of  hydrocarbons,  or  com- 
pounds of  hydrogen  and  carbon.  And 
let  us  not  complain  at  the  deceptive  ap- 
pearance of  complexity  here.  It  is  Mother 
Nature  who  has  made  all  these  things, 
and  we  are  taking  up  only  some  few  of 
them   as   types    of   the   others   which    you 


T.A.BLE  OF  CARBON  COMPOUNDS. 


Reduced  Ex- 
treme. 

ParaCln  Series. 

Ethylene 
Series. 

Acetylene 
Series. 

Benzene 
Series. 

Carbon. 

Carbon  Mon- 
oxide. 

Oxidized  Ex- 
treme. 

Carbon  Dioxide. 

Marsh  Gas 

Ethane 

C,He 

Gasolene 

Benzine 
Kerosene 

C,U, 

C„H, 

CeHs 

Coal 
Graphite 
Diamond 

CO 
Formic  Acid 

H  COjH 

Acetic  Acid 

CH3  CO,H 

CO, 

Carbonic  Acid. 

HjCOj 

product  of  electrical  action  and  intense 
heat.  Then  there  are  hosts  of  things  like 
benzine,  and  benzene  or  benzol.  Do  not 
get  these  mixed  up;  for  benzine  (ine)  is 
a  mixture  of  things  which  are  only  larger 
brothers  of  methane  and  ethane,  and 
which  come  from  natural  petroleum.  In 
refining  crude  petroleum,  benzine  and 
gasolene  are  only  so  many  mixtures  of 
kerosene-like  things,  all  members  of  the 
so-called  "paraffin"'  series  ;  because  paraffin 
wax  is  only  a  mixture  of  several  of  the 
still  larger  brothers  of  methane  and 
ethane. 

But  benzene  (cue)  or  benzol  (CHc)  is 
a  hydrocarbon,  or  compound  of  hydrogen 
and  carbon,  from  coal  tar  mainly,  although 
it  is  also  found  in  some  native  petroleums 
from  the  Caucasus.  This  benzene  or 
benzol  (CbHo)  is  the  first  of  a  class  of  its 
ov/n,  jus*  as  marsh  gas  or  methane 
(CHi)  and  ethane  (C2HO  and  the  gaso- 
lenes, the  benzines,  the  kerosenes,  etc.,  are 
in  a  class  by  themselves.  Now  you  begin 
to  get  restless,  and  you  feel  like  throw- 
ing this  blind  chapter  right  out  of  the 
window.  But,  wait  a  minute  and  see  how 
easy  it  is  to  put  it  all  in  clear  form  so 
that  you  can  see  it  and  remember  it. 
Just   look    at     the     accompanying     simple 


may,  or  may  not,  study  later ;  but,  if  you 
wish  to  go  on,  this  simple  scheme  will 
guide  you  through  many  a  maze  into 
clear  light. 

Now  comes  carbon  itself,  with  its  vari- 
ous forms ;  then,  carbon  monoxide  or  one- 
oxide,  related  to  formic  acid,  the  "red-ant" 
acid  (that  is  no  joke,  but  simple  truth)  ; 
then  carbon  dioxide  or  carbon  two-oxide, 
the  type  of  carbonic  acid,  and  there  you 
have  the  whole  story  of  what  it  would 
take  a  whole  library  to  tell. 

There  is  one  other  point  which  you  will 
want  to  notice  here  and  that  is  that  the 
chemistry  of  water  is  very  closely  related 
to  many  of  the  compounds  noted  in  this 
table  of  reduced  (or  hydrogenized)  and 
oxidized  forms.  You  remember  that  we 
have  mentioned  repeatedly  that  carbonic- 
acid  gas  is  the  anhydride  of  carbonic  acid 
proper;  that  is,  the  difference  between 
carbon  dioxide  (CO2)  and  carbonic  acid 
proper  (H2CO3)  is  only  a  molecule  of 
water.  You  can  see  this  clearly  by  noting 
this  simple  equation  : 

Carbonic   Anhydride 
Carbonic  Acid.        Water.        or  Carbonic  Acid  Gas. 
HjCO,  =     HjO     +  CO, 

This  relation  between  carbon  dioxide 
and   carbonic  acid   is  noted  in   the   table ; 


April  27.    1909 

and  here  and  elsewhere  in  other  tables 
similar  relations  imply  similar  f<tiiatiiini 
which  you  can  readily  work  out  i'<»r  >..ur- 
selves  by  simply  adding  the  number  of 
atoms  in  the  formula  of  water  (HiO).  A 
little  practice  in  writing  such  equations 
will  show  you  just  what  is  the  relation 
iK-twecn  any  acid  and  its  anhydride.  This 
tendency  of  many  compounds  to  unite 
with  water  or  to  give  up  the  ingredients 
of  water  is  one  of  the  great  characteristics 
of  the  chemical  conditions  umler  which 
wc  live;  ami  it  is  no  exaggeration  to  say 
that  we  live  in  the  mi<lst  of  a  water  chem- 
istry. To  show  this,  suppose  you  stop 
right  here  and  take  a  lump  of  quicklime 
and  slack  it  with  water.  You  have  already 
done  this  repeatedly  in  making  limewater 
and  the  «-<juation  for  this  is; 


galrklln»«  nr  Cal 
cl«'  Anhydrldi'. 


CAl'-lum     Ilr<lr»te 
Waifr.  or   UydroildK. 

-f     U.U    -  C4MOH), 


Similarly,  you  made  carbonic  acid,  as 
when  you  treated  marble  with  hydro- 
chloric acid  and  the  equation  for  this  re- 
action is: 

Calrlum    Hj'lrrvhlo-  CalPium  C*rtK>n 

C*Ttx>nmit).  Ml-  Aclil.     Ctal»rl<ln.  WMtar.    DlixlUo. 

Cikco,    +    auci    -  c«Ji,  t     H,o  +  CO, 


CATbonlo  Acid. 


Thus,  wc  sec  that  a  base  may  exist  in 
the  form  of  the  base  proper  combined 
with  the  ingredients  of  water,  or  it  may. 
exist  as  the  lutse  anhydride;  and.  simi- 
larly, an  acid  may  have  the  ingredients  of 
water,  or  it  may  exist  as  the  acid 
anhydride,  that  is,  without  the  water. 
There  is  one  point  which  must  be  noted 
here  and  that  is  that  it  is  only  oxygen 
acids  (that  is.  acids  conlnining  oxygen) 
that  shi.w  this  relation  iKtwetn  aci<U  and 
their    anhydrides    or    waterless    f«»rms 

As  you  liMik  at  this  table  you  will  note 
that  many  common  compounds  of  carl)«>n. 
such  as  wood,  paper,  starch,  sugar,  fats, 
etc.,  do  not  seem  to  have  any  place  in  the 
table.  We  shall  take  up  some  of  these 
substances  later;  but  here  we  will  per- 
form one  or  two  simple  experiments  to 
show  that  they  do  contain  carln  n.  and 
also  to  show  that  they  illustrate  other 
aspects  of  this  same  water  chemistry  ju*t 
mentioned.  Thus,  for  instance,  pour  into 
a  common  fruit  jar  about  an  inch  of  com- 
mon molasses.  Then  pour  over  this  about 
an  inch  of  strong  sulphuric  acid  and  siir 
the  two  together  with  a  glass  rod.  Yoa 
will  rememl>er  that  the  siilplitirir  acid  U 
very  thirsty,  and  you  will  »er  it  aii.nk  the 
molasses  by  taking  out  the  ' 
water  and  lea%ing  the  mola- 
foamy  pudding  of  carl>nn  \l 
pour  a  ilrop  or  two  of  the  strong 
acid  on  s*»me  common  wood,  you  »»ill 
....lire  ;ii  once  the  black  inky  spot*  ••••■•<tn  •  1 

the  acid,  as  thntigh  it  had  ch 
wmkI:  which  it  has  done,  not  s.  • 
direct  burning  a«  by  removing  tl" 
r.    leaving    ■ 
!  and  the  i. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGIXEKR. 

l.irly  st.irch  and  sugar  and  paprr.  act  ai 
■  cy   were   made   up 
?}.c    ingretlirnts   .,: 
tor  'I  fuch  sub^tan 

"car  y,"     that     i*.     ^. 

compound*. 

This  is  only  the    intr-  ■*-- 
study  of  the  compound « 
l*egin  to 
water  ci  • 
and 
wa> 
and  though  c 
not    form   mai  . 

all  the  other  elements,  yet  it  dors  form  a 
few.  In  these  cominmnds  we  shall  find 
that  hydrogen  is  the  same  sort  of  thing, 
chemically,  for  a  gaseous  metal  that  cal- 
cium is  for  a  solid  metal.  We  did  not 
include   in   the  list  of  < '  and  ap- 

paratus  any   ralrium   <  .  -if  vn 

happen  t 
friends.  ; 

will  give  you  a  little  piece  ' 
or  two)  of  the  calcium  car! 
uses  in  his  automobile  searchlight.  Wc 
will  use  some  of  this  in  the  next  lesson, 
but  meanwhile  be  sure  to  keep  it  in  a  dry 
jar.  for  it  will  not  stand  long  in  contact 
with  moisture. 

Now   that    we   have 
map  of  the  carbon  con 
easy  to  master   the   relation  «  i    • 
important    ones,   which    we   wdl 
in  the  next  lessons. 


777 


the  grr-i*  abondanre  of  cheap  tf*l  ara^s- 


letl 

W 

.  ..uter 

-■•'- 

to    the 

If  yoa 

■  tie- 

»••«.,. 

^m 

mur. 

other  :<c. 

rv>t    tTTt''. 

Thmli  intur  *» 
-•th 


Tlic  Illinois  Coalfield 


This  ift  the  title  of  a  paper  prr«enled  to 

thr                         S<iciety     of     !  of 

a.i                    il  7.  by  A    Mr-  -rtff 

other    thing!    the 

Illinois  coalfield  i>       . 

tons  of  coal  having  a  hn.>  '■   at 

lea*'  *'  '• "' >t|'MJ7.  during  ^  » 


a  ) 

matri\    . 
wasted. 
C0.1' 
lUK 

Statr 
chi 
ttf 
CO' 

plr 

an  ' 
gc 


per  cent    ree<' 

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llliniiis    is    the    second    b- 


rr»    ftim 


II  J>  r     [lie 

of    the 


*(t  twt  •• 

•ATr%    r.»> 

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n^II  am- 


deselopment        The 

that  a  l»»*"-'  ".»"».».  -.<  -. 

in  these 

reek' 

eha 


41 

«u«r  of 

fheferoc    M 

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acridenis  i* 

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lib 


in 


tMi  mt4  •Mfh  %■ 
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<■    brm    irrf   So   he 
I  1.1     till      »^«**  ■*! 


rv4    fI»«KH 


7/8 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGIXEER. 


April  27,  1909. 


Turbines    vs.  Reciprocating  Engines 


From  10:45,  April  12,  and  continuing 
to  the  same  time  on  April  13,  the  24-hour 
speed  test  of  the  U.  S.  scout  cruisers 
"Chester,"  "Salem"  and  "Birmingham" 
was  conducted.  This  is  the  last  of  a 
series  of  tests  under  the  personal  super- 
vision of  the  Board  of  Inspection  and 
Survey  of  the  Navy  Department  in  Wash- 
ington and  completes  the  data  for  a  thor- 
ough comparison  of  the  three  tj'pes  of 
prime  mover  installed  in  these  vessels.  As 
previous!}'  mentioned  in  these  columns, 
the   "Chester"    is   equipped    with    Parsons 


were  made,  and  the  consumption  of  the 
finest  steaming  West  Virginia  coal  for 
the  entire  series  of  four  tests  for  each 
vessel  is  "given  in  Table  i.  The  results 
of  the  full-speed  test  are  given  a  little 
more  in  detail  in  Table  2.  The  figures 
are  unofficial,  and  when  the  data  have 
been  worked  up  by  the  commission  and 
analyzed,  which  will  probably  be  within 
the  course  of  a  few  weeks,  the  results  will 
be  published  in  these  columns. 

In  all  four  of  the  tests,  the  data  on  coal 
consumption  is  much  in  favor  of^  the 
"Birmingham."  This  was  expected  for 
the  slow  cruising  speeds,  but  at  the  higher 
speeds    and    especially    on    the    full-speed 


TABLE   1.     COMPAR.A.TIVE  COAL  CONSUMPTIONS  OF  THE  FOUR  TESTS 


Vessels. 


"Birmingham"  (reciprocating  engines). 

"Chester"  (Parsons  turbines) 

"Salem"  (Curtis  turbines) 


Coal  Consumption'  ix  Tons. 


10-knot. 


30 
40 
49 


15-knot. 


20-knot. 


70 . 2 

83.8 

105.6 


154.5 

1.57 

209 


♦Estimated  from  12-hour  run. 


turbines,  the  "Salem"  with  Curtis  tur- 
bines and  the  "Birmingham"  with  recipro- 
cating engines.  The  "Chester"  was  a 
winner  by  about  14  miles  over  the  24- 
hour  course  and  during  the  trial  covered 
a  distance  of  601.92  nautical  miles,  an 
hourly  average  of  25.08  knots.  The 
"Salem"  made  589.12  miles,  or  an  hourly 
average  of  24.54  knots,  and  the  "Birming- 
ham" unfortunately  was  obliged  to  retire 
from   the   race  at  the  end  of  the  twelfth 


"Salem,"  which  in  her  trial  test  had  de- 
veloped 20,000  horsepower,  could  attain 
only  17,000  horsepower  upon  this  oc- 
casion. It  was  reported  that  something 
had  gone  wrong  with  her  starboard  tur- 
bine and  as  a  consequence,  this  machine 
made  15  revolutions  less  than  the  port 
turbine.  Previous  to  the  test  it  was 
thought  that  water  was  being  carried  into 
the  turbine,  but  during  the  trial  special 
precautions  were  taken  to  drain  the  sepa- 
rator on  the  steam  pipe,  and  it  was  con- 
cluded that  there  must  be  some  other  de- 
fect which  could  be  determined  only  upon 
an  internal  inspection.  This  difference  in 
revolutions  undoubtedly  slowed  up  the  ves- 
sel, and  it  is  asserted  that  the  results  of 
the  test  might  have  had  a  different  out- 

—  come  with  the  starboard  turbine  in  first- 
class  condition. 

From  the  data  in  Tables   i  and  2  it  is 

Full^peed^  apparent  that  in  the  four  tests  the  recipro- 
cating engines  had  all  the  best  of  it  as 
regards  coal  consumption,  and  this  is  all 
the  more  surprising  when  a  comparison 
is  made  with  the  trial  tests  of  the  three 
vessels.     Table   3   gives   a  brief   summary 


364* 

415 

420 


TABLE  2.     DATA  ON  FULL-SPEED  24-HOUR  RUN. 


Vessels. 

Nautical 

Miles 
Covered. 

Average 

Speed, 

Knots  per 

Hour. 

Tons  of 
Coal. 

Coal  per 
Hour, 
Tons. 

Coal  per 

Hour, 

Lb. 

Nautical 

Miles  per 

Ton. 

"  Birmingham  " 

576.48 
601.92 
589.12 

24.02 
25.08 
24.54 

364 
415 

420 

15.166 
17.291 
17 . 500 

30,333 
34,. 583 
35,000 

1.58 

1.402 

"  Salem  " 

1.45 

All  data  for  Birmingham  estimated  on  12-hour  run. 


TABLE  3. 


COMPARATIVE  DATA  ON  TRIAL  TESTS. 
Full-speed,  4-hour  Run. 


"Birmingham." 


Mean  speed 

Coal  per  hour,  pounds . 
Miles  per  ton  of  coal .  . 


24.32 

29,904 

1.82 


"Chester." 


12-KNOT,  24-HOUR  Run. 


Mean  speed 

Coal  per  hour,  pounds. 
Miles  per  ton  of  coal .  . 


12.22 
4,629 
5.96 


26.52* 
38,332 
1.54 


12.2 
4,091 

6.68 


"Salem.' 


25.94 

38,502 

1.51 


11.93 
4,051 
6.60 


♦Estimated  and  probably  too  high. 


hour,  due  to  an  accident  to  one  of  the 
crosshead  boxes.  When  the  test  had  been 
in  progress  for  about  11  hours,  the  bab- 
bitt metal  in  this  box  suddenly  shifted  to 
one  side,  tearing  away  the  oiling  gear. 
By  using  a  syringe  on  the  crosshead  pin 
the  engine  was  retained  in  service  for 
another  hour,  when  a  brass  liner  sud- 
denly flew  out  and  necessitated  that  the 
engine  be  shut  down.  As  it  was  impos- 
sible to  continue  the  trial  under  full  speed 
the  "Birmingham"  was  withdrawn  from 
the  race.  During  the  12  hours  she  made 
an  average  of  24.02  ki^ots  per  hour,  and 
estimating  a  continuance  of  this  perform- 
ance, she  would  have  covered  a  total  dis- 
tance of  576.48  nautical  miles  in  the  24 
hours. 

Prcviouslv.  tests  of  24  hours'  duration  at 


speeds  of  10,   15  and  20  knots  per  hour     horsepower     during    the     test,     and 


run,  it  was  predicted  that  the  turbines 
would  easily  win  in  this  regard  over  the 
reciprocating  engines.  It  must  be  re- 
membered, however,  that  the  speed  of  the 
"Birmingham"  was  a])proximately  one- 
half  a  knot  slower  than  that  of  the 
"Salem"  and  the  difference  in  speed  be- 
tween the  "Chester"  and  the  "Birming- 
ham" was  a  little  over  a  knot.  The 
amount  of  coal  required  to  gain  this  last 
knot  or  even  half  a  knot  of  speed  is  out 
of  all  proportion  to  the  increase  in  speed, 
and  perhaps  when  the  tests  are  analyzed 
and  the  official  figures  are  given  out,  the 
figures  on  coal  consumption  will  be  much 
closer  together  than  they  appear  to  be  in 
Table  2. 

It    will    be    of    interest     to     note     that 
the    "Chester"    developed   26,000   indicated 

the 


of  these  tests  in  which  a  screened  Poca- 
hontas coal  was  used,  and  it  will  be  noted 
that  in  the  12-knot  24-hour  run,  the  coal 
consumption  of  the  turbines  was  less  than 
that  of  the  engines.  It  is  true  that  the 
engines  had  a  little  the  best  of  it  in  the 
four-hour  full-speed  run,  but  why  there 
should  be  such  a  difference  in  coal  con- 
sumption of  the  three  vessels  in  the  recent 
tests  and  not  in  the  trial  tests  is  a  ques- 
tion that  may  perhaps  be  answered  by  the 
commission. 

As  regards  construction,  the  three 
cruisers  are  said  to  be  identical  in  every- 
thing except  their  motive  power.  They 
are  of  a  highly  creditable  design  and  are 
greatly  superior  to  the  "Attentive"  class 
of  scouts  in  the  British  navy.  The 
"Salem"  measures  420  feet  between  per- 
pendiculars, has  a  breadth  of  47  feet  i 
inch  at  the  water  line  and  an  official  nor- 
mal displacement  on  a  draft  of  16  feet  9 
inches  of  3750  tons,  the  full-load  displace- 
inent  being  4687  tons.  She  has  two  masts, 
four  funnels  and  carries  a  light  armament 
of  two  5-inch  and  six  3-inch  rapid-fire 
guns.  The  vessel  is  also  provided  with 
two  21-inch  submerged  torpedo  tubes  and 
has  been  given  a  water-line  belt  of  2 
inches  of  nickel  steel.  The  maximum 
coal-storage  capacity  is  1250  tons.  The. 
"Salem"  and  "Birmingham"  are  twin- 
screw    vessels,    while   the   "Chester"   with 


April  27,    if/oo 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


779 


her      Parsons      turbines      required      four 
scrcw:>. 

Due  to  the  slower  speed  of  rotation  of 
the  Curtis  turbine,  when  compared  with 
the  Parsons,  it  was  possible  to  use  larger 
propellers  and  develop  the  power  in  two 
turbines  working  on  two  shafts.  With 
this  arrangement  the  two  turbines  oper- 
ate economically,  Ixnh  at  high  speed  and 
St  low  cruising  spie<l,  and  develop  a  large 
percentage  of  the  total  power  when  going 
astern.  As  no  additional  turbines  were 
required  for  the  lower  speeds,  the  engine 
space  required  was  considerably  less  than 
that  of  the  equipment  of  the  "Chester," 
which  contains  si.x  Parsons  turbines 
operating  on  four  shafts.  When  running 
at  high  speed,  steam  is  admitted  to  the 
two  high-pressure  turbines,  from  which 
it  is  exhausted  to  the  two  low-pressure 
turbines  and  thence  to  the  condensers. 
For  low  cruising  speeds  of  10  to  12  knots 
an  hour  this  arrangement  could  not  be 
economically  use<l  an<l  it  was  necessary  to 
provide  a  pair  of  cruising  turbines.  When 
these  machines  are  in  service,  steam  is 
admittefl  to  them  direct  from  the  boilers, 
then  passes  to  the  high-pressure  turbines, 
is  exhausted  to  the  low-pressure  turbines 
and  linally  discharged  to  the  condensers. 
With  this  arrangement  the  'Chester" 
showed  a  Inttir  ecnomy  at  cruising 
•  peeds  than  the  ■Birmingham"  in  their 
trial  tests,  but  the  arrangenjent.  of  course. 
if  subject  to  the  disadvantage  that  two 
extra  units  have  to  be  employed,  which 
o'dinarily  are  idle. 

In  the  Curtis  turbine,  steam  at  high- 
pressure  is  fed  through  a  series  of  noz- 
zles placed  aroun«l  the  circumference  of 
the  casings  and  the  jxiwcr  is  reduced  by 
simply  closing  down  the  pr<  per  numln-r  of 
nozzles,  instead  <'f  reducing  the  pressure 
of  the  steam  supply  by  throttling  it  at  the 
valve.  For  this  reason  the  cruising  tur- 
bines rcf|uired  in  the  Parsons  system  to 
obtain  reasonable  economy  at  low  speed* 
are  not  necessarv  with  the  Curtis-turbine 
installation. 

Ironi  the  stand|>oint  of  propellers,  the 
Curtis  turbine  has  the  advantage  For 
the  l)est  results,  the  pro|)eller  requires  a 
moderate  speed  of  revolution  ainl  a  tur- 
bine, es|>ecially  of  the  Parsons  type,  gives 
its  best  economy  al  high  speeds  of  revolii 
tion.  It  is  u»unll>  nece»*ar>  to  effect  a 
compromise,  making  the  propellers  smal- 
ler and  running  them  faster,  and  the  tur- 
bines larger,  the  design  calling  for  a 
spee«l  less  than  is  desirable  for  the  best 
economy. 

With  the  recipr  irine.  thi*  diflt 

culty     is     not     r  v  1.     f'""     '  >'v"" 

diameter    propeller*    ami    s|i>w 
revolution  may  lie  adopteil  with 
ing  the  efficiency  of  the  engine      Itriween 
the    Parsons    turbine    and    the    low  •••^'  ' 
recipr«K-ating    engine,    the    Curii*    t' 

occupies     ;i     n      '  " 

accoutti  it  \s 

with    proprllcf*    oi    iimu:i4ll)     1  i^ 

enry       At   the  cMitract   speed  of  -M  Wnr* 


their  efficiency  eqiuled  6aJJ  per  rent    arH 
at   1.2  knots  only  druppetl  t 
.\s  a  comparisiin  it  may  be  ; 
propellers  of  the  "Lusitania"  have  an  cAi- 
cienc>-  of  48  per  cent, 

A   feature  of  the  race   which  adds  to 
the  interest  of  the  full-speed  test  was  the 
performance   of   tiie   two    turbme   vessels 
iit    running    fi;r    24    hours    on    <.       ' 
alxtve    that     required    by    the    y 
I'sually  full-speed  tests  ha\' 
only   four   hours,   so  that   c> 
the   performance  attainetl   m  a   tour  hour 
test    for   a    period    six    times    as    long   is 
worthy  of  note  and   goes   to  show   what 
may  be  expected  of  this  type  of  cnn-"- 
in  actual  service. 


Eccetdnc   Pirrmm't  Local    Na  56 
llaj  Crown 


Spring    Meeting    of    the     American 
Society  of  Mechanical  Elnginecrs 


The  .American  Society  of  Mechanical 
F^ngineers  will  hold  its  spring  nu-eimg  in 
Washington.  D.  C.  May  4-7  Professi<»nal 
sessions  will  be  held,  at  which  pafters  on 
the  conveying  of  m.iterials.  .  '  en- 

gineering, steam  turbinrs,  t  vol- 

ume of  saturated  stea* 
and  various  other  »u 
cussed. 

The  papers  to  be  presented  are  as  fol 
lows : 

"A  Unique  Belt  Conveyer,"  Klli*  C 
Soper. 

".\utomatic  Feeders  for  Handling  .Mj 
terial  in  Hulk."     C.  Keml)le  HaliUm 

"A    .S'ew    Iran  I )ynam«Mneter," 

Prof    Wiltinm  II     <. 

Metals  I'  .iii«n  with 

th.  JK-,"  .\    K 

"Proflucer  (Jas  vs.  Steam  for  Marine 
Service."  C.  L  Straub. 

"Operation  of  a  Small  Producer  Cias 
Power   Plant,"  C    W    Obert 

"A  Method  of  Improving  the  Kllicicncy 
of  '  Mies,"  T    K    HutterfWld 

K    Cylinders    in    Smiflr- Acting 
Flngmes,     Prof    T    M 

"Small     Steam    Tur 
Orrok. 

<  >il  Well  Test*  "  Filtmind  M    Ivm* 
•   ty  Valve  ! 

."s|K-cifK  Volu '""•'    **••■•"«." 

Prof  C  H.  Peabody 

"S^»me  Propertlr*  01  .-sirjm  i  >•<  R- 
C    II    Heck 

"A    New    '  In    FlexfWe    St*» 

Uohs-     II    \ 


Concction 


..;<     trir    ai -.rii'ijrx:  r ,   JIMi   ri>fiwi|cimt|]r   WM 

osercrimdcd.  alihoogh   rrrn^odjr   iMd  a 
giMMl  time. 

Timothy    Healv.    g<mral    prv«si|nN    of 

of  ««!■ 

M  inter- 

<";;<      ;i<    «aid  that  lo  jresrs  aci\  «bm 

■  <cup*ed   the   prrmises  al    ifj 

Hnwery,  tbcy  had  jao  mrmbersi,  and  now 

)•  is  •<•■«>  !<»  ('n'*->sMfalc  to  6nd  a  hall  coo- 

:••..)     10    acwwmodatf    iis 

tnc  ■  ,' 

] 
was      H 
were  scr 

The  S-         ■  "lin«». 

»ll   the  V   rank*  hith 

!M>    tchuol    of 


enhy  ikr 

Refrrshntrats 


fore    the    W 
through  Its  ; 
appixnlrd     ! 
draft  a  ■ 
State  Ir 
h.J 
St  J 

F.  X  1 
Fwen. 
Hunt. 


<-rx 

lias 


•It   o|   mtrvrs   Al   the 


•ML  John  M 
mpL    R.    W 


W 

dc 


The  escorthre   i  niwiiiltty  of  iW  M«- 

•    -      -  -  #    jt 

has 

w  win  •••*« 


damagr 
the 


4S«-r     club*     mav 


>i«i  the  kmtfWti 


\,.  „ 


tti 


(4ac^   ht    an 


4ittu  omM  N«k  9 


78o 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  2"],  1909. 


Air  in  Feed  Water  Heaters 


DEVOTED   TO   THE  GENERATION  AND 
TRANSMISSION  OF  POWER 

Issued  Weekly  bj-  the 

Hill  Publishing  Company 

John  A.  Hill,  Pres.  and  Treas.         Robert  McKean,  8ec'y. 

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355  Dearborn  Street,  Chicago. 

6  Bouverie  Street,  London,  E.  C. 


Correspondence  suitable  for  the  columns  of 
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Cable  address,  "Powpub,"  N.  Y. 
Business  Telegraph  Code. 


CIRCULATIOX    STATEMEXT 
During    1008    wc    printed     and     circulated 
l,83(j,000  copies   of  Power. 

Our  circulation  for  Mardi.  1009,  iras 
(iccekly  and  monthly)  190,000. 

April   6 42.000 

April    13 37.000 

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yone  sent  free  regularly,  no  returns  from 
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Contents  ia'^je 

Power   Plant  of  West    Point   Military 

Academy  747 

TTic     Coming     Hudson-Fulton     Cele- 
bration       758 

Isolated  Plant  vs.  Central  Station....  761 
Emergency   Connections    for    Electric 

Motors   763 

Domestic  Steam-Turbine  Development  765 
Practical  Letters  from  Practical  Men  : 
Power    Plant    .Vccidcnt.  ...  Safety 
of  Pipe  Fittings. . .  ..\  Nail  Driver 
—  Electrolysis  and  Stiperheat. ... 
Loo«!e   Valve    Scat.... Pipe    Sizes 
Without  Figures. ..  .Criticism    of 
Turbine     Installation  ....  Method 
of  Draining  Steam  Pipe. . .  .Dash- 
pot    Troubles  ....  Faulty     Piping 
Increase    of    Salary. ..  .Criti- 
cism   of    Indicator    Diagrams.... 
Use  of  Wooden  Wedge  Rings.  .769-774 
Soine   Useful    Lessons   of   Limewater  775 
Tubines  vs.  Reciprocating  Engines . . .  778 
Editorials    780-781 


The  recent  papers  by  D.  B.  Morison 
and  others  upon  tlie  effect  of  air  in  con- 
densers suggest  a  similar  investigation  of 
its  effects  in  heaters.  These  papers  point 
out  the  fact  that  the  deleterious  effect  of 
air  is  not  confined  to  the  diminution 
which  its  pressure  produces  upon  the 
vacuum,  but  that  the  fact  that  more  or 
less  of  the  cooling  surface  is  air-drowned 
seriously  interferes  with  the  access  of 
steam  to  that  surface  and  with  the  effici- 
ency of  the  condenser. 

In  the  open  heater  the  steam  mingles 
freely  with  the  water  and  is  condensed, 
while  the  air  escapes  by  the  vent,  and 
no  steam  will  get  away  until  the  water 
is  heated  to  the  full  temperature  of 
the  exhaust  if  the  construction  is  such 
that  the  mixture  is  sufficiently  intimate. 
When  the  steam  is  condensed  the 
air  which  is  carried  is  left  behind  and 
simply  crowds  out  an  equivalent  amount 
of  other  air,  to  be  itself  crowded  out  in 
its  turn  with  air  which  will  come  in  with 
other  steam.  As  long  as  the  heater  is 
so  well  vented  that  air  pockets  can- 
not form  through  which  water  shall 
shower  without  coming  in  contact  with 
the  steam,  the  presence  of  the  air  will 
make  no  difference. 

In  the  case  of  the  closed  heater  the  air 
left  by  the  condensation  of  the  steam 
would  fill  the  shell  and  drown  the  heating 
surface,  just  as  a  condenser  would  fill  up 
with  air  without  an  air  pump,  were  it  not 
that  it  were  swept  out  by  the  steam ;  and 
unless  there  is  enough  of  the  surface  still 
accessible  to  condense  it  all  some  of  the 
steam  will  escape,  although  the  water 
which  it  was  designed  to  heat  may  be 
considerably  below  the  teinperature  at 
which  it  would  cease  to  condense  steam. 
This,  rather  than  the  effect  of  deposits 
upon  the  heating  surfaces,  may  be  the  rea- 
son for  the  low  rate  of  heat  transmission 
in  some  heaters,  and  for  the  fact  that 
more  steam  is  required  in  them  to  raise  a 
given  amount  of  water  to  a  given  tem- 
perature than  when  the  steam  and  water 
arc  directly  mingled.  The  steam  has 
not  only  to  do  the  heating,  but 
enough  of  it  must  be  left  to  do  the  air 
scavenging. 


Boiler  Inspection  and  License 
Laws  Desirable 


A  recent  boiler  explosion,  followed  by 
fatal  results,  occurred  at  Farmingdale, 
Me.  Newspaper  reports  say  that  the 
boiler  was  considered  safe,  although  it 
had  been  in  use  for  thirty  or  more  years 
and  had  passed  through  one  fire. 

Maine,  as  is  well  known,  has  no  license 
or  inspection  law  and  it  is  stated  on  what 
is  believed  to  be  good  authority  that   all 


attempts  to  call  public  attention  to  the 
necessity  of  such  legislation  through  the 
daily  and  weekly  papers  of  the  State 
were  promptly  and  effectively  checked. 

Boiler  inspection  and  engineers'  license 
laws  are  regarded  by  a  great  many  power- 
plant  owners  and  users  as  a  species  of 
class  legislation  which  must  be  discour- 
aged, and  the  press  has  almost  invariably 
echoed  this  sentiment. 

To  the  average  business  man  a  boiler 
is  a  boiler,  and  he  resents  the  idea  that 
another  should  dictate  whether  he  shall 
or  shall  not  use  a  certain  boiler  and,  if 
used,  what  pressure  shall  be  allowed.  He 
seems  to  forget  that  the  community  has 
an  interest  in  the  matter  greater  than 
his.  His  interest  is  primarily  a  financial 
one,  while  that  of  the  community  is  one 
of  public  safety,  which  should  outweigh 
any  private  interest. 

It  is  not  assumed  that  anyone  would 
knowingly  purchase,  install  and  operate  a 
dangerous  piece  of  apparatus,  but,  un- 
hampered by  legislative  restrictions,  one 
would  be  very  liable  to  take  the  chance 
that  a  boiler  which  was  old  and  ap- 
parently defective  would  be  safe  for  a 
few  years  longer. 

This  kind  of  guesswork  should  not  be 
allowed  and  the  public,  which  is  usually 
inert,  should  be  protected  from  the  proba- 
bility of  loss  of  life  or  destruction  of 
property  by  the  intelligent  administration 
of  proper  inspection  laws.  As  an  example 
of  what  may  be  expected  in  a  community 
where  inspection  laws  are  intelligently 
administered  may  be  cited  New  York 
City,  where  but  three  boiler  explosions 
have  occurred  since  the  adoption  of  in- 
spection ordinances  forty-three  years  ago. 
Furthermore,  it  is  a  fact  that  where 
license  laws  prevail  myriads  of  defects 
have  been  found  in  boilers  and  their 
effacement  ordered. 

Of  course,  inspection  will  not  make  a 
dangerous  boiler  a  safe  one,  but  it  will 
bring  to  light  all  discoverable  defects  and 
render  the  operation  of  boilers  and  en- 
gines a  comparatively  safe  occupation  by 
eliminating  as  far  as  possible  all  doubt- 
ful elements. 

Society  makes  its  roads  and  bridges 
safe  and  will  not  allow  the  erection  or 
occupancy  of  unstable  or  unsanitary  build- 
ings and  it  should  not  permit  in  the  use 
of  machinery  anything  that  through  care- 
lessness or  ignorance  on  the  part  of  one 
person  may  cause  another  to  be  maimed 
or  killed. 

There  is  one  class  in  society  which 
should  be  actively  engaged  in  the  work 
of  agitating  for  the  enactment  of  boiler- 
inspection  and  cngineers'-license  laws 
where  there  are  none,  and  for  the  improve- 
ment of  those  which  are  already  in  force. 
This  class  is  composed  of  the  great  body 
of  stationary  engineers,  whose  interest  in 
the  matter  should  be  impersonal. 

If  increased  wages  and  better  working 
conditions  result  from  the  enactment  of 
laws   and   ordinances   so  much  the  better, 


April  J7.  iCfOf). 

but  these  results  shouH  come  as  a  sort 
of  by-product  of  the  operation  of  rules  of 
action  which  are  founded  in  a  desire  to 
secure  public  safety  aiul  aim  for  the  ^ood 
of  all. 


POWER  AND  THK  ENGlXKhk 


7*1 


Engines  of  High  Efficiency 


in  tlie  leadini;  article  of  this  number 
appear  some  remarkable  tigures  on  the 
steam  consumption  of  the  noncondensinj; 
Corliss  euRines  installed  in  the  West  Point 
plant.  One  of  these  unit>  is  a  300-horse- 
power  simple  engine  an<l  the  remainder  of 
the  engine  installation  con>ists  of  two  (joo- 
horsepower  cross-compound  engines.  It 
will  be  noted  that  the  steam  consumption 
per  indicated  horsepower-hour  of  the  sim- 
ple engine  is  given  as  20.qK  potmds,  and 
that  <»ne  of  the  cn»s>-coinpoinids  con- 
sumes but  iR.?.^  pounds  of  steam  for  the 
same  unit  of  power.  It  i>  not  necessary  to 
say  that  these  tigures  are  k«khI.  Such  a 
performance  on  either  engine  is  excellent, 
and  is  >eldom  equaled  on  unit>  of  much 
larger  capacity. 

Using  the  data  of  the  test  and  bearing 
in  mind  that  the  steam  was  without  super- 
heat and  assumeil  t(.  Ik-  dry,  it  is  an  easy 
matter  to  compute  the  amount  of  heat 
charKeablc  to  the  engines,  the  ef|uivalent 
heat  of  a  horHC|M»wer-hour.  and  from 
these  figures  the  potential  efTiv-icncy,  or 
in  phraseology  more  ci;mmon,  the  effici- 
ency ratios  of  the  engines.  lM>r  the  J'» 
horsepowcr  simple  engine  the  proportion 
of  available  heat  converted  into  work 
proved  to  l)c  60.6  per  rent.,  ard  jq.j  per 
for   the   6oo-hor»eppwer   cross-com- 

A^   a   basis   for   comparison   it    may   In- 
slated    that    standard    C'>in|>otind    engines 
of  5000  horsepower  using  <lry  steam  and 
running  condensing  on  a  vacuum  of  2$  to 
27   inches   rarely   excrr<l   an   efficiency   of 
73  per  cent.     Their  range  of  tem|K'rature 
is.   of   course,   greater,   and   as   a    perfect 
•urn  is  never  attaine«l.  it  i*  hardly  pot- 
to convert  into  w<irk  as  lar^e  a  pro- 
•n    of    the    available    heat    as    in    the 
of    the     noncondrusing     engine,     in 
h     the    steam     will    expand    approxi- 
ly  to  2ij  degrees    I'abrenbeil      With 
noncondensing     compound     engines     ap- 
•"■"imaling  the   capacity  of  those  under 
-sion.   an   efficiency    mtio  of  75   per 
n  lit    is  high,  and  a  ratio  of  65  iter  rent 
for    a    simple    noncondriisimf    riiw'iiir    <■( 
"\ty     would     I" 
.lice     For  tnrli' 
ratio   is   lower,   and   y^•■' 
•  r  cent,  for  the  smaller 
per  cent    for  turl»ine«  of  the 
<ii^     and   only    when    using 

'I   150  degrees  and  employinw 
iiuiii  of  JO  inches 

From  the  previous  data  a  fair  idra  will 
be   ' '  f   the   unn 

of  t'  in   the     ' 

an<l  of  ihc  two  the  steam  ct>iui!in(>!:  ' 


the  simple  env 
inarkablc  \: 
iha- 


I»cri 

bic  A  .: 
nary  ever 
expected. 


inI 
a  le«t 

f.ivira 


•  »    were    • 
ith    all    . 

of  the  r« 

...   , ^^iicc  woul 

It    is   not   our  |> 
ever,    to    detract    from    the    rs 
good   showing  made   by   the   engines,    for 
even   as   lest   tigures   ih. 
are  of  the  best  and  the  • 
engines  highly  c<>nimen<LawU 


BoitoQ    Meeting  oi   the    NicchAtt- 
ical    Eoguxcn'    Society 


x»   enfimtrs    of    BoMiw 


the 


.gly 


rJiginffi  rieroes 


>  woulfl 


f.  r 


mx^M    U 


lo    I 


1 1 


V 


In   the  distribalion  of  hem  medals  in-     '''* 
dividuals    in    the    humbler    walks   of    life,     »»rrr«    rr 
whose  title  lo  the  honor  of  being  classed 
among  real  heroes  is  unquestioned.  ha\e 
been     overlooked.      Two    p<'        ' 
explosions   have  recently   \h< 
one    in    .Massachusetts    and    tl.e    otiur    in 
Rhodr    Islaml.   by   the   prompt    and   I'.erotc 
action   of   the   men    under    whose   charge 
the  lH>iIers  were  being  «»peratrd. 

In  general  features  the  incidents  were 
iderlical.  Passing  along  the  side  of  iSe 
boiler  the  mm  noticed  steam  issuin; 
from  the  brickwork  covering  the  top  of 
the  b«iiKr.  Seeing  the  source  of  this  on- 
u»r.al  »ti-am  flow,  bncks  were  renn>\rd 
until  t':e  rntirr  sram  wns  nn-o\r-»-l 
when    it  .      . 

from  a  . 

rivets  in  the  >MMler  sfiell  hires  Here 
dratvn.  pressures  reduced  aii«l  tlifi  .i-  •! 
not   until   then,  when    all 

ihvy.cr  had  been  removed,  lli-   •■..... 

others  were  notilied  of  what  had  taken 
place. 

\Vh(>n  raeh  nf  %h^*^  men  «aw  the  steam 

'   where 

i       thrv 
knew  t)  at   it  was   snnirt 
than  a  leaking  rivet.      1 
crack  in  the  sheet  was  lo  be  expected  an<l 
they    knew,    !•-■     '••  ■•    ••     •      '  >•  W    existed 
the  iMiiler  w.i  did  mA 

run      •'         '  '  ' 

ni« 
and 
dKl 


<nlil  Ihc 


'JJ  MP- 


■ahkrom     oi     ilv 

taird   thai   abool 

'<-  tnnabrrsiitp  of 

Ji 
4 


■  nd  em* 
<*   tncal   mrrlmc*  tmi 

»1j'       r'-r       S!         I^«lil 


tMHMt^    10   CBTVjr 


'Some  Nkc  Wann.Spr.rt;  Morruni; 


■rf   'IT*'     ar 


-inj    rr»'>»W- 


sJjtfU    f"f    1yrti>  tnctMl    \\ 


POWER  AXD  THE  ENGINEER. 


April  27,  1909. 


Power  Plant  Machinery  and    Appliances 

Original        Descriptions       of       Power       Devices 
No     Manufacturers*     Cuts     or      Write-ups      Used 

MUST     BE     NEW     OR     INTERESTING 


The  Elliott  Mechanical  Stoker 


The  Elliott  mechanical  stoker,  manu- 
factured by  the  Ridgway  ^lanufacturing 
Company,    Ridgway,    Penn.,    mechanically 


tube,  only  one  being  used  under  ordinary 
operating   conditions,   however. 

"Crusher  and  regulator"  is  a  term 
properly  applied  to  the  device  shown  at 
A,  as  it  not  only  crushes  the  coal  but  regu- 
lates the  amount  fed,  through  the  turning 


of  the  handwheel  E,  which  throws  the 
gears  into  position  to  operate  the  crusher 
faster  or  slower,  asMesired.  At  the  same 
time  the  worms  revolve  at  increased  or 
decreased  speed  in  response  to  the  speed 
of  the  crusher  and  regulator.     The  worm 


FIG.     I.     ELLIOTT    MECHAKIC.XL  STOKERS,  WITH  AND  WITHOUT  CASING 


grinds  and  regulates  the  feed  of  coal  to 
the  furnace,  distributes  it  over  the  grate 
and  removes  the  ashes  from  under  the 
grate.  The  coal  is  fed,  from  a  storage 
bin  over  the  boiler,  to  what  is  termed  a 
crusher  and  regulator,  the  crushed  coal 
passing  to  either  side  of  the  crusher  A, 
Fig.  I,  into  the  worm  conveyers  B  B, 
which  carry  it  into  the  rotary  turbines 
C  C,  located  at  either  side  of  the  boiler 
front,  as  shown.  These  turbines  distribute 
the  coal  to  the  grates  through  the  delivery 
chutes  DD,  Figs,  i  and  2.  The  passage 
of  the  coal  is  assisted  by  a  small  jet  of 
steam,  a  ^-inch  pipe  supplying  sufficient 
steam  to  operate  the  two  stokers.  The 
steam  jets  are  arranged  as  shown  in  Fig. 
T.  There  are  two  wheels  for  regulating 
the    amount    of    steam    for    each    delivery 


FIG.     2.     SIDE  VIEW,   SHOWING  DELIVERY  CHUTES,  ETC. 


April  27.    lOOQ. 


POW  FR  AND  THE  FAGINF.RR 


:*3 


ianp  tht  br«cr 
•■J*f   b)r    iLkix!.   Ill 


At  if 


nC.     J.     ELLIOTT    MECHANICAL  STOKCSS  AT  THE  RIDCU'AY 
nVKAMO  AND  ENCIXE  COMPANY'S  PLAITT 


ttVrd    Ut    ibr    cr 


!unucr.  bring    cmimciwt    bjr 

bility  ol 

The  wonn  cuo\c>cr  u  utKfAicil  I7  dkab* 


is  operated  by  a  nuisclc»s  chain  "belt  as 
shown.  Fig.  i  shows  stokers  with  and 
without  the  casing  in  place.  The  driving 
shaft  which  extends  across  the  front  may 
be  coupled  to  as  many  stokers  as  desired. 
1  he  stokers  are  usually  nmtor-driven.  but 
may  be  operated  by  a  small  steam  engine. 
I-ie  J  shows  an  installation  at  the  b»ulcr 
•  of  the  Ridxway  Dynamo  and  Kngme 
l>any,   Kidgway,   I'c-nn. 

i  he  grates  arc  inclincil  t<iwar<i  the  cen- 
ter. Fig.  4.  and  are  actuated  slowly  by  the 
eccentrics  F  F,  Fig.  1,  designed  to  provide 
:.  constant,  slow-opening-and-closing  nu>vc- 
mcnt.  thereby  keeping  the  tire  in  a  clean, 
bright  condition,  at  the  same  time  spillmg 
th«-  ashcN  and  preventing  the  fuel  from 
Coking  and  the  »lead  ash  from  interfering 
with  the  air  supply. 

Provision    has   been    made,    in    ca»c   of 


nC    4.    4MOWIK0  fOilTIOJ*  or  .*»TM,  wi»»    i».-" 

ol  ■  trmr  dHvta   If 


■kfth 


gttit  It  tk* 


•I  mtMJmt  -* 


784 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


-\pril  27,    1909. 


Obituary 


We  regret  to  record  the  death  of  Ira 
Watts,  who  died  of  Bright's  disease,  on 
April  15,  at  Spokane  Falls,  Wash.  He 
was  49  years  of  age,  and  was  born  in 
Maiden,  Mass.  Early  in  life  he  was  con- 
nected with  the  Bell  Telephone  Company 
and,  being  an  earnest  student,  became  an 
expert  electrical  engineer  when  quite  a 
young  man.  He  served  two  jears  in  the 
engineering  department  of  the  United 
States  Navy.  He  was  for  many  years 
chief  engineer  of  the  Knickerbocker 
building,  corner  of  Broadway  and  Thirty- 
eighth  street,  New  York,  and  superin- 
tended the  many  plants  belonging  to  the  F-  a"d  A.  M.  He  was  one  of  the  most 
Goelet  estate.  About  three  years  ago  he  prominent  engineers  in  New  York  and 
removed  to  Spokane  Falls,  where  he  was  '^ad  a  host  of  friends, 
■engaged     as     consulting     engineer.       Mr.  


THE    LATE    JOHN     MCKAY 


THE    LATE    IRA    WATTS 

"Watts  was  for  12  years  secretary-treas- 
urer of  the  Life  and  Accident  Department 
of  the  N.  A.  S.  E.  and  a  member  of  Jam"es 
Watt  No.  7,  of  the  same  organization. 
He  also  instituted  an  association  of  this 
order  at  Spokane  Falls.  Mr.  Watts  was 
an  ardent  worker  toward  the  betterment 
of  engineers  and  he  will  be  mourned  by  a 
great  many  friends. 

The  late  John  McKay,  chief  engineer 
and  superintendent  of  the  City  Investing 
building,  New  York  City,  whose  death  we 
announced  in  the  April  20  number,  was 
50  years  of  age.  His  death  occurred  on 
April  10.  after  a  brief  illness  and  follow- 
ing an  operation  for  appendicitis.  The 
funeral  services  were  held  at  his  late  resi- 
dence, 1429  Forty-eighth  street,  Brooklyn, 
on  Tuesday  evening,  April  13.  Mr.  Mc- 
Icay  was  a  charter  member  of  Phrenix 
Association  No.  24,  N.  A.  S.  E.,  and  a 
member    of    Sandalphon    Lodge   No.    836, 


Marine   Engineers*    Annual   Dinner 


The  fourteenth  annual  dinner  of  the 
Marine  Engineers'  Beneficial  Association 
No.  33,  of  New  York  City,  was  held  on 
Wednesday  evening,  April  14,  at  the 
Broadway  Central  hotel.  The  inclement 
weather  did  not  damper  the  ardor  of  the 
members  and  friends  and  the  large  dining 
room  was  well  filled,  there  being  fully 
250  seated  at  the  banquet.  Among  them 
were  many  prominent  in  the  engineering 
world.  The  subjects  chosen  by  the  speak- 
ers were  of  a  nature  to  engage  strict 
attention  and  to  impart  important  knowl- 
edge to  those  present.  During  the  even- 
ing William  Du  Boise  introduced  the  fol- 
lowing :  John  E.  Berry,  president  of  No. 
33 ;  Captain  John  H.  Pruett,  national 
president  of  the  Master  Mates  and  Pilots 
Association ;  Captain  John  M.  Cherry, 
marine  superintendent,  Lehigh  Valley 
Railroad;  J.  L.  Du  Broque,  assistant 
superintendent  of  motive  power,  Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad  ;  L.  B.  Dow,  general  mana- 
ger of  Harbor  No.  i,  Mates  and  Pilots 
Association. 

An  enjoyable  entertainment  was  given 
by  Herbert  Self,  Henry  Elder,  "Joe" 
McKenna,  William  Murray,  Frank  Cor- 
bett,  Edward  Campbell,  Robert  Webb, 
John  L.  Wilson  and  "Jack"  .A.rmour. 


Help  Wanted 


Advertisements  under  this  head  are  inserted 
for  2.5  cents  per  line.  About  six  words  make 
a  line. 

WANTED — Thoroughly  competent  steam 
specialty  salesman;  one  that  can  sell  high- 
grade  goods.     Addre.ss  "M.  M.  Co.,"  PowEn. 

AN  ENGINEER  in  each  town  to  sell  the 
best  rocking  grate  for  steam  boilers.  Write 
Martin   Grate   Co.,    281    Dearborn   St.,   Chicago. 

WANTED — By  manufacturer,  thoroughly  ex- 
perienced man  to  .sell  hangers,  shafting  and 
transmission  machinery  in  New  York  City 
and  vicinity.  Must  be  capable,  energetic. 
Wf  want  the  best  man  in  this  line  of  business. 
"J.  C.  D.,"  Box  36,  Power. 


W.\NTED — One  or  two  exnerienced  sales- 
men in  line  of  engines,  boilers,  tanks,  pumps 
etc.,  thoroughly  acquainted  with  market  iii 
and  around  New  York  City.  Only  experi- 
enced men  wanted.  Good  positions  open  for 
right  men.     Box  37,  Power. 

WANTED — First-class  salesman,  must  have 
established  trade  among  steam  users  in  engi- 
neers' and  factory  supplies  in  Greater  New 
York  and  vicinity.  Fine  position  for  right 
man      Box  33,  Power. 

WANTED — By  manufacturer,  thoroughly  ex- 
perienced man  to  sell  hangers,  shafting  and 
transmission  machinery  in  New  York  City 
and  vicinity.  Must  be  capable,  energetic. 
We  want  the  best  man  in  this  line  of  business. 
"J.  C.  D.."  Box  36,  Power. 

WANTED  —  AT  ONCE,  one  practical  engi- 
neer suitable  for  a  large  power  plant,  equipped 
entirely  with  gas  engines  which  furnish  current 
for  electric  railroad  and  lighting  purposes.  Plant 
located  in  a  western  town.  First-class  refer- 
ence must  be  furnished  from  last  employer. 
"K.,"  Box  38,  Power. 


Situations  Wanted 


Advertisements  under  this  head  are  inserted 
for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  words  make 
a  line. 

POSITION  as  fireman  or  assistant  electri- 
cian by  young  man  of  20  Student  I  C  S. 
Two  years'  experience  with  small  boilers  and 
engines.     Box  93,  R.  F.  D.  No.  1,  Deshler,  Ohio. 

EXPERIENCED  GAS  ENGINE  MAN  wants 
position  witii  manufacturer,  contracting  engi- 
neers or  take  charge  of  large  gas  engine  plant. 
Has  technical  education  and  experience  as 
salesman,  erector  and  repai'-man  "  H  K.  W," 
Box  178.  Edgartown,  Mass. 

POSITION — Single  man,  eight  years'  experi- 
ence, steam-electric  plants  as  chief  and  assistant. 
Good  references,  speak  Spanish,  prefer  Mexico, 
Hawaii  or  Spanish  country  Employed  steam 
turbo-electri<"  plant  in  Mexico.  Address  "  R," 
Box  184,  Seneca  FallSj  Kaiib. 

POSITION  with  large  company  as  traveling 
or  supervising  engineer  of  power  plants  and 
machinery.  Hold  such  position  at  present 
with  large  corporation,  having  charge  of  power 
plants  and  machmery  upkeep,  boiler  tests, 
engine  indications,  etc.     Box  40,  Power. 

WANTED — Position  by  an  experienced  engi- 
neer and  electrician  capable  of  handling  a  large 
proposition,  now  holding  a  responsible  posi- 
tion with  a  large  corporation;  will  give  good 
reasons  why  change  is  desired  to  interested 
parties;    would    like    a    hard    proposition.     Box 

39,    POWEB. 

POSITION  wanted  by  a  mechanical  grad- 
uate of  a  leading  Western  university.  Ex- 
perienced in  drafting,  two  years'  practical 
experience  in  machine  shop,  and  two  as  assistant 
master  mechanic  with  a  company  operating 
sixteen  iron  mines  Prefer  similar  position, 
but  will  consider  any  good  mechanical  engi- 
neering work.  Can  furnish  references  from 
above  company  and  present  employer.  Box 
41,  Power. 


Miscellaneous 


Advertisements  under  this  head  are  inserted 
for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  words  make 
a  line. 

PATENTS  secured  promptly  in  the  United 
States  and  foreign  countries  Pamphlet  of 
instructions  sent  free  upon  request.  C  L. 
Parker,  Ex-examiner,  U.  S.  Patent  OfSce, 
McGill  Bldg.,  Washington,  D.  C. 


For  Sale 


4 


Advertisements  under  this  head  are  inserted 
for  2.5  cents  per  line.  About  six  words  make 
a  line. 

1.50  HORSEPOWER  tandem  compound  Cor- 
}iss  engine  in  good  order;  10'  wheel;  24  in.  face 
F.    W.    Iredell,    11    Broadway.    New    York. 

GET  THE  MEAN  PRESSURE  of  diagrams 
by  "Bill,'  the  best  planimeter;  $1..50  to  P. 
Eyermann,  Consulting  Engineer,   Du  Bois,   Pa. 

FOR  SALE -20x48  Wheelock  engine  and 
two  7'2"xl8'  liigh  pressure  tubular  boilers  fn 
good  condition  cheap.  Address  "Engineer," 
Box  2,  Station  A,  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 


May  4.  '909 


POWER  AND  THE  EN< 


m 


An    Exhaust-Steam    Turbine    Installation 

With  No  Additional  Steam  Net  Output  of  Soocao^am^  Engine  PUnI 
Mav  Be  Incrcasf<l  75  Per  Cent,  bv  ihc   L«:  (]i  tjihaiMt-ileun  TurtMOO 


BY    W.    S.     TWINING     AND     W.    C.     kRRR 


While  the  title  of  this  paper  is  a  Kcn 
il  one,  it  really  deals  with  the  exhaust - 
»t<am-turbine  plant  recently  installed  in 
connection  with  the  Thirteenth  and  Mt. 
Vernon  streets  power  house  of  the  Phila- 
delphia Rapid  Transit  Company.  This 
station  is  part  of  the  original  Philadel- 
phia Traction  G)mpany's  power  equip- 
ment and  was  built  some  years  ago  when 
the  system  was  smaller  and  the  problem 


■•:i'«iny, 
[il.iTr  vk  .t 
l<  ■ 


a«    f^r    as   the   oix-r  iti    i 
riifii-rrned       The     .   .,• 


than  any  increase  m  economy  w  '  ' 

be  obtained   from    operating    t  n 

C'lmlensing.      The    station    was    therefore 
located   in  ibe   central   part   of   •*"•   <-■»* 
where  no  water  supply  wa*  a% 
consefjuently  was  operated  noocoiiurn^inn. 


v   r    a    tune,    howetcr     new    »(at»ae» 
*■  :^  ::i  cemne  ol  eoaMrocti 
equipped  with  ttcBfl 
wajr  nocc  inooem 

ned  wfy  bmkIi  bclMV  cetwoHqr  Al 
«ame  time  tbe  oalpot  of  ikc  lit  Vcr 
«t;iii<  n    va*    met 

t.v  llltl<->    mrrr    il    hSBd    (OT 

jim'-tr-  If  thM  potat-    TWw  two 


rid    I   uiw-musun  8ot>  «■ 


t   distributing  by  mraiiN   "( 
'.  cders   and    rni.tr\       i  \.  • 
'  Ad  IK>I   t>cen 

tattnn  was  eqm,., 

•irrcnt   machiner)'  and   the  I 
ileterinineil   more   w.  ' 
cninK  the  length  oi  • 
with  the  idea    of    tecurukii    ■' 


■■una  iwaTAU-a*  •»  rwi.-*^^...*  **;  — 

"inf    proportMMtnl 
UMd   ronJitKM* 


ihc 

lirrtl 


■M     ••it       »• 


tmrroat  di*^. 


786 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  4.  1909. 


readily  be  obtained  by  running  the  en- 
gines condensing,  but  it  was  felt  that  this 
would  overtax  them,  and  the  generators 
could  probably  not  stand  this  increase  of 
load,  which  the  engines  would  be  capable 
of  driving,  as  they  would  be  operating  at 
all  times  under  an  overload  condition. 
Another  difficulty  which  presented  itself 
in  connection  with  the  changing  of  the 
plant  to  noncondensing  was  the  exhaust 
piping.  This  piping  had  been  in  service 
a  number  of  years  and  no  provisions  were 
ever  made  to  make  it  vacuum  tight,  as  it 
exhausted  directly  into  an  open  exhaust 
stack  without  any  back-pressure  valve. 
To  place  condensers  on  the  engines  meant 
tearing  out  all  the  exhaust  piping  and 
rebuilding  the  system  to  operate  under 
vacuum,  and  as  this  station  is  in  service 
at  all  times,  it  would  have  been  a  more  or 
less  difficult  and  expensive  undertaking. 

About  this  time  the  exhaust-steam  tur- 
bine proposition  presented  itself,  and  while 
it  was  considered  theoretically  possible, 
it  had  not  been  tried  on  a  large  scale. 
However,  it  was  finally  decided  to  try  an 
experimental  installation  at  this  plant. 
The  cost  of  the  equipment  was  estimated 
and  the  probable  operating  expense  as 
well.  There  appeared  to  be  a  decided 
advantage  in  favor  of  the  turbine  from 
the  fact  that  the  station  output  could  be 
increased,  even  though  the  total  station 
economy  was  not  materially  improved. 
Investigation  finally  resulted  in  the  pur- 
chase of  two  800-kilowatt  direct-current 
machines,  which  were  placed  on  the  top 
of  part  of  one  of  the  foundations  provided 
for  a  future  engine  unit. 

Oricix.^l  Xoxcondensikg  Plant 
The  original  design  of  the  station  pro- 
vided for  six  Wetherill  twin  tandem 
compound  Corliss  engines,  26x40x48 
inches,  operating  at  80  revolutions  per 
minute  with  160  pounds  initial  steam  pres- 
sure. Eachf  pair  of  engines  is  direct-con- 
nected to  a  1500-kilowatt  direct-current 
generator.  Part  of  the  exhaust  steam  was 
used  in  a  system  of  open  heaters  for 
heating  the  feed  water.  All  the  auxiliaries 
were  steam  driven  and  exhausted  direct 
into  the  main  exhaust  stack  of  the  station. 
The  layout  of  the  station  provided  for  six 
units,  three  on  each  side,  with  the  high- 
pressure  cylinders  facing  each  other,  mak- 
ing two  lines  of  three  engines ;  the  genera- 
tors facing  the  east  and  west  walls  of  the 
station.  Four  of  these  units  were  in- 
stalled at  first.  The  original  heater  equip- 
ment was  located  in  the  boiler  room,  but 
this,  after  a  short  time,  proved  to  be  in- 
sufficient for  the  requirements,  and  pro- 
visions were  made  for  installing  a  large 
heater  and  purifier  plant.  As  the  space 
required  was  considerable,  the  only  availa- 
ble location  was  in  the  engine  room,  and 
in  order  to  do  this  it  was  necessary  to  take 
half  of  the  space  allotted  to  the  sixth  unit. 
About  this  time,  the  fifth  unit  was  in- 
stalled, which  then  completed  the  station 
as   far  as  the   original  building  was  con- 


cerned ;  it  being  impossible  to  place  a 
sixth  unit  as  originally  intended. 

The  boiler-room  equipment  had  also 
reached  its  maximum  at  this  time,  which 
consisted  of  nineteen  375-horsepower  Bab- 
cock  &  Wilcox  boilers,  and  ou.e  400-horse- 
power  Parker  boiler,  making  a  total  of 
7525  boiler  horsepower.  This  would  not 
permit  of  anj'  farther  increase,  as  all 
available  space  in  the  boiler  room  had 
been  used. 

The  main  exhaust  system  consists  of 
two  exhaust  lines,  one  on  each  side  of  the 
engine-room  basement,  each  designed  to 
take  care  of  three  units.     These  lines  join 


EXHAUST-STEAJI    TuREINES    IXSTALLED 

In  placing  exhaust-steam  turbines  in 
this  plant  very  few  changes  were  made  in 
the  general  scheme  of  exhaust  piping. 
The  east  and  west  mains  in  the  original 
design  were  left  exactly  as  they  were. 
The  only  change  made  necessary  to  in- 
stall the  turbines  was  to  replace  an  ell 
by  a  tee  in  the  24-inch  exhaust  line  on 
the  east  side  of  the  station.  Steam  in 
passing  from  the  24-inch  line  is  carried 
into  an  oil  and  water  separator  placed  in 
the  basement,  from  either  side  of  which 
a  16-inch  connection  carries  steam  up 
through  the  throttle  of  the  turbines.     As 


FIC;.     2.      ADMISSION    SIDE    OF    TURBINE 


at  the  center  of  the  station  and  enter  the 
exhaust  stack  by  means  of  a  36-inch  main. 
The  stack  is  placed  at  the  end  of  the  en- 
gine room  and  is  8  feet  in  diameter  by 
125  feet  high.  It  is  designed  to  take  care 
of  the  exhaust  of  the  entire  plant.  Three 
tees  are  placed  in  the  main  exhaust  line 
just  before  it  enters  the  stack  and  these 
connections  turn  upward  and  supply  steam 
to  the  three  feed-water  heaters,  which 
have  been  referred  to.  This  will  give  a 
general  idea  of  the  arrangement  of  the  ex- 
haust connections  of  the  plant  previous  to 
the  installation  of  the  exhaust-steam  tur- 
bines. 


the  plant,  under  ordinary  conditions,  oper- 
ates with  an  excess  of  exhaust  steam,  it 
was  not  necessary  to  place  any  atmos- 
pheric valve  on  the  main  exhaust  line, 
there  always  being  sufficient  steam  goin.'j 
up  the  exhaust  stack  to  form  a  seal  and 
so  prevent  drawing  air  back  from  the 
stack  or  heaters  into  the  turbine.  After 
the  change  was  made  there  was  no  differ- 
ence whatever  in  the  general  operating 
conditions  of  the  engines,  there  being  no 
exhaust  back  pressure  and,  in  fact,  if  any- 
thing, there  was  a  reduction  in  pressure 
on  the  main  adjacent  to  the  turbines ;  at 
times  there  has  been  noted  to  be  V2  inch 


May  4,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENCJIM 


of  mercury  below  the  atmosphere  when 
the  station  load  was  comparatively  low 
and  the  turbine  loads  heavy.  This  ar- 
rangement gives  extremely  simple  condi- 
tions, and  the  turbines  can  he  put  into 
service,  or  taken  out.  by  simply  opening 
or  closing  the  throttles,  as  no  otlu-r  vii^'- 
arc  requirc«l  to  be  mani|>ulatc<l .  tli«-  ■  iil> 
change    in     the    plant     consisting    in    the 

amount  of  *t>-:t"i   uhii-li   i>   .■■■ii^-  nn  tin-  rx 

haust  stack 

CoxDE.NsiNc    Equipment 

The  condensing  equipment  of  the  plant 
consists  of  two  8000-square  foot  counter- 
current  Alberger  surface  condensers,  each 
nnected  directly  to  the  turbine  by  mean* 
'  a  short  makeup  piece.     The  condcii^rr 
and  turbine  are  placed  on  the  engine-room 


slide-valve  gear  and   with  Corli%«   valtet     the  ibrolUc  ol  liw  t>unici  ^n.)  r 


on  the  vacuum  cylinder 

The  water  .  .».  ..i-.fjon  thfXMtg' 
denvrrs  it  :  1  by  roear 

inch  K:  -    ' 

the  01; 


»o  at  to  bold  tbr 

the  bolarll.  prcii.w  w, 

the  pump  ruaoMig  dry 


it  .-  I..H- 


rig     towcr».       1 

.  .  -       ,      r  r  rv  tr«l   imntf    'Kr 

ment  of  the  circulaltng  water 

give  the  vacuum   under  differ..., 

pheric  conditions.     One  pump  and  motor 

;i-  '  'it     n<i        Im    jf».\f    ■r.«-    »!'r*1   irirl  ttM    » 

|.-  «  con-  by  tto  fvrl   loov       The   »iract«r 

I  .'.tng  to  the  Li^k  of  space  p- 

I  ^  i« 

On  thv  bottom  of    each    ronden«er    it  wnam.                  ■-■m  «*4  unttt»  * 


rvA^k  emit 


m 


J    I  ;j;i!  IIP  ivi' — Z 


CtJ^ 


"Z3±_c  '■'      '   3 


na  3.  ruiii  or  »xm\lsi  rin? 


IV     »T*TH"« 


'<ii)r  level,  the  exhaust  entering  the  con- 
!rn*er  at  one  side  <  f  the  Iut   .ind  im** 
:ig  Upward  through  the  ihIkn       II  «.    !•• 
•  f  the  three  pass  <l«»n:ii.  !'  • 
' nu    at    the    t)i|>    .il    •  '111     •  t  '' 


It!  pump.      Ihey  ar' 
•••I   in  such  a  «•>>' 
igmg  ihr 
or  runniiiK  ' 
1  f»ne  or  two  1 
•r    the  dr 
the    »«>T> 


•  ~< 


I 


\i-ntii'k.'     r 

the   vacuum   cyimdcr       1 

of    ill''    initrr  rr.iiik     (i.itt. 


7S8 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  4,  1909. 


shaft.  These  fans  run  at  approximately 
310  revolutions  and  are  driven  by  means 
of  40-horsepower  variable-speed  550-volt 
direct-current  motors,  which  are  placed  on 
the  floor  directly  beneath  the  main  plat- 
form and  drive  upward  bj-  means  of  belts. 
The  motors  are  controlled  by  variable- 
speed  automatic  starters  placed  in  the  en- 
gine room  and  operated  by  the  remote- 
control  system. 

3.500.000 

3,aoo,uuu 

I  2.300,UUO 
S  2,000,000 
e  1,500.1WU 
^  1,000,000 
MW.OOO 
0 


type  and  are  of  the  same  general  design 
as  the  low-pressure  end  of  the  high-pres- 
sure Curtis  turbine.  They  have,  however, 
only  three  stages  with  10  admission  valves 
controlling  the  admission  of  steam  to  the 
upper  stage.  These  valves  are  operated 
by  hand  by  means  of  levers  placed  at  the 
side  of  the  turbine  casing.  The  machine 
operates  without  any  speed-regulating 
governcr   and   the    load    is    regulated    en- 


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Power,  y.r. 

« » 


FIG.     4.    TOTAL  POWER  OUTPUT  AND    PER   CENT.    OF   LOAD   CAR- 
RIED   BY    EXHAUST-STEAM    TURBINES 

The  warm  water  from  the  condensers 
is  discharged  upward  through  a  20-inch 
main  and  is  carried  along  beneath  the  base 
of  the  towers,  one  connection  going  up  to 
the  top  of  each  tower  and  supplying  the 
distributor.  The  distributor  consists  of 
an  eight-arm  revolving  spider  which  is 
propelled  by  reaction  jets.  This  dis- 
tributes the  water  over  the  filling  of  the 
tower,  which  consists  of  a  latticework  of 
ix6-inch  boards  filling  about  the  middle 
third  of  the  tower.  The  outlets  from  the 
bottoms  of  the  tower  are  manifolded  to- 
gether by  a  20-inch  header  and  carried 
down  to  the  engine  room,  one  14-inch 
branch  going  to  each  condenser. 

The  feed  water  for  the  entire  steam 
plant  is  taken  from  the  discharge  side  of 
the  circulating  pumps  and  delivered  to  the 
feed-water  heaters  through  regulating 
valves,  which  makes  it  necessary  to  make 
up  the  shortage  of  water  in  the  towers 
about  once  every  half  hour.  This  is  ac- 
complished continually  by  means  of  an 
automatically  controlled  variable  -  speed 
motor-driven  pump.  This  pump  is  oper- 
ated by  means  of  a  float  placed  in  the 
towers.  The  discharge  of  this  pump  is 
put  into  the  down  line  from  the  towers  so 
as  to  take  advantage  of  the  cold  water 
running  through  the  condensers. 


tirely  by  the  number  of  admission  valves 
which  are  open.  A  safety-stop  mechanism 
is  provided  automatically  to  cut  the  steam 
off  from  the  turbine  in  case  of  the  open- 
ing of  the  tircuit-breaker.  This  governor 
trips  a  butterfiy  valve  which  is  closed  by 
a  weight.  Under  ordinary  conditions  the 
valve  is  held  wide  open  by  means  of  a 
latch.  Should  the  turbine  run  above  nor- 
mal speed  for  any  reason,  the  speed-limit 
,L,^overnor  comes  into  play,  trips  the  latcb 
and  shuts  the  butterfly  valve,  thus  pre- 
venting racing.  The  generators  are  shunt 
wound,  but  provided  with  commutating 
poles  between  the  main  field  coils ;  other- 
wise the  generators  are  of  the  same  design 
as  ordinarily  used  on  direct-current  tur- 
bine work. 

Operation  of  Turbine 
The  method  of  operation  of  the  ex- 
haust-steam turbine  is  somewhat  different 
from  the  ordinary  high-pressure  machine. 
These  particular  machines  operate  at  a 
normal  speed  of  1200  revolutions  and  575 
volts  without  any  governor-control  mech- 
anism, and  the  generators  are  placed  di- 
rectly across  the  line  in  a  manner  similar 
to  a  storage  battery,  and  carry  a  very 
nearly  constant  load  depending  upon  the 
number  of  admission  valves  which  are 
open.  Tn  these  particular  machines,  each 
valve  opened  increases  the  load  approxi- 
mately 150  kilowatts,  and  when  once  set 
the  turbine  will  hold  very  close  to  this 
load  as  long  as  the  valve  setting  remains 
unchanged.  There  is  a  slight  fluctuation 
in  the  load  which  is  in  direct  proportion 


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P..M.     A.M. 


Exhaust-steam  Turbine  Detail 
These  turbines  are  of  the  Curtis  vertical 


P..M. 

Power,  y.  y. 


RELATIVE  LOADS  OF  EXHAUST-STEAM    TUKBO-DRIVEN    AND 
engine-driven    GENERATORS,  SEPTEMBER  4,   I908 


f 


May  4.   1909. 


to  the  entire  station  output,  the  turbines 
always  holding  a  very  nearly  constant  per- 
1 '  lUaKC  of  the  station  load. 

lie  peculiarity  in  these  turbines  is  the 
that  the  switchboard  operator  cannot 

■liic  the  load  of  the  turbine,  which  is 

•>•  contrary  to  general  station  practice 

!   ■-  high-pressure  machines.     This  is  due 

lie   fact  that  the  amount  of  stcam'is 

I  by  the  admission  valves,  which  are 
hand  regulated.  Should  the  switchlxiard 
operator  move  the  field  rhecstat  s<>  as  to 
increase  the  voltage  of  the  turbinr,  this 
will  result  merely  in  a  decrease  in  the  tur- 
bine speed,  and  the  result  in  voltage  will 


prnVER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

Ihe  method  of  pUctnf  the  turbine*   in 
ocrvicc  is  ai    follows:     After    the 

densers  are  in   <  'x-r  .ii.-n  arul  fh.-   •■■■ 
brmight  up  t 

the  voltage  aujuiic-j,  i.-n.  j.i 
are  opened  one  by  one  an-! 
picks  up  its  load  in  prop- 
number  of  valves  open  an'l 
operate  with  thi*  load  as  lon^  ^t  ti^r  ' 
chine  is  In  srrvirr  .At  •tm«'>  f  !■.  • 
load,  when  t'  rgm 

available  m  !•  n  off 

the  machine  by  fn'adually  clir^mg  down 
the  admission  valve«,  and  it  1*  taken  oat 
of  service  by  tripping  the  aatomatic  stop 


•MW 

. 

/ — "^  \       /-^^   y^ 

/            \    /      ^^  N 

'  (^'^^^'^ 

^                 \ 

toot 

I 

_.     ./  . 

_ 

4..;.. 

n  i 

A 

I 

M 

MM 

/ 

5"** 

1 

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if 

1 

, 

i 

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1 

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f 

t"    ■    "    iuii 

MM 

^s.                              ^^                                                                                        ^V^ 

< 

V 

r 

'  L 

>-^t_.  ^'"■'^4,--<7     ^''^ 

i 

■^    -t      try-                  »•<    T       I       i 

, 

1 

1 

^r 

-^^ 

z/ 

«.M 

1,                       ' 

; 

11      I      I 

r.M.     A.M. 


r  ■. 

>    ■  r 


KIG.    6.    KKLATIVC  IjOAOS  OT  TUKW  MiVKN    AND    KUCINK-OBIVKM 
GC.HUATOKS,  UCTOK>  6,   I906 


\n   ilic  ".itiir  jN  iK-t'ore.     This  condition  of 

affairs  seems  to  be  rather  peculiar  at  first 

sight,  but    it   appears   perfectly   rrasoruble 

after    giving    the    matter    somr    th«nighi 

The  man  at  the  lurbuje  c.inti   • 

decrease  the  speed,  but  can 

or     decrease     the     load     by     openmg     the     w«y,  m» 

admission   valves,    and    the    man    at    the     a   new    1 

swilchUtard  can  increase  or  decrease  the     pressed    at 

•""•d  of  the  turbine  by  the  field  rhe..»ia»       .^rmr.l  (.•  h» 

he  can  by  no  means  chanyr  il,<-  1 
I  nrse   statements  are   nunle   m   a   Km'  • 
wav,   but.    of   course,    ihrrr    will    be    ^    tvr       fv* 


which  shuts  the  butterfly  vaUc  c< 
(he  admission  of  itcam  to  the  t^- 


OrtaATiHo  RboaD 


r«. 


vri'irfl^I       rftr     Jt     :k     u^YW-»l<Bt 

!>•»•    Jt 

•,       !•/#• 

<     KMT 

'«  m 

'U\  tlwt 

rs  of  thevr 

\.»  i   rx  ' 

the    I  ■  fntLir^'nf! 

nu 

and  ecoBOMy  of  tl»c  pkal  daftf  tint 
lime.  The  avrrace  ovrtpot  of  the  MKkMrs 
darinv  the  vrars  mnMsMwd  wmtmm/t»A  to 

14  f,  L,^ 

B>  -     j^n 

of  *l»wM^i  tlM  pamaAk  of 

coai  .lor.  a  aaffcrd  dicrtaM 

can  be  seen  dunnc  the  period  in  wlurli 
the  turhmrs  were  ptftting  ool  tbetf  nMBt- 
mttm  power  The  best  rvcords  of  tW  fl>> 
tion  were  always  nude  when  the  f  ibii  1 
were  in  trrvtce  thr  grratrr  part  of  fW 
time. 

To  show  what  can  be  doat  ia  ripilar 
»er>Kr.  a  nnmbrr  of  efcarls  hare  hem 
prepared,  showing  the  rcg«ftar  «•>«*-* 
•  iperating  condiiKins  at  the  pro^- 
Fig  5  shows  the  otstput  cwr»e  ft>r 
Vemnn  street  nation  on  ScpmBbrr  ^ 
igrt*  in, I  <.  I  (tnt<-«|  Aotpot  cmn9  far  thH 
sta'  ummrr  nv^oth*     Start- 

ing J5  iTii'iniK   I  '>«i  Scptfliat*"        '^'  "** 
bine  carried  a  ousianmi  or 

■        .<  kflowant    *^  t*  c 
<«nc  in  Mf  »ic>   a<  tht« 
•  .  the  twrbatr 


the 


rfd  to  drrre  the  ■«« 

ire      if     »>»«>«»     •*  1'     th» 


U|f ' 
output 


tW  two  imiImmi 


fihtnei  w«re  In 


•I 

^,<M4ii^        It    «<■ 


l.tr    topit     will    i»«4    tie    In* 


790 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  4,  1909. 


ber  of  turbines  equivalent  to  the  number 
of  engines,  between  40  and  50  per  cent. 
as  much  load  could  be  carried  on  the  tur- 
bines as  on  the  engines;  all  of  this  in- 
creased power  being  gained  without  any 
increase  of  coal  consumption. 

The  labor  item  at  this  station  is  in- 
creased somewhat  by  the  use  of  these  tur- 
bines, but  up  to  the  present  time  this  is 
less  than  5  per  cent.  This  is  the  only  in- 
crease in  the  station  operating  cost.  As 
far  as  the  cost  of  the  turbine  installation 
is  concerned,  it  may  be  sufficient  to  esti- 
mate that  the  cost  per  kilowatt  will  be 
about  the  same  as  the  original  boiler,  en- 
gine and  generator  equipment ;  so  this 
need  net  be  considered. 

Fig.  6  shows  a  different  loading  condi- 
tion for  the  same  station.  It  was  taken 
on  October  6.  and  shows  the  load  condi- 
tions as  the  result  of  the  heavy  traffic  on 
the  streets  on  that  date.  In  the  early 
morning  hours  one  turbine  was  in  service 
and  gave  a  net  output  of  42.3  per  cent,  of 
the  engine  output :  one  engine  and  one 
turbine  being  in  service.  From  6  a.m., 
and  all  through  the  balance  of  the  day. 
two  machines  were  in  service,  carrying 
appro.ximately  full  load.  The  engine  out- 
put, however,  increased  considerabh',  be- 
ing in  the  neighborhood  of  6000  kilowatts 
for  the  entire  day.  But  even  so.  the  two 
turbines  gave  a  net  output  of  24  per  cent, 
of  that  given  by  the  engines.  It  can 
readily  be  seen  by  referring  to  the  curves 
that  four  turbines  could  have  been  oper- 
ated all  through  this  period. 

If  it  would  be  possible  to  operate  this 
station  with  two  engines  and  two  turbines 
at  all  times,  the  coal  consumption  could 
undoubtedly  be  decreased  to  approxi- 
mately 70  per  cent,  of  its  original  figure 
when  noncondensing. 

Fig.  4.  which  showed  the  records  of  the 
turbines  during  1906- 1907,  is  somewhat 
misleading.  While  the  turbines  were  oper- 
ating under  difficulties  they  still  showed  a 
gain  of  14.6  per  cent.  The  records  of  last 
year  should  surpass  this  in  every  way. 
In  order  to  show  the  reliability  of  the  ma- 
chines under  present  operating  conditions. 
Fig.  7  has  been  prepared.  These  curves 
show  the  record  of  the  machines  taken 
during  September  of  1908.  The  practice 
at  this  station  now  is  to  keep  the  turbines 
in  the  greatest  period  of  time  possible ; 
one  rurbine  being  in  service  the  entire  24 
hours  and  two  turbines  being  in  whenever 
the  load  is  heavy  enough  to  permit  it. 
This  means  that  two  turbines  are  in  ser- 
vice at  all  times,  excepting  the  hours  be- 
tween midnight  and  6  a.m.  They  are 
taken  out  alternately  for  examination  and 
cleaning  the  armatures,  one  machine  being 
taken  out  of  service  each  night.  Fi'<.  7 
shows  the  record  which  these  two  ma- 
chines have  made.  The  curve  for  No.  6 
machine  shows  it  has  been  in  service  74.9 
per  cent,  of  the  entire  time  during  the 
month  and  No.  7  machine  80.4  per  cent,  of 
the  time.  The  maximum  line  shows  the 
conditions  for  the  24  hours  per  day  opera- 


tion.    The  two  lower  curves,  one  for  No. 

6  and  one  for  No.  7  show  the  load  fac- 
tor during  the  period  in  which  they  were 
in  service.  No.  6  averaged  91  per  cent, 
full  load  for  the  entire  month  and  No.  7, 
90  per  cent,  full  load  for  the  entire  month. 
By  combining  these  load  factors  and  the 
operating  factors,  it  will  be  seen  that  No. 

7  machine  developed  72.36  per  cent,  of  its 
maximum  output  for  the  entire  month  and 
No.  6  developed  68.16  per  cent,  of  its 
ma-ximu;n  output.  This  gives  an  average 
of  70.26  per  cent,  for  the  two  machines 
for  the  entire  month  of  September. 

This  operating  record  is  a  good  one  and 
is  even  better  than  expected,  but,  under 
the  present  conditions,  there  is  no  reason 
wliv  t!ic  same  record  or  a  better  one  can- 


with  surface  condensers,  it  was  very  easy 
to  determine  the  steam  consumption.  The 
test  was  conducted  in  the  ordinary  man- 
ner, by  weighing  the  water  discharged  by 
the  hotwell  pumps.  As  the  portable  tank 
scales  were  of  insufficient  size  to  take  care 
of  the  condensation  from  both  turbines, 
it  was  decided  to  make  the  test  on  one 
turbine  only,  and  No.  7  machine  was 
selected  for  the  purpose.  Before  com- 
mencing the  test  the  condenser  was  over- 
hauled and  the  glands  tightened.  The 
circulation  was  then  started  through  the 
condenser,  running  the  pumps  at  normal 
speed  so  as  to  maintain  the  same  pressure 
conditions  as  when  operating  in  regular 
service.  The  steam  space  of  the  condenser 
was  then  exhausted  by  means  of  the  dry 


700 

/ 

. 

/ 

/ 

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^ 

S0.4 

1.  s 

90^   =72.36 

1        1 

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24 

n  1 

Hours 

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u.ii  X  917 

= 

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utp 

uti 

pe 

■Day 

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Avt 

rag 

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26  :t 

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80 

Al'i 

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300 

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y 

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/ 

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-- 

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—' 

— - 

— - 

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■ — 

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September.  1008 
FIG.     7.     OPER.\TING   RECORD   OF   EXHAUST-STEAM     TURBINES 


not  be  maintained  for  an  indehnite  period 
of  time.  The  records  of  the  preceding 
months  of  this  year  are  about  in  accord- 
ance with  these  results,  but  this  one  has 
been  selected  as  giving  conditions  at  the 
present  date. 

NuMBF.R  OF  Exhaust-steam  Turbines 
Required 

In  order  to  get  some  exact  figures  as  to 
the  performance  of  these  machines  with 
the  idea  of  determining  just  how  many 
,can  be  used  at  any  given  plant,  it  was 
decided  to  make  a  series  of  tests  with  this 
in  view.  These  tests  were  carried  out  last 
July  and  the  results  are  gratifying.  Com- 
plete tests  of  the  entire  turbine  and  con- 
densing plant  were  made  and  the  results 
are  shown  in  Tables  i,  2  and  3. 

Each    of    the    turbines    being    equipped 


vacuum  pumps  until  27  inches  of  vacuum 
was  obtained.  The  outlet  from  the  hot- 
well  was  carefully  closed  off  and  a  record 
kept  of  the  rise  of  water  in  the  gage  glass 
on  the  side  of  the  hotwell.  The  rise  in 
inches  of  water  per  hour  was  noted  in  the 
hotwell  and  it  was  afterward  calibrated 
for  the  amount  which  it  contained.  The 
scheme  of  testing  out  the  condenser  was 
carried  out  before  beginning  each  test  and 
immediately  after  closing  down,  the  mean 
leakage  being  taken  as  the  amount  of 
water  which  came  through  from  the  water 
space.  In  most  cases  this  leakage  was 
zero ;  however,  in  one  or  two  cases  there 
was  a  slight  leak  in  the  condenser,  which 
at  no  time  amounted  to  more  than  2  per 
cent,  of  the  water  of  condensation,  but 
allowance  was  made  for  this  in  figuring 
up  the  results. 


May  4,   I909 


POWER  AND  THE  E 


'  veral  tests  were  made  under  kkdc- 
\MKit  different  conditions,  the  general 
ftchcnie  being  to  run  for  a  periud  of  eight 
hours,  taking  check  readings  uti  ilio  Matt- 
rrn-ttr  and  amount  of  water  ^-.n«li n-'-.i 
every  hour  during  the  run.  These  re- 
wcrc    surprisingly    uniform,   and   a-   t; 

so  little  variation  in  the   ^ti    n.   >:on- 

ption,  some  of  the  tests  were  >t'  pped 

a<  the  end  of  the  t"ifth  hour.  The  results 
of  the  tests  made  on  different  days  were 
extremely  close,  and  if  any  variation  oc- 

rcd    it    w;ts    always    in    the    direction 


TABLK   1.     UAT.A  OS  TIRBINK 
Avermce    lo*<l    on    turbine    (correrivtii. 


1«    31.918 
U  Si 


puulliin     . 

Net  %teaiii  uaed  by  turbine  (dry)  per  hour. 


•ur  (dry),  pouti'l- 
u  atxi 


MO-i 


M 


alnorbcU  10  drive  the  aaultartrft. 

ing       ... 

the 


with  the  one 
»  per  cent, 
this  machine  as  C' 
which  amounted  (<^  ,^ 
entire  sta'.icn  load. 
T"         *     .     •• 
tail 
per:  j»    liic 


.:r.  inctieii 

■;  eslMUKt    •team.   ilr«ree* 
y^.b.;  tiulte!!  mbit  )  110  S 

K  of  load,  •miirnr.i  13.^0- I.VM) 

which  would  naturally  be  expected  from 
il  <  difference  in  vacuum  or  load  condi- 
•>  on  the  machines, 
est  No.  80,  the  results  of  which  are 
n  in  Tables  i.  2  and  j,  is  a  fair  sam- 
of  the  performance  of  these  : 

the    results     were    quite     i: 

^  test  was  conducted  for  a  pi.i  <>1  oi 

'    hotir^    nnd    thr    turbine    carried    an 

'    kilowatts,    No.   6 

'wn    at    this    time. 

sc  conditions  gave  the  turbine  a  uni- 

n  ratmg  as   far  as  the  percentage  oi 

load  carried  was   concerned,  as  two 

'lines  could  have  been  operated  in  con- 

■lon  with  the  station   load  thr-ni^-li.nn 

part  of  thr  rr*iili»  *>*»- 
.   tint  test.     It 
it  the  dry  ste.r: 
37-75  pounds,  the  absolute  «• 
l-ii.L.   1 4  5j  pounds,  which  ;         „ 

heric  pressure.    The  pressure 
ill    >M.tin  was  taken  at  the  throttle  of 
turbine  by  means  of  a  U-tube  filled 
rcury,  and  this  at  all  tin 
■if  an  in«-h  Sriow  the  a' 
in  the  ti! 
'  hes,  will 
ditTercii.r    111    jirrsMirr    between    tin- 
an<l    exh.T.!>f    "i    .■<>'•    inches       It    *m 
•'•d  thai  the  l<iail  was  varyint{  li«-twr.i\ 
--1  and  1550  ami)eres.    The  swiiik  wa»  in 
'Xt  proportion  to  the  total  station  «wing 
•he  perio<l  of  the  test 
J  «how«  that  the  to«al  power  ab 
•e-I    by    the    an'   ' 

irh   i-v   t 
the  c- 
llir  rcij  .:       . 

«  driven  by  a  40- li 
*  found  that  there    • 
•ver  extra  charged 


ui   If  ^cr  earn.  M  tW  rakiit 


e*  10  IpprrflMili  70  I 


ha' 


the  ex- 
all    the 


available  heat  to  return  to  the  fer<l  water 

h.-.i!.r»       The   cooling    lowers    showed   a 

■\  of  approximately   11  degrees  in 

i.n    i<  <iii>erature   of  the   water   n- '   "' 

conditions  remained  the  same  ll 

the  entire   test.     ^ 

ments  have  been 

the   amount    of   r 

water  from  the  • 

the  be*f 

of  the   ! 

duce  the  power  absorbed  by  the  auxiliaries 

to  a  minimum.     F'r,H»f«-»»  •"  i»'i«  |in«  of 

work  has  not  adv.-i  to  make 

anv    iriiT   Ml   ,:ii»   ;'.i|»er 

">  to  the  Uble«.  it  will  be 


tur 
wl. 
*t« 
tur 

r.r. 


!•■■ 

I 

T.. 

Pr 


TABLK  .'      At  XILI.\R1I> 


•  ir-i   .oad   '" 


ILUUCf' 


TmbbmMmm  •!  km9¥t  VMM.  4r% 


•:  * 


TMal  kMdMtal 
PiWMtvalMtwMi 

«>»— <  •(  4fT-M  I  ■IB  »^^  r  ^m 
H»*A  •(  iwMm.  r  p  «  I 


"Sir.U       « 


xkaatl  •«•«■■ 

■  IV- 

an-: 

1 

tur' 

-k  prrMMTt 
.  made  for 

vahe 

Rubbcf  FamMkbow  for 
Tttrfaias 


taftauM 


iiai>nas  cm  ike  i*r»rk*  tyvMSK 


Uock  n  Mt   it— I  lid  w«k  tk« 


M.:^  («k 


792 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  4,  1909. 


Jonathan    Hulls    and    His    Steamboat 

Sketch  of  the  Inventor  and  Description  of  One  of   the  Earhest  Patented 
Systems    of    Vessel     Propulsion     by     Means     of     the     Steam     Engine 

BY        EDWARD        P~,        BUFFET 


If  the  great-great-great-grandfather  of 
any  Power  reader  chanced  to  spend  his 
boyhood  at  the  village  of  Campden,  in 
Gloucestershire,  England,  about  170  years 
ago,  he  must  often  have  seen  plodding 
along  the  roads  a  poorly  clad  but  intelli- 
gent-faced clock  tinker  carrying  his  box 
of  tools  as  he  went  from  house  to  house 
to  seek  those  little  jobs  which  totaled  the 
means  for  only  a  scanty  subsistence.  It 
might  have  been  noticed  that  this  man 
had  a  more  earnest  and  far-away  look 
in  his  eyes  than  is  usual  for  the  country 
mechanic,  that  he  seemed  ever  to  be  in- 
wardly wrestling  with  deep  problems,  and 
that  he  wore  the  expression  of  a  man  who 
has  failed  in  some  great  ambition  of  life, 
yet  who  has  not  broken  off,  and  never 
could  break  off,  the  habit  of  performing 
ambitious  labors  in  his  head.  Shy  and 
diffident  in  his  manner,  he  would  gladly 
have  shunned  the  sight  of  passers-by,  and 
well  he  might,  for  youths  of  wanton  dis- 
position were  relentlessly  pursuing  him 
with  the  refrain : 

"Jonathan  Hulls,  with  his  paper  sculls, 
invented  a  machine  to  go  against  the 
stream ;  but  he,  being  an  ass,  could  not 
bring  it  to  pass,  and  so  he  "was  ashamed 
to  be  seen." 

We  have  recognized  in  this  portrait  of 
Jonathan  Hulls  the  typical  unsuccessful 
inventor.  If  you  are  bound  to  be  an  un- 
successful inventor  and  value  your  peace  of 
mind,  by  all  means  be  one  in  some  large 
city,  and  not  in  the  country  among  your 
friends  and  neighbors. 

Jonathan  Hulls  was  born,  it  is  said,  at 
Hanging-Aston,  near  Campden,  in  1699, 
but  his  father,  Thomas  Hull,  or  Hulls,  re- 
moved to  the  latter  place  and  there  the 
boy  received  his  academic  training  in  an 
ancient  grammar  school.  A  man's  real 
education,  however,  is  that  which  he  gives 
himself  by  outside  study,  or,  best  of  all, 
by  interested  reading,  for  it  is  chiefly 
what  interests  us  that  we  remember  and 
that  does  us  good.  It  is  probable  that  if 
Jonathan's  education  had  been  limited  to 
his  perfunctory  lessons  at  school  he  would 
have  remained  through  life  half  illiterate 
like  the  other  boys  of  his  class ;  but  he 
had  a  natural  bent  for  mathematics  and 
in  some  way  made  himself  fairly  proficient 
in  the  principles  of  mechanics.  He  was 
also  able  to  write  in  a  decent  English 
style. 

The  trade  of  "clockmaker"  which  he 
took  up  was  in  reality  that  of  an  itinerant 
clock    mender.      He    was    accustomed    to 


make  a  circuit  through  a  certain  district 
curing  the  ailments  of  any  farmhouse  or 
church  timepieces  that  chanced  to  be  un- 
der the  weather.  Hulls  married  early 
and  removed  to  the  hamlet  of  Broad 
Campden  about  1729.  His  studious  habits 
and  mental  ability,  far  superior  to  that  of 
his  neighbors,  readily  won  him  a  local 
reputation  for  intelligence.  That  particu- 
lar work  of  genius  which  has  earned  him 
belated  fame  in  the  world  is  said  to  have 
seethed  in  his  imagination  from  his 
youthful  years.  To  realize  so  ambitious 
a  project  as  a  steamboat,  either  in  the 
water  or  in  print,  was  an  audacious  at- 
tempt for  a  country  clocksmith  of  those 
days,  with  a  family  to  support.  He  there- 
fore did  what  aspiring  authors  of  his 
time  were  accustomed  to  do  and  sought 
the  aid  of  a  patron.  This  was  a  Mr.  Free- 
man, of  Batsford  park,  near  Aston,  who 
was  so  much  impressed  with  Hulls'  inven- 
tion that  he  put  up  the  money  for  a  trip 
to  London  to  embody  it  in  a  patent  and 
a  pamphlet. 

That  monograph  appeared  in  1737.  Its 
publication  was  the  high-water  mark  of 
Hulls'  success,  for  there  is  no  record  that 
anyone  ever  took  enough  notice  of  tne 
work  to  l)uild  a  steamboat  on  the  lines 
suggested.  Mr.  Freeman  was  reasonably 
loath  to  support  any  additional  venture 
for  exploiting  the  invention,  and  Jonathan 
was  abandoned  to  his  fate  of  failure  and 
ridicule. 

For  a  long  time  no  more  is  heard  of 
him,  but  a  real  inventor,  especially  an 
unsuccessful  inventor,  is  insuppressible 
though  he  live  a  thousand  years,  and  the 
bee  of  ambition  continued  to  buzz  in 
Hulls'  bonnet.  Eventually  he  cropped 
out  in  print  with  new  products  of  his 
brain. 

His  final  known  attempt  was  in  1754, 
when,  in  partnership  with  two  fellow- 
townsmen,  R.  Darby  and  William  Brad- 
ford, schoolmaster,  he  had  patented  a 
"Statistical  and  Hydrostatical  Balance" 
and  a  ".Sliding  Rule  for  Artificers."  The 
former  was  "an  instrument  for  detecting 
frauds  by  counterfeit  gold,  which  gives  the 
weight  and  shews  the  alloy  of  that  metal 
in  coin  and  all  utensils  made  thereof,  and 
if  adulterated,  the  nature  and  extent  of 
the  alloy."  This  instrument  displayed 
much  ingenuity  and  at  least  one  actual 
specimen  of  it  has  survived  to  our  day. 
The  sliding  rule,  which  probably  was  not 
a  logarithmic  slide  rule,  is  described  in  a 
pamphlet     entitled :     "The    new     Art    of 


Measuring  made  easy  by  the  help  of  a  new 
Sliding  Rule.  Coventry :  Printed  by  T. 
Brooks  in  Broadgate,  1754." 

Little  or  no  financial  return  was  destined 
to  attend  any  of  Jonathan  Hulls'  efforts 
and,  finally,  unable  to  meet  the  gaze  of 
his  neighbors,  he  hid  himself  in  the  Lon- 
don crowds.  At  a  date  which  is  un- 
known, he  died  the  death  of  an  inventor. 

Down  to  comparatively  recent  times  his 
descendants  have  remained  in  his  own 
village,  mechanics,  like  himself,  and  with 
his  modesty  if  n.ot  with  his  genius.  The 
widow  of  their  last  survivor  in  the  dis- 
trict died  in  1865,  not  long  after  which  the 
family  cottage  at  Broad  Campden  in 
which  Jonathan  Hulls  had  dwelt,  was 
torn  down. 

It  would  be  too  much  to  claim  for 
Jonathan  Hulls  that  he  was  the  first  man 
who  ever  designed  a  steamboat.  The  idea 
seems  to  have  been  a  favorite  one  for  in- 
ventors in  the  first  part  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  Neither  can  he  receive  the  credit 
which  attaches  to  one  who  has  made  the 
invention  commercially  practical.  But  as- 
suredly he  deserves  always  to  be  remem- 
bered as  one  of  the  most  important  fore- 
runners of  steam  navigation.  There  is 
no  telling  what  would  have  resulted  from 
his  efforts  could  he  have  secured  the 
pecuniary  cooperation  of  a  Boulton  or  a 
Livingston. 

Of  the  book  published  in  1737  by  Jona- 
than Hulls,  a  few  copies  are  still  extant 
and  from  one  of  them,  or  rather  from  a 
fac-simile,   extracts  are  here  reproduced. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  Hulls  did  not 
invent  a  marine  engine,  but  merely  the 
application  of  power  from  a  Newcomen 
engine  to  propel  a  towboat.  (See  illustra- 
tion.) Most  of  this  48-page  pamphlet  is 
taken  up  with  demonstrating  mechanical 
and  hydrostatic  principles  involved  in  his 
mechanism.  Like  Euclid,  he  seems  to 
take  nothing  for  granted,  but  to  develop,, 
step  by  step,  even  the  simpler  and  more 
obvious  propositions  in  his  theory.  This 
part  of  the  work  shows  that  he  had  put 
himself  through  a  pretty  good  mathemati- 
cal training. 

Rut   let   Mr.    Hulls  tell  his   own   story  r 

Extract  from  Jonathan  Hulls' 
Pamphlet 

In  some  convenient  part  of  the  Tow- 
Boat,  there  is  placed  a  Vessel  about  two 
3ds  full  of  Water,  with  the  Top  close  shut, 
this  Vessel  being  kept  Boiling,  rarifics  the 
Water    into    a    Steam,    this    Steam   being 


May  4.  IQOQ- 


KJW  ER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


7n 


IT' 


I 


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I 


V  , 


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II 


II 


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4.  Urg*  Pi»c  MOB 
^«  ■'■'  utd  tkttr  €om4m^4,  wmkm  B 
\''  '  .  «hkli  c»Mc«  tht  vtiilN  ol  iht 
AtiBoapbrr*  to  pm*  oa  thit  VcMci  Mi4 

tmo  t' 

be   rmitn    Water    by    Rrr 


l>(  tta««  fraa  iW  F 
><kr 

-^''  Vahrc  tkftt  Mofi  iW 
tbeCflmtfrf, 

■irrx   i» 

tbr 


■I    IW 


liBdcr     .VMr    Tlris 

'.•at  Rof*  tkai  goc*  ro«B4 

tb«  Macktw 

■■Mth  brcti  already  <»MWinrrti4  tbM 

>«-1  ,.f  JO  ladm  Diairtff.  wWcft  m 

<oC  aad  a  IIaIC  «br«  tW  Air  h 

•  K,    «>rrw^«plwrT  •ill  prrw  ofl 

4  Toa   l6  Hi 

profcr    Ii 

;>9lMd  to  «.  it 

-t   \>«»<l  ntth  •  gTM 

V    TW  Bifwi  oi  tbt  Ml 

U  proporttoar^  to  fbc  Worb  ibat  la  le  b* 

prrfomrd  by  Uma.  bal  if  tarti  •  ierrt 

a«  tt  tpviy'd  to  ibn  tm  fjmf  bt  aat  aaA- 

irr'    f. '    an^    Paryow  tbai  aay  bt   r»- 

toaidM  Hdi  A4«- 


■Uc*    iW    Mibtat    bM« 

rrv«imrtv'V^i.  »  iW  Vvwri  iiaHf  ibM  to 

u>  Im*  tali««i  im  at  oal  af  Ibr  ^Bft.  &t    Bm 

-i«rai«    VmMi   far 

I- 

I     r»m  >l«cb—  tmtf  U 
><f»4.n>r    And  to  Hb»  up  too 


.diiar  b  pal  la  • 


-!V»|1      Il«' 

MwbMH 


Uacim«« 


794 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  4,  1909. 


H  a  and  H  b  are  two  Wheels  on  the 
same  Axis  with  the  Fans  1 1 1 1 1 1  and 
move  alternately  in  such  a  manner,  that 
when  the  Wheels  Da,  D D  b  move  back- 
ward or  forward  they  keep  the  Fans 
1 1 1 1 1 1  in  a  direct  ^Motion. 

F  b  '\s  a  Rope  going  from  H  b  to  D  b, 
that  when  the  Wheels  D  a,  D  and  D  b 
move  forward,  moves  the  Wheel  H  b  for- 
wards, which  brings  the  Fans  forward 
with  it. 

F  a  is  a  Rope  going  from  the  Wheel 
H a  to  the  Wheel  Da,  that  when  the 
Wheels  D  a,  D  and  D  b  move  forward  the 
Wheel  H  a  draws  the  Rope  F  and  raises 
the  weight  G,  at  the  same  time  as  the 
Wheel  H  b  brings  the  Fans  forward. 

When  the  Weight  G  is  so  raised,  while 
the  Wheels  D  a,  D  and  D  b  are  moving 
backward,  the  Rope  F  a  gives  way,  and 
the  Power  of  the  weight  G  brings  the 
Wheel  H  a  forward  and  the  Fans  with  it, 
so  that  the  Fans,  always  keep  going  for- 
ward notwithstanding  the  Wheels  D  a,  D 
and  D  b  move  backwards  and  forwards  as 
the  Piston  moves  up  and  down  in  the 
Cylinder. 

L  L,  are  Teeth,  for  a  catch  to  drop  in 
from  the  Axis,  and  are  so  contrived  that 
they  can  catch  in  alternate  Manner,  to 
cause  the  Fans  to  move  always  forward, 
for  the  Wheel  H  a  hy  the  power  of  the 
weight  G  is  performing  his  Office,  while 
the  other  Wheel  H  b  goes  back  in  order 
to  fetch  another  Stroke. 

Note.  The  weight  of  G  must  contain  but 
half  the  weight  of  the  Pillar  of  Air  press- 
ing on  the  Piston,  because  the  weight  G 
is  raised  at  the  same  time  as  the  Wheel 
H  b  performs  its  Office,  so  that  it  is  in 
effect  two  Machines  acting  alternately 
by  the  weight  of  one  Pillar  of  Air  of 
such  a  Diameter  as  the  Diameter  of  the 
Cylinder  is. 

If  it  should  be  said  that  this  is  not  a 
New-Invention,  because  I  make  use  of 
the  same  pow-er  to  drive  my  Machine  that 
others  have  made  use  of,  to  Drive  theirs 
for  other  Purposes,  I  Answer,  The  Appli- 
cation of  this  power  is  no  more  than 
the  Application  of  any  common  and  known 
Instrument  used  in  Mechanism  for  new 
invented  Purposes. 

Answers   to    som'e   Queries   that    have 
been  made,  concerning  the  possi- 
BILITY   AND    Usefulness    of 
THIS  Undertaking 

Query  I.  Is  it  possible  to  Ax  Instru- 
ments of  sufficient  Strength  to  move  so 
prodigious  a  Weight,  as  may  be  contain'd 
in  a  very  large  Vessel? 

Answer.  All  Mechanicks  will  allow  it 
is  possible  to  make  a  Machine  to  move  an 
immense  Weight,  if  there  is  Force  enough 
to  drive  the  same,  for  every  Member  must 
be  made  in  a  proportionable  Strength  to 
the  intended  Work,  and  properly  braced 
with  Laces  of  Iron,  &-c.  so  that  no  part 
can  give  way  and  break ;  if  the  Braces, 
6-c.  necessarv'  for  this  Work  had  been  put 


in  the  Draught,  it  would  have  been,  so 
much  crowded  with  Lines  that  the  main 
Instruments  could  not  be  so  well  perceiv'd. 

Query.  II.  Will  not  the  Force  of  the 
IVavcs  break  any  Instrument  to  Pieces 
that  is  placed  to  move  in  the  Water? 

Ansiver.  First,  it  cannot  be  supposed, 
that  this  Machine  will  be  used  in  a  Storm 
or  Tempest  at  Sea,  when  the  Waves  are 
very  Raging;  for  if  a  Merchant  lyeth  in  a 
Harbour,  &c.  he  would  not  choose  to  put 
out  to  Sea  in  a  Storm  if  it  were  possible 
to  get  out,  but  rather  stay  untill  it  is 
abated. 

Secondly.  When  the  Wind  comes  a 
Head  of  the  Tow-Boat  the  Fans  will  be 
protected  by  it  from  the  violence  of  the 
Waves,  and  When  the  Wind  comes  Side- 
ways, the  Waves  will  come  Edge-ways  of 
the  Fans,  and  therefore  strike  them  with 
the  less  Force. 

Thirdly.  There  may  be  pieces  of  Tim- 
ber laid  to  swim  on  the  Surface  of  the 
Water  on  each  Side  of  the  Fans,  and  so 
contriv'd    as    they    shall    not   touch   them, 


strates  that  the  Expence  will  be  but  a 
Trifle  to  the  value  of  the  Work  perform'd 
by  those  sort  of  Machines,  which  any  Per- 
son that  knows  the  Nature  of  those  things 
may  easily   Calculate. 


Repairing   a  Damaged  Armature 
Winding 


Bv  R.  H.  Fenkhausen 


Although  there  are  still  many  motors 
in  use  with  ring-wound  armatures,  this 
style  of  winding  is  fast  becoming  obsolete 
due  to  its  high  internal  resistance,  high 
armature  reaction  and  poor  speed  regula- 
tion, and  nearly  all  armatures  are  now 
made  with  some  form  of  drum  winding, 
the  coils  of  which  are  usually  form- 
wound.  There  are  two  general  types  of 
winding  in  use,  the  lap-connected  wind- 
ing (Fig.  i),  which  necessitates  cross- 
connection  of  the   commutator  when  two 


FIG.    2.       WAVE-CONNECTED    WINDING 

which  will  protect  them  from  the  Force 
of  the  Waves. 

Up  in-land  Rivers  where  the  Bottom  can 
possible  be  reach'd,  the  Fans  may  be  taken 
out  and  Cranks  placed  at  the  hindmost 
Axis  to  strike  a  Shaft  to  the  bottom  of 
the  River,  which  will  drive  the  Vessel  for- 
ward with  greater  Force. 

Query  III.  It  being  a  continual  Ex- 
pence  to  keep  this  machine  at  Work,  will 
the  Expence  be  answered? 

Answer.  The  work  to  be  done  by  this 
Machine  will  be  upon  particular  Occa- 
sions, w+ien  all  other  means  yet  found 
out  are  wholly  Insufficient :  How  often 
docs  a  Merchant  wish  that  his  Ship  were 
on  the  Ocean,  when  if  he  were  there,  the 
Wind  wou'd  serve  tolerably  well  to  carry 
him  on  his  intended  Voyage,  but  does  not 
serve  at  the  same  time  to  carry  him  out 
of  the  River,  &c.  he  happens  to  be  in, 
which  a  few  Hours  work  of  this  Machine 
wou'd  do :  Besides,  I  know  Engines  that 
are  driven  by  the  same  Power,  as  this  is, 
where  materials  for  the  Purpose  are 
dearer  than  in  any  navigable  River  in 
England;    therefore    Experience    demon- 


Power,  X  r. 
FIG.     3.      WAVE-CONNECTED    WINDING 

brushes  are  desirable  on  a  four-pole 
motor  (Fig.  3),  and  the  wave-connected 
winding  (Fig.  2),  in  which  the  coils  an 
connected  so  that  external  cross-connec- 
tions are  not  required,  and  also  serve  to 
neutralize  the  effects  of  an  unbalanced 
field  due  to  worn  bearings,  etc. 

The  rewinding  of  a  coil  on  a  ring  arma- 
ture can  be  accomplished  without  disturb- 
ing its  neighbors,  but  in  drum  windings 
in  which  the  wire  is  wound  directly  ir 
the  slots  it  may  be  necessary  to  remove 
any  number  of  coils  up  to  the  entire 
winding,  depending  on  the  manner  ir 
which  the  coils  are  arranged  with  refer- 
ence to  the  damaged  one. 

Most  modern  armatures  are  of  the  gen- 
eral type  shown  in  Fig.  4,  in  which  the 
coils  are  wound  on  forms  and  insulatec 
before  being  placed  in  the  slots.  Fig.  ; 
represents  a  coil  for  the  armature  showr 
in  Fig.  4,  and  Fig.  6  shows  a  bar-wounc 
coil  of  the  type  used  in  larger  machines 
The.se  coils  span  several  teeth  of  the 
armature  core  and  each  slot  contains  the 
bottom  half  of  one  coil  and  the  top  hali 
of  another   coil   some   slots   from   it,   the 


May  4.  1909. 

span  or  "throw"  of  the  ceil  varying  with 
<th  per  pole  of  the  armalurt-      l]^   7 
the  core,  and  Fig.  8  a  partiv  w.iind 
view  of  the  armature  in  Fig.  4. 

When  it  becomes  necessary  to  rcpbce 
ft  formed  coil  the  binding  wires  must  first 
be  cut,  or  the  fiber  wedges  holding  the 
coils  removed,  and  the  connections  to 
Ihc  commutator  unsoldered.  Tht-  top  half 
of  the  injured  coil  should  then  be  r.iiscd 
by  sli[)ping  two  pieces  of  ^-inch  linen 
tape  under  the  extended  ends  of  the  coil 
and  gently  raising  it  from  the  slot.  In 
order  to  remove  the  lower  half  of  the  coil 
it  will  be  necessary  to  lift  the  top  halves 
oi  as  many  coils  as  the  injured  coil  spans. 
When  the  damaged  coil  has  been  removed 
it  should  be  repaired  if  possible  by  re- 
insulating  the  burned  spot,  but  if  this  is 
impossible  a  new  coil  should  be  put  in. 
As  a  general  rule  it  does  net  pay  to  make 
:oils   except    in    a     shop    having     special 


f»0\N  ER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

keep  the  wire  tight  until  the  rciuird  :..;i!i 
bcr  of  turns  arc  wound 

two    layers,    but    these    1 

sii>aratcly  wound  and  afterward  nr 
gether  and  connected. 

When  a  layer  is  completed  it  thould  he 


w 


ao  ovcB  W 

u^^ini*    tarri^n   tkoaM  W 

:t    khelUc    will    mtwc    tW 


btTT   ol 

Thn  akoaU  W   W- 

'  D!iia  wy»t  lafc  to 

cMled  hntm  m4 

■  -  -nuiwdL 

■  and 

coniyrrrrrj    in    »crtr«    ■  •€    pSnBrf 

Before  tke  favl  ta^mm  A 
(  UMxrid  W  tJip^ed  o««r 
•  tK«  ettii  tm4  tf  tke 

'im^ki  10 

>«C  oa  ike 

n  nr^cT  tlMt  they  aaj  k* 


A    (.OIL    WIKK 


ria    4.    A  ooMrtsTt  abmatcu 


»»*    (•     «  a.«a  ua  kraAr  tjBtu 


AR MATURE  cote 


'Hi!  even  then  the  cotl»  <•  tp  }tr 

liter    in    man\  m 

<r   of   the   nii'i  "tie 

lie  IS  not  kept   idle  while  coil*  are 

'I  and  dried. 


UJkkt      ft' 


In  Make  Coils  in  the  Shot 
Spare  coiU  for  every  si^e  of  armatn 
Id  be  kept  oh  hand.  I»iit   : 
•irv   to   make   roils    in    ■ 


'.   hall  the  coii  nn  • 
J       Then  cut  out   1 
the    two   together    with 

^ '    to   the    .. 

form  is   « 


oil  IS  desired.  ai)i 
\*  )'  of  the    form 


796 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May 


n^i 


minals  should  be  separated  and  each  coil 
tested  for  continuity  grounds  or  crosses 
with  other  coils,  after  which  the  bottom 
terminals  may  be  carried  to  the  commu- 
tator and  soldered  in. 

The  top  connections  should  now  be  ar- 
ranged in  the  proper  order  and  the  first 
lead  tested  and  soldered  to  the  proper  bar, 
after  which  the  other  top  leads  are  con- 
nected one  at  a  time  in  proper  sequence 
until  all  are  in  place. 

Great  care  must  be  used  in  soldering  the 
top  leads  that  they  are  connected  in  the 
proper  order,  because  in  some  types  of 
windings  two  short-circuits  and  four 
open-circuits  can  result  from  the  inter- 
change of  two  adjacent  leads. 

After  all  the  coils  are  connected  the 
winding  should  again  be  tried  with  the 
testing  set  and  if  found  all  right  the  arma- 
ture should  be  placed  on  knife  edges  and 
balanced    with    lead    strips    placed    in   the 


An  Historic  Enoine 


nc.     10.     COIL  FORMER 

slots  over  the  coils  on  the  light  side.  The 
binding  wires  may  then  be  replaced  and 
the  armature  put  into  service  again. 


In  a  paper  read  by  Prof.  J.  A.  Smith 
before  the  Victorian  Institute  of  Engi- 
neers it  was  shown  that  with  a  condenser 
temperature  of  120  degrees  Fahrenheit 
the  amount  of  heat  transmitted  through 
each  square  foot  of  condenser  surface  was 
diminished  50  per  cent.,  when  air  corre- 
sponding to  0.63  of  an  inch  of  mercury 
was  introduced  into  the  condenser.  In 
other  words,  to  obtain  the  same  vacuum 
as  when  no  air  was  pre.sent  would  require 
a  condenser  twice  as  large,  or  else  a  great 
deal  more  or  colder  circulating  water. 


Herewith  are  shown  photographs  of 
the  engine  used  in  the  original  packing 
plant  of  Armour  &  Co.,  which  was  located 
at  a  point  that  is  now  the  very  center  of 
the  immense  union  stockyards  at  Chicago. 
Built  in   1866  bv  the  old  Columbian  Iron 


ger  one  and  was  successively  employed  in 
hoisting  ice,  running  the  canned-meat  de- 
partment and  the  machine  and  pipe  shop 
Finally,  in  1901,  when  its  35,  or  so^ 
effective  horsepower  could  no  longer  be 
used  to  advantage  elsewhere,  it  was 
exiled  to  Round  lake.  111.,  where  it  was 
put  to  a  peculiar  service.  The  compan> 
here    harvests    natural    ice,    and    there    is 


TWO  VIEWS  OF  AN   HISTORIC  ENGINE  IN   THE   ARMOUR    PLANT,   CHICAGO   STOCKYARDS 


At  least  10,000,000  tons  of  peat  is  made 
and  used  to  advantage  in  foreign  coun- 
tries every  year. 


Works,  the  engine  practically  had  been  in 
constant  use  until  about  one  year  ago. 
It  was  first  installed  on  a  high  brick  foun- 
dation behind  three  horizontal  return- 
tubular  boilers,  and  furnished  the  power 
for  all  the  operations  in  the  plant  as  then 
conducted.  Due  to  the  growth  of  the  in- 
dustry the  engine  was  replaced  by  a  lar- 


much  trouble  with  a  variety  of  long  stiff 
grass  or  weed  growing  up  from  the  bot- 
tom and  interfering  with  the  quality  oi 
the  ice.  Mounted  on  a  flatboat,  it  was 
the  duty  of  the  engine  to  operate  a  device 
of  special  design  for  cutting  this  grass. 
During  its  sojourn  here  it  was  fitted  with 
the  link  motion  shown  in  the  photograph. 


May  4.  1909. 

Recently  the  engine  was  replaced  by  a 
motor,  shipped  back  to  the  -• 
and  erected  in  the  engine  ro<. 
company's  power  house,  aIongsi<i.  ,,  (,«». 
ton  ice  machine,  the  latest  piece  oi  j>-  wer 
machinery  to  be  installed,  representmg 
the  first  and  the  last  in  power  develop- 
ment of  the  company. 

As  shown  in  the  photographs,  the  en- 
gine has  the  old  box  type  of  engine  bed. 
locomotive  guides  and  slide  valve.  The 
cylinder  is  about  12x16.  Key  adjustments 
are  provided  at  the  connecting-r-xl  ends, 
but  there  is  no  gib-and-key  arran^M-ment 
as  commonly  understood;  the  key  alone 
being  used,  held  by  a  set  screw. 

The  flywheel  is  cast  in  one  piece,  with 
the  spokes  loose  at  the  inner  end  and  fit- 
ting on  a  bushing  keyed  to  the  shaft.  The 
whole  is  fastene<i  securely  by  two  rings 
of  square  iron  shrunk  on  each  end  of  the 
hub.  This  construction  enables  the  fly- 
wheel to  be  used  with  any  reasonable  ji/e 
of  shaft,  by  varying  the  btiNhing,  which 
doubtless  was  a  desirable  feature  in  the 
old  (lavs 


FJectrolysis  and  Corrosion 
Bv  F.  L.  Johnson 


While  sitting  at  my  desk  one  day,  idly 
wondering  why  nearly  everyone  who  had 
afTy  work  to  do  felt  drawn  to  some  kind 
of  a  city  in  order  to  do  it.  I  was  pleas- 
antly surprised  by  the  entrance  of  my 
young  friend  Sawyer.  As  he  seated  him- 
self and  looked  around  with  his  usual 
keen  glance,  I  noted,  in  a  subconscious 
way,  that  his  appearance  had  improve*! 
His  trousers  were  freshly  creased  and 
•everal  conventional  touches  in  his  dress 
showed  that  even  in  his  strap-lunging 
moments  he  had  kept  up  his  habit  of 
noticing  things  and  profiling  by  what  he 
•aw. 

After  a  few  general  remarks  had  l>een 
exchanged,   he   said : 

"You    probably    have    not    •     . 
that    case    of    troublesome 
told  of  not  long  ago'     Well,  l.«-i   w.ccL   I 
had  to  go  to  the  city  where  that  h^jipened 
and    I   t«)ok  lime  to  visit   the  plant  to  see 
if  I  could  learn  anything  new  about  elec 
trolysis  of  pump  parts.     I  met  the  engi- 
neer, who  at  once  told  me  of  «4mie  thing* 
that   had   happened 

"Thi«   particular   plant   is  operated  dif 
ferenfly   from  any  pthrr  ihai   I  ever  saw 
Nf»  «>nr  man  is  rr 
tion,  sitcessful  f>r 
of    the    « Dijineer,    il    i» 
wdl   krrp   the   motive  !>■ 
running  order  all  the  tirnr    iml   hare  any 
unit  that  may  be  called  for  rra-lv  fnr  im 
mediate  service. 

"Of  the  electHdan.  It  i«  er 

he  will  see  ihal  such  units  ■< 
ale  llir  rr<|iiirrfl  ctirrrtir  in  f- 
nnniir.il    rTi;«iiiirr     Mill    ' <■    ' 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

vision   for  the  preventing  nf  friction   t^ 

twe«i   the  two  branc! 

That   friction  did  occv 

dent  frcjoi  the  (act  that  ihr 

never  able  |o    .r-...w.   .,ny  u...i 

part  of  the  in  the  d 

of  pump  cyltii'irt)   oy   what  was  iK-iir»c«j 

to  be  electroly»t«. 

"New    pun 
charged   up   • 

no  part  of  t!..  ;h  ...ting  CApcntc  oi  the 
electrical    dep,»r!iiiciit 

"()nc  day  the  efigineer  th'  ;ier- 

haps  the  current  that  was  ;.  .,  .^  the 
pump  came  from  the  generator  itself,  and 
determined  to  try  to  find  out  if  his  guess 
was  a  fair  ooe.  At  once  the  pump  *»*% 
overhauled   ..    '  •    that    sh 

any   signs  oi  ,   replace-: 

■'    '  4n    was    then 

'"■  -  i«   out   of   re 

l*^"'  run. 

try  repair  parts  for 
•he  engine  were  being  waited  for,  the 
pump  was  run  night  and  day  for  a  week. 
»'.  the  riKi  ci  which  time  the  pump  was 

opened  and  f  '  •     '-    -    --  -    • 

dition.     The  • 

shown    the    coiicjin  .n     .t    • 

informed   of   what   had    «ak 

was  ske;  ■ 

run  of  t 

ditiont.     It   was  given,  an*!  at  the  en«l  01 

the    second    week,    during    which    t'unk,- 

were  carefully    watched   by  the 

department,  the  pump  was  again  ca.......... 

and  found  in  perfect  condition. 

".Ml    imaginary   repairs   on   the   chk 
having    brm    completed,    it    was    tt-i 
and  run  for  1 
sary  to  shut  >I 
\al\e   seats   .1 
places  in  the  [■ 

with   the   ovrrHow.   in   company    with    the 

electric  current   which  came   from   tome 

where  and  look  away  with  il  all  ihe  mrtal 

It  could  carry 

"puring  the  «e(on«l  week  of  running  Ihe 

"     'It     a     connection     was 

il   of  a    street  car   line. 

iiali   A   1:  to  the  ptimp      A  flow 

•  >f    currn  1   7    t"    to    irr\l^rrr^    wk* 

measured  at  the  pn-  <-er 

could  nm   learn   •h<-"^  !■. 
or  frncn  the  pump,  nor  the  > 

current      Connectioos  were  -.-     

other  pomp*  where  no  watting  away  had 

taken    place,    with    ••       -       •-  *    ,     a|||| 

ijriier  amount  of  <  aad  one 


TV 

t>r  4>Ictu      uf     ihit      Vintl       ritM^Mik      ki 


i  the  factor* 

:    !vjf    run    la   ktrt    to 
'OacMy  o(  the  aaa  who 


cost  MiU  otA  U  vh*fg<d  op  to  kM 

raent.  Vt*  t-  have  a  tetlr 

an<'  I  e<nld  MiggrM  aay  wf  r>f 

•<>l  panifhr  proyrm" 

I  I  had  Ward  engteri  m« 

iha-  '  .».r,.4.w^iQ||  ol  the  «lar 

irK  jMe  lad  Wra  «■• 

fetWTtir-i      ir  TTI      •ri'-      «St4tl(g     of 

tube*,    even    at    tea.    wher« 

T  wa«  ated  for  camimalmm.   He 


e  imrodr 
_    plants   «• 
%»hile   now    thes    are   r 


!  an  tha- 


made    r'.- 
.-.  !    T    » 


boll 


■«a    win 
«  a«  t 

I   ?naa  wiM  Im4 
MS  a   Kwdy 
*   abr«1   tW 

■•n4 

mfKiHj    rv-     Ml     TT-ji    r*ra^ 

>d  not  iiiniiilt  m  a  mm* 

^  U  hcM 

rhr*   he  u9t^   ihoM 


-I  left 


■U<vi»t 


-ly  hMd  tai  a  wMH 
iw9 


•  UmI  t>" 

are 

*-4 

he 

wfli  m^ 

. 

he 

mH  ksMw. 

he  wiM 

ted 

«•!. 

p     •in    Vr     ».<     tthtr 

»Kil 

ikr 

^ 

'  « 

a 

at 

•1 

ttA   ' 

*•'   1  •  ' 

«J     e^ 

i*e 

«h  tW«.  tmi 

liag 

798 


POWER  AXD  THE  EXGLXEER. 


May  4.  1909. 


Use    Cylindrical    Flywheels     for    Safety 


Widening    Rim    and    Shortening    Radius    of     Flywheel 
Explosions     without     Sacrificing     Convenience,     Cost 


Will     Obviate 
Efficiency 


or 


B    Y 


A 


L. 


HODGES 


As  the  flywheel  is  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant subjects  in  the  mechanical  world 
just  now.  it  is  the  duty  of  every  engineer 
to  investigate  all  its  properties  and  en- 
deavor to  conceive  a  way  to  change  its 
makeup,  in  order  to  eliminate  the  big  ele- 
ment of  danger  always  lurking  therein. 
The  purpose  of  this  article  is  to  prove  by 
mathematics  and  experiment  how  this  can 
be  done,  the  final  product  having  very 
few  disadvantages  compared  to  the  pres- 
ent-day affair,  and  a  great  many  advan- 
tages over  it. 

The  determining  factor  in  the  worth  of 
a  flywheel  is  its  moment  of  inertia.  This 
is  a  peculiar  property  of  a  rotating  body 
and  can  be  defined  as  the  resistance 
offered  to  rotational  motion,  or,  if  already 
in  motion,  the  resistance  encountered  in 
stopping  it.  It  is  both  of  these  that  makes 
the  flywheel  of  use  in  machinery,  by  mak- 
ing the  machine  run  smoothly,  no  matter 
how  the  load  varies.    Now  the  moinent  of 


directly  on  the  mass  and  as  the  square  of 
the  radius,  if  we  have  two  flywheels 
weighing  the  same,  and  one  having  a 
radius  equal  to  twice  the  other,  it  will 
have  a  moment  of  inertia  four  times  as 
great.  This  has  caused  the  tendency  in 
manufacturing  flywheels  to  get  greater 
efficiency  by  making  the  radius  longer, 
and  oftentimes  with  disastrous  results. 
To  see  why  flywheels  disintegrate  the 
forces  acting  to  pull  them  apart  and  to 
hold  them  together  must  be  investigated. 
The  centrifugal  force  is  the  disintegrating 
force.      It    is    expressed   by   the    formula. 


F  = 


M  V 
R 


where 

F  =  Force. 

\I  :=  Mass  of  each  rotating  particle, 
]'  =  Velocity, 
R  =  Radius. 


force  varies  directly  as  the  radius.  It 
must  be  remembered  that  the  moment  of 
inertia,  the  property  desired,  varies  as  the 
square   of  the  radius. 

Widen   Rim   and  Shorten  Radius 

What  is  the  force,  then,  preventing  dis- 
ruption of  the  wheel?  It  is  that  of  co- 
hesion only,  or  the  attraction  of  the  mole- 
cules for  one  another.  This  force  acts 
only  through  small  distances,  yet  it  is  suffi- 
cient in  the  case  of  steel  wire  to  hold  up 
150,000  pounds  per  square  inch.  To  re- 
turn, then,  to  the  original  proposition. 
The  idea  is  to  increase  the  mass  of  the 
wheel's  periphery  considerably  by  widen- 
ing its  rim  and  necessarily  the  hub,  but 
to  shorten  the  radius,  so  that  although 
the  amount  of  inertia  will  be  the  same  as 
before,  the  force  tending  to  disintegrate 
will  be  verj'  much  less,  so  much  less  in 
fact   that    it    would   be   practically   impos- 


Side  View 

FIG.     I.     PRESENT   FLYWHEEL 

inertia  depends  on  several  things.  It  is 
expressed  by  the  formula, 

/  =z  M  K\ 
where 

/  =  Moment, 
M  =  Mass  of  the  body, 
A'  =  Radius  of  gyration. 

This  radius  of  gyration  is  found  for  dif- 
ferent bodies  by  calculus.  For  a  uniform 
and  homogeneous  disk  it  is  ^  R,  or  one- 
half  of  the  radius.  For  a  ring  with  the 
mass  concentrated  in  the  circumference, 
it  is  R.  or  the  radius.  Now  the  flywheel 
is  of  this  latter  type,  its  mass  being  mostly 
on  the  periphery.  In  the  ensuing  argu- 
ment the  mass  will  be  considered  as  being 
concentrated  on  the  circle  half  way  be- 
tween the  outside  and  inside  diameters  of 
the  rim.  and  while  this  will  be  in  error 
slightly  it  does  net  vitiate  the  argument 
at  all.  as  will  be  presently  seen. 

Why  Flywheels  Explode 

.\-  the-  moment  of  incrtin,  tlif-n.  dcfxnfU 


Face 

Kin.    2.    PROPOSED  flywheel 


Xow  the  velocity  of  a  particle  on  the  rim 
of  each  of  two  flywheels  going  the  same 
number  of  revolutions  per  minute  varies 
directly  as  the  radius.  But  suppose  the 
expression  is  reduced  to  terms  of  the 
radius.  The  velocity  is  certainly  the  num- 
ber of  revolutions  in  a  given  time  multi- 
plied by  the  circumference  of  the  circle, 
which  i.s,  of  course,  2  tt  R.  Let  N  stand 
for  the  number  of  revolutions  per  unit 
time.    Then 


U  (.V  2  ff  R)* 


4  M  .V  n^  R-' 
R 


R 


=  4  \I  .V  n^  7v". 


Xow  the  proposition  was  to  let  all  these 
terms  be  constant  for  the  two  flywheels 
except  R.  The  number  4  is  a  constant, 
so  is  IT-,  it  is  given  that  the  A^  is  constant 
and  the  M,  or  mass,  also.  So  that  for 
two  flywheels  having  the  same  mass  and 
the  same  number  of  revolutions  per  unit 
lime,    it    is    seen  .that    the    disintegrating 


sible  for  the  wheel  to  explode.  The  ap- 
pearance of  such  a  wheel  would  be  that 
of  a  cylinder  more  than  a  wheel,  but  right 
here  comes  the  practical  side  of  it.  For 
such  a  wheel  no  pit  would  have  to  be  dug 
and  no  ceilings  cut  through  to  give  it 
room.  It  would  take  up  slightly  more 
floor  space,  but  as  its  hight  would  not  be 
great,  a  frame  could  be  built  arnund  it 
and  steps  over  it. 

Another  item  is  that  of  friction.  On 
account  of  the  increase  in  mass,  the  fric- 
tion would  be  somewhat  greater,  but  as 
it  would  allow  of  greater  speed  it  is  at 
once  seen  that  the  difference  would  not 
be  very  great  in  the  long  run.  As  to 
the  element  of  danger,  that  would  be 
absolutely  eliminated,  as  the  periphery  of 
the  wheel  could  stand  as  great  a  speed  as 
the  big  one,  being  made  from  the  same 
material,  but  it  is  smaller  and  would 
allow  a  greater  number  of  revolutions  per 
minute.  So  in  case  the  machinery,  through 
accident  or  carelessness,  attains  a  speed 
above  normal,  there  would  be  absolutely 


May  4,  igofj. 


POWER  AND  THE  E! 


K- 


7V» 


nothing   to   fear    from   the   improved  fly- 
wheel. 

In  the  accompanying  sketches  are  given 
comparative  drawings  of  two  whrcl'i  ha-. - 
ing  the  same  moment  of  inertia,  but  the 
clement  of  risk  very  different,  as  shown 
by  the  ratio  of  velocities  for  the  same 
number  of  revolutions  per  minute.  The 
vrlrxrities  vary  as  the  radius,  so  the  anit 
radius  would  have  <»nly  one-half  the  velo- 
city of  the  other,  and  'ly  one- 
half  of  the  disintcRrati  as  the 
ether.  The  mass,  howiwr.  iiin-t  \k  four 
times  as  great.  This  would  merely  make 
the  rim  eight  times  as  wide,  using  the 
same  thickness  of  rim  in  both  cases. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  as  the  rim 
of  the  wheel  gets  thicker,  the  wheel  itself 
more  nearly  approaches  a  disk,  and  the 
gyration  radius  would  he  ]^  R  instead  of 
h.  Therefore  it  is  necessary  to  keep  the 
rim  as  thin  as  possible.  The  figures  fol- 
lowing are  only  true  on  the  assumption 
that  the  mass  is  concentrated  in  the  mid- 
dle circle.  Of  course,  for  an>  desired  fly- 
wheel all  these  can  be  easily  worked  out. 
The  purpose  of  this  article  is  simply  to 
show  that  explo<ling  flywheels  are  not 
necessitry  and  can  he  rendered  imp«».siblr 
without  sacrificing  in  the  lea«.i  aii>  r'>n 
venience,  cost  or  efficiency. 

It  is  prtssible  that  the  above  reasoning 
is  not  quite  clear  to  those  students  who 
have  used  Kent's  handbook  entirely,  for 
here  it  is  claimed  that  the  tensile  stress 
per  unit  cross-section  of  the  rin'  •'  •■« 
pressed  hy  the  fr.rmula 


of  the  whftle  thmf  i*  thai  the  mass  can 

K  the  radras 


S  =  CK'r>. 


where 


(        Constant, 
k       Radius  of  wheel, 
r  •=  Number  of  revolutions  per  minute 

But  It  nni-t  U-  noticed  that  this  is  derived 
from  tlir  urevious  formula 

s  =  r.  If  R  r*. 


the  rim. 
«« lit  el, 
iv  i.er  minute. 


The.  Torbine    and 

Engioe  (or  Naval  Paqmol* 


l^^   Ball 


nr-sBi.^<>^    I'l    isftJi  '  I 


.\s  to  the  frictkm  of  &.'■ 
wheel,  it  is  kfK>wn  that   ' 


desired,  and  it   could   be   su; 
many  places  as  desired  to  p: 
M<  n  of  the  shaft,  without  increasing  the 
I  rid  ion     Now  at  this  is  so,  the  more  area 
in  contact  the  lest  would  be  the  pressure 
per  imit  area      This  »■     "  '  for  the 

iise   of   an%    ♦••■srmir  tti' ■  «j^    for 

that 

parTi  •■i<- 

dimensions  would  be  needed  as  ior  Fig 
I,  or  two  supports  of  twice  the  dimen- 
sions. Either  wotild  give  the  same  pre»- 
»nre  per  unit  area  on  the  bearings  To 
have  more  than  two  supports,  the  cylinder 

•1  a 

Its 

the 

of 


the  extra  beanng* 

.\«  the  number 
not  increase  the  ; 
pressure  per  unit  jr»... 
to  find  an  immediate  ai 
in  ball    \ 

■■'  vrxrs     'I 


f'   viif.t.   rt«.   then     <!«•<•* 


^  great 


.11 1  • 

then 

niiire  itian  d 

alk»ys  of  cru».i- .        *. 

«equently,  snuiller  balls  can  inm   be 

to   df>    the    work    of   larger   ooes.   *! 

would  ha%e  been  used  before  had  the  %piet 
her-  ^ 

\  ,»f«.%rn>ent   i»  ll»»  reerfi' 

tr- 

t«een  i  ■ 

...     »- 


'  '11  .i  'i'l 
ta     If 


I)l«A»^ 


^>M  lor 


*aA  s^cvd  dK  t 


t\      ir  \a 


!t.    )i 


..    t.:^   amvcs  ai   the  and 
.aksagr 


Ci'fMlltktf: 


^al  pfpoaca  tW 
-Mne  nmchmtry  is  as  tatkUi 

•   •...>•■  ,«      V  .hip  M  hmSk  lo  i 
r—itai  the 

br«t  coodittom      A  skip  b«dl  mttf 
be  calM  into  a  nasal  ficlM.  km  mo  tmt 
<An  tcU  wbra  the  day  srili  comt  vkoi  ih* 
machinery   may   be   caStd   mfim  to  ptr 
form  its  grcaior  f«>r     It  wmf  W  mh 
tor  an  hoor  't  tkia  km»  ■■» 

mean  sictor^ 

U  run  at   tmtsimtmm  i^cvd  the 
.....    \^   'Kr  >^>t   itiiliMr.     TW 

.mU  be  tW  Wt- 


•^U  ia 


the 


4  tht 


.tmti  ti»r   tiwuHatw  ol 
>nk  the   riiiptusaliag 
prescttl  MBc  it  Um 


>».»p    <i4    •    i*f 


^    tiir    ^.triable    *••' 
lula  whi.-h  c  • 


•ving  as  k*  in  thr 
lied.      Right    here    >. 
tit   in  reasoning  with  t' 
>   article      One   -'   •'" 
it    the   mass    !•< 
ried  as  H  alonr       I 

.     ff     \f    i«    rr>ii\l.iiit 


a  unit  t ' 


»^* 


8oo 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  4,  1909. 


engine  at  low  powers.  If  three  or  four 
shafts  are  installed,  or  even  with  two 
shafts,  combinations  maj-  be  made  whereby 
cruising  turbines  are  installed,  and  the 
economy  may  be  obtained  at  the  lower 
speeds  which  will  correspond  closely  to 
that  of  the  reciprocating  engine.  As  these 
economical  results  are  obtained,  what  is 
done  to  obtain  them?  More  turbines  of 
smaller  units  have  to  be  installed,  more 
shafting,  more  piping,  with  joints,  and 
increase  of  valves,  and  the  whole  equip- 
ment has  to  be  increased  and  complicated. 
It  becomes  a  question  whether,  to  obtain 
this  economy  at  the  lower  speeds  equal  to 
that  of  a  reciprocating  engine  (it  is  doubt- 
ful whether  it  is  obtained),  this  increase 
of  machinery  and  complications  will  offset 
any  gain  which  is  claimed  by  the  turbine. 
The  less  the  amount  of  machinery  on 
board  and  the  less  complicated  it  is,  the 
easier  will  it  be  to  handle  and  care  for. 
The  machinery  on  board  a  man-of-war  at 
the  present  time  is  complicated  enough 
without  adding  any  more  complications 
to  it. 

For  naval  purposes  under  ordinary  con- 
ditions a  ship  rarely  cruises  at  maximum 
speed.  The  ordinary  cruising  is  around 
10  or  12  knots,  which  is,  say,  15  per  cent, 
to  20  per  cent,  of  full  power.  At  this 
speed  the  cruising  turbines  would  be  prac- 
tically the  only  ones  in  use  and  the 
others  would  run  idly.  With  the  recipro- 
cating engine  the  economy  can  be  regu- 
lated by  using  the  cutoffs  so  that  no 
change  is  necessary  by  making  any  change 
in  the  combination  of  the  motive  power. 
For  these  lower  powers  the  economy  of 
the  reciprocating  engine  is  decreased  but 
slightly.  For  maximum  speed  the  recipro- 
cating engine  could  be  built  to  make  the 
speed  required  and  at  the  same  time  be 
economical.  If  all  possible  refinements  in 
design  that  tend  to  economy  are  made, 
the  reciprocating  engine  could  be  nearly, 
if  not  quite,  as  economical  as  the  tur- 
bine. These  refinements  consist  in  the 
reduction  of  clearances,  proper  propor- 
tioning of  the  sizes  of  the  cylinders,  care 
in  providing  smooth  exits  through  ports 
and  passages,  longer  stroke,  if  possible, 
better  condensing  apparatus  and  the  use 
of  superheated  steam.  With  high-class 
land  engines,  owing  to  the  use  of  Corliss 
and  drop  types  of  steam  valves,  the  clear- 
ance spaces  have  been  much  reduced.  I 
do  not  see  why  Corliss  valves,  or  some- 
thing on  that  style,  could  not  be  used  for 
marine  engines.  They  might  be  placed  in 
the  tops  of  the  cylinders.  If  as  many  ex- 
periments as  are  being  made  at  the  pres- 
ent time  on  the  turbine  were  made  on 
the  reciprocating  engine,  I  think  an  in- 
crease in  the  economy  would  be  shown 
with   the   reciprocating  engine. 

Working  out  the  water  rates  of  about 
ten  ships  in  the  United  States  Navy,  the 
average  gives  about  17.2  pounds  of  water 
per  indicated  horsepower  for  main  engines 
only.  This  is  at  maximum  power  under 
service    conditions.     Assuming    that    the 


water  consumption  was  greater  than  this, 
say  19  pounds  (which  is  quite  high  and 
perhaps  ought  to  be  about  17.5  to  18 
pounds),  this  would  give  for  a  20,000- 
indicated  horsepower  engine  a  water  con- 
sumption per  hour  of  380,000  pounds. 
Assuming  that  the  boilers  evaporated  9.5 
pounds  of  water  per  pound  of  coal,  then 
the  amount  of  coal  burnt  per  hour  for  the 
main  engines  would  be  17.8  tons.  Now 
assume  that  the  turbine  installation  of 
20,000  gives  a  water  consumption  under 
service  conditions  of  15  pounds,  this  will 
mean  a  water  consumption  per  hour  of 
300,000  pounds,  which,  assuming  as  before 
the  same  evaporation  per  pound  of  coal, 
would  mean  a  consumption  of  14.1  tons  of 
coal  per  hour.  With  the  increase  in 
auxiliaries  required  for  the  turbine  this 
would  be  brought  a  little  higher.  This 
will  show  an  increase  in  economy  on  the 
.side  of  ,the  turbine  at  the  high  speeds,  but 
how  long  is  either  going  to  run  at  those 
top  speeds  ?  The  reports  of  the  economy 
of  the  turbine  show  the  gain  at  the  maxi- 
mum speeds,  but  reliable  information  is 
not  obtained,  as  a  general  rule,  for  the 
lower  speed,  and  it  does  not  appear  that 
the  turbine  has  beaten  the  reciprocating 
engine  in  overall  efficiency — that  is,  tak- 
ing- into  consideration  the  engine  and 
screw  together.  The  degree  of  economy 
of  the  turbine  in  marine  practice  must 
compete  on  the  largest  scale  with  that  of 
a  quadruple-expansion  engine  expanding 
saturated  steam  with  210  pounds  fifteen 
times  into  a  vacuum  of  25^  inches,  with 
an  economy  of  13.6  pounds  of  water  per 
indicated  horsepower  per  hour. 

Another  question  to  enter  into  the  in- 
stallation of  a  turbine  or  reciprocating 
engine  is  that  of  the  relative  propeller 
efficiencies  It  is  claimed  by  some  that  the 
high-speed  turbine  will  give  a  smaller 
screw  and  thereby  get  deeper  immersion 
of  the  blades  and  less  draft  to  the 
ship.  This  may  be  well  enough  for  tor- 
pedo boats  and  vessels  with  shallow  draft, 
but  for  larger  vessels  larger  screws  are 
needed.  With  propellers  for  turbines 
running  at  high  speeds  it  is  just  a  ques- 
tion how  fast  the  water  will  flow  to  the 
screw.  In  a  small  turbine  the  revolutions 
have  to  be  high  in  order  to  get  the 
peripheral-blade  speed.  As  soon  as  the 
revolutions  increase  above  that  designed 
the  efficiency  of  the  screw  decreases  and 
cavitation  losses  may  also  enter.  It  is  a 
difficult  question  to  design  a  screw  that 
will  meet  all  the  demands  of  a  naval  ves- 
sel. The  thrust  may  be  divided  among 
three  screws,  but  this  will  increase  the 
machinery  installation  and  complicate 
matters.  The  larger  the  screw,  the  greater 
the  efficiency.  If  a  blade  of  standard 
width  gives  insufficient  surface,  to  pre- 
vent cavitation  then  either  the  blades  have 
got  to  be  made  wider,  other  things  re- 
maining the  same,  or  a  larger  pitch  ratio 
must  be  chosen,  which  will  mean  an  in- 
crease in  the  diameter  of  the  screw  and 
reduction      in      the      revolutions,      which 


means  an  increase  in  the  diameter  of  the 
turbine  and  an  increase  in  the  weight. 
P"or  marine  turbines  the  vane  speed  can 
hardly  exceed  200  feet  without  great 
sacrifice  to  the  propeller  efficiency,  and  is 
generally  from  140  feet  to  100  feet.  If 
the  revolutions  are,  say,  250  per  min- 
ute, then  the  corresponding  turbine 
diameter  would  be  10  feet  7  inches, 
and  if  the  revolutions  were  decreased  to 
200,  then  the  diameter  of  the  turbine 
would  be  13  feet  4  inches.  A  screw  may 
be  designed  for  a  turbine  with  a  certain 
speed,  but  as  the  speed  decreases  the 
economy  is  lost  in  the  turbine,  and  the 
screw  will  also  lose  its  efficiency  when  the 
revolutions  for  which  it  is  designed  vary 
to  any  great  extent.  At  high  speeds  of 
revolution  the  propeller  efficiency  drops 
very  materially  and,  as  a  general  rule,  the 
gain  in  economy  is  counterbalanced  by 
the  loss  in  propeller  efficiency. 

In  land  service  an  arrangement  is  now 
being  tried  with  a  low-pressure  turbine 
working  in  conjunction  with  a  reciprocat- 
ing engine,  the  low-pressure  turbine  being 
placed  so  as  to  use  the  exhaust  from  the 
reciprocating  engine.  This  is  giving 
satisfactory  results  and  has  secured  great 
gains  in  the  economy  of  steam.  With  the 
reciprocating  engines  as  now  used  in  the 
naval  service,  at  high  speeds,  the  vacuum 
does  not  have  a  great  deal  of  effect  in  the 
power  of  the  engine.  This  is  due  to  the 
small  size  of  the  ports  and  the  quick 
opening  and  closing  of  the  valves.  To 
get  the  full  effect  of  the  vacuum  it  would 
mean  increasing  the  size  of  the  valves  to 
such  an  extent  that  it  would  be  imprac- 
ticable. If  a  low-pressure  turbine  was 
placed  so  as  to  take  the  exhaust  from  the 
main  engines  the  vacuum  would  have  its 
full  effect  in  the  turbine,  which  would 
mean  more  work  being  done  and  more 
economy.  By  using  this  low-pressure  tur- 
bine in  conjunction  with  the  main  engines 
some  complications  would  arise,  and  it  is 
a  question  whether  for  the  increased 
economy  the  installation  of  the  low-pres- 
sure turbine  would  be  worth  while.  This 
combination  is  spoken  of  in  Lieutenant 
Dinger's  article  in  the  Journal  of  the 
American  Society  of  Naval  Engineers, 
November,  1908. 

A  good  many  foreign  navies,  in  fact, 
nearly  all,  have  tried,  and  are  still  try- 
ing, the  installation  of  the  turbine,  but 
the  results  have  been  kept  a  secret  and 
their  economical  and  practical  results  are 
still  a  question  of  doubt.  All  reports,  as 
a  general  rule,  of  the  ships  having 
turbine  installation  show  a  better  econ- 
omy at  the  maximum  speed  than  the 
ships  fitted  with  the  reciprocating  en- 
gine, but  the  results  at  lower  speeds 
are  not  so  well  reported,  and  the  average 
result  is  not  very  satisfactory  for  any 
authentic  information. 

Many  things  are  claimed  for  the  tur- 
bine, among  them  being  a  saving  in  weight 
and  a  saving  in  space.  The  saving  in 
weight  seldom   shows  an  advantage  of   5 


May  4,  I'/Jy 


PtnVKR  AND  THE  E.VGINEKR 


per  cent,  over  that  of  the  reciprocating 
cngrine.  The  tendency  now  is  to  incrca'^e 
the  weight  without  any  gain  in  ••.-(in..nn 
The-  turbines  installed  in  the 
ship  in  the  British  navy  .ivir  . 
404  pounds  per  indicated  horsepower, 
now  the  average  is  alxjut  43.2  pound*. 
When  one  takes  into  consideration  that  a 
turbine  installation  requires  high  vacuum, 
which  means  an  increase  in  the  cooling 
surface  at  the  condensers  and  a  more 
complete  condensing  apparatus,  the  weight 
of  the  turbine  will  not  be  m»  v«ry  much 
under  that  of  a  reciprocatuig  engine  for 
the  same  p^iwer.  In  order  t«»  get  the 
greatest  efficiency  out  of  the  propeller  for 
general  work,  and  at  varying  revolutions, 
the  propeller  must  be  increased  in  sire. 
When  this  is  done  the  speed  of  rotation  of 
the  shaft  must  be  reduced.  The  general 
tcndenc>-  is  to  decrease  the  revolutions, 
which,  as  a  general  rule,  means  incrcnsitig 
the  diameter  of  the  turbine  rotor  in  f»rdrr 
to  obtain  the  proper  vane  speed.  Any  in- 
crease in  the  diameter  of  the  rotor  means, 
f  course,  an  increase  in  w-eight  and  space. 
lie  average  weight,  including  main- 
igine  cylinders,  shafting,  main-engine 
framing  and  bearings,  reciprocating  parts 
of  ni.iin  engines,  main-engine  \.il\i-  gear, 
main  condensers,  main  air  and  circulating 
pumps  and  propellers  arrang»-<l  for  the 
"Louisiana."    "South    Carolina."    ".Michi 

gan."  "Washington. Fennesscc,"  "West 

Virginia"  and  "Maryland"  is  6515  pounds 
per  designed  indicated  horsepower.  If  we 
take  oiit  the  main  condensers,  main  air 
ami  circulating  piiiiips  aiul  iirop.  Ilrr-,  ili'* 
average  weiglit  per  (|esii{ii.<l  in"li.atr«l 
horsejxiwcr  will  l>e  5J.J5  pounds  ShotiM 
wc  take  out  the  weight  of  the  shafting  .tft 
from  the  engine  this  would  bring  the 
weight  per  indicated  horsepower  still  less 
When  one  t.ike»  into  consideration  the 
turbine  lomliinatioiis  that  ar«'  1 
to  iiKTcasf  the  economy  and  tl: 
diameter  in  the  turbine  it  will  ikI  be 
a^limishing  to  nnie  that  the  weights  will 
not  differ  much.  There  is  not  »o  much 
«l>acr  saved  in  the  turbine  installation, 
and  the  space  use<l  by  the  turbine  and  con- 
densers will  not  Ik-  niudi  less  than  the 
S|>ace  used  for  the  instalLilitm  of  a 
reciprocating  engine  The  hr.id  r<»»u» 
may  be  less  in  the  turbine,  but  if  pro(KT 
farililies  are  ma«le  fur  removing  the  tur 
bine  casing  and  removing  the  enhaust 
pipes  the   head   room  will  not  I*  re«luced 

much.      When    the    comhir-; 

bines    are    installed    tor 
p<>*e»  the  «; 


The  atljutfnM'nt  o(  th*  r«  i"r«-  m   :  t-r-r 

;.r<.l  aft    ds- 

i-e    IS    If 
■  rn  the  stall 
rotor.  It  will   be  readil) 
ihT^    I.    ..Of    very   much    v..-,..v     ,  „     a 
1  movement     of     the     shaft. 

Until  Tiir  turbine  i-    . 
suddenly   thnmrn  to 

iMund  to  be  a  great  itratn  u:i  u^  m  she 
thrust,  which  wottld.  tf  *hrrr  wi%  the 
iliRht.  plav 

m    a    1  run 

ning  for  a  time  the  shaft  collars  are  t>>uiH) 
to  wear  the  shoes  in  the  thrust,  and  an; 
slight  play  in  the  thrust  will  have  to  br 
closely   watched       In  case  the     '    '•     ' 
change  an  amount  equal  to  th- 
It   wituld  mean  that   '■' 
l,|.,<1r»    wo.iM    he    K.> 


motive  fMiwer  of  ihe  ship  t  as*-*  have 
occurred  where  the  shrouding  has  been 
cut.  and  in  some  CMCS  where  the  blade « 
have  gone. 

Nearly   every  ordinary  case  of  break 
down  in  a  I 
with  a  liiti 


of  the  reciprocating  engine  ar«  rj»ii\ 
accessible  and  can  be  temporarily  r«- 
paired  in  some  way  or  another  Spare 
parts  can  also  be  carried  to  coser  any 
ordinary  breakdown  It  is  different  with 
.1  v-rfiine    if  any  of  t!  •'- 

,|i.  ,t.|.-.!    tUrff   is    rv' 


and  if  the  blade«  are  gf  nr 

to   repair   the   defects      i':  — 

of  the  merchant    thipt    now    fitted    with 
rs  run  between  two  port*,  and  are 
lime  of  the  run  close  ti»  lf»e  «orks 
V    were  built  or   ma)    l>e   within 
,  ,  ..f  the  work*       Wifh  a  mir^  "i 

war  this   IS   eii' 
lie  t»rdered  at  s'  ; 

workl.  and  H  eftiy  and  feasible  nK-ih<idt 
of  repairs  are  i»ot  gnen  (or  the  ••»rk 
then  the  ship  »h<»uld  not  be  ordered  to  any 
,,■  -h 


abled  there  u 


ing  scrvk*  madmnt  ikaa  at  Ml  povcr. 

and  any    tests    made    taitfi    ike 

•hoold  be  owdc  wick  the 

botr4  mU  mmdft  ttrmt*  eomdut^us     TW 

^ni!.^ir.v  -n  thoold  thcsi  be  matit  wmk  thr 

<    engioe      WWa    the    grsad 

'ws   a   decided   adviMate   m 

'-  e  mrhine  (or  aH-roaad  wmk 

;Hirpoee*  o««f  thM  ol  ike  r*- 

^-   IK  engme  thcM.  hai  Mt  aanl  ikr«. 

should  the  tmthmt  iailalBbea  Mperscdr 

the    rr  MprocatiMg    cagiae    ■    ike    skips 

-  >  he  baik  ia  Ike  lai««.  «kaa» 

-  much  above  ahiMl  91  kanl^ 

ck  I  am  M«  ai  al 

•••'♦—'   »*m  I  tksak 


r\rTy\r.ing       ini-         «»1»WM  ritW,      a 

'tnogh  advasitate  m  aM-rtmmt  watk 

ikmg  the  plare  ol  a  rr- 

'      I  iMnk  tkal  if  moer 

•he  rmpeocat 

mntnre    powvf 

would,  tor  naval  iwiipuf  ^  beep  al  e^aal 

pacr  with  the 


Govcnuncnl  BuUctio   00   Smokdcai 
Conburtioo  ol  Ooal 


\    bulletin    on    Ike    imnkelris    <r«ikas 
•n     f  coal  m  bo4er  pteats.  with  a  ckap^ 

r  mtfjl   fwjtirt«   nlinti     ■ill    ».  •  ■«  Sr 


ir  iT    •     >-   ■jrio%nn*mi«    tn   »rf 

■>  <-  ijrk.-r<r  ,  ••<r«  of  ladhaa,  IWrnui*    ■ 

MIeklgiB.     MsMosiru 

4    PlMljllMJiw    br 
ml  Shu  ^Ums  kasmg  b*e«  m 
'uAnrtM   mformMsoa  wa«  col 
fccied  to  make  the  dela  from  ^  piM* 

of    valor    fo«     t>ii«    trXKOtt 

The   bsU  '  frd   by    D    T     Ha* 

•bll  and    I'  ♦.    ~^*   .—1.    .j.^v. 

that  btltim 

.1     hr      rijrT»e«I      •i»'v«wi      »«ar«r.      ^n 

jrgr    plaal*    cairjNi 
!!u4.ta»lr     widrfy.     where 

'1 


Pr.«KT     rO'linrAm*      e^  wwl 


\    i.irt.iiu-    .) 


*  al  a  til- 


ing shou: 


A*«»l  «• 


!«•  claims  nf  the  tttr 
bine  might  be  added  here,  an-! 
'fdiiction  in  the  engine  r---" 

true,   but    if     forrr«l     !■ 
11      '  '?ir    recipriH  aiiriK    ■ 

r  llrd     on     ^..M1^     .1' 

mm    staff    rrigtif    ' 


8o2 


POWER  AXD  THE  EXGIXEER. 


May  4.    1909. 


The  general  conclusions  of  Messrs. 
Randall  and  Weeks  are  as  follows : 

Smoke  prevention  is  possible.  There 
are  many  types  of  furnace  and  stoker  that 
are  operated  smokelessly. 

Credit  is  to  be  given  to  any  one  kind 
of  apparatus  only  insofar  as  the  manu- 
facturers require  that  it  shall  be  so  set 
under  boilers  that  the  principles  of  com- 
bustion are  respected.  The  value  of  this 
requiremeYit  to  the  average  purchaser  lies 
in  the  fact  that  he  is  thus  reasonably  cer- 
tain of  good  installation.  A  good  stoker 
or  furnace  poorly  set  is  of  less  value  than 
a  poor  stoker  or  furnace  well  set.  Good 
installation  of  furnace  equipment  is  neces- 
sary for  smoke  prevention. 

Stokers  or  furnaces  must  be  set  so  that 
combustion  will  be  complete  before  the 
gases  strike  the  heating  surface  of  the 
boiler.  When  partly  burned  gases  at  a 
temperature  of,  say,  2500  degrees  Fahren- 
heit, strike  the  tubes  of  a  boiler  at,  say, 
350  degrees  Fahrenheit,  combustion  is 
necessarily  hindered  and  may  be  entirely 
arrested.  The  length  of  time  required 
for  the  gases  to  pass  from  the  coal  to  the 
heating  surface  probably  averages  con- 
sidera*bly  less  than  one  second,  a  fact 
which  shows  that  the  gases  and  air  must 
be  intimately  mixed  when  large  volumes 
of  gas  are  distilled,  as  at  times  of  hand 
firing,  or  the  gas  must  be  distilled  uni- 
formly, as  in  a  mechanical  stoker.  By 
adding  mixing  structures  to  a  mechanical- 
stoker  equipment  both  the  amount  of  air 
required  for  combustion  and  the  distance 
from  the  grates  to  the  heating  surface 
may  be  reduced  for  the  same  capacity  de- 
veloped. The  necessary  air  supply  can 
also  be  reduced  by  increasing  the  rate  of 
combustion. 

No  one  type  of  stoker  is  equally  valua- 
ble for  burning  all  kinds  of  coal.  The 
plant  which  has  an  equipment  properly  de- 
signed to  burn  the  cheapest  coal  available 
will  evaporate  water  at  the  least  cost. 

Although  hand-fired  furnaces  can  be 
operated  without  objectionable  smoke,  the 
fireman  is  so  variable  a  factor  that  the 
ultimate  solution  of  the  problem  depends 
on  the  mechanical  stoker — in  other  words, 
the  personal  dement  must  be  eliminated. 
There  is  no  hand-fired  furnace  from 
which,  under  average  conditions,  as  good 
results  can  be  obtained  as  from  many  dif- 
ferent patterns  of  mechanical  stoker;  and 
of  two  equipments  the  one  which  will  re- 
quire the  less  attention  from  the  fireman 
gives  the  better  results.  The  most  eco- 
nomical hand-fired  plants  are  those  that 
approach  most  nearly  to  the  continuous 
feed  of  the  mechanical  stoker.  . 

The  -mall  plant  is  no  longer  depen- 
dent on  hand-fired  furnaces,  as  certain 
types  of  mechanical  stoker  can  be  in- 
stalled under  a  guaranty  of  high  economy, 
with   reduction   of  labor   for  the   fireman. 

In  short,  smoke  prevention  is  both  pos- 
sible and  economical. 

During  1904  to  1906  coals  from  all 
parts   of  the   United    States   were   burned 


at  the  Government  fuel-testing  plant  at 
St.  Louis,  in  furnaces  which  were  in  the 
main  of  the  same  design.  Most  of  the 
tests  were  made  on  a  hand-fired  furnace 
under  a  Heine  water-tube  boiler.  The 
lower  row  of  tubes  of  the  boiler  supported 
a  tile  roof  for  the  furnace,  giving  the  gas 
from  the  coal  a  travel  of  about  12  feet 
before  coming  into  contact  with  the  boiler 
surface.  This  furnace  is  more  favorable 
to  complete  combustion  than  those  in- 
stalled in  the  average  plant.  A  number 
of  coals  were  burned  in  this  furnace  with 
little  or  no  smoke,  but  many  coals  could 
not  be  burned  without  making  smoke  that 
would  violate  a  reasonable  city  ordinance 
when  the  boiler  was  run  at  or  above  its 
normal  rated  capacity. 

In  1907,  the  steaming  section  of  the  St. 
Louis  plant  was  moved  to  Norfolk,  Va., 
where  subsequent  tests  of  this  nature 
were  made.  The  plant  at  Norfolk  was 
equipped  with  two  furnaces — one  fired  by 
liand  and  the  other  by  a  mechanical 
stoker. 

In  the  course  of  the  steaming  tests 
some  special  smoke  tests  were  made  and 
the  influence  of  various  features  in  smoke 
production  was  noted.  As  the  tests  were 
made  as  far  as  possible  under  standard 
conditions  with  a  minimum  variation  in 
boiler-room  labor  the  results  bring  out 
the  importance  of  other  factors,  such  as 
character  of  fuel  and  furnace  design. 

A  brief  summary  of  the  general  con- 
clusion is  as  follows : 

A  well-designed  and  operated  furnace 
will  burn  many  coals  without  smoke  up  to 
a  certain  number  of  pounds  per  hour,  the 
rate  varying  with  different  coals,  depend- 
ing on  their  chemical  composition.  If 
more  than  this  amount  is  burned,  the 
efficienc}'  will  decrease  and  smoke  will  be 
made,  owing  to  the  lack  of  furnace  capa- 
city to  supply  air  and  mix  gases. 

High  volatile  matter  in  the  coal  gives 
low  efficiency  and  vice  versa.  The  high- 
est efficiency  was  obtained  when  the  fur- 
nace was  run  at  low  capacity.  When  the 
furnace  was  forced  the  efficiency  de- 
creased. 

With  a  hand-fired  furnace  the  best  re- 
sults were  obtained  when  firing  was  done 
most  frequently  and  with  the  smallest 
charge. 

Sinall  sizes  of  coal  burned  with  less 
smoke  than  large  sizes,  but  developed 
lower  capacities. 

Peat,  lignite  and  subbituminous  coal 
burned  readily  in  the  type  of  tile-roofed 
furnace  used  and  developed  the  rated 
capacity   with   practically  no   smoke. 

Coals  which  smoked  badly  gave  effici- 
encies 3  to  5  ])er  cent,  lower  than  the 
coals   burning   with   little   smoke. 

Briquets  were  found  to  be  an  excellent 
form  ff)r  using  slack  coal  in  a  hand-fired 
plant.  They  can  be  burned  at  a  fairly 
rapid  rate  of  combustion  with  good  effici- 
ency and  with  practically  no  smoke.  High- 
volatile  coals  are  perhaps  as  valuable 
when  briquettcd   as   low-volatile  coals. 


A  comparison  of  tests  on  the  same  coal 
washed  and  unwashed  showed  that  under 
the  same  conditions  the  washed  coal 
burned  much  more  rapidly  than  the  raw 
coal,  thus  developing  high  rated  capa- 
cities. In  the  average  hand-fired  furnace 
washed  coal  burns  with  lower  efficiency 
and  makes  more  smoke  than  raw  coal. 
Moreover,  washed  coal  offers  a  means  of 
running  at  high  capacity,  with  good  effici- 
ency, in  a  well-designed  furnace. 

Forced  draft  did  not  burn  coal  any 
more  efficiently  than  natural  draft.  It 
supplied  enough  air  for  high  rates  of 
combustion,  but  as  the  capacity  of  the 
boiler  increased  the  efficiency  decreased 
and  the  percentage  of  black  smoke  in- 
creased. 

Most  coals  that  do  not  clinker  exces- 
sively can  be  burned  with  from  i  to  5  per 
cent,  greater  efficiency  and  with  a  smal- 
ler percentage  of  black  smoke  on  a  rock- 
ing grate  than  on  a  flat  grate. 

Air  admitted  freely  at  firing  and  for  a 
short  period  thereafter  increases  efficiency 
and  reduces  smoke. 

As  the  CO  in  the  fuel  increases  the 
black  smoke  increases ;  the  percentage  of 
CO  in  the  flue  gas  is  therefore,  in  gen- 
eral, a  good  guide  to  efficient  operation. 
However,  owing  to  the  difficulty  of  de- 
termining this  factor,  combustion  cannot 
he  regulated  by  it. 

The  simplest  guide  to  good  operation  is 
pounds  of  coal  burned  per  square  foot  of 
grate  surface  per  hour. 

None  of  the  problems  of  combustion 
lias  received  more  experimental  treat- 
ment than  the  burning  of  coal  in  hand- 
Jired  furnaces.  Hundreds  of  devices  for 
smokeless  combustion  have  been  patented, 
Init  almost  without  exception  they  have 
proved  failures.  This  record  may  be  ex- 
plained by  the  fact  that  many  of  the  pat- 
entees have  been  unfamiliar  with  all  the 
difficulties  to  be  overcome,  or  have  begun 
at  the  wrong  end.  Numerous  patents 
cover  such  processes  as  causing  the  waste 
gases  to  reenter  the  furnace,  and  schemes 
iVir  collecting  and  burning  the  soot  are 
legion.  So  many  manufacturers  who  have 
been  looking  for  some  cheap  addition  to 
a  poorly  constructed  furnace  to  make  it 
smokeless  have  experienced  inevitable 
failure  that  the  work  of  educating  the 
l)ublic  to  rid  cities  of  the  smoke  nuisance 
has  been  liard,  long  and  only  partly  suc- 
cessful. 

The  total  number  of  steam  plants  hav- 
ing boilers  fired  by  hand  is  far  greater 
than  the  total  of  plants  with  mechanical 
stokers,  but  if  the  comparison  is  based 
on  total  horsepower  developed  the  fig- 
ures show  less  difference.  Particularly  is 
this  true  in  sections  of  the  central  West, 
where  mechanical  stokers  are  generally 
used  at  large  plants.  As  a  rule,  hand- 
fired  plants  do  not  have  proper  furnaces, 
and  methods  of  operation  are  far  from 
conducive  to  good  combustion.  Coal  is 
usually  fired  in  large  quantities,  and  lit- 
tle  opportunity   is   given   for   the   air   and 


lay  4.  lyoy 


POWER  AND  THE  EN(iINEER. 


fci 


^ascs  to  mix  before  the  heating  surface 
is  reached  and  coiiibu^tiun  ; 
all    the    hand-nrei]    plants     , 
in    smoke    prevention    has    l>c-c: 
chiefly   by   careful    firing.     Th' 
thrown  on  often   in  small  the 

fire   was  kept   clean,   encuK  pre- 

vent the  passage  of  air  thruuKh  the   fire 
never   being   allowed   to   collect    on    the 
grate;  and  more  air  was  supplied  at  fir- 
ing than  after  the  volatile  matter  had  been 
distilled.     Even  with  such  precauti<>ii<>  the 
plants     might     have     made     obi< 
smoke  at  times  but  for  the  fact 
illy  some  method  was  employed  i. .r  iiii» 
ing  the  gases  and  air  before  they  reached 
the  heating  surface. 

Some  Kencral  conclusions  from  the  facts 
set  forth  in  the  bulletin  are  as  follows: 

The  flame  and  the  distilled  gases  shoald 
not  be  allowed  to  come  into  contact  with 
the  boiler  surfaces  until  combustion  is 
complete. 

Firebrick  furnaces  of  sufficient  length 
and  a  continuous  or  nearly  ontmuous 
supply  of  coal  and  air  to  the  fire  make  it 
possible  to  burn  most  coals  evidently  and 
without  smoke. 

Coals  containing  a  large  percentage  of 
tar  and  heavy  hydrocarbons  are  difficult 
to  burn  without  smoke  and  require  ^^>e^-laI 
furnaces  and  more  than  >>r<liii.ir\  ..ir«-  m 
firing. 

Briquets  are  suitable  for  use  under 
power-plant  conditions  when  burned  in  a 
reasonably  good  furnace  at  the  temix  r.i 
tares  at  which  such  furnaces  are  ii 
operated.  In  such  furnaces  bri.,.-.< 
generally  give  better  results  than  the 
same  coal  burned  raw. 

In   ordinary   l>oilrr    furnace*  only  coals 
high  in 
out  sni 
more  t!  ry  care  in  nring. 

roml'  i  bf>ilerr<H.in  equipment 

table  for  nearly  all  power-plant  coodi- 

■  ■•>ns  can  be  selected,  and  can  be  operated 

without    objectionable    smoke    when    re«- 

'  ■  ■  .--.i 

an  be  re- 

iitodcivd     tu     a(U.i:r..t^r 
but  must  continue   to  ^'ir 
fixed  carlion  or  to  h- 
inrflScient    results,    a.' 

less  annoyance  from  smoke      in   ■ 
...»es   a    new.   well    drsignr*!    p' "" 
only  solution  of  the  diffi<-ult> 
f    r^-r   plants    are    for    ■  ' 
.    operated   more  ec 
f>es,  and   the   int  rr 
planf'    ofTrf     T 
pmbleni  of 
a  reasonabi' 
•m  smnkr 

rhe    increasing    use   of    ciicr    fr.>in   bv 
>duct  coke  plants  in  «rv  • 


The  Alberta  (Can.)   Liccme   Law 

'  »n  Ma\  1,   Mjrfj,  the  Irw'i»taii\r  a»»cni 
bly  of 

pa^^'-'l  ..    .    ... 

Sfi  entitled,  "The   Steam   It  ilrr 

.\ci 

This  act,  witb  ibe  amendments  passed 
in  1907  and  1  .  '     " 
"boiler,"  "ow. 

»pec- 

T*.  and  providcB  tor  the 

ict. 

Ihe  act  provides  for  obtaming  a  certin- 

cate  of  qualificalioo  a»  engmeer  in  three 

ways: 

First,  —    -n  who  holds  a  certificate 

of  qual  >  an  engineer   from  anr 

ill'  tr«ly    a;' 

M'  »r%    of  q«' 

at:- 

th. 

mcnt,  or  irom  any  cc>: 

any  other  portion  of  t.      .  

or  the  L'niled  States  of  America.  »hall  be 

en'-"'-'     "    —aking  application   to  the 

mi  Mied  by  such  evidence  of 

his  iji! 
the  mr 
of  $5.  • 

tinn  n' 


a!i'i   ha%e    tud   over   rsn«" 


'■»•■»».  alto  a  ccfiaai 

*m4  practsal  |Ba»i  ^ 

•iHlate  ihrovgii  Uck  of  c^kmmi 

.i 

'•^-^^ >.  .  i»t .  ••    '«:ii     ai    mNranra    Irj 

the  caodidalc.  bai  mk*  prrMMi  or  iMcffre- 
'--  slialJ  iwM  be  aa  fi^—ni 

aadidatrs  mmm^  for  a  hnt^iam  en- 
titKaie  miMC  oteaaa  7s  per  nwtL  ot  iW 
tocaJ  Dombcr  of  m*r%t  >%^ti|_  ^^if^  wtm 
tnat  for  wo  4u»  fe  per  cnL 

and  for  a  t>  r  cnM    m  or4cr  to 

pass  T1mm«  ««m  tail  for  fmn-,  Wl  i^ke 
60  per  crm.  of  muk»  alloat<  mtf  W 
granted    a    lecoad-elaat    certittate.    mti 

ihr^   „.u....   ^.. en*    «•  iW 

•e-  itrd-daai  car- 

«  An-jiii»frt     !.iilif'g    to    pMa   aHf 

1  write  far  ilw  saaw  or  a  Mgkrr 

'  Mttsl  alker  iW  cxyira- 


tv 


s  • 
irrale 

•nitruciing  tlMaa. 


years 


-T    t:ir 

lion  b< 

VI 


ijTrrul 


ll 

tK» 

lificaies,  as 

ftpector.     The   ire   ior   j  [ifm*  i»i-<ifc»i 
rrrtificate  i«  %^ 


'<«  tW  km^  earn 
tW  4»fsni 


V»» 


siig  poviiblc  a  d<a:»  anl  c-^i 


8o4 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  4,   1909. 


Practical    Letters    from     Practical    Men 

Don't  Bother  About    the    Style,    but   Write   Just    What    You  Think, 
Know  or  Want  to  Know   About  Your  Work,  and  Help  Each  Other 

WE     PAY     FOR     USEFUL     IDEAS 


Courtesy  Due  the  Engineer 

The  engineer  often  enters  into  corre- 
spondence with  different  manufacturers 
in  order  to  find  out  what  is  most  suitable 
for  his  plant,  considering  the  conditions 
under  which  he  has  to  operate.  He  uses 
his  firm's  letterhead  to  show  who  he  is ; 
but  man}-  times  the  dealer  will  write  the 
firm  in  reply,  with  the  result  that  the  let- 
ter promptly  reaches  the  waste  basket, 
causing  at  least  delay  and  perhaps  trou- 
ble for  the  engineer.  It  is  the  engineer's 
duty  to  find  what  is  needed,  then  to  ad- 
vise his  employer.    Then  when  a  manufac- 


there  are  others  who  persist  in  working 
against  their  own  interests. 

J.  F.  Miller. 
St.  Augustine,  Fla. 


Timing  Gas  Engine  Valves    and 
Ignition 


Mr.  Tilden  in  his  letter  on  page  416  of 
the  March  2  issue  comes  to  conclusions 
which  do  not  seem  to  "jibe"  with  my  ex- 
perience, and  I  should  like  to  point  out 
the  reason  why  I  am  strongly  of  the  opin- 
ion that  it  is  better  if  the  valves  do  not 


center  point ;  to  close  10  degrees  after  the 
dead-center  point. 

This  adjustment  will  give  better  results 
than  when  the  valves  open  and  close  at 
the  dead-center  point. 

It  is  true  that  a  gas  engine  acts  during 
two  strokes  as  a  pump  and  that  the  valves 
of  a  pump  should  close  at  the  end  of  the 
stroke.  But  it  is  a  well  known  fact  that 
in  a  gas  engine  it  is  important  that  the 
mixture  is,  as  far  as  possible,  free  from 
exhaust  gases,  or  else  there  will  be  slow 
combustion,  which  may  cause  backfiring  if 
the  cylinder  head  is  not  free  from  dead 
spaces.     By  adjusting  the  valves  as  men- 


Puvier,  X.  y. 


FIG.    2 


turer  or  dealer  receives  word  from  that 
employer  it  is  time  enough  to  write  him 
and  not  before.  This  consideration  is 
due  the  engineer. 

The  writer  has  within  a  short  time  sent 
orders  to  a  firm  to  the  amount  of  $10,000, 
yet  it  is  possible  that  that  firm  does  not 
know  to  whom  to  credit  that  business. 
This  goes  to  show  that  while  the  em- 
ployer pays  the  bills,  the  engineer  may 
have  to  furnish  the  brains.  In  fact,  that 
is  what  he  is  paid  for.  As  a  rule  manu- 
facturers and  dealers  are  courteous  to 
and  assist  the  engineer  in  many  ways, 
seeming  to  appreciate  the  fact  that  he  is 
"the    man    behind    their    machines,"    yet 


close  and  open  on  the  dead-center  points. 
I  made  several  tests  on  vertical  gas  en- 
gines and  I  found  that  a  proper  adjust- 
ment for  the  valves  is  as  follows : 

For  vertical  engines  (Fig.  i)  :  Inlet 
valve  to  open  30  degrees  ahead  of  the 
dead-center  point ;  to  close  6  degrees  after 
the  dead-center  point.  Exhaust  valve  to 
open  40  degrees  ahead  of  the  dead-center 
point ;  to  close  30  degrees  after  the  dehd- 
center  point. 

For  horizontal  engines  (Fig.  2)  :  Inlet 
valve  to  open  20  degrees  ahead  of  the 
dead-center  point ;  to  close  20  degrees 
after  the  dead-center  point.  Exhaust  valve 
to   open   40   degrees   ahead   of  the   dead- 


tioned  herewith  there  will  be  a  better 
clearing  of  the  cylinder,  if  the  engine  is 
well  constructed,  which  means  a  better 
mixture,  and  this  is  of  more  importance 
than  the  very  small  loss  of  mixture,  if 
any,  produced  by  opening  and  closing  the 
valves  a  little  earlier  and  later. 

As  mentioned  by  Mr.  Tilden,  it  is  im- 
portant that  the  time  of  ignition  may  be 
changed  while  the  engine  is  running.  It 
should  be  possible  to  ignite  the  mixture 
from  50  degrees  ahead  to  20  degrees  after 
the  dead-center  point,  the  latter  adjust- 
ment being  used  for  starting  the  engine. 
Harry   A.   Meixner. 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 


May  4,  1909. 

Improvement  on  Low  Water  Alarm 

.  The  low  water  in  the  storage  tanks 
located  on  the  roof  of  the  factory  was 
rather  difficult  to  account  for  when  the 
insurance  inspectors  made  their  visit. 
After  promises  had  t>een  made  to  keep  a 
closer  check  on  the  actual  amount  of 
water  in  reserve,  a  careful  inspection  of 
the  If^w- water  alarm  was  made,  with  the 
idea  that  the  trouble  came  from  this 
source. 

A  construction  similar  to  Fig.  1  was  in 
use.  This  consisted  of  a  float  connected 
to  a  stem,  to  which  was  secured  a  brass 
disk  A  which  made  contact  with  the  two 
springs  B  B,  when  there  was  an  absolute 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

cone  £   wedged   into  potttion   and   Bttdc 

conuct   with  both   of   t" 
there  «ras  no  pu»«ibiht> 

HcXV  \rr. 

^  Vi'<rr\  fM-rfcrt   tattsfac- 

tion  *iHi   titc  e  found 

a  lank   full  .  :  uod.    .f 

inspection. 

Cuins  C.  Mrt* 

Indianapolis,  Ind. 


Lubricants    for  Cylinders 


In  reference  to  John  M.  Sewell's  ankle 
on  the  above  subject.  I  should  like  to 
make  a  few  remarks,  partly  a«  a  friendly 


"  t*M»  reMardi  work.  \n^  cfcc 

-     tudeM  m  select^  a  good  od 

'»t  oil  o«  of  a  aoiakrr  dr»«»^4 

«"»  *ny  given  pmpotc.    Of  cov«r 

had  no  vaJae  at  all.  afvi   -1 —     .^^„, 

«a*  found  for  lugk  tei  praclt- 

a!U      .11        ......4..     ^,      ^.,      ,^      j^^ 

o  d«gr«c*  FaliriBfciiM 

•>eT  than  water. 

i  he  flasli  pomt  also  appealed  1 

factor  for  daMing  oib  a*  to  ^^1 

ftash  is  foood  onder  ordinary 

oMiditions  and  pret»«re.  bat  wImi  m  e4 

1^  placed  onder  coRMdermUc  pre«««re  Ma4 

:!.   Xhr   frrtmre  of  •fcm  at  •  h^   ton- 

Iitiom    are    chingiij    wid 

'»e  flasli  r   -■  iir«  an 

jbtfnl  f»  fiiM|_, 

'  i>   rwmming   oU  lad  dcpLMi't    Ukf*   frofli 

^leam  engioes  using  IrighpreMure  aad 
soperiwatcd  steam,  that  no  cylmder  od 
decompoted  *^<^  »t  owr  700  digrns 
Fahrenhr  •  the  pUcr  to  go 

ihoroogf !  4lMr  fartorx  aisd 

4d  10  ikam   llwl 

•■•»■   .  hrri.      •  .,   ,>., 

In   regard   to   Mr    S' 

^  I  mm  correct  m  «at- 

'oe  bevc  <yinMrr 

■ka«  are  aec  ■■• 

iw««  iMd  ■ 

I  rhom^  it 

fv«  od  HMMfar- 

too   HMCll       TW 

>    crops  op  now  uid  tWn.  Um 


n  tkat 


!»*.! 


.fi 


m«-n    tn    m"** 


f-urther. 


By   nndly    cw- 
U  coottM^ 
.ctaUe  fMa 


.   I 

.ill    on    tW    part 
"•m    ne    ■msoimm    tlMI 
Tiiitt  KA«r  a  Mgk  fke  < 
.1     Tkt  iffw^ 


"f  the  t<  p  of  tlu-  %i>riiiK«       I  he 
C  was   supposed  t<>  m.ike  "-nn- 
l.»it    ;  ind   if  one  of 

had    1  IP   bent   the   »« . 

have  worked  intermittently,  with  (air 
h\\\\\. 

Ifowevrr,   the  design    seemed    so   ho; 
'-*■    'hat   a   few   changes   were   made. 
1  in  Fig    2. 
I  nc  ro<|  r>   w  •    •  ■ 

rnd   and   a   br.. 

nf     a     »!• 
«inf|     attarhrd     t<' 
•  M  in  the  »crtinn  in  !■ 
now   tiecame  much  mon 


4adi  pat* 
iMsdrrnd  »#k  •  ^H 


«••* 


<» 


rrvlnrr.   iiaa  ■• 


8o6 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  4,    1909. 


A    Hose   Reel 


The  accompanying  sketch  shows  the 
manner  of  constructing  a  hose  reel.  It 
is  very  convenient  for  keeping  the  hose  in 
good  shape  and  in  running  off  or  coiling 
the  hose. 

The  reel  turns  on  the  I -inch  pipe  which 


PI 


Ground  oT  Gukets 
2  Uniwi  Up 


'l^u. 


Lock  N  at  00  end 
of  1  'Pipe 


1  Bush  bored  Ij 
slip  on  I  "Pipe.  Acts 
I  m  Gl>n'l  lg  boM 
the  PaotUDg  in. 


Poutr,  S.  r. 


HOW  TO   MAKE  A  HOSE  REEL 

has  a  stuffing-box  joint  between  it  and  the 
union. 

J.    O.    Benefiel. 

Anderson,  Ind. 


Kerosene  as  a  Scale  Remover 


Mr.    Hull's   Emergency  Motor 
Connections 


Referring  to  Fig.  i  of  C.  V.  Hull's 
interesting  article  on  page  763  of  the 
April  27  number,  I  should  like  to  sug- 
gest that  the  seriously  objectionable  feat- 
ure of  connecting  his  field  winding  di- 
rectly to  the  line  could  easily  be  avoided 
by  making  the  connections  as  shown  in  the 
accompanying  diagram.  This  not  only 
compels  the  operator  to  open  the  field  cir- 
cuit every  time  the  armature  is  discon- 
nected, but  it  causes  the  lamps  to  indi- 
cate which  voltage  the  motor  is  running 
on,  by  burning  dimly  or  brightly,  and  it 
eliminates  one  of  the  wires  from  the  field 
winding  to  the  main  line,  one  terminal  of 


Mr.  Mellen  set  forth  his  views  regard- 
ing the  use  of  kerosene  for  removing  scale 
from  steam  boilers.  Evidently,  Mr.  Mel- 
len did  not  go  very  deeply  into  the  proper- 
ties of  kerosene,  or  he  would  not  have 
assumed  that  the  "150  degrees"  on  a  bar- 
rel of  illuminating  oif  implies  that  that  is 
the  point  at  which  it  will  vaporize.  If  the 
barrel  contained  gasolene  the  "150  de- 
grees" would  mean  the  point  at  which  it 
would  vaporize,  but  for  kerosene  the 
vaporizing  point  is  338  degrees  Fahren- 
heit and  upward,  so  that  Mr.  Mellen's 
conclusion  that  kerosene  in  a  boiler 
passes  off  in  the  form  of  vapor  long  be- 
fore any  steam  is  used  from  it  is  not 
true,  unless  the  pressure  in  the  boiler  ex- 
ceeds 100  pounds.  As  the  pressure  on  the 
boilers  in  the  case  he  had  in  mind  was 
only  20  pounds,  it  is  quite  evident  that  the 
kerosene  did  not  pass  off  in  the  form  of 
vapor. 

I  also  think  that  Mr.  Mellen  is  inclined 
to  condemn  kerosene  too  strongly  as  a 
scale  preventive.  Where  used  with  intelli- 
gence it  seems  to  give  excellent  results. 
The  first  application  of  the  oil  should,  if 
possible,  be  made  while  the  boiler  is  idle, 
by  inserting  from  3  to  6  quarts  of  oil, 
then  filling  the  boiler  with  water,  heating 
it  to  the  boiling  point  and  allowing  the 
water  to  stand  in  the  boiler  a  week  or 
two  before  removal.  The  oil  should  then 
be  added  in  small  quantities  (2  to  4 
quarts  per  week)  when  the  boiler  is  in 
actual  use. 

W.    S.    DURAND. 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 


rOQQQQQQ(}.r| 


We  turned  the  town  gas  over  to  the  en- 
gine and  it  ran  as  nicely  as  could  be  de- 
sired ;   no  back-firing  occurred  at  all. 

By  the  time  the  end  of  the  test  was  due" 
the  suction  producer  was  all  right,  so  we 
turned  the  gas  on  to  the  engine  again. 
Back-firiftg  occurred,  however,  as  loud 
and  as  often  as  before.  This  showed  that 
either  the  mixture  or  the  gas  was  at 
fault.  We  twisted  the  air  cocks  to  all 
positions  and  got  a  very  slight  improve- 
ment by  more  air.  Next  I  turned  off  the 
steam  a  little  at  the  producer  and  the  im- 
provement was  considerable.  I  then  turned 
it  off  by  degrees  still  more,  taking  care 
that  the  generator  did  not  heat  up  ab- 
normally, and  soon  the  back-firing  ceased 
altogether. 

Now,  from  what  I  have  read  of  the 
theory  of  the  production  of  gases,  I  re- 
membered seeing  it  stated*  that  there  are 
some  mixtures  of  oxygen  with  hydrogen 
that  are  explosive  at  comparatively  low 
temperatures.  So  I  think  that  when  I 
turned  off  the  steam  the  gas  that  was 
coming  through  before  was  modified  so 
that  these  mixtures  were  not  in  it.  I 
should,  however,  like  to  read  another 
opinion  about  this.  If  it  is  so,  then  the 
hot  gases  remaining  over  from  the  ex- 
haust stroke  would  easily  light  back  the 
fresh  gas  when  the  inlet  opened. 

As  this  case  cannot  be  unique  the  cure 
may  be  of  use  to  others. 

John  S.  Leese. 

IManchester,    Eng. 


MR.     MALCOLM  S    DIAGRAM 

the  fiSld  winding  being  connected  directly 
to  one  armature  terminal  on  the  motor, 
as  usual. 

George  W.  Malcolm. 
Brooklyn,   N.   Y. 


Gas  Engine  Back  Firing 


In  making  tests,  in  the  works,  of  four- 
cylinder  vertical  gas  engines  considerable 
trouble  was  experienced  with  back- 
firing. This  would  occur  at  no  load  just 
the  same  as  when  the  brake. was  on  up 
to  100  horsepower.  It  did  not  occur  on 
the  compression  stroke,  as  they  often  do, 
but  on  the  suction  stroke.  If  it  had  oc- 
curred on  the  compression  stroke  it  would 
not  have  been  heard  in  the  air  pipe ;  at 
least,  not  so  loud,  as  all  the  valves  are 
shut. 

As  the  engines  were  only  just  erected, 
the  trouble  was  not  due  to  incandescent 
carbon  deposit,  but  it  was  thought  it  might 
be  due  to  burs  on  sharp  corners  getting 
red  hot.  Care  was  therefore  taken  to 
clean  everything  and  round  off  the  holes 
to  the  indicator  cocks,  etc.  We  started 
up  again,  but  things  were  no  better,  the 
back-firing  occurring  with  annoying  regu- 
larity. Just  then  the  producer  was  put  out 
of  commission  owing  to  a  damaged  lining. 


Cause  of  an  Engine  Wreck 


One  morning  recently  a  400-horsepowL'r 
tandem  compound  engine,  belted  to  a 
generator  and  running  noncondensing, 
with  full  load  and  a  gage  pressure  of  135 
pounds,  was  running  smoothly,  when  the 
top  lug  on  the  connecting  rod  next  to 
the  crank  brasses  broke  as  shown  in  the 
illustration,  wrecking  the  engine.  When 
the  lug  broke,  the  brasses  pulled  apart 
at  the  top  when  the  engine  was  taking 
the  pull,   allowing  the   connecting   rod   to 


3 


cause  of  engine  wreck 

drop  to  the  floor,  after  bending  the  lower 
bolt  in  a  segment  of  a  circle. 

When  the  connecting  rod  dropped  to 
the  floor  the  piston  hit  the  cylinder  head 
of  the  low-pressure  cylinder,  cracking  the 
low-pressure  piston.  The  crosshead  shoes 
were  detached  from  the  crosshead  and 
shot  out  on  the  floor.  After  the  load  had 
been  taken  off,  the  flywheel  and  genera- 
tor ran  for  about  25  minutes. 

D.    C.    Chittenden. 

Brantford.  Ont. 


May  4,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


Kerosene  Oil  in  Boilers 


I  have  taken  charglc  of  boilers  which 
were  badly  coated  with  a  hard-lime  scale 
and  have  removed  it  very  effectually  bjr 
the  use  of  kerosene.  I  would  not,  how- 
ever, recommend  the  use  of  kerosene  in- 
discriminately, for  if  the  water  to  be 
treated  carries  a  quantity  of  vegetable 
matter  it  is  liable  to  be  muddy.  Other 
boiler  solvents  would  be  better,  but  a 
hard-lime  scale  that  cannot  be  removed 
by  other  solvents  can  be  moved  by  an  in- 
•  nt  use  of  kerosene.  If  a  boiler  ii 
-.ivcly  scaled  there  Ls  some  danger 
from  the  use  of  kerosene,  as  it  will  undoubt- 
edly find  the  weak  places  in  the  shell  and 
tubes  and  is  liable,  in  removing  the  scale, 
to  start  a  leak.  In  order  to  obtain  the 
best    results    it    is    necessary    to    put    the 


even  60  poands  prcMorc,  absolute,  woald 
have  a  temperature  of  aga  decrees,  there 
remains  172  degrees  in  exccM  of  the 
vaporizini;  point  of  keroccnc.  So  it  ap- 
pears tlut  the  only  method  of  obuintng 
satisfactory  results  is  by  putting  the  oil 
into  the  empty  boiler. 

Cbau-is  H.  TAYijoa. 
Bridgeport.  Conn. 


Arranging  a  Water  Column 


A  shon  time  ago  the  writer  had  oc- 
casion to  visit  a  fellow  engineer  and, 
while  being  shown  through  the  plant, 
noticed  a  little  feature  that  may  be  of 
interest.     Everything   was    m   order   and 

.1.-  — ; —  ;„^  nicely,  but  the  water 

rs  were  in  the  wrong 


MIH 


LU         UJ         UJ 


r   Tur 


D 


kerosene  into  the  boiler  before   fjlling  it. 

as  the  oil  will  then  float  on  the  surface 

of   the   water,  the  entire   surface   of   the 

shell    and    tubes    will   be   covered    and    if 

there  i«  any  scale,  the  oil  will  work  under- 

it    from    the    iron.      A 

,!ion  of  thi^  "a»'  h*  ob- 

1  m  the  c4Mr  of  an  old  '  ''Ut 

.hich.  however   rusty,  c.i  be 

removed   after  a   liberal   use  ol   ker-srnr 

The    usual    grade    of    kero%rne    oil    will 

vaporize    at    approximately    fr-Tn    118   to 

135  degrees,  the  difTerrncr  \>ru\^  r*-Uuyr 

■1    to   whether   the    vapori/ink'    ''     •  irnr  ! 

laki'iK 
•  it  ccr 

>P. 
.  if 

a  hratrr  is  placed  In-twrcn  the  iff  <     ' 

the   boiler,   as   it    would   be   a    vrr . 
heater    which    would    not    heat    l»i«-     *  «  ''f 
to  more  than  ijo  f|rv.r^r.    jn.l   ■      t  >m  v 


na  « 

place,  and  it  w  :   a  liglrt 

hanging  near   '  I   sog- 

getted  the  remedy  shown  in  ibc  Moom* 
panying  sketch. 

In   Fig.   I.  the  water  column  is  shown 

with   the  try  rocks  in   front  at  A.  also 

the  water  glass,  which  couU  not  be  s«ca 

at   J  'stance  from  the  iolnnw  lo 

f.hr  ~    i  shows  the   Mat  vUtr 

iritcd  one-quarter  arooad  to  tlw 

<ti«  the  gfati  •<>  tht  front  bnt 

.    'ht  try  CO-  cloa«  lo  tiM 

lor  of  •  By  ditcon- 

iter  coluren  Irooi  tb«  pipiai 


iner    w'fe    fi»rn 
)y    wbkk   ^irt   dMwi   In   tlw 

•    ng» 
■ft- 


fl*M  tbm-ot  rahrw  to  m  lo  knv*  ^  ps 
vahrc  /  at  dM  boctoa. 

C  W  DwLar 
Depew.  N.  Y. 


locicAJc  of  SttUiy 

In  answer  to  th« 
by  Mr.  MiidMll.  1 
ask  for  an  inercaat  ol  akry,  m  ika  «a- 
pk>ycr  shows  by  bit  acbom  ilui  ht  wil 
not  give  it  ooiil  aiksd.  My  way  wonM 
be  to  show  kta  where  and  bow  I  knd 
saved  hia  aoaey  and  iWn  aak  hia  ti  I 
was  not  cnbitod  to  ai  lea«  pan  ol  the 
aoKKint  I  had  avad  Ua  If  he  were 
the  right  lort  of  a  aan  be  woald  graa 
it :  if  not,  there  b  only  one  way  a  doc 
sod  that  b  to  look  lor 
where  yonr  work  win  be  betar 
ated.  and  when  secnred.  leave  in  a 
and  fair  way.  The  only 
can  use  with 
pay  or  a  new  nan.  ba  I  do  not  believe  in 
the  oae  of  it  ontd  ptncefni 
failed. 

It  is  a  bard  waiter  to 
tion  when  all  tke 
^    •  tt  looks  to  ae 

Jie  coapaay  acaliaMd  conid  pay  te 
former  rngiaiir  ||S  par  week  iW  preaea 
one  tmder  the  drcaMaaces  o«gkt  to  gM 
that  anoont.  or  awrc.  wiUwa  aakkig 
for  it 

There  are  a  large  nnabev  of 

who  know  wry  bttle  aboa  a 

or  what  b  going  on  ikere.  and  a  long 

S«da  keep  andng  and  tke  bMi 

ipylin  and  repairs  are  na  ton 

<r  M  s  tbongkt     Tkli 

.  U  not  gtv«  an  airaa 

of  salary  m^tm  H  t»  bronglM  to  bto  nn- 

tice   with   good    strong 

facts.     I  take    it    fraa    tka 

„..,^  IK,!  the  cnginaw  las  Iwpt  a  r«mf4 

xt*  and  knows  soarwherv  naar 

tnc  co»i  of  operatMik  and  il  lo  nt  ana 

one  good,  strong. 

bis  own  knods 

Most    tmploi  rt%,  if 
right  way.  and  ike 
ihca  m  a  bobaa  like 
yow  aore  ikan  kalf  way  and  w<l 
grant  yonr  regnart  or  give  gand  n 
tor  not  doing  mk  in  sock  a  way  tka 
wiH   be   no   bard 
tnto   a    aan's 

tiMi     "I  haw  sawd  yon  •«  mmtk 
or.  Ike  plMM  bs»  coti  yew  Ira  n 
na  andtr  niy  ckarga  *an  andte 
dietttor.  and  I  waM  *a  aat  < 
salary  ikan  ht  got,  at  ya  an^ 

MM  tb*  r*gki  way  to  gn  akoa  H. 
W»<t  to  bard  feeAngs 

■ton 

.rrt    !>»«    IbftS  ol 


8o8 

road  open  for  a  second  attack  if  needed. 
Use  diplomacy,  for  it  pays  in  the  end. 
W.  E.   Sargent. 
Franklin,  Mass. 

I  should  say  that  the  engineer  referred 
to  certainly  had  the  right  idea  about 
"showing  his  employers  by  his  work  that 
he  was  worth  all  they  could  afford  to 
pay,"  but  unfortunately  he  was  the  right 
man  in  the  wrong  place,  as  he  was  receiv- 
ing $200  per  year  less  than  a  former  man, 
while  saving  his  employer  $2400  per  year 
in  expenses. 

Few  employers  are  willing  to  increase  a 
man's  pay  voluntarily,  however  good  he 
may  be,  but  let  him  hang  on  as  long  as 
he  will,  and  when  he  tires  of  the  condi- 
tions under  which  he  is  working,  and  de- 
sires to  leave,  he  is  told  that  he  is  a  good 
fellow,  along  with  a  lot  of  other  "gush," 
and  perhaps  if  he  can  be  persuaded  to 
stay,  a  little  "satisfier"  is  attached  to  the 
pay  check,  and  he  blushes  when  he  gets 
it.  He  is  a  good  fellow,  though,  and  he 
stays.  It  seems  to  me  that  the  man  who 
really  knows  and  does  things  is  the  man 
who  gets  the  little  plum,  although  we  de- 
sire to  believe  the  reverse. 

Some  time  ago  an  engineer  was  told  by 
the  superintendent  that  since  he  had  taken 
charge  "things  had  been  going  100  per 
cent,  better;"  but  a  short  time  afterward, 
when  this  same  good  engineer  asked  for 
an  increase  in  salary,  he  was  told  that 
there  was  no  chance  for  any  raise.  This 
engineer  was  making  a  good  saving,  but 
he  didn't  get  any  of  it. 

If  a  man  can  better  conditions  or  save 
his  employer  dollars,  I  see  no  reason  why 
he  is  not  entitled  to  a  portion  of  the  sav- 
ing, and  if  he  cannot  get  it  without  the 
asking,  he  should  ask.  He  will  be  turned 
down  enough  at  that.  My  experience  has 
been  that  I  never  get  what  I  do  not 
ask  for. 

Some  large  manufacturers  give  their 
employees  a  portion  of  what  they  save  the 
concern.  This  is  based  on  the  premium 
system,  but  the  giving  of  a  portion  saved 
could  be  carried  to  practically  every  de- 
partment where  capital  and  labor  meet. 

Yes.  ask  for  more  salary  if  you  con- 
scientiously think  you  deserve  it,  and 
know  the  reason  why,  even  if  you  do  not 
get  it.  Hold  up  for  your  just  dues,  for 
no  one  respects  a  weakling.  The  good 
man  too  oft  gets  the  flowers  after  he  is 
gone. 

L.  Earle  Brown. 
Enslev.  .Ma. 


The  question  of  requesting  an  increase 
in  salary  seems  to  me  to  be  one  not  rightly 
classified  by  the  word  "proper."  An  engi- 
neer, or  anyone  else,  in  fact,  is  employed 
on  the  basis  of  his  being  able  to  produce 
results.  If  he  can  do  this,  his  employment 
may  be  considered  "proper,"  if  you  please, 
but  there  is  no  real  significance  in  such  a 
designation. 

In   the  case  of  the   engineer  who   had 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

shown  an  operating  saving  of  $50  per  week 
over  his  predecessor,  there  should  not  only 
be  no  hesitancy  in  his  asserting  his  right 
to  an  increase  of  salary,  or  an  amount  at 
least  equal  to  that  of  the  other  engineer, 
but  rather  he  should  receive  an  even  bet- 
ter salary  than  the  other  engineer,  in  pro- 
portion to  the  increased  savings.  The  em- 
ployer who  does  not  appreciate  an  engi- 
neer who  can  save  $50  per  week  over  the 
operating  cost  which  obtained  previous  to 
his  taking  hold  will  never  give  an  increase 
unless  it  be  asked  for,  and  probably  then 
only  when  he  sees  that  he  cannot  other- 
wise hold  the  engineer.  Again,  an  opera- 
tive who  can  show  such  saving  does  not 
have  to  work  at  a  lower  salary  than  one 
who  cannot,  and  if  his  salary  does  not  in- 
crease as  a  natural  result,  it  will  be  in- 
creased by  someone  else.  Wide-awake 
employers  are  on  the  lookout  for  efficient 
engineers. 

It  is  a  modest  principle  not  to  ask  for 
an  increase  of  salary,  but  a  dollar  is  a 
dollar,  and  the  man  who  does  not  sell  his 
labor  at  its  highest  market  value,  but 
conscientiously  keeps  quiet  and  wonders 
why  his  employer  does  not  raise  his  sal- 
ary, may  be  a  long  time  waiting.  The  em- 
ployer who  wants  real  live  men  is  not 
hunting  cheap  ones. 

F.  E.  Lister. 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 


As  a  rule,  a  man  will  always  work  for 
the  same  wages  he  started  out  at,  if  he 
does  not  ask  for  more.  I  have  always 
made  it  a  point  to  earn  more  for  the  em- 
ployer than  I  was  receiving  in  wages, 
and  I  have  gained  my  point,  as  I  have 
never  been  refused  a  raise  when  I  asked 
for  it.  I  think  before  a  man  asks  for  an 
increase  in  salary  he  should  consider  very 
closely  whether  he  is  worth  enough  to 
his  employer  to  warrant  the  raise.  No 
man  with  ordinary  intelligence  can  work 
at  the  same  business  any  length  of  time 
without  being  worth  more  to  his  em- 
ployer. 

Employers  will  hire  just  as  cheaply  as 
possible,  no  matter  what  you  are  worth 
to  them.  I  think  it  every  man's  duty  to 
himself  and  family  to  ask  for  a  salary  to 
the  extent  of  their  actual  worth  to  their 
employer,  and  if  the  employer  does  not 
then  concede  to  what  the  employee 
asks,  the  employee  should  be  pre- 
pared to  quit  his  job  and  go  where 
he  can  get  what  he  is  worth.  Most  em- 
ployers know  pretty  nearly  what  you  are 
worth  to  them  after  you  have  worked  for 
them  awhile. 

The  most  important  point  is,  to  be  sure 
that  you  are  fully  worth  to  your  employer 
what  you  are  asking  for,  and  if  you  get 
the  raise,  bend  every  energy  to  make  good 
and  prove  to  him  that  it  is  a  good  thing 
for  him  that  he  conceded  to  your  wishes. 
Monroe  Johnson. 

Emmetsburg,  Iowa. 

I  should  say  that  the  engineer  has  good 


May  4,   1909. 

grounds  to  ask  and  expect  to  receive  pay 
even  greater  than  the  former  engineer  had 
been  getting.  I  think  it  is  a  mean  busi- 
ness to  pay  less  'to  a  good  engineer 
who  does  better  work  than  the  former 
engineer. 

Edward  Anderson. 
Stevensville,   Mont. 


By  all  means  ask  for  an  increase  in 
salary.  The  average  engineer  piles  up 
fortunes  for  men  who  never  toil  at  pro- 
ductive labor,  and  yet  imagines  he  is  in 
duty  bound  to  work  for  just  what  salary  his 
boss  may  choose  to  give  him.  Try  to  get  an 
increase  in  salary,  and  lay  it  aside,  for  the 
day  will  surely  come  when  the  "boss"  will 
say:  "I  don't  need  you  any  more,  you 
are  too  old." 

J.  F.  Carman. 

Astoria,  L.  I. 


Exhaust  Release  Valves 

Is  there  a  Corliss  valve  gear  which  re- 
leases the  exhaust  valves  from  the  con- 
trol of  the  eccentric?  If  not,  would  there 
be  any  gain,  instead  of  connecting  the 
exhaust-valve  rods  directly  to  the  crank, 
by  connecting  them  to  the  dashpots  by  a 
bell  crank  and  rod,  similar  to  the  way  the 
admission  valves  are  connected,  with  a 
fixed  trip  that  will  detach  the  hook  after 
the  valve  has  come  to  the  end  of  its 
travel,  and  immediately  upon  the  release 
of  the  exhaust  valve,  the  dashpot  would 
bring  the  valve  back  to  its  open  position, 
thereby  getting  quicker  release  later  in 
the  stroke  than  is  practicable  without  the 
release  ? 

Would  the  small  gain  in  eflficiency  be 
offset  by  the  increased  first  cost  and  main- 
tenance? I  should  think  that  in  a  large 
slow-speed  Corliss  engine  these  few  extra 
complications  would  be  offset  by  the  in- 
creased efficiency. 

W.    A.    FULLGRAF. 

Ottumwa,  la. 


What   Knocked  the  Cylinder  Head 
Out? 


Under  the  heading  "What  Knocked  the 
Cylinder  Head  Out?"  W.  A.  Hamlin  re- 
ports in  the  January  19  number,  page  168, 
an  accident  to  an  Atlas  automatic  engine 
and  gives  as  the  probable  cause  the  catch- 
ing of  the  "outer"  piston  ring  in  the  head- 
end counterbore  of  the  cylinder. 

I  wish  to  take  exception  to  this  diag- 
nosis of  the  case,  as  the  design  of  the  pis- 
ton and  cylinder  make  it  untenable,  as  I 
will  show. 

Mr.  Hamlin  says  that  the  packing  rings 
consisted  of  three  sections,  and  according 
to  that  the  piston  must  be  11  inches  or 
less  in  diameter,  as  larger  piston  rings 
have   four  sections.     These  small  pistons 


Maj  4,  1909- 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER 


I  the  Atlas  make  have  only  one  packing 
ng,  H  inch  wide,  and  Mr.  Hamlin's 
>£erence  to  the  "outer  rings"  must  there- 
»re  be  taken  as  the  outside,  that  is,  head- 
id  lap  or  tongue  of  a  ring  section. 
The  sections  of  the  ring  are  arranged 
I  shown  in  Figs,  i  and  2.  There  arc  no 
rass  bushings,  but  radial  holes  are  drilled 
ito  the  piston  head  to  receive  the  spiral 
►rings  and  brass  kcej)crs.  To  hold  the 
ston  ring  below  the  surface  of  the  pis 
n  head,  while  the  piston  is  being  entered 
ito  the  cylinder,  '/^-inch  holes  are  drilled 
)T  retaining  pins,  going  through  the  head- 
id  flange,  the  center  of  the  ring  section, 
id  ending  in  the  crank-end  flange  of  the 


of  the  accident.     A  UberaJ  dose  of  water 
is  the  nearest  I  can  think  of. 

Indianapolis,  Ind. 


Self  Ceotering  Pistoos 

-    with    a 
A-ar   was 
«  a   »eif-ccntcri:iK 
\^  i'  claims  were  mad'-  g 

the  economical  use  of  steam;  in  some  par- 
ticular cases  as  high  as  10  per  ccnL  wm 
guaranteed. 
Thi«    piston    appeared    to    be    nothing 


r 


3 


O 


nc  I 


rta.  a 


A  shod  time  ago  I  had  as 
wftK  ,.«^  ..I  x^iffg  to-calfed 

><on  kmd  of  pM(oa«.  la  whidh 
itic  rii>i;i  wcffc  kt  oat  bjr  the  itcMB  pti» 
sore.  While  this  aethod  May  woik  fail* 
socccaafoUy  when  tm  infills  ij  m  -  • 
soon  brronm  otherwiac.  la  ihta  ca»-  -^ 
steam  was  adoMtcd  to  the  aadcr  side  ol 
the  rings,  ihas  fcirr^wg  thcai  to  the  aadv 
stde  of  the  cylindef. 

If  the  load  is  alwajr*  bepc  ikc  saaH  aad 
the  cotoff  at  otie  particalar  poiac.  a  aigki 
work,  bol  suppose  that  ahcr  asa  aeaiha 
or  a  year  of  niaaiag  the  load  shnald  ht 
decreased;  this  wonid  aakc  aa  caHkr 
cutoff,  and  aa  the  cyliader  had  bacoaa 
worn  larger  oa  each  wmA,  oariag  lo  te 
actioa  of  the  aieaai.  the  raaak  a  said  he  a 
serioaa  leahagc.  When  the  caio€  was  al 
one  particobr  poiai  the  riags  were  mi^ 
iectcd  to  the  faO  praswre  ol  the  ««a 
until  this  poiat  of  calotf  waa  raac^ad. 
\Urr  (hit  poiai  had  been  paaaad  Ike  nag« 
«»rrr  iititply  held  to  the  wala  ol  the 
cylinder  by  the  eapanason  ol  iha  ttmm 
whirh  was  rapidly  b« cowing  Irfl  as  lW 
rr»\  of  the  stroke  waa  acarid  This  ae 
qoattty  of  prcasore  reaoked  ia  ike  waar 
of  each  end  of  the  lylioder 
larger,  and  at  no  proriasoa  had 
for  centering  the  piston  h 
doarn  OQ  the  bottom   all    Ike    lima.    Of 


iu,u  head.  These  pins  are  removed 
hen  the  piston  is  in  place  to  allow  the 
ng  to  bear  against  the  cylinder  bore, 
he  ring  is  kept  from  turning  by  small 
ns,  which  are  driven  into  the  insiile  face 
the  ring  sections  and  engage  the 
«per8. 

Suppose  the  ring  is  placed  so  that  the 

!epers  are  in  the  centers  of  the  sections, 

Mr    Hamlin  states,  then  the  length  of 

e  keepers,  viz.,  2  inches,  and  their  being 

ild   in   a    radial   position   would   prevent 

?  •rrtions   from  rockmg.     The  distance 

•1  the  inside  edges  of  the  two  i-oun- 

^  is   fi  inch  more  than  the   strike 

the    engine,    and    a    >4-inch    rii»K    van 

■vel  only  3/16  inch  over  the  e<lKe  '>f  «he 

•unterbore  on  each  end,  making  it   im- 

••  •>•'»•    for   the   H-inch    tongues  of  the 

tions  to  catch,  however  the  ring 

iKin  :         *  '    --d. 

Mr  tt  the  velocity  of  th*^ 

jjullcil     tl'.c     wri  •  ipart. 

.■    'hr    rrank    .'«n'!  rod 


id  cylmdrr  head  and  piston  through  the 
ad -end  cylinder  head. 
I  think  the  steam  sent  the  disconnected 
osshead  and  pi«tnn  r  ■  '   '     '-r  and  with 
ore  fcircr  thnniKli  '  '  than  the 


HrTAiL4  or  aix^-csirTmBiiio  narov 


typm     roorse  ihto  stale  of  af  aira  alaa 
visad.     the  ptMon  rod  to  rsde  on  Ike 
tercd     of  the 

:     (hr       lirttr'  iir«    k,  cawsmg   ft 

iMd  a 

'Tl'i.  n    •*    \    ii>   irtrr  ••* 

It 


■-ii  sa,jM  tcsiaarfy 


tl 

Ike      tpnnc 

..  r<n  •  .  thi'  .  -^  iiiiianal 

for    adtaalsarwt.   eamkmad   •«»   a   gaaa 


a  strap, 
rr   mutt 


'tf,    f»V'     pi"     ' 

CondHinfi     *▼• 


8io 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  4,   1909. 


Will  the  Load   on 
Change? 


In  the  March  30  number,  page  609, 
G.  A.  Click  submits  a  problem  entitled : 
"Will  the  Load  on  the  Bolts  Change?" 
Mr.  Click's  Figs,  i  and  2  are  reproduced 
here.  Fig.  i  represents  a  steam  cylinder 
and  cover  having  no  gasket  between  them, 
the  joint  being  ground  and  made  up 
metal  to  metal.  Fig.  2  represents  the  same 
cylinder  and  cover,  the  joint  being  made 
up  with  a  gasket  between  the  two  faces, 
as  shown. 

The  area  of  each  cylinder  is  120  square 
inches  and  each  cylinder  cover  is  fastened 
on  by  12  stud  bolts  and  nuts.  Each  nut 
is  screwed  down  tight,  until  each  of  the 
12  studs  is  under  an  initial  tension  of 
1000  pounds. 

The  question  asked  is  this :  If  steam  is 
admitted  to  the  cylinder  under  a  pres- 
sure of  100  pounds  per  square  inch,  will 
the  tension  in  the  stud  bolts  in  either 
case  increase,  decrease  or  remain  the 
same?  And  in  each  case  what  is  the 
total  tension  in  pounds  on  each  stud  due 
both  to  screwing  up  the  nuts  and  to  the 
internal    fluid  pressure  in  the  cylinder? 

From  the  foregoing  we  get :  Number 
of  bolts  times  the  tension  in  each  bolt 
equals 

12  X   1000  =  12,000 
pounds,  which  equals  the  total  tension  in 
the   12  bolts,  or  the  pressure  tending  to 
close  the  joint. 

In  Fig.  I  this  12,000  pounds  represents 
the  total  compression  on  the  metal  at 
both  faces  of  the  joint,  and  in  Fig.  2  the 
compression  on  the  gasket  between  the 
two  faces. 

The  total  internal  fluid  pressure  in  the 
cylinder  tending  to  open  the  joint  in  each 
case  will  be  the  area  of  the  cylinder  times 
the  pressure  per  square  inch,  which 
equals 

120  X    100  =  12,000 
pounds. 

Some  engineers  are  of  opinion  that 
when  the  pressure  is  in  the  cylinder  the 
bolts  are  stretched  to  an  extent  sufficient 
to  relieve  the  compression  in  the  gasket 
or  packing,  thus  relieving  the  bolts  of  the 
initial  tension  caused  by  the  elastic  thrust 
of  the  gasket  against  the  two  faces  of 
the  joint  when  screwing  down  the  nuts. 
Where  rubber  or  any  elastic  gasket  or 
packing  is  used  between  the  flanges  to 
make  a  tight  joint,  the  gasket  is  com- 
pressed or  flattened  to  some  extent  and 
the  bolt5  may  Or  may  not  be  elongated  or 
stretched,  depending  on  their  rigidity  and 
the  tension  in  each  bolt  when  tighten- 
ing up. 

Any  farther  extension  or  elongation  of 
the  bolts  due  to  the  internal  fluid  pres- 
sure may  not  affect  the  initial  tension  to 
any  great  extent,  as  the  pressure  within 
the  cylinder  may  not  be  great  enough  to 
cause  an  extension  or  elongation  in  each 


the    Bolts  bolt  sufficient  to  relieve  the  compression 

in  the  gasket;  or,  in  other  words,  if  the 
extension  of  the  bolts  due  to  the  internal 
fluid  pressure  is  small  compared  with  the 
compression  of  the  gasket,  the  ultimate 
load  on  each  bolt  may  approach  the  fol- 
lowing value,  namely:  The  initial  ten- 
sion due  to  screwing  up  plus  the  tension 
caused  by  the  internal  fluid  pressure  in 
the  cylinder. 

In  Fig.  2  a  tension  of  1000  pounds  is 
produced  in  each  bolt  by  screwing  up. 
When  steam  at  100  pounds  pressure  per 
square  inch  is  turned  into  the  cylinder 
an  additional  load  of 
120  X  100 


12 

pounds  is  produced  in  each  bolt  (the  area 
of  the  cylinder  being  120  square  inches 
and  there  being  12  bolts). 

The  total  or  ultimate  tension  in  each 
bolt  is,  then,  somewhere  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of 

2  X  1000  =  2000 
pounds,    provided,    of    course,    that    each 

12  studs 
Ground  Joint^  Elastic  Packing^\ 

^ 


This  Area 
120  Sq.  In. 


mzzzzzzzzzmm 


This  Area 
120  Sq.  In. 


\////////M/////////\ 


FIG.   I  FIG.  2 

(Reproduced) 

bolt  does  not  stretch  sufficiently  under 
the  pressure  in  the  cylinder  to  relieve  part 
or  all  of  the  outward  elastic  thrust  of  the 
gasket,  or,  as  it  is  called,  the  compression 
of  the  gasket. 

If,  however,  in  the  case  cited  the  ex- 
tension of  each  bolt  diminishes  in  part 
the  compression  in  the  gasket,  the  exact 
ultimate  load  per  bolt  cannot  be  deter- 
mined without  first  knowing  the  exact 
outward  thrust  in  pounds  exerted  by  the 
gasket  at  the  time  the  pressure  is  in  the 
cylinder. 

This,  it  seems,  would  be  a  very  hard 
matter  to  determine  with  any  degree  of 
accuracy.  Then,  again,  it  is  reasonable 
to  assume  that  most  gaskets  after  having 
been  subjected  to  high  compression  and 
heat  for  any  length  of  time  would  attain 
a  permanent  set,  thus  necessitating  the 
going  over  and  tightening  up  of  the  nuts 
several  times  after  renewing  a  gasket,  in 
order  to  keep  the  joint  tight  against  the 
internal  pressure.  This  is  absolutely 
necessary  at  times,  until  the  gasket  be- 
comes permanently  set,  and  at  first 
thought  may  give  rise  to  the  idea  that 
the  pressure  within  the  cylinder  has 
caused  a  permanent  set  in  the  bolts  or 
studs,  when  in  reality  the  gasket  is  at 
fault. 

Where  rigid  flanges  are  bolted  together 
metal-to-metal,  using  no  gasket,  as  in 
Fig.  I,  the  conditions  are  somewhat  dif- 
ferent. 


In  this  case  it  is  very  probable  that  any 
slight  extension  of  the  bolts  due  to  the 
pressure  within  the  cylinder  would  re- 
lieve the  initial  tension  due  to  screwing 
up,  and  the  ultimate  load  per  bolt  would 
be  either  the  tension  due  to  screwing  up, 
or  the  tension  produced  by  the  internal 
steam  pressure,  according  as  the  former 
or  the  latter  is  greater.  In  Fig.  i  these 
forces  are  equal,  therefore  the  ultimate 
load  per  bolt  should  be  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  1000  pounds,  provided  the  in- 
ternal fluid  pressure  causes  a  slight  ex- 
tension of  the  bolts  relieving  the  initial 
tension. 

Any  additional  pressure  in  the  cylinder 
over  and  above  100  pounds  per  square 
inch  would  thus  add  to  the  tension  in  the 
bolts. 

Where  the  connecting  flanges  are  de- 
flected by  the  bolts  the  case  would  be 
similar  to  Fig.  2,  where  a  gasket  is  used 
between  the  faces  of  the  parts  to  be  con- 
nected, the  deflection  of  the  flanges  act- 
ing in  a  manner  similar  to  the  compres- 
sion in  the  gasket,  exerting  an  outward 
thrust  against  the  bolts. 

In  any  case,  to  determine  to  just  what 
extent  the  bolts  are  strained  in  each  oi 
the  foregoing  cases,  the  relative  rigidity 
of  the  bolts  and  the  parts  they  connect 
must  be  known,  as  well  as  the  elasticity 
of  the  gasket  or  packing. 

William  F.  Fischer. 
New  York  City. 


Worn  Dashpot  Repair 


The  dashpot  on  the  low-pressure  sid( 
of  one  of  our  engines  was  badly  won 
and  would  pound  when  the  receiver  pres 
sure  changed.  I  persuaded  the  chief  t( 
let  me  send  it  to  a  local  machine  shop 
along  with  Mr.  Ferguson's  sketch,  whicl 
was  published  in  a  recent  number.  H 
gave  me  permission,  provided  I  paid  th 
bill  if  it  did  not  work.  In  a  week  i 
came  back,  with  what  looked  to  be  a  goO' 
job.  I  connected  it-  up  and  -started  th 
engine.  The  noise  was  bad  before,  but  i 
was  a  hundred  times  worse  with  the  ne) 
ring.  When  the  valve  was  opening  th 
plunger  would  grind  and  chatter  an 
when  unhooked  the  plunger  would  nc 
drop  until  it  was  forced  down  by  the  clos 
ing  shoulder. 

I  took  out  the  ring  and  filed  the  shar 
edge  off  the  top.  That  helped  some,  t 
letting  down  a  little  oil,  but  it  would  fi( 
close  the  valve,  no  matter  how  the  a 
valve  was  regulated,  and  as  it  pounde 
so  that  I  was  afraid  I  might  have  to  ps 
for  a  new  jim-crank  lever,  I  took  it  ou 

The  chief  ordered  a  new  plunger, 
came  and  we  fitted  it,  and  everything  wei 
nicely.  The  laugh  is  on  me,  as  I  had  1 
pay  $2.80  more  for  the  repair  than  tl 
new  plunger  cost.  I  am  a  little  poorc 
but  a  whole  lot  wiser. 

Thomas  Sheehan. 
Pittsfield,  Mass. 


May  4,  1909. 

Setting  the  Slide  Valve 


Every  engineer  behevcs  he  knows  how 
set  the  simple  slide  valve,  but  few  can 
II  at  what  point  of  the  stroke  the  ex- 
lust  opens  or  closes.  I  have  found  many 
ide- valve  engines  using  more  steam  than 
ey  should,  although  in  each  case  the 
live  was  set  by  the  stereotyped  rule  of: 
'lace  the  engine  on  one  of  its  dead  cen- 
rs  with  the  eccentric  rolled  90  degrees 
advance  of  the  crank  and  enough 
rther  to  get  the  required  lead.  Then  roll 
e  engine  over  to  the  other  center  and  if 
e  lead  is  the  same  the  valve  is  properly 
t."  Easy,  isn't  it?  We  are  often  told 
at  it  is  not  practical  to  advance  the 
centric  to  obtain  a  cutoff  earlier  than 
i  or  }i  stroke,  on  account  of  the  exces- 
ve  compression. 

It   is  the  writer's    experience    that    the 

ily  way  to  set  the  slide  valve  properly 

T  highest   economy  is    to    remove    the 

live  from  the  steam  chest  and,  taking  a 

nail   try   square,   place   one    leg    of    the 

|uare  on  the  valve  seat  near  the  edge  of 

ich  port,  in  turn,  and  draw  a  mark  for- 

ard    on    the   bottom    side   of    the    steam 

lest  with  a  sharp  scribe,  so  that  the  exact 

>sition  of  the  ports  can  be  seen  after  the 

live  is  back  in  position.     Before  putting 

«  valve  back  in  position,  however,  take 

le   try    square   and,   beginning    with    the 

iCe  of  the   valve,  square   around   to   the 

ick,  making  marks  so  that  the  position 

[  the  edges  of  the  hollow  steam  passage 

in  be  seen  when  the  valve  is  in  position. 

Next  give  the  valve,  say,  %  inch  lead, 

ith  the  engine  on  one  center,  and  then 

irn  to  the  other  center,  when  if  the  lead 

the  same  the  eccentric  rod  and  vajve 

em    are    of    the    proper    length.      After 

taking  a  mark  on  the  crosshead,  roll  the 

in  the  direction  it  is  to  run  and  by 

•  at   the  marks  in  thr   stc.irn  chest 

the  back  of  the  valve  it  i^  ea^y  to 

r   exact    point    of    exhaust    ilosing 

nd  opening.     By  marking:  tlir  vhclr  where 

le  mark  on   the  crosshead   ^tan<l^   when 

ic  exhaust  is  just  closed,  and  turning  the 

figine   over   on    the    return    stroke,    and 

taking  another  mark  on  the  slide  when 

t   is  just  shut,  one  can  tell  by 

:it  if  the  compression  is  equal 

ctccntric    should    be    set    with    as 

regard  to  the  exhaust  opening  and 

as  to  the  outside  lead.    The  writer 

■catly    improved     the    economy    of 

slide-valve  engines  by  cutting  out 

f  the  excessive  inside  lap.    It  is  not 

'  thing  to  do  and  can  be  done  best 

r.  althoagh 

ti  chipfnnc 

Care   ^liuuM  l>c   taken    '     ' 

nrrrh  nt  a  time  if  thr  <■■ 

ng,   as   a   con<!'--        .       * 
<•  an  earlier  r%h  1  1  • 
re  than  a  noncondensing  engine 

C  E.  Bav 

Readsboro.  Vt. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

Cost   oi  Trcatii^  Boaer  Feed 
Water 

I  wish  to  nuke  •  tardy  oorrectioa  of  an 
error  of  mine  in  conncctio; 
that  appeared  m  (he  num^ 
on    "Proper    Tr-^  i  e^j 

Water,"   page   5-  -   cost 

<j|  treatment  for  70,000 
of  1000  galkms,  at  the  prcaeat  nurkct 
price  of  lime  and  soda  ash  is  d&s  cent*. 
This  would  make  the  cost  per  1000  ta- 
lons 095  cent,  which  ^  more  reasonable. 
Our  tanks  are  of  70 '^•-  "  ns  capacity 
and  I  neglected  to  rr  oat  to  the 

looo-gallon  unit  in  spite  .i  the  fact  that 
I  was  reminded  that  the  cost  of  treat 
ment  was  excessive. 

A.    J.     BOAaOMAM. 

Indianapolis.  Ind 


•11 

the  amhodof  hnmg,  am  the  ra^  of  Mv- 
ing,  on  the  au  iimlj  per  fOM4  d  car- 
boa  and' on  >.}  r  Iom  hf  radlMioa.  Tha 
^^eological  thcrvlorc.  pttUeOf 

W.  Kcv*. 


gaUon^  matcad    BridgewalU  tn  TKeofy  and  Padiet 


Boiler  Elfliciency 

The  letter  of  A.  Bcment.  m  the  issne  of 
.March  16,  shows  that  he  uses  the  term 
"boiler  efficiency"  in  a  different  sense  than 
it  has  been  used  by  all  the  authorities  on 
steam    boilers    for   the   past    i  "  m. 

and  in  a  sense  that  is  not  in  har 
the   nicaniriK   of  the   word   "efecitncy     as 
..pplir.l  to  .ther  things  than  botlera.    The 
general  meaning  of  the  word  is  a  fraction 
denntmg   "output   divided   by   input."  and 
generally  it  is  not  so  much  a  function  of 
a  machine  itself  as  of  the  conditsooa  un- 
der which  it  is  used.     It  is  therefore  not 
a  constant  quantity  for  any  particular  ma- 
chine, but  a  variable  quantity.    Thus  in  a 
centrifugal  pump  working  under  different 
hc.uU.  it  ranges  from  lero,  when  the  head 
!he  pump  to  overcome  the 
up    to    possibly    7*    j>*r 
t   r    \rii\   it   soni'-' 
:rt     at{ain  when  •  ^ 

rero.  the  vanation  of  effiaency  bring 
represented  by  a  curve.  In  an  electric 
generator  the  cffickncy  also  varies  with 
the  load. 

In  a  steam  boiler  the  eAdcncy  b  tcro 
Mhrn  the  r  '  •mhustion  of  coal  is 

^'!!}|.lrIlt  t  >nlv  for  the  loss  by 

r.i'li.iiion ,  'nam  when 

!»-  fi"-  ■•<  irhhorhood 

-d  pet 


and    usiiallv    (al 
rate  i»  above  f-- 

Mr.  Bement  tajrs 
b"iler  a«  -  '-••  " 
altered  wi? 


mUj    when    the 


'the 


ei  a 

n.    I       li# 


fin<1 


la  the  March  9 


.  W.  H.  Wi 


theory  and 

hridgrwall.  no 

c^nnoi  prevcM 

K<tng  up  the  stack.    As  lo 

tion,  moch  depends  oa  ko«  ooal  m  faa< 

and  how  it  is  wodnd  alMr  it  haa 

to  coke. 

The  way  I  fW«  o^y 
least  »  link 

•ad  ai  am  prasinn,  tim^h  hr 

caatc  1  never  pot  on  graoi  coal  wiik  low 
ttcam.  If  the  ncom  gats  down  I  ow  dw 
bar  or  a  three- prowgid  hoc  and  hrodi  the 
6rc  up.  which  will  sono  knag  ap  f*>* 
steam.  Then  I  Hghtly  cover  the  i^  * 
green  coal  I  never  mw  thr  hoa  or  tm^ 
bar  00  a  grctn-coal  fire 

make  as  Kttlc  mmeka  aa  paMMt.  ko  ifcoald 
not  dtstofb  a  Ifckk  ire  d  graaa  co^. 
WaiiAM  Mvaaav. 

Iniiladelphia,  PesMi 


Stele  Supervwoo  ol  Boikn 

I..,  ... 1  ,0  ijj,  iUrtk  J 

•oaof 
stdet  01  Tr>r  •{mtioa  ia  a  vary 
manner,  hot  one  in  mj  plat*  woaM  haaa 
leaned  jasi  a  hitle  toward  the  mamrfao* 
turer  s  contention 

We  got  a  new  So«!<--  «as  naodid 

the  "worst  war"    Af"  ■■*t  «^  and 

with  «  tfitr  ind  a  glohe  valir  !«-'«r«~n  fhr 
n  ndihe^ 


Bt  of   •>« 

vsjvrv   orrauvr    ■'    «»•  ool  o4  ika  aataa4e 

•crewand-vofcr  aattetm. 

-         '  :■  ■  .-••■AeodMr 

S  K*  (wi-in  vaHv 

'.«•     TW 
n><-  ;>ir  <    '    .  di4   nm 

make  one  voh  Uw  ««iMdr  ^rvw  aad 
yoke,  hot  k  is  iliisf  ikam  now.  aad 
oor  new  hoiler  had  la  lap  <ili  aMi  k 


<«ML 


8l2 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  4,  1909. 


Some    Useful    Lessons  of    Limewatei 

Chemistry  of  Lime  Further  Studied  by  Experiments  with  Shavings,  the 
Flame  of  a  Candle  and  with  Gasolene,  and    by    Making    Acetylene 


BY 


CHARLES 


S. 


PALMER 


In  the  last  lesson  we  laid  out  some 
work  on  the  chemistry  of  carbon,  and 
now  we  will  get  busy  and  put  some  life 
and  meaning  into  the  dead  bones  of  the 
table,  by  the  simple  device  of  making  a 
few  tests  that  we  can  see  and  handle. 
You  remember  that  the  table  began  with 
the  hydrogen  compounds  of  carbon,  on 
the  left  and  "reduced"  extreme,  going 
from  the  various  hydrocarbons  through 
carbon  itself;  and  so  on  to  carbon  one- 
oxide  ("monoxide")  and,  finally,  to  car- 
bon two-oxide  (dioxide),  carbonic-acid 
gas  or  carbonic  anhydride,  at  the  extreme 
right  or  "oxidized"  end  of  the  table.  The 
typical  hydrocarbon  to  study  is  methane 
or  "marsh  gas,"  CH*,  and  it  is  a  pity  that 
there  is  no  simple  and  handy  method  of 
making  this  thing  in  the  pure  form;  but 
you  can  get  so  near  it  that  the  difference 
need  cause  little  worry. 

The  name  "marsh  gas"  means  just 
what  it  says.  Now  that  you  stop  to  think 
of  it,  you  will  recall  that  you  have  often 
seen  much  queer  bubbling  on  the  surface 
of  ponds  where  last  year's  vegetation  is 
rotting  at  the  bottom.  If  you  should 
take  the  trouble  to  go  to  such  a  pond 
armed  with  a  common  fruit  jar  and  a  few 
matches,  you  could  easily  stir  up  some 
of  this  gas  from  the  bottom  of  the  pond 
with  a  stick;  and,  if  you  should  collect 
some  of  the  bubbles  in  your  jar,  by  the 
simple  trick  of  displacement  in  the  jar 
full  of  water  and  mouth  downward,  using 
the  pond  as  a  large  pneumatic  trough, 
just  as  you  collected  the  oxygen  and 
hydrogen  as  shown  in  the  earlier  lessons, 
if  you  should  do  this,  you  would  un- 
doubtedly get  a  gas  which  would  burn 
with  a  faint  and  almost  colorless  flame, 
but  with  much  heat.  The  gas  so  collected, 
and  so  burnt,  is  mostly  methane  or  marsh 
gas,  CH*;  and,  if  you  should  happen  to 
take  along  with  you  a  small  bottle  of  fil- 
tered limewater,  you  could  pour  some  of 
it  into  the  jar,  after  burning  some  of  the 
marsh  gas,  and  you  would  note  the  white 
precipitation  of  your  old  friend,  plain  car- 
bonate of  calcium,  which  would  tell  you 
that  the  burnable  gas  from  the  pond  is 
something  that  contains  some  carbon,  just 
as  the  formula  says,  CH* ;  that  is,  the  gas 
is  not  pure  hydrogen,  but  also  contains 
some  carbon,  because  it  gives,  on  burning, 
carbon  two-oxide  (dioxide),  the  oxidized 
extreme  of  carbon.  Now,  it  is  interesting 
to  know  that  when  you  find  a  gas  that 
bums  with  an  almost  colorless  flame,  it 
probably  contains  some  hydrogen,  just  as 
marsh  gas  does,  and,  just  as  its  formula 


(CH4,  i.e.,  C-H-4)  says  that  it  does,  four 
atoms  of  hydrogen.  Incidentally,  it  is  in- 
teresting to  note  tftat  this  marsh  gas  or 
methane  contains  in  each  molecule,  or  in 
a  definite  volume,  say  a  pint,  more  hydro- 
gen than  pure  hydrogen,  H2  (H-2),  does 
itself. 

We  have  already  noted  that  the  carbon- 
hydrogen  compounds,  or  the  "hydrocar- 
bons," are  so  many  that  their  systematic 


of    getting    and     studying     these     hydro 
carbons. 

Getting  Gas  from  Shavings 
Suppose  that  we  start  with  some  com 
m.on  wood  shavings.  Prepare  the  appara 
tus  shown  in  Fig.  i.  This  consists  of  i 
common  test  tube  fitted  with  a  cork  an( 
a  delivery  tube  leading  over  to  the  bottbn 
of  your  pneumatic  trough,   with   its   jar 


B 'Slot  for  SpriQg 
FIG.    2 


Study  is  almost  beyond  the  grasp  of  the 
beginner;  but  we  can  get  this  one  fine 
clue  and  guide  to  them,  that  is,  that  in 
their  first  acquaintance  they  are  all  very 
much  alike  in  being  able  to  burn.  Fur- 
thermore, they  all  tend  to  burn  to  car- 
bon dioxide  (two-oxide),  and  this  last 
gas  can  always  be  tested  by  limewater, 
giving  the  plain  white  carbonate  of  lime. 
So  we  will  turn  at  once  to  several  ways 


filled  with  water  and  inverted,  to  catcl 
the  gas  that  will  come  over.  Fill  the  lowei 
three-fourths  of  the  test  tube  with  soft- 
wood shavings,  packed  moderately  tight 
Heat  the  test  tube  over  any  handy  sourc< 
of  heat,  such  as  an  alcohol  lamp,  or  ever 
over  a  common  lamp — for  in  this  rathei 
dirty  experiment,  you  will  not  worry  li 
the  outside  of  the  bottom  of  the  test  tube 
should  get  sooty.     You  can  hold  the  tesi 


May  4,  1909. 

tube,  while  heating  it,  by  simple  wire  or 
wood  clamps.  Fig.  2.  or  you  can  hold  it 
by  a  strip  of  paper,  as  shown  m  Fig.  i. 
If  you  use  the  paper  clamp  or  holder,  you 
will  naturally  grip  the  test  tube  at  the 
upper  end,  for  you  are  going  to  heat  the 
tube  hot  enough  to  get  off  some  wood  gas, 
and  the  bottom  of  the  tube  will  naturally 
get  quite  hot.  Some  of  this  heat  will 
come  to  the  top  of  the  test  tube,  of 
course,  for  it  has  to  pass  over,  through 
the  delivery  tube,  to  the  pneumatic 
trough. 

In  this  experiment,  you  do  not  have  to 
throw  away  any  gas  at  the  start,  as  you 
<Iid  in  making  hydrogen,  because  in  this 
case  the  amount  of  air  in  the  whok  test 
tube  is  so  small  in  comparison  with  what 
is  to  be  given  oflF  by  heating  the  wood 
that  you  can  collect  every  bit  of  what 
comes  over.  But  be  sure  and  remember, 
in  this  and  in  every  similar  experiment 
where  you  lead  gas  off  from  a  hot  tube, 
to  lakf  the  delivery  tube  out  of  the  water 
before  you  take  the  Home  from  the  hot 
lest  tube,  or  before  you  take  the  hot  test 
lube  auay  from  the  flame,  so  that  the 
water  will  not  be  sucked  back  to  the  hot 
lube  by  the  natural  cooling  of  the  hot  gas 
inside.  Natural  gumption  will  tell  you 
how  to  work  the  c>  always  not- 

ing that  time  is  an  -   factor,  and 

that  s'^nic  things  will  work  m  10  or  15 
minutCN  that  might  not  work  in  the  same 
number  of  seconds. 

As  you  heat  the  tube  of  shaviii^^,  a-> 
ihown  in  Fig.  i,  about  the  first  thing  that 
)rou  will  note  is  the  collection  of  water 
from  the  charring  of  the  shavings.  Sonic 
of  this  water  will  go  over  through  the 
delivery  tube  and  if  it  makes  the  common 
'water  hammer"  of  condensing  steam,  you 
will  not  be  frightened  at  that ;  it  could 
fiot  very  well  do  anything  else.  You  will 
ilso  note  the  g-adual  charring  of  the 
wood,  and  pretty  soon  some  gas  will 
)egin  to  collect  in  the  inverted  jar  in  the 
pneumatic  trough.  Now,  all  of  this  gas 
s  not  marsh  gas,  but  enough  of  it  is,  and 
he  rest  of  it  is  $0  closely  related  by  birth 
:o  marsh  ga^.  that  you  can  think  of  all 
>f  it  as  being  a  mixture  of  several  things 
nuch  like  marsh  gas  You  will  also  want 
o  note  the  considerable  quantity  of  water 
vhich  collects  at  various  parts  of  the  ap- 
Miralus.  testing  for  it  by  a  test  that  I  will 
mtr  later  You  will  alio  want  to  Mve 
he  test  tube  of  charreil  to  ex- 

imine  it  later   for  the     •  '    reac- 

ion  that  it  will  v 

Ry    this    tim-  <■    foUectf^ 

»   jar   of   the 
irfs      If  the  w 
ore  the  jar  gets  full,  remove  • 
iibr    from   the    water,   take   a;. 
tibe  of  shavings,  and  go  on  as  with  thr 
Irst   until  you  do  get   a   full  jar  <'      ■ 
Phis  gas  you  will  rrmnse  from  ihr 
natir    trough,    witli     . 
ir  and  holding  i! 
IS  you  did  in   the  casr     'i  t! 
fou    will    burn    the    gas.    n>>' 


POWER  AND  THE  EN'GINEER. 

bums  in  the  air,  but  that  the  splinter  iudf 
1'  put  out  m  th«  jar  of  gaa.  Yo«  will 
also  note  the  test  for  Umcwaler  at  the 
pnd  of  the  burning  of  the  gaa.  The  gas 
will  probably  not  work  the  "o»mo»<"  te»t. 
with  the  small  porous  jar.  as  in  the  rat* 
of  hydrogen,  very  well, 
all  hydroeen,  nor  even 

ethane, 

■  drogen. 

r   than   the  air      But 

:  IS  wood  gas  to  get  mt 

some  of  Its  main  points.     Of  coone.  yoa 


A 


C— If  Ow«  m  OaMfM 
'  Um  tttnm*  »IM 


rii.s     J    AMD  4 


in   ail   the**  ca*' 

e   odoc.    i 
•p    it    to    SfodT 


•Ad    (KTC    I    Viih 

Pown  codd  fM 

clemr  ud  wamkh  book  ol  Fmday^^ 
The  Chtminwj  ot  •  CmmS*,'  aad  nad  «. 
Iodc«4  il  »o«U  W  worth  yow  wMt  to 
^  1  oofy  lor  yowidf  aad  pu-.  •  n  ..^ 
pHvtic  Nbrarjr  o<  ckcr  .^ 

'  book  tdb  y<Mi  how  to  H^,  .„  ,^^ 
dk  flame;  how  10  — mini  iW  itigmi 
parts  of  a  fUmr :  bow  to  diwxt  iW  Ihm; 
and  bow  to  tcM  th«  dif ervnt  fuu  Hf*. 
ratdy.  Bat  yoa  caa  do  tkcar  dli^i  r»«« 
wiiboot  the  book.  Plm.  ram  vmh  M  look 
at  the  flame  of  a  cammm  caadk.  Yoo 
want  to  draw  the  flaac.  aiiiii  'm»  irveffal 
parts,  as  tkowa  ia  Flf.  ^ 

You  win  looa  Me  tkM  a  caadir   i.   • 
mtniatttre  gaa  fKtory;  thM  tbe    - 

the  rctoa  wbcrr  the  cMidk  Msfl 

tilled  into  gas  by  tbc  beat  of  tke  flame 
You  wiO  note  tbe  ckgaai  sad  M^plc  waf 
m  which  the  wtck  bmIu  a  bltW  pool  of  oi 
J^  :t  the  lower  pan  ol  iMif  lo  farrtik 

-.Iw    no«c  tW  acat  way  ia  wkkk  *a 

^>  Mick  ia  brmidad  ao  tbat.  ■•  il  baraa 

away,  the  top  carta  over  la  oat  Hdi.  per 

hap^  ^r,  well  ibai  M  dots  aoi  ba««  lo  be 

bat  baraa  of  ii>  owa  M^    Yoa 

roi  tke  top  Md  Mdm  of  dte  wick 

arc  Mtrrooadcd  by  •  small   r«MO«w  of 

oabomt    gaa.   wbick 

ootward  to  tbe  air  to  be 

You  win  abo  aote  tbe 
bctwccB  the  oolora  of  tke  diirai 
of  tbe  flHac.  At  tbe  bottom  aad  iMca  of 
the  flaaM  yoa  w9l  tee  a  bkiiak  tmi.  wtwre 
the  gaa.  carboa  aweaide  (or-  « 

Mil  niag,   witb   tbe   by^foigca  I 

alio  aote  Ikai  tbe  escem  of  carboa  laad 
ia  aocfc  flamw  tbcre  ia  a  grtai  eacam  of 
carboa.  comparid  wiib  ibe  avaAaUe 
laiomM  of  ' ofM-^  »•  ^*9A  ia  ikt  tor* 
rooadint  ^  tbe  flrM  ffak 

for  the  oair^n.  *r>]  :i  na»  to  wail  ooafi 
It  gets  to  tbe  top  aad  ootsMr  part*  of 
tbe  flaaw  before  ii  caa  flad  «» 
go  over  to  iia  danap.  carboa 
aad  tbia  carboa  diaaMe 

Yoa  caa 
of  oool 
wkk  of  tke  caadle.  by  baMk«  a  pmre  of 


8i4 

after  the  flame  is  extinguished,  you  can 
perform  some  "stunts"  worth  doing.    For 
instance,  you  can  not  only  pipe  off  this 
central  gas   from   the  core  of  the  flame, 
and  bum  it,  but  you  can  also  see  the  core 
of  gas  and  burn  it  in  the  open.     To  do 
this,  let  the  tallow  candle  get  to  burning 
well  and  blow  it  out,  noting  the  stream  of 
unburnt  gas  which  persists  in  coming  off 
long  after  the  flame  has  gone  out.     Now, 
if  you  do  this  in  a  room  where  the  air  is 
still,  so  that  this  current  of  unburnt  gas 
from   the   tallow  candle    is    not    thrown 
about  but  ascends  in   a   quiet,   even   col- 
umn of  gas,  smoky  gas  that  you  can  see, 
you  can  light  this  column  of  gas  at  the 
"top  with  a  burning  splinter  and  the  flame 
■^•ill   run   down  the  ascending  column   of 
-gas  to  the  wick,  actually  re-igniting  the 
-extinguished  candle.     If  you  have  a  real 
•tough   sample    of    the    genuine    old-fash- 
Tioned  candle,  so  that  the  ascending  col- 
umn  of  unburnt  gas  is   so  thick  that  it 
can  be  almost  cut  with  a  knife,  you  can 
make  the  flame  run  down  as  far  as  several 
inches   from  the  wick.     I   have  seen  the 
flame  run  down  4  or  S  inches,  and  once 
or  twice  I  have  seen  candles  with  such 
heavy  tallow    that    in   a   quiet   room   the 
flame  will  run  down  to  the  wick  as  far 
as  10  or  12  inches.     This  statement  looks 
like  a  fish  story;  but  try  it  and  give  the 
tallow  candle  a  chance  to  see  what  it  can 
do.     The  books  may  try  to  decry  the  re- 
ality and  genuineness  of  the  experiment, 
and    they    may    say    that   the    column   of 
ascending   gas    is    not    pure    gas,    that    it 
contains  much  liquid  and  solid  matter  in 
"suspension"    in   the    current    of   unburnt 
gas.     All  that  may  be ;  but  at  the  same 
time,    the    "fat"    column   of   unburnt   gas 
from   the  tallow    candle    may     represent 
very  well  some  of  the  conditions  found  in 
actual  experience,   where  flames   seem  to 
travel  vast  distances,  i.e.,  relatively  vast, 
along  gases  which  are  only  waiting  to  be 
lighted  to  get  in  their  work. 

But  there  is  another  side  to  the  study 
of  the  candle  flame  which  we  must  note : 
The  inside  of  the  flame  is  full  of  unburnt 
gas,  waiting  to  seize  hold  of  any  oxygen 
that  may  be  available ;  hence  this  part,  the 
inside  and  the  lower  parts  of  the  flame, 
is  called  the  "reducing"  flame,  because  it 
wants  oxygen,  and  will  have  it  if  it  is 
given  half  a  chance.  But,  the  upper  and 
outside  parts  of  the  flame  have  taken  on 
all  the  oxygen  that  they  want,  and  still 
they  have  the  greatest  amount  of  heat, 
and  hence  these  parts  of  the  flame  are 
•called  the  "oxidizing"  parts.  I  will  re- 
•tum  to  this  subject  later  when  we  take 
tip  some  of  the  points  of  simple  blow- 
pipe analysis.  But  keep  your  memory 
eye  fixed  on  the  inside  reducing  part  and 
the  outside  oxidizing  part  of  the  candle 
flame.  You  can  catch  some  of  the  un- 
burnt carbon  in  the  middle  of  the  flame, 
or  at  the  top,  by  holding  a  cold  saucer 
in  it  for  a  few  moments. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

The  Power  of  Gasolene 
There  are  several,  indeed  many,  other 
sides  to  this  study  of  combustible  gases, 
and  the  subject  of  gasolene  is  one  of 
them.  If  you  have  not  studied  this,  you 
will  be  surprised  to  learn  what  a  chance 
for  dreadful  mistake  and  accident  lies  in 
this  simple  question  of  the  amount  of  air 
that  it  takes  to  burn  gasolene.  Now  gaso- 
lene is  only  a  mixture  of  several  hydro- 
carbons, all  close  cousins  to  methane  and 
ethane.  But  in  the  molecules*  of  the  vola- 
tile liquids  that  make  up  what  is  sold  as 
gasolene  there  is  so  much  carbon  and  so 
much  hydrogen  snugly  packed  away 
that  it  is  no  simple  matter  to  select  the 


\ 


Tank  of  Water 


FIG.    5 

right   amount  of  air   wherewith   to   burn 
them  and  then  to  mix  them  well. 

Thus,  you  can  pour  out  a  teaspoonful 
of  gasolene  in  any  safe  place  and  light  it. 
when  it  burns  quietly,  if  lighted  at  once. 
But  take  a  common  empty  tin  can,  hold- 
ing about  a  pint,  and  pour  in  the  can 
some  five  to  ten  drops  of  gasolene.  Try 
five  drops  at  first,  and  gradually  feel  your 
way  along.  Put  the  cover  back  on  the 
can,  and  let  it  stand  for  some  few  min- 
utes, so  that  the  slight  amount  of  gaso- 
lene can  well  evaporate  and  get  well 
mixed  with  the  air  in  the  can.  Now,  you 
want  to  have  a  small  hole  in  the  side 
of  the  can  for  a  "touch  hole,"  to  which 
you  will  apply  the  flame  when  business  is 


May  4,  1909. 

ready  to  commence.  You  will  be  sur- 
prised to  see  how  much  force  you  will 
get  in  this  simple  explosion.  Then,  you 
will  go  over  to  the  corner,  light  your  pipe 
of  reflection  and  do  some  good  thinking. 
You  will  begin  to  have  a  great  respect 
for  those  simple  formulas  that  told  you 
all  about  this  sort  of  thing;  only  we  did 
not  realize  what  we  were  tampering  with 
when  we  read  that  gasolene,  for  instance, 
is  made  up  of  GHio  (C-seven-H-sixteen). 
Seven  atoms  of  carbon  and  sixteen  atoms 
of  hydrogen  tucked  away  in  one  mole- 
cular handful,  no  bigger,  though  much 
heavier,  than  H2  or  O2.  You  will  see  that 
one  has  got  to  stop  and  digest  some  of 
these  things.  You  ask :  How  does  it 
happen  that  so  much  carbon  and  hydro- 
gen can  be  put  in  such  a  small  space? 
How  does  it  happen  that  such  small 
molecular  parcels  of  gasolene  can  take 
care  of  the  oxygen  in  so  much  air?  For 
you  will  find  that  a  very  few  drops  of 
gasolene  will  make  all  the  air  in  the  can 
frightfully  explosive;  and,  still,  the  tea- 
spoonful  of  pure  gasolene  which  is  un- 
mixed with  air  will  burn  quietly.  The 
point  to  note  is,  not  why  it  all  happens,  but 
what  it  is  that  happens.  That  is  what 
we  all  need  to  keep  our  eyes  fixed  on,  the 
actual  fact.  When  gases  burn  with  each 
other,  it  is  not  only  actual  weights  which 
unite  with  each  other,  but  it  is  also  defi- 
nite proportions  by  volume  which  control 
the  reaction. 


Making  Acetylene 

Among  the  many  other  possible  illus- 
trations of  hydrocarbons  there  is  one 
which  you  really  ought  to  study,  both  for 
the  fact  that  it  shows  the  nature  of  a 
class  of  hydrocarbons  which  are  called 
"unsaturated"  and  also  for  the  fact  that 
it  is  made  in  the  rather  unusual  method 
of  treating  a  certain  substance  with  water. 
I  refer  to  the  making  of  acetylene  by 
treating  what  is  called  calcium  carbide 
with  water.  As  mentioned  in  the  last  les- 
son, this  is  used  in  making  the  brilliant 
gas  for  the  powerful  searchlights  on  auto- 
mobiles and  the  like.  You  can  easily  get 
some  of  this  substance,  but  you  will  have 
to  study  a  bit  to  devise  and  construct  a 
simple  form  of  apparatus  in  which  to 
make  the  gas.  You  cannot  use  large 
quantities  of  water  recklessly;  nor  can 
you  let  the  whole  process  take  place  in 
the  open  air ;  for  we  want  to  collect  the 
acetylene  as  fast  as  it  comes  off,  and  yet 
add  the  water  in  small  and  continuous 
quantities. 

A  simple  form  of  apparatus  is  shown 
in  Fig.  5.  This  is  merely  a  pickle  bot- 
tle, with  a  funnel,  and  with  the  lower  end 
of  the  funnel  bent  so  that  it  is  water- 
sealed  from  the  outer  air.  The  delivery 
tube  is  of  the  common  make.  You  can 
get  the  water  seal  by  putting  a  short  piece 
of  rubber  tubing  on  the  stem  of  the  fun- 
nel in  the  bottle,  long  enough  to  make  a 
complete  bend  (Fig.  5).  Then  you  will 
put  several  pieces  of  the  calcium  carbide, 


May  4,  1909. 

which  is  a  grayish,  earthy-like  substance. 
in  the  bottle,  closing  the  bottle  with  the 
cork  and  setting  over  the  funnel  a  can 
of  water  so  arranged  that  water  will  drip 
into  the  funnel  in  a  set  of  drops,  not  a 
stream,  for  that  would  be  too  much.  You 
can  easily  control  the  dropping  by  mak- 
ing a  small  hole  in  the  lower  side  of  the 
can  and  plugging  it  with  a  match,  which 
be  drawn  out  or  pushed  in  as  de- 
1.  The  gas  is  collected  in  the  jar  in 
the  pneumatic  trough  in  the  usual  way. 
But  be  sure  and  drive  out  the  air  from 
the  bottle,  first,  as  you  did  with  hydro- 
gen. You  will  test  the  burning  of  this 
acetylene,  CiH^  by  burning,  and  the 
residual  gas  in  the  jar  after  burning  with 
limewater. 

But  the  most  interesting  thing  about 
this  gas  is  that  it  is  made  from  water  act 
ing  on  calcium  carbide  This  substance 
is  one  of  the  later  additions  to  our  sup 
ply  of  interesting  chemicals,  and  is  usu- 
ally made  in  an  electric  furnace  Just 
why  water  should  be  such  an  active  agent 
in  making  this  gas,  acetylene,  is  more  than 
we  can  fully  e.xplain  at  this  time,  but  an 
inkling  can  be  imparted  Thi*  substance, 
water,  is  a  kind  ,,{  -bank  of  chemical  ex 
change"  Look  at  the  fornuila  ..f  water 
It  is  H/J.  It  contains  both  hydrogen  and 
oxygen.  Now  if  we  pay  into  this  "bank" 
hydrogen,  we  get  back  reducing  action, 
but  if  we  pay  into  this  "bank"  oxygen, 
we  get  back  an  oxidising  action  F'arther. 
if  we  pay  into  this  "hank"  of  water  both 
hydrogen  and  oxyk'tn.  «<•  .an  luck  Ixith 
reducing  and  oxidi/ini:  '  tiwns.  Note  the 
following  efjuation  for  the  reaction  of 
water  on  calcium  carbide; 


H,0 
Wai«r 


Calcium     r 
CarblUo     ) 


*'.•*. 


keally,  the  calcium  carbide  it  a  kmd  of 

salt."  and  a  kmd   whi-h  is  de- 

by  water.   So.  when   the  water 

a^s-    oit    the     Salt."    calcium   carbide,    we 

get   the   iiase   anhydride,   lime.   CaO,   and 

the    weak    "acid."   acetylene.    C.fU      No 

one  would  ever  guess  thn* '    - 

acid,  unless  he  had  the   . 
parison   with   many  other    r  .1  ••  n*.    for 
acetylene   does   not  act   on   lunui*   at  the 
ion  Mroni.  ^y  ttim 


npi>im«ls  toward  thr  .,\\i;rn  rr  .1 
r  he  gets  toward  actd  pr«>f>«Tf'- 
And   «o  at   we   go    from   the    - 
reduced  end  of  the  carhon  t.«».tr      - 
before    real    active    acnl    t»r.f>«-f'i. 


text    Ir^snn  ,    hilt    ihu    1 
»haf     thr     rhr»n!    •■ 

each  u* 
One  thing  ih.*;   .-.,,  ,,,.-'   •.  ........ 

lome  of  ihi«.  is  to  le«t  the  rr«t.l<ir  in  Ihe 


l-OVVER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

acetylene-making  boctJc  with  lumtM.  and 

you  will  find  that  ! 

used  jutt  as  can 

that   you   were    tiitiu^   00   M:.cr«J   wcdu 

ago      You   have  jjot  well   itartcd  on  the 

'^"  we  shall  ted 

^^  \f.l.   

limrvsatcr    from    this    r 

the  calcium  carbide  in   i..^    t,.v«.c   oiutjc. 

and  test  it  every  way  you  can.  for  it  u 

the  same  old   friend,  to  pilot  yoa  a  bit 

farther. 


The    Ambiguottt  Term   "Gallon" 


As    thr    '  ' 

Sutes    t: 

lation  to  Uiusc  > 
fusion  is  occatior 
of  the  term  "gal: 
these  columns  cor 


res    ..t    thr    L  nited 

•<»r    no    direct    re- 

oo- 

use 

•    to 

^ard 


to  the  amount  of  circulating  water  used 
in  a  certain  plant  by  a  failure  to  distin- 
guish  between    the    imperial    galKn    u«ed 
in  Great    Britain  and   the    I 
standard  gallon      For  thi«  - 
be  of  interest  to  ■' 

gallons  and  trace  .  .-  . 

tions  from  the  early  days  of  English  hit- 
tory. 

From  as  far  back  at  the  thirteenth 
century  the  p-"...,  >.„  i^^  varuble. 
<  )ngtnally  it  M  d  to  be  a  meamre 

of  w.-  r'  ■         '   :>..   ,,,   f,uik      Jo  p,f^  ^, 

'*>'^  «o    111    full    extent    would 

commodity 

ave   its  own 

weight. 


1*     tK< 


usage  led  to  the  ad 


In 


ry    III    4*rl»r*ti    *^    •«•?«*« 


ij  wlicai  ooeiM  m  tlM 
:waads 


rhirh  » 


-ilargf<l   t 


•is 

In  the  lancr  p*rt  «f  tivt  f^.,,. ,.    —..-,- 
(«-ig6).  Ha  ^ 

»«*ndard  psl„„  _..«.,  ^  ..tr„cu4 
«o  hold  «  pommd»  ot  wheal  ol  la  Troy 
o«K^  each,  a^  m  iMo  the  w«m  i 
was  declared  by  law  to  coMaia  M3t 
»ehe».  Tha  m  the  ^cmim  \Jmm4 
Musdard  gallon   ior   b^md& 

In  1700  fhc  old  iroaUc  mnk  the         _ 
'^^^1   brain  oM  and  tr^i  t.    r.  .  1^0 
rst.  the   Maltt- 

*nd    ex;  -ftUj    m 

J 1 504^5.;    •  ..i  ww .    iTk  n<  I     *a4,    Meoa^    a 

-ttite  of  the  6lih  Am.  tynb^  w^tk  te 

iwe   aaaacr  retiMiihid   the   Wi 

talloa.  •padfyhv  «  to  com^  MU 
inchca.  Eltaahcth  oMstrwie^  the 
falloo  of  Jti  aihic  imht^  oe  neaftr  • 
PO«nids  avoirdapoat  o(  whcai.  mkttk  bo- 
came  the  old  ale  r>7i  ^  rv.  1..^  ^^ 
Ion.  whKh   from  *d  oda. 

UNM-.I    ^.•'.    ^^ 

at   •  ^ 

««d  to 

■   '  *     The 


«  181IL  a  royal 

i  to  nniiiinj 
t:re«.  and  at  a  retnlt  a  bdl  wae 
m  parliament  and  paaaad  jane  17.  itaa, 
This  bill  was  pot  into  o»«fati<jo  JMaary 
I.    iSifik  and   6a«d  the  cafadiy  of   *e 
calloo  by  ra^airiog  that  «  shooM  cap- 
tain   10   pooads    ■iniiih^iMi,    or    I9uam 
cram*  Troy,  of  dMDH  water  u  a  tern- 
if  te  degrees   FahtiiAiit   mi 
^•aronnter  reodtr*   m    fk-kr>  o| 
•Utmg   at   tb'  ^ 

..,..    ., .    .,    ^    „^^ 

-be  vafwr  of  iht 
KAoon  tv-'«  M  OM  In  Gfoai 
>d  b  the  ooly 
ry  for  both  wfH  md  4tj 


:t.     bemg  mherttcd  Irt 


iH  al 


•^•j   4*^r^    I 


iAXjm^ 


1     it/^ 


t«k'     •*«* 


and  the  « 


•Me  tncWt 


8i6 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  4,  1909. 


ards  to  be  delivered  to  the  governor  of 
each  State. 

If  this  were  all  and  there  were  only 
one  standard  gallon  in  the  United  States, 
as  in  Great  Britain,  it  would  be  an  easy 
matter  to  distinguish  between  the  two, 
but  in  this  country  there  are  not  only  the 
wine  gallon  containing  231  cubic  inches, 
but  also  the  ale,  beer  or  milk  gallon  con- 
taining 282  cubic  inches,  and  the  dry  gal- 
lon, besides  the  proof  gallon  for  internal- 
revenue  taxation.  The  proof  gallon  is  a 
wine  gallon  of  spirits  containing  half  its 
volume  of  nearly  pure  alcohol  at  60 
degrees  Fahrenheit  and  is  the  basis  for 
computing  the  United  States  internal- 
revenue  tax.  For  example,  a  gallon  of 
spirits  containing  40  per  cent,  alcohol 
would  be  80  per  cent,  proof,  and  the  num- 
ber of  proof  gallons  is  computed  by 
multiplying  the  per  cent,  of  proof  by 
the  number  of  wine  gallons. 

New  Hampshire  and  Minnesota  definite- 


molasses  are  all  legal  gallons  of  the  prod- 
ucts named.  These  legal  weights  differ 
among  themselves  and  do  not  accord  with 
the  true  volume  of  one  gallon  of  231 
cubic  inches. 

In  dry  measure  the  standards  used 
have  no  direct  relation  to  the  liquid 
measures  of  this  country  or  Great  Britain. 
The  fundamental  unit  is  the  Winchester 
bushel,  a  unit  abandoned  by  England  in 
1824,  but  still  retained  in  general  use 
in  this  country.  As  previously  stated,  it 
contains  2150.42  cubic  inches  and  is  about 
69  cubic  inches,  or  3  per  cent,  smaller 
than  the  imperial  bushel  of  Great  Britain. 
The  United  States  dry  gallon  contains 
268.8025  cubic  inches,  or  1. 16365  liquid 
gallons.  Here  again  conflicting  State 
laws  render  an  adequate  statement  of 
the  standard  of  the  bushel  difficult.  Al- 
though the  standard  Winchester  bushel 
contains  2150.42  cubic  inches,  Nebraska 
has   established   2150  cubic   inches   as   the 


Recent  Ice  Jam  at  Niagara  Caused 
Serious  Damage 


By  James  J.  Jenkins 


The  power  interests  at  Niagara  Falls 
have  had  the  most  astonishing  experience 
in  their  history,  all  caused  by  the  greatest 
ice  jam  that  locality  has  seen  in  more 
than  50  years.  On  Wednesday,  April  7, 
the  Lake  Erie  and  Niagara  regions  were 
swept  by  a  fierce  gale.  The  effect  was  a 
general  breaking  up  of  the  lake  ice  field, 
which  was  driven  into  the  entrance  of  the 
Niagara  river  channel  at  the  foot  of  the 
lake.  The  discharge  of  ice  from  the  lake 
to  the  river  was  tremendous,  and  from 
shore  to  shore,  in  both  of  its  great  chan- 
nels, the  river  carried  the  ice  night  and 
day  until  the  Niagara  river,  from  Lake 
Ontario  to  the  falls  of  Niagara,  full  14 
miles,  was   coated   with   the   frozen  mass, 


FIG.     I.     I.V  FRONT  OF  THE  NIAGARA  FALLS  POWER  COMPANY  S  TUN- 
NEL PORTAL  AND   THE   HYDRAULIC   COM- 
PANY'S  POWER    HOUSE 


FIG.     2.     THE  TRACKS  OF  THE  GORGE  ROAD  ARE    BURIED 

UNDER   THE   ICE   ALL   ALONG  THE   SHORE 

TO  THE  RIGHT 


ly  retain  the  ale,  beer  or  milk  gallon  of 
282  cubic  inches ;  Wisconsin  and  Connecti- 
cut the  dry  gallon  of  282  cubic  inches  as 
the  legal  standard,  and  Maine  definitely 
mentions  the  milk  gallon  as  among  its 
list  of  State  standards.  The  milk  gal- 
lon is  51  cubic  inches  larger  than  the 
standard  gallon  used  more  generally 
throughout  the  country.  There  are  thus 
three  standard  gallons :  the  dry  gallon  de- 
rived from  the  Winchester  bushel ;  the 
liquid  gallon  derived  from  the  wine  gal- 
lon, and  the  liquid  gallon  derived  from 
the  beer  or  milk  gallon. 

In  addition  to  the  capacity  measure- 
ment by  volume  the  legal  weight  of  a  gal- 
lon of  certain  commodities  has  been  fixed 
by  statute  in  some  States  and  in  several 
cases  by  Congress  for  certain  purposes. 
Thus  in  Nebraska  i^  pounds  of  strained 
honey  is  a  legal  gallon.  In  Kansas  6^ 
pounds  of  kerosene  and  8  pounds  of 
castor  oil,  in  Ohio  7J/2  pounds  of  kerosene 
and    in    Indiana    11    pounds    of    sorghum 


volume  of  a  legal  bushel  for  that  State, 
and  other  States  have  made  similar 
changes.  Also  several  States  have  adopted 
the  old  ale  or  milk  gallon  as  the  capacity 
of  the  dry  gallon,  this  being  about  5  per 
cent,  larger  than  the  corresponding  unit 
derived  from  the  Winchester  bushel,  and 
special  bushels  have  been  established  in 
the  various  States  for  different  products. 
In  brief,  this  is  the  history  of  the  gal- 
lon with  its  various  legal  values,  but  as 
far  as  engineering  data  are  concerned,  it 
will  be  safe  to  distinguish  only  between 
the  United  States  gallon  containing  231 
cubic  inches  and  representing  the  volume 
of  8.33  pounds  avoirdupois  of  pure  water 
at  a  temperature  of  39.83  degrees  Fahren- 
heit and  the  British  imperial  gallon  con- 
taining 277.274  cubic  inches  and  repre- 
senting the  volume  of  10  pounds  avoirdu- 
pois of  distilled  water  at  62  degrees 
Fahrenheit  weighed  in  air  of  the  same 
temperature  with  the  barometer  reading 
30  inches  of  mercury. 


which  had  gathered  to  a  thickness  of  from 
25  to  50  feet  or  more. 

The  spectacle  thus  created  was  aston- 
ishing, but  the  effect  was  more  so,  for  the 
river  rose  to  an  unusual  hight,  break- 
ing beyond  all  previous  high-water  marks, 
while  the  ice  was  carried  to  the  greatest 
hight  and  was  sent  crushing,  with  the 
full  force  of  the  current,  against  every- 
thing within  40  feet  of  the  normal  level 
of  the  river.  Up  to  the  coming  of  this 
ice  jam  and  high  water,  all  available  data 
indicated  that  the  lower  river  had' never 
risen  higher  than  28  feet,  which  in  itself 
is  a  remarkable  hight  considering  the 
rapidity  and  freedom  with  which  the 
lower  Niagara  discharges  into  Lake 
Ontario. 

Situated  very  close  by  the  foot  of  the 
Horseshoe  fall,  at  the  water's  edge  on  the 
Canadian  side,  is  the  power  house  of  the 
Ontario  Power  Company,  in  which  the 
development  is  made  on  horizontal  shafts. 
When  the  site  for  this  power  house  was 


May  4,  1909. 

selected,  all  available  data  then  at  hand 
were  closely  studied,  and  the  conclusion 
of  the  engineers  was  that  it  would  be  safe 
to  build  the  power  house  where  now 
located.  The  conditions  that  developed 
during  the  April  jam  have  demonstrated 
an  error  of  judgment,  considering  the 
fact  that  the  Niagara  river  and  its  possi- 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

and.    afterward,    the    manoUctarert    and  adttmnd  m  inm  of  ftu.  >.,«r 

^*-  •««  pomaycd  in  or- 

anent  damage  h  done  to  the  if«    iIluttrAii<<,»     .r 

As  toon  edge  < 

'  **»*  power  id"  ....«,».t 

h'. •!><•,  It  will  be  necessary  only  to  dean  i- 
and  dry  the  machinery  before  resmnmc 
full   operation.     The  money   lou   is   ex 


••7 


u 


to 


-   in  fror- 

'*>r»e  la  mino.  !_.^,  -jut 

r   below  iW   watce   Umt 

rom  thm  poMM  n  trout  oi  tka 

•er  Coaifaay's  tiatMa  ite  im 

"i  in  an  anbcofcwi  anas  lo  tkt 

.>:>Klt.     L'toallt       '}.<-     .^.xat 

%  froaa  t- 


iihti   theit.  bat  il    ■*• 

»  Af«il  ••«*»,  for  iW      n 

-'<1  on  tW 


itc  tvrtecc  ttei 

T  »'  rrr 


KIG     J        U.MSKIO    POWta    COMPANY  S    POWCt  BOUSK    AI.M0ST    ItnUlO    VVt 


bilitics  arc  unknown  iactwr<>    I-<>r  although 
this  great  pijwcr  house  is  situated  a  num- 
ber of  feet  above  the  normal  level  of  the 
river,  and  beyond  the  previous  high-water 
mark,  the   ice  and   water  burst   into  the 
station  through  windows  and  door,  male 
ing   it   necc**ar>    to   shut   down   the   plant 
to  dry  out  the  machines.     Thr  • 
of   the   damage   ha<l    not   been 
at  this  writnig,  uthrr  than  111  tlir  lullow 
ing  statement  issued  by  the  company 

During    the    night    the    unprecedentc'! 
..ccumulalion   of   ice  below   the   fall*    ••* 
tending  for  nearly  nine  miles  to   I 
ton  and  beyond,  caused  the  water  !••  n- 
about  40  feet  above  normal.     The  maxi 
mum  record  for  high  water  i; 
covering  .1  period  of  70  \'-it*. 
feet  above  normal 
designed   with    it«   v\ : 
above   the   highest   previous   known 
of  water      Ijist  nivht    hnwever.  the 
exceeded  this  pr-  >rd  by  about  li 

feet,  and  the  wain    .t.  1     •  poured  thr-  ••?»' 
the  windows  and  south  <l'>or  of  thr  ; 
house,  at  once 
machinery.     Ten 
ing    made. 
Electrical 

that   company  *   w.irky    r 
serve  plants  at  Roclicstrr.  "- 
Seneca  and  elsewhere  are  beir 
supply  a  portion  of  t>'-  '■"■'  ' 
of  New  York      The 
ply    the    puhlic  *rrvi 
snch  as  railroads  an  I 


nff  CoMpnny  the 
Mj«  un[>r>«m  and  ronilL    TW  nigl 
Ontario    Power   Coapaa/s    tuuam 
rtooded.  the  water  oMcrrd  the  baMWH 
uoe  of  tbc  power  bonwi  of  fVr  K 
Falb  Hydranbc  Power  »' 
ing  Company  to  a  dcptk  oi 
point  was  abo«t  B  fret  below  iter  t 
tastaUatioa     Takmf    i-^f         '«><W 
tbc  kaova  drof  ol  t} 


of  iW 

was 
««f 


•tow  mt  oiTTAaio 


it     tfK     inCO<l«r 


«n  matrm  unca  ta  tr«i 


■e  b^j+h  -^  *^' 
.-ht  above  any  poM*' ' 
fiiliirr.  and  the  tou- 

to  the  o^erattoa  ol  i*t 


8i8 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  4,  1909. 


So  great  was  the  jam  that  the  whirl- 
pool was  bridged  from  sJiore  to  shore, 
while  the  river  from  the  outlet  to  Lake 
Ontario  was  a  whitened  pathway.  So 
high  was  the  water  that  the  ice  was  lifted 
over  the  tracks  of  the  Niagara  Gorge 
Railway,  the  roadbed  of  which  w^as  buried 
for  miles  under  from  10  to  20  feet  of  icv 


Power  Company  for  transmission  to 
Rochester,  Syracuse  and  other  places  in 
the  interior  of  New  York  State.  This 
transmission  system  was  interrupted,  not 
only  by  the  damage  at  the  power  house, 
but  also  by  the  damage  to  the  towers,  the 
center  one  of  three  towers  being  tipped 
over  to  the  north  onto  one  of  the  others. 


FIG.    5.       SHOWING    THE    ICE  JAM   IN  THE  LOWER   NIAGARA 


cakes,  and  the  poles  and  wires  were  torn 
down.  Until  the  ice  is  off  the  roadbed, 
it  will  be  impossible  accurately  to  judge 
the  extent  of  the  damage.  However,  it 
is  generally  felt  that  it  will  be  very  heavy, 


All  about  their  bases  there  was  ice,  not- 
withstanding that  they  had  been  placed 
so  high  that  it  was  felt  they  were  above 
the  danger  line.  Boathouses,  fish  traps, 
docks,  private  pumping  stations  and  other 


the  floor  of  the  Lewiston  suspension 
bridge  while  standing  on  the  ice.  The  be- 
lief prevailed  that  the  ice  was  resting  on 
the  river  bed  between  Lewiston  and  the 
mouth  of  the  river,  causing  the  water  to 
back  up. 

Previous  to  April  20  estimates  placed 
the  damage  at  more  that  a  million  dollars. 
Now  it  is  believed  that  it  will  be  weeks 
before  accurate  figures  are  obtainable  by 
any  of  the  main  interests  affected.  Gen- 
erally speaking,  it  may  be  accepted  as 
fact  that  it  was  the  unexpected  that 
happened,  and  all  engineers  who  have  to 
do  with  great  works  know  what  this 
means.  The  flooding  of  the  station  of  the 
Ontario  Power  Company  may  cause  a 
notable  change  in  extensions  of  that  plant, 
while  the  ice-jam  effects  will  go  down  in 
history  as  making  new  records  for  the 
mysterious-acting,  uncontrollable  Niagara 
when  it  is  under  the  terrific  influence  of  a 
wind  storm,  particularly  in  winter,  when 
any  hour  a  million  tons  of  ice  may  be 
swept  into  the  gorge  from  the  higher  level 
above  the  falls.  The  use  of  dynamite  and  the 
warm  weather  broke  the  jam  on  April  25. 


Large   Engine   for  Tennessee  Coal, 
Iron  and  Railroad  Company 


The  accompanying  photograph  shows 
the  high-pressure  side  of  a  42  and  78 
by  54-inch  cross-compound,  condensing 
Cooper-Corliss  engine  on  the  erecting 
floor  of   the    C.    &  G.    Cooper   Company, 


LARGE   ENGINE   FOR   THE   TENNESSEE   COAL,  IRON  AND  RAILROAD  COMPANY 


quite  sufficient  to  delay  the  early  spring 
operation  of  the  scenic  line. 

On  the  Canadian  side  of  the  river,  be- 
low the  Devil's  hole,  great  damage  was 
done  to  the  steel  towers  of  the  aluminum 
power-transmission  line  over  which  the 
Ontario  Power  Company  supplies  current 
to     the     Niagara,     Lockport    &     Ontario 


structures  near  the  water's  edge  were 
swept  away  for  miles,  and  at  Lewiston 
two  fair-sized  hotels,  normally  far  re- 
moved from  the  river,  were  guarded  for 
fear  they  would  be  crushed  by  the  ice, 
which  there  reached  an  elevation  of  about 
50  feet  and  touched  the  rear  verandas. 
On    April   20  it   was   possible   to  touch 


Mount  Vernon,  O.  It  was  built  for  the 
Tennessee  Coal,  Iron  and  Railroad  Com- 
pany's plant  at  Ensley,  Ala.,  and  fifteen 
heavy  steel  cars  were  required  for  its 
transportation.  The  shipment  was  made 
forty  days  before  the  expiration  of  the 
four  months  stipulated. 
This  engine  is  practically  a  duplicate  of 


May  4,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


the  unit  placed  in  operation  at  th<?  Car- 
negie Steel  Company's  Duqut-sr 
year  ago.  It  will  drive  a  2Sfx  ■ 
Crocker-Wheeler  alternator  and  is  de- 
signed to  carry  heavy  overloads.  Along- 
side it  is  shown,  for  purpose  of  compari- 
son, a  50-horsepower  simple  engine  built 
for  the  Franklin  Foundation,  of  Boston. 
Mass.  A  similar  engine  to  that  shipped 
to  Alabama  is  being  built  for  the  Pack- 
ard Motor  Car  Company,  Detroit,  Mich, 
to  drive  a  2500-kilowatt  Western  Klcctric 
Company  direct-current  generator. 


Rate  of  Timber    Consumption 


than  the  forest  gnmt,  aod  that  wMub  a 
cotninntively  short  tunc  the  cotwniied 
loss  will  have  so  reduced  the  f<.rr«i  that 
it   will  t>e  diflftcult  and  ex;  oh- 


It  ha^i  Ln-fii  estimated  that  the  amount 
wood  annually  consumed  in  the  L'nited 
States  at  present  is  ^3,000,000,000  cubic 
feet,  while  the  growth  of  the  forest  is 
only  7,000,000,000  feet.  In  other  words. 
Americans  all  over  the  country  are  using 
more  than  three  times  as  much  wood  as 
the  forests  are  producing.  The  figures  are 
based  upon  a  large  number  of  State  and 
local  reports  collected  by  the  Government, 
and  upon  actual  measurements. 

The  State  forester  of  C  in  a 

recent  report,  has  given  f\u  <wth 

and  use  for  New  Havrti  cuni),  wfiich 
give  many  more  valuable  «lrtaiU  th.iri  arc 
generally  to  be  obtained,  and  well  illus- 
trate how  the  forest  is  l>einR  reduced  by 
over-cutting.  In  this  county  a  very  care- 
ful study  was  made  on  each  township  of 
the  amount  of  forest,  the  rate  of  Rrowth, 
and  the  amount  of  tii  "  For  1907 

the*timt)er  use*!  was  I*,  in  th^' 

form  of  cordw<H.<!.  I  iii.l..  ;. 
piles.     The  annual  ijnwrn  i- 
forest   land,   including   the   trees   standmg 
on  abandoned  fields,  for  the  year,  reached 
total  of  70,000  cords.    Thus  the  amount 
Lut  yearly  exceeds  the  growth  by  souooo 
cords. 
The  ami-   :  '         '      ' 

rd   as    nn 
cutting    willwii    (!.<     next    U  m     >rur^    was 
found  to  be    i,.ino,ono  cord*      F-;uh  year 
the    annual    growth    nurrascs    the    tupply 
on   hand   by   70.000  cords,   while   the   use 
decreases  it  !>y  iao,ooo.    The  net  reduction 
is  therefore  50.000  cords  a  year      If  the 
cut  and  the  growth  remain  at  the  present 
figures,   the   supply   of   n..     '      •  ' '.-   tim- 
ber   will    be    rxhaustr!    1  wenty 
years.     At  the  rn<l  <•• 
be  a  large   ani<>iuit 
the  county,  but   it  w:' 
forty  years  of  age.  c- 

r  most  profitable  sire  for  cw 
wood   could    still   be  rut.    hut 
the  most  profitable  prfxln  tv  ]■■'>'■  • 
lumber,  would  t>e  practi«  jI1>   «-^1  •     '    ' 
Connecticut's    case    illiistr.»'«-'     « 
exhaustion  of  -'  - 

■A      of  It      '1    •«■• 

\\\Ai    every   tree   will    W 
groiincl    will    t>e   bare       I' 
other  hand,  that  year   )>%    \  •- 

r>f     tlir    roiinlrv     arr     rit"'-  . 


Tesdog    Coal    at    an  Elcctnc  Rail- 
way   Power    House 


There   M 
part  of  eles 


'lation  on   me 
iipanie*  to  de- 
•   the  \x\  'jicd 

G.  H  per 

>^'  rr  of  the  ntoo 

T-  ly,    is    ni.  •  jucBt 

!  at  the  company  s  Ander- 
■lon,  to  deterTnr.r  the 
'•■k.i|-. ration  of  water  with  var: 
ui  iucl.  Adjoininf  one  of  the  '^  ■.,-{,  ... 
the  station  he  has  erected  apparatus  to 
weigh  the  coal  and  take  the  temperature 
of  the  water  as  fed  to  the  lx>iler.  the  tem- 
perature of  •  ty  of 
steam  as  dr  frnf 
a  I i- hour  run.  In  ; 
Mipply    water   to    the 

■f;;.-  tion   is  shut  off,  except  the  water 
as   fci!  through  an   independent    o-.imn   .it 
the  base  of  the  testing  outfit, 
for   feeding  the  ttoiter   is   -  ^-' 
the  feed-line  header,  and  : 
line  header  is  passed  t" 
brafed  tank  with  taper--  !  :    : 
urck.    sr.   a»    ' 


TW 
tW  Canmilmn  Geacral  Ekctric 
Lid,  was  iMid  at  TocwMo  cm  Umr^  m 
The  report  o4  tW  dyecsors  lor  fffM  «m 
of  a  hithlv   »afMi«rtn«^    ttsu*t*ft    thorn- 


Kwan  mtfA  Mtctnt  %mk  hi.  \M 

tlu>.  f'UAM'  vas  pa»-:  »m4 

f^Mob  cafTsed  le  tW  cra*i  ol  pewH  m4 
k>»»  A., .  >n«  briacng  ii  wp  le  fa^MP 
T^  food    sCMids    ai    |iiittUJ«. 

majiiiK  a  .  <c*l  sorpiws  tA  %iJUa^'  ^'^~ 
report  sUles  that  no(witk«aa4HH 
timicd  indlasinal  dcprewioa.  tlsc  ct,«npfte? 
had  been  lortvnate  m  wcurwig  trevnl  is- 
portattt  eoMracts.  whtch  witk  ramat  \mm- 
nets  woold  krr;>  ^hm  fairly  \mwf  4mnmt 
tbc  carroM  -  ^3  laiiMana  o<  ikc 

UBproveiBew  'mms  ■ 

tluu  during  the  past  three 

cooMence   than   at  aay  t««e 
prccadiaf  year 


The  Gaa  Engine  in  BUiC-Famacc 
Piacdcc 


)a  Tacad 


from 


•n  the  lank  at 


hopper 

and  at 
pies    .1 
%i>  '• 
a 

iibi'- 
test 


4t(^     tfaled    lectaff    h^ 
(Ik     guests   of   the    S' 
.,.  .,     Brooklya.  on  1 

Fsrmrr   Prartste'      iatf* 

m  the  iMUikers  ovr* 

-ipper  mounted     "•"'»'    ''   -•    •  '*- ■ 
,4     Fr«ts  .••Hi     siMip  and  ptmer  plar 

Uatt  IwrsMTi 
and  qoartew^     ^ 

•liffj.irrt    t  ■    f\n       W- 


i»» 


l*»4lMI     fo*     fc***^'     »'    ^'*^» 


itf^ 


.<«     of     tW       ^' 


lU«tarv-<fS.     I' 


820 


POWER 

Jt^THE  Engineer 

DEVOTED    TO    THE  GENERATION    AND 
TRANSMISSION    OF   POWER 


Issued  Weekly  bv  the 


Hill  Publishing  Company 

JoHX  .\.  Hill,  Pres.  and  Tre»s.         Bobebt  McKean,  Sec'y. 

.50.")  Pearl  Street,  New  York. 

3.j.)  Dearborn  Street.  Chicago. 

6  Bouverie  Street,  London,  E.  C. 


Correspondence  suitable  for  the  columns  of 
Power  solicited  and  paid  for.  Name  and  ad- 
dre.ss  of  correspondents  must  be  given — not  nec- 
essarily for  publication. 

Subscription  price  S2  per  year,  in  advance,  to 
any  post  office  in  the  United  States  or  the  posses- 
sions of  the  I'nited  States  and  Mexico.  S3  to  Can- 
ada.    $4  to  any  other  foreign  country. 

Pay  no  money  to  solicitors  or  agents  unless  they 
can  show  letters  of  authorization  from  this  office. 

Subscribers  in  Great  Britain,  Europe  and  the 
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send  their  subscriptions  to  the  London  Office. 
Price  16  Shillings. 

Entered  as  second  class  matter,  April  2,  1908,  at 
the  post  office  at  New  York,  N.  Y.,  under  the  Act 
of  Congress  of  March  3,  1879. 


Cable  address.  "Powpub."  N.  Y. 
Business  Telegraph  Code. 


CIRCULATION    STATEMENT 

During  1908  we  printed  and  circulated 
1,836,000   copies   of  Power. 

Our  circulation  for  April,  1909,  was 
(weekly  and  monthly)  153,000. 

May    4 42,000 

None  sent  free  regularly,  no  returns  from 
news  companies,  no  back  numbers.  Figures 
are   live,   net   rirculation. 


Contents  page 

An    Exhaust-Steam    Turbine    Installation  785 

Jonathan  Hulls  and  His  Steamboat 792 

Repairing  a  Damaged  Armature  Winding  794 

An   Historic   Engine 796 

Electrolysis   and   Corrosion 797 

Use  Cylindrical  Flywheels  for  Safety.  .  .  .    798 
The    Turbine    and    Reciprocating    Engine 

for   Naval    Purposes 799 

Government   Bulletin   on   Smokeless  Com- 
bustion of  Coal 801 

The  Alberta    fCan.)    License  Law 803 

Practical  Letters  From  Practical  Men  : 
Courtesy  Due  the  Engineer.  ..  .Tim- 
ing Gas-Engine  Valves  and  Ignition 
....Improvement  on  Low  Water 
Alarm ....  Lubricants  for  Cylinders 
....  A  Hose  Reel ....  Kerosene  as  a 
Scale  Remover ....  Mr.  Hull's  Emerg- 
ency Motor  Connections.  ..  .Gas  En- 
gine   Back    Firing Cause    of    an 

Enginf  Wreck ....  Kerosene  Oil  in 
Boilers.  ..  .Arranging  a  Water  Col- 
umn. ...  Increase  of  Salary.  ..  .Ex- 
haust      Release       Valves What 

Knocked    the    Cylinder    Head    Out? 

Self  Centering      Pistons Will 

the  I>oad  on  the  Bolts  Change? 

Worn     Dashpot     Repair  ....  Setting 

the  Slide  Valve Cost  of  Treating 

Boiler  Feed  Water. ..  .Boiler  Ef- 
ficiency...  .Bridgewalls  in  Theory 
and     Practice.  ..  .State     Supervision 

of    Boilers 804-811 

Some  U.seful   I^-ssons  of  Llmewater 812 

The  Ambiguous  Term  "Gallon" 815 

Recent     Ice     .lam     at     Niagara     Caused 

Serious  Damage 81(5 

Large    Engine    for    Tennessee    Coal,    Iron 

and   Railroad  Company 818 

Editorials    820-821 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 
Philanthropists  in  Disguise 

One  of  the  most  amusing  collections  of 
statements  intended  as  serious  which  we 
have  ever  read  is  contained  in  an  address 
recently  delivered  at  Adelphi  College, 
Brooklyn,  by  Glenn  Marston,  who  is  old 
enough  and  intelligent  enough  to  know 
better.  Two  extracts  will  suffice  to  indi- 
cate the  general  tenor  of  the  address. 
Speaking  of  public-utility  corporations, 
Air.  Marston  said :  'The  good  they  do 
reaches  far  beyond  the  donations  to 
charity  and  other  worthy  movements 
which  constitute  the  outward  and  visible 
sign  of  public  beneficence."  Also :  "The 
public-service  corporation  has  solved  the 
problem  of  combining  business  and  philan- 
thropy." 

We  were  not  aware  that  any  such  prob- 
lem as  the  combination  of  business  and 
philanthropy  existed,  but  conceding  that 
there  is  such  a  recognized  problem,  the 
claim  that  it  has  been  solved  by  any  of 
the  lighting  and  power  companies  strikes 
us  as  distinctly  humorous.  In  order  to  be 
philanthropic  a  person  or  organization 
must  do  good  intentionally  and  unselfishly. 
If  there  is  a  single  central-station  mana- 
ger in  the  country  who  is  operating  his 
plant  on  that  basis  we  should  like  very 
much  to  learn  his  name  and  address. 
Most  of  the  central-station  men  we  know 
are  honorable  and  fair-minded  in  their 
business  dealings  as  well  as  in  private 
life,  but  we  do  not  know  any  who  would 
be  foolish  enough  to  pose  as  philanthro- 
pists merely  because  they  light  unsavory 
localities — for  due  consideration — and  fur- 
nish power — also  for  a  consideration— to 
run  sewing  machines  formerly  "treadled" 
bv  overworked  men  and  women. 


A    Fuel    Extravagance    no    Longer 

Necessary 


In  Great  Britain  there  are  probably  a 
dozen  or  more  centers  of  blast-furnace 
activity,  and  no  large  center  of  population 
is  very  far  from  some  one  of  them. 
Consequently,  it  would  seem  to  be  merely 
a  matter  of  ordinary  engineering  to  util- 
ize all  of  the  surplus  blast-furnace  gas  for 
driving  electric  generators  and  to  trans- 
mit the  energy  from  these  to  profitable 
markets.  Yet  the  furnaces  continue  to 
waste  their  surplus  gases  while  coal- 
burning  power  stations,  operating  within 
short  distances  from  them,  deliver  elec- 
trical energy  to  transmission  lines. 

The  chief  reason  for  this  extravagant 
procedure  appears  to  be  a  lack  of  confi- 
dence in  the  reliability  of  the  gas  engine, 
notwithstanding  the  numerous  examples 
of  continuous  and  satisfactory  operation 
in  Germany.  Probably  the  real  secret  is 
the  proverbial  conservatism  of  the  British. 

A  somewhat  similar,  though  not  strictly 
analogous,  condition  has  existed  in  this 
country  until  very  recently,  and  it  has  not 
entirely  disappeared  yet  and  probably  will 


May  4,  1909. 

not  until  the  Gary  plant  has  fully  justified 
the  confidence  of  its  projectors.  On  this 
side  of  the  Atlantic,  however,  the  whole 
gas-power  industry  received  a  serious 
check  by  the  failure  of  the  few  bituminous 
producers  based  on  foreign  designs  which 
were  built  here  before  the  difference  be- 
tween American  and  European  coals  was 
understood,  and  of  a  relatively  small  num- 
ber of  engines  built  chiefly  from  imported 
or  pirated  designs. 

Now  that  the  Steel  Corporation  has 
gone  ahead  so  boldly  in  the  utilization  of 
furnace  gases  and  a  few  courageous 
pioneer  manufacturers  are  beginning  to 
reap  the  reward  of  their  persistent 
attempts  to  produce  clean  gas  continuously 
from  bitumionus  coal,  it  is  to  be  expected 
that  great  strides  will  be  made  in  the 
application  of  gas  power  in  this  country. 
Never  mind  the  facts  that  the  Steel  Cor- 
poration exacted  heroic  guarantees  and 
that  many  of  the  persistent  attempts 
alluded  to  were  foolishly  unscientific;  it 
is  sufficient  that  we  are  really  about  to 
"get  there." 


A  Trust  in  Water  Power 


For  some  time  rumors  more  or  less 
indefinite  and  not  at  all  specific  in  their 
charges  have  hinted  of  the  existence  of 
a  water-power  trust.  These  reports  have 
gained,  credence  from  their  very  persist- 
ence and  are  apparently  justified  by  some 
positive  assertions  by  Judson  C.  Welliver 
in  the  May  number  of  McClure's  Maga- 
zine. A  trust  of  modest  means  is  "not 
predicted,  but  rather  a  combination  of 
interests  of  unlimited  resources  already 
actively  engaged  in  the  pursuance  of  sys- 
tematic plans  to  secure  control  of  all 
available  water  power  in  this  country  and 
Canada.  A  successful  culmination  of 
these  plans  would  mean  a  corporation 
with  more  wealth  than  that  represented  by 
all  the  railroads  of  the  nation,  with 
Standard  Oil,  United  States  Steel  and  a 
dozen  or  so  of  the  minor  trusts  thrown 
in  for  good  measure.  Be  this  as  it  may, 
it  is  of  interest  to  note  that  some  of  the 
companies  mentioned  are  of  particular 
prominence  in  the  power  field,  but  whether 
they  actually  form  a  part  of  the  trust  com- 
bination or  are  tnerely  endeavoring  to 
secure  a  legitimate  market  for  their 
product  is  a  question  which  would  re- 
quire  careful   investigation  to  determine. 

Manufactures  and  transportation,  it  is 
reported,  use  about  31,500,000  horsepower, 
of  which  26,000,000  is  supplied  by  steam 
and  the  rest  water  power.  Carefully  com- 
piled data  of  the  Hydrographic  Bureau  of 
the  Geological  Survey  show  that  a  mini- 
mum development,  based  on  the  natural 
condition  of  streams  without  the  con- 
struction of  reservoirs,  would  produce 
37,000,000  horsepower.  This  is  the  low- 
flow  figure,  and  the  same  streams  will 
develop  a  minimum  of  56,000,000  horse- 
power  for  the  six  high-water  months  of 


May  4,  1909. 

the  year,  so  that  for  half  the  year  a  total 
of  37,000,000  to  56.000,000  horsepower 
would  be  developed,  and  for  the  re- 
mainder of  the  year  over  56,000,000  horse- 
power. Without  storage  and  at  miiim.uii 
flow  it  is  thus  possible  to  dcvcl.jj,  con- 
siderably more  power  than  is  luili/cd  at 
present,  and  it  is  estimated  that  if  reser- 
viirs  were  erected  of  capacity  large 
:i;h  to  equalize  the  annual  flow,  a 
;  of  230,000,000  horsepower  could  be 
produced,  or  over  seven  times  as  much 
power  as  the  whole  country  is  now  using. 
With  the  available  supply  of  natural 
fuels  rapidly  disappearing.  conscrvatJMti 
and  before  lony  necessity,  will  dfniaml 
recourse  to  the  waterfalls  of  the  country 
for  a  much  larger  proportion  c<i  the  total 
industrial  power  than  thc>  now  c-.ntrihiite. 
Lx>ng  before  this  condition  actually  de- 
veloped, a  trust  controlling  practically  all 
of  the  power  produced  by  water  would 
be  in  an  enviable  position  and  to  a  great 
extent  would  undoubtedly  be  able  to  die 
tate  the  price  of  power.  New  fuel*  may 
perhaps  come  into  uf.c  which  would  i.hvi 
ate  such  a  disaster,  but  it  wotiM  Mtr<!\  Ih 
wise  to  gtiard  our  water  re.sonr.r^ 


POWER  AND  THE  I 


Jt 


•n 


More'  Boiler   InspMxtion    Legislation 
Needed 

Both   in   the   editorial   and  correspond- 
ence columns  of   Power  and  THr.   F.mci- 
nrzK    the   necessity    for   the  enactment   of 
■  ibie    l)oilcr-inspectinn    law*    has    been 
'1    until    it    has    at    tinu-s    seemed    as 
though    the    readers    would    become    sur- 
feited  with  matter  on  this   subject.     But 
as  scarcely  a  day  of  the  year  is  marked 
off   the  calendar   without   the  transpiring 
of  news  of  a  boiler    failure    that    in    all 
probability   w<-iiM  have  been 
inirlligcnt     misjk-.  tion.    it    h- 
>t    quite 
•   touch  \\r 
keep  silent 

I-a*t   summer  a  boiler  beloin-'im/   1 
1  of  Dartmouth,  Mass,  v. 
■ne    of   the    State    inspev;-^    .im. 
>ure  allowed  reduce<l  lo  a  jM.mt  which 
!rred  it  useless  to  t!  ■ 
■.-r   of    (Miwrr       It 


which 

Thi 

chu 

had 

been  at 

tacbcd  to 

Ibe    boiler. 
•> 

It 

(hat 

^   fi .   1 

mill  I      ■III' 

lad 
to  blow 

:'   fc    It 

the  erc> 

jm^\t     uy     I, 

...V 

•  >       v'irC 

hut 

abow 

specter 

N 
be  ; 

'  pottfids 
iic  State  in- 

ui  4  law    in    New     ii. 
•  ■   t^r    nnr    i-^T^rrs'tr^    r 

the    tm- 
,      e  of  ap- 
paratus known    lo    be    dangeroos    as    a 
menace  to  the  life  and    f>r.  ~.r»Y    of    its 
citizens.    That  there  *l  -i  organ- 

ized movement  on  the  p.irt  :  ul  cttitcns 
looking  to  the  enactment  of  suitable 
boit<  •  or 

•«»**  ree- 

•  pUtii  tliat  to  niciuuia  U  is  • 

is  no- 
bod}  .  ,  <■  in  re- 
gard  lo   boiler-inspection   legislation,  and 

fp(0(>l<l  '•ri--      'Ixi      Tr..ll.».     ,;     »  >i ..      ..-.H     <.<     !»,*• 

pub! 

possioir  .If;   jif'tiMriir  «•  -ig   ironi 

the     of>eratir>n     of     ut  bodert. 

the   ■     -  "     'to 

his  .  est 

in  a  iiiatler  thai  i*  uf  vital  iiitcfe«l  to  the 

public 


Coal  SpecificatioQt 


■Kl. 


spc 

the 

( 

tied 

Sn. 

the 

!■•     th«- 
r«    at    » 


B  t  11    iKf  rw'iifxl 


10   tbe 
<  •  >   1 1  ibr  cak>mr  vsiar  eac«c4s  iaja» 


««d  n  Ibe  saaw  prmauge  rabo 

i%  thr  u«cT«nsc  m  lb*  calonfc  valac. 

( TW  riTwril.  bevrrer.  bas  tbr  rigbt  lo 

At  cargo    if    tbr    cafaHir 

■Ui  Kvyao  B  t  a  per  pammt.  } 

>  U  the  aMMarr  i%  Icm  tkan  lo  par 

■    bjr  wejgbl.  tbe  weaghi  oi  roal  lo  bt 

paid  for  is  incTeas<<d  br;ii«4  tbe 

actaalljr  weigh*^^  ■•  '  ►•-  •  •— - 

to  tbe  percent  - . 

(d)  If    tbe    m  i.T.rr      rm(r»4s      lO     ptf 

cent  by  areigbt  tbe  wcighl  o4  eeal  to  bt 
paid  for  is  drrrcaMd  below  iW 
actnallyr  wcigbed  ooi  b*  •  |  miaits 
to  tbe  pt rcemagr  'I- 
'The  roancd.  b>  - 

'  wbole  cargo  li  tbe 
per  cent  by  vesgbi ) 

(e)  If  tbe  proyortw  of  «mal  coal  is 

1r..       0.>',        SA      f^'  <^«         >.         .#.«».«         t^ 

p>rf  atigi    eqnal  to   iiai  gaartri  af 
ttic  p«frew<age  decrease  of  saaH  caal 

(f)  If  Ibe  proyortkai  of  mmM  eoal  ea 
cecoi  JO  per  eesH  by  wsgM,  tbe  wsgai 
of  coal  to  be  paid  for  m  deci rased  below 
tbe  qaamtty  artaalty  a  ijgbsd  oai  1^  • 
percentage  agaal  to  one-^aartOT  of  bv 
percenmgs'  increase  of  inial  caai 

rejr  floetiaa 

T^j»   *>   ^»    «.eaa    bg 


•gaMHl   • 


a    wire 

>  per  ccni  bv 


4j» 

.bcr  of 


'4 


r  was   safe   tor   a 
ili.iii    was  albavr' 
n    was    tt 

,.    and    tbr 

in  New    Mai^ 


incd  by  a  Mahier 

tjitidlr    tifr*  I      ■  ^* 


P»H-. 


'd  It   ior  the   New 

r>i,r      ..1      it.r      <• 


-in   of   the   *pr 


822 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  4,  1909. 


Improved    Dexter    Valve    Reseating 
Machine 


Thousands  of  good  valves  have  been 
thrown  awaj-  merelj-  because  there  was 
no  suitable  reseating  machine  at  hand 
and  engineers,  rather  than  bother,  have 
ordered  new  and  discarded  the  leaky 
valves.      The    accompanying    illustrations 


and  the  tool  spindle  are  slidable  through 
the  chuck,  and  instantly  lowered  to  or 
raised  from  the  valve  seat  and  held  in 
position  by  rotating  the  large  nut  shown 
on  the  body  of  the  machine.  This  bear- 
ing sleeve  supports  the  tool  spindle  for 
practically  its  entire  length,  which  greatly 
strengthens  the  tool  shaft  and  aids  in 
keeping  it  in  line. 

Fig.    2    shows    the    application    of    this 
device    for    reseatinsr    globe    valves    from 


said  to  meet  all  requirements  for  this  size 
of  valve. 

Fig.  4  illustrates  the  Dexter  machine 
for  reseating  the  larger  size  of  valve  up  to 
12  inches.  The  machine  is  geared  5  to  i, 
making  a  very  powerful  machine  that 
carries  the  largest  cutter  easily,  cutting  the 
hardest  metal  smoothly  without  chatter- 
ing, it  is  said.  The  jaws  of  the  machine 
are  quickly  and  simultaneously  adjusted 
as  in  the  case  of  the  machines  already  de- 


FIC.     3.     APPLIED   TO   L.\RGER   GLOBE   VALVES 

show  the  application  of  the  Dexter  valve 
machine,  manufactured  by  the  Leavitt 
Machine  Company,  Orange,  Mass. 

Fig.  I  illustrates  an  improved  valve- 
reseating  machine  with  the  tool  spindle 
removed  from  its  bearing  sleeve  in  the 
body  of  the  machine.  This  bearing  sleeve 
extends  through  the  chuck  and  is  threaded 
on  the  inside  of  its  upper  end.  These 
threads  engage  with  the  threads  of  the 
feed  screw  shown  under  the  speed  wheel 
of  the  tool   spindle.     The  bearing  sleeve 


FIG.     5.    TURRET-LATHE  DISK  CUTTER 


J4  to  4  inches  in  size.  The  illustration 
shows  a  machine  at  work  on  a  valve  seat. 
The  jaws  of  the  machine  are  quickly  and 
simultaneously  adjusted  to  the  valve  cas- 
ing by  merely  rotating  the  scroll  of  the 
chuck.  This  centers  the  machine,  when 
the  tool  shaft  is  in  alinement.  Then  a 
few  turns  of  the  handle  and  the  seat  is 
cut  to  a  too  flat  surface. 

Fig.  3  shows  the  machine  as  applied  to 
valves  from  3  to  6  inches  in  size.  This 
machine    carries    a    6-inch    cutter    and    is 


scribed.  The  machine,  being  portable,  is 
taken  to  the  valve  on  the  pipe  line,  the 
valve  seat  being  trued  without  disconnect- 
ing the  valve.  This  model  is  carried  in 
three  sizes  for  reseating  all  flat  and 
taper-seated  valves  from  3  to  8  inches,  3 
to   10  inches  and  4  to  12  inches. 

Fig.  5  shows  a  new  turret-lathe  disk 
cutter.  Owing  to  the  number  of  positions 
to  which  the  turret  head  that  holds  the 
cutting  tool  can  be  adjusted,  all  kinds 
and    shapes    of   valve    disk   can    be    easily 


May  4,  lyoQ. 

and  quickly  recut.  With  one  setting  of 
the  head,  a  crowning  face  can  be  cut  on  a 
valve  disk ;  by  feeding  forward  on  the 
nurled  nut,  a  45-degrce  angle  can  be  cut ; 
or  by  feeding  on  the  feed  nut  of  the  ma- 
chine a  true  surface  can  be  tumcil  ii.irallrl 
with  the  machine;  all  without  riM-ttinj{ 
the  head.  The  turret  heacl  carrying  the 
cutting  tool  can  be  quickly  adjusted  for 
turning  up  ail  kinds  of  work  usually  done 
in  small  lathes.  This  machine  is  portable, 
but  can  be  attached  to  a  In-nch. 


Inquiries 


Quratlona  arr  not  anMirrrril 
ffrnrral    imlmml    aitti    arr 

'    mame   and   atlJrrnf    ot    th- 


■I   «r»" 


Horsepower  to   Turn  IJium 

Give  a  formula  by  which  to  obtain  the 
horsepower  necessary  to  drive  a  drum  8 
feet  in  diameter  by  16  feet  long,  resting 
on  six  12-inch  sheaves,  with  l2-iiKh  facet, 
three  of  the  sheaves  being  drivers  and  the 
other  three  mounted  on  an>  idler  shaft. 
The  drum  when  loaded  will  wriifti  aliout 
27  tons  and  make  10  turns  pvr  iniiuitc     A 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


w 


10 

Now  u 

/■.  =  P,  or  A',  +  i»,  =  J  Ft, 

the    formub    for    friction    would    be. 

FrieiUm  =  3  Pt  f  =  F. 
and  the  formub  for  work  woald  be 
IVork  =1  F  X9*X  io=a/».  /gt>»  = 

180  W  '  » 

a  <^  »o'    jLL  . 
10 

The  horsepower  at  the  prriTbrry  of  ibe 

r<  llrr    M.,tit.l    tx- 


gtrr  Ote  hormptmtt  T§^wk^i  to  mmnMi 
thr  bearing  friciioa  am  Hm  •h^U 

The  loial  L^M,..^«r  mtiM  tk^h  W 
•  *Bmrn.3«»-^  uf  thr  ralii  ai«Mac4  lor 
ri !  -".  friclMM  oa  ibe  iStt  tk^h, 

*n< :  <  41    tke    drt«  in*     th^  ft.     maA 


Ttiat  HJ*. «  .>  Mf-  ^  -  ^ 

immmc  >br  valar  oc  k.  wMck 

.•*cmatnr«l  i^.   '.}m   t>Ur  •    «raJ  ike 

«^uc  of  d.  whirti  .  rtm 

the  KOer  daft  MkJ ^  ~. 

borwpower  required  naj  be 


//  /' 


\1.00D     > 


ft-.  «    '    II 


tr- 


lu 


1  or   .-.i«!    ir>'fi    r  >ijmg   or 
coefficient    of    frkiion    i«    n 
stituting  in  I 
horsepower 


{H^ 


\  r 


K  / 


riC.   I.    AUA.NCCMEXT  OT  Mt'M  AXt>  WOUJM* 


^  "  4 


sketch  of  the  arrangement    is    shown    in      re>I 

I  It'    I  \^ 

sec. 

A^smntfig  the  load  to  be  di^trihtitr.! 
eqiuliy  in  the  driiin,  thr  f«>rniiil.i  i"r 
horsepower  at  the  jxriphery  of  the  drum 
may  be  deduced  graphically.  In  the  ac- 
companying sketch.  Fig.  J,  the  large  cir- 
cle represents  the  drtim.  and  the  two  smal- 
ler circles   the  r«>ller^. 


StM  Q  '  *  » 


d 
10 


Make  /  e  parallel  to  o  if  *nd  r  .- 
to  a  f.  Thrtj  thr  resultant  a /■  ^ 
sent  thr  weight  (I*  of  ihr  drum. 


a 


a 


and 


n.  tbr  foUowtni  resuh  would     i>< 


3J.OOO 


IJ     f«>'»rmj     «|1A     tCBlc  ' 


i»5_ 

^,o«  -  d* 


otd  1..!^, 


ffl»tO»!«^l  Vt     iKr    r^i«i 


Tn  nvrrmme  th#  bnriiHT  frielWi  an  iW  ^  ' 

rni;.  •••'^   ^    "*• 

^1  ham  Iwdh   walrd. 

thr  «rr  10  oeercuMW  ilw  bearing  /.^MfM** 


;•♦• 


90  m    e 


<4  ono 


IV*^^ 


lK»t    It 


Oh  l^^ 

rr«t4tant 

•tirr  /*,    Tlien  the  fdV 


Sj4 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  4,   I  yog. 


Modem  Science  Club  Program 


In  the  program  of  lectures  and  discus- 
sions at  the  rooms  of  the  Modern  Science 
Club,  of  Brooklyn,  the  following  features 
are  announced  for  the  balance  of  May : 
Saturday.  May  8,  general  discussion  on 
"The  Rating  and  Reliability  of  House 
Heating  Boilers;"  Tuesday,  May  ii,  a 
paper  by  Prof.  John  E.  Sweet,  illustrated 
by  the  stereopticon,  on  "The  Growth  of 
the  High  Speed  Engine,  or  the  Straight 
Line  Engine  in  Particular,"  will  be  read 
by  the  secretary ;  Tuesda}',  May  l8,  H. 
J.  Atticks  will  continue  his  discussion  of 
"Steam  Engine  Governors ;"  Saturday, 
Maj-  22,  general  discussion  on  "Turbine 
Governors,"  opened  by  Frank  Martin; 
Tuesday,  May  25,  F.  E.  Town  will  read 
a  paper  on  "Elevator  Accidents  and  their 
Prevention."  All  lectures  will  start 
promptly  at  8:15  p.m. 


B 


usmess  items 


it( 


Ira  J.  Owen,  consulting  engineer,  of  Chicago, 
has  removed  from  the  Marquette  building  to 
85.5  First  National  Bank  building  and  will  con- 
tinue to  make  a  specialty  of  factory  engineering. 

The  Pittsburg  office  of  the  Du  Bois  Iron 
Works,  of  Du  Bois,  Penn.,  manufacturer  of 
gas  ^ngines,  etc.,  has  been  removed  from  1206 
Park  building  to  more  commodious  quarters 
at  1429  Park  building. 

The  Parker  Boiler  Company  has  received 
an  order  for  a  .300-horsepower  boiler  from 
the  Astoria  Veneer  Mills,  Long  Island  City, 
X.  Y.  This  company  installed  a  500-horse- 
power  Parker  boiler  about  a  year  ago. 

The  Carnegie  Steel  Company  has  added  to 
the  1.550  horsepower  in  Crocker- Wheeler  form 
W  motors  in  its  Duquesne  plant  by  the  purchase 
of  three  more  Crocker- Wheeler  motors  of  the 
same  type,  especially  designed  for  rolling-mill 
work,  aggregating  225  horsepower. 

The  Union  Electric  Power  Company,  Union, 
Iowa,  has  ordered  from  the  Minneapolis  Steel 
and  Machinery  Company  a  5.5-horsepcjwer 
Muenzel  producer  gas  engine  and  gas  producer 
which  will  be  installed  in  its  new  electric-light 
plant.  The  engine  will  be  belted  to  two  gen- 
erators. 

The  Larson  Lumber  Company,  Bellingham, 
Wash.,  has  purchased  a  20x36-inch  Twin  City 
Corliss  engine  with  special  Twin  City  frame 
from  the  Minneapolis  Steel  and  Machinery 
Company.  This  is  the  .second  Twin  City  engine 
that  they  have  purchased  within  the  past  three 
months. 

The  Buckeye  Engine  Company,  of  Salem, 
Ohio,  announces  the  appointment  of:  I>ouis 
Bendit,  as.sociate,  American  Society  of  Mechan- 
ical Engineers.  Kan.sas  City  sales  managor,  with 
offices  at  .504  New  York  Life  buihling;  also, 
J.  R.  Detweiler,  district  manager,  at  Wichita, 
Kan.,  with  offices  at  .505  Barnes  building. 

In  the  March  23  i.ssue,  on  page  .543,  in  the 
article  descriptive  of  the  new  power  plant  of 
the  L.  S.  Starrett  Company,  Athol,  Mass.,  it 
was  stated  that  the  chimney  is  of  the  Custodis 
type.  We  wish  to  correct  this  statement,  as 
the  chimney  is  constructed  of  rarlial  bricks  by 
tho  M.  W.  Kellogg  Company.  48  Church  street. 
New  York. 

The  Du  Bois  Iron  Works  advises  us  that 
it  recently  appointed  .Tames  L.  Kimball  New 
England    representative,    with    offices    at    53 


Slate  street,  Boston,  Mass.,  also  the  James  F. 
Marshall  Company,  OOS  Chestnut  street,  Phil- 
adalphia.  general  sales  manager  for  eastern 
Pennsylvania,  Delaware  and  the  southern 
half  of  New  .Tersey. 

The  Trill  Indicator  Company,  Corry,  Penn., 
is  sending  out  a  neat  circular,  recently  is- 
sued, containing  a  list  of  a  few  of  the  con- 
cerns using  the  Trill  "Triumph"  indicator, 
anjong  which  are  the  William  Todd  Com- 
pany. Cambria  Steel  Company,  Jones  & 
Langhlin  Steel  Company  and  a  number  of 
prominent   universities. 

C.  \.  Dunham  &  Co.,  of  Marshalltown,  Iowa, 
will  shortly  start  operations  on  a  new  $50,000 
office  and  factory  building,  as  their  present 
quarters  are  inadequate.  The  building  will 
be  used  entirely  for  their  heating  and  trap 
departments.  They  report  a  big  improvement 
in  business  and  recently  opened  branch  offices 
in  Fort  Worth,  Tex.,  Pittsburg  and  Denver. 

The  Ideal  Automatic  Pump  Governor  Com- 
pany has  been  reincorporated  under  the  laws 
of  the  State  of  New  York,  and  has  changed  its 
corporate  title  to  the  Ideal  Automatic  Manu- 
facturing Company,  as  its  line  of  steam  spe- 
cialties now  embraces  pump  governors,  pressure- 
regulating  and  controlling  valves  and  "Ideal" 
packing.  The  offices  and  works  of  the  company 
are  at  125  to  129  Watts  street,  New  Y'ork. 

"Belt  Talks"  is  the  title  of  a  little  cloth- 
bound  book  of  about  100  pages  which  gives 
a  lot  of  information  about  belting  and  will  make 
good  reading  for  any  engineer  who  has  any- 
thing to  do  with  the  belting  about  his  estab- 
lishment. There  are  a  number  of  illustrations 
to  help  out  the  text.  Of  course  the  object 
of  the  book  is  also  to  tell  about  Bird's  "Bulls- 
Eye"  belting.  It  is  .sent  free  upon  application 
to  J.  A.  &  W.  Bird  &  Co.,  34  India  street,  Boston, 
Mass. 

We  have  been  advised  by  the  Keystone 
Lubricating  Company,  of  Philadelphia,  that 
the  case  which  has  been  pending  in  the 
Denver  courts  for  infringement  upon  its 
trademark  by  the  Keystone  Oil  and  Supply 
Company  has  been  decided  in  its  favor. 
There  are  several  infringements  upon  the 
company's  trademark  throughout  the  United 
States  by  petty  concerns,  and  action  has  not 
been  taken  against  them  on  account  of  the 
pending  decision. 

The  city  of  Bellevue,  la.,  has  placed  an  order 
for  a  Foos  three-cylinder  vertical  gas  engine,  with 
gas  producer  comi)lete,  with  the  Foos  Gas 
Engine  Company,  of  Springfield,  O.,  to  replace  a 
steam  engine  in  the  city  electric-light  plant. 
This  will  run  in  parallel  with  a  steam  engine,  it 
being  anticipated  that  the  remaining  steam 
engine  will  be  displaced  by  another  gas  engine. 
The  Foos  company  is  doing  a  large  business  in 
gas-producer  plants,  both  for  electric  work  and 
pumping  installations. 

The  Homestead  Valve  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, of  Piltsbtu-g,  I'cnn.,  reports  several 
sales  of  Homestead  valves  for  use  on  pres- 
sures of  .5000  pounds  hydraulic.  These 
valves,  they  say.  are  mooting  with  great  suc- 
cess and  they  have  had  several  repeat  orders 
from  customers  using  thom  for  this  purpose. 
Many  users  of  valves  know  the  Homestead 
valve  as  ii  blowoff  valve  im\y,  Imt  tlioy  desire 
lo  call  atfontlon  to  the  fact  that  it  is  suc- 
cessfully used  on  the  highest  known  pres- 
sures. 

The  Willcox  Engineering  Company,  of 
Siiglnaw,  Mich.,  mainifactiirer  of  the  Willcox 
automatic  water  woighor,  has  Lssued  in 
pamphlet  form,  illustraled,  "A  Consulting  En- 
gineer's Koport  on  the  Willcox  Automatic 
Water  Weigher,"  it  being  a  ro|)roduction  of 
part  of  an  article,  on  "Kecent  Uolinoments  in 
Roller  Testing,"  which  was  published  in 
Power  axu  Tiik  E.nvhxkbh,  February  2.'5, 
1000.  The  Willcox  water  weigher  is  highly 
endorsed  in  a  letter  accompanying  the  pamrih- 
let,    from    the    Michigan    Sulphite   Fibre   Com- 


pany, of  Port  Huron,  Mich.,  which  gives  the 
weigher  large  credit  for  a  saving  of  from 
10  to  20  per  cent,  in  the  coal  bill. 

The  Hewes  &  Phillips  Iron  Works,  Newark, 
N.  J.,  has  under  construction  for  the  Windham 
Manufacturing  Company,  Willimantic,  Conn., 
a  cross-compound  Corliss  engine,  18x36x48, 
100  revolutions,  to  develop  1000  horsepower. 
With  this  engine  they  are  also  installing  a  com- 
plete motive-power  outfit  consisting  of  a  750- 
kilowatt  Crocker- Wheeler  belt-driven  generator, 
Stirling  water-tube  boilers,  pumps,  heaters,  etc. 
The  Oakville  Company,  Oakville,  Conn.,  is 
installing  a  new  Hewes  &  Phillip  cross-compound 
condensing  Corliss  engine,  equipped  with  the 
improved  "Franklin"  silent  valve  gear.  This 
engine  is  14x28x33  and  will  run  at  300  revolu- 
tions, direct-connected  to  a  300-kilowatt  gen- 
erator. The  engine  is  arranged  to  connect 
to  a  12-inch  barometric  condenser;  it  will  also 
have  a  primary  heater  and  all  the  latest  heat- 
saving  apparatus. 

The  Hewes  &  Phillips  Iron  Works,  Newark, 
N.  J.,  is  rebuilding  one  of  the  large  Corliss 
engines  operating  the  Wamsutta  mills,  New 
Bedford,  Mass.,  furnishing  two  high-pressure 
20-inch  diameter  by  T2-inch  stroke  cylinders* 
and  new  pistons  and  new  valve  gear  for  all 
fmu-  cylinders.  The  valve  gear  will  be  of  the 
"Franklin"  type.  They  are  also  building  for 
this  engine  a  wood-rim  flywheel  26  feet  in 
diameter  by  102  inches  face,  with  double 
arms.  The  engine  will  be  speeded  from  58 
to  about  70  revolutions  per  minute.  The 
Downs-Plum  Company,  boxboard  paper  manu- 
facturer, Blanchard  and  Ferry  streets,  New- 
ark, N.  J.,  is  also  having  a  22x42,  400-horse- 
power  Hewes  &  Phillips  Corliss  engine  in- 
stalled for  the  operation  of  its  paper  mill. 
The  engine  will  work  noncondensing,  using 
steam    in   the   dryers. 

One  of  the  oldest  and  largest  printing  estab- 
lishments in  Texas,  that  of  Clarke  &  Courts, 
Galveston,  has  just  completed  the  electrification 
of  its  drives.  The  order  for  21  motors  recently 
placed  with  the  Birmingham  office  of  the  Crocker- 
Wheeler  Company  makes  a  total  of  61  Crocker- 
Wheeler  motors  in  this  plant.  The  motors 
just  ordered  are  for  the  following  purposes: 
A  lO-horsepower  motor  for  driving  the  elevator; 
two  3-horsepower  and  a  2-horsepower  for  driving 
cutters;  a  1-horsepower  driving  a  group  of  num- 
bering machines  and  a  1-horsepower  driving 
a  group  of  wire  stitchers;  a  J-horsepower  driving 
a  box  machine  and  a  similar  motor  driving  a 
punch;  eight  J -horsepower  motors  driving 
ruling  machines  and  a  -J^-horsepov/er  driving  a 
.sewing  machine.  In  the  electrotype  shop  there 
are  two  5-horsepower  motors  driving  groups  of 
machinery,  a  1-horsepower  motor  driving  a 
black-leading  machine  and  a  3-horsepower 
driving  a  plating  dynamo.  This  plant  covers 
a  whole  block  and  is  four  stories  high.  It  is 
considered  the  highest-class  printing  establish- 
ment west  of  the  Mississippi  river. 


Help  Wanted 

Advert iftrmrnt/i  under  this,  head  are  inserted 
■for  2.5  cents  per  line.  About  six  words  make 
a  line. 

WANTED — Thoroughly  competent  steam 
si)0(ialty  salesman  ;  one  that  can  sell  high- 
grade  goods.    Address  "M.  M.  Co.,"  I'ovvEU. 

AN  ENGINKIOU  in  each  town  to  sell  the 
lust  rocking  grate  for  steam  boilers.  Write 
Martin  Grate  Co.,  281  Dearborn  St.,  Chicago. 

EXPERIENCED  CRUDE  OIL  FIREMAN  to 
take  charge  of  boiler  room  of  1  (JOO-horso- 
power  plant.  Only  experts  need  apply.  State 
oxijcrionco  and  salary  expected.  C.  P.  Co., 
Box    43,    PuwKU. 

W.\.\TEI)  -First-class  salesm^,  must  have 
osfablishod  trade  among  steam  users  in  engi- 
neers' and  factory  sui)plies  in  Greater  Now 
York  and  ^■icinlly.  Fine  poition  for  right 
man.     Box  .■;5,  Towku. 

AV.\NTEI) — P.y  manufacturer,  thoroiighly 
experioncd  man  to  sell  hangers,  shafting  and 
ti'jinsmission  iniichinor.v  in  New  York  City  and 
vicinity.       Must    be    capable,    energetic."     We 


May  II,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  KM^lXEEk. 


Reversing    Valve   Gears  in   General    Use 

A  Birds  Eye  View  of  Link  and  Ohcr  Rc\erang  Mobom.    Inriii*4i»*g 

Double-  and  Sinijlr-ett  cnlnc  Motions;  Dirctl.  Bod  an<!  S|jur-\shrrl  Dn\r 


B    Y 


SIMPSON 


R 


C    E 


While  volumes  have  been  writtrn  on 
the  subject  of  reversing  vaUc  Rcari.  there 
does  not  seem  to  be  any  place  in  which  all 
*ii  the  principal  types  now  in  use  are  illus- 
trated and  describe<l,  particularly  with 
reference  to  noting  the  differences  be- 
tween them.  That  such  a  comparison  has 
elements  of  value  goes  without  saying: 
for.  while  the  steam  engine  may,  to  quote 
the  view  expressed  by  many,  be  becoming 
a  "back  number"  in  the  held  of  power 
generation,  for  any  service  whicl' 
re^ersing,  it  is  still  the  only  •!■ 
machine,  and  there  is  much  which  111.1)  >tt 
\k  done  to  perfect  the  vari<Jiis  types  of 
gears  by  which  reversing  is  accomplished. 
Therefore,  a  review  of  those  which  have 
thus  far  stood  the  test  of  continuous  or 
intermittent  operation,  and  the  study  of 
their  essential  characteristics,  will  be 
found  helpful  in  a  consideration  of  means 
/or  improving,  or  adaptinK  to  new  service. 


verging 

show  \  < 

them. 

a    numl> 

drawings    of    engine*    now    in 

which  show  how  the  details  of  t 

I)  pes  are  applied    in    actual    r- 

prarticr.     Such   information   of    i-n...    ui 

the  article  imparls  will  come  chiefly  from 

a  close,  analytical  «crulin>      '    ' 

figures    by    which    it    is    il' 

yond  what  is  said  of  the  t'ir>t  iiiu:iut)  Jc- 


nine  rtMU. 


n  to  taItt. 


C  =  Rod* 
rad- 
///  =  Lrs 


'MHcnoA*  By  vlani 
r4<«tcdL 


tl 


i«m< 
** 


t«4w    lfaf««     *««tl 


for 
It  ah 


Ir  10 


'rr^ 


srtrHixioK  oLs* 


«K<     fT*«S  ♦-»» 


^rr  Bad  ummtirmrm  o| 


^/ 


) 


>H 


Tl 


•'■'-  working  part*  of  any  indi^i-'' 

!  or   the  article    following,   m' 
principally    of    the    several 
ployed    for   imparting   the   •! 
lo   the    valves     by     means     ui 
cranks.   In-vel   and    <pitr    whrrl- 
—  iisii.illy    111 
links     there  i 

diagrammatic     sketches,     n' 
ceived.  which  give  what  mn;   ' 
a  bird's-eye  view  of  all  link  and  oif. 


I  (vt--      ftcribctl.  no  altempl  wiT  ^-^ 
k>«    cMt    lh< 


4(iA*^*  ^««tMii  ««n» 


Mir«^  of  ibv  irvtral  ^ 


^t  ••^^  '»'-■•••• 


826 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  II,  1909. 


movements  that  occur  in  machinery."' 
Among  the  earliest  of  arrangements  for 
reversing  engines  and  changing  the  ratio 
of  expansion,  and  the  one  still  most  com- 
monly used,  is  the  Stephenson  gear,  illus- 
trated in  Fig.  I.  The  details  and  opera- 
tion of  this  gear  are  as  follows :  The  two 
eccentrics  A  and  A'  are  keyed  to  the 
crank  shaft,  and  to  the  link  C  are  con- 
nected the  two  eccentric  rods  B  and  B'. 
'1  he  radius  of  the  curvature  of  the  link, 
suspended  from  the  point  F  by  the  system 
of  levers,  is  equal  to  the  eccentric  rod 
length.  The  block  D.  which  fits  the  link, 
slides  in  it  when  the  latter  is  raised  or 
lowered,  and  is  connected  directly  to  the 
spindle  E  operating  the  valve.  By  mov- 
ing a  lever  which  actuates  the  rod  /,  the 
link  is  raised  or  lowered  through  the 
operation  of  the  bell-crank  lever  H  and 
the  rod  C. 

When  the  eccentric  rod  B'  is  nearly  in 
line  with  the  valve  spindle  E,  the  action 
of  the  valve  is  the  same  as  if  there  were 
but  one  eccentric,  viz..  A'.  But,  if  the 
link  is  raised  so  that  the  block  is  near  its 
lower  end,  the  admission  of  steam  is  un- 
der the  control  of  the  eccentric  A,  since 
the  eccentric  rod  B  is  nearly  in  line  with 
the  valve  spindle;  the  eccentric  A'  will 
then  cease  to  affect  materially  the  action 
of  the  valve  and  the  direction  of  the  en- 


FIG.   3.      DETAIL  DESIGN  OF   STEPHENSON  GEAR   ON    ENGINE   OF   FIG.    2 


gine  will  he  reversed.  When  the  valve 
occupies  a  position  at  any  point  between 
the  extremes  of  the  link,  it  is  under  the 
influence  of  both  eccentrics,  but  mainly 
controlled  by  the  nearest  one.  ,If  in  the 
exact  center  of  the  link,  it  is  subject  to 
both  eccentrics  and  the  engine  will  not 
run  in  either  direction,  as  each  eccentric 
is  working  in  direct  and  equal  opposition 
to  the  other. 

At  such  times  as  the  block  is  not  at  the 
extreme    of   the   link,    the   valve   will   not 


travel  its  full  distance,  or  the  eccentric 
throw,  but  only  a  distance  which  lessens 
as  the  block  approaches  the  central  point ; 
but  if  the  block  is  at  either  extreme  of 
the  link,  the  valve  will  travel  a  distance 
equal  to  the  throw  of  the  eccentric ;  at  any 
other  point  the  travel  is  less,  being  the 
same  as  if  determined  by  another  eccen- 
tric of  smaller  radius  than  either  of  those 
used. 

The  effect  of  decreasing  the  valve  travel 
is  customarily  shown  graphically  by  valve 


Path  of  Link  Block  Fin.. 


Running  Forward 


CRAFHICAL    MKTHOD   OF    I.AVIN'G    OfT    LINK    MOTION 


diagrams.  Decreasing  the  valve  travel  re- 
sults in  cutoff  at  a  point  earlier  in  the 
stroke;  the  ratio  of  expansion  is,  there- 
fore, increased ;  compression  and  release 
both  occur  earlier;  the  lead  also  is  in- 
creased slightly.  Hence  it  will  be  ap- 
parent that  the  combination  of  a  pair 
of  eccentrics  with  a  link  and  sliding  block 
allows  both  change  in  the  direction  of  the 
engine  and  in  the  ratio  of  expansion.  For 
those  reasons,  this  gear  has  been  exten- 
sively employed  for  locomotive,  marine, 
rolling-mill  and  hoisting-engine  service. 
The   length   of  the  link,   which   is   curved 


May  II,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


so  that  the  lead  will  be  equalized  for  all 
travels,  should  not  be  less  than  three  times 
the  full  travel  of  the  valve.  It  may  be 
suspended  from  above  or  supported  from 
beneath. 

FiKs.  2  and  3  show  the  Stephenson  link 
gear  applied  to  a  geared  h<>i^tln^f  engine, 
the  details  of  which  are  plain.  An  ar- 
rangement such  as  this  adapts  itself 
readily  to  a  gear  where  a  variable  cut«»ff 


the  pins,  etc.,  each  calcabtiotrbrmK  iadi- 
catrd    by    name.      The  -lUrs 

whtrh  there  i«  hardi>  pOQ 

in  •.uul.  but 

th«  **>n  that 

th<  ;«rt 

in  A  hole 

and  upon  the  lines  of  a  tmgic  cocnprc- 
hm4ivr  diagram,  appltcs  lu  the  work  of 
designing    all    types    of     reversing    valve 


tric-ra4  pi*,  to  tlHl  ikr 

upper  pia  (aadiv . 

bltlr  effect  OS  the 

i»    supported   «■   cd^    Mi^ 

Mraim  doe  to  luirhMt  i» 

SlephcuMM  hdk  are  nh«iad 

to  vhrther  the  ai 
ecreniricB  b  to  he 

errentric  roQS  afe  csthee  opes 


Km  ««vy 

Dm*  I^ 
the 


of  thrtvo 


MOOinCATfv    o»    %T»i.ii.v<..v     ii«v 


is  desired.    This  is  accomplished,  ai  at>..\c 
indicated,   by    moving    the    link    bWxk    up 
or   down,   nearer   to   or   away     from    the 
working  eccentric-rod  center.     In  thf  i>nr 
ticular  case  illiisiraled,  two  ent; 
coupled  on  one  crank  shaft;  con 
a   link    was    required    ft>r   each,   but    they 
were  both  connected,  through  the  mctliuni 
of  necessar)'  levers  and  cross  shaft,  with 
the  lever  keyed  in  the  center,  so  that  each 
could  be  operated  simultaneously  with  the 
other.     The  essential   features  of   f'ig*    2 
and  ^  are.  of  course.  i<lentical.     The  rea- 
»on    for   giving   Ivith   of   them   here   is   to 
illustrate,    first,    an    outline    of    the    side 


wiiiiiniiil   hy   the 
caiherrd  f  roai  tmf 


irmrm%    «iU    he    hne«y    4r- 


no.  6.  oooca  uhk 


f\ 


^1 


M 


«♦ — ;=rn 


'  vnlion    of   an    engine    filled    whh    Of 
'Hon    gear.    ;i«    it 
of   a   projxurd    "• 
huildrr   to  a   p- 
,  to  «how  the  <: 
worked  out  in  the  «lr    • 
Prorrrding  «!•"  <.ftli-  *'  • 

iphiral  reprr-' 
i.iving  out  the  ilutir.n.    i 
mojii.n,  the  slip  of  the  Im^ 


t  >•«•<««   *"•»*  r»i»T 


828 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  II,  1909. 


that  the  block  may  occupy  different  posi- 
tions in  the  link,  from  one  extremity  to 
the  other,  without  moving  the  valve. 
Therefore  the  lead  is  constant  for  all 
points  of  cutoff.  The  block,  instead  of 
being  on  the  inside  of  the  link,  has  its 
wearing  surfaces  on  the  outside  of  the 
link  and  is  adjustable  by  means  of  wear- 
ing plates.  The  arrangement  is  shown  in 
Figs.  6  and  7. 

Thfe  Gooch  link  gives  constant  lead,  but 
it  has  more  joints  to  wear  and  cause  lost 
motion  and  it  requires  more  space  than 
the  Stephenson.  In  choosing  the  type  of 
link  motion  the  importance  of  a  given 
feature  must  be  well  considered.  Both 
gears  may  be  designed  to  give  an  equal- 
i2ed  cutoff'.  To  illustrate  by  specific  ex- 
amples : 

A  hoist  is  a  very  slow-speed  machine 
when  starting  and  runs  at  higher  speed 
when  under  way.  A  slow-speed  engine  re- 
quires   but    little    lead,    while    for    higher 


gines   of  this   type   often   use   independent 
cutoff  valves. 

Allan  Gear — Fig.  8  shows  the  Allan,  or 
straight-link  gear,  and  Fig.  9  a  recent  ap- 
plication of  it.  At  the  time  the  Stephen- 
son gear  was  invented  the  means  of  slot- 
ting out  had  not  been  brought  to  the 
present-day  perfection,  and  the  construc- 
tion of  a  curved  link  with  large  radius 
involved     considerable     difficulty ;     hence 


p^wer,  y.  r. 
ALL.\N    STR.\IGHT-LINK  GEAR 


intermediate  in  relation  to  them.  Fig.  9 
is  a  modified  form  of  the  gear  shown  by 
Fig.  8  and  has  the  link  hanging  down  in- 
stead of  being  supported  from  below.  In 
either  case  the  motion  is  the  same. 

Trick  Gear — A  gear  practically  identical 
with  the  Allan  link  motion  was  ind>epend- 
ently  brought  out  in  Germany  by  the  in- 
ventor whose  name  it  bears,  and  mention 
is  made  of  it  here  for  the  reason  that  the 
straight-link  gear  is  sometimes  referred 
to  under  that  title. 

Polenceau  Gear — Very  similar  in  its 
initial  arrangement  to  the  Gooch  gear, 
and  constituting  practically  a  modification 
of  it,  is  the  Polenceau  reversing  and  cut- 
off gear  shown  by  Fig.  10;  but,  with  this- 
arrangement,  a  separate  expansion  valve 
is  operated  in  connection  with  the  main 
valve,  necessitating  two  valve  spindles  E 
and  E' ,  as  illustrated.  It  is  plain  to  be 
seen  from  the  sketch  how  this  gear  works. 
If  the   engineer  wishes  to  throw  the  ex- 


^P77777777777777777777T> 


I 

Power,  N.r. 


FIG.    9.     RECENT   APPLICATION  OF  .\LLAN  GEAR 


speeds  considerable  lead,  early  admission, 
exhaust  and  a  larger  amount  of  compres- 
sion are  necessary  in  order  that  the  drum 
may  run  smoothly. 

In  starting,  the  link  motion  is  thrown 
into  full  forward  gear,  which  causes  a 
late  cutoff  and  slight  lead.  After  the  hoist 
is  well  started,  the  engine,  like  a  high- 
speed power  engine,  requires  more  lead 
and  considerable  compression.  An  early 
admission  and  release  are  desirable  in 
order  that  the  steam  may  be  admitted  and 
exhausted  freely.  By  raising  the  Stephen- 
son link,  these  conditions  are  attained,  as 
well  as  the  advantage  of  using  the  steam 
expansively. 

In  marine  engines  the  link  motions  are 
used  more  for  reversing  than  for  varying 
the  expansion.  Usually  a  marine  engine 
runs  at  full  speed  and  under  full  load. 
When  the  speed  decreases,  if  the  link  is 
shifted  toward  mid-gear,  there  is  exces- 
sive compression  and  early  release.     En- 


Power,  N.  T. 

FIG.     10.       POLENCEAU     REVERSING     AND    CUT- 
OFF  (;eai< 

Allan's  straight  link  was  designed  as  a 
substitute.  In  this  gear  the  radius  rod  is 
moved  upward  as  the  link  is  moved  down- 
ward and  vice , verso,  causing  the  valve  to 
travel  evenly  on  each  side  of  a  fixed 
point;  and,  theoretically,  the  end  sought 
can  be  completely  attained,  but  in  practice 
it  has  not  worked  as  well.  This  motion 
is  not  now  very  extensively  employed.  It 
combines,  however,  the  principal  features 
of  the  Stephen.son  and  Gooch  links  and  is 


pansion  valve  out  of  action,  so  as  to  use 
the  gear  as  a  simple  Gooch  motion,  he 
merely  brings  the  levers  in  line  and  locks 
them  together.  The  Polenceau  gear  is 
ingenious  and  has  been  extensively  util- 
ized, but  it  possesses  a  number  of  serious 
disadvantages,  which  will  not  be  gone  into 
here,  that  have  made  it  unpopular  in  this 
country. 

Meyer  Gear — A  modification  of  the 
Polenceau  gear,  which  permits  of  all  pos- 
sible degrees  of  expansion  from  zero  on, 
is  the  Meyer  gear,  largely  used  in  rolling- 
mill  engine  service.  This,  however,  affects 
principally  the  valve  construction,  which 
is  not  of  interest  here,  and  on  the  eccen- 
trically operated  link  end  a  number  of 
combinations,  on  the  order  of  the  fore- 
going, have  been  worked  out,  which  have 
given  the  Meyer  gear  a  wide  range  of 
adaptability.  Among  its  good  points  is  a 
minimum   of  valve   friction. 

Borsig,  Breval,  Gonzenbach,  Napier  and 


May  11,  1909. 

Rankinc,  Farcot,  and  Georges  geafs,  each 
of  which  embodies  a  separate  expansion 
valve,  are  closely  related  to  that  of 
Polcnceau's  and  have  been  used  to  a  con- 
siderable extent  in  Europe,  the  last-named 
beiiiK  similar  to  the  Meyer  gear  in  that  it 
fuliils  must  of  the  cundiiicins  of  a  perfect 
expansion  gear.  The  arrangement  of 
eccentrics,  link  and  r«.ds  offers  in  each 
case,  however,  no  essential  difference 
from  what  has  already  been  illustrated, 
and  they  are  mentioned  here  only  for  the 
sake  of  completeness. 

(Juinollc  Hear — .\  gear  which  can  be 
actuated  by  Stephenson's,  (JiMxrh's,  .Allan's 
or  a  single-eccentric  link  motion,  such  as 
WaMttjtc's  hereinafter  descrilwd.  is  that 
of  (iiiiiiotte.  It  differs,  however,  from 
•iceau's  and  the  other  separate  expan- 
valve  motions  in  the  fact  that,  with 
this  gear,  the  direction  of  an  engine  can 
be  reversed  without  altering  anything  in 
the  mechanism  that  controls  the  cutoff. 

"It     is    an     interesting     fact,"     says     a 

well   known    authority    with    reference   to 

lienson's,  G«  och's   and   .Mian's  gears, 

°   among  the   infmite   number   of   pos- 

cases,  practice  has  picked  out  by  trial 

those  three  which  have  been  found  to 


IXJWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

gear  is  much  lets  expensive  in  en«i««r«rf 
than   thr 
great    il 

U|x  ' 

gill. 

a  »implc  arr..  tH  which 

to  transmit   t;  .  .        aUe. 

Hiickuorth   GVar— Hackworth's   revers- 
ing gear,  which  was  the  prototype  of  the 
.Marshall   gear   shown   in    Fig     11.    works 
according  to  the  p- 
of  a   point   on  a    - 
moves  in  a 
straight  line  i 
that  circle,  u  txt 
axis  cninciiles   wit 

that  if  the  end  of  the  r<  d  «li<ir«  nn  a  line 
uidincd  to  this  center  linr    thr  rn^'i,,r  j«i. 


rt*int  M  the 


II  il  win 

B    H 

a 


he 


that  tW 


quiie  a* 

inK   ' 

lie 


i  be  ptn«  nmj  In 

qiiirr  ad|it«tablr  L.* . 

Urgr   amoant   of   wear 
•"-w  them. 


».'.  •fill 


^^j^^ 


nn     IJ.    WALaCMAIBT  OBJUI 

Among    thr    grcM    aitiiimi    "t   liM* 
gear.  whKh  were  serjr  dearly  hrtv' ; 
in  an  artirtc  appranac  *"*  P*S* 

of  the   Af.fl    •:     o*^    ,...^y^f 

Aaa  Tii>  rwn  m^ 

tior    — 

Ihr- 

in  a  rr\.  itit>.«fi.  \h€  ijiik^ 

at   ctrto4  aad  tW  ttam 

baosl  and  pf  •«■■ 

lead  and  a  L  .  «i 

of  cototf  are  *l«o  pmnAit  at- 

ran^vmctil     willKivl     ■irvu '  -  *  v^n 

■■•11   apemiam   Mt^    •*»•    rt  i>t   o«   ikr 

port,  at  it  ih*  I'M'  ait^  tV«  ■  f'fxMfi  latk 

miiltnn.      TY' 

.........  1K.P   ) 


riC.      12.     WAtMEOB 


be   theoretically   the    simplest    and    most     of  the  ellipse  will  be  inclined,    la  Ma  '» 

Me."   This  remark  applies  wnli  lujriy      wor" 

:    force   to   thr    other    hnU     >"  '    v.dve      i»  i 
li.oiions   referetl  to   in  the   t 
if    -^rems    hardly    prolMblc    t; 

'  V   in  this   line   ha*   been    so    tar    rx-      bar 

■  c«l  as  to  preclude  any   material  im-      »■  ? 
provemcnis  in  future.     Of  late.  hoi»r\cr. 

the  efforts  of  engineers  dest^* •'  '•^■" 

ing  engines  appear  to  have  ' 
•I  m<»re   upon  moii.  ^ji      oi' 

dcM-rilK-*!  in  the   1  ns,     the 

1    have    for  c 

inder   the   hr.. 
Ifii     and    direct-.    I.c%rl-    aimI    ♦p»jf  «ifivc:i  'ht  c*- 

gr.ir*  : 


*rm    1  r<     HIT"!  '•     <  >i     to* 

!•  UarslMrt 


tlM<d  w^ 
tuxTmat 
.  St  ai^lr  •«■  ifte 


SiMcijt-Kmtjnur  MofTio> 
From    the    fact    that    a    sbiglr  < 


<«n  N  oaly  la  ilir  kshK-) 


830 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGIXEER. 


May   II,   1909. 


end  moves  back  and  forth  with  the  piston 
rod,  the  point  of  connection  with  the 
radius  rod  U  gets  from  the  link  another 
oscillating  motion,  and  the  upper  end  of 
the  lever  connecting  with  the  valve  spin- 
dle E  is  given  a  movement  which,  as  ex- 
perience has  shown,  is  most  suitable  for 
producing  the  desired  effect  on  the  valve. 
In  the  gear  for  which  this  link  motion  is 


be  called  the  link,  to  rise  and  fall,  and  the 
eccentric-rod  motion  is  principally  back- 
ward and  forward.  These  two  separate 
motions  are  combined  at  the  point  X, 
which  moves  in  cither  a  circular  or  an 
elliptical  path,  according  to  the  relative 
proportions  of  the  bell-crank  lever  arms 
7   and  T. 

The  motion  of  the  point  X  actuates  the 


FIG.      14.      B.\KER-PILLIOD    GE.\R 


designed,  the  principal  end  sought  is  to 
secure  a  constant  lead,  and  this  object  is 
completely  attained;  but  the  arrangement 
ib  generally  considered  too  complicated, 
and  constant  lead  is  obtained  at  the  ex- 
pense of  other  qualities. 

Walschacrt  Gear — The  Walschaert  gear, 
which  has  long  been  used  on  locomotives, 
is  represented  by  Fig.  13,  in  which  its  es- 
sential features  are  clearly  shown.  As 
in  the  case  of  Waldegg's  gear,  the  lower 
end  of  the  lever  T  is  connected  to  a  bear- 
ing carried  by  the  traveling  crosshead,  but 
it  sustains  a  different  relation  to  the  radius 
roX  U,  the  oscillating  motion  of  which 
combines  with  the  reciprocating  move- 
ment of  T  to  give  a  motion  to  the  valve 
spindle  E  analagous  to  that  obtained  from 
a  stationary  link,  as  in  the  Gooch  system. 
The  eccentric  is  in  the  form  of  a  return 
crank  from  the  main  crank  pin.  This  ar- 
rangement is  practically  as  complicated  as 
that  of  the  Waldegg  gear,  but  constant 
lead  is  secured  without  many  of  the  disad- 
vantages  attendant   upon   the   latter. 

Baker-PUliod  Gear — This  gear,  which 
has  only  recently  been  tried  out  on  loco- 
motives of  the  Chicago  &  Alton  and 
Toledo,  St.  Louis  &  Western  railways,  is 
arousing  a  great  deal  of  interest  among 
operating  men,  and  there  is  every  indica- 
tion that  it  will  be  largely  adopted  in  this 
country.  For  that  reason  a  somewhat  ex- 
tended description  of  it  is  given  here.  The 
mechanical  construction  of  this  gear, 
which  has  a  constant  lead,  is  similar  to 
that  of  the  Walschacrt  gear,  but  having 
considerably  less  throw.  Referring  to 
Fig.  14,  the  point  X  at  the  end  of  the 
eccentric  rod  is  supported  by  an  arm  D, 
which  takes  the  place  of  the  link  in  the 
Walschaert  gear  and  hangs  from  the 
short  arm  of  a  bell  crank  T  T'.  The 
lower  end  of  T'  receives  its  motion  from 
the  crosshead  R.  The  pivot  point  of  this 
bell  crank  is  fixed.  The  crosshead  mo- 
tion causes  D.  which  for  convenience  will 


eccentric  arm  A'  Y,  and  at  the  point  Y  this 
arm  is  supported  by  an  arm  W  swinging 
about  the  point  Z,  which  is  held  up  by  the 
reverse  yoke  U  supported  at  a  fixed  point. 
The  point  Z  is  shifted  by  the  movement  of 
the  reverse  yoke  U,  controlled  by  the  con- 
nection to  the  rod  /,  as  shown  in  the  fig- 
ure. From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
operator  can  alter  the  position  of  the  sup- 
porting point  Z  from  which  hangs  the 
radius  arm  IV,  and  so  vary  the  curve 
made  by  the  point  Y.  Now  it  will  be  seen 
that,  as  the  eccentric  arm  X  ]'  has  a  cir- 
cular or  elliptical  motion  at  the  end  X 
and  a  radial  motion  at  the  end  Y,  all  inter- 
mediate points  along  X  Y  will  have  mo- 
tions compounded,  so  to  speak,  of  the  mo- 
tion of  A'  and  the  motion  of  Y. 

Now  for  the  method  of  actuating  the 
valve  rod.  At  a  suitable  point  L  on  the 
ecceiitric  arm  A'  Y  an  upright  arm  M  is 
placed.  The  upper  end  of  this  link  is 
attached  at  X  to  one  end  of  a  bell  crank 
which  is  pivoted  at  P.  This  point  P  is 
another  fixed  point  on   the   motion.     The 


FIG.    t6.    fink  gear 

point  Q  at  the  lower  end  of  a  vertical  arm 
of  this  bell  crank  is  where  the  valve  rod 
is  attached.  The  motion  of  the  point  L 
on  the  eccentric  arm  actuates  the  bell 
crank  and  the  point  Q  swings  on  a  curved 
path  in  obedience  to  the  movement  of  the 
bell  crank.  The  point  Q  has  a  radial  mo- 
tion about  the  pivot  point  P,  and  the 
movement   is  one  of   approximately  hori- 


zontal tr?.vel  of  the  valve  rod  similar  to 
that  produced  by  an  ordinary  link  motion. 
The  point  L  on  the  eccentric  arm,  how- 
ever, has  a  somewhat  complicated  motion, 
being  practically  a  distorted  ellipse,  the 
form  of  which  is  dependent  on  the  mo- 
tions of  X  and  Y.  The  motion  of  Y  is 
modified  by  the  position  of  the  supporting 
point  Z.  which  is  controlled  from  the  cab 


fig.    15. 


power,  jV.  1', 
DIAGRAM    OF    BAKER-PILLIOD   GEAR 


for  forward  or  backward  running  and  for 
all  intermediate  cutoff  points. 

The  diagram.  Fig.  15,  shows  the  shape 
of  the  distorted  elliptical  path  of  the  point 
L,  and  the  portions  of  the  ellipse  passed 
over  by  the  point  L  for  the  port  openings 
and  for  lap  and  lead.  The  same  letters 
that  are  used  in  Fig.  14  are  used  in  Fig. 
15.  The  ellipse  marked  5"  is  the  path  fol- 
lowed by  point  L  when  in  forward  gear, 
and  the  ellipse  S'  is  that  followed  in 
backward  gear.  The  curve  marked  i,  i  is 
that  followed  by  the  point  Y  in  full  for- 
ward gear,  the  curve  ^,  2  is  that  followed 
when  the  reverse  lever  is  in  the  center, 
and  curve  3,  3  is  that  for  full  backward 
gear. 

Among  other  things  it  is  claimed  for 
this  gear  that  "It  maintains  uniform  lead 
at  all  points  of  cutoff;  a  larger  port  open- 
ing at  all  points  of  cutoff ;  5  per  cent, 
travel  of  the  piston  required  for  full  port 
openings ;  uniform  cutoff ;  any  cutoff 
from  75  to  85  per  cent,  can  be  had  at  full 
gear  by  lengthening  the  quadrant  so  that 
the  reverse  lever  can  be  moved  down,  thus 
dropping  the  reverse  yoke  lower,  which 
increases  the  travel  of  the  valve  and  in- 
creases the  cutoff  at  full  stroke ;  late  re- 
lease, at  quarter  stroke  releases  at  85  per 
cent.,  thai  is,  on  24-inch  stroke  with  a 
6-inch  cut-off  exhaust  port  opens  when 
piston  has  traveled  20J/2  inches  or  85  per 
cent,  of  stroke ;  late  and  balanced  com- 
pression ;  excessive  compression  in  the 
short  cutoff  is  entirely  eliminated ;  re- 
duced back  pressure  because  of  quick  com- 
plete release;  lower  terminal  pressure 
which  permits  of  larger  exhaust  nozzle ; 
total  absence  of  pre-admission  and  it 
produces  25  per  cent,  higher  range  pf 
temperatures." 

Young  Gear — In  relation  to  the  Young 
valve  motion  there  is  considerable  differ- 
ence of  opinion,  and,  as  it  is  the  valve 
alone  that  presents  any  new  features,  the 


May  II,  1909. 

gear  will  not  be  describe<l  here.  In 
outward  appearance  it  rescnible&  the 
Walschaert. 

Fink  Gear — The  Fink  gear,  shown  in 
Fig.  16,  although  not  strictly  of  the  re- 
versing type,  is  the  least  ■  -1  of 
all  link  motions,  and,  wh  r  to 
other  gears  for  most  con<lit»o»>  ..i  -crvice 
where   reversing   is     required.    ha>    often 


riC.     18.     JOY  GEAR 

Ik  <-n  applied,  either  simply  nr  with  modi- 
tions.     .^n   ingenious  application  of  it 
xemplificd  by  Fig.  17.  which  illustrates 
gear  used  on  a  <imall  reversible  barr- 
ing engine.     It   will   l>e   seen   that   in  this 
arrangement  the  eccentric  takes  the  form 


nc    17    rtWK  rjtAi  ON  Rn-icasiM.*  m,*»»i^ 

r.NOINI 

I    Miort    rr.uiK   on  th*  f 
•ik  «haft.     There  it  nn 


KnVER  AND  THE  EXGIM  : 

but  are  in  general  more  eotnpikated  than 
the  one  here  tbown. 


^ 


»krm    m    km 


T>i«rrr 


gear.   Fir     iH.  which  can 

t\pe^    of    rtiifinr    :>itii    i«    rx 


Trv«t    f i-.n-trr- ••»      %rr%mg   erigin«-»    .J«-,i, 


) 


rtU      JU      >iL\LL   UL.VI    U.MJL»X 

for  marine  and  locomolive  MTriee.     Fig 
19    illustrates    the  gear   as    applted   to   a 
marine  engine.     This  gear  gives  a   rapid 
motion   to   the   valve   when   opening   and 
closing  and  less  compreuion  at  short     ■• 
off  than  the  link  motian.     The  cutoff 
be  made  nearly  r. 
gear.     With  it  c< 
secured. 

Bex'rl  Gear  Reverse — In  tU*  gear,  illos- 
tratrd  by  Fig.  jo.  the  rrtrr*r  rros*  shaft 
indK'atrd  at  the  right  ha*  a  molmn  com 
cideni  with  the  drum  shaft  on  the  >^:\^rT 
side  and  is  driven  by  a  seric  '  -  -• 
bevel  wheels.     The  reversing  • 


i\    .>  utaled    by    f' 

!iv  '\  .iMr  up  and 


>    gear    ar-<'.    i> 
jnd  or  pn«  rr 


di«k  ill 

ing   t(> 

drives  the  ^ 

reach    rods   _    .    ^ 

motion  at  all  timet.    This  is  u- 

for  hoi'*'"-  '"■•••«--    -!.-»,  !»., 

done  ii 

rrrif—Thh  U' 


••  .•  %• 


^JCl' 


\  1- 


f^ 


.!.>*.-»»««    rtf    flir    1«r^r!«rjr    f«-«c»w 


rr  modiftrnlii 


S3^ 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  II,   1909. 


ence  book  devoted  entirely  to  them,  with 
uniform  diagrammatic  sketches  showing 
the  various  features  of  similarity  and  also 
the  essential  differences  between  them, 
would  have  in  it  much  of  value  to  the 
student  of  steam  engineering. 


Location  and  Repair  of  Troubles  in 
Direct  Current  Motors 


By  R.  H.  Fexkhausex 


When  trouble  develops  in  a  motor, 
whether  it  is  a  failure  to  start  or  some 
other  abnormal  condition,  a  systematic 
course  of  action  should  be  laid  out  and 
followed  in  each  case  until  the  trouble  is 
located.     The  following  tests,  if  carefully 


ULfliiajLaiiuaMJiMJUiaMflJ 


made  in  the  order  given,  will  result  in  a 
speedy  location  of  the  fault : 

In  case  the  motor  fails  to  start,  first  be 
sure  that  current  is  on  the  line,  and  see 
that  the  fuses  are  not  blown,  then  in- 
spect the  brushes  and  make  sure  that  they 
are  not  worn  down  enough  to  allow  the 
brush  holders  to  rest  on  the  stops  and  pre- 
vent contact  between  the  brushes  and  the 
commutator.  If  no  trouble  is  found  at 
any  of  these  points,  the  load  should  be 
r.moved  by  taking  off  the  belt,  and  the 
armature  revolved  several  turns  by  hand 
to  see  if  the  bearings  are  free,  after 
which  another  attempt  to  start  the  motor 
should  be  made.  If  it  still  refuses  to 
start,  the  trouble  is  due  to  an  open  cir- 
cuit, or  in  case  of  a  newly  installed  ma- 
chine either  an  open  circuit  or  an  incor- 
rect connection. 

Inspect   all   wiring  and   connections,   to 


both  the  motor  and  the  starting  device, 
for  loose  or  open  connections  and  make 
sure  that  none  of  the  wires  is  broken  in- 
side the  insulation ;  this  frequently  occurs 
and  is  a  very  difficult  trouble  to  locate 
blindly.  If  no  fault  is  discovered  the 
field-winding  lead  should  be  disconnected 
at  the  rheostat,  the  switch  closed  and  the 
starting  lever  placed  on  the  first  contact 
for  a  moment  and  released.  If  an  arc  is 
drawn  the  continuity  of  the  circuit 
through  the  armature  and  resistance  is 
proved,  and  the  field-winding  circuit  may 
be  tested  in  the  same  way  by  replacing  the 
connecting  wire  and  opening  the  arma- 
ture circuit  by  means  of  a  match  or  piece 
of  paper  inserted  between  each  brush  and 
the  commutator,  and  then  testing  as  be- 
fore.    (See  Fig.  i.) 

If  a  motor  sparks  badly  it  may  be  due 
to  overload,  incorrect  brush  setting,  flats 
on  the  commutator  or  trouble  in  the  field 
or  armature  winding.  The  remedies  for 
the  first  three  troubles  are  obvious,  but  in 
case  the  windings  are  at  fault  the  motor 


A  short-circuited  field  coil  may  be  de- 
tected by  its  low  temperature,  as  it  will 
always  be  much  cooler  than  the  good 
coils.  If  two  or  three  armature  coils  are 
hotter  than  the  rest  of  the  winding  they 
are  short-circuited  either  within  them- 
selves or  by  the  commutator  bars  to  which 
they  are  connected,  but  if  the  entire  arma- 
ture is  hot,  the  cause  will  probably  be 
found  in  a  commutator  partly  short-cir- 
cuited by  oil-soaked  mica  insulation  be- 
tween the  bars. 

When  the  speed  of  a  shunt-wound 
motor  increases,  after  the  field-magnet 
coils  have  been  overheated,  it  may  be 
taken  as  an  indication  that  the  field  wind- 
ing is  partly  burned  out  and  some  of  the 
current  is  passing  from  layer  to  layer  in- 
stead of  traversing  the  entire  winding. 

In  case  trouble  is  located  in  the  rheo- 
stat, it  should  be  taken  down  and  the  re- 
sistance examined  for  an  open  coil,  which 
if  found  may  be  bridged  over  until  such 
time  as  it  can  be  replaced.  If  the  field 
circuit   of   the    motor   tests    open,   trouble 


Note;-  The  c.-c.  distance 
of  the  brushes  must  be 
adjustable  to  suit 
ditTerent  commutators. 


■'^\    Copper  Brushes 


should  be  taken  to  the  shop  and  repaired, 
as  will  be  explained  later. 

Sparking  due  to  overloads,  improper 
brush  setting  or  unbalanced  field  due  to 
burned-out  field  coils  is  likely  to  be  con- 
tinuous, whereas  sparking  due  to  open 
coils,  short-circuits  or  flats  on  the  commu- 
tator will  be  intermittent  in  character  and 
will  occur  once  or  twice  per  revolution. 
The  sparking  due  to  an  open  armature 
coil-  is  readily  distinguished  by  the  deep 
pitting  of  the  mica  and  rounding  of  the 
edges  of  the  bars  connected  to  the  faulty 
coil. 

Excessive  heating  of  the  windings  of  a 
motor  may  be  due  either  to  overload  or 
to  a  partial  short-circuit  of  the  field  or 
armature  winding.  If  a  motor  becomes 
dangerously  warm  the  load  should  be  re- 
moved and  the  armature  kept  in  motion, 
as  the  heat  will  be  dissipated  better  than 
if  the  armature  is  stationary.  The  tem- 
perature should  fall  as  soon  as  the  load 
is  removed ;  if  it  does  not,  the  trouble  will 
be  due  to  a  short-circuit  and  the  motor 
should  be  stopped  and  the  windings  felt 
by  hand. 


should  be  looked  for  in  the  retaining  mag- 
net on  the  starting  box,  and  if  that  is 
burned  out  or  open-circuited  in  such  a 
way  as  to  make  repairs  very  difficult,  and 
the  motor  is  urgently  needed,  the  magnet 
terminals  may  be  short-circuited  and  the 
rheostat  lever  tied  in  the  running  posi- 
tion. As  this  leaves  the  motor  unpro- 
tected in  case  the  power  should  be  shut 
off  and  turned  on  again  before  the  rheo- 
stat lever  is  released,  the  motor  should  be 
closely  watched  until  such  time  as  the 
proper  repair  can  be  made. 

Should  trouble  be  located  in  a  field- 
magnet  coil,  the  faulty  coil  should  be  re- 
moved from  the  motor  and  untaped.  The 
cause  of  trouble  will  usually  be  found 
either  in  broken  or  short-circuited  end 
connections  which  are  easily  repaired ;  but 
if  the  defect  is  in  the  inner  layers  of  the 
coil,  the  wire  must  be  unwound  until  the 
faulty  place  is  located.  If  the  insulation 
of  the  wire  is  so  badly  charred  that  it 
can  be  scraped  off  with  the  finger  nail,  a 
new  coil  is  the  only  remedy.  The  burn- 
ing out  of  a  field-magnet  coil  is  usually 
the  result  of  a  short-circuit  of  one  of  the 


May  II,  IQOQ- 


POWER  AND  TiiE  ENGlNKi 


•m 


other  coils,  which   overloads  the  remain- 
ing coils  and  burns  thcni  out. 

Open  circuits  in  armature  coils  usually 
occur  in  the  end  connections  K.nliriK  to 
the  commutator,  where  they  arc  ^•.l^lly  re- 
paired without  removing  the  armature, 
but  in  case  the  open  circuit  is  inaccessible 
or  the  coil  is  short-circuited,  and  tem- 
porary repairs  must  be  made,  the  faulty 
coil  should  be  entirely  disconnected  and 
the  commutator  bars  to  which  it  was  con- 
nected short  circuited  until  such  time  a< 
proper  repairs  can  be  made.  I' 
short-circuited  it  will  also  be  nt 
cut  each  turn  of  the  coil  or  else  suincieiit 
heat  may  be  developed  to  destroy  the  ad- 
jacent coils. 

Most  of  the  repairs  previously  men- 
tioned can  be  made  in  a  short  time  and 
without  removing  the  mot^r  from  service, 
but  in  case  the  trouble  is  serious  the 
motor  must  be  taken  to  a  shop,  where 
proper  facilities  exist,  for  the  accurate 
location  of  trouble  and   its  spee«ly  repair. 

Owing  to  the  low  rtM>tance  of  an  arma- 
ture    winding     the     location     of     open, 
grounded,  or  short-circuited  coils  with  a 
magneto    or    test    bell    is    impossible    and 
ase    must,    therefore,    be    made    of    -   — - 
instrument   sufficiently   sensitive  to   ■ 
small   differences  in   re^i-taiKc.   mk  h  :i>    i 
Wheatstfme     briilge.      These     in-inMnrnts 
are  not  often  available  ami  some   substi- 
tute   must   l»e    devised.      Fig.   2    show       n 
•ing  outfit,  the  materials  for  whii  ' 
found  in  almost  any  plant,  ami    .• 
sufficiently   sensitive   to  locate  an    un- 

i'lered  or  partly  broken  connection. 

\   few  cells  of  dry   battery  having  l«)w 

internal     resisi.nice     anci     hiKh     ami.rr.iuc 

should  l>e  connected  in  par.dltl.   \    \f>\    .•• 

inch  copper   ribbon   being   used   for  con- 


armature  indication  shA«M  ht  vtry  nearly 
full   scak.      !  own 

in  Fig.  3  %'t  com- 

mutator,    with    the    l-  .•araicd    a 

distance    equal    to    th<:      %    of    <tu- 

bar    of    the    coounatalor.     The    br 

should  then  be  advanced  bar  tn  *    - 

a    reading    taken    each    time,    f- 

the  surface  of  the  i»rTiciiij 

clean.     If  the  ar;  .  and  cno- 

nections    are     >     : 

readings   wiU    ' 

case   of   a 

Mill  be  in  t; 

If  a  short -cue 
is   found,  the  re- — „ 
)K-nding.  r>f  course,  on  itte  am 
cod  that  IS  affected.     If  an  opci.  v.. 
coil    is    found   the    reading   will   be 
l«iw,  a*    ■ 
tire    ar 
Fig.   J),   a: 
cuits  exist  t 
I  sre    Fig.    4>. 
reading  much  !<  ^ 
too   large    for    an    open 


Whoi  a 
i«u  Urge  flats  H  m  atuu 
Is  ha«t>K  htm  caM  at 


fliffri 


hard  it  wfli  not 


aa 


ric  4 


V. 

I 

t" 

ilMS.lc    IIi<-    : 

tlarled     cr: 


1    at   if   • 


WiU 


I' 
f 
I    . 


<    a 


•I  y»rtMlr«  mi 


kw   r 


FIC    3 


nciti'"-,      as      »hi»wn       The»e 
•hoiild  be  in  series  with  a  I'  ^ 
ammeter  having  a  jn-  or  »"  ■• 
and   flexible   testing   l^ad^ 
wi-  lid  be  at  I 

SI  -,  with  all 

a  the    idr  \ 

r.  'f   thf   '^ 

cotiip.irrd    with    " 
terniituls  .4  H  .\- 


b.ittrHrt 


AH 

....  V 


■n4       U  1^1     fcTSii    -JBt     13^ 


\m        **t 


f  *l  W»' 


irrrninai 


834 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGIXEER. 


May  II,   1909. 


Some    Live    Steam    Separator    Tests 

Showing   Efficiency   of   Separation   Decreases   with   the   Velocity   and 
Increases  with    the    Percentage    of    Moisture    in    the    Entering    Steam 

BY       PROF.       gT     F\      GEBH  ARDT* 


A  number  of  tests  made  at  the  Armour 
Institute  of  Technology  on  steam  separa- 
tors of  various  types  and  sizes  tend  to 
show  that   in  practically  all   separators : 

(i)  The  efficiency  of  separation  de- 
creases as  the  velocity  of  the  steam  in- 
creases. 

(2)  The  efficiency  increases  as  the  per- 
centage of  moisture  in  the  entering  steam 
increases. 

(3)  The  drop  in  pressure  increase? 
rapidly  with  the   increase  in  velocity. 

The  few  published  tests  of  separators 
conducted  by  diflferent  investigators  ap- 
pear to  confirm  these  results  although 
comparisons  are  difficult  on  account  of 
the   meagerness   of  available  data. 

Fig.  I  gives  a  diagrammatic  arrange- 
ment of  the  apparatus  as  used  in  the 
Armour  tests.  Steam  is  led  from  the 
boiler  through  the  8-inch  pipe  A  and  valve 
I'l  to  the  service  separator  M.  The  steam 
leaves  this  separator  practically  dry  and 
saturated,  the  exact  quality  being  deter- 
mined by  throttling  separator  Ti.  From 
this  point  the  steam  passes  through  pipe 
P  (the  size  of  which  conforms  to  that  of 
the  separator  to  be  tested)  to  separator 
S,  which  is  to  be  tested.  The  quality  of 
the  steam  entering  5"  is  varied  by  a  water 
spray  IV,  the  temperature  of  which  is 
maintained  at  practically  that  of  the  steam 


leaving  the  separator  5  is  checked  by 
separator  B  (two  sizes  larger  than  sepa- 
rator S)  and  throttling  calorimeter  T2. 
The  pressure  in  the  system  is  regulated 
by  valves  l\  and  f-  and  the  pressure 
drop  through  separator  S  is  determined 
by  gages  G3  and  G*.  The  weight  of  steam 
entering  separator  5  was  determined  by 
collecting  the  entrainment  in  chambers  D 
and  Di  and  the  condensation  from  the 
surface  condenser.  The  velocity  was 
calculated,   on   the   dry-steam   basis,   from 

G,  G, 


Qi  =  Quality  of  mixture  entering  sepa- 
rator, 

Qz  =  Quality  of  mixture  leaving  sepa- 
rator, 

E  ^  Efficiency  of   separation. 
Then 


0.= 


W 


Q= 


S+W  —D 


(I) 


(2) 


I I     [  I      I I     Uaiverstl 


Hot  Spraj  ^ 


Di 


Ll  Calorimeter       I 


Vertical  Separ- 
ator for  Cbeck* 
Ing  Restilta. 


Calorimeter 
"Separator  to 


Storage  Beserroir 


ip=[E] 


R! 


FIG.     I.     ARRANGEMENT   OF   SEPARATOR   AND   APPURTENANCES 


80 
BO 

^^ 

i 

N 

VK 

• 

-W_ 

1 

70 

to 

N- 

X     1 

■ 

; — 



■*- 

- 

\ 

>. 

t 

N 

\ 

"S 

Average  Initial  (Quality,          1 
1        90  Per  ceat.          !         I 

40 

'S 

•s, 

^ 

A 

verage  Pressure 
100  LbJ  Gaie. 

an 

•\ 

■  "^ 

[ 

?0 

V- 

y- 

-4"  Horizontal 
L6"Teitlcai 

*N 

sj^ 

^ 

■» 

10 

w- 

-4" 

Ver 

icaL 

*■ 

^ 

0 

1*1 1 

-• 

\l    -- 

[> 

s 

~ 

~ 

~ 

^ 

s 

\ 

«^, 

Average  Initial  !Quality, 
1       90  Per  cent.  | 

1 

^%. 

- 

.^ 

u 

tverage  Pressure 
100  Lbt  Gage. 

^ 

1 

X 

N 

^ 

N 

s 

U 

\J 

N 

■^ 

S 

:i^ 

> 

^ 

k. 

^ 

V 

- 

IX- 

!z  - 

3"  Horizontal 
3  "  Horizontal 

^ 

\ 

N 

U-| 

2" 

Vertical! 

X 

1 

J 

"^ 

W  3000  4000  SOOO  0000  70« 

Velocity  of  Steam  -  Feet  per  Minute 

FIG.  2.  EFFICIENCY  DECREASES  WITH  VELOCITY 


2000  3000  4000 

Velocity  ol  Steam  -  Feet  per  Minute 

FIG.     3.     EFFICIENCY    DECREASES    WITH    VELOCITY 


5000 
Povitr,  y.T. 


in  pipe  P  by  means  of  heating  coils  K 
and  steam  jacket  /.  Heating  the  spray 
in  this  manner  minimizes  the  condensa- 
tion in  pipe  P  and  insures  a  more  inti- 
mate mixture  of  moisture  and  steam. 
The  quality  of  steam  entering  and  leav- 
ing separator  S  is  determined  by  uni- 
versal calorimeters  L\  and  U2.  The  mois- 
ture entrained  by  separator  S  is  trapped 
in  storage  reservoir  D  and  the  weight 
determined.      The    quality    of    the    steam 


♦Professor,  mpchnnlcal  pngineerlne.  Armour 
Institute   of  Technology,   fhifafjo.    III. 


the  known  area  of  pipe  P.  In  draining 
reservoirs  D  and  Di.  valve  b  is  closed, 
vent  a  opened  and  the  contents  drained 
through  valve  C.  All  pipes  and  fittings 
were  carefully  lagged  and  all  instruments 
calibrated  before  and  during  the  test. 
Let 

S  =  Weight    of    dry    steam    entering 

separator  S, 
rr  =  Weight     of     water     injected     by 

spray  W , 
D  =  Weight   of   water   removed   from 
reservoir  D, 


This  is  on  the  assumption  that  steam 
leaving  service  separator  M  is  dry  and 
saturated.  If  the  quality  is  less  than  100 
per  cent.,  suitable  corrections  must  be 
made. 


E  = 
From   equation    (2) 


n 

w 


(3) 


(4) 


This    equation    was    used    in    determining 


May  II,  igaj. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER 


«» 


D   from  the  tests   not  made  at    Armour,  bafllr  platet   nf  the   tmntnh   type;   ttram  rriMiaiB^     ctMi»Uni'i     t!*     r&rWjv.       f 

and   in   which   only   Si,  Qi   and   Q,   were  c                            :  once.  wiaratMi   6ttr 

given.                                                                                                    j-indi  boruooul:   tty-  crravn    xmi    r. 

Five   different  types  of   separator   were  eral    fluted   bafle   plate* ;   no   mrcraal   of  w 

tinted,   and,    since   the   parties    for   whom  current.  ,_^;    .a, 

the   tests    were    made    were    unwilling   to         Separator   K:     6-inrh  vertical;  ccntrif-  c  .>r»   m   tW 

have  the  name  of  the  separator  published,  ugal  type;  current  reverted  aocc.  pcrcctsugt  .  i  mc*»io»r  rctrrav  ikc  Mfo- 


J.: 

i  S.I 
2  IJ 


1 

,    . 

/ 

X — a  '  HertiOBial           1 
W  — «'  Vsruc^       1         1 

1  J/ 

V- 

•  '  VarUMl 

1 

/     w. 

/        J 

/ 

/  y 

y^ 

yy^ 

Jy    ^ 

<^ 

^^\^   ^ 

U^ 

^ 

1 

~^:;^^^ 

^^^^^^ 

1 

-1 

' 

V«loctl]P  •!  %\mai  -  n.  par  Mia. 


^^^T.                             '' 

■                  ~ —        ',„^— ""^"^ 

^<::^ 

*^*-***'^  ' 

7 

,^i^^ 

y^^^^^^^ 

^^^^ 

y^       * 

yy       ^^^^^^^ 

^   ^^^^ 

■     ,      ;      1      1 ^ 1.^ 

I     1             .  _     i 

■ettoi 


FIG.    5.     INCRE.^SE   IN   niCSSL'RC  UROr  WITH   XTLOai^  »!•.      4      rfTlilE^ii    'ir    %C^A>AnO»   WCflBAM*  nrTM 


;    '    '    !    '                i>_-^— - — 

1        1^ "^ 

^.J^     !>^^               ^^-^1     i     ^--^^       1 

i. 

1/^          ly^     1       ^^^^-^  , 

■          1 

2 

/      '^-^^              i^^ 

I                          i 

1 

i" 

1 

M 

■    /     ^'J::^^-^-^ — ' — ^ 

1  /^^'/^     1 

!          1 

"H-h 

1  r  1   ''  'Ml 

<iiie«  in  Fl^   4 


hence  the  cnere*  art  ooi  trvlj 

l>ir      }k>(     X     frm      ki'lrfi-tf     trt'i 


ii&ki.~i      »■ 


Hn!    ffffTt 


llw  carvr* 


■   S 

4 
1 

'*v* 

1 

,          I 

"*^*"*-J 

X 

, 

na  7,  n*tA  moM  »iii»«tM  mobi*> 


nek   noeifOlNA 


they   will   hr  dr«iffnalr<l    > 
y  aiMl  /. 

Separator  {' .     j-inch  vertical:  no  baf- 
fle*: current   rever%r«l  <>nce.  vrrmai.   ^ 

Sepantor    \' :      4-iitch    hnfif**"**'    "Ith         Tl^r    {nfluenw   of   iht    vH 
tnglc  laftlr  plate  of  the  flninl  >   ,  'fcienry 

nrrcnt   rrver«en  once. 
Separator  M':     4  inch  veri> 


».«>a<y     »•'«»•.     *<;  flaw 


836 


TABLE  I.     TEST  OF  2\-INCH  GREENAWAY 

STEAM  SEPARATOR. 

("The  Engineer."  March  L5,  1906.) 


ssiiir, 

>.is 

c  s  —  .• 

0  = 

>;*. 

^  = 

x"" 

Percenta 

Moistu 

Stea 

Leavi 

3SS  0 

1095 

9.00 

0.00 

100.0 

525.3 

1269 

12.41 

0.25 

89.4 

69S  7 

1600 

13.69 

0.50 

75.5 

927    1 

1835 

17.77 

0.75 

61.2 

1218.0 

2140 

23.45 

1.25 

36.4 

1401.0 

2458 

24.66 

1.30 

30.8 

1516.8 

2900 

26.51 

1.30 

25.4 

1815.8 

3460 

26.71 

1.35 

10.0 

♦Calculaten  by  means  of  formula  (4). 


TABLE   2.     TEST   OF    A   2i-IXCH   DETROIT 

STEAM  SEPARATOR. 

(Power,  January,  1902,  p.  14). 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

rator.**  The  quality  of  the  steam  leav- 
ing the  separator  remains  practically  con- 
stant for  a  wide  range  in  capacity.  Plot- 
ted on  the  velocity  and  efficiency  basis, 
however,  the  efficiency  drops  off  rapidly 
with  the  increase  in  velocity.  An  inspec- 
tion of  the  "quality"  curves  shows  that 
although  the  moisture  leaving  the  sepa- 
rator is  very  small,  the  weight  of  mois- 
ture entering  is  also  small.  In  other 
words,  only  a  small  portion  of  the  water 
is  eliminated. 

Tables  i,  2,  3,  4  and  5,  taken  from  the 
tests  of  separators  of  various  types  and 
by  different  investigators,  show  a  de- 
creasing efficiency  with  increase  of  velo- 
city. The  efficiencies  in  these  tables  are 
high,  but  it  will  be  noted  that  the  veloci- 

TABLE  5.     EFFICIENXY  TEST  OF  SIX 

STEAM  SEPARATORS. 

("Engineering  News,"  September,  1891,  p.  233). 


M  5.    . 


OQ 


o£B 

0      ti 

°^M 

>n 

^gs 

lis 

2'xa 

a  a 

Eg- 



540 

88.80 

99.90 

99.2 

726 

87.06 

99.86 

99.0 

840 

96.00 

99.80 

95.5 

1030 

90.54 

99.73 

97.4 

10j5 

90.20 

99.70 

97.2 

1*^  0 

90. 50 

99 .  .50 

95.0 

14?.0 

91.90 

99.46 

93.8 

1-70 

94.14 

99.43 

90.8 

1.505 

91.30 

99.40 

93.5 

18.50 

94.19 

99.00 

83.6 

312 
429 
450 
582 
606 
732 
798 
855 
900 
1008 


♦Pressure   assumed    to   be    100    lb.    gage    for 
comparison. 

tCalculated  by  means  of  e<4uation  (4). 


TABLE    3.     TEST    OF    A    2i-INCH    LIPPIN- 
COTT  SEPARATOR. 
The  Engineer,"  1902,  p.  547). 


0  c  ■ 

Moisture 
Kntering, 
Per  Cent. 

11 

'7.-^ 

, 

526 

780 

24.0:) 

99.92 

99.7 

747 

1400 

4.11 

99.88 

97.3 

994 

1.560 

9  45 

99.69 

97.3 

1368 

26^10 

5  00 

<)'.) .  6 

92.4 

Preyure  a.ssumeri  to  be  100  lb.  gage  for  com 
parison. 


TABLE   4.     TEST   OF    A   LINDSTROM 

SEPARATOR. 

("The  Engineer,"  June,  1904,  p.  439). 


; 

^ 

C    >    — 

tit 

z  iiZ'' 

as 

£-7  = 

■5  -A  C  a, 

■5?    - 

E,* 

S    ■""* 

^x.5 

^^ 

20.0 

52.8 

0  66 

98.9 

38.5 

49.5 

0   22 

99.5 

48.0 

38.5 

0.42 

99.0 

58.0 

38.5 

0.97 

97.5 

91.0 

39.0 

1.20 

96.0 

95.0 

25.5 

1.10 

96.0 

143.0 

14.0 

2.11 

85.0 

Quality  of 

Quality  of 

Make  of 

Steam 

Steam 

Efficiency 

Separator. 

Before. 

After. 

Per  Cent. 

B     

97.5 

99.0 

60.0 

D     

96.1 

97.4 

33.3 

E      

98.1 

98.5 

21.1 

F      

97.7 

97.9 

8.7 

C      

95.6 

95.8 

4.5 

A      

98.0 

98.0 

0.0 

Steam 

with  about 

107c  of  moi 

jture. 

87.0 
90.1 
89.6 
90.6 

88.9 
88.4 


98.8 
98.0 
95.8 
93.7 
92.1 
90.2 


90.8 
80.0 
59.6 
33.0 

28.8 
15.  5 


Steam  with  about  20%  of  moisture. 


B      

78.1 

98.8 

94.5 

A      

79.5 

98.2 

91.2 

D      

81.7 

97.9 

83.5 

C       

78.2 

95.6 

79.8 

E      

82.4 

90.4 

45.5 

F      

79.3 

<S7.2 

38.1 

ties  are  comparatively  low ;  by  plotting 
these  results  and  continuing  the  curves 
to  velocities  of  4000  feet  per  minute  or 
more,  the  efficiencies  will  fall  very  low, 
as  in  Figs.  2  and  3.  The  practice  of 
using  separators  larger  than  those  de- 
signed for  a  given  pipe  size  is  apparently 
a  wise  one. 

The  conclusions  drawn  from  the  tests 
are  based  upon  the  performance  of  only 
a  few  small  separators  of  different  de- 
signs and  under  6  inches  in  size  and  do 
not  necessarily  refer  to  all  types  and 
sizes. 


•     May  II,  1909. 

How    the    Government    Saves 
Money  on  Coal 


\  remarkable  undertaking  for  the  de- 
velopment of  electric  power  is  reported 
from  Halifax,  X.  S.  .\n  application  has 
been  made  to  parliament  for  a  charter 
authorizing  the  damming  of  the  head  of 
the  Cumberland  basin,  the  basin  of  Minas 
and  several  other  streams  emptying  into 
the  Bay  of  Fimdy,  with  the  object  of 
utilizing  the  tidal  flow  to  develop  electric 
power  for  sale  in  New  Brunswick  and 
Nova  Scotia.  There  is  a  tidal  flow  of 
about  40  feet  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  from 
which  it  is  believed  that  an  immense 
amount  of  power  can  be  developed. — 
Mechanical   World. 


**The  Engineer,  March  l.'j,  1906. 


The  technologic  branch  of  the  United 
States  Geological  Survey  reports  that  the 
plan  inaugurated  two  years  ago  by  the  Gov- 
ernment for  the  purchase  of  coal  on  its 
heating  value  has  resulted  in  the  delivery 
of  a  better  grade  of  fuel  without  a  corre- 
sponding increase  in  co.st  and  with,  there- 
fore, a  saving  to  the  Government.  At  the 
present  time,  40  departmental  buildings 
in  Washington,  the  Panama  Railroad, 
more  than  300  public  buildings  through- 
out the  United  States,  navy  yards  and 
arsenals  are  buying  their  fuel  supplies  on 
specifications  the  prime  element  in  which 
fixes  the  amount  of  ash  and  moisture. 

Premiums  are  paid  for  any  decrease  of 
ash  below  2  per  cent,  from  the  standard 
at  a  rate  of  $0.01  per  ton  for  each  oer 
cent.  Deductions  are  made  at  an  increas- 
ing rate  for  each  per  cent,  of  ash  when  it 
exceeds  the  standard  established  by  2 
per  cent. 

It  has  been  demonstrated  by  the  techno- 
logic branch,  which  has  charge  of  the 
analyses  of  the  coal,  that  under  these 
specifications  the  Government  has  been 
getting  more  nearly  what  it  pays  for,  and 
paying  for  what  it  gets. 

The  purchase  of  coal  on  specifications 
is  but  one  of  the  activities  of  the  Govern- 
ment looking  toward  ?.  more  efficient  use 
of  the  fuel  resources  oi  the  country.  Engi- 
neers of  the  Survey  are  studying  the 
problem  in  all  its  phases  at  the  experiment 
plant,  in  Pittsburg,  Penn.  The  investiga- 
tions, by  suggesting  changes  in  furnace 
equipment  and  in  methods  of  firing  the 
coal,  are  indicating  the  practicability  of 
the  Government  purchasing  cheaper  fuels, 
such  as  bituminous  coal  and  the  sinaller 
sizes  of  pea,  buckwheat,  etc.,  instead  of 
the  more  expensive  sizes  of  anthracite, 
with  a  corresponding  saving  in  price.  The 
fuel  bill  of  the  Government  now  aggre- 
gates about  $10,000,000  yearly,  the  saving 
on  which,  through  securing  coal  contain- 
ing less  ash,  alone  amounts  to  $200,000. 

Since  the  Government  has  been  purchas- 
ing coal  on  the  basis  of  its  heating  value 
a  growing  interest  has  been  manifest  on 
the  part  of  manufacturers  and  the  general 
public  in  this  important  subject  and  a  de- 
mand has  been  created  for  authentic  in- 
formation concerning  the  results  accom- 
plished. In  response  to  this  demand  the 
results  of  the  Govcrntnent's  purcha.ses  of 
coal  under  the  heat-value  specifications  for 
the  fiscal  year  1907-8  have  been  assem- 
bled in  a  bulletin  just  issued  by  the  Sur- 
vey in  the  hope  of  promoting  a  better 
understanding  of  this  method  of  buying 
fuel.  John  Shober  Burrows,  the  engineer 
in  charge  of  this  part  of  the  fuel  problem, 
has  included  in  the  bulletin  a  list  of  the 
contracts  with  abstracts  of  the  specifica- 
tions for  the  current  fiscal  year. 

In  explaining  the  nature  of  the  specifica- 
tions, Mr.  Burrows  says : 


May  II,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


"Government  specifications  are  drawn 
with  a  view  to  the  con!>icicratiun  of  price 
and  quality.  For  manufactured  articles 
and  materials  of  cun!>tant  and  uniform 
quality  ihey  generally  can  be  reduced  to  a 
clear  statement  of  what  is  desired.  For 
coal,  however,  the  variation  in  cliaracter 
makes  this  impracticable. 

"This  lack  of  uniformity  is  the  feature 
recoKnizcd  and  provi«lcd  for  in  the  coal 
specifications  prepared  by  the  Geological 
Survey.  Under  these  specifications,  bid- 
ders ar^  requested  to  quote  prices  on  the 
various  sizes  of  anthracite,  a  definite 
standard  of  quality  being  $pecifie<l  for  i-ach 
size,  and  to  furnish  the  standard  of  (|u.ih{y 
with  price  for  bituminous  c«»al  otTered. 
Awards  are  then  made  to  the  lowest  re- 
spi'U^ible  bidder  for  anthracite  ami  \>,  the 
bidder  offering  the  best  bituminou  coal 
for  the  lowest  price.  The  specifications 
become  part  of  the  contract,  and  the 
standards    of  quality    form   the   basis   of 


"Bidders  are  placed  on  a  strictly  com- 

pctiiive  basis  as   — - — ' '■  " 

a»  price.     This  »: 

the 

tr. 


igiiorcU  ami  :nknown  ojais 

ofTerctl    by    r  l«ler»    may    be 

accpied   Without  detriment  to  the  Gov- 

•  •ovemment  is  insured  asaintt  the 

•  i<incrjr    of   poor   and   dirty   ct-.'         '     i 
saved    from    disputes    arising    ! 
drniTution  based  on  the   usual   >i»ual   in 

S|><    fi..n 

er: 

alv 

ca''         ■ 

remo\aI.      I'nder   the   present    ♦)%teTn   re- 

jectable  coal  may  be  accepted  at  a  greatly 

reduced  price- 


Look.    iW   Gcofackal 


I   a 

ak 


i'm>bars,  twtm,  aad  uwy  lw««  rcfii>4 


d    jrricrii    jn-i     Ttnii'>rTTi     tj»    t»»  i 

for     parrlMunt     the     Is 


A  Nuernberg  Cat  Engine  Runnrig 
00  Mixed  G*Mi 

Bv  J.  B.  Vaji  BataMU. 


There  was  recvMly  iartaBad  ia  ika 
power  plaat  of  an  KnclMi  tiad  wvikx  a 
gas  cafiM  of  ikt  NnraWfB  typa.  vteb 


A  y»' 


KTvment    for    coal    delivered    iliiritif    ihe 

of   the  ontract.     For  coal 

wMich  is  of  better  quality  than 

ard.  the  contractor   i»  paid  a   I 

tional    to    the    increasetl    \.i! 

1         For    driivrrir*    iif     riuil 


(ion     jri'I     .1' 


^ 

i'      n 


tf»   ihe    decreased    \.ii  le    <  I 
a«  fii.il  (|iiality  atid  \.tlitr  i.f 

-mined    by    an.ilv»i*    and    le«t    of      |w 

..) uiative   »ampl«'*    iil*"'    ">    ^    .•"..!       f! 

lied  manner  by  a««nts  i<i  ' 
and  an.iNved  in  the  (i< 
ing      LilHirntorv      at 


t    buyinir    c«««I     "" 
•ton*  are  expbined  by  Mr.   Bar 


,11, .u. 


rii.l  stilly'     1  •  1.11     in  M 

a«  follows : 


«  n(  Ihi* 
h<-    hrir-' 


838 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


]\Iay  II,  1909. 


The  engine  fuel  consists  of  10  per  cent, 
coke-oven  gas  and  90  per  cent,  blast-fur- 
nace gas,  the  latter  being  obtained  from 
a  furnace  delivering  120  tons  of  pig  iron 
per  twenty-four  hours.  The  furnace  is 
provided  with  only  a  single  bell,  and  after 
leaving  the  furnace  the  gas  enters  a  very 
large  dust  catcher  from  which  the  dust  is 
drawn  every  other  day.  From  the  dust 
catcher  the  gas  passes  through  a  main 
164  feet  long  into  the  scrubbers,  which 
consist  of  eighteen  vertical  wrought-iron 
pipes,  15  inches  in  diameter  and  46  feet 
high.  The  coke-oven  gas  pipe  joins  the 
blast-furnace  gas  pipe  before  the  gas 
enters  the  scrubbers.  Water  is  injected 
into  the  condensers  twice  a  week  for  three 
hours.  This  serves  to  remove  any  dust 
which  may  have  collected  there.  The 
bo.xes  on  which  the  scrubbers  stand  are 
cleaned  once  daily,  being  flushed  out  by 
a  stream  of  water  supplied  through  a 
rubber  hose.  After  leaving  the  scrubbers 
the  gas  is  finally  cleansed  in  a  Theisen 
washer  before  passing  to  the  engine.  Be- 
cause of  the  scarcity  of  water  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  works,  the  water  is 
used  several  times  over  in  the  washer,  for 
a  period  of  a  fortnight.  The  dirty  water 
flows  from  the  Theisen  washer  to  settling 
pools,  and  the  clean  water  is  pumped  to 
an  elevator  tank,  whence  it  flows  once 
more  to  the  Theisen  washer.  By  this 
practice  the  actual  consumption  of  water 
for  cleansing  the  gas  is  said  to  be  only 
0.25  liter  per  cubic  meter  of  gas,  and 
the  quantity  circulated  is  from  1.75  to  2 
liters  per  cubic  meter  of  gas.  The  cleans- 
ing is  very  effective;  the  content  of  dust 
per  cubic  meter  of  gas  amounts  to  only 
0.013  to  1.007  grams,  consequently  it  has 
been  possible  to  run  the  engine  continu- 
ously for  seven  months,  Sundays  excepted. 
One  cubic  meter  of  the  coke-oven  gas 
has  been  estimated  to  contain  about  2.5 
to  3  grams  of  sulphur.  To  reduce  this  sul- 
phur, which  has  an  injurious  effect  on 
the  exhaust  pipes,  etc.,  a  special  purifying 
plant  has  been  installed  which  reduces 
the  sulphur  to  less  than  0.25  gram  per 
cubic  meter. 

Each  time  the  blast-furnace  bell  is  low- 
ered the  pressure  of  the  gas  falls  from 
4.5  inches  of  water  to  zero,  rising  again 
as  soon  as  the  bell  is  closed ;  but  not  with- 
standing this,  the  gas  engine  has  run  very 
regularl}-,  and  the  governor  has  been  able 
to  deal  with  all  the  variations  of  gas 
pressure  and  composition.  The  calorific 
value  of  the  mixture  is  frorn  125  to  135 
B.t.u.  per  cubic  foot.  If  a  tuyere  at  the 
blast  furnace  has  to  be  changed  and  the 
blast  taken  off,  air  is  admitted  to  the  fur- 
nace through  the  tuyere  peepholes,  and, 
the  furnace  bell  being  closed,  the  furnace 
acts  by  virtue  of  its  natural  draft  as  an 
ordinary  gas  producer.  The  quantity  of 
gas  then  delivered  is  sufficient  to  supply 
the  engine. 

With  the  exception  of  a  steam  engine 
for   the   blowing   plant   and    one    for   the 


rolling  mill,  there  is  no  steam  equipment 
now  in  operation  at  the  steel  works  where 
this  gas-engine  plant  is  installed,  which 
indicates  the  degree  of  reliability  that  is 
confidently  expected  of  the   engine. 


Heat  Value  of  Coal  from  Dulong's 

Formula,    Based  on   Ultimate 

Analysis 


By  N.  a.  Carle 


Coal  is  organic  matter  that  has  under- 
gone chemical  changes  and  to  which  min- 
eral impurities  have  been  added.  The 
chemical  changes  of  carbon,  hydrogen  and 
o.xygen  from  cellulose  through  the  various 
stages  to  anthracite  is  indicated  by  the 
following  table  showing  the  average  ulti- 
mate  anahses : 


Material. 


Cellulose 

Wood 

Peat 

Lignite 

Bituminous  coal 
Anthracite 


Hydro- 

Carbon. 

gen. 

Per 

Per 

Cent. 

Cent. 

44.4 

6.2 

50.0 

6.0 

59.0 

6.0 

69.0 

5.5 

82.0 

5.0 

95.0 

Oxygen. 


Per 
Cent. 
49.4 
44.0 
35.0 
25.5 
13.0 


These  figures  show  that  the  transforma- 
tion is  accompanied  by  an  increase  in  the 
percentage  of  carbon  and  a  decrease  in 
the  percentages  of  hydrogen  and  oxygen. 
Sulphur  and  nitrogen  are  usually  present, 
especially  in  bituminous  coal  and  anthra- 
cite, but  in  showing  the  transformation 
of  the  elements  carbon,  hydrogen  and 
oxj'gen,  the  percentages  of  sulphur  and 
nitrogen  are  not  included.  The  table  is 
given  merely  to  show  that  the  elements 
of  any  fuel  will  vary  in  the  percentages 
of  carbon,  hydrogen  and  oxygen. 

Ordinary  fuels  contain  foreign  matter 
usually  classed  as  impurities,  consisting  of 
moisture,  nitrogen,  sulphur,  ash,  dirt,  etc. 
Of  these,  the  sulphur  has  capacity  to  pro- 
duce heat,  but  the  nitrogen  is  inert  and 
is  usually  classed  with  the  moisture,  ash, 
dirt,  etc.,  as  impurities. 

The  heat  value  of  a  fuel  may  be  de- 
termined with  more  or  less  accuracy  by 
any  one  of  three  methods,  namely,  chemi- 
cal analysis,  combustion  in  a  calorimeter, 
or  actual  trial  under  a  steam  boiler.  The 
first  two  methods  give  what  may  be  called 
theoretical  values  and  the  third  the  prac- 
tical value.  The  accuracy  of  the  first  two 
methods  depends  on  the  precision  of  the 
method  of  analysis  or  calorimctry  adopted 
and  upon  the  care  and  skill  of  the  opera- 
tor. They  give  with  considerable  accuracy 
the  heat  value  which  may  be  obtained  un- 
der the  conditions  of  perfect  combustion 
and  complete  absorption  of  the  heat  pro- 
duced. 

The  results  of  the  third  method  are  sub- 
ject to  numerous  sources  of  variation  and 
error,  and  may  be  taken  as  approximately 


true  only  for  the  particular  conditions  un- 
der which  the  test  is  made.  There  may 
be  more  or  less  imperfect  combustion  and 
numerous  and  variable  losses.  It  may 
give  the  highest  practical  heat  value  if 
the  conditions  of  grate  area,  draft,  heat- 
ing surface,  method  of  firing,  etc.,  are  the 
best  possible  for  the  particular  fuel  tested, 
and  it  may  give  results  far  beneath  what 
can  be  accomplished  if  the  conditions  are 
adverse  or  unsuitable  to  the  fuel. 

This  article  is  intended  to  cover  only 
the  determination  of  the  probable  total 
heat  of  combustion  from  the  chemical 
analysis.  The  calculation  of  the  heat 
value  of  any  fuel  from  the  chemical 
analysis  assumes  that  the  heat  value  of 
the  fuel  will  vary  in  accordance  with  some 
definite  law  based  on  the  relative  amounts 
of  carbon,  hydrogen,  oxygen  and  im- 
purities. 

The  total  heat  of  combustion  of  any 
fuel  is  approximately  equal  to  the  sum  of 
the  heat  values  which  could  be  produced 
separately  by  the  combustion  of  its  con- 
stituent parts.  When  oxygen  and  hydro- 
gen are  present  in  the  proportion  of  one 
part  of  hydrogen  to  eight  parts  of  oxygen, 
by  weight,  water  is  formed  and  these 
constituents  have  no  effect  in  making  up 
the  value  of  the  total  heat  of  combustion. 
If  a  large  quantity  of  water  is  thus 
formed,  the  latent  heat  of  its  vaporization 
must  be  deducted  from  the  probable  total 
heat  of  combustion.  However,  for  the 
commercial  fuels  ordinarily  encountered 
in  the  regular  market,  the  heat  necessary 
to  vaporize  the  arnount  of  water  formed 
during  combustion  can  be  neglected. 

The  formula  in  general  use  is  that 
known  as  Dulong's  formula  and  is  as 
follows  : 

Q  =  14,500   C  -f-   62,000     I// --j  -f 

4000  S, 
where 

Q  =  B.t.u.  per  pound  of  fuel, 

C  =  Percentage  of  carbon  by  weight  per 
pound  of  fuel, 

H  ^  Percentage  of  hydrogen  by  weight 
per  pound  of  fuel, 

O  =  Percentage    of    oxygen    by    weight 
per  pound  of  fuel, 

5  =  Percentage    of    sulphur    by    weight 
per  pound  of  fuel. 

The  impurities  consisting  of  moisture, 
nitrogen,  ash,  dirt,  etc.,  are  not  taken  inta 
account  directly  in  the  formula,  but  the 
percentages  of  the  constituent  parts  in  the 
fonnula  are  those  per  pound  of  fuel  and 
their  sum  will  be  less  than  100  per  cent, 
by  the  amount  of  the  impurities  which  are 
considered  inert. 

The  chart,  on  page  839  is  intended  to 
.show  graphically  the  heat  value  of  fuel  as 
calculated  by  Dulong's  formula.  It  is  to 
be  noted  that  the  oxygen  values  subtract 
from  the  sum  of  the  carbon  and  hydrogen 
values.  This  allows  for  the  formation  of 
water  by  the  combination  of  hydrogen  and 
oxygen,  if  they  exist  in  the  proper  pro- 
portion.    The  added  heat  value  due  to  the 


May  II,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


hrVN 


/  / 


/  /  / 


^ 


A- 


m 

i 

■ 
• 

' 

i 

•> 

1 

1 


840 


POWER  AXD  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  II,  1909. 


sulphur  is  small  because  the  percentage 
of  sulphur  is  usually  small  and  its  heat 
value  is  low.  In  fact  the  sulphur  can 
usually  be  neglected.  The  chart  indicates 
very  clearly  that  the  elements  carbon  and 
hydrogen  are  the  governing  factors  in  the 
heating  value  of  any  fuel. 

E.X.\MPLES 

(l)  If  the  ultimate  analysis  of  a  bitu- 
minous coal  showed  the  following  pro- 
portions, by  weight,  what  would  be  the 
heat  value  per  pound  of  this  coal  accord- 
ing to  Dulong's  formula? 

Per  Cent. 

Carbon 70 

Hydrogen o 

Oxygen 10 

Sulphur 2i 

Impurities 12i 

100 

Starting  with  70  per  cent,  carbon,  on 
the  horizontal  scale,  read  up  to  5  per  cent. 


Sewage  and  Brown  Coal    as    Fuel 

By  R.   \V.   Rogers 


An  interesting  departure  in  the  use  of 
lignite,  known  as  jiinger  braun  kohle,  is 
exhibited  in  the  city  electric-light  station 
of  Copenick,  a  town  near  Berlin  with  a 
population  of  some  30,000  and  containing 
a  number  of  factories,  such  as  nitric-acid 
works,  die  works,  washeries,  etc.  About 
three  years  ago  it  was  decided  to  in- 
stall an  electric-light  plant,  and  after 
careful  consideration  conclusions  were 
reached  to  make  some  use  of  the  city  sew- 
age waters  as  a  possible  fuel  medium, 
and  at  the  same  time  eliminate  the  con- 
tamination of  the  neighboring  river  water. 
In  the  process  finely  ground  coal  is  used 
as  a  deodorizer  in  connection  with  a  clay 
containing  sulphur,  aluminum  sulphate,  as 
a  cleansing  agent.    Thus  the  object  of  the 


/  Ectrauce  ol 

/  Cla>  Solatioa 

Eotrauce  ol 
Mixture 


Botatiug  Mixeri 
(or  niBkiug  Coal 
fnlp. 


Brown  Coal 
Screeoings 


Offices  and 
Dwelliugs 


GENERAL   OUTLINE    OF   COPENICK    PLANT 


hydrogen,  then  across  to  10  per  cent, 
oxygen,  then  down  to  2j^  per  cent,  sul- 
phur and  across  to  approximately  12,600 
B.t.u.  per  pound  of  coal. 

(2)  Suppose  the  ultimate  analysis  of 
a  semibituminous  coal  showed  the  fol- 
lowing values  by  weight : 

Per  Cent. 

Carbon 80 

Hyflrogen .5 

Oxygen 8 

Sulphur 0 

Impurities 7 

100 

What  would  be  the  heat  value  per 
pound  of  this  fuel  according  to  Dulong's 
formula? 

Starting  with  80  per  cent,  carbon,  read 
up  to  5  per  cent,  hydrogen,  then  across  to 
8  per  cent,  oxygen,  then  down  to  o  per 
cent,  sulphur  and  across  to  approximately 
14,100  B.t.u.  per  pound  of  coal. 


plant  was  to  clean  the  waste  water  and 
give  a  practical  use  for  tlie  brown-coal 
dust,  which  otherwise  is  of  very  little 
value.  The  coal  dust  used  is  simply  mine 
screenings  with  a  chemical  analysis  of 
61.5  per  cent,  carbon,  5.5  per  cent,  hydro- 
gen, 3^  per  cent,  oxygen  and  a  heating 
value  of  9000  B.t.u.  per  pound. 

A  summary  of  the  process  is  as  fol- 
lows: The  brown-coal  screenings  are 
ground  up  fine  and  mixed  with  clear 
water  to  form  coal  pulp.  This  pulp  is 
led  by  gravity  to  the  intake  of  the  sew- 
age water,  and  mixed  in  the  general  ratio 
of  one  pound  of  coal  to  8  cubic  feet  of 
sewage  water.  This  solution  is  pumped 
by  centrifugal  pumps  to  an  open  conduit 
provided  with  numerous  baffle  walls  and 
with  a  sufficient  incline  to  reduce  the 
initial  velocity  of  about  9  feet  per  second 
to  less  than  i  foot  per  second  at  the  out- 
let.   Near  the  entrance  to  the  conduit  the 


sulphur  clay  is  added,  which  is  in  the 
form  of  a  liquid  mixed  in  the  proportion 
of  one  pound  of  clay  to  16  U.  S.  standard 
gallons  of  water.  This  solution  flows  by 
gravity  from  elevated  mixing  tanks,  and 
I  cubic  foot  of  the  solution  to  75  cubic 
feet  of  sewage  is  admitted  to  the  con- 
duit. The  final  mixture  continues  a  zig- 
zag path  around  the  baffle  walls,  which 
gradually  reduce  its'  velocity  of  flow  be- 
fore it  enters  the  clearing  basins. 

These  basins  are  three  in  number  and 
are  approximately  700  feet  long  by  150 
feet  wide,  with  a  slope  of  about  i  foot 
in  200  feet.  In  these  basins  a  rapid  set- 
tling takes  place,  leaving  the  water  practi- 
cally clear.  It  is  then  conducted  to  the 
neighboring  river  free  from  all  contami- 
nating ingredients.  The  three  basins  are 
used  as  follows :  One  is  being  filled  while 
the  second  is  allowed  to  evaporate  and  the 
third  is  being  cleared  of  its  schlammkohle, 
as  the  product  is  called.  In  summer  a 
basin  is  cleared  every  three  weeks,  while 
in  winter  it  generally  takes  from  five  to 
six  weeks  to  obtain  the  product. 

The  product  obtained  from  the  basins 
looks  like  brown  coal  and  is  handled  very 
easily,  being  dug  out  and  carted  to  the 
storage  bins.  Owing  to  the  moisture  con- 
tent, which  varies  from  25  to  35  per  cent, 
in  summer  to  60  or  70  per  cent,  in  win- 
ter, a  correspondingly  greater  or  less 
amount  of  1)rown  coal  is  burned  with  it. 
On  the  average  one  pound  of  brown  coal 
to  four  of  the  schlammkohle  is  used  in 
summer,  while  in  winter  it  is  necessary 
to  burn  half  as  much  brown  coal  as 
schlammkohle.  The  grate  is  composed  of 
narrow  slanting  bars,  and  the  resulting 
ash  is  hard,  but  easily  removed.  The 
product  naturally  varies  in  heating  value 
from  time  to  time,  depending  on  what 
factor  is  most  active  during  the  period  of 
settling,  and  as  a  consequence  no  definite 
figures  can  be  given. 

Commercially,  the  plant  is  reported  as 
being  highly  satisfactory,  the  cost  of 
operation  per  kilowatt-hour  being  1.25 
cents,  while  the  fuel  cost  is  0.25  cent. 
The  electrical  plant  consists  of  three  1000- 
kilowatf  turbo-generators.  As  to  the 
waste-water  end,  the  plant  has  a  capacity 
of  from  1,000,000  to  1,760,000  cubic  feet 
of  waste  water  per  day  of  24  hours, 
and  its  initial  cost  in  round  figures  was 
about  $36,000.  The  plant  has  been  in 
operation  since  April  18,  1907,  and  in  its 
operation  requires  six  firemen,  six  engi- 
neers and  one  man  to  tend  the  water- 
clearing  end,  the  entire  force  working  in 
eight-hour    shifts. 

A  few  other  items  in  connection  with 
the  waste-water  plant  will  undoubtedly  be 
of  interest.  The  time  of  properly  mixing 
200  pounds  of  the  sulphur  clay  is  one 
hour ;  5.35  cubic  feet  of  coal  pulp  gives 
one  pound  of  schlammkohle ;  350,000  cubic 
feet  of  waste  water  gives  from  65  to  go 
pounds  of  schlammkohle.  The  average 
percentage  of  sulphur  in  the  resulting 
product  is   16  per  cent. 


May  II,  1909 

Catechism  of  Electricity 

1041.  Shozc  a  diagram  xvhich  illustrates 
Jhis  last  method  applied  to  two  induilioH 
motors. 

lig.  289  illustrates  this  case  The  stator 
winding;  of  the  motor  b  is  connected  in 
series  with  the  rotor  of  the  motor  a.  which 
consequently  starts  with  a  strong  turquc. 
The  motor  b  rccei%'cs  its  current  at  a  re- 
duced frequency  and  therefore  start«  abo 
with  good  torque. 

1042.  HoiL-  is  one  to  know  the  kind  of 
work  that  can  economically  be  performed 
by  an  induction  motor f 

An  induction   motor   works  well  where 
it  can  run  at  full  speed  with  a  load  that 
requires   to   be   started   only   occasi<>; 
It   will   usually   tte  economical   and   >.iii-> 
factory  when  applied  to  the  same  kind  of 
work  that  couhl  \x  done  well  by  a  <lr'    r 
current  shunt- wound  motor.    When  \s    -k 
ing  at  or  near   full  load  and  at  conxtaiit 
spec<l   the  efficiency   and   power    f.icli>r   <»f 
an  induction  motor  arc  at  the  best. 

1043.  In  xvhat  respect  is  an  induction 
motor  preferable  to  a  synchronous  motur,* 

It  requires  less  attention. 

1044.  il'hal  effect  does  an  tndmclion 
motor  hate  upon  the  current  in  the  circuit 
OH  ti'hiih  It  is  running* 

It  causes  the  current   in  the  supply  cir- 
it   Id  laK   l>ehind   the   vollaKe  and   thrrr 
re   ini|>airs  tin-   i>'.wtT   f.iii<>r   <.i    ilu    ur- 
cuit. 

1045.  li'hat  effect  does  a   synJu 
■tor  have  upon  the  current  in  i/j 
cuitr 

It   priKluces  a  leatling  current   if  u  •''■■ 
n  under  a  stca<ly  load  and  with 

iicid  excitation.    If.  therefore.  »       ' 

motors    are    connected    to    th« 

with  iiuliiction  m"("r-  iti< 

produced  l>y   tin    |..rin<  r    !• 

the    laKKing    ct  rrcnl*    priMiucid    b>     itw 

latter. 

1046.  In    stariir.;;    .'n    induelion   motor 
the  resistant  c  »«■  ''  '• 

•  'mM  he  obicrtcd  >  ■ 
ncef 
mu»t  l»c  taken  l>efnre  rl.>Iii.'   ?' 
lin   «witch   to  tec   that   tlir 

tance  i»  not  nh--"  •" ■■' 

k;  re«i<tanre  \^ 
will    lake    rxcr»M\.  ■       '    ir.«Tii    mr    muC 

and  it  ina)   t)<>t   vt  itt   .1!    ill. 

1047      How  I  on  n  thoutii  'fi-  if  •■ 'imgrt- 
<tance  he  left  in  the  mic/.'  . 
Onlv   durinv   ihr   tlarlins    i 


lOWER  AND  THE  ENGIM  i  k 

lyhru  rtdsimut  is  uud  for 
•  ■  -'lie  the  sp*ed  of   ■ 
ianmot  Ihtj  retutauce 

lure    li' 

Ve*.  t  ipecially 

designed  to  carry  the   fall  corrcni  cob- 

tinuouUy. 

1049.     tyhat  rtfeef  mpem  the  m*^wt«l  *iit- 
put  of 
once  4'. 

A  motor  drtigned  for  50  per  crtit.  tprcd 

control  uttully  has  a  rr«i»tance  of  '- 

capacity   to    reduce   the    tprrd    to    t 
cent    of  nor;      '         '       -     -'     - 


ivjp  aiU  eantc  a  ixur  to 
Mop  Amiw%  opcnttga. 

t«>$3     What  imp^nmt  p*tmtt  mutt  W 


WiMft 


<  the  armmlm*  ewtwt 

.i  «a4  ^rtkgsf 

TW  coaurt  rteca 
^<e  bTMke*  tlKwU 

*b  the  rioKt  »W«  iW  fmmmn 
■I  AoM  he  tint  o|  thtm 
mMt9r*    hmt    nnhid    «• 
•ft^     Srm  hnmkn  ika^d  hr 

U    WXMI   at   tWrr     h     xn^     .Urwr     »( 

bnuh-boMrrt  ttr^ui^ 
•kotUd  be  tandlfM—-*-                      .^ 
mm  to  thai  end'                              rr  tlhr 
•■--  '           *  the  in-.tr      r  *     -•< 
prior    roatart    aw! 
whKh  w««  pttt  *                   ifti  arxitt 
tvming  theta  d                     -itncxh  t«H 
.\  little  lyrfctm  *i  iW  U«tW«  Mid  m 
rtrxte  when  Kartmc.  hoaeter.  thtwdd 
orrataon  alarai.  at  that  lattt  hat  a 
time  and  reatrt  wh««  the  ^tmkif-^'r 
romr  up  tn  tperd  and  the  Cfmt.* 
the  nag*  aad  br«tkc»  l^t  W«« 

loss.    //  if  hetomtt  mtteutrj  U 
tml  Ike  ,$rm*tm*e.  h4«f  p*e<wmtwmi 

he    toil's      ra     ^^a^,  IS.'      il' 

I>o 

anleM  it  tt*  *  tftaUf  • 

or  thmm  fnaa  lajar^  A 

not  lake  o«i  the  rotor  aad  ttx  a  ~jb 

floor    »*f^->fft     pl»im    t    tHr*.     ^«-«TT 


9t  llH 


the 


beariast 


•  <rtr     fc.  r a?,  rw 


grk  or  dwi  ia  tW 


mal  frt!1  I«ni1  tnrquf     T>te  tuif  Myxiwff  *»V 

I 

I' 


i>  ..i  li.. 

nly   iif    «iii 
mninr  to  come  »p  «" 

f..r   til. I    vlrp.       Al    lli'^ 

s'      it      prartu.ilK 

y\\   the   bru«hr«       TV 

irtinit  thould  not  e«cee«! 


1  nr  mtin  n 


Uatifc**  ^<   »•— ««   I'   r-*'-'    *• 


84-' 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  II,  1909. 


Decrease    in    Weight    of    Lignite    in    Transit 

Results  of  Experiments  with  Texas  Lignite  to  Determine  Changes  in 
Weight  and  Heat  Value  Due  to  Temperature  and  Humidity  Conditions 


B  Y 


ARTHUR 


C. 


SCOTT 


There  has  been  more  or  less  conten- 
tion between  shippers  and  consumers  of 
lignite  concerning  shortage  in  weights  of 
carloads  delivered,  and  I  believe  that  such 
contention  ,  is  in  many  instances  due  to 
misunderstandings,  first,  as  to  the  neces- 
sary decrease  in  weight  that  must  occur 
in  transit  due  to  the  properties  of  the 
lignite  and,  second,  as  to  the  fact  that  a 
smaller  weight  of  lignite  at  the  consum- 
er's plant  as  compared  with  the  weight 
at  the  mine  does  not  necessarily  mean 
that  the  consumer  has  lost  money  in  pro- 
portion to  the  shortage ;  on  the  contrary, 
the  fact  seems  to  be  established  by  data 
and  results  that  follow  that  the  consumer 
is  actually  the  gainer  in  the  transaction, 
provided  the  loss  in  weight  is  not  ab- 
normal. 

My  attention  was  first  directed  to  the 
matter  because  of  a  shortage  in  weights 
of  carloads  of  lignite  furnished  to  the 
University  of  Texas  by  various  lignite 
dealers,  and  in  order  to  obtain  satisfac- 
tory information  on  the  matter  an  attempt 
was  made  to  calculate  the  approximate 
decrease  in  weight  that  should  occur  in 
transit  and,  by  testing  the  lignite  under 
different  conditions,  to  determine  the  loss 
in  heat  units  due  thereto.  Through  the 
courtesy  of  F.  E.  Merrill,  of  the  Bastrop 
Coal  Compan\-,  I  was  allowed  to  inspect 
the  mine  at  Glenham,  Tex.,  and  on  April 
II,  1908,  personally  obtained  from  three 
different  localities  in  the  mine  samples 
of  lignite  as  it  was  being  picked  out  by 
the  workmen.  The  writer  himself  placed 
the  samples  of  lignite,  selecting  some 
lumps  and  some  fine  material,  in  glass 
jars  which  were  sealed  in  the  mine  and 
taken  in  that  condition  to  the  University 
of  Texas.  1  also  went  with  the  superin- 
tendent of  the  mine  and  the  pit  boss  over 
the  principal  portion  of  the  mine,  and  in 
no  case  found  water  in  any  considerable 
quantity.  Probably  «ot  more  than  a 
bucketful  of  water  was  seen  anywhere 
in  the  mine,  although  there  was,  of 
course,  some  moisture  in  the  air. 

The  lift  from  which  the  samples  of  lig- 
nite were  taken  was  about  87  feet  below 
the  surface,  and  the  mine  was  satisfac- 
torily ventilated.  The  lignite  was  picked 
out  with  no  evidence  of  any  blasting  hav- 
ing been  done,  and  the  layer  of  lignite, 
which  varied  from  about  3  feet  to  5'/$ 
feet  in  thickness,  everywhere  showed 
good,  clean  coal.  No  seams  of  dirt  or 
rock  were  observed  anywhere  intcrlain 
with  the  lignite,  and  the  latter,  as  brought 


to  the  surface  in  small  cars  by  the  eleva- 
tor, is  clean  lump,  requiring  no  screen- 
ing, and  is  loaded  directly  into  cars, 
weighed  on  railway  scales  and  shipped. 

Moisture 
The  three  samples  of  lignite  which 
were  taken  from  the  mine  to  the  uni- 
versity were  tested  for  moisture  content 
immediately  after  the  jars  were  opened, 
■with  the  following  results  : 

No.  1.  Moisture  evaporated  in  one  hour 
bv  heating  at  104  to  107  degrees  Centi- 
grade     28.2% 

No.  2.  Moisture  evaporated  in  one  hour 
bv  heating  at  104  to  107  degrees  Centi- 
grade     28.0% 

No.  3.  Moisture  evaporated  in  one  hour 
bv  heating  at  104  to  107  degrees  Centi- 
grade     32.2% 

A  lump  of  the  lignite  was  soaked  for 
twenty-four  hours  in  water,  and  subse- 
quently a  test  for  moisture,  made  as  for 
the  other  samples,  showed  39.1  per  cent, 
moisture.  This  indicates  that,  taking  the 
average  of  moisture  content  of  tlie  thiee 
samples  from  the  given  data,  amounting 
to  29.4  per  cent.,  it  is  possible  for  the  lig- 
nite to  contain  9.7  per  cent,  more  moisture 
than  it  does  contain  after  it  is  taken  di- 
rectly from  the  mine,  under  the  general 
conditions  of   this   particular   mine. 

CALORIFIC    V.\LUE 

Two  attempts  were  made  to  obtain  the 
calorific  value  of  samples  containing  28.2 
per  cent,  moisture  as  it  came  from  the 
mine,  but  each  of  the  charges  exploded  in 
the  open  calorimeter  before  a  determina- 
tion could  be  made,  because  of  the 
amount  of  moisture  present.  Sample  No. 
2,  containing  28  per  cent,  moisture,  was 
then  tried;  and  a  determination  was  inade 
which  showed  7574  B.t.u.  per  pound.  It 
was  evident  that  the  amount  of  moisture 
with  which  a  determination  could  be 
made  was  at  the  limit  for  the  28  per  cent, 
value,  and  the  other  samples  were  there- 
fore not  investigated  farther  in  that  re- 
spect. The  average  B.t.u.  of  the  three 
samples,  w-hen  a  portion  was  dried  at  104 
to  107  degrees  Centigrade  for  one  hour, 
was   11,003  per  pound   of  lignite. 

Los.s  BV  .-XiR  Drying 
A  portion  of  each  of  the  three  samples 
previously  referred  to  was  placed  in  a  tin 
box,  open  at  the  top,  and  the  boxes  placed 
in  the  thermometer  and  hygrometer  house 
of  the  meteorological  station  at  the  uni- 
versity. Each  sample  was  weighed  twice 
a  day  for  several  days,  and  once  a  day 
thereafter   for   nearly  two   weeks,   an   ac- 


curate record  of  temperature  and  hu- 
midity conditions  of  the  air  being  kept  by 
means  of  a  recording  thermometer  and  a 
recording  hygrometer  placed  close  to  the 
samples.  At  the  end  of  the  test  period 
for  the  evaporation  of  moisture  from  the 
samples,  the  average  values  of  tempera- 
ture and  humidity  were  ascertained ;  the 
charts  upon  which  were  recorded  the 
values  of  humidity  were  checked  with  a 
polar  planimeter  in  order  to  obtain  an 
accurate  average  of  the  humidity  during 
the  time  that  the  lignite  was  exposed,  and 
the  results  agreed  very  closely  with  the 
average  of  the  records  of  humidity  made 
each  time  that  the  samples  were  weighed. 
The  lignite  which  was  exposed  in  the 
three  samples  consisted  of  lump  and  mod- 
erately fine  material  which  was  intended 
to  be  as  nearly  as  possible  an  average  of 
the  quality  of  the  coal  as  loaded  upon  the 
cars.  The  weights  taken  in  the  beginning 
for  each  of  the  three  samples  were  as 
follows : 

No.  1 268 .  80  grams 

No.  2 315.65  grams 

No.  3 308.70  grams 

The  percentage  of  loss  of  each  of  the 
samples  was  found  to  be  very  nearly  the 
same  as  on  the  retnaining  lignite,  so  that 
an  average  is  given  in  the  following  table 
of  the  loss  for  the  three  samples.  The 
table  also  gives  the  average  humidity  and 
the  temperature  corresponding  for  the  day 
when  readings  were  taken  and  the  per- 
centage of  loss  calculated : 

1  83  75  2.47 

2  84  77  4.73 

3  93  68  6.94 

4  95  66  6.72 

5  83  70  8.15 

6  77  74  9.51 

7  82  75  11.11 

8  67  71  12.58 

9  59  67  15.76 

10  69        69        18.52 

11  69        67        19.48 

12  59        63        20.61 

Average    temperature    for 

first  week 72  degrees  Falirenlieit 

Average    temperature    for 

twelve  days  of  test ....   70  degrees  Fahrenheit 

Average  temperatvire  for 
one  year  previous  to 
date  of  making  test.  ...    66  degrees  Fahrenheit 

Average      humidity      for 

twelve  days  of  the  test .   75  degrees  Fahrenheit- 

Average       humidity       for 

month  of  April,  1907.  .  .    73  degrees  Fahrenheit^ 

Average  humidity  accord- 
ing to  "Monthly  Weath- 
er Review,"  for  one  year 
previous  to  date  of  mak- 
ing test 73  degrees  Fahrenlieit- 

It  .will  be  obvious  that  the  temperature 
and  humidity  conditions  under  which  the 
test  was  made  were  about  the  same  as  the 
average  over  a  year's  time,  and  therefore 
they  are  fortunately  of  value  in  calculat- 
ing the   average  loss   due  to  evaporation 


May  II,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


throughout    the    year.      The    tabic    s] 
that  on   the  fourth   day  of  the  test   i: 
was   a   slight   gain   in   moisture  over   that 
of  the  day  previous,  but  this  is  due,  with- 
out doubt,  to  the  high  humidity,  the  aver- 
age being  95   for  that   day. 

After  exposure  to  the  air,  as  de- 
scribed for  twelve  days,  during  which 
time  the  average  loss  of  the  sample%  was 
20.6  per  cent.,  determinations  were  nia<lc 
of  heat  values,  and  an  average  ot  >/^n 
B.t.u.  per  pound  obtained.  The-  hiat 
values  obtained  for  the  dry  lignite  (  drud 
for  one  hour  at  104  to  107  degrees  Cenii- 
^ade)  averaged  il,ooj  per  pound,  as  al- 
ready stated.  The  data  given  as  to  the 
calorific  value  of  the  lignite  as  a  whole 
show  that  it  is  very  desirable  to  deter- 
mine the  precise  moisture  content  of  the 
fuel  when  comparing  determinations  of 
B.t.u.  per  pound,  since  the  greater  the 
amount  of  moisture  contained  in  the 
lignite  when  the  caloritk  test  is  made,  the 
lower  will  be  the  number  "f  lu-.it  units 
per  pound. 

Wek.iit  I.0.ST  IN  Transit 

The  specific  gravity  of  average  lignite 
appears  to  Ix*  aUtut  I. .^5,  which  would 
make  the  weight  of  a  cubic  f(>«*t  atxiut  78 
pounds.  The  size  of  a  car  marked  "For 
Lignite  Only,"  with  a  rated  capacity  of 
So,ooo  pounds,  was  found  to  be  ju  fcrt  4 
inches  long,  4  feet  3  inches  deep  and  8 
feet  6  inches  wide.  Assuming  that  the 
lump  fuel,  as  lo.-)ded  upon  the  car.  allow* 
c  or  less  air  to  circulate  to  a  depth  of 
iches,  the  numlx-r  of  cubic  feet  so 
aifccted  wouhl  Ik-  146,  and  146  cubic  feet 
•  ■f   lignite    weighing  78  pf)un<U   per   cuImc 

•  would  amount  to  ll,j8S  pounds.  Ac- 
ling  to  the  table,  247  P^r  cent,  of 
-turc  is  lost  on  the  first  <lay.  or  j8i 
nd*.  .After  the  second  day  the  !«»• 
:ld  l>e  nearly  twice  the  amount,  and  *o 
up  to  the  twelfth  day.  when  '.}  ■  ■ 
.Id  be  a  total  los*  of  ftomelhing  :. 

•1  one  ton  on  .n  40-100  car. 

•  must  Ik  rememlK-red  in  this  conncc- 
that    the    sample*    which    I    exp«>M-«l 

c  standing  still,  while  the  lignite  on  a 
is  moving  for  a  c«)n»ider.ilile  portion 
the    time     consumed     in     transit,    and 
never  the  car  i*  in  moti.  n  tin  re  will 
rate  of  r\ 
••  cf»al  ih.i: 
•ion.iry    for    the    same    Ki.»ji..    •  !    '•■■■■' 
\v  much  greater  the  evapor-tti.-n  w-ull 
crni\t\   only    be    determined   accurately 
rm)rnment.  of  cour»e. 
\nother  noticeable  and  vrry  important 
'•      •        n    by    the    lc*t«    i*    ••-      '  *'■    ' 
wetting    and     dr^ 
he  coal   to   «lack   and    ^ 
!    very    readily      It     •« 

lh.it    after    :i 
•ng   from   tJir 
I,  IS  allowrti   * 
I  afterward  iJs' 
over  the  surface   ••(   t' 
I  dry  il  con«idera»<U      ■ 
n   striken  the  car. 


the    mil 

'.nr     III..' 

\N 

air   ..,...„   ^ _, 

the   moirturc  of  the  air  due*  mx    r 

them,  they  d     -  -  '  "  • 

tain  their  or  . 

til 

th; 

cati    U. 

than  brt 

i.iiiliM'in    come    •■ 

the)    are   readily   r 

dittOfL 

CiiA.xcc  IX  Heat  Valce  ij«  Tkaxsit 
Considering,  now.  the  question  of  rela- 
tive  numlicr   of   heal    units   which   would 

be   obtained   by   the   c 

coal    in    transit    has    \>- 

to   . 

th.r 

tween   the    n 

tests    show. 

the  condition  at  the  mine  reierred  to.  an 

average  of  7574  B.t.u.  per  pound,     .\fter 

exposure  for  twelve  days  jOi6t   per  cent. 

by    weight    has   evaporate*!.    -       -  "— j   to 

the   lest.     If  the  lignite  r<  the 

car  for  the  full  !  the 

comparative    rr»i  ;i   at 

follows:     In 

lignite  bavin. 

would    l»c    '•  • 

the  fuel  at  I! 

that  for  an  assumed  depth  «>f 

of  air  of  6  inches  for  thi«  ■  •'' 

pounds  would  be  afTccird 

Since  JO  61    per  cent,    by 

e\a|H irate  in  twelve  days.  » 

«.  iiwU.     Tl 

tr.,  11  1W 

gobit    pound*,    w) 

per  pound.     The  • 

unit*,   then,    in    the   top  6   mchca   of   th« 

.:.rl....|    »..ilM    \w 

T!  ■  ■ 

P- 

this   |Mft    *»i    (1m;    %*I' 

It- 

in  ilw  '' 


and  are.  thrreiorr.  aoi   i-iihHr  lo 


Sirt    «u    r 


nrt    A<it  I  III  m   lo  iIk   €■■' 


'*>'  <   Mgwat   i»  ra 

the   loss    wt>ald   •  • 

fiHlfl4      '*■'■-£*•      ibc 

i    ■■wiwil    »o   whunnr 

Aflusd    ts    thv*    wAMrd.      Il 

'*■<  Urge  »hipy»rii  ami  en»- 

might  pr(Wb  asaicrialf 

«••!«     t   ,     tif .  4rvt     .  i«  •     ..I 

The 
indicalr 
in  Iran 

tat'  '*>  carrw4 

ou  -rt  ikal  a 

mmnmitU    afiyiiiaiBsaliiai    mmy    W    mtti6» 
as   lo  the  prohablr  •■sowM   a4   *^*^    V 
crease  for  any  gtvea  eaar     Of  < 

am.   itri!    1<  «?    Aitf     !..    |S<-     r-».ir« 


Iflt     Up     TMT     J» 'tnT     II     J»-«i»-«r 

■  of  6  iMchr«  as  iW  6rptk 


>e<frj»*    tn    ■ri^ai 


a^ 
8> 


coQccnMng  the  •■ 


tmr%,  with  a  «trw  In  oktalr 


»»fc  I    T 

I  k  *.f       tW««tf        ftf 


»*t 


844 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  II,  1909. 


Practical    Letters    from     Practical    M 

Don't  Bother  About    the    Style,    but   Write   Just    What    You  Think, 
Know  or  Want  to  Know   About  Your  Work,  and  Help  Each  Other 

WE     PAY     FOR     USEFUL     IDEAS 


en 


Packing  for  Steam    Engine    Piston 


One  of  the  first  metallic  piston  packings 
consisted  of  a  bull  ring  and  two  packing 
rings,  the  packing  being  adjusted  by 
means   of   springs   and   packing  bolts. 

This  packing  answered  its  purpose  very 
well  w^hen  the  adjusting  was  done  by  men 
who  thoroughly  understood  doing  so,  but 
it  was  not  at  all  unusual  for  an  engineer 
to  put  too  much  pressure  on  the  packing 
springs,  resulting  in  a  badly  cut  cylinder 
and  rings.  Finally  the  Z-spring  shown  in 
the  piston.  Fig.  i,  was  introduced.  It  was 
fast  becoming  the  favorite  packing,  when 
the  "snap-ring"  packing  was  introduced. 
There  being  no  danger  of  getting  too 
much  pressure  on  the  packing  rings  by 
their  use,  this  design  of  spring  soon  re- 
placed all  other  springs  for  use  in  large 
cylinders,  but  for  some  reason  never  came 
into  general  use  in  small  cylinders. 

As  compared  to  the  spring  packing  the 


in  the  shape  of  rings  of  the  same  diameter 
as  the  inside  diameter  of  the  rings. 

One  of  the  first  "snap-ring"  packings 
brought  out  had  small  "ports"  for  the  live 
steam  to  get  back  of  the  rings.  It  was 
soon  discovered  that  the  ports  were  not 
required,  as  the  live  steam  got  back  of 
the  rings,  anyway. 

Another  very  objectionable  feature  in. 
snap-ring  packing  is  the  shoulder  worn  at 
each  end  of  the  cylinder. 

Fig.  2  shows  a  design  of  piston  pack- 
ing free  from  the  defects  inherent  in  pis- 
ton packings  as  now  made.  In  the  cylin- 
der is  shown  a  side  elevation  of  a  piston 
head  in  half-section.  Leading  from  the 
packing-spring  space  into  the  passage  in. 
the  piston  rod  is  shown  an  opening  that 
allows  any  steam  back  of  the  packing 
rings,  due  to  leakage  at  the  joints  of  the 
rings,  to  escape  readily,  so  that  at  no  time 
is  there  more  than  the  pressure  due  to  the 
springs  on  the  packing  rings.  The  steam 
can  be  led  to  the  condenser  or  exhausted 


"li"^ 


}<-- 


FIG.    3 


"snap-ring"  type  could  not  be  considered 
an  improvement. 

As  a  rule,  packing  rings  of  all  kinds  are 
made  from  a  hard,  close-grain  metal, 
usually  iron,  but  I  have  seen  them  made 
from  composition  metal  in  a  30-inch  pis- 
ton. Regardless  of  what  hard  metal  they 
are  made  of,  the  packing  rings  will  wear 
to  a  very  sharp  knife-edge  that  acts  very 
much  like  a  scraper  on  the  walls  of  the 
cylinder.  While  the  hard  metal  will  give 
lasting  qualities  to  the  rings,  it  will  also 
greatly  increase  the  cutting  power  of  the 
sharp  edges. 

It  is  claimed  that  a  ring  must  be  made 
of  hard  metal  or  it  will  not  be  "resilient." 
This  quality  can  be  given  a  ring  made  of 
soft   iron   by   simple    round-wire    springs, 


Puwtr,  X,  r. 


May  II,  1909. 

into  the  air.  If  the  steam  is  led  to  the 
condenser,  the  effect  of  the  vacuum  on 
the  packing  must  be  given  some  little  con- 
iideration  when  adjusting  the  sprintj- 
Any  weakness  the  springs  may  dc\.;  ;. 
can  be  remedied  by  shims  or  liners  be- 
tween the  springs  and  the  spider. 

The  bull  ring  and  packing  rings  arc 
made  to  form  parallel  wedges.  This 
allows  the  packing  rings  to  become  self- 
adjusting  for  wear  at  the  follower  and 
spider.  I  believe  the  angles  of  the  wt<li:,« 
ihould  Ik-  more  acute  than  I  have  >h.mn 
them  in  the  drawing.  The  packing  will 
be  much  more  resilient  if  the  members  are 
made  in  sections. 

In  connection  with  the  half-plan  view 
of  the  piston  head  is  shown  a  side  eleva- 
tion of  it.  Fig.  I.  exposing  in  half^cottwn 
the  shoulder  on  the  spider  against  which 
the  packing  springs  bear.  The  groove 
shown  in  the  face  of  the  shoulder  is  a 
channel  for  the  ready  escape  of  steam 
due  to  leakage.  Fig.  3  shows  a  distorted 
plan  view  of  two  sections  of  the  bull 
ring. 

A    H    Haul 
Denver.  Colo. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENcilNEER. 

connected    independently  of  the    t^-'mek 
line. 


Fremont,  Ohio 


B.    L    MOMM; 


The  "Soee"  Wave  Motor 

'"•^  '    of    the     "Sncr'     wave 

"'*>*'>«'  .'ch  J  number    «4%   \rry 

iiif«rc,tiii^  I  have  read  numrr.,  i» 
article*  relating  to  this  device  and  Kid 
concluded  it  was  in  the  clasc  in  which 
you  put  it. 

The  accompanying  sketch  is  a  mere 
idea,  with  poMibly  some  features  that 
might  prove  practical  The  bottom  of  the 
wheel   would   be  '      -   the   level   of 

the   water   when  .1      1   ^tn  io- 

clf  ran  he  ag  Mif. 

Cc  r 


Cmfl 


gMt4U*»  ol  tW 
<  •mtumm  of  Mlao 

•w  uicaiu  tbr  only  rl*M  w^ 
w>ft  of  thmg.  »o  tkal   wIm..    . 

I      rnrr;'!.  f  *,J   «»   applsrd  lu 


ciuunc    ^cnlt.   ouMer 
*  rights,   •opcnntmdnru   or   wtel- 
shoold  not  ci  >  wte  as^kl 

to  any  of  ih-  to  f««  -^aa 

That  the  tmp  ft 

and  on  the  same  t  t^  thmi,  I 

am  sure  every  htmtM  mm  wA  mdmat  It 
seems  to  me  that  tkt  blami  lor  tlhss  coa 
dition  of  things.  whsHi  i*  to  pfinht. 
•honid  not  rest  so  Kratilt   .«  tkr   «witm 


Water  Column  Connections 


The  accompanying  sketch  shi.ws  the 
the  water  columns  were  connected 
small  plant  in  Ohio.  The  old  bt>iler 
properly  connected.  When  boiler  B 
insl.'illed  it  was  passed  by  the  inspec- 
l>rforr    l>eing    tired    up.      .As    will    be 


i 


\ 


1*1  Vto« 


Mt.   HtlU    WATg-MOm   nSA 


I  u  9aOf  FmT 


<-  fiipplj—  mko  ofhra  k.     TW 
oteam  intiMi«  (.«  r»*hu%t    • 
■  n  komaa  natar 


dcr 

fttj 


'•".  there  is  a  I'i-inch  nif:-'-  •• 

I  which  is  a  cross  with   . 
'    the    water   column,   a    it  iii>  n 


•  •-.iler 
line 

1 1  tic     to 


a  whistle  and  a  I'j-inch  line  acro«t  to 
'  "•  r  .-I.  which  i«  exiimli'l  i-  i- •  !  .» 
.  well  pump,  a  iMiiKr  i.«.I  j.  :  .  ! 
i*n  injector.  It  will  not  i>e  li.ir<l  to 
imagine  how  the  water  arts  in  the  gl'** 
on  IhiiIt  n  when  the  l><>iler  feed  and 
deep  well  pump*  are  running. 

With    the    boiler-feed     pump     on.    the 

^   •t   in    the   glass    would   shfnr   J  or   J 

'-«   higher    than    in     the    Ixtiler.     and 

wnrn  the  deep- well  piunp  w  >  *  the 

water  would  ri^e  aJx.ut    <, 

It  is  n«»t  nece«»ary   I"  »i\ 
V>tlrr  was  put   in   «rr\iir   ii    •• 

re  the  water  column  tm  butter  ti  was 


y.,ShU.MUn» 

Tf.r     J....krl»     / 

.     »     i   .".!    . 

wii 

or  1m   k 

As  the 

■iim    (»(u(icU( 

Wnm   I   ftrti  caiw  to  Kcw  Y«rtl  I  «■» 

toM  hy  a   iinplj llM  I  <««y  ■§««* 

do  bttMne**  here  wiUnsM  grail.  am4  ikM 
km  r*rry  deal  hr  fg**^'*^  ««t  a  rrnaf  saas 
was  mriaded  <  wig— if  m 

mechansc  wl^  m  iW  traaw 

^      . ,       action.    After  morr  Omm  mar  y««rs  I  am 

•iJI   alilr   Ik  tM*   m«    IWr*    *r.!   Ki . «    -.      >n 


t  llr,! 


I     rviiaiw      1     ri.t 

tkat   of    WT 


kmm    ««l    I 


»•»««  rm^ 


as  I 

T 
sh. 
am! 
in 
btidicti. 

Milwanhee.  Wis. 


«  MM*  f^ 


New  Vt^k  LM9. 


846 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  II,  1909. 


Finding    Capacity  of    Tank    in 
Gallons 


Recently  there  appeared  a  short  rule 
for  finding  the  capacity  of  a  tank  in  gal- 
lons, as  follows:  "Multiply  the  square 
of  the  diameter  in  feet  by  half  the  length 
in  inches."  This  was  followed  by  the  re- 
mark that  the  result  is  about  3  per  cent. 
too  lozi.:  This  rule-of-thumb.  while  con- 
cise and  simple,  gives  the  result  about  2 
per  cent,   too  high. 

The  rule  is  evidently  found  as  follows : 
Let  D  equal  the  diameter  of  the  tank 
in  feet  and  L  its  length  in  inches;  then  its 
volume  in  cubic  inches  is 


Taking 


-^  144  D*  L. 
4 


21 


and  dividing  by  231.  the  number  of  cubic 
inches  in  a  gallon,  we  have :  Capacity  in 
gallons  equals 


22  X  T44  D*  L 
7  X  4  X  231 


=  D^mL). 


The  enunciation  of  the  rule  is  then  ap- 
parent from  the  formula,  since 


?5 


L 


is  almost  one-half  the  length.  But  if  we 
use  one-half  instead  of  f^,  we  get  a  value 
larger  than  the  true  result  by 


ij  D*  L,  or  5\ 


(^^)- 


That  is,  the  result  as  calculated  is  2  per 
cent,  too  large.  Thus  a  tank  4  feet  in 
diameter,  length  18  inches,  holds  by  actual 
calculation    141    gallons.      The    rule    gives 

4  X  4  X  9  =  144  gallons, 

and  if  2  per  cent,  of  this,  or  2.88  gallons, 
is  taken  off  we  have  141. 12  gallons,  the 
correct  result. 

This  may  appear  to  be  a  small  item,  but 
its  chief  trouble  is  that  the  rule  as  given 
made  the  result  appear  to  lean  toward  the 
safe  side,  when  in  fact  it  does  not.  It 
might  be  assumed  in  some  case  coming 
up  that  the  3  per  cent,  would  be  a*  safe 
margin  of  allowance  and  lead  to  error. 
W.  L.  Benitz. 

Notre  Dame,  Ind. 


Piping  a  Steam  Box 

A  steam  box  used  for  steaming  yarn  in 
a  woolen  mill  was  a  continuous  source  of 
trouble,  wherefore  the  following  changes 
and  improvements  were  made : 

Whenever  the  door  A  of  the  box  was 
opened,  a  cloud  of  steam  would  escape 
into  the  room,  condensing  on  the  machin- 
ery and  rusting  it.  This  was  remedied  by 
putting  a  hood  B  over  the  box,  with  an 
outlet  through  the  roof.    A  slide  in  the  top 


of  the  bo.x  allows  the  steam  to  escape 
through  the  hood  before  the  door  is 
opened. 

Although  the  door  was  made  of  2-inch 
cypress  planks,  two  heavy  iron  hooks  are 
required  to  keep  it  from  warping.  They 
are  made  in  such  a  way  that  the  attendant 
can  open  the  box  without  being  burned. 
A  valve  is  required  for  the  live-steam  inlet 
at  C.  The  heavy  galvanized-iron  pans  D 
rusted  through  in  a  few  weeks,  so  we 
made  one  of  No.  28  gage  copper  with*  a 
brass  floor  flange  sweated  on  the  bot- 
tom for  the  waste-pipe  connection.  This 
pan  was  lined  with  i  inch  of  concrete, 
with  a  piece  of  heavy-wire  screen  to  keep 


Air  Pumps 


PIPING    A    STEAM     BOX 

the   cement    from   cracking.      Four   bricks 
were  used  to  support  the  box. 

Originally  tlic  i-inch  waste  pipe  was 
connected  by  45-degree  ells.  This  pipe 
frequently  choked  with  rust  and  dirt,  and 
it  was  changed  to  ij^-inch  galvanized  pipe, 
connected  by  }'-branchcs.  Now  the  pipe 
can  be  cleaned  out  by  simply  removing  th^ 
plugs  and  using  an  iron  rod.  The  pipe  F 
was  outside  of  the  building,  and  frequently 
froze  in  winter.  This  was  remedied  by  a 
bushed  coupling  at  G,  with  a  small  pipe 
going  through  and  projecting  at  F.  A 
cup  of  hot  water  poured  into  the  coupling 
G  melts  the  ice,  and  the  accumulated  wa- 
ter comes  down  with  a  rush. 

Charles  Haeusser. 

Albany,  N.  Y. 


One  apparent  assumption  has  been,  and 
still  obtains,  that  for  a  given  vacuum  a 
certain  air-pump  capacity  is  necessary, 
without  considering  in  the  least  the  proba- 
ble variations  due  to  the  temperatures 
and  quantities  of  circulating  water.  The 
capacity  is  usually  taken  as  cubic  feet  per 
pound  of  steam  condensed.  The  practice 
that  a  larger  air-pump  capacity  is  neces- 
sary as  the  vacuum  is  increased  has  some 
truth  in  it,  provided  the  conditions  are 
identical,  but  conditions  are  the  ruling 
factors. 

Consider  the  varying  conditions  possible 
under  which  an  air  pump  may  have  to 
work :  The  condensed  steam  may  be  of 
low  temperature  or  approaching  the  vac- 
uum temperature,  the  circulating-water 
inlet  may  be  abnormally  cold  or  very  lit- 
tle rise  may  take  place,  while  the  amount 
of  air  present  may  be  excessive,  or  it  may 
be  practically  air  free,  and  after  this  all 
kinds  of  artificial  conditions  may  be 
created.  Another  thing  of  very  great  im- 
portance is  the  degree  of  completion  of 
condensation  reached  by  the  steam. 

Treating  first  the  influence  of  the  tem- 
perature of  the  condensed  steam,  the  most 
casual  student  appreciates  the  fact  that 
the  capacity  of  the  pump  is  increased  if 
the  temperature  of  the  mixture  of  vapor 
and  water  entering  the  pump  is  low.  An- 
other and  probably  greater  influence  of 
this  cold  water  is  that  of  producing  on  the 
top  side  of  the  bucket  a  vacuum  differing 
from  the  condenser  by  a  greater  amount 
than  if  hotter  water  were  there.  This  re- 
duction in  temperature  can  be  overdone. 

Another  great  advantage  gained  by  the 
large  differences  of  pressure  at  the  top  of 
the  bucket  and  condenser  is  the  resulting 
flow  of  the  air  and  vapor  which  has  a  very 
marked  effect  upon  the  results  obtained. 
With  hot  water  approaching  temperature 
due  to  vacuum,  the  vapors  also  have  a 
higher  temperature,  thus  weight  for 
weight  these  have  a  gi-eater  volume  than 
cold  ones,  comparatively  reducing  the 
volumetric  capacity.  It  is  possible  to  get 
water  so  hot  as  to  cause  any  capacity  of 
air  pump  per  pound  of  steam  to  be  too 
small ;  the  vacuum  difference  between  the 
top  and  bottom  of  the  bucket  being  very 
small,  little  flow  takes  place. 

In  the  case  of  incomplete  condensation 
a  different  state  of  affairs  exists,  and  is 
due  entirely  to  an  overloading  of  the  con- 
denser or  a  shortage  of  circulating  water. 
The  effects  are  soon  evident  as,  assuming 
the  water  passing  to  the  air  pump  to  be 
cold  compared  with  the  temperature  of 
saturated  steam  at  the  vacuum  obtaining, 
it  is  discharged  so  much  hotter  that  the 
temperature  of  tlic  water  leaving  is  as 
high  as  that  of  saturated  steam  at  the 
condenser  pressure,  or  even  slightly 
higher.  Under  these  conditions  the  vac- 
uum will  gradually  fall  off  until  the  con- 


May  II,  1909. 

denser   predominates,  or   in   other  words 
creates  a  point  of  equilibrium. 

Cause  and  effect  here  are  not  hard  to 
trace  and  locate.  In  this  case  the  falling 
off  is  due  to  a  large  percentage  of  water 
vapor,  which  retains  its  latent  heat  and. 
being  present  in  the  air-pump  suction 
pipe,  gains  access  to  the  pump.  The  con- 
densed steam  takes  up  the  latent  heat  of 
this  vap<^jr  on  the  discharge  or  compres- 
sion stroke  of  the  pump.  Thus,  a  loss  of 
possible  vacuum  takes  place  from  several 
causes  under  conditions  such  as  the  tem- 
perature of  the  air-pump  suction  pipe,  the 
capacity  requisite  to  deal  with  the  gases 
and  the  tem|H.-rature  of  the  vajxir  en  the 
vacuum- forming   side  of  the  bucket. 

The   cases   dealing   with    the   air    which 
causes  a  breakdown  in  a  condenser  have 
already  had  considerable  attention  drawn 
to  them  by  Professor    Weighton.    D.     B. 
Morison  and  Professor  Josse,  but  it  must 
not  be  forgotten  that  the  quantity  of  air 
•k'    into  a   con«lenscr   is   not   nearly   as 
;nental  as   the  quantity  left  in.     The 
iiiixture    of    air    an<l    vapor    can    only    In- 
withdrawn  when  the  temiK-raturex  obt.tjn 
ing  corresjMMKl  to  the  mixture  at  the  vari- 
ous vacua  and  when   the  inducing  action 
is  such  as  to  avoid  all  air-pocketing  effects. 
But  these  temperatures  are  not  necessarily 
the  rules  of  the  situation,  as  prnbably  in 
\    cases  they  are  the  sequence  of  the 
■'s  rarefying  capabiliMcs. 
Instances  do  occur    when    the    pump's 
erip.Tcity  and   temperatures   are   such   that 
.1  very  increased  quantity  of  air  the 
apparent  difference  is  the  power  re- 
1   to   work   the  pump:   this   indicates 

imder  these  conditions  the  pump  has 

a  i>ercentagc  of  its  capacity  to  spare. 

("1.  H    Robin s/)N. 
rtlep*»ol,  Fngland. 


What  Ails  the  Diagrarw) 

«•  accompanying  diagrams  are  fron 
Harrisburg  four-valve  engine      .\  number 


POWER  AND  THE  ENCrNEER. 

An  Oddlv  Set  BoUcr 


Kaoamt  m  Bolm 


The    pcciiltir    c 
ollen  hr  iir%iM-<|  n  -.      ,         . 

'   me  aa»  oi  »  hmi 
i  only  aw  Mmmm«  „,..,.,.,„  «. 
thing  inuM  to  be  dcHrcd.  Of  vbcTv  Uw    ckctfk  t^m  with.    W«  k*4  «  mm  itei 


4       lJLj..^I;| 


Aji  oaoLT  us  mtUMM 

work  must  be  aibpte*!  to  adverse  condi-     » lut.IU.l   t»*rt!»    «A.r.    ,-. -,,^     ■ 
lions    in    the    shape    of    narrow    and    re- 
stricted   qu.irtrr,     insufficient    '••-'•I    ».-.... 


etc.,  are  • 
sketch.  «Imv  •• 
to  in  setting  t 
return-tui 
niiifht  Itr 


I  in  the  .1 

■'■-     inetli-HI     rr»     -r.; 

fur  a  h<)ri/<Miul 


tlw;  UikcUKtU  s*i  Mi 


uuj  and   ibc    butki    kc{i( 


in  ail 
forms  to 
of  the   t)pe   in  qu< 

exigencies  of  the  j.-. -..-. 

the    furnace  cftMswiac   of   the  b 
•howa 

Another  obiectionabic  feature  of  the 


iwtkc*  iW  i%A»  wl  dcAUUig  like  tube*  ^f*      bwm 


an.) 


B.r.ii    m 


to  what  u  the  f 
Lvlrlphia.    Pmn 


848 


POWER  AXD  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  II,  1909. 


will  not  attempt  to  say  that  it  will  not, 
but  I  will  say  that  I  never  had  any  trou- 
ble from  it.  Even  if  it  did  do  so,  I 
should  have  said  that  the  oil  did  a  good 
job.  While  I  do  not  belong  to  the  oil 
trust,  I  am  booming  kerosene  for  boiler 
scale  in  some  cases. 

E.  A.  Young. 
Isabella.  Tenn. 


Bridgewalls     in    Theory    and 
Practice 


Mr.  Wakeman's  Fig.  i  is  unquestionably 
wrong,  as  the  wall  is  too  close  to  the  shell 
of  the  boiler.  Fig.  2  is  worse,  as  it  would 
undoubtedl}-,  in  addition  to  choking  the 
draft,  fill  to  a  considerable  extent  the 
combustion  space  back  of  the  bridgewall. 
But  the  engineer  referred  to  was  certainly 
right  in  his  theory,  his  error  in  Fig.  i 
being  in  too  small  a  space  between  wall 
and  -shell  which  should  be  8  inches  in- 
stead of  31^  inches. 

Mr.  Wakeman  says,  in  effect,  that  the 
bridgewall  is  only  a  barrier  to  prevent 
firing  coal  too  far  back.  In  his  case  and 
in  many  others  he  is  certainly  right,  but 
he  fails  to  recognize  that  it  is  also  pos- 
sible, if  properly  done,  to  make  it  a  great 
aid  to  combustion,  especially  in  burning 
the  gas  from  "soft"  coal.  It  is  also  true, 
but  to  a  less  extent,  in  burning  "hard" 
coal. 


I.  J.  Babcock. 


Chicago,  111. 


Exhaust  Steam  for  Heating 

On  the  editorial  page  of  the  March  23 
number  is  an  article  on  the  use  of  ex- 
haust steam  for  heating.  The  trouble 
with  this  idea  is  that  judgment  is  not 
always  used.  While  it  is  well  known  that 
if  all  the  steam  that  a  simple  and  cheap 
engine  will  exhaust  can  be  used  for  heat- 
ing purposes,  there  are  cases  where  it  re- 
quires some  foresight  in  order  to  use  it 
economically. 

One  of  these  cases  is  the  heating  of 
buildings  through  about  six  months  of  the 
year.  That  may  require  all  the  steam, 
and  during  a  large  part  of  the  remaining 
time  exhaust  will  be  going  to  waste. 
Should  the  engine  be  large  enough  to  run 
noncondensing  for  the  winter,  it  will  be 
too  large  for  summer,  when  running  con- 
densing. 

.■\nother  point  has  come  under  my 
f)bser\'ation.  A  mill  has  water  and  steam 
power.  They  have  the  idea  that  as  long 
as  the  steam  is  used  for  heating  it  costs 
nothing  for  power  and  so  they  do  not  run 
their  wheel  in  winter,  but  do  all  their 
work  with  the  engine,  and  on  warm  days 
a  great  deal  of  exhaust  goes  to  waste. 

Whether  there  is  saving  or  loss  by  this 
proceeding  is  not  known,  as  they  keep  no 
record  of  coal  burned  and  only  know  that 
at  the  end  of  the  year  a  certain  amount 
of  money  has  been  paid  for  coal,  but  as 


they  have  been  told  that  exhaust  costs 
nothing  for  heating"  they  carry  out  the 
practice  stated. 

Another  case  is  of  a  concern  that  put  in 
a  condensing  engine  18  and  36  by  42,  run- 
ning at  120  revolutions.  For  some  rea- 
son the  exhaust  from  this  engine  is  12 
inches  in  diameter. 

With  a  vacuum  of  28  inches  in  the  ex- 
haust pipe,  and  that  pipe  being  just  per- 
ceptibly warm  to  the  hand,  at  450  horse- 
power there  is  but  10  pounds  vacuum  in 
the  cylinder,  and  at  500  horsepower  but 
9  pounds.  What  it  will  be  when  the  en- 
gine gets  its  load  of  650  horsepower  re- 
mains, to  be  seen.  The  ports  of  the  en- 
gine are  about  right  for  75  revolutions. 

In  the  vicinity  is  an  engine  16  and  30  by 
42,  running  at  100  revolutions,  with  a 
12-inch  exhaust.  The  exhaust  is  used  for 
heating  in  winter  and  works  well.  This 
engine  never  has  had  a  condenser. 

The  first-named  concern  has  been  ad- 
vised to  expend  about  $3000  to  change  its 


the  engine,  and  the  probability  is  that 
these  advisers  will  some  time  succeed  in 
getting  this  concern  to  go  to  all  this  ex- 
pense, because  the  advisers  have  not  the 
judgment  to  see  that  there  are  limitations 
to  all  rules. 

W.  E.  Crane. 
Broadalbin,  N.  Y. 


Draining  a  Main  Steam  Pipe 


In  a  certain  power  plant  in  which  six 
water-tube  boilers  are  being  installed,  it 
is  proposed  to  dispose  of  the  water  of 
condensation  from  the  main  steam  header 
in  a  manner  which  appears  to  be  a  some- 
what novel  departure  from  the  conven- 
tional practice.  Each  boiler  is  to  be  con- 
nected to  the  header  by  means  of  a  long 
sweep  bend  and  horizontal  lead,  as  shown 
in  the  accompanying  illustration.  It  is 
designed  to  tap  the  tees,  to  which  the 
leads    from    the   boilers    will    be    coupled. 


Globe 
Valve 


DRAINING  A   MAIN   STEAM    HEADER 


piping  so  as  to  use  the  exhaust  in  win- 
ter, with  the  single  idea  that  it  is 
cheaper  to  run  noncondensing  when  it  is 
possible  to  use  the  exhaust  for  heating, 
and  reference  is  made  to  the  second- 
named  concern  as  using  a  compound  en- 
gine for  heating  the  shop. 

Now  the  second  engine  having  a  30x42 
cylinder  and  a  piston  displacement  of  700 
feet  per  minute  will  give  3430  cubic  feet 
of  steam  into  the  12-inch  exhaust  per 
minute.  The  first  engine,  with  36x42 
cylinder  and  piston  displacement  of  840 
feet  per  minute,  will  give  5938  cubic  feet 
per  minute  into  the  12-inch  exhaust  pipe. 
The  first  engine  is  all  choked  up,  and 
when  the  condenser  is  off,  it  requires 
more  extra  coal  than  is  required  to  heat 
the  factory;  and  should  the  resistance  of 
piping  for  using  the  exhaust  be  added, 
when  the  full  load  is  put  on  the  engine 
it  would  require  new  boilers  to  carry  a 
higher   pressure  to  get   the  work  out  of 


for  i!4-ii''ch  pipe  connections,  by  which- 
it  is  intended  the  water  of  condensation 
shall  be  carried  to  a  2-inch  main  drain 
pipe  of  the  same  length  as  the  header,  and 
running  parallel  thereto.  This  drain  pipe 
is,  in  turn,  expected  to  discharge  a  por- 
tion of  its  contents  into  the  steam  space 
of  each  boiler  in  service,  through  a  i^- 
inch  branch  pipe  connecting  to  the  drum 
of  the  boiler,  on  top  and  close  to  the  back 
head ;  each  branch  being  furnished  with  a 
horizontal  check  valve  and  globe  valve 
as  shown. 

Water  accumulating  above  the  check 
valve  to  the  hight  of  the  main  drain  pipe 
will  have  a  head  of  about  20  inches,  and 
it  is  expected  that  the  pressure,  due  to- 
this  head,  will  be  sufficient  to  compensate 
for  whatever  disparity  may  exist  between 
the  steam  pressure  in  the  drum  and  the 
steam  pressure  in  the  header. 

A.  J.  Dixon. 

Chicago,  111. 


May  1 1.  IQOO 

Cause  of  Elngine  Wreck 


After  reading  tht-  anicic  in  the  March 
23     number,   on     "A     Cause     of     Kii^;ii  c 
Wreck,"  by  W.  EL  Crane,  I  should  like  lo 
ask  if,  in  running  a  Corliss  engine  with 
momentarily  heavy  loads  and  then  ha\inK 
all    the    load    suddenly    thrown    oflF.    there 
would  not  be  a  checking  in  tli. 
tngine    l>efore    the    goMrn.ir 
frc^m  its  highest  plane  to  the  puti:' 
the    intake    valves    would    again    ■  ; 
admit  steam? 

This  has  been  my  experience,  and  1  fiml 
a  Corliss  engine  to  be  much  steadier  and 
still  not  get  enough  steam  to  produce  mo- 
tion   on    no    load,    with    about    l/16-inch 
•    opening  for  small-  or  medium-Mzed 
,cs. 

I  he  governor  being  blocked  to  its  high- 
est position  on  a  Murray-Corliss  engine 
with  which  these  tests  were  made,  the 
cam  rods  would,  of  course,  be  adjuste<l  in 
reverse  of  the  one  spoken  of  in  Mr. 
Crane's  article,  on  account  of  the  in»idc 
opening  of  the  steam  valves. 

I.EKov   H.  Wheat 

Redtield.  S    O 


The  \'alve  Leaked 


The  accompanying  diagrams  were  i.ikrn 

ff'-ni    a    I4*i    an«l    2^   by    i(>-;nch    tandem 

■unci    engine    direct -connected    to    a 

ilowatt  i50-volt  three-wire  generator, 

ned  to  operate  at  J50  revolutions  per 

, iite. 

When  the  diagrams  were  taken  the  gen 

^-  ■   r  was  running  as  a  two- wire  nwclunc 

cted  to  the  outsi«le  busbars.    The  en 

.vas  govcniecl  by  a  singl<  '  "    ''^ft 

riir>r    attached    to    the  'Wf 

•    only.     The  low-pressure    \.ilvc    was 

.  ctc<l  to  an  eccentric  on  the  inside  hub 

■•  wheel,  having  the  same  tr.i\<!  at  all 

!*.     The   engine   and   generator    were 

rw,  nor  were  they  designe«l  to  opcr- 

•gether.  but   were  purchased  to  help 

the  fall  anil  winter  peak  load*.    The 

ic    was    first    sold    for    a    con«!rn«ing 

and  when  first   starteil  ui>  tli.    »t>crd 

1  drop  way  down    v 

'd.     The   speed   w.i 

Unions    per    minute    at    »■»    l"^'l    ••'   • 

i<l  cirop  to  jyt  with  a  small  In'      ' '•  • 

exhaust   was  pipe<l  to  the  at 

•  >"   >uual  treatment  of  lakiiit: 

A  eight  and  tension  lo  the  spring*  was 

tr...|.  as  well  as  new  leaves  in  the  spring. 

but    "nothing    doing."      A    new    spring   of 
irr  leaves  was  put  in  in:' 
and  a  strip  of  iron   '  '.  1 

ruried    to    the    rxf  "(    •.!;! 

prr»«ure  valve,  an-!  -ttnr  ■"' 

a  bRbf  load  the  recrivr' 

a  vacuum  until  the  anit? 

pere«.    The  diagram,  shown  in  I   . 

•■■"■n  taken. 

■  iween  the  high-  and  |ow-prr««"r«-  • 


I1)\\  ER  AND  THE  EN(;i.\EER. 
«  there  «ra«  a  bra^ 


An  liitgme  Accnicnl 


lea  can  be  had  of  bow 


>Ace   ui 
'he  (Ita- 
o.     By 
.      :  and  J     „  ,.  ,,„        .^,  ,, 
mnrb  Mesas     ha»,    softrwni    arr 


«J         HI  ■^r    rj  Ji'* 

4r    am    tht    kmikp- 


fIG.    i 


up  the   r  .  «e 

time  on  the  start. 

N'ext    we    adjustr.l     the     hii-ti  prr««in'«' 
valve,  which  was  « 


I  ifMiera]  ?•    " 
know   that 


it,f 


u-h  ih 


'ar  wtMctt 


a%    wnuld 


t   Uw 


4 

I. 


l! 


lUt 


•»»g      TM»- 


the  unit  wa» 


.!.u4> 


!•  tk* 


850 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGINEER. 


May  II,  1909. 


Small  Steam  Turbines* 


5y  George  A.  Orrok 


The  papers  upon  steam  turbines  which 
have  been  presented  before  the  society 
have  dealt  with  the  larger  types  of  ap- 
paratus and  have  been  written  to  show 
the  reliability,  efficiencj'  and  general 
desirabiiity  of   tliis   type  of  prime  mover. 


pulse  type ;  that  is  to  say,  the  steam  is  ex- 
panded in  a  nozzle  and  the  kinetic  energy 
of  the  jet  is  absorbed  by  passing  one  or 
more  times  through  the  buckets  of  the 
turbine  rotor.  In  the  De  Laval  turbine 
only  one  moving  element  and  one  steam 
pass  are  used,  which  necessitates  a  very 
high  bucket  velocity.  In  the  Terry,  Sturte- 
vant,  Bliss  and  Dake  turbines  a  series  of 
return  passages  are  provided.     The  steam 


generally  introduced  in  the  last  few  years 
and  it  is  becoming  usual  to  connect  small 
turbines  direct  to  these  machines.  The 
small  space  required  and  the  simplicity 
obtainable  in  a  lOO-horsepower  turbine  at 
speeds  of  from  800  to  1200  revolutions  per 
minute  have  been  important  factors  in 
their  introduction. 

The  first  of  the  small  turbines  to  be  put 
on  the  market  was  the  De  Laval,  made  by 


FJG.     6.     STURTEV.XXT    STEAM    TURHINE,    30-I.\CH 


I.     HIGH-   AND   LOW-PRESSURE    DE   LAVAL    TURBINE 


This  paper  treats  of  the  smaller  sizes 
of  steam  turbine  from  the  standpoint  of 
the  designing  and  operating  engineer,  de- 
scribing the  commercial  machines  in  suffi- 
cient detail,  with  reference  to  the  service 
to  which  they  have  been  applied,  and  giv- 
ing certain  facts  concerning  their  opera- 
tion which  may  be  of  advantage  to  the 
engineering  profession.  Curves  of  steam 
consumption  are  given  which  show  in  a 
general  way  what  may  be  expected  of 
these  machines   under   certain  conditions. 

At  the  present  time  seven  machines 
are  on  the  market  and  can  be  ob- 
tained m  various  sizes  from  10  to  300 
horsepower  with  reasonable  deliveries. 
These  are  the  De  Laval,  Terry,  Sturtc- 
vant,  Bliss,  Dake,  Curtis  and  Kerr  tur- 
bines. Three  other  machines  are  nearly 
at  this  stage  of  development  and  patents 
have  been  applied  for  on  several  others. 

Many  thousand  horsepower  of  these 
turbines  have  been  sold  and  are  in  suc- 
cessful commercial  service.  The  follow- 
ing figures  as  to  sales  in  the  sizes  from 
10  to  300  horsepower  have  been  obtained 
from  the  manufacturers: 

De  Laval,       De  Laval  Steam  Turbine 

Company 70,000  li.i). 

Curtis,  flpneral  FCIectric 

Company 70,000  h.p. 

Terry,  Terry  Steam  Turbine 

Company 1.5,000  ti.p. 

Kerr.  Kerr  Turbine  Company..  10,000  li. p. 

Sturtevant,   B.  V.  Sturtevant 

Company 

Blis.s,  E.  W.  HIiss  Company. 

Dake,  Dake-American  Steam 

Turbine  Co 

All   of  these   machines   are   of   the   im- 


returns  two  or  more  times  to  the  same 
rotor  and  the  bucket  speed  is  much  lower. 
In  the  Kerr  turbine  the  steam  is  used  in 
stages  with  one  bucket  wheel  in  a  stage ; 
while  in  most  of  the  Curtis  machines  two 
or  three  stages  are  used  with  two  or  three 
rows  of  moving  buckets,  separated  by 
stationary   guide   blades,     in     each    stage. 


the  De  Laval  Turbine  Company,  of  Tren- 
ton, N.  J.,  and  introduced  in  this  coun- 
try about  1896.  This  machine  is  of  the 
pure  impulse  type ;  the  steam  being  ex- 
panded in  the  nozzle  down  to  the  ex- 
haust pressure,  and  the  resultant  velocity 
transferred  to  the  wheel  in  one  steam 
pass.      The    bucket    speed    is    quite    high, 


EIG.      2.      TEKKV    .STEA.M    TU'RIUNE,    36-INCH 


•Paper  prespnted  nt  thf>  spring  meeting  of 
the  .Xmerifjin  Surlfty  of  >r''<-hHnical  Engineers, 
Wasliington,  D.  C,  Mav  4-7.  1000. 


Compound  machines  of  the  other  types 
have  been  made,  but  are  not  as  yet  pro- 
duced commercially. 

By  far  the  larger  number  of  these  ma- 
chines are  used  in  connection  with  extra 
high-speed  electric  generators,  the  next 
application  being  to  centrifugal  fans  for 
high  pressures.  Centrifugal  pumps  adapted 
to  high  rotative  speeds  h^ve  been  rather 


ran:';ing  from  600  to  1300  feet  per  second. 
Eight  sizes  of  wheel  are  made,  generat- 
ing from  10  horsepower  to  500  horse- 
power, with  one  nozzle  in  the  smallest 
size  and  eight  or  more  in  the  500-horse- 
power  size. 

The  high  bucket  speed  necessitates  the 
use  of  gears  of  special  construction,  which 
have   been   very  successful.     The  design, 


May  II,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  EMjINKER. 


construction  and  economy  of  this  type 
have  been  discussed  in  Volume  2$  of 
Trausactions,  page   1056. 

The  Terry  turbine,  made  by  the  Terry 
Steam  Turbine  Comjiany.  of  llartfurd, 
Conn.,  has  been  manufacturcfl  for  about 
10    vc.'ir^.    .ilth<nii;!i    tlic    comniiTcial    ma- 


^£ ^      _, 


3.      TCKIIY     Tl'MBINE,     SMOWINb    COX- 
STBUCIION 


na  4.  lacniMiAL  new  m  rtmt  irmaxt 


ii\' 


t 


n 

i 

r 

^\ 

W{  \ 

r 

i  V 

, 

) 

\ 

!  1 
1 

1 

n-^ 

■4^  ■ 

'    ^  . 

-;■» 

^ 

I' 

!*&., 


vk.    c    « an 


•  t 


i 


-f~l : 


85^ 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  II,  1909. 


The  sizes  of  ulieel  manufactured  at  the 
present  time  are  12-,  18-,  24-,  36-  and  48- 
inch,  and  the  number  of  nozzles  varies 
from  two  on  the  12-inch  wheel  to  eight 
or  ten  on  the  48-inch  wheel. 

The  Sturtevant  turbine,  made  by  the 
B.  F.  Sturtevant  Company,  of  Hyde  Park, 
Mass.,  has  been  in  the  development  stage 
for  three  or  four  years  and  quite  a  num- 


Thc  Dakc  turbine,  made  by  the  Dake- 
American  Steam  Turbine  Company,  of 
Grand  Rapids,  Mich.,  is  a  single-stage 
impulse  turbine.  The  wheel  is  made  of 
two  bucket  disks,  with  milled  buckets  and 
inserted  partitions,  bolted  together  over  a 
wheel  center.  In  their  Headlight  turbine 
the  governor  is  inclosed  between  the  sides 
of  the  wheel.    The  nozzles  and  return  pas- 


te 300  kilowatts.  This  range  is  cov- 
ered by  eight  sizes,  the  smallest  ma- 
chines being  single-stage  with  two  or 
three  passes  per  stage.  The  buckets  and 
nozzles  are  of  the  well  known  Curtis  type. 
The  Kerr  turbine,  made  by  the  Kerr 
Turbine  Company,  of  Wellsvillc,  N.  Y., 
is  of  tiie  compound-impulse  type.  It  is 
generally    built    in     from     two     to     eight 


Jl^ 

isrl 

Htf'''^l!lMBP«aH^ 

FIG.     8.     BLISS    TURBINE,    30-INCH 


ber  of  machines  have  been  sold.  The 
present  type  of  turbine  may  be  called 
"standard,"  however,  and  four  sizes  of 
wheel  are  built,  20-,  25-,  30-  and  36-inch, 
developing  from  3  to  300  horsepower. 
The  turbine  is  of  the  multiple-pass  type 
similar  to  the  Ricdler-Stumpf.  The  cas- 
ing is  cast  solid  with  one  end.  The  noz- 
zle and  return-chamber  fing  are  inserted 
from  one  side  and'  the  wheel  is  milled 
from  the  solid.  The  return  passages  are 
from  eight  to  twelve  in  number  and  are 
milled  on  the  inside  of  the  return-cham- 
ber ring.  They  are  partitioned  and  are 
similar  in  shape  to  the  buckets.  The  noz- 
zle lies  in  the  plane  of  the  side  of  the 
•wheel. 

The  Bliss  turbine,  formerly  known  as 
the  American,  made  by  the  E.  W.  Bliss 
Company,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  is  of  the 
same  type  as  the  Terry  and  Sturtevant 
and  has  been  on  the  market  only  a  few 
months.  The  casing  and  steam  chamber 
are  cast  solid  with  one  side  and  the  noz- 
zle and  return  chambers  bolted  in.  The 
wheel  is  milled  from  a  steel  casting,  or 
forging  in  the  smaller  sizes,  and  the  par- 
titions separating  the  buckets  are  inserted 
and  held  in  place  by  three  bands  of  steel 
shrunk  on  the  face  of  the  wheel.  The  re- 
turn passages  are  peculiar  in  having  no 
partitions.  Two  sizes  of  wheel  have  been 
built,  the  42-inch  and  30-inch,  but  de- 
signs have  been  developed  for  the  12-, 
18-,  24-,  36-,  48-  and  60-inch,  covering 
powers  from  10  horsepower  to  above  600 
horsepower. 


FIG.     9.      D.\KE    TURBINE,    24-INCH 


FIG.     10.       ni.ISS    TURBINE    PARTS 


sages  are  placed  between  the  bucket  disks. 
The  machine  is  built  in  sizes  of  from  5 
to  100  horsepower,  the  diameter  of  the 
smallest  wheel  being  12  inches. 

Coincident  with  the  development  of  the 
large  Curtis  turbines,  the  General  Elec- 
tric Company,  at  its  Lynn  works,  has  de- 
veloped and  placed  on  the  market  a  line 
of  small  generating  sets   ranging  from  5 


stages.  The  buckets  are  of  the  double 
Pclton  type,  inserted  like  saw  teeth  in  the 
wheel  disk.  Four  sizes  of  wheel,  12-,  18-, 
24-  and  36-inch,  are  made  and  cover  a 
range  of  from  10  to  300  horsepower.  The 
nozzles  are  in  the  plane  of  revolution  of 
the  wheel  and  are  screwed  into  the  stage 
partitions  and  held  in  place  by  a  lock  nut. 
As  in   large   turbines,  details   of   these 


May  II.  1909. 


POWER  AXD  THE  ENGINEER. 


•a 


"•       13.    cirirTis  Tt'UiKK.  50-Ha«»«n»wE« 

.10    which    r  '  **' 

'  w  thr  *kill    I 
u:   :l>c  lit  «ii{Mcr.  nii'l  ft' 
Inn   may    I*    «mi|vc<I   in 
wril  illtiMraIrd  by  the  tcclionft  Ik  re  rcpfu 
dtirH. 


DtsmimnN  or  Dttaim 
•sslfs.     The  divcrginK  v>"-l-   >'  " 

!••.   .ill  makrrt  cxcrjM   K' " 

»pcr«l  whcrl  require*  .-« 

In  the  Dr  I  j%-al.  Smrtr. 

bine*   thr  no»flc*   arc 

»rat«:  th.1t  of  the  Trrr\    l^ 

hy  a  bolt.     The    n---''--       ' 

Dake  awl   Hli»*  t 

..f   the    %n||i|       '\\\r 

\\   machine   whKh   have   been   i»"« 


','.1 


m 

1 

r^^ 

il 

1 

'         .1        'i 

J 

; 

/,  -^11 


no.  t% 


,m%nmwm*U9»- 


m  ■»***'   -  •• 


S54 


POWER  AXD  THE  ENGINEER. 


Maj-  II,  1909. 


the  market  lately  have  a  large  number  of 
reamed  nozzles  instead  of  the  older  con- 
struction. 

Buckets.  The  constructions  employed 
in  the  Curtis  and  De  Laval  wheels  are 
well  known  and  have  been  described 
many  times.  The  Terrj-,  Dake,  Bliss  and 
Sturtevant  buckets  are  practically  semi- 
circular in  form.  The  Terry  bucket  is 
constructed  entirely  of  steel  punchings 
assembled  between  grooves  in  the  two 
steel  disks  forming  the  sides  of  the  wheel. 
The  Sturtevant  wheel  is  milled  out  of  a 
steel  casting.  The  Bliss  buckets  are  milled 
out,  but  the  partitions  are  inserted  and 
held  in  place  and  steel  rings  are  shrunk 
on.  The  Dake  buckets  are  turned  out  of 
the  solid,  the  recesses  for  the  partitions 
milled  out  and  the  partitions  inserted ;  the 
wheel  is  then  bolted  together.  The  Kerr 
buckets  are  very  similar  to  the  original 
Pelton  buckets  and  are  inserted  in '  the 
wheel  in  a  manner  similar  to  the  De  Laval 
buckets. 


FIG.     14.     CURTIS    TURBINE  IN  PROCESS  OF  ASSEMBLING 


riG.    16.     CURTIS    TURBINE,   200-HOK.SEl'OWER 


vant,  Bliss,  Dake  and  Kerr  use  a  flyball 
governor  on  the  shaft  end,  which  actu- 
ates the  throttle  valve  through  a  system 
of  levers.  Curtis  uses  the  flyball  governor 
on  the  shaft  for  small  sizes  and  slower- 
speed  spring-controlled  governors  of  dif- 
ferent forms  for  the  larger  sizes.  The 
Sturtevant,  Bliss  and  Curtis  machines  are 
provided  with  an  emergency-stop  governor 
as  well  as  the  throttling  governor. 

Clauds.  For  noncondensing  machines 
glands  are  not  troublesome,  as  the  differ- 
ence of  pressure  between  the  casing  and 
atmosphere  is  rarely  more  than  a  few 
pounds.  Terry  uses  a  bronze  ball-and- 
socket  gland  with  a  long  loose  fit  on  the 
shaft. .  Sturtevant  and  Dake  use  a  set  of 
ring  packing,  either  cast  iron  or  bronze. 
Bliss  has  a  labyrinth  packing  without 
contact.  Kerr  has  a  floating  bronze  bush 
with  soft  packing  behind  it.  Curtis  uses 
a  metallic  packing  held  in  place  by  a 
gland  ring,  and  for  condensing  service  a 
carbon-ring  packing,  steam-sealed. 


Return  Chambers.  The  Sturtevant  re- 
turns are  milled  out  of  the  solid  ring. 
Bliss  casts  them  in  the  nozzle  piece  and 
finishes  them  by  hand ;  Terry  casts  each 
one  separately,  finishes  by  hand  and 
assembles  with  bolts;  Dake  casts  the  re- 
turn chambers  solid,  mills  the  passages 
and  covers  them  with  a  shrouding. 

Wheel  Centers.  De  Laval,  Curtis, 
Sturtevant  and  Bliss  make  the  wheel  cen- 
ters of  steel  castings  or  forgings  in- 
tegral with  the  wheel.  Terry  uses  a  steel 
casting,  but  bolts  the  wheel  disk  to  it. 
Kerr  uses  a  screwed  coupling,  the  inner 
part  cut  in  three  pieces  and  keyed  to  the 
shaft  with  round  keys,  clamping  the  wheel 
disk.  Dake's  wheel  centers  are  an  integral 
part  of  the  wheel  in  small  sizes,  but  in  the 
larger  machines  are  steel  castings,  in  some 
cases  a  part  of  the  shaft. 

Governors.       De  Laval,    Terry,    Sturte- 


p^.^^. 


FIG.     17.     REVOLVING  ELEMENT   OF  CURTIS  TURBINE  IN   BEARINGS 


May  II,  1909. 


POWER  AND  T!IE  ENGINEER. 


riG.    18. 


DIAGRAMS  or  CUETIS   TUKBl  XtS     JOrVIIOftSCnm  U    AJiD   CO- ll(m«KniMt»' 


TW 

.4    >. 


.«c4r»  «ithoai  Ml  m^rhmutmf 
inc»  nml  be  knfct^  «(• 
hraitoK  ukc*  piKc  ami 
rjrrjias  Uv  od  lo  tW  tteh.      Ik* 
iing    fthoald    be    -ti-imii1 
tone  to  nakr  mtt  dui  so  tkrvM  m 
muntcsicvl  thrnaati  il  to  tW  1 
iknr   prmolMM   a   tkrrc 
itnooo*  nut  it  cvmbbhhi  and  a 
tnrbinn  karr  to  oiy  kaoalr^  rmm 
than  18  moollH  ««Ihmm  a  cxm 
tbrin  for  omiommk*.     Af^^ttmOf 
it  no  »c«r  in  noakx  bwltrtt  aor 
.  himh»»»    tk»  .^u  ,.,f.m|  part* 


»r< 

rmt  M 


Widi 


arr  ikr 


no      19.     KLKk   TtiUdNe    li^lKLU 


riU   Ja      CoMrtBTB  MTATIKi.  t%mt  or   iI^IKvM   7-tTiMB 


Clearance.     In  none  nf  ihcftr  machines     thraci  one  way  or  the  other.    This  ihrvct     baftrfac*   aad 

\%  clearance    an    important     factor.     The  "     •-' —   >  •      — ••   •'^-»»t     port** • 

clearance  between  buckets  and  miiile  pas-  ,-*  T> 

•  on  a  Z4-inch  wheel  U 
"^  .l^.W  inch   when   hot 
riil.liinR  w  pr.i  •  known. 

Thrust.     Tl:.  .  there  thould  be 

no  thriMt    in  any  tiirlune  of  the«e  lypet. 
Pr.ictic.illv,   tlicre    i«   a1w:iv%    .1    verv    »mall 


f 


cfLkukU  (fi    AA    c»«s 


*■  >ff  iw  •»  «»     1  ' 


« 


ria   2\    fMcrtoHs' 


856 


i^OWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  II,  1909. 


and  20O-Iiorscpo\ver  sizes.  These  curves 
represent  the  average  of  a  large  num- 
ber of  tests  and  have  been  corrected 
to  bring  them  to  standard  conditions. 
The  averages  were  consistent,  and  the 
variation  from  the  average  in  any  case 
was  not  large. 

The  curves  for  the  Terry  turbine  were 
plotted  from  14  tests  made  at  East  Pitts- 
burg by  the  Westinghouse  Machine  Com- 
pany. The  curves  for  the  Bliss  turbine 
were  plotted  from  24  tests  made  at 
Stevens  Institute  by  Prof.  F.  L.  Pryor. 
The  curves  for  the  Kerr  turbine  were 
plotted  from  tests  made  by  the  Kerr  Tur- 
bine Company  in  its  testing  plant  at 
Wellsville,  X.  Y. 

There  seems  to  be  no  change  in  steam 
economy  with  use.     It   may  be  too  early 


FIG.   22.  ONE  STAGE  OF   KERR  TURBINE,   SHOW- 
ING  NOZZLES   AND   WHEEL 


to  make  this  statement,  but  machines  run- 
ning regularly  for  three  years  have  shown 
no  increase  in  steam  consumption. 

The  field  of  the  small  steam  turbine  is 
somewhat  narrow  when  compared  with 
the  high-speed  steam  engine.  The  small 
turbine  has  its  place,  however,  and  with 
the  development  of  a  more  economical 
machine  at  the  lower  speed  ranges,  will 
have  a  much  wider  field.  The  turbine- 
driven  centrifugal  fan,  for  both  high  and 
low  pressures,  will  have  an  increasing  use, 
and  the  centrifugal  turbine-driven  pumps 
have  marked  advantages  over  reciprocat- 
ing apparatus  because  of  the  absence  of 


Brake  Horsepower 

Power,  N.  T. 

FIG,  26.     STEAM-CONSUMPTION   CURVES,   STUR- 
TEVANT  TURBINE 


.-'^> 

1^'' 

v>,'5sS<><^ 

""^^ 

'^^^ 

" 

=-:^=i— -_ 

^.^ 

J\  J  \  J  I  Jrrt 


FIG.      23.     TYPICAL    TURBINE    BUCKETS 


Pawtr,  »V.  7. 
FIG.     24.     SECTION    OF    WILKINSON    STEAM    TURBINE,    20-INCH 


10  20  30         40  SO 

Crake  Horiepower 


Pamr,  H.r. 


Brake  Horsepower 


FIG.  25. 


w,S.Ti 


PovltTt  N.  K 


Brake  Horiepower 
STEAM-CONSUMPTIOK  CURVES,  TERRY      FIG.   27.    STEAM-CONSUMPTION   CURVES,  BLISS    .FIG.     28.     STEAM-CONSUMPTION   CURVES,   200- 
TURBINE  TURBINE,   NONCONDENSING  HORSEPOWER  CURTIS   TURBINE 


May  II,  iQOGt. 


K)\\ER  AND  THE  ENMNKKk 


-shock  on  the  pipe  line  and  their  adapta- 
tion to  space  conditions. 

The  promise  of  development  on  the«e 
lines  has  led  many  manufacturers  to  enter 
the  small-turbinc  field  and  the'  great  ex- 
pansion    of     the     large-turbine     busine&s 


Turbiaa  Brmka  UarMpawcf 


JQ.      STEAM-<ONSfUrTIOX    CL'tVtS. 
liOR.SEPOWEK  CVBTIS  TL'KBIXE 


a- 


^ —       *>. 

;p  i-  »- 

^?^ 

> 

,y^ 

••' 

X.T. 


ir—L    ^ 


30.     STt.\M-<.oNsL'MrrjuX    CfKVlS.    14- 
INCtl    KCKK  TLRUINE 


1: 

. 

tA^f^^ 

•mm 

i^        ^2 

^^^^  L 

-i 

"^ 

8^ 

-1 

1: 

1^ 

^?' 

J 

R? 

~ 

J0. 

w 

J 

/ 

1    1 

-1 

! 

1    1 

»  « 

»    • 

1    ■ 

»    M 

■ 

SfBfc*  Ew»p»"W 


r.x.r. 


Marine  Producer  Gm  Power* 


Bv  C.  L.  SntAii 


Only   recently  ha*  •weh   pr«r^«^*   beeti 


madr    in    ihr 

f'*r  rrn'tnc 


ACT 

Two 

Vkrr     It; 


«u    bnng 


the 

mar....    , — .  ,  -r.o-..   ._..»^r 

thetc    were    «-  • 

were     of     the      <»rriiia;i      » 

There  are  now  mtlallrd  ai 

Capiiainr  marine  i' 

h<>r*cjx<wcr,     a      }• 

follow  » : 

(a)  "Fmil  Capitainr -"  1  j^inr*!. /Vn  V.jlcr 


ire   simI 


Uat  60  fe«t  long. 

4  feet    '     •     - 

of    I. 


(h\  '■ 


on  4M 
Acdifth   boat; 

't; 


at     joo     fTvolmtoiM     per 

.:-..ite. 
(f)  -Capiiaine :"    Tow  boat  at  Genoa: 
!  •  .-h  47  fcrt.  beam  M  fert.  draft 
:    •     t;  fitted  with  a  thrrr  c>lm- 

ke- 

;.-  .K. .-     ..  JulKja*     per 


net    ao 


rlr 


xi    fr«^ 


I'nti? 


la  ad. 


tlw  4» 
i  M 


{.   .ft- ■ 


!';.  ji.   Ijoao  cvb\-cs  or  koik  ti'mbink 


Wi  • 


iiout  doubt  prr^ge^  a  like  future  for 
the  tmall  steam  turbinr 


at  Jju  rou 


Peat  Society  Meeting 


here   will   be   a   meetinu  of   the   New 

•k  section  of  the  AmerivMn  Prat  Society. 

•lie  Technology   Club,  S>r.i.  11*^  N.   \^ 
.M.iy   15,  from  .1  t«»  5  and  r 
Among  the  pafK-rs  to  be  pr< 
folliiwing:       "I'riMltiction     >>t 
from    I'cat,"    by    Herman    ('     ^^• 
•present    State    «»f    iV.ii    ' 
Recovery  of  .Ammonia."  I'. 
Davis;   "A    Peat    Pnxlncrr 

Ke  as  Ryproduct."  by  l>r    '  "'i 

crger. 


(/)   • 


U) 


cycle  engine  of  45 


I  wMh  a  t 


fitod   wiik  a 


I  hr    tir«t     summer    conventinn    "f    th^ 
irty    of    Naval    ,Archilr« » 
.  nginecrs  will  be  held  at    1  ' 
the  latter  part  of  June  »r 


tai4   •!    tw 


•iiAf«<i   V«    tWsf    4r*«« 


a.,  ^^ 


••  t  ••«•«  f  •  < 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  II,  1909. 


Three  years  have  been  devoted  to  the 
modification  of  the  down-draft  stationary 
bituminous  producer  for  marine  service. 
The  work  involved  a  reduction  in  the 
size  and  weight  of  the  generators ;  com- 
plete revision  of  the  scruWiing,  gas-cleans- 
ing and  exhausting  mechanism ;  elimina- 
tion of  all  gasholders,  storage  receptacles, 
mixing  chambers,  etc.  The  modified  plant 
uptodate  shows  a  light,  compact  producer, 


which  while  retaining  the  same  rate  of 
combustion  as  the  stationary  apparatus, 
has  materially  reduced  dimensions  and 
weight  of  shells,  brick  lining,  fittings,  etc. 
The  economizer  boilers  which  were  used 
in  stationary  work  have  been  replaced 
with  light  air-heating  economizers.  The 
gas  coolers  no  longer  contain  any  coke  nor 
broken  material,  nor  wood  trays,  and  are 
built  of   very    light,     noncorrosive     sheet 


metal,  and  arranged  for  either  vertical  or 
horizontal  mounting,  the  latter  lending 
itself  nicely  to  location  in  space  which 
would  be  .otherwise  wasted  in  the  vessel. 
The  cooled  and  partially  cleansed  gas  is 
drawn  through  the  producer  plant  by  a 
centrifugal  gas-cleaning  exhauster,  driven 
by  direct-connected  motor.  The  gas  passes 
directly  from  the  exhauster,  under  pres- 
sure, through  an  automatic  pressure-regu- 


,^'15  Kw.  Generator 


14-13"  Duplex   1  ><'-c==^.'V>'"'!«' 
Ballast — ^<dS  r' »':.'1==^=«,\   >.'    ft 


12  Centrifugal  jjrTT'N   m1||U.    ■==='- 
\   >,        Ballast m;"J      1  l!ll||   'I       [T 


Jt^ 


Hold  Stringer 


Spar  Deck 


t=lIt=ffl-]=3        M 


FIG.     I.    PLAX  AND  ELEVATION  OF   1000- HORSEPOWER  STEAM-POWER  EQUIPMENT  INSTALLED  IN   LAKE  FREIGHTER 


-May  II.  1909. 

lating  valve  to  the  engine  manifolrl.  That 
the  plant  is  adaptable  fur  in.irnu-  »«Tvicc, 
with  regard  to  space  (x  ^'ht, 

may  be  seen  from  the  i  va- 

tive  estimate : 

Plants  of   from    100  to  500  horscp<jv»cr 


mWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


A  CoMrAUtox  or  PMomrm-c^- 
Stxam    Fjoi'truinrt 

I 'ri<|..iii.ir<ilv  fhr  rational  op^off1ttfut>  ^-. 


tmai  Bak- 

€ 


r*'^*»i 


fj.  tW  oa»- 


Ibe  murr  %trtkntfi 
and 


am    and    rnadnttrr  tac^  fraat 

:«    ''ttrti    ■ilfi    J    <iirr.  t  <<<«itifv1rtl 


air 

Jr.. 


ruuml  tit: 
TlK    b 
two   Mnck-c<»*kU    ^ 


<t 


I  on  a  ■« 


bodrr   i« 


I  Jrah 

rW  Mat 


ibc 

nirtif.    itwl  utr 


Id    I 

lou: 


I'.,    J.    riJKK  AKV)  KUEVATIOX  OT   nKm»»«»  TWtMXJnaAKi 

rach  occtipy   from  04  • 

per    hor«rp(>wcr,   and    u... 

go  poiird*   per   h<>r*r|M>«rr. 

aiixili.irie«,   pipinti.   <*'>         ' 

to    lono  l»iir«ept>w.  r    ■•- 

a45    »qtiare     foot    per     huricp- ncr,    j    1      M<-rri.>fr   i«i 


S6o 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  II,  1909. 


gine  is  a  four-cylinder,  double-acting,  re- 
versing type,  having  cylinders  24  inches 
bore  by  36  inches  stroke,  delivering  1000 
boiler  horsepower  at  100  revolutions  per 
minute.  The  reversing  is  accomplished 
by  means  of  compressed  air.  which  is 
used  to  shift  the  cams  from  the  head  to 
the  stern  position.  Compressed  air  is  ad- 
mitted to  the  cylinders  by  timed  cams  in 
proper  cycle.  The  crank  shaft  of  the  en- 
gine is  rigidly  coupled  to  the  shaft  of  the 
screw. 

The  illustrations  show  a  column-framed 
(.-ngine.  Since  making  this  layout,  the  de- 
sign of  the  engine  has  been  modified  to 
meet  all  of  the  present  marine  conditions 
now  found  in  marine-engine  design  on  the 
lakes.  In  fact,  with  the  exception  of  the 
condenser  shown  on  the  steam  drawings, 
the  gas-engine  frame  will  be  very  similar 
to  the  steam  engine. 

For  the  generation  of  current  to  drive 
the  auxiliaries,  there  will  be  installed  a 
double-cylinder,  double-acting  gas  engine, 
direct-connected  to  a  50-kilowatt  direct- 
current  generator.  All  of  the  pumps  and 
auxiliaries  will  be  motor-driven.  A  smal- 
ler direct-connected  unit  operating  on  oil 
will  be  used  for  pumping  air,  blowing  fires, 
or  other  serA'ice,  when  the  gas  plant  is 
down.  Allowing  a  distance  of  4  feet  3 
inches  between  the  forward  bulkhead  and 
the  engine  room  and  the  forward  side  of 
the  flywheel,  which  distance  is  i  foot 
greater  than  that  in  the  steam  installa- 
tion, we  have  an  overall  distance  between 
forward  and  after  bulkheads  in  the  en- 
gine room  of  19  feet  6  inches. 

As  previously  stated,  two  arrangements 
of  producer  equipment  are  shown.  The 
four-generator  plant.  Fig.  3,  consists  of 
four  6-foot  by  9-foot  generators,  each 
fitted  with  independent  economizers.  The 
forward  pair  and  the  after  pair  are  con- 
nected independently  to  two  horizontal 
gas  scrubbers,  which  are  shown  slung  un- 
der the  main  deck  beams.  The  gas  passes 
from  these  scrubbers  to  independent 
motor  -  driven  centrifugal  gas  -  cleaning 
fans,  whence  it  is  delivered,  either  through 
common  connection  to  a  purge  or  blowoff 
pipe  which  also  acts  as  a  bypass,  or 
through  two  gas-pressure  regulator  valves 
to  the  air-  and  gas-mixing  valve  at  the  ^ 
engine  manifold.  The  6-foot  generators 
require  only  one  cleaning  door  each.  As 
a  result  a  single  cleaning  space  suffices 
for  the  four  machines,  allowing  them  to 
be  grouped  with  reference  to  athwartship 
space,  so  as  to  give  ample  room  on  each 
side  of  the  vessel  for  coal  bunkers.  The 
total  space  occupied  by  the  prodticcr  plant 
is  21  feet  10  inches  athwartship,  and  15 
feet  between  forward  and  after  bulkheads. 
The  producer-room  weight,  including 
generators,  economizers,  piping,  and  scrub- 
bers, complete,  of  the  four-generator  set, 
is  110,000  pounds.  This  weight  is  esti- 
mated, but  has  been  carefully  checked  and 
completely  covers  all  the  mechanism.  In 
addition  to  the  above  mechanism,  there 
will   be  a  heating  boiler  which   is   shown 


on  the  main  deck.  This  boiler  will  serve 
to  furnish  low-pressure  steam  for  heating 
the  vessel  and  supplying  hot  water  for 
washing  down  decks,  etc.  This  boiler, 
with  water,  will  weigh  about  8000  pounds. 
The  two-generator  producer  plant,  which 
will  undoubtedly  be  the  one  installed,  will 
consist  of  two  8-foot  diameter  by  9-foot 


are  installed  in  duplicate  and  are  con- 
nected with  common  purge  or  blowoflf 
and  common  gas  outlets  leading  either 
through  one  pressure-regulator  valve,  or 
through  a  bypass  direct  to  the  air-  and 
gas-mixing  valves  at  the  engine  manifold. 
On  account  of  the  fact  that  the  8-foot 
generators  require  two  cleaning  doors  set 


Fbwer,  y.  F. 
I'IG.    3.     PLA.V   AND  ELEVATION  OF   PROPOSED  FOUR-GENERATOR    MARINE   PRODUCER  PLANT 


6-inch  generators,  connected  to  indepen- 
dent air  economizers  and  each  fitted  with 
an  independent  horizontal  scrubber,  lo- 
cated athwartship  under  the  main  deck 
beams.  The  gas  outlet  at  the  scrubbers 
will  be  connected  with  a  crossover,  so  that 
either  exhauster  may  operate  either  or 
both    producer    plants.     The    exhausters 


at  120  degrees,  the  double-generator  unit 
plant  will  require  the  full  athwartship 
space  in  the  producer 'room.  The  approxi- 
mate floor  space  occupied,  therefore,  will 
be  30  feet  athwartship  and  15  feet  be- 
tween forward  and  after  bulkheads.  The 
producer-room  weight,  including  genera- 
tors,   economizers,    piping    and    scrubbers 


May  1 1.   Kjuj 

complete  for  the  two-Rcntrat*  r  ■  t.  U 
82,000  pounds.  This  weiRht  :  •:  .ited, 
but  has  been  carefully  chu  •  .m- 

pletcly  covers  all  of  the  ni<  As 

in  the  case  of  the  four-generator  plant,  a 
low-pressure  bf»iler  for  hei»ii>..  ><rvtce 
will   be    installe<l.      In   the    '  iior 

plant,  however,  this  boiler  wm  i.<  i'x.ate<l 
on  the  prwlucer-opcrating  floor,  that  one 
set  of  firemen  may  suffice  for  biflh. 

TABLE   1.     COMPARISON  OF  POWF.U 

PLANTS   FiiU   <;|t|    \r   LAKK„-< 

KHKKiHT  (  AUIUKR. 

T^pnrth  ovrnll  .     806  ft.  0  In. 

JVam  .  f<  fr    0  in. 

,  'h 

.'laremflOt . 

4.300  net  pounda  »l  1  ■> 

-;-  •  't  13  «tatul«  mllH  par  hour  un  'jim) 

in  hcAted  lionepowcr. 


STEAM. 

rvotvr  RrwiM 


GAS.    • 


Thr. 


&U   by    Mi  m..    lu:io 

l.h.p.    «t    VO    to    95 

r.p  III 
Aut  '  e  a  ni- 

«1- 
Leri.  ».>ilV- 

ti. 
Em.- 

pound*. 

|i     ■•  •  •■>»!. 

T «  -«iute<l 

H<  •  lin«l 

wilU 

forretl  •!  '1 

Mrh      (.•  ■  r- 

hestl*   11   'A. 
Mr«n    (lUinrter,    eat-li, 
11  ft.  lU  in. 


Two 
on*  I 
UncA. 


•I  b.h.p.  ml 

tn  o  I  o  r- 

-.11  tjulk. 

HI., 


K*» 

ml- 


Two     42-tn. 
e*ch 


furnace 


344   3|-ln.  tutM.  eiu-li 

•      rarti, 

Botlrr      riwm     wrictit. 

watiT    in    l.oili-f-     III) 
fu. 

Lr». 
f.- 

L*»ii  -•!!i.  In 

<  I  •  n,    3U 

fr. 


Square    teet    l>  o  I  I  r  r 
r  o  o  tn  Inrludlnjc 


DiMiMMr  or  thtU. 
<r»r\i     erttrrator.      fi 

I  ■••r  of  em- 

14,  A  n    3 

in 
llructit     o<    *hM.    fch 

ci-tM-rator.  9  (t.  fl  In. 
(irair      •tirfare.      eac-li 
Kmrrator.  30.67  Ml. 
(i 

Producwr  ruom  wvtehu. 
no  wairr,  no  lu»l. 
H3.000  poundi. 


r  II II 

I.   .!,'.. 


hOTMJ- 


Bunkrr  (-•p*4lty.  S40.- 

(HHI  poiimt* 
Total  wpiclii  of  inai  luii' 

My  anirfitrl.  n\tj  i»«» 

po<in<l< 
Total  Iriu:' 

rry  •!»•• 

bunk«r> 


tljr.  lao.- 


liilal 


liMit  ■>  n.joo  cu  H. 

The  builder*  of  •' 
•re    prrp.irri|     to 
horsepower -hour 
hitummou*    cf>«l,    .1 
per  pound 

Rahcock  &  Penton.  who  havr  •pent  •«*• 
eral  year*  «in  the  problem  «>(  thr  v.:l..»itu- 
lion  of  ga*  for  «leam.  havr  «  i-i--  •      **'*' 
the   coal   bunker,   which     wi! 
above  the  charging  deck  of  thr  prf.i-'.«^'. 


iXJWIlK  AND  THE  I 


sh' 
of 
ch. 
ha 
ch.. 
litt: 
dc 
I 
silt 

into  titc 
vice,    r' 


•I  c 
^Ut 

•n  tiic  itKrattng 
the 


engineer*  mV 

1  that   with  the   uvtn« 

HI     r  ;'l    .iiii]    t.'ic     ;•  •  icd, 

the    cost    nf    the  .    be 
saN- 

^  •    ttmflar 


ha*  liem  in  mmn.  -ng 

a     »ix -cylinder.     »;..«.,  _ ».     ...   .mig 

marine  ga*  engine  for  crttx  a  year  The 
result*  <4iiainrd  give  ample  Mcurity  for 
the  statement*  made  m  ihit  paper. 


Notes  on  Belting 


r..  ■  -  tiM 

wc!  aad 

engineer,  hit  notebook!  were  ieit  to  bto 
■on,  Willum  O.  Wdwr  of  Botton.  who 
presented  at  one  of  the  recent  mecltRg* 
of  the  National  AMOctation  of  Coctoa 
Manufacturer*  toroe  of  the  data  therein 
contained  relating  to  the  meararement 
of    powrr    r«^«»f»«1    f'>f    th*   o^f»i»on    of 

•te« 
of 
belting: 

Good  oak-tanned  leather  from  the  back 
of   the   hide   weigh*  almo«t   exanly   one 

a  piece 

of  leather  0:1c  lijo!  »quarc.  ^  that 


miMto 


iMit 
•Intihto 


fC^  ^  ■■»    ri»«tj 

Mac  I  01c  |M«       A 

MW.  I  OM  iBr*        U 

» ot.  A  O  VIlBr*        A 

jj M  ^  on  iw«      u 


'sr  an  art^age 


ck 


•train  of 
■•Mig  the 

foe 


each  tficfc  fai  vMlll  to 

power: 


•r  W 


■•■•#*w#« 


l«»->< 


a*   ci;rr-vr.:    .i<«im4.i*.    ;iw 
»arh  numhin  imtra  md  eh* 
«6»  M  foOova 


Ml    W  wl;.')    •  .  .ui'i    ^M 


«aaMt?Slaiia  Mi 

?«i  Ma     II  II       «(      iM 


and  the  tafe  loM  oo  a  la-faKh  hell 
at   tooo  feet  per  mmmt.  voaM  ha 


■I  «  ■»      «>  * 


nf   ''  rahw.   thowioc 

<rrr  ;4    m    the 

and  3-p*p  eaaea 


a*  (oOowa: 


iSi 


TSr    thfc  Vractt    of    foVi*f    V*it    .i «    ►■^ 


doch.   a*  aho« 
may  be  Uka«  *t 


Pit"  f'  •••• 


aad  iW  «lr  kwl  ar 

•I     lODD    f««4    pet    OMrvK        •-      1       •%»■ 

cvMan    woaiM   be 


w  - 


AT 
m  » 

M  T 


•»*- 


862 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  II,   1909. 


POWER 

Jt^THE  Engineer 

DEVOTED    TO    THE  GENERATION   AND 
TRANSMISSION  OF  POWER 

Issued  Weekly  by  the 

Hill  Publishing  Company 

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The  "Salem's"  Disability 


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of  Congress  of  March  3,  1879. 


Cable  address,  "  Powpub,"  N.  Y. 
Business  Telegraph  Code. 


CIRCULATIOX    STATEMEXT 

During  1008  irc  printed  and  circulated 
1,836,000   copies   of  Power. 

Our  circulation  for  April,  1909,  was 
f weekly  and   monthly)   l."»3,000. 

May     4 42,000 

May    11 37,000 

None  sent  free  regularly,  no  returns  from 
netra  companies,  no  hack  nuinhrrfi.  Figures 
are  live,  net  circulation. 


Contents 


PAGE 


Reversing    Valve    Gears    in    General    Use  825 
Lccation   and   Rpp;iir  of  Troubles   in   Di- 
rect  Current    Motors 832 

Some  Live  Steam   Separator  Tests 834 

How    the    Government    Saves    Money    on 

Coal     836 

A    Nuernberg    Gas    Engine    Running     on 

Mixed    Gases 837 

Heat     VahU"     of     Coal     from     Dulong's 

Formula.  Based  on  Ultimate  Analysis  838 

Sewage  nnd  Brown  Coal  as  Fuel 840 

Catechism    of    Electricity 841 

Decrease  in  Weight  of  Lignite  in  Transit  842 
Practical  Letters  from  Practical  Men : 
I'acking  for  Steam  Engine  Pistons 
....Water  Column  Connections.... 
The  "Snee"  Wave  Motor.  ..  .Graft 
....  Finding  Capacity  of  Tank  in 
Gallons. ..  .Piping  in  a  Steam  Box 
....Air  Pumps. ..  .What  Ails  the 
Diagrams?. ..  .An  Oddly  Set  Boiler 
.  . . . Kero.sene  In  Boilers. ..  .Bridge- 
walls  in  Theory  and  Practice.  . .  .Ex- 
haust Steam  for  Heating.  .Drain- 
ing a  Main  Steam  I'lpe.  .  .  .Cause  of 
Engine  Wreck.... The  Valve   Leaked 

....An    Engine    Accident 844-849 

Small    Steam    Turbines 850 

Marine  Producer  Gas  Power H'tl 

Notes   on   Belting 861 

Editorials     <■  02-863 


The  turbines  of  the  scout  cruiser 
"Saleni"  were  opened  on  Wednesday, 
April  28,  at  the  works  of  the  builder, 
the  Fore  River  Shipbuilding  Company,  and 
the  cause  of  her  falling  of?  from  the  ef- 
ficiencies attained  and  performances  ef- 
fected on  her  acceptance  tests  was  re- 
vealed. It  was  found  that  the  first  row 
of  buckets  in  the  fifth  stage  had  been 
battered  down  very  badly,  as  by  a  piece 
of  metal  projecting  from  a  steam  nozzle, 
or  perhaps  by  a  loose  piece  of  metal 
such  as  a  nut  rolling  around  in  the  space 
between  the  buckets  and  the  nozzle.  The 
edge  of  each  blade  was  hammered  to  the 
top  of  the  blade  next  to  it,  almost  closing 
the  passage  to  the  steam,  and  it  is  not 
at  all  remarkable  that  the  turbine  should 
have  lost  fifteen  revolutions  per  minute. 
At  the  time  of  our  advices,  the  rotor  had 
not  been  lifted  out  of  the  case ;  when 
this  is  done  more  light  may  be  thrown 
upon  the  cause  of  the  trouble. 

The  rotor  appears  to  have  been  ad- 
justed too  far  aft  within  the  casing,  with 
the  result  that  the  revolving  blades  rubbed 
against  the  stationary  buckets,  wearing 
the  bases  and  shrouds  nearly  an  eighth  of 
an  inch.  Such  a  brake  at  such  a  radius 
and  at  the  speed  at  which  the  turbine 
runs  must  have  been  a  very  serious  handi- 
cap. The  buckets  and  blading  show  no 
signs  of  erosion  by  steam.  The  trouble 
occurred  in  the  starboard  turbine  and, 
while  it  is  not  expected  that  any  similar 
condition  will  be  found  in  the  port  tur- 
bine, that  will  be  opened  and  examined 
before  the  engine  leaves  the  works. 


Economy  in  Woodworking  Establish- 
ments 


In  woodworking  establishments,  where 
the  problem  is  to  get  rid  of  waste  rather 
than  to  save  fuel,  and  the  boiler  furnaces 
serve  the  part  of  destructors,  there  is  lit- 
tle attention  paid  to  economy  in  the  gen- 
eration and  use  of  steam.  Nevertheless, 
there  may  be  more  economies  to  be  had 
than  are  apparent  at  first  thought.  The 
fuel  charge  is  not  the  only  important  item 
in  the  power-plant  account.  The  stand- 
ing charges  for  interest,  taxes,  insurance 
and  depreciation,  which  increase  in  direct 
proportion  to  the  investment,  often  ap- 
proach the  fuel  charge  in  magnitude.  The 
use  of  the  exhaust  steam  in  kilns,  etc., 
means  less  investment  in  boilers,  less 
water  to  pump  or  buy,  less  scale  to  re- 
move, fewer  furnaces  to  fire  and  rebuild 
once  in  so  often,  fewer  boiler  tubes  to 
clean  and  less  expense  in  many  other  ways 
than  in  the  amount  of  fuel  used. 

The  barbarous  method  of  getting  rid 
of  waste  by  wanton  burning  is  being  out- 
grown. In  the  first  place  there  is  a  good 
deal    less    waste    than    there   used   to   be. 


Saws  cut  closer  scarfs  and  the  trimmings 
are  used  up  to  the  smallest  scrap  that 
will  serve  even  to  be  glued  up  with  other 
scrap  to  inake  composition  board.  Higher 
prices  for  coal  give  a  greater  relative 
value  to  this  waste  as  fuel,  and  in  wood- 
working centers  like  Minneapolis  it  is 
sold  quite  extensively  for  this  purpose. 
While  its  price  would  not  ordinarily  war- 
rant going  to  a  great  degree  of  refinement 
in  an  effort  to  save  it,  its  cheapness  and 
availability  should  not  lead  to  the  neglect 
of  possible  economies. 

A  source  of  economy  analogous  to  the 
use  of  exhaust  steam  in  the  kilns  is  the 
use  of  exhaust-steam  heaters.  Here  again 
there  is  increased  boiler  power,  less  tor- 
ture to  the  boilers  by  the  feeding  of 
heated  water,  less  scale  on  account  of  the 
throwing  down  of  the  impurities  which 
are  removable  by  heat  before  the  water 
goes  to  the  boiler,  and  less  fuel  to  han- 
dle and  fire,  with  less  wear  on  furnace 
and  grates,  even  if  the  fuel  is  worth  little 
or  nothing. 

This  is  written  with  a  full  appreciation 
of  the  fact  that  many  of  the  power  plants 
of  sawmills  and  woodworking  establish- 
ments are  models  of  efficiency,  with  equip- 
ment of  the  highest  class ;  and  simply  to 
offset  the  still  somewhat  prevalent  notion 
that  cheap  fuel  is  an  argument  against  all 
effort  at  power-plant  economy. 


Are    Inside-Screw  Valves  Unscife? 


In  registering  a  complaint  against  the 
ruling  of  a  boiler  inspector  an  engineer 
calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  he  was 
compelled  to  replace  a  new  nonreturn 
stop  valve  having  an  inside  screw  by 
one  with  an  outside  yoke  and  screw, 
causing    both    delay    and    expense. 

In  making  his  decision,  the  inspector 
was,  of  course,  guided  by  what  he  be- 
lieved to  be  his  duty  in  the  matter.  But 
to  one  who  could  not  be  present  at  the 
time  the  decision  was  rendered,  some 
description  of  the  mental  process  by  which 
a  valve  with  an  inside  screw  was  proved 
to  be  un.safe  or  weaker  than  one  with  an 
outside  screw  and  yoke  would  be  in- 
teresfing. 

Valve  manufacturers  stand  ready  to 
guarantee  the  reliability  of  their  product 
whether  of  one  style  or  of  the  other,  and 
it  is  not  clear  why  one  form  should  be 
prescribed  when  its  safety  in  operation 
has  been  clearly  demonstrated. 

In  one  instance,  several  years  ago,  an 
outside  screw  and  yoke  valve  failed  under 
peculiar  circumstances,  where  it  is  highly 
probable  that  an  inside  screw  valve  with 
bonnet  would  have  held. 

At  or  near  the  end  of  an  eight-inch 
line  of  steam  pipe  carrying  one  hundred 
pounds  pressure  per  square  inch  a  valve 
of  the  outside  screw  and  yoke  type  was 
put  on  the  end  of  a  tee  instead  of  a 
blank  flange,  in  order  more  conveniently 


May  II,  ujiot). 


POWER  AND  THE  EN<JINEKR. 


to  extend  the  pipe  line  at  a  future 
time.  Just  before  steam  was  turned  into 
the  line  the  valve  was  closed  and  the 
dirt,  scale,  red  lead,  flange  bolts,  ntils 
and  other  stuff  were  blown  out  throu;{h 
another  valve.  When  the  pipe  was  cica.i 
and  the  blowing  valve  closed,  aft'-r  rt*-  ••• 
five  minutes  the  yoke  on  the  v.i' 
had  not  been  opened  broke,  all 
valve  to  open  wide.  In  this  valve  the 
body  and  yoke  were  of  cast  iron  and  the 
stem  of  bronze.  Heat  from  the  steam  ex- 
panded the  bronze  portion  of  the  valve 
more  rapidly  than  the  cast  iron  could 
accommo(lnte  itself  to  the  tension  and 
the   yoke   parted. 

Kxamination  showed  that  the  ' 
in  clean,  sound  iron  and  that 
was  more  than  ten  times  as  strouK  ^« 
was  necessar>'  to  resist  the  steam  pres- 
sure, but  it  failed.  There  may,  or  there 
may  not  be  good  reasons  why  one  t>-»'e 
of  appliance  is  stronger  and  safer  thin 
another,  but  the  question  that  would  moot 
naturally  arise  is:  Has  an  inspciMor  a 
right  arbitrarily  to  condemn  a  piece  .f 
apparatus  which  may  Ik:  lawftdly  manu- 
factureil  or  imp*irted' 

If  the  insitle-screw  valve  is  unsafe  in 
one  instance  are  not  all  similar  valves 
iirfi.nfr  ' 


Ord 


cr 


In    every    line    of    human    endeavor    it 
pays  to  l)e  orderly.  System  based  on  order 
is   the   underlying  prmciple   of   true  pr»^- 
gress,  and   ujMin   its   strict   observance   in 
matler<i  of  great  or  small  imi>«-v 
drpcmU  the   issue  of   mui«^>. 
•he  truth  of  this  as»«  rli'.ii  ar- 
Hud  nowhere  are   tluy   m'ir< 
or  more  abundant  than  in  the  jHiwcr  tulfl. 
Suppose,   for   instance,   that    the   manu- 
facturer of  an  engine,  or  porliapi  a  tur- 
bine,   should   endeavor    to    couktnict    his 
m.-)chine  without  due  regard  to  a  *y»tcrn 
carefully   pl.i; 
the  result  ol 
'lire?     And.  ri. 
process    is    ■ 
of    thi> 
II  of  the  ; 
-  uie    to    run   at    any   tmie   <•! 


allowing  a   coHection  of  odd*  and  end*     vision  ( 
to  litter  the  floor,  or  in  n    ' 
it    is    often    emAier    to    p:f 


«Imv  km 


wr 


if  ■ 

rig". ly 

dirty,  ill-kept  ami 


wtlnd   far 
f-jrU 


in      I 


N«tiao*i  Smoke  AbftlcmcBl  Coa- 


KfCDCC   rKOpoMQ 


Or 

p. 
of 


be    i«  w     >M'i    !.«'    i-^*. 
in  ihr  arranffrmrnt   an<! 


;h    the    c 


the  "md- 


CVarks 

!.>-,  J. 

•4* 


life  of   the 

systematic    it;    _. ,.      ~    - 

big  ones  will  take  care  of  themselves 


for 

anr 


To  Revise  A.  S.  M.  E.  Codes       per»   oj. 


At   a   recent   meeting  of  thr   oiruil  of 
the  American  Society  of  .M 

gineers.'the   conunillcc   o«i    .'<. jhu\ 

extension    of   the   code    (or   letting    gas 

power     machinery,     Charles     E.     I.ucke. 

chairman:     E.    T.    .Adams.     George     II 

Barrus, 

made  .T 

th. 

all  -the  present  codes  of  t 
their  rariou*  »ii1»iriio  1 
should    not 


I  <  UT»  «1      lO      I 


1..       I   .     .\ 

an<l   I 

!- 
pi.i' 
of    the 


West.  J.    R 
Andrews,  II.  I .  ^mith 


'W  Mli 


N.     A.    S.     L     ,»l«-TT-.:'^I    f 


.iim     any     c-iik''"  '  '■ 

them   so.  although   a 


*,  but  It  is  Ihc  littlr  • 
n  etcap*"  ;iitrii"..M  !■ 
ient  at  li 

»ome    dark    >     ^'..^ .. 

id    is    completed,    hut    the 


lU   kM 

i  -ml   mam 


Iclting   thinv«   li<- 


-v   LM 


864 


POWER  'AXD  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  II,  1909. 


Universal    Craftsmen's 

Night" 


'Chambers 


The  fourth  annual  Elmer  E.  Chambers 
Night  of  the  Universal  Craftsmen  Council 
of  Engineers,  tendered  to  the  ladies,  was 
held  at  the  assembly  rooms  of  the  Lex- 
ington Opera  House,  Thursdaj'  evening, 
April  29.  Although  the  night  was  very 
storm)-,  the  hall  was  well  filled,  and  the 
entertainment  was  most  enjoyable.  The 
•"bunch"  elicited  generous  applause.  Follow- 
ing the  entertainment  there  was  dancing. 
The  committee  of  arrangements  comprised 
W.  H.  Armstrong,  chairman ;  M.  J.  Burke, 
J.  E.  Murray,  George  Quelet,  James  Har- 
ris, George  Voet,  Fred  IMaart.  Frank 
Martin  was  floor  manager,  assisted  by 
Frank  Corbett,  John  L.  Wilson,  Herbert 
Self  and  Robert  Lawhon. 

The  officers  of  the  association  are :  Otto 
Berger,  worthy  chief;  Fred  Maart,  as- 
sistant worthy  chief;  Fred  Anthony,  re- 
cording secretary;  M.  J.  Burke,  financial 
secretary ;  S.  S.  Henderson,  warden ; 
George  Quelet,  treasurer;  J.  Wallace, 
guard;  William  Jones,  chaplain;  Joseph 
McKeown,  past  chief. 


Mott  Haven's    Housewarming 


Mott  Haven  Association  No.  47,  N.  A. 
S.  E.,  held  a  housewarming  Saturday 
evening,  May  i,  to  celebrate  its  removal 
to  the  new  lodge  rooms  in  Loefler's  hall, 
One  Hundred  and  Forty-eighth  street  and 
Willis  avenue.  New  York  City.  The 
"bunch"  entertained  enjoyably.  Addresses 
were  made  by  Past  National  Presidents, 
Herbert  E.  Stone  and  Joseph  F.  Carney. 
Refreshments  were  served. 


The  Combined  Associations  of  Engi- 
neers of  the  Borough  of  Brooklyn  held 
the  second  annual  dinner  of  its  delegates 
at  Feltman's  pavilion.  Coney  Island,  on 
.Saturday  evening,  April  24.  An  appetiz- 
ing dinner  was  served  and  an  excellent 
entertainment  was  given  by  the  "bunch." 


superintendent  of  plants  of  the  Public  Service 
Corporation  of  New  Jersey,  has  become  vice- 
president  and  general  manager  of  the  Bird- 
Archer  Company,  manufacturer  of  boiler  com- 
pounds, 90  West  street.  New  York.  During 
his  fifteen  years'  experience  in  power-plant 
operation,  costs  and  management,  Mr.  Stevens 
has  had  complete  charge  of  plants  aggregating 
several  hundred  thousand  horsepower,  and  is 
therefore  well  prepared  to  deal  with  questions 
about  feed-water  treatment.  The  Bird-Archer 
Company  is  also  to  be  congratulated  in  being 
able  to  offer  to  its  customers  the  advice  and 
help  of  such  an  experienced  engineer.  During 
the  past  five  years  he  has  used  the  company's 
compounds  exclusively  and  is  well  posted  on 
the  results  that  can  be  secured  by  using  boiler 
compounds.  Mr.  Stevens  will  have  complete 
charge  of  sales  and  will  give  his  personal  atten- 
tion to  inquiries  from  large  plants  which  hereto- 
fore have  shown  serious  economy  losses  and  high 
operating  costs  on  account  of  scale,  oil  deposits 
and  other  troubles  caused  by  bad  feed  water. 

The  improvement  in  the  business  of  the 
Westinghouse  Machine  Company's  shops  at 
East  rittsburg,  which  has  been  noticeable  for 
several  months,  continues  in  the  most  en- 
couraging degree.  Since  the  first  of  April 
quite  a  number  of  orders  for  steam  turbines, 
steam  engines  and  gas  engines  have  been 
twoked,  and  the  record  for  the  first  two 
weeks  of  this  month  shows  a  considerable 
increase  over  the  same  period  of  March. 
With  the  anticipated  closing  of  quite  a  num- 
ber of  contracts  for  which  negotiations  are 
now  pending,  the  indications  are  that  the 
April  business  will  make  an  excellent  showing. 
Among  the  contracts  particularly  worth  men- 
tioning which  the  company  has  lately  re- 
ceived is  an  order  from  the  City  Electric 
Company,  of  San  Francisco,  for  a  15,000- 
horsepower  steam  turbine.  This  will  be  the 
most  powerful  steam  turbine  installed  west 
of  the  Mississippi,  its  power  capacity  being 
about  equal  to  ten  of  the  largest-size  express 
railway  locomotives.  This  company  has  al- 
ready installed  three  Westinghouse  steam 
turbines  of  a  smaller  size.  The  East  Pitts- 
burg shops  are  also  turning  out  at  present  an 
order  from  the  city  of  Detroit,  a  5000-horse- 
power  steam  turbine,  and  another  of  the 
same  size  is  going  to  Nichols  Copper  Com- 
pany, of  Laurel  Ilill,  Long  Island,  while  the 
Saginaw  &  Flint  Railway  Company,  of  Michi- 
gan, has  contracted  for  an  11.50-horsepower 
turbine  and  the  Alaska  Treadwell  Gold  Min- 
ing Company,  of  San  Francisco,  has  ordered 
two  1000-horsepower  machines  of  the  same 
type. 


B 


usiness  Items 


it< 


with  :\M)(t  employpfs  on  the  payroll  for 
April,  the  Diamond  UiibtKT  Company,  of  Ak- 
ron, Ohio,  has  Tindpr  way  extensions  to  Its 
plant  which  will  give  employment  to  more 
than  200  additional  men  by  fall.  No  new 
lines  will  lie  taken  on  by  the  company  at 
present,  but  the  increased  space  will  be  used 
for  the  extension  of  practically  all  depart- 
ments, including  belting,  packing,  hose,  rub- 
ber-covered wirfs,  cables  and  tires.  The  city 
of  Akron  has  lately  vacated  an  entire  street 
adjoining  the  Diamond  factories  to  permit  of 
the  growth  of  the  plant,  and  in  return  the 
Diamond  company  paid  the  entire  cost  of 
paving  the  remaining  portion  of  this  street 
not  abutting  upon  its  property,  the  bill  for 
which  will  be  not  far  from  $L5,000. 

E.  H.  Stevens,  well  known  among  steam  power- 
plant    and    central-station    men   as    the   general 


having  plans  prepared  for  a  four-story  factory 
and  one-story  power  house. 

The  Eldora  Electric  Light  Company,  Eldora, 
Iowa,  will  install  two  150-horsepower  boilers. 
Albert  Tresner,  superintendent. 

The  Steelton  (Penn.)  Light,  Heat  and  Power 
Company  has  decided  to  increase  output  and 
will  install  additional  equipment. 

The    Grand    Rapids-Muskegon    Power    Com 
pany,    Grand    Rapids,    Mich.,    is    contemplating, 
installing  a  steam  auxiliary  plant. 

The  Schenectady  (N.  Y.)  Railway  Company 
has  let  contract  for  the  construction  of  a  new 
sub-station  for  the  Saratoga  division. 

It  is  reported  the  Southern  Lumber  and  Ice 
Company,  Hattiesburg,  Miss.,  is  planning  to 
install  an  electric  light  and  power  plant. 

The  electric  light  plant  of  the  Nicholville  (N.  Y.) 
Electric  Lighting  Company  was  destroyed  by 
fire,  causing  a  loss  of  about  $10,000.  It  wUl  be 
rebuilt. 

The  City  Council,  Waycross,  Ga.,  has  under 
consideration  the  question  of  installing  an  electric- 
light  plant  to  be  operated  in  connection  with 
the  water  works. 

The  citizens  of  Brewton,  Ala.,  voted  to  issue 
additional  bonds  for  the  purpo.se  of  purchasing 
new  machinery  for  the  municipal  electric  light 
and    power   plant. 

The  Isthmian  Canal  Commission,  Washing- 
tan,  D.  C,  will  receive  bids  up  to  10  :30  a.m.. 
May  24,  for  six  boiler-feed  pumps,  steam  and 
vacuum  gages,  etc.,  as  per  circular  No.  508. 
The  Navy  Department,  Bureau  of  Supplies 
and  Accounts,  Washington,  D.  C,  will  open 
bids  June  1  for  furnishing  and  installing 
boiler  in  power  house  at  Naval  hospital,  Los 
Animas,  Colo.,  as  per  Schedule  1214. 


New  Equipment  . 


The  York  Company,  Saco,  Me.,  is  to  enlarge 
ts  power  hou  se. 

The  Scotia  Worsted  Company,  Woonsocket, 
R.  I.,  will  erect  a  new  power  plant. 

The  Hygeia  Refrigerating  Company,  Elmira, 
N.  Y.,  will  build  an  §80,000  addition  to  plant. 

The  citizens  of  La  Crosse,  Wis.,  will  vote  on 
question  to  build  a  municipal  electric  lighting 
plant. 

It  is  said  the  Beacon  Light  Company,  Chester, 
Penn.,  will  spend  about  $12.5,000  on  improvements 
at  plant. 

Plans  have  been  prepared  for  a  new  power 
house  for  the  University  of  North  Dakota, 
Grand  Forks,  S.  D. 

The  Sierra  Electric  Company,  recently  granted 
a  franchise  in  Red  Bluff,  Cal.,  jiroposes  to  erect 
two  power  houses. 

The  Springfield  (Ohio)  Light,  Heat  and  Power 
Company  will  erect  a  large  addition  to  its  plant 
on  West  Jefferson  street. 

Julius    A.    Gebauer,    Philadelphia,    Penn.,    is 


Help    Wanted 


Advei'tisements  under  this  head  are  in- 
serted for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  words 
make  a   line. 

WANTED — Thoroughly  competent  steam 
specialty  salesman ;  one  that  can  sell  high- 
grade   goods.     Address   "M.    M.    Co.,"    Power. 

AN  ENGINEER  in  each  town  to  sell  the 
best  rocking  grate  for  steam  boilers.  Write 
Martin  Grate  Co.,  281  Dearborn  St.,  Chicago. 

WANTED — -An  engineer  experienced  in  de- 
sign and  application  of  electric  controlling 
devices  for  industrial  installations.  Must 
thoroughly  understand  latest  commercial 
systems  and  apparatus.  No  application  will 
be  given  consideration  except  from  engineers 
of  established  reputation  and  experience.  In 
reply,  give  references,  experience  and  salary 
expected.     Box  48,   Power. 


Situations  Wanted 


Advertisements  under  this  head  are  inserted 
for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  words  make 
a  line. 

MASTER  MECHANIC  desires  change  ;  prac- 
tical machinist  of  twelve  years'  experience; 
West  preferred ;   references.    Box  46,   Powkr. 

POSITION  with  large  company  as  travel- 
ing or  supervising  engineer  of  power  plants 
and  machinery.  Hold  such  position  at  pres- 
ent with  large  corporation,  having  charge  of 
power  plants  and  machinery  upkeep,  lioiler 
tests,  engine  Indications,  etc.    Box  40,  Power. 

SITUATION  by  chief  engineer;  can  handle 
turl)ines,  engines,  condensers,  stokei'S,  and 
men,  and  can  get  results.  References  from 
present  employers  and  leading  engine  build- 
ers.     Box  47,   I'uWKU. 

CHIEF  ENGINEER,  accustomed  to  the 
operation  of  large  industrial,  electrical  power 
plants,  and  capable  of  producing  results, 
W'ould  like  to  connect  witli  a  concern  which 
desires    a    first-class    man.      Box    49,    Power. 

SITUATION  WANTED  .Ts  engineer  by  a 
young  man  holding  a  good  Massachusetts  li- 
cense :  capable  of  taking  charge  of  repair 
shop  in  textile  or  paper  mill  ;  able-bodied  and 
not  afraid  of  work  ;  can  give  best  of  references 
and  good  reasons  for  wishing  a  change;  the 
West   i)referred.      Box   ."JO,    I'<r,vi:i{. 


May  1 8,  lyoy 


lOW  ER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


Mechanical    Equipment    of    the    Plaza 

The  Power  Plant  of  a  New  York  Hoelclry  Which  Cort  Nc»Hy  Four- 

teen   Millions  and   Is  Considered   the   M(«t   Ma/nificcnt    in  the    Vl'arU 


BY        WARREN 


O. 


ROGERS 


Hotel 


The    Plaza  hotel,  the  most   magnificent  viiitor't  attention  it  at  once  aitracted  by  TV  - --   -  .o.prr^ct  ronw.t,  .., 

structure  of  its  kind  in  the  world,  is  lo-  its    ample    proportions,    occupymj    space  t»m^>                 x\mtr%  Corlm 

cated  at   Fifth  avenue  plara.   Fifty-eightH  practically  equivalent  to  the  floor  area  of  r«ct-cor.n«<!r,j    to    Wm«ii«ke 

and    Fifty-ninth   streets.    New    York   City,  the  hotel      This  provides  abandant  mom  lorv    Two  of  iW  n^mn  Imw  UUm- 

It    occupies       an    entire    block    on    Fifth  for  u  <rt\,  ant  XI&4J  aad  one  t%%^ 

avenue,   with   a    frontage   of   250   feet   on  ing  1  the  nMul  takty  caiM  am  iW 

Fifty-ninth  street,  and   1-25  icvt  on  Fifty-  arrangvU  m  ut  urUcriy  manner  and  with  Uodi  colUr«, 


•ighth  street      It   i«  mtMirii.  tr.I  of  »>M'r 

marble  and  terra  on- 

and  represent*  an  iim  >i  ■  • 

000.     the     mechanical     e«ni!;>rvr    • 

$  I  .THo.nno 


4   and   the   gr 


•  «■  r<«»        TW    r^i 


]sf.]st    K  •  ' 
Upon    entering    »hr    r-  . 


>rt    the 


rniie    »«if     t'   • 


866 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  i8,  1909. 


with  the  carefully  polished  bright  sur- 
faces, forms  a  pleasing  contrast  to  the 
white  floors,  walls  and  ceiling.  Figs,  i 
and  2  give  an  idea  of  the  arrangement  of 
the  generating  units,  there  being  two 
side  by  side  at  each  end  of  the  room.  Fig. 
3  is  a  plan  view  of  the  entire  plant. 

Refrigerating  Pl.a.n'T 

The  refrigerating  plant  comprises  two 
complete  systems,  constituting  one  of  the 
most  elaborate  refrigerating  plants  in 
Ne\V  York.  It  embodies  a  number  of 
features  not  usually  found  in  an  installa- 
tion of  this  kind.  The  compression  and 
absorption  systems  are  used,  there  being 
a  100-ton  York  compressor  and  a  lOO-ton 
York  absorption  machine.  Two  systems 
were  adopted  to  insure  the  greatest 
economj-  during  every  month  of  the 
year.  The  absorption  system  is  operated 
during  the  fall,  winter  and  spring  months, 
when  the  condensing  water  is  cool  and  a 
plentiful  supply  of  exhaust  steam  is  avail- 
able to  operate  the  generator.  The  com- 
pression system  is  used  during  the  sum- 
mer months,  when  it  is  necessary  to  use 
live  steam  from  the  boilers,  and  the 
temperature  of  the  condensing  water  is 
high.  Either  machine  is  capable  of  sup- 
pK'ing  the  building  with  ice  and  refrigera- 
tion. 

The  compression  machine,  Fig.  4,  is  so 
constructed  that  in  case  either  of  the 
steam  or  ammonia  cylinders  is  disabled, 
it  can  be  operated  by.  the  side  remaining 
intact.  The  unit  consists  of  two  vertical 
single-action  ammonia  compressors  oper- 
ated by  a  75-horsepower  cross-compound 
Corliss    engine    running  noncondensing. 

The  condensers  are  of  the  double-pipe 
countercurrent  type,  constructed  in  sec- 
tions, so  that  any  section  can  be  shut 
off  and  removed  for  repair  without  the 
necessity  of  stopping  the  plant.  As  shown 
in  Fig.  5,  the  condensers  for  both  systems 
are  located  on  the  grating  over  the  re- 
frigerating machine.  The  coolers  are  of 
the  vertical  shell  type  and  are  incased  in 
matched  lagging,  the  brine  passing 
through    coils    of    pipe    in    the    shell. 

In  the  absorption  system  the  two  pumps 
which  handle  the  strong  aqua  ammonia 
from  the  absorber  to  the  generator  are  of 
the  double-acting  steam-driven  type,  auto- 
matically governed.  The  generator  of  this 
system  is  of  the  horizontal  type,  having 
a  vertical  analyzer,  the  generator  being 
so  designed  and  containing  such  an 
amount  of  heating  sur^ce  that  it  can  be 
operated  by  exhaust  sjE^m  at  atmospheric 
pressure.  The  ammonia  condensers  are 
of  the  same  type  as  those  used  with  the 
compression  system.  They  are  also  so 
arranged  that  by  shutting  suitable  valves 
sections  of  the  coils  may  be  removed  for 
repair  when  necessary.  The  ammonia 
coolers  are  of  the  vertical  shell  type  of 
the  same  design  as  those  in  the  compres- 
sion system;  the  absorber  is  of  the  hori- 
zontal type  and  the  exchanger  of  the  ver- 


tical shell  type,  while  the  weak  aqua 
cooler  is  of  the  double-pipe  countercur- 
rent type. 

The  entire  refrigerating  equipment  con- 
sists of  the  brine  system,  the  brine  be- 
ing pumped  to  the  various  departments 
of  the  hotel  by  means  of  four  Worthing- 
ton  vertical  brine  pumps  of  the  "Ad- 
miralty" simplex  type,  located  in  the  en- 
gine room  just  outside  the  refrigerating 
room.  There  are  two  main  brine  lines, 
one  a  high-pressure  and  the  other  a  low- 
pressure,  each  fed  by  two  brine  pumps. 
The  high-pressure  line  consists  of  a  three- 


pipe  balanced  system  and  handles  all  the 
work  necessary  to  cool  the  refrigerators 
on  all  floors  up  to  the  seventeenth. 
Thirty  refrigerator  boxes  are  located 
above  the  ground  floor,  while  there  are 
24  boxes  in  the  basement  and  subbase- 
ment.  The  boxes  are  of  steel,  cork  and 
glass  and  are  practically  indestructible. 
On  the  seventeenth  floor  is  a  refrigerating 
room   for  furs,  etc. 

In  operation,  the  brine  is  cooled  in  the 
cooler  and  is  sent  up  through  the  feed 
mains  to  the  coils  in  the  diff^erent  re- 
frigerators. The  brine  then  passes  through 


^RegiBl 


aannaaan' 


Pomtr.S.r. 
FIG.     3.     PLAN   VIEW   OF   THE  ENTIRE 


May'iS,  l(jO) 


POWER  AND  THR  ENC.INRKR. 


the  return  main  to  the  reservoir  tank  on 
the  seventeenth  floor  and  is  returned 
through  the  suction  pipe  to  the  pump  and 
again  circulated  through  its  cycle. 

The  refrigerating  boxes  in  the  kitchen 
and  all  other  places  on  the  first  floor 
:irc  cooled  by  means  of  the  low-pressure 
>ysteni,  which  is  also  used  in  the  manu- 
facture of  ice.  The  suction  pipe  of  the 
brine  pump  on  this  system  is  attached  to 
the  ice-making  tanks  wliich  are  located 
in  the  engine  room  and  arc  shown  in  Fig. 
6.  The  brine  is'  dischargetl  through  the 
cooler    and    is    then    passed    through    the 


rtc  X   AKnrrNn  rttw  m  T«i  umctwrn 
arioiu    refritrerator  boxes,   when   it   rt-     inn 


turn*  to  the  < 

The  ice  t . 

hundred    40  > 

tons  of  ice  :' 


**1  two     kc«^   \h*   W«M   ia   iW   tMik   m    iiMilal 

'     and  fij  '»•'•*  «*• 

netkod  -r  ■■*«■• 


brine  leave*  the  cootrrt  at  atHmi  a  de-  ol  a  Hand  trv« 
fTee«  above  lero.  and  after  r,i**':r.»  mn -...!  •.im-I  in  •" 
thriiugh    the   various   bo«e«    r«- 

frrr/mg  tank  at   -   iturr  "i 

XI  degrees.     The  1  in  the  !• 


'4 


w—*  Ti.  ».. 


I 


h 


J-'-tL- 


\. 

.  / 

i.w 

1  . 

'hr     t\ 

tMtmtmt 


fey  lb*   V»«k   U* 


KXniwK.  ■oiuia   \st*  wr»i«:»»<''*' 


868 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  i8,  1909. 


stokers  is  arranged;  also,  the  steam  jet, 
as  shown.  This  'section  of  the  boiler  room 
is  of  the  same  width  as  that  above  the 
grating  floor,  and  is  also  fitted  with  a 
narrow  track  upon  which  the  ash  car 
is  run.  The  ash  and  clinker  are  shoveled, 
from  the  ashpit  into  the  car  and  delivered 
to  a  Hunt  steam-operated  conveyer,  which 
delivers  it  to  the  ash  cart.  The  same 
conveyer  is  used  for  conveying  the  coal> 
which  is  dumped  through  a  hole  in  the 
sidewalk,  into  a  weighing  hopper  where  it 
is  weighed  and  then  conveyed  to  an  iioo 
ton   storage   room. 

Each  boiler  blowoff  pipe  is  connected  to 
a  blowoff  tank  4  feet  in  diameter  and  10 
feet  long,  made  of  flanged  steel  ^  inch 
thick ;  the  heads  have  a  thickness  of  V2 
inch.     The   tank   is   fitted   with   100  lineal 


FIG.     4.     THE  COMPRESSION    MACHINE 


FIG.    6.     PULLING  AND  FILLING  CANS 


per  square  inch,  however,  which  has  been 
found  suitable  for  the  work  required.  As 
all  boilers  are  not  in  use  at  the  same  time, 
sufficient  opportunity  is  afforded  for 
cleaning,  etc. 

Each  boiler  is  fitted  with  a  Wilkinson 
automatic  stoker  and  the  accompanying 
steam  jet,  two  Lunkenheimer  safety  con- 
solidated pop  valves,  and  a  Hubner  & 
Mayer  double-action  combination  stop  and 
cutout  valve,  which  cuts  out  the  par- 
ticular boiler  it  is  connected  to  in  case  of 
acciflcnt  to  that  boiler  or  piping.  .Xn 
unique  arrangement  of  the  boiler  room  is 
in  the  manner  in  which  the  firing  floor 
separates  the  lower  portion  of  the  boiler 
room  from  the  upper.  It  is  made  of  iron 
gratings  placed  on  a  level  with  the  top  of 
the  stoker  hoppers.  On  this  flooring  is  a 
narrow  track  over  which  the  coal  is  con- 
veyed from  the  coal  bunkers  located  at 
one  end  and  above  the  boiler  room.  The 
cars  are  of  such  design  that  the  coal 
is  delivered  to  the  hopper  of  each  stoker 
through  a  chute  on  the  side.  This  is 
shown  in  Fig.  7,  which  also  illustrates 
the   general    arrangement    of   the   boilers. 

In  Fig.  8  is  shown  the  under  side  of 
the  grating  floor,  or  the  ashpit  section. 
Here    the    machinery    for    operating    the 


FIG.    5.     THE  ABSORPTION    MACHINE 


May  i8^  i909> 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGIN 


*  iiiglu  MAdoM  M  dear  ikt  ■■•• 
hoka.    FnMB  tkc  Iira4m  tW  ^m  !«««■ 

aipc*  bff»arb     .ff   a-.!    .^.— «4  to  dM   *»• 
«»   9<nH  .    otWr    «^«^ 

..CflC        The     yrvu  t  r.^Mctl     iW     piMi    ift 

CDAMnKlcd  of  rKir»-buvy  Mi4  Ml* 
wciclH  p«p«nc  lM«n«  g«».«faa  fttuaf*  aa4 
V«n  SUMw  )o*«-»  t"  ff-^  ol  tW  *«Me^ 
board.    aa<!  '    Wtwcts    tkr 

f ovr  cngiB^ '  4I  Smsm  Syr- 

dahjr  Cnwiyy   Myaraior.  to  «lMdi   tW 


An  -^   oMMTVjrv   BH   cakMBM 

tinni  i-'  <  'rofli  wiMck  M  I*  4i»- 

tribotcd  to  vlikll  n— n't  ««k 

»itrun>d  bjr  a  jalMHs  iWr> 
irh    r«vMBt«s    iW    !«•• 
T>ie  rrtvnH  fraaa 
tea  car*  of  ^ 
3  ol 


ril-.    S.      SECTION    uK    I'lILfk    ROOM    INUUt 
rUMM  URATING,    .sHoAIXG   ASHPIT 

et  of  3-inch  seanjlcss  limss  iii-.«-  hm  ; 
r  cooling  coils. 

The  feed  water  is  heatcl  m  .1  ...-uUrt 
cd-water  heater  containing  600  square 
et  of  heating  surface.     It  is  34   inches 

diameter  and  152  inches  high.  There 
also  a  Goul)ert  feed-water  heater  place<I 

the  7-inch  vent  line,  utilizing  waste 
lat  from  the  vapor  line.  It   is  12  inches 

diameter  and  70  inches  long  and  is  pr<>- 
ded  with  7-inch  nozzles  for  vafKjr  lines 
id  5- inch  feed  inlet  and  outlet  lines 
0th  heaters  are  designed  to  sustain  a 
Drking  pressure  of  309  pounds. 

PlPI.NC 

■^   to  lack   of   head   room,   the    16 

^h-prcssure  steam  header  for  each 

tnery  of  boilers  is  run  along  the  front 


Onr 


n>^      l««1    .4     ^«4« 


i%i« 


rir.    0 


A  mrftnfi  wr  tuf   n  wr  artsii 


M«  44  4to 


870 


POWER  AXD  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  i8,  1909. 


"Admiralty"    compound     duplex    type    of 
Worthington  make. 

Tliere  are  two  8x12x7^x10  compound 
duplex  steam  pumps  of  the  vertical  type 
used  for  pumping  out  the  receiver  tanlcs 
and  for  feeding  fresh  water  to  the  boil- 
ers;      two      9x6xio-inch      duplex      steam 


to  a  simple  Corliss  engine.  The  speed 
is  90  revolutions  per  minute  for  the 
larger  units  and  100  revolutions  per 
minute  for  the  three  smaller  units.  The 
generator  circuits  are  extended  to  the 
switchboard  by  means  of  underground 
ducts.     Because  of  the  length  and  size  of 


cally  from  the  switchboard.  All  of  the 
feeders  terminate  near  the  top  of  tht 
switchboard  and  connect  to  copper  strips 
connected  to  the  busbars  and  extending 
to  the  top  of  the  board.  The  power  feed- 
ers are  connected  to  double-arm  circuit 
breakers,  which  also  answer  as  switches 
As  the  switchboard  is  8  feet  high  and  4: 
feet  long,  there  is  no  confusion  of  th( 
wiring  on  the  back,  and  the  differen' 
connections  are  arranged  in  a  neat,  conr 
pact  manner. 

The  switchboard,  Fig.  10,  is  made  oi 
gray  Tennessee  marble  and  is  divided  intc 
12  panels,  four  generating  panels  beinj 
in  the  center  of  the  board,  three  feedei 
panels  at  each  end  of  the  board,  eacl 
containing    26    separate    circuit    switches 


FlC.    7.    FIRING  FLOOR  OF  THE  BOILER  ROOM 


FIG.      13.      G.\GE    BO.\RD 


FIG.      II.      .MR   CO.MPRESSORS 

pumps  for  draining  the  high-pressure  drip 
tanks;  two  7!4x4^xio-inch  duplex  steam 
pumps  used  for  draining  the  blowoff  tank 
and  low-pressure  drip  tank;  and  three 
7^x5x6-inch  duplex  steam  pumps  for 
draining  cesspools,  each  pump  being  gov- 
erned by  a  Johnson  automatic  regulator, 
thus  regulating  the  hight  of  water  in  the 
cesspools.  All  of  these  pumps  are  brass- 
lined  and  are  of  Worthington  make.  There 
is  also  in  the  pump  room  a  10x14x16 
Knowles  pump  used  for  vacuum  and 
feed-water  heater  service. 

Electrical   Equipment 

The  electrical  equipment  consists  of 
four  Westinghouse  direct-current  genera- 
tors, one  of  400,  one  of  300  and  two  of 
200  kilowatts  capacity.  The  current  is 
generated  at  120  volts,  the  machines  being 
compound    wound,    each    direct-connected 


FIG.      12.     THREE-CVLINUER    HIGH-UUTV    ELEVATOR   PUMP 


the  generator  lead  wires  necessary  to 
carry  the  current  and  to  avoid  compli- 
cated busbar  construction  on  the  rear  of 
the  switchboard  generator  panels,  spe- 
cial automatic  dynamo  switches  are  lo- 
cated near  each  generator  for  the  equal- 
izer  connections,   to   be   operated   electri- 


and  two  instrument  panels,  one  placed  ci 
each  side  of  the  generating  panels.    The: 
two   panels   are    equipped    with    recordii 
wattmeters,     indicating     ampere     meter  I 
registering   ampere   ammeters,   registerir  i 
vcltmeters     and     time-service     indicator 
besides  the  ampere  meters,  voltmeters  ai 


.May  i8,  1909. 


PLAZA    OPERATING     CO 
JOB    TICKET 

■MOINtfM   M^AirrMfllT  0MM 


HO. 

uxAHom 


OVT  urT<« 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGI.VEER 

n-AZA    OI*nUTMG    CO. 


9:t 


%•.     Mt 


lAKM 

W— »WU—  ■•<■•<■■■« 


aifmrnlm 


i: 

ii 


»f<h«aU 


•*f»r* 


FIG      14.     JOB  TICKET 

galvanometer  which  arc  mounted  on  the 
generator  paneU  There  are  52  iloithle 
pole  knife  switches  for  controUiuK  the 
liKhtinR  circuits  and  j6  di>uhle-arni  cir- 
cuit-l»rcakcrs  fir  controlling  the  power 
feeders,  the  latter  being  mounted  on  the 
feeder  panel.  The  fjises  are  placed  on 
the  rear  side  of  the  switchboard.  The 
current  i>  u»ed  not  only  for  the  .23.000 
incandescent  liKiits  in  the  h«»tel.  but  also 
to  run  the  various  motor'^  through  the 
building  which  operate  the  venlilatinK 
•ystem  as  well  as  the  tiltered-air  fans. 

MiscriXA.N'Enfs 
Two    mains    connecte<l    with    the     city 
supply     furnisher     the     necessary     water. 
"     h    is    filtered    through     I  M.m 

fdtrr*    having    a    tul.i;  "f 

MS    per    day.      Tin 
fdtered  through  a 
niter,     ifn   the  ciKhteenth   fl«K>r  are  stor 
age  tanks  in  which  75.000  Kallons  of  water 
is  stored    for   use   in  case  of   fire.     The 
pumps   in   the   pumping   plant   are   so  ar- 
ranged   that    40CX)   K-t'Ioii*   of    water     per 
minute   can   tie   pumped   through   the   fire 
line  tct  the  tanks 

Cfintpreoseil    air 
•    tulie    system    d< 

saites.  etc..  to  various  parts  >>t  ilir  li-»ti%r 
A  \acuum-c1eaning  system  i»  aim  in 
stalled,  thus  doing  away   with  the  ordi- 

isowTM  or 1M 


nary    manner    of    eleaning 

chines  jr 

11.    Th. 

driven  atr  punip«. 

All  of  the  machinery  found  m  a  well- 
equipped  laundrjr  is  installed  in  the 
bundry  connected  with  the  hotel,  all 
driven  by  electric  motor*.  The  dumb^ 
waiters  are  ij  in  namber  and  arc  electri- 
cally  operated. 

There    are    14    >  the 

Sturtevaiit   contpji  ,   by 

eleven    C   ft   C   tiKMora.   aggregating   tya 
horsepower. 

1he  Standard  pittnger-elevatcr  equip- 
ment consists  of  10  passenger  cars  and 
three  sidewalk  lifts,  besides  the  ij 
dumbwaiters       '        *  .        — . 

passrneer    eir 


ri(.    15. 
Th*«*    n*m-      r^fiBtfTtif    wrfh    r*ie    rlr%i» 


thr 
hej 


I   . 
dr< 
the    n« 

difl"   • 


Iirtr)^ 


^ai 

tW 


tnr 

ha* 

also  prevents  the  door  of  the  car   from     arr 

being   opene«l    -i*-'-    'hr   ear   M   bef»- —      '*" 

floors.     The  power   for 


high-pressarr  water  tank*  (173  po«r 


OISTMIBUTION   Or 


MONTM  or 


n.;   ,  , 

- .  '• 

jyK«tj 


»7 


3/2 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  i8,  1909. 


The  engineers'  report  forms  were  de- 
signed by  the  chief  engineer,  J.  C.  La  Vin, 
and  are  reproduced  herewith.  By  means 
of  these  reports  it  is  possible  to  know 
at  any  time  just  what  has  been  done  by 
any  workman  and  in  what  department  the 
labor  and  material  were  used.  When  a 
man  is  given  a  piece  of  work  to  do  he  is 
given  an  order  and  job  ticket  similar  to 
that  shown  in  Figs.  14  and  15.  \VTien 
the  tickets  are  properly  filled  in  by  the 
workman  every  detail  regarding  that  par- 
ticular piece  of  work  is  available,  if  at 
any  time  information  is  desired  pertain- 
ing to  it. 

The  report  sheet  pertaining  to  the  dis- 
tribution of  labor  about  the  mechanical 
and  house  department  is  shown  in  Fig.  16. 
That  pertaining  to  the  distribution  of  sup- 
plies for  the  mechanical  and  house  de- 
partment is  shown  in  Fig.  i".  By  means 
of  these  report  sheets  the  labor  and  ma- 
terial charged  to  each  department  are 
easil)'  ascertained,  as  they  are  made  up 
from  the  job  ticket.  Thus,  if  in  looking 
over   the   reoort   sheet  of  distribution   of 


COMPRESSION  REFRIGERATING   PLANT.       PLAZA  HOTEL 

CHIEF  ENGINEERS   DAILY  LOG: 

FOR  24  HOURS  ENDING  AT._    

N. 

Y 

190 

PRESSURES 

TEMPERATURES 

COMPRESS  I.E 

K.,.,.«r 

BKISCI 

UKINE 

STEAM 

Time 

CJ  JDE.NS 

ESS 

jaiNE 

K...  . 

,'Ltf. 

iu.-..,,.. 

Low 

Hleh 

EU-turo 

Boiler 

E..-ei,.r 

Oat 

RaD,-e 

R.n„ 

Out      Range 

1. «  Tank 

!._ 

-j- 

5 

C 

S 

s 

METER  READINGS 

in 

Time 

11 

12 

Final 

Previous 

2 

Cobie  Fl.  l«.d 

3 

BRINE   PUMPS 

STRESUTIlor 

i 

Time 

LUK  PULail  RE 

HIGH  PRi;S=fEE 

BRl.N'E 

5 

Tlmel       A.CO    F. 

S 

1 

1                   1 

T 

2 

-     \             '            1 

1 

8 

1             1            1 

f 

9 

10 

11 

12 

ICE  MAKING 

r.m.ll        Cass  Pallet 

Tons  H«rT.f!=ted 

ToastoK.icli.o 

Tons  10  Eestaurant 

Tons  10  Bars 

Dmle 

II 

REFRIGERATING    ENGINEERS 

TONNAGE  OF  MACHINE 

ON  DITY 

W| 

B...  »lBrii»Pump    X  A.eraje  E.oge    x  Fa.ior  =  Tons  Erfrle.rat.on 

Tim.  On  1  Tim.  Ofl'l                S.me 

1 

H.P.  Bri«                   X                                X                = 

L-P        ■                       X                                 X                = 

1 

j 

Total  ToDnafrr  of  B«rriger>tiDg  Uacl.mr 

1 

B«m 

■tU 

A 

wcr,  A-.r. 

ABSORPTION  REFRIGERATING   PLANT.        PLAZA  HOTEL,  N.Y. 

CHIEF  ENGINEERS    DAILY  LOG. 
FOR  24  HOURS    ENDING  AT -    19. 


TEMPERATURES. 

Tim. 

DEHVDRaToRiL                  ABaoKBER 

EXCHANGER 

CO 

SDENSEES 

BEINE 

(...In   CO^i 

A.o'.I.aTo^OuI       in"|     O^'." 

A.iualn  ^.uaoni 

A.iul°in 

Agn'.°Ont 

In 

Oal 

Bang. 

In 

Ont 

ISii: 

IH     1 

Ou. 

E^ 

1,-e  Tank 

So»ii 

«  P.M. 

S 

iU.S,;ta. 

4  A.  11. 

8      •■ 

A~».ei 

PRESSURES 

METER    READ 

INGS 

|l         <:r>:rR»TnR 

B.c«T.r 

C>^LK'r'^^~''^^-^\              ERINE             |, BOILER 

Time 

WATEB  TO  M.ICBIXE 

FROM    GENEEATOB 

T.^ 

Pinal 

Final 

Au.tr.»«l. 

Lo. 

"■^■'  '"—'i  °-° 

* <»'■•-'«»'= 

Jstemm. 

AniTiiooK 

H 

^nia 

2  A.1I. 

Cu.Pt.l-^ 

<       ■ 

1 

a 

BRINE  AND  AMMONIA  PUMPS 

* 

' 

Time 

LOW  PBESSl-EE 

HIGH  PRF-SSUBE  | 

AMMONIA  PtSl  PS 

10 

Nu.    Slari    Sloi 

B«.. 

No. 

tiianl  Stop 

R... 

No. 

Start 

St«i< 

E«T. 

s^ 

1 

1 

1 

1 

2  P.  M. 

2 

2 

1 

2 

1      • 

STRENGTH  OF  AQUA  AMMONIA  AND  BRINE 

•_! 



1             BTBONG  AWL-A            ||          WEAK  AQUA         ||         BBISE 

W     ' 

E= 

^^^,B.^..-i.Y'""-'n  -"'• 

Ud.Nltlu 

1 

1                   II 

ICE     MAKING 

Oate 

REFRIGERATING     ENGINEERS 
ON  DLTi- 

Tim*              Caiia  Pklled 

Tool  H.r.e.<«l 

Ton.ioKlirl..n            |              Tons  ,o  E.-.anranl 

Ion.  1.,  Bars 

TONNAGE  OF  MACHINE 

1 

Tim. 

&«..  or  Brine  P'.mp    x  Ax.rag.  Bang.   X  Factor  =  Ton*  BefrlfT.ralion 

|!T.m.O„ 

Tim.  Off 

Name 

H.I'.Br.o.                     X                                X                =                                                                                                                                   1' 

L-P      ■•                        X                                X                =                                                                                                                                   1; 

Toul  TtoBAg.  of  B«rrigerat>ngUa.bln«                                                                                                                                                        ti 

Ba 

■•>*• 

the  necessary  data  the  report  enables  the 
chief  engineer  to  ascertain  just  what  has 
been  done.  In  Figs.  20  and  21  are 
shown  the  chief  engineer's  report  sheets 
for  boilers  and  auxiliaries,  respectively. 

From  the  foregoing  it  will  be  seen  that 
the  chief  engineer  is  always  in  a  positior 
to  ascertain  the  exact  cause  for  any  in- 
creased expense  one  week  or  month  ovei 
another,  as  well  as  for  one  year  ovei 
another. 


FIG.   19 


The  Curtis  turbine-driven  fireboats  at 
Chicago,  111.,  gave  excellent  account  oi 
themselves  in  the  fire  which  destroyed 
several  Chicago  grain  elevators  on  April 
29.  The  "Graeme  Stewart"  promptly  re- 
sponded to  the  first  alarm  at  4 130  a.m., 
and  was  shortly  afterward  in  service  with 
full  pressure  on  the  two  gun  nozzles.  The 
"Joseph  Medill,"  although  not  in  com- 
mission, went  into  action  on  a  hurry  call 
a  few  hours  Idter  with  one  of  the  gun 
nozzles  and  several  hose  in  operation.  The 
operation  of  both  boats  w^as  satisfactory 
in    every   respect. 


labor  it  is  seen  that  boiler  No.  i  had  had 
work  done  on  it  charged  to  job  No.  100, 
by  referring  to  job  ticket  No.  100  the 
detailed  report  of  what  was  done,  hours 
consumed  in  doing  the  work  and  the 
amount  and  kind  of  material  required  to 
do  it  are  ascertained.  The  report  sheets 
on  distribution  of  labor  and  mechanical 
stores  is  a  tabulation  of  the  job  tickets  in 
a  condensed  form. 

In  Figs.  18  and  19  are  reproduced  in  re- 
duced form  the  chief  engineer's  daily 
reports  of  the  absorption  and  compression 
refrigerating  plants.  It  will  be  seen 
that  each  report  is  mo?t  complete  and  that 
when  the  engineer  on  watch  has  filled  in 


PLAZA  HOTEL. 

CHIEF    ENGINEERS    REPORT    ENDING 


a  &  W.  BOILERS 

COAL 

CANS 

AVEBAOE 

UEATINO 

KITCHEN 

LAUNDBY 

TCRKISH  BATH 

A<bM 

l-iz-U" 

n^.^ofFiS^ 

Vacnnm 

On 

oir 

Honre 

Od 

oir 

Hours 

0> 

Off 

Hours 

Oo 

Off 

Moors 

Ure 

L 

Ethaaat 

1^ 

11 

J  i 

=  J 

J  = 

*"3 

11 

H 

II 

U 

n. 

i  % 

EVAPORATION 

POLiNDS  COAL 

POUNDS  WATER 

I 

1 

: 

" 

1 

2 

3 

2 

3 

REMARKS 





1 1 

! — 

1 

_J 

. 

May  iH.  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


Bv  C.   \V.  Obert 


Operation     of     a     Small    Producer     '""•  **'  refrigeration  per  34  boon  under 

Gas  Power  Plant*  ^"^  '**«**• 

oc  nucbtnc« 
were     mtullnl     for     Ihu     tcrvice.     with 
equipmcntt    in    dnplicair,    ow--.- 
Krcat     imponancc    of    conti; 
The     new     Wc-stchc^ttT     market     wiikti      friKeration.    p.i  "     '.     in    iv  i    »rjrhcr 

Swift  &  Co.,  recently  built  in  New   York,     A  maxinuim  <)©  horw^iriwrf  t« 

at   One   Hundred   and    Fifty-second   street     lequired  • 
and  Brook  avenue,  contains  an  interesting     sire  and  '     . 


100  horacprrvrr     Tht%  «••  4iac  1 
uniforoii'  ^i^  dctad  m  al  faar 

of  the  d- 

^*»f  t-  prodmti   ««^ 

ttf  of  dwM  b  a 


I rrvrr^t*     m 


THE  PLAZA 


Chid  Ba(bM«n  R«fa*t  Eodlac 


1« 


CUCVATORS 


K 


i« 


It 


Wk^A'^CM    MtTtBS 


nnAi.ecr*ta 


.-T' 


I  -"     I 


WATT  MNCTKM 


i::^ 


CLSVATOR   PUMPS 


uiucrnaaa 


VEMTILATINO  •VSTBM 


■^iiBfiau^iiBffflij^l  ■  I ' 


Nouftc  niTcn  plant 


Ff 


VACUUM  MVCSPMIO  MACMiMCS 


And  one  grarratoc 

ai  nuxniMnB  capanty      TW  oiWr  M  «l 

150    Hnrwftnwrr    catMcay*  10    pin—    ol 

ckn-  'Vt  ol  llM 

to  t  .4hrr  tMHu 

The    phlM    AfTingiaMt    COMMU    ol   Mi 

MtbhoMincnt  ,^  ^14 

*   """'•""'   •  —■    •wj.'.nmfc    UM    tmun 
rm  occiijit  A  local  t^met, 

inriuumg  luri  Mofan.  ol  4I  ft«t  hf  alhoMl 
55  f**t.  Hcadroav  for  ihr  itrhMMfi  Mtf 
ptpifif  b  afforded  bf  thr  4rptn»»am  ol  iW 
wMwuewwi  floor  to  s  trrrf  t«  fevt  htiam 
•    and  ih<  M  thr  h«i*- 

r  n  tht*  , ' « (r!«  that  a 

ckar  bcadrooM  ol  18  fc«t  bt 

frniiirrmrtits     ol     '^^      '>rk.<,  -  ^^ 


t  ■•KKx  <<<Mn  b)r  a 
wall,  formmc  •  9' 
t>>    J  4   frrt  maitroum 


cylr 
ai  . 
for 


.        '4(1' 

the     fott  ■ 


of   too  har«r»ow«r.  rMid 


uttAUMt  jad  thv 

•hr    f»- 
'   al  ol 


LOCAL  riaC  OMILL 


I^f  <?if 
Thr  »- 


«h  9^ 


•t  arr«r»- 


na  ai 


«r    iMcer-BA*  power  pbni    f<.r  the  oprra-     wlrrird  f^  drtrint  ihem,  lo  prorM^ 


■  if  liolh     rrfriKeraling    and    rlr.tn 
-alinit  machinery.     The   rrfriKrratmtf 

at    prr«rnl    required    eniltr.u«-»    the 
iii«>n  of    1  " 

K    over 

I    reaches   a   iiiaAuiiuin   u(   uvcr    i<'^ 


vn  favorable 


♦  »'» 

ol 


tjn^j^^ti    tkM^t- 


8/4 


POWER  AXD  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  1 8,  1909. 


matic  attachment  for  regulating  the 
amount  of  water  vapor  to  conform  to  tlie 
power  requirement  and  consequent  rate  of 
gasilication.  The  wet  scrubbers  are  verti- 
cal cylinders,  each  4  feet  in  diameter  by 
15  feet  high,  and  the  dry  purifiers  have 
4-foot  shells  6  feet  high. 

The  piping  of  the  plant  was  somewhat 
involved  by  the  arrangement  of  the  en- 
gines relative  to  the  producers  and  by 
automatic  vaporizers  in  the  exhaust  con- 
nections to  utilize  the  waste  heat  of  the 
engines  for  the  vaporization  of  the  water. 
The  vaporizers  are  located  close  to  the 
engines  and  attached  to  each  vaporizer  is 
an  automatic  device  through  which  air  is 
admitted  and  preheated  for  the  producers. 
The  air  is  conducted  to  the  producers 
from  these  devices  by  a  lo-inch  pipe 
heavily  covered  with  magnesia  insulation. 
An  8-inch  pipe  connects  the  top  of  the 
generator  to  the  bottom  of  the  scrubber 
shell  and  each  scrubber  has  a  triplicate 
connection  to  its  corresponding  purifier, 
which  is  a  three-part  fiher.  From  these 
the  gas  is  conducted  to  the  engines 
through  a  5-inch  main  with  a  3^-inch 
branch  to  each  engine.  The  exhaust  con- 
nections from  the  engines  to  the  vapori- 
zers are  5-inch  pipes  and  from  the  latter, 
indii-idual  discharge  pipes  are  carried  up 
through  a  pipe  shaft  in  the  corner  of  the 
building  to  a  roof  outlet.  This  arrange- 
ment of  exhaust  connections  is  so  effec- 
tive in  muffling  the  noise  of  the  escaping 
gases  that  it  cannot  be  heard  from  the 
adjoining  street  and  is  only  barely  noticea- 
ble when  on  the  roof  close  to  the  outlets. 
The  electrical  generators  are  75-kilowatt 
General  Electric  direct-current  220-volt 
machines,  each  rigidly  coupled  to  its  driv- 
ing engine.  The  distribution  for  both 
lighting  and  power  is  on  tlie  two-wire 
system.  The  electrical  circuits  are  con- 
trolled on  a  three-panel  switchboard  which 
contains  the  usual  equipment  of  indicat- 
ing and  recording  instruments,  field  rheo- 
stats, field  switches  and  generator  and 
feeder  switches.  The  building  is  wired 
separately  for  lighting  and  power  circuits, 
and  recording  watt-hour  meters  are  in- 
cluded in  the  feeder  circuits.  Separate 
busbars  are  provided  for  the  power  and 
lighting  feeders,  as  well  as  a  switching 
arrangement  by  which  the  lighting  service 
may  be  supplied  from  a  generator  other 
than  that  carrying  the  power  load,  in 
case  the  fluctuations  of  the  latter  should 
interfere  with  the  voltage  regulation. 
This  provision  has  been  found  unneces- 
sary, however,  as  the  speed  regulation  of 
the  engines  is  satisfactory  under  all 
fluctuations  of  load  due  to  elevator 
operation. 

The  refrigerating  equipment  is  the  di- 
rect ammonia-expansion  system,  a  feature 
of  which  is  the  connection  of  all  coils  in 
the  coolers  in  series  with  those  in  the 
freezers,  whereby  all  ammonia  not  thor- 
oughly evaporated  in  the  freezer  coils 
•will  be  in  the  cooler  coils  (temperature, 
36    degrees    Fahrenheit),    which    permits 


carrying  the  freezer  temperature  at  from 
0  degree  to  -[-  5  degrees  without  frosting 
the  compressor.  The  compressors  were 
built  by  the  Hutteman  &  Cramer  Com- 
pany, and  are  horizontal  single-cylinder 
double-acting  machines,  with  14  inches  by 
30-inch  cylinders,  each  driven  at  60 
revolutions  per  minute,  by  a  Renold  sil- 
ent-chain connection  from  its  driving  en- 
gine. The  ammonia  condenser  is  located 
on  the  roof  of  the  Ijuilding.  The  water 
supply  for  it  is  obtained  from  a  well  un- 
der the  basement  floor,  and  the  drainage 
from  the  sprays  is  subsequently  utilized 
in  the  scrubbers  and  in  the  engine-cylinder 
jackets.  One  of  the  compressor  units 
normally  handles  the  load  alone,  which 
leaves  one  equipment  always  in  reserve. 

In  operation  this  plant  has  proved  par- 
ticularly economical,  largely  because  of 
the    continuous    character    of    the    service 


high  loads  to  about  i  pound  per  horse- 
power-hour, but  the  daily  average  under 
conditions  of  ordinary  commercial  opera- 
tion is  usually  greater. 

The  operating  conditions  during  the 
heavy-load  season  are  indicated  roughly 
in  the  accompanying  table,  in  which  the 
relation  of  fuel  consumption  to  load  car- 
ried is  shown  for  two  weeks  of  similar 
duty.  The  variations  in  the  amount  of 
fuel  charged  from  day  to  day  are  due 
chiefly  to  the  differing  conditions  of  the 
fued  bed  in  the  producer,  the  removal  of 
a  particularly  large  amount  of  ashes  on 
any  day  necessitating  a  heavy  fuel  charge. 
No  account  is  taken  of  cost  of  water  used 
in  the  scrubbers  and  cooling  jackets,  as 
the  supply  is  obtained  from  the  well  with- 
out cost  other  than  that  of  pumping. 

The  fuel  used  is  No.  i  buckwheat 
anthracite    that    has   been    passed    over   a 


PLAN    SHOWING    LOCATION    OF    MACHINERY,    APPARATUS    AND  CONNECTIONS 


due  to  the  operation  of  the  refrigeration 
plant  24  hours  a  day,  seven  days  a  week, 
thereby  eliminating  standby  losses.  The 
average  load  range  of  the  plant  is  ordi- 
narily from  50  per  cent,  doo  horsepower) 
to  full  rated  load  (200  horsepower),  the 
high-  and  low-load  factors  occurring  dur- 
ing the  summer  and  winter  months  re- 
spectively, when  the  refrigeration  re- 
quirements are  maximum  and  minimum. 
With  the  heavier  load,  factor  during  the 
summer  months,  the  fuel  consumption  has 
ranged  between  3400  and  4800  pounds  per 
24  hours,  the  larger  figure  having  been 
exceeded  on  only  two  days  in  11  moilths. 
The  consumption  per  brake  horsepower- 
hour,  as  calculated  from  station  fuel  re- 
cords and  observed  loads,  ranged  from 
1.4  to  2  pounds  of  coal.  The  fuel  rate 
has  dropped  during  periods  of  continuous 


•>^-inch  mesh  and  through  a  9/16-inch 
mesh  screen,  with  5  per  cent,  fineness,  and 
costs  $3.50  per  gross  ton  delivered  in 
cargo  lots.  It  is  charged  only  at  the  regu- 
lar cleaning  periods,  at  each  of  which 
from  400  to  900  pounds  of  coal  is  fed, 
after  the  fire  has  been  cleaned  down  and 
the  ashes  removed  from  the  grate.  The 
fire  is  cleaned  periodically  twice  every 
shift,  or  four  times  per  24  hours  and  re- 
quires about  an  hour  for  cleaning,  on  the 
average. 

In  this  connection  it  is  interesting  to 
note  the  comparatively  short  tiine  re- 
qm'rcd  to  start  a  producer  into  service 
from  tlic  cold  condition,  which  has  been 
done  repeatedly  on  short  notice  in  about 
five  liours;  on  December  12,  when  the 
150-horsepower  producer  was  placed  in 
operation   to   relieve   the  larger   unit,  the: 


May  18,  1909. 

kindlinc;  wrod  was  lighted  at   10  a.m.  and 
thf  Ras   supply  turned  onto  »'  al 

2  f.  m.,   witlj  only  alM»ul    12   i;  :irc 

in  the  fuel  bed.  The  rt-ti.if*thiy  of  a 
')n  prfxlucer  operaiinK  under  a  con- 
tinuous and  exacting  service  of  this  char- 
acter is  well  shown  by  the  duty  of  the 
aoo-horsep<jwer  pro<lucer  during  the  uini' 
mer  season  of  i«)oH.  When  taken  out  of 
service  on  Deceniln'r  IJ  this  producer  had 
!  continuously  in  st-rvict-  24  hour<t  per 

ind  seven  days  per  week   since  Aprd 
i^,  .1  continuf)Us   run  of  j.?5  days.     Dur- 
intr  that   time   it   had    received    no    more 
'ion    than     the     four    cleanings    and 
..ingN  per  24  hours. 
f  operating  force  for  the  power  plant 
^ts  of  a  chief  engineer,  an  assistant 
eer  and   two  pro<lucer  tenders,  who 
in  two  shifts.     This  force  is  able  lo 
•ain    the    equipment     in     such     satis- 
ry  operating  condition  that  the  pbnt 
not    l»een    shut    down    «.iiKe    it    was 
(I  on   I-ebruary    1.    Mn^      In   -.r'lrr  to 
'.lin  the  equipment  in  such  K:"'.-'.:\i-,u. 


KJVVER  AND  THE  K 


R. 


75  Horsepower 
ing    tytiem. 

f->r  ih,   ■>Tnni 


the 


takrn  f»y  thr  rrfrigrrat 


1« 


•Jtk.    CM* 


vcr 


«% 
■^ 


01    ! 

tion  :-.  _.... „  .. 

rate   an    obatroctioo    Bccding    tiiiiiie«luite 
aiteniion.  <i-jbi-(    ..r  .- 

Next  an  inspection  t»  made  of  the  cat     mAdr  wnlmu' 


RECORD  OF  LOAD  A. 


r--— I-..- 

', 

.     .-,1 

Ml 

In  1 

Aiu;ii«t  .'7 
Uy.       Ausu»«  .'^ 

I  >   . 

&.4M 

TouU 

v«a 

.,.- 

trie  <rtneT  cvHti 


<• 


T'l'i^ii    ,m<i    I  oiiijii  <  iM  ii-iM     ..jr.  , ... ...,, 

in  has  been  devel<»|»e«l  which  may  be 
». 

•  rating  ^ystrm   involve*  »  thnr- 
r    that    V- 
t«»    the    • 
of  the  entire  equipment  and  a  <h\i*ioii  mJ 

«l A   tending    l«»    favor   the   m.iinlena"«e 

K.     To    the    day    operating    tone    »♦ 

lied    the    in»prction   an.!     ■■'      « ■  "■ 

I-  engines  and  repairs  !• 
-.  etr..  while  the  nighi    • 
of    rlraning    all     nu 

.•  uf  the  day   lofic  in  <ie«-»'i 


TW  ► 


•  «  in  i»pr' 
..i ^els  in  lul- 
us of  water  jacket*  aii< 
There  are  4lwa>*  t* 
iliftn,  i>ne  Iteing   an   rl< 
•te   ;ind    the   ot' 
which  in  the 
•nmer  lin' 
140  hor-. 


876 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  i8,  igog. 


charged.  The  coal  is  cleaned  by  screen- 
ing if  very  fine  or  dirty.  After  charging, 
the  operator  slices  across  the  grate  so  as 
to  relieve  the  center  of  the  fire  and  again 
puts  water  in  the  ashpit,  this  time  to  cool 
off  the  grato  after  cleaning  and  offset  the 
•effect  oi  any  air  that  may  have  got  in 
during  the  operation.  The  cleaning 
usually  occupies  one  hour.  After  giving 
the  generator  time  to  settle  down,  the 
ashes  are  withdrawn  from  the  ashpit,  an 
average  of  ly^  ash  cans  (about  three 
bushels)  be'ng  removed  after  each  clean- 
ing. Dur  r.g  the  cleaning  operation  the 
operator  j  always  on  the  lookout  for  any 
change  in  the  engine  speed  due  to  weak 
gas  on  account  of  opening  the  ash  doors. 
Should  this  occur  he  immediately  cuts 
the  air  supply  to  '.he.  engine.  The  pro- 
ducer is  now  gooG  icr  six  hours'  opera- 
'ion,  after  which  the  cleaning  is  repeated. 
The  refrigerating  engines  are  operated 


Some  Properties  of  Steam  * 


(^+  273)  log 


By  Prof.  R.  C.  H.  Heck 


The  purpose  of  this  paper  is  to  present 
some  recent  experimental  results  as  to 
two  of  the  fundamental  thermodynamic 
properties  of  water  and  steam,  and  to 
make  certain  comparisons  between  these 
determinations  and  the  older  values  used 
in  our  steam  tables.  The  two  properties 
considered  are  the  relation  between  pres- 
sure and  temperature  of  saturated  steam, 
and  the  specific  heat  of  water. 

The  Pressure-temperature  Relation 
This  relation  is,  from  the  point  of  view 
of  experimental  determination,  the  sim- 
plest of  the  properties  of  steam,  and  with 
accurate  instruments  and  adequate  skill 
can  be  very  precisely  measured.     For  this 


760 


5.409  {t  —  100)  — 


0.508  X  io-«[(365  — /)*-265*], 

where  t  is  Centigrade  temperature  and  p 
is  pressure  in  millimeters  of  mercury. 
From  the  comparison  and  discussion  the 
conclusion  was  reached  that  up  to  100  de- 
grees Centigrade  this  formula  is  to  be 
accepted,  while  above  100  degrees  the  de- 
terminations of  Regnault  are  best — not  as 
set  forth  by  his  formula,  but  as  worked 
over  by  Henning,  from  a  selection  of  his 
more  reliable  observations. 

A  new  and  very  accurate  determination 
by  Holborn  and  Henning,  over  the  range 
from  50  degrees  to  200  degrees  Centi- 
grade, is  fully  described  in  Annalen  der 
Physik,  1908,  Volume  26,  pages  833  to 
883,  in  a  paper  on  "The  Platinum  Ther- 
mometer and  the  Saturation  Pressure  of 


0.01 





,/ 

T 

R 

i 

. 

• 

+ 

1 

/• 

1" 

* 

R 

P 

*^ 

I. 

_^ 

y 

1 

/ 

/ 

0.U1 

p 

I 

/ 

n. 

Lb. 

V 

^ 

.*, 

»^ 

// 

/ 

♦  N 

X 

^ 

} 

I 

\ 

— 

— 

/ 

/ 

1 , 

^ 

X 

1 

t°  F        100 


150 


200 


250 


300 


400 


0.7 

0.6 

0.5 

0.4 
P 

0.3 
Lb. 

1.2  ' 

0.1 

0 

0.1 

JPbteer,  N.V, 


FIG.     I.     COMPARISON    OF   PRESSURE-TEMPERATURE     DETERMINATIONS 


for  periods  of  84  hours  and  then  gone 
over.  One  exhaust  valve  is  taken  out  of 
an  engine  each  week,  thoroughly  cleaned, 
and  reground,  if  necessary,  thus  insuring 
attention  to  each  valve  once  in  every  three 
months.  Igniters  are  cleaned  weekly  and 
the  batteries  and  ignition  system  checked. 
The  temperature  of  the  fuel  bed  of  the 
producer  is  taken  twice  a  day  and  a  gas 
analysis  is  made  once  a  week  or  oftener 
if  necessary.  The  average  calorific  value 
per  cubic  foot  of  gas  is  134  B.t.u.,  based 
on  the  analysis :  CO2,  8.6  per  cent. ;  O, 
0.6  per  cent. ;  CO,  20.2  per  cent. ;  H,  18.5 
per  cent,  and  N,  52.1  per  cent. 


The  "Mauretania,"  on  the  trip  which 
ended  at  Liverpool  on  April  20,  made  200 
miles  toward  the  end  of  the  voyage  in  6 
hours  10  minutes,  or  at  the  rate  of  29 
knots  an  hour,  a  feat  never  before  accom- 
plished by  an  ocean  liner. 


reason,  the  results  obtained  by  various 
experimenters  differ  by  relatively  small 
amounts,  and  in  discussing  them  we  take 
up  a  question  in  the  realm  of  scientific 
accuracy  rather  than  one  concerning  effec- 
tively correct  values  for  ordinary  technical 
use.  For  certain  purposes,  however,  it  is 
most  important  that  this  relation  be  truly 
and  accurately  known. 

In  Annalen  der  Physik,  1907,  Volume 
22,  pages  6og  to  630,  is  published  a  paper 
by  F.  Henning  on  "The  Saturation  Pres- 
sure of  Steam,"  in  which  are  gathered 
together  all  the  determinations  that  have 
been  made  on  this  relation,  from  Magnus 
and  Regnault  down  to  that  time.  These 
are  compared  by  means  of  curves,  which 
show,  to  a  large  scale,  their  departures 
from  an  assumed  standard  of  reference. 
This  standard  is  the  formula  of  Thiesen  : 


•Paper  presented  at  the  Rprlnt?  raeetini?  of 
the  American  Society  of  Meclianical  lOngi- 
neers,   Washington,   D.   C,   May  4-7,   1909. 


Steam,"  while  in  Zeitschrift  des  Vereins 
dcutscher  Ingenieure,  February  20,  1909, 
is  given  a  brief  presentation  and  compari- 
son of  results.  Exceedingly  close  agree- 
ment is  shown  between  these  new  obser- 
vations, the  recomputed  Regnault  values, 
and  the  work  of  Knoblauch,  Linde,  and 
Klebe  (see  Table  3  in  Zeitschrift 
article).  The  final  result  is  a  table  giving 
p  for  every  degree  from  o  degree  to  205 
degrees  Centigrade,  which  follows  Thie- 
sen's  formula  up  to  50  degrees,  and  em- 
bodies the  author's  work  from  that  point. 
This  table  is  here  reproduced  in  Table 
I,  but  with  pressure  converted  to  pounds 
per  square  inch  and  interpolated  for  every 
degree  Fahrenheit  from  32  degrees  to 
402  degrees,  or  to  just  past  250  pounds 
absolute.  Later  the  writer  hopes  to  ex- 
tend this  table,  carrying  forward  the  line 
of  the  Holborn-Henning  determination  in 
comparison  with  the  observations  of  Reg- 
nault and  others.     This  can  be  done  even 


May  i8,  igog 

up  to  a  pressure  of  looo  pounds  with  suffi- 
cient accuracy  for  all  practical  purposes. 
In  the  work  of  conversion  and  inter- 
polation, it  was  necessary  to  carry  the 
numbers  to  a  higher  degree  of  apparent 
accuracy,  or  to  use  more  signit'uant  fiR- 
than  any  experimental 
Id  call  for.  Without  a  mati. 
funiiula,  a  function  of  this  sort  can  be 
carried  forward  only  by  carefully  smooth- 
ing out  the  differences  until  those  of  the 
second  order  follow  a  continuous  rate  of 
change.  In  this  operation,  the  first  differ- 
ences were  brought  to  a  sufficient  degree 
-of  smoothness  to  furnish  eflfi-ctivcly  ac- 
curate values  of  the  rate  of  change  of  p 
with    /;    and    this    differential    coefficient, 

dp 
-  .  .  -  is  also  given  in  Table  I.     It  may  be 

idcrcd  absolutely  correct  (as  a  deriva- 

I   within  four  or  five  units  in  the  last 

place,  while  as  between  successive  values 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER, 


and  depart  quite  dcddcdly  from  the  older 
Ubic  above  .u$  degrees.  The  tcaitrring 
**^   •**«   1  'hat   tmt{M-ra(^ire   is 

due   to  of    rvi-M-r    ~\    ex 

prc«»ion.   I't 
P't---  for  ihr 

'    sketched  through  this  b«nd  of 

HolN.rn   and   Henninx   do  not   attempt 
to  devise  a  formula,  hut  ha*e  t*^ 
on   a   method   of   graphical    in?. 

It  u ■    .       . 

wa 

per  ill.  t 
extrrm< 

'«■'  the 

orif 

The  Swcinc  HtAT  or  Wato 
In  Fig.  2  are  plotted  irveral  important 
curves    for    the    specific   heat    of    water— 
the  true  or  inttantaneoas.  not  the  mean 


1^ 

Cur^e  /».  mhiA  hegiiis  m  i«  ^cgrma 
Fahrenhett.  %h.m%  ttx-  %^V^r%  g»<d  ky 
Prabody  a^  ,  i| 

he      i       rr.»i  ''f%- 

•"■  nrjfriajn  ♦  »  i  j^f  irrirn!  •  ins:  i«  \irfjtf 
seems  rratoaable  to  mmk*  t  iJms  ms 
air-  .    t-law  fvr 

exprnmrntt     of 

Ammmirm  d.,  i-k..  ^^^^^  ,^     ,^ 

these  a  ,»,  ^^g^  ga^ 

free   ffu.  ,.3   m  a   t«hr  ol 

qoartx.  -ir«^ 

to    a    ecrtam    tlcu.'cU    teMperaiarr. 

dropped  inio  •  bomen    ice    raliiriini. 

where  ike  hrat  ghcn  o€  ia  its  cooli^  M 

O    drgrrv     <~<'f^ttirr  j'lr     i>     r-wr  >  •.ir«-.4         TW 

highest  nm 

JOO    deicf<'^>  <     'irAvtMCfc 

in  thi«  melh-  rlj 


Loe 


IM 


Lot 


Loe 


Loo 


/^ 

1  \t^yf\  1 

1 

H 

\                            ^'t^**^* 

«s^_ju— J— ;:;li5^                1  M  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 

100 

riC.    2.      THE    SPr^^iFtr    iirKT    nr    w  \rra    VALt-t\    uCAAfKKii  na    t'u:ii   MY    utnM«t'LT    SASXtt.  rv  «an«T   XWU  Mtmttt 


■the  closeness  is  much  better.  Tlii>  1*  lc»i 
prrri^c  than  might  l)e  desired,  but  it  is 
rate  enough  for  use  in  calculating 
,  ilic  volume,  since  the  thermal  <bta 
there  involveil  are  not  of  any  greater  de- 
.gree  of  reliability. 

In  Fig.  I  is  given  a  comparison  between 
■ires  in  Table  t  and  muiic  hitherto 
■i^rd   valued.     Thr  l'.iNC  it  tern- 
•nheit.  the  ordm.itc  the  dif- 
'II  the  other  v.ilnr  of  ^  and 
that   m    lablc   1.     Curve   /,  for  the  range 
up   to   22$   degrees    Fahrenheit,   is   drawn 
to  the  large  ^cale  at  the  left,  and   shows 
how   Regnauli'<t  formula  drops  below  the 
new  detrrmination.    The  curves  at  /  have 
the  ordinate  *cale  at  the  right,  "idv   ••n*- 
truth  as  large  ,i«  that  for  /      'Ifir  I.  f.r   .V 
t     the 
plntteel   (: 
"I  herm'Mlynamir*."  which  li 
the  most  convenient  in  il«  n 
pre««inn :  note  the  abrupt  cli  ■ 
•"  -  degrees   Fahrenheit.     Ciwi.    . 

••Mly*«    values,    which    are    !«»'- I      " 
K'k'nault.  but   with   revised  computalmn*. 


value. 

Curve    K    »h 

•  •»»     Kcctiaiill't 

for 

mula. 

whk: 

l>  in  Fahrenheit  uni 

»    IS 

e 

s  1 

3»)  + 

OuOOoaoojTfl 

(1  -  3») 

». 

This 

curve    differs 

radiraDy 

from 

the 

newer 

and 

true  detrrminaiKNi 

of  the 

•«w- 

cilu 

•  of  the  range. 

at 

.-*. 

( 

■rtents  o« 

II 

'  ese 

are 

TramJ 

/ 

while 

in   , 

-.» •■•  -• 

XV.  1 

here 

bad' 

if 

< 

■  UtM 


rm 


I* 


*.     .>    f4T 


^  TaU* 


fVffftey?  Mt«r  l'*r*» 


SjS 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  i8,  1909. 


was  either  clearly  perceived  or  accurately 
measured.  Barnes'  values  are  based  on 
unit}-  at  16  degrees  Centigrade,  and,  it 
will  be  noted  that  the  B  curve  on  Fig.  2 
crosses  the  base  line  at  just  about  16  de- 
grees Centigrade  (the  two  short  vertical 
cross-lines    near    60    degrees    Fahrenheit 


are  at  15  degrees  and  16  degrees  Centi- 
grade). The  now  generally  used  numeri- 
cal values  of  the  mechanical  equivalent 
of  heat,  427  meter  kilograms  or  778  foot- 
pounds are  based  on  a  heat  unit  at  15  de- 
grees Centigrade  or  59  degrees  Fahrenheit. 
Dieterici's   results   are   expressed   in   the 


mean  calorie,  which  is  one  one-hundredth 
of  the  heat  required  to  raise  i  kilogram  of 
water  from  o  degree  to  ico  degrees  Centi- 
grade ;  and  his  specific  heat  values  check 
up  to  an  average  of  unity  over  this  range. 
Graphically,  on  Fig.  2,  his  curve  cuts  the 
15-degree    Centigrade    ordinate    at    0.0012 


TABLE   1.     THE  PRESSURE-TEMPERATCRE  RELATION. 


TABLE  1   (continued). 


dp/dt 


3210 

33  0 

34  0 
35|0 

360 
37  !0 
3S'0 
39  0 
400 


, 0886  0 . 00357 
0922  0  00371 
09600. 003S45 


dp/dt 


0999  0.003985    80  0.5055  0.01646 


1039  0.00413 
10S10.0042S 
112510  00443 
1170  0.004585 
1217!0. 00474. 

1265|0.  00491 
13159 .  00507, 
13673.00525 
1420  J .  00543 
147  5I0. 00561 


4610 .  1532  ) .  005S0 
47  0.15910.00600 
480.1652  0.00620 
49  0.17153.00641 
50l0. 1780  3.00663 


51t0.1&47IO.O08S5 
520.19170.00708 
.53  0.1989,0.00731 
.540 .  2063,0  00754 
5.5l0.2104!o.  00778 

56^.2219,0.00803 
57  0.23010.00829 
.580.  2385'0. 00856 
.59  0.2472J0.  00883 
60O.  2.56 10. 009 11 

610.26.530.00939 
620.27490.00968 
63'0.  2847 0.00998 
64  0.29480.01029 
650.30530.01061 

660.31610.01094 
67  0.32720.01127 
680. .33860. 01161 
69  0.3.504  0.01196 
700.3625  0.01232 

710.37.500.01269 
720.38790.01307 
730.40120.01345 
740.41480.01384 
750.42890.01425 


■60.4433  0.01467 
•70.45820.01510 
■80.47350.01554 
790.48930.01600 


81 0 . 5222  0 . 01694 126  1 . 99180 . 0542 


dp/dt 


121 1.73620.0481 
1221.7849  0.0493 

123  1.8348  0.0505 

124  1.88590.0517 

125  1.9382  0.0529c 


820.53940.0174 
830.55700.01792 
84  0.5752  0.01844 
850. 59390. 01S98 


86  0.6132  0.01952 

87  0.6330  0.021 

88  0 .  6533,0  .  02065 
S9;o.  6743:0.  02123 
90  0.6958  0.02182 


1312.2790  0.0608 
008|132  2.  34050.  06215 
133  2.4033  0.06355 
1.34, 2.  46750.  0649.- 
135  2.53320.0664.^ 


910.717910.02243 

92  0.7406  0.02305 

93  0.7640,3.02 
94,3.7880  3.02432 
9.5  0.8127  3.02498 


136:2.6004  0.0680 

137 2. 6692  0. 0696 

36SI13S2.  73960  0712 

139  2.81160.0728 

140  2.88510.0744 


96,0.8380:0.02566 

97  3  .  8640  3  .  02635 

98  3  .  8907  0  .  0270, 
99,3   9181|0.  02776 

100  0.9462  0.02849 


ioi;o 
102,1 

103  1 

104  1 
10.51 

I 
1061 

107  1 

108  1 

109  1 
1101 


.97510 
. 0047  0 
. 0350  0 
.06620 
.09820 

I 
. 13100 
.  1647  0 
.  19920 
.2347  0 
.27110 


02923 
02999 
03077 
01357 
03240 

03325 

0341 

03.50 

03.59 

03685 


nil. 

1121. 
1131. 


3084  0.0377 
.34660.0387 
38.580.0397 
114  1.4260  0.0407 
1151.46710.0417 


1161.. 5093 0.0427 
117 1.55250.04375 

118  1.59680.0448 

119  1.64210.04.59 

120  1.6886  0.0470 


127  2.0466  0.05545 

128  2.1027  0.0567 
1292. 16010.0581 
130  2.2189  0.05945 


1412.96030.0760 
1423.03710.0776 

143  3. 11550.0793 

144  3    19.560.0810 

145  3.27750.0828 


146  3 

147  3 

148  3 

149  3 
1.50  3 

1513 
1523 

1.53  4 

1.54  4. 
1554 


36120 
4467  0 
53410 
6233  0 
71410, 

I 
808  0. 
903  0 
000  0. 
099  0. 
200  0. 


0846 
0864 
0883 
0902 
0921 

0940 
0960 
0980 
1001 
1022 


1.564   303  0.1043 

4.408  0.1064 

1.58  4.516  0.  1086 

159  4.625  0.1108 

1604.737  0.1131 

1614.852  0.11.54 

162  4.968  0.1178 

163  5.087  0.1202 

164  5.209  10.1227 

165  5.332  ,0.1252 


t  p         dp/dt  lit          p           dp/dt 

166  5.4590.  1277i|216  15. 902,0. 3111 

167  5 .  5880 .  1302   217  16  .  215,0  .  3162 

168  5.719  0.13271  218  16.534  0.3214 

169  5.8530.  1353|  219  16.858,0  3266 
1701  5.990  0.1 380 !  220  17.18710.3319 


.5210  3372 
.  860J0  3426 
.  205,0 .  3480 
5560  3535 
9130.3591 

I 
27510.3648 
643  0.3705 


171  6.1290.1407,  22117 

172'  6.2710.14341  22217 

173  6.4160.1462;  22318 

174  6.564  0.1490   224  18 

175  6.7140.  1519|  22518. 

176  6.8680. 1548!  226  19. 

177  7,0240.15771  227  19. 

178  7. 1830. 1607  122820. 0170. 3763 
179!  7.345,0,1637!  229  20.396  0.3821 

ISO!  7,5110.  106Sjj23020, 7810, 3880 

I81'  7,6790. 1699:1231:21,  1720,3940 

182  7.850  0.1730  1232  21 ,  .568J0, 4000 

183  8.0250.  1762   233  21.970:0.4061 

184  8.203  0.  1794  '234  22.37910.4123 

185  8 .  384  0  .  1827  :235  22  .  79410 .  4185 

8 .  .5680 .  1860   236  23  .  2160  .  4248 


186 

187  8.7560.  1894:;237  23.  6440.4312 

188  8.9470.  1929i!23824. 0790. 4377 
189:  9.  1420.  1964  239  24  520  0.4442 
190i  9,340  0.1999:  240  24.967  0.4508 

191  9.5420.2035:  24125,4210.4575 

192  9.747  0.20721  242,25.8820.4643 

193  9. 9,560. 2109,  243  26.35010.4711 

194  10  .  169 0   2147,  ,244  26 .  825,0 .  4780 

195  10 .  3850 .  2185;  245  27  ,  307  0 .  48.50 

196  10.6060   2224  "246,27.  795  0. 4920 

197  10.8300.2263    247  28.2900.4991 

198  1 1 .  058  0 .  2303    248  28 ,  7930  .  .5063 

199  1 1 .  291  0  .  2343;  J249J29 .  303,0 .  5136 

200  1 1 .  527  0  .  2384!  ,'2.50  29 ,  8200 ,  5210 

201  11,767  0.2425  125130.3450,5285 

202  1 2  .  0 13  0  .  2467 ' ;  252  30 .  877  0 .  5361 


203  12.2610.2.509 
204 12.514  0,2552 

205  12.7710.2595 

206  13  033  0.2639 

207  13   2990.2683 

208  13. 569  0.2728 

209  13.8450.2783 
102  14.1240.2819 


T.VBLE   1   (continued). 


t 


211 14. 40810 , 
21214.t-97'0, 
21314.9910. 
214 15.2900, 
215  15. .5940. 


dp/dt        t   \      p         dp/dt       t         p         dp/dt       t   \      p      \  dp/dt 


2866 
2914 
2962 
3011 
3061 


2.56  33,0850.5677 

2.57  33. 6.57  0.. 57.58 

2.58  34 .  236  0 ,  5840 

259  34  ,  824  0 ,  .5922 

260  35,4200,6005 


301. 
302 
303 
304 
305 


67.99  1.015 
69.01 1.0271 
70.05  1.0395 
7 1 .  09  1 ,  052 
72.15  1,065 


346  127.67 1.675 

347  129.351.693 

348  131.0.511,711 

349  132.77  1,729 
3.50  134,511.746 


253  31,417  0.5438 
254:31,9650.5517 
25.5!32.  521 0.5596 


P 


dp/dt 


261,36.025,0.6088 
262,36  6380.6172 
26337   2590  6256 

64  37.888,0.6341 
65 3S . 5260 . 6426 

266,39.  1730.6513 

267  39.8280.6600 

268  40.492:0.6688 
26941. 1650.6777 
270  41.8480.6868 


27142.54 
27243.24 
273  43.95 

274,44,67 
275  45.40 

27646.14 

277  46.88 

^47.64 

279  48.41 

8049.19 

28149.98 
2821.50 .  77 
283  51.. 58 
284,52.40 
28.5:53 .  23 

286:54 ,  07 
287  .54 ,  92 
288155 .  78 
289:.56 .  65 
29057 ,  53 

29ll.58.42 

292  59 . 33 

293  60 .  25 
294,61.17 
29562,11 

296  63 .  06 
297:64.03 
298,65 .  00 
299,65.98 
300^66 ,  98 


0,6960 
0 , 7052 
0,7145 
0,7239 
0,7334 

0,7430 
0,7527 
0.7625 
0.7725 
0.7826 

0 . 7926 
0 . 8028 
0.8131 

0.8235 
0 . 8340 

0.8446 
0 . 8553 
0  8661 
0 . 8770 
0 . 8880 

0.8991 
0.9103 
0.9216 
0,9330 
0 . 9445 

0.9561 
0.9678 
0.9796 
0.9915 
1 . 0035 


p  dp/dt 

73.22,1.0775 

74.311,090 

75,40:i,103 

76.51  1. 116 

310,   77,64,1,129 


306 
307' 

308: 
309, 


313 
314' 
315, 


311    78,7711.142 

312;  79,921.155 

81.081.169 

82 .  26  1 .  182 

83.44  1,195 

I 

3161   84.6.5,1,209 
317'   85.861.223 

318  87.09'1.237 

319  88.34  1.251 

320  89.601,265 

321'  90.87  1.280 

3221  92.  161.295 

323  93.461.309 

324  94.78,1.324 

325  96.17  1.339 


326  97.45 
327'  98.81 
328100,19 
329  101.58 
330102,99 


1,354 
1.369 
1.384 
1.400 
1.415 


331104.411.430 
332105.8511.445 
333107.30|1.461 
334108,7711.477 
335110,261,493 

336  111,761.509 
337113.27:1.525 
338114.811.542 
339  116,361.5.58 
340117,921,574 

341119.501,591 
342,121.1011,607 
343122,721,624 
344,124,351.641 
345126,001,658 


t   j 

351 136.26  1 
352138.04  1 
353139.83  1 
354:141.641 
355:143,461. 


dp/dt 


800 
818 
836 


356  145,311,855 

357  147,17  1,874 
358,149.06  1.893 

359  150.96  1.912 

360  152.88  1.931 

361154.82  1.951 
362,156.78,1,970 
363158,76  1,990 

364  160,76  2.010 

365  162.78:2.029 


366  164 

367  166, 

368  168 

369  171 
370173. 


371175. 
372:177. 
373179. 
374'181. 

375184, 

376  186. 
3771188. 

378  190. 

379  193. 
380195, 


82  2 , 
88  2, 
96  2 
06  2, 
18: 

31 

47 
65 
8; 
0: 

31|2 
58  2 
86  2 
1712 
50:2 


381197.86  2 

382  200 , 23  2 

383  202,63  2 
364:205,052 
38.5,207,49  2 

386209,96  2 

387  212,452 

388  214.96  2 

389  217.50  2 

390  220.06  2 


049 
069 
089 
.108 
.  128 

.148 
.168 
.189 
,210 
,231 

,252 
,274 
,296 
,318 
.341 

.364 
,387 
,410 
.433 
.456 

,479 
.502 
525 
548 
571 


TABLE  1  (continued). 


t         p 


dp/dt       t 


391222,64  2,594 

392  225,24  2.617 

393  227.87  2.641 

394  230.52  2.664 

395  233,2012.687 

396  235.90  2.711 

397  238.62  2.735 

398  241.37  2.759 

399  244.14  2.783 

400  246.93  2.807 


40l'249.75  2.832 
402  252.60  2,857 


dp/dt      t         p         dp/dt      t   I      p        dp/dt 


Te.mperature. 

Cent. 

Fahr. 

— 0 

23 

0 

32 

^.5 

41 

10 

50 

15 

59 

20 

6« 

25 

1 1 

30 

86 

35 

95 

40 

104 

.50 

122 

60 

140 

70 

1.58 

Regnault. 


1 . 00000 
1.06649' 


1.00116 
1.66261' 


1.00304 

1.00425 
1 . 00564 
1.00721 


Dieterici. 


1 , 0075 
1 . 0037 
1 . 0008 
0.9987 

0.9974 
0 . 9970 
0.9971 
0.9972 
0.9974 

0 . 9983 
0 . 9995 
1,0012 


T.\BLE 


THE  SPECIFIC   HEAT  OF  WATER. 


Barnes. 


Peabod.v. 


1.01.58 
1 . 0094 
1 . 00530 
1 . 00230 
1 . 00030 

0 . 99895 
0.99806 
0.99759 
0.99735 
0.99735 

0 . 99800 
0.99910 
1 . 00035 


0.99940 
1.001.50 


Temperature. 


Cent. 


80 

90 

100 

120 
140 
160 
180 
200 

220 
240 
260 

280 
300 


Fahr. 


176 
194 

212 

248 
284 
320 
3.56 
392 

428 
464 
500 
536 


Regnault. 


1 . 00896 
1.01089 
1.01300 

1.01776 
1.02324 
1 , 02944 
1 , 03636 
1 , 04400 

1 , 05236 
(1,06144) 
(1,07124) 
f 1.08176) 
( 1 . 09300) 


Dieterici. 


1.0032 
1.00.57 
1.0086 

1.0157 
1.0244 
1 . 0348 
1,0468 
1 . 0605 

1,07.58 
1 . 0928 
1,1115 
1,1318 
1.1538 


Barnes. 


1,00166 

1 , 00305 

(1.0044) 


Repnault:  from  the  formula  eiven.     .\bove  200  deg.  Cent,  liis  formula  is  an  extrapolation. 

Dieterici:   from  table  in  original  publication,  computed  by  formula  from  40  des.  Cent,  upward. 

Barnes:   from  Phyfdcal  Hrrifv).  with  last  value  extrapolated. 

Peabodv:  from  Steam  and  I^ntropy  Tables,  p.  10. 

Dieterici:  values  in  mean  calories  (heat  units),  others  in  15  deg.  Cent,  units. 


Peabodv. 


1.00415 
1 . 00705 
1.01010 

1.01620 
1.02230 
1 .  028.50 
1,03475 
1.04100 

1.04760 


May  18,  1909. 

below  the  unity  base  line.    In  a  spcrinl  rx 
pcrinicnt,     with     electrical      tn. 
analojjous  to  that  unetl  by  Bariu- 
the   mechanical   equivalent    of    tht-     ii>    . 
caloric    bear    to     our     standard     Kum1u:i>1 
value   for  the    i5-<lc|{ree  calorie  the  rati" 
of  the  numbers  419.25  to  418.8.  or    i   t  • 
to     I.      Diiiregarding    some     uncert.i 
which   may   exi!>t    in   the   mind;*  of   ;>::>m 
cists  as   to  the   tinality   of  this  drNriMi,!,!- 
tion.  it  seems  reasonalile,  for  «• 
purposes,   to    use    this   0.001 1    <<r 
cent,  correction   in  order  to  change   from 
one  system  of  units  to  the  other. 

The  amount  of  attention  here  paid  to 
this  small  point  is  justified  by  the  import- 
ance given  to  it  through  the  introduction 
of  the  mean  calorie  to  the  society  in  the 
reci-nt  paper  on  "The  Total  Heat  of 
Saturated  Steam."  by  Dr.  H.  N.  I);imn 
Personally,  I  think  we  had  better  tr.m> 
form  heat  valur<»  in  this  unit  by  nu  n^ 
of  the  ratio  just  ofTerrd,  rather  th.m 
change  our  mechanical  equivalent  of  heat 
from  778  to  778.9. 

Ni)W  the  spccihc  heat  is  the  ratio  of  a 
certain   absolute   quantity   of   heat    to  an 
assumed   unit  quantity.     If  we  use  a  br 
ger   unit,   the    ratio   will   be   smaller,   and 
vice    versa.      Assuming     tliat     the     m«-an 
calorie  is   l.ooii   of  the   i5-degrcc  c;i!   " 
we    change    Uieterici's    values    to    tli' 
degree   unit   if   we   increase   them   by   0.11 
per  cent.     This  would  raise  his  curve  to 
the  dottef!  position  on  Fig>.  3.  and  change 
his  formula  to 

r  —  0  099.^8  —  0.00005766  U  —  39)  + 
0.0000000407  (/  —  i2)* 

.-ricim    Heat   of  Waiti  —  Cojicri'sioj* 
li  is  pretty  safe  to  say  that  the  lloIlMirn- 
Henning    results    for    pressure    ainl    • 
pcratiire,    set    forth   in   Table    I.   .irr 
and  that  this  relation  is  now  kn 
and  accurately  enough  for  all  |>     , 
practical    science.     But   in    regard   to  the 
specitic    heat    of   water    we   »re   yet    r-'n- 
fronled    by    one   of    the   annoying    im  ■ 
taintirs    which   ha\e    s«>   long   surro^: 
many     p.»rts     of    this     subjret        l)i' 
claims  an   experimental  a< 
from  0.1    per   cent,   at    Ion 
per  cent,  at   high  ranges  «>i  u- 
but    hi*   method    is  itpen   to  th< 
that  two  heat  capacities  have  to  be  ine«s- 
uretl  and  their  difference  m— ■• 

In  spile  of  some  small 
ac< 
fa. 

rapi>ll>,  I  •till  ul  tlu 
termin.ilion    is   to  l>e 
Kegnaull  »       Further,    ilir    mIcj   .'I    •■ 
creating    rale    of    in.  f<  .1  •     in  i 

pressed     by     a 

seems  to  be  fir  \v, 

of  a  nearly  constant  rale 

It  is  hardly  probablr  th.v 
city  of  water  will  rvrr  I- 
determined  • 

work   nf  rsr». 

than  a  1  «l'«  p^'^baUc  crrur 

in  heat 


the 

jitd     a 

V  rise  too 


KnVRR  AND  THE  ENM.M  , 

The  Specific  Volume  of  Saturated    •*^" '  '-  ^ 

Steam  ♦  * 


*v 


R.    P....    r    H.  PKAmn  i 

^  (M    tkr    vkbir 

dfic  volome  of  rr*ui;.    (ik^Mcli    tWr*    u    mamt 

computed  from  ihal  M  i*  •  irs4r  Madl     TW 

the  tiM:riiuAi>ii4*iiuc  c<|UAiMja  nuy  be  oar  m  •  ikowai^  m  m 

th<>.:iurwl 

in    which    tb«     i|uj|iiiiir^     n.i^r     irif     p'lKiw-  %'.     !«..    •'  ..M^Jr^.l 

ing  signiticance :  F«c  iHr  rmi«r  ol 

i       S  Irtbe  A.  o 

^  !  one  e»j 

Kii'>.(rjm, 


r  =  Heat  of  vap" 
T  —  .Absolute    I. 

by  ad<l 

lure    ». 

momcter. 


OiJio  tjf  ^ 


I4l.ia4  i*i- 


'l*t.    "TW    Total    !!«««    «l 
'ram "    fw%A     ••     »W 


fM-rs 


rrt  to  400  4mr 


nc   I 


TraasfnnMd  kmo  Frtacli  aah*  Ms 
be  vntlMi 


IK 


l**<«    ■■ 


For 

i»<' 


MHCfias   into   dus     Uumi* 


•  i^    1^  >i 


ritrrluinkBl  f^i*  '»'^'    ■  ^ 


ai     iV«     *-•<«« 


88o 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  1 8,  1909. 


((7)  Barnes"'  determinations  of  the 
specific  heat  of  water  from  o 
degree  to  95  degrees  Centigrade. 

(b)  Dieterici's'  determinations  of  the 

same    property     from     freezing 
point  to  very  high  temperatures. 

(c)  RegTiault's'  determinations  of  the 

heat  of  the  liquid. 

Barnes'  experiments  were  made  by  an 
electrical  method  for  which  great  relative 
precision  is  claimed,  and  they  showed  a 
good  concordance  with  Rowland's  work 
on  the  mechanical  equivalent,  which  in 
reality  was  an  investigation  also  of  the 
specific  heat.  Dieterici's  investigation 
consisted  essentially  in  heating  water  in  a 
quartz  tube,  which  was  then  transferred 
to  the  ice  calorimeter.  His  results  appear 
to  be  systematically  larger  than  Barnes' ; 


calorimeter  for  the  first  group  was  not 
far  from  9  degrees  Centigrade,  which  item 
appears  to  account  for  the  considerable 
irregularity  of  results  at  that  place.  The 
experiments  with  the  highest  temperatures 
had  nearly  twice  that  rise  of  temperature 
in  the  calorimeter  and  about  half  the  dis- 
persion of  results. 

In  order  to  use  Regnault's  results  his 
values  for  the  heat  of  the  liquid  were  re- 
computed, allowing  for  the  true  specific 
heat  of  the  water  in  the  calorimeter,  and 
then  a  diagram  was  plotted  as  shown  by 
Fig.  I,  in  which  the  abscissas  are  tempera- 
tures and  the  ordinates  are  values  of 
q  —  t. 

This  allows  of  the  use  of  a  large  verti- 
cal scale  which  much  accentuates  the  ap- 
parent scattering  of  points.  A  curve  was 
then  drawn  to  join  a  curve  from  o  degree 


- 

4.80 

•         / 

- 

/ 
/ 
/ 
/ 

/ 
/ 
/ 

/ 

1             / 

— c.:o 

/            / 

1 

- 

1.60 

/  A" 

— 

— 

on 

^z^=^=^^^^^^^^^ 

'       1       1 

50 

1        1        1        1        1 

100                                   150                                  200 

1         i       1        1        1        1        1        1        1        1        1        1        1        1        1 

Temperature  Centigrade 
FIG.    2 


l>«wer,  N.  r. 


at  55  degrees  Centigrade,  the  discrepancy 
is  ^5  of  I  per  cent.  ' 

In  1907  the  author  endeavored  to  join 
Regnault's  values  for  the  heat  of  the 
liquid  to  those  deduced  from  Barnes' 
values  <jf  the  specific  heat.  Now  Reg- 
nault's experiments  consisted  in  running 
hot  water  into  a  calorimeter  partly  filled 
with  cold  water  and  noting  the  rise  of 
temperature  in  the  calorimeter.  There 
were  40  tests  in  all,  scattered  irregularly 
from  about  100  degrees  to  190  degrees 
Centigrade  for  the  temperature  of  the  hot 
water ;  there  were  in  a  way  three  groups 
of  tests,  one  near  no  degrees,  ©ne  near 
160  degrees,  and  the  third  near  190  de- 
grees Centigrade. 

The  average  rise  of  temperature  in  the 


Tp;i2/«.  Review,  Vol.  15,  p.  71,  1002. 
'Annclen  dcr  Phy^ik,  Vol.  16,  p.  .'SOS,  100.5. 
'ilenioim  de  I'Institut  de  France,  Vol.  26. 


to  100  degrees  Centigrade,  from  Barnes' 
results  for  the  specific  heat  of  water.  This 
curve  passes  near  the  highest  group  of 
points,  above  the  middle  group  and  below 
the  lowest  group. 

It  should  be  said  that  Barnes'  results 
were  first  transformed  to  allow  for  the  use 
of  62  degrees  Fahrenheit  for  the  standard 
temperature,  instead  of  20  degrees,  which 
he  had  taken  in  his  report;  also  that  his 
values  were  slightly  increased  at  tempera- 
tures approaching  100  degrees  so  as  to 
avoid  a  break  in  the  curve.  The  last  had 
the  effect  of  increasing  the  heat  of  the 
liquid  at  100  degrees  by  one  one-thou- 
sandth. 

Finally  a  table  of  specific  heats  was 
drawn  off  for  temperatures  from  o  degree 
to  220  degrees  Centigrade,  which  served 
as  the  basis  of  a  graphical  integration  for 
the  value  of  7  —  /.    Fig.  2  gives  the  curve 


representing  the  final  value  of  this  quan- 
tity and  also  a  curve  representing  values 
that  would  be  obtained  if  Dieterici's 
values  for  the  specific  heat  were  excepted. 

The  author  is  of  the  opinion  that  the 
full  curve  in  Fig.  2  shows  very  nearly  the 
true  value  of  the  property  under  consid- 
eration, and  he  has  used  it  to  determine 
heats  of  the  liquid. 

The  maximum  deviation  of  a  single 
point  from  the  curve  in  Fig.  i  is  0.8  of  a 
calorie,  which  amounts  to  ^  of  i  per  cent, 
of  the  heat  of  the  liquid  at  that  point. 
If  we  could  consider  that  an  error  of  0.02 
degree  might  be  attributed  to  the  tem- 
peratures in  the  calorimeter  it  would  ac- 
count for  one-third  of  that  deviation.  But 
to  take  the  most  pessimistic  view  of  the 
situation  and  charge  an  error  of  0.8  of  a 
calorie  against  the  method,  we  may  still 
consider  that  for  temperatures  above  boil- 
ing point  the  heat  of  the  liquid  is  always 
associated  with  the  heat  of  vaporization, 
and  that  their  sum  is  more  than  630 
calories,  so  that  the  deviation  in  this  light 
amounts  to  J^  of  i  per  cent. 

A  more  just  view  is  clearly  to  take  the 
deviation  of  the  worst  group  of  points. 
This  occurs  at  117  degrees  and  is  about 
0.3  of  a  calorie,  that  is,  0.25  per  cent,  of 
the  heat  of  the  liquid.  The  most  favora- 
ble view  is  to  consider  that  the  upper  end 
of  the  curve  is  well  fixed  by  Regnault's 
experiments,  which  were  then  under  the 
most  favorable  conditions,  and  that  the 
lower  end  is  tied  to  Barnes'  values,  which 
have  all  desired  precision.  This  matter  is 
discussed  with  some  detail  because  the 
original  experimental  results  needed  to  be 
entirely  recast  for  the  present  purpose. 

But  while  important  from  some  aspects, 
the  quantities  with  which  we  are  dealing 
are  not  affected  by  uncertainties  that  con- 
cern our  main  investigation,  i.e.,  the  spe- 
cific volume  of  saturated  steam,  for  the 
maximum  variation  between  the  author's 
value  for  the  heat  of  the  liquid,  and  a 
value  determined  from  Dieterici's  inves- 
tigation, amounts  to  0.8  of  a  calorie  at 
200  degrees  Centigrade.  This  is  only  ]/& 
of  I  per  cent,  of  the  total  heat  at  that 
place.  However,  we  need  for  our  specific 
volume  the  heat  of  vaporization,  and  the 
discrepancy  then  becomes  Ys  oi  1  per  cent. 

Recent  determinations  of  the  pressure 
of  saturated  steam  have  been  made  by 
Holborn  and  Henning,"*  with  all  the  re- 
sources of  modern  physical  methods  in- 
cluding the  platinum  thermometer.  They 
claim  a  precision  of  o.oi  degree  in  the  de- 
termination of  temperature  and  that  their 
results  reduced  to  the  thermometric  scale 
have  a  probable  error  of  not  more  than 
0.02  degree  at  200  degrees  Centigrade. 
Their  own  experiments  cover  the  range 
of  temperature  from  50  degrees  to  200  de- 
grees Centigrade   (122  degrees  to  392  de- 


ioAnnalen  der  Physik,  Vol.  26,  p.  38.*?,  1008. 

Note — Since  these  results  may  not  be 
easily  accessible,  it  may  be  of  interest  to  say 
that  they  have  been  transferred  dii-pctly  to 
Table  .'{.  of  the  anthor's  "Steam  and  Kntropy 
Tables,"    edition    of    1000. 


May  1 8,  1909 


KJWFR  WD  TUF  FVr.IvrrR 


■grces  Fahrenheit),  and  they  have  extra- 
polated results  to  205  degrees  Centigrade 
Below  JO  degrees  they  have  made  use  of 
experiments  by  Thiescn  and  Scheel  to  ex- 
tend results  to  freezing  points,  thtsc  ex- 
periments were  not  made  with  the  %ame 
degree  of  precision  as  those  by  Holborn 
2nd  Henning. 

In   order   to   extend   calculations   to  230 
de^'''"*''"   fi'nf ierraile    ;l^  ha>i  In-en   the   li:ihit 


A  p 

»«$.9 

— 

7"7 

\ 

Al 

' 

US9S9 

4 

^ 

3(h» 


A  number  of  Hcmcnta  miered  iMo  the 
drtermination  to  tut  ihit  meth'>d  and  to 
take  an  interval  of  4  dcvrre*  If  the  rrU- 
tion   of  th*  mprralarc 

could  be  rr;  nd-dcgrrr 

curve,   that   it.   it  were    • 

para)ir>Ia   with   it^  '  •   ikr  aiit 


«nd  the  trt9- 


nc  3 


in  computing  steam  tables,  the  author 
made  use  of  a  diagram  shown  by  i'lg.  3. 
in  which  the  abscis>as  are  temperatures 
Centigrade  and  the  ordinates  are  difTer- 
-«nces  between  Holborn  and  llcnning's 
value  and  pressures  computed  by  the  fol- 
lowing equation  : 

Jog   p  >  S.487BT0  —  0  4130im    9  077«11»6  —  10)   '  ~  ** 

-»  (7.T4ia«  -  10)   (V.9V7411ZM  -  10)  *  ~  '•• 

which  was  chosen  as  a  matter  of  con- 
venience and  because  it  gave  a  curve 
which  crossed  the  axis  near  2JO  degrees 
Centigrade  when  produced.  It  is  thought 
that  the  extrapolated  values  are  not  much 
in  error,  though  there  is  no  means  of  de- 
termining this  question.  Fortunately  this 
part  of  the  range  of  tcini>crature,  as  well 
SL»  that  below  .?o  «iegrtes  Centigrade,  n 
not  so  inn»ortant  to  engineers. 

The    degree    of    precision    a' 
Holborn  and    Henning  in  the   ■: 
tion  of  the  pressure  of  saturated  steam  is 
far  beyond   any   direct   technical    rnyfrr 
ment,    since   pressures   %re    seldom   ■'•   • 
mined   closer  than  «>ne-tenth  of  a  t»"'!"''. 
it  is,  however,  requisite,  if  the  difTcreiHial 


cocflficient 


dp 


it  to  be  determined  wii! 


•  V  and  accuracy, 
their    rcMll^^   are   presented   in   a 
table    without    attempting    t"    rr;  r     cm    it 
by  an   equation,   it    iK'comcs   uricvvary   to 

rrplacc  — iV"  ^  — .  .-.  which  can  be  m«  • 
idily  obtained  as  follows:    For  a  gi»«» 
irmperature.  for  example  t"^  .i-..r-:^.    «r 
mav  compute  the  ratio  by  ' 

h  a»  vv  •■• 
the     difl. 
prrs<»iire,    whuh    »*    to    l»c 
difference  of  lemperaturr 
is    to    lie    multiplird    by     i 
that  is  the  pressure  ol  o»ir 
mercury  on  one  square  meter. 
-tilt   is 


II 


of  pressure,   the   ratio 


for    an;    in- 


terval  would  be  precisely  eqiul  to 

.\    table   of   values    that    could   be    - 
sentetl  by  such  a  curve  would  ha»r  con- 
stant   second  differences,   by  •«-..■?•..«    i!if 
ferences  are  meant  the  re«ulis  • 
taking    (0)    the   differences   of 
tabular  values,  and   (6)  the  dr-  i 

l\\<  minaii-'ti  .  t   rx 

%r  *iom   anil    Mm- 

niiiii't     val  > 

between   50 
for   their   own   ■ 
ond  differences   1 

tervalt  of  4  denree*  the  iiuTea«<  wji»  im 
perceptible,  for  6-deirf-«-  <••'r'^  A^  -hr  in- 
crease was  barely  per  r  lO- 
degree  intervals  it   wj»   >rr> 

Now   the   possible   precui'm 
the  hight  fi  ■   ''lercur*,  it.,  lu-i 


(-oMrAKiiu>.Sk  u>  Kxri 


Vaurvi 


ito 
IJD 

lis 


.!! 


im 


o  71 

o 
o 
o 


ISL 


0  mn 

O  Mil 

o  aoal 


-o   IS 

^8 


of     I- 


ul    a     tiil^l*    «lrtc-fmir. 


f* 


**  'W    valar*    o4    Aa 

r->  10    tiK    eatral    «f 

xin     M  or<lrr  to  f  rjii   tkr  iiaaioiM| 

of     I'r      vr.  <..1     .'•ffrf.^f'.    r.             TV..     .J..,^,     .. 


b|  obsrrsalsaa 


Having   ralne*   of  iW 


Ai    ^ 


by  ilM  IW' 
dytiamK  r^M*ii>ai  m  Ik*  lirM 
Tliey  w«rr  ■  twra  %nu4  for  iijaiiiMj  hf 
takmf  hnt  aad  >«ctj«<  <iiwi«»  aa4 
acam  ibe  «•!■*«  wtt9  ctevpad  w^tm 
nrcTMary  lo  liir  cataal  ol  «A«  >•  >■»' 
prove  the  fv|niarMy  ci  Ik* 
•  ncet.  Th*  cumhmmv  cwMt  w 
infs  if  (alMHta4  sot  to  ewe4  fa<  '" 
any  case  and  lb*  ambor  b>ltiM»  ikM  lb* 
probable  error  of  tk*  inal  4nfrmmmanatm 
of  ibe  tpecitv  s.Jirn>'s  b  mm  gftlw  tkaa 
that  ansoon-  '^■f  W  f>  <i»mi 


pinr.j  !^«•  \»}-if%  .1    f  ^m  *!  r*^^  ^^»  dr> 

irfw*  and  planed  lb*   iiiahi  oa  a  lar|t 

indivtdwal  ealwi  were  lo^rf 

«a  a    fair    cnrw    aore    ikaa 

rh 
F"rt«fM»**'    • »— ••    •••    »•»•-*    >a<wt 

mcntt  ■*!  1' 

made   wiib    Mcb   a   d*in*    «f   prr 

as  lo  give  a  tatt«ia(«oe7    ckaek    oa    ivr 

compvtaiKMM  Mad*  by    ika 

tcribrd.     Tbrt*  eafiiMiiali 

mtsMfMig  tbr  iimpiraffi 

of  lagirbiaHd  nttmm  ai 

•  rut    |K«    rr*tJti    mttf    Ml    trr«tr<I    Si    *■      (t1 


—  I  .•: 


I 


.3 


33 


'A  itgtf' 


!>^&.     II 


»«>•        fw«>*»« 


882 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  1 8,  1909. 


B  =  47.10;  a  =:  0.000002;  C  = 
0.031 ;  D  =  0.0052. 

volumes  being  in  cubic  meters  per  kilo- 
gram, pressures  in  kilograms  per  square 
meter,  and  the  absolute  temperature  being 
on  the  Centigrade  scale. 

For  English  units  the  equation  may  be 
written 

p  u  =  85.85  T  —  p  (1  +  0.00000976  p) 

[    ^^°'^^'""    -0.0833], 

the  volumes  being  in  cubic  feet,  the  pres- 
sures in  pounds  per  square  foot  and  the 
temperatures  in  degrees   Fahrenheit. 

Knoblauch  claims  for  this  equation  a 
mean  probable  error  of  s^,  though  ad- 
mitting individual  discrepancies  of  twice 
that  amount.  This  equation  applied  to 
the  computation  of  specific  volumes  of 
saturated  steam  shows  a  good  concord- 
ance with  results,  computed  by  the  thermo- 
dynamic equation,  the  greatest  discrepancy 
being  jj^j  at  165  degrees  Centigrade 
(329  degrees  Fahrenheit). 

Not  satisfied  with  this  apparent  con- 
cordance, which  after  all  was  with  an 
empirical  equation  which  on  examination 
showed  somewhat  larger  variation  from 
individual  experimental  values  at  satura- 
tion, the  author  had  a  diagram  drawn  of 
the  32  values  of  the  specific  volume  re- 
ported by  the  experimenters.  The  dia- 
gram was  drawn  to  a  very  large  scale, 
using  temperatures  for  abscissas  and 
logarithms  of  volumes  for  ordinates,  and 
a  fair  curve  was  drawn  by  aid  of  a  stiff 
spline.  From  readings  on  this  curve  the 
volumes  were  determined  at  5-degree 
intervals,  and  are  set  down  in  the  accom- 
panying table  together  with  valves  com- 
puted by  the  thermodynamic  equation. 

The  greatest  deviation  of  values  in  this 
table  is  0.2  per  cent.,  which  is  precisely 
the  probable  error  assigned  by  the  experi- 
menters for  their  work.  It  may  therefore 
be  concluded  tha*^  between  the  limits  of 
temperature  in  this  table  and  probably 
from  30  degrees  to  200  degrees  Centigrade 
(86  degrees  to  392  degrees  Fahrenheit), 
the  probable  error  of  computations  by  aid 
of  the  thermodynamic  equation  is  not  in 
excess  of  zhf 

This  conclusion  carries  with  it  the 
attribution  of  at  least  the  same  degree  of 
precision  to  all  the  properties  entering  into 
the  thermodynamic  equation.  A  little  con- 
sideration will  show  that  this  conclusion 
covers  all  the  properties  given  in  steam 
tables,  including  the  entropy.  As  an  ap- 
parent exception  we  have  the  heat  of  the 
liquid  at  high  temperatures  which  may  be 
uncertain  to  the  extent  of  ^^4  of  I  per 
cent,  of  itself,  but  as  that  quantity  is  then 
associated  with  the  heat  of  vaporization 
the  influence  of  such  an  error  will  be  of 
no  consequence  in  computations. 

It  may  therefore  be  expected  that  steam 
tables  based  on  the  present  information 
will  have  permanence. 


Increasing  the  Weight  of  Governor 
Balls 


By  a.  J.  Dixon 


To  the  question,  "How  would  a  Corliss 
engine  be  affected  if  weight  were  added 
to  the  governor  balls  ?"  the  following 
answer  was  made  by  an  applicant  for  an 
engineer's  license :  '"The  balls  would  con- 
tinue to  revolve  in  the  same  plane  for 
the  same  speed,  and  consequently  the  in- 
creased weight  could  have  no  effect  on 
the  speed  of  the  engine."  It  is  clear 
that  the  kind  of  governor  referred  to  was 
the  purely  ideal  revolving  pendulum,  in- 
volving only  centrifugal  force  and  gravity, 
and  not  taking  into  account  the  frictional 
and  other  resistances  that  the  practical, 
everyday  working  governor  has  to  con- 
tend with.  Of  course,  if  the  governor 
had  no  work  to  do,  no  resistance  to  over- 
come, or  if  the  energy  necessary  to  drive 
it  at  a  certain  speed  should  always  re- 
main the  same,  irrespective  of  the  weight 
of  the  balls,  the  applicant's  answer  would 
have  been  correct ;  for,  since  the  two  con- 
trolling influences  in  the  action  of  the 
revolving  pendulum  or  flyball  governor 
are  centrifugal  force  and  gravity,  the 
added  weight  would  simply  intensify  these 
forces  an  equal  amount — the  balls  would 
tend  to  fall  lower  by  reason  of  the  added 
weight,  but  they  would  likewise  have  a 
greater  tendency  to  fly  outward  by  rea- 
son of  their  greater  mass,  and  the  net  re- 
sult would  be  that  they  would  remain  in 
the  same  plane. 

In  order  to  accomplish  regulation  in 
actual  practice,  the  speed  of  the  governor 
must  vary  v^-ithin  certain  limits,  and 
obviously,  the  narrower  these  limits  the 
closer  the  regulation.  It  is  not  feasible 
to  regulate  closer  than  within  about  2  per 
cent,  of  a  mean  or  average  speed.  This 
is  partly  owing  to  the  frictional  resist- 
ances to  be  overcome,  but  chiefly  to  the 
resistance  due  to  the  inertia  of  the  mov- 
ing parts  of  the  governor.  For  example, 
suppose  the  engine  is  cutting  off  at  a  cer- 
tain point  for  a  certain  load,  and  the  load 
suddenly  drops  off.  For  a  brief  moment 
the  valves  will  continue  to  cut  off  at  the 
same  point  as  before,  slightly  accelerat- 
ing the  speed  of  the  engine,  but  directly 
the  inertia  of  the  driving  mechanism  and 
moving  parts  of  the  governor  will  be 
overcome,  together  with  the  incidental 
frictional  resistance,  the  speed  of  the  gov- 
ernor will  increase,  the  balls  will  rise  to 
a  slightly  higher  plane,  and  cutoff  will 
occur  earlier  in  the  stroke  of  the  piston. 
This  will  be  the  succession  of  events  only 
in  the  case  of  a  properly  designed  gov- 
ernor, where  the  weight  of  the  balls, 
which  is  naturally  the  principal  factor  in 
the  retarding  influences  just  noted,  and 
the  power  of  the  driving  mechanism  are 
so  adjusted  to  each  other  that  the  resist- 


ances can  be  compensated  for  by  the 
aforesaid  2  per  cent,  increase  in  speed. 

Since  the  inertia  of  a  body  is  directly 
proportional  to  its  mass,  it  is  clearly  evi- 
dent that  if  the  mass  of  the  governor  balls 
were  increased  without  at  the  same  time 
re-proportioning  the  other  essential  parts 
of  the  governor  and  its  driving  gear  to 
correspond,  the  mechanism  could  not  act 
as  quickly  in  response  to  the  accelerated 
speed  of  the  crank  shaft  as  before,  on  ac- 
count of  the  increase  in  resistance  due  to 
the  greater  inertia  and  greater  friction ; 
consequently,  the  engine  would  continue 
to  gather  speed  until  a  velocity  would  be 
attained  sufficient  to  overcome  the  addi- 
tional retarding  influence.  Then,  this 
velocity  of  the  crank  shaft  would  probably 
be  so  great,  that  when  the  governor  belt 
would  finally  take  hold  and  impart  a  pro- 
portionate speed  to  the  governor  spindle, 
the  moving  parts  would  acquire  a  mo- 
mentum that  would  carry  the  balls  above 
the  proper  plane  for  regulation  under  the 
altered  condition  of  load,  with  the  result 
that  the  valves  would  cut  off  earlier  than 
they  should,  the  engitie  would  slow  down 
only  to  be  speeded  up  again  after  a  few 
revolutions,  and  the  final  outcome  of  the 
whole  performance  would  be  a  badly  rac- 
ing engine. 

The  natural  inference  to  be  drawn  from 
the  preceding  remarks  is,  that  the  less 
weight  put  into  the  governor  balls,  the 
closer  the  attainable  regulation.  But  this 
is  so  only  up  to  a  certain  point  beyond 
which  it  is  impossible  to  go.  This  limit 
is  fixed  by  the  amount  of  energy  neces- 
sary to  operate  the  releasing  gear;  that 
is,  to  overcome  the  frictional  resistance 
between  the  hook  plates  and  steel  blocks 
with  which  they  engage.  It  is  quite  evi- 
dent that  the  energy  necessary  to  do  this 
work  is  present  in  the  niass  of  the  re- 
volving parts  of  the  governor,  and  conse- 
quently, if  the  balls  were  deficient  in 
weight,  the  hooks  could  not  be  forced  to 
disengage  or  slide  off  the  studs,  without 
a  more  or  less  serious  displacement  of  the 
knockoff  cams  and  consequently  of  the 
whole  governing  mechanism. 


A  press  despatch  states  that  Secretary 
Ballinger  of  the  Interior  Department  has 
instructed  the  director  of  the  Geological 
Survey  to  make  an  investigation  of  power 
sites  under  the  public  domain  outside  of 
national  forests  which  are  not  included  in 
withdrawals  for  reclamation  purposes 
with  a  view  to  securing  at  the  next  ses- 
sion of  Congress  legislation  to  control  and 
regulate  their  disposition. 


The  Great  Falls  Power  Company,  of 
which  P.  M.  Gillatt,  engineer  of  the  H. 
M.  Byllesby  Company,  Chicago,  is  one  of 
the  principal  movers,  is  now  taking  con- 
tracts and  proposes  to  supply  sixty-three 
towns  and  cities  in  Manitoba  with  electri- 
cal energy. 


May  1 8.  1909. 


FKnVER  AND  THE  E\«.I\M  k 


Increasing    the    CO,    Content    of    Flue    G 

Investigation    ol    Lornbuslion    Contliliotu    ufnlcr      I  en     iiuilm    {  "  •  ' 
HorscfxAvrr  Lsing     Bituminous     Slack     SavcH     $^i500    pet      "t  c-»r 


B   Y 


A. 


J 


R  O   A   R   D  M   A   N 


ases 


The  plant  consists  of  eighteen  400-hor*c  The  idea  »^^»   r»r(i  tir««r.!   »■-.;»   \n\rt'i^i 

power   and   four  joo-hor<>cpower    ItaUxk  tion  was  to 

&  Wilcox  water-tube  boilers,  with  Roney  possible  lo  fr^iiu.c 

stokers.     The  diagram  of  the  boiler  room  to  secure  the  highest  < 

is   shown   in    Fig.    i.     The   four   batteries  at     "  .    ■    lUr    f  . 

on    the    north    steel    stack    inchulc     four  p.;  r».     It  ».. 

400-horsepowcr     boilers     and     four     joo-  ad«i*4tUc  to  <tttciupt  lM>th  to  regulate  tlM 


fcoalk  klx.  t'.Mk 


%.<lk      tlM. 


r 

__ 

-4   ) 

1     r- 

_ 

12 

11 

10 

9 

NSs^ 

8 

7 

• 

S 

4 

t 

t 

1 

IS 

IT 

M 

U 

U 

u 

JIvnk  »rtcft  nwa 


^ 


^i^t      ,.f      •.->•.      —^.L,       k...       .k.     _• 


a  botlrr    Ikal   wotkt   M   ik* 


t*.  aii  Ibc  t 

btnc  sttk  c^ 

tic*  MKk  rrasltft  arr  wMoai  o*«. 

17  or   : 

tfcOft    prri'XJ*     arm    inji     :■-    c     "-tr.ni'j     «> 

nonnaL     \I1mv  a  rnnihttq«  c«t«>  al  Ckt 

cralr   foe  aaij   Imctk  of  Uac  ■ 

CO.   »aloc   of    T7   '*f    it   per 

botkf  cap*r  HtUy  ^Ntra**.    h 

OMghl    W    n  '^    V.i*#f    in     'St 

ptanl    ■Btlrr    roantdr- 

Ih^  v.. -».-..    . 

th 


»ii.      I      ri.  \>   or    isiiiiB   B^Hftl 


cent  oimSct  a>f Toawltiy  tW  Mat  ca»* 
ibikioa 


boilers     singly   ai.M    -•    *    «rbn!'     ♦■f 
alyscs   of   the   stack   ca>r«.     1 


Ir 

facturers    < 
have    Jx-rn 
fives  ••■ 
pirte  C"M....i 


t  nf  tVt  fM»«tt-      V 


•ttM     cor 


no.    a,    co!«»T«rrriox  or  asmsah* 


horsepower    »»«.iler«,    which    nr<-    «hr    "Id- 

e«t   lM>iIer»   in   ihr   \- 

stack    are    four    40  > 

and   there   are   im    ^f**  ' 

cr«    on    the    brick    stack.  '•■ 

than    the    stack   was   designed    for.     The 

last  l)oiler  is  approxJmat*-'-    •  •'    '■■•  '•  "' 

the  stark.     With  fiHitre  r 

hou»r  an  additi<mal  •tick   .^ 

r<)uali/r   tlie  draft 


rm    ji    Aaa\M>JMajit 


ik«  coal  a< 


V4«««irr 


t  atf  f*V«J 


•    •• 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  1 8,  1909, 


Appar.\tus  Used  and  Preliminary 
Testing 

The  apparatus  used  were  an  Orsat- 
Muenke  flue-gas  analyzer,  an  Ellison  draft 
gage  and  a  looo-degree  thermometer.  The 
draft  was  taken  over  the  fire  and  at  the 
bottom  of  the  soot  blowoflf  holes  in  the 
side  of  the  boiler  instead"  of  the  standard 
place  in  front  of  the  damper.  There  was 
a  difference  of  0.02  inch  between  the 
damper  and  the  bottom  soot  holes,  but 
since  the  readings  w-ere  only  relative  this 


Kortli  Steel  SUok 


r- p r— I 

3  2 


Location  uf  Boilers  aud  Stack 


which  had  the  least  draft,  0.26  inch,  in 
front  of  the  damper.  This  extremely  high 
reading  was  probably  due  to  momentary 
conditions  and  may  be  regarded  as  ab- 
normal. 

A  series  of  observations  were  taken  on 
the  north  steel  stack,  including  a  smoke 
chart*,  and  CO2  analysis.  It  was  noted 
that  as  the  load  increased  the  smoke  be- 
came more  dense  and  the  CO:  decreased. 
This  is  explained  by  the  fact  that  as  the 
boilers  were  being  forced  an  excess  of 
air  was  required  which  increased  the 
density  of  the  smoke  and  also  decreased 
the  CO2  content  of  the  flue  gases.  The 
next  day  an  attempt  was  made  to  increase 
the  CO2  by  adjusting  the  conditions  at 
the  fires,  that  is,  with  the  excess  of  air 
shown  by  the  CO2  record,  either  shut  off 


-^B  0     0 


5    3  t: 


lU:lj  lU:aO  10:45 


FIG.  4.   OBSERVATIONS  ON   NORTH   STEEL  STACK 

-South  Steel  Slack 
^  Damper  od  Stmok 


^t^'Q    0       0 


cent.,    which    conclusively   proved    this   to> 
be  true.     (See  Fig.  4.) 

On  the  majority  of  the  boilers  in  ques- 
tion the  baffling  was  in  poor  condition. 
Experiments  on  the  defective  boilers 
showed  that  it  was  impossible  to  raise 
the  CO2  to  any  appreciable  extent.  This 
is  due  to  the  fact  that  after  the  air  is 
drawn  through  the  fire,  if  there  is  not  a 
thorough  mixing  of  the  free  oxygen  of 
the  air  with  the  unburnt  volatile  matter 
of  the  coal  to  produce  complete  combus- 
tion, the  gases  then  pass  out  of  the  flue 
at  a  very  high  temperature,  which  lowers: 
the  efficiency  of  the  heating  surface. 
Owing  to  the  high  temperature  and  slag- 
ging action  of  the  gases,  it  is  difficult  and 
expensive  to  keep  the  baffling  over  the 
bridgewall    in    good    shape,    and    the    re- 


1 . 

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1 

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n  n  r 

n  m  r 

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15                16 

17               18 

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Stack  Drnft  = 

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FIG.  5.     REGULATION  ON   SOUTH    STEEL   STACK 


FIG.     6.     PRELIMINARY  TEST  OF    BOILERS    ON    BRICK    STACK 


deviation  could  make  no  appreciable  dif- 
ference. 

The  flue-gas  samples  were  taken  at  the 
same  place.  At  the  brick  stack,  where  it 
was  necessary  to  draw  the  samples  down 
into  the  boiler  room,  a  distance  of  40  feet, 
a  steam  aspirator.  Fig.  2,  made  out  of 
piping,  was  used,  and  in  addition  a  cotton 
soot  filter,  on  account  of  the  suction  that 
'was  exerted  in  drawing  down  the  gas.  The 
samples  were  then  taken  from  a  tin  samp- 
ling can,  as  shown  in  Fig.  3. 

Trials  were  made  on  several  of  the  boil- 
ers to  get  extreme  and  average  results 
before  attempting  to  regulate  any  bank 
of  boilers.  The  CO2  varied  from  3.5  to 
16.6  per  cent.,  the  average  being  near  6 
per  cent.  The  highest  CO2  record,  16.6 
per  cent.,  was  obtained  on  boiler  No.  22, 


the  draft  or  carry  a  heavier  fire,  as  the 
most  economical  draft  is  not  a  dilution 
coefficient  of  one,  but  the  least  amount 
of  air  it  is  possible  to  get  along  with. 

Infiltration  of  Air  through 
Breeching 

With  the  dampers  wide  open  the  CO- 
was  about  5.4  per  cent.  As  the  dampers 
were  gradually  shut  off'  the  CO2  decreased 
at  the  stack.  This  showed  that  the  breech- 
ing was  full  of  leaks.  By  closing  all  the 
dampers  a  little,  more  air  was  pulled 
through  the  leaks.  Further  closing  of  the 
dampers    decreased    the    CO2    to   3.5     per 


♦Thp  chart  used  is  similar  to  tlip  RinRplman 
chart  with  the  excoption  that  the  densities 
are  d'-sisnatPd  as  clear,  00,  0,  1,  2  and  3, 
irstead   of  0.   1.   2,  .3,   4   and   o. 


suit  is  that  some  boilers  have  about  one- 
half  the  effective  heating  surface  of 
others. 

The  results  obtained  on  the  south  steel 
stack,  serving  four  boilers  of  1600-horse- 
power  capacity,  were  somewhat  better. 
Allowing  for  the  infiltration  of  air  in 
the  breeching,  the  average  was  raised 
from  6  to  about  8  per  cent.  (See  Fig.  5.) 
This  represents  a  saving  of  9  per  cent,  of 
the  heat  lost  up  the  flue.  High  tempera- 
ture readings  showing  poor  baffling  on 
boiler  No.  11  interfered  with  better  re- 
sults. A  different  method  was  followed 
with  the  boilers  on  the  brick  stack.  Flue- 
gas  analyses  were  made  for  the  preater 
part  of  one  day  to  ascertain  the  average 
CO2,  Figs.  6  and  7.  It  was  thought  desirable 
to  attempt   individual  regulation  on  each 


May  18,  1909. 

boiler  to  find  the  best  conditions  for  each 
boiler,  draft,  thickness  of  fire,  etc.,  then 
try  to  approximate  the  condi|ions  before 
running  a  test  with  the  boilers  on  that 
stack.  As  the  work  proceeded  the  neces- 
sity of  a  recording  device  became  more 
apparent     It   was   easy   enotigb   to   take 


POWER  AXD  THE  ENGINEER. 

heckf  op  with  th«  rccaitt  of  tW 

:.g   tr%i»   u   St    Lo -       f   tJi» 

oxygm   is  decreased  untu  «ttli 

ih--  -         '  f"0.  content,  the  tori!;,.rtene«« 
of  n*  dcrrca»r« 

of    tmokr    in. 
crc  the  COfc  Thu 


tW 

■rah 


a- 

Cl'. 


•u;Hi;ii;;;;:";;{; 


T 


T^ 


T 


rr««he4 
tht 
AboL< 

•creMary  t- 
opacity  o«i 
la  iW  loOov 


1 


Ikm 


I 


r  t 


Fia   7.   Av»j(A<.t.  i>\rA  raoM  jzm  aotuns  ok  hioc  tTACK 


any  boiler  at  random,  adjust  the  damper  % 

to  suit  the  thickness  of  the  fur.  rv-n  im» 

prove  the  firing,  and  explain  r 

men  what  was  desired;  then  i 

side    of   the    boiler   and   continue    to   get 

"•  xl  results;  but  on  the  next  day  it 
lid  be  necessary  to  start  all  over  again 
I  at  the  same  time  there  would  be 
'  nty-one  other  boilers,  each  waslinf 
t  up  the  Slack.  There  was  not'-nR 
:  could  be  told  the  firemen  that  n»    uU 

be  of  any  permanent  value  in  finng. 


7.J  per  c««(. 


A16  •^■arr  (f«i 

S16    A    JB  fs   mmjd  ptmm4»  rt<«l  p«r 

h<»«f 

IJOL960  ^     frv*  =  A«^  ••»« 

6<,  ^  tor  t 

ytr*  of  >v,  -A>      »>  •» 


EmcT  Of  DAMPm  P 

Experiments  were  then  :.  •'■n 

boilers  connected  to  the  brick  naik,  wi'li 
special    reference    to    damper    r-.-  ■' 
The  series  of  observations  ex-- 
one    day       Although    the    •- 
the  separate  Iniilers  and  »• 
idea    of    what    miitht    1"^    ■ 
•:II   remaincil  to   pr<>%e   mit    a    ■ 
theories  that    had  been  advanced  by  tba 
previous  te«ts. 

The  graphical  logs.  Fig.  8^  »how,  fiT»t: 
that  the  maximum  attairn''-  '''  with 
the  coal   used  is  in  the   1  ■  d    of 

10  per  cent 

Sr.otxI.  that  the  increase  in  CTV  e**ewr 
tporuling     with     the     de.- 
«hi)wrd  a  decrease  in  stcj 

iler  capacity. 


1. : 

^HH 

■ 

■ 

j^^^Sj^HH^^H|H^HIKH| 

■ 

I 

I 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^H 

■ 

I 

I 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^H 

at 

1- 

■ 

I 

I 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^1 

r 

n 

I 

I 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H 

1 

I 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^H 

1 

^ 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^1 

1 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^1 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H 

^^^^^^^^^^^^H 

^^^I^IHpiHi 

na   &   MMn.T«  a«t*<«« 

is    etpUlned   by   ikt   firt    t^ 
creasing  the  air  mpr'T  -        • 
of   fitt  coatlanl.   tl 


♦«  »t»"^    !■»•     '    '   V 


886 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  1 8,  1909. 


Carbon   Burned  to  CO2 : 
XiTKOGEN  79. 


0»s  Analrsis 

Biini'-il  tt>  Excess 

100%  Carbon.  Air. 

CO,  =  2H  ,  00 

8°'=\°i 1- 

8°'='^1 ^-^0 

S'-z'l] ^1^ 

S°':'I) ^-^3 

8°'  =  ^^} ^31 

8°'=^^) 1*0 

8°'='?1 ^^ 

CO,  =  13  ^  ,  -, 

0=8)  1-^1 

CO,  =  12  ( 

O      =   6)  ^•"' 

CO,  =  11  I  ,9, 


Gas  ^ 

Com 

Hill 

100% 

nalTsis 
usiilile 

Carbou. 

CO, 

0 

:S! 

8°- 

:^| 

CO, 
0 

=  »\ 

=  13) 

8°- 

=  7) 
=  14  ( 

s°- 

Z^l\ 

CO, 

0 

Z^l\ 

8°' 

=1?! 

CO. 

:J| 

CO, 
0 

=  2) 
=  19( 

8°- 

=  2o| 

This  table  is  correct  for  the  values 
given.  It  is  impossible  to  compute  a  table 
that  will  show  the  heat  loss  for  anj'^  case, 
owing  to  the  number  of  varying  factors 
that   influence   the   result. 


A  Peculiar  Accident 


On  the  afternoon  of  Saturday,  March 
20,  Peter  H.  Bullock,  chief  engineer  of  the 
Concord  Reformatory,  Concord  Junction, 
^lass.,  was  passing  through  the  engine 
room  on  his  way  to  his  office  and  paused 
near  the  cylinder  of  a  20x48  Harris-Cor- 
liss engine.  As  he  glanced  from  the  valve 
gear  to  the  governor,  by  the  hight  of 
which  he  saw  that  the  load  was  light, 
there  came  the  sound  of  water  slapping 
in  the  cylinder.  Signaling  his  assistant 
to    go    to    the    boiler    room,    he    partially 


closed  the  throttle,  slowing  the  speed  of 
the  engine,  when  almost  immediately 
there  came  the  pound  of  solid  water  in 
the  cylinder. 

^Ir.  Bullock  immediately  closed  the 
throttle  and,  as  the  engine  continued  to 
pound  hard  as  it  slowed  down,  unhooked 
the  motion  plate,  hoping  to  stop  the  en- 
gine more'  quickly.  At  the  third  stroke 
following,  as  the  crank  was  passing  the 
forward  center,  the  side  of  the  throttle 
valve  burst,  steam  and  hot  water  striking 
him  in  the  face  and  on  the  upper  part 
of  the  body  and  throwing  him  to  the  floor. 
Bruised  and  scalded,  and  with  eyes  and 
mouth  closed,  ]\Ir.  Bullock  crawled  as 
rapidly  as  possible  toward  a  window 
seventy  feet  away,  running  into  the  fly- 
wheel of  a  high-speed  engine  en  route, 
which  bruised  him  more.  But  in  less  than 
thirty  seconds  from  the  time  he  placed 
his  hand  on  the  throttle  lever  he  was 
safe   outside   the   building. 

In  this  plant  steam  is  generated  in  three 
vertical  boilers,  with  induced  draft  con- 
trolled by  a  Foster  fan-regulating  valve, 
and  in  two  horizontal  tubular  boilers  with 
natural  draft.  At  the  time  of  the  acci- 
dent shavings  and  waste  lumber  were  be- 
ing burned  under  one  of  the  horizontal 
boilers  and,  as  the  fire  was  burning  fierce- 
ly, it  is  thought  that  the  Foster  valve 
in  the  fan-engine  steam  pipe  practically 
stopped  the  fan  engine  and  water  was 
carried  over  into  the  steam  main  from 
the  horizontal  boiler.  From  the  horizon- 
tal boiler  the  steam  pipe  passes  across  the 
boiler  room  and,  making  a  right-angle 
turn,  leads  along  the  side  wall  which  sep- 
arates the  engine  room  from  the  boiler 
room.  At  the  end  of  this  pipe  «team  for 
the  engine  is  taken  from  the  bottom, 
compelling  all  wat«r  in  the  pipe  to  flow 
to  the  engine. 


It  would  seem  that  after  the  throttle, 
which  was  of  the  sliding-cover  lever-ope- 
rated type,  was  closed  water  collected  in 
the  pipe  and  as  the  water  in  the  cylinder 
was  rapidly  forced  upward  through  the 
steam  chest,  lifting  the  steam  valve  of 
the  engine  and  the  valve  in  the  throttle 
from  their  seats,  when  the  water  from 
the  cylinder  met  the  column  of  water  in 
the  pipe  above  the  throttle,  the  pressure 
required  to  start  this  column  was  greater 
than  the  body  of  the  throttle  would  stand. 

It  is  assumed  that  the  break  in  the  valve 
was  caused  by  water  from  the  cylinder 
of  the  engine  rather  than  by  that  from 
the  boiler,  because  at  no  time  was  there 
any  sound  that  would  indicate  what  is 
known  as  water  hammer  in  the  steam 
pipe.  A  piece  of  the  casting  was  blown 
out  and  could  not  be  found. 

Test  pieces  were  cut  from  the  body  of 
the  valve  casting  and  sent  to  the  mechan- 
ical laboratory  of  the  Massachusetts  Insti- 
tute of  Technology,  where  they  were 
found  to  have  a  tensile  strength  of  more 
than   20,000  pounds   per   square   inch. 

Critical  examination  of  the  fracture 
showed  that  possibly  a  crack  about  six 
inches  long  existed  in  the  iron  for  a 
long  time,  as  most  of  the  way  around  the 
edge^it  looked  bright  and  clean,  while  for 
the  rest  of  the  circumference  it  appeared 
dull,  as  though  oil  had  seeped  into  a  very 
small  crack  and  carbonized. 

At  one  place  the  thickness  of  the  metal 
in  the  shell  was  reduced  to  about  J4  inch, 
but  calculation  shows  that  even  at  the  re- 
duced thickness  a  sound  valve  casting 
would  be  safe  for  a  working  pressure  of 
more  than  200  pounds  per  square  inch. 
It  is  probable  that  the  body  of  the  valve 
had  become  weakened,  or  it  would  not 
have  failed  in  time  to  save  the  engine 
from  a  serious  wreck.     Inside  the  largest 


VIEW   OF  V.\LVE    BODY,    SHOWING    FR.\CTURE 


SHOWING  PORTIONS  CUT  FOR  TEST  PIECES 


May  1 8.  1909. 

diameter  of  the  valve  body  was  g^  inches, 
with  a  thickness  of  7  16  inch,  except  where 
reduced  by  the  spot-facing  tool  to  about 
5/16  inch  at  a  single  point. 

After  steam  had  l>een  shut  out  of  the 
pipe  and  the  excitement  had  somewhat 
subsided,  it  was  observed  that  the  water 
in  the  horizontal  tubular  ix>ilcr  wa!<  a 
little  lower  than  normal,  showing  that  it 
wa>  not  unlikely  that  it  had  at  no  time 
been  unusually  high,  but  had  primed  dur- 
ing the  tierce  firing  just  preceding  the 
accident. 

Mr.  Uullock  has  been  chief  engineer  at 
this  plant  for  nearly  thirty  years  and  this 
was  his  first  accident  of  any  kind  in  which 
anyone  was  hurt. 

The  engine  has  been  in  constant  opera- 
tion al>out  sixteen  years  and  h.i*  nrvf-r 
before  had  a  dose  of  water 


Practical    Points    in   Electric  Crane 

Work 


Bv  R.    II    FrNKiiAi-'irM 


.\  ccrt.nin  make  of  radi.il  ;irin  crane  con- 

trnllcr  was   for  the  first   few   year*  of  its 

ifacture    i-<|nippe«l    with    the    type    of 

ii  holder   shown  in   I'ig    I.     A   hoMrr 

ot  this  type  was  mounted  on  each  end  of 

i1i<    controller  arm  but  insulated  from  it. 

ftalh  of  the  current  was  from  brush 

i<>  ..rush  in  each  holder  and  fiber  buttons 

F   were   used   to   insulate   the   springs   at 


^ 


UmiMODHI 


l-OWER  AND  THE  ENnfVFFR 


one  eii<l  and  thus  prevent  thf   f«: 
current  fri>m  ilr%lr<>)uu 
As  no  pigtails  wrrv   ' 
current  to  the  hru»hr«. 
be  easily  att.iche«l.  ibr  > 
to  travel  from  bru«h  if 

'        '1.       111.- 
!i    ihr    b"l 


■'  '•■-"Ti  onorr  rr 

nr 

uiuurt  frx   ««iting  o|   » 

the      m 

-••-s  wtrr  \ 

.id 

JL  in  onlrf  In  »»«r  llw«» 

that  it  1- 

.    '.      ■;.  ■: 

ler  ' 

Viu 

the 

afuclwd 

..r 

'.h,      «r.. 

rictl   by    • 

proper  »  

material.      It    was.   of   course,   r 
convcn     the       '  '     «-•-'-- 
smipl)    by   c\r 
I       The      ■ 
life   of   t 

'.upp(.tl  crone   »buldL,wiu  du< 

.\-.  iiuny  humlreds  of  thnr  hoMrrs 
(estimated  at  .1500)  were  pbrrd  o«i  the 
market    before   the   makers   changed    the 


throath  their  hrails. 
pas*e«l  thrnmti  tW 
the  bar  H.  as  »Kn«r& 
with  a  Wad  sr 

having    fKr    i^ 


a  k«4«ira 

flhr 


■Mi 

'4 


•r   ay   Si 
to  prriT 


K.X    ..<rffr>..l.      'Kf     . 


}k 


J^ 


nc  2 


a 


:> 


X 


.T*'hr« 


Ay 


New  Boat  Sko%ir«  High  FAckncf 


One    «if   llw    nrm    W^tH 

}mm  at   BdlMl. 

r  m%»f  ln«  •  H 

hoe*efi«*w*e  Urmr   m  2  TW 

e^n-  •-*   tfcmKyi 

fMrtbnar^  mtws  a^  ^v  !■■  fiaa 
Par*>««  twhtimt  tummrtti  ••*••■ 
•kip  •rrrw.  tW  c^akla»4    faawt    W 


ijjr   of      de' 


tK^ 


*»e 


•nd.   r\rt 

Tbrr. 


■  4 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  i8,   lyoy. 


Practical    Letters    from     Practical    M 

Don't  Bother  About    the    Style,    but    Write    Just    What    You  Think, 
Know  or  Want  to  Know   About  Your  Work,  and  Help  Each  Other 

WE     PAY     FOR     USEFUL     IDEAS 


en 


Homemade  Exhaust  Head 


The  accompanying  sketch  is  of  an  ex- 
haust head.  It  is  very  simple  and  inex- 
pensive and  so  efficient  that  it  has  been 
adopted  by  the  company  with  which  I  am 


the  upper  section  E,  being  perforated  the 
entire  length,  while  the  lower  section  is 
perforated  down  to  the  point  D.  The  re- 
maining part  H  forms  a  catchbasin  for 
the  water  and  oils  separated  from  the 
steam.  The  perforations  are  staggered 
and  vary  in  direct  proportion  to  the  area 


1 

A 

H        1 

/ 

P  O   0    o    c\ 

S' 

1   ? 

( 

''    / 

y 

ITT 

1 

^;rx^ 

A    HO.VIKMADE    EXHAUST     HEAD 


connected.  We  have  used  them  on  ex- 
hausts on  from  2-  to  i6-inch  pipes,  with 
entire   sntisfaction. 

The  head  is  made  of  galvanized  iron 
-with  riveted  and  soldered  joints,  making 
it  water-tight.  It  consists  of  two  cylinders 
A  and  B,  B  being  only  a  continuation  of 
the  exhaust  pipe  which  is  divided  into  two 
sections  by  the  conical  baffles  /  and   K, 


of  the  exhaust  pipe.  The  outer  cylinder  A 
forms  a  condensing  chamber  around  B. 
This  is  stiffened  in  the  center  of  the 
large  heads  by  a  light  brace.  At  the  bot- 
tom is  a  flange  into  which  is  screwed  the 
return  pipe.  The  large  internal  area  of 
this  chamber  overcomes  any  possible 
chance  of  back  pressure  on  the  engine, 
while   giving  the  best  conditions   for  the 


expansion,    condensation    and    separation 
of   the   water  and   oil. 

I   have   also  used  the   device  with   suc- 
cess as  a  muffler  on  a  high-speed  engine. 

H.    M.    NiCHOLLS. 

Chicago,  III. 


Arrangement    of    Air     Pump    and 
Heater    in  a  Mine  Plant 


On  beginning  my  work  in  my  present 
plant  I  found  two  slide-valve  engines  in- 
stalled to  run  the  mill,  one  a  13x16,  the 
other  an  18x24.  These  engines  can  be  run 
simple,  both  at  one  time  or  separately, 
with  or  without  vacuum ;  or,  by  changing 
two  valves,  they  can  be  run  compound 
with  or  without  vacuum.  I  usually  have 
120  pounds  of  steam  pressure. 

The  air  pump  and  jet  condenser  are 
located  40  feet  from  the  low-pressure 
cylinder  of  the  mill  engine,  which  has  an 
8-inch  exhaust  pipe.  This  is  rather  small 
for  that  distance  and  reduces  the  vacuum 
a  little.  I  averaged  17  inches  of  vacuum, 
at  the  condenser,  which  is  not  so  bad  for 
an  altitude  of  7200  feet.  A  perfect  vac- 
uum at  this  altitude  being  about  22^4 
inches,  17  inches  is  equal  to  about  24 
inches  at  sea  level. 

In  order  to  get  a  vacuum  on  the  mill 
engines  when  the  compressor  was  not 
running,  I  connected  the  air  pump  to  the 
mill  by  means  of  a  shaft,  having  a  crank 
on  the  end  connected  to  an  arm  on  the 
rockshaft  of  the  air  pump.  By  slipping  off 
the  connecting  rod  from  the  rocker  arm 
on  the  air  pump,  and  the  pin  on  the  com- 
pressor, adjusting  this  arm  for  the  mill 
connection,  the  mill  drives  the  air  pump 
at  50  revolutions,  very  satisfactorily. 

We  have  a  pond,  about  100  feet  square, 
350  feet  from  the  condenser,  and  draw  the 
condensing  water  from  it,  through  a  5- 
inch  pipe,  directly  by  the  air  pump,  which 
makes  a  lift  of  15  feet  besides  the  fric- 
tion in  the  pipe.  This  pipe  runs  under  the 
mill  through  a  tunnel  which  conveys  the 
warm  water  hack  to  the  pond  for 
cooling,    discharging  'at    the    farther    end. 

As  the  water  from  the  mine  is  bad  for 
the  boilers,  I  made  a  surface  condenser 
to  furnish  condensed  water  for  them,  con- 
necting the  condenser  to  the  air  pump 
and  drawing  the  water  from  the  pond 
with  a  common  steam  vacuum  pump. 
This  pump  circulates  the  water  over  the 
condenser  tubes,  the  hot  water  dropping 
back  into  the  same  canal,  and  returns  to 


May  i«,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


the  pond  to  be  cooled.  I  sjt-t  the  same 
vacuum  with  the  Mirfacc  c<>n<Uiiicr  that  I 
do  with  the  jet  condenser.  This  reduces 
the  power  required  to  operate  the  air 
pump  ahnost  to  nothing,  and  puts  the 
power  it  requires  when  running  the  jet 
condensing  onto  this  circulating  pump. 
But  I  make  use  of  all  the  heat  in  the  ex- 
haust of  this  pump  to  raise  the  tem- 
perature of  the  feed  water,  which  water 
comes  from  the  surface  condenser  at 
about  120  degrees  temperature,  by  run- 
ning the  exhaust  to  the  heater. 

The  heater  has  no  outlet  for  the  ex- 
haust steam  and  other  inlets,  except  a 
f(-inch  pipe  at  each  end  to  drain  out  the 
water  of  condensation.  These  pipes  are 
connected  to  one  leading  to  the  hotwell. 
In  addition  to  the  exhaust  steam  of  the 
circulating  pump  entering  the  heater,  the 
trap  which  drains  the  receiver  an«l  re- 
heater  (which  are  one)  between  the  high- 
and  low-pressure  cylinders  of  the  com- 
pressors also  discharges  its  water  into  the 
heater.  On  account  of  the  variable  tem- 
perature of  the  feed  water  entering  the 
heater,  there  is  a  fluctuating  back  pressure 
on  the  exhaust  of  the  circulating  pump, 
but  this  docs  not  interfere  to  any  disa- 
greeable extent  with  the  regularity  of  the 
pump. 


v>onipcciiioo 


.\re    we    not     itu-Imnl     t<>    m«Krr><i<f     •kit 


question   of 

theory    that    ;...     ...^.i    ,-.    . 

Few  will  dupuie  that  it  b  g 

ing   to  . 
ahead  >■: 


fftctrnt    exnau«(     ttram 

.ncififf   pitton  to  abaorb 

■■>  such  a 

•he  '•-tt- 


thc 
dew 
ter 

war' 

rate    what    <■ 

rather  i}iaii  •  

per;  -iing  live  •■ 

CiK^ ';i  .^iiiK     i'>c     (tKiii     amO<int     <>l     (.•■m- 

pre  .*ir>n   for  each  case  may  be   thorn  of 

a   lot  of 

deal  WIT 

a    r- 

tu>r 

sure*,  w 

for  the  • 

or  valves  with  regard  to  exhauM  closiirc 

that  enables  the  crank  to  pas*  the  center* 

with  the  least  jar  settles  the  question  of 

compression    for    that    set    of    condtttont, 

does  it  not ' 

With    the    foor-vah 
type  of  engine.  vaKe 


if  we   .1- 

•   to 

ion  in  t> 

If 

1  at   itt 

•It  •»r^^- 

rt  lb 
•  «ll  fcftf 

•ttm  lam 


BKnus  ibr  florefwar  » 
b)  mna»  of  aa  u4mi  k^  :  ■■  < 

gmc  to  €vpK  with  mmrni^  «»*  tl 

tbc  drugtr  Im4  bo  tip^iitttiHj 
ore  on. 

In  one  case,  aa  alaaraaly  Imb 
cau»ctl  HKh  early  rmJnMt  dwr ■ 
Ike  sladi  ia  iW  OKtsng  pun*  w«* 

U(i     a  it)i     >     tLam     )^i,*r     (Sf        r  Af  h     roia^vi 


on  arrt' 

the  engiar  to  raa  ^awtty  viAn 
rondnKia& 

In  afHi4brf  cM*  a  liagli  tahi 
*at  ovrrloadrd    le    tmt 
higb  trraMHl  tmmmti 
the  rife.-t  of  what  liltir 
realized  fr<«n  Lafr  r«K«u%<  <l"«atv     |i 
me  Ike  - 


hammrr   ijr  a  rvrn  irw   %jr»rn  «s'ir  c^ 

Ibc  engine  (yInweT  wat  aboal   ijat^ 
ineh :  H  inch  was  addrd  to  llM 
and  I  He  fcwnrlr  «liMpt*i^M4 


nc  J 


This  same  heater  is  connected  to  the 
receiver  of  the  mill  cnKnics  by  a  i-iiKh 
pipe  having  a  valve.  When  the  mill  is 
running  there  is  more  water  to  be  healed 
(which  water  comes  from  the  same  feed 
pump)  j^nd  conictjuently  requires  more 
heat.  This  is  obtained  from  the  receiver 
of  the  com|MJun«l  mill  engine*,  whiih  re- 
ceiver has  an  average  prc**urc  «(  .ihout 
JS  pounds,  and  the  heater  i*  .»l^*.^^*  m- 
posed  to  this  pressure.  The  1 
is  so  locatetl  that  it  takes  all  t 
ot  condensation  fr«im  the  receiver.  No 
steam  from  any  other  M.urrr  enters  tbc 
heater   except    that    mciitf-n.  i| 

I    intrtxluce   the    feed    water   at    ihc   top 

I  «leliver  it  to  the  l>oilers  from  the  bo«- 

I,  as   the   water   kmihk   >'\\\     i'- 

.1  leaves  the  ml  ai  tli<-  I'M'     ' 
wliich  is  hli>wn  oni   .1' 
trip.     I  am  nukiMK'   .« 

r.  to  further  the  f  ■ 

I    shall    Ixale    tin* 

'or  as  it   falls  from  the 

the   feed  pump  lake  it   t; 

s  making  less  depocil    of    ofl    ia    lk« 


grl    oSTf    ooio    tbe    aU    pan 
already   sleaa^-llg^ 
«»penition,  Kftt  when  dealing  with  th*  ^in^       »*Vf«^    ;«*«*■»*    art* 
g|r  Alule  tbcrr   «a*  a 

m.i' 


ibt 


that    afford   an   opportunity     tt>r  a     iittk      rr« 

menial  exercise.  «>( 

liusmurh  as  equal  lea«l.  cutoff  and  r« 

haust    opening    and    f* ■  *' 

attained  in  a  single-sj 

equal   as   between   the   tv»..  ••^ 

cs tinder,  a  middle  t'ound  mu»i  Iv  wukKi 


m^m4  a  IH 


r  k  « r>* . .  c,nm%  VL 


Pump  Vthnt 


•I  •«  Fig 


1, 

ral 

equal. 
m«l»  i 
Is 


H 


<-asc    OB    bntb  •»«    n^i*>i«»t 

KHi  at  Ibr  left  fe<sl  paaif^ 

•J»e  engin*  knucbvd  ^  wttkrw*   ■ 

•    .»,.    _.     •'..     •  r\il  >!«>'<     r'>    "     . 


I.«.| 


W 

u 


\.  I)  ( 


I^s   .^ngeles,  Cal. 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGINEER. 


May  18.  1909. 


also  after  stopping  the  engine,  when  the 
water  in  the  heater  would  begin  to  get 
cooler. 

Thinking  that  the  spring  m.ight  be  set 
tighter  on  the  end  giving  trouble,  I  opened 
up  the  valve  chamber,  but  could  not  de- 
tect anj-  difference.  I  decided  to  ease  up 
on  all  the  springs  on  the  suction  deck, 
although  I  did  not  consider  thetn  too 
tight,  but  on  starting  up  again  I  found 
that    my    trouble    was    over. 

Thom.^s  Whelpton. 

Rosthcrn,   Can. 


Puzzling    Transformer    Action 


The  trouble  with  a  series  circuit  oper- 
ated from  a  constant-current  transformer, 
recently  reported  by  E.  L.  Alason,  is  quite 
unusual.  It  is  difficult  to  make  positive 
statements  in  the  absence  of  statistical 
data  of  the  apparatus,  but  I  believe  the 
accompanying  diagrams  and  reasoning 
constitute  a  plausible  explanation. 

In  Fig.  I  (drawn  from  memory)  is 
shown  the  apparatus ;  the  constant-current 
transformer  at  the  left,  the  boosting 
transformer  in  the  center,  and  the  ter- 
minals   of    the    lamp    circuit     (with    the 


~^^ 
•c^" 


switch  shown  open  for  clearness)  at  the 
right.  Arrows  have  been  added  to  show 
the  direction  of  current  in  the  several 
parts  of  the  circuit  during  the  half  cycle 
in  which  the  current  plows  upward 
through  the  constant-current  transformer 
secondary. 

The  arrow  heads  show  that  both  trans- 
former secondaries  carry  more  current 
than  the  lamp  circuit,  which  is  said  to  take 
3.5  amperes.  If  we  assume  in  the  absence 
of  any  definite  data  that  the  voltage  is 
about  2000,  then  the  booster  transformer 
has  a  2000-volt  primary  and  a  lOO-volt 
secondary.  With  the  connections  as  given, 
the  transformer  primary  absorbs  power 
from  the  circuit,  which  is  returned  by  the 
secondary,  increasing  the  voltage  (this  is 
the  normal  conditions  of  boosting).  When 
everything  is  balanced  the  product  of 
volts  boost  times  current  in  the  (booster 
transformer)  secondary  is  approximately 
the  same  as  that  of  the  volts  and  am- 
peres in  the  primary.  This  arrangement, 
Mr.  Mason  says,  operated  satisfactorily. 

Let  us  now  throw  over  the  reversing 
switch  on  the  booster  transformer.  We 
shall  then  have  the  connections  shov/n  in 
Fig.  2.  We  may  note  here  that  the  con- 
stant-current transformer  is  more  power- 
ful than  the  booster,  so  that  the  direc- 
tions of  the  currents  are  the   same,   ex- 


cept between  the  booster  primary  and  the 
main  circuit.  We  now  have  the  booster 
transformer  primary  operating  in  parallel 
with  the  constant-current  transformer  to 
furnish  current  to  the  lamp  circuit.  When 
balance  is  again  obtained,  the  functions  of 
the  booster  primary  and  secondary  have 
been  interchanged  and  the  power  absorbed 
by  the  secondary,  which  is  equal  to  the 
current  times  the  volts  drop,  reappears  in 
the  primary  and  is  delivered  to  the  lamps. 
The  product  of  volts  and  amperes  in  both 


"^—i 


circuits  of  tlie  (booster)  transformer  is 
again  nearly  the  same. 

There  is  one  important  difference  in  the 
current  relations  in  Fig.  i  and  2,  which 
we  must  now  take  into  account.  In  Fig. 
I  the  constant-current  transformer  car- 
ries the  sum  of  the  lamp  and  the  booster- 
transformer  currents ;  in  Fig.  2,  the  dif- 
ference. The  excess  of  current  in  one 
case  over  the  other  is  about  twice  the 
booster-transformer  current,  as  the  cur- 
rent will  not  be  exactly  the  same  in  both 
connections.  When  the  current  in  the 
(constant-current)  transformer  secondary- 
decreases,  there  is  a  prompt  change  of 
position  of  the  secondary  coil,  because 
this  is  exactly  the  condition  which  the 
transformer  is  designed  to  handle.  The 
voltage  rises  so  as  to  increase  the  current 
in  the  circuit. 

We  must  not  forget,  however,  that  both 
transformers  are  in  parallel,  so  that  they 
have  the  same  voltage  at  their  terminals. 
This  requirement  regulates  the  drop 
through  the  booster-transformer  secon- 
dary. The  final  condition  of  equilibrium 
will  be  increased  voltage  and  more  cur- 
rent to  the  lamp  circuit,  provided  these 


X 


FIG.    3 

are  within  the  limitations  of  movement  of 
the    constant-current    transformer. 

In  Mr.  Mason's  case  the  rise  in  voltage, 
due  to  the  constant-current  regulation  ex- 
ceeded slightly  the  drop  through  the 
booster  secondary.  In  measuring  the 
effect  of  the  booster,  one  should  be  care- 
ful to  start  from  the  proper  neutral  con- 
dition, which  is  with  open  -  circuited 
primary  and  short-circuited  secondary  (of 
the  booster  transformer)..  If  the  secon- 
dary is  not  short-circuited  when  the  pri- 
mary is  open,  it  acts  as  a  choking  coil  and 
causes  a  considerable  voltage  drop. 


In  order  to  realize  the  purpose  of  this 
booster,  it  will  be  necessary  to  block  the 
secondary  of  the  constant-current  trans- 
former, which  converts  it  into  a  constant 
potential  transformer.  If  the  connections 
are  then  changed  as  in  Fig.  3,  the  booster 
transformer  will  either  boost  or  buck,  as 
desired,  but  the  constant-current  regula- 
tion will  be  lost. 

Local  conditions  must  be  peculiar  to 
require  such  unusual  connections.  As  a 
general  thing,  sufficient  adjustment  is  ob- 
tainable in  a  constant-current  transformer 
by  changing  the  amount  of  counter- 
balancing weights  to  take  care  of  any 
probable  requirement. 

Selby  Haar. 

Schenectady,   N.   Y. 


Joints  for  a  Boiler 

According  to  the  best  practice  a  triple- 
riveted  butt  joint  has  a  theoretical  effici- 
ency of  about  85  per  cent,  of  the  sheet. 
Whether  the  efficiency  of  the  joint  is  that 
high   under   actual    working   conditions  is 

I  — -  J 


SUGGESTION   FOR   BOILER   PLATE 

an  open  question.  Conceding  that  it  is, 
and  that  the  efficiency  of  a  double-riveted 
butt  joint  is  about  82  per  cent,  of  the 
strength  of  the  sheet,  to  get  the  increased 
efficiency  of  about  4  per  cent,  an  ad- 
ditional row  of  rivets  is  necessary;  the 
slight  increase  in  width  of  the  covering 
plate  required  is  not  worth  considering,  as 
far  as  increased  cost  is  concerned. 

Is  there  any  reason  why  boiler  plates 
cannot  be  made  as  shown  in  the  accom- 
panying sketch,  and  in  that  way  compen- 
sate for  the  reduction  in  the  section  of  the 
plate  due  to  the  rivet  holes? 

A  plate  so  rolled  would  allow  a  riveted 
joint  to  be  made  exceeding  in  strength  the 
body  of  the  plate. 

It  might  be  a  little  difficult  to  bend  the 
plate  just  at  the  point  where  the  full  com- 
pensation begins,  as  shown  at  A. 

There  may  be  a  reason  for  not  using 
the  style  of  plate  I  suggest,  as  the  grain 
or  fiber  of  the  plate  caused  by  rolling 
would  run  the  wrong  way.  I  have  been 
unable  to  learn  the  strength  of  steel  plates 
"with"  and  "across"  the  grain.  I  find 
that  iron  plates  show  6  per  cent,  more 
strength  with  the  grain.  When  I  say 
iron  plates  I  refer  to  the  very  best  grade 
of  boiler  plates. 

A.  H.  Hale. 

Denver,  Colo. 


May  18.  1909 


POWER  AND  THE  ENCil 


Limitations  of  a   Pump  Lift 

Replying  to  Frank  L.  Wallis'  letter  in 
a  recent  issue,  I  differ  with  him  reijard- 
ing  the  statement  that  the  limitation^  of 
a  pump  are  a  27-foot  raise,  as  I  have 
several  times  raised  water  jo  feet  and  one 
time  even  as  hiyh  as  31 14  feet. 

In  this  latter  instance  there  wa*  a 
shaft  42  feet  deep  at  which  depth  were 
two  tunnels,  each  200  feet  long.  Their 
purpr*«,e  was  to  get  at  the  different  arte«ian 
wells  to  cut  them  off  at  that  depth,  also 
for  a  header  to  connect  up  a  nine  and  a 
half  million  500- foot  lift  Dow  pump,  the 
pump  to  be  set  in  a  pit  42  feet  below 
the  surface  on  a  level  with  the  flow  of  the 
wells. 

I  put  a  duplex  pump  so  that  the  cyl- 
inders were  just  above  the  water  level 
and  started  up.  Everything  wnrke<l  niceh 
until  I  got  the  water  down  2()  feet,  when 
the  pump  refused  to  lift  water  The 
only  trouble  we  had  was  with  the  pack- 
ing in  the  pump  cylinders,  which  had  to 
be  renewed  every  two  weeks  or  »o. 

\V     ELLCKBtOCIL 

Honolulu,  Hawaii. 


A  Siphon  Discussion 


The  chief  engint-er  an<l  a  ffticking  -ales- 
were   smoking   in   the   lire   room   nn«I 
ing    about    the    weather.   politK->    and 
inc     disea>es.     when     the     %alc*tiun, 
ig  in  his  jHicket.  prmluceil  a  pir\-e  of 
pajK-r    with    a    sketch    similar   to   the   one 
shown  herewith.     Handing  it  to  the  chief, 
he    said :      "Here    is    vtmething    lliat    the 
engineer  down  at  the  rublier  work*  put  up 
to  me  this  morning.     I  wasn't  quite  »urc 
t    it   and   want   you   t<>   |><>*t   nie      He 
•i-<l  to  knr)w  if  it  wouM  Mpli'>n" 
■  It    certainly    would    ni»t."     replie«l     the 
chief,     after     Kxiking     f>ver     the     *ketch, 
"because  the  atmospheric  prrsMire  at   »ca 
level   will  not   sup|H>rt   a  coliinm  of  water 
more  than  .U  feet  high,  and  con*r«jiiently 
the  water  would  not   flow  over  the  tir.W 
of  the  siphon." 

"I    told   him   that."   said    the    salcMi. 

"but  he  then  askr«l  me  what  wiill  .»ciu- 
hapjK-n  when  the  water  w.i"  released 
•  .th  ends  <»f  the  pipe,  and  »*'.•»•  l'<"  fne 
"up  a  tree.'  I  t<>ld  him  I  "• 
the  water  would  flow  out  oi 
of  the  *iph*>n  until  it  reached  .»  i>"int  -t 
-••■»»   about    .VI    feet    above    the    v;r;. 

water    in    the    re«pective    r 
.iii.i  he  then  wante<l  to  know  wl 
take   the    place   of   the    water       M-i'    «  '' 
deep    for    me.    btit    I    am    cu^nu^    • 
v.v   iM*t   wh.li  WMiild  happen" 
<\    at    th.- 
piv       "W 
"there  is  something  i\V' 
all      That    inno  frrt  .«! 

^^    the    pipe    would    crtt 
.•.Mi<>«t    perfect    vacuum    in 


Finally,  after  appljiof  a  fresh  n. 
one    of    the    talesimn'a   ileccp(ivc-i<«i'«.iiiK 
cigar k.  he  uid :     "I  tUnk  1  have  iL     Yoa 
»*<.  feet  vacnain 

at    a  t|   <W|rrw» 


braiuhcs 

aiKl  the  water  «ould  beyin  tn 
the  tubes,  cnnlinutng  until  .> 
rcache<l   where  the  vaottim  h 

suflfkieiit  to  cau«e  r'    " 

when  it  would  rent 
The    talesman    »■' 
brad,      wivn      the 


<lr'>p  down 

•-  ifn  'was 

be 

<K 

.  Sis 
>f 
I- 
n. 
<^ 


lirgan  to  see  If 

up    to    the    chi    • 

want  to  Inttt  in.'  and  am  only  kmkinc  for 

information    (jimmy    al<»jv»    »j.    a    .ir. 


aa 
of 


><  vaacr  hft*«iB  a 

if'ti        If    mkIi    a    tiMMg 
wrjold  owaa  a  tt^mt  ^aftl 


■nrv  avrt  Uj€ 


•*^  the  < 

.*t%,  mrmi' 

i  ibr  long  fTi 
<mld  aurtrr  tkr  k» 


.  X 


Doobte  Ecccntfia 


Tbc    V^lMtelun  C  fTi»«    c 
Povghkccpaie 
Power    C(Ma|u 
which  U 


h 


jmrs  laicr  t^Mt  (b^  mm  bm 
W 
Broadalbiii.  N   Y 


Eronomy    of   Diflrrmi   Sued 


\\  ilium 


«  ftOL 


Ik,   L--1    I 


4 


mux  TMt  nrc  simoM^ 

!iii«rM-<-|    LhT 


If  what  yoa  *my  *%  true. 
K-  m  a  %aciiiim.  how  i* 
.-4J  socli  a  fooil  "♦»«■  '•■ 


cT^tnr  «uitinc  a4l  al  cw" 
3? 


the  siphon ;"  ami  he  pondered  HtttW  man. 


-Now.  iW  w9ft*f  \m  fW  timAenwf  t»tf 
mehft  that  t9W9tmm%  ow*^  t'^  »* 


89^ 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  1 8,  1909. 


Steam  Engine  Experiment 


At  the  artisan  school  we  have  been  do- 
ing a  cranky  thing  in  steam-engine  busi- 
ness that  may  be  good,  and  surely  will 
astonish  the  steam-engine  engineers.  We 
have  at  the  school  a  center-crank  shaft- 
governed  6x12  engine  which  is  three  or 
four  times  too  large  for  the  job.  On  cold 
days  we  have  to  have  a  lot  more  steam 
to  heat  the  building  than  we  need  for 
power,  but  on  warm  days  we  are  not  get- 
ting our  power  economically.  We  had 
slowed  down  the  engine  as  much  as  we 
could  and  have  it  govern,  and  it  occurred 
to  me  to  try  this  experiment :  We  shifted 
the  valve  so  as  to  have  it  take  steam  only 
Sft  one  ettS  -6i  the  cylinder  when  running 
light/feut  at  both  ends  when  starting. 


cock,  we  would  have  no  compression  to 
stop  the  noise  at  that  end  of  the  engine. 
When"  circumstances  justify  repeating 
this  experiment  it  would  seem  to  be  worth 
while.  Our  coal  bill  at  the  end  of  the 
month  will  prove  results,  as  so  far  the 
weather  has  been  about  the  same.  The 
coal  is  uniform,  and  the  same  boy  is  fire- 
man. 

John  E.  Sweet. 

Syracuse,   N.   Y. 


Gas  Bums  in    Smoke    Flue 


A  Power    Plant  Layout 


The  accompanying  illustration  shows 
the  layout  of  the  engine  room  of  a  factory. 
There  are  two  engines,  one  of  85  horse- 


y  B  a  8  B  8  H  i  B  a  8  6  I  B  i  a  «  I  II  ^  B  II  tt  M  ii  II  B  8  B  am  UJ_1^ 


^~<SS5>^'^'^*^vx~^~ 


Power,  y.o 


L.WOUT  OF  F.\CT0RY   ENGINE  ROOM 


The  only  thing  now  was  to  see  that  the 
governor  ball  could  go  out  far  enough  to 
cut  off  the  working  end  and  not  allow  the 
engine  to  run  away  when  running  light. 
The  thing  is  working  all  right,  and  the 
boy  says  he  does  not  have  to  shovel  as 
much  coal.  One  experiment  does  not 
prove  much,  and  maybe  this  will  inspire 
someone  cl.se  to  try  it. 

My  notion  was  that  by  so  doing  we 
would  cut  the  initial  condensation  and 
clearance,  two  main  sources  of  loss,  in  the 
middle;  and  against  that  the  excess  of 
work  in  punching  the  exhaust  steam  out 
of  the  idle  end  of  the  cylinder.  The  first 
thought  was  to  stop  off  the  crank-end  part, 
but  if  we  did  that,  leaving  the  engine  the 
same,  water  passing  the  piston  might  ac- 
cumulate and  cause  a  smashup ;  or,  if  we 
took  out  the  packing,  or  opened   the  pet 


power,  running  at  255  revolutions  per 
minute,  the  other  of  50  horsepower,  run- 
ning at  186  revolutions  per  minute.  Both 
are  belted  to  the  same  jack  shaft,  running 
at  300  revolutions  per  minute.  The  50- 
horsepower  engine  may  be  thrown  in  or 
out  by  means  of  a  friction  clutch. 

The  85-horsepowcr  engine  is  sufficient 
to  run  the  factory  during  the  forepart 
of  the  day,  but  in  the  evening,  when  the 
heavy  load  comes  up,  the  engine  will  not 
pull  the  load,  and  the  50-horscpower  en- 
gine is  thrown  in  by  means  of  the  fric- 
tion clutch.  The  combination  of  the  two 
engines  seems  to  take  care  of  the  load  all 
right. 

Which  engine  carries  the  load,  or  does 
each  take  its  pprtion? 

C.  L.  Wilson. 

Louisville,    Ky. 


One  of  the  boilers  in  my  boiler  room 
persists  in  burning  gas  in  the  front  con- 
nection and  in  the  stack.  It  is  a  hori- 
zontal tubular  boiler,  20  inches  long  and 
60  inches  in  diameter  with  4-inch  tubes. 

I  have  examined  it  carefully,  and  seen 
that  the  tubes  were  properly  cleaned,  the 
combustion  chamber  emptied,  and  all 
holes  in  the  brickwork  stopped,  still  the 
trouble  persists,  and  requires  the  opening 
of  the  fire  doors  to  stop  it.  This  occurs 
mostly  on  quiet  days  when  the  draft  is 
poor.  It  has  done  this  ever  since  I 
liave  been  here  and,  I  am  told,  ever  since 
it  was  installed.  Others,  of  a  different 
make  but  same  type,  working'  alongside, 
cause  no  trouble. 

I  have  had  my  men  try  light  and  heavy 
firing,  but  nothing  seems  to  improve  the 
condition.  Any  suggestions  as  to  remedy- 
ing  the    trouble   will   be   appreciated. 

E.  A.   Adams. 

Lujanc,  Colo. 


Keying  Flywheels 


H.  Wiegand  gives  some  very  good 
points  concerning  the  keying  of  flywheels 
on  shafts,  in  his  letter  which  appears  on 
page  608,  of  the  March  30  issue.  It  is 
essential  that  a  wheel  should  fit  the  shaft 
so  that  not  the  slightest  lost  motion  or, 
rather,  looseness,  exists.  If  the  wheel  is 
loose,  no  arrangement  of  keys  will  make  it 
entirely  satisfactory,  if  the  operating  con- 
ditions are  severe. 

The  object  of  a  key  is  to  prevent  the 
wheel  from  turning  on  the  shaft,  not 
for  the  purpose  of  making  it  fit  the  shaft. 
If  a  wheel  properly  fits  the  shaft,  the  key 
need  not  fit  tightly,  top  and  bottom,  but 
should  fit  snugly  sidewise,  and  simply 
"fill  the  hole,"  top  and  bottom ;  thus,  no 
strain  is  given  the  wheel  as  referred  to 
by  Mr.  Wiegand,  yet  it  will  be  perfectly 
secure  and  will  never  turn,  nor  will  there 
ever  be  any  tendency  for  the  key  to  work 
out. 

Driving  in  a  key  that  is  fitted  top  and 
bottom  only,  simply  being  a  sliding  fit 
sidewise,  would  tend  to  ease  the  part  of 
the  bore  of  the  wheel  near  the  keyway, 
from  the  shaft,  and  so  destroy  what  was 
at  first  a  good  fit.  Many  a  propeller 
wheel  have  I  worked  upon  where  after 
the  wheel  had  been  fitted  on  the  taper 
shaft,  the  key  was  fitted  to  drive  "nearly  all 
the  way — tight  sidewise — until  it  just 
"filled  the  hole,"  top  and  bottom,  without 
putting  any  undue  stress  upon  the  hub 
of  the  wheel.  The  key  could  not  get 
out,  even  though  it  should  ever  get  loose, 
which  if  properly  fitted  is  not  possible  to 
happen. 

Charles  J.  Mason. 

Scranton,  Pcnn. 


Mav  iH.  igoQ 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


»»y 


Probable  Cause  of  Air  Compressor 
Ejcplosions 

In  a  recent  issue  Mr.  Richards  took  ex- 
ception to  the  suggestion  that  leaky  dis- 
charge valves  may  cause  very  hot  air  to 
be  discharged  from  the  compn-^o.  ,r,  the 
argument  being  that  the  re-expansion  of 
the  air  leaking  back  will  cause  it  to  be 
cooled  again. 

In  practice  it  has  been  found  that  free 
expansion  of  air  does  not  cause  t^e  air  to 
be  cooled  anywhere  near  the  theoreti- 
cal temperature,  or  the  temperature  ob- 
tained when  this  expansion  takes  place  in 
a  working  cylinder.  A  leaky  valve  would 
not  be  like  a  specially  <l«signed  nozzle,  by 
any  means.  There  would  be  considerable 
friction  which  would  have  quite  an  mt!u- 
encc  upon  the  temperature  of  the  leaking 
air.  Perhaps  Mr.  Richards  has  noticed 
a  small  pipe  will  get  hot  when  cold  air  i« 
blown    through    it    at    a    very    high    rate. 

As  to  5  per  cent,  being  a  large  amount 
of  leakage,  that  wouM  <lepend  upon  the 
type  of  compressor.  1  think  5  i>er  cent, 
would  be  easily  exceedecl  when  .n  v.ilvr 
or  two  "go  bad."  I  have  heard  >>i  ca%cs 
where  the  leakage  was  enough  to  be 
noticeable  in  the  amount  of  opening  which 
the  suction  valves  were  operating  with. 

1'     \V     lIot.LMAN!*, 

Haltimore,   Md 


Two  Commulator  Dc\ice» 


Improve  the  Diagrams 

In  answer  to  Linden  .\  Cole,  1  would 
»ay  that  the  admission  lines  in  the  high- 
pressure  diagram  arc  good,  yet  if  the 
crank  end  took  steam  a  little  earlier,  it 
may  rid  the  diagrams  of  the  round 
comers.  The  expansion  line  in  each  ct%e 
is  fair,  but  the  exhaust  valve  is  slow  in 
opening.  The  expan^ion  line  of  the  head- 
en<l  diagram  indiratrs  leakage  of  steam 
through  the  adn)i»Miin  valve;  the  cutoff 
is  also  unequal,  the  head  end  doing  th< 
more  work. 

In  the  low-pressure  diagram*  the  steam 
lines  are  po«.r.  as  the  piston  travels  »..me 
distance    \xinrt    full    pressure    is    shown. 
The  cutoff  here  i«  also  unrqtial.  the  rranW 
end  «h»ing  most  work.     The  »team  \.il^    > 
proltably  leak,  as  shown  by  the 
lines.     The  exhaust  valve  in  flu 
start*  to  clo%e  liefore  the  I  ■ 
lint   le<k»   ci>mpre«*i<»n   is   »!i 

)>ably  due  to  a  leak. 

I  he  Ix.iler  pressure  is   IV>  tv-ind'  and 
scale  of  spring  for  tli- 

Ho.  yet  the  steam  line  is    -  ■ 

..ve    the    atm*>spheric    line.    •' 
ssure    in    the    cylinder    of    <, 

',af    tirrnmr    of    the    other    '■ 


The  accompanying  »k  of  two 

appliances  that  1  have  u~  .  , ..  c  a  while 
and  found  very  uacfoL  In  Ftg  1  i*  »h<  ati 
a  commutator  clamp.  It  is  vrf)  often 
necessar>-  to  take  out  the  rod  rmc*  <ii  a 
commutator  on  account  of 
grounds,  and  by  having  a  clamp 
hold   the   segments   6niily.  and   |K.'U'..tl) 


ric   i 

round,  it  liecomet  an  easy  matter  and  also 
saves  turning  up  in  a  lathe.  I  have  trK<l 
numerous  kmds.  but  the  trouble  with 
them  led  me  to  make  the  •'-  de- 

scribed.     It    I*   made   of   ^\  teet 

steel,  »  r 
clearly 
Th 
of  . 

removing  the  two  colters.  t>  is 

made  loose  or  taut  b)    *•'•  -''' 

in  the  nut. 

A  sandpaper  holder  ■ 
«Ju»wn  in  Fig.  x    Thr 
fast  on  top  by  a 
two   face  blocks  - 


In  tW  isMM  at  F«W«ary  i4c  pat»  jjj. 


'D  ifj  i  mxU  kao««  Atmni' 

^jr   mnwgfc.  pgr^apu  tait 

4.wlllUBMdt  ^   SC  MV   m*  •■• 

1  '4  ID  is 

writ'  «.   an!   tfar    . 

tioa   inefM>ur«  i 

page  i&    T> ,  ^ 

rather  g<  k*> 

>d  inagnt  ikM  tliiik,  a*  also 

<!r  i-rrn  t  atleoipt.  is  in— fbat  aa»« 
bsgiaotts.  Esrn  ttom.  Ur  FrvwHl  dors  WOC 
eaplam.  at  aajr  ra'-  mrm*t\  aatia- 

farlton.  wKs*  Sr  r-  '«  iW  ■■■•• 

ing  raHk 

mm  a^dB* 
bnti;-  N  is  m»d  *• 

*jt  '-M 

op.     ■.  •• 

place  a  :                                                       '^ 

fi>r  'tmc    arvi  inrn    vnrsTraw    fe. 

•I  V.  rtd  10  ke  hoMiag  a  ceriatai 

■  n  Ike  p*r  .kkk  Ik*  dodi  b 

cxmpoteil 

If  a.lr.!   !t^<-   r.ioif'tll*,      f  tW  dock  IIn 


■\\t      I  r 

rootacl 


■  k.»    (.a'af • 


If  iW 


ftlrmir 


-^  ••»»*^.  a***!  w* 


1 1  • ' '     I  :-rm  »  •  t       %r  F.  5 


river    [irr««iir«-    "i 
.im    throttled    '>r    p  > 
ing     valve     between     the     bo*k.     ahJ     »' 


Mapwx- 


iv-.ii 


k  fact  t 


Kt   I^Mh.  M«^ 


894 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGIXEER. 


May  1 8,  1909. 


of  steam  Mr.  French  would  call  it.  The 
latter  condition  approaches  somewhat  to 
that  existing  in  a  steam  pipe  remote  from 
a  boiler,  generally  superheated  steam, 
inasmuch  as  we  may  suppose  the  radia- 
tion losses  sufficiently  great  to  cause  the 
steam  to  lose  all  its  vapor,  or  extra  heat, 
above  that  normal  to  saturated  steam  of  a 
given  pressure,  and  then  we  have  the  con- 
dition as  suggested  by  the  writer  of  steam 
just  saturated  with  heat  units.  Any  fur- 
ther loss  of  heat  would  mean  that  the 
steam  would  not  be  saturated  with  heat 
and  that  it  would  contain  less  heat  than 
the  quantity  as  given  in  the  steam  table 
for  any  given  pressure.  ^loisture  would 
then  appear,  but  the  steam  would  not  be 
saturated  with  water  or  moisture  until  a 
much  greater  heat  loss  was  made,  so  what 
is  it   saturated  with? 

The  writer  is  quite  aware  that  this  is 
not.  strictly  speaking,  a  practical  point, 
but  is  really  a  theoretical  one,  and  there- 
fore most  important  that  it  be  thoroughly 
understood. 

W.   Vincent  Treeby. 

London,  England. 


Making    Improvements    in    a    Small 
Power  Plant 


A  certain  power  plant  consisted  of  a 
lOO-horsepower  horizontal  tubular  boiler, 
a  feed  pump,  a  closed  feed-water  heater 
and  a  50-horsepower  high-speed  engine 
for  driving  a  dynamo  for  electric  lighting 
and  a  line  shaft  for  power. 

In  the  dyehouse  proper  were  eleven 
wooden  tanks,  10  feet  long,  4  feet  wide 
and  4  feet  deep,  each  filled  with  about 
1000  gallons  of  water,  heated  by  live 
steam.  There  were  also  two  dyehouses 
containing  coils  of  i-inch  iron  pipe,  using 
live  steam  at  80  pounds  boiler  pressure. 

Exhaust  steam  could  not  be  used  di- 
rectly in  the  tanks,  on  account  of  the 
cylinder  oil  which  it  contained,  the  slight- 
est amount  of  which  would  spoil  the  dye- 
stuffs.  Neither  could  a  steam  coil  be  put 
in  the  bottom,  as  the  steam  had  to  boil 
the  water  thoroughly  to  dissolve  the  dyes 
and  chemicals  used.  The  best  plan  seemed 
to  be  to  heat  the  water  before  putting  it 
in  the  tanks.  The  feed-water  heater  was 
too  small  to  supply  both  the  boiler  and 
tanks  with  hot  water.  Two  of  the  eleven 
tanks  were  seldom  used,  however,  so  they 
were  raised  about  10  feet  above  the  others, 
on  suitable  supports  and  coils  of  pipe  set 
in  one  of  them  in  a  horizontal  position. 
After  making  connection  with  the  ex- 
haust line,  after  leaving  the  feed-water 
heater,  exhaust  steam  was  turned  into  the 
coils  and  the  water  was  quickly  brought 
to  a  high  temperature.  A  valve  and  float 
regulated  the  cold-water  inlet. 

The  tanks  were  connected  so  that  when 
the  first,  in  which  the  cold  water  entered, 
was  about  two-thirds  full,  it  overflowed 
into  the  second,  from  which  a  connection 
was  made  about   i   foot   from  the  bottom 


for  filling  the  dye  tanks.  The  object  in 
connecting  the  tanks  this  way  was  to  keep 
one  always  filled  with  boiling  water,  and 
kept  boiling  by  a  steam  coil  placed  in  the 
bottom,  while  the  other  was  filling  with 
cold  water.  After  these  changes  were 
made  it  was  necessary  only  to  use  live 
steam  for  from  5  to  10  minutes  to  boil 
the  dyes,  instead  of  from  3/4  to  i^  hours, 
as  before,  and  not  only  was  the  live  steam 
saved,  but  also  the  time,  which  in  a  day's 
run  amounted  to  considerable. 

The  next  thing  to  get  at  was  the  dye- 
house,  where  there  was  an  enormous 
waste  of  steam.  Instead  of  connecting 
the  coils  to  a  good  steam  trap,  and  re- 
turning the  condensation  to  the  boiler,  a 
I -inch  valve  was  screwed  on  the  end  of 
the  coils,  and  as  this  valve  was  usually 
kept  about  one-half  open,  an  enormous 
amount  of  steam  and  water  was  continu- 
ously blown  out  and  wasted.  I  had 
noticed  that  when  the  water  was  used 
freely,  the  temperature  often  went  down 
to  150  degrees,  and  even  lower,  and  more 
live  steam  had  to  be  used,  while  at  other 
times  the  temperature  was  usually  about 
200  degrees. 

Another  steam  cnil  was  put  into  the 
second  or  storage  tank,  laid  flat  about  6 
inches  from  the  bottom,  and  the  steam 
and  water  from  the  dyehouse  coils  passed 
through  it,  and  after  passing  through  a 
steam  trap  the  water  was  discharged  into 
the  cold-water  tank  supplying  the  boiler- 
feed  pump.  After  putting  in  this  coil  the 
temperature  of  the  water  in  the  storage 
tank  was  always  from  210  to  212  degrees. 
When  the  tanks  were  working  at  their 
capacity  there  was  no  sign  of  any  ex- 
haust steam  escaping,  only  a  continuous 
stream  of  water  running  from  the  drain 
pipe  to  the  sewer. 

To  force  the  exhaust  through  the  coils 
a  back-pressure  valve  was  made  and 
weighted  to  about  two  pounds.  This 
valve  was  about  the  simplest  thing 
imaginable,  and  consisted  merely  of  a 
round  piece  of  cast  iron,  about  %  inch 
thick,  and  large  enough  to  cover  the  ex- 
haust pipe.  It  was  covered  on  the  bottom 
with  a  piece  of  sheet  lead  riveted  on  to 
form  a  seat  on  the  end  of  the  exhaust 
pipe,  which  was  filed  off  flat  and  even. 
The  valve  was  hinged  to  an  iron  clamp 
around  the  pipe,  and  a  small  chain  run- 
ning down  to  the  engine  room  with  a 
weight  attached.  On  the  hinged  side,  the 
iron  clamp  was  turned  upward  so  that 
when  the  exhaust  steam  opened  it  wide 
open  it  could  not  fall  completely  back, 
but  rested  against  this  upward  projection, 
and  could  always  be  closed  again  from 
below. 

Before  these  changes  were  made  the 
amount  of  coal  used  per  week  was  12 
tons,  and  after  the  change  eight  tons,  or 
a  difference  of  four  tons  per  week,  which 
at  $2  per  ton,  the  price  at  that  time,  made 
a  saving  of  $8  per  week,  just  one-half  the 
engineer's  salary. 

Although   this   saving  may   seem   small. 


it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  this  was  a 
very  small  plant.  The  total  cost  of  mak- 
ing these  changes  including  pipe,  valves, 
fittings  and  labor,  was  $100.  In  three 
months  it  had  paid  for  itself,  and  the  sav- 
ing in  one  year  was  $416. 

A.  J.   Shad. 
Cincinnati.  O. 


Trouble  with  a  E)ynamo 

If  Mr.  Baker  will  take  a  piece  of  clean 
cloth,  wipe  his  commutator,  and  rub  a  wax 
candle  on  the  commutator  two  or  three 
times  a  day  it  may  help  him  to  overcome 
his  trouble   with   sparking. 

William   F.  Taylor. 

Frankfort,   Penn. 


Knock  in  the  Engine 

In  a  recent  number,  Mr.  Bryan  tells  of 
a  pound  in  his  engine.  I  should  say  that 
the  pounding  was  caused  by  water  in  the 
cylinder.  I  suggest  that  if  he  has  no 
steam  trap  in  his  header  line  he  put  one  in. 
Also  give  his  engine  time  thoroughly  to 
work  the  water  out  of  the  cylinder. 

H.  R.  Williams. 

Chanute,  Kan. 


Will  the   Load    on   the  Bolts 
Change? 

I  should  like  to  ask  Mr.  Fischer  who, 
in  the  May  4  number  submits  an  answer 
to  Mr.  Click's  cylinder-head  bolt  problem 
in  the  issue  of  March  30,  page  609,  how  a 
bolt  can  be  extended  without  an  increase 
of  the  tension  in  it.  What  stretches  the 
bolt  except  an  increase  of  tension?  And 
if  the  bolt  stretches  enough  to  relieve  the 
pressure  on  the  cylinder  flange  or  the 
gasket  a  given  amount,  is  it  not  only  by 
the  imposition  of  an  equivalent  force  pro- 
ducing tension  and  consequently  stretch 
in  the  bolt? 

Julian  Ralph. 

Easton.  Penn. 


Centrifugal  Pumps 

In  the  March  16  number  there  was 
another  article  on  centrifugal  pumps,  by 
George  B.  Pearce.  He  does  not  seem  to 
have  decided  one  way  or  the  other,  as  to 
whether  the  pump  requires  more  or  less 
power    with    the    discharge    valve    closed. 

I  am  operating  three  12-inch  motor- 
<lrivcn  centrifugal  pumps,  which  will  lift 
water  20  feet  after  they  are  primed.  If 
I  close  the  discharge  valve  the  motor  re- 
quires only  30  amperes,  while  with  the 
discharge  valve  wide  open  45  amperes  is 
required,  a  third  more  than  when  it  is 
closed.  We  operate  the  pump  with  the 
discharge  valve  closed  so  as  to  give  40 
amperes  on  the  motor,  which  furnishes 
all  the  water  we  require  for  the  con- 
denser under  any  load. 

J.    G.    DUNNINGTON. 

?f>iith  Oil  Citv,  Penn. 


May  18.  1909. 


POW  tR  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


Some    Useful    Lessons    of    Limewater 

A  Test  for  Water:  ImporUmcc  of  Manh  Gat  at  KcUiecl  lo  ike  Chrmiilry 
of  Carlxjn;  TaLlc  of  Carbon  Compounds;   \X1iat  Caflioo  MoooxMie  U 


BY 


CHARLES 


PALMER 


\V>  will  fio  right  on  with  the  study  mi 
carbon  and  its  compounds;  but  right 
here  I  will  mention  a  test  fiir  water  which 
will  Ije  very  convenient  to  know  and  to 
use.  Get  an  ounce  or  two  of  common 
"blue  vitriol."  or  sulphate  of  copper 
(CuSO.  -f-  sHiO).  You  will  note  that  the 
formula  is  C-u-SO*.  plus  hvc  molecules  of 
water.  By  the  way,  "Cu"  is  the  chemical 
abbreviation  for  the  Latin  word  cufrum 
for  cop|>er.  This  water,  which  is  always 
found  in  blue  vitriol,  seems  to  be  a  part  of 
the  crystallized  form,  for  the  blue  crystals 
always  take  up  five  molecules  of  water  for 
one  molecule  of  the  copper  sulphate  they 
contain.  If  you  powder  an  ounce  or  to 
of  this  blue  vitriol  and  then  put  it  in  a 
uucer  and  heat  it,  stirring  it  now  and 
then,  it  will  lose  most  of  this  water  at  a 
tem|)erature  a  little  al>ove  2\2  degrees 
Fahrenheit,  that  is,  on  the  common 
thrrmomcter.      On    the    Centigrade    scale, 

h  is  used  by  nearly  all  working  chem- 

this  temj)erature.  that  is,  the  tem- 
perature of  Ixiiling  water,  is  too  degrees 
'  -MMgrade. 

w,  if  you  heat  the  powdered  blue 
\itriol,  carefully,  a  little  above  this  tem- 
perature, it  will  lose  most  of  the  water 
and  will  change  from  a  bluish  |»«»w<Icr  to 
a     light     grav.     almost     white         Ihi*     is 

lydrous."  that  is  water  free,  or  almost 
for  it  still  contains  a  little  water      I>o 

heat  it  t«M)  high ;   for.  if  you  do.  the 
•<•  anhydrous  copper  sulphate  will  de- 

l.ose  still   farther  and  will  be  useless 

J   r  the  test  for  water.     Now  take  a  knife- 

pr>intful  of  the  white  or  grayish  anhydrous 

•  \«:t   sulphate   and    lay     it     in     a    clean 

<r,  afterward  touching  it  with  a  drop 
ot  water,  when  it  will  at  once  l>ec.-me 
blue.  Of  course,  you  can  see  that  when 
water  is  added  to  the  anhyilnm*  ct.j>t><-r 
sulphate  it  takes  up  the  water  again 
which  it  lost  on  heatinc  and  passe*  l>a>W 
to  the  hydrous  or  blue  form  of  ojpper 
sulphate,  that  is  blue  vitriol ;  and  so  this 
■elding  of  a  mrrr  tr.j.r  ..f  w.iter  lo  the 
while  anhydrous  lopprr  Mil;!  .••  .  whereby 
it  l»ecomes  blue,  makes  a  \<-r>  -U'l.  '•'■ 
test  for  the  common  substanor.   >».»(■;■ 

This  anhydrous  copper  su1|.)Mtr 
used  for  testing  not  only  large  ■J'SJ" 
of  water,  but  also,  if  one  i«  oaref.tl.   f   r 
the  merest  trace     Thus,  we  mmfi   -^.J  m 
one     of    the     previous     le«s..iis     •»    •     tb« 
steamy    layer    formed    at    the    •>■  " 
the   inside   of  a   lamp   chimnr\    »' 
Ump    is    first    lightefl    and    v» ' 
chimney  is  cold  is  water.  «<> 


the    lighted    lamp 
still 
anh) 

layer    itn    th«.  *cr    p^ri    ui 

chimney,    whr;  get    a    faint    ^ 

distinct   bluish   or   k<  :ue   Itm.  doc 

to  the  preseiKe  of  ■\^\,  1  >ttr  cowimon 
sense  will  leach  yoa  bow  to  osr  this  lest 
in  doxens  of  cases  as  we  go  on.  and  tt 
will  be  very  handy  to  test  the  appearance 
of  water  as  it  presents  itself  rtow  and 
then,  Miih<iut  depending  alone  an  tbc 
»lat<  want  lo 

be  or  sol- 

phate  oi  cupper,  tlu  ikM  ci>iilinttHi  it  with 
gretm  vilnol,  the  sulphate  of  iron,  nor 
with  tehile  vitriol,  tbc  solphale  of  nne. 

Thk  iMraaTAxni  or  Mauh  Gas 

The  next  point  ir  *'  '  '  -ar- 
Ixm  which  we  will  st- 
ance of  1  ?)is  u 
the  m*»^'  of  an 
the  •  of  car- 
bon in  all 
cases,  ai  lly  in  mj  ^he 
other  h>  •-  —  >  c»o  ^  ■  '*»' 
redly    or    indirectly,    from    marsh    gas. 

Therefore,  if  one  can  •' "^^   ^*' 

he  can  go.  by  various  c> 
any  of  the  other  cooip»>'.iini«    -i    .j-t-- 
Now    this   it  a   very    remarkable    fad .    it 

mr..  -•*». 

he  .  ^1* 

chemistry    ol  '**■ 

marsh  gas.  h<  ■*•" 

mand  all  the                 %,  '-■1.  and 

that    means    ni^    •.  jnds    ol 

i.tnii-'unds    in    ofk  .       It    b 

interesting    to    kn<>K    ii-«»  i..««r«r«- 
marsh  gas.  is  f«»und    not  «>' 
gas    J»vl    . 
Iw  ftunlr 

...„r,r,  ■"< 

...„,;  '< 

Ihr  ^■«»  *»* 

the '  ahBB*- 

num.  AUT*  -le  is  a 


k-'i' 


1    Is 


.«■  br 


r  on  timmmmm  carladt.  a 

(lacc. 

14  at 

IaiUi  gas  It  i 

■    tbc    trfgansc 

the   organic   tvm^ammA 

cummaoly  m  tbe  bstag  issmh*  ol 


•  ••kw#     k  ....I. 


argued— 1«"^ 

imarsb    g^ 

can    be    m^'ie    «rtincvAii;     I'-oi    mi«g»> 

uMttTK  b««ic  vf^mmm^  bbe 

annnals.  caa  b« 

(icganic 

betweefi  of  any  brsag  ^W  "  bwig  las 

sue   to  belp  tbc   pfoccsa.     Tbas   awy   be 

irve.  bol  y%m  mam  to  aatao*  tlMt  M  la  ■• 

pcooi  tbat  cbesnsls    cmM 

planu  or  aoiaMls  i«t<  biraaw   tber 


CbcaMcu  aiibwi  m  osg 
bfe  procos  (1 
Rials,  ahboagb  it 
irjy  br  qmte  a  difsftt  tba^g.  My  9mm 
rifNnian  IS  that  tbe  bie  prgr«%s  •••*  Aam^- 
ral  artni  and  ss  largely  cvatmSnl  bf  il . 
xnA  «r4  the  bfe  ftvt*m  is  soaMllMaf  tm- 
nct  im«i  aad.  m  a  bme  m«bi^ 

:o  cbnMcal  artM«s      lUl  ibn  to 

m\y   «]r   opsMrm.    and    iW    v^ammmm    •! 

Mhers   wbo  SMy   d  *-    '-  —    —    •■   **• 

rrsprrt  are  ceftatnl' 

ttost     TW  troaMr  •«   »-.»t   ay   .-« 

lint  ««  !«*«  bnk  bi  ali^gi  o4  iW  teiU 

■Blafe  ol  cbfsral  aAa«y.  mA  ftM  %mm 

at  lb*  Mlare  ol  tbe  hie  ftvtwm  as  tmmi 

rrstts     failwe    jfaiaw 


vaattoa 


Wata*    ) 


ri»"wOJ     l«AMO«,l 


l»«".      ■«,  Ifc.  lo  p-.#t  a^  •<  *m 


896 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGINEER. 


May  18,  1909. 


for  a  few  minutes  wliilc  we  study  to- 
gether the  accompanying  remarkable 
table  of  some  carbon  compounds.  It  will 
look  to  you  at  first  like  a  long,  stupid  and 
blind  affair;  but  if  you  will  note  a  few 
things  about  it — I  should  not  think  of 
asking  you  to  memorize  it — it  will  give 
j-ou  some  ver\-  clear  notions  regarding  the 
simple  relations  between  hundreds  and 
thousands  of  compounds.  Thus,  j'ou  will 
notice  that,  in  the  first  column  of  this 
table  are  given  the  hydrocarbons  of  the 
marsh-gas  series :  and  jon  will  notice  that 
the  constant  difference  between  any  hydro- 
carbon and  the  next  higher  is  measured 
by  two  atoms  of  hydrogen  and  one  atom 
of  carbon,  or  "CH2" ;  that  is,  starting  with 
methane,  CH,,  if  you  add  "CH2"  you  will 
get  the  ne.xt  higher  hydrocarbon,  GH.-.,  or 
ethane ;  and  so  on.  Now  the  next  column 
of  the  table  gives  the  first  oxidized  form 
of  the  hydrocarbon,  that  is,  the  "alcohol" ; 
and  so  corresponding  to  methane  we  have 
methyl  alcohol ;  and  corresponding  to 
ethane  we  have  ethyl  ajcohol ;  and  so  on. 
You  will  also  note  that  between  any  two 
of  these  alcohols  we  have  the  same 
numerical  difference,  "CH2,"  that  is,  one 
atom  of  carbon  and  two  atoms  of  hydro- 
gen, that  we  had  between  any  two  of  the 


we  find  in  order  from  reduced  extreme  to 
oxidized  extreme  (that  is,  as'  far  as  this 
oxidation  goes)  the  hydrocarbon,  the 
alcohol,  the  aldehyde  and  the  acid. 

It  is  not  my  intention  to  frighten  you 
by  loading  this  tabic  on  your  memory ; 
but  merely  to  call  your  attention  to  the 
■wonderful  simplicity  in  the  apparent  com- 
plexity of  the  table  ;  and  also  to  the  won- 
derful completeness  of  the  table.  If  there 
were  any  simpler  way  by  wliich  I  could 
give  you  a  notion  of  the  wonderful  variety 
and  completeness  of  the  carbon  com- 
pounds, I  would  gladly  do  it ;  but  a  little 
attention  to  this  table  will  not  hurt  one, 
especially  as  we  want  to  use  the  substance 
of  this  table  in  explaining  the  chemistry 
of  many  compounds  of  carbon. 

In  the  first  place,  a  little  close  attention 
and  a  little  close  thinking  are  good  for 
all  of  us,  because  they  help  to  make  "gray 
matter ;"  and  in  the  next  place,  when  we 
try  to  explain  the  chemistry  of  such  things 
as  wood,  paper,  cotton  fiber,  starch,  dex- 
trine, sugar,  etc.,  it  will  be  very  helpful 
to  know  that  all  of  these  things  just  men- 
tioned are  very  close  cousins  to  one  an- 
other, and  that  they  are  all  only  so  many 
complicated  alcohols,  and  in  some  cases 
aldehydes    (or   ketones — pronounced   key- 


Rbduced. 


T.\BLE  OF  SOME  CARBON  COMPOUNDS. 


Oxidized 


Paraffin- 

HYDUOCAnBONS. 

.\lcohols. 

.\ldehydes. 

Acids. 

Methane,  CH«. 

Methyl  .\lcohol,  CH3OH. 

HCHO. 

Formic.        H  CO^H. 

Ethane,  C,H«. 

Ethyl  Alcohol,  C-HnOH. 

CH3CHO. 

Acetic.          CH,CO,H. 

Propane,  C,H„. 

Propyl  Alcohol,  C,H,OH. 

C,H„CHO. 

Propionic.  C„H^CO„H. 

Butane,  C4H,o. 

Butvl  Alcohol,  C4H,OH. 

C,H,CHO. 

Butyric.       C;hXO;h. 

Pentane,  C.H,2 

Pentyl  or  Amyl  .'Vlcohol,  CHuOH. 

C4HnCHO. 

Valeric.        C^HoCO^H. 
Hexoic.        C,H„CO,H. 

Hexane,  Cr.H,,. 

Hexvl  Alcohol,  C^H.jOH. 

CsH„CH<). 

And  so  on. 

And  so  on. 

And  so  on. 

hydrocarbons.  Thus,  if  you  add  this  con- 
stant difference,  "CH2"  to  methyl  alcohol, 
CH3OH,  you  get  the  next  higher  alcohol, 
ethyl  alcohol,  which  has  the  formula, 
GHsOH  ;   and  so  on  through  the  list. 

Now,  be  patient  a  few  moments  because 
the  rest  of  the  table  will  clear  itself  up 
just  as  easily  as  this  part  has  done.  You 
wiJl  note  that  the  next  column  of  the 
table,  representing  the  next  oxidation 
stage  from  the  alcohols,  is  the  "alde- 
hydes" (put  the  accent  on  the  first  syllable 
thus,  a/-de-hydes).  You  will  note  that 
although  each  hydrocarbon  and  each  alco- 
hol has  its  corresponding  aldehyde,  yet 
these  aldehydes  are  named  in  anticipation 
of  the  compounds  of  the  fourth  column, 
or  the  acids.  You  will  also  note  that  be- 
tween any  two  of  the  aldehydes,  there  is 
this  same  nuinerical  difference,  "CH2," 
which  we  found  in  the  hydrocarbon  and 
alcohol  columns.  Thus,  corresponding  to 
methyl  alcohol  we  find  formic  aldehyde ; 
and  corresponding  to  ethyl  alcohol  we  find 
acetic  aldehyde ;  and  so  on.  The  fourth, 
and  last  column,  of  this  table  represents 
the  corresponding  acids,  and  between  the 
formulas  of  any  two  successive  acids  you 
will  note  there  is  this  same  nuinerical 
difference,  "CH2." 

Reviewing    briefly    the    last    paragraph. 


tones — which  are  closely  related  to  the 
aldehydes). 

One  can  read  of  hard  times  or  of  good 
times,  but  these  remarks  do  not  mean 
much  unless  one  himself  has  seen  and 
lived  through  some  hard  times  and  some 
good  times.  One  can  talk  flippantly  of 
working  10  or  12  hours  a  day,  or  of  walk- 
ing 40  or  50  miles  ni  a  day ;  but  one  does 
not  really  appreciate  what  that  ineans  un- 
less he  has  himself  done  some  of  these 
things.  So  when  we  read  that,  of  all  the 
elements,  carbon  is  vastly  superior  in  the 
number,  the  variety,  the  completeness  and 
the  simplicity  of  these  compounds  and 
these  series  of  compounds — if  one  reads 
all  this  without  studying  a  little  over  such 
a  simple  table  as  that  just  given,  of  the 
hydrocarbons  with  their  alcohols,  alde- 
hydes and  acid.s — he  cannot  understand 
easily  just  what  is  ineant ;  but  with  the 
help  of  this  scries  of  hydrocarbons,  with 
their  alcohols,  aldehydes  and  acids,  one 
can  get  a  clear  mental  picture  of  some- 
thing of  what  is  meant  by  this. 

Of  course,  each  of  these  hydrocarbons, 
or  alcohols,  or  aldehydes,  or  acids,  is  a 
definite  substance ;  each  of  these  may  be 
a  gas,  or  it  may  be  a  volatile  liquid ;  it 
may  be  a  heavier  nonvolatile  liquid,  or 
it  may  be  a  solid ;  but    each    compound, 


represented  by  each  formula,  represents 
a  distinct  substance,  worthy  of  study  aiid 
attention  ;  and  all  of  these  substances  have 
iiad    much    attention    from   chemists. 

Among  the  higher  compounds  in  this 
table  there  are  several  varieties,  caused 
apparently  by  the  fact  that  the  atoms,  as 
they  increase  in  number,  can  arrange 
themselves  in  different  ways  ;  and  the  one 
fact  which  seems  to  come  out  is  that 
among  the  higher 'compounds,  the  back- 
bone of  the  molecule  is  inade  up  of  a 
chain  of  the  carbon  atoms,  and  these 
chains  may  be  straight  or  branching,  and 
so  on.  Take  the  column  of  acids,  for 
instance.  Every  acid  can  forin  a  salt  with 
every  base  ;  and  so,  if  liine  is  a  base,  then 
lime  can  neutralize  formic  acid,  making 
calcium  formate ;  and,  similarly,  liine  can 
neutralize  acetic  acid,  forming  calcium 
acetate ;  likewise,  calcium  proprionate 
from  pripionic,  calcium  butyrate  from 
butyric  acid  (the  acid  characteristic  of 
butter)  and  valeric  acid,  forming  calcium 
valerate;  and  so  on.  Furtherinore,  if 
sodium,  potassium,  ammoniuin  (NH4  the 
hypothetical  but  really  make-believe  imita- 
tion of  sodium  and  potassium  found  in 
ammonia  compounds),  if  iron,  zinc,  copper, 
lead,  barium,  strontium,  silver,  aluminum, 
magnesium,  etc.,  if  these  metals  all  inake 
basic  compounds,  then  any  one  of  them 
can  neutralize  any  one  of  the  acids  men- 
tioned in  the  table,  forming  the  appropri- 
ate salts  ;  and  there  you  have  an  illustra- 
tion, both  of  the  wonderful  richness  of 
the  chemistry  of  carbon,  and  also  of  the 
danger  in  this  richness. 

But  we  will  not  get  lost  in  this  table; 
simply,  we  will  use  the  table  as  an  illus- 
tration of  the  inarvelotis  completeness  of 
the  oxidation  products  of  the  alcohols, 
aldeh\'des  and  acids  going  out  froin  each 
hydrocarbon.  I  am  afraid  that  some  of 
the  readers  will  want  to  skip  this  table 
and  this  chapter ;  but  do  not  do  that ;  treat 
it  honestly  and  fairly,  and  take  comfort 
from  the  fact  that  no  other  element  can 
put  up  such  a  number  and  variety  of  com- 
pounds as  carbon  does.  I  do  not  hold 
myself  responsible  for  the  chemistry  of 
carbon ;  Mother  Nature  inade  it,  and  she 
gives  you  and  mc  the  chance  to  study  it. 
If  a  few  hard  things  come  up  now  and 
then,  it  may  be  worth  our  while  to  tackle 
each  one  in  order  and  do  the  best  that  we 
can  with  each   subject  as  it  coines  along. 

There  is  one  other  point  here  that  I 
want  to  mention  and  that  is  the  way  in 
which  some  of  the  formulas  are  written. 
Look  at  the  formula  for  forinic  acid, 
HCOTT-  Now,  there  are  two  hydrogens 
in  formic  acid,  and  they  are  entirely  dif- 
ferent from  each  cillicr.  One  atom  of 
hydrogen  is  open  and  active;  if  we  should 
treat  formic  acid  with  zinc  you  could  drive 
off  this  hydrogen  and  collect  it,  just  as 
you  did  the  hydro.^uti  that  you  got  from 
hydrochloric  acid  and  zinc,  or  sulphuric 
acid  and  zinc.  But  the  other  hydrogen  in 
formic  acid  is  of  a  different  kind  from 
that  which  can  be  driven  off  by  zinc.   This 


May  18,  igcK). 

other    hydrogen    i*    hidden    away    behind 
ihf  carlxin  and  shows  little  affinity  ;  nm^r 
quently.  it  is  a  kind  of  latent  or  "par.trtin  ' 
'    <cn.     This    xiibject   cannot    be    di>- 

1   fully  at  this  time;  but  this  him  i« 
,li  to  show  that  in  the  st' 

'undi  <  f  carl". II  there  ar. 

i-culiar  point ■«  arising  whicii  do  ntit 

up   in   the    -tndy   of   the   other   ele- 
ments. 

Carbon  Monoxidk 


POWER  AND  Tin. 

(iflf  and  the  air  bUtt  b  tom«d  f> 


itvatn.  j>crtijip' 


The   next   substance  t- 
monoxide.     You  want  t<    . 

ist    paper    and    note     m! 

\ide  lies  in  the  tabic  of  . 
pounds  given  in  that  lesson.     Y'ou  will  see     «ulis  in  n 
that    it    lies 'l»et ween   carbon   on   the   one     «<fit     n.  r 
hand  and  carbon  dioxide  on  the  other,  and 
yi  u    will    see    that    it    is    also    related    to     1,,..^,  .  ..  . 
formic  acid  in  the  same  way  that  carbon     with   an 

'le  is  related  to  car'  1      This 

II    monoxide   can    t  1    fnjm 

-   acid,   and   yet.  altliouKh   tt    i*   the 

Iridc   of   formic    acid,     it    doc«    not 
readily    make    fr  rmic    acid.     So    we    will     i*    ennchrd"  with  a  fnr  prr  cent.  o<  wr 


'w'rift^.4 


lOftir- 


■  X  ^e»^ 


Mf%  <^  U-»- 


}ui  L^  ■  l. 


J 


411  tffic   fmrf  ^ 


o 


MAKIXC   CAKBO.N-     UOKOXIDC 

the  ihrurctical    relation    of    carbon 
to  formic  acid   aiwl   wi!I   «tudy 
.1*  itself.     It  has  liccn  iiuriti>'i)<  <l 
!>     that     this    carbon 
I   in  comnuMi  city   k^'. 
llr<l.  because  it  i*     ' 
later  in  the  form  >••■ 
•*l,  according  to  the  reaction: 


U.O 


!(    IfTflm-    I 
-(  v:  1 


( 


\oii  go  thrnugh  ihf  m™!!" 
■■    this    water    . 
furnace  fillr«l  v\ 
which  is  blown  dc 
The  gas  formed  >! 
itinK  the  coal  I'"' 


hydrocarbon 

ing     |.r.,,-r.„ 

fact 

watcf  K.i 
ide  is  a 
The 

K  nr 


rr  to  lh« 

nut 


rhich  will 


■  r^-m  I 


•♦  S^ 


ga*    tn   brralhr 


ill  the  coal : 


898 


POWER 

Mt^The,  Engineer 

DEVOTED    TO    THE  GENERATION   AND 
TRANSMISSION   OF  POWER 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 
The  Ejigineer  in  the  Navy 


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Contents  page 

Mechanical  Equipment  of  the  Plaza  Hotel.  .  865 
Operation  of  a  Small  Producer  Gas  Power 

Plant 873 

Some  Properties  of  Steam 876 

The  Specific  Volume  of  Saturated  Steam..  . .  879 
Increa.sing  the  Weight  of  Governor  Balls..  . .  882 
Increasing  the  CO,  Contents  of  Flue  Gases. .   883 

A  Peculiar  Accident 886 

Practical  Points  in  Electric  Crane  Work ....  887 
Practical  I^etters  from  Practical  Men: 

Homemade  Exhaust  Head ....  Ar- 
rangement of  Air  Pump  and  Heater 
in  a  Mine  Plant.  ..  .Compression.  ..  . 
Pump  Valves.  .  .  .Puzzling  Transformer 
Action ....  Joints  for  a  Boiler ....  Limi- 
tations of  a  Pump  Lift.... A  Siphon 
Discussion ....  Double  Eccentrics. . . . 
Economy  of  Different  Sized  Engines. . . . 
Steam  Engine  Experiment ....  A  Power 
Plant  Layout.  ..  .Gas  Bums  in  Smoke 
Flue. ..  .Keying  Flywheels. .  .\P  rob - 
able  Cau.se  of  Air  Compressor  Explo- 
sions. ..  .Improve  the  Diagrams.... 
Two  Commutator  Devices.  ...  Hygro- 
metry ...  .Making  Improvements  iri  a 
Small  Power  Plant ....  Trouble  with  a 
Dynamo. . . .  Knock  in  the  Engine.  .  .  . 
Will  the  I..oad  on  the  Bolts  Change?. . . . 

Centrifugal  Pumps 888-894 

Some  Useful  Lessons  of  Limewater 895 

Editorials 898-899 

Convention  of  American  Society  of  Mechan- 
ical Engineers 903 

Repairs  to  the  U.  S.  S.  "  Salem  " 995 


Rear-Admiral  Melville,  in  his  address 
to  the  American  Society  of  Mechanical 
Engineers,  at  the  Washington  meeting, 
conveyed  very  decidedly  the  impression 
that  the  engineer  in  the  navy  had  not 
profited  as  much  as  was  expected  by  the 
consolidation  of  the  line  and  the  staff. 
"The  only  justification,"  he  said,  "for  the 
personnel  law  adopted  ten  years  ago  was 
the  statement  made  by  former  President 
Roosevelt  that  'on  a  modern  war  vessel 
every  officer  has  to  be  an  engineer;'  "  and 
yet  the  admiral  in  command  of  the  fleet 
on  its  recent  cruise  had  boasted  that  he 
had  brought  the  fleet  to  San  Francisco 
without  a  single  engineer  aboard.  In  true 
concordance  with  the  spirit  of  the 
personnel  act  he  would  have  said  that  he 
got  the  fleet  there  as  he  did  because  every 
officer  on  board  was  an  engineer.  If 
present  tendencies  are  followed  the  real 
engineering  of  the  navy  will  be  left  to  a 
class  of  warrant  machinist.s,  insufficiently 
paid  and  without  official  recognition  or 
prestige. 

There  should  be  no  conflict  between  the 
line  and  the  engineering  staff,  neither 
should  there  be  any  attempt  to  merge  the 
one  into  the  other.  There  must  always  be 
the  courtly  authoritative  executive  officer 
skilled  in  tactics,  and  in  diplomatic  usages, 
fitted  becomingly  to  represent  his  Govern- 
ment in  any  position  in  which  he  may 
be  placed ;  fitted,  .should  occasion  re- 
quire, to  fight  his  vessel  or  his  fleet  with 
all  the  grim  and  determined  purpose  for 
which  it  has  been  constructed  and  main- 
tained and  drilled  and  manoeuvered 
through  years  of  peace.  There  must  al- 
ways be  the  man  who  represents  the 
muscle  of  the  organization,  who  wins  his 
laurels  at  the  designer's  board  in  the  con- 
struction shops  and  among  the  mechanism 
which  makes  the  fleet  an  effective  in- 
strument in  the  commander's  hands.  The 
Avorld  is  learning  the  worth  of  the  latter 
class.  The  term,  "engineer,"  is  becoming 
to  mean  something  more,  as  Professor 
Hutton  aptly  put  it,  than  a  greasy  individ- 
ual with  a  bunch  of  waste  in  one  hand 
and  an  oil  can  in  the  other,  and  when 
honors  come  to  be  divided  the  man  who 
builds  and  engines  ships  and  is  responsible 
for  the  design  and  operation  of  their  motive 
power  will  receive  as  much  credit  for  a 
successful  cruise  as  the  man  who  walks 
the  quarter  deck  and  classes  him  with 
the  man  who  peels  the  potatoes. 

In  this  connection  it  is  interesting  to 
reread  an  editorial  which  appeared  in 
Power  for  December,  1897 : 

A  conference  has  been  held  by  a 
board  consisting  of  seven  line  officers 
and  four  engineer  officers,  presided 
over  by  Assistant  Secretary  of  the 
Navy  Roosevelt,  to  endeavor  to  con- 
ciliate the  differences  which  have  ex- 
isted for  years  between  the  engineer 


May  18,  1939. 

corps  and  the  line.  From  the  public 
reports  of  their  conclusions,  they  ap- 
pear to  have  sacrificed  the  efficiency 
of  the  service  to  peace  and  goodfel- 
lowship  in  the  ward  room.  The  line 
has  taken  the  engineer  corps  unto 
itself.  The  engineer  officers  will 
hereafter,  if  the  plan  carries,  be  re- 
quired to  do  line  duty,  and  will  ac- 
quire the  long-coveted  actual  rank 
and  title.  The  line  officers  will  also 
be  required  to  do  engineering  duty 
to  the  end  that  every  officer  upon  the 
ship  may  be  able  to  serve  either  upon 
the  bridge  or  in  the  engine  room.  In 
order  that  the  engineering  duties  may 
not  be  too  onerous  for  this  hermaph- 
rodite functionary,  it  is  proposed  that 
the  "machinists"  who  are  enlisted  men 
"shall  have  more  to  do  with  running 
the  engines."  This  seems  to  be  a  case 
of  the  lion  lying  down  with  the  lamb 
— inside  of  him.  The  line  has  al- 
ways maintained  that  the  actual  care 
and  operation  of  the  engines  required 
only  practical  mechanics,  and  that 
they  could  do  what  "bossing"  was 
needed. 

"Success  lies  in  limitation."  Ef- 
ficiency comes  from  specialization. 
Perry  and  Farragut  labored  and 
shone  in  an  altogether  different  field 
from  Ericsson  and  Isherwood.  The 
engineering  of  a  man  of  war  is  a 
department  of  itself.  It  should  be 
made  to  include  and  control  the  care 
and  operation  of  all  the  machinery  in 
the  vessel.  No  possible  excuse  can 
be  offered  for  making  a  distinction, 
for  instance,  between  the  engines 
which  run  the  dynamos  and  any  other 
of  the  auxiliaries  and  placing  them 
and  the  men  who  run  them  under 
the  command  of  a  line  officer,  over 
whom  the  chief  engineer  has  no  con- 
trol. The  chief  engineer  should  have 
absolute  authority  in  his  department, 
should  be  responsible  only  to  the  chief 
officer  or  his  direct  representative, 
and  not  subject  to  annoyance  nor  in- 
terference from  petty  officers  of  the 
line.  The  number  of  engineer  officers 
should  be  increased  to  meet  the  de- 
mand of  the  more  numerous,  more 
powerful,  and  more  complicated  ves- 
sels which  the  navy  is  acquiring,  and 
the  officers  of  the  engineering  de- 
partment should  have  a  positive  and 
well-defined  standing  as  regards  rank 
and  priority  in  keeping  with  the  im- 
portance and  responsibilities  of  their 
position.  They  are  not,  as  it  is  often 
made  to  appear,  men  from  civil  life 
employed  to  assist  in  operating  the 
vessel,  but  a  part  of  a  military  organ- 
ization matriculated  from  the  same  in- 
stitute as  the  officers  of  the  line,  and 
their  course  is  no  less  difficult,  the 
requirements  no  less  severe.  They 
do  not,  as  we  understand  it,  wish 
to  be  known  as  that  which  they  are 


May  18,  1909. 

not     To  be  chief  engineer  of  a  man 
of  war  is  a  position  of  resp<jnMljiluy 
and   importance.     To  be   known  and 
recognized   as   the   Chief    Engmeer   is 
honor     enough     among     those     who 
understand    the    requirements    of   the 
office.     It   is   a   position   to  be  proud 
of,  not  to  be  hidden  under  a  mean 
ingless   title.     But   what   is   the  posi 
tion  of  the  Chief  Engineer  relatively 
to  the  other  officers.'     Some  of  them 
have    the    relative    rank    of    c;i;  • 
others  of  commander,  Ijeutenani  ■ 
mander,  etc. ;  but  this  does  not  njcan 
that    they   have  an   authority   even    in 
their  own  departments  commensurai- 
with  those  titles,  or  that  they  assunu 
among  the  other  members  of  the  [>er- 
snnnel     positions    in    accordance    with 
their   .elative   rank.      What   they   ask 
is     positive     rank     with     appropriate 
titles. 


Anonymous  Communications 


Letters  asking   ior  iniorniation  arc   fre- 

l|uetitly   received   to  which  the  writer  has 

to   add    his    signature,   or   in    Mime 

way   mailc   a    reply   excqit    through 

liie    lol-'inns   of   the    piifK-r    impossible. 

Questions  are  often  asked  which  while 
not  of  sufficient  general  interest  to  be 
;>uliiished  are  of  special  interest  and  im- 
^rtance  to  the  individual,  and  if  possible 
*■■       are  answered  by  mail. 

imunications  which  are  anonynioi  s 

)y      intention     or     accident     cannot     be 

in».wrrcd  or  placetl   on   file  arul  the  quev 

•     and    the    paper    are    Imth    I<>^rr^. 

-e  >omeone  did  not  i<lentify  hitiisrlf 

irith  his  letter. 

It  is  usually  assume«l  that  the  nmi««ion 
>f  the  signature  or  a  place  of  reMilcncc 
■  accidental,  but  when  a  corrr^porwlmt 
Mes  the  stationary  of  his  employer  and 
airrfitlly  tears  from  the  t«)p  of  tlir  slirri 
Jl  printed  matter,  except  the  d.ifr  Imr  . 
ind  affixes  one,  two  or  three  initial  Ici- 
er* to  the  end,  it  may  lie  taken  for 
'1    that    he    inten<U    to    conceal    hi* 


I^U  ER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

pace,  an<'  niahet  00  Ibc  MCMid 

page  of  !c|)«per. 

Grammar,  iprlling  and  penman %hip  are 
matters  of  secondary  importanor.  and 
even  the  Engluh  bnguace  is  not  im- 
perative, for  corrcspofMlrnce  it  recmol 
from  India,  China,  japan.  Rut»ia  »n.\  ,m 
^i  '.  fr«mi  all  parts  of  the  - 
<  law,    if   |4>£fhly   wnfter 

k1 

.rrfn»r 

In    conclusion,    it    it    unted    that    coc- 

r,  x.w„„i..,„,   vritt   upon  one       '        '  -he 

leave  a  generous  *i  r-n 

tit    !i-)r<  and  u 
as    IrKiltIv    a* 

^'*'>  ^^  tiuikc  t:  »atu(4%tur>  to 

.ill   1: 


be  allowed   le  c««racf   lor  At  «o«i  ef 

^ -■rndcoi  opcraton^  Ul  ifcr^/  .^ 

^1    n  ipiii  I   aay  «o   to.  Md 

>ra  al.  or  ai  kaM  a  caaciafl^ 

i   tk€   t»oA   o<   iW*r  eor^arm- 

iMCMKtaaa  m  awrrly  a 

•  «V«nr      TW   CB«I 

<««t«ar  to  oprrato  oa  practical  iW 

ba«n  a*  hrl'tr    KMf  f   Mr  t..   r.^^.1... 
the  prirr  of  ar' 

^  naaibii  ol  fvarv  tW  aattea* 

KM]  i»try.     TW  «i«ly  dMmpv  tWi   dM 

drnuan   t€tet%   m   ia  «««^   ^^k   ml- 

fo^  co»T  1  (Klwrv«w  ad 

mif  nwnti-  go  ikra^k  dW 

of  orgwiwnic  niiiiailty  Mfarate 
oom^nin    at    p»iiiailig    k>     tcM 

the    coal    prior    to 

minr% 


Decision   on  Anthracite  C*te 


Manoc  C«»  Power 


<  hi  ^    il»c   Supreme  < 

I  tilled  .^taies^  in  the  case  of 

tiiriit  againM  the  anlhracile  r< 

down    a    decision    to    the    efT< 

of  the   II 

.1!       f>rt 


the  l-i«iem  l)i»trict  of  I' 

a   swcrpmg   victory   for   ::.. 

but   by   the   coart's   interpreta 

law   victory  actually  resit  witu   inr   ro«i     c<  uk: 

roads.  coal 

It    is    grnerally  "  .1    that    the     c 

original  piirpt»*r  of  rti  »ri   wa«      • 

<-ttrn 


the    Kj 

Mlt^  sar- 
mpmnmm  dratra  hf   Mr. 


1    ?^ 


araai  r^ 


A.i 


riHleavoring     to     etijntn     the     anthracite  frfrnce  m 

,....!.    ir..,»   v...i.t...,r   .he   law   l»)r   trans-  eraior    *tn>^      i    Tn»    , 

by  thrm  or  l»jr   c<al  rnocn,  o«a«nmg  coal  kaa'k 

^  tqaafr  •'    door    awa    .^tami!    4^ 

'  iqaarr  «l« 

-   '  *  Hading  i««kl  W-  ' 

'  f  I  l^T  f  "M  'TC  •      I1*»  ' !  * 


All  letters  received  are  treate<l  con- 
tdentially  and  are  accessible  only  to  those 
vho   have   a   moral   and    legitimate   right 

0  their  contents,  but   the   «ign.itiirr<    .ire 
•quired     for     two     imperative     rr.i...>is. 

of  which   is   sufficient    in   it»e|(     .»« 
•intee  of  goo<|   faith  on  the  p.irt   "f 
bi    writer,  and   for  the  purposes  of  filing 
or  future  reference. 

A  third  rr.is..ii.  .ilili. "i-h  \-  ■ ' 
mportant.  i*  tliat  it  i«  ti-t  .ilw 
D  reply  by  mail  to  a  corresp«»ndent  whose 
lanie  or  address  is  hypothetical 

While  on   this   subject,   it   may   a«    *»''* 
*    intimated    thai    tli.re    |«    <•■     ' 
lti«  fact  inn   derived    from    i    !■ 

1  written    upon    oti< 
nly  than  fnrni  one  u 

irst  to  the   fourth  and  ihcn  U>  tlw   lU' 


milled     tr.  A    bmnsTM      |„^    ^.^    ,,1,4^ 

through    ot  -I    r\rn     fo       i..„,u       I    ,i^    ^,._l. 

own    the     mines,     prnvidrti 

-••■'• I    «...».   »^«... .„n     irw     r..Mr.  ,«-.* 

the   ilraai   vewel  alsw  add 

If   :■••:     '    •      tinri     jii     ritr*  "  v^ 

|M.«.il.|v    he    enforced    ai  _  ,, 

••  I.  ^  " 

tmitr*fit0  mads  ar* 

>•  a 


i»«.»t«»^  •       tnS     «B'«i  % 


to  Iran* 


f>€   ri<«<it    » 


•t*,-  saT 


900 


POWER  AXL)  THE  EXGIXEER. 


May  1 8,  1909. 


Power  Plant  Machinery  and    Appliances 

Original         Descriptions       of        Power       Devices 
No     Manufacturers'     Cuts     or      Write-ups      Used 

MUST     BE     NEW     OR     INTERESTING 


A  Patent  Boiler  Furnace 


be  continued  within  the  boiler  in  the  usual 
manner. 


The  accompanying  illustration  shows  a 
patent  furnace  invented  by  A.  W.  Fred- 
rickson,  Hardy,  Cal.  It  is  in  reality  a 
steam  boiler  and  furnace  with  a  water- 
heating  and  purifying  attachment,  the 
object  being  to  provide  an  attachment 
whereby  the  water  may  be  heated  and  the 
sediment  contained  therein  deposited  be- 
fore the  water  is  delivered  to  the  boiler 
proper  in  a  continuous  supply.  The  de- 
vice consists  of  a  'double  steel  shell  hav- 
ing an  intervening  space  at  the  top,  sides 
and  front,  as  shown  in  Figs,  i  and  2.  The 
grate  is  located  in  the  double-wall  section 
and  fuel  may  be  introduced  either  through 
the  opening  A  or  through  the  ordinary 
furnace  door  at  the  front.  * 

The  feed  water  is  introduced  in  the 
water  legs,  where  it  is  subjected  to  the 
heat  of  the  inner  walls,  whereupon  the 
deposits  will  fall  to  the  bottom  of  the 
water  legs  below  the  grates,  thence  it  may 
be  blown  out  through  the  blowoff  pas- 
sages. The  water  in  this  chamber  sur- 
rounding the  firebox  will  be  gradually 
hfatcd  to  a  temperature  substantially 
equal  to  that  in  the  boiler  proper. 

The  furnace  and  heating  chamber  are 
separate  from  the  boiler,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  pipes  leading  from  the  upper 
rear  end  of  the  heating  chamber,  and  all 
the  water  delivered  thereto  is  expected  to 
be  substantially  purified  and  heated  to 
such  a  temperature  that  the  ebullition  will 


An  Improved  Ejector 


The  Lunkenheimer  Company,  of  Cincin- 
nati, manufactures  the  ejector  illustrated 
herewith.  The  claims  for  superiority  made 
for  it  are  based  chiefly  upon  the  tube  con- 
struction. It  is  stated  to  be  unsurpassed 
— on  the  scores  of  economy  and  efficiency 


— for  raising  water  from  deep  wells, 
mines  or  pits,  emptying  and  filling 
tanks,  or  for  raising  and  transferring 
hot  or  cold  liquids  generally,  and  it 
is  further  claimed  that  it  will  raise 
water  a  greater  hight  and  at  higher  tem- 
perature than  heretofore  attained.  The 
tubes  only  are  subjected  to  wear  and  can 
be  renewed  at  slight  expense.  To  operate, 
it  is  only  necessary  to  turn  the  steam  on 
fully  and  after  the  flow  of  water  is  estab- 
lished the  steam  may  be  throttled  almost 
wiiolly. 


NEW    DESIGN    OF   EJECTOR 


FIG.    I 


FREDRICKSON  S    PATENT   ROTLER   FURNACE 


FIG.   2 


May  18,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


The  New  Steam  Stack  Heater  Some  m^vor  r.r  lvxw*f!  mn^t  Se  {>f~^         f.  h  gmrrsm    ».fi;M»ir  1     rkrt  t|w 


In  the  power  hou»c  there  ar- 

stack  an«I  the  stt-.tin  >t;ick  -.r  ■ 

— *  ' 
If  the  boilers  operate  with  an  ciriciency     the  back-prcMure  valve,  etc 


•  mikr 


A 


?>- 


CIomI 
Tip*  MMtar 


r 


-^ 


-i 


;^ 


It- 


^ 


■K>1';^^ 


I  IG.      1.     SHOWING   ORIIIN  \KV    ARC 
ht,fAkATi)K    ANU   FILtLK.     \s 

of  70  per  rmt.,  JO  per  rmt    nf  the  heat 
to    the    •  li-ss    the 

lost    by    r.  go  out 

ot   the   smokestack.      If  the  engine  oper- 
ate* with  an  efticicncy  of  10  per  cent.,  go 
per  cent,  of  the  heat  units  in  the  <»tcam. 
or  6j  per  cent,  of  the  heat  units  Mtpphed 
in  the    fiul,  no   up   tlic   exhau-t    *ta^k   or 
the  river  with  the  overflow  from  the 
■  n*cr. 
It  any  use  can  be   found   f<>r   ^t^.lm  at 
thr  temperature  of  the  cxhau»t.  iiui.  h  of 
cat  which  woiihl  be  rtjr»i<«l  by  the 
1  stack  or  exhaust  pipe  c  iM  l»c  re- 
I  atnl  usefully  applied,  and  muIi  <'p- 
ititirs    offer    in    heating    feed    water, 
liuK  buildinss  and  various  nunufac- 
04.      A    pound    <»f   r\Ii.iutt 
IS  0ood  fr>r  hrattiiK'  "f  '\ry- 
-uj   of    Ii\(-    sieam 
nnd  t  ••- •■•?!<!  of 
ol     atiti 
.  '  r   cent.    .1 
heat  as  a  pouml  of  steam  at    i<x)  jh.hh.U 
••"-Mire.     Kxhau«t    «'•'••>      >-     ■•        •  ■• 
the  envine, 

iilrainefl  water  \\;n,  n  1  ...i 

the    Imiler    an«l     the  "O 


!'■ 


oa. 


r'^i 


iils_    vii    ii-  it    r  ■ 
fftuled    with    oil. 


902 

An  interior  view  of  this  heater  is  shown 
in  Fig.  3.  The  exhaust  steam  is  piped  to 
the  heater  in  the  usual  manner,  striking 
the  baffle  plate  which  forms  the  back  wall 
of  the  oil  separator  which  removes  the  oil 
contained    in    the    exhaust    steam.     The 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

There  are  two  features  worthy  of 
especial  mention  in  connection  with  the 
construction  of  this  heater.  By  noting  the 
sectional  view,  Fig.  3,  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  heater  can  be  entirely  shut  off 
from    the    steam    by    merely    closing    the 


May  18,  1909. 


1 


FIG.     3.     SECTIONAL  VIEW   OF  THE   HARRISON   SAFETY  BOILER  WORKS 
STEAM   STACK  OPEN   HEATER 


steam  then  passes  around  the  ends  of  the 
baffle  plate  and  enters  the  heater  where, 
mingling  with  the  cold-water  supply  and 
gravity  returns,  heats  them  to  its  own 
temperature.  The  remainder  of  the  steam 
is  then  passed  on  to  the  heating  system 
thoroughly  purified  of  oil.  All  oil  is  car- 
ried to  the  drip  tank  through  a  drip  pipe. 
This  tank  is  fitted  with  a  float  which  oper- 
ates a  valve  when  the  water  in  the  tank 
reaches  a  certain  hight,  when  the  contents 
are  discharged  to  the  sewer. 

After  being  heated  the  clean  water  is 
drawn  from  the  bottom  of  the  heater, 
after  passing  down  through  the  filtering 
material  placed  in  the  bottom  of  the  tank. 
The  water,  after  passing  through  perfor- 
ated plates  on  which  the  filtering  material 
rests,  passes  into  a  suction  box  and  then 
on  to  the  feed  pump. 


so  that  it  remains  practically  uniform. 
Various  modifications  can  be  made  in 
the  construction  of  this  heater,  as  in  case 
head  room  is  restricted  the  steam  stack 
can  be  connected  to  the  side,  rather  than 
the  top,  or  two  steam  outlets  may  be  used 
instead  of  one. 


Goulds  Power  Working  Head 

With  a  view  of  supplying  a  demand  for 
a  compact  power  working  head  for  oper- 
ating single-acting  cylinders  in  wells  from 
50  to  175  feet  deep,  the  Goulds  Manu- 
facturing Company,  of  Seneca  Falls,  N. 
Y.,  recently  placed  on  the  market  a  new 
type,  which  is  constructed  in  a  substantial 
manner,  owing  to  the  entire  frame  be- 
ing cast  in  one  piece. 

The  gear  and  crank  plate  are  securely 
pressed  and  keyed  on  the  main  shaft.  The 
gear  and  pinion  are  of  charcoal-iron  ma- 
chine-cue from  the  solid,  and  the  main 
and  pinion  shaft  run  in  large  babbitted 
bearings.  The  well  cover  is  located  in  the 
base.  It  is  so  arranged  that  by  taking 
out  the  bolts  which  secure  it  to  the  frame 
and  disconnecting  the  well  rod,  the  en- 
tire   working    head    can    be    m»ved    back 


semi-rotary  type  valve.  The  valve  is 
shown  closed,  and  the  path  of  the  steam 
is  through  the  oil  separator,  past  the  oil- 
baffle  walls  and,  finding  no  inlet  to  the 
heater  proper,  it  escapes  through  the  ex- 
haust outlet  to  the  heating  system.  It 
will  be  seen  that  cutting  out  the  heater 
from  service  does  not  prevent  the  steam 
from  being  cleared  of  oil,  as  the  oil  sepa- 
rator is  always  in   service. 

'When  the  steam  is  passing  to  the  heating 
system  only  the  small  disk  valve  shown  in 
the  oil-drip  tank  is  closed,  otherwise  steam 
and  oil  would  back  up  through  the  over- 
flow into  the  heater.  When  the  heater  is 
in  service,  this  valve  is  open  and  the  over- 
flow and  scum  from  the  reservoir,  if  any, 
escape  into  the  drip  tank  and  are  deliv- 
ered to  the  sewer.  The  float  shown  in 
the    receiver    regulates    the    water    supply 


GOULDS    POWER    WORKING    HEAD 

from  the  well  without  disconnecting  the 
pipe. 

The  crank  plate  provides  for  an  adjusta- 
ble stroke  by  changing  the  crank  pin ; 
the  well  rod  operates  through  a  brass 
gland,  and  the  working  head  can  be  sup- 
plied with  or  without  an  air  chamber. 


May  18.  iQog. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


American    Society    of    Mechanical 


lanicai    Lngineers 

Dctafls  of  the  Spring  McvUng  at  WaiiungtMi;   i  'ro^«j»c*i  Amciiti'i.cT.'j 
to     the      Constitution;      Procecdinj?*     oi     tlic     Gas      I  '«rvs  rr      Nn  Lico 


The  spring  mcfting  of  the  American 
Society  of  Mechanical  KiiKJuecrs  wa4  held 
at  Washington  during  the  week  com- 
mencing May  3.  The  >e>sion<»  wt-n-  held 
in  the  ballrLMjm  of  the  New  Willard.  where 
on  Tuesday  evening  the  society  wa»  for- 
mally welcomed  to  the  city  by  Hon.  Henry 
B.  Macfarland,  president  of  the  IJoard  of 
District  Commissioners,  the  response  l>e- 
ing  made  by  Jesse  M.  Smith,  president 
of  the  society.  I'rofessional  ^eNsions  were 
held  on  \Ve<!nes(lay.  Th'.irs<lay  and 
Friday  forenf>ons.  On  \Vedncs«lay  after- 
noon the  s<Kiety  witnessed  a  ^p^cul 
exhibition  drill  by  troop*  at  Fort  Myer, 
and  in  the  evening,  A.  P.  r>avi», 
chief  engineer  of  the  Reclamation  Service, 
presented  an  illustrated  lecture  on  "Home 
Making    in    the    Arid    Regions." 

On  Thursday  afternoon  the  members 
ind  guests  were  received  by  Presi<lent 
Taft  in  the  Fast  Ro*»m  of  the  White 
House.  On  Thursday  evening.  Rear-Ad- 
miral George  W.  Melville,  rctirol,  ad- 
dressed the  s<^jciety  upon  "The  KiiKineer 
in  the  Navy,"  critici/ing  the  attitude  of 
the  line  toward  engineering  and  coiulemn- 
ing  recent  actions  of  the  department  in  a 
manner  which  the  morning  papers  termed 
"startling,"  but  which  seeine«l  to  have 
the  sympathy  and  approval  of  hi*  hearers. 
Walter  M.  McFarland.  of  PiltUnirk'.  pre- 
sented, on  l)ehalf  of  a  nunil>er  of  his 
friemis,  a  portrait  of  the  admiral  to  the 
historical  series  of  paintitiKs  in  the  Na- 
tional Museum.  The  portrait  was  accepted 
by  Dr.  C.  D.  Walcott.  representing  the 
Nation. 

On  Friday  afternoon  a  visit  was  paid  to 
Mount   Vernon.     A   <"•■'• 
ascension  and  an  acr   ; 
Fort    Myer  were  precludctl  l>>   a  ihumlcr 
Mjiiall 

Numerous  invitation*  were  rcrri\r«l 
from  local  institutions  of  intrrr*t.  the 
hospitality  of  several  local  rliib*  was  ex- 
tended to  the  members  and  socially  ih* 
meeting,  which  was  very  well  attetided, 
was  very  pleasantly  successful. 

The  first   profr»M.  nil    ■■• 
on    We«lnrsday    ffrm.-m 
•hip      committee      rep<irte<l      14H      nanws 
which    had    been    passed    iipon    ♦>»     t)w 
council  and  Ihry  were  formally    .i-I'' 
the  list  of  member* 


Ptomsrn  AMitxpvrst- 

•TITITIoM 

\nnouncements     of     intended     wnend*     '<  h«<i.  ■■••• 


menu    to   the   conttitntion    affertiiiff    iIm> 

qualiiications     of 

memf»ef«     wrrr    r- 

ait'  att- 

IlU.i.  ;rl||- 

tiert  reads  thai: 

"An  a»»ocute  thall  be  thirty  year«  of 
age  or  over,  and  mtui  be  «o  cimnecird 
with  KMne  branch  of  encinerring  or 
science  or  art  or  induMry  that  the  cininctl 
will  consider  him  qualif>e<l  to  (-•■•perate 
with  mifinrers  for  the  advancement  of 
\>r-  •  Knowledge.     He  need  oan  be 

.ifi    ■ 

To  the  sr»  • 
tiers   it   is   pr   , 

who  i»  ever  thirty  jrcan  of  ate  cannK 
enter  the  society  a*  a  janiof  A  further 
amemlntent  pro\K!e«l  for  the  Public  KeU- 
ti..-  rd  tiy  Morru 

1.  '«. 

o   c    w 

in    fnvor  of 
th. 

an<i 

PAtULi  on,  Ha^ii..-"-.     .i*..- 

The  I'irst  two  paper*  deah   wii'    '  j-  ; 
ling    material*:      "A    Uniqtic    Belt    Con- 
veyer," b>    F"'-  •      '^■vrr.  was  a  descnp 
lion  of  Ihc  and  operatmo  of 

a  I-."-  •••.  •»  ■|f"«ricr  •  ■*       -'-  '  ^nu. 

rc<j  >    |i«»wer    l«»    •  'ted 

th.. 

vr-. 

to  buy 

to 

K     (.      Br 

t.  ...    U     moSa    - 

Rilcer's  iAland.  and  oUwr  lan« 

m<i.iiijiii4is 

In  a  discuMion  which  emwd  opnn  ihr 
life  of  hehing.  a  mrnit-^ 
work   a   rttMtrr   h»H    U 

ter 

of 

tm'.  

'A    Niw    T«Air»iin*K>ir    ThrnkSf**"^'^' 

f,»     t'r.,f     WilltaMi    H     Krrxr*    " 


it*  fmmtraniom  b  mtIi 
'  *  a 

•o  iwirrfHiM  to  ikr 
oi    tbr    Alnft    dnvm    ibriii)i    iL      TW 
only    dc rang* BUI    wkttk    Morvt* 
H  the  cnMhiac  ul  tbr  b»B*  m  tW 
and  ibc  pffr%Mirr  a^o«  tbn*  M   •• 
at  to  ffvodrr  ibt*  bardly   p:iiitlr. 

TMiaaoat 

Gas  P.-siti   SfATwtr 

Th'.:rvili>"«    i<''.i:    •?■    mi'L     '"'/'I   f'i'f!.    *- 
tbr 
*••  ......     .,.,     ...,.....,      ,^, 

IMfMbeTwUp  COHMMtMV^  W 
t-Trrr«{ir;g  report  «a«  prrMtMcd  t-' 

Siraab   un    tbr    prt^rc**    la    imt- 

-k   abriad      T1n»   rr^  ft    i^ 
«htlc  Mnr'c  ha*  brew  4^^*  - 
KufutK  i^aa  M  .Kmtmcm  m  tbr  at' 
of  producrr-ia»  power  for  wmtim* 
notbinc  appraacbMg  a  lUitifilind 

ttKtH    V-J»    »r1    \irxn    •WyrVt*^       Tbe 


'b*  mtf  ow 
that  has  tba«  far  •  ai— iwi  f* 

ttV       Tbe     brvrK     rnfrw     MMl     wmAr- 

-^rti  it  aa  rigbtryhwirr  1— It-fi-  . 
macbinr  now  brtng  balil  by  Vtcbrtv  Sn** 
4  Maiim  No  bttaaivMH 
rapablr  rf  •««■«  alMnlatrly 
tm^ct  'frtt  bwa  prt«r^ 
condtliaiH  bas  j^  bws  fc**to^»» 


-/ 


tn  fbe 


ga*    iwanw*    to*    tmmA    t*^* 

I -nit    »}•->*     3*.    t«*      »**'     ^* 


vMb    p»«^^*'t     *^'     »«*'^ 


i»«   U  (t 


904 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  i8,  1909. 


Mr.  Obert  being  absent.  This  paper  is 
printed  on  page  873  of  this  issue.  The 
paper  did  not  evoke  the  discussion  which 
its   character   merited. 

High  Compression  and  We.\k  Mixtures 
"A  Method  of  Improving  the  Efficiency 
of  Gas  Engines."'  by  Thomas  E.  Butter- 
field,  was  the  next  paper  presented.  The 
method  consists  in  using  high  compres- 
.sion  and  diluting  the  combustible  mi.xture 
with  inert  gases,  such  as  the  exhaust  gases 
of  the  engine  itself.  Of  course,  the  mix- 
ture is  usually  diluted  to  some  extent 
by  the  products  of  combustion  remaining 
in  the  clearance  space  after  each  explo- 
sion, but  the  present  suggestion  is  to  di- 
lute still  farther  and  to  advance  the  time 
of  ignition  in  order  to  compensate  for 
the  slowness  of  combustion  produced  by 
the  dilution. 

Discussing  this  paper,  W.  O.  Barnes 
stated  that  premature  ignition  due  to  high 
compression  was  not  as  serious  as  it  was 
commonly  considered.  In  most  cases  this 
sort  of  preignition  indicated  faulty  de- 
sign of  the  combustion  chamber,  and  the 
vigorous  pounding  that  was  sometimes 
produced  by  premature  ignition  was  due 
to  the  fact  that  the  affected  parts  were 
not  sufficiently  large  to  take  care  of  the 
extra  stresses  caused  by  the  unusual  rise 
of  pressure  during  the  compression  stroke. 

Offset  Cylinders 

The  final  paper  qf  the  session  was 
one  by  Prof.  T.  M.  Phetteplace, 
entitled  "Offsetting  the  Cylinders  of 
Singlc-Acting  Engines."  The  paper 
was  an  exhaustive  mathematical  analysis 
of  the  effects  obtained  by  setting  the 
crank  shaft  to  one  side  of  the  line  corr^s- 
ponding  to  the  plane  of  the  cylinder 
centers.  The  author's  conclusion  was  to 
the  effect  that  improvements  obtained  by 
offsetting  are  negligible  as  far  as  the 
tliermal  cyclic  efficiency,  mechanical  ar- 
rangement, turning  effort  and  lubrication 
are  concerned ;  the  real  advantages  are 
a  reduction  of  the  frictional  losses  due  to 
the  pressure  of  the  piston  on  the  walls  of 
the  cylinder,  resulting  in  a  .slight  increase 
in  mechanical  efficiency  and  less  wear  of 
the  piston,  piston  rings,  and  cylinder,  and 
consequently  longer  life  ;  and  a  reduction 
of  the  maximum  value  of  the  side  pres- 
sure of  the  piston  on  the  walls  of  the 
cylinder,  allowing  the  use  of  shorter  con- 
necting rods,  shorter  pistons,  and  shorter 
cylinders,  resulting  in  a  shorter  and  light- 
er engine  and  in  lower  inertia  forces  due 
to  the  reciprocating  parts.  The  most  im- 
portant advantage  would  be  the  consider- 
able saving  in  weight  produced  by  the 
shortening  of  parts. 

The  disadvantage  of  offsetting  lies  in 
the  fact  that  the  reductions  in  average  side 
pressure  and  maximum  side  pressure  grow 
less  as  the  speed  and  inertia  force  in- 
crease, so  that  for  a  speed  of  1400  to 
1500  revolutions  per  minute,  there  is  either 
no  reducti,on  at  all  or  an  increase. 


The  author's  summary  of  the  principal 
physical  results  of  offsetting  was  as  fol- 
lows : 

Offsetting  increases  slightly  the  length 
of  stroke  and  the  crank  angle,  passed  over 
during  the  stroke  toward  the  crank  shaft. 

The  maximum  value  for  the  side  pres- 
sure of  the  piston  on  the  cylinder  walls 
decreases  as  the  offset  increases  up  to  a 
value  of  one-half  the  crank  radius  for 
any  ratio  of  L/R.  {L  =  Length  of  con- 
necting rod;   R  =  crank  radius.) 

The  work  lost  in  friction  due  to  the 
side  pressure  of  the  piston  on  the  cyl- 
inder walls  decreases  as  the  offset  in- 
creases up  to  a  value  of  75  per  cent,  of 
the  crank  radius. 

Both  the  maximum  value  of  the  side 
pressure  and  the  work  lost  in  friction  in- 
crease as  the  value  of  the  ratio  L/R  de- 
creases. 

Offsetting  decreases  the  height  and 
weight  of  the  engine  and  increases  the 
life  of  the  cylinder  and  piston. 

•  The  advantages  of  offsetting  as  regards 
the  maximum  side  pressure  and  work  lost 
may>  be  zero  or  negative  for  high  inertia 
forces  resulting  from  speeds  of  1500  revo- 
lutions   per    minute    or    more. 

In  the  course  of  the  ensuing  discussion, 
John  H.  Norris  said  that  his  company 
(building  the  Nash  engine)  had  tried 
offsetting  the  cylinders  over  20  years  ago 
and  found  that  in  actual  practice  no  real 
advantage  was  obtained  by  it. 

FRIDAY      . 

Papers  Presented 

The  Friday  morning  session  was  de- 
voted to  tlie  following  papers :  "Small 
Steam  Turbines,"  by  George  Aj  Orrok 
(published  in  the  May  11  number,  page 
850)  ;  "Tests  on  Compressed  Air  Pumping 
Systems,"  by  Edmund  M.  Ivens  ;  "Specific 
Volume  of  Saturated  Steam,"  by  Prof. 
C.  H.  Peabody  (published  in  this  issue, 
page  879)  ;  "Some  Properties  of  Steam," 
by  Prof.  R.  C.  H.  Heck  (published  in 
this  issue,  page  876)  ;  "A  New  Departure 
in  Flexible  Staybolts,"  by  H.  V.  Wille 
(abstracted  in  the  February  9  number, 
page   280). 

In  addition  there  was  a  continuation 
of  the  discussion,  begun  at  the  February 
meeting,  of  "Safety  Valves,"  published 
in   the   March    16   number,  page   520. 

DiSCl'SSIONS 

In  the  discussion  of  ^Ir.  Orrok's  paper 
on  "Small  Steam  Turbines,"  it  was  the 
opinion  of  Charles  B.  Rearick  that  high 
economy  in  the  small  turbine  units  in  many 
instances  is  of  minor  importance.  Re- 
liability of  service  is  most  important.  In 
nearly  all  large  power  plants  the  e.xhaust 
steam  is  all  utilized  in  feeding  water 
heaters  and  80  per  cent,  of  the  heat  is 
returned  to  the  boilers.  There  is  only  one 
class  of  service  in  which  high  economy 
is  absolutely  necessary,  and  that  is  when 
the  unit  becomes  the  prime  mover  or  the 
main  unit  for  a  plant.     In  this  case  the 


turbine  is  usually  all  right,  for  the  speed 
can  then  be  chosen  for  the  best  economy. 

Charles  A.  Howard  showed  by  com- 
paring Mr.  Dean's  paper  of  a  year  ago 
with  Mr.  Orrok's  curves,  that  the  over- 
all efficiencies  of  the  turbine  and  engine  in 
small  sizes  after  the  latter  has  been  in  use 
for  some  time,  are  but  very  little  different, 
with  perhaps  a  little  in  favor  of  the  en- 
gine. 

Prof.  R.  C.  Carpenter  expressed  an 
opinion  that  the  field  of  the  small  steam 
turbine  is  somewhat  narrow  as  compared 
with  that  of  the  high-speed  steam  en- 
gine, and  that  the  advantages  of  the  small 
steam  turbine  must  be  due  to  other  rea- 
sons than  simply  that  of  economy.  Figures 
from  the  test  of  a  small  turbine  running 
noncondensing  showed  that  350  degrees 
of  superheat  had  about  the  same  effect 
as  18  inches  of  vacuum,  and  the  water 
rate  of  a  machine  given  in  the  paper  as 
approximating  50  pounds  per  brake  horse- 
power went  down  to  22  pounds.  The 
small  steam  turbine  has  special  advantages 
for  many  kinds  of  work  and  for  those 
kinds  of  work  it  was  the  speaker's  opinion 
that  the  small  steam  turbine  would  ulti- 
mately supersede  the  small  piston  en- 
gine. 

R.  H.  Rice,  of  West  Lynn,  Mass., 
commented  on  the  fact  that  all  of  the 
turbines  described  are  of  the  impulse,  or 
action  type.  It  was  his  opinion  that 
the  reaction  turbine  is  not  suitable 
on  account  of  the  complication  and 
expense  of  the  bucket  system  for 
small  turbine  work,  and  this  leads  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  great  flexibility 
of  the  impulse  type  will  render  it  the 
ultimate  type  of  the  future,  superseding 
entirely  the  reaction  machines  for  all 
classes  of  service.  To  the  latter  statement 
Professor  Carpenter  objected,  stating  that 
there  is  no  question  about  the  advantages 
of  the  impulse  turbine  for  small  work, 
but  the  reaction  turbine  for  large  powers 
will  not  drop  out  where  a  high  vacuum 
can  be  obtained. 

W.  E.  Snyder,  of  Allegheny,  Penn., 
thought  that  all  the  emphasis  should  not 
be  laid  on  the  steam  economy.  Another 
point  which  should  receive  careful  atten- 
tion is  the  lower  cost  of  maintenance, 
pacticularly  where  the  turbines  are  used 
for  boiler  feed  and  replace  the  direct-act- 
ing boiler- feed  pump  generally  u.sed.  In 
large  plants  where  all  of  the  large  units 
are  condensing,  the  steam  from  the  auxil- 
iaries is  needed  to  heat  the  feed  water, 
and  a  few  per  cent.,  more  or  less  in  steam 
consumption,  of  these  auxiliaries,  does  not 
materially  change  the  conditions  of  the 
total  economy  of  the  plant  because^  most 
of  the  heat  is  recovered  in  the  feed 
water. 

Safety  Valves 

In   the   "Safety    Valves"   discussion,    A. 

B.  Carhart  said  that  the  limit  of  diameter 

size  of  valves  for  stationary  boilers  should 

be    5    inches,    and    for    locomotives,    yA 


May  1 8,  igoij. 


POWER  AND  THK  FA*(;iM 


inches;    common    practice    i*    in    ri->    -  : 
•  ith    this.      Units    giviuK    i    »<|u.irt    uk-i 
charge  area   arc   the    larsc^t   ail\i>al>lo 
locomotives.     Toi;i' 
.   2  s(|uarc  inches  for 

square    feet    ((rate   area,   aii' 
lies    for    tlie    largest    oof. 
•lare   feet   grate  area,  has   \k< 
: .ttcd  to  be  amply  sufficiiin      i 
divided   into  three    unr 

\alvc  with  close  adjt! 

valve    rcgiilatetl     fi  r 
-oharKC.    and    (c)    an    i: 
fhf    real   protection   a^ 

r  two  simply  to  lii  •^'••K 

■I-    under    ordiii.iry 
\  alvcs  in  use  arc  unrcaHonaltU  thr<-t!l<(i 

regulation.     The  strain  • 

is  dangerrms  when  thi 
i.irge   and   "*mldcn.  and   wat<  i    ,       ►,  . 
relief  through    the    safely   va|\e    aiul   cri- 
dangrr*    the   cylinders.      .\ 
with   hixh  lift   is   not   th«-  ■ 
valve    of    larger 
lift  showing  the 

the    smaller    valve    gives    less   percentage 
of     steam     discharge,     there     is     greater 
danger    of    sticking     in    opening,     more 
trouble    from   p<^>unding   of   the    vrat    and 
leaking,  and  the  outlet  area  l>cr<  mes  too 
•I    proportion    to    thf    inht.    rau»iiii; 
:!ig     and     giving     inrffvin  ••     r.-!'- f 
to  the  |j«iilrr.     Tin-  lift    -Iv 
008  incli    for   lf)i-i»ini>ti\r    \ 
inch   for  stationary  valves   used  at  lower 
nrrMurcs;   prudencc  and  economy  w">l'l 
luce  rather  than  iiKrcate  this  limit 
ivery   valve   has  a    wide   range  «>t    ,  i 
tmcnt;    the    lift    can    often    I*    virt.i 
from  0.04  to  o  10  inch  hy 
and  to  still  greater  limit*  ' 
springs  in  the  s.-ime  valve,  to  ' 
the   asking.      Limited    lift   is   a    ' 
preference  or  judgment,  not  of  necr«»iiv, 
"■    valves    as    commonly    made.      .Ml    in- 
■lal  work  for  large  lift  of  the  disk  that 
must     lie     extracted     from     lli. 
steam   re«luces  the  vrli'«ii\    .m 
of  the  relirf  ami 
tling    of    tlie    oil' 
(hargc  instead  of  n-li- 

Philip   (*.     Darling  •    ^r- 

I'S  place  the  m.ixiiiiiitii 
ve  lifts  variously  i'  ■ 
I  o  14  inch  for  th< 


:  .  ,:     •   advancrmmt  in  ihi*  pucr 
puratui. 

Ill     vlfrty-valvtnir    * 


ft  rent 


.lucU  kliuuUl  be  U<HK»a*;i^4^. 


and 

capacitut 

I*  . 

.    1,,..  ..f.  ft 

! 

ta> 


of 


I\' 


ir>  to  TmlNBet  ol  U. 


fTwIrf  ♦•' 


SlS 


ihc 


Vr 


Graft  Charges  in  Chicago 


{CS    of 

I  ..I  , 


kf 


|; 


I  whether  there  .ir 
rit«  or  principle*  •  • 
•leral    restriction    t. 


pf 


irch  on  v.ii 
and  it  w.is  I 
hitrary  limits  act 

•■'    de«ign    in    ihi 

icral  protestation  among 


9o6 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  i8,  1909. 


guide  blades  were  worn  on  the  edges ; 
but  no  blade  stripping  occurred.  As  in 
these  stages  the  guide  blades  cover  only 
a  small  part  of  the  circumference,  prac- 
tically all  the  wear  occurred  on  them  and 
very  little  on  the  moving  buckets. 

All  blading  was  found  to  be  entirely 
free  from  any  erosion  due  to  the  action 
of  the  steam,  and  the  surfaces  were  as 
smooth  as  when  first  installed. 

This  shows  that  turbines  can  withstand 
considerable  abuse  and  still  remain  in 
operative  condition ;  as  even  in  this  condi- 
tion  the  vessel  made  24J4   knots   for   24 


fifth  stage  are  marked  i,  2  and  3,  the  dam- 
aged row  being  No.  i. 

The  company  officials  state  that  they 
make  no  charge  of  vandalism  regarding 
this  damage,  as  it  was  quite  possible  for 
stray  bolts  or  nuts  accidentally  to  drop 
into  the  turbine  during  installation. 


The  resistance -to  failure  by  shear  and 
diagonal  tension  and  the  effectiveness  01 
metallic-web  reinforcement  are  discussed 
in  Bulletin  No.  29,  "Tests  of  Reinforced 
Concrete  Beams:  Resistance  to  Web 
Stresses,"   by   Arthur   N.   Talbot,   just   is- 


THE    DAMAGED    BUCKETS    OF    THE    U.    S.    S.      SALEIi 


hours  and  for  the  first  8  hours  made  25 
knots,  while  the  contract  speed  required 
was  24  knots  for  4  hours.  Also,  the 
operation  of  the  turbine  was  all  that  could 
be  desired,  and  except  for  the  drop  in  rev- 
olutions, it  would  not  have  been  known 
that  any  internal  damage  had  occurred. 

The  damage  is  being  repaired,  and  is  ex- 
pected to  be  finished  in  30  days  from  the 
vessel's  arrival  at  the  yard.  The  accom- 
panying photograph  shows  the  damaged 
buckets  on  the  first  row  of  the  fifth 
stage.      The    three    bucket    rows    of    the 


sued  by  the  Engineering  Experiment  Sta- 
tion of  the  University  of  Illinois.  This 
bulletin  of  85  pages  gives  the  results  of 
tests  made  in  the  laboratory  of  applied 
mechanics  of  the  university. 

Copies  may  be  obtained  gratis  upon  ap- 
plication to  the  director,  Engineering  E^- 
periment   Station,   Urbana,   111. 

The  fifth  annual  convention  of  the 
Southwestern  Electrical  and  Gas  Associa- 
tion will  be  held  in  Dallas,  Tex.,  May  20, 
21  and  22  next. 


Meetings  of  State  Associations, 

N.  A.  S.  E. 

Iowa,  Cedar  Rapids,  May  20,  21,  22. 
Kentucky,  Henderson,  June  4  and  5. 
Pennsylvania,  Erie,  June  4  and  5. 
New  Jersey,  Hoboken,  June  5. 
New  York,  Syracuse,  June  11  and  12. 
California,    San    Francisco,   June    14   tc 


19- 


Connecticut,  Waterbury,  June  25  and  26. 
Massachusetts,  Springfield,  July  9  and 
}. 

Michigan,  Bay  City,  July  15,  16,  17. 
Ohio,  Columbus,  September  13. 


Pennsylvania    N.    A.    S.    E. 
Convention 


The  tenth  annual  convention  of  the 
Pennsylvania  State  Association,  N.  A.  S. 
E.,  will  be  held  at  Erie,  Penn.,  June  4 
and  5  next.  Erie  being  the  engine-  and 
boiler-manufacturing  city  of  the  State, 
it  is  expected  that  this  convention  will 
be  the  largest,  in  point  of  attendance,  ever 
held  by  the  Pennsylvania  N.  A.  S.  E. 


Annual   Convention    of  the 
A.  O.  S.  E. 


The  annual  convention  of  the  Ameri- 
can Order  of  Steam  Engineers  will  take 
place  at  Reading,  Penn.,  during  the  week 
commencing  June  7.  Headquarters  will 
be  at  Penn  hotel. 


Annual  Convention  of  the  Univer- 
sal Craftsmen 


The  annual  convention  of  the  Universal 
Craftsmen,  Council  of  Engineers,  will  be 
held  at  Washington,  D.  C,  August  3,  4, 
5  and  6.  Headquarters  will  be  at  the 
National  hotel. 


The  Fidelity  and  Casualty  Company  re- 
ported 19  boiler  explosions  in  this 
country,  including  two  engine  boilers,  be- 
tween March  15  and  April  14,  inclusive; 
there  were  also  a  number  of  minor  boil- 
er accidents.  From  March  19  to  April 
7,  inclusive,  three  flywheels  were  reported 
burst. 


On  Saturday  evening,  May  22,  Illinois 
Association  No.  3,  N.  A.  S.  E.,  of  Wauke- 
gan,  111.,  will  hold  an  open  meeting  at 
which  the  following  will  speak:  L.  M. 
Eckstrand,  on  "Coal;"  J.  W.  Swearingen, 
on  "Pumps ;"  J.  W.  Townsend,  on  "Some 
of  the  Mishaps  of  the  Past." 


Announcement  is  made  that  the  annual 
convention  of  the  American  Street  and 
Interurban  Railway  Association  and  its 
affiliated  associations  will  be  held  at  Den- 
ver, Colo.,  October  18,  19,  20,  21  and 
22,  1909. 


May  i8,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGIM 


Inquiries 


Caust-   of   Bt'nt   I- ire    Tubts 

In  a  fire-tubc  boikr  some  of  the  ttibn 
arc  curved  so  that  they  are  nearer  to- 
gether in  the  middle  than  at  the  end*. 
What  bent  them? 

H    S. 

At  some  time  the  bent  tube*  have  been 
hotter  on  one  side  than  on  the  other,  and 
the  stress  caused  by  the  unequal  expan- 
sion resulted  in  a  permanent  deformation 
or  bend. 

Cause   of   Leakage   with   Cold   Water    in 
Tank 

Why  do  the  girth  scams  of  a  hori- 
zontal water  tank  leak  when  the  tank  i« 
half  full  of  cold  water  but  do  not  Irak 
when  the  water  is  hot '  The  tank  is  used 
as  a  hotwcll  with  exhaust  steam  admitted 
above   the  water. 

G.  H 

DifTerence    in   temperature  between    the 
upper    and    lower     parts    causes    strains 
which  open  the  seams  enough  to  allow  a 
slight  leakage. 
producer  Gases 

Please  explain  the  differences  between 
water  gas,  producer  gas  and  coal  gas. 

G.  J    R 

Any  gas  made  from  coal  is  coal  gas. 
but  the  name  is  commonly  applied  to  the 
lighter  gases  driven  off  from  ciial  by  the 
application  of  nu>derate  heat  W.itrr  has 
consists   chiefly    «>f   cartniti    tii>  •  I 

hydrogen  f<>rmed  by  pasMtii;  -t'  1 

a  bed  of  iiu;tn<lcscrnt  ink.-      \i 
in  a  ga*  pr<Kliicrr  is  pr'xlturr  w; 
name    is    commonly    restricte<l   to   the   gas 
made  by  passing  air  and  steam  through  a 
bed  of  incandescent  fuel  and  a  bed  of  fuel 
not  yet  brought  to  incandescence. 
"Mud"  in  a   Water  Column 

Onr  water  column  u*rd  to   . 
with   mud.      How    is   the   circii' 
duccd  that  carries  the  mud  into  the  col- 
umn connections* 

I      H 

What  yon  designate  as  mud  ■  '    '  ' . 

iron  oxide  maile  by  the  union 
and  iron.  Corrosmn  of  tin-  m 
ca»e    would    priwhicc    a    •'(>•>It^;^     ••  ' 

nodules  which  would  in  a  \rrs 
entirely  till  the  pn»c  leading  i" 
of  the  combination  and  »lop  the  pM 
because  of  any   peculiar  kind  of   tr 
tion  which  carried  mud  into  the  pii- 
the   lack   of  enough  circulation,  h)    >•    - 
ing  or  otherwise,  to  carry  the  mu«!  4«j> 
.'  'rage    Battery   Rnjuirementt 

What    Siie  of    »«..rii.r    »,ittrf%     ;.    Tt-vnrr\ 

to  give  a  normal 

peres  at    tio  voit*.   .m'l 

determined  * 


surfar»  «rv«  *m  the  pmitiT*  ;>f>(ri    ainne 


Que»tiona  are  not  anstrrrttt  mnlrt,   thry  air 
of   genrral    intriett    ami   art    n>><,mi,'itnr4   hp      *j\ 
the   name   and   addrea*   of    thr    m<tmir>r 


must 

hav 

I  -.   h 

t'r !  . 

»»-^ 

l---k 

give  1 10  volts,  but  lo«k 

tery    would   drop   to   ai«>iiT    •»>    «  .it«       jt 

would  be  advisable  to  pot   in  fn  <-rll«  m 

/ 

to  :tame  .^rraai  Ltme 
I    hare    two    botlrrt   e*--  irc 

same  steam  Itnc.     Onr  t»  .   and 

the  other   is   vef 
are    the    same, 
dumeter   ai^  ''- 
it    that   ihr 

ntore  [  -  vrrtK^ti  bu«let  than 

en    thr  r  ? 

A-  O   I. 

It  is  not  just  clear  bow  more  •ir^m  t.m 
^ure  can  be  carried  on  one   I- 
on   the  other  as   long  as  both   ..r<-   (.m 
nected  to  the  same  steam   main      If  the 
shells  t    in    strri  .  " 

steam  :  liould  lie 

vertical   builcr.  owing  to  ■ 
sure  of  water   in  the  vert 
to  its  bight. 
Why  Ihr  Manhole  Joint  Lraks 

In  a  ilxisinch  manhole  a  new  gasket 
I .  '    every    tm 

n  when  the  . 

30  {Miuiulk  the  jomt  aJ»A)*  U*k.%      'A)m: 
i*  the  cause  ? 

,V    B 

The  face  of  the  plate  dne*  not  fit  ibe 
face  of  the  nng.  When  the  gasket  i*  new 
ii  is  somewhat  elastic  and  the  )ntnl  n 
light  under  the  rising  pressure.  At 
working    pressure    th«  "' 

back  of  the  pUlr  e»Cr- 
Ih  ! 

I'- 
r< 
!  . 

It*  natural   shape 
pens   a   crack   for     . 


•team. 


Book  Reviews 

Til  a      pNClMtUIMC      IkMV      .\«lfVAL 

IV- 

in  ' 


ind  PM 

•uadarduaig    ikr    ciiiiiiri 


at  tkr  riinijui  ol  tkr  ImAt.   .1 
rut    •nind   <i  •  -    iImi^s   • 

tke  same   f  he  c«^ 

then,  auwtui  tiA.«;   l*#    akM«    U>    »«« 
mental  patk  witluvt   rtme%m^  a 
dirreting  him  into  tW  rsgkt  mad 
•      ^..   e-^I 

Hk  svlmw  ol  tW  ladea 
-    — s« 
tl-  ^^  tkr 

4aMr  a 


Mill*.  By    jamr 

lliii   I  ur^itr.usg  Compaa}  .    .>  '  •> 
Cloth.  4Dt   p^rv  *■•  mc^' 


aft 
\ 


coac  losi  hnwren  liw  aMll  airkasrt  «r 


plans    from    the 
eaecwie  these  plans  and  m  m^***  <a«#^  ••> 
le  thr  «k«ails  and   snpn|s   tmmt  if 


to 

ukr*  *ui  lu  W)p  hwB  oni  gwwra0|    CMlta 
the  nnnwrigbl  Rmt  make  has  «•• 
if  he  has  a^^  unsBy  a 

SC 

et! 


'!•  ':»^?   ""t»!    *  »•• 


i^tu^f 


ijr%ri  and   ^< 


-r  .4  «ke 


t  _^u».- 


ChMii.   4tf 


i«« 

Fr 

try      :^"!v 
TrwssJS.    $« 

Om  Skaftmg     ivii-^   r     -.,         i^K» 
l>  Umti 


^«r•m    ^ng' 


•be    l«# 


a  ws**  miM  itwa 


r 

a 


Fach  cell  must  have  gj  squar 


i*t 


90S 


POWER  AXl)  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  1 8,  1909. 


Resolutions    on   the  Death  of 
Ira  Watts 


The  Combined  Association,  N.  A.  S.  E., 
of  ^Janhattan  and  the  Bronx  has  adopted 
the   following   resolutions  : 

"In  every  association  there  are  a  few- 
men  who,  by  reason  of  their  sterling 
qualities  and  unselfish  devotion,  stand  out 
prominently  among  its  membership,  and 
whose  counsel  and  efforts  can  least  be 
spared  to  the  common  cause.  Such  a 
man  was  our  late  friend  and  companion, 
Ira  Watts,  the  news  of  whose  death  in  far 
away  Spokane,  Washington,  comes  as  a 
blow  to  us.  his  fellow  engineers  and  as- 
sociates. 

"An  accomplished  engineer,  a  faithful 
officer,  an  untiring  worker,  an  exemplary 
citizen  and  an  ever-readj^  helpmate,  he 
was  an  ornament  to  his  profession,  a  pillar 
of  strength  to  the  association,  and  an 
example  worthy  of  emulation  to  his  fellow 
men. 

"The  General  Committee  of  the  Nation- 
al Association  of  Stationary  Engineers 
of  Manhattan  and  Bronx,  New  York,  in 
regular  meeting  assembled,  desirous  of 
giving  public  expression  to  their  sense 
of  bereavement  at  his  loss,  and  of  record- 
ing their  appreciation  of  his  high  qualities, 
do  hereby 

'■Resolve  that  in  the  death  of  our  be- 
loved brother,  Ira  Watts,  the  engineers 
of  America  and  especially  the  General 
Committee  of  the  National  Association 
of  Stationary  Engineers  of  Manhattan  and 
Bronx,  have  lost  one  of  their  most  use- 
ful, esteemed  and  representative  members, 
one  whose  place  in  our  counsels  and  in 
the  hearts  of  his  fellow  men  it  will  indeed 
be  hard  to  fill :  and  be  it  also 

"Resolved,  that  we  extend  to  those  even 
more  near  and  dear  to  him  the  sympathy 
of  fellow  mourners  and  of  sharers  in  the 
deep  affliction  which  his  untimely  calling 
away  has  imposed  upon  ourselves  as  well 
as  them,  and  be  it  further 

"Resolved,  that  these  resolutions  be 
spread  in  full  upon  the  minutes,  and  that 
a  copy  thereof  be  forwarded  to  the 
family    of    our    deceased    brother." 


B 


usmess  items 


It( 


Tho  Tatnall  Knginffring  r'ompan.v.  of 
riiilaflfliihia.  annonncfs  tliat  it  has  sfvpiPd 
its  fonnfftion  with  the  Wetzel  Mechanif-al 
Stoker  f'ompany. 

Mtiralt  &  Co.,  enpineers,  have  opened  a 
braneh  offlre  in  the  Temple  Court  buildintj. 
Bny  anrt  Kiehmond  streets,  Toronto,  Ont.. 
with  .1.  KiikIi  as  manager. 
.  The  repair  shop  of  the  Crocl<er-Wheeler 
Compan.r.  Ampere.  N.  .T..  has  been  placed  in 
charge  of  Kdmnnd  Land.  who.  for  five  years, 
held  an  'executive  position  with  thf  Wheeb-r 
Condenser   and    Engineering   Company, 

B.  Elshoff.  for  12  years  assistant  superintend- 
ent of  the  .Mlis-Chalmers-Biillock  Company, 
of  Cincinnati,  and  for  the  past  two  years  super- 


intendent of  tlie  electrical  department  of  the 
Allis-Clialniers  Company,  of  Milwaukee,  recently 
severed  his  connection  with  the  last-named 
company.  Mr.  Elshoff  may  eventually  accept 
a  position  with  an  eastern  firm,  but  for  the 
present  will  remain  in  Milwaukee. 

The  Keystone  Lubricating  Company,  of 
Philadelphia,  claims  that  the  best  and  most 
economical  method  of  lubricating  the  guide 
rails  of  freight  and  passenger  elevators  is  to  use 
a  refined  higli-grade  petroleum-oil  grease  applied 
by  a  simple  compression-cup  lubricating  device 
carried  by  tlie  car.  Keystone  grease  is  stated 
to  be  in  use  for  this  work  in  a  large  number  of  the 
principal  ottice,  wareiiouse  and  factory  buildings 
in  the  country. 

Tlie  increasing  demand  for  Bird-Archer  boiler 
compounds  in  tlie  Orient  has  necessitated  the 
opening  of  tlie  following  new  offices  by  the  Bird- 
Arclier  Company,  of  New  York:  Honolulu. 
J.  P.  Lynch,  42  Young  building;  Manila,  Lam- 
bert Springer  Company,  99  Plaza,  Santa  Cruz; 
Y'okohama,  T.  M.  Laflin,  Exchange  market; 
Hong  Kong,  Shanghai  and  Singapore,  United 
Asbestos  Oriental  Agency,  Ltd.  All  of  these 
agents  liave  competent  steam  engineers  to  direct 
boiler  owners  in  the  proper  use  of  the  compounds. 

Walter  B.  Snow,  publicity  engineer,  170 
Summer  street,  Boston,  Mass.,  announces  the 
association  with  his  staff  of  Carl  S.  Dow, 
engineering  department.  Harvard  University, 
late  publicity  manager.  B.  F.  Sturtevant  Com 
pany,  and  formerly  in  charge  of  instruction, 
and  textbook  departments,  American  School 
of  Correspondence.  Mr.  Dow  brings  to  the 
organization  a  diversified  experience,  which 
will  add  materially  to  the  value  of  the  ser- 
vice rendered  in  all  lines  of  technical  pub- 
licity. 

The  Public  Service  Corporation,  of  New 
Jersey,  has  recently  purchased  from  the 
Ilewes  &  I'hillips  Iron  Works,  Newark,  N.  J., 
eight  special  engines,  10V1>  inches  in  diameter 
by  24-inch  stroke,  to  run  175  revolutions  per 
minute.  They  will  be  direct-connected 
through  flexible  couplings  to  blowing  appar- 
atus. They  are  to  be  used  in  distributing 
illuminating  gas  under  pressure  to  the  out- 
lying districts  of  Newark  and  .Jersey  City. 
The  engines  will  be  arranged  with  a  special 
pressure  control,  the  governors  working  to 
fractions  of  ounces.  These  engines  are  of  the 
heavy-duty   tangye  type. 

The  American  Blower  Company,  of  Detroit, 
Mich.,  has  adopted  a  method  of  following  up 
every  engine  it  ships  by  means  of  a  blank  re- 
port which  it  forwards  to  the  purchaser,  ac- 
companied by  a  form  letter,  and  followed  by 
a  "follow-up"  letter  in  case  a  prompt  re- 
sponse is  not  forthcoming.  The  report  or  in- 
formation bUtnk  asks  the  customer  for  in- 
formation concerning  the  size  of  engine,  for 
what  it  is  used,  when  installed,  the  revolu- 
tions per  minute,  steam  pressure,  if  oil  has 
been  added  and  how  often,  the  quantity  of 
oil  added  each  time,  and  how  often  and 
where  adjustments  have  been  made.  By  this 
means  the  company  "keeps  tabs"  regarding 
every   engine   it   sends   out. 

In  a  pamphlet,  entitled  ".\utomatic  Draft 
Control  for  Steam  Boiler  Furnaces,"  the  Green 
Fuel  Economizer  Comi)any,  of  Matteawan,  N.  Y., 
describes  an  appliance  recently  brought  out 
for  so  regulating  the  draft  of  steam  boilers  that 
the  pressure  within  the  ttrebox  shall  be  at  all 
times  neutral.  To  accomplish  this,  just  enough 
pressure  is  supplied  under  the  grates  to  force 
the  air  through  the  fuel,  while  enough  draft  is 
applied  in  the  sinoke  flue  to  draw  the  gases  of 
combustion  through  the  boiler.  This  system 
of  draft  is  thought  to  Irdve  an  important  bearing 
in  connection  witli  the  researches  which  have 
recently  been  made  by  the  engineers  of  the 
United  States  Cieological  Survey  with  the  object 
of  increasing  greatly  tlie  rate  of  steam  produc- 
tion per  s(]iiare  foot  of  heating  surface  in  steam 
boilers. 


New  Equipment 


The  Chickaska  (Okla.)  Light,  Heat  and 
Power  Company  will  erect  a  new  power  house. 

The  Standard  Chemical  and  Oil  Company, 
Troy,  Ala.,  will  rebuild  its  electric-light  plant 
recently  burned. 

The  Merchants  Heat  and  Light  Company, 
Indianapolis,  Ind.,  has  secured  a  site  for  a  new 
plant,  to  cost  $300,000. 

The  Boston  Confectionery  Company,  Cam- 
bridge, Mass.,  will  install  a  200-horsepower  gis 
engine  in  plant,  also  other  equipment. 

The  Greenwich  Cold  Storage  Company,  New 
York,  has  been  incorporated  with  $2.5,000  capital 
by  H.  R.  Carberry,  I.  C.  Mosher,  P.  J.  McKeen,  etc. 

The  Fitzgerald  (Ga.)  &  Ocilla  Electric  Railway 
&  Power  Co.  is  making  arrangements  for  tlie 
construction  of  a  power  plant  on  Lake  Beatrice. 

The  Lytle  Creek  Power  Company,  San  Ber- 
nardino, Cal.,  has  decided  to  spend  $300,000 
in  extending  system.  Duplicate  plant  will  be 
installed. 

The  North  Carolina  Sanatorium  for  Treat- 
ment of  Tuberculosis,  Greensboro,  N.  C,  will 
build  power  plant  to  furnish  heat,  power,  water 
and  light. 

The  Scotia  Worsted  Company,  Woonsocket, 
R.  I.,  is  making  preparations  to  construct  a 
new  power  house.  New  engine  and  boilers 
will  be  installed. 

The  Springfield  (Mass.)  Street  Railway  Com- 
pany is  making  plans  for  improvements  to  cost 
about  $80,000,  which  will  include  new  electrical 
e(iuipment,  etc. 

The  Thousand  Island  Electric  Light  and 
Power  Company,  Clayton,  N.  Y.,  is  thinking 
of  substituting  a  gas-producer  plant  for  the 
present  steam  plant. 


Help    Wanted 


Advertisements  under  this  head  are  in- 
serted for  25  cents  per  line.  About  -six  words 
make   a    line. 

WANTED — Thoroughly  competent  steam 
specialty  salesman  :  one  that  can  sell  high- 
grade   goods.      Address   "M.    M.   Co.,"    1'ower. 

AN  ENGINEER  in  each  town  to  sell  the 
best  rocking  grate  for  steam  boilers.  Write 
Martin  (irate  Co..  281   Dearborn   St..   Chicago. 

WANTED — Engineer  to  take  charge  of 
Western  plant.  Must  have  experience  with 
Corliss  engines  and  d.c.  generators.  First- 
class  man  only.     Box  51,  Power. 

WANTED — An  engineer  experienced  in  de- 
sign and  application  of  electric  controlling 
devices  for  industrial  installations.  Must 
thoroughly  understand  latest  commercial 
systems  and  apiiaratus.  No  application  will 
be  given  consideration  except  from  engineers 
of  established  reputation  and  experience.  In 
reply,  give  references,  experience  and  salary 
expected.      Box    4.*S,    I'owKU. 

Situations  Wanted 

Ad rrrti.<<riiirnts  under  ihis  head  are  inserted 
for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  words  ma  Ice 
u    line. 

MASTER  MECHANIC  desires  change  :  prac- 
tical machinist  of  twelve  years'  expeidence ; 
West   preferred  :    references.     Box   46,    Pow  ki;. 

SITUATION  by  chief  engineer;  can  handle 
turbines,  engines,  condensers,  stokers,  and 
men,  and  can  get  i-esults.  References  from 
pi'esent  employei-s  and  leading  engine  build- 
ers.    Box  47,   I'ownK. 

Miscellaneous 

Advertisements  under  Ihin  head  iire  insertrd 
for  25  cents  per  line.  About  si.v  irords  make 
u    line. 

BERNICE  PEA  COAL  for  suction  gas  pro- 
ducers carries  10%  volatile  matter  and  makes  8  ft. 
gas  per  pound  of  coal.  Ask  for  analysis  and 
prices.   Charles  W.  Mooers,  Shipper,  Elmira,  N.''\!. 

PATENTS  secured  promptly  in  the  T'nited 
States    and    foreign    countries.      Pamphlet    of 


May  25,   1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


12,500.H.  P.  Turbines  of  the  "North  Dakota'' 

Description    of    the   Curtis   Marine  Type  Turbines  Built  for   the  Fir< 
American  *' Dreadnought. "  Which  Require*  a  Toul  ol  2S.000  H.  P. 


The  United  States  ljatilcslu;j  Nun  a 
D,ikota."  now  building  at  the  Fore  River 
Shipbuilding  Company's  works  at  ^uincy, 
MabS.,  and  the  tirst  of  the  American 
"dreadnoughts,"  is  510  feet  long.  85  feet 
beam,  draws  27  feet  and  has  a  displace- 
ment uf  JO.ooo  tons.  She  has  a  full  speed 
of  21  knots,  requiring  an  aggregate  of 
25.000  horsepower  which  is  supplied  by 
two  Curtis  marine  reversible  turbines 
driving    twin    screws.      The    turM -!r<- 


the 

acquired  irom  the  lower  ranxr  ol  ex- 
pansion can  be  taken  oat  in  each  ttagc 
before  it  is  allowed  to  expand  to  the  next, 
and  the  speed  of  the  jcta  be  brov/^* 
down  within  practical  limits  by  <■■ 
sach  a  r.  "  r  Raicau. 

that    th<  :«h   rarh 

rar  . 


thcrctorr   patsc*   bnwcra   ittc    mtwiQ 

hladiet  Arv!  11  rr«rrk<«i   w  >  'Ka*  it  k:»  atmr: 
the 

I*   ttiO   UnWv   rrdacHL  md  kf 

!irT.<-  iIm  opet%twm  ka*  W*«  ttpttttd 

Ihr    third   timr    tk*    %»rt^   lr««««   lk*   4»- 

J  Ml  rtftscMy 


1 

I 


i- :  s  I     »  V  <i  W  r: 


dcM>:iici!  :i> 
pressure,  '-'f 
inches  11  f 

The  v>-  ;iiired  by  a  Jet  of  strttn 

expaiviing    through    this    ranic     c 

' 'ul  would  Ik  some  4J00  '■    • 

to   excessive   that   it    - 
possible    tn    btiild    a     lurbit 
of    which    could    run    al    .r 
half   the 
of  maxi^: 


•rwtwAlIt    iTl  «-<»w      V  fl 


910 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  25,  190C 


but  because  the  velocit}-  of  the  flow  is 
decreasing  continuously,  and  larger  pas- 
sages are  required  to  pass  the  same  vol- 
ume at  the  lower  velocity. 

An  important  advantage  of  this  method 
is  that  steam  is  not  admitted  to  the  shell 
and  working  parts  of  the  turbine  until  its 
pressure  and  temperature  have  been  re- 
duced by  expansion  in  the  first  set  of 
nozzles.  Only  the  steam  chest  upon  the 
front  of  the  turbine  case  (or  the  rear 
when  reversing)  is  subjected  to  the  in- 
itial pressure  and  temperature. 

In  the  turbines  of  the  "North  Dakota" 
the  expansion  range  is  divided  into  nine 
stages,  as  shown  in  Fig.  2.  cetween 
the  "ahead"  steam  chest  on  the  front  of 
the  turbine  and  the  compartment  contain- 
ing the  first  wheel  there  are  20  nozzles, 
of  which  18  are  controlled  by  sliding 
valves,  each  operated  by  a  key  upon  the 
squared  head  of  the  protruding  stem,  as 
shown  at  A,  the  motion  being  communi- 
cated to  the  valve  through  bevel  gears 
and  a  screw  thread,  as  the  drawing 
shows.  No  valves  are  used  to  control 
the  nozzles  between  the  stages,  experience 
having  proved  it  an  unnecessary  refine- 
ment. For  continuous  running,  enough  of 
the  first-stage  nozzles  are  left  open  to  give 
the  required  speed  and  the  throttle  is 
left  wide  open,  giving  initial  pressure 
in  the  steam  chest,  which  is  of  cast  steel 
to  give  the  required  strength  without  ex- 
cessive weight.  Manoeuvering  is  done 
with  the  throttle.  In  order  to  avoid  ex- 
cessive pressure  in  the  shell,  the  nozzles 
of  the  first  set  are  so  proportioned  as  to 
reduce. the  initial  pressure  of  265  pounds 
to  75  pounds  absolute  (60  gage),  and  the 
resulting  velocity  is  such  that  four  sets 
of  running  blades  with  three  sets  of  in- 
termediate reversing  blades  are  required 
in  the  first  stage,  while  three  rows  of  run- 
ning blades  and  two  of  stationary  blades 
suffice  for  the  remaining  stages.  The 
distribution  of  pressures  in  normal  con- 
tinuous running  is  as  follows : 


Gage. 
Steam  chest 26.5 


First  stage. 
Second  stage.  . 
Third  stage  . .  . 
Fourth  stage.  . 
Fifth  stage  .  .  . 
Sixth  stage  .  .  . 
Seventh  stage. 
Eighth  stage.  . 
Ninth  stage.  .  . 


60     . 
35     . 
15 
5 

—  4 

—  9 

—  11.4. 

—  12.9. 
—13.7. 


Absolute. 
280 
75 
50 
30 
20 
11 

6 

3.3 

1.8 

1 


The  first  nozzle  is  convergent-divergent 
on  account  of  the  greater  expansion, 
while  for  the  remaining  nozzles  a  parallel 
passage  with  a  convergent  approach  suf- 
fices for  the  lower  expansion  ratios.  The 
area  through  the  nozzles  is  increased  pro- 
gressively by  increasing  both  the  number 
and  cross-section  to  accommodate  the 
greater  volume  of  the  expanded  ^eam. 
The  20  nozzles  of  the  first  stage  occupy 
only  about  42  degrees  of  the  circumfer- 
ence. The  passages  leading  to  the  noz- 
zles of  the  third  stage  are  shown  at  the 
top  of  the  circular  casting  which  is  stand- 
ing upright  at  the  left  in  Fig.  3  and  which 


May  25,   1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


rtu    J.    rA*r*  or  tv«M«r«  m  »iinr 


to  < 
M    >  niil  Iki 


1^ 


912 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  25,   1909. 


the  completed  wheels  are  shown  in  the 
foreground  and  elsewhere  in  Fig.  3.  The 
increased  area  required  for  the  passage 
of  the  steam  through  the  wheel  at  the  di- 
minishing velocity  is  obtained  by  lengthen- 
ing the  successive  blades,  as  will  be  appar- 
ent from  the  segment  of  the  casing, 
shown  in  Fig.  9,  containing  the  three 
rows  of  stationary  reversing  blades  for 
the  second  reverse  stage. 

For  reversing,  two  wheels  are  used, 
running,  when  not  active,  in  the  vacuum 
at  the  discharge  end  of  the  turbine  to 
avoid  windage.  Efficiency  being  here 
of  little  moment  on  account  of  short 
and  infrequent  use,  only  nine  rows  of  run- 
ning blades  are  used,  five  upon  the  first 
and  four  upon  the  second  wheel. 

The  inlet  pipe  is  13^2  inches  in  inter- 
nal diameter,  while  the  exhaust  outlet  is  4 
feet  in  width  by  9  feet  in  length,  having 
thus  more  than  40  times  the  area  of  the 
inlet. 

The  blades  for  the  first  five  stages  are 
carried  upon  wheels  running  in  compart- 
ments divided  by  steam-tight  diaphragms, 
while  the  last  four  stages  are  grouped 
upon  a  single  drum,  the  difference  in 
pressure  upon  the  front  and  back  of 
which,  i.e.,  at  E  and  F,  Fig.  2,  is  used  to 
balance  the  thrust  of  the  propeller.  The 
separation  of  the  stages  upon  the  drum  is 
effected  by  bringing  the  nozzle  rings  ddd, 
Fig.  2,  sufficiently  close  to  the  drum  to 
prevent  leakage.  The  low-pressure  dif- 
ference existing  between  these  stages, 
which  will  be  seen  by  referring  to  the 
foregoing  table  of  the  pressure  distribu- 
tion, and  the  small  amount  of  steam  which 
will  pass  through  a  given  opening  at  the 
very    much    diminished    density    of    these 


lower   stages,    make    this   matter   of   sepa-  crescent-shaped    section    and    of    various 

ration  comparatively  easy.  sizes.     The   bars   are  cut  to   the   required 

The    blades    are    made    from    extruded  length  and  finished  with  a  projection  upon 

stock,  furnished  to  the  works  by  the  Coe  each  end,  as  in  Fig.  10.  The  blades  are  set 

Brass   Company,   in   bars   of   the   required  int^  channel  bars  worked  out  of  the  solid 


t((((((('((((«(((((0 


Moving  Bladeg 


Stationary  Blades 
Moving  BladeB 

Stationary  Bladei 
Moving  Blades 


Moving  Blades 


Stationary  Blades 


Moving  Blades 


Stationary  Blades 


Moving  Blades 


m 


iiiiiiiiiii«i«iiiijj¥JA 


1   1    1    1     I     J 


FIG.     5.     DI.^GRAM   OF  NOZZLES   AND  BUCKETS     IN     CURTIS     STEAM     TURBINE 


J 

m 

* 

^ 

■! 
i 

FIG.     6 


TURBINE     NOZZLE-I'LANING     MA6HINE 


FIG.     7 


May  25,    190Q. 


Pr)\VER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


•u 


grooved  foe  dMtr  rtcri,'*.jt\  An4 

by  calkmg  iW  wmun^  r^  a^ 

gruu«r*  • 'j^   ifi!  '  iK«i'  ■'.  -■    .• 
Fic  II 

pr  •yrr    cm!: 

bis'lr    It  ;rM-',  ritrtrij    ■«  m  Ao ■  u  c  h^ 


no.  &    iNruiiok  <•»  M  iirzi. 


1 

^TAnOKAAV  HT«B*l»e 


by   (prcial    milling    nuichinr«.    with 
larly    «pacr<l    hnlr*    11' 
jcctiont  on   Ihc  l<'\*  '■r 
•re  »rl  and  rivcir 

11.  Thr   fin*   of 

then  ilnttrtl  cro<«»Mr.  a« 

12,  in    ihr    «ainr    w  iv    th   ■ 
Mw«  a  moMitiK  wfu  '1  h' 
•nH  the  «rc»inn«  ol   l.la<Iiri»:    ■ 
to    the    railint    of    th«    'ir   • 


914 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  2%,  1909. 


FIG.      13.     ROTOR   IN   PLACE  IN   CASING 


I;G.      14.     ROTOR,    SHOWING    REVERSE    WHEELS 


May  25,    1909. 


itiWLR  AND  THE 


15,  where  the  first  row  is  shown  with  ti, 
shrouding  yet  to  be  put  on.  The  parts  dc 
tached  and  assembled  are  shown  in  Fig. 
iz  Fig.  13  shows  the  rotor  completely 
bladed  and  in  position  in  the  lower  half 
of  the  casing.  The  first  suge,  «irith 
four  rows  of  moving  buckets,  is  at  the 
right,  then  the  four  stages  with  three  rows 
of  blades  each,  then  the  drum  with  the  12 
rows  of  the  last  four  stages,  and  (>ry..ri(l 
these,  at  the  extreme   left,  the   rc^cr-iiiw; 


■'■*\.r.i  diaphragm  it  bolted  a  brooxc  cam- 

'••'ii   ii   carr>ii.Lf    utx^n   one  end   t^r    r,- .-, 

of  the  labjir  ;ig.    Su& 

ance  is  ailo<i.<  .    ~— <««  A  and  u  ..    ,^: 

mit  B  to  expand   frcdjr  sbovld  the   free 

end  become  be  coot.* 

the  rings  ^  ha»  p: 

a  complete  rc(»cd>   iof  Uitcritagc  packibg 

trotjMr^ 

A  of  the  rotor  from  the 
the  short  hla4es  of  the 


tM 


elements.     The  inward  projections  of  thr 
rasing   between    the    wheels 
plainly   in    ihi«   view,   are    . 
ceive  »>"  .:m»  as  *l 

Thr  ■!*    are    ni  > 

steel    varymg    irnm    three  <|uar!rr. 
inch    in    thickness    at    the    tirst    s'ag'- 
three  eighths  at   the  division  hctwem  the 

fifth  stage  and  the  drum     T' "'  rhr- 

eted  onto  cast  steel  rings  n)  the 

projrrtions    of    fJ' 

tioned.    at    thrir 

steel    ring* 

carrying  thr  ; 

edges.     Thr  details  of  the   pa.-> 

are  shown  in   Fig    16     To  the   ._ 

block  A  bolted  to  the  inner  edgt  of  tke 


no.   ift  M«t> 

^•uprrs'tTTT   ewl   t»f   thr    rucnifi 
ment  h^ 

bl»dr« 
bir 


tiaaoOT 


»*<■<  the 


t#Cmi4l        I  HV    MV 


€WSf^^'i^%.    1^^     *•    # 


9i6 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  25,  1909. 


wheel  revolving  submerged  in  a  body  of 
water  and  actuated  by  a  water  jet  enter- 
ing beneath  the  surface  would  have  to  be 
placed  close  to  the  entering  jet  to  get  the 
full  benefit  of  its  velocity  before  it  was 
dissipated  in  stirring  the  other  water. 
For  this  reason,  the  axial  clearance  is 
kept  down  to  i/io  of  an  inch  on  the  first 
wheel  and  to  J4  oi  an  inch  on  the  last. 
The  thrust  block  serves  to  maintain  these 
clearances,  and  is  properly  placed  at  the 
high-pressure  end  where  they  are  the 
smallest,  allowing  whatever  movement 
may  occur  by  differences  of  temperature 
or  mechanical  effects  to  take  place  in 
the  wider  spaces  at  the  more  distant 
blades. 

Drain  pipes  connect  each  stage  with 
the  next  so  that  the  condensed  steam  in 
any  stage  will  pass  to  the  next  one  of 
lower  pressure  and  there  give  up  a  part 
of  its  heat  to  useful  work.  The  exhaust 
chamber  drains  to  the  condenser  and  the 
discharge  is  assisted  by  a  small  steam- 
operated  ejector. 

Where  the  shaft  passes  out  through  the 
ends  of  the  casing,  it  is  provided  with 
carbon  stuffing  boxes  which  prevent  steam 
leaking  out  at  the  head  end  or  air  leak- 
ing in  at  the  back  end  where  a  vacuum 
exists.  The  rear  stuffing  boxes  are  sup- 
plied with  boiler  steam  in  the  spaces  be- 


Fig.  18  shows  the  lower  half  of  the  same 
section  of  the  casing.  Fig.  i  shows  the 
starboard  turbine  assembled.  The  capped 
projections  at  AA  are  openings  or  peep- 
holes into  the  several  compartments. 
Through  the  sockets  BB  extend  vertical 
rods  or  stanchions  to  guide  the  upper 
case  when  it  is  lifted  from  the  lower. 


Should  the  High  or  Low  Pressure 

Cylinder  be  the  Vertical  in 

an  Angle  Compound  } 


The  Greenwich  station  of  the  London 
County  Council  Tramway  has  four  angle- 
compound  reciprocating  engines  of  the 
Manhattan  type,  with  the  exception  that 
instead  of  running  the  low-pressure  cyl- 
inder vertically,  as  is  done  at  the  Man- 
hattan station,  and  generally  in  America, 
the  low-pressure  cylinder  is  placed  hori- 
zontally at  the  floor  level,  and  the  high- 
pressure  cylinder  run  vertically  in  the  ele- 
vated position.  The  leading  thought  in 
the  American  practice  is  to  take  the 
weight  of  the  heavy  low-pressure  piston 
off  of  the  cylinder.  The  engines,  which 
were  built  by  John  Musgrave  &  Sons, 
Ltd.,   are  mentioned  by  John   Hall   Rider 


water,  and,  therefore,  the  drainage,  is 
progressively  downward  in  the  case  of 
the  English  engine,  and  upward,  with  the 
opportunity  for  forming  pockets,  in  the 
case  of  the  American  engine.  There  is  an 
advantage  for  the  American  engine  be- 
sides the  favorable  position  of  the  low- 
pressure  piston,  which  these  sketches  dc 
not  show,  and  that  is,  that  if  the  con- 
denser is  placed  on  the  level  of  the  low- 
pressure  cylinder  sufficient  hight  will  be- 
available  to  drop  the  water  out  of  it 
through  a  barometric  tube.  The  per- 
formance of  these  engines,  which  are 
coupled  to  3500-kilowatt  generators,  is  as 
follows : 


Duration  of  test 

Average  steam  pressure 

at  stop  valves 

Average  steam  tempera- 
ture at  stop  valves. . . 
Average  revolutions  per 

minute 

Mean     total     indicated 

horsepower 

Mean  total  kilowatts.  .  . 
Total    water    from    all 

sources 

Average  weight  of  water 

per  hour 

Water     per     indicated 

horsepower  per  hour . 
Water  per  kilowatt  per 

hour 

Vacuum 


Full  Load. 


6  hours 

180  lb. 

460°  F. 

94.46 

5,315 
3,494 

353,909  lb. 

58,984  lb. 

11.098  1b. 

16.88    lb. 
26.74  in. 


Half  Load. 

3  hours 

181  lb. 

446°  F. 

94.81 

2,622.9 
1,780 

89,049  lb. 

29,683  lb. 

11.311b. 

16.67  1b. 
26 . 8  in. 


IMPERFECT  DRAINAGE  SYSTEM   OF  AMERICAN    ENGINE 


NATURAL   DRAINAGE   OF    RECIPROCATING   ENGINE 


tween  the  carbon  packing  to  prevent  air 
leaking  in  and  lowering  the  vacuum,  and 
are  drained  to  the  fourth-stage  compart- 
ment. 

Fig.  17  is  a  view  of  the  upper  half  of  the 
exhaust  end  of  the  casing,  showing  in 
front  the  two  rows  of  stationary  blading 
ee  in  Fig.  2  and  farther  back  the  station- 
ary blading  for  the  reverse  elements.  The 
long  straight  flange  on  top  is  that  of  the 
discharge  passage  for  the  exhaust  steam. 


in  a  paper  upon  the  "Electrical  System 
of  the  London  County  Council  Tram- 
ways," recently  presented  before  the  In- 
stitution of  Electrical  Engineers,  as  of 
particular  interest  from  the  fact  that  they 
are  the  first  of  this  angle-compound  type 
to  be  installed  in  the  United  Kingdom. 

The  weight  of  the  low-pressure  piston  is 
partially  carried  by  a  tail  rod,  and  Mr. 
Rider  gives  the  accompanying  diagrams 
to  show  that  the  course  of  the  steam  and 


The  5000-kilowatt  Parsons  turbines  are 
guaranteed  by  Willans  &  Robinson,  Ltd., 
their  builder,  to  run  on  15  pounds  per 
kilowatt-hour,  with  steam  at  180  pounds 
pressure,  superheated  to  550  degrees 
Fahrenheit  and  a  95  per  cent,  vacuum. 
No  bonus  is  offered  for  better  results 
than  this,  but  a  penalty  will  be  incurred 
if  the  results  are  worse.  The  British 
Westinghouse  Company  is  to  furnish  two 
Rateau  turbines  of   the   same  capacity. 


"May  25,   1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  FNT.IN'FFR 


Large  Gas  Engines  for  Electric  Stations 

Rclabvc  Merit*  of  Internal-  and  Ejcternal-C.:  n  EagiDo;  Com- 

parison of   the  Coils  oi  Generating    Power   urxicr  CoodiboiH 


BY    L.    ANDREWS     AND    R.    PORTER 


Hitherto  the  use  of  large  gas  engines 
has  been  chiefly  confined  to  iron  and  steel 
works,  where  they  are  run  on  blast-fur- 
-nace  and  other  waste  gases  for  driving 
blowing  engines  and  generating  electric 
power,  which  is  used  for  rolling  mills,  etc. 
in  the  works,  the  surplus  power  being  sold 
at  a  very  low  rate  for  municipal  lighting 
and  tramway  loads,  and  for  mdustrial 
works  in  the  neighl)orho<Hl 

In  Germany  the  manufacture  of  large 
gas  engines  is  an  established  industry  on 
a  large  scale.  Even  in  1906  out  of  49 
smelting  works  41  had  either  installed  gas 
engines  or  had  placed  orders  for  them, 
the  engines  actually  installed  at  that  time 
aggregating  over  295.000  horsepower 
While  there  have  been  a  few  hla*t- furnace 
gas-engine  installations  working  in  this 
country  for  some  years,  the  cmkiiics  used 
have  been  mainly  limited  to  capacities  of 
*•■  -rn  300  to  SCO  brake  horsepower. 

!  he  use  of  large  gas  engines  for  driving 
rirctric  generators  is  a  subject  that  is  also 
receiving  considerable  attention  in  the 
United    States.      A    few    nv  the 

National    Klectric    Light    A  ap- 

pointed a  special  committee  to  report  on 
the  use  of  large  gas  engines  for  driving 
electric  generators,  and  the  report  was 
presented  to  the  association  at  its  con 
vention  held  in  Chicago  last  May.  [This 
report  was  abstracted  in  P^  Tai 

Ekcinecr   for  June  q,   iqo^  I 

While  the  authors  believe  thai  there  ii 
an  important  field  for  the  use  of  large 
gas  engines  for  driving  electric  genera- 
tors, they  do  not  consider  that  there  is  at 
present  justification  for  the  suRKestior 
that  has  been  made  that  the  internal-corn 
bustion  engine  will,  in  the  early  future,  be 
used  to  the  exclusion  of  the  external-com- 
bustion engine. 

The  situation,  as  far  as  :  »wl 

edge  goes,  may  be  briefly  'I  as 

follows ; 

The  internal-combustion  engine  is  very 
much  more  economical  than  any  ejclemal- 
combust  r  yet  known. 

The  f   of   a  gas  en»ine  aiul 

producer    ir.*tAl!a;i'>T>    !^    . 
of  a  steam  tiirtune  a- 
of  equivalent  maximum  ca;'a.  ify. 

There  it  no  material  ihtl<-: rnct  in  th« 
reliability  nor  in  the  co«i  of  l.i'or,  tloTM 
and  repairs  of  the  respective  sxttemt. 

In  cases,  therefore,  where  tha  coal  of 


•AlMtrarl  of  ■  p«p#r  r»«d  ''' 
cbMl*r  fU<-ilnn  of  ih>  laaiK'ii 
tr1e«|  RngloMini  of  nr«^«   Brlt«in 


fuel  IS  k}w.  and  the  load  factor  is  low. 
it  will  generally  be  a  mtttake  to  aac  fM 
engines 

On  the  other  hand,  where  the  load  fac- 
tor is  high,  or  the  cost  of  foci  is  high, 
there  can  be  00  doobc  that  gas  engmcs 
will  prove  to  be  by  far  the  cheapest  pnmt 
movers  to  employ  for  dnvmg  electric 
generators. 

The  ;•  *nh 

will  dot;  >      e«- 

t femes,  and  engineers  rcapoosttkic  for  the 
design  of  future  power  booses  w>1'  ^>«<- 
many  points  to  consider  before 
deciding  whether  the  prime  mu^rn  tur 
the  electric  generator*  shall  be  steam>  or 
gas-driven,  or  a  combmalion  of  the  two 
As  the  conditions  which  go  f  det^ftaiac 

whrthrr     m%  >ald 

••o|.    \,r   tnei!    .  >  !  lefy 


■    ' -  .-.;-- 

— 

A 

1 

1    '    ' 

no   I 

different  from  the  coodMoM  «adcr  wUch 

;p  to  tM  pfaMsi.  MaM 

•fnely  diAcslt  for  aagi* 

available 

;  -he  best 

Weha^^  e.  tadMrored  10  coOacl 

fkcts    fr.....    -    .-..<*    ntim*>«r    of    JtffresM 

sources,  and  to  a.  ^ 

laine^l  to  ont  or  iw  ■  nyj»'iii«^»i»i  i'*^trie- 

vuppiv   stations  as  naarly  ooaiparakle  as 

po-  '    many  of  tW  cxMag  9t$th 

tta  fTcrent  Ht*  of  iIm  co— try 

For  comiiaraiiva   ^rposas   we   have   tm- 

'!ra«  'fed  to  show  what  would  be  tlM  ra> 

total  cost  'log  pewee  hr 

...  ..   :urbines  ar- 

•lors  ander  the 


of  ika  pla«  ikal  kt  mA  m  l»  mrrj  tfe* 
load  9i  •■»  hMommm  tot  m 
aaf  fofiioa  ol  ite 
pfauN  kreah  dowa  at  ik«  liaM  wtaa  «at 
oait  u  already  laid  ofl  l«r  aiirfca^ 

Thai  iW  power  gaaeraMd  m  alMai 
for  paUir  aad  pruate  l^lHMg,  sxd  rtM 
for  a  tramway  aad  giacrd  mdartvW 
motor  load  the  load  factor  Is  at  par  caat. 
and  the  cfcjeacy  ol  4kmiikmtmm 
I    #«"/i   :--H  «   too  \ 

lis  8b  pc.-  .    •   —M  tkt  ■■■• 

load  carve  is  appnraaaiily  ol  ikt 
tnaft  tkamm  km  Pig  t 

Thai  dw  COM  of  good  Wtaadaoas  «taft. 
kavmg  a  calorifk  vatae  of  iitm  Bxa.  fm 
pooad.  IS  ti  shiMags  per  low  4sh»»»ad 
at  the 


•e  for  a 

aiiy  the    Mme   as   lor   a 

•iat»o«t    vM      (a)    A    piaallfal    MVptf   ol 

•airr  for  cooling  parpasaiL    fh)    Tns^ 

Usimmij  ol  iiwrala- 

4) 

.'  ility  ol  na»»sncr  '.o  »j;v«a*ai|  ff'.^iUf. 

al  tead     (f)     Cm  9i 
CAMStractt 
lags  as 

la  cfcaiiiag  a  mm  tor  a 
(Uima  It  IS  oftaa 
other  adTsar^ts  ia  ardM  la  gal  a  iM 
vtth  a  pUalifal  s^^—  "'  '*^  ••»♦*  •• 


ForiWirvl 
have  asiawsd  ikat  the  esii 
ifM^t  'A  iw  dealt  with  thi 


•#  *••«  ■•■ 


»d  aai  staadkf 


9i8 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  25,  1909. 


used  in  conjunction  with  a  public  water 
supply. 

We  assume  that  a  convenient  piece  of 
land  has  been  secured,  bounded  on  one 
side  by  a  railway  track  and  on  the  other 
side  by  a  roadway,  the  width  of  the  land 
being  325  feet,  and  the  length  being  ample 
to  allow  for  all  probable  future  exten- 
sions. A  convenient  layout  for  the  steam 
plant  will  be  that  shown  in  Figs.  2  and  3. 
Figs.  4  and  5  show  a  corresponding  lay- 
out for  the  gas  plant.  (We  have  shown 
natural-draft  cooling  of  the  usual  dimen- 
sions in  Figs.  2  and  4,  but  since  these 
plans  were  made  we  have  been  advised  by 


and  each  turbine  exhausting  into  a  separ- 
ate contraflow  surface  condenser  placed 
directly  below  the  turbines;  that  the  cool- 
ing water  would  be  obtained  from  a 
town  supply  and  circulated  by  electrical- 
ly driven  centrifugal  pumps  through  nat- 
ural-draft cooling  towers,  a  separate  pump 
being  installed  for  each  unit. 

For  the  gas  plant  we  have  assumed 
engines  of  the  slow-speed  double-acting 
tandem  type,  working  on  the  four-stroke 
cycle  and  direct-coupled  to  three-phase 
generators ;  the  flywheel  to  overhang.  The 
cooling  water  for  the  engines,  as  in  the 
case    of    the    steam   plant,   would   be    ob- 


five  units,  each  having  a  normal  capacity 
of  2000  kilowatts,  with  an  overload  ca- 
pacity for  two  hours  of  33%  per  cent. 
In  the  event  of  two  units  being  laid  off 
simultaneously,  the  remaining  three  would 
then  be  capable  of  supplying  the  maxi- 
mum demand  for  a  period  of  two  hours 
as  specified. 

'  The  output  of  gas-engine  units  is, 
at  present,  limited  to  about  1500  brake 
horsepower  per  cylinder,  this  being  the 
largest  size  that  has  yet  been  made.  The 
arguments  against  the  use  of  very  large 
steam  units  for  the  hypothetical  case 
under    consideration    also    apply    to    gas 


'~] 


OS 

a, 


Offices 


Stores 


Switchg-ear 


House 


Oircalating  Fump 


D 


.1. 


J 


m 


fl — ^ 
1 1 


Hot  Well 
Feed  Pumps 


Cooling 

Towers' 

FIG.     2.     PLAN    OF    IO,OOO-KIL0WATT    STEAM     PLANT 


the  Midland  Engineering  Company  that 
its  Zylberlast  cooling  towers  occupy  only 
two-thirds  of  the  space  shown  for 
the  same  capacity.  If,  therefore,  these 
towers  were  used,  the  space  occupied  by 
the  cooling  towers  for  both  steam  and  gas 
plants  would  be  reduced  by  this  extent.) 
Either  layout  provides  ample  yard-space 
room  for  cables,  stores,  etc.,  without  en- 
croaching on  the  ground  available  for 
^futjire  extensions. 

dr 


•'i'"'. 


Type  of  Generating  Plant 


^ox  the  steam  plant  we  have  assumed 
steam  turbines  of  the  horizontal  type 
•lire^ct-coupled    to   three-phase   generators 


tained  from  a  town  supply  and  circulated 
by  means  of  small  piston  pumps  driven 
from  the  engine  shafts,  the  water  being 
cooled  in  natural-draft  cooling  towers. 

Capacity  of  Generator  Units 
Experience  has  shown  that  large  units 
in  steam  plants  are  considerably  more 
economical,  both  in  first  cost  and  run- 
ning cost,  than  smaller  units,  and  as 
they  can  at  present  be  obtained  in  much 
larger  sizes  than  gas  engines,  they  have, 
in   some  cases,  a  considerable  advantage 

^  this  respect.     For  a  maximum  output 
of    8000    kilowatts,    it    appears    that    the 

.most    economical    arrangement   would   be 


units.  In  fact,  for  the  gas  scheme  it 
does  not  appear  to  be  advisable  to  use 
even  such  large  units  as  2000  kilowatts 
because  the  overload  capacity  of  gas  en- 
gines is  only  10  or  12  per  cent.,  and  con- 
sequently three  2000-kilowatt  plants  would 
be  able  to  deal  only  with  a  maximum  de- 
mand of  from  6600  to  6700  kilowatts ;  six 
units  of  this  capacity  would,  therefore, 
be  required  to  deal  with  the  specified 
maximum  demand  and  provision  for 
standby.  A  more  economical  installation 
would  be  seven  units  each  having  a  nor- 
mal capacity  of  1450  kilowatts  and  a  max- 
imum capacity  of  1600  kilowatts.  With 
such    an    installation    if    two    generators 


May  25,   1909. 

were  laid  off  simultaneously  the  remain- 
ing generators  would  be  able  to  deal  witfi 
the  full  maximum  demand  of  8000  kilo- 
watts for  two  hours,  as  specified. 

In  Fig.  6  are  presented  curves  show- 
ing the  approximate  capital  cost  of  en- 
gines and  generators  erected  complete 
with  pipework,  foundations  and  flywheels 
necessary  for  the  ah  jvc-spccified  cyclic 
regularity  for  both  single  and  twin  tan- 
dem engines  of  outputs  varying  from  500 
to  5000  brake  horsepower.  A  curve  is 
also  plotted  showing  the  corresponding 
capital  charges  for  an  equivalent  out- 
put generated  by  a  number  of  50O-hor»e- 
powcr  units  in  parallel.  These  curves 
show  that  the  capiul  cost  of  a  twin 
tandem  unit  is  appreciably  higher  than 
a  single  tandem  unit  of  the  same  out- 
put. The  cost  of  fuel,  oil  and  repairs 
will  be  slightly  higher  for  the  twin  tan- 
dem combination,  though  not  appreciably 
so.  The  cost  of  driver's  wages  for  the 
twin  tandem  will  be  practically  double 
that    of    the    single    tandem    set.    as    ex- 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER- 

pumps  and  txdun.  waaid  be  to  povads 
P«r   ■   •    .  «      We  have 

the;  -    lOAJO-WMUid 

»Kjiicf»  I  -'jine.    In 

order  to  a  boot  the 

ii'.v.t  irngth  as  ttie  engine  room  we  ha*< 
provided  two  rows  of  ten  boilers,  grooped 
in  five  batteries  of  four  boilers.  An  econo- 
mizer   is    provided    for   each    botler. 

Pwoovctu 

From   im^uiries   made  in  Germany  and 
the   Un:'-  '-   appear  that 

large  pr  •  g  bitumiooa* 

coal  have  not  been  entirely  satisfactory  to 
either  of  the«e  countries-  Tbu  is.  per 
haps,  partly  accounted  for  by  the  (act 
that  the  class  of  cofti  available  in  both 
these  countries  contains  a  far  greater  per- 
crnt;iKe   of  ash   a:  '  '  ^bie 

to  clinker  than  xh-  .ail 

able     here.  the     cauk     may 

be,  the  fact  t  tt  thrr*"  arr  num- 

bers of  bituminoi:  oos 

in   thit   ,Mtirifrv    *  .  .    m 


7»9 


!_ 


^ 2 ^ 


FIG.    3.    EU^VATIOK  Of  KXCOO-BILOWATT   STgAM  fLArf 


pcrience  has  shown  that  one  engine  driver 
is  required  for  each  line  of  engines,  wiut- 
ever  the  output  of  the  engine.  These 
remarks  apply  to  cases  where  the  tutal 
maximum  demand  is  insufficient  to  justify 
the  use  of  larger  units  than  can  be  ob- 
tained in  single  tandem  sets,  as  in  the 
assumed  case.  From  the  foregoing,  it 
appears  that  for  the  condition*  under 
discussion  a  single  tandem  engine  it  the 
best  type. 

{ioiLxas  roK  SirAM  l":  vnt 
We   have   assumctl    that    !.  lirrs   of   the 
water-tube   type   would   be   used    for   the 
•team    plant,    fitted    with    «fl(  . .- t .      .1 
superheater*   and    .imomatic    ^1 
that    thr  would   br    .  i"i" 

unit*  ri.  .'  to  the  ■   the 

tur' 
eat  i 

that   of  the   : 
generator     It',  .1              ^ 
ity  we  have  assumed  that  ' 
-•  -  — nn  of  the  turbines  u;.  .  .    

!H.   including   the   ttfam   for   !•««' 


conjunction  with  large  gas  engines     C>nr 
firm  of   English  prodaccr  OMkcrs  alonr 
hat    in    service   planta   aopplyiat   gas   lo 
large  engines  having  an  aggrv^ 
put    of    nrrr    nojoao    brake    ho 
From    >  obcgfaicd    fft 

it      j;>!  •  thf»*      pfvxji 

gl%  '•«'« 

exi 

n> 

raiuiig    appoarKri    iww 
.    properly    coaa(rwc««d 


thr 
agr 
with  ihf 

thr 


!  thai  Um  pet 
<d  into  the  r- 


tugcthc:  to  I' 


A  very  importaal  point  to  hi 
in 

of  pfo*i 
phatc  of 
of  rceo«« 

for  some  ycnra  whnv  tW  s^a  o| 
by-prodort  has  almoal  e^adM  the  cam 
of  the  fad  naod  Reaidis  nliiiiiij  ham 
been  so  enttfeljr  sausfacioey  that  oaa 
is  at  Itnt  laghi  iimmd  to  thiiA  it  ai«> 
pay  to  provide  lor  Mlphnat  oi  Mamoaia 
retuvrry  m  r^try  mMaace  Thee*  ariu 
however,  many  eapcases  mcaieaMal  in  iW 
recovery  of  wlphair  ol  aaaaoaM  ia  mt- 
dittoQ  to  the  faei 

Tht  f  ollowii«  poaaia  mnai  h*  idbM  to> 
to  eoaasd"*'"  "  »•  »#~^...»^  fw*  ,1^  ^ 


coat    of     inc     rr.  oirr^     y-Ar-i,     p«rtKalBff4p 

for  ibmII  ibaa,  is  very  mack  griaig  ikaa 
the  first  cost  of  aoarecDvvry  plaat  (a) 
CoaaidanMa  eatra  lahoe  to  la««b«4  te 
opcratiaf  the  plaai.  ( j)  TW  parcteaa  al 
■alphark  add.  of  which  approaimaMr  i 
toa  to  ra^nirad  lov  tvaii  loa  of 

of   aaHBOBLk   turned   ou!     i«   anit*    • 

itcaL     <4  '« 

of  ooni  •»  •«•»•. .17  #«*•  «wj^B>«i«  ai 
amwoato  to  racovered  than  the  fiaU  ffoa 
nonrocovtry  p^ai*  "'«  easra  caal 

of  repairs  and  th^  ,saAai  aa4 

parhtng  the  hjrprodaci  atiiurhad  mam  «l 
the  pronts  ewcctea  hy  the  tmtimty 

Expcricace  ap  10  the 
to  indicate  that  it  to  not 
attempt  to  rvcoiet  salpiMia  ol 
un!.-..  lilt  total  oatyat  of  dw  plaai  to 
San  aoos  hocseyoaer.  and  thaa 
T^x  <>r>  *n  >■c^ading^|  good  load  tanm 
For  a  amamMaa  oalpal  of  iBoo  hiioaaHs 
N  woald  pmhahly  pay  a>  ianai  aa  aM- 
mooia- recovery  plant,  rrm  lar  m»  pnav 
a  load  laclor  as  «4  p*«  <«na  An 
more  pro<llahi<  arrangvawwl.  how 
woald  he  to  provide  lor  ammanai 
,o,<r7  T  '^  poetson  ol  the  plant. 
M  a  ««fy 


fht 


^4-i     tfe« 


920 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  25,  1909. 


ditions.  In  the  case  of  the  steam  plant 
we  have  assumed  that  the  coal  bunkers 
would  be  placed  over  the  firing  floor  of 
the  boilers.  These  bunkers  would  have 
a  capacity  of  1500  tons.  In  the  case 
of  the  gas  plant  the  coal  would  be  stored 
in  bunkers  placed  on  the  ground  at  the 
back  of,  and  parallel  with,  the  producers. 
It  would  be  unloaded  by  hand  from  the 
railway  trucks  on  the  elevated  siding  at 
the  back  of  the  bunkers,  from  which  it 
would  gravitate  into  the  coal-conveyer 
buckets  and  be  hoisted  by  these  into  the 
hoppers  over  the  producers.  These  hop- 
pers would  be  of  sufficient  capacity  to 
carry  24  hours'  supply  under  mean  load 
conditions.    The  ashes  raked  out  from  be- 


is  very  small  compared  with  the  cost  of 
boiler  foundations,  flues,  chimneys,  etc 
The  total  cost  of  buildings  amounts  to 
considerably  less,  therefore,  for  the  gas 
station  than  for  the  steam  station.  We 
have  based  our  estimate  of  the  cost  of 
buildings  for  the  gas-driven  plant  upon 
tenders  actually  received.  The  price  cov- 
ers a  substantial  steel-frame  building  with 
brick  walls,  lined  internally  with  a  glazed 
brick  dado  6  feet  high  and  with  tiled 
engine-room  floor.  We  have  included 
suitable  store,  workshop  and  office  ac- 
commodation in  each  case. 

Exciting  Plant,  Switch  Gear,  Etc. 
We    have    assumed    that    for    both    the 


by  boilers  heated  by  the  exhaust  gases- 
from  the  main  engines. 

The  switch  gear  would  be  of  the  re- 
mote-control type,  the  oil-break  switches 
being  placed  in  a  switch  room  running 
the  length   of  the  engine  room. 

The  capital  cost  of  the  switch  gear 
for  the  gas  plant  will  be  somewhat  higher 
than  for  the  steam  plant,  as  two  addi- 
tional generator  panels  and  connections 
will  be  required. 

Capital  Outlay 

The  total  capital  cost  of  the  respective 
steam  and  gas  plants  for  the  specified 
maximum  load  of  8000  kilowatts  will,  we^ 
estimate,  be  as  stated  in  Table  i. 


low  the  producers  would  also  be  lifted 
by  the  same  conveyer  into  the  ash  hoppei 
provided  for  the  purpose.  A  sectional 
elevation  of  one  of  the  producers  with  the 
coal-  and  ash-handling  arrangements  used 
is  shown  in  Fig.  7. 

Building  and  Foundations 

The  cost  of  the  engine  room  and  en- 
gine foundations  for  the  gas-driven  plant 
is,  of  course,  considerably  greater  than 
that  of  the  steam  plant,  but  no  building 
is  required  for  the  producers  (beyond 
small  boiler  and  sulphate  houses)  and  the 
cost  ©f  the  foundations  for  the  producers 


FIG.    4.    plan  of  IO.OOO-KILOWATT    GAS    PLANT 

Steam  plant  and  the  gas  plant  the  field 
circuits  of  the  generators  would  be  ex- 
cited from  busbars  fed  by  two  steam- 
driven  exciters,  each  capable  of  gener- 
ating the  whole  of  the  exciting  current 
required  on  full  load.  The  exciters  would 
be  supplemented  by  a  battery  capable  of 
maintaining  the  full  field  current  required 
for  a  period  of  24  hours. 

In  the  case  of  the  gas  plant  the  steam 
for  the  exciters  would  be  furnished  by 
one  of  the  small  coal-  or  tar-fired  boilers 
installed  for  this  purpose.  The  exhaust 
steam  from  the  exciter  engines  would  be 
used  in  the  producers,  any  additional 
steam  required  by  the  latter  being  raised 


TABLE   1.     COST  OF  GENERATING 
STATIONS. 

Steam  Plant. 

5  2000-kilowatt  turbo-generators,  erect- 
ed complete £39,500 

5  surface  condensers  with  air  and  circu- 
lating pumps 9,875 

Circulating  pipes 1,200 

Cooling  towers  erected  complete 6,900 

20  water-tube  boilers  erected  complete 
with  mechanical  stokers,  economizers, 
superheaters,  feed  pumps,  water-ser- 
vice tank  and  feed  tank,  water-soften- 
ing plant  and  all  pipe  work 31,300 

BuUdings  with  engine  and  boiler  founda- 
tions, 2  chimneys  and  flues 33,600 

Overhead  traveling  crane 1,000 

Steel  structural  work,  coal  bunkers,  coal 

and  ash  conveymg  plant 8,900 

Exciters,  battery,  swuch  gear  and  con- 
nections to  generator 7,250 

£139,525 
Or  £13.952  per  kilowatt  installed. 


May  25.   1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


>n 


■i^aiiw—     c«««»-'.»»-"  — «.-. 


'TrmTTfTTTrTTrrmTTTTTTTTT 


«;.*■»     I'LAVT 


H.V>-l>.il«Aalt  \z\- 
alr  <-ofii(iri--^ir-   k' 


h.iU.T    I 


.1  iViin-..  ■  .    .•    ted 
J 
•very  produrrri.  pr«-<  ted 

•if. 


D.i 

4  ti' 

8te 

I' 


ii.iu- 


■oftener 
BuUdliurn  sn'l 
Orcrhea.! 
8le«l  II r 

and  ■' 
I  Hern,  I'.ii: 


pclkiD*  to  icriicrmior* 


if- 

iry 

;>Unt.  •oooomljan,   iMd 

:ip«  kod  w»i«r 

z\.q'.'.'. '.'.'.' 

Sunken,  coal 

.1 

'Mii<  ii  mar  and  coo- 


t   Wt.OOO 

IS.400 
3.780 

10.M0 

4.U0 

1.900 
34.J74 

«.i:ro 

7.7M 
£176.875 


Or  £17.087  per  kilowatt  liMtalle.1. 

Running  Cost 

I'he  fuel  consumption  of  a  gas. plant, 
as  of  a  steam  plant,  is  dependent  upon  at 
least  four  important  factors :  The  actual 
output ;  the  no-load  losses,  which  include 
friction,  windage  and  electrical  losses  in- 
curred in  running  the  generator  on  open 
circuit,  together  with  all  power  required 
for  exciters,  pumps,  and  other  auxiliaries. 
the  standby  losses  of  boilers  or  producers, 
and  the  ratio  of  the  actual  ascertained 
fuel  consumption  under  day  by  day  work- 
ing conditions  to  the  theoretical  consump- 
tion base<l  upon  the  test  results,  which 
,  we  will  term  the  "discrepancy  factor  " 


'I     '•'■am 
different 


')C    power 
rcQutml 


.      s      »l^\ATIO.<(  or    lOuOOO- KILOWATT   CAB    rtAWt 

The  steam-  and  forl-conttnnpf 
shown  in  Fig.  8   have  beoj  pl. 
a    number    of    pubtubcd    te«ts 
turbines    and    gu    cngiBCS    of 
siies.     The  ordinate*  abovr 
represent  the  •team  and  f- 
the    actual    ^■ 
and  those  br. 

per   hoar   to   run   the   generator*  at    full 
voltage  on  open  circuit.     The  former  are 
approximately    proponional   to   the   unit* 
generated  and  arc  practically  iodcprndrat 
of   the  hours  the   plant   is   mn.  wbercAs 
the  latter  ar-- 
portional  to  - 
are  not  apprcci^Uy  a- 
generated.     It  will  he  ■ 
of  the  "con«umption   per  •: 
curves   of    steam   tarbtnet   , 
creases  as  the  output  of  the 


the 


ttWtS 

Uop* 

.    de- 
plant  ts  in- 


creased, whereas  the  corresponding  curtx 

of  ga«-driven  generators  is  constant   for 

all  outputs.  >n  gat  engiftr« 

of  output*  r  .    \n  tm>  SfsWr 

horsepower  •  ■ 

tion  of  fuel 

of    no-load     lo«*es    i^ 

pound  per  kilowatt-hc. 

from  no  load  to  foil  load. 

The  600O>kilowatt  SiCSm  turotne  carvr 
I*  plotted  froa  the  recently  psbKskcd 
tests   of  a  (kioo-kilowatt   tvrbo-gmersior 


natrty     I 


M  MMckeeui 

tion  at  fan 

eaclaaise  d  «oaa  for 

anca.     TW  dttractefMiac  of  ike 


10 

of  iW 
matcly  isjQOO  poaads  o| 
We  have,  therefore,  planed  Ike  ao-laaJ 
ronraaittiuB  of  tSiOOD  povads  Nloa  ikr 
rero  Kaa.  aai  tke  halerr  al  anuwii  ikaev 
the  tero  Nac.  which  gnee  a  ttcaa  ca»- 
saaipriow  per  actaal  kliiaan  hoai  faa- 
eratcd  of  i^  poaada  Ta  fke  aa-l 
or^aaiea  helow  the 
added  the 
of  escttrrv  atr 
fecQ  pasaps  aat 
which   are   takea   at  6  per 

from  iht*  Mcaad  carve  we  ar«  aMi  la 

a*crnsui  the  BB  lea<  leeeee  afhap  riae  •! 

r'ant     The  correapo^dN 

no^h>od  beaeaof  ■•* 

tiliariaa  It 


tk..  .t 


«»T 


icMage  of  coM  ak 
of  heflirii.  IS  a 


, 

1 

^ 

r^ 

i 

i 
■  1           .           . 

I 

i 

i" 

i 

.i^ 

i:-- 

//^ 

• 

v^1 


Uoewi- 

m  6 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  25,  1909. 


stations,  as  the  conditions  of  load  are 
generally  such  that  the  majority  of  the 
boilers  are  banked  for  many  hours  every 
day.  Collings  Bishop,  of  Newport,  found 
that  two  boilers,  each  rated  for  an  evapor- 
ation of  io,oco  pounds  per  hour,  require 
224  pounds  of  coal  per  hour  for  banking 
=  1 1.2  pounds  of  coal  per  hour  per  1000 
pounds  of  steam.  As  four  such  boilers 
are  required  for  each  2000-kilowatt  unit 
in  connection  with  the  steam-turbine  sta^ 
tion  on  which  we  have  based  our  cal- 
culations, the  coal  for  banking  these  boil- 
ers will  be  at  least  448  pounds  per  hour 
per  plant  unit. 

The  fuel  required  for  banking  produc- 
ers is  only  a  small  fraction  of  that  re 
■quired  for  banking  boilers.  The  standby 
losses  of  the  producers  for  the  scheme 
<inder  consideration  are  guaranteed  not 
to  exceed  50  pounds  per  hour  per  pro- 
ducer. 

Discrepancy  Factor 

It  is  difficult  if  not  impossible  to  keep 
this  factor  within  reasonable  limits,  by 
reason  of  variations  in  the  quality  of 
the  fuel  supplied ;  fuel  utilized  in  heat- 
ing up  cold  boilers ;  the  gradual  fouling 
of  boiler  tubes,  condenser  tubes,  etc.,  be- 
tween cleaning  periods;  errors  of  judg- 
ment as  to  the  correct  time  for  running 
up  and  shutting  down  plant  units,  and 
other  seemingly  small  details.  For  both 
the  steam  plant  and  the  gas  plant  we 
have  added  25  per  cent,  to  the  ascer- 
tained fuel  consumption  under  test  con- 
ditions to  'cover  this  factor. 

For  a  maximum  demand  of  8000  kilo- 
watts a  load  factor  of  24  per  cent,  and 
a  distribution  efficiency  of  80  per  cent., 
the  kilowatt-hours  generated  per  annum 
will  be  21,000,000.  From  Fig.  8,  the  steam 
consumption  of  a  2000-kilowatt  turbo- 
alternator  per  kilowatt-hour  is  15.5 
pounds,  or,  assuming  an  evaporation  of 
8  to  I,  1.94  pounds  of  coal.  The  chart 
also  shows  that  the  no-load  consumption 
for  a  plant  of  this  size  amounts  to  900 
pounds  per  hour.         1 

Fig.  9  indicates  the  average  hours  the 

respective  plant  units  would  be  required 

each  day  to  deal  with  the  assumed  load 

curve.     The  minimum  total  engine  hours 

would    be    35    hours    per   day,    or    12,800 

liours  per  annum,  and  the  banked  boiler 

hours  would  be  45  hours  per  day,  or  i6,- 

800  hours  per   annum.   The   total   annual 

coal  consumption   for  the  steam  turbines 

will  therefore  be  as  follows : 

Tons. 
21,000,000     kilowatt-hours     at      1.94 

i^  pounds 18,170 

12,800  engine  hours  at  900  pounds.  .  .      5,140 
J6,800    banked    boiler    hours    at    448 

pounds 3,330 

26,640 
iDIscrepancy  factor  (1 . 2.5) 1 .  25 

Total 33,300 

=  3.55  pounds  per  kilowatt-hour  generated. 
■Overall    thermodynamic   efficiency  =  7 . 4    per 
cemt. 

For  the  gas  station.  Fig.  8  shows  that 
the  no-load  consumption  of  a  1500-kilo- 
watt  gas  plant  amount  to  800  pounds  of 


coal  per  hour,  and  the  useful  output 
consumption  to  i  pound  per  kilowatt-hour 
generated.  Fig.  10  shows  the  minimum 
average  engine  hours  per  day  for  the  gas 
plant  and  the  average  hours  per  day 
the  producers  would  be  banked.  It  ap- 
pears from  this  that  the  total  engine 
hours  would  be  17,450  hours  per  annum, 
and  banked  producer  hours  would  be 
35,000  hours  per  annum.  The  total  coal 
consumption  for  the  gas  plant  will  there- 
fore be  as  follows : 


10200   81600 


9600   76SOO 


It  is  estimated  that  approximately  71 
per  cent,  or  14,580  tons  of  the  total  coal 
consumption  would  be  gasified  in  the  am- 
monia producers  and  would  yield  at  least 
586  tons  of  sulphate  of  ammonia.  Esti- 
mating the  "value  of  this  at  £11  per  ton, 
which  is  considerably  less  than  its  present 
market  value,  the  sale  of  this  by-product 
would  yield  £6446  per  annum.  One  ton 
of  sulphuric  acid,  costing  30s.  per  ton, 
is  required  for  each  ton  of  sulphate  of 
ammonia,  and  the  cost  of  bags  for  packing 


600  4300 

1200  9600 

IHOO  14400 

2400  19200 


FIG.  8 


Tons. 
21,000,000  kilowatt-hours  at  1  pound 

of  coal 9,360 

17,4.50  engine  hours  at  800  pounds.  .  .  6,230 
8.5,000  banked  producer  hours  at  50 

pounds 782 


Discrepancy  factor  (1.25) 


16,372 

1.25 


Total 20,465 

=  2. 18  pounds  per  kilowatt-hour  generated. 
Overall    thermodynamic    efficiency  =  12    per 
cent.* 


♦Since  these  estimates  were  prepared,  we  have 
obtained  actual  fuel  consumption  results,  taken 
over  a  considerable  period,  at  a  number  of  modern 
steam  and  gas  installations,  which  show  an 
actual  average  thermal  efficiency  for  the  steam 
stations  of  6.7  per  cent.,  or  10  per  cent,  less  than 
our  estimate  based  on  theoretical  conclusions; 
whereas  the  actual  gas  installations  show  a 
mean  efficiency  of  13.9  per  cent.,  or  10  per  cent, 
greater  than  our  estimate  (see  table  3). 


the  ammonia  is  estimated  at  is.  6d.  per 
ton.  The  cost  of  acid  and  bags  will  there- 
fore be  £922,  reducing  the  total  amoimt 
to  be  credited  on  account  of  sale  of 
sulphate  of  ammonia  to  £5524. 

Oil,  Waste  and  Stores 

The  cost  of  oil  for  the  steam-turbine 
plant  is  estimated  at  0.003d.  per  kilowatt- 
hour  generated.  This  figure,  which,  it  is 
thought,  is  considerably  below  the  aver- 
age oil  consumption  in  steam-turbine  gen- 
erating stations,  is  based  upon  a  figure 
given  in  the  paper  by  Parsons,  Stoney 
and  Martin   on  "Steam  Turbines."     The 


May  25,    1909. 

oil  consumption  for  Urge  gas-driven  gen 
erators  is  stated,  by  different  aiirh  ritie*, 
to  be  from  0.2  to  0.37  gallf»ri  jx-r  1000 
horsepower-hours,  the  average  cost  of  the 
oil  used  being  is  6d.  per  gallon  Taking 
the  higher  figure,  the  oil  consumption  pei 
plant  unit  will  be  0.74  gallon  per  hoar, 
costing  £970  per  annum.  The  cost  of  the 
oil  for  the  auxiliaries  is  estimated  at  iaoo 
per  annum.     Total   £1170  per  annum 

The  cost  of  waste  and  engine-room 
stores  is  estimated  at  o.0O2d.  per  kilowatt 
hour  generated  for  both  the  steam  plant 
and  for  the  gas  plant,  thus  bringing  the 
total  cost  of  oil,  waste  and  stores  to 
£438  for  the  steam  plant,  or  coosd.  pei 
unit,  and  to  £1345  for  the  gas  plant,  or 
o.oi54d.  per  unit* 

Wate« 
Each  steam  unit  requires  268,000  gal 
Ions  of  condensing  water  per  hour,  of 
which  it  is  estimated  3  per  cent,  will  be 
evaporated  from  the  cooling  towers.  The 
water  evaporation  will  therefore  be  8640 
gallons  per  hour  X  i2j8oo  engine  hours  = 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINKKR. 


SrtAM    Puurr 


!• 


«l 


110,500  thousand  gallons  per  annum,  ai 
6d.  per  thousand  gallons,  this  will  '"" 
£2760  per   anntmi 

The  looling  water  requirr  '   •' 
er>gincs    would    be    about    i- 
vatt-huur    <>f    output  ,    r 
•    plant    will    therefore    : 
gallons    per    hour.      Again    a^^umr k 
evaporation    of    3    per    rrv.-      ■]■.<■    ■* 
evaporated  from  the  et  . 
ers  will  t  -    " .         " 

17^50  '-< 

Ions  per  a:  tinin.      I  he    • 

for   the   pr'xhicers   i*   <■ 

gallol)^  i>cr  day 

per  annum.     The  • 

plant    will    therefore    1  nouMml 

gallons   at   6d.   per    10  • 

Laboi 
))e  labor  charges  art  csttmaird  a* 


r 


>M  CSmtww. 


4  a«l»r»  Mv  ««  «««k 

9   boifer   )  ify    pi4At 

huMtt  <!»>-!  -inf  |-t--  um  ttmiuu^ 
Iwifen)  »i  Kki  par  wMk  u     10    e 

* '"-ntiifllimnaliailfiiiii  1 

•t  ata.  pw  •wk  .       t    o 


Toul  labor  ctafSM  pw  1 


Gas  Plavt 


3  •wllrlttM»ni  MtMldA  «r 

•  — >«UOt  MglDMIl  «•  ,«4 

5  mmmaM  mattmn  »i  jia.  yu  »mak 
2  oUmv  aad  rtMBin  u  ak.  p«  «wk 
a  peodfr  lnad«  >'■  i'-   i*t  mrrk 
epraducar  haart- 


3  mMi  tor  iiiilna«1in<  cu*!  »ui  tztuux 
r  uw  MkM  ••  VN.  pw  «wk      ... 


T(N«I  tobor  cftMPW  par  < 


Ml 

caiM 


VM 


t      •      4. 
9       O     • 

«  10  0 
10  10  0 
?  10  0 
S  M  0 
1*0 
<       •     0 

>     10     0 

a    14   0 

%    0 


trnaacc  of   &tc<c   aofV   tm  t* 


AppcOTs  ID  ariw  If 

-i»a    <'!    inr    rtl 

'IT  lalyjaiik  moA  il  ite 
to  OMS  v«k  iW 

bHK  vttk  the  oomI  jiiiiM^i  ol 
plMT  is  ilMm 
TW  COM  ol 
to  be  a  vvry 
doobotdly  be  onlr  a  IractMS  •!  lk»  cHl 
*A  ripoiii  ID  Mgb-prniw  momb  baft 
«n.  TW  ^»w«r  Gat  Cc 
■Mtrs  tbai  ikt  loMl  eo«  ol 
ibc  '  i« 


•a  Ftf   4.  <M«ld  ao« 

acr.  £$ao  prr  aww  o*«t  a  pww4  ol  a 

eaflibcr  ok  y^mtx 

Wr    irr  •'Ciir^MM   ikoi    1^   lagpl  am! 

louaarv 


MAiirruiAiicR  AM»  RiTAiaa 

This  is  the  most  dificvll  item  to  catt 

mate   with  aojr  dcfrec  of   accuracy    foi 

alher    the    steam    or    gas    plant      With 

>v.ifT-.  -crfirr*  iVir  -.r ir:.-i;.al  nsk  appear* 

•    .4-.  .  :   ••■'-   ■    ■  '.'1   '■"!?r*'^-     With 

large   gas  cn^  i«s  risk 

IS   that   of   thr  itlon  o« 

of  the  cylinder  liners.     Trooblcs  of  tMa 

ruturc.  while  somewhat  frrqaent  in  soow 

of    the    arlicr    ^s    engtocs,    owing    to 

'>:«>ri  not  hOTtng  had  espericncc  to  en 

them  10  dcsifn  dMM  pvta  aa  to  r* 

4  itioo  and  cootractioo  Midtt 

:  temperature  to  a  oMafanam 

•re.  huwcvcf.  (att  disappearing. 

At   far   as  the  actual   wear   aad  taai 
of   the   moving    parts   is  coaccmcd.   this 
will    probably    be    ••''»nrr    ••,    .    r*<    «• 
ginc  than  in  a  ttr^ 
the  whole  of    ' 
and  pisloo  r 


Itc    pfcaaur*    wl    iW    p*>t»* 

■^r  Itnera.     It  was  thumbt 

r  wear  oa  tht  eahaosi 

•  uUfAMr     at^    in   the 


apparatus  aad  baOfiacK  «o«M  aal  aa 
cccd  <«oao  per  aaaam  Wt  haw  mm- 
oated   the   npairs    and   saiamaan   af 


I: 


cAfn  pi«i)t   At 


ar. 

ear 

itci 

nts. 

'W 

pre 

ooo 

cot- 
r«»- 

•trr 
rui 


rating   of  the 

*fnt  to  ihi  ^-txiu 
.  >  that  the  water 

■ry  ha««  now 
ibaadoatd   this   practKe    for   all 

...«ir.<-  V-rttfrf-ft         '      .limit*! 


;  or  iS  awaihs  wtihoal  bo- 
pfMifipat  ntait  tn  1 


..    ..«.«a^     Am« 


924 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  25,  1909. 


gines  appear  to  be  running  in  every  way 
as  satisfactorily  as  those  of  more  recent 
date. 

The  correct  amount  to  allow  for  interest 
and  depreciation  on  electric-generating 
machinery  is  a  somewhat  debatable  point. 
It  is  usual  in  preparing  estimates  for  in- 
dustrial plants  to  allow  10  per  cent.,  but 
Mr.  Snell,  in  his  paper  on  "Cost  of 
Electrical  Power  for  Industrial  Pur- 
poses," justifies  the  figure  of  6^  per  cent. 
As  this  point  has  a  very  important  bear- 
ing on  the  comparison  of  steam-  and  gas- 
engine  cost,  we  have  in  each  case  shown 
the  comparative  cost,  including  these 
charges  at  10  per  cent,  and  alternatively 
at  6^4  per  cent.  The  total  running  costs 
of  generating  21,000,000  kilowatt-hours 
under  the  above  conditions  will,  we  esti- 
mate, be   respectively  as   follows : 


Gas.       Steam. 

Total  cost  of  coal  at  12s.  per 

ton £12,280   £19,968 

Less  sale  of  sulphate  of  am- 
monia   5,524 

Net  cost  of  coal £  6,756  £19,968 

Oil,  waste  and  stores 1,345           438 

Water 555        2,550 

Labor 3,180        2,590 

Repairs 4,000       4,000 

Interest  and  depreciation  at  10 

per  cent,  on  capital 17,687      13,952 

Total  cost £33,523   £43,668 

Total  cost  per  unit 0 .  383d.    0 .  498d. 

Total  cost,  allowing  6i  per  cent. 

for  interest  and  depreciation.  £26,900  £38,428 

Total  cost  per  unit 0.306d.    0.438d. 


The  total  cost   (including  6%.  per  cent. 


case  of  a  generating  station  having  the 
very  poor  load  factor  of  10  per  cent.,  and 
able  to  obtain  fuel  at  8s.  per  ton.  We 
will  also  assume  that  the  maximum  output 
is  only  4000  kilowatts,  and  that  the  use 
of  the  sulphate  of  ammonia  recovery  plant 
for  a  portion   of   the  producer  plant,   as 


engines  is  little  more  than  sufficient  to- 
pay  the  10  per  cent,  interest  and  deprecia- 
tion charges  on  the  higher  capital  out- 
lay of  the  gas  plant. 

It  has  been  suggested  that  for  such 
conditions  a  combined  gas  and  steam  plant 
might  be  used,  the  gas  plant  being  utilized 


5/  7/6  10/  12/6  15/ 

Price  of  Coal  per  Tod 

FIG.    II 


2i6  5/  7/6  10;  12/6 

Price  of  Coal  per  Tou 


15/ 

,  .V.  r. 


TABLE  3.     GAS  PLANT  EFFICIENCIES. 


No.  of 
Inquiry. 


Period 
Covered, 
Months. 

7 
12 

1 

1 
10 

6 

4 
12 


Kw  .-Hours 
Generated. 


988,980 

253,550 

120,100 

48,000 

1,115,000 

592,500 

260,700 

21,910,208 


Maximum 

Demand, 

Kw. 

700 

207 

350 
185 
242 
500 
368 
2,520 


Load 

Plant 

Factor, 

Factor, 

Per  Cent. 

Per  Cent. 

27.00 

83.0 

13.80 

82.0 

57.00 

83.0 

38.50 

62.0 

63.00, 

77.0 

26,60 

80.0 

33.00 

90.0 

99.00 

Tons  of 
Fuel. 


900 


98.7 
4.5 
970 
546 
215 

20.185 


Estimated 
Mean  Calo- 
rific Value 
(B.t.u.) 


11,300 

130,000 

14,392 
11,500 
12,500 
12,000 
13,000 
11,000 


Class  of  Fuel. 


Soft  bituminous  slack . 
Mond  gas 


Pocahontas 

Bituminous  Staffordshire . 

Gas  coke 

Linby  slack 

Lancashire  slack 

Inferior  Lancashire  slack . 


Price  Per 
Ton. 


2d.   per) 
1,009   J 


10  s. 
16  s. 


9  s. 


Fuel  Per 
Kw.-Hour 
Gener- 
ated. 


2.038 


1.840 
2.125 
1.950 
2.060 
1.800 
2.064 


Average  overall  efficiency  of  above  eight  replies  =       13 .  95 


Overall 
Thermo- 
dynamic 
Efficiency. 


15.00 

12.40 

12.85 
13.90 
14.10 
13.75 
14.60 
15.05 


for  interest  and  depreciation)  of  gen- 
erating power  by  steam  =  45  per  cent. 
greater  than  the  cost  of  generating  power 
by  gas. 

Effect  of  Price  of  Coal  and  Load 
Factor 

In  the  particular  case  considered,  the 
conditions  are  more  favorable  to  the 
use  of  gas  engines  than  in  many  of  the 
existing  provincial  municipal  electric  sta- 
tions in  this  country.  There  are  at  present 
only  15  public  electric  central  stations 
working  at  a  load  factor  of  over  24  per 
cent.,  though  many  more  have  load  factors 
varying  from  20  to  24  per  cent.  In  many 
cases,  too,  a  suitable  coal  can  be  ob- 
tained at  less  than  12s.  per  ton  delivered 
at  the  works.  We  will,  therefore,  go  to 
the   opposite    extreme,    and   consider    the 


in  the  scheme  previously  considered,  is 
not  justifiable.  Under  these  conditions 
the  saving  in  fuel  effected  by  using  gas 

TABLE  2.     OPERATING  COST  FOR  A  4000- 

KILOWATT  STATION. 

Load  Factor  10%  Coal,  Ss.  per  Ton. 


C. 
Com- 
bined. 


Coal 

Oil  and  waste 

Water 

Labor 

Repairs 

Interest  and  depre- 
ciation at  10  per 
cent 


Cost  per  kilowatt- 
hour  generated 

Total  cost  including 
interest  and  de- 
preciation at  6i 
per  cent 


A. 

Steam. 

B. 
Gas. 

£  3,916 

95 

710 

2,400 

1,250 

£  2,073 

297 

100 

2,. 500 

1,250 

7,452 

9,578 

£15,823 

£15,798 

0,878d. 

0.867d 

£13,037 

£12,209 

£  2,791 

248 

170 

2,745 

1,250 


8,639 
£15,843 
0.868d. 

£12,608 


for  the  long  hour  portion  of  the  load' 
curve  and  the  steam  plant  with  its  lower- 
capital  charges  for  the  peak  load.  Table 
2  shows  the  estimated  annual  running 
costs  with  plants  consisting  respectively 
of,  (A)  five  looo-kilowatt  steam  turbo- 
generators; (B)  seven  700-kilowatt  gas 
engines  and  generators,  and  (C)  four 
looo-kilowatt  steam  turbo-generators  and' 
two   700-kilowatt  gas   engines. 

The   table   shows  that   under  the  con- 
ditions   stated    and    with    a    lo-per    cent, 
charge  for  interest  and  depreciation,  there 
is  no  choice  between  the  different  types- 
of  plant,  as  far  as  running  cost  is  con- 
cerned, but  with  interest  and  sinking  fund' 
charges    of   6%    per    cent,    the   combined, 
station    shows  an   overall   economy  of  3 
per  cent,  over  that   of  the   steam   plant,. 
and  the  all-gas  plant  an  improved  econ— 


May  25,    1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


wny    of   6   per   cent,    over    the    all-»team 
plant. 

The  charts,  Figs.  11  and  12,  show  similar 
comparisons  with  coal  at  various  prices 
ranging  from  2S.  6d.  to  15s.  per  ton ;  the 
former  is  based  on  10  per  cent,  allowance 
for  interest  and  "depreciation  and  the 
latter  on  6J4  pcr  cent. 

It  will  be  seen  that  under  no  condition 
is  it  worth  while,  when  building  a  new 
station,  to  install  a  combination  of  steam 
and  gas  plant.  With  a  nonrecovery  plant 
and  coal  above  a  certain  price,  a  gas 
plant  is  more  economical,  and  below  that 
price  a  steam  plant  alone  is  more  cconomi 
cal  than  either  a  gas  plant  alone,  or  a 
combined  steam  and  gas  plant.  This  ap 
plies  only  to  entirely  new  installations 
There  are  many  existing  insullations 
equipped  with  comparatively  inefficient  ap^ 
paratus  where  a  large  economy  would 
be  effected  by  installing  one  or  more  gas 
engines  to  be  used  for  the  flat  portion  of 
the  curve,  the  inefficient  machinery  being 
used  only  to  carry  the  peak  load  and  f"-" 
emergencies. 

It  will  also  be  seen  that  if  the  size 
of  the  instalbtion  or  the  load  factor  per- 
mits of  a  recovery  gas  plant  being  used, 
that  is  more  economical  than  a  steam 
plant,  however  low  the  price  of  coal. 

Table  3  gives  the  results  of  eight   in 
quiries    as    to    the    actual    operating    ef- 
ficiencies  of   gas    plants.     The    kilowatt- 
hours    generated    are    the    total    number 
led  to  the  feeders.     Current  used  for 
g  auxiliary  apparatus  in  generating 
•ns.    lighting,    etc..    is    not    included 
r    this   heading.     The   load    factor   ii 
calculated    from 

A'a  -/i.>uri    ■uf'fit-!  '.  ii»i 

maxifnum    i,\ui     ■»!     •  '•! 

The  plant  factor  is  calculated  from 

Kw.-kourt  ruPfUud  to  fmdtn  x  ioo_ 
plant  hour  I  run  x  cafnuiiy  of  plant  1 

The  fuel  consumption  is  the  total  fuel 
used  for  all  purposes.  The  calorific  value 
of  the  fuel  is  the  engineer's  estimate  of 
the  mean  calorific  value  based  on  periodic 
calorimeter  tests. 


Superheat  *nd  Wiredxawing  '«•*«.  ami  dm 


fir  F.  L  Jouuum 


The  rightii  rri;i;!.ir  pri/c  cnmi>rritio«i 
of  the  .'\iistrian  1  ii^.:i!Mrr»' an<l  .Vrt  Jufrcts' 
Society  has  been  antMimced  .\  s'  liifi"M 
is  asked   for   the   following  qurstion 

"How  is  it  possible  to  avoid  the  in- 
jurious effects  of  the  so  called  higher 
harmonics  of  current  and  voltage  waves 
which    p'  ".    or    temporantv    enter 

the  alter :  lilt:  or  hfw  mi.m   'heir 

production   l>c   k''""''-^"^'   pre><-'"'-<!  * ' 

Three    prices    atr     iff'-rol,    •*  -     ""' 

<  Vmo,  $JOO  aii'i   $infx 
.      rr    to    obtain    (urthrr    p.. •• 
to  ascertain   whether  they  are   rltt:tMe  to 
-""r    the    competition,    sho'il!       •''«■••• 

•  lerrlicher  Inffrmnir  und  Ar  '   •  • 
>  Trin."      Eschenhj'  Sgai^e 
Austria. 


Vptm    refttmtrjr    frmn    \rsnrh   the   f-^hrr 


Power  hngineeruig  As  1  scaled  mjrvclf. 
after  shaking  h^niK  aiM<  kantrme  '•»  •<«« 
hat,  he  said: 

"It  has  a*  It  wii 

about  an  •  ost  of 

a  steam  and  a  m^u:  n,  when  all 

"f    'He    far*ors    nf    •  1    ire   coo- 

rod- 

^  to  my 

memor>  two  inculents  that  are  in  no  vay 

connected    with    water   power,   and    I    do 

not  understand  why  they  come  to  me  now, 

for  I  have  not  thought  of  either  of  them 

for  years.     As  I   said,  they  can  have  no 

•h    water    power,    for    they 

"^f    a    gain    'ha?    may    be 

lac  of 

"Several  years  ago  I   was  visiting  an 
engine  room  where  I  noticed  two  check 
%al\rt.  opening  inwardly,  attached  to  the 
the  cyhnder.     Askmg 
'-,  the  mirtneer  ckMcd 
the  outer  'd 

over   it,   ..  "^ 

began   to 
was  so  s' 

so    far   below   almospherK    pressure    that 

during  part  of  the  stroke  air  and  exhaust 

vtrum     were    drawn    into    the    cylmdcr. 

'   '♦■e  exhaust  pipe  lifting  the  valves 

-    teat*,   making    a    disagreeable 

vkhich    the    air    let    in   ihrosigh  the 

.  k.    valve    stopped    by    equaliiing    the 

prctsure  above  and  below  the  valve 

"While  1  was  looking  at  the  arrani^ 
ment,  the  chief  engmcer  from  the  new 
power  plant,  a  comparative  stranger  and 
recent  arrival  in  town,  came  in  and  m 
troduced  himself  He  was  shown  the 
rhrrk    valvri    and    some    indtcalor    du 

■  r<fcs   m 

-That  It  «r  ot  stopptag 

a   disagreeable  pcoUbly   do 

not  know  that  yoo  are  ostng  a  patented 

'  It  as  the  pater* •  a  gr«at 

f  s  age.  1  do  t  <KS  wfll 

!.jv ,  *lv  lor  •»»  "»* 

••  j  •  "omenf,   ne  ^w^^f**'' 

I  am  a  < 
in   •"<•" 
b«ii  can  help  y<M  m  tins  ^mm 


\wV 


iiKoui 


r.JU     Iff 

xtt  one  > 


boiler  was  $»  pomiia     It  wa*  a 

by    iS-looc   hoicr.   wmk   jj   t^mim   ttm 

of  graic  mrUea,  md  a  mittf  «•!««  m 

10  blow  ai  too  ^j*irAi      From  f»  poa*i» 

the  boiler  prc«  used  to  1^  bp 

-  .>nr«(ig  the  wc.     .    ..  .i^  damper  r^** 

The*    the    vnnor    ««at    lo    iW 

<;«   aad   slowly    cJBied   m   ■mi   ik» 

drawiag-m    o<    air    at    the   cWdk    «••«« 

eased  and  the  drop  of  the  ^Mk^ot  r«^ 

Sowed  that  c«io#  waa  tyring  pima  !• 

the  vkiBity  el  f  ittt  stroks.    Tkta  k» 

sat  down  aad  said- 

"Lct  ■•  waich  it 

'In  a   few   mtmm€ 
10    the    htk-dnrtm.    ptm^er    bedrf  <r«4 
psunp  and  chaaged   the  pasWoa 
bypass  valve  slaghclp.  Asked  vkac 
doing,   he   said    that    water    •••  ga'^'V 
m  the  hosier  aad  thai  he  was  OMMV  4amm 
the  f'  fofthir  tiaiad  dM  M  tkv 

time  re  wat  rakad  ike 

was    ftiawb    fillmg,  aad   be 
increase  ike  feed  iaMaad  of 

'Afirr  sinfaig  aad  cteitrng  for  awMr 
kiagcr,  the  vtsstor  said 

"'Yoa  have  rackcr  a  bard  cmaUaanev 

Krrr    If     r-i    »Vi    h   t..   rr'    »   .  .*   fr»-5'»«     V.    it 

and  the  tag  it  b  100  large  foe  Ike 

to  be  doae:  bat  we  eaa  do 

better  than  we  are  deteg      If  yaa  baw 

>nd  Mm*  itvkrkk.  I  w«  camr 

<adiy  aad  we  w4i  ia  ap  ikr 

twjiM^f    a    litrtr  ' 
-He    was   ti 
nghi.  and  got 
laid  Arrbrkk  U*f'f  'ttafi  ••■    !«*►«-*<•  ind 
tirttef  Ikaa  I  ' 


HI    oae.      Wktir    w»*~n^    ap   tm^ 
im  Mi  doUMk  k*  mid 

»nd   see  how   Ike  ptoai   rmas.   Iw   t  ■■ 
a*  mock  hiiiiiwii  te  k  aa  f«a  wa.* 

-Afiar  smat  gnetal 
an  I  ■  fkaags  of  ditan  k> 

vUk.i  ikrae  moaik*  afteramd  I 

.^lace  vakk  f«M  la  we  kM»  « 
..ic  «•      '    ••*••'   •> 

il   iKsl   man   lrr«n   • 

^tni  hMM  kali  ike  ct*.    ..  r^ 

Ysa.  cwakmad  Mak  kt  ka.'     te  *r 
oM  way  I  Med  la  pAt  al  mp 
t*w  fMaace  aad  gM  r«d  af  *i 


•twl  kald  aay  caaL  a  ire  af  Mraga 

U«a      lie   m*d  ba  waaAi  wm  *• 

.n  M  half     lie  did  hnm     I  mm 

'  Ike  faH  I  did  kaUtm,  bal  mI 

>*  "Tvint  ►.  •  »•*  •»  kan^  I  ■■■ 

•I 

/««««     ai 


I 


926 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  25,  1909. 


Relighting  the  cigar  that  he  had  al- 
lowed to  go  out,  Sawyer  blew  a  few  smoke 
rings  and  then  said : 

"I  spoke  of  two  instances  of  super- 
heating by  throttling,  and  although  I 
wandered  a  little  by  telling  of  more  than 
•the  throttling  of  the  steam  supply  to  an 
underloaded  engine,  I  will  stick  to  the 
text  in  the  story  that  I  am  going  to  tell 
you  now.  Once  I  went  from  Duluth, 
Minn.,  to  Ashland,  Wis.,  on  a  tug.  Be- 
sides myself  there  was  another  passen- 
.ger,  who  wandered  into  the  engine  room 
-and  got  into  conversation  with  the 
engineer. 

"After  awhile  the  stranger  asked  the 
-engineer  to  experiment  a  little  for  the 
-sake  of  what  could  be  learned  by  it.  The 
lake  was  as  smooth  as  glass,  and  the 
fireman  had  not  changed  the  speed  of  the 
feed  pump  for  an  hour.  The  throttle  was 
wide  open  and  the  engine  was  making 
-85  revolutions  per  minute.  After  count- 
ing the  revolutions  several  times  for  a 
period  of  five  minutes,  to  insure  accuracy, 
the  engineer  was  asked  to  close  the 
throttle  until  he  could  plainly  hear  the 
steam  rushing  through  it,  which  he  did. 
Then  the  fireman  was  asked  to  note  the 
Tvater  level  and  not  to  change  the  speed 
of  the  pump  without  notifying  the  en- 
^neer.  After  about  fifteen  minutes  the 
speed  of  the  engine  was  again  counted  and 
was  found  to  be  86^  revolutions  per 
minute,  instead  of  85,  as  before  the 
throttle  was  partially  closed. 

"Soon  the  water  was  perceptibly  higher 
in  the  boiler  and  shortly  the  fireman  re- 
ported that  he  would  have  to  slow  the 
pump  slightly.  He  also  said,  on  being 
asked,  that  the  boiler  never  fired  easier 
nor  steamed  better.  For  several  hours 
the  experiment  went  on ;  in  fact,  until  I 
turned  in  to  sleep ;  and  when  I  awoke  we 
were  at  the  dock,  and  I  have  seen  neither 
the  engineer  nor  his  visitor  since. 

"But  the  facts  are  these :  With  a  partial- 
ly closed  throttle  there  was  an  increase 
in  the  speed  of  the  engine  of  more  than 
one  and  three-quarters  per  cent.,  and  a 
decrease  in  the  amount  of  coal  and  water 
used.  I  do  not  know  the  man  who  sug- 
gested the  experiment,  nor  do  I  know 
if  anything  ever  came  of  it.  But  it  has 
made  me  think  a  whole  lot  about  wire- 
drawing and  superheat,  for  in  both  of 
these  cases  the  steam  was  superheated. 
When  It  entered  the  cylinder  it  had  a 
temperature  above  that  due  to  its  pres- 
sure." 

Then,  looking  at  his  watch,  he  said: 

"I  have  stayed  longer  than  I  intended 
to  and  must  move  along.  I  will  be  in 
again  in  a  couple  of  weeks,"  and  he  left 
me  to  think  of  superheat  and  wiredrawing. 

If  the  work  in  the  cylinder  is  done  by 
"heat,  how  is  more  heat  utilized  by  check- 
ing the  supply?  I  do  not  know  and  that 
is  why  I  ponder  over  it. 


Changing  One  Thermometer  Read- 
ing To  Another 


By  a.  L.  Hodges 


As  we  are  so  unfortunate  as  to  have 
two  types  of  thermometer  in  common  use, 
and  as  articles  appear  right  along  in  engi- 
neering magazines,  in  which  one  or  the 
other  is  used,  sometimes  both,  it  is  abso- 
lutely necessary  not  only  to  know  each 
individually,  but  to  know  their  relations 
and  common  points.  Of  course,  most  of 
us  are  familiar  with  the  formula  to  do 
this,  but  a  formula  is  not  as  easy  to  re- 
member as  a  simple  diagram  showing  the 
relations.  The  writer  has  had  a  good 
deal  of  experience  teaching  engineers  and 
has  always  found  that  the  accompanying 
diagram  enabled  them  to  remember  the 
relations  better  than  anything  else. 

Besides  the  Centigrade  and  Fahrenheit 
thermometers,  we  have  to  do  with  the 
■'absolute"  thermometer,  when  dealing 
with  a  gas  or  with  superheated  steam. 
Any  absolute  temperature  may  be  derived 
by  simply  adding  273  to  the  Centigrade 
temperature;  but  this  has  been  included  in 
the  diagram. 

To  make  the  diagram,  all  one  has  to 
do  is  first  to  draw  two  vertical  lines  to 
represent  the  Centigrade  and  Fahrenheit 
thermometers,  mark  on  the  Centigrade 
line  two  points,  o  and  100,  and  mark  op- 
posite these,  on  the  Fahrenheit  line,  32 
and  212,  respectively.  It  is  easy  to  remem- 
ber that  these  are  the  freezing  and  boil- 
ing points  of  water  on  the  respective 
thermometers.  It  will  be  seen  that  one 
degree  on  the  Fahrenheit  scale  is  equiv- 
alent to  5/9  of  one  on  the  Centigrade,  be- 
cause the  same  distance  that  indicates  100 
on  the  Centigrade  scale  shows  212  —  32  ^ 
180  on  the  Fahrenheit.  To  change  from 
one  reading  to  the  other,  an  addition  or 
subtraction  of  32  is  necessary,  as  will  be 
seen  by  reference  to  the  diagram. 

Suppose  it  is  desired  to  change  50  de- 
grees Centigrade  to  the  corresponding 
reading  on  the  Fahrenheit  scale.  As 
"every  degree  Centigrade  is  equal  to  5/9 
degree  Fahrenheit,  it  will  be  necessary 
to  multiply  50  by  9/5  to  get  the  number 
of  Fahrenheit  degrees  above  freezing 
point  of  water.  But  even  this  will  not 
give  the  correct  Fahrenheit  reading  un- 
less 32  is  added.  This  rule  is  ^expressed 
by  the  simple  formula : 

F  =  9/5  C  -\-  32, 

where  F  is  the  Fahrenheit  reading  and  C 
the  Centigrade. 

From  similar  reasoning,  then,  in  case  it 
is  desired  to  change  from  Fahrenheit  to 
Centigrade,  we  must  multiply  by  5/9,  but 
only  after  subtracting  32,  because  the 
Centigrade  zero  is  at  the  freezing  point 
of  water.  This  is  expressed  by  the  fol- 
lowing formula : 

C  =  5/9  (F  —  32), 


where  the  symbols  have  the  same  sig- 
nificance as  before. 

As  regards  the  "absolute"  thermometer, 
it  is  graduated  in  degrees  of  exactly  the 
same  value  as  those  of  the  Centigrade ;  so 
in  changing  the  absolute  to  Centigrade, 
or  vice  versa,  it  is  not  necessary  to  mul- 
tiply or  divide  by  a  fraction.  If  50  de- 
grees Centigrade  is  to  be  changed  to 
absolute,  simply  add  273  degrees  and  the 
thing  is  done.  If  an  absolute  reading  is 
to  be  changed  to  Centigrade,  simply  sub- 
tract 273  degrees  and  the  correct  result 
appears.  Thus,  290  degrees  absolute  =r 
17  degrees  Centigrade ;  also,  200  degrees 
absolute  =  —  73  degrees  Centigrade, 
simply  algebraic  subtraction.  So  the  for- 
mulas between  the  absolute  and  the  Centi- 
grade are  very  simple : 

A  =  C  -\-  2ys  and  C  =  ^  —  273. 

If  we  try  to  change  the  absolute  to 
Fahrenheit,  or  vice  versa,  without  em- 
ploying the  intermediate  Centigrade  for- 
mula, the  operation  becomes  slightly  more 
complicated,  but  a  glance  at  the  diagram 
will  make  things  clear.  First,  change 
—  273  Centigrade  degrees  to  Fahrenheit 
degrees  by  multiplying  by  9/5.  This  gives 
the  number  of  Fahrenheit  degrees,  below 
the  freezing  point  of  water,  equivalent  to 
zero,  absolute.  But  to  change  this  to  the 
Fahrenheit  reading  it  is  necessary  to  sub- 
tract 32,  which  will  give  us  —  459?^- 
From  this  the  logical  formula  results : 

F  =  9/5  A  —  459?^, 

and  the  reverse  formula,  of  course,  is : 

A  =  s/9  (F  +  459^). 

the  symbols  meaning  the  same  as  before, 
for  the  reading  on  the  respective  ther- 
mometers signifying  the  same  degree  of 
heat  or  cold. 

Several  peculiar  things  appear  if  certain 
relations  are  required.  For  instance,  at 
what  temperature  do  Centigrade  and 
Fahrenheit  read  the  same?  Simply  sub- 
stitute Centigrade  for  Fahrenheit  or 
Fahrenheit  for  Centigrade  in  (i)  or  (2) 
and  it  is  found  that  at  — 40  (or  40  below 
zero)  on  either  scale  means  the  same  de- 
gree of  coldness.  This  is  verified  by  the 
diagram.  Similarly,  several  such  points 
are  shown  on  the  diagram. 

They  are  easy  to  memorize  and  come  in 
handy  occasionally.  For  example,  when 
the  temperature  Fahrenheit  is  320  de- 
grees and  it  is  desired  to  change  it  to 
Centigrade,  the  diagram  enables  one  to 
know  that  the  Centigrade  reading  to 
correspond  is  exactly  ^,  or  160  degrees. 
So,  for  approximate  results  anywhere 
within  a  few  degrees  of  320,  simply  divide 
by  two.  With  the  absolute  scale  there  is 
one  point  that  reads  the  same  as  the 
Fahrenheit,  namely,  549>^ ;  but,  from  the 
nature  of  things,  no  point  on  the  abso- 
lute scale  is  the  same  as  the  Centigrade, 
for  it  is  necessary  to  add  273  to  the  Centi- 
grade, no  matter  what  it  is,  to  get  the 
absolute. 


May  25,   1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER- 


What  Zeuo  Absolute  Mzams  that    temperatarc.     **«->«t«A.g    ^^    ^^^^     ,||,|3|^^^  ^^^  j^  ihM»y     T» 

The  zero  absolute  means  just  what  it      whatever      Thcrclorc.   there    on    be   bo     tlie   ligiAnBin  el  m  akftoli 

lays:     That  a  body   is  perfectly  cold  at       mmut    dcfrcw  ab«>litte.  or  *^cio«  icro"     ai«4  omm  Ih«*  a  cter  mam 

to  irlMi  Imm  realty  i»  m4  cacih 
kapfcm  to  a  »•'<•    -'•^^  il 
honcT  or  col'.' 


M6  A-CZ^C')-* 


Ab8(lut« 


37J  A-^Waur  boOr- 


•    mc-(i,«A*) 


Centi  rrade 


133  A 


--    100  C-^Watarl 


TV  em.  pnasur*. 


•    »t,•c-(4■r•>- 


f73''A••- 


♦•   oc*- 


2S6-»A4- 


•. .  'ir/c<«- 


II  0  A 

Abaoluto 


uoc 


Pahnnbait 


•  ■•r-(»BC*) 


tf'r 


•«*C  — Aaii 


r«»'0^ 


Hot  H  tf«<M>ra    ai 


,^  .  To  gra»p  dm.  cm  anM  ilmak  «l  ««aiy 

bodr.  ao  aHnee  oi  wtal   i^iimI  <^ 


partklci^  caled 
■tale  of  rnanaa 
teaayeraiare*.  |i 
bks  ol  tbc) 

*-**    aK^t  kayycaa  lo 

thomn   ikai  tkey  «d 


ol  very  ■«■ 
itel  •««  ia  a 


ia  init  ar> 


li 

fca 


zirr 


one   aaodier   ataajr  ID    makt 

tbeoMdTr*.    la  tW  case  o4  a 

•taace  iron,  if  licaiad.  •■  Ike 

once  vaai  to  go  faoicr  md  Araa^  iam- 

grr  dHtaacc*     Tkey  kaocfc  «ae  m^dmt 

abottt  oattl  fooa  k  aadr  Hiii^  oi  eaan^ 

••  tranMBfttcd  oalward  to 

ntrfacv  of  iW  body  aad  iImt 

of  Ui%'    rrtiitaare 

tea-  •  o«t«ard    WWi  Iwa  la^ 

-^-  ia  tke  aaaMMae^    Aa 

°  aat  grava  lafger  m 

-  r  •  Iwc  kodr  mhtf^  a«  aare 
«aw  »Wf  raid 

•.hea.  Maa 
of  %ib«*lioa  of  Ike 
cool  a  kedjr  it  coMracftk  rtM  k.  ikt 


-m'r 


Wknika 

wkairver  we  have  ike  ahaefMr  a^ra      h 

..  .t^i^.tLr..  ti-i  >^«   tk&i  fka*  ro*dhiaa  af 


rTiTT>cin  JUT    m 


dkka  aa  • 

ThieakaakM  Kak  h  ol 
r«iiaikeca«afa0M     hbaa 
froad  e«per«aeaiM|f  ihai  al  ^Mi 

(txd^^  .b<rr«       Crrt^it^m^t      Cai 

air 


the   thc<o«i    I 


r«A,  w  far 


<-««•«  »P  aa«v*  ■% 


•  1^    (vaj    a 


«k 
al 


ha 


f  »%« . 


MAoaAM  foa 


coyt^fMun  fUiU  owi  t«i 


fahf^'' 


TltehaoMi 


S»28 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  25,  1909. 


Sewalls    Falls    Plant    Near    Concord,   N.   H. 

2000-Kilowatt  Water  Power    Plant    Containing    the    First    Installation 
of    Vertical    Multirunner    Direct-connected    Open-flume   Turbine 


B 


Y 


S. 


R 


1 


C 


Up  to  the  time  of  the  festallation  of 
-this  type  of  turbine,  the  vertical  single- 
runner  turbine,  with  gearing  to  jack  shaft 
direct-connected  or  belted  to  generators, 
had  been  developed  and  extensively  in- 
stalled, with  a  view  to  meeting  conditions 
prevailing  for  low-head  developments  in 
which  limited  space  and  extreme  varia- 
tions of  water  level  are  controlling  fac- 
tors. These  particular  turbines  are  said 
to  have  given,  however,  the  first  commer- 
cial demonstration  of  a  method  hydrau- 
"lically  efficient  and  desirable  from  a  con- 
struction and  operating  standpoint. 

The  Sewalls  Falls  plant  of  the  Concord 
Electric  Company  is  located  on  the  Mer- 
rimac  river,  4^^  miles  above  the  city  of 
Concord,  N.  H.  The  Merrimac  river  at 
this  point  drains  an  area  of  about  2350 
square  miles  and  has  a  normal  flow  of 
-about  2500  second-feet  and  an  average 
fall  of  about  16  feet.  The  total  develop- 
ment aggregates  2000  kilowatts. 

In  the  winter  of  1904-05  the  company 
-decided  to  add  1000  kilowatts  to  the  ca- 
pacity of  the  original  plant,  then  consist- 
ing of  five  20o-kilowatt  generators  belted 
to  twin  turbines  in  plate-steel  casings,  in 
order  to  supply  power  to  the  street-rail- 
way system  projected  by  the  Boston  & 
Maine  Railway  in  the  neighborhood  of 
-Concord,  and  to  various  other  consumers 
of  electric  power.  The  design  had  to  pro- 
vide for  flood  variation  of  some  19  feet. 
Ehie  to  the  excessive  tailrace  excavation 
required,  it  was  impracticable  to  locate 
^he  addition  at  the  northern  end  of  the  old 
-power  plant.  Placing  the  installation  at 
the  southern  end  made  it  necessary  that 
the  building  be  as  compact  as  possible, 
on  account  of  forebay  extensions  and  in 
order  to  reduce  foundations  and  to  sim- 
plify the  protection  from  the  thrust  of 
the  river. 

Fig.  2  shows  the  design  adopted,  which 
includes  two  900-horsepower  vertical 
triplex  open-flume  turbines  direct-con- 
nected to  two  soo-kilowatt  vertical  gen- 
erators, with  a  speed  of  100  revolutions 
per  minute,  excitation  being  furnished  by 
a  motor-driven  exciter  generator.  How 
well  the  plan  adopted  fulfils  the  condi- 
tions may  be  observed  from  Figs,  i,  2  and 
3,  where  it  will  be  seen  that  the  generator 
floor  is  above  flood  mark  and  that  the 
power  house  is  approximately  one-third 
<he  length  of  the  old  one,  being  at  the 
-«ame  time  equal  in  capacity. 


Turbines 
There  are  two  turbines,  as  heretofore 
stated,  designed  for  operation  under  a 
normal  head  of  16  feet.  These  machines, 
as  shown  in  Fig.  5,  each  consist  of  a  twin 
center-discharge  turbine  mounted  above  a 
single  turbine  by  means  of  substantial 
column  construction.  The  turbine  gates 
are  of  the  swivel  type  operated  through 
regulating  shafts  and  connections.  The 
advantages  of  swivel  gates  over  cylinder 
gates  for  this  type  of  turbine  are : 


stroke  from  wide  open  to  closing  position, 
which  characteristic  is  necessary  for  uni- 
formly sensitive  regulation  from  no  load 
to  full  load.  With  the  cylinder  type,  a 
considerable  closing  of  the  gates  from 
wide-open  position  is  necessary  before 
any  reduction  in  power  is  effected.  More- 
over, at  very  small  gate  opening  (re- 
quired for  friction  load)  the  friction 
eddies  in  the  water,  while  passing  through 
the  gates,  is  so  great  that  no  power  what- 
ever is  developed  in  the  wheel.     This  in- 


Bulkbnid  WaU 


FIG.     I.    GENERAL  PLAN  OF  DEVELOPMENT 


First — That  swivel  gates  give  increased 
efficiency  at  partial  gate  opening  and 
equally  good  efficiency  at  full  gate  open- 
ing, while  the  efficiency  with  cylinder 
gates  is  low,  due  to  the  fact  that  ex- 
cessive hydraulic  disturbances,  eddies, 
etc.,  occur  at  partial  gate  openings. 

Second — With  the  use  of  the  swivel 
type,  the  increase  or  decrease  in  power, 
resulting  from  opening  or  closing  the 
gates,   occurs    uniformly   throughout    the 


evitably  results  in  impaired  regulation  at 
full-  and  friction-load  gate  openings. 

The  bronze  runners,  shown  in  Fig.  7, 
are  designed  to  develop  900  brake  horse- 
power at  a  16-foot  head  and  615  brake 
horsepower  at  a  12-foot  head,  with  a 
constant  speed  of  100  revolutions  per 
minute.  The  characteristics  of  these  run- 
ners enable  normal  speed  to  be  maintained 
under  a  reduction  of  normal  head,  with 
but  slight  loss  in  efficiency,  thus  making 


May  25,   1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


^ 

^ 

^^ 

1 

V 

'i 

t 

!     _ 

- 

M 


1...- 


4rMlie  iliai»Miiw>  Tkt  €N«l  to  H^ 
••  vvk  aO  4nft  mka*.  •«•  m  w  «■■• 
Mrvct  dMH  M  ••  ■fcami  •  m^ttmam 

iwm  Ike  waitr  Wlofv  4iMlhM|t^  m  !«• 
tlw   ttiran.      ||o«   iMk   MMMhoa    tei 

1M  raiirj  wil  W 

L/7     -Tirrfrtlg    la       " 

rmt   Ii)rdr»al4c 

tW   Umci.   MruflM   4r»fc   MN*  aai  mi 

tnfi  vinck  tWy  r«ciaMM»4     A 

rwpir  of  iIm  Iomm  iifwd  m 

draft   robri    tt   ihoaa   ta  •   r< 

vkr-  r«L  actaal  ■«?«*•«  m  piMI 

c»^     ,  ntriiiii    H    mtiii^t    • 

MraiglH.  ilMn  ■iii«tNHrq»  drsll  i^»  •! 

the  raulog   ty^  wMrnkmrnA   ifcam   widi 


Tail  Wfttcr  Ei. 


Taant  Bt**.-^. 
TW  fktmA  br«nac«  f«raiilM4  ar«  W 
tlM  Mjadtrd  AIli»-C]MlBm  oi  tifc  hM • 
coaumcd  ty^  A  vwv  •!  tot  «toiiit 
cawnc  aad  b»M  rtot  m  ■ko««  to  F%^  4 
Tbr  brartog  m  k«ik  lo  na  cod  to  a 
bMk  of  oil  aa4  IH 


I  ' 


mi  tMtta*  ••  Lla«  C-C 


n&  2.  ntAMSVCJUk  kfcCIhih  u»  NIW  ftrATIOM 


rtinH(  br- 

<m1      ill    A    ;tUf:: 

buCM^OWT    VCfuCA 

rvrmlljr 


them    particularly    adapiable    t>>    variable 
liead  dcvclopnieols. 

Trst«   tnadr   nfirr  installation   have  e»- 
<abli«lir(l    ihr    fact    that    remarkable    uni 

formity      in      efficiency       it       maintained 
through  a  wide  range  of  ijaic     ;.r!irig.  a 

feature    of    great    itnportajicc     ir-tii     the 
'Standpoint  of  economy  of  water 

GovEtNoas 

i-or    regulating    tlic    ipccil    .>i    ttic    tur 
bines  the  ifovenjor*  used  are  of  the  oil 
pressure  type,  as    ' 
450  of  the  Septetii 

POWM     AND    Tllf.     IS'.INrm  i"     ':  :       l' 

ttallation  they  are   arranged    ><■  .l^   !•■   ix- 
entirely    »elf    contained,    the    rotary    oil 
t>ump,  tanks,  regulat  ng  cylinder  and  g<»* 
♦rnor    mechani^nt    i«rMper    being    mountol 
•on    a    single    \v.\yr        The    m 
and  pump  are  dnvm   from  • 
by    meaii^    <t    !•«•'.  md    the    jc^u 

lating    pistoti    IN  to    th«-    reffit 

latmg  shafts  by  n' .un  of  a  ti 
arrangement,  avuidint;.  at  i«  'd'^ 
regular  practice,  the  use  •'' 
the  lott  motion  inherent  in  ^  . 
mentt. 

DaArr  Tuaia 

As  tbown  in   Fig    3.  the 
tubes  were  detigned  lo  lead 
the    tailrace    from    the   center 
<a8ing  and  lower  runner  wf' 
decreasmg     velocity    and     '- 


nd 


0 


% 


•/"*• 


1lril 


\ 


nc. 


930 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  25,   1909. 


tual  saving  of  over  $6000  a  year  in  oil 
was  effected  by  replacing  the  pressure 
thrust  bearings,  originally  installed,  by 
oil-bath  bearings  of  this  type. 

Three  metal  guid^  bearings  were  sup- 
plied with  each  turbine.  They  are  sup- 
ported by  the  center  discharge  casing  and 
fed  with  oil  from  above. 

Electrical  App.xr.atus 

There  are  two  soo-kilowatt  three-phase 
60-cycle  2600-volt  vertical  direct-connected 
revolving-field  generators  of  the  type 
shown  by  Fig.  8.  These  machines  re- 
volve at  a  speed  of  100  revolutions  per 
minute,  and  the  features  of  especial  in- 
terest are  the  stator  and  rotor.  The 
stator  is  bolted  to  the  cast-iron  support- 
ing ring  which  is  carried  upon  concrete 
foundation  beams  worked  into  the  lower 
floor,  as  shown  in  Fig.  2,  and  has  bolted 
to  its  top  the  spider  which  supports  the 
guide  bearing.  The  rotor  is  of  the  "um- 
brella" type,  constructed  of  cast  steel  and 
especially  designed  to  withstand  the 
stress  due  to  its  great  diameter  and  posi- 


Tailrace  Gate  Platform 


FIG.    4.    PLAN  OF  OPERATING  FLOOR 


FIG.     5.     9OO-HORSEPOWER    ALLIS-CHALMERS 
VERTICAL  TRIPLEX   TURBINE 


FIG.  6.     THRUST  BEARING  OF  TURBINE 


May  25,    lyoy 


l^WER  AND  THE  E: 


K- 


»i« 


tion  with  reference  to  its  field  coiU.     It     rrnuinder.    vhirh    if   of    coarrctc     mVk     mignUf  gf«M«r 
is    mounted    on    a    short    shaft,    the  col-     tmooth  mortar  (mtah.  oi^miI  cvmI,  Ikt 

lector  rings  being  arranged  immediately 
above  the  coupling  to  which  the  turbine 
shaft  is  connected. 

Excitation    is     furnished     by     •n-.c     4? 
kilowatt   125-volt  comj><»und-w<Kin<l  k'c'nr 
ator.  direct  connected  on  the  same  cast-     00    cirmlar    . 
iron  baseplate  to  a  75-horsepower  Oo-cycle     »'■-•'    •"■  *^-- 
three-phase   induction   motor  wonnd    for 
2600  volts,  and  a  speed  of  tiHo  re\'olotions     ircti-r  mg*  jr>.i  rirutnrt 


On   ihr    U*mrr,   or   fhrvM-Hrarmf   ^noc, 

are  -^ 

f"^^-  'IV 

'ifl    rile   i«f- 

•^     tUf>Ck>rtril 


I    '.far    ir    :    jr    mrt^        b» 

arWt  UMdu  plK«4  !■  • 

I  rtr  .iratt  tuVt     «r  i    Jrnen   to  hsH  paa.      Tlw 
n*    flM>    »M    i«Ht    49f   fW    r«Ml 
>t  tW 


t^ 


riC    7.      55-INCH    «t'!«J«t«»  09  VTlrtV  %l     TVtItAX   TVBMMB 


prr  miinitr  This  type  of  exciter  was 
chosen  in  preference  to  a  waterwheel  unit 
on  account  of  the  nccc»-it>  of  economii- 
ing  space  as  much  as  pM>NJble. 

The  switchlward  is  of  blue  ^ 
marble.  21  feet  4  inches  I«»ng  aiv 
into  eleven  panels.  The  generator,  ex- 
citer and  exciter  motor  have  each  a 
separate  panel  with  a  blank  panel  for  a 
future  line.  A  portion  of  the  switchboard 
is  shown  in  Fig.  S. 

The  10,000  volt  air-blast  step  up  trans 
formers  are  placed  on  the  lower  tli>or 
These  transformers  are  pr>.\ir|ed  with 
ducts  below  an<l  connection •.  t->  the  air 
shaft  communicating  with  tlir  1.1.* rr» 
A  damper  is  provided  for  shutim.'  ■•'?  i^r 
from  each  set  of  transfonners. 

GcNutAL  CoMsnvmoj*  akd 
Dn-rtorucNT 
There  are   se\rr;il   point*  in  ef*on»<tinn 
with   thr   n.-M-r..!   .     •    Turtion   i- 
this   Jcvci'ipniriit    \0  u  h  are   of   • 
ing  interest,  and  will  be  noted  in  the 
eral    drawing.    Fig     i.    and    pow^f  ' 
arrangement.  Fig*.  2.  3  and  4 

•    lloujf— The   ■!•  ■  'UK... 

.  V  \te  ircn  liv    r  •  »  Fig    3 

K. 
thr 

is  of  bnck.  with  a  «Late  t 
by  steel  trusses  A  hand  p 
provided,   the  crane  girder   Ik-i'm.-      .••  ■ 

on  steel  columns.     On  the  »• 

■ting  floor  are  located  the  v 
trnnr,  switchboard,   tn  ' 
blowers    for    the    tra- 
cnintriirlion    of     tlie 
made  for  easy  access  • 
the   generators,    to   t)  ■ 
lower    floor    and  to    s- 
movable    slate    slabs    resting 
strips  are  used  for  this  purr^ 
part  of  the  floor  Is  made  le><-' 


na  kard 

C«^  to  Ikat  tWy  May  W  katMa4  If 
band  oe  Wy   trtM  aHaara. 

Fofff^jr     Irs    W'sctfc    of   «>    frrS.    ikt 

toy  t« 

■■'  la 


pre 

vel. 


i 

protected  by  iron  plates.    T 

wing    wall*   and    canal    hea^:  .-■■     -     - 

are  of  rubble  masonry.    The  elrratson  n( 


•.•ugri:    ij..»ti 

«n     Trx      mftt     m     t-^     '  tmmL 

e.     In  addi- 

art   paiii—   of   Kv.  tiiihmmad 

ailrace  gMca.  slof 

and 

'0-*mh 

WM 

-tUM. 

'    mimial   sarlarv   of   Ik 
ranal  and  r«t««J«  ay  ■  lest  vsii 

•    -r.        f     lK#     ■  »"         T*-»«     ««•#     t(     Mt 


na  a  9mt»na9»muMimi 


anil,    t^'sit    TJW 


•v«  ■     ^*<i     ••     »••     '•"" 


932 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  25,   1909. 


of  the  bars  to  allow  the  teeth  of  the  rakes 
to  pass  without  catching.  The  whole  is 
made  of  sufficient  strength  to  act  as  a 
dam,  should  anchor  ice  close  up  the  open- 
ings and  the  water  be  drawn  from  be- 
hind. 

The  head  gates  are  double,  each  15  feet 
6  inches  by  7  feet  6  inches,  built  in  two 
parts  on  account  of  their  large  size.  Two- 
part  gates  were  required,  since  solid  gates 
would  have  necessitated  placing  the  hoist- 
ing apparatus  much  higher  and  shutting 
off   the   light    from   the  station   windows. 

Since  the  inception  of  its  developments 
in  1892  the  Sewalls  Falls  property  has 
changed  hands  several  times,  and  is  now 
owned  and  operated  by  the  Concord  Elec- 
tric Company  of  Concord,  N.  H.,  of  which 
Allen  Hollis  is  president  and  F.  P.  Royce, 
vice-president.  George  B.  Lauder  is  su- 
perintendent and  chief  electrician,  and  L. 
D.  Martin  chief  engineer.  The  consulting 
engineers  are  Hollis  French  and  Allen 
Hubbard,  of  Boston,  Mass.,  under  whose 
supervision  the  installation  above  de- 
scribed was  executed. 


The  Storage  Battery 


By  A.  Wohlgemuth 


The  storage  battery,  or,  as  it  is  also 
called,  the  accumulator  or  secondary  bat- 
tery, does  not  store  electricity  in  the 
strict  sense  of  the  word;  the  electricity 
which  it  delivers  is  the  result  of  chemical 
action  caused  originally  by  passing  a  cur- 
rent of  electricity  through  the  battery. 
This  phenomenon  was  first  observed  by 
a   French    scientist,    Plante,   in    i860.      M. 


nucr,  N.r. 

FIG.     I.       ARRANGEMENT    OF    BATTERY    CELLS 
AND  PR0VI.SI0N  FOR  VENTILATION 

Plante  passed  current  through  a  cell  con- 
taining two  lead  plates  immersed  in  a 
solution  of  sulphuric  acid,  and  on  discon- 
tinuing this  charge  connected  the  two 
plates  to  a  current  indicator.  He  noticed 
that  a  current  of  electricity  was  passing 


through  the  instrument,  but  in  an  opposite 
direction  from  the  original  current. 
Charging,  discharging  and  recharging 
were  continued  for  some  time,  the  dis- 
charge becoming  stronger  the  oftener  and  • 
longer  the  charge  was  kept  up.  At  the 
same  time  the  surface  of  the  plate  was 
changing  greatly.  The  plate  to  which  the 
positive  pole  was  connected  took  on  a 
dark-brown  color,  and  became  brittle  to 
the  touch,  while  the  other,  a  negative 
plate,  assumed  a  light  grayish  hue,  and 
felt  soft  and  spongy.  On  discharge,  the 
plates  gradually  assumed  their  original 
character.  The  plates  of  a  modern  battery 
formed  in  this  manner  are  therefore 
called  "Plante  plates." 

This  forming  process  is  a  rather  tedious 
operation,  and  was  improved  upon  by  an- 
other Frenchman,  Faure,  who  conceived 
the  idea  of  using  ready-made  active  ma- 
terial pasted  on  the  plates,  instead  of  the 
material  formed  by  repeated  charging. 
The  substances  which  can  be  used,  and 
are    used    in    the    manufacture    of    Faure 


FIG.  2.    POSITIVE  PLATE  OF   A      CHLORIDE      CELL 


plates,  are  litliarge  or  lead  oxide,  lead 
sulphate  or  minium  and  peroxide  of  lead. 

The  storage  batteries  used  today  are  of 
both  the  Plante  and  Faure  types,  some 
manufacturers  using  one  type  for  both 
negative  and  positive  plates,  and  others 
i-sing  the  Plante  type  for  one  polarity  and 
the  Faure  type  for  the  other.  Several 
diverse  methods  are  employed  to  get  the 
greatest  amount  of  active  material  per 
given  area  and  weight  of  plate;  the  kind 
of  battery  to  be  installed  in  any  given 
case  depends  largely  upon  the  use  it  will 
be  put  to. 

In  selecting  a  location  for  the  battery 
room,  facilities  for  proper  ventilation, 
light  and  atmospheric  conditions  in  the 
room  ought  to  enter  into  consideration. 
The  temperature  should  not  be  allowed  to 
go  much  over  75  or  80  degrees  Fahrenheit 
and  not  much  lower  than  50  degrees  Fah- 


renheit. In  modern  battery  rooms  the 
floor  is  usually  made  of  concrete  pro- 
tected by  layers  of  tar  paper  and  as- 
phaltum,  and  finished  with  vitrified  brick 
laid  in  asphaltum.  Drains  are  provided 
and  so  arranged  that  collection  of  water 
is  prevented;  this  is  usually  done  by 
sloping  the  aisles  between  the  tanks  and 
providing  cesspools  to  carry  off  the  water. 
All  drain  pipes  should  be  of  lead  and  all 
metal  supports  should  be  covered  with 
several  layers  of  good  lead  paint,  to  pre- 


FIG.  3.    NEGATIVE   PLATE   OF  A     CHLORIDE     CELI- 

vent  the  acid  from  attacking  and  corrod- 
ing the  metal.  The  ventilation  of  the  bat- 
tery room  is  a  very  important  matter. 
There  are  always  gases  present  and  when 
the  battery  is  charging  a  large  amount  of 
gas  and  spray  is  given  off,  which,  if  not 
drawn  off,  is  very  injurious  to  all  metal  in 
the  rooms.  Exhaust  fans  are  used  al- 
most exclusively  to  draw  off  these  gases. 
(See  Fig.  I.) 

The  tanks  containing  the  plates  are 
made  of  glass  in  small  installations  and 
of  wood  lined  with  lead  in  the  larger 
plants.  Lately,  tanks  made  of  earthen- 
ware have  been  installed  with  more  or  less 
success.  The  tanks  are  placed  on  glass  or 
porcelain  insulators,  which  are  in  turn 
supported  by  heavy  wooden  beams.  In 
a  great  many  instances  the  beams  are 
done  away  with  and  the  insulators  are 
supported  by  mounds  of  sulphur,  topped 
by  a  slab  of  vitrified  brick.  In  all  cases 
the  bottom  of  the  tank  is  from  6  to  8 
inches  above  the  floor,  to  allow  free  cir- 
culation of  air  and  to  prevent  grounds. 

When  the  tanks  are  m  position  heavy 
glass  plates,  ^  inch  thick,  two  to  each 
cell,  are  placed  longitudinally  in  the  tanks, 
which  act  as  support  for  the  plates.  The 
latter  are  now  placed  in  the  tanks,  nega- 
tive and  positive,  alternately,  and  glass  or 
hard-rubber  tubes  are  put  between  each 
plate  to  act  as  separators.  There  is  al- 
ways one  more  negative  than  positive 
plate  in  each  cell,  in  order  to  have  both 


May  25.   190Q. 

sides  of  the  positive  plate  o^^x.-c  the 
negative.  The  plates  are  now  c..:i:iected. 
the  nej?atives  of  two  cells  to  one  stnij  of 
lead  and  the  positives  of  two  cells  to  one 
strip. 

When  all  the  plates  are  hiinic.l  in.  .m.! 
all  (ither  necessary  cuiuicctimu  arc    :;  .1  .. 
then,  and  never  before,  the  electrolyte  1% 


POWER  AND  THE  { 

for  any  length  of  time. 
chargcfi     or 
local   action 
err 


KR. 


«u 


harcoi 
'.  he  ftUic 

!Milpkitc 
wMtkKting  and  to- 

»  'rfi   !h<-  [i!a'r   *•  <! 


>a  :rrj    rriui'    ■.<    b«   tMint4   OB  I 

luiard  nunrf .  bat  mmmt  ht  ^ami 
confona  mncttf  witli  il»  rmtd 
of  tW  kanery      TV-  Harvr  or 
capanty  U  rat«4 

S^boQr    ntf.    mi^ 

pi*^  H  aaprr ' 

inc.*  r    ,„  ^.^■ 

ti*' 

pWiriii     .:    rr>vi«i    in    r.  ^  n    j*'«i'i«* 

five  ^tc*.     For  rmaai*ie.  li  • 
rstrtl  at  ^o  aai^- 
cluncd  at  3D  aair^ 
A*duri«4  at  a  lto« 
for  a  katftr  taar 
veraab  of   cHK  ha 

0*>^rr     f*a'«%     •iTT     >*     -S*^     rf.n! 


•I    Ite 


!f 


!  Mfb  a 

T»   r«rw 

•w  f  '     '  —J 


p«>iirr«i  III  ami  tin-  !..i;trr)   iv  ri  ,i'l)    t"r  «t» 
fir»t  charKe.     This  is  usually  '>f  ?,|  or  j6 
:rs'  duratiiin.  and  it  is  n  >■  to 

rt   this  charKe  at   a   low  r-r 

vent  cxir.ssur  hratinK  due  '■ 

i<-riial    rcsi>tance   of    the    u..  . 

the   voltage  of  the  battery   ri»r«    thr 
I  ii.irKinK    current    is    increased    until    the 
maximum   rate  i»   reached.     Toward    the 
end    of  the   iharicr.    tl  . 
decreased.   t'>   pri\(ii! 

violent    a   naturr       l>iiftiiK 
-rful     readiuRs    shuuld    l>c    t.i- 
great  care  exercised  to  gel  at  the  rundi 


»'"•»  of  the  battery      The   n..r,i,.l    v.l-Ji-r 

1  fully  charged  cell  in  i 
IN  trom  2.2  to  a.5  volts  and  ' 
fpecific  gravity  of  the  ele<  • 
be    fr.-tn    I  i  to   I.J5 

I.iUr  rvrry  other  apparatus,  the  •»«rsr* 
l>aHery    if   not    trr.i?r<!    [if 
do  the  best   work  it  ran       !■ 
•ervice  the  »ti>rai{e  lattery  will  <lr\ri«,p  a 
great  many  faults  and  if  not  watched  in- 
lelligently    will    rapidly    derrrate    in    flA- 
ciency.     There  i«  one  poini      '     ' 
be    impressrd   upon    user*    • 
battery  too  oftm.   .n"!   •      ' 
tery    should    nrvrr    '  . 
"dea<l."  th.1t  i«.  i-!' 
both  chargiiiK  an! 
•oon  a»  the  battery  is  allowed  to  b«  ldl«     tkat 


» ii«  5.  rvMtm  > 
due  lo  nnevrn  esi> 


latter 

ha.  .ii 


UaVttt  •tVtLMUt 


the  aetisr 


to   Its   normal   mwilitw. 

At      tlw     <-n*Tlplrt»«'n     of 

eir 


rU     llnr.  at  «  k»> 


■»^  1  t  «< 


in*     tUf*    r  1  • 

tW  kif<lMV 


a4  «1m  Itmku  *k«o4r  •U«><»-*^ 


m  m 


934 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  25,   1909. 


Practical    Letters    from     Practical    Men 

Don't  Bother  About    the    Style,    but   Write   Just    What    You  Think, 
Know  or  Want  to  Know   About  Your  Work,  and  Help  Each  Other 

WE     PAY     FOR     USEFUL     IDEAS 


Air   Compressor    Valves 


Fig.  I  shows  a  simple  form  of  valve 
used  in  certain  vertical  air  compressors. 
Some  of  these  valves  have  no  guide  other 
than  that  afforded  by  the  spring  which 
tends  to  close  them,  and  a  valve  of  this 
type  will  not  wear  true  on  the  seat.  In 
Fig.  2  is  shown  another  fault  in  the  de- 
sign of  this  type  of  seat;  it  has  not  suf- 
ficient metal  backing.  The  constant  clos- 
ing of  the  valve  causes  the  seat  to  lower, 
as  shown.  I  have  seen  them  driven  down 
until  they  struck  the  piston  head  of  the 
compressor.  Fig.  5  would  be  a  better 
construction  for  these  seats.  Here  the 
proper  amount  of  metal  is  allowed  for 
the  wear  and  lowering  of  the  valve,  and 
the  piston  head  is  recessed  to  allow 
proper  clearance  for  the  free  working 
of  the  valve. 

Fig.  3  shows  another  form  of  valve  that 
has  a  guide  disk  fast  to  it.    This  is  some- 


\ 

\ 
/ 

> 

^E 

) 

FIG.    3 

what  better  than  the  others  and  will  work 
fairly  well  on  a  vertical  compressor; 
but  its  use  on  a  horizontal  compressor 
would  not  prove  of  much  value.  When 
they  become  slightly  worn,  they  will  low- 
er on  the  seat  and  will  hang  and  leak. 
The  disk  E  might  have  been  made  thick- 
er, as  it  would  form  a  better  guide  than 
when  so  narrow.  When  narrow  in  sec- 
tion it  tends  only  to  hang  the  valve  when 
it  becomes  worn. 

In  Fig.  4  will  be  seen  a  better  construc- 
tion for  a  horizontal  compressor  valve, 
and  if  these  guide  disks  are  placed  the 
proper  distance  apart,  the  valve  will  work 
satisfactorily,  as  these  guide  wings  will 
hold  the  valve  in  a  true  horizontal  posi- 
tion. The  thickness  of  these  disk':  should 
be  sufficient  to  stand  the  wear. 

Fig.  7  illustrates  another  fault  that  has 
been  noticed  in  compressors,  that  is,  the 


making  of  the  valve  too  thin  as  shown  by 
the  dotted  lines.  Were  the  valve  made 
as  shown  by  the  solid  lines,  the  result 
would  be  satisfactory.  In  Fig.  6  will  be 
noticed  the  Corliss  type  of  compressor 
valve.  I  fail  to  see  the  advantage  gained 
by  the  use  of  such  a  valve  on  a  com- 
pressor cylinder  and  I  think  a  poppet 
valve    will    certainly   close    more    quickly 


Fia  I 


\ 

\ 

FIG.    4 


pressor  valves  should  be  noted ;  that  is, 
the  diameters  in  which  they  are  made.  The 
same  rule  will  apply  here  as  in  a  pump. 
It  is  better  to  have  two  valves  than  one 
large  one,  as  the  concussion  becomes  too 
great  when  the  load  is  laid  on  the  one. 
The  diameter  and  the  distance  traveled 
by  the  poppet  valve  should  be  watched ; 
too  large  a  diameter  and  too  much  travel 


l:^ 


^ 


FIGj    2 


will  cause  great  pressure  and  be  the  means 
of   driving    through   the    seat. 

C.  R.  McGahey. 
Lynchburg,  Va. 


What    Is    Trouble? 


In  a  recent  editorial  it  was  asserted 
that  trouble  is  frequently  the  result  of 
ignorance.  Undoubtedly  the  statement  is 
true,  but  it  is  not  necessarily  wilful  igno- 
rance. There  is  a  graduation  of  knowledge 


^EE 


^^£33, 


FIG.    5 

and  remain  quite  as  tight.  When  properly 
made,  the  back  flow  from  the  compressed 
air  will  be  less  on  the  poppet  type  than 
on  the  Corliss  operated  by  a  crank  lever. 
The  Corliss  valve  will  work  well  at  one 
hundred  pounds  pressure,  but  in  working 
air  above  this  pressure  it  will  be  hard  to 
lubricate,  while  the  poppet  valve  can  be 
worked  to  the  limit. 

One    other    point    in    relation    to    com- 


fig.  6 


Power,  y.r. 
FIG.  7 


from  the  most  ignorant  to  tlie  most 
learned  and  the  combined  knowledge  of 
every  generation  is  probably  but  a  speck 
in  comparison   to  infinite  knowledge. 

There  are  those  who  seldom,  if  ever, 
have  the  same  trouble  the  second  time. 
'One  experience  .  is  usually  needful  to 
stamp  a  thing  indelibly  on  the  mind.  After 
that  it  is  wilful  ignorance  to  let  the  same 
thing  happen  again.  Many  engineers  make 


-May  25.   igog. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


tM 


their  own  trouble  as  they  go  along.  They 
haven't  learned  the  les&on  of  letting  well 
enough  alone.  They  are  forever  keymi? 
up  this  thing  and  that,  setting; 
lating  governors  and  "expcn 
erally.  There  is  also  a  limit  to  letting 
things  alone,  as  they  will  certainly  de- 
teriorate with  use. 

The  conservative  man  who  keeps  a  keen 
eye  out  for  every  evidence  of  coming 
trouble,  with  the  view  of  preventing  it, 
is    the    man    who    has    the    least    truible. 

.After  every  phase  of  the  subject  has 
been  gone  over,  however,  we  must  still 
admit  that  the  l)cst  and  wisest  of  men 
have  their   trrublcs. 

FuWARIt   T.    BlNN> 

Philadelphia.  Pt-nn 


opened  and  the  water  allov«d  to  A<i« 
iniL.  the  sewer,  which  it  does  wttbaot  lilt- 
i";r  the  check  valve,  aidiowgli  it  takr* 
Acr  than  it  <loc«  when  p>jm;Mng 
tandpipc  When  the  gate  «al«r 
IS  ckMcd  the  check  valre  opctM  au- 
matically  and  the  load  on  the 
decreased  12  per  cent.,  while  the 
of  water  handled  b  iacrcsaed  18  per 
cent. 

•  •re  power  to  pomp  toiwi^ll 
'-  to  the  acwer.  why  doc* 
..heck  valve  and 


T^V    t^^^M%    W^M    ^^^tf    ^A    1^^    ^^Jkv    ^i^M 


Centrifugal  Pumps 

I  recently  placed  an  engine  in  a  small 
water-works  plant  to  run  a  belt-driven 
centrifugal  pump  of  the  vertical  type 
placed  in  the  bottom  of  a  circular  pit 
40  feet  deep  and  connected  to  a  to- 
tnch  well.  The  discharge  was  6  inches 
in  diameter  and  extended  vertically  to 
the  surface  of  the  ground,  thence  horixon- 
for  about  too  feet  and  discharged 
a  standpipe  118  feet  high.  A  check 
vilve  was  placcfl  in  the  hnri/i>ntal  pipe 
to  keep  the  water  from  retiiriuriK  to  the 
well,  and  as  there  was  always  a  little  sand 


rs-nirvQAL-rvur  ooMnutw'* 


KftiiV 


If 
the 
it  n 
the 


r«,vi 


•r.  la* 


»r. 


A.  C   Daviil 


WeUh.  U 


-J-n 


EJcctxolysu  and  Superheat 

I  waa  interested  in  readint  the  artkla 

by  T  •       -  -       ■  .-, 

Su; 

I-  :  me  of  •errral  rTperirneea 

I    had    which,    allhoag)  *»• 

not    the    culprit    the   a«  •  •'. 

in   eating   away  br«M  fittings,  et' 

Sc\cral  year«  ago  the  boilert  t:.  -   ... 
tain  steam  plant  were  fed  from  a  well  oa     to  i* 
the  '     '     .  "nt  water     syw; 

col'  ft;     hM       SMBl 

,ifirr     th.       A.4'.cr 


3 


<««  at 


and   thr 

;i!'i 

Aiui    in- 
to bra»«. 

•err 


i: 

wa' 

gineer  v 
the    in.- 
.\» 
the 

nat 
m«- 

a*  ' 

ff. 


alvit 
( ) 
dti 
hi- 
In. 


wefe  a' 


t»5     tinxici; 


he  hind   him. 
.  the  torrh  in 


knn«k    € 


•h. 


ar>ii    i-iii 

a  the   err' 


liui 


i.J- 


f 


when     f"r»t     .tirfi".'       <     f.  i-  .  ' 
ril.ne<l    iK-twrri)    tli.       1h    k 
■up  ami  refluceil  to  4  inch* 
r    leil    to    the    sewer.       A 
^  placed  in  the  4  i'K"''  '•'"" 
■rr  the  water  had  cleared 
other  valves  thnn  lh'>«e  <!>      - 
•wn   in   the  «keirh 
In  starting  the  pump,  the  gate  vahre  U 


rrr  was  hflkd  In  a  fi< 
rumnfallion  of  aew 


fnnming    ' 
clean    it.     t*"    t**  •  . 
f4«f»    ahriv    thr   tuhr 


■  .it    -^. 


936 


POWER  AXD  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  25,  1909. 


or  three  thicknesses  of  paper  to  allow  for 
future  adjustment.  We  then  sweated  a 
thin  piece  of  brass  on  the  side  of  the 
brasses,  filing  them  down  to  a  fit,  after 
which  we  put  them  together  and  tried  the 
engine  out  again.  After  making  a  few 
changes,  as  regards  taking  out  or  adding 
more  paper  packing,  the  pound  disap- 
peared and  has  not  appeared  since. 

In  some  cases  where  the  collar  on  the 
outer  end  of  the  pin  is  a  part  of  the  pin 
itself  the  brasses  may  be  taken  out  and  a 
piece  of  sheet  brass  sweated  onto  the 
sides  and  then  fitted  as  stated. 

Ch.\kles  H.  T.wlor. 

Bridgeport,  Conn. 


Relative    Rate    of    Heat     Transfer 
to  Water 


The  article  in  the  issue  of  January  12 
on  "Relative  Rate  of  Heat  Trans- 
fer to  Water  at  and  below  the  Boiling 
Point,"  b\"  W.  H.  Sawdon,  is  a  good  il- 
lustration of  the  very  erroneous  conclu- 
sions that  are  liable  to  be  drawn  from 
rough  and  ready  experiments.  My  rea- 
sons for  thinking  that  the  conclusions  the 
author  comes  to  are  erroneous,  are  as 
follows : 

The  temperature  of  the  air  on  the  day 
of  the  "bare"  test  was  about  10  degrees 
lower  than  when  the  test  with  hair-felt 
covering  was  made,  which  of  course  will 
account  for  a  large  amount  of  radiation. 

That  the  experiment  was  very  carelessly 
carried  out  is  evident  from  the  following 
results : 


T'>Ai'.K   Tkst. 

CoNEKKi)  Test. 

Time. 

Kise  of 
Temp. 

Time. 

Rise  of 
Temp. 

3  min. 
6  min. 
9  min. 
12  min. 

31.5°  F. 
30°      F. 
31°      F. 

27.. 5°  F. 

3  min. 

6  min. 

9  min. 

12  min. 

18.. 5°  F. 
42    °  F. 
31    °  F. 
2.-,    °  F. 

In  tlie  covered  test  tlie  rise  of  tem- 
perature in  3  minutes  varied  from  18.5 
degrees  Fahrenheit  to  42  degrees  Fahren- 
heit.     Comment    is    needless. 

The  heat  capacity  of  the  vessel,  the 
stand  and  the  iron  rods,  etc.,  was  ne- 
glected, which  would  seriously  affect  the 
result  and  render  the  test  absolutely 
worthless. 

The  bunsen  burner  was  sending  up  a 
large  volume  of  hct  gas,  which  in  passing 
upward  surrounds  the  vessel  to  be  heated 
and  forms  an  inclosing  wall  from  which 
heat  will  be  radiated  to  the  vessel  during 
the  tests,  but  the  writer  of  the  article  as- 
sumes that  the  radiation  will  be  the  same 
when  the  gas  is  turned  ofif  and-  heat  is  be- 
ing radiated  frow  the  vessel  instead  of 
to  it. 

It  may  interest  the  writer  of  the  article 
to  know  that  when  very  careful  tests  of 
this  character  are  made,  in  which  every 
precaution  against  error  is  taken,  the  rate 


of  transmission  during  heating  of  the 
water  is  only  2  or  3  per  cent,  lower  than 
when  the  water  is  boiling. 

John  Goodman. 
Leeds,   England. 


Repairing    a    Broken  Bracket 


One  morning  while  starting  up  a  large 
Corliss  engine  the  head-end  dashpot  be- 
came stuck  in  some  manner,  and  as  the 
trip  rose  the  steam  bracket  was  cracked 
at  A.  Of  course  it  was  necessary  to  shut 
down  to  repair  the  break,  as  the  bracket 
was  very  shaky  and  liable  to  crack  off  at 


B    „ 


REP.MRIXG    .\    UROKEN    HRACKET 

the  top  at  any  moment.  Upon  telephoning 
to  the  representative  of  the  builders  of 
that  particular  style  of  engine  we  were 
informed  that  it  would  be  at  least  four 
days,  and  possibly  a  week,  before  a  new 
bracket  could  be  obtained.  We  there- 
fore  decided  to  repair  the  old  one. 

The  bracket  was  taken  off  and  earned 
to  the  machine  shop,  where  a  sheet  of 
iron,  about  5/16  inch  thick,  was  found.  A 
piece  about  4  inches  square  was  cut  from 
this  and  bent  to  fit  and  inclose  the  por- 
tion of  the  bracket  that  was  cracked,  as 
shown  at  B  and  C.  The  plate  was  then 
doweled  onto  the  bracket,  10  pins  being 
put  on  each  side  of  the  crack.     After  this, 


the  plate  was  smootlied  down,  polished, 
and  the  bracket  replaced.  It  has  been  run 
for  three  years  and  appears  to  be  in  as 
good  condition  and  as  strong  as  a  new 
bracket,   if  not  stronger. 

Waldo  L.   Whitmarsh. 
Phenix,   R.   I. 


Difference    in    Economy    in    Large 
and  Small  Engines 


On  page  602,  of  the  March  30  number, 
William  E.  Snow  gives  a  graphic  illustra- 
tion of  the  difference  in  economy  of  a 
large  and  a  small  engine  for  the  same 
work. 

Mr.  Snow  carries  the  conditions  to  ex- 
tremes, but  there  is  one  point  that  is 
usually  lost  sight  of  and  that  is  the  re- 
sistance to  the  piston  in  noncondensing 
engines  to  which  I  understand  he  refers. 

Assuine  that  we  had  an  engine  with  160 
square  inches  piston  area  and  500  feet 
piston  speed.  With  2>3>  pounds  mean  ef- 
fective pressure  it  will  give  80  horsepower. 

An  engine  having  the  same  piston  speed 
and  mean  effective  pressure  would  require 
50  inches  of  piston  area  to  do  25  horse- 
power. Suppose  the  larger  engine  shotild 
be  loaded  to  25  horsepower,  it  would  re- 
quire but  10  pounds  mean  effective  pres- 
sure. Add  the  back  pressure,  which  would 
amount  to  16  pounds,  and  we  have  26 
pounds,  and 

26  X  160  X  500 


33.000 


:63 


horsepower.  If,  to  the  a  pounds  we  add 
the  16  pounds  to  the  smaller  engine  we 
have  49  pounds,  and 


49  ^  50  X  500 
33.000 


=  37 


horsepower.  This  shows  the  effect  of 
atmospheric  resistance,  and  is  one  reason 
why  the  small  engine  shows  up  so  well, 
everything  else  being  equal. 

When  it  comes  to  a  condensing  engine 
the  same  thing,  but  in  a  different  form, 
enters  into  it.  Previous  to  1870,  the  in- 
dependent condenser  was  almost  unknown, 
and  the  most  ordinary  engines  were  run 
noncondensing. 

A  man  had  an  engine  with  24-inch  cyl- 
inder and  at  about  this  time  a  barometric 
column,  known  as  the  Ransan  condenser, 
came  out  and  this  manufacturer  attached 
one  to  the  24-inch  cylinder  and  it  showed 
up  a  saving  of  nearly  30  per  cent. 

He  reasoned  tiiat  if  the  vacuum  would 
show  such  a  result  with  a  24-inch 
vacuum,  a  much  larger  saving  could  be 
effected  with  a  30-inch  cylinder  with  so 
much  larger  area,  so  he  replaced  the  24- 
inch  cylinder  with  a  30-inch  one  and  lost 
on   economy  instead  of  gaining. 

This  was  not  caused  by  any  extra  cyl- 
inder condensation,  although  that  may 
have  helped  a  little,  but  it  so  happened 
that    with    the    24-inch    cylinder,   the   ter- 


May  -'5,    1909 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


Homemacic  Engine  Stop 


Thr  tthrw-' 


minal  pressure  was  at  about  atm-.s;»hcric     U   vaporized  at   tteam  irmprraltifv  u  lo     coH   m 
pressure   and   he   had   the   bcnctit   of   ihe     that   ex''— •        1-1-       ^   -     .1.   .-.    1  1.        wmlk  m  wti^m  ol 
vacuum  the   full  length  of  struke,  while     cation.  -  thr  cord  fmai  ik* 

with  the  jo-inch   cylinder  the  cutoflF  was     value,  a  .  rr.;   in     ihw- 

shortened  so  much  as  to   reduce  the  ter-     every    r^  4iMt»t4r.     «*» 

minal  pressure  and  cut  out  the  effect  of     although.  pcrlu{»»,  »»».. 
the  vacuum  for  a  portion  of  the  stroke  (,, 

The  same  thin^  is  done  in  many  New  York  City 

on  a  compound  engine  by  carrying  .1  ^^__^______^^_ 

receiver  pressure  with  a  shi>rt  ciitorf  m 
the  low-pressure  cylinder  and  cutting  out 
the  effect  of  a  large  amount  of  vacuum.  — — 

It    also    adds    resistance    to    the    high-         Some  tin:'  '*■-  -r----- 

pressure   cylinder   ami   doe*   not   get    the     be  in  the  enw 
highest   efficiency    from   it.  pl.i- 

Many   engineers   have  lramc<I   that   the     a  ' 
highest  economy  in  a  »,», 

obtained  by  carrying  r'  iW 

so    that    full    atrTiovi.luru     pit  -    :•■  i 

be  carried  as  near  full  strnkr  .i-  [-•^-t\>\r 
in   tlu    low-pressure  cylimler. 

Itroadalbin,   N    Y 


U;    tiK 


atm  m  m%  <>«m«wt     TW 


•Nr    •r:^'-         II 


Oil    Frothing    Test 

In    carrying   out    an   oil- frothing   test   a 
small  amount  of  mercury  was  pLucd  in  .1 
test  tube  and  heatetl  slowly,  stirring  with 
a   thermometer   until   the   temperature   of 
the  steam   was    reached.    See    Fig.    1.      A 
dri>p    of    oil    was    then    allowed    to    run 
down    the    siilc   of   the    tube.    See    Fiir    -• 
It     it     frotlied.    the    oil     w.is     r 
containing  volatile  elements    wl. 
be  vap«»ri/e<l  and  which  roultl  not   tluft 
fore  be  arrested  by  the  oil  !»e|»arator      it 

is  found,  however,  that  if  the  oil  should 


^ 


i> 


b. 


A    MOMIMAM  UMCIUM,  AtUT 


br 

an 

tti- 


■I  comaet  w«ll  Ik*  mtm  «i 


jirw   r^jt   rri.  n^'J 

of  iW  r*««l*r   t 


«jk4it 


ftiiiillili 


Rawft*« 


Rof^ 


rw.\«> 


iitain    a    small    :«in<>iMit       1 
it  »t  would  be  mi»lr.«'li' 
produces    a    simibr 
oil    froths.    theref«»rr.    m. 
are  »upplemenle«l  by  the  more 
(lash   te%t. 

This    matter   of   »r«tin»   erllniler 

nts    is    ». 

tjir    Ml..  '     ■ 

i«   that  IN 

kc    the   c<  r  . 

il  practically  impmsible. 


the 


*.U. 


Xjt^  lia^-    *•   ••••«■ 


tb*  thrri'lt  oo  Ibc  titm  »i  ir>< 


938 

I  believe  this  risk  could  be  avoided  if 
the  friction  could  be  eliminated  and  I  be- 
lieve a  roller  bearing  would  do  the  trick. 
If  Mr.  Myers  wishes  to  do  a  good  act, 
let  him  get  hold  of  the  "badger's"  ear 
while  the  animal  is  in  a  receptive  mood 
and  suggest  a  roller  bearing  as  a  team 
mate  for  the  rope  drive  and  then  he  will 
have  something  to  talk  about. 

R.    McLaren. 

Berlin,  Ont. 


Flat  Crank  Pins 


Crank  pins,  in  my  opinion,  always  wear 
more  or  less  flat,  according  to  the  amount 
of  pressure  exerted  on  the  pin  and  the 
material  of  which  the  boxes  are  made. 
This  may  be  better  illustrated  by  referring 
to  the  circle  representing  the  path  of 
travel  of  the  crank  pin.  Steam  is  ad- 
mitted while  the  piston  is  at  the  end  of 
its  stroke  and  carried,  presumably,  toone- 
fourth  stroke  before  cutoff  is  obtained. 
Consequent!}-,  during  this  period  of  pin 
travel,  it  is  subjected  to  the  maximum 
pressure.  After  cutoff  has  occurred  the 
remaining  force  acting  on  the  pin  is  pro- 
duced by  the  expansion  of  the  steam  im- 
prisoned in  the  cylinder,  and  as  the  piston 
nears  the  opposite  end  of  the  cylinder  this 
propelling  force  becomes  correspondingly 
smaller  until  the  point  of  absolute  re- 
lease is  reached.  This  would  seem  to 
me  to  prove  that  the  most  wear  must  be 
at  the  point  of  maximum  pressure. 

Crank  pins  fitted  with  babbitt-lined 
boxes  will  not  wear  as  fast  as  those  con- 
structed of  bronze,  owing  to  the  fact  that 
the  babbitt,  being  of  a  softer  nature  than 
the  pin,  will  more  readily  wear  away. 
But  even  in  this  case,  in  time  a  flatness, 
however  slight  it  may  be,  will  be  found 
at  the  maximum  point  of  pressure  on  the 
pin. 

Another  point  is  that  the  maximum 
wear  on  the  crank  pin  is  on  the  same  side 
of  the  pin  for  both   strokes,  and   not   on 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

Locating  Ground  in  Line  with 
an    Ohmmeter 


PATH   OF   TKAXTCL  OF  CRA.NK    IM.V 

opposite  sides,  as  is  very  often  supposed. 
This  may  be  understood  in  a  better  man- 
ner by  referring  to  the  pin  travel  in  the 
illustratifiii  and  following  the  supposed 
travel  of  the  crank  pin  from  one  center 
to  the  other. 

Charles  H.  Tavlor. 
Bridgeport.  Conn. 


The  accompanying  sketch  shows  how 
to  use  an  ohmmeter  for  locating  a  ground 
on  line  circuits.  The  B  and  C  represent  the 
ends  of  a  circuit  which  is  grounded  at  G', 
the  distance  of  ground  from  B  being  un- 
known. To  determine  the  distance  from 
B  to  G'  connect  the  ohmmeter  across  the 
line  from  5  to  T  and  get  the  total  re- 
sistance of  the  line  which,  for  example, 
we  will  call  4  ohms.  Connect  one  side 
of  the  ohmmeter  to  the  ground  and  the 
other  side  to  one  side  of  the  line  B,  as 
shown  in  the  sketch,  and  read  the  re- 
sistance, which  will  be  the  resistance 
through  the  line  B  to  ground  G'  and 
through  to  G;  call  this  11  ohms.  Then 
disconnect  the  line  B  from  the  ohm- 
meter, connect  the  line  C  and  take  the 
resistance  through  the  line  C  to  the 
ground  G'  and  through  to  G ;  call  this  13 
ohms. 

The  formula  for  resistance  of  the  line 
to  G'  from  B,  or  A',  is: 


II  4- 13 


=  X, 


or  I  ohm. 

This  resistance  divided  by  the  resistance 


Power,  y.r. 
LOCATINC;   a   GKOrXI)   WITH    AN    OHMMETER 

of  the  line  per  foot  gives  the  distance  in 
feet  from  B  to  ground  G' . 

R.    L.     MOSSMAN. 

Fremont,   Ohio. 


May  25,  1909. 

was  found.  It  Is  singular  that  all  of  these 
cracks  have  been  about  18  inches  long, 
and  it  is  reasonable  to  believe  that  these 
cracks  start  by  degrees. 

With  the  idea  carried  out  as  shown  in 
the  sketch,  the  joint  can  be  looked  at  as 
often  as  desired  by  lifting  out  the  cover- 
ing with  the  handle.  There  are  scores  of 
boilers  in  operation  today  that  are  twenty 
years   old  and  the  joint  has  never  been 


■^^r^ 


Uncover    the  Joints 

In  view  of  the  large  number  of  boiler- 
joint  troubles  of  late,  I  think  it  should 
be  made  a  United  States  law  that  in  all 
boilers,  whether  lap-seam  or  butt-strap, 
there  should  be  some  convenient  way  of 
inspecting  the  outside  of  the  joint,  and 
especially  is  this  necessary  with  the  butt- 
strap  joint,  as  it  is  utterly  impossible  to 
detect  a  crack  along  the  outer  row  of 
rivets,  which  are  in  single  shear,  because 
the  inner  strap  covers  a  wider  area  on 
the  inside,  and  a  crack  from  one  rivet 
hole  to  another  is  entirely  hidden  except 
from  the  outside. 

Three  years  ago  I  was  told  by  an  in- 
spector that  the  company  had  no  record 
of  a  triple-  or  quadruple-riveted  double 
butt  strap  having  given  trouble,  but  from 
recent  reports  published  in  Power,  three 
cases  were  reported  from  one  company 
alone.  In  these  cases  steam  was  seen 
coming  up  through  the  brickwork  and 
after    removing   the   bricks   a   long   crack 


,1     ,1     ,1     ,1 


T~~T 


III.    I 


I       I       I       I 


Potimr,  S.T. 
MR.     WALDRON's    SUGGESTION    FOR    UNCOVER- 
ING  JOINTS 

seen ;  if  uncovered,  I  have  no  doubt  they 
would   disclose  longitudinal   cracks. 

A.  C.  Waldron. 
Lynn,  Mass. 


Engine  Stopped  by  Rat 


In  a  large  tannery  a  rat  took  lunch 
from  the  rope-transmission  line.  The 
engineer  blew  the  whistle  for  starting  in 
the  morning,  but  the  rat  failed  to  get 
away  and  became  caught  in  such  a 
way  that  his  tail  extended  beyond  the  rope 
like  a  strand. 

The  rope  was  protected  by  a  tell- 
tale wired  to  an  automatic  engine  stop  so 
that  should  the  rope  strand,  it  would  oper- 
ate it,  and  the  rat's  tail,  operating  the 
automatic  stop,  shut  down  the  engine. 
F.  S.  Palmer. 

Chicago,  III. 


A  Cause  of  Engine  Wreck 


In  the  letter,  "A  Cause  of  Engine 
Wreck,"  published  in  the  March  23  num- 
ber, page  563,  by  W.  E.  Crane,  the  ques- 
tion is  asked:  "If  the  long  rod  of  the 
governor  be  lengthened  and  the  short  one 
shortened  what  will  be  the  result?" 

The  result  will  be  according  to  the  me- 
chanism of  the  valve  gear.  Take  for 
instance  one  type  of  Corliss  engine ;  to 
lengthen  the  long  rod  and  shorten  the 
short  one  will  shorten  the  cutoff,  and  if 
changed  enough,  the  engine  will  not  take 
steam  at  all,  as  the  trip  collar  would  be 
forced  under  the  disengaging  hooks. 

The  proper  and  only  right  way  to 
change  the  speed  of  a  governor  of  this 
type  of  engine  is  to  change  the  size  of 
the  pulley.  A  weight  arm  can  be  at- 
tached and  a  weight  added  to  it,  but  this 
makes    the    engine    sluggish.      The    thing 


May  25,    1909. 

to  do  is  to  set  the  cutoff  at  the  proper 
point  for  the  loarj  to  be  carried,  arnj 
the  governor  will  do  the  rest. 

JusepH    F.   Sl'mmuis. 
Duranga,  Colo. 


IH)\VER  AND  THE  ENGINEKK. 


«j» 


More  Frequent   Internal    Iiupection 

In  answer  to  \i.  F..  Gansworth's  Irttcr 
in  the  March  Q  nunil>er,  under  the  head- 
ing. "More  Frequent  Internal  Inspec- 
ti(  ns."  I  wish  to  state  that  there  are  two 
fides  to   this   story. 

He   starts   to   say   there   are   inspectors 
and   inspectors,   etc..   but   all   through   his 
letter   he   condemns   them  Kenerally.     He 
or   may   not    havi  msl 

r  inspcctc'r*.  or  jm  •  lil- 

cr-iU-aninv   .!im  1  .       \      .;  are 

in*|HTt«ir'    \\i'     ';■■    :i"t    •!■•    liv  :r    !      i    'I'-lly. 
but    there   are   plenty    who   do. 

In  the  case  he  cites   where  ten   wheel 

•ws  of  scale  were  taken  out  of  the 

rs.  the  inspector  was  at  fault  if  he 

'lot   order  a   cleaninu.   but   the  "other 

where    four    150-Ii  •    boilers 

piuhrd    In    thrir  J     after 

w»         T! 
tty      to    r. 


\*  to  lakinff  «trt  360  prtmd*  ol  Kalr.  a  ^  CW   ol 
that  aoKMHit 

'ty  boOrr.  at  

(^                  -  '•!  be  pU«irrcd  vrry  ihialy  So«r  wurnA*  a^o  I  mm  a  Wm^ 

over                       r«  rrpuir     t}^^    ik^i     k»4 

•^  i  thi*  qucttioa  la  ikat     ^^-  «    ibv    •«* 

» Rf' ■'  -r*.  m —  ■■'imptr'    ^Nt*  r«r--,   ,,^cf  a  lOBia 

ir.'rtHlrii' s      '*i,,f.T      vr'  t     whm        l**'^' 

t..M  .  r  . 

bet? 

■    ffirm      •HtHi  »!»•  »i*^^.  '^  l1»*| 

lri>ui>lc  .r 

rnd*      T  ., 

rxr  MMcd  ikftl  IM  h/mt  had  « 

.  „  ..     ..  trv  r    m    fii-.fLtw    ••.  a»i    •.!» 

dangero.is   conditk)!!. 

inst-' — -      -  .1.1  f     .« 

in  '  omiKT  hrtp 

his 

("incinnstt.  < 


'•(iLzox  Hbojo 


.^.  I 


i.^m  A«* 


Pftila«lrl»lita.  PtaA 

Unng   the   Ohmmclcr    lor    Testing  ——^ 

Annaturc  CotU  Rcpftirinf  a  Worn  Lrtiade 


M 


♦•••   ♦»•  iW   49HI   If 


TtSTIXC  AaMATUU  COR^  WlTn    \N  niiMytTr* 


intr' 


Of   both   nt^ 


makinc  a  cm»bead  Ioai 


bad  shapi-.  due  to  scale,  and  no  intpevi- 

•  urthy    of    the   name    would   have   called  c«>d«. 

clean.     TIum-  ihr.  •                            i  r-  Tw 

woii(|iT>,   .!»   i*   1                                r%  nrr<- 


j-.r    i»»iiri,    ii'i    I'^jtiiiK    t.i-iiit   II]  J- 


:     be     HI     .1     \CI 

'"  lhickiie»»  ot 
I'liblc  increase  in  the  use  of  fuel 

I   Rin»w  of  one  en-      ■■  "■ '■'  "' 

the  iMider*  had  a  «: 

I  lif  >r 
e  arale 


1      I    14  V, 

he    re- 


•r»   lor  tietti  r 
■  *    were    in    .1 

irMi     IHi     ! 

An     "rr:- 

-.    indiKel 
I'leanrr. 
The   rnt' 


betirl. 


•    O 


9-JO 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  25,   1909. 


Will  the  Lx)acl  on  the  Bolts  Chcinge  ? 


Referring  to  G.  A.  Glide's  problem  ap- 
pearing in  the  March  30  number,  1  should 
>ay  that  the  stress  on  the  bolts  in  either 
cylinder  would  be  exactly  the  same,  pro- 
vided the  elastic  packing  was  cut  to  the 
exact  size  of  the  cylinder,  so  that  there 
would  be  no  recess  between  the  cylinder 
and  head  owing  to  the  packing  being  cut 
larger  at  the  inside  edge  than  the  diameter 
of  the  cylinder,  or  so  that  the  steam  would 
have  the  same  area  to  work. 

Each  of  the  twelve  bolts  is  placed  under 
an  initial  stress  of  1000  pounds,  conse- 
quently the  head  is  held  against  the  cyl- 
inder by  a  force  of  12,000  pounds  and 
the  initial  stress  on  the  bolts  would  not 
be  increased  until  the  total  pressure  of 
steam  on  the  head  exceeded  12,000  pounds. 

One  hundred  pounds  steam  pressure  per 
square  inch,  in  this  case,  would  neither  in- 
crease nor  decrease  the  stress  on  the  bolts, 
since  a  pressure  of  100  pounds  on  an  area 
of  120  square  inches  is  12,000  pounds,  and 
as  long  as  the  pressure  does  not  exceed 
100  pounds  per  square  inch  there  would 
be  the  same  stress  on  the  bolts  without 
the  steam  pressure  as  with  it,  or  1000 
pounds  on  each  bolt. 

If  in  this  case,  however,  the  pressure 
should  e-xcecd  100  pounds  per  square  inch, 
more  stress  would  be  put  on  the  bolts,  as 
the  total  pressure  of  the  steam  would 
then  be  in  excess  of  the  12,000  pounds 
with  which  the  head  is  held  against  the 
cylinder    by    the    bolts. 

Ralph  F.  Bl.\.vchard. 

Fitchburg,   Mass.  • 


We  will  first  consider  the  case  with 
the  ground  joint.  When  the  flanges  are 
pressed  together  they  are  far  less  yield- 
ing than  the  studs,  and  can  therefore  be 
considered  as  noncomprcssible,  and  the 
studs,  due  to  their  elasticity,  can  be  con- 
sidered as  springs.  In  the  case  of  a 
ground  joint  with  the  substitution  of 
springs  for  bolts,  the  total  area  of  the 
cylinder  is,  as  given,  120  square  inches 
and  the  pressure  per  square  inch  as  100 
pounds. 

Then 

120  y  100  =  12,000 
pound.s,  the  total  pressure  acting  against 
the  cover  from  the  inside. 

The  initial  tension  on  the  12  studs  or 
springs  is  1000  pounds  each,  hence  the 
total  pressure  holding  the  cover  against 
the  cylinder  is  12,000  pounds.  This  pres- 
sure acts  in  an  opposite  direction  to  the 
internal  pressure.  To  increase  the  ten- 
sion on  the  springs  or  studs,  they  must 
be  subjected  to  a  further  elongation,  and 
to  do  this  the  total  internal  pressure  must 
be  greater  than  the  total  initial  pressure. 
Since  the  external  force  applied  equals 
the  initial  stress,  the  tension  on  each 
stud  for  the  ground-joint  case  is  1000 
pounds. 

With  the  packing  between  the  cover  and 
cylinder,  we  have  a  different  state  of  rrf 


fairs.  Here  wc  have  tlie  flanges  and  pack- 
ing in  compression  and  the  studs  in  ten- 
sion. Substituting  springs  in  place  of  the 
elastic  packing,  the  total  initial  tension 
on  the  studs  is  12,000  pounds,  hence  the 
total  stress  in  the  springs  acting  against 
the  cover  is  12,000  pounds,  or  1000  pounds 
per  stud.  The  total  internal  pressure  is 
the  same  as  in  the  tirst  case.  The  direc- 
tion of  the  initial  and  internal  forces  is 
the  same,  hence  the  total  stress  on  the 
studs  (considering  that  relatively  to  the 
packing  the  stud  is  inelastic)  will  be  the 
sum  of  the  initial  and  internal  stresses, 
therefore :  • 

12,000  +  12,000  =  24,000 
pounds,  or  2000  pounds  per  stud. 

John  B.   Sperry. 
.•\urora,  111. 


Replying  to  G.  A.  Glick's  problem,  we 
find  that  the  total  pressure  of  the  steam 
is 

120    X    TOO  =    12,000 

pounds.  Each  of  the  twelve  studs  carries 
1/12  of  12,000  pounds  or  1000  pounds  of 
the  steam  pressure.  This  1000  pounds 
will  be  called  the  external  load.  Under 
the  conditions  of  a  ground  loint,  there 
is  practically  no  elasticity  of  the  parts 
held  together,  the  stud  is  comparatively 
elastic  and  there  is  a  certain  elongation 
due  to  tightenin<?  up.  It  is  evident  that 
the  initial  stress,  due  to  tightening  the 
nuts,  holds  the  head  in  contact  with  the 
flange  of  the  cylinder.  There  can  be  no 
separation  of  the  parts  until  the  internal 
load  per  stud  exceeds  the  stress  due  to 
tightening  up,  and  until  the  parts  separate 
there  can  be  no  additional  stress  in  the 
studs.  Therefore,  a  load  up  to  and  in- 
cluding the  pressure  due  to  the  stud  nuts 
puts  no  additional  load  on  the  stud.  Any 
load  beyond  the  initial  stress  will  cause 
a  stress  in  the  studs  equal  to  this  load. 
For  any  pressure  less  than  100  pounds  per 
square  inch,  no  stress  beyond  the  initial 
stress  is  induced'  in  the  bolt.  As  soon  as 
the  pressure  exceeds  100  pounds  per 
square  inch,  the  surfaces  of  the  cylinder 
and   head   will    separate. 

Consider  the  parts  with  a  packing  be- 
tween, compared  to  the  elasticity  of  the 
gasket,  the  studs  may  be  considered  in- 
elastic. In  this  case,  there  is  an  initial 
stress  due  to  screwing  up,  and  any  ad- 
ditional pressure  in  the  cylinder  will  act 
directly  on  the  stud  causing  an  additional 
stress,  and  at  100  pounds  pressure,  there 
will  be  a  stress  of  200  pounds  in  each 
stud.  The  load  on  the  studs  is  inter- 
mittent. 

Harry  Anderson. 

New  York  City 

There  arc  12  studs  from  the  flange  of 
the  cylinder  through  the  head,  and  the 
nuts  are  tightened  until  there  is  a  tensile 
stress  of  rooo  pounds  in  each  of  them ; 
there  would,  therefore,  be  a  force  be- 
tween   the   head    and    flange   exerted   me- 


chanically  through   the   wrench  and   nuts 
of 

12  X   1000  =  12,000 
pounds,  which  we  will  call  the  "mechani- 
cal force." 

When  a  charge  of  steam  is  admitted  to 
a  cylinder  it  acts  similar  to  a  spring  under 
compression,  and  tends  to  separate  the 
head  from  the  cylinder.  This  has  the 
effect  of  decreasing  the  mechanical  force, 
for  the  simple  reason  that  it  takes  a  part 
of  the  stress  on  the  studs  remaining  con- 
stant. And  if  the  steam  acts  upon  an 
area  of  120  square  inches  on  the  head 
and  a  charge  is  admitted  at  100  pounds 
pressure,  then  the  mechanical  force  would 
be  entirelj'  removed  because  a  force  of 

100  X  120  =  12,000 
pounds,  would  be  exerted  against  the 
head  and  the  mechanical  force  neutralized, 
leaving  the  same  stress  on  the  studs  as 
before.  Therefore,  the  stress  on  the 
studs  would  be  constant  for  all  steam 
pressures  above  atmosphere  up  to  100 
pounds.  But  if  there  were  an  increase  of 
steam  pressure  above  100  pounds,  then' 
the  stress  on  the  studs  would  increase  an 
amount  proportionate  to  the  increase  in 
steam  pressure,  and  if  the  steam  pressure 
were  below  atmosphere,  or  a  partial 
vacuum  within  the  cylinder,  the  stress 
on  the  studs  would  decrease  a  correspond- 
ing amount. 

Charles   F.   Cl.\rk. 
Hartwick,  N.  Y. 


I  should  say  that  the  strain  on  the 
stud  bolts  is  exactly  the  same  when  a 
pressure  at  100  pounds  per  square  inch 
is  admitted  into  the  cylinders.  As  there 
are  twelve  studs  and  each  is  under  1000 
pounds  strain  we  have   12,000  pounds, 

This  12,000  pounds  is  exerted  against 
the  end  of  the  cylinder  when  there  is  no 
pressure  in  the  cylinder.  When  pressure 
is  in  the  cylinder  at  100  pounds  per  square 
inch,  it  gives  a  total  ^pressure  on  the  cyl- 
inder head  of  12,000  pounds,  which  is 
opposed  by  12,000  pounds  on  the  studs. 
This  relieves  the  pressure  between  the 
cylinder  head  and  the  end  of  the  cylinder, 
and  I  should  expect  the  packing  to  blow 
out  of  cylinder  No.  2.  The  load  in 
pounds  per  bolt  is  the  initial  strain  in 
both  cases. 

Frank  W.  Cerny. 

Mesa,  Ariz. 


I  should  say  that  the  stress  on  the 
studs  of  each  cylinder  will  remain  the 
same  regardless  of  the  style  of  joint, 
ground  or  otherwise ;  as  any  stress  due  to 
the  elasticity  of  the  packing  is  included 
in  the  initial  stress  of  1000  pounds. 

For  either  cylinder,  the  stress  per  bolt 
due  to  the  steam  in  the  cylinder  at  100 
pounds  pressure  would  be  100  times  120, 
divided  by  12,  or  1000  pounds.  The 
total  stress  per  bolt  would  be  1000  plus 
the  initial  pressure  of  1000  or  2000  pounds. 
Andrew^  B.  Duryee. 

New  Rochellc,  N.  Y.  / 


May  25,   1909. 


l^WEk  ANU  THE  liMilNLL-K. 


941 


Some    Useful    Lessons    of    Limewater 

More  al>out  the  Chemistry  oi  Carbon;  lis  Conncition  with   Gas  Pri>- 
ducer  Work;  A  New  and  Simple  Oxidation  I  able;  Vt'Kal  a  Heal  Lml  Is 

B^V      CHARLES       sT       PALMER 


In  the  study  of  chemistry,  go  as  far  as 
:    will,   you    will    never   ^cl    !»<•>■. ml    the 
tnistry  of  carbon.     We  have  >ccn  that 
las    its    iiipplc    scries    of    conip«>unds, 
■n    reduced    to    oxidized    extremes,    in 
ich  it  is  imitatcrd  by  many  of  the  other 
-  !  several  minor  but  larRc  scries 
:-..   friim   reduced   to  oxnli/ol 
it  is  not  imitated  by  an> 
,ied,  in  a  sense,  the  c<»ni 
.iitl!>   L>|    this   one   element.   t:arlx>n,  are 
re  in  number  than  all  the  comixiiinds  of 
all  the  other  element*  put  together.     This. 
l-x-k»  like  a  larce  and  extravagant   state- 
it,  and  like  most  large  statements  it  has 
'fying  clause,  which  is  that  when  one 
f  the  "c<>m|>ound»  of  carbon."  he 
iindk   with   <>\ 
l-vo     with     rrr< 


hout  borrowing  the  union  ot  i(%ei!'  with 

'-r  elements;  and  so  carbon  must  bor- 
A   the  help  of  other  elements  to  count 

its   really   enormous   list   of   series  of 

iipounds. 

In    these    elementary    lessons    we    *hall 
k!v    go  on   \siih    tbr   nalnrnl    »tii«lv   •■( 


^t  rememlK-r  that  jUst  arouwi  the  cor- 
x(  irKU  cartion  with  its  alini>>t  infinite 
;e».     If  one  were  asked  how  one 
iiiiir  iiiiik)  of  common  students  like  your- 
self or  myself  can  hope  to  master  even  a 

jII  part  of  all  that,  the  answer  is  plain 

t   easy.      When    you   arc   rrady   for  it  — 

•  now,  but   later  -!• 

>    of    the    -irrj.f.    • 
as  methane 
fairly  well,  i 

and  higher  ones  only  just  enough  to  tee 
what    complexilie*    they    offer    which   are 
not  illustrated  by    methane    and    ethane. 
Then    the    great     »«ibject    becomes    fairly 
♦asy   and    intr!ln{il>le       But    lief-Te    we    <lo 
that    we   should    get    « 
chemi«lry  of   the    m*' 
•iich  a«  the  rf>nr 
common  redurer> 
ntnn    water    abw>rlters    or 
and  so  on      Alv*.  one  mu*; 
thing  of  analy*i*.  »»(ii.h  i«  ihr  ■ 

what     are     the     ingrr<lietita    of     >.•.,••„ 

things 


that   taken   from  the  onfuial   weight  of 
t>  '  give*  the  weight  of  the  hme 

i» : 

All   • 
lucky  rfi.....   ..  .-  .... 

proved    b)    careful 
that   til 
in  it  li 


IS   aii   right,      but 


•5: 


ul..  ■! 


4t  IS  con- 


are   in 

called     . 

how  much  there  i«  of  any  ingrrdieni   in 


any  compound.  Thus,  one  might  attack 
common  limestone  to  find  out  what  ele- 
ments are  in  it.  One  would  soon  tind  out 
that  limestone  carries  only  calcium,  car- 
bon and  oxygen — that  would  be  "qualita- 
tive" analysis.  But  if  one  should  go 
farther       '        '       '  '  '     '         is  of 

each     t'  and 

oxygen,   in 
i.ilicd  ■  fi'"^" 
ler  of   • 
usually 

of  the  elements  themselves,  but  stops 
short  at  certain  comi"-""'-  --f  the  ele- 
ment*. Thuv  the  c  of  lime- 
stone is  usually  not  m.iuu  m  terms  of 
calcium,  carbon  and  oxygen,  but  simply  in 
<lioxide  atMl  time  or  cal- 
()ne  hundre<l  per  rmf 
ui  pure  liiitrsluiie  is  matle  up  • 
per  cent,  of  calcium  oxide  an<i 
per  cent,  of  carbon  dioxide  I  hat  is  10 
say,  it  acts  as  though  it  contained  these 
things  in  thcae  prt»portions,  for  the  car- 
bon dioxide  is  so  firmly  *'(ixed"  with  the 
oxide  of  calcium  and  the  calcium  oxide  is 
\.  i  t'lrnily  Ixuind  « 
;ii.t    like  i>ne  pur- 

no  other  thing  ui  the  Wfilti  One 
can  easily  calcubte  from  the  per  cent. 
of  carlion  dioxide  and  calcium  <>\ii|e 
in  limestone  or  marble  how  much  there 
is  of  each,  carbon,  calcium  and  oxygen ; 
and  if  the  results  of  the  analysis  >"-  •  ''•  • 
latcd  out  to  that  point,  then  tl 
i»    (-alle<l    an     el  •   -         -  .,  . 

analv«i«      But  th'  why 


that    the    substance,  ^nyownd.  bwi  at  a) 

falls  to  pieces  in  anal>   .    .  -    .  .  •    «   Ie«v"«i    for   Ir».. 

picked  up  arc  much   like  carbon   (lM>xide     slowly 

anil    limestone;    and    •'       '■  •    •  " 

ttaled      If  healeil  str< 

r  I  •■tn|«>%lll>«1 

inrv  ago^  frWn 
•.mU),  "■*tih  a  tahc  of 

Iime>  .-^rkmg  ol   iW 

'gra  cfWT  •trowg  CMMic 

<-d   that   hr  coold  mrrtt 

gri   complrfr   abswrplkm  of   the   iwhr   of 

^  .■•ntfiii.fl    Ait      ir\A    ftlk.t    rv.  4r«1    •*    \*    fK^fv    VI* 

f.  • 

tir    ''I    Tf>r  riiiT'i^iTi        ini     in     'ii     Tm^iiurirn     i.ji- 

.nhvtiride.     ettdsnmclrr.     Bwt   thn   awall  hmkkkt    «>> 

*rg«M|.    th'      '  .M    in   thr    >o 

imitate*  >    «■■*   of    im 

ihc  hntcvl  limr««n*M-  Ui«  ct*«w  m4.  mmI     piv^ttm.  ami  mhtkt  oa^kca  ■ 


mon  analysis    C>t 
is  that  there  i»  t..- 
test  for  moft  of  the 
tained   in  the  many   i 
is   odd   that    this     ihir 
n  . '• 
fit 


up  ab<>'  ■  of  such  thing*  as  « 

paper,    .  cad.  etc.,  it   is  odd  ::_*: 

there    is   no    certain    and    direct    way   of 

testing   for  ••••-    •'••••: —    -•   ^r 

iixlirect  rr.i 

»iifn- 

;hing 

4rcfal 

*«  Irine. 

and   II 

done,  t:  .  . 

the  per  cent.  n«  • 


nasi  be 


94^ 

pint  in  lOO  pints  of  the  air.  This  argon 
is  peculiar  in  that  it  makes  no  real  com- 
pounds with  any  other  element;  and  it 
took  a  hundred  years  and  some  of  the 
best  measuring  ever  done  to  get  on  the 
track  of  the  fact  that  there  is  such  a  thing 
in  the  air  as  argon.  It  was  the  English 
physicist.  Lord  Rayleigh,  who  found  a 
funny  little  decimal,  way  out  in  the  third 
or  fourth  place,  in  weighing  his  samples 
of  nitrogen  from  various  sources,  which 
put  him  wise  to  the  clue.  Rayleigh  called 
in  the  help  of  Ramsey;  the  two  together 
discovered  the  inactive  argon,  common  as 
air,  making  i  per  cent,  of  common  air.  to 
the  glory  of  science  and  the  humiliation 
of  the  centuryful  of  ©hemists  who  had 
overlooked  it. 

The  Gas  Producer 

There  are  other  romances  in  the  history 
of  chemical  analysis,  but  we  will  go  on 
with  the  chemistry  of  carbon,  and  one 
matter  which  you  probably  are  right  on 
the  point  of  asking  yourself  about  is  re- 
garding the  new-fangled  gas  producer 
around  the  corner.  You  know  something 
of  the  burning  of  coal  under  your  own 
boiler.  You  know  that  you  get  good  com- 
bustion, without  many  calls  from  the 
smoke-nuisance  officer,  and  with  approval 
from  the  "Old  Man"  at  the  way  you  save 
his  coal.  But  >ou  hear  wonderful  and 
almost  incredible  stories  about  the  large 
horsepower  and  the  small  coal  consump- 
tion of  the  new  furnace  (whose  only 
chimney  seems  to  be  the  exhaust  of  the 
gas  engine),  which  needs  to  be  fired  only 
once  or  twice  a  day.  Certainly  there  is 
something  here  which  is  worth  noting, 
and  it  comes  right  out  of  our  oxidation 
tables. 

For  example,  look  at  the  first  table 
which  gave  carbon,  carbon  monoxide  and 
carbon  dioxide  at  one  end  of  the  table. 
All  that  was  not  for  nothing.  When  car- 
bon burns  in  the  two  stages,  first  to  the 
one-oxide,  and  then  to  the  two-oxide,  it 
docs  it  work  with  perfect  regard  to  two 
things :  The  exact  amounts  of  carbon  and 
oxygen  concerned,  and  the  amount  of 
heat  given  off;  these  two  conditions  of  the 
burning  of  carlx-n  with  oxygen  are  fixed. 
Now  when  carbon  first  burns  to  the  one- 
oxide,  and  later  to  the  two-oxide,  it  is 
as  though  a  definite  weight  has  fallen 
down — first  to  one  precipice,  and  then  to 
another — just  as  though  the  fall  of  car- 
bon to  one-oxide  and  then  to  two-oxide 
were  a  two-step  waterfall.  Now  in  the 
first  step  of  this  chemical  waterfall,  the 
heat  given  out  is  atiout  4450  heat  units  for 
c>'ery  one  pfnmd  by  weight  of  carbon  con- 
cerned ;  whereas,  the  heat  given  out  by 
the  chemical  fall  of  carlxin  monoxide  to 
dioxide  is  some  10,050  for  every  one 
pound  of  carbon  conccrncrl. 

Now,  it  takes  oxygen  to  let  the  carbon 
perform  its  two  chemical  falls,  and  if  the 
furnace  is  closi  (I  then  the  carbon  can  get 
only  enough  oxyt"n  to  make  the  first  fall, 
namely,  to  the  one-oxide.     But  this  heat 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

is  given  off  in  the  furnace,  the  "producer" 
it  is  called,  and  this  heat  might  be  wasted 
if  it  were  not  used  in  a  shrewdly  eco- 
nomical way.  The  heat  is  used  to  heat 
the  carbon  molecularly  next  door  to  the 
partly  burnt  carbon:  this  unburnt  carbon 
is  supplied  with  steam,  and  this  second 
part  of  carbon  acts  with  the  steam  much 
like  a  miniature  water-gas  plant.  It 
makes  water  gas,  carbon  monoxide  and 
hydrogen,  just  as  shown  in  the  last  les- 
son. But  this  tearing  apart  of  the  hydro- 
gen and  oxygen  in  the  watery  steam  takes 
up  heat  or  energy,  and  this  heat  is  sup- 
plied by  the  first  carbon  which  tumbled 
down  its  first  step  of  the  two-step  chemi- 
cal waterfall. 

The  whole  of  this  part  burning  of  one 
carbon  and  the  water  burning  of  the  other 
carbon  is  that  two  parts  of  carbon  have 
gone  over  to  one  part  of  hydrogen  and 
two  parts  of  carbon  monoxide.  As  far 
as  the  heat  given  out  by  one  carbon  and 
taken  up  by  the  other  carbon  is  con- 
cerned, that  is  a  case  of  one  hand  wash- 
ing the  other.  As  far  as  the  part  burning 
of  two  carbons  is  concerned,  which  must 
be  set  down  to  the  debit  side  of  the  chemi- 
cal account,  for  coal  burned  is  coal 
burned,  one  cannot  eat  his  cake  and  still 


May  25,  1909. 

the  producer-gas  engineer  where  he  wants 
to  be ;  but  one  thing  is  clear,  you  have 
got  to  understand  this  oxidation  table  of 
carbon  so  that  you  can  see  it  in  your 
mind's  eye  at  any  time. 

A  Simple  Oxidation  Table 
Now  we  are  ready  for  a  new  and  sim- 
ple form  of  the  oxidation  table  of  car- 
bon, that  is,  the  heat  table  of  carbon. 
Here  it  is :  If  the  other  tables  of  car- 
bon were  worth  noting,  this  one  is  simply 
indispensable  to  you.  The  one  thing  that 
you  ought  to  know  about  coal  is  what 
heat  you  can  get  from  it.  Heat  is  the 
one  thing  that  the  old  world  needs,  of 
the  material  things.  Coal  is  practically 
heat  energy  stored  up.  Here  is  the  prob- 
lem right  up  against  you.  That  boiler, 
that  furnace,  that  engine,  with  steam 
waste,  with  steam  economized,  may  not 
be  the  most  useful  form  of  saving  what 
Alother  Nature  has  stored  up.  Note  this 
table.  When  carbon  burns  to  the  first 
oxide,  it  gives  off  some  4450  heat  units. 
Learn  that.  When  this  first  oxide  of 
carbon  burns  to  the  second,  it  gives  off 
about  10,050  more  of  heat  units.  Well,  if 
you  put  your  first  oxide  into  the  producer- 
gas   cylinder,   which   is  only  a   sort   of  a 


HEAT     OXIDATION     TABLE     OF    CARBON. 


C 

1  lb. 

Carbon. 


-I-  O  =- 


CO  -1-44.50  B.t.u.   +  O  «-^       COj 

Carbon  Heat.  Carbon 

Monoxide.  Dioxide. 

Two  Stages. 


10,050  B.t.u. 
Heat. 


One  Stage. 


have  it — all  that  is  true.  But,  now,  just 
look  at  the  credit  side  of  this  double-entry 
bookkeeping :  We  have  the  credit  of  one 
part  of  water  decomposed  by  the  extra 
heat  of  the  first  carbon  ;  this  is  not  stolen, 
but  simply  taken  from  one  pocket  and  put 
into  another.  As  a  result,  \ye  have  the 
power  of  two  carbons,  put  into  the  gas 
form — note  that — the  gas  form,  at  the  ex- 
pense of  only  one  carbon  burning  part 
way;  it  figures  out  about  15  per  cent, 
theoretically  used  from  the  total  100  per 
cent,  in  tlie  coal. 

This  coal  has  got  into  the  gas  form, 
and  there  is  where  the  economy  of  the 
gas  engine  stands  ready  to  use  what  good 
chemistry  has  produced.  It  is  not  our 
plan  to  go  into  the  physics  or  mechanics 
of  the  producer-gas  engine,  but  simply  to 
stop  here  and  explain  this  two-stage 
chemical  waterfall  until  you  see  the 
chemical  side  of  it.  I  have  nothing  but 
hearty  encouragement  to  give  to  all  hon- 
est and  earnest  students  of  the  gas  en- 
gine. If  you  have  your  troubles,  so  do 
steam  engineers.  If  the  gas  engine  is 
sometimes  wanting  in  reliability,  so  is 
the  steam  engine.  It  took  a  century  of 
steam  practice  to  get  you  where  you  are 
now,  and  it  may  take  a  few  years  to  get 


> 

14,500  B.t.u. 

gas  cannon,  you  have  all  that  extra  10,050 
heat  units  to  use  where  it  gets  in  its  work. 
But  if  you  put  hvo  carbons,  in  the  mon- 
oxide form,  into  the  producer-gas  engine 
cylinder  for  the  heat  cost  of  only  one 
carbon,  that  is,  two  for  4450  heat  units, 
then  the  average  for  each  carbon  is  only 
some  2225  heat  units  used,  leaving,  theo- 
retically, the  other  85  (2  X  14,500  =  29,000; 
29,000  —  4450  =  24,550 ;  24,550  -4-  29,000  = 
84.76  per  cent.)  per  cent,  of  the  heat  to  be 
used  where  it  can  do  its  work.  Can  you 
beat  it? 

When  a  small  engine,  of  some  50  or  100 
horsepower  can  reach  an  economy  which 
is  reached  in  steam  work  and  practice 
only  by  the  very  largest  and  most  com- 
plicated engines,  what  do  you  think  of  this- 
oxidation  table?  There  is  a  chemical  as 
well  as  a  mechanical  side  to  the  burning 
of  coal.  Indeed,  there  are  both  sides ; 
but  I  am  talking  about  the  chemical  side, 
because  it  is  the  side  that  you  need  most. 
You  can  learn  the  facts,  get  them  right ; 
the  figures  are  approximately  correct. 
You  can  figure  the  ways  and  means  of  this 
wonderful  story  of  the  two-stage  burning 
of  carbon.  One  thing  to  which  I  want  to 
call  your  attention  is  what  a  "heat  unit" 
is.      If    wc    are    talking    about    the    B.t.u. 


May  _'5.   iQogi 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER 


943 


{British  thermal  unit),  that  refers  to  the 
beat  taken  up  in  raisini;  a  pound  of  water 
I   degree  in   temperature   Fahrenheit.     It 
you    are   talking   about    the    French    heat 
:iit,  the  calory,  that  refers  to  f' 
heat  taken  up  by  one  kilo 
a    little    over   two    pounds)    of    water,    in 
rai  in.,'  itself  I  degree  of  the  thermometer 
:ide  (or  Celsiirt,  the  inventor)  and 
!   C*.     In  the  figures  given  above, 
heat  units  are  of  the  B.t.u.  sort :  but 
ichevcr  way  one  takes  to  tell  the  story 
the  energ>-  squeezed  out  of  the  coal  in 
■     :in  from  carbon  toe.  ■ 
t-n  to  rnrlxMi  twr»-<v 

.  ;  aiui  t!)c 

•itl  one  of 

most    inirrestiMK    possibilities    which 

-  appeared  in  recent  times. 

Ml   this   is   the   text    for   much   similar 

•  ly  of  heat   unit*   which   will   come   in 

tn  time  to  time     It  i*  only  recently  that 

•n   have   f.    "       ■     ■    t   the   study  of 

'!«!•    ami  ,;    the    heat    or 

with  litem   is   like   sav- 

nuts  and  thmwing  away 

meal.      But   ni'W    that     we    are    well 

tied,  we  will  be  ready  to  l<x»k  at  either 

Ic  of  the  game  as  it  comes  on  the  field. 

K-  l)cgins  to  see  that  the  chemist   must 

'  only  have  his  litmus,  hio  kilance  ami 

r   »uilalil<-  but  alvj 

■trr      W"  'T  f»r  mai- 

W'c  c.iiiitot  •• 

lalance  ;  Imt  tl  • 

V  by   which  one  can   measure  heat   or 

'  rgy,   that   is   by   his   thermometer   and 

ketbook.    Coal  costs  money,  becaiisr  it 

lids  for  stored  up  energy;  .ir   ' 

••  priwrr  of  di>ini{   work,"  i*. 

Mt.     The   reaooii    i,,i    :!;i- 
>f  these  <»xidatt'>fi  »:^Mf-N 
'    in  its  w 
.<y   lo*t,   II  ■ 
'.or  absorbed.     So,  after  all.  one  can 
'   get   away   from  the  chemical  side   ot 
■  tier  and  things.     We  will  go  right  »»»i 
ith  the  study  i>f  suljili  ir 
tu  the  use  of  the  'kuk: 
Jtcuiual-.     ■sulphuric  acid 


»ciieral 


Mir    niii'li    u*««iiiii   <>f  llif   Miiiiiiirr    %4'IiimiI 


Electric     Company's 
Report 


Cost  of  Installation    and  Operation 
of   EJcctric   PlanU 


!s  aimual  report  to  the  st- 
•  nt    C.    A.    Coffin,    of   tl  1 

i-.icctnc  Company,  states  that  for  the  >c;ir 
ending  January  ji,  1909,  the  net  pr.  ri's 
of  the  company,  exclusive  of  dividends 
amounted  to  $4^802,^52.67.  There  was  paid 
in  dividends  during  the  year,  $5.jt4.oj6. 
leaving  a  detkrit.  to  be  charged  to  the 
surplus  account,  o'  $411,773-13.  this  mak- 
il  surplus  on  January  31.  190Q, 
1.  The  net  proijts  fnr  the 
>c,tr  ui  tnanufacturing  and  ' 
panies  controlled  by  the  Gener  ! 
Company,  other  tlian  the  al^liated  com- 
panies, in  excess  of  dividends  paid  by 
those  companies  during  the  year,  amounted 
to  about  $90Q,ooa  Of  this  amount  $730.- 
ooo  has  been  taken  on  the  books  of  the 
General  '  '  ->any  and  is  included 

in  Ihr  '<•« 

Presjdtui  Cotiiii  al- 
inarked   by    severe   ar 

<-ii>n  in  the  business  of  the  company  an<i  in 
ctjnsequence  sitKe  the  last  report  the  bu>i- 
ness  has  depended  largely  upon  current 
renewals  and  supplies,  with  occasional  ml- 
ditioMs  10  plant  on  the  part  of  the  olt!cr 
and    more  lies.      Thr 

■-r*ult   ha»   '  •  s   received 

.car   were  oi>l>   7  i>cr  cent,  of 
^fd   for  each  of  the  two  pre- 
vious years,  and  the  shipments  were  only 
63  per  cent,  of  the  shipments  of   1907. 

N'ice- President  Lovejoy  reported  total 
hales  billed  nf  $44,540/^,  and  total  orders 
received  of  $4^,iW».oi7.  Orders  received 
«!  first    half    of    the    year    were 

t  since   1904.     The  outlook  for 

the  cii»utiiu  year  is  encouraging,  however 


Boiler    Defects    Due   to  Bad   Feed 
Water 


-ks.     Courses  are  • 


team  and 


In  the  January  issue  of  the  / 
published   by    thr    11.4 rtf.  r.!    s- 
Inspection  and  P 
•  •-'  tfjal  of  1X4.1^,    I-...- 
by  the  cfmipany's 

other*,    wer' 
liail   feed   water . 


The  cost  of  the  Greenwich  sution  of 
the  London  County  Council  Tramways  is 
given  by  John  Hall  Rider,  m  a  paper  re- 
cently presented  to  the  Institution  of 
Electrical   Engineers,  as  follows : 


OOM. 

' 

•- 

IjutAmad  tiiiHiliMS 
Firr  kikl  nvvr  won . 

9UtmjnD.oo 

•B70 

EncioM.      iiutoloHt 
slt«na*ion    a  a  d 

9&J  M»  40 

SH 

«0I« 

BoUerB    utd    •eooo- 

miepr% 

•j«i  i«>4      "si  I 

u 

•MA 

Main    AH't    aa\lJLir> 

«»!!•  Ii      ifrjr.      •<  - 

n»::aii4t«jr«.        «:*- 

IKNi   mirilu;.    licltl- 

inir.  trxjl*.  rit 

i7a.7aB.oo 

» 

IMO 

KtrAfii    cxItAuM   And 

ctMtWoMr    ptpuv. 
puinna.     •traiiwn 
aikt  l4Q|u 

»7.4M  00 

T 

Coal  and  bmU 

and      ctM; 

lltr  1llllll(l\i 

U.Ut  00 

1 

Ml* 

M.WS  W 

1 

07M 

The  oper-;....K  ■-..  ...»  ^ ear  ending 
December  31,  1908,  as  gisen  in  the  fol- 
lowing, relate  to  the  first  half  of  the 
station   only: 


t^M  I  an. 

foal   (tadudla*  ua- 
kMdUK)    and    n- 

moral  of  aaliM 

Sai«  J09  M 

0  47SIC 

HaUrtM  and   •tm. 

numliic  •u/l 

4H,019  30 

0  o7iac 

(>U.  wMtc.  «rat«r  and 

•ton« 

10.MU  a 

O.OUte. 

Rcpatn  to  pUol  aad 
buldlaii      (labarJ 

•ad  OMiMtalai 

M.MO  n 

0  OffV^ 

Mmaagf •     ' 

anrr                         I- 

laiMs 

a.mi  M 

•  OlMr. 

1    t; 
.■•Ul 

Coal 

(FartI* 

«. 

i 

*»l    t;^:.    fait    tka 

M 

In. 

10    thpw   flraiw  wM 
•«  ualu  aad  SI4100  1 

a  t 


In  the  amwer  to  Qursiinn  1  of  aa  hi- 


ires  and 

111    lllr    t- 


lain  a'l 


Mtrr     ^r 

ailow* 


«  are  of-      }^ 


and   the   general 


•f     tlir 

i»r"ir» 


!  W^     t^II^^WtV~^^t^^WTW     iWW^^Sl    ^f^W^^fWTVIO 


•«g.    t'niTmity    o|     w-. 

\\'is  pf 


tnt  loiaJ  errr 


t.alw  G«otit.  N.  Y„ 


944 


POWER  AXl)    THE  ENGINEER. 


May  25,    1909. 


POWER 

JC"The  Engineer 

DKVOTKU    TO    THE  GENEKATION    AND 
TRANSMISSION   OF  POWER 

Issued  Weekly  by  the 

Hill  Publishing  Company 

Joax  X.  Hill.  Fit*.  «nd  Tre««.          Kobebt  McKK*s,8ec'y. 

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6  Bouverie  Street,  London,  E.  C. 


'Power"  Sued  for  Libel 
Acquitted 


am 


Correspondence  suitable  for  the  columns  of 
PowEK  sohcited  and  paid  for.  .Name  and  ad- 
dress of  correspondents  must  be  given — not  nec- 
essaiily  for  publication. 

Subscription  price  $2  per  year,  in  advance,  to 
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ada.    W  to  any  other  foreign  country. 

Pav  no  money  to. solicitors  or  agents  unle.ss  they 
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Price  16  Shillings. 

Entere<l  as  second  clas.s  matter,  .\pril  2,  1908,  at 
the  post  otlic-e  at  New  York.  N.  Y.,  under  the  Act 
of  Congress  of  March  3.  1879. 


Cable  address.  "Powpub,"  N.  Y. 

Hu>ine>?  Tfletrrapli  ("ode. 


CIRCVLA  TJOy    HTA  TEMENT 
Durintj    IftOS     irr    printed     and     circulated 
l,83tj,(KXJ  copies  of  Power. 

Our  circulation  for  April.  1009.  was 
(weekly  and  monthly)  153,000. 

Uay  4 42.000 

J/«;/   11 37.000 

May  IS 37.000 

Hay  25 36,000 

yoif*"  gent  free  regularly,  no  returns  from 
neirs  compnnicn,  no  hack  numbers.  Figures 
lire    lire,    net    i-irrulation. 


Contents  page 

12.500-H.P.  Turbines  of  the  "  North  Dakota"   909 
Should  the  High  or  Low  Pressure  Cylinder 

Be  tl»e  Vertical  in  an  .Angle  Compound?  916 
I^rge  C.a-s  Engines  for  Electric  Stations. . .  .   917 

Superheat  and  Wiredrawing 925 

Cbanging    One    Thermometer    Rea^jing    to 

Another 926 

Sewalbi  Falls  Plant  Near  Concord.  N.  H 928 

The  Storage  Batter>- 932 

Practical  Letters  from  Practical  Men: 

Air  Compres.sor  Valves  ..  WTiat  is 
Trouble?  r>ntrifugal  Pumps.... 
Electrolysis  and  Superheat  .  Knocks 
In  Engine  Crank  Relative  Rate  of 
Heat  Tran.'*fer  to  Water  Repairing  a 
Broken  Bracket  Difference  in  Econ- 
omy in  I..arge  and  Small  Engines Oil 

Frothing    Test .  .      Homema^le     Engine 

Stop Rope      Drive Flat      Crank 

PIm.  . .   Ixtcating  Ground  in  Line  with 
r.i  ,         Uncover   the  Joints.  . . . 

■  '.•fxt]  by  Rat  A  Cau.<*e  of 

•<k  .  More  Frequent  Inter- 
nal in.<(i)ection  Csing  the  Ohmmeter 
for  Tending    Armature  Colls....  A   Oas 

Engine  Signal  System Will  the  Ix)ad 

on  the  Bolts  Change? 934-940 

Some  I'^teful  I>e.<<.soas  of  Limewater 941 

^"•'''""^al-'' 944-945 

Boiler  Explosion  at  Fond  du  I^c.  Wisconsin.    946 

American  Socictv  of  Naval  p:ngineen.    949 

Ohio  Society  of  M  .  E  and  S    Engineers  .  .  .   949 
PowBR  Editor  Acquitted  on  Libel  Charge.  .   949 


In  the  .<;iimmer  of  1907  one  John  E. 
Carroll,  of  Philadelphia,  undertook  the 
exploitation  of  an  engine  to  run  with 
carbonic-acid  gas.  There  was  no  harm  in 
this,  for  an  engine  will  run  with  carbonic- 
acid  gas  as  well  as  it  will  with  air  or 
steam— but  no  better.  The  half-page  ad- 
vertisements of  the  CO2  Development 
Company,  however,  described  the  carbonic- 
acid  gas  which  pours  out  of  every  chim- 
ney and  arises  from  every  fermenting  tub 
as  a  vast  "source  of  energy."  So  is  water 
a  source  of  energy,  if  it  is  elevated  and 
free  to  fall.  So  is  air  a  source  of  energy, 
if  it  is  compressed  and  free  to  expand. 
But  out  of  neither  the  water  nor  the  air 
can  more  energy  be  got  than  has  been 
expended  in  elevating  or  compressing  it. 

When,  therefore,  Mr.  Carroll  maintained 
that  if  he  charged  his  engine  with  car- 
bonic-acid gas  under  pressure  it  would 
continue  to  run  forever  if  the  gas  did  not 
leak  out,  and  that  under  the  ordinary  con- 
dition of  stuffing  boxes  it  would  continue 
to  run  and  develop  power  in  large  and 
useful  amounts  for  some  thirty  days,  with- 
out any  source  of  energy  to  draw  upon, 
he  stated  what  was  opposed  to  all  the 
known  laws  of  physics  and  mechanics ; 
something  which,  if  true,  would  mean 
more  to  Power  and  all  that  it  represents 
than  the  invention  of  the  steam  engine ; 
something  which  was  so  thoroughly  revo- 
lutionary that  its  possibility  could  be  ad- 
mitted only  after  a  demonstration  positive 
and  satisfying  enough  to  warrant  upset- 
ting the  principle  of  the  conservation  of 
energ\%  and  all  the  sciences  which  are 
fdundcd  thereupon.  The  demonstration 
which  we  attended  signally  failed  to  fulfill 
these  conditions.  It  was  a  farce.  The  in- 
ventor talked  the  most  arrant  nonsense 
and  refused  to  make  the  simplest  tests  to 
prove  that  his  "demonstration"  was  hon- 
est. The  conclusion  that  the  CO-  engine 
was  a  clumsy  trick  for  obtaining  money 
by  false  preten.ses  was  inevitable,  and  we 
did  not  hesitate  to  say  so.  The  wiiole 
affair  was  too  ridiculous  for  serious  treat- 
ment, and  so  in  a  two-page  article  in  our 
issue  of  September,  1907,  we  laughed  it 
off  the  stage. 

In  consequence  of  the  publication  of  this 
article,  F.  R.  Low,  its  author  and  the 
senior  editor  of  Power,  was  arrested 
something  over  a  year  later,  upon  a 
charge  of  criminal  libel  made  by  Carroll, 
when  Mr.  Low  was  in  Philadelphia  testi- 
fying to  what  he  had  seen  in  behalf  of  offi- 
cers and  stockholders  of  the  company 
who  had  been  honestly  deceived  into  lend- 
ing their  names  and  money  to  the  enter- 
prise and  who  were  then  suing  the  alleged 
inventor. 

We  waived  examination  and  were  in 
due  course  formally  indicted  by  a  Phila- 
delphia grand  jury.  Right  here  we  wish 
to  extend   our   grateful   acknowledgments 


and  thanks  to  the  many  friends  who  have 
assisted  and  offered  assistance  in  the  mat- 
ter, especially  to  Jay  M.  Whitham,  M.  E., 
and  A.  C.  Wood,  M.  E.,  whose  testimony 
that  they  had  examined  the  device  and 
advised  clients  against  investing  in  it 
would  have  been  particularly  valuable  had 
it  been  adinitted.  As  it  was,  however,  the 
judge,  after  having  heard  enough  evi- 
dently to  satisfy  himself  of  the  nature  of 
the  case,  ruled  out  all  of  our  expert  testi- 
mony and  instructed  the  jury  to  find  for 
the  defendant. 

The  outcome  is  a  victory  for  technical 
journalism,  and  for  the  honest  inventor 
and  investor.  Anything  less  than  so 
prompt  and  complete  an  acquittal  might 
have  tended  to  make  editors  over-cautious 
and  prevented  the  prompt  and  complete 
expose  of  the  various  get-rich-quick 
schemes  which  it  is  the  function  of  the 
technical  press  to  investigate  and  inform 
its  readers  about.  One  can  well  accept 
some  indignities,  and  be  put  to  some  trou- 
ble and  expense,  for  the  reassertion  of 
the  right  of  the  editor  to  expose  in  the 
broadest  and  most  positive  terms  what  he 
concludes,  after  careful  investigation,  to 
be  a  fraud. 


First  Be  Sure  You're  Right 


Engineers  of  isolated  power  plants  are 
in  many  cases  seriouslj'  handicapped  by 
the  inability  or  unwillingness  of  their 
employers  to  recognize  what  is  necessary 
or  desirable  in  the  way  of  plant  improve- 
ments or  conveniences.  On  the  otlier 
hand,  the  owners  of  such  plants  are  not 
always  safe  in  following  out  the  recom- 
mendations of  their  engineers.  For  ex- 
ample, a  certain  engineer,  with  the  land- 
able  desire  to  increase  the  operating 
economy  of  his  plant,  urged  the  owner 
to  discard  the  existing  boiler-and-engine 
equipment  and  put  in  a  more  modern  class 
of  equipment.  The  old  plant  included 
horizontal  return-tubular  boilers  and 
simple  single-valve  engines,  and  his  plan 
was  to  substitute  water-tube  boilers  and 
four-valve  compound  engines,  raising  the 
boiler  pressure  from  tod  to  175  pounds. 
The  equipment  which  he  suggested  would 
have  been  admirably  suited  to  the  work 
and  if  it  had  been  a  question  of  in- 
stalling a  new  plant  his  ideas  would  have 
been  eminently  practical.  He  failed  to  con- 
sider, however,  that  the  interest  on  the 
net  cost  of  inaking  the  change  would 
have  been  considerably  more  than  the 
saving  in  operating  expenses.  In  view  of 
this  fact  and  the  additional  important 
fact  that  the  existing  equipment  was  by 
no  means  worn  out  nor  seriously  out-of- 
date,  the  owner  refused  to  make  the  - 
change.  A  regrettable  result  of  the  dis- 
cussion was  that  the  owner's  confidence 
in  the  judgment  of  the  engineer  was 
greatly  reduced,  although  the  latter  was 
a  thoroughly  competent  and  industrious 
operating  inan. 


May  25.    1901J. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINERk 


945 


We  have  known  of  several  similar  in- 
nces   of    recommentlatiuns    based   on   a 
conwicniious  desire  to  further  the  <»wncrs' 
interr!>ts  hut  not   sufficiently   well   thouttht 
:t  and  analyzed  before  presentation. 
The  moral  is,  not  to  refrain  from  mak- 
ing any   suKK(^^t>""<  ^t  ^11  which  invnUc 
additional     investment,     but     to    consider 
■  roughly  all  of  the  possible   results  of 
rrying  out  an  idea,  weighing  the  disad- 
itaces  carefully  againsit  the  advantages 
'        show  that  the  latter 
•late.     After  you  are 
dead    >;irt    ni    )u:ir    ground,    m  r 

reconmiendation  and  urge  it  as   .  . 
circumstances  will  permit. 


Boiler    Inspections    and    Elxplosions 


Boiler  inspection  which  docs  not  in- 
spect is  worse  than  none  ^1  all,  for  it  is- 
sues certiiicates  of  inspections  which  have 

I'lc  and  K' 

>   which   ! 


not  maintain  the  required  pressure,  a 
plug   was   screwed   into  the  outlet. 

In  the  territory  of  absent-treatment  in- 
spection for  revenue  only,  where  the  coni- 
b:!  >  ate  of  inspection  a' 

i^  !he   wrtll   of  ihr  r?  .  i 

atxl  liic  ictr 
ou>  boder  c  • 

York  City  failures  are  so  rare  as  to  be 
practically  unknown,  and  in  Massa- 
chuMTties  not  a  single  boiler  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  Massachusetts  District 
Police   has  expU^led. 

There    h.i  •  ■     boiler    explo- 

sions  in    M..  rice   the   enact- 

ment of  ttu:  >a>p4.\.t>i>ii  law,  but  by  a 
peculiar  construction  given  to  the  law 
not  all  Uiilers  in  the  State  were  subjcil 
to  State  inspection  and  it  w.i>  .m:  :v  i 
the  "exempts"   that    the    • 

place.     On  the  other  hand  .- .'. 

had   been    found   unsafe   and   condemned 

by   the   State   inspectors  have  been   taken 

outside    the    Stale    where    there    were    no 

'  iws  and  there  erected,  oper- 


The  clam,  by  shutting  itsdf  up  in  a 
thell.  never  grt»  anywhere  unless  "in  the 
soup."     It  lies  bunrd  mi'  '        '     s 

oblivious  to  all  ihmits.     1 
in   an> 
Ham, 


being  tiurtc'. 

cause  It  !»<:_--.      ...    ...  _..  _ _.;. 

A  man  who  will  take  the  tine  to  read 
for  one  hour  each  day  will  be  surprised 
at  the  improvement  that  will  be  made  in 
h     '  ;;ardinff  matters  of  which 

1.  <iranl 


comes   to  the 

worth  hi*  ti— 
ItcrirtKc   ai 


It  has  been  staled  on  what  appears  to 
good  authority  that  in  some  localities 
•    inspector  walks  into  the  env-i.    r. ..rT. 
cs  from  the  wall  the  old  cer- 

'  ices     them     wiln     uimui 
^   sworn  to.  and  goes  to 


i»    ii<>t    a    r«.|x.ii 

-    is  a   statenirnt   of 

olaimcd    to    l»e    common    practiir,      in 

•    in  the  report  of  a  recent  lioilcr  cx- 

in  one  of  the  Western  Slates  the 

lu   prints  boldly  asserted  that  not  only 

.>  this  the  method  of  "insf»cction"  em- 

in   that   instance,  but    it   was   gen- 

.  nown    In    Up    the    «-ti»lon»arv    pro- 


would     l>e     much     loo     gocxl     a 

r    a     scoundrel     who    carries     on 

h   a   conscienceless   game.      Iu|iially  of 

.   that   sort   of  thing   would  be   im- 

without  the  connivance  of  soine- 


.il>  murderous  thici  tslu>  imuca  tlic 

•r 

has    the    nere»«it>     d-r    .om- 

r  inspection  l»ccn  iirKr<l  .nvl  »o 

rn   has   the   enactment    of   *iiiial»le   in- 

-  '    that    any- 

«rem«  al- 


1    laws    been    :>•'•    •    ■ 

aring  up<in  tl 
rn..»l,     if     not     quite, 
it    is    not    easy    lo    «r 
Mainr    to    Tr<.i«    an<l     is 
Wa«liingloti    ihrfr   c«»mr    .i' 

Ms    of    loss    of    lifr  II    of 

(►TTv  from  boiler  ■     ,  •   in  a 

»    of    instances    would    hasr    t>rrii 

..,,;rd  hy  inlrlligrnl   inspection       ll*  tl 

'    have    hrrn    found    r.pcraling    »ftJ>.-'t 


I' 

in  the  destruction  of  property  arc  made 
.,1,,..  fv  •'..r  national  solicitude  and  spivial 
Its.  while  the  daiKe  i>f  death 
III  iiH-  1I)^I.•  •  -'  sections  and  in  the 
wake  of  t!  tent  or  grafting  in- 

spector  goes    fmrnly    on. 


•n  pfant    thr 


The  Benefit  of  Reading 


The  engineering  journal  lay  on  lite  table 
unopened.      The   engineer    tat    in    a   dis- 
carded office  chair,  wi"'    '       ' 
out    in  a   manner  dei 
r>r 

^    init    c\  t    tJic 

t Mice  at    '  r   the 

hu«ing   of    steam     from     several     leaking 

\,)Kr  Ntriii«  and  ancient  flange  packing, 
irrr  has  no  time  to  read,    lie 

fi.iiiK.i>     -t.iiil     sn,     and    more    than    thai. 

**readin'  an  eniiinerrin'  journal  didn't  cto 

ii«l  that  m<»*t  of  «•  aH«w 
oilter* 
was  a 

r\rM    Ko     jt     iar     at     thai.      He     neiirirr 
!I;>ukI  t  f-r  himself  nor  allowetl  other*  to 
think  for  him,  bjr  reading  what  thrjr  had 
written. 
The  man  who  nrrrr  reads  will  nrwr 


r< 

t' 

wrfe   not    »■ 

««ill    he    in 


Tnan  in 
that 


out   of   one   hui 
doas  n  '  ' 


'»t, 
!irir 

but 

.1 1 1 .» ;  \  .' 

•r       • 

know) 

there 

are 

a  ito«xl  ma! 

know 

I 

1    • 

takr   • 

T*   ■'' 

II. 

C' 

«r 

tlu- 

oprn 

» 

yrt  a 

brtlrf 

f.  •   ' 

II 

ill 

ar 

rv  do  nut 


On    V 

light 


•V»     f  4 


h    an    c*tr!!!    that    the    '.ft'iuf! 


of    the    Cnrlus    and    suar 


lf» 


I      I  *•  tt.  (>jtnr««iiir 


m6 

Boiler  Elxplosion  at  Fond  Du  Lac, 
Wisconsin 


On  April  27,  the  warehouse  and  finish- 
ing plant  of  the  Winnebago  Furniture 
Company  was  totally  destroyed  by  a  boiler 
explosi-in  and  resulting  fire,  the  estimated 
l-;ss,  including  that  to  neighboring  prop- 
erty by  concussion,  flying  debris  and  heat, 
being  $100,000.  Nobody  was  hurt,  the  ex- 
plosion   occurring    at    4    o'clock    in    tlie 


POWER  AXD  THE  ENGINEER. 

supported  by  diagonal  braces,  shot  up  into 
the  air,  through  the  roof,  completely  over 
a  five-story  brick  courthouse  and  down 
into  the  main  street  of  the  town,  two 
block  away,  cutting  in  two  like  a  straw 
a  ID-inch  telephone  pole  and  burying  it- 
self in  the  sidewalk.  Tubes  were  scattered 
in  all  directions  in  the  courthouse  yard, 
and  nearly  every  window  in  the  structure 
was  broken  by  the  concussion. 

As  is  usual  in  such  cases,  the  old  story 
about   pumping   cold   water   onto   the   hot 


May  25,  igog. 

In  the  first  place  the  boiler  was  used 
for  heating  purposes  only,  no  power  be- 
ing used  in  the  building,  and  has  served 
this  purpose  for  years.  The  boiler  was  48 
inches  in  diameter  by  14  feet  long,  being 
built  of  ^-inch  iron  plates,  with  ^-inch 
heads.  The  shell  consisted  of  a  lar;.;e 
number  of  small  plates,  about  half  the 
longitudinal  seams  being  double-riveted 
and    the    other    half    single-riveted.      In 


FIG.     I.    SITE  OF  nOILER  ROOM,    AT   B.\SE   OF    ST.\CK 


FIG.     2.     TELEPHONE   POLE   CUT   IN    TWO   BY 
PIECE   OF   BOILER 


FIG.     3.     FKONT    HEAD  AXIi   r/)TT0M    OF   BOILER 


IK;.  4.    I'OKTION    OF    HOILEU.    SHOWl  NG  SIZE  OF  TLATE    AND    RIVETING 


morning;  had  it  taken  place  later  in  the 
'lay  there  surely  would  have  been  some 
fatalities.  Only  one  man,  the  night  watch- 
man, who  had  been  employed  in  this 
capacity  but  a  few  days,  was  in  the 
factory  at  the  time.  He  was  in  the  boil- 
er room  and  was  blown  clear  of  the 
building,  landing  on  a  pile  of  ashes,  but 
escaping  practically  without  injury. 

Of  the  boiler  room  and  setting  not 
one  brick  was  left  on  top  of  another,  as 
shown  in  Fig.  i.  The  top  half  of  the 
back  head  and  the  top  part  of  ;1ii    -licll. 


sheets  of  an  empty  boiler  gained  circula- 
tion as  an  explanation  of  the  castastrophe. 
On  the  contrary,  all  indications  point  to 
the  fact  that  there  was  plenty  of  water  in 
the  boiler  at  the  time  of  the  explosion, 
otherwise  there  could  not  have  been  let 
loose  the  tremendous  amount  of  energy 
which  must  have  been  necessary  to  accom- 
plish the  destruction.  An  investigation  of 
the  conditions  under  which  the  boiler  was 
operated,  and  an  examination  of  the  boiler 
itself,  serve  to  indicate  with  considerable 
accuracy  the  reason  for  the  disaster. 


Fig.  3  both  types  of  joint  can  be  seen. 
The  size  of  plate  was  not  uniform,  prob- 
ably no  two  plates  having  the  same  dimen- 
sions, and  taken  altogether  the  boiler 
was  of  a  type  commonly  built  40  or  50 
years  ago  wlicn  materials  and  manu- 
facturing  facilities    were    meager. 

Examination  of  the  metal  showed  that 
it  was  rotten  through  and  through.  This 
was  shown  not  only  by  the  parts  of  the 
boiler  remaining  on  the  ground  and  which 
passed  through  the  fire,  but  also  by  the 
piece  that  went  over  the  courthouse  and 


May  25.    1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


947 


which  was  not  subjected  to  the  fire.  As 
far  as  could  be  ascertained,  not  a  single 
seam  let  go;  the  rupture  in  all  ca*cs  be- 
ing in  the  sheet  itself,  showitii^  that 
deterioration  of  the  plates  had  made  the 
seams  the  strongest  part  of  the  lx>iler. 

When  asked  at  wliat  procure  the 
safety  valve  was  set,  the  tireman  who  had 
charge  of  the  plant  in  the  da}iime 
asserted  that  there  was  no  safety  val\e 
of  any  kind  on  the  boiler.  A  few  pounds 
pressure  was  all  that  was  necr>>ary  for 
heating  purposes,  but  in  order  t<>  pump 
up  the  boiler  it  was  customary  to  throttle 
the  stop  valve  down,  so  that  the  pres- 
sure would  raise  high  enough  easily  to 
operate  the  duplex  fee«l  pump.  It  i> 
known  that  the  boiler  carried  60  poumls 
pressure  by  the  gage  on  the  Suntby  pre\  1 
'US  to  the  exploMon. 


Tlic  Rice  Roller  Relief  Bearing 

This    is    something   decidedly    novel    '■ 
the    bearing    line,    difTering    both    in    •.-•  1 
»l  run  ion   ami   application    from   the   usii 
metht  ds    employi-d   and,    while    not     sup 
planting  the  reKtil.ir  mller  "r  hnl!  Jtnrint; 
in  its  legitimate  tirld.  h:l^  ' 
being  applicable  t<>  any  o\> 
in  a  very  few  minute«,  such  as  at  noon  or 
night. 

These  bearings  can  be  applied  at  either 


station  outwardly  to  the  shafts  of  tester 
duty  and  at  each  important  point,  le^ 
where  a  subdrive  exists  and  as  far  as  may 
seem  feasible  in  any  given  case.  The>  are 
made  in  three  sizes,  and  in  their  pr..j.. .r- 
tions  bear  no  fixed  relation  with  tlic 
dbmeter  of  a  shaft;  size  No.  1  i>.  ^.ilo.i- 
lated  to  carry  a  maximum  proMirc  1  ..id 
of  2000  pounds;  size  No.  2,  4000  ixunids 
and  size  No.  j.  8000  pounds  at  any  rea- 
sonable speed.  They  can  be  applied  in 
sets  of  one,  two  or  four;  four  of  the 
1..  ■ 

fiyuUi.t.1  lu.*d  iitsiihl  equal  ur  cxtjccU  il.Lir 


one  factory,  where  they  are  applied  to 
l>    '  1  on  hea\y  en- 

ti  -h'mn  in  Pig.  I. 

Ihc  .    : >   made   up 

of  a  C-;  -rr  steel  roll 

and  a  central  mam  roll  pin  which  is  sta- 
tionary in  the  housing.  Between  the  main 
roll  and  the  main  roll  pin  are  16  rolls. 
ri  '  '  :  each  end  of  the  hoatinc  and 

«  a    caffe.      At    each    end   of   the 

11  'N. 

'!  cl 

•*,  one  at  each  <ti  .  r   care 

end  thrust  in  the  : The 

smaller    intemie<liate    rrllt   haw   also   at 

'■ich  end  a  hardened  steel  washer  which 

<kes  the  end  thrusL    The  main  roil  pin  is 

mJ 


:'  pin  which  permits  of  the  oil 
'  ;!iv  .-...:. iling  in  a  venical  pn«ition.  no 
-natter  at  what  angle  the  mil  may  stand 

\I1  of  the  olhrr         '  •'     -Se   ex- 

lopiion  of  the   ;  ic  are 


nC,    2.    COMPIXTZ  BCAJUNC 


'    fi^I,    tl.. 

i   to   an 
jiper   end  of   \' 
pring   which    1 
mea>uring  the  c> 


-•o 
« 

■  "e 
rt  IS  a  heary 
cd  so  that  bjr 
It,  or  girinc  it  a 


n  tTAnoK  or  THK  >icm  aaiuta  nojar  aaAftiit« 


Ttatn 


I 


naU  as  coc 
applied  to  a 

•htr  title  of  a  ■ 
ittg  bnlh  the  wrtK">  -■■   <•"    i'    > 
po«in|  the  stresses  of  the  belt. 

Tlie   l»ear     . 
gressively.   • 


■  nj    ^l''         |iia«*M     III 

•hut  down. 


'    UrAIHlg  -n 

■  iich  it  nr'  lo 

•  ^    <mr    tMlr   i>f    the   a*brt    of  iIm 

l<rjrii)if     ('ill     !•>      J    ?« 0       .f»   n  lit* 


■   p'tii       IJ  !•  nti-w  r»j   »%<■    I'N-krftnf 
'or  Cnmyawy.  I^DnlandL  CoMt. 


948 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  25,  1909. 


The  Senter  Feed  Water  Control 


This  device  consists  of  a  cast-iron  body 
shaped  as  shown  in  the  accompanying 
iUiistratJon  located  at  some  convenient 
point  above  the   water  line  in   the  boiler 


than  the  bucket  itself,  the  weight  naturally 
drops  and  the  bucket  rises  when  both  are 
submerged,  thereby  closing  the  feed  valve. 
A  blowoff  is  provided  in  the  drop  leg 
under  the  weight  Y  and  means  are  also 
provided  for  blowing  sediment  out  of  the 
bucket,  the  vent  C  being  continued  down 


SECTJOXAL    VIEW    OF    SENjER  FEED-WATER   CONTROL 


and  connected  thereto  by  means  of  the 
pipe  .-I,  known  as  the  siphon  pipe,  extend- 
ing to  the  water  line,  and  also  with  the 
connection  B,  or  gravity  pipe,  extending 
somewhat  below  the  water  line. 

In  starting,  the  gravity  connection  B  is 
opened  first,  allowing  water  to  fill  the  ap- 
paratus, the  air  escaping  through  the  vent 
C.  As  soon  as  the  water  reaches  the  top 
of  the  open  bucket  A'  it  will  flow  into  the 
bucket  and  fill  it.  The  vent  may  then  be 
closed  and  the  siphon  connection  opened, 
when  no  farther  attention  will  be  re- 
quired. 

Assuming  that  the  level  of  the  water  is 
below  the  siphon  pipe,  the  water  will  run 
back  into  the  boiler  by  gravity.  This 
empties  the  housing  down  as  far  as  the 
gravity  pipe,  as  shown,  and  leaves  the 
bucket  completely  filled  with  water,  exert- 
ing a  downward  pressure  on  the  end  of 
the  long  lever.  Owing  to  the  long  lever- 
age, the  bucket  is  much  heavier  in  this 
filled  condition  than  the  weight  Y  on  the 
short  end  of  the  lever;  consequently,  the 
balanced  valve  Z  is  opened,  allowing  feed 
water  to  pass  to  the  boiler. 

When  the  water  line  has  been  raised 
until  the  siphon  pipe  is  sealed  by  water, 
the  steam  in  the  upper  part  of  the  housing 
condenses  and  water  again  fills  the  space, 
rising  around  the  bucket  and  neutralizing 
the  weight  of  its  contained  water.  As  the 
counterweight    Y   is   considerably  heavier 


by  a  pipe  which  acts  as  a  guide  when  the 
bucket  rises  and  falls.  Blowing  out  when 
at  its  topmost  position  thoroughly  cleans 
the  bucket. 

The  balanced  regulating  valve  may  be 
reground  by  removing  the  top  guide  plug 
and  inserting  a  screwdriver  in  the  slot 
made   for   that   purpose  on   the   top   disk. 


This  device  is  not  attached  to  the  water 
column  in  any  way,  but  directly  to  the 
shell  of  the  boiler  as  indicated.  The  regu- 
lating valve  has  an  area  considerably  lar- 
ger than  the  feed  pipe,  and  all  parts  of  the 
control  are  designed  to  operate  with  the 
minimum  amount  of  attention  for  long 
periods.  It  is  made  by  the  Senter  Manu- 
facturing Company,  Chattanooga,  Tenn. 


"Firma"  Compound  High  Pressure 
Water  Glass 


The  "Firma"  compound  high-pressure 
water-gage  glass  is  simply  a  glass  tube 
which  comes  in  various  diameters  and 
lengths.  In  appearance,  it  is  a  tube  of 
clear  white  glass,  the  walls  of  the  tube 
being  about  3/32  inch  thick. 

The  superiority  claimed  for  it  is  be- 
cause it  is  a  double  tube ;  that  is,  one 
glass  tube  is  drawn  over  another,  the 
whole  being  fused  into  a  solid  mass. 
While  this  junction  cannot  be  seen  in  the 
glass,  the  result  is  that  the  inside  tube 
will  expand  in  proportion  to  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  water  or  steam  and  the  out- 
side tube  will  contract  according  to  the 
sudden  change  of  temperature  which 
water-gage  glasses  are  called  upon  to 
withstand  in  boiler  rooms,  locomotives,  etc. 

This  gage  glass  is  manufactured  by  the 
Advance  Packing  and  Supply  Company, 
123   Franklin    street,   Chicago,   111. 


A  Cheiin  Angle  Drive 

The  driving  of  shafting  at  right  angles 
is  often  a  serious  problem,  the  latest  solu- 
tion being  that  of  the  Max  Ams  Company, 
Mount  Vernon,  N.  Y.,  and  illustrated 
herewith.  It  consists  of  four  sprocket 
wheels  and  a  special  chain,  built  with  link 
openings  in  both  directions.   This  is  neces- 


NOVEL  ANGLE  DRIVE 


May 


1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


949 


sary  to  mesh  with  the  idle  sprockets  on 
the  short  vertical  shaft  and  at  the  same 
time  mesh  with  the  driving  and  driven 
sprockets.  It  is  a  very  simple  dt-vicc  and 
is  built  to  transmit  various  amounts  of 
power. 


American    Society    of    Naval 
Ejiginecrs 

The  AmeP'an  Society  of  Naval   Engi- 
nerrs  held  a  banquet  on  Frida)   cvenm^;, 
May  7,  at  Rauschcrs,  \Va>>hinKt<  n.  D    (   , 
in    celebration    of    the    twenty-lirst 
ver>ary  of  the  orKani/ation  of  thv.-    a   -  . 
ciation.     Covers  were  laid  for  about   150. 

\VI,,I..     .1,..     .l>.>,..-r     VI.,        ,rt.M,l.,i       •■,.         ,1 


ridge.  The  general  trend  of  the  addressee 
seemed  to  favor  concentrated  acixin  and 
harmony  between  the  line  and  '•  >•!  The 
speeches    were     all  and 

fiank  and   were  entli  civr<I. 

.\fter    the    addres-**.    J.     W  -     .Ariix-ir 
entertained  with  songs  and  recitals.    Rear 
Admiral   J.    K.    Barton,   president   of  the 
association,  presided,  and  Commander  W. 
S.  Smitli  was  the  tuastmaster. 


'Power"  Editor  Acquitletl  on 
Libel  Charge 


The  libel  suif  brought  by  John  Iv.  Car- 


OKio  Society  oi  M.,  E.  and  S. 
Engweers 


and    Steam 

and  S:^ ' 

O..   h. 

I.     ■ 

I. 

the    J. 

per* 

inlerpoir 
.    -Hot. 

Boilers.**  by  G. 


lual   n»er'  r 

irchanical.  ■>! 

Engineers    was    held    Friday 
'     May  Ji  and  22.  at  Canton, 
lieing   at    Hotel   Court- 


H.  Ciib«on; 


•ANQt^tT  or  AMUUIAK   (OCirTY  OT  HAVAL  tMCIittOS.  WAAMINCTOW    t> 

ranches  of  the  naval   service,  the  engi-     >eniur  e«Iilor  of  Powia.  was  tncd  l»efore      I 


MAY  7 


crs  prednr •-■'    ■•- ' 

.»ny     re|)r. 

•  4      of       \|r    h.ii-i.  .il 
;i  convention  at    \\ 

lna«l«     Here        "  Tlw: 
r    ^f     F     riip;,  :   -Tlir   N 


-  "e     a  Philadelphia  grand  jury  on  Mav  i.t  and 

II      the   edili>r    was    acquilte«l.    the    judge    m- 

*kru>     structing  the  jury  »•  '        i- 

The      dan!       Carroll,   il    « '  ;* 

II 


1 


Point*  on  Povcr 
Kocwer 


Piwiir  AMOCutioo'k  Ladies*  Si\i,hi 

PmaaM^  AMorialion  N< 


!.    U.  S.  N.;    "The     Navy    and 

,,.,.'  Hon    W    E    R.^K^rts      The 

Mowing   also   <|M>kc   in(i>riii4lly :     Albert 

i  Iowa;  Prof    K. 

University,  and 

tile     »ecrc?ar)     and     pa»l     prr«i<lent 

.     \     S     \^     ¥       Rf»bert     P4i»»»rn. 

U.  S  N      ll.^u 

Ion    1.    \    Cool- 


eral    count*    lor    obtaining    immry    uixirr 
false  preten«r%. 


Har- 
HiJf« 

IT 


If..!.., 


k 

■  fS 
ii4iimnir*    are    lo   bt 


950 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


May  25,  1909. 


Keystone  Association's  House- 
warming 


Keystone  Association  No.  50.  N.  A.  S. 
E.,  of  Buffalo,  N.  V..  held  a  housewarm- 
ing  Wednesday  evening.  May  12,  in  ob- 
servance of  the  opening  of  new  and  beau- 
tiful headquarters  on  the  ground  floor  of 
the  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Company's 
building.  There  were  fully  400  in  attend- 
ance and  No.  50  should  feel  justly  proud 
of  the  success  of  the  event. 

Walter  McKnight  made  the  address  of 
welcome  and  Josepii  X.  Gregory  presented 
the  hall  to  the  association. 

The  following  musical  program  was 
rendered  :  Charles  Morton,  baritone  solo  ; 
Ethel  Smith,  piano  selections ;  Arthur 
Smith,  tenor  solo ;  Gertrude  Rumage. 
piano  selections.  Miss  Mary  Crage  was 
accompanist.  At  intervals  the  following 
past  presidents  of  No.  50  made  brief  ad- 
dresses :  William  Eskin,  John  Sturnor, 
B.  C.  Miller.  Joseph  Bubach,  Frank  Dcs- 
ett.  John  Hager.  Edward  Lawler  and 
Winifred  Graham,  of  Xo.  16,  also  spoke. 
Dancing  closed  the  festivities. 


B 


usiness  items 


It< 


TYw  third  edition  of  the  Smooth-On  in.';! ruc- 
tion t>ook  No.  7  has  recently  been  printed  by 
the  Smooth-On  Manufacturing  Company,  752 
Communipaw  avenue.  Jersey  City,  X.  J.,  and 
a  copy  will  gladly  be  sent  to  any  engineer 
or  ottier  interested  person  on  application. 

The  Electro- Mechanical  En^neerin?  Bureau 
hM<  oiH'ned  offices  in  ttie  Monadnock  Block, 
Chinuro.  111.,  for  consultation,  inspection  and 
test.s  alom:  mechanical,  electrical  and  chemical 
line».  and  Ls  in  a  position  to  give  expert  atten- 
tion to  any  technical  subject,  including  the 
development  and  design  of  devices,  processes 
and  pater  table  ideas. 

The  Fred  M.  Prescott  Steam  Pump  Company, 
Milwaukee.  Wis.,  has  established  a  district 
sales  offi^ '  in  the  Chandler  building,  Atlanta, 
Ga..  in  charge  of  U.  L.  Ha<l<-lifTe,  who  has  been 
connected  with  its  sales  department  for  some 
time.  Tlie  establishment  of  the  new  office 
wa«  ne<-essar}'  on  account  of  the  large  volume 
of  bu»in«»««  emanating  from  the  southeastern 
and  M>uthem  portion.-^  of  the  country. 

McEwan  Brothers  Company,  Whippany,  N.  .J., 
ha.<)  orderefl  from  tlie  Hewes  &  Phillips  Iron 
Work-x.  Nen-ark.  N.  J.,  an  18x34x42  tandem 
rompoimd-condensing  CorliKS  engine  with  con- 
deaiing  ap(>aratuH.  Th*-  liemhcimer  &  Schwartz 
PiL-^ner  Brewing  Company,  New  York,  ha.s 
ordere*!  one  lHx3<)  heavy-duty  tangye-tyi>e 
dirert-<onnecled  engine  to  run  at  l'>()  revolu- 
tloao  and  to  l>e  e(|uip|>ed  with  the  new  "  Frank- 
Un"  valve  gear. 

John  J.  Harman  haa  become  a  member  of 
the  Harman  Ewrineering  Company,  of  Peoria, 
ni.,  tlie  otlier  member  of  the  company  lx;ing 
Jacob  A.  Harman.  Tlie  company  will  give 
particular  attention  to  mechanical-engineering 
problems.  Including  examinations.  rei)orls,  de- 
sign.i  and  tests  of  .steatn.-  hvflraulic-  and  gas- 
driven  electric-generating  plants  and  determina- 
tion of  mechanical  efficiencies  of  manufacturing 
pro»eH,«ie<<  and  machinery. 

Tfie  Wisconsin  Eninne  Company,  of  Corliss. 
W'ls.,  recently  put  info  service  the  second  engine 
Mid    to   the    Oliver   estate    in    Pittsburg.     Thi« 


engine,  which  is  installed  in  the  central  power 
plant,  is  a  i)Ol)- horsepower  vertical  cross-com- 
pound Coriiss  engine,  operating  at  120  revolutions 
and  direct-connected  to  a  600-kilowatt  direct- 
current  generator.  A  Wisconsin-Corliss  engine 
of  the  same  capacity,  but  of  the  horizontal 
cross-compound  type  has  been  in  very  successful 
operation  in  the  same  engine  room  for  several 
years.  This  company  also  recently  put  into 
service  smaller  engines  sold  to  the  J.  M.  Kohler 
Company,  of  Sheboygan,  Wis,,  and  to  the  Racine 
Manufacturing  Company,  of  Racine,  Wis. 

What  might  be  called  a  pocket-edition  general 
catalog  has  just  been  got  out  by  the  Joseph 
Dixon  Crucible  Company,  of  Jersey  City,  N.  J. 
This  lists  the  company's  prmcipal  products, 
such  as  crucibles,  facings,  lubricating  graphite, 
greases,  pencils,  protective  paint,  etc.,  giving 
brief  descriptions  and  prices.  It  is  of  value 
to  the  purchasing  agent,  engineer,  contractor, 
superintendent  and  anyone,  in  fact,  who  uses 
or  specifies  graphite  in  any  form.  The  booklet 
is  of  commercial-envelop  size,  and  will  convenient- 
ly go  in  the  pocket  or  desk  pigeonhole.  It  is  sub- 
stantially bound  in  tough  cover  stock  and 
attractively  printed.  If  you  want  a  copy  ad- 
dress the  Dixon  company  at  its  home  office. 

Plans  for  a  new  power  plant  for  W.  T.  Stevens 
&  Sons  Company,  North  Andover,  Mass.,  have 
been  coinpleted  by  Charles  T.  Main,  of  Boston. 
The  plant  is  to  consist  of  turbine-generator, 
boiler  and  pump  rooms,  with  a  coal  pocket  in 
the  rear.  The  walls  are  to  be  of  brick.  In  the 
2.5x50-foot  turbine  room  will  be  installed  a 
360-kilowatt  Westinghouse  turbine  generator 
with  two  exciters  and  a  motor-driven  Le  Blanc 
condenser.  The  boiler  room  will  be  40x50  feet 
and  equipped  with  two  72-inch  Bigelow  hori- 
zontal return-tubular  boilers  with  forced  draft. 
Space  is  provided  for  a  duplicate  boiler  installa- 
tion. The  pump  room  is  to  contain  both  boiler- 
feed  pump  and  a  1000-galIon  fire  pump.  The 
stack  is  to  be  of  brick,  150  feet  high,  with  a 
6-foot  fiue. 

James  Beggs  &  Co.,  of  New  York  City,  manu- 
facturers of  the  Blackburn-Smith  feed-water 
filter  and  grease  extractor,  announce  that  an 
increasing  demand  for  tnis  specialty  has  made 
it  necessary  to  appoint  sales  agents  in  all  the 
principal  cities.  This  filter  may  now  be  ob- 
tained through  the  following  agents,  all  of 
whom  have  competent  engineers  to  explain 
its  operation  and  the  advantages  obtained  by 
its  u.se:  Boston,  Mass.,  Walter  G.  Ruggles 
Co.;  Watertown,  Conn.,  M.  J.  Daly  &  Sons;  Buf- 
falo, N.  Y.,  Buffalo  Mill  Supply  Co.;  Pittsburg, 
Penn.,  National  Valve  and  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany; Cincinnati,  O.,  Murdock  Manufacturing 
and  Supply  Company;  Detroit,  Mich.,  A.  Har- 
vey's Sons  Manufacturing  Company;  St.  Paul, 
Minn.,  R.  B.  Whitacre  &  Co.;  San  Francisco,  Cal., 
Plant  Rubber  and  Supply  Company;  Montreal, 
H.  W.  Petrie,  of  Montreal,  Ltd.;  Toronto,  H.  W. 
Petrie,  Ltd.;  Vancouver,  B.  C,  H.  W.  Petrie,  Ltd.; 
.San  Juan.  I.«bedjeff  &  Co.;  Georgetown,  British 
Guiana,  W.  G.  Harry  &  Co. 

.\mong  the  orders  recently  booked  by  the 
Crocker-Wheeler  Company  is  one  for  two  1000- 
kilowatt.  6600-voll,  3-phase,  2.5-cycle  alternating- 
current  generators  for  the  Nordberg  Manufactur- 
ing Company,  Milwaukee,  Wis.  These  machines 
will  be  used  for  supplying  light  and  power  to 
the  .Miami  (;opper  Company,  Globe,  Ariz,  The 
Houston  F.lectric  Company,  Houston,  Tex,, 
has  purchased  an  800-kilowatt,  .57.'j-volt  direct- 
current  generator.  Two  3-phase,  2300-volt, 
fjO-cyr'le  alternators,  having  a  combined  capacity 
of  5.">()  kilowatts,  are  to  be  added  to  the  equip- 
ment of  the  municipal  plant  at  Pasadena,  Cal. 
A  motor-generator  set  consisting  of  a  3-phase, 
60-cycle,  2.300-volt,  synchronous  motor  and  a 
5..5-volt  direct-current  generator,  having  a 
capacity  of  300  kilowatts,  was  .sold  to  the  Boise 
Valley  Railway  Company,  Boise,  Idaho.  The 
National  Tube  Company,  McKeesport,  Penn., 
has  added  to  its  22,800  horsepower  of  Crocker- 
Wheeler  motors  to  the  extent  of  275  horsepowei 
for  the  operation  of  saws  and  various  rolling 
mill  machinery. 


New  Equipment 


The  Michigan  Buggy  Company,  Kalamazoo, 
Mich.,  is  building  an  addition  and  will  install 
new  engine. 

The  San  Antonio  (Texas)  Gas  and  Electric 
Company,  it  is  said,  will  build  a  new  power  house 
to  cost  $200,000. 

The  Hill  Manufacturing  Company,  Lewiston, 
Me.,  is  erecting  a  new  mill.  .\  700  or  800-hor.se- 
power  engine  will  be  installed. 

The  .\rk  Gravette  Cold  Storage,  Canning  and 
Packing  Company  has  been  incorporated  with 
$50,000  capital.  Incorporators,  E.  M.  Grav- 
ette, J.  T.  Oswalt,  E.  L.  Chatfield,  etc. 

The  North  Carolina  Electrical  Power  Com- 
pany is  to  erect  a  plant  near  Marshall,  N.  C, 
which  is  to  cost  about  $400,000.  C.  E.  Wad- 
dell,  Biltmore,  N.  C,  is  engineer  in  charge. 

The  Original  Ice  Company,  Middletown  Town- 
ship, N.  J.,  has  been  incorporated  with  $20,000 
capital  to  manufacture  ice.  Incorporators, 
Chas.  A.  Tantum,  W.  W.  Tamlyn,  B.  F.  Allen. 

Plans  are  being  prepared  by  J.  D.  Atkins, 
Department  of  Public  Buildings,  Treasury  De- 
partment, Washington,  D.  C,  for  the  installation 
of  an  auxiliary  power  plant  at  the  San  Francisco 
mint. 

The  East  St.  Louis,  Columbia  &  Waterloo 
Railway  Company  will  soon  start  work  on  con- 
struction of  proposed  electric  railway.  H. 
Reichenbach,  Columbia,  111,,  is  secretary  and 
treasurer. 


Help    Wanted 


Advertisemcnlfi  under  this  head  arc  in- 
serted for  25  vents  per  line.  About  six  loords 
make  a   line. 

SELLING  ENGINEER  wanted  for  steam 
condensers.  Schutte  &  Koerting  Co.,  Phila- 
delphia, Pa. 

WANTED — Thoroughly  competent  steam 
specialty  sa!esin;ui  ;  one  that  can  sell  high- 
grade   goods.      Address   "M.    M.   Co.,"    I'oweb. 

AN  ENGINEER  In  each  town  to  sell  the 
best  rocking  grate  for  steam  boilers.  Write 
Martin  Grate  Co.,  281  Dearborn  St.,  Chicago. 

WANTED — Man  capable  of  •  taking  charge 
of  steam  plant  and  mill  repairs  in  large  paper 
mill  in  New  England.  Seven  days  a  week. 
State  age,  experience  and  salary  expected. 
Onlv  men  now  employed  need  apply.  Apply 
to  "3381,"  Power. 

WANTED — An  on,gineer  experienced  in  de- 
sign and  applicatiin  of  electric  controlling 
devices  for  industrial  installations.  Must 
thoroughly  understand  latest  commercial 
systems  and  apparatus.  No  application  will 
be  given  consideration  except  from  engineers 
of  established  reputation  and  experience.  In 
reply,  give  references,  experience  and  salary 
expected.      Box   48,    Power. 

Situations  Wanted 

.'\drrrtifieinriits  under  thix  head  arc  inserted 
■for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  words  wake 
a   line. 

MASTEIi  MECHANIC  desires  change  :  prac- 
tical machinist  of  twelve  years'  experience; 
West  preferred ;    references.     Box   46,    Powiou. 

A  MACHINERY  SALESMAN  knows  the  trade 
in  New  York,  Boston  and  Eastern  stales;  has 
done  a  million  and  a  half  of  business  in  seven 
years;  open  to  engagement  on  salary  and  com- 
mission basis.     Box  52,  Power. 

SITT'ATION  by  chief  engineer:  can  handle 
turbines,  engines,  condensers,  stokers,  ,  and 
men.  and  can  get  results.  References  from 
present  employers  and  leading  engine  build- 
ers.     Box  47,    PowiCK. 

Miscellaneous 

.Advertisements  under  this  head  are  inserted 
for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  words  make 
a    line. 

BERNICE  PEA  COAL  for  suction  gas  pro- 
ducers carries  10%  volatile  matter  and  makes  8  ft. 
gas  per  pound  of  coal.  Ask  for  analysis  and 
prices.  Cnarles  W.  Mooers,  Shipper,  Elmira,  N.  Y. 


June  I,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


951 


The  Cleveland   Technical   High  School 

Heating,   Lighting.   Power  and  Ventilating   Systems   in  the    $400,000 
Building  Devoted  to  Cleveland's  New  Departure  in  Technical  F-ducalion 


BY 


H. 


W 


W   O   O   D  \X'   A   R   D 


The  Cleveland  technical  high  school, 
while  a  part  of  the  public-school  s>»tcm 
of  Qevcland,  is  in  niany  e»scntial  re- 
spects unique  in  educational  scheme,  as 
well  as  in  material  equipment.  The  new- 
ness of  this  type  of  school  and  the  magni- 
tude of  the  undertaking  presented  many 
intricate  problems,  both  educational  and 
material,  to  thoM.-  concerned  in  formulat- 
ing Its  plan  and  in  working  out  the  de- 
tails of  const  mot  ion.  The  courses  of- 
fered dilTer  radically  from  tho>e  in  other 
high  schools  in  the  city,  and  are  not 
molded  to  conform  to  college  entrance 
requirements.  It  is  intended  that  this 
shall  be  in  itself  a  finishing  schtxil,  with  an 
atmosphere  of  manufacture  and  industry. 


an*!  ^rcamfjttinp.  clay  modeling,  pottery, 
I  leather  and  art  inrtal 

\^  lug.     The  department 

for  girls  m  domestic  science  has  counrt 
in  cooking  covering  the  preparation  and 
analysis  of  foods,  the  study  of  food  values 
and  the  preparation  and  serving  of  com- 
plete meaU.  house  decoration.  pli>  M<>|<>|{y 
and  hygiene,  home  nursing.  houM-lnlil 
accounts,  plain  sewing.  drosinakiiiK  .itul 
millinery.  The  full  course  nui\  l»e  com- 
pleted in  either  four  years  of  three  terms 
each  or  three  years  of  four  terms  Night 
classes  are  carried  on  throughout  the 
year  in  three  sections  meeting  alternate 
nights.  The  same  equipment  and  instrue- 
tion  used  during  the  day  is  available  for 


mentt  for  class  rooms,  of  '<nr  vquare  foot 

•  •f   glass   to  live   square   feci   of   floor,  al- 

tl.    .:k.'!i    i)ir    incj>urrmenl    given    mcludca 

and   all   poniooi  of 

ti.v    „.„....„^       .  „v    cost   of   the   boiklmc 

complete,  exclusive  of  shop  tools  and  tab- 

■  ^us.  was  IjoSiOao  or  aboat 

cubic    foot,   a   very   low 

V  a  building  with  sodl 


l.r„.   :   : 
cl.il>i>r.i'< 

Th 
ing  r 
illustrations 

tr..tii     Ti    ... 


In  the  drafting  room  the 


n  draft- 

tr<jm  the 

these  rooms  accommodate 

'""'  •-•■ ''    and  the  ar- 

-   the  rooms 

«t    "t    ir.c      .  -vl    rxenin^ 

>•:  ^  ..rr  j.re- 


no.    I.   cun-u.AKi«'s  xrw  tsuikkal  mm.h  sciinnc 


whose  gnidii«t*>«  shall  hf  pr«T»»rrd  tf»  en 

ter  a  \ 

are  cli 

ale  and  dir 

during  ihr 

lowed   In   speciali/e    ; 

and  talents  run  The  «. . 

Into    four    terms    of   tweUr    •• 

with  one  «•-  '  ' 

term      The 

e«i 

li 

kitv licit    or    scM 

»rr    ffivrn     in    » 
II  •)«•    sh'tp. 

M  .t...n       I.- 


thr  rvrning  classes.     A  two  v«ar«'  etmt^t     fsared  (ram  wbieb  thop  worli  b  rmreufrd. 


work   W.I 
•    as   an   < 
and  workmanship. 

Tilt    I' 


«I  %hop 
ri 


shaf». 


ts'  handi 


wn   in  ^fl 


■«. 

Is 

ihr  work  10  be 
K    tools    are    put 


>1 

f     it    U9% 
<«<,  aad  Dm  roll 


95^ 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June    I,    1909. 


tings.  The  two  automatic  tlriving  en- 
gines ase  so  arranged  that  either  engine 
will  operate  any  or  all  of  the  stokers. 
.\  McDonough  automatic  damper  regu- 
lator controls  the  stack  damper,  as  well 
as  the  speed  of  the  stoker  engines.  The 
stack,  which  is  150  feet  high  by  4  feet 
inside  diameter,  is  octagonal  in  form  and 
built  of  brick  of  the  same  color  and 
quality  as  that   used  in  the  building. 

In  the  engine  room.  Figs.  9  and  10.  are 
ne  i-xi6-inch  center-crank  and  one 
jo.\20-in  side-crank  Skinner  engines, 
each  equipped  with  an  automatic  oiling 
system.  The  engines  are  direct-connected 
to  125-kilowatt  and  200-kilowatt  Burke 
three-wire  generators  and  run  at  250  and 
200   revolutions   per   minute,    respectively. 

The  feed-water  heater.  Fig.  11,  is  of 
the  Webster  horizontal  cylindrical  type, 
with  receiving,  purifying  and  heating 
tank  having  40  cubic  feet  of  water  storage 
capacity,  and  piped  as  an  induction  heat- 
er. The  two  boiler-feed  pumps,  6x4x8 
inches,  furnished  by  the  Piatt  Iron  Works, 
are  adapted  to  pump  hot  water  and  are 
so  connected  that  they  may  be  run  separ- 
ately or  together.  They  are  equipped  with 
ratchet-drive  lubricators,  Squires  pump 
governors,  and  have  a  Bristol  thermom- 
eter in  the  discharge  line.  The  oiling 
system  consists  of  storage  tanks  for  cyl- 
inder and  engine  oil  located  in  the  boiler 
room,  and  each  is  piped  to  a  funnel  on 
the  outside  of  the  building,  so  placed  that 
an  oil  barrel  can  be  emptied  direct  from 
the  wagon,  and  to  faucets  on  the  wall 
of  the  engine  room.  A  gage  board  with 
a  full  set  of  nickel-plated  gages  connected 
to  the  high-pressure  steam  lines  and  heat- 
ing system,  a  switchboard  and  the  auxil- 
iary apparatus  for  the  Power's  tempera- 
ture control  and  the  Webster  vacuum 
system  complete  the  engine-room  equip- 
ment. 

Heatixc  and  Vextii_\tiox 
The  system  of  heating  and  ventilating 
is  a  combination  of  direct  radiation  and 
mechanical  ventilation,  the  direct  radia- 
tion being  proportioned  to  supply  the 
heat  losses  through  walls  and  windows 
with  steam  circulating  at  or  below  atmos- 
pheric pressure.  The  ventilating  system- 
ic dcsigried  to  supply  fresh  air  at  a  con- 
tant  temperature  of  70  degrees  Fahren- 
heit to  each  room.  The  direct  radiation 
for  each  room  was  figured  from  outside 
wall  area,  window  area  and  exposure  to 
wind  and  points  of  the  compass.  The 
formula  used  was  developed  during  the 
progress  of  design,  being  a  modification 
of  one  generally  employed,  and  results 
have  provcfl  its  correctness. 

.Assuming  an  outside  temperature  of 
zero  degree  Fahrenheit,  a  room  tempera- 
ture of  70  degrees  Fahrenheit,  steam  in 
the  radiators  at  atmospheric  pressure,  and 
cast-iron  radiation  emitting  250  B.t.u.  per 
hour  per  square  foot, 

\  4 


wliere 
R  =  Radiation   required  in  square   feet, 
G  =  Area  of  glass  in  square  feet, 
JF  =  Area  of  exposed  wall  in  square  feet, 
C  =  Contents  of  room  in  cubic  feet, 
X  =  Number   of   air   changes  per  hour, 
due  to  leakage  around  windows  = 


X 


{number  of  protected  sides) 


N  has  values  varying  from  Vz  to  1/7 
depending  upon  window  area  and  number 
of  exposed  sides.  The  radiation  in  rooms 
having  a  northern  exposure  and  open  to 
a  free  sweep  of  the  wind  was  increased 
about  10  per  cent,  above  that  given  by  the 
formula.  The  direct  radiation  totals  about 
15,000   square   feet  in  265   units.     Except 


covered  with  85  per  cent,  magnesia  put  on 
by  the  Philip  Carey  Company.  A  6xi2-inch 
Kieley  pressure-reducing  valve  with  a 
23/2-inch  bypass  connects  the  high-pres- 
sure steam  line  to  the  heating  system, 
and  a  Davis  lo-inch  vertical  back-pres- 
sure valve  is  placed  on  the  exhaust  beyond 
the  point  where  connection  is  made  to  the 
heating  main.  The  exhaust  head  is  a 
Swartwout  lo-inch  cast-iron  head,  and 
the  steam  separators  at  the  engine  throt- 
tles are  Swartwout  vertical  separators.  A 
Webster  lo-inch  horizontal  oil  separator 
connects  the  engine  exhaust  to  the  heat- 
ing mains,  and  this  is  drained  by  a  Web- 
ster low-pressure  grease  trap.  The  steam 
lines  are  drained  by  Anderson  traps. 

The  ventilating  system  was  designed  to 
supply  to  each  room  by  means  of  blowers, 


FIG.     2.     PLAN   OF   FIRST  FLOOR 


in  the  auditorium,  locker  rooms  and  cor- 
ridors, wall  radiators  of  ornamental  cast 
iron  are  used.  These  are  tapped  at  the 
top  for  steam  and  at  the  bottom  for  re- 
turns, and  are  set  with  a  pitch  of  i  inch  in 
ID  feet.  Floor  radiators  are  two-column 
cast  iron  and  tapped  for  a  single  pipe 
connection.  All  cast-iron  radiation  was 
furnished  by  the  American  Radiator  Com- 
pany. In  the  gymnasium  locker  rooms  are 
coils  of  i-inch  pipe,  supported  from  the 
ceiling  on  roller  hangers. 

For  the  heating  system  the  steam  piping 
is  laid  out  for  overhead  distribution  and 
for  downward  flow  both  of  steam  and  con- 
densation, and  is  graded  to  i  inch  in  10 
feet.  Piping  is  of  standard  weight.  Na- 
tional Tube  Company's  make,  and  fittings 
and  valves  were  made  by  the  Crane  Com- 
pany.      Excepting    risers,    all     piping    is 


30  cubic  feet  of  air  per  minute  for  each 
occupant,  at  a  constant  temperature  of 
70  degrees  Fahrenheit,  and  to  remove 
air  from  the  rooms  with  exhaust  fans. 
The  horizontal  ducts  from  the  blowers 
to  the  risers  are  built  of  brick  and  con- 
crete under  the  basement  floor,  and  the 
risers,  both  supply  and  exhaust,  are  of 
galvanized  iron.  Each  supply  riser  has 
an  adjustable  deflecting  damper  at  the  bot- 
tom to  insure  proper  distribution  of  air, 
and  starting  at  the  floor  level  of  the  room 
which  it  serves,  the  riser  is  widened  till 
it  reaches  the  outlet,  in  order  to  secure  a 
low  velocity  for  the  air  delivered.  The 
riser  is  coved  at  the  top  and  has  a  coarse 
horizontal  screen  below  the  outlet,  but 
the  opening,  which  is  about  7  feet  above 
the  floor,  is  not  covered  by  a  register  face. 
On   account   of   the  large   amount   of  air 


June   I,   1909- 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


953 


iiu.   3.    iAi:i_t-.\  .-ijji 


VHm  4,     MACHtNK  »Mur 


required  for  the  auditorium  and  the 
g>-niiusium.  &pecial  pleimm  chambers  arc 
provided  at  the  entrances  to  these  rooms. 
The  vent  flue  in  each  room  starts  from 
the  flofjr  level,  and  the  opcinng  is  covered 
by  a  register  face,  juM  inM<lc  of  wiiicli  is 
placed  a  curtain  of  Ufihl  al'in-ifUMn  :l.ii»-. 
hanginK  horizontally  and  .;  each 

other   by   about    1    inch.  as   a 

most  effective  check  valve  on  the  vent 
system,  allowinK  the  air  to  pass  freely 
from  the  room,  but  preventing  any  back- 
ward flow.  Vent  flue  outlets  for  the  au- 
ditorium extend  across  the  full  width  of 
the  stage  and  open  into  a  special  vent 
chamltrr  under  the  *taKe  fl«ior.  The  vent 
flues  discharge  into  the  .1- 
at  the  upper  ends  have  \ 
to  regulate  the  amount  of  air  •IraMn  11 -m 
each  flue.  The  tiers  of  cl«)*tt>  on  nilirr 
•ide  of  the  building,  and  the  chemical 
Uboratory  have  each  its  special  cxluust 
•yttcm. 

Air  is  supplied  by  three  R-f(vit  and  one 
9-foot     steel-plate   iinulc  inlrt  iMitt-fn-hori- 
fi  ,•  ■    '     " 
ci.. 

btiildtiig.     l^«.h  I  deliver «  4i.uuu 

cubic  feet  of  air  •  at  igo  rcvlu- 


tiona  per  minute,  using  from  15  to  Jo  horse- 
p<'wer,  and  the  9-ftK)t  fan  de!---'-   -;-y*^ 
cubic  feet  per  minute  at  160  u  ■■ 
minute  with  io  to  25  horse|>oM(r.      1  i:rce 
of  the   fans  are  behed   to   Hurke  motors. 


'  thrut- 

I  at    200 

revolutions  per  minute  on  a  stram  pres- 
sure of  100  pounds.  The  exhaust  fans 
comprise  four  60- inch  electric  propellers 
running  at  joo  revolutions  per  minute  and 
delivering  jo.000  cubic  feet  of  air  per 
minute:  two  45-inch  steel-plate  exhaust- 
ers,   with    a   capacity   of   4500  cubtr    frrt 

•te  at  1100  re\ 

•cd  to  the  cl- 
\'^^t.IIl.  anil  a  .\o.  J  M<inoKram  exhau»ier 
Mitit  a  capacity  of  1400  cubic  feet  per 
tninute,  on  the  exhaust  system  of  the 
chemical  bboratory.  All  fan  motors  are 
provided  with  Cutler-Hammer  slandanl 
fan  regulators  with  automatic  ' 
lease,   which  are  capable  of  • 


contain  7200  feet. 

\ .  .-  ..      I .. 


y  the  i'. 
The  W 


steam   while 
air  and  w.>'- 
vacuum  p- 
to   the  er. 
emor  con- 


The  plenum  and  ex- 

-    ■       -  ■  im 


water- 

A  IK*  of 
.if 
•er 

dc 

V- 


control  is 
ators.  whiM    i< 
tml.  In  %hnp«,  1. 


uf    \a<. 


pUilUIII      irfllk     1 

I  uuh   pipe,  an' 


•  >     llllral      irrt     c 

'    the    ■>  f.-.t     f.i 


i 

•'»e 

•  tic 

li. 


■  n«, 

l»ie 

•I 

n 

» 
It 


>ii.     i,     rt^ta  (Mor 


954 


POWER  AXD  THE  EXGIXEER. 


June   I,   1909. 


are  the  air  bypass  dampers.  The  dia- 
phragm valves  for  radiators  and  tem- 
pering coils,  numbering  120,  have  gradu- 
ated control  maintaining  a  partially  open 
position  and  supplying  just  steam  enough 
to  do  the  heating  required ;  the  diaphragm 


gymnasium  and  apparatus  rooms,  carbon 
lamps  are  used.  The  shops  have  in- 
dividual drop  lights  over  each  machine, 
and  in  the  drafting  rooms  the  adjustable 
lamps  are  wired  from  the  floor.  The 
gymnasium   is   lighted  by   ceiling   clusters 


sential  to  match  colors  and  fabrics  at 
night.  In  the  boiler  and  engine  rooms  are 
Cooper-Hewitt  mercury  vapor  lamps. 
Sixty  electric  motors,  ranging  in  size 
from  Yi.  to  30  horsepower,  are  in  use  for 
shops,  ventilating  fans,  elevators,  etc.  The 


i 


Tank' 


.       ■      '         itT^  lte>fl        '      ^R ^1 — ^T^teastr^g^ 


S^am  Main 


12  to  Heating 

System  and 

Exhaust 


FIG.     7.     PLAN   OF  ENGINE   AND  BOILER   ROOMS 


motors  on  bypass  dampers  operate  with 
a  graduated  motion  maintaining  any  in- 
termediate position  required.  The  thermo- 
stats controlling  the  direct  radiation,  num- 
bering 70,  have  for  a  sensitive  element  a 
hollow  corrugated-metal  disk  containing 
a  highly  volatile  liquid,  and  operate  the 
valves  with  a  temperature  variation  of  one 
degree.  Compound-duct  thermostats  near 
the  fan  delivery  control  the  diaphragm 
valves  on  the  tempering  coils  and  the 
diaphragm  motors  on  the  bypass  dampers. 
At  the  delivery  of  the  disk  fans  in  the 
attic  arc  doors  operated  by  diaphragm 
motors  controlled  by  air  cocks.  The  air 
compressor,  which  furnishes  the  motive 
power  for  the  system,  the  driving  motor 
and  automatic  switch  made  by  the  Powers 
Regulator  Company,  the  switchboard 
with  air  cocks  for  attic  damper  control 
and  the  storage  tank  under  pressure  of 
15  pounds  arc  located  in  the  engine  room. 
Piping  of  galvanized  iron  and  armored 
lead  tubing  connects  with  each  thermostat, 
valve  and  diaphragm   motor. 

Lighting 
The  scheme  of  lighting  conforms  to 
the  specific  requirements  of  the  several 
rooms.  For  general  illumination  in  class 
rooms,  corridors  and  auditorium,  there 
are  530  60-watt  tungsten  lamps.  In  shops, 
drafting  rooms,  locker  and  toilet  rooms, 


\ 


FIG.     8.     liOJLEK    ROOM 


of  carbon  lamps  protected  by  metal  cages ; 
the  auditorium  by  tungsten  lamps  in  ceil- 
ing clusters  with  holophane  globes  and 
carbon  lamps  at  the  sides;  the  stage  by 
carbon  lamps.  There  are  34  single-glower 
Nernst  lamps  used  in  the  art,  millinery 
and    dressmaking   rooms    where    it    is   cs- 


lighting  system  has  three-wire  distribu- 
tion, with  both  two-  and  three-wire  cir- 
cuits for  shop  motors.  Seventeen  dis- 
tributing cabinets  for  light  and  power  are 
located  at  convenient  centers  of  distri- 
bution and  so  wired  that  a  very  close 
balance  is  maintained  on  the  lighting  cir- 


June   I,    1909. 


POWER  'AXD  TIIF  FXGIXFFR. 


955 


^ 

ria    9.    SMALL  ceneratim;  set 


ria      10.     THE   JOO-KltOWATT   UJTrT 


cuiti ;  all  li(;hts  nut  cunirullcd  direct  t'ruin 
the  cabinets  arc  operated  by  Hart  single- 
pole  tlu»h  snap  switches.  The  neutral  is 
thorouKhly  and  permanently  grounded  at 
the  switchboard,  and  the  neutral  of  the 
'  r  circiiil»   i»   not   '  l»   to   the 

r  panel.     .Ml  win:  .  ^liout  the 

ing    is    in    metal    ouiiduii,    and    the 
N  from  the  K^'i^rators  to  the  switch- 
board are  lead  covered  and  laid  in  vitri- 

I'ikI   tile. 

SWITCHBOAU) 

'ic  switchboard,  Fig.  12,  comprises  two 
g«  tK-rator  and  two  feeder  panels,  with 
the  necessary  switches,  I.  T.  M  circuit- 
breaker*  an<t  inotrunirnt^,  and  provides 
for  _•!  rirrtjit*  The  anmieters  ami  volt- 
II  round-pattern  back- 
;cnt<,  the  ammeter  on 
the  fce«ler  panel  being  a  two-way  instru- 
ment with  a  loo-o-yoo  dial.  Un  the  end 
feeder  panel  are  San»tam<x)  1500-ampcrc 
shunt  total-output  wattmeters.  The  first 
feeder  panel  cuntain*  \o|tmeter  and  am- 
met-  il  design,  by  me.iu^ 

of    v'.  m   Im-   rr.id    am.'.* 

the 
the 

bu«  to  the  neutral,  and  the  current  m  any 
circuit  can  l»e  determined.  Shunt*  are 
placed  in  each  circuit,  and  each  feeder 
awilch    is    billed    and    numbered    r<»rre*- 


iHjuding  to  the  number  on  the  ammeter 
switch.  Fuses  and  cutouts  for  the  feeder 
circuits  are  mounted  on  separate  marble 
blocks  at  the  back  of  the  board.  The 
board  is  of  blue  Vermont  marble  2 
inches  thick  by  7  feet  high,  and  the  ends 
are  closed  in  by  a  heavy-mesh  wire  net- 
ting with  oxidi/i-<l  copper  finish.  The 
switchboard  and  panel  boards  were  built 
by   the  Qoi-eland   Switchboard   Company. 

Test  Data 
During    the    winter    of    1908-9  a    .series 
of   te<>ls   were   made   on   the   heating   and 
ventilating    system    and    the    power-plant 
equi|>ment.     The  air  supply  to  each   r<H.in 
was  found  to  be  very  close  to  the  calcu- 
lated  amount.      The    plenum    fans    uivIt 
nornul  running  conditions  handle  t ; 
cubic  feet   of  air  per  minute,  ami  «!■.: 
the  9  hours'  run  deliver  jooo  tons  of  air. 
The  power  required  to  drive  them  is  55 
horsepower,  and  to  drive  the  exiuust  fans, 
about  JO  horsepower.    The  air  i*  delivered 
at  a  temperature  of  70  dcrgrces  Fahrenheit 
arwl   wifl  >   de- 

grees I-.  p«^ 

minute  iii    ihc 

coil*.  n-,  ;lcr  hnr»r; 

4' j  ton*  of  c<i.il  a  (lay  to  I,'  -    tor 

ventilation  alone,  with   a   i    -  loigly 

greater  amount  for  a  lower  lemitrrature 
\  chart   from  ibr  recording  t]^rr'<'-«^rirr 


i>  reprtnluced  in  Fig.  13.  From  6:jo  to 
7;jo  a.m.,  while  the  buildinv^'  ».•>  ••^mg 
warmed,   the  temperature    '  .v    ~ 

out  of  service  and  the  air  i><..>i(<j  i<>  i>> 
degrees  Fahrenheit,  but  during  the  rest  of 
the  day   the  teni;  inrd 

very  close  to  thr  .    ti-.r 

month     • 
were   \> 

e\aporated  and  17.000  elect ncai  r;  ;;^ 
used,  and  at  no  time  was  the  r\ 
haust  from  the  engines  sufficient  to 
heat  the  building.  Tests  on  boilers,  en- 
gines and  generators  were  nude  at  in- 
tervals, of  which  the  following  are  average 
results : 

BOILER  TEsrr. 

Kliil  of  hoUfn   .  . .  n-'TirmU!  t-it.iUr 

•  'ilrrs    .  .  «-  • 

irfsc*.  **' 

•Okrr 

I.. 

Ihr 
Avr:  ., 

A»r:  ... 

Avrraxr    'lr*f'.    la 

•  •trr 
Arvrscr     pvr    rrnt 

•taam 
Arwnt*  drmn  owr  turn*- 


llua 


a 

M 


A-. 

A; 


<iiu  &•  itrr^i.  |vund* 


'KMl    pft    |wm>it 


7  at 


m 


II.      AVAIMAB1     ArrAftAti** 


t^     ftwlUU 


956 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGIXEER. 


June    I,    1909. 


Ecr---:  — 

•    — It  ion    per    pound 

8.35 

E.. 

ion    per    pound 

10.13 

Ei^ 

urnace  based  on 

67.3 

engine,  per 

>^„.a  used  by  stoker 

2.25 

ENGIXE  TEST. 

Make Skinner  simple,  noncondensing. 

Type ^^ide  crank. 

Cylinder  dimensions,  indies 20x20 

Avenure  steam  pressure,  pounds 96 

Avi  '    •    '■■   '    Pressure,  pounds 1.33 

A".  ■  'f  ensrine,  r.p.m 196 

A'.  ■  <'<i  horsepower 306 

Dr  ()er  kilowatt  hour,  pounds     46.8 

Dr  .  i)er  electrical  horse power- 

>   35 

Dr;.    ^.i  per  indicated  horsepower 

hour,  pounds 30 .  2 

GEXER.\TOR  TEST. 

Make Burke  direct-current,  three-wire.. 

Katinx;  at  2.50  volts,  amperes 800 

.\venit.'e  voltase 235 

.Werasre  amiKjres 840 

Average  load,  kilowatts 198 


James  F.  Barker,  under  the  general  direc- 
tion of  Superintendent  of  Schools  William 
H.  Elson.  The  operation  of  the  plant  is  in 
cliarge  of  the  engineer,  William  C.  Clark. 
The  building  was  formally  ded';ated  by 
the  Board  of  Education  and  delivered  to 
Director  of  Schools  Charles  Orr  on 
April    15,    1909. 


The    Growth    of   the  High  Speed 
Engine 

On  Tuesda}'  evening,  ]May  11,  an  ab- 
.=tract  of  a  stenograpliic  report  of  a  lecture 
on  "The  Growth  of  the  High  Speed  En- 
gine, or  The  Straight  Line  Engine  in 
Particular,"  by  Prof.  John  E.  Sweet,  was 


At  the  time  when  Charles  T.  Porter  was 
building  steam-engine  governors,  Horatic 
T.  Allen,  who  was  later  associated  with 
Mr.  Porter  in  building  the  Porter-Allen 
engine,  conceived  the  idea  that  he  wanted 
an  engine  with  a  positive  valve  motion 
that  would  give  the  results  of  the  Corliss 
engine. 

In  their  natural  intercourse,  Mr.  Porter 
suggested'  to  'Mr; ""Allen  that  with  his' 
valve  motion  the  engine  could  be  run  at  a 
much  higher  speed.  Mr.  Allen  had  not 
thought  of  this,  nor  taken  to  it  very 
enthusiastically.  Mr.  Porter  worked  out 
the  idea,  and  among  other  things  had 
built  and  exhibited  one  of  their  engines  at 
the  London  exhibition  of  1862,  where  he 
astounded  the  English  engineers  by  the 
speed    at   which    it    ran,    although    it    was 


FIG.     13.     CHART   FRO.M   RECORDING  THERMOMETER 


Temperatures  at  end  of  run,  deg.  C. 

Kooin 28 

Commutator .-,3 

Armature 4y 

Shunt  Held 41 

Series  field '.'.',  56 

The  educational  scope  and  material 
features  of  the  school  were  outlined  by  a 
commission  of  prominent  Cleveland  men 
appointed  for  that  purpose.  The  designs 
for  the  building  were  prepared  by  Archi- 
tect of  Schools  F.  S.  Barniim,  and  the 
details  of  the  heating,  ventilating  and 
liRhting  systems  and  power  plant  were 
worked  out  by  Charles  A.  Cadwell  and 
H.  W.  Woodward  of  The  Cleveland  En- 
gineering Company.  The  administration 
of  the  school  is  in  the  hands  of  Principal 


read  before  the  Modern  Science  Club, 
of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  Thirty-five  lantern 
slides  were  used.  Professor  Sweet  was 
not  present.  An  animated  discussion  fol- 
lowed the  reading  of  the  paper,  which 
was  in  part  as   follows: 

Professor  Sweet's  Paper 
In  treating  of  this  subject  1  shall,  both 
from  necessity  and  choice,  rely  entirely 
upon  my  memory.  Just  who  built  and 
ran  the  first  high-speed  engine  would 
be  hard  to  determine,  because  it  turns 
upon  what  we  call  high  speed  in  revolu- 
tion and  what  we  now  know  as  high 
speed  originated  in  about  this  way: 


FIG.      I.     FIRST   PENCIL   SKETCH,   LATE   IN    IJ 


FIG.  2.  HORIZONTAL  SECTION  OF  FIRST  ENGINE 


FIG.  3.     ORIGINAL  ENGINE,  FLYBALL  GOVERNOR 

what  we  would  now  call  moderate  speed. 
At  that  time  1  was  a  draftsman  in 
the  international  patent  office,  London, 
and  traced  on  parchment  the  drawings  of 
the  Richards  indicator  (of  which  Mr. 
Porter  had  charge).  I  believe  I  saw  Mr. 
Porter,  although  I  did  not  make  his  ac- 
quaintance. However,  we  met  at  the 
Paris  exhibition,  where  Mr.  Porter  ex- 
hibited five  engines  built  at  the  Whit- 
worth  works  in  England.  The  largest 
one,  12x24  inches,  ran  a  portion  of  the 
machinery,  and  at  the  speed  of  250  revolu- 
tions per  minute,  if  I  recollect  correctly. 
This  engine  had  a  condenser  of  Mr. 
Porter's  design,  in  which  the  pump  plun- 


Jdnc   I,   igoQ. 

gcr  was  connected  directly  to  the  uil  cud 
of  the  piston  rod,  and  although  running 
at  that  high  speed,  which  no  engineer 
bu«  Mr.  Porter  belie vrd  could  be  made 
serviceable,  the  engine  worked  quietly  and 
successfully.  The  secret  was  in  making 
the  end  of  the  plunger  pointed  and  run- 
ning it  under  water. 

Of  the  four  other  engines,  all  I  think 
6x12,  one  ran  at  a  terrific  speed.  T*he 
attendant  t<»ld  me  that  they  were  going 
to  run  it  at  looo  rcvuhitii-ns.  alth-'igh  I 
do  not  know  what  Mr.  I'orter  expi-ctcd  to 


FIG.  4.   CZXTtJFt'CAI.  OOVUNOI  WITH   BOCKCX 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

This  engine  had  a  varied  c  ^ 
and  for  the  last  nineteen  y 
adorned.  or  disfigured  the  present 
Straight  Line  engine  works.  See  Fig.  j. 
In  the  meantime  Mr.  Porter  had  come  to 
New  York,  built  a  shop  at  Harlem,  and 
was  in  the  engine  business,  buiidiiig  and 
selling  the  Porter-Allen  engine 

While    at    Cornell,    in    1875.    with    only 
student      labor,      we      built      the      «• 
Straight  Line   engine    an<!    h.id    i*    ••• 
hibition    at    the    ! 
This  engine   had  , 

was  then,  perhaps,  the  second  or  third  one 
ever  shown  in  this  country.  Mr.  Hoadley's 
and  .Mr.  Tabor's  were  earlier,  and  the 
Hartnell,  of  England,  earlier  still.  Patents 
had  been  secured  before,  but  I  do  not  re- 
call that  any  were  so  far  advanced  as  to 
call    general    attention    to    them. 

In  the  fall  of  1879  the  third  Straight 
Line  engine  was  built.  See  Fig.  3.  In 
February,  1880,  the  Straight-Line  En- 
gine Company  was  organized,  a  name 
given  to  the  engine,  and  the  first  one 
built  by  the  company  was  started  the 
first  of  July  of  that  year.  This  engine  is 
still  running  at  the  Lakeside  power  house 
in  Syracuse.  N.  Y. 


•  ^ACRNO*  WITHOCT  ROCKES 


1^ 


^r 


A  :!•  m\ 


a 


1:© 


nc.   d    riSTox.  canssiiKAO.  mo  axo  iaxo 


•r  did   do.   but    .i:i>^s.i;.    ■<    w.m>    last 
k{h      Mr.   Spragur   %a>«   1500  or   Ifaoo 
■    ■      ■     It       I  « 
-     liKliihii 

•h    nf    th<  steam    chc»t 

driven   by  a   brit    to   show   the 

!    the    valve*,    piston,    etc.    .This 

repeaietl  by  the  Ruckryc  Engine  Com- 

1II70.  I  ♦tartril  <ti 


nc    7     FACKIXCLKSS  VALVE  STEM 

At  the  Centennial  there  were  shown 
three  or  four  electric  generators  or 
"dynamos."  as  they  were  called  then,  and 
the  one  we  had  built  at  Cornell,  the  first 
Gramme  machine  built  in  this  countr>-. 
was  shown  driving  an  electric  light,  but 
such  only  as  could  be  used  for  a  bntern. 
Electric  lights  up  to  that  lime  had  been 
used  only  in  lighthouses  and  lanterns. 
That  fall  electric  lights  were  r'  ' 
the  campus  at  Cornell,  .ind  other 
extent.  1  ^t. 

The  •    thr    rlrrtrir    light    and 

Ihr 
on 
oft 

ne»-       ,    ;  .,      ,       .   -  .„ —        : 

there  are  two  sides  to  thai  story. 

In  the  earlv    '^-  -  •'•'•re  was  a  j*- 
of  flicker  in  •  tiul  the  rl 

.411  due  to  the  »m»i«.^.i.\ 
iir 


tl'.c  engine  un  the  tirst  day  ul  .Vpril.  1S71. 


int< 

a  t 

cide<l  ihjt  tl 

turn  in  «»••■  • 

"•It    up 

•'  flickrr 

TheU 
out  Ihe  elcetrK  pcplc 


957 

The  engines  varied 

^  a'  «  lie  speed  of  the 

«iigmc!.   could   be  counted   anywhere   the 
lights  were  in  view. 

The   next    engines   that    bid   for   favor 

among  the  r!    • 

ington   A    .^ 
the    A: 
fc*>rmr<i 


for  tn< 
them   : 


KIC     &     IjOKC  CaoSSHEAI>  AXO   SHOKT  Ct'lK 


t^m^/LK 

9    noACjrr  tM.i\r 

o^rnx  THaorru; 

ABscMcx  or  > 

^    MMLTS  AT 

OL..^.*- 

.^U 

f 


na  la    an  > 


i0k«  r 

IN    t   \1.\X 


y  the  compmBf,  twenty 

I  inc,  Armfaiatoa  ft  Sim« 


line     iy  rrntntugai  aiSi' 


n<-r    an<i    i«inrr» 


•e.  Sld». 


958 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGIXEER. 


June  I,  1909. 


The  Porter-Allen  and  the  Straight  Line 
valves  were  mechanically  fitted  flat  valves, 
depending  on  the  mechanical  fit  for  tight- 
ness. The  Armington  &  Sims  and  West- 
inghouse  piston  valves  and  the  Ball  used 
a  partially  balanced  valve. 

At  the  Centennial  the  Buckeye  Engine 
Company  e.vhibited  a  small  engine,  such 
as  they  coupled  direct  to  a  circular  saw, 
and  ran  it  at  a  terrific  speed.    I  think  they 


it,4aSfiii 


_  Sertiou  C-D 

BmUodA-B  -«»«•,  .Y.r. 

FIG.     II.     POP   PISTON 

said  400  turns  a  minute.  It  was  some- 
thing like  a  6x12  or  larger,  and  the  saw 
of  such  size  as  is  used  for  cutting  lumber. 

The  Wcstinghouse  two-cylinder  single- 
acting  engines  were  short-stroke,  and  ran 
at  high  speed,  likely  faster  than  any  of  the 
others,  and  as  far  as  numbers  were  con- 
cerned the  Westinghouse  people  turned 
out  twice  as  many  as  any  other  builder, 
although  possibly  not  as  far  as  electric 
lighting  was  concerned.  They  were  the 
first  to  adopt  the  inclosed  crank  case  and 
splash  oilers,  and  the  first  to  introduce 
compounding.  The  continuous  systems 
of  oiling  with  pump  and  filter  was  intro- 
duced later,  and  I  think  by  steps,  but  by 
whom  first  I  do  not  recall. 

J.  C.  Hoadlcy,  who  was  the  first,  no 
doubt,  to  introduce  the  shaft-governed 
shifting  single-eccentric  in  this  country, 
determined  by  experiment  that  to  have  the 
engines  run  quietly  from  10  to  14  per  cent. 
clearance  was  necessary,  and  Bourne 
and  Auchincloss  that  it  was  not  possible 
to  use  the  shifting  eccentric  and  maintain 
a  constant  lead  to  the  valve  at  both  ends 
of  the  cylinder.  This  led  me  to  "monkey" 
with  the  rocker  arm  and  design  the  cor- 
rected valve  motion  which  did  maintain 
a  constant  lead  at  both  ends  of  the  cyl- 
inder. 

Experimenting  with  our  earliest  engines 
showed  me  that  a  constant  lead  was  exact- 
ly what  we  did  not  want,  but  a  variable 
lead ;  and  when  we  got  the  variable  lead 
I  became  convinced  that  the  constant  lead 
was  not  worth  the  distorted  rocker  arm 
that  it  took  to  get  it.     Sec  Fig.  4. 

By  the  change  from  the  original  form 
of  approximately  constant  lead  to  the 
variable  lead,  we  were  enabled  to  reduce 
the  clearance  to  one-half  of  the  amount 
Mr.  H.adley  had  established,  and  as 
the  clearance  is  one  of  the  sources  of  loss, 
the  new  arrangement  not  only  enables  us 
to  run  quietly  at  a  wide  range  of  load, 
but  much  more  economically.     Sec  Fig.  5. 

While  great  stress  has  been  laid  on  the 
superiority  of  the  Corliss  engine,  and 
justly    so,   this    gain    in    economy   by    the 


change  in  the  valve  motion  did  not  give 
our  engine  the  trade;  and  this,  perhaps, 
because  of  a  lack  of  able  salesmen. 

But  there  are  in  the  small  electrit-light 
business  three  essential  things  that  come 
in  before  economy.  The  most  essential 
of  all  being  that  the  engine  must  go,  and 
with  the  briefest  possible  stop— when  a 
stop  is  imperative.  The  engine  must 
govern  on  the  widest  variation  of  load, 
and  the  engine  must  be  quiet  and  in  many 
cases  practically  noiseless.  The  question 
of  steam  consumption  sometimes  does  not 
.come  in  at  all,  on  account  of  heating 
the  place. 

This  history  has  extended  over  a  period 
of  about  forty-five  years.  No  one  can 
realize  the  amount^ of  study  and  experi- 
menting that  has  been  given  to  the  de- 
velopment of  the  subject.  The  experi- 
ments we  have  tried,  and  found  to  fail, 
far  exceed  the  successes  and,  as  Edison 
says,  "No  failure  is  a  loss,  because  you 
learn  something ;"'  so  we  have  learned  a 
lot  of  things  that  don't  work  as  well  as 
we  could   have  hoped. 

We  tried  long  pistons  (Fig.  6)  which 
all  said  was  right,  but  they  did  not  do 
well ;  too  many  got  to  cutting.  We  tried 
various  kinds  of  piston  rings  which  had 
limited  expansion  stays.  Mr.  Porter's 
four-opening  double  valves  with  very 
short  travel  have  eight  chances  for  leak- 
age, aggravated  by  the  small  lap.  We  cut 
it  down  to  one  valve,  with  two  chances 
for  leakage  and  long  travel  and  wide  lap, 
which  is  better,  but  none  too  good. 

The  compensating-pressure  plate  is  too 
complicated.  For  the  various  steam-chest 
and  cylinder-head  joints,  tlie  narrow  band, 
metal-to-metal,  is  the  thing;  also,  the 
round  rod  in  a  reamed  hole  for  piston  and 
valve  rods ;  the  bushes,  from  wood  to  cast 
iron.  Babbitt  is  best  in  some  places,  and 
lead   bronze   in   others    (Fig.   6). 

Six  or  eight  kinds  of  cros.sheads  and 
guides;  two  or  three  different  kinds  of 
attachments  of  crossheads  to  rods;  three 


Power,  .Y.  y. 

FIG.     12.     PRESENT   CR0SSHE.\D 

or  four  kinds  of  takeups  on  crosshead 
pins;  three  or  four  crosshead  pins;  three 
different  styles  of  frames;  solid  and 
bushed  cylinders;  three  or  four  modifica- 
tions in  the  design  of  the  governor;  three 
kinds  of  governor,  before  the  final  de- 
sign (Fig.  5)  ;  three  kinds  of  main  boxes; 
two  or  three  throttles  before  John  Cof- 
fin's (Fig  9)  ;  two  distinct  forms  of  cross- 
section  of  the  various  parts ;  and  a  half 
hundred  direct-connected  bases ;  certainly 
as  many,  if  not  more  marked  departures 


from  general  practice  on  the  part  of  other 
builders. 

The  original  characteristic  features  of 
the  Straight  Line  engine  were  the  straight 
two-arm  frame,  three-point  support,  ring 
oilers  (Fig.  i),  flywheels  on  the  throws 
of  the  crank  (Fig.  2),  single-ball  gov- 
ernor (Figs.  4  and  5),  absence  of  packing 
on-  piston  and  valve  rods  (Fig.  7),  end 
play  to  all  journals,  long  crossheads  (Fig. 


Power,  y.  *C 

FIG.      13.      ENGINE    WITH     ROCKER     ARM     FOR 
CONSTANT    LEAD 

8)  and  short  guides,  ,  limited  ex- 
pansion piston  rings,  the  absence  of 
foundation  bolts  (Fig.  9),  baffle  plates  in 
valve  (Fig.  10),  Coffin  throttle  and  pop 
piston,  balancing  pockets  in  rim  of  fly- 
wheel   (Fig.   2). 

It  is  for  "us,  whose  shadows  are  grow- 
ing fainter  and  fainter,  to  anticipate  what 
is  to  be  the  final  outcome  of  our  fight- 
ing this  battle  for  the  high-speed  engine. 
Grass  grows  up  and  dies  down ;  trees 
grow  and  die ;  dogs  grow  and  die ;  and 
man  suffers  the  same  fate.  Countries 
spring  up  and  flourish  and  fade  away, 
and  astronomers  tell  us  that  the  moon 
is  dead,  and  that  there  are  dead  stars. 
Each  and  every  one  of  the  old  slide-valve 
engines  has  had  its  day,  a  thousand  rotary 
engines  have  died  "a-borning"  and  the 
glory  of  the  Corliss  engine  is  waning. 

The  high-speed  and  gas  engines  started 
together.  The  gas  engine  has  matured 
much  more  slowly,  and  is  about  to  have 
its  innings.  The  high-speed  engine  is 
changing  its  coat,  and  must  share  the  fate 
of  everything  else.  It  has  served  its  pur- 
pose, proved  its  right  to  existence,  been 
useful,  and  if  it  goes  down  with  the  Cor- 
liss engine  it  will  die  in  good  company. 


Steam-turbine  semi-portable  units  are 
built  by  the  AUgemeirne  Dampfturbinen 
Gesselischaft  in  Nuremberg.  The  turbine 
if  above  the  boiler  and  direct-connected 
with  the  dynamo.  The,  boiler  has  cor- 
rugated flue  tubes,  internal  furnace  and 
smoke  tubes,  and  comparatively  big  water 
and  steam  spaces.  The  superheater,  for 
759  degrees  Fahrenheit,  is  in  the  reversing 
chamber.  It  has  surface  condensation  for 
getting  warm  water  free  from  boiler  scale. 
The  boiler  scat  is  constructed  as  a  pump- 
case  for  the  condensation  pump.  Portable -j 
units  have  jet  condensation.  For  small  j 
work,  pressure  turbines  are  used,  for 
larger  work,  overpressure  turbines.  At 
700  horsepower  a  consumption  of  1.3 
pounds  of  high-grade  coal  is  guaranteed. 


June    I,    ijofj. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


959 


Development    of    the  Surface    Condenser 

Tlie    Surface    Condenser    before    and    after  the  Advent  of    the  Steam 
Turbine.      Factors  Influetxiing  Surface  Efficiency  and  Condenser  Design 


B  Y 


G  E  O  R  G  L 


A 


O  K  R  O  K 


The  surface  condenser  owes  its  inven- 
on  to  what  Neil  Dow  denominated  the 
Demon  Rum,"  for  wherever  distilled 
quors  have  been  manufactured  the 
MTurm  of  the  still"  is  known  and  its  uses 
ell  understood.  It  may  be  considered 
main  that,  as  the  still  was  introduced 
ito  Europe  from  .\rabia  before  the  ninth 
rntur)'  of  our  era.  it  is  a  most  ancient 
iece  of  mechanical  apparatus  being 
itedated  only  by  the  boiler,  the  invention 
f  which  must  have  been  developed  at 
wne  earlier  time. 

The  earliest  distilling  apparatus  prob- 
t>ly  consisted  of  a  vessel  of  clay  or  glass 
)r  containing  the  liquid  to  be  distilled 
nJ  a  pipe  or  receiver  with  cooling  appa- 
itus  fur  condensing  the  distillate,  or  con- 
rnsed  vapor  from  the  boiling  liquid, 
ater  the  pipe  or  receiver  was  developed 


II.      I      THE  IICUCAL  WOIM 

•  the  helical  worm  »o  often 

Is  of  a  few  year«  ago.     It 

!    that   a   perfectly   preserved   glass 

I >  was  found  in  the  excavations  made 

t  Tyre  in   Syria   some   forty  years  ago. 


•f 

•  wa»  di-  i  and  the  "retort 

■I'.ir."  or  -.  i  still,  came  lo.be 

In  later  years  Liebig  nmi\- 

firm  of  the  alembic,  or  condrn* 

that   it  consisted  of  a  gla**   tube 


WAlrr    )•• 
»,    thu«    |- 
Iter  of  modem  (orm. 


While  alchf'my  had  b«en  developing  into 
chemistry  the  art  and  science  of  engineer- 
ing had  come  into  bcmg.  Papin,  Savery 
and  Worcester  had  changed  the  retort 
into  a  boiler.  Newcomcn  had  applied  the 
boiler  to  an  engine,  and  in  1765  James  Watt 
took  out  a  patent  for  a  steam  engine  with 
a  separate  condenser  in  which  the  steam 
was  condensed  by  contact  with  a  metallic 
surface  cooled  by  a  stream  of  .vater  flow- 


/C 


nc.  3.  CHEMISTS  snu. 


Cartwrtght 
h  the  ste%m 


'.   in  the  ani.-lar   space  be> 


tt>l>r«  (or  noltfif  surface.    finaUy  m  iHji, 


Samuel  Hall  took  otit  h-%  patent  covering 
the  surface  condenser,  p?  3j»erly  so  called, 
clainung  among  other  ti.iu,'.  the  use  of 
the  >       ■  >r  feed  water 

and  ;.  -rr  •or  make- 

up feed.  In  hi-  d  passed 

through  the   w.  -    ^lound 

them. 

One  of  the  first  ships  fitted  with  Hall's 
condenser  was  the  "Sirius,"  which  in  iSjB 
in.->de  the  first  pasvage  under  steam  fron 
I'ln^land  to  .\merica.  Ilall't  condenser 
w««  not  a  success,  par*  the 

low    steam    pressure    c.  15 

pounds  gage)  and  panly  on  account  of 
the  use  of  tallow  as  a  lubricanl.  The 
tallov.  panly  decomposed  by  the  heat  of 
the  steam,  volatilired  and  coming  in  con- 
t.ict  with  the  tul>es.  which  were  made  of 
ropper,  formed  soluble  «.opper  salts  which 


no,    4.     RAIX'S  CDXOKXSO 

rapidly  attacked  the  iron  pbtes  and  lubes 

of  the  boilers.    The  change  •     » 'brs 

fi»r   the   condenser   did   no*  'eft 

«     not 
in    the 


■'.«!«,  «nu   h; 
iSij     lol 


used 


re- 
la 
tef- 

C\t' 

■tng 


Sf»r*rT  r«»nw*r«»»  %n  i^fe 
It  »a»  <re«»ed 

Unlrr    f»'  «■    foo- 

detiser  a  '  •• 

f» 

for 

•  n   the 

-  to  iteM 

by    tbr    Milittatneirf.    *i-4    whcA    lOO   CMI> 


960 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June    I,    1909. 


centrated  the  boiler  was  blown  down  and 
fresh  sea  water  was  added,  the  concen- 
tration always  being  kept  below  the  point 
at  which  the  calcium  sulphate  commenced 
to  be  deposited.  When  the  pressure  was 
increased  to  45  pounds  gage,  the  calcium 
sulphate  was  deposited  at  the  ordinary 
concentration  of  sea  water,  so  that  it 
could  no  longer  be  used  for  feed. 

About  this  time  the  surface  condenser 
was  tried  by  many  shipbuilding  firms 
with  success  and  soon  became  the  standard 
apparatus.  The  necessary  makeup  was  at 
first  carried  in  the  ballast  tanks,  but 
evaporators  were  soon  installed,  and  at 
the  present  time  are  an  indispensable  part 
of  the  outfit  of  every  ship. 

On  land  the  surface  condenser  was  not 
taken  up  by  designers  and  manufacturers 
to  such  a  degree  as  in  marine  work,  for 
the  incentives  were  lacking.  Good  feed 
water  was  usually  cheap  and  plentiful. 
The  jet  condenser  gave  tht  23  to  26  inches 
of  vacuum  required  with  a  much  smaller 
expenditure  of  power  and  cooling  water, 


feed.  That  this  niakeup  water  was 
warmed  to  the  feed  temperature  wa3  a 
well-known  incidental  saving,  as  shown  by 
Bourne's  patent  in  1838. 

By  1870  the  surface  condenser  had  at- 
tained the  status  of  a  standard  machine 
differing  but  little  from  the  description 
given  above,  and  until  the  appearance  of 
the   steam   turbine   with   its   demands   for 


in  the  water  boxes.  This  practice  did 
not  become  general  until  after  1870.  The 
better  results  obtained  by  this  means  and 
the  bending  of  the  upper  rows  of  tubes  by 
the  force  of  the  entering  steam  suggested 
the  introduction  of  baffle  plates  and  sup- 
porting plates  inside  cf  the  condenser,  { 
these  tending  toward  a  better  distribution 
of  steam  to  the  tube  surface. 


FIG.      5.      PIRSSON  S    SURFACE    CONDENSER 


^nt 


000000000 
000000  0000 
000000000 

000000000  o 

000000000 

00000000  oo| 

\   0000000  00 

00000  00000 

000000000 

00000000  00 


■'  ■'  ■'  "  "  ' '  ■'  "  ■'  "-^ 


I.I(iHTH.\LL  S    STE.AM    BOILER   CONDENSER 


In  navy  condensers  attempts  were  made 
to  secure  better  steam  distribution  by 
providing  steam  passages  into  the  tube 
banks,  these  passages  being  made  by  leav- 
ing out  tubes.  Although  good  results 
were  obtained  by  this  method,  the  manu- 
facturers did  not  seem  to  take  kindly  to 
it.  For  this  reason  this  method  is  rarely 
used  although  many  condensers  in  actual 


and  withal  the  jet  condenser  was  much 
less  costly  in  first  cost  and  maintenance. 
It  was  only  where  the  feed  water  was 
bad  or  very  costly  that  the  surface  con- 
denser was  used,  and  most  of  the  large 
installations  were  near  the  seacoast  or 
rivers. 

As  first  built  for  land  purposes  the 
surface  condenser  followed  closely  the 
lines  of  marine  practice.  The  shell,  either 
circular  or  rectangular  in  section,  was 
usually  made  of  cast  iron  with  end 
flanges.  The  tube  plates  were  bolted  to 
the  flanges  of  the  shell  with  sufficient  bolts 
to  hold  them  in  place.  The  water  boxes 
were  placed  on  the  tube  plates  and  bolted 
througii  the  tube  plate  to  the  flanges  of 
the  shell.  From  the  lowest  part  of  the 
shell  the  hotwell  pipe  led  to  the  air  pump. 
The  circulating  water  was  led  into  the 
water  box  at  one  end  of  the  condenser  and 
passed  through  the  tubes  and  out  through 
the  water  box  at  the  other  end.  The  ex- 
haust steam  entered  the  condenser  through 
a  nozzle  at  the  top  of  the  shell.  The  air 
pump  was  the  usual  bucket  pump  of  the 
old  jet-condenser  type,  or  the  horizontal 
piston  type  with  flap  valves  developed 
in  the  sugar  industry.  Dry-air  pumps 
were  unheard  of  and  not  necessary.  Most 
condensers  had  a  provision  for  intro- 
ducing a  jet  of  cold  water  into  the  steam 
space,  usually  a  rose  nozzle  at  the  steam 
inlet,  in  order  to  assist  in  the  work  of 
condensation,  and  to  furnish   the  makeup 


FIG.     7.     SURFACE   CONDENSER   OF    1860 


better  vacuum,  only  two  additions  of  mo- 
ment were  made  in  the  design  of  the 
apparatus.  As  early  as  1850  it  was 
•  known  that  the  efficiency  of  the  condenser 
depended  on  the  velocity  of  the  water  in 
the  tubes;  the  greater  the  speed  the  high- 
er the  efficiency,  and  the  water  was  made 
to  pass  twice  or  three  times  through  the 
length  of  the  condenser  by  dividing  the 
tubes  into  banks  by  means  of  partitions 


service  have  been  greatly  improved  by  re- 
moving tubes  to  open  a  passage  for  the 
exhaust  steam  into  the  tube  banks. 

Wheeler,  in  1883,  patented  a  surface  con- 
denser making  use  of  the  Field  tube  prin- 
ciple. He  made  use  of  a  double  water 
box  at  one  end  of  the  condenser,  the  con- 
densing water  entering  the  outside  tube 
and  coming  back  by  the  inside  tube.  This 
condenser  was  not  very  successful,  prob- 


June 


1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


961 


ably  on  account  of  the  entering  cooling 
water  absorbing  heat  from  the  water  on 
its  return  as  well  as  from  the  steam. 

The  Air  Pump 
Since  Newcomen's  time,  the  air  pump 
had  made  comparatively  little  progress,  the 
single-acting  bucket  pump  with  three 
valve  decks,  one  in  the  bucket  and  the 
others  above  and  below  it,  being  the  most 
popular  for  use  with  the  surface  conden- 
ser, as  it  always  has  been  in  the  case  of 
the    jet    condenser.      Occasionally    either 


saiion  had  been  made  a«  in  marine  w»>rk. 

This   pump    with    its    :: 

and  proper  design  wa» 

ingly  good  work.     It  was  also  built  with 

horizontal    valve   decks   and   venical    lift 

valves. 

Generally  the  circulating  pump  was  of 
this  design  also,  and  in  marine  work  wa« 
uniformly  driven  from  the 
along  with  the  air,  feed  and  biit. 
In  land  work  the  air  pump  was  sometimes 
driven  from  the  crosshead.  but  by  this  pe- 
riod the  circulating  and  feed  pumps  were 
always  independent  where  surface  con- 
densers were  used.  Some  twenty  years 
earlier,    in    1850,    Bodmer,    the    hydraulic 


the  centrifugal  pnmp  had  been  introduced, 
found   its   Geld   and   was  a'rejdy   well   in 
the.  lead.     Edwards  and  Brown  ha<l  in- 
proved  the  Bodmer  valveless  air  pt; 
England  and  Germany,  where  i*  ' 
been  known  and  it  had  been 
into  the  I'r       "     " 
pr<ivrH  thr 


known    a*    ihc    i  p.      The 

zontal  direct-act: „   , of  the  1: 

Knowles  or  Warren  t)-pe«  had  been  de- 
vel        ■    -  •  '  •         •  .;rc»$ 

in  tyiM? 

for  surface  cunda:ii:.y  uu;k. 


nU     8.      PASSACCJi    IN'    Tt'BC    BANKS 


PIC.   9.    WHCFXFR  Fie!j»-n;iis  st'KPACC  coxocxsn 


PIC     la     tt'KPAOt  COKKNSU   MOt;K'nm  on  CVMMXtD    AIR    AXO   CmCVLATIItC    PUMP 

thr    (ipper   deck   of  vaK'Ct   or  the   lower  rnjrinrrr.    had    invented    hit    sin|le-act;nt; 

wa»  omitted.     These  pump«  were  al-  >.   but   it   had   !»'•« 

built  wn»'  vrf'i.  .1  barrels,  and   f-f  .  ..•-  writer  ha»  ■^»  w 

vilh  the  ••                      uums  of  ii  t  when  the  hon 

«     are   qmtr    m,  irnt    »'  '  "  i- 

I  and  kept   in  proper  ;  I  in 


lally  in   the   siiKar   iivltxtrv 
>%  mtKh  prour*-"  ••• 


The  .\tn-txr  or  thk  Ti-k«.\'b 
With  the  new  eentury  came  the  intro> 
diKtion    of    • 
!ii/c«  and  ^ 
better  .1 
ratu*, 

vacuum   from  X4  to  j8  inches  < 
crease   the   steam   consumption    .•. 
15  per  cent     With  mo«t  typ«  of  *«'    "'' 
thi«  ihr  ■  .v 

tained  at- 

tachetl  • 

work.  1 

attrinpl  !<>  .1  '.li'l 

necesnia!'-  •■\- 

cess  of 
with  I) 
and  fri' 


rd  lit  iM>  liWrcAM  W  C4MiUUCf«.l*l  «coo> 

V. 

\t  the  ! 
I  <M«nrd  in 
where   the   r 

•   ■r-  »cr 

>f 

lad    rrcnarte    to    i' 
}\iA    hern    ilr*rl«^«Vf  j 


gbJ 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June   I,   1909. 


vacuum  pan  and  triple  effect  in  the  sugar 
induitrj-  and  later  had  been  applied  to 
ihe  barometric  type  of  jet  condenser.  The 
importance  of  the  entrained  air  together 
with  the  additional  air  gaining  access  to 
the  condenser  through  leaks  in  the  shell 
and  exhaust  system,  bej;an  to  be  under- 
stood and  its  effect  on  the  efficiency  of  the 
condensing  surfaces  has  been  studied  by 
many  investigators.  The  difficulties  of 
a  few  years  ago  may  be  better  appreciated 
now  that  it  is  known  that  with  a  5000- 
horsepower  condenser,  a  hole  of  1/32  inch 
diameter  through  the  shell  has  quite  a  se- 
r>ous  effect  on  a  28-inch  vacuum. 

Overcoming  Cle.\r.\xce  ix  Air  Pump 
The  original   dry-air  pump  was  an   air 
compressor  with  a  rather  large  compres- 
sion   ratio.      These    pumps    worked    very 
well  "A'ith  compression  ratios  up  to  about 


FIG.     II.     STANDARD    MARINE    AIR    PUMP 

seven,  but  the  clearance  must  be  small. 
With  higher  vacuums  than  26  inches  the 
clearance  becomes  troublesome,  and  Weiss 
improved  the  pump  by  the  expedient  of 
bringing  both  ends  of  the  cylinder  into 
communication  at  the  end  of  the  stroke 
at  the  moment  of  valve  closing.  This 
allowed  the  air  at  atmospheric  pressure  in 
the  clearance  space  to  expand  into  a  full 
cylinder  of  the  air  at  condenser  pressure, 
but  shut  off  from  the  condenser,  thus 
saving  a  portion  of  it  and  increasing  the 
efficiency  of  the  pump  by  that  amount. 
By  means  of  this  expedient  the  pump  will 
maintam  a  vacuum  on  a  closed  shell  with- 
in 0.3  inch  of  the  barometer  without  diffi- 
culty. 

A  second  way  of  doing  the  same  thing 
is  by  compounding,  using  a  very  low  com- 
pression ratio  in  the  first  stage  and  per- 
forming the  remainder  of  the  compression 
to  atmosphere  with  a  larger  compression 
ratio  in  the  second  stage.     This  method 


has  not  been  used  as  much  as  the  Weiss 
pump,  but  is  equally  as  good  except  for 
the  complication  of  the  second  cylinder 
with  its  stuffing  boxes  and  the  additional 
chance  of  air  leakage. 

Wet-air   Pump 
Of    the    pumps    for    handling    both    air 
and   water,    the    Bodiner   pump   has    been 
very  successful  in  the  hands  of  the  Amer- 


of  the  ejector,  entraining  the  air  between 
the  water  laminations  as  they  pass  into 
the  ejector.  Very  good  results  are  claimed 
for  this  pump.  The  Parsons  augmenter 
consists  of  a  steam  ejector  which  pulls  the 
air  from  the  main  condenser  by  the  aid 
of  a  steam  jet,  passes  it  through  an 
auxiliary  condenser  to  condense, the  steam, 
and  the  mixture  of  water  and  vapor  at 
perhaps  twice  or  three  times  the  absolute 


FIG.      12.      HOLLIS    WET-AIR    PUMP 


ican  owners  of  the  Edwards  patents,  and 
remarkably  good  results  have  been  ob- 
tained by  its  use.  This  Bodmer  pump 
has  also  been  materially  improved  by  the 
addition  of  a  set  of  valves  allowing  the 
air  to  enter  above  the  piston  on  its  down 
stroke.  This  improvement  has  also  been 
introduced  in  the  Brown  pump  by  Josse 
in  Germany,  and  the  horizontal  Bailey 
pump  in  America  has  been  adapted  to  the 
more  efficient  work  made  necessary  by 
the  higher  vacuums ;  Tosi  in  Italy  has  also 
improved  the  valveless  pump. 
Another  type  of  air  pump  for  use  with 


pressure  of  the  main  condenser  is  then  re- 
moved by  an  ordinary  wet-air  pump. 

It  had  been  observed  that  the  vacuum 
fluctuated  with  the  strokes  of  the  air 
pump,  and  that  this  was  more  marked  in 
those  condensers,  mainly  of  the  counter- 
current  type,  in  which  the  temperature  of 
the  hotwell  water  approached  that  due 
to  the  vacuum.  Some  condenser  manu- 
facturers correct  this  fluctuation  by  the 
addition  of  a  dam  or  weir  around  the 
hotwell  pipe,  causing  the  flooding  of  the 
lower  rows  of  tubes,  thus  insuring  the 
cooling  of  the  condensed  steam  below  the 


FIG.      13.      BAILEY    WET-AIR    PUMP 


surface  condensers  is  the  Le  Blanc  pump. 
In  this  pump  the  air  is  removed  by  the 
action  of  a  jet  of  water  in  an  ejector,  a 
device  somewhat  similar  to  the  Parsons 
vacuum  augmenter.  The  Le  Blanc  pump 
consists  of  an  ejector  of  suitable  size 
furnished  with  a  partial-admission  cen- 
trifugal pump  similar  to  a  reversed  Gir- 
ard  turbine.  The  pump  blades  throw 
successive  layers  of  water  into  the  diffuser 


vaporization  point.  Increasing  the  number 
of  wet-air  pumps  to  two  or  three  of  small- 
er size  has  also  the  same  effect  and  hai 
been  largely  used,  but  the  most  efficieiH 
and  popular  expedient  is  to  use  a  centrifu- 
gal wet-air  pump.  These  pumps  are  small 
in  size,  cheap  in  fi.rst  cost  even  when  made 
of  bronze,  and  have  been  very  successful 
when  properly  designed  and  installed.  The 
double-stage  pumps  were  most  successful 


June  I,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


963 


MLLXANa    StCTIOX    V.VLVEiiSS    AlH   I'LMI 


•  I  .^i~L.  i.iiK  ^o  the  conditions  for  succrss- 

ful  operation  were  better  understood,  the 

''--stage   pump   came   into   use   and   is 

ly  satisfactory. 

r    succe&s    three   conditions    must    be 

rved:  the  pump  must  be  below  the 
bottom  of  the  condenser  (no  suction  lift), 
the  pump  and  hotwell  pipe  must  contain 
no  p<jckets  for  the  collection  of  va|>«ir, 
and  the  pump  must  always  be  submerged. 
With  these  precautions  an  even  water  line 
l»c    preserved    in    the    condenser    or 

oil  at  all  loads  within  the  capacity 
ot  the  pump. 


SmaU.    StCAM    TlRBINCS    TO    DrIVE 

.Alxiliakies 
Condenser    i       '         .   for  turbine  work 
are   always    ::  tly   driven    by   en- 

gine, motor  ur  ^tcani  turbine.  Motor 
drives  are  not  as  common  as  formerly, 
and  the  excessive  upkeep  on  high-speed 
engines  is  a  drawback  to  their  use.  The 
small  steam  turbine  has  made  a  place  for 
itself  in  this  fteld  and,  as  centrifugal- 
pump  manufacturers  have  met  the  exi- 
gencies of  the  occasion  by  the  develop- 
ment of  pumps  suited  to  turbine  speeds, 
many  of   the   later  installations  are  pro- 


vided with  turbine  drives  for  the  drciiUt- 
mg  and  hutwrll  pumps.  The  Le  BUnc 
dry-vacuum  •  ~  the  only  pump 

for   this   scr .  -    !<^  a   turbme 

drive,    but    wititnut    u  's    wiU    be 

developed  to  meet  the 

pACTcms  iNFLcexaNc  Sew  ACS  EmoMsct 
Notwithstanding  the  rapid  and  great 
improvement  in  condenser  auxiliaries,  the 
efficiency  of  the  condenser  itself  was 
still  quite  low.  The  tendency  was  to  in- 
crease the  tube  surface  in  the  hope  of 
getting  a  better  vacuum.  Since  Ranktur's 
time  it  had  been  known  tltat  40  l'  >o 
pounds  of   steam   may   be   condensed   per 


rta  15    UNVAaM  Aia  rvMr 


IIALMIBS 


rvHr 


964 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  I,   1909. 


hour  per  square  foot  of  surface  under 
condenser  conditions,  if  proper  arrange- 
ments are  made,  and  in  the  face  of  this 
fact  six  pounds  per  hour  was  considered 
good  practice  with  eight  as  a  maxnnum. 
Purchasers  were  also  in  error  in  that 
they  frequently  specified  the  surface  they 
required  instead  of  the  work  to  be  done. 
In  1900  there  were  almost  no  condensers 
in  which  the  heat-transmission  coefficient 
U  (B.t.u.  transmitted  per  square  foot  per 
degree  difference  per  hour)  exceeded  300. 
In  1904  there  were  very  few  in  which  it 
reached  400. 

The  increasing  difficulties  and  cost  of 
maintenance  of  condenser  tubes  made  the 
question    of    efficiency    a    subject    of    the 


must  be  carried  with  practicaJly  no  leak- 
age and  the  condensed  water  used  for 
feed,  this  necessitating  a  much  more  fre- 
quent replacement  of  tubes.  At  the  pres- 
ent time  three  years  may  be  taken  as  the 
average  life  of  condenser  tubes,  and  in 
the  condenser  quoted  above,  about  8000 
square  feet  of  tube  surface  would  be  re- 
placed every  year.  Such  a  condenser 
might  have,  say,  6000  tubes,  and  as  Sunday 
is  the  only  available  time  for  maintenance 
work  of  this  kind,  an  average  of  40  tubes 
would  have  to  be  replaced  each  week 
when  the  water  boxes  were  opened  for 
cleaning.  The  question  of  tube  deteriora- 
tion has  been  investigated  many  times  and 
the  action  proved  to  be  chemical  or  elec- 
trochemical, but  no  satisfactory  remedy 
has  been  found.  Alloys  approximating 
the  "Admiralty"  mixture  of  70  parts 
copper,  29  parts  zinc  and  i  part  tin,  have 


refuse;  third,  flooding  of  the  lower  row! 
of  tubes  with  the  water  of  condensatior 
fourth,  the  accumulation  of  air  in  thl 
condenser  drowning  those  tubes  witj 
which  it  is  in  contact.  The  second  an| 
third  factors  may  be  corrected  by  the  dej 
signer,  the  first  will  not  obtain  if  ther 
is  no  oil  in  the  exhaust  steam,  and  thi 
fourth  concerns  both  the  designer  anij 
builder.  Careful  workmanship  and  erec-i 
tion  will  reduce  the  air  leakage  to  mini-| 
mum  limits  and  modifications  of  desigr 
have  solved  the  air  problem  satisfactorily,! 
Among  the  most  successful  of  thest 
methods  are  the  results  of  the  experi-j 
ments  of  Weighton  and  Morison  which 
are  illustrated  herewith.  The  condensei 
has  a  circular  or  rectangular  tube  plate, 
the  shell  containing  bafifle  or  drainage 
plates  which  carry  the  condensed  steam 
to  the  shell  as  quickly  as  possible  and  at 


THE   LE    BLANC    AIR    PUMP 


Plneer,  .V.  r. 
FIG.      17.      MCLLAN's    vertical    AIR    I'U.VIP 

first  importance.  A  6000-horsepower 
engine  usually  had  a  condenser  with  about 
pooo  feet  of  tube  surface  and  carried  a 
vacuum  of  26  inches.  ,\s  these  large  in- 
stallations are  nearly  always  near  the 
seacoast  and  use  salt  water  for  condens- 
ing, the  deterioration  of  condenser  tubes 
andi  consequent  replacement,  although  a 
serious  matter,  was  not  a  very  costly 
one.  The  leakage  of  salt  water  into  the 
condenser  was  not  troublesome,  as  the 
condensed  steam  contained  oil  and  was 
thrown  away.  But  a  lo.ooo-horsepower 
turbine  with  25,000  square  feet  of  tube 
surface  was  a  more  serious  affair,  particu- 
larly   as    28    inches,    or    greater,    vacuum 


been  most  successful  when  salt  water  is 
used  for  cooling. 

These  considerations  have  led  to  the 
investigation  of  surface  efficiency,  and 
many  noteworthy  experiments  have  been 
n'.ade  leading  to  the  increasing  of  heat 
transmission  by  a  better  distribution  of 
the  steam  to  the  tube  surface,  a  more 
rai)irl  rate  of  flow  of  the  condensing  water 
and  a  more  complete  removal  of  the  en- 
trained air. 

.Maximum  surface  efficiency  should  oc- 
cur when  the  tube  surface  is  open  in  the 
most  free  and  unrestrained  fashion  to 
the  access  of  steam  on  the  one  side  and 
the  cooling  water  on  the  other.  The 
factors  influencing  this  freedom  of  access 
are,  fir.st,  oily  or  greasy  deposits  on  the 
steam  side  of  the  tubes ;  second,  the  chok- 
ing of  the  water  passages  through  the 
tubes    with    dirt,    paper,    straw    or    other 


the  same  time  control  the  direction  of 
steam  flow.  The  condensed  steam  is  not 
allowed  to  collect  on  the  tubes  nor  flow 
over  more  than  a  few  rows  before  being 
led  to  the  inner  surface  of  the  shell. 

At  the  bottom  of  the  condenser  where 
the  air  must  accumulate,  a  nest  of  tubes 
is  set  apart  as  a  water  cooler,  the  water 
level  on  the  steam  side  of  the  tubes  being 
held  constant  by  a  "dam"  similar  to  that 
illustrated.  The  hotwell  water  is  removed 
by  an  Edwards  pump  whose  suction  is 
taken  off  just  above  the  lowest  baffle  plate 
or  partition,  and  as  the  temperature  of 
this  hotwell  water  is  very  close  to  the 
vacuum  temperature,  the  pump  handles 
very  little  air.  As  the  water  collects  in 
the  lowest  tube  bank,  it  is  cooled  below 
the  vacuum  temperature  and  cools  the  air 
in  contact  with  it.  Another  larger  pump 
exhausts  the  cool   air   from   this  chamber 


June  I,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


9t>5 


id    also   the   excess   water   which    flows 

'le  pump  suction  over  the  dam.    The 

'ge   of   the   second   pump  is   into  a 

A    provided    with    a    tloat    actuating 

Ives,  one  of  which  allows  a  portion 

water    to    return    to    the    co<jling 

or;    the   other   is   connected   to   the 

blet   steam  nozzle  of   the  condenser  and 

Hows  the  excess  to  go  through  the  con- 

len-er  again,  where  it  is  warmed  to  the 

•n  temperature  and  removed  by  the 

!  pump.     .\  triplex   Edwards    pump 

-•rally  used,  one  cylinder  acting  as 

•twell   pump  and   the  other   two   as 

he  air  pump.     It  should  \>c  noted  that  the 

•■••■  -vie  is  simihr  to  that  of  the  Parsons 

11    augmenter.    the    auxiliary    con- 

-    beinK    in   the   main   shell   and   the 

temperature  cooling  the  air  to  the 

point. 

draining   of   the  condensed   steam 


denser,  usually  tAen  as  625  feet  per 
MCoiid, 

l^w  =  Velocity  of  the  cooling  water  in 
tl.c  (  tubes. 

Tip  Mas  taken  from  Hausbrand 

with  nuKiiiicd  constants  to  suit  the  results 
of  the  experiments,  and  quite  a  number 
of  condensers  have  l>eefi  designed  on  this 
basis.  In  scrx'ice  they  have  proved  suc- 
cosful.  showing  heat  transferences  alxMit 
ai  given  by  the   formula. 

The  experiments  of  Professor  Josse. 
f>tiMi-hed  F'ebniary  2,  1909.  show  even 
better  results,  and  it  may  be  that  the  con> 
slant  17  should  be  jo  or  possibly  25.  A 
chart  adding  Josse's  cur\'es  to  mine  may 
l>e  found  on  page  418.  March  a,  1909, 
number  of  Powr«  and  The  Enoineer. 

The  "dr>--lul)e*'  condensers  shown  in 
the  .  ing    illustrations     are    ex- 

ampi  best    modern   design,   and 


at  long  as  the  mouth  of  the  exhaust  noz- 
zle  where  it   •  '    ". 
.Siiifu  leftt    5'  -uld  be  pro- 
ve  the   :  the  cn- 
!    the    str.                             le    tubes 
it  the  whole  length  of  the  coo- 

Sleam  passages  should  be  provided 
down  through  the  body  of  the  tubes  so 
that  every  square  foot  of  surface  may 
be  c  >  *    A  . 

Si;  iienu  are  re- 

quir  ui  water  remain- 

ing 

A  p<jrnon  oi  ih« 

and  at  the  end  of  t  ^ ^ 

be  protected  from  the  water  of  conden- 
sation so  that  they  may  act  as  an  air 
cooler. 

A   hotwell  ■    !   with   a 

surface  half  .1  .•ust  noa- 


riG      19.     PARSONS  VACUl'M    AL'CMEXTCK 

---  <  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  a  value  of 
I'  exceeding  8ao  may  be  obtained  by 
g<K>d  design  with  vacuums  of  JR  inches. 
It    should    be    remarketl    that    condensers 

•  ,-.im 

>i   is 

t*mm,  »  r.     Usually  due  t  or  dry- 

riG-  JO.   Till:  AiiJ^.v  WEIR  air   pump  arr..  ^  in   ihe 

exhaust    system,    lark    of    sufhcient    con- 
from  the  rnndensing  surface  has  been   a     ^^„,j„^   ^„„    f„„jensing  water  of  too 


nosi  I    way    of    improvmg    the 

ir.i!     _         ;  ..cr.  and  many  of  the  later 
'iscrs  have  been  designed  with  this 

II    >  irW. 

In    the     August     It.     iooK.    number    of 

»    The    !  'T 

•I     in    hr-  •■.! 


heal    irantfrrrnce    under 
"..i»ons  gave  ihe  work  of  «•- 
rs,  and   with  these  curve*    ■ 
itiirr   w,i4   plotted   from  the   formula. 


high  a  tem|>erature.  or  to  failures  of  the 
■       to  dirt  or  rubbish 

CONDENSER    DESIGN 

III  ser  Ihe  following 


The 


Ihe 


'^n^yTvT  \l  0.0, J  +  r.  .  to;,.  .......    ..- 

>  ^  The  e«hau*l  sleam   t 


tnrh   a 
ip- 

|o 
should  \te  arouii'l 
...nd 

hould  enter  from 


nC.     il.     WgJCWTDX  S  COKOBKMR 


not 

I 


V,    =    Velocity  of  sleam   in   the  rrm-        T* 


not  be  more  than  tw 


zle  area.    The  depth  of  thi« 

imp     •     •   •    -    -      ■.  .-    - 

I 
off 
levc 
cesslttL 

T1»e  b..t«r!!  puinr'  should  Se  ptsrad  •• 

h  « 
•  k» 

k>w  the  hotwell  »^ 

Watn  CttcvxATis     SmtM 

W 

bor 

rice   of   the  't«   siMSId   b« 

I      >  rr   Oi^fi  tMMirr   Time  of 

f«n 

pipe  should  be  tort* 


966 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June   I,  1909. 


so  that  at  maximum  output  the  water 
velocity  shall  not  exceed  10  feet  per  sec- 
ond and  about  8  feet  per  second  at  nor- 
mal output.  The  connection  to  the  water 
box  may  be  smaller  and  allow  a  flow  of, 
say.  14  feet  per  second  for  maximum 
velocity. 

Tubes  may  be  of  i  inch  outside  diam- 
eter, never  smaller  in  the  neighborhood 
of  large  cities  with  salt  water  for  cooling. 
With  good  clean  water,  fresh  or  salt. 
J4-  and  J^i-inch  tubes  may  be  economical. 


water  while  properly  holding  the 
tubes. 

The  discharge  pipe  should  be  small 
enough  to  run  full  even  when  vertical, 
with  15  feet  per  second  as  maximum 
velocity. 

A  connection  should  be  provided  be- 
tween the  water  box  and  the  steam  space 
and  fitted  with  a  valve  so  that  the  pump 
may  be  primed  by  the  dry-vacuum  pump. 
Condenser    Shell 

The    shell    should    be    tested    by    filling 


that  the  water  passage  may  be  dry  whe 
not  in  use. 

Gages  and  Thermometers 

A  final  word  may  not  be  amiss  regart 
ing  gages  and  thermometers.  Vacuui 
gages  of  the  Bourdon  variety  are  note 
riously  erratic.  Use  a  good  mercury  co 
umn  of  full  length.  A  good  thermometf 
with  a  deep-winged  well  carried  into  th 
center  of  the  exhaust  nozzle,  with  a  mei 
cury  column  properly  connected  so  as  nc 


FIG.     22.     WEIGHTON's    MARINE  CONDENSER 


Tubes  larger  than  i  inch  are  rarely  eco- 
nomical. Water  velocities  in  the  tubes 
should  always  exceed  4  feet  per  second, 
■with  8  or  9  feet  per  second  as  a  maximum. 
The  length  of  tube  and  the  number  of 
water  passes  should  be  determined  for 
each  case  from  theoretical  considerations. 
Tube  glands  should  be  of  such  form  as 
to  add    little   obstruction   to   the   flow   of 


with  water  unrlcr  a  head  of  30  feet  above 
the  top. 

The  shell  should  be  strong  enough  to 
stand  a  collapsing  pressure  of  10  pounds 
gage. 

When  in  place  the  tubes  should  slope 
toward  the  pump  end  sufficiently  to 
drain  the  tubes,  and  a  ^-inch  hole  should 
be  drilled  in  each  water-box  partition   so 


Hot  Well  f  uiup  SuctiuD 

Pbrntr,  K.T. 

FIG.  24.    WORTHIXGTON    IMPROVED   TUBE    PLATE 

to  add  the  steam  velocity  head  to  the 
vacuum,  will  be  the  best  index  of  the  air 
leaks.  Thermometers  should  also  be  placed 
in  the  circulating  suction  and  discharge 
pipes,  in  the  hotwell  and  the  dry-air  suc- 
tion, and  a  second  mercury  column  on  the 
hotwell.  With  these  instruments  a  very 
good  idea  may  be  obtained  of  Nvhat  is 
going  on  inside  the  condenser. 


JUIK-    I,    1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


9fi7 


A    High-Pressure    Turbine  Of>cra- 
ting  at  30  Pounds  Gage 


It  is  not  very  often  that  a  high-pre«<ure 
turbine  is  required  to  operate  at  .v> 
pounds  gage.  This  pressure,  or  slightly 
higher,  is  commonly  used  for  ferry  and 
river    b<jats.    and     t!ic    "RuIktI     Fviltun." 


trolled  by  a  lever  throttle  valve  at  some 
distance  from  the  turbine. 

The  construction  of  the  turbine  is  shown 
to  bett.  r  '  -iijc  in  Fig.  2.  a  sectional 
view    !  usual   dr«ii;Ti,    whi.  h    i^ 

of  the  KnJicr>'  r 

steam  from  the  n 

ly  on  the  buckets  of  the   runner,  an<i   I'-ie 
!>tcam     IS     revcrst-d     bv     statiotiarv     l.'i;i<!c 


rtc.    I.   Tt;KBo  pcMPiNb  ourrrr  ruk  the    kobuct  rcxTuN 


case  With  this  subdivision  of  the  proccM 
of  abstracting   !'  .>    of  the  steam, 

the  peripheral  \  the  njimcr  laaj 

''  v»o  to  xc-  and  in 

I-  :    case,    »  :     iHoo 

revolutions  per  minute  a-  c  run> 

ner  2   feet   in  diameter.  -. :>j  lets 

than  joo  feet  per  second. 

V.  '■       .  ■    .1  ■  and  a 

1.  due 

to    tllc  !0 

use  a   '  .  < 

:  .lied  at  abi'Ut  jo  horsepower,  and  in- 
::icad  of  using  two  noiiles,  which  is  the 
number  usually  pru\ided  for  this  siie, 
the  turbine  «as  equipped  with  four  noi* 
zles ;  the  throat  of  the  noulc  was  alto 
enlarK'  '«   shape  changed   to   suit 

the     «  Thr^e     »ere     the     onljr 

^' .  ■  K'^  ••  •' c  turbine  under 

rxi-!i!ij;  c ■-•:■.' '.:•.:  -.>  \-  ..i;^'ablc  of  develop- 
ing about  12  horsepower. 

Before  landing,  it  is  uttial  to  ran  the 
pump  for  about  8  minutes,  which  would 
mean    '•  ""   ns  of  water  or  over  66,- 

orr>   fv  w"hW    f*e   r»^«'«v3!mt    to 

The 
r  con- 
tT'  V.y.yg  the  throttle  valve,  watches  the 
telltale  showing  the  list  of  the  vessel,  and 
to  keep  an  even  keel  surts  or  stops  the 
turbine  as  required. 

On  the  "llendrick  Ifudson."  a  boat  of 
the  same  line,  a  similar  outfit  is  installed. 


one  of  the  new  boats  now  being  built  for 
the  Albany  Day  Line,  is  no  exception  to 
the  rule.  All  machinery  nnMt.  of  c•)ur^c, 
be  adapted  to  this  pr>  1   when  it 

came  to  installing  a  l>.ii  ,■.  the  unit 

shoM-n  in  Fig.  l  was  ch<>»ett.  Ifiis  con- 
sists of  a  Terry  turbine,  of  the  *ame  gcM- 
eral  design  as  the  high-pressure  niachinr*. 
direct-connected  to  a  6- inch  .Mlierger  vo-. 
lute  pump  ninning  at  a  sfterd  of  1800 
revolutions  per  minute.  The  duty  of  the 
outfit  is  to  pump  water  from  the  river 
to  either  one  of  two  b-illast  t.mks  of 
about  10.000  ^'allon*  (.i(iacity  located  on 
either  side  .  •  cl. 

When  lan-l  ni'rr^  nl!  m^vr   t'l 

one  side  of  the  ve^^el,  . 
keel,  it  is  necessary  l<  ;  . 
ballast  tank  on  the  opposite  side  from  the 
dock.  This,  of  course,  requires  a  large 
amount  of  water  in  a  short  period  of 
time,  and  the  {uiniping  unit  illu«tr.tte<l  i« 
guaranteed  to  deli\er  looo  gallon*  of 
water  per  nv  i'lst  a  35  f 

with    the    St.  '.rr    as    ! 

pounds.      It*    fair..-' 
tween  »  and  .15  i-     ".' 
guaranteed   that    after 
the  turbine  will  clear  u     .: 
the  9-inch  exhaust  pipe  rising  to 

of    0    feet    an<l    will    ♦»'-    

•peed  at  a  time  not  n 
afir- 

OM' 

cot 
ina 


hight 

.    <.,ii 


I   xkeis    to    be 
upon    the    1 

Tlir    «1  Jilofi 


m;  J.    samov  r«aotx«  tnav  nmnn 

tevi-rat    ttm<-«     re.1i reacted      with  the  caceptioM  thM  the 
ttner.     ate*  on  a  steam  prrsMirc  €tt 

ilie       It    i»     !iirt>etl  t«>  }*   tr>r,:   tSe 


»rr«turr      «• 


best  ol  sal* 


»•    JD 


968 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June   I,   1909. 


Supernatural    Visitation    of    James    Watt 

How  He  Worked  Out  the  Secret  of  Running  an  Engine  Condensing; 
His  Claim  to  Be  the  Father  of  the  Rotary  Engine  Idea  Substantiated 


BY       WARREN        O.        ROGERS 


I  have  been  considerably  gratified  bj' 
the  recent  publicity  given  the  wonderful 
achievement  of  a  photographer  who  suc- 
ceeded in  photographing  a  spirit  from 
the  other  world.  The  photograph  was 
published  in  a  number  of  the  leading 
papers  of  the  country  and.  although  the 
likeness  resembled  a  potato,  it  is  proof 
to  some  of  us  that  spirits  do  surround  us. 
I  mention  this  merely  to  point  out  to 
those  who  are  still  skeptical  regarding 
James  Watt's  visits  to  me  that  others 
have   received  supernatural  visitations. 

My  third  visit  from  James  Watt  was 
during  one  of  the  coldest  nights  last 
winter.  I  had  settled  down  for  a  con- 
fortable  evening  with  my  books  and, 
under  the  soothing  influences  of  a  "Per- 
fecto"  was  rapidly  forgetting  the  weari- 
ness of  the  day's  toil.  After  a  while 
I  became  drowsy ;  the  half-consumed 
cigar  fell  from  my  fingers  and  I  slept. 
How  long  I  slept  I  know  not,  neither 
does  it  matter.  When  I  awoke,  it  was 
with  a  start,  as  if  my  slumbers  had  been 
disturbed  by  some  unusual  noise.  The 
room  had  grown  icj-  and  I  could  hear 
the  house  crack  with  the  extreme  cold. 
Other  than  this,  not  a  sound  broke  the 
stillness  of  the  night,  except  the  oc- 
casional moaning  of  the  wind  as  it  was 
caught  in  an  angle  of  the  house  and 
then  whirled  away. 

Suddenly  the  silence  was  broken  by 
a  sound,  as  if  the  furnace  door  of  the 
heating  boiler  in  the  basement  had  been 
opened  forcibly,  followed  by  the  shak- 
ing of  the  grate,  the  unmistakable  rat- 
tle of  a  shovel  in  the  coal  bin  and  the 
clanging  of  the  furnace  door,  as  it  was 
slammed  to.  I  listened  in  amazement. 
What  could  it  be?  Surely  nothing  mor- 
tal, for  the  doors  and  windows  had  been 
IcMrked  for  hours.  And  certainly  not  a 
spirit,  for  a  spirit  would  care  little  for 
fire  or  heat.     What,  then? 

As  I  remained  motionless  in  my 
wonderment,  the  basement  door  creaked 
on  its  hinges,  the  click  of  the  latch 
sounded  and  all  was  quiet  again.  As 
1  arose  to  investigate,  the  portieres  parted 
and  James  Watt  stood  before  me,  his 
phantom  figure  standing  out  against  the 
curtain  background.  We  shook  hands, 
and  with  a  sigh  of  intense  relief  I  said : 

"What  in  this  world  or  the  other  pos- 
sessed you  to  fire  np  that  boiler?" 

"Well,"  replied  James,  as  he  removed 
his  mittens  from  his  bony  hands  and  care- 
fully put  them  in  his  coat  pocket,  "from 


the  feeling  of  this  room  the  fire  required 
attention.  You  make  me  think  of  that 
poem  I  wrote  some  years  ago,  'Asleep 
at  His  Post,'  or  something  like  that. 
That  is  a  strange  kind  of  coal  you  use," 
went  on  James,  as  he  removed  his  low- 
cut  shoes  and  placed  his  transparent  feet 
against  the  radiator;  "has  it  been  frozen, 
or   what  ?" 

"Oh  no,"  I  replied  with  a  laugh.  "That 
is  a  kind  of  coal  known  as  anthracite. 
It  is  used  extensively  in  the  eastern 
States,  burns  without  smoke  and  gives 
off  considerable  gas,  which  burns  with 
a  blue  flame,  something  like  brimstone." 

".Ah !"  said  James,  half  to  himself,  "I 
knew  there  was  something  familiar  about 
it — blue  flame,  brimstone — why,  yes,  of 
course." 

As  James  thus  soliquized  he  took  a 
cigar  and  then   remarked : 

"This  is  the  kind  of  a  night  no  honest 
man  should  be  abroad ;"  and  he  lit  his 
cigar  and  began  smoking  in  a  manner 
that  would  put  even  the  infernal  regions 
to  shame,  I  thought ;  "but  I  got  lonesome, 
and  having  got  into  another  circle,  where 
I  have  greater  liberty,  I  decided  to  come 
and  talk  with  a  fellow  craftsman  for  a 
while." 

James  looked  discontentedly  at  the 
table,  on  which  reposed  nothing  but 
a  few  books,  and  rolled  his  tongue 
as  if  his  lips  were  dry. 

"Not   tonight,"    said  I. 

James   began   to    sulk. 

"You  had  too  much  the  last  time  you 
were  here,"  I  continued.  "Tell  me  about 
your  first  attempt  at  running  a  condensing 
engine." 

".'Ml  right,"  responded  James,  at  once 
brightening  up,  and  saying  confidentially: 

"I  was  kind  of  soused  wasn't  I  ? 

"My  first  condensing  engine,  as  I  told 
you  at  my  last  visit,  was  one  of  old 
Newk's  model.  Now,  as  you  know,  his 
idea  wasn't  worth  a  frozen  tinker  when 
applied  as  he  had  it.  The  idea  of  con- 
densing the  steam  was  all  right,  but  it 
required  a  head  to  work  the  problem  out 
so  as  to  apply  it  to  practical  purposes. 
That  is  the  way  with  a  good  many  things 
nowadays,  T  fancy,"  and  James  nodded 
in  a  self-complacent  manner  as  if  he  had 
a  notion  he  c«uld  set  a  good  many  wrong 
ideas  right  if  he  only  had  the  oppor- 
tunity. As  I  thought  of  his  achievements 
I  felt  that  such  a  possibility  would  not 
be  at  all  tmlikely.  Seeing  that  James  was 
apt  to  become  absorbed  in  meditation,  I 


cleared  my  throat  in  order  to  attract  his 
attention,  whereupon  he  continued : 

"Of  course,  you  know  that  it  was  the 
hight  of  nonsense  to  put  steam  into  an 
engine  cylinder,  turn  in  cold  water  and 
expect  to  get  any  economy.  In  those  days 
we  hadn't  paid  much  attention  to  the  con- 
servation of  natural  resources,  which  you 
Americans  seem  to  be  making  so  much 
ado  about.  But  I  could  see  that  if  steam 
engines  were  to  be  a  success,  a  different 
means  of  condensing  the  steam  would 
have  to  be  utilized." 

"Not  a  very  brainy  conclusion,"  I 
said,  just  to  "egg"  James  on;  "but  any- 
one could  see  that  the  id«a  was  not 
brought  out  by  Newcomen's  method  of 
condensing."  • 

At  this  James  straightened  up  with  a 
gasp  of  surprise.  "Brainy!"  he  roared, 
in  his  hollow  grave-like  tones ;  "Brainy ! 
why,  man,  you  may  not  think  so,  now 
that  the  problem  of  condensing  steam 
has  been  solved.  You  just  stop  and  think 
a  moment  and  see  if  it  wasn't  brainy. 
Think  of  all  the  great  engineers  who  have 
followed  me ;  each  and  every  one  with 
the  best  of  machinery  and  every  facility 
for  doing  good  work.  And  what  do  you 
see  ?     What   do   you   see  ?" 

In  his  excitement  James  arose  from  his 
chair  and  cut  the  air  with  his  fleshless 
arms,  as  he  emphasized  each  word.  His 
gumless  teeth  clicked  together  and  a 
blue  smoke  that  smelled  like  burning 
brimstone  issued  from  his  nostrils.  The 
violence  of  James'  resentment  to  my  re- 
marks regarding  his  thinking  power 
alarmed  me  so  much  that  I  feared  he 
might  burst  a  blood  vessel.  Therefore, 
I  assured  James  I  had  no  intention  of 
belittling  his  intelligence,  but  merely 
wanted  to  stir  him  up  a  little. 

"Well,"  grumbled  James  in  a  mollified 
tone,  "don't  do  it  again.  I  am  touchy 
about  such  things.  The  condenser  has 
been  improved  somewhat  since  my  day. 
but  the  idea  is  there,  and  if  my  patent 
hadn't  run  out  I  would  pr6secute  every 
mother's   son   who   is   using  the  idea." 

"That  wouldn't  do  you  any  good,"  I 
replied ;  "it  takes  money  to  carry  on  a 
lawsuit.  It  wouldn't  matter  so  much 
whether  you  were  in  the  right  or  wrong, 
the  party  having  the  best  lawyer  would 
get   the   decision    in    the   end." 

"Yes,  I  know  you  are  right,"  responded 
James.  "I  met  some  lawyers  the  other 
day,  who  were  rather  sociable  chaps  and 
told   me   considerable   about  the   ways  of 


June  I.  1909. 

making  others  believe  that  black  was 
white,  and  that  when  you  did,  you  didn't. 
St.  Peter  was  for  giving  them  a  pass  to 
the  darker  regions,  but  they  began  to 
argue  the  case  in  their  peculiar  jargon 
that  nobody  understood,  and  in  less 
than  half  an  hour  had  St.  Peter  so  be- 
fuddled that  he  admitted  it  would  uke 
at  least  thirty  years  to  decide  tlicir  case. 
Then,  I  supp«jse,  they  will  appeal  his  de- 
cision if  it  goes  against  them.  If  I  had 
had    such   lawyers   when    I   needed    them. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER, 

I  finally  came  to  the  conculsion  that  I 
would  about  hit  the  nail  un  the  head 
if  1  made  a  separate  vessel  and  let  the 
exhaust  »team  enter  that  to  be  condensc<L 
I  planned  the  thing  out  and  had  the  con- 
denser made  according  to  my  ideas.  The 
first  or  second  trial  did  not  bring  suc- 
cess, however;  but  I  finally  g«»t  the  mat- 
ter fixed  so  that  the  condenser  was  v.ii«!ir 
t'  cylinder,    with    a    very    short 

I  between  the  two." 

"What  kind  of  a  condenser  did  you  first 


969 

from    the    tank,   w*  by 

means  of  a  pump  c<  '  am 

of  the  engine.  The  condensed  steam,  in- 
jection water  and  air  were  removed  from 
the  condenser,  through  a   foot  valve,  bjr 

means  of  an  n- '     '  '      -    '   to 

a  hot  well.     A  <A 

to  tlic  h'  ■  -lie 

1h  ilrr       I  ^ed 

1   «.au  Icam 
le." 
i  was  forced  to  admit  that  the  idea  of 


TIIL  MUCNCK 


.J.  ..J    ;  uj.  — •-. 


v,  fw  Till  rf»j»«r»  ti»'t 


I    «1i..mI.I   have  had  money  enon^'i   »< 
that   would   have 
^„>' .  ■  o  ..<  today  tit  up  and  Ui>.' 
'I  don't  doubt  it."  1   repheii  m  ■> 

■  '        ■    I    M« 
•   n«#- 

iu»  .«: 

mcnt    '■ 

many  idea*  in  '  did. 

un  nn  about   yr>    ■ 

Well,"  went  on  James.  "1  used  to 
kr  my  pipe  and  gn  out  to  tome  quiet 
'4cr  and  sit  down  and  tmokc  and  think. 


me 
"It 


But 


rxiM-riment  with.**  I  atkrd  as  I  pa»^<I  thr 
"   a   jet   or   turface?** 
.'.  ell,  it  was  both ;  only  it  wa»i.  .   - 
■^   waa.     You  tec,  I  •ubmergrd  the  C' 
denser  body  In       '     ' 
ftcn«r  it   was  a 


\Vj»i  Ji.i.!  ti 


■    t» 


f...t     1,..^ 


I 

r-  ■  r-  rf,  hnwrver.  was  the  jrt.  whi.  h 
CKiiilruicd  the  greater  portion  ul  the 
•team.    TbU  jet  was  ttipplied  with  water 


<1  matrrUTTs    ^ut  did 


970 

sible  with  steam  turbines.  Now,  your 
condenser  would  be  about  as  much  use  to 
a  turbine  as  a  dead  skunk  would  be  to  a 
perfume  manufacturer." 

James  did  not  like  the  observation,  as 
I  could  see  by  the  darkening  brow  and 
the  way  he  bit  his  lip.  But  he  mastered 
his  feelings  and  said,  in  as  natural  a  tone 
as  possible : 

"What  do  you  mean  by  turbines?  Is  it 
a  rotary  engine?  If  that  is  what  you 
are  talking  about,  I  want  to  tell  j'ou  that 
I  had  a  hand  in  that  kind  of  a  prime 
mover   myself." 

"You  did  I"  I  exclaimed  in  amazement, 
for  James  spoke  seriously,  and  this  was 
an  assertion  entirely  out  of  the  beaten 
path  of  claims  for  Watt. 

"You  can  bet  I  did,"  was  the  emphatic 
reply.  "I  was  going  to  apply  the  idea 
to  my  fire  engine,  making  the  connections 
to  the  rear  wheels,  but  concluded  I  was 
altogether  too  far  ahead  of  my  time,  and 
so  I  let  it  drop.  Another  reason  was 
that  the  machine  shops  could  not  do  the 
proper  kind  of  work  necessary  for  rotary 
engines.  If  they  could,  I  would  have  had 
automobiles  running  over  and  killing 
people  years  ago." 

I  was  fast  learning  that  James  made 
a  grab  for  everything  that  belonged  to 
him,  but  when  it  came  to  claiming  to  be 
the  real  originafor  of  the  automobile  I 
concluded  that  it  was  about  time  to  call 
him  to  account.     Therefore,   I   said : 

"Why,  you  can't  lay  claim  to  inventing 
the  automobile,  as  well  as  rotary  engines. 
Suppose  you  did,  how  did  you  arrange 
matters  so  as  to  regulate  the  speed  of  the 
machine?" 

"The  easiest  thing  in  the  world,"  re- 
plied Watt.  "I  designed  the  kind  of  in- 
terlocking gearing  from  the  two  different 
axles,  so  as  to  make  the  machine  go 
fast  or  slow  as  I  wanted  it  to.  I  did 
this  by  regulating  the  power  applied  to  the 
shaft.  That  is  about  what  they  do  today 
isn't  it?"  asked  James,  with  a  slight  sneer 
on  his  ghostly  features. 

For  some  time  I  sat  meditating  upon 
the  wonderful  ability  of  Watt  in  the  flesh, 
then,  turning  to  ask  a  question,  I  found 
that  I   was  alone  once  more. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 
Catechism    of  Electricity 


Yasuzo  Wadagaki,  a  Japanese  engineer, 
read  before  the  Northeast  Coast  Institu- 
tion of  Engineers  and  Ship  Builders  at 
Newcastle-upon-Tyne,  recently,  a  paper  on 
the  ".\daptation  of  Steam  Turbines  for 
the  Propulsion  of  Vessels  of  Moderate 
Speeds,"  in  which  he  proposed  two  start- 
ling methods:  (i)  The  putting  of  the 
propeller  in  the  throat  of  a  tube  flaring 
in  both  directions  so  that  the  water  at 
the  throat  would  have  a  greater  velocity 
relative  to  that  of  the  ship  and  allow  a 
faster  running  propeller  to  be  used  with 
efliciency,  and  (2)  the  use  of  a  low-pres- 
sure turbine  to  compress  the  steam  to 
a  higher  initial  pressure  and  temperature 
before    passing    to    the    main    entrin'.-. 


Tvpic.\L    Forms    of    Direct-Current 
Generators 

1058.  Are  bipolar  direct-current  gen- 
erators inanufactitred  iiozvF 

Yes;  they  are  still  being  manufactured 
for  small  outputs.  For  outputs  much  above 
two  kilowatts,  multipolar  generators  have 
replaced  them. 

1059.  Illustrate  and  describe  a  bipolar 
generator  as  noz>.'  manufactured. 

Fig.  290  shows  a  belt-driven  bipolar  ma- 
chine which  is  made  in  capacities  from 
J4  to  l^  kilowatts  and  wound  to  give 
125  or  250  volts.  The  frame  and  magnet 
poles  are  cast  in  a  single  piece  of  gray 
iron.  Fig.  291  shows  the  separate  parts 
of  the  machine.  The  bearings  are  sup- 
ported by  arms  c,  e,  etc.,  cast  solid  with 
the  frame.  The  arms  terminate  in  rings 
m,  that  are  bored  out  at  the  same  time 
and  to  the  same  diameter  as  the  field- 
magnet  poles  n  and  s  in  order  to  provide 
seats  for  the  circular  bearing  housings  b- 
The  armature  t  can  be  taken  out  by  re- 
moving the  four  bolts  which  hold  the 
rear  housing.  The  circular  bearing  hous- 
ings can  be  rotated  to  keep  the  oil  wells 
under  the  bearings  when  the  machine  is 
mounted  on  a  wall  or  ceiling. 

The  bearings  are  of  the  self-oiling  ring 
type.     Oil  brought   up  from  the  wells  by 


June  I,   1909. 

and    are    held    in    place    on    the    poles    by 
clamping  pieces. 

The  armature  is  of  the  drum  type  with 
slots  to  take  winding,  which  is  held  in 
the  slots  by  fiber  wedges  and  by  wire 
bands  over  the  projecting  end  of  the 
coils ;  no  bands  are  used  over  the  cores. 
The  core  laminations  are  punched  from 
thin  sheet  steel  and  are  assembled  direct- 
ly on  the  shaft  and  clamped  between  stiff 


FIG.  290.     WESTINGHOUSE  BIPOLAR  GENERATOR 

end  plates,  one  resting  against  a  shoulder 
on  the  shaft  and  the  other  held  by  a  nut 
on  the   shaft. 

The  commutator  is  made  of  hard-drawn 
copper  bars  separated  by  insulating  strips 
of  mica.  The  bars  and  insulation  are 
assembled  on  bushings  and  clamped  be- 
tween  V-shaped   rings,   from   which   it   is 


FIG.     291.     PARTS  OF  THE  BIPOLAR  GENERATOR  SHOWN  IN  FIG.  29O 


the  rings  is  distributed  by  oil  grooves  to 
every  part  of  the  bearing.  Covered  open- 
ings are  provided  in  the  sides  of  the 
housings  for  inspecting  the  bearings  and 
refilling  the  oil   wells. 

The  field-magnet  coils  h  and  /  are  com- 
posed of  cotton-covered  wire,  machine- 
wound  on  forms  and  then  impregnated 
with  insulating  compound.  They  are  pro- 
tected   by    several    layers    of    heavy    tape 


insulated  by  mica;  the  clamping  rings  are 
set  up  after  the  commutator  has  been 
heated  to  a  high  temperature  and  while 
it  is  still  hot,  so  as  to  hold  every  bar 
firmly  in  place.  The  complete  commutator 
is  pressed  onto  the  shaft  and  pinned. 
The  commutator  leads  are  protected  by 
tough  canvas  coverings  and  the  ends 
are  soldered  into  slotted  projections  on 
the  bars. 


June  I,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


yri 


The  rods  on  which  the  brush  holders 
are  clamped  are  supported  by  cast-iron 
rocker  rings  which  are  held  rigidly  against 
a  machined  surface  on  the  front  bearing 
bracket  by  set  screws.  The  brush  holders 
r  are  of  the  simple  box  type  and  the 
brushes  are  carbon  blocks  pressed  radial- 
ly against  the  commutator  by  flat  spiral 
springs.     The  terminal  wires  are  brought 


Fic    y)2.    \vr>TiN<.m»rsr   MfLTip«ii..Mj  ges- 
t  k  Mr»R 

to  binding  posts  o  and  v  on  the  two  lower 
arms  supporting  the  front  bearing. 

106a  S''on,'  a  multipolar  machine  of 
the  same  ■  '     .  «  in  Fig.  290. 

A  four  ;  rator  for  outputs  from 

a  to  7',  J  kilowatts  at  12$  or  250  volts  is 
*Vi"\vn  in  Figs.  2f)J  and  293,  the  former 
ration  showing  the  machine  as- 
.led  and  the  latter  the  separate  parts. 
The  magnet  poles  are  cast  with  the  frame 
and  the  field-magnet  coils  fastened  to 
tlirm  as  in  the  bipolar  machine.  The  bear- 
ing brackets  a   and  c  are   separate  cast- 


of  being  mounted  on  the  shaft,  is  pressed 
on  an  extension  of  the  armature  spider 
and  keyed  to  it.  The  rocker  ring  s  u 
clamped  over  a  machined  seat  on  the  in- 
side of  the  front  bearing  bracket  so  that 
the  brushes  can  be  moved  around  the 
commutator. 

The  terminal  wires  e  and  n  are  brought 
out  through  an  insulating  bushing  o  in 
the  side  of  the  frame.  .\i  shown  at  A, 
a  bedplate,  equipped  with  belt -tension  ad- 
justing screws  /  and  /,  is  supplied  with 
the  generator. 


The  Gas  Elngine  in  Blast  Furnace 
Practice 


By  Geokcc  .\.  Orbok 


i  he  modern  .\merican  blast  furnace  is 
the  most  perfect  gas  producer.  These 
■^  are  too  feet  high  from  the 
•..>  the  stack  line,  17  feet  in  internal 
diaimicr  at  the  top,  24  feet  in  diameter  at 
the  Iwse,  with  a  heanh  10  feet  high  by 
14  feet  in  diameter,  the  volume  being 
about  25.000  cubic  feet.  Such  a  blast  fur- 
nace, when  running  well,  produces  about 
too  tons  of  pig  iron  each  twenty- four 
hours  and  uses  iioo  tons  of  sH-per  cent, 
iron  ore,  500  tons  of  coke,  200  tons  of 
limr»ii>nr  and  over  2000  tons  of  air.  The 
g.i-'  "om  the  furnace  amount 

to  I  ••>  tons  per  day,  or  al>out 

4.000,000  cubic  feet  per  hour.  About  JO 
per  cent,  of  this  gas  is  used  in  the  hot 
stoves  to  heat  the  blast,  7!^  per  cent,  is 
burned  under  the  boilers  to  make  the 
steam  neetled  around  the  plant  and  about 
2' }  per  cent,  is  used  in  the  washers  and 


A    3000-Horscpower    Gas    Ejigine 
Pumping    Station    to    be    In- 
stalled   for    Fire   Scn'icc 
in  Philadelphia 

Uy  j    K    Uiaaixs 

During  .March  an  important  contract 
was  closed  by  the  city  of  Philadrl|>hia 
for  the  equipment  of  a  new  high-prr^-  .:c 
tire-service  station,  practically  a  dupli  -itc 
of  the  Delaware  avenue  tire  station.  «■  :^h 
has  given   Mt'    '  »cr\ice  {•  ! 

year*.     The  •   will  t>e 

Seventh  and  l.chnih  avenues,  in  il.c   ;. 
sington   m;!!   f!i«!nrT       !•    will   take    v>  .•' - 
from  tt  r.  as  It  tt 

l<»cated  '    river. 

The   w(>rk   is  in  charge  of  the  Millard 
Construction  Company,  which  i'  '•  '  ■•'•"- 
eral    contractor,    while    deiail-r- 
work  is  being  carried  out  ' 
Engineering  Company.     T; 
co\ers  ten   joo-l- 
ventral    »inij|c-ai' 
CO!  DeaiK-  t: 

140  Acr    unit 

poses.  1  he  engines  will  lake  gas  ir-m 
the  city  mains,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Dela- 
ware avenue  station. 

The    decision   again    to    r '   •     ~< 

driven  by  gas  engines  for  • 

sure    fire   s<r  < 

in  view  of  t' 

previous   to  aiul  : 

the    Delaware  a\ 

was  mostly  in  fa\nr  of  ci- 

pumps  such  as  thn*c  in   .\ 

A    study   of   the    first    year's   operation 

(1904)    of    the    piMi. .!-!»!.     ..,f,    r,      ,n.ti. 

cales  the  kind  oi 

ble  from  an  insiiii; ;  ! n  ■  • 

this  was  the  first  year's  < 


runs  which  were  made    to    test    out    the 

-f...i.,...^r>t  lli.rin.,      ll,..      %rir      ti'r'f      mrr^ 


nc   JOi.    PAKn  or  thk  MiruTiroLAa  cMntuMvm  ihowk  in  no.  J92 


ings  and  are  held  to  the  frame  !»jr  foar     tcrubbert,  leaving  60  per  cent.,  or  2.400.000     p^ 

nire  m  ti     cable   feet  per  hf  •-     '  "     '  >wer      f«.i  ^  . 

.    as   lie-     pMrp<»«e».      The    t  en-     tion,  t> 


iir  rnrrrnt*       I  hr 

fwl    and    shape*!    Ik:    .       .,    .  - 

lie  slot!  and  the  commutator,  instead    itr  Mcurrd  from  tb*  elccirfr  pU' ' 


rrpalr*     on     the     •»•    rn«im>. 
«ooo  hor< 
up    to    I > 

e  Bstrtgt.  any  «nit  cnM  hr  p«l 
■     too  priwilt 


97^ 

pressure  in  from  45  to  60  seconds  from 
the  time  of  giving  the  signal  from  fire 
headquarters,  and  the  entire  station  could 
be  got  under  way  in  from  7  to  lO  min- 
utes. In  ordinary  operation,  however, 
only  one  or  two  units  are  started  on  the 
tirst  signal,  as  these  are  sufficient  to  start 
operations,  and  further  units  can  be  put 
on  as  the  service  may  require. 

A  highly  important  feature  of  the 
Philadelphia  situation  is  the  attitude  of 
the  insurance  authorities.  Prior  to  the 
establishment  of  the  Delaware  avenue  sta- 
tion the  insurance  underwriters  had  im- 
posed an  additional  charge  of  25  cents  per 
$100.  On  the  completion  of  the  test  of  the 
high-pressure  pipe  line  in  May,  1902,  a 
reduction  of  15  cents  per  $100  was  made, 
and  on  the  final  test  of  the  gas-power  sta- 
tion on  April  18.  1905,  the  balance  of  the 
extra  "pink  slip"  charge  was  removed 
and  the  system  was  declared  approved. 
Formerly  of  a  most  decided  conservatism 
toward  gas  engines,  the  authorities  then 
expressed  their  complete  confidence  in  the 
new  system  by  suggesting  extensions  to 
the  initial  equipment. 


POWER  AXD  THE  EXCzIXEER. 

to    the    door    of    the    brushholder    or    the 
brush. 

Some  time  ago  I  fell  heir  to  several 
sparkers,  and  my  experience  with  them 
has  been  productive  of  evidence  against 
the  brush  and  holder.  A  55-horsepower 
type  S-io  Westinghouse  compound-wound 
225-volt  dynamo  was  carrying  a  load  of 
125  amperes.  The  brushes  worked  red 
hot  most  of  the  time,  and  frequently 
ran  so  hot  as  to  melt  the  brushholders. 
This  was  so  common  that  it  had  ceased 
to  call  forth  even  a  moderate  amount  of 
profanity  from  the  attendant.  Today  this 
machine  carries  230  amperes  and  is  as 
cool  as  could  be  desired.  We  are  using 
the  same  brushholders  that  were  furnished 
with  the  machine,  and  the  same  grade  of 
carbon.     The  contact  between  carbon  and 


□ 


Commutator  Brushers  and  Sparking 


By  H.  B.  H.\dfield 


Several  letters  have  recently  appeared 
in  Power  and  The  E.vgineer  regarding 
sparking  of  commutators.  While  a  wide- 
ly diversified  experience  is  shown  along 
that  line  by  the  different  writers,  I  am 
firm  in  the  conviction  that  fully  95  per 
cent,  of  the  trouble  is  caused  by  brushes 
and  brushholders,  while  the  remaining  5 
per  cent,  would  be  ample  to  cover  all  the 
old-timers  and  improperly  designed  ma- 
chines which  have  no  excuse  for  present 
existence. 

I  have  had  my  troubles  with  "sparky" 
commutators,  and  while  my  present  prac- 
tice includes  nothing  of  a  wonderful  na- 
ture, it  is  productive  of  excellent  re- 
sults, which  is  what  we  are  all  after. 

I  have  handled  machinery  with  brushes 
which  have  been  boiled  in  engine  oil, 
paraffin,  beeswax,  turpentine,  tallow  and 
what  not,  and  while  this  "dope"  seemed 
to  give  some  improvement,  it  surely  did 
not  strike  at  the  root  of  the  evil ;  for 
while  it  would  lubricate  the  brush  it 
also  increased  the  contact  resistance  with 
the  brushholder  and  commutator  and  gave 
rise  to  trouble  worse  than  that  which  it 
was  intended  to  cure. 

After  the  brushes  are  set  at  the  correct 
points  on  the  commutator,  spaced  evenly 
all  around,  and  the  load  is  not  excessive, 
the  commutator  is  true,  the  brushes  fitted 
carefully  to  the  holders  and  commutator, 
and  still  they  spark,  that  is  a  condition 
productive  of  gray  hairs  and  insomnia. 
But  a  careful  analysis  for  should  it  be 
diagnosis?)   will   usually  trail   the  trouble 


Slot  for  Pigtail 


^0=^ 


Steel  Spring 


TCarbonj 


y 


fstudj 


Power,  iV.  I', 


fk;.   3 


holder  has  been  improved.  We  found 
that  the  "pigtails"  were  secured  to  the 
brush  by  small  brass  bolts  put  through  the 
copper  webbing  pigtail  and  a  54-i"ch  hole 
in  each  carbon  brush.  This  made  in- 
sufficient contact.  The  bolt  made  no  con- 
tact with  the  brush  inside  the  hole  be- 
cause it  had  to  "clear."  The  point  where 
the  pigtail  was  squeezed  against  the  car- 
bon soon  became  overheated,  carrying 
away  the  copper  coating,  adding  to  the  re- 
si.stance,  starting  the  endless  chain  of 
more  heat,  more  resistance,  until  it  con- 
sumed either  the  brush  or  the  holder. 

Capping  the   Brushes 
We  made  up  a  set  of  brushes  like  Fig. 
I,    which    were    copper-plated    to    insure 
good    srilflercd    contact.      We    then    made 


June   I,  1909. 

caps  of  r/32-inch  sheet  brass  as  repre- 
sented in  Fig.  2.  A  laminated  copper  pig- 
tail was  made  up  about  J^  inch  wide  by 
^  inch  thick  and  passed  through  the  slot 
at  the  top  of  the  brass  cap.  The  cap  and 
pigtail  wei^e  then  soldered  securely  to  the 
brush  and  the  other  end  of  the  pigtail 
was  fastened  tp  a  solid  part  of  the  brush- 
holder.  We  have  had  no  sparking  nor 
overheating  since.  The  brushes  have 
lasted  a  year  and  are  good  yet ;  we  have 
nearly  doubled  the  load,  and  everybody  is 
happy.  This  scheme  of  capping  brushes 
has  been  carried  out  on  about  25  motors 
ranging  from  i  to  50  horsepower  and  is 
being  applied  wherever  trouble  comes  up. 

In  capping  brushes,  no  attempt  should 
be  made  to  solder  caps  to  carbon  without 
copper-plating,  as  only  an  indifferent 
contact  will  result,  and  while  it  may  be 
inconvenient  to  buy  brushes  cut  out  at 
the  top  as  needed  it  will  pay  to  send  them 
away  for  plating  after  cutting,  if  neces- 
sary. 

That  it  is  not  always  sufficient  merely 
to  carry  out  the  instructions  of  the  manu- 
facturer can  be  clearly  shown,  although 
if  these  instructions  were  more  generally 
followed  much  anxiety  and  expense  would 
be  saved.  But  there  are  cases  where  the 
man  who  designs  a  machine  seldom  or 
never  sees  it  in  regular  operation,  and 
certainly  never  has  to  "sweat  blood"  to 
keep  a  factory  or  a  department  of  one 
running  with  a  tricky  motor. 

We  had  a  40-horsepower  motor  running 
a  positive  blower  two  hours  per  day  in  a 
foundry.  At  the  end  of  the  run  it  was 
usually  hot  enough  to  fry  eggs,  and  while 
running  was  so  noisy  as  to  be  irritating. 
The  brushholder  was  of  the  style  shown 
in  Fig.  3,  where  the  brush  is  clamped 
to  the  holder  for  good  contact,  and  the 
stud  runs  through  a  large  hole  in  the 
other  end  of  the  holder,  allowing  the 
holder  either  to  dance  around  like  a 
dervish  or  require  clamping  the  spring  so 
tightly  that  it  became  practically  jammed 
on  the  bars  and  squeeled  like  a  pig. 

In  this  case  we  made  new  brushholders 
of  a  different  type  and  fitted  them  with 
capped  brushes,  and  the  machine  now 
runs  very  coolly  and  quietly  and  is  as  good 
a  motor  as  any  we  have. 

One  of  the  large  manufacturers  put  out 
a  lo-horsepower  four-pole  motor  which  has 
a  commutator  3^^  inches  long,  and  is  fitted 
with  brushes  J%  inches  wide.  The  holders 
are  attached  to  two  wooden  blocks,  a  pair 
on  each  block,  and  the  blocks  are  fastened 
to  the  usual  brushholder  ring.  All  four 
of  these  brushes  run  in  the  middle  of 
the  commutator,  making  a  track  i^ 
inches  wide.  Trouble  with  one  brush 
means  trouble  with  four  in  a  very  short 
time.  We  took  the  wood  blocks  off  and 
cut  a  notch  %  inch  deep  where  each  blorlf- 
fits  the  brush  yoke.  The  two  top  holders 
were  blocked  in  ^^  inch  and  the  two  lower 
.  ones  blocked  out.  This  puts  a  positive 
and  a  negative  brush  in  each  track,  which 
is  no  small  advantage. 


June  I,  1909 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


973 


Practical     Letters    from     Practical     Men 

E)on*t  Bother  About    the    Style,    but    Write    Just    What    ^'ou  Tliink, 
Know  or  Want  to  Know   About  \our  Work,  and   Help  E^ch  (^)thcr 

WE     PAY     FOR     USEFUL     IDEAS 


How  the  Steaming  of  a 
Was  Improved 


Bo  I 


I  have  charge  of  a  plant  in  which  there 
are  two  150-horsepower  boilers  and  one 
100  -  horsepower.  The  100  -  horsepower 
boiler  is  represented  in  the  accompanying 


was  cut  out  the  next  time  I  decided  to 
change  some  of  the  brickwork,  as  shown 
in  Fig.  2.  The  back  wall  A  was  rein 
and  an  extra  wall  B  was  built  bchiii 
boiler  and  tilled  in  with  earth  between  the 
two  walls  C  and  B,  cutting  the  space  down 
from  48  inches  to  18  inches.     Since  the 


Safety  Cams 


ril..     I       BCmu    THE   CIIANCC 


rtu  2.  ATTsa  rut  cmancs 


.:t.    t    and    a.     Fig     1    show*   h<'W 
ler  wa«  arranged  when  I  tiM>L   .1 
the   plant.     The  boiler   did 
xl  at  all  and  did  not  seem  to  a^x 
>-h  draft,  although  there  was  a  ».; 


ihr    Jtjnge  waa  nailr  tV 
t..      ririK  Iraa  coal,  hat  a 

r   trrry   wajr.     It 
itieni  shown  in  Fig   •  u 
•    that   the   (lame*  and 


fl    brU'tr 


•1^  *>(  ihr  SrW-Ww^rlf  that  w««      f«- 


U  M.  Gaow. 


'>n  page  730  of  the  April  jo  oioBbcr 
.iiipeared  a  letter   regarding   safety  cams, 
in  which  the  writer  state*  that  the  eccen- 
tric is  set  about   ; 
crank.     This   p«j-. 
an  angle  of  adv;in«.c 
which  i>  cxce»»i\e.     1: 
position  the  indicator  dugram  will   show 
a  square  corner  at  the  closure  "^  •!>«•  »•» 
haust,  or  in  other  words  no  C' 
.Tnd  late  release.     This  is  entircij    « 

It   would   be   impossible   to   get    rr  •  ..  r 
and  cc»!  late  00  a  ■       "  ^  ■■.< 

with   !l  .c   set    I  t5  ■  .•! 

of  the  cr,«i>k.     A»  a  v 
one  or  both  nf  thr-c 
early.     It  U'  -.o  get  b<  (     ' 

lease  and  c<  :   .  •  -!y,  or  it  w        ! 

be  {x><>sible  to  get  proper  release  or 
prcssiun.   while   the   other  es-ent   in   *.^^h 
case  wculd  be  very  much  loo  early.    The 
only  way  to  gel  Ixith  ever*     '  *  *'' 

Tryon  states,  would  be  to 
trie   not   set     far    enough    ahcud    uf     the 
crank 

gr- 

reach   rod.   *r>  as   to   . 

The  conipres»ion  w>>;:! 

we  would  have  to  shift  the  rccc 

then  adjust   the  exhaust- valve   .......    .—L 

to   bring   the   exhaust    right    airain.    after 
which  the  compt'  '  '  "     '- 

rrduerd.    If  not  • 


V 


have    t 

bring  tJ.v  

reach   rod   must   be 
d.-' 


thii  ni\    «in 


I  I . 


1. 
at 
I.  » 

Iho. 

I  jr.   '•!• 


oTtngion.  Va 


K  !u  <.auh  bO  when  in  its 
t«t  be  rr> 


%»ise 
t-rw^  and 


974 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June   I,    1909. 


with  the  safetj-  stop  in  position  for  start- 
ing the  engine;  I  then  start  the  engine 
and  have  it  run  as  slowly  as  possible 
jintil  I  get  the  trip  collars  set.  At  this 
speed  the  governor  will  remain  on  the 
safety  stop  and  in  this  position  the  steam 
valves  should  close  at  the  latest  possible 
point  of  the  piston  stroke.  To  get  this 
result  the  reach  rod  connecting  the  trip 
collar  with  the  governor  must  be  length- 
ened or  shortened  as  the  case  requires, 
until  the  hook  is  tripped  at  the  very  latest 
point  possible  of  its  stroke  upward. 

VVhen  the  trip  collar  is  set  in  this  posi- 
tion the  safety  cam  should  very  nearly 
touch  the  end  of  the  hook  when  the  hook 
is  in  its  lowest  point,  and  if  the  governor 
is  let  down  oflF  the  safety  stop  the  engine 
should  stop,  because  the  safety  cams 
should  hold  the  hook  off  so  that  it  can- 
not open  the  valve  and  admit  the  steam. 
If  the  safety  cam  does  not  hold  off  the 
\olve  hook  when  the  governor  is  down 
-,r.i  and  the  v^lve  gear  is  correctly  ad- 
justed otherwise,  the  safety  cam  should  be 
set  r.p  on  the  trip  collar  until  it  is  close 
enough  to  hold  the  hook  off.  and  secured 
in  this  position. 

H.^RRV  VV.  Benton. 

Oeveland.  O. 


Faulty  Ejigine  Adjustment 


On  page  686  of  the  April  13  number, 
E.  O.  Brown  presents  two  engine  cards 
typical  for  badly  adjusted  old-style  Fitch- 
burg  engines. 

Two  faults  in  adjustment  may  be  de- 
tected :  The  change  in  lead  of  the  head 
end  at  different  loads  points  to  a  wrong 
position  of  the  governor  on  the  shaft. 
The  excessive  variation  in  cutoff  of  the 
head  end  compared  to  the  crank  end 
proves  that  the  eccentric  rod  is  too  short, 
on  account  of  which  the  rocker  pin  does 
not  travel  an  equal  distance  on  cither 
side  of  the  plumb  line  through  the  rocker- 
arm  fulcrum. 

The  governor  should  be  adjusted  by 
trying  to  get  the  smallest  movement  in 
the  valves,  when  swinging  the  governor 
weights  in  and  out :  the  engine  being  put 
alternately  on  each  dead  center.  Tak- 
ing out  the  springs  will  convenience  this 
operation  greatly.  If  the  governor  is  in 
the  correct  position  a  countersunk  hole 
will  likely  be  found  on  the  shaft  under 
the  tap  of  the  set  screw  in  the  hub  of  the 
governor  wheel,  which  is  generally  drilled 
in  by  the  manufacturers  before  shipment 
of  the  engine. 

Before  starting  to  change  the  length  of 
the  eccentric  rod,  mark  the  position  pf 
the  crank-end  valve  at  the  dead  center, 
as  its  lead  is  correct  and  should  not  be 
changed.  Then  shorten  the  eccentric  rod 
by  turning  the  hook  until  the  rocker  pin 
swings  an  equal  distance  on  either  side 
past  the  plumb  line  through  the  center  of 
the  rocker-arm  fulcrum.  Put  itie  engine 
at  the  farthest  dead  center  and  clamp  the 


crank-end  valve  stem  on  its  reach  rod 
with  the  valve  in  the  marked  position. 
With  this  valve  now  in  the  correct  posi- 
tion, the  head-end  valve  should  be  ad- 
justed by  shifting  its  clamp  until  the  indi- 
cator card  shows  the  same  lead  at  both 
ends  of  the  cylinder  at  all  loads. 

RuLOF  Klein. 
New  York  Citv. 


Motor  Controller  Troubles 


A  short  time  ago  the  starting  lever  of  a 
direct-current  stationary-motor  controller 
was  broken,  as  shown  in  Fig.  i ;  it  was 
impossible  to  get  a  new  lever  at  once, 
so  the  old  one  was  repaired  with  a  patch. 
The  repair  took  one  hour,  including  the 
time  spent  in  removing  the  lever  and  re- 
placing it. 

The  break  was  due  to  one  of  the  seg- 
ments being  loose  and  raised  a  little  high- 


rough  it  will  scratch  the  slate  and  dust 
gets  under  the  copper  brush,  causing 
sparking  at  the  segments  when  the  lever 
is  moved  to  the  starting  position.  I  had 
a  controller  of  this  type.  I  made  a  brake 
of  wood  fiber  and  had  no  more  trouble. 

A  controller  on  one  of  our  cranes  used 
to  spark  badly.  I  found  that  the  seg- 
ments were  all  burned  black.  They  were 
cleaned  with  sandpaper,  but'  in  a  short 
time  they  were  burned  black  again,  when 
it  was  found  that  the  carbon  brush  on  the 
starting  lever  did  not  make  good  con- 
tact with  the  segments  at  the  toe.  After 
the  brush  was  ground  to  a  good  fit  with 
sandpaper  there  was  no  more  trouble. 
H.  A.  Jahnke. 

Milwaukee,  Wis. 


Synchronizing  Trouble 


Q 


Brasb' 
Eolde 


--^ 


Patch—'  . . . 


J 


I  think  C.  L.  Greer's  synchronizing 
trouble  was  caused  by  the  pulsating 
unidirectional  electromotive  force  which 
exists  between  any  commutator  brush  and 
any  collector  ring  of  the  converter. 
Since   the   three-phase   alternatioig-current 


E?^ 


aBubber  Covered 
Buffer 
Brake  made  of 
Wood  Fiber 


er  than  the  others.  When  the  operator 
moved  the  starting  lever  the  copper  brush 
on  the  lever  could  not  pass  over  the 
high  segments,  so  force  was  used,  with 
the  result  that  the  lever  was  broken  and 
some  of  the  segments  were  bent. 

Most  motor  controllers  used  in  shop 
and  factory  work  have  rubber-covered 
buffers  next  to  the  brake  (Fig.  2),  in 
order  to  stop  the  starting  lever  when  it 
is  released  by  the  magnet  when  the 
switch  is  thrown  out.  In  time  these  buffers 
will  wear  out  or  break  and,  if  not  re- 
newed in  time,  when  the  starting  lever 
is  released  by  the  magnet  it  will  strike 
against  the  pins  which  held  the  buffers 
on.  These  starting  levers  are  made  of 
cast  iron,  are  very  light  and  break  easily. 

Some  makers  of  motor  controllers  use 
slate  for  the  brake,  which  I  think  is  bad 
practice,  because  when  the  copper  brush 
on    the    starting    lever    becomes    a    little 


electromotive  force  is  400  volts,  the  direct- 
current  voltage  will  be  about  650  volts. 
The  instantaneous  values  of  the  pulsating 
electromotive  force  vary  from  o  to  650 
volts,  giving  an  effective  voltage  of  about 
460  volts. 

If  the  voltmeter  plug  is  placed  in  A,  the 
positive  brush  is  connected  to  the  positive 
busbar  through  the  middle  voltmeter 
lead.  In  synchronizing  with  the  voltmeter 
plug  in  A  and  one  of  the  synchronizing 
plug  switches  closed,  the  effective  electro- 
motive force  impressed  upon  the  lamps 
varies  from  o,  when  the  machines  are  in 
phase,  to  about  460  volts  when  in  opposi- 
tion. Therefore,  the  lamps  receive  about 
460  volts  instead  of  400  volts.  The  plug 
A  burned  because  the  voltages  were  not 
equal,  or  because  they  were  not  exactly 
in  phase  when  the  switch  was  closed. 
H.  C.  Coaxes. 

Granite  City,  111. 


June  I.  IQOQ. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


975 


A  Gas  Engine  Signal  System  '*"V  »»  ''Shttd  o%'cr  engine  No    i.  both    wa»  found  to  throw  tome  jowooo  gaUon*. 


In  dealing  wnth  thr  minor  difficulties 
incident  to  gas-engine  operation,  the 
.!  system  represented  by  the  acc«»m- 
..ig  diagram  is  a  great  convcninicc. 
li  is  preferable  to  have  thr  signal  control 
Dn  the  panel  of  the  generator  driven  by 
the  engine  for  which  it  is  intended.     This 


lamps  are  dark  over  No.  ^  and  the  green 
lamp  is  lighted  over  No.  j.  ^\lien  the 
load  has  been  divided  equally  among  the 
three    eenerators    the    latnp^    are    exiin- 


guisf 


«witrh    15    used    tn   moit 


T!       . 
cases,    where 
hand,  only  (o     . 
.After  the  generators  have  been  s)mchron- 


(  >nr-     rTL-rfiifii.     1     f ..1      .     t...r.^a 

k...    .-, 

li<  I  u  r\i     wu:     tnr     r 

II     tlir 

l«*ad    was    light. 

to    the 

Hume    and    found 

•le- 

half  ihr   (i»ua!   am- 

•<- 

■    I 

tC- 

tiun    was    stopped    up.      As    the 

suction 

pipe  was  not  rtitiiiii.r<I  ikiiti  a  ••' 

'    ^.\rt. 

the  water  wa^ 

•■Jf. 

I      got      a      long      P<MV       ..MM      IJM      It      U-H 

np 

the    suction    pipe    in    the    water,   i 

!.,:>;, t,c 

perh..                                   .    floor   pUnks   in 

the    :                                              and   ntwiritncrl 

I  lie     fluik     :o    tin.     ■ 

-as 

f'Uix!    wron?       !    V 

-   a 

Lid    Jix  . 

les 

from  a  r., 

■lU- 

v^AAr 


EmIuasc* 
SICNAL'SVSTZM  CDKKECTIONS 


chine  ^h..p,  and  if  I  had  known  of  "P.  D." 
1  wuulil  Kindly  have  given  half  of  the  hard- 
est part  of  my  past  life.  The  water  was 
Ixidly    nerded.    as    some    jooo   acres    was 

l>l. lilted  with  rice,  and  water  had  to  be 
ha«l      I  shut  down  ■  -icd 

the  ejector,  and   I  in 

Inith  Mic-  in- 

ning   the    ■     .  rd. 


irill  avoid  any  confusion  of  machine  num-     ized  and  the  load  becomes  unbalarKed.  the 

bers.     In  cases  where  the  wiring  on   the     engineer    advances   or    retards   the   spark     '^<^  ''°*  ***  *»•  something  of  the  past 


panel   does  not   permit  of  any  additiorial     and  adjusts  the  supply  of  gas  alone  until 
wiring,   a   separate   signal   board   may   be     the  proper  conditions  are  restored. 


as   shown   in   the  figure.     A   set  of 

-.    must    l)e    arranged    between    the 

Kas    engine    and    switchljoard    operators, 

K    re<l    and    green    lamp   arc    placed   over 

each    engine    at    some    con\"eniem     sp«M 

where  they  can  be  seen  by  the  engineer 

from    any    part      of    his    engine.    These 

ire   indicated   in   the   diagram   by   K  and 

J,  and  c»»rre*pon«ling  pilot   lights  K'  and 

7*    arc    placed    on    the  'cl    for 

ihe    guidance    «»f    the    ^•.•  "per- 

Itor.     By  nx-ans  of  the  -  '"O 

twitches  .-f  and  H  the  liglr  •  d. 

rhe  lamps  H  ami  R',  and  G  and  O'  arc 

in    series,    respectively,   across   a  uo-volt 

(upply  circuit,  or  one  of  tome  other  con- 

'      ■      A  large  gong  is  placed 

'    r>f   the    power   house   and 

ich  (■  to  n 

to  their  -  !>« 

r    the    Cfide    of    signals,    the    more 

;ve   it   will  be.     The   fallowing  code 

>f    signals    for    paralleling    genrrators    is 

rery    easily    understood:    Re<l    lights    to 

tlow  down,  green  to  incrrase  the   speedL 

•  •     ■    •  re 


d. 


WiixiAM  I).  Lim.*. 


Wilkinsburg.    Penn. 


Trouble  in  a  Pumping  Plant 

The    article    in    a    recent    issue    at>out 
'Potblyn  P.  IX"  was  very  interesting,  and 


This  same  thing  happened  several  times, 
and  I  never  found  the  cause,  and  will 
give  "F'.  I)  "  a    '  the  problem. 

The  accompac  n   shows  de- 

tails of  the   invtalLitK'ti 

On  one  occasion,  having  plenty  of 
water  in  the  canal,  we  had  rtopped 
the  engine  to  change  the  wiclioo 
pipe  in  the  fuel-oil  tank,  and  to  pack  the 
boiler- feed  pump.     Whdc  we  were  work- 


OMAl  L«««i 


^•r  ,•  »"lini»«». 


T«oe«^  iM  A  ri'MrtHc  Mjurr 


s 


grneraior    looo  kilowatts      With   these 
<•  will  l»e  a  deci  ' 
tUf     Hnifs        I 

ai    iJk 
-is  cor- 


I  am  sorry  that  I  did  not  know  the 
"P.  U."  "»fnr  i.,'ir  »rjr»  iffx,  when  I 
was  encas  •  r  in  an  ir- 


mg    ' 

tt'      (If! 


the 


Ihr 

air  .1  in    miitrti. 
1 


Jht  6r 
fld   was   tmn 


an  irrvi^tw 

M  aiUrol 


»AS 

I     of 


net      If  so.  the  gong  is  sounded,  the  red     water  per  minute,  aaid  mitrt  arvrral  tests 


i^tl    it>~*i,   ajul 
.ID  pounds  in  it 


976 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  I,  1909. 


pass  put  in  between  the  receiver  and  trap, 
so  that  in  case  the  trap  should  fail,  it 
could  be  removed  and  repaired,  and  the 
bypass  used  for  draining  the  condensation 
in  the  receiver,  and  not  have  water  pass- 
ing into  the  low-pressure  cylinder.  I 
opened  the  bypass,  which  was  the  only 
time  it  was  used.  We  afterward  found 
a  globe  valve  partly  open,  on  a  pipe  lead- 
ing from  the  steam  main  to  the  receiver. 
We  maintained  a  receiver  pressure  of  12 
pounds  by  cracking  the  valve,  and  found 
the  engine  worked  without  any  undue 
noise  with  this  pressure  for  the  low- 
pressure  cylinder  and  180  pounds  for 
high-pressure  cylinder. 

When  running  night  and  day,  we  usual- 
ly stopped  at  6  a.m.  and  6  p.m.  to  fill 
the  grease  cup  on  the  crank  pin.  One 
n-.orning  the  night  engineer  stopped  as 
usual  and,  while  filling  the  grease  cup, 
heard  the  water  from  the  flume  rushing 
back  to  the  river  through  the  pump.  He 
then  knew  that  he  had  forgotten  to  drop 
the  flap  door  on  the  end  of  the  discharge 
pipe.  He  loosened  the  rope,  dropped  the 
door,  and  the  result  was  that  the  ve- 
locity of  the  water  and  the  sudden  vacuum 
created  in  the  discharge  pipe  caused  one 
20- foot  length  to  collapse.  This  caused 
a  shutdown  for  one  week  until  a  new 
section  could  be  made.  When  this  was 
put  in  I  tapped  a  l-inch  pipe,  on  top 
cf  the  discharge  pipe,  with  a  globe  valve 
at  the  bottom  within  reach.  This  valve 
was  opened  when  shutting  down  the  plant, 
and  permitted  air  to  go  into  the  discharge 
pipe  as  the  water  went  back  through  the 
pump  after  the  flap   door  was  closed. 

C.     WiLHELMSEN. 

Kentwood,  l.a. 


Explosion  of  a  Fire  Hoe 


Engineers  are  all  more  or  less  familiar 
with  boiler  and  flywheel  explosions,  but 
the  explosion  of  a  fire  hoe  is  probably  a 
rew   "wrinkle." 

The  photograph   shows  the  handle  of  a 


FIRE    HOE  .\KTEK   E>a'Lf)SIO.\ 

fire  hoe  which  e.xplodcd  while  the  fireman 
was  cleaning  fires.  The  handle  was  made 
of  -^^j-inch  steam  pipe.  Slack  was  used 
as  fuel,  and  the  coal  pile  was  so  near 
the  boilers  that  in  pulling  out  the  ashes 
the    handle    had    been    jammed    full    of 


slack.  Repeated  heatings  had  baked  the 
slack  so  that  it  tightly  plugged  the  end 
of  the   handle. 

On  the  occasion  of  the  explosion  the 
fires  were  very  hot  and  very  dirty,  so 
that  the  handle  got  hot  enough  to  ignite 
the  gas  formed  on  the  inside  of  it  by  the 
coal. 

Ray  L.  R.wburn. 

Decatur,    111. 


A  Peculiar  Pump  Trouble 


In  the  course  of  a  somewhat  varied 
and  lengthy  experience,  the  writer  has 
come  across  some  curious  pump  troubles 
and  their  remedies,  but  the  following  is 
the  only  one  of  its  kind  that  he  ever  saw 
01   heard  of : 

The  incident  happened  in  a  pumping 
plant,  consisting  of  a  I4x24xi4xi8-inch 
compound  condensing  pump,  and  a 
7^x7xi2-inch  independent  air  pump  and 
condenser.  The  main  pump  was  operated 
at  15  revolutions  per  minute  and  the  air 
pump  would  form  a  vacuum  of  26^  or 
27  inches,  with  the  steam  valve  one-third 
of  a  turn  open.  The  boiler  pressure  was 
65  pounds. 

Upon  starting  the  pump  one  day  it  was 
noticed  that  the  air  pump  did  not  pull 
down  the  vacuum  as  usual,  so  the  steam 
valve  was  at  once  examined  to  see  if  it 
was  open  its  customary  one-third  turn, 
and  was  found  to  be  so.  The  steam  was 
at  full  pressure.  The  water  valve  to  the 
condenser  was  never  changed,  so  we 
looked  for  leaks,  but  could  discover  none, 
so  the  steam  valve  was  opened  a  little 
more. 

This  condition  continued  for  some  time 
and  we  were  compelled  gradually  to  open 
the  steam  valve  until  it  was  wide  open, 
and  we  were  just  about  able  to  hold  the 
26^/2  inches  of  vacuum,  but  with  the  valve 
wide  open  there  was  no  increase  in  the 
speed  of  the  pump.  The  writer  had  sug- 
gested several  times  that  the  pump  be 
examined  internally,  but  was  gently  sat 
upon,  until  the  vacuum  began  to  disap- 
pear. Then  it  was  decided  that  some- 
thing must  be  done  and  the  pump  was 
shut  down  and  opened  up.  The  water  end 
was  thoroughly  examined  as  a  starter, 
everything  being  found  as  it  should  be. 
Next  the  steam  cylinders  were  examined, 
but  everything  was  found  all  right.  The 
valve  covers  were  then  taken  off,  which 
in  the  writer's  opinion  should  have  been 
done  first,  and  the  valves  appeared  to  be 
all  right;  the  pump  was  then  traveled  to 
test  them  and  they  worked  correctly. 
Then  the  valves  were  cocked  up  on  one 
side  to  allow  the  ports  and  bridges  to  be 
seen.  While  the  edges  of  the  ports 
showed  some  little  erosion,  there  was 
nothing  to  account  for  the  extra  amount 
of  steam  to  operate  the  pump  or  the  fall- 
ing away  of  the  vacuum. 

Again  the  writer  ventured  a  suggestion, 


this  time  to  the  effect  that  the  trouble 
must  be  in  the  valves  or  ports,  and  ad- 
vised that  the  valves  be  taken  out  alto- 
gether to  enable  a  thorough  examination 
of  ports  and  valves.  He  was  told  to  go 
ahead  and  do  as  he  liked,  and  was  imme- 
diately left  alone.  Upon  removing  both 
valves,  which  were  of  the  ordinary  D  type, . 
with  two  lugs  on  the  top,  between  which  ' 
was    a    rectangular    block    about    i^    inch 


A   PECULIAR    PUMP   TROUBLE 

square,  with  a  hole  in  the  center,  through 
which  the  valve  stem  passed  and  moved 
the  valve,  instead  of  locknuts,  every- 
thing looked  all  right.  It  began  to  look 
like  a  case  of  "stumped,"  when  upon  turn- 
ing the  valve  over  again,  the  block  upon 
the  top  moved  over  to  the  other  lug,  and 
the  trouble  was  found. 

In  the  top  of  the  valve  on  one  side, 
where  the  block  rested  as  it  moved  back 
and  forth,  it  had  worn  a  hole  through 
the  valve,  and  when  the  valve  was  turned 
over,  with  the  block  held  on  top  of  it,  it 
was  hardly  perceptible,  yet  upon  taking 
the  block  out  it  seemed  as  though  a  blind 
man  ought  to  have  seen  it.  although  five 
of  us  were  unable  to  discover  it. 

A  new  valve  was  immediately  procured 
and  when  the  pump  started  again  it  went 
on  the  job  with  one-third  turn  on  the 
steam  valve  as  usual. 

W.  N.  Wing. 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y.    ' 


What  Would  Happen    if   the 
Belt  Came  Off 


In  answer  to  H.  B.  Adcock,  in  the 
April  20  number,  I  will  say  that  in  case 
one  of  the  exciter  belts  breaks  he  will 
have  to  look  out  for  fireworks  at  that 
exciter's  commutator. 

The  generator,  running  without  a 
field,  would  draw  excessive  current  from 
the  busbars  and  if  fused  would  probably 
blow  the  fuses.  It  would  act  as  a  sort  of 
transformer,  taking  current  from  the  bus- 
bars and  pumping  it  into  the  exciter, 
probably   burning  the   commutator   badly. 

If  the  other  alternator  could  supply  the 
current,  the  speed  would  increase,  as  the 
heavy  lagging  current  would  react  upon 
the  fields  to  demagnetize  tliem  and  drop 
the  load,  although  the  current  would  be 
a  great  deal  above  normal  full-load  cur- 
rent. 

Charles  O.  Rankin. 

Craftonville.   Cal. 


June   I,   lyOQ. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENTsINEER. 


977 


In  reply  to  H.  B.  Adc(jck"s  question  in 
the  April  20  issue,  I  will  say  that  the 
alternator  whose  exciter  belt  is  ihr<»wn 
can  be  considered  practically  a  trans- 
former with  its  secondary  circuit  com- 
pleted by  a  moderately  high  impcdence. 
I  venture  to  say  that  with  some  character- 
istics of  design  the  alternator  would  con- 
tinue to  run  somewhat  as  an  induction 
motor,  while  upc>n  the  other  hand  it  may 
draw  such  an  excessive  current  from  the 
other  machine  as  to  make  it  necessary  to 
take  it  off  the  line  at  once.  I  am  of  the 
opinion,  however,  that  no  serious  resuhs 
writild  occur. 

L.   Earlc   Brown. 

ilnsley,  .Ma. 


Handling  Wood  Economically 


On  page  121  of  the  Januarv-  12  num- 
ber, 1.  B.  Sutton  wishes  to  kn<  \%  of  a 
way  to  handle  wo«jd  economical!)  The 
ac  m  illustrations  show  twi>  Ma>s 

01  .,'    wofxl    which    wi>rk    success- 

fully. 

The  system  shown  in  Fig.  1  is  1'  .  it.<l 
in  a  jooo-horscpower  plant,  and  c 
of  a  chute  C  which  leads  to  the  ixiui 
room,  having  several  openings  which  are 
opened  and  closed  by  a  rope  leading  to 
any  convenient  place. 

The  conveyer  is  a  common  ttnllos- 
chain  conveyer  with  the  cross  pieces  aUmt 
15    inches   apart.      The    turning    board    is 


i-  •    cable    u  -rd    to    the 

'  :i,  or  the  •  iigiiic  done 

away  with  by  using  two  cart  and  make  a 
double  track  part  of  the  way  at  kscL 
AuKX  Scam. 
EJcctrun.  Wash. 


Replymg  to  H.  B  .Adcock's  inquiry 
in  the  .-Xpril  20  number,  as  to  what  wil' 
kappen  if  the  belt  driving  an  excitt : 
should  break,  there  would  be  no  cur 
rent  flowing  through  the  held  circuit,  bir 
the  generator  would  run  as  an  unexcited 
synchronous  motor,  taking  a  very  heavy 
lagging  current    from  the  busbars. 

If  both  machines  were  operating  at  near 
their  rated  capacity  when  the  belt  broke 
it  wdUld  put  quite  a  load  on  the  one  ma 
chine  and  I  believe  there  would  be  some 
fireworks  in  a  short  time  It  would  be  a 
good  investment  to  install  fuses  between 
the  generators  and  busliars,  especially  in 
this  case,  where  the  exciters  do  not  oper- 
ate in  parallel  and  no  auto- switches  are 
prnvidefl 

Lovi$  B   Caul. 

Marshfirld.  Wis. 


/^^^^W'^v 


Reversing  Polarity 

Referring  to  the  letter  in  the  April  JO 

fiiimlter,  by  B.  F.  West,  in       .       " 
ble    in   operatmg    two   di; 
chine*   in   parallel,   t' 
chine  is  larger  than 
interfere   with   r' 
I  take  it  that   ■ 
rately  driven.     It  is  possible  under   sach 


:3_ 


IrMt 


^ 


Irack  I*  B««)M  Im* 


%lf  MMk 


^ 


no.  2 


:  0000=0=0 

li     or 


Ta  Bstto*  1— 


V-^ 


nc  I 


I  think  ihr  alternator  wouki  continue 
to  nin  and  carry  the  hiad  T)u%  wotiM  lie 
because  of  its  field  being  magneti/e<l  by 
an  induced  current  from  the  other  alter- 
nator, and  if  there  were  no  fu«e«  or  break- 
ers in  the  exciter  circuit  the  exciter 
woukl  prr>hoblv  continue  ninning  at  a 
motor.  Of  cnur»e.  the  vnliagr  an«l  power 
factor  of  the  «y«leni  would  be  very  miirh 
below  normal 

Hamiv  J    Rfrrnw. 

Schenectady,  N    Y. 


just  high  efiough  to  allow  the  cross  pieces 
to  go  under. 

The  method  shown  in  Fig.  ^  is  used  in 
a  cjoo-hor»e|K>wer  plant.  It  consists  nf  a 
track  to  the  wtxhI  pile,  turntable  H  and 
track  C"  leading  to  the  boiler  nxmi.  This 
irack  runs  down  an  incline  of  about  1 
foot  to  every  6  feet. 

The  stop  block  can  be  moVed  to  any 
position  on  the  irack  in  the  boiler  room, 
as  requirefL 

When    the    car    F    hits    the    block    (he 
wcxxl  is  knocketl  off  the  front  of  the  car 
On  the  bottom  of  the  ear  arr  iwi.  tinji* 
of  iron  to  keep  the   •■• 
The  car  is  built  of  lu 
•  t.ind  the    jolt   of   stopping. 

When    wood    is    rrqiiireil    in    the    boiler 
room,  one  of  the  firemen  rings  a  bell  to 
let  the  wood  handler  know.     He  in  turn 
rings  a  liell  and  lets  the  car  go  and   jf 
pi  .'  .      .      .        ,     . 


tt 


rHi     call. 

m's   ease.    I    »ho«tld   think 
power  eoald  be  taken  from  the  Hwia  nt- 


conditions  that  the  trouble  lies  in  the  g'**- 
ernor  of  «»ne  of  the  engine*.  '  t 

cause  a  wide  variation  in  volt...  1- 

ally  if  one  m.ichine  had  a  rising  character- 
istic and  the  other  not. 

The  com|)oun4ling  of  his  machine  may 
not  be  correct  for  satisfactory  parallrl 
operalicn  and  if  he  can  determine  which 
machine    has   a    tendency    '  '     e   the 

highest    voltase   at    the  b  could 

improve  thr  I 

of  wire  in;  - 

V)  as  to  give  .t   . 
between   mafhii> 

f€»re,  bring  the  wn       I  hi«  o  tl 

need  be  only  a  I.    .,  i  the  same  wire 

as  the  leads  and  connected  into  the  lead 
on  the  poMitvc  ndc. 

T.  A.  Lbs. 

Ouincjr.  Mam. 

In  ar  n    V   Wr  > 

one  01  rurrrtil  - 

<>  ■  r  une  al  limes,  1  will  gnc  mjr 


thai   It   i«  I- 
chines  «  f  1. 
Ihey  a- 


hinrs 
1    find 
•und   ntf 

.<'1..f   ^f 


make  ibr  slivm  rot  ai 


,!»•••}%▼■ 


97« 


pOwer  and  the  exgixeer. 


June   I,   1909. 


and  insulate  it  with  tape;  put  the  shunt  on 
the  machine  which  reverses  the  other  one. 
J.  G.  Dennington. 
South  Oil  City.  Penn. 


Hydraulic  Information 


In  a  recent  issue,  under  the  head  of 
"Hydraulic  Information  Wanted,"  Wil- 
liam E.  Pipe  gives  a  certain  stream  flow. 
and  states  that  by  going  back  500  feet 
from  the  proposed  location  of  the  plant  a 
fall  of  140  feet  can  be  obtained.  He  in- 
quires as  to  the  size  and  grade  of  pipe, 
class  and  size  of  wheel  most  applicable  to 
the  case  in  hand,  and  the  number  of 
i6-candlepower  lamps  that  could  be 
carried. 

His  letter  of  inquiry  does  not  contain 
sufficient  information  to  enable  one  to 
make  a  very  definite  or  reliable  reply,  and 


line  is  such  as  to  increase  the  available 
power  0.2  horsepower  over  that  obtaina- 
ble with  a  24-inch  penstock  and  power  is 
worth  $75  per  horsepower  per  year,  the 
annual  saving  would  amount  to  $15.  If 
the  increased  cost  of  the  larger  pipe 
erected  is  $200,  with  interest  and  depre- 
ciation figured  at  8  per  cent,  per  annum, 
the  change  would  not  be  warranted. 
Briefly  stated,  then,  that  size  of  penstock 
would  seem  most  economical  for  which 
the  yearly  interest  and  depreciation  on 
the  first  cost  of  the  pipe  plus  the  value  of 
the  power  lost  in  the  pipe  line  per  year, 
are  minimum.  The  accompanying  table 
shows  what  diameter  of  pipe  seems  most 
economical. 

The  table  was  first  prepared  to  include 
pipes  of  smaller  diameter,  as  well  as  a 
36-inch  pipe,  but  as  the  proper  size  au- 
peared  to  be  within  the  limits  of  a  22-  to 
30-inch  pipe,  only  that  section  of  the  table 


wheel  the  proper  relation  of  power  and 
diameter  would  call  for  a  20-  to  25-inch 
wheel.  The  standard  22-inch  wheel  of 
one  of  the  reliable  companies  i's  rated  at 
176  horsepower  at  495  revolutions  per 
minute,  and  a  discharge  of  13.9  cubic  feet 
per  second,  and  would  appear  to  be  the 
nearest  fitted  for  the  case  in  hand. 

Assuming  the  combined  generator  and 
wire  efficiency  to  be  80  per  cent.,  the 
power  delivered  for  lighting  would  be 
equivalent  to 

157-5  X  0.08  X  746  =  93,877 

watts.  The  average  power  required  to 
carry  one  i6-candlepower  lamp  is 

16  X  3-3  =  52.8 

watts.  The  number  of  lamps  that  could 
be  carried,  therefore,  would  be 

93-877  ^  52.8  =   1778. 


B.    R.    McBride. 


I 

Pipe 
Diam. 
Inches. 

Velocity 
per  Feet 
Second. 

3 

Friction. 
Feet. 

4 

Power 
Lost. 
Horse- 
power. 

5 

Yearly 
Loss. 

6 

Cost  of 
Pipe. 

7 

Yearly   Inter- 
est and 
Depreciation. 

8 

Sum  of  Col- 
umns 5 
and  7. 

22 
24 
28 
28 
30 

4.72 
3.97 
3  38 
3.Q2 
2.54 

2.50 
1.70 
1.20 
0  90 
0  60 

3.54 
2.41 
1.70 
1.27 
0.85 

$177.00 
120. 50 
85.00 
63.50 
42.50 

SHOO. 00 
1600.00 
1775.00 
1900 . 00 
2240.00 

SllO.OO 
160.00 
177 . 50 
190.00 
224 . 00 

$287.00 
280 . 50 
262 .  .50 
253 . 50 
266 .  .50 

Madison,  Wi,-^ 


Power  at  $.50  per  horsepower  year, 
per  pound. 


Interest  and  depreriation  at  10  per  cent.     Pipe  at  -SO.  10 


The  Spanish  Windlass 

The  origin  of  the  term  "Spanish  Wind- 
lass" is  somewhat  obscure,  and  as  far  as 
I  have  been  able  to  ascertain  it  is  not 
Spanish,  and  it  is  not  a  windlass,  but  of 
its  utility  as  an  improvised  tackle  there  is 
not  the  slightest  doubt.  Among  sea-going 
engineers  it  is  a  great  favorite,  as  most  of 


on  the  basis  of  incomplete  and  general  in- 
formation a  reply  must  necessarily  be  con- 
sidered equally  incomplete  aiid  general. 
It  may  l>e  of  interest,  however,  to  con- 
sider the  matter  in  the  light  of  the  data 
furnished. 

By  a  stream  of  water  delivering  360 
inches  under  a  12-inch  pressure,  doubtless 
a  discharge  of  360  miner's  inches  under  a 
head  of  i  foot  is  meant.  Such  being  the 
case,  a  continuous  discharge  of  this 
amount  would  mean  approximately  12.45 
cubic  feet  per  second. 

The  selection  of  the  proper  size  of  pipe 
or  penstock  is  in  itself  quite  a  problem, 
increasing  in  importance  with  the  plants 
in  which  the  cost  of  the  pipe  line  is  a 
large  percentage  of  the  total  cost.  The 
chief  factors  on  which  the  proper  solution 
of  thi^  problem  depends  are  quantity  of 
flow  through  the  pipe,  static  head,  proba- 
ble total  cost  of  development  per  horse- 
power, and  the  cost  per  pound  of  the  pen- 
stock erected.  Based  on  the  above,  ex- 
pressions of  considerable  value  have  been 
worked  out  for  the  most  economical 
diameter  to  install  in  any  particular  case. 
Since  .the  friction  in  a  pipe  line  for  a 
fixed  quantity  flowing  decreases  with  an 
increase  in  the  size  of  pipe,  it  follows  that 
the  annual  saving  in  the  value  of  power 
occasioned  by  a  reduction  in  the  fac- 
tional resistance  must  be  considered  in 
connection  with  the  increased  yearly  in- 
terest and  depreciation  on  the  first  cost 
of  the  larger  pipe.  For  example,  if  the 
reduced    friction    head   in   a   26-inch   pipe 


THE     SPANISH     WINDL.\SS 


is  included.  The  value  of  power  per  year, 
the  cost  of  the  pipe  line  per  pound,  and 
the  interest  and  depreciation  figures  are 
only  approximate  and  cannot  be  expected 
to  fit  exactly  the  case  in   hand. 

From  a  consideration  of  the  data  con- 
tained in  this  table  the  28-inch  pipe  ap- 
pears to  be  the  proper  one.  The  friction 
losses  are  taken  from  tables  for  sheet- 
steel  riveted  pipe,  as  this  grade  of  pipe  is 
considered  the  proper  one  to  use. 

Based  on  the  flow  given  and  the  eff^ec- 
tive  head  of  practically  139  feet  the  power 
to  be  delivered  by  a  turbine  of  80  per 
cent,  efficiency  would  be  equal  to 


12.45  y  139  V  0.80  y  62.5 
550 


157.30 


horsepower.  Under  the  conditions  of 
head  and  flow  a  high-pressure  turbine 
would  seem  the. most  advisable.  Figured 
on    catalog    conditions    for    this    type    of 


the  machinery,  etc,  under  their  control  is 
put  together  with  a  view  to  econo^nizing 
space  and  is  consequently  not  amenable  to 
shop  methods. 

•  The  accompanying  line  cuts  show  how 
it  is  applied  at  A  for  bringing  two  pipes 
together  for  jointing  and  at  B  for  raising 
one  end  of  a  length  of  shafting  to  bring 
it  into  line  for  coupling.  It  will  be  seen 
that  it  does  the  duty  of  turn-buckle,  screw, 
pulley  blocks,  or  crowbar.  The  travel, 
or  rather  the  length  of  pull  exerted  in 
proportion  to  the  power  applied  to  the 
"tommy"  is  enormous,  being  limited  only 
by  the  strength  of  the  rope  itself.  I 
have  used  it  hundreds  of  times,  and  for 
as  many  different  purposes,  and  I  always 
regard  it  as  one  of  the  simplest  and  most 
useful  emergency  tackles.  Many  a  time 
when  working  in  cramped  or  otherwise 
inconvenient  places  such  as  the  bilges 
of  a   ship,  where   it  was  not  possible  to 


% 


June  I.  1909. 


K)\VER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


079 


use  pinch -bar  or  pulleys,  I  have  easily  got 
over  a  difficuhy  by  using  a  Spanish  wind- 
lass on  it,  and  frequently  when  I  have  liccn 
sent  out  into  the  conntr>'  to  o\erhaul  en- 
gines, etc..   1   have  Inrcn  able  to   >.ivc  c.n 
siderablc    time   by    it*    n-r,    partn-jf  ;r!'.    i" 
some  out-of-the-way  ;.' 
available  tools   were    l 
a  monkev  wrench  with  a  loo«e   law. 
S.  J    i-'^v 
luindon.  England. 


Three  Engine  Room  Kinks 


A  main  -topuate  valve  on  a  buder 
leaked  ^<j  tiadl>  that  it  could  not  be 
entered  for  cleaning,  as  steam  backed 
through  from  the  other  boilcr«.  This  wa* 
remedied  by  lapping  a  hole  between  the 


^=s=gX3- 


n&  I 


no.   -• 


for  my  engine  room,  is  shown  in  Fig.  x 
When  painted  or  bronzed  it  makes  a 
»howy  affair. 

Milton  Heclix. 
Cincinnati.  <  • 


Cleaning  Fires 

It  is  interesting  to  note  the  different 
way  tirmien  go  about  cleaning  tire».  One 
man  will  make  it  a  job  to  be  dreaded, 
while  another  will  do  it  to  easily  that  it 
1-  '      .         "  •  ■'     •       '  *•- 

rn.ittrr    of 
gtMjd  J  I  be  nuiii  M  ix ' 

ment    u  .    .    about    an    h' 

cleaning  time  to  get  his  water  lr\rl.  t:re 
and  steam  pressure  in  pn>per  condition. 
Me  will  then  clean  the  fires  with  very 
little  loss  of  pressure,  and  a  minimum  of 
discomfort  and  work.  The  man  who  uses 
n  ' 
a< 

b  :    ui:i;    1; 

w  •  as  to  be 

possible  to  ^tand  in  front  of  it.  tiiU  the 
room  with  smoke  an«l  5<»ot.  and  by  the 
time  he  is  done  his  own  temperature  and 
temper,  also,  are  about  as  high  as  that  of 
the  lM>iler.  and  he  will  have  to  fight  his 
tires  for  an  hour  to  get  the  steam  pres- 
sure up  asain. 

The 
nr*«  if 
c:i 
a  > 
*ible  to  clean  the  nres  without 

a    pile    of    red-hot    clinkers.       1 .1 

practice  in  this  case  is  to  have  an  assist- 

.int  stand  by  and  play  a  hose  on  them  to 

quench  the  heat.     This  is  a  bad  thing  to 

do,  however,  as  it  makes  i'   ' 

keep  the  boiler   front*   in   i 

br 

be 

A    better 
to  ^lean,  to  r 
ashes  from  the  pit.  and  have  the  at*i«tant 


the  hack  end  01  tnr 
fire.     Then  level  the 
K' 
fr 

fiiit.    i : 
If    1. 
maimng  10  tun  the 
the    hex-    t.>    .Ir.M     . 
other  - 
in  a  h,. 
as  the 
the    si.l. 
allowed  to 
ll. 


and  w 

and  di-. 

One    of   the    I 

am'   —   •    -      - 
If 


r  the 

.Mrd 

.   -h 
m 

ih  live  coal  re- 
wrll.  ose 
from  the 
rti  throw 

«     .lO 

.    be 

■1  in 

!. 


th<.l>    i:  -r 

over    I  i,c 

clinkers. 

It    is   necessary    to    nxr    l.>4H   ih^    tUgf 
bar  and   hoe  in   cle.  war.   and 

there  is  sure  to  be  di  i.ti^r  amount  of 
partly  burned  coal  raked  oat  with  the 
clinkers. 

S.  KiauH. 

New   York   Citv 


Hot  Bearings 


In  an  article  on  "Hot  Dtarii^t;  Some 
Cau«e«   and    Rrr     '  ....      n 

6  issue.  M.  S.  Br 


rii.    t 
di%k«  and  <:'■■ 

r'v    }'t\i    1. 

Ar>\   tlir    ■ 

-I  way  !•  ings 

in  a  cylinder  i*  to  lie  a  strmg  around  them 

which   r •   them    an«l     allow*    an 

easy  er-  le  cylinder      .**«■  lig.  X 

A  labir  T.r  '  !i  cans.  rtc-.  which  I  madt 


throw   a   shovelful   on   •*•-   • '<• 

•i---'-    from 

fKC     _ 

lime  to  time.     This 

the 

area  i« 

heat  and  cause*  no  di*conifrT 

I'l  uic  one 

file    ' 

cleaning  the  lire. 

pr 

.AIxMit  an  ' 

•ires,   the   Ic 

up,  and  the  wuUf  Uvil  r^i«<«l 

i«      ^ifr     ?n     .iv.i'l     r'''f"'"S? 

sli 

to 

ful  not  to  raise  it  up,  or  to  1. 

up  into  the  burning  < — ' 

free  draft,  biim*  all  u< 

mik" 

,<}    1  r  a  \  «• » 

I'Oi*    a 

th. 

J 

hras*  > 

Inter   bwwwn    the   two 


to 

the    fe< 
cnals  ha-o.   _. 
hoe.  draw   »'■ 
coaU  forwaro 


■in     ya:i     ou>      tir 

-Tmtnj      FrT^ff   of 

br 

Kalf 


branat  WId   Mi 

ymhrtr    t'raint    if' 


hearing    10    clnw 


qSd 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June 


1 909. 


The  suggestion  that  it  is  a  mistake  to 
reduce  the  amount  of  metal  bj-  coring  out 
at  the  back  brings  up  the  subject  of  bear- 
ings of  other  than  rod  brasses  and  the 
use  of  light  brass  liners  for  the  bearing 
surfaces,  and  suggests  the  desirability, 
where  the  service  is  severe  enough  to  war- 
rant it,  of  using  all  brass  boxes,  or  at  least 
enough  readily  to  conduct  away  the  heat 
generated  by  friction  to  a  radiating  sur- 
face sufficient  to  get  rid  of  it.  This  will 
be  appreciated  when  it  is  remembered 
that  the  conductivity  of  copper  alloys  will 
range  between  2  and  2'  2  that  of  cast  iron. 

As  to  open  grain  in  the  material  and  the 
desirability  of  having  a  dense  surface, 
forging  in  dies  close  to  the  finished  size 
while  excellent  for  small  parts  is  not 
always  possible  with  heavy  unwieldy  parts, 
such  as  shafts.  A  good  method  in-  this 
case  is  to  roll  the  journal  with  a  roller 
somewhat  similar  to  that  mentioned  for 
rolling  babbitt,  the  roller  being  held  in  the 
toolpost  of  the  lathe,  after  the  finishing 
cut  has  been  taken,  and  forced  against  the 
journal  by  the  cross  feed.  This  gives  the 
journal  a  verj'  dense  and  smooth  outer 
surface,  effectively  closing  all  open  grain. 

An  excellent  method  of  cooling  plain 
high-speed  (not  ring-oiling)  babbitted 
bearings,  which  I  have  sometimes  used 
with  considerable  success,  and  which  has 
not  received  the  publicity  that  I  believe 
it  deserves,  is  to  feed  bees\yax.  in  strings 
^f  Zf}t-  hich  or  %  inch  diameter  into  the 
nil  hole.  The  running  journal,  especially 
if  warm,  readily  takes  the  wax.  The 
preparation  of  the  beeswax  strings  is  a 
simple  matter,  the  only  apparatus  re- 
quired being  a  short  piece  of  ^-inch  or 
!-inch  pipe,  a  pipe  cap  and  a  rod  of  the 
same  diameter  as  the  pipe  and  of  equal 
length.  The  cap  is  screwed  onto  the  end 
fif  the  pipe,  a  hole  a  trifle  smaller  than 
the  desired  diameter  of  the  beeswax  string 
is  drilled  in  the  pipe  close  to  the  cap,  the 
pipe  is  nearly  filled  with  the  wax  and  the 
rod  forced  in  in  a  vise.  The  wax  is 
forced  out  at  the  drilled  hole  in  the  form 
of  a  continuous  string.  .Any  hard  grease 
may  be  put  into  this  convenient  form  for 
feeding  through  an  oil  hole  in  the  same 
way. 

Mr.  Brown's  article  brings  to  mind  cer- 
tain troubles  with  old  wrought-iron  jour- 
nals and  pins.  In  one  case  a  bearing  on 
which  the  load  was  always  in  the  same 
direction,  and  not  alternating  as  in  a  con- 
necting rod,  ran  hot  whenever  it  was 
allowed  to  heat  up  beyond  a  certain 
moderate  temperature.  It  was  perfectly 
free,  there  was  no  binding  and  examina- 
tion showed  that  both  the  journal  and 
bearing  surfaces  were  smooth  ;  there  was 
no  visible  cutting  due  to  grit  or  foreign 
matter,  and  changes  of  oil  had  little  effect. 
The  trouble  was  finally  located  in  a  seam 
which  was  almost  invisible  when  the  bear- 
ing was  cool,  but  evidently  opened  up 
and  acted  as  an  oil  wiper  when  warmed 
up.  When  once  located  the  trouble  was 
overcome  by  scraping  down  the  sharp  edge 


of    tlie    seam    witli    the    corner    of    a    hie 
properly   ground. 

.\.  S.  Wtlli.amson. 
Urbana,  111. 


A   Whistle    Repair 


The  stem  of  a  whistle  was  broken  as 
shown  in  Fig.  i  and  was  repaired  by 
drilling  a  hole  nearly  the  size  of  the  stem. 

The  hole  C  is  drilled  about  ^  inch 
from  the  top  of  the  hole  drilled  through 
the  center  of  the  stem.  I  ground  the  two 
ends  of  the  whistle  stem  smooth  and 
placed  them  together.  After  closing  the 
hole  C  and  the  bottom  of  hole  D,  I  filled 
the  hole  in  the  stem  with  the  best  grade 
of    babbitt    through    the    hole    D.      The 


balanced  at  the  time  the  diagrams  shown 
were  taken,  for  the  left-hand  high-pres- 
sure diagram  indicates  161. 2  horsepower, 
while  the  right-hand  low-pressure  dia- 
gram indicates  147.4  horsepower.  It  does 
not  appear,  however,  that  the  high-  and 
low-pressure  were  taken  under  the  same 
conditions ;  for  upon  reducing  the  former 
to  the  same  pressure  scale  as  the  latter, 
the  combination  will  show  that  the  high- 
pressure  exhausts  at  a  lower  pressure  than 
the  low-pressufe  cylinder  receives  and  the 
diagrams  will  lap.  Possibly  the  springs 
were  inaccurate. 

The  unequal  distribution  of  work  should 
not  have  broken  the  rod,  for  a  3-inch 
rod  transmitting  the  whole  work  of  the 
engine  (308.6  horsepower)  would  in  the 
high-pressure  cylinder,  at  80  revolutions 
per  minute,  be  subjected  to  a  total  load 
of  18,183  pounds;  which  is  the  product  of 
the  area  of  the  high-pressure  piston  (198.5 
square  inches  net)  and  the  mean  effective 
pressure  necessary  to  develop  308.6  horse- 
power in  the  high-pressure  cylinder  alone 
(91.6   pounds). 

The  rod  would  then  have  been  sub- 
jected to  a  unit  stress  of  18,183  divided  by 
7.07  (its  cross-sectional  area),  or  2557 
pounds  per  square  inch ;  which,  if  the 
rod  were  not  good  for  more  than  50,000 
pounds,  ultimate,  would  represent  a  factor 
of  safety  of  practically  20. 

Assuming  that  Mr.  Sheehan's  state- 
ments are  facts,  this  failure  is  clearly  the 
fault  of  the  builders,  for  it  is  clear  from 
the  above  deduction  that  a  3-inch  rod. 
even  of  wrought  iron  would,  if  sound, 
have  carried  the  total  load  of  the  en- 
gine. That  the  rod  showed  an  old  break 
would  indicate  that  excessive  tension  was 
not  the  cause  of  the  trouble,  but  that 
bending,  or  some  local  weakness  de- 
veloped  it. 

Alfred  Williamson. 

New   York   City 


FIG.    I 


Vibration  and  Tension 


whistle,  Fig.  2,  is  as  good  as  before,  and 
gives  off  the  same  tone. 

Claud   E.    Ruth. 
Bonham,   Texas. 


An  Engine  Accident 


Referring  to  the  letter  in  the  issue  of 
March  23,  entitled  "An  Engine  Accident," 
it  appears  that  Mr.  Sheehan,  the  writer, 
has  been  imposed  upon.  It  seems  in- 
credible that  an  engine  builder  would  at- 
tempt to  shift  the  responsibility  upon  the 
operator  for  breaking  a  rod  which  had 
already  cracked.  It  would  not  be  any 
more  unreasonable  for  a  boiler  manu- 
facturer to  claim  that  a  defective  tube 
would  not  have  burst  if  the  pressure  had 
been  reduced.  It  is  doubtful  that  a  reputa- 
ble builder  produced  the  engine  in  ques- 
tion. 

It    is    true    that    the    engine    was    un- 


If  an  elevator  rope,  with  the  car  three 
or  four  stories  from  the  top,  is  pulled  to 
one  side  and  then  released,  it  will  vibrate 
slow  enough  to  permit  one  to  count  the 
vibrations. 

When  two  ropes  of  the  same  size  are 
suspending  the  same  car,  if  the  tension 
in  one  is  greater  than  in  the  other,  the 
first  will  vibrate  the  faster ;  but  I  am  not 
certain  just  what  relation  exists  between 
the  rate  of  vibration  and  the  tension.  If 
they  are  directly  proportional,  it  certainly 
would  afford  an  easy  and  accurate  method 
of  determining  the  relative  tension  in  two 
or  more  ropes. 

It  seems  quite  evident  that,  if  the  ropes 
are  of  the  same  length,  and  weight,  the 
rate  of  vibration  depends  only  on  the  ten- 
sion. 

Who  knows  about  this  subject? 

H.  H.  Hastings. 

.St.  Louis,   Mo. 


June  I,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


Some    Useful    Lessons   of    Lime  water 

The  Chemistry  of  Sulphur  and    ihc    Importance    of    Becoming 
Familiar    with    Its     Varied     Properties,     Compounds    and    Atfiliatiom 


BY 


CHARLES 


PALMER 


In  staning  out  on  the  s>-stcma(ic  study 
of  sulphur  and  its  compounds,  theoretical- 
ly one  might  reasonably  ask  for  a  table 
of  the  principal  compounds,  in  their 
oxidized  and  reduced  relations,  just  as 
we  considered  the  tables  of  the  comjKiun'ls 
of  cart)on.  All  that  will  come  in  'hie 
season;  but  first  let  us  ask  for  •x'tnc 
tangible  and  practical  illustrations  of  the 
compounds  of  sulphur,  at  least  to  show 
their  great  importance.  One  will  not  have 
to  search  long  for  such  an  illustration. 
We  find  it  ri.  ■  ■ 

and  in  man\ 

depencfcTJt     on     Mili>h::r:c     jcul     iur     ihtir 
production  and  cheap  abundance. 

Of  course,  every  worker  in  iron  knows 
how  commonly  oil  of  vitriol,  that  is  sul- 
phuric acid,  is  used  to  eat  off  the  scale 
formed  on  iron  forgings:  and  likewise 
everyone  thinks  of  the  common  production 
of  eflTervescent  sparkling  waters  which 
are  aerated,  that  is.  ■'airihe<l."  by  carbonic- 
acid  gas.  which  is  itself  set  free  from 
soda  carlmnatcs  by  means  of  this  same 
oil  of  vitriol  But  there  are  <»tlirr  illiiNtr.i- 
tions  of  the  importance  of  sulphuric  a,i<l. 
illustrations  which  are  just  as  imponant 
and  common  but  not  quite  so  obvious,  un- 
less  attention  i»  called  directly  to  them. 
s<xla    ami    it  -  until 

have  Ijcen   eir  t    on 

kiilphuric   acid    for   their   i»r<  (K;-  i 

when  otie  mentions  soda  he  : 
sciously  suggesting  the  im{Mirtance  of  such 
common  things  as  glass  and  soap,  both  of 
which  are  nude  from  soda  or  its  com- 
poundv  Moreover,  many  of  the  other 
acids  are  made  by  the  use  of  sulphuric 
acid.  N 
of  •mIv' 

h>'-  by    titc    ,it.(it'<) 

of  ion  salt.     Vast 

qi-  arid    are    usr<l    in 

til'    ,  -- .       je  petroleum,  ami  in 

riufaduring     therefrom     the     various 
Kinds    and    grades    of    burning,    cleaning, 
illuminaiini    ami    friction    oils       l-Mrthrr, 
Ur. 
If 


form ;  and   thus   we   see  that   one  of  the 
three,  phosphoric  acid  as  fertilizer,  is  de 
pendent  on  sulphuric  acid. 

Impottaxcc  or  Si'u>huuc   .\cio 

Indeed,  the  manufacture  of  sulphuric 
acid  is  so  important  that  nothing  else  in 
the  whole  field  of  chemistry  can  l>e  com- 
pared to  it,  except  the  manufacture  of  its 
opposite  and  cotitrasteil  mate,  vxla  ami  its 
C'  always    rv  urse, 

th'  -V  of  ••rr 

I  iiere    ar.  • -.    of    sul- 

phuric .icid  i  with  lime 

in  the  frrm  of  calcium  sulphate,  or  gyp- 
sum :  and  yet.  strange  to  say.  we  have 
not  discovered  any  cheap  and  easy  method 
for  obtaining  sulphuric  acid  from  gyp- 
sum. Instead  of  this  we  are  practically 
dependent  for  the  manufacture  of  sul- 
phuric acid  on  the  burning  of  native  sul- 
phur or  brimstone,  or  from  tV 
of  sulphur  containeti  in  iron  ji 
copper  pyrites.  Formerly  most  of  the 
sulphur  used  in  the  preparation  of  sul- 
phuric acid  was  obtained  from  Sicily ;  but 
a  few  years  ago  it  was  discovered,  ac- 
cidentally, in  boring  for  oil  and  water 
in    Louisiana,    tli'  '        ' 

phur  are  to  lie  i  1 

feel  from  the  surUcc.  l.^ur  oii  we  will 
con*idrr  the*e  sulphur  deposits,  but  at 
present  we  will  keep  our  attentifm  turd 
on  the  manufacture,  the  properties  and  the 
uses  of  the  king  of  chemicals,  sulphuric 
acid. 

In  the  burning  of  pyrite*,  and  |Nir> 
ticularly    in   the   smelting   of  C'  •  ^ 

n»«'M-i:tff-r1   wi?h  pvritr*.   va«f   rj" 

.    the 
was 
wasted.       In    the     far     West,    where    the 
frri_>!  t  r.iir»  prohibit  the  manufacture  and 
r'  ttg   of  such  a  common   com- 

nii-iii>  .1^  sulphuric  acid,  the  sulphur 
fumes  from  the  matting  nf  pyrites  are 
wasted    by    the    '  rvery 

(lav       At  the  ftrr  •nda. 


But  in  acne  of  the  wertn  oa  or  war 

the   eastern   coast   pyr  -  vd   in 

such  a  manner  that  -  .ir  is 

saved    for    :     " 

used    in   m.. 

any  of  the  oilier  ^.ummoo  uac*  of  »ulpfaunc 

acid. 

When  the  heaps  of  crude  sulphur  com- 
pounds of  iron  are  allowed  to  stand  ex- 
posed to  the  weather,  there  is  formed 
much    of   common    sulphate    of  r 

"green     vitriol;"    and     when    • 
vitrit»l   is  collected  ar 
stills,   jt   pivrs  n*?  tr»    , 
3  ■i  very  concent  rated 

at  acid,  called   "f-.im- 

ing"    or    ".N'ordhausen"    sulphuric    a>  :«1. 
from  the  name  of  a  little  German  i<>wn 
where     it     was     made    over    a    hundred 
years  aga     .Afterward  a  rr     '     * 
covered   for  making   sulp!  i 

the  sulphur  fumes,  or  sul^.l;ur  li; 
by  using  the  oxye«-n  nf  the  atr  ir 
nection    with   nr 

fumes   are   am;-  :     ;  e 

oxides  of  nitrogen;  and   in  the  presence 

of   these    nitric    ftmies.    with   the   rr 

of  the  air.  the  sulphur  dioxide  gor> 

to    the    sulphur    trioxide     (5»0»    suij*  nr 

three-oxide),   or    sulphuric    form.      Liter 

I    ■    "      '  '  r    nitric    f 

-N  '»f    -It 

nuikC  -.1 

the    su!  .    V. 

sa>. 

N^lten   sulphur  bums  in  tbe 
of  h  goes  to  the  SOw  or  su' 
oxkie  stage  only  1  or  2  per  crm 
whole  going  on  to  the  sulphnrsc  rr 
stage     '  Age).      In 

the    f  ^T<~«.    »nd 


anm^r  *ii«- 


^r  hi 


phosphate    rock    in   order    to   r! 

-i    S4duble    form    the    insoluble    i        , 

:'l  so  that  it  can  l>e  made  solulJe  for 
■-  as  fertiliier.  lYr  -  •  ■  --  -  • 
rnarilv  written  for 


that    It    IS   safely   r«(Hnalrd   that    en..>ich 
of  this  material  is  wasted  esr'^    •(.. 
make   some   two  thnatand  or 
of    sulphuric    acid;    a' 
vinr   waste  goes  on. 


•rK  askJ.  |«»ti««)i  aikI  iulf<iten  in  ^^him      fs>r    whwh    there    wouid    W    no    aurkct 


rokiag  M^i  ky  Ito 


old    Leblanc    process,   or    in    any    of    the 
other   more   important  ways. 

In  this  way  it  has  come  about,  natural- 
ly, that  chemical  manufacture  has  built 
itself  up  and  around  the  making  of 
sulphuric  acid.  That  is  why  we  rightly 
call  sulphuric  acid  the  king  of  chemicals. 
Not  to  mention  fertilizer  and  refined 
petroleum,  or  the  other  acids  which  are 
made  from  sulphuric  acid,  also  note  that 
the  chemical  opposite,  soda  and  its  com- 
pounds (the  carbonate,  the  bicarbonate 
and  caustic  soda  or  sodium  hydroxide), 
are  the  chemical  opposites  of  and  are 
made  by  the  use  of  sulphuric  acid.  Noting 
all  this,  one  is  rightly  glad  to  yield  the 
leadership  to  sulphuric  acid.  Of  course, 
in  modern  times  the  immense  production 
of  "sulphuric  pulp."  in  making  common 
paper  from  the  softer  woods,  has  come 
to  be  an  industry  which  is  almost  in- 
credibly great  in  its  figures,  and  here 
we  find  that  the  sulphurous  oxide,  SO.., 
or  sulphur  dioxide  or  two-oxide,  is  the 
active  agent  in  softening  the  wood  fiber ; 
but  great  as  this  is,  it  is  secondary  to  the 
larger  use  of  sulphuric  acid  directly  and 
indirectly. 

Wh.xt    Sulphuric    Acid   Is 

But  it  is  time  to  study  sulphuric  acid 
for  itself.  Note,  first,  that  it  is  a  heavy, 
oily  liquid — "oil  of  vitriol,"  because  it 
was  first  made  by  distilling  green  vitriol, 
or  sulphate  of  iron.  This  sulphuric  acid 
is  a  very  harsh,  corrosive  liquid.  One 
cannot  touch  it  with  anything  which  con- 
tains any  water  or  the  ingredients  of 
water,  without  seeing  the  sulphuric  acid 
take  hold  of  it  like  a  thirsty  wild  beast. 

Drop  a  little  on  common  white  pine 
or  other  soft  white  wood  and  you  will 
note  the  inky  spots  where  the  acid  takes 
the  ingredients  of  water  out  of  the  wood. 

Moreover,  when  the  concentrated  sul- 
phuric acid  takes  hold  of  water,  there 
is  some  sort  of  chemical  union  between 
the  strong  acid  and  the  water;  for  much 
heat  is  developed.  To  show  this,  pour 
about  an  inch  of  water  into  a  test  tube, 
and  then  on  this,  carefully,  about  as  much 
more  of  the  strong  acid.  You  can  scarce- 
ly hold  the  tube,  at  the  lower  part,  in  the 
unprotected  hand,  such  is  the  heat  de- 
veloped. Remember  the  rule  which  has 
been  given  several  times  as  to  mixing 
sulphuric  acid  and  water,  to  the  effect 
that  the  acid  should  always  be  poured 
into  the  water,  never  the  water  into  the 
acid.  If  you  stop  and  think  of  this, 
you  will  see  the  reason  why  this  is  so. 
Water  boils  at  212  degrees  Fahrenheit 
(100  degrees  Celsius  or  Centrigradc)  and 
sulphuric  acid  boils  at  a  much  higher 
temperature,  nearly  up  to  the  melting  of 
common  solder.  Consequently,  if  the 
water  is  poured  on  the  acid,  so  much  heat 
is  let  loose  by  the  first  drops  of  water 
that  the  acid  is  warmed  up  at  once,  and 
the  next  drops  are  liable  to  be  driven 
off  into  steam,  as  the  acid  gets  at  it ;  at 


POWER  AXU  THE  EXGINEER. 

any  rate  an  explosive  shooting-out  of  the 
water  and  acid  occurs. 

But  if  the  acid  is  poured  into  the  water, 
it  mixes  evenly  with  the  water  and,  al- 
tlKiugh  the  temperature  rises  quite  high, 
the  results  act  as  though  the  water  were 
a  part  of  tlie  acid,  which  is  not  far  from 
the  truth.  This  difference  between  strong 
or  concentrated  acid  and  dilute  acid  is  so 
marked  that  the  acid  is  often  used  in  tak- 
ing water  out  of  things.  Common  alcohol 
can  be  turned  into  ether  by  distilling  the 
two  together,  and  the  resulting  ether  is 
still  popularly  called  "sulphuric  ether;" 
not  that  ether  contains  any  sulphuric  acid, 
but  simply  that  it  is  made  from  alcohol 
by  the  dehydrating  or  "water-subtracting" 
action  of  the  strong  acid.  This  difference 
between  the  concentrated  and  the  dilute 
acid  is  so  marked  that  it  is  now  said,  and 
quite  truly,  that  sulphuric  acid  is  not  real- 
ly an  acifl  until  it  is  diluted  with  water. 

What  is  meant  by  this  is  shown  best  by 
an  experiment.  Take  a  strip  of  zinc,  say 
half  an  inch  wide  and  three  inches  long, 
and   slip   it    down    into   a   clean    and    dry 


EXPERIMENT    WITH    DILUTE    SULPHURIC    ACID 

test  tube.  Then  pour  over  it  about  an 
inch  of  strong  sulphuric  acid.  If  you 
have  never  done  this  before  you  will  be 
surprised  to  see  but  little  action  of  the 
metal  and  acid  on  each  other.  But  now, 
cautiously,  break  the  rule  just  given  (as 
to  never  pouring  water  on  strong  sul- 
phuric acid)  and  you  will  note  that,  as 
you  carefully  pour  on  enough  water  to  di- 
lute die  acid  to,  say,  one  part  in  four 
or  five  of  water,  the  action  between  the 
metal  and  the  acid  will  begin  vigorously. 
You  want  to  study  this  experiment  and  do 
some  thinking  with  it.  It  used  to  be  said 
that  the  first  action  of  the  acid  on  the 
metal  is  to  make  sulphate  of  zinc,  and 
that  then  the  action  stops  until  some 
water  is  added  to  dissolve  off  this  zinc 
sulphate  .so  that  more  acid  can  get  at  the 
zinc.  But  that  is  hardly  the  way  to  look 
at  it,  for  much  more  than  this  is  happen- 
ing. 

Dilute    Sulphuric   Acid   an    Electrical 
Conductor 
You  will  remember  that    it    has    been 


June  I.  1909. 

stated  that  acids  are  salts  of  hydrogen. 
Now  the  action  of  zinc  on  dilute  sulphuric 
acid  is  to  displace  the  hydrogen  from 
the  acid.  But  if  the  zinc  cannot  do  this 
from  the  strong  and  concentrated  acid, 
evidently  the  hydrogen  is  not  ready  to  be 
set  free  from  the  concentrated  acid  as  it 
is  ready  to  be  set  free  from  the  dilute 
acid.  This  is  precisely  what  happens. 
The  action  of  the  water  on  the  strong 
acid  is  to  unlock,  in  some  strange  way, 
the  hydrogen  so  that  it  is  ready  to  be 
thrown  off  by  the  zinc.  This  difference 
between  the  locked  and  unlocked  states 
of  the  hydrogen  in  the  sulphuric  acid  is 
also  shown  by  the  fact  tliat  strong  sul- 
phuric acid  is  not  a  good  conductor  of 
electricity,  while  dilute  sulphuric  acid  is 
an  excellent  conductor.  This  is  shown 
by  the  following  experiment : 

I  will  suppose  that  you  have  a  common 
electric  light  in  your  boiler  room,  with 
direct  current.  Arrange  your  tumbler 
electric  battery  cell,  as  shown  in  the  il- 
lustration, but  with  both  poles  made  of 
copper.  Connect  one  pole  to  the  lead- 
ing wire  from  the  current  supply,  and 
the  other  wire  to  a  common  lamp,  using 
the  lamp  as  a  resistance.  No  more  cur- 
rent can  go  through  the  tumbler  elec- 
trolytic cell  than  can  go  through  the  lamp, 
so  you  are  safe  there.  Having  all  ready, 
as  shown  in  the  illustration,  pour  about 
an  inch  of  strong  acid  into  the  tumbler 
with  the  copper  poles.  You  will  note  that 
but  little  current  will  flow  and  the  proof 
is  that  the  electric  lamp  will  give  out 
hardly  any  light.  But  replace  the  strong 
sulphuric  acid  by  several  inches  of  dilute 
acid  and  at  once  the  electric  lamp  will 
light  up,  because  the  dilute  acid  is  a  good 
conductor  of  electricity.  If  you  watch 
to  see  at  which  of  the  two  copper  poles 
the  hydrogen  comes  off,  you  can  tell 
which  is  the  anode  or  in-going  pole  and 
which  the  cathode  or  out-going  pole. 
Remember  that  hydrogen  will  come  off 
from  the  cathode  in  the  electrolytic  cell, 
because  the  hydrogen,  being  the  metallic 
element,   goes   with   the   positive   current. 

Some  gas  will  come  off  from  both  poles, 
but  the  hj'drogen  is  twice  as  great  in 
volume  as  the  oxygen ;  and  so  it  is  easy 
to  decide  which  is  the  cathode  or  out-go- 
ing pole  of  the  current.  In  this  way  one 
can  tell  the  direction  of  the  direct  current 
which  is  supplying  his  light.  Of  course 
one  can  use  the  small  battery  of  the  zinc- 
copper  couple,  described  in  a  previous 
lesson ;  but  that  is  rather  a  weak  current 
with  which  to  get  satisfactory  results. 
Still,  one  can  do  much  good  work  even 
with  weak  currents. 

Just  why  the  concentrated  sulphuric 
acid  does  not  readily  conduct  electricity 
and  why  the  dilute  acid  does  conduct  it 
are  interesting  questions.  Broadly,  it  may_^ 
be  said  that  this  difference  between  con- 
centrated and  dilute  sulphuric  acid  is  one 
of  the  main  points  in  the  modern  theory 
of  solution.  It  is  evident  that  adding 
water  to  dilute  the  strong  acid  does  some- 


June  I,  iQoy 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGIXEEK' 


9^ 


thing  to  the  hydrogen  so  that  it  can  be 
released  from  the  sulphuric  acid,  cither 
by  the  zinc,  or  by  the  electric  current. 
This  quality  or  condition  of  the  dihite  •!!!- 
phuric  acid,  a»  contrasted  wit 
cent  rated  acid,  is  called  "di- 
and  that  word  means  just  what  yuu  have 
noted  in  the  ready  release  of  the  hydro- 
gen from  the  sulphuric  acid  by  either  the 
zinc  or  the  electric  current.  The  acid 
acts  as  though  it  were  in  some  way  separ- 
ated or  dissociated  :  :.tivc  parts. 
The  tw(»  atom*  '-r  .,  |»arls  of 
hydrogen  in  sulphuric  .tcid.  11;S()..  make 
the  parts  on  one  side.  To  tind  what 
are  the  other  parts  of  sulphuric  acid, 
just  write  out  the  formulas  of  several  ai 
the  sulphates  or  salts  of  sulphuric  acid 
with  several  i>f  the  metals,  and  note  what 
is  common  to  all  of  the  sulphates.  You 
will  find  that  the  imaginary  group,  "sul- 
phion."  SO.,  i<  found  both  in  Milphuric 
acid  !•  in  each  of  its  sulphnlf*. 
thus:  aci«I  itself  is  Mr— S«). : 
blue  vitriol,  or  sulphate  of  copper,  is 
Cu — SO,;  green  vitriol,  or  sulpliatc  of 
iron,  is  Fe — SO,:  white  vitriol  or 
zinc  sulphate,  is  Zi>— SO. ;  gypsum,  or 
calcium  sulphate,  is  Ca — SO. :  glaubrr's 
salt,  or  sodium  SO.: 
epsom  salt,  or  .:e,  is 
.Mg — SO.:  and  so  uii. 

PecvLiAt  AcTiox  or  Watm 

In  all  of  these  4.n!*  •>   more  or 

less  of  "water  ut  ct  n;"   but    I 

have  neglected  that  part  ot  tlie  fi>rnnil.is, 
to  keep  the  attention  fixed  on  the  Miuple 
form  of  the  salts  in  qucMion :  and  you  will 
note  that  in  every  case  there  is  the 
imaginary  group,  SO.,  sulphion.  which 
runs  through  all  of  tt  ;«s  or  salts 

of    sulploirir    acid  ihi*    auI- 

phion  t. 
acid  M 

or  diSMtcialed   into   it»  active   cljeiiucai  or 
electrical    parts    by    simple    dilution    with 
water.     I  thall  have  much  more  to  tajr 
abottt  this  peculiar  action  of  water  from 
time  to  time:  but  it  should  be  noted  here 
that  while  the  ..1  "     " 
that   when  an  a 
each  other  a  salt   i%   t 
the   si«le   prixltict,   m<- 

that    when   an   acid   ;i  act    u|x>n 

each  other   water   i«    i  id   the   rr- 

•pcrtive  salt  is  the  side  pr<Mlurt  Tins  is 
only  one  way  of  saying  over  again,  wliat 
has  already  been  noted,  namely,  that  we 
live    under    the  ^    of    a    water 

chemistry.      It    i  'lat    act*    u(ton 

common    cl"  ^p   to 

life    and    q  '    ^t- 

change.     \\ ' 
tion*  of  aci' 

common  fn-ld  of  artuc  (lirtmral  rractioa 
and  of  quick  electru-jl  romliK  iMitr 

But  we  arc   stiMlnng  the  rhrTni«iry  of 
sulphur  in  parti.    '  -  ■  <    /  -       <     ■--- 

this  chapter,  let 
the    accompan)iiu    (•Uiii    ••\mJ<' 


of  sulphur.     Note   that   on  the  left-haii':. 
or  reduced  end,  comes  hydrotji-u  ^.lip:.!  ;c  , 
then  sulphur  itself:  then  sulp 
S<  h     <  -!!lphur    two-oxide,    or 

.:se  it  IS  the  aiili>tlrKic  of 

.  I  ;  and,  lastly,  Milphur  tn- 

oxtde,     ^Ui     (sulphur     three-oxide)     the 

anhydride  of  sulphuric  acid,  and  sulphuric 

ac^  itself,  H,SO» 

Mere  it  is  well  for  us  to  nc    ■'    •      ''- 
are   usually   named   from   the 
makes    them,   giving    the    salt    ili.    t..'i  hng 
"ate"    if   the    name    of   the    acid    «-n«!-    in 
"ic."  and  giving  the  salt  the  • 
if   the    name   of   the   acid   en<! 
Thus     sulphuric     acid     forms     suiphj/i-s; 
from   nitriV   acid   comes   a    nitra/.-;    from 
phosphonV  acid  comes  a  pho^phalr;  from 
oxaliV  acid  comes  an  oxalii/<-;  from  acettV 
acitl  comes  an  ace/d/**;   from   silici»    acid 
comes   a    >i'  ul    so   on.      Similarly 

from  the    '•  mme  the  salts  end- 

i'  TOM*  acid  fTiakes 

t  id,    the    nitri/.»: 

phosphorcMJ  acid,  the  phosphi/<*s ;  and  so 
on.  It  will  be  easily  remembered  that 
the  "ous"  acids  and  their  salts,  the  "ites." 
are  in  a  relatively  lower  state  of  oxida- 
tion than  the  "ic"  acids,  and  their  salts, 
the  "ates."  Sulphurous  acid  aiKi  the  sul- 
phites are  in  a  lower  state  of  oxid.ition 
than  t'  'S  and  sulphuric  acid. 

If    t  such    a    thing   as    "car- 

bonous"  acid,  it  would  form  the  "car- 
Inmites:"  just  as  the  more  liit;Mv  .>x- 
idired    carboniV    acid    makes 

•As    a    matter   of    fact,    real    ">...: »' 

acid  is  well  known,  only  it  happens  to  be 
called  formiV  acid,  and  makes  the 
fi>T:iuitf\  as  you  will  find  by  looking  at 
t'  ■        .    .   •  •  -Imn  in  a  prrvi- 

«  ''.g  of  ri.-ii!»  nn>| 

.rt  ot   wl 
r  -r.     the      i 

;'  will  repay  one  to  m.i^icr 
•>  here  given  in  naming 
common  salts,  for  it  is  part  of  the  sy»tem 
in  general  use.  The  only  common  excep- 
tion to  the  naming  of  sahs  from  acid«  it 
fouml  in  the  names  of  such 
common  salt.   N'aO.   whirh   is   - 


!n  a  few  mimitcs 

■r   compoonda; 

'lis  wonder- 

I   is   only  a 

pan   ot   chemtstry.  the   finest   sobject    in 

the  world. 

TABLE  or  81'LPHrR  COMPOCNDa. 


r«,. 


OxtMISD  Bm 
»0.  8<V 


WSJ,. 


Fallacious  Rcasofiing 


made    up   of    two    things,    and    two  titing      i 

r< 'ti  iM  I  iMil»      I  iir     li!tij'\      .-i.iii'i  .!••  .'«  I      jfc        J 

y  %  the     • 

Clll' 'I  Mil  K,       i  in-      frxiMr^,      ilir  *    -' 

nitrides,  and   so  on.     Ttv 
acid.   Iinr.  '     ■ 
bromides, 

il 


Ik 

Oi..    

ger:  but  ofx 


By  C.  .M.  kirtxY 

W,:  •       ■  .        ..,. 

per   J.  ^ 

water  ilun  uitt.dicr 

ing    10.000    B.tu..    i>        .  •-! 

Klance  many  of  us  might  be  inclined  to 
^iy  yes  to  this  question.  But  il  is  a 
fallacy  to  reason  that  as  it  takes  heat 
to  evaporate  water  and  the  Btu.  it  a 
measure  of  heat,  therefore  the  more  B.t.iL 
r  re  water  will  be 


WlliTKC  THt  Fau-aot  I» 

The  weak  fxiint  in  the  ■.%  that 

while   the   Btu.   is   an   ex  .:re   of 

the  heat  in  the  coal,  it  is  nor  an  exact 
measure,  by  any  means,  of  the  heat  that 
can  be  put  into  the  water.  Obviously,  the 
difTerence  between   total   ?  'J 

heat   is  boiler  efficiency  -r 

comrs    in    a    qii'  n 

.Tvk..i     -no***  r 

^   tlic  type  of  fori   is 

ver    to    t  that 

'!  y  of  a  b  r  and 

can  be  ao  per  cent.  ■  same 

day.   with   »••-    .J 

the  same  r 

rs,  door  « jH-ning*.  «jrjit!i  and  tare  of 


Why  Boilib  EFnmMnsa  Cnawcb 

h  goes  up  dw 

nnsumcd  gues. 

«     a     morh     brgrr 


t    of 


to  I—    IfUi  •« 

r;imir»<Ki«   nial 


at    once    bccontes    apf' 


nliicfi  mill  bf   !•>  jouf   U!rf   *i»«l  practitjj     g?t   nvjf?    than  f«o  <.■'  Oj  pet   cent.  boUrf 


984 

efficiency  with  bituminous  coal,  although 
anthracite  carefully  tired  can  easily  give 
from  70  to  80  per  cent,  boiler  efficiency. 

The  fixed  carbon  in  both  cases  has  little 
tendency  to  do  anything  besides  stay 
on  the  grate  bars  until  perfectly  con- 
sumed. We  can  see  therefore  one  of  the 
great  advantages  in  burning  coke,  since 
coke  has  no  volatile  matter  and  runs 
about  92  per  cent,  fixed  carbon.  The  fol- 
lowing analyses  of  different  fuels  will 
show  the  variations  in  the  combinations 
between  fixed  carbon  and  the  volatile 
hydrocarbon  of  four  different  fuels,  and 
also  their   B.t.u.  per  pound: 

CHEMIC.\L  .\N.\LYSES  OF 
DIFFERENT  FUELS. 

.\nthra-  Buck- 
Bituminous,     cite.  wheat.      Coke. 
Ffacedcar              60^0     80.S77c  76.92%   92.38% 
Vol.  H.C.              32^c       3.9S%  10.-)%             _ 
Ash                Stoior?      11.23%  16.62%      7.21% 
Heat 
units, 
B.t.U..11.000  10  14,500    12,000    11,000    13,500 

It  would  not  necessarily  be  true  for  a 
fuel  salesman  to  say:  "I  am  selling  a 
low-grade  fuel  which  costs  only  a  little 
more  than  half  as  much  as  buckwheat, 
and  but  little  more  than  -a  third  as  much 
as  a  larger  size  anthracite.  You  get  in 
my  fuel  20  per  cent,  more  B.t.u.  for  a 
dollar  than  in  the  kind  of  fuel  you  are 
now  burning.  Therefore  you  can  ex- 
pect a  reduction  of  20  per  cent,  in  your 
fuel  bill." 

The  shrewd  engineer,  before  accepting 
this  statement  as  true,  will  inquire :  "What 
are  the  percentages  of  fixed  carbon, 
volatile  matter  and  ash  in  this  fuel?"  This 
is  a  verj-  pointed  question,  and  when  we 
realize  that  the  losses  up  the  stack  in- 
crease rapidly  as  the  volatile  matter  in  the 
fuel  increases  over  20  per  cent.,  we  can 
see  readily  that  the  heat  units  in  a  fuel 
are  not  a  true  measure  of  the  usefulness 
of  that  fuel. 

The  error  of  this  method  of  judging 
fuel  can  be  corrected  approximately  by 
estimating  what  the  efficiency  of  the  boil- 
er would  probably  be.  The  foregoing 
figures  regarding  boiler  efficiency  show  a 
possible  error,  which  can  be  stated  as  fol- 
lows :  Bituminous  coal  with  ^2  per  cent, 
volatile  matter,  as  compared  with'  anthra- 
cite containing  4  per  cent,  volatile  mat- 
ter, gives  approximately  20  per  cent,  lower 
boiler  efficiency. 

The  advocates  of  elaborate  tests  of  the 
B.t.u.  in  samples  of  coal  should  bear  in 
mind  that  the  item  of  boiler  efficiency  is 
to  be  reckoned  with.  In  the  same  gen- 
eral types  of  coal  the  B.t.u.  value  is  a  fair 
judge  of  the  evaporating  value  of  the  coal. 
But  in  comparing  fuels  of  an  entirely  dif- 
ferent nature,  the  discussion  of  the  heat 
unit  per  pound  is  valuable  only  when 
taken  in  conjunction  with  boiler  efficiency 
and  proportion  of  volatile  matter,  ash, 
etc. 

In  a   recent   interview   on   this  subject, 
Percival    Robert    Moses,    consulting    en- 
gineer, said : 
"I  have  appreciated  this  fact  for  some 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

years,  and  in  the  capacity  of  advisory 
engineer  have  recommended  the  use  of 
those  fuels  which  are  low  in  the  percent- 
age of  volatile  hydrocarbons.  The  extent 
to  which  high  boiler  efficiency  shows  up 
on  the  cost  record  is  amazing.  We  have 
frequently,  working  in  conjunction^  with 
the  chief  engineer  of  a  power  plant,  re- 
placed a  fuel  costing  $4.10  per  ton  with  a 
different  fuel  costing  $2.08  per  ton.  The 
surprising  part  is  that  with  a  theoretical 
difference  of  2000  B.t.u.  per  pound  in 
favor  of  the  more  expensive  fuel,  the 
month's  consumption  of  the  lower-grade 
fuel  would  show  the  same  number  of 
tons  as  when  the  expensive  fuel  was  used. 
Since  cheap  steam  is  the  foundation  of 
power-plant  economy,  the  savings  effected 
have  sometimes  been  remarkable." 


Two  interesting  Boiler  Accidents 


While  inspecting  and  applying  hydro- 
static pressure  to  several  small  vertical 
boilers  connected  to  hoisting  engines  op- 
erating on  Devonshire  street,  Boston, 
Mass.,  the  inspector's  attention  was  called 
to  a  leak  at  one  of  the  rivets  in  the  lap 
.seam  of  one  of  the  boilers  which  had 
not  been  examined.  .Apparently  the  rivet 
had  been  calked  several  times  without 
stopping  the  leak. 

The  working  pressure  carried  was  ir- 
regular, varying  from  that  which  would 
operate  the  engine  under  light  loads  to 
90  pounds,  at  which  point  the  safety  valve 
prevented  farther  rise  of  pressure.  Hy- 
drostatic pressure  was  applied  and  at  93 
pounds  pressure,  with  a  light  snap,  a  crack 
about  2  feet  long  appeared  in  the  over- 
lapping sheet  along  the  edge  of  the  row 
of   rivet   heads.      See   Fig.    i. 

This  form  of  crack  is  exactly  what 
would  be  expected  if  two  sheets  of  metal 
were  joined  with  a  lap-riveted  seam  and 
then  subjected  to  repeated  bendings  back 
and  forth,  until  one  of  the  sheets  cracked. 
In  the  nature  of  the  case  it  would  not 
fail   anywhere   else. 

A  course  in  a  boiler  with  a  lap  seam 
cannot  be  round  and  the  pressure  of 
steam  tends  to  make  it  round.  When 
the  pressure  is  lowered  or  removed,  the 
course  tends  to  return  to  its  original 
shape,  and  it  is  this  bending,  or  breathing 
as  it  is  sometimes  called,  that  makes 
the  lap  seam  an  unsafe  joint  in  boiler 
construction. 

In  the  boiler  room  of  the  American 
Wringer  Company,  Woonsocket,  R.  I., 
on  Sunday,  September  27,  1908,  at  about 
6  p.m.,  while  steam  was  being  raised  in 
a  boiler  which  had  been  out  of  service 
for  some  days  for  cleaning  and  minor 
repairs,  the  attention  of  the  engineer  was 
called  to  escaping  steam  near  the  rear 
end.  Examination  showed  that  it  was 
coming  from  the  longitudinal  oeam  in  the 
end  course. 


June  I,  1909. 

Pressure  on  the  boiler,  which  had 
reached  85  pounds,  was  reduced  as  rapidly 
as  possible  and  an  examination  made. 
This  point  was  of  butt  double-strap  treble- 
riveted  construction  and  failed  by  crack- 
ing through  the  outer  row  of  rivet  holes, 
and  it  is  believed  to  be  the  only  failure 
of  this  nature  that  ever  occurred  in  a 
butt  and  strap  seam. 

Inspection  showed  that  the  cause  of 
the  failure  was  not  difficult  to  locate  and 
could  with  certainty  have  been  predicted 
from  the  beginning  had  the  conditions 
been  known.  The  boiler  was  not  round 
and  at  the  joint  the  curvature  of  the  sheet 
departed  5/16  of  an  inch  from  the  circle 
to  which  it  should  have  conformed. 

The  boiler  was  of  the  horizontal  tubular 
type,  17  feet  4  inches  long.  The  inside 
diameter  of  tlie  outside  course  was  72  ^^ 
inches;  thickness  of  shell  plates,  0.45  inch; 
thickness  of  heads,  0.5  inch.  There  were 
132  three-inch  tubes,  16  feet  long,  and 
six  iH-i"ch  through  stays  of  iron  upset 
to  i^  inches  where  threaded,  passing 
through  channel-iron  bars  on  the  heads 
with  nuts  inside  and  out.  Stamps  found 
on  the  rear  course  in  which  the  crack  de- 
veloped gave  the  name  of  the  manufac- 
turer and  stated  that  the  firebox  had  a 
tensile  strength  of  60,000  pounds.  The 
type  of  longitudinal  joint  was  butt  and 
double  strap,  the  inside  strap  being 
wider  than  the  outside  strap.  The 
riveting  was  triple,  the  pitch  of  rivets 
on  the  rear  and  middle  courses  being 
3^  and  65-4  inches ;  on  the  front 
course  it  was  3]4  and  6^  inches.  The 
size  of  the  rivet  holes  was  15/16  inch. 
The  efficiency  of  the  joint  was  85.5  per 
cent,  on  the  front  course  and  86.1  per 
cent,  on  the  other  courses.  The  safe  work- 
ing pressure,  using  a  factor  of  safety  of 
4.5  and  a  tensile  strength  of  60,000  pounds 
would  have  been  141.8  pounds.  Using 
55,100  pounds,  the  actual  tensile  strength, 
the  safe  working  pressure  would  have 
been  130  pounds. 

The  result  of  physical  tests  and  chemi- 
cal analysis  made  on  test  specimens  cut 
from  the  shell  plate  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  the  cracked  section  and  in  a 
girth-wise  direction  showed  a  tensile 
strength  of  55.100  pounds,  the  elastic 
limit  being  35,300  pounds  per  square  inch. 
The  elongation  in  8  inches  was  22  per 
cent.  The  appearance  of  the  fracture  of 
the  test  piece  after  breaking  was  silky. 
The  chemical  analysis  was  a€  follows : 
Manganese  0.65  per  cent. ;  sulphur  0.045 
per    cent. ;    phosphorus    0.033    per    cent. 

A  strip  bent  cold  closed  down  upon 
itself  without  fracture  on  the  outside  of 
the  bent  portion,  but  developed  two  cracks 
on  the  inside.  A  strip  heated  cherry  red 
and  quenched  in  water  was  bent  down  upon 
itself  and  developed  no  fractures  inside 
or  out.  A  templet  sawed  to  a  radius  of 
35  tI  inches,  placed  on  the  rear  course 
of  the  boiler,  developed  the  fact  that  ,the 
boiler  departed  5/16  of  an  inch  from  a 
circle  at  the  joint.    A  templet  was  sawed 


June  I.  1909. 

to  fit  the  actual  cune  of  the  boiler.  The 
templets  nailed  tojtethcr  fjiving  a  ifraphical 
representation  of  the  difference  between 
what  the  curvature  of  the  boiler  should 
have  been  and  what  the  curvature  was. 
.\n  examination  of  the  n\et  h«>le>  m  the 
rear  course  of  the  boiler  developed  the 
fact  that  the  holes  had  been  punched  near- 
1>  full  size:  the  slight  amount  of  metal, 
taken  out  by  reanung  not  bemg  Mitlicient 
to  leave  the  full-size  holes  fair,  this  being 
shown  by  the  rivets  which  were  taken  out 
of     the     boiler     not     being     of     uniform 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

right  of  the  second  rivet  hole  from  the 
rear  girth  scam  and  extending  through 
seven  consecutive  rivet  holes  to  a  point 
I'/t  inches  from  the  seventh  hole,  or  a 
total  distance  of  43' »  inches.  Internal 
inspection  also  disclosed  the  fact  that  the 
shell  plate  on  the  upper  half  of  the  joint, 
on   the  outside   row    of  '  pitch, 

was  also  cracked.    These  >  wever. 

were  not  continuous,  and  were  confined 
to  the  region  of  the  rivet  holes,  extend- 
ing about  I  inch  each  side  of  three  con- 
secutive rivet  holes,  then  skipping  a  hole. 


9IKS 

a   disuooe  of  j^Vi    tncbet   ihrougii    five 

«■ ■■•  ri»'et  holes,  staniiu  .:ii 

to  the  left  of  ibe  ■-t 

hole     "n     the     outside     row. 
from  the   r<*ar  girth   *«im  a* 
to  a  ; 
first  r: 

from  the  nvet  holes  m  the  rear-head 
flange.  The  third  rivet  btle.  hownrrr, 
counting  from  the  rear  girth  seam  had 
two  crarks  extending  from  it  a  disuncr 
of  1^  inches  to  the  right  of  the  bole  and 
a  crack  1  inch  to  the  left  of  the  hole. 
.Adding  the  length  of  ihr*^  iwn  cracks 
■''■"■  inches 

A      ;i    ....  -th   of 

the  entire   crai .  tern   from 

the  outside  of  t.  iparing  thts 

length  of  ji*i  inches  with  the  length  of 


the   continuous   crack   of    • 

•"  Hrs,  as 

seen  from  the  inside  of  r 

It  win 

readily  be  seen  that  the  c: 

'     rn 

the   inside  of  the   boiler 

• » 

way   through   \- 

I  he   (.rack 

as    seen    from 

'e    or    <Mii- 

side   of   the   b< 

'Y 

the    nrtliiiars-    1 

'  V 

•■•r.iij^lit    li:  •  „  _    _   ,._:,    _       _^ 

the   edge   of   the   rivet   headsw 

This  boiler  was  sixteen  years  old  and 
keeping  in  mind  that  it  was  exposed  to 

.\i-c^Ni\p   vit)r.i!i.n    f. .r   five  years,  that  a 
■•!•!  '..-ii.!'- i:    •■  -r    :•-•:'.••  «l    in   two  cracks 
on    the    inside  .it 

the    chemical    a:  « 

of  manganese,  sulpimr 
•ind  that  the  rear  cour*e 
parted  from  a  true  circle  ;  ib  of  aui  inch 
■il  the  joint.  an<l  that  the  rivet  boles  had 
been  punched  alm>>st  full  sixe,  it  would 
seem  that  the  wonder  u  not  that  the 
boiler  developed  these  cracks,  but  that  it 

'a 

■C- 
AS  tjuitc  Jcarly  :!;c  ^uadUMU  *ii  the 


In   tr.^!\- 
I'lrm* 


list   of   Nora   ^-'MU 
pump*  and  r 


LJ5         *"^' 


m  Mtrb 


rtc    I 


rt&  a 


»     re-     • 

:-r  ..f     V 


diamrirr      Thr  hun  at  ih»  «d«e«  of  the     The  next  rlvd  hole  was  cracked  on 

rt« 

ni 

the  rivet   h 

was    not    I ' 

rt  hole. 

Internal    hi.*--. 

it  the  %h- 

»■    joint. 

w  of  rivr* 


.t..rt...r.l       tf   .         f>.  (  f 


Ml  Nova   Seniu   ihrre  h  no 


9S6 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  I,  1909. 


Uniform  Boiler  Laws 


DEVOTLD    TO   THE  GEXERATIOX   AND 
TRAXSMISSIOX   OF  POWER 

Issued  Weekly  by  the 

Hill  Publishing  Company 

Jon  A,  Hill,  Pre*.  »nd  Tre»«.         Bobert  McKkas,  8ec'y. 

505  Pearl  Street,  New  York. 

355  Dearborn  Street,  Chicago. 

6  Bourerie  Street.  London,  E.  C. 


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Cable  address.  "  Powpub,"  N.  Y. 
Busine.ss  Telegraph  Code. 


CIRCULA  TIOX    S  TA  TEMEX  T 

Durino  lOOS  irc  printed  and  circulated 
l,836,fXKj  copUg  of  I'OWER. 

Our  circulation  for  ilaji.  1909,  teas  ( tceeklii 
and   monthly)   152,000. 

June  1 42,000 

Vonc  Kent  free  rerjularly,  no  returns  from 
nevct  companies,  no  back  numbers.  Figures 
are  live,  net  circulation. 


Contents 


PAGE 


The  Cleveland  Technical  High  School 951 

Growth  of  the  High  Speed  Engine 956 

Development  of  the  Surface  Condenser 959 

A   High-Pressure  Turbine   Operating  at    30 

Pounds  Gage 967 

Supernatural  Visitation  of  James  Watt      .       968 

Catechism  of  Electricity 970 

A    3000-Horsepower   Gas   Engine   Pumping 
Station  to  be  Installed  for  Fire  Service 

in  Phila<lelphia 071 

Commutator  Brushes  and  Sparking 972 

Pr&ctic-al  lyetters  from  Practical  Men: 

How  the  Steaming  of  a  Boiler  Was  Im- 
pro%ed  .  ..Safety  Cams.  . .  .  Faulty  En- 
^ne  Adjustment.  .  Motor  Controller 
Troubles.  .  .  .Synchronizing Trouble.  .  .  . 
A  Gas  Engine  Signil  System . . .  .Trouble 
in  a  Pumping  Plint ....  Explosion  of  a 
Fire  Hoe.  .  .  .A  Peculiar  Pump  Trouble 
...What  Would  Happen  if  the  Belt 
Came  Off. .  Handling  Wood  Economic- 
ally. . .  .  Reversing  Polarity  .  .  Hydrau- 
lic Information  The  Spanish  Wind- 
lam.  .  .  Three  Engine  Roon  Kinks  .  . 
Cleaning  Fires  .  .  Hot  Beirings  ...  A 
Whwtle  Repair   ...  An  Engine  .\ccident 

.    .Vibration  and  Tension .973-980 

Some  Ufieful  I.essons  of  Limewater 981 

Fallacious  Reasoning 9g3 

Two  Interesting  Boiler  Accidents 984 

Editorials  986-987 


Mr.  Thomas  Durban,  of  the  Erie  City 
Iron  Works,  in  an  address  presented  to 
the  National  .Association  of  jManufac- 
turers.  at  its  meeting  in  New  York  re- 
cently, complained  of  the  hardships  to 
which  the  manufacturer  of  steam  boilers 
is  subjected  by  reason  of  the  varying  re- 
quirements of  the  boiler-inspection  de- 
partments of  different  States,  and  even  of 
different  cities.  "Various  States  in  the 
Union,"  he  says,  "have  enacted  laws  gov- 
erning the  matter  of  steam  boilers,  stating 
the  quality  of  material  to  be  used,  the 
thickness  of  the  material,  and  the  manner 
in  which  it  shall  be  put  together,  and  in 
no  two  States  are  these  laws  similar,  so 
that  a  general  contractor  or  a  general 
manufacturer  who  finds  it  necessary  to 
locate  branch  factories  in  various  States 
is  confronted  by  the  fact  that  he  must 
have  boilers  built  to  conform  with  the 
variouslawsof  the  States,  and  a  boiler  that 
would  fully  comply  with  the  requirements 
in  New  York  State  could  not  be  used  in 
Massachusetts,  and  one  that  could  be 
used  in  Massachusetts  could  not  be  used 
in  Pennsylvania,  etc. 

"The  detriment  of  this  can  be  readily 
realized  when  you  take  the  case  of  a  gen- 
eral contractor  building  buildings.  A  man 
may  have  a  hoisting  engine  working  on  a 
job  in  New  York.  If  he  bids  on  a  job  in 
Boston,  he  is  not  allowed  to  use  this  en- 
gine in  Boston ;  or  he  may  have  a  con- 
tract in  the  City  of  Harrisburg,  Penn., 
and  cannot  use  the  same  equipment  to 
complete  a  contract  in  the  City  of  Phila- 
delphia. In  order  to  keep  down  the  cost 
of  production  most  manufacturers  bring 
their  goods  through  in  duplicate  and  in 
quantities ;  in  fact,  the  ability  to  do  this 
distinguishes  the  manufacturer  from  the 
builder.  This  not  only  appertains  to 
stationary  boilers  and  portable  boilers 
used  in  the  construction  of  roads  or  build- 
ings, but  also  portable  boilers  used  by 
farmers  in  general  farm  work  or  in 
tlireshing.  A  manufacturer  of  threshing 
machines  is  compelled  to  build  a  differ- 
ent boiler  for  Massachusetts  than  he 
builds  for  Washington,  and  a  different  one 
for  the  State  of  Washington  than  the  one 
built  for  Montana.  So  that  the  tendency 
is  to  localize  business  and  to  work  against 
the  manufacturer  who  is  attempting  to 
develop  a  large  trade.  This  is  not  only 
detrimental  to  the  manufacturer,  but  is 
equally  detrimental  to  the  user  or  the 
consumer,  from  the  fact  that  he  must 
pay  an  advanced  price  for  his  goods,  and 
it  greatly  delays  shipment." 

The  situation  pointed  out  by  Mr.  Dur- 
ban suggests  the  necessity  of  organiza- 
tion and  uniformity  of  practice  and  re- 
quirements by  the  boiler  inspectors.  At 
present  comparatively  few  States  and 
cities  have  boiler-inspection  departments, 
but  the  agitation  is  ripe  and  each  season 
many   bills    for  the   creation    of  such   de- 


partments are  introduced.  With  their 
multiplication,  and  without  substantial 
agreement  among  them,  the  situation  of 
the  boiler  manufacturer  might  become 
very  uncomfortable. 

But  the  reputable  boiler  manufacturer 
does  not  want,  to  build  boilers  that  are 
not  safe,  and  no  board  of  inspectors  wants 
to  make  rules  that  are  unreasonable  or 
unnecessarily  severe.  A  boiler  that  is  safe 
in  one  class  of  service  in  one  State  is  as 
safe  in  the  same  class  of  service  in  an- 
other State.  The  laws  of  statics  are  not 
of  political  origin,  and  the  capacity  of 
material  to  resist  rupture  knows  no  geo- 
graphical bounds.  Such  differences  of 
opinion  and  of  practice  as  exist  between 
the  various  boards  should  be  easily  recon- 
cilable and  manufacturers  would  be  un- 
likely to  oppose  whatever  restrictions  and 
regulations  such  boards  might  impose, 
provided  they  were  imposed  uniformly 
and  all  manufacturers  and  users  were 
treated  alike. 


How  Much  Does  It  Cost  to  Clean 
Boilers? 

How  much  better  off  would  you  be  if 
you  had  absolutely  pure  feed  water  for 
your  boilers,  so  pure  that  it  would  leave 
absolutely  nothing  behind  it  when  it 
boiled  away? 

Our  thought  deals  not  so  much  with 
the  decrease  of  efficiency  by  reason  of  the 
presence  of  scale,  grease,  etc.,  as  with  the 
cost  of  removing  these  deposits,  and  of 
making  good  the  damage  which  they  have 
caused,  the  loss  of  the  use  of  the  boiler 
during  the  cleaning  and  repairing  process 
and  the  increased  investment  and  stand- 
ing charges  created  by  the  necessity  for 
extra  boilers. 

The  loss  from  scale  while  running  is  an  . 
indeterminate  and  widely  variable  factor. 
If  one  has  plenty  of  boiler-heating  surface, 
if  the  ratio  of  grate  to  heating  surface  is 
low  and  the  rate  of  combustion  moderate, 
the  fouling  of  some  of  the  surface  to  a 
considerable  degree,  or  of  all  of  it  to  a 
moderate  degree,  will  have  little  effect 
upon  the  number  of  pounds  of  steam 
made  per  pound  of  coal.  If,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  heating  surface  is  worked  to  its 
capacity  and  the  number  of  pounds  of  coal 
burned  per  square  foot  of  heating  surface 
is  large  any  deposition  of  sicale  upon  that 
surface  will  have  a  much  more  serious 
effect  upon  the  boiler  efficiency.  When, 
in  addition,  the  influence  of  the  density  or 
porosity  of  the  scale  is  taken  into  account 
the  engineer  is  inclined  to  shrug  his 
shoulders  when  he  sees  the  frequently 
published  statements  of  the  percentage 
effect  of  various  thicknesses  of  scale  upon 
the  coal  consumption. 

Som.e  interesting  figures  could  be  made 
upon  the  other  costs  which  have  been 
mentioned,  were  the  data  available.  How 
often   must   a   boiler  be   cleaned?     It   de- 


June  I,  1909. 

'>,   of   course,   upon   the   amount   and 

vter  of  foreign    matter    in    solution 

■»[K-nded   in   the   feed   water,   but    we 

actual    mformation    for, the   general 

with  such  particulars  as  are  availa- 

f  the  character  of   the   feed  and  of 

leans  which  are  resorted  to  to  prc- 

scale.      How   much   does   it   cost   to 

a  boiler  of  a  given  type  and  capa- 

How  long  is  it  out  of  service?    How 

are  tubes   rcfjuirt-d  to  be  renewed' 

many    tire     sheets    are    burneil    or 

•!  by  thr  preMrn>:e  <>f  scale  or  grease? 

mation  <  f  this  kind  liased 

of    exiH-ricncc    would    be 

lally    desirable    for    our    correspond- 

columns  and   we   should  be   glad  to 

'>ur  contributors  turn  their  attention 

iiat  direction. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 
State  Boiler   Insfjection 


PI 


ace 


the    Blame    for    Boiler 
Accidents 


In  a  sawmill  out  West  the  boiler  ex- 
!'■' ••''«•,  killing  six  men  and  seriously  in- 
k'  live  others.  It  is  sUted  that  the 
»riiiinent  cf  the  coroner's  jury  in  the 
case  was  expressed  by  the  remark  of  one 
of  them,  who  said :  "They  are  dead, 
anyway,  so  what  is  the  use  of  making  a 
fus»  >" 

It  is  possible  that  the  responsibility  for 

i   preventable   cabmity    which   either  de- 

Mriiys   or   nurs   the   life   of   eleven    men. 

knd  adds  to  the  burden  carried  by  those 

directly  connecte<I  to  them  by  the  various 

tics  of  human  life,  may  not  be  placed  at 

!ix>r    of    the    mill    «iwners.       Hut    it 

1  hr  pbr«-d.  in  a  way  that 'cannot  l»e 

'c  it  Ix-Iongs      It  may 

r,  on  the  in^IH:ctor  or 

!  the  man  who  nude  the  Ijoiler. 

there  i«,  for  every  occurrence 

»f   this   kind.      These   things   happen    bc- 

"■"••-    of   the    ignorance   or    cupidity,    or 

|i«  both,  of  some  man  or  some  set 

91     turn,    wliM    liriitc    atioul    a    condition 

■rhich    inrMt.iliU     rrN\il(«    in    loss    of    life 

ind    the    <!•  rty. 

T'l.t!    •'  nnt    nr 


In  1908  there  were  470  explosions  of 
stationar>  and  ponabic  b*  ilrrs  in  the 
L'niied  States,  a  total  almo>t  identical 
with  the  record  for  1907,  and  the  number 
of  persons  killed  by  explosions  was  iBi, 
as  compared  with  joo  in  1907,  2J5  in 
1906,  j8j  in  1905  and  2.-  '  /  ;  These 
t:g'.ires    were    recently  by    the 

liar-  tti  Boiler  '  and  In- 

sur.i  iny.    The  records 

for  the  I'l  rty  years  from  iMWi  to  IQ07 
show  a  total  of  9550  br>iler  explosion", 
and  the  casualties  resulting  number  10. 
555  persons  killed  and  15.051  injured  Tins 
means  a  total  of  25,606  persons  maimed 
or  killed  in  forty  years,  an  average  of 
(140  per  annum,  although  in  late  years  the 
.i!;in!.il    iv.irtiU-r   has  been   c  '  ■    in 

i\n^N  ..t  thiN  average,  not  t  an 

cnornKiu-.   property   loss. 

Thcsf  tigures  show  plainly  the  menace 
to  life  atKl  property  of  the  high-pres»ure 
steam  boiler,  as  it  is  now  built  and  in- 
spected, and  indicates  the  urgent  need 
of  State  legislation.  With  boilers  proper- 
ly built  and  carefully  inspected,  and  the 
use  of  a  reasonable  anuunt  of  care  m 
«»perati<»n,  there  is  little  necessity  for  a 
single  explosion,  and  no  occasion  what- 
ever for  the  wholesale  number  now  ap- 
|M-aring  in  the  annual  reptms.  The  lap- 
scam  iKjiler  has  been  the  cause  of  many 
if  these  explosions,  careless  inspection  has 
added  its  quota  and  inferior  construction 
in  boilers  of  the  better  class  has  aug- 
mented the  total. 

Hearing   in  mind  that   it   is  possihtr  tft 
ojK-rate  a  boiler  wr 
it    is    pr-ifirrly    desi. 

and  •  to  a  systematic  and  care- 
fid  '■  .  '  .  it  is  surprising  that  the 
subject  of  boiler  explosions  has  not  b«-m 
given  more  general  attention.  Only  five 
Stales  have  considered  this  annual  de- 
'   •  '        •    ! ■ 

tti    bollt  - 


!  to  many  foldiers 

:iii<I    thr    Iii^    is 

..nee 
....I.-.    1.1111     irooi 


whr- 

are 

just  as  great  and 

whether   the    entu<. 

New   York   State  or  are  equally  divided 

amr- -  ■'      -   --  ■ 

In 

of  i^ 

reg.i  ,t, 

share  ui  jif 

««>  ihe  g.  _     :  ,    b) 

preventing  a   neediest   waste  of  Kle  and 
i.r.,tMrtv  within  its  bordrrt. 


Keeping  Power  Plant  Records 


One   of   thr    impoitant    factors   in   thr 

cost    of    ;  ". 

and  labii' 

of    f  .         In    ».; 

wha-  -  doing  it  t 

an  accurate  record  of  the  repair  work. 
This  is  not  difBculi  if  the  proper  entries 
on  the  log  sheet  or  in  the  engineer's  note- 
book are  made  as  soon  as  possit4e  after 
the  different  jolw  are  finished.  It  often 
happens    that    the  -    i% 

not    informed    wh..-  jrs 

cost.     He  is  certar  ..  if 

he   is   required   to  of 

power  at  regubr  intervals;  but  even  if 
the  actual  costs  are  withheld  through 
thoughtlessness  or  other  caiuc,  it  is  de- 
cidedly worth  while  to  keep  a  record  of 
the  important  repair  items. 

In  one  ;  ■         ■  Moti 

at  the  dir  ,(f. 


mimth.     I  ucr    oi    the    company 

li  I'lr.inN      !        .  ■..     !'  r    ,    .ii.r     »••?!     the 

•>eer      In  .ad 

U...   ..^.jrrd   in  lh«.    ^<<..,^.i.i  ^   .i..vi.  by 
clerks   out    of   touch    with    the   oprratii^ 

"        ■      ■  '^at 

!mJ 

'ht 

of 

•Its 


en/oyed    by    .Massachusetts    and    by 

■^    "f   New   ^' ''I-     "I'r  intelligent 

'I     and  are    com- 

....-•.>       it   i«   a    !  '  ;.le 

n  modern  eivili/aii  d 


hat    day    i->>mr»    when    the 
«"•    "irc    tieam    ff>r    •'•-    •• 
'    shall   be    un! 


k'  this  line  IS  not  uni- 

,.:.!.»   of   the    s9fne   Slate. 

and  in  most  of  the  smaller  towns  it  has 
been  entir<-'-    --  -'  -Ted. 

If    this  idler    of    people    were 


Mate     in     the 


<!!> 


itmieu!      If 


re  and  o| 


pense    was    lower.      Tl- 

:xK.;t    r>  f    .  .-til    l,i..|.^f    ... 


•  etw- 

■  .^es 
'w 
^b 

ng  o«t 

•►...flg 
Id 

'f  nrf  • 

^riaitr 


aihI    use. 


4»1 


thr»u«h«>ui  the  cxmnlry^    in  tnnr  oi  war,     alMni.  and 


hmn^ 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  I,  1909. 


Power  Plant  Machinery  and  Appliances 


Original     Descriptions     of     Power     Devices 
No     Manufacturers'      Cuts      or     Write-ups      Used 

MUST     BE     NEW     OR     INTERESTING 


( 


The.  New  Class  E  American 
Stoker 


The  latest  design  of  underfeed  stoker 
is  the  "New  American  Stoker,  Class  E," 
of  the  American  Stoker  Company,  11 
Broadway,  New  York  City.  It  is  so  de- 
signed that  nn  working  part  is  in  contact 


to  the  sides  of  the  furnace  by  the  moving 
bars,  shown  in  Fig.  2,  which  keep  it  con- 
stantly on  the  move  toward  the  dumping 
trays  along  each  side  wall,  where  the 
clinkers  and  ashes."  are  deposited.  By 
means  of  levers  on  the  outside  these 
dumping  trays  can  be  actuated  to  dis- 
charge the  ash  and  clinker  automatical- 
h.     The   sliding  bottom  is  actuated  by  a 


FIG.      I.     FRO.VT   VIEW   OF      AMERICAN    CL.XSS    E       STOKER 


The  movement  of  the  piston  of  the  cyl- 
inder C,  Fig.  3,  is  transmitted  directly 
through  the  piston  rod  to  the  crosshead  D, 
which  is  bolted  to  the  sliding  bottom  E. 
As  the  block  B  has  the  same  movement  as 
D  and  E,  the  coal  is  fed  by  it  from<  the 
bottom  of  the  hopper  A  onto  the  sliding 
bottom  E,  which  not  only  carries  it  to  the 
back  end  of  the  furnace  but  forces  it  to 
rise  the  full  length  of  the  trough.  As 
the  coal  rises  in  the  trough  or  coking 
retort,  it  is  flooded  onto  the  grate  bars  F, 
which  are  alternately  moving  and  fixed 
bars,  the  moving  bars  working  transverse- 
ly to  the  retort,  the  extent  of  the  move- 
ment being  from  ^  to  i  inch,  depending 
upon  the  size  of  the  furnace. 

On  the  bottom  of  each  moving  bar  are 
cast  two  lugs  which  engage  with  a  bulb 
of  the  longitudinal  rocking  bars  H,  Fig. 
4.  These  rocking  bars  in  turn  receive 
their  movement  through  the  agency  of 
two  spirals  and  nuts,  which  mechanism 
is  entirely  outside  the  furnace.  The  nuts 
are  bolted  to  the  crosshead  D  and  re- 
ciprocate with  the  bottom  E,  the  recip- 
rocation of  the  nuts  causing  the  spirals 
to   rock   to  and   fro. 

The  movement  of  the  grate,  in  addi- 
tion to  carrying  the  burning  fuel  to  the 
sides  of  the  furnace,  also  conveys  the 
clinker    down    and    deposits    it    on    the 


with  fire,  thereby  eliminating  the  danger 
of  burnt  parts. 

This  stoker  is  built  on  an  oscillating- 
bottom  principle,  the  feeding  trough  be- 
ing in  constant  motion,  gradually  feeding 
coal  to  the  fire  above.  While  the  coal 
is  never  allowed  to  settle  in  this  trough, 
it  cannot  be  driven  in  chunks  or  masses 
into  the  fire,  even  in  the  case  of  over- 
loading. 

The  furnace  doors,  grate  bars,  etc.,  are 
air-cooled,  while  the  air  for  combustion  is 
heated  before  its  introduction  to  the  com- 
bustion chamber.  Every  other  grate  bar 
is  hollow,  a  current  of  air  constantly  pass- 
ing through  to  the  coal  trough,  at  which 
point  it  is  mixed  with  the  gases  which 
have  been  liberated  from  the  coal,  while 
between  alternate  bars  there  are  spaces 
through  which  air  is  forced  from  the 
ashpit  below. 

The  operation  of  the  stoker  is  as  fol- 
lows: The  fuel  may  be  conveyed  to  the 
hopper  either  by  coal-conveying  machinery 
or  by  hand  labor,  and  from  the  hopper  it  is 
carried  under  the  fire  by  means  of  the 
reciprocating  slidirg  bottom.  As  the  coal 
rises    from   the   trough,   it    is   distributed 


1-I<j.     J.     bllO\\I.\(,   (;i<ATE   SETTING   IN    "AMERICAN    CLASS   e"   .STOKER 

steam  motor,  shown  in  Fig.   i,  the  num-  plates  K,  which  are  fastened  to  the  hinge 

ber  of  strokes   of  which   may  be  varied  bars  L.   These  hinge  bars  are  actuated  by 

from    I    in    three    minutes    to    15    in    one  levers  conveniently  placed  outside  of  the 

minute,  and  as  each  stoker  is  said  to  carry  furnace  for  dumping  the  accumulation  of 

into  the  furnace  about  six  pounds  of  coal,  ash    and    clinker    on    the    plates    K   when 

i:  will  be  seen  that  the  rate  of  feed  has  a  necessary. 

wide  range  of  adjustment.  One   of   the   important    features   of  the 


June  I,  igoy 


POWER  AND  THE  EN'GIN'EER. 


9l» 


stoker  is  the  distribution  of  the  air  which 
enters  the  stoker  through  the  apenure  .V 
F'g  3.  which  is  covered  by  the  wind 
gate  O.  This  wind  gate  is  adjustable  by 
a  crank  P  at  the  outer  end  of  the  furnace. 
The  air  upon  entering  the  wind  box  Q 
passes  upward  along  each  side  of  the 
troughs  or  retorts  aid  is  discharged  part- 
ly through  the  holes  R  into  the  retorts. 
The  surplus  air  passes  through  the  bar  F 


the  boiler  tubes,  but  as  the  action  of 
dumping    and    raising   thcii.  t    a 

niument.  the  loss  from  air  [..  •.  ard 

into  the  boiler  tubes  is  so  ■.li.^l.i  liiut  it 
is  not  necessary  to  close  the  wind  gate 
O  at  such  time. 

A  test  sheet  was  exhibited  at  the  oAke 
of  the  company,  showing  that  on  coal  of 
10,400  B  t.u.,  showing  over  10  per  cent, 
of  ash.   an   evaporation   of  9  pounds  of 


^--•.:. 


FIC.    3.     SCCTIONAL  View    or     AMCKirAK    CLAM   K      STOKUI 


which  is  made  hollow,  but  as  the  bar  has 
nu  opening  in  its  tup  surface,  no  air  can 
find  its  way  into  the  Tire  abo\c  it  until 
it  has  pa%sed  throtigli  the  aperture  .V 
at  the  Ixjttoin  cud  of  the  liar,  from  which 
aperture  it  is  discharged  into  the  ash- 
pit. The  air  then  rises  and  pastes 
through  the  small  spaces  between  the 
liars   into   the   cq|(ed    fuel. 

The  air  passing  through  the  bars  keep* 
them  cool  and  prevents  their  being  burned 


water  from  and  at  ^12  degrees  Fahren- 
heit .'.  iiied.  Thi.s  coal  was  stated  to 
\yf  \\%r\<rs*.    a*    h-nid-firrH    ftirl. 


B.t.u.,  with  over  9  per  cent.  01  ash,  was 
made  to  proiluce  an  e\-a|>onitiuii  nf  9^39 
pouiKls  uf  steam  from  and  at  312  degrees 
FahrenheiL  Attention  was  called  especial- 
ly to  the  poor  quality  of  coals  u%cd  in 
these   tests,   which   were   the  average    for 


able  to  evaporate  as  modi  water  from  the 
pc  '•^:    coal   as   can   ordinarily    be 

obr.  :ii   cual   costing   50  per  cent, 

more  per  tun  than  slack  coaL 

The  company  has  alto  perfected  a 
marine  stoker  along  ven  much  the  tame 
linrv  !»»,..»,  ii  it  to  place  on  the  narkcC 
»i«:  1>  with  the  "Class  E." 

.V.n.u  Kovemroents.  .  indudiii(  Ike 
I'nitrd  Slates.  England  and  JsptB,  •!« 
using  the  ".Xmerican"  tiuker. 


RheofUU  (or  Charging  Small 

Storage     Batteries     from 

Lighting  Circuib 


For  ate  where  a  small  storage  battery 
is  maintained,  as  in  gas-engine  power 
plant)  where  only  direct  currem  at  lifhl> 


nn     oa     cHAauisw  ftuau*iAi 


;.'M>  .MAM  .  io.'%  .«L   ui'mji.%11  j*o 


•nc 


>T     ric    rmpi  '^m,     »itKe    the 

c   b«tinniiit   of  tbc   diargv 

•  bm  tW  h«t- 

I"  «1  the  aaci- 

It 
wa-.  •-  ■  tiaf 

(m   or       rmt.     Itic  vohage  apr  -  battery 

■    ^  a?*>ti»    8     iTi    W    \wt    HKf «-jn<"<!    .  -■     '^ 

the  wind  box  Q  i*  said  to  vary  from   H     pounds 

inch  to  iH  incbca,  and  at  J  fron  o  to    the    «•• 

H   inch.  rei*-'  •tvm     the 

When     the     dumping    pbtes     K     are    let       when        u        1*        tafc.n        \w  c  n...irra-  1  nr     r  •tMf*n'«i     itv-tib*     ■        i 

down,  ^ir  will  find  its  wa>    ipward  among     tion    that    the    cnmpsn)     cbims    to    be     diargiag  r4M«M«ai  fnr  ao  to  44  c 


otii     T»- 


to  oor   i> 


990 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  I,  1909. 


is  capable  of  carnnng  50  amperes  at  any 
position  of  the  regulating  arm ;  this  type 
of  rheostat  is  also  supplied,  in  the  same 
current  capacity,  to  charge  10  to  14  cells 
from  a  110-  to  120- volt  circuit. 

To  select  a  charging  rheostat  for  a 
given  service,  the  circuit  voltage,  the 
minimum  allowable  battery  voltage  and 
the  charging  current  in  amperes  must  be 
known,  and  these  should  be  specified  when 
ordering  such  a  rheostat  or  inquiring 
about  one.  The  minimum  batterj-  volt- 
age is  the  product  of  the  number  of  cells 
in  series  and  the  volts  per  cell,  usually  2 
volts ;  in  other  w^ords,  twice  tlie  number 
of  cells  that  are  connected  in  series.  Al- 
though these  rheostats  are  rated  as  for 
no  to  ijo  volts  it  is  possible  to  use  them 
on  circuits  of  higher  voltages,  provided 
the  difference  betw^een  the  minimum  bat- 
tery- voltage  and  that  of  the  supply  cir- 
cuit does  not  exceed  that  which  would 
exist  with  the  rated  number  of  cells  and 
rated  circuit  voltage. 

These  rheostats  are  finished  in  black 
marine  on  the  face  plate,  the  resistance 
conductors  are  coated  with  aluminum 
paint,  and  the  supporting  frames  are 
galvanized.  The  resistance  is  of  the  grid 
type  and  is  rigid,  compact  and  substantial 
in  construction.  There  are  thirteen  steps 
pf  resistance  abjustment. 


The  Franklin  Valve  Gear 


The  increasing  demand  for  higher 
speeds  in  Corliss  engines  has  led  to  the 
development  by  the  Hewes  &  Phillips  En- 
gine Company,  of  Newark,  N.  J.,  of  a  new 
type  of  releasing  gear  which  handles  the 
valves  quietly  and  effectively  at  speeds  as 


16  X  30 

E.P.M.  160 

Scale  50 

Boiler  Pressore  95 

Back  Pressure  5 


FIG.     2.     DIAGRAMS   FROM     l6x30  HEWES   &   PHILLIPS  ENGINE 
FITTED    WITH     FRANKLIN     VALVE    GEAR 


high  as  two  hundred  revolutions  per 
minute.  Its  construction  will  be  apparent 
from  the  accompanying  engravings. 

The  loose  arm  A,  Fig.  i,  is  oscillated 
from  the  wristplate  by  the  usual  right- 
and-left  connection  and  carries  at  its  top 
a  long  bearing  B  for  the  liberating  latch 
C.  The  length  and  stability  of  this  bear- 
ing is   well   shown   in   the  left-hand  view 


of  Fig.  I,  and  is  one  of  the  details  which 
contributes  most  to  the  positive  and  smooth 
working  of  the  device.  The  latch  C  is 
a  bronze  bar,  practically  straight,  hollowed 
out  for  lightness  and  suspended  in  such 
a  position  that  gravity  enables  it  to  func- 
tion properly  even  at  speeds  as  high  as 
two  hundred  revolutions  per  minute  with- 
out  the   aid    of   the    light   spring   E   with 


FIG.     I.    DETAILS  OF  THE  FRANKLIN   VALVE  GEAR 


June  I,  1909. 


f*<)\VER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


401 


receive    the    blo« 

The   ''-<   .-f   the   la 

-nor    u 

rn.r.!    } 

the  loc 

.>,.-.   ,. 

the 
'  b 


»teadine«*  and  freedom  from  vihrattoa. 


'Bcat>€l"    PowCT    Pump 


rir,       1      TMF    niANKI.IN    VALVE   «JiA« 


'1    it   I*    fiinuihcd    for   ailditi(inal    *c- 

I  l»e   latch   carrie*  at    it«   extremity   the 
antifriction  fiber  blf>ck  /•  which  re»t*  upon 
the    face  <»f   the   ctitciff   cam    F,   the   po<i|. 
lion  of  which  i»  delermineil  by  the  gover- 
Dor.     When  ihit  btcxk   rests  on  the  low 
portion    of    the    cam,    as    shown    in    FiR. 
t.   the   latch   blocks   G  C   can   come   into 
•)t    a*    shown    and    the    member 
to    the    valve    stem,     will    be 
(kward  with  the  arm  .1  <>\H-iunfi 
When  the  fil»er  bl«K-k    /•.   ri.le% 
<it    the    hiith    pan    rif    the    cam.    the 
t  C  a  arc  drawn  out  of  enKaRcment 
and   the   valve   is  closed  by   the  da«hp<>t. 
"    '  T   any   reason   the   valve   slH>uld    tn»t 
it    will   be   pushed    to   by   the   fiber- 
block   /   n|Min   the   \>«>%e   arm  posi- 

mri%rd    l>v    thr    wrt»»Ii?ilr 


•   up  evrt 

l.y    the    .. 
im«   taken   from  a    l6xjo   l!rwe«   & 
\t*  rnRine  filtrtl  with  tf"-   •••    '    •    • 
it     160    re%'>lii»ii>ii*    |Kr 


iluct*   to  convey   the  oil   $tore<l   in   lamp- 
wif-k*.    'T    ofhrr    fiSrou^    mntrrin!.    tn    the 

•inR 
•  •ra- 
tion. I  he  safety  blcxk  K  on  the  Rovemor 
cam  is  so  attached,  as  will  Iw  plain  from 
the  drawinR.  that  no  shearinR  off  and 
destrtictifn  of  the  gear  could  occur  from 
a  loo%eninR  up  of  its  altachinR  screw.  The 
Rovemor    cam    presents    a    considerable 


The  LiKas  I'ump  C(«tpany.  Dayloa.  O., 
recently  rr«ir«iRiicd  its  "llc*iycl"  pimrr 
pump,  the  principal  new  fr:attirr  iimig 
double  Rears  in  pbce  of  l>  .ear 

formerly  used.  The  illostr^i.  >•  ^.  •  •«  a 
oide  view  of  the  pump  as  now  bodt.  Tl»e 
main  casiinR  supp>  r      '  ,t%, 

which   have  lonR  )  <m» 

^haf- 
era  I.'. 

in   a   «li<iiiiK  or 

cros»head.      A-  «hc 

link  diMrihnies  mi  ti>  the  hl«k  atMl  irtrk 
pin.  Tfie  drivinR  pinion  is  also  dt>%ibk. 
to  correspond   with   the  Rear*.     An  ool- 

bnard-Rtiide  f*r--— - -'     -  -»^  pt«t(XI 

rod.  ami  an  <  -is  pm- 

V  ilh   an    .1  • 
le.     The 
>;Uc,  b>    removing  the   %^hc  <^c  ivscra^ 


r.  the  ci 

up«-n   a - 

•   block   C.  avoiding  rrm  the  fli<k 

?  which  nsiully  acc^* *' ' 

•f  a  releasing  gear 

'  '•  \    ail        !    wrii    .  1 

V    (    rvrd    wilh- 

m   It.  pfuviswMi   ticHkti    livable   by   meant   of 


kitci     r^wu  rvMf 


992 

without  disturbing    the    suction    or    dis- 
charge connections. 

These  pumps,  which  are  designed  for 
pressures  up  to  no  pounds,  and  capacities 
of  I200,  2200  and  4200  gallons  per  hour, 
are  fitted  with  rubber  valves  resting  on 
brass  seats,  with  brass  stems  and  springs, 
the  latter  being  wound  in  a  peculiar  man- 
ner for  the  purpose  of  maintaining  an 
equal  tension  at  all  lifts.  The  pistons  are 
•:^i  standard  construction  and  fitted  with 
square  packing.  Brass  piston  rods  and 
cylinder  linings  are  furnished  when  speci- 
fied. 


Casey-Hedges  Boiler 


The  Casey-Hedges  water-tube  boiler, 
manufactured  by  the  Casey-Hedges  Com- 
pany, Chattanooga,  Tenn.,  is  herewith  il- 
lustrated. The  chief  features  of  this  boil- 
er are  its  simplicity  of  construction  and 
the  fact  that  the  superheater  may  be  in- 
stalled without  disturbing  the  setting. 

The  boiler  consists  of  one  or  more 
steam  and  water  drums,  having  two 
wrought-steel  headers  or  water  legs,  one 
at  each  end,  each  header  consisting  of  a 
handhole  plate  and  a  tube  plate.  The 
water  legs  are  thoroughly  braced  with 
large,  hollow  staybolts.  The  construction 
of  the  legs  is  such  as  to  form  the  strong- 
est part  of  the  boiler.  The  front  water 
leg  is  12  inches  wide  at  the  bottom,  doing 
awav    with    al!    restricted    areas    at    this 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

ed  through  the  header.  It  will  be  noticed 
that  the  superheater  is  in  the  direct  path 
of  the  hottest  gas  and  is  so  located  that 
accumulated  soot  can  be  easily  cleaned 
from  it  by  steam  jets  blown  through  the 
hollow   staybolts   in  the   rear   header. 

The  tubes  are  divided  into  two  banks, 
an   upper   and   a    lower,   the   upper   bank 


June  I,  1909. 

The  upper  baffle  consists  of  a  special  V 
tile,  the  design  of  which  is  such  that  the 
passage  for  the  gases  may  be  decreased  or 
increased  to  suit  the  fuel  and  draft  con- 
ditions. 

The  circulation  is  an  important  feature 
with  any  boiler.  In  this  type  the  double 
inclination  of  the  tubes  is  a  feature  that 


FIG.     I.     RE.\R  VIEW    OF   C.VSEY-HEDGES    BOILER   WITH   SUPERHEATER  .ATTACHED 


FIG.     2.     CASEV-HEDCES    BOILER    WITH   DUTCH   OVEN   ATTACHED 


I)oint.  thas  permitting  free  circulation  of 
«tcam  and  water.  The  rear  leg  is  10 
inches  wide  at  the  top,  the  lower  portion 
bcinK  increased  to  meet  the  inclination  of 
flic  lower  bank  of  tubes  at  right  angles, 
aiul  forming  a  large  settling  chamber  at 
tlii-.  point. 

Fig.  I  is  a  rear  view  of  a  Casey-Hedges 
tube  boiler  with  the  superheater  conncct- 


and  the  drum  being  inclined  i  inch  to  the 
fcot  and  the  lower  bank  being  inclined  2 
inches  to  the  foot.  The  lower  tubes  be- 
ing the  hottest,  the  inclination  here  is  the 
greatest.  This  construction  permits  of  a 
large  area  at  the  rear  of  the  tubes,  allow- 
ing for  complete  expansion  of  the  gases 
at  this  point,  the  area  decreasing  as  it 
reaches  the  front  end,  as  the  gases  cool. 


allows  for  a  rapid  circulation  of  steam  and 
water  through  the  lower  bank  of  tubes. 
The  steam  outlet  is  at  the  front  end  of 
the  boiler  and  is  provided  with  a  dry 
pipe  and  a  deflector  or  baffle  plate  which 
should  insure  dry  steam,  the  steam  outlet 
being  about  three-fourths  the  diameter  of 
the  drum  away  from  the  water  level. 

The  downward  circulation  is  through 
the  rear  leg  which  swells  out  to  form  a 
precipitating  chamber  for  all  solids  that 
have  not  been  deposited  in  the  mud  drum, 
the  blowoff  being  tapped  in  the  extreme 
bottom  of  the  rear  leg,  which  can  be 
drained  completely  through  the  blowoff. 

The  boiler  is  constructed  entirely  of 
open-hearth  steel,  there  being  no  cast- 
iron  parts  about  the  boiler  proper.  Each 
of  the  headers  or  water  legs  is  stayed 
with  hollow  staybolts  arranged  so  that  a 
steam  blower  can  be  inserted  through 
them  and  all  soot  that  has  collected  on  the 
tubes  and  tiling  can  be  blown  down  into 
the  combustion  chamber.  All  cleaning 
may  be  done  while  the  boiler  is  in  opera- 
tion, without  admitting  cold  air  to  the 
fittings,  which  is  an  important  feature. 
In  order  to  clean  the  interior  of  the  boil- 
er there  is  provided,  opposite  the  end  of 
each  tube  water  leg,  a  wrought-steel  hand- 
hole  plate  that  tightens  under  internal 
pressure,  thus  throwing  no  strain  on  the 
manhole  bolts  or  arch.  The  handhole 
covers  are  easily  removed  and  with  a 
hose   or   tube   scraper   inserted   the   scale 


June  I,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


993 


may  be  washed  into  the  rear  water  leg. 
where  it  can  be  removed  by  taking  off  a 
few  of  the  handhole  plates  in  the  bot- 
tom row.  It  is  said  that  as  many  U'^  tive 
tubes  can  be  cleaned  with  one  handhole 
opening  in  the  front  end.  A  mud  drum 
or  sediment  chamlier,  8  inches  in  diameter, 
is  provided  with  each  boiler,  located  in  the 
top  drum.  The  feed  water  empties  into 
the  mud  drum  and  all  scale  and  im- 
purities are  deposited   in   it. 

The  blowoff  extends  from  the  rear  of 
the  sediment  collector  out  through  the 
rear  of  the  drum,  through  which  thi-  sedi- 
ment can  be  blown  out  at  inter\-als  Owing 
to  the  construction  of  this  boiler  no 
cleaning  aisles  l)etween  batteries  are  nec- 
essary, and  any  number  of  boilers  can 
be  placed  in  a  continuous  row.  which  ad- 
mits of  a  saving   in  brickwork. 

In  Fig.  2  is  shown  one  of  these  water- 
tube  boilers  arranged  with  a  dutch  oven, 
which  permits  of  burning  out  sawdust. 
bagasse,  spent  tan  h.irk,  etc 


is    provided    in    the    long    cone    used    in- 
stead of  a  disk,  which  would  »ii:' 
into   the   scat   should   it    wear    > 
thereby  continue  tight,     .^n  ace 
of  dirt  or  scale  on  the  cone  tir 
face  is  obviously  impri<t»:iblc 


"Autoforcc"  Air  Pump 

A  -.>;>Uiii  for  automatically  ventilating 
engine  and  boiler  rooms,  workshop*,  or 
other   places  where   the   air   may    l)ecome 


Slorlc  High  Pressure  Valve 

The  accompanying  view  illustrates  the 
Storle  high-pressure  valve,  maniifactureil 
by    the    O.    O.    Storle    Valve    Company. 


tu.     I.    stnio.NAL  VIEW  or  ■  Ai'Tormirt 

AU-fUMP  Vt>-TILATOK 


ventilation,   it   is   said.      No   machinery   is 

'c  it.  and  •  >  no 

'■'■  its  c.  1  the 

'    is   said   to  create 

^tiction  flow  of  air 

upward  each  hour  of  the  day.  and  also 

to   present   the   p^     ■'•'••  ''wing 

downward.     The  w» : 

The  air  enters  at  ./,  . 
by  the   p'»in»    f*i  thr  i' 

COf 

rra.  .       .  ■  ■ 

of  air  from  between  the  inner  and  outer 
cones  causes  a  partial  vacuum  in  the  in- 
terior of  the  inner  cone,  and  as  this 
partial  vacuum  mu»t  1  •  <I,  it  pro- 

duces   a    continimu*    r  r    up   the 

pipe  R.  as  the  pull  of  tl»e  air  at  D  prac- 
tically never  ceases.  The  ventilating  hood 
is  pivoted  at  /-'.  thus  enabling  the  tail  G 
to  swing  it.  keeping  the  smaller  end  to- 
ward the  wind,  regardless  of  the  direc- 
tion from  which  it  blows. 

Fig.  2  i<  an  exterior  view  of  the  hood 
as  it  would  appear  on  the  roof  of  a 
building 


Conveyer  Safety  Device 


The  accompanying  sketch  illustrates  a 
conveyer  safety  device  designed  by  Spen- 
cer &  Co..  Ltd..  of  M  elk  sham.  Kngland. 
for  the  Greenwich  generaling  station  of 
the  I.ondon  County  Cf>uncil  Tramways. 
Al   the  south   end    of    the    boiler    house. 


nu   J 


Avnmmcx 


STnauc  itif;ii-r«ust'u  val«i 


aWVWia  »AflTT   WTKH 


Kewaunee.    Wis.      Its    salient    (r.^trre    b  fool  ?»  f" 
that    it   can   l*  opened    i.tu\                    .«iljr  fa* 
under     pressure.       The     \^l.-                 Is  wai 
swivele«l  on  the  stem,  and  when  the  valve  street,    li- 
lt   -.^-      '            '   -- '    ••    leaves   or   enters  !*"■   ••■ 
Ihr                                   K-  In  it     This  pr»c-  eoir 
lie- 


•fvf  m  the  •ATf*»f*»fr«'"  v<"t»ffl!it-     w»»««f»  iK*  cowtcyer  rutins  Mwnni 


tion.    Mass 

.l!r,l     >ir    •>• 


I*    riittnr>  tr< 


ami   Iftrms  a   nai  irjl 


t%t   and 
tvvnt  of  BfTj' 
I  to      tical   run»>rf« 
;>«r-      thr 


•«tl  to 

■m    faM«  fai 

•  o  cvhmimkmm  v«r« 

'<r    mh.  Tr   h'imhi   of 


994 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  I,  1909. 


Convention    of    Illinois    State 
Association,  N.  A.  S.  EL 


This  was  the  fifth  annual  convention. 
held  at  Elgin,  111.,  May  14  and  15.  and 
•was  declared  to  be  one  of  the  most  suc- 
cessful and  enjoyable  meetings  ever  held 
by  the  State  organization.  The  time  was 
well  chosen,  the  place  could  not  be  im- 
proved upon  and  the  result  was  satis- 
faction all  round.  Illinois,  always  famous 
for  the  relative  number  of  ladies  in  at- 
ter.dance,  did  not  disappoint  in  this  re- 
gard, and  all  told,  with  delegates,  mem- 
bers, friends  and  visitors,  fully  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  persons  were 
gathered  in  Strauss  hall  when  E.  S. 
Purdy,  president  of  Illinois  Xo.  49,  called 
the  meeting  to  order.  After  prayer  by 
Rev.  W.  H.  Fuller,  Mayor  W.  W.  Fehr- 
man  sp<jke  a  few  words  of  welcome  in 
behalf  of  the  city,  followed  by  an  eloquent 
address  delivered  by  F.  C.  Joslyn,  cor- 
poration counsel,  of  Elgin. 

\V.  W.  Brooker.  of  Joliet,  president  of 
tl;e  State  association,  responded  to  the 
address  of  Mr.  Joslyn,  following  which 
R.  I.  White,  superintendent  of  the  Elgin 
schools,  talked  on  '"Education,"  in  which 
it  was  shown  how  important  a  factor  was 
knowledge  in  the  development  of  this 
cr'intry.  In  responding.  John  \V.  Lane, 
e<^itor  of  Xalional  Engineer,  pointed  out 
tl.at  while  general  knowledge  was  neces- 
sar>'  to  the  country,  the  specific  technical 
knowledge  of  power-plant  operation  was 
necessary  to  the  engineer  of  today,  es- 
pecially    so     as     the     engineering-school 


SUPPLYMEX  .\T  ILLI>fOIS  STATE  CONVENTION,  N.  A.  S.  E.,  ELGIN,  ILL.,  MAY   I4-15,   I909 


graduate  was  beginning  to  compete  with 
the  operating  engineer  on  his  own  stamp- 
ing ground,  and  hard  study  was  needed 
in  order  lo  meet  this  new  competition. 

Winding  up  the  opening  exercises  was 
the  address  on  "The  Relation  of  the 
Engineering  Experiment  Station  to  the 
N.  A.  S.  E."  by  K.  G.  Smith,  assistant 
professor  of  mechanical  engineering. 
University  of  Illinois,  Urbana.  This  was 
listened  to  with  much  interest,  as  it 
touched  upon  points  that  have  not  been 
quite  clear  to  engineers.     It  was   shown 


that  this  institution  could  be  of  great  bene- 
fit to  men  operating  plants  if  they  would 
take  the  pains  to  cooperate  with  it.  Mutual 
confidence  and  helpfulness  between  the 
experiment  station  and  the  N.  A.  S.  E. 
should  exist,  as  both  had  education  for 
their  primary  object,  and  while  it  was 
the  function  of  the  university  to  develop 
discoveries  and  new  methods,  it  was  up 
to  the  engineer  to  put  them  into  practice. 
Furthermore,  the  operating  engineer  was 
in  a  position  to  gather  data  that  the  col- 
lege could  not  possibly  get,  and  working 


DtLfcOAfts    A.M)   VISITOH.S,    ILLINOIS   ST  .ME   CON\'EXTIOX,   N.    A.    S.   E.,   ELGIN,   ILL.,   MAY   I4-IS,   I909 


[ 


June  I,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


99S 


together  should  result  in  great  bencfi? 
to  all  concerned.  Professor  Smith  con 
eluded  by  extending  a  cordial  invitatiun 
to  the  Sute  body  to  meet  at  the  university, 
and  promised  chat  every  facility  necessary 
to  a  successful  meeting  would  be  placed 
at  its  disposal. 

The  afternoon  session  was  consiinu-d  in 
discussing  means  for  obtaining  a  State 
license  law  and  for  furthering  the  cdioa- 
tional  work  of  the  association  Kach  of 
the  fourteen  delegates  reporting  was 
heard  from  on  all  topics  discussed.  In 
addition,  many  members  who  were  not 
delegates  participated  in  the  meeting  and 
offered  a  number  of  valuable  mikl;c!>- 
tions. 

In  concluding  the  «e*»ion.  President 
Brooker   sp*»ke    r  of   the   n-ceni 

death  of  J.    K.    i  1 1.   <>f  Johet. 

an  active  member  01   the  aswH-iatioij. 

Klection  of  officers  resulted  in  the 
choosing  of  J.  L.  Randies,  No.  6,  of 
Peoria,  as  president ;  W.  L  Parker.  Na 
49.  of  KIgin.  vice-president:  and  \V.  E. 
Hill,  No.  17.  Moline  (reelected),  secretary 
and  treasurer.  Installation  of  officers  was 
by  F.  W.  Raven,  national  secrc-tary.  of 
Chicago.  The  meeting  was  then  adjourned 
subject  to  the  call  of  the  president. 

Meanwhile  the  ladies  returned  from  the 
automobile  ride  with  which  they  had  en- 
joyed the  afternoon,  and  all  gathered  at 
Unity  hall,  where  a  chicken-pie  supper 
was  served  by  the  ladies  of  the  local  com- 
mittee. 

In  the  evening  the  entertainment  was 
somewhat  novel.  Assembled  in  Strauss 
hall,  the  visitor*  were  treated  to  piano, 
violin  and  vocal  selections  by  local  taU-nt, 
which  was  well  received.  Stereoptican 
pictures  were  shown  and  music  was  avail- 
able for  those  who  cared  to  dance.  By 
way  of  refreshments,  peanuts,  popcorn, 
apples  aiKl  lemonade  were  served  and 
everybody  was  instrMcle<l  to  talk  to  his 
neighbor  and  enjoy  hiniNclf.  The  success 
of  the  arranKement  proved  it  to  l>e  one 
of  the  leatliuK  features  of  the  entertain 
ment  program. 


I).  K.  Swartwout.  president  of  the  Ohio 
Blower  C«»mpany.  if  Clc\ eland.  prcnUrM 
a  paper,  which  made  a  profound  ^n|'r^^ 

sion.  at  the  joir - •   •' ■     ^••.' 

can  Society  of 

A 

M 

\y 


Swart  1 
of  the 


elected    a    VK:e-p»c*hlci»t 


11.^   Vlsv   tti,>.tift»  "f  the  Kleelri.     P'.wrr 

!   on  the  ( 

.Si.is    -'7.  .IT  ."^  •■  '  I-  K.  tn  ^'"^  '■ 
of  the  R    R    Y    M    C    A 

r 

V 


Brooklyn    Elnginccrs'    Club's    New 
Home 

The  Hrooklyn  Knjjmeers  Ll  : 
purchased  a  building  for  a  cl 
117  Remsen  street.  Brooklyn,  N.  V.,  iiilu 
which  it  has  removed,  after  luvmg  been 
liH^^ated  for  nearly  13  >ears  in  the 
Montague  street  library  building.  The 
club's  new  home,  which  was  one  of  ifie 
finest  residences  on  what  is  known  as 
-The  Heights,"  has  a  brownstonc  ex- 
terior, and  its  interior  design,  decorations 
and  appointments  are  ver>-  tine. 

Thefi  ■  j»lion  roKi:  >et  on 

the   gr  r.    with    a  s'e    at 

one  end — ju»i  the  place  fur  kA.:iiris,  etc. 
The  dining  room  is  on  this  tl<M»r,  also. 
On  the  second  floor  are  the  library,  the 
secretary's  office  and  smoking  and  re- 
tiring rooms.  On  the  third  floor  are  five 
bedrooms  and  a  bathroom. 

In  a  sense  the  Brooklyn  Engineers' 
Club  is  an  outgrowth  of  the  Montague 
street  library,  for  before  that  library  be- 
came free  to  the  public  and  a  yearly  sub- 
scription was  collected  from  the  readers, 
the  trustees  set  aside  certain  shelves  and 
alcoves  for  4he  use  of  people  interested 
in  engineering  problems.  Books  on  sci- 
entific subjects  were  gathered  on  the 
shelves  in  these  alcoves  and  thus  the 
Bipuklyn  engineers  were  thrown  together 
in  their  search  for  informatioru  That 
social  intercourse  led  to  the  forming  of 
a  club,  "the  object  of  which  is  to  pro- 
mote social  and  professional  intercourse 
among  its  members,  to  advance  engineer- 
ing knowletlge  and  practice,  and  to  main- 
tain a  high  professional  standard  within 
all  branches  of  engineering." 

When  the  club  was  incorporated  on 
December  39.  1896.  the  membership  was 
fifty.  The  next  year  it  had  grown  to 
131.  in  icjoj  it  was  204,  in  1904.  .246.  and  at 
the  present  time  it  is  35a 

nie   officers   for  the   present   year  are 
President.    James    C.    Meem :    vice  ;  •• 
dent.     Winifred     H.     Roberts;     sr.f'   :» 
Joseph    Sirarhan;    treasurer.    William    T. 
I>onnelly;     librarian,     Frank    J      Conloa 
U.-ard    of    directors:    James    C.     Merni. 
J.-»rph  Strachan,  James  W    N'r'-    ••    \*i  ••• 
tfrrd    II     RolM-rts,    William    1 


\     f>rr   W  :    rTirrnlw-f^hip.     ?"hn    Nf 


Frank  W     Conn,  Harry   P.   Morji*      >; 
ctal     cttmmittrc:     excursions,     Iraiik     *. 
SchmiK,    Harry    B.    Snell    Fninds    W. 
Perry. 

1 1.^  .........1 K^„t,...,  ..I  (it^  r.iixtijii 


Engineers'  Blue  Club  Banquet 


The  tl-.ird   annual  banquet  and  reunion 
of  the  Blue  Cub.  of   B<  siuu, 

.Mass.^    .._ d    on    Saturday    evening. 

May  32,  at  the  Century  building-  I  here 
was  a  reception  from  6  to  7  o'clock  in 
Sewall    hall,    the    banquet,    at    7   o'clock. 

be:    .     ■     ■  ■  ■  ■  ■■'■■■■       an 

h.. 

seated    at    the    table.       When    the 
stage     was     rr.n'»<!      .\!tnan    H.     1 
pre>i«leiit,  >pecch  of  wel- 

ci'iiie    b>     I  «•    I        \  v>  '..n 

of  the  As!  • 
master,  ar. 
otTicc  wire 
able  manner       I 
were'      Th<^?T«a- 

aK  r    of 

Vessels:  I*rof.  Kdward  .Miller,  of  the 
Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology: 
Dr.  Louis  C.  Loewenstein,  of  the  Ctcneral 
Flectric  Company:  Hon.  William  P. 
White,  mayor  of  Lawrence,  Mass  ;  Walter 
Lamont.  nuinager  of  the  Wood  Worsted 
Mills,  Ijwrence:  W.  G.  Smith,  eeneral 
manager.  Fall  River  Ship  aixl  '  ig 

Building    Company ;    Joseph    i  ;!, 

Massachusetts  deputy  chief  U«iicf  ii>- 
spcctor ;  William  J.  Ranlon.  of  R.Khester. 
N.  Y.,  grand  worthy  chief  I'niversaJ 
Craftsman.  Council  of  Fjigineers;  Her- 
bert E.  Stone,  New  York,  of  the  Dear- 
born Drug  and  Qiemical  Work*.  Al 
close  of  the  banquet  an  enjoyable  vaude- 
ville performance  wxs  given,  d.r  h 
John  W  Arrr^nr  <»f  Powo.  •  • 
The  c  arge  of  t 
ful  e>  R  K  N-  I 
H    Ashton  and  Harry  H.  AtkmsoQ. 


WiscoQsin    N.  A.  S.  £.  Coovcnboo 


The    ninlh    ananal    roovenlioa    of    tkr 
W  S    \. 

.ne  iS 
An  eUbu(«tc  pfugrMO   baft  beta 


Penooal 


Urttt-Conrnj.  S  I.  Cgtam,  U.  S 

ri  area* 

brrn  tiiicil  by  krM-A«fa*Mf*l 


'  ■     :iurv 


tram  Apparatus.' 


lufsMttui,  w  the  *e*,ttlAt). 


!)    cu!'!?-    }tAt. 


996 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  I,  1909. 


B 


usiness  items 


It( 


The  Wilpaco  Packing  Company  has  re- 
moved to  new  offices  in  the  Euiiineering  build- 
ing,   114   and    116    Uberty    street.    New    York 

aty. 

Woodward  Wight  A  Co..  of  Sew  Orleans,  La., 
will  represent  the  Homestead  Valve  Manufac- 
turing Company,  of  Pittsburg,  in  tlie  Loui.-iiana 
territorj'.  carrying  a  full  line  of  Homestead  valves. 

Tlie  Minneapolis  Steel  and  Machinery  Com- 
pany secured  an  order  for  a  125-horsepower 
Muenzei  producer  gas  engine  and  gas-producer 
plant  from  the  Sis^ton  Mill  and  Light  Company, 
Sisseton,  South  Dakota.  This  engine  will  run 
both  the  flour  mill  and  electric-light  plant  and 
will  be  in  ser\'ice  24  hours  a  day. 

The  Leon-Ferenbach  Silk  Company,  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Penn.,  has  purchased  a  Hewes  &  Phillips 
heavy  girder-frame  Corliss  engine,  with  heavy 
flywheel  and  shaft  arranged  for  two  engines, 
which  will  go  in  its  new  mill  at  Wilkes-Barre. 
Members  of  this  company  have  been  using 
several  of  the  Hewes  &  Phillips  engines.  The 
Sanitary  Can  Company,  Bridgeton,  N.  J.,  is 
installing  a  12x.30-inch,  100-liorsepower  Hewes 
ic  Phillips  Corliss  engine  for  the  operation  of 
its  plant. 

Norman  C.  Brize  has  been  elected  president 
of  the  Standard  Steam  Specialty  Company  in 
place  of  E.  H.  Roberts,  who  died  recently.  Mr. 
Brize  has  had  an  extensive  steam-engineering 
experience,  both  with  this  company  and  the 
Babcock  <t  Wilcox  Co.,  with  which  he  was 
formerly  connected.  Percy  A.  Pinder  has  also 
been  elected  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the 
rompany.  Mr.  Pinder  has  been  connected 
with  the  Standard  Steam  Specialty  Company 
since  its  incorporation  and  was  instrumental 
with  Mr.  Roberts  in  bringing  the  "Utility" 
specialties  made  by  this  company  to  their 
present  successful  position  in  the  power-plant 
field.  The  main  offices  of  the  company  will 
be  continued  at  r>42  West  Broadway,  New  York, 
and  branch  offices  will  be  established  in  some 
of  the  other  large  cities. 

TTie  Charles  A.  Schieren  Company,  of  New 
York,  hxs  received  a  letter  from  the  Barrett 
Manufacturing  Company,  of  Elizabeth,  N.  J., 
to  the  following  effect:  "In  regard  to  the 
48-inch  three-ply  'Duxbak'  waterproof  leather 
belt  which  you  put  on  for  us  May  2,  1907,  we 
take  pleasure  in  stating  that  the  belt  has  been 
in  .service  ever  since,  running  24  hours  a  day, 
6  diivs  a  week,  and  has  caused  u.s  no  trouble 
whatever  during  that  time.  After  the  belt 
liad  tieen  running  for  about  six  weeks  it  became 
a  little  .slack,  as  all  belts  do,  and  we  had  it  taken 
up  on  a  Sunday  and  the  following  Monday 
morning  it  was  doing  its  duties  the  same  as 
iMual.  Sinc-e  the  time  it  was  first  put  on  our 
pulleys  it  ha.H  run  true,  anrl  h-.is  required  no 
dressing  or  other  attention,  and  we  could  not 
a.sk  better  service  of  any  belt  under  any  condi- 
tions." 

Among  the  direct-current  generators  re- 
cently gold  by  the  Crocker- Whe<-!er  Company, 
of  Ampere.  X.  J.,  Ig  one  of  .'JOO  kilowatts  ca- 
pacity. 2.'.0  roltu.  purchafied  by  Perry  Fay 
^f  '-■   f'ompany.    Elyrla,    Ohio.      An- 

"'•  <>t  'hi.s  type,  having  a  capacity 

of  ...  ^,.  ...uttH.  12.".  voltH.  wa.s  lK>ught  by 
the  Cleveland  Provision  Company,  Cleveland, 
O.  There  were  many  sales  of  smaller  gen- 
erafom  ranging  In  size  from  :'..'  to  100  kllo- 
waltn.  A  large  order  was  placed  with  the 
Spnnlfih-Amerlcnn  Iron  Company,  Felton, 
NIpe  Bay,  fulia.  for  'j.'JO-voIt  direct-current 
motors  agtrr'-gatlng  '-'3.">  horsepower.  Another 
sale  of  dlrectcurrf-nt  motors,  which  totaled 
l.V.  horsepower,  wan  made  to  the  Morgan 
Engineering  Company.  Alliance,  Ohio.  The 
International  Silver  Company.  Merlden,  Conn., 
hns  ordered  six  Crocker  Wheeler  Form  I  ma- 
ciiines,    having    a    combined    capacity    of    1.31 


horsepower.  In  addition  to  the  above  a  large 
number  of  smaller  orders  for  direct-current 
motors  have  been  booked. 

Henry  Docker  Jackson,  consulting  engi- 
neer. SS  Broad  street,  Boston.  Mass.,  visited 
the  works  of  the  Wcstinghouse  Electric  and 
Manufacturing  Company,  at  Pittsburg,  re- 
cently, to  make  an  acceptance  test  on  a 
special  250-horsepower  motor  which  Is  to  be 
used  to  operate  a  ventilating  fan  in  a  coal 
mine  in  West  Virginia.  This  is  one  of  the 
largest  electrically  operated  ventilating  fans 
in  the  country.  The  motor  is  a  specially  de- 
signed one.  the  general  scheme  being  sug- 
gested by  Mr.  Jackson,  the  design  aud  details 
being  worked  out  by  the  Westinghouse  com- 
pany, the  idea  being  to  get  the  starting  char- 
acteristics of  the  best  type  of  induction 
motor  combined  with  the  operating  and  line- 
regulating  characteristics  of  the  synchronous 
motor.  The  tests  were  eminently  successful, 
both  the  starting  characteristics  and  the 
regulating  characteristics  being  remarkably 
good.  The  motor  and  fan  are  being  in- 
stalled in  connection  with  other  work  at  the 
mine,  the  consulting  engineers  on  which  are 
Timothy  W.  Sprague  and  Henry  Docker 
Jackson. 

The  Ontario  Hydro-Electric  Power  Commis- 
sion, which  is  charged  with  the  construction 
of  the  provincial  government  system  for  trans- 
mitting power  from  Niagara  Falls  to  leading 
cities  and  towns  of  Western  Ontario,  has  decided 
to  install  the  protective  system  over  the  entire 
transmission  line.  In  addition  to  giving  pro- 
tection against  accidents  it  promises  to  reduce 
the  chances  of  the  dislocation  of  the  time  through 
electrical  disturbances  to  a  minimum.  The 
system  is  operated  by  an  arrangement  of  auto- 
matic cutouts  working  as  soon  as  a  break  occurs 
in  the  transmission  conduit.  If  a  short-circuit 
occurs  the  wire  is  grounded,  or  should  the  wires 
break  at  any  place,  that  section  immediately 
becomes  "dead,"  so  that  the  broken  wire  can 
be  handled  by,  or  come  into  contact  with,  any  one 
without  danger.  The  estimated  cost  of  the 
protective  system  is  $106,000.  The  commis- 
sion awarded  contracts  for  the  copper  wire 
required  for  it  to  the  Dominion  Wire  Manufac- 
turing Company,  Montreal,  and  for  the  porcelain 
insulators,  intended  as  a  safeguard  against 
lightning,  to  the  Ohio  Brass  Manufacturing 
Company,  of  Mansfield,  Ohio. 

A  good  example  of  the  results  obtained  by  a 
sales  department  and  factory  organization 
working  in  harmony  is  afforded  by  a  recent 
contract  handled  by  the  Buffalo  Forge  Com- 
pany, Buffalo,  N.  Y.  In  connection  with  cold- 
storage  warehouses  operated  by  the  Pacific 
Fruit  Express  Company  at  Roseville  and  at 
Colton,  Cal.,  eight  large  fans  were  required 
by  the  Pacific  Engineering  Company,  San 
Francisco.  Each  fan  was  to  deliver  44, .500 
cubic  feet  of  cold  air  against  a  pressure  of  three 
ounces  per  square  inch,  and  to  be  of  the  full 
housing  type  with  bearings  supported  on  concrete 
piers,  with  the  blast  wheels  overhung  on  the 
shaft,  and  with  stuffing  boxes  on  the  fan  housings, 
to  prevent  leakage  of  air.  Although  special 
in  several  particulars  the  Buffalo  l-orge  Company 
undertook  to  furnish  these  fans,  each  having 
7-foot  wheels  nmning  at  380  revolutions,  making 
shipment  of  four  in  10  days  and  the  balance  in 
1.0  days  afterward.  As  the  entire  shipment 
weighed  .32,000  pounds,  the  advantage  in  freight 
on  account  of  shii)ping  in  one  car  would  be 
considerable,  and  when  the  order  was  received 
by  wire  at  the  factory  on  April  19  it  was  decided 
to  make  a  special  effort  to  complete  the  eight 
fans  in  the  time  promised  for  the  first  four. 
Shop  drawings  were  not  started  until  the  receipt 
of  the  order,  but  preliminary  notice  was  sent 
to  the  factory  and  by  the  time  prints  were 
received  by  the  various  departments  on  April 
20  much  of  the  material  had  been  got  ready. 
Friday,  April  .30,  the  tenth  day  after  the  order 
was  received,  shipping  was  begun,  and  by  that 
night  the  eight  fans,  with  shafts,  pulley  and  out- 
board bearings  were  loaded  on  a  42-foot  gondola. 


New  Equipment 


Schram  &  Sons,  Oshkosh,  Wis.,  are  putting- 
in  a  new  engine  room. 

The  Rumford  Falls  (Me.)  Power  Company 
is  building  a  new  power  house. 

The  Shore  Electric  Company,  Red  Bank, 
N.  J.,  will  build  a  new  power  plant. 

The  Brunswick  (Me.)  Electric  Light  and 
Power  Company  is  building  a  new  plant. 

The  West  Hampton  (L.  I.)  Ice  Company 
is  erecting  a  new  building  for  its  1.5-ton  ice  plant. 

The  Grimes  Milling  Company,  Salisbury, 
N.  C,  contemplates  installing  a  new  Corliss 
engine. 

The  City  Councils,  Harrisburg,  Penn.,  have 
appointed  a  committee  to  learn  if  the  city  may 
legally  erect  a  municipal  ice  plant. 

The  Milwaukee  (Wis.)  Linseed  OU  Com- 
pany is  making  improvements  in  power  plant, 
including  installation  of  new  boiler. 

The  Merchants  .\ssociation,  Newburg,  N.  Y., 
is  considering  the  formation  of  a  company 
for  the  purpose  of  erecting  a  co-operative  electric- 
light  plant. 

The  Superior  Ice  Manufacturing  Company, 
Columbus,  Ohio,  has  been  incorporated  with 
$75,000  by  William  S.  Nigh,  E.  W.  Edwards, 
Chas,  E.  Klunk. 

The  Isthmian  Canal  Commission,  Washington, 
D.  C,  will  receive  bids  up  to  10:30  a.m.,  June 
14,  for  centrifugal  pump  and  engine,  gasolene 
motors,  transformers,  electric  hoist,  etc.,  as 
per  Circular  No.  512. 

The  Alpine  Power  Company,  Alpine,  Texas, 
has  been  organized  with  $35,000  capital  by 
H.  W.  Townsend,  J.  H.  Derrick,  R.  B.  Slight, 
etc.  Besides  furnishing  power  the  company 
will  manufacture  ice. 

Sealed  proposals  will  be  received  by  the  Board 
of  Trustees  of  tlie  Massillon  State  Hospital,  Mas- 
sillon,  Ohio,  for  the  installation  of  a  new  high 
pressure  steam  main  and  to  make  certain  altera- 
tions in  the  boiler  house. 


New  Catalogs 


Foster  Engineering  Company,  Newark,  N.  J. 
Folder.  Pilot  and  emergency  valves,  pressure 
regulator,  etc.     Illustrated. 

Murphy  Iron  Works,  Detroit,  Mich.  Booklet. 
The  Murphy  Furnace  in  the  Paper  Mill.  Illus- 
trated, 48  pages,  4^x6  inches. 

The  Foos  Gas  Engine  Company,  Springfield, 
Ohio.  Catalog  No.  21.  Horizontal  engines. 
Illustrated,  56  pages,  7x9  inches. 

The  Kennedy  Valve  Manufacturing  Company 
Elmira,  N.  Y.  Catalog.  Valves,  hydrants,  etc. 
Illustrated,  132  pages,  5x9  inches. 

Gesellschaft  fur  Hochdruck-Rohrleitungen, 
M.  B.  H.  Beriin,  0.27.  Catalog.  Pipe  fittings. 
Illustrated,  114  pages,  7ixl0i  inches. 

American  Ship  Windlass  Company,  Provi- 
dence, R.  I.  Catalog.  Taylor  gravity  under- 
feed stoker.     Illustrated,  30  pages,  6x9  inches. 

American  Blower  Company,  Detroit,  Mich. 
Booklet.  Handbook  of  Information  on  Blowers 
and  Exhausters.  Illustrated,  24  pages,  3ix6 
inches. 

Green  Engineering  Company,  Commercial 
National  Bank  building,  Chicago,  111.  Catalog 
G.  Green  chain  grate  stokers.  Illustrated, 
46  pages,  7x10  inclies. 

Harbison- Walker  Refractories  Company,  Pitts- 
burg, Penn.  Catalog.  Refractories,  including 
silica,  magnesia,  chrome,  fire  clay,  brick,  etc. 
Illustrated,  158  pages,  4x6i  inches. 

The  Morigrieve  Engineering  Company,  44 
Market   street,   Perth    Amboy,    N.   J.     Bulletin 


Inn.-    .9      \ify> 


POWER  ANU  THE  EXGIXEEK. 


A  42-Inch  Low  Pressure  Elevator  Pump 

Run  on  the  Exhaust  of  EJcclric-Ughl  Engines;  Vacuum  Produced  by  an 
Evaporative  Condenser  Condciuing  I  lb.  o{  Steam  with  3-4  lb.  of  Water 


In  1903,  th*  L.  S.  Donaldson  Company, 
a  large  retailer  of  Minneapolis,  Minn.,  an- 
nounced its  intention  to  enlarge  its  al- 
.  extensive  building,  tf>({ether  wiili  its 
.anical  e({uipincnt.  This  magnniccnt 
building  wilh  its  unique  front  of  gla^s 
and  iron  attracts  the  attention  of  all 
visit'Ts    and    justly    deserves    its    prtpular 

ti;iini-    iif    llir    ■■("■!  i.«     I'.!i«-k"    .Ts    iii.,ri-    r'lm 


rfKciency  and  adaptability  to  the  purpose    to  ekctric  B«neratorv     Therv  is  alM  a 

for  which  it  was  designed.     *'  iJd- 

<u»n's  instructions  when  the  the 

plant  w.is  under  way  were:  '  i  he  best 
that  money  can  buy,"  and  he  has  every 
reason  t<»  feel  proud  of  the  re*ult.  The 
engme-room  floor  is  of  white  tde  picked 
out  with  a  figure,  not  shown  in  the  phuto- 

..r  .t.K<         Th.     VI   .IK    nr.-    fil,.l    •         .    I, ...I,.    ..( 


a-ton    \\      ' 

■.  ith 

a  lix^ii  i 

sn 

the 

lion  is  the  method 

employed  for  rumiif^ 

' 

he      ' 

elevaton^ 

ll!..      I.     I  ■■>!■>  «i.  sJH.    isjlll    s|ii\»    ■'rL»AlI>U,    A!*".  L!' ^v   vJil">    A!»    •'    Mr     « M-    M 


e  per  cent    of  ihr    • 
The   «fr'!r*nfr    '' 


of     4     f' 


fhcn  r 


lichi. 


A-     fur  %km  i 


!•     ->     in.-I«!     r(..|    ■•nlj     in     .V'l"*"  ''*0<T    '•"'     l"        vFMIWf^      V"'l>i'")}      •»»>«»     i!irr.t|»      0»H»«'''<:         ir*  i»ri      •:^      iitji 


998 


POWER  AXD  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  8,  1909. 


FIG.    2.     PUMPIXG  ENGINE,  IN   FOREGROUND,  AND  PARTS  OF  CONDENSER   AND    AIR   PUMP 


FIG.    3.      VIEW    IN    ENGINE    ROOM;    SHOWING  ALSO   SECTION    OF   ICE   MACHII 


June  8,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


9W 


mon  to  both  of  42  inches.     The  pumpinK     through  the  tubes  of  the  condenser,  in- 
head   of    120  pounds   per    square   inch    is     cidcntally    ventilating    the    engine    room 


automatically  maintained  by  placing  the 
regulation  of  the  «rnj{ine  under  the  control 
of  the  water  pressure.  The  sy«tern  has 
never  once  failed  during  the  six  years  in 
which  it  has  been  in  use. 

Nothing    very    remarkable    so    far,   but 
this  pumping  engine  is  run  upon  the  ex- 


which,  although   l<.>cated   in   the   ba^rrnrnt 
and.  as  the  ph<  '    .  -      ' 
in  its  ceiling,  is 
fortable  even  in 

sprrvff!  into  the 

|>  sed  of  m  ihi>  w.i\  .; 

tl.L  :  ....es*ar>-  to  C'lndeii't  ^  ,  .     f 


haust   steam  of  the  other  units,  working     the  steam,  and  enough  additional  heat  be- 


INtllCATOK  UIMMAUS  FBOM   THE  PL'MPIXG  BXCIXE 


It  from  about  atmospheric  pressure  into  a 
vacuum  of  24  inches,  as  shown  by  the  ac- 
companying indicator  diagrams,  in  the 
center  of  the  retail  district  of  Minneapolis, 
where  it  would  appear  to  be  as  imprac- 
ticable ^o  run  a  condensing  plant  as  it 
would  be  to  keep  cows  on  the  Sahara. 
It  is  made  possible  thus  to  run  this  en- 
gine condensing,  in  a  ^icality  where  con- 
densing water  is  out  of  the  question,  by 
the  use  of  an  evaporative  condenser, 
shown  at  the  left  in  Fig.  1.  This  con- 
denser consists  of  a  tast-iron  case  con- 
taining 1^60  one-inch  brass  tu>>rs.  (th  inches 


m 


•>wn. 


ing  carried  away  by  the  air  to  condense 
one-quarter  of  the  steam  which  comes  to 
the  condensrr.  so  that  for  each  pound  of 
water  pro<luced  in  the  condenser  and 
made  available  for  boiler  supply,  only 
three-quarters  of  a  pound  has  to  be  fur- 
nished to  the  condenser.  The  spray  is 
handled  by  a  2X4-inch  duplex  pump.  The 
air  pump  is  a  lox  12-inch  single-acting 
Edwards,  shown  against  the  back  wall  in 
I-'ig.  I,  while  at  the  right  in  the  same  il- 
lustration is  seen  the  steam  cylinder  of 
the  pumping  engine.  The  fan  and  air 
pump  .ir.-  driven  hy  an  electric  motor 
u>  •  'Its. 

'  ■  ^  cniHnc  in  its 


of  enlarging  and  remodding  the  power 


and   li. 
and 


fell    up<' 
'-   pump 


rrhoh 
was 


the    e 

by  Mr        .....  ... 

a  patent  upon  the  arr 


was    evoKed 
'''-rn  granted 


A  Course  in  PUnt  Maoagcincnt 


of 


e\-etiing 


ci»urscs  are  open  wi- 
men  or  women  who  »»«>!> 
er  technical  knnwle<lgc  in 
professions,    bu! 
gix-en.     Tor  the 
P' 


Hi) 


1 

III      IS 

'    it  is 


revii..n  «i  J.  C  Jurgen^cn.  lormeriy  chief 
engineer  at  the  St  Km}.  1  .trl  The 
course  will  consist  .i  .  held 

on    Monday    ami    \\ -....     o.nings, 

from  7uis  to  9:15  o'clock,  and  will  be- 
gin on  October  25.  T  ^e 
is   intended    for   opr* 


gineer*     assistants,    ' 
rni«    an«l    ntUrrt.        \ 


f 


tHlrodm(ttom~  ' 
■  iH  and  instalbii-.i 
ules  for  iflenlilWaiion 


plies  and  labor , 


11  be 


■  «tiiy . 


1  »e    aixi   plant 


no.  4     AsaintM  vitw  9  thk  tMciKK  bim>m  t. 

;  n  jii  <  ■'  -.J.     ' 

fine  i«  introduced  into  the  shell  and  «ur-     rniirrlv.   wtlh  ih*  cnnilen««-r    ttill    visible     mc  and  hat 


mi  ma<htr>r'> 
.^xitcf  asd  Actual 


r»>'  One  en«l  of    • 

it  Into    th»<    ff 

intr 

water,  taken  fr»»m  a  holwrll  at  a  trm|»rra-  tl 
ture  of  i-'t  Ar^-rt-cx  Fahrrtt)' ii  w  »  .  >',«•  :.' 
tubes  to  an  r« 

■'•rr  cii".  •■!  "r  thefl  U  a  <^»  uk  n   »rt,-i 
ng    fan    whirh    draws    h*    air    saiipljr     h^ 


•ms  t)»tf 
»f«l  Habt! 
.-  tbt»i«i« 
■>rr-fithiit 
ildinrs 

f»cf     .. 


.  ..r  iw 


'<tl      TIte  entire  rr- 


lOOO 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  8,  1909. 


From  all  accounts  Mr.  Jurgenscn  is  the 
ven-  man  to  conduct  this  course.  Former- 
ly, while  at  the  St.  Regis  hotel,  it  was 
his  custom  to  sign  apprentices  after  the 
European  fashion,  compelling  embryo  en- 
gineers to  work  two  years  and  at  the  end 
of  that  period  to  sign  a  contract  for  four 
years  more  as  machinery  operators.  At 
the  end  of  the  fifth  year  those  who  proved 
efficient  were  given  certitkates  as  operat- 
ing engineers  and  recommended  to  police 
headquarters  for  licenses.  The  certifi- 
cates were  based  upon  two  years'  con- 
tinued service  as  apprentice  engineers, 
with  good-conduct  marks  for  sobrietj', 
truthful  and  manly  conduct,  punctuality  in 
attendance,  industrj-  and  faithfulness  in 
giving  employers  a  full  day's  work,  and 
a  strict  and  willing  obedience  to  orders. 
The  rules  established  by  Mr.  Jurgensen 
were  brought  to  the  attention  of  members 
of  the  governing  board  of  Columbia,  and 
the  offer  to  him  to  conduct  the  course  in 
plant    management    followed. 


Efficiency  Test  of  Three-Wire 
Balancing  Dynamos 


By    J.    \V.    HiMMELSBACH 


The  following  test  was  made  on  two 
direct-current  generators  forming  a 
balancing  set  on  a  three-wire  250-volt 
system.  The  rating  of  each  generator 
was  250  kilowatts  at  125  volts  and  500 
revolutions  per  minute.  These  two  gen- 
erators and  their  driving -motor,  a  550- 
kilowatt  three-phase  synchronous  machine, 


were  built  with  a  common  shaft  sup- 
ported by  four  bearings.  The  object  of 
the  test  was  to  determine  whether  or 
not  the  generator  met  the  guarantees  made 
for  them,  particularly  in  regard  to  ef- 
ficiency. The  generators  were  shunt- 
wound  and  each  had  eight  poles  and  eight 
brushholder  studs  with  eight  brushes  on 
each  stud;  the  commutators  had  288  bars 
each.  Before  the  test  was  commenced, 
all  brushes  were  refitted  and  the  com- 
mutators turned  true.  As  the  test  was 
made  in  a  large  substation  supplying  a 
250-volt  three-wire  system,  the  load  for 
the  set  was  obtained  directly  from  sta- 
tion busbars.  The  connections  were  as 
shown  in  Fig.  i. 

The  armature  currents  were  measured 
by  Weston  shunt  ammeters  connected  in 
the  main  generator  leads.  These  ammeters 
were  mounted  on  the  switchboard.  The 
field  currents  were  measured  by  shunt  am- 
meters in  series  with  the  field  circuits. 
The  armature  voltage  was  measured 
across  the  machine  terminals ;  the  field 
voltage  was  measured  directly  across  the 
field-winding  terminals  and  therefore  did 
not  include  the  drop  in  the  leads  nor 
across  the  field  rheostat.  All  instruments 
used  in  the  test  were  given  an  accurate 
check  with  standard  instruments  before 
the  test  was  commenced.  For  measuring 
temperature  rise,  glass  mercury  thermo- 
meters reading  up  to  100  degrees  Centi- 
grade, were  used.  As  temperature  rise 
by  thermometer  was  the  method  decided 
upon,  no  cold  resistances  were  taken. 

Full-load  Run 
This  test  was  of  24  hours  duration,  with 


both  machines  running  at  approximately 
full  ampere  load  and  117  volts  across  ma- 
chine terminals.  Every  15  minutes 
readings  were  taken  of  the  armature  and 
field  currents  and  armature  and  field  volt- 
ages. At  each  reading  the  temperatures 
were  taken  of  the  air  at  each  end  of  the 
set  and  of  field  coils,  one  on  each  machine. 
At  the  end  of  the  run,  the  temperatures 
of  the  armature  winding,  field  winding 
and  commutator  on  each  machine  were 
taken  at  short  intervals  until  the  max- 
imum was  ascertained. 

Hot  Resistances 
The  hot  resistances  of  the  armature  and 
field  windings  were  taken  immediately 
after  the  24-hour  full-load  run.  Just  be 
fore  load  was  taken  off,  the  field  re- 
sistances were  taken  by  the  fall  of 
potential  method,  with  full-load  field  cur- 
rent. The  armature  resistances  were 
measured  with  all  brushes  down,  using 
a  small  storage  battery  giving  approxi- 
mately 450  amperes.  The  drop  was  taken 
across  36  commutator  bars  beginning  im- 
mediately under  a  brush,  light  readings 
being  taken  between  the  commutator  seg- 
ments under  each  positive  and  negative 
brushholder.  The  readings  obtained  were 
considered  as  showing  too  great  a  varia- 
tion, due  to  the  low  current  density,  and 
on  that  account  were  not  accepted.  An- 
other set  of  readings  on  armature  re- 
sistance was  taken  after  the  125-per 
cent,  load  run,  at  a  temperature  approxi- 
mating the  temperature  of  the  armature 
at  the  end  of  the  full-load  run.  These 
readings  were  obtained  by  blocking  the 
armature  and  then   forcing  the   full-load 


250  Volt  Busbars 


+ 


Main  Switch 


Short-Circuit 
Swiuh  — 


'  Main  Switch 


Generator  Ammeters  on  Switchboard  - 


Ammeters  used  when  running  as  a  Motor - 


Field  Ammeter 


-        "i ^— ^ 


Held  Voltmeter . 


Armature  Voltmeter. 


Negative    / .         ^     \  Machine 
Armature) 


Shunt-Field 
Winding 


rrn 


-|  Wmamg  r-^ 


■fn  Wmamg  r 

IJlQJUliMMMJ 


Ground 


Field  Ammeter 


Armature  Voltmeter 


Fir;      I.     DI.VGRAM   OF  WIRING  CONNECTIONS 


June  8.  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


1001 


current  of  2000  amperes  through  the 
circuit.  The  drop  was  taken  between 
adjacent  brushholders  as  befure,  and  the 
resulting  resistance  values  checked  fairly 
well. 

Bbl'su    Contact    Resistaxcxs 
These  mea^urcn1cnts  were  taken  at  the 
end  of  the   tulMuad  run.     Pilot   brushes, 
consisting  of  two   copper   wires   set   in   a 
wooden   block   fitted   in   the   brushholders 
were    employed,    one    brush    being    on    a 
negative  brushholder  and  -the  other  on  n 
positive  brushholder.     With  full-load  cur 
rent     on     the     machine     the     clrop     wa» 
measured  Ix'twccn  the  negative  pil'>t  hru^d 
and    negative    machine    terminal    am!    t» 
tween  the  p<^><>itive  pilot  brush  and  jx'>im.. 
machine   terminal       From   the*e    rcadimf* 
the    total    remittances    of    brush    c<>fit;i,  t, 
brushes  and  machine  leads  were  obtained. 

OvtaiMAU  Rl'K 
As  soon  as  possible  after  the  fiill-loa<l 
run,  a  load  of  ^500  amperes  (.25  per  cent 
overload)  was  put  on  the  set.  which  was 
run  under  these  conditions  for  two  hours 
At  the  end  of  this  time  tem|)crattirr*  wen- 
taken  of  the  armature  windings.  tWId 
windings  and  commutators.  The  air  tem- 
peratures    at     <-.T-li     ■•fill     of     thr     sit     UITC 

also  taken. 

A'iMIACZ,    FUCTION    AXD   I  RON    LOSSCS 
;  hese  mc.i  were  taken  at  the 

1  of  the  r  ;  per  cent    overload 

and    were    obi.tiiKtl    hy    driving    the    set 
with  one    lis  '.il?   cnrrntnr   rttrmtvi:  :it  n 
motor  and  i: 
of  readrng* 

brush  friction,  hearing  friction  and  wind- 
age of  b«»th  direct -current  machines,  and  a 
tiegligihle  hru^h  and  armature  resistance 
loss  in  the  driving  motor.  These  readings 
also  tnclnde<l  windaKr  and  the  (tearing 
friction  of  the  s\'  ^   motor.     The 

ma.'tiinr    rtin    as  ••r.    on    which 


motor  was  separately  excited,  the  loss  in 

its    field    winding   cannot    be    included    in 

these  readings.     Call  this  set  of  rea<lmgs 

So.  I.     The  field  circuit  of  the  gen-  -   •   - 

was   then   opened,   and   the   input    ' 

driving  motor  again  : 

reading    No.   3.     Thc 

No.   I   and   No.  2  gave  iii«.    nci 

of    the    generator.      All    the    )>; 

the  generator   were   then   lifted   and   the 


ric.  2 

input  to  the   ' 
Call  this  rc.>      „ 

between  No.  2  and  No.  3  is  equal  to  the 
power  lost  in  brush  friction.  The  iron 
louet  arrd  brush  friction  of  the  second 
machine  were  determined  in  the  same 
manlier.  runnitiK  the  first  machine  as  a 
mot<.r  and 
as  l)rf«»re   1 ! 


volt  generator  at  being  2$  per  cent,  of  the 
net  total  loss  as  calculated  from  Na  j. 

EmCUXCY   CAlXttATIOXS 
rhesc  caJctilatKMis   were   based   oa   hot 
:)ces.    the  ^tancc 

•1  at   !hr  I  run 

n   at 
ojling 
to   a    temperature   equal    to    thx    at    the 
end  of  the  full-load  run;  the  brush  con 
tact  resistance  as  taken  at  the  end  of  the 
full-load  run.     .\rmature  and  brush  con- 
tact resistance  lm«cs  were  caJculaied  (roto 
the    pc- 
quired 
were   t 

\alnr»  r 

C'  load   on    the    ma- 

cl.  .Tiding   loss   was   ob- 

tained  from   values  of   f»eld   airrent   cor 
responding  to  the  original  armature  v>!t 
age    used    in    obtaining    the    iron    I       ' 
Brush  fricti.       "  .    ■ 

age    were 
at  all  1"-!- 

In  th< 
result* 
Fig.  2 
values. 


^nrrnr  taHV  arr  tH^"en  the 


Coal  Con$uinp>don  ai  Steam- 
Turbine  Stations 

Bv  N.  A.  CAttJi 

It  IS  'frstrahJr  to  know  the  .ippr-ximatr 
•f  coal  M 
>  by  a  p«'V' 
check    on    the   actual    flg' 

inf..r,.. -.....„     II,       .. 

I'f 

wl)i<  [i    n.i»    iM  <  ti 
by   tests  of  the 


U»^l  LTM  OK  THi:  TWT  «».S  o.\fc  MAl  lll.SilL 


'  1        Arm 
1  Currvni 

\rtii               fiTKl              iittfti              ltu«t 
IMt  IxM    I'K  Lmb     I*K  L<o«         Lorn. 

Hruati  •Ad   Rmt- 
Frto>     tag  Frt» 

hmm.         ra 

1.".           :    '•■ 
imi         .    .. 

?•.        1   -». 

Vi          1  laiii 

1  -.s            •.-«■»              .  •  ■ .            ..  .  -• 

ftjfi          J  wt;           II  mtn          «|   5 

\  rrr 


Vll 


I  ctTDO  In  •*' 


ntrjtsiiremrnt*  were  brmg   taken.  wa«  iiKlutir   the   windage  and   hrsritu.'    it'w 

•  i  to  give  a  terminal   voltage  equal  to  tion  of  the  whole  set.  and  the  n 

volts  plus  the  resistance  drf>p  in  the  of  this  loss  was  oklained  by   s.i.'    ..        ^ 

ature  wimling.  Iirushrs.  brush  contact  from    No     j    the    lossrs    in    the    dri\u\tf 

an  '  '  With  it  '     f  the  mnior.  ■  .... 

set  at    (no   r  per  lure   rr 


i 
lit 

lur'     

of  the  station. 
the  tiation  •- 
e»ai»i>ralion 


lira! 


rr'*»Tt   fH^   fi  If  f goffig   ffsfa   the   spprrt^|« 
'*tt  ibr  rmh  graplMcallf 

IlKAMflBa 

ft)     A 


into    the    calculations       A*    the    drfvinc     sump«ton   giwa   the    loss    fbr   mek    tlQ* 


Hi 


s   t- 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  8,  1909. 


June  8,  1909. 


POWRR  AND  THE  RKGINKRR. 


1003 


The  temperature  of  the  feed  water  is 
'0$  degrees  Fahrenheit,  the  steam  pres- 
sure i^  150  pounds  per  !>quare  inch,  gage 
iressure,  and  the  amount  of  superheat  is 
'5  degrees  Fahrenheit.  What  is  the  coal 
lonsumption  per  day? 

The  factor  of  evaporation  for  these  con- 
';*<or.  is  approximately  i.ioo.  Starting 
vith  io/xx>  kilowatts,  read  up  to  24 
tounds  of  water  per  kiluwatt-hour,  then 
icross  to  I.IOO  factor  uf  evaporation,  then 
!own  to  10.0  pounds  of  water  evaporated 
>er  pound  of  coal  from  and  at  .212  degrees 
'ahrenhcit,  then  across  to  35  per  cent, 
oad  factor,  and  down  to  approximately 
II  tons  coal  burned  per  day.  This  re- 
ult  is  in  short  tons  of  jooo  pounds  and 
an  be  reduced  to  long  tons  of  2240 
Ktnnds  by  mulliplying  by  the  constant 
However,  it  will  l>e  sufficiently  ac- 
to  multiply  by  09,  as  the  result  ob- 
amed  is  only  approximate. 

(2)  A  power  station  with  an  installed 
apacilyof  12,000  kilowatts  bums  150  short 
ons  of  coal  per  day.  Tests  show  that 
he  water  consumption  for  the  turbines 
irxl  auxiliaries  is  a6  pounds  per  kilowatt- 


Getting  the   Most  Out   of  Gas 

Engines 


Bv  E.  G.  TiuMLN 


It  was  once  my  good  fortune  to  U-  mj 
placed  that  I  could  try  sonic  experiments 
on  a  gas-engine  plant.  The  power  out- 
fit consisted  of  two  vertical  double  cyl- 
inder, four- stroke-cycle  enK'H'r*-,  '  ••  nf 
30  and  the  other  of  40  hor>< 
direct -current  generator  for  i  ,. 
belted  direct  from  the  larger  engii  e, 
which  also  drove  the  machinery  at  night 
through  shafting  and  belting.  The  20- 
horsepower  engine  was  used  to  drive  the 
machinery  during  the  day  when  lights 
were  required  only  in  the  basement;  this 
liKhting  was  dour  with  gns. 

It  was  found  by  experiment  that  the 
smaller  engine  would  almost  pull  the  or- 
dinary day  load  with  one  cylinder,  show- 
ing that  we  had  a  large  surplus  of  power. 
Consequently,  we  installed  a  second  gen- 
erator of  proper  size  to  handle  the  basc- 


the  Ignition  adjustment  after  the  little 
^c^crator  in  question  had  ticcn  put  to 
Mwrk.  and  also  by  the  lari^rr  load  factor 
thereby  obtained. 

The    plant    equipment    ...^^    ... 
boiler  for   furnishing  hot  water, 
part  of  the  works  we  w    *     ' 
to  cool  the  i!a«-cni:ine 
the   water 


while  in 

wer- 

ioT)   to  heat   it   up. 


laded  a 
In  one 
:ig  water 
lisniping 
*cr; 
we 
ing 
be 
A  scheme  for 
.  -..g  away  with  this  double  loss  was 
finally  developed.  A  heater,  along  the 
general  lines  shown  herewith,  was  pro- 
vided and  connci-tcd  up  so  that  the  exhaust 
gases   from   \>  igh 

it.  while  the  -i^ 

from  the  cii*;;;»<:  ;i. 
through  the  heater  an 
use  in  the  h< it- water  system.  The  only 
loss  was  the  hot  water  that  was  drawn 
off  at  the  faucets,  which  was  nude  op 
from  the  street  main  through  the  pipe  A. 
In  nuking  the  heater,  the  body  of 
which  was  a  piece  of  ordinary  i4-tnch  iroo 


A    HtATCB   rO«  CXHAt;8T  CASKS  AND  CttCtHJ^TIXC  WATO 


Knir.    and    the    evaporative    efficiency    of 
•iler  is  11.5  p<iuihU  wairr  jk  r  |M>tin<I 
.1   from  aiHl   at    Jij  i|rjfr.«-»    lahrm 
iiMler    oi»eru?:  whiiii 

I     f.irt.if    of    .  I     I  lyx 

•  I  factor  tti  thr  st.iii<>n  ^ 
r2.aoo  kilowatts  read  up  to 
ID  poufiils   of   water   per   hour   per   kilo- 
"  ■"    tlicn  o»er  to  1.150  factor  of  evapor- 
then  down  to  11.5  pounds  of  water 
■    '    :    '  '      f  ctal    from  ami 

It.  and   extend   a 
this    ii>'< 
lirws   f.' 

kIi 
f  e- 

loii  gives  a  load  factor  of  approximately 

|0  per    irnl 


•he 


'  11  as  ID  provMk  for  uoeqaal  ex* 

/\    small    beh  driven   pittntcr    pomp   B 
was    u»e«l    to    -    — •     ■ I....... 


inc 


ment    lighting    during    the   day    and    shut     cip^.  the  engine  exhaust  pipe 

■  •iT  thr  gas  Iik'  rely.     It  was  nee  !    at    the    1^ 

,  V.  irv    •••    fMn  .c   circtti!    for    the  s»f»       T*  • 

■s     to     «Si>ld     t!: 

.;  the  small  d>i 
not  now  recall  the  rxact  *i/e  of  thu 
dynamo,  nor  the  number  of  lamp*  sup- 
plied by  it.  btit  the  price  of  the  dynamo 
was  $125  ami  shutting  off  the  Isasmtrnt 
gas  meter,  shut  off  a  regular  nuMithly  it*  suctutn  bi 
Ka*    bill    of    $^-  the    amount     of 

iialiiral   tt»*   r>  r    ih<*    mitinr*    for 


lest     than     il 

AImhiI  the  ti- 
installed,    experiments    were    being    car- 
'•■•<   on   with  a  view  of   finding   the  best 

II  of  the  igniters  on  the  engine*,  the 
was  determined  )u*t  after  the  ami 
■I    of   the    extra    marlnne.     The         1 ' 


>f  "f 


thr 

Ike 


I004 


P0\\I':K  AXl)  THE  EXtilXEER. 


June  8,   1909. 


Some    Useful    Lessons    of    Limewater 

An  Interesting  Chapter  on  the  Chemistry  of  Sulphur;  How    to  Make 
Hydrogen    Sulphide;    What     It    Will    Do;    Different     Sulphur    Forms 


BY 


CHARLES 


S  . 


PALMER 


There  are  several  matters  connected 
with  the  chemistry  of  sulphur  which  we 
will  take  up.  in  order  to  get  familiar 
with  this  common  and  useful  substance 
and  its  compounds.  The  first  thing  is  that 
innocent-looking  compound,  hydrogen  sul- 
phide, H:S,  or  sulphureted  hydrogen,  as 
it  used  to  be  called.  You  may  have 
heard  of  its  bad-egg  odor,  but  it  is  not 
really  so  unpleasant  if  it  is  handled  right. 
The  easiest  way  to  make  this  gas  (note 
that  it  is  a  gas )  is  first  to  make  some  iron 
sulphide,  by  heating  together  in  an  old 
iron  pot  some  iron  turnings  and  common 
brimstone.  The  iron  and  sulphur  will 
unite  with  considerable  heat;  and  when 
the  operation  is  over,  you  can  turn  out 
the  fused  mass  on  the  brick  floor  to  let  it 
cool.  Break  it  into  lumps,  and  you  will 
note  the  dark  bronze  color  of  this  iron  sul- 
phide, FeS.  Fe  stands  for  fcrrum,  the 
Latin  for  iron.  When  this  iron  sulphide 
is  treated  with  dilute  sulphuric  acid,  about 
one  part  of  sulphuric  acid  to  four  or  five 
of  water,  the  action  is  like  that  shown  in 
the    following   equation  : 


FeS  )  J 

I. on  Sulphide      1       ' 

FeSO.  1       ( 

Ferrous  Sulphate  }  •  { 

(Iron)  J       (Hydi 


iilphuric  Acid 
H,S 
oKCn  Sulpliide 


}^Iaking  Hydrogen  Sllphiue 

This  experiment  of  making  the  hydro- 
gen sulphide  is  done  in  a  common  pickle 
jar,  with  a  delivery  tube,  a  common 
pneumatic  trough  and  one  or  two  fruit  . 
jars,  as  shown  in  the  accompanying  sketch. 
When  you  have  collected  several  jars, 
take  them  out  of  the  trough  and  set  them 
mouth  upward,  covering  them  with  card- 
board covers.  You  will  burn  this  gas, 
hydrogen  sulphide,  H:S,  and  you  will 
note  that  it  burns  readily,  with  a  distinct 
and  peculiar  flame.  The  gas  burns  in 
the  air,  and  the  taper  is  extinguished  when 
thru.st  up  into  the  jar.  You  will  not  fail 
to  note  that  as  the  gas  burns  it  gives  off 
the  same  kind  of  sulphur  fumes,  and  with 
the  same  smell,  as  when  you  burn  the 
common  sulphur  eight-day  match.  You 
can  sec  hnw  all  this  happens  by  one  glance 
at  the  oxidation .  table  of  sulphur  given 
in  a  previous  lesson ;  and  here  you  will 
note  the  great  advantage  of  having  the 
compounds  of  each  element  given  in  order, 
from  reduced,  or  hydrogen  compounds,  to 
oxidized  or  oxygen  compounds. 

Just   why  the  burning  sulphur  stops  at 
sulphur   dioxide,   or   two-oxide,    SO2,   in- 


stead of  going  over  to  the  full  oxidation 
form,  SOs,  sulphur  trioxide  or  three-oxide, 
is  a  curious  matter,  and  one  which  has 
everj'thing  to  do  with  the  making  of 
sulphuric  acid,  as  we  will  see  later.  But 
you  will  miss  half  the  game  in  studying 
this  hydrogen  sulphide,  H2S,  the  bad- 
smelling  gas,  unless  you  go  on  to  some  in- 
teresting experiments  in  analysis.  So  we 
will  make  several  solutions  of  the  com- 
mon metals;  such  as  sugar  of  lead  (lead 
acetate),  green  vitriol  (iron  sulphate), 
blue  vitriol  (copper  sulphate),  white 
vitriol  (zinc  sulphate)  ;  and  also  some 
arsenic  solution  (common  white  arsenic 
dissolved  in  hydrochloric  or  muriatic 
acid),  and  some  antimony  solution  (made 
by  dissolving  the  metal  in  a  mixture  of 
hydrochloric  and  nitric  acids  (aqua-regia, 
or   royal   water,   because   this   mixture   of 


gen  sulphide  will  throw  down  a  yellow 
precipitate  in  the  arsenic  solution;  it  will 
throw  down  an  orange  precipitate  from 
the  antimony,  a  dark  brown  or  black  from 
the  copper,  and  a  white  precipitate  from 
the  zinc  solution.  All  this  will  take  place 
right  under  your  eyes,  with  the  same  gas, 
a  colorless  gas,  hydrogen  sulphide,  H2S, 
just  as  described:  lead,  black;  copper, 
dark  brown ;  antimony,  orange ;  arsenic, 
yellow ;  iron,  black ;  zinc,  white.  You  can 
see  that  all  this  would  be  very  con- 
venient in  telling  what  metal  one  had  in 
solution.  This  set  of  tests  is  so  useful 
and  so  remarkable  that  it  will  repay  you 
to  make  some  effort  to  collect  the  ma- 
terial for  the  tests  and  go  through  with 
them.  It  will  give  you  much  food  for 
thought ;  and  it  will  begin  to  show  you 
how  anyone  can  learn  to  test  and  analyze 


MAKING     HYDROGEN     SULPHIDE 


nitric  and  hj-drochloric  acids  will  dissolve 
gold).  This  solution  of  antimony  you 
must  not  mix  with  much  water  because 
water  will  throw  it  out  of  solution.  You 
will  also  want  to  add  a  few  drops  of  am- 
monia to  the  solutions  of  iron  and  zinc; 
the  rest  will  act  best  if  left  slightly  acid. 
You  might  almost  mix  these  up,  with- 
out labels,  and  even  if  the  solutions  were 
of  the  same  color,  the  hydrogen  sulphide 
would*  pick  each  of  them  out  for  you. 
If  you  put  some  of  each  of  these  solu- 
tions of  the  various  metals,  each  in  a 
separate  small  jar,  and  lead  in  some  of 
this  gas,  hydrogen  sulphide,  with  the  de- 
livery tube,  cleaning  the  delivery  tube 
after  using  it  in  any  solution,  you  will  get 
this  marvelous  result :  This  same  gas 
will  throw  down  a  black  precipitate  in  the 
lead  and  the  iron,  but  the  lead  solution 
is  neutral  or  slightly  acid  ;  the  gas  hydro- 


the    common    solutions    of    the    common 
metals. 

At  first  one  should  begin  with  one 
metal  in  a  solution,  but  after  a  time  you 
can  handle  several  metals,  taking  out  each 
in  its  place  and  proving  it  up  as  you  go 
along.  Sometimes  chemists  speak  of 
analyzing  a  solution  of  all  the  metals,  but 
that  is  not  quite  correct,  because  it  is 
not  possible  to  have  all  of  the  metals  in 
solution  at  the  same  time  and  in  the  same 
solution ;  but  one  may  easily  have  as  many 
as  ten  or  fifteei;!  of  the  common  metals 
in  the  same  solution ;  and  one  can  learn 
to  find  each  in  its  place,  with  the  help 
of  this  gas,  hydrogen  sulphide.  You  will 
also  note  that  it  makes  a  difference  in 
using  this  gas,  hydrogen  sulphide,  to  pre- 
cipitate the  metals,  whether  one  sends  it 
into  a  solution  which  is  alkaline  or  acid 
in    reaction.     Thus,    some    of   the   metals 


June  8,  igoy. 


IXJWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


.**,:, 


will  precipitate  only  in  alkaline  solution; 
others  will  precipitate  in  both  acid  and 
alkaline  solutions. 

HyDKOCEN    Sl'LPHIDC  in    MiNEJtAL   \S'AItK!> 

This  gas,  hydrogen   sulphide,  occurs  in 
many   natural   mineral    waters.      Souu-     .f 
Ihr  most  famed  of  the  health  res^jris  i.wc 
fame    to    the    supposedly    curative 
r<   of  the  hydrogen- sulphide   waters. 
Ihe    hydrogen    sulphide    is   not    the   only- 
substance    in    the    waters,    but    as   a    rule 
there  are  several  other  ingredients,  tome 
salty   in  a   broad   and   general   sense,  and 
some  gaseous,  like  carlxjuic-acid  gas.  Vou 
nd  out  much  alxmt  these  wairrs  by 
iig   to   the    I'nilcd    States   del.  .^'Kal 
y  for  a  pamphlet  called  "(jr<>  Clicm- 
by    Prof     I'.    \V.   Clarke    ( iJ.iIlctin 
No.  3JO.  Washington,   D.  C,  U.  S.  GeoL 
Siir.cy).      It    should    be    noted    that    this 
gas,  hydrogen   sulphide,  is  what   is 
!    a    reducer;    that    is.    it    can    take 
n,  or  its  equivalent,  out   of  bodies, 
ng   them  down  to  a  lower   state  of 
•ion.       Thu*,    if    you    lead     some    of 
I'le  into  a  dilute  solu- 
you   will   note  a  yel- 

I  «»r   perhaps   a    milky  white   prccip- 
ome  down  in  the  solution.     This  it 

-ulphur.  which  comes  from  the  hy- 

II  si:lphide,  as  it  reduces  the  nitric 
to    some    lower    form    of    nitrogen 

The    gas,    hydrogen    sulphide,    is 

H<i|uble   in   water,   and   such   a   solu- 

•  ri  called  Mcr 

\  of  h>dr  ,ih 

'!ne,  "sulphurctcd  hydrogen."  is 

.ilso. 

it  sulphur  is  mixed  with  soda  and  fuse<l 

hiT   NOfne  time,  peculiar   dark-brown  sub- 

s  are  formed,  calletf  "livers  of  »ul- 

which  are  n«>ihing  more  than  sul- 

■  of  sodium.     When  these  are  treated 

i»itv         •  .  .  ■   ■  ..^,, 

k.    i!  is 

>(>ii    Mill   .il^ays 

•  ich    i*    n    prrfrr'lv 

Mt.  It  I*  han<l>  ' 

Iter  paper  m< 
iny    soluble    salt    of    lead,    such    a*    lead 
nitr  ,tr,  or  lead  acetate    (sugar  of  lead), 
-  an  excellent  and  ea%\   test  for  the 


ui   the 
in   ihr 


escaping    from    the   rrfnte  oi    the 


ihinv  ■••••'-  '•■'Tereni.  however.  It  U  made 
by  >  .   the  vapor  or  fumes  of  di»> 

•;!I.  .  ^  :.j.ii.:r    over    water,   or   in   a   cool 
Iter,    when    it    falls   down   as   a    st^ift 
:siic  which    is    sulphur    •: 

f»  r«  .n    fr«>in    iiicrrls 

Ihe    "flowers"  t» 

in    half    in    what    ;  'he 

"amorphous"  or  gummy  c^ 
Ihe    powdered    or    "flour" 
mostly  in  the  crystalline  condition.     We 
will  see  in  a  moment   what   these  mean. 

Take  an  ounce  or  two  of  brimstone 
and  break  it  up  so  that  it  will  slip  down 
into  a  common  test  tulw.  The  test  tul>e 
n  ust  be  '  handle,  either  of  wi-kI 

or   wire.  i    in    a   p'r-.  mv*    Ir^'o.-. 

or  at  least  with  .> 
Heat  the  sulphur  a-  •  _ 
flame  or  alcohol  lamp.  Vou  will  note 
that  the  sulphur  melts  to  a  clear  thin 
liquid,  of  a  magnificent  yellow  color.  Pour 
some  of  this  int<>  a  tumbler  of  water, 
and  it  will  form  liard  yellow  shot,  which 
are  made  up  of  oi  'wo  principal 

crystalline   forms  <  Now   save 

most  of  the  melted  >iilpiiiir  in  the  same 
test  tube,  and  go  on  healing  it.  You  will 
note  that  shortly  it  begins  to  get  orange 
in  color,  then  much  darker,  and  soon  it  is 
•o  thick  that  you  can  hold  the  test  tube 
upside  down  without  its  flowing  out  of 
the  mouth  of  the  test  tube.  C«o  on  heating 
it,  and  in  a  short  time,  while  still  dark 
in  color,  it  will  get  somewhat  thinner, 
not  as  thin  as  it  was  when  first  melted, 
but  thin  enough  to  pour  from  (he  test  tube. 

This  hot   sulphur  will  also  boil,  and   if 

)ou   let   the  vapors  that   escape   from   the 

test  tube  fall  quietly  onto  the  surface  of 

k4ime   water   in  a   tumbler,  you   will   note 

the  beautiful  light  yellow  skin  or  "pellicle" 

of  "flowers'*  of   sulphur.     Vou  can   pick 

this  up  like  a  thin  piece  of  sheet  rubber, 

for  its  elasticity  i»  f  .'nle 

the   test   tulir   of  •!  -    is 

still  hot.  pour  it  out  in  a  Uuu  %I 'vs  stream 

in*'*   a   tumbler   of   water,   noting   that    it 

down    much    like    so    minli    m.-lfm 

r       Yoti   will   get   a   little  pile  o(   ihis 

-   at  the  bottom  of  the 

and  as  soon  as  it   is 

cool  enough  to  handle,  pick  it  up  in  the 

' '  'ifMlle  it.     It  is  precisely  like 

r.      You   can   draw    it   out. 
Rut  set  it  aside  for 

'     vou    will    %rr'    that     it 


ir;  that 


it  haa  juM  crusted  over;  t*- 
the  crust,  you   will   sec   th< 

wit*  '         . 


hn- 


».___i-;_... 


of 


be- 
«.  r  in 

color.     1  ^c  in 

cr>'«'"'  .1,.  i,..,  ,,i  II..  ''tnu 

ff  ;.   but   in   the  the 

cr>  ' 

ort 

natural  .it. 

<"*"*  of   these    bjr 

«lt»- 
4lled 
carbon  Ihu    carbon    disul- 

phide  i>  ;  .  :ly  used  as  an  exter- 
minator of  insects  about  flour  mills  and 

grain  elevator*      It  can  be     ' '   from 

any  druggist.  an<l  if  >ou  »  yoa 

must   rememl»er  t     "  m  u 

flame    a«    it    i»    >-  <  :hle 

If  > 

ward  ptiunng  it  o-.u  into  4  sju.rr  and  let- 
ting it  evaporate,  when  the  s •••,  .'1  ..rtbo- 
rhombic  crystals  are  seen  t.  <  the 

solution  of  sulphur  in  carU...  ,..>  ..(.Jiide, 
CSh   evaporates.      If  jrou   ever   take   the 
trouble  to  go  up  r 
you    will    see   qui;, 
natural  . 

In  sif  'hat  ttrl- 


K  iid   state.     In  the  liquid  state  there  arc 

three  fonns :     Fir»»  t'^r  •' mi    ;•  •>  .    ^  i»,,v 

form,   then   the  t) 

form,  and  la^*'-    • 

liquid  form  >s 

the  amnrphf 

we     fotind     I 


tiiat    sulphur  this  lewlency.  (o 

exist    in     »CN  »,    even    into    the 

gaseous    state,    as    tite    vapor    which    we 

ptMirrd    ••"    •' '    -    •'-   it   a   vr*-    » 

gas.  ha«  5sk  and 

ifHo  a   it-.\r,nrr 

I  -.iibstaner 

ir  •  d  alkKr*»i 

>-    called   MlUAraptc 

cwsmofi    eiesneiit 

'.•liur  m  the  vanrty  and 

f    fmt     fv.f    tti    tS«-    rM*f 


DirruutxT  KoaMt  or  SrirNtm 
The   next    tabjeet   to  ttud>    is    sulphur 

'in 

■»r 

Ihit 


jwnrder.   it    i« 

"Mowrr. 


MAKtito  Sitmra  Ca> 

Ktmm  Innir  at  thv  aHlfklsiir 


ot   tul-      form       Take    enough     stilphur     t< 


(lit 


ra|t^ltr^ 


(he 
<««r 


xT  *«•»   are 


■  ff>.itf      .-iin 


ril      ,1 


ioo6 


POWER  AXD  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  8,  1909. 


form  of  common  oxygen,  O:.  and  also  of 
ozone,  0».  Similarly  we  shall  find  that 
some  of  the  oxides  of  nitrogen  have  al- 
lotropic  forms,  as  also  docs  common  car- 
bonate of  lime,  in  the  forms  of  calcite  and 
aragonite. 

The  next  subject  to  consider  is  the  first 
oxidized  form  beyond  sulphur,  namely, 
sulphur  dioxide ;  but  this  is  so  closely 
connected  with  sulphur  trioxide  and  the 
making  of  sulphuric  acid  that  we  will 
leave  the  subject  to  another  lesson.  Mean- 
while just  a  word  about  the  occurrence 
of  sulphur.  Until  recent  years  most  of 
the  sulphur  of  commerce  was  obtained 
from  the  little  island  of  Sicily  in  the 
Mediterranean  sea,  but  some  years  ago, 
when  boring  for  oil  and  gas  in  Louisiana, 
immense  deposits  of  sulphur  were  found 
at  a  depth  of  only  a  few  hundred  feet. 
These  deposits  of  Louisiana  sulphur 
(which  seem  to  be  almost  inexhaustible) 
occur  in  connection  with  a  lime  compound, 
g>psum  or  calcium  sulphate ;  but  the  awk- 
ward thing  about  it  was  that  the  deposits 
were  almost  inaccessible  from  the  fact 
that  they  were  covered  by  thick  and  ob- 
stinate quicksands.  All  attempts  of  min- 
ing engineering  to  penetrate  these  quick- 
sands and  to  reach  the  sulphur  deposits 
by  shafts  failed,  until  Dr.  Frasch  invented 
a  method  of  sinking  several  large  tubes 
in  series,  one  within  the  other.  Through 
the  outer  tubes  steam  and  hot  water  are 
forced  down  at  a  temperature  and  pres- 
sure sufficient  to  melt  the  sulphur  in  the 
g>-psum  beds,  and  this  molten  sulphur  was 
then  forced  up  to  the  surface  in  a  liquid 
stream  where  it  is  allowed  to  flow  into 
large  tanks  and  harden  naturally.  As  it 
cools,  it  is  broken  up  and  shipped  without 
ftirther  treatment.  This  curious  method 
of  mining  sulphur  accidentally  happens  to 
result  in  furnishing  a  very  pure  and  a 
very  refined  form  of  sulphur ;  in  fact,  over 
QQ  per  cent,  pure ;  and  this  article  has 
practically  replaced  foreign  sulphur  in  the 
home  market. 


Steel  Bands  versus  Leather  Belts 


By     E.      HoFF.MEISTF.k 


Successful  trials  have  been  made  to 
replace  leather  belts  by  steel  bands.  Be- 
cause they  have  nearly  no  thickness, 
they  avoid  the  main  evil — the  slip — 
nearly  perfectly  Cless  than  i/io  per  cent.) 
and  have  therefore  an  efficiency  of  more 
than  99  per  cent.  An  especial  friction" 
layer  is  fastened  on  the  pulleys  in  order 
to  produce  the  necessary  friction  between 
the  band  and  the  circumference  of  the 
pulley.  The  length  of  the  band  is  prac- 
tically constant.  The  distance  of  the 
shafts  may  be  small.  The  air  resistance, 
which  is  ver>-  considerable  at  high  speeds, 
plays  no  role   with   steel   bands. 

Band  drive  is  exceptionally  qualified 
for  big  drives  and  is  very  efficient,  as  well 
in  regard  to  effect  as  to  speed  (to  .i^o  feet 


a  second).  It  is  superior  to  rope  drive 
by  about  15  per  cent.,  and  is  excellent  for 
dynamos  and  motors  and  gas  engines. 
The  efficiency  is  nearly  incredible.  For 
example,  at  a  trial  a  ■>^x3/ 128-inch  steel 
ribbon  ran  at  a  speed  of  190  feet  a  second, 
transmitting  146  horsepower. 

To  transmit  100  horsepower  at  200  rev- 
olutions a  minute,  with  40-inch  pulleys, 
the  cost  per  year,  everything  included  (in- 
terest and  amortization),  would  be  $700 
A\  ith  ropes,  $400  with  leather  belts  and 
$82  with  steel  bands. 


Coal  Analysis  * 


National  Gas  and  Gasolene  Engine 
Trades    Association 


The  National  Gas  and  Gasolene  Engine 
Trades  Association  will  meet  on  June  22, 
23  and  24,  at  South  Bend,  Ind.,  with 
headquarters  at  the  Oliver  hotel. 

This  association  was  organized  some 
months  ago  to  advance  the  interests  of 
the  gas-  and  gasolene-engine  trade,  and 
promote  a  profitable  acquaintanceship 
among  the  various  lines  of  trade  inter- 
ested in  the  internal-combustion  engine. 
Anyone  who  is  interested  in  this  type  of 
engine,  whether  manufacturer,  dealer  or 
user,  is  eligible  to  membership. 

The  program  has  not  as  yet  been  fully 
completed,  but  will  include,  among  others, 
the  following  papers : 

"The  Suction  Gas  Producer  for  Small 
Power  Plants,"  by  C.  J.  Atkinson,  Water- 
town,  Wis. 

"Storage  Batteries  for  Ignition  Pur- 
poses," by  G.  L.  Chambers,  Cleveland,  O. 

"A  Running  Test  of  a  Gas  Engine, 
with  Data,"  by  J.  C.  Miller,  Chicago,  as- 
sisted by   others. 

"Water,  Its  Uses  and  Abuses  in  Rela- 
tion to  Gas  Engines,"  by  H.  W.  Jones, 
Chicago,    111. 

"Some  Accessory  Items,"  by  E.  H. 
Campbell,  Detroit,  Mich. 

"Compression  Couplings,"  by  William 
S.  Noyes,   Chicago,  111. 

"Advantages  and  Disadvantages  of  Sell- 
ing Gas  Engines  Through  the  Jobbers 
and  Dealers." 

An  invitation  has  been  extended  to  the 
American  Gas  Power  Society  and  the 
National  Gas  and  Gasolene  Engine  Manu- 
facturers' Association  to  attend  this  meet- 
ing. 

By  way  of  entertainment  there  will  be 
a  trolley  ride  from  South  Bend  to  St. 
Joseph,  Mich.,  furnished  by  courtesy  of 
Gas  Power.  The  local  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce has  also  arranged  for  an  automo- 
bile ride  and  inspection  of  the  large  and 
interesting  factories  of  the  Studebakcr 
Manufacturing  Company  and  the  South 
Bend^  Watch  Company.  Everyone  who 
is  interested  in  the  line  of  work  of  the 
association  is  invited  to  attend  these  meet- 
ings, whether  members  of  the  associa- 
tion or  not. 


Coal-bearing  rocks  underlie  three- 
fourths  of  Illinois,  including  85  of  its 
102  counties.  The  coal  area  is  estimated 
at  from  36,000  to  42,000  square  miles^ 
the  largest  area  of  bituminous  coal  within 
any  single  State.  There  are  approximate- 
ly 1000  mines  in  the  State  of  which  over 
400  are  railway  shipping  mines.  The  work 
of  the  State  Geological  Survey  is  there- 
fore very  largely  devoted  to  coal  and  the 
problems  of  the  coalfields. 

Illinois  ranks  second  among  the  States 
in  the  production  of  coal.  In  1907,  51,317,- 
146  tons,  having  a  total  value  of  $54,- 
687,382  were  mined.  The  figures  for  1908 
are  not  complete  but  preliminary  esti- 
mates indicate  that  Illinois  was  almost 
alone  among  the  States  in  holding  its 
production.  While  in  the  country  as  a 
vifhole  the  amount  mined  fell  ofif  from  15 
to  20  per  cent.,  Illinois  mines  produced 
as  much  as  or  possibly  more  than  in 
1907,  a  record  year.  Despite  this  gratify- 
ing fact  it  remains  true  that  our  mines 
are  not  working  to  anything  like  their 
capacity.  In  1907  the  average  number  of 
days  worked  was  218.  It  would  probably 
be  fair  to  assume  300  working  days  a 
year  as  possible.  On  this  basis  there 
vi-as  a  loss  of  30  per  cent,  of  loss  in  our 
State.  The  reasons  for  this  are  com- 
plex. In  part  they  lie  in  the  nature  of 
the  coal,  which  prevents  its  storage  with- 
out spontaneous  combustion ;  in  part,  in 
the  general  ignorance  as  to  correct  meth- 
ods of  firing  and  the  real  value  of  the 
coal ;  and  finally  in  part,  in  the  present 
organization  of  the  industry  with  exces- 
sive competition  in  selling.  The  net  re- 
sults are  bad  for  the  industry  and  there- 
fore for  the  State  as  a  whole.  Cheap  coal 
reduces  manufacturing  costs  but  allows 
wasteful  burning.  It  also  entails  waste- 
ful mining  and  even  prevents  the  introduc- 
tion of  methods  of  safeguarding  the  men 
in  the  mines.  It  is  a  serious  question 
whether  we  are  not  paying,  in  loss  of  life 
in  the  mines,  in  loss  of  efficiency  in  our 
plants,  and  in  loss  of  interest  and  capital 
invested  in  the  industry,  more  than  the 
cheapness  of  the  coal  is  worth. 

The  study  of  the  coal  and  coalfields  of 
the  State  has  been  carried  on  both  in  the 
field  and  office.  The  work  has  been  di- 
rected toward : 

(i)  The  solving  of  problems  of  strati- 
graphy, such  as  the  distribution  and  cor- 
relation of  various  coal  beds,  together 
with  the  collection  of  all  data  relating  to 
the  origin  and  the  mode  of  deposition  of 
the  coal  and  accompanying  beds. 

(2)  A  study  of  the  composition  and 
uses  of  coals. 

(;^)  A  study  of  the  mode  of  occurrence; 
of  coal  as  relates  to  the  methods  and 
costs  of  mining. 


*Dplivered  as  an  addre.ss  hefore  the  Illinois 
Fuel  Conferenc'o  at  tlip  TTnivcrsity  of  Illi- 
nois. TTrbana.  III.,  by  Dr.  H.  Foster  Bain, 
director  Illinois  State  Geological  Survey, 
March    l.S,    1909. 


1' 


June  8,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGIXKER. 


1007 


(4)  A  study  of  the  preparation  of  the 
coal  for  the  market,  its  transportation,  its 
normal  markets  and  the  competitions 
which  it  meets. 

The  (irst  step  in  the  solution  of  the 
problems  of  stratigraphy  is  the  making 
of  accurate  detailed  maps  and  the  com- 
pilation of  drill  record;!.  This  is  now 
being  done  and  considerable  areas  near 
Peoria,    Sprr  ■  lleville   and   in   the 

Saline  and   \\  ■  county  tields  have 

been  sur%eyed  in  cooperation  with  the 
United  States  Geological  Survey.  Thc-.e 
maps  show  the  thickness  and  lay  of  the 
coal  beds  and  from  them  it  will  be  pos- 
sible to  tell  quite  exactly  how  much  coal 
is  present  and  to  plan  its  economical 
working.  At  present  it  is  possible  only 
to  guess  at  the  original  content  of  the 
field  and  these  guesses  vary  from  1.16 
billion  to  240  billion  tons.  Either  is 
perhaps  sufficiently  large  for  our  com- 
fort. 

The  study  of  the  composition  of  the 
coal  is  directed  especially  toward  the  de- 
termination of  its  availability  and  the 
best  means  of  using  it.  Samples  are  taken 
by  uniform  methods  in  the  mine  and  in 
the  market  and  in  connection  with  the  Kn- 
gineering  Experiment  Station  elaN--  '■ 
experiments  are  t>eing  made  of  the  n.  ■ 
ods  of  storage,  of  handling  the  coal,  and 
of  burning  it.  We  hope  soon  to  take  up 
the  matter  of  gas  production  and  coke 
I  making  and  have  had  under  way  for 
sometime  certain  preliminary  experiments 

The  mo<le  of  occurrence  as  relates  tc> 
mining  methods  and  costs  has  been  bare- 
ly totiche«I.  In  my  judgment  it  would 
be  well  if  the  State  made  separate  pro- 
vision for  this  work.  In  the  absence  of 
•pecial  provision  we  are  attempting  to 
gather  such  notes  as  we  can  in  the  coursr 
of  our  regular  work.  "It  has  been  fomvl 
impracticable  at  the  present  time,  m.iinl. 
owing  to  limitations  of  funds,  to  undert.tkr 
certain  highly  desirable  studies  of  the 
tet'       ■  •  ■      f 

thr 

for    U\.  It    «»    Ul: 

much   K  1   result    from 

tions  along  these  lines  and  that  certain 
portions  of  the  work  are  well  within  the 
proper  field  of  the  State  (ieological  Sur- 
vey. It  is  now  well  known  that  there  it, 
under   present   commercial   conduion%.   an 

>rmou«  waste  in  the  mining  of   Illinois 

In    imiividiial   di«iric-|%    it    lus   been 

estimated    to    amount    t<>    :*%    much    as   ftt 

per    rent,    thougli    of    '■ "•     «'irh    lo»»es 

■re  not  general      It  W'  er,  prob- 

aM\    lie    *afe    to    say    '  ry    many 

es    40    per    cent     of    the    cnal    in    the 
ind  is  left  unmined  or  is  ruined  in  the 

•  e««  of  mining     In  addition,  the  melh- 
<-i»   of   mining   in^r^>«!u^-^<l    •■  "^ 

Kasr    grr.it|v     U)<-rrj\r.|    th. 
fine     «i/r«     .in«l     h.^\r      <' 
creaseil    the    dauifrr    • 
in    the    niinr«         I 
]o««e»  are  complr » 

•-d  thai  either  operation  or  miners  will- 


ingly  submit  to  them.  Neither  is  it  to 
be  expected  that  the  losses  of  life  and 
property  can  be  entirely  done  away  miiIi 
At  the  same  time  experience  has  abundant 
ly  proved  that  careful  and  iinpanial  in- 
vestigations of  such  conditions  will  point 
the  way  to  the  remedying  of  some  at 
least  of  the  abuses,  and  in  view  of  the 
enormous  importance  of  the  subject  to 
the  State  and  the  public  at  large.  mkIi 
studies  are  believed  to  be  amply  Mar- 
ranted. 

There  has  been  no  opportunity  as  yet 
seriously  to  take  up  the  study  df  markets. 
The  expansion  of  markets  for  Illinois 
coal  is  a  matter  of  vital  importance  to  the 
coal  industry  and  indirectly  to  the  pc«  pie 
of  the  entire  State.  One  of  the  most 
important    means    of    ■  j    this    ex- 

pansion   is    by    remo'.  iin    misap- 

prehensions as  to  the  quality  of  the  coal 


relating   to   weathering   of  coal   and  coal 
iiornirr    irr  especially   important. 


The  Easton  Gas  and  EJectric 
Company's  Plant 


Fl\    Kii«*  suD  T     Ititts 


a-  ^     ,  .:..:_     U!     i>o-:th 

I-..a«ton,  Penn..  f>n  a  strip  of  land  be- 
tween the  canal  of  the  Lehigh  Coal  and 
Navigation  Company  and  the  Lehigh 
river.     This  wa^  ;io«er 

plant  receiving    ..  .1  and 

di  ihc    river,    the    working 

li'  :  10  feet.     L'p  to  1905  the 

plant  Was  upcraied  in  conjuoction  with  a 


n»    t    THK  muca  anoM 

.inH   the   pointing  out   of  Hettrr  mriins   of  »(ram    [»!.'»nt    »tf»atrf!   nn    Ferrjr   Slrccf    ia 

as   to    It  la   tfaU 

r  the   sm'  M  abandon 

work  has  been  uken  up  vigorous!)   h>   the  the   steam   plant   and   huihJ   a   new   ooe  in 

Env itirr r iiik'     I' \iM-r iiiir til     Stiii.iti     w!ii  !i  the   same  S'>'i''"'i>    >ai«K   tit^   ■«  ><rr  r^.^^-r 

h;i                                                                         >  -pbnt  in  &• 

to        K.Illl         ■llllioi'*        t     ■  •-U         tllilKilll         .-.I1I"».', 

and   other   similar   subjects      In  addition  Tnu    Ntw   Stsam    PlAirr 

to  •"  '    .«ble  work    •* 

Vr  of     the 

t) 


In  tgo7  ikb  arw  aieam  plaoi  via  cm* 
•    and  the  water •povrf 

Tne  pf ctcnl  cQvt^- 


ably    supplant    Kaslem   mala    now    lietnif     ' 

told.     There  are  other  areas  1"  ••'•-   •     ''>      *  ''' 

and  west  where,  with  pri»t»er  •••  at  li> 

of    irar        •  waits 

ranee  ■  straw 

lung     horsrpi««<-f    r.ir«^>>.k    *rwi    ssufi    - 
.rfw^i      takr    hrsilen    ami    («swr    fwlnhwr* 
Kaat    xgaa-ttti' 
irtiita  ruimmg 
ihM   rmsnn   the   tiodiea  now   under    w^y     ikhm  prr  mimme      TW  biwhn  kaw 


kiL 


looS 


POWER  AXD  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  8,  1909. 


ficient  capacity  to  carry  50  per  cent,  over- 
load on  the  turbines.  Each  boiler  is 
equipped  with  180  four-inch  tubes  and 
with  86  square  feet  of  Treadkill  shaking 
grates.  They  are  built  for  200  pounds 
working  pressure  and  have  superheaters 
to    cive    100    dosiree?    superheat.      .-X    low 


after  traveling  three  times  its  length,  is 
discharged  at  the  bottom  of  the  opposite 
end.  Steam  enters  at  the  bottom  and 
the  dry-vacuum  pump  connection  is  made 
at  the  lop.  This  arrangement  insures 
that  the  air  removed  by  the  vacuum  pump 
will  be   a.s   dry  and   cool   as   possible   and 


Fig. 


UNLOADING    COAL   FKOM    THK   CANAL 


water  heater.  The  40-kilowatt  exciters 
are  motor  driven  and  are  controlled  by 
a  Tirrill  regulator.  A  35-kilowatt  steam- 
turbine  exciter  is  used  to  start  the  plant 
in  case  of  a  comple'te  shutdown. 

Foundations  of  both  boilers  and  tur- 
bines consist  of  piers  and  reinforced-con- 
crete  girders.  The  fact  that  the  plant 
had  to  be  placed  in  an  existing  building 
through  which  passed  penstocks  and  tail 
races,  made  the  ordinary  foundation  im- 
possible. 

Hydraulic  Installation 
The  hj'draulic  installation  consists  of 
two  looo-horsepower  and  one  i8o-horse- 
power  units,  each  consisting  of  two  run- 
ners on  a  horizontal  shaft.  The  largest 
units  have  48-inch  runners  and  are  direct- 
connected  to  soo-kilowatt  two-phase  60- 
cycle  2400-volt  generators  running  at  150 
revolutions  per  minute,  while  the  smaller 
machine  has  24-inch  runners  and  is  belted 
to  a  120-kilowatt  6o-cycle  two-phase  2400- 
volt  generator.  Lombard  governors  are 
used  on  the  looo-horsepower  units. 

On  the  electric  end  the  steam  and 
hydraulic  plants  are  run  in  parallel,  the 
object  being  to  keep  the  hydraulic  plant 
loaded  at  all  times,  and  to  handle  any  ex- 
cess load  with  the  steam  plant.  Power 
is    distributed    by    eight    sets    of    feeders. 


grade  of  coal  is  used,  forced  draft  being 
supplied  by  two  7-foot  ABC  blowers. 
Two  steel  stacks,  100x6  feet,  furnish  suf- 
ficient draft  to  carry  half  load  on  the 
boilers.  Both  the  feed-water  pumps  and 
forced-draft  equipment  are  controlled 
by  automatic  regulators. 

Coal  is  received  from  canal  boats  and 
unloaded  by  clam-shell  buckets.  It  is 
then  carried  and  dumped  in  the  storage 
yard  by  means  of  a  Hunt  automatic  rail- 
way. Sufficient  coal  is  stored  in  the  sum- 
mer months  to  last  through  the  winter. 
A  bucket  elevator  carries  the  coal  from 
this  yard  to  an  overhead  tank  from  which 
it  is  dumped  by  gravity  into  one-ton 
charging  cars.  These  cars  pass  over 
scales  before  reaching  the  boilers,  which 
are  tired  by  hand  directly  from  the  cars. 
The  ashes  fall  from  the  grates  into  the 
boiler  ashpits,  which  have  sloping  bot- 
toms, are  loaded  by  gravity  into  ash  cars 
and  dumped  on  the  low  land  back  of  the 
plant. 

The  turbines  are  equipped  with  Alberger 
surface  condensers  of  the  counterflow 
type,  with  automatic  hotwclls  from  which 
the  water  of  condensation  is  delivered  to 
a  storage  tank.  I'>om  this  tank  the  boiler- 
feed  pumps  obtain  their  water.  Makeup 
water  is  added  at  the  condenser  by  means 
of  a  bypass  between  the  steam  and  water 
chambers.  The  cooling  water  is  siphoned 
from  the  canal  through  the  condenser  and 
discharged  into  the  river.  The  bypass 
used  for  the  makeup  water  also  keeps  the 
siphon  free  from  air. 

The  cooling  water  enters  at  one  end 
and    at    the    top    of    the    condenser,    and 


I'JG.     3.       TUKHO-GKNKKATING     UNITS 


that    the    hotwell    water    shall    be    at    the 
highest  possible  temperature. 

On  the  turbines,  hydraulic  valve  gear 
and  oil  step  bearings  have  been  installed 
in  preference  to  electric  valve  gear  and 
water  steps.  The  auxiliaries,  including 
two-stage  dry-vacuum  pumps,  hotwell 
pumps,  step  pumps,  boiler-feed  pumps  and 
blower  engines,  are  steam  driven,  and  their 
exhaust    is    condensed    in    a    closed    feed- 


Three  two-phase  2400-volt  lines  transmit 
power  to  the  Ferry  street  plant  which  is 
used  as  a  center  of  distribution  for  both 
alternating  and  direct  current.  By  means 
of  motor-generator  sets  power  is  con- 
verted to  direct  current  for  lighting  and 
trolley  service,  a  Gould  storage  battery 
with  a  booster  being  used  to  even  up  the 
trolley  load.  Six  single-phase  lighting 
lines    with    phase    voltage    regulators   dis- 


June  8,  iggg. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


loog 


iribute  power  and  light  from  this  plant. 
Three  two-phase  itoo-vult  lines  trans- 
[nit  power  and  light  directly  from  the 
jeneratirig  plant  to  the  adjacent  ponion 
jf  the  city,  and  two  11,000- volt  three- 
phase  lines  transmit  power  about  eight 
miles  to  Nazareth  and  Butztown.  At 
S'azareth  it  is  stepped  down  to  2joo  volts 
two-phase  to  supply  |>ower  and  light  to  the 
:ity,  and  at  Hutztown  |x»wer  is  deliveretl 
to  a  synchronous  converter  for  trolley 
^er^ice. 

The  company  here  is  located  in  one  of 
the  best   communities   in  the  country   for 
the    devekipment     of     light    ami     power, 
rspecially  the  latter,  as  the  city  of  Easion 
kn<l  surroumling  territory  are  dotted  with 
ries   of   various   natures,   prom- 
ts them  iK-ing  a  number  of  large 
h    lind   electric   drive    par- 
able to  their  work      I>tring 
Ihc   |ia»t    fall    the    company    i-  'er 

the    control    of    the     l)ohert>  itig 

Company,    of    New    York,    an<i    airrady, 
umler    Henry   L.    I3oherty.   it    has   gained 
I   strong   impetus  and   is   rapidly   forging 
-'       1    and    will    no    doubt    outgrow    its 
it  plant  within  the  year.     The  com- 
im  ami  water  under  which 
tes,  puts  it  in  a  particularly 
iL»lc    position    in    >  tor   the 

'    of    the    difTereni  in    its 

termor)-,  and  an   interesting  -nt 

in  this  tield  is  the  use  of  el«  '"rs 

in  conjunction   with   water  wheels  in   the 

- Tous  feed  and  flour  mills,  soapstone. 

and   other  mills  which   are   located 

riven  and  streams  flowing  into 

.,li    and    I>elawarc    rivers    which 

U«.re. 

'•  ;if>wrr  branch  of  the  Ktt»ineis  has 

'  to  the  I  -'•a  day 

Kilowatts   :  .   on  the 

Cf>nttnuous|y.   and   the    tirhl   is   only 

ed.      In   and   arouinl   thi»   iinnpany's 

■.»ry    is    a    pr>»*ible    «lr\«-l<<pment    of 

—      '    'sepower,    which    the    com- 

^'  a  stronir  effort  to  secure 

The 

red 

!    the    Initetl 

.     Mf     |>h.!s 

i«si*tant.  K    I 

■    with    the    u- 

.  nt    of    the    g-  •  'nd 

•>  and  the  !  "^d 


Insf>ection  for  New  York's  Low 
Pressure  Boilers 


By  a.  C.  Rowstv 


In  a  previous  article  ujnm  the  Mii^^t- 
vision  of  the  power  of  New  York  city 
exerci$e<l  by  the  Sanitary  C«nipan>.  jjen- 
rrally  known  as  the  B<.jlrr  ln^;M,ition 
:  the  Police  Department.  11  was 
it  i>nly  three  tin-rs  jn  46  years 
had    there   been   boiler    •  -    in    the 

city.     To  those  who  gl,,  ■  'Ugh  the 

commissioner's  report  for  IQOR,  this  state- 
ment may  seem  to  be  in  error,  for  a  dozen 
accidents  are  reported  as  occtiring  to  high- 
power  boilers  and  a  list  of  about  JO  in- 
jured is  given. 

.An  analysis  of  the  list  <>i  casualties 
shows  thnt  SIT  "f  the  twrtvr  wrre  caused 
b>  t!  cse.  two 

wer<  one    by 

foreign  matter  found  in  the  tube,  and 
two  were  due  directly  to  the  crowding  on 
of  steam  during  the  heavy  traffic  on  the 
Brooklyn  Rapid  Transit  in  summer.  Nine 
were  inj'ire*!  severely,  but  none  fatally, 
in  the»e  cases. 

Of  the  remaining  six  explosions,  rne 
•:ng  of  a  cap  on  an 
•  r  by  the  blowing 
out  of  a  defective  gasket  on  a  lower  man- 
hole pbte.  The  gasket  had  been  in- 
spected after  it  had  been  twice  refuired 
and  passed  by  the  insurance  company. 
Seven  cast-iron  headers  in  the  front  of 
one  '■•..'•'  .wn  rea- 

son •  n'«  «»ne 

was   tiijurcU.     ( )iH-   ft    :1k    <  re- 

p«)rte€l   wa<   the  hrmkinjj  .f  pc 

in  a  dry 
diK'k  wit 

due  to  the  escape  of  steam  on  the  sect>nd 
flftor  of  a  plant.  The  steamfilters  making 
repairs  disconnected  the  pipe  before  the 
steam  had  been  shut  off  and  were  scalded. 

DAwnta  r«DM  Low-rttASt'n  Boiuois 
Mavins  analyted  the  sins  of  the  high- 
it   will  l»r   ■ 
f     the     . 


to  ler    the    . 

Satu; ,...->    through  _ 

to  be  introduced  before  the  board  of  aMrr- 
men. 


t--»  a  ««|wire  f«v>*  *>f  -rate  s-rfare.  t?  prac- 

em 

law  ub- 

•crvi ....  ...c  the 

owner  cares  to  put  op-  ler.  as  it 

is  not   sr'  '   ■  •  test,   mspcciioa.  coin- 

pulsory    '  It    of    a    licensed    en- 

ginr.  j.4^ 

as  r  ,^^ 

There  ,n  Srw 

York,   w  fret   ,  • 

grate  »ur' 
kind   of 

\alve  is  set  for  10 
happens  wher;    •»• 
some    other 
shown   I-!' 
for   I)e|>   • 


«>r 
is 
op 


Lnitgiiig       li 
Iow-press\irc  • 

Sanitary  Company.     These  are 

only  a  few  of  those  that  c*.v,.i  .%-ii>  in 
New  York.  Others  were  not  nren  re- 
ported to  the  bureau,  being  in  many  in- 
stances cases  for  the  coroner.  Thev  are 
worthy  of  c«>- 
of  every  br. 
boilers  are  nut   <• 

October     22,     }  p  ij 

years  o'  '  ,ur^ 

boiler  e\,      ,,,   ....:.._ i^ 

Bronx. 

November  lo^  igoB-  f  —  — -  "^    ' 

er     exploded.     j6j     \ 
Brooklyn:  no  los^ 

December    .»,  !    XfimtKa,    rr 

years  o|<|,   j.. 
and  KitU-      \-' 


hospital.     Lhed     in     hcnpiiat. 

Mtllttfl-T      •  1  r    \r.trx    .,1.!      K..-T,f.-.'  ..,,., 

I<Tr  -I  ID 

Cuitiii<  I 

the  net  - 


OACStKUt  At  lot  QiUtUi  ni*€U  U««wk> 


arxi      iri4- 


ft  i*  i«  rase  of  leaping  before  looking        It  it  contended  bv  the  Sanitary  Com- 


The   <  . 
rr  than   t 
•  I    valves    are    re»pon«it»le    for    large 

>-»m  of  steam  by  the  engine   ami 

rer  cannot  always  «|eict-t  the 
•  I  thr  Increase  without  mr.  fnfucal 
It   i«  gnrxl  p«iIk-v  to  m.ikr    \i«<-     <i  an 

of 

'he 

•  •(    sICAiii. — Itrngnutr- 


t>'4nt    from  ll 
Cttmpany. 

In  the  Vow  Wn 
of  «•      •       • 

lo    .' 


en-     »h 
e  of  the  San<- 

the  last  session     poi: 


pUni  had  dnl 

I  ttn    t.i    \<x\t 


thr 

nsan 

ll  was 

fr     > 


Oavwn' 


lOIO 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGIXEER. 


June  8,  1909. 


struction  of  the  word  "and"  in  section 
243  of  the  Greater  New  York  charter, 
have  effectually  tied  the  hands  of  the 
police  and  granted  immuiiity  to  owners 
or  lessees  who  wish  to  rim  plants  without 
er^gineers  and  beyond  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  inspectors.  The  word  occurs  in  the 
clause  exempting  from  the  compulsorj' 
employment  of  licensed  engineers  on  cer- 
tain "boilers  carrying  not  over  10  pounds 
of  steam  and  not  over  10  horsepower." 
According  to  the  courts,  the  10  pounds  of 
steam  and  the  10  horsepower  are  inter- 
dependent, one  hanging  to  the  other. 

Under  this  ruling,  it  is  only  necessary 
for  the  owner  of  a  higli-power  plant  to 
set  the  safety  valve  at  10  pounds  to  step 
out  of  the  jurisdiction  of  the  police,  dis- 
charge his  engineer  and  put  a  laborer  in 
charge  of  a  boiler  which  may  have  35 
square  feet  of  grate  surface  and  a  capacity 
of,  perhaps,  100  horsef)Ower.  The  law, 
knowing  nothing  of  the  bearing  of  grate 
surface  upon  steam  capacity,  goes  by  the 
letter,  and  the  result  is  that  owing  to  the 
increasing  use  of  electricity  supplied  by 
central  stations,  thousands  of  high-pres- 
sure boilers  have  been  converted  into  so 
many  menaces  to  the  lives  and  property  of 
the  occupants  and  owners  of  buildings. 
There  is  as  yet  no  means  of  heading  oflf 
the  dang,'r. 

A  steamfittcr  tells  an  owner  that  if  he 
has  his  safety  valve  set  for  10  pounds, 
h*  can  safely  dispense  with  the  service 
of  his  engineer  and  put  on  a  laborer  to 
handle  the  plant  and  take  current  for  his 
motor  and  electric  lights  from  an  electri- 
cal company.  That  1  e  need  not  have  his 
boilers  inspected  r.nd  can  refuse  to  make 
repairs.  In  add;- ion,  he  v.ill  be  freed  from 
the  trouble  of  sending  in  reports.  Under 
the  regulat  d:is  cf  the  Sanitary  Company 
it  was  necessary  to  make  twelve  reports 
a  year  on  the  condition  of  the  plant  and 
the  owner  was  forced  to  make  repairs,  the 
need  of  which  he  could  not  understand, 
not  being  an  engineer.  The  proposition 
appeals  to  the  owner.  He  keeps  his  boiler 
for  heating  purposes,  connects  all  the 
radiators  in  the  building  and  has  the 
safety  valve  set  for  10  pounds.  Then 
he  finds  that  his  grate  is  too  large  and 
the  safety  valve  is  blowing  all  the  time. 
The  idea  of  selling  the  surplus  steam  to 
his  neighbors  is  then  conceived,  and  the  re- 
sult is  three  or  four  houses  are  heated 
by  a  single  boiler ;  a  boiler  which,  ac- 
cording to*  law  is  a  low-pressure  affair 
carrying  only  10  pounds  of  steam  and 
having  a  capacity  of  only  10  horsepower, 
when  in  reality  this  same  boiler  has  a 
capacity  much  in  excess  of  this  figure. 

Presently  a  warm  day  comes.  The 
radiators  in  all  the  houses  are  shut  off 
tight.  The  substitute  for  the  licensed  en- 
gineer is  somewhere  in  the  neighborhood. 
The  indicator  starts  to  spin  and  perhaps 
the  safety  valve  sticks.  Presently  the 
substitute  for  a  licensed  engineer  returns, 
looks  at  the  meter,  sees  150  pounds  regis- 
tered,  wonders   a   little,   but   thinks    it   is 


all  right  because  the  valve  has  not  gone 
otf .  There  can  be  no  danger ;  he  opens  the 
door  and  throws  on  a  little  more  coal. 
Suddenly  a  tube  gives,  the  substitute  be- 
comes a  blistered  parboiled  object  writh- 
ing on  the  floor  in  a  cloud  of  steam.  The 
owner  is  fortunate.  The  giving  of  the 
tube  saved  the  building.  He  can  get  an- 
other tube  and  another  substitute.  No 
one  is  to  blame,   that   is,  criminally. 

Hoisting-engine  Menace 
Another  menace  to  life  and  property 
in  the  city  that  has  developed  and  is  grow- 
ing rapidl}-,  is  furnished  by  the  increased 
use  of  electricity  for  hoisting  engines. 
Again  the  engineer's  salary  is  an  im- 
portant element  together  with  the  dodging 
of  repairs  that  should  be  made.  The  con- 
tractor does  away  with  his  boiler,  sets  up 
a  motor,  takes  current  from  the  street 
and  a  laborer  is  substituted  for  a  licensed, 
skilled  mechanic.  It  was  just  this  penny 
wise  and  pound  foolish  policy  that 
dropped  one  of  the  gigantic  statues  worth 
thousands  of  dollars  as  it  was  being  swung 
into  position  on  the  front  of  the  Hall  of 
Records.  It  is  liable  to  drop  a  ton  of 
metal  on  the  heads  of  pedestrians  at  any 
moment.  And  no  one  is  to  blame.  The 
courts  have  held  that  there  is  no  boiler 
and  therefore  no  need  for  a  licensed  en- 
gineer, and  the  police  department  has  no 
jurisdiction. 

The  ignorance  of  the  average  owner  of 
the  fact  that  the  supervision  of  his  plant 
is  as  much  for  his  own  good  as  for  that  of 
the  general  public  is  most  appalling.  Only 
recently  a  man  came  into  town  with  a 
traveling  crane.  He  demanded  exemp- 
tion from  inspection  of  his  boiler  and  the 
compulsory  employment  of  an  engineer, 
on  the  ground  that  his  crane  was  a  loco- 
motive engine,  because  forsooth,  it  ran  on 
rails.  It  took  considerable  time  to  con- 
vince him,  first,  that  the  bureau  was  not 
persecuting  him,  second  tliat  there  was  no 
graft  in  it,  and  third,  that  it  was  as  much 
for  his  benefit  as  for  that  of  the  public 
that  his  plant  be  regulated.  Then  he  was 
willing  to  obey  the  law. 

The  Voss  Bill 
This  bill,  known  as  .Assembly  No.  443, 
was  an  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  Inter- 
national Union  of  Steam  Engineers,  act- 
ing with  the  approval  of  Deputy  Com,- 
missioner  Hanson,  to  straighten  out  the 
kinks  of  the  law  and  to  do  two  important 
things.  The  first  was  to  rip  the  mask  of 
the  law  from  the  pseudo-low-'pressure 
boilers,  and  the  second  was  to  obtain 
recognition  for  the  ability  of  steam  en- 
gineers to  handle  power  other  than  steam. 
The  increasing  use  of  current  from  com- 
mercial electrical  companies  in  large 
cities,  particularly  in  hoisting  plants,  and 
the  consequential  discarding  of  boilers 
and  discharge  of  licensed  engineers  and 
their  substitution  by  laborers  whose  hands 
are  untrained  in  the  art  of  lifting,  all  com- 
bine to  present  a  problein  which  engineers 


must  solve  with  legislation.  The  Voss  bill 
was  an  attempt  to  solve  it  so  far  as  New 
York  City  was  concerned. 

The  bill  provided  for  the  annual  report 
of  owners,  agents,  lessees,  etc.,  and  the 
inspection  of  ever}'  engine  or  engines,  ir- 
respective of  motive  power,  in  addition 
to  the  previously  stated  steam  boiler  or 
boilers,  by  the  Sanitary  Company.  The 
company,  as  heretofore,  to  limit  the  pres- 
sure "or  power  to  be  applied  to  such  en- 
gine or  engines,  irrespective  of  motive 
power."  The  certification  of  inspection 
to  be  precisely  the  same  in  all  cases  and 
the  fee  for  inspection  to  be  the  same. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  these  amend- 
ments would  give  the  Sanitary  Company 
practical  supervision  of  the  power  in  New 
York,  as  it  states  "irrespective  of  motive 
power,"  be  it  electrical,  gas,  gasolene, 
hot  air,  in  addition  to  its  present  control 
of  the  high-pressure  steam  plants.  The 
amendments  are  frankly  directed  at  the 
control  of  hoisting  engines  where  electric- 
ity is   used. 

In  this  connection,  it  might  be  pertinent 
to  inquire  the  amount  of  expert  knowledge 
the  police  department  possesses  of  motive 
power  other  than  steam.  Its  bureau  of 
electrical  service,  consisting  of  107  men, 
with  10  exceptions  all  patrolmen,  operate 
2000  miles  of  special  police  wires  and 
make  all  repairs  and  maintain  the  electric 
light  and  power  of  the  department. 

It  has  even  been  said  that  there  are 
inspectors  in  the  Sanitary  Company  who 
are  not  practical  engineers.  A  careful 
investigation  failed  to  find  one  who  had 
not  a  certificate  as  a  licensed  engineer,, 
obtained  before  he  entered  the  department, 
and  the  records  of  the  bureau  show  that 
each  man  in  touch  with  the  practical  work 
of  the  bureau  passed  an  examination  be- 
fore the  examiners  on  his  ability  as  an  in- 
spector when  he  was  drafted  into  the 
bureau.  Further,  each  man  has  had  his 
qualifications  for  the  position  certified  to 
by  three  citizen  engineers  of  good  stand- 
ing in  New  York. 

It  is  in  fact  remarkable  how  many  en- 
gineers, boilermakers  and  steamfitters  are 
to  be  found  among  patrolmen.  Recently 
ten  were  required  to  opera.te  the  harbor 
flotilla  of  gasolene  launches.  Thirty-fi,ve 
were  drawn  from  the  force  and  sent  to 
the  bureau  for  examination.  A  number^ 
were  rejected  as  having  no  experience  in" 
that  line  of  work,  stationary  men  mainly, 
and  10  were  sent  to  the  harbor  squad  on 
probation.  All  of  the  35  had  certificates 
showing  good  standing  as  engineers,  ob- 
tained, necessarily,  before  entering  the 
department. 

To  continue  with  the  bill,  the  amend- 
ments to  section  343  exempted  vehicles 
and  chartered  railway  locomotives  or  boil- 
ers not  carrying  over  10  pounds  of  steanf 
and  "not  having  more  than  6  square  feet 
of  grate  surface,"  and  here  is  where  it 
hit  those  operating  such  plants,  "or  to 
operate  any  engine,  irrespective  of  motive 
power,  exceeding  10  horsepower,"  without 


June  8,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


1011 


a  certificate.  The  remainder  of  the  sec- 
tion ran  as  formerly,  and  at  its  conclusion 
the  following  addition,  brought  the  crafts 
that  ply  around  New  York,  under  the  sup* 
iTvision  of  the  bureau,  and  in  that  way, 
under  the  engineers  of  the  city: 

"This  section,"  it  stated,  "shall  also  ap- 
ply to  and  include  the  operation  and  use 
of  all  boilers  and  engines  m  vcs>cl»  used 
on  the  waters  in  the  city  of  New  York, 
not  coming  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
United  States  Government." 

This  refers  to  derricks,  scows  and  non- 
passenger  and  nonfreight  carrymg  Ixiats. 
solely,  for  a  later  amendment  eliminates 
motor  boats,  gasolene  launches,  etc.,  used 
privately. 

New  Obdi.va.nce  lxdcb  Way 
The  failure  of  this  bill  to  win  a  favor-, 
able  hearing  at  .Mbany,  followeil  im- 
mediately afterward  by  the  killing  of  Dr. 
Niles  previously  referred  U>.  and  the 
Schreyer  decision  were  the  motives  for 
the  drafting  of  a  new  ordinance  for  the 
regulation  of  low-pressure  boilers  to  be 
submitted  to  the  board  of  aldermen.  That 
the  police  department  had  no  jurisdic- 
tion over  boilers  used  for  generating 
steam  for  heating  pur|K)ses.  regardless  of 
the  size  of  the  boiler,  had  l>een  the  de- 
cuion  in  the  court  of  special  sessions, 
April  39,  1909,  in  the  case  of  John 
Schreyer.  of  343  Central   Park   West. 

At  this  address  is  a  20-family  apart- 
ment house.  The  boiler  is  1^  feet  long 
by  J  feet  in  diameter.  Since  190^  it  had 
been  a  licensed  high-pressure  b«>ilcr  Mib- 
ject  to  annual  trst  and  inspection.  Hut  in 
1908,  Schreyer  decided  to  run  the  Ixiiler 
at  low  pressure.  John  Adams,  found 
operating  the  plant  without  a  license,  was 
»ummone«l  to  the  West  Side  court  and 
held  for  trial  in  the  court  of  special  ses- 
sions for  violating  section  .u.t  of  the 
charter,     lie  was  prompiI\  --cd  by 

that    court,    it    being    lU  i     the 

charter  dcjes  not  aulhoruc  Lite  pxltcc  de- 
partment to  examine  boilers  in  private 
dwellings,  although  the  danger  of  the  x> 
f  .iiiilii  ^   :>ri«ing   from  the  combination  of 

•  <1    engineer    running    an    un 
luriMco    iH>i|rr  was  explainetl. 
The  ordinaiKe  as  drafted  by  Lieutenant 

Br.  y 

c  » 

pr  tk  a»    tollou  » ■ 

'<    n^rd    f'lr    K'rnrrattng   <trim 


II   of   said    police   departmrni    which    is 

— » ^uirurd   an!    ■ '■"••'    •"    lest 

.Such  t  shall 

If  '  '  ' 

VI  ' 

and  Lm  «  ut  ttu 

apfiluahle  to  Im>:  I 

charter   and   l.i«%« 

"Thr  pr<ivi«i<int  of  thi*  »!>j|| 

not  apply  to  the  use  of  *t' 

Hmeraling    steam    for    hi......    ,  ■,        > 

In    any    private    dwelling    which    •hall    be 


intended  or  designed  for,  or  used  as,  the 
home  or  residence  of  not  more  than  two 
separate    or'  distinct    families    ur    house- 
holds.    .\  violation  of  this  ordinance  l^ 
misdemeanor." 

It  is  expected  that  if  passed,  the  or- 
dinance will  be  beneiicial  in  two  •httinct 
ways.  It  will  pre\ent  the  owners  >ii  large 
apanment  houses  from  taking  ad\jiiijge 
of  the  Schreyer  decision  and  run  their 
boilers  independent  of  engineers  or  in- 
spections, and  it  nuy  afford  a  chance  to 
examine  and  bring  under  the  >ys(cin  of  the 
bureau  the  class  of  men  now  operating 
the  low-pressure  plants,  with  the  proltable 
formation  of  a  fourth-grade  engineer 
authorized  to  run  low-prrssure  plants  only. 

It  is  conceded  by  the  bureau  tlui  to 
force  an  owner  of  a  low-pressure  plant, 
in  a  building  where  the  rents  are  not 
high,  to  employ  a  licensed  engineer  of  the 
third  grade  is  a  hardship.  For  the  op- 
eration of  these  low-pressure  plants  a 
class  of  oilers,  firemen  and  general  as- 
sistants who  have  not  rrtmplrtrfl  their 
time  for  the  thr-  might 

be  secured,  exa:  1  to  the 

bureau,  and  the  same  system  of  monthly 
reports  and  annual"  inspection  >»f  c-xtrn(!r<I 
to  them. 


Cast  Iron  Fittings  and  Superheated 
Steam 


By  John   Primrosk 


.^rticIe^   have   been   appearing   in   engi- 
neering  papers   and    manufacturers'   put>- 
lications  in  which  superheated  steam  has 
been  charged   with   being   responsible   for 
the   failure  of  cast-iron    httings.^  and   for 
If      "  '      '  .   sleam  pipe 

<  thrrr    has 

IJ..1   U  -1- 

gate  \  :<  r 

to   n\\  Ti«t   the    use   oi    superheat, 

an«l  111  <r»  pe<t|ile  have  Iktu  .iir.ml 

to  avail  Ihemselvvs  uf  the  iiur 
•  '"^    tnd  other  advantages  of  ..,,.,......,  .1 

Statements  to  the  effect   that   all 
i.i»t  iron   t  '*  '        '  '    !»e   re- 

placed by  steam 

is  lo  be  u-' 
at    the    pr- 

s 

ll.' 

sucii  that   the  effect  of   such  a   stalemrnt 
IS  to  picture  untold  inuitile*  oi    >  I   Uin.ls 
with   ihe   sleam   ct}uipnteni    <• 
p.,. ..I.!-  '-trreaac  in  rcumimy  ».  m,,.!  •-.    « 
r<  '      It  b  a  pity  to  bkick  an  ad- 


■•.l.'..l 


throitgh     «• 
tij>>i(iK     (jii 

>i>>n    arrivc«l    «t    wa» 

!    !   steam   wcakeiw-.l   t»ir 

ciMtiplrtr  lack  of  a  >  > 


'*sn  'rtttngi 


ry  or 


a 


reason  vbjr  superheated  steam  should 
weaken  cast  iron  and  nuke  fittings  and 
valves    made    of    that    material    dangrrous 

the 

.ut 

•  -  i  i 
be  tor  an  1  he  metal 
of  the  br  :.  .„  ..  _.td.  in  some 
cases,  but  half  the  tensile  strength,  and 
tlie  conclusion  arrived  at  was  that  super- 
heated Sleam  passing  through  a  fittmg  re- 
duced ill  tensile  strength  at  '.  per 
cenl.  The  ioeic  whrrehy  f  ).•« 
is  o'.' 

was 

not  haw  <ti 

learned    i  ncr, 

cast-iron    tittings    have    been  (aiJit^    in 

saturated- steam  lin«-»  ...,.,-  •».-  ...,t  .1  ^^.^ 

first  usetl  for  the  p*.  '.ed 

f, .»  I..   .1. .    .^111  .. 

ill      I.':.-      !.  ;!»!,.■      vT, 

the  same  bra*       It  ? 

•  od 

:he 

likely  to  be  Ihe  ongi- 

-  metal  rather  than  ihe 

of     superheat.     Cast  iron     fittings 

ing  a  fluid    so    far    removed    from 

r  heated    steam    as    water    have    been 

.       ■'.-■  ■  .  .!.    •..,-    X)   «.:,,•.    .....I  fail  m 

•   at   easi- 
ly* 
tn 
thM    country,   and    it    seems 
that  a  few  subsequent   failurt  .  .   ... 

considered  proof  that  superheated  steam 
is  injuric'  '  iron. 

One   m..  -    of  cast -steel   ftttingv 

has  made  elaborate  tests,  exposing  cast- 
iron  Hanges  to  sar>ir.i.*  '•  ;i"««-ratures  from 
500  to  800  degrees  i  for  a  ntun- 

ber  of  weeks  The  . ;-.  ,.  4  flange  li^ 
iiKhes  io  diameter  was  to  increase  the 
diameter    yifg    of    an    !  *      tn    this 

d 

r  cartMNi  silicon  and 

l-      , -'i  '♦"■   ">etal  art  so 

affected    by     (  -     that    the 


If 

!    t.. 


10   any 
damage  10 

r«ef»t*rr  h  rawndgl  IO  Mr* 
.n  wkttWr  MinraMrf  or 
.*n  br  iH«<4.  and  it  is  ^nli* 

peuyi*!'     •i<-<>«is#d    s«pir> 

I*  hmm  ■«  I-  -^  wstMa  to 


I0I2 

degrees  either  way  of  a  determined  point, 
or  a  maximum  variation  of  20  degrees. 
It  is  quite  true  that  in  some  cases  super- 
heaters have  been  so  designed  that  the 
temperature  fluctuates  and  troubles  have 
followed,  but  the  troubles  with  the  pipe- 
line httings  have  been  the  least  of  these, 
and  the  cause  has  been  not  the  tempera- 
ture due  to  superheat,  but  the  fluctuations 
in  temperature  due  to  the  design  of  the 
superheater,  in  the  same  way  that  a  fault 
in  the  design  of  a  boiler,  engine,  or  con- 
denser is  likely  to  be  heard  from. 

So  much  has  been  charged  against 
superheated  steam  that  an  investigation 
was  started  to  find  out  what  the  people 
of  most  e.vperience  in  the  use  of  super- 
heat in  this  country  and  abroad  had 
found  out  concerning  the  effect  of  super- 
heated steam  on  cast  iron. 

In  Europe  superheaters  are  always  a 
part  of  a  power  plant  of  any  importance 
and  superheated  steam  has  been  in  com- 
mon use  there  for  more  than  thirty  years. 
If.  in  the  few  years  during  which  super- 
heated steam  has  been  used  in  this  coun- 
try such  destructive  characteristics  have 
developed,  the  Germans  with  their  thirty 
years  of  experience  ought  to  be  in  a  posi- 
tion to  tell  us  about  it.  A  well-known 
German  engineer  was  recently  in  this 
country,  and  the  matter  was  brought  to 
his  attention.  He  was  interested  and  sur- 
prised that  he  had  not  learned  before  of 
the  effect  of  superheated  steam  on  cast 
iron  and  promised  to  look  the  matter  up 
on  his  return  home.  He  has  since  writ- 
ten that  he  could  not  find  anything  in  their 
engineering  literature  to  bear  out  this  con- 
tention, or  anyone  who  believed  that  such 
a  thing  was  possible  This  engineer's  ex- 
perience with  superheated  steam  extends 
over  twenty-five  years  or  more  and  shows 
that  highly  superheated  steam — 600  de- 
grees Fahrenheit — has  no  effect  on  cast 
iron.  He  uses  fittings  of  gray-iron  cast- 
ings, except  where  the  government  speci- 
fications insist  upon  cast  steel.  The  gov- 
ernment insists  upon  cast  steel  at  times, 
but  with  regard  to  the  pressure  of  the 
steam  rather  than  to  the  temperature,  and 
is  not  influenced  by  the  steam  being 
saturated  or  superheated. 

Investigations  in  England,  where  super- 
heaters have  been  used  for  a  much  longer 
time  than  in  this  country  have  resulted  in 
much  the  same  information.  A  member 
of  the  engineering  staff  of  one  of  the 
steam-users'  associations  corresponding  to 
our  insurance  and  inspection  companies 
writes  that  he  "has  not  found  any  reduc- 
tion in  strength  of  either  cast  iron  or  steel 
due  to  temperatures  obtained  in  practice." 
As  in  Germany,  cast  steel  is  used  for  fit- 
tings above  certain  pressures,  but  it  is  be- 
cause of  the  pressure  and  not  at  all  be- 
cause the  steam  is  superheated.  Different 
steam-users'  associations  in  England  have 
been  consulted  and  they  thave  all  agreed 
that  superheated  steam  does  not  weaken 
cast  iron  in  their  exptrience. 

In  this  countr>-  there  exist  many  proofs 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGIXEER. 

of  the  fallacy  of  the  theory  that  super- 
heated steam  weakens  cast  iron.  A  num- 
ber of  superheaters  built  entirely  of  cast- 
iron  pipes  and  headers  were  installed  in 
1901— eight  years  ago.  These  superheat- 
ers are  located  in  the  settings  of  Babcock 
&  Wilcox  boilers  above  the  first  pass  of 
tubes,  directly  in  the  path  of  and  sur- 
rounded by  gases  at  1000  to  1200  degrees 
Fahrenheit.  These  superheater  tubes  are, 
of  course,  cooled  by  the  circulation  of 
the  steam  at  175  pounds  pressure,  and 
superheated  150  degrees,  but  must  be  con- 
siderably hotter  than  the  temperature  of 
the  steam,  or  than  the  usual  temperature 
of  cast-iron  fittings,  in  steam  lines  dis- 
tributing the  superheated  steam.  These 
superJieaters  are  still  in  successful  opera- 
tion and  have  cost  nothing  for  repairs. 
About  two  years  ago  it  was  necessary  to 
move  one  of  the  units  containing  one  of 
the  superheaters.  The  superheater  had  to 
be  taken  apart  and  was  carefully  exam- 
ined. Absolutely  no  evidence  existed  of 
any  deterioration  in  any  way  and  the 
superheater  was  reerected  in  the  boiler 
and  went  together  as  easily  as  when  first 
installed.  The  superheater  tubes  are  7>^' 
inches  inside  diameter,  12  feet  6  inches 
long,  made  of  good  gray  iron,  care  being 
taken  to  secure  sound  castings.  The  peo- 
ple who  built  this  superheater  have 
changed  the  design  of  the  superheater 
tube  somewhat,  although  retaining  cast 
iron  as  the  best  material  to  meet  the  hot 
gases  and  have  installed  upward  of 
1,000,000  horsepower  of  superheaters,  and 
except  in  a  very'  few  isolated  cases  have 
used  cast  iron  for  all  fittings  connecting 
the  superheater  to  the  boiler  and  its 
various  sections  to  a  common  outlet. 
Some  of  these  fittings  are  in  contact  with 
hot  gase.s,  being  inside  the  boiler  settings, 
and  have  been  in  service  since  1901.  In 
not  one  single  instance  has  trouble  been 
reported  in  any  of  these  fittings  which 
could  be  traced  in  any  way  to  the  effect 
of  superheated  steam,  and  this  company 
still  continuous  to  use  cast  iron  for  all  fit- 
tings and  considers  it  to  be  the  best  ma- 
terial for  the  purpose. 

The  result  of  investigation  at  a  plant 
where  a  large  cast-iron  fitting  showed 
signs  of  weakness,  and  superheated  steam 
was  charged  with  being  to  blame,  is  inter- 
esting in  this  connection.  The  plant  con- 
sists of  32  water-tube  boilers  arranged 
in  two  decks,  16  on  the  upper  floor  and 
16  below.  A  steam  header  connects  the 
boilers  on  each  side  of  the  upper  boiler 
room  and  these  headers  come  together 
in  a  tee  at  the  end  of  the  boiler  room. 
This  tec  has  an  opening  looking  down 
which  connects  with  a  larger  tee  below, 
taking  the  steam  from  each  side  of  the 
boiler  room  on  the  lower  floor.  The  main 
steam  lint  to  the  engines  carrying  all  the 
steam  generated  starts  from  this  tee.  The 
large  tee  taking  steam  from  the  upper  and 
lower  boiler-room  floors  was  the  tee  that 
failed.  It  showed  surface  cracks  and  was 
distorted.      Investigation     disclosed     that 


June  8,  1909. 

only  14  of  the  boilers  on  the  upper  floor 
were  equipped  with  superheaters,  and  that 
these  superheaters  were  good  for  but  75 
degrees  of  superheat.  The  superheated 
steam  from  these  14  boilers  was  mixed 
with  the  steam  from  18  boilers  furnishing 
saturated  steam  containing  the  usual  per- 
centage of  moisture,  so  that  the  steam  at 
the  tee  which  failed  could  not  have  been 
superheated  more  than  30  degrees,  and 
even  the  most  ardent  critics  of  superheat 
insist  that  more  superheat  than  this  is 
necessary  to  bear  out  their  arguments. 
Further  investigation  disclosed  other  in- 
teresting facts.  All  of  the  fittings  on  the 
boiler  and  superheater  outlets  were  of 
cast  iron.  The  fittings  on  the  boiler  out- 
lets downstairs  (saturated  steam)  were 
all  affected  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
large  tee  just  described.  The  fittings  on 
the  superheater  outlets  upstairs  (super- 
heated steam)  showed  no  such  effect. 
The  explanation  is  evident.  The  large 
lee  most  seriously  damaged  was  subjected 
to  varying  temperatures,  and  consequently 
continually  changing  strains,  due  to  the 
mixture  therein  of  superheated  steam  with 
steam  containing  moisture.  The  fittings 
passing  saturated  steam  only  were  proba- 
bly attacked  by  some  impurity  in  the  feed 
water,  while  the  fittings  passing  super- 
heated st6am  escaped  because  all  of  the 
moisture  was  evaporated  in  the  super- 
heater and  in  this  way  were  protected 
against  the  injurious  action  of  the  satu- 
rated steam.  Here  is  a  complete  reversal 
of  the  situation,  and  yet  this  particular 
case  has  influenced  many  persons  against 
superheat. 

In  addition  to  all  this  evidence  exoner- 
ating superheated  steam,  and  in  order  to 
be  sure  that  at  temperatures  proper  for 
use  in  engines  and  turbines  it  could  have 
no  possible  effect  on  cast  iron,  a  prominent 
foundryman,  himself  engaged  in  manufac- 
turing steel  fittings,  and  a  well  known 
metallurgist  were  consulted.  Samples  cut 
from  cast-iron  fittings  on  the  inlet  (satu- 
rated) and  outlet  (superheated)  connec- 
tions of  a  superheater  in  use  for  more 
than  five  years  and  superheating  steam  to 
550  degrees  Fahrenheit,  were  photo- 
graphed under  a  microscope  and  carefully 
examined.  The  opinion  of  these  experts 
is  that  there  is  no  reason  to  expect  any 
graphitic  change  in  the  iron  at  tempera- 
tures less  than  700  degrees  Fahrenheit. 
The  only  graphitic  change  which  would 
seem  possible  in  the  metal  would  be  the 
changing  of  graphitic  to  combined  car- 
bon, which  would  result  in  the  hardening 
of  the  metal,  slightly  increasing  its  tensile 
strength.  It  is  customary,  in  annealing 
furnaces  to  use  a  temperature  in  excess  of 
900  degrees  Fahrenheit  to  produce  any 
effect  in  gray  iron.  Micro-photographs 
taken  of  samples  from  the  center  of  the  ' 
cross-section  of  the  inlet  and  outlet  fit- 
tings showed  no  more  difference  in  the 
amount  of  carbon  present  than  would  be 
expected  at  different  points  in  the  same  : 
cross^-section,   proving   that   there   was   no 


June  8,  igog. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


lOIJ 


change  'n  the  carbon  conditions  by  reason 
of  superheated  steam.  Photographs  of  the 
edge  of  the  polished  cross-section  were  also 
examined,  showing  the  close-grained  iron 
which  always  occurs  near  the  outlet  svirface, 
due  to  chilling  contact  with  the  sand  in  the 
mold.  Here  again  the  experts  report  no 
change  in  the  condition  of  the  carbon  by 
reason  of  exposure  to  superheated  steam. 
Photographs  were  also  taken  of  the  pol- 
ished surfaces  after  being  etched  with 
acid  of  different  samples  from  inlet  and 
outlet  t'lttings.  but  examination  showed 
n«1  effect  of  superheated  steam. 
The  statements 

prove  tl.  iig  more  than  ~ 

is  necessary  iu  tlciroy  cast-iron  iiitiiiK>. 
Unusually  high  temperatures  (it  i>  ]>i>s- 
sible  to  convey  steam  superheated  as  high 
as  ijoo  degrees  l-'ahrenheit.  and  it  is  being 
done  in  this  country)  undoubtedly  need 
special  treatment,  but  for  the  ordinary 
steam-power  plant  the  best  results  arc  ob- 
tained by  superheating  the  steam  to  a  final 
teniiK-rature  not  exceeding  500  degrees 
and  in  dc^igriing  the  suiKrrhcatcr  to  main- 
tain a  cl<»>cly  cimstant  leni|Kraturc.  .At 
this  temperature  and  under  these  condi- 
tions no  ill  effects  need  be  feared  from 
cast-iron  fittings,  nor  any  other  parts  ot 
the  equipment.  Sudden  variation  in  tem- 
perature, or  changes  frcjm  superheated 
steam  to  steam  cotttaining  large  quantities 
of  moisture  are  bound  to  result  in  trou- 
bles of  all  kinds,  but  the  design  of  the 
•upt-rhrat  is  to  hiamc. 


Efficiency 


By  F.  L.  Joh:«son 

Someone  lud  written  an  inquiry  about 
the  amount  of  water  needed   for  the  con- 
den«aiion    of    steam,    and    my    thoughts 
turned  toward  general  conilenscr  problrni«. 
A*    I    pictiirr<l    in   my   mind   one   jet   con- 
denser after  another,   I  dwelt  longest   on 
the   one    designed    by    Ourles    T.    Porter. 
In   his   design   there   was  a  cone-pointed 
plungrr  running  under  water  all  the  time, 
and  attention  hat  often  been  called  to  the 
point  on  the  '     "  'o  it  the  cause 

of  the  quirt  r  air  {Mimp. 

.\%  til-  the 

ttmc  I  I.  •  the 

haci    anything    to    do  or 

of  it.     I  could  not  und'  it  a* 

at    the    plunger    was  I    it 

.1  .,,,0^,  whether  the  eu..  .... ^  « ■•;iveK, 

^e,  and   I   was  on  the  point 
k{    up    V"'  i?h    fixetl    Con- 

It   to   th<  of  a   pi>inlrd 


ilK     A     t-itt-t'     -tll't     ••     <>>•>'  'I 

**I  did  nc»t   i-onir   in   •  ng.   for   I 

■'  !)c  in  the  city  a  wrrk  'T  morr  and 

.-  ::   tee  y«iu  often  during  that  timr      As 

I  came  down    Rrnadway   thi*   morning    I 

failed  to  trr  the  wavemnlor  e«*-' 1 

that  made  me  ant  ion*  to  thow 


sketches  of  wave  motors  that  I  attempted 
to  elaborate  during  the  fir^t  three  or 
four  years  of  my  life  in  the  East. 

"The  clotheslines,  fence  posts,  sheave 
pulleys  and  cider  barrels  that  tra\eled 
from   our   n<  -d   to   the   beach   at 

the  end  of  t:  i>e  road  to  be  ii>cd 

in  the  construction  of  wave  motors  would 
lUI  a  junk  shop.  With  my  companions  1 
built  wave  motors  of  all  grades  and  types 
and  e\'ery  one  of  them  would  'mote.'  but 
they  one  and  all  lay  right  down  as  soon 
as  any  work  was  put  on  them :  they 
took  up  a  whole  lot  of  room  and  worked 
to  the  'queen's  taste'  until  the  load  was 
put  on.  They  seemed  to  lack  in  ef- 
ficiency, and  that  reminds  me  that  I  re- 
cently attended  a  lecture  on  the  subicct 
of   efficiency. 


UAKIXC  oat'IXIVAK    HtMtJk  nou    A    XEW 

rvur  VALVB 

"It    was   along    slightly    different    lines 
from  wf    *  '  '  tetl.  at  it  r  '       ' 

to  the  •  I  the  hut- 

stead   of   ihc    steam   or   gas    ciikhu.   a^    1 
had   hoped       Bui    f   d"  n"»   think    fhr   i(t»>«- 
spent    \- 
the   ftpr.f 

for  getting  a  lug  iiurrj^r  in  tlir  M<>rk  -I'  ••<■ 
by    a    man    for    a    tin.il!    mi  ^'.i  < 
turn  paid  in  wages.  1  • 
ing  of  how  he  wotild  i......    ....    .. 

power  plant,  how  he  w<Hild  rate  th< 
ferent   men  employed  and   ' 
decide  which  one  of  the  n 

■nan  of  one  haiulred  per  cciiL  cf 

'  ill*  talk   wat 
the      nun  fr..n% 
•c} 
ma- 
and   if 

i»dutir> T,...   .-    ...  . 

central    ttatinn 


which  each  worker  contributes.  Coal, 
water,  oil  and  brains  are  among  the 
aniele«  **f  eonramption  and  all  are  bought 
ai 

that    bothered   me 
all   the   cvr-  how    would   the   ef- 

licieticy  of  1    .    .      I.f  .n»  oitrveyors  in 

a    steam   pbnt    be   dr'  for   each 

worker    is    supprtted    t>'    lu^c    mn:;:'      - 

tclligcncc   to    fo||4>w    the   lines   .  : 

practice  in  small  if  n-  •   . 

Of   three  or   four   sii' 

gine  room,  each  of  u 

same  number  "f  <>t!  » 

iiitmber  of  r 

area   of  bru-  ^; 

he  is  more  efhcient  ttun  anotfier? 

"Then,  at  timet  a  man  it  paid  mere!-!  '"' 
being   present   in  the  plant,  to  be   r 
like   a  cold   chisel   or  a   monkey   wrenrn. 
for  use  if  neetled.     How  will  such  a  man 
raise  f  "  .  » 

"In   ;  Ks«rmmt  *->f  a 

steam    |*l..iti    one    d.i . 
a  man  whose  work  at 
I  knew  to  be  tlut  of  waiting  for  a  sigiul 
to  start  the  auxili.iritv  1,.  .1  i.-r).,,,-      }|f 
was  working  at  -  r<\rr 

his   shoulder   to    ->  ^    «;...i    ,,, 
He  was  making  a  pair  of  O'St: 
for  hi">  '  \, 

the  le.  .t  the 


liun  mIio  took  »in»|iiirs,  HMuh  were 
bought  for  the  purp^.se  of  keeping  the 
plant  in  running  order,  for  hit  prirate 
use  affected  his  efh^lency.  And  I  would 
like  to  know,  if  I  could,  to  what  extent 
the  economical  practices  of  the  amateur 
cobbler  reacted  on  the  efltciencv  of  the 
man  w'  "  '  ' 
when  1 

"In   the 
lectt?rr.     !     • 
•I- 
m.i 

opportiinit) 
steal  lime  t!.„: 
and    that    the    ni 
men   were   retpoti-uir    i..- 
about  a  plam.    The^  wer 


word*,   txtt 
c\|irr»»«^f 


*t    ihry    migM    under 


1  nai     I 

a   few 

thr 


•ightly    bat    practtofiy    ilatlprool 

ct. •«!>«■%      !■•»«'!•    arr    fr^  !i.-rd    by    rs| 

•    more  dvM  to 

»  MfCvf  COM  IH 

'  i  be  caBactad  ia  «  y««. 


j'wi    jr»ey    afV 
of 

at    ot    Ike 

atiy^^^wg 

UnlAl   ar^' 
fogram* 


1014 

of  ordinar)-  exposure  on  the  primitive 
peg  on  the  wall  that  satisfied  my  father. 
In  these  days  of  hustle  and  concentration 
my  father's  engine  room,  with  its  tallow- 
pot  cylinder  lubrication  and  red  lead  and 
hemp  manhole  gaskets,  is  pointed  at  as 
the  horrible  example  of  how  things  used 
to  be  before  our  day  of  the  'survival  of 
the  fittest.'  I  have  noticed  some  differences 
that  the  molded  gasket  and  the  ready- 
to-wear  packing  salesmen  overlooked. 

"My  father  lived  in  his  own  house, 
wore  all-wool  clothing  and  leather  shoes, 
and  ate  good  food,  while  his  successor  in 
the  new  engine  room,  with  everything  up- 
todate  from  the  brass-bound,  multiported 
valve  engine  to  the  expanded-metal  locker 
through  the  meshes  of  which  may  be  seen 
the  premium  lunch  box,  lives  on  a  rented 
shelf  in  the  side  of  a  brick  cliff,  wears 
shoddy  clothes  and  paper-soled  shoes, 
and  eats  adulterated  food. 

'•fiut  I  did  not  run  in  here  to  take  up 
your  time  preaching  discontent  and  I  will 
cut  it  out  right  now,  if  you  will  tell  me 
the  difference  between  the  rating  of  a 
boiler    and    its    capacity." 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 
The  Fuel  Question    in  Texas 


A    VALVE    THE 


NEXT  DAY 


1  said  that  I  understood  that  the  rating 
of  a  boiler  was  its  capacity  for  doing  work 
under  prescribed  or  conventional  condi- 
tions of  grate  area  and  draft,  while  its 
capacity  may  be  made  almost  what  is  de- 
sired by  varying  the  grate  area  and  draft. 
Just  here  an  inventor  of  a  rotating-engine 
valve,  which  would  never  wear  shoulders 
on  itself  or  the  seat  because  it  traveled 
the  same  way  all  the  time,  was  shown  in 
and  Sawyer,  with  just  a  hint  of  a  wink, 
went    out. 


The  California  State  association  of  the 
National  .Association  of  Stationary  Kngi- 
ncers  will  hold  its  sixth  annual  convention 
during  the  week  of  June  14  to  19,  in- 
clusive, in  the  .\uditorium.  Page  and  P'ill- 
more  streets,  San  Francisco.  In  conjunc- 
tion with  the  regular  convention  arrange- 
ments have  been  made  to  hold  a  me- 
chanics' fair.  The  main  floor  of  the 
Auditorium  has  been  subdivided  into 
booths  which  have  been  leased  to  all  the 
great  manufacturing  firms  doing  business 
on  the  Pacific  coast. 


The  question  of  fuel  is  a  grave  one  in 
many  parts  of  Texas.  There  is  probably 
not  a  State  in  the  Union  where  so  many 
experiments  are  being  carried  on  and 
where  the  methods  of  firing  change  so 
often  as  in  Texas.  Crude  oil  is  pre- 
ferred in  the  majority  of  places  and  seven 
out  of  twelve  plants  visited  were  equipped 
to  burn  oil — at  the  right  price.  But  the 
price  of  oil  in  Texas  is  as  cliangeable  as 
the  weather  in  Cleveland.  In  fact  it  is 
believed  by  many  that  a  certain  man  in 
Cleveland  has  a  great  deal  to  do  with  the 
price  of  oil  in  Texas,  but  this  was 
strenuously  denied  b\-  an  oil  man  with 
whom  I  talked  the  other  day.  Just  at 
present  the  price  of  oil  is  soaring  and 
this  may  or  may  not  have  some  connec- 
tion with  the  automobile  full  of  Standard 
Oil  money  which  was  unloaded  at  the 
State  capitol  building  at  Austin  a  few 
days  ago.  Uncle  Sam's  big  fine  did  not 
stick,  but  they  do  things  differently  in 
Texas.  Perhaps  Texas  will  pay  it  back 
in  the  long  run.  At  any  rate  oil  is  up 
just  now  and  several  of  the  oil-burning 
traction  plants  are  preparing  to  change 
back  to  coal. 

Oil  buying  is  a  great  gamble  and  the 
traction  manager  who  can  get  in  right  at 
just  the  psychological  moment  can  show 
beautiful  decreases  in  his  operating  ex- 
penses as  long  as  the  contract  holds  good, 
but  if  his  contract  happens  to  expire  at 
the  wrong  moment  he  is  likely  to  find 
himself  in  a  bad  fix. 

They  say  that  the  Chinese  invented  the 
idea  of  burning  crude  oil.  At  any  rate 
the  Chinese  idea  of  selling  goods  has  been 
adopted  in  selling  oil.  The  Chinaman 
figures  that  if  you  buy  a  little,  you  don't 
need  it  very  badly,  but  if  you  want  a  great 
deal  of  anything  it  shows  you  need  it 
badly  and  the  price  increases  correspond- 
ingl}'.  It  is  so  with  oil  in  Texas.  The 
oil  man  told  me  that  the  price  on  one 
car  that  day  was  62  cents  at  the  wells, 
but  on  a  100,000-barrel  order  the  price 
was  88  cents.  He  explained  that  the 
price  was  regulated  by  the  demand,  and 
that  usually  the  demand  was  greater  than 
the  supply.  The  benevolent  oil  company 
aims  to  let  everyone  have  a  bite ;  hence 
if  you  want  a  large  supply  you  have  to 
pay  more  for  it.  He  also  explained  that 
some  of  the  big  steam  roads  were  still 
buying  under  contracts  made  several  years 
ago  at  around  27  cents,  and  the  oil  people 
shed  tears  every  time  they  load  a  barrel 
of  oil  !or  this  road.  To  make  up  for  it, 
the  people  who  want  big  supplies  these 
days  have  to  pay  $1  and  in  some  localities 
$1.25  for  the  same  product.  New  fields 
are  constantly  being  opened  up  and  the 
price  frequently  fluctuates  from  50  to  90 
cents  in  a  day  or  two.  So  the  traction 
operator  who  bums  oil  usually  sleeps  with 
a  ticker  alongside  of  his  bed.  The  oil 
man  said  that  one  barrel  of  oil  was  equal 


June  8.  1909. 

to  one  ton  of  coal,  hence  it  was  better 
to  pay  as  high  as  $1.60  per  barrel  for  oil 
than  $5.50  per  ton  for  coal,  which  is  the 
price  of  good  lump  and  slack  in  some  por- 
tions of  the  State.  A  number  of  roads 
figure  that  $1  for  oil  is  about  the  breaking 
point. 

The  best  coal  used  in  Texas  comes  from 
the  McAlester  district  in  Oklahoma.  It 
is  cheap  at  the  mines,  but  the  freight  rates 
bring  it  up  to  from  $4  to  $5.50  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  State.  McAlester 
coal  deteriorates  rapidly  when  exposed  to 
the  air  and  is  subject  to  spontaneous  com- 
bustion if  stored  in  large  piles,  so  that 
it  is  difficult  and  undesirable  to  store  it 
in  large  quantities. 

The  power  stations  at  Temple  and 
Austin  are  arranged  to  burn  either  oil  or 
lignite.  Lignite  is  a  half-grown  coal 
found  in  that  immediate  neighborhood. 
It  shows  fixed  carbon  25.2  per  cent., 
volatile  matter  46.2  per  cent.,  ash  9.5 
per  cent,  and  moisture  19.  i  per  cent.,  and 
it  has  a  specific  gravity  of  1.32.  It  costs 
75  cents  at  the  mine,  or  $1.30  delivered 
at  Temple,  and  in  steam-producing  prop- 
erties it  requires  about  1.8  tons  of  lignite 
to  equal  i  ton  of  McAlester  coal.  There 
is  little  ash  and  no  clinkers,  but  the 
item  of  labor  is  largely  increased  on  ac- 
count of  its  free  burning  properties.  The 
ash  produced  is  high  in  acid  and  must 
be  removed  frequently. 

At  Abilene  they  burn  lignite  mixed  with 
a  high-grade  oil,  while  the  company  at 
San  Angelo  uses  lignite  in  a  gas  producer 
and  uses  the  gas  in  a  gas  engine.  The 
company  at  Texarkana  has  its  plant  ar- 
ranged for  either  natural  gas  or  crude 
oil  and  at  present  uses  gas. — George  S. 
Davis  in  Electric  Traction  Weekly. 


Society    for     Promotion     of     Engi- 
neering Education 

It  has  been  decided  to  hold  the  seven- 
teenth annual  convention  of  the  Society 
for  the  Promotion  of  Engineering  Educa- 
tion at  Columbia  University  and  Pratt 
Institute,  in  New  York  and  Brooklyn,  on 
June  24,  25  and  26.  These  dates  im^J 
mediately  precede  those  of  the  meeting^ 
of  the  American  Institute  of  Electrical 
Engineers,  the  Society  for  Testing  Ma- 
terials and  the  American  Society  of  Civil 
Engineers,  and  New  York  City  is  very 
near  the  geographical  center  of  the  meet- 
ing places  of  these  three  other  societies. 

An  unusually  attractive  program  has 
been  arranged  which  will  include  the  re- 
port of  the  joint  committee  of  engineering 
societies  on  engineering  education,  by 
Dugald  C.  Jackson  ;  a  report  of  the  com- 
mittee on  technical  books  for  libraries, 
by  Arthur  H.  Ford;  a  report  of  the  com- 
mittee on  engineering  degrees,  by  William 
F.  M.  Goss;  a  report  of  the  committee 
on  entrance  requirements,  by  Robert 
Fletcher ;  besides  contributed  articles. 


June  8,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  EN(JIXEER. 


1015 


Real    Relation    of    CO.    to    Chimney    Losses 

In  Which  Is  Shov^-n  How  Unreliable  Is  the  Percentage  oi  (JO,  in  Deter- 
mining Chimney  Losses  without  Considcrini;  Hyd'Oi»cn,  CO  and  Moisture 


B  Y 


JAMES 


E. 


STEELE' 


There  has  been  considerable  work  tl'>nc 
recently  relating  to  the  economic  ci>mbii>- 
tion  oi  coal,  and  it  i»  poiisible  that  the 
average  engineer  is  led  to  belie\e  that 
to  secure  a  high  economy  it  is  neceisary 
to  get  a  high  percentage  of  CCX  in  the 
flue  gas.  Under  a  very  few  conditions  a 
high  COi  and  a  low  flue-gas  tempt-rature 
will  indicate  a  high  economy  or  at  least 
a  low  chimney  loss,  but  it  is  not  to  be 
supposed  that  these  factors  always  indi- 
cate such  a  condition.  It  is  an  easy  thing 
to  get  a  continuous  record  «>f  lx>th  the 
temperature  and  the  percentage  of  COj  in 
the  flue  gas,  as  continuous  recording  ma- 
chines are  on  the  market,  some  of  which 
will  give  as  accurate  an  analysis  as  could 
t>e  obtained  with  an  Orsat  apparatus. 
However,  the  fact  seems  to  have  been 
overlooked  that  whilr  tl^ percentage  of 
COi  is  a  very  dc  ''g  to  know,  it 

cannot  Ik  used  »:  ty  in  calculat- 

ing chimney  losses,  and  m  most  all  ca*cs 
it  affords  only  a  crude  approximation, 
while  in  many  it  is  ao  or  jo  per  cent,  off 
the  true  loss. 

PlOXIMATE   AXD  UuTIMATt    .ASALVStS 

In  spite  of  modern  educational  advan- 
tages the  ordinary  engineer  ha*  not  the 
chemical  foundation  so  helpful  in  the 
managing  of  a  boiler  hou»e.  and  a  little 
time  ilevoted  to  the  explanation  of  »ome 
Iwiler- house  chemistry  will  no  doubt  be 
well  spent.  When  a  sample  of  coal  it 
<rnt  to  a  chemist  (or  analysis,  two  reports 
I  ally  come  luck  with  it  at  follows 

PMOXtMATK     .^'HIT*!* 

MoUturv 

VotollW  racnbu*til>> 
f\%»6  rkitjun 
Ai«i 


a  74 

41  M 
43  119 
it   41 


rt-TfUAT*    A«r»tT«l« 


H   .1' 


Al  iMi 

III  vn 

•  I  V7 

%  30 

!•  ft3 


%  a  tort  of  an 

re  is  the  m<'i»- 

•  or   water   m  the  c«>*l      The   volatile 

1 1.l^    ..    it...^.-    u.^r>    utii,  h    ifWllt    >   ff 


air        1 
Mime  < 


tijinir  If  It 
the  flame  h< 
botler  tutir. 


of  the  tiilphar. 

■    mat- 


.r  if 


automatic  stokers,  wnul<i  keep  a  little  of 
these  volatile  gase>  v-orv-nK*  "ff  .ill  the 
time,  while  hand  tin;  .  off  a 

Urge    quantity    of    c«  :  •*    at 

once,  which  would  only  partly  bum,  thus 
causing  loss  and  smoke.  The  remaining 
substance  is  nearly  pure  carbon  mixed 
with  the  ash.  The  combustible  in  the  ash 
and  refuse  from  the  Ixuler  is  also  carbon. 
The  h\  -t-n,  part  of  the  sul- 

phur ar  !•  bern  burnt  or  dis- 

tilled off. 

Chemical  Eltme.nts   in  Coal 

In  the  ultimate  analysis  there  are  a 
series  of  chemical  elements.  Hydrogen 
i»  a  combustible  gas,  but  it  exists  in  coal 
as  a  complex  hydrocarbon  When  the 
coal  is  healed  it  distils  off  as  CH«  or 
marsh  gas.  In  burning,  hydrogen  com- 
bines with  one-half  of  its  volume  or  eight 
times  its  weight  of  oxygen,  and  as  ox>gen 
exists  in  the  air  to  the  extent  of  alK>ut  JX 
per  cent,  by  volume  or  Jj  per  cent,  by 
weight,  the  amount  of  air  necessary  for 
its   combustion   can  tie  calculated. 

Cart>on  is  an  amorphous  solid  which  can 
bum  to  CO  using  16  weights  of 
13  of  carbon,  or  it  «-3n  hum  l< 
ji    weights    of   •  tj   ui    < 

The  former  is  .«  il»le   jr>< 

the  principal  constituent   of  pr 
while  CO;  is  the  final  product  ' 

burnt  as  well  as  when  the  carlion  iMims 
completely. 

A  hydrocartwn  it  a  compound  contitt- 
ing  of  hydrogen  and  carbon,  which  may 
be  ga»,  a  liquid  or  a  solid  When  a 
h-.  •'    bum|    V  '    air, 

llir  . .  ti  bum*  ■»  the 

carbon  at  toot.  This  also  hmppctf  if  the 
flame  it  cooled. 

Oxygen  it  a  noncombuttible  gas.  btii  it 
t*  the  bett   known  tupporter  '>'  .■■»',(.   % 
lion.     It  exittt  in  the  rnal  in  > 
«  ■■    ''  fhon  and  '     '■ 

ii  .1  free  st. 

I" 

i«M-nmlMiftlible    ai»d    «lor« 

fi  •■■m.     It   I- 

if.  It    «••« 

form  of  a  k 

cmt   of  it  I  > 

wetghi      In  the  mal  it   m 

binaimn  with  the  rarbnn  ^i.  . 

Sulphur   eaitit   in   r«Mil   a*    « 

if 


This   is   an   acid 
^^  .;n  iir  water  and  will 

rapitiiy    carrude    iron    and    many    »"*^«>» 
The    ash    in    coal    it    i))e    noncaablMtiblc 
nuiirral  matter. 

.Mention    might   be     .......i     •  i     -».-~i-sJ 

*\ml<o|s   and   statement   of  chc 

lions.      For   abbrevuiion    cher  a 

kind   of   shorthand    for    reprr* 

nient*       Thus   the   Ir" 

ele«vr'«»  '■•.  .!r..({cn  .  ( 

N  1;  O.  ox 

c.i  Now.  w 

previously  slate<l.  it  unites  with  oxygm  to 

form  CO  and  C«  »        i»-  «-...i.i  »-  — r.. 

sc-nted  as   follow 

Psrta  hj  wr\gt,:  ..  n  *  M  «  a 

Pivft.     I.T    T     !,ir!    .-  HI 


c  *  o, .CO. 
a  -fa  .44 


Furxm  by 
Pftrta  by  v«l 


The    weights    repre«mt    th*    mmlMning 
wciK'bts  of  the  '  lumca 

rrprcenl   the  v.  '.  rd.  a* 

found  by  applying  the  well  known  law  of 
.Xvcadro. 

TllEnaCTlCAL  CoMBt'snox 

Combustion  proper  may  now  be  treated 

standpoint,   oainc  the 

y  volome  of  (wt«cb 

an«i  7w  |>cr  i.cii:    oi   nitrnit^n  .^ 

position     of     .itr  •       If     p:!T 

burned  wu' 

mixture   ot 

otKained.   whKh    would    .■  '<«eii 

29  per  cen»    »"■'  <  •  i-   '•  %   I. 

nme.  as  o\ 

b      '  • 

i-  *. 

I  I 


ran    W 


Ma#«  N  umf  tmi  n  1 


ioi6 

would  combine  with  all  the  oxygen  and 
form  water  when  the  sample  cooled.  The 
same  thing  happens  when  the  hydrogen  in 
coal  bums.  When  the  tliie-gas  sample  is 
taken,  the  steam  condenses  and  the  an- 
alized  sample  shows  a  slightly  higher  per- 
centage of  COs  than  is  really  in  the  flue. 
Taking  a  coal  with  75  per  cent,  carbon 
and  5  per  cent,  hydrogen,  the  flue  gas, 
using  theoretical  amounts  of  air,  would 
analyze  as  follows : 

Steam  bv  vohime 0 . 69  per  cent. 

CX),  bv  volume 20 .  59  per  cent 

Nitrogen  by  volume 78.72  per  cent. 

The    sample    which    the    chemist    would 

get  would   analyze. 

CO, 20  73  per  cent. 

X 79 .  27  per  cent. 

on  account  of  the  condensation  of  the 
steam.  This  error,  however  slight,  is 
actual,  and  the  higher  the  percentage  of 
hydrogen  in  the  coal  or  fuel,  the  greater 
it  is.  Any  steam  moisture  in  coal  or 
water  put  in  the  fire  will  also  serve  to 
dilute  the  chimney  gas,  but  will  not  inter- 
fere with  the  calculation  of  the  heat 
losses  except  insofar  as  it  uses  up  heat  in 
raising  the  moisture  to  the  temperature 
of  the  flue  gases.  It  will  not  cause  error 
in  the  analysis  of  the  gases  actually  caused 
by  the  burning  of  the  coal.  Even  if  it  is 
decomposed  by  the  fire,  it  will  liberate  the 
same  heat  as  was  used  in  decomposing  it 
and  also  return  to  exactly  the  same 
amount  of  steam  by  weight. 

The  sulphur  in  the  coal  burns  to  SO2, 
and  this  is  easily  absorbed  by  the  potash 
solution  which  is  used  for  absorbing  the 
COs.  thus  tending  to  indicate  a  higher  CO2 
than  the  true  amount.  CO  also  influences 
the  result.  Supposing  that  a  flue  gas  con- 
taining 10  per  cent,  of  CO2,  contains  0.2 
per  cent  CO.  The  analysis  of  the  CO2 
would  indicate  the  following : 

00, 10  per  cent. 

O.   .  . .  11  per  cent. 

N  .  .  .  .  79  per  cent. 

while  the  true  analysis  would  be 

00, .  10  00  per  cent. 

0 10  88  per  cent. 

CO      .  0  2  per  cent . 

N           78.92  per  cent. 

These  errors  are  ordinarily  slight,  but  in 
extreme  cases  may  be  appreciable.  They 
actually  exist,  no  matter  how  carefully 
the  COj  is  determined. 

Actual    Analyses    Show    CO;    Erratic 

Taking  some  actual  results  and  work- 
ing out  the  losses,  the  percentage  of  COi 
may  be  shown  to  be  very  erratic.  The 
following  two  analyses  were  made  by  the 
U.  S.  Geological  Survey  at  the  fuel-testing 
plant  in  St.  Louis.  The  coal  used  was 
New  Mexico  No.  i,  and  both  samples 
were  taken  during  the  same  test  at  dif- 
ferent times: 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

From  the  percentage  of  CO2  it  would  be 
reasoned  that  Sample  2  was  very  much 
better,  i.e.,  the  chimney  loss  much  less. 
The  coal  analyzed  as  follows : 

Combustible.    Coal. 

Carbon 78.5       70.77 

Hvdrogen 5.51       4.97 

Oivgen 1401      12.63 

Nitrogen 128       1.15 

Sulphur 0.70       0.63 

Ash _  •_^  _9^85 

100.00   100.00 

The  ash  and  refuse  analyzed :  Carbon, 
42.98,  and  earthy  matter,  57.02,  or  7.42 
per  cent,  of  the  original  combustible. 
Correcting  the  combustible  in  the  coal  for 
this,  the  theoretical  analysis  of  the  com- 
bustible as  burnt  is  obtained  as  follows : 

Carbon 76 .  96  per  cent. 

Hvdrogen 6 .  04  per  cent. 

Oxygen 15 .  33  per  cent. 

Nit'rogen 1 .  29  per  cent. 

Sulphur 0 .  38  per  cent. 

Supposing  one-half  the  sulphur  remains 
in  the  ash.  Now,  to  burn  one  pound  of 
this  would  require  the  following  quantities 
of  air : 

0 .  7696  lb.  carbon  to  CO, 8 .  9196  lb.  air 

0.0604  lb.  hvdrogen  to  HoO  ....  2. 1007  lb.  air 
0.0038  lb.  sulphur  to  SO, 0.0164  lb.  air 

Theoretical  amount  of  air 11.0367 

Correcting  for  oxygen  in  coal. ...     0 .  6665 

Theoretical  amount  of  air 10. 3702 

This   combustion    would    produce    11.3702 

pounds  of  flue  gas  of  the  composition  by 

volume  as  follows : 

By         By 
Volume.  Weight 

CO, 16.88     24.80 

CO 

O 

SO, 0.13       0.28 

Steam 7.96       4.78 

Nitrogen 75.03     70.14 


100.00  100.00 

On  a  dry-gas  basis  it  would  analyze: 

CO, 18.44 

SO, 0.14 

N 81.42 

100.00 

Since  the  SO2  would  be  estimated  as 
CO2,  add  the  SO2  and  CO2,  and  call  it 
CO2.    This  would  give, 

CO, 18.58 

N 81.42 

100 . 00 

It  would  be  well  to  compare  this  with 
the  original  analysis  and  thereby  note 
how  the  errors  due  to  hydrogen  and  sul- 
phur affect  the  COs  percentage.  But  in 
the  analysis  given  the  percentage  of  CO2 
was  only  8.7.  Calculating  to  this  basis, 
the  theoretical  analysis  of  the  gas  is : 


8.7 
11  0 


Sample  1. 

SA.\n»LE  2. 

00,. 
0... 
CO 

N. 

8.7 

10.4 

0  0 

.  SO  9 

CO, 
0.  . 
CO. 
N. 

10.1 
S  6 
2  1 

7'*.  2 

CO, 

o 

CO 

N 80 .  3 

100.0 

This  is  almost  identical  with  the  analysis 
given. 

Taking  the  other  sample,  or  No.  2,  17.48 
per  cent,  of  the  total  carbon  burns  to  CO. 
Thus  we  would  have : 


June  8,  1909. 


0 .  637 1  lb.  carbon  to  CO, 7  .  3839  lb.  air 

0.  1325  lb.  carbon  to  CO 0.7685  lb.  air 

0.0604  lb.  hydrogen  to  H,0  ....  2. 1007  lb.  air 

0.0038  lb.  sulphur  to  SO, 0.0164  lb.  air 

10 . 2695 
Correcting  for  oxygen  in  coal. ...      0 .  6665 

Theoretical  amount  of  air 9 .  6030 

This  would  produce  10.603  pounds  of  flue 
gas  of  the  composition  : 

By  By 

Volume.  Weight. 

14.22     21.23 

3 . 09        2 . 93 

' 74.09     70.37 


CO, 

CO 

N ' 

SO, 0.15       0.31 

H,0 8.45       5.16 


100.00   100.00 

On  a  dry  basis  this  would  be  by  volume : 

CO, 15.54 

CO 3 .  37 

SO, 0.16 

N.  .  .- 80.93 

100.00 
On  adding  the  CO2  and  SO2  the  percent- 
ages  by  volume   would  be : 


CO, 
CO. 

N.  . 


15.70 

3.37 

80.93 


100 . 00 

Figuring  this  down  to  the   lo.i  per  cent. 

CO2  basis  would  give  : 

CO, 10.1 

CO 2.2 

0 8.1 

N .  79.6 

This  also  compares  favorably  with  the 
original.  In  figuring  the  gas  to  a  lower 
CO2  percentage,  the  calculated  amount  of 
air  is  added,  thus  introducing  some 
oxygen.  The  above  will  show  how  the 
errors  compensate  one  another,  so  that  the 
actual  error  might  not  be  great  in  some 
cases.  However,  if  the  above  gas  still  had 
its  steam  in  it,  the  percentage  of  CO2 
would  be  9.6  per  cent,  by  volume  instead 
of  lo.i  per  cent. 

Heat  Losses 

The  heat  losses,  which  are  more  im- 
portant, will  now  be  given  attention. 
Taking  Sample  2,  the  analysis  of  the 
diluted  gases  by  weight  would  be  some- 
thing like  the  following: 

CO, 13.71 

CO    1  ?0 

SO, 0.19 

H,5 3.33 

N                  45.43 

Air'. 35.44 

100.00 

One  pound   of  fuel   would   produce   16.31 

pounds  of  flue  gas.  To  make  one  pound  of 

this   mixture   would   require  0.938  pound 

of  air.    Supposing  the  air  to  be  72  degrees 

Fahrenheit   and   the   flue  gases   to  be  600 

degrees      Fahrenheit,     the     heat     balance 

would    be    soinewhat   like    the    following: 


Total  heat  in  0. 1371  lb.  CO,  at  600°  F. 
Total  heat  in  0.0190  lb.  CO  at  600°  F. . 
Total  heat  in  0.0019  lb.  SO,  at  600°  F. 
Total  heal  in  0  0333  lb.  steam  at  600°  F 
Total  heat  in  0.4543  lb.  N  at  600°  F.  .  . 
Total  heat  in  0 . 3.545  lb.  air  at  600°  F .  . 


Total  heat  above32°  F.  in  1  lb.  fiuegasat 

600°  F 174.84 

Total    heat    above  32°    F.    in  0.938  lb. 

air  at  72°  F 8.91 

Loss  due  to  hot  flue  gas 165  93 

Loss  due  to  unburnt  CO 83. 50 

Total  heat  lo.st  in  1  lb.  flue  gas 249.43 


B.t. 

u. 

16 

89 

2 

66 

0 

16 

44 

60 

62 

73 

47 

80 

June  8,  1909 


IMJWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


1017 


Calculating  the  heating  value  of  the  com- 
bustible from  the  theoretical  analyii*, 
gives  13,615.55  B.t.u.  per  pound,  and  as 
I  pound  makes  16.31  pounds  of  fluc  kus. 
the  heating  value  of  the  amount  ncccisary 
to  make  one  pound  of  flue  gas  would  be: 

16.31  "^ 

As  249-^  B.t.u.  are  lost  in  the  chimney, 
the  loss  in  fuel  would  be  J9.KS  per  cent. 
Taking  up  Sample  i  and  treatmg  it  m  a 
similar  manner,  the  diluted  flue  gas  will 
analyze  by  weight. 


CO, 

H.f 

N 

Mr 


II  63 

.     -  I 


This  mixture  requires  o.QSO  po""'!  a««"  to 
make  one  pound.  Taking  the  temperatures 
as  m  Sample  2.  the  following  heal  babnce 
is  obtained : 

Bi  a. 


setting,  and  that  it  would  be  impossible 
tor  the  fireman  to  raise  it.  : 
thing    of   the   enormi>u«    I 
tending. 

Some  may  say  that  the  example*  ctven 
above  are  extremes.     It  may  !-< 
bow  is   it  known   whether  a  «.' 
is  an  extreme  or  not?     If  the 

of  CO*   is  known   and  the   per^v ^      ■' 

CO  is  known,  then  the  remainder  of  the 
analysis   tan   be       '     '       ' 
aly«i«  of  the  coal 
is  • 
ui 

U>ed    alune.    lu    calculate 
When  a  U>iler  test  i*  ma-: 
babnce  made  up.  the  loss  due  to  hydro- 
gen in  the  coal  and  to  the  CO  formed  is 
always  taken  into  con^i<ler.ilion  as  well  as 
moisture   in   the  cool   and  the   steam   ad- 
mitted into  the  fire.     While  these  laM  two 
items  add  to  the 
loss  is  the  heat  - 
to  the  temperaturi  "i  tlu   due  gax>. 


wait  machioe  with  tbe  lidd-nugnet  frame 


klerl 


y<4(e  and   are   t 


under    the    pole    tip« 

serve  r '  - 

The 


tluii;    ior 


f 
1 

rt 

>ft  are 

.,1.1 


f 


lot*)  Ucat  la  '.I   J--:-'  It-..  .N  j!  «>"'     »  •< 

TiKAl  bml  In  u  S331  lb   air  ml  tuW  K  •< 

To«*l  Ut^X  mljore  32"  F.  In  flu*  «*»  I'-l     •*! 

Total  tM!«l»tM>ve32*  F.  tnO  ttMlb  «ir  '•    !•> 

Toua  hmi  kMt lU  46 

One  poun«l  of  fuel  makes  24.26  pounds  of 
this  gas.  therefore  the  heating  value  of 
the  fuel  required  to  make  one  pound  of 
flue  gas  is  561.2  B.t.u..  and  the  loss  in  fuel 
in  this  case  would  be  27  per  cent. 

The   rciiler    ha*   no   doubt   noticed   tha* 
in    •  cases    the   highest    ec" 

wa^       -  .  with  the  lowest  CC>,,     I: 

sample  with  the  highest  CO,  ha<l  lieen  irec 
from  CO,  the  loss  would  ha\e  been  but 
l8.g6  per  cent.,  or  over  10  per  cent,  of  the 
total  fuel.  This  is  an  error  of  over  Ci> 
per  cent,  in  what  would  be  calci: 
from  the  CO.  percent.ii.       '  The  ure 

man  is  urged  to  get  a  He  gets 

it.  but  h«»w   much  C<  • 
with  it?     Ill*  CO.  det. 
he  is  saving   10  to   15  per  tciu.   .ir 
fuel,    but    possibly    the    complete    an  >: 
might   show  that  he  is  merely  adding  to 
his  losses. 

Some  types  of  boiler  setting  cause  more 
loss  and  lower  C^     '  'her*     Thus,  if 

the  gases  are  a-^  -••    the   tempera 

ture  at  which  c>  • 
fore   they   arr 
will  be  low   ' 
the    St.    I»»'' 

were  taken  •»!  the  gas  over  \\ 
the  gas  at  the    rear    of    the    c 
rhamber.     The   analysis   in  te«l   Na  J62 
are  given  as  follow  t : 

ft««r  'rf 


'». 


MhM  liydrarwftM. 


•r  Ftr* 

(I  t 


Catechism  of  EJcctricitv 


1061.  Dfseribf  a  nhdfrn  dihct-airrmt 
gfncralor  of  modfrair  or  larnf  outful. 

Figs.  294  and  jq^  show  two  modern 
types  of  dif'  ^-ator*.  the 

former    a    1  •  with    its 

field-magnel  frame  »plii  vertically  at  u 
am!    .,    wV.Wk-    in   !?u    I.itr.  r    1-     i    j;i>ki!'> 


1  i 

are    taped    aiMl    treated    to    nuke    tbem 
moisture  proof. 

The  brush  holder  mechanism  is  carried 
by  brn  '    "  -nted  on  a  rrn'    -   -         .*, 

Fig    .-..  ;ric  with  ami  i 

a  >cat  on  the  front  ctij   ,  f  'Jje 

I..  •    framr       A*    t>"   x*^rt    of   the 

SI  com- 

r  fom- 


'Kk    JM-      w*^* 


ouraAAiMi.  wim  WMTVU1.V  wut  pmain 


loiS 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


FIG.   295. 


FIELD   FOR   WESTING  HOUSE    ENGINE-TYPE    GENERATOR,    WITH 
HORIZONTALLY   SPLIT  FRAME 


June  8,  1909. 

t-qual  potential  are  connected  by  leads 
outside  the  winding,  through  which  cur- 
rents may  pass  from  one  section  to  the 
others  with  which  it  is  connected  in. 
parallel.  These  currents  circulate  through 
the  armature  conductors  and  are  alternat- 
'ng  in  character ;  they  lead  or  lag  with 
reference  to  their  respective  electromo- 
tive forces,  and  thereby  increase  or  de- 
crease the  strength  of  the  field-magnet 
poles  automatically  so  as  to  produce  the 
necessary   balance   between    them. 

1064.  Do  the  equalizing  connections 
serve   any   other  purpose? 

Yes ;  they  are  advantageous  in  reducing 
any  excess  of  magnetic  pull  on  one  side 
of  the  armature,  should  it  get  out  of 
center  by  wear  of  the  bearings,  and  also 
prevents  the  sparking  which  would  be 
caused  imder  such  a  condition,  by  the 
inequality  of  field-magnet  strength  due  to 
the  difference  between  the  airgaps  on  op- 
posite  sides   of  the  armature. 

1065.  Are  not  the  magnet  poles  of  large 
direct-current  generators  sometimes  cast 
into   tlie  yoke  frames? 

Yes ;  some  manufacturers  employ  this 
method  of  construction  in  all  of  their 
machines.  Fig.  296  shows  a  six-pole 
belted  direct-current  generator  of  this  con- 
struction. The  base,  field-magnet  frame, 
magnet  poles,  all  of  one  pedestal  and  part 
of  the  other  pedestal  are  cast  in  one 
piece.  The  upper  part  a  of  the  pedestal 
at  the  commutator  side  is  a  separate  cast- 
ing, but  with  this  exception  the  entire 
frame  is  a  single  casting. 


mutator  are  readily  accessible  at  any 
point.  The  rocker  ring  is  operated  by  the 
hand  wheel  «.'.  Copper-plated  carbon 
brushes  are  used,  and  all  brushes  of  the 
same  polarity  are  maintained  at  the  same 
potential  by  means  of  equalizing  connec- 
tions. 

1062.  Why  is  it  necessary  to  use  equal- 
icing  connections  in  order  that  the  brushes 
of  the  same  polarity  may  be  of  the  same 
potential.' 

In  the  operation  of  large  multipolar  di- 
rect-current m.-ichines  with  parallel-wound 
armatures,  sucli  as  the  one  being  con- 
sidered, it  is  difficult  to  secure  exactly  the 
same  magnetic  strength  in  all  the  lield- 
magnet  poles.  Consequently,  the  potential 
generated  in  the  conductors  under  one 
pole  sometimes  exceeds  or  is  less  than  that 
generated  in  the  conductors  similarly  situ- 
ated under  another  pole  of  the  same 
polarity,  the  result  being  a  slight  dif- 
ference of  potential  between  brushes  of 
'imilar  polarity  which  cause  currents 
sometimes  of  considerable  magnitude,  to 
flow  from  one  brush  to  another  and  from 
one  section  of  the  armature  winding  to  an- 
other, attended  by  annoying  and  waste- 
ful heating  of  the  conductors  and  spark- 
ing at  the  brushes. 

1063.  Explain  the  method  used  to  cor- 
rect   this. 

A  number  of  points  in  the  armature 
winding    which    should    be    normally    of 


FIG.     296.     FORT   WAYNE  BELTED    ?1ULTIP0LAR  GENERATOR,   WITH   POLE 
PIECES   CAST   IN   WITH   THE   FIELD   FRAME 


June  8,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


1019 


Practical     Letters    from     Practical    Men 

Don't  Bother  About    the    Style,    but    U'rile    Just    What    You  'lliink. 
Know  or  Want   to  Know    About   ^  our   \Xork.   and   Help  Each  Other 

WE     PAY     FOR     USEFUL     IDEAS 


Inaccuracies  of  Indicator  Diagrzmns 


The  article  entitled  "Inaccuracies  of  In- 
dicator Diagrams,"  which  appeared  in  the 
March  16  nunil>cr,  recalls  sume  experi- 
ences not  entirely  satisfactory.  I  have 
used  the  spring  calibration  apparatus  de- 
scribed in  that  article  and  have  some- 
times had  trouble  to  hold  the  desired 
pressure  steady  owing  to  vibrations  of  line 
or  exhaust  pressure.  To  avoid  this  an- 
noyance and  enable  attention  to  be  con- 
centratetl  on  the  work  of  calibration.  I 
designeil  the  combined  Wright  table  and 
regulating  valve  shown  herewith. 

Before  steam  is  turned  on.  the  plunger 
occupies  its  lowest  position  in  the  cyl- 
inder and  its  two  ports  register  with  the 


W«Ukl  Tskia 


niaKc  trie  cutoff  as  ^'r.iii  :;ii  ;i  ;l■.^.!''it. 
This  is  accomplished  by  making  the  nccrs- 
sary  port  area  of  such  shape  that  its  <li- 
mensiun  in  the  line  of  plunger  travel  is 
ver>  large  in  comparison  with  the  other 
dimension.  Under  these  conditions,  a 
given  movement  of  the  plunger  will  pro- 
duce a  minimum  change  of  port  area.  The 
area  required  for  iiritiall)  raising  the  pres- 
sure is  provided  by  the  great  length  of 
port  which  is  uncovered  when  the  plung- 


trap, 
f  tl.r 
grr,   I 


er  occupies  its  I 

To  increase  : 
cator,  the  proper  w 
the  weight  table,  tli 
grr  to  descend.  Tl 
port  opening  and  coi; 
pressure   it   promptly   reached. 

The  lowering  of  pressure  in  the  reser- 
voir would  be  slow  if  dependent  upon  con- 


-ition. 

rr    at    the    indi 
placed  on 
-•    the   plun 
<-s   a    large 
the  desired 


;<      ;.  .r•^     urrc    cut,    with     I 
.('•.iil.tM)     nitHidi;    (-iiltrr    I   '^ 
The     - 
venien 

()n    account 
ports  and  the   . 
have  found  it  desirable  to  protect  the  a^ 
paratus    from   damage   due   to   •cal'    ^•^1 
dirt   by  a   strainer  and   settling  cl: 
Fig    3  shows  the  apparatus  connrctru  up 
with  an  indicator. 

J    R.  Faclks.  Jb. 

Syracuse,  N    Y 


Eccentric  at  Ninety  Degrees 


In  regard  to  W.  E.  Crane's  article  ia 
the  March  Jo  number.  1  do  not  wish  to 
discredit   his  statement,  as  he  claims  to 


'  tl.     I.    uccu^TiNo  VAt\T  rvm  induatoh- 
snuNt;  rrsrca 

iinterliore  A.  Fig.  I.  When  sieam  is 
..•limited  to  this  space,  it  surround*  the 
plunger,  thus  babncing  the  pressure  on 
all  sides.  Passing  through  the  |>ort*.  the 
steam  (lows  down  tlirough  the  hollow 
fil  ^ervoir  on  which  the 

unlil   it   : 
kjer,  but   I- 
the  ports  lend  to  pats  beyond  the  counter 
^M.rr  J.).!   til. I.   .  ,.f   ..^f  the  steam      Cutoff 

were  h  not  for  the 
ir.i...  ii'ii  .!»  j.rri'.  irr  duc  to  con«lmvalion 
ami  leakage  at  the  indicator  In  its 
W'    ■  ■»t»cn 

ati  make 

up  f..-  k 

To  (<  inling."  it  it  desirable  to 


riG.     2.     CDMBINEO  WSII.IIT    lABU   AJIP  aHiVLATIMti  \  m  >  i 

densation   and    leakage;    to   obviate    this     have  had  esperiefwr.  but   when   he   say* 

a     pet      cock     on     the      r^»..rv.,.r      i*     opened        h«"      ■    >"      <-■'■'■      J      tfirrr  ..  urtrf      .      <     f»      aith 

ami  the  result  is  qui  led  t' 

To  secure  records  wun  ni!  .      -- - 

it  is  necessary  only  to  open  1^  •■• 

C'    "  ing   a     Vi  '►         t      •  irtn»'««iT««lily, 

?l  with     pr..liuM<<  .'ularttir    nf    thf    COM 


with  the  hand   t  'anl.  thus  «aii»-  t  •    «i«»e  hall    »• 

ing   an   excess   oj    ,,,.•■. re      A    gradual  *  ...»J*  • 

drop  to  normal  will   then  follow   as  the  a 

result   of  leakage   and   majr  be  hastewrsl  fnmi    jiw    cjni         '  M->ji»enuT.   »oc 

l>s    use  of  the  pet  enrk  caMHM  bt  trippr<l  <WI 

iimger  L  ll«;»n. 

w  r  and        CoMord   JwictkMv    Maaa. 


J030 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGIXEER. 


June  8,  1909. 


Hvdraulic  Information 


Referring  to  the  inquin-  of  William  E. 
Piper,  in  the  April  6  number,  I  presume 
Mr.  Piper  refers  to  miner's  inches  for  the 
quantity  of  water  mentioned,  and  without 
stating  the  miner's  inch  used  the  quantity 
-  a  little  indefinite. 

A  number  of  western  States  in  the  last 
few  years  have  passed  laws  legalizing  a 
flow  of  I '4  cubic  feet  per  minute  as  a 
miner's  inch,  or  i  cubic  foot  per  second 
to  equal  40  miner's  inches.  In  this  sec- 
tion a  miner's  inch  of  9  gallons  per  min- 
ute, I  cubic  foot  per  second,  equalling  50 
miner's  inches,  has  been  used  by  engineers 
for  a  good  many  years  and  is  yet  used 
more   than   the    legalized   miner's   inch. 

However,  figuring  on  the  legal  miner's 
inch.  360  inches  would  be  equal  to  540 
cubic  feet  per  minute,  and  with  a  150- foot 
fall  would  be  equal  to  153  theoretical 
horsepower.  Allowing  for  loss  in  the 
pipe  line  and  the  efficiency  of  the  wheel, 
it  probably  would  not  be  practical  to  de- 
liver more  than  75  per  cent,  of  this  power 
to  the  generator,  and  if  an  automatic 
gwemnr  was  applied  to  the  wheel,  it 
might  be  well  to  figure  on  not  over  70 
per  cent.,  which  would  be  equal  to  about 
105  horsepower.  For  this  head  and 
quantity  of  water  I  should  recommend 
an  impulse  wheel  of  the  Pelton  type, 
and  about  a  20-  or  22-inch  riveted  steel 
pjpe  line.  If  the  quantity  of  water  is  as 
stated  in  the  foregoing,  this  would  easily 
handle  one  thousand  i6-candlepower  in- 
candescent lamps. 

G.  A.  Reichard. 

Los  Angeles,  Cal. 


By  reducing  his  available  water  supply 
to  miner's  inches,  where  i  square  inch 
of  opening  under  a  6-inch  head  equals 
11.655  I-'nited  States  gallons  per  minute, 
Mr.  Piper  has  180  inches,  or  2097.9  gal- 
lons, or  27924  cubic  feet  per  minute.  Now, 
:is  he  has  a  fall  of  some  140  feet.  500  feet 
from  proposed  location  df  his  plant  he 
can  figure  the  volume  of  water  giving  ap- 
proximately 80  horsepower  at  the  falls, 
using  an  8-inch  wheel  at  1262  revolutions 
per  minute. 

As  the  velocity  in  feet  per  second  for 
a  distance  of  500  feet  .should  not  exceed  2 
to  2.2,  it  would  be  necessary  to  use  a 
pipe  of  not  less  than  20  inches  diameter 
for  carrying  the  water  from  the  falls  to 
the  plant.  With  this  size  pipe,  the  velocity 
and  volume  of  water,  he  must  allow  0.140 
foot  as  a  loss  of  head  by  friction  in  pipe 
for  each  100  feet  in  length,  or  a  total  of 
0.7. 

As  regards  the  grade  of  pipe  to  be  used, 
I  s"t'is'cst  that  he  use  the  best  spiral-riveted 
pijie.  as  being  the  most  durable  and 
economical  for  this  class  of  work.  As  for 
the  style  of  wheel  best  adapted  for  the 
conditions  he  enumerates  the  inward-flow 
turbine  would  be  better  than  most  any 
other    form.      This    wheel    has    what    is 


known  as  double-curve  buckets,  first  in- 
ward then  downward,  thus  retaining  the 
water  until  it  has  received  practically  all 
of  its  initial  power,  and  it  will  deliver  at 
least  5  to  7  per  cent,  more  efficiency  than 
the  outward-flow  style  of  wheel,  w^hich 
receives  its  water  near  the  axis,  thence 
flowing  outward  through  curved  blades 
and  delivering  in  an  almost  radial  direc- 
tion. 

What  is  known  as  the  impulse  turbine  is 
practically  the  best  turbine  yet  devised, 
especially  for  great  hights,  say  from  250 
to  350  feet,  or  over,  but  for  falls  much 
lower  than  this  they  are  not  much  more 
efficient  than  the  inward-flow  turbine.  The 
impulse  wheel  depends  for  its  energy 
solely  upon  the  velocity  of  the  water  di- 
rected by  means  of  a  nozzle,  or  a  set  of 
nozzles,    against    a    series    of    blades    or 


Piper  asks  for  hydraulic  information.  As- 
suming that  he  is  speaking  of  miners' 
inches  regarding  the  flow  of  Vvater,  tiie 
power  which  could  be  developed  by  a 
wheel  should  be  in  the  neighborhood  of 
145  horsepower,  which  is  capable  of  carry- 
ing approximately  one  thousand  seven 
hundred  i6-candlepowcr  lamps,  after  mak- 
ing due  allowance  for  generator  and  trans- 
mission losses.  It  would  require  a  20-inch 
wood-stave  pipe  and  a  wheel  of  either  the 
modified  Francis  or  impulse  type. 

Henry  D.  Jackson. 
Boston,  Mass. 


A  Peculiar  Synchronizing  Trouble 

In    the   issue   of   April    20,    there   is   an 
article  entitled,  "A  Peculiar  Synchronizing 


COX.NECTIONS    UK    KOT.\KV -CONVERTER    INSTALLATION 


vanes  arranged  on  the  periphery  of  the 
wheel,  and  the  buckets  or  blades  never 
stand  full  of  water,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
first  two  wheels  described. 

Allowing  about  20  per  cent,  of  the  esti- 
mated horsepower  for  friction  of  machin- 
ery, belts,  pulleys,  etc.,  and  for  loss  of 
efficiency  through  his  circuits  of  current 
distribution,  Mr.  Piper  can  figure  safely 
on  eight  hundred  and  ninety  i6-candle- 
powcr  lamps. 

J.    L.    Bradshavv. 
Memphis,  Tenn. 


In    the    .\pril    6    number,    Willij 


Trouble,"  by  C.  L.  Greer.  As  I  under- 
stand the  conditions,  he  has,  when  plug  A 
is  in  place,  a  circuit  through  the  main  line,, 
through  No.  i  rotary  to  the  direct-current 
busbar,  through  switch  A  to  No.  2  rotary,, 
tlie  plug  switch  and  line,  so  that  under 
tliese  conditions  he  will  get  a  blinking  of 
the  synchronizing  lamps.  The  reason  they 
probably  burn  at  greater  brilliancy  than 
normal  is  because  when  the  machines  are 
not  in  synchronism,  the  voltage  may  be 
additive,  making  a  considerably  higher 
than  normal  voltage  across  the  lamps.  I 
should  judge  that  at  the  time  No.  2  rotary 
was  thrown  in,  the  machines  were  out  of 


June  8,  1909- 


i'OW  LK  AND  THE  i:..\UlM:.i:.i<- 


1(UI 


step,  and  prolinbiy  directly  out  01  itep; 
that  is.  the  voltage  uf  No.  2  was  added 
to  the  line,  thereby  putting  far  too  great 
a  voltage  on  the  switch  at  .-i.  and  tem- 
porarily unbalancing  the  entire  system, 
putting  too  high  a  voltage  on  the  direct- 
current  side  of  the  circuit,  making  No.  i 
and  No.  2  flash  over. 

SyiKhronizing  by  lamp«  i<  hy  no  means 
as  satisfactory  as   syiv  .    by  volt- 

meter.    It  takes  a  vcr.  ;ie  to  get 

ti.<ied  to  the  lag  in  the  voltmeter,  and 
after  a  little  practice  nu  difficulty  will  be 
found  in  bringing  the  machines  up  to 
s>-nchroni9m  and  putting  them  on  the  cir- 
cuit. The  dark  period  with  lamps  is  so 
long  and  the  actual  dark  period  of  the 
lamps  is  stt  difficult  to  determine  that  it 
is  '• 
Ian 

not  in  clo^c  >>iKlir"ni>in,  aixi  »\i'u  '«»- 
cjcle  work  this  would  be  likoly  t-^  make 
considerable  trouble.  The  be«.t  mctho«|  of 
sjmchroniiing  is  unquestionably  with  the 
Lincoln  or  some  similar  type  of  syn- 
chroni/er.  , 

McMiY  IX  Jackson. 

Boston.   Ma*s. 


Knock  in  an  Elngine 

\fter  reading  J.  W.  Br>-an*s  letter,  on 
paR^  415.  of  the  March  2  number,  on  the 
knock  in  his  engine,  I  thought  that  the 
following  might  tie  of  help  to  him :  One  of 
our  18  and  36  by  j6-inch  vertical  com- 
pound condeftsini;  enKi'irs.  running  I  tf; 
rev' 


->^  ll.\T  CAL'U.  IN    TIIC    CHGIXK 

■   an»>fh«*r  m«rin^,  W9«   *hm   f1'>wn   all 


the  steam  r- 

sketch;    the 

I  put  in  a  new   nng  and  <!■•»< : 

ever>ihing   was   replacetl   and   the    . 

started,  the  click  was  gone. 

Thomas  Srezii 
Pittsficld.  Mass. 


rcr.l. 


Safety  of  Pif)c  Fittings 

In  repU  to  the  K-iter  of  I.  A  Tenger, 
in  the  Aprd  27  number,  what  1  mirii<I.  -I 
to  say  was  that  when  the  pres<>are  > 
under  side  of  the  valve  bonnet  e(iiia.i<-> 
that  due  to  the  pressure  caused  by  the 
screwing  down  of  the  cap  screws,  the  pres- 
sure   lictMecn    the    Umtir!    and    the    valve 


!••    the  I    tlir    \dlve    bonnet    and 

other  I'  Ttcd  by  it. 

I'p  to  this  point  the  steam  pressure  ha« 
been  acting  to  relieve  the  pressure  of  the 
Ixinnet  on  the  valve  due  to  the  tension  of 
screwing  down  the  cap  <>crews,  and  unnl 
it  equals  this  ten»ion.  or.  more  corner '> 
sjx    "  -ceeds  it  arnl  lends  to  lift  the 

b«  .   the  valve  Ixnly.  there  is  no 

stfos  dtMid  to  the  initi.-il  ^trr>s  on  the 
screws,  but  when  the  <.tcani  pressure  ex- 
ceeds that  due  to  the  screws,  by  so  much 
is  the  stress  on  the  screws  increased. 
Mr  Tenger,  or  anyone  who  doubts  this, 
can  very  easily  prove  whether  it  be  true 
or  not,  in  the  following  manner :  Secure 
two  spring  scales,  of  25  fwiunds  capacity, 
and  suspend  one  of  them  from  any  con- 
venient place  overhead;  attach  a  strong 
cord  to  the  hook  of  the  vrr«lr  nr  !  r;r 
a  ring  in  the  cord  a  few  ni 
scale,  put  a  screweye  in  t: 
the  scale  and  pass  the  end  of  the  cord 
through  the  eye  and  tighten  until  the 
scale    shows    15   pounds,   and   make    fast. 

Now   there   u  'a    stress    or    pull   of    15 
pounds  un  the  cord  between  the  scale  and 
ring,    whirh    we    will    let     refir 
stress  on  the  cap  screws  after  • 

Take  the  second  H'ale  and  Ix*^  i:  tu 
the    rinK'    and    pull    down    utuil    it    ••^     %  ^ 

If  Mr 
I         .:  t  tlut  the  • 

sure*  should  be  added,  the  upper  tcjle 
will  now  read  2$  pounds,  but  if  1  am  cor- 
rect it  will  read  15  p'>und».  the  same  a* 

Uf  ■    .  •■ 


I   the  vilrr  boonel  and 
W.  O.   Pkseis 


r.ri^ti'i,     <   •'iiii 


Dashpot  Trouble 


I    have   h«-«i  SiTr  .Hv 
replies    to 
"distance    in 


-'-•^'rd   in   the 

(•peal     for 

ijiifiiK'ii    Willi   hts  dash- 


5HOWI.HC  CAV8S  or  BASMPOT  imOCMX 


H.  E.  Scribner.  in  his  letter 

.  of  the  April  I  ■  '    '    \-'. 

Its  that  he  ha 


pot  trouble. 

oil      •  -      •    ^^ 

fr 

tl..  ... 

c<  ^fl>   cu:v>tl    Mith   125  (>■' 

Ji    ■  :re 

.        Tssure  side  of 
■    ;•    :   ■!    .  •  ^  ru-    1    had    the 
ticully  and  did  a  number  of  thr 
I  finally  located  the  cause      In  :••>   ■< 
time    the    working    pressure    was    r.> 
from  125  to     -  '     '     according 

to    Mr.    Sc:  lid    make 


n< 

Ve- 
T! 


v<ali. 
the    irrr- 


ii:    ii 


a  ;aivj4tf  AV 


r   Mr.   Bryan  sfteaks  of,  but      eye  and  cord  are  sustaining  a 

.twl      ,.liK  \«  r      I.. J. I      IS         •..<,. ..I.      ,lwf    ikl.rn    a    i..ill    o     r..- 


I"J<|>.       mil     »'':i'i     M»i  I'T      iriit<  r      it         •  :•     r  >  a  "  y     1  iir      [r'lii     ■  n 

revolution*.     %\'>\>     for  awhile     and     tlien      ihrrrforr   adds   ntdhinit    i- 

•tart  again.  tur  "  v»iiKh    t' 

1  rarnr  to  ihr  e««orb)«ion  that  ihr  irnuMr      ••! 
wa«  ifi  • 
taViiik' 

'  xind  the  dowel  or  gimk  oi     and    because    thr    loinl    tbm    equal 


ofiriiiKt 

dashpi'' 

:nds  prrsaorr  <mi 
ooljr  IJS 

\hn«.  in 


M    H  Cenn. 


lOJ 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  8,  1909. 


What    Would    Happen  If  the  Belt 
Came  Off 


In  the  issue  of  April  20,  H.  B.  Adcock 
asks  the  consequence  of  an  exciter  belt 
breaking  where  two  alternators  are  run  in 
parallel,  each  having  its  own  exciter,  belt- 
driven  from  its  shaft.  The  arrangement 
he  describes  would  be  a  very  bad  one,  as 
the  alternator,  deprived  o*  its  field  charge 
due  to  the  exciter  belt  breaking,  or  any 
other  cause,  would  constitute  a  dead 
short-circuit  on  the  other  machine,  and  if 
not  promptly  disconnected  by  a  fuse  or 
automatic  switch  it  would  burn  out  one 
or  both  of  the  alternating-current  arma- 
tures. A  better  arrangement  would  be 
to  provide  a  direct-current  busbar  and 
connect  both  exciters  to  it,  using  a  small 
breaker  with  a  reverse-current  release 
which  would  open  in  case  one  exciter 
failed  to  generate. 

The  alternator  field  coils  should  be  con- 
nected to  the  busbar  and  a  rheostat  in 
its  field  to  adjust  its  field  charge,  using 
the  exciter  rheostat  to  regulate  the 
division  of  the  load  between  the  direct- 
current  machine  and  to  raise  and  lower 
the  voltage  of  the  alternating-current 
system  as  a  whole. 

Some  years  ago  the  writer  operated  a 
plant  under  conditions  as  stated  by  Mr. 
Adcock,  e.xcept  that  the  alternators  were 
in  stations  a  mile  apart.  The  exciter  of 
each  machine  was  belted  to  its  shaft  and 
of  course  the  distance  prevented  running 
the  direct-current  machines  in  multiple. 
After  a  burnout,  due  to  a  dog's  tail  being 
caught  in  the  exciter  belt  and  throwing 
it  off,  we  installed  automatic  switches  on 
the  outgoing  liner  of  each  station,  with 
reverse-current  relays  to  open  on  heavy 
reverse  current  only.  Fuses  or  overload 
breakers  might  have  operated  at  both  sta- 
tions in  case  one  machine  lost  its  field 
charge,  while  the  reverse-current  relay 
would  discriminate  between  heavy  output 
or  input. 

Another  experience  of  the  writer  was  in 
a  large  two-phase  light-tension  station  in 
New  York  City.  The  alternators  were 
750-kilowatt  engine-driven  units,  operated 
in  parallel  and  excited  from  a  common 
busbar  to  which  were  connected  four  en- 
gine-driven 75-kilowatt  exciters,  without 
fuse  or  breaker.  While  in  full  operation 
and  at  the  peak  of  the  load  the  voltage  of 
the  system  began  dropping  and  the  lights 
gradually  went  out,  there  being  no  flash- 
ing nor  noise  to  indicate  the  cause.  A 
hasty  examination  by  lantern  light  showed 
that  one  of  the  exciters  was  not  running 
but  was  acting  as  a  short-circuit  on  the 
others,  killing  their  fields.  All  the  ma- 
chinery was  running  at  its  normal  speed, 
but  as  the  voltmeters  were  down  to  zero 
•  and  the  system  was  "dead,"  the  writer 
expected  to  s>-nchronizc  and  parallel  all 
of  these  machines ;  but  when  the  switch 
on  the  disabled  exciter  was  opened,  the 
lamp   began    to   redden   and    flie   ammeter 


showed  that  the  machines  were  pumping 
violently.  After  about  a  minute  they 
steadied  and  the  system  became  normal, 
the  machines  having  forced  themselves  to- 
gether with  but  four  out  of  eleven  be- 
coming disconnected.  The  cause  of  the 
trouble  was  a  valve  disk  which  became 
loose  from  its  stem  and  dropped  onto  its 
seat.  The  exciters  were  equipped  with 
reverse-current  breakers  to  guard  against 
any   further   trouble. 

Lewis  C.  Reynolds. 
Willard.  N.  Y. 


Let  us  assume  that  the  exciter  of  alter- 
nator A,  Fig.  I,  stops  while  both  A  and  B 
are  connected  to  the.  line.  Then  as  the 
voltage  of  A  decreases,  current  will  flow 
from  B  through  the  busbars  to  A.  The 
only  impedance  of  this  cross  current  is 
the  synchronous  reactance  of  the  two 
armatures  in  series.  Because  of  the  high 
reactance,  the  current  will  lag  strongly 
with  respect  to  B,  and  have  an  equal  lead 
with  respect  to  A.  This  lagging  current 
will  react  on  the  field  of  B  and  lower  its 
voltage.      At   the   same   time   the   current 


through  A,  being  leading,  will  induce  a 
voltage  in  A.  The  result  will  be  that  both 
machines  will  divide  and  carry  the  load  as 
before,  but  the  line  electromotive  force 
will  fall  a  few  volts. 

The  current  through  the  machines  will 
be  the  sum  of  the  line  current  and  the 
cross  current  between  the  machine,  Fig. 
2.  Since  the  cross  current  is  nearly  90 
degrees  out  of  phase  with  the  line,  the 
total  current  through  the  machines  will 
be  increased  only  a  few  per  cent.  The 
cross  current  is  so  nearly  wattless,  that 
it  means  practically  no  loss  of  power. 

The  field  of  A  may  be  even  built  up  in 
an  opposite  direction  to  B  and  still  carry 
load,  but  the  cross  current  will  be  very 
heavy. 

I  have  myself,  tried  this  experiment 
and  can  vouch  for  its  correctness. 

Earl  R.  Filkins. 

Chicago,  III. 


I  l>elieve  the  plant  would  be  thrown 
out  of  service,  temporarily  at  least.  The 
loss  of  the  exciting  current  in  one  ma- 
chine would  prevent  further  generation 
of   electromotive    force   bv   that   machine. 


The  two  machines  being  connected  to  the 
same  busbars  would  leave  the  armature 
windings  of  the  disabled  machine  across 
the  terminals  of  the  live  machine,  therefore 
subjecting  the  latter  machine  to  a  short- 
circuit.  Due  to  the  resistance  and  self- 
induction  of  the  winding  of  the  disabled 
machine,  I  do  not  think  the  short-circuit 
would  be  of  quite  so  severe  a  nature  as 
though  something  of  practically  no  im- 
pedance should  fall  directly  across  the 
terminals  of  an  operating  machine.  The 
disabled  machine  would  offer  the  im- 
pedance of  its  windings  and  with  its 
field  circuit  being  open  would  have,  to  a 
certain  slight  extent,  an  action  quite 
similar  to  that  of  a  transformer  working 
with  an  open  secondary.  However,  the 
self-induction  of  this  winding  would  not 
be  sufficient  to  prevent  the  flow  of  an 
abnormal  current,  quite  comparable  with 
that  caused  by  a  dead  short-circuit.  This 
rapid  rush  of  current  produces  a  condi- 
tion in  the  live  machine  which  would  take 
it   out   of  service. 

As  already  stated,  the  current  in  the 
live  machine  rises  to  an  abnormal  value, 
and  the  first  tendency  of  this  suddenly 
rising  current  is  to  act  on  the  voltage  and 
flux  of  the  machine.  The  induction  of 
the  winding  is,  however,  greater  than  the 
resistance  of  the  circuit ;  therefore,  the 
resultant  current  caused  by  the  short- 
circuit  will  be  lagging  and  demagnetizing, 
and  the  effect  will  be  immediately  to 
pull  down  the  flux  and  consequently  the 
voltage  of  the  machine  to  zero.  The 
flux  of  the  machine  will  be  practically 
diminished  although  enourh  will  be  left 
to  force  full-load  current  or  more  through 
the  impedance  of  the  disabled  machine. 

After  the  switches  controlling  the  dis- 
abled machine  have  been  opened  the  re- 
maining machine  will  immediately  build  up 
to  full  voltage  and  can  be  restored  to 
the  line.  While  all  alternators  should  be 
able  to  stand  such  a  performance  it  is 
undesirable,  as  short-circuits  are  racking 
on  a  machine  and  might  result  in  dis- 
placement of  coils  or  other  disastrous 
effects. 

J.  A.  Lees. 

Quincy,  Mass. 


In  the  first  place,  unless  the  inductance 
of  the  machine  is  heavy,  the  machine 
which  loses  its  field  will  take  a  very  heavy 
current,  and  may  cause  trouble  to  it  and 
to  the  other  generator.  The  engine  will 
probably  tend  to  run  away,  but  with  a 
good  governor  this  would  not  cause 
trouble.  It  might  be  that  the  poles  of  the 
generator,  without  field  might  be  suf- 
ficiently magnetized  by  the  rotating  field 
of  the  windings  so  as  to  operate  as  an 
induction  generator.  Thi.s,  however,  would 
be  very  unlikely.  It  would,  therefore,  ap-  ' 
pear  that  the  principal  trouble  would  be 
practically  a  short-circuit  on  the  second 
machine. 

Henry  D.  Jackson. 

Boston,  Mass. 


I 


June  8.  IQOQ. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


102J 


Bracing  Dome  Heads 


Rcferrinff  to  the  article  on  bracing 
dome  heads,  on  page  6jj  of  the  April  6 
number,  I  should  like  to  suggest  another 
form  of  bracing  for  that  part  of  the 
boiler  shell  to  which  the  dome  is  attached. 

As  stated  in  the  article,  that  part  of  the 
boiler  shell  surrounded  by  the  dome  shell 


referred  to  it  seems  that  the  owner  was 
well   su"  li   the  chanKc 

The  :  11  for  thrnwing  out  the 

no!  '•';■  ••• '  '  •■'  -1  engine  and  »ub- 
stiu:::rii;  .iM  S;  h.  r-cpower  engine  was 
lack  of  power. 

In  a  mill  like  this  the  load  would  rary 
considerably,  but  to  be  on  the  safe  side 
let  us  call  it  85  '  ' 

eleven  hours  per 


still  aortihfT  ftedtiaion  must  V  made  for 
thr  '.  unng  the  a  to 

he.  i   uAce.   r.  eocs- 

sary  judging  from  the  fact  that  the  gas- 
engf..e  operator  "comes  into  the  >.fftrr  to 
get  warm"  at  time«.     When  e»c 
eontidered.   the   saving   may   be    ><     titi^ii 
tliat    had    the    ptnver    not    failed    in    thr 

hdd 
1a  in 


K.  Ctwatoiii 


flar>.   ln«! 


Repairing  a   Center  Crank 


no,  t 


is  a  neutral  surface,  that  is.  with  equal 
pressure  on  both  sides.  The  forces  due  to 
■^"  internal  pressure  act  radially,  but  the 
llani  forces  will  be  on  the  projected 
urea  shown  in  Fig  1.  From  this  it  will 
be  seen  that  the  tendency  will  be  to  dis- 
tort the  dome  shell  and  cause  a  leaky 
joint. 

The  most  rational  way  to  prevent  such 
distortion  and  keep  the  original  shape  of 
the  boiler  would  be  to  use  a  bracing  such 
as  shown  in  Fig.  x  It  consists  of  a  boiler 
plate  riveted  to  the  sides  of  the  dome 
shell  and  an  angle  iron  riveted  to  the 
lower  e<lge.  the  angle  iron  to  fit  the  out- 
side of  the  boiler  shell  and  bolted  securely 
to  it. 

C     E.     RoMMAX. 

\tibum.  N    Y 


^M^jcr. 


thracite  is  used  for  the  gas  power,  as 
against  two  tons  of  best  Georges  creek 
soft  coal  for  steam,  per  day.  at  maximum 
load.  A  heat  value  of  13.000  R.t.u.  would 
be  a  safe  estimate  f<»r  gixnl  s<»ft  coal.  Now 
any  engineer  wotiM  undertake  to  put  65 
per  cent,  of  this  heat  into  the  boiler,  .^s 
the  frrrl  water  entered  at  "nearly  the 
Ix    '  •  "  let   us   say   210  degrees,   it 

ro,  t  1006  B.t.u.  to  every  pound  of 

sieamandthe  evaporation  would  have  been 
13.000  X  0.6s 


1006 


-8.4. 


p<iunds  per  poaad  of  coal,  or  .\.\,(*in 
pounds  of  steam  in  eleven  hours,  f»r  aU^ut 
j6  pounds  of  Hcmm  per  horsepower  per 


Reading  Dennis  I  {anion's  letter,  lie- 
pairing  a  Center  Crank."  in  the  March  JD 
issue,  page  606.  brings  to  mind  an  old 
form  of  crank   shaft  that   '  used 

in   steam  vessels  in' the  n.'  .nne 

of  (treat   Britain      While  it   ;> 
the  hills,"  it  may  l>e  new  tt»  nut 
and  of  value   in   such  cases  as    .Mr.   Han- 
Inn  refers   to.     The  accompanying  sketch 
makes   clear   all    that    is    requisite    to   an 
understanding  of  the  idea. 

Even  under  the  most  favorable  oondt- 
tions  center-crank  shafts  have  to  eodnre 
severe    stresses,    and    when    the    bearings 
wear  out  of  line   ■ 
tied,  so  th.if  it  i- 
when    • 
in   the 

ordinary  inequalities  met  with  in  practKe 
without  breaking.  a«  would  happ^"  r\rfiiii. 
ally  if  the  crank   were   solid   t! 
TT»e    crank -pin    connections    afr     ^iti'^Tit 
ei>ough    to    transmit    the    power    to    the 


Elxpcricncc   With  Gas  Power 


•n  page  617  of  the   March  .in  number, 
appeared   an   article  by    H     H     Messenger, 

dis; 

\\ 
Steam  engineers  are  prejudice*!  against 
gas  power,  and  that  the>  are  not  tit 
lor  gas-engine  f»perators.  This  may  ftr 
may  not  be  true,  but  it  i«  certain  that  if 
engineers  are  op|to«e<i  to  gas  enuines  it 
is  up  to  them   t<-   •  that 

there  will  >w   '1"'  the 

change  yet 

stKh   ail  the 

average    i>nwrr  |ibiit    ..wurr    will    require 
•"•ne    very    stibsiantul    r«a»"ii    f  -r    'raring 

'   his  steam  plant  aiMl   >  gas 

j-'wer       Considering  *"■ 

kiHYW   that  even  the  I- 
plant  ra- 
in   thr     • 


^ 
f 


MAUKS  i^tiiaa-auMg  smaft 


hoar. 

n«'' 
if 


A  "gtiod  aatomatie  engine"  wooU 


ity  l«>  *JH*  itJt 


'I  he  saving  in  Itiei 
price    between    half    ^ 
and  two  Inns  of 
must    be    «lfd«tclc«i    <•••     ' 
nry  paid  oat  f«ir  thr  s; 


pra^cflrr 

on 

dw  «wl  o(  tlw  ckftlt    Wlqr 

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1024 


Firing  Boilers 


The  arucic  whicii  appeared  in  the  April 
6  number,  by  Victor  White,  is  very  in- 
teresting, viewed  from  more  points  than 
one.  The  working  of  boiler  rtres  where 
there  is  any  difficulty  of  getting  steam  is 
almost  wholly  a  matter  of  practical  ex- 
perience. The  rules  are  few  and  very 
chkstic  and  it  takes  years  of  practice  on 
different  kinds  of  jobs  with  different 
kinds  of  coal  to  get  them  by  heart.  To 
Kam  firing  by  reading  articles  written 
thereon  not  only  in  periodicals,  but  in 
textbooks,  is  like  learning  to  play  the 
violin  by  carefully  studying  the  make  of 
the  instrument  and  reading  the  tutor  from 
cover  to  cover. 

Taking  a  grate,  say,  9  feet  from  the 
furnace  door  to  the  bridge  and  3  feet 
6  inches  wide,  Mr.  White  says  eight  or 
ten  shovelfuls  are  sufficient.  They  are 
sufficient  to  stop  the  engine  on  the  center 
on  some  jobs,  but  he  does  not  mean  it 
that  way.  Is  this  one  of  the  rules  of 
which   he    speaks  ? 

A  job  where  a  man  can  fire  heavily 
enough  to  get  a  quarter  of  an  hour's  spell 
and  keep  steam  is  not  worth  discussion. 
A  man  from  the  farm  could  do  it  with 
three  days'  apprenticeship.  Any  fireman 
worth  his  salt  will  tell  you  that  he  goes 
on  duty  to  make  steam,  not  fires.  He  re- 
sents any  interference  with  the  shape  of 
liis  fires  or  whether  they  are  light  or 
heavy,  and  very  properly,  too,  if  the  job 
is  a  stiff  one,  unless  the  engineer  who 
interferes  can  show  him  that  his  way  will 
also  keep  the  steam. 

The  prime  consideration  in  firing  boil- 
ers is  to  raise  steam,  to  prevent  waste  is 
a  secondary  one.  Yet  the  whole  trend 
of  Mr.  White's  article  seems  to  deal  with 
the  latter.  Little  information  is  prof- 
fered about  the  former,  and  that,  in 
some    instances,    is    very   misleading. 

A  thin  even  fire  is  not  essential  in  using 
small  coal.  He  admits  it,  and  treads  very 
Ifingerly  on  his  ground  wherever  he  goes. 

The  lighter  the  load  on  the  boiler  the 
more  can  a  man  build  up  the  fire  until 
it  is  twice  as  heavy  as  it  would  be  were 
the  load  at  its  heaviest.  This  would  stop 
the  draft  struggling  through  so  fast,  and 
also  keep  the  steam  steadier,  as  the  fire 
has  more  body.  F"requent  firing  of  slack 
coal  on  a  thin  fire  acts  like  a  flash  in  the 
pan,  one  moment  a  fierce  heat,  another 
moment  all  gone,  with  perhaps  cold  air 
Mruggling  through  a  particularly  thin 
place  over  the  bars. 

A  very  thin  fire  of  ^'/j  or  4  inches,  while 
necessary  at  times  when  the  load  is  heavy, 
must  be  very  carefully  handled  with  the 
slice  bar  so  as  not  to  get  the  black  coal 
upon  the  bars;  if  this  occurs,  goodby  to 
the  steam. 

If  a  fire  is  dirty  with  clean  hard  clinker 
f>n  the  liars  it  is  not  necessary  to  slice 
this  up  every  time  the  fire  is  sliced,  only 
occasionally.     When  in  the  judgment  of 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

the  fireman  tlic  draft  is  falling  off,  slice 
over  the  clinker  and  under  the  fire  usually. 
If  the  slack  coal  cakes,  don't  break  the 
slice  right  through  to  the  boiler  surface, 
but  withdraw  it  wlien  almost  through  the 
crust.  This  avoids  mixing  the  fire  up, 
getting  black  coal  in  between  live  char. 

An  easy  job  can  be  fired  by  anything 
in  trousers,  and  it  matters  little  what 
the  shape  of  the  fire  is,  level,  piled  up  on 
the  bridge,  or  like  the  waves  of  the  sea, 
provided  it  is  a  fire  and  the  load  on  the 
boiler  is  light  enough. 

To  fire  a  grate,  first  one  side  and  then 
the  other  might  be  an  ideal  way  of  causing 
smokeless  combustion,  but  would  it  get 
the  steam?  .A.ccording"  to  Mr.  White's 
statement  the  draft  is  the  strongest 
through  the  least  resisting  places,  there- 
fore, the  half  of  the  grate  not  fired  would 
get  most  of  the  draft.  How  much  draft 
would  the  half  get  where  he  had  just  put 
the  coal?  Yet  this  is  the  side  where  it  is 
most  wanted.  I  assume  he  wants  coal  to 
burn  or  he  would  not  have  put  it  there. 

Let  us  see  if  my  way  is  the  better  one : 
Rake  your  fire  on  the  slant,  say,  3  or  4 
inches  at  the  bridge,  slope  up  to  7  or  8 
inches  at  the  deadplate  or  even  more  if 
the  heaviness  of  the  fire  warrants  it ; 
serve  them  all  the  same  and  then  fire 
No.  I  boiler  and  don't  throw  any  of  the 
coal  farther  back  than  half  way  in  the  fur- 
nace, or  say  past  the  first  set  of  bars. 
When  all  are  fired,  slice  No.  I  boiler  and 
then  all  the  others  in  the  same  order, 
if  the  slice  is  necessary.  Then  glance  at 
the  steam  gage  and  use  your  judgment 
as  to  the  exact  moment  when  the  best 
.  results  have  been  received  from  the  sliced 
fires.  Then  rake  again.  When  raking, 
however,  notice  which  fire  is  lightest  and 
always  fire  this  one  first,  but  try  and  get 
all  of  the  same  bulk. 

If  on  a  stiff  job,  never  throw  any  of 
the  coal  into  the  back  of  the  furnace,  un- 
less the  coal  is  lumpy  and  a  good  wind  is 
blowing  and  the  draft  is  extra  good ;  then 
a  couple  of  shovelfuls  extra  may  be 
thrown  back.  On  no  account  throw  dusty 
slack  into  the  back  of  the  fire  if  you  would 
keep  the  steam  up. 

Don't  fire  too  soon  after  raking,  as 
this  smothers  a  fire  which  is  perhaps  at 
its  best,  and  take  notice  when  raking  if  the 
fire  feels  hard  and  solid  ;  if  so,  give  it  an  ex- 
tra slice  up  the  middle  and  up  each  wing. 

Mr.  White  takes  a  whole  lot  on  his 
shoulders  when  he  suggests  that  one  man 
with  a  machine  can  do  the  work  of  four 
men  firing  by  hand.  I  question  very  much 
the  "entire  satisfaction"  and  would  like 
to  know  something  more  definite  about  the 
matter.  Also,  where  is  his  authority  for 
stating  that  when  a  boiler  is  taken  out  of 
action  and  not  required  again  the  proper 
course  is  to  draw  ash  and  clinker  and 
quench  them?  Does  he  not  know  that 
this  is  a  most  prolific  cause  of  tubes  leak- 
ing? Would  it  not  be  better  to  leave  the 
boiler  shut  up  until  the  next  day? 


June  8,  1909. 

Let  ]\Ir.  White  give  us  the  types  of  boil- 
er which  burn  best  with  the  different 
kinds  of  coal.  I  have  fired  with  many 
kinds  of  anthracite  from  the  big  lumps 
on  the  west  coast  at  Vancouver  to  all 
kinds  of  Welsh  on  different  kinds  of 
boiler,  and  have  yet  to  find  the  long 
flaming  coal. 

W.   BOWDEN. 

West  Toronto,  Ont. 


I  have  read  the  article  entitled  "Some 
Notes  on  Firing  Boilers,"  by  Victor 
White,  which  appeared  in  the  April 
6  number,  wherein  he  conveys  the 
idea  that  firing  boilers  is  more  a  matter 
of  practical  experience  than  of  theory.  I 
should  say  that  practice  is  applied  theory, 
and  when  practice  and  theory  do  not  agree 
it  is  because  of  the  improper  application  of 
the  theory.  It  follows  from  the  universal 
law  of  nature  that  under  the  same  cir- 
cumstances cause  and  effect  have  the  same 
relation,  irrespective  of  time  or  place. 

Regarding  the  subject  of  water  in  the 
ashpit,  I  believe  that  a  certain  amount  of 
moisture  in  the  coal  is  necessary  for 
perfect  combustion.  Unquestionably  there 
is  a  point  beyond  which  the  advantage 
ceases  and,  as  stated,  the  loss  would  be 
that  of  superheating  the  steam  at  atmo- 
spheric  pressure   or  thereabout. 

I  believe  that  the  water  is  decomposed 
and  the  oxygen  in  the  nascent  state  com- 
bines with  the  carbon  with  a  considerably 
greater  affinity  than  the  free  oxygen, 
whereas  the  hydrogen  can  combine  with 
the  oxygen  in  the  free  state  with  ease, 
the  benefit  being  the  combination  of  the 
precipitated  carbon  from  the  hydrocarbon 
gas  distilled  from   the  coal. 

In  general,  smokeless  combustion  of 
coal  is  a  problem  that  must  be  settled  by 
applying  the  proper  remedies  for  the 
particular  characteristics  of  the  firing.  To 
my  mind  it  is  a  function  of  three  condi- 
tions :  temperature,  percentage  of  volatile 
matter  and  rate  of  combustion. 

Raising  the  temperature  means  a  shorter 
flame,  large  volatile  percentage  means  a 
longer  flame.  The  rate  of  combustion 
may  mean  a  longer  flame  if  the  resultant 
temperature  is  not  raised,  or  it  may  mean 
a  shorter  flame  if  the  amount  and  dis- 
tribution of  the  air  are  such  as  to  satisfy 
the  first  requisite  of  high  temperature. 

The  problem  of  designing  a  smokeless 
furnace  is  not  so  much  A  problem  of  fur- 
dace  volume  as  it  is  of  furnace  length. 
Some  fires  give  off  a  flame  20  feet  long 
and  should  be  reduced,  and  the  baffles  so 
arranged  that  the  heating  surface  does 
not  come  in  contact  with  the  yellow 
flame,  as  this  causes  the  precipitation  of 
carbon,  due  to  the  cooling  effect  of  the 
boiler  tubes.  This  can  be  arranged  for 
by  using  horizontal  baffles  on,  say,  a 
Babcock  and  Wilcox  boiler,  or  by  con- 
structing a  dutch  oven  of  sufficient  length 
to  produce  the  same  result.  The  air  sup- 
ply must  be  adjusted  for  every  change 
in  rate  of  combustion.     The  disadvantage 


June  8.  1909. 

of  horizontal  baffling,  as  is  generally 
known,  is  due  to  the  deposit  of  a»hc»  on 
the  heating  surface. 

An  experiment  with  a  bunsni  burner 
will  illustrate  this.  Suppose  wc  allow  the 
'  to  bum  yellow.  The  hydrocarlxin 
i  '-ves  its  hydrogen  first,  in  the  pr.)ces> 
«jI  combustion,  and  precipitates  the  carUjii 
ihat  at  the  resultant  temperature  renders 
it  incandescent  and  hence  luminous.  In- 
tercept this  yellow  Hame  with  a  cold  piece 
fif  porcelain,  for  instance,  and  $*>ot  will 
immediately  be  deposited  The  boiler 
presents  a  similar  condition,  and  the  stMt 
will  go  up  chimney,  and  we  call  it  siiioke. 
Change  the  flame,  by  opening  the  holes 
at  the  Intttom  of  the  burner,  and  the 
Hame  burns  blue.  The  cold  porcelain  will 
have  no  sof>t  deposite<l  on  it,  if  placed 
in  the  flame.  Were  this  to  occur  in  the 
boiler,  no  smoke  could  possibly  be  forme<l 
If  it  were  possible  to  imitate  the  bunsen 
burner  in  boiler  furnaces,  we  would  have 
perfect     c  •    ■  and    a     tlame    of    no 

luminositN  '  itely  sm>.kilt  s*. 

wue  mv  ••   sight 

.1    heavy   >■  -   not  a 

'  riuu^    waMe  c»f  coal,   possibly    not    more 
■■).in   I   per  cent.     The  evil  lie<*  in  its  un 
li-anlincss  and  the  fact  that  its  cxisten> 
!-  s<j  pr.tminent. 

.-Xlphonsc  a.  Aoujl 
BrrK>klyn.  N    Y 


\pril  ft  number.  Vict«»r  White 
gfXMl  [)iitnts  oil  firing  IxMler* 
1  do  liwi  agree,  however,  that  a  thin 
fire  should  be  carried  when  burning  small 
coal.  It  has  lieen  my  experience  t'>  iarr> 
between  H  and  u  inches  of  fire  to  ••blain 
the  best   results. 

I  had  charge  of  a  pbnt  rrntaininK  fhre 
•ilers.    each    having    80    sqture    feet    of 
ice.      When    u^ing    bitumiiHius 
we    always    carru-d    lo   or    tj 
iialit-.    ui    lire,    with    go«K|    results        |    do 
not     U-lieve    that     two    men    touM    have 
cleaned  one  of  thev   furnaces  in   10  min- 
ufes;  in  fact,  it  t«»ok  just  three  hours  tf» 
clean  the  five  furnaces,  and  two  men  had 
to  go  some  to  do  that  and  attend  to  th^ 
rrgaUr   firing,   at   the   boilers    were   gen- 
erating about  all  the  steam  that  could  be 
g(»t  out  of  them  with  hand-firing 

Ijocis  B.  Cau- 
MarshfieM.  Wis 


POW  ER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

panying  sketch,  will  not  aflfect  the  prob- 
lem any.  The  weight  will  !  '  'ad 
against  the  end  of  the  cyl:  at 
the  same  •  1  ice  the  rc-qmnil  >trc»s 
of  1000  ;  .  each  of  the  twelve 
studs,  as  given  in  the  problem. 

The  inside  area  of  the  head  is  given  as 
IJO  square  inches  and  a  press. :re  of  too 
pounds  per  square  inch,  as  set  t'orth.  will 
give  a  total  weight  or  pressure  of  I2jooo 
poutKls  on  the  head. 


Will  the  Load  on  the  Bolls  Change? 

I  once  tried  to  follow  the  elaborate  cal- 
stiUlions  of  a  very  able  writer  who  under- 
took to  show  in  a   similar  case  that  part 
of  the   load,   due   to   ■ 
rylimlrr,  i*  t;iken  up 
iMfdilional    *tret*    in    ' 
say   I    was  coinincefl 

figures.     The  way  I  look  at  the  qurslion 
l^    i!ii«  • 

-ig  the  rylin«ler  in  •  ver 

'  '"uiing  the  Iwills  on  • 

•  ler.  a*   shown   m   • 


r.«X 


Mt   mCRBUIOM'.s  SUGGESTION 


Suppose  we  pile  l2/x»  pot:nds  of  scrap  > 
inside  the  cylinder  inste.id  of  i.  ■  s 

sure   on   it,    ihi*   wnyht    ..f    -  ^. 

'  given 

'  ii-nt    to 

"  ince      the      weight      of      12.000 

I'  ere  is  of  course  no  additional 

stress  on  the  bohs,  only  the  original  tooo 
prninds  apiece.     If  we  have  aw 
or   ebstic    packing    lietwrrn, 
will  n        "  ., 

see.  !• 

P^'   *■  l.   »m   the   junk, 

•f""   '"  ^       lie  set   up  tight 

against  the  emi  ttange.  just  merely  touch 
ing   the  gasket   and,   as  arranged   in   the 
•ketch,  a   fraction  of  a   pound  ad<icd  to 
the  12/xx)  pounds  of  scrap  will 
head    lo    drap    awav    trttm    i< 
enlirri)  T  •" 

h«>id   II    in   place  < 

•'  «re  ebstic  and  of  ^ ;i 

^<  little    under    a    load    of    la* 

I**- •-.   -••<!   it   may  luve  been  belter  to 

iissume    each    one   of    the    taiitt   to   be    a 


1025 

and  the  additional  load  will  »how  on  the 
scales,  but  not  till  ihen. 

It    CCOCBBLOM 

Gary.  Ind. 

F    ^hnjfd    vj>    that    in    the   case   of   the 
^  studs  after 

- -"d  09  will  be 

equal  to  the  initial  pressure,  Le^  1000 
poundK  provided  the  bcT:  ■  .  '  '  'r,^ 
of  ihe  cylinder  l>ead  i»  i^y 

be    done    in    .."  j^ 

sign  of  the  gr  .to 

be  that  sli. .wTi  111  !  ^,,n^ 

In  the  ra-      f  n  ,  jjaJtft  the 

of  the 
•''^^^•■••'  ..--  --ij|  pres- 

sure on  ilie  gasket,  te .  jooo  pounds. 

AlthouKh  the  problem  is  an  impractical 
'■ric.  U  ause  Ihe  initial  stress  on  a  gas- 
ket juiiii  shouki  never  !  '  .  as  the 
one  on  a  ground  joint.  :  4  very 
|»ractical  reflection  on  the  >^rcisnig  up  of 
r>lMider  heads 

Ihe  m<  ^. 

'It    and  ^ 

s    the    body    of    the    stud. 
•n  of  the  flange  and  joint 
ot   the  cover  may  be  neglected,  as  etna- 
(tared  to  the  elongation  of  the  stud,  on 
account  of  iheir  far  greater  secti«inal  area 

•Any   pressure   in   the   <  . '  !c- 

crease    the    presMire   of    -  ..,| 

.^Ir    (.1:    I   -.1,-,  ^ 

'       ''^         '   '    '   '  -ujn    to    the 

>Nlin.|,r    ,.rr-i;r.-    u  ^    ,   1^^      J, 

IS.  therefore,  not  practical  lo  haw  the 
initial  stress  in  the  studs  equal  to  the 
working  pressure  on  the  cylinder  bead, 
but  about  one-quartr-  -      -  »    •  •  ^, 

lion   should   be   iak<  „ 

XV'  ■  „ 

'  n. 

1.    Mhcthci    :]h    «)liiwkf    f  m%t€k- 
not 
1  Ik-  mo»i  ebstic  pan  in  a  fMkrt  loiM 


ffltff  '.'■.■■■— r 


turn:  \;:, 


.ma 


Kf-pr^^vfc^  I 


41  o«  itir  gatkM  OB 


r>'  >f  annrr  ■ 


ioj6 


PO\\-ER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  8,  1909. 


mitted  to  the  nuts  through  the  flange  of 
the  cylinder  head. 

The  pressure  on  the  gasket  remains  con- 
stant and.  therefore,  does  not  need  to  be 
as  high  as  the  working  pressure  in  the 
cylinder,  as  was  the  case  with  the  ground 
joint,  but  about  one-half  of  it.  During 
operation  of  the  cylinder  the  stress  on  the 
studs  will  vary  from  Vi  to  i;4  times  the 
total  cylinder  pressure,  a  condition  which 
should  be  admitted  only  when  absolutely 
necessary. 

If  the  cylinder  heads  in  each  of  Mr. 
Glick's  cases  had  been  screwed  on  as  here- 
with described  the  studs  of  the  ground 
joint  would  have  been  submitted  to  a 
constant  stress  of  1250  pounds ;  the  stress 
on  the  studs  of  the  gasket  joint  would 
have  been  between  500  and  1500  pounds. 
RuLOF  Klein. 

New  York  City. 


who    would    like    an    explanation    of    the 
running   conditions. 

J.     A.     C.^KRUTHERS. 

Bankhcad,  Alberta 


Interesting  Indicator  Diagrams 


Under  the  above  caption,  Mr.  Berry  in 
the  April  6  issue,  stated  in  his  opening 
paragraph  that  the  diagrams  "were  taken 
from  the  same  engine  under  the  same 
conditions  of  working,  but  with  different 
valve  setting."  If  the  engine  is  carrying 
the  same  load  in  each  instance,  then  Mr. 
Berry  must  have  made  a  mistake  some- 
where. 

If  one  takes  the  trouble  to  estimate 
the  mean  effective  pressure  of  the  dif- 
ferent cards,  it  will  be  found  that  there  is 
actually  negative  work  done  in  Fig.  2, 
representing  the  low-pressure  cylinder  be- 
fore changing  the  valve  setting ;  so  that 
this  would  leave  the  total  work,  or  useful 
power,  to  be  developed  in  the  high-pres- 
sure cylinder.  The  constant  for  this  cyl- 
inder is  about  3.04  which,  with  a  mean 
effective  power  of  24  pounds  (in  il- 
lustration) gives  72.96,  say,  73  horse- 
power. 

Computing  the  power  of  this  side  of  the 
engine  again  after  changing  the  valve 
setting,  we  get  a  mean  effective  pressure 
of  19.6  pounds,  which  would  give  59.5 
horsepower.  In  addition  to  this  there  is 
the  power  from  the  low-pressure  cylinder 
to  be  added.  The  constant  of  this  cyl- 
inder is  about  8.7,  which  with  the  mean 
cflFective  pressure  of  Fig.  4,  gives 

6.4  X  8.7  =  55.7 
horsepower,  or  a  total  of 

59-5  +  55-7  =115 
horsepower.     Hence,  there  is  a  difference 
of 

"5  —  73  =  42 

horsepower  to  be  accounted  for  between 
the  two  different  valje  settings.  Of  course 
there  can  be  no  question  but  that  Mr. 
Berry's  final  cards  are  an  immense  im- 
provement over  the  first  ones,  but  there 
are  some  of  us  in  this  neck  of  the  woods 


An  Ejigine  Accident 


.\s  to  the  defects  in  the  diagrams  of 
Mr.  Shcehan,  page  562,  March  23  num- 
ber, I  consider  them  fairly  good.  The 
cutoff  could  be  made  a  little  earlier  in  the 
head-end  diagram  of  the  low-pressure 
cylinder.  This  diagram  has  the  largest 
area  and  the  greatest  horsepower,  show- 
ing that  the  greatest  amount  of  work  is 
on  the  low-pressure  engine,  head  end. 
The  total  horsepower  developed  is  299.45. 
The  receiver  pressure  will  be  governed  by 
the  load  on  the  engine  and  the  terminal 
pressure  in  the  high-pressure  cylinder.  I 
cannot  see  what  effect  the  receiver  pres- 
sure would  have  in  relation  to  the  break- 
ing of  the  high-pressure  piston  rod  at  the 
root  of  the  threads. 

I  believe  this  break  was  due  to  a  de- 
fective spot  in  the  piston  rod.  A  Whit- 
worth  thread  on  a  piston  rod  is  preferable 
to  the  sharp  V-thread. 

The  diameter  of  the  piston  rod  of  the 
low-pressure  engine  seems  a  little  small. 
Surely  3I2  inches  or  334  inches  would  be 
considered  better  practice.  According  to 
the  Engineering  Bulletin  issued  by  the 
University  of  Wisconsin  the  average 
diameter  of  a  piston  rod  for  a  30-inch 
cylinder  of  a  slow-speed  Corliss  engine 
should  be  about  3^  inches. 

Occasionally  it  becomes  necessary  to  put 
all  the  load  on  the  low-pressure  side  of 
an  engine,  possibly  just  for  a  day  or  two, 
until  the  broken  parts  of  the  high-pressure 
side  are  repaired,  and  it  is  at  such  times 
that  a  good-sized  piston  rod  on  the  low- 
pressure  side  would  not  do  any  harm. 
John  I.  Baker, 

Allentown,  Penn. 


Leaky  Discharge  Valves  in  Air 
Compressors 


W.  F.  Turner,  on  page  726,  says  that  he 
"can  hardly  agree"  with  me  that  leaky 
discharge  valves  in  air  compressors  are 
not  a  cause  of  abnormal  heating  of  the 
air  and  consequently  of  explosions  which 
occur  in  compressed-air  pipes. 

Mr.  Turner  says:  "If  on  account  of 
leaky  discharge  valves  the  intake,  or  suc- 
tion valve  on  that  end  does  not  lift,  is  it 
not  an  evident  fact  that  as  the  piston 
moves  back  and  forth  there  is  a  con- 
tinual displacement,  or  churning,  of  air 
gf)ing  on?" 

In  that  case  the  compressor  ceases  to  be 
a  compressor.  If  it  heats  the  air  it  does 
not  deliver  it,  or  send  it  along  into  the 
discharge  pipe.  In  an  indicator  card  from 
an  air  compressor  in  normal  condition, 
when  the  return   stroke  begins,  the  reex- 


pansion  line  drops  to  atmospheric  pres- 
sure very  quickly  and  for  the  intake 
stroke  the  line  is  slightly  below  the  atmo- 
sphere, showing  that  the  C3'linder  fills 
with  free  air  to  be  compressed  and  de- 
livered upon  the  next  stroke,  and  yet  we 
know  that  explosions  occur  with  com- 
pressors which  thus  indisputably  take  in 
and  deliver  merely  a  cylinderful  of  air 
for  each  stroke. 

Mr.  Turner  should  submit  some  in- 
dicator cards  from  the  alleged  com- 
pressors in  which  the  intake  valves  cannot 
and  do  not  open,  as  he  assumes,  an  ac- 
count of  the  freaks  of  the  discharge 
valves.  I  am  not  clear  as  to  how  the 
same  air  can  remain  and  play  back  and 
forth  in  the  cylinder  and  become  in- 
tensively overheated  and  at  the  same  time 
be  flowing  along  the  discharge  pipe. 

Frank   Richards. 

New  York  Citv. 


Compound  Engines 


G.  W.  Harding  lias  a  letter  on  com- 
pound engines  in  the  April  20  number. 
It  seems  that  he  has  the  wrong  idea 
of  compounding.  He  states :  "If  we  have 
two  cylinders  with  a  high-pressure  cyl- 
inder giving  100  horsepower  and  the  low- 
pressure  100,  we  have  a  200-horsepower 
engine."  Then  he  asks :  "If  we  re- 
move the  low-pressure  cylinder,  do  we 
still  have  a  200-horsepower  engine?" 
We  certainly  do  not,  but  if  we  remove  the 
high-pressure  cylinder  and  apply  the  same 
pressure  of  steam  to  the  low-  that  we 
did  to  the  high-,  and  carry  the  expan- 
sions of  the  steam  in  this  low-pressure 
cylinder  through  the  same  extent  that 
we  carried  it  in  the  compound  engine, 
we  would  have  a  200-horsepower  engine. 

It  certainly  is  cheaper  to  build  a  200- 
horsepower  simple  engine  than  a  150- 
horsepower  compound ;  but  there  are 
other  points  to  consider  than  first  cost. 
The  principal  advantage  of  a  compound 
engine  lies  in  the  reduction  of  loss  due  to 
the  difference  in  temperature  in  the  cyl- 
inder between  admission  and  exhaust,  do- 
ing away  with  cylinder  condensation. 
There  are  other  advantages  and  very 
large  reduction  in  the  size  of  the  castings, 
etc.,  as  the  low-pressure  cylinder  has  so 
much  lower  steam  pressures  to  carry. 

A  compound  engine  cannot  be  made  to 
do  twice  the  work  of  a  simple  engine,  if 
the  simple  engine  has  the  same  diameter 
cylinder  as  that  of  the  low-pressure  cjd- 
inder  in  the  compound ;  but  it  will  be  more 
economical,  whether  running  condensing 
or  noncondensing.  The  addition  of  a 
low-pressure  cylinder  to  a  simple  engine 
gives  more  power  because  it  adds  to  the 
range  of  pressures  through  which  the 
engine  works  economically,  and  also  adds 
a  larger  surface  on  which  the  steam 
pressure  may  act. 

Henry  D.  Jackson. 

Boston,  Mass. 


June  8,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER- 


IOZ7 


Official   Report  of  Coal  Consumf>- 

tion  Tests  of  the  New    Scout 

Cruisers 


Tlie  Navy  E>cpartnicnt  has  issued  the 
memoranda  shown  in  the  . 
table  of  the  recent  coaI-coi>- 
of  the  scout  cruisers  "UtriiiinKit<>ii>t ' 
"Chester"  and  "Salem."  The  " Birming- 
ham" is  equipped  with  reciprfKating  en- 
gines, the  "Chester"  with  Parsons  tur- 
bines and  the  "Salem"  with  Curtis  tur- 
bines. 

The  first  test,  at  10  knots  speed,  began 
at  9:jo  a.m..  March  21,  and  ended  at  9:30 
a.m..  March  ^5. 

The  second  test,  at  15  knots  s|K-f<l.  U- 
gan  at  9:45  a.m..  March  29,  and  rmlcd  at 
II  ^5  a.ni..  March  ji. 

The  third  test,  at  20  knots  speed,  be- 
gan at  I  p.m..  April  3.  and  ended  at  j  p.in.. 
April  7. 

The  fourth  test,  at  maximum  speed,  be- 
gan at  10 145  a.m^  April  12,  and  ended  at 
10:45  am.,  .^pril  13. 

As  state<l  in  the  May  II  number,  the 
"Salrm"*"  ti;rf>»nr<i  wrrc  examined  at  the 
ilding  Comj>;in\'s 
the  tests,  and  the 
Navy  iJepartment  states  that  thr  examina- 
tion showed  that  the  buckets  of  the 
tiflh  stage  of  one  of  the  turbines  were 
very  ba<lly  damaged  (as  shown  in  the  May 
18  number),  ap{iarently  by  a  br>lt  which 
came  in  contact  with  them  and  injured 
them  so  seriously  as  materially  to  affect 
the  prrt'nrm.ince  of  that  turbine.  Other 
damaKc.  more  or  less  serious,  was  fouml 
in  this  turbine,  and  also  in  the  other,  ap- 
parently caused  by  lack  of  rigidity 
between  the  turbine  casings  and  the 
thrust  bearings.  Some  of  the  nozzles 
were  also  found  in  a  condition  which 
indicated  that  they  had  been  injured  by 
(mail  fiiece*  f>f  the  buckets  or  by  material 
of  si)nic  kit)"!  v»>ii  )i  Ii.kI  >K-en  left  in  the 
turbine  in  JJrlK^^^   i.|'  iii.nitifacture. 

The  Navy  Department  further 
that  these  defects  are  all  \>emti  iiiaile  k 
by  the  l-'ore  River  Shipbuilding  Company 
and  upon  their  completion  it  is  the  in- 
tention to  repeal  the  water-consumption 
tests  of  the  "Salem,"  aiu!  these  may  be 
followed  hv  C04I  i<>n*uitiptu<n  tests  on  the 
"Hk  "Chester"     and     "Salcm," 

but  ision   on    lh«*    fw'int    ha»   n»»» 

been     frj«  iirU        It    i» 
"Salem's"    tests    will    i. 
after   she   makes   a   trip   to   the   coast    oi 
Africa,   to   join   the   other   KotU  cruisers 
and  return  with  them. 

A  press  despatch  '•-•-'  —;  May  JJ 
that    "the     Salem'    wi  !  slay    al 

the  yard  of  the    1  '      '  *'"« 

Cf>mt>jn'-   ihrr*-  »•  .    -i    ! 

rrj 
be. 

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II  82-==     =  =  - 

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%    3  % 


\\    r:?«Br?S  8  8 


on  the  North  Dakota."  Under  the  old 
ftyk.  when  a  tiozzle  wore  oat  or  needed 
repairing,  it  was  necessary  to  tend  the 
\essel  to  the  navy  yard  and  knock  brr 
engines  down  By  the  improved  pattern 
the  :td  a  new 


Good    Record    by   a  SiKtion  Pro- 
ducer and  Hit-and-Miu  Ejngine 


By   Wisuv   E.    Mc.\biicij. 


t    ntimber    of 

'ant. 

.    e«- 

elf. 

x  of 
;is  that  1 


is    cm- 


Having    ^*m    m    a 
Puwu  .1 
and  cb'-i 

peri  ^   (iie    sa 

I  h.4  .  'wn  a  bri 

the  queer  situations  ai 
have  encountered  ui  a  bti*.!  > « ^  ■  •  c  ntuotlu' 
expeneiKe  with  a  producer  outfit. 

There  is  h<ated  in  Brot^>klyn.  a  gas 
producer  power  plant  which  «ii{iplMrs  light 
and  power  to  a  n\  ind- 

kcrchief    factory.  ^    1 

very  steady  power .  \ 
are  not  allowable  bec.i 
lion  shows  up  on  the  (mished  product. 
The  machine-shop  people  don't  care  bow 
fast  it  goes  as  long  as  it  keeps  fotng.  as 
it  it  a  comparatively  easy  matter  to  speed 
up  or  down  a  Ltthe  or  other  ir»ol 

The  cnKine  is  of  the   for.- 
horizontal  type,  with  ^  }i  v 
a  bore  of  6  n- 
power.      Hit  . 
pl<i>xd  with  a  *rtTii  am  ..' .  ^ 

It  drives  a  45  kilowatt  •  ;•    ■•■•■'■ 

wound  generator,  by  a  bell  The  current, 
at  a  voltage  of  118  to  ijo.  is  distnbuted 
all  over  the  building,  there  being  about  150 
ampere*  devoted   to  xV  •  -     _,  cirosits 

and  about  joo  ampere«  the  van 

out  motors 

The  engine.  beff»re  th^  advent  of  the 
producer,  ran  on  tt  aa  avrragr 

COM  of  $j7t  vrr  ■  «as  and  half 

of  the  w  I  attendant  (who  pot  tn 

a  large  ;    ■:  c  flay  on  tyi^^rt  .f-.!!»cs). 

which  was  ffio  per  nxMiih.  -  >valf 

of  which  was  borne  by  the  ; -    ihop 

in  return  for  various  arrvice*  rendered 
by  bun. 

With  the  producer,  we  we  io  torn  ol 
pea  coat  Mib.   cosii'  .  Tbr 

nan  in  .the  plar  '  ffti 

a  mooflb  ami  tks<4r«  half  <^i  U*  tone 
to  ocbcr  dtttirs  rangsag  fra*a  puitiag  a 
lode  OS  a  door  to  rcpairias  an  aotono- 
b«le.  The  sj«tn«  is  the  diffrrntce  be- 
tween S  Sm  and  I41  Htt*  %U 
This    •-  ••■'    '-    •»' 


One    tr'n<ir    tKf 

«raa  a  tendcacT  ibe  vap»n;  HM 

rcwthrd  in  ga»  drfK»<!ii  .-^  nsdrfr- 
■■rmm^'^  tank   wub   a   S«B   Aoat 

II    It  ..  I  diftcwhy  anif 

fofgi4  H 

thing  aa  a  tayorwer. 


I028 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  8,  1909. 


When  the  change  was  made  to  producer 
gas,  the  compression  of  the  engine  was 
increased  from  90  to  145  pounds,  and  an 
air  compressor  was  installed  in  conjunc- 
tion with  a  moderate-sized  tank  to  re- 
place the  old  hand  pump  used  to  force 
a  mixture  of  air  and  gas  into  the  cyl- 
inder to  start  up.  An  interesting  fact 
is  that  the  engine  can  be  started  up  at 
present  on  130  pounds  of  air  pressure  in 
spite  of  the  fact  that  the  engine  has  a 
compression  of  145  pounds.  This  is  pos- 
sible because  the  air  is  delivered  to  the 
piston  throughout  the  full  length  of  the 
stroke,  while  the  maximum  pressure  of 
145  pounds  is  obtained  only  at  the  end 
of  the  compression  stroke. 

It  was  also  found  expedient  to  dig  a 
well  and  use  a  larger  quantity  of  water 
in  the  scrubber,  for  the  reason  that  with  a 
one-inch  stream  running  through  the  en- 
gine jacket,  another  just  like  it  doing  busi- 
ness at  the  scrubber,  and  the  vaporizer 
getting  its  quota,  the  water  bill  was  a'- 
most  as  great  as  the  coal  bill. 

We  altered  the  ignition  system  because 
fine  particles  of  ash  would  be  carried  along 
with  the  gas  and  deposited  on  the  steel 
contacts  of  the  make-and-break  igniter. 
We  have  no  difficulty  with  the  present 
spark  plugs;  the  jump-spark  coils  are 
operated  by  storage  cells  charged  from  the 
house  current  and  every  time  the  timer 
wipes  by  its  contact,  we'know  we  are  get- 
ting a  spark  in  the  cylinder. 

The  plant  is  operated  by  one  man  with 
ease,  his  duties  being  light.  He  gets 
to  work  three-quarters  of  an  hour  before 
the  factory  has  to  be  running.  He  rakes 
out  the  fire  in  the  producer  until  he  has 
a. bed  of  about  six  inches  of  good  hot 
fire  on  the  grates.  He  puts  on  the  blower 
(formerly  a  hand  blower,  but  now  oper- 
ated by  a  J/j -horsepower  electric  motor), 
dumps  in  a  charge  of  50  pounds  of  coal 
and  proceeds  to  get  the  engine  read}', 
filling  up  oil  cups,  testing  the  batteries, 
and  so  forth.  Some  ten  minutes  later  he 
dumps  two  more  charges  (100  pounds) 
of  coal  on  the  fire.  Soon  the  gas  makes 
its  appearance  at  one  of  the  test  cocks. 
A  valve  is  then  thrown  over  and  the  gas, 
urged  along  by  the  blower,  drives  out  the 
air  in  the  scrubber  and  in  a  minute  or 
two  the  engine  is  ready  to  start.  Starting 
the  engine  consists  of  getting  it  on  what 
would  be.  if  running,  the  power  stroke, 
with  the  crank  just  enough  above  center 
to  insure  the  engine  turning  over  in  the 
right  direction ;  shutting  off  the  blower  at 
the  pro<luccr;  retarding  the  spark,  and 
admitting  air  to  the  cylinder  by  means  of 
a  manually  operated  valve  located  in  the 
exhaust  passage  l^^etween  the  exhaust  valve 
and  the  cylinder  proper.  The  piston  moves 
forward,  the  exhaust  valve  opens  and  at 
the  end  of  the  exhaust  stroke  the  gas  is 
sucked  in,  compressed,  exploded,  and 
usually  the  engine  runs  right  along  with- 
out any  trouble ;  if,  however,  it  stfips,  it 
is  due  to  insufficient  blowing  of  the  fire 
or  too  thick  a  bed  of  coal  to  suck  the  ;iir 


steam  througli.  The  remedies  arc  quite 
obvious. 

During  the  day  coal  is  charged  as  re- 
quired. The  usual  method  of  handling 
the  producer  is  as  follows :  After  the  en- 
gine has  been  running  for  a  few  moments, 
100  pounds  of  coal  is  charged  and  half 
an  hour  later,  150  pounds  more,  tliis  mak- 
ing in  all  about  300  pounds  of  coal,  which 
is  enough  until  11  :30,  when  another  charge 
of  50  pounds  is  dropped.  At  noon,  as 
soon  as  the  load  is  off,  the  man  gets  to 
work  at  the  producer  with  a  poker  and 
rakes  out  what  is  left  of  the  fire  carried 
over  from  the  previous  day.  The  fuel 
bed  is  then  poked  down  through  one  of 
the  poke  holes  in  the  top,  and  another 
charge  of  coal  dumped  in.  Sometimes  the 
engine  slows  down,  but  picks  up  again 
at  once  and  is  ready  for  the  load  at 
12:30.  At  I  o'clock,  150  pounds  of  coal 
is  charged  and  this  is  usually  enough 
for  the  afternoon ;  however,  on  dark  days 
cr  in  the  winter,  we  usually  give  an- 
other charge  at  4:30  and  this  carries  the 
plant  through  the  day. 

Running  on  a  load  of  250  amperes,  the 
producer  consumes  about  550  pounds  per 
day.  On  dark  days  and  during  the  winter 
the  consumption  is  correspondingly  great- 
er. The  coal  consumption  of  the  plant  is 
approximately  two  pounds  of  coal  per 
brake  horsepower-hour. 

In  conclusion  I  would  say  that  we  have 
had  some  trouble,  but  it  was  due  to  lack 
of  knowledge,  the  apparatus  not  being  at 
fault.  There  have  been  discouraging  times, 
it  is  true,  when  various  troubles  have 
arisen,  such  as  a  cracked  vaporizer,  un- 
suitable coal,  leaky  producer  lining,  and  a 
thousand  little  things,  but  it  has  been  well 
worth  while  to  change  from  city  gas  to 
producer  gas  when  one  considers  that  the 
producer,  which  cost  $1600,  more  than 
paid    for    itself   the   first   year. 


Depreciation    of   Power  Plant 
Equipment 


By   F.   H.   Neely 


Lest  the  reference  to  the  Foster  fan- 
rcgulating  valve  in  connection  with  the 
accident  at  the  Concord  (Mass.)  Reform- 
atory, on  page  886,  of  our  issue  of  May 
18,  be  misunderstood  as  implicating  the 
Foster  valve  in  the  responsibility  for  the 
accident,  it  is  desired  to  state  that  the 
writer  had  been  misinformed  and  that 
there  was  no  Foster  valve  in  use  in  the 
plant,  and  had  there  been  and  had  it 
operated  as  was  stated,  it  could  not  have 
been  claimed  that  it  contributed  to  the 
accident.  By  those  connected  with  the 
plant,  it  was  thought  the  accident  was 
caused  by  the  water  carried  over  by  the 
priming  of  the  horizontal  boiler,  which 
was  being  crowded  to  the  utmost  at  the 
time  of  the  accident. 


Recently  contracts  were  let  by  the  Gov- 
ernment for  what  is  expected  to  be  the 
most  powerful  wireless  station  in  the 
world.  It  will  be  erected  in  Washington, 
and  when  in  working  order  it  will  be  able 
to  communicate  with  naval  vessels  3000 
milts  away. 


This  subject  is  one  upon  which  few  set 
ideas  prevail.  Practice  appears  to  be  as 
varied  as  power  plants  themselves.  Direc- 
tors, owners  and  operators  are  loath  to 
regard  this  important  item  except  in  an 
abstract  and  unintelligible  way,  realizing 
it  exists,  but  neglecting  to  analyze  their 
own  particular  cases  and  making  provision 
accordingly.  It  must  be  recognized  that 
depreciation  should  enter  into  the  cost 
of  developing  power  just  as  surely  and 
consistently  as  the  monthly  labor,  coal, 
water  and  maintenance  bills.  No  net 
profits  can  legitimately  be  declared  earned, 
until  the  proper  depreciation  is  deducted 
from  the  gross  earnings.  It  will  be 
argued  that  when  by  constant  repair  a 
plant  is  kept  in  first-class  condition,  no 
depreciation  is  necessary.  This,  of  course, 
is  a  false  theory,  for  the  plant  would  then 
have  an  indelinite  economic  life.  An 
occasional  appraisal  by  a  disinterested 
party  will  bring  the  owner  to  the  realiza- 
tion that  some  consideration  must  be 
taken  of  this  matter  and  that  it  must  not 
be  disregarded  in  the  yearly  financial  ad- 
justment of  a  severe  burden  is  to  be 
avoided  in  the  end. 

Some  private  and,  unfortunately,  a  great 
many  municipal  plants  make  no  deprecia- 
tion provision  whatsoever  from  their 
earnings.  The  ultimate  result  is  to  call 
on  the  stockholders  for  additional  capital 
where  replacement  is  necessary ;  in  muni- 
cipal plants,  as  a  rule,  bonds  are  issued 
for  building  and  replacement.  How  often 
are  30-  and  50-year  electric-light  and 
waterworks  bonds  issued,  when  it  is 
known  that  the  economic  life  of  the  plant 
built  with  this  money  cannot  be  over 
25  years? 

In    order   to   arrive   at    the    annual   fig- 
ure by  which  the  gross  earnings  must  be 
debited    to    care    for     depreciation,     it     is 
necessary  to    settle   the   number   of   years 
which  will  pass  before  the  apparatus  in  a 
plant  will  arrive  at  a  scrapping  state  and 
require  renewal.   In   determining  the   effi- 
cient economic  life,  the  engineer  in  charge 
of  the  plant  should  be  looked  to  for  the 
best  judgment  and  advice.      Segregation 
and  grouping  are  necessary,  for  everyone 
realizes   the   inaccuracy   that  would   come 
from  considering  all  apparatus  to  have  the 
same  life.  The  engineer  is  in  a  position  to 
know    the    relative    life    of   a    slow-speed, 
well-built  Corliss  engine  as  compared  to 
a  large,    intricate    gas    engine    having 
multitude  of  moving  parts.  With  a  know! 
edge  of  the  kind  of  boilers  and  the  wate 
and  service,  he  can  most  intelligently  d< 
termine  the  life  of  the  boilers.   Similarly 
with  due  consideration  of  service,  usag< 
m.echanical  makeup  and  obsolescence,  th 
engineer  should  be  able  to  assign  a  very 


June  8,  1909. 

close  economic  life  to  all  of  the  machines 
and  auxiliary   equipment. 

Fbactioxal  Methoo 
Depreciation  is  commonly  disponed  of 
by  charging,  i.e.,  reducing  the  asset  ac- 
count an  equal  fraction  yearly  of  the 
original  cost  of  the  productive  plant  ba^ed 
upon  its  estimated  economic  life.  It  is 
often  that  companies  without  any  esti- 
mate as  to  the  true  life  of  machine^  or 
equipment  will  write  off  jrearly  10  per 
cent,  of  the  original  cost,  thus  disponing 
of  the  total  value  in  10  years.  Ii  is 
argued  that  the  machines  are  oliNolete 
after  10  years'  service  owing  to  improve- 
ments in  design,  whereas  some  equipment 
is  good  for  from  jo  to  ^5  years. 

RCOL'CINC-BALANCE   McTHOD 

This  method  of  charging  off  for  depre- 
ciation  is  at   t'lr^t   sight   rather   deceiving. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

the  chargt-    falls   toward   the  end  of  thb 
period.     The  foil.  .  a  ill  show 

its  action  iur  i  i .  .t. 


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Here,  of  course,  the  interest,  4  per 
cent,  is  paper  work,  no  real  value  de- 
vrli>ping  as  in  the  sinking-fund  me(h<jd 
following : 

Sinking  Flnp 
Here  an  annual  sum  is  laid  aside  ur  in 


I0d9 

not  off  iach  latttf  durattan^     ThU  wnold 

aj-c 

tcr 

a> 

nu» 

gels  older,  so  that  it  would  treti 

to     gradually      minr-     »h^     .(, 

burden. 

Rtn-Knutm  avd  EmxfioK 
In  man)   instances  it  is  diflWult  to  dis- 
tinguith    bctwe«-n    a    rcplarmscnt    and   ex- 
tensi.rti.      Vr-  'y    is 

bought  of  a   !  tm 

wa.- 

new   apparat'.i»  lr«s  the  est  -t  of 

exact  replacement  of  the  oUl  . iry  to 

be  credited  as  increased  assets,  while  the 
estimated  cost  of  rrpUcement  is  charged 
to  renew.-kls. 
There  are  a  great  many  points  that  majr 


l-PTT-T 


> 

y 

/^ 

-^ 

^ 


t         ]         )         t         1         I 


It  U  M 


bcnanATmM  and  sinking  rvxp  ccivm 


great   many  more   years  is  required     vested  in  •cruriiies.  the  amount  nf  which     br  hroactil  to  benr  ofMMi  deckfim  the  Bfr 


t>    rrdiicr    the    in\ 
than    the    per   ccir 
caie.      Thus   referring    lo   ilic   «i' 
ctirve*  2  ami  y  thow   that  a   10  ; 
reduction   carries    this    time    to    J5    years, 
while  a   iS-per  cent     rr.f.i,  i-u.    »w»biire   is 
needed   to   retire  the  in     10 

year*.  I'nder  this  sch- ;..■  .■  I^rge  pro- 
portion rf  the  depreciation  comes  when 
the  machine  i«  new 


In   this   mf 
charHr<l  ..ff  • 

piritiofi     ••( 
\\  to  the 

f-est  on  t!.^      ., 

-rin      The  amount* 


'I 


r    «tTTn*    nf^ 


the 

fr.! 


Will,  wm' 
of  the  r 
in\e«tmrni. 
two  wav>  • 
eqiuil  >' 
terett    c       , 


the 


a  h* 

cikTti      it    wooU   br    1 

\      »       \\r      fra<!rf«      .«f 


Thi*   tiMy   lie  '.    in 

rir»t.    by    a»  the 

ilut    invented,   with    in 
-;.  .cd.    will     make     »t"-     ' ■ 
quired  amount     Curve  No    4  ! 
am:'-    •'  ■'••<      A   lo-yeor  life  prf.  •■   ■■  ,      ^■■ 
$!'•  «t    4    per     cent.     rc«iu»^es    ■     Cta* 

yrarij  ■   ^■ 

T  TW  awTv*" 


ali 


(O 


Tmi 


n 


mpani    in 


>caJ   aM«t«  o< 

■>«■     C  ■  n\t*xn\ 


•\\   in  inc   r»r«r 


1030 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  8,  1909. 


POWER 

JT^The  Engineer 

ULVOTED    TO    THE  GENERAriO.N    AND 
TRANSMISSION-   OF  POWER 

Issued  Weekly  by  the 

Hill  Publishing  Company 

JoBx  A.  Hill.  Pre*.  «nd  Tre«».         Robebt  McKkan,  Sec'y. 

50o  Pearl  Street.  New  York. 

355  Dearborn  Street,  Chicago. 

6  Bouverie  Street,  London,  E.  C. 


A  Change  of  Heart 


Correspondence  suitable  for  the  columns  of 
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Cable  address,  "  Powpcb,"  N.  Y. 
Business  Telegraph  Code. 


CIRCCLA  TIOX    S  TA  TEMES  T 

Durinii  1908  ire  printed  and  circulated 
1,836,<-HX»  copies  of  Power. 

Our  ciri  Illation  for  Hay.  1909,  was  (weekly 
and  monthly)   l.'32,000. 

June   1 42,000 

June  8 36.000 

yone  sent  free  retiularly,  no  returns  from 
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Contents 


PAGE 


A  42-Inch  Low  Pressure  Elevator  Pump. . .     997 

A  Cour?«  in  Plant  Management 999 

Effictency    Test    of   Three-Wire    Balancing 

Dynamos 1000 

Coftl  Con.siimption  of  Steam  Turbine  Sta- 

tion.s     1001 

Getting  the  Most  Out  of  Gas  Engines 1003 

Some  Useful  Lessons  of  Limewater 1004 

Coal  Analysis 1006 

The  EaAtem  Gas  and   Electric  Company's 

Plant 1007 

In-ijeiion  for  New   York's  Low  Pressure 

Boileni 1009 

Ca.Ht  Iron  Fittings  and  Superheated  Steam.    1011 

Effirienf  y  1013 

TIte  Fu»-1  Question  in  Texa-s 1014 

Real  Relation  of  CO,  to  Chimney  Losses.  .    1015 

UaterhLHm  of  F.lertririty    1017 

Prai-tiral  I.*tler!t  from  Pra<-tical  Men: 

Ina<Turacies of  Indicator  Diagrams.  .  . . 

K'»*n'ri'-   at    Ninety    Degrees         Hy- 

■   'ormation         .\    Peculiar 

rig     Trouble  Knock     in 

Safety  of  Pii>e  Fittings 

Ux-hiK)t  Trouble What  Would 

Happen  If  the  Belt  Came  om  .  .  . 
Bracing  Dome  Head.s..  Experience 
with  Ga«  Power.  .  .  Repairing  a  Center 
Crank  .  .  Firing  Boilem.  .  , ,  Will  the 
Ja»i\  on  the  Bolts  Change?.  .  .  Inter- 
esitJTOc  Indicator  Diagrams ...  An 
Engine  .Occident  I^aky  DLs<harge 
Valvpjt    in    Air    '  -         Com- 

pound    Engine  f  )fficial 

Report  of  f*<«l  I  .      ,ri  Tests  of 

the  New  S<-out  CriiLTer.-. 1027 

Good   Record  by  a  Suction  Producer  and 

Hit-and-Mi.<t8  Engine 1027 

Depreciation  of  Power  Plant  Equipment. . .    1028 

F^ilorials 1030-1031 

Te«l  of  a  Peerlcs-t  "  V  "  Belt  Drive 103:^ 


It  is  gratifying  to  notice  that  one  of  the 
principal  American  railroads  has  an- 
nounced its  intention  to  give  the  public 
throligh  the  newspapers  prompt  and  ac- 
curate information  regarding  any  accident 
which  may  occur  on  its  lines. 

There  is  a  disposition  upon  the  part  of 
industrial  concerns,  as  well  as  of  rail- 
roads, to  attempt  to  cover  up  any  mis- 
hap which  occurs  in  their  plants  and  to 
refuse  particulars  even  when  forced  to 
admit  that  there  has  been  trouble.  Power 
has  frequently  sent  a  man  across  several 
States  to  investigate  a  report  of  a  fly- 
wheel accident  or  a  boiler  explosion,  only 
to  be  informed  that  the  accident  was  a 
trifling  affair,  much  exaggerated  in  the 
newspaper  account,  and  that  there  was  ab- 
solutely nothing  to  give  out  concerning  it. 
If  investigation  is  allowed  and  sub- 
stantiates this  view  of  the  matter  we  are 
alwaj's  glad  to  say  so.  If  not,  we  publish 
what  we  can  find  out  and  emphasize  the 
fact  that  information   was   refused. 

The  natural  inference  is  that  the  facts 
if  published  would  not  look  good  for  the 
management,  or  for  the  apparatus  which 
failed.  We  are  not  responsible  for  the 
inference,  if  they  wish  to  adopt  that  at- 
titude. The  usual  excuse,  when  any  ex- 
cuse is  given,  is  that  every  accident  brings 
around  such  a  flock  of  vultures  in  the 
shape  of  shyster  lawyers  and  others  seek- 
ing to  profit  from  the  misfortunes  of  the 
victims  that  absolute  secrecy  is  the  only 
safe  policy.  There  is  also  a  kindly  dis- 
position to  shield  the  makers  of  the 
wrecked  apparatus  in  view  of  negotiations 
for  its  replacement.  Neither  excuse  is 
valid.  If  the»e  has  been  such  negligence 
as  to  entitle  victims  to  damages,  nobody 
can  have  any  sympathy  with  the  policy 
which  locks  the  gate  until  such  evidence 
can  be  destroyed.  If  the  facts  are 
such  as  to  relieve  the  management 
of  responsibility,  an  investigation  of 
the  accident  by  a  trained  observer 
■will  help  to  bring  them  out.  If  the 
boiler  or  engine  is  faulty  in  design  or 
construction,  or  if  it  has  been  operated 
in  such  a  way  as  to  lead  to  destruction, 
the  public  is  entitled  to  know  it.  If  the 
fault  is  inherent  in  the  type  it  should 
be  exposed  and  corrected,  if  it  is  in- 
cidental to  the  individual  machine  or  ap- 
paratus and  could  not  have  been  avoided 
by  ordinary  care  and  inspection  there  can 
be  no  harm  in  making  it  known.  If  it  was 
the  result  of  faulty  operation  or  use,  an 
expose  of  the  condition  might  warn  others 
against  the  same  malpractice.  If  it  was 
the  result  of  poor  design,  cheap  construc- 
tion and  wilfully  hidden  defects,  it  ought 
to  be  advertised. 

No  manufacturer  likes  to  have  his  er- 
rors or  misfortunes  held  up  for  analysis, 
but  a  reputation  based  upon  a  lot  of  con- 
cealed faults  and  blanketed  failures  is  of 
no     permanent    worth,     and     the     manu- 


facturer who  has  faith  in  his  apparatus 
and  knows  tliat  it  has  failed  only  because 
of  some  exceptional  reason,  who  faces  the 
case  like  a  man  and  satisfies  himself  and 
the  public  that  he  has  found  the  cause 
and  eradicated  it,  is  the  one  who  will  win 
confidence   and   ultimate   success. 


Coke  from  Illinois  Coal 


To  coke  Western  coals  and  obtain  a 
product  suitable  for  metallurgical  use  has 
for  a  long  time  been  considered  an  impos- 
sible proposition,  due  to  the  fact  that  . 
these  coals  contain  only  the  lighter  vola- 
tiles,  and  after  driving  off  these  con- 
stituents it  was  believed  the  result  would 
be  nothing  more  than  coke  breeze.  The 
experiments  made  by  the  technological 
branch  of  the  United  States  Geological 
Survey  at  the  St.  Louis  exposition  ap- 
parently verified  this  conclusion,  for  their 
tests  did  not  result  in  any  degree  of  suc- 
cess. It  remained  for  Dr.  R.  S.  Moss, 
an  English  expert  on  the  subject,  to  prove 
that  any  Illinois  coal  would  make  a  satis- 
factory coke. 

From  a  study  of  Eastern  coals,  Dr. 
]\Ioss  discovered  that  their  readiness  to 
coke  was  due  to  the  heavy  hydrocarbons 
contained  in  them.  To  break  up  the  light- 
er volatiles  and  produce  these  heavy  hy- 
drocarbons in  Illinois  coal  was  the  prob- 
lem, and  the  solution  rested  in  quickly 
getting  a  high  temperature  and  continuing 
the  coking  process  for  a  period  of  much 
shorter  duration  than  given  to  Eastern 
coals.  Where  forty-eight  hours  was  for- 
merly required  to  produce  furnace  coke 
and  foundry  coke  was  given  seventy-two 
hours,  a  period  of  twenty-four  to  thirty- 
hours  sufficed  for  Illinois  coal.  When  the 
coal  last  mentioned  was  coked  according 
to  the  usual  schedule,  the  result  was  in- 
variably coke  breeze,  and  it  was  found 
that  the  quicker  the  process,  the  better 
the  quality  and  the  more  satisfactory  the 
coke. 

Aside  from  the  advantages  accruing  to 
the  furnace  and  foundry  interests  from 
such  reduction  in  the  time  element,  the 
discovery  may  have  some  bearing  on  the 
fuel  question  in  Western  cities,  where 
the  production  of  smoke  from  the  use 
of  bituminous  coal  has  long  been  a  mat- 
ter of  serious  contention.  No  figures 
are  available  on  the  cost  of  production, 
but  with  a  cheap  fuel  to  begin  with  and 
the  time  of  manufacture  reduced  by  half, 
the  price  of  the  coke  per  ton  should  not  be 
exorbitant.  It  might  also  be  possible  to 
follow  the  precedent  of  the  New  England 
Gas  and  Coke  Company,  of  Everett,  Mass., 
in  selling  the  gas  as  a  byproduct,  and  in 
this  way  materially  reducing  the  cost. 
The  coke  produced  by  the  new  process  a 
might  then  be  used  to  advantage  under  1 
boilers  for  the  purpose  of  elitninating- 
the  smoke  nuisance,  for  heating  and  - 
domestic  purposes,  and  in  suction  gas  pro-  I 
ducer  plants  instead  of  the  anthracite  now 


June  8,  1909. 


POWER  A\n  THE  ENGINEER. 


lOJI 


utilized.  Such  possibilities  are  worthy  of 
investigation,  which  might  wril  be  under- 
taken by  the  Gfjlogical  Survey  in  the  in- 
terest of  power  users. 


Futile  Attempt  to  5>ecure  New 
Boiler  Insp>ection  Bureau 

For  some  time  it  has  been  the  opitii'.n 
of  a  number  of  engineers  in  Greater  New 
York  that  the  bureau  for  inspecting  steam 
boilers  and  licencing  steam  engineers 
should  not  be  under  the  control  of  the 
*-  '-  -r  defartmen.  and  that  a  new  bureau 
M  be  created  which  would  be  en- 
lir.  iy  independent  of  iither 
nf  ihr  riiy.     While  the  New    : 

n  was  preparing  its  rvp4>rt  uiul 
le  new  charter,  it  was  rumored 
that    a    t  hank;(-    was    contemplated    in    the 
sections    {K-rtaming    to    iKiiler    inspection 
and  engineers'  licensee.     To  forestall  any 
unfavorable  legislation  and  to  present  their 
side  of  the  question,  the  combined   N.  A. 
S.  iL  associations  of  Brooklyn  drew  up  a 
bill,   which   in   reality   was  a   revise<l  e<li- 
of  the   old    I^    Feira   bill   originally 
•1    up  by   the   A.   S     N     K .   and   in- 
the    combined    a»  ten    in 

■or,  (,i  Manhattan  .1  ;.ronx  to 

co«»(»erate  with  them.      The  various  orders 
.J  'Ur  International  I'nion  of  Steam  En- 
r«   in   the  city   were  also   invited   to 
r<>-  iK-rate,  although  they  had  not  extend- 
ed   the    same    courtesy     when    preparing 
bill    for    presentation    to    the 
They,    of    r<n!r*r,    ro»jld    not 
Mtih  the  prop 
r    ten    N.    .\ 

illan  and  the    Bronx   voted  to  sup- 

the   Brooklyn  movement.     This  was 

y  due  to  a  feeling  that  with  written 

, -....iinatf  ••-        •   '-eted  on   the   civil-scr- 

virr  plan  '  the  oral  examinations 

now     Ki\rti,     tin-     li    • 
left    tmil«  r    the   col' 

The    coiuliwu  !     llr.    .kl>ii    a» 

am!    •••'■    tw.    '.f     Nf-w     York 

•nl 

ifig 

it   a%   .1  to  amend   the  charter 

Miv\  fi  r  i..~       !i  Iff  a  new  bureau  to 

control  the  operation  of  steam  boiler* 
and  the  licensing  of  engineers  and  fire- 
men. 

Ar  !   be  the 

«lMfv  ,  super- 

'o    was 
nf  the 
York.    . 

•!...!.  I,     • 
of    bi«    j; 

'«  under  a  licetise 


ent,   who   was   to   :. 
boiler    inspectors    a 

executive  force  necessary  for  carrying  on 
the  work  of  the  bureau.  Every  subor- 
dinate engaged  in  carrying  on  this  work 
was  to  be  subject  to  the  provisions  of  the 
civil  service  bw  of  the  Slate  of  New 
York  and  app  '     m  an  eligible  list 

prepared    and  *iy    the    municipal 

civil   ser.  jy.     .\n 

« xamirur  experi- 

ence in  the  operation  oi  steam  engines  and 
Uiilers  under  a  license  issued  to  him  by 
the  city  of  New  York  and  the  same 
length  of  ser\'ice  under  the  same  condi- 
tions was  imposed  on  the  inspectors.  The 
lilts   for   examina- 

les  for  inspection 
Mcrc  much  the  »j:i:c  a^  the  present  law, 
and  also  the  provisions  for  keeping 
records. 

The  suggestion  was  considered  by  the 
charter  commission,  but  it  was  not  incor- 
porated in  the  report  to  the  legislature. 
No  amendment  was  made  to  this  division 
of  the  old  chaner.  ami  as  the  complete 
re|K>rt  of  the  c'larter  commission  was 
•  least  for  the  time  being,  by  tlie 
the  suggcstn  n  of  the  en- 
Kn)c«.r>.  esen  if  it  had  been  incorporated 
in  the  new  charter,  would  h.nvr  rr.-rived 
the  same   fate.     Neither  the  '.  lor 

the  recommendations  of  the  I   N. 

A.    S.    E.    receiving    favorable    attention, 
conditions  are  just  the  same  as  they  were 
a   year   ago.      The   bureau    of   boiler   in- 
spection  and   licensing    '  is   con- 
ducirfl    lit    the    police    -l  as    de- 
'<-  by   .\.  C   kowsey  in 
r  *»f  Powrt  ASD  Tiir. 
■e  recent  article  by  tlie 
h  apfiears  on  |uge  looi> 
of    this    number    will    throw    S4»me    light 
on  th«  Vo*s  bill  and  the   recent  attempt 
of   the    police   department    to    secure   an 
'                         ■'      1  control  over  the 

lers  of  the  city. 


'ibntion  of  the  enengy  in  the  fee<kr 
■'-m.  The  question  of  putting  the  gen- 
erator panels  in  the  middle  or  at  the 
end  of  the  board  is  important.  If  they 
are  located  at  the  end.  the  plant  may  often 
be   extended  rdom.    tf   the 

maximum    in  •  •    dcirrmincd 

at   the  lime   when   iltc  -^rst 

put   in      The  mtirr   c- •  ,  or 

.  if  denred,  can 
a  bus  panel  ia 
such  a  case.  With  a  bracketed  voltmeter 
or  a  synchroscope  at  the  end  of  the  board, 
the  work  of  throwing  generators  into 
multiple  operation  is  Si.mewhai  easier  be- 
cause greater  accuracy  can  be  obtained 
with  the 
luneU  t! 

has  .fc 

the  -rtl 

1"  ;  re  the  biurd  cannot  be 

cent-  !t   the  pbnl.   it    follows 

that  the  installation  of  the  generator 
panels  at  one  end  makes  the  average  cable 
run  shorter  between  the  dynamos  and 
the  board,  although,  in  a  tymmetrical  in- 
stallation, the  shortest  cable  run  is  ob- 
tained when  these  panels  are  in  the 
middle. 

l'n«ler  favorable  condition*,  where  a 
reasonable  am-  :;  •  .  f  :  -  m  ':  >>  ^<-rri  al- 
lowed for  the  .rd. 

and    where   il..    _, .    the 

plant  can  be  known  when  the  apparatus 
is  first  laid  out.  il  is  prolahle  thai  the 
location   of   the   generator   panels   in   the 


duced  to  Ihr 
the  current  p 
there  will  be 


Switchbo.»ri    AtMii, « mcnt    in 

Isolated   Plants  ,|,^ 

In  designing  a  s«kiu  hlH..iri|  layout   for 
an   ivJatetl   pbnt.   almost   the   first    point      devoie<l    t>>    nch 

..I,..  1,    t,  ..,..!..    .,,,led   is  th"   '•-•""    ■'       •       •-    ' ■' 

-tng    an«! 

.1  r        inai 
SO  l» 


;td  con- 
■  are  re- 
til    with 

'  *  and 
'  a 

J  i>iard 
'   al   the 


It 

the 

pr  rated 


Ard 


he 

'    a 


•,    I.,. 


rtf     elrv '  ■  ■*    ••Hlplf    cas    w 

nai 
tht 
were   |o   devolve   apon    this   supertmend-      m  maitipk  wmImmm   resani  io  the  a^tuai     U*«i«t«d  **AlmmUi  •**!» 


1032 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  8,  1909. 


Test  of  a  Peerless  "V"  Belt  Drive 


Belt  drives  with  short  centers  are  al- 
ways to  be  avoided  if  possible :  yet  there 
are  cases  where  for  lack  of  sufficient  room, 
or  for  other  good  reasons,  it  becomes  nec- 
cssar>-  to  install  a  drive  in  the  smallest 
possible  space  and  overcome  the  at- 
tendant difficulties  as  well  as  may  be  under 
the  circumstances.     Such  a  condition  ex- 


^^^^_^^^^^N^-^ 


FIG.     I.     DET.AILS   OF    PEERLESS      V      BELT 

isted  in  the  engine  room  of  the  Chicago 
Savings  Bank  building,  where  some  in- 
teresting data  have  been  collected  regard- 
ing belt  drives  on  short  centers.  The 
equipment  in  question  consists  of  three 
Laidlaw-Dunn-Gordon  triplex  hydraulic 
pumps,  with  3K'Xi2-inch  single-acting 
water  cylinders,  furnishing  a  water  pres- 
sure of  900  pounds  per  square  inch  for  the 
operation  of  elevators.  These  pumps  were 
all  equipped  with  50-horsepower  motors 
having  ii-inch  pulleys  at  each  end  of  the 
shaft  and  driving  the  pump  by  means  of 
two  12-inch  belts  of  double  thickness, 
each  belt  having  a  230-pound  idler  to  in- 
crease the  arc  of  contact  on  the  driving 
pulley.  As  the  diameter  of  the  pump 
belt  wheels  was  9  feet,  and  the  ratio  of 
the  driver  to  the  driven  pulley  was  ap- 
proximately I  to  ID,  with  ii-foot  centers 
as  installed,  the  drives  were  far  from  be- 
ing ideal. 

Some  time  ago  one  of  the  drives  was 
replaced  by  a  new  chain  belt,  made  by  the 
Peerless  "V"  Belt  Company,  215  South 
Ginton  street,  Chicago,  details  of  which 
arc  shown  in  F"ig.  i.  The  core  con- 
sists of  a  chain  made  of  pack-hardened 
machine  steel,  V-shaped  in  section,  in- 
cased in  a  continuous  strip  of  specially 
prepared  rawhide,  which  covers  the  bot- 
tom and  two  sides  of  the  chain,  giving  a 
frictional  surface  to  transmit  the  power. 
The  upper  part  of  the  casing  is  a  sectional 
strip  of  frictional  material,  one  section 
to  each  link  of  the  chain,  and  cut  at  an 
angle  so  as  to  continue  the  frictional  sur- 
face of  the  sides.  Each  section  is  fastened 
to  the  link  by  a  rivet  passing  through  it, 
the  head  of  the  rivet  also  serving  to  bind 
the  two  side  elements  of  the  chain  to- 
gether.    The  belt  is  thus  in  effect  a  con- 


tinuous wedge  running  on  pulleys  grooved 
at  the  same  angle. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  belt  does 
not  touch  the  bottom  of  the  groove,  as 
this  would  destroy  the  wedging  effect, 
and  as  the  rivets  on  top  and  bottom  are 
not  subjected  to  any  wear,  the  belt  is 
held  together  permanently.  Besides  af- 
fording a  frictional  surface  for  the  belt, 
the  rawhide  casing  protects  the  chain 
from  dust  and  grit,  and  also  effectually 
retains  the  chain  lubricant. 

Before  changing  the  drives  a  test  run 
of  six  days  was  made  with  the  two  12-inch 
flat  belts,  weighed  down  with  230-pound 
idlers  as  previously  described.  It  was 
found  that  one  pump  under  these  condi- 
tions could  not  do  the  work.  When  the 
accumulator  descended  to  a  certain  point 
it  was  arranged  to  cut  in  another  pump, 
and  this  intermittent  starting  materially 
increased  the  total  current  consumption. 
In  the  six  days  it  was  found  that  3176 
kilow-att-hours  were  consumed  to  run  the 
elevator  cars  401.5  miles,  an  expenditure 
of  7.91   kilowatt-hours   per  mile. 

With  the  "V"-belt  drive  installed,  Fig. 
2,  one  pump  carried  the  entire  load  and  in 
a  .test  run  for  six  days,  2746  kilowatt- 
hours  were  consumed  to  run  the  cars  387 


hours  per  year,  the  cost  of  which  would 
be  more  than  sufficient  to  pay  for  the 
'•V  belt. 

Driven  by  flat  belts,  with  the  motor 
making  650  revolutions  per  minute,  the 
speed  of  the  driven  pulleys  should  have 
been 


650  X   II 


=  66 


108 

revolutions  per  minute.  In  reality  the 
revolutions  were  only  62,  showing  a  loss 
of  6  .per  cent,  of  the  total  power  through 
slippage.  In  changing  drives  the  diameter 
of  the  driving  pulleys  were  changed  to 
11.75  inches,  and  the  driven  pulleys  to  109 
inches.  It  was  then  found  that  the  speed 
of  the  driven  pulleys  was  raised  to  70 
revolutions  per  minute.  Theoretically 
the  number  of  '  revolutions  per  minute 
should   be, 


650  X  11.75 
109 


70.07, 


w'hich  indicates  that  practically  all  slip- 
page has  been  eliminated.  As  the  drive 
may  be  run  very  slack,  it  follows  that 
the  journal  friction  is  reduced  to  a 
mininum.      Operation    is    entirely    noise- 


FUi.     2.     PEERLESS      V      BELT   DRIVE   IN     CHICAGO    SAVINGS    RANK    BUILDING 


miles,  giving  an  expenditure  of  7.09  kilo- 
watt-hours per  mile;  a  saving  of  0.82 
kilowatt-hour  per  car  mile,  or  10.36  per 
cent.  During  the  second  run  14.5  miles 
less  was  made  than  in  the  first  test.  Add- 
ing the  102  kilowatt-hours  necessary  to 
make  this  mileage  at  the  rate  of  7.09  kilo- 
watt-hours per  car  mile  to  the  total  of 
2746,  still  leaves  a  net  saving  of  328  kilo- 
watt-hours per  week,  or  17,056  kilowatt- 


less  and  considerable  saving  is  found  in 
brushes  and   controllers. 


Snoqualmie  Falls  provides  the  electric 
power  for  the  Alaska- Yukon-Pacific  ex-  ^ 
position  which  opened  June  i  at  Seattle.  ■ 
Of  the  power  brought  down  from  the 
falls  10,000  kilowatts  is  delivered  at  the 
substation  at  the  fair  grounds.  Of  this 
the  exposition  takes  2500  kilowatths. 


June  8,  1909L 


POWhK  AM)  THE  l:.-\L.iM:-LK. 


1033 


Power  Plant  Machinery  and   Appliances 

Original      Descriptions     of     Power     Devices 
No     Manufacturers'      Cuts     or      Write-ups     Used 

MUSI      BE     NEW     OR     INTERESTING 


A  42-inch  Hvdraulic  Lift  Gate 
Valve 


This  valve,  two  designs  of  which  are 
1  Fig.  I,  is  of  the  Kennedy  d<>tible-di»k 
arallrl-trat  jjatc  t>(K*.  operated  by 
'■Ts.  When  the  valve  «»n 
Mton  i»  to  t>e  opened,  the 
rst  movement  of  the  steam  releases  the 
ams-    Fig    2,   which    have    inchnc*    ifi   «ip- 


-!•«■  direction*  on  the  facc> 
<.i  iiiact  with  »imilar  inclines  ;..  ,  ,  ..^ 
directions  on  the  iii&ide.  or  back  of  the 
di*k«.  and  owing  to  the  abnipt  pitch  of 
the»e  inclines,  the  di»ks  at  once  fall  away 
from 

prevt :        . 

ing  of  the  taict  oi  ;hc  ^al.c  »«at»  or  dotki 
in  the  opening  of  the  valve. 

In   the   closing   of  the   valve   these  op- 
eration*  are    reversed,   the   disks   bearing 


th^       i.      KL.S.SKui     1AJC|>1^-I<i->K     <.  A I L     VALVeS 


imt  and   cam  rod*  clotc  until  of»- 

-    thr    '-.rt.     when   the   cam    rod   i« 

l'r-'-k'!!t    '  \fy   luc*   cakt   on   the 

iiiM.lr  ..f  !j  .      ■  ..\    ,.f  the  val        '"     jing 
ir;!'.     '>SM-rati<>n     xhr     ..lirtijii  11- 

at 
i%  made  with  bra** 


^TiKa!'  \v(  Ik-la  is  15  tons.  It  i*  mano- 
lactiiri.l  l»  the  Kennedy  Valve  Manu- 
lacturin-;   Company.    Klmira,   N    Y. 


Crease  LubncatioQ  for  Cvlincien 


The  Uhio  GreaM:  Lubncani  Company. 
I.oudonvillr.  Ohi...  manufactures  a  cylin- 
■  ■  r     i^-   •  vc  lubricator.  whKh  is 

illtlstralol    ilrrrMltit. 

Its  action  i«  »hown  in  Fic-  I-     It  keeps 

ling   il 
^orcc* 


»  all  pans  oi  ohnder  .-> 
Tlir   ^v.tterheating  is  a  ,  a 

lube    which.    pas«inK    ihrrTugh 
..    K.-..-.    in  the  head  portMMi.  «et»  op  a 


^     « 


na  jL  McnovAL  ntws  or  ■wauuc  talvu 


9h 


I034 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  8,  1909. 


circulation    of    the    lubricant,    and    very  tively  an  exterior  view  and  the  method 

quickly  induces  a  uniform  temperature  of  of   attaching   to   the    steam    pipe.      These 

about  190  degrees,  it  is  said.  lubricators   are   not   sold,   but    are   leased 

The   second   function,  developing   pres-  free  of  charge. 

sure    by    condensation,    is    performed    as 

usual  by  the    condensing    tuhe.    and    the  Welded   Steel    Headers 


2.    EXTERIOR  VIEW   OF  OHIO  GREASE  LU- 
BRICATING company's  device 


IIG.     3.     METHOD  OF   ATTACHING   LUBRICATOR 
TO    STEAM    PIPE 

third  function,  forcing  the  grease  into  the 
steam  line  and  atomizing  it,  is  performed 
by  the  combining  tube,  which  permits  a 
stream  of  live  steam  to  strike  the  heated 
and  expanded  drop  of  grease  after  it 
leaves  the  jet.    Figs.  2  and  3  show  respec- 


Robbins,  Gamwell  &  Co.,  Pittsfield, 
Mass.,  manufacture  welded  steel  headers 
on    which    the    nozzles    for    outlets    are 


duced  and  fittings  are  entirely  eliminated, 
thus  doing  away  with  the  possibility  of 
faulty  castings.  In  this  work  wrought 
steel,  which  is  considered  best  adapted  to 
withstand  the  high  temperature  of  super- 
heat, is  used  throughout.  Pipe  lines  made 
up  in  this  manner  are,  as  a  whole,  lighter, 
owing  to  the  omission  of  fittings,  and  the 
number  of  joints  being  reduced  lessens 
the  cost  of  installation.  The  only  feature 
that    prevents    the    length    of    run    is    the 


FIG.     I.       NOZZLES    WFLDED    TO    STEEL    HEADER 


FIG.    2.       ANOTHER    SAMPLE    OF   NOZZLES    WELDED    TO    HEADER 


welded,  by  a  special  process  of  their  own, 
directly  to  the  pipe  with  which  connec- 
tion is  desired,  thus  accomplishing  the 
same  results  as  obtained  with  fittings.  A 
sample  of  such  work  is  shown  in  Fig.  i, 
while  Fig.  2  shows  a  welded  steel  header 
which  is  carrying  175  pounds  steam  pres- 
sure at  200  degrees   superheat. 

It  will  be  recognized  at  once  that  this 
method  has  its  advantages,  as  the  number 
of  joints  and  gaskets   is  considerably  re- 


facility  of  shipping  and  convenience  in 
erecting. 

In  welding  flanges,  the  same  method 
is  employed  as  in  welding  the  nozzles., 
The  flange  is  made  of  the  same  material 
as  the  pipe  itself,  thereby  producing  d 
homogeneous  metal  of  the  pipe  and  flange. 
After  a  flange  is  welded  to  the  pipe,  it 
is  faced  and  drilled  and  the  faces  back- 
machined. 

The    Lamson    joint    as    made    by    this 


June  8,  1909. 


POWER  A\D  THE  EXGIN'EER. 


1035 


company  is  made  by  lapping  the  pipe  it- 
self over  on  the  face  of  the  flange  and 
the  inside  being  faced  there  is  no  chance 
for  leakage.  The  flanges  swivel  on  the 
pipe,  a  point  which  is  appreciated  by  the 
erecting  men. 

All  the  work  sent  out  by  this  company 
is  tested  to  1000  pounds  hydraulic  pres- 
sure before  shipment  and  is  guaranteed 
for  the  conditions  for  which  it  is  de- 
signed. 


The  TwUs  Corliss  Engine 

In  Fig.  I  is  shown  the  general  lines  of 
the  Twiss  Corliss  engine  manufactured 
by  Nelson  W.  Twiss.  28  Whitney  avenue. 


nc  I.    VALvt-cEAS  stoc  OT  TWISS  ooauss 


n&   2.   KEAB  view  or  VAtrc  ckai 


:    ■    ■•  r   calves 
\  .  .  V,.. ^na- 
tion  ot    lilt.    SdUc   Kcaf    fuliuWt  : 

On  a  fixed  extension  of  each  steatn 
bonnet,  a  bell-crank  lever  i» 
the  two  being  connected  by  an  .,.,...-...<- 
ro<l  and  operated  by  means  of  an  eccmtrie 
rod :  the  eccentric  rod  not  being  khown 
in  FiK.  2.    On  the  arm  of  each  bell  crsnk 

rd  the  steam  ho«>k  whi<.'  * 

o    sleatr    .Trm   kryrd   to 
»leiu.      The  .    .       ■    r 

stc-.im  val\c  .\  •      ^     •  :n» 

.  that  1%.  when  one  of  the  rtcam 
:.  ^  ■  u  engaged  with  the  tleam  arm  it 
opens  the  steam  valve  ttntil  the  inner 
leg  of  the  hook  comrs  in  contact  with  the 
trip  toe  on  the  knockoff  \c\cr.  when  it 
is    '  -  mediately 

c!  rxtrnsioa 

<<f    (lie    vaUc    »(•  r    end    of 

each   spriri»»   i>   .  the  ootcr 

end  of  fhe  ooter  end 

being- c   ..  which  covers 

the  spring  and  i*  seoirrd  to  the  valve 
stem  by  \ei  Krew%,  Thi»  provides  a  coo- 
venient  method  of  adjatttng  the   teni 


New  Haven,  Conn.     The  frame  is  of  the 
well-known   Corliss  girder   tyi>e.   the  cyl- 
in<ler.  frame  and   .   " 
separately  and  l> 
inder  is  pr<>vidc<l  mii!. 

Corli*^     V.-^Ur'^.     f'n-    r- 

of  • 

thr 

amount  of  clearance.      I  he  steam  % .' 

are  constructed  tu  raise  from  their  •-■--: 

whenever  the  pressure  in  the  cylinder  ex 

---'Is    the    pressure    in    the    »tr.im    r'-' 

■    valves  are  driven  by  mrjn«  ■>( 
iiMc    luu  -n    tlie    \ 

and  cof  in  thr 

•terns, 
by  ami 

valve  «trni».  the  arm* 
an   .i'!Mi«t  iMr    r>«l   an'! 
tui'  lis.  as   I*   tMiully   found 

'"  '  ■*•  of  engine. 

re  of  this  engine  is  the 
cf  ".i     the     stcj' 

wl-  wn  in  Fig.  3. 


no.  J    rAci»  m  VAun  «bjui 


1036 

f  the  springs,  and  in  order  to  do  this 
It  is  only  necessary  to  unscrew  the  set 
screws,  shown  in  the  cup,  and  with  a 
small  rod  placed  in  the  hole,  shown  on  the 
right-hand  valve,  move  the  cup  in  the 
desired  direction  to  adjust  the  spring  with 
either  more  or  less  tension,  as  the  case 
may  demand. 

On  the  Twiss  engine  no  dashpots  are 
employed,  as  the  valves  are  closed  by 
means  of  the  wound  spring,  shown  in 
Fig.  3,  which  is  inclosed  in  the  cup,  shown 
at  the  end  of  the  valve  gear,  Fig.  2.  To 
insure  noiseless  closing  of  each  steam 
valve,  an  air-tight  piston  is  secured  to  the 
steam  arm  of  each,  as  shown,  fitted  with 
a  suitable  adjusting  snap  ring  and  fitted 
in  the  cylinder  which  is  supported  by  a 
bracket  secured  to  the  outer  end  of  each 
steam  bonnet.  The  bottom  of  each  air  pot 
if  fitted  with  a  leather  washer,  having 
a  hole  in  it  communicating  to  the  pet  cock 
screwed  in  the  bottom.  In  the  side  of  the 
air  cylinder,  not  over  Yz  inch  from  the 
bottom,  is  drilled  a  >/^-inch  hole  which  is 
covered  before  the  plunger  reaches  the 
bottom  of  the  cylinder,  but  as  the  plunger 
is  raised  above  the  hole,  air  is  admitted 
which  permits  the  plunger  to  travel  the 
rest  of  its  movements  without  undue  force 
being  e.xerted  upon  it.  As  the  spring 
closes  the  valve,  the  plunger  is  forced 
down  into  the  cylinder  witii  a  free,  easy 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

movement  until  it  passes  the  hole  in  the 
bottom  of  the  cylinder,  when  air  is  en- 
trapped and  is  then  compressed,  thus 
preventing  any  shock  in  the  seating  of  the 
steam  valve.  The  amount  of  air  confined 
in  the  cylinder  and  compressed  is  regu- 
lated by  a  pet  cock  screwed  in  the  bot- 
tom, but  not  shown  in  Fig.  2.  By  ad- 
justing this  pet  cock  the  valve  can  be 
made  to  close  practically  noiselessly. 

The  knock-off  levers  are  connected  with 
the  governor  which  regulates  the  point 
of  cutoff  as  in  all  Corliss-engine  con- 
struction. The  exhaust  valves  are  oper- 
ated by  a  separate  eccentric. 

This  valve  gear  can  be  placed  upon  any 
Corliss  engine  without  making  other 
changes.  It  is  simple,  does  away  with  the 
cumbersome  dashpot  and  admits  of  high 
speed    for    Corliss-engine    operation. 


Iowa  State  N.  A.  S.  E.  Conven- 
tion 

With  more  than  one  hundred  dele- 
gates and  visitors  registered,  the  sixth 
annual  convention  of  the  Iowa  State  as- 
sociation of  the  N.  A.  S.  E.  was  called 
to  order  ]May  21,  1909,  at  Cedar  Rapids. 
President  Abner  Davis  opened  the  pro- 
ceedings by  introducing  Mayor  J..  T. 
Carmody,    of    Cedar    Rapids,    who    is    an 


June  8,  1909. 

active  member  of  the  association.  In 
introducing  His  Honor,  President  Davis 
reviewed  the  history  of  the  mayor,  who 
worked  himself  up  from  machinist  and 
fireman  to  the  most  prominent  position  in 
the  city.  At  the  close  of  President  Davis' 
speech,  Alayor  Carmody  welcomed  the 
delegates  and  visitors  to  the  city  of  Cedar 
Rapids  and  spoke  of  the  untiring  de- 
votion to  duty,  of  the  members  of  the 
local  association  in  bringing  No.  9  into  suf- 
ficient prominence  to  entertain  the  State 
convention  of  Iowa.  Mayor  Carmody  also 
had  a  good  word  for  the  commercial 
travelers  and  supplymen,  whom  he  said 
had  done  tnore  for  the  advancement  of 
industrial  progress  than  all  the  money  and 
securities  of  the  financiers.  In  closing, 
the  mayor  turned  over  the  keys  of  the 
city  to  the  visitors  and  said  that  every- 
thing possible  would  be  done  for  their 
entertainment  and  comfort. 

President  Davis  next  introduced  Fred. 
W.  Raven,  national  secretary,  of  Chicago, 
who  responded  to  the  mayor  with  one  of 
his  characteristic  speeches.  ]\Ir.  Raven's 
talk  was  followed  by  a  short  address  of 
welcome  to  the  convention  from  its  presi- 
dent, who  then  called  the  business  ses- 
sion of  the  convention  to  order  "for  the 
purpose  of  the  transaction  of  any  busi- 
ness that  may  legally  come  before  us, 
the  work  to  be  done  in  a  fraternal  spirit 


.'i'   \l.>iIOi<S,    IOWA    STATK    N,    A.    S.    K.    rOXVF.XTiriX ,    fEDAR    RAPIDS,    MAY    20-22 


June  8,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER- 


J037 


and  with  a  view  to  promoting  the  best  in- 
terests of  the  order,  treating  each  other  as 
brothers  and  observing  that  strict  con- 
sideration for  the  views  and  wishes  of 
others  to  the  end  that  harmony  must 
prevail." 

At  the  Saturday  afternoon  business  ses- 
sion, after  attending  to  many  detail  mat- 
ters of  importance  in  regard  to  facilitating 
the  business  of  the  order.  Waterloo  was 
chosen  as  the  next  place  of  meeting.  Flec- 
tion of  oflficers  was  then  in  order  and 
resulted  as  follows:  A.  C  Wilford.  of 
Waterloo,  president ;  Ernst  Bailey.  De$ 
Moines,  vice-president ;  J.  A.  Coulson. 
Sioux  city  (reelected),  secretary;  G.  H. 
Beebe.  Marshalltown  (reelected),  treas- 
urer; H.  Yust.  Ottumwa,  conductor;  L. 
J.  Shramek.  Cedar  Rapids.  d<Kjrkeeper. 
The  new  oflficers  were  installed  by  Na- 
tional  Secretary   Raven. 

Kducational  matters  were  not  neglected. 
At  the  Friday  afternoon  session.  F.  W. 
Laas  read  a  paper  entitled,  "Furnace 
Construction  in  Its  Relation  to  Fuel 
Economy."  This  paper  was  illustrated 
with  many  sketches  showing  boiler  set- 
tings and  other  details  having  to  do 
with  this  question.  During  the  discus- 
sion which  followed,  several  engineers 
from  the  local  association  were  called 
upon  to  give  their  experiences  with  vari- 
types  of  boiler  setting  installed  in 
'  plants.  The  discussion  liroiiwht  out 
many  points  in  reg.ird  •  '    i! 

er  practice   and   was   v.  I 
all  present. 

Another  interesting  event  on  the  pro- 
gram was  a  lecture  en  "Boiler  Feed 
Waters,  What  They  Contain,  and  Why 
They  Cause  Trouble."  by  W.  .\.  Con- 
verse, of  Chicago.  During  this  lecture 
the  prtKcss  of  feed-water  analysis  was 
followed  out  'with  >  in  the  same 

manner  at  when  ..  :s  sent  to  the 

laliuratory  for  te*t.  I  lie  varinti*  con- 
stituents of  the  water  were  precipitated, 
and  meth<ids  <<f  detrrmirution  were  in- 
irrr»tingly  explained. 

•tie  of  the  features  of  the  convention 
»*'  the  presence  of  many  students  from 
the  neightK>ring  universiiir*  and  colleges. 
One  party  r»f  j|  was  prr»cnt  from  Iowa 
City.  »fvl  rrio»i»tri|  «if  a  fiiMii>>rr  "if  in- 
stri 

JUIII 

chanirai    etigineermg    m    ihi* 
Oftirr    students    were    present    ( 

■s    College    of    Applir«l    Jscience    and 

I    Mt.    Vernon.      .Much    intere«l    was 

wn    by   them    in    the    display    of   mr- 

'.  in  the  J  ■'        '     '      '       * 

f  trif>«  w 


in  the  afternoon  so  that  the  delegates 
had  the  opportunity  of  seeing  in  operation 
every  branch  of  the  establishment. 

The  social  features  wound  up  with  a 
banquet  given  to  the  officers,  delegates, 
members  and  supplymen  in  the  dining 
room  of  the  hotel.  One  hundred  people 
were  prosided  for  and  after  bring  served 
with  a  tasty  six-course  <linnrr,  E.  A. 
Sherman,  of  Ce<lar  Rapids,  acting  as 
toastmaster.  introduced  Fred  W  Raven, 
who  delivered  a  short  address  on  the  ob- 
jects of  the  association  and  organization. 
A.  C.  Wilford,  of  Waterloo,  then  spoke 
on  the  benefits  of  a  license  law.  Other 
speakers  were:  F.  M.  Williamson.  J.  T. 
Carmody.  C.  O.  Bates.  C  E.  Tibbies  and 
W.  A.  Converse.  The  success  of  the 
convention  was  such  that  upon  leaving 
all  visitors  felt  that  they  had  added  many 
names  to  their  list  of  friends  in  Iowa. 

It  is  with  the  deepest  regret  we  have 
to  record  that  early  Monday  morning. 
May  Z4,  following  the  convention.  Mayor 
Carmody.  who  so  warmly  welcomed  the 
convention  to  Cedar  Rapids,  wa«  shot  in 
the  alxlomen  in  an  encounter  with  a 
burglar    at    I-  •  -e.    the    bullet    in- 

flicting   a    St  -  !i     wound.       latest 

adsices  are  to  the  effect  that  Mr.  Car- 
mody's  condition  is  as  satisf.ictor>-  as 
can  be  expected  under  the  circumstances, 
and  although  the  bullet  had  not  been 
found  at  this  writing,  he  will  recover. 


Ohio  5vxicty    of  Mechanical 

EJcctrical    and    Steam 

Ejigineers 


The  nineleenth  meeting  of  the  Ohio 
5>ociety  of  Mechanu-al.  Klectrical  and 
Sir.  ■     f  Canttn.  May 

ji  at  the  Hotel 

Courilund. 

The  meeting  was  called  to  order  by 
President  F.  W.  Ballard,  who  introduced 
Charles  A.  Dougherty,  president  of  the 
Canton  Board  of  Trade,  who  welcomed 
the  society  to  the  city.  Mr.  Dougherty 
nude  it  evident  that  Canton,  in  hit  ettt- 
maiion  at  least,  it  the  fairest  city  in  the 
rtM»"tr>-.    and    from    ihr    afifilaii^r    he    re- 


President  Ballard  hnmght  out 
upun  the  thouslil  lh.-«'  *' "  " 
pro(e««ioa  it  one  of 


an  opponunity  to  discuss  the  original 
paper.  This  plan  gave  very  pleasing  re- 
sults, and  with  the  exception  of  socb  as 
did  not  refer  particularly  to  steam  or 
electrical  matters,  the  papers  were  fairly 
Well  discussed. 

1  he  tirtt  paper  treated  upon  "Hoi,  Soft 
Water  1 
son.     H- 

»c^'  iio  feed  water 

•n   ■  .f.  the  chemical 

action  that  occurs  when  varKms  chemicals 
are  introduced  into  the  feed  water.  The 
point  was  made  that  tome  engineers  are 
under  the  impression  that  tome  feed 
waters  are  chemically  pure;  pure  water. 
however,  can  only  be  obuined  by  distilla- 
tion. 

The  method  of  -  >ter  for  solidt 

was  discussed,  al^  •  ^-t  of  scale  in 

a  boiler,  but  the  predominating  thought  in 
this  connection  was  that,  although  tcale 
undoubtedly  makes  an  increase  in  cod 
consumption,  and  has       .  '-raring  as 

to  the   matter   of  ecor  .    faetort 

arr 
in 

to   a    r< 
matter  .  • 

in  boiler  practice,  scale  should  be  elun- 
ifMted  for  that  reason  if  for  no  other. 

In  discussing  the  treatment  of  tcale  with 
soda  ash,  it  was  brought  out  that  care 
should   be  exercised,  as  it   lends  to  pass 


separator,    however.    sh<Mil«i    itr 

with  a  drip  pipe  of  sufficietit  «! 

to  take  care  of  all   water  the 

would  be  apt  to  handle      .Anot!«  ,    .-,..., 

in  dealing  with   the  use  <>f   wxla  a«h  waa 

reblive  to  the  in  .>     .     .   • 

brats   teats   arvl   ' 

and  copper   scats  and  thiks   »crc   rrcum 

men»!»"d 

T 
Ini     . 

He  stale<t  that  it  was  not  a  itew  idem, 
probably  ah"'!*  -*(  \r^T%  old.  and  IM- 
doubted   orik  The   mrtor 

is     fr •        --  .        ..,;.,.     .   • -• 

thr  work   » 


'I  he    local    r- 


wat    ill 

T     M 


I038 

presei;,  and  an  abstract  of  the  paper  -vas 
jjiven  by  W.  L.  Brown,  who  said,  among 
other  things,  that  the  subject  of  thorough- 
ly insulating  steam  pipes  has  become  of 
great  importance,  especially  since  the  in- 
troduction of  superheated  steam,  and  that 
the  best  results  are  now  being  obtained 
by  85  per  cent,  asbestos  covering,  the 
thickness  and  style  of  application  being 
governed  by  the  temperature  of  the  steam. 
There  are  three  kinds  of  covering;  that 
suitable  for  low-pressure  plants,  that 
adaptable  for  a  steam  pressures  up  to  150 
pounds  per  square  inch,  and  superheated 
steam.  No  pipe  covering  is  made  that 
will  withstand  moisture  to  any'  great  ex- 
tent, was  the  statement  made  to  inquiries 
relative  to  this  point. 

"On  the  Ethics  of  Society  Membership," 
a  paper  presented  by  David  Gaehr,  con- 
tained much  of  benefit  to  the  members  of 
the  society.  It  pointed  out  how  each 
member  could,  and  should  promote  the 
interest  of  the  society  by  meeting  every 
obligation  as  it  came  to  him,  by  attending 
the  meetings,  by  obtaining  new  members, 
by  preparing  a  paper  to  be  read  at  some 
meeting  of  the  society  on  a  subject 
thoroughly  understood  by  the  author,  and 
to  take  an  active  part  in  the  discussion" 
of  papers  presented  to  the  meeting. 

"Lubrication  of  Steam  Cylinders  by 
Grease"  was  a  paper  prepared  by  B.  F. 
Fisher.  The  matter  of  cylinder  lubrica- 
tion was  taken  up  to  some  extent,  as  well 
as  the  composition  of  various  oils  used 
for  that  purpose,  the  main  portion  of  the 
paper  being  devoted  to  the  method  of 
lubricating  cylinders  with  grease  of  a 
special  mixture  and  with  a  special  feed- 
ing device.  This  paper  aroused  about  as 
much  interest  as  any  that  was  .presented. 
In  the  discussion  that  followed  the  read- 
ing of  the  paper  it  was  brought  out  that 
one  plant  had  operated  for  72  hours  on 
one  pound  of  grease,  costing  12^  cents, 
as  compared  with  five  gallons  of  cyl- 
inder oil.  costing  58  cents  a  gallon.  It  was 
claimed  that  the  grease  softened  up  old 
packing  and  made  it  pliable,  thus  adding 
to  its  life. 

At  2  -.yy  p.m.,  the  members  of  the  society 
were  taken  on  an  inspection  trip  in  a 
special  car  about  the  beautiful  city  of 
Canton,  a  visit  being  made  to  the  works 
of  the  Canton  Steam  Pump  Company  and 
the  Canton  boiler  works.  On  Saturday 
afternoon  the  meml)ers  were  taken  by 
trolley  to  the  power  station  of  the  North- 
ern Ohio  Traction  Company,  where  the 
opportunity  of  viewing  the  dis.sected  parts 
of  a  Curtis  turbine  was  afforded.  Next  a 
visit  was  made  to  the  city  pumping  sta- 
tion and  from  there  to  the  McKinley 
Memorial. 

The  most  important  business  transacted 
by  the  society  was  the  nomination  of  the 
following  committees :  Research  Com- 
mittee, to  carry  on  the  work  of  getting 
together  important  data  from  any  avail- 
able source  relating  to  the  work  of  the 
society  regarding  steam,  electrical  and  me- 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

chanical  engineering;  Membership  Com- 
mittee ;  Publicity  Committee  and  Ad- 
vertising Committee,  the  three  latter  to 
attend  to  such  matters  as  their  names 
signify. 

Thirty-three  active  members  and  one 
associate  member  were  received  into  the 
society.  The  next  meeting  will  be  held  at 
Lima.  O..  Friday  and  Saturday,  November 
19  and  20,  1909. 


Annual     Convention     of    the 

A.  I.  E.  E. 


The  next  annual  convention  of  the 
American  Institute  of  Electrical  Engineers 
will  be  held  at  Hotel  Frontenac,  Thousand 
Islands,  Frontenac,  N.  Y.,  beginning  Mon- 
day, June  28,  1909.  A  tentative  list  of 
the  papers  to  be  presented  is  as  follows : 

"Some  Consideration  in  Designing 
Heavy  Capacity  Fuses,"  by  L.  W.  Downes. 

"A  Sketch  of  the  Theory  of  the  Ad- 
justable Speed  Single-phase  Shunt  Induc- 
tion Motor,"  by  F.  Creedy. 

"Calculation  of  the  High  Tension."  by 
Percy  H.  Thomas. 

Transmission  Paper,  by  W.  S.  Moody. 

"Effect  of  Frequency  upon  the  Cost  of 
Alternators,"  by  C.  J.  Fechheimer. 

Two  papers  on  high-tension  transmis- 
sion   subjects,   by   R.   D.   Mershon. 

"The  Reduction  in  Capacity  of  In- 
duction Motors  due  to  Unbalancing  in 
Voltage,"  by  S.  B.  Charters  and  W.  A. 
Hillebrand. 

"The  Heating  of  Induction  Motors,"  by 
Alexander  M.  Gray. 

Telephone  paper,  by  J.  J.  Carty. 

Three  Industrial  Power  papers,  by  D. 
B.   Rushmore. 

"The  Resistance  and  Reactance  of 
Armored  Cables,"  by  J.  B.  Whitehead. 

Two  Educational  papers,  by  A.  S. 
Langsdorf  and  H.  J.  Ryan. 

"Generation  for  100,000  Cycles,"  by  E. 
F.   Alexanderson. 

"Repulsion  Motors  with  Variable-Speed 
Shunt  Characteristics,"  by  E.  F.  Alexan- 
derson. 

"Auxiliary  Poles  for  Direct-current  Ma- 
chines,"  by   John    N.    Dodd. 

"The  Thermal  Convection  from  Thin 
Copper  Wire  Supported  in  Air,"  by  A. 
E.  Kennelly,  C.  A.  Wright  and  J.  S. 
Bylevelt. 

Two  papers,  by  Comfort  A.  Adams. 

"Harmonics,  Even  and  Odd,"  by  J.  B. 
Taylor. 

"Electric  Measuring  Devices,"  by  L.  T. 
Robinson. 


"The  Purification  of  Boiler  Feed 
Water"  is  the  subject  of  two  tables  pub- 
lished by  the  Harrison  Safety  Boiler 
Works,  of  Philadelphia.  The  larger  of 
these  gives  the  characteristics  and  reac- 
tions accompanying  purification  of  water 
according  to  Stingl,  as  given  in  "Analysis 


June  8,  1909. 

and  Softening  of  Boiler  Feed  Water," 
by  Wehrenfennig.  The  paper  first  enum- 
erates seven  classes  of  material  occurring 
in  water.  Under  each  class  is  indicated 
the  scale  formation  due  to  its  presence. 
The  third  section  gives  the  degree  of 
solubility  in  natural  wafer;  the  fourth, 
the  means  of  causing  precipitation  and 
transposition ;  the  fifth  section  indicates 
the  procedure  and  the  reactions  occurring 
thereunder ;  the  sixth  and  seventh  sections 
give,  respectively,  the  substances  remain- 
ing in  solution  and  in  the  precipitates  after 
the  precipitation  or  transposition  occurs. 
The  chart  is  9x22  inches  and  contains 
in  this  condensed  form  a  fund  of  infor- 
mation which  will  be  valuable  to  the  en- 
gineer. The  smaller  table  is  reprinted 
from  a  paper  read  by  Messrs.  Hunt  and 
Clapp  before  the  American  Society  of 
r^Iechanical  Engineers,  and  accredited  by 
them  to  Prof.  S.  M.  Norton,  giving  the 
cures  recommended  for  such  troubles  as 
incrustation,  corrosion  and  priming.  These 
charts,  we  understand,  will  be  sent 
gratuitously  to  any  applying  for  them, 
the  interest  of  the  Harrison  Safety  Boiler 
Works  in  the  matter  being  due  to  the 
fact  that  the  charts  show  that  the  purifica- 
tion of  water  for  boiler-feeding  purposes 
can  be  accomplished  in  a  commercially 
successful  manner  by  the  proper  applica- 
tion of  heat  and  soda  ash,  as  is  done  in 
their  open  heater  system ;  that  is,  that 
these  two  remedies  will  protect  the  boil- 
ers from  corrosion,  since  they  completely 
neutralize  any  acid  which  may  be  in  the 
water,  and  from  the  formation  of  hard 
scale,  since  heating  water  by  spraying 
through  the  steam  takes  the  place  of  the 
caustic  lime  or  caustic  soda  used  in  other 
processes  for  taking  up  carbon  dioxide. 


Personal 

Charles  K.  Thomas,  formerly  sales 
agent  of  the  D.  T.  Williams  Valve  Com- 
pany, of  Cincinnati,  has  been  elected  vice- 
president  of  the  company,  to  succeed  the 
late  Francis  X.  Pund. 


Obituary 


The  late  Francis  X.  Pund,  whose  death, 
on  May  8,  was  announced  in  the  June  i 
number,  was  born  in  Cincinnati  and  at 
an  early  age  secured  a  position  with  Post 
&  Co.,  and  after  faithfully  serving  this 
firm  for  eight  years,  he  and  one  of  his 
fellow  employees,  George  Puchta,  bought 
out  Post  &  Co.,  and  continued  business 
under  the  name  of  Puchta,  Pund  &  Co., 
and  later  as  the  Queen  City  Supply  Com- 
pany, which  became  one  of  the  best  known 
mill  and  factory  supply  houses  in  the 
country.'  In  1904  he  entered  the  manu- 
facturing business  and  with  David  T. 
Williams,  formerly  general  manager  of 
the  Lunkenheimer  Company,  founded  the 
well-known  D.  T.  Williams  Valve  Com- 
pany. 


June  8,  1909. 


Book  Reviews 


Fkeehand  and  Pesspective  Dkawivc.   By 
Herbert    E.    Everett   and    William    H. 
Lawrence.    Published  by  the  American 
School    of    Corre?.p<jndence,    Chicago, 
igog.      Goth;      lib     pages.     6'jX9'J 
inches;  8j  illustrations.     Price.  $1. 
This  book,  which  is  one  of  a  series  of 
handbooks  on  a  great  variety  of  subjects, 
published  by  the  American  School,  is  di- 
vided  into  two  parts,  the  first  containing 
6l2   pages  on    freehand  drawing  and    Part 
II   64   pages  on   pcrsjK-ctive   drawing,   the 
author  of  each  part  bring  given  in  respec- 
tive onlcr.     As  u>ual  with  these  volumes, 
the   b<x>k   has   been    prepared    for    home 
study    in    a    style    easily    within    range    of 
common   understanding.     Part   I   contains 
the    fundamental    principles    of    freehand 
'-    ■■  ing.  a   number   of   elementary   cxer- 
and    some    pbtes    of    the    common 
of  ornament  of  Egyptian.  .Assyrian, 
'<  and   Italian  design.     Part   II  is  de- 
1   to  defmitiiuu.  the  general  theory  of 
■<-ctive    drawing    brietly    treated,    me- 
employed  and  a  number  of  problems 
...  ,.  rspcctive. 

Watm   Powrx  ExciNcnixc.     By  Daniel 

\V.     Mead       Published    by     Mc^iraw 

i'ublishing     Com|>any.      New      York, 

tgo&     Goth;  787  pages,  6x9  inches; 

4IJI  il'  ;  89  tables.    Price.  $6. 

!n    thr  n   of    this    book    the 

•hat   a   knowirdge 

•n  is  b>  no  means 

all  that  IS  required  m  the  development  of 

a     water-power     project.     Other     factors, 

such  as  the  adeqtucy  of  supply,  the  head 

and   power    available    and    the    probable 

variations,  the  plan  for  development,  cost 

I   and    operation,     .inci    the 

'hr  invr»ffnrtif  ar«-  <|',iitc  at 

V  care- 
.!e   »uc- 
The  author  '  freely  from 

->  years  of  pr-:.     .     ..    practice  and 
-lures  to  the  senior  class  of  the  L*ni- 
'V   of   Wisconsin,   and    an    exlefuJed 
■  intance   with   the  lileralurc    on    the 
t  is  shown  by  the  ntini' 
given   at   the   end   of 
'-rs.     The  l)i«ok   i»  # 

in    it*     irratinrnt 
■saler-power  r- 
til    or    the     h 
•  i  prove  to  be  a  valued  nliiion. 
.".{inning  with  a  short  mf  -'••"■■••  ■•" 
the  hMtor)  of  water-power  d' 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

based  on  the  rainfall  records,  the  effect  of 
variations  in  head  and  that  of  pondacc 
on  the  amount  of  power  developed  being 
duly  noted.  In  thi^  ponion  of  thr  U«>k 
rainfall  and  its  di«po<al.  run<  ff,  stream 
flow  and   its   '  rnt  are  gnrn  due 

attention.     E  !  :i  ruturai   setjuence 

are  chapters  on  the  water  wheel,  turbine 
details,  hydraulics  of  the  turbine  and  a 
chapter  of  some  length  on  turbine  test- 
ing. .^  method  of  turbine  aiialysis  and 
selection  based  on  actual  tests  is  pre- 
sented, and  a  careful  study  of  these  chap- 
ters should  eruble  the  engineer  10  intelli- 
gently select  a  turbine  for  ;.  dar 
condition  of  service  and  ;•!  .xi- 
mate  the  resiil'  <  ■  .med 
during  all  coi  .  ■:  a  .iik!  v.irta- 
ticms  in  head. 

Load  factors,  speed  regulation  and 
water-wheel  governors,  arrangement  of 
the  reaction  wheel,  selection  of  machinery 
and  design  of  plant,  examples  of  water- 
power  pi,.  •  .n  of  dams,  pond- 
age and  1(1  vale  of  power, 
and  the  m^  "i  water-power 
project*  arc  •>  trealeil  in  the 
con  '  01  the  l»ook.  and  these 
are  r  ^  ;'cndices  on  water  ham- 
mer, speed  regulation,  the  staiulpipe,  test 
data  of  turbine  water  wheels,  effect  of  an 
umbrella  upon  formation  of  vortices, 
•n  tables.  '  '.  water-wheel 
and  mi-  tables. 

>  I   t<>  the   u  \t   are  charts  of 

stre.i  -rifn!!.  rv.nporation  and  run- 

f»ff.  l<»a<l  curves   and 

cur\'  •    various  turbines, 

in  addition  to  other  information  in  chart 
and  cur\e  form  The  illustrations  arc 
numerous  and  well  chosen,  and  in  all,  the 
brink  if  a  highly  commendable  treatise  on 
the  subject. 

HvuBo-Eiicnuc    PKAcnrx.      Bv    R    A. 


tables      Pnce,  $tx 
Thi«  book  is  a  treatinr<ii 
trie  practice  worthy  of  the 
Il   is  di 
■  iivitiiMi, 


t.1 


in- 
Ihe 


pr* 


1039 

pretcnuHoo.     Although  the  various  uib- 

jecta    enumerated    are 

enotigfa    is    given   to    a 

with  the   retj  i))c 

probable   cosi  ^gy 

panimlar  in- 

Pan  II  is  '  the  designing  and 

equipping  of  the  plant  and  was  wrilicn 
for  the  student  and  engineer  in  practical 
work-  To  appreciate  fully  this  section  a 
knowledge  of  the   ;  ,ii^ 

and   the  rudiment  iro- 

statics  and  d>-nanu<.^  u  rojuircU  The 
Irchnic  in  thi»  part  i*  rlrmmtary  np4 
methods  or    '  ritcti   for 

the  most   par'  y      t'sc- 

ful  constants  are  retluced  to  dtagraro- 
matic  form  and  features  of  importance 
are  illustrated  by  sketches  or  views  from 
existing  plants. 

lieginning  with  the  surveys,  flow  rocM- 
drements    by    different  and    de- 

velopment   pr-nrratn*    .  «•    many 

idi 
■'•1   a 

.  r»   on    sir  ;>e*, 

ry    and  of 

concrete  steel  roiisiriiction.  methods  of 
coffering  i.r.,,.r  t  .r^  to  dam  and  power- 
house ctt  with  Ubies  of  quanti- 
ties for  <iilir».  -urct  pile  and  wall  cur- 
tains, and  the  \arious  types  of  cylolF 
s  The  subject  of  dams  and 
i«    tnlrr>dffrr«|    h\    ar    rx'rnded 

ire 
!»ci- 
ples.  with  det-  :>ract*cat  con- 

stants for  a  >.-  .    .     .,.:jv     The  con- 

crete-steel  gravity  dam  is  fully  detailed 
and  some  space  devoted  In  disertion 
works  embracing  open  channeU.  flumes 
and   pipe   lines.    %»r'      '  *.ipr 

and      vrl<icillr«  i'  'iK- 

•tt. 

4nd 

<en    to    the    sob- 


•.    their    designs    an- 
•  xjitlic  govern    -      •' 
and   minor   ai 


eqni^ 


to 
■-ti- 


led for  the  CO 

■ions    in     •' 
no    wr 


'  *     arr     available 


•Ills.     Chapter  I  treats  of  place  in  a  biaik  of  * 

-.*.el  of  electric  current;  brief   jm*-'-'-' •••  - 

ter    II    discttftsrs    the    power    opf>or-  plant.    »•■■ 

'  '  -*  '  ,;f,  plant,   eslinuirt    xnti   •pec inc a i »<'«•,   c 

It.  the   U>nk. 
t«i  P^- 

t  ;  ing  ! 

«t  bonk 

'Ti,  tisini: 

If  than 


ihe    pc*>ircl     and     soggrscs     its    pr-r^     drsirsMr  and 


A 


1040 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGIXEER. 


June  8.  1909. 


B 


usiness  Items 


It( 


A  very  neat  and  handy  telephone  index 
is  being  sent  out  by  R.  F.  Morse,  74  Weybosset 
street.  Providence,  R.  I.  Send  and  get  one — 
it  is  free. 

The  American  Steam  Gauge  and  Valve 
Manufacturing  Company  made  more  than 
seventy  tbou!«and  safety  and  relief  valves  dur- 
ing a  single  year. 

The  Builders'  Iron  Foundry.  Providence.  R.  I., 
is  the  licensee  and  builder  of  the  new  tran.smis- 
sion  dynamometer  described  by  William  H. 
Kenerson  in  a  paper  reail  at  the  recent  A.S.M.E. 
meeting  at  Washington,  D.  C. 

The  Gatesville  Electric  Light  Company.  Gates- 
ville.  Tex.,  has  awarded  a  contract  to  the  Minne- 
apolis Steel  and  Machinery  Company  for  a  75- 
horsepower  Muenzel  gas  engine  and  lignite 
producer  which  is  to  be  installed  in  a  new  plant 
now  being  built. 

The  Lincoln  Motor  Works  Company,  of  Cleve- 
land, has  changed  its  corporate  name  to  the 
Reliance  Electric  and  Engineering  Company. 
The  management  remains  the  same.  They  will 
continue  to  build  the  Lincoin  variable-speed 
motor,  and  will  also  add  a  complete  line  of  con- 
stant speed  motors. 

The  Sight  Feed  Oil  Company,  of  Milwaukee, 
Wis.,  is  building  a  new  plant  for  the  manufacture 
of  the  Richardson  oil  pump,  and  it  is  expected 
to  be  ready  for  occupancy  .August  1.  The  busi- 
ness of  this  company  has  increased  so  during 
the  past  eight  years  that  it  has  had  to  enlarge 
its  works  several  times. 

The  Murphy  Iron  Works  announces  that  its 
New  York  office  has  been  removed  to  room 
1671.  Hudson  Terminal  building,  .50  Church 
street.  H.  W.  Cunning,  formerly  representing 
this  company  in  Birmingham,  will  lie  in  charge 
as  district  manager,  and  will  be  pleased  to  give 
prompt  attention  to  any  request  for  information 
with  regard  to  Murphy  automatic  smokele.ss 
furnaces. 

.\dam  Happel.  408  Ea.st  Ninety-third  street. 
New  York,  is  having  a  12x30  Corliss  girder-frame 
engine  built  by  the  Hewes  &  Phillips  Iron  Works 
for  operating  one  of  his  plahts.  This  is  the  second 
engine  order  Hewes  &  Phillips  have  from  Mr. 
Hapf»el.  The  Hewes  &  I'hillips  Iron  Works 
also  refjorts  an  increasing  demand  for  its  high- 
grade  castings.  All  pig  iron,  coke  and  other 
materials  entering  into  the  work  is  first  sub- 
jected to  chemical  analysis  and  the  company 
can  satisfy  the  most  critical  bujers. 

The  Maseum  of  Safety  and  Sanitation  an- 
nounces I  lie  election  of  Arthur  Williams  to 
the  ^K>ard  of  trustees.  Mr.  Williams  is  the 
general  in.sj»e<  tor  of  tlie  New  York  Kdison  Com- 
pany and  a  metntjer  of  the  .American  Institute  of 
Elertriial  Engineers.  In  1907  he  was  decorated 
by  tlie  French  government.  He  is  a  memljer 
of  the  American  section  of  the  Internal ionl 
Hou-Hing  (^ongresM  and  was  a  memtjer  of  the 
Kigtith  International  Congress  of  Social  Insur- 
ance* at  Rome.  I90H  Mr.  Williairis  will  serve 
on  the  lertiire  committee  of  the  Museum  of  Safety 
and  Sanitation. 

Clrnjlar  1.t02  Lviued  by  the  Westinghouse 
Electric  and  Manufacturing  Company  contains 
much  valuable  information  on  alternating- 
current  dlotribution.  covering  transformers, 
lightning  arrenterv,  insulators,  cross  arms,  etc. 
Cofwiderable  spa««  i.s  devoted  to  underground 
■od  overload  cf>nstriiction  applicable  to  con- 
gested and  scatiererl  distncts.  Ttiere  is  also 
given  information  on  potential  regulating  systems. 
The  circular  contains  f>2  pages  of  information 
of  value  to  any  central-station  man  or  any  other 
connected  in  any  way  with  tlie  distribution 
of  power  by  alternating-current  lines. 

The  piirihcation  of  boiler  fp>ed  water  is  the 
subject  of  two    '  '-orn  well-known 

authorities   ur-  rhe    Harrison 

aafety  BoUer  u .,.;,  and  Clearfield 


streets.  Philadelphia.  The  charts  show  that  the 
purification  of  water  for  boiler  feeding  purposes 
can  be  accomplished  in  a  commercially  success- 
ful manner  by  the  proper  application  of  heat 
and  soda  ash;  that  is,  that  these  two  remedies 
will  entirely  protect  the  boilers  from  corrosion 
and  from  the  formation  of  hard  scale,  since  boiler 
feed  water  should  be  heated  in  any  case  and 
since  heating  water  by  spraying  through  steam 
takes  the  place  of  the  caustic  lime  or  caustic 
.soda  used  in  other  processes  for  taking  up  carbon 
dioxide. 

The  Wisconsin  Engine  Company,  of  Corliss, 
Wis.,  has  just  shipped  to  the  Allegheny  Valley 
Street  Railway  Company,  of  Pittsburg,  two 
horizontal  cross-compound  heavy-duty  Corliss 
engines  of  its  "higher  speed"  type.  Each 
engine  will  develop  7.50  horespower  and  is  direct- 
connected  to  a  500-kilowatt  generator  operating 
at  150  revolutions  per  minute,  a  speed  usually 
thought  to  be  beyond  the  limit  of  the  Corliss 
engine.  The  Wisconsin  Engine  Company,  how- 
ever, has  made  a  specialty  of  what  it  calls  its 
"higher  speed"  Corliss  engines  and  has  built 
a  large  number  of  them,  all  of  which  are  operating 
very  successfully.  One  of  the  engines  afore 
mentioned  drives  a  direct-current  generator 
the  other  an  alternating-current  generator. 

Keystone  grease,  manufactured  by  the  Key- 
stone Lubricating  Company,  Philadelphia,  is 
used  as  a  lubricant  for  pum ping-station  machinery 
at  a  number  of  large  private  water  companies 
in  the  vicinity  of  New  York  City.  One  of  these 
is  the  Hackensack  Water  Company,  operating 
two  triple-expansion  vertical  Allis  pumping 
engines  at  170  pounds  steam  pressure,  with  a 
duty  of  20,000,000  gallons  per  24  hours  against 
a  head  of  180  pounds.  This  plant  supplies  a 
large  section  from  Spring  Valley,  N.  Y.,  to 
Weehawken,  N.  -J.  The  pre.ssure  on  the  engine 
journals  is  290  pounds  per  square  inch.  No. 
4  density  Keystone  grease  is  used  on  these 
engines,  at  a  reported  saving  of  52.5  per  cent. 
in  cost  of  lubricant  over  the  lubricating  oil 
formerly  used,  and  with  no  increase  in  the 
friction  load.  There  is  also  a  decided  saving 
of  labor,  and  of  mess  under  the  pumps.  This 
water  company  is  now  putting  in  a  new  12,000,000 
gallon  unit  of  the  same  type,  which  will  also 
be  lubricatd  with  Keystone  grease. 

"The  Proper  Care  of  Belts"  is  the  title  of 
a  new  booklet  of  24  piges,  recently  prepared  by 
the  Joseph  Dixon  Crucible  Company,  Jersey 
City,  N.  J.  It  is  divided  into  three  sections, 
headed  respectively:  Belts;  Belt  Dressings; 
and  Hints,  Kinks,  Tables.  The  first  section 
deals  with  the  running  condition  of  belts;  the 
second  takes  up  treatment  with  various  prepara- 
tions; and  the  third,  as  the  title  indicates,  has 
some  general  points  upon  belting  and  its  use. 
This  last  section  contains  some  interesting  matter 
collected  from  several  .sources.  It  tells  what 
results  were  secured  in  a  plant  where  records 
were  kept  over  a  period  of  years;  gives  the  eco- 
nomical sfjeeds  at  which  leather  belts  should 
\)e  run;  has  .some  matter  telling  of  the  different 
styles  of  joints,  illustrating  three  methods  of 
leather  lacing;  contains  rules  for  calculating 
speed  of  pulleys;  gives  horsepower  transmitted 
by  various  sizes  of  .single  and  double  belts,  etc. 
While  it  is  got  out  in  the  interests  of  the  traction 
and  solid  Ijelt  dressings  that  the  Dixon  company 
place  on  the  market,  it  contains  .so  much  matter 
of  general  interest  as  to  f>e  valuable  to  the  prac- 
tical man. 


New   Equipment 


The  Newport  (Tenn.)  Bottling  Works  will 
install  ice-making  plant. 

The  I.  T.  Goodrich  Company,  Savannah,  Ga., 
will  install  a  20-ton  refrigerating  machine. 

The  F.  Mayer  Boot  and  Shoe  Company,  Mil- 
waukee. Wis.,  will  erect  a  new  power  plant. 

The  Lytle  Creek  Power  Company,  San  Ber- 
nardino. Cal.,  will  increase  output  01  plant. 


The  city  of  Crockett,  Tex.,  has  issued  S2o.000 
bonds  for  the  construction  of  new  water  works. 

The  Striffler  Ice  and  Coal  Company,  Spring- 
field, 111.,  is  erecting  a  new  ice  and  cold-storage 
plant. 

City  of  Canyon,  Tex.,  will  vote  on  issuance 
of  833,000  bonds  for  water  works  and  sewer 
system. 

The  West  field  (Mass.)  Power  Company  has 
awarded  contract  for  the  construction  of  a  new 
building.  ^ 

The  Middletown  (Ohio)  Gas  and  Electric 
Light  Company  will  erect  a  new  electric  light 
powerhouse. 

The  city  of  Bessemer.  Mich.,  is  contemplating 
replacement  of  boilers,  pumps,  etc.,  for  water- 
works system. 

The  Edison  Company,  New  York,  has  filed 
plans  for  a  new  power-house  on  26th  street,  near 
Sixth  avenue. 

The  El  Paso  (Tex.)  Electric  Railway  Com- 
pany will  erect  an  addition  to  power  house 
to  cost  §14,000. 

City  of  Appalachia,  Va.,  will  issue  S50,000 
bonds  for  construction  of  water  works.  Ad- 
dress the  mayor. 

City  of  Newberry,  S.  C,  voted  to  issue  S40,000 
bonds  lor  extension  of  sewer  and  water  systems. 
Address  the  mayor. 

The  Eastern  Wisconsin  Traction  Company, 
Fond  du  Lac,  Wis.,  is  planning  to  abolish  line 
shaft  changing  to  direct-connected  generators. 
Will  change  from  8000-volt  series  direct-current 
to  660  volts,  7  lights  in  series. 


Help    Wanted 

Advertisements  under  this  head  are  in- 
serted for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  words 
make   a    line. 

W.\NTED — Steam  specialty  salesmen  on 
commission.  Reiter  Boiler  Cleaner  Co.,  Elgin, 
111. 

SELLI.VG  ENGINEER  wanted  for  steam 
condensers.  Schutte  &  Koerting  Co.,  Phila- 
delphia, Pa. 

WANTED — Thoroughly  competent  steam 
specialty  salesman :  one  that  can  sell  high- 
grade   goods.      Address   "M.    M.   Co.."    Powkr. 

AN  ENGINEER  in  each  town  to  sell  the 
best  rocking  grate  for  steam  boilers.  Write 
Martin  Grate  Co.,  281  Dearborn  St..  Chicago. 

W^ANTED — First-class  foreman  blacksmith, 
capable  of  handling  shop  doing  both  hand  and 
machine  work,  and  of  developing  new  methods. 
Box  57,  Power. 

DRAFTSMAN  WANTED— Steam  engine  or 
turbine  experience  essential.  Write,  giving 
age,  experience  and  salary  required.  The 
Terry  Steam  Turbine  Company,  Hartford,  Conn. 

Situations  Wanted 

Advertisements  under  this  head  arc  inserted 
for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  words  make 
a  line. 

SITU.A.TION  as  Corliss  engineer  in  some 
mill  or  plant.  Box  58,  Power. 
^RAFTSMAN — Three  years'  experience  in 
engineering  and  steam  turbine  power  station 
design,  and  three  years  in  steel  plant.  Box 
56,  Power. 

CORNELL  GRADU.ATE.  age  32,  desires 
position.  Practical  experience  includes  power 
plant  and  shop  superintendence;  electric  and 
pneumatic  power  distribution;  applications  of 
electricity  in  manufacturing  plants,  particularly 
individual  motor  drive;  specification  work 
and  correspondence.  Broad  knowledge  of  gen- 
eral machinery.  Executive  and  business  ability. 
Highest  endvsements.     Box  .59,  Power. 


Miscellaneous 


Advertisements  under  this  head  are  inserted 
for  25  cents  per  line.     About  six  words  make  ■ 
a    line. 

WANTED— From  .500  to  1.500  horsepower 
of  B.  &  W.  water  tube  boilers  in  units  of  2.50 
horsepower  each.  Must  be  in  A-1  condition. 
Inquire  of  J.  F.  Cargill,  Room  1630,  Frick 
Building,  Pittsburg,  Pa. 

PATENTS  secured  promptly  in  the  United 
States    and    foreign    countries.      I'amphlet    of 


June   15.   1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


1041 


The   New  Keystone   Watch    Case   Co.    Plant 

How   an  Old    Plant  Vi  as    Remodeled    and     Made    Lptodate     I  Hiring 
a    Busy    IVnod,    without    Interrupting    the    Service;   the  Lmb  InsUiilcii 


B    Y 


JOHNSON 


When  an  engineer  sees  a  new  uptodate 
p^iwcr  plant  operating  in  an  industry 
where  he  knows  fur  a  certainty  that  only 
a  short  time  t>cfure  the  same  ground  was 
occupied  by  ohi  Ixiilers  old  rnginrs  and 
apitaratus  generally ,  and  when  he  learns 
that  the  chanKe  from  return-tubular  boil- 
ers to  water-tube  boiler*,  from  slow- 
speed  l>elted  enKJne*  t  -peed  en- 
gines with  eUvtric  K'  on  the 
shafts,  from  wide  and  lon^  mam  driving 
belts  to  small  wires,  carrying  power  to 
widely  distributed  motors;  and,  in  fact, 
from  everything  that  was  old  in  the 
methods  of  power  transmission  to  all  that 
is  new,  without  a  moment's  iir 
in  the  service,  the  story  of  th« 
steps  in  the  tran^fonnain  n  t-Xiiti^  a-, 
much  interest  as,  it  not  nn>re  than,  the 
perfect  working  of  the  plant. 

Early  in  1907,  a«  ..  ^.>-l^   for  other  im- 
provements, the  I.  '  of  the  Key- 
stone   Watch    Ca'M:    v  ..:..i..iuy    decided    to 
rem<jdel   the   power   plant   of  the   factory. 
chanKing    it    frcm  a    belt-     to    a    ni't    ;• 
driven  %y»tem  which  w<'iili|  embody  .I'l 
the  later  and   lietter   i;-  -its   in   in 
dividual     and     group  <lri\tnK 
Some   idea  of  the  pr<iblrin>   to  be   »•  '       ' 
in  "'.e  change  may  be  had  when  it  1- 
derstiKKl  that  from  the  engine,  tioilcr  and 
pump  ro<7ms  there  were  taken  four  fv"- 
zontal   return-tubular  boiler*,  two  pn 
three  rv.                    feed-water  b<    " 
electric                          and   two   nv 
•II 
ex> 

there   w 
three     w 

with      direct -connected      generator*,      six 
pumps,   two   air    r.."<>. '•■»-•'.     ■•"'•    rlr\a 
tor,  »witchlM»aril' 

for    machine    .iml    imukkx    «'ii'     wm.^ 
necessjrv    »ti-r.ii;e    tanks    and    everythmg 
ih.r  *    «   mixlern 

m.> 

After     llir    i.li.«it|(. 
but  before  any  wrV    • 
engineer,  under   v. 
the    project    wa«    t 
pared  a  schedule  or  •  tort  of 
on   which  all  the   rtept  of  the 
renovation  were  set  down  in  th 
...  •  ■   (  ,1 


nithed  to  Treasurer  and  Secretary  Charles 
M.  Fogg,  by  which  he  was  enabled  to  see 
at  a  gbnce  just  how  much  progress  was 
l>eing  made  from  day  to  day. 

.After  several  consultations  between  the 
manager  and  the  chief  engineer,  it  was 
decided  to  procec<l  with  the  wt»rk.  even 
though  the  deniatKK  on  the  capacity  of 
the  factory  had  never  been  greater  than 
at  that  time.  Contracts  for  thr  nrw 
equipment  were  given  out  and 
following  the  lines  of  a  wd:  _  1 
plan  were  begun.  It  being  summer,  when 
little  power  was  needed  for  lights,  one  of 


ML    09    IKr.lWI     AMP    BPILIB 


high-speed     rntiine.     with     a     TO'kikNntt 
Uiehl   .  '«i  the  shaft,  and  wired 

to  mo:   .  .   - were  installed  in  «1'«'"- 

cnt  parts  of  the  factr>ry  to  drive  the 

ing   that   had   br.       '    '-    '    • 
cnicine*.      This    '  1 

oiii  ;in<]  ill   :'  I 

•  ■in-    of    »t(r    •  \ 

i  1 

was  what   ■ 

nected  to  I  >:      .   .       ,.   .;c 

generator^. 

I  hiring  tl»e  time  that  the  mv --re 

funii<>hed    with    steam   from 

red  to  it» 

•     Uack. 


St. Ilk.       tlu- 

!>•  •  :i   III  use  i..r 
•  ■:   '■  ;iir^.   was   • 
•    fir»t 


ixccd 


It 


was 

-le   in 


the    »hed,    to 


the 

...,t 


into  service.     T! 

"  ic    in    till-    } -i' 

-rent     which 
dr')\c   ■ 
Ijinr    \« 


three 


the  four  M'fax^  hv  ij-toat  boners  could      i 


•ra  heavy 

g  prevMirv 

•    f.f    iW 
H 


and  tbra 


;ia»«e« 


and  to 


indiTvliaal 

n\  >  In    t>* 


v^ai    completed.      0«c    <vpy    w*.    fur-      iIku  •*♦  *»  Ii*«  Cuy  !»«»  Wuik»  liAli     lUf  tlH-    »4!»fs       %  *-    -n-iuTrng   o.»Trmi 


iol^; 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  15,  1909. 


is  used  throughout  and  in  the  engine  room 
this  is  covered  by  a  jacket  of  planished 
russia  iron  with  half-oval  bands  of  brass 
at  the  joints. 

In   the   pump   room,    which    is    on    the 
boiler-room    floor    level,    are    six    steam 


be  bypassed   any  time   it  is   necessary  to 
examine  or  repair  the  heater. 

Although  a  delivery  and  erection  of 
all  of  the  steam  and  electrical  apparatus 
necessitated  in  the  new  installation  was 
required  within  60  days  of  the  date  of  the 


CHIEF   ENGINEER  S   OFFICE 


were  conducted,  substantiating  by  their  re- 
sults all  claims  made.  Not  until  the  new 
plant  had  been  in  operation  several  months 
and  everything  was  going  on  in  the  regu- 
lar routine  was  any  attempt  made  to  con- 
duct tests.  .The  boilers,  three  in  number, 
are  Maxim  water-tube  boilers,  with  the 
lower  drum  separated  from  the  combus- 
tion space  by  firebrick  arches  and  con- 
nected to  the  upper  drum  by  'six  rows 
of  specially  bent  tubes,  the  grates  extend- 
ing the  entire  length  of  the  boiler,  as  de- 
scribed and  illustrated  in  Power  of 
August   II,   1908. 

Tests  for  the  purpose  of  determining 
the  capacity  and  efficiency  of  the  boiler 
were  conducted  on  April  i  and  May  12, 
1908,  the  results  of  which  appear  in  the 
tabulated  report  on  the  opposite  page. 

The  electrical  apparatus  for  the  plant 
was  furnished  by  the  Diehl  Manufacturing 
Company,  of  Elizabethport,  N.  J.,  and  con- 
sists of  one  200-kilowatt  and  one  170- 
kilowatt  engine-type  generators,  running 
at  125  revolutions  per  minute,  and  one 
75-kilowatt  generator  operated  at  250  rev- 
olutions per  minute,  for  night  and  noliday 
service.  During  the  changes  from  belt 
drive  to  motor  equipment,  two  engines 
and  generators  did  severe  service,  running 
night  and  day,  with,  very  frequently,  long 
50  per  cent,  overload  periods. 

The  motor  equipment  consists  of  about 


pumps  of  various  sizes,  four  of  which  are 
so  connected  by  the  water  piping  that  they 
may  be  independently  or  collectively  used 
for  boiler  feeding  or  for  fire  pumps  in 
addition  to  the  regular  Underwriters'  fire 
pump,  which  stands  alone  in  the  fire-pump 
room  at  the  right-hand  end  of  the  boiler 
joom.  All  drips  from  the  engines  and 
pumps  are  led  to  a  large  settling  and  sepa!- 
rating  tank  set  below  the  floor  of  the 
pump  room  which,  while  it  allows  the 
water  to  flow  away  to  the  sewer,  col- 
lects and  retains  all  of  the  oil,  which  is 
automatically  returned  to  the  lubricating- 
oil  filter  tank.  Settling  and  separating 
tanks  are  quite  an  important  feature  in 
this  establishment,  as  all  the  waste  water 
from  the  laundry  and  wash  sinks  is  care- 
fully treated  for  the  purpose  of  recover- 
ing the  gold  and  silver  that  are  washed 
from  the  hands,  faces  and  clothing  of  the 
operatives,  something  like  $18,000  worth 
of  the  precious  metals  being  recovered  by 
this  process  each  year. 

I-argc  quantities  of  hot  water  are  used 
in  all  parts  of  the  factory  and  in  the 
laundry,  where  all  of  the  outer  clothing 
of  the  operatives  is  washed.  This  water 
is  supplied  from  the  boiler  feed-water 
pipe  leading  from  a  looo-horsepower 
Ferguson  feed-water  heater  conveniently 
located  imder  the  engine  room,  a  pres- 
sure-regulating valve  maintaining  a  con- 
stant pressure  of  40  pounds  on  the  factory 
system.  The  exhaust-steam  and  water 
piping  arc  so  arranged  that  the  hf  ntt  r  r:,r\ 


FRONT    WALL    01     i:.\(,JKE    AND   BOILER    ROOMS    VV  [IlLE    WORK    WAS    GOINU    ON 


signing  of  the  contracts,  nothing  that  was 
not  of  the  highest  grade  in  design,  work- 
manship and  efficiency  was  considered; 
guarantees  for  efficiency  and  satisfactory 
operation  under  normal  and  overload  con- 
ditions were  exacted  and  exhaustive  tests 


60  motors,  ranging  from  2  to  30  horse- 
power, all  except  five  being  of  slow  speed, 
ranging  from  350  to  600  revolutions  per 
minute,  mostly  of  the  ceiling  suspension 
type,  and  in  many  of  the  rooms  the  motors 
have  been  so  placed  that  they  are  scarcely 


June  15,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


t043 


RLl'ORT    i)y    TKSTS    AT    TH; 
THE   KtV.-^H^NK   WATfH   ■ 

PANV   UN    v-  MLIL- 

TLUl 


Date  of  tMl  .  .  .  . 

I^;^a;lon  of  test 


— •     arc  of   the   variable- »pcctl   lypc.   with  a   j 
J  *^^     to   I    variation 

Practt 
tcry    is 


of 
•■  '•;  racli 

•-•lUUC    lo 

k-fatf   ■>uti»4X    .     . 

Kind  of  drmft  lued. . 


April  I.  IWM. 

lU  houn 

'» 

2.M0  M}.ri. 
70  aq.n. 

36.7 

■team  blower 

•2  5»  r. 
asr  p. 

370»  F. 
.■^>'  F. 

F. 


May  1  •   IWKL      pump*.    cxhau»t     whcci*.     biuwrr>.     ri»U>, 
10  bour»  etc.,   motori    brin^    selected    of    t>i>c»    uikI 

S^MOaqn. 

70  aq  (t 

35  7 

nalurmJ   <lrmfl 

o  iV 

vr  I 

SS0*  t 

4or  » 


wi  that 

iitj  nude 

klikc  .c     wbulc     the 

plant  w:  ij   with  any  n 
the  cuuniry. 

It     Ma«     liriliiiftstr  jtri  1  li\     fKr     s 


.  tiMl  So    . 


I.I  ^ilU  lb. 

1.104  lb. 


Till  ii- 


8*; 

fl*": 

3.723  lb. 

*M*«  lb 

M  «r. 

23   4»'; 

10 

»t>- 
«»1 
in 


buatiliii- 


8.V73  lb. 
99  & 

0  6% 

91.307  lb. 

90.911  lb. 
12   177  1b. 


16. 1 10  lb. 
99   18 


O  M', 
151.469  lb. 


160.1Mlb. 


11. 145  lb. 


noticeable.  The  motors  drivuiK  the  pitli«h- 
tng  bthes  are  of  the  floor  type,  4  to  jo 


lOXjO    MUaaAY-COKUM  KMUIXE    with    170-KlljOWATT  DIKML  GUnXATOB 


l<iXJO  MVUAY-OMIUak  AND   1 
jtn    tNit   7<-> 


'  MUKta.  wnu 


h'>f<«TK>wrr.  fllrrrt  rrmnrrtrf!  tn  thr  thaft      lpff«l«   t«»   t«f»    ifie   »arif>B«    r«f»f' 


The    blower    and 


.    .«ta.     arc  : 
noton     old  »; . 


than  «a 
All  the  i..... 
run  many  tr 
with   an 
cent..  » • 
the  limi' 

Th< 
W 


The   cimtran    pr- 


;)  three  hoar» 

-(  abore 

i'^  the  Morr»T  Iron 
em- 
dr- 

DOI     Cttdl     f  miUM' 


«tM4i      t! 

horwpov 


rd  by  tk»  rngiri 


r«d»  |wr 


Er»fy 


an   rf«i«aWiM   to  Aj   f 
4M     TW  CMdl  ot  *• 


1044 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  IS,  1909. 


shown  by  the  diagrams,  was  43  per  cent. 
of  the  stroke  and  as  the  engine  is  of  the 
•long-range  cutoff  type,  guaranteed  to 
maintain  control  from  lead  to  H  of  the 
stroke,  it  is  evident  that  a  considerably 
heavier  overload  could  have  been  carried. 
1  he  speed  of  the  engine  on  the  rated  load 
tests  was  127  revolutions  per  minute, 
sicam  pressure  i  \o  pounds.  On  the  over- 
loads, the  steam  pressure  was  the  same, 
and  the  speed  fell  to  126  revolutions  per 
minute,  showing  a  change  in  regulation 
maintained  with  an  overload  of  83  per  cent, 
of  less  than  44  of  i  per  cent,  variation. 

Both  Corliss  engines  are  equipped  with 
Murray  high-speed  governor.  .  which 
oi>erate  at  about  twice  the  speed  of 
tlie  engine,  while  the  economical  features 
were  the  result  of  extremely  close  cyl- 
inder clearances,  adjustable  bearings  and 
the  special  double-ported  Murray  steam 
and  e.xhaust  valves,  with  the  valve  gear- 
ing operated  by  double  eccentrics  and 
dashpots,  so  perfected  as  to  produce  in- 
stantaneous release  at  the  desired  moment. 

The  frames  are  of  one-piece  castings, 
flesigned  by  Frederick  W.  Salmon.  An 
interesting  feature  is  the  introduction  of 
n  large  wedge,  controlled  by  a  screw, 
placed  immediately  under  the  bottom  bear- 
ing box,  on  each  bearing,  whereby  the  en- 
gine shaft  can  be  kept  in  constant  aline- 
ment,  by  the  simple  use  of  a  wrench,  as 
the  babbitt  wears. 

The  engines  have  been  in  operation  for 
al)out  a  year  and  a  half  and,  notwithstand- 
ing the  high  speed  under  which  they  have 
been  operated,  show  no  signs  of  wear  on 


S\VITCHBO.\RD  CONTROLLING    ALL    MOTORS    AND    LAMPS    IN    THE    FACTORY 


any  of  the  parts  and  have  given  no 
trouble,  but  have  operated  smoothly  and 
easily  during  this  time,  although  frequent 
overloads  of  50  per  cent,  have  been  car- 
ried at  various  times.  Fifty-six  single- 
throw  switches  on  the  marble  switch- 
h(.ard  in  front  of  the  engines,  with  ample 
floor  space  both   front  and  rear,  give  the 


engineer  control  of  each  group  of  motors 
and  the  lights  in  every  department  of  the 
entire  factory.  This  board  was  designed 
by  the  chief  engineer  and  ,  built  to  the 
specifications  furnished  by  him,  and,  with 
its  circuit-breakers,  ammeters,  voltmeters 
and  automatic  controlling  instruments, 
provides    for   any    demand   o*-    emergency 


BOILER  FRO.VTS   DURING  CHANrjE 


BOILER   FRONTS   AFTER  CHANGE 


June 


15.  'yoy. 


1\J\VER  AXU  THE  ENGINEER. 


lOiS 


hat  could   possibly  arise  in  the  distri'-- 
ion  of  power. 

From  the  extreme  end  of  the  boiler 
•00m  where  the  looo-gallon  Wheeler 
'writers"  fire  pump  stands  ready  for 
:  scr\'ice,  through  the  l>oiler,  pump 
uid  i-iiKinc  rooms,  through  the  machine, 
>lack<>mith  and  carpenter  shup^.  to  the 
rhief  cnRinecr's  office  on  the  thii-d  Attn, 
rverything    is    at    all    times    in    first-class 


UOUM 


v.    -'•:".-    —  '  r       Every    detail    gives    evi- 
^ht  given  by  a  matter  mtn<L 
Line  I   hnyiiiccr  F.  Mink  is  a 
g.tin/rr  and  from  fhr  daily  r 


He  can  tell  to  the  traction  of  a  cent  the 
cost  of  power  for  each  day  of  the  year 
and  his  monthly  statements  khuw  every 
item  of  expense.     If  it  should  a|»prar  that 


the 


i.f 


.1    trw    ex 
•  tube,  or  .• 
Fi>r  more  than  Jo  years  thrsc  records  have 
bcm  kept  and  at  a  glance  the  com  of  tno- 
live   power    for   any   moath   of   that    lime 
and  every  ilcni  of  that  coM  nay  be  seen. 


,i    J-^j| 


y^ 


!  I 


^ 


.    .1 

gucvAnoK  A»o  riAX  or  kmlu  k%u  ajiuiat  auuita 


1046 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  15,  1909. 


Care  and  Management  of  the 
Horizontal  Tubular  Boiler 


By    William    Kavanagh 


The  horizontal  tubular  boiler  is  very 
reliable  and  economical  when  properly 
handled  and  cared  for.  It  is  capable 
of  storing  large  quantities  of  heat ;  its 
longevity  is  equal  if  not  superior  to  any 
other  type  of  boiler;  it  is  cheap  to  install 
and  repair ;  simple  to  handle  and  not  at 
all  difficult  to  clean,  although  one  of  the 
stock  arguments  against  this  type  of  boil- 
er is  that  it  is  difficult  to  clean ;  when, 
however,  the  correct  method  of  cleaning 
this  boiler  is  properly  understood  there 
will  be  no  difficulty  found  in  keeping  it 
clean  and  free  from  scale,  making  it  one 
of  the  most  economical  boilers  to  operate. 

Assuming  that  the  boiler  is  under  steam 
pressure  and  it  has  been  decided  to  shut 
it  down  for  cleaning,  the  correct  way  to 
clean  it  is  as  follows :  Having  shut  the 
main  stop  valve,  clean  the  furnace  of 
ashes  and  whatever  fire  remains  after  the 
run,  and  close  every  door  and  damper  on 
the  bcilcr.  Let  the  water  remain  in  the 
boiler  and  allow  the  brickwork,  boiler 
and  water  to  cool  together.  When  the 
process  of  cooling  is  over,  open  the  safety 
valve  and  blow-down  cock  and  let  the 
water  run  off.  After  the  water  is  out 
of  the  boiler,  take  off  the  manhole  and 
handhole  plates  and  put  a  wooden  or 
other  plug  in  the  blow-down  connection. 
Take  a  hose  and  enter  the  boiler  on  top, 
and  having  secured  a  light  in  a  con- 
venient position,  play  a  strong  stream  of 
water  between  the  tubes  and  around  the 
shell,  especially  near  the  head  flanges. 
It  will  be  found  that  the  most  scale  and 
mud    will    accumulate    around    the    head 


the  cleaning  process  being  over,  once  more 
enter  the  boiler  through  the  upper  man- 
hole and,  having  secured  a  light  in  a 
handy  place,  take  a  flat  bar  of  sufficient 
length  to  reach  from  the  top  row  of  tubes 
down  to  and  below  the  lowest  row 
of  tubes,  as  shown  in  Fig.  i,  and 
swing  this  bar  lengthwise  of  the  boiler 
and  between  each  row  of  tubes,  being 
sure  not  to  miss  any  of  the  rows,  which 
will   effectively  clean  our   all  scale. 


be  detected  by  placing  the  thumb  and 
forefinger  on  the  rivet,  when  the  looseness 
can  be  felt  as  the  brace  is  struck.  Again, 
a  loose  brace  can  be  detected  by  com- 
paring the  ring  of  two  or  more  braces 
having  the  same  length  and  diameter. 
The  ear  can  detect  the  difference  in  sound, 
the  brace  under  the  least  tension  having 
the  lowest  tone.  Usually  long  braces  are 
fitted  with  turnbuckles  for  the  purpose 
of    keeping    them    taut,    while    the    short 


A 


~~7~ 


vz 


TT 


When  the  use  of  the  flat  bar  is  finished, 
^ake  a  tee-bar,  as  shown  in  Fig.  2,  and 
by  placing  it  across  and  between  each 
row  of  tubes  and  drawing  the  bar  from 
head  to  head,  all  or  nearly  all  of  the  scale 
lying  between  the  tubes  in  the  crosswise 
direction  will  be  knocked  down  on  the 
crown  sheet.  The  scraping  of  the  tubes 
being  over,  now  inspect  them  to  see  how 
well  it  has  been  done. 

W^hile  in  the  boiler  have  a  boiler-room 
employee  fix  an  incandescent  lamp  on  a 
long,  light,  wooden  or  iron  rod  or  pipe, 
and  then  by  having  the  light  placed  be- 
neath the  tubes  and  shifted  from  row  to 
row,  and  along  the  rows,  you  can  look 
downward  between  the  tubes  and  see  how 
clean  they  are. 

After  tliis  mode  of  cleaning  the  tubes 
is  finished,  play  a  fresh  stream  of  water 
once  more  around  the  tubes  and  shell  and 
then  have  all  of  the  scale  removed.     Be- 


flat  braces  are  riveted  to  the  head  and 
shell  and  are  not  provided  with  means 
for  keeping  them  taut.  The  short  braces 
seldom  get  loose. 

Being  satisfied'  that  the  braces  are  in 
good  order,  inspect  the  shell  along  the 
water  line  for  corrosion,  sometimes  called 
"pitting"  and  "grooving."  Pitting  can  be 
detected  by  dull,  red  spots,  and  grooving 
by  seams,  small  channels  or  grooves.  The 
corrosion  runs  along  the  line  coincident 
with  the  hight  the  water  is  carried  and 
will  be  heaviest  where  the  hight  of  the 
water   varies   most. 

When  pitting  and  grooving  occur  suf- 
ficiently to  cause  a  suspicion  of  the  weak- 
ening of  the  shell  or  tubes,  it  will  be  nec- 
essary to  follow  up  these  signs  and  learn 
how  deep  the  corrosive  action  has  eaten 
into  the  metal.  If  of  a  depth  to  weaken 
the  plate  seriously,  a  hole  should  be  drilled 
at   each  end  of  the  groove  or  weakened 


Fir,.   3 

flanges  and   particular  attention   must  be 
given  to  these  parts. 

Having  given  the  boiler  a  thorough 
washing  down,  come  out  and,  after  play- 
ing a  strong  stream  of  water  between  the 
tubes  either  through  the  handhole  or 
lower  manhole,  take  a  long-handled  light 
hoe  and  collect  ■all  of  the  scale  and  mud 
at  the  nearest  any  most  convenient  open- 
ing. With  a  sliort,  light  hoe  haul 
out  all  sediment  arid  dirt.     This  part  of 

\ 


fore  leaving  the  inside  of  the  boiler,  in- 
spect it  for  loose  braces.  By  striking 
the  braces  with  a  light  hammer  you  can 
easily  discover  if  any  is  loose,  and  all 
braces  found  loose  must  be  tightened. 

When  a  loose  brace  is  struck  with  a 
hammer  the  vibrations  set  up  in  the  brace 
are  long  and  slow,  and  the  tone. or  "ring" 
is  low.  If  the  brace  is  taut,  the  "ring" 
or  tone  will  be  sharp  and  the  vibrations 
short  and  rapid.     A  loose  brace  can  also 


FIG.    4. 

spot  and  a  patch  riveted  on.  Corrosion 
attacks  the  tubes  mostly  near  a  point 
where  they  enter  the  boiler  heads.  By 
striking  the  tubes  with  a  small  peen 
hammer,  the  weakened  tubes  will  become 
dented  or  bent  inward.  Good  strong  tubes 
are  not  easily  bent  or  dented  with  a  blow 
of  a  light  peen  hammer.  All  weakened 
tubes  should  be  taken  out  and  replaced 
with  good  ones. 

After  inspecting  the  tubes  for  flat  spots, 


June 


I  goo 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


1047 


weakcnoJ   or  corrosivt  parts,   inspect    for 

leaky    riveted    seams.      If    a    seam    leaks, 

take  a  calking  tool  and  close  up  the  leak, 

and   if  a   looise   rivet   is   found   it   may   be 

made   steam-tight   with   the  calking   t<-H  1 ; 

if  not.  the  rivet  should  be  cut  out  and  a 

fuller  rivet   inserted.     The  inside  of  the 

'    :'cr  having  been  properly  inspected,  pass 

all    tools,    lights,   etc.,   and   enter   the 

ace  and   inspect   the  crown  sheet    for 

•T*,    etc.      That    part    of    the    crown 

over  the  bridgewall   should 

tdar  attention.      By    using   a 

;    ball    peen   hammer   and    tapping    the 

I   carefully  one   is   apt   to   locate   any 

'•s  spots  or  injured  parts.     If  a  blister 

i>   ioimd  the  skin  of  the  blister  should  be 

cut  off  and  trimmeil  all  round,  as  by  doing 

this  you  will  be  enabled  to  tell  the  depth 

Of   fhtrkness  of  the   metal   cut   away   and 

•  :ies$  of  the   remaining   sheet.     If 

'   has  Ikxu  weakened  too  much  a 

1  must  be  riveted  over  the  weakened 

he    back -conned  ion   sheet    should    re- 

•    a  simibr  lest  to  the  fire  sheet.     The 

s  in  the  lack  head  must  be  inspected, 

■I   of  the  tube  cxtemling  be- 

InTomes  eaten  away  by  the 

It   ot   the   heat.      If   the   handhole  has 

leaking  for  some  time  the  head  sheet 

will      become     c<»rro<|ed     and     weakened 

•"'-••nd    the    handhole.     This    is    often    a 

e  of  great  danger,  because  when  the 

r    is    under    steam    it    i»    diflicull    to 

if    the    h.-in<lhiilc    plate    is    tiglit     or 

plan   is  to  take  an   in- 

><1  run  its  wires  through 

a  piece  of   pipe.     Then  by  cutting  a  hole 

ill    the    wall    opposite    the    handhole    the 

>    can    be   pushed   in   near   the   boiler 

thus    affording    an    excellent    op- 

nity   for  inspection  of  the  rear  tube 

vtng  ihnroMjfhIy  inspected  the  outside 

-    out    the   plug    in   the 

tion,   put   on   the   hand- 

.ind   manhole   plates  and  iiLike  ihem 

Take  a   stiff  bro^mi  and  attach   it 

)andle  and  rub  off  the  dust  from  the 

>hert    and    lube    sheets.      Mix    some 

ly   to   ihe  con«i»iency  of  stiff  ptiiiy 

•rr   it   around   the   r.  "  ■»le 

frm      This   will   p;  mit 

•-    heat    acti..ii       I  here 

.«   ma«le    for    this   pur- 

their  u«e  will  be  found  superior 

'>■ 

In  Fig.  J  is  shown  how  the  lamp  is  in- 

— "-♦!  through  ihe  h'^e  at  .A.    After  using 

•  mp,  the  hole  can  !>e  closed  bjr  drop- 

ft  over  il      In  this  »^ 

'I   and    the   draft    1 

paired 

I 'tr     I    «hr,w«    an    imprnvf.!   nirtho«l 

!er.   ami 

-'   can  be 

irge<l   either    inin   ihe    ff<rni    nr    r«-.>r 

-  arche«.  a*  lndiea'<-'  '      •'  -  arrows. 

method  of  bniirr  •  <-s  away 

wnii    rrpairt   to   or   falhng    frar   archci^ 


l>esides    adding   considerable    heat    to   the 
feed  water. 

It  is  almost  needless  to  a  rais- 

ing steam  it  should  be  dt>!:'  .v  iy  as 

p«issible,  the  slower  the  better ;  the  steam 
gage    and     safety    valve    should    be    re- 
liable   and    in    good    working    condition; 
the  gage  cocks  and  water-column  c-— — 
tions    should    be    clean    and    all    pa 
free  from  scale. 


Close  Regulation  of  Ridgway 
Eiigines 


The  accompanying  diagrams  were  taken 
from    Ridgway    engines    and    k       '  ' 
being  installed  in  the  Kdgmere 
Edgmerc.  1.   I.,  by  C.   F.   Piehl,  ciucf  en- 
gineer, during  two  days'  tests. 

There  arc  two  units,  one  of  jo  kilowatts 
US  v<  Its  and  3^5  revi>lutions  per  minute, 
and  one  of  50  kilowatts,  1^5  volts,  joo 
res-olviiions  per  minulc.  The  jo-kilowalt 
set  is  for  carr)>ing  the  day  load  from  I 
a.m.  to  4  p.m,  during  which  time  the 
lighting  load  is  from  80  to  loo  amperes, 
and  an  additional  elevator  load,  which 
consists  of  one  Sprague  400O-poun(l-ca- 
paciiy    I  elevator. 

The    :  t    set    is    for    the    night 

*^^'  4  pm.  to   1  a.m.,  when  Ihe 

l«Ki  :    is    aliout    JOO    to    350    am- 

peres, in  addition  to  the  elevator  service. 
These  conditions  require  very  close  regu- 
lation of  engines  and  generators. 

The    governors    are    of    the    '    ' 
type,   applied    to   side-crank   cot 
and  operate  without  dash|iots.      Ihe    \c:) 
quirk    a«-ti..n    of    this    c-vrrnnr    is    e\i- 
<!«•'  '<!  .1.  wl  that   Ihe 

K"^  if  the  coi-  .„ge  from 

full  to  no  |.ad  in  less  than  two  revolu- 
tions,     when     the     circuit -breaker     was  • 
thrown  out.  The  card  tt  shows  the  change 
with    a    load    quickly    applied,    which    il 
lutlrales  changes  in  the  form  of  the  card 
for    different    loads.      Representalive    m 
dicator  cardi  are  »hnwn  hv  ('    P  nnti  I 

The    ! 
amprf*" 
unt' 
of  ! 
thi^ 
sUf 

age   ,,   ., ,,   ,,=..., 
gosentors  were  tr 


(  load  lh*t)wn  on  or  off  in- 

^"•'      •'•-     •-  in 

.11 


lu    lc*4    llinr 
T^r»      ^rrr 


a*    •  -ig  off  in  »per«l  .f 

The    »  trt   of  dw    Ridgway 

type,  with  cotnprnsatlnc  wtadlng.     Wnh 


i^'  ■'  ihe  50-kilowatt  generator  for 

5  ic    compenvatini;    iMinisng    r»»e 

was    oniy    56    degree*     1  above 

the  atmosphere,  and  on  :...  ^,  ^.luwait 
machine,  for  the  same  length  of  ttroe.  65 
degrees  Fahrenheit.  The  6eld-ccU  rise 
for  the  50-kilowati  generator  was  56  de- 


utctns 

irrrrt    r*ahrrtilir it     xt\A    fur    iKr 


ttXmAT 


the 

.'•nmulalof 


.\Ci  •    f  i!lM|f 
frttUi'        »t:    .1. 

Ic«4iag  C«cr 


'  •nUr    rr< 

'nIM  at 

ii>tiiiiiriiH 


1048 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  15,  1909. 


''Phasing"   Alternating    Current   Generators 

Cunes    ELxplaining    Principles     Involved     in     Phasing    Out,     and    the 
Result  of  Throwing  in  Parallel  Machines     Not  Properly    Phased    Out 


B      Y 


F. 


J. 


F     O     O     T     E 


Phasing  is  not  the  same  as  sj-nchroniz- 
ing,  although  the  two  operations  are  very 
closely  rtlated.  Briefly  stated,  phasing 
consists  in  determining  whether  the  pliases 
of  ahernating-cnrrent  generators  are  con- 
nected in  the  proper  relation  to  the  switch- 
board  or  other  apparatus. 

The  principles  involved  in  phasing  out 
and  the  consequences  of  throwing  the 
machines  together  in  parallel  that  are  not 
properly  phased  out  are  best  illustrated 
and  explained  by  means  of  curves  repre- 
senting ihe  names  of  electromotive  forces 
generated  by  the  machines. 

In  Fig.  I  is  shown  the  armature  con- 
nections for  two  machines  connected 
through  switches  to  busbars.  These  ma- 
chines may  be  generators,  synchronous 
motors,  rotary  converters,  or  a  combina- 
tion of  any  of  these,  as  the  problem  is 
the  same  in  any  case.  I  have  chosen  two- 
phase  machines  for  the  explanation  be- 
cause two-phase  curves  are  simpler  than 
three-phase  curves,  and  practically  the 
same  measuring  applies  to  both  two-phase 
and  three-phase   machines. 

In  practice  the  machine  to  be  put  in 
ser\-ice  is  phased  simply  with  the  busbars 
of  the   switchboard  on   the  lines   running 


Machine  No.  1 


Machine  No.  2 


to  the  machine,  without  considering  the 
other  madiines  that  are  already  in  opera- 
tion.    In  the   diagrams,   however,   I   have 


Curves  from 
Machine  No.  1 


Curves  from 
Machine  No.  2 


shown  the  second  machine  in  the  hope  of 
making   the    explanation    clearer. 

How  TO  Use  the  Curves 

In  Fig.  I  the  switches  of  ma'chine  No. 
2  are  shown  closed,  while  -those  of  ma- 
chine No.  I  are  open.  In  this  case  ma- 
chine No.  I  is  to  be  put  into  commis- 
sion. In  Fig.  2  are  shown  the  voltage 
curves  for  machines  No.  i  and  No.  2 
of  Fig.  I.  The  frequency  chosen  is  25 
cycles  per  second,  so  that  a  complete 
cycle  will  occur  in  1/25  second,  as  shown. 
In  all  these  curves  the  distance  horizontal- 
ly is  a  measure  of  time  in  fractions  of  a 
second,  and  the  distance  vertically  is  a 
measure  of  the  voltage  at  any  instant  of 
time.  In  all  cases  the  curve  generated  by 
pliase  A  is  shown  by  dotted  lines,  and  the 
curve  generated  by  phase  B  is  shown  by 
solid   lines. 

Considering  Fig.  2,  the  dotted  curve  A 
represents  the  instantaneous  voltage  gen- 
erated in  the  armature  coils  of  phase  A. 
The  straight  horizontal  line  through  the 
center  of  these  curves  is  called  the  axis 
of  the  curves  and  at  the  instant  a  curve 
crosses  this  line  it  indicates  that  the 
voltage  in  the  corresponding  phase  is 
zero.  It  is  evident  that  phases  A  in  both 
machine  No.  r  and  machine  No.  2  reach 
their  maximum  at  the  same  instant,  so 
that  if  the  A  phases  of  the  machines 
were    connected    together    while    they   are 


1 


June  15,  1909. 


POWER  AMJ   IHL  1:..\L.I\EER. 


io« 


ng  in  this  way  thtrc  would  be  no 
:icy  for  current  to  tlow  from  one 
!ne  to  the  other.  The  B  pha*cs  of 
machines  also  reach  their  poMtive 
and  negative  maximum  values  at  the  same 

IfAchlMNo.! 


hind  N'o.  1,  phase  J  of  machine  No.  3 
will  be  a  maximum  negative  voltage,  while 
phase  .-I  of  machine  No.  I  is  at  maximum 
positive  voltage ;  ronscquentlx.  the  lamp* 
on  phase  A  will  bum  at  full  brightnrst. 


IK  iliiKi  y 


TT 


chine  No.  i,  making  a  tracing  of  them, 
and  then  moving  this  tracing  aloc^  keep- 
ing the  axis  of  the  curvet  on  the  tracing 
cloth  dir     ■'  '  '        ith.     n»e 

vertical  eurvc  of 

the  origi!„i!  and  • 
point    will    br    a 
tending  to  c 
the  bmpv 

half  a  cycle,  or  a  distance  equal  to  that 
between  o  and  jfi-     Tbe  nukimum  dis- 
Unce    brtwern    the    curves    will    then    be 
twice  the  m.. 
and  since  ini' 

two    m.  ^.    I 

will  gn.  ^.  the 

eight   iQo-v.  ..hincss. 

With   the  ^     I,  what 

was  said  about  phase  A   will  also  apply 
to  phase  B  in  each   case     Consequently, 
the  lamps  on  both  phases  will  glow  and 
grow  <brk  together.     Thi»  is  the 
shows    that    the    machines    arc 
phased  out. 

Suppose  that  we  hare  a  case  like  that 
shown  in  Kig  x  where  by  acctdetit  tbe 
phases  are  "crossed;'*  that  is,  phase  B  of 
machine  So.  t  it  connecird  to  phase  A 
of  machine  No.  a.  and  phase  A  of  machine 
No.  I  is  connected  to  phase  B  of  machine 
No.  2.     In  this  case  when  the  machines 


t,  sc   that   the  B   phases  could   also 

-.     .  innected    together    without    tendency 

for    current    to   flow    between    them.      In 

•'    -  words  Fig.  2  shows  the  correct  con- 

>     for     throwing    the     machines    in 

"•I;    that    is,    they    "phase   out"    cor- 

■■ics 

I 
have  a  normal  voltage  oi  about  400  volts, 
•o   that    a    bank    of    four    loo-volt    lamps 
in   series   would   coine  up  to   full  bright- 
ness    if   connecte<l   across   one   phase.      If 
two   such   sets   of   series   bmps   are   con- 
two  open   ^wi^chcs   of 
No,  1,  with  Ix.th  ma- 
.;     rft     nor-  uc,    the 

•'-rnnrrty  to    full 

>rk.  the 
....   on   the 
'Hr/  in   spee<l  of   the  two  machine* 
-tiing    the    machines    to    have    same 
•r  of  po|e«). 
>>  c  can  expbin  this  action  by  meani 
of    the    curves    in    hiu     2,    in    this    way: 

rhe 

la- 

>c    ilif    I'  .tvc    in 

Limp*   %v  'V-      ,\» 

.   as   one  <*«* 

„!tis  to  lag  '  rft 

will   reach   the   ni.«MiiMim   Bl  ft 

■  ■  i^nt    than    that      •    •         ■■*-    N'o. 

!   there  will  be  a   •  »f- 

T..  the 
re  ma* 


rw.    4 


How  TO  Gir  A  Cliai  Ima  or  tmi 

ACTtOM 

A  clearer  tdea  of  the  cxaet  artkin  tak* 


are  riwim  at  nonnal  roliage. 


am  pliase  A 


Chiiir   Nv.  2  ha*  iagaeii  mwhalf  trycU  b«-      IracSUg  clsMh  over  iIm  fiutYr- 


«-t"4£  '■•  tb..»»e  oa  I 

dirk,  a«  ml 

By    r%»muimt    '''%■    4   ^ 


1050 


POWER  AND  THE  EX'GIXEER. 


June  15,  1909. 


see  just  why  this  is.     Fig.  4  represents  the  tions,  all  that  is  required  is  to  reverse  the 

curves   generated   by   the   machines   when  leads  on  either  phase  of  one  of  the  ma- 

the  lamps  on  phase  B  of  machine  Xo.   i  chines.      It    will   then   be    found   that   the 

(see  Fig.  3)  are  dark.    This  is  seen  to  be  lamps    will    light    up    together,    and    the 

true  since  phase  B  of  machine  No.   i   is  switches    on    both    phases    can   be    closed 

connected  to  phase  A   of  machine   Xo.  2,  with  safet}-. 

and  curve  B  of  machine  Xo.  i  and  curve  A  third  case  may  occur  from  crossing 


Machine  No.  1 


Machine  No.  2 


FIG.    5 


The  corresponding  generator  curves  are 
drawn  in  Fig.  6.  These  curves  show  that 
when  the  B  phases  are  in  step,  that  is, 
they  come  to  a  positive  maximum  at  the 
same  instant,  the  A  phases  are  in  direct 
opposition,  the  A  phase  in  machine  No.  I 
being  at  positive  maximum  and  the  A 
ph^se  of  machine  No.  2  being  at  nega- 
tive maximum  simultaneously.  The  re- 
sults of  throwing  the  machines  together 
w-ith  this  connection  will  be  just  as  dis- 
astrous as  in  the  previous  case.  The  cor- 
rect thing  to  do,  of  course,  is  to  reverse 
the  leads  of  phase  A,  machine  No.  I, 
although  as  far  as  operation  is  concerned 
the  leads  of  phase  B,  machine  No.  I, 
could  be  reversed  instead,  as  may  be 
proved  from  the  curves  in  Fig.  6. 

Where  the  operating  voltage  is  below 
400  or  500  volts,  the  method  described 
of  putting  sets  of  lamps  around  the  open 
switches  wall  be  found  the  simplest  and 
most   satisfactory. 

Where  the  operating  voltage  is  above 
500  volts  the  direct  method  requires  so 
many  lamps  that  it  becomes  inconvenient 
and  in  such  cases  small  transformers  are 
used  to  "step  down"  the  generator  volt- 
age to  suit  the  lamps.  The  results  with 
transformers  are  the  same  as  with  the 
direct  method,  but  especial  care  must  be 
exercised  to  make  sure  the  connections 
are  correct,  because  there  are  errors  pos- 


A  of  machine  Xo.  2  both  reach  their 
positive  maximum  values  at  the  same  in- 
stant, so  that  there  will  be  no  tendency 
for  the  current  to  flow  through  the  lamps. 
The  switches  on  phase  B  of  machine 
No.  I  could  he  closed  under  these  condi- 
tions without  injury  to  the  apparatus,  but 
this  is  not  true  of  the  switches  on  phase 
A  of  this  machine.  .Again  referring  to 
Fig.  4  and  remembering  that  the  phases 
of  each  machine  are  one-quarter  of  a 
cycle  apart,  it  is  evident  that  phase  A  of 
mactiine  No.  i  will  reach  its  maximum 
one-quarter  of  a  cycle  ahead  of  phase  B 
of  machine  No.  i,  and  that  phase  B  of 
machine  No.  2  will  reach  its  maximum 
one-quarter  cycle  behind  phase  A  of  ma- 
chine No.  2.  In  other  words,  phase  A  of 
machine  No.  i  is  one-half  cycle  ahead 
of  phase  B  of  machine  No.  2.  These 
phases  being  connected  by  means  of  the 
lamps,  these  lamps  will  be  bright  while 
the  other  lamps  are  dark,  and  the  result 
of  throwing  the  machines  together  at  this 
time  and  with  this  connection  would  be 
to  cause  a  heavy  current  to  pass  between 
these  last-named  phases  and  might  cause 
great  damage. 

How    TO    OiRRECT    .\     WrONC    CoNVECTIOV 

Having  discovered  by  means  of  the 
lamps  that  there  is  a  wrong  connection, 
the  next  thing  is  to  decide  how  to  cor- 
rect it. 

If  it  is  desired  simply  to  put  the  ma- 
chines into  operating  condition  without 
regard  to  the  appearance  of  the  connec- 


FIG.    6 

the  leads  of  one  phase,  as  represented  in     sible  in   using  transformers  tliat  are  im- 


Fig.  5,  where  the  B  phases  are  correctly 
connected,  but  the  leads  of  phase  A,  ma- 
chine No.  I,  are  "crossed"  or  reversed. 
In  this  case,  just  as  in  the  previous  case, 
the   lamps    will     alternate     in    brightness. 


possible  with  the  direct  method. 

Three-phase  Machines 
In    phasing    out    three-phase    machines 
all  that  one  needs  to  do  is  to  put  three 


June  15,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


lost 


sets  of  lamps  around  the-  three  open 
switches,  or  poles,  of  a  thrcc-polc  switch, 
assuming^,  of  course,  that  the  direct 
method  can  be  used.  If  the  machine  is 
properly  phased  out,  all  three  sets  of 
lamps  will  become  bright  at  the  same 
time.  If  not  properly  phased,  the  lamps 
will  become  bright  at  different  moments, 
cne  set  following  another  at  regular  in- 
tervals; in  this  case,  if  any  two  leads  are 
reversed  the  machine  will  be  properly 
phased. 


Leather  Bcllf   for  the  Transmission 


of   P 


ower 


Itv    H.\RI(INi.TON'    EmUSOH 


'at her  is  tough,  elastic,   strong,   flex- 
and    durable.      Nothing    has    super - 
d   it    for   the    solcs  of   shoes,    nothing 
■  d    it    for   'he    uppers    where 
y.  >crv«<-e  is  wanted.     Riib- 
althuugh     soft     and     toiiKh.    cannot 
.I>ete.     A   good   leather   sole   will   out- 
last two  sets  of  the  best   rubber  heels,  a 
gfxxl    leather    sole    will    outlast    the    hob 
nails  with  which   it   is  studded.     Canvas 
i»   not   even    thought    of    for    soles.      For 
durability  in  the  rough  service  of  a  man's 
•id    to    sopping     weincss,    10 
.•»«.     to     ciittitit;     sharpness 
tu    itbfU'  leather    has    held 

Imputed     ♦  over     any     other 

■ubstance. 

It    is   because   of   these   inherent   quali- 
ties   that    leather    belting    has    been    used 
f'  '   the   transmission  of  powvr,  and   just 
leather    soles    are    more    Lasting    than 
of  either  canvas  or  rubber  or  raw- 
so    K«>rxl    leather    bells    are    better 
lielts  of  canvas  or  rub- 

I>rii>  'iiirn  have  to  r  wet 

pi  I  rs      Hei'.re  walerpr  Ix-lt- 

was  develofH-d.   leather  hell*  dclerio- 

'     ^'f^     rapidly     under    these    condi- 

r  l»elt«  by  their  very  name 

Ki-  >    of  bsting  longer,  and  they 

did  l.i«t   ^■•r.-^rr,  bul  not  a*  lon^  a*  water- 

proofeil    '  •     ■       ■ 

The   I  ■K«tilnlet 

for  lea'hcr   iv  il...  If 

a    ''-.iilirr    bell    w'  (nr 

ty   years   i«    subjected   to   such 

tear  as  to  gise  out  in  a  few  «• 

H  would  be  better  to  i»»e  a  cheaper  sub- 

tf,'     1,^      l.,,f     ...     .    .     ».     ..    .-,^    il    i,    pfffffjlA^ 

%n     that     Ir.i- 
iper       II'  ' 
even   \^  • 


natural  $utes.  <t  is  easy  to  test  leather 
belting,  for  stretch  and  pefnunent  set 
under  load,  for  breaking  strain,  and  abil- 
ity to  stand  sharp  bending.  A  knowl- 
edge of  these  wdl  enable  a  belt  repairer 
»oon  to  become  fairly  expert  .t 
ily.      Similar    tests   cannot    be    .  > 

eiT  rr. 

1  made    from    steer 

hides.     Rubber  C'  .   wholly  differ- 

ent sources  and  r  .    varies  greatly, 

sume  contains  as  little  as  I  per  cent 
fither  samples  as  much  as  jo  per  cent, 
resin.  The  best  grades  of  rubber  come 
from  Para,  bul  there  is  no  practical  way 
of  telling  whether  a  sample  of  rubber 
is   Para  or  not.     Rubber  i>  m  its 

native  state  as  it  abs^>rh<  oxi- 

dizes. When  mixed  »:• 
peratnre  above  J50  .  . 
and  Ik-Iow  joo  degrees  Hahrenheit  a  com- 
bination takes  place  which  presers'es  the 
rubber  and  also  increase  it*  strength. 
.\fier  it  has  been  vulcanized,  as  this 
process  is  called.  60  per  cent,  to  70  per 
cent,  a-!   ■  "      added      If  natural 

rubber  tf  it  is  not  properly 

vtilcani/cd  :    of   rubber    requir- 

ing different  r  ),   if  it   is  adulter- 

ated with  mineral  oils,  or  if  it  is  ex- 
posed 10  light,  it  deteriorates  rapidly. 
F.veryone  knows  that  even  the  best  Para 
rubber  bands  rot  in  a  few  years. 

Recently,  conveyer  belting  made  of  dif- 
ferent materials  was  submitted  to  a  sand- 
blast   test    for    45    minutes    and    the    loss 

of  Td. 

t  t    nihher   belting  as   the 

unir: 

Rubber  i 

n.ilaia    5 

\Noven  cotton.  Itt  qtialily  5 

Stitched  cotton 8 

Woven  cotton,  ordinary  quality        ij 
The   cotton   belting   wore   out    5   to    ti 

times  as  rapidly  as  rubber  belting,  which 

in    turn    deteriorates    much     faster    than 

Ie.i'  If 

'  tl  trtll  <.-v-Tt  nitn  an%    rubber 

bcl  belt. 

C'  oil. 

paraffin  or  other   substances,   the   outside 

bring  coaird  with  a  »»■•-••■••  —  ■'   •■ • 

When   new   the)-   are 

•orr    *  -  " 

or 


p» 


io«    b«    vacd    for    permanent 
'     belt*     are     waierpmof 


elastic,  mLxh  harder  to  fpUcc  tlian 
leather  belting.  It  is  chcaner  per  foot, 
and  if  belting  is  10  be  negkcled  so  that 
it  is  in 

or  moi 

as   muclu   L»jt   i: 

eriy    ntrf^     ff>r  j 


'    -  owing  to  the  » 

—  :o  change  of  »<..i,.^i 
<r.    if   good,    is    mocfa    more    cx- 

!><  ii'ne   an*t    '  '  '.{ 

not  used. 


misMon*    with    which    the    writer    ; 
quainted    are    natural-gas    engines     wn.n 
a    leather-belt    dnve    lo    main    shafts,    to 
f'  '■*    and    to    machines.      If    m 

*l  «    iberr    are    «eri—«s    ;trar!t-al 


I-  <1. 

It  did  not  require  any  high- 
cbss  skill  to  install  belling  to  that  it 
would  work  somehow,  most  behtng  in- 
stallations have  been  badly  planned  and 
badl)  insialleU.  T 
est     lv|ies     of    tl 

it 

light  .•' 

***    ai 

very    lightness   of   the   palle>s  % 

seeirr.!  1.,  indicale  that  the  nw»>  i.  ' 

»  e  sery  little  power.     If 

pu.i. ,-    ».(e   nu  •  ■     • 

competitors  at  r.t 

because  the 

and    the    Mr. 


The    sellers    •.■ 
fully     de»itnrd 
chain.   : 
have  n 
capt  tl' 


■n     'ffne. 


ler 

I,. 


Mjrr 

sfT- 


to 

•1  arc  treated  • 

h    they   do   n-  :    .  

•Ahmfnrt  nt  Mp*r  prtwtM  t»  Ifc* 
lf9th*t  n«iiiB«  WaaafartarvrV  Aamttmikm. 
W*brnmry    1.    liwia 


csMton    beha    t«    always  twgiw^f.    i 

■rd     Wgll«fw«' 

M  WM  ••  dnrafale,  is  morli  lr*a    Ititwiiiwg  aB  m 


-  *^h  ikr  y. 

'•hd  •♦• 
'x   plant- 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGIXEER. 


June   15,  1909. 


practices,  al?o,  ar.cr  nine  years  of  ob- 
servation and  study,  laid  down  rules  for 
proper  installation,  operation  and  main- 
tenance of  belting.  C'Xotes  on  Belting.  " 
F.  \V.  Taylor,  part  of  Vol.  15  of  the 
Transactions  of  the  A.  S.   M.  E. 

If  any  industrial  plant  does  not  recog- 
nize the  importance  of  ligh-grade  instal- 
lations of  all  kinds,  a  constant  care  over 
them  and  best  maint  .nance,  if  it  is  to  be 
a  slipshod,  happ>-r,o-lucky  plant  (many 
plants  are  of  thi«-  character),  then  it  is 
better  to  install  'jelting  and  stick  to  it,  as 
it  will  stand  nore  ignorance,  abuse  and 
neglect  than  r.ny  other  installation. 

One  of  *ne  fundamental  peculiarities 
of  leather  belting  is  elasticity.  If  belt- 
ing were  not  elastic,  could  not  stretch,  it 
would  'ose  most  of  its  value  as  a  trans- 
mitter of  power.  It  fills  the  same  purpose 
betveen  shaft  and  tool  that  a  pneumatic 
tir-.-  does  between  road  and  automobile 
(  f  bicycle.  It  absorbs  shock  that  other- 
wise would  cause  smashing  and  breaking, 
but  it  does  more  than  this.  If  the  strain 
becomes  too  great,  the  belt  either  slips 
or  in  the  worst  case  breaks.  In  either 
case  repairs  are  promptly  made  with 
minimum  expense. 

The  inclination  to  change  length  un- 
der load  or  when  the  weather  changes  is 
the  cause  of  ?11  the  legitimate  wear  on 
be!ts ;  it  is  the  main  difficulty  in  the  way 
of  correct  operation  and  maintenance.  A 
great  majority  of  belt  installations  do  not 
admit  of  adjustable  pulleys,  adjustable 
shafts,  nor  tightener  pulleys  by  which 
the  belt  tension  can  b?  regulated.  In  the 
shops  of  the  Santa  Fe  Railroad  a  method 
has  been  evolved  which  oermits  tighten- 
ing belts,  which  could  not  be  made  end- 
less, with  very  little  trouble  and  delay. 
When  first  put  on  the  belt  was  cut  6 
inches  short,  and  a  6-inch  piece  was  used 
to  fill  the  gap.  This  insert  was  connected 
at  both  ends  to  the  belt  by  rawhide  lacing 
or  spiral  wire  hinge.  At  the  end  of  a  few 
hours  the  6-inch  piece  was  taken  out,  re- 
turned to  the  belt  room  and  a  5-inch  piece 
inserted.  This  change  required  a  very 
short  time.  .At  the  end  of  a  day  a  4- 
•nch  piece  replaced  the  5  inch  piece,  and  as 
the  belt  gradually  lengthened,  shorter  and 
shorter  insert  pieces  were  put  in,  thus  at 
all  times  adjusting  the  tension  to  climatic 
and  ssrvjcc  conditions. 

The  whole  of  correct  belting  operation 
can  be  summed  up  in  a  very  few  princi- 
ples. There  should  be  allowed  1080  feet 
per  minute  of  double  belt,  i  inch  wide, 
per  horsepower.  The  lowest  initial  ten- 
sion should  be  used  under  which  the  belt 
will  pull  without  slip.* 


•ThU  rule  U  not  appllrahl(>  to  heavy  main- 
drive  I»*>ltii.  "Kpnfs  I'ockPt  Book."  pnep  SS'^, 
flvpx  th»  fpason  for  thiH  rulf.  The  fiii«-Kf*rin 
N  not  how  narrow  a  b<'lt  ran  be  fo  transmit 
a  Riven  hor.vpower.  bnt  how  wifjf  If  must  lie 
lf>  tran.^mlt  the  given  horsepower  with  the 
minimum  rojit  In  time  and  worrv  and  power 
for  reliable  operation.  A  single'  Ik-H  1  inrb 
wide  running  .'r»0  feet  ppr  mlnnfe  may  triins- 
mlt  a  horsepower  without  Immediately  break- 
ing, but  It  will  not  do  it  as  reliably  nor  eco- 
nomically as  a  double  belt  running  1000  feet 
per  minute. 


A  tension  of  35  pounds  per  inch  of 
double  belr  exclusive  of  load  is  sufficient. 

The  result  will  be  that  the  creep  of  the 
belt  should  be  a  minimum  and  extend 
through  a  very  small  angle  on  the  face 
of  the   pulley. 

A  belt  runs  to  the  driving  pulley  under 
tension  and  it  runs  off  the  driving  pulley 
slack  or  under  less  tension.  When  under 
tension  the  belt  stretches.  When  the 
tension  is  lessened  it  shortens.  This 
shortening  must  take  place  on  the  face  of 
the  driving  pulley.  The  stretch  must 
take  place  on  the  face  of  the  driven  pul- 
ley. As  a  consequence  the  belt  creeps 
against  the  direction  of  its  running  on 
the  driving  pulley  and  creeps  in  the  di- 
rection of  the  running  on  the  driven  pul- 
ley. 

If  the  load  is  heavy,  the  stretch  is  great 
and  the  creep  is  great.  If  the  load  is 
light  the  creep  is  small.  If  the  hug  of 
the  belt  to  the-  pulley  is  close,  the  creep, 
whether  great  or  little,  is  through  a  small 
angle.  If  the  hug  of  belt  to  pulley  is 
poor,  the  creep  whether  great  or  little  is 
through  a  large  angle. 

To  insure,  therefore,  a  minimum  creep 
through  a  small  angle  the  load  should  be 
light  and  the  hug  close. 

Oak-tanned  and  fulled  belts  last  longer, 
cause  fewer  interruptions  to  manu- 
facture, stretch  more  evenly,  cost  less 
per  j'car  of  service,  require  tightening  less 
often  and  give  less  trouble  when  first 
started  than  others. 

The  belt  itself  must  unroll  straight,  and 
be  of  even  quality  and  thickness  through- 
out. ' 

The  less  the  normal  load  the  more 
elastic  the  belt  can  be. 

The  number  of  lineal  feet  of  double 
belt,  I  inch  wide,  passing-  around  a  pul- 
ley per  minute,  to  transmit  i  horse- 
power is  about  450  feet 

The  belt  speed  for  maximum  economy 
is  between  4000  to  4500  feet  per  min- 
ute, but  for  m.ain-drive  belts  it  can  be 
considerably  higher. 

Leather  belts  are  more  durable  and 
work  more  satisfactorily  when  made  nar- 
row and  thick  rather  than  wide  qnd  thin. 
The  best  plan  is  to  use  single  leather  belts 
on  pulleys  less  than  12  inches  in  diameter, 
double  belts  on  pulleys  less  than  20  inches 
in  diameter  and  triple  belts  on  pulleys 
less  than  30  inches   in  diameter. 

The  ends  of  belts  should  be  either 
spliced  or  cemented  or  be  joined  by  re- 
movable insert  pieces,  which  may  be 
either  laced  with  rawhide  or  united  by 
spiral  wire  hinge  with  removable  raw- 
hide  pin. 

Belts  which  will  not  run  by  the  hug 
of  their  own  sag,  as  long  driving  belts, 
should  be  put  on  or  rctightened  under  a 
stretch  of  J/2  to  i  inch  per  10  feet 
of  btU 

Belts  should  be  kept  clean,  soft  and 
pliable. 

Belts    should    be    continually    inspected 


so   as   to   repair   weaknesses   and   prevent 
breakdowns. 

Pulleys  should  be  25  per  cent,  wider 
than  the  belts   running  on  them. 

They  should  be  very  smooth,  very 
slightly  crowned,  if  at  all,  it  being  es- 
sential that  the  crowning  be  absolutely 
central ;  the  pulleys  must  be  perfectly 
round,  run  true  and  be  in  perfect  aline- 
ment. 

Belts  of  any  width  can  be  successfully 
shifted  backward  and  forward  on  tight 
and  loose  pulleys.  Belts  running  6000 
feet  a  minute  and  driving  300  horsepower,, 
are  daily  shifted  on  tight  and  loose  pul- 
leys to  throw  lines  of  shafting  in  and 
out  of  use. 

Shifting  pulleys  are  preferable  to  cut- 
off couplings  or  friction  clutch  pulleys 
for  throwing  heavy  lines  of  shafting  in 
and  out  of  use. 

Old-time  belt  installations  and  many 
present  ones  suffer  from  two  main  faults 
— lack  of  convenient  means  of  shorten- 
ing or  lengthening  the  belt,  and  too  high 
a  working  load.  As  a  consequence  belts 
stretched  rapidly  were  subjected  to  ex- 
cessive creep,  wore  out  rapidly  and  broke 
often. 

To  provide  some  means  of  taking  up 
the  recurring  slack,  all  the  poor  methods 
of  belt  fastening  came  into  use,  the 
English  overlap,  brass  studs,  riveted 
hinges,  claws,  unnecessarily  large  holes 
for  rawhide  lacing.  To  prevent  the  ex- 
cessive creep  and  slip,  all  sorts  of  belt 
dopes  came  into  use,  from  powdered 
resin  up,  and  the  maintenance  and  care 
of  the  belts  were  generally  intrusted  to 
the  mechanit  in  charge  of  the  machine. 

A  perfectly  clean,  soft  hand  will  not 
slip  easily  even  on  smooth  glass  or  pol- 
ished wood.  Leather  was  once  skin,  and 
soft  clean  leather  will  not  slip  easily  on 
a   smooth,   bright   pulley   surface. 

A  belt  ought  to  slip  if  the  strain  is  too 
great.  Keep  the  load  down  by  making 
the  belt  large  enough,  let  the  hug  be 
close,  and  there  will  be  very  little  creep, 
or   slip  or   wear. 

In  most  mill  and  machine-shop  installa- 
tions, leather  belting  will  prove  least  ex- 
pensive to  install,  least  expensive  to  oper- 
ate and   least   expensive   to   maintain. 

For  distant  transmissions,  half  a  mile 
and  upward,  where  it  is  impossible  to 
subdivide  the  prime  mover,  as  from  a 
waterfall,  electric  transmission  is  the 
cheapest,  although,  per  horsepower  to  be 
transmitted,    first    cost   is    very   high. 

For  medium  distance,  where  the  power 
can  be  subdivided  or  closely  located  as 
from  one  mill  to  another,  or  from  a 
water  power  several  hundred  feet  away 
to  a  mill,  the  choice  will  lie  between  rope, 
either  wire  or  fiber  and  shaft  drive. 

For  iinmediate  transmission,  whether 
from  steam  engines,  gas  or  oil  engine,  or 
electric  motor  to  mill  and  shop  machine- 
cry,  the  combination  of  shafting  and 
leather,  belts  is  the  best. 


June  15.  1909. 


prnvRR  A\n  the  engineer. 


losj 


Reclaiming  Coal  from  the  Culm  Pile 

Description  o(  the  Operation  oi  Washcrics  in  the  Anthracite    Region, 
by    Means    of    \^'hich    Immense    Quantibea    o(     Fuel    Are     Recovered 


BY 


WARREN 


O 


ROGERS 


As  early  as  ten  years  ago  the  question 
was  asked :  "Cannot  some  use  be  made 
of  the  large  banks  of  culm  and  wa»te 
found  at  all  the  collieries  thr<>ii){h  the 
anthracite  regions  of  Pennsylvanu?"  Up 
to  this  time  the  question  had  been  actively 
discussed  by  anthracite  men  and  some- 
thing   had    been    done   toward    reclainuiig 


Culm    Pil*s  axd  Was  11  oats 

There  are  two  different  types  of  culm 
pile.  The  original  culm  pile  consists  of 
slate,  bcjne  and  waste  coal  which  was 
thrown  away  during  the  period  when  there 
was  no  demand  for  the  smaller  sizes  of 
cual  for  steam  purposes.  As  the  accumula- 


prrsMii    praeiimllr  every  amhmrtie  mine 

■di 
i  .itd 

monc 

Tix  !ype  of  culm  pile  which  U 

being  made  today  consists  of  very  fine 
particles  of  dust  and  dirt  saiubic  only 
for    the   manufacture   of   briquets   or   for 


i;.     1     k  nm'nvntmMn-vi.i.tfnt-ynyt  rt*t.M  eaitk 


ll        It        IWil 


the   tmaller   titet  of  coal   that    had   been     li«>n  had  been  going  on  for 
thr«'wn    away    year*    bef"'-        ^'    •'•^ 
pUrr«   cnalwa«hing   and 

had  »-  .... 

coal. 

btirkwiir  j! 
ptirp<i«r« 

ihr     oriKMial     luigr 
di«appcaring  and   m 
worhrd  oiii 


ly  puls' 
•n  nacv 
A        It 


be   hmH   wt   MMlaMV   IH^ 
.,n.I  ..f  f.j<l 


'm4   hi 
hi   hw  afci^- 

^M  WW*  w«« 


■nd  the  wfwh  hu  m  yiii^uwd  tiut   •(        brU    ».    I«*   ih*   4wai   «fc«* 


1054 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGIXEER. 


June   IS,   1909. 


FIG.     3.     CONVEYERS    AT   THE    TOP    OF    THE    WASHERY 


>i>-       J..     LLLM    tLfcVAlr)k    Kj    WASHEKY 

today,  some  thinking  that  the  mountains 
in  the  coal-bearing  district  were  one  huge 
mass  of  coal.  With  a  supposedly  unlimited 
amount  of  coal  in  sight,  it  is  not  strange 
that  considerable  careless  waste  took 
place,  and  those  who  have  traveled 
through  the  anthracite  region  have  had 
their  attention  attracted  to  huge  culm 
piles,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  mine  shafts, 
which  are  directly  traceable  to  the  early 
wasteful  methods  of  mining. 

The  smallest  coal  marketable  prior  to 
i866  was  the  nut  size  which  would  pass 
through  a  i^-inch  mesh  and  over  a 
screen  with  meshes  l  inch  square.  A  year 
later  pea  coal  was  first  prepared  for  the 
market  and,  it  is  said,  was  a  means  of 
saving   15  per  cent,   of  the  total   amount 


of  coal  mined.     Buckwheat  coal  was  in- 
troduced in    1877   for   steaming  purposes, 


and  rice,  barley  and  culm  were  first 
shipped  to   market   during   that  year. 

One  reason  why  the  character  of  the 
culm  pile  is  different  today  than  formerly 
is  because  the  small  sizes  of  coal,  which 
then  went  to  the  culm  bank,  are  now  sent 
to  market ;  the  percentages  running  about 
10  per  cent,  for  chestnut,  20  per  cent, 
for  pea,  30  per  cent,  for  buckwheat,  25 
per  cent,  for  rice  and  15  per  cent,  for 
barley.  It  is  estimated  that  during  the 
past  eighteen  or  twenty  years  more  than 
4,000,000  tons  of  coal  for  use  under  boilers 
has  been  saved  from  culm  piles,  and  it  is 
estimated  that  there  still  remains  in  the 
culm  piles  286,000,000  tons  of  small- 
sized  coal. 

A  washery  capable  of  treating  500  tons 
of  coal  per  day  will  cost  about  $30,000, 
depending  largely,  of  course,  upon  the 
kind  of  machinery  installed.  In  many  in- 
stances old  collieries  have  used  old 
breakers  by  transforming  them  into  wash- 
eries,  in  which  case  the  cost  of  re- 
modeling them  amounted  to  an  insignifi- 
cant sum. 


FIG.     4.     THE    TVVO-UECK    SHAKING    SCREEN 


June  15,  1909^ 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


loss 


w,xr. 


the  aHhrr  Ar*\^r%ci\  to  allow  for  fwinging 
or    cx'  the    »uj ■  !m    in 

the   pii  A    tet  cr»   it 

usually  «.>|>r  ■  separate  enicinc.  The 

general    arr_  ^  :    o(    a    conveyer    10- 

cltide»  a  wooden  framework  on  which  the 
conveyer  runs  the  conveyer  cooMUing  of 
an  endleftt  chain  on  which  are  »u»pcndcd 
travdrrv  «» ;     '  c 

end   of    ihr  :! 

is  delivered  u*  tiic  i;cxi  .  .-h]  ya 

on.    until    it    reachet    the  The 

conveyerv  are  fed  viith  culm  by  mcaiH 
of  water  which  fluvhet  the  material  fron 
the  pile  into  the  temporary  iroush.  The 
water  it  supplied  through  a  ho«c  and 
nozzle  and  two  tneir  are  tuflirient  to  keep 
in   continuous  operation   ■  '   •' -    con- 

veyer   *>  stems,    it    being  that 

about   i"  -  of  water  per  luu  is  nec- 

essary work. 

The   kixcstox   Washeby 

It  was  the  writer's  privilege  t' 
to  vi»ii  the  No  j  wa»her>  of  the  Kiiik>  -•> 
Coal  Coiniuny's  mine,  at  Kingston.  Pernio 
and  following  is  a  descnplion  of  the 
method  rrnplovrd  in  wavhing  the  raal 
from  the  culm  I 

Fig.    I    is    a    ^ 
memlous  culm  piir  m  wliuli  it  ! 

there  arc  alxiut  one  hun<lrc<l  v.  « 

of  material.  It  will  he  seen  that  there 
are  two  men  engaged  in  washing  the  culm 


In    washing    the    coal     from    tlir    dirt, 
slate  and  bone  of  rtje  culm  pile  ihe  whole 
is  usually  elevated  to  the  hiKlicM   part  of 
the  building  by  a  bucket  elevator  and  dis- 
charged   into    a    hopper    placed    over    two 
screens,    through    which    the    material    is 
separated   into   various   sizes.     The   upper 
screen  usually  has  l^-inch  openings  for  a 
part    of   its    length    and    then    the    spaces 
become    larger,    while    the    lower    screen 
'tins    7ii-inch    holes.      In    s«>me   of    the 
r    and    larger    wa*herie«    the    maierial 
i»»ing  over  the  first  scf. 
a  chute,  where   ihf   •• 
hand  picking  of  slate,  I 
served.      The   largest    m 
a«  egg.   stove   an<l   nut.  are   separated   by 
means  of   screens.     The   chief   machinery 
found    in    such    a    structure    consists    of 
screens,  a  picker  roll,  a  cru»hrr  and  the 
srparalort      In  separ-iiinv  tlir  .  ulm   from 
the 
ft  > 

■  i    MAlrr    i«    ■• 
<»al.      .Mier  %».- 
the    coal,    the    water    1 
through  an  iron  pipe  mt 
workings,  where  it  fills  up  the  worked-oitt 
chambers 

Several  methods  arc  used  in  coaveyinf 
culm  it»  the  V*     ■ 
the  culm   i«   ' 
veyrrs  1. 
too  to    ;  . 
where  ti 
ing   4   f^- 


r 


o|      ^-1 


rm   6    vtAM  mw  or  Ml  a  wa* 


I056 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  IS,  1909. 


-2'i 


No.  6  B.W.G. 
Square  Mesh 


2%— 


No.  6  B.W.G. 
Square  Mesh 


000 

.i-i-eo  0: 
'  00 
000 
000 

0,0  O/ 
QQ)0 


^  cp  o 


FK;.     7.     ACTUAL   SIZE   OF   SCREENS 


June  15,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


IOS7 


down  into  the  conveyer,  one  man  reach- 
ing the  highest  portion  of  the  pile,  while 
the  other  directs  the  stream  lower  down, 
in  order  to  maintain  a  constant  supply 
to  the  conveyer  system.  The  conveyers 
are  kept  as  close  to  the  foot  of  the  bank 
as  safety  of  the  men  will  allow,  as  the 
bank    frequently    changes   and   slides   out 


whence  it  goes  to  the  main  elevator  with 
the  material  which  pas»c»  through  the 
first  set  of  shakers.  The  elevators  each 
discharge  on  a  bank  of  six  decks  of  6x15- 
foot  shaking  screens  which  size  the  coal 
into  stove  or  iH-inch  square  mesh,  chest- 
nut or  4^-inch  sqiure  mesh,  pea  or  ■  j  inch 
square  mesh,  buckwheat  or  H-inch  round 


some  distance  at  the  bottom.     Although 

it,,  r,-  t,,vc  been  a  number  of  men  killed 

<-nt    limes   and   places,   none   has 

iii;vircd  at   the   KingMon   company's 

KS  by  being  caught  under  the  cavmg 

1   bank.      It    requires    «■ 

rarr     to    Wrrp    th«*     <"• 


who  ar<  .    the   hf>»e. 

thi»  in»:_ :he  conveyers  carry 

ailm   about   half   way   to   the   top  of 
as  shown  in   Fig.  2,  where 
-•cd    on    a    set    of    two-deck 
^cr^cns,     the     top     deck     1 
with     K      jl^-inrh     Mpiarr  • 


wnh    a    . 
•  »  <fver  tli- 
dropt    through    everything     «n 
..•.ivh   goes   to  the   main  elevator,   \^ 
in  turn  carries  it  to  the  top  of  the  l< 

\rf  meant  of  an  rlrvator.   Fig    3,   i-- 
ler    separation.      Tlir    material    which 


goes  to 
which    • 

h.  whrn  it   M  r.,rn..!   .jwar  with 

--'■!*«■  and  »ilt  to  A  U.re  hole  ain.    .  . 1 

the  old  working*  in  the  mine.     The 
site  i«   irralrd   in    ihc    ofnc   mann<r 

4    ■hriW*    a     p<ir1|on     of     '>\r     tw     -Ir.k 

ii,  ■  1*0   the    water    ased    tn 

wa. 

Ail    ni    the    lar.  mrt 

(oes    to    No.     J  „  i      5. 

whicii  grind  h  to  ■toirc  tifc  Mid  Mnalirr. 


me*h,  rice  or  J  4 -inch  round  mesh  and 
barley  or  j/3i-inch  round  mesh.  \  study 
of  the  pbn  and  elevation  of  this  washrry. 
F'lR^-  5  an<l  6.  will  show  clearly  the  paths 


goes   to  a   pair   of  crusher   r  .r 

to   those    shown    in    Fig.    8,    *  •! 

it  to  chestnut  sixes,  when  it,  with  the 
cliestnut  from  the  separators,  goes  into 
another  pair  of  rolls.  No.  5.  which  grmd 
it  to  pea  and  smaller  sizes.  The  cual 
then  goes  to  the  elevator  and  is  again 
taken    to    the    top    to    br  sued 

through  the  ^hakfr  »h<»wr  .Ml 

peaan<!  A 

separa;  ad 

then  go  to  the  pocket  ready  10  be  ioadcd 
into  railroad  cars. 

The    NfecRAXtCAL    Picku   awd  ms 

SCTAKATUa 

In  pasMig.  it  may  be  i»    "  .i 

•  he    mrchAniral    pickers    u 

'     boys     It  . 

.    of  the 

'    boy   IS   a   heaithy> 
«  apparent  in  Fil-   10. 
the  indications  are  that   he  will   u- 
unnecessary  for  the  economical  ■■•-' 
of  coal-mine  breakerv    The  pr: 
tures   of  the   mechanical   picker    ar. 
no  power  is  required  to  operate  l! 
chine:    it    f'  it    a    small    area    -i 

spare.    i<    !  .  nr^S    rsr?    V    v*"! 

f'T- 

»»•;■ 

and  «iaie,  or  only  tw 

desired.     It    is    also    •. . 

ctist  and  in  repair.  The  Farrel  separator 
used     by    the     Kingston    Coal     •" 


rib     9.      SNABIMQ 


of  Ihc  ctilm  uid  raal  lo  tJirir  rrsprciive     lakra    o«    dw 


dr     ■ 

th 

Ihr 


ing      rr.rk    of   the   tari^r 
irwl      g<B»l    i««l    and    U«w 

tmaltrr 

rikal    I' 

Ihc    o 

et»»*tigt' 


oukc    tlw   <ual  iJcaa 


with    the   escfptMm   ikM    itM   Msw   coal         In   upsialiuw   M   is 


TW 


1058 


POWER  AXl)  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  15,  1909. 


weighing  more  than  the  coal,  has  a  greater 
friction,  and  therefore  moves  at  a  lesser 
speed  than  the  coal.  For  this  reason 
the  coal  works  down  through  the  sep- 
arator at  a  higher  velocity  than  the  slate 
and.  gaining  sufficient  momentum,  flies 
oflF  the  outside  edge  of  the  runway,  while 
the  slate  falls  on  the  inside.  The  pea 
and  buckwheat  sizes  arc  put  over  a  me- 
chanical   separator    which    takes    out    the 


to  be  prepared  over  again.  It  must  con- 
tain only  a  certain  percentage  of  slate 
and  bone;  and  it  is  also  condemned  if 
over  or  under  size,  or  if  not  thoroughly 
washed. 

Nothing  of  the  culm  pile  is  wasted  and 
besides  the  benefit  derived  in  reclaiming 
the  coal  by  the  washing  industry,  the 
surfaces  are  cleared  of  the  unsightly  culm 
piles  and  made  available  for  other  uses ; 
and  the  flushing  of  the  pulverized  rock 
and  silt  into  the  old  workings  sustain 
their  roofs,  and  also  make  it  possible  to 
remove  more  of  the  solid  coal  than  could 
otherwise   be   done. 


Throttles 


By  F.  Webster 


FIG.     10.    BREAKER   BOV 

slate  in  the  same  manner,  and  the  coal 
then  goes  to  the  pocket  ready  to  be  loaded 
into  railroad  cars.  The  rice  and  barley 
coal  goes  direct  from  the  shaker  to  the 
pocket,  no  preparation  other  than  sizing 
being  required.  As  the  culm  coal  is 
thoroughly    saturated    with    water   during 


Wiley,  the  chief,  went  up  into  the 
switchboard  gallery  to  do  some  stunts, 
and  left  Burns,  the  second  engineer,  at  the 
throttle.  It  was  not  uncommon  for  them 
to  have  some  entertainment  when  throw- 
ing in  a  25-cycle  three-phase  unit  to 
parallel  the  one  that  was  getting  over- 
loaded. But  the  fun  they  had  always 
experienced  with  the  old  engines  was  not 
a  circumstance  as  compared  with  the 
"didoes"  of  the  new  cross-compound  en- 
gine recently  installed  at  the  end  of  the 
power  line  farthest  from  the  boiler  room. 
Aside  from  the  trouble  of  getting  it  right 
on  the  dot  for  synchronizing,  it  was  often 
a  case  of  either  plunging  or  bucking 
after  the  start  in  parallel  was  made. 

The  engine  acted  very  independent 
when  it  came  to   regulation,  and  neither 


the  team  at  a  steady  gait.  Sometimes  the 
engine  would  plunge  ahead  and  carry  the 
whole  station  load,  and  then  just  as  sud- 
denly, maybe,  take  a  notion  to  lie  down 
and  get  pushed  along  as  the  generator 
motored. 

In  the  meantime,  before  changes  in  the 
design  of  the  eccentric  straps  and  gov- 
ernor springs  could  be  worked  out  and  the 
new  parts  fitted,  the  big  engine  had  to  be 
operated  a  few  hours  each  day;  and  our 
story  opens  on  an  occasion  when  all  was 
in  readiness  for  the  testing  out  of  the 
chief's  new  idea  in  engine  regulation  in 
connection  with  the  synchronizing  of 
three-phase  25-cycle  generators. 

Everything  was  running  normally  when 
some  combination  was  made  at  the 
switchboard  that  caused  the  new  engine 
to  groan  for  a  moment,  and  then  it  made 
a  dash  ahead  at  a  record-breaking  pace. 
No  matter  about  the  electrical  connec- 
tions that  formed  the  combination  for 
the  shake-up,  as  the  diagram  will  not  be 
used  again.  There  was  a  hair-raising 
clatter  in  the  governor  pulley  as  the  parts 
concentric,  eccentric  and  hyperbolic  be- 
gan to  hit  the  stops,  both  a-coming  and 
a-going.  Burns  let  go  of  the  throttle 
wheel  and  dropped  into  the  condenser  pit 
without  touching  the  ladder.  You  see, 
the  throttle  wheel  was  located  right  in 
line  with  all  the  reciprocating  and  re- 
volving combinations. 

"Get  back  to  your  post!"  yelled  the 
chief. 

"Stop  chucking  the  engine,  or  else  put 
the  throttle  where  I  won't  get  killed," 
piped  Burns,  as  he  stood  on  the  ladder 
and  peered  over  the  edge  of  the  floor. 


W  HE.N    THE   E.N'CiJ.N'EEK     HIKES     FOR  THE  T.\LL   TIMBER 


this  process  of  separation  while  passing 
through  the  shakers,  it  comes  out  at  the 
end  ready  for  shipment  in  a  thoroughly 
clean  condition. 

The  washery  foreman's  troubles  are  not 
always  ended  when  the  coal  is  loaded  in 
cars,  because  each  car  is  subjected  to  a 
rigid  inspection  and,  if  not  prepared  to  a 
fi.xed  standard,  must  be  dumped  into 
elevators  and  taken  back  to  the  washery 


coaxing  nor  argument  had  any  effect  in 
getting  it  to  work  in  harmony  with  the 
other  engines.  Some  of  the  station 
habitues  said  that  the  wild  wail  of  the 
new  generator-field  cores  made  the  en- 
gine daft.  Those  probably  more  capable 
of  diagnosing  engine  diseases,  however, 
believed  that  the  eccentric  straps  and  other 
reciprocating  parts  were  so  massive  that 
the   shaft  governor   was   unable   to   drive 


".All  right,  I'll  stop,"  came  from  the 
switchboard ;  and  as  the  engine  seemed 
pacified.  Burns  went  back  to  the  throttle, 
but  as  cautiously  as  a  rat  making  its  fir«t 
trip  into  the  pantry. 

Wiley    came    down     from    the    galleryj 
humming   a    Mother    Goose   melody  with 
power-station  variations. 

"Oh,  where  should  the  throttle  be, 

The  throttle  be,  the  throttle  be, 


June  15,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


I0S9 


h,  where  should  the  throttle  bt-cr 
.  save  the  life  of  the  cngin-c-er ?" 
!  >st    any    operating    engineer    can    tell 
of  one  or  more  of  his  experiences  in 
t;  '   ■nginc  room — cases  where  he  has  been 
'  rl    limp,    and    when    he    wished    the 
'tie    was    located    in    a    bomb-proof 
■.ay    or    over    in    some    other    voting 
:nct;    anything    in    the    world    but    to 
>mpelled  to  stand  up  before  belts  or 
drives  an<l  that  clacking  aggregation 
on   the  inginr   shaft. 

Illustrations  have  appeared  frequently 
in  F*owEiJ  showing  engine-room  smashups 
in  which  flywheels  and  engineers  were 
conspicuous  by  their  absence. 

Saftk  in  the  BoiLr«  Room  thax  in  the 

Enoine  Room 

To  mo«i  people,  the  statement  may  seem 

al   that    it   is   safer   in   the  boiler 

,:»  in  the  engine  room.     Yet  it  is 

a    fact    that    there   is  a   greater   loss   ratio 

ifi   the   insurance  of  flywheels   than   there 

II    steam-boiler    insurance.      The    ap- 

,..,>..nt    works   out    the   boiler-seam   prob- 

letns  with  a  flourish  and  gets  a  license  to 

'.ite   an   engine.      But   how   about   the 

!em   of  the   flywheel  on   his   engine — 

•  ictor  of  safety  against  bursting  or  to 

cnt    the   arm*    from   being    ripped   off 

the  rim  by  a  short-circuit? 

T^iis  does  not   mean  to  imply   that   en- 

•  rs   are   ignorant   of   flywheel   theory, 

they  are  not.     For  example,  one  en- 

ising  engineer  applied  himself  to  the 

'Ction   of  an  engine   safety   stop  that 

;-l  Ikt  operated   by   the   bulging   effect 

oJ    the    (lywheel    rim    lietwcx-n    the    arms 

when   '>|)(r.-ituig  at   a  hiifh   vprr<l      Surely 

this    man   knew    what    •■•  -Ik^.   but 

h>    i\u\   pot   figiirr   r.n    !  -    a   range 

r  and  a  for  observing  the 

tiveness  •  ■  ■  ntion. 

e  ancestors   of  steam-engine  design- 

* . '  and  of  operating  engineers  came  out 

of    the    'ame    wood*,    yet    the    layout    of 

'      •       .1  gap  of  sev- 

the    two   oc- 

I  he   ilcvinner    l»econic»  »o  ab- 

•    the    weighty    proldeiii*    of    first 

>my    in    uperatimi    that 

the    spectacular    g>in 

OS   of    the    engineer   as   he    loops    the 

,    on  the  flywheel  to  start  the  engine. 

Of  when  he  "hikes'*  for  the  tall  limber  or 

the    cave    lamls    to   escape    a    shower    of 

power-house  debris.     It  wouhl  be  •  joke 

'a  circus 
■ul  a  net 
III     tlK     h«>k|iital    and    two 
-   tfrhes 
A 
fin< 

wheel*   !•  <  .itrd  al   all   the   • 
of     the     CMiiipa**.     with      .1 
im'easler  or   so'wester   i"   »;iir.- 


gineering  service  other  than  the  power 
station  where  the  convenience  and  safety 
of  the  operating  engineer  is  not  always 
considered,  notwithstanding  the  fact  thai 
human  life  is  more  valuable  than  any 
kind  of  A  power  station.  Recently  a  large 
order  of  switching  locomotives  was  com- 
pleted by  a  prominent  builder.  An  ex- 
amination of  these  luCiHUutives  showed 
that  the  engineer  could  neither  stand  nor 
sit  except  in  positions  of  discomf'^rt  or 
danger,  and  mure  fatigue  would  '  I 

by  his  trying  to  get  next  to  the  w  1 

in  actually  performing  the  running  opera 
tions.  If  the  history  of  these  engines 
could  be  correctly  written,  no  doubt  it 
would  be  found  that  others  besides  the  en- 
gineers were  made  to  suffer  on  account  of 
the   poor    work   of  the   designer 


Cooling    Gas   Ejiginc  Jacket  Water 


By  John  S.  Leese 


.\8  one  of  the  chief  reasons  for  install- 
ing gas  engine*  instead  of  steam  engines 
is  often  poor  water  supply  at  the  desired 
locality,  the  repeated  use  of  the  circu- 
lating u  tte  a  live  question.  This 
applies  to  engines  of  small 
power,  say  up  to  Ho  or  too  horsepower. 
since  these  are  usually  installed  in  out -of - 
Ihe-way  place*. 

The  volume  of  the  cooling  water  neces- 
sary for  a  loo- horsepower  engine  is  con- 
siderable, and  if  it  were  simply  run 
through  to  the  sewer  the  water  bill  would 
lie  a  br.  ■!!  the  runv 

The  u*'  n  for  e<. 

so     • 

circulati  i  hese   tanks- 

lake  up  .ind  are  often 

an  eyesore  to  the  kmI,  and  again 

they  are  often  it. ..•.>■(>....<.  to  cool  the 
water  sufhcienlly.  The  accompanying 
•ketches  illustrate  a  method  of  cooling 
jacket  water,  which  is  rheaper  to  iiiNt.tll 
an<!  than 

anv  ! 


In  a  mmrr  nf  th?  vard.  affjintt  a  watt 


h<  '  -.yer  of  vi 

i  ^   2.    The 

channeU  is  larther  to  cool  the  water  as  it 

flows   down    the  sheet,  by   letting   it   flow 

into   a   channel  full   of  cooler    wmtcr   at 

each  c«- — •  '• 

The  iron  thcet  must  be  kept 
as  •'  '     ■ 

in^; 


Um»  riMra*  ankMl 


w 


"•fiiiiiK    the    coolii'.K  < 

the  efficiency.     .^  k 

ing  it  is  to  spike  it  li'  :hri. 

as  shown   at    -I   in   Fij;     ! 

should 

toin    en 

about  9  inches  from  the  k 

level.      The    sides   of   the    *:.   .:  ^ 

l>enl  up  enough  to  prevent  the  water  run- 
ning off  there,  and  the  bottom  corrugation 
should    end    with   a   downward   curve   o€ 
wavT   (Fig.   3).  because  if 
level  or  upward  p*n  of  t 


not  drop  olf  in  i* 
.^    trough   to   r. 
floor  or  ground  c»n  tte  made 
or  out  of  the  old  .'•  1."  ».■•--» 
should  slope  lo« 
more  crmver*  ■■ 
than  the  nv 
drr 
ti' 

Ihr 


crtfndrf.  «H«->ttfd  he  used  tn  krrp 


V  passed 


.   but    fur    the    ciiijineer    ii    i*    a      *!■  . 

•o 
.etc      are     branches      of     Meam-tA*     akm^  cM,h  curru^atUMi  >u 


to     bod  that  tn  a  ttt'.^vg  sub  a  ptf\ 


lobo 

suspended  about  12  inches  above  the 
corrugated  iron  to  shade  it,  and  "doused" 
occasionally  with  a  bucket  of  water,  keeps 
the  system  in  efficient  condition. 

As  regards  the  feeding  of  the  water 
onto  the  cooling  surface,  the  outlet  pipe  is 
brought  to  a  tee  with  the  arms  extending 
right  and  left  along  the  top  of  the  sheet 


POWER  AND  THE  EX'GIXEER. 

Fig.  299  shows  the  armature  partly 
wound ;  the  core  a  is  built  of  mild  sheet- 
steel  stampings  which  are  japanned  be- 
fore assembling  to  reduce  the  eddy-cur- 
rent losses  in  the  core.  The  armature-core 
disks  are  assembled  under  heavy  pressure 
and  held  together  by  bolts  passing  through 
both  halves  of  the  armature  spider,  which 


End  turned  up 


June  15,  1909. 


1 


the  coils  from  the  interior  of  the  core. 
Wooden  wedges,  in  notched  grooves  in 
the  slots  below  the  surface  of  the  core, 
hold  the  coils  within  the  length  of  the 
core.  The  commutator  segments  0  are 
assembled  on  a  drum  mounted  on  an  ex- 
tension of  the  armature  hub.  The  seg- 
ments are   securely  held   on   the  drum  by 


I '         ,'  1 1 1 1  1 1 1  I  , '  r,  ;  I    ; 


'<^wM' 


FIG.    4 


an  inch  above  the  top.  These  arms  are 
plugged  at  the  ends  and  hoiCS  drilled  in 
them  with  a  total  are^  equal  to  the  area 
of  the  outlet  pipe.  This  is  shown  in 
Fig-  4- 


CatecFisir  c<:  Electricity 

ioij6.  Illustrate  and  describe  in  detail 
the  conclruction  of  the  magnet  poles. 

From  Fig.  297,  which  shows  one  of 
the  magnet  poles  before  it  is  cast  into 
the  frame,  it  may  be  seen  that  the  pole  is 
built  up  of  sheets  (these  are  annealed 
steel)  of  two  different  widths  c  and  e, 
afsembled  so  as  to  form  the  size  and 
shape  of  the  pole  pieces.  The  minute 
spaces  between  these  laminations  and  the 
slight  oxidization  on  the  surface  of  each 
sheet  tend  to  reduce  eddy  currents  in  the 
pole  faces  so  as  to  decrease  the  iron  loss 
and  increase  the  efficiency  of  the  machine. 
,  The  poles  are  slotted  parallel  with  the 
shaft,  as  shown  at  n.  to  prevent  as  far  as 
possible  the  distortion  of  the  magnetic 
field  at  heavy  loads.  The  shape  of  the 
ends  at  m  is  such  that  when  the  molten 
metal  is  poured  into  the  mold  for  the 
yoke,  it  grips  the  bases  of  the  poles  firm- 
ly and  makes  a  good  mechanical  and  mag- 
netic joint. 

1067.  Arc  direct-current  generators 
nrr  built  with  more  than  two  hearings? 

Large  direct-current  generators  de- 
signed for  belt  drive  are  often  built  with 
three  bearings.  Fig.  298  shows  a  six- 
pole  generator  of  this  class  built  to  sup- 
ply current  to  a  street-railway  system. 
It  differs  from  the  generator  shown  in 
Fig.  296  in  that  the  bedplate,  bearing 
pedestals  and  field-magnet  yoke  are  separ- 
ate castings. 

1068.  Illustrate  and  describe  iv  rhfrnt 
the  construction  of  the  armatur, 


are  keyed  to  the  shaft.  Air  ducts,  c,  ex- 
tend from  the  inside  up  through  the  arma- 
ture windings,  and  air  is  forced  through 
them   by    the   motion   of   the   armature. 

The  armature  coils  are  made  of  wire 
or  bar  copper,  according  to  the  capacity 
of  the  machine,  the  latter  being  employed 
when  large  currents  are  to  be  carried. 
These  are  form  wound  as  shown  at  s 
to  make  all  coils  of  the  same  shape.  All 
coils  are  wrapped  with  linen  tape,  dipped 
in    insulating    varnish    and    baked.      The 


FIG.      297.        LAMINATED     POLE     PIECE     BEFORE 
BEING    CAST-WELDED    INTO   THE    FRAME 
OF   THE   FORT    WAYNE   GEN- 
ERATOR', FIG.   296 

end  flanges  at  b  and  r  which  clamp  over 
the  beveled  ends  of  the  segments  and 
draw  them  together. 

Equalizer  rings  are  placed  between  the 
commutator  and  the  armature  core  and 
are  connected  to  the  armature  winding  at 


FIG.   298.    FORT   WAYNE  THREE-BK 

slots  of  the  armature  core  are  also  in- 
sulated as  shown  at  e  to  afford  addi- 
tional protection  to  the  coils.  The  coils 
are  held  at  the  ends  of  tinned-steel  band 
wires  beyond  the  ends  of  the  core,  where 
the  cylindrical  ribbed  flanges  h  and  / 
of  the  spider  support  the  ends  of  the  coils 
and  secure  ventilation  around  the  ends  of 


ARINC;    MULTIPOLAR   GENERATOR 

equipotential  points  as  explained  in  a 
previous  description. 

1069.  Are  solid  field-magnet  poles  ever 
cast   into    the  yoke? 

Yes ;  Fig.  300  shows  the  parts  of  a 
four-pole  shunt-wound  direct-current  gen- 
erator embodying  this  construction.  The 
assembled  machine   is   shown  in  Fig.  301. 


June  IS,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


1061 


1070.  Describe  the  construction  of  the 
fenerator  shoun  in  Figs.  300  and  joi. 

The  frame  is  of  cast  iron  and  the  poles 
ire  of  steel-circular  in  cross-section,  and 
East-welded  into  the  frame.  The  arma- 
ture core  is  built  up  of  sheet-steel  di!>ks 
mounted  directly  on  the  shaft  in  the  small- 
er sizes  and  on  a  cast-iron  spider  in  the 


longitudinal  ventilating  holes  in  both 
armature  core  and  commutator,  and 
through  these,  as  well  as  between  the 
commutator  tails,  air  passes  freely  while 
the  machine  is  in  operation  and  a>«i«i»  in 
cooling  the  armature.  The  field  niagnet 
coils  are  wound  on  circular  forms,  and 
are  heavily   insulated  and  protected  by  a 


01  the  brushes  may  be  shitted  >. 

ously  around  the  commuutor.    1 : 

turc  shaft  is  made  ui  machinery  steel, 
ground  to  size.  It  is  r-  '-  '  -.-rr  in  the 
jounuls  than   in  the   ,  .    end.   so 

that  if  worn  or  damaged  tr'.':n  any  cau»e 


fiU   Jttfi^     FArrLY   WOUND   AUUAlVUt  oF   TUC  roKT   WAVXC  CCNCaATOR   SHOWN    IN   FIG.    2q8 


r  fitci.  In  both  cases  thej'  are 
cd  together  so  that  the  pressure  is 
d  near  the  slots.  The  coils  are 
wound,  taped  and  dipped  in  an  in- 
ig  varnish;  finally  they  are  put  in 
au  uvcn  to  bake  the  vanii<kh.     There  arc 


tnuKh.  m'<iNture-proof  covering.  Tlicy  are 
held  in  place  by  pole-shoes  fastened  to 
the  ends  of  the  magnet  poles. 

The  brushes   slide  in  box  holders  and 
are  pressed  against  the  commutator  by  ad- 


the  journal  may  be  turned  down  wttboat 

rc<!-.t  iri;    it-     ' 

pr..;<,  ::    :: 

and   brush   holUc;<>  ^r< 

inner    ends    of    brass 

through  the  magnet  at  eac; 

insulated    therefrom    by    p-  ' 

ings.     Although  the  d)mamo  selected   for 

illustration   is  shunt-wound,  this  t)pc  of 

machine  is  also  built  either  scries-  or  com- 


justable  sprit: 


the     pound-wiiuiu! 


no    .100 


■      ttftr-m  - 

•  m4  (^al 


nr«mif4T*ii  r4«r«  or  THi  raorsn-wnnLaa  cunkAnm  tma* 

MfadMltaMll.    St.     RrpA      lltw«       twnlaiLM 


l»  aM  Sa 


84. 
Sft. 
S«. 

ft. 

SB. 

s» 


llntall    llli»4    X«la. 
nr*ik  llold*r». 

llHM 


lii»«i»i    ' 


•  ••t    Tt9^ 


3t  OaM*  TV* 

ta  fmrwUkm  liwifM— * 

ft«  1W«tM'     •■      '■ 

M  «r«i*rr 

M  Mat*   • 
Mala  • 

tr.  Ttrrwik'  t 


I062 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  15,  1909. 


Practical    Letters    from     Practical    M 

Don't  Bother  About    the    Style,    but    Write    Just    What    You  Think, 
Know  or  Want  to  Know   About  Your  Work,  and  Help  Each  Other 

WE     PAY     FOR     USEFUL     IDEAS 


en 


Pneumatic  Oiling  System 

Herewith  are  an  explanation  and  il- 
lustrations of  an  oiling  system  which  is 
not  advanced  as  anything  new  or  original, 
except  that  the  oil  is  all  practically 
handled  by  compressed  air,  instead  of  by 
gravity  feed  or  direct  pump  pressure. 

Such  a  system  has  the  advantage  that 
the  new  oil  in  being  drawn  from  barrels 
does  not  enter  the  power  station  at  all, 
the  barrels  remaining  outside  of  the  build- 
ing, as  shown  in  Fig.  i.  The  vacuum  in 
the  oil  tank  is  induced  by  the  pipe  run- 
ning to  a  Conover  independent  condenser. 
There  is  no  oil  wasted  nor  spilled  by  this 
method.  All  filters,  oil  tanks,  pumps,  etc., 
are  below  the  engine-room  floor,  where 
they  can  all  be  attended  to  by  one  at- 
tendant. There  are  no  unsightly  tanks 
en  the  wall  of  the  engine  room. 

This  system  consists  of  five  tanks,  Fig. 
2,  arranged  in  a  row ;  the  first  four  re- 
ceive the  waste-oil  drips  from  all  the  en- 
gines, which  filter  down  through  waste, 
and  up  through  water  in  the  bottom  of 
the  tank,  flowing  from  the  top  of  the 
water  out  into  a  header  pipe  common  to 
the  four  filters,  and  discharging  into  a 
receptacle  at  the  top  of  the  tank  A.  This 
tank  has  five  J/^-inch  pipes,  with  valves 
attached,  arranged  around  the  circumfer- 


FIG.      I.      M 


ETHOD   OF    GETTING    OIL 
STORAGE  TANK 


cnce  of  the  receptacle  at  the  bottom,  and 
discharging  through  these  into  five  wire- 
screen  cylinders,  closed  at  the  bottom,  and 
wrapped  with  toweling,  through  which  all 
the  oil   filters. 

These  cylinders  are  set  on  a  perforated 
plate  into  which  space  the  oil  drips  from 
the  cylinders,  through  the  toweling,  and 
then  runs  through  the '  suction  pipe  of 
the  oil  pump,  which  enters  the  bottom  of 
the  tank,  and  it  is  then  pumped  to  the 
filtered  oil-storage  and  feed  tanks  by  the 
electrically  driven  pump. 

These  tanks  have  an  air  pressure  of 
IS  pounds  applied  to  the  top  of  the  oil. 
Enough  oil  is  kept  in  the  system  to  keep 
both  tanks  two-thirds  full.  An  over- 
flow pipe  is  attached  to  each  tank  two- 
thirds  of  the  distance  from  the  bottom, 
and  these  combine  and  discharge  together 
through  a  safety  valve  into  the  filter  tank 
A,  as  shown. 

The  pump  is  kept  running  continuously 
and  if  stopped  for  any  cause,  there  is 
enough  oil  in  the  tanks  to  supply  the  en- 
gines for  some  three  hours,  the  air  pres- 


f^T:^^^:.*  -^  ■  :^/:^^^.^^;^^:;i^^.:;-^>v?r^v-^;?.-^  ;^ 


FIG.      2.    LAYOUT  OF  PNEUMATIC    OILING    SYSTEM 


June  13.  iyo9. 


FOWEk  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


ia6j 


sure  supplying  the  necessar>-  pressure  to 
feed  the  oil. 

When  the  pump  is  stopped,  either  by  the 
circuit-breaker  coming  out  or  for  any 
other  reason,  the  handle  <A  the  motor- 
starting  rheostat,  in  going  to  the  off  posi- 
tion, throws  into  circuit  a  red  light  which 
is  placed  in  the  engine  r<x)m,  thereby 
gi\ing  notice  that  the  pump  is  off.  The 
lamp  continues  to  bum  until  the  motor 
is  again  started. 

We  al«o  have  a  spare  pump  attached  to 
the  rnd  of  the  main  shaft  on  the  Conover 
condenser,  which  can  be  used  as  a  spare 
pump. 

To  make  up  the  natural  loss  of  oil.  and 
to  keep  the  system  at  the  required  level, 
there  is  a  pipe  branching  from  the  feed 
line  on  the  new  oil  tank,  through  which 
new  oil  may  be  introduced  into  the  filtered 
oil  tanks  by  simply  opening  one  valve. 

New  engine  oil  and  two  kinds  of  cyl- 
inder oil  are  drawn  into  three  tanks  ar- 


all  other  bearings  are  lubricated  with 
filtered  oil  which  is  all  returned  to  the 
filters  from  the  drip  pans  of  the  engines. 

A  reducing  valve  on  the  high-pressure 
line  reduces  the  pressure  from  120  to 
IS  pounds.  A  safely  valve  is  attached  to 
the  low-pressure  line,  in  case  the  reduc- 
ing valve  should  stick  or  leak. 

The  installation  operates  very  satis- 
factorily, and  is  a  great  saver  of  time, 
patience  and  oil  and   is  reliable 

Geoacc  L  Falcs. 

Copperhill.  Tenn 


Difficult  Pipe  Connection 

The  accompanying  illustration  shows 
an  easy  way  of  cultmg  a  connection 
through  the  end  of  a  plugged  pipe  that 
is  under  a  head  of  water,  without  get- 
ting wet.   if  the   pipe   is   Urge   enough   in 


taf  ralliM  •» 
Om  M  tmm  M  Has. 


Ttmpmnn  StMlM 


-".Ei^ti  tf>"  •••'  "v- -T^ 


U  rUll  !•  Drill  ••I  11  ClrtU  l« 

Ural*  I 


J^ 


DimcvLT  nrc  conxictioic 


ranged  at  shown  in   Fig.  2.     The  oil  it 

drawn  frt>m  barrrN,  outside  of  the  engine 
room  thr>>tiKb  a  1  «  itu  ii  pipe.  The  bungt 
are  kn«x^ke<l  out  of  the  barrels  and  the 
pipe  put  in.  the  union  made  light  an<l  a 
vacuum  lurne<l  on.  A  barrel  of  engine 
oil  will  flow  into  the  tank  in  about  live 
niinulet ;  cylinder  oils  lake  more  lime,  de- 
pending nn  the  temperature. 

When  ihrre  i«  sufftcirnt  oil  in  the  tanks. 

as  shown  by  the  gage*  on  the  ends.  Ihe 

vacuum   it  thut  off  and  an   air   pretture 

'     '  to  Ihe  lop  of  the 

imet.  except  when 


t'.ll. 
I 


the    S^ttom    -^f    th*"    tankt 


this  cabinet  and  a  record  kept  of  it 

New  rnginr   oil   it   ii"-*'   ■  ^'    v  ^|ve  gears 
•n«l    It)    M   Mtng-enginr  and   lo 

make    u{i   \'>s%   in  the   t.itrrr.i  ..li   %y%%rm; 


diameter  to  permit  a  man  to  work  in- 
side. The  case  I  refer  lo  wai  a  4H-inch 
ca»l-irun  pipe. 

I  first  made  a  waler-light  can  lo  con- 
form with  the  dunteler  of  the  plug  I 
then  put  two  drawbulu  through  the  can 
to  pull  it  up  againti  the  outside  face  of 
the  plug,  and  brtlled  a  tofi  rubber  ga%- 
ket  lo  the  flange  face  of  the  can  with 
small  CfHtnlrrsunk  bolts.  Two  h'4et  were 
drilled  through  the  plug  in  the  end  of  the 
pipe,  large  enotigh  lo  admit  the  boitt 
m  !'  ''ir  center  lo  be  the  tame  at 

the  r   on  Ihe  chn      At  the  holet 

were  ilnllnl  a  toft  wood  plug  wat  driven 
tn  each 

When  T  complete  a  tmall 

f'-slot  «»  .  ne  tide  of  a  wood 

plug  and  a  wire  pushed  out  and  f'i*he<l 
up  In  the  sarface  by  a  man  nn  a  platform 
cnrerhanging  the  lake 

The  can  wat  tlung  in  posilioa  fi>f  l-'« 


ering  and   each   wire   fastened  to  its  re- 
spective bolt 

When  the  can  was  near  its  proper 
position,  the  man  inside  the  pipe  guided 
the  bolls  into  the  holet  with  the  aid  of  wire 
attached,  and  the  can  wat  bolted  se- 
curely to  the  face  of  the  plug. 

.K  13-inch  circle  was  then  cut  out  of 
the  plug  and  a  flange  placed  on  it  to  which 
was  attached  a  valve  for  shutting  off  at 
any  future  lime  when  repairs  would  be 
needed  on   the  drive  line  beyond 

The  can  wat  taken  off  after  Mrrving 
Its  purpose  and  the  lop  cut  out  and  a 
heavy  screen  put  in  to  keep  out  fish  and 
foreign  matter,  and  then  replaced  in 
usual  way. 

This  proved  the  tfTnffl*t1  and  best  way 
after  numerous  suggestions  by  clever 
men.  The  water  level  in  the  lake  could 
not  be  lowered  to  permit  of  work  bemg 
done  on  the  water  tide  of  the  dam. 

B     NicKcasoM. 

Montgomery.    Ab 


Water    Power 


On  page  6H6  of  the  April  ij  number. 
Henry  D.  Jackson  lakes  up  ihe  subject 
of  water  power  and  suggests  the  careful 
looking  up  of  Government  records  for 
a  long  lime.  This  must  mean  the  record 
of    rainfall. 

This  record  is  impt^nani.  but  there  are 
other  things  that  have  a  bearing  on  il  that 
are  not  often  enough  taken  into  account, 
viz,  the  general  nature  of  the  toil  and 
probable   changes. 

A  country,  or  teclion.  through  which  the 
ttream  patset  that  hat  a  tcrubby  growth  of 
trees  that  it  pays  10  cut  only  for  wood, 
and  swamps  that  will  not  pay  to  drain, 
will  have  a  gnnd  tummrr  supply  and  no< 
excessive  in  v'  'ram  will  last. 

as  there  it  n<'  il»  ever  being 

drained  or  any  woo»li«nti  de*tro)ed  for 
any  length  of  lime,  at  the  root*  wtll 
sprout  ami  growth  begin  before  ero«*aa 
will  lake  place. 

Such  a  stream  will  need  ttorage  only  foe 
"lean  years"  and  ihit  will  naU  be  large 
The  "run  o(P  on  tuch  a  tiream  will  br 
slow. 

If  we  have  a  tection  made  up  of  Hay. 
rock*  and  woodt  ctwsisling 
with  little  undergrowth,  we 
pe«t  of  the  trees  bring  cut  muA  a  atow 
growth 

Oay  and  rocks  do  no«  bold  water  mad 
a  ttrea?^  »,.,.,..»-  .»,f....^K  a«di  a  Mic- 
tion wil!  lad  km  waavr 

at     the        r     n     in         II      rapNi.     WM     SMCW     A 

tiream  «  Kild  need  largt  Storage  ca- 
p..  .  lU  W   calvd 

U|>  rmc  Ike  ItMI 

year*  lO    M^ 


(  rrirxng.    as.    • 
tt-ant    tprmgt  in 


ib64 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  15,  1909. 


off'  will  be  moderately  slow,  the  soil 
having  a  fair  capacity  for  retaining  water. 
In  looking  up  water  powers,  these  con- 
siderations should  enter  into  the  account 
as  well  as  cheap  sites  for  storage.  Stor- 
age is  the  important  item,  if  the  water 
proposition  is  to  be  a  success.  If  pos- 
sible, the  dam  site  should  be  a  gorge 
or  narrow  place  so  as  to  have  a  short 
dam. 

When  we  go  through  a  drought,  we 
claim  that  it  is  the  worst  that  ever  hap- 
pened and  the  oldest  inhabitant  never  saw 
anything  like  it.  There  will  be  more  just 
h"ke  it.  and  if  one  goes  into  the  water- 
power  business  he  must  provide  for  it.^ 
W.  E.  Crane. 

Broadalbin.   X.   Y. 


Diagrams  Ejcplained 


Securing  a  Loose  Crank  Disk 


In  a  recent  issue  I  saw  a  method  of  re- 
pairing a  loose  crank  disk  by  the  use  of 
tapered  pins.  I  have  a  method  which 
I  have  used  in  several  cases  that  I  think 
makes  a  better  job.  I  drill  and  tap  a  hole, 
half  in  the  disk  and  half  in  the  shaft,  the 
size  varying  according  to  the  diameter 
of  the  shaft.  Then  I  counterbore  about 
J4  inch  deep  and  make  a  screw  of  tool 
steel  with  a  slight  amount  of  taper, 
enough  to  insure  a  tight  fit,  allowing  the 
body  to  go  in  the  counterhored  hole  so  it 
may   be   finished   nicely   without    showing. 


Pbwr,  H.r. 
SECURl.NG   A   UXJSE  CRANK    HISK 

For  a  stud  I  use  a  piece  of  stock  about 
7  or  8  inches  long  and  screw  it  in  with 
a  pipe  wrench  as  tight  as  it  will  go;  I 
Then  saw  it  off,  leaving  just  enough  to 
rivet  up. 

I  used  this  method  in  the  case  of  a  disk 
which  worked  oflF  the  shaft,  and  the  en- 
gine is  running  yet  and  gives  no  trouble. 
The  thread  will  hold  the  disk  from  slip- 
ping endwise. 

C.  F.  Brandon. 

Mittineague,  Mass. 


On  page  686,  of  the  April  13  number,  C. 
K.  Desai  shows  indicator  diagrams  and 
wants  them  explained.  Diagrams  like 
these  can  be  obtained  by  tightening  the 
drum  spring  and  using  a  twisted  cord  that 
stretches.  There  are  also  braided  cords 
that  stretch  too  much  for  this  purpose. 
The  paper  drum  starts  slowly  and  lags 
until  some  of  the  stretch  is  out,  and  its 
movement  is  never  coincident  with  that  of 
the  piston. 

W.  E.  Crane. 


Air  Receivers 


Referring  to  the  article  on  air  receivers, 
by  John  B.  Sperry,  in  the  April  6  num- 
ber, I  note  Mr.  Sperry  advises  placing  the 
outlet  near  the  top  xDf  the  air  receiver. 
This  was  formerly  the  universal  practice, 
but  it  is  now  being  discarded  to  a  con- 
siderable extent,  as  it  is  found  more 
satisfactory  to  take  the  air  at  a  point 
about  one  foot  afcove  the  bottom.  The  ad- 
vantage is  that  with  a  good  sized  re- 
ceiver the  air  is  fairly  cool  near  the  bot- 
tom, and  if  it  contains  much  moisture  on 
entering  the  receiver,  it  is  found  in 
practice  that  the  air  will  be  somewhat 
drier. 

In  air-drill  work,  mining,  etc.,  we  have 
found  that  there  is  somewhat  less  trouble 
from  freezing  where  this  plan  is  followed, 
and  for  the  same_reason  vertical  receivers 
are  generally  preferred  where  conditions 
will  admit  of  their  being  installed  to  ad- 
vantage. But  as  a  general  thing  the  air , 
will  be  found  to  be  a  little  cooler  near 
the  bottom  of  a  vertical  receiver  than  in 
a  horizontal  one. 

G.  A.  Reichard. 

Los  Angeles,  Cal. 


In  the  April  6  number,  John  B.  Sperry 
states  that  air  compressors  should  be  con- 
nected with  the  inlet  at  the  bottom  and 
the  outlet  at  the  top ;  with  which  I  should 
like  to  take  issue.  I  have  made  several 
experiments  in  that  line  and  have  con- 
vinced myself  that  the  proper  way  to  con- 
nect is  with  the  inlet  at  the  top  and  the 
outlet  near  the  bottom. 

The  bottom  opening  of  a  receiver  is 
always  at  least  6  inches  from  the  bottom, 
so  that  there  is  no  danger  of  drawing  any 
water  from  it,  and  if  the  compressor  is 
working  at  near  its  full  capacity  the  top 
of  the  receiver  will  be  very  hot.  It  is  my 
opinion  that  when  the  air  is  taken  from 
the  top  it  will  contain  a  greater  amount 
of  moisture  in  suspension  than  at  the  bot- 
tom, while  when  taken  from  the  bottom 
the  air,  being  cooler,  will  have  precipitated 
the  greater  part  of  it  to  the  bottom.  Even 
in  wet  weather  and  without  draining  the 
receiver  for  a  week,  I  have  never  seen 
more  than  about  enough  water  come  out 
of  the  drain  to  cover  the  bottom  of  the 


receiver.      Our    pipe    line    always    carries 
considerable  dry  air. 

H.  Gautschi. 
Lusk,  Wyo. 


A  Noiseless  Water  Heater 


I  have  a  noiseless  water  heater  that  is 
a  good  deal  easier  and  quicker  to  make 
than  any  I  have  ever  seen. 

Take  a  piece  of  old  steam  hose  1J/2  or 


fiwer.yJR 

A     NOISELESS    WATER     HEATER 

2  feet  long  and  cut  out  about  6  inches 
from  one  end,  as  per  the  sketch,  and  stick 
the  other  end  on  the  steam  pipe. 

Frank   Gartmann. 
Sheboygan,  Wis. 


Draining  High  Pressure  Steam 
Lines 


I  read  with  much  interest  a  letter  by 
T.  J.  Bloss,  in  the  February  9  number,  and 
a  later  one  by  C.  H.  Beach,  in  the  April 
6  issue,  regarding  the  drainage  of  high- 
pressure  steam  piping. 

Mr.  Bloss  cited  a  case  of  a  ^-inch 
line  piped  direct  from  the  boiler  through 
15  feet  of  horizontal  pipe,  then  rising  96 
feet  vertically  to  a   temporary  bathroom. 

As  stated  by  Mr.  Bloss,  this  vertical  line 
stood  full  of  cold  water,  except  when  a 
valve  at  the  upper  end.  of  the  line  was 
opened,  in  which  case  the  water  backed 
down  again  into  the  boiler ;  the  steam 
pressure  carried  was  100  pounds  per 
square   inch. 

This  3^-inch  pipe  must  h^ve  been 
trapped  at  some  point  in  the  horizontal 
line,  which  would  account  for  the  vertical 
line  standing  full  of  water  when  the  upper 
valve  is  closed. 

It  would  seem  quite  natural  that  any 
water  of  condensation  which  forms  in  a 
vertical  steam  pipe,  where  there  is  no 
flow,  would  tend  to  drain  back  to  the 
boilers  as  fast  as  it  forms,  especially  where 
the  hight  is  as  great  as  in  the  given  case, 
unless  the  line  were  trapped.  With  96 
feet  of  water  standing  in  a  vertical  pipe 
there  would  be  exerted  a  pressure  at  its 
base  of 

0.434  X  96  =  41 -66 


June  15,  1909. 


KJV\  ER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


I0b$ 


pounds  ptr  square  inch.  This  water  of 
condensation,  even  if  formed  into  a  solid 
column,  should  break  up  sufficiently  to  run 
down  one  side  of  the  pipe  while  the  steam 
rises  on  the  other  side  to  take  its  place, 
where  it  in  turn  is  condensed. 

If  it  is  attempted  to  drain  the  water 
of  condensation  back  against  the  steam 
flow,  in  large  steam  pipes,  water  hammer 
is  almost  sure  to  occur,  or  the  water  may 
collect  until  a  "sIuk"  it  formed,  which 
greatly  reduces  the  area  of  (he  pipe,  in 
which  case  a  heavy  flow  of  steam  in  the 
direction  of  the  engines  will  very  likely 
carry  the  "slug"  of  water  over  with  it 
at  high  velocity,  if  not  stopped  by  a 
•eparainr, 

Mr.  lieach  cites  a  case  of  a  7S-horse- 
power  Corliss  engine  connected  to  xx) 
feet  of  pipe  with  a  separator  placed  just 
above  the  engine  throttle  valve.  Still,  in 
»everal  instances,  water  has  passed  over 
in  sufficient  quantities  to  stall  the  engine. 

The  purpose  of  a  separator  is  chirrty  to 

rnt    water    going    over    in     sufficient 

iiities    with    the    steam    flow    to   cause 

damage    to    the    engine.      If    a    separator 


the  water  drained  off  by  a  trap  or  other 
suitable  meant. 

When  a  steam  header  is  divided  into 
separate  sections  any  one  or  more  of 
which  may  be  cut  out  of  service,  each 
section  should  be  dripped,  as  the  steam  re- 
maining in  the  dead  section  is  botin<l  to 
condense  and  should  be  well  drained  off 
before  opening  the  dead  section  again  to 
the  live-steam  pressure.  This  will  pre- 
vent water  hammer. 

If  all  high-pressure  drip  lines  are  well 
covered  with  good-quality  nonconductive 
pipe  covering  of  proper  thickness  the  con- 
densing effect  mentioned  by  .Mr.  Beach 
should  not  prove  such  a  terioas  draw- 
back. 

WlUJAM     F.    FiSCHEa. 
W-,-    York    Citv 


Tool 


for   Turning    Pin  on  Center 
Crank  Eiigine 


The  accompan)ing  sketch  illustrates  a 
tttA  used  to  turn  a  crank  pin  on  a  center- 
crank  engine.     The  pin  was  badly  out  of 


rLo>.m/o  i 


itUL  tux  Altos   AND  rLA'' 

ritt  OK  i> 

»"«»»-t  a  "slug"  of  water  sufficient  ... 
MIy  to  stall  an  engine  and  throw  it 
"lit  iif  alinement  it  would  seem  llui  the 
KHcallcd  M-paralor  i»  not  ver)  efficieni 
M»  a  safely  device. 

There  are  srpjralofs  on  the  market  that 

not  -.itc  or  remove  large  "slugs'* 

rf  :iing    over    with    the    steam 

but    they    remose   al»<>   a    large    per- 

ige   of   the   muislure   held   m   susprn- 

m  the  steam,  which  has  a  bad  effect 

•  •«■  (he  eronomy  of  the  ensinr. 

I  agree  with  .Mr.   Beach  thai  lappir>. 

•mall    |»t{>e    ri'tjur.  ||.  .11    inf'      '■'  "I 

a    lirir    i.<    int..     i«     I    J-  -.r     ■•  .  ■»• 

tf>g  •' 
Will 

with  It   past   such 

pc<kets    «»1    large 

br  used,  ami  may  \>c  |>la>r<|  m  the  siram 

ltr>e   at    the   desired   drainage    pr»tnls.   and 


.„4,    ...^1   to  get    the    shaft   out.  and   lo 
the  shop^  meant  a  Umg  hard  )<tb,  *o  wt 
made    the    following    camirisance     '      -' 
work  : 

Two    pieces    of    <ak     wm-l.     41*  in   'f  « 
widr    arvl     1',  inrhe*    ihnk    Us     i     <■-.»     10 

.cd 

..f 

it  irtm  sti«-k  l>eing  plAi  e<l  i«i  ih^ 

hc4es    drille«l     for     bolts    and 

cininieraunk    hole*    U*r    wimmI    %crrw%    to 

'    ■-*   it      The   rig   was   ihen   taken  tn  the 

and  the  hole  made  f<>r  the  lool.  the 

•  i<>(   l-rifii;   «Mle  eni>ugh  t<>  insert  a  wnlge 

for  >•■    !'!>':k'   the  |rM>|.  «hi<h  was  made  of 

»lrel    Mf>' 


hours  the  pin  was  round.  In  making  the 
tool,  care  must  be  taken  to  make  a  tem- 
plet of  the  iillet  of  the  pm  to  grind  the 
lool  by.  and  also  to  grind  the  toul  on  a 
very  long  bevel. 

H    L    BaAMCKY. 
West    Everett.    .Ma»» 


Gas  Engine  Valve  Setting 

Undoubtedly  when  Mr.  11  oilman  wrote 
hu  article  on  the  "Method  of  Seitii^  Ciaa 
Engine    Valves'*   '■    '  'riittuo  of 

creating  the  discf  «ed.     He 

should    be    f'     .  rf,    upua 

awakening  a  ..ine  men. 

for  I  d(i  not  li.Mik  wc  bear  iium  them  as 
t>fien  as  we  should. 

(«as  engine  valve  setting  and  ignition 
liming  are  largely  matters  of  expersence, 
but  I  think  we  will  agree  that  the  ttmmc 
of  ignition  depends  somewhat  upon  the 
sice  of  the  engine  cslinder*.  the  speed  and 
fuel  iise<l.  Herein  Ites  the  (act  upon  which 
I  should  liase  my  criiuisin  i.f  prr<edii^ 
articles  •ten. 

page  41'  iian 

an*!     \'-  . ..  ;  I.    none 

of    w  ill    ',    w.i  •    in    kTis  - 

ing  these  details. 

It  is  evident  tfia; .....    .-  ..,,,ior<i 

to  bsim  the  ga*e»  in  a  Urge  cylinder 
than  in  a  small  cjfie.  and  therefore  it  may 
)m-  necessary  to  have  the  point  o(  igniii<>n 
earlier    in    the    larger  In    the 

same  way.  the  tprrtl  >»:  -  trill  af- 

fect   the   por  •  the 

point    of    igi  •     ti» 

rrank  angle,  n  is  .«\  idem  tliat  more  lime 
is  allowed  before  the  ■'-■■d.  f^...,.  iHc 
central  ptvitioa  ior  lix  ■  **<• 

in  a  »lowspee«l  than  1  .  en- 

gine.    The  kind  af   fu«  -ibly 


.\ 

«ii; 

gaa.  .      .1 

Regardioc    n^Isc    trtiiiiits 
engines    . 

the   pras....  

valvv**  open  and  cl(>«r  w 
on    the    f*      ' 
rsef.  ta<  , 


\Vhm  gaa 

It    was 

-  -  '-anst 

•  as 

ols. 


ar> 


•  I  tnit  n>  rr  i 
<k  la«<  a«  tK- 

'iiaa«  11  tixsi 


be  f 
then 


It  was 

in    !  an 


K«ttsl 

I  r*«itrr 


io$6 

be  between  5  and  10  degrees  past  the  in- 
ner center. 

The  time  of  opening  of  inlet  valves  also 
varies,  some  engineers  having  this  event 
occur  before  the  exhaust  valve  closes, 
while  others  defer  it  until  afterward.  The 
relation  of  this  event  to  exhaust-valve 
closure  depends  upon  the  fuel  burned.  In 
the  case  of  high-speed  oil  engines,  where  a 
comparatively  large  amount  of  the  heavy 
hydrocarbons  is  found  in  the  exhaust 
gases,  the  inlet  valve  is  not  opened  usually 
until  the  exhaust  valve  has  closed,  in  order 
to  prevent  back-firing.  In  cases  where 
other  fuels  are  used  I  do  not  think  back- 
firing will  be  caused,  generally,  by  having 
both  inlet  and  exhaust  valves  open  at  the 
same  time;  for  if  this  is  a  fact,  why  do 
not  the  exhaust  gases  contained  in  the 
clearance  space  ignite  the  incoming 
charge?  Also,  by  having  the  inlet  valve 
open  before  the  exhaust  valve  closes,  a 
more  complete  scavenging  of  the  cylinder 
is  effected. 

The  foregoing  statement  is  verified  by 
my  own  experience  with  three-cylinder 
single-acting  natural-gas  engines,  which 
were  rated  at  360  horsepower,  running  at 
200  revolutions  per  minute,  with  cylinders 
18  inches  in  diameter  by  22-inch  stroke. 
The  best  results  were  obtained  with  the 
following  timing  of  events  :  Ignition,  about 
24  degrees  early ;  inlet  valves  opened 
about  ID  degrees  before  the  inner  center ; 
inlet  valves  closed  about  30  degrees  past 
the  outer  center ;  exhaust  valves  opened 
about  45  degrees  before  the  outer  center; 
exhaust  valves  closed  about  10  degrees 
past  the  inner  center. 

The  engines  carried  about  three-quarter 
load  and  ran  on  an  average  fuel  consump- 
tion of  21  cubic  feet  of  gas  per  kilowatt- 
hour  for  six  months,  the  gas  having  a 
heating  value  of  from  950  to  1000  B.t.u. 
per  cubic  foot.  Back-firing  was  very  rare 
and  never  troublesome. 

I  regret  that  I  have  no  data  relative 
to  other  valve  settings  upon  these  engines 
and  should  like  very  much  to  hear  from 
someone  who  has  such  data. 

J.  C.  Parmely. 

Urbana.   Ill 


The  communications  from  Messrs. 
Buschman  and  Abegg,  set  forth  some 
ideas  that  fit  the  principles  involved  and 
some  that,   in  my  estimation,  do  not. 

My  letter,  in  reply  to  one  from  Mr. 
Hollman,  reference  to  which  is  made,  dealt 
with  that  type  of  gas  engine  used  on 
standard  automobiles,  with  which  it  is 
necessary  to  get  right  down  to  "brass 
tacks**  or  you  don't  make  the  hill  on  the 
high  gear. 

The  point  I  aimed  at  was  the  definite 
necessity  of  getting  a  cylinder  full  of  mix- 
ture to  start  with,  and  it  has  been  my 
experience  that  closing  the  exhaust  valve 
as  nearly  as  possible  on  the  dead  center,  is 
a  prime  requisite  to  that  end. 

If  the  correspondents  named  have  found 
it    necessary    to    release    the    expanding 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

charge  when  the  crank  lacks  some  40 
degrees  of  having  reached  the  end  of  the 
stroke,  does  it  indicate  that  I  have  ad- 
vanced a  theory  that  won't  hold  water, 
or  that  the  designer  of  these  particular 
engines  (wonder  if  they  are  both  from  the 
same  shop)  had  peculiar  ideas  regarding 
the  behavior  of  gases  under  pressure? 

In  considering  the  engine  as  a  gas  pump, 
the  time  of  opening  the  exhaust  valve 
has  nothing  to  do  with  the  question,  pro- 
vided the  exhaust  valve  may  be  closed  at 
the  proper  time;  and  Mr.  Hollman's  let- 
ter gave  me  the  impression  that  the  time 
of  closing  his  exhaust  depended  on  the 
time  of  opening  it. 

Regarding  the  theory  that  a  column  of 
air  and  gas  will  continue  in  motion  after 
having  been  put  in  motion,  due  to  its 
inertia,  it  is  very  easy  to  confuse  the  term 
"inertia"  with  that  property  of  matter 
known  as  momentum. 

No  one  will  question  that  a  column  of 
gas  and  air  has  inertia,  but  I  do  dispute 
that  it  has  momentum  enough  when  in 
motion  to  overcome  the  resistance  of  me- 
chanical friction.  If  the  correspondents 
will  spend  some  time  with  an  indicator 
on  a  compound  air  compressor,  where 
they  will  have  an  opportunity  to  experi- 
ment with  gas  at  atmospheric  pressure, 
with  a  spring  to  match  that  sort  of  work, 
and  check  their  work  by  following  it 
through  the  high-pressure  cylinder,  I  think 
they  will  agree  with  me  that  while  a 
column  of  gas  at  low  pressure  may  be 
inert  it  won't  "moment"  for  sour  apples. 

The  last  paragraph  in  Mr.  Buschman's 
letter  contains  the  statement  that  "the 
maximum  explosion  pressure  is  obtained 
when  the  volume  of  the  mixture  is  the 
smallest,  or  in  other  words,  the  com- 
pression pressure  is  the  highest  at  the 
instant  the   entire  mass   is   ignited." 

If  the  words  "explosion"  and  "com- 
pression" were  transposed  the  first  pro- 
position would  be  true,  but  the  last  would 
still  lack  something  of  full  or  exact  truth, 
I  believe.  The  burning  of  a  charge  of 
gas  and  air  in  an  engine  cylinder  is  not 
instantaneous  as  to  time,  but  continues 
over  an  easily  measurable  portion  of  the 
crank-pin  travel,  and  the  time  of  the  high- 
est explosion  pressure  depends  on  the 
quality  of  the  mixture,  the  amount  of  com- 
pression, the  point  of  ignition  and  the 
speed  of  the  engine.  Varying  any  "one  of 
these  elements  will  vary  the  time  or  point 
of  the  highest  explosion  pressure. 

That  part  of  gas-engine  indicator  dia- 
gram that  connects  the  top  of  the  com- 
pression curve  with  the  commencement 
of  the  expansion  line  always  has  an  in- 
ward slant,  which  is  an  index  of  the  time 
consumed  in  burning  the  charge  in  the 
cylinder.  If  the  burning  of  the  charge 
was  an  instantaneous  explosion,  that  line 
would  obviously  be  perpendicular  to  the 
atmospheric  line. 

Mr.  Abegg  calls  attention  to  two  ad- 
vantages resulting  from  releasing  at  40 
degrees  ahead  of  the  center,  one  of  which 


June  15,  1909. 

is  that  the  cylinder  walls  are  cooled  there- 
by, which  "allows  a  more  complete  new 
charge."  That  is  to  say,  he  throws  away 
part  of  his  charge  to  facilitate  acquiring 
a  bigger  charge  than  is  needed  for  the 
next   power   stroke. 

If  the  theory  set  forth,  regarding  the 
inertia  of  a  column  of  gas  in  motion,  was 
right,  proof  of  that  fact  could  be  found 
by  scrutinizing  the  exhaust  line  of  an  in- 
dicator diagram  from  a  gas  engine.  The 
burned  gases  certainly  leave  the  cylinder 
at  a  much  higher  velocity  when  first  re- 
leased by  the  opening  exhaust  valve  than 
is  possible  when  impelled  by  the  com- 
paratively slow-moving  piston,  and  yet 
whoever  heard  of  the  piston  being  sucked 
out  of  the  cylinder  by  the  vacuum  pro- 
duced by  the  "inertia"  of  the  outrushing 
column  of  burned  gas? 

E.    G.    TiLDEN. 

Downers  Grove,  111. 


Cost  of  Cleaning  Boilers 


The  editorial  entitled,  "How  Much  Does 
It  Cost  to  Clean  Boilers?"  is  a  step  in  the 
right  direction.  Power-plant  owners  and 
operators  should  know  more  than  they 
do  about  what  scale  and  impure  water  are 
costing  them.  They  should  keep  a  record 
of  such  costs,  including  all  incidentals, 
and  then  at  the  end  of  the  year  they  can 
tell  how  much  they  can  afford  to  pay  for 
some  system  of  water  treatment. 

There  is  one  statement,  however,  that 
may  give  rise  to  misconception.  The  edi- 
torial says :  "How  much  better  off  would 
you  be  if  you  had  absolutely  pure  feed 
water  for  your  boilers,  so  pure  that  it 
would  leave  absolutely  nothing  behind  it 
when  it  boiled  away?"  This  is  a  com- 
mercial impossibility ;  at  least,  you  cannot 
get  such  waters  from  natural  supplies 
except  by  distilling,  the  cost  of  which 
would  be,  in  most  cases,  prohibitive,  even 
as   compared  with   cleaning  the  boilers. 

It  is  true  that  a  condensing  plant  under 
certain  conditions  might  afford  to  distill 
its  make-up  water,  but  even  that  is  hardly 
probable.  The  distinction  that  is  to  be 
drawn  is  between  water  which  forms  scale 
in  the  boilers  and  water  which  does  not, 
or  at  the  most  deposits  only  sludge,  since 
boilers  using  the  latter  can  be  kept  clean 
by  regular  blowing  down  with  an  oc- 
casional washing  out  with  a  hose. 

Scale  is  responsible  for  most  of  the  ex- 
pense of  boiler  cleaning  and  maintenance, 
necessitating,  as  it  does,  the  use  of  me- 
chanical cleaners  and  causing  frequent 
injuries  to  tubes,  plates  and  scams  through 
overheating. 

By  treating  sulphates  and  carbonates 
you  can  keep  the  lime  and  magnesia  out 
of  the  water,  but  a  sodium  or  some 
similar  highly  soluble  salt  will  pass  on 
into  the  boiler  and  its  accumulation  there 
must  be  prevented  by  blowing  down.  At 
the   same  time,   a   certain  amount  of  fine 


June  15,  igoQ. 


Pr)\VER  AND  THE  ENclINEER 


1007 


sludge  will  get  through  any  practical 
form  of  tiltcr,  and  the  b^>^ler^  should  be 
blown  down  to  remove  this  also. 

The  foregoing  statement  applies  to 
every  form  of  treatment,  hot  or  cold,  or 
l)oiler  compound,  that  I  know  about,  with 
the  exception  of  barium-carbonate,  which 
is  not  in  use  in  this  country  on  account 
of  its  high  price. 

Geou^e  ti.  GiB^toN. 

N'ew  York  City. 


movement  of  the  outlet  valve  %nth  rela- 
tion to  the  movements  of  the  Hoai  and 
thus  render  the  trap  operative 

R    .Mamv  Oml 
Brant forfl,  Ont 


Babbitting  a  Trycock 

The  .iccompanying  sketch  is  of  a  try- 
cock,  and  show^  the  way  I  I'lxed  it  so  I 
could  take  the  stem  out  and  pm  in  a  new 
babbitt  scat  whde  steam  was  on  the  boiler. 

I  had  but  one  boiler  to  run  five  miles 
of  electric  railrr>ad  and  some  lighting.  We 
had  to  run  30  hours  a  day  seven  days  a 
week,  so  we  did  not  have  any  time  to  get 
steam  off  the  l)oiIer   for   repairs. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  pin  is  long 
enough  so  that  the  cock  can  be  opened 
enough  to  try  the  water  without  the  tall 


Hydraulic   Informal  inn 

Mr.  Piper  does  not  state  «,'.•  ,r  •  <• 
j6o  inches  of  water  delivered  i«  in  ciil>ic 
inches  or  in  miner's  iiK-hes.  There  i«.  a 
great  differeiKe  in  the  two  teriiio  and 
calculations  made  fur  one  would  lie  wholly 
wrong  for  the  other. 

The  miner's  inch  is  equal  to  iVi  cubic 
feet  of  water  flowing  per  minute  (ap- 
proximately), which  would  '  make  the 
available  power  with  a  head  of  140  feet. 
at  85  per  cent,  efficiency,  about  IJO  horse- 
power when  j|6o  inches  is  (lowing.  If  we 
take  it  to  mean  j6o  cubic  inches  dis- 
charge per  sccoml.  which  equals  1^5  cubic 
feet  per  minute,  we  will  get  with  the 
140  feet  head,  at  8$  per  cent,  efficiency. 
at)out  2.8  horsepower. 

We  will  take  the  miner's  inch  measure- 


■.saairriKc  a  tkycoi  k 


into    place,     but     when     turned 
the    flow    of    steam    will   rarrv    ^he 
1   to   the  o{K-ning.     After   rr 
k  the  pin  will  push  ilir  I'.il! 
rning. 

\-...     v.: 

Isatiella.  Tenn. 


ment,  whirh  with  Jfto  inches  lluwing  will 
equal  540  cubic  feet  per  minute.  Setting 
the  velocity  of  the  water  in  one  conduit 
line  at  i  feet  per  second,  we  will  olxain 
the  pipe  diameter  l>y  llie  formula 


-J- 


Trap  Won't  Work 


H.    C    Williamson.      in    lo<>kifig    .< 
^Lrich,   it    appears    ttut    the    arranti' 
-wn    will    not    operate.      For    instamr, 
rfi  the   float   rises  on  the   rod  until   it 
' «  the  top  stopper,  then  tlic  trap  is  full 
•    water ,   tnit    as    tl  "^ 
.    r#«d   with   it.   ihr   ' 


j'V~X  0.3J7J5    ' 
rhere 
d  =  Oumcler  of  pi|ir. 
(7  =  Quantity  of   water  discharged   |N-r 
lite. 
•  ilv     of     water     in     feet     |H-r 


M" 


\   J  X    O.JJ7J5         \ 
inchesi.     A     xi-inch     rivr'- 
»h..tild  h*-  used,  maile  of  1.        . 
weigh    aU'iil     u    t 

TI  I  »     »  I '  1     ..•  I  \  r     J 

trifle 
the    » 
low.  a- 


-  ..  Uu  •  »  »4*  » 


Me   the    millet    valve    « 

len  the  trap  was  empfv 

ly  when  it   was   full  I 

I*  to  attach  the  ♦    "  '  f 

ll»e    trap   "n    ili' 

iilet     valve,    whi'i    *i<"i'     f«-»«^r«'-     "'«• 


•i\    irt    inii 


fneil'hrad  ItM.  where 
H  ■■  Hewl  pM^ 


/.    -  Length  '  f  pipe  line, 

d  —  Diameter  of  pipe, 

r  =:  VeUxity   of  water  flowing  in  feet 
per   second. 
This    will    give    159.17    feet    of    effective 
head. 

A   water  wheel  of  the  peiton   impulse 


t\. 


pr)wer  which,  after  allowing  for  iwcrssary 
losses,  both  mechanical  and  electrical, 
vould  easily  supply  one  thousand  two 
hundred  l6-candleprtwer  lamps  of  t^r 
bon  filament  tvpe.  or  atMiut  three  th< 
two  hundred  JO-candlepower  tung«Tr<. 
lamps. 

If    the    electrical    .' 
over   a    brge   area    w  '. 

generator    of  a    «     •  .'    ■  cycje    and 

Voltage  should  ^-r  ■.!•..  <\  },ui  if  the 
load  is  to  lie  entirely  local  the  iow-vohage 
direct -current  system  will  fill  all  require- 
ments. The  alwve  speed  of  the  wheel 
could  t)e  used  only  for  a  t^  ''  '  .  -  -  r. 
as  the  ant  of  slow  sper 
chinery  is  high,  which  woulJ  :::  this  »..»>* 
\ery  likely  prohjH,?  it«  n**'  for  direct 
o.tpling.  'ed    set    is 

ilrsiretl    a  -1    ran    be 

used,  say,  too  r<  t       \ 

good  speed  regi:!.-         '.ailed 

This   point   is   often   overlooked,  and    re- 
'ilts  far  from  pleasing  are  obtained. 

If  this  hydra.ilic  «levelnpmenl  was  for 
the  smaller  power  mentioned,  vting  j6o 
ctihic   inches  of  watrr  per  mettwd  or  ia.C 


nnj>ul«r  t> ;  ■ 

aU    ••    -•  ,  '  .  .       ... 

'  Lamps      If  this  sn 

«»„■.  .,..   ..  fd  there  would  be  iv- 

for    installing   a   regubtor    for   the   water 
jft'  verned  oy  hand 

^  'totor  coonrcicQ 

With  a   i.Jt-»iic   rc4:-:'j!'r 

FaAHK    A.    Brua. 
Renningtnn,  N.  It. 


SUmUrd  Pijx" 

Filling* 

Thr   frt-eni  at- 

ird   pip*  Mta 

DowMw: 

«•"   hramt^H   to 

I  as  a  strmmAner  in  a  err  • 

.«       <n       I  I     itw-K       f„t^       mh. 


-<ed  that  a  iOMK<i 


io68 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  IS,  1909. 


Vacuum  Ash  Conveyer  at  Armour  Glue  Works 

An  Installation  Serving  4435  Boiler  Horsepower  Perfected  by  Experi- 
ment to  Handle  7  Tons  of  Ash  per  Hour  at  Cost  of  7  Cents  per  Ton 


B  Y 


GEORGE 


B. 


HESS 


The  vacuum  ash-convcying  system  at 
this  works,  which  was  perfected  only  after 
a  great  deal  of  experimentation,  consists 
primarily  of  a  positive  blower,  a  storage 
tank  and  conveying  pipes.  The  blower  ex- 
hausts the  air  from  the  storage  tank  into 
which  the  ashes  are  drawn  by  suction 
through  the  pipes  leading  from  the  boil- 
er ashpits.  The  closed  storage  tank  has 
a  capacity  of  1640  cubic  feet  and  is 
elevayed  about  33  feet  above  the  level  of 
the    boiler-room    floor.      Just    above    the 


the  other  side  of  the  blower  up  into  the 
smoke  stack. 

As  there  are  two  separate  boiler  rooms, 
there  are  also  two  separate  ash-conveying 
pipes,  one  for  each  boiler  room.  These 
pipes,  which  are  10  inches  in  diameter 
extend  the  entire  length  of  the  boiler  pits 
and  discharge  the  ashes  into  the  top  of 
the  storage  tank.  The  elbow  of  each 
pipe,  where  it  leads  into  the  storage  tank, 
is  tapped  for  an  J/2-inch  water  pipe  for 
settling  the   dust   and   cooling  the   ashes, 


placed  over  any  of  the  openings.  The 
conveyer  successfully  handles  an  average 
of  47  tons  of  ash  every  24  hours,  during 
which  time  it  is  in  operation  only  6  hours 
and  45  minutes.  An  outline  of  the  system 
and  some  details  are  shown  in  Fig.  i  and 
in  Table  i  are  given  some  data  on  the 
plant  and  ash-conveying  system,  for  the 
perfection  of  which  much  credit  is  due 
to  C.  W.  Brown,  chief  engineer  of  The 
Armour  Glue  Works. 

As  the  building  of  the  conveyer  was  en- 


OUection  of  _ 

Alb 


Specii:  C.I.  Tee  and  Plug 

m 

^Flanged  Fins 


Settling  Chamber 


'^EzhaoBt  to  Smoke  Stack 


Boiler  Pit  So.  1  »„„  u,  AJ.plu 

dJ    :2]  CD  CD  CD  „  CD  CD 

lu  EecnilTic  C.I.  Vif 
^J^_j^         **«         «.-      ^.    ™—  _,         __        __ 


(\\  „  m    m  8p«cmi  c.i. 


^L«Dgtb  137  0'  \,         ^.    .,.„.. 

^Leugth  51  0 

FK..      I.     OLTLINE  OF   V.VCL'U.M    .\SH-COXVEVjXG   SYSTEM    AND  DETAIL  OF   PIPING 


SpecUI  C.I.  Utaral 

CD   .m     CD 


-Length  55'0"        PinKr,xr. 


storaKC  tank  is  a  smaller  tank  about  7 
feet  high  by  5  feet  in  diameter,  designed  to 
act  as  a  settling  chamber.  The  small 
tank  is  connected  to  the  storage  tank 
by  a  12-inch  pipe  leading  from  the  bottom 
directly  into  the  storage  tank  and  also 
by  two  12-inch  bypass  pipes  that  lead 
from  opposite  sides  and  near  the  top 
of  the  chamber  down  into  the  storage 
tank.  Leading  out  of  the  top  of  the 
settling  chamber  to  the  inlet  side  of  the 
blower  is  a  22-inch  galvanized-iron  suc- 
tion pipe  and   a   similar  pipe  leads  from 


and  that  part  of  the  piping  extending 
along  the  front  of  the  boiler  pits  is 
provided  with  6-inch  holes  on  the  upper 
side,  the  holes  being  placed  at  distances 
to  correspond  with  the  doors  opening 
into  the  ashpit  directly  beneath  the  fur- 
naces. When  not  in  use,  these  holes  are 
covered  by  caps  with  handles  attached 
for  convenience  in  handling.  When  it 
is  desired  to  pull  the  ashes  from  the  pit 
into  the  conveying  pipes,  a  small  port- 
able hopper  is  used.  This  has  been  made 
with  a  6-inch  outlet  and  can   readily  be 


tirely  along  experimental  lines,  a  success- 
ful application  was  hardly  to  be  expected 
at  the  first  attempt.  The  device,  .however, 
was  installed  along  lines  which  it  was 
thought  would  most  nearly  meet  the  re- 
quirements, but  the  result  was  a  failur^ 
in  almost  every  respect,  and  practicany 
the  only  feature  of  the  original  installa- 
tion which  is  now  made  use  of  is  the 
application  of  the  water  in  settling  the 
dust  and  cooling  the  ashes.  It  will  be ' 
necessary  to  go  a  little  into  detail  in  re- 
gard  to   the   original    apparatus,    the   dif- 


June 


15.  1909 


faculties  that  were  met  wiih  and  uic 
inctluxls  of  overcoming  thcni  in  order  !■> 
sec  just  why  the  system  has  been  arranged 
Zs  it  now  is. 

A  Chance  of  Blow  us 
The     exhauster     first     used     was     not 
•daptc<l    t"    'tii^    work,    and    no    end    of 


IHJWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

minute  and  driven  by  belt  from  the  75- 
horscpuwcr  50D-voh  direct -current  motor. 
'I  his  blower  has  been  in  service  a  httle 
u\er  one  year  and  appears  to  successfully 
meet  all  requirements.  It  steadily  main- 
tains  a  vacuum  of  2!  j  inches  of  nKrcury 
at  the  inlet  side  imder  all  working  con- 
ditions. 


1069 

K  ;>ipe> 
^.  i*here 
tii€  >c*   afc   ituw    Attached.      A* 

the  -:led    in    this   chamber    they 

were  allowed  to  pass  out  cuatmuously 
through  the  ij-inch  pipe  extending  (rum 
the  cune- shaped  bu(t<jm  of  the  chamber 
tr-'    r«r    -•    r-L-    rank      Thi»   had   to  be 


nC.     2.     MOT   BLOWCa   KLIXO  TO    MOTOS 


no.    3.    SITi: 


\!»b  »attuM. 


trouble    was    experienced    with    this    part 

't-.is.     It    was   Reared    to   a 

motor,    nnd    t»M»    in    itself 

.         s  '-r  was 

i'-matvl* 

upon  II.  but  It  wa%  c•>n^tanll>  KettinK 

f   balance   to  an   extent    that    might 

at   any   time   prove   teriout,  and   in   spite 

of  all  the  attrntton  that  was  given  to  it. 

the    hliiwrr    tiiullv    burst    into    hnndre<U 

of  »mall  piece*.     The  continual  tendency 

Table  1.  data  on  plamt  \su  ash- 
con  vkyiso  8Vj*TKW. 

"-■     •  '      '--       •  •  ■  iT, 


Of  UOMf 


Tilt   ASN-STOCACE   TaXK 

O' 

storing    the    ashes    uniil    they    could    be 
dumped  into  car»  and  wai  in  n<i  wa\  con- 


Ji 

fr- 

■J.  Jf 

4.   i._i^>i&\iji  fui.  .;^  ii-.i*.  -i  xirii.il. 


done    without    Ictttnjr    anr    atr    itito    the 

•jted  by 
.  lacrd  in 
the  a«h  pipe  below  the  cvrlone  chamber. 
This  arrangement  did  terse  to  act  a»  a 
•eal  10  the  cyrlnoe  chamber.  y«t  it  was 
not  entirely  satisfactory.  a«  the  ooodiliom 


\BI  K  2 


M    \i 


|-.r«  J 


tiMKB  r>- 


Banjui  tn  Ho.  i. 


''<i  t^        RmM  im 

talvt  ftl   r    Aif  l^rt  M  M 

\ 

it 

•n 

•« 

« 

» 

•        :  «; 

II 

1 

; 

> 
\i 

' ' 

1 

■m     ^k 

1            1 

^^ 

lad  m 
'onrr  the  brat 
t    Iti   br 


of    the    fan  small 

let  of  ash  win. ..  ..  ■'  ■"" 

'-  air  a«  it  was  es' 

<\       Tlie    original    M  -.     .■ 

«I  by  a  J4  f'-'«   H  -  •  *■*• 

er,  I  ig   2,  running  at  j6o  revulutioni  per     ha'j«!?r  »»•  <:<tiii<<ir.i  «it>i  tr»r  icif»  ■>»  tr»e      hm*  f«  .<«««inrii  -irrtrrvit*.    A 


1070 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  15,  1909. 


parture  from  the  original  scheme  was  now- 
devised.  The  top  of  the  storage  tank 
was  boarded  over  and  the  two  ash-con- 
veying pipes,  which  led  into  the  sides  of 
the  cyclone  chamber,  were  now  led  di- 
rectly into  the  top  of  the  storage  tank 
and  the  cyclone  chamber  was  made  simply 
an  enlarged  section  of  the  exhaust  pipe. 
As  the  upper  side  of  this  chamber  was 
connected  to  the  exhauster  by  a  22-inch 
pipe  and  the  lower  side  to  the  storage 
tank  by  a  12-inch  pipe,  it  was  evident 
that  nothing  was  to  be  gained  from  the 
use  of  the  large  exhaust  pipe  unless  the 
area  of  the  opening  in  the  storage  tank 
was  correspondingly  as  large.     To  offset 


boiler  pits  and  convey  the  ashes  into  the 
storage  tank,  were  made  first  of  lo-inch 
extra-heavy  wrought-iron  pipe  with  6-inch 
holes  spaced  along  the  top  in  front  of 
each  ashpit.  The  proper  construction  of 
these  pipes  was  a  hard  matter  to  decide 
without  e.xperimenting.  It  was  thought 
that  tlie  ash  in  traveling  through  the 
horizontal  legs  would  naturally  hug  the 
lower  surface  of  the  pipe,  but  prominent 
engineers  who  were  consulted  in  re- 
gard to  this  matter  advanced  the  theory 
that  the  air  in  passing  through  the  pipe 
with  a  high  velocity  would  acquire  a 
whirling  motiun  and  this  same  motion 
would  be  imparted  to  the  ashes,  with  the 


making  a  fairly  good  air-tight  joint  when 
in  place  on  the  boss.  The  areas  of  the 
hopper  openings  in  the  conveying  pipes 
bear  a  definite  relation  to  the  area  of 
the  pipe  itself,  and  this  point  cannot  be 
overlooked  in  the  construction  of  a  con- 
veyer of  this  kind.  Several  attempts  to 
adapt  this  apparatus  to  other  plants  have 
resulted  in  failure  simply  because  en- 
gineers have  not  realized  the  importance 
of  this  feature.  The  ratio  of  the  area  of 
the  hopper  opening  •  to  the  area  of  the 
pipe,  as  determined  by  experiment,  is 
practically  i  to  3.  A  ratio  of  i  to  2.77 
has  been  used  in  the  case  of  the  Armour 
conveyer    with   very   good    results.      It   is 


BoUer  Pit  No.  2 


Air  Inlet  10' 
I      AB 
XI 


iPT- 


C  D 


E  F 


G  H 


Boiler  Pit  No.  I 

I  J 


K  L 


MN 


1  2 


y^*^-< If. 


2'q-'JJ^><<    - 


-  n-6 — 2''o'^^  *^  — to-fl-  •  ^ 

i^iMT,  .v.r. 


FIG.     5.     DET.AIL  OF   ASH-CONVEVING   PIPES   IN   BOILER    PITS 


^^ 

.^ 

— ■ 

"g 

"  1     i 

1 

?s, 

'J 

' 

Idler  P 

it> 

"• 

>  a, 

- 

Lcftj  Leg. 

Air 

Inl 

et  ■ 

;  y 

a 

W 

I 

^ 

5' 

>r 

t 

B] 

loll 

ir  I 

U> 

0.  i 

81 

B 

lib 

Le 

1- 

> 

Air 

lol 

et  a 

tz 

Si 

^ 

^ 

^ 

■ 

it 

r^ 

^ 

r^' 

B^ 

=& 

■f- 

— 

r 

-*! 

9 

D 

: 

ioil 

erl 

t  J 

0. : 

t' 

Air 

Id! 

et  ■ 

X 

0    10    20    X     M    SO    CO    70     00    W    10(1  110  1^  130  140 
L>lit*ace  lo  Peek  from  £ud  of  Pipe  (Air  iDletl 

/Vkwt,  .v.  y. 

Fir..    6.     VACUUM    IN   ASH-CONVEVING  PIPES 


this  drawback  two  12-inch  bypass  pipes 
were  led  from  the  openings  in  the 
chamber  where  the  two  conveying  pipes 
previously  entered,  down  into  the  top  of 
the  storage  tank.  This  served  to  reduce 
the  velocity  of  the  air  as  it  left  the  storage 
tank  and  the  tendency  of  the  particles  of 
ash  or  dust  as  they  passed  through  the 
old  cyclone  chamber,  where  there  was  a 
considerably  lower  velocity,  was  to  settle 
and  fall  back  info  the  storage  tank.  This 
is  the  present  arrangement  of  what  is  now 
called  the  settling  chamber. 

.^SH-CONVEYER     PiPINC 

The  ash-conveying  pipes.  Figs.  4  and  5, 
which    extend    the    entire    length    of    the 


result  that  a  uniform  wear  of  the  inner 
surface  of  the  pipe  would  take  place. 
Assuming  that  this  theory  w^as  correct, 
the  lo-inch  extra-heavy  wrought-iron  pipe 
with  a  standard  threaded  coupling  was 
put  in  place.  It  was  but  a  short  time 
before  this  arrangement  showed  decided 
wear.  This  was  first  noticeable  at  the 
couplings  where  the  thickness  of  the  pipe 
had  been  reduced  by  the  cutting  of  the 
thread,  and  shortly  after  it  was  apparent 
that  the  'bottom  of  the  pipe  was  also  af- 
fected in  the  same  way.  Sections  of  this 
pipe  as  fast  as  they  wore  out,  were  re- 
placed by  new  pipe,  but  its  life  was  so 
short  that  the  wrought-iron  pipe  was  dis- 
carded for  another  and  more  substantial 
one  of  cast  iron  with  flanged  joints.  For 
the  horizontal  lines,  where  the  greatest 
wear  occurred  at  the  bottom,  a  special 
eccentric  cast-iron  pipe  was  designed,  hav- 
ing a  thickness  of  metal  of  i  inch  on 
the  upper  side  and  iK  inches  on  the 
lower  side. 

For  those  sections  which  were  to  be 
placed  in  front  of  the  ashpits  and  in 
which  it  was  necessary  to  provide  open- 
ings for  the  hopper,  a  boss  about  9 
inches  in  diameter  was  cast  at  the  top 
of  the  pipe.  This  boss,  having  a  6-inch 
hole  in  the  center  for  the  hopper,  was 
faced  to  present  a  perfectly  flat  and 
smooth  surface.  The  caps  which  were 
provided  to  cover  these  holes  when  not 
in  use  were  simply  flat  circular  castings 
with  handles  on  top.  The  lower  side  of 
the  cap  was  cast  with  a  V-shaped  groove 
about  71/2  inches  in  diameter,  which  was 
afterward    babbitted    and    machined,    thus 


19 
IS 
17 
16 
15 
14 
13 
12 
11 
10 
9 
8 
7 
6 
5 
4 

J 

J 

/ 

/ 

/ 

r 

/ 

/ 

/ 

/ 

/ 

/ 

/ 

/ 

/ 

/ 

/ 

y 

^ 

0 

8,000     10,000    12,000    14,000    16,000    18,000    20,000    22,00^ 
Velocity  ia  Feet  per  Mioute    _         „  „ 

FIG.    7.     PRESSURE-VELOCITY  CURVE 

important  also  that  the  air  inlet  at  the 
end  of  the  conveying  pipe  shall  be  at  the 
end  of  the  pipe  and  not  on  the  side.  This 
opening  should  in  no  case  be  less  than  the 
full  diameter  of  the  pipe,  and  a  bell-shaped 
opening  would  seem  to  be  preferable  to 
the  flanged  end  of  the  pipe  as  it  would 
permit  of  a  higher  velocity  of  the  air  at 
the  inlet.  '  That  the  size  and  shape  of 
the  inlet  exert  considerable  influence  over 
the  action  of  the  air  at  this  point  has. 
been  experimentally  shown.  For  the 
present  installation  the  vacuum  in  ounce* 
at  the  various  openings  lettered  in  Fig. 
5.  are  given  in  the  curves  of  Fig.  6,  and 
the   velocitv   of   the    air    for   the    various 


June  IS.  IQO^. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENiilNEER. 


1071 


pressures  given  may  be  determined   from 
Fig    7 

Special  Tee  Pbefzssco  to  Elbow 

Another  difficulty  that  was  overcome 
only  after  considerable  experimenting  was 
the  construction  of  the  elbows  for  thc»e 
pipe  lines,  and  a<>  each  conveyer  pipe  had 
practically  three  go-degree  elbows,  all  of 
which  were  subject  to  severe  usage,  it 
will  be  seen  that  this  was  a  matter  requir- 
ing early  attention.  The  lo-inch  *tandard 
wrought  iron  lee  which  was  first  tncil  was 
expected  to  form  a  sort  of  pocket,  always 
retaining  a  certain  amount  of  ash  as  long 
as  the  blower  was  in  operation  and  thu^ 
protecting  itself  from  wear,  but  no  such 
results  were  Kbiained.  and  an  elbr>w  of 
long  «weep  was  substituted  in  the  hope 
that  it  might  prove  mire  satisfactory. 
The  elbtiw  did  not  give  any  better  %er\ice 
and  was  thrown  nut  to  be  replace«l  by  a 
specially  designed  cast-iron  tee  and 
flanged  plug.  This  tee  was  designe<l  with 
one  side  nf  the  run  shorter  than  the 
other,  and  it  was  placed  in  the  position 
of  the  old  elbow  with  the  longer  side 
of  the  run  attached  to  the  ashpit  side  of 
the  pipe.  To  the  shorter  side  of  the 
run  of  this  tee  was  bolted  the  flanged 
plug  of  cast  iron.  The  plug,  which  was  of 
•olid  metal.  7  inches  long,  was  slightly 
•mailer  than  the  inside  diameter  of  the 
tee.  an<l  when  placed  in  position  with 
its  ffanK**  Ixilted  to  the  flange  of  the  lee 
H  extended  about  I  inch  beyond  the  neck 
of  the  outlet.  With  this  arrangement 
practically  all  of  the  wear  on  the  tee.  ex- 
cept that  which  would  normally  lake  place 
in  the  straight  pipe,  was  now  receivetl  en- 
tirely by  the  plug  inserted  in  the  shorter 
side  of  the  run 

Besides    preventing    cxcr  '    of 

the  pipe,   this  type  of  tee  s   in 

breaking  up  clinker*  In  drawing  ashet 
into  the  hoppers  on  the  conveying  pipe, 
clinker*  almost  as  large  a*  the  6-ifK-h 
opening  often  fall  into  the  pipe  The 
velocity  of  the  air  in  the  pipe  i«  alway* 
•uffW-ient  to  carry  along  these  large  clink- 
er* until  lh«-v  strilfc  the  vrriiral  leu, 
or  • 
pliu 

rr»  ha\<  have  ac- 

quired and    in 

striking  Ihr  fl.iTij;rd  plug  are  broken  into 
many  small  piccr*  \\  the  ashes  on  their 
way  to  ihe  storage  lank  are  required  to 
pass  thrnugh  three  of  these  tees,  it  {• 
evident  thai  by  the  lime  they  reach  the 
•Inrage  lank  they  will  he  in  a  finely 
divided  slate  Th^  r..fvlii»/>o  "f  the  ash 
a«  drawn  from  »' 
ficient  to  prove  1' 
does    happen 

5»0  far  at  protrrtim.-  r'lr  t.Ii.r  fr  .m  wrsf  • 
was  roncerne*!  tin 

arranfrmenl,  but    *    ..  •  ■•    ,■ 

diKrd  uprwi  the  artion   -.f  \\\r   \\r  due  lo 
the    inrrrased    frirti«n    '  "    ' 

determined       The    |rr 
(rraler  resistance  10  the  air  !!san  a  !?•«« 


sweep  elbow  would,  but  when  the  small 
number  of  these  elbuw»  and  ih*-  ca|»aciiy 
of    the    apparatus    are    curt  -    ap- 

pears to  be  a  matter  of  .  •    im- 

portance. Frequent  inspection  (i  these 
plugs  show  that  they  wear  away  quite 
rapidly,  while  the  tee  ittdf  show*  com- 
paratively little  wear.  When  worn  out. 
it  i*  a  simple  nutter  to  replace  the  plugs 
at     ■    '  K-nse. 

g   the   flanged   |omts  of  the 
pijn     hiu,    a     piece    <  ' 
having   a  diarr^'-frr    A\. 
of   the 
«  f  any 

Small  pressure  was  applied  to  these  joints 
by  the  flange  bolts,  and  while  the  blower 
was  in  operation  a  heavy  paint  was  poured 
between  the  flanges.  The  suction  created 
by  the  blower  drew  this  paint  into  any 
irexices  which  mi.'  "     '     ' 

the   holts  had  be« 

hardene<l  there,  lea^iiii^  a  pcrtcvtly  air- 
tight  joint  at  small  ex(icnse. 

Rrj.\ro*m>  Coxcurrc  rot  Stokace  Takk 
The  original  storage  tank  is  still  in 
servior.  but  chemical  actirn  caused  by 
the  mixture  of  the  ash  and  water  has 
eaten  away  the  steel  until  in  places  noth- 
ing but  a  very  thin  piece  of  metal  re- 
mains. One  drawback  to  a  riveted  tank 
<■>{  this  kind  is  that  the  wet  ashes  are 
Constantly  adhering  to  the  joints  and 
rivets,  especially  to  the  latter,  and  they 
gradually  pile  up  lo  such  an  extent  that 
it  is  necessary  lo  send  a  man  inside  to 
knock  them  off  with  a  sledge.  It  will 
be   necessary   lo   :•  "    »   lank   in   the 

near  future,  and  Me  that  a  re- 

inf  rrte    or    at    least    a    cement - 

liiu  rifl    onr    h.Tvjng    tKi    corners 

n'.'  'r.  will  be  aub- 

stir 

Svmii  Chkarks  Ash  Rkmosal 
\pplication  of  this  convryiitg  system  lo 
p*  wer    plants    is   dependent    upon    several 
factors,  of  which  the  first  and  most   im 
portant  i«  the  coal,  with  the  amf>unt   .in<l 
character     of     ihe     a*h     f>rn(luer«l       Dir 
c«v»l     U»' 
ve>er    J 

of    lllinoi«    •  the   asli 

averages    pf  jx-r    .  <•• 

total  C( 

exceed  i.  ■■  

are  of  tueh  a   nalurr  be 

easily   brnken    ttp   whr<.    ,..,..■■    ......   ihe 

hopper      With   a  coal   forminc   a   large. 

ha'  ' 

he 

\Kt  \\xc  op(iiui4ts  in   x\j 


ihe   conveyer   under  discussion   by   a.:    A 

results,    the    vaviiti;    m    .-osi    ■•(    ihr    >  ■■ 

disposal    of 

per    cent,    oi 

when   the   conve>er    \s 

For  each  »eparale  ; 
will  luiurally  be  some  obilarles  to  be 
oscrcome.  peculur  to  that  sutioa  it^W. 
but  there  seems  to  be  no  reason,  \ 
ever,  whv  this  system  ct^uld  not  l«c  a<Ja;  rd 
to  fit  the  conditions.  prosidinK  li.a'.  'Jtr 
ash  does  not  forts 

If    thi*    •>•»•  I 


sj  t    be    just    as 

tl '  ^   of  coal   or   •  : .li. 

of  a  similar  itature?     A  conveyer  of  thi» 
kind  has  recently  been  built  for  the  hand- 
ling  of  coal,   bat   either   because,  of   the 
nature   of   the   c     ' 
the  device  has  n 
rr-  tc«|  of  1:      T;. 

W  '    f»^r    Hr    »*«^  f 


ner  surface  of  jtir  conveying  pipe,  where 
it  would  qui.-llx  >.i!il.!  up  to  stsch  an  ex- 
tent as  to  riot  the  pipe.  It 
would  then  .-.  ...x.-«ary  to  shut  dowv 
the  blower  and  rod  out  the  pipe  bef«*ce 
operation  could  be  resumed  It  i«  self- 
ex  ident  that  under  these  rr>ndiiw>n«  ro 
«^  •  «SoIe 
**■'■'  one 
man  to  uper^e  it. 


Intrmational   .A&soc  iation  for  ihc 
Prevent  ion  of  Sntokc 

The    program     for  annoaf 

convenli»»n    of   the    In-  Atsncia- 

tion  for  the   Prevention  rf  Smoke,  lo  be 

heW  in  «" V    v     »•"•'    •'     •  ■   ^^^^ 

3%   is   p- 
include    i  »r 
o<!w-er.  New 


•    T. 

i    B. 
t»    IT. 


.>««||.|        IJI^  M*- 


sion  of 

A      ■ 
91' 


<efs    w*U    be    M    tW    Vamtrtbth 


\t  the  nwMlily  mr< 

^•^<       Tnttltv'r     ('H-    • 


ir>e    rue    01 


III»iHr»»r.! 


1072 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  IS,  1909. 


A  New  Transmission  Dynamometer 

A    Compact,  Rigid,  Coupling-like    Instrument  That  Can  Be  Used  for 
Either    Rotation     of    the    Shaft     and     Can    Be    Read    at    a  Distance 


BY        WM.        H.        KENERSON 


I  have  received  from  time  to  time  many 
requests  for  a  simple  transmission  dyna- 
mometer, and  have  often  felt  the  need  of 
one  which  would  be  more  generally  ap- 
plicable than  those  now  in  use.  These 
continued  requests,  together  with  the  re- 
quirements of  a  definite  problem  whose 
solution  demanded  a  rigid  transmission 
dynamometer  in  the  form  of  a  coupling, 
led  to  the  design  and  construction  of  the 
instrument  described  herewith.  The  ac- 
companying illustraticns  show  the  con- 
struction of  the  dynamometer  and  its 
method  of  application  and  use.  In  Figs. 
2  and  4  the  corresponding  parts  of  the 
dynamometer  are  given  the  same  letters 
and  are  referred  to  in  the  text. 

The  couplings  A  and  B,  each  keyed  to 
its  respective  shaft,  are  held  together 
loosely  by  the  stud  bolts  C.  The  holes  in 
the  flange  A  are  larger  than  the  studs  C. 
so  that  these  studs  have  no  part  in  trans- 
mitting power  from  one  shaft  to  the  other. 


are  mounted  and  are  free  to  turn  on  the 
studs  E.  The  two  fingers  of  the  latches 
engage  the  studs  F  on  the  flange  A.  On 
the  ends  of  each  latch  are  knife  edges 
parallel  to  the  stud  about  which  the  latch 
turns.  For  either  direction  of  rotation  of 
the  flange  A  the  latches  L,  which  are  in 


Am^TTlcan  Machinist,  N.Ti 


FIG.     2.     TR.\NS.MISSION    DYNAMOMETER 
SHOWN  IN  SECTION 


S.  which  is  the  weighing  member.  O  is  a 
thrust  collar  screwed  on  the  hub  of  B, 
and  P  is  its  check  nut,  which  is  ordinarily 
pinned  to  the  hub  when  in  position.  The 
sjtationary  member  S,  in  the  form  of  a 
ring  sufrounding  the  shaft,  is  prevented 
from  rotating  by  fastening  to  some  fixed 
object  the  attached  arm  shown  in  the 
view,  Fig.  i,  of  the  assembled  instrument. 
In  the  ring  is  an  annular  cavity  covered 
by  a  thin,  flexible  copper  diaphragm  D, 
against  which  the  ball  race  of  one  of  the 
thrust  bearings  presses.  The  edge  of  this 
bail  race  is  slightly  chamfered  to  allow" 
some  motion  to  the  diaphragm.  The  cav- 
ity is  filled  with  a  fluid,  such  as  oil,  and 
connected  by  means  of  a  tube  to  a  gage. 
The  oil  pressure  measured  by  the  gage  is 
proportional  to  the  pressure  between  the 
thrust  bearings,  which  in  turn  is  propor- 
tional to  the  torque. 

The  instrument  may  be  calibrated  in  the 
torsion-testing  machine,   or  by   means   of 


(     1 

\                 \ 

_ 

^ 

V 

^Sr 

tT^Bp 

A/.yr 

rtte 

1 
J 

FIG.     3.     TR.\XSMISSI0N   DVN.\MOMETER    IN   AUTOMOBILE   PROPELLER  SH.\FT 


FIG.      I.     TRAVSMI.«SION    DVVAMOMETER    FOR 
2-'JiCH   SHAFT — WEIGHT   60  I-OCNDS 

The  power  is  transmitted  from  A  \o  B 
through  the  agency  of  the  latches  L,  four 
of  which  arc  arranged  around  the  circum- 
ference of  the  flange   B.     These  latches 


FK;.     4.     TRANS.MISSIOX    DVXAMO.METER   lilSASSEMBLED  TO   SHOW   CONSTRUCTION 


•SllichHy    condenn*^    from    the    Journal    of 
the     American     Society     of    Mecbuaical     En- 
■rineers. 


cflFect  double  bcll-cnmk  levers,  will  exert 
a  pressure  on  the  disk  G,  tending  to  force 
it  axially  along  the  hub  of  the  coupling  B, 
and  this  pressure,  it  will  be  seen,  is  pro- 
portional to  the  torque. 

Between   the   end-thrust  ball,   or   roller, 
bearings  M  M  is  held  the  stationary  ring 


a  sensitive  friction  l)rake.  Fig.  6  is  an 
actual  caliI)ration  curve  for  a  small  instru- 
ment, obtained  by  hanging  standard 
weights  at  proper  distances  from  the 
shaft  on  a  horizontal  lever  attached  to  the 
shaft,  and  reading  the  pressures  indicated 
by  the  gage  for  the  various  torques  shown 


June  15,  KjOfj. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER- 


1073 


in  the  diagram.  For  ordinar>'  purpofes, 
however,  it  is  not  necessary  to  calibrate 
the  instrument  by  actual  trial,  since  com- 
putations of  the  oil  prt•s^urcs  for  the  vari- 
ous torques  from  the  ient{ths  of  the  Irvcr 
arms  and  diaphragm  area  check  very 
clo!>eiy    those    thus    obtained. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  weighing  means 
is  similar  to  that  employed  in  the  Emery 
testing  machine,  which  is  recognized  as 
being  extremely  accurate.  It  will  be  pos- 
sibft  to  employ  the  Emery  flexible  steel 
knife  edges  on  the  levers,  if  desiretl.  but 
this  has  been  found  in  practice  an  unneces- 
sary   rehnmwfit 

The  c  ■  fs  the  couplinK  as 

nearly  riw  ■>  will  permit,  the 

movement  01  the  duphragm  being  ex- 
tremely small.  The  only  flow  of  oil 
through  the  copper  connecting  pipe  is  that 
sufficient   to  alti-r   the  shajx-  <>f  th-  '•-  "r 


VMicre  the  rate  of  rotation  of  the  shaft 
is  variable  and  it  is  desired  to  indicate  the 
horsepower  direct,  the  combination  of 
gage  and  tachometer  shown  in  hig.  7  it 
employed.  ITic  hydraulic  gage  i»  con- 
nected to  the  cotiplitijf  described,  its 
pointer,  therefore,  -    torque.     The 

pointer  of  the  tacit  'W»  the  num- 

ber of  revolutions  per  minute.  Ueing  a 
function  of  the  revolutions  per  minute  and 
the  torque,  the  horsepower  will  be  indi- 
cated by  the  intersection  of  the  two  point- 
ers and  suitable  cunes  on  the  dial,  as 
shown.       '  ;   .     .  '     .    or 

integrati:  -  at- 

tached to  (l)c  i:.>;Ji>l;::,{. 

A  sumiiury  of  some  of  the  more  im- 
portant characteristics  of  the  instrument 
follows : 

The  instniment  is  compacL  The  ex- 
ample shown  in  F'lij*   .t  atxl  4.  wJ'ir*!  i*  de- 


ne    5     DYXAMOMCra  IK    A  UKB  SHAFT  IK  A  MACBIXt 
»HOI>— »MArT  J  IXCHU  IN  DIAMKTIB 

don  lobe,  if  that  is  the  form  of  gage  em-     Mgned  to  transmit  jo  horsepower  at  300 

•      -d.     As   •  •  '      •  '      ■"  '■ 


parts  containing  oil  are  stationary,  henee 
are  uiuffected  by  vanatiun  in  speed. 
Other  pans  are  likewise  unaffected  tv 
centrifugal  action. 

It    may    br  -ive    and 

accurafr       1  '•  s    itsdf 

ver.  pit 

cat!  ■:ve 


4  « 

/ 

I 

/ 

• 
la 

/ 

i^ 

/ 

h 

/ 

s 

/ 

/ 

1 

5    lA 

/ 

6  •• 

y 

/ 

1       S0      M 

•    n 

m    m 

m    u 

M    UM     tr 

»   Ji 

m  za 

no.   6.    CAuasATiox  ct'cvi  > 

MOX  OVXAMOMCm 


•  r. 

4ia- 


iiess,  since  the  oil  pressure,  and  hence  the 

sensitiveness    of    the    n — -.    depctid 

upon  the  area  of  the  <li  'he  rela- 

tive length*  of  thi  '   '  <■%  L. 

and  the  iliatneter  I    -   .1        racy 


jre 
of 


are  avaibbte. 


I   a  tlllir 
Tror.      \\ 

•   dtsiaitir    .lU   \        'f    '"1    A 
'•■'•■    •• '■    ■iild.  *.j  ».■      • 


>ti    ordinary    (ijt>~  \^ 

.ling.     ctKipling. 
I. .r  li     iiu\     tir     niaifr    Jti     ttic     f->rm    of    a 

the 

'     nr  til.      r      1  <  I WBI  \  \T  li>« 


r 


y 


nertioii  (..  t> 
inn  rapid  i>- 
gage      For    example.     Ihr 

torque  i •-■  "'   •'•"• 

of  a   il- 

brrn  rr.        '     1   *»  I'n  i'«  4fi 


in      of 

!vaft     dit'^ 

engine  have        The   re*<ling« 
lion  foe  di«lr"" 


for  either  dirmkNi  of        Th*  amhr 

hr  mti  and  rreor^lrd     i"^ 
.  tomMtnUr 


wnaB 


r<lJ< 


1074 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  15,  1909. 


Since  the  only  wearing  parts  are  the 
ball,  or  roller,  bearings,  which  may  be 
lightly  loaded,  the  instrument  should  not 
be  deranged  easily.  Because  of  the  very 
small  volume  of  oil  contained  in  the 
weighing  chamber,  ordinary-  temperature 
changes  do  not  affect  the  calibration.  All 
parts  containing  oil  are  stationary,  hence 
all  joints  may  be  soldered  and  leakage 
entirely  prevented. 

With  suitable  material  and  ordinary 
workmanship,  it  is  believed  that  there  is 
little  likelihood  of  failure  of  any  part  of 
the  instrument.  It  is  conceivable,  how- 
ever, that  the  balls,  or  rollers,  although 
lightly  loaded  might  crush ;  the  diaphragm 
might  shear:  or  the  stationary  member, 
although  bearing  only  its  own  weight  and 
lubricated,  might  seize  to  the  hub.  Re- 
mote as  are  any  of  these  possibilities, 
should  any  or  all  of  them  occur,  the 
worst  that  could  happen  would  be  the 
tearing  off  of  the  oil  pipe  and  retaining 
arm,  when  the  whole  would  revolve  as  a 
solid  coupling.  In  no  case  can  the 
coupling  fail  to  drive  the  shaft  because 
of  its  variation  from  the  standard  form, 
since,  in  addition  to  the  driving  latches 
employed  to  carry  the  load  normally,  the 
same  number  of  connecting  bolts  may  be 
employed  as  in  the  ordinary  coupling, 
which  will  still  hold  the  coupling  together 
should  the  latches  fail.  Since,  however, 
these  latches  are  farther  from  the  shaft, 
they  should,  if  properly  constructed,  be 
less  likely  to  fail  than  the  connecting 
bolts  usually  employed. 


Pennsylvania  N.  A.  S.  E. 
Convention 


The  tenth  annual  convention  of  the 
Pennsylvania  State  Association  of  the 
National  .Association  of  Stationary  En- 
gineers, was  held  at  Erie,  Penn.,  June  4, 
5  and  6.  with  headquarters  at  the  Licbel 
house.  There  were  about  sixty  delegates 
in  attendance.  Sessions  were  held  on 
Friday   and   Saturday   mornings. 

The  delegates  were  called  to  order  at 
10  a.m.  on  Friday  by  John  M.  Lynch, 
chairman  of  the  local  committee,  who  as- 
sured the  visitors  that  every  attention 
would  be  given  ,them  during  their  stay 
in  the  city.  Mr.  Lynch  then  introduced 
Hon.  Michael  Liebel,  mayor  of  Erie,  who 
extended  to  the  delegates  and  guests  a 
warm-hearted  welcome ;  hoped  that  their 
«tay  would  be  pleasant,  and  wished  they 
would  pay  a  return  visit  in  the  near  future. 
In  behalf  of  the  engineers,  Charles  H. 
Garlick,  past  National  president  of  the 
N.  A.  S.  E.,  made  an  earnest  response. 

The  convention  was  then  formally 
turned  over  to  John  G.  Lewis,  State  presi- 
dent, who  presented  National  Treasurer, 
Samuel  B.  Forse.  who  urged  that  every 
delegate  and  guest  give  the  closest  atten- 
tion and  inspection  to  the  fine  exhibit 
of  the  manufacturers.  Henry  Sims,  who 
followed,  emphasized  the  good   resulting 


to  all  from  a  higher  appreciation  and 
a  closer  attention  to  the  display  of  the 
supplymen.  President  Lewis  then  ap- 
pointed the  several  committees,  after 
which  the  meeting  adjourned. 

The  exhibit  hall  was  then  formally 
opened  by  Samuel  B.  Forse. 

At  the  session  on  Saturday  morning, 
considerable  important  business  was  trans- 
acted and  the  following  officers  were 
elected :  John  M.  Lynch,  president ;  F.  A. 
Zimmerman,  vice-president ;  D.  E.  Seeley, 
secretary ;  Richard  Pope,  treasurer ; 
Charles  Flint,  conductor ;  John  D.  Dallas, 
doorkeeper. 

The  feature  of  the  entertainment  ar- 
rangements was  a  banquet  on  Friday 
evening,  to  which  the  ladies  were  in- 
vited. After  a  most  appetizing  repast, 
Samuel  B.  Forse,  the  genial  toastmaster, 
introduced  the  following  speakers,  who 
made  crisp  and  interesting  addresses :  G. 
F.  Duemler,  John  M.  Lynch,  John  A. 
Kerley,  Mayor  Liebel,  F.  R.  Low,  J.  G. 
Gregory,  George  Brownhill  and  Charles 
Garlick.  Jack  Armour  entertained  with 
song,   story   and   recital. 

During  the  evening,  Mrs.  George  Bow- 
ers and  her  daughter  gave  several  instru- 
mental selections. 

Other  entertainment  features  included 
a  sail  on  Lake  Erie,  visits  to  various  large 
plants,  a  trip  to  Four-Mile  creek  and  a 
trolley  ride  to  Waldameer.  Great  praise 
was  given  to  the  local  committee  for  its 
very  efficient  work. 

A  room  for  the  manufacturers'  exhibits 
was  arranged  so  that  the  delegates  and 
visitors  passed  through  it  on  the  way  to 
the  convention  hall.  The  following  ex- 
hibited :  Garlock  Packing  Company ; 
Quaker  City  Rubber  Company ;  Sims 
Company ;  Crandall  Packing  Company ; 
Excelsior  Boiler  Compound  Company ; 
Atlantic  Refining  Company  ;  Northwestern 
Pipe  and  Supply  Company ;  H.  W.  Johns- 
Manville  Company ;  Home  Rubber  Com- 
pany ;  United  States  Asbestos  Company ; 
Mechanical  Rubber  Company;  Erie  Manu- 
facturing and  Supply  Company;  V.  D. 
Anderson  Company ;  Trill  Indicator  Com- 
pany ;  William  Powell  Company ;  Greene, 
Tweed  &  Company;  Jenkins  Brothers; 
Jarecki  Manufacturing  Company ;  Lunken- 
heimer  Company. 


Leaky  gasolene  tanks  can  be  temporarily 
repaired  by  the  use  of  common  yellow 
soap.  Gasolene  will  not  affect  soap  and 
if  the  latter  merely  is  pressed  into  a  leak 
the  opening  will  effectually  be  stopped  up. 
In  the  absence  of  shellac,  soap  is  an  ex- 
cellent article  to  use  in  making  up  gaso- 
lene-pipe joints. — Nautical  Gazette. 


From  March  15  to  Alay  to',  inclusive, 
the  Fidelity  and  Casualty  Company  re- 
ported .38  boiler  explosions  in  the  United 
States,  exclusive  of  railroad  locomotive 
boilers.  The  loss  of  life  approximated  20 
persons. 


A  Cracked  Flywheel  Rejected 

In  looking  over  and  inspecting  a  large 
flywheel  for  installation  in  your  plant 
would  you  reject  a  wheel  containing  num- 
erous, although  not  serious,  blowholes  and 
a  small  crack  in  the  lug  joining  the  two 
halves  of  the  rim  together?  Would  you 
accept  a  wheel  from  the  manufacturer 
and  take  the  responsibility  for  the  destruc- 
tion to  property  and  the  loss  of  life  that 
might  ensue  if  the  defect  should  prove 
serious  and  the  flywheel  explode  during 
some  period  of  its  operation?  A  conser- 
vative engineer  who  wished  to  take  no 
chances  would  undoubtedly  reject  a  wheel 
of  this  character  and  turn  it  back  to  the 
manufacturer.  This  is  what  actually  hap- 
pened in  a  case  tried  before  the  supreme 
court  in  New  York  City.  A  certain  works 
in  Massachusetts  required  1000  horse- 
power to  drive  its  new  mill,  which  was 
to  be  supplied  by  a  twin  gas  engine  de- 
signed for  producer  gas.  The  wheel,  which 
was  to  be  mounted  between  the  two  en- 
gines of  this  unit,  was  to  be  a  combina- 
tion flywheel  and  rope  drive.  Flywheels 
of  this  special  type  were  not  made  by  the 
gas-engine  company,  and  the  contract  for 
the  wheel  was  let  to  a  prominent  builder 
in  this  line.  The  wheel  was  to  be  17  feet 
in  diameter  on  the  pitch  circle  and  have  a 
maximum  diameter  of  17  feet  3  inches. 
Its  weight  was  to  be  about  50,000  pounds 
and  it  was  to  deliver  1000  horsepower  at 
100  revolutions  per  minute.  In  reality  it 
was  a  double  wheel  with  one  of  the  wheels 
split  horizontally,  and  the  other  vertically, 
so  that  it  contained  four  sections.  On  its 
5-foot  face  were  24  grooves  for  i^-inch 
rope.  The  two  wheels  were  bolted  to- 
gether at  the  rim  and  also  bolted  at  the 
joints  of  the  rim  and  hub,  and  in  addition 
tie  rods  joined  the  hub  and  rim  at  the 
joints.  The  general  construction  and  the 
section  of  the  rim  at  the  joints  will  be 
apparent  from  Fig.  i,  which  is  only  ap- 
proximate and  was  sketched  from  models 
used  in  court.  For  convenience  the 
maker  of  the  flywheel  will  be  called  the 
plaintiff  and  the  gas-engine  company  the 
defendant. 

In  due  course  of  time  the  wheel  was 
ready  for  inspection  and  the  defendant 
sent  its  representative  to  examine  the 
wheel,  which  was  completely  erected  on 
the  pit  lathe  of  the  plaintiff.  .A.fter  a 
careful  inspection  three  of  the  castings 
were  pronounced  good,  but  the  fourth 
casting  contained  as  many  as  19  scab 
spots  in  various  parts  of  the  rim  and  hub, 
the  maximum  depth  being  54  inch.  These 
spots  were  not  considered  serious  enough 
for  the  rejection  of  the  wheel,  and  upon 
provision  that  these  spots  should  be  filled, 
the  wheel  was  virtually  accepted  and  was 
shipped  for  its  destination  in  Massa-> 
chusetts.  ■ 

It  was  not  until  the  wheel  was  being 
unloaded  that  the  engineer  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts company  detected  the  crack  in 
the  lug  at  tl"c  rim  joint.     This  was  clear- 


I 


June  15.  1909 


POWER  A.\u  THE  ENGINEER. 


M7S 


ly  evident  upon  the  machined  surface  of 
ihe  lug,  but  on  the  exterior  could  hardly 
t>e  detected  on  account  of  the  paint  and 
dirl  covering  the  casting.  .\s  shown  in  the 
iketch.  Fig.  2,  the  crack  ran  through  the 
lug  parallel  with  the  bolt  holes  and  ap- 
[>arently  continued  for  4  inches  from  the 
edge  of  the  lug  on  the  machined  side  and 
ibout  2  inches  on  the  exterior.  These 
dimensions  for  the  visible  crack  are  prob- 
»bly  correct,  as  they  were  determined  by 
the  use  of  a  magnifying  glass,  but  there 
nras  much  discussion  on  this  point,  and 
it  was  claimed  by  the  plaintiff  that  the 
rrack  extended  only  2  inches  on  the  ma- 
;hined  side  and  ab<iut  1  inch  on  the  ex- 
terior. The  crack  was  at  once  reported, 
ind  as  the  two  manufacturing  companies 
were  not  able  to  reach  an  amicable  settle- 
ment the  lawsuit  followed  in  an  attempt 
>y  the  plaintiff  to  collect  the  money  for  the 
(vheel. 


tensile  strength  of  acxooo  pounds  per 
square  inch  was  taken  for  the  iron  in 
the  wheel,  and  no  internal  stress  was  as> 
sumed.  and  by  the  use  of  these  formulas, 
which  were  all  based  on  Hooke's  Law, 
numerous  factors  of  safety  for  different 
parts  of  the   wheel   were  determined 

The  results  obtained  and  given  in  the 
e\idencc  are  reproduced  in  the  following 
table 


W«(Kht  of  wbal»  rim,  lb    

Weictil  or  nm.  luo.  lt>  

Comptoic  wetcbi  o(  nm  lb 
Centrifugal  (ort«  of  |  of  rim  or  tuUf 

of  oo«  mctton.  lb 
Rim  cpcsd  in  f««i  per  ! 
R.p.m.  of  whrvt 
Arr»  of  I?  tu'^i'Ut  ttoi'.- 
I'      .  '  boiu  •!  44i.iai)  lb. 


C4ruULlU4fAi  : 


'11.  aq-in 
<  •!   rim  at 

lb    


...lb 


2A.iOO 

3u.»JO 

2IV.04O 

luo 

42 

1.680.000 

102 

3,O«0.000 

9 

ia.pno 

41.  MO 


nc 


tiCNESAL  COWtraVCTlOK    AMP  SICTIOIf  OT  UM 


.^fter    the    wheel    had    been    placed    on 
rtir    »<;ii   cars   ready    for   thipntent.   it    was 
■^\  b)   Ihe  plaintiff  that  its  rrsponsi- 
iiiiu\    ended,    and    thit.   of    course,    would 
have  been  the  ca»e  if  the  crack  had  been 
'    during    the    intpeclKMi    of    the    de- 
nt     The  crack  w.i*  n^t  sisible.  how 
ever.   4«   during   thi  n   the   wheel 

wa*    .i»M-niblr<l.   aiv!  k'   •*•  l«w   the 

iff   wa«   \lill   rr  ;  .    (or  any  de- 

;!iat    was   hMldm      r    .  mealed 
Sernndly.   the   plaintiff   claimrtl   that    it 
did  not  make  any  differmce,  anyway,  for 
the  rracfc  was  ruH  dangeriMis  and  was  not 
■lefrct.  and  an  attempt  was 
that    Ihe    wheel    was  per 
•,    by    the    u«U4l     l"r»Ttula»     for 
'    ^rrrtt    applied    <  ■    a    (rre    rim. 
■  \   In  Ihr   Ik'Im  .   or.   in 
t    pan*    o(    the    wheel 
lered    free   of   ihr   other   pan%       \ 


Osntrtfmal  tonm  of  I  of  rim  or  i  of 

ana  artloa    lariudOW 


rvnirtfucal 
nl   b) 


24 


•r  lion  af  aboil 
>•  •nm.  !■■««■• 
.  '..I    l»4E 


Factor  of  MM  jr. « 

OMMBMM  of  Its 

boiU 
Partor  of  Miei  7  to  buU  nm  bet  •••a 
aniM  at  paritas.  MClactiag  nm 


In  reply  the  defendant  stated  that  there 
inubt  have  been  internal  stress,  as  the 
wheel  evidently  had  a  shrmkace  crack, 
and  if  this  was  the  case  aouooo  pountb 
tensile  strength  was  much  too  high  for 
exterior  loading  in  addition  to  the  mler- 
lul   stressev      It   was  also  c-  iiat 

the  formulas  u*r*l  did  not  s\.  rig, 

a*  they  did  n>  •  1  complete  whert 

with  the  restra  r  pan  hgurrd  orer 

the  others.  The  rim  instead  of  betnc  a 
free  rim  was  a  continuous  girder,  under- 
going tension  in  addition  to  its  bending, 
and  it  wa»  a  special  girder  because  it  wat 
wider  than  ii»  suppon.  the  spiAe.  and 
had  two  chances  of  bending ;  that  is, 
when  the  wheel  was  in  motion  Ihe  metal 
near  the  two  edges  of  the  rim  would  tend 
to  bend  outward  There  was  no  formula 
to  take  account  of  this  unusual  bending, 
and  for  that  matter  any  of  the  formulas 
used  in  the  case  were  true  only  to  the 
elastic  limit,  and  not  10  the  brcakii^ 
point,    because    all    were    derived    from 


yi'"'^ 


n 
O 


r— 

'... 

— 

-- 

f  ■  -- 

■ 

] — 

c«*<t 

■ 

U<^.—  M  A  A  '^'•^       '^ 

lk««-*g  Crack  i»  Ua^ 

rta.  a 

iIookc'»  law  In  *ummati<in.  tach  mctli- 
'>ds  of  calculatM^  a«  wrrr  employed  by 
Ihe  plainliff't  expen  did  not  prttre  the 
wheel  to  be  vafe.  even  if  it  were  a  per- 
fect wheel,  and  the  wheel  in  queslioa 
was  imperfect,  ao  that  the  fomwlas  coold 
ikot  posaibi)  apply. 

It  waa  practically  admitted  that  the  de- 
fect wa«  a  shrinkage  crack,  and  rt  was  the 
claim  of  the  liefendant  thai  there  was 
rv»   war   •■(   frlfmc    h^nr    i^rrp    1?    wja.   how 

.     The 

«.ii.  bol 

t»»e  aamr  |f  t^ 

"^'^    sh. , ,.,  ...1,49  sad 

«*  part  of  the  rim.  the  wherl  wtmid 

*-rak,  as  the   velocily   of  the  nm 

•-t   per   am  mi      The   drfcn^aal 

--'-•"" M 

.     .<«! 

cAat^tnm.  the  riwwon 

■  i»«il<l  t>frak     am!  aw|r 

>|. 

ih« 


%2 


QUO 

i    1 1 


the 


upheld  b;  the  iury 


I076 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  15,  1909. 


The    Principles    of    Steam     Condensers 

Some  of  the  E,ssential  Features  Which  Make  for  Efficiency  and  Econ- 
omy,    Both    as    Regards '  Design     and    Operation    of    the    Apparatus 


B      Y 


M. 


R. 


BUM 


The  fundamental  principle  of  design 
and  operation  of  steam  condensers  is  to 
secure  a  maximum  transfer  of  heat  from 
steam  to  water  at  a  minimum  of  expense 
for  fixed  charges;  that  is,  minimum  first 
cost  plus  operating  expenses.  The  choice 
of  this  apparatus  depends  in  greatest 
measure  upon  the  vacuum  obtainable 
under  different  atmospheric  and  weather 
conditions,  and  when  cooling  towers  are 
to  be  used  in  the  design  of  apparatus  al- 
lowance must  be  made  for  these  conditions 
and  apparatus  selected  which  averages 
best  under  all  conditions. 

The  cost  of  pumping  the  circulating 
water  depends  directly  upon  the  amount 
of  heat  imparted  to  each  pound  of  water 
in  the  condenser.  Therefore,  for  a 
minimum  of  pumping  cost,  the  water 
should  leave  the  condenser  exactly  at 
the  temperature  of  the  steam  entering 
the  condenser,  for  in  this  case  each  pound 
of  water  carries  from  the  condenser  the 
maximum  possible  amount  of  heat  and 
the  amount  of  water  required  is  therefore 
reduced  to  a  minimum.  In  .practical  de- 
sign, therefore,  the  condenser  should  be 
laid  out  with  a  view  of  obtaining  this 
result  as  nearly  as  practical  conditions  will 
permit  In  the  surface-type  condenser, 
where  the  heat  is  transferred  through 
metallic  tubes,  it  is  necessary  to  allow  for 
a  certain  differential  of  temperature  be- 
tween the  steam  and  water,  and  the 
amount  of  heat  transferred  is  directly 
proprjrtional  to  the  differential  tempera- 
ture allowed.  If  the  differential  tempera- 
ture is  5  degrees,  the  surface  required  will 
be  twice  as  great  as  in  a  case  where  10 
degrees  differential  temperature  is  al- 
lowed. The  selection  of  proper  amount  of 
surface  for  any  given  location  may  be 
determined  upon  the  basis  of  balancing 
fixed  charges  on  additional  surface  against 
fixed  charges  and  operating  expenses  of 
pumping  apparatus.  As  the  amount  of 
surface  is  increased  the  cost  will  increase 
in  definite  proportion,  while  the  dif- 
ferential temperature  required  will  de- 
crease. The  decrease  in  differential  tem- 
perature permits  of  a  reduction  in  the 
quantity  of  water  to  be  pumped,  and  there- 
fore reduces  lx>th  the  size  and  first  cost 
of  the  pumps  and  also  the  power  required 
to  operate  the  pumps. 

The  problem  is  a  special  one  for  each 
installation  and  should  be  so  considered. 

With    the    jet    condenser    it    should    be 


possible  to  reduce  the  differential  tem- 
perature to  a  very  few  degrees,  yet  it  is 
more  common  to  find  the  difference  great- 
er than  in  the  surface  condenser.  It  is 
common  to  see  a  jet  condenser  taking 
water  at  75  degrees  and  discharging  at 
or  below  90  degrees  when  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  steam  is  at  least  no  degrees. 
Under  this  condition  the  discharge  water 
should  be  raised  to  at  least  105  degrees, 
in  which  case  just  half  of  the  amount 
used  would  be  required.  The  greatest 
inherent  advantage  of  the  jet  condenser  is 
wasted  by  operating  in  that  manner.  The 
writer  has  seen  tests  on  jet  condensers 
where  the  differential  temperature  between 
entering  steam  and  escaping  water  was 
less  than  two  degrees  over  a  wide  range 
in  load.  When  operating  on  a  fluctuating 
load  it  may  be  advisable  to  allow  a  some- 
what greater  differential  temperature,  but 
there   seems  to  be  no   good   reason   why 


22 

V 

20 

■->. 

->> 

■^ 

^ 

18 

■^ 

^ 

■^ 

^ 

16 

^ 

N 

^ 

14 

« 

20 


21 


22 


23 


24 


25 


27 


23 


30 


VacuuBi  in  laches 


Power,  N.  T. 


•R<>afl  tipforp  thp  National  Electric  T/lght 
AvKK-iation  convention.  Atlantic  City,  N.  .T., 
Jane  1,  '1,  .1  and  4,   VMi-.i. 


WATER-RATE   CURVE  OF  STANDARD   lOOO-KILO- 

WATT   TURBINE   WITH    VARIATION    OF 

VACUU.m;   STEA.M    PRESSURE    175 

POUNDS,  SUPERHEAT     TOO 

DEGREES 

greater  than  five  degrees  differential 
should  ever  be  allowed  in  a  properly 
designed  condenser.  The  poor-  results 
ordinarily  reported  are  due  in  large 
measure  to  carelessness  on  the  part  of  the 
engineer,  who  simply  starts  the  pump  and 
then  lets  it  run  at  constant  speed. 

In  selecting  a  condenser  for  any  given 
location,  the  consideration  of  weather  and 
climatic  conditions,  of  quantity  tempera- 
ture and  quality  of  cooling  water,  at  all 
times  of  the  year,  the  variation  in  steam 
results  on  the  unit  for  varying  vacua, 
and  the  load  conditions  of  the  unit  to  be 
operated,  are  all  of  importance.  The 
question  of  floor  space  has  an  effect  upon 
the  size  and  cost  of  buildings,  and  the 
ground  space  is  often  a  most  important 
item  where  ground  is  very  valuable,  as  in 
the  large  cities. 

The  weather  and  climatic  conditions  are 
particularly      important      where      cooling 


towers  are  to  be  used,  as  will  be  discussed 
later.  The  consideration  of  the  water 
supply  is  of  greatest  importance.  The 
quality  of  the  water  must  be  carefully 
considered.  If  the  water  is  inclined  to 
scale  or  to  deposit  solids  when  heated, 
the  jet  condenser  is  better  suited  to  its 
use.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  it  does  not 
give  trouble  from  this  source  at  the  tern-  . 
peratures  employed  in  condensers  but  does 
cause  scaling  or  pitting  in  the  boilers,  it 
is  a  distinct  advantage  to  use  a  surface 
condenser  and  save  the  condensation  for 
use  in  the  boilers.  In  this  connection, 
however,  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  if 
the  water  being  used  over  and  over  again 
is  not  allowed  to  come  in  contact  with  the 
air,  there  is  a  chance  for  it  to  become  a 
very  pure  distilled  water,  which  would 
very  rapidly  eat  out  iron  pipe  and  would 
attack  the  iron  in  the  boilers  if  it  were 
still  very  free  ffom  all  impurities  when 
it  entered  the  boilers.  It  is  a  well-known 
fact  that  pure  distilled  water  will  attack 
more  or  less  any  metal,  and  has  an 
especially  harmful  effect  on  iron  and  steel. 
Under  ordinary  conditions,  where  the 
water  is  discharged  into  an  opea  pump 
and  then  pumped  into  the  heater,  very 
little  trouble  should  be  occasioned  from 
this  source.  ' 

The  tefnperature  and  quantity  of  water 
available    are    important    factors.      Where 
the    quantity    is    at    all    limited    it    is    de- 
sirable that  the  condenser   should  be  de- 
signed with  a  view  to  imparting  to  each 
pound     of     water     the     greatest     possible 
amount  of  heat.     The  maximum  tempera- 
ture of  the  water  is  the  most  important 
factor  in  determining  the  size  of  pumps. 
Where  conde;isers  draw  their  water  sup- 
ply from  .sources  in  which  the  temperature 
runs    very   high    during    summer    months  , 
it  is  again  very  important,  to  impart  the  , 
greatest  possible  amount  of  heat  to  each  . 
pound  of  water  in  order  to  avoid  the  nec- 
essity for  installing  and  operating  an  ex- 
cessively large  pumping  installation.    Hav-  , 
ing   given   the   maximum   temperature   of 
the  water,  it   is  a  matter  of  considerable  . 
work   to   figure   out   the   best   installation,    l 
It  is  often  necessary  to  operate  at  lower  .J 
vacua   during   summer   months,   and   it   is 
often  found  that  many  plants  do  operate 
on  lower  vacua  than  would  be  necessary 
if  the  condensers  were  properly  designed 
and  operated.     In  order  to  determine  the 
size  and  best  operating  conditions  the  ef- 
fect of  a   reduced  vacuum  on  the  steam 
results  of  the  unit  during  those  weeks  or 


June  J5,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


1077 


months   wh«i   the   temperature   of  water 
is    high    must   be   considered 

The  accompanying  uater-rate  curve 
reading  shows  the  eflfect  of  reduction  of 
vacuum  upon  the  economy  of  a  standard 
>team  turbine  of  1000  kilowatts  capacity, 
with  175  pounds  steam  and  100  degrees 
superheat. 


These 

■    data 

are    also 

summarize*]    as 

follows 

Plea" 

In,   r^,^ 

Appros. 

ptT  11 

■U- 

Tefnp*r»- 

at  ( 

•  •a 

turr 

Ka.. 

--..  .  >- 

Kxhau»t 

VATuurn, 

Um<J 

litch 

lorrvAi*. 

.Sieaiii. 

lorhn. 

Pound » 

Nacuum. 

Per  t>m. 

Dccrmi. 

■J9 

15.350 

77 

A 

le.&AO 

7!8 

lOO 

•17 

17.500 

14 

n« 

M 

Ih.Mi) 

J  .-■■> 

M.H 

1:24 

»A 

iy.X'41 

<  i«JO 

M 

13  J 

-•4 

.IMMMl 

4  ft'iO 

30  3 

144J 

2i 

A>.«l»t 

i.-'.^O 

M  :> 

14« 

TJ 

■J\    UHi 

.S.750 

37  % 

l.M 

21 

:ti.«uu 

a.zMi 

40  (i 

157 

Allowing  for  the  differential  tempera- 
tures required  in  condenser  and  tower  and 
for  the  temperature  of  the  water,  the 
amount  of  water  required  for  any  given 
vacuum  over  that  of  the  next  leaser 
vacuum  can  be  determined  and  the  bene- 
fits compared  with  the  costs  of  obiaminx 
it. 

It  is  often  possible  to  effect  a  %'ery  ma- 
terial saving  in  cost  and  »i/c  <•(  i. >n- 
densers  by  allowing  for  a  reduced  vanrim 
when  the  temperature  of  the  water  is 
high.  It  becomes  then  a  problem  of 
babncing  the  added  cost  of  fuel,  and  the 
like,  against  the  fixed  and  operating 
charges  im  the  condensing  ojuipmcnt  to 
determine  the  most  economical  installa- 
tion. If  the  water  rate  of  thr  unit  is 
carefully    dciermine<l    by    t'  i    be 

accurately    forecasted    by    •  rer's 

guarantee,  the  co»i  of  fuel  to  generate 
!hr    additional    steam    required    can    be 

mated    easily.     Then    by    plotting   the 

..  ..iperature  curve  of  the  water  su{iply  an<l 

alhnrtng   for   a   fair  differential   tempera- 

'  c   quantity   of    water    re«|uired    to 

'•   the   siram    for    full   l<ad   of   the 

u:>Jt    wan    be  •'■  ir    each    ♦<-aw»n    of 

fhr     yr.ir.        ''  ''"K     'f'''     Wt'H     th** 


dftubly 
in  . 
of 

than  with  1! 

frrl'irrir  n  in 


•■"•np«. 

ti  of  the  ttram  ttir- 

K  jirohlem  has  hrmme 
With   rnirtf1r«   \hr    ifain 


pacity,  the  effect  on  economy  of  the  unit 
has  imponant  bearing  « nly  at  hours  uf 
full  or  heavy  load  and  should  be  con- 
sidered only  for  those  hours,  because  the 
water  supply  will  be  ample  at  other  times. 

The    design    of   an    air    pump   or    dry- 
vacuum    pump    involve*    the    jfrnrral    fea- 
tures of  the  air 
tion  in   intake  aii 

not  great,  but  the  volumes  to  be  handled 
are  enormous,  owing  to  the  low  pres- 
sures. The  important  items  outside  the 
pump  itself  are.  Brst,  to  keep  the  piping 
system  from  the  point  where  the  pressure 
goes  below  atmtisphere  to  and  including 
the  condenser  and  its  auxiliaries  as  nearly 
U'ttle-tight  as  possible,  and.  second,  to 
cool  the  air  entering  the  pump  and  re- 
move from  it  as  much  of  the  water  vap4jr 
as  possible.  The  first  question  is  one 
of  careful  attention  and  inspection,  and  is 
often  a  very  greatly  neglected  point  in 
plant  operation.  If  the  engineer  properl> 
inspects  the  system  daily  and  watches  the 
mercur)-  column  or  gage  closely,  he  can 
very  quickly  detect  any  unusual  amount 
of  air  leakage.  Yet  it  is  common  to  note 
lb-  ff  of  one  to  three  inches   in 

v.i.  re  any  nftrrtfirm  i«  jwi'!  '"  the 

matter,  when  a  fr 
lie  an  indication  • 
arwl  reqmres   immediate  attention 

The  second  essential,  namely,  the  cool- 
ing of  the  air  and  separation  of  the  mois- 
ture, is  a  matter  that  must  he  considered 
in  the  design  of  the  condenser  itself. 

In   the    jet   ctmdenser.   particular   atten- 
tion   *h«>itM    hr    given    t'l    the    air    offiiW**. 
wi- 
air 

Cold  water  entering  the  condenser 
chamber.  In  the  surface  condenser,  at- 
tention should  be  paid  to  the  proper  dis- 
tribution of  baffle  plates  in  order  to  ac- 
cofnpltsh  this  result  as  nearly  a«  possible. 
The  writer  h  of  '*  ri  that  in  many 

cases  the  air  shr>  .\n  off  throush 

a  "      -  ■ 


or   proposals   on   vanotM   stxct     rr^ 


than     jet    condensers     ordinanl>     show 
There  seems  to  be  no  inherent  advantage 
that    would    juMify    any    appreciable    dif 
ference   betwem    the   two   t)pes    of 
denser.     With  the  large  turbine  unn- 
sieam  consumption  per  ti!    ' 
as   U»w    a*    14   ^-inds   pr' 


much    less    than 

small   units   the  .    

quires  4  10  5  square  fret  of  tube  »v::;     ■■ 

per  kilowatt  capacity,  while  on  the   :   -.- 

turbine  the   surface   required  varses    • 

I  75  to  3$  •  ■  ■'  •      .    Jortsoti  in 

iir»t  c<'»i  \ff  .   m  largv- 

»i/ed    units    j-.    : 

per  rmt       THe    • 

n  '  H'4 

II'  ex 

cess  of  jB  inches  and   have  reached  JQ 

seems  to  be  no  reason  why  a  jet 

^....1,  ii»cr  shoald  not  produce  eqtiany 
good  results  if  prcH>erl>  designed  I'  i% 
true    that    the    »  '      '  ■     u  r 

pump   on   a    in  -^    •^ 


tity  of  air.  The  first  rost  of  )et  con- 
densing equipment  w  <'  •'•■'  •■•-•■••■'  m 
to  fto  per  cent,  of  the 

densing    equipment,    an-,  -j-uit      a:vj 

maintenance  should  be  nuKh  snvaltrr     The 


A   condenser   «  • 
cently    been    inf 
from    European    practice 


van  only 


this 


n-' 

r»,^      .1^., 

...,        .     •        'Iw 

etric    . 
in  the   : 

br  matie   both   in   the   «ire   of   air   pump     the  water  cj 

kn6  in  ••• —   -*•  •'• -   '—  an««  •»""  •' 

The  Tip  shoald     sir 


rjrviM'fl       I    irw    putTip  tin's in|| 

condrtntng  in«tallattasi  oMHf 


fii-fs* 


pressure  turbine  also  the  im- 

portance of  high  vacu..   ■     -...^1  to  their 
•ueressful  operati.m. 

The    daily    am!  ...#--      - 

the  unit  also  ha\ 
on  the  . 
he  oper 
load  thr 
hut  wb< 
averages  considerably  below  the  rated  €•• 


Ihe  rr 


rit 


fnr    lr(4- 


without    ans    fnr«.-T 


plaat    J 
•  »•-• 
imp     •«• 
Hjx^i    the     pans-  »i 
dnvvw 

•  o««d  almott     op«rarin»  i^*  r-^  ' 

,e   lofMne  h>-     Uiv  «»  1  mi4oe 

MaUatwMM.  aiid   Us   tiv««  brttrr  rr«alN     4Hw  Msailta«w«  eairrs  Imo  :hc  prtiU^ 


1078 

POWER 

A-™The  Engineer 

DEVOTED    TO    THE  GENERATION    AND 
TRANSMISSION   OF   POWER 

Issued  Weekly  by  the 

Hill  Publishing  Company 

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POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 
A  Standard  of  Excellence 


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Price  16  Shillings. 

Entered  as  second  class  matter,  April  2,  1908,  at 
the  post  office  at  New  York.  N.  Y.,  under  the  Act 
of  Concress  of  March  3.  1S79. 


Cable  address.  "  Powpub,"  N.  Y. 
Business  Telegraph  Code. 


CIRCULATIOX    STATEilEST 

Dmtino  1908  tec  printed  and  circulated 
1,836,0<X>  copies  of   Powkb. 

Our  rirculalion  for  May,  1909,  was  (weekly 
4ind  monthly)  152,000. 

lunr   1 42.000 

June  H 36,000 

June   15 36,000 

\ofW  grnt  free  requlnr'.y,  no  returns  from 
ueura  companies,  no  bach  numbers.  Figures 
«re  lire,  net  circulation. 


Contents  page 

The  New  Keystone  Watch  Case  Co.  Plant .    1041 
Care  and    Manage  men!    of   the    Horizontal 

Tubular  Boiler 1046 

Ooae  Regulation  of  Ridgway  En^nes 1047 

"Phasing"  .Alternating  Current  Generators  1048 
Leather  Belts  for  the  Transmission  of  Power  1051 

RecJaiming  Coal  from  the  Culm  Pile 1053 

Throttles lOSg 

Cooling  Gail  Engine  Jacket  Water  io.59 

Catechism  of  Electricity 1060 

Practical  Letters  from  Practical  Men: 

Pneumatic  Oiling  System  ....  Difficult 
Pipe  Connection  .  Water  Power.  .  .  . 
Securing  a  I^xMe  Crank  Disk ...  Dia- 
grams Explained  ...  Air  Receivers  ... 
A  Noiseless  Water  Heater  .  Draining 
High  Pressure  .Steam  Lines.  .  Tool 
for  Turning  Pin  on  Center  Crank  En- 
gine .Gas  FIngine  Valve  Setting.  .  .  . 
Cost  of  Cleaning  Boilers   .      Babbitting 

a  Trycork Trap   Won't    Work 

Hydraulic    Information   .     Standard 

Pipe  Fittings 1062- K)67 

Vacuum    .\sh   Conveyor   at    Armour   Glue 


Works . 


1068 

A  New  Transmission  Dynamometer io72 

A  Cracked  flywheel  Rejected IO74 

The  Principles  of  Steam  Conden.seni io76 

*^»*'"*''' 107*-1079 

Boiler  Explosion  at  Dowanru    \t:,\,  j^gj 


We  sigh  for  the  days  of  the  arts  and 
crafts,  when  artsmen  and  craftsmen 
labored  for  the  love  of  it  and  produced 
for  the  pleasure  of  producing;  when  each 
man  strove  for  e.xcellence  and  each  master 
for  reputation,  and  the  incentive  was  to 
turn   out  the  best  that  could  be  made. 

It  is  more  than  likely  that  there  never 
was  such  a  time,  but  we  like  to  think 
that  there  was ;  to  admire  the  workman- 
ship of  the  old  things  which  have  comt 
down  to  us  because  they  were  made  in 
this  way;  and  to  say:  "In  those  days 
they  knew  how  to  do  a  good  job." 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  though,  are  not 
things  done  in  this  way  now  if  one  in- 
sists upon  and  is  willing  to  pay  for  it? 

You  want  a  job  of  steam  fitting  or 
plumbing  done.  The  bids  vary  widely  and 
you  give  it  to  the  lowest  bidder.  The 
cheapest  kind  of  labor  and  material  that 
will  satisfy  the  specifications  are  used. 
The  "solid  nickel"  caps  and  sheaths  are 
about  as  heavy  as  wrapping  paper,  and 
crumple  up  when  one  goes  to  polish  them ; 
the  wiped  joints  leak;  the  fixtures  won't 
stay  fixed,  and  you  are  at  a  continual 
expense  which  would  pay  the  interest  on 
enough  money  to  have  done  the  job  in 
gilt-edged  style  so  that  you  could  have 
been  proud  of  it  and  not  constantly  fretted 
and  annoyed  by  it. 

It  is  the  same  way  with  everything  else. 
Ask  for  prices  on  leather  belting  and  the 
bids  will  vary  as  much  as  one  hundred  per 
cent.,  but  it  is  foolish  to  suppose  that 
the  low  price  will  procure  the  same  kind 
of  a  belt  as  the  high  one.  For  any  but 
the  most  trivial  and  transient  use  the 
higher-priced  belt  made  from  the  center 
of  selected  hides,  properly  tanned  by  a 
fiill-time  process,  is  the  cheaper  to  buy. 

Most  purchasers  realize  this  and  are 
willing  to  pay  the  extra  price  for  the  all- 
wool,  sterling,  high-grade  article,  but  they 
want  to  be  sure  that  they  are  getting  it. 
Put  a  Dunlap  label  into  a  new  one-dollar 
hat  and  not  one  man  in  fifty  will  tell 
the  difference.  Give  ten  ordinary  purchas- 
ers a  half  dozen  samples  of  rubber  hose 
and  it  is  doubtful,  if  they  are  not  experi- 
enced buyers  of  this  class  of  goods,  if 
the  majority  of  them  would  select  the 
same  sample  for  the  best.  The  price  of 
cylinder  oil  is  no  gage  of  its  quality  or 
cost  of  production.  Of  two  boilers  which 
look  the  same  to  the  casual  observer  one 
may  have  rivet  joints  of  high  efficiency 
and  be  built  with  carefully  rolled  sheets, 
reamed  rivet  holes  and  ample  bracing, 
while  the  other  may  have  a  joint  copied 
from  another  boiler,  and  not  efficient  for 
this  one,  put  into  a  sheet  tortured  by 
battering,  drawn  together  with  drift  pins 
and  braced  as  came  handiest.  It  costs  less 
to  make  a  boiler  the  last  way;  the  boiler 
made  the  first  way  is  worth  additionally 
much  more  than  the  difference;  but  how  is 
the     ordinary     purchaser     going     to     tell 


June  IS,  1909. 

whether,  when  he  pays  the  higher  price, 
he  is  getting  the  superior  quality? 

This  subject  was  considered  by  the 
American  Supply  and  Machinery  Manu- 
facturers' Association  and  the  National 
Supply  and  Machinery  Dealers'  Associa- 
tion at  their  recent  joint  meeting  in 
Pittsburg,  a  vigorous  campaign  having 
been  instituted  by  Charles  F.  Aaron, 
of  the  New  York  Leather  Belting  Com- 
pany and  president  of  the  manufacturers' 
association.  After  an  extended  considera- 
tion of  the  subject  in  the  course  of  which 
the  idea  received  many  warm  commenda- 
tions, it  was  decided  to  appoint  a  com- 
mittee, equally  divided  in  its  membership 
between  the  two  societies,  to  investigate 
the  subject. 

The  discussion  developed  the  opinion 
that  it  would  be  entirely  practicable  to  fix 
certain  specifications  setting  the  standard 
for  first-quality  goods  in  certain  lines  and 
that  manufacturers  of  goods  made  to  these 
specifications  might  stamp  them,  with  a 
distinguishing  mark  authorized  by  the  as- 
sociation, in  the  same  way  that  the  trade 
name  "Naco"  is  used  by  the  confed- 
erated supply  associations  in  the  plumb- 
ing-supply trade.  Such  a  practice,  if 
the  mark  were  protected  against  unwar- 
ranted use,  if  all  manufacturers  who  con- 
formed to  the  specifications  were  free  to 
use  it,  and  if  adherence  to  the  specifica- 
tions were  strictly  enforced,  would  en- 
courage manufacturers  to  make  honest 
goods  out  of  honest  material,  and  guar- 
antee the  purchaser  who  was  looking  for 
real  merit  that  he  was  getting  the  superior 
article  for  which  he  was  willing  to  pay. 
The  one  thing  which  must  be  guarded 
against  is  that  there  shall  be  any  war- 
rant for  the  impression  which  the  non- 
users  of  the  mark  will  seek  to  create 
that  its  use  is  restricted  to  a  privileged 
few  and  not  open  to  everybody  who  makes 
goods  of  the  required  grade  of  excellence. 


The    Electric    Light  Convention 


The  annual  convention  of  the  National 
Electric  Light  Association  just  held  at 
Atlantic  City  was  phenomenally  success- 
ful. This  is  not  the  custotnary  platitude 
inspired  by  a  desire  to  be  complimentary; 
it  is  a  bald  statement  of  fact.  The  at- 
tendance was  gratifyingly  large,  the  in- 
terest in  the  sessions  was  unusually  wide- 
spread and  the  quality  of  the  program  ex- 
cellent. Impartial  consideration  of  the 
program  prior  to  the  convention,  how- 
ever, disclosed  a  serious  flaw,  and  at- 
tendance upon  the  sessions  confirmed  the 
prognosis.  There  were  too  many  papers 
for  the  length  of  time  available  for  tiieir 
consideration.  Two  of  the  morning  pro- 
grams of  the  general  and  technical  ses- 
sions provided  seven  papers  each  and  the 
third  one  contained  eight.  Now,  it  is  ab- 
solutely   impossible    to    devote    anything 


June  15.  ujo). 

':kc   intelligent   consideration   and   ili»<:  is 
n  to   such  a   number   uf  papiTM   within 
the  allotted   space  of  three  hour;..      ! 
paper  and   committee   report   prr\eii;. 
this  convention  was  of  high  merit  and  real 
importance,  but   many  of  them  had  t«.  Jjc 
Iroadcd    through — read    in    skimpy   ab- 
ract  and  undiM:ussc<l — because  there  was 
time     left     for    adequate     treatment. 
Mile  it  may  seem  deplorable  to  omit  or 
•  tpone   the   presentation   of   some   g'  <m1 
material,    tliat    would    be    far   better    tli:in 
ciingesting  the  program  to  such  an  exiiiit 
i/e  a  large  proportion  of  it. 
M    of    the    committee    on    gas 
engmes,  while  of  undoubte<l  value  to  many 
of    the    dell-gates,    was    disappointing    to 
those  who  were  already  familiar  with  the 
■  -neral   status   of  gas-power   engineering, 
tne  operating    records   from   g.is  ixiHcr 
IH.mts.  which  the  committ«<    ■      ■       ••  ; 

by  much  hard  w  ork.  and  w  ■ 
by  far  the  n 
work,   wr'r 

1  re- 
iittee 
of  the  association.  Clf  course  we  have 
no  knowlolge  of  the  character  of  the  »up- 
presstd  records,  but  we  cannot  conceive 
any  good  reason  why  the  ciata  from  any 
properly  c  iterated  ga^-power  plant  should 
be    treated    with     such     <in>;iiniy     s.-. m  v 

Whrth.-r   the    records    w<iul.|    h-s*-    .  I 

•ision  in  the  ranks  . 
r>r   consternation   • 

>l  producer  men  we  have  not 

'    idea :   but.   having   lieen  ac- 

retl  for  the  information  of  the  assoria- 

I  at  large,  they  should  have  been  pre- 

ted  to  the  association  at  large  and  not 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


.    hr 


:ti    tu'\t 

.vtlh    tt'r 


ion  whuli  tnight  have  served  to  put  on 
'rd  a  fairly  omiplrte  sumntary  of  the 
>ine  stiualioii.  .Apparently  the  advo 
s  of  turliinrs  other  titan  the  Raieau 
e  out  »ailinir  or  iislitiui;  and  couldn't 
rale  the  dit- 
k' 

•       lllliid 

•ns    ..f    •• 


Gumpti 


on 


At  a  time   wli 
depression  are  St.. 

capable  engineer  i»  luukutK  tor  a  job. 
there  is  a  cry  abroad  in  all  thr  \m.Ic 
bnd  for  men  with  "gumpti<in. 

The    man    who    knows    the    jw,     ..{    ^ 
task  well  done,  the  ii&n  who  does  not  be- 
lieve that  there  is  just  as  much  in  gr- 
rid  of  a  job  as  there  is  in  doini;   ■' 
man   who  takes  .• 
what  is  going  on 
»ces  what  lus  to  Ik  doitc  .. 
to  help  to  do  it  than  to  fr 
cuse  for  not  tloing  to— that  is  the  nun 
with    "gumption."     Oh,   that    there    were 
more  of  him. 

Ciive  the  man  with  gumi' 
you  can   forget   it    in  the 
it  will  be  done.     Give  • 
same  job  and  six  wi< 
a    casual    inquiry    as    to    the    \> 
the  Wi.rk.  you  will  tind  in  all  ; 
tl'  as  never  been  started.    S<jme 

Iri-      „  -iilty.  which  the  man  of  gump- 

tion wouhl  have  gone  ahead  and  solved, 
has  stfKxl  in  the  way.  or  perlups  your 
question  will  receive  the  an«wer  so  com- 
mon with  a  man  of  this  type.  "I  have  no; 
got    around    to    it    vrt "      "Tomorrow"    i' 


again  there  arc  men  with  ju»i  a  little 
more  activity.  The  job  will  U  ^'..,tu-,\, 
but  done  in  the  easiest  way. 
ness  and  good  workmanship  a(< 
corporate*!  in  their  code  of  moraU.  aiMl 
the  result  is  a  slovenly  piece  of  w<irk  or 
a   tenipi>rary   makeshift    when   rcf»airs   are 

•  V. 

"•rrifr  a  power  plant  with  economy 
Tliere  is  no 


put -It -off   lypr. 

the  safeiv   V  Ax. 

correct 

at    - 

of 

\N 

in 


.        y    ones   or   the 
When  a  botler  bcig«  or 


1079 

haps  a  month,  bat  at  the  earliest  possible 
moment. 

The  man  of  quick  wit  or  ready  percep- 
tion,  the   man   who   sers   ,   •■  >  '       - «-   -    - 
to  be  done  and  has  the  en< 
and  do  it.  is  thr 
way.     There  is 
of  quality  aitd  :i  tiniuyo^i. 


Give  Boilers    ihe  Hydrostatic 
Terf  Often 

While     in     tllr     <Iis.fi:iri>r     rif    till     .ti-t^ 

boiler  inspt 

•urc  to  a  U,... .    .. 

of  wcakncM  or  det- 
leaking  rivet  which  f 
failol  to  make  lifflil 


In  the  case  mentioned,  pressure  was  ap 
plied   before   putting   in   new    r--.-*-     —  • 
haps  to  determine  if  other  n^ 
need  rr; '  t.  with  th. 

three  j  \e  the  w 

a  '  ' 


t>rr. 


p. 

tcs: 

Like 

n»' 

it 

pr 

r« . 


Kins    of    the    ' 
i   .....M  .-  i, light  not  be  K^j  yt  ^ 
the   man   who  to)4(   a    lath   oix 


whrthrr  it  n  romidered  nrc- 


It      IS 


vel. 

•h' 


of  men 

wii.in,{      to     Ht 

easier  to  a<! 


r.r!Mg 
as    It    ! 


.>■!    ;iiiriirv>«i    rv 


cwre  the  rmVperalion  <•• 

men    in    the    matter 

papers.      The    real    n 

tneetings    d? f-     ' 

disni*ii'>fi«, 

able  inlomiatiuu  nut  liihms 


!«»anaMr       timt  tO  '!s   if.  not   «!t|itn 


;«f        vat  cueditfcjn 


loSo 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  15,  1909. 


Power  Plant  Machinery  and   Appliances 


of     Po 


D 


Original     Descriptions     ot     rower     uevices 
No     Manufacturers*      Cuts     or     Write-ups     Used 

MUST    BE    NEW     OR    INTERESTING 


The  Tower  Gas  Ejigine 


The  Tower  Engineering  Company,  of 
Buffalo,  X.  Y.,  one  of  the  latest  additions 
to  the  list  of  gas-engine  manufacturers, 
is  building  a  line  of  multicylinder  vertical 
engines  of  the  general  type  illustrated 
by  Fig.  I.  The  engines  are  all  single- 
acting,  with  long  trunk  pistons,  and  op- 
erate on  the  four-stroke  cycle.  Contrary 
to  the  common  practice  in  engines  of  the 
single-acting  type,  the  valves  are  operated 
by  means  of  eccentrics  and  wiping  rockers 
instead  of  revolving  cams  and  rollers.  The 
valve-gear  shaft  is  mounted  in  a  housing 
alongside  the  cylinder  tops,  as  indicated 
in  Fig.  I  and  shown  more  definitely  in 
Fig.  2.  The  latter  engraving  also  illus- 
trates the  construction  of  the  water-cooled 


FIG.     3.     INLET   AND  EXHAUST  VALVES   AND  CAGES 


iQl xQl 


nc.    5.    f;ovKk\i\';  mrchaxism 


June  15,  1909 


POWFR  AND  THE  FAGINEER. 


loBi 


"skipping^  at  lifbt  U»dt,  due  to  the  lean 
Fig.  5  illu»iratr«  the  govrnior 

Miu     The  face-plate  P  i«  mottnlcd 

on  the  end  of  a  Mnall  »haft  which  b 
rocked  by  the  inward  and  <^>utward  iiia- 
lion  of  the  governor  ball*   and  u  provided 

•'1   a 

ad- 

V. 

'   b 

■    caMng   ( »ee   Fig. 

•    •»-   ^ion 

■    -i'.!  in 
B    the 


!■  -  of  the 

bar  B    are  two  reach  rod*  ate 

the  air  and  ga*  valve*  in  the  («■'  •  .i«>i,ijer« 
marked  "Air"  and  "C««;**  if  the  governor 

Vif-  ■     '  the  bar  ^  to  the 

in  «4>ee<l).  ihr  air 
\ahc    Will    lit    !  ;*tnnl    a 
\a!ve    partly    rl"**^!  ; 

•nt    of    igT-  by 

•:  <  .m»  of  the  ■<]   I 

extending  to  the  magneto.     The  air-  atMl 


i»t  valve,  the  nbliing  <'t   Ihr  cjluxJct 

'    jacket    and    »omc    feature*    of   the 

KiLncatiPK  system,  referred  to  later. 

T!ic  inlet  valve*  are  of  the  u*ual  »oIid 

-t  t>pe,  >et   in   rrmnval>le  raKe*.  and 

exhaust    valves    are    of    the    hollow 

ifoom    tjrpe.     Each     inlet -vahe    cage 

>in»  a  pi*lon  mixing  valve  immediate- 

'xjve   the   tnuin   inlet    valve,   a*   illu*- 

n.iTctl  at  the  left  in  Fig    3.  which  »how* 

an    inlet    valve,    a    mixing    val\e   and    an 

we*. 

kilMll     ktt-m 

on   the   end, 

:i  at  the  extreme  riRht.  it  the  water- 

«••{»«•    which    fit*    into    tbr    »irm    of 

i*t    valve   a*    »hown    in    I  ik     4: 

'  •<  K  on  the  end  i«  a  bra<|  (-••nijining 

\4ter  inlet  and  outlet  rlnnnrU,  which 

'  'r  tiiJ.iiiK  With  the 

rd   by   alter- 

ntr    in    op- 
'    id 


•d. 


meth'-f 


■1*^    that    1 
fU'    an    I! 

'-«   the  g.T 

'ppiy      I 

t  »K>I  maintainrd  fr»n*ianl,  howr\cf, 
I  •  with      thi«      general 

■ig :  when  the  ga«  tup- 

•!'«■   air   «in>ph    i«   n"  rrj^oj 

.-wirnt    th4»»    ih.*'    iir.<-»«jrv 

th 

•re 

i'. 


loS: 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  15,  1909. 


sliding    sleeve    that    can    be    thrown    into 
and   out  of  commission   bv  a   small   lever 


^s-ccntrol  valves  are  of  the  spool  type,     jacket  wall;   the  "latter,  of  course,   takes     tr.butmg    a,r    valve    for    controlhng    the 

as    indicated    by    the    view  -  through    the     the   stresses   of   operation,   and   is  bolted     compressed    startmg   air.     This    valve   is 

broken-away  casing.     The  air  and  gas  do      to  the  crank  case  by  a  large  number  of     actuated    by    special    cams    carried    on    a 

not    mix    until    reaching    the    inlet-valve      nickel-steel  studs. 

cage,    separate    headers    being    provided         Lubrication   is   positive   throughout    the 

along   the   cylinder   heads.     At   the   cage, 

the  gas  enters  through   the  ports  A   and 

the  air  through  the  lower  ports  G.     The 

mixing  valve  is  provided  with  spiral  ribs 

on   the   interior,   which  give   the   air   and 

gas     a     whirling     motion     conducive     to 

thorough  mixing. 

Another  unusual  feature  enjbodied  in 
the  Tower  engine  is  the  spark-plug 
mounting.  The  make-and-break  system 
is  employed,  with  electromagnetic  plugs, 
and  two  plugs  are  provided  in  each  cyl- 
inder. Both  plugs  are  mounted  in  a  single 
flanged  disk  which  is  set  into  a  cage 
bolted  to  the  cylinder  head,  as  indicated 
in  Fig.  6.  The  terminal  of  the  ignition 
circuit  is  fixed  on  the  igniter  cage  and  "the 
disk    containing    the    two    plugs    may    be 


FIG.     7.     PISTON    AND    CYLINDER    HEAD 


hlU     6.     IGMTER-I'LUG    MOUNTING 

rotated  in  the  cage  so  as  to  bring  either 
plug  into  contact  with  the  terminal. 
Should  a  plug  become  fouled  or  inactive 
from  any  cause,  the  other  plug  may  be 
at  once  put  into  .service  by  rotating  the 
disk  iSo  degrees.  ■  Low-tension  current  is 
used,  of  course. 

Fig.  7  shows  a  piston  and  top  and  bot- 
tom views  of  a  cylinder  head  ;  in  the  latter, 
the  gas-  and  air-inlet  channels  and  the 
exhaust  channel  are  clearly  shown. 

The  connecting  rod  is  of  the  marine 
type,  as  shown  in  Fig.  2,  with  the  "big 
end"  divided  and  bolted  together  and 
the  upper  end  slotted  out  of  the  solid 
piece.  The  adjustments  for  wear  are 
r-bvious. 

The  water  jacket  carries  a  spiral  rib  on 
the  inside  to  compel  thorough  circula- 
tion of  the  cooling  water.  The  cylinder 
barrel  proper  is  a  liner  having  a  flange  at 
the  upper  end  which  is  clamped  between 
the  head  and  the  main  casting  forming  the 


ARRANGEMENT   OF   EXHAU.ST   V.\LVE 


engine.  Oil  pipes  extend  from  a  force- 
feed  pump  to  the  gudgeon  pin,  the  crank- 
pin,  the  cylinder  walls,  the  main  bear- 
ings and  the  governor  bearings. 

The    engine    is    equipped    with    a    dis- 


that  simultaneously  opens  or  closes  a* 
master  valve  in  the  main  air  supply 
pipe,  located  in  the  head  of  each  cylinder 
in  a  check  valve ;  and  when  the  master 
air   valve   is   opened   and  the   distributing 


June  15,  190/ 


pc)\vi:r  and  the  e\gini:i:r. 


laiS 


valve  thrown  into  position,  the  c>lindcr 
•''-^r  is  on  its  working  stroke  receives  the 
■ing  air  just  after  passing  the  latest 
lu'iiition  point ;  and  when  a  cylinder  picks 
up  an  explosion  cycle  the  higher  pressure 
of  tlu- fv  '  ■  ro*  valve  shut 

against  ;  ire. 


Boiler  Ejcplosion  at  Dowagiac, 
Michigan 


.  disastrous  boiler  explosion  occurred 
ai  the  hoop  mill  nf  CJetsey  Br«»thcr»  & 
Coble,  Dowagiac,  Mich.,  on  the  afternoon 


proprietors  shruted  to  the  engincrr  to 
shut  down.  He  ran  to  the  engine  and 
qttickly  closed  the  throttle,  when  im- 
mediately, before  the  engine  had  erased 
turning  over  from  its  own  momeittum, 
thf  ■  1      The   boiler   was 

eq  1-    and    low-water 

alariu  :in.l  ;t  (M<p  ^^.tuty  valve,  the  latter 
being  screwed  directly  info  thr  «h» !!  of 
tlu-  Iwiilcr  in  front  of  • 
{Misilurly  stated  that 
nor  low-water  alarm  nor  safety  valve 
was  blowing  at  the  time  of  the  explosion. 
It  was  a  hori/ontal  return-tubular  boil- 
er. j6  inches  in  diameter,  by  I J  feel  long, 
with    <|riuhlr meletl    lap    scams,    installed 


the  pa<t    t«  -    he   had 

never  been  i'  .       .ts  m  the 

boiler,  that  the  sheets  were  nuC  bomed  or 
blistered,  and  that  the  high-  and  low- 
water  alarm  and  safety  valve  had  al- 
ways »  '  '  the 
safety  \  lOO 
po 

!•  the 


of    the    seams,    and    that 

strain    caused    by    do-     >■■ 

of  the  engine  wa- 

as  liad  the  boiler  ikih  iiriinuv   x'.un  it 

shouki    luve    been    able,    with    its    small 


WAIMM  txnOMOM    AT  OOWACIM-.   MICN 


of    May    j6,    instantly    killing    five    men. 

Iwii    of    whiim    were    hri>ilirf*    .in«l    pro- 

t»Mr|ors    of    the    mill.    an<l    %rri'ni*ly    in- 

Mg   one   more,  )K-%ii|r«   tn.iUiiig  a  tital 

'  k  of   the  btiildmg.      Another   brf>llier 

•he    propri«-ti»r»,    who,    by    a    strange 

•  ■•mcidrnce    was    t!  n    to   tl»e 

brnlrr     when     it     <  ><-<l    with 


in    an    «  rdinary    !»■»«+    s«^tinp 

up  in  the  at* 

recti,  nv    tiK 

lh> 

di.:  ..     ..:-.:...       . 

its  steam  donir.     Tbe  age 

was   given  as  nine   yrar« 

showed  that  it  was  not  ba<l' 


went     diameter,   rasfly   to  kavr   withstood   lki» 
'  di       irealrornt  without  infory 


lodiAfu   N.  A.  S.  E.  CoavealMa 
Ch«ntf«J 


to  r       mttt     *i>!ilJU»C-iU      tlHT 

enici  •■ng  •!>'•   V  "•  ' 

It   apfiear*    rhai   ilir 

nlitfig  under  urdinar)   L- 

a    planer    ran    off    and    one    of    ibt 


gfeMvr.  who  had  oprratrO  thv  plant   ter    am  jmm  m  m  \k9n  Hnghi*  park 


io8U 


N 


ew 


Jersey     N.    A     S.    E. 
Convention 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

Company  is  preparing  a  statement  for 
publication  regarding  the  "Creole's"  tur- 
bines, and  those  of  the  scout  cruiser  '•Sa- 
lem."' 


June  15,  igog. 


The  eighteenth  annuaj  convention  of  the 
New  Jersey  State  .Association  of  the  Na- 
tional Association  of  Stationary  Engineers 
was  held  at  Odd  Fellows'  hall.  Hoboken, 
Saturday  and  Sunday.  June  5  and  6.  be- 
ginning at  noon  on  Saturday.  There  were 
present  delegates  from  Jersey  City,  Ho- 
l>oken,  Eli:?abeth,  Perth  Amboy.  Plain- 
field.  Newark,  Passaic,  Trenton  and  Pater- 
son. 

^fayor  Steil  welcomed  the  delegates  to 
the  city,  and  gave  them  the  freedom  of 
the  municipality,  while  Recorder  John  J. 
McGovem  cordially  seconded  the  mayor's 
remarks. 

National  Vice-President  William  J. 
Reynolds,  of  Hoboken,  answered  on  be- 
half of  the  delegates,  and  the  committee 
rn  credentials  prepared  its  report. 

Dinner  was  enjoyed  at  2  p.m.,  after 
which  officers  were  elected,  as  follows : 
President,  C.  L.  Case,  of  Plainfield  No.  12; 
vice-president,  Edward  Sears,  of  Newark 
No.  3;  treasurer,  James  J.  Durkin,  of 
Hcboken  No.  5 :  secretary.  John  J.  Reddy. 
of  Jersey  City  No.  10 :  conductor,  Edward 
De  Groot,  of  Elizabeth  No.  14:  door- 
keeper, P.  J.  Mooney,  of  Jersey  City  No. 
10. 

Unfinished  business  was  transacted  at 
the  10  a.m.  session  on  Sunday;  at  i  p.m. 
a  banquet  was  served,  and  at  2:30  p.m., 
the  delegates  went  in  a  body  to  inspect  the 
North  German  Lloyd  liner  "Kronprinz 
Wilhelm  II." 

The  State  association  was  organized 
in  1891,  and  from  a  handful  of  mem- 
l»ers  it  is  now  one  of  the  most  power- 
ful organizations  in  New  Jersey,  having 
locals  in  ever>'  prominent  city. 

Hundreds  of  delegates  were  present 
at  the  opening  session  and  there  was  con- 
siderable enthusiasm  over  the  reports  of 
the  secretary  and  treasurer,  showing  the 
progress  made  during  the  past  year.  Jer- 
sey City  was  chosen  for  ne.xt  year. 


Naval  Architects  and  Marine 
Ejigineers 


The  summer  convention  of  the  Society 
of  Naval  Architects  and  Marine  Engineers 
will  be  held  at  Detroit,  June  24,  25  and 
26.  Registration  will  be  at  the  Hotel 
Ponchartrain,  and  the  professional  ses- 
sions will  be  held  in  the  rooms  of  the 
Employers'  .Association,  Stevens  building. 


'Creole's"  Turbines  to  Come  Out 


Press  reports  state  that  the  Curtis  tur- 
bines in  the  Southern  Pacific  liner 
"Creole"  are  to  be  taken  out  and  recipro- 
cating engines  substituted.  It  is  under- 
stood  that    the    Fore    River    Shipbuilding 


Personal 


J.  R.  Bibbins  has  resigned  as  publicity 
engineer  for  tlie  Westinghouse  Machine 
Company,  to  become  associated  with  B.  J. 
.\rnold,  director  of  appraisers  of  the 
Public  Service  Commission,  of  New  York. 

J.  N.  Oswald,  formerly  of  Buffalo  and 
at  present  connected  with  the  Nagle  Cor- 
liss Engine  Company,  of  Erie,  has  been 
elected  a  director  and  appointed  manager 
of  the  Rapid  River  Light  Power  and 
Transit  Company,  with  plant  at  Rapid 
City,  S.  D.,  but  with  offices  at  Wash- 
ington, Penn.  He  will  leave  for  the  West 
the  middle  of  June  and  would  like  to  get 
into  communication  with  those  supplying 
material  for  hydroelectric  plants. 


Business  Items 


New  Catalogs 


Kew  uiee  Boiler  Company,  Kewanee,  111',. 
Cat -log.  Boilers.  Illustrated,  78  pages,  6x9 
inches. 

Superior  Iron  Works  Company,  Superior,  Wis, 
Circular.  Superior  shaking  and  dumping  grates. 
Illustrated. 

The  Roto  Company,  Hartford,  Conn.  Bulle- 
tin No.  1.  Tube  cleaners.  Illustrated,  8  pages, 
6x9  inches. 

.\tlas  Engine  Works,  Indianapolis,  Ind.  Cata- 
log. Engines  and  boilers.  Illustrated,  96  pages, 
8xl0i  inches. 

Nelson  Valve  Company,  Wyndmoor,  Philadel- 
phia, Penn.  C  ;  ilog.  Valves.  Illustrated,  220 
pages,  6x9  inches. 

S.  B.  Patch  &  Son3  Company,  Streator,  HI. 
Catalog.  Patch  rocker  grate.  Illustrated,  16 
pages,  4x9  inches. 

Mot  singer  Rotary  Engine  Company,  Greens- 
burg,  Penn.  Circular.  Motsinger  double  rotary 
engine.     Illustrated. 

The  Linton  Machine  Company,  26  Cortlandt 
street.  New  York.  Pamphlet.  IV>mo  steam 
traps.     Illustrated,  3^x6  inches. 

The  North  American  Boiler  Company,  Chi- 
cago, 111.  Catalog.  Improved  standard  safety 
boilers.     Illustrated,  7x10  inches. 


The  Ball  &  Wood  Company,  Elizabethport, 
N.  J.,. has  just  issued  a  22-page  booklet,  6x9 
inches,  describing  and  illustrating  the  Rateau- 
Smoot  , turbo-generator  outfits  about  which 
so  much  has  been  published  in  recent  issues 
of  Power.  The  booklet,  which  is  handsomely 
printed  and  illustrated,  describes  these  turbines 
and  generators  in  detail  and  may  be  had  on 
application. 

The  Macbeth  Iron  Company,  of  Cleveland, 
engineers,  founders  and  machinists,  builder 
of  blowing  engines,  etc.,  and  the  Bruce-Meriam- 
.\bbott  Company,  also  of  Cleveland,  builder 
of  gas  engines,  were  consolidated  on  June  1, 
the  name  of  the  new  company  being  the  Bruce- 
Macbeth  Engine  Company.  Both  of  the  above 
companies  have  been  long  established  in  Cleve- 
land, and  their  amalgamation  makes  one  of 
the  largest  and  strongest  companies  of  its  kind. 
The  Macbeth  Iron  Company  dates  from  the 
year  1870,  having  been  known  until  late  years 
a.s  Macbeth  &  Company;  The  Meriam- Abbott 
Company,  predecessor  of  the  Bruce-Meriam- 
.\bboti  Company,  was  organized  in  1890,  and 
has  been  one  of  the  pioneers  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  the  commercial  gas  engine  and  its  devel- 
opment to  the  present  standard  of  perfection. 
It  is  the  purpose  of  the  Bruce-Macbeth  Engine 
Company  to  continue  the  business  of  both  of 
the  former  companies  on  a  much  larger  scale 
than  before.  The  manufacture  and  develop- 
ment of  the  gas  engine  will  be  continued  arid 
the  former  line  of  work  of  the  Macbeth  Iron 
Company,  building  of  blowing  engines  .and 
general  machine  and  foundry  work,  will  be 
conducted  as  heretofore.  It  is  the  intention 
of  the  new  company  to  concentrate  the  two 
present  plants  at  the  former  plant  of  the  Macbeth 
Iron  Company,  on  Center  street,  northwest 
Cleveland.  Alterations  to  the  present  buildings 
will  be  made  and  several  new  buildings  will 
be  erected  to  accommodate  the  enlarged  business, 
and  the  combined  equipment  of  the  two  com- 
panies in  one  plant  will  make  a  very  complete 
and  modern  shop.  The  officers  of  the  company 
are  as  foiiows:  President,  W.  C.  Bruce;  vice- 
I)reHident,  C.  W.  Kelly;  secretary  and  treasurer, 
('.  J.  Snow;  manager,  C.  E.  Curtiss.  The  above, 
with  .\.  D.  Macbeth,  J.  B.  Meriam  and  F.  A. 
Abbott,  constitute  the  board  of  directors.  Mr. 
Bruce,  president,  was  formerly  president  of 
the  Bruce-Meriam-Abbott  Company;  Messrs. 
Kelly,  Snow  and  Curtiss  retain  the  same  po.si- 
tiona  formerly  held  in  the  Macbeth  Iron  Company. 


Help    Wanted 

Advertisements  under  this  head  are  inserted 
for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  words  make 
a  line. 

SELLING  ENGINEER  wanted  for  steam 
condensers.  Schutte  &  Koerting  Co.,  Phila- 
delphia, Pa. 

WANTED — Thoroughly  competent  steam 
specialty  salesman;  one  that  cah  sell  high- 
grade    goods.     Address    "M.    M.    Co.,"    Powek. 

.\N  ENGINEER  in  each  town  to  sell  the 
best  rocking  grate  for  steam  boilers.  Write 
Martin   Grate   Co.,    281    Dearborn    St.,    Chicago. 

EXPERIENCED  steam  engineers  to  sell 
Detroit  tilting  steam  traps  to  users.  Address, 
stating  experience,  American  Blower  Company, 
Detroit,  Mich. 

Situations  Wanted 

Advertisements  under  this  head  are  inserted 
for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  words  make 
a  line. 

W.\NTED — Position  as  stationary  engineer. 
Am  proficient;  twenty  years'  practice  with  Buck- 
eye, Brown  and  Corliss  engines;  have  own  tools 
and  indicators;  a  thorough  pipefitter  and  good 
repairer;  temperate  and  industrious.  Am  N. 
A.  S.  E.  man  in  good  standing.     Box  61,  Power. 

POSITION  as  constructing  or  chief  engineer, 
or  superintendent  of  building  or  buildings; 
New  Jersey  preferred.  Best  of  references 
as  to  character  and  ability.     Box  60,  Power. 

YOUNG  MAN,  age  25,  desires  position  as 
engineer  in  charge  of  office  or  loft  building. 
A.  H.  Perna,  422  6th  Ave.,  New  York. 

POSITION — Single  man,  eight  years'  experi- 
ence, steam-electric  plants  as  chief  and  a.ssistant. 
Good  references,  speak  Spanish,  prefer  Mexico, 
Hawaii  or  Spanish  country.  Employed  steam 
turbo-electric  plant  in  Mexico.  Address  "  R," 
Box  184,  Seneca,  Kans. 


Miscellaneous 


Advertisements  under  this  head  are  inserted 
for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  words  make 
a  line. 

WANTED— From  500  to  1500  horsepower 
of  B.  &  W.  water  tube  boilers  in  units  of  250 
hor.sepower  each.  Must  be  in  A-1  condition. 
Incjuire  of  J.  F.  Cargill,  Room  1630,  Frick 
Building,  Pittsburg,  Pa. 

PATENTS  secured  promptly  in  the  United 
States  and  foreign  countries.  Pamphlet  of 
instructions  sent  free  upon  request.  C.  L. 
Parker,  Ex-examiner,  U.  S.  Patent  Office, 
McGill  Bldg.,  Washington,  D.  C. 

WANTED— Any  concern  having  a  small 
Corliss  engine,  say,  from  75  to  125  horsepower, 
that  anticipates  taking  this  engine  out  for  a- 
larger  unit  within  the  next  few   months,   may 


June  £1,  1909. 


K)\VKR  AND  THK  KNcilNKKR. 


io4s 


Sioux    Falls    Hydroelectric    Development 

Vertical  Spiral  Case  Turbines  Designed    for  a   70-f«xjt    Head    Installed 
in  a  Plant  Arrangt-d  to  Take  Care  of  Extremely    Hii^h    Flixxl    \X'alcf 


B    Y 


SIMPSON 


RICE 


Thf  dfvctopmcnt  of  the  Sioux  Fnl!^ 
Light  and  Power  Coni|»any.  Sionx  Tails, 
S.  I)..  comprisiriK  an  in»iallalinn  of  sinKlc- 
runntr  vcrucal->hafl  mrlnnc*  in  plaiv- 
sicci  spiral  ca«lin({s.  direct -connected  to  al- 
ttrnatiiig-CMrrcnt  Kcncral«>r»,  i»  of  con- 
ftidrralilr  rnifinrcriiig  interest  on  account 
'<•  ti>  take  care  ».f 
^•li  fl«icHl  water.  alv> 
from  the  p««ini  ot  view  of  the  arranu'r- 
menl  and  construction  of  the  power  house 
and  lK-cau»c  of  the  use  of  spiral-  instead 
of  cylindrical-case  turbines,  as  has  hitherto 
been  customaty  for  development*  of  this 
character.  The  plant  as  a  whole  repre- 
sentK  an  excellent  example  of  m<M|eni  de- 
•ign. 

The  power  house  is  locafcd  on  the  Big 
Sioux  river  about  n  mile  from  the  center 
of  the  city  of  Sioux  I-'alls.  S.  D.  The 
river  rises  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the 

Qt'ilr        ;i(mi|||       !(■!      Illtlrs      friitll      ilir      plant. 


TCU'l^rf 


Special  Featltos 

The  principal  con«lition  determining  the 
design  aiiU  arrangement  uf  the  power  sta- 
tion an<l  its  locatii  n  was  that  of  the  ex- 
tremely high  tlood  water  which  occa- 
sitmally  obtains  at  this  (Miint.  I''f»r  this 
reason    it    was    considered    uiadvisablc   to 


level  ( 
this  ^' 
ftince  the  difference   in  elesation  t*etweni 

the   lowest   tail    «»■'•?     •".!    •! !    It-v.'    is 

ab<»ut  JJ  feet,  wi 

draft  head.     Tl>. 

rect -connected  \\\- 

tions    t      ■      ■  tli.il    ilu)    arc 

never  •<! 

The    1.^.,  1 

mile  of  ih«  • 

factor  in  r> 
as  well  as  ti        , 
costs,  by  elimiiuting  ' 

ap  ami  step-«lown  tra ,  ■ ,  .,,,.,  ..,,  .  s 

pensive  distributing   s)*tem      The  design 
had  further  ti»  provide   f>r      ' 
cial   regul.ition  .mm!  l.irjje   • 


FUi  2.      KXTCaiOB  OF    l^*\^KK    HOUSB 


loads,  due  ♦ 
which    coti- 
partly  of   street 
The  strcct-railH.. 


-.icter 

■.       of 


It. 


rM«l*«l  Urw 


*Miwa 


t-.n    I* 
I      ^^^  •!*»«>•«  »«  -r 


^^< 


"■*^1(!i>:^ 


**•' 


•m^Ms  AwWb 


rw;.  I.  NviMi«UBmic  HtrstarMixr  at  uovx  rAix*.  ^  %. 


flow*  in  a  general  southeasterly  direction 
lo  a  point  a  few  miles  l>clow  Sr  >is  I  .ill^. 
"■'"•re  it  makes  a  wide  senuciriular  turn 
^ard.  and  nint  to  the  north  ihrouih 
tnr  city  From  it*  wnirce  to  the  dam  at 
Sioux  Falls,  the  river  drjin«  an  area  of 
about    1 100  s«]iiarr  nul.  .set- 

age    flow    of    alxx'i     I...  per 

•ecoiid.     with     4 
weather  of  only  1  .- 


plarr  the  pfJtvrr  hmt^r  hr^rrw  the  nM  tI'ti 

at 

pl. 


■•wtf foft*  **••  •^^rt<IW#  **f  fw^  ^wwB^ftf^lHr^ 


Mime  \< 

ah."   • 

ha 

at 

I  Mr 

ilu 

en. 

M      Iba; 


MbtiMi*  to 


..fitiii. «    jt««l    iii««»»»iui    i^raiKwi    >ii«« 

lir*«  taking  load. 


ioSl 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  22,  1909. 


Tlrbines 

There  are  in  this  plant  three  850-boiler- 
horsepower,  single  vertical  Allis-Chalmers, 
type  FVF  turbines  in  plate-steel  spiral 
casings,  designed  for  operating  under  a 
normal  head  of  70  feet  and  at  300  revolu- 
tions per  minute.  The  present  head  is  60 
feet,  which  will  be  increased  to  70  feet 
by  the  installation  of  longer  draft  tubes. 
As  has  already  been  stated,  these  turbines 
were  built  with  spiral  instead  of  cyl- 
indrical casings.  The  better  efficiencies 
to  be  obtained  from  the  former  constituted 
the  chief  factor  in  determining  their  adop- 
tion in  this  plant,  as  they  represent  the 
most  efficient  and  modern  arrangement 
for  medium-head  developments  of  this 
character.  These  machines,  which  are  in- 
dicated m  Fig.  3,  are  of  the  reaction  type, 
direct-connected  to  revolving-field  gen- 
erators, the  weight  of  the  rotating  parts 
being  carried  on  thrust  bearings. 

The  turbine  gates  are  of  the  swivel 
pattern,  operated  through  regulating  shafts 
and  connections.  The  advantage  claimed 
for  swivel  gates  over  cylinder  gates  for 
this  type  of  turbine  are  as  follows : 

Swivel  gates  give  good  efficiency  with 
small,  as  well  as  with  large  gate  openings, 
while  the  efficiency  of  cylinder  gates  is 
low  except  in  wide  open  positions,  due  to 
excessive  hydraulic  disturbances. 

With  the  use  of  swivel  gates,  the  in- 
crease or  decrease  in  power  resulting 
from  opening  or  closing  the  gates  occurs 
miformly  throughout  the  stroke  from 
wide-open  to  closed  position,  which  char- 


J^iwer,  N.  T. 


FIG.   3.      END  ELEVATION  THROUGH   PLANT 


Po!feE,iy.a 


FIG.    5.       PLAN    OF    GKXF.K.^TOI<    KOOM 


June  22,,  1909. 


POW  ER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


loS; 


riC     4.       SIDE     EL£VATION    OF    KWEX    n.A.M 


r 


ft: 


^  •> 


L 


na  &     PLAV  or  Tfvnirt  ruM* 


io88 


POWER  AND  THE  EN'GINEER. 


June  22,  1909. 


acteristic  is  necessary  for  uniformly 'sen- 
sitive regulation  from  no  load  to  full  load. 
With  the  cylinder  type,  a  considerable 
closing  of  the  gates  from  wide-open  posi- 
tion is  necessary  before  any  reduction  in 
power  is  effected.  Moreover,  at  every 
small  gate  opening  (required  for  friction 
load)  the  friction,  eddies,  etc.,  of  the 
water  are  so  great,  as  it  passes  through 
the  gates,  that  no  power  whatever  is  de- 
veloped in  the  wheel.  This,  of  course, 
results  in  poor  regulation  at  full  gate 
and  friction  load  gate  opening. 

The  runners  are  constructed  with  cast- 
iron  hubs  and  discharge  flanges  into  which 
plate-steel  buckets  are  cast.  The  effi- 
ciencies at  72,  70,  66,  62,  60  and  55-foot 
heads,  were  guaranteed  as  shown  by  the 
curves  in  Fig.  9.  The  characteristics  of 
these  runners  enable  normal  speed  to  be 
maintained  under  a  reduction  of  normal 
head  with  but  slight  loss  in  efficiencj',  thus 
making  them  particularly  desirable  for 
variable  head  developments.  The  speed 
rings  made  of  cast  iron  are  designed  grad- 
ually to  bring  the  velocity  of  the  water 
in  the  casing  to  that  attained  in  the 
guide  vanes.  The  plate-steel  casings  arc 
stiffened  by  means  of  angle  irons,  as 
shown  in  Fig.  7.  Tlicy  are  built  on  the 
speed  ring  in  the  form  of  an  evolutionary 
spiral. 

Governors  of  tlic  oil-pressure  type 
were  supplied  with  the  turbines.  Tliis 
governor,  which  was  described  in  detail, 
both  as  to  construction  and  operation,  in 
Power  and  The  E.ngi.neer  for  September 
15,  1908,  consists  of  three  distinct  ele- 
ments ;  namely,  a  source  of  energy,  a 
means  of  applying  the  energy,  and  a  de- 
vice to  regulate  the  time  element  during 
application  of  the  energy. 

The  source  of  energy  consists  of  a  dupli- 
cate central-pressure  oil  system,  as  shown 
in  Fig.  8.  Each  pumping  unit  is  self- 
contained.  The  base  supporting  the  pres- 
sure tank  is  of  cast  iron  and  contains  a 
receiving  tank  in  which  a  rotary  oil  pump 
of  large  capacity  is  driven  continuously 
by  a  geared  motor,  and  discharges  into  the 
pressure  tank.  It  is  of  ample  capacity 
to  operate  all  the  governors  in  the  station, 
so  that  one  pumping  unit  may  be  held  in 
reserve. 

The  oil  pressure  from  the  pressure  tank 
is  transmitted  to  a  regulating  cylinder 
containing  a  piston,  which  is  connected 
through  a  piston  rod  and  short  link  di- 
rect to  the  regulating  shaft.  The  oil  act- 
ing en  cither  side  of  the  piston,  as  rc- 
q'lircd,  causes  the  piston  to  move  forward 
or  back,  thus  operating  the  gates  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  changes  in  load. 

Regulation  of  energy  is  performed  by 
the  governor  proper,  which  is  driven  from 
the  turbine  shaft  by  means  of  a  horizontal 
l»e1t.  The  governor  consists  of  a  stand 
upon  which  are  mounted  the  flyballs,  float- 
ing lever,  compensating  dashpot,  syn- 
chronizing attachment  and  relay  device. 
The  type  of  governor  head  used  is  an  ex- 
tremely   sensitive,    but    absolutely    static 


apparatus.      The    location    of    tliese    gov- 
ernors is  shown  in  Fig.  8. 

Fig.  12  is  a  reproduction  of  a  typical 
chart  taken  from  the  recording  voltmeter, 
which  shows  the  regulation  effected  by  the 
governors  in  this  station.  During  the 
period  covered  by  this  chart  violent 
fluctuations  of  load,  caused  by  operations 
of  the  street  railway,  were  of  constant  oc- 
currence. 


as    well    as    a    material    increase    in    effi- 
ciency. 

Tlirust  bearings  of  tlie  oil-batli,  self- 
contained  type  are  furnished.  A  view  of 
the  outside  casing,  located  on  the  thrust- 
bearing  floor,  with  the  regulating  cylinder, 
is  shown  in  Fig.  7.  Self-oiling  babbitted 
steady  bearings  of  heavj-  construction  are 
placed  on  top  of  the  turbine  crown  plates 
and    anotlier    babbitted    steady   bearing    is 


FK;.    7.     ONE   OF    IIIK   X^n-ilOK.SKrnW  KK    TUKIilNKS 


.•\t  present  Uh-  luri)ines  are  furni^lied 
with  short  steel  draft  tubes  indicated  in 
the  power-house  elevations,  I-'igs.  3  and 
4.  These  draft  tubes  are  to  be  extended 
as  shown  by  the  dotted  lines,  and  will 
lead  the  water  from  the  turbines  and  dis- 
charge it  at  nearly  the  velocity  of  the  tail 
r.ioe.  This  arrangement  will  effect  an 
increase  of  over  10  feet  in  effective  head. 


carried  on  the  l)e(l|)lates  sujjporting  tlie 
thrust  l)earings.  'i"he  generator  sliafts, 
which  are  coupled  to  tlie  turbine  shafts 
above  tlie  tlinist  bearings,  are  also  sup- 
plied witli  two  steady  bearings,  one  of 
whicli  is  carried  l)y  the  generator  stator 
at  the  upi)er  end  of  the  shaft,  and  the 
other  by  a  spider  supported  from  the  gen- 
eratf)r   liase   ring. 


?A  igoy. 


l^WliK  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


KxCITEk    TfltBIXE    AXD    GoiTKNOB 

'■  exciter  turbine  is  of  the  same  gen- 

lesigii  and  cr<n>truction  as  the  niain 

<s.       It     i;.     (k-iKIU-(i     for     lOO    boiler 

>^jwcr  at  600  rcvnliitifMis  per  minute 

o  fiMjt    hcatl.      The   ({overnor   of   the 

r  unit  is  the  •.tanilard  Allis-Chalmeri 

••ssuro   tyiH-,    Si/e    I.      The   priiu-iplc 

ration  of  this  govenior  is  identical 

hat  of  the  main  turbine  governors, 

-'.  with  the  rxcepliorf  that  the  com- 

'     '   'Ot  is  omitted,  as  the  \ari- 

m   the  exciter  turbine  do 


volt,  revolving -field  Allis-Chalmers  gen- 
erators operaliuK  at  a  speed  of  jpo  revolu- 
tions per  minute.  The  ncu<  ■  ruc- 
tion of  these  generators  ix  hat 
of  the  same  builder's  »t  < 
l>pe.      The    *tator    tf 

built      with      !  cores 

in«>unted  in  a  ich   rr«t« 

on  a  heavy  cast-iron  base  ring  bolted  to 
the  reinforced  concrete  floor,  as  shown  in 
I^ff*-  J  snd  !■•  The  spider  carrying  the 
u|i|)cr  steady  bearing  and  bru%h  holders 
is  lMilte<l  to  the  top  of  the  yoke,  and  the 


HIM.-1J1    .-i!    some    future 


is    proposed 
time. 

T 
'-' 

to  a  three- 
■iiotor  of  »iif- 
licient  capaaiy  to  take  care  of  r 
mum  load  of  the  former  This  ^  <>>,  .>  i,, 
be  used  to  excite  the  main  generators  in 
ca*«  ■  ■  '  ■  .,,  u^  ii  in  piac,  of  tiic 
tur' 

Tia 
about    V 


*«»— — — i<i^»j— lamiiwrtiawfan 


On  mil  I  TvrMB* 


I  y;.^ii»mj.nM.i  n^ui mn^- 


na  8L    tUAcsAii  nr  aanantm  (nwimoxs 


this  atixi" 

lower    » 

t  this  gi\  •  •  . 

n     thr     .r 

urhtne   governors   m   tl 
.i,.,-i     ....t    1. 

The    rotalinc    fir  I 

,.i     ..  .1.. 

i 

•V 

1 
is 

•1 

'  VI  1   111    1  It;;     -t 


'1     It  i% 


lujtrnitrAt  ArrABAtt'* 


T    are    three 

■  rriit         llir.  •'    I, 


■f    allrrruil* 
♦  cle.    Jjr^ 


logo 

general  construction  may  be  seen  in  Fig. 
II.  Back  of  the  switchboard  is  a  pit  for 
the  regulators.  On  the  walls  are  lightning 
arresters  for  single-phase  lines  and  for 
three-phase  regulators. 

Additional  installations  consist  of  a  150- 
kilowalt  motor-generator  railway  set,  the 
sync'.ironous  motor  being  wound  for  three- 
phase,  60-cyclc,  2300-volt  and  tlie  gen- 
erator for  500-  to  550-volt  direct  current ; 
also  a  motor-generator  set  consisting  of 
a  2oSo-volt,  three-phase.  60-cyclc,  alter- 
nating-current induction  motor,  direct- 
connected  to  a  50-kilowatt,  500-  to  550-volt 
direct-current  generator.  Both  units  are 
placed  on  the  generator  floor. 

GeNER.-VL   CoXSTRlXTiO.N    AND   Dk\  ELOP- 
MENT 

A  brief  summary  of  several  points  of 
engineering  interest  in  connection  with 
tlie  general  development  of  this  water 
power  may  be  of  interest.  These  can  be 
more   readily   under.siood   by   reference  to 


PO\\'ER  AND  THE  EXGIXEER. 

level.  The  dimensions  of  the  building  are 
92.X46  by  55  feet  higli,  including  the  base- 
ment. The  superstructure  is  composed  of 
red  jasper  stone  quarried  in  that  vicinity, 
and  presents  an  unusually  handsome  ap- 
pearance. The  upper  floor  of  concrete  is 
supported    by    steel    beams    resting    upon 


June  22.  igoy. 

on  this  floor.  The  portion  of  the  floor 
carrying  the  generators  is  supported  by 
thick  concrete  walls  forming  partitions 
separating  the  turbines.  See  Figs.  6  and 
7  A  crane  loaded  on  steel  pilasters,  sup- 
ported l:)y  the  station  walls,  runs  the 
length   of   the   power   house,   and   light  is 


1    \^ 

j-^; 

. 

123 

i 

r.-^ 

.^^^ 

" 

1  'r- 

^^'-^ 

U3 

i.N>1 

Eff 

at  7 

Ft.  1 

J 

Jc^^ 

' 

Ur 

-^ 

^ 

- 

-!;; 

;;^ 

-.i 

100 

' 

^ 

,^^i> 

<^ 

^ 

r-- 

Eff. 

Et 

ou 

Et! 

1 

f.- 

/I 

'^ 

'    ~ 

Etf.  q 

t  00  ^t. 

M 

r^\ 

y. 

^ 

y 

Kff.  at  53  J^t.  1 

y^ 

80 

-  " 

- 

1 

70 

-'- 

- 

1 

_ 

1 

1 

Eftective  Head  in  Feet. 


80        90       100       110      120      130 
Horsepower.  Powers  N,r, 


FIG.   9.      POWER   CURVE   AXD  EFFTCTENCY   GT'AR  \XTEES  OF  EXCITER  TURBINE  AT  DIFFERENT 

HEADS 


no.     II.       A    VIEW    ON    THE    CENERATOK    FLOOR 


the  plan  f.i  th.  general  layout.  Fig.  I, 
and  to  the  drawings  and  photographs 
showing  the  station  and  apparatus.  The 
suhstructure  of  the  power  house  is  of  re- 
inforced concrete,  including  walls,  founda- 
tions and  ba.semcnt.  The  station  founda- 
tions arc  built  high  enough  so  that  the 
top  will   he  abnve   t!ic  ludifst   f\l,r^t\.■ly^^^J■ 


Steel  columns  and  concrete  piers,  and 
carries  the  three  main  generators,  exciter 
generator,  governors,  motor-generator 
sets,  oil-pressure  system,  switchboard, 
rotary  converters  and  other  electrical  ap-' 
paratus.  The  gate-valve  stands,  bypass- 
vajve  stands  and  a  small  boiler  for  heating 
purposes,  together  with  radiators,  arc  also 


furnished  by  incandescent  lamps.  The 
building  is  entered  on  this  floor  by  two 
rolling  doors  of  steel  construction.  '; 

Space  was  allowed  in  the  design  of 
the  building  for  the  installation  of  an- 
other main  unit  at  some  future  time  of 
the  same  size  as  the  three  now  installed. 
Two    fli"-hts    of    stairs   lead   down    to    the 


June  22,  Kjoj 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


IO|)l 


intermediate  floor  which  carrier,  the  thrust 
bearings  and  regulating  cylindcrn.  This 
floor  is  of  concrete  carried  on  steel  I- 
tK-ams  supported  by  the  concrete  pier*, 
which  also  -.upport  the  generators  on  the 
fli  or  above.  .\  view  of  the  floor  may  be 
obtained  in  Figs.  4  and  7.    The  basement 


designed  for  slow  movement  of  the  water 
to  avoid  ice  diflicultto  .\ll  water  parsing 
through  the  racks  uito  the  penstock  is 
comp«lled  to  f!nw  under  an  arch  «o  that 
ice  will  be   ;  Thi«   meih<K]  of 

preventing  th..  m  entering  the  pen- 

stock hai  proven  exceedingly  aaiisfactory 


1100 

/■ 

. 

IfiOO 

■ 

i" 

• 

^^^^"TZZ. 

• 

~—^^  ' 

.. 

K^ 

/ 

IB 

/ 

* 

._ 

ciwtiT*  ■•»<  la  FMt  -;«<•!  r  1   .  r  r 

nc.  to.    rowcR  cxrwn  and  RmncNc  v  ct'AaA.sTccx  or   mai.<<   tcuinc  at  uiffeu.st 

UtMty 


carries    the    turbinrs.    |H-nstiicks  and 

The  penstock  i>  supported  on  con- 

iiric  piers  restinij  upon  the  fl<M>r,  and  has 

s    t, ranch    connection    to    the    gate    valve 

oh  turbine.  Fig.  3.     That  part  of  the 

neni  floor  supporting  the  turbine  and 

■irge   casing   is    reinforced   by    heavy 

in*.     Provision  is  inade  for  installing 

draft  tut»e!>.  a*  previously  mentioned, 

'1    will   r\  A  n    in    long    radiu» 

!»d  wiM  1  .1  by  pier's  on  bed 

just    outside    the 

race  for  *top  logs, 

a  space  between  for  tilling  with  sand 

etc..    so    tlut    the    draft     tube    pit« 

be  unwalere<l  for  examination  when 

(■  dam  and  retaining  walls  were  built  of 

■        1  in  Fig. 

rre*t   if 

the 

1    is 

<  4  to  8 

<  base  of 
■n    be<1    fork. 

: ..lioards  which 

i»r  the  bight  of  the  dam  .16  inches. 

'     '        '     1    and  of 

iHi  both 

wi    tht    rivir.    the     »-  '"-en 

•I       »tp,       fofTTM"!?       !»       f"f-  !»n 


III  oiK-ratioii.  Head  k^*'^"-  -'f^'  placed  at  the 
entrance  l"  the  intake  forebay.  m»  that 
the  ice  v.  can  l>e  spilled. 

Two  ra  •  t.   with    i-iiKh 

spacing,  are  built   into  the   intake. 

From  the  furebay  the  water  is  carried 
to  (he  power  house  through  fiKo  feet  of 
»teel  penstKk  7  feet  in  diameter.  At 
the  foot  of  the  penstock  there  is  a  plate- 
steel  St..  Oiown  in  the  exterior 
view  ni  n,  ift  fc^t  in  diameter 
and  <ij  u«.:  IukIi.  of 
t«»  supply  wat<-r  for  sn. 


along    the    !•  has    been 

made    to    all  an^l    rx- 

|>ansioii  due 

i\    clfifir     ?.'.  : 

ex; 

the  .     ... ...,    ;„   _ 

pansion  and  contraction  amounts  to  scv« 

eral  inches. 

nie  Si«  ux  l-alU  l.i«/ht  and  Power  Com- 
pai 
p.. 

Strcci 
sunier- 
th. 
ni« 
an 
«a^  .  <>.  ...  ..,^..,, 

pany.  of    O; 

under  •  '      ' 

O.   F_  < 

in  -iic  ui  ilu:  cu(ul:u«::ion  isurk 

at    - 

The 
and  p. 

ran,   presulent ;    W     It.    Haley, 
dent:   (ieorgr   R.   CaMwell.   tre. 
H.   ReeiL  «ecret«ry:   .^nhur  H 
general   superintendent,  and  C    i      i  r.^t. 
chief    engineer. 


Scaling   anH  Corroding    Substances 

and    Their    EJimination    from 

Water    for    Boilers* 

Bv    J      I"      Wlt-tlAM     't-i  in 


The  r 

only,  a- 

mtila,    1 

»rrnm 

r    pure. 

since    the 

•1    l»y    » . 

ur    Hlini 

enables    it    ' 

lini'-  ■— '  — 

Ik 

of 

in<' 

irt 

luv 

1 

wl 

purr    «k 

prrs^f' 

the 

Ca 

a  1 

aixi 


n&  13. 


<iM    ucuauM. 


til.       t.  ...l!     Ml) 


<l»r    |irr»»iirr     \3ktt 


)Kc    |o  ttw    Uil^c       I!k    uttakc    was      pipe     uf    unly     lE    itii 


1093 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  22,  ipog. 


in  the  absence  of  other  scale-forming  salts 
will  not  form  scale  unless  after  great 
concentration.  It,  however,  can  be  classed 
among  the  corrosive  substances  found  in 
water,  as  after  concentration  in  the  boiler 
It  may  be  dissociated,  liberating  hydro- 
chloric acid. 

Calcium  nitrate  has  practically  the  same 
characteristics  as  calcium  chloride,  but 
waters  containing  it  arc  comparatively 
rare. 

Magnesium  carbonate  is  more  soluble 
than  calcium  carbonate,  but  is  ordinarily 
found  in  water  as  the  bicarbonate.  Bi- 
carbonate of  magnesia  has  all  the  char- 
acteristics of  calcium  bicarbonate. 

Magnesium  sulphate  is  conunon  in 
natural  waters,  in  which  it  is  extremely 
soluble.  Alone,  it  will  not  form  scale,  but 
it  is  broken  up  by  the  lime  salts,  from 
wliich  scale  is  formed. 

Magnesium  chloride  is  very  objection- 
able, since  it  not  only  forms  scale  but 
causes  corrosion  by  liberating  hydro- 
chloric acid. 

Magnesium  nitrate  has  the  same  char- 
acteristics as  magnesium  chloride,  but  it 
is  usually  present  only  in  very  small 
quantities. 

The  sulphates  of  iron  and  alumina  are 
present  in  water  supplies  contaminated 
with  mine  drainage,  or  the  waste  from 
galvanizing  plants.  These  substances, 
when  present,  act  in  the  boiler  exactly  like 
free  sulphuric  acid,  inasmuch  as  they  are 
dissociated  by  heat,  the  acid  being  set  free 
and  the  iron  and  alumina  precipitated  as 
sludge  or  scale. 

The  oxides  of  iron  and  alumina  are 
usually  present  in  small  quantities,  and 
have  little  bearing  on  the  formation  of 
scale. 

Silica  is  also  present  in  small  quantities 
in  nearly  all  waters.  It  is  a  scale-forming 
substance,  but  since  it  is  rarely  present  in 
large   quantities,    it    is   usually   ignored. 

Free  sulphuric  acid,  like  the  iron  and 
alumina  sulphates,  is  introduced  by  drain- 
age from  mines  and  galvanizing  plants. 
In  the  boiler  it  immediately  attacks  the 
metal,  forming  the  sulphate  of  iron,  which 
the  heat  decomposes,  the  hy<lrate  of  iron 
and  free  sulphuric  acid.  This  acid,  liber- 
ated, repeats  its  action  upon  the  metal, 
and  through  an  indefinite  nutnber  of  de- 
structive cycles.  The  acid  is  nonvolatile, 
therefore  the  amount  of  the  acid  in  the 
water  in  the  boiler  is  constantly  increased 
by  the  quantity  intrrnluced  with  the  feed, 
so  that  the  decomp'isition  of  the  boiler 
metal  is  in  direct  ratio  with  the  concen- 
tration which  occurs  in  the  boiler. 

Carbonic  acid  is  present  in  its  free  state 
in  all  natural  waters.  Its  presence  in  the 
l)oiIer  promotes  pitting  and  corrosion.  It 
is  also  the  acid  which  holds  in  solution 
the  carbonates  of  lime  magnesia. 

Sodium  sulphate,  sodium  carbonate, 
sodium  chloride  and  sotlitim  nitrate,  are 
neutral,  nonscaling  and  noncorrosive  salts, 
and  are  not  objectionable  unless  present 
in  excessive  quantities. 


Steam  generation  is  a  continuous 
process,  fresh  feed  water  being  supplied 
to  the  boiler  as  the  water  evaporated  into 
steam  leaves  it ;  since  none  but  v6latile 
impurities  pass  out  with  the  steam,  this 
results  in  a  continual  concentration  in  the 
boiler  of  the  impurities  introduced  with 
the  feed  water.  The  nonvolatile  im- 
purities collecting  in  the  boiler,  manifest 
tlicmselves  as  suspended  matter,  scale, 
corrosion,  or  by  an  increased  density  of 
the  boiler  water. 

Suspended  matter  may  be  carried  in 
with  the  feed,  or  may  be  due  to  the  ac- 
cumulation of  those  substances  that  are 
forced  out  of  solution  as  a  result  of  either 
heat  or  concentration,  or  by  the  combined 
action  of  both. 

Scale  formation  in  the  boiler  is  due  to 
the  action  of  heat,  pressure,  and  concen- 
tration on  the  impurities  in  solution  and 
suspension  in  the  feed  water. 

Corrosion  of  the  boiler  is  due  to  the 
introduction  of  gases  and  acids,  or  their 
formation  from  some  of  the  impurities  in 
solution  in  tlie  feed  water,  by  the  reac- 
tions resulting  from  heat,  pressure  and 
concentration. 

The  increased  density  of  the  boiler 
water  is  due  to  the  concentration  of  the 
sodium  salts  and  of  the  scale-forming 
salts,  to  the  limit  of  their  solubilities. 

That  scale  in  the  steam  boiler  is  one  of 
the  great  hindrances  to  economical  and 
safe  operation  is  beyond  question.  It  is 
feared  by  all  steam  users,  and  their  fear 
of  the  expense  and  danger  from  it  is 
shown  by  the  large  number  of  manu- 
facturers of  boiler  compounds,  purifiers, 
cleaning  machines,  skimmers,  filters,  etc. 
Scale  can  nearly  always  be  attributed  to 
the  lime  and  magnesia  salts  in  solution  in 
the  water.  The  character  of  the  scale 
depends  upon  the  acids  combined  with  the 
lime  and  magnesia  ;  on  the  type  of  boiler 
in  use ;  and  on  the  rate,  temperature, 
and  pressure,  at  whicli  tlie  boiler  is  op- 
erated. For  instance,  the  carbonates  of 
lime  and  magnesia,  when  present  alone, 
usually  form  a  soft  scale.  The  presence 
of  calcium  sulphate  sometimes  increases 
its  hardness.  A  calcium-sulphate  scale-  is 
generally   quite   hard. 

Following  are  a  few  of  the  items  which, 
from  an  economic  standpoint,  make  it 
almost  imperative  to  prevent  scale  forma- 
tion, or  at  least  to  remove  it  periodically : 
The  reduced  evaporation  due  to  the  in- 
sulating effect  of  the  scale  on  the  heating 
surfaces  of  the  boiler. 

The  cost  of  labor  required  for  cleaning 
the  boiler  and   auxiliaries. 

The  cost  of  repairs  to  boilers,  neces- 
sitated by  their  being  subjected  to  over- 
heating on  account  of  the  heating  surfaces 
being  scaled. 

The  loss  of  efficiency  and  earning  power 
of  improved  furnaces  and  stokers  installed 
to  increase  evaporation,  which  correspond- 
ingly increases  the  concentration  of  im- 
purities, thus  forming  a  greater  deposit  of 
scale,    and    hence   a    greater    reduction    in 


the  efficiency  and  in  the  life  of  the  boiler. 

The  cost  of  tube-cleaning  machines,  or 
of  so-called  "compounds"  introduced  into 
the  boiler  to  prevent  the  adherence  of  the 
scale-forming  matter  to  the  shells  and 
tubes. 

The  loss  due  to  the  investment  in  spare 
boilers  to  be  put  into  commission  when 
it  is  necessary  to  take  boilers  out  of 
service  for  cleaning  or  repairing. 

The  waste  of  fuel  due  to  heat  lost  in 
cooling  a  boiler  for  cleaning  or  repairing, 
and  that  required  again  to  bring  it  into 
service. 

The  loss  due  to  reduced  efficiency  of 
boiler  auxiliaries,  from  lower  temper- 
atures of  the  feed  water,  especially  in  the 
feed-water  heaters  and  economizers,  thus 
materially  increasing  fuel  consumption. 

Corrosion 

Corrosion  is  the  most  dangerous  of  the 
various  troubles  due  to  impure  feed  water, 
and  the  one  in  many  cases  the  most  dif- 
ficult to  overcome.  It  is  usually  due  to 
the  acids  introduced  into  the  boiler  in 
the  feed  water,  or  those  formed  as  a  re- 
sult of  reaction  between  various  sub- 
stances in  solution,  caused  by  heat,  pres- 
sure and  concentration  ;  in  some  cases  it 
is  due  to  the  oxygen  of  dissolved  air. 
The  different  acids  cause  different  kinds 
of  corrosion,  and  it  occurs  in  different 
parts  of  the  boiler,  depending  upon  the 
nature  of  the  acid. 

The  action  of  corrosive  acids  and  salts 
on  the  boiler  make  operation  dangerous 
and  add  to  the  expense,  as  follows : 

The  danger  of  rupture  or  explosion  due 
to  weakening  of  the  parts. 

The  repairs  made  necessary  by  cor- 
rosion. 

The  necessity  of  spare  boilers  to  replace 
those  out  of  service  for  repairs. 

The  heat  wasted  in  cooling  boilers  to 
make  repairs  and  the  fuel  required  to 
bring  them  into  service  again. 

The  expense  for  boiler  compounds  to 
prevent  corrosion. 

The  author  then  goes  on  to  consider 
the  different  methods  for  preventing  and 
removing  scale,  as  by  hand  scrapers, 
chisels,  etc.,  mechanical  cleaners,  boiler 
compounds,  feed-water  heaters  and  puri- 
fiers, both  live  and  exhaust  steam,  with 
and  without  the  use  of  chemicals,  and  the 
surface  blowofif ;  and  he  concludes  with 
an  argument  in  favor  of  purifying  and 
softening  the  feed  water  before  it  is  put 
into  the  boiler. 


"Social  Engineering,"  by  Dr.  W.  H. 
Tolman,  director  of  the  Museum  of 
Safety  and  Sanitation,  is  being  translated 
into  French  under  direction  of  Vuibert 
&  Nony,  publishers,  of  Paris. 

The  Standard  Oil  Company  has  com- 
pleted the  pumping  stations  and  pipe  lines 
necessary  to  pump  crude  oil  from  the 
Kansas  and  Oklahoma  oil  fields  to  the 
Atlantic  seaboard,    1500  miles. 


June  22,  igoQ. 

Connecting    Up    Transformers     for 

Synchronizing  and  Phasing 

Lamps 

Bv  F.  J    I'inm 


The  transformers  uic«l  with  uicanilcs- 
cent  lamps  fi»r  synchroni/inK  or  phasing 
alternators  may  l>c  of  any  capacity  down 
to  abcnit  loo  watts,  the  small  switch- 
board transformers  being  often  used  for 
this  purpose.  The  high-tension  winding 
of  the  transformers  must,  of  course,  be 
suitable  to  stand  the  operating  voltage : 
the  low-tension  winding  is  preferably  ar 
ranged  to  give  50  or  loo  volts,  wj  that 
not  more  than  two  lamps  will  be  required 
in  each  set. 

With  transformers  there  are  two  meth- 
ikIs  of  connection  possible  The  method 
mdicate<l  in  Fig.  i  is  shown  on  account 
of  its  similarity  to  the  direct  method  de- 
scribed in  the  previous  article.*  The 
primary  windings  of  the  transformers  are 
connecte<l  directly  across  the  ('iH' 
By  properly  checking  out  the  i 
in  a  way  smiilar  to  that  to  lie  i\|ii.iiiud 
in  c«'nnecti<in  with  Fig.  2,  one  can  get 
good  results.  The  meth^nl  represcntr<l  in 
Fig  2,  however,  is  the  one  mo»t  fre- 
quently n*ed  because  it  is  more  convenient 
of  application  and  involves  less  liability 
to  make  errors.  The  primary  windings 
of  the  transformers  are  c«mnecte<l.  not 
across  the  open  switches,  as  in  the  first 
method,  but  across  the  "line"  or  the  two 


POW  EK  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

formers  are  connected  together  through 
enough  bmps  to  withsiaitd  the  maxi- 
mum voltage  of  the  two  secondary  wind- 
ings in  series.  With  thi*  .-nt  the 
lamps  will  alternate  in  >  and 
<brkncss  just  as  in   the  tli.'c.:   wu-thod 

It    will    be    seen    from    l-"ig.    2    that    the 
primary  winding*  of  the  transformers  are 


IOU3 

opinion  as  to  which  is  the  better  of  these 
two  methods.     I  prefer  to  ha ,  ,p» 

dark  when  ih*-  |>has<>s  are  in  .  dy 

'  J 

:  .1- 
I'wiiiK  ilis«.-iis>ion  It  IS  assumed  ttiat  the 
Limps  arc  f"  lie  dark  when  ihe  pluvrs 
are  in  step 


7x7. 


nc.   t 


rnmtrt 


|5"'-"00"000Jfl5^     """I 


The  one  vital  point  in  this  method,  and 
the   one   on    which    i'.  '    rt 

in    large     measure  .f 


ic=;ik« 


simple       Ml    that    i« 

nect  the  primary  wii; 

formers  of  a  act  to  the 
adjast   the   »rcr>T- '  - 
o|    them.      For 


4   to   /. 
ticcied    ac 
rrnt.  the 

ST--'     •' 

»' 
t' 


c 

-y 

It    to    cno- 


was  omcs* 


Ir.i'I*     "(    a    pha»e        <  ' 

connected  to  thf  Inf!- 

and    the   oti  the     •< 

•witches,  on  '         ,  .  coo-      sr 

dary   windings  of  each    pair    of    irana-     is 

^    ^  or  .:-. 

•f-.wrt  inx>  TwB  INoivna  fur  i«a*  IB. 


|Ni«r     |u|i| 


In    step.      Tlicrt    is 


ihr  pnrr- 


in..iign    iv.ry    mrrr    r<>«inmr^l    •«!   irtr   •lifrvt 

mn  Hod. 


1094 


PO^^'ER  AND  THE  ENGINEER, 


June  22,  1909. 


Design  and  Operation  of  Cooling  Towers 

Comparis^^n  of    Relative    Merits    of    Natural-    and  Forced- draft  Types; 
Condition?     Which     Shauld     Determine     the      Kind      to    be      Selected 


B      Y 


The  design  and  operation  of  cooling 
towers  is  a  matter  so  closely  associated 
with  the  design  and  operation  of  con- 
densers that  the  combination  of  con- 
denser and  tower  must  be  considered  as 
a  single  unit  and  the  same  general  prin- 
ciples applied  as  noted  above.  In  localities 
where  a  supply  of  condensing  water  is 
not  obtainable,  recourse  must  be  had  to 
the  use  of  cooling  towers.  The  general 
principles  of  the  tower  are  in  a  measure 
a  reverse  proposition  from  those  em- 
bodied in  the  condenser.  The  problem 
becomes  one  of  dissipating  to  the  atmo- 
sphere the  greatest  possible  amount  of 
heat  from  each  pound  of  water  witli  a 
minimum  expense  for  fixed  and  operating 
charges. 

Cooling  towers  are  classified  in  two  gen- 
eral classes,  namely,  forced-draft  and 
natural-draft  towers,  the  distinction  being 
in  the  method  of  circulating  the  air  in 
the  towers.  The  comparison  of  the  rela- 
tive merits  of  the  two  types  is  one  that 
involves  the  consideration  of  climatic  con- 
ditions, of  ground  space,  of  the  cost  per 
unit  of  surface  as  compared  with  the 
cost  of  fans  plus  the  operation  of  fans 
and  of  the  adaptability  of  towers  of  vary- 
ing capacities  to  the  condenser. 

The  climatic  conditions,  namely,  tem- 
perature and  humidity,  are  of  greatest  im- 
portance in  cooling-tower  design,  and  on 
this  account  each  installation  must  be 
treated  as  a  separate  problem,  and  there 
can  be  no  standard  sizes  for  towers  of 
varj'ing  capacities  that  would  be  generally 
applicable  to  all  locations.  The  greater 
portion  of  the  heat  extracted  in  a  cooling 
tower  goes  to  supply  the  latent  heat  of 
vaporization  of  enough  water  vapor  to 
snturate  the  air  leaving  the  tower.  The 
l):;lance  goes  directly  to  heat  the  air  pass- 
ing through  the  tower.  During  winter 
months  the  proportion  of  the  heat  that 
goes  to  heat  the  air  is  rpuch  greater  than 
in  the  summer  months  and  may  exceed  the 
amount  of  heat  that  is  dissipated  in  sup- 
plying the  latent  heat  of  vaporization. 
Taking  as  an  example  an  air  temperature 
<)f  S2  degrees  Fahrenheit  and  supposing 
the  air  to  be  saturated  draining)  at  that 
tcmp<.-rature.  and  that  the  air  is  heated  to 
92  degrees  Fahrenheit  in  the  tower  and 
leaves  the  tower  .saturated  at  that  tem- 
perature, the  heat  extracted  by  each  pound 
of  air  would  be  as  follows : 


M. 


R. 


BUM 


I 


I 


To  licat  tlic  air  10  degrees  Fahrenheit 
would  require  2.375  B.t.u.  The  saturated 
air  at  92  degrees  will  contain  0.03289 
pound  of  water  vapor  and  at  82  degrees 
it  contained  0.02361,  the  balance  of  0.00928 
pound  having  been  accumulated  in  passing 
through  the  tower.  The  heat  required  to 
evaporate  one  pound  of  water  from  and 
at  90  degrees  is  1051  B.t.u.,  and  the  heat 
extracted  in  evaporating  0.00928  pound  of 
water  would  be  approximately  9.75  B.t.u. 
Tlierefore.  each  pound  of  water  leaving 
the  tower  at  92  degrees  would  carry  away 
2-375  +  9-7S,  or  12.125  B.t.u.,  and  the 
work  done  by  the  evaporation  would  rep- 
resent about  80  per  cent,  of  the  total.  If 
the  air  entering  the  cooling  tower  was  not 
saturated    it    would    be    able    to    pick    up 


rapid  rise  in  the  amount  of  water  vapor 
required  to  saturate  the  air  as  the  tem- 
perature increases  indicates  the  greater 
opportunity  for  extraction  of  heat,  at  the 
higher  temperature  and  it  becomes  de- 
sirable to  heat  the  air  leaving  the  tower 
as  high  as  possible.  This  in  turn  requires 
that  the  temperature  of  the  water  leaving 
the  condenser  and  entering  the  tower  be 
raised  as  nearly  as  possible  to  the  tem- 
perature of  the  exhaust  steam.  For  a 
given  range  in  temperature  in  the  tower 
it  is  readily  seen  that  the  warm  air  has  a 
much  greater  effect,  and  the  reduction  of 
the  temperature  of  the  water  to  or  below 
that  of  the  entering  air  is  more  easily 
accomplished  than  when  it  is  cold.  One 
pound    of    saturated    air    heated    from   90 


1 

.24 

1 

/ 

.20 

/ 

f 

/ 

.10 

/ 

/ 

/ 

.12 

/ 

/ 

.^ 

/ 

.08 

y 

^ 

^ 

.04 

^ 

^ 

-^ 

^ 



" 

50 


70 


90 


100 


110 


120 


Temp.  Degrees  Fahr. 
AIR-SATURATION  CURVE;   BAROMETER,    29.92   INCHES 


Ift wer,  .V.  r. 


•Head  hpforp  thp  National  Klpftric  I-Iuht 
AsHOcintlon  ronvpntlon.  Atlantic  V\X\,  N  J, 
June   1,   2,   ;;   and   4,    1!>*i!i. 


a  still  greater  quantity  of  water  and  the 
proportion  of  heat  extraction  evaporating 
would  be  still  greater.  In  this  connection 
it  is  interesting  to  note  that  where  the  air 
entering  the  tower  is  comparatively  dry 
it  is  possible  to  ool  the  water  below 
the  temperature  of  the  air,  and  this  effect 
h.as  been  noted  in  .several  tests  on  a 
natural-draft  tower  in  Denver.  The  effect 
is,  of  course,  produced  by  the  heat  ex- 
tracted from  the  water  to  supply  water 
vapor  partly  or  completely  to  saturate 
the  air,  and  this  effect  will  continue  even 
if  the  water  is  considerably  colder  than 
the  air. 

Attention  should  be  directed  to  the  ac- 
companying saturation  curve  for  air  at 
29.92  inches  barometric  pressure.    The  very 


degrees  Fahrenheit  and  discharged  as 
saturated  air  at  100  degrees  Fahrenheit 
will  extract  approximately  as  much  heat 
as  one  pound  of  air  raised  from  o  degree 
to  40  degrees  Fahrenheit  and  saturated 
wlicn  leaving  at  that  temperature. 

Localities  possessing  a  dry  climate  are 
best  suited  for  the  use  of  cooling  towers, 
and  it  is  exceptional  to  find  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  air  very  high  before  or  during 
a  rain  storm.  On  the  other  hand,  moist 
climates  do  not  as  a  rule  have  as  high 
temperatures  during  the  summer  months. 
For  average  conditions  a  tower  can  usual- 
ly be  figured  safely  upon  a  basis  of  maxi- 
mum temperature  of  90  degrees  Fahren- 
heit during  a  rain  storm  when  the  air  is 
saturated.     On  days  when  the  temperature 


June  22,   1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


1075 


is  in  cxcc«s  of  90  degrees  Fahrenheit  the 
humidity  will  be  considerably  below  >atu- 
rati<  n,  hn  a  rule,  and  the  capacity  of  the 
tower  will  equal  that  f«  r  the  conditions 
named.  Basing  e>timales  upon  the  air 
supply  as  stated,  the  problem  iK-come*  one 
of  determining  the  amount  of  surface  re- 
quired. 

The  amount  of  heat  to  be  extracted 
from -the  water  can  be  accurately  esti- 
mated by  the  >team  :'»n  "f  the 
unit  and  the  quality  <  •  :i  entering 
the  condenser.  The  uiniMrrature  and 
humidity  records  »h'  .Id  then  l»e  con- 
sidered at  outlined  above  and  the  ^leam 
economy  of  the  unit  at  v^irious  vaiiia 
compared  to  note  the  eflFects  of  periods  of 
hot  weather  and  the  economical  reduction 
of  vacuum  that  can  be  allowetl  rather 
than  to  K*>  to  the  increased  expense  for 
larger  comleuxer  and  tower*. 

Allowing'  'lilt  tin-  w.it.r  !••,.■ 
den>er  a!  .1  n  nam  t«i!i;)r'.i'  r. 
at  a  certain  lower  tem|Kraturr.  ih*-  quan- 
tity of  water  rei|uiretl  i*  dei«rmine«l.  In 
making  these  ligurcs  it  will  be  seen  that 
the  widest  po«^ible  range  in  temperature 
of  the  water  should  be  secured.  Then  in 
cording  this  amount  of  water  in  the  tool- 
ing tower  the  amount  of  surface  re«|uired 
must    I'  Tins   is  one  of  the 

mo*t  i:  in  rrv>1tng-tower  de- 

sign aiul  i»  ilic  Mi>i«i  '  one.     The 

rate   of   transfer   of    i  1    water   to 

air.  either  direct  or  through  a  diaphragm, 
varies  through  rather  wide  limits.  With 
increased  circulation  of  the  air  the  rate 
increa»e*.  but  the  exact  ratio  of  increase 
IS  iH}|  det'inilely  e*tabli*hed.  The  effect 
upon   the  »!•  "<• 

the   air    i«  ! 

by    rap-  l    tlu    air.     ( >u    ilic 

other    i  ;■   i*   forcetl   through 

the  tower  i<m>  rapidly  it  does  not  lie- 
come  fully  saturated  and  therefore  the 
quantity  of  air  required  i«  greatly  in- 
creased. In  the  ordinary  lui  11  rat -draft 
tower  the  greatent  care  must  lie  um^  to 
get  full  lieiiri'il  of  all  tlu- 
ihrotiifh  ilir  t..«iT  wl  I'l-  iti  ■ 
toM  T  or  U'»«  M^ur 

Cii  and  t''r   w.ifrr 

Irating    the     tower    it    tridiim 
in<iicaling    that    more    air    i»    l> 
than    w.iidd   be   nccesMrjr    in  a   properly 
•  I'-MgiirtI  lower. 

The  rate  of  transfer  of  heat  from  water 
10    air    through    a    nitial    diaphragm    i* 
altnut    2.5    It  I  u     |K-r    M|iiarr    t- >  ;    (w-r   de- 
gree  per   hour       If    t 
kept    wrf    the    ftesf    f 
in 


can    he    inrrea*e<i    to    %« 
figiire   nameil      In  ih'-   • 
heat    is   iran*frrre<i 

to  air  and  the  amoun' 
quite   largel>    ii|hiii    tlw     r  . 
of   the   air.   and    no     ' 
obtainable    upon    ihr 
draft    lower*       I 
ficieni     iip«tfi     A 


I  lie 


Lincoln,  N'eb..  a  heat  transfer  uf  6  to  8 
B.t.u.  per  sqiure  fool  per  degree  per 
hour  was  shown  upon  a  serie>  of  tests. 
Using  7  B.t.u.  as  a  hasi^  it  is  <>een  tlut 
the  surface  required  to  produce  \ery  high 
vaciu  during  hot  weather  ^sould  be 
enormous.  Taking  the  temperature  of 
steam  at  jS-inch  vacuum  at  ioli  degrees 
l-'ahrenhett  and  allowing  $  degrees  dif- 
ferential between  steam  and  discharge 
water,  would  make  the  temperattire  of  the 
water  entering  the  tower  97  degrees 
Fahrenheit.  If  ihe  air  were  up  to  90  de- 
grees Fahrenheit  in  temperature,  this 
would  allow  a  maximum  working  ranter  <.f 
only  7  degrees  and  the  surface  re«niircd 
would  be  22  square  feet  per  pound  of 
steam  condensed  per  hour.  For  a  dif- 
ferential of  10  degrees  the  surface  re- 
quired would  be  15  square  feet,  for  20 
ilcgrees  7.5  v|uare  feet,  and  for  yi  de- 
5  square  feet  per  pound  of  steam 
Ne<l  per  hour.  In  each  of  these 
cases  the  vacuum  would  l>e  re«Iuce«l  ami 
at  the  JO  degrees  differential  it  would 
l>e  26  inches. 

In  the  case  of  the  f.»rced-draft  tower  the 
size  of  fan  and  power  required  for  its 
operation  would  decrease  in  about  the 
same  ratio  as  the  decrease  in  surface 
u  r    by    allowing    lar 

<  TrnlMrr*     and     <  !>' 

r  '  r  case 

ti  11   ci«n- 

drnser  .iml  cooling  tower  mu«t  1^  h.-ilance<l 
againi^t  the  cost  of  extra  fuel,  and  the 
tike,  required  when  the  vacuum  it  rc- 
ducr<I  in  order  to  determine  the  most 
economical  installation. 

Various  materials  have  been  use<l  for 
wet  surface  in  cooling  tow-r*  '^  ^!i 
iMards    have    been    »  -t 

they  take  up  a  great  •; 
cost  per  sqiure  foot  r.i  -.uri'ace  is  l-igh 
when  compared  with  ot*-.r  :iuterials. 
WimmI  blocks,  tile,  and  the  like,  have 
been  used  largely  in  .forced  draft  towers, 
and  the  results  are  satisfactory  except  at 
»      Tlie  use  of  ciir- 

'  <l-wirr  wrrcn«   lia- 


tiilts    thus    far    have    been    above    expec- 

lai.....»      1I.O  I..., I...  ..   .^,.    .1. (    ,. 

r 

a'  '.iii\ri>     MKiii 

f  ■  *ie  towers      1  '• 


as  to  larring  or    . 
-    -«   a    preservative.   l»i.; 
•  hie  of  these  treatments  arr 


oat  with  great  care  to  secure  proper  dis- 

'■  ■  '  •■  The 

'  ...    a 

ba»i>  of  i.ajidliiig  vaiuratcd  nr,  and  the 
par*-  iif  the  air  should  be  such  at  to 
I  '  and  air  into  intimate  con- 

ti  -.■-   air  will  leave    ^»-  »..wrr 

at    nearly    saturated    as    po^ 
Care   must   be   taken   to   prevent  of 

water  by  being  carried  away  mc» :  lually 
^^     ■       ■  'HI 

;ng 
Water    i'>  c    tuwt.^    kbuuld 

be    as    |(.H  and    th ;    water 

piin)i»e<l   no  hi^;  neces- 

sary      (5>    In  ^       •    •;..     ...ter-dis- 

tributing  system  care  mutt  jc  used  to 
reduce  the  friction  head  to  a  .ninimum. 

In  combustion  work  it  ha-  been  fo«nd 
that  in  forcing  or  pulling  -«r  through  a 
full  bed  the  induced  draft  which  pulls 
(he  air  through  it  mach  preferable  to 
forced  draft  for  securi-.g  pro^r  His- 
tr  ?.;!tion  of  The  air.     T^  f 

the  air  in  the  fuel  bed  l^  -i- 

form,  and   especially   in  gas   producer'. 
more  distinct  advantage  ?•    ■•-'■t— !  in  ihe 
Miction -type  pr<   '...-er.      "  can  he 

burner!   per   square   foot   •      vratr    surfac* 
and    will]    less    overve     ilarion    than    wil!i 
I    draft.      Thr  Ii- 

.T'^ily  to  air  i^ 

tower*,  and  it        '  at 

much  more   uv  -e- 

sults  can  be  obtainevl  by  placing  the  fan 
at  the  top  of  the  tower  and  drawing  the 
air  through  the  tower.    On  account  of  the 

moisture  present  it  wrnild  be  ■"    to 

protect  the   fan  blade*   from  »l- 

•  e- 

li- 

I  ale    at    l«:.*st    jui    )>cr    k  nt 

.-.n.-l   w-itM   rrHuce   the   a-  fe- 

power  consnmrd   by  tbc 

t. 

In  the  design  of  natural-draft  towers, 
the  prifKiples  are  very  similar.  Thrse 
towers  should  he  set  in  a*  open  a  local K>n 

-d 

ni  tt; 

if    i« 

■H 
<n 

'  >e 


.1 


'«t    br   nude    with    a    virw    of 


iut4uit    ol    d:aft 
-r  atr  »n^  t^e  ab- 

<-r 

-I 

ir 


iT»r     \nr 


In    ike    dfrfgn    of    foreed-draft    lovera.      whemrer 


■nr       Ml -111* 

-««    iW    air 


1090 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGIXEER. 


June 


u)09. 


close  enough  together  to  get  the  full  bene- 
fit of  all  the  air  passing;  but.  as  pointed 
out,  the  distributing  troughs  must  be  laid 
out  to  allow  as  free  air  travel  as  pos- 
sible. If  the  amount  of  water  flowing 
down  the  curtains  is  too  great  it  will 
create  a  counter-effect  to  the  draft  and 
will  retard  circulation  of  air  in  the  tower. 
An  important  feature  of  the  tower  is  to 
house  the  air  openings  properly,  to  pre- 
vent loss  of  water  during  high  wind 
storms.  If  no  loss  of  water  occurs,  the 
amount  of  condensation,  if  the  jet  con- 
denser is  used,  will  be  more  than  sufficient 
to  supply  the  water  evaporated  in  the 
tower.  If  a  surface  condenser  is  used, 
the  makeup  water  required  in  the  tower 
should  not  exceed  and  will  ordinarily  be 
sonjewhat  less  than  the  amount  of  water 
supplied  to  the  boilers.  Where  a  jet 
condenser  is  used,  the  cold-water  supply 
to  the  boilers  can  be  passed  into  the 
tower  pit  and  condenser  inlet  and  the 
water  for  boiler  supply  drawn  from  the 
hot   water   leaving   the   condenser. 

In  the  design  of  the  water-distributii.n 
system,  the  friction  head  nuist  be  kept 
down  as  much  as  possible  when  proper 
tlistribution  of  the  water  is  maintained. 
It  is  very  essential  that  the  water  be  dis- 
tributed evenly  over  all  of  the  curtains 
..r  wetted  surface,  and  this  as  a  rule  nec- 
essitates some  experimenting  on  the  tower 
in  order  to  reach  all  the  curtain  with 
an  ecjual  supply  of  water.  An  effective 
means  of  accomplishing  the  result  is  to 
distribute  the  water  from  two  or  more 
troughs.  The  water  discharged  from 
the  pipe  at  two  or  more  points  in  each 
trough  will  maintain  practically  uniform 
level  in  the  troughs.  The  discharge  from 
the  main  troughs  should  be  through  verti- 
cal slotted  openings  in  the  sides,  so  that 
the  quantity  <lischarged  to  each  curtain 
will  vary  as  the  head  of  water  in  the 
troughs  without  creating  any  friction  head. 
The  individual  troughs  supplying  each 
curtain  should  be  made  as  narrow  as  pos- 
sible in  order  to  leave  ample  space  be- 
tween troughs  for  air  openings.  These 
troughs  should  discharge  through  slotted 
openings,  similar  to  the  main  troughs, 
against  a  metal  strip  or  vane  which  acts 
a*  the  hanger  for  the  curtains  and  on 
which  the  water  is  uniformly  di>tributed 
acros'i   the   full   width  of  the  curtain. 

Co<iling  p^mds  will)  jets  scattered 
through  the  p<Hid  and  (fischarging  into 
the  air  abf)ve  th«-  jMind  are  used  to  some 
extent.  The  amount  of  power  required 
for  pumping  the  water  is  large,  and  the 
first  cost,  imless  the  pond  is  already  in 
existence,  is  prf»hihitive.  On  very  still 
days  the  capacity  »<*  limited,  as  wind  is 
depended  upon  for  air  circulation.  On 
days  when  the  wind  is  brisk  the  loss  oi 
water  carried  off  mechanically  is  exces- 
sive an<l  the  amotmt  of  make-up  water  is 
consequently  increased. 

Some  very  interesting  experiments  hav<: 
been  made  on  a  combination  r»f  condenser 
and    cooling    tower    in    which    the    steam 


tlischarged  fronj  the  unit  enters  coils  of 
pipe  or  chambers  over  which  water  is 
sprayed  and  air  rapidly  circulated.  This 
plan  has  shown  some  promising  results. 
The  amount  of  water  required  in  the  con- 
denser is  practically  the  same  as  the 
amount  condensed.  This  plan  could  pos- 
sibly be  made  feasible  for  small  units,  but 
for  large  units  it  could  not  be  applied. 
I'air  vacua  were  obtained  on  certain 
tests  of  this  outfit  at  the  Virginia  Agri- 
cultural college. 

The  extension  of  this  plan  along  the 
lines  of  the  radiator  of  automobiles  leads 
to  a  very  interesting  problem,  which 
merits  some  study  for  applications  to 
small   units 

The  majority  of  the  larger  installations 
in  this  country  arc  forced-draft  towers, 
while  European  practice  seems  to  be 
toward  using  natural-draft  towers  wher- 
ever ground  .space  permits.  With  plenty 
of  ground  space  available  the  natural- 
draft  tower  should  receive  most  careful 
consideration,  and  the  application  of  a 
natural-draft  tower  to  a  condenser  that 
will  discharge  the  water  practically  at 
the  temperature  of  the  steam  makes  a 
very  desirable  combination  for  the  average 
installation. 


tongs.  5  men  on  each  of  four  pairs  of 
extra-heavy  long-handled  lay  tongs.  An- 
other section  lifted  the  next  joint  with 
pickups,  and  the  pipe  steerer  lined  it  up  so 
the  thread  would  enter  properly,  while 
the  joint  was  twirled  by  the  friction  of  a 
length  of  rope  passed  around  it  several 
times  and  drawn  back  and  forth  until 
the  pipe  would  enter  no  farther  in  the 
collar  without   the  aid   of  the   tongs. 

The  foreman  then  sat  astride  the  col- 
lar and  beat  time  with  his  hammer,  while 
the  tongsmen  "broke  out" — two  tongs  up 
and  two  down,  with  the  precision  of  a 
militarj-  drill. 

It  is  hard  to  realize  the  difficulties  which 
presented  themselves  during  the  work, 
which  was  begun  during  the  rainy  season. 
The  Panama  Railroad  was  double-track- 
ing its  line  and  canal  construction  was 
going  on  everyAvhere.  Steam  shovels  were 
at  work,  tracks  were  being  shifted  and 
plans  wj^re  being  changed  all  the  time. 
There  is  no  wagon  road  across  the  isth- 
mus and  it  was  necessary  to  dodge  the 
heavy  dirt-train  traffic  continually. — Bul- 
letin  American   Republics. 


Piping  Oil  from  the  Pacific  to 
the  Atlantic 

On  December  15,  1906.  the  waters  of 
the  Pacific  ocean,  for  the  first '  time  in 
liistory,  mingled  with  the  waters  of  the 
Atlantic  ocean,  across  the  Isthmus  of 
Panama.  It  was  not,  however,  through 
the  great  canal,  but  through  the  oil  pipe 
line  of  the  Union  Oil  Company,  of  Cali- 
fornia, wliich  was  being  tested  with  sea 
water,  under  a  jjressure  of  800  pounds, 
before  being  put  into  service.  The  in- 
stallation of  this  line  opened  the  Eastern 
market  for  the  first  time  to  California 
oil  and  gave  it  opportunity  to  compete 
with  the  product  of  tlie  great  oil  combina- 
tion. 

The  laying  of  the  line  and  the  construc- 
tion of  the  puni))ing  stations  were  in 
charge  of  R.  W.  I'enn,  one  of  the  com- 
l>any's  engineers.  Six  months"  time  was 
given  the  company  under  its  concession 
from  the  Government.  On  April  16.  the 
])ipe  laying  was  begun,  and  the  line  was 
completed  October  i6,  six  months  to  a 
day.  Jamaican  laborers  were  employed, 
in  gangs  of  70  each,  divided  into  sections. 
I-'irst  came  the  "brushcrs,"  cutting  all 
the  grass  and  brush,  followed  by  the 
"stringers,"  who  laid  the  pipe  in  line,  end 
to   end. 

The  next  division  removed  the  thread 
j)rotectors  and  painted  the  threads  with  a 
])reparation  of  oil  and  graphite.  The  pipe- 
laying  gang  proper  consisted  of  the  men 
who  handled  the  lifting  jacks,  jack  boards 
and  chain  tongs  for  holding  the  finished 
line    in    place,    and    20    nun    on    the    pipe 


Old  and    New  Water  Power 
Companies 


Clemens  Herschel.  writing  of  the  old 
water-power  companies  which  sold  mill 
sites  and  furnished  water  power  at  an 
annual   rental,   says  :  ■ 

".At  the  present  day,  companies  of  pre-  H 
cisely  the  nature  described  are  no  longer 
being  organized.  Indeed,  the  time  has 
come  when,  in  certain  cases,  it  woidd  be 
materially  profitable  to  convert  such  com- 
panies, and  they  should  be  converted,  into 
the  modern  form  of  power  company  which 
distributes  power  on  wires  instead  of  dis- 
tributing water  through  canals,  as  was  the  = 
old-time  method.  The  large  areas  of  land  I 
hitherto  occupied  by  the  canals  could  then 
l)e  sold  or  used  for  other  purposes,  the 
proceeds  of  such  sales  possibly  paying  for 
the  whole  improvement,  while  much  power 
now  wasted  by  hydraulic  losses  in  long 
canals  and  at  many  power  plants  would  be 
recovered  and  all  the  power  to  be  dis- 
tributed and  used  would  be  generated  at 
and  (listrilnitcd  from  one  central  power 
station." 


.\luminium  paint  is  made  by  blowing 
air  or  gas  through  molten  aluminium 
while  it  is  setting  and  at  the  same  time 
stirring  violently.  This  forms  a  spongy 
or  granulated  metal  that  is  easily  pulver- 
ized. Tiic  powdered  metal  is  sized  and 
jjolisiicd. 


In  1907.  the  United  States  produced 
166,000.000  barrels  of  oil,  and  in  1908. 
according  to  unofficial  estimates,  the  total 
was  in  excess  of  that  amount.  The 
United  States  produces  6.^X2  per  cent,  of 
the    entire    oil    production    of   the    world. 


June  22,  iQoy. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


•097 


Exonomy    of    Four    Valve  Elng^nes 


By   Thomas    Hall* 


The    Dean    and    \V«m<1    report,    a*    prc- 
'ienttMl    at    the    Detroit    .MecluiK,    in    June, 
of    the    American    Society    of    Me- 
cal     Engineer*.    ha»    so    often    been 
nii!<quutetl,    misrepresented    and    mi>u>e«l, 
vjnu-times    for    the    purpose    of    injiirmt; 
pros|)ective   business  of  builders  of   foiir- 
x.ilve    engines,    that    it    seems    eminently 
proper  for  some  comment   to  be  made  by 
Irrs    of    this    type    of    engine.      There 
rdly  a  comment  or   !.latement   in  the 
IXan  and  WimmI  reiH)rt  that  has  not  been 
twisted     and     (li-.torte<i     ahnost      beyond 
recognition.     The  argument  has  even  becti 
advanced  that    hiiihlers   tif   four  valve  en- 
gines must  rcali/c  that  the  four-valve  prop- 
osition is  a  faihire,  because  they   had  not 
in  any  way  defended  themselves  in  print 
since  the  issue  «if  this  paper. 

In  answer  to  »uch  comments.  I  have 
to  say  that  in  so  far  a*  builders  of  four- 
valve  engines  with  the  G»rliss  type  cyl- 
inder are  ci»nccrn«.d.  no  defense  was  called 
for.  The  tests  were  n<>t  made  on  engines 
of  this  constructiftn  aiul  the  adverse  com- 
ments were  made  only  with  reference  to 
the  types  of  engine  tested.  We  indorse 
,  of  the  statements  made  by  Dean  and 
1  and  shall  endeavi.r  in  a  brief  man- 
mr  to  discuss  the  comments  made  by  them 
in  so  far  as  «!'<•>•  jx-nain  to  four-valve 
constnirtion.  ;  .    them  in  the  light 

in   which   we  ■!   them. 

The  first  comment  which  has  liecn  wide- 
ly   quoted     reatls :       "There    are     several 
features  in  these  results,  as  follows:    The 
most  imp<irtant  is  that  the  four-valve  en- 
gines,    which     were     built     to     be     m«ire 
"   HI  single  \.-tl\e  engines,  have 
III    Ihrir    oh(ect  " 
I  III*   CO lent    has   liren   qiiMed   in   ab- 
stract   as    .ippKing    to   all    type*    of    four- 
valve    engine,    without   ipioling    other    see- 
lions  of  the  pajK-r  formiag  a  |K»rt  of  this 
comment.       I  Van    ami    \V«ni»1    ma«le    this 
statement  a«  applying  only  to  the  engines 
teste«l.  and  not  to  four-valve  consiniction 
in  general. 

In    furthrr   r«>niment    on   the   IWO    fmir- 
vaUe   et)/  d   we   quote    the   pa|Mrr  ' 

"These   r.  .v   fits*  rf^->n'.   I..  rr.yUrr 

eC'»nomy   by   ■ 

of  parts,  even 

clearances     reduce«l.    ;•■ 

The    duplication    of   val. 

four- valve    engines    vimply    Increaics    the 

opportunity    for   leakage" 

This    ctHnmrni.    fully    discussed.    wmiH 
form   a   very   I-ng   .if tide   itself      We   can 
only.     thrfrf.,r.       r.  f.  r     In    it    briellv        It 
is   an   of* 
area    '1- 

an.  I  l< 

!..!  •   ••»• 

•ed  cleanincr  does  increase  sieam  c«w«- 


sumption.  unless  compression  is  carried 
well  up  to  the  admission  pressure.  There 
is  very  little  loss,  however,  if  compres- 
sion is  carried  well  up  to  the  admission 
line.  .\ny  loss  that  docs  occur  i»  largely 
due  to  condensation  causi-d  by  the  in- 
creased wall  area  niri.ltti'ril  to  iiK-reased 
clearance.      These  .    we    believe, 

are   now    well    rec-  ..  >  most    steam 

engineers. 

.\s  a  check  on  increased  wall-area  ef- 
fect, the  writer  once  used  thin  sheet  sled 
to  make  a  clock -spring -shaped  coil,  hav- 
ing an  area  nearly  twice  that  of  the  wall 
area  of  one  end  of  the  cylinder,  iiK-lu<ling 
the  piston  face  ami  p<»n  walls  The  c>l- 
iinler  head  was  moved  lack  to  obtain  un- 
changed clearance  \oIiiiik  The  engine 
selected  was  of  the  single-acting  tvpe, 
which  made  it  necessary  only  to  make  the 
changes    for   one  end.      With   this   added 

wall  area,  the  sleam  consumption  •.• 

creased  nearly  2$  per  cent 

In  economy  tests  of  single  valve  «-u|{nies 
we  have  man>  tunes  reduced  the  steam 
consumption  nearly  a  pound,  where  com- 
pression was  low.  by  adding  exhaust 
lap  an<l  thus  carrying  the  compression 
higher  on  the  card.  Neither  of  these,  how- 
ever, is  anywhere  nearly  as  imp«irtaiit 
a  factor  as  leakage.  The  IVan  aiwl  Wo<id 
comment  makes  this  fact  plain.  With 
some  designs,  if  not  in  first-class  condi- 
tion, tin-  leakaite  goes  «n  far  toward  off- 
sttting   I  '  "U   distribution   an<l   de- 

crease<i  that    little    gain    is    ef- 

fect eti 

The  next  comment  made  by  IVan  ami 
Woo«I  i«  as  follows:  **.\fter  considering 
lhe«e  tests  we  do  iKit  hesitate  to  advise 
builders  in  ahaiHlon  fcmr-valve  for  high- 
s|iee4l  engines.  unles«  the)-  are  prepared 
to  buikl  a  really  high-class  engine,  having 
four  Corliss  or  gridiron  valves  n  ' 

fitletl  in  the  Ik-si  m.i»"u-r  "     Thi- 
has   lieen    Iwisird  '!t-4t 

IVan    aiMl    W-ww!  t»ir 

building    of    ' 

type.  e«cef><   '       .  ■• 

not  at  all  tlie  real  meaning  of  the  IVan 
simI  W«mm|  comment  Such  engines  as 
the  llarrishiirg  four  \alve.  the  Rail  four- 
y:\l\r  »nt\  the  Ritlgwjy  finir  \,il\e.  for  r\- 
aniplr,  are  of  the  ireiieral  design  jtid  >><i< 
St  r 


briirl.  or  we 

gitM-    ../    ilii.    

tyi"  rated  bjr  the   Ridgwaj   foor- 

vsl 

<  ihe   IVan  and    WimmI   cnni' 


nrigtnally.     bnt     th;il     tiMMiUt 

by    wear,   if   thry   are   not    ••• 

The   tvearinff  procsaa  alioaM  br  a  lighi 


tically  all  Corliss-<>-pe  valves  tend  to 
lighten,  except  tliosc  which  span  too  sride 
as  arc  in  covering  the  ports,  as,  for  ex- 
ample, if  ports  are  placed  on  opposite 
sides  of  the  valve,  as  the  valve  wears 
smaller  in  diameter  it  cannot  wear  tignt. 
but  will  do  the  reverse.  The  same  thing 
is  true  of  a  \aUe  which  span*  lou  large 
an  arc  only  to  a  lesser  extent.  Many 
Corliss  engines,  but  by  no  means  all.  are 
successful  in  this  respect.  The  Corliss 
engine  reache<l  good  economy  because  of 
its  excellent  steam  di  '  '  -  i  due  to 
its   fours%alves  arnl   d:  '     and  lie- 

cause  of  the  \al\es  leiidui);  ii-  wear  tight 
rather  than  leaky  The  Cnrli**  valve 
d«ies    not    have    a    heavy  1 .    it 

rest*  during  the  heavy  pre-  -I  of 

expansioti  and  moves  when  the  pressures 
on  it  are  light .  conse«|uently.  its  wear 
is  not  as  seritHis  as  it  would  otherwise  be. 
In  many  Corliss  engines  the  valve  does 
not  span  a  wide  arc  and.  therefore,  it 
keeps  tigtN  t. 
the  other  h.i 

do  not  by  an>  iiu-aits  v^x^t  iigh:  I  Jte 
pressure  on  the  steam  valves  i*  the  dif- 
ference betwi-rn  that  in  the  steam  chest 
and  that  in  the  cylimler  It  is  readily 
seen,  therefore,  why  there  sh<mld  not  tie 
heavy  movement  of  the  v^lve  during  ex- 
pansion; this  means  the  overiravel  should 
noi  he  nvre  than  that  retjuired  to  m  .Vr 
it  stram-tight.  "The  strains,  the  c--  ■ 
queiit  wear  aiwl  the  - 
life  of  the  \al\es  aix 
are  very  nearlv  pri>p>>riMHMl  !•>  the  tMei- 
travel."  5some  nukes  of  four-valve  en- 
gine ha\e  as  much  as  two  inches  over- 
tra\el.  while  half  an  inch  is  amnlr  i.,r 
steam-lightness.      To    get    a    r< 

v.ib  - r  which  win  it   ■ 

iiii:  'ri\c|  and  give  suft< 

p..rt   ..i-  '    ^ 

of     tlte 

ai . 
it- 


While  the   iH-an  aiMl  W(hm|  r 
ailention    to    '•>•     '<•    •  '"'^     ••' 
to  lend  low 
to  bear  in  nm-i 
Beats    shmild    !>• 


pr 


<sf    tW    strain 


Kr. 


l*^f.     Rl<tnr«r     T*nmmnt 


i^enkm  w«  bellrve  that  prar 


.1*4  rmlM* 


1098 


POW  ER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  22,  1909. 


'if  the  Corliss  engine  and  yci  eliminates 
he  drop  cutoff,  the  less  will  be  the  valve 
and  gearing  strains  and  wear  of  these 
parts.  There-  are  several  four-valve  en- 
gines on  the  market  in  which  these  strains 
are  very  apparent  when  the  engines  are 
running.  Leakage  by  the  steam  valves 
and  piston  is  more  commonly  a  source 
of  serious  loss  of  economy  than  that  of 
the  exhaust  valves.  Leakage  is  very  near- 
ly proportional  to  the  length  of  the  edge 
times  the  number  of  edges  past  which 
it  can  take  place.  If,  however,  the  valve 
spans  too  wide  an  arc,  wear  makes  leakage 
even  more  serious.  .\  four-valve  engine 
is  purchased  in  preference  to  a  single- 
valve  engine  solely  because  of  better 
economy.  To  insure  this  a  purchaser 
should  examine  leakage  possibilities  and 
the  nearness  of  the  valve  movement  to 
that  of  a  Corliss  engine.  Bear  in  mind 
that  the  drop  cutoff  gives  a  very  dif- 
ferent movement  to  that  of  a  plain  fixed- 
wristplate  motion. 

Pcssibly  the  only  expression  of  doubt 
regarding  the  Corliss-type  four-valve  cyl- 
inder contained .  in  the  Dean  and  Wood 
report  is  the  clause :  '"Even  then  it  would 
be  necessary  for  them  to  prove  their  case." 
In  this  connection  we  have  to  say  that 
l\w  mere  fact  of  building  a  Corliss-type 
cylinder  does  not  by  any  means  insure 
maintained  ccououiy.  and  while  we  believe 
this  t>pe  of  cylinder  is  the  proper  chan- 
nel through  which  to  seek  economy,  we 
also  believe,  with  Dean  and  Wood,  that 
the  valves  must  be  properly  designed  and 
fitted. 

In  dealing  with  the  foregoing  comment 
by  Dean  and  Wood,  we  associate  with  it 
a  part  of  their  next  and  last  reference  to 
the  four-valve  class  of  engine,  reading  as 
follows:  "From  the  results  we  are  justi- 
fied in  thinking  that  most  high-speed  en- 
gines rapidly  deteriorate  in  economy.  On 
the  contrary  slower-running  Corliss  or 
gridirnn-valve  en.gines  improve  in  economy 
for  some  time  and  then  maintain  the 
economy  for  many  years.  It  is  difficult 
to  see  that  the  speed  is  the  cause  of  this, 
and  it  must  depend  upon  the  nature  of  the 
valves."  While  we  agree  with  this  state- 
ment in  the  main,  we  believe  that  many 
Corliss  engines  do  not  maintain  their 
economy,  due  to  bad  valve  design  and 
construction.  We  refer  to  designs  in 
which  the  valve  spans  and  is  depended 
upon  to  maintain  tightness  over  too  wide 
an  arc  of  its  seat.  Also  to  rough  ma- 
chining and  ports  and  steam  chests  with 
sand  scale  sticking  to  their  walls,  a  con- 
dition not  at  all  uncommon  with  some 
makes  of  Corliss  engine.  We  firmly  be- 
lieve that  four-valve  engine  builders  have 
given  greater  attention  to  these  details. 
We  do  not  believe  roughly  fitted  valves 
with  ports  improperly  cleaned  can  ever 
fit  themselves  and  glaze  to  a  condition 
possible  with  a  properly  fitted  valve.  This, 
of  course,  applies  equally  to  four-valve 
and  Corliss  engines.  We  also  believe 
the    steam-valve    scats    should    always    be 


fitted  with  cages  of  a  closer-  and  harder- 
grained  iron  than  that  used  in  the  cyl- 
inder. Some  four-valve  engines  do  rapidly 
deteriorate  in  economy  and  naturally  so, 
because  of  too  great  overtravcl,  resultant 
heavy  strains  and  wear,  and  some  be- 
cause of  neccssar\-  seal  o\er  too  wide  an 
arc  of  the  valve  seat.  Tlie  higher  speed 
may  conirilintc  slightly  to  greater  wear, 
but  the  nature  of  the  \'alve  and  its  mo- 
tion are  the  real  factors  determining  de- 
terioration or  maintaining  economy.  The 
valves  of  Corliss  engines  do  not  as  a 
rule  span  a  wide  arc  and  do  not  have 
heav}'  ovcrtravels  and.  consequently,  do 
not,  in  the  better  makes,  where  properly 
fitted,  deteriorate  rapidly.  If  the  four- 
.  \ah-e  engine  is  properly  designed  and 
built  it  will,  due  to  its  higher  speed, 
e.xceed  the  Corliss  engine  in  economy. 
Cylinder  condensation  is  considerably  re- 
duced by  tlie  higher  speed. 

Economies  have  been  obtained  with  the 
snnple  noncondensing  four-valve  engine 
that,  as  far  as  the  writer  is  aware,  have 
never  been  reached  under  the  same  steam 
conditions  by  any  other  type  of  engiiie. 
For  e.xample,  a  test  conducted  by  Pro- 
fessor Spangler.  of  tlie  University  of 
Pennsylvania,  on  a  16x16  Harrisburg 
lour-valve  engine,  running  noncondensing 
at  a  speed  of  210  revolutions,  gave  an 
economy  of  22^  pounds  at  full  load  and 
slightly  better  at  ^  load,  with  125  pounds 
gage  pressure. 

A  test  of  a  19x19  of  the  same  make, 
made  by  Professor  Diederichs,  of  Cornell, 
gave  22.77  pounds  at  full  load  and  slightly 
better  at  -^^  load.  The  steam  pressure  was 
about  125  pounds  and  the  speed  205  rev- 
olutions, running  noncondensing. 

We  know  very  little  of  results  obtained 
from  P>ali  engines,  hut  understand  that 
they  have  obtained  Ixntcr  tlian  23  pounds 
noncondensing,  witli  150  pounds  steam 
pressure.  For  a  tandem  noncondensing, 
150  pounds  steam,  they  have  reached  i8i/4, 
pounds. 

A  test  of  a  19x18  Ridgway  four-valve 
engine,  at  200  revolutions  and  100  pounds 
steam   pressure,   gave   results   as   follows : 


30.7 


\ 
24.4 


-Load. 
23.2 


Full  1 ; 

23.8  25.4 


Tests  made  by  this  company  of  this 
engine  gave  for  its  best  result  at  1.30 
pounds  pressure,  21.6  pounds:  at  115 
pounds  pressure,  22.6  pounds ;  at  85 
pounds  pressure.  24.,^  pounds. 
••  Three  later  engines  of  the  .same  size 
tested  by  this  company  gave  results'at  100 
pounds  steam  pressure,  200  revolutions, 
as  follows : 


. L().\i). . 

,.     •       VT  i  3         Full 

Kneinp  .\o.  2306 2.5.  2.5  22  8     22  7 

Kneine  No.  2307 24 . 9  23  46  22  65 

Engine  No.  2308 24 .  59  22 . 3     21.9 

Engine  \o.  2308  was  tested  at  130 
pounds  steam  pressure  and  gave  20.17 
pounds  per  indicated  horsepower  per  hour. 
Engines  2306,  2.307  and   2308  were  not   in 


any  way  especially  fitted  up  to  secure 
economy  but  simply  built  according  to  our 
standard  practice.  The  results  given  here- 
with on  these  three  engines  are  those  of 
the  first  and  only  tests  made  on  them.  The 
uniformity  of  the  tests  from  all  three 
engines  we  believe  to  be   unusual. 

The  results  of  tests  cited  as  sample 
cases,  of  Harrisburg,  Ball  and  Ridgway, 
we  believe  were  obtained  by  men  whose 
integrity,  as  far  as  I  know,  is  unques- 
tioned. If  better  results  have  been  ob- 
tained from  any  other  type  of  engine 
under  like  conditions  with  equal  evidence 
of  truth,  we  will  be  glad  to  know  of  them. 
There  are  many  four-valve  engines  of 
good  design  which  have  been  in  service 
from  six  to  eight  years,  with  valves  in 
fine  condition  and  practically  tight. 

To  repeat,  we  believe  maintained  econ- 
omy in  this  type  of  engine  is  dependent 
upon  reduction  of  unnecessary  overtravel, 
properly  fitted  valves,  valves  which  do  not 
span  a  wide  arc,  close  approach  of  the 
movement  of  the  valves  to  that  of  a 
Corliss   engine  and  good   materials. 


The  foregoing  article  was  referred  to 
F.  W.  Dean  for  criticism.  His  reply  fol- 
lows : 

By  F.  W.  Dean 

Referring  to  the  foregoing,  I  wish  to 
state,  in  order  that  the  matter  may  be 
clearly  understood,  that  the  paper  on  the 
subject  of  the  tests  was  written  by  me  and 
then  shown  to  Mr.  Wood  for  criticism. 
Mr.  Wood  approved  of  the  paper  in  a  gen- 
eral way,  except  that  he  considered  that 
my  conclusions  were  rather  broader  than 
the  results  of  the  tests  warranted.  Per- 
haps he  is  right  in  this,  but  I  decided  after 
considering  the  matter  that  I  would  let 
the  paper  stand  as  written. 

It  often  happens  in  matters  of  this  kind 
that  conclusions  are  of  doubtful  mean- 
nig,  but  my  general  opinion  of  the  matter 
of  the  ijur-valve  engines  tested  was  that 
they  were  of  tlie  kind  that  are  not  likely 
to  give  economical  results  ;  but  it  is  also 
my  opinion  that  four-valve  engines  can  be 
designed  that  will  give  economical  re- 
sults and  which  will  continue  to  be 
economical  for  very  many  years.  The 
understanding  of  my  view  as  stated  in  the 
foregoing  article  is  correct.  In  one  place 
1  recommended  the  abandonment  of  four- 
valve  engines  unless  engines  having  four 
Corliss  valves  or  four  gridiron  valves 
should  be  built.  It  now  appears  that  there 
are  three  makes  of  engine  of  this  class 
which  seem  to  fulfil  every  requirement 
for    permanent    economy. 

In  one  of  my  comments  I  stated  that  it 
would  be  necessary  for  the  makers  of 
high-class  four-valve  engines  to  prove 
their  case.  The  reason  for  this  statement 
was  that  there  were  very  few  tests  made 
up  to  the  time  of  writing  the  paper  and  I 
was  not  in  possession  of  data  which 
showed  what  such  engines  could  do.  The 
results    of    tests    quoted    in    the    foregoing 


Junt  22,  1909. 

article,  however,  show  without  any  doubt 
that  engine^  oi  ^lii^  cla^s  can  K>ve  unuMual 
economy     lor    >iinple    n<>ncondcn>iiu?    ni- 
(7incs.     My  upiniun  is  thai  if  p< 
desire  econ<jmy  with  simplr  noii> 
engines  it   woul<l  Inr  desirable  ii»  Iniy   en 
gines  of  this  class.     Wherever  the  rxhau'»t 
steam  can  be  used  this  is  of  little  or  no 

inirx  irt.'iiiri- 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


1099 


A   Reciprocating  Eiigine  Exithusiast 


Bv  I-    L   Johnson 


The  engineer  who  is  always  down  on 
hi*  liKk  had  just  left  me.  after  making 
a  "touch"  that  showed  that  for  unce 
at  least  luck  was  with  him  "momenta- 
rially,"  as  the  (»verli*ad  giiaraiitces  say. 
I  sat  thinking  about  hnn  and  his  kind  and 
wondering  how  an  ins|H-ctor  could  lie  in- 
riuenced  or  ci>n\inced  that  a  man  who 
look  such  poor  care  uf  himoelf  could  be 
trusted  with  the  care  of  l»«»iler>  and  en- 
gines. His  address  card  (minus  the  ad- 
dress), covered  with  thumb  marks  and  the 
emblems  of  a  half  do/en  engineers  and 
fraternal  societies,  coupled  with  the 
lalismanic  letters.  "M.  K.."  would  l(-a<i 
one  to   '  '    such   a   man,   if   really 

in    go(Ml  in    %n    many    ordain/a 

tion*.  and  li  e^cn  tolerably  clean,  would 
always  have  work,  and  never  be  found 
jobless  and  moneyless  on  Manhattan 
inland.  ili»  wa«  perhaps  a  common  if 
senseless  predicament.  His  wages  had 
l»ecn  reduced  by  hi»  employer,  who  was 
losing  money  \Vith«»ut  stopping  to  con- 
sider that  while  lotiking  for  a  new  situa- 
tion a  ptmriy  Idled  pay  envelop  is  al- 
most infinitely  better  than  no  envelop,  he 
left,  and  with  his  last  dollar  Ixiugbl  a 
ticket  for  the  city  and  heljHrd  to  swell 
the  rank>  of  the  great  army  of  unem 
ployed  engineers. 

\s  he  went  nut.  Sawyer  came  in  attd 
d   himself,   and   UMtking   quirically    in 
tii>    directitm,    taid : 

"I  passe<l  your  friend  in  the  hall,  but   I 
saw    him    first     and    gave    him    no    op 
|>ortunily  to  nutue  me      I  have  known  him 
b)   sight  »  gre.ti   man>    >r.ifv   .n 
wi«le      experience      in      I'>»iiik 
Somehow    he   always   seemctl   to   strike   a 
"""shable  job.  or  if  nol  naturally  so.  he 
made  it  one.     I  never  really  under- 
«t-"N|  until   today  how   snrh  hetple«s  and 
incapable    men    got    alonit    in    ihe    witrld. 
hut    I   see   ii   pbinl>    ei.      . 
»rr   a    whole    lot    #.f    r  ■ 
have  been  nv 
more    or    |r 
perKxIical  holdups  and  ihn*  help  to  keep 
them  going 

"Rul   I  wanted  In  see  jrou  about   some- 
thing else      Some  lime  ago  ymi  published 
•ome  indiealor  diagrams  that   I   gase  yoa 
along  with  «#»me  remarks   af>..u»   ihe  f»re 
essiiy    for  eomprrs«J<.M    .ui<l    rffn-i   on   the 


coal    pile.      Since   that    time   I    have   had      liver  the  greater  amount  of  power  at  the 


ta*' 


•  ries   under   their    super 
i    ii.i*c   asked   all   of   them   to   ir>    an   en- 
gine with  a  fixed   load,  such  as  could  be 
fumishetl  by  the  use  of  a  water  rhet>stat. 
with    different    conditions    of     ■  • 

tribution    ( I    called    it    steam 


•    ail.   exc« 

f:iil« 


lect  a: 
ih-   . 


r  tlicrc  ha«  Jieen 


of    to    cn- 

■  uc    It    tiu>re   or    less 

wouW     lie     needed 

with    aiioiher 

was  Iwred  and 

There  is  no  need  of  do- 


in»trnd    ..f         ' 

-.ilkiii^     ■   , 

gineers),   j; 

indicated    I' 

with    one    > 

Well,  each 

practically  said : 

ing  this      We  have  calculated   the   steam 

c«.nsumption    for   all   conditions   of   valve 

adjustment    and    know    just    how    it    will 

come   out' 

"But."  I  said,  "you  ma>  • 
it:  you  may  understand  t 
entropy  ami  things  like  th.it.  wiiilc  I  do 
not.  but  I  have  run  up  axainst  two  .»r  three 
things  in  the  handling  of  steam  engines 
for  commercial  instead  of  experimental 
purposes  that  have  le<l  me  to  think  that 
you  know  a  few  things  that  arc  nol  so; 


•1 

the    Ih 
after    • 
|>ci'»i\e   ex. 
given    to    !. 
aiid    the    k 
ciproc.  • 
at  the 


that  has 
of  the  t 
place    ! 


d- 

le 

f 


been 

.1 


r\er\day   hie." 

During    the    talk.    5>awyer's    cigar 
gone  out  and  as  he  relightetl  it  ami 
smr>ke  rings,  first ^  large 
smaller     one     which     he 
through  the  large  oik,  1  asked: 


n 
:r 

had 
blew 


WHICH     DIACaAM     WILL    I«LtVCB    THE  t>-«KATn   AMOVITT  OT  POWga    AT    THK 

aiM  or  THE  rtvuHOL* 


and  I  want  you  to  'show  me."  If  1  have 
Iteen  wrong  all  these  years.  I  want  to 
know  ami  admit  it  to  all  of  my  friends 
aiKl  lake  iho  'joshing'  that  is  ilue  me.  I 
do  nol  care  lo  be  the  last  person  in  the 
world  to  discover  that  I  have  ' 
taken  all  the  years  of  my  e 
life. 

"I    alto   tuggrstcd   thai    thi^   be   rhn*0-n 
as   . 


he  made      Months  ha%  ' 

lie.tr. I       :.,, filling        ^f^       I       ... 

ihi'  e   of    ihr 

m.  

lb' 


Well/ 


he    rr 

I, TV.. 


rim  of  the 

.1^....    1.-1    , 


'lai    me    turiMoe    cjnt>>t 


o^e   !•   tht«        Mrf<-    >• 


'Ir- 


I  Fir     t  u 
wish    I 


■  r<i>fn'>c 


IIOO 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGIXEER. 


June  22,  1909. 


Low-Pressure      Steam      Turbines 

The    Rateau-Smoot    Compared    with    the    Parsons    and    Curtis   Types 
Extreme    Accuracy     Not     Necessary     to     ReHability     and     Efficiency 


B     Y 


C 


H 


S     M     O     O     T 


It  has  now  been  thoroughly  established 
that  the  most  efficient  possible  steam  en- 
gine is  a  compound  unit  consisting  of  a 
reciprocating  engine,  acting  between  boiler 
pressure  and  approximately  atmospheric 
pressure,  exhausting  to  a  low-pressure 
turbine,  which  in  turu  discliarges  to  the 
condenser. 

Were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  high-pres- 
sure turbines  in  large  sizes  are  vastly 
cheaper  than  reciprocating  engines,  it 
would  Ik  a  safe  prediction  that  all  future 
plants  would  include  turbines  and  en- 
gines. 

It  is  still  a  moot  question,  however, 
whether  the  greater  coat  of  combined  en- 
gine and  turbine  plant  over  that  for  tur- 
bine plant  alone  is  authorized  by  tlic 
increased  economy. 

In  any  event,  however,  existing  plants 
equipped  with  reciprocating  engines  will 
show  improved  economy  by  running  them 


energy  between  atmosplicric  pressure  and 
5  i)Ounds  Ik'Iow. 

Fig.  I  gives  the  manufacturers'  guar- 
anteed steam  consumption  curves  for  a 
7000-kilowatt  low-pressure  Rateau-Smoot 
turbine  at  28.5  inclies  vacuum  with  an  ad- 
mission pressure  of  16  pounds  absolute. 
At  7000  kilowatts  the  machine  is  guar- 
anteed to  deliver  one  kilowatt-hour  at 
the  switchboard  for  25.7  ])ounds  of  steam. 

An  investigation  of  tlic  steam  consump- 
tions ol)tained  when  sucli  a  turbine  is 
used  to  compound  high-pressure  noncon- 
densiug  engines  will  prove  of  interest. 
The  accompanying  table  shows  the  steam 
consumption,  efficiencies,  etc..  for  each  of 
these  two  units.  The  figures  taken  for 
the  steam  consumption  in  both  cases  arc 
rated  very  conservatively  for  machines  of 
large  power,  the  turliinc  licing  of  7000 
kilowatts  capacity  and  the  engines  of  over 
2000  kilowatts  each,  sevcr.il  of  which  could 


^ 

S^ 

N 

\ 

rf»^ 

bn 

e>«» 

— 

in 

J: 

\ 

H\ 

^ 

'' 

\ 

^s 

^ 

<^ 

\^. 

■•"m 

■-S 

h^ 

am      ¥im 

Kw.  Oatpitf 


MJuo      ;uuo 

fl-«f r,  .V.  1-. 


FIG.      I.     EFTICIENCV    CURVT-S    OF    7000-KILO- 
WATT  U»W-I'KESSLKF.   TLKW)-(;K.\EK.\rOK 

noncondensing  and  installing  low-pressure 
turbines. 

It  was  not  until  tlie  low-pres>ure  turbine 
had  been  commercially  developed  that  en- 
gineers fully  realize<l  the  signiticance  of 
the  fact  that  the  available  energy  per 
pound  of  steam  between  150  pounds  boiler 
pressure  and  2X  inches  of  vacuum  was 
cut  practically  in  halves  by  the  line  of  at- 
mospheric prcs>ure. 

This  fact  appears  almost  like  a  dis- 
covery. Ixrcause  reciprocating  engines  have 
heretofore  been  wholly  incapable  of 
utilising  efficiently  the  energy  below  the 
atmospheric  line.  To  obtain  the  expansir)n 
in  an  engine  which  can  Ik-  readily  reached 
in  the  turbine  would  require  an  enormous 
cylinder,  whose  friction  would  consume 
a  large  portion  of  the  available  energy. 
The  turbine,  however,  can  utilize  as  ef- 
fectively the  energy  between  26  and  28 
inches    of   vacuum    a-;    it    can    utilize    the 


Fig.  2  is  a  logarithmic  plot  of  the  avail- 
able energy  in  steam  for  given  admission 
and  exhaust  pressures.  A  straight  line 
passing  from  the  pressure  at  the  throttle 
to  the  pressure  of  the  exhaust  intercepts 
the  central  scale  at  the  corresponding 
quantity  of  steam  per  unit  of  power  avail- 
able in  the  steam.  This  figure,  divided 
by  the  efficiency  of  the  engine,  gives  the 
quantity  of  steam  per  unit  of  power  de- 
veloped. The  formula  from  which  this 
plot  was  made  was  originally  developed  by 
Professor  Rateau  from  the  entropy  dia- 
gram and  published  in  many  of  his  papers 
on  the  subject  of  steam  turbines. 

The  question  of  the  most  suitable  in- 
termediate pressure  for  engine  exhaust 
and  turbine  admission  is  not  so  important 
as  it  might  seem  from  a  cursory  con- 
sideration. The  pressure  giving  the  maxi- 
mum efficiency  for  the  whole  plant  is  ob- 
\iously   tlic  pressure  that  allows  approxi- 


Engine .. 
Turbino. 


Pi)und.s  Steam  Pressure 
Absolute. 


Admission.      '  Exhaust. 


214. 
It; 


16 

0.75 


Theoretical 
Steam  jier 
Kw.-HoiU'. 


Steam  per 
Kw.-Hour  at 
SwUchboa'd. 


18      lb. 
17.8  lb. 


27.7  lb. 
26.6  lb. 


Combined 

Efllciency  of 

Engine  and 

Dynamo. 


6.5  per  cent. 
67  per  cent. 


Steam  per 
Indicated 
H.P.-Hour. 


Boiler  pressure,  200  pounds,  no  superheat.        Vacuum,  28.5  inches  on  30-lnch  barometer. 


be  used   in  conjunction  witli  a  single  tur- 
bine. 

Steam     per     kilowatt     from     combined 
plant  = 

I 


=  136 


•RMd  hpfor*'  thp  National  Elprtrlr  I.lifht 
Axaorltitlon  ronrpnflon.  Atlantlr  fliv.  \.  .T., 
-Iiinp   1,  2,  :•.  and  4.   UMKt. 


27.7  26.6 

jjounds  of  steam  per  kilowatt-hour. 

The  combined  mechanical  efficiency  of 
heat  transfowiiation  into  electricity  repre- 
sented by  these  two  units  working  in  con- 
junction is  approximately  66  per  cent., 
after  alhnving  for  all  losses  in  turljinc,  en- 
gine and  dynamo. 

This  combination  of  turbine  and  engine 
represents  the  very  highest  efficiency  pos- 
sible to  obtain  in  any  kind  of  steam  en- 
gine, since  it  places  to  best  advantage  tlie 
reciprocating  engine  and  the  turbine, 
neither  one  of  wliich  can,  unaided,  ac- 
complish the  same  residt.  The  figures 
entering  into  these  calculations  are  taken 
conservatively,  and  it  is  believed  that  the 
rating  given  to  the  reciprocating  engine  of 
2.3.4  poun<h  per  indicated  horsepower- 
hour  compftund  noncondensing  is  a  figure 
rcaflilv  obtainable. 


mafcly  equal  efficiencies  of  heat  trans- 
formation into  power  for  engine  and  for 
turbine. 

In  the  case  of  highly  inefficient  engines, 
however,  such  a  condition  can  never  be 
reached,  and  the  intermediate  pressure 
giving  a  maximum  output  from  the  whole 
plant  .should  be  taken  as  high  as  the  con- 
dition under  which  the  engine  is  working 
will  permit.  This  latter  condition  is  gen- 
cTally  the  case  in  engines  working  in  steel 
mills  doing  highly  intermittent  service, 
for  iiere,  at  the  very  best  condition,  the 
efficiency  of  tlie  engine  is  always  lower 
tlian   that   of   the   turliine. 

TIic  tyi)e  of  engine  used  in  central  sta- 
tions, iiowe\er.  wlien  exhausting  in  the 
neigliborhood  f)f  atmospheric  pressure, 
will  show  an  efficiency  practically  equal 
to  a  low-pressure  turbine,  consequently 
very  little  difference  in  the  plant  effi-- 
ciency  will  be  made  if  the  intermediate 
pressure  is  taken  anywhere  from  3  or 
4  pounds  below  atmosphere  to  15  or  20 
pounds  above.  The  reason  for  this  wide 
range  in  pressure  is  to  be  found  in  the 
fact    that    the    efficiency    curve    for    both 


.    June  22,  igoy 


IHJW  ER  AND  THE  ENCilNEEK 


IIOI 


engine  and  iiirbiiu-  has  a  very  flat  lop 
within  this  range,  showing  but  slight  rise 
or  fall  l>etwecn  cither  extreme. 

GlNOCNSINC   ApPAtATl'S 

Since    low-pressure    lurluncs    work    effi- 
ciently   on    high    vacua,    it    is    well    worth 
to       invotigate      thoroughly       i!ic 
im  of  maxiniiim  econ<ini>.  pnltnii:  ■•n 
-ide  the  cost  of  obtaining  the  vacuum 
•  n    the   oihrr    the   economy    rrxulling 
in  the  turbinc 

With    barometric     condeuM-r^.     n..    real 


Prwiir^ 
St  TbroUl* 


-—  m 


much  lc»»  water  than  turface  condentrr*. 
since,  in  a  well-dc*ignr  '  '  -  rtrk  con- 
den»cr,    the    water    •!  may    be 

within   one   or    two   dtgrvr.    of    the   tem- 
perature   of    the     inci>ming    Meam     thtf 
utilifuig  practically  all 
r.Tjwtrity        A     ^ttrfacr 

•ical 
-.  dif- 
firriicr  m  trnipcralure  between  the  <li»- 
charxetl  water  ami  the  entering  «team. 
and  con«e<|uenily  more  water  to  carry 
away   the   heat. 

ft   BKhMUt 


OM   are    known    u   actioa   and    reaction 
machinM.     T      " 
Cunit.   De    1 
Th. 


the  rcac- 

r  •und 

ihu* 


i 


t  /-If 


»•  t 


action  machine  a  tiniionn 
occurs    111    ••-..(>    »..->    .  i 
roury  ' 

tlOS    lypr     '.I     iiijtniiic 

both    slatHtnarv    and    • 

r»c.  • 

\k- 

rr.l 

u 

tbr 

of 

their  *!.. 
Sif. 
be 

blKl^rl^      !■>      tllC 

the  brger  the  n> 

the   grealtr   ' 
pinv      'T^i 


*>«"•  -  acb- 

menl.  o«mi|{  i..  the  «pa<'r  u.  A  to 

the  pcrnii*«ilile  o»»i  of  c«Ni«iriHriioTi 

The    ftucrestful    operation   ol   ihi«   tTfie 
of  turbine   li.. 
accurate   wor. 
trrii 
r-Ii. 

'  '  iDK  K*trkf%\  by  the  steam  mto.  ibr  rar> 

ijMjr 

\hr   .J..M    .l..,f.,i.  .    ti.,r»«ary   in  lhc«c 

ni4i  In-   ■         •  «       • '      .».    ....     ^.....    ....... 

U     !• 

grr. 

I  m  Maff. 

tng   f!" 

lb«-s     mi 


U-iorr 
•  •rdrr   ». 

lllrir     » 


•  cacll 
>twi  thrtr  cor* 

iilf 


ri«.    J    THii«rruAt  stiam  coMftCMpnoK  or  nartrr  imcimk 

•WTi-iilty    it    encoimlerril    in    olilaining    a  Tlic   (ratur. »    ..f  ibr    ...iMttoM-r     «tiS>.h. 

tn  of  JK5  iiM-he«   Miih    wjiir   under      friMi  a  \< 
vT<i.   t  .ilirenheil.  4Mil   .nnil    f    r..iili.      ..I.i  umjIi!. 
!  With  a   > 
'■•    .1    i-ifge    tkater     Mipci  >  01        -...■.... 

«hich   i|<ie«   not    m|iiir«     >    *iii,'i     lift  I'nder 

lo  r.       '     '■  ■  I 

Ti  with   rithre 

(  ioDilruMr.  dr>  aif   pump«  d   5  |«i 


bn 


A      t,  !.•«       \t* 


rrmral 
f«nW« 


4ram.     faamnieir»<-      r..f».l. 


it««i*ive 


i  Iw  M« 


IIOJ 

machine,  on  the  contrary,  having  large 
running  clearances,  can  with  safety  be 
brought  up  to  speed  and  full  load,  when 
cold,  in  two  or  three  minutes. 

In  the  action  tyj.c  ul  machine  the  mov- 
ing element  lias  no  appreciable  pressure 
drop  from  entering  to  leaving  side  of  its 
buckets,  and  therefore  no  disposition  for 
steam  to  leak  around  the  buckets  in  pref- 
erence to  passing  through  them;  conse- 
quently, a  large  clearance  is  permissible 
round  the  rotary  buckets.  Furthermore, 
the  rotary  buckets  are  carried  by  wheels 
mounted  on  a  shaft  and  between  con- 
tiguous wheel  elements  the  stationary 
diaphragm  containing  the  expanding  noz- 
zles can  be  carried  down  to  the  shaft, 
and  between  it  and  the  shaft  is  a  run- 
ning clearance  of  very  much  less  diameter 
than  that  necessitated  by  the  reaction 
type  of  machine. 

Turbines,  in  common  with  all  engines, 
are  subject  to  deterioration  with  service. 
The  actions  tending  to  lower  their  steam 
economy  are : 

I.-jrst— A  gradual  increase  in  the  quan- 
li;y  of  steam  leaking  through  clearance 
spaces,  which  bypass  the  active  portion  of 
the  turbine ;  and 

Second— The  wearing  of  the  buckets 
and  guide  vanes,  distorting  them  from 
their  proper  shape,  thus  lowering  their 
mechanical  efficiency. 

The  losses  coming  under  the  first  case  are 
of  very  little  significance  in  the  action  tur- 
bine, because  in  such  a  machine  the 
diameter  of  the  clearance  space  is  small, 
usually  that  of  the  turbine  shaft ;  but  in 
the  reaction  type  of  machine  the  <lianieter 
of  the  clearance  space  is  large  and  equal 
to  that  at  the  buckets,  giving  a  leakage 
area  much  larger  than  that  of  the  action 
machine.  The  clearance  is  increased  with 
use  of  the  machine,  by  the  wear  from 
steam  passing  at  high  velocity,  together 
with  the  entrained  water  and  particles  of 
dirt. 

On  both  action  and  reaction  machines 
the  buckets  are  subject  to  wear,  the  ex- 
tent of  which  depends  upon  the  relative 
velocity  of  steam  passing  over  the  bucket, 
the  maximum  value  of  which  varies  in- 
versely as  the  square  root  of  the  number 
of  pressure  stages.  In  the  reaction  type 
of  machine  the  wearing  of  buckets  is 
largely  a  question  of  design,  and  is  more 
or  less  unaffected  by  the  number  of  stages. 
In  general  it  seems  probable  that  the  re- 
action type  of  machine  is  subject  to  a 
much  more  rapid  loss  of  efficiency  than  an 
action  machine,  when  both  causes  are 
taken  together. 

Reliability     of     Operatio.n 

A  turbine  is  subject  to  few.  but  very 
serious,  accidents,  which  may  1)e  classified 
as  follows : 

First — Contact  between  stationary  and 
rotary  elements. 

Second — Stripping   of   the   blades. 

Third — .^n  accident  arising  through  an 
interruption    or    failure    in   action    of    the 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

auxiliaries  employed  to  maintain  the  tur- 
bine  in   operation. 

The  rotary  element  can  come  in  con- 
tact w  ith  the  stationary  clement  only  when 
the  clearance  space  is  small,  and  when 
such  is  the  case  the  intervening  space  can 
be  bridged  by  an  unequal  heat  expansion, 
through  foreign  matter  becoming  wedged 
in  the  opening,  or  through  a  slight  loosen- 
ing of  any  one  of  the  numerous  rotary 
buckets.  If  contact  is  once  established, 
the  damage  is  liable  to  be  severe.  It  has 
frequently  been  stated  that  the  clearance  is 
automatically  maintained  by  the  wear 
which  it  produces.  This  may  have  hap- 
pened in  some  instances,  but  usually  the 
cuttings  are  welded  to  the  rotary  element 
and  pile  up.  increasing  the  violence  of 
contact  until  the  heat  generated  results 
in  serious  damage.  The  damage  produced 
in  this  manner,  through  contact  of  the 
rotary  element,  is  above  all  else  the  most 
frequent  trouble  encountered  in  turliine 
operation,  and  every  effort  should  be  made 
so  to  design  and  manufacture  turbines  that 
this  source  of  annoyance  is  either  entirely 
eliminated  or  the  probability  of  this  kind 
of  trouble  reduced  to   a  minimum. 

It  appears  safe  to  state  that  a  clearance 
between  stator  and  rotor  less  than  three- 
thirty-seconds  of  an  inch  is  absolutely 
unsafe,  and  that  a  clearance  of  one-eighth 
of  an  inch  to  five-thirty-seconds  of  an 
inch  is  vastly  preferable,  so  long  as  the 
resulting  steam  leakage  is  not  serious. 
In  the  larger  action  type  of  machines, 
clearances  of  this  magnitude  produce  loss- 
es of  less  than  one  per  cent. 

The  buckets  may  be  stripped  by  contact 
with    the    stationary    element.      An    action 
turbine  has  a  very  large  clearance  around 
its    buckets     (one-quarter    of    an    inch    or 
more)    and    therefore    is    practically    free 
from    damage   of   this   character.      In   this 
type    of    turliine    the    minimum    clearance 
occurs    between    the    pressure    diaphragm 
and     shaft.       When     contact     occurs     be- 
tween shaft  and  diaphragm,  the  resulting 
damage     is     generally     a     warped     shaft, 
caused  by  a   spot   on  the   shaft   becoming 
overheated    and,    through    its    expansion, 
permanently  warping  the  shaft  out  of  line. 
An  interesting  phenomenon  is  illustrated 
when      shafts      come    .in      contact      with 
diaphragms.      No    matter    how    perfectly 
the   rotary   elements   may  be   balanced,   it 
is  impossible  to  have  an  exact  coincidence 
between  the  geometric  center  of  the  shaft 
and  the  mass  axis  of  the  rotary  element. 
When    the    machine    is    running    at    full 
speed  it  rotates  as  nearly  about  its  mass 
axis  as  possible,  throwing  the  shaft  slight- 
ly   eccentric,    and    when    contact    is    es- 
tablished   it    occurs    first    at    that    portion 
of  the  shaft  surface  farthest  from  its  axis 
of  rotation  ;  consequently,  there  is  always 
one   spot   in  the   shaft   which   touches  the 
stationary  element   first   and  localizes   the 
heating    to   a    small    section    of   the    shaft 
periphery.      The   heating   of   the    shaft   at 
this  spot  expands  it,  thus  lengthening  one 
side    of    the    shaft    more    than    the    other, 


1 


June  22,  1909. 


causing  it  to  warp  slightly  out  of  true, 
pushing  the  spot  which  has  been  heated  by 
contact  still  farther  away  from  the  axis 
of  rotation  and  increasing  the  violence  of 
contact.  This  can  be  largely — or  entirely 
— overcome  by  presenting  to  the  shaft  but 
a  very  small  metallic  surface,  or  by  facing 
the  diaphragms  with  carbon  blocks,  which, 
through  their  nature,  are  incapable  of  pre- 
senting sufticient  resistance  to  cause  a 
violent   heating. 

The  preservation  of  a  proper  clearance 
Ijetween  rotor  and  stator,  as  between  one 
type  of  machine  and  another,  is  a  ques-- 
tion  of  its  design  and  construction.  The 
machine  that  is  so  constructed  that,  when 
nearly  assembled,  the  running  clearance 
may  be  inspected,  has  a  great  advantage 
over  the  machine  which  must  be  put  to- 
gether piece  by  piece. 

The  vertical  machine  is  at  a  disad- 
vantage in  this  respect  on  account  of  the 
necessity  of  assembling  it  piece  by  piece, 
threading  over  the  shaft  successively 
diaphragms  and  wheels,  thus  placing  on 
the  erector  of  the  machine  a  great  re- 
sponsibility and  difficulty  in  maintaining 
the  clearance ;  for  after  a  wheel  and 
diaphragm  have  been  placed,  it  is  dif- 
ficult to  inspect  the  clearance.  A  horizontal 
machine,  on  the  other  hand,  eliminates 
this  difficulty  almost  entirely,  for  in  such 
machines  it  is  possible  to  split  the  ma- 
chine through  its  horizontal  center  and 
assemble  in  position  each  half,  then  in- 
spect the  clearance  in  both  halves. 

The  turbine  auxiliaries  are  the  pumps 
for  lubrication  and  for  supplying  the 
fluid  pressure  to  step  bearings.  Fre- 
quently, also,  the  governor  mechanism  in- 
cludes an  auxiliary  as  a  connecting  link 
between  the  fiyball  governor  and  the  con- 
trol valves.  Any  one  of  these  may  cause 
trouble  to  the  turbine,  since  its  operation 
is  dependent  upon  them,  and  their  failure 
results  in  the  failure  of  the  wliole  turbine. 
All  of  these  auxiliaries  appear  unneces- 
sary, and  it  would  seem  that  they  were  in- 
troduced as  a  means  of  patching  up  fea- 
tures which  might  better  have  been 
omitted. 

Bearings  have  been  lubricated  by  oil 
rings  for  many  years,  and  the  bearing- 
of  a  turbine  may  be  lubricated  by  an  oil 
ring  with  the  same  ease  as  the  bearing- 
of  a    i-horsepower   motor. 

The  auxiliaries  to  maintain  in  action  a. 
step  bearing  have  been  made  more  reliable- 
by  the  installation  of  two  pumps  and  an 
hydraulic  accumulator,  so  that  any  twa 
of  these  elements  may  fail,  leaving  one 
in  operation.  This  seems  a  somewhat 
elaborate  method  of  increasing  the  re- 
liability of  an  essentially  simple  machine, 
and  perhaps  the  easiest  way  to  obtain  thfr 
desired  results  would  consist  in  omitting 
entirely  the  step  bearing  by  placing  the 
turbine  in  a  horizontal  position. 

A  forced-feed  bearing  lubrication  is 
thought  necessary  in  the  reaction  type  of 
turbine,  because  in  such  machines,  having 
as    necessity    a    close    runm'ng    clearance,, 


June   2_',    I'jf^j. 


POWER  AND    llil:.  1:..\U1.M:.1:.K. 


ic  Ijearings  muit  also  be  given  a  close 
unniiiK  clearance,  which  is  too  small  to 
ermit  oil  to  enter  the  rubbini;  surface* 
nles>  its  entrance  is  forccU.  In  a  \cr- 
cal-type  macliine.  oil  rintf  bearin|{«  are 
I  course  an  impossibility. 

As     an     e.xain|jle     of     what     can     be 
one     in     simplii'vuig     turbines.     Fig.     3 
lustrates    a    ka;c;iu-Smo<^»t    turbine.      In 
lis    machine    the    I  • 
nf!.  M-l  I -alining,  w 

A  ith  oil  riiiu»  >i 

ii    can    \>c    TV 
irbing  any  ether   portion  of  the  turlune 
Kcept  the  bearing  which  •»  '"  I--  •>]>enc(L 

Between  the   ••haft   an<l  i«  the 

ast  clearance  i>  three-im:**  >». ..nds  of 
n  inch,  and  bi-tMcen  buckets  and  caMng 
le  minimum  clearance  is  one-quarter  <»f 
n  inch.  The  uhcols  are  of  thr  type  il- 
(Strated  in   Fig.   la     The  buckets  are  il- 


plete    nozzle    openmg,    c  ■    it    tt 

impossible    to    maintain    :..-  ae   at   a 

constant    speed,    for   a    slight    increase   of 

speed  is  necessary   to  open  wide   the  3-' 

dilional  no/rle,  and  a  slight  decrease  1  ' 
essary    to   cause    itN      '  i 

prilinif    the    turbine  %e 

--n 
*e 
It.       1  his    u    \>  .-    when 

turbines    are    «.  ^  ■!    with 

other  turbines  having  a  timibr  control. 
or  with  reciprocati"-.'  -"■•-".•«,  for  it  is 
possible    that    the  :    for    slight 

speed    oscillation    m.t\    t.in    ui    step    with 
th«  se   of  other   turbines   or   ensines.  and 
cause    fairly    pronounced    os 
the  entire  system.     Instances 
luve  been  notice<L    With  a  straight  tluot- 


na  3.  cao»»-itcnoN  or  aAnwu-tMoor  7so-kilowatt  iim*ru*»i-KK  rvKnin 

i«ir.iird   in    Fitf    0     "<•!  are  held  astride      tlinc    v<>vrrn<>r.    on    thr    oilu-r    !ian<l.    ll>e 
wheel  by    transverse 

•'  '. ,....*...,{    4II    metal    .it    the 

n*A    abs4>lutrl>     roimrnl 
■it. 
IS     maehinr 


double    |H't>|M'i    I- 


le   in   the  fiybsll  goTrrnor 

and. 

A  put  the 

conti-.  balance 

and  to  O'  >  to  the 

f. 

in 

the    speed    rc^uLitiuu    dciircd. 

CourAUKM  or  Cvms  a«»  Ratkav 
Tt'kuxu 

The  types  of  ai-li.>n   turbine   which  Ka^e 
been     most     i 
represent     •*" 
both  in  t'  ra. 

..fid 
•n- 
m 

;    cofi»»<!cra- 
■lal 


machine*    lies    in 

In    the    "   ■ 
pandrtl   « 


•team,  wi 
ficieiit     \  ( 

t'.'l'nc.      r!:V  r  >  ■'     ■  r 

(lifo^itii)    mIik})    iiu;c    i< 
cfralmg    a    »eci>nd    sel< 


let 


nly  sui- 

ugh  thr 

of   noaks 

— :re  drop 

h   t*  in 


the 


m»<*htnr  *hr  prr««*trr  <1r*^ 


cdved  by  a 
•peed  of  ••»  ■ 
ab«<ifb 


ibr  turtiinc  it  driving  i«  r«pre»m««d  by  A     iW  «»•  U*tui.  ao4  lh«   *«**U  *.**.«** 


AfB  mtutt,  ^ 


1104 

seccnd,  and  the  velocity  leaving  the  Curtis 
nozzles  would  be  approximately  456 
meters,  at  which  condition  it  enters  the 
first  row  of  buckets.  In  the  Rateau  ma- 
chine this  velocity  is  reduced  to  just 
enough  for  the  steam  to  flow  into  the 
next  succeeding  nozzles,  while  in  the  Cur- 
tis machine  such  a  reduction  is  impos- 
sible and  the  large  exit  velocity  from  the 
tirst  row  of  buckets  passes  through  guide 


Pbyrer.y.r. 
Kir,.     4.     K.\TE.\U    BUCKETS    AND    NOZZLES 

blades,  which,  without  a  change  of  pres- 
sure, reverse  the  steam  flow  and  permit 
the  velocity  remaining  to  be  absorbed  in 
a  second  row  of  buckets. 

It  is  of  interest  to  note  that  experi- 
ments have  thoroughly  established  the 
fact  that  the  loss  of  energj-  due  to  fric- 
tion and  eddy  currents  in  a  well-designed 
steam  nozzle,  in  which  velocity  is  created 
by  a  reduction  of  pressure,  docs  not  ex- 


i 


/=\i 

^ 
^ 

^ 
^ 


F:C.  5.     CURTIS   BUCKETS   AXIt    NOZZI.KS 

cccd  5  per  cent. ;  and  in  nozzles  of  large 
sectional  area  comes  down  to  2  per  cent., 
while  the  energy  loss  when  steam  at  high 
velocity  is  caused  to  move  in  a  curved 
channel — as  in  the  rotary  buckets  and 
stationary  guide  blades  of  the  Curtis  ma- 
chine, which  are  equivalent  to  buckets — 
runs  all  the  way  from  15  to  30  per  cent.; 
dependent  upon  the  design,  construction, 
si^e.  etc.,  of  the  buckets. 

For     equivalent     pressure     drop-i.     the 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGIXEER. 

Rateau  type  of  macliinc  has  two  nozzles, 
in  which  the  loss  is  small,  and  two  rows 
of  moving  buckets,  in  which  the  loss  is 
large.  The  equivalent  Curtis  element  rep- 
resenting an  equal  pressure  drop  has  one 
nozzle,  in  which  the  loss  is  small,  fol- 
lowed by  two  rows  of  moving  buckets  and 
one  row  of  stationary  guides,  three  in  all, 
for  which  the  loss  is  high.  Figs.  4  and  5 
show,  respectively,  the  corresponding  ele- 
ments of  Raieau  and  Curtis  turbines. 

Professor  Rateau,  in  a  paper  read  at 
Uio  St.  Louis  Exposition,  showed  that 
tlic  maximum  possible  obtainable  cf- 
liciency  with  cacii  type  of  turbine  dif- 
fered some  20  per  cent,  vvitli  the  bucket 
construction  then  in  use,  and  that  the  dif- 
ference could  not  be  overcome  by  any 
feature  of  bucket  construction  or  design, 
since  wliatevcr  is  obtainable  in  one  type 
(if  niachino  in  tlie  way  of  reducing  losses 
in  buckets  is  also  possible  in  the  other 
type  of  machine,  the  Curtis  type  having, 
however,  always  the  additional  loss  rep- 
resented by  the  stationary  guide  blades 
constructed  like  buckets  and  having  loss- 
es equivalent  to  tliosc  occurring  in  a 
bucket,  while  in  the  Rateau  type  of  ma- 
chine the  corresponding  element  is  an  ex- 
panding nozzle  in  which  the  losses  are 
very  small.  In  addition  to  this,  the  losses 
of  energy  due  to  sliock  arc  greater  in 
the  first  row  of  buckets  on  the  Curtis  ma- 
chine, because  tlie  entering  steam  has  some 
40  per  cent,  greater  velocity  than  in  the 
Rateau  type.  These  differences  cannot  be 
overcome. 

TURIUNE     BlTKETS 

h"ig.  6  represents  a  row  of  buckets,  the 
center  portion  of  which  has  been  in- 
creased to  give  between  adjacent  buckets 
approximately  a  uniform  width  of  steam 
channel.  The  angles  of  entrance  for  steam 
at  full  load  and  light  load  are  shown  by 
arrows  in  the  cut.  Fig.  7  shows  the 
type  of  bucket  employed  in  the  Rateau- 
Smoot  turbine,  with  the  angles  of  steam 
entrance  for  full  and  light  load  also 
indicated. 

These  figures  show  that  it  is  a  mistake 
to  increase  the  thickness  of  a  bucket 
toward  the  center,  as  at  light  loads  the  en- 
tering steam  abruptly  strikes  the  rear  of 
the  buckets.  The  loss  resulting  is 
doubled.  First,  there  occurs  the  loss 
due  to  the  steam  shock  itself;  and,  second, 
the  loss  due  to  the  fact  that  the  reaction 
from  this  shock  is  tending  to  drive  the 
turbine    backward    and    not    forward. 

The  writer  is  quite  unable  to  see  any 
advantage  in  a  bucket  which  is  thicker 
in  the  middle,  having  a  crescent  section. 
As  a  matter  of  resisting  the  steam  wear, 
it  should  be  noted  that  the  edges  of  all 
buckets,  whether  of  crescent  section  or 
otherwise,  are  the  portions  principally  sub- 
ject to  the  steam  erosion  and  are  of 
necessity  made  thin  in  order  to  reduce  the 
steam  friction  of  the  jet  entering  the 
bucket  wheel.  When  these  thin  edges  are 
worn  the  bucket  has  lost  its  proper  section 


June  22,  1909. 

and  becomes  highly  inefficient,  for  the 
crescent  section  equally  as  well  as  for  a 
section  of  uniform  thickness.  In  addition 
to  this  time,  which  is  negative  in  its 
character,  a  crescent-section  bucket  pre- 
sents the  disadvantage  already  noted  of 
increased  losses  on  the  light  loads ;  but 
still  more  serious  from  the  designer's 
point  of  view,  it  greatly  increases  the 
weight    of  metal    in   the   bucket. 


Power,  J\'.  r. 

FIG.     6.      STEAM    FLOW     AT-  FULL    LOAD     AND- 
STEAM    AT    LIGHT    LOAD    IN    CRESCENT- 
SHAPED  BUCKETS  AND  IN  BUCKETS 
OF    UNIFORM    THICKNESS 

At  ordinary  bucket  speeds  for  the  multi- 
stage type  of  turbine,  the  centrifugal  force 
per  pound  of  bucket  weight  amounts  to 
from  1000  to  2000  pounds,  and  therefore 
each  additional  pound  of  material  over 
that  absolutely  necessary  adds  to  the 
wheel  an  enormous  disruptive  effort. 

The  function  of  the  wheel  is  primarily 
to  hold  the  buckets,  and  if  The  weight  of 


lu;.     7.       STEAM     FLOW    AT    FULL    LOAD      ANI> 
STEAM    AT   LIGHT   LOAD   IN   CRESCENT- 
SHAPED    BUCKETS    AND    IN    BUCKETS 
OF    UNIFORM    THICKNESS 


the  buckets  is  doubled  the  weight  of  the 
wheel  itself  must  be  doubled  in  order  to- 
hold  the  buckets  securely  in  position. 

The  limiting  strain  in  the  wheel  is  its 
clastic  limit  and  not  the  ultimate  strength 
of  the  material  employed,  for  if  once  the 
elastic  limit  of  a  wheel  has  been  exceeded, 
it  is  stretched  out  of  its  original  shape 
and  the  running  balance  destroyed,  cans 
ing  the  turbine  to  become  inoperativ 
t'Tongli  the  violence  oi  vibration  ensuing, 


A 


June  22,  1909. 

Vith  equal  weight,  the  strongest  wheel 
{ the  one  which  has  the  lightest  periphery, 
or  it  is  the  weight  of  the  periphery  which 
reduces  the  strain. 

Buckets  which  are  held  in  position  by 
of  a  dovetailed  fit  are  object iimahle 
c  of  the  large  amount  of  wnglit 
iituik-d  by  the  dovetail  cou'^tructif.n.  On 
he  other  hand,  llu-  bucki-t  uluch  is  held 
stride  of  the  wheel  and  riveted  through 
ry  rivets  parallel  to  the  shaft  has  niaxi- 
iium  lightness  for  the  strength  requisite 
D  hold  the  btickets  in  place. 

Kig.  8  shows  a  typical  dovetailed  mcth- 
id  of  mounting  buckets  on  their  wheel, 
nd  Fig.  9  sho^^^  the  type  of  mountmg 
dopted  in  the  Kateau-Smoot  turbine. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

BrcKCT   Whckls 

Since  the  or  ic, 

running  at  eu'  :  *  by 

l>c  Laval,  various  anai>scs  have  been 
made  uf  the  strains  and  strength*  of 
disks  turning  at  high  speeds.  .\II  of  the«e 
r-    '  -:n fortunately   contain   as   prime 

:i  a  practical  fallacy.  These 
wt"t:.  ii.ixe  lieeti  designed  f"»r  iMiifi>rni 
strains  in  liolh  tangnitial  ami  radt.il  <li- 
recti<  PS  and  tlie  material  of  the  wheel 
has  been  treated  a*  if  it<  r!a>!jc  limit 
coinciiled    with    it*  .ih,   the 

p4>int    of  danger   Im     _  .as   the 

el.istic  limit.  The  rr«ull  produces  a  wheel 
srciioii  whoKT  fallacy  will  be  ob\ious 
when  it  is  bume  in  mind  that  all  metal 
;>!>  rd  within  the  radius  lettered  H,  Fig. 
!s  caiuble  of  holding  itself  and  also 
an  addiii<iii.il  load,  while  all  metal  ex- 
trmni  T'  the  radius  lettireil  fi  i*  incapable 
.  iisrlf  against  centriftigal  forcr, * 
•1)  it  is  simply  iui-cs*ary  to  add 
sufbcient  metal  within  thi«  radius  to  hold 
together  the  entire  wheel  When  a  wheel 
ha*  brcti  dr^igneil  for  uniform  radial  and 
tangential  stresses,  the  section  is  that 
shown  by  Fig.  II,  in  which  it  will  be 
iii-trd  more  metal  is  added  outside  of  the 
critical  raditis  than  for  the  wfirrl  illus- 
trated ill  Fig.  la  The  a- 
equal    radbl    and    tangential  ,is 

the  basi»  for  wheel  design  leads  to  an 
irrational  rnncliision;  either  radial  or 
tangential  fttres«  it  tufBcient  to  hold  the 
wheel  logeiher.  as  all  material  suitable 
fi»r  the  coii»tructii»n  of  a  turbine  wheel 
U   degree    •  rty 

•icI     the  .lit, 

-    e\cee<l    the 
<  <•%  fall  under 

the  elastic  liniil.  an  inlinite*imal  stretch 
in  a  tanv ""  ■'  .ii'.--<..,n  will  allow  a 
sufbcient  dly  for  the  radial 


lies 

TuniKc  Shafts 
Starting     from     a     bucket     of     known 
weight,  a  wheel  can  be  calculated  strong 
•  :i  place.     The 

r,.fM>niofi  the 
lic^vHrr  heavy 

buckets    I  Heavy 

wheels  reduce  the  cniicai  speed  of  the 
shaft,  unless  the  shaft  is  also  made 
hr.ivier  to  ••iT«et  the  effect  of  the  increased 
weight  pbcrd  upon  it.  It  t»  objectionable 
In  use  a  Urge  shaft,  for  two  rcatoti*: 
First.  l»ecau*e   it    i-  'he   peripheral 

kftred   of   nihtiittg  the   braring 


cler  all 

and    :  .     '    -.      -  '^M" 

steam  leakage. 

Various   attempts   have   U. — 

operate  turbines  in  which  the  nonnal  ntn- 


SCS     i« 

ad. 


arry    mrir    proper    share    <»f 


IS  true  ' 

tf    (w.th    • 


rr\  is  unsat- 


no.  II 


m^  \    IH.TKHS  ru.  •,     !•■.►.»      n.  ...... 

1   the   wheel,  regardless  of 

'■'*•"*'""  ^     -    •  to  the  other. 

For  example,  in  the   wheel   iUustrated 

It  should  Ik-  • 

ify    the      »bc  cL 

1    is  en-      At   •  ••! 

unable    to    hold    it%rlf    against    the 

I      i..r..-      ..r...l    ..   .^.1      ).^      ■(.      r.    •    .(IO|| 

tj|      are    miirh    under 

•    '.ur   ...nrr    .   1   ...    .......  ..   ,....»y        »•■•"    '•"-'«•'    '«  ♦»      I 

'ig  a  »<»urce  of  weakness  rather  ' '  "••  *"' 

ih.  •■-•    M"^' 

«f  th<>   Rmeau  Sni  "'    «»»c 


latt 


;i.r  t     wi«-    -lo 

>kaft  mai   br 
inc  ma>   hr  iht  ttell 

a    calralalion. 

nattrv.    mmI 

'    a    arfir^   ol 

rlrfmuso!    iti 


.;  a  strain  in  buckets  of  wheels  e«- 
g  the  ela»iic  limit  •'  •'rA.,..xr> 
•I  steel  plair 


togrther 


CHhtml  tfW  ('>Ji  )  ■• 


IIOO 


^    X      H 


D^ 


Li    L  X   II 


arc  determined  i-r  all  sliafts  whose  es- 
sential characteristics  are  simihir  to  those 
whose  complete  analysis  has  been  carried 
through. 

Wii'.-n  sufficient  experience  has  been 
gathered  to  determine  for  a  given  shaft 
the  value  of  this  constant,  the  critical 
speed  of  the  shaft  may  be  taken  from  a 
logarithmic  chart,  as  shown  in  Fig.  12, 
which  gives  the  critical  speeds  for  the 
value  of  the  constant  g  equal  to  1.05,  the 
value  most  frequently  encountered  in  tur- 
bines of  the  multicellular  type.  For  tur- 
bines whose  shaft  construction  entails  a 
difTcrcnt  value  of  g.  the  corresponding 
critical  speed  may  be  directly  deduced 
from  that  given  by  the  logarithmic  chart. 

VlBR-MlO.VS 

A  turbine  may  vibrate  objectionably  or 
dcsinictively,  depending  upon  the  ampli- 
tr.dc  of  the  vibrations.  The  causes  of 
tie  vibrations  may  be  found  either  in  a 
shaft  whose  critical  speed  is  under  the 
running  spee<l.  or  in  wheels  which  have 
strains  both  radial  and  tangential  near  the 
elastic  limit,  thus  causing  a  slow  and 
continued  deformation  of  the  wheel  and 
conscfiucnt  shifting  of  its  mass  axis.  From 
the  dynamo  end,  vibrations  can  also  be  set 
up  if  the  windings  are  insecurely  held  in 
position  and  gradually  shift  their  position. 
A  properly  designed  turbine  and  dyna- 
mo, when  once  placed  in  balance  so  that 
the  unit  runs  quietly,  should  never  show  a' 
tendency  to  greater  vibration  ;  and.  when 
s'.-rh  is  the  case,  the  design  is  at  fault, 
for  the  wi-ights  carried  on  the  shaft  must 
si  .i\  in  order  to  throw  the  machine  out 
of  b.^Iance. 

Incidentally,  this  would  seem  to  con- 
demn a  turbine  and  dynamo  running  on 
three  bearings,  for  in  such  a  machine  any 
slij^ht  disposition  toward  vibration  in  tur- 
bine or  dynamo  will  be  transmitted 
through  the  solid  shaft  and  set  up  vibra- 
tions in  the  other  unit,  thus  causing 
the  turbine  to  vibrate  and  its  shaft  to 
tremble  when  the  turbine  itself  is  not  at 
fault,  but  the  dynamo  is  out  of  balance. 
I  consider  the  three-bearing  machine 
questionable  for  this  specific  reason,  in  ad- 
dition to  the  well-known  difficulty  of 
maintaining  in  perfect  alinement  three 
bearings.  Another  serious  objection  to  a 
three-bearing  machine  is  that  the  shaft 
may  pound  on  the  central  bearing,  for 
the  unit  endeavors  to  run  as  a  two-bcnr- 
inar  machine  running  free  of  the  central 
bearing  and  oscillating  by  the  clearance 
given  that  bearing,  thus  placing  on  the 
central  bearing  the  duty  of  restricting 
oscillations  and  limiting  their  amplitude  by 
absorbing  the  blow  struck  by  the  shaft 
at  each  oscillation. 

In  vertical  machines  this  sometimes  re- 
sults in  very  serious  damage  to  the  fasten- 
ings of  the  central  bearing,  for  under 
these  conditions  it  is  subjected  to  enor- 


POWER  AND  THE  EXGIXEER. 

mous  lateral  strains,  capable  in  some  in- 
stances of  shearing  loose  the  attachment 
of  the  central  bearing  to  the  supporting 
framework.  I  consider^  it  vastly  better, 
although  somewhat  more  expensive,  to  al- 
Icw  a  bearing  at  each  end  of  turbine 
and  dynamo  shaft  and  to  insulate  against 
transmitted  vibrations  from  one  to  the 
other  by  using  two  separate  shafts,  placing 
between  the  two  central  bearings  a  non- 
rigid  coupling  which  will  allow  one  shaft 
to  bend  without  transmitting  a  bending 
movement    to    the    other    shaft. 

Oil   Ring    Bearings 
The   writer   had   the   opportunity   of  in- 


June  22,  1909. 

each  groove  throwing  a  stream  of  oil 
0.25  inch  in  diameter  several  feet  into 
the  air,  showing  that  the  grooves  simply 
provided  vents  for  the  back  flow  of  the 
oil,  which  would  otherwise  have  been 
carried  into  the  journal,  through  its  ad- 
hesion to  the  shaft,  and  indicating  the 
truth  of  a  theory  which  we  have  all  held, 
but  with  considerable  doubt,  that  a  high- 
speed journal  floated  on  an  oil  film. 

Suit  MARY 

In  this  paper  I  have  endeavored  to 
show  that  steam  turbines  are  in  no  way 
dependent  on  accurate  workmanship  for 
their    reliability,    and    that    simplicity    and 


I 


I 


lOO.ono  - 

90,0(W  - 
80,000- 
70.000- 
60,000- 
50.000- 

40.000- 


20.000- 


10,000- 
9,0C0- 
8,000- 
7,000- 


Formula:-  „ 

0        d' 

R.E.M.=  gXlOx^^j-^^ 
Constant  g  =  1.25  to  2.00 
Shaft  Diameter.  Inches  =  D 
Shaft  Length,  Inches      =  L 
Total  Weight,  Pounds    =W 


1.000 
900 
800 
700 


600 


6,000  — 


4.000- 


1,000- 


KIG.     12.     CRITICAL    SPEED    OV    SHAFTS 


vestigating  the  action  of  oil  in  licarings 
running  at  high  speed,  and  ran  a  5xi3-inch 
bearing  at  full  speed  (1500  revolutions 
per  minute),  with  normal  load  with  the 
tf)i)  cap  removed. 

The  bearing  in  which  the  experiment' 
was  made  was  provided  with  the  usual 
oil  grooves  and  lubricated  by  rings  having 
a  positive  pumping  action,  supplying  oil 
from  the  oil  reservoir  to  the  journal.  At 
half  speed  and  above,  oil,  instead  of  be- 
iuT  carried  into  the  journal  through  the 
oil  grooves,  squirted  upward  from  the 
grooves  against  the  direction  of  rotation. 


reliability  will  always  go  together  in  their 
construction. 

I  have  also  wished  to  express  the  idea 
that  high  efficiencies  can  be  obtained  with- 
out endangering  the  reliability  of  the  tur- 
bine. 

Furthermore,    I    strongly    suggest    thatj 
owners   of  noncondcnsing  plants  consider^ 
the    opportunity    of   utilizing   the    exhaust 
of  their  reciprocating  engines  in  low-prcs 
sure    steam    turbines,    and    thereby    adopt 
a    method    of    rejuvenating    their    plants, 
by   one   of  the   moSt   efficient   methods  o£j 
developing  power  from  steam. 


June   22,    IQOQ. 


POW  ER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


1107 


Practical    Letters    from     Practical    M 

Don't  Bother  About    the    Style,    but    Write   Just    What    You  HiiiJc. 
Know  or  Want  to  Know   About  Your  Work,  and  Help  Each  Other 

WE     PAY     FOR     USEFUL     IDEAS 


en 


Traveling  Crarte  Trouble  Remedied 


At  one  place  where  I  was  einployeU.  a 
rope  traveling  crane  was  cunstructe<L 
When  this  crane  was  put  into  operation 
it  was  found  that  when  traveling  longi- 
illy    the  'I    from    the 

hook  SM  '.  hu»  increas- 

iDK  the  tension  in  the  ri>|>c  and  the  bend- 
ing in  the  crane  girders,  making  these 
stresses  more  than  due  to  the  load  it- 
self. To  obviate  this  the  following  n'l- 
dition  was  made: 

Two  short  1 1 -beams  were  lai«l  acro>'» 
the  crane-carriage  girders  as  shown  here- 
with. On  thc^c  beams  a  cast-iron  plate 
A    was    place<l    with    ears    for    six    twits. 


^ 


\I7 


ImtrxaO 


the  slot  provided  in  the  link  for  it.  As 
the  load  then  rested  on  these  links.  t|ie 
tension  was  thus  taken  from  the  rope. 
When  lowering  the  load,  it  was  first  raised 
a  little,  the  links  ('  were  then  swung 
to  one  side,  thus  j- 
be  lowered  clear  <  : 


'he  pin  D  to 
John   I>jc 


GlasRow.   5>cotlan'i 


Allowance    for    the    Difference    in 

^'alcr   Lc\el    When    Testing 

Boilers 

The   A.   S.    M.    K.   standard   mrth<Hl   of 
testing  boilers  directs  that  the  allowance 


■Ma 


T 
i 

B 


1: 


H 


iB 


.;J 


^'a 


11 


LLjBu 


4" 


-Mr,      f"r 


where  the  water  is  lower  at  the  end  than 
at  the  tieginning  of  the  test,  or 


/f- 


r  X  W(H  —  k) 


H  -  K 


where 

A  =  .Amount  t»f  water,  m   i^iufuli.  to 

\tc   adijol   to  the  «»  ady 

furnished  t«i  the  l>i>ini 
C^  Space  in  cubic  feet  that  must  l>e 

filled  in  order  i<>  bnng  the  water 

level  (it  tkherr  ii  Hat  at  the  be- 

U'  =  .  Mot  of  water 

at    the    temperature    due    to    the 
steam  pressure. 

//  =  B.t.u.  in  the  steam  at  the  given 

pressure. 
A  =  B.t.u.  in  the  water  in  the  boOer, 

K  —  B.t.iL  in  the  feed  water. 

The  boiler  should  be  measured,  and  the 
volume  of  the  dctKil   in  cubK  feel   calcu- 
lated.    The  u 
water   at    the 

to  the  boiler  pfe»«urc  c«i)  \»t  fuuiKi  to 
steam  taMes  of  almost  any  engifteers* 
hatKllwMik.  The  other  ibta  required  are 
furnished  by  the  U.ilrr  tr»t  I. .^  .r  tAcn 
from  steam  tat>les 

T'  .:vcn  tu  Ulas- 

trat. 

The  log  of  a  lest  shows  tmiler  pressure, 
gage.  110  pounds:  wairr  .•.•<.•  ir.l  to  the 
boiler*  by  the  pump.  7"     •  !•;  ttm- 

perature  of  the  feed  »j n.  l,^  degrees 
I-ahreiiheil  :  delHTtl  at  end  of  test.  15  cubic 
feet. 

Aceonling  to  the  formula  the  feed- 
water  allowanre  it 

a5XSS73(;SiHll)="^ 


poun<t« 
at  I 


•41/ 

T!  r    frfTifwritHrc    of   the    ft 


s.Cfl 

uhl 
ra- 
it 
of 


the    links    for  supporting    the  I'ud 

»ii,-  .  r  .fi.-   «»  1*  lra«rlii>^     '•   ■  •   be 

■-  links  to 

n  E.  so  t'  •'•- 

■  travel 


!l>   hirih  MJ  ii  ^sMiId  be  kmcrcU  into     w%i«L     TUi*   f4>rt! 


'•mpmaiian.  h 


be  aUowvvl  lor  ai  dw  t«««  a4  tkm 

fOA 


^-     \\ 


ta  the  iAi<        bcttaUMi.  I 


iio8 


Use  and  Misuse  oi 


Gmpime 


Graphite  properly  uscJ  is  the  engineers 
friend,  and  there  are-  numerous  uses  to 
which  it  can  be  put  with  verj-  satisfactory 
results.'  It  is  good  to  mix  with  oil  and 
use  cu  the  bolts  and  nuts  of  cylinder 
heads,  steam-chest  covers,  pipe  flanges, 
etc.,  because  it  makes  the  nuts  work  easy 


when  one  wishes  to  break  a  joint.  If 
the  nut  and  bolt  of  the  rear  handhole 
plate  of  a  horizontal  tubular  boiler  are 
well  coated  with  graphite,  and  the  bolt, 
nut  and  crab  covered  with  a  few  hand- 
fuls  of  asbestos  mortar,  they  will  stand 
a  fierce  heat  for  months,  and  a  wrench 
is  all  that  will  be  needed  to  remove  the 
plate. 

Never  plaster  graphite  and  oil  all  over 
a  gasket  and  then  cuss  because  the  pack- 
ing slides  out  of  the  joint  when  the  bolts 
are  set  up.  Graphite  one  side  of  the 
gasket  only.  Put  the  gasket  on  the  plate 
and  graphite  the  exposed  side.  The  gas- 
ket will  then  come  off  with  the  plate  and 
leave  the  other  surface  clean  and  smooth. 
For  this  purpose  the  graphite  should  be 
mixed  to  a  thick  paste  with  cylinder  oil. 

Rod  and  valve  packing  for  steam  should 
be  given  a  liberal  coat  of  graphite  when 
putting  in  place.  The  packing  commonly 
used  in  the  water  end  of  a  pump  is  made 
of  several  layers  of  heavy  cotton  cloth 
cemented  together  with  a  rubber  com- 
pound, and  it  is  nothing  uncommon  for 
the  rings  of  packing  to  stick  together  so 
firmly,  especially  in  hot  water,  that  the 
expanding  device  is  unable  to  set  them 
out  as  they  wear.  A  little  graphite  be- 
tween the  rings  will  prevent  their  sticking 
and  the  packing  will  run  much  longer 
without  attention. 

As  a  lubricant  for  steam  cylinders  and 
internal-combustion  engine  cylinders, 
graphite  is  undoubtedly  valuable,  but  the 
difficulties  of  feeding  it  discourage  many 
from  trying  it.  To  get  graphite  into 
a  cylinder  all  that  is  needed  is  a  small 
cup  with  a  straight,  free  outlet. 

Fig.  I  shows  how  a  cylinder-oil  cup  may 
be  made  over  to  feed  graphite.  Use  a 
gate  valve  or  plug  cock,  and  attach  the 
cup  to  the  steam  chest,  or  as  near  to  it 


,.f<5\VER  -VXD  THE  EXGIXEER. 

as  possible.  Fig.  2  shows  how  a  cup 
may  be  made  of  pipe  fittings,  and,  if  care- 
fully made  of  brass,  it  docs  not  look  bad. 

Having  attached  the  cup,  put  in  about 
a  teaspoonful  of  oil  and  graphite,  mixed 
to  the  consistency  of  paint,  close  the  cup 
and  open  the  valve  wide.  In  my  plant 
I  have  a  7^x6-inch  duplex  boiler-feed 
pump  which  has  had  no  lubrication  except 
graphite  for  the  past  three  months,  and 
I  have  never  seen  a  smoother  or  quieter 
working  pump,  although  it  is  taking  the 
returns  direct  from  a  heating  system. 
This  pump  has  been  working  constantly 
day  and  night  and  every  day  in  the  week 
on  about  three  teaspoonfuls  of  graph- 
ite per  twenty-four  hours.  In  the  three 
months  we  have  used  in  the  pump  less 
than  two  pounds  of  graphite  and  hardly 
a  gallon  of  cylinder  oil.  It  was  formerly 
nothing  uncommon  to  feed  a  quart  of  cyl- 
inder oil  to  such  a  pump  every  twenty- 
four  hours.  This  would  be  7^  gallons 
per  month,  which  at  50  cents  per  gallon, 
is  $3-75  per  month,  or  $11.25  for  three 
months,  a  matter  of  $10.35  saved  on  lubri- 
cation in  that  time.  If  this  amount  can 
be  saved  on  one  small  pump,  what  about 
a  plant  where  there  are  a  number  of 
pumps  of  various  sizes?  This  same  scheme 
can  be  used  on  engines,  also,  although 
I  should  not  advise  discontinuing  the  cyl- 
inder oil  altogether.  Aside  from  economy, 
this  should  interest  engineers  who  are 
using  condensed  exhaust  for  feeding  boil- 
ers. 

One  reason  why  some  make  a  failure 
of  graphite  as  a  lubricant  is  because  they 
use  too  much,  both  in  cylinders  and 
elsewhere.  During  my  early  experience 
with  it  the  outboard  bearing  on  a  16^x48- 
inch  Corliss  engine  heated  up  one  day, 
and  as  oil  failed  to  produce  the  desired 
result,  I  gave  it  a  bountiful  supply  of  dry 
flake  graphite,  and  the  heating  rapidly 
decreased.  I  then  flushed  the  bearing 
with  oil  and  soon  had  it  in  normal  con- 
dition. 

H.    L.    Strong. 

Portland,  Mc. 


Substitute    fcr  Sheet  Packing 


It  sometimes  happens  that  the  engineer 
runs  out  of  sheet  packing.  I  find  that 
paper  will  do  the  work,  sometimes  better 
than  rubber;  in  fact,  I  prefer  oil  paper  to 
rubber  for  water.  Oil  paper  and  thin, 
tough  paper  are  the  best,  and  roofing 
paper  is  fine.  For  small  work,  and  in 
oil  lines,  it  is  better  than  rubber,  as  it  will 
not  soften  and  fill  up  the  pipes;  it  will 
also  stand  a  high  temperature. 

In  one  plant  there  was  a  great  deal  of 
work  to  get  things  going  and  as  we  could 
not  readily  get  any  sheet  packing,  we 
packed  everything  with  paper  and  roofing 
paper  from  the  manhole  to  the  suction 
pipe  of  the  big  pump,  using  tar  paper  in 
the  steam  lines  and  manhole. 


June  22.  1909. 

A  recent  letter  from  the  engineer  says 
that  the  most  of  it  is  still  there  and 
shows  no  signs  of  leaking.  The  worst 
thing  about  paper  is  that  if  it  starts  to 
blow  it  will  mean  a  new  gasket,  but  it  will 
not  blow  out  entirely. 

-Alden    Sears. 

Electron,  Wash. 


Homemade  Condenser 


The  accompanying  illustration  is  of  a 
homemade  condenser  made  of  pipe  and 
fittings ;  the  construction  is  very  simple. 

The  exhaust  steam  from  the  engine, 
pump  or  heating  system,  etc.,  passes 
through  a  tapered  nipple  which  is  screwed 
past  the  center  of  the  tee.  The  cooling 
water  enters  the  side  outlet  of  the  tee 
and  condenses  the  steam,  causing  a 
vacuum  on  the  exhaust-steam  line. 

The  trap  connected  to  the  bottom  of  the 
condenser  creates   a   vacuum  on  the   ex- 


u 


■f]      B  .Valve  to  Atmosphere 

IV  in  case  Condenser  is 

i        y   out  of  Commission 


.Valve  to  Condenser 


HOMEMADE  CONDENSER 

haust-steam  line  and  water-feed  line  and 
also  siphons  the  air  out  of  the  tee.  It 
also  prevents  any  water  from  getting  into 
the  exhaust-steam  line. 

In  case  the  condenser  should  get  out 
of  commission  the  valve  to  the  condenser 
can  be  shut  off  and  the  bypass  valve 
opened    to    the    atmosphere. 

E.    H.    Marzolf. 

Bellaire,  Ohio. 


June  22.   iqc3g. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


IIOQ 


Handv  Homemade  Tools 


.4.    I    iihows  a   packing  hook   us«(J   in 

iig    boxes    where    the    packing    can 

cr   be   puile<J   out    nor   blown   out   by 

:i.     Tht-    tixtl   is   a  ccnibiiution  of  a 

-.  B  and  worm  .4.     The  latter  it  nr»t 

screwed    into    the    packing,   then,   holding 

the  inner  rod  B  by  the  faucet  handle  />  in 

such  position  that  the  pendant  hook  faces 

the  opening  in  the  casing,  the  two  handles 

being    properly     marked,    the    plug    t     is 

vcd    down    intt>    the    out»i<le    handle. 

forcing   the   hook   to   undermine   the 

uM  packing.     With  the  aid  of  a  common 

worm    h'xjk.    drucn    in    a    short    dl^tance 

from  the  ttxil.  and  on  which  most  of  the 

pull  must  be  applied,  satisfactory  headway 

can  be  made.     The  opening  in  the  casing 


distance  equal  to  the  differrnce  in  the  dia- 
meters. When  it  is  possible  to  ier  •»•'■»• 
all  the  sights  at  one  time,  on  a  c 
line  of  shafting,  it  will  be  a  prciTv   g....i 
job. 

In  Fig.  3  is  shown  a  wrcri.h.  fTiaif.ly 
used  in  connection  with  a  *««.k.ct  \»rr!KM 
for  follower  Ix.lt*      By  making 

the  ■  I  the  springs  adjustable,  and 

using  shims,  this  wrench  will  be  found 
very  handy  for  various  other  purposes, 
^uch  as  for  equalizing  the  tension  on  the 
two  springs  of  a  governor. 

Fig.  4  shows  a  tool  for  wjuaring  a  drill 
or  tap,  when  using  a  r.r  ich      .^t 

.-f  is  a  piece  of  steel  sti     .  .  hinged 

at  ^  to  a  common  try  square,  and  a<Ij listed 
by  means  of  thumb  "^crew  C,  so  that  it 
hangs  exactly  parallel  to  the  blade  of  the 


direction,  the  narrow  width  of  the  work. 

•' -  -    tshtcdge  is  uscii,  which 

^oper    angle    by    mean* 

o| 

F 

wir 

stunk  of  ups  ihc  lout  is  meant  lor 
ordinary  wt.rk  and  is  not  sappotcd  to 
be  nacd  where  microawtrkaOjr  oorrtct 
drilling  is  required. 

Fig.    5   shows   a   tool   to  haek   nat   the 
glands    of   cimdenser    ' 
•  >d    Xi\n\    3»    .1    Ijrgr    r 
1^   <  AS  possi) 

hail'.  -be  pLtc 

desired  widttv  i«  la%tenetl  a  ■4CC 

of  the  condenser,  using  the  «. -  .;»  to 

secure  it.    Placing  the  thin  end  of  the  tool 


<^^ 


c^.  ^" 


na  3 


w 


ilp.j:^3 


riu   5 


in;    -• 


nc    4 


.1.     ..I, I      J^      ,,,       ,,,,,,      ,,,r      tii.it       tin       ri'»<fc 

lot  eniirrl>   imss  out  Ihnniiih   it.  but 


4 


ctnrr  at  ■■* 

.  ■  '  n>c    Itiiri  '  _         mJs 

ImII   in  one  dir<  1*    And 

•   •»■•  -^i  at  II -... 

t    unrrrn.    in    Mtneh    cm*         Fi» 

■  rr    j.M.  rd    itmirf    the    slink    of    tHe       tr.      f.  rt.  r  r  .<iifiT^ 

ll    i«    alt.,     ■t^rt\    whrrr     »<-»«-'«l      f    "«^«    •?  4    swiieW*. 

*•  4rT<.    ^U::     sad   iW  ham  W 

4      ipring  ««»d  rtamp^ 
h*  R.  O  RimaM*. 

rr-«i»r<l   shafts,   simply   nHr  thr  tighi   •     drtlkd    at   ■   cvttnin   angW   m   tkt   etWr 


I!!r 
T» 


At    <4    i*    a    •• 
■h  to  clear  .ill  t>"l'' 
irr    flat    «prinK«    i> 
leveling   it    •■<< 
and  /)  i*  .1  i  • 


m'trnWr     ptcrp^  rirf«^"l»' 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  22,  1909. 


Homemade  Oil  Separator 

The  accompanying  illustration  is  of  a 
homemade  oil  separator,  constructed  of 
pipes  and  pipe  fittings. 

The  condensed  water  and  oil  are  fed 
through  the  bottom  of  the  separator.  The 
oil  discharge  is  taken  from  the  top  and 
the  water  discharge  from  the  bottom. 


books,  all  theory  and  of  no  practical  bene- 
tit  to  anyoi\,e.  A  dime  novel  is  much 
more  interesting  and  costs  less;  besides, 
"book  men"  have  not  got  a  very  high 
standing  in  the  engineering  profession. 

I  do  not  know  anything  about  an  indi- 
cator and  do  not  want  to  know  anything 
about  it,  for  it  is  an  abominable  nuisance 
and  should  never  be  permitted  in  an  en- 
gine room. 

James  Jorden. 

Barberton,  O. 


HOMEMADE   OIL    SEPARATOR 

Both  the  oil  and  water  discharge  out- 
lets have  nipples  to  the  atmosphere  to 
prevent  siphoning. 

E.  Marzolf. 

Bellaire,  Ohio. 


Sarcastic  Advice 


More    Frequent  Internal  Inspection 


If  the  water  in  the  boiler  becomes  so 
low  that  the  plates  are  heated  red  hot, 
build  a  hot  fire  and  turn  on  the  cold-water 
pump.  This  will  contract  the  overheated 
mcUl  and  all  your  troubles  will  be  over  in 
a  few  moments. 

If  the  governor  sticks,  causing  the  en- 


Milton  Heglin,  on  page  939  of  the  May 
25  number,  misses  the  true  purpose  of  my 
letter  o'f  March  9.  I  did  not  make  a 
sweeping  condemnation  of  boiler  inspec- 
tors, lie  knows  full  well  that  most 
of  them  are  conscientious  men  of  high 
purpose.  But  he  also  knows  that  men 
have  their  limitations,  that  no  one  is  in- 
fallible and  that  some  are  not  unwilling 
to  make  an  "absent-treatment  inspection 
for  revenue  only,"  to  borrow  a  phrase  the 
editorial  on  "Boiler  Inspections  and  Ex- 
plosions" in  the  May  25  number.  What  I 
aimed  at  was  simply  to  impress  upon  en- 
gineers and  boiler  owners  the  importance 
of  more  frequent  internal  inspections  of 
boilers.  I  cited  a  few  concrete  cases  to 
show  that  in  many  cases  such  inspections 
proved  profitable.  For  it  must  be  obvious 
that  very  few  people  would  go  to  the 
trouble  of  making  an  internal  inspection 
of  a  boiler  right  on  the  heels  of  an  in- 
spection by  an  insurance  inspector  unless 
there  was  some  chance  of  being  rewarded 
for  their  work.  In  other  words,  the 
boiler  owner  and  engineer  must  see  good 
reason  for  the  undertaking.  Mere  check- 
ing up  of  the  inspector's  work  is  not  a 
sufficient  reason. 

The  writer  has  no  grudge  against  boiler 
inspectors.  Whether  he  is  or  is  not 
selling    boiler-cleaning    devices    does    not 


and  that  the  boilers  have  never  given 
them  trouble  from  being  dirty;  and  there 
it  ends." 

Suppose  your  inspector,  instead  of 
ordering  the  insurance  canceled  until  the 
boilers  were  cleaned  and  kept  in  a  less 
dangerous  condition,  preferred  to  be  con- 
sidered a  "good  fellow."  Does  it  take 
long  to  guess  what  he  might  do?  Is  it 
not  true  that  there  are  more  men  who 
want  to  be  "good  fellows"  than  who  want 
to  be  somebody  else?  Is  it  not  conceivable, 
then,  that  where  there  is  no  imminent 
danger,  where  conditions  are  safe  enough, 
your  good-natured  inspector  will  jolly 
along  the  engineer  and  superintendent  by 
saying  something  about  the  remarkable 
cleanness  of  their  boilers?  A  boiler  can 
be  terribly  inefficient  because  of  scale  and 
still  be  safe.  The  inspector  is  not  a  con- 
sulting engineer  employed  to  point  out 
possible  economies  in  operation  or  to 
recommend  appliances.  If  his  sugges- 
tions are  obnoxious,  why  should  he  volun- 
teer them  and  become  a  boor?  And  he 
is  right. 

Now,  don't  misunderstand  the  writer's 
position.  If  possible,  give  us  a  more  effi- 
cient inspection  service.  But  efficient  or 
otherwise,  I  hold  that  for  economy's 
sake  alone  it  will  pay  the  owner  and  the 
engineer  to  make  frequent  internal  in- 
spections of  their  boilers. 

H.   E.  Gansworth. 
Buffalo,  N.  Y. 


gine  to  run  away,  don't  get  excited  and 
close   the    throttle.      Engines    so    affected     alter  the  truth  of  his  premises.     They  are 
invariably   stop  of  their  own  accord  in  a     generally  accepted  where  people  have  gone 
few   minutes. 

If  the  safety  valve  leaks,  hang  a  little 
more  weight  on  the  lever.  An  old  8-inch 
gate  valve  will  be  about  the  right  weight. 

Do  not  monkey  with  the  blowoff.  Let 
it  fill  up  with  scale.    Then  it  will  not  leak. 

If  the  boilers  are  so  full  of  water  that 
heavy  slugs  are  coming  over  into  the  en- 
gine cylinfler.  you  can  judge  of  the  quan- 
tity by  holding  the  ear  near  the  cylinder 
head.     Water  will  clean  the  cylimler  out. 

A  bag  in  a  boiler  docs  not  hurt  any- 
thing.    It  will   soon  fill  np  with  scale. 

A  babbitt  linefl  wrench  should  never  be 
used  on  those  polished  nuts  of  the  en- 
gine. It  might  slip  off  and  skin  your  fin- 
gers. Use  a  pipe  wrench  or  a  hammer 
and  cold  chisel. 

Do  not  clean  the  soot  off  the  tubes 
oftcner  than  once  a  week.  It  is  hard  on 
the  tubes,  cleaning  them  so  often. 

Engineering    papers    are    like    scientific 


What  Was  the  Trouble  ? 


The  accompanying  indicator  diagrams 
were  taken  from  the  high-pressure  cyl- 
inder of  a  Westinghouse  horizontal  cross- 
compound   Corliss  engine. 

Before  the  defect  shown  on  the  card 
occurred,  the  dashpots  closed  the  steam 
valves  properly.  After  the  trouble  started, 
the    crank-end    dashpot    refused    to    close 


to  the  pains  of  investigating.  In  some 
cases,  investigations  even  become  unnec- 
essary— the  facts  force  themselves  upon 
us.  Proof  of  this  is  seen  in  the  editorial 
mentioned.  The  writer  contends  that  the 
day  of  the  auditor  has  not  passed.  Over 
and  over  again  we  are  brought  face  to 
face  with  the  fact  tliat  checking  up  (in 
whatever  field  it  may  be)  means  economy 
and  safety.  And  no  boiler  inspector 
should  be  chagrined  because  his  inspec- 
tion report  is  not  taken  as  the  final  vvord 
in  the  matter. 

Mr.  Heglin  himself  unwittingly  gives 
one  good  reason  why  we  should  take 
some  inspectors'  reports  with  a  grain  of 
salt.  "Another  phase  of  this  question," 
he  states,  "is  that  a  great  many  owners, 
managers  and  superintendents  become 
very  indignant  when  told  the  boilers  need 
better  cleaning,  maintaining  thqt  they  have 
a  good  engineer,  who  knows  his  business. 


Power,  A'.  I'. 


WHAT    CAUSED    THE    TROUBLE.'' 

its  steam  valve  when  the  trip  released 
the  hook,  the  valve  being  closed  positive- 
ly by  the  movement  of  the  valve  gear. 

No  trouble  was  experienced  at  the  head 
end  in  getting  the  dashpot  to  close  its 
valve,  and  as  soon  as  the  defect  was 
remedied,  the  crank-end  dashpot  worked 
as  before,  very  satisfactorily. 

It  might  be  remarked  that  the  crank- 
end  steam  valve  was  in  proper  working 
ordar    in    regard    to    workmanship    and 


June  22,  1909. 

valve-gear  arrangement,  and  that  the 
trouble  was  not  due  to  the  dashpot,  and 
no  attendant  had  disturbed  the  valve 
gear.  What  caused  the  trouble  and  the 
appearance  of  the  card? 

J    W   Stoukeb. 
"-helton.  Conn. 


Steam  Elngine  Testing 

In  testing  steam  engines  to  ascertain 
their  performance,  or  to  discover  any 
cause  of  loss  of  power  or  illegitimate 
steam    consumption,    it    is   often    thought 


POWER  AND  -fNWNEER. 

^^- 

It  is  desired  to  tind  ''       ' 

heat  at  the  pC'int   B. 

on   the  n  curve   io   :::^!   ; 

Now    .  ^    dry    and     «;>per}:t        . 

steam    ;•»    4    j^erfect    ►  'i    it    very 

closely   approximates,  may    be 

divided  into  T  erjual  parts  =  T  -i-  T.  each 

pan   representing   the  increase  in  volume 


na   I 


neccssar)'  to  know  the  quality  of  the  steam 
in  the  cylinder  at  each  point  in  the  stroke. 

Referring  to  the  indicator  diagram  in 
Fig.  I,  it  is  necessary  only  t<>  draw  the 
saturation  curve  for  a  quantit)  <if  Meam 
equal  to  that  taken  into  the  cylinder  at 
each  stroke,  plus  that  in  the  clearance. 
Then  the  quality  of  the  steam  at  any 
point  in  the  ex(>ansion  is  equal  to  the 
ratio  of  the  volume  of  the  steam  in  the 
cylinder  at  this  point,  to  the  vttlume  shown 
by  the  saturation  curve  for  the  same  pres- 
fure.  These  two  volumes  are  represented 
bjf  the  lines  AB  and  AC  Therefore. 
X  -  AB  ^  AC. 

In  some  case^  of  "jnckeleil'" 
with  high  m»j«»^  of  rxpansioit. 
in    '  [lie    expan->ii>tt.    tiie 

exp  -^es    the    «aturalion 

curve.  This  «hows  that  there  it  super- 
heated steam  in  the  cylinder.  lieyond  this 
point  the  ordinary  meth'xl  of  determining 
the  quality  will  not  apply. 

Some    years    ago     Pnwca    published    a 
formula    for   determining    the    quality    of 
superheated    ste.im    in    .1    <-\linHrr       The 
formula  there  giv-  • 
contained  H.  the   '. 
tion.  and  gave  .V  the  quality,  which  in  the 


that  will  be  caused  by  the  increase  of  one 
degree  of  temperature.  Now  to  increase 
the  volume  from  /'  to  v.  it  will  be  neces- 
sary to  raise  the  temperature  as  many  de- 
grees as  r  -4-  r  is  contained  m  v  —  V. 
or 

V-  V 

r_  • 

T 

Hut  the  number  of  deg rrv>  •<■  ti  ii:',>«  i.i- 
ture  necessary  to  raise  steam  from  its 
volume  larger  volume 

i»  its  «  it      Therefitrc 

the  degree  ut  oupcrltcat  at  tiut  point  is 

V — • 

or 


D- 


(AB^AC)T 
D^ j^-C 


a'  and  gives  the  dcv*^e 


case  of  • 

Mv  f 
df- 
of  I. 

keferritnf  !••    I  ig    i,   f    /'  and    T  of  the 

formula  *rr  ilir  pressure,  v' ""I  ab- 

•olttte    lemprrjtore   at    an>  the 

ninmtion  nir\r      ' 

sure,  v»>lumr  .wl 

•ny  point  on  the  cxjij!!  i   ;i   .iir\t 


the 

lines  AB 
nntt    ,...1 

and  /f( 

''■-n  ■  t 

:... 

fh.- 

nds 

to    t' 

Vrw  Vufk  ClJy 


e  at  tkt 
I  R  WttJfv. 


Elxpert  Advice 


In  ihe  April  ij  number.  H.  EL  Samuels 
h-  -  the  actual  cost  of  power. 

''  ut  an  engineer  can  figure 

hit  power  cu»t,  mciiKling  charge*,  depre- 
ciation, taxes,  etc.,  but  does  he?     A  very 
brge  prupoHion  of  the  engincr^rs  cannot 
do  this  because  they  are  nui  given  ih. 
purtuniiy.      llic    cause    ft^r    this    u, 
many  of  the  ent  ,mI|   nul   uk' 

trouble,  even  if   •  :iation  u    . 

them,    to    enable    iJ^ciu    tu    make 
figtire*:    an*!,   M-cond.   the   plant   «wi 
"•  the  engineer  the   k      • 

n<  .'   for  hia  to  nuke  a  >.-rc 

ful  estimate. 

As  a  rule  in  the  moderate-tired  plants 
the  engineer  is  not  only  the  engmeer  in 
the  steam  plant,  but  be  alsti  ha«  t<> 
for  a    very    large  jian   of   tKr   mar 
throughout  the  plant :  and 
to  look    in«o  !hr   hnrr  pr>!r 
and  !• 
and   Lik 

matter  as  it  stands  today  is  such  ifiai  the 
average  plant  can  be  very  nuteruih    -i' 
sisled   by   the   employment   of  an   e «       • 
to  go  f>ver  it  carefully  in  €■ —     •         «i!fi 
the  engineer  if  he  can  su.  -Inc 

■    to  co<>peratc    1*  ;  1    him. 
the  plant  is  at  i^■■.}•.  .i"d 
.•i::ui!>    thc)^    pLtceSi.      As    far   . 
o>nceme<l,    it    has    one    great 
maiiilv  liecause  of  the  jealou%y  or  ill  lerl 
ing  c.iii«ed  by  jealousy,  or  an*  ,  '^rr   frrl 
ing  of  the  engineer,  who  a 
that  he  should  be  left  al«N..    ^     ,.     ^       , 
own  win  on  the  pbnt.  and  that  the  call 
ing  in  of  any  outside  assistance  is  a  grave 
reflection  on  his  ability. 

T  may  r  .An  en- 

g«i  f^    1%    a    tr  r      i»    a|. 

ways  glad   to  learn:  ni   i« 

not    working  .  to    its    l>   :    j  . .  k<> 

should  be  eierrdingly  gbd  to  h. 
portunily  to   learn  Imiw    it    - 
to  do  so  and  take  advant   . 
portitnti  '  the  sanv- 

nol  har  It  is  nn  • 

the   abilit>    nf   any   enginrr  1 

exprrt    <-s?l«*«f    in    to    »tft4«r  <- 

thr  r  tn  ■  iiuiiAsf 

of  fi    t?var«r1erK 

The  eti.  mt4 

to  one.  •  .fU 

the  same  genrral  ' 
operating  i>"  -- 
been  so  nun 

•v  to  mjse  %Tt<fiM-«  intM  thr  ««r*r>«f» 
of  bk   fkamt,   aad   kM   M«   Ind 


tW-t 


- -       ...    -iallr* 

TWft    b    awMWr    pate    mhkk    Mr. 

*^  dnn  mm  mrtm  *o  rvalue.    Tbr«« 

'*rmm    to   be    a 

!bc  cngiAMf  Mid  dl 


it  is  verj-  hard  for  the  engineer  to  get  the 
employer  to  believe  things  may  be  done 
to  improve  the  plant,  to  advantage ;  where- 
as if  the  engineer  is  backed  up  in  his 
opinions  by  an  expert,  the  work  can  be 
done  and  is  done.  There  is  quite  as  much 
trouble  in  the  engine  and  boiler  room  due 
to  the  dictation  of  an  employer  with  refer- 
ence to  the  kind  of  coal,  oil,  etc.,  as  there 
is  from  lack  of  attention  of  the  engineer 
to  his  duties:  also  because  the  employer 
expects  the  engineer  not  only  to  be  the 
engineer  of  his  plant,  meaning  by  plant 
the  steam  end,  but  also  to  look  out  for 
every  bit  of  shafting  and  machinery  there 
is  in  the  plant.  This  is  not  the  province 
of  the  steam  engineer.  His  duties  should 
be  to  keep  his  steam  plant  running  con- 
tinuously and  at  the  same  time  as  econom- 
ically as  possible,  and  the  employer 
should  take  careful  notice  of  the  recom- 
mendations  of  his  engineer. 

I  am  not  recommending  the  employment 
of  a  supervising  expert  continually  on 
the  staff  of  the  manufacturing  company, 
as  has  been  suggested  by  a  number  of 
people  in  your  paper.  I  believe  that  if 
an  expert  is  employed  who  is  competent, 
he  can  give  the  engineer  the  points  nec- 
essary to  enable  him  to  carry  on  his  work 
successfully;  and  the  expert  will  not  be 
required  to  visit  the  plant  at  stated  inter- 
vals. It  is  wise,  however,  when  any 
trouble  occurs  or  the  power  cost  seems 
excessive,  to  call  in  an  expert  to  see  if 
he  can  discover  the  difficulty,  as  his  wide 
experience  will  enable  him  to  find  troubles 
w-hich  the  continuous  service  of  the  en- 
gineer and  his  long  service  in  the  same 
plant  make  him  believe  that  it  is  inherent 
in  the  plant  to  have  certain  defects  or  cer- 
tain losses,  which  cannot  be  reduced.  The 
expert,  however,  not  having  this  experi- 
ence, examines  carefully  the  records  and 
notes  those  which  teem  to  be  excessive, 
and  looks  for  the  cause.  Having  found 
it,  he  suggests  and  tries  a  remedy. 

The  main  trouble,  therefore,  seems  to 
be  too  many  duties  for  the  engineer  im- 
posed by  the  employer;  a  belief  of  the  em- 
ployer that  the  engineer  should  do  well 
with  little  or  no  encouragement ;  a  re- 
sulting lack  of  interest  in  the  plant  by 
the  engineer ;  an<l  a  gradual  deterioration, 
which  needs  remedying  and  which  can  be 
done  most  cheaply  and  quickly  by  the 
employment  of  an  expert.  There  is  no 
question  in  my  mind  that  the  engineers 
can  and  should  wake  up  to  their  oppor- 
tunities; and  that  the  employment  of  an 
expert,  which  is  now  of  very  great  ad- 
vantage to  most  manufacturing  companies, 
could  be  made  less  necessary.  To  my 
mind  it  can  never  be  entirely  obviated, 
because  the  engineers  do  not  wake  up,  the 
engineers  do  not  have  an  opportunity  to 
study  and  visit  other  plants,  keep  in  touch 
with  the  advancing  scientific  knowledge," 
and  are,  therefore,  at  a  disadvantage  as 
compared  to  the  expert  whose  oppor- 
tunities are  so  much  greater.  If  the  en- 
gineer  of   most   plants   would   be   willing 


POWER.^XD  TF^^  ENGINEER. 

to  put  aside  \iiir  petty  jealousies  against 
the  expert  and  work  with  him,  it  would 
be  much  to  his  advantage.  This  fact  is 
very  well  expressed  in  the  April  13  num- 
ber, under  the  heading  of  "Drops  of  Ink 
to  Make  You  Think." 

Henry  D.  Jackson. 

Boston,  Mass. 


Ejqjanding  Boiler  Tubes 


When  leaking  tubes  of  horizontal  re- 
turn-tubular boilers  are  located  in  or  near 
the  center  and  are  thickly  covered  with 
a  hard  scale,  which  prevents  them  from 
coming  out  of  their  own  tube  holes,  even 
when  hammered  and  a  chain  tackle  is 
used  to  pull  them  out.  The  majority  of 
engineers  cut  ofif  the  bead,  if  there  is  any, 
and  rip  the  tube  with  the  bur  inside  and 
close  the  ends  in  as  usual.  This  is  all 
right,  but  after  the  tube  is  started  out 
and  is  only  8  or  10  inches  outside  the  hole, 
and  cannot  be  driven  out  any  more  from 
the  other  end,  they  try  a  chain  tackle,  and 
hammer  the  tube  for  hours  with  very  lit- 


June  22,  iQoy. 

tubes  can  be  pulled  out  easily;  and  when 
putting  in  new  tubes  it  will  be  necessary 
to  use  a  ferrule  of  either  copper  or  sheet- 
iron  strips,  about  1/16  inch  thick,  ^  inch 
wide  and_  long  enough  to  fill  the  holes 
when  the  new  tubes  are  in  place.  The 
tubes  can  be  put  in  without  ferrules  if 
the  ends  are  heated  and  opened  out  with 
a  wooden  plug  or  drift  driven  in  several 
inches,  thus  making  bell-mouth  tubes  of 
them. 

Stephen  C.  Cafiero. 
Brooklyn,  N  .Y. 


Equivalent  Straight  Pipe  for  Globe 
Valves,  Bends  and  Elbows 


The  accompanying  data  sheet  gives  the 
lengths  of  straight  pipe  which  are  equiva- 
lent in  resistance  to  globe  valves,  bends 
and  elbows.  The  table  is  calculated  from 
the  following: 

d  =  Diameter  of  pipe  in  inches, 
A  =  Length,  in  inches,  of  pipe  equiva- 
lent to  globe  valve. 


EQUIVALENT  STRAIGHT  PIPE  FOR  GLOBE 

VALVES, 

BENDS 

\ND  ELBOWS. 

Pipe 
diam- 

Equivalent  Straight  Pipe  due  to 

Pipe 
diam- 
eter 

Equivalent  Straight  Pipe  due  to 

Globe  Valves 

Bends  and  Elbows 

Globe 

Valves 

Bends  and  Elbows 

Feet 

Inches 

Feet 

Inches 

Feet 

Inches 

Feet 

Inches 

1 

2 

1 

1 

5 

11 

78 

7 

52 

5 

u 

3 

1 

2 

1 

12 

87 

8 

58 

6 

U 

4 

2 

2 

10 

13 

96 

6 

64 

4 

2 

6 

9 

4 

6 

14 

105 

6 

70 

4 

2i 

9 

9 

6 

6 

15 

114 

5 

76 

4 

3 

12 

11 

8 

8 

16 

124 

1 

82 

9 

3i 

16 

5 

10 

11 

17 

133 

6 

89 

0 

4 

20 

0 

13 

4 

18 

142 

6 

95 

0 

4i 

23 

9 

15 

10 

19 

151 

8 

101 

1 

0 

27 

( 

18 

5 

20 

161 

0 

107 

4 

6 

35 

8 

23 

9 

22 

180 

2 

120 

1 

7 

44 

0 

29 

4 

24 

197 

10 

131 

11 

8 

52 

0 

34 

11 

26 

216 

8 

144 

5 

9* 

61 

1 

40 

9 

28 

230 

0 

153 

4 

10 

69 

10 

46 

/ 

30 

254 

5 

169 

■^ 

tie  result  and  with  a  strain  on  the  tackle 
nearly  pulling  the  boiler  from  its  settings. 
I  have  seen  nine  such  tubes  which  could 
not  be  taken  out  of  their  own  holes.  The 
proper  thing  to  do  would  be  to  cut  out 
all  the  tubes  and  jump  them  through  the 
manhole  or  handholes  if  there  are  any,  but 
in  many  cases  they  do  not  want  to  take 
out  all  the  tubes  and  only  want  to  re- 
move the  leaking  ones.  The  only  remedy 
for  such  tubes  is  to  cut  them  off  when 
they  are  stuck  out  of  the  hole  8.  or  10 
inches  and  rip  and  close  the  end  of  the 
remaining  part  of  tube  in  the  boiler  as 
before  and  push  the  tube  back  into  the 
boiler  out  of  the  way  for  the  present  until 
you  get  a  roller  tube  expander,  and  roll 
the  tube  hole  (that  is,  in  the  tube  head) 
larger,  which  is  only  upsetting  the  plate 
and  can  be  done  very  easily  if  you  have 
an  expander  J4  inch  larger  than  neaded  to 
roll  the  tubes,  but  if  you  have  not  an 
extra  expander  the  same  expander  will 
do  if  you  use  a  strip  of  sheet  steel  about 
li  inch  thick,  ^  inch  wide  and  5  or  6 
inches  long  if  they  are  ^-inch  tube  holes, 
having  made   the   tube   holes  larger,   the 


A'  =  Length,  in  feet,  of  pipe  equiva- 
lent to  globe  valve, 

B  z=z  Length,  in  inches,  of  pipe  equiva- 
lent to  bends  and  elbows, 

B'  =  Length,  in  feet,  of  pipe  equivalent 
to  bends  and  elbows, 


A  = 


114  d 


1  + 


B  =  y.A  = 


3-6 


76  d 


A'  = 


1  + 


9.5  d 


3.6 


i-f 


^  18 


3.6 


6  3»d 


1  + 


3-6 
d 


The  formulas  for  A  and  B  are  taken 
from  the  catalog  of  the  Ingersoll- Sergeant 
Drill  Company. 

SinNEY  C.  Carpenter. 

Plaiiiville,  Conn. 


June 


lyw^. 


POWER  ANl»  the  engineer. 


i»«j 


The  Rathbun  Engine  Test 


In  the  ifisue  of  April  6  occurs  an 
article  entitled,  "Ten  of  a  Vertical  En- 
gine," giving  the  economies  of  a  l2'/jxii, 
lOO-horMrpowcr,  Rathbun,  single-acting, 
vertical  engine.  Owing  to  the  extremely 
low   economics   shown,   I   have  taken   the 


and   we   havr  rtut 

while  the  tM  .  at 

no   load,  only    ab-  cent,   ut    full 

load    gas,    the    thr  r    ensinc    re- 

quired nearly  double  this  antouni.  More- 
over, the  shape  of  the  total  heat  consump- 
tion line*  is  quite  different  in  the  two 
cases.  The  intersection  of  a  tangent  from 
the  origin  shows  that  while  the  thrcc-c>l- 


/ 

AO. 

«.■.  • 

MH 

y 

list. 

*Oy'liam| 

/ 

/ 

tmjm 

-\- 

y 

^ 

y 

1 

tM« 

■MM 
mjm 
mjm 

4 

V 

^ 

7^ 

^ 

IMM 

\ 

V 

^x 

-f" 

turn 

tmjm 

^ 

^ 

-^. 

y»jm 

,^*' 

■^ 

^^^ 

! ■ 

»>»_ 

■ot* 

p*«w 

■ 

t  _ 

. 

%jm 

;:»-■ 

mjm 

tmjm 
mjm 

'" 

%jm 

• 

%jm 

f 

\jm 

1 

1 

"bvious. 
lie     .  a   »nW.? 

hurwpuwrr  ' 
clearance  so 

thermal  e<bcsency  H  otaaincd  at  JD  per 
cent  below  the  »Mi».«T,Mm  borscpowrr. 
This  will  give  an  avrriomi  re- 

f^^ty  of  35  fer  rrn;  ..  i-i  fraituaUy  ■■»- 
forwt  f§uif9Cf.  This  prupusitioa  OD- 
doublcdly    ofT'  iltiet,    p«rucnltf|y 

oa  tome  de-  . 

I  do 
serious    ■. 

overload  capaaty.     In 
fofinancr     of     his     u 
shows    that    be    has    not    done    what    be 
proposes. 

Cuniing   down    still    further   to   drtafli^ 
I  <lo  n.t  f'lt!-;  ^  the 

iiccc»vary   ;•  ;«cr- 

mit   the  In 

my   owr.  '*rf 

( I  iMi<!rrr<|  .1 

ti\c   frii:r.  a  -    ^ 

t!ic    J"  ITU*    ?  ire 

Mrtiiewli    ■  ''••y 

to    extr-  ir- 

rn- 


Rathboo  b 

\fs   per  eott. 

the  per- 

rnginc 


111..- 
practice 


it 


■r»k*  III  1 1  mp*  ■  m 

no.   I 


the 

Rathbun  coiv.  'c  to 

detail  as  regards  the  actual  hgurrs — bow 


trouble  to  analyse  the  results  therein  pre- 

♦ente«l.  •  !•> 

other  re.  i  • 

at  the  Mart  that  i  %iioii>il  have  no 
:rc  to  que»tii'n  the  accuracy  of  these 
results  if  they  did  not.  by  rea*«n  of  the 
extraordinary  econo!nie<  cl.iimnl,  rrtlnt 
on  the  entire  jja*  cnKmr  iii.l\!«tr\  •.  ;;i!' 
the  Rathlnni  rnuine.  If  (he  Kailibuii  cutn- 
pany  will  |ri1>tiNli  all  the  faciv  so  that 
the 


io  come  tiown  to  tik'«ires.  1  sulmut 
reproduction^.  drawn  exactly  to  scalr. 
from   two  pitMished   tests   from    Raihhun 


u 

.11 

ANt> 

I.!r.' 

iry 

flir.I   • 

frnm 

1 

•»,rr 

>n«ii 

for  a 

ra* 

f  >  , 

R  1 11    r< 

est' 

lo«al 

cnt. 

to    C!ir:; 
hnr^et* 
one  iK'f 

,..lr.r 

the 

heat 

i  'irvr« 

rd 

line 

l-l«.  1. 

i-l 


"tM 

LraMT 

r- 

. 

..- 

'/ 

1 

h. 

U.  1 

o»* 

Ls. 

i 

, 

■y\ 

— ^     ■     ■     v,-^ 

1 



«A 

^ 

.- 

V 

.^^--- 

m»m 

\ 

_^'         .-■»-,*'.                                      _ 

^m^ 

r-' 

^ 

PI 

^ 

I 

mg 

i£ 

!:- 

" 

"^ 

^ 

^ 

1     i     1 

--' 

^ 

^ 

X* 

s 

1h  ll 

1                        1 

•"^ 

j»i 

JV 

,^' 

^5 

'v 

"^ 

ft 

►?• 

^^ 

h 

n 

L|„| 

*-' 

• 

' 

hi 

t 

i_ 

1 

1  .i_j 

h 

lit! 

1 

J 

•  I 


«err  nbtai—d.  artel  corrrctiotts  vert 


•  '!^l     r.r*    tk   •     ti<     rr<fu    r     r 


M.  E 


« 1     f  I  .A  . 


•«r»rr  af 
rkai   iW 


tbcfauj    c&tKCiki    ^    owtpat    ••• 


III4 

tically  JO  per  cent."  In  the  first  place, 
this  is  not  a  sufficiently  tangible  expres- 
sion of  economy  to  be  of  any  value. 
In  the  second  place,  this  per  cent.,  on  a 
thermal  basis,  is  equivalent  to  not  quite 
8500  B.t.u.  per  brake  horsepower-hour. 

The  speed  regulation  was  given  as  4.5 
per  cent.  It  is  not  customary  to  speak 
of  speed  regulation  except  between  no 
load  and  full  load.  The  speed  curve, 
however,  shows  a  rapid  drop  between  35 
and  70  horsepower.  If  this  speed  curve 
were  carried  back  to  zero  load,  the  speed 
drop  would  be  excessive  and  entirely  be- 
yond the  limits  of  good  generator  practice. 

The  article  speaks  of  the  advantage  of 
automatic  adjustment  of  ignition,  which 
is  advanced  on  light  loads.  If  the  re- 
sults were  so  extraordinary,  why  docs  the 
light  load  heat  consumption  shown  in 
Fig.  I  appear  nearly  twice  that  of  Fig. 
2?  As  I  understand  it,  this  feature  was 
to  be  of  assistance  on  light  loads,  especial- 
ly in  point  of  economy. 

In  view  of  the  foregoing,  I  believe  it  is 
incumbent  upon  the  Rathbun  company  to 
explain  its  position  on  tliis  question  of 
economy  in  full  detail. 

Kenneth    C.    McAlpin. 

Chicago,  111. 

fin  justice  to  Mr.  Rathbun  we  explain 
that  the  temperature  at  which  the  gas 
passed  the  meter,  about  50  degrees 
Fahrenheit,  was  inadvertently  cut  out  of 
the  article  by  the  member  of  the  staff 
who  handled  it.  The  efficiency  figure  was 
inserted  by  the  same  editor,  and  as  the 
exact  figure  would  be  29.22  per  cent.,  on 
the  basis  of  the  data  furnished,  "prac- 
tically .10  per  cent."  is  not  far  out — 
Editors.] 


)^ 


Repairing  a  Broken  Cylinder 


The  liability  of  wrecking  steam  cyl- 
inders of  engines  driving  air  compressors 
or  blowing  engines  equipped  with  me- 
chanically operated  inlet  and  discharge 
air  valves,  and  connected  to  a  common 
,  receiver  with  other  compressors,  by  al- 
lowing them  to  turn  in  a  reverse  direc- 
tion when  the  throttle  valve  on  the  steam 
cylinder  is  closed,  is  well  illustrated  by 
accompanying  photograph. 

The  engine  in  question  is  one  of  six 
Norbcrg  Corliss  cross-compound  con- 
densing blowing  engines,  compressing  air 
to  50  ounces  per  stjuare  inch,  and  all  dis- 
charging into  a  common  receiver. 

There  arc  gate  valves  to  cut  out  each 
engine  (.100  feet  distant)  attached  to  the 
main  drum  where  individual  blast  pipes 
enter  the  drum.  When  necessary  to  stop 
the  engine  in  case  of  accident  or  minor 
repairs,  the  custom  is  generally  to  stop 
and  hold  the  engine  from  turning  in  a 
reverse  direction  by  unlatching  the  high- 
pressure  wristplate,  raising  the  steam 
valve,  and  then  admit  steam  to  one  end 

r,f     <Uc     rvUnrlrr      mOVC     the    plStOU     tO    OnC 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

end  and  leave  steam  on  with  the  throttle 
open.  The  engine  cannot  uiove  when  left 
in  this  condition.  This  is  done  only  when 
small  repairs  are  needed,  such  as  loose 
nuts  or  bolts  or  in  keying  up.  At  all 
other  times  the  valve  is  closed  on  the 
blast  line  and  the  throttle  is  not  closed 
until  the  air  pressure  is  all  off  the  engine. 
The  primary  cause  of  this  broken  cyl- 
inder   was    that    the    engineer    in    charge, 


■  iG.   I 

in  stopping  to  tighten  a  loose  truss  rod  on 
the  main  eccentric  rod,  closed  the  thottle 
and  did  not  unlatch  the  wristplate. 

While  making  this  repair  the  engine 
started  to  run  backward  driven  by  the  air 
pressure  in  air  cylinders,  and  before  the 
engineer  could  reach  the  throttle,  open 
it  and  latch  the  wristplate  into  the  gear, 
the  cylinder  cracked  across  the  top  of  the 
back  steam-valve  chamber  as  indicated  by 
the  line  drawn  across  the  top  of  the 
patch  and  the  dotted  line  down  through 
the  side  of  the  valve-chamber  bonnets. 

The  brass  box  on  the  crosshead  pin 
was  crushed  back  out  of  shape  and  the 
key   sheared   in   the   crank    %    inch.      No 


damage  was  done  to  the  piston,  piston- 
rod  or  cylinder  head. 

If  the  cylinder  relief  valves  had  been 
attached  to  this  engine  the  probabilitie's 
are  that  no  damage  would  have  been  done, 
as  they  would  have  opened  and  relieved 
the  pressure. 

The  point  B.  Fig.  i,  shows  where  we 
have  since  drilled  and  attached  eleven 
2-inch  spring  relief  valves. 


June  22,  1909. 

As  the  engine  was  needed  to  blow  a 
furnace  with,  repairs  were  effected  by 
fitting  a  patch  of  5/16-inch  steel  over 
the  crack  in  which  we  had  previously  cut 
a  dovetailed  groove  and  filled  it  with 
"Smooth-On." 

Patch  and  cylinder  were  drilled  for  a 
double  row  of  54-in  rivets,  figured  to  give 
a  joint  efficiency  of  70  per  cent. 

The  cracks  extending  down  through 
the  bonnet  flanges  into  the  cylinder  were 
dovetailed  out  and  an  annealed  copper 
wire  calked  in.  Two  i-inch  bands  of 
Swedish  iron  were  shrunk  around  the 
bonnet  flanges  as  shown  at  H  and  7. 

The  broken  portion  was  further 
strengthened  by  drilling  through  the 
flange  of  the  cylinder  back  through  the 
steam  port  under  the  valve  and  putting 
in  bolts  C,  D  and  E.  These  holes  were 
drilled  13/16  inch  through  to  the  steam 
port  and  then  drilled  i^  inches  into  the 
metal  beyond  the  port.  The  >^-inch  hole 
only  was  tapped  out,  and  a  bolt  put  in, 
as  shown  in  Fig.  2.  The  portion  of 
the  bolt  marked  A  was  used  to  screw 
into  place  and  then  twisted  off,  and  after- 
ward filed  down  smooth.  Bolts  marked 
C,  D,  E,  F  and  G  were  put  through  the 
flange  as  shown  on  side  of  the  cylinder, 
and  fastened  with  a  nut. 

As  the  crank  was  found  to  be  tight, 
the  cylinder  head  was  put  on  and  the  en- 
gine slowly  heated  up  to  allow  the  ce- 
ment to  dry.  Pressure  was  gradually  put 
en  and  small  leaks  around  the  patch  were 
calked.  The  jacket  was  put  back  on  the 
cylinder  and  except  for  the  rings  H  and  7 
oh  the  bonnet  flanges  projecting  a  trifle 
above  the  jacket  the  engine  is  to  all  ap- 
pearances as  good  as  ever.  It  has  been 
running  constantly  for  two  months,  and 
has  neither  leaked  nor  shown  any  signs  of 
distress. 

A  new  cylinder  put  in  position  ready  to 
run  would  cost  $600.    The  repairs  cost  less 
than  $100,  including  material  and  labor. 
G.  L.  Fales. 

Copperhill,  Tenn. 


Braces  Were  Sprung 


While  visiting  an  electric-lighting  plant, 
I  happened  to  look  in  through  the  bot- 
tom manhole  of  a  72xi6-inch  return- 
tubular  boiler  that  was  being  washed 
out,  and  I  noticed  that  some  of  the  tubes 
in  the  bottom  row  were  sprung  sidewise, 
in  some  cases  almost  touching  one  an- 
other ;  also,  the  two  through  braces  were 
sprung  up  about  4  inches.  The  superin- 
tendent said  the  boiler  had  been  that  way 
for  six  months  and  he  thought  it  all  right.' 

If  those  through  braces  were  straight- 
ened out,  would  the  tubes  spring  more  or 
would  the  through  braces  stretch  again? 
W.   E.  McClelland. 

Saskatoon,  Can. 


June  22,  1909. 


POWER  AND  fUE  ENGINEER. 


HIS 


rhe  National   Electric  Light   Convention 


Low     I^rcssurc     Steam     Turbines.     C^     Envona     aiid    Prcjci 
GroundiniT  of  S«:on<lar\'  Circuili   f^rominml  Tf>{ju*    at   Rctrj 


The  thirty-second  annual  conventirm  of 
c   National    Electric   Light    A 
Jd  at  Atlantic  City  in  the  %»■ 
me  5,  was  not  the  usual,  to-be-expected, 
ccess;  it  was  an  astonishing  eclipMr  of 
I  previous  conventions  of  this  orxaniza- 
jn.      In   point   <jf  numerical   attentkincc, 
ality  of  program  and  real  interest  iii:i;ii 
Sy  the  delegates,  it   was  a   record 
-r. 

were   held    on    th< 
pier,  where   the   «  > 
Ml  hall  was  also  locate<l.  and  the  open- 
-  ■■'  the  convention  was  precr<lcd  by  a 
n   and  ball   in   the   exhibition   hall 
evening  of   May  31.     The  center 
hall    IS   provided   with   a   splendid 
'•r    for   dancing,   and   one -half 
■   was  kept  clear  f«>r  that  pur- 
ine.     1  he   music    for   dancing    was    siip- 
H>!    by    a    small    string    band,    and    thr 
•cd    Filipino    orchestra,    lf>cate<l    it 
ry   at   one   end   of  the   huge   hat  I. 
d    high-class    music    between    tb' 
in.  r  mimbcrs. 
On  Ttirsilay  morning.  June  I.  the  con 


ic     Clt>.        1  li*.      i'f*    :)::•- 
IS  annual  address,  in  tlic 
'1    he    iniiicatnl    the    ad 
!c    from  the  |x>licy  of  es 
ng    State    section*    of   the   as^.~il 
iM.    idherever    it    is    feasible   to   manitain 
lem. 

""  of    the    c  were 

■  classes :  ivcr- 

rcp<»rts    aiul 

\;      »r»     nnr-     <■' 


devested  to  business  mr»bixl».  art<l 
•"'.'.   the   scope   of   wbivh   is   indi 
•s    title.      The    %r%«i«ins   of   the 

ns   were  heb!  'v.  and 

of  the  large  ..  ■    w«>rk 

were    hcW    in 

r   f>n    thr    third 


B  the  (teneral  <liM«i'.n.  v* ' 
nine  proprrU  ui^'nti  '.hr  * 
oomal. 

DtTttorsiKXTs    IS    STtNLAOt    BaIIUIU 


fhr  Fdt^on  ttattrmt  hare  t!<ed  for  ^erera! 


end-cell  switches  and  automatic  \*»  strrt. 
The  comparison  of  battery  cells  may  tie 
tabulated  as  follows: 


rxamplr  r»f  the  latest  <lerelopaintt  in  the 
rorsfr  banrrjr  to  Mnooch 
■  I  -ad  cur^e,  the  author 
cited    ■  in    tbc 

plant  a:   — where  iwo   ., 

IJS  ^U*  vach  arc  eoonectrd  in  pa' 


nu  1.   i7iuiM»in 


Of 


lad  the    ttatKLtr.! 


»nV    » ti».  h 


at     ^--J 


1110 

Recent  De\xlopmexts  ix  Electric  Ap- 
paratus 
A  paper  with  the  above  title,  read  by 
E.  W.  Allen,  was  rather  disappointing. 
The  author  contented  himself  by  out- 
lining the  general  features  of  a  14.000- 
kilowatt  Curtis  turbine-generator  unit  of 
6600  voks  and  60  cycles,  a  small  belt- 
driven  direct-current  dynamo,  a  looo-kilo- 
watt  split-pole  rotary  converter,  a  2000- 
kilowatt  frequency-changer,  and  a  3000- 
kilowatt  transformer.  All  of  the  informa- 
tion presented  in  the  paper,  and  much 
more,  can  be  found  in  the  literature  of  the 
■\-arious  manufacturers. 

Gas  Engines  .\xd  Producers 
The  report   of  the   Committee   on   Gas 
Engines  was  the  first  paper  presented   in 


POWER  AX 


XD  TL 


/;gixeer. 


obtain  gas  suitable  for  engines.  "The 
tiuality  of  producer  gas  varies  with  the 
grades  of  fuel  and  the  method  of  operat- 
ing the  producer,  but  the  fixed  carbon 
of  all  fuels  is  the  basis  of  producer  action 
and  the  yield  of  gas." 

By  far  the  greater  part  of  the  report 
consisted  of  rudimentary  statements  such 
as  the  foregoing  and  elementary  descrip- 
tions of  the  principal  types  of  apparatus 
and  methods.  This  statement  is  made 
not  in  a  carping  spirit  but  as  an  ex- 
planation of  the  relatively  small  amount 
of  space  wliich  we  devote  to  the  report. 
The  elementary  information  referred  to 
is  of  value  to  those  who  are  entirely  un- 
familiar with  the  subject,  as  most  central 
station  managers  probably  are. 

The    committee    described    briefly    the 


June  22,  1909. 

plants,  most  of  which  have  been  fully 
described  in  this  journal,  and  illustrated 
descriptions  of  the  Loomis-Pettibone,  R. 
D.  Wood,  Westinghouse  and  Pintsch 
producers.  Of  these,  the  new  double- 
zone  bituminous  producer  of  'the  West- 
inghouse Machine  Company  is  the  only 
one  that  has  not  been  described  at  length 
by  the  engineering  periodicals.  Fig.  i 
is  an  exterior  view  of  this  producer.  Fig. 
2  a  sectional  elevation  and  Fig.  3  a  chart 
of  average  test  results.  From  Fig.  2  it 
will  be  evident  that  the  cleaning  equipment 
is  considerably  smaller  than  that  com- 
monly required  with  other  types  of  pro- 
ducer. The  gas,  which  is  taken  off  at 
the  middle  of  the  generator,  passes  to  a 
small  wet  scrubber  and  thence  to  a  hori- 
zontal holder  from  which  it  is  drawn  by 


FIG.  2.    SECTIOXAL  view  OF  175-HORSEI'OWER   WESTINGHOUSE  BITUMINOUS  GAS   PROnUCER  RECENTLY  TESTED  AT  EAST  PITTSBURG 


the  Technical  division  of  the  conven- 
tion. In  the  absence  of  J.  B.  Klumpp, 
the  chairman  of  the  committee,  the  re- 
port was  presented  in  abstract  by  Irving 
E.  Mouhrop,  of  the  committee.  The  re- 
I)ort  consisted  chiefly  of  elemcntals  with 
which  all  interested  readers  of  Power 
have  had  ample  opportunity  to  become 
familiar.  "Producers  using  anthracite 
coal  have  been  in  use  continuously 
for  10  or  more  years,  giving  absolute  sat- 
isfaction." Several  types  (of  bituminous 
producers)  have  been  on  the  market  in 
recent  years  and  have  been  operating 
with  more  or  less  success.  Some  gasify 
the  entire  product  of  the  coal  [including 
ash?]  while  other  types  necessitate  the 
use   of   auxiliary   tar-extracting   plant    to 


general  features  of  the  gas-power  plants 
of  the  American  Locomotive  Company, 
Richmond,  Va. ;  American  Steel  and  Wire 
Company,  at  Worcester,  IMass. ;  Boston 
Elevated  Railway  Company,  Boston, 
Mass.  (two  stations)  ;  Charlotte  Con- 
solidated Construction  Company,  Charlotte, 
N.  C. ;  Georgia  Railway  and  Electric 
Company,  Atlanta,  Ga. ;  Merrimac  Chemi- 
cal Company,  North  Woburn,  Mass.; 
Milwaukee  Northern  Railway  Company, 
Port  Washington,  Wis.;  The  Norton 
Company,  Worcester,  Mass.;  Swift  &  Co., 
New  York  City;  The  Phoenix  Tube 
Works,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  and  the  Wat- 
son-Stillman  Company,  Aldene,  N.  J.  The 
printed  report  also  contained  illustrations 
of  a  number  of  representative  gas-power 


the  rotary  exhauster.  The  vaporizer  sur- 
rounds the  central  portion  of  the  fuel 
bed,  where  the  two  zones  merge ;  conse- 
quently it  abstracts  heat  from  the  gases 
delivered  by  both  zones.  The  upper  zone 
is  practically  a  simple  down-draft  bitu- 
minous producer  in  which  most  of  the 
green  fuel  is  coked ;  the  lower  zone  is 
an  up-draft  coke  producer,  supplied  with 
coke  from  the  upper  zone.  The  supply  of 
air  and  steam  to  each  combustion  zone 
is  adjustable  independently,  of  course,  so 
that  the  proper  balance  between  the  tw^ 
zones  may  be  preserved. 

In  the  discussion  following  the  presenta' 
tion  of  the  report,  M.  R.  Bump  called  at- 
tention to  the  producer  plant  of  the 
Western    Chemical    Company    at    Denver, 


;o 

1 


June  22,   igo9. 


POWER  Ai.D  THE  ENGINEER. 


1117 


where  lignite  is  gasified,  the  gas 
usol  in  cii«irK'>  and  the  carbon  dioxide 
in  the  exhaust  gases  is  utilized  fur 
charging  soda-water  fountains. 

George  R.  Stetson  gave  sonte  results  of 
a  year's  experience  with  a  pressure  pro- 
ducer and   engine   equipment   operatetl   in 
'.nction    with   a    steam   plant   at    New 
rd,  Mas>.     He  said  that  his  experi- 
that    the   prfxlticcr   is   the 
•    of  whatever  troubles  oc- 
cur in  a  ga»-p«>wcr  plant.     The  steam  en- 
gines take  very  readily  to  the  handling  of 
gas    engines    but    txjiler    firemen    do    not 
>^'-   r.  adily  learn   to  handle  pro«lucer>  in- 
ntly.     He  also  found  it  difficult  to 
producer   men   because   of    the    un- 
.hle  escape  rif  carlK>n  monoxide  gas, 
tii?  bcmg  a  pres'.nre  plant. 


water-proofetl  Exploring  tubes  coo- 
nected  throu^  flexible  rubber  hose  to  a 
24-inch  U-tub«.  uf  gbM  were  inserted 
throughout  the  different  pans  of  the  con- 
denser and  air  pump,  in  order  to  make  a 
thorough  survey  of  the  interior  I'f  the  con- 
denser under  operating  coihIkiouv  With 
a   vacuum  of  .  r   injec- 

tion water  af  •-«.  th« 


plate  ot  the  condenser  was  enornjous. 
The  drop  of  vacuum  between  the  turbine 
base  and  the  air  pump  was  easily  located, 
but  later,  by  slight  modifications  in  design, 
was  considerably  reduced.  All  indications 
seemed  to  show  that  the  more  readily  the 
air  was  permitted  to  reach  the  air  suction 
connection    the    less    was    the    drop    in 


ably  cheaper  to  clean  oae  .iit 

condenser  than  to  clean  eich:  .    :c^ 

resenting  the  same  amount  of  stalson  out- 
put. 

in  reply  to  a  qoestsoa  by  Mr.  Cheynej. 
the  auth<  •-  r   «   oc- 

curre<i  n.  .j»  very 

;!er 

of 

iiy 

«cd 

that    the    water   leaving   the   water   lower 

was  6   degrees   to   lo  dcgrers   below    the 

temperature   of  the   aimotphere.     A*   lo 

the   difficulty   of   keeping    ihr    'ree 

from  air.  he  said  that  by  c  ^-  a 

ith  the  ci*  iifn:   !-'wer. 

'  secure  water  as  free 

frum  .iir   a»   liic   average   water   supplied 


4jooLtn 


rui.  J.  AvnAcc  kuclts  ow  comtitvovt  tuts  or  wunxcHot'fc 


AMD  CoouMC  Towciu  vacuum.     W hile  this  trouble  w 

,M|ier    was    one    by    .M.    K       ••  •    "xist   in   i»"       —   ■■'    ' 


devilled  to  the  design  and  oper 


r.  the  ma- 


»m   llMt   I*  Mcd   fpr  cos 

»  ,  ...^-*e«b 

':itiTk\-|V    Potts    tW    CfWrBATtMl 


will    be    fuund    elsewhere    in    lr 
•ig    Mr      Blimp"*    u-^\>^r,    A.    R- 


•  1    ..i   trte   »  hi-»go   Kdiww 

<-nird    a    bnef    b«l    aHM) 

>■    adTtsabibly    of 

Se  t-ttt-t  leads  of 


tacr   to  tW  MM- 

It     .at       r  t       Xl     tK« 


th 


by  means  of  incandescent  lampm.  prnprrly     «Um  u«w««<Hiri  ««i«sa*aun.     It  *♦  ..-.»*-U»        l>    um    suh    »«h«*»    l-*    t-^busr  4tne« 


iii8 

generators,  because  of  their  high  speed 
and  relatively  low  frequency.  With  such 
generators  the  instantaneous  current  pro- 
duced by  a  short-circuit  may  be  as  high  as 
50  times  the  normal  full  load  current. 
An  automatic  circuit-breaker,  even  if  it 
could  open  the  circuit  absolutely,  could 
not  operate  quickly  enough  to  protect  the 
generator  from  the  enormous  momentary 
shock  inflicted  by  such  an  increase  in 
current:  hence  the  advisability  of  using 
reactance  coils  in  the  circuits.  Ordinarily, 
these  do  not  cause  a  serious  drop  in 
volatge,    but    a    practically    instantaneous 


POWER  AND  THE 


.    1 

soo 

Copper  and  Iroo  Lost. 
Type  S  Translprmers 

/ 

/ 

y 

/ 

/ 

m 

»    ISO 

€^ 

f 

\ 

/ 

/ 

> 

y 

■^ 

ISO 
100 

/i 

\to« 

\fi^ 

■^ 

/     ^ 

/ 

"fj^ 

'          i          i 

nc. 


« 

— I 
1 

icgul 

itioo 

1 
Typt 

SXr 

ansfo 

rmer 

a 
2   3 

V 

X 

- 

^ 

i™"^"  00  P«r  c«M 

P.F. 

"a 

• 

V 

e  ■ 
• 

-^ 

N 

-"^ 

£ 

}'»»«■ 

P.F. 

10 


IJ 


20 


30 


SIM     50 

/^-■Mr,  .V.  r. 


,EER. 


He  commended  Mr.  Junk-  ^  .<i's  sug- 
gestion to  use  coils  between 'sections  of 
the  station  busbars  but  said  it  was  unnec- 
essary to  have  them  normally  cut  out  by 
switches  arranged  to  open  automatically 
at  overloads. 


IS       20       25 


K.V.A.  Oatpot  a  i^wrr,  .V.r. 

4.     IROX    KSX>  COPPER   LOSSES   OF   TRANS- 
FORMERS OF  RECENT   DESIGN 




~^ 

£?25 
1  •* 

\ 

\ 

> 

\, 

\ 

s. 

^^ 

V^ 

V. 

s 

^., 

■30 

k**^ 

% 

\- 

St 

^^ 

\ 

■i) 

f<^ 

s* 

N;^. 

\ 

\ 

%' 

^. 

^     C9 

N> 

\ 

\ 

•* 
^•^ 

la 

«)  a  10 

V 

t 

\ 

\ 

\ 

\ 

' 

•V 

.30 


.40 


Cost  of  I'ower  per  Kw 


.60 
Hour  in  Cents 

Power,  N.  Y, 


K.V.A.  Output 
FIG.     5.      SHOWING     REGL'L.ATION     OF    TRANS- 
FORMERS  OF   RECE.NT  DESIGN 

rise  of  current,  due  to  a  short-circuit 
which  would  ordinarily  increase  the  cur- 
rent fifty-fold,  will  greatly  increase  the  re- 
actance of  the  coil  and  thereby  choke  it- 
self down  to  a  much  less  destructive  over- 
load. 

In  the  discussion  of  Mr.  Junkersfcld's 
paper,  A.  S.  Loiseaux  presented  a  contri- 
bution on  the  design  of  reactance  coils 
for  the  protection  of  turbine-driven  gen- 
erators. Dr.  Charles  P.  Stcinmetz  pointed 
out  that  reactance  coils  inserted  in  the 
neutral  connections  of  three-phase  gen- 
erators will  protect  the  machines  only 
from  internal  short-circuits ;  in  order  to 
protect  them  from  short-circuits  on  the 
lines,  the  reactance  coils  must  be  in- 
serted in  the  main  lead-  r.f  tlir-  trenerators. 


6.     SHOWING   RELATIVE   VALUE    TO   CEN- 
TRAL  STATION   OF  TRANSFORMERS   OF 
DIFFERENT    EFFICIENCIES    FOR    VA- 
RIOUS VALUES  OF  COST  OF  POWER, 
INTEREST  AND  DEPRECIATION 


^ 

COO 

. 

\ 

= 

f 

^ 

^ 

150 

\ 

5»  C 

f 

v^ 

^ 

\ 

7 

100 

""\ 

\ 

^ 

/■ 

y 

^ 

-^ 

Corr 

iii 

50 

/ 

y 

^ 

— 

- 

/ 

— 

200 


Percentage  of  Normal  Loss 


300 
Potoer,  X  F. 

FIG.     7.     SHOWING   CHANGE   OF  LOSSES    WITH 
IMPRESSED  VOLTAGE 


ISO 

— 

120 

/ 

/ 

90 

/ 

1 

/ 

00 

/ 

/ 

^ 

/ 

^ 

V 

y 

40 


GO 


80 


100 


120 


140 


Percentage  of  Normal  Output 


FIG.    8. 


Power,  .V.  r, 

SHOWING   CHANGE   OF   OUTPUT 
WITH    FREQUENCY 


2000p 

-- 

— r 

,^ 

y    ^ 

,/ 

y 

c 

''    , 

7 

s    1000 

^/ 

y 

"ft 

•J           iAA 

^L 

..°' 

"y 

''  > 

"fk" 

.„  1200  - 

_. 

U'i 

■^      7 

-- 

7^ 

/ 

^       '^ 

m 

^     800 

,' 

'  ,' 

y 

w    «w 

'  ' 

"    y 

—     ^^ 

f  / 

,■' 

/ 

y 

/^ 

// 

,' 

/ 

',/ 

2  2 

^  7 

0 

'  \ 

\ 

12     10 


June  22,  1909. 

Improvements  in  Transformers 
The    history    of    transformer    develop- 
ment  was    briefly   traced   in    a   very    com- 
prehensive paper  by  E.  G.  Reed,  and  the 
latest  forms  of  construction  were  described 
in   detail.     The   author   presented   several 
cliarts     showing     the     characteristics     of 
modern  transformers,  among  which  were 
Figs.  4,  5,  6,  7  and  8 ;   these,  with  their 
captions,    are    self-explanatory.      The   im- 
provements due  to  the  use  of  silicon-  steelj 
in    transformer    cores    were    referred    tO'j 
briefly,   and   the   author   pointed   out   thatl 
while   the   use   of  this   alloyed   steel   gave 


21      Z'i     32 
.  Capacity 


FIG.    Q. 


I      44     48 
Power,  iV,  y, 

COMPARISON   OF   WEIGHTS   OF 
TRANSFORMERS 


.475 

■ 

~ 

~ 

V- 

. 

,425 
400 

/ 

y 

^ 

350 

/ 

/ 

/ 

°  275 
•-'50 

/ 

/ 

.<¥■ 

^ 

, 

.' 

0  200 
175 
150 
125 

O^^J 

■^ 

' 

- 

■' 

^ 

^ 

« 

y 

n-- 

•' 

/ 

.. 

/ 

.-■' 

/ 

, 

' 

y 

^  v 

' 

0 

_J 

_^ 

_ 

J 

-.1 

Kw,  Capacity  j>ower,  N.  Y. 

FIG.      10.     COMPARISON    OF    CORE   LOSSES    IN 
TRANSFORMERS 


" 

^ 

600 

U- 

Vi'^. 

r' 

500 

9'> 

.- 

-■ 

y 

k- 

400 

y 

^'k 

- 

y 

,- 

' 

300 

y 

' 

J 

- 

' 

^ 

.- 

200 

y' 

'' 

^ 

- 

100 

^ 

y" 

, 

4    6  8  10        15        20        25 


30 


50- 


Kw.  Capacity  Povier,  :;.  Y. 

FIG.    II.     COMPARISON  OF  COPPER  LOSSES  IN 
TRANSFORMERS 

lower  core  losses  for  given  conditions 
and  therefore  permitted  the  use  of  smaller 
cores  for  given  outputs  a^  given  effi- 
ciencies, the  cost  of  the  transformer  was 
not  reduced  because  the  new  silicon  steel 
is  more  expensive  than  the  steels  formerly 
used. 

This  latter  point  was  also  brought  out 
in  a  paper  by  W.  A.  Layman  entitled 
"The  Practical  Aspects  of  Recent  Im- 
provements in  Transformers."  Mr.  Lay- 
man's paper  was  rather  more  analytical 
than  Mr.  Reed's,  and  brought  out  more 
clearly  the  improvement  in  transformers 
which  has  been  effected  within  the  past 
five  years  or  so.  Figs.  9.  10  and  11  present 
graphically  the  chief  comparisons  of  the 
old  and  new  types,  the  improvements  be- 
ing due  entirely  to  the  use  of  steel  con- 
taining a  high  percentage  of  silicon — about 
forty  times  as  much  as  the  old  steel. 
Mr.  Layman  also  presented  the  following^ 
comparison  of  all-day  efficiencies: 


June  22,  igog. 


<|U  THE  E-NUlNhhR. 


1 1 19 


81z«  of  Tr»a«tonner :       1  Kw.  10  Kw.   SO  Kv. 
ill->1ar     U'«*<^s     Id  i    i  19«  :  «a        «.1IT      14.«U 
kil'wati-iiour..  ..j    |lM/9:<lu       3.e4«       t.'flO 

BftTlnc  la  kw.-tirs.^r  <U7.    SS       LMt       MH 

The  foregoing  comparison  was  based 
on  24  hours  of  core  loss  and  5  hours 
of  copper  loss  per  day. 

In  order  to  facilitate  the  parallel  op- 
eration of  transformers,  Mr.  l-a>riian  sug- 
gestcd, manufacturers  might  advantageous- 
ly include  in  tlieir  published  tables  of  data 
the  impedance  of  each  size  and  type 
of  transformer  rcKularly  built.  With  these 
data  before  him  the  user  could  prcde- 
terniiiH-  accurately  tlie  di.  '  ad  that 

hr    wnild    obtain    by    \^  trans- 

rs  of  different  sizes  or  iwaKCS.     The 
r     also     suKk'ested    that     bisyers    of 
•ormcrs   sh<.  M   require  the   \<II(r  to 
.,      .:y  the  maKHituing  current    t  primary 
current     when    the    secombry    circuit    is 
•  >   and  the  impedaiKe  of  each  trans- 
r.     (The  former  is  the  determining 
'  r   given 
ince    of 
ll.<.    l..!;<  !    .k    -  ji:Nt  txpLi:u«l.) 

In  diNi  t:--M'i{  Mr.  I-ayinnn'»  paper,  W. 
■  wKly  said  tl  at  the  effi  it  <■!  <.iIii-on 
:,  the  permeal)!lity  (maK'ntu"  qiiahty) 
of  the  steel  varies;  at  low  tnagnetic 
densities  the  magnetic  quality  is  improved 
and  contrariwise  at  high  d^.-nsitie4  (100^- 
000  lifics  per  square  iiKh  and  over). 

Low     Pttt-S.SCtt    SfTAM    Tl'rbinics 

.    In   a    paper   of   the   above   title.    C.    H. 

Smrmt    presented    an    interesting   analysis 

of    iJic    |)IiNM  .il    features    of    the    xarmus 

as  well  as  a  discussion  of 

..,.,... ill   to  the   use  of  lowprcs- 

sleam    from    high-pressure   engines, 
paper   v.  prigted   practically   in   full 
-lother  page   of  this   number. 

■  ill  of  the  paper  was  disap- 
ik^re  and  spiritless. 

!V»Mir      L'KltftE      I'lmtt-HOlHl      FlATtTUU 

a  paper  of  the  above  title.  G.  L. 
It  described  some  forty  unusual  fea- 
found  in  variotis  pnmiinent  cetilral 
ns.      Am4mg    these    were    the    fol- 


koiK> 

The 
brick    now    lutiinie*    |. 

V.   rtlf  Tllr  .('H.  I  ■     .      ' 


The  large   .1 

'.lin  i(u   jif  > 
>l     raeh    of 


thr 


rdi 


.11    ac- 


ing  toward  the  bridge  wall  with  16  inches 
dilierence  in  elevation  between  the  front 
and  back  of  the  grate.  The  lire  door  is 
set  at  an  elevation  of  2  feet  10  inches 
above  the  tiring  aisle  (iver  the  furiuicc 
are  built    '  cft   with 

srrrl.    It-  to    the 

-SC 
e» 
apart  to  afford  ample  area  for  the  pas- 
s;»ge  of  the  gases.  The  arches  become 
practically  irK*andescent  and  Itave  greatly 
improved  the  furnace  economy.  The  side 
walls  of  the  boiler  are  arched  between 
front  and  bridge  wall,  so  that  in  case  of 
repairs  the  brickwork  below  the  arch  nuy 
be  removed  without  disturbing  the  rest 
of  the  setting. 

In  the  p<jwer  house  of  the  Hudson  and 
Manhattan  Railruad  Company,  at  Jersey 
City,  two  jooo-kilowatt  Curtis  turbines 
are  equipped  with  three  condensers,  one 
on  the  outside  of  each  turbine  and  one 
Ixtween  the  turbines.  The  exhaust  from 
each  turbine  to  tl>e  crntlcnNer  on  each 
siile   of    it    is    led    '  '  ree   circular 

cast-iron  pipes,  cad.  !  with  a  gate 

valve.  The  three  gate  valves  are  om- 
ncctcd  by  gearing  to  a  small  engine  for 
closing  or  opening  the  gales  quickly  and 
simultaneously.  Each  condenser  is 
equipped  with  the  usual  auxiliaries,  and 
the  (-nt    permits    taking    out    a 

con<!  tube  or  other  repairs  with- 

out ■  •■ 

.\  .rtdling  ashes 

in    th  It   &   Co.   at 

Chic.iK  '  1    chute    into 

which  the  ash  hoppers  discharge  and 
which  leads  to  a  geiwral  tank  or  hopper 
at  such  a  bight  as  to  allow  the  ashes  to 
be  discharged  from  its  bottom  into  the 
usual  ash  pocket.  The  tank  or  hofiper 
is  kept  utKler  vacuum  by  an  exhauster 
connected  «•»  thr  fr^)  ..f  ihr  hupjior.  Two 
gates  arr  1  of  the 

tank   at    t  mg  op-" 

eraird  alterrutely  »o  that  witen  the  top 
gate  is  opened  a  qiunlity  of  ashes  tills 
the  space  between  the  gates;  the  top  gate 
is  then  closed  and  the  lower  one  opcne*!, 
the   ashes    falling   to   the   pocket    without 


•    air    ts^    tSic    tjnk 
*   sm!  water  dis- 

'lich  are 

j 

A 

Irrf        .        .. ,     .       •:     ;_::.c 

t«   at   the   Na   a   '  staitoa 

.1   ».ie   New   V   -^    ^^  ny  that 

arr  obtained   ■  the  or> 


therefore  comes  directly  in  contact  with 
the  cool  '.   '  '     >{  meeting  a   film 

of  water  Th«  advantages 

rst 

Icf    Willcf    uf   tvilHlcttMttUO. 

Mrroa-GCimATQas  nasus   Rotabv   Coir- 

VtXtWMA 

This  peretmial  l(  pic  was  the  test  of  a 
paper  by  F.  M.  Farmer,  of  the  Electrical 
1  esting    Laboratories.      Mr.   Fanner   pre* 

sented  a   getieral   r>  'le  oper- 

atitiK    firin<-!(ilrs   «••  !   motor 

,rd 
'.he 
lade  on 
.-.  l*r  op- 
eration. The  results  were  most  favorable 
to  the  ordinary  rolars  .. -iv-^^f  ^ith 
synchronous   booster    rr.  the  in- 

duction  rr.    '  -   -  —  in 

the  scale  iry 

converter  third,  t:  -  rn- 

erator  founh  and  :'  •  ir- 

generator  last. 

It  would  have  been  vrry  mtrrrrtinf 
in   connection   with   the  to 

determine    the    distribut: scs 

amr  ng  the  various  parts  of  each  cqotp- 
mrnt.  The  available  time  was  too  short 
to  admit  of  this  being  done,  bat  esti- 
nutes    fr  facturers'   specifkattons 

give   the 

In  ct-invcrur  equipments  the  loss  in 
step-down  transformrrs  i«  n*v>"f  ff  per 
cent,    of   the    :  •'-g- 

ulator   or   syn.  •    40 

to  50  per  cent  :  convener,  about  JO  to 
4C  per  cent.;  low-ten*i""  ,-,},c  lUmt  5 
per  cent.     In  motor  gr-  •♦«• 

are    probably    abrv     -  lie- 

tween   motor   af»d 

The  f.  r  Ay 

taineil  fr  of 

the    panicuUr    tu..  the 

tc»t«  were  made.  .1  -rs. 

They  arr  therrforv  opmions  faasrd  on  es- 
perirncr. 

The     synrhmnoos    convertefs    on     the 

Bronklyn    Fdt ....^»..    »e^    »ii    .t.ncd 

fr.im    the    dir-  'K» 

.h»r 


the     mdiiTlHin     and     ■yw- 

inrt    fr-tri    thr    aTlrmatinC- 


>e    unit. 
\rw    York    ami   Bro.AT%n    f-lhon 
t  have   increase«l   • 

.,. I,    I 


V 


s>-nchronous  motor  generator  and  the  syn- 
chronous booster  converter  over  the  other 
two  types  of  converter.  It  may  be  noted 
that,  of  the  various  starting  synchronous 
apparatus,  the  direct-current  method  is 
used  by  both  of  these  companies,  as  it 
means  the  least  disturbance  to  line.  Where 
direct  current  is  not  available,  an  alter- 
nating-current starting  motor  on  the  shaft 
(extended)  would  probably  give  the  best 
results. 

In  motor-generators  the  voltage  and 
power  factor  are  quite  independent,  but  in 
s>Tichronous  converters  a  change  in  volt- 
age at  a  given  load  produces  more  or 
less  change  in  the  power  factor,  hence 
more  or  less  manipulation  is  required 
everj-  time  the  voltage  is  changed.  One 
of  the  author's  charts  shows  the  extent 
of  this  change  in  power  factor  with 
change  in  voltage,  load  and  main  field  cur- 
rent remaining  constant.  The  induction 
regulator  converter  and  the  synchronous 
booster  converter  lowered  the  power 
factor  markedly  at  light  loads  with  in- 
crease in  voltage,  but  at  75  per  cent,  load 
and  over  the  change  was  not  appreciable. 
Of  the  three  types  of  converter  the 
power  factor  of  the  split-pole  is  least  af- 
fected at  any  load.  This  is  probably  due 
to  the  fact  that  in  this  machine  there 
are  compensating  windings  on  the  main 
magnet  poles  in  series  with  the  auxiliary 
pole  so  connected  that  the  main  pole 
flux  is  decreased  or  increased  when  the 
auxiliary-  pole  is  increased  or  decreased 
respectively,  causing  the  total  flux  to  be 
automaticallv  kept  practically  constant. 

Converters  with  induction  regulators 
and  synchronous  boosters  have  a  practi- 
cally constant  power  factor  at  all  loads 
with  constant  direct  voltage.  The  split- 
pole  converter  shows  a  slight  falling  off  in 
power  factor  with  increase  in  load. 

The  author's  conclusion  was  that  the 
answer  to  the  problem  "motor  generators 
versus  synchronous  converters"  for  light- 
ing and  power  work  depends  to  a  great 
extent  on  the  circumstances  in  each  in- 
dividual case.  In  general,  the  data  given 
in  the  paper  indicate  that  the  use  of 
motor-generators  would  not  be  justified 
except  possibly  on  60  c\'cles  or  where  the 
alternating-current  supply  fluctuates  badly. 
The  principal  advantage  of  the  motor- 
generator  is  its  flexibility  and  the  entire 
independence  of  the  direct-current  system 
from  the  alternating  system.  If  the  high- 
tension  alternating-current  supply  is  rea- 
sonably free  from  fluctuations,  these  fea- 
tures are  of  small  value  and  are  more 
than  counterbalanced  by  lower  efficiency 
and  increased  first  cost.  Comparisons  of 
the  various  types  of  synchronous  con- 
verter are  at  the  present  time  in  favor 
of  the  s>-nchronous  booster  converter,  but 
the  split-pole  machine  is  so  recent  a  de- 
velopment that  improvements  in  design, 
which  will  undoubtedly  be  made,  may 
improve  the  efficiency  curve  and  the  op- 
eration of  the  machine  to  such  an  extent 


POWER  AND  THE  K-  .oINEER. 

that  this   conclusion   may   be   modified   or 
even  reversed. 

In  the  brief  discussion  of  Mr.  Farmer's 
paper,  W.  L.  Waters  manifested  consider- 
able satisfaction  at  the  relatively  unfavor- 
able showing  made  by  the  split-pole  con- 
verter. He  didn't  say  he  was  glad  of  it, 
but  he  might  a.s  well  have  done  so. 

Grounding    Secondary    Circuits 

The  committee  on  the  Grounding  of 
Secondaries  in  its  report  expressed  the 
unanimous  opinion  based  on  three  years' 
continuous  study  of  the  subject  and  ex- 
tensive correspondence  and  conferences 
with  prominent  engineers  all  over  the 
country,  that  secondary  circuits  up  to 
150  volts  should  be  grounded  and  the 
grounding  of  circuits  of  more  than  150 
volts  prohibited.  There  have  been  very 
few,^  if  any,  fatalities  from  150  volts  but 
many  cases  at  200  volts  and  thereabout. 

The  only  feasible  method  of  protecting 
persons  from  circuits  of  200  volts  and 
over  seems  to  be  to  install  the  apparatus 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  make  it  difficult 
for  the  user  to  stand  on  the  earth  or  to  be 
otherwise  connected  with  the  ground 
while  touching  lamps  or  motors.  This 
would  mean  installing  lights  so  that  they 
would  be  out  of  easy  reach,  controlling 
them  with  wall  switches,  and  keeping 
them  away  from  gas  and  water  pipes, 
telephones,  etc.  It  would  also  require 
motor  equipments  so  placed  that  the  at- 
tendant must  stand  on  dry  boards  or 
rubber  mats,  and  not  be  within  reach  of 
metal  framework  of  buildings,  metal 
floors,  grounded  pipe  rails,  etc.  The  best 
ground,  all  admit,  is  a  connection  with 
an  underground  metallic  water-pipe 
system.  In  many  cities  this  exists,  but 
its  use  is  not  always  permitted.  In  nine 
cities  with  which  we  are  familiar  its 
use  is  prohibited.  The  committee  sug- 
gested that  the  members  of  the  associa- 
tion do  a  little  missionary  work  in  con- 
vincing water-works  engineers  and  man- 
agers that  when  secondary  alternating- 
current  wires  are  connected  to  water  pipes 
no  current  flows  unless  a  transformer 
breaks  down  or  a  cross  occurs ;  that 
should  such  an  accident  occur  it  would 
in  nearly  all  cases  cause  a  fuse  to  blow 
and  immediately  cut  off  the  current ;  and 
that,  in  the  event  of  a  current  flowing, 
it  would  be  an  alternating  current,  which, 
it  is  generally  believed,  produces  no 
electrolysis.  Where  underground  mains 
are  not  available  other  methods  must 
be  resorted  to.  The  old  method  of  a 
copper  plate  buried  in  coke,  prescribed  by 
the  Underwriters,  is  not  always  reliable 
and  in  some  cases  has  been  found  to  be 
worse  than  useless.  Iron  pipes  an  inch 
or  more  in  diameter,  driven  eight  or  ten 
feet  into  the  ground,  have  in  some  cases 
been  found  to  be  very  satisfactory,  while 
in  other  cases  valueless. 

A  recent  suggestion  has  been  made  to 
-saturate  the  ground  around  the  pipe,  at 
frequent  intervals  of  time,  with  salt  water. 


June  22,  1909. 

Tests  thus  far  made  show  that  this  is  an 
excellent  method  and  that  after  a  few  ap- 
plications of  the  salt  water  the  ground  be- 
comes permanently  moist  and  a  good 
conductor.  The  committee  suggested  the 
placing  around  the  pipes,  and  rather  near 
the  surface,  of  a  quantity  of  rock  salt, 
which  will,  because  of  its  hygroscopic 
nature,  draw  the  water  and  thus  produce 
a  ground  of  low  resistance  and  one  that 
would  also  remain  permanent ;  the  com- 
mittee preferred,  however,  to  have  tests 
made  of  this  in  various  parts  of  the 
country  before  giving  it  full  indorsement. 
The  report  cautions  users  of  this  meth- 
od to  take  great  care  in  making  the  con- 
nection between  wire  and  pipe,  as  the 
presence  of  salt  will  tend  to  increase  cor- 
rosion. The  pipe  itself  will  doubtless  cor- 
rode, but  a  plain  iron  pipe  will  last  per- 
haps ten  years,  while  one  of  galvanized 
iron  will  be  good  for  several  years  longer. 
Brass  pipe  would  last  almost  indefinitely 
and  would  not  add  materially  to  the  total 
cost. 

Dr.  Steinmetz,  P.  Junkersfald,  -Philip 
Torchis  and  other  well-known  central- 
station  men  agreed  that  all  circuits  up  to 
15b  volts  should  be  grounded,  but  ob- 
jected to  the  prohibition  of  grounding  cir- 
cuits of  higher  voltages.  On  motion  of 
Dudley  Farrand  this  recommendation  in 
the  report  was  referred  back  to  the  com- 
mittee for  further  consideration  and  re- 
port. 

New  Officers 
The  election  of  officers  for  the  ensuing 
year  resulted  as  follows :  President, 
Frank  W.  Frueauff ;  first  vice-president, 
W.  W.  Freeman ;  second  vice-president, 
John  F.  Gilchrist ;  secretary,  Frank  M. 
Tait ;  executive  committee,  Frank  W. 
Frueauff,  W.  W.  Freeman,  Dudley  Far- 
rand, A.  J.  Decamp,  George  H.  Harris,  R. 
M.  Searle,  Alexander  Dow,  Charles  L. 
Edgar,  Arthur  Williams,  C.  A.  Stone. 


Studying  High  Voltages 

With  the  purpose  of  studying  enormous- 
ly high  voltages  a  short  experimental 
transmission  line  has  been  built  in  Sweden 
which  is  adapted  to  operate  at  500,000 
volts.  A  special  form  of  transformer  is 
used  to  furnish  this  high  electromotive 
force.  Circulating  oil  is  used  for  insula- 
tion between  the  high-  and  low-tension 
windings.  The  line  is  supported  on  the 
suspended  type  of  insulators  11  feet  apart. 
Tests  of  the  surface  discharge  showed  that 
a  wire  of  10  square  millimeters  (0.0155 
square  inch)  cross-section  would  dis- 
charge at  35,000  volts,  of  20  square  milli- 
meters at  50,000  volts,  of  100  square  milli- 
meters at  200,000  volts,  and  of  250  square, 
millimeters  at  390,000  volts.  As  the  ten- 
sion was  raised  to  480,000  volts,  the  noise 
grew  very  loud  and  sparks  leaped  from 
the  insulators.  At  night  the  glow  of  the 
discharge  could  be  seen  2J/2  miles  away. — 
The  Engineer  (London). 


June  22,   lyoy. 


POWER  .-i.nD  the  engineer. 


1121 


ormulas   for   Computing    the    Re- 
sults of   Gas  Analysis 


By  Frank  B.  Shields 


For  calculating  the  pounds  of  air  per 
mnd  of  coal,  havtni;  analyzed  the  chim- 
^  K3S  and  knowing  the  percentage  of 
rbon  in  the  coat : 

wm/«  o/  air  per  pound  at  nai 

ict  O  in  ekimmey  gat  ■*■  \  O  in  "ir  (hy  irf  ) 
"  itt.  C  IN  ga*  ^  \  C  IN  eoiU 

X  C  inen^a 


-( 


•) 


(rrt 


0.331 
1  f>>  / ilert  o1  yi«  v  irf   pir  L. 


:  .gas  ■ 

I.    fOM 


prrL    X^^)      J 


/    *.  r  in  font     \ 
"  \  0231  / 


{%  COt  •¥  \  O  •*■  H  \  CO)  1  4:9 

XCO.x  i.geji  X  11)  +  (J< CO  X  1  isi  X  M> 


-0.11S3  (HC  iN  eoai) 

I  JL£9iJJi£jtJiJi££.\ 

\         KCO,^  s  CO        } 


(1) 


This     formula     (n     gives    exactly    the 

jne   value   that    would   t)e   obtained    by 

Hng   through   the   longer  calculation    in 

hich    each    of    the    components — carlmn 

cartmn    monoxide,    oxygen    and 

M — i»     «-on»i.!rrrd     separately        It 

»)    i  1    if    onr 

to  C'  :  that,  in 

I  cases,  the  quantity  (^  CO.  +  ^  O  -♦- 

1^  CO)  is  equal  to  twenty.     We  should 

tpcct  this  to  be  almott  constant,  for  it 

:i  of  the  air  after  it 

le  furnace  and  com- 

p   the 

not 

e  only  variations  in 

^    .  •)   mii»t  '■<    <!'ip  to  a 

•t   of   oxygen   hy   its  c-  with 

le   hjrdrogen    and    tulphui    i"ti..iiiicd    in 

le  coal.     Neither  of  these  losses  would 


i   tak. 
I  ».f. 


•It    in    thr 
with   •»>. 


(•*  Ct», 


f 

itum- 
the 
CO) 


%  it  ^    '. 

!i  cqtui  to  twenty,  scarcely  ever  i» 

I  error  as  large  as  3  per  cent,  incarrcd. 

laking  thi«   stih«titiition   in   formula    (l) 

ive*   the    <ini[)lrr    formula: 

I'mmda  of  mir  per  pmutd  ef  emi  «• 
«»l   ■        * 

In    most    terie*    of    anaiyvs.    Ibe    per 
■iit.ii.T  of  carlMin  in  the  coal  will  be  a 
t:  and  if  there  i«  sub«iituied  this 

■  m-    ■•f  the  per  crnt    nf  rar'v>n  as  four  ! 
f   chrniical    ar>.jl>»i»   -^ti;!!)-  »r.    for     e» 


Pmimta  t(  mtr  pre  pmimt  M  tmm  — 
tfl 


For  calculating  the  percentage  of  heat 
loit  in  the  chimney  gas.  l>etiig  given  an 
analysis  of  the  gas.  its  rise  in  tempera- 
ture, the  percentage  of  carbon  in  the  coal 
and  itt  heal  value: 

ftr  oral  of  ktal  loM  -  -^  '   — 

kmtt  in  gaarw  tram  1  kilogram  <{  t 

\    C    fa    ^°J  41 

Imt  mar  o/TKd 


HtMt 


The  heat  in  the  gases  from  1  kilogram 
of  carbon  is  equal  to  the  sum  of  the  vn|. 
umes  of  each  gas  multiplied  by  the  weiKht 
per  liter,  by  the  specitW  heat,  and  by  the 
rise  in  temperature  The  volume  of  each 
gas  is  obtained  '  much 

carbon  dioxide  .  le  are 

necessary  to  contain  one  kilogram  of 
carlton  and  then  from  the  relative  pro- 
portion, as  found  in  the  gas  analysis,  the 
corresponding  volume  of  the  other  gases 
can  be  calculated.  Matters  are  very 
much  '   slight  sacrifice 

of  aci  ::ig  the  gas  as  a 

mixture  ol  two  components — the  carbon 
dioxide  aivl  the  remaining  gases.  From 
the  following  table  it  is  evident  that  the 
constant.  tp<c\A<  keat  X  tcr^ight  per  liler, 
is  about  the  same  for  all  of  the  gases  to 
l>e  considered,  except  the  carbon  dioxide : 


CX> 

o 


u  Ul 

o.aor 


If  0.307  it  taken  at  tiie  valne  for  all  the 
other  gases,  an  error  of  less  than  one- 
half  of  I  will  be  inairrcd. 
With  this  .  -1.  let  us  take  up  the 
1  lies  are  li.-»*rd  on 
and  o*  CcniJKrade. 


—  -  —    ttli^^ramu  0f  CO, 


I  Hen  at  CO,. 


-  imtiaen. 


an  eqtiai  volunic  of  carbon  dioxide,  then 


Ixt 


IMa/Otr,  '  O.  4^  CO)  frvM  I  M* 

of  C 

r  —  T  COk  in  chimney  gas  (by  anal 
<T)  in  chimner  f^«   '*^  •^••#!- 


Ihcn 


f       ^       \  xiaa  -M|w«  ro,  „  -«►  ,v^ 


:::?r'' 


atul 


/  J" -JL  )  itn  .  iifcr,  ^  rf  ,<a^  „^ 

Mmt  tml  la  #HM  - 
[n«as  (flii«  rOa)f  ajV  iml  «*«r  #Mwi] 
a.tmt  V. 


Substituting  equation  (5)  in  (4) 


rer  ami  heat  Ual  » 

L  X  ♦  f 


ISC  tm  tmtiy  K.  in  r 


ivm)%jm 


X  r  (me 


*  *  w 

=i-  I .  If  IN  r 


(-x\ 


; 


This  equation  (6)  gives  values  which 
are  about  0.5  per  cent  low.  for  it  does  not 
take  into  account  the  lots  of  heat  due  to 
the  formation  of  water  vapor  from  the 
hydrogen  in  the  coal.  .\nd  so  tV  ' 
nilts  found  by  the  forecoing  n^ 
should  be  i 

When    »  t>eing 

used   '  ••   kdiuck   (iif   the  per 

cent.  >  at   value  of  the  coal 

will    disappear   into   the   constant,   ffiving 
the  expression : 


Per  eeut.  kept  lo$t  • 
conMmml  (-^ 


:r)«'- 


(T> 


For  average  eoalt  t%f  ih^   four  classes 
"  '  ubie.    the 

t'  «    used    in 

formula   (7)  with  very  close  results: 


Kiml  of  OomL 

\  c. 

TalM. 

OooaUkal 

Ibr 

Ufnltn 

BltUmlnriTla 

Somi  1 
Anttira 

SI 

as 
ia 
m 

M««aL 
IMaoaL 
•sMaaL 
rataal. 

a!a<9M 
•  asMS 
a.a«aM 

One  cal< 


self. 


cal    r 

fs  t 

tlltri  :|.   n 

chines  arr 


lo     ti:; 


hrm   inake« 


•le  mafftier 


The    l« 
.^iied  in  a 


It    Is   slated   thai 


in   the  oB   Arida  of 
■«C  llie 


>«Mt«tt      to     tW 


in    ga«    tt><4<>r* 


POWER  AND  THE 


i 


.iNEER. 


Removes  all  the  Carbon 


DEVOTED    TO   THE  GENERATION   AND 
TRANSMISSION   OF  POWER 

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Ilonry  Duncan,  of  Spring  Valley,  Ohio, 
has  got  it  now.  According  to  the  Dayton 
Daily  Nczvs  this  gentlemen  has  invented 
"a  chemical  preparation  which,  poured 
upon  the'  coal,  removes  every  particle 
of  carhon  ;  hence,  smokeless  combustion." 
We  wonder  that  the  suggestion  has  not 
occurred  to  somebody  before.  The  cob- 
bler of  Altoona  has  shown  (?)  that  ashes 
will  burn  as  well  as  coal,  if  you  sprinkle 
salt  and  oxalic  acid  upon  them,  and  won't 
smoke ;  ergo,  add  something  to  the  com- 
pound to  kill  out  the  carbon,  sprinkle 
it  upon  the  coal  and  when  the  carbon  is 
gone,   burn  the   ashes. 


Cable  address.  "Powprn."  N.  Y. 
Business  Telegraph  Code. 


ClULLLA  TlOy    STA  TEMEXT 
Durinq    1008     iff    printed    and     circulated 

1,836,00«J  copies  of  I'owek. 

Our  circulation  for  May,  1009.   iras  (weekly 

and    monthly)    l.=>2.000. 

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Sonc  tirnt   free  regularly,   no   returns   from 

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are  lire,    nit   tin  ulnti'in. 

Contents  page 

Sioux  Falls  Hydroelectric  Development....    1085 
Scaling  and  Corroding  Substances  and  Their 

Elimination  from  Water  for  Boilers. . .    1091 
Connecting  Up  Transformers  for    Synchro- 
nizing and  Phasing  Lamps 1093 

Design  and  ()pen.tion  of  Cooiing  Towers. . .    1094 

Elconomy  of  Four- Valve  Engines 1097 

A  Reciprocating  Engine  Enthusiast 1099 

Low-Pressure  Steam  Turbines 1100 

Practical  Letters  from  Practical  Men: 

Traveling  Crane  Trouble  Remedied 

Allowance  for  the  Difference  in  Water 

Level    When    Testing    Boilers Use 

and  Muiase  of  Graphite.  . .  .Sub.stitute 
for  Sheet  Packin-  Horn-made  Con- 
denser...  .Handy  ilomernade  Tools 
. .  Homemade  Oil  Separator. . .  .Sar- 
cantic  Advice ....  More  Frequent  In- 
ternal Inapectlon .  .  . .  What  Was  the 
TroubleT Steam  Engine  Testing- 
Expert    Advice Expanding    Boiler 

Tuben Equivalent  Straight  Pipe  for 

Gtobe  Valves,  Bends  and  Elbows 

The  Rathbun  Engine  Test.  . .  .Repair- 
ing a  Brolcen  Cylinder Braces  Were 

SpTuoK 1  io7_  1114 

The  .National  EWrtric  Light  Convention 111.5 

Formula.-  for  roitiputlng  the  Results  of  Gas 

.\nalysis 1 121 

Editorials 1 1J2-1 123 


Hie  Tw^elve  Hour  Shift 


June  22,  1909. 

hours,  besides  attending  to  other  duties 
such  as  blowing  tubes,  cleaning  fires,  oil- 
ing the  feed  pumps  and  keeping  the  boiler 
room  clean,  is  not  going  to  exert  himself 
in  seeing  how  little  coal  he  can  burn.  His 
greatest  aim  will  be  to  get  through  the 
day's  work  as  easily  as  possibfe,  without 
a  care  as  to  the  money  he  throws  away 
because  of  inattention  to  his  legitimate 
duties.     Can  he  be  greatl}'  blamed? 

The  net  result  of  this  sort  of  policy  is 
that  the  economy  of  the  plant  falls  far  be-  j 
low  what  it  should  be  and  the  owner  pays  I 
the  bill,  meanwhile  laboring  under  the 
silly  delusion  that  he  is  saving  the  expense 
of  the  third  set  of  men  which  would  be 
required  to  operate  the  plant  on  eight- 
hour  shifts. 


The  engineer  of  an  electric-light  plant 
was  found  asleep  one  night  while  on  duty. 
That  by  itself  may  not  have  amounted  to 
much  but  the  cause  of  his  going  to  sleep 
is  significant.  Five  300-horsepower  cross- 
compound  engines  and  a  twelve-hour  shift 
with  an  engineer  and  an  oiler  on  watch — 
these  were  the  conditions,  which  are 
doubtless  duplicated  in  many  instances. 

It  is  no  wonder  that  the  engineer  was 
asleep.  A  twelve-hour  shift  is  enough  to 
render  any  man  physically  unfit  to  per- 
form his  duties  with  justice  to  himself 
or  his  employer.  This  is  a  fact,  however, 
which  many  power-plant  owners  and 
managers  fail  to  appreciate,  assuming, 
apparently,  that  a  man  is  as  "fit"  after 
working  twelve  hours  as  when  he  first 
went  to  work.  Such  long  hours  are  in- 
jurious to  the  engineer's  health  and 
dangerous  to  those  around  him  because 
of  the  liability  of  accident  resulting  from 
error  in  judgment  on  the  part  of  a  man 
with  a  tired  brain. 

The  power-plant  owner  who  will  de- 
liberately sacrifice  the  health  and  mental 
development  of  his  engineering  force  can 
adopt  no  more  systematic  method  of  re- 
ducing the  efficiency  of  his  inen  than  by 
employing  the  twelve-hour  shift.  Few 
men,  after  working  twelve  hours  in  a 
hot,  stifling  engine  room,  care  to  do  other 
than  plod  home  like  an  overworked  truck 
horse  when  released,  eat  supper  and  go 
to  bed,  knowing  that  the  same  conditions 
will  be  encountered  on  the  morrow.  Can 
any  plant  owner  or  manager  imagine  a 
man  going  home  in  such  a  condition  and 
spending  much  time  in  mental  develop- 
ment, reading  up  on  engineering  matters, 
or  figuring  on  problems  pertaining  to  his 
plant?  Furthermore  it  is  not  reasonable 
to  expect  that  an  engineer  will  subject 
his  energies  to  any  extra  taxation  in  order 
to  keep  his  plant  in  the  best  condition 
when  his  regular  working  hours  cover  al- 
most the  entire  period  out  of  bed. 

In  the  fireroom,  a  fireinan  who  knows 
he   will   have   to   shovel   coal    for   twelve 


Heat  Loss  of  a  Steam  Engine 
Cylinder 


As  Watt  has  been  credited  with  invent- 
ing everything  connected  with  the  steam 
engine,  and  saying  about  all  the  epigram- 
matic things  that  have  been  said  about  the 
steam  engine  and  its  inanagement,  it  is 
possible  that  he  said :  "Keep  the  cylinder 
as  hot  as  the  steam  which  enters  it," 
and  it  is  also  possible  that  he  invented 
the  steam  jacket  in  order  to  carry  out 
this  injunction.  But,  as  the  steam  jacket 
only  transfers  condensation  from  the  in- 
side to  the  outside  of  the  cylinder,  its 
use,  in  a  great  many  cases,  is  at  least  of 
doubtful  economy. 

If  a  perfect  nonconducting  cylinder 
covering  could  be  found,  most  of  the 
losses  from  radiation  could  be  prevented,  • 
and  whether  used  on  the  outside  of  a 
steam  jacket  or  in  place  of  it  it  would, 
if  not  too  expensive,  be  rapidly  adopted. 
"Dead  air"  has  long  been  regarded  as  a 
most  efficient  insulating  substance,  but 
no  air  at  all  is  generally  thought,  whether 
rightly  or  otherwise,  to  be  the  best  in- 
sulation. Whether  the  Thermos  bottle 
jacket  is  lined  with  dead  air  or  with  more 
or  less  of  a  vacuum,  the  question  arises : 
Why  would  not  the  insulation  used  on  the 
Thermos  bottle  be  just  as  efficient  if  ap- 
plied to  the  steam-engine  cylinder? 

From  data  obtained  in  a  rather  crude 
sort  of  way,  the  operating  engineer  in 
a  large  pumping  station  estitnated  that  a 
gain  of  four  per  cent,  in  the  amount  of 
water  delivered  per  pound  of  coal  burned 
■was  realized  by  substituting  a  vacuum 
jacket  for  a  steam  jacket  on  one  of  the 
engines.  In  this  case  the  jacket  was  con- 
nected directly  to  the  condenser  of  the 
engine  and  the  cost  of  maintaining  the 
vacuum  was  slight. 

With  a  higher  vacuum  and  special 
means  of  guarding  against  slight  leaks 
of  air  into  the  system  the  gain  might  be 
greater.  Who  knows?  Engineers  would 
like  to  know.  Designers  should  know. 
Who  will  find  out  and  tell?  • 


June  22,  \70f}. 


I*(>\\i:k  ANU  THE  ENGINEER. 


iiaj 


Priming  and  Foaming 


Everj'body  has  $«*n  the  pot  boil  over. 
That  is  what  happens  when  a  boiler  foams 
oi  primes.  The  term  "to  prime"  '\s  usually 
applied  to  the  mechanical  entrainment  of 
moisture  in  greater  or  less  quantities, 
while  "foaminx"  implies  the  formation 
of  suds. 

The  liftinK  and  carryinR  over  of  water 
are  favored  by  rapid  ebullitmn.  by  tortu- 
ous and  constricted  passages  for  the  steam 
[o  follow  before  bring  lilierate<l,  by  the 
liberation  of  a  lar^e  quantity  of  steam 
from  a  small  amount  of  water  surface 
and  by  a  teridrtu  y  to  form  small  bubbles 
or  Slid*.,  whtt>  t-  |>r<..ii,icetl  b>  the  pres- 
ence of  »  V  or  by  the  con 
centratidii  water 

In    the    old    days,    when    '  r« 

\ii^  to  strive  to  gel  as  mans      , :.ct 

9f  heatin;;  surface  a*  possible  into  a  given 
»hell,  it  was  found  that  the  tendency  to 
raise  the  water  was  much  reduced  by  leav- 
ing out  ihe  central  vertical  row  of  tub.*. 

K     pr-irticc     which     is     n<  \V     ri.-td-     t'rnir..l!\ 

rd.     Steadiness   in 
d  by  a  large  and 
luriacr   for  the   steam,  and  the  axoid.inci- 
of  constricted   passages   for  the   steam  to 
pass  through  beneath  the  water  line     Of 
-  — r,  the  more  steam  bubbles  there  are 
-h  the  water  line  the  higher  will  the 
line   l>e.    with   a    given   amount    of 
in   tbr   Uidrr,   and    the   m<Te  rapid 
more  violent  the 
r  the  volume  in 
the   steam   <  •   the   steam 

the   greater   t  i-y   to  i.irrs 

Ihe  w.-iler  along  with  it. 

The  likelihood  that>priming  wili  tr^un 
frotn    the    u*e    of    any    uivt-n    feed    water 

1  in  the 
elected 
•  U   >>i  kuih  t>pc  ^v  that 

wiM    not    'r    a    rt'  -t    tm 


•  e  or  four  time*  more  prone  to  prim- 
!ian  the  ordinary  horizontal  return- 
.r  (toiler  .\side  frc»in  the  l)-pe  of 
-  and  the  rate  at  which  it  i«  driven. 
.  er.    ibrrr    arr    m;inv    ltiiiii.M    in    the 


impurities  in   -  can  t»e  kept   out 

by  a  tilter,  but  .     , >  in  M>ltiii<>n  must 

he  removed  liy  suitable  chemical  irrjtttu-nt. 
Carbonates,  it  is  true,  can  be  precipitated 
by   an   external   heat   treatment,   but    sul- 
phates, chlorides,  et^      ■ 
of  x»mc  Miiiable  rt    . 

all  cases,  whether  thv  purit>i::,;  p:o^i.-i  Lie 
of  the  hot  >r  c«ld  t^pe.  or  nb«-!hrr  a 
iM'iKr  cor  ■  <ir 

sodium.  the 

sulphate  radicles  uf  calctu'n  sulphate  to 
form  sodium  sulphate.  S<'dium  sulphate 
is  very  sohil  le  and  will  not  precipitate 
even  •'  '  -V.e  water  be  boileil  down  to 
the  •    of  a    synip.      Any   great 

•    it«  the 
•aming. 
>d 
.d 
in    many    cases    that    where    the    bi-'^mg 
down  is  faitbfi'll*   .iitcruled  to  the  U-iU-rs 
can  be  driven  their  normal  rat- 

ings without  ti.....Mv   •.w;n  pri  ning. 
The  presence  of  itl  in  the  Iwiler  also 

or 


%\Mh  tiir 
s<<ap.      I  1 


.rt   oi   liu-  t  il   1..^  i..r.i> 
,.    i«.  as  lieforc.  to  libw 
down  frequently. 

Mention  was  made  in  the  foregoing  ■-: 
the  ^act  that  sol^d  impurities  in  the  water 
are  conducive  '-'  i  .i         .    j.^^ 

not    onlv    til    -  "he 

■m 
or 
1     *cale 
nf   the 
'  a«  a  rr«u1t  of  the  use 
—  ;..live«     The»e  particles  ;«• 
\try    fine.    e«pectally    where 

present  in  the  water,  and  the)  .i -   '■■ 

readil)    while  the  water  is  in   rapi«l   mo- 
tion from  tmiling     They  ha\< 
%n   c.H^rf    on    the    Mirfaee,    w 

.     iij    the 

in   pro- 
1   is  the   in 

.  !!'.r     in    u  itb 


rapidly  than  the  incrrasc  in  •peed,  h  will 


boiler  and  the  superheater  will  reliere  the 
supcrheaimg  surface  of  the  work  of 
evaporating  the  moisture  and  leave  it  free 
to  do  the  work  for  whKh  it  was  destgnrd. 
Tbe  heat  required  to  dry  out  ten  per  erni. 

'I  would 
i!>d  fifty 


Initutive 


In  an  orderly   pnwrr    i  '  ^-t     where  all 
the   proper    tools   and  are   at 

I. an.!  af  il  »»-i  r,'.  .  ^rr  ft..........  ...  ibc  per- 

lasks.  inrtuUve  is  no( 
.1  ...11  ii:i-.-i.ii  cr  .Any  man  ordinaril) 
skilled  in  his  trade  or  pre  fessmn  shntiUJ 
find   no   ».  «}. 

irif   i>r    u  f^ 

■  I  \T 

or 
material*  »o  that  a  bck  in  this 

quality    u ;    be   a    terioos   handi- 
cap.    An   enviable   rtroVd  may  even   be 

.        .......  .   ^  ^j 

n- 
•  •-'..y'.     la>-    II    •  nt 

'h-ipr    an«l    t'  itr 

'  nicrfjr, 
..muity 
and  ability  will  be  taxr<l  to  ■  tid 

he  will   find   i»   ••■  ■■-■fv    '■■  .^    hU 

brain  to  a  mr  an  was 

ever  necessan   i;:  n  r  i 

An   inirenious   mind   t:  po««ihle 

is 

•m 

.>f 

•■•■n. 

.y      To 

and 


Ml 


such  work,  but  ii 

I .......  .1   i .. 


■  ir  other  iiiaiter  in  suspension  will 
.«e  the  temlrncy  to  fi>a'n  Aiwrthcr 
V  is  the  water  Ir^rl  tJial  i«  i-trnd 
any   lioilf'  •    -  i   wiler    le»«l 

-s    in   roi  tion    in   dis- 


.it»«l    ibr 
rhr    le* 

«  of  water  brtnf  earned  into  tbr 

'  point  is  the  e«tent  to  which  im- 
»   ..re  rnn»Fvrd   from  the   water  be- 
lt enters  tbr  Mler      Mud  and  o«hef 


on  the 

,1       llu 


latter  parp<>*e.  the 


■  a 
a 

<-sl 


•n     liaixi     *'r 


Ihr      man     of 
{i«ly   rmH   an   mrli   •>"    ti 


■sed  tbr  M»  of  a  separmior  befwvm  iht     boiia 


1124 


New  ^  ork  X   A.  S.  E.  Convention 


The  fourteenth  aiimial  convention  of 
the  New  York  State  Association  of  the 
National  Asscciation  of  Stationary  Engi- 
neers was  held  at  Syracuse,  June  ii  and 
12.  with  headquarters  at  the  St.  Cloud 
hotel.  The  executive  sessions  of  the 
delegation  were  held  in  the  New  Onon- 
daga courthouse. 

Promptly  at  half-past  9  o'clock  on  Fri- 
day morning,  the  convention  was  called 
to  order  by  the  chairman  of  tlie  local 
committee.  Harry  Bache,  and  after  the 
Rev.  E.  L.  Waldorf  offered  prayer,  Mayor 
.Man  C.  Forbes  made  a  pleasing  address 
of  welcome.  President  J.  C.  Roberts  re- 
sponded for  the  engineers.  Past  National 
President  Herbert  E.  Stone's  witty  and 
interesting  speech  was  well  received.  The 
convention  then  went  into  executive  ses- 
sion and  the  several  necessary  committees 
were  appointed. 

During  the  progress  of  the  meetings 
resolutions  were  adopted  concerning  the 
death  of  the  late*  Ira  Watts,  secretary  of 
the  Life  and  .\ccidcnt  .Association.  A  special 
fund  was  voted  for  the  use  of  the  legisla- 
tive committee  to  help  in  the  efforts  to 
secure  a  State  licen.se  law.  .An  invitation 
was  extended  t  >  the  State  association  by 
the  secretary  of  the  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce to  make  Syracuse  its  permanent 
convention  city,  and  Superintendent 
Fischer,  of  the  Onondaga  county  court- 
house, extended  to  the  delegates  the  use 
of  the  courthouse  for  exhibition  purposes 
rit    anv   time      >Tr    Fischer   will   be   made 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

an  honorary  mcml^cr  of  Syracuse  Asso- 
ciation  No.  34  at   its  next  meeting. 

The  following  State  officers  were 
elected,  and  were  installed  by  Past  Na- 
tional President  Herbert  E.  Stone :  Gro- 
vcr  H.  Worden,  president;  Charles  Scha- 
becker,  vice-president ;  E.  E.  Pruyn, 
secretary;  Winficld  C.  Graham,  treas- 
urer; Harry  Bache,  conductor;  Joseph  ]\I. 
Gregory,  doorkeeper;  Stewart  Warner, 
chaplain.  Either  Albany  or  Buffalo  will 
be  the  next  meeting  place. 

The  manufacturers'  exhibit  was  the 
largest  ever  held  in  connection  with  tiie 
State  convention.  The  exhibit  hall  was 
in  the  basement  of  the  courthouse,  con- 
venient to  the  convention  hall,  and  was 
very  tastefully  decorated  with  the  national 
colors.  The  following  occupied  booths: 
Home  Rubber  Company,  Garlock  Pack- 
ing Company,  Edward  Joy  Company,  V. 
D.  .\nderson  Company,  Syracuse  Supply 
Company,  Jenkins  Bros.,  Mechanical 
Rubber  Company,  Syracuse  Rubber  Com- 
pany, Peerless  Rubl)er  Manufacturing 
Company,  Eureka  Fire  Hose  Manufactur- 
ing Company,  Carbohydride  Company,  C. 
H.  Truniblc,  Chapman  Valve  Manufac- 
turing Company,  Stewart  Heater  Com- 
pany, »Penberthy  Injector  Company,  Wine- 
gar  Boiler  Compound  Companj',  C.  E. 
Mills  Oil  Company,  Geo.  S.  Herrick,  Mc- 
Lcod  &  Henry  Company,  Direct  Sepa- 
rator Company,  Albany  Steam  Trap 
Company,  Dearborn  Drug  and  Chemical 
Works, Underfeed  Stoker  Company.Greene, 
Tweed  &  Co.,  Syracuse  Gas  Engine  Com- 
pany,   Practical    Engineer,    W.     B.     Mc- 


June  22,  1909. 

Vicker  Company,  Neemcs  Bros.,  Key- 
stone Lubricating  Company,  National 
Engineer,  Fairbanks  Company,  Strong, 
Carlisle  &  Hammond  Company,  S.  H. 
North,  Fulton  Company,  Power. 

On  Saturday  evening  a  banquet  was 
served  at  the  Hub  cafe,  at  which  fully 
300  attended.  At  the  close  of  a  splendid 
menu.  Herbert  Self,  of  the  Peerless  Rub- 
l)er  Company ;  William  Murray,  of  Jen- 
kins Br(is.,  and  John  W.  Armour,  of 
Power,  entertained.  During  the  evening 
Harry  Bache,  the  toastmaster,  introduced 
the  following  speakers,  who  made  short. 
snappy  and  interesting  addresses:  Rev. 
E.  L.  Waldorf,  J.  E.  Reagan,  Prof.  John 
K.  Sweet,  J.  C.  Roberts,  Giles  Stillwell, 
H.  E.  Stone,  T.  W.  Meachem,  Joseph 
Griffin  and  E.  E.  Pruyn. 

There  were  trolley  rides  to  places  of 
interest  in  the  city,  a  visit  to  the  Syra- 
cuse University  and  an  excursion  to  Long 
Branch  park. 


Kentucky  N.  A.  S.  E. 
Convention 


State 


With  eleven  delegates  seated  and  a  total 
of  sixty  members  and  friends  present, 
the  sixth  annual  convention  of  the  Ken- 
tucky State  Association  convened  in 
Licderkranz  hall,  Henderson,  Ky.,  June 
4.  Vice-President  Draper  presiding.  After 
preliminary  remarks,  Mr.  Draper  intro- 
duced Hon.  ,S.  D.  Harris,  mayor  of  the 
city,  who  paid  high  tribute  to  the  National 
Association  of  Stationary  Engineers.    The 


V.f>      AM,      U.MT..K>      A-r      VF.W      YORK      N.      A.      .S.      K.      CON  VE.N'T.ON .      A 


T     SYRACUSE.     JUNE     II     AND     12,     I9O9 


June  a,   1909. 


l^jWKk  AMJ  TNK  K\«;iNKKR. 


OKlJT.ATrjl     ANH     VIMTtms      »T     KKXTiri 


coxvcxTioN.    AT    firNiwasoN,    JVNt   4   AKO  S    'Q"0 


objects  of  the  order  are  well  known  to 
Mayor  Harri*.  a«  thi*  ma*  the  m-voimI 
time  the  State  IkmI)-  had  In-en  entertaimii 
at  IlmderMjn. 

Mayur  O'Hricru,  of  Owen^Iioro.  an 
honorary  meinlKr  of  the  a*M>.i.i'.i«>:i.  wa« 
the  next  speaker.  He  refrrr»-«I  to  the 
occasion  of  la«t  > ear's  mertinit  at  Owen*- 
borti,  when  Ma>or  Harri*  wa«  in  at- 
tendance Thi»  >i-ar  he  wa*  returtiinK  the 
'  lit.  .iikI  h<r|K-d  that  each  of  the 
iitd  Ih-  funhrr  favore<l  with  the 
Stale  meeliuK* 

F  W  Ra\rn,  national  »ecretary.  then 
addressed  the  convmtinn.  He  look  a 
strong  p«  sit  ion  in  favor  of  a  Slate  license 
law  for  engineer*,  not  only  fr)r  the  liene- 
fit  of  ihc  Mri{.-ini 'iti.n  i'  '"'  '  '  al»o  for 
humanity  iti  i;<  m   -.il.  ..!  '  the  fact 

that   |H  Ir 
f-af  •!  .-  ' 

N     A    S     1:. 
•1    «n<l    for   the 
only  competent   men  if 
pbnit.     J       H      Van 

trustee,  of  St  l-*»iiis.  was  thru  jntfi-lt«cr«l. 
•■•  '  in  a  talk  «in  the  welfare  <.f  t' c  a*- 
ttioii  outlined  tr^'eral  plan*  whrrrJ.y 
iiKitvidtial  memheft  could  help  in  its  ad* 
ranrriiirnt 

I  .0   The 

Air  S     F- 

wa«  rr.1'1 
ten.  rf    ^ 
pirtely    the    v 
■ocialinn   wa 

affair*    are    r  *as 

frraily  aporo-.  --l    iTi-i    .  ■' 

thanks  was  fm^'T'-l  to  i»« 

Pr.      ■  

tr«'. 

of  buAtncMk     AiiV'^Hi  "thrr  ituitcra  tl  aai 


decided  to  furni*h  a  slreanicr  representing      American 

Kentucky,    to    snpplenient    tlie    American 

tlau   oMnctl  by  the   National  body.      After 

the    business    se«»ion.    F.    V.    (iantt.    of 

Cincinnati,    delivered    an    interestiuK   talk 

on  steam  turbines.     He  brouKhl  out  their 

advanlaices  as  compare<l  with  reciprocaiinit 

engines  and  went  into  considerable  detail 

with  regard  I-   ' 

he   prr«licle<l. 


OrW 


cr  ol 


Sit 


am 


Fi^imeen 


rri<  ''ic    i.  itrii*    'M*^    "•    ni.i.!iine. 

1 1  •     was    ehi>«m    .i»    thi     next 

(tlace  oi   mertinp . 

/.    N.   I»ri,-r     ..f    ll.,..I.  r...M     ^v...t..tcd 

Slate  pr<  ille, 

vict-pfT'  -i.i.der- 

s<>n,    set :  (hrens- 

I  R.  a. 

i>er. 
"f   ofRcer.    wa.    \       I      W. 
J     II 

I      to       ll< 

.1..  ll..  » 
Here    r.  t    a 


the  speakers 

.r. I    II 


ar  •!  Jusi^l!    WuersclL 


The  lu  of 

the   .\int  -.    ii-rrs 

was  held  at  Ke.idnig.  I'enn .  durinff  the 
week  bcxtnninK  Monday.  June  7.  the 
headqiuirters  being  at  the  Prnn  tM4rL 
The  scT^.  ......       .    -»• 

there  hi : 
■nee. 

On    MotMl.^v    (•Htmtfg    thr    .K^rtttWage 
wr- 
Hi. 

riiiiunillrr,    who    1  ><!(. 

who    leave    the    *\-  x 

hearty    welctwne    t 
a|»pr«»viTn*''    ■  •'  •' 
em  the 


M*(k.> 


(r«|»u«Mksi      l«j«     tlw 


■•■fing    rrc^rser*       T      f 


to  Wla 


•  i<  tf  ig 


I -Made 


iij6 


POW  KR  AND  THE  EXGINEER. 


June 


1909. 


tiFFIlKKS    IIF    PENXSYI.VAN'IA     STATE    ASSOCIATION,     N.    A.    S.    E. 


sclcctc'l  for  the  next  convention,  in  Jnne, 
I910. 

The  American  Supplymen's  Association 
held  its  exhibit  on  the  second  floor  of  the 
Rajah  Temple.  The  exhibition  was  the 
most  successful  ever  held  by  the  associa- 
tion and  the  arrangement  of  the  hall  and 
booths,  under  the  supervision  of  H.  G. 
McConnaughy,  was  the  best  we  have  ever 
seen  at  a  convention  exhibit,  and  the 
committee  in  charge  is  to  be  congratu- 
lated on  the  results  attained.  The  follow- 
ing exhibited :  Garlock  Packing  Com- 
pany. McLeod  &  Henry  Company,  Prac- 
lical  Engineer,  Jenkins  Bros.,  Dearborn 
Drug  and  Chemical  Works,  Scully  Steel 
and   Iron  Company,  Anicricnii  Journal  of 


Sicaiii  and  Electrical  Eir^inccring,  Key- 
stone Lubricating  Company,  Griscom- 
Spencer  Company,  Berry  Engineering 
Company,  H.  B.  Underwood  &  Co.,  Peer- 
less Rubber  IMannfacturing  Company, 
John  R.  Livezey,  Home  Rubber  Com- 
pany, Corbett  Supply  Company,  H.  W. 
Johns-?iIanvillc  Company,  Philip  Carey 
Company,  Engineering  Equipment  Com- 
pany, Watson  &  JMcDaniel  Company, 
."Xincrican  Steam  Gauge  and  Valve  Manu- 
facturing Company,  Allcntown  Rolling 
Mills,  Birdsboro  Steel  Foundry  and  Ma- 
chine Company,  William  H.  Taylor  &  Co., 
Scranton  Steam  Pump  Company,  Wilkirk 
Electric  Company,  W.  B.  McVicker  Com- 
pany,  Southern    Euiiineer,   Anchor    Pack- 


ing Company,  H.  Belficid  Company, 
Hutchinson-AJcCandlish  Coal  Company, 
McArdle  &  Cooney,  George  W.  Lord 
Company,  Cancos  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, L.  T.  Wing  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, France  Packing  Company,  Quaker 
City  Rubber  Company,  O.  F.  Zurn  Com- 
pany, Crandall  Packing  Company,  Cyrus 
Borgner  Company,  Power. 

On  Tuesday  evening,  at  the  Rajah 
Temple,  a  banquet  was  given  to  which 
the  ladies  were  invited,  and  about  500 
were  seated  at  the  tables.  After  the 
covers  were  removed.  Past  Supreme 
Chief  Hiram  M.  Trout,  toastmaster, 
introduced  the  following  speakers  :  Fred- 
crick  Markoe,  the  reelected  supreme 
chief;  Charles  E.  Leippe,  Judge  H.  Willis 
Bland,  Noah  R.  Pierson,  past  supreme 
chief,  and  "Jack"  Armour.  Claude  Miller 
entertained  with  a  humorous  monologue. 
On  Wednesday  evening  an  entertain- 
ment w^is  given  in  the  exhibition  hall  by 
the  New  York  "bunch."  Every  number 
was  generously  applauded,  and  the 
occasion  was  thoroughly  enjoyedT  Dur- 
ing the  evening  Supreme  Chief  Frederick 
]\Iarkoe  presented  to  each  of  the  follow- 
ing gentlemen  a  handsome  bouquet  of 
American  Beauty  roses :  William  Le 
Compte,  Charles  Hopper,  H.  G.  McCon- 
naughy and  Fliram  Trout. 

The  other  features  of  entertainment  in- 
cluded trolley  rides  to  Neversink  and 
places  of  interest  about  the  city,  and  a 
trip  to  Mount  Penn. 

At  a  meeting  held  by  the  American 
Supplymen's  Association  the  following 
officers  were  elected:  Charles  Hopper, 
president;  Nathaniel  Kenny,  vice-presi- 
dent; John  W.  Armour,  treasurer; 
Frederick  Jahn,  secretary.  "Bert"  Wil- 
liams was  appointed  director  of  exhibits. 


I'ELEGATE.'"     TO     Till       Ih  V  \  >  VLVA.M  A     .\.     A 


L')^\  K.N  1  lo.N.     KKIK,     JUNK     4-5,      lytXJ 


June  i2,  i'X»y- 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


IIJ7 


Convention    of    Pennsylvania 
EAgioeen*  Socict)- 


The  EnKuicm'  Socktjr  of  Pcnasjlrania 

n  :i. 

'I  .  >- 

toj.  .'.i.i>  'f  i.fa  >  .".it-U  \*«.;v^j.Ard 
the  \iMt.>r>  anj  I  !:-'  ':  '^^ '-w  re- 
sponded for  the  »(•  be  b 
prrtidmt.  The  or^  com- 
po>r«l  brtrljr  of  membert  of  the  Efl- 
Kiixrcri'  Oilrt  of  Phila«lclp»*'-  »«-"•»- 
biirK  aixl  Scrantoti  and  t!ic  >( 
S  I.  ind 
t                                                           ^-as  to 

inc    a 

:te«    of 

.<kr«iiaa  of 

«upt>ort  h. 

nC  for 

gtnecTi 


Ihr 


Aial  a 

and  Ikri. 

fee*  and   pmaltie*  abnoM 

.    ii,.    miirfal    '   ■    at    the  last 

:i.    and    it    i*  acII    to   mc 

.       -  ha» 


•     wat    rT;»^tntcd   to   draft 

a    c«wlc   and    law*.  reus   papers 

ifx'ii     cciicr.il     cHk.  t'»pic«     were 

•  these  dealt  with  civil 

,,...;  !.:.^.:>cering,  but  two  were 

.1    interest    to    Powta    readers: 

•  of  these  was  a  tafV      •'     .-  -rd 

•  •!!  slides,  upon  *"<.  s" 
!  .  i  1.  Adams,  of  the  Aiii*  '  tiAimers 
(  ••  ;>3nv  He  Mtd  that  cmrinc*  of  voo 
t    •                                                               ^  '-ce 

k- 


•  >f  one   hundred   thousartd   kitowattt    ca> 

.  —  ..•.     .--..<    tw    r. -f    Ml'  ,    ft.-    tjrnr    space 

x\  with 

•^.   jx'i   in  lanie 

on   towiparabic 

:Ch 


scnibtwr. 


a»J    pnui 


nr>«r><;«     per     rror^ti' 

the  Vmt. 

TKe   ollMr>fa«rr 
I    "anan.  on  "Ltnr 


in- 


!  iLiiitiily 


that    Mt     i 


T*»- 


1 128 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  22,   1909. 


Power  Plant  Machinery  and  Appliances 

Original     Descriptions     of     Power     Devices 
No     Manufacturers'     Cuts     or     Write-ups     Used 

MUST     BE     NEW     OR     INTERESTING 


Ehjplex  Pot  Valve  Pump 

The  pump  shown  licrewith  has  outside 
end-packed  plungers  and  is  designed  for 
feeding  boilers,  pumping  water  contain- 
ing sediment  or  grit,  working  on  oil  lines, 
or  hydraulic  presses,  and  for  mining  pur- 
poses. The  only  wearing  part  in  the 
pump  end  is  the  packing  of  the  plunger 
stuffing  boxes.  No  leak  can  occur  there 
without  being  observed,  and  it  is  easily 
stopped  by  setting  up  the  packing.  As 
the  plunger  does  not  touch  the  pump  cast- 


The  Erie  City  Vertical  Water- 
tube  Boiler 


The  Erie  City  Iron  Works,  of  Erie, 
Penn.,  has  added  to  its  line  of  products 
the  boiler  shown  in  the  accompanying  il- 
lustrations, the  reproduced  photographs 
shown  being  from  the  experimental  boil- 
er at  the  Erie  shops.  It  is  not  claimed 
that  the  type  is  novel,  but  that  the  Erie 
iron  works  will  bring  to  its  manufacture 
and     exploitation     refinements     and     im- 


l/LlLhX    I'Ul-VALVE    PU.Ml' 


the  length  of  the  drums  and  the  number 
of  tubes  sidewise,  carrying  with  it  in- 
creased width  of  furnace  and  propor- 
tionate increase  of  grate  surface,  while 
the  length  of  the  grate  may  be  made  such 
as  to  give  the  desired  ratio  of  grate  to 
heating  surface. 

The  tubes  are  so  spaced  that  any  one 
of  them  may  be  cut  out,  removed  and 
replaced  without  interfering  with  any 
other.  The  entire  boiler  is  suspended, 
as  the  engravings  show,  from  the  upper 
drum,  giving  perfect  flexibility  and  free- 
dom to  adjust  itself  to  varying  conditions 
of  temperature  and  stress.  The  sufficiency 
of  the  expanded  tube  joints  in  the  upper 
drum  to  sustain  the  weight  thus  brought 
upon  them  has  not  only  been  tested  out 
thoroughly  in  former  boilers  of  this  con- 
struction, but  has  been  tried  in  the  boiler 
illustrated  by  means  of  hydraulic  j^cks 
and  found  to  be  entirely  adequate. 

In  this  particular  boiler  the  upper  drum 
is  48  and  the  lower  40  inches  in  diameter, 
with  II  rows  of  connectinjj  3-inch 
tubes  and,  with  22  tubes  in  each  row, 
furnishing  22,'j'j  square  feet  of  water-heat- 
ing surface.  The  front  and  rear  groups 
contain  4  rows  each,  the  central  group,  3 
rows. 

The  baffling  is  arranged  to  give  three 
passes  as  shown,  the  gases  passing  longi- 
tudinally   through    each    group    of    tubes. 


ings,  there  is  no  cutting  or  wear,  con- 
sequently they  require  no  reboring  or  re- 
fitting when  working  on  gritty  or  sandy 
water.  The  piston  rods  do  not  enter  the 
pump  cylinders  and  are  not  exposed  to 
the  action  of  the  water.  Rods  support 
the  plunger  slide  in  babbitted  bearings. 

The  water-end  valves  are  in  pots  and 
are  quickly  accessible  by  taking  off  the 
plates  over  them.  The  steam  cylinders 
arc  of  a  new  type,  the  steam  ports  being 
arranged  on  a  novel  plan.  The  method  of 
steam  cushionin-?  is  new,  and  the  valves 
arc  of  an  original  form.  The  pump  will 
not  short-stroke,  it  is  claimed,  which 
overcomes  the  most  serious  objection  to 
duplex  pumps.  The  valve  gear  is  ex- 
tremely simple  and  not  liable  to  injury 
or  wear,  and  can  be  replaced  at  very 
little  expense  or  trouble.  Rock  shafts  are 
abandoned  and  one-piece  levers  sub- 
stituted. The  levers  swing  on  steel*  studs 
having  extra  long  bearings.  Both  levers 
are  alike  ard  are  easily  removed  and 
replaced.  This  pump  is  manufactured  by 
the  Dean  Brothers  Steam  Pump  Works, 
Indianapolis.  Ind 


PoiLtr,  y.ii 


ENLARGED  VIEW    SHOWING   SEPARATOR    IN    DRUM    OF    ERIE    CITY    BOILER 


provement  in  detail  and  experience  and 
facilities  which  should  soon  make  a  place 
for  it  among  the  standard  types. 

Unite  the  three  banks  of  tubes  of  a 
Stirling  boiler  in  a  single  upper  drum, 
placed  with  its  center  directly  over  the 
center  of  the  lower  one,  and  you  have  the 
type.  The  furnace  is  an, extension  on  the 
dutch-oven  plan,  allowing  great  flexibility 
in  the  adjustment  of  grate  to  heating  sur- 
face and  introducing  the  improved  furnace 
conditions  of  the  reverberatory  arch.  Ad- 
ditional  capacity  is   gained  by   increasing 


This  gives  a  travel  of  the  gas  of  some- 
thing like  40  feet  in  contact  with  the 
heating  surface,  yet  with  such  freedom 
of  passage  that  there  was  little  drop  in 
draft  pressure  between  the  stack  and  the 
furnace  when  the  boiler,  nominally  rated 
at  238  horsepower  was  developing  over 
500,  and  burning  36.7  pounds  of  coal  per 
square  foot  of  grate. 

At  each  end  of  the  upper  drum  is  a 
dry  chamber,  as  shown  in  the  longitudinal 
section,  in  which  is  placed  a  separator 
upon   cacli   end   of  the   steam-outlet  pipe, 


June  22.    IQOQ. 


PCnVRR  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


IIJ4 


vuM*  .*  tan  cfTY  trnncAt  wati»>tvm  mtn 


i» 


1130 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  22,  1909. 


FRONT    ELEVATIONS    OK    EKIE    CITV    VERTICAL    WATER-TUBE     BOILER 


Pomr.  S.X. 


SIDE     ELEVATIONS     OF     ERIE     (  ITV     VERTICAL     WATER-TdiE     HOILF 


June  22,   1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER 


1131 


with  the  inlet  facing  toward  the  end  of 
the  drum  and  away  from  the  steam- 
liberating;  surface.  The  boiler  appears 
'>e  one  which  will  be  well  adaptnl  to 
large  units  and  intensive  scrvK-c  «le- 
{iwtndi-<l  by  the  modem  p<»«rr  (jiam. 
especially  those  in  which  larjjf  .•»tu..iiiit'» 
of  power  arc  required  for  peak  iKrrKxl* 
and  where  the  ability  to  stand  forointj 
is  particularly  desirable. 


Feed  Water  Grease  Elxtractor 


The  prmcipal  p<*mi%  in  conncctiAp  v\nh 
this   device  are  as   follows:     Two  valves 
'  the  inlet  and  discharge  from  the 
r.    when    scatctl    a*    >h<iwn    in   the 
-tration.  force  the  water  into  the  shell 
;he  extractor   through   the   cartridge'*. 
:    in    this    manner    the    grease    is    ex 
ted.     Where  the  valves  are  seated  <  n 
lower  scat  they  form  a  bypass  so  that 
shell  of  the  extractor  can  be  opened, 
cartridges    taken    out    and    either    re- 
ed with  an  extra  set  or  cleaned  arnl 
hack. 

-ing    on    the    cartridges    ami 

^"•18  •'"'e  plainly   shown  at   A, 

.ch  ts  a  somewhat  re<liKctl  repnxluction 

•  ,    I,  tiLM?i    when   cumpared   to   the  ex- 

The  ratio  of  the  openings 

III  Hit-  (.iiiiiiiges  to  the  inlet  of  the  ex- 


creased  doe  to  the  restricted  flow  of  the 

^3.  .    I       .!._    .   ., ,^   jjI   ,j,^  cartridges 

bc^  ,  reasc. 

j.  ... 

a' 

P'l 
ca ' 

thrni   v>   as   not    ' 
cartridges    out    a^ 

wise  be  necessary.     The  shell  of  the  ex- 
tractor is  small  and  compact.     T»>--   -»•<•- 
of  the   canridges.   which   are    1 
as  shown  at  ('  cr   ' '        '    -n  to  be  ;i.. 
in  a  comparative  -    space. 

The    de\ice    is 
or  m.irtnr  f>racti» 

a«  rcctly  to  uperatiiig    v.tl«es  ••■ 

to  ■  ^  in   the  pipe  line.     TTu-   .x 

tractor  is  manufactured  by  the 
Steam   Hauge   an«l    Valve    Manii:-.:        _ 
Company.    x]6    Camden    street.     Boston. 
Mas^ 


A  Portable  Tachometer 


.•\  portable  sinRle-spindlr-t)rpe  tachom 
eler  is  herewith  illustratol  It  is  mar  : 
f.<clured  by  the  Industrial  InstrunuTi; 
Company.  Foxtwro,  Mass.  This  instru- 
ment is  designed  for  hand  application 
to  engines  or  any  shaft  or  pulley,  and 
shows  at  a  glance  the  rate  of  rotation  or 


ttpon  the  rate  of  revolution  and 

cated    on    a    —   ■    -'-     .-    ' ' 

means  of  a 


lower  gear 


is  indi- 

•     I     fjy 

that 


jntil 


ri(>    I     p'iiTsnit    T*<ii"ViiTta 


rtX»-WATIB  CnAflB  KXTmiU 
•nr  U  a<   4^  f^   f.   .in<1  th^   rartridfrt     prri|»hm!  sprrtf      T^r  opmt<!-«n  (t  Hatrd 


The  »fVtr  Ifi 


^j:_i   •..  i_^l. 


■ali- 


tachometer  begins  to  register.  The  fig- 
ures appearing  on  the  sight  aperture  indi- 
cate the  range  in  gear.  If  desirable,  this 
arbor  can  be  clamped  in  this  or  any  other 
range  position  by  means  of  the  lock  stud 
shown  on  the  side  of  the  case. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 
Trenton  "Type  A"  Gas  Engine 


FIG.    2.     MECHA.N1S.M    OF   THE   TACHOMETER 


If  the  speed  of  the  shaft  or  pulley  is 
within  the  range  of  the  lowest  number 
shown  on  the  range*  register,  which  is 
from  300  to  I200  revolutions  per  minute, 
the  instrument  will  register  on  the  inner 
graduation  of  the  dial,  which  figures  read 
from  3  to  12.  If  the  speed  range  is  from 
900  to  3600,  the  registration  will  be  on 
the  outside  figures  of  the  dial,  which  show 
from  10  to  35,  the  numbers  indicating 
speeds  of  1000,  1500,  2000,  etc.  If  a  still 
higher  speed  of  from  3000  to  12,000  is  to 
be  registered,  the  readings  are  taken  from 
the  inner  readings  of  the  dial,  but  are 
read  in  thousands  instead  of  hundreds,  as 
hi  the  first  instance. 

Each  instrument  is  furnished  with  a 
leather  case  as  shown  in  Fig.  i,  in  which 
is  mounted  one  extension  piece  for  the 
arbor,  one  steel  and  one  india-rubber 
point  for  coupling  to  the  shaft,  one  rub- 
ber-lined cone  for  coupling  to  a  spindle 
and  one  disk  for  band  drive  if  the  shaft 
is  inaccessible.  Fig.  2  shows  the  interior 
mechanism. 

Stationary    tachometers    are    made    in 


-ivnii 
shaft. 


June  22,  1909.      ■ 
them    one-half   revolution    on    the 


A  new  type  of  gas  engine  known  as 
•'Tjpe  A"  is  now  built  by  the  Trenton 
Malleable  Iron  Company,  Trenton,  N.  J., 
the  illustration  in  Fig.  i  showing  this 
type  of  engine  direct-connected  to  a  di- 
rect-current generator. 

As  to  construction,  all  the  surfaces 
within  the  combustion  chamber  are  ma- 
chined so  that  the  heat  losses  from  radia- 
tion and  the  tendency  to  accumulate  car- 
bon are  reduced  to  a  minimum.  All 
valves  are  removable  without  interfering 
with  any  piping,  it  being  merely  neces- 
sary to  remove  one  cotter  pin,  and  slip 
out  the  stud,  when  by  removing  the  cap 
screws  the  valve  and  valve  seat  can  be  re- 
moved without  interfering  with  any  other 
adjustment  on  the  engine.  By  taking 
out  the  valve  case,  the  interior  of  the 
combustion  chamber  can  be  cleaned  and 
inspected  at  will.  The  cam  shaft,  main 
bearing  and  connecting-rod  boxes  are 
readily  accessible  through  doors  in  the 
housing.  One  lever  shifts  all  auxiliary 
cams  and  the  engine  is  controlled  from 
one  position. 

As  indicated  in  Fig.  i,  the  bedplate  is  of 
box  construction  and  supports  the  crank- 
shaft bearings,  shown  at  either  side.  The 
bearings  are  made  of  malleable  iron  and 
lined  with  Parsons  white  brass.  As  a 
means  of  lubrication  to  the  bearings,  oil 


In  Fig.  2  is  shown  the  piston,  which  is 
of  the  trunk  pattern,  of  ample  length  and 
packed  with  cast-iron  rings.  It  carries 
a  wristpin  which  is  steeled,  hardened  and 


FIG.    2.      PISTON,    SHOWING    OILWAYS 


^HlhW  W     Rnri 

! 

i 

r 

1 
1 

"■ — ^^H^^l 

? 

■ 

I^HR     ^ 

g^P 

'M^^' 

1 

i 

1 
i 

% 

^.^ 

■1 

Wt^^aun^''"'-'' 

FIG.    I.     TRENTON    'TYPE    A      GAS    ENGINE 


is  delivered  through  an  oil  pump  driven  ground.    The  sides  of  the  piston  are  fitted 

by  a  spur  gear  inside  the  housing.     By  re-  with   oilways  which  are   filled  with  lubri- 

!,„•„„,,,         J          .-     ,                 ,        ,           moving  the  cap  of  the  boxes  and  lifting  cation  from  the  oil  pocket,  being  fed  from 

homontal    and    vertical    types     for    belt     the  weight  of  the  crank  shaft,  the  lower  the  inside  through  a  suitable  hole. 

dnve  or  direct  connection  to  shafts.               halves  of  the  boxes  can  be  taken  out  by  Roth   the  inlet  and   exhaust   valves   are 


June  22,  igoQ. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINRER. 


iiij 


of  the  poppet  type,  mounted  in  cases 
bolted  to  the  cylinder  head.  They  are  <jp- 
rrated  from  the  cam  shaft  by  meant  of 
push  rods  and  valve  levrrs. 

The  governor  is  of  the  centrifu^l  ball 
type  niicuntcd  on  the  end  of  the  huti^inf; 
and  is  so  driven  that  the  tor»i« pn.nl  dis- 
turbance of  the  cam  shaft,  due  to  the  op- 
eration of  the  valves  is  not  affected.  It 
is  simple  and  extremely  sensitive,  which 
enables  a  very  close  regulation  to  he  ob- 
tained. A  simple  mixing  chamVtcr  and 
valve  are  fitted  to  the  engine  At  the 
center  of  the  inlet  manifold  are  the  gas 
and  air  Jnirt  v.iKcs  and  mixing  chamber. 
The  make  atiil  break  type  «>f  JKniti"  n  is 
used,  being  »\  all  lin>es  under  governor 
control.  This  engine  is  built  in  sizes  up 
to  %%  horsepower  and  makes  a  compact, 
iteat  generating  set  wht-re  a  limiteil 
amount   of  power   is   required. 


Ladies*    Nighl    at  Pavsluckct 

Saturday  evening,  June  5,  was  the  an- 
nual bdies'  night  of  Pawtucket  Associa- 
tion No.  2,  N.  A.  S.  H,  an«l  in  spite  cf 
the  pouring  rain  a  large  number  gathered 
at  the  3sM>ctatit>n.  ri>oms  in  C'oiirell 
blotk.  Shortly  after  K  o'clock  the  ex- 
ercises were  ojiened  with  a  piano  duet 
liy  Miss  Marion  Cocper  and  Ralph 
Daniel* 

President  Keene.  in  a  racy  preliminary 
address  intrtMluced  F.  1^  Johnson  as  the 
"religious"  editor  of  I'owu  and  also  a« 
the  first  speaker  of  the  evening  and 
'••r.  Mr.  Johnson  gave  a  short 
'1  of  his  "missionary"  life  in 
.N'-w    Vt  rk   and   hi"  "in 

Lynn.      He   t"**    ..  si- 

tion  as  t  rks 

to    an    e..:  rd 

Past  National  Presiileni  i'  H  Hogan. 
who  s|)oke  of  (he  educational  ailvantages 
mjn)e<l  by  memliers  of  the  National  As- 
focialion  of  Stationary  Kngineers.  He 
was  followetl  by  a  character  duet  by  the 
Misses  n.  ic  Ryan. 

"Kd"  Slate 

*    tilt  uvifa^i    iiifcinrrf.  in- 
^    his   tri  iibirs    »•■   .t    r»-  1i<  c 
m»\\  ''ink    them    hoi-  uii. 

,M\ii  in  a   few  apt   r.  pre- 

sented  to  the   winner,   "Kd "    L    Cheney. 
ilir  {irife  which  is  given  every  year  to  the 
tier   funn»hing  the  best  i}t)r«tion   for 
•  iiMussion  during  the  educalioiul  season. 

Next   <»n   the   program   was   a   prrsenia- 
tion   of   the   lulcony    tcrne    f* 
anil    ImH"-*  "   l»    ibr    Mi»«*»    : 

M    • 
won' 

auxiliary  irM-rting*  or  b  ' 
Mrs    Canfiebl.  past   y 
Isbnd  No    I,  |.adie«'   A 
well  chosen  remarks  k> 
that    was    "coniiny    »•• 


fc» 

re- 

•'■•t 

W. 

*   a 

ng 

•    khr4e 

1  a 

few 

Mei 

1  all 

Sen 

fh« 

toastmaster  remarked  that  had  the  com- 
mittee of  arranggnient*  po&sesscd  more 
paper  the  program  would  have  been 
longer. 

The  remainder  of  the  session  was  given 
o\er  to  the  refreshment  comnuttee.  who 
ser\'ed  ice  cream,  cake.  coflFcr  antl  cigars. 

.As  the  last  car  left  the  square,  in  the 
wee  sma'  hours,  the  guests  reluctantly 
look  their  homeward  way,  the  out-of-town 
visitors  going  to  Hotel  Rurke  in  Paw- 
tucket. 

Next  day  the  visiting  guests  were  taken 
on  an  aiit.>m<»bile  excursion  to  the  vari- 
ou'  points  of  historical  int^^r^t  in  and 
a  ouml   Providence  and   Pawtiuket. 

The  occasion  will  long  be  remembered 
li\   :»11  who  participated  in  it. 


Personal 


Karl  M.  Way  and  Perry  Barker,  for- 
merly assistant  engineers  of  the  United 
States  Geological  Survey,  have  joined  the 
fuel-engineering  department  of  the  .Arthur 
I)  Little  laboratory  of  Lngineerii||{ 
Chemistry.    Boston,    Mass. 


B 


usiness  llems 


It! 


Ilrrtwrf  R  Crorllrr  ■n<t  Mllo  K  Krlebnin 
barr  (orm'sl  a  (MrtorrBblp  undrr  Ibr  nnn 
Damr  u(  <°rr>rkrr  4  Krlrhum,  ruoaulling  ro 
ginwr*.  •Ilh  c>A  t  a(  Hullr  4.1M.  Ht  |  X.-Trl|lll 
■IffWl.    |lrn<rr.    Colo. 

J     Proailrt'-ld    Klnpaoa    baa    opi>orc]    an    of 

Bre     aa     • '"•-      r„...^i,.r,i.  »]     ..,.-..■.,.  r     al 

.Ml     ^•Bl^  Mr 

Hlmpaoo  ■nil 

brar    Imn   ruAcrtta   •Lalilnx   a    rn'mmtallT* 
In    ibal    arciloo. 

Ttn'   JttrttMon    Marhlfir    "  :\g    Com- 

pan),    of    Uatrrn.     iVnn  .  e*»    an] 

cawlrna  mctana.  aiinounrr*  itu;        i.j.'  m.' 
aa    forvmaa    at    Ita    maclitnr    <lr|>arlii><-ti'. 
Km   '  '  ut   tot   ■•rrrai    )r. 

ln*i-  KranUin  vatW> 

pnr. . -j.^  Compmtty 

Ttw  Mam  ami  Wvbatrf  i 


|u«     i  .1    lt»    lt>kiU».     Ir  • 

an>t  .  '.  tot  vtttrb  mi 

Aa  <«r1(H>«T'a  baa«ntnaa  baa  bM>« 

lit     <  I  ••■      ^^     'ka.    Krlr      I  .  ..  .        Ji 

r»«n' •  }    pac*^  ■■1  'i— ■?»!   I*. 

f.r    ti|»»faiMix    rne  I  ■'  ll    al«*. 

IttoairaiM   '•<-   ir  '   iW  RrSa 

A.iria.  aad  •ii:  u  m:.^     .-<«  la  aay 

»«wr  aiadlag  Ua  ummm  and  a4«lrMa. 

'  u  fcw  Uamutlutmrtm  Ob»p— y  HutmM. 

••f4a4  •  I— IWil  !•  Ika  4t»Mttaw 
-m  OaaipHiy.  Hi—.  Mam  .  fix  itw 
MMHtrvrsna  ol  a  MtalM«w4  nM^fvt*  iNaila 
Ihrougli  Ha  catt  pmthmt  Tba  ir*.fc  la  to  ba 
•Hppa(t*4  t>r  baaaa  hmmMw  uikVf  o«  raa» 
Uum  I— «w'*  *^^kmmtm  aMb  Y  lofM  .t4  >.i  m 
vUf9  br 


haivy 


MIeb .  bM  JoM  bwsad  a  U-ptm  hMkte.  7iSi 
tarbea.  ti—lbn  Of  -Mraoro**  baa  sad  MbM^ 
"ABC"  npiirtalltaa  Tba  gi—lil  It  ail, 
of  ctturm.  alUctes  i«  iba  ponioa  of  Iba  liaaklas 
wlurb  (teals  wtib  "Mrarro"  faaa.  mrmi  impor- 
laat  iaatatlaflafn  f^^vt  tbamm  aad  raluabla 
encuMrni..  --niphaUM  iba  rUlma 

for    ibr*r  iBiraaaiJ    »llWSaaey 

and    eapari'.  ^      <irT  ir-xi^^i 


Tba  IniMtiorauKfa  Rapid  Trvwti 
of  .Hr*  Yon  CUjr.  baa  adopiad  KayaUMa  c»*w. 
maniifariMiad  bjr  iba  lUyatoM  huttrkMim 
OBBpuijr,  PblailBlpbia.  lor  •■  il 
ai  lu  davalad-faHroad  atalloML. 
rhinn  an-  RMitaf  ~i|nrea  aod  Iha  Ufvart  < 
have  aripral  (aoton  for  \twr  •It^Tr'rnt  p«fl«. 
A>  ihrw  UMialUilaaa  ar»  a  put>i  '<ipe- 

•tltoo    H    to   abaoluUly   cwniu  ,    W 

k#p(  ruiuuoc  wttlNMit  tba.  and  iiK-(W<j«r  prqpar 
lubrteaiua  ta  aU-4npartaai. 

a     .  r 

rXMili.411^      .Iff     aiwr-.  iw-r     itirin 

puy    alraady    opantm    WaatI 

la  Ihraa  of  lia  poaar  st.>iion< 

wtUrh    U  of    1000  k>I 

operate  at   ISO  pouOii 

•1x1   Miuraied    rtaam.    «... 

Korbraier  atailoa  oa  Iba 

■ton      Tliu     ■taitoo     alr««ii . 

type  uni:*,  ttui  eitpoataos  ol  iraflfe  bs««  aara*- 

■Itateil  tba  UuuUaUoa  al  Ibu  nrv  Ivfbtaa  uaM. 

The  Amertcaa  fllaaai  (is>««  aad  Valw  Maau- 
fariunnc  Ctompaajr.  Boalaa.  raranily  tvmttmi 
the    (oUoaUtK    > niMpawBI    fbr    U»    Ibfas    aaw 

rolUara  buili    l>)    1Im>   MartUml   Itlaal  Co 

Kbcliitvii    ' 

lor».   !h-t.  ,.    thi»*  « tncti 

•im 

ral.' 

IH    .  .    . 
rrlirf 


n- 


T    ■ 
Wi.  .    t 

('<>fll«>       r-, 

fa*  «-netiM>«      \  xni 
rr<«-|\«>i|     fttan    tha 
anil     I'm ' 
an>l  r«»r 


I     •i.iCWiJir* 


IMf 


"34 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  22,  1909. 


efficient  operation  of  any  form  of  naechanism. 
Elaborate  formulas  have  been  given  for  testing 
different  lubricants  and  literature  has  been 
prepared  with  a  view  of  exploiting  all  kinds 
of  products  of  tills  nature.  It  is  not,  however, 
essential  that  one  should  acquire  an  education 
of  oils  and  greases,  but  it  is  imperative  that 
a  good  article  be  used,  for  should  this  not  be 
done  theen-,'ineer  is  gaining  verj-  expensive 
experience.  Then  the  primary  object  sliouUl 
be  to  select  a  product  that  has  a  reputation 
which  has  been  gained  because  of  satisfaction. 
Adam  Cook's  Sons.  313  West  street.  New  York, 
state  that  Albany  grease  was  the  first  lubricant 
in  tlie  field,  being  in  practical  use  on  all  kinds 
of  machinery  for  over  40  years,  and  that  good 
results  have  been  obtained  under  the  most 
adverse  condition.*.  Its  use  has  been  extended 
to  ever>-  portion  of  the  power  plant  where  a 
solid  lubricint  may  be  employed.  Albany 
greise  is  mide  in  seven  densities  and  is  packed 
in  one-,  five-,  ten-,  twenty-tive  -and  fifty-pound 
cftns  and  kegs,  half  barrels  and  barrels. 


New   Equipment 


A  new  power  house  will  be  erected  at  the 
Butler  Hospital.  Providence,  R.  I. 

The  Martin  Dyeing  and  Finishing  Company. 
Bridgeton.  N.  J.,  will  enlirge  power  plant. 

The  .American  Silver  Company,  Bristol.  Conn., 
is  liiving  pi  ins  prepared  for  the  installation 
of  a  new  steam  plant. 

The  Great  Western  Electric  Power  Company 
has  let  contract  for  the  construction  of  a  sub- 
station at  Oakland,  Cal. 

A  new  power  house  is  being  erected  at  the 
Hud.son  Uiver  State  Hospital,  Poughkeepsie, 
N.  Y.,  to  cost  $12.5,000. 

The  \jt  Mars  (Iowa)  Water  and  Light  Company 
is  planning  to  install  new  generator,  changing 
from  120-cyde  to  60-cycle  direct  belted. 

The  corporation  of  Basic  City,  Va.,  will  erect 
a  hydroelectric  light  and  power  plant.  Plans 
can  be  had  of  W.  M.  Page,  city  treasurer. 

The  Calvert  (Tex.)  Water,  Ice  and  Electric 
Company  his  awarded  contract  for  rebuilding 
and  improvements  to  plant  to  cost  $40,000. 

Proposals  will  l>e  received  until  10  a.m..  June 
21,  by  Con.stru(ting  Quartermaster.  Fort  Sill, 
Okla.,  for  the  installation  of  a  central  heating 
plant. 

The  Geneva,  Waterloo,  Seneca  Falls  &  Cayuga 
Lake  Traction  Company,  Seneca  Falls,  N.  Y., 
will  erect  an  auxiliary  power  plant  at  Cayuga 
Lake  Park. 

The  Bettendorf  Improvement  Company.  Bet- 
lendorf,  Iowa,  hM  applied  for  franchise  for 
waterworks  system,  sewer  sy.stem  and  electric 
lixht  plant. 

The  Tulia  Light  and  Ice  Company,  Tulia, 
Tex.,  has  been  incorporated  with  $10,000  capital. 
Incorporators,  J.  W.  Schwarz,  J.  E.  .VIcCune, 
E.  D.  timlth. 

R.  P.  Arnold  and  M.  W.  (ire.sson.  of  Prescott, 
Ark.,  ^nd  others  are  organizing  a  company  to 
cstahli-ih  a  ten-ton  ice  plant,  cold-storage  plant, 
grist  mill  and  cotton  gin. 

The  Mound  City  Electric  Light  and  Ice  Com- 
pany, Mound  City.  Mo.,  ha.s  been  incorporated 
with  $2.5,0(X)  cipiial  by  F.  M.  Miller,  K.  W. 
Neill.  T.  W.  MK'oy.  J.  A.  CrLswell. 

City  of  Gulfport,  Miss.,  i.t  having  plans  pre- 
pared for  water  works  improvement  to  include 
the  Installation  of  an  afMltlonal  1.0<M),(K)0  gallon 
jnimp.     M.  F.  Sullivan,  city  engineer. 

The  Commissioners  of  Waterwork.i,  Newport, 
Ky.,  will  arran^  for  improvements  to  <ost 
$8.5,000.  The<«  will  include  two  pumps  of 
.5,000.000  gallons  daily  capacity.  W.  L.  Glazier, 
superintendent. 


The  North  Rose  Cold  Storage  Company, 
North  Rose,  N.  Y.,  has  been  incorporated  to 
establish  cold  storage  plant  and  warehouse. 
Capital,  S20,000.  Incorporators.  John  Hill, 
Frank  Hill,  Thos.  B.  Welch,  .\ddison  Weed. 

A.  M.  Powell,  candy  manufacturer,  Sullivan 
and  Canal  streets.  New  York,  will  erect  a  new 
ten-story  building.  Three  Erie  Ball  engines, 
three  Scotcii  boilers  will  be  installed.  Seventy- 
five  ton  ice  machine,  .several  pumps  and  elevators 
will  be  needed. 

The  Isthmian  Canal  Commission,  Washington, 
D.  C,  win  receive  bids  up  to  10:30  a.m.,  June 
21,  for  surface  condenser,  pumps,  hose,  rubber 
valves,  packing,  pipe  coverins;.  leather  belting, 
pipe  fittings,  valves,  ejectors,  lubricators,  etc., 
as  per  Circular  No.  514. 

Bids  will  be  received  by  W.  T.  Kelly,  Borough 
Clerk,  Bellefonte,  Penn.,  until  June  1  for  con- 
struction of  complete  electric  power-plant, 
as  per  plans  and  specifications  on  file  in  clerk's 
office  and  at  the  office  of  D.  C.  &  W.  B.  Jackson, 
84  State  street,  Boston,  Mass. 

The  Bureau  of  Yards  and  Docks,  Navy  Depart- 
ment, Washington,  D.  C,  will  receive  bids 
until  11  a.m.,  June  26,  for  one  1000  and  two 
1.500-kilowatt  turbo  alternators  for  New  York, 
Philadelphia  and  Boston  navy  yards.  Speci- 
fications can  be  had  at  the  bureau  or  navy  yards. 


Help   Wanted 


New  Catalogs 


Templeton  Manufacturing  Company,  22  Ran- 
dolph street,  Boston,  Mass.  Catalog.  Sterling 
steam  trap.     Illustrated,  5x9  inches, 

Greene,  Tweed  &  Co.,  109  Duane  street.  New 
York.  Catalog.  Rochester  automatic  lubrica- 
tors.    Illustrated,  48  pages,  6x9  inches. 

.A-lberger  Condenser  Company,  95  Liberty 
street.  New  York.  Catalog  No.  13.  Wainwright 
water  heaters.     Illustrated,  16  pages,  6x9  inches. 

Woven  Steel  Ho.se  and  Rubber  Company,  Tren- 
ton, N.  J.  Catalog.  Rubber  hose,  belting, 
packing,  etc.     Illustrated,  28  pages,  6x9  inches. 

IngersoU-Rand  Company,  11  Broadway,  New 
York.  Bulletin  Form  No.  300L.  Air  and  gas 
compressors.     Illustrated,   16  pages,  6x9  inches. 

Du  Bois  Iron  Works,  Du  Bois,  Penn.  Bulle- 
tin, "EP"-No.  3.  Motor,  gasolene,  engine  and 
belt-driven  pumps.  Illustrated,  8  pages,  6x9 
inches. 

The  Westinghou.se  Air  Brake  Company,  Pitts- 
burg. Penn.  Instruction  Pamphlet  No.  5030. 
Type  K  Triple  Valve.  Illustrated,  30  pages, 
4ix7  inches. 

The  Bristol  Company,  Waterbury,  Conn. 
Bulletin  No.  102.  Partial  lists  of  recording  pres- 
sure and  vacuum  gages.  Illustrated,  24  pages, 
8xl0i  Indies. 

Hill  Clutch  Company,  Cleveland,  Ohio.  Pamph- 
let, "Tests  of  Friction  Clutches  for  Power  Trans- 
mission," by  Prof.  R.  G.  Dukes.  Illustrated, 
16  pages,  6x9  inches. 

Tlie  Jeffrey  Manufacturing  Company,  Colum- 
bus, Ohio.  Catalog  32-A.  Coal  and  ashes 
handling  machinery  in  power  plants.  Illus- 
trated, 72  pages,  6x9  inches. 

Westinghouse  Electric  and  Manufacturing 
Company.  Pittsburg.  Penn.  Circular  No.  1160. 
Multiple  tungsten  lamps.  Illustrated,  12  pages, 
7x10  inches.  Circular  No.  1164.  Type  MS  mill 
motors.     Illu.strated,  24  pages,  7x10  inches. 

Westinghouse  Electric  and  Manufacturing 
Company,  Pittsburg.  Penn.  Circular  No.  1165. 
Electric  fans.  Illustrated,  .36  pages,  7x10  inches. 
Circular  No.  1148.  Mercury  rectifier  battery 
charging  outfits.  Illustrated,  18  pages,  7x10 
inches.  Circular  No.  11.58.  Electric  motor 
friction  brakes.  Illustrated,  14  pages,  7x10 
inches. 


Advertisements  under  this  head  are  inserted 
for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  words  make 
n  line. 

WANTED— Thoroughly  competent  steam 
specialty  salesman;  one  that  can  sell  high- 
grade    goods.      Address    "M.    M.    Co.,"    Power. 

AN  ENGINEER  in  each  town  to  sell  the 
best  rocking  grate  for  steam  boilers.  Write 
Martin   Grate   Co.,.  281    Dearborn   St.,   Chicago 

ENGINEER  SALESMAN  in  each  town 
to  handle  our  rear  end  flue  blowers  on  big  com- 
mission. Write  U.  S.  Specialty  Mfg.  Co.,  Pitts- 
burg, Pa. 

WANTED — First-class  engineer,  must  be 
capable  of  handling  250-horsepower  Corliss 
engine,  motors,  heating  plant,  etc..  in  large 
mill.     Best  references  required.     Box  62,  Power. 

WANTED — Engineer  salesmen  for  indus- 
trial and  centril  heating  and  power  plants 
to  travel  in  middle  West  territory.  Must  have 
had  technical  training  and  at  least  five  years' 
experience  in  selling  heating  systems  and  power 
station  equipment.  High  grade  men  with 
first-class  references  only  need  apply.  Box 
64,  Power. 

WANTED — A  good  live  agent  in  every 
shop  or  factory  in  the  U.  S.  to  sell  one  of  the 
best  known  preparations  for  removing  grease 
and  grime  from  the  hands  without  injury  to 
the  skin.  Absolutely  guaranteed.  An  agent 
can  make  from  $5.00  to  S25.00  over  and  above 
his  regular  salary.  This  is  no  fake.  Write 
for  free  sample  and  agents'  terms.  The  Klen- 
zola  Co.,  Erie,  Pa. 

Situations  Wanted 

Advertisements  under  this  head  are  inserted 
for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  words  make 
a  line. 

CHIEF  ENGINEER;  accustomed  to  the 
operation  of  large  industriali  electrical  power 
plants,  and  capable  of  producing  results,  would 
like  to  connect  with  a  concern  which  desires 
a  first-class  man.     Box  65,  Poweb. 

WANTED — A  position  as  engineer  or  master 
mechanic.  Have  had  20  years'  experience 
with  Corliss  and  other  high  speed  engines.  Can 
take  charge  of  electric  plants  and  blast  tur- 
naces.  Am  strictly  sober  and  can  furnish 
the  best  of  references.  Box  793,  Manistique, 
Mich. 

Miscellaneous 

Advertisements  under  this  head  are  inserted 
for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  words  make 
a  line. 

WANTED— From  500  to  1500  horsepower 
of  B.  &  W.  water  tube  boilers  in  units  of  250 
horsepower  each.  Must  be  in  A-1  condition. 
Inquire  of  J.  F.  Cargill,  Room  1630,  Frick 
Building,  Pittsburg,  Pa. 

PATENTS  secured  promptly  in  the  United 
States  and  foreign  countries.  Pamphlet  of 
instructions  sent  free  upon  request.  C.  L. 
Parker,  Ex-examiner,  U.  S.  Patent  Oflice, 
McGill  Bldg.,  Washington,  D.  C. 

WANT  TO  GIVE  FREE  of  cost  or  work, 
to  one  engineer  in  each  town  that  has  charge 
of  a  steam  plant,  a  first-class  indicator  and 
reducing  wlieel.  with  plush-lined  mahogany 
ca.se;  this  doesn't  sound  right  but  it  is.  G.  L. 
C.  Co..  Cor.  14th  and  Clark  Sts.,  Manitowoc,  Wis. 

HAVE  A  FIRST-CLASS  MACHINE  SHOP 
and  am  desirous  of  extending  my  line.  Have 
means  and  experience  to  handle,  sell,  represent 
and  act  as  agent  for  a  high  class  steam  engine 
or  other  machinery  concerns  seeking  repre- 
sentation in  New  York.  Parties  interested 
reply,  Box  63,  Power. 

WANTED — Any  concern  having  a  small- 
Corliss  engine,  say,  from  75  to  125  horsepower, 
that  anticipates  taking  tliis  engine  out  for  a 
larger  unit  within  the  next  few  months,  may 
find  an  opportunity  of  disposing  of  it  by  writing, 
giving  particulars,  i)rice  and  where  it  can  be 
seen  in  operation  to  "Perfect  Order,"  Box 
55,  Power. 

For  Sale 

Advertisements  under  this  head  are  inserted 
for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  words  make 
a  line. 

SIXTY  horsepower  marine  type  water  tube 
boiler.  Used  five  months,  in  good  condition. 
Hurley  Track  Laying  Machine  Co.,  Chicago,  111. 

1,50  HORSEPOWER  tandem  compound  Cor- 
liss engine  in  good  order;  16-foot  wheel;  24-inch 
face.     F.   W..   Iredell,   11  Broadway,   New  York. 

FOR    SALE--20X48    Wheelock    engine    and^ 
two    72"xl8'    high    pressure    tubular    boilers    in 
good     condition     clieap.     Addre.ss     "Engineer, 
Box  2,  Station  A,  Cincinnati.  Ohio. 

FOR  SALE  Xinc  horizontal  return  tubu- 
lar boilers  for  100-pounds  pressure ;  sizes  as 
follows:  three  7S-incli  by  18-incli,  two  (>(>incn 
by  IH-inch,  four  fi(>-inch  by  IC-inch.  Address 
Fox    Uiver    Paper    Co.,    Ai)plct()ii,    Wis. 

FOR     SALE— One      16x10x10     duplex,     two 


June  29,   1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER- 


"iS 


Remarkable    Plant    of    the    St.   Clair    Tunnel 

Turbine  Plant  Elnablcd  to  Carry  a   Load  V'ar>'ing  Irxstantly  from  Zero 
to  1 00  F-'cr  Cent.  Overload  by  Novel  Method  of  Controlling  Combustion 

Fy      o  s  b  o  r  n      m  o  n  n  e  r  t 


A  study  of  the  power  pr..hlcms  in- 
rolved  in  the  recent  electnticattun  of  the 
St.  Clair  tunnel  at  Port  Huron.  Mich., 
ind  their  moihud  of  solution,  serves  to 
thow  to  what  extent  a  modern  steam  plant 
niay  be  designed  to  meet  special  cun> 
Jitions.  It  is  safe  to  »ay  that  there  is  no 
jther  electric  power  plant  in  the  country 
Rhere  the  load  conditions  are  so  extreme- 
ly unusual.  Large  variations  in  load  are, 
>f  courv.  n-^  novelty,  but  in  this  case 
:he  t''  •  ■  '.  the  entire  range 

5f     k'  with     no-load 

i«  of  mdetinr.e  duration,  the  load 
.  .::k  on  withou  the  slightest  warning 
ind  dropping  off  v/ith   equal   rapidity. 

Consisting  of  a  single-track  iron-lined 
>ore  19  feet  in  diameter,  the  tunnel  proper. 
'■'■  was  built  in  l8go  and  operated  with 
.  locomotives  of  specia'  design  up 
,w  igoS,  extends  a  distance  o*  603J  feet, 
in  addition  to  the  two  appr<jaches  of 
tsoo  feet  on  the  American  side  and  j.K» 
feet  on  the  Canadian  side,  connecting  the 
Port  Huron  and  Samia  terminal  yardt 
>f  the  Gr^iKl  Trunk  railway. 

Operated  as  a  tingle-track  division  o.' 
iv  system,  there  is  ofTeretl  ri 
%     for    "rrcuprr.ntivc    working." 

»e 
iirough  their  pantograph  troileys  for  the 


end  of  thi>  level  stretch  »uf}kient  power 
must  l>e  in>tantly  supplied  to  pull  a  looo- 
lon  tram  up  a  .2-per  cent,  grac^  fur  a 
distance  of  1  mile  at  a  minimum  speed 
of  ID  mile>  an  hour,  and  Ik  able  to  start 
from  a  standstill  on  this  grade  if  neces- 
sary. It  can  Ik  seen,  therefore,  that 
quick  steaming  capacity  was  of  the  ut- 
most importance,  and.  on  the  other  hand, 
of  no  less  importance  was  the  ability 
to  take  care  of  the  no-load  periods  with- 
out distre<k»,  these  perio<l»  coining  on  in- 
stantly   after   carrying    for    a    short    time 


Mol-st  01  THE  ST    n..M«  TfX- 
XEL  COUTASY 


above     the     tiasement     and     is 

to  the   roof  of  the  t>udding   wiii.   , ^ 

brick  to  correspiind  with  the  general  ar- 
chitecture.    Fig.  J  shows  thr  -    ;,!ant 

building   and   Fig.   j  the   a-  of 

the  plant  in  pbn  and  elevati  '!',  Owing 
to  the  slope  of  thr  ruer  hank  at  this 
ptMnt    there   is   cv>v  in 

level     between     th-  :  innc 

rooms. 

CoALixc  FAciurm 
Plenty  of  light  and  room  arr  providgd 
on  the  faring  floor  which  overlooks  thr 
river,  and  there  is  sufficient  space  tie- 
tween  the  building  and  the  water's  edfte 
to  provide  for  a  switch  track  by  which 
coal  may  he  «l«"1ivrrrH  and  ashes  taken 
:\^  ^-         ■  .    also  be  nn- 

i    .  •  After    be- 

ing dumpe«l  into  thr  receiving  hopper, 
the  coal  is  passed  through  a  crusher 
driven  by  a  jo-horscpnwer  thrre-phas«  in- 
duction motor,  and  deliverr''  *  -  '  -rket 
elevator,  from  which  it  is  !   to 

reinforcetl  concrete   h<-  '   ;.» 

iKlt     ctinveyer     and 
Bunker  capacity  of  75 
A    desirable    feature    n 
the  coal  bunkers  is  that  tnetai-btb 


iw-mi^ 


ria 


MAT  AMD  nuruji  or  VAaoa  ana  TVKKCL  ^— ' 


he 


nt    of   power    necessary    In    the 

:    of   the   trains.      In    Fig.    1    the 

-   and  distances  involved  are  given. 

•tiling    that    a    train    •■     t   front 

American   to   the   C  ■  le.   the 

■     '         r    may    be    sai<l    t..    f.-i|«»w    ap- 
v     the     protilr    of     th*     lumve! ; 
All!  be  no  pti«rr  •■ 
arwl  owniit  •■  *^' 
Me   on    thr    17  • 
•n  of  the  tunn-^ 
\y   level,    having   a   grade   of   only    I    font 
in  1000  for  drainage  pnrpo«««.  b«H  ••  '^ 


i<Mds  varying  anywhere  from  full  load  to 
too  per  cent,  oi.-   «ad. 

Located  ofl  the  American  side  on  the 
hcrk  of  the  St  Citir  rner  and  vltirHtlr 
to  the  north  of  ihe  center  liivr  ..f  ihr  uin 


aNTve 
hi.^ki 


this 

t}\r    In 


pasing 

«t<-    ami 


rrrte    partHioas    csrteoding    to    the    ceil- 

ititf   .-.Mtwdrirlv  ckMc  o#  ilw  bvflltrr  space. 

!ing  tiM  dwi  (roa  the  koA- 


ii«d   an  tMfl 
ten ^is  oa 

!   mmmt  &tp»nutr  tram 

•1    dunensMMM    will    he 

tsrfv   are   fi>«f   iUhroHl  41 

I'llw    ^alrf*    in»l«llr«L    k«t. 


1136 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  29,  1909. 


-  Meicurj 
^    Converter 


w^f^f^  in 


;:1I8  Discharge    _]_! ; |i! \\  'i]\ i_' ] ^i |l_J.-i — ,4- -Jl  I 


Feeders  to  Tunnel  Shalt 


^ 


0} 


01 


KIO.     3.      PLAN    AND    ELEVATION    OF    POWER    PLANT 


June  ^9,   1909. 

ing  wrought-steel  inclined  header*,  and 
while  rated  at  only  400  horsepower  each, 
they  have  three  horizontal  ^tmr::  Ir^rris 
42  inches  in  diameter  . 
long.  This  {irovicjes  a  > 
of  water  capacity  which  beconie^i  avail- 
able  for  »team  making  on  lowering  the 
steam  pressure,  and  also  enables  the  feed 
pumps  to  be  used  freely  in  reducing  the 
steam  pressure  on  no-load,  should  oc- 
casion  require  it 

Two  boilers  are  set  in  a  battery,  and 
each  boiler  i>  equipped  with  three  Jones 
underfeed  stokers.  In  consideration  of 
the  load  requirements  it  was  desired  to 
avoid  any  furiuce  construction  callmg  for 
a    large    amount    of    firebrick    walls    or 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

dumped  into  the  bucket  conveyer  and  ele- 
vated to  an  ash  hopper  which  can  be  un- 
loaded  mto  cars  on  the    side   track. 

Nona.    Metboo    or    Coxtvjlusc    Com- 

BCSTIOM 

The  stokers  operate  with  clo%«-<i  asn- 
pits  and  forced  draft,  the  draft  being 
aiU  :ied    by     the     steam 

pn  1   of   f U*4    fr<r«l   Itrini* 

also  rc^uiuied  a«.k.i>rding  * 
tions.  'l:\i  forced  draft  : 
vanize<t  .    to   each   ash- 

pit %re  lis  of  a  specul 

blast  gate  either  fan  may  be  used  on  the 
boilers.  There  is  also  a  hand  damper 
at   each   stoker  to  shut  off  the  draft  en- 


HJ7 

will  he  fed  xn  the   furnaces  at  a  propor 
t'  ced  by  a  Cole  auto- 

ni..-  ^ ..  :     .u.\   (.    v..v.!,j.    ?lw- 

drtaiU    uf    its 


i%  and  e 


ir«i«i: 
each 


I    Mr    I. 

khaft     I 


are   operated    ti) 

;     be    cut     ..•.;t    ll\     J     »• 

clutch  when  its  corrr>; 
use.      Situated    on    iIk    ^.„^i  i-- -.,, 
at  each  banery  of  boilers  are  the  re,. 
ing   valves,   each    of    which    c< 
stokers.      As    i«    well    known. 

tti ; 

c» . 

ram  pi 

the   ret 

fresh  ctal  to  dri»p  into  the  charging  tube 

fr..m  the  hopper  above       I"  .-- -'i'l."  •>.- 

■1  of  the  Cole  rrgii. 
i..  i.iiirol  the  number  of  . 
of  the  stoker  by  lurnins   • 
ly  into  •      ■ 

The 
•'  i«i    1  tji  .1    „ 

'  >  Aiih   a    flat  •      .. 

valve    scat    by    the    steam 
stem    is   iurne«l   by    a    rate 
driven  by  a  c«»nne<-ting  rod  rrcriiring  irn^ 
tion  through  a  1-"    -'  ■'•   -•>■'  -■»••••    —  ■' 
direct  from  the   • 
described      .At    r 
port   .-f.   Fw.   7. 


the  rale  of 
the  numlier 
ling  St  ram 


fit.    4     kutLAji  auott 

-*-es,  which  wrttild  ii.i^<    .•  :•  .irding  e(-     tirdy  if  dc«tf<M       ^> 
'in  the  quirk  steatniiiK  n  tfii  in  case     the  fans  are  located  ii^ 


taken 

•  'H  Fig    3,     »»••"' 
•  the  tor-     »l" 


tend     ! 

.nftrr 


»     !jl«-f«     ffo 


Fire*,    and 

.1   .....^   '..1.^, 


fact"fj    tnanrff 

r 

Thrr 


into  hopprri 


U38 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  29,  1909. 


I 


»  V 


.    .    .    ,. v^> 


BftMm«st  Floor  Um  s 


-EI3SIEEEZ2Z_aC 


?rr??\ 


I 


'/t.'.y;B'M-e,:ryyy:.-'.bii 


FIG.     5.     BOILER  SETTING  AND    DETAILS   OF   AIR   BLAST 


auxiliarj-  exhaust.  From  the  feed  pumps 
the  water  passes  through  .3-inch  Worth- 
ington  water  meters  before  going  to  the 
heaters.  A  thermometer  is  inserted  in 
the  feed  lines  both  at  the  entrance  and  at 
the  outlet  to  the  heater.  The  average 
feed   temperature   is  200   degrees. 

Referring  to  the  sectional  view  of  the 
boiler  setting,  Fig.  5,  it  is  desired  to  call 
attention  to  the  arrangement  for  clean- 
ing the  combustion  chambers,  the  bot- 
toms of  which  are  really  hoppers  open- 
ing through  doors  into  the  basement,  al- 
lowing   the    contents    of    the    combustion 


chambers  to  be  raked  out  into  the  small 
push  cars.  Anyone  who  has  had  to  do 
with  the  cleaning  of  ordinary  combustion 
chambers  will  certainly  appreciate  this 
arrangement.  Vertical  gas  passes  are 
used,  finally  leading  to  a  flue  under  the 
boiler-room  floor  and  passing  to  the  stack. 
Steam  is  taken  from  the  boilers  through 
6-inch  long-sweep  bends  and  discharged 
into  an  8-inch  header  leading  down  to  a 
separately  fired  Foster  superheater,  located 
between  the  batteries  of  boilers.  All 
high-pressure  piping  is  of  mild  steel  with 
welded  flanges.     Seven-inch  lines  connect 


the  superheater  with  the  turbine  throttles, 
a  bypass  being  arranged  so  as  to  run  on 
saturated  steam  if  necessary.  Separators 
are  installed  at  the  turbines  to  take  care 
of  entrained  moisture  in  this  event. 

Separately  Fired  Superheater 
The  superheater,  a  close  view  of  which 
is  shown  in  Fig.  8,  is  designed  to  super- 
heat 36,000  pounds  of  steam  per  hour 
at  200  pounds  per  square  inch  to  a  final 
temperature  of  587  degrees  Fahrenheit, 
corresponding  to  a  superheat  of  200  de- 
grees.     It   is   of   Foster   construction,   the 


ili^^EiliE 


no.    6.     SIDE  VIEW   AND  END  ELEVATION   OF   COLE  REGULATING    MECHANISl 


June  29,   1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


1119 


Icments  consisting  of  cold-drawn  stam- 
rss  steel  tubing  upon  which  arc  >hrunk 
ast-iron  rings  of  special  form,  makiuK  a 
jbc  of  practically  one  metal,  InririK  ^tcel 
n  the  inside  for  containing  the  pressure 
nd  exposing  only  cast  iron  of  special 
rade    to    the    destructive    action    •><    'h*- 


stalled  here.  About  one-half  the  floor  it 
cut  away,  forming  the  pit  shown  in  Fig. 
9,  in  which  arr  located  the  fan  engines 
and  circu'  ;i». 

The    \\  ■  c-Par«on»  turbo-unitt 

constitute  the  generating  equipment.  They 
deliver  three-phase  current  at  sym  vr.lt*. 


r,«r 


no.  7.  ocTAiui  or  cnuc  automatic  valvcs  roc  stokui  contkul 


completely  inclocrd  and  arc  ventibted  by 
the  coils  by  vaoe*  in' 

U  hiic    tlic    fr  .    irrrr..  v  cr    full 

load  from  a  single  j.i-.a'»c  a  larger 

and  more  expensive  generator,  it  also 
carries  with  it  a  number  of  advanuget. 
There  are  a  considerable  number  of  shop 
motors  and  pumpmg  outfits  connected  to 
the  system,  all  of  which  may  be  of>erated 
•  on  three-phase  current. 
>  always  thr  i>o««ibi|iiy  of 
w..i,!ii,>;  !.,  '.i^c  power  a:  ater  dis- 

tance,   in    >»hich    ca*c    •  -    Trans- 

nn>«i(>n    would    be  in 

ca*e  of  general  clt,-:  ..  :  ad 

at  any  future  tmte.  the  machines  would 
be  in  shape  to  operate  in  parallel  with 
the  rest  of  the  system  without  any  change 
in  equipment,  and  in  this  e\ '  Vr- 

ably   m«>rc  than  the  pre*efit  :he 

grnrrat'Ts  wisli!  be  available  oa  the 
thrre-plia*c   circuits. 

Barometric  jrt  condensers  are  installed 
in  connection  with  the  turbines^  They 
are  of  the  Worthington  t>-pe  and  have 
jo-inch  exhaust  connections,  with  l4-inch 
automatic  relief  valves  leading  to  the  at- 
mo»phere  through  spiral-riveted  pipe  of 
the  *amc  site.  Conden*n>g  water  is  sup- 
plied by  two  lo-inch  volute  pumps,  driven 
h\  7x9- inch  vertical  engines  taking  the 
water  supply  from  wells  connecting  with 


10!  ga«es.    The  cast-iron  rings,  aside  from 
tuig   the    steel    tube,   give    increa^eil 
K    surface    due    to    the    corrugated 
n'ect.      The    heating    surface    is    so    ar- 
anged  that  the  entering  steam  is  brought 
n  contact   with  the  c<»ler  gases  as  they 
rave  the  superheater,  the  direction  of  the 
low   of  the   steam   being   contrary  to  the 
A  of  the  gases.    The  super- 
rted    on   a   complete    self- 
icd    «(ructural-Merl    fr.iiinnK,    inde- 
nt   of    the    hrickwork.     HJiich     was 
iftcrward  built  into  the  frame. 

In  operation  a  tire  is  mainlaii)e<l  <m 
he  grates  by  hand,  and  the  temperature 
I  controlle<l-  automatically  by  mean*  of 
I   thermocouple    in    the    steam    outlet    to 


which  i- 
3   larvr 


itcl 


calves 
ri  .nets 
al 

Md 


rr«      A  »• 
■    the  sufH  ' 
.!  draft  is  def>ended  on  entirely,  the 
•    passing    into   the   main    ''•"■     •"■It 
boiler-room    floor. 


Ti'uiwi   Room 

The  turbine  ' 
nr  !..,lf     t?,r      :     ., 

co|nre«l  I 
<i    «iiM   an   R-(ooi    n 
etuimeled  brick.     Grea* 


It 

IS 

<d     as  ^>cl««.  *^  o'v  rated  at  t 

.f      with    •'       '-•«--    -»  t 

^e     full 


fia  &  ktabatilv  niu 

•tt,     ihr   Si 

to   .if  M    .        nrir      ' - 

hase       Tbf    ttratti 


•vmHiATva 


A   IS- 
i*  in> 


-   throvgk   lA-lack  iflr 

TiTi.ttate   ia  a   —  •-'-   »• 

by   a  flirwcit  .  'id 

at  th«  ')-<^  i"w 

pipr   Ib*   earrira 

!tu4a   iltc   IwtwaBs  10  Uw 

■^  fMd  Mime  tkt 


1 1^0 

water  flowing  to  the  river.  On  the  main 
floor  near  the  condensers  are  located  the 
straight-line  rotative  dry-vacuum  pumps, 
with  8x6xi2-inch  cylinders.  One  motor- 
driven  exciter  of  40  kilowatts  capacity  is 
installed  for  ordinary  service,  with  a 
squirrel-cage  3300-volt  induction  motor 
taking  current  from  the  busbars.  In  ad- 
dition each  unit  has  a  Westinghouse 
steam-driven  exciter  in  reserve. 

SWITCHBO.VRD 

Ten  switchboard  panels,  all  of  standard 
Westinghouse  construction,  are  required 
to   distribute   the    electrical    output.      The 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

may  be  thrown  on  either  the  alternating- 
current  busbars  or  on  the  no-volt  di- 
rect-current exciter  circuits.  All  of  these 
panels  are  equipped  with  ammeters,  volt- 
meters and  indicating  watjtmeters.  In  ad- 
dition recording  wattmeters  are  installed 
to  measure  the  output  on  locomotive  ser- 
vice, pumping  service  and  lighting  ser- 
vice. 

A  Tirrill  regulator  controls  the  voltage 
of  the  generator  carrying  the  locomotive 
load,  and  this  is  mounted  on  a  special  in- 
strument panel  at  the  left  end  of  the 
board.  All  lighting,  including  the  mercury- 
arc   circuit    for   illuminating   the   terminal 


June  29,  1909. 

cover  of  which  is  seen  in  Fig.  2,  and 
conduits  are  laid  in  the  tunnel  on  each 
side   of  the  track. 

Aside  from  the  power  and  lighting  load 
in  the  roundhouses  and  buildings  at  the 
Port  Huron  and  Sarnia  terminals,  the 
greatest  load  outside  of  the  traction  ser- 
vice is  for  emergency  pumping  in  '  the 
tunnel.  It  will  be  understood  that  the 
long  open  inclined  approaches  prtviously 
mentioned,  occupy  in  the  aggregate,  con- 
siderable territory ;  in  fact  on  the  Ameri- 
can side  this  amounts  to  approximately 
1 1  acres,  and  on  the  Canadian  side  13 
acres.      It    is    important    to    take    care    of 


FIG.  9.    GENER.\L  VIEW   IN  TURBINE  ROOM 


high-tension  oil  switches  are  located  in 
an  inclo^ed  switchboard  directly  behind 
the  board.  There  are  two  main  generator 
panels  located  in  the  center  of  the  board, 
as  evident  in  Fig.  10;  one  for  the  locomo- 
tive power  circuit ,  one  each  for  three- 
phase  power  and  pumping,  and  an  arc- 
light  panel.  The  output  from  the  two 
steam-driven  exciters  is  concentrated  on 
one  panel  and  that  of  the  motor-driven 
exciter  ocaipies  another.  One  powcr- 
Koiisc  panel  takes  care  of  the  power  and 
light  in  the  engine  and  turbine  rooms. 
Connections  are  so  arranged  that  the 
lighting  here,  which  is  by  Nernst  lamps, 


yards,  is  carried  by  this  macliine  to  take 
advantage  of  the  closer  regulation.  The 
station  voltmeters,  frequency  indicator 
and  synchroscope  arc  also  mounted  on 
tlie  same  panel. 

Facing  the  switchboard  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  operating  fl(;or  is  a  gage  board 
carrying  all  necessary  indicating  and  re- 
cording instruments  for  the  boiler  plant, 
so  that  in  connection  with  the  corres- 
ponding electrical  data  on  the  switch- 
board, everything  is  conveniently  at  hand 
for  the  operating  engineer.  Feeders  from 
the  switchboard  enter  the  tunnel  through 
a    shaft    in    the    power-house    yard,    tlic 


the  rainfall  on  tliis  area  to  prevent  the 
tunnel  from  being  flooded,  and  for  this 
purpose  centrifugal  motor-driven  pumps 
have  been  installed,  operating  at  3300 
volts,  25  cycles  and  displacing  the  steam 
pumps  formerly  used.  Fig.  11  shows  the 
interior  of  one  of  these  pumping  stations. 
At  the  Port  Huron  portal  there  are  two 
pumps  with  a  capacity  of  4000  gallons  pe., 
minute  driven  by  lOO-horsepowcr  indu 
tion  motors,  and  at  Sarnia  there  are  twi 
of  5500  gallons  capacity  connected  to 
200-horsepower  motors.  In  addition,  each 
pump  house  has  a  small  150-gallon  out- 
fit  for  pumping  out   surface   water  which 


J 


June  29,   1909. 


POWER  AND  Till:.  i:..\(ilM.hK. 


1141 


rtC      10      SWITCHBOARb 


rcf.imctl  lo  455  dczrtr*.  at  which  point  it 

it  the  Cole 


I5>  ,{    the    rr  in 

iMc  ••  ;  !n  it  «ra»  .   .    _:id 

that  the  peak  load  at  tht«  time  w%»  199 

1,1.^....     an    over|fj«d    of   6$    per   eenL 

!  draft  before  the  load  was  aj 

■xn  .  I  «  '  .  :  incbe*. 

The   rr.  <«  plant 

•ol 

■  r- 

.  It  «a»  :  a- 

all  kept  H.:         „      „    en 

.  »o  that  they  may  be  contidered 
..-  ...»rly  representative  «'  - '■  •  'He  plant 
doe4    under    ordinary    .  The 


dinarily  fiiMls  its  way  into  the  approach- 

.    Two  similar  pumps  are  located  at  the 

ot  of  the  Sarnia  grade  to  take  care  of 

ndrnsation   and    seepage    water    in    the 

nnrl.     It  is  arranged  so  that  water  fall- 

K    «>n    the    sidi-^    of    the    incline    can    be 

.  "led  in  rc*er^-oir*.  jraMiig  only  that 

on     the    rrrnr.ll     |M>riiiin     of    the 

•'»   be    inr  1ian<lle<l    by    the 

(luring    .1  ■u.      The    re*er- 

nrs   may   then  be  emptied  at   leisure. 

OpEKATIXC    FEATt.-U» 

1.2    gives    in    graphical    form    the 
rg  data  during  a  train  niovrinent, 
il   weight   of   which,   including   \o- 
IIP  live,   was    IQJ0.5   tons.      A   study   of 
is  chart  will  show  the  power  rc(|uircd 
;id   the   variation   i.i    tnn- 
t'%,  etc,  <wi  itrriKL'    viimil 
i).      i;    Mill    lie    11'  there 

■   a  rcnurkaMe  al>i  >    part 

<lant  a«  a  mIioU-  in  ni.iiit.iin  normal 
.      >ns  regardlexo   of   la. I 
As  the  b»ad  come*  on   .it'»"lntely  with- 
it  warning,  the  lirst   ini!u.iti<>ii  gi\pn  to 
e  firemen  it  u*ually  the  ♦p«r<!inK    ip  •■( 
!leys    driving    the    Cole    reguhiinK 
When    this    takes    pbce    about 


na    II.    iirmina  or  owe  or  tnk  rvMnMr.  tTATioiit 


ill 


t 


^  As- 


I    I    I    IJ    I 


Lnrurtt  momrntary  Inad  rver  carried  t^p  to 


nuncrTnenI 


i\  r         %tw 


la.  OBAriiir  ijv.  or  otibatk)?*  pcmixr.  u\ 


'Nantx.H   fi  ^Mi 


•ir  shovelfuls  of  cotti  are  ihrnwn  tm  the 
■     fire        At     the     l- 
•     t"    the    pbnl      I 
IQ.t    p«>l'- 

'••     iKo    {► 

•dtateiy    staning    i<>    come    tmtk.   and 


when  it  had  rm»rh»4  jan  pmrnd*  the  ki«4 


iperatnrv    ifcr' 


>d 


<^f  fSe   r.*T« 


114^ 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  29,  1909. 


Blowers    as    Breakdown    Insurance 


By  C.  -M.  RiPLEV 

One  difficultj-  the  engineer  meets  with 
in  dealing  with  "the  boss"  is  due  to  the 
frequent  inability  to  state  a  proposition 
of  an  engineering  nature  so  that  it  will 
be  fully  understood  by  tlie  commercial  or 
financial  mind  of  his  employer.  Many  an 
engine  room  would  contain  much-needed 
improvements,  for  which  the  engine>T 
cculd  not  obtain  an  appropriation,  if  he 
had  pleaded  his  cause  properly. 

The  president  or  treasurer  of  a  com- 
pany must  not  be  dazzled  by  technicalities, 
nor  must  he  be  confused  in  a  maze  of  en- 
gineering facts.  He  must  be  made  to  see 
the  commercial  side  of  the  proposition. 
He  must  be  made  to  realize  that  if  a  cer- 
tain sum  of  money  is  invested,  the  im- 
provement so  purchased  will  yield  him  an 
annual  return  in  reduced  operating  ex- 
penses. His  mind  always  has  been  and  al- 
ways will  be  best  appealed  to  by  talking 
in  dollars  and  cents  and  annual  percent- 
age income,  rather  than  in  pounds  of  coal, 
gallons  of  water,  B.t.u.,  etc. 

.\- Blower,  for  Example 

Let  us  take,  for  instance,  a  blower.  The 
engineer  knows  that  if  a  blower  were  in- 
stalled for,  sa}\  a  plant  with  two  boilers, 
the  following  results  not  only  would  be 
expected,  but  could  be  positively  guaran- 
teed: 

\  cheaper  fuel  could  be  burned,  furnish- 
ing, say,  9.000,000  B.t.u.  for  a  dollar  in- 
stead of  6,000,000. 

.Any  defects  in  the  draft  would  probablj 
be  remedied. 

When  one  boiler  needed  cleaning,  the 
other  could  be  forced  to  carry  the  load. 

.\  breakdown  in  one  boiler  could  be  im- 
mediately repaired  by  forcing  the  other 
lx^»iler  to  carry  the  load. 

But  the  president  of  the  company  never 
heard  of  a  B.t.u.,  and  as  for  draft,  little 
docs  he  realize  how  the  draft  up  the 
chimney  vitally  affects  his  bank  account. 
The  cleaning  of  the  boiler  means  to  him 
probably  nothing  more  than  does  the 
cleaning  of  the  marble  wainscoting  in  the 
main  hall. 

What  the  Bo.s.s  Wants  to  Know 
The  engineer  would  more  frequently 
have  his  recommendations  O.  K.'d  and 
new  improvements  put  under  way  if  he 
were  to  talk  to  the  president  or  general 
manager  in  the  following  manner : 

"If  we  were  to  spend  a  little  money  in  a 
blower,  I  figure — and  I  am  ready  to  back 
it  up  at  the  cost  of  my  position — that  it 
will  bring  a  return  to  us  of  200  per  cent. 
per  annum,  if  not  more.  I  consider  this 
to  be  a  very  wise  move  for  the  following 
reasons:  d)  We  burn  2000  tons  of  coal 
a  year,  costing  $8200.  (2)  With  blowers 
we  could  get  along  with  coal  costing  $2.80 
per  ton  instead  of  $4.10  per  ton.     (3)  The 


difference  is  $1.30  on  every  ton  that  is 
delivered  and  will  amount  to  over  $1800 
per  year.  (4)  The  cost  of  making  such 
changes  is  less  than  $500.  (s)  Therefore 
this  investment  will  annually  save  us  over 
three  times  the  first  cost,  i.  e.,  return  300 
per  cent,  per  annum.  (6)  I  have  personal- 
ly investigated  in  odd  hours  other  plants 
(naming  them)  where  this  change  has 
been  made  and  conditions  in  our  plant  are 
almost  identical  with  these.  (7)  Besides 
this  great  saving  every  year,  a  blower 
will  almost  serve  as  an  extra  boiler,  and 
will  be  as  good  in  case  of  a  breakdown  of 
either  boiler  as  would  a  third  boiler  held 
in  reserve.  (8)  Our  fuel  bills  will  be 
bound  to  increase  unless  I  am  able  to 
close  down  each  of  the  boilers  every  few 
months  and  remove  the  scale  from  the 
tubes.  This  I  can  do,  if  a  blower  is  in- 
stalled, with  the  least'  possible  danger, 
and  without  the  need  of  outside  help,  since 
the  other  boiler  can  do  almost  double 
work  by  merely  starting  the  blower.  (9) 
I  hold  the  position  of  chief  engineer  for 
you  and  receive  more  salary  than  a  mere 
engine  man,  because  I  am  expected  to  keep 
the  plant  operating  as  cheaply  as  possible ; 
because  I  am  expected  to  furnish  ab- 
solute reliability  of  service,  and  I  am 
expected  to  keep  the  machinery  modern- 
ized and  with  the  least  amount  of  de- 
preciation. (10)  It  is  my  judgment  that 
this  change  is  necessary  from  my  stand- 
point and  will  prove  a  splendid  invest- 
ment on  the  books  of  the  company." 

The  blower  is  but  one  example  of  a 
great  many  valuable  improvements.  As 
soon  as  the  engineer  is  better  able  to 
explain  the  financial  side  of  the  operating 
questions  with  which  he  has  to  deal,  and 
present  them  as  investments,  not  as  ex- 
penses, then  the  efficiency  of  isolated 
plants  will  increase  and  there  will  be  few- 
er men  thrown  out  of  employment  by 
the  central-station  service. 


Sizes  of  Fuses  for  Three-Phase 
Motors 


Iv  N.  A.  Carle 


Killed  and  Injured  in    Boiler 
Explosion 


One  man  was  killed,  another  probably 
fatally  hurt  and  two  others  severely  in- 
jured when  the  boiler  of  a  portable  saw- 
mill in  the  woods  near  Parker's  moun- 
tain, about  14  miles  from  the  city  of 
Rochester,  N.  H.,  exploded  June   14. 

The  largest  piece  of  the  boiler  was 
blown  over  500  feet  and  sections  were 
picked  up  at  much  greater  distances. 
The  fireman  was  blown  into  the  air  and 
died  within  a  few  moments.  Another 
man  was  terribly  scalded  and  was  so  near 
the  boiler  that  part  of  the  contents  of  the 
furnace  were  scattered  over  him,  burning 
most  of  his  clothes.  His  condition  was 
considered  serious  and  it  was  not  thought 
he  could  recover. 

The  exact  cause  of  the  explosion  is  not 
known,  but  the  boiler  is  believed  to  have 
burst  under  a  high   steam  pressure. 


In  selecting  the  sizes  of  fuses  for  three- 
phase  alternating-current  motors  it  is  nec- 
essary to  make  some  assumption  as  to 
the  probable  power  factor  of  the  motor 
in  operation  and,  knowing  the  efficiency 
of  the  motor  from  the  manufacturer's 
guarantee,  calculate  the  amperes  required 
to  operate  the  motor  at  full  load. 

It  is  customary  to  install  fuses  with  a 
capacity  from  two  to  three  times  the 
calculated  amperes  at  full  load  to  provide 
for  the  excess  current  demanded  to  start 
the  load. 

The  formulas  covering  the  various  op- 
erations to  be  performed  in  calculating 
the   amperes   at  full   load  are  as   follows: 


Horsepower  X  746 
1000 

KW.  Output 
Motor  Efficiency 

KW.  Input 


^  Kilowatts  Output 


Kilowatts  Input 


'  Amperes. 


Volts  X  Power  Factor  X  1-732 
Combined  into  one  formula : 

Horsepower  X  746 

Motor  Efficiency  X  Power  Factor  X  1-732  X  Volts 
=  Amperes. 

The  chart  on  page  1143  is  designed  to 
show  the  sizes  of  fuses  to  use  for  three- 
phase  alternating-current  motors  up  to 
200  horsepower  for  the  usual  limits  of  the 
variable  factors  entering  into  the  calcula- 
tions in  the  foregoing  formula.  This 
chart  is  so  designed  that  for  motors  above 
100  horsepower,  400-440  volts  must  be 
used.  Either  200-220  or  400-440  voltage 
circuits  can  be  used  in  calculations  for 
motors  of  less  than  100  horsepower. 

Examples 

(i)  If  the  efficiency  and  power  factor  of 
a  50-horsepower  three-phase  motor  oper- 
ating at  200  volts  is  85  per  cent.,  what 
size  of  fuse,  with  a  factor  of  safety  of 
2.5,  should  be  installed  in  each  wire? 

Starting  with  50  horsepower  read  up 
to  85  per  cent,  motor  efficiency,  then  across 
to  85  per  cent,  power  factor,  then  down 
to  200  volts,  then  across  to  2.5  factor  of 
safety,  and  then  down  to  375  amperes  .as 
the  capacity  of  fuses  to  be  installed  ir 
each   wire. 

(2)  If  a  lOO-kilowatt  motor  operating 
at  440  volts  has  a  power  factor  of  90  pei 
cent,  and  an  efficiency  of  85  per  cent, 
what  size  fuses  should  be  installed  ir 
each  wire,  if  the  starting  current  is  as- 
sumed to  be  equal  to  three  times  th( 
operating  current  at  full  load? 

Starting  with  100  kilowatts  read  up  t( 
85  per  cent,  motor  efficiency,  then  acros; 
to  90  per  cent,  power  factor,  then  dowi 
to  440  volts,  then  across  to  3.0  factoi 
of  safety,  and  then  down  to  515  ampere; 
as  the  capacity  of  fuses  to  be  installed  ir 
each  wire. 


June  29,   1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


1143 


SI 


1. .'     ''  '    '■ .....»..» ...' 


-*  ] 


II44 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  29,  1909. 


Heat    Transmission    into    Boilers 

Possible  Ways  of  Utilizing  More  Fully  the  Heat  Absorbing  Ability  of 
Steam    Boifers    to    Obtain    Better    Economy    and    Higher    Capacities 

HENRY  KREISINGER  AND  WALTER  F.  RAY 


The  'nvestigations  which  are  detailed  in 
-his  article  are  the  result  of  the  study  of 
one  of  the  many  problems  growing  out 
o-  the  general  plan  of  the  United  States 
Geological  Survey  to  increase  the  effici- 
ency with  which  the  coals  of  the  coun- 
try are  bemg  used.  Greater  efficiency  re- 
quires better  boiler  and  furnace  design 
and  means  the  conservation  of  the  fuel 
resources  of  the  country.  These  special 
investigations  have  been  undertaken  by 
the  T'?chnologic  Branch  of  the  Survey,  of 
which  Dr.  J.  A.  Holmes  is  the  expert  in 
charge,  and  H.  M.  Wilson,  chief  engi- 
neer. J.  C.  Roberts,  engineer  locally  in 
charge  of  the  Pittsburg  plant,  has  given 
the  work  every  possible  encouragement. 
These  e.xperiments  are  directly  under  the 
charge  of  L.  P.  Breckcnridgc,  consulting 
engineer,  and  D.  T.  Randall  en.:^ineer-in- 
charge  of  tests,  and  are  part  of  a  care- 
fully prepared  plan  of  general  investiga- 
tions into  fuels.  The  experiments  are 
now  being  continued  at  the  Geological 
Survey  testing  station  at  Pittsburg,  Penn. 

The  object  of  this  article  is  to  treat  of 
the  heat-absorbing  ability  of  steam  boil- 
ers, and  to  point  out  possible  ways  of 
more  fully  utilizing  this  ability  in  getting 
both  better  economy  and  higher  capa- 
cities from  steam  boilers.  By  a  steam 
boiler  is  meant  only  the  metallic  vessel 
which  holds  water  and  steam  and  which 
absorbs  heat,  aside  from  the  furnace 
whose  function  it  is  to  •liberate  the  heat 
from  the  fuel. 

True  Boiler  Efficiency 

The  amount  of  heat  a  boiler  will  absorb 
per  unit  of  time  depends  almost  entirely 
on  the  amount  of  heat  a"  aiiable  for  ab- 
sorption. Not  all  of  the  heat  which  is 
liberated  in  the  furnace  nor  all  the  heat 
which  is  delivered  to  the  boiler  is  availa- 
ble for  absorption.  Heat  flows  of  its  own 
accord  only  from  bodies  at  higher  tem- 
peratures to  bodies  at  lower  tempera- 
tures, so  that  only  that  part  of  the  heat 
which  is  above  the  temperature  of  the 
boiler  will  flow  into  the  latter  and  there- 
fore i£  available  for  absorption;  heat 
below  the  temperature  of  the  Ijoilcr  will 
not  flow  intc  it  and  is  iiot  ivailable  for 
absorption.  > 

For  example,  suppsing  4  pounds  of 
furnace  gases  at  2500  clegiees  Fahrenheit 
are  delivered  to  a  boiler  nnerating  under 
a  pressure  of  too  pounds  bj  ^age.  The 
temperature  of  the  water  in  ihe  boiler  is 
3.37  H^grees  Fahrenheit.    Assume  fiiat  the. 


specific  heat  of  the  gases  is  0.25  and  that 
it  does  not  vary  with  temperature.  The 
heat  in  the  gases  which  is  available  for 
the  boiler  is  then, 

4  X  0.25  X    (2500  —  337)   =  2163  B.tAi- 

Heat  below  337  degrees  Fahrenheit  is 
below  the  temperature  of  the  boiler  and 
cannot  be  absorbed  by  it. 

In  practice  no  boiler  absorbs  all  the 
available  heat  and  the  gases  leave  the 
boiler  from  one  to  several  hundred  de- 
grees higher  than  the  boiler  water,  ac- 
cording to  how  good  or  how  poor  a  heat 
absorber  the  boiler  is.  The  heat  which 
the  boiler  does  absorb,  expressed  in  per- 
centage of  the  heat  available  for  absorp- 
tion, is  the  true  measure  of  the  boiler's 
ability  to  absorb  heat  and  has  been  given 
the  name  True  Boiler  Efficiency  by  the 
United  States  Geological  Survey.  The 
true  boiler  efficiency  is  then  the   ratio, 

Heat  absorbed  by  the  boiler 

Heat  available  for  absorption  by  the  boiler 

Thus,  supposing  that  in  the  previously 
given  illustration  the  4  pounds  of  gases 
are  cooled  by  the  boiler  from  2500  de- 
grees Fahrenheit  to  550  degrees  Fahren- 
heit, we  have  then  as  the  heat  available  to 
the  boiler. 

4  X  0.25  (2500  —  337)  =  2163  B.t.u. 
The  heat  absorbed  by  the  boiler  is, 

4  X  0.25  (2500  —  550)  r=  1950  B.t.u., 
and  the  true  boiler  efficiency  is. 


19.50 
2163 


=  90.1  per  cent. 


If  the  atmospheric  temperature  is  50 
degrees  Fahrenheit,  then  in  the  above  case 
the  heat  in  the  gases  above  atmospheric 
temperature,  delivered  to  the  boiler,  is 

4  X  0.25  (2500  —  50)  =  2450  B.t.u., 

and  the  ordinarily  used  boiler  efficiency  is. 


1950 
2450 


=  79.6  per  cent. 


The  difference  between  the  two  effici- 
encies occurs  in  the  denominators.  In  the 
true  boiler  efficiency  the  denominator  is 
the  heat  available  to  the  boiler,  which  heat 
has  for  its  base  line  the  temperature  of 
the  boiler  water  or  steam,  while  in  the 
ordinarily  used  boiler  efficiency  the  de- 
nominator is  the  heat  above  atmospheric 
temperature  delivered  to  the  boiler,  which. 


of  course,  has  for  its  base  line  the  tem- 
perature of  the  atmosphere.  True  boiler 
efficiency  has  the  advantage  over  the  ordi- 
narily, used  boiler  efficiency  that  it  takes 
care  of  the  variation  of  the  temperature 
of  the  furnace  gases  as  well  as  the  tem- 
perature of '  the  boiler  due  to  different 
steam  pressxires.  In  other  words,  true 
boiler  efficiency  does  not  blame  the  boiler 
for  lessened  useful  effect  caused  by  low 
temperature  of  furnace  gases,  which  is 
really  the  fault  of  the  furnace,  nor  does  it 
blame  the  boiler  for  absorbing  less  heat 
when  the  temperature  of  the  boiler  water 
is  raised  by  raising  the  steam  pressure. 

Thus,  for  an  example,  supposing  two 
boilers  A  and  B  are  exactly  similar  in 
size,  construction  and  setting  and  both 
are  operated  under  a  pressure  of  TOO 
pounds  by  gage.  Suppose  boiler  A  is 
supplied  with  4  pounds  of  furnace  gases 
per  second  at  3050  degrees  Fahrenheit, 
while  8  pounds  of  gases  are  supplied  at 
1550  degrees  Fahrenheit  to  boiler  B  ;  and 
also  suppose  that  the  temperature  of  the 
atmosphere  is  50  degrees  Fahrenheit.  It 
is  evident  that-  the  boiler  getting  gases  at 
the  higher  temperature  will  absorb  much 
more  heat  than  the_  boiler  getting  them  at 
the  lower  temperature,  even  if  the  gases 
supplied  to  each  boiler  contain  the  same 
quantity  of  heat  above  atmospheric  tem- 
perature. Substituting  these  values,  the 
heat  above  atmospheric  temperature  sup- 
plied to  boiler  A  per  second  = 

4  X  0.25  X    (3050  —  50)   =  3000  B.t.u.; 

the  heat  above  atmospheric  temperature 
supplied  to  boiler  B  per  second  = 

8  X  0.2s  X   (1550  —  so)   =  3000  B.t.u.', 

the  heat  available  to  boiler  A  =^ 

4  X  0.2s  X   (3050  —  337)  =  2613  B.t.u.; 

and  the  heat  available  to  boiler  B  = 

8   X   0.25    (1550  —  337)    =   2426  B.t.u., 

Supposing  further  that  the  temperatun 
of  the  gases  leaving  boiler  A  is  700  de- 
grees Fahrenheit  and  that  of  the  gasei 
leaving  boiler  B  is  470  degrees  Fahreii' 
heit.  Many  experiments  made  by  th< 
Geological  Survey  on  large  boilers  an( 
also  on  small  models  show  that  the  tem; 
perature  of  the  leaving  gases  would  .b< 
about  as  assume'd  above.  The  heat  ab 
sorbcd  ijy  boiler  A  is 

4  X  0.2s  X   (3050  —  700)   =  2350  B.t.u. 

and  the  heat  absorbed  by  boiler  B  is, 

8  X  0.25  X   (1550  —  470)   =  2i6c  B.t.* 


June  29,   1909. 
The  true  boiler  efficiency  b{  b  liler  .•/   is 

23SO 

2613  ^  ' 

and  of  boiler  B. 

3i6c 
"3^.0    =  89  ^^T  ri-,.1.. 

or  very  nearl%  the  same  as  of  boiler  .4. 
rdinarilv  iscd  effirir-n  v  vk..i!|c1  give 
A  cre<Iit  foi 


Tl  . 


>' »  » ' 
and  boiler  B  credi:  for 
2160 


JOOO 


=  72 


fffir. 


On  companiiR  :he  efficiency  in  the  two 

«->-",  it  li  seen  that  the  true  boiler  cfiid- 

•>  arc  very  nearly  the  same,  whik  the 

cr.im^'ily    used   diidcncy   28  over  i  pet 

cent-   lower   tor  boiler   B   than    for  boiler 

-'-nt  that  the  drop  in  useful 

'   B   is  caused   by   some  de- 

•t    Uk-    tumacc    construction    or    its 

!ion,    and,   therefore,    shmtld    not    be 

<-d    against    the    boiler,    but    rather 

_„  .  :.»t  the  furnace. 

A  moment's  rellection  will  ^ow  that 
if  the  steam  pressure  is  kept  nearly  con- 
stant and  if  the  s-tme  qtuntity  nf  heat  is 
{>ut  into  tMicc  tl.c  weiKht  <>f  Ka«c«  at 
half  the  uiiijH-rature,  twirr  the  (|uantity 
at   i*   ImtIow   the   t<  •  ■•   of   the 

and.  therefore,  n^:  for  ab- 

!'>n.     It  may  be  a%kcti   why    the  true 
r   efficieiKy    has    been    dcM>c<l.      The 
answer  is.   to    study    the    heat -absorbing 
»i.,i,iv   of  a   boiler    independently   of   the 
tion  of  the  furnace.    In  studying  any 
'    '  ' '  tti    such    as    a    steam- 

^  presents,  it  is  neces- 
li  ail)    Kciiiial  deductions  arc  to  be 
^    for    ns    tti.inv   «»f   fJir    xrimMr    fac- 
ie, 
in 
<-r )     which    It    IS    desired    to    study, 
.idying   the    function    of    the    steam 
boiler  proper,  the  first  step  wat  to  elimi- 
nair   the   furnace  and  define  the  measure 
of   the   boiler's    ability.      This    latter     hat 
'     by    devising     ''»»•     irur     J«-<iler 
.iml  it  now  remain*  »■■  »ni'l\   «hr 
heat    grt>    i' 
and    K3*et    in' 
water. 

MoT>rs  or   llr\T   T«\\ri. 
Ftff     t     shows    diagraiiuiiJii  jIIv    a    ••?• 
gh    a    t»  tier    heating    plate    and 
>    of   heat    travel       Ii    i'    «b..v»M 
Ihat  the  metal  of  the  plate  1 

:he  gat  side  with  a  layer  •>{  «  ■ 

ihe  water  side  with  a  l4>rr  ■•{  •    .!«•     Ne«t 


1<J\\  ER  AND  THE  FNGIXEER. 

haps  in  a  similar  film  of  water  and  tteam 

adhering   on   the   inside   of   the   boiler   to 

the  layer  of   scale    or  metal  plate  if  the 

boiler  is  clean.     Through  the  n 

and   its   ciutingt   the    heat    is    t- 

from  the  dr^ 

tion.     F"r  r- 

the 

ohI\ 

between  the  diy  ind  the  wet  surface*  of 

the  plate. 

The  heat  is  impaned  to  the  dry  surface 
of  the  plate  tnatnly  in  two  ways:  (a)  By 
radiation  front  the  hot  fuel  bed  and  fur- 
nace walls,  and  (b)  by  convection  from 
the  nxmng  hot  furnace  ga*r*  The  con- 
vection of  heat  is  the  •  •  the  par- 
ticles of  the  mo\ing  k  •:  in  con- 
("^ct  with  the  dry  surface  ot  the  plate  and 
giving  thrir  heat  to  it.  In  a  large  ma- 
jority of  the  boiler*  of  the  water-tube 
type  the  heat  imparted  to  the  dr>-  surface 


a*a 

■  •a 

C- A 
Dot 


Tr  ■  Un  MftM*. 

1  «<«a«ttHa. 


.Il(^   I 


MtlOa  or    NEAT    TVASti.    ANO   TCM- 

rcBATL-RE  omur 


of  the   heating  plate  by  convection   {•  by 

far  the  largrr  quantity  of  the  total  heat 

gisen  to  the  boiler,  to  that  ar     '     •   -  rhat 

incmte*  the  rale  of  heal  n  by 

<■%    nearly    iiim!i\     the 

m. 

I  rum   :!.c   »»c£    surface   of  the   plate   the 

hrst     is     r.ifr4ed     into     thr     'v-lrr     «airr 

le    coo- 


ls huh    wriitn    iIk   h(iltt4rt 

•f  r     «r1     tiirfjce    ami     ptH  • 

It  it  r< 
.    ia«irr  t»  - 
the  rate 


%»  airr 


frotn 


••45 

.According  to  this   lav  the  heal  which 
the  boiler  re  '  ' 

rapidly   witi: 
nace.      ! ' 
hriilrrc  • 


affects    ' 
little 
fur 
muv.. 
hope  of 
by  ' 

Tr. 

aside    ::..iti 
will   not   be 


par- 
sar- 


>•    afttcir    and 
rtl 

There  is  much  more  10  be  expected 
from  convection  The  qoantity  of  heat 
impartetl  to  the  boiler  in  a  unit  of  lime 

can   be    incrrr«-'-i    •-    »'•••■ — 

tides  of  gas 
face  of  the  ! 
ing  the  rate 
it  what  ' 
motivr 
t>T' 

* 
plates,  thereby  f»rin»{ing  more  particlet  of 
gas  into  conta.-t  »!•)>  >Ur^  .Ir,  ...ri».--.  ^1 
the  plates. 

Heat  TurAam  av  Cojcrtrrnox 

Today  ii  is  a  fairly  well  established  law 
that  the  am<?tint  of  heat  imparted  to  a 
boiler  plate   by   convection   is   very  nearly 

directly  proportional  to  ihr    '  -'  r  of 

the    leniprralures    of    the    w  the 

dry  surfacr  ..•     '      " 

s-elocity    of    . 

times   tl  ii,t*   Uw 

can  be  r  > 

!f  ^  C  (T  -t,)vw 

where 

//  =  Hra! 

of  >-r       ...         ,._.      . 

•r^  "f  morinii  ffaar«, 
«iry  •orlacr. 

>nortnf    over 
the  suriare. 
arsDenuiy  of  the  sul 


hard  lo 


tf  I 


tl 


T) 


be  twch 


fAfttciM  are  at 


««tee  *t 


be  flfy  «itr(,,r  of  thr  pbtr  i«  |.-atr<| 
lomewhrrc  »ithin  this  film  of  gat.  l^r 
rct   surface  of  the   healing  ptole  it  p' 


>«r  on  the  tAy*t\ 


1 146 

higher  temperature,  the  heat  will  flow- 
faster  from  these  particles  of  gases  into 
the  surface  and  more  heat  will  be  given 
to  the  plate  by  each  contact  of  each  gas 
particle ;  also  if  the  gases  are  denser,  that 
is,  if  these  particles  of  gases  are  closer 
together,  more  of  them  will  come  into 
contact  with  a  unit  of  dry  surface  in  a 
unit  of  time  and,  therefore,  more  heat 
is  given  to  the  plate.  Unfortunately, 
when  the  temperature  rises,  the  gases  ex- 
pand and  the  density  drops,  so  that  at 
i:igh  temperatures  what  is  gained  by  the 
rise  in  temperature  is  nearly  lost  in  the 
reduction  of  the  density.  This  is  the  rea- 
son why  'n  the  two  given  examples  the 
boiler  receivl-.g  the  gases  at  1500  degrees 
Fahrenheit  absr-Ds  almost  the  same  per- 
centage of  the  he<i  available  as  the  boiler 
receiving  heat  at  3050  degrees  Fahren- 
heit 

By  extending  this  law  still  farther,  it 
can  be  seen  why  fire-tube  boilers  with 
small  tubes  are  more  efficient  than  those 
having  large  tubes,  or  water-tube  boilers 
having  small  tubes  close  together  are  bet- 
ter heat  absorbers  than  those  having  large 
tubes  farther  apart.  For  an  example, 
take  one  fire  tube  2  inches  in  diameter, 
and  one  4  inches  in  diameter ;  in  the 
2-inch  tube  the  particles  of  hot  gas  near 
the  center  of  the  tube  are  twice  as  near 
to  the  dry  surface  of  the  tube  as  the  gas 
particles  in  the  center  of  the  4-inch  tube 
and,  therefore,  in  the  first  tube  the  gas  par- 
ticles in  the  center  can  come  in  contact 
with  the  surface  about  twice  as  easily  as 
in  the  second  tube.  Similar  reasoning 
will  show  the  same  advantage  for  small 
air  passages  against  large  ones  in  water- 
tube  boilers.  If  the  2-inch  tube  is  of  the 
same  length  as  the  4-inch  one  and  the 
same  weight  of  hot  gas  is  passed  through 
bo»h,  the  2-inch  tube  will  actually  absorb 
more  heat  than  the  4-inch,  although  the 
latter  has  twice  as  much  heating  surface. 
This  explains  why  boilers  of  locomotives 
ire  more  efficient  than  multitubular  boil- 
C's  used  for  stationary  purposes. 

;n  the  locomotive  boiler  in  the  attempt 
to  get  larger  amounts  of  heating  surface, 
the  tu'>es  ordinarily  used  are  much  smal- 
ler (a1)Out  2  inches)  than  in  stationary 
multitubular  boilers.  Within  certain  lim- 
its a  2-inch  tube  10  feet  long  will  absorb 
about  the  same  amount  of  heat  as  a  4-inch 
tube  20  feet  long,  although  the  latter  has 
four  times  as  much  heating  surface  as  the 
former,  provided  the  same  weight  of 
gases  at  the  same  temperature  is  put 
through  both  tubes.  In  fact,  any  tube 
•whose  ratio  of  diameter  to  length  is 
(10  X  12)  -f-  2,  will  absorb  approximately 
the  same  amount  of  heat  rmdcr  the  above 
condition^.  By  making  this  ratio  larger 
more  heat  in  percentage  of  the  total  heat 
available  for  absorption  can  be  absorbed 
by  the  tubes. 

The  quantity  of  heat  imparted  to  a  tube 
depends  upon  the  number  of  contacts  the 
particles  of  gas  make  with  the  dry  sur- 
face nf  the  tube. 


POWER  AXD  THE  ENGINEER. 

In  a  small  tube  the  particles  of  gas 
being  closer  to  the  surface  make  contact 
with  it  quicker  and,  therefore,  the  same 
number  of  contacts  is  made  in  a  shorter 
length  of  the  tube  than  would  be  the  case 
in  a  tube  of  a  larger  diameter.  Giving 
this  law  a  full  consideration,  if  all  other 
factors  were  known,  a  boiler  designer  can 
design  a  boiler  for  any  true  boiler  effici- 
ency. It  is  not  so  much  the  amount  of 
heating  surface  which  determines  the 
efficiency  of  a  boiler,  but^he  arrangement 
of  it. 

This  law  has  been  derived  by  Prof. 
John  Perry,  cf  England,  from  purely 
theoretical  considerations  and  has  been 
found  to  be  very  nearly  true  by  laboratory 


=  5300 

»  d 
o   a 

^^ 
II200 

gslOO 


|r> 

1 

iQ 

»-2. 

. 

°i 

■*  ■ 

\ 

0      ' 

> 

^ 

i^ 

0 

• 

^ 

V, 

- 

iJ'v, 

rv 

^ 

y 

y 

/ 

0^ 

^ 

< 

/ 

> 

k' 

10     20     30     40     50     60     70     80 
Pounds  of  Dry  Coal  Fired  per 
Square  Foot  of  Grate  per  Rour. 


90   100 


FIG.    2.      RELATION   OF   CAPACITY   AND  EFFICI- 
ENCY TO  RATE  OF  COMBUSTION 

experiments   made   by   the  United   States 
Geological  Survey. 

Rate  of  Heat  Travel 

It  will  be  asked,  can  the  heating  plate 
of  a  boiler  transfer  any  quantity  of  heat? 
The  answer  is,  that  it  can  transfer  sev- 
eral times  more  heat  than  it  does  at 
present,  especially  in  stationary-boiler 
practice.  This  answer,  however,  provides 
that  the  scale  and  soot  are  not  unrea- 
sonably thick.  The  heat  conductivity  of 
iron  at  -;oo  degrees  Fahrenheit  given  in 
the  Smithsonian  physical  tables  is  about 
0.0005.  Ihis  means  that  if  the  two  sur- 
faces of  a  steel  plate  i  inch  thick  are  kept 
at  a  temperature  difference  of  i  degree 
Fahrenheit,  every  square  inch  of  the  plate 
will  transmit  0.0005  Bt.u.  per  second;  if 
the  temperature  iliffcrence  is  10  degrees 
Fahrenheit,  0.005  Bt.u.  will  be  trans- 
mitted, or  if  the  thickness  of  the  plate  is 
0.1  inch,  the  temperature  difference  of  the 
surfaces  being  10  degrees  Fahrenheit,  0.05 


June  29,  1909. 

B.t.u.   are   transmitted   for    every    square 
inch  per  second. 

The  walls  of  the  tubes  of  water-tube 
boilers  are  about  o.i  inch  thick;  the  tubes 
of  a  locomotive  are  probably  thinner. 
Let  us  figure  what  the  temperature  differ- 
ence of  the  two  surfaces  of  a  tube  o.l 
inch  thick  is  at  various  rates  of  making^ 
steam.  At  the  rate  of>  10  square  feet  of 
heating  plate  per  boiler  horsepower  th^ 
heat  transmitted  per  square  inch  per 
hour  is, 

34-5  X  965  „^ 

10X144      =^  23.1  Rf.M., 


23.1 


60 


-^—7 —  =  0.0064  B.t.u.  per  second. 


To  transmit  this  quantity  of  heat  re- 
j^uires  a  temperature  difference  between 
the  two  surfaces  of 


0.0064 
0.005 


^  1.3  degrees  Fahrenheit. 


If  only  I  square  foot  is  taken  to  do  the 
same  work,  the  temperature  difference 
would  be  13  degrees  Fahrenhc't ;  if  the 
same  amount  of  work  is  required  from 
O.I  square  foot,  the  temperature  differ- 
ence would  be  130  degrees  Fahrenheit. 

These  figures  show  that  the  resistance 
of  the  metal  to  heat  transfer  is  very 
small,  and  that  there  is  something  else 
which  is  to  be  blamed  for  the  low  rate 
of  steam  production  in  steam  boilers. 
Undoubtedly  the  soot  and  scale  coatings 
are  to  be  blamed  for  part  of  the  resist- 
ance. However,  even  if  the  terapera;L;re 
drop  through  the  soot  and  scale  is  as- 
sumed to  be  10  times  as  much  as  the  tem- 
perature drop  through  the  inetal  alone,  it 
will  be  found  that  the  combined  tempera- 
ture drop  through  the  soot,  metal  and 
scale  is  only  a  small  fraction  of  the  total 
drop  between  the  moving  gases  and  the 
water  in  the  boiler.  Thus,  referring  to 
Fig.  I,  the  lower  portion  shows  the  tem- 
peratui-e  drop  or  gradient  through  a  por- 
tion of  a  heating  plate  and  the  coating. 
It  is  shown  that  the  drop  through  the  soot 
and  scale  is  10  times  that  through  the 
metal.* 

For  the  normal  rate  of  making  steam 
the  temperature  drop  through  the  metal 
is  1.3  degrees  Fahrenheit,  and  through  the 
soot  and  scale  13  degrees,  making  the 
total  drop  14.3  degrees.  Now,  as  heat  is 
transmitted  through  the  plate  only  by 
conduction  and  as  the  conditions  and  the 
conduction  of  the  plate  and  coating  gener- 
ally cannot  be  changed,  the  temperature 
drop  -through  the  plate  must  be  increased 
if  more  heat  is  to  be  transmitted  through 
the  plate.  Thus  if  the  rate  of  making 
steam  is  to  be  twice  the  normal,  the  tem- 
perature drop  must  be  increased  from 
14.3  to  28.6  degrees  Fahrenheit,  or  if  the 
rate  is  to  be  10  times  the  normal  the  tem- 
perature drop  would  have  to  be  143  de- 
grees  Fahrenheit,   and   so   on.     It   is   ap- 


♦The    authors    have    assumed     "10     times" 
simply  as  a  matter  of  convenience. 


June  29,   Kjfot) 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


IXJff 


irent  that  even  at   10  times  the  normal 
itc   of   making    steam    the    temperature 
rop  through  the  plate  and  its  coatings  is 
trhaps  about  one-tenth  of  the  total  tem- 
frature     diflfercnce     between     the     boiler 
ater  and  tlu-  ^;tses. 

In     wcl! -operated    boiler     fumacr*    the 
tnpcratures  arc  2500  degree*   ' 
r    !:i;;her;    if   the   boiler    w<jrk 

'c  of   150  pounds,  the  Ijoiler-water 
......  .ature  is  atiout  J65  degrees  Fahren- 

rit.  Assuming  that  the  gases  leave  the 
rating  plates  of  the  boiler  at  600  degrees 
ahrrnheit.  the  total  temperature  drop 
rtwcen  the  boiler  water  and  the  gases  is 
t  the  furnace  end  of  boiler. 

2^00  —  36s  =  il3S: 

ad  at  the  uptake  end  of  boiler. 

600  —  365  =  ^35: 

le  approximate  average  is  1 180  «leKree$ 
ahrenlu-it  If  the  boiler  generates  steam 
;  a  rate  averaging  one  Ixjiler  horscixiwcr 
•r  square  fiK)t  of  heating  plate,  which  is 


plate,  and  directly  as  the  density  of  the 
gas.  It  has  also  been  pointed  out  that 
when  the  temperature  rises  the  density  of 
the  gas  drop) ;  that  increasmg  the  tem- 
perature beyond  certain  Itmit*  d****  not 
h  the   rate  of  f  • 

'  .S    furnace    r^- 

the  mat'  e 

;i.      It   is   •  "it 

velocity   factor   which   otfers  a   possibility 

of  increasing  both  the  eflfin'-n.-v    'tw!     ir..- 

city  of  a  boiler. 

IsinHinNc  Economy 

As  previously  stated,  the  economy  can 
be  improve^]  by  making  the  gas  passages 
>maller  as  ci>mpared  to  the  length,  that  is, 
arranging  the  heating  plates  in  such  a 
way  that  the  distance  of  the  gas  particles 
to  the  drj-  surface  is  the  shortest  possible. 
In  some  cases  this  arrangement  is  not 
I'  III  of  difficulty  in  con- 

■        •■  ns  wril  as  fire-tube 
I  t  have  the 

k  .•    .  hng    to   this 


•       Cm 

Fkm 

- 

riMr 


lai 


Gm 


Flow 


UaaUnc  FUua 
laMoltipW. 


UmUac  i'UlM 
la: 


fIC     3        SUIES    AKD    MILTIPLC     AUIAKUEvi 


>  tunes  the  normal  rate,  then  the  aver- 
|r  temperature  drop  through  th«-  plate  i« 
'  imately      143     degrees      ! 
.■    an   average   of   tetniK-t.. 
■I  the  gases  and  the  dry  turfacr  of 
iting  p|.ite  of 

1 180  —  143  =  I0J7. 


Although  these  figur««  are  only  roughly 

•r,  they    serve   to   ill'    *  ■'    * 

.'<•  ol  hfat  Irax'fl  \s  • 

k.-   /w-i'iufc'   ^lalf  iltflf.  I'll   r^:iu'    /'"t 

kr   hill   gajts   to   ihf   dry   jur/j.v   of   ihf 

fatimg  flair. 

•  tT\   tit   r,  ssr» 
then,  IS  thji  the 
late    will   take   rarr   of  all    the    heat    that 
--'-.«  it*  dry  surface,  and  this  is  where 
sledge  of  Perry's  law   i>f  heat   im- 
•n  will   lie  of   servire       »•    '        • 
!    out    that    acc<>r<lint{ 

■r<|     |<)     a 
pll»f      s 


kt   velnctty    of    ga«e«    (lowing    tntr   thtr 


t  i   in     muitipi<^ 

i  !  in  I'ig   3. 

This   last   method  of  improving   water- 

iiii-^    iw.iirr*  already  installed   is  succrss- 

i  h    W     L     AMioit    and    A 

•'•-   <  »•    -     '  hh 


I 

I   the    M' 
•   fUani   tf> 

1 
1 
er»     V. 

c 

•1     baliiif«. 

t 

the   gates    (t(iw 

•nr  Kjflle, 

ts»                   ,:h 

>e 

»e 

■   "i    lr>Tn    '1 

'   '5  P^^  f««C 

4MalW4     *imitmttm    mt    iWlr 
''•t    ■lain    «|pi|i^«-#l    mmttwym 


«>'    ■all 


IxcuASixc  CATAcmr 

toiler  can  be  in- 
tib  the  boiler  lar- 

K   ■  .  . -cs.     If  the   weight  of 

I.'  -i>   ihc  buUer   i""^    --• 

ity  of  tV- 

-  -..^.^^.    ^,,,1    iin.    i^.'.uii    that    the   ij.;.«s]tii\ 

of  heat  absorbed  by  the  boiler  per  sec- 
ond u  nearly  doubled.  It  has  been 
already    menti^med    ihai     this     mrthud    ol 

I  »cijnv> 
.'.tofurj 
■<jd    example    can    be 
\  *   of  H.  fi    St. .It   And 

\N  .   S.  Fin  ley.  Jr,    of    the    !  Kh 

Rapid  Transit  Company,  .'-.n*  1  ork 
City.  They  have  added  a  stoker  under 
the  rear  end  of  e... '  "   lUbcock 

&  Wilcox  Ujilers  enabled 

them  to  bum  nearl)  t>»uc  a»  much  coaL 
trsiiIfinR   in  fwire  fhr  wrtyht  of  gases  of 

.!>  the  bodrr 
.     and  maktmi 
the   boiler   absorb   nearly   twice   as  ma& 
heat  as  with  a  single  stoker  •• 

It  is  true  that  when  boilers  are  forred 
to  make  two  or  three  times  the  usual 
amount    of   steam,   the   over-all   efficiency 

the  methods 

jrt    connec- 

!i-!i  iM ■:.::■-.   I   •  opacity, 

r!ir   !.i!:cr  i'«.u'  '  -..jut  de- 

'•  .Mug    the  even    higlier 

rr?;.  icnc)'  coul>l  . 

Generally,  when  in  locomotive  or 
marine  boilers  the  capacity  is  doubled  or 
tripled,  the  over-all  efficiency  of  the  whclr 
steam-generating  a;  '  several 

per  cent .  and  it   i«  boiler^ 

IV      lr.>        r"  .  ^.  Put 

"'  f  such 

thirds 

ifnbas- 

tion  or  other  causes  of  low  furnace  eflici- 

•!■  V      The  true  boiler  «^.  im. »    the  trot 

!re  of  the  boiler's  abaorb 

changes  but  little      1  .k    ^  -intw*  re- 

of    JO    tests    made    by    the    I'nkcd 

•logical   Survey  on  a  torpedo- 

Th*-  irw»  KftiWe  ><^c»ef*e^   is 

•Se 

;>«tat>aa  was  r 


Fhe  furnace  Uuiptratore  was  taken  widi 

,      VI......      .....*.. .1      _»...».      .,„ 

.«s 

trri;  .  rr\      mnn     a     xnrftnn 

coot>  show  that  the  caf« 


••Tmr  • 


•Tme  •  mm*   riaaltti    jiiKprtia  ml  iMi 
t,    . —    I  .■•_•    ■••taw  Hi  iSigiiai    gatiifa 


•iw  iif  W   •  na<i|. 
!<«•  laant^s*  ig 


-•.fpf  •     f   1I 


J  - 


-     rrm    lMi*r    r*rSawr*.' 
'«    AorlHy   ml   ir^t>rif>    r«l 


-4   •«• 


pt'S,     |l:«i     U     •     >     •AA»<I    «*US  late 

iir  Ik* 


I 


")m8 

city  increases  nearly  dirccily  with  the  rate 
of  combustion;  and  that  while  the  over- 
all efficiency  drops  15  per  cent.,  the  true 
boiler  efficiency  drops  only  about  4  per 
cent.  Tlie  true-boiler-efficiency  curve  in- 
dicates that  the  boiler  keeps  absorbing 
heat  as  fast  as  it  is  supplied.  This  fact 
agrees  with  the  statement  made  previ- 
ously that  the  faster  the  gases  pass  over 
the  heating  surface  the  faster  the  latter 
absorbs  the  heat. 

In  Fig.  2  the  rectangles  represent  tests 
made  on  large  square  briquets,  the  solid 
circles  represent  tests  made  on  small 
round  briquets  and  the  white  circles 
represent  tests  made  on  run-of-mine  coal. 


New    fork's    First    Corliss  Ejigine 


By    Thomas    Wilson 


One  of  the  old  vortical  walking-beam 
type  of  engines  made  by  Corliss  &  Night- 
ingale in  185 1  was  the  tirst  Corliss  en- 
gine to  be  installed  in  New  York  City. 
This  engine  is  still  in  service  and  after 
its  58  years  of  almost  continuous  opera- 
tion is  practically  as  good  as  ever,  and 
the  probability  is  that  it  will  be  main- 
tained in  service  for  many  years  to  come. 
The  old  engine,  which  bore  the  name 
"Enterprise."  was  exhibited  at  the 
World's  Fair  held  in  the  Crystal  Palace 
in  New  York  in  1853,  and  was  used  to 
turn  the  shafting  supplying  power  to 
other  exhibits.  The  engine  cylinder  has 
a  diameter  of  20  inches  and  a  stroke  of 
5  feet,  standing  6  feet  above  the  floor, 
and  outside  of  the  lagging  has  a  cross- 
section  2  feet  I  inch  by  3  feet.  The  top 
of  the  beam  is  approximately  15  feet 
above  the  floor,  and  from  the  center  of 
the  piston-rod  pin  to  the  center  of  the 
crank-arm  pin  measures  roughly  14  f«et. 
The  crankshaft  is  9!4  inches  in  diameter, 
the  crankpin  3^  inches  and  the  flywheel 
with  a  2-foot  space  has  a  diameter  of 
18   feet.  • 

In  Fig.  2  it  will  be  noted  that  the  gov- 
ernor is  hung  from  a  bracket  bolted  to  the 
frame  of  the  engine,  and  from  its  lower 
end  operates  a  bell  crank,  which  in  turn 
controls  the  movement  of  the  steam 
valves.  The  dashpot  for  one  of  the 
valves  is  suspended  from  the  cylinder, 
and  the  other  rests  on  the  floor.  The 
valve  gear  itself  is  of  the  olrl  familiar 
type  used  on  early  Corliss  engines.  It 
will  be  more  apparent  in  Fig.  i  that  the 
governor  is  driven  by  belt  from  the  main 
shaft,  with  a  gear  connection  interposed 
at  the  cylinder  end.  The  beam  is  partially 
shown  in  Fig.  3,  it  being  impossible  to 
obtain  good  photographs  of  the  engine  in 
its  present  location  on  account  of  the 
limited  space  and  the  loft  running  im- 
mediately below  the  beam.  The  journal 
or  pin  projecting  from  the  beam  at  the 
left  in  the  photograph,  was  originally  in- 
tended   for   connection    to   the   air   ptimp, 


POWER  AND  TH1-:  EXGIXEER. 

but   the   condenser   was   never    used   with 
the  engine. 

In  1856  the  engine  was  bought  by  Hall, 
Cornell  &  Co.,  afterward  known  as  Hall, 
Bradley  &  Co.,  manufacturers  of  paints. 
It  was  used  to  supply  power  to  their 
factory,  and  also  some  power  to  manu- 
facturers in  the  immediate  vicinity.  Some 
time  in  the  si.xties  G.  F.  Hall  was  engaged 
as    chief   encincor    and    remained    a    num- 


June  29,  1909. 

facture  power  for  sale,  only  on  a  more  ex- 
tensive scale.  The  manufacturers  in  the 
entire  block  on  both  sides  of  the  street 
were  supplied  from  the  one  engine  by 
means  of  long  lines  of  shafting.  The 
hardest  work  required  of  the  old-timer 
was  the  rolling  of  lead  block  into  thin 
lead  sheets.  This  duty  taxed  it  to  the 
utmost  and  had  to  be  performed  at  noon 
hours    and    after    5 130    when     the    other 


FIG.     I.       THE    "enterprise"    AS    SHE  APPEARS   AFTER   58   YEARS   OF   SERVICE 


ber  of  years  with  the  firm  until  they 
moved  to  Brooklyn,  their  change  of  loca- 
tion being  due  to  widening  Elm  street, 
now  known  as  Lafayette.  The  additional 
width  of  the  street  cut  off  a  portion  of 
the  engine  room  and  made  it  necessary  to 
seek  other  quarters.  The  engine  was  then 
sold  to  the  chief  engineer,  G.  F.  Hall, 
who  moved  it  to  a  basement  in  the  im- 
mediate vicinity  and  continued  to   manu- 


power  was  off.  The  engine  continued  iH 
this  service  until  1897,  and  during  all  thi 
time  the  only  repair  of  any  note  r© 
quired  was  a  new  cylinder,  the  origin^ 
cylinder  having  been  smashed  by  thi 
beam,  which  had  accidentally  been  al- 
lowed to  fall  on  it. 

At  the  latter  date  the  engine  was  sold 
by  G.  E.  Hall,'  son  and  successor  to  G. 
F.  Hall,  to  Wilson  &  Roake,  of  New  York. 


p 


June  J9,    1909. 


K)\\ER  AND  THE  HNCINEER. 


City,   who  had   it   in  their  possession   for 

:<.-w    months.      During    this    interval    it 

offered  to  the  Stevens  Institute  and 

.  to  Cornell  University  as  a  relic  of  the 

early   days   of    the   steam   enxine.   but   as 

neither   institution  had   »pacc   tu  >iorc   it, 

the  engine  w.i-)  eventually  m>M  in  (Ktofw-r 

of  the  year  noted  to  the    k.t> ml   k.ib- 

Company,  of  Titusville.  N.  J.     ThU 


no.    2,     VAtVC    UCAH    AM> 


nrm     l^ 

fr».m  r. 

rc«|uirr<l    to    (I 
mill  "n  I  JO  j...i 

35 


and  lh< 


good  deal  of  trouble,  and  it   was  decided 
to  put   in   new  pillow  blocks  and  an  en- 
tirely new  and  heavier  bearing  of  the  same 
design.     In  the  follnwini;  year  a  new   pu- 
lon  rod  and  cyliti        • 
as    the    fitmirr    ! 
al  ■ 
III', 
total  of  the  repairs  made  in  ys 

engine  now  appears  to  be  in  g'  

lion,  and  the  present  owner,  who  perhaps 
may  be  a  little  optimistic  on  the  subject, 
claims  that  the  "Enterprise'*  is  good  for 
JO  or  j)0  >ears  more. 

There  are  no  data  on  the  steam  consump- 
tion of  the  engine,  but  a  test   • 
by   J.    E.    Holmes,  director   "f   ■ 
at   the   Crystal    Palace,    in;-  >!•<: 

the    fair    may   be   of   inter<    ■  ^h    ir 

is  not  nearly  so  elaborate  as  the  tests  of 
present-d.-iy  practice.  It  appears  that 
tests  were  conducted  on  December  17, 
'^5.1.  on  three  engines,  all  of  which  were 
lielted  to  the  shafting  ami  used  fr)r  general 
;w.\\rr  ;.  r;.. i*es  in  the  Palace  The  first 
•A.T-  t!  >  -nine  uiKlcr  description,  which 
was  ratc<I  at  fio  hor«epower  under  a  steam 
pressure  <>f  70  pouiuls  gage:   the   second 

KUHTIoS   AND  REOULATION  TEl»T 


(H« 


IS 

3.' 


7« 


K.PM 

37 
37 
37 
37 
37 
37 
37 
36 
U 
3^ 
IH 
14 


M.iN     >    iloultlc    hortxonial    engine.    15x^4 
>.rankt    s>  ■ 
r     and     \v 
<cl       Thi»    ct  . 

(wiwrr    -ttl'lrr 

steam 

I-a^rei^  .:, 

•  <i    (.•.r<l<-t)     .McKay.      The    third    was    a 

h«>rifuii?       .....-,  ijxio  inche'*.  known  a« 

tlic    "S  <-||e,"    and   wa*   «lrwKMi.<l 

and   coii«rii«  Tr<i    by    J.    S.    N\      ■  J    the 

Winter    Iron    Works.    M«<i'.  Ala. 


••    anchor 


in<l  at       in.. 


the-     »«>• 

II.         & 

the     or 


with  a 

the  ell. 
ii'.K 


long   li: 


■  r,  from  which  it  is 

tion  of  the  engine  in.-. 

a|i{iarently    had    but    little    effect,    a: 
regubf  '   .    ih,   f^[.. 

was   tr  %    good 


Government    Publications    Relating 
lo  M  ater  Power  Development 

By   B    H.  CujtcnuAs 


The  extent  t<i  which  puLI. 
Govemmcnt  a«»ui   in  the   j  •• 


one  about    lo  etiter  this  ticid   t 
time.      In    tiianv    cases,    a    gt-  1 

idea  of  the  amount  of  power  a^  -1 

Ik  secured  fruin  Gosernment  p.... 
From  the  "List  of   Publications 
I'nited  States  Geological  Sur>r .    " 
to  Water  Res<^«urces"  ran  be  %*■'■ 
ous  water- «  r 

a    direct    •»• 
c.  ■ 

tl  r 

I  V      1 1  the 

fr<  •  ,  .  .       :      I     llir\    i  jn 

usually    be    secured    at    a    noii 
from    the    *«ipcr>"«-' •'-•••     --' 
Ctovrmmeiil    prr  1. 

D.     C.        The     pO|»<T.      K'*"'g     I'l*"      «trram 
measurements   for  each  sear   are   of  par- 


on  a  bridge  aittl 

the    «urfacr    ■  '    • 

•h.        .1.411. 

s«ippi>n      l«      nif 
horiffintallv  on 


m  of 
C  n  o«t 
riir   riMlln 


!tug  lu  the     iutt«rp(t»*-      will  *{t 

At  7  f  test   the  en-  jc 

gtoe  Wa       —  ...  -.1.  with  a  prrs-  »i? 

sure  of   4J  pounds  gagr;   the   number  of  o( 


>hi  error 


ifjO 


PO\\ER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  29,  1909. 


per  second  for  each  month,  the  rate  of 
flow  per  square  mile  of  the  drainage  area 
and  the  runofif  in  inches.  There  are  vari- 
ous ways  for  arriving  at  the  amount  of 
power  available  from  these  figures.  In  a 
report  of  the  Government  engineers  on 
•The  Relation  of  the  Southern  Appa- 
lachian Mountains  to  the  Development  of 
Water  Power."  it  is  stated  that  it  pays  to 
develop  water  power  up  to  the  minimum 
during  the  four  high  months  of  the  year. 
Another  rough  approximation  in  use  is 
to  take  the  average  monthly  minimum  for 
an  average  year.  In  the  New  England 
States,  it  is  said,  the  rule  is  to  take  the 
minimum  for  the  third  driest  month  start- 
ing with  the  driest  month  for  an  average 
year. 

The  flow  of  streams  as  determined  from 
these  publications  on  "stream  measure- 
ments," is  subject  to  inaccuracies  due  to 
error  in  the  gage  reading  and  incorrect 
data  for  the  discharge  tables  owing  to  a 
possible  variation  in  the  contour  of  the 
river  bed  at  the  point  of  measurement 
after  the  rate  of  flow  has  been  determined. 
The  results,  however,  are  valuable  for 
preliminary  investigations. 

In  cases  where  such  data  jre  not  avail- 
able a  general  idea  of  the  real  condi- 
tions of  flow  can  be  arrived  at  by  a 
careful  study  of  the  relation  of  rainfall 
to  runoff.  The  section  director  of  the 
United  States  weather  bureau  can  supply 
statistics  on  the  rainfall  in  the  drainage 
area  of  the  stream  to  be  investigated 
which,  together  with  the  ratio  of  runoff 
to  rainfall  as  determined  for  streams  sub- 
ject to  similar  climatic  and  topographic 
conditions,  will  give  the  average  rate  of 
flow  for  the  year.  The  minimum  and 
n;a.ximum,  similarly,  can  be  estimated. 

Each  section  of  the  weather  bureau 
publishes  an  annual  climatological  report 
giving    the    precipitation    per    month    for 


the  year  at  various  stations  and  its  de- 
parture from  the  normal  as  deduced  from 
records  covering  a  considerable  length  of 
time.  By  plotting  in  the  form  of  a  curve 
the  normal  precipitation,  the  average  time 
and  duration  of  dry  and  flood  periods 
are  evident. 

In  some  cases  the  Government  has 
made  surveys  of  rivers  and  these  show 
the  amount  of  fall  available.  The  contour 
of  the  watershed  is  shown  on  topographic 
maps  for  certain  sections  of  the  country. 
The  United  States  Geological  Survey  has 
been  engaged  since  its  organization  in 
making  a  topographic  map  of  the  United 
States  and  the  parts  covered  from  time 
to  time  are  noted  on  index  maps.  The 
topographic  maps  or  "Atlas  Sheets"  are 
of  uniform  size  and  drawn  on  a  scale 
of  one  or  two  miles  per  inch.  The  con- 
tour intervals  may  be  as  low  as  five 
feet. 

The  amount  of  information  secured  by 
the  Government  and  available  to  the 
public  should  be  sufficient  to  define  to  a 
limited  extent  the  possibilities  of  a  pro- 
posed   hydroelectric   development. 

Boiler  Explosion  at  Copperhill, 
Tennessee 


By  George  L.  F.\les 


The  right-hand  drum  of  one  of  the  four 
National  water-tube  boilers  at  the  plant 
of  the  Tennessee  Copper  Company  ex- 
ploded on  the  morning  of  June  i,  at 
12  150  o'clock,  causing  a  property  damage 
of  some  $5000,  but  there  were  no  personal 
injuries.  The  boiler  on  which  the  drum 
exploded  was  insured  with  the  Maryland 
Casualty  Company,  of  Baltimore,  which 
allowed    a    pressure    of    175    pounds    per 


square  inch.  The  boilers  are  about  ten 
years  old,  and  have  seen  constant  service 
all  that  time,  but  are  in  excellent  condi- 
tion, being  clean  and  free  from  scale, 
although  the  tubes  are  getting  thin.  Each 
boiler  has  two  drums  36  inches  in  diam- 
eter by  17  feet  long  and  120  four-inch 
tubes ;  the  headers  are  of  the  box  type 
holding  six  tubes  each. 

As  shown  in  Fig.  i  the  rupture  occurred 
in  the  solid  sheet  along  side  of  the  longi- 
tudinal seam  of  the  middle  course  on  the 
right-hand  drum  of  No.  2  boiler.  An 
examination  of  the  rupture  immediately 
after  the  explosion  disclosed  the  fact  that 
the  sheet  had  been  developing  a  crack  for 
some  time,  as  the  metal  part  way  through 
the  sheet  was  old  and  rusty,  and  the  re- 
mainder showed  a  clean  fracture ;  the 
crack  in  places'  extended  nearly  through 
the  sheet,  and  other  places  had  from  %  to 
54  inch  of  good  metal.  The  only  part  ot 
the  sheet  that  appears  to  have  been  sound 
clear  through  is  the  part  showed  in  Fig. 
3,  at  the  hight-hand  corner.  The  crack 
was  a  little  under  the  overlapping  part 
of  the  seam,  and  iV  would  have  been  al- 
most impossible  to  detect  it  by  in- 
ternal or  external  inspecetion. 

The  drums  were  constructed  of  ^-inch 
steel  plate,  with  %-inch  rivets  15/16  inch 
when  driven,  pitched  2^  inches  on  the 
longitudinal  seam  and  2  inches  on  the 
girth  seam.  The  rivets  in  the  longitudinal 
seam  were  not  disturbed  at  all,  being 
tight,  and  the  seam  in  good  condition ;  the 
rivets  in  the  girth  seams  were  sheared  off, 
as  shown  in  Fig.  i,  in  some  places,  and 
the  sheet  gave  way  in  others.  The  ex- 
plosion carried  away  all  the  wooden  part 
of  the  boiler-room  roof  and  blew  all  the 
windows,  sashes  and  all,  out  of  the  building. 
Practically  all  the  piping  over  the  National 
boilers  was  blown  off,  flanges  and  valves 
breaking  off  and  letting  the  pipe  free.    No 


VIEWS    OF    DAMAGE    DONE   BY    BOILER    EXPLOSION    AT    COPPERHILL,    TENN. 


J 


June  29,   1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


1151 


nC    302      L.%RnE    DIKECT-CDKKECrU>   f.tStMAtXM    •VtLT    BY    TUI   CBOCKU-WMCXLCa    COMPAKV 


tersonal  injuries  resulted,  as  the  firemen 
md  other  employees  happened  to  be  at  the 
Khcr  end  of  the  bojirr  ro<»m  near  the 
»n  &  Taylor  b«»i!er^.  which  were 
n  service  when  the  cxpluMon  oc- 
tiffed. 

As  soon  as  possible  after  the  explosion 
he  t><)iler»  which  were  not  (l.itTtnt(e<i  were 
vt  apart  from  the  damaKetl  section  and 
Nit  on  what  rotkI  steam  lines  were  left, 
rbe  plant  was  in  normal  r^peration  affain 
wo  hour%  from  the  time  the  r«pl<>«i<in 
red.    and  Ven    to 

le    ii»   «.;  ^'    »uch 

tn   aiKl 

I'lg.  3  the  (iatTiAKr  above  the  boil* 

the   pipuiK   and    roof,   etc. .    Fiic    J 

a  closer  view  of  the  ruptured  sheet, 

'le   piece   of  «heet   al  the   righi  hand 

id  good  metal  all  the   wa\    ilir<  Mith 

.r«.  4  and  5  «how  view«  taken  from 

the     roof     IfMikinx     down     on     the 

"ig  from  two  .'    • 

i<    .t    Vtrw    t.i' 


once   more   that   the   bp- riveted   seam   it 
•  '  and   empha»i/e«   the   fact   that 

rap  «eam  i«  none  too  good  for 
jottiu  ui  this  character. 


Catcchiim    of  EJcctricity 

1071.  Illtulralt  and  detcribf  a  large* 
size  dtred'emrremi  gemeralor  built  for  di- 
red  eommecliom  tvilk  ike  fnme  mover. 

Fig.  jai  shows  a  generator  of  thi»  kind 


built    to   give   '' 
when  run  at  a 
minute 

TVr      rmirnet 


I   volts 
•ns  per 


frat 


tt     i«     of     cait 

Mr,    the    two 

I  vr|    pin*    and 

l»eW  •  >«<•./.  etc     The  lower 

half    ■•;      ^'.■.  :iiagnet    frame    i»    pro- 

M'Jrd  with  feet  drilled  to  retme 
the  *  '  '  .-  ! 'wn  bulls  and  pr«r»Hlc«l 
with  screws      for      ad|u*img 

The 

'.fn    tJM 


The   machine   i«  campound-woaod   and 

the  magnet  i-'i' 
other  and  thr    - 
vide   free   cir. 
around    the    <■ 


the  • 
port  the  I 


;  a  rated  from 

%pacrr«  ■,  to  pro- 

and 

are 

.ing 


I  which 


■■'■"      ""    .•..■.jiui"     f  ir.    jiT<j    iorre    are 
^-    ducts    in    ike    core    and    end 
'^•><k''^<  'lire  coodocton  coiMM 

of   dat    •  'KMt,   heavil^r   hiwilatH 

and    retai  of 

w«!c«-»  b 

<    the   mtwm* 

ifvJ«TvrfideB| 

of   the  UufI  /A    -  rsg 


I>Cf  ItMt  »      f  rfM  >\  f 


fmoi  thr  r 


-ft. 
•wr 

•he 


Ight    «trr.iiniTikC    thrmigh   xhr  rmf 

At    xhr    fin,       ..f    ?»>--    ^.i.i  I    fi    tlir    l.,il. 
ft  Werr  c  AiTs  ii>K     • 

— '   '   id    I'  i    gJUr*    ..»    w    ,•■   '  w.r.ii          I  ». 

are    in*pecie<l    M'trMully    by    ihc 


The  air 


are   ciwMried    to   a    cnyysr    hai  tig   ■. 


ft»..ttn<r»!    ■  •« 


\r    .  f   r\^    f  .Lrf 


115^ 


row  l£R  AXD  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  29,  1909. 


The   Absorption    Refrigerating    Machine 

The    Different    Parts    and    Their    Functions    Explained    in  a    Simple 
Manner,    with     Practical     Advice     as     to     Its    Care     and     Operation 


B     Y 


W. 


E. 


CRANE 


The  absorption  refrigerating  machine  is 
thought  by  many  to  be  complicated  and, 
therefore,  it  does  not  get  the  credit  its 
merits  deserve.  When  run  by  steam  from 
the  boiler  it  is  simply  a  condenser,  the 
heat  being  taken  up  by  the  machine  and 
the  resulting  condensation  going  back  into 
the  boiler  at  the  temperature  it  leaves  the 
njachine;  while  with  the  compression  ma- 
chine there  is  the  loss  of  the  exhaust 
steam,  as  with  any  engine. 

.\bout  ten  years  ago  a  hotel  proprietor 
wanted  to  put  in  a  refrigeration  plant  and 


machine  builders  tliey  told  him  the  same 
story  the  engineer  did.  and  but  one  of 
them  would  consider  the  proposition,  and 
then  only  on  condition  that  the  purchaser 
should  be  responsible  for  any  failure. 
The  machine  was  built  and  worked  all 
right,  at  atmospheric  pressure,  on  the  ex- 
haust, and  since  then  many  machines  have 
been  built  along  that  line. 

The  action  of  the  absorption  machine  is 
that  of  a  double  cycle  (and  more)  and  is 
apt  to  make  a  novice,  or  even  a  man 
skilled  on  a  compression  machine,  nervous. 


quires  a  pressure  of  from  1200  to  150O 
pounds,  at  which  pressure,  and  cooled, 
it  becomes  a  liquid.  When  expanded  to 
200  pounds  it  again  becomes  a  gas  and  -the 
heat  expended  in  changing  it  from  a  liquid. 
to  a  gas  will  change  anything  near  it  to  a, 
very  low  temperature. 

Carbonic  acid  is  odorless  and  is  used  in 
uiany  places  where  odors  are  objectiona- 
ble, as  on  shipboard.  The  objection  to  it 
is  the  exceeding  high  pressure  necessary 
to  liquefy  it.  It  being  qdorless  and  no 
test  lieing  able  to  detect  leaks,  it  is  neces- 


Cooler 


0  0 


^ 


.13 


Spray 


Absorber 


E' 


Satetv  Valve 


Condenser 


ce: 


a 


Rectifier 


=Ci 


Exchanger 


Analyzer 


-3 


Generator  I; 


Floor  Line 


FIG.     I.     LAYOUT  OF   ABSORPTION    SYSTEM 


the  writer  introduced  him  to  a  refriger- 
ating engineer.  The  hotel  man  had  high- 
speed engines  and  lots  of  exhaust  steam, 
but  no  excess  boiler  power  nor  room  for 
more,  and  he  wanted  to  do  his  refrigera- 
tion with  exhaust  steam.  The  engineer 
explained  the  relations  of  the  tempera- 
tures to  each  other  and  showed  by  figures 
that  it  would  never  be  possible  to  do  the 
work  with  less  than  65  pounds  steam  pres- 
sure. On  our  way  home  the  hotel  man 
said: 

"T  believe  T  can  do  it  with  exhaust 
steam." 

Taking   the   proposition   to    absorption- 


How   It   Is   Done 

Refrigeration  is  caused  by  the  heat  ab- 
sorbed by  expansion.  If  air  is  compressed 
it  is  heated.  Cooling  it  under  pressure 
and  then  expanding,  or  relieving  the  pres- 
sure, the  air  will  absorb,  or  take  up  heat, 
cither  from  surrounding  objects  or  itself, 
and  thus  grow  inten.sely  cold,  as  can  be 
?een  in  winter  when  using  compressed  air 
in  drills,  etc.,  the  moisture  in  the  air 
freezing.  It  is  not  of  sufficient  density  to 
take  up  enough  heat  to  be  commercially 
useful  and  recourse  is  had  to  elements 
that  liquefy  under  pressure. 

Carbonic  acid  is  one  of  the.se,  but  it  re- 


sary  to  perfume  it  when  looking  foi 
leaks.  Wintergreen  is  one  odor  usee 
and  camphor  is  another.  To  use  camphor 
dilute  it  with  alcohol,  put  it  into  the  syS' 
tcm  and  (he  odor  will  be  detected  readilj 
and  at  the  leak  there  will  appear  a  whitisl 
substance. 

Ammonia  is  the  most-used  medium  ii 
refrigerating  systems.  It  will  liquefy  a 
70  pounds,  and  at  atmospheric  pressun 
will  boil  at  29  degrees  below  zero.  In  i 
refrigerating  system  the  ammonia  unde 
pressure  is  conveyed  through  the  con 
denser,  in  which  it  comes  in  contact  witl 
coils  of  running  water,  is  cooled  and  be 


1 


ic  29.    1909. 

>  liquid  and  then  passes  to  the  cooler 
>    the   brine   coil*.      It   here 
.  an  expansion  valve.     This 
icctik  valve  capable  of  verj-  fine  ad- 
cnt. 
Ihis  valve  bcin^  opened  ^Ii^litly,  a  tine 
<.tri  iiu  cf  the  liquid  ainmunia  i^  injected 
■he   cooler  and.  being  at   such  pres- 
sKii    that   it  boiU.  it   is  soon  turned  into 
gas.     This  requires  heat,  and  the  chang- 
:<>    the    K3<>c<>us    stale    means    that    it 
les   a    valuable   refrittcrant. 
hi    tlu- 
frriTTl  thi- 

>c  it  t«»  I  '"n 

:..  and  it  <1  .       .   a* 

lyasinthc  absorption  maitiinc,  where 
.,..  ^.Ajlcr  can  \>c  kept  at  atnu>si»luric  pres- 
sure and  lower  irmperaiures  are  obtained. 
For  very  low  temperatures  the  absorp- 
tion machine  i^  the  l>etter. 

The  MACHisr  Itself 
In      tht      compression      ni;ii!nne      only 
anhydrous,    or    pure.    amin<>iii.i    is    used. 
In  the  absorption  niaclunr  atiiia   aniiiionta 
is    used    and    the    anhydrous    ammonia    is 
cd  in  a  Renerator,  a  vessel  contatn- 
iiir  "team  coils. 
Let    us   call    the    anhydrous    ammonia 
"   and   the   a(|  nia   •'liquor;" 

firing    rich    Ii  porir   liquor. 

•s  it  is  di  —  up  through 

. /er,    a    \'  i    with    pan*. 

ah   the  pipe   ,/,   I-ir     i.   to   the   recti 
This  is  a  vessel  similar  to  a  sepa 
rator   in   a    steam   line ;   it   dries   out   the 

•' ture,  or  separates  it,  so  that  the  gas 

to  the  condenser  in  a  dry  state,  the 

lire      returning     to     the     generator 

«h    the    pifK-    .V.     (The    water    pipes 

svn.  in  or«lcr 

-|r,-»rrr  ) 

ihe 
a«t. 
■-rtitier.  l-roin  the  rectifier  the  gas 
to  the  condenser,  having  l»een  parti- 
(Kiled  in  the  rertitirr  Here  it  is 
•e«l  an<l  passes  through  the  small 
n  to  Ihe  cooler,  where  it  is  changed 

ll..<   k      ill!<>      |{.4« 

\V4trr  li.iN  .1  great  affinity  for  ammonia, 

•4C- 

er, 
«r  «iir«ciion 

1 
When  Ihe  gas  in  the  w  'as  been 

'l'^"l1e<|   it   leaves   thr   .1.,  r»pcci- 

il   tht    Ix.ll.im.    .nil!    tt.M    w...V    'i.itior 


KJW  ER  .WD  THE  E.\(.I\EER. 

the    water    coils,    it    might    freexe    them. 

In  the  abvirber  the  \s<    • 
the  gas  and   ii   then   t>< 
and  passe-t  out  at  ' 
pipe  D'  to  the  anr 

there  Jo  the  exchanger  thr<Aigh  pipe  U, 
whence  i'  c  <  <  '••  the  analyzer  un  ils  tvax 
to  the  K' 

The  exvr;.t:  .jt-i  i»  the  came  as  a  heater 
for  a  boiler.  The  cold,  rich  liquor  going 
lot!      . 

Clill 

heat.  o:u;   Im.. 
-   in  a  coil, 
rich    iiquoi.    1  over    the    pans    in 

the  analy/er.   .,  ,    any  gas  that   may 

be  found  and  this  passes  out  through  the 
gas  pipe  .4. 

On  the  generator,  condenser,  absorber 
and  cooler  ar-  '  -'>i;et  It  is  a  g<Ktd 
i«lea  to  keep  •  generator  closed 

except  when  -  i  the  ammonia  is 

to  be  read  on  the  cooler  has 

to   be    *.  ..    or    it    wouUI    become 

cosered  \vh<n  \i*e<l.  the  valves 

base  to  .  litly  and  even 

then  not  : .;...-  the  ammonia 

in  the  cooler  is  pretty  lively  stuff.  The 
gRges  on  the  condenser  and  absorber  may 
be  left  open. 

On  top  of  the  condenser  artd  absorber 
is  a  crosMivrr  pipe  /•'.  The  valve  ii  is 
left   closesl  and  the  valve   //   open.     The 


"S3 


rm 


^ 


n&  2 

pressure  gage  from  the  absorber  is  uken 
from  thi*  pipe.    The  vertical  pipe  L  is  for 

purging 

ti'  the 

the   strength   oi    i 
ti   valve   should   be 
very  carefully,  at  h   is  delicate  aiMl  will 
....t  1..  .,  r.....^.f,  istagc.    A  ni«Hikey  wrench 
-    be   pat   on   ii.      For   small 
ainin'-iiM  %.ii\es  a  «■        *    ''      -•    -     • 
in    I'ig.    J   may   b< 
liati' 
I 
a  I' 
If. 

to  operate   ll  '  lis 

cafU'  H  <     '*    »  '   a« 

a    w 


there  hetng  slightly  more  |»re«»ure  in  the 


liquor    H  :    m  the   boil<jni   of  the 

cooler  a:^.  -  c  and  must  be  taken  oat 

in  the  same  way. 

N    '       '  .    r»ff   the  gas   v" 

nc  ing    off    the    < 


i^r«.».  : 

and  thr 

0|V 

Wll.  .  _     __.    .. c 

before   the  machine  gels  to  work   reduc- 

big    terr:— '  ■' ...... 

still  ba< 
over,  th' 
soon.  \s 


.1    ./    .1.... 


this 


tht    . 

the  expjiiivioti  sa 
\al\e.  I'sually  ; 
away  but.  after  .n 

happen,  close  the   ,    .„.    : 

niinule«  and  then  open  it. 

It    will    take    longer    to    r  — 
method,  but  the  machine  w 
teir- 
is  ' 

Sor 

ink 

Id 

!h. 

trtnprral.trr   il<>wn. 

Tl»e  r       ' •'  •••'  ''— 

pipe  wil 

it  is  a  «  1  a  wn  I 

dnen  n<  '  <.    it    is    dead 

liqusir. 

finger  f- 

anr 


bof  and 

es  .1  •  "s 
am 

'  on  Ihe  glass 


If 


in 

tri 


sommer.     tmiy  a 


the 


r    t..-p    '_!    til 
n    n^rr    thr 


The    uas     in     ih-  «»P     •«"»' 

llif.    •.'.    -1,.    Irinr  •»>*•           *! 

>pe   /  i 

.    .......   ...V   .  • ..     ■    -  '   •' '     

'um  down,  as  if  i»  «•'• 


'<T    \r}  »^f  rrj  -*-m» 


s»*««. 


II54 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  29,  1909. 


Instead  of  connecting  the  purge  pipe  / 
to  the  gas  pipe  /.  as  shown,  and  as  is  the 
custom,  I  should  connect  it  as  shown  by 
the  dotted  line  A',  being  careful  to  carry 
it  inside  and  turn  it  downward  in  the  cen- 
ter, as  was  done  with  the  pipe  /.  Con- 
nected in  this  way  the  purging  would  be 
faster  with  the  gas  valve  open. 

Should  the  ammonia  pump  stop  work- 
ing from  gas  accumulation,  place  one  man 
to  watch  the  absorber  pressure  gage  and 
slowly  open  the  valve  G  at  the  top  of  the 
condenser  until  the  pressure  in  the  ab- 
sorber gets  up  to  50  or  60  pounds,  where 
it  should  be  held  until  the  pump  starts 
working.  Before  doing  this  it  would  be 
necessary  to  close  the  gas  valve  X,  open- 
ing it  again  after  the  pump  starts.  The 
expansion  valve  should  never  be  opened 
above  one-quarter  of  a  turn,  and  then  only 
to  put  extra  ammonia  into  the  cooler. 
With  low  pressure  it  will  usually  run  with 
a  turn  of  the  rim  of  from  J.4  to  1/2  inch; 
at  high  pressure  it  will  frequently  leak 
enough  to  keep  the  cooler  all  right  when 
apparently  closed  tight. 

Never  tr>'  to  force  an  absorption  ma- 
chine, as  it  only  results  in  partial  or 
severe  "boil-overs"  and  other  trouble. 
For  a  short  time  I  had  a  man  who  claimed 
that  a  machine  has  to  be  forced  to  keep 
up  its  work,  and  he  would  run  with  the 
expansion  valve  open  a  half  turn  and  for 
a  short  time  run  the  temperature  down  to 
2  to  3  degrees  per  hour ;  then  his  cooler 
would  be  filled  up  and  the  shutdown  for 
purging  would  follow,  with  the  rise  in 
temperature ;  and  while  he  was  supposed 
to  keep  the  brine  at  zero,  it  would  fluctu- 
ate from  zero  to  15  degrees  above,  he  keep- 
ing at  work  .all  the  time. 

One  should  not  expect  the  temperature 
to  go  down  more  than  I  to  2  degrees  per 
hour.  With  the  expansion  valve  opened 
just  enough  to  maintain  the  temperature 
and  the  speed  of  the  ammonia-pump  set, 
the  machine  may  not  have  to  be  touched 
for  two  or  three  days,  and  there  is  noth- 
ing to  do  but  keep  the  log. 

The  .A.BS0RBER 

The  efficiency  of  the  machine  depends 
upon  the  condition  of  the  absorber.  If 
the  absorber  is  cool  and  free  from  air  or 
poor  gas,  the  cooler  will  give  off  its  gas 
with  ease.  As  long  as  the  water  and  ab- 
sorber are  cool  it  is  difficult  to  tell  about 
the  spray  at  the  top. 

This  spray  device  is  simply  a  valve  with 
three  oblique  holes.  If  one  side  of  the 
absorber  gets  warmer  than  the  other,  turn 
the  valve  slightly  down,  say  one-eighth  of 
a  turn,  and  by  a  little  manipulation  the  all- 
over  temperature  of  the  absorber  can  ^e 
maintained  even.  Sometimes  a  little 
scale  or  dirt  will  get  over  a  hole  and  close 
so  much  of  the  valve. 

This  valve  does  not  regulate  the  flow  of 
the  poor  liquor,  simply  its  distribution 
over  the  coils.  The  flow  of  the  poor 
liquor  is  regulated  by  the  valve  near  the 
exchanger,  that  at    the    generator    being 


used  only  to  shut  off  the  poor  liquor 
altogether.  There  should  be  only  enough 
poor  liquor  thrown  over  to  absorb  the  gas. 
^lore  than  this  puts  an  extra  load  on  the 
ammonia  pump,  exchanger  and  absorber. 
It  is  at  this  point  that  the  expense  of  the 
absorption  machine  comes  to  be  consid- 
ered, as  regards  water,  and  also  the  capa- 
city of  the  machine,  all  being  limited  by 
the  amount  of  gas  the  absorber  will  take 
over  from  the  cooler. 

There  is  a  great  deal  said  about  the 
relative  temperatures,  due  to  that  of  the 
w-ater,  and  the  pressure  that  should  be 
carried  on  the  generator.  These  points 
should  be  known  when  laying  out  and 
building  the  machine  and  determining  the 
size  of  the  conoensing  and  generating 
coils ;  but  when  the  engineer  has  a  ma- 
chine on  his  han^s  he  wants  to  know 
why. 

The  practical  point  is  just  here:  When 
the  absorber  is  cold  the  poor  liquor  within 
il  will  have  a  large  absorbing  power  and 
take  gas  from  the  cooler  all  right,  even 
if  it  is  gas  of  medium  high  percentage; 


degree  temperature  water  the  pressure  in 
the  generator  may  be  from  90  to  100 
pounds  and  at  75  degrees  it  will  be  neces-  ( 
sary  to  carry  it  to  150  to  160  pounds.  All  I 
these  pressures  are  determined  by  the  tem- 
perature of  the  absorber  and  whether  coal 
or  water  costs  the  more. 

If  water  can  be  obtained  from  driven 
or  bored  wells,  an  absorption  machine  can 
be  run  the  year  through  with  exhaust 
steam,  and  it  will  not  act  as  a  brake  on 
the  engine.  "Where  there  is  lots  of  brine 
pumping  by  steam  pumps  it  is  possible  to 
run  a  machine  with  the  exhaust  from  the 
pumps. 

It  can  be  noticed  at  any  time  whether 
the  absorber  is  taking  hold  well  by  the 
frost  on  the  gas  pipe  /.  If  the  frost  con- 
tinues white  and  keeps  accumulating,  the 
absorber  is  working  uniformly;  if  the 
pipe  begins  to  thaw,  either  the  absorber 
has  "let  go,"  or  the  cooler  has  become 
foul. 

At  the  bottom  of  the  absorber  is  a 
valve  M.  The  pipe  from  this  should  have 
a   swivel  joint  so  it  may  be   swung  into 


FIG.    3 


if  it  grows  warmer,  it  will  have  less  ab- 
sorbing power  and  do  less  work. 

If  the  temperature  cannot  be  improved 
because  of  insufficient  water  or  because 
of  the  high  cost  of  the  water,  the  liquor 
coming  over  must  be  made  weaker,  by 
turning  more  heat  on  the  generator  and 
d  stilling  more  of  the  gas  over  into  the 
c  ndenser,  which  will  carry  a  large 
amount  in  storage.  It  will  also  be  found 
that  the  cooler  will  need  a  little  more  gas 
under  this  condition.  This  weakens  the 
who',  -harge  in  the  generator,  requiring 
higher  .  eat  in  the  coils  and  a  higher  pres- 
sure to  distill  the  necessary  gas  from  ti  '^ 
weakened  charge,  and  this  is  the  reason 
a  higher  pressure  has  to  be  carried  with  a 
warm  absorber. 

With  cooling  water  at  or  below  6c  de- 
grees, a  low-pressure  machine  will  run  at 
atmospheric  pressure;  with  water  at  yo 
degrees,  the  steam  pressure  may  have  to 
be  raised  two  or  three  pounds ;  and  at 
75  degrees  it  may  have  to  be  raised  to  10 
pounds.  Some  machines  will  rcqu  re 
higher  pressures,  depending  on  the  heat- 
ing  surface  in  the  generator.     With   60- 


or  out  of  a  bucket.  If  there  is  air  in  the 
system  it  will  usually  be  found  at  the 
bottom  of  the  absorber  and  is  to  be 
drawn  out  through  this  valve.  The  valve 
should  be  opened  occasionally  to  test  the 
system  for  air.  A  clean  machine  ought 
to  run  from  one  to  two  months  without 
trouble  of  this  kind.  To  test  it,  get  a 
brcket  of  cold  water,  and  set  it  under  the 
cutlet  to  the  pipe  and  open  the  valve  from 
one-eighth  to  one-fourth  turn.  If  air  is 
present,  bubbles  will  rise  to  the  top  of  the 
water,  nearly  noiselessly.  Should  there 
be  few  bubbles,  accompanied  by  a  crack- 
ling sound,  like  water  being  heated  with 
stea»r  it  indicates  the  presence  of  gas, 
showing  that  that  part  of  the  machine  is 
-V  :•:gh^ 

When  air  bubbles  are  rising,  if  a  match 
is  held  over  the  pail  and  a  pale  yellow 
flame  results,  it  shows  that  there  is  some 
foul  gas  mixed  with  the  air. 

Half  way  up  the  absorber  there  is  an- 
other purge  pipe  for  drawing  off  foul  gas. 
If  this  valve  is  slightly  opened  and  the 
gas  issuing  therefrom  is  lighted  and  con- 
tinues to  burn  of  itself,  it  shows  foul  gas 


June  29,   1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


nss 


and  the  pipe  should  be  turned  into  a  pail 
of  watcf  until  good  gas  comes,  which  can 
be  told  by  the  crackling  sound.  Do  not 
make  the  mistake  of  holding  a  light  under 
it  only  to  light  it  Ammonia  gas  will 
burn  if  a  li({ht  is  kept  under  it  with  a 
very  similar  tlame.  The  pail  of  water  tells 
the  stor>-. 

The  pipe  L  on  the  crossover  pipe  F  can 
also  be  tested :  The  absorber  should  be 
pumped  as  low  as  possible  without  allow- 
ing gas  to  get  in  the  pump,  and  the  pres- 
sure should  be  kept  as  near  a  vacuum  as 
possible.  The  pump  should  be  kept  at  a 
nriffjrm  spcc<l.  The  pressure  in  the  cooler 
will  be  nearly  the  same  as  that  in  the  ab- 
sorlier,  as  it  is  the  absorber  that  governs 
the  pressure.  The  maker*'  instructions 
will  give  the  proper  pressures  to  carry 
with  relation  to  brine  temperatures,  but 
the  poor  fellow  who  has  followed  them 
ar.d  run  up  against  the  packing  of  a  rich 
liquor  rod  under  pressure  will  keep  just 
as  near  a  vacuum  as  possible  and  save 
packinv  «mmonia  and  the  nervous  sys- 
tem. 

Fvery  ammonia-liquor  pump  has,  or 
'i  have,  a  long  stuffing  box  and  a 
!.le  at  the  center  of  the  box  (see 
i*!?  .1),  with  packing  on  bfith  sides.  This 
thimble  bhould  be  central,  as  there  is  a 
recess  in  the  thimble  cqnnecting.  by  a 
port,  to  (Se  suction  side  of  the  pump  and 
all  Kakaffe  ruist  the  first  packing  goes  back 

■  the 
■arc 
Oil  '  r,  but  do  iiot  iiii..KH>c  that 

5  p  ->ure  on  the   rcwl  <.f  a  rich- 

r  pump  is  a  simple  thing,  for  it  is  the 
.-  .  t  proposition  in  the  packing  line  a 
man  ever  ran  up  against.  Keep  the  pres- 
sure in  the  absorber  as  near  vacuum  as 
possible.  The  richness  of  the  ammonia 
-  :nined  by  what  the  absorber 

of. 

I  l;c{c   u   iiu  telling   what    '  -  "ti- 

ti*»n    J*    .nftT    fhr    m.n-hiTjr  cpl 

by  t'  li  you 

are  r  .ib»<>rl»er 

works   all    righi.    the    rich    litpior   at    the 

• >  will  show  jR  degrees,  but  that  only 

what  it  is  at  that  point. 
I  iicre    should    be    sufficient    anhytlrmis 
ammonia  in  the  »y»lem   for  the  c<M.1rr  to 
all  it  want*  and  allow   -'  'tor 

ep    a    few     iiulic*    in    '  *er 

all    the   tiinr.    wit'  m    pres- 

down  to  the  low  |>-  i*  with 

•  c'x'l  absorlK-r.  ami  it  i«  »<  •  I»<>s- 

•ibie  lo  have  the  li(|tior  in  a  rl^r 

•o  rich  that  the  pump  Y^ill  1  the 

gas  separating  out  in  ihe  ptnMi..  ..  v.-itdi* 
lion    which    will    be    shown    in    the    giasa 
of  the  al>*'irl»er,   as   wluti     ' 
ifo,    the    .il.«..ft  T    '.n . 
r    in    thr 
.    water, 
the   rh.4rKr   by   ihr 
ovrr   into  the  c«  n'K 

•nd  «tan  the  pump  bjr  prrssarc  from  Um 
condenser. 

Ii  will  b«  necessary  to  have  a  Ihtlr  pm* 


sure  on  the  absorber  when  purging  at  the 
valves  J/,  etc.;  just  above  atmosphere  is 
all  that  is  necessary.  Never  open  these 
valves  when  there  is  a  vacuum,  as  it 
would  draw  air  in. 

The  CoxDCXsca 

The  gage  on  the  condenser  shows  its 
condition,  l^re  should  always  be  two 
or  more  iiKhes  in  the  glass.  .\s  the  con- 
densing water  first  passes  through  the 
condenser,  and  as  the  gas  is  cooled  in  the 
recti  ible   with 

the  nia.  if  all 

right.  Mill  voiisiiiuc  tu  ctlcr^swc.  If  it  is 
quiet,  like  water,  there  is  foul  gas.  which 
will  collet k  at  the  top.  In  this  case,  shut 
the  valve  //  at  the  top  of  the  absorber  and 
open  the  valve  C  at  the  top  of  the  con- 
dmsrr.  Then  get  a  bucket  of  water  and 
blow  the  pipe  L  into  it.  It  will  be  impos- 
sible to  do  this  without  wasting  some  am- 
monia, and  w  .C.I  (he  water  is  impreg- 
nated with  ammon*a,  so  as  to  be  offensive, 
change  it  for  more  water.  This  may  have 
to  be  done  once  or  twi<e  a  day  for  two  or 
three  days. 

When  ihroagh  purging  each  lime, 
change  the  valves  back  again,  as  the  ab- 
sorber gage  is  on  this  I*  ie  and  during  the 
time  the  pressure  is  on  it  the  absorber 
gage  will  show  condenser  prc»sure.  In. 
one  case     ■      ■  '       •     "c  bottom 

rf    the  ^ct\.    thus 

stopping  :hc  iiutchtiic.  Ct'iisuction  was 
made  from  the  bottom  .^f  the  glas*  gage 
to  this  pi|K:  a:   '  the  <lelay  was  short. 

It  is  A  difficult  matter  to  get  a  safety 
valve  that  will  be  light,  so  recourse  is 
had  lo.  extending  the  casing  and  putting 
in  a  blank  of  sheet  lead  that  will  let  go 
at  the  pressure  that  the  safety  valve  is 
set  for.  When  this  hapfiens.  put  in  an- 
other blank. 

The  CcxrtATVNi 
The   c*  jU    i'-r    «?rnrn    in    the    generator 
go  in  ft  aboi  '  'I  return  near 

the  bniitim.  /  up  a  genera- 

tor cold,  do  so  easily,  taking  plenty  of 
lime.  If  possible,  the  lietier  plan  is  to 
turn  steam  on  at  the  bottom  and  let  it 
work  it*  way  riwanl.  If  it  is  a  brge 
iiLichine  with  a  flanite  ioinl  in  the  center, 
by 


off 

Ucl.    ....     ..  .1    ...    :...    : 

ii  otKe  or  iwirr.  only  do  not  harry  the 
healing  of  the  generator 

As  s«M>n  as  ihrre  is   •uflficieni   prrsanrr 


slightly   so  as  to  start  circulation.     The 

itp  of  the  '•- '»  are  about  at  the 

center  of  ihr  . 

It  is  ..   . 
a  pine 
inches  .. 
with  a  I 

The     charge     m     the     generator     shoakl 
always  be  kept  above  the  coils  anil  i:«i!.illv 
near  the  top  of  the  generator, 
will  change,  depending  on  the  ga^   ,,,  inc 
Condenser   and   cooler   and   the   liqut>r   in 
the    absortier.      5 
cooler  will   raite   ' 
tor   4   or    5    inches.      U  i.cn    a 
aiihydr<  us  ammonia  1*  sent  ovr- 
condenser   ihe   level    will    be   changed.* 

If  there  is  no  leakage  around   t!.c   am- 
monia pump,  all  loss  will  he  of  .. 

ammonia  and  it  must  be  repleni^ ~.i.. 

the  same.  Should  there  be  leakage  of 
liquor  it  can  be  rcr'  '   aqua  am- 

monia, or  with  vs  !rous  am- 

monia.     If    water    u    uvcil.    u 
pure,    di'tilled     water,    as    impi; 
would  '  s. 

The    ■  1    by    allowing    the 

charge  to  get   below   the  gener..' 

are   two:      If   allowed    for    mori.    : j. 

short  lime  the  ammonia  will  corrode  the 
pipes,  and  the  hot  pipes  in  the  gas  will 
decompose  the  gas.  This  will  be  sluiwn 
up  around  the  cooler,  the  frost  esery- 
where  beins  excessivelv  heavy,  as  thoogh 
r\<  ■  aitd   Ihe  gage 

on  -,hrnrt  as  good 

vacuum    as    a    C'  -le.      The 

temperature  of  i>i'  <-  high,  as 

that  is  the  only  thing  that  does  not  show 
any  low  temperatures.  Fhe  only  remedy 
is  a  good  charge  of  anhydrous  ammnnu 
and  purging  oat  the  bad  gac^ 


The  reclilier  i» 
ami   should  he  r 
off  the  '"  ■-•■■- 
liquefy   ' 


it    would    -Ir 
and  have  to 


water  » 

l.tn! 


DiBfv  r 


lo    ' 

poui. .^  - 

In  Ihe  eonoeiwer,  open  Ine  e  < 


nm  aad  Ihr   t 

m    the    fneas    <•«      hmt 


«!«« 


1156 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June   29,    1909. 


top  and  bottom  and  each  coil  has  a  valve 
at  both  ends. 

There  should  be  an  air  compressor 
on  the  premises  capable  of  maintaining 
a  pressure  of  80  pounds  through  an  open 
>4-inch  pipe.  The  headers  should  be  con- 
nected to  the  air  line,  and  also  to  a  water 
pressure,  with  !j-inch  pipe;  the  feed  line 
will   do. 

Once  a  week  the  ammonia  should  be 
shut  off,  or,  rather,  the  maciiine  should 
be  stopped  and  the  water  drawn  from 
the  coils,  the  bottom  valves  closed  and 
air  tunicd  on.  There  should  be  a  valve 
for  the  bottom  header,  in  the  bottom  of 
the  flange,  which  should  be  opened  and 
then  the  valves  on  the  coils  should  be 
opelied  separately  and  the  air  allowed  to 
blow  through.  The  deposit  will  be  soft 
and  w'ill  easily  clear  out.  After  air  has 
bfown  through,  turn  on  the  water  in  the 
same  manner  and  wash  the  coils  out. 
While  the  machine  is  idle,  the  brine  tem- 
perature may  have  gone  up  one  or  two 
degrees,  but  it  will  readily  come  .down 
again. 

If  the  coils  are  badly  coated  the  ma- 
chine will  have  to  be  stopped  for  two  or 
three  days.  The  ammonia  will  have  to 
be  drawn  from  the  condenser  and  ab- 
sorber, as  if  warmed  up  the  expansion 
would  cause  too  much  pressure.  In  draw- 
ing off  the  ammonia  be  careful  not  to  re- 
duce it  too  low  all  at  once,  or  the  freezing 
effect  will  be  so  great  as  to  freeze  the 
water  coils. 

Have  prepared  a  sufficient  quantity  of 
a  strong  potash  solution,  draw  the  water 
from  the  coils,  fill  them  with  potash  and 
let  it  .stand  for  twenty-four  hours,  or 
longer  if  the  machine  can  be  spared.  When 
the  p9tash  is  drawn  off,  turn  on  the  water 
from  the  small  cleaning  pipe  and  fill  the 
coils.  Gose  the  valve  to  within  one- 
half  turn  and  turn  on  the  air.  Open  one 
valve  at  the  bottom  of  the  coil  header 
and  keep  it  open  until  the  water  runs 
clear,  then  close  that  one  and  open  an- 
other. After  all  have  been  blown,  be- 
gin with  the  first  and  go  over  them  again. 
They  may  require  four  or  five  blowings 
out  before  they  will  be  clean. 

When  air  and  water  issue  from  a  pipe 
together,  it  will  be  noticed  that  it  is- 
sues with  a  series  of  explosions,  which 
apiK'ar  to  take  place  all  through  the  coil 
and  may  he  thought  to  do  the  cleaning, 
but  this  method  has  little  effect  with- 
out the  potash.  Water  at  from  125  to  150 
degrees  appears  to  do  better  work  than 
cold  water,  as  the  vapor  from  the  warm 
water  makes  the  explosions  stronger. 

The  gages  should  be  looked  at  occasion- 
ally to  see  if  pressure  is  being  generated, 
and  it  is  the  better  plan  to  cool  the  gen- 
erator than  to  shut  off  the  condenser, 
as  there  is  no  pressure-gage  on  the  con- 
denser unless  the  valve  //  at  the  top  of 
the  absorber  is  closed  and  the  valve  G 
is  opened,  thus  using  the  absorber  gage 
for  the  condenser.  Do  not  forget  to 
change  back  again,  however. 


WE.\K-Ligi'ou  Pipe 
In  regard  to  the  weak-liquor  pipe,  it 
should  be  remembered  that  as  the  pres- 
sure in  the  generator  is  carried  higher  the 
flow  through  this  line  is  increased  unless 
throttled. 

Brine 

For  brine,  chloride  of  calcium  should 
be  used  instead  of  chloride  of  sodium, 
because  it  cleans  the  pipes  better,  pre- 
vents corrosion  and  will  carry  lower  tem- 
peratures. Care  should  be  taken  to  get 
the  purest,  but  even  with  this  there  is  a 
sludge  that  will  stop  circulation  in  small 
pipes,  and  sometimes  good-sized  pipes  are 
bothered.  Place  a  steam  pipe  in  the  tank 
for  dissolving  purposes  and  do  not  fill 
the  tank  full  of  water  after  the  calcium 
is  placed  in  it.  When  the  mixing  tank  is 
charged,  turn  on  steam  until  tank  is 
boils,  then  close  the  steam  valve.  Skim 
off  the  scum  that  rises.  It  will  be  nee-' 
essary  to  wait  until  the  brine  cools  be- 
fore pumping  into  the  system  or  it  would 
raise  temperatures.  The  skimming  can 
be  done  without  heating,  but  not  as  much 
of  the  impurities  will  rise  as  by  heating, 
and  not  much  time  is  gained,  as  the  dis- 
solving is  so  much  slower.  Heating  sa^■es 
lots    of   cleaning    later,    also. 

Danger  in  Ammonia  Fumes 

In  case  of  accident,  ammonia  is  a  bad 
thing,  as  it  takes  but  a  small  amount  to 
overcome  a  person.  Acetic  acid  is  an 
antidote  and  is  found  in  ordinary  vinegar. 
A  sponge  soaked  in  vinegar  and  put  over 
the  nose  will  enable  anyone  to  work  in 
a  strongly  impregnated  atmosphere,  as 
far  as  lireathing  is  concerned,  but  the 
eyes  would  not  be  protected.  To  work 
under  such  conditions  it  is  necessary  to 
■wear  a  helmet,  which  should  be  kept 
charged  at  all  times  at  125  pounds  pres- 
sure and  regulated  so  that  it  will  take 
one-half  hour  to  reduce  the  pressure  to 
25  pounds. 

Should  anyone  be  in  danger  of  suf- 
focation, breathing  the  fumes  from  vine- 
gar will  neutralize  it.  Drinking  warm 
milk  will  relieve  a  person  partly  suffocated 
from  ammonia  or  any  gas. 

Workers  around  ammonia  should  not 
forget  the  strong  affinity  it  has  for  water 
and  the  absorbing  power  of  water.  When 
there  is  a  small  leak  of  even  the  gas  under 
pressure,  a  piece  of  water-soaked  waste 
put  over  it  will  remove  all  trouble  until 
the  water  is  thoroughly  saturated  with 
it. 

It  is  a  good  idea  to  practice  using 
water  for  even  unimportant  leaks  so  as  to 
be  accustomed  to  it.  A  i-inch  hose  and 
a  25/$-inch  hose  under  water  pressure 
should  always  be  handy,  as  by  their  use 
a  big-  leak  could  be  drowned ;  and  these 
would  be  thought  of  instantly  if  one  were 
accustomed  to  the  use  of  water  to  take 
care  of  ammonia   fumes. 


Detecting  Leaks 
"  There  are  various  devices  for  detecting 
leaks,  but  the  best  is  white  litmvTs  paper. 
This  can  be  procured  free  from  the  deal- 
er in  ammonia.  Take  a  strip  14  inch  wide 
and  about  1^2  inches  long.  With  a  thread, 
tie  it  onto  a  small. stick  15  to  18  inches 
long.  When  using  it,  moisten  it  in  water 
and  hold  it  to  the  suspected  place.  If 
there  is  a  leak  the  paper  will  turn  red 
and  the  shade  of  red  will  show  how 
strong  the  leak  is.  Litmus  paper  will 
detect  leaks  that  cannot  be  smelled.  Turn 
it  away  from  the  leak  into  pure  air  and 
it  again  becomes  white.  It  can  be  used 
until  completely  worn  out,  all  that  is  nec- 
essary, when  using  it,  being  to  moisten  it. 

Fittings 
For  putting  screwed  fittings  together, 
or  for  material  to  put  on  flanges,  use 
litharge  and  glycerin ;  for  sheet  packing, 
use  pure  rubber.  Do  nof  get  fittings  in- 
tended simply  to  receive  the  pipe  that  is 
to  be  screwed  into  them  ;  get  special  am- 
monia extra-heavy  fittings,  either  with  a 
stuffing  box  at  each  end  of  the  fitting, 
in  which  rubber  packing  should  be  used 
or  fittings  with  a  lead  ring  in  each  out- 
let and  with  provision  to  put  in  shot  and 
allow  a  plug  to  be  screwed  in  the  top  to 
force    the    shot    down    on    the    pipe. 


Care  and  Management  of  the 
Water-tube  Boiler 


By  William   Kav.\nagh 


Water-tube  boilers  having  straight  tubes 
may  be  divided  in  two  classes,  those  that 
employ  ground  plugs  or  caps  for  closing 
the  holes  through  which  the  tubes  are 
inserted  and  cleaned,  and  those  in  which 
small  handhole  and  circular  plates  fitted 
with  rubber  or  asbestos  gaskets  are  used 
for  the  same  purpose  as  the  ground  plugs 
or  caps.  The  Babcock  &  Wilcox  and  Root 
boilers  employ  caps  with  ground  joints 
or  surfaces  to  close  the  tube  openings  in 
the  headers,  while  the  Heine  and  Oil 
City  boilers  use  handhole  and  circular 
plates  on  which  are  placed  asbestos  or 
rubber  gaskets  to  form  a  water-  and 
steam-tight  joint.  Fig.  i  illustrates  the 
method  of  closing  the  hole  in  the  tube 
lieader  of  the  Babcock  &  Wilcox  boiler. 
Fig.  2  shows  the  method  adopted  by  the 
Heine  boiler  builders  for  closing  the  tube 
connection  in  the  header  or  water  leg,  a 
gasket  .being  used,  as  shown  at  A,  to  in- 
sure a  water-tight  joint. 

I""ig.  3  is  a  longitudinal  elevation  of  the 
Babcock  &  Wilcox  boiler  showing  doors 
D  located  in  and  connecting  with  the 
different  chambers,  the  object  of  the  doors 
being  to  afford  access  to  these  chambers 
for  the  purpose  of  cleaning  and  blowing 
the  dust  off  the  tubes,  for  removal  of 
ashes  and  for  repairs  to  the  deflecting 
arches,    walls,   etc.      Fig.   4   is   a   view   of 


June  29.  1909 

the  Hdne  boiler  and  the  cleaning  doors 
D  are  for  the  «.ame  purpose  as  the  doors 
tn  the  Babcock  &  Wilcox  boiler. 
Ahcn   blowing   the   duit   off 
.veen    the    water   tubes   and   a: 
:n    two    !io/7lc<,     shajMrd     ai    lit     \i^^ 
i)d   6.    *h.»il<I    be    used       The    straight 
'le  may   be   used   in   blowing    t!u-   dust 
the  tubes   in  a   horizontal   and   cross- 
.-  direction,  while  the  bent  nozzle  can 
used    for    blowing    the    dust    off    the 
$   in   an   upward   and    downward   di 
■  also  from  the  b«ittom  of  the 
nozzles   can   l»e    used    while 
ou   the  boiler,  and  they  may  be 
-cd   V.y    nddtnc   n    ptrrr   of   pipe   or 
to  parts 
.  Ac  fr_::.   •:  •  ,. 

<sr.    AND    Right   Ways   to    Shit   a 

BOILU    DOWN 

\    I.  111.  r   properly   shut   down    i*  easily 
.ned;     if     improperly     shut     dowti»    it 


POWER  AND  THE  ENCilNEER,  "S7 

and   clean   off   th-   hard-baked    scale    and  thing  cool  together,  and  when  ihr  Ix 

mud  that  would  otherwise  be  earned  off  opened   for  cleaning   a   strong   strei 

through    the    blowoff    if   the    boikr    was  water  will  wash  off  all  the  scale  and  rand 

'  :t  down.  that   did  not    run  oat    when  the  blowoff 

way   to   shut  a  -boiler  down  was  opened.     In  nearly  mry  case  when 

is    :.r»:    :o    vee    that    there    is   the    usual  a    "     "  '  •    way  tb* 

amount    of    water    in    the    boiler    before  u 


^-^_.,. 


»iu  I 


»io 


ria   3 


& 


3   ,      .1 


£l 


<t:3: 


lly  made  ia 


or 


rrth  scrnlt  niak- 


illj     be    twffKKUt    to    iruBfe    • 
T)ir  r»^  are  f»> 

;rHr'>t      •iff*      ty* 

to 


•tr.     The   wrong   » 


I.   .  ..I      •!. 


r     mg   the   t; 


«• 

C(aJc«f 


emery  cloth  should  be  used.  By  attach- 
ing it  to  a  buffing  wheel  and  revolving 
the  wheel  about  500  times  per  minute  a 
quick  job  can  be  done  on  the  caps.  Some- 
times it  becomes  necessary  to  apply  emery 
cloth  to  the  ground  surfaces  on  the  head- 
ers. A  quick  way  to  polish  these  sur- 
faces is  to  make  a  wooden  buffer  or 
cleaner,  as  shown  in  Fig.  7,  to  fit  the 
opening  in  the  headers,  and  by  attaching 
some  line  emery  cloth  to  the  disk  at  A 
and  inserting  the  plug  P  in  the  opening, 
the  whole  can  be  rotated  by  means  of  a 
carpenter's  or  similar  brace ;  by  placing 
the  plug  P  in  the  tube  opening,  the  plug 
acts  as  a  guide  and  insures  an  equal 
amount  of  wear  on  all  of  the  polished 
surfaces,  which  cannot  be  obtained  if  the 
emery  cloth  is  used  by  hand.  In  this  way 
all  of  the  headers  that  are  to  be  cleaned 
can  each  receive  a  polishing  in  a  very 
short  time. 

Straight  Water  Tubes  Easily  Cleaned 
The  water  tubes  in  this  type  of  boiler 
are  straight  and  are  more  easily  cleaned 
than  curved  tubes.  A  turbine  tube  cleaner 
is  attached  to  a  hose.  A  stream  of  water 
t'.ows  through  the  hose,  rotating  the  tur- 
bine at  a  high  velocity.  The  rotative  speed 
throws  out  cutters  or  scrapers  (by  centri- 
fugal action)  against  the  interior  of  the 
water  tube,  and  by  feeding  the  turbine  and 
hose  into  each  tube  the  scale  is  partially 
or  wholly  removed,  depending  on  the 
thickness  and  density  of  the  scale.  Some- 
times it  will  be  found  necessary  to  make 
more  than  one  trip  with  the  turbine 
through  a  tube,  but  in  general  one  trip  is 
sufficient,  provided  the  scale  is  not  too 
heavy  and  the  cutters  on  the  turbine  are 
sharp. 

In  replacing  the  caps  particular  atten- 
tion should  be  r^iven  to  the  cleanliness  of 
the  ground  surfaces,  and  the  mistake 
should  not  be  made  of  plastering  over 
these  surfaces  with  a  heavy  coating  of 
graphite  and  oil.  Metal  to  metal  insures 
the  best  joint.  If  graphite  is  used  it 
should  be  used  very  sparingly.  When  the 
caps  arc  in  position  it  is  an  excellent  idea 
to  test  them  for  tightness  by  pumping 
a  water  pressure  equal  to  the  steam  pres- 
sure carried  in  daily  operation.  If  any 
cap  leaks  and  it  cannot  be  made  tight 
with  an  ordinary  pull  on  the  cap  wrench, 
then  the  water  should  be  lowered  below 
the  l«aking  cap,  the  cap  t.nken  off  and  the 
surfaces  thoroughly  cleaned  licfore  again 
putting  the  cap  on.  Sometimes  it  is  nec- 
essary to  change  a  cap  nnd  even  do  a 
little  grinding  before  making  a  tight  joint. 
After  tlie  caps  are  all  in  position  the 
boiler  should,  if  possible,  be  filled  with 
warm  water  and  allowed  to  remain  so 
for  at  least  twenty-four  hours,  when  the 
blowoff  can  be  opened  and  the  water 
lowered  to  its  regular  kight,  when  .steam 
can  be  raised  as  slowly  as  pf)ssiblc.  After 
steam  is  raised  it  will  be  found  a  first- 
rate  idea  to  go  all  over  the  caps  with  the 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

wrench  and  try  out  the  nuts  for  tight- 
ness. In  most  cases  after  steam  is  up 
and  the  boiler  hot,  half  a  turn  and  some- 
times niore  can  be  given  each  nut.  If 
this  is  not  done,  when  the  boiler  cools 
there  is  sure  to  be  a  leaky  header  or  cap. 
All  that  has  been  written  about  the  Bab- 
cock  &  Wilcox  boiler  is  equally  applicable 
to  the  Heine  boiler,  with  the  exception 
of  the  caps.  With  the  Heine  boiler  small 
handhole  and  tubehole  plates  and  gaskets 
are  used  to  close  the  tube  connections, 
instead  of  ground  joints.  When  inserting 
these  plates  care  must  be  taken  to  see 
there  are  no  lumps  on  either  surface  of 
the  plate,  header  or  water  leg.  The  tube- 
hole  plates  are  round  and  cannot  be  placed 
in  position  like  handhole  plates,  therefore 
the  tubehole  plates  are  first  entered 
through  a  handhole  opening  and  then  zig- 
zagged into  place.  A  better  plan  than 
this  is  to  use  a  string  having  a  small 
weight  attached  to  one  end.  By  dropping 
the  weighted  end  through  a  hole  ready  to 
receive  a  plate,  the  plate  can  be  fastened 
to  the  string  and  by  pulling  on  the  string 
the  plate  can  be  hauled  into  place  quickly. 


June  29,    1909. 

Marking    Valves  of  Refrigerating 
System 

By  Lewis   C.   Reynolds 


^^IMTTI 


FIG.     7 

When  using  this  plan  one  should  begin 
at  or  with  the  highest  row  first  and  then 
work  downward  until  the  handhole  row 
is  reached,  when  this  row  can  be  closed 
in  the   usual  manner. 

Inspecting  the   Water-tube   Boiler 

While  inside  tke  drum,  the  feed  pipe, 
dry  pipe  and  drum  blowoff  should  receive 
attention.  If  there  is  a  mud  catcher  at- 
tached to  the  feed  pipe  it  should  be 
cleaned  out,  and  the  blow-down  cocks  can 
receive  new  lining,  if  necessary.  Water- 
column  connections  should  be  looked 
after  and  the  drum  inspected  for  corrosion 
along  the  water  line.  The  portion  of  the 
tul)es  lying  directly  over  the  fire  should 
receive  particular  attention,  as  these 
tubes  become  flat  on  their  sides  from 
fbe  action  of  the  heated  gases  and  draft. 
They  should  receive  the  hammer  test  and 
all  weakened  tubes  should  be  discarded. 
The  neck  or  connection  between  the  water 
leg  and  drum  should  l)c  inspect>cd  for 
corrosion  and  kakage,  and  the  point 
where  the  tubes  enter  the  water  leg 
should  receive  the  hanimer  te.st.  The 
deflecting  arches  and  walls  should  l)e  in- 
spected, because  waste  of  fuel  can  occur 
if  the  heat  is  not  properly  dispersed 
among  the  tubes. 


It  is  quite  usual  to  find  the  valves  in 
a  power  plant  marked  in  their  running 
position  so  that  the  operator  may  know 
how  to  set  them  for  certain  conditions. 
The  rheostats  and  voltage  regulators  will'  { 
have  a  pencil  mark  on  the  marble  panel, 
the  valves  have  a  chisel  mark  on  nut  ( 
and  stem  and  probably  the  boiler-feed 
valves  have  a  string  tied  on  the  wheel 
corresponding  to  some  stationary  point. 
Each  man  operating  has  his  own  mark 
or  perhaps  several  relating  to  a  different 
set  of  conditions.  In  a  refrigerating 
plant  with  its  numerous  valves  requiring 
at  times  the  most  exact  adjustments  some 
scheme  of  marking  becomes  absolutely 
necessary  and  can  be  accomplished  by  a 
system  of  dials  with  pointers  which  will 
intelligently  indicate  valve  positions  with- 
out disfiguring  the  valves. 

Provide  a  disk  of  sheet  brass  say,  1/16 
inch  thick  and  6  inches  in  diameter,  for 
a  i-inch  valve ;  divide  the  outside  edge 
into  a  suitable  number  of  divisions  de- 
pending on  the  fineness  of  adjustment  de- 
sired, and  stamp  each  division  with  a 
figure  punch,  or  if  graduated  close,  at  in- 
tervals, so  that  the  figures  will  not  be- 
come confusing.  Attach  the  dial  to  a  small 
brass  collar  which  is  secured  to  the  valve 
stem  by  a  small  setscrew.  The  marking 
of  the  dial  can  best  be  done  by  fastening 
the  disk  to  a  wooden  block  attached  to  the 
faceplate  of  a  lathe,  and  moving  the  car- 
riage with  a  pointed  tool  across  the 
disk  so  as  to  take  a  light  cut.  The  spacing 
can  be  done  by  placing  a  suitable  gear  on 
the  spindle  and  moving  the  faceplate  after 
each  cut  until  the  next  tooth  comes  in 
line.  Set  the  dial  on  the  valve  stem  so 
that  the  pointer  will  be  at  zero  when  the 
valve  is  closed.  If  the  valve  is  opened 
more  than  one  turn,  it  will  be  nece-ssary 
to  count  them  and  read  the  fraction  of 
a  turn  directly  from  the  dial. 

This  device  has  proved  of  great  ad- 
vantage in  operating  a  refrigerating  plant. 
It  has  been  placed  on  the  expansion  and 
weak  liquor  valves,  also  the  steam  valves 
to  the  retort  pump  and  the  condensing 
water  valves.  Any  change  made  in  their 
position  is  noted  on  the  log  sheet  and 
also  the  reason  for  the  change.  A  monthly 
memorandum  sheet  is  ruled  up  with  the 
first  column  for  the  day  of  month,  the 
second  column  for  the  hour  of  day  and 
the  following  columns  for  the  different 
valves.  Once  each  day  a  reading  of  the 
valve  position  is  taken  and  the  time 
noted.  This  is  filed  for  future  reference, 
and  comparisons  of  valve  positions  can  be 
made  for  different  months  and  years.  The 
men  in  the  station  become  accustomed  to 
referring  to  the  valve  positions  by  num- 
ber, and  Llie  engineer  when  visiting  the 
plant  can  tell  at  a  glance  if  any  changes 
have   been    made. 


June  29,   190Q. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


"59 


Practical    Letters    from     Practical    Men 

Don't  Bother  About    the    St>lc,    but    Vt'ritc    Just    VI  hat    "t  ou  Thi.ik. 
Know  or  Want   to  Know    Alx>ut   ^  our  ^X<*rlc,   and   Help  Rach   C)thcr 

WE     PAY     FOR     USEFUL     IDEAS 


An  Original   Remote  Control 


Systi 


em 


telephone  wires  were  then  connected  to 
one  tide  of  the  switch  and  a  Mjurce  of 
electric  energy  to  the  other.     The  switch, 

a<  requircil  by  the  fire  undenn-riters,  wai 

Recently  an  engineer  was  called  upon  to     thus  located   outttde  of  the   still   room, 
devise  an  economical  method  of  control-         By  pressing  on  the  end  G   of  the  rod. 
ling    a    direct -current    2JO    volt,    3-horse-     the    switch    .-f     was   closed.      On    remov- 
power   sump   motor   from   his   still   room,      ing    the    pressure,    the    spring    5*    would 


top  e%l  the  hnord  are  tw«  ma^nel*  «•»*•- 


^■-^.-^.-v 


-'  >C- 


/-'•  " -V-' -*J  V^N 


•  .  1 


L 


JrmfffrrfWFrm 


•fT^t 


riG.  I.   coKXca  or    sritx  room 

The   motor   was   located   abou*    1000   feet 

away,  at   a    reservoir  holding  dirty   t)cn- 

rific,    an«l    \s  -    i.illy    *rirr' 

from  the  c;  in  t.".    b-i 

the   power    h>;;v«..    whid*    was   aU>ui    >jo 

feet    fr<Mn   the   »iill. 

It  was  deemed  neitlicr  •!  r  ad- 

Tisable   to   run   either    1   j.  r   ait 

an  underground  ext  hmom  fron.  the  cut- 
out box  to  the  stiP  r<M>m.  owin^  '.o  the 
appearance  in  the  l«r»i   caM-.   :md  to  the 

ici' 

pair   <.i 
ran   fr-.i. 
bouse. 

The  extra  wim  were  extend  u  to  the 

rear  wall  «»f  the  •till  nxHn.     At  a  p«»inl 

■'-tit    5    feet    from    the    rt.»or.    and    one 

'    from    the    c"«»r»»rr    >>\    the    mom.   a 


B 


I 


-.jir. 


immr.|i!iirlr  f*>rre  the  •witeh  **t*'^  »ff»tn 


ai 

T 

«' 

ai'.-.   ~ 
was  •< 


hung   fr<-ni   4   Ir 


I'- 

u 

Fig.    1,    1 

m.ik'itcts 

ft    Closed. 

\^ 

fieri 

being 

by  mraiiv 

on  a  sptM 

by  a 

»l  on  r 

the  catches 
»Iepcn*lin(»  «^ 

tii;     i.i>rm«|     <■ 

spring. 

;cad  of 

rotated 

vroand 

m  the 

r- 

•a! 

\ 
V 

H    or 

whrlhrr 
r    d-r.! 
K-h  Ic»ci 
•r  en«l  to 

tact    with 
frame  /■" 

T    i*    fx-i 

0    on   the 

the  switch 

I'i\  .ted 

•  /'    which 

a  double- 

at   the   ;« 
is  connr* 

ml  ;  i«  a  6-it 
Tol  at  its  low* 

I' 

i- 

•1 

e 

ing  the  disk  to  rotate  with  great    spee<l 


riu   i.    aiAKHKC  MTICI 


•  iiii«n*lHally     and      "ix^ing     %h» 


til   ttopcMd  by  iW  caldi  O 


lever  arm  C 

»  F.     A  1 

^..»    put    on    the    

>      .    f      fi.r 

at>d  held  in  place  bjr  the  ' 

.1  rl 


At     tbr 


trh    tarns 


ii6o 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  29,    igog. 


cuit.     Fig.   3   gives   a   rough   diagram   of 
the   circuit. 

The   sump   motor   is   thus   quickly   and 
conveniently  operated  from  the  still  room 


the  apparatus,  but  in  the  large  plants, 
where  momentum  changes  must  be  made 
rapidh'.  it  certainly  makes  it  much  more 
convenient   if  the   engineer   can    see   at   a 


Telephone  Cable 


three   threads   and  they  are    right   at  the 
end  of  both   stem  and  disk. 

I  consider  them  very  dangerous,  where 
the  valve  is  important,  and  for  many 
years  have  never  put  in  one  of  this  type 
over  2  inches  in  diameter. 

W.   E.   Crane. 

Broadalbin,   N.   Y. 


Homemade  Automatic   Pump 
Regulator 


FIG.   3.    DI.\GR.\M   OF  CONNECTIONS 


in  a  manner  that  conforms  entirely  to  the 
underwriters'  specifications,  and  is  reliable 
and  inexpensive. 

\V.  \V.   Parker. 
Chicago.  111. 


Are  Inside    Screw  Valves  Unsafe? 


On  page  81 1  of  the  May  4  number, 
Thomas  Sheehan  has  a  letter  on  "State 
Inspection  of  Boilers,'"  wherein  he  states 
that  an  inspector  condemned  one  of  the 
\alves  on  a  new  boiler  because  it  was  not 
<>{  the  outside  screw-and-yoke  tjpe. 

.\lso  on  page  863  of  the  May  11  num- 
ber is  an  editorial  entitled :  "Are  In- 
side-screw Valves  Unsafe?'' 

A  person  reading  these  articles,  who  is 
••.nacquainted  with  the  Massachusetts  laws 
n  boiler  construction  and  inspection, 
would  very  naturally  condemn  the  boiler 
inspector  for  refusing  to  accept  a  new 
l«')iler  simply  because  one  of  the  connect- 
ing valves  was  not  of  the  outside  screw- 
.md-yfikc  pattern.  If,  however,  those  who 
.ire  intercstecl  in  the  matter  will  look  at 
the  "Boiler  Rules,"  which  are  not  made 
by  the  inspectors,  they  will  find  the  fol- 
lowing: "All  stop  valves  2  inches  and 
over  in  diameter  shall  be  of  the  outside 
.«>crcw-and-yoke  type." 

Therefore,  the  boiler  was  not  "set  up 
and  connected  as  per  law,"  as  Mr. 
Shcchan  claims,  and  neither  was  the  in- 
spector "guided  by  what  he  believed  to  be 
his  duty  in  the  matter"  alone.  There  was, 
of  course,  no  alternative  whatever  but  to 
refuse  to  grant  the  certificate  until  the 
valves  were  installed  in  accordance  with 
the  "Boiler  Rules." 

The  comparative  safety  of  the  two  types 
of  valve  is  another  matter,  but  for  con- 
venience the  outside-screw  valve  is  far 
preferable  to  the  other  type.  This  may 
not  make  so  much  difference  in  the  small 
plant,  where  one  or  two  men  alone  handle 


glance    whether    certain    valves    are    open 
or  shut. 

S.  J.  Smith. 
Lawrence,   Mass. 


Take  a  cross-section  of  a  valve  of  the 
type  alluded  to  and  note  the  thread  when 
the  valve  is  closed.  This  is  the  point 
where  all  the  strain  comes  when  the  valve 
seats    and    also    when    starting    to    open. 


After  having  connected  up  a  reducing 
valve,  extra  valves,  fittings,  traps,  etc.,  to 
overhaul  an  old  2-inch  two-pipe  heating 
sy.stem  of  4000  square  feet  of  cast-iron 
radiation,  which  has  been  operated  many 
years  without  any  of  these  appliances,  I 
thought  of  completing  the  job  at  very 
little  expense,  by  making  a  homemade 
pump  regulator,  as  per  the  accompanying 
sketch. 

It  has  worked  for  the  last  two  years, 
needing  only  an  occasional  packing  of  the 
automatic-valve  gland  A. 

The  return  tank  B  is  directly  connected 
with  the  heating  system,  and  also  through 
the  traps;  it  also  has  connection  with  the 
pump  suction.  The  float  C  is  a  seamless 
copper  one,  to  which  was  fitted  a  ^-inch 
brass  rod.  The  tank  B  was  drilled  and 
tapped  for  14-inch  standpipe,  and  a  H-inch 


J'ower.N.T. 


HOME.MAUE    AUTO.MATIC    PU.MI'    REGULATOR 


There    is    no    possible    chance    for    lubri-  nipple  D  long  enough  to  serve  as  a  guide 

cation,    and    if    the    thread    begins    to    cut  for  the  rod  was  screwed  in. 

there  is  no  knowledge  of  it,  and  no  help  The  float  while  separated  from  the  rod, 

if  there  were ;  there  are  but  from  one  to  duly  weighted  with  water,  was  introduced 


June  H),   ifjot). 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


1161 


through  the  tank  manhole  and  screwed  to 
its  rod.  A  hook  was  screwed  on  at  O 
and  an  arrangement  of  cord  and  pulleys 
put  up  lending  to  the  lever  E. 

The  hiijh-prcssure  line  to  the  pump  was 
bypassed  and  the  regulating  valve  F  in- 
serted, ifigether  with  other  necessary 
valves.  This  regulating  valve,  which  for 
reason  of  space  was  put  in  upside  down, 
was  made  out  of  an  ordinary  gIot>e  valve, 
the  stem  threads  being  turned  down  and 
a  pulley  fork  iitti-<l  to  the  end  of  the  *tem. 
The  lever  re>ts  on  the  wheel  pin  O". 

The  hexagtmal  part  of  the  \alve  bonnet 
was  turned  round.  s«>  as  to  fasten  on  an 
old  pump-rocker  arm  H  trimmed  to  suit 
the  case.  The  forked  eye  /  was  taken 
from  an  old  pump- valve  rod.  The  work- 
ing of  this  contrivance  hardly  needs  any 
explanation. 

.\IJ[XAN0U    Doi^uix. 

Jamaica.  N    N' 


Return  Tubular  Boiler  Setting 

The  accompanying  sxetches  are  of  two 
return-t'ibular  boilers  with  practically  the 
same  conditions  existing,  except  that  the 
plan  of  setting  is  different. 

In  Fig.  1  the  Iwiler  is  set  j  feet  above 
the  grate  4urfacr  and  the  brn!ij«-w.ill  is 
built  up  - 

In   l-'iK  -'ve 

the  •.'.irface  oi  the  grate  and  the  bridge- 
wait  vlo|)es  back  from  the  rear  end  of  the 
grate  until  it  reaches  a  vertical  bight  of 
16  inches.  The  top  of  the  bridgewall  in 
each  furnace  is  horirontal.  thus  bringing 
*'  -enter  up  to  within  8  inches  of  the 
r   shell 


na  I 


The  boiler  furnace  set  as  shown  m  Fig 
I  bums  its  coal  more  <, 
requires    |es%    work    a;:  r 

combustion    than   can    be    secured    m   the 
furnace  shown  in  Fig.  2. 

Why  does  the  furnace  in  Fig    1  bum  its 
coal  with  better  results  than  can  be  ob- 
tained with  the  furnace  shown  in  Fig.  a? 
E.   W    Jackson. 

Muddv.  Ill 


A    BUit    Pressure  Gage 

I  ■  »   are   of 

at  II    use   at 

the  plant  of  the  Tennessee  Copper  Com- 


T 


•( 


\ 


3 


slitute  the  reserx-oir.  cLimped  locetber  oa 
pa'  i>uinp  top*.     A 

*i  :  ^\\  the   cai)   and 

extends   to   within    I    inch   of  t 
This  pipe  extend*    ■•-'  •'  '  '  • 
scale,   where   a 
the  pipe  through 
scale   IS   made   a- 


to 
dit: 

Fr«m  the 
reservoir.  » 
start  from.  - 

mrat'irr.     t- 

0«>C    "'llll    <     y 

of  water.      I 
gradual '^ 
fto  mm-  ■ 


taltuo  uf  tl»  li^ui  1 


nuc  gratluattuat  up  !•> 

'  and  the  grad- 

•     r-n    a    white 
1  br  read 

;.:....!   .n 


<■    CIOTfK 


rtc   t 


'— f   "^   * 


of 


1 


"^     '       JU^ilt 


ri(^  2 


bi    Fig.    t. 


•liowti 


The    gUt*    tab*«    ha««    •    ( 


Il62 


POWER  AND  THE  EiNGINEER. 


June  29,   1909. 


ference  of  %  inch  in  length  on  the  bottom 
ends.  The  gage  is  filled  with  mercury 
so  that  with  the  water  gas*?  showing  49 
ounces,  the  bottom  light  will  burn;  the 
other  two  lights  are  each  i  ounce  apart 
in  lighting  up.  and  burning  at  50  and  51 
ounces.  A  bell  could  be  used  instead  of 
lights  if  desirable. 

A  small  amount  of  oil  is  used  on  the  top 
of  the  mercury  to  break  the  small  arc 
when  the  mercury  recedes  from  the  wire 
tips. 

These  gages  have  been  very  satisfactory 
in   keeping   the   blast    pressure   even. 

We  use  a  similar  water  gage  to  adjust 
and  test  the  recording  gages  on  the  blast 
pressure. 

G.    L.    F.\LES. 

Copperhill,   Tern. 


Heating  by  Exhaust  and  Live 
Steam 


Fig.  I  shows  the  piping  arrangement 
where  e.xhaust  steam  is  used  during  the 
day  when  the  eqgine  is  running,  while  at 


To  3ra  Floors 


To  Atmosphere 
D 


^////^j^^/j^j^^j^^/^j 


'From  Engine 


From  2nd 
^   Floor 


\ 


33i=P 


^^Blow-off 


FIG.    I 


From  Corllsi  Engiue 


|T  From  City 

ilaiu 

I     Exliaust  from 

^    n-„>.   ^„^^A   ,!■..„:,.« 


ever  the  engine  is  running,  and  using  this- 
water  over  again  for  boiler  feeding,  as 
the  water  had  to  be  paid  for  at  meter 
rates. 

The  check  valve  E,  which  is  in  use 
when  live  steam  is  used  and  the  water 
of  condensation  returned  direct  to  the 
boilers,  must  be  tight  at  all  times,  for 
if  this  check  valve  leaks,  the  system  will 
not  work   satisfactorily. 

There  are  many  steain  plants  where  no 
use  is  made  of  the  heat  in  the  exhaust 
steam,  and  it  is  hard  to  say  whether  the 


To  other  Floors 


nigli  Speed  Eugiue 


FIG.    2 


night  or  when  the  engine  is  not  running, 
live  steam  is  used.  This  system  is  oper- 
ated in  the  following  way :  In  the  morn- 
ing, before  the  engine  is  started,  the 
valve  A  in  the  steam  line  from  the  boiler 
and  the  valve  B  in  the  return  pipes  from 
the  heating  coils  are  closed,  and  shortly 
after  the  engine  is  running  the  valve  C 
is  opened  and  the  back-pressure  valve  in 
the  exhaust  pipe  is  nearly  closed,  while 
the  valve  D  leading  to  the  atmosphere  is 
opened  just  enough  to  let  the  water  of 
conden-^ation  out  of  the  heating  coils. 
At  night,  after  the  engine  is  shut  down, 
the  valves  C  and  D  are  closed,  while  the 
valves  A  and  B  are  opened  and  left  this 
way  until  the  next  morning,  the  night- 
watchman  keeping  the  steam  up. 

It  would  have  been  an  improvement 
if  the  pipe  from  the  valve  D  were  con- 
nected into  a  receiving  tank,  thereby  sav- 
ing the  water  of  condensation  from  tlie 
exhaust  steam  during  the  day,  or  when- 


a 


.^/> 


o 

Open 
Header 

o 


=1^ 


a 


jr 


From  Steam  Driers, 

tjteum  KuttleD  or 

Steam  Coils. 


P 


Traps  iu  Boiler 
or  Eugiue  Boom 


From  Boiler 


Y/Z/m//^^/U////////?///////////////////////77777y. 


s^fiis 


_From  Engine 


FIG.    3 


June  29,  1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


ii6j 


owner    or    engineer    is    at    fault    for    not 

muking  use  of  it  for  heating  the  building 

or  heating  the   fuel  water   for  the  b<jiler. 

Many  steam-plant  owners  do  not  »ee  any 

ri'.il    gain    from    installing    the    necessary 

liances    for    making    use    of    the    ex> 

.      -t    steam.     The    writer    has    in   mind 

<  :  ••  plant  where  this  is  d«*ne.    There  is  a 

.'•  Corliss  engine  and  th>  -lass- 

:rough  an  open  heater    .^  ago 

a    high-ipiffl    engine    was     i:.  :..;;■.  !    for 

driving'  •'•   'Ivramo   for  lighting   the  liuild- 

ing,  and  •  -.1  steam  wa*  run  direct 

to    the    :r  c      The    rea^^in    it    was 

not   run  through  the  open  heater,  as  was 

•  >' •*   from   the  large  engine.   I   think   was 

ise  this  heater  was  too  small  to  take 

t.iii-  of  the  exhaust  from  both  engines. 

It  wouhl  have  paid  the  owner  to  install 

rger  heater,  or  a  small  closetl   heater 

1   have  l»c«-n   in*tallrd   in  the  exhaust 

of    the  as 

■  r  was  ta'f  the 


placed  in  any  convenient  pbce  in  the  en- 
gine or  boiler  room,  or  on  the  wall  oo 
shelves,  as  shown. 

Fig.    4   shows    a    plan    where   exhaatt 

steam  is  used  and  water  of  c«»:-'- -; 

returned  to  an  open  healer  in  ■ 
room.     In  this  plant  t! 
carried   to   the    fifth    • 
pressure  valve  in  •   :J;c 

ceiling    on    the    :  are 

also  tees  in  the  exhaust  pii)e  at  each 
floor,  as  shown  at  /I  and  B.  and  from 
these  tees  pipes  are  branched  off  to  each 
coil  of  heating  pipe  on  this  floor. 

H.  Jahxkb. 

Milwaukee.  Wit. 


Comjxxjnd  Elngincs 

Regarding  G.  W.  Harding's  conten- 
tion in  the  .April  20  number,  that  we  can 
get   twice  the  work   out   of  an   engine  by 

ft9m  mhm  TUmt 


Tup..   11  ■MO   1 

J. .M 


ttvm  ta4l»« 


ria  4 


•n»in.  the  w.ntrr  eottfd  he  fir^f  pa*^^  r^mprvtmftnff.    whrrrtn  he   'ar*  •     "If  tbt 
ti^  the 

II  went  power    r  ve 

^  I  111!.'     Ill  li.i-.f      a  .     ,  J.     „  Kflf 

<nl  bill.     .Should  the  I  we  ren.  'W-pres- 

be   shut   down    for    41  -'--   we   <oii    >  ..tr   a   aav 

«  A  and  H  could  l>c  « !  '•  *"     To   the   first,   yes. 

'cr  fed  with  i'  '  '  "    '   by   remmrinc     " 

("    ttftn    ih*"    .  .ml    mkrr    imt 


l»c    p.i  ^ 

from 

ti|    it     III 


cor-'Ar.i;  t-   hi.   reasoning  a  triple-espMH 
•>  i  drvekip  three  times  the 

P"  -         -  -  r^  engine,  and  to  on. 

A.  L.  AnBOJOV. 
Doa^M,  Abska 


/  seems  to  be  tooiewlial 

engine,  in  t 

not    state    v.-  .        .,:.*.    .  ^ 

com|i<>und  niKinr  ha\nig  twice  r 

'»i  a  »!'     "  Mould  prcuK 

he    mc.  mftntinding    . 

*>•  it    woo;  . 

*"  tber  coot-: 

r«  Tir. 

'^e  a  joo- horsepower  com- 
pound   engine,    with    the    work    o. 
divided,   or   nearly    »o,   between    the 
C)ltn(lrrs.      He   wouM    say   that   wr 

only  a   loo-^: -  •   ' 

remove    the 

'' •  re    and    rc^uluiKcuy    re- 

Ui.c:.  ;^» 
inder.    wr    :■' 
on 
cr« 
pr. 
til. 

the  Iiik' 
p«»wer 
run    a«    a 

Take  a   !<^  -     f 

Ih. 
luti 

the   same.      < 
adding    a    1'  ...  . 
proper  ratio.     It    will  nnm. 
the    same    cutoff   abi>ui    tj*,    ii< ocsiwrr. 
HOC  aoo  as  Mr.  Hardinc  would  ha«c  as 
believe. 

The   last   panMmph    in    Mr.    Hardint's 
•rt!  «■   is  mtsiaken 

a*  to  be  gained 

I  ler  canden<j!i'  n  it  Ic«»w 

the   rotation  is  tieadier.  1' 
more     etriiK     lilt  Mini     t' 
stroke, 
lig?— 
sat 

t  ii4«ii»  t_  titft:a«tTU. 

Spragur,  Wash. 

1  am  jtr»d  that  Mr.  HaHhig  oM-t  the 
terms    rated    horsepower.    artlT* 


"1  • 


•appljr    cold        Now. 

rrtit      III 

where  live  Meam 


'sm  tnm 


in   sn   «v 


1164 


rOWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  29,    1909. 


uneconomical  way  than  to  buy  a  better 
engine  which  uses  steam  in  a  more 
economical  way. 

If  the  low-pressure  cylinder  is  doing 
100  horsepower  and  the  high-pressuro 
cylinder  is  doing  100  horsepower  there  is 
then  a  joo-horsepower  engine,  regardless 
of  the  builder's  rating.  If  the  low-pres- 
sure cylinder  is  taken  away,  we  will  still 
have  a  JOO-horsepower  engine,  and  it  will 
develop  200  horsepower,  but  the  fireman 
will  sweat  more,  for  it  will  use  more 
steam  as  a  200-horsepower  simple  than  as  a 
200-horsepower  compound  engine. 

Mr.  Harding  says,  in  sunmiing  up:  "I 
have  learned  that  in  order  to  increase  the 
power  of  an  engine  one  should  raise  the 
boiler  pressure,  speed  the  engine  up,  en- 
large the  cylinder  or  compound  by  adding 
a  low-pressure  cylinder." 

I  know  a  compound  engine  whose  load 
is  changed  about  50  horsepower  at  a  time. 
It  is  rated  at  150  horsepower.  When  the 
full  load  is  thrown  on.  it  is  changed  from 
150  horsepower  (rated)  to  a  290-horse- 
power  engine.  The  boiler  pressure  is  not 
raised,  the  engine  is  not  speeded  up,  the 
cylinders  are  not  enlarged,  and  it  is  not 
compound,  but  on  the  contrary  the  speed 
is  actually  lowered  trhee  or  four  revolu- 
tion per  minute.  When  the  engine  runs 
slower,  the  governor  balls  run  in  a  lower 
phase  and  the  cutoff  is  lengthened.  The 
engine  not  only  takes  more  steam,  but 
more  steam  per  hnrsepower  and  is  there- 
fore less  economical. 

Let  us  take  a  simple  engine  already 
overloaded,  but  developing  150  horse- 
power. It  is  actually  a  150-horsepower  en- 
gine. It  is  eating  all  the  steam  it  can, 
but  the  power  must  be  increased,  there- 
fore we  will  add  a  low-pressure  cylinder 
which  will  use  steam,  but  not  the  steam 
the  high-pressure  cylinder  used  or  would 
use  in  developing  150  horsepower,  but 
the  steam  it  wasted  by  condensing  it  on 
its  walls.  For  this  reason  the  compound 
engine  will  develop,  say,  200  horsepower, 
or  the  horsepower  of  the  engine  will  be 
increased. 

In  order  to  make  it  run  smoothly  each 
C)iinder  is  made  to  do  an  equal  amount 
of  work.  The  low-pressure  cylinder  is 
added  not  to  increase  the  horsepower  by 
using  the  same  steam  over  again  or  to  get 
more  work  out  of  the  steam  actually  used 
by  the  high-pressure  cylinder,  but  to  in- 
crease the  horsepf>wer  by  using  the  steam 
which  the  original  high-pressure  cylinder 
condensed  on  its  walls  and  wasted. 

If  Mr.  Harding  will  plot  the  two  dia- 
grams to  the  same  spring  scale  and  com- 
fine  them  into  one,  he  will  see  that  a  com- 
pound engine  does  not  consist  of  two 
separate  engines  using  steam  at  two  prcs- 
stircs  but  of  one  engine  with  two  parts 
using  steam  at  one  pressure.  The  com- 
pounding docs  not  make  a  second  use  of 
the  steam  but  uses  the  steam  that  would 
be  wasted.  He  must  learn  to  look  at  a 
steam  engine  not  as  a  machine  which  uses 
steam  or  changes  the  steam  pressure  into 


motion,  but  as  a  machine   which  changes 
the  heat  in  the  steam  into  work. 

W.    G.    T.\LBOTT. 

Anuol    Inland.   Cal. 


At  what  position  should  the  governor  be 
blocked    while    setting    the    valve? 

J.   W.    Blake. 
Mt.  Kisco,  N.  Y. 


Why  Won't  the  Engine  Carry  the 
Load? 


The  accompanying  indicator  diagrams 
were  taken  from  an  Armington  &  Sims 
cross-compound  engine,  size  10I/2  and  i6>^ 
X12  inches,  speed  278  revolutions  per  min- 
ute, indicator  spring,  60,  steam  pressure,  122 
pounds,  vacuum  power,  30  pounds.  This 
engine  is  connected  to  a  two-phase  in- 
duction alternator  by  a  belt  and  was 
delivering  83.6  kilowatts  to  the  switch- 
board when  the  diagrams  were  taken. 
During  the  time  the  indicator  was  being 
changed  froin  the  high-pressure  cylinder 
to  the  low-pressure  cylinder  the  load  did 


n(;t  vary  perceptibly,  so  the  diagrams  may 
be    regarded   as    taken    simultaneously. 

This  engine  has  a  Rites  governor,  pis- 
ton valves  and  a  small  receiver  between 
the  cylinders.  I  should  like  suggestions 
from  engineers  as  to  how  the  defective 
setting  or  operation  of  the  low-pressure 
valve  can  be  remedied.  The  high-pressure 
valve  takes  steam  at  the  outside  edges 
and  exhausts  at  the  center,  while  the 
low-pressure  valve  takes  steam  at  the 
center  and  exhausts  at  the  outside  edges. 

Another  fault  of  this  engine  is  its  in- 
ability to  carry  a  load  one  time  that  it 
will  carry  another  time.  For  instance,  in 
the  evening  the  lighting  load  builds  up 
gradually  to  92  kilowatts  which  is  this 
engine's  limit.  We  put  in  another  en- 
gine to  help  over  the  peak  load,  and 
when  the  load  builds  up  to,  say,  ipo 
kilowatts,  if  we  take  out  the  other  en- 
gine when  the  load  goes  down  to  92 
kilowatts,  the  Armington  &  Sims  will 
not  carry  it,  the  steam  pressure  being  the 
same.     Why   is   this? 


Boiler  Inspection  and  License  Laws 
Desirable 


The  editorial  in  the  April  27  number, 
"Boiler  Inspection  and  License  Laws  De- 
sirable," leads  me  to  the  belief  that  the. 
situation  in  Maine  is  not  fully  understood, 
nor  why  the  license  law  failed  to  pass  at 
the  last  session  of  the  State  legislature. 
The  bill  that  was  proposed  was  so 
wretchedly  drawn  that  no  self-respecting 
engineer  could  possibly  approve  of  it. 
It  should  have  been  called :  "A  Law  to 
Corner  the  Market  in  Stationary  En- 
gineers and  Firemen."  The  \yriter  is  a 
stationary  engineer  of  more  than  fifty 
years'  active  experience  and  believes  in  a 
thorough  inspection  of  all  steam  boilers, 
and  any  practical  law  that  will  prevent 
or  reduce  in  number  the  loss  of  life  by 
boiler  explosions ;  and  he  so  stated  to  the 
committee  on  legal  affairs  at  the  last 
session  of  the  legislature. 

The  lawyer  who  appeared  for  Port- 
land No.  I,  N.  A.  S.  E.,  stated  that  he 
did  not  draw  up  the  bill  and  had  passed 
a  very  unpleasant  afternoon  while  ad- 
vocating it.  With  other  engineers  from 
some  of  the  largest  and  best-managed 
corporations  in  the  State,  the  writer  at- 
tended the  hearing  to  protest  against  the 
proposed  bill  and  at  the  same  time  to 
recommend  the  passing  of  a  rigid  inspec- 
tion law  for  steam  boilers.  The  lap  seam 
and  the  factor  of  safety  were  explained 
to  the  committee,  and  legislation  upon 
these  was  strongly  recommended. 

I  do  not  believe  there  were  any  meas- 
ures taken  by  any  person  or  corporation 
to  check  the  discussion  in  the  newspapers 
of  the  State.  The  most  intelligent  and 
the  best-equipped  engineers  of  the  State 
were  opposed  to  this  bill  as  presented,  and 
so  stated  at  the  hearing.  No  one  except 
the  lawyer  spoke  in  its  favor.  There  was 
no  minority  report. 

At  the  last  session  of  the  Massachusetts 
legislature  there  was  a  bill  praying  for  re- 
lief from  the  hardships  imposed  on  the 
manufacturers  by  the  present  license  law. 
A  recent  visit  to  several  of  the  large 
power  plants  and  manufacturing  concerns 
in  that  State  and  interviews  with  their 
chief  engineers  convinced  me  that  they 
had  abundant  reason  for  complaint.  If 
the  Massachusetts  law  has  proved  to  be  a 
hardship,  the  bill  offered  in  Maine  would 
have  proved  a  much  greater  one. 

I  do  not  think  that  the  recent  explosion 
at  Farmingdale  should  be  quoted  against 
Maine  any  more  than  the  disaster  at 
Brockton  should  be  cited  'against  the 
Massachusetts  license  law. 

C.    D.    Thurber. 

Biddeford.    Me. 


L 


June  2y.  u/ol). 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER- 


1165 


Use  Cylindrical  Flywheels  for 
Safety 


There  are  several  important  points  in 
Mr.  Hodges'  article  in  the  May  4  nam- 
bcr,  page  798,  that  do  not  look  at  all  like 
good  rrasoniiiK- 

The  energy  delivered  by  a   flywheel   is, 

a<  stated.  pr<>|H^rtional  to  the  ni<iincnt  of 

•ia.  but  in  reducing  the  nia-.*,  M  con- 

^  the   \ariaf»les  K   —    ratlins  and  b  ■= 

the  breadth,  and  hence  should  be   simpli- 

u,i\       Equating    the    moments    of    inenia 

'WO  wheels  we  shall  get  an  expression 

.1     I  'Mows 

M^R\  -  A/,/?5;  /»  =  A/»AI;  /,  -  M,K\ 

where 
M  =  Mass. 

K  =  Radius  of  gyration,   which  can  be 
taken  equal  to  R  for  this  discussion. 
I       Reducing  M  to  its  components  we  have: 
'  .\t  =  k  b  I  H. 

where 

I;  H.l'Mty, 

'  U  :■:•!). 

I        I  '■     kne*s, 
/•■        K.i.lmv 
ibstitutmg   -in    ihe    first    equation    we 

»fr,f.i?.'  =  kb,l,R/. 
i  k  can  be  taken  as  constant;  ft  =  ft 
-  *.     Then 

bt  Rt  ^  61  At , 
or 

6,         R\' 

1  whifli  it  follows  that  the  widths  of 

t  the  same  moment  of  inertia 

[■■  .«Mi  -.iher  inversely  as  thr  c.iIk-*  of 

radii      As    the    weiuht    \.irn»    a*    the 

!h    X    the    radius,    the    foregoing    for- 

.A  may  be  written  a«   follows: 

57/e,      Rl  • 
>thef  word',  rhf  wrt«ht«  vary  n*  in- 


A*- 


4  R ' 


of  all  rotating  (arii<l<*. 
Hy. 


Reducing  I'  to  2  w  R  ,V. 

-       M{S2U  R)» 
4R 

S  =  >7tnnber  of  revolutions. 

Thus  force  F  is  the  total  force  at  any 
one  scctkm.  and  dividing  by  ^  v  /  we  ten 
unit  stress : 


S=  ^iS^  '  '  ^^' 


Reducing  .1/ 


4^*/ 


kb-rR'SiMR)' 


4biR 
^  T=  k  W  RT  V 
Calling  k  W  =:  C. 

S  =  C  R*  V. 
which  is  the  fomrata  given  by  Kent. 

As  to  why  this  formula  is  incorrect, 
the  reasoning  is  not  -•  ~"  -'-ir.  There 
are  some  four  or  live  .  some  di- 

rci-* 
an 
th 
p« 

in  the   iiniit«  of  the  r   the 

more  m.itrn.il  in  the   •  _         •  r  the 

CT'  -and  the  force.    The 

m.'i--.    ■. .;.,;va»e4    as   the    radius 

increases  and  the  R*  still  stays  in  the  dis- 
cussion. In  other  words  the  stress  varies 
as  the  square  of  the  radius,  which  1*  e\-m 
better   »  .rticle. 

T'>    •  T"   rr- 

pi 

OV' 

crease  the    •  -ity-seven  i 

Ihe  weight   r  ?.  which   \v 

decrease  the  liability  of  explosion  by  a 
factor  of  nine.  The  bst  may  be  secured, 
however,  by  incrcaitng  the  spokes. 

J     H     Sron«. 

M.idi»'>n.    Wis 


Boiler  Eficiency 


In   » 
Krnt   ' 


W 

ap- 


would    weigh      C' 

, -     ihirtl     t!;r     .li.tn  I 

l8/XX>  pounds.     A«  ball  b< 

-  -  !    only    for    light    work 
V    of   putting   in   ImII   1 

'e    of   this    ilKreased    loa<i    can    oc      n-.i   in 
•  rn  word 

■ST      of     it 

V     thr     «•• 


rtg   b  and    R.  and 
■  ■•  .4%  low  as  pn««ible.     I  . 
to  burst  a  fl>whre|  is,  however. 


outside  10  that  a  miKh  greater  ponton  of 
the  neat  was  absoriwd.  was  one  of  me- 

CKaniktIt      in.!     Ilr.r>..rilv       .     .,.fi>f:.tif       l\\eTr- 

fore  ll  • 

not    a    ^aiii^uic.  ;:ir 

bier  type  is  n»or  c  lad 


It 

f. 

b- 

l>"  • 

fire   can    in    f>o   way    cfunge    '■ 

aCfrri«ti.  «  ( \t     .-..i>r.r       It 

n- 

Ull'ir  I       J      f  ■'  -I 

the   efficiency   of 
same  i:  ■r_ 

Mr  •  i«*«  th^  tt^ienpf  e*f  «^>- 


make  tt  pr  - 
of  a  »-■•»- 
and  tlv 

m- —   ■ 

c\ 

dr*  tii!i    mlurination  rclainc  tu  the  1>  tier 

itvcif 

A     RCMCITT. 

Chicago,  m 


Cause  of  an  Engine  Wreck 

On  page  ft|Q  <>f  ihe  May  1 1  number  Le- 
roy   H.   Wheat    ■  '     the  k>ad  is  all 

thr«nrn    "ff    "f  <t»iri»*e    w<"»M 

tl 
f 
I 

t. 
St' 

Ih.       V 

Ihe   c^ 


11 


uM   b< 


I  sense  than  it  hj< 

»     ..1.       ».     .•  .      I    V         .1: 

WIJIl     in«'     iiirann.,     "i     i'  » 

as     applied     <•)     ulhrr      <  ' 
'iHrr^ne*  of  oftlnioo  h»«     might 


rteang< 

.t,  ri. 


I 


^iiudrd    tn. 

M  be  the 

'    awl 

! 


■  n   inr    iimn    fi   ■  n 


'•an    I* 
i«o  slrar- 

•  ithm  L'Ti^lf***"     <    "'    ^  "«    '  •'    *'*•'   trw '^m 

i  the     hw  the  a^^i  rod  may  ^f^m  (^  ilwtnn 


1166 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  29,   1909. 


distance  of  cutting  oflf  at  any  place,  and 
the  result  appears  in  the  papers:  "The 
load  was  suddenly  thrown  off  and  the  en- 
gine  ran  awav." 

\V.  E.  Crane. 
Broadalbin.   X.   V. 


State  Supervision  of  Boilers 

In  answer  to  Mr.  Sheehan's  inquiry  I 
will  say  that  the  State  requires  all  stop 
valve<  2  inches  and  over  in  diameter 
to  be  of  the  outside  screw-and-yoke  type, 
on  new  construction ;  that  is,  on  boilers 
installed  since  May  i.  1908.  This  rule, 
however,  does  not  affect  valves  on  boilers 
instalKxl  prior  to  this  date.  That  is  why 
the  inspector  required  the  valve  on  the 
new  boiler  to  be  changed  and  allowed  the 
others   to   remain. 

Evidently  Mr.  Sh#ehan  has  not  made 
use  of  the  opportunity  to  get  a  copy  of 
the  State  "Boiler  Rules,"  which  are  pub- 
lished in  pamphlet  form  and  contain  much 
valuable  information  for  engineers.  These 
rules  can  be  had  free  of  charge  by  ap- 
plying to  any  member  of  the  boiler-inspec- 
tion department. 

Ralph  F.  Rlan'chard. 

Fitchburg.  Ma<>. 


Exonomy    of    Different    Sized 
Engines 

In  relation  to  statements  contained  in 
James  L.  Guile's  letter  en  page  891  of  the 
May  18  number,  I  think  Mr.  Guile  is 
making  a  mistake  in  presuming  that  the 
8x8  engine  will  be  more  economical  in 
the  use  of  steam  than  the  8x10.  It  seems 
xo  me  that  he  is  basing  his  calculations 
on  a  10x8  instead  of  an  8x10;  that  is, 
he  considers  the  lo-inch  dimension  as  the 
diameter  of  the  cylinder  instead  of  the 
•■trokc.  which  it  really  is,  it  being  usual 
to  name  the  diameter  first  and  the  stroke 
second,  and  in  that  case  the  8x8  engine 
would  not  be  the  better  under  the  other 
assumed  conditions. 

Suppose  the  initial  steam  pressure,  ab- 
solute, to  be  150  pounds,  the  back  pres- 
sure 17  pounds,  the  revolutions  per  min- 
ute 250,  and  the  indicated  horsepower  50 
for  both   engines. 

Let  X  equal  the  mean  effective  pressure 
for  the  8x8  engine;  then  by  transposing 
the  terms  of  the  horsepower  formula  and 
.substituting  the  given  values,  we  have 

33.000  X  50 

X  =  — :; ■  ^  QQ 

T»,  X  50  /s  5fX)         '^ 
pounds.     For  the  8x10  engine  the  mean 
effective  pressure  will  be 

.S3.000  X  50      _  --  , 

H  X  50  X  500  -  79-^ 

pounds.  I  have  used  the  round  number 
50  for  the  area  of  the  8-inch  pistons  in 
both  cases  in  order  to  simplify  matters, 
and  further  will  consider  that  there  is 
not  any  clearance.  We  want  to  find  out 
at  what  points  of  cutoff,  respectively,  99 


and  79.2  pounds  mean  effective  pressure 
can  be  obtained,  bearing  in  mind  the  as- 
sumed data.  The  formula  for  finding  the 
mean  effective  prc.'^suro  is : 

I  -I-  hyfy  loq  R         i      >    a 
p  ^  p  y^  J. — LL. — 2 back  pressure, 

where 

p  =  Required    mean    effective    pressure, 

P  =  .\bsolute  initial  pressure, 

R  —  Ratio  of  expansion. 

Back  pressure  is  also  expressed  in  terms 
absolute. 

From  the  formula  we  can  solve  for  the 
value  of  R,  from  which  we  can  find  where 
cutoff  takes  place,  and  then  determine 
the  difference  in  the  quantity  of  steam 
used  in  the  engines.     First,  to  simplify,  let 

p  -\-  back  pressure 
a  = p ; 

then 

a  X  R  —  liyp  log  i?  =  I. 

Assume  a  value  for  R  and  see  how  near 
to  I  we  can  get.     For  the  8x8  engine, 

99+17  I 

a  =   ^^7        =  0.773  -f , 

and, 

0.773  X  R  —  hyp  log  R  -  I. 
Try  R  =  2.5 ;  the  hyperbolic  logarithm 
of  2.5  =  0.9163 ;  so  that  the  statement  be- 
comes 

0.773  X  2.5  —  0.9163  =  i.oi. 

This  is  sufficiently  close  to  i  for  the 
purpose,  to  permit  the  use  of  2.5  as  the 
ratio  of  expansion  in  the  8x8  engine. 

For  the  8x10  engine  assume  the  value  of 
R  to  be  3.5.     Then,  as  before, 

79.2  +  17 


150 


0.641  ; 


and 


absolutely  correct  arithmetically,  but  they 
show  the  trend.  I  think  there  is  hardly 
any  doubt  that  the  8x10  will  be  the  more 
economical  engine  and  that  William  E. 
Snow,  in  the  March  30  number,  page  602, 
is  correct  in  his   findings. 

CH.A.RLES  J.  Mason. 
Scranton,    Penn. 


0.641    X   R  —  liyp   log  R   —   hyp   log   of 
3.5  =  1.2528. 

Therefore, 

0.641   X  3-5  —  1-2528  =  0.99. 

This  also  is  sufficiently  close  to  i  to  per- 
mit the  use  of  3.5  in  the  8x10  engine. 

From  the  foregoing,  the  point  of  cutoff 
in  the  8x8  engine  will  be  at  or  about  3.2 
inches  from  the  beginning  of  the  stroke, 
to  produce  a  mean  effective  pressure  of 
99  pounds,  with  the  assumed  conditions. 
For  the  8x10  engine  the  cutoff  will  occur 
at  or  about  2.86  inches  from  the  be- 
ginning of  the  stroke  to  produce  a  mean 
effective  pressure  of  79.2  pounds. 

The  difference  is 

^.2  —  2.86  =  0.34 
inch,  and 

0.34  X  50  =  17 

cubic  inches  in  favor  of  the  8x10  en- 
gine, or 

17  X  500  =  8500 

cubic  inches  per  minute,  or  4.8  cubic  feet 
of  steam  per  minute,  difference  in  favor 
of  the  8x10  engine. 

Of  course  the  foregoing  figures  are  not 


Notice  to  Visitors" 


I 


The  ten  notices  to  visitors  in  the  April 
27  number,  suggest  the  following : 
(i)      Visitors  are  always  welcome. 

(2)  Please   clean  your  shoes. 

(3)  The  engineer's  time  is  limited,  but 
he  will  be  glad  to  answer  sensible  ques- 
tions. 

(4)  The  engineer-in-charge  delights  in 
keeping  this  engine  room  clean ;  please  do 
not  spit  on  the  floor. 

(5)  Danger!  Do  not  go  near  the  en- 
gines, you  are  liable  to  get  injured. 

(6)  The  engineer  does  not  know  it  all; 
sensible  suggestions  are  always  considered. 

(7)  If  you  do  not  know  the  engineer, 
make  his  acquaintance,  you  might  find  him 
interesting. 

(8)  Do  not  touch  any  of  the  apparatus 
in  this  room ;  it  is  liable  to  cause  the  en- 
gineer much  trouble,  and  may  prove  fatal 
to  you. 

(9)  The  engineer's  duties  are  many; 
if  he  has  no  time  to  entertain  you,  don't 
think  he's   "stuck  up." 

(10)  Call  again. 

L.  Earle  Brown. 
Ensley,  Ala. 


Kerosene    Oil  in  Boilers 


In  Charles  H.  Taylor's  article,  page 
807,  May  4  number,  concerning  the  use 
of  kerosene  oil  in  boilers,  he  states  that  if 
a  boiler  is  excessively  scaled  there  is 
danger  in  using  kerosene  oil,  as  it  will 
undoubtedly  find  the  weak  places  in  the 
sliell  and  tubes  and  is  liable,  in  removing 
the  scale,  to   start  a  leak. 

I  believe  that  if  a  boiler  is  made  tight 
with  excessive  scale  it  is  about  time  that 
something  were  done  to  remove  the  scale 
and  show  up  the  leaks  so  that  they  can  be 
repaired.  I  cannot  see  where  the  danger 
lies,  as  the  condition  of  the  boiler  cer- 
tainly will  not  improve  if  the  scale  is  al- 
lowed to  remain. 

Mr.  Taylor  gives  the  vaporizing  point 
of  kerosene  oil  at  from  118  lo  122  de- 
grees, while  Mr.-  Durand,  in  tlic  same 
issue,  on  page  806,  gives  it  at  338  de- 
grees, and  at  the  same  time  criticizes  Mr. 
Mellon  for  stating  that  it  vaporizes  at 
150  degrees.  Now  who  is  right?  Kent 
gives  the  temperature  of  distillation  at 
338  degrees  and  the  flasliing  point  from 
100  to    122   degrees. 

Louis  B.  Carl. 

Marshfickl,  Wis. 


June  29,    1909. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


Iiti7 


Some    Useful    Lessons    of    Limewater 

What    Causes    the    Limelikc    IDqxMit   on  Boiler     I  ulxrs;    How    to    Get 
Rid    of    It;     Softening     Pcnnam-nl  -  Hanlm-ss     \X  alcr:     Inlcrrstinji^    Tat» 


BY 


CHARLES 


PALMER 


As  we  begin  this  chapter  on  the  uses  of 
'.!)huric  acid,  our  attention  is  also  called 

the   abuses   of  the  acid   and   its   sult»: 

i  this  brinKS  us  square  up  aKain«t  viinc 

the  prubU-ms  and  troubles  of  the   fur- 

einan    in    the    first    l'--->n       \Vr    rrrnll 

t   there  ^re   two  k 

!   Miat  one  kind,  the  " 

il  by  calcium  bic.irl>"Ti;itc  or  extra 
..^te,  in  the  water,  which  can  be  re- 

ved  by  simple  heating  when  the  plain 
-Imnate  of  lime  or  calcium  come^  down; 

lie  the  other  kind  of  hardness  pcr- 
,15  caused  by  c.iK-iiim 
:•>  not  removed   from  the 

cr  b>  kiiuplc  heating,  but  stays  in  the 

•er. 

The  reason  why  this  hanl  lit; 

liers  on   the   Ix'iler  tul>e»  i^  t 

the  water   which  goes  into  the  boiler 
•vaporaled  off  into  steam,  and  the  sul- 

ite   of  lime  or  calcium,   which   makes 
water  '       '    "  '  -       "v 

s  out  of 

a    hard    ami    Jm  t     l.i.-'.     .^    1  -    in 

'ly  rrt*r^  *«T*  ?»>  }tr  |i»i-r:(!!>.    .-ti!.i|.<!  off 


ler   With    some   soluble  like 

la  carl«>natc.   which   thr  ^    '.he 

r      a«      insoluble      caltiiiin 
ving  the  «iilphnric-acid  |»art   -.>•  •••  .•■'^ 
;cr.  as  so<la  sulphate,  for  example. 

CMiCAU  TO  Somx  PrjiMAxexT-iiAwv 

Kt5ft    WaTU 
An<^tber    way    to   gri    rW    of   thi«   p*r- 


merely    means,    in    tome   cases,    that    the 

Ixiiler    mu»t   be  blown  off   often   enough 

to  get   rid  of  the  sahs  . 

the  water.     You  can  *et  v. 

by   tre 

with  a 

ing    soda,    ir    the    tike),    ilwit    i«.    11    (lie 

water   happens   to   be   of   the   permanent- 

hardness  kind. 

After  the  lime  part  has  settled  out  (or 
you  can  t'llter  the  calcium  carbonate  off, 
leaving  the  water  perfectly  clear),  you  can 
evafNtrale  the  solution  down  to  dryness. 
He   s'.ire   not   !■>   use   i  "    n 

of    mhLi    varlH.iute.  '  ' 

leave  the  water  bar< 
so  that  it  barely  tun 
You  will  be  intereste<J  to  learn  how 
little  residue  there  is  from  the  evap- 
oration of  the  softened  water;  the  residue 
is.  r>f  course,  sodium  sulphate,  if  you  tucd 
sodium  carboiute  to  soften  the  water. 

But  just  «top  and  figure  out  what  h 
means  to  handle  the  tons  of  water  which 
f,  Sup- 

t  water 

^bout    a 


are    tiring    the    boiirr    for    a 

t..iu>-r     %'r.ifll    rtlL.'itie         II     i*    g" 

r-hour    with    twenty 

,...w..., -;,..!!».     That    '"•»■ "• 

thousand  pounds  of  dry  Meam 
fffT  )our   (' 

thousand     1 


perma"— 

•  '  -Hne*»  and  ti 

—    hard- 

nr»s   t 

at   the   ». 

Ao- 

'4 

M 

n 
s 

arc    b>    no 
thing  nu) 
seems  almost    i- 
But  the  right   u 
that  there  is  aU 
the  trick,  if 
and  nesrr  . 
what 


inc   game 
fnand  not 


carbonate   and 
tef. 

We   will   suppose   that   yoa  hare  made 

such  a  water  a«  •'•>•   ■  ■-'  .i-.  '.»— «     i  ».,♦ 
can  be  made  b> 

tion  or  ex"  te 

of  lime  or  ■>> 

li  A 

'  1. 

T  dl 

be    well    to    test    a    little    of  this    water. 

x.»,,.  i.    it    tempo'"'  '■...!-,r.»    «j!rf     by 

<    to    •€*  at 


hardness,    leaving    tl^ 
II    in    solution    in    the  -• 

sodium.     Thete   lalt*   of   s4Mltum   are 
' '  .  and  hrti        '  •      "      -..--. 

•r  lav^^^ 


means  to  t 

«  .t.  r         V 


liy  Uor»rj»'Wcr 


tne      imsliirr      %'jn.i      tiriTii      •• 
nr      mn      run      Mler      k.      P* 


to     luse     an     abiin' 

11  -ioivr    ritf'vt    at   t  . 


.    may   be    true   in 

'K    be   of   8.1^    » 

the    nv' 


I   of   the 

M  llr  r      I 


)t  an.  O' 


ii68 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  29,    1909. 


CaSO« 

Calcium  Sulphate 
Soluble 


CaCOj  "I 

Calcium  Carbonate  [ 
Insoluble         j 


NajCO, 

Soda  Carbonate 
Soluble 


Xa,SO^ 

Sodium  Sulphate 
Soluble 


This  soda  carbonate  will  not  only  pre- 
cipitate the  calcium  from  its  sulphate,  but 
it  will  also  precipitate  any  other  soluble 
salts  of  calcium  which  may  happen  to  be 
present  in  the  water :  such  as  the  chloride. 
The  same  solution  of  soda  carbonate  will 
also  thrown  down  the  magnesium  salts 
which  may  happen  to  be  in  the  water 
along  with  the  calcium.  Some  of  these 
magnesium  salts  may  go  down  with  the 
scale  OH  the  boiler  tubes,  and  some  of 
them  may  do  a  worse  thing  still,  eat  out 
the  iron  tubes  themselves.  You  will  see 
in  a  moment  how  it  is  that  some  of  the 
salts  of  magnesium  can  eat  out  the  iron 
of  the  tubes  ;  but  note  that  you  have  actual- 
ly removed  the  chief  evil  of  having  any 
of  the  lime  settle  on  the  boiler  tubes  from 
the  mixture  of  both  temporary-  and  per- 
manent-hardness water  in  one,  and  that 
is  something  to  be  thankful  for. 

Sulphuric  Acid  is  Very  Strong 

Now  for  the  magnesium,  and  that  brings 
us  back  to  sulphuric  acid.  Sulphuric  acid 
is  a  very  strong  acid,  but  it  is  not  by 
any  means  the  strongest  acid.  Thus,  if 
you  mi.\  some  soda  with  both  sulphuric 
and  muriatic  (hydrochloric)  acids,  and 
evaporate  the  whole  down  to  dryness,  you 
will  find  that  the  sulphuric  acid  has  driven 
oflF  the  hydrochloric  acid,  and  thus  the 
sulphuric  acid  seems  to  be  the  stronger ; 
but  this  is  not  so,  for  the  hydrochloric 
acid  goes  off  simply  because  it  is  more 
volatile  than  the  heavy  and  nonvolatile 
sulphuric  acid,  which  takes  a  heat  of 
nearly  that  of  molten  solder  to  drive  it  off. 
Vou  will  see  what  is  meant  if  you  stop 
to  think  that  when  two  bo.xers  meet  in  the 
ring,  the  stronger  is  not  the  one  who  can 
easily  jump  the  ropes  and  quit  the  ring, 
but  the  man  who  stays  in  the  field  and 
docs  the  most  work  for  the  same  weight 
in  the  same  time.  So  though  the  hydro- 
chloric acid  is  really  the  stronger,  if  kept 
in  the  ring,  yet  his  volatility  gets  away 
with  his  courage  when  he  meets  the 
heavier  and  more  sluggish  sulphuric  acid ; 
and  so  the  sulphuric  acid  seems  the 
stronger. 

I  shall  later  show  something  of  the  ways 
which  are  used  in  testing  the  comparative 
strengths  of  acids :  but  meanwhile  we  will 
look  at  the  case  of  magne'^ium.  If  you 
take  a  bit  of  common  salt  and  dissolve 
it  in  water,  you  can  evaporate  it  down  to 
dryness  and  still  have  the  salt,  sodium 
chloride,  just  as  it  was  at  the  start.  If 
you  dissolve  some  limestone  in  hydro- 
chloric acid,  just  enough  acid  barely  to 
dissolve  it,  you  can  evaporate  this  down 
to  dryness,  and  you  will  still  have  most 
of  the  calcium  chloride  with  which  you 
started,  hut  not  all:   for.  although  all  of 


the  calcium  part  of  the  calcium  chloride 
is  there  in  the  saucer,  yet  a  small  part  of 
the  calcium  is  in  the  form  of  lime,  cal- 
cium oxide,  as  you  can  prove  by  letting  it 
stand  in  the  air  for  some  time,  when  it 
will  slowly  gain  in  weight,  as  the  five 
or  ten  per  cent,  of  the  lime  in  the  seem- 
ing calcium  chloride  takes  on  some  car- 
bonic-acid gas  from  the  air. 

M.AGNESiuM  Chloride 

If  you  get  some  common  magnesia  and 
barely  dissolve  it  in  hydrochloric  acid, 
you  will  have  magesium  chloride ;  and  if 
3'ou  evaporate  this  solution  down  to  dry- 
ness, you  will  not  haxe  pure  mag- 
nesium chloride  in  the  saucer,  but  largely 
magnesium  oxide,  or  magnesia,  just  what 
you  started  with.  This  experiment  is 
worth  some  trial  and  study,  for  it  has 
much  to  do  with  the  special  question  of 
Avaters  which  are  hard  with  salts  of 
magnesium.  On  the  other  hand,  if  you 
evaporate  a  solution  of  magnesium  sul- 
phate, epsom  salts,  down  to  dryness,  you 
will  still  have  magnesium  sulphate  in 
the  saucer ;  but  if  you  evaporate  a  solution 
of  magnesium  chloride  down  to  dryness 
j'ou  have  some  plain  oxide  of  magnesia, 
JNIgO,  in  the  saucer. 

You  can  prove  that  something  of  this 
.=ort  is  happening  as  you  evaporate  the 
solution  of  magnesium  chloride  down  to 
dryness,  both  by  holding  a  bit  of  blue 
litmus  paper  in  the  steam  from  the  evap- 
orating solution,  when  the  paper  will  turn 
red,  showing  that  the  volatile  hydro- 
chloric acid  is  coming  off.  You  can  also 
readily  smell  the  acid  fumes  from  the 
evaporating  solution.  This  is  one  of  the 
facts  to  get  clearly  in  mind  about  the 
chemistry  of  water  hard  with  magnesium 
salts.  We  do  not  have  many  of  these 
kinds  of  water  in  the  eastern  part  of  the 
country,  but  in  the  far  West  such  waters 
do  occur ;  and  it  is  often  a  serious  matter 
as  to  whether  they  can  be  treated  economi- 
cally in  any  way.  Of  course,  there  is  al- 
ways some  way  which  is  best  imder  the 
circumstances.  The  point  is  that  solu- 
tions of  magnesium  chloride  (and  mag- 
nesium bromide  comes  in  the  same  list), 
when  evaporated,  act  as  though  they  were 
dilute  solutions  of  hydrochloric  acid,  not 
very  strong  of  course,  but  plenty  strong 
enough  to  make  trouble  in  time.  Now  the 
two  great  medicines  for  the  treatment  of 
such  waters,  as  just  shown,  are  lime 
and  cheap  soda  carbonate;  and  both  of 
these  should  be  added,  not  at  once,  but 
in  turn,  and  before  the  water  is  admitted 
to  the  boiler. 

Te.sts  for  Sulphuric  and  Hydrochloric 
Acids 
I  shall  have  more  to  say  about  this  ques- 
tion later;  but  meanwhile  it  will  be  con- 
venient to  have  some  simple  tests  with 
which  to  be  on  the  lookout  for  both  sul- 
phuric acid  and  hydrochloric  acid.  The 
best  test  for  hydrochloric  acid  is  silver 
nitrate.    This  you  can  make  by  dissolving 


a  silver  dime  in  nitric  acid.  Of  course,, 
there  are  several  other  metals  in  the  dime, 
put  in  to  harden  the  silver,  which  would 
be  otherwise  much  too  soft  to  stand  the 
wear  and  tear  of  daily  handling.  You 
can  get  around  this  by  putting  a  piece  of 
common  sheet  copper  into  the  solution 
of  silver  nitrate,  when  you  will  see  the 
silver  come  down  on  the  copper  in  a 
beautiful  crystalline  form.  This  will  take 
some  hours  to  be  thoroughly  done;  when 
all  the  silver  is  down  on  the  copper,  take 
out  the  copper,  wash  off  the  silver,  say 
back  into  the  tumbler,  rinse  off  the  silver 
several  times  with  clean  water  to  get  rid 
of  the  copper  solution,  and  then  redis- 
solve  the  pure  silver  in  a  fresh  supply  of 
nitric  acid.  One  thing  you  zvill  zvant  to 
note  is  that  the  dissolving  0}  metals  in 
nitric  acid  should  be  done  in  the  open 
air;  or  before  the  furnace  door,  where 
there  is  a  good  draff  to  carry  azvay  the 
poisonous  brown  "nitric  fumes"  from  the 
action  of  the  metal  on  the  nitric  acid. 
Do  not  breath  these  fumes.  You  can  see 
that  the  metals  are  all  chemically  equiva- 
lent to  hydrogen  in  some  form;  and  as 
the  metal  acts  on  the  acid,  it  reduces  the 
acid  if  it  can  be  easily  reduced,  as  can 
nitric  acid ;  and  hence  in  this  case  we 
have  the  production  of  the  fumes,  which 
will  be  explained  further  as  we  come  to 
nitric  acid  and  the  compounds  of  nitro- 
gen. 

This  solution,  from  one  dime,  will  last 
you  a  long  time  with  careful  use.  It  takes 
only  a  drop  or  two  to  test  water ;  and 
though  you  can  add  enough  to  get  the 
thick  curd-like  silver  chloride,  yet  a 
single  drop  of  the  colorless  solution  of 
silver  nitrate  will  give  a  distinct  cloudi- 
ness in  most  common  hydrant  water. 
This  white  silver  chloride  will  settle  to 
the  bottom  of  your  test  tube,  and  it  will 
turn  purplish  gray  in  a  few  minutes,  de- 
pending on  the  amount  of  light  that  strikes 
it ;  for  you  are  close  to  photography  when 
you  use  this  test  of  silver  nitrate  with  the 
chlorides. 

This  white  silver  nitrate  is  readily 
soluble  in  ammonia,  and  it  is  readily 
brought  back  by  reacidifying  with  nitric 
acid.  Silver  nitrate  is  also  a  test  for 
soluble  bromides,  salts  of  hydrobromic 
acid,  and  for  iodides,  salts  of  hydriodic 
acid ;  but  in  the  case  of  the  bromides, 
silver  bromide  is  yellowish,  and  is  soluble 
with  difficulty  in  ammonia;  while  in  the 
case  of  the  iodides,  silver  iodide  is  dis- 
tinctly yellow,  and  it  is  not  soluble  in 
ammonia.  '- 

I  shall  consider  the  tests  for  sulphuric 
acid  and  soluble  sulphates  next  time. 


Obituary 


James  Bennett  Forsyth,  president  and 
general  manager  of  the  Boston  Belting 
Company,  died  at  his  home  in  Boston 
June   II. 


June  29,   1909. 

Discussion    on   "Small  Steam 
Turbines" 


Following  is  an  abstract  of  a  discus- 
sion presented  by  Charles  B.  Burleigh 
at  the  local  Boston  meeting  of  the  A.  S. 
M.  E.,  on  Friday,  June  11.  on  George  A. 
Orruk's  pafK-r  on  "Small  Steam  Tur- 
bines," presented  at  the  Washint^ton 
meeting  of  the  society  in  May.  Mr.  Bur- 
leigh   said : 

While  this  (taper  is  extrcii-.  ' 
ing  as  prrsi-nting  comparati\(- 
diffcrent  small  turbines  at  present  availa- 
ble, the  details  as  given   (with  the  excep- 
tion  of  the   efficiency  curves)    are   more 
■.'••neral   than   specific. 

.\  careful  examination  and  comparis*  n 
'<{  the  water-rate  curves  prortited  in  this 
paper  is  extremely  interesting,  particu- 
larly in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  author 
states  that  these  curve*  "have  in  most 
cases  been  obtained  from  the  manufac- 
turers." 

It  is  unfortunate  that  the  curves  vary 
so  widely  in  capacities  and  speeds  that  a 
^  complete  comparison  of  all  is  not  pos- 
sible, and  it  is  alsf>  to  be  regretted  that 
the  paper  docs  not  state  the  normal  rat- 
ing given  to  the  machines  to  which  the 
diffrrent  curves  apply,  or  which  of  the 
speeds  is  their  commerct  1;  but 

nevertheless,    I    h?t\'-    nf  com- 

I      pare   such   as   .1-  similar   with  a 

view    to    detem  closely    as    pos- 

Me   the    relative   ethciencies  of  the   dif- 

rent  t>'pes. 

For  instance,  the  Terry  cur\-e  (Fig.  25) 
Kives  a  water  rate  of  57  pounds  per  brake 
horsepower  at  2W>  revolutions  per  min- 
ute, at  150  p..  ■  pressure  when 
developinK   J<   ' 

Tlie    Sltirtr\.ii>;    i 
..  water  rate  i>f  61  \>- 

tions    at    UI    pounds    prrssnrc    when    «le- 

vrltiing   the    ^mt   output,    therefore  ac- 

k'    to    these    ftgtires    the    Sturtevant 

..c   is   7   per  cent,   less   efiicient   than 

I      the  Terry,  but  I  am  inclined  to  feel  that 
■Vis    Is    rather    unjust    to   the   Trrry    ma- 
'line,  for  I  should  infer  from  the  Sturte- 
^     2t,     h'  ■ 
I  load,  or 
point,     while     the     sanir 
Irad  one  to  infer  that   \) 

■int  on  the  Terry  oirvr  rep-  ♦ 

.r,  »,.U  1,._..I    nr  practically 
and    as    the 

r^r     ,„..».  •■■--r    fO    !-      - 

•  r   cent     le«»    •  half  loa 

*      !.  anit   ni<-    1  •  ' 

•  ir     to     tir      sr>- 


t 

wh<n 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


at  28bo  revolutions  and  17s  pounds  pres- 
sure and  60  horsepower  output  shows  a 
water  rate  of  jj  pounds.  The  Curtis 
c  at   240-   •  :50 

i  and  60  1  AS 

a  water  rate  ot  40  pounds;  t  ac- 

cording   to    these    figures    thr  ics 

rank:  Curtis.  40:  Terry.  44:  Kerr.  52; 
Bliss,  55:  and  this  allowing  Kerr  15 
pounds  higher  pressure  and  400  revolu- 
tions higher  speed. 

On  the  same  basis,  allowing  the  Curtis 
'      "      '  <I    speed    of 

rate  of  its 
Cirvc  tk  khoMii  tu  be  ji  pt'Unds.  The 
Terry  turbine  is  more  than  t8  per  cent, 
more  efficient  than  the  Kerr  and  3$  per 
cent,  more  efficient  tlun  the  Bliss.  The 
Curtis  at  the  same  speed  is  10  per  cent, 
more  efficient  than  the  Terry  aitd  more 
than  2$  per  cent,  more  efficient  than  the 
average  of  the  three  and.  at  standard  de- 
signed specfl,  4i  per  cent,  more  efficient 
than  the  Terry  and  6j  per  cent,  more 
rffirirnt  than  the  average  of  the  three  at 
t.  -t. 

•Hiss  curve  (Fig.  27) 
at  IJO  horsepower,  3600  rr\olutions,  the 
Kerr  cur\e  (Fig.  ji )  at  175  pounds.  150 
horsepower,  jooo  revolutions,  and  the 
Curtis  curve  (Fig.  ag)  at  150  pounds, 
aooo  res'olulions  and  150  horsepower,  we 
note  the  water  rates  as  follows:  Bliss,  40 
pounds;  Kerr,  41  pounds;  Curtis,  ag 
pounds. 

These  figures  tend    to    show    that    the 

Bliss  and   Kerr  arc  not   widely  different, 

I.   :    '.}:aI    the  Curtis  is   some  40  per  cent. 

^nt   at    150  horsepower  output. 

'I "'^es,    therefore,    wouki    tend    to 

show  that  the  efficiencies  of  the  Terry, 
Kerr  and  Bliss  turbines  were  not  widely 
different,   and   that   the    small    Curtis   lur- 

■rf 

cr 

l>pe*. 

It   is   to  be   rrifrrtirl   tiMt   the  author 
was  unable  to  ■  y  curves  of 

the  other  lurbi:.-  .    ...,..-. 

The   paper  credits   the    I>c   Laval  and 

Curtis  t>-pes  each  «  ■'    -  '-   

of     turbines     in     *'• 


\>\c%     iTk 


1169 

well      adapted      for  dris-ing     centrifugal 

pumj  rrs 

and                 .  .it 

has  Hot   «>  )c'  to  any 

great  rxtrnt  ,ct  that 

i»»  '  tT  with 

and  ;  _        — .  ;_  ...  iSrir 

initial  bow  to  the  -^al 
field  than  to  the  ntt-v  nami  ji.  j!i<j  it  mutt 
be    admitted    that    Ttvooo    horsepower    in 

less  than  five  years  u  a  very  profouitd 
bow. 

Imi'  .fics    to 
the   • 


r-p. 

'  !»e- 

ments   are  consi«lered   as   warranting  any 

iiur..i»r    ifi    ■nvr^ffTtcnt     OT     efficiency     is 

I   in   tfic   purchase  of 


It  is  interes- 
that    the    ■ 

at. 

Terry.    l> 

<-rr 

turbine*  . 

rrs 

mill<-<! 

^efs 

wer« 

•les.  but 

exp^r 

—     .  ....    fact  that 

steel  buckets  are  far  from  ideal  where 
any  perceptible  moisture  is  present  in  the 
steam,  for  wet  steam  will  wear  steel  tur- 
bine * 

T!  of    nprmffon    nn^i^r    wet- 


units   than   with    la- 
crs  are  seldom,  if 
plants,  pipes  are  s<- 
steam   mains   .4"- 
the  use  of  sir< 
bine  was  abando^ir.:   % 
all    turbines    from    ihc 
1 

T; 

Bliss   an<: 


;«erheat- 
•1    sniall 

in  the  Canb  ivr- 

•If  \  ■-:.'<  ago,  and 

«  -  jKr,'    ID    the 

k- 

v>th 


Jir    If" 't     iimiUirly 

rather   sarpnsed 
«P 

10 

,  .^. 
'    hf   it* 

Ml- 


»«j:;itu  ^«rr- 


rhirh 


I  I/O 

through  and  expanded  by  the  nozzle  or 
nozzles,  on  entering  the  machine  or  any 
stage  of  it,  is  of  a  pressure  correspond- 
ing to  that  of  the  stage  into  which  it  is 
admitted:  therefore,  the  atmosphere  sur- 
rounding the  buckets  is  of  a  given  den- 
sity at  all  points,  and  consequently  there 
is  no  tendency  for  the  admitted  steam 
which  has  been  given  direction  by  the  ex- 
panding nozzle  to  change  its  course  and 
escape  into  an  atmosphere  of  its  own 
density. 

This  calls  to  mind  another  feature  of 
the  small-turbine  situation,  which  is 
brought  prominently  to  notice  by  this 
paper,  and  that  is  the  entire  absence  of 
any  development  of  the  so-called  reaction 
type  of  turbine  in  the  small  sizes.  There 
are  good  and  sufficient  reasons  for  this, 
but  as  this  type  of  turbine  is  not  men- 
tioned in  the  paper  they  cannot  properly 
be  made  a  part  of  this  discussion. 

In  closing,  I  wish  to  comment  in  a 
friendly  way  on  the  author's  implication 
that  the  small  turbine  is  less  efficient  than 
the  high-speed  steam  engine,  where  he 
says;  "The  field  of  the  small  steam  tur- 
bine is  somewhat  narrow  when  compared 
with  the  high-speed  steam  engine.  The 
small  turbine  has  its  place,  however,  and 
with  the  development  of  a  more  economi- 
cal machine  at  lower  speed  ranges,  will 
have  a  much  wider  field." 

I  will  readily  admit  that  its  present 
speed  characteristics  limit  its  field  in  com- 
parison with  the  high-speed  engine  to  the 
extent  of  the  mechanical  application  of 
its  output ;  but  will  not  admit  that  the 
present  efficiency  of  the  Curtis  type  in 
any  way  limits  its  field  in  comparison 
with  the  high-speed  engine,  nor  do  I 
think  the  author  intended  to  be  so  under- 
stood ;  but  to  obviate  any  possibility  of 
error  I  will  call  your  attention  to  a  paper 
presented  by  Messrs.  Dean  and  Wood  be- 
fore this  society  last  June,  at  the  Detroit 
meeting,  and  the  discussion  which  fol- 
lowed by  Messrs.  Young  and  Treat,  de- 
tailing the  results  obtained  from  water- 
rate  tests  of  some  fourteen  high-grade, 
high-speed  enj^ines  of  different  design 
and  manufacture,  which  had  been  in  ser- 
vice three  months  or  longer. 

A<i  these  water  rates  were  given  on  the 
indicated  horsepower  and  on  the  kilowatt 
l>asi>,  I  have  allowed  5  per  cent,  for  fric- 
tion in  each  case,  to  facilitate  a  com- 
parison on  a  brake-horsepower  basis,  in 
accordance  with  the  curves  forming  a 
part  of  this  paper. 
Mr.   Dean's  figures  are  as   follows-: 

'■■ So.  1       No.  2     No.  3       No.  4 

ity i.V)  h  ».  i.y»  hp.  no  h.p.  ift*)  h.p. 

Water  rste 30.4.5       37.7        33.6        39. 5 

Mr.  Wood's  figures  are  as  follows: 

Knelne A  B  C 

f-jparity 2.50  h.p.  130  h.p.  100  h.p. 

Water  rate 31         35.2       35.8 

Mr.  Young's  figures  are  as  follows: 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June   29,    1909. 


Engine                   No.  1  No.  2       No.  3        No.  4         No.  5        No.  6 

CaiMcitv  '    '               70  h.p.  30  h.p.     28  h.p.      130  h.p.      123  h.p.     45  h.p. 

Water  iate '. '. 48.3  39.9          37.8         36.3           33.2          31.9 

Mr.  Treat's  figures  were  as  follows:  himself  of  it  to  profit  thereby.     He   says 

...     ,  in  part: 

Ensine No.  1  ^f 

Cipacit.v 30  h.p.  We    have    a    50-horsepower    automatic 

^^  aier  rate "i  engine,    operated    at    200    revolutions   per 

Compare  the  foregoing  water  rates  per  minute,  driving  a  35-kilowatt  compound- 
horsepower  with  the  curves  of  standard  wound  generator,  which  we  use  in  con- 
Curtis  turbines,  as  shown  by  the  curves  in  nection  with  our  35-kilowatt  turbine.  We 
Figs.  28  and  29  of  this  paper.  have  made  tests  running  the  turbine  and 

To    assist    in    this    comparison    I    have  engine   on   alternate   nights,   off  the   same 

tabulated  the   results,  placing  the  turbine  boiler  and   under  the   same  conditions   of 

water   rate   under   the  water   rate   of   the  load,  steam  pressure  and  exhaust,  and  find 

corresponding  capacity  of  engine  and  we  that  for  the  same  run  and  load  the  engine 

have:  set  requires   1500  pounds  of  coal,  against 

Horsepower..  28  30  30  45  70  100  123  130  130  140  150  150  160  250 
Engine  water 

rate 37.8  39.9  43  31.9   48.3   35.8        33.2     36.3     35.2     33.6     30.45     37.7     39.5     31 

Curtis     water 

rate 41       41       41  32       31         30         30         30         30         29         29  29         29         29 

It  will  be  noted  from  the  foregoing  that  900  pounds   for   the   Curtis  turbine,   or   a 

on   the   smallest   sizes   it   has   been   neces-  .saving  in  coal  in  favor  of  the  turbine  of 

sary  to  compare  the  half-load  water  rates  about  40  per  cent." 

of   the   turbine    with    the    full-load    water  From   the    foregoing    I    am    inclined    to 

rate  of  the  engine,  for  the  reason  that  the  feel  I  may  be  excused  for  not  admitting 

smallest  Curtis  curve  in  the  paper  is  65-  that   the    present    efficiency    of   the    small 

horsepower,  but  even  under  these  condi-  Curtis  turbine  in  any  way  limits  its  field 

tions    the    average    of    the    four    smaller  in  comparison  with  the  high-speed  engine 

engines    at    full    load    is    only    0.85    of    a  or  other  types  of  turbine, 
pound    better    than    the    half-load    water 
rate  of  the  turbine. 

From  this   point   up  we  have   an  exact  ^               .            r     1        A          •          \v; 

comparison  and  at  no  point  does  the  en-  Convention  ot  the  American  Water 

gine    water    rate    begin    to    compare   with  Works   Association 
that  of  the  turbine.    The  nearest  approach 

is   at   150  horsepower,   and   here   the   tur-  ' 

bine  is  5  per  cent,  better  and  the  widest  Occupying  the  entire  week  between 
margin  at  160  horsepower,  where  the  tur-  June  7  and  12,  the  sessions  of  this,  the 
bine  is  36  per  cent,  better,  while  the  twenty-ninth  annual  convention  of  the 
average  from  70  to  250  horsepower  shows  American  Water  Works  Association,  em- 
the  turbine  to  be  22  per  cent,  more  braced  every  phase  of  the  problem  of  sup- 
efficient  than  the  engine.  plyi"g    water    to    cities.      Scientists,    me- 

But   it   may   be   said    that   these   curves  chanical    engineers    and    men    skilled    in 

were    obtained    from    the    manufacturers  every    department    of    such    work    were 

and  apply  to  new  machines,  while  the  en-  present,    and    read   papers    of    educational 

gines  were  tested  in  service  and  had  been  and   technical   value,   making   this   one   of 

in   use   for   some   time.     This   enables   me  the   irost   successful   meetings   of   the   as- 

to  bring  to  notice  the  fact  that  the  engine  sociation.      The    convention,    which    was 

deteriorates   with   wear  while  the  turbine  held   at   Milwaukee,   Wis.,   was  opened   in 

docs  not,  and  it  is  the  day-in-and-day-out  the  Plankington  house  Monday  afternoon. 

water  rate  in  which  we  are  interested  and  Mayor    D.    S.    Rose    had    been    scheduled 

not   the   builder's   guarantee   on    the   new  for  the  address   of  welcome,   but   he   was 

machine.  called    out    of    town,    so    Assistant    City 

The  Curtis  turbine  does  not  fall  off  in  Attorney   Clinton    G.    Price   extended   the 

efficiency  due   to  long   service,   nor   is   its  keys   of  the   city   to    the   visitors.      Presi- 

efficiency  affected  l)y  adjustments,  and  in  dent  French  then  read  his  annual  address, 

this  connection  I  will  refer  to  a  statement  after   which    the    session    adjourned    until 

made   by    Prof.    R.    C.    Carpenter   in    dis-  the  following  day. 

cussing  this  paper  at  the  time  it  was  Business  was  transacted  promptly,  and 
presented  before  the  association  at  Wash-  strictly  according  to  schedule,  this  being 
tngton,  in  which  he  said  that  he  had  made  necessary  by  the  large  number  of 
tested  a  7S-kilowatt  Curtis  turbine  which  papers  that  had  been  prepared.  The  char- 
had  been  in  service  some  7000  hours  and  acter  and  scope  of  them  may  be  judged 
the  results  were  not  materially  different  by  the  following  list  of  titles  and  authors: 
from  the  results  obtained  on  a  new  ma-  "Valuation  of  Water  Power  and  Di- 
chine  of  the  same  capacity  and  design.  version  Damages,"  by  Robert  C.  Horten. 

It  is  extrcrnely  rare  that  an  opportunity  "Hypochloride'  of   Lime  on   Mechanical 

is  offered   for  procuring  reliable   data   on  and  Slow  Sand  Filters,"  by  A.  E.  Waldcn. 

different  types  of  apparatus  operated  un-  "Test    and     Notes    on    Gas     Producer 

dcr  identically  similar  conditions.     I  may.  Pumping  Plant,"  by  J.  R.  Fitzpatrick. 

therefore,  be  pardoned  for  quoting  from  "Fire  Losses,"  by  H.  W.  Wilson, 

a  letter   recently   received  from   a  gentle-  "Growth   in   Water  Mains,"  by   Erastus 

man  who  had  this  opportunity  and  availed  G.   .Smith. 


June 


-U   fjoy 


POWER  .\.\U    lilL.  i:..\L.lMiEK. 


1 171 


"Sterilization  of  Water  at  Boonton  Res- 
ervoir,"  by  George   W.   Fuller. 

"Sterilization  of  Jersey  City  Water,"  by 
Dr.  J.  L.  Leal. 

"Notes  on  'Sterilization  and  Cost  of 
Treatment,'"  by  George  A.  Jiihi)».n. 

"An  Attempt  to  Animal  a  ri-rpctual 
Charter,"  by  James  R.   Fit/patrick. 

"Liability  of  Water  Compaiiie*  for  Fire 
Losses,"    by    Chester    R.    MLl"arlanci 

"The  Wisconsin  Utility  Hill.'  by  C.  B. 
Salmon. 

"Notes  on  Going  Valve  and  Methods 
by  which  It  may  be  Completed."  by  John 
W.  Alvord. 

"Development  of  Water  Supply  at 
Superior,  Wis.,  by  William  C.  Louns- 
bury. 


vision  were:  "Coal  for  Hand  fired  Steam 
Plants."  by  D.  T.  Randall;  "The  Lm:  and 
Abuse  of  Fuels."  by  H.  M.  Wilson; 
"Smcke  and  Smoke  Prevention,"  by 
Profs.  L.  P.  Brcckcnridge  and  K.  G. 
Smith;  "Huying  Fuel  by  Te>i."  by  E  W. 
Bemit  and  C.  F.  Schuli/:  "T>>«-  !''!rv.ha*c 
of  Ctal   upon    Heat    \  •"  by 

Edward    H.    Taylor.  lU   at 

Related  to  the  Power  Plant,  by  Prof. 
S    W.    Parr. 

These    papers    ditcu^sed    questions    re- 
lating to  the   fuel  which  enters   into  the 
cost  of  operation  of  water-works  systems 
a<  one  of  the   Arst  and    ; 
expense     items;     one     wli: 
pr  :   cuiisidcr- 

al. 


of  boiler  for  different  pretsorcs,  condi- 
tions,  etc..  was  outlined;  "Superheating 
for  Duty,"  by  Ernest  H.  Foster,  and 
"T  "  »  With  and  wHh- 

«  by  John  Prim- 

r  iiig    treated    to- 


I- 

<j    :, 
menl. 
ing  St 
er  R<- 


-O  on  the  prac- 

.r.d   the   c  ,!    ..f 


^  at  the  i 
Penn.-      i.  :i 
I    .M.  Whith^m. 

r 
I 


.l«IJtr.AT1tlt  AXn  VIMTiMlS   AT   AMraiCAX   WATSR    WOtKS    AUOaATtOK    CliK^tWTinN.    MILWAt'Krt.    « IK..   Jt'KB   7-11.    ICKIi 


Maidstone  Epidemic."  by  William         Another  group  of  papers  ti««>U   up  \>-<\\       * 

II  er  feed  water  under  tin    i.  .!  U.il       v» 

tiic    Due   to   Milk,"  er  Water  Treatment  -."  by 

Marshall     Miller;     -U...  <      ^' 

ition  of  the  South-  Trealmeni    for    Power    Pbnt 

1  11.1  .1   i-ik.    .Michigan."  by  J.  Her-  b»    " 

t    Hrrwtipr,  \^ 


i   the  povcr-lNWac  eqoipiDr^it 
]r«ar  are:     Dr 


by   E.   Ma.  i 


I  till*      •> 


>ng  the   pafier*   pre«emc4  m  llm  di*     oik  and  tlw 


r  v4  •iitlrmM  lyfi**     >i*ti    v4  •*• 


r«t 


1 172 


DEVOTED    TO    THE  GENERATION 
TRANSMISSION   OF  POWER 

Issued  Weekly  by  the 

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Correspondence  suitable  for  the  columns  of 
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Entered  as  second  class  matter.  April  2.  1908,  at 
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of  Congress  of  March  3,  1S79. 


Table  address.  "  Powplb."  N.  Y. 

n,i>iue-.~  Tflegraph  Code. 


rUCCLLA  noS    STA  TEMEST 

Duritift  1908  Iff  printed  and  circulated 
1,836,«»0  copies  of  Power. 

Our  cirrulaiion  for  May,  1900.  iran  (weekly 
and    monthly)    l.".2.000. 

June    1 42.000 

June    8 30,000 

June    15 36,000 

June    22 36.000 

June    29 36,000 

Tfonc  acnt  free  rcfiularly,  no  rcturnx  from 
nrxcK  companiei.  no  hack  numbers.  Fifiurcs 
ore   lirr,    net   circulation. 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

What  is  the  Maximum  Bearing 

Pressure    in    Compound 

Ejigines  ? 

The  following  question  is  exercising 
the  drafting-room  corps  of  a  prominent 
engine  factor)^ :  "Assuming  a  certain 
initial  pressure  of,  say,  one  hundred  and 
fifty  pounds  as  applied  to  a  simple  en- 
gine, the  diameter  of  cylinder  and  the 
dimensions  of  bearings,  pins,  etc.,  being 
designed  for  this  pressure,  what  area  of 
cylinder  would  be  permissible  in  a  tan- 
dem or  cross-compound  engine  using  the 
same  bearing  and  pin  dimensions?" 

That  is  to  say,  if  the  engine  were  sim- 
ple, the  pins,  bearings,  etc.,  would  have 
to  be  designed  to  sustain  a  pressure  upon 
the  piston  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 
pounds  per  square  inch,  but  if  it  were  a 
compound,  this  initial  pressure  would  be 
neutralized  in  part  by  the  receiver  pres- 
sure ;  but  again  there  is  the  receiver  pres- 
sure acting  upon  the  whole  area  of  the 
low-pressure  cylinder.  It  is  a  pretty  sub- 
ject for  discussion,  and  we  shall  be  glad 
to  have  our  correspondents  take  it  up. 


Contents  i'a^e 

Remarkable  Plant  of  the  St.  Clsrtr  Tunnel   1135 

UlowerH    as    Breakdown    Insurance 1142 

Sly.e«  for  Fuses  for  Three  Phase   Motors  1142 

neat   Transmteslon    Into   Boilers 1144 

New   York'h   l-'lrst   f.'orllss   EnRine 1148 

Government     Publications?     lU-Iatln};     to 

Wntpf    Power    Wevelopment 1149 

BolW    Explosion  at  Copperhlll,  Tennessee  1150 

Catechliim    of    Electricity 11.">1 

The    Absorption    UefrlseratlnK    Machine  1152 
Care    and    Management    of    the    Water- 

Tulie    Boiler '. ll.')6 

Marking  Valves  of  KefrlgeratinR  System  1158 
Practical  I>>fterH  from  Practical  Men  : 
An  Original  Uemote-rontrol  System 
.  ...Are  Inside  Screw  Valvi-s  Cnsafe? 
....Homemade  Automatic  Pump 
H^tnilator...  .Keturn  Tubular  Poller 
Hettlng....A  Blast  Pressure  (Jage 
....Heating  by  Exhaust  and  Live 
Mteam. . .  .Compound  F^ngines.  .  . . 
Why  Won't  the  Engine  f'arry  the 
I^iad  ?....  Boiler  Inspection  and  I.l- 
cpnsp  I.nwM  Iw'slrjible.  ..  .T'ge  t'yiin- 
drlcal  Klywh'-pls  for  Safety.... 
Boiler  F'fflcleDcy.  ..  .Cause  of  an 
Engine  Wreck.  .  .  .8tiite  Supervision 
of  Boilers.  . .  .  Economy  of  Different- 
Sized  E  n  g  I  n  e  8. . .  ."Notice  to 
Visitors"  ....  Kerosene      Oil       In 

Boilers    ll.->9-116« 

Some  I'seful   I-easonM  of  I.lmewater. . .  .    1167 
DInmwilon   on    "Small    Stenm    Turbines"    1169 


As  to  Books 


A  book  that  would  tell  the  reader  how 
to  locate  a  thump  in  an  engine,  deter- 
mine the  efficiency  of  a  tungsten  lamp,  re- 
wind an  obsolete  type  of  arc  light  dyna- 
mo, analyze  boiler  feed  water,  learn  all 
about  alternating  currents  and  locate 
trouble  in  a  balky  gas  engine  would  "fill 
a  long-felt  want."  We  receive  almost 
daily  requests  for  a  small  manual  of  some 
such  modest  range,  written  in  plain 
English,  without  any  mathematics ;  and 
we  wish  somebody  would  publish  one  or 
send  us  the  manuscript  and  let  us  pub- 
lish it.  Of  course,  there  are  many  hand- 
books covering  a  wide  range,  such  as 
Kent,  Suplee,  TuUey,  etc.,  but  these  don't 
quite  reach.  If  the  price  isn't  too  high 
or  the  treatment  too  scientific,  the  range 
is  too  low  or  the  information  is  not  given 
in  sufficient  detail.  What  is  needed  is  a 
book  that  will  tell  a  man  anything  he 
wants  to  know  about  any  engineering 
subject,   in  a  plain,   practical  way. 

Of  course,  dear  readers,  you  recognize 
that  this  is  more  or  less  of  a  joke,  but 
we  assure  you  in  dead  earnest  that  we 
really  are  asked  to  recommend  books 
just  as  impossible  as  the  imaginary  one 
described  in  the  preceding  paragraph. 
Now,  we  don't  mind  in  the  least  receiving 
and  answering  letters  like  that ;  the  only 
thing  about  it  that  worries  us  is  that 
we  can't  do  what  we  are  asked  to  do. 
Books  on  engineering  are  necessarily  of 
two  kinds :  one  treating  a  single  branch 
or  subject  very  fully  and  the  other  cover- 
ing a  wide  range  of  subjects  in  very  con- 
<lcnscd  style.  A  book  written  in  ele- 
mentary st\-le,  without  any  formulas,  can- 


June   29,    1909. 

not  deal  thoroughly  with  a  dozen  branch- 
es of  engineering ;  it  would  take  several 
volumes  about  the  size  of  the  Century 
Dictionary  to  do  that.  Consequently,  a 
general  handbook  covering  a  wide  range 
must  be  limited  to  stating  fundamental 
facts,  without  attempting  complete  ex- 
planations of  principles  or  practical  work- 
ing instructions,  and  formulas  must  be 
used   to   save   space. 

Every  engineer,  no  matter  how  small 
a  job  he  is  filling  now,  should  have  a 
little  library  of  books  dealing  with  all 
the  subjects  that  relate  in  any  way  to 
his  work.  The  library  should  include 
one  or  two  good  handbooks,  for  quick 
reference,  but  there  should  be  at  least 
half  a  dozen  other  books,  each  devoted 
to  one  branch  or  subject  and  covering 
that  branch  or  subject  very  thoroughly. 
If  you  are  shaky  on  simple  mathematics, 
a  good  arithmetic  and  a  very  elementary 
algebra  should  occupy  prominent  places 
en  the  bookshelf.  If  you  get  stuck,  write 
to  us  and  we'll  help  you  over  the  stump 
if  we  can,  but  don't  turn  up  your  nose  at 
formulas  or  get  discouraged  as  soon  as 
you  meet  one ;  the  road  to  success  is  a 
whole  lot  rockier  without  them  than  if 
you  can  use  them.  And  don't  forget 
that  you  can't  learn  much  about  a  great 
many  subjects   from  any  single  book. 


Proper    Distribution    of    Draft 


If  a  boiler  plant  consisting  of  six  boil- 
ers, of  the  same  capacity,  and  with  each  I 
boiler  equipped  with  an  individual  stack,  ' 
all  the  stacks  being  of  the  same  diameter 
and  of  suitable  area,  but  varying  in  hight 
from  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  for  the 
highest  down  to  twenty-five  feet,  any 
engineer  w9uld  at  once  condemn  the  lay- 
out and  think  it  absurd  that  a  design  of 
this  kind  should  exist.  However,  we 
believe  we  are  safe  in  saying  that  there 
are  hundreds  of  plants  being  operated 
rnder  similar  conditions,  without  the  en- 
gineer in  charge  giving  the  matter  the 
slightest    thought. 

It  is  rare  that  a  plant  consisting  of  a 
number  of  boilers  has  an  individual  stack 
for  each  boiler,  but  conditions  approxi- 
mating those  just  stated  are  frequently 
obtained  In  plants  where  several  boilers 
are  supplied  by  a  single  .stack.  Movement 
of  flue  gas  is  obtained  by  very  small  dif- 
ferences in  pressure,  and  it  is  greatly  af- 
fected by  the  slightest  variations  in  size, 
shape  or  direction  of  the  flue  passages 
and  tile  method  of  discharging  currents 
from  individual  boilers  into  the  main  con- 
nection, or  any  condition  tending  to  forni 
eddies  or  pockets  in  the  flue.  On  account  - 
of  this  sensitiveness,  it  is  practically  im- 
possible to  design  a  breeching  or  con- 
nections that  will  give  each  boiler  exactly 
the  same  amount  of  draft.  Individual 
dampers  are  generally  supplied  with  each 
boiler,  so  that  those  wliich  have  the  freest 


June  20,   1909. 


r<>\\  ER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


"73 


draft  may  Ix-  choked  down,  while  the 
others  are  opened  up  and  in  this  way  the 
draft  at  the  grate  may  be  made  the  ^mc 
on  all  the  boilers. 

A  simple  means  of  determining  when 
the  draft  i!<  equalized,  is  tu  note  if  the 
same  amount  of  coal   can  Ik-  h»)rni-«l  f>rr 

I'larc    foot  -of   grate   under   » 
I    when   this  condition   is  »•! 

of  the  individual  damiKrrs  can  be 
!.  so  that  they  may  Ik-  kept  set  at 
these  points  while  the  boilers  are  in  op- 
eration ;  the  drafts  in  the  furnaces  can 
also  be  measured  by  the  use  of  an  or- 
dinar)'  draft  gage,  and  the  proper  damper 
adjustment •<  made. 

Often  a  supposed  lack  <>f  Iwiiler  ca- 
pacity is  nurrly  the  improptr  distribu- 
tion of  the  Ittad  lietwern  fxi*ting  boilers, 
and  if  you  need  more  stt-ain,  he  sure 
that  none  of  your  boilers  arc  "Nolclicring" 
r.n    aii-oimt    of    piior    draft    <listrit>;!ii.u 


Ejiginc  Room  Ignorance 


If  you  were  told  the  truth  about  your- 

I,    the    probabilities    are    that    it    would 

t    be   gratifying.      No  one   sees   himvelf 

others    sec   him,   hence   the   jolt    when 

"Ught   face  to   face  with  the   real   facts 

of  the  irKlividual  case.    There   is  no  use 

^''ating  about  the  bush :  but  rather  come 

I   into  the  open  and  make  obser\-ations 

your  own  condition  as  well  as  that  of 

crs. 


this  were  not  m>,  the  educational  work  in 
the  various  ogranizations  not  unly  woukl 
not  be  continued,  but  would  never  have 
been    instituted.      In   a    large    •        •  ' 

instances  the  leaders  of  such  or. 


them  are    \  i   in  either   the 

betterment  .   of  their   fellow 

workmen. 

There  are  no  two  wa3r9  about  it.  the 
engineer  is  either  forging  ahead  or  fall- 
ing Itehnid.  The  f   "  '■   •llustratcs 
this   fart :     In  ;i  plant   the 
engineer    in    chari;c 
lalx>rrd   undrr  the  «!< 
cr 
p., 

then   possessed-      Result-  hap- 

pened of  a  nature  which  .-!.  .  .hat  he 
was  not  of  sufficieni  caliber  to  handle 
the  job,  and  he  was  assigned  to  a  place 
in  the  hre  room,  whither  he  went,  not 
with  the  bt  '  *•    grace,  perhaps,  but 

he   went,   t"  This   was  a  case 

of  going  !>.<^l.uard.  hut  who  was  to 
blame'  Just  one  instance  of  lost  op- 
p«irtunily  with  none  to  blame  but  "self" 
In  the  same  plant  was  another  man, 
employed  as  electrician,  who  knew  he 
did  not  know  a  good  many  things  about 
engineering,  but  wanted  to  know.  Re- 
sult— he  read,  and  studieil  engineering 
subjects,  and  when  the  regular  engineer 
"fell  down."  he  was  placed  in  charge  of 
•h*"    plant,    with    hi*    formrr   rhirf   in    thr 


in  ail  the  property,  stock,  implemaiu  and 

},,,.i.i..,,..  .^„_.i  \..  ,1,^  farmers  of  the 
I 

;>ly    bring    used    at    a 

:    IS   expected    to   be- 

■    '1  and 

..^ 

a. Is 

A  ,.   -..la 
come  general    tue    m    certain 

parts  t,:  ..  •?«.   >^  i>«ii  i»  ••>  at  a  rule 

found    in    <.  «    far    re- 

moved front  w  •<  ui  :.ri<i^.  v<>  ur  that  the 
cost  of  irantporting  the  cual  amounts  to 
»•  rs   the  cost   of  the   fuel   itieli 

Stales  greatest 

•   '^f  p^'  I>akoiai. 

ntjnbemi 

New   Yofli, 

the    .Sew    hngland    States.    New    Jersey, 

portions   uf    Virginia.    .Sonh   and    Soutk 

Carolina.  Georgia  and  Florida. 

A  thorough  investigation  of  the  peat 
resources  is  now  being  undertaken  by  the 
Geological    Survey.  as    to    the 

amount  of  prat  and  ;;.  but  alao 

its  use  Prof.  Charlo  A.  Davis  of  the 
techn«il"?it-  ^m^^h.  has  general  charfr 
of  the 

Prrii  ,vho  has   just   iMoed 

jointly  with  ICdson  \.  Bastin  a  bullrtin 
on  peat,  is  optimistic  on  the  future  ol 
peat,  yet  he  belie%e«  the  development  of 
the  industry  should  be  accompanied  by 
great  caution. 

4t   the 


Ige   in    lioih    schcMtIs,  one   is   com- 
.    to    admit    that    there    are    many 
:ngs   about   the   engine   room   of   which 
is   even   then   ignorant      When  either 
technical    or   practical    experience    i> 
ucking.    this    ignorance    must    be    greatly 
increased  in  either  one  or  the  other  branch 
lence. 
m   thr   ftiifine  room   1 
result     ol  ■  :>ns,    none 

•    which   is   un- 

The    most    common    c\i"ii*c*    for    not 
''owing  things  arc     "I  il-nt  have  time 
read."  "I  never  had  an  op{>ortunily  !■ 
tain     an    education,"     "When     I     have 
>rked  tweUr   hours  in  a  hot.  dirty,  ill- 


;    U-t    hu    Imiu-:*!    t!:at    lu    ttUl 
— tr    fir."    and    vi    ott 


t> 

!  believe  pursued  llie 
right  course,  which  man  was  the  one  to 
pattern  after,  which  man  forced  his  em- 
ployer to  recognize  his  ability,  and  how 
w      '  '  have    liked    to   have   been    in 

tl  ■  s  place* 


•til  ras.v   matter  to  decide  a*  ti 
attitude 


Peat  in  the  United  States 

The  following  hat  recently  been  issued 
by  the  I'niled  Slates  Geological  Survey 
\   numlier  of  cities   and   town*   in   the 


on   the   market   attti    super  ^■.\ 

the  quantity  of  p<iwrr  gas  , ^j* 

Professor  I>avis  "I  believe  the  day  is 
coming  soon  when  cities  Kxalrd  near 
the  peat  bogs  and  away  from  the  coal 
field*    will   «>blan      '  •    light 

fr<im   peat       I    tr  La    i« 


yuur  uwit      I- 


tjI    of    \h.  >. 

h                       must    be    re  t 

^                 -IS    from   H5    t'  -i 

water  at   it  comes   fmm  the   bogs  AM 

!>..•    ir   ..r    ►.  ._rf  fxnx    can  be  dried  oat 

t'                               'he   peal   lo  the   air  la 
I                                          pmducrrt   lo 
I                                           wtll    bum 

rni    motsiurr.  whkk  b 


imrtunity    to    obtain   an    e<lucation.    for 

.1    luve    it    IKJW       >"■'    »••"     .nnl     %rr     «  ill 

IV  you  lor  the  t  ^r 

■'»  the  whys  aiui  » 
t    even    suppose    h' 


worth    of 
swamps  an 
ing  only   li 

..t      i»,.        V,. 


inlnrma-     p- 


••plMtt.  wood  akolM^  acvtk 

iifTi    .   'itiKAlr    xt\.\    I  .  «Ttka«f  Air 


h 


long    way    from    being    c^impkle        II     d.4Uf»— «**•*««  m»u(m>   Uua  m  rciM<»<s;tcd     la  a^UiImo  l**  -U  cal 


1174 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  29,    1909. 


Power  Plant  Machinery  and  Appliances 

Original     Descriptions     of     Power     Devices 
No     Manufacturers'      Cuts     or     Write-ups     Used 

MUST     BE     NEW     OR     INTERESTING 


Tlie  Marion  Flue  Blower 


The    blower    illustrated    herewith    is    a 
permanent  fixture  in  the  rear  wall  of  the     blower    is    mamifactured    by    the    Marion 


Lxisting   conditions   of   combustion   space,  Machine,   Foundry  and   Supply   Company, 

lircwall,   etc.,   in   the   different   boiler   set-  ?»Iarion,  Ind. 

tings,  a  nozzle  being  furnished  which  will  ^ 

insure  the  steam  reaching  all  tubes.    This 


FIG.    I.    COXSTRLXTION  OF  C.\P 


SHOWING   THE    P.XRTS 


The  "Neverust"  Exhaust  Head 

The  "Neverust"  exhaust  head,  which  is 
manufactured  by  Franklin  Williams,  39 
Cortlandt  street.  New  York  City,  is  novel 
as  regards  its  manner  of  construction  and 
the  materials  used.  It  is  made  entirely  of 
copper  and  cast  iron,  which  permits  of 
making  it  of  large  size,  due  to  the  fact 
that  owing  to  its  lightness,  it  can  be  made 
of  heavy  gage  copper  and  still  combine 
strength  and  efficiency. 

The  base  is  composed  of  a  cast-iron 
casting  to  which  the  copper  shell  is 
riveted.  It  will  be  seen  from  the  illustra- 
tion that  directly  over  the  opening  at  the 
bottom  of  the  head  is  a  cast-iron  baffle 
plate,  cast  solid  with  the  base  of  the 
head.  To  this  baffle  plate  is  riveted  an  in- 
ner shell,  which  in  turn  supports  the 
outlet  shell  of  the  exhaust  head,  which 
having  a  turned  edge  at  the  top  laps  over 
the  turned  edge  of  the  piece  forming  the 
top  of  the  exhaust  head  proper.  This 
in  turn  fits  into  the  turned  edge  of  the 
outer  shell,  thus  forming  the  top  of  the: 
exhaust   head. 


boiler  setting  and  blows  the  soot  in  the 
direction  of  the  draft,  out  through  the 
chimney,  cleaning  the  boiler  while  in  com- 
mission, without  reducing  the  steam 
pressure. 

The  feature  of  the  device  is  the  rotat- 
ing nozzle  which  has  three,  sometimes 
four,  openings,  according  to  the  size  of 
the  boiler;  these  openings  all  pointing  to 
a  diflFcrcnt  section  of  the  tube  sheet.  On 
the  base  of  the  nozzle  casting  is  a  fiat 
valve  scat  on  which  a  disk  with  one  open- 
ing is  held  by  the  steam  pressure.  The 
disk  may  be  rotated  by  a  valve  stem 
attached  to  the  indicator  on  the  hand- 
wheel,  as  shown  in  Fig.  i,  and  thus  each 
nozzle  ojK-ning  may  be  blown  in  turn.  As 
the  nozzle  is  rotated  while  each  opening 
is  being  blown,  all  of  the  boiler  tubes  are 
cleaned. 

Fig.  I  shows  the  heavy  cast-iron  cap 
which  protects  the  nozzle  from  the  fire, 
Fig.  2  shows  the  parts,  and  Fig.  3  shows 
the  blower  installed.  It  is  located  op- 
posite the  center  of  the  tube  space,  but 
not  in  the  center  of  the  boiler,  and  each 
one    is    constructed    especially    to    fit    the 


FJG.    3.        MARION"    BLOWER    IN    OPERATION 


June  2fi.   I'/cx/ 

A  drain  runs  from  the  lop  of  th«  ex- 
haust head  to  the  upper  side  of  the  baffle 
plate,  which  i»  connected  to  the  atmos- 
phere by  means  of  the  drain  as  >h<>Mn. 
thus  thoroughly  draining  the  head  fr..ni 
all  accumulation  of  condensr«l  >i«-am.  The 
const  ruction  of  the  head  is  ni'  ^t  rigid 
and  thorougb.  The  passage  of  the  steam 
as  it  goes  to  the  head  takes  the  course 
indicated  by  the  dotted  lines.  Owing  to 
the  fact  that  the  base  of  the  head  is  ex- 
tended  upward  at  A.  the  tteam  current 


"sr\rMv>y"  rxH\rsT   head 

nill  not  cut  it  away  at  this  prjint«  and  as 

c  •team  expands  at  the  lop  of  the  head, 

!icre  is  no  temlency  to  cut  at  that  point. 


The    "Succcm"    Boiler   Compoun^J 
Fredcr 

The  "Succr»»"  boiler  comp*"""'   iVrdrr 

manufactured     by     the     (  'n 

■  ■■iler  Speri.ilty  Company.  I)e«r..n.    ..mh. 

hree    \ir\»N    ..f    this    «levice    are    shown 


POWER  AND  THE  ENGINEER. 

herewith.  A$  the  name  implies,  this  feed- 
er is  for  the  purpofc  of  fccdmg  boiler 
compound  to  a  boiler,  it  feed*  t»»e  exact 
-s  it  with  every 
The  "Succe**" 


am 

•tint 

r« 

-kr    . 

.f  ■ 

I' 

pum|K-<l   to  the 

used,  and  the  pr   . 

ing    agent    aiMl    feed    water    remam    the 

tame. 

It  U  fitted  with  a  glass  measuring  re- 
.-rpiacle  which  permits  the  atteniiant  to 
-ee  and  regulate  the  amount  of  boiler 
compound  ailtnittetl  and  delivere*!  to  the 
h«»iler.  No  \alves  are  employetl,  save  one, 
•'■  ■  \\  is  a  three-way  plug.  .\  duplex 
•  .;.  \cx  is  used  to  actuate  the  plug  which 
IS  designed  to  insure  a  slow  and  positive 


Boston   A.  S.   M.   EL   Meeting 
Succcasftil 

On  Friday.  June  ii,  there  was  a  very 

'  '  ting  of  the   Boston  branch 

I     K..  at   the   l^owell   build- 
ing   uf    the    .^'  "f 

Technology,     I'  ■« 

■iitd   K.   I.  Motiltriip  itcltng  A^ 

The    meeting    oi>ened    at    n.  k 

with  a  few  preliminary  remarks  by  l*ro- 
fessor  HolHs  with  regard  to  the  object 
of  the  meeting,  and  he  invited  all  in- 
terested in  mechanics  to  attend  the  meet- 
ing, lie  introduced  Calvin  W.  Rice,  who 
.i>»\iro!    t;  !it    that    this    was   not 

.    1.'  .tf  1.  ii   a   lxiTU-!'i<!e   meet- 

II,  and  he  |j<>|>ed  they 
If. 
I  he   subject    ■  ;    'In-    rvcning   was   then 
taken   up.  the  <!:  -i   of   ,Mr.  Orrok's 

(taper,    which    ■  was   opened   by 

Dr.  Lowensteii)  -i  .....it,  fn!lowe«l  liy  a 
rrpresenlatis'e  of  the  Terry  Turbine  Com- 


II7S 

pany.  and  he  by  a  represmuiive  of  the 
Siunevant    people.   ne%x    the   local    rcprc-  . 
tentative  of  the  I>e  Laval  people.    He  waft 

followe«l  by  a  r.  '  "' "   ^' ^rr 

po»f»le   and  thr  -i 

Mills, 

.  joc    oC 

'•  «^.,r   Miller,  .-.f  the    Ma<<acha*rtt» 

'  ulalcd 

!--  -   -    ■        ■■r\ry 

<jn  thr  board  .>  t  a  few  r* 

r ~ v.^iii.      CharU       .- 

!  <-d  the  paper,  and  an 

r.M    rnikarlts   appears   on  an< 
of    this    number. 
There  were  about  150  present. 


Carborundum  in  Wireless  Teleg- 
raphy 

BV    J.    O.    SMtTH 

Carb««nm«bim    a»     an    al»ra- 

•!  4ltKlc 

:    it    b 

dotititiul  li  many  arc  awai  'hat  it  is 
now  u>c<l  by  the  big  Ammc-  'frlrss 
telegraph  company,  the  I  nilrd.  <u  a  de- 
tector in  receiving  in'" In  fact  it 

has  almost  entirely  :  other  sob- 

MaUkTes.  \\\ch  as  «ili  7e,  etc, 

in    this    particular    u  of    its 

greater    rr  e, 

it    Iteing   ■ 

degree    !>> 

semi  in  w' 

other 

new 

«cr>(ling. 

Carltorundutr  .^ 

furnace*  at  Ni  -.it 

.I*  <l    in   1-.  tor 

rJain  bladi. 


'e 

e 

•h 

ami    ihti*   ix  1    mjniring 

.iftrr      .  J    '.      •►.  f  1    .'      ..f 


and  the 


of 
it 

t 


PCTAIL* 


•l«r»fs«     ■nm-<nMf<M'V»   ntrm 


'  ews*  MW|Tafiiy 


1176 


POWER  AXD  THE  ENGINEER. 


June  29,    1909. 


Disastrous  Boiler  Ejtplosion  at 
Denver 


At  6  o'clock  on  the  evening  of  June 
15,  a  boiler  explosion,  serious  in  the  loss 
of  life  it  produced,  occurred  in  the  west 
side  plant  of  the  Denver  Gas  and  Electric 
Company,  which  is  controlled  and  op- 
erated by  Henry  L.  Doherty,  of  New 
York  City.  The  plant  in  question  is  the 
largest  of  the  three  stations  in  Denver 
operated  by  this  company,  and  has  a  ca- 
pacity of  about  9000  boiler  horsepower. 
It  is  really  the  main  distributing  station, 
as  the  other  two  arc  smaller  and  are  tied 
in   with   the   main   station. 

Some  three  years  ago  an  addition  was 
made  to  the  station,  and  in  this  new  part 
were  installed  two  400-horsepower  Wickes 
vertical  boilers,  also  a  2000-kilowatt  Cur- 
tis turbine  and  two  1500-kriowatt  direct- 
connected  alternators.  These  units  were 
supplied  as  much  as  possible  with  steam 
from  the  Wickes  boilers,  and  the  balance 
of  the  steam  beyond  their  capacity  was 
drawn  from  Jlie  remainder  of  the  boiler 
installa''  .  consisting  of  Heine  water- 
tube  ■  ers,  the  piping  being  so  arranged 
that  u'was  an  easy  matter  to  switch  from 
the  new  installation  to  the  older  boilers, 
or  draw  from  both  as  desired. 

The  explosion  occurred  in  one  of  the 
Wicke.t;  boilers,  which  was  carrying  150 
pounds  steam  pressure.  The  tubes  all 
broke  away  from  the  lower  drum  and  the 
upper  part  of  the  boiler  went  straight 
up  into  the  air  for  a  distance  of  300  feet, 
»hen  dropped  down  through  the  roof  of 
the  old  part  of  the  station  at  a  point  175 
feet  distant,  landing  directly  on  top  of 
two  generators,  one  a  500-kilowatt,  500- 
volt,  direct-current  belted  machine  and 
the  other  a  600-kilowatt,  2300-volt,  alter- 
nattng-current  belted  generator.  Part  of 
•he  gallery  and  railing  in  front  of  the 
witchboard  were  torn  away,  but  the 
-witchf)oard  was  not  injured.  None  of 
the  prime  movers  in  the  station  was 
harmed  in  the  slightest  degree,  and  what 
is  more  strange  the  piping  of  the  Heine 
boilers  was  all  left  intact,  so  that  the 
station  was  put  in  operation  in  a  very 
>hort  time  after  the  accident.  Only  the 
piping  in  the  new  part  of  the  station  was 
twisted  out  of  place,  and  the  second 
Wickes  boiler  was  toppled  over  but  did 
not  cxplfxle.  although  it  was  carrying  full 
-team  pressure. 

Three     firemen     who     were     working 
around  the  Wickes  boilers  were  reported 
killed,  among  them  being  Chief  Engineer 
Harry   Lishncr,   and    a   child    one-half   a 
mDc  distant  met  a  similar  fate  from  fly- 
ing debris.     Six  others  in  the  plant  were 
eriously   injured   and   others   in    the   im- 
nediate    vicinity    received    injuries    of    a 
more    or    less    serious    character.      The 
damage  to  property  is  estimated  at  $75,- 
^ODO.  and  from  this  standpoint  the  owners 
ol  the  plant  were  most  fortunate,  as  the 


general    destruction    of    the    plant    might 
easily  have  been  expected. 

It  has  been  rumored  that  low  water 
was  the  cause  of  the  explosion,  the  fire- 
man pumping  in  a  fresh  supply  instead 
of  pulling  the  fires  and  observing  the 
usual  precautionary  measures.  Within  a 
week  previous  to  the  explosion,  William 
Lawless,  deputy  boiler  inspector  for  the 
city,  had  made  an  interior  inspection  and 
W.  H.  Odett,  chief  inspector  for  the 
London  Guarantee  and  Accident  Com- 
pany, had'  made  an  exterior  inspection 
about  the  same  time  and  had  inspected  the 
interior  in  February.  Neither  could  ac- 
count for  the  explosion. 

It  is  reported  that  this  is  the  first  ex- 
plosion of  a  Wickes  boiler,  and  it  will 
be  of  interest  to  learn  from  the  manu- 
facturer or  perhaps  from  tl^e  London 
Guarantee  and  Accident  Company,  in 
which  the  boilers  were  insured,  the  exact 
cause  of  the  explosion.  Photographs  of 
the  accident  and  a  fuller  description  will 
be  published  in  an  early  issue. 


Cleveland  Industrial  Exposition 

The  Cleveland  (Ohio)  Industrial 
Exposition,  which  was  held  from  June 
7  to  19,  inclusive,  was  an  unqualified  suc- 
cess and  unique  in  that  it  was  participated 
in  by  Cleveland  industries  only.  The 
project  of  thus  exploiting  Cleveland-made 
products  was  conceived  in  December, 
1908,  and  it  received  such  hearty  sup- 
port by  the  local  manufacturing  interests 
that  it  was  soon  seen  that  the  available 
public  halls  would  not  accommodate  the 
prospective  exhibitors.  Therefore,  an  ex- 
position building  having  a  larger  ground- 
floor  exhibit  area  than  any  other  exposi- 
tion structure  in  the  country  was  erected. 
The  total  area  was  72,030  square  feet. 
It  was  nearly  opposite  the  Central  armory, 
the  use  of  which  for  exhibition  purposes 
was  also  secured,  giving  a  total  area  of 
114,565  square  feet,  including  the  bridge 
connecting  the  exposition  building  and  the 
armory. 

The  walls  of  the  new  building,  which 
was  on  the  site  of  the  proposed  city  hall, 
were  of  wood  covered  with  staff,  and 
it  had  a  fire-  and  waterproof  canvas  roof 
supported  by  three  huge  masts  mounted 
on  structural-iron  supports  anchored  to 
30-ton   blocks   of   iron-weighted   concrete. 

F.  F.  Prentiss,  of  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce,  chairman  of  the  executive 
committee,  suggested  the  exposition. 


Busi 


usiness  items 


it< 


There  are  now  in  operation  thirteen  sets  of 
Neernes  shaking  grates  in  the  Fulton  Mills  of 
the  Amerif:an  Woolen  Company,  Fulton,  N.  Y. 
The  Woolen  company  has  just  ordered  from 
Neernes  Bros.,  of  Troy.  N.  Y.,  ten  more  sets 
six  feet  six  inches  square.  This  will  make  23 
sets  of  these  grates  in  use  in  the.se  mills. 

The  Farmers'  Cooperative  Brick  and  Tile 
Company,   of   Mason   City,    Iowa,    has   ordered 


a  14.x30-inch  heavy-duty  Twin  City  Corliss 
engine  from  the  Minneapolis  Steel  and  Machin- 
ery Company,  together  with  transmission 
machinery  and  piping  for  the  plant.  This  is 
tlie  second  Twin  City  Coriiss  engine  that  they 
have  installed  within  a  year. 

Further  improvement  in  trade  conditions 
is  reported  by  tiie  Wisconsin  Engine  Company, 
of  Corliss,  Wis.,  which  has  recently  shipped  two 
more  of  its  "higlier-speed"  Corliss  engines, 
one  for  the  Chicago.  Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul 
Railroad  Company  and  the  other  to  the  Carbon 
brick  yards,  at  Carbon,  Penn.  The  above 
company  reports  a  large  number  of  inquiries, 
not  only  for  its.  standard  and  "higher"  speed 
Corliss  engines,  but  for  its  complete-expansion 
gas  engines,  most  of  the  inquiries  being  from 
well-known  concerns  to  which  operating  econo- 
mies are  of  great  importance. 

A  new  folder  issued  by  the  International 
Acheson  Graphite  Company  is  known  as  273-B. 
It  is  descriptive  of  the  company's  graphited 
greases,  products  which  are  designed  for  gear, 
cup  and  ball-bearing  use.  In  the  manufacture 
of  its  graphited  grease,  the  company  states 
that  it  uses  the  purest  and  best  graphite,  which 
is  a  perfect  lubricant  in  itself.  The  graphite 
and  grease  are  carefully  blended,  and  it  is  claimed 
that  the  resultant  product  wil'  do  far  more  work 
than  any  other  grease  product  on  the  market, 
great  value  being  given  the  combination  by  the 
superior  lubricating  qualities  of  the  graphite. 

The  Chapman  Valve  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany recently  issued  $300,000  worth  of  pre- 
ferred stock.  This  was  done  because  the 
board  of  directors,  in  conjunction  with  the 
stockholders,  believe  that  a  better  product,  if 
such  a  thing  be  possible,  must  be  put  on  the 
market  to  keep  up  with  competition.  They 
advise  us  that  the  Chapman  valve  has  been 
the  standard  for  high  class  for  years.  It 
would,  therefore,  appear  that  this  company 
has  no  intention  of  allowing  its  product  to 
remain  at  a  standstill  on  past  reputation,  but 
intends  to  make  an  even  greater  fame  for 
Chapman  valves.  L'nder  these  conditions  it 
is  not  at  all  strange  that  this  preferred  stock 
has  been  over-subscribed  three  or  four  times, 
as  we  are  given  to  understand  from  reliable 
sources. 


Help   Wanted 

Advertisements  under  this  head  are  inserted 
for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  words  make 
a  line. 

WANTED— Thoroughly  competent  steam 
specialty  salesman;  one  that  can  sell  high- 
grade    goods.     Address    "M.    M.    Co.,"    Power. 

AN  ENGINEER  in  each  town  to  sell  the 
best  rocking  grate  for  steam  boilers.  Write 
Martin   Grate   Co.,    281   Dearborn   St.,   Chicago. 

WANTED— Engineer  salesman  for  indus- 
trial and  central  heating  and  power  plants 
to  travel  in  middle  West  territory.  Must  have 
had  technical  training  and  at  least  five  years' 
experience  in  .selling  heating  systems  and  power 
station  equipment.  High  grade  men  with 
first-class  references  only  need  apply.  Box 
64,  Power. 

WANTED— A  good  live  agent  in  every 
shop  or  factory  in  the  U.  S.  to  .sell  one  of  the 
best  known  preparations  for  removing  grease 
and  grime  from  the  hands  without  injury  to 
the  skin.  Absolutely  guaranteed.  An  agent 
can  make  from  ,S.5.00  to  $25.00  over  and  above 
his  regular  salary.  This  is  no  fake.  Write 
for  free  sample  and  agents'  terms.  The  Klen- 
zola  Co.,  Erie,  Pa. 

Miscellaneous 

Advertisements  under  (his  head  are  inserted 
for  25  cents  per  line.  About  six  words  make 
a  line. 

PATENTS  secured  promptly  in  the  United 
States  and  foreign  countries.  Pamphlet  of 
instructions  sent  free  upon  request.  C.  L. 
Parker,  Ex-e.xaminer,  U.  S.  Patent  Office, 
McCJill  Bldg.,  Washington,  D.  C. 

WANT  TO  GIVE  FREE  of  cost  or  work, 
to  one  engineer  in  each  town  that  has  charge 
of  a  steam  plant,  a  first-class  indicator  and 
reducing  wheel,  with  plush-lined  mahogany 
ca.se;  this  doesn't  sound  right  but  it  is.'  G.  L. 
C.  Co.,  Cor.  14th  and  (^lark  Sts.,  Manitowoc,  Wis. 

HAVE  A  FIRST-CLASS  MACHINE  SHOP 
and  am  desirous  of  extending  my  line.     Have 


MWAks  sccT.    jum  2  «BD 


TJ  Power 

1 

P7 
V.30 


PLEASE  DO  NOT  REMOVE 
CARDS  OR  SlIPS  FROM  THIS  POCKH 

UNIVERSITY  OF  TORONTO  LIBRARY